"But It's a DRY Heat!"

…note the humidity or, more-better, the lack of same in the graphic above. When we say “it’s dry heat” in these parts, we mean it! That said, yesterday was miserable. The combination of mid-80s heat and sun beating down on the exterior of El Casa Móvil De Pennington made things rather unbearable indoors yesterday... and the combination of heat, wind, and blowing dust made things just as unbearable outdoors. Or, in other words, it was an air conditioned sort of day. I normally wouldn’t run the AC unless and until it gets over 90 degrees. I simply lower my awning, open the windows and door, and revel in the warmth. But: I can’t put my awning down if the wind is over 20 mph (or so) and you’ll note we were having consistent wind in the mid-30 mph range, with gusts over 50 mph. That sort of wind has been known to shred awnings, and I have a certain amount of… ummm… experience with that phenomenon. But, leave us not digress, eh? You’d be amazed at how much difference the awning makes in the interior temperature of El Casa Móvil… not to mention its impact on my electricity bill.

So. Fast-forward about 19 hours and this is what we’re like today:

No AC required. But the furnace has been running all morning.

Ahh… Spring on The High Plains of New Mexico.

Just More Stuff

Via Lex, an interesting counter-point to the Left’s newest end-the-war meme: “It’s ruining the economy.” Hogwash, sez Larry Kudlow:

Surprise, surprise. Having failed to puncture Gen. David Petraeus' story about great improvements on the ground in Iraq, liberals now say the cost of the Iraq war has somehow undermined the economy — even caused the current slowdown. What complete nonsense.

First point: The United States has spent roughly $750 billion for the five-year war. Sure, that's a lot of money. But the total cost works out to 1 percent of the $63 trillion GDP over that time. It's minuscule.

But here's the real question we should ask: What is the cost of freedom? While the Left refuses to acknowledge it, the U.S. homeland has not been attacked since Sept. 11, 2001. Right there is a big economic plus. Since President Bush went on the offensive and took the battle to Iraq, al Qaeda and other extremist terrorist groups have been utterly routed by U.S. forces. Tying the jihadists down on their home turf, and keeping them from mounting another coordinated attack on the United States, have benefited our economy incalculably.

Then again, the antiwar forces might want to recall John F. Kennedy's Inaugural address, in which he called on Americans to "Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to ensure the survival and the success of liberty."

Do these folks actually think 1 percent of GDP is too large a price, too heavy a burden? I sure hope not.

I’ve noticed the “cost of war,” in purely economic terms, has been getting a lot of press these days. There seems to be a coherent and immaculately orchestrated campaign to convince the American public that we cannot afford this war, to the tune of “a depression ain’t far away if we continue as we’ve begun”…or, in other words, if we finish what we started.

About which: predictable. “If at first you don’t succeed,” and all that. Somehow I get the feeling this gambit isn’t going to work, either. No matter what the Left thinks, Americans just don’t have a taste for defeat. Especially when we’re winning.

―:☺:―

Your hockey update… I watched the most wretched play-off game I’ve seen in quite a while last evening. It’s not often one sees a team…in the play-offs!… melt down quite like Minnesota did last night.

DENVER (AP) -No fluke finish to this one. No overtime, either. But plenty of punches and penalties.

Jose Theodore stopped 24 of 25 shots and the Colorado Avalanche used a three-goal first-period to rout the Minnesota Wild 5-1 on Tuesday night, tying their first-round playoff series at two games each.

The first three games of the series - as well as the last two when these two teams met in the 2003 playoffs - all went into overtime and ended in 3-2 scores.

The series goes back to Minnesota for Game 5 on Thursday night, and it should be interesting - this game featured a whole lot of fighting, including some fisticuffs after the final horn sounded.

Minnesota had an astounding 111 minutes of penalty time, 24 by Derek Boogaard, who was ejected, and 35 by Stephane Veilleux, who received a 10-minute misconduct that was assessed at game's end.

Colorado had 43 minutes of penalty time on a dozen infractions - the Wild were whistled 26 times.

26 penalties! Twenty-freakin’-six, on just one of the teams! The upshot of it all was the game lasted as long as the previous game that went 11 minutes into overtime, and that’s counting the “regulation” intermission in the between the third and overtime periods in Tuesday’s game. Here’s a screenshot of the penalties:

(click for larger. Graphic from NHL.com)

Note there were eight misconducts handed out, six to Minnesota. This is the sort of game that gives hockey a bad name amongst the uninitiated. Not that some of it wasn’t interesting… there were moments. I can’t imagine just what the HELL was going through Minnesota coach Jacques Lemaire’s mind, and why he didn’t put a stop to it. Here’s Lemaire:

"I couldn't wait until that game gets over," Wild coach Jacques Lemaire said. "I knew there was nothing to do. It was getting ugly, the guys were frustrated. The more they got frustrated, the more we got penalties. Guys were talking on the bench, we got bench penalties, it never stopped."

Lemaire was right on one count: it never stopped. I believe he could have put an end to it, had he so desired. But here we are… the series is all tied up at two apiece and the next game is in Minnesota. This will be verrry interesting.

In other play-off news… Anaheim avoided going down 0-3 in their series against the Stars, winning last evening by a score of 4-2 (and Phlegmmy was there). Philadelphia took a 2-1 lead in their series…which looks like it just might be over in five games. Washington looked pretty bad... dismal, even. San Jose tied up its series with Calgary in what looked like the best game of the day, what with San Jose winning the game with eight seconds left on the clock. I would have MUCH preferred watching the Calgary – San Jose game yesterday, all things considered. Here’s Joe Thornton’s winning goal in Calgary last night:

I don’t have a dog in this fight, except for the fact the Wings might get Calgary in the next round should the Flames win. I’m leaning pretty heavily towards Calgary, though. Don’t ask why…

Tonight it’s Game Four for the Wings and the Preds… which begins in about three and a half hours or so. You know where I’ll be at that time, Gentle Reader. Parked in front of the teevee, beer and popcorn at hand.

My "Alarm Clock" This Morning...

I fell asleep this early this morning (which: more accurate than “last night”) watching C-SPAN2, as is my wont. And the wonderful folks at C-SPAN woke me up about 45 minutes ago with this:

By way of explanation: whenever the House or Senate votes, or waits for a quorum, or is involved in other such non-activity, C-SPAN broadcasts video of the floor with a piece of classical music as the “soundtrack.” Such was the case this morning.

Now, this isn’t the version C-SPAN played. Pachelbel’s Canon might just be the most-recorded piece of classical music, ever (I think I have at least three versions in my music collection). This interpretation was posted to YouTube yesterday, so you are among the first to listen to this particular version on these here inter-tubes, Gentle Reader. Quite nice. And such a wonderful way to begin my… or anyone’s… day.

And now it’s off to answer comments and make the rounds.

Back in a bit…

Meme

Blog-Bud Jim tagged me with a fairly simple meme: publish your desktop photo. Now that's the sort of meme I like! Simple, easy, and requires NO thought. At all.

So, without further ado: my desktop.

You've seen the pic before, Gentle Reader (the larger version is at the link). It's The Second Mrs. Pennington, standing in a doorway to one of the colleges at Oxford University... in Oxford, England... strangely enough. I took the photo sometime in 1980 or perhaps 1981 when TSMP and I lived in England.

I think I'm supposed to tag others. I won't tag Lin, she doesn't do memes and says so, oh-so-prominently in her blog's header. But Ashley, Becky, Lou, Mike, and Jay might. Phlegmmy could be interesting, too. We'll see...

Just Another Windy Day Here On The High Plains of NM...

I was the beneficiary (?) of an anonymous, drive-by shooting comment from a Barack-Booster yesterday. Said Obamaphile quoted a Gallup poll and pooh-poohed the impact of Senator Obama’s foot-in-mouth moment out in SFO… to wit:

He's two points up since then, according to Gallup; Hillary's down two. Obama spoke the truth in San Francisco, but only Clinton and McBush have twisted their knickers over it. So dream on, Gentle Blogger.

Well, now. One can spin all one wants… but then there’s this:

If the Pennsylvania primary to select a Democratic nominee for president were held Tuesday, a week before the actual primary, Hillary Rodham Clinton would defeat Barack Obama by double-digit figures, a new SurveyUSA poll found.

The fourth SurveyUSA tracking poll, released exclusively for NBC 10 and three other television stations throughout the state, concluded that the contest is "not necessarily tightening, nor is it considered a "tight race."

It concluded that 54 percent would vote for Clinton and 40 percent would vote for Obama. Three percent chose the "other" category.

The Quinnipiac poll shows similar results.

Hillary’s down two, eh? Someone didn’t get the memo…

More at The New Republic, which is hardly a hotbed of right-wing thought:

Some liberal commentators have downplayed the effect of Barack Obama's fundraising speech at a San Francisco fundraiser last week. But that's wishful thinking. Along with the revelations about Obama's pastor Jeremiah Wright, his remarks in San Francisco will haunt him not only in the upcoming primaries in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia, but also in the general election against John McCain, assuming he gets the Democratic nomination.

While Obama may not be toast at this point, he’s definitely toasty.

Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

―:☺:―

Well, I can’t leave the Obamanon alone, it seems. But you should be aware of this, Gentle Reader:

The co-founder of the radical anti-war group Code Pink has “bundled” more than $50,000 for Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, and pro-troops groups are demanding that he return the money.

Jodie Evans, a Code Pink leader, gathered at least $50,000 from friends and associates and donated it to Obama’s presidential campaign, according to information compiled by the nonpartisan watchdog group, Public Citizen.

Evans and her son, a student who lives at her Southern California address, each also gave the maximum individual allowable donation of $2,300 to Obama’s campaign.

The donations have raised questions about Obama’s association with the more radical elements of his base. Code Pink has harassed, vandalized and impeded military recruiters across the United States in a campaign it calls “counter-recruitment.” The group also gave $600,000 to the families of Iraqi terrorists in Fallujah, whom it called “insurgents” fighting for their homes.

Mom always told me “you’re known by the company you keep.” Code Pink’s “support” just might be enough to finish Senator Obama off. In a just world, that is. But: politics, strange bedfellows (I’ll leave that alone!), and all that. (Aside: I’m all about free speech, but it would do my heart good to watch either Jodie Evans or Medea Benjamin get bitch-slapped by an angry military Mom. I don’t want to see real damage, mind you… just a well-placed smack on the cheek. Hard. Leave a mark, ya know?)

But, to get back on point: there’s always the chance Barack might come to his senses (such as they are) and give that dirty money back. But I kinda doubt it.

―:☺:―

Your hockey Wings update:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -The Nashville Predators are back in the series. The Detroit Red Wings are searching for their lost momentum.

Jason Arnott scored with 3:58 left in the final period, the second Nashville goal in 9 seconds, and the Predators rallied to beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-3 Monday night and cut the first-round series deficit to 2-1.

"There's moments that are going to happen in a series that can change the whole series," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. "I don't know, we might have just had ours."

So it would seem.

I dunno about the series, but the Preds sure had their game-changing moment last evening. Nashville avoided falling into the black hole that is an 0-3 series deficit by winning one at home. Still and even, there’s a lot of hockey left to be played. Nashville has to win three more to take the series, Detroit only two. And as for last night’s loss: “you can’t win ‘em all,” as Mom (and every sentient being in America, at one time or another) said.

Speaking of that 0-3 black hole… that’s exactly where Dallas wants to put Anaheim tonight. I think the Stars have a very good chance of doing just that, too. The Stars are fresh off of taking two games from the Ducks… at The Pond, no less… and are looking pretty danged good at this point. Blog-Buddy Phlegmmy will be at tonight’s game in Dallas, and I’m GREEN with envy. Simply Green! Given: I’m not a Stars fan, far from it. But I’d be happier than the proverbial pig-in-you-know-what to be at the Stars’ game tonight. There’s nothing in all the world like play-off hockey!

One more thing… Last night was a late night at the Pepsi Center in Denver:

DENVER (AP) -The Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche are so evenly matched that neither team can win in regulation and what keeps separating them in overtime is a funny bounce.

Pierre-Marc Bouchard took the pass from Brian Rolston from behind the net and sent it past Jose Theodore 11:58 into overtime to give the Wild a 3-2 win over the Avalanche on Monday night.

It was the third straight overtime game in this first-round series, with the Wild winning two of them.

Going back to 2003, the teams have played five straight overtime games in the playoffs, all of which ended in 3-2 scores.

Weird, that. It must suck to be an Avs fan right about now. OTOH, it sucks worse if you’re a Sens fan… coz Ottawa will probably be swept tonight. What an ignominious end for last season’s Eastern Conference champions.

―:☺:―

So…yesterday’s 50,000^th visitor was yet another googler. I have no quibble with this person coz he was looking for plane pr0n. That’s cool. As most all y’all know: it could have been worse. We haven’t done a “Fun With Site Meter” post in quite a while now. But we’re saving that meme for when the well goes truly dry. Coz there’s always weirdness in Site Meter. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel.

Aside: Blog-Bud Morgan was visit # 49,999 yesterday, he missed being 50,000 by six minutes. I thought about disqualifying the real 50,000^th visitor and giving the prize (?) to Morgan, but didn’t.

It is what it is.

―:☺:―

Today’s Pic: …is a sorta re-run from last year. Or, to put it another way… this is what I didn’t see this year, as the cherry tree failed to bloom… more’s the pity. The failure to bloom must have something to do with climate change. Or Cheney. Or maybe Halliburton.

Whatev. As always... click-for-larger, if you're so inclined.

March, 2007.

Not Your Usual Mid-April Post

So. Did Obama’s campaign effectively end out in San Francisco last week? Were his condescending remarks about small-town folks in Pennsylvania enough to sink his ship? One can only hope, Gentle Reader. In the meantime, the political blogosphere, not to mention the paid pundits, are all a-twitter over this latest tempest-in-the-political-teapot. Personally, I like what Jules Crittenden had to say:

Surveying the bloody Dem contest, I just keep thinking of the old Clinton campaign theme, “Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow.” This will go on at least until April 22 and more likely June 3, maybe into the convention in August. So many tomorrows to not stop thinking about!

Mickey Kaus has some very astute observations on Obama, as well. Among which, this (emphasis in the original article):

Yes, he's condescending. It's not just that in explaining everyone to everyone Obama winds up patronizing everyone. He doesn't patronize everyone equally. Specifically, he regards the views of these Pennsylvanians as epiphenomena--byproducts of economic stagnation--in a way he doesn't regard, say, his own views as epiphenomena.** Once the Pennsylvanians get some jobs back, they'll change and become as enlightened as Obama the San Franciscans to whom he was talking. That's the clear logic of his argument. Superiority of this sort--not crediting the authenticity and standing of your subject's views--is a violation of social equality, which is a more important value for Americans than money equality. Liberals tend to lose elections when they forget that.

Yet the usual suspects aren’t fazed in the least. If anything, they’re more fired up about the Obamanon than ever. But not everyone is enamored with Barack. (Liberal use [heh] of f-bombs at that last link. You are warned.)

―:☺:―

This is interesting: “Russia’s New Leader: Fan of the Internet.” I’m not being facetious, either. Excerpt:

The incoming Russian president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, has repeatedly promised to follow the course of his patron and predecessor, Vladimir V. Putin. But in one area, Mr. Medvedev is clearly blazing his own trail.

…

The Russian Internet, often called Runet, has 40 million users, or 28 percent of the population. Russian sites do $3 billion in annual transactions and have $370 million in advertising revenue, Mr. Medvedev said. There are over one million Russian language sites on the net, and the average Russian Internet user spends an hour a day online.

Unlike in China, the Internet in Russia is not censored and is full of online newspapers, magazines and videos that criticize the government. By contrast, the Kremlin controls television, and although independent newspapers and radio stations exist, they have relatively small audiences.

Under President Vladimir V. Putin, the Kremlin has considered measures that would tighten control over the Internet. It is currently drafting a law that would force websites to register with the government.

Well, there’s both good and bad news, eh? But a Russian president that’s tech-savvy can’t be ALL bad.

Wait. Lemmee think on that for a minute, or six.

―:☺:―

And then there’s this: “An Engineer’s Guide to Cats.”

You must be asking “Why in God’s Name would you post a seven minute video about cats, when you’re a dog person?” Good question, Gentle Reader. And thanks for not bringing up the “it’s Teh Gay!” point about this vid… I so appreciate your consideration, civility, and deference in this matter. Still, the point remains: Why? Equal time, I guess. And I suppose cats do have a certain place in life… it’s just not here.

You can’t play Frisbee with a cat.

―:☺:―

A pending milestone… sometime this afternoon or early this evening I’ll get my 50,000^th visitor, assuming traffic is at normal levels (we’re at 49,965 as I post). Interestingly, it took 20 months for me to get to 25,000 visits, and only seven months to get to the next 25,000. Still very small potatoes, though.

―:☺:―

Ha! A post without a single mention of athletic activity on ice. And you thought I was obsessed, dint ya? C’mon, you can tell me the truth, even if it hurts…

D-Mac

Some of you Gentle Readers might be familiar with Mitch Albom, and most may know him only for his best-selling books. But Albom began his writing career as a sports columnist for the Deetroit Free Press, otherwise known in these parts (and all of Deetroit) as “The Freep.” He continues on in that capacity at The Freep, and is still (arguably) one of the best sports writers in the biz. One of the things that separates Albom from run-of-the-mill sports writers is his occasional human interest story, sometimes sports related, and sometimes not. Albom’s column in today’s Freep focuses on one of my all-time favorite Red Wings… Darren McCarty. Excerpt:

But the highlight was McCarty, who scored the first -- and in so doing, choked up half of Joe Louis Arena in Saturday's 4-2 victory over the Nashville Predators. At 36, McCarty may be the youngest of that group, but he has lived the hardest. He has put on the most miles. Many of us never expected to see him back on the ice again -- let alone in his old Detroit uniform. The script on McCarty was to be a sad but familiar one: good guy, bruising hockey player, falls in with the party life, blows his money, loses his family, gets lost in alcohol, dope and gambling debts, disappears off the face of the earth.

McCarty did all except the last part. And he escaped that only because he was thrown a rope by some special people. But there he was in Game 2, on the scoreboard, and the fans thundered the rafters as his goal was announced: "First of the playoffs, No. 25, Darren McCarty ..."

It’s a short column, and it’s one of those “feel good” pieces. But Hey! It’s OK to feel good about D-Mac, and I certainly do. SN1 and I were on the phone together yesterday about ten seconds after D-Mac’s goal and we were ecstatic, both of us. First and foremost, McCarty’s goal drew first-blood and put the Wings in the lead early in the game. Following close on the heels of our celebration of that goal was an extended discussion about how good it was to see McCarty back… in every sense of the word. And yeah, that goal from the ‘97 play-offs came up (see yesterday’s post), and that particular goal will probably remain the highlight of D-Mac’s career…forever. But maybe not. There’s a lot of hockey left this year.

Here’s McCarty scoring yesterday’s goal, and a good one it was, too. Be warned: Ya gotta look close; things happen VERY quickly in hockey.

Dang. I love the way NHL.com has ALL the goals from every play-off game on their web site this year. It’s a blessing of magnificent proportions for us fans, and the videos just might help create a few new fans, as well.

One can only hope.