From arms dealer . . .

. . . to renaissance vegetarian guru man.

I was going to laugh at this story in today's paper:

Apparently, a diet is a diet, even if you are Viktor Bout, accused of being an international arms trafficker.

After Mr. Bout appeared at a pretrial hearing in Federal District Court in Manhattan on Thursday, his wife and his new lawyer suggested that Mr. Bout was suffering miserably in federal custody — largely because he was not getting enough food to satisfy his vegetarian lifestyle.

Mr. Bout, 44, was extradited from Thailand in November and is being held in the maximum-security wing of the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. His wife, Alla Bout, said he contracted tuberculosis while he was detained in Thailand — where he was arrested — before he was extradited and, as a result, required a very specific nutritional intake.

But then I read further in the story:

Ms. Bout, who is living in New York and visits her husband for three hours each Monday, said he awoke daily at 5 a.m. to exercise in his cell. The remainder of his day, she said, is spent in pursuit of language and culture. Mr. Bout studies foreign languages, like Farsi and Hindi, for several hours, routinely translating foreign texts; he has taken up drawing and produces artwork that Ms. Bout, a designer, said she critiqued. All the while, classical music echoes in Mr. Bout’s small cell.

Clearly society stands to gain from Mr. Bout's continued incarceration and self-improvement. I say give him all the broccoli he can eat.

(Original story here.)

The First Amendment (??)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the First Amendment protects fundamentalist church members who mount anti-gay protests outside military funerals, despite the pain they cause grieving families.

(Full AP story here.)

Just because it's Constitutional, doesn't make it right.

These crazoids should be ashamed. Among other things.

Dream on . . .

Terse* is calling from Indiana . . .

Terse: ... I had this incredibly weird dream last night. I was back at [the place he worked twelve or fifteen years ago].

Me: Weird.

Terse: Yeah. I was in the middle of a menage a trois, and the whole thing degenerated into an orgy.

Me: Uh-huh . . .

Terse: Do you think there's a possibility they kept my position open?

* An ironic nickname

... warming up.

Sure, you've seen an F-86 . . .



. . . but have you ever seen an RAF Sabre?

(More early Cold War RAF photos here. If you go to his home page, you can drill down to other old photos as well.)

Becoming an American

On Friday, Jan. 28, accompanied by my family, I was among 160 citizens-in-waiting who filed into a 3^rd-floor auditorium in lower Manhattan to be sworn in as Americans. On our seats were an American flag, a copy of the Constitution, a booklet featuring the stories of prominent naturalized Americans, and a welcome letter from President Obama.

Reading the letter, I began to cry. I had spent more than one-quarter of my life hoping to become American, and I was suddenly overwhelmed by the honor and the significance of the moment. The place I have called home for 12 years was finally claiming me, as well.

I looked around the room and saw other fortunate souls with long journeys now behind them, quietly weeping with joy.

Full article here, in Slate. (Most of the article is about mistakes in the citizenship test.)

History lesson

Banking on a fight . . .


Have you ever received an insurance bill and wondered why it was double last year's? So did this guy in Pennsylvania:

All Patrick . . . wanted was for someone from Wells Fargo to talk to him. A single, white, goth and industrial music event promoter who declines to give his age, he wanted someone to explain why they were doubling his premiums and requiring him to insure his century-old house for its full replacement value instead of the market value.

Instead of getting an explanation, he ended up putting the bank's local branch office on the auction block.

Full story here. (Complete with Goth pictures, if you're into that.)

Stopping pirates

I'm guessing we'll soon be hearing more about the op and the pirates who murdered the missionaries about the sailboat in the Gulf of Aden.

In the meantime, most sensible people are calling for direct action against them before they take ships. But rather than just attacking the villages they sail out of - which we ought to do - we should hit the people who are financing them.

It's not as if we don't know who they are or can't figure it out - the navy was talking to one of them when all hell broke lose.

Bankroll a pirate, hang from a yardarm: sounds fair to me.

What I'm drinking . . .

Or rather, what I was drinking . . .

Good stuff, and the Black was even better.

More research definitely needed.

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon . . .

This vid gives a pretty good feel of the gameplay. Players have full control over the aircraft and the conduct of the missions...

The next chapter

Borders officially declared bankruptcy this morning. Not exactly unexpected.

(Industry story with other links here.)

It's another part of the (mostly) slow motion destruction/restructuring of the book industry. The immediate effect on most writers will probably be negligible, but it's certainly going to add to the difficulty of making a living at it. All of the big publishers are owed millions and millions of dollars - Penguin/Putnam/Viking etc. tops forty mil - and even though they've seen this coming for a while, the decreased revenues and sales are going to have to be made up somewhere.

The thing that has always confused me, however, is the fact that the Borders store near me is always packed, with a long line at the cash register. If I didn't know any better, I'd think it was the most successful store in the world, let alone the mall.

Happy Valentine's Day

Are we ever going to get serious about this?


Item:

Suspected Somali pirates captured a U.S.-bound tanker carrying around $200 million worth of crude oil in the Indian Ocean on Wednesday in one of the biggest hijackings in the area so far.

Full story, which ought to seem more than a little familiar, here.

Titles . . .

Speaking of Red Dragon Rising, one of these days I'm going to write a post on how difficult it can be to come up with a good title for a book.

The books in the Red Dragon series have gotten into a certain pattern: "X of War" for you math mavens, with X being a variable based somehow on the relevant happenings. "Shadow" and "Edge" have done it for us so far.

That sounded like a good idea when we started, but now we realize that it cuts down on the possibilities. The next installment in the series - which will be out this fall - presented a serious challenge. The best "X" based on the contents would have been "casualties" - but that gives you the title of a fairly famous movie set during the Vietnam War. Not only that, but the movie's central storyline was something we didn't want to connect with this book.

(Full disclosure: I didn't know until I looked it up. Duh. I still haven't seen the movie.)

Fortunately, Larry hit on a much better alternative on the second try, and we ran with it.

Or at least we think we did. The publisher still hasn't OK'd it, which is why it's not appearing in this post.

Red Dragon Rising



Larry and I did this talk over skype quite a while ago, but it's finally been edited down into something semi-coherent. I look pretty baffled through most of this, but in my defense I can only say . . . it's a natural state.

How do these things really work?

I was talking with Rob the Accountant the other day, and he brought up an interesting point:

How do the solar-powered parking meters in New York City (or anywhere else) work when there is a foot and a half of snow on the solar panels? (As there are now.)

Battery backup? Or are there really squirrels inside?

I want one



Patience was never my strong point.

What we're talking about . . .



Item:

Crops Wither and Prices Rise in Chinese Drought

HONG KONG — A severe drought in northern China has badly damaged the winter wheat crop and left the ground very dry for the spring planting, fueling inflation and alarming China’s leaders.

Story here.

Website here.

Helicopters as UAVs . . .

Good, brief roundup on unmanned helicopters for the uninitiated in Popular Mechanics on unmanned choppers, online here.

URL:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military/robots/the-rise-of-the-drone-helicopter?src=rss#fbIndex1

Of course, they don't have the Dreamland birds, but what the hey :-)....


Speaking of helicopters, I've always wondered why they became known as "helos" in Navy slang. I can see the British slang - "heli" - but helo? (pronounced heal-O)

Upcoming books


A few programming notes:

The Bradley biography has been moved to the fall so the publisher can put together a marketing/selling campaign and coordinate with other World War II books.

Meanwhile, Helios has been moved to February 2012 - maybe we'll have the actual solar collecting satellite launch by then.

I guess he would know...


Do I file this AP story under the pot calling kettle black, or chutzpah unlimited?

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak betrayed his people and the uprising against his rule is the appropriate response, Iran's top leader said during Friday prayers in Tehran.

Full story here, among other places.

Thanks for the memories . . .



Item: Pettitte retires. Semi-official story here.

Bummer for the Yanks. But Pettitte has certainly earned it.

Shoveling . . .

. . . somewhere over an inch and a half of ice on top of snow on top of sleet.

A three-cigar, two-beer job.

Here's a book to watch for . . .


From Publisher's Lunch:

Attorneys James Daily and Ryan Davidson [are writing] SUPERHEROES AND SUPERVILLAINS: THE LEGAL GUIDE, based on their blog Law and the Multiverse. [The book takes] a look at legal issues in the comic book universe (such as: "Are Wolverine's claws covered by the Second Amendment?" and "Can a supervillain be extradited to another dimension?")

I say yes to the first, no to the second. But the real question is how does a superhero lawyer get paid?

Isn't it time yet?



Actually, it will never be this time again - the green at the end of the tunnel in old Yankee Stadium, the Cathedral in the Bronx.

About best seller lists, etc.


About that last post -

It's not that I'm not grateful that readers have purchased my book. On the contrary, I'm extremely grateful and even humbled. It's just that mentioning the best seller lists - any list, of which I have been extremely fortunate to land on a number of times - just seems too much like bragging.

But I guess I should think of it more like this: I'm extremely thankful that so many people have opted to spend some time with me and Dale and read that book.

So thank you.

Times list



PR type got on me for not mentioning the fact that Black Wolf hit the NY Times (extended) best seller list this month.

All right, so I've mentioned it.

Audio books . . .

A number of my books are available in audio editions; here's link to a few at audiobookstand.com:

http://www.audiobookstand.com/quicksearch.asp?search=defelice&callingPage=quicksearch

The future of (financial) warfare . . .

. . . is now.

Item:

BEIJING — Aided by at least $43 million in assistance from the government of Massachusetts and an innovative solar energy technology, Evergreen Solar emerged in the last three years as the third-largest maker of solar panels in the United States.

But now the company is closing its main American factory, laying off the 800 workers by the end of March and shifting production to a joint venture with a Chinese company in central China. Evergreen cited the much higher government support available in China.

. . .

Evergreen, in announcing its move to China, was unusually candid about its motives. Michael El-Hillow, the chief executive, said in a statement that his company had decided to close the Massachusetts factory in response to plunging prices for solar panels. World prices have fallen as much as two-thirds in the last three years — including a drop of 10 percent during last year’s fourth quarter alone.

Chinese manufacturers, Mr. El-Hillow said in the statement, have been able to push prices down sharply because they receive considerable help from the Chinese government and state-owned banks, and because manufacturing costs are generally lower in China.

“While the United States and other Western industrial economies are beneficiaries of rapidly declining installation costs of solar energy, we expect the United States will continue to be at a disadvantage from a manufacturing standpoint,” he said.

Even though Evergreen opened its Devens plant, with all new equipment, only in 2008, it began talks with Chinese companies in early 2009. In September 2010, the company opened its factory in Wuhan, China, and will now rely on that operation.

Full article here.

Question: Do you charge someone with treason in a case like this, or just call them a smart businessman?

Today's accomplishment . . .

Learning how to work the "delay start" function on the oven.

The only question is whether to file it under "technological prowess" or "culinary exploits."

Snow & cigars


Much more difficult than dealing with the snow (ten??? inches? - piece of cake) is answering the perennial question: . . . What's the best cigar to use while snowblowing?

It has to be strong, but not too strong. Most importantly, it needs a good, durable wrapper that won't fall apart under the pressure of the swirling winds.

Field tests are underway.

Second question: is the 'no beer before 10 a.m.' rule suspended on snow days?

Stealth fighter?

Item:

China Is Said to Test Stealth Fighter as Gates Visits

Everyone wondering why the aircraft is so large might think about what sort of uses a stealthy airframe might be best put to.

Here's a hint - what were the American "stealth fighters" used for in the First Gulf War?

In any event, it's been quite a while since the days of close-in dogfighting where small, highly maneuverable airframes were the biggest asset. Being able to carry long-range missiles, hold a lot of fuel and house advanced sensors are at least arguably a lot more important today than how tightly you can turn.

It hurts to say that. But if you're looking for an old-fashioned furball, you're a heck of a lot more likely to get it in, say, the next installment of Ace Combat than in real life.

And yes, I guarantee you will get it in the next Ace (Assault Horizon, for those of you not following along).

The tank on water skis . . .



Item: Marine landing craft likely to be axed.

The problem isn't the Marines, or even the idea of the new landing craft - it's the fact that it took over twenty years to develop and still wasn't a reality.

Developing landing craft in WWII didn't take 20 months. I'm not saying weapons should be rushed into existence, but for crapsake . . . what do you have around the house that was made 20 years ago?

The best Marine weapon remains a Marine.

Twain and the N word . . .

Speaking of Mark Twain, he's recently back in the news as publishers are planning to an edition of Huck Finn that replaces the word white boys can never say with "slave."

Does anyone else think the controversy has actually helped keep him relevant? Even though it actually has zero to do with the book.

What we're up against . . .


From Pakistan:

ISLAMABAD -- Lawyers showered the suspected assassin of a liberal Pakistani governor with rose petals as he entered court. Some 170 miles away, the prime minister joined thousands to mourn the loss of the politician, who dared to challenge the demands of Islamic extremists.

The cheers and tears across the country Wednesday underscored Pakistan's journey over the past several decades from a nation defined by moderate Islam to one increasingly influenced by fundamentalists willing to use violence to impose their views.

Even so-called moderate Muslim scholars praised 26-year-old Mumtaz Qadri for allegedly killing Punjab province Gov. Salman Taseer on Tuesday in a hail of gunfire while he was supposed to be protecting him as a bodyguard. Qadri later told authorities he acted because of Taseer's vocal opposition to blasphemy laws that order death for those who insult Islam.

As Qadri was escorted into court in Islamabad, a rowdy crowd patted his back and kissed his cheek as lawyers at the scene threw flowers. On the way out, some 200 sympathizers chanted slogans in his favor, and the suspect stood at the back door of an armored police van and repeatedly yelled "God is great."

Full story, which goes on to say that many Pakistani are appalled, here.

I got the new Twain autobiography for Christmas, and while I haven't gotten very far, I was struck by the fact that even Mark Twain had editors screw with his work.

I'm not exactly sure how I should feel about that.

2011 . . .



. . . same as it ever was...

Advice . . .

From a reader . . .

I've just come across the new Dreamland book - good placement in two different stores - I was very glad to catch up w/the Stockards, but had the plot figured wrong--I thought Teri would take out Stoner with a shot right between the eyes. Maybe next time.....?

Medical math

In my left hand is a bill from the doctor. In my left hand is a copy of the insurance company's processing of a claim for the same service.

The doctor's bill claims they sent the insurance company a bill for $140.

The insurance company, which provides an itemized list of the billed services, says they were billed $73.

The insurance company says they paid $25, because a) the doctor charged $20 for something not covered and b) overcharged for the rest.

The doctor claims he got $47.79. (Not counting the $50 copay for the visit.)

The doctor says I owe $10.46. Why exactly isn't clear, since his math isn't even in the ballpark. ($140 minus $47.79? Or even $73 minus $47.79?)

The insurance company doesn't say I owe anything, but if the $20 charge isn't covered, obviously that would be the likely amount.

So what do I do?

Write a check for $10.46 and go have a beer.

Merry, merry . . .

Some people are paying attention. (Check out #4.)

(But is it true more people know the game?)

Rangers at Dieppe



A couple of people have asked about the photo where the Ranger was misidentified as a Canadian. This is it. Ranger Henry is in the middle distance.

For a full explanation and a better picture, you can check out Rangers at Dieppe, available on line at B&N, among others, here. (I got the hint that this might be an American from a Canadian; the full story is in the book.)

Larry's new game



Persian Incursion is a simulation war game that presents a timely what-if: What if Israel tried to take out Iran's nukes? Could it?

The answer: it depends. (But it's definitely doable.)

You can order the game here, among other places.

There is no border there

Item:

NATO today denied a report saying that top U.S. military commanders are considering launching elite ground raids into Pakistan to try to capture or kill militants along the border with Afghanistan, and speed up security gains before American troops start pulling out in July 2011.

There have been numerous stories and accounts in all sorts of places explaining a) why this is necessary and b) the fact that, contrary to news accounts . . . well, never mind.

If you're going to deal with the "militants," you have to hit them where they live. Giving them safe haven anywhere, let alone in a place where they've been steadily intermarrying and otherwise integrating into the social fabric, makes exactly zero sense.

Pretending otherwise is ridiculous.

And I'm waiting for someone to show me the thick bright line on the ground between the two countries.

Thanks Texas


Marc, Ben, Jim, and y'all - we appreciate your hospitality.

Bad news for Iran

Item:

A test of the United States' only long-range missile defense system failed Wednesday -- the second failure this year in two tries.

The Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency said both the intermediate-range ballistic missile target and the long-range interceptor missile launched successfully, radar and sensors worked properly and the "kill vehicle" deployed. But the "kill vehicle" didn't hit the target.

"Program officials will conduct an extensive investigation to determine the cause of the failure to intercept the target," the agency said. "The next flight test will be determined after identification of the cause of the failure."

The less chance of intercepting their missiles, the more chance of an attack.

(CNN story here. Eventually, this WILL work. It's just a question of when "eventually" is . . .)

More on a Dieppe Ranger


I was recently very lucky to be contacted by some of the surviving members of Howard Henry's family.

Readers of Rangers at Dieppe may remember that Henry died on the beach during the attack; I was able to determine that he's the American misidentified as a Canadian in one of the most famous photos of the battle and its aftermath.

The family was kind enough to provide me with some additional information, and help me correct one thing that's wrong in the book. Contrary to what I had thought from my research, Henry was not shipped back to the U.S. after the war, but rather is buried in Normandy.

(If you haven't read the book: Attached as an observer to a Canadian unit, he went out on one of the bloodiest beaches. There's no real indication of when or exactly how he died, but even getting out of the landing craft at that point would have taken an immense amount of courage.)

Interestingly, Herman had been in the cavalry before going to Europe and joining the Rangers. I haven't looked through all the records, but that may make him one of the few original Rangers with that background.

He was T-4 at the time of his death; that would be roughly the equivalent of a sergeant today. You generally got that rank because of a service specialty, but at this point I'm not sure what Henry's was. It wasn't listed in the original records.

I'll post more updates as I get them. (You can go my Rangers at Dieppe website here; I haven't updated it with the new information yet.)

The trouble with tracking . . .

. . . is that you see that the material that absolutely had to be there by Monday 9 a.m. sharp won't be picked up until Wednesday because everyone's taking an extra long weekend.

Taxes and Cliff Lee


In the frenzy over whether Cliff Lee will choose the Yankees or the Rangers, a number of sports reporters have generated stories on how Texas has a huge advantage over NY because of the state and city tax rates.

Hopefully the reporters get someone else to do their taxes.

First of all, in Lee's bracket, the tax professionals do a heck of a lot more than pump in a couple W2s on the return and efile the sucker. Tax planning is an art as well as a science. But just to show how silly the whole process is, let's say for the sake of argument that by playing in New York, Lee will subject himself to state and city taxes at the highest rates - 8.6 percent and 3.65.

That's 12.2 percent. Of course, that's the highest rate, not the actual effective rate, but why quibble?

At $23 million a year - I'm arbitrarily choosing the $140/6 year offer - that would work out to $2.8 mil a year in taxes. Decent money, even for a millionaire. (It's also where most of the first wave of stories stop.)

Except that Lee almost certainly wouldn't live in NYC, so he'd only be taxed on the games that he played here (the rest are taxed by the other cities, just as they would be if he were a Ranger). So slice that bill in half = $1.4 million.

Thing is, he also gets some credit on his federal tax return for paying local taxes, the same as you do. Even a simple return starts to get complicated from this point, but even with generous rounding in the government's favor the bill is down to $1 million per year. That's not even half the amount of extra money he'd pick up in endorsements in NYC over Texas. Even if he didn't want to do those endorsements, do you really feel the Yankees would lose Lee over a million dollars a year?

The truth is, Lee's choice ISN'T going to be about money, let alone taxes. He's getting a boatload no matter what. If he chooses Texas over the Yankees, it's not going to be because the state doesn't have income tax - it's because he wants to play there. And vice versa.

Whichever team he doesn't choose will just have to live with that.

Bea Arthur was a Marine . . .



... and would have made a good drill sergeant as that.

Story here.

A national disgrace


Item:

The Senate fell three votes short of mustering enough support to pass a
bill offering health care benefits and compensation to the ill Ground Zero
workers who cleaned up the mess after the 9/11 attacks.

The congressmen opposing this ought to be ashamed of themselves.

Congratulations to the SpaceX Falcon* team on their successful launch.

* One of the models for Helios. Sorta. Kinda. In a way.

Big Brother ponders the future . . .

Item:

Computerworld - The retaliatory attacks by pro-WikiLeaks activists are growing in strength as hackers add botnets and thousands of people download an open-source attack tool, security researchers said today.

What lesson do you figure Iran, China, et al, are drawing from this?

And which Western country do you think will be the first to "license" internet channels?

(Full story here.)

A wakeup call

Item:

Top Test Scores From Shanghai Stun Educators

The fact that they're stunned is the real news. Maybe in another twenty years they'll actually start addressing the situation with something more than misguided pablum and time-wasting bs.

From the body of the story:

“I know skeptics will want to argue with the results, but we consider them to be accurate and reliable, and we have to see them as a challenge to get better,” he added. “The United States came in 23rd or 24th in most subjects. We can quibble, or we can face the brutal truth that we’re being out-educated.”

He is Arne Duncan, the U.S. Secretary of Education. The fact that he actually realizes there's a problem is something, I guess.

Full story is here. Check the graphic out and see how we rank behind places like Poland, Hungary . . .

Christmas spirit . . .

We were up at West Point Sunday, in time to stop in at the West Point Band's holiday concert.

It was a great show. I even got to sing . . . fortunately with a thousand or so other people drowning me out.

'Twas the Night Before Hanukkah* brought the house down - gotta be a first for a Christmas concert.

Who says the Army's not fun?

* By Kenny Ellis, who appeared with the band and the NY Philharmonic Principal Brass Quintet, along with Mst. Sergeant Mary Kay Messenger and Stf. Sgt. Alexis Cole. He did some songs from his CD, Hanukkah Swings. Check his website out here.

Printer problems*


Printer problem in Iraq - Watch more Funny Videos

This is how I'm feeling today . . .

* A classic. HP, HP. . .

Hope for us alll . . .

Item:

Star Spangled Banner to Be Sold at Auction -

Missing T makes Star Spangled Banner worth $300,000

. . . One unique feature of the first edition is that it contains a noticeable misspelling. "Carr was in such a hurry to rush this into print that he worked carelessly and misspelled the word patriotic," says Coover, pointing out that Carr listed it as pariotic (see gallery above). "Carr also omitted Francis Scott Key's name as poet."

The typo clinched the copy's authenticity. So you see? I insert all those mistakes so the book will be more valuable . . .

Not even a minor deity?

Her: Is the fact that Caligula thought he was a god a matter of erroneous perception, or a comprehension problem?

Me: Are you saying he wasn't?

China in the middle?

Hardly.

One thing I don't understand when it comes to North Korea - why does anyone in the U.S. want China to mediate?

If they're successful in ending the North Korean-manufactured "crisis", they've strengthened their role as a growing superpower region. And if they're not successful, they've prolonged a crisis that serves their other interests.

From China's perspective, conflict between the two Koreas has been one more stick to use as leverage when dealing with the U.S.: "We may be waging currency war against you, but if you retaliate, North Korea may just blow up Seoul."

The truth is, China doesn't have as much influence over North Korea as seems to be commonly assumed. It can't stop North Korea from attacking the south, let alone change the country's paranoid narcissistic nationalism.

The real solution is for South Korea to prove that North Korea is a paper tiger. The problem is that South Korea is not prepared for an actual war, let alone one where nuclear weapons might be used.

If North Korea continues to back itself a corner, real conflict is inevitable. the miracle is that it hasn't happened yet.

Shout-out . . .

To Fast Earthmover Man, now walking patrols in the pleasant land of Afghanistan.

God speed . . .

The (over) Zen of shaving . . .

It was a slow night at the local philosophy emporium. Down at the other end of the bar, I heard the following conversation:

Guy 1: . . . It was smooth, really, really smooth.
Guy 2: I'll bet.
Bartender (coming over): What, are you talking about sex? This is a family place.
Guy 1: Naw. Shaving.
Bartender: Shaving?
Guy 1: Wet shaving. I just got a new single blade razor, some creme. It's not like regular shaving. It's a whole lather experience . . .
Bartender: No more beer for you tonight.

Must've been a new deputy on that night . . .

Living country music legend Willie Nelson was charged with possession of marijuana after six ounces were discovered aboard his tour bus in Texas, according to a U.S. Border Patrol spokesman.

I guess this would not be a good time to tell my Willie Nelson story.

(News story here.)

Spidey sez hi . . .

The parade

New spot . . . West side of the parade route, close to 50th (walk up from GC) . . . see you there.

Now at your favorite bookseller . . .

He's back . . . but whose side is he on?

Scouting report

Knee held up, arm looked good.

Bring on the annual family football game.

At it again


North Korean shells sett fire to South Korean territory.

Sooner or later there's going to come a point where turning North Korea into a parking lot is just a whole lot easier than dealing with them.

Shocking, just shocking*

Worm Was Perfect for Sabotaging Centrifuges

What a coincidence, no?

Seriously, though, the episode does show the reach of cyberwarfare, which is about as asymmetric as you can get.

Times story here.

*Apologies to Julius Epstein, et al (writers on Casablanca).

This just in . . .

Smoking 3,000 Joints

Is Bad for Your Brain,

Study Finds

Who would've thought?

RW: Domino Theory

So to answer some questions.

First, Dick's website is the best place to catch him:

http://www.dickmarcinko.com/

Second, yes, the rumors are true - Domino Theory is set mostly in India and Pakistan.

There are always a lot of reasons to do things, but a big part of the reason in this case is that's where the flash points are. And if you're going to deal with terrorist threats that affect the U.S. (or Afghanistan), ultimately you have to talk about those countries.

Of course, I really like the food. Some of the music, though . . .

RW update

OK, latest rumor is confirmed - next Rogue Warrior, to be called Domino Theory, will be out in time for Father's Day.

Keep checking Dick's website for further information and better details, coming soon.

For the record: The book is complete. Dick suffered no permanent injuries in its creation.

My (mental & physical) health is always another story . . .

Modest proposals

My personal Yankees ticket agent called yesterday to ask how things were going, see if I wanted an upgrade, and welcome any suggestions for improvements I might have.

At least that's what I heard on the voice mail message he left.

Funny coincidence that he left the message the same day the team announced they were boosting prices*. Naturally, my first suggestion would be that they lower the price of tickets - and make parking free.

Realizing that's not going to happen - and that it's very unlikely that the players will visit my section before the game to share a hot dog (tricky with the oxygen mask they'd have to wear up there) - I scaled back my suggestions for improvements. They now include:

- Install a garlic fries stand behind my seats.

- Add a sausage option to the pizza selections. (Bring back the Stromboli and I'll consider the price hike justified.)

- Give Cousin Brewski cans of Murphy's Stout to hawk in the stands.

- Turn one of the upstairs sections into a cigar smoking zone.

- Stop rearranging the traffic flow and parking lots every homestand.

- Go back to a system where you pay before you park, so it's easier to get out. (Given that they're bumping parking prices beyond what I pay for my seat, this probably isn't going to affect me - I'll be walking to the games. And back.)

- Stop blacking out controversial replays - these are exactly the ones we want to see.

Finally, see if you can do something about the obnoxious Red Sox fans who always sit by us. I don't mind it so much when the Yanks are actually playing Boston, especially since the fans are such bad losers, but it's trying when NY is playing KC.

Especially when the Yankees lose.

Which brings me to a suggestion that I'm sure all fans can agree on: Make sure the home team wins when I'm at the Stadium.

*Allegedly because fans were getting huge markups on StubHub. That's a real joke, as anyone who's tried to sell tickets there can attest.

New helicopter spotted . . .

In an AP story on the cruise to nowhere.

The arrival of the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier was met with cheers from passengers who watched a Harrier helicopter drop 50,000 pounds of food and supplies to the ship's deck.

It does conjure an interesting image . . .

11th hour . . .



. . . of the 11th day of the 11th month.

Forever.

World War I

From the air . . .



The BBC site:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11698287

The next Rogue Warrior: Domino Theory.

More details soon . . .

Financial advice

If imminent global economic collapse is what you are hedging against, forget gold and silver; lead is the only metal that will protect you.

The sound of silence

Strange thing happened today - no one called me.

Over the past week or so, I've gotten phone calls from Ed*, Newt, Sarah, Bill and a whole bunch of other old and close friends, all trying to persuade me to save the Union from imminent collapse, and worse.

Obviously they mistook my voting enrollment - NOE (Not Otherwise Enrolled, in NY the only way to be a true independent) - for Wants to be Bothered on the Phone While Working.

Was kind of nice to hear from Ed, though. Haven't seen him since the time at the county fair when the crazy man tried to shake his hand and ended up spitting all over me.

* Ed= Ed Koch, former mayor of NYC.

War as a homecoming parade



The narrator got a bit carried away at the end.

I spotted Brad twice.

Hard day


Writer 1: What's up?
Writer 2: I'm exhausted.
Writer 1: Really? What'd you do today?
Writer 2: I wrote four thousand words.
Writer 1: No wonder you're beat.
Writer 2: I'm beat because they all suck . . .

Utterly irresponsible leak ...

WASHINGTON — American intelligence officials in September intercepted several packages containing books, papers, CDs and other household items shipped to Chicago from Yemen and considered the possibility that the parcels might be a test run for a terrorist attack, two officials said Monday night.

Egos kill.

(Yes, there was more.)