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Now that we've managed to make it past the rain, it's the temperatures driving the melting of the snow and ice here in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Not that I'm complaining by any means. At least with the warmer temps we can dial back the Official Weekend Pundit Woodstove and still keep The Manse warm. It also means that three small armloads of fire wood is enough to keep the stove running throughout the day.One sign spring is approaching: bob-houses are being removed from the ice on the local lakes and ponds. Though there is a statewide April 1st deadline for removing bob-houses from the ice, I have a feeling they'll all be gone (for the most part) well before then. There will be one or two die-hards (read procrastinators) who will wait until the last minute only to find they can't reach their bob-houses except by boat...maybe.
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Speaking of boats, plans for prepping the Official Weekend Pundit Lake Winnipesaukee Runabout, aka The Boat, are already under way. There are some maintenance issues to take care of, specifically getting a new canvas snap cover made for the cockpit and replacing an old rubber fuel line that has suffered the ravages of alcohol-laden marine gas one year too many.Hopefully we can get The Boat launched and to its summer berth before Memorial Day, just as we did last year.
A note: I looked at posts from this time last year and found I wrote almost the same thing in one TOAS post. Am I getting repetitive, or what?
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Does Apple's iPad2 fit Arthur C. Clarke's definition of magic?Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
According to Virginia Postrel, it does. As she writes:
Hence Mr. Ive's second boast about the iPad's magic: "I don't have to change myself to fit the product. It fits me." A capable machine makes you feel powerful even if you don't understand it and can't fix it. The perfect tool is invisible, an extension of the user's own will.And isn't that the definition of ubiquitous computing? The average person doesn't have to spend a lot of time learning all kinds of arcane knowledge in order to use the computer technology at hand. They can just pick it up and use it. No degrees in electrical engineering or computer science required.
I am fascinated by the technology inside the iPad2, but that's me being one of the techno-geeks Postrel mentions in her piece. I always want to know how something does what it does, what all the bits and pieces are inside it and how they work together. Not that any of that knowledge will make it any easier for me to use one, but I'll have a better appreciation for what it does.
(H/T Instapundit)
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Jay Solo is back!***********
Ken Sweeney thinks President Obama's “show and tell at the White House on bullying was sad and pathetic.” I have to agree.As he tells us, “Liberals want to eradicate bullying. Conservatives want to raise kids strong enough to deal with it.”
As commenter Bryan G. Stevens adds:
Indeed.
It is funny the Left claims to no (sic) like bullies, when as adults, that is all they seem to do.
(H/T Maggie's Farm)
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David Starr really doesn't like the way Windows handles multitasking. Even after all these iterations of Windows it still doesn't do it very well.There have been plenty of other operating systems that multitasked well, including VMS (used on Digital Corp. minicomputers) and OS/2 Warp, IBM's Windows-killer, which ran Windows programs better than Windows did.
And it's too late to change it now. Doing so would undoubtedly break a bunch of programs and nobody wants to do that. This poor design decision was set in concrete and the concrete has hardened.
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As time moves on, it is becoming quite apparent that the GOP leadership in Congress isn't listening to the people who put them into office and have failed to carry through on the promises made when they were running for office.
Maybe it's time to send them a message, reminding them of their promises.
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If we need yet another example of why we should do everything we can to stymie the Obama-Pelosi-Reid triumvirate's efforts to turn America into yet another failing socialist utopia, all we have to do is look at Denmark.At the moment public social spending equates to 32 percent of Denmark's GDP, something unsustainable. Total government spending in the US is somewhere around 25% of GDP at the moment (historically it runs around 18%), of which public social spending is only a part, and we already know it isn't sustainable. But that hasn't stopped the We-Know-Better-Than-You progressives in the US from trying to take us down that same dead end road.
According to a slew of economic experts, the Danish economy is in a mess and time is running out for the welfare model in its present form. Originally meant to serve the weakest members of society, the welfare state widely expanded in the 1970s, resulting in an explosion in public expenses in what is perhaps the world’s most comprehensive and generous welfare system.
(H/T Vermont Tiger)
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Also by way of Vermont Tiger comes this interesting take on the economics of urinal cakes.(I have to admit to being reminded of one of my favorite lines from a movie dealing with urinal cakes. From Roadhouse: “Don't eat the big white mint.”)
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Here's another example of the “new civility” being practiced by the Left:Wisconsin Republicans Forced To Skip St. Patrick's Day Parade Over Lefty Death Threats.
Of course the folks making the threats are the same folks seen in this video claiming they are the face of democracy while at the same time harassing state officials sitting in their offices. That's not democracy. That's getting your way through intimidation, by union mob rule. That is the face of fascism.