Thoughts On A Sunday

It was a busy day yesterday, leaving no time for blogging. It happens now and then, even to someone like me. Deal with it.

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When I woke this morning it was 16°F outside The Manse. That's as warm as it was going to be today. The temps have been dropping since then and the winds has been picking up, giving wind chill factors of as low as -20°F. It will make for excellent playing conditions for today's Patriots/Chargers game down in Foxborough.

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I'll admit that I was a little disappointed in the results from the South Caroline Republican primary, Frankly, I expected Fred Thompson to do a bit better than he did. On the other hand Mike Huckabee didn't beat John McCain, which pleased the South Carolina Fredheads to no end. To say that there's no love lost between Fredheads and Mike Huckabee, keeping in mind the alleged push-polling done by Huckabee or those supporting him.

One Fred supporter went so far as to write a letter to the Senator.

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One thing I forgot to mention earlier – the New England Patriots were 14-point favorites over San Diego for today's playoff game.

I just hope they can pull it off. Oh, and one other thing: we'll be watching over at the WP Parents on their new HDTV! So cool.....

UPDATE: The Pats beat the Chargers, 21-12.

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I watched Dirty Harry on the History Channel and flashed back to all of the signature cliché phrases from that movie. Surprisingly, my favorite one is not “You've to ask yourself one question: do I feel lucky? Well, do you, punk?”

Instead it's “When I see a naked man running down an alley with a butcher knife chasing a woman, I figure he's not collecting for the Red Cross.”

There's something to be said for some of the old movies.

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George Santayana told us some time ago that those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. Philo of Alexandria reminds us of that by way of Arthur Schlesinger, Jr's 30-year cycle theory, which states that every generation has to relearn the lessons of the previous generations the hard way. When it comes to politics, and particularly political ideologies, that 30-year cycle comes at a cost of the reduced civil liberties, increased social spending to no good effect, and the crippling of our military might. As Philo noted:

I see echoes of the 1970s all around me, and so far it looks as if those who are succeeding in this campaign are those most likely to repeat its mistakes.

Unfortunately, I see the same thing.

(H/T Instapundit)

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Could it be the war against boys has succeeded all too well?

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One thing my dentist suggested I buy to help maintain my dental health was a Waterpik. If you've never heard of or seen a Waterpik, it's a device that uses a pressurized water jet to clean between the teeth and below the gum line. It's supposed to work better than flossing, being able to reach places that flossing can't.

After three days using it I have to say it does indeed work better than flossing. It takes some practice to get it right (I got wet more than once while I was figuring it all out), but it's worth it.

My only complaint? It makes a lot of noise.

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And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the weather has returned to its winter norm, the ice has completely covered the lake, and where we know the New England Patriots are going to the Super Bowl.