Palo Verde pipe bomb

Yes sir Mr. Drudge, the security systems at U.S. nuclear plants work.

A nuclear power plant in Arizona was locked down Friday morning after security guards discovered a pipe bomb in a contract worker's truck, authorities said.

Plant operator Arizona Public Service called the discovery an "unusual event" and sealed off the site, with no traffic entering or leaving the grounds.

A bomb squad from the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department declared the pipe bomb a "credible explosive device."

The contract worker was entering Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station at a checkpoint for a standard security inspection at the beginning of the day shift. Guards armed with automatic rifles check identification and search under the hoods of all vehicles entering the plant.

APS security discovered this bomb at the very first checkpoint for entering the Owner Controlled Area. Think of this as a checkpoint at the airport before you even can get to the parking, departures and arrivals areas. I won't give away any secrets, but a lady I worked with was detained by security at this checkpoint after firecracker residue was found on her car. These are not your typical barely conscious TSA workers that are providing security. These are heavily armed nuclear professionals and they are serious.

This bomb was detected before the metal detectors, bomb sniffers and x-ray units were even encountered and was outside of the security fence and razor wire that define the Protected Area, the lowest level security area at the plant.

This is a non-event from a security standpoint, but could be possible evidence of probing of the plant's defenses by terrorists. A good catch by Arizona Public Service.

Zeke would be proud.

Halloween 2007 - The Costume

Stuck for an idea for Freak Fest?

This year's top choice will be a no-brainer in retrospect. Head to Menards and fabricate a light-weight portable bathroom stall. The Senator Craig nameplate is optional.

UPDATE:

Hey Dad!

I told ya so. Twice.



Rep. Huebsch, now that Jim failed to keep his "important" promise, do you swallow or spit?

Center of the storm

For over one year, my life has revolved around some of the issues addressed in this NRC letter. A PDF of the letter is available at the NRC's ADAMS document management system. Perform an Advanced Search and enter "Babcock Wilcox" in the Search: box and "10/09/2007" in the Document Date box to view the document (I have not been able to create a direct link).

To stay on the safe side of a confidentiality agreement I will not be commenting on this matter. Below is a relevant excerpt, you may draw your own conclusions.

Note to John Sullivan, I think this is the information you were fishing for this past March.

b.2 Implementation of the Welding Procedures

The inspectors interviewed a BWC Weld Operator who worked on the Palisades RRVCH. The weld operator described that the Section 6.2.6 visual inspection was to be performed after all grinding was complete on a weld layer. The weld operator noted surface defects were visually identifiable on many welds before grinding. The weld operator would then grind the surface of the weld layer to remove all visual indications. On average, the weld operator stated that he is required to remove approximately 30 percent of the weld layer. The weld operator stated that he would go beyond the estimated 30 percent material removal if a flaw was still visible. Once he had completed all grinding, he would do a visual inspection with a magnifying glass to look for any cracks in accordance with Section 6.2.6 of SIS 259695. The weld operator noted when he performed this visual inspection that no cracks were identified on any weld layer he inspected.

The inspectors identified a failure of BWC weld operators to follow the requirements of Section 6.2.6 of SIS 295695. If, as performed by weld operators working on the Palisades head, grinding was performed until all visual evidence of cracking was removed from the weld layer surface to any depth, then the visual examination for cracking after the grinding operation was complete would find no flaws. Section 6.2.6 stated the layer was to be ground and visually examined by the operator for any cracking. This issue is identified as one example of Nonconformance 99900067/2007-201-02.

The inspectors found that the grinding step described in Section 6.2.6 would be reasonably interpreted to be grinding to a sufficient depth to remove the oxide layer and prep for welding. Removal of 30 percent or more of the weld layer necessary for the removal of all visible flaws goes beyond a general grinding procedure to prep a weld surface for the next layer to be applied. Further, the statement in Section 6.2.6 to "ground remove” flaws, if identified, implied a difference in intended grinding operations. The inspectors found the weld operator’s definition of grinding to go beyond oxide layer removal, to a point of flaw removal was incorrect given the wording of Section 6.2.6. Grinding to remove a flaw should reasonably imply, as stated in Section 6.2.6, a step to perform a PT inspection to verify flaw removal.

c. Conclusions
The inspectors determined through a review of welding and inspection activities associated with the production of the butter weld layers for the Calvert Cliffs and Palisades RRVCHs that BWC is in accordance with the requirements of ASME Code.

Is this good news? - Updated

Assets in college savings plans grow 2.1%

Assets in Wisconsin's state-sponsored college saving programs grew 2.1% in the third quarter to stand at $2.195 billion, according to data from the State Treasurer's office. Of that total, $1.229 billion was in 138,790 EdVest accounts with the rest in 90,583 Tomorrow's Scholar accounts. (By Avrum D. Lank)

First, I do hope that our Treasurer is as good with the balance sheets of billion dollar education investments as she was with balancing her Boston Store cash drawer each night.

Now just for fun, let me do some cyphering. 2.1% in the 3rd quarter is around 8-1/2% growth in a year. Not a bad return for these conservative investments. That may just keep enough ahead of inflation for these families to have substantial nest eggs when junior heads off to college ...........

Er, sratch that.

Data point #1: UW-Madison 2006-2007 Tuition $6,730.24

Data point #2: UW-Madison 2007-2008 Tuition $7,188.40

A tuition increase of 6.8%, yields a net educational investment gain of about 1.7%. It also seems that 2007 has been a very good year for investments (my 401(k) sure thinks so!). So when I throw in some average years and some bad years with this good year, these educational investment programs may barely keep up with the exponential cost of a college education in Wisconsin.

My advise to these families: Potawotami Bingo Casino. Your chances of successfully funding that education are about the same, but you can have a lot of fun with the Potowatomi's.

Can someone tell me again why UW costs went up 7% since last year?

Disclaimer: I'm just an engineer with a MBA, so take these results with a grain of salt.

Update: Dang, I am good. Those tuition numbers are for my daughter. I didn't realize that JSOnline had an article on rising in-state tuition running on the same webpage as Mr. Lank's piece on the savings programs.

Over the past decade, however, Wisconsin's public-school tuition - not including fees - has more than doubled for in-state undergraduates, including those attending the state's two-year colleges.

Between 1997-'98 and this year, annual tuition rose from $2,860 to $6,330 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and from $2,847 to $6,191 at UW-Milwaukee.

Tuition at the state's four-year universities not including Madison and Milwaukee rose on average from $2,312 to $4,819.

VCast Music

I've been beating my brain out for months trying to get any of three separate Verizon phones (2 different LG models and a Motorola) to be recognized by any of my PC's.

I purchased the correct software at the Verizon Wireless store, installed it as directed, but the driver for the phone was never there. I even spent over 2 hours on the phone with Verizon Tech Support one weekend, doing the same things over & over, and reaching ever higher levels of support with never a successful solution.

Today success. I was able to find a driver that works with my phone. It was available for free download at the I Gone Mobile website. No need for the VCast interface, I was able to rip my CD's with Windows Media Player and upload them to the phone using the cable I purchased from Verizon and Windows Explorer.

Everything I want (music) and need (a fine telecommunications device) in a free mobile phone that feels like a phone (not a PDA).

Something about that picture of Mitt

That same glove.

That same look.

He may have a future in music videos.



Do not click the pictures. Don't do it.

My problem with XM

Now when I hear some obscure song, the name and artist appear on the screen of my XM receiver. I can also set the receiver to alert me when ever the song plays.

Lately I've been stuck on the guitar lick from My Own Worst Enemy by Lit. This appears to be the original music video.



Don't tell me to act my age.

I-43 Revenue Enhancement

This past weekend I made a roundtrip to Manitowoc from Milwaukee County on I-43. On the return trip, Mr. Headless mentioned that she saw more police in Sheboygan and Ozaukee Counties in that one day than she has seen in all the trips through Chicago in her life.

After thinking about it, I must agree. I too saw more more traffic enforcement in that one day than I have seen in all my twice weekly trips on the Tri-State or through Chicago over the last 15 months. Probably more than I saw in Wisconsin from the border to Pewaukee in all those trips, too. And probably more than in all my weekly Pewaukee to Hudson round-trips over the year prior to that.

Don't they have any higher priorities up there? Like putting sex offenders away or incarcerating stalkers.

I also note that the latest trials of my cloaking device continue with success. At 70 mph, my vehicle is invisible to police radar.

SCHIP - blah blah blah

I'm tired of the issue, but not of Mark Steyn's writing. Some highlight's from his column at NRO, never mind the context, these are simply fun to read.

Etc. So what is the best thing America could do “for the children”? Well, it could try not to make the same mistake as most of the rest of the western world and avoid bequeathing the next generation a system of unsustainable entitlements that turns the entire nation into a giant Ponzi scheme.

So what? shrug the voters. Not my problem. I paid my taxes, I want my benefits. In France, President Sarkozy is proposing a very modest step — that those who retire before the age of 65 should not receive free health care — and the French are up in arms about it. He’s being angrily denounced by 53-year old retirees, a demographic hitherto unknown to functioning societies. You spend your first 25 years being educated, you work for two or three decades, and then you spend a third of a century living off a lavish pension with the state picking up every healthcare expense. No society can make that math add up. And so in a democratic system today’s electors vote to keep the government gravy coming and leave it to tomorrow for “the children” to worry about. That’s the real “war on children” — and every time you add a new entitlement to the budget you make it less and less likely they’ll win it.

The Frosts are not emblematic of the health care needs of America so much as they are of the delusion of the broader western world. They expect to be able to work “part-time” and “intermittently” but own two properties and three premium vehicles and have the state pick up health-care costs. Who do you stick the bill to? Four-car owners?

As Gerald Ford likes to say when trying to ingratiate himself with conservative audiences, “A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have.” But there’s an intermediate stage: A government big enough to give you everything you want isn’t big enough to get you to give any of it back. As I point out in my book, nothing makes a citizen more selfish than socially equitable communitarianism: once a fellow’s enjoying the fruits of Euro-style entitlements, he couldn’t give a hoot about the general societal interest; he’s got his, and who cares if it’s going to bankrupt the state a generation hence?

"(O)nce a fellow’s enjoying the fruits of Euro-style entitlements, he couldn’t give a hoot about the general societal interest." Where have I seen that latetly?

Was Socks Vince Foster'ed?

Via Drudge comes this report on Hillary's dumping of her beloved cat upon leaving the White House. Peter Black comments:

They tell us that as 'the “first pet” of the Clinton era, Socks, the White House cat, allowed “chilly” Hillary Clinton to show a caring, maternal side as well as bringing joy to her daughter Chelsea. So where is Socks today?

Once the presidency was over, there was no room for Socks any more. After years of loyal service at the White House, the black and white cat was dumped on Betty Currie, Bill Clinton’s personal secretary, who also had an embarrassing clean-up role in the saga of his relationship with the intern Monica Lewinsky.'

Obviously, anybody who had to 'clean-up' after Monica deserves the comfort and company of such a gorgeous looking feline but according to the paper, it would have been better for Hillary if she had held onto Socks:

Clinton’s treatment of Socks cuts to the heart of the questions about her candidacy. Is she too cold and calculating to win the presidency? Or does it signify political invincibility by showing she is willing to deploy every weapon to get what she wants?

“In the annals of human evil, off-loading a pet is nowhere near the top of the list,” writes Caitlin Flanagan in the current issue of The Atlantic magazine. “But neither is it dead last, and it is especially galling when said pet has been deployed for years as an all-purpose character reference.”

Socks has been harder to find than Osama bin Laden since Hillary vacated 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I can only speculate, but it would be no surprise to learn that Socks was "humanely euthanized" or even to learn Socks was stuck in a garbage bag and tossed on a busy freeway. I wouldn't want to wear out my usefulness to Mrs. Clinton.

Has anyone seen Socks in the last seven years? We need answers from Hillary.

War declared on taxpayers

Varifrank's Law No. 1.

You don't get paid by how hard you work, but by how hard you are to replace.

I heard some of Vicki McKenna's discussion of the intimidation of taxpayers by employees of the State of Wisconsin at the rally at the State Capitol on Wednesday. I consider these actions to be a declaration of war on taxpayers by our employees. Too much will never be enough for these lazy ungrateful employees.

Because the majority of these tax-paid positions require non-skilled labor, these employees will be easy to replace. The obvious solution is to begin outsourcing these jobs to the private sector in order to reduce the out-of-touch pay, benefits and workload of the current lazy, over-paid, under-worked employees.

It is simply time to fight back against the current out of control system. If the electric company can do it (several times since the early 1990's), there is no reason the State of Wisconsin cannot. This is also one area where I would embrace the employment of undocumented workers to reduce costs.

As an added benefit to the party of taxation, by outsourcing this work to private industry, additional corporate profits will be available for taxation and additional donors created to shakedown.

Mssrs. Zipperer and Kanavas, you must now earn my vote. Vote against this budget. It is time to start over and stand-up against these employees who are at war with us, their employers.

Fill-up at Bubba's

If you need gas while near Manitowoc, please consider getting off I-43 at Exit 149 and stopping at the Bubba's Place Exxon station to fill up. It may be slightly further from the freeway than some other stations, but Bubba deserves your business for his strong stance for the environment and for his customers.

To reach Bubba's, take Calumet Avenue east from I-43, turn left onto S. Rapids Road, then right at Dewey Street.

Bubba's Place
4611 Dewey Street
Manitowoc, WI 54220
Bus: (920) 682-9960

Happy Days

Six months ago today, in my State of my Cancer Post, I made this statement.

I have also developed a selfish need to see other people be happy. I find ways to do this without even thinking.

Today I report on three more examples of this which occurred during those six months. It is unusual for me see such emotional happiness.

Happy Person #1. Last night, the people I work with had a going away party for me and another individual. The party was hosted by a colleague who had just finished working five weeks of a refueling outage. During the outage he worked at least 6 days each week and more than 12 hours each work day. He was also assigned 8 projects to manage, more than half of those being thrown on him when two other PM's decided to retire within one week of the outage's start. The few times I saw my friend during the outage he looked emotionally and physically spent. I worried about his health, especially knowing some of his medical past.

The party was a pot-luck affair, with the highlights being a dozen lobster tails (purchased by the other departing worker) that we marinated and grilled, and my grilled beef tenderloin. As dinner was served, our host stayed back and I served him last. As I gave him his plate he very emotionally thanked me and man-hugged me for cooking the meal and organizing the party. Having his friends in his home meant an enormous amount to him, but as he was still recovering from those five grueling weeks, he would not have been able to do it himself. I was overwhelmed by my friends gratitude.

Happy Person # 2. My teammate for The Big Pig Gig Barbecue Contest had requested and expected to tag along with me and watch me prepare the barbecue entries. But about two months before the contest I told him that if he was on the team, he was going to cook. I assigned him to barbecue the ribs using his own techniques and recipes. I was completely hands off.

On the day of the contest, my teammate arrived at my home earlier than I expected. He said he was so excited that he couldn't wait and he had been looking forward to the contest for weeks. We had a great time working as a team that weekend, and I really appreciated having him there to help and carry his share of the load. Following the contest he told me again how much he appreciated being on my team and also said how much it meant to him that I insisted he do it all himself even though he only has a left arm. I had never thought otherwise. My teammate's ribs also scored far higher than my ribs did in my previous contest.

Happy Persons #3 & #4: My wife's friend (a youngish widow) and my co-worker (a youngish widower - he used to be a miserable little SOB) met at my first ever Smoke Day party. There is very little chance these two would have met otherwise; considering their homes are 50 miles apart and he works 200+ miles from her home. This was not a set-up, I thought my co-worker was in a relationship when I invited him to attend the party.

Following the party, I learned of a mutual attraction between these two and provided enough help (the correct phone number was provided and I insisted that he call her - completely out of character for me) that they started dating shortly thereafter. True love was not far behind. This Wednesday they were engaged to marry. She has nicknamed me Fate.

Fate, divine intervention, serendipity or the hand of Buddha (as my Indian friend genuinely believes); it was some force other than me that made these people happy. My cooking is not that good and I tirelessly protect my reputation as a curmudgeon. But I am thrilled to have witnessed the emotions of my friends.

Oh yeah, 3-1/2 years and still cancer free.

Tom McMahon is brilliant

Another consequence of raising taxes ...

... is that you and I will pay for more of these.

As I walked up the sidewalk I was yelled and cursed at by hundreds of state employees whose salary I pay as a taxpayer.

Public employee unions turned out a massive array of counter protesters. These people were some of the rudest individuals it has ever been my displeasure to encounter. Throughout the entire event the assembled union masses blew horns, chanted and yelled obscenities trying their very best to disrupt the event.

That is from Fred Dooley's post regarding Wednesday's Madison tax rally. I wasn't there, but I have read many of the fine blogposts linked from Charlie's post.

Two points.

1. By their very presence at the rally, these protesters for raising taxes demonstrated that there are too many tax-paid employees in Wisconsin, with too little to do in their tax-paid jobs and too much tax-paid time off. Did anyone miss the "essential" services these protesters normally provide during their absense on Wednesday? Nope.
2. New taxes will increase pay and benefits for these tax-paid employees and will also lead to the hiring of more tax-paid employees. This positive feedback loop results in more committed tax-raisers like these protesters, then higher taxes, then more tax-raisers, and so on. With Wisconsin's stagnant population, eventually these vested interests will control the majority of any tax vote and the budget will go super-critical (a nuclear term!).

What to do.

1. Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch must ram in the control rods on the State budget and take all tax increases off the table. Huebsch must start from the position that the hundreds of tax-paid employees that attended the rally are not needed, and reduce the budget in proportion to their tax-paid salaries and benefits. Further cuts can be made from their.
2. The Assembly budget should impose a moratorium on the hiring of new tax-paid employees. No sane Republican should support the hiring of additional vested interest tax-raisers. Each additional tax-paid employee puts us that much closer to taxation super-critical mass.

Nip it! Nip it! Nip it!

Before it is too late.

Minimum mark-up

I like the reasoning of Judge William E. Callahan, Jr. in his ruling against the Wisconsin motor fuel minimum mark-up law.

The percentage was last adjusted in 1998 when it moved from 6% to 9.18%, the judge noted. In the past nine years, inflation has gone up 27% but gas prices have gone up 200%, he wrote.

"Given that a markup of 9 cents per gallon was deemed an accurate estimate of the 'costs of doing business' in 1998, it seems curious that a markup or 25 to 30 cents per gallon, which is approximately 200% greater than the markup in 1998, is an accurate estimate of the 'costs of doing business' in 2007," Callahan wrote in an opinion issued Friday.

This wasn't ruled on legal intricacies, but on common sense. The minimum mark-up is not meant to cover the cost of the fuel, it is to cover the cost of selling this fuel. Despite the huge increase of petroleum commodity and refining costs in the last decade, the cost of the retail transaction may have gone up only slightly.

Those kids behind the counter are not making much more than in 1997 and pay-at-the-pump technology has reduced the number of in-store transactions. Frankly, the cost of selling gas has probably dropped substantially in the last decade.

H/T - Dad Two-Nine

Wisconsin State Journal Twofer

Texas Hold 'Em features another story from Madison.

As if brawling teens weren't enough, staff at La Follette High School this week also had to deal with two adults — including the mother of one of the boys — egging on a fight and even taking part in it, police said Friday.

Seven Madison police officers and some 30 staff members were needed Thursday to break up the disturbance at the school at 702 Pflaum Road, which involved three teenage boys and two women who police said Friday encouraged the boys to fight.

One of the women, Sophia Monique Barry, 31, of Madison, who is the mother of one of the boys involved, also "stomped on" a security guard trying to restrain one of the teens, police said.

The incident, which occurred at about 11:15 a.m. and disrupted classes for hundreds of students as staff members dealt with the scuffle, left school officials disgusted, police said.

"A school official told police he was very disturbed by having adults, who don't belong on school property, coming to school to confront kids," according to a police news release.

Hold 'Em makes this point.

This seems to be a problem unique to urban culture. You don’t see these type of brawls breaking out in suburban schools. You don’t see police called to a high school in Waukesha, for example, to break up a fight involving parents. You don’t see high school students in New Berlin calling their thug relatives — parents, brothers, cousins, etc. — to school to engage in an ongoing fight.

You see this in urban areas, which are dominated by the gangsta-thug culture, and overrun with the dysfunctional families of children having children. No values, no sense of right and wrong, just a culture driven by the message of gangsta rap and hip-hop, the primal urge to engage in physical violence whenever they feel wronged or, in the urban lingo, dissed.

Dang, when I attended La Follette in the 1970's it was every bit a suburban school. From what I've seen driving through the area, I don't think I'd label it as urban today. Where is the thug culture coming from?

More proof that Wisconsin needs a part-time legislature

ASSEMBLY BILL 265                                       
An Act relating to: requiring the Department of Administration to study
the feasibility of developing a Wisconsin brand. (FE)2007  04-13.

A. Introduced by Representatives Wieckert, Mursau, Berceau, Albers,
Vos, Owens, Petrowski, Gunderson and Bies; cosponsored by
Senators Roessler and A. Lasee.

No surprise, the Wisconsin State Journal is going along with this gag.

At least a lot of high-powered folks want Wisconsin to have an updated brand image. Their goal is to develop an image that can better sell Wisconsin as a great place to live, spend a vacation and locate a fast-growing business as well as a great place to buy high quality products.

Meetings have met, speakers have spoken and researchers have researched.

There is even a bill circulating in the Legislature that would require the state to study the feasibility of developing a Wisconsin brand image.

We recommend Wisconsin refrain from spending any more than a token amount of taxpayer money on brand imaging. But a feasibility study is a good idea. If the study shows an opportunity to spruce up Wisconsin 's image, let 's do it.

The exercise should prove valuable -- not to mention fun.

You just can't make this stuff up.

H/T - Althouse

Peameal Bacon - Don't leave Ontario without it

Revisiting my fetish with cured pork products, here is part of my haul from my latest trip to Canada. I brought back a pair of of these cornmeal coated cured pork loins, Peameal Bacon as they call it in Ontario. Despite my attempts at the homemade variety, I have not duplicated authentic Canadian cured back bacon.



So far I've had it in breakfast sandwiches and cooked as chops for lunch.

Not noble enough

Shame. Something sorely needed in Oslo.

The Wall Street Journal puts last week's Nobel Peace Prize travesty in even sharper perspective.

Not Nobel Winners

Some nominees for next year.

In Oslo Friday, the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize was not awarded to the Burmese monks whose defiance against, and brutalization at the hands of, the country's military junta in recent weeks captured the attention of the Free World.

The prize was also not awarded to ... read the rest.

HT - Michael Rubin at the Corner.

More Al Gore

Something for my numerous non-Cheddarsphere readers. Tom McMahon's 4-Block World is a regular stop of mine and is usually a hoot. This one is no exception, and has a profound truth to it, too.

Nobel Larureate Al Gore - Assorted Thoughts

Number 1 - GOP Vixen digs right to the point of Al Gore's Nobel prize that gets under my skin.

What's nauseating is not so much another honor for Gore, but those whose struggles have been ignored to throw wreaths at the ex-vice president (and Manbearpig hunter, hat tip to "South Park"). What about Father Nguyen Van Ly, the Vietnamese priest who's worked tirelessly for democracy and spent years in and out of dank prisons for rallying the people for freedom? What about Kareem Amer, the Egyptian blogger who advocated peace and justice, and now sits in prison? What about the monks of Burma, many of whom are now dead or missing because, as the world stood by and just watched, they took the lead to demand democracy in peaceful marches through Myanmar's streets?

Then again, none of those people really working for peace has ever walked a red carpet -- just seen the red of bloodshed and oppression in countries few seem to care about anymore, and did all in their power to make a difference.

The Nobel Peace Prize has become no different than any other Hollywood/elitist award. These awards and prizes are for politics and/or popularity, merit no longer is a factor.

Number 2 - Based on protecting the world from man made climate change, I deserve the award more than Gore.

I've put in over twenty-five years in the carbon friendly nuclear power business. I drive a crappy little gas-sipping automobile. I never fly on a private jet. I don't profit from fraudulent carbon-trading schemes. Residents in my 2,000-ish square foot home sweat in the summer and shiver in the winter (you can confirm this with Mrs. Headless). Most of my 8 acre property is a deeded natural conservancy (no mining is happening here).

I've done more to reduce worldwide carbon emissions than Gore. I also personally emit a butt-load less carbon on a daily basis than Al Gore.

Al - Send me the money. You can keep the medal and honors.

Number 3 - The one person most upset with this award has to be Bill Clinton. After all the whoring Clinton has done to position himself for a Nobel prize, both in office and now in private life, Vice-Dummy Gore wins it for his phony weather thing. Bill must be seething.

Pretty damn funny.

What I didn't drink tonight

Sharing a beer tent with 4,000 drunken hosers is a young man's pastime.

I decided to pass.

What I was drinking - The Vesper

Dinner tonight was at Martini's in Kitchener. I ordered Bond's favorite cocktail from Casino Royale, The Vesper. The recipe in the movie goes like this.

The Vesper Martini

3 oz Gordon's Gin
1 oz Vodka
0.5 oz Lillet Blanc

Shake with ice and strain into a wine glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Martini's served this.

Vesper

Smirnoff vodka
Tanqueray gin
Twist of lemon

A fine cocktail, but the lack of Lillet was noticible, I think they used Martini & Rossi.

My favorite martini related lines from Casino Royale.

James Bond: [after Bond has just lost his 10 million in the game, to the bartender] Vodka-martini.
Bartender: Shaken or stirred?
James Bond: Do I look like I give a damn?

Cheers.

What I am drinking - Hopalicious

It really is!



Eleven separate additions of cascade hops give this American pale ale its lush citrus aroma and bold hop flavor without crazy bitterness.

What I am drinking - Frontera Chardonnay

Yuck.

We opened the chardonnay to make the wild mushroom cream sauce to go over the polenta souffles (recipe available in the November 2007 Bon Appetit). The souffles were excellent, the wine sucked. Also on the menu --- grilled tri-tip roast, steamed haricots verts, and mashed Hubbard squash. Baked apple dumplings for dessert.

Damn fine dinner considering the only thing on the menu at noon today was the beef tri-tip.

Find a different wine.

What I am drinking - Rum Old Fashioned

Inspired by Robert Hess's brilliant tequila interpretation of the Old Fashioned, I decided to try an Old Fashioned with a rum base. Rum, being produced from sugar cane, should benefit from a cane sweetener base.

• 1-1/2 oz. good quality Rum - I used Plantation Grande Reserve Rum from Barbados ($14.99 at Discount Liquor)
  
• 1 teaspoon cane sugar syrup - a natural Southern American sweetener, I found mine at that market in Atlanta where Alton Brown shops
  
• 2 Cherries for garnish - I used Lazzaris Ciliegie in Sciroppo di Amarena, I bought these at Sendik's (these are really good)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon syrup from the cherries
• 3 dashes of Fee Brothers orange bitters
  

Add cane syrup, syrup from cherries and bitters to a small Old Fashioned glass. Add cracked ice, and stir briefly. Pour rum over the ice, and stir again. Spear two cherries and place in drink. Serve with straws.

Not exactly a Tequila Old Fashioned, but not bad. I think I will have another. I'll add an orange slice to the garnish next time, if I have an orange available.

What I am drinking

I spotted Robert Hess's recipe for a Tequila Old Fashioned earlier this week at the Spirit World website. Yesterday at Woodman's I scored some agave nectar and Fee Brother's Orange Bitters, which I've been searching for forever. Substituting cheap tequila and orange bitters, I proclaim Robert's recipe to be brilliant.

Mr. Hess just may be the best bartender (drink chef?) in the nation.

Inspired by this, a Rum Old Fashioned is next for me.

Something for my Cub fan friends

H/T - Wisconsin Sports Bar

Flip-flop this, Fred

Sorry Sean, but I won't be supporting Fred Thompson in the primary election.

Thompson Does About-Face on Ethanol Subsidies

He voted against them in the Senate. But after
touring an ethanol plant in Iowa today, he considers them "a matter now of national security."

I think the reason is self explanatory.

H/T - Stephen Spruiell at The Corner

High level meeting in Menomonee Falls

I had the good fortune of meeting Dad 29 at The Big Pig Gig barbecue competition in Menomonee Falls Saturday. Our meeting resembled the above photograph. My team and guests enjoyed meeting and conversing with Dad29 and we are thrilled to finally know what that name means.

The image below is an actual photograh of Dad and Headless conversing.

White Men Can't Smoke had a super time cooking and socializing, and we had a big scoring jump from our first contest. No high placing for my barbecue, but the mini-brats from Glen's Market in Watertown took 3rd place (yes, those are mini-steins of beer).

Every bit of food we cooked was consumed by my team and guests, or handed out as samples. The positive feedback was appreciated. The crowds were huge on both days and exceeded my expectations.

The tartlettes Mrs. Headless prepared for dessert were up to her usual high standards. We are hoping for a dessert category at next year's The Big Pig Gig, so she can take home some cash.

We'll see you all in Menomonee Falls next year.

Hookah Marines!

This logo is on a billboard on US 12/18 near John Nolan Drive south of Madison. With the red and gold color scheme, each time I see that name - Hoorah! - I think it is a bar for U.S. Marine Corps clientèle. Then I remember that I'm in Madison and force that thought from my head. I doubt the owners even have a clue.

Madison's Hookah Lounge & Cafe is part of the new trend that makes smoking acceptable, as long as it is in a multi-cultural (read 'dhimmitude') context.

Hoorah! Sports & Shooting Bar. Now that could be a business model worth your investment.

Score two for the Cheeseheads

I read this at the Journal-Sentinel's Packers Blog

Last week, some of the folks at ESPN.com told Green Bay fans to "settle down" after the team's 2-0 start. The point was that it was way too early to suggest the Packers would be playing games in January.

This week, Don Banks offered the same reality check. He tells readers at SI.com that no one should be putting the Packers on a pedestal - just yet.

Says Banks: "The Packers may well be this year's Cinderella story, and their NFL-best seven-game winning streak dating to last season is a testament to how quickly coach Mike McCarthy has turned Green Bay's program around. But let's not coronate the 3-0 Packers just yet. The Eagles would have beaten Green Bay in the opener at Lambeau if they could have fielded a punt. The Packers' second-half in the Meadowlands was impressive, but the Giants defense isn't the ultimate test.

I didn't know the Packer's streak was the league's longest, but with Indy as the only other NFL team in the running, it isn't totally surprising.

The Badgers hold NCAA football's longest active winning streak of 13 games making Wisconsin 2 for 2.

I take no blame for any bad mojo this blogpost may cause.

A personal one-eighty

One month ago I was committing to move my family and my massive tax payments from Wisconsin to Michigan. I had mentally checked out of Wisconsin and was thumbing my nose at the $15 billion “health care” boondoggle you suckers were going to enjoy.

I have been working in Michigan on a contract basis for over a year and my manager was encouraging me to apply for a permanent position that was to be posted in August. He and I had even begun salary and benefit talks, and I had started house hunting.

But on August 22, while my wife was here on one of those house hunting trips, I was informed that the project I am presently working on will be put on hold for an indefinite time, and we will need to begin to close things out. In other words, it was time to find a new job - fast.

(NB – There are some fantastic real estate bargains in the St. Joseph area. Our realtor showed homes to my wife and me on each of her two visits that we would have immediately bought if I had a permanent position here. Relatively low property taxes, too.)

Since then, that permanent position has never been posted and I have observed others currently working in similar positions. After seeing the poor treatment and awful working hours required of these people (2 of whom abruptly retired), I have decided that this job is not for me.

Meanwhile, a colleague I was helping to place in a different job decided against taking that position. In our follow-up correspondence he learned of my situation and offered to recommend me to his employer. Making a short story shorter, last Friday I had dinner with my colleague, the owner of his company, and our spouses. An offer of employment was extended, negotiations began this week.

Good news for Jim Doyle, my new W-2 will continue to list a Wisconsin domicile.

It is time to swap headgear.

Fire Ned

Until now, I have been silent on Ned Yost's role and performance as Brewers' Manager. Although many of his decisions this year have been questionable, I understand that he is limited by the talent in his bullpen and that many of the "decisions" of MLB managers are based on cookbook formulas of past performance.

However, Yost's immature decision last night to bean Albert Pujols demonstrates that Ned Yost is not suited for the position of manager of a competitive major league baseball team. Tom Hardicourt reports:

Did the Milwaukee Brewers put retaliation ahead of the division race?

That was the perception Wednesday night when a game of tit-for-tat blew up on the Brewers in a very costly 7-3 loss to St. Louis at Miller Park.

The defeat prevented the Brewers from taking advantage of a 7-4 Chicago loss in Florida. Had the Brewers swept the Cardinals, they would have been one game behind the Cubs in the National League Central Division with four to play.

Instead, the Cubs remained two games on top and saw their magic number for clinching the division drop to three games. If Chicago merely splits its remaining four games, the Brewers would have to sweep a four-game series from playoff-contender San Diego just to tie for first and force a one-game showdown Monday at Wrigley Field.

"We still have math on our side," insisted Brewers manager Ned Yost.

Down by a run, the game got away from the Brewers when St. Louis scored four times in the eighth inning after what appeared to be a retaliatory strike against Albert Pujols. It was obvious that St. Louis pitcher Brad Thompson intentionally drilled Prince Fielder with a pitch in the second inning, which also was a bit of retribution.

The answer to that question is 'Yes.'

Yost was more concerned with his personal pissing match with Tony La Russa than winning a baseball game in a pennant chase with the Cubs. Yost intentionally put a potential insurance run on base for the Cardinals on a night where his team was struggling to score runs. That is inexcusable.

A MLB dugout is full of young emotionally charged men and there needs to be at least one grown-up to control things and think logically. Ned Yost is not adult enough to do that job.

And about that math. Every game counts in a pennant race and the math is on the Cubs' side, not the Brewers. Yost's statement is idiotic.

To paraphrase Pulp Fiction,

Fabienne: Whose football team is this?
Butch: It's a baseball team, baby.
Fabienne: Whose baseball team is this?
Butch: It's Ned's.
Fabienne: Who's Ned?
Butch: Ned's dead, baby. Ned's dead

Prince bitch slaps Cecil

I don't think this was in the paper, so you may have missed it. Prince Fielder unloads on his father at the Journal-Sentinel's Brewers Blog, Tom Haudricourt reports:

Fielder said he had no intention of keeping the 50th home run ball but was hoping for No. 52.

"My dad had 51 (as a season high)," said Fielder. "Then, he can't say anything."

In the SI article, Cecil Fielder said his some was an ingrate and would not have been a first-round draft pick if not for him paving the way with his big-league career. Prince, who wants to be his own man and escape the shadow of his father, obviously has been steaming about those comments ever since.

That subject resurfaced when Fielder was asked about the possibility of winning the NL MVP award.

"It would be a cool award to get but that's not something I think about," he said, "besides the fact my dad never did it. If I do get it, that shuts him up again."

"That's why I'm so passionate about playing," Fielder added. "I don't mind people comparing me to him but I'm a completely different player. One day I want people to mention my name and not have to mention his."

As for the recent comments from his father, Fielder said, "You've got to look at who's saying it. Let's be honest. He's not really the brightest guy."

We're guessing Prince and Cecil won't be having dinner any time soon.

Wow.

The Reading Gap. I know the answer.

You know the story by now ...

The average reading ability for fourth- and eighth-grade black students in Wisconsin is the lowest of any state, and the reading achievement gap between black students and white students in Wisconsin continues to be the worst in the nation.

Those are among the facts found in a mass of testing results released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Education, the latest results from a long-standing federal program called the National Assessment of Education Progress. It is the closest thing to a nationwide standardized testing program for reading and math ability.

Based on Wisconsin's demographics, this Black-White disparity is actually a proxy for Milwaukee vs. non-Milwaukee schools. Milwaukee's schools stink, so the scores for African-American kids in Wisconsin will stink too.

One reason these children cannot read is because of Milwaukee's use of "Whole Language" or other educational frauds. My lily white kids attended MPS for just one year, but their educations were harmed for many years. If my middle class kids in a two parent home are negatively affected by one year of this crap, what chance do poor kids in single parent home facing 12 years of it have?

It isn't income. It isn't family. It isn't race. It is those rotten schools.

Make MPS teach phonics. Watch that racial gap close.

I call that an understatement

Don't ask, don't kill

And the Iranian leader denied that homosexuality exists in his country when asked to explain the execution of homosexuals in Iran.

"In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country," he said, to laughter and boos from the audience. 'In Iran we do not have this phenomenon. I don't know who's told you that we have this."

The mocking laughter of students at Columbia University to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s statement came from their sense of multi-cultural superiority. The students were laughing at Ahmadinejad’s naivety. Everyone knows that GLBT are everywhere and are to embraced, celebrated and encouraged. To those at Columbia, Ahmadinejad is just another gay-denier, just like Bush and other religious fundamentalists. To these students this belief is laughable and mockable, much worse than Ahmadinejad’s denial of the Holocaust.

The problem is that these all-knowing Columbia University students are tragically ignorant. Ahmadinejad spoke the truth and this truth is not a laughing matter. In Iran, there are no “homosexuals like in your country.” To openly practice that behavior in Iran is a death sentence. Ahmadinejad has no tolerance for homosexuality, and he has the power and desire to eradicate anyone known (or even suspected) to practice that behavior.

His statement was not a punchline.

Jane Fonda was correct

Today, only a handful of people know what it means ... Soon you will know.

Last week Althouse linked to this NYT commentary blaming Jane Fonda and her The China Syndrome film for global warming. Never mind that, it gave me an opportunity after 25 years working in the nuclear industry to rethink the film and how close it comes to reality.

In the movie “The China Syndrome,” Fonda played a California TV reporter filming an upbeat series about the state’s energy future. While visiting a nuclear power plant, she sees the engineers suddenly panic over what is later called a “swift containment of a potentially costly event.” When the plant’s corporate owner tries to cover up the accident, Fonda’s character persuades one engineer to blow the whistle on the possibility of a meltdown that could “render an area the size of Pennsylvania permanently uninhabitable.”

“The China Syndrome” opened on March 16, 1979. With the no-nukes protest movement in full swing, the movie was attacked by the nuclear industry as an irresponsible act of leftist fear-mongering. Twelve days later, an accident occurred at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in south-central Pennsylvania.

[ ... ]

The TMI accident was, according to a 1979 President’s Commission report, “initiated by mechanical malfunctions in the plant and made much worse by a combination of human errors.” Although some radiation was released, there was no meltdown through to the other side of the Earth — no “China syndrome” — nor, in fact, did the TMI accident produce any deaths, injuries or significant damage except to the plant itself.

It has been a very long time since watched the film, but I recall one of the themes of the movie was the Jack Lemmon character being pressured by his evil management to overlook a plant defect in the interest of budget and schedule. Silly kid, back in 1979 I thought that was fiction.

Technically the movie was immediately discredited. But imagine my protests back then if the movie was about a hole growing in the reactor vessel head to the size of a football as utility management and plant personnel rationalized the symptoms. That story would have been way too far-fetched for anyone to buy.

Given this chance to revisit the film from my current perspective, I see that it tells a realistic story of the difficulty of maintaining a safety conscious work environment. The Lemmon character demonstrates the courage needed to stand-up to management in circumstances where doing the right thing is not in-line with corporate objectives.

The normalization of deviance is as much a danger now as it was then and is something to be guarded against in the face of budget and schedule pressure. It is reported that the Davis-Besse culture was so focused on production, that the gaping wound in the reactor vessel went unreported and unresolved for years. Headless Blogger has heard reports that sister plants run by this same nuclear operator were chastised before the hole was discovered for not matching Davis-Besse's record for continuous operation. Employees at these other plants were more cautious in their treatment of suspected safety defects.

I cannot blame Jane Fonda for the industry's earlier demise, it was self inflicted. The China Syndrome may have been flawed technically, but it portrayed the human element with some accuracy. Things are better in the business today, but it is foolish to think we are perfect. We should embrace the human performance lessons of The China Syndrome as we go forward with this new generation of nuclear power plants.

Fix my car - The answer

Here is the long awaited answer to my car's mystery symptoms, in particular the radio that only plays when the brake pedal is depressed.

The answer given by the mechanic following my car's failure to start is that the alternator he intalled 3 weeks earlier was producing too much power.

The way we figured it the radio includes some protective circuitry that shuts it off when too much voltage is received. By stepping on the brakes or turning on the A/C, the voltage must have been reduced to be within the allowable range and the radio started up. I don't know what accounts for the dead battery, unless it had a protective circuit that was more sensitive than the radio and it never received a charge.

The defective alternator was replaced at no charge.

Pun fully intended.

A Salute to Uncle Jimbo

I read it here first, way back on September 13. Uncle Jimbo wrote at blackfive.net:

Guess what I did at lunch? That's right, I petitioned my government for redress of grievances, specifically illegal political advertising practices by the New York Times and MoveOn.org. We are all well aware of the sorry political advertisement calling the General a traitor.

Good old Benedict Petraeus, well MoveOn could hardly be expected to rise from it's wallow in the fever swamps anyhow, right? So in my first act of political crankitude I filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission regarding the discount MoveOn received. Ya' see in order to be fair newspapers and TV aren't allowed to discount political or advocacy ads so they cannot favor one side, well Hmmmmmm.

This was not just the ravings of Madison’s favorite …, er, I’ll think of a suitable term later, the NYTimes has cried uncle*.

Did MoveOn.org get favored treatment from The Times? And was the ad outside the bounds of acceptable political discourse?

The answer to the first question is that MoveOn.org paid what is known in the newspaper industry as a standby rate of $64,575 that it should not have received under Times policies. The group should have paid $142,083. The Times had maintained for a week that the standby rate was appropriate, but a company spokeswoman told me late Thursday afternoon that an advertising sales representative made a mistake.

The answer to the second question is that the ad appears to fly in the face of an internal advertising acceptability manual that says, “We do not accept opinion advertisements that are attacks of a personal nature.” Steph Jespersen, the executive who approved the ad, said that, while it was “rough,” he regarded it as a comment on a public official’s management of his office and therefore acceptable speech for The Times to print.

Well done Mr. Hanson.

How about a Flagrant Act of Citizenship Award for Uncle Jimbo?

*Yes, I am not one to pass up a pun, good or bad.

Let me reiterate - Do not trust this man with a blank check

He fooled them last time, will they let it happen again?

Maple Bluff - Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle and legislative leaders today opened talks on how to resolve the overdue budget, and Doyle promised to tell legislators what compromises he would sign into law and what he would veto.

"I'm not in this to pull some big surprise on somebody at the end," said Doyle, who personally appealed to Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch (R-West Salem) and Senate Majority Leader Judy Robson (D-Beloit) to reach a budget compromise that can pass the full Legislature and be on the governor's desk for his signature.

Well at least they've got Doyle's "word" on it (wink, nudge, fingers crossed). Jimmy has those outstate rubes right where he wants them.

Huebsch negotiated for Republicans, who control the Assembly. He said Doyle's promise to monitor the budget talks and say what he will not veto was important.

Two years ago, Doyle rewrote the last budget passed by Republicans with vetoes, diverting money from transportation spending in ways that angered GOP lawmakers.

Because Wisconsin governors have the broadest veto authority in the nation, Huebsch said, "A deal has to be a deal."

"Doyle promised," words guaranteed to give someone a mouth-full.

Hint to Huebsch, get it in writing. Better yet, revoke the line item veto first, negotiate later.

Jude and Jena

Jude Victim.


Jude Villian.


Jena Victim.


Jena Villian?


H/T: McBride's Media Matters

No rights reserved - Tom McMahon 4-Block this at will.

Fix my car - bump & update

I had a curious vehicle problem last week. Here are the symptoms that began when I started the car on Monday morning.

• The air bag light illuminated upon starting and stayed on.
• The radio did not work.
• When I stepped on the brake, the radio came on.
• When I released the brake, the radio went off.
• After work, when I started the car the air bag and check engine lights both illuminated.
• The radio wasn't working.
• When I turned on the A/C, the radio came on and stayed on.

Diagnose the problem.

More clues later if no one gets it.

Additional clues:

• The alternator was replaced 3 weeks prior to the problem beginning
  
• After three days of driving like this, the battery was dead and the car needed a jump to start
  

White Men Can't Smoke

The White Men Can't Smoke BBQ Team is competing next weekend at The Big Pig Gig in Menomonee Falls.

Come by Saturday (Sept. 29) to sample our leftover product. Samples will be available beginning at Noon and continue throughout the afternoon.

Don't trust this man with a blank check

As the pressure mounts on the Wisconsin Assembly Republicans to cave to the tax increase demands of Governor Doyle and the Senate Democrats, they need to realize that whatever they pass is not the final budget. With Doyle's line item veto power, anything that is passed by the legislature is a Lego set for Doyle to break down to shift funding in any way pleases. The budget Doyle signs will represent his priorities, not anything passed by the Legislature.

There is no rush to pass a new budget, we are doing just fine with the old one. The legistature should eliminate or curtale the governor's veto powers to prevent the rewriting of legislation by Wisconsin's Executive Branch.

It is not time to cave on the budget. Fix the veto first, before continuing budget negotiations.