The sun came out this afternoon . . .

and started me thinking of songs about sunshine.

Here are a few that occurred to me.

Got any more?

Sunshine on my shoulders
Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone
Here comes the sun
You are my sunshine
I’m walking on sunshine
Sunshine superman
Red Rubber Ball (The morning sun is shining like a . . . )
Don’t let the sun go down on me
Sunrise, sunset (Sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset)
Sunshine of your Love

Update: I couldn't resist adding links. And here's one in the comments from Michele:
You are the Sunshine of my Life

Nice Work if You Can Get It

Heh.

Fixing the Auto Industry

"What the country really needs, apparently, is an automobile industry that is rolling out highly fuel-efficient cars, from the cleanest, safest, unionized factories in the world, made by highly paid workers with excellent health and retirement benefits. Of course, the production process needs to be inexpensive and efficient, too, so that the cars are competitively priced and can attract consumers who might otherwise gravitate toward bigger and heavier vehicles."

Emily Dickinson comments on today's weather

The Sky is low –

the Clouds are mean.

A Travelling Flake

of Snow

Across a Barn

or through a Rut

Debates if it will go –

A Narrow Wind

complains all Day

How some one treated

him

Nature,

like Us

is sometimes caught

Without her

Diadem –

Creative composting

Remember my friend Pat Kramer? This piece in the New York Times is about her daughter, Sasha. Be sure to watch the video.

Red Sox

OK. What's the roster gonna be? 25 players. Ortiz, Varitek, and Kotteras take it down to 22. Four known starters: Beckett, Dice-K, Lester, Wake. 18 left. Five infielders: Youk, Destroia, Lowrie, Lugo (supposed to be ready in the first week), and Lowell. 13. OF: Bay, Ellsbury, Drew. 10. Relievers: Little Papi, Delcarmen, Masterson, Okajima. 6 left. One starter, two OFs, two relievers, one other? Pick from Baldelli, Kotsay, Buchholz, Lopez, Ramirez, Penny, Saito, Smoltz, Carter, Van Every? Who's staying? Who's going? I haven't paid enough attention to know.

And what happened to "The Mayor"? And what's his real name?

It's a Lonely Blog

Yes, it is.


There is a luncheon tomorrow for Judge Garry in Albany with all the judges and hangers-on from the 3rd department of the appellate division of the New York Supreme Court.

And I get to go! David, bless his heart, will do morning milking. I'm free from 7am to 5pm. Wow!

I get to wear a suit!

I will be out of my element.

Mom is magnificent. I think I'm an atheist, but every day I thank God that I married your mother. What would she do without me, poor thing?

Paula Abdul, Poet

Finding the Moth and the Melon, Still Looking for the Point
What did you tell me Simon?
What did you tell me?
Simon gave me advice
and he said that on The X-Factor
he always refers to a
fortune cookie
and says the moth
who finds the melon
finds the cornflake
always finds the melon
and one of you didn't get
the right fortune cookie.

(Giving advice to season 5 bottom two dwellers Kevin Covais and Jose 'Sway' Penala during semifinals)

There are more here, but the site is a nuisance to navigate: an ad keeps popping up.

What an Ass

This is the President of the United States? Holy Shit.

Lyric of the Day

If you're Irish, come into the parlor,
There's a welcome there for you.
If you name is Timothy or Pat
Long as you're from Ireland there's a welcome on the mat!

If you come from the County of Clare
or Donnegal so blue,
We'll sing a song and we'll make a fuss.
Whoever you are you are one of us.
If you're Irish, this is the place for you.

Say Something Sweet to Your Sweetheart

SAY SOMETHING SWEET TO YOUR SWEETHEART
TELL HER HOW MUCH YOU CARE
SAY SOMETHING SENTIMENTAL, IT WON’T COST A THING
YOU’LL FIND WHAT HAPPINESS A GENTLE WORD CAN BRING

YOU CAN’T HIDE THOSE LOVE WORDS INSIDE YOU
AND STILL KEEP THE ONE YOU ADORE
SO, SAY SOMETHING SWEET TO YOUR SWEETHEART
AND YOU’LL BE SWEETHEARTS FOREVER MORE

Sid Tepper/Roy Bennett 1948

America's Next Top Models Stampede

Before I watched the video that goes with this article, I thought the story was funny -- but in fact, it's somewhat terrifying. Either way, I figured Laura would be interested.

The Appellate Division

Here, finally, is a good and mostly-accurate article about Beth's new job. (And mine.) The inaccurate part is that she won't be working from home, but the rest of it is excellent.

Lileks, Reaming a Dweeb a New One

"I think he means “human flourishing” to mean everyone agrees to wear the same itchy hemp robe and chant the Happy Planet Song while we tote buckets of night soil to the communal plot. "

What Mr. Zona's Up To Ths Weekend

A Kabuki Cinderella.

Electronic medical Records

I've been hearing how these will save $80 billion a year for some time now. I've been responding "Horseshit!" It will save nothing. Zero. If it did, it would be lost in the noise, anyway. EMR will take on a life and cost of its own, and require new systems and skilled IT workers. What worries me most, though, a la the previous statistics discussion, is the intelligence of people who believe these kinds of things.

Nederlands!

Did anyone see them beat the Dominicans for the second time? Awesome! My new favorite team.

Odyssey of the Mind for Dog Owners

Atlas Shrugged Sales Higher Than Ever

Glenn Beck noticing a fascinating trend.

What else has he got in his pocket?

Money?

Obama Inspires the Troops, too.

Here.

Bizkit the Sleep Walking Dog

This dog is silly.

I miss Panda.

That job news Dad mentioned

My boss got promoted!

(That link is only going to work today -- it's a link to the main index page. I can't link to the article itself because it's subscription-only. Later today, if I can find a more permanent source, I'll change the link.)

Anyway, it's more or less a promotion for me too, or at least a change. I'll be doing a different kind of work because we will now be working with a panel of other judges to handle appeals, rather than by ourselves to handle trials and motions. The transition is happening fast -- it's effective March 19th -- so we are scrambling to get ready.

Life is certainly interesting!

Angry camels in a car

Turn your volume way up for this one:

My Final Project for Equine Orthopedics

A Sagittal P1 Fracture, In Limericks

A barrel racer whose phalanx was flimsy ,
took a quick turn on a whimsey.
Longitudinal stress persisted,
while his fetlock was twisted,
he grew quite lame and was put in a Kimzey.

He’d fractured his proximal phalanx, articular,
from the mid-sagittal groove in particular.
It was incomplete,
but not very discrete .
It was sagittal, not perpendicular.

Upon obtaining a dorsopalmar view ,
The vet said “There’s something askew.
It isn’t the best,
If it was smaller, you’d rest .
As it is, we’ll have to put in a screw.”

With a lag screw the bone was compressed.
The near cortex, the vet first addressed.
He drilled it to glide
and screw through the far side.
Perfect reduction was thusly possessed.

Thankful for the quick diagnosis,
the owner asked about further necrosis.
The owner was bracing
for bad news about racing,
but the vet gave a good prognosis .

Speaking of Julian Simon

Awash in oil.

THIS KID IS MY HERO!

Ben Berrafato, crusader against homework. How many people think this kid is 10 times smarter than his principal?

For the Mathematically Inclined . . .

It's Square Root Day.

What's Happening

Soak the Rich.

We live off the rich in this country. They send us to school, they pay the lion's and the lioness's share of taxes, and they donate the bulk of money to charities.

It's war.

The question I want to ask the hate-the-rich crowd is: What is it about someone else's success that threatens you so? Is it that it says more about you than it does about them?

The questions I'd like to ask Obama are: Where have you been for the last 25 years? How can you not be aware that giant social programs hamstring an economy and destroy the vitality and verve of a populace? I understand that you want to have control over how we all live, but where the hell do you get off doing so?

The Rocky Road to Dublin

In the merry month of June, from me home I started,
Left the girls of Tuam so nearly broken hearted,
Saluted Father dear, kissed me darling mother,
Drank a pint of beer, me grief and tears to smother,
Then off to reap the corn, leave where I was born,
Cut a stout blackthorn to banish ghosts and goblins;
In a brand new pair of brogues to rattle o'er the bogs
And frighten all the dogs on the rocky road to Dublin,

One two three four five,
Hunt the Hare and turn her down the rocky road
And all the way to Dublin,
Whack fol la de rah!

In Mullingar that night I rested limbs so weary
Started by daylight next morning bright and early
Took a drop of the pure to keep me heart from sinking;
That's a Paddy's cure whenever he's on drinking
See the lassies smile, laughing all the while
At me curious style, 'twould set your heart a bubblin'
Asked me was I hired, wages I required
Till I was nearly tired of the rocky road to Dublin,

(Chorus)

In Dublin next arrived, I thought it be a pity
To be soon deprived a view of that fine city.
Decided to take a stroll, all among the quality;
Me bundle it was stole, all in a neat locality.
Something crossed me mind, when I looked behind,
No bundle could I find upon me stick a wobblin'
Enquiring for the rogue, they said me Connaught brogue
Wasn't much in vogue on the rocky road to Dublin,

(Chorus)

From there I got away, me spirits never falling,
Landed on the quay, just as the ship was sailing.
The Captain at me roared, said that no room had he;
When I jumped aboard, a cabin found for Paddy.
Down among the pigs, played some hearty rigs,
Danced some fancy jigs, the water round me bubbling;
When off to Holyhead wished meself was dead,
Or better off instead than on the rocky road to Dublin,

(Chorus)

The boys of Liverpool, when we were safely landed,
Called meself a fool, I could no longer stand it.
Blood began to boil, temper I was losing;
Poor old Erin's Isle they soon began abusing.
"Hurrah me soul!" says I, shillelagh I let fly.
Some Galway boys were nigh and saw I was a hobble in,
With a loud "hurray!" joined me in the fray.
Quickly cleared the way on the rocky road to Dublin,

(Chorus)

Pictures Pt. 4

More pictures from or near the Causeway. Northern Ireland was really nice. Absolutely beautiful northern coast, and the prices of everything are about half what they are in Dublin.

Pictures Pt. 3

When Colin visited last week, everyday I would come back from class and wake him up by throwing half a warm baguette and some cheddar cheese at him. As you can see, it made him blissfully happy!

Tasting whiskey at 11AM at the Bushmill's Distillery. Sooo tasty. I think I like Irish whiskeys much more than American ones.

The Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. Crazy geological formations, Mom, you would love it.

A hill behind the Causeway

Pictures Pt. 2

Arthur and his girlfriend Emilie

I really liked this etching that was carved into the wall of a school in Bordeaux.

My favorite building in Dublin. Modern architecture is very difficult to find in Europe...

Yeah....

The Energy-Saving Fallacy

There are ads on the radio, paid with tax dollars, exhorting us to save some energy for tomorrow. What's your excuse, they demand to know. Well, suppose, for a second, by shivering more, and staying home more, we could manage to conserve 5% of the energy we would use in a year. And suppose we could do that for 20 years. Ignoring compounding and use growth and other variables, we would have just turned 20 years of energy into 21 years of energy. The planet is saved!

The paradox of energy is that the more we use the more we have. The planet is a limitless source of energy and the only good reason not to use it is if you can't afford it.

A Poem

TOM SMITH AND HIS INCREDIBLE BREAD MACHINE
by R.W. Grant

This is a legend of success and plunder
And a man, Tom Smith,
Who squelched world hunger.
Now Smith, an inventor, has specialized in toys.
So, people were surprised
When they found that he instead
Of making toys, was BAKING BREAD!
The way to make bread he'd conceived
Cost less than people could believe.
And not just make it! This device
Could, in addition, wrap and slice!
The price per loaf, one loaf or many:
The miniscule sum of under a penny.
Can you image what this meant?
Can you comprehend the consequent?
The first time yet the world well fed!
And all because of Tom Smith's bread.
A citation from the President
For Smith's amazing bread.
This and other honors too
Were heaped upon his head.
But isn't it a wondrous thing
How quickly fame is flown?
Smith the hero of today —
Tomorrow, scarcely known.
Yes, the fickle years passed by:
Smith was a millionaire,
But Smith himself was now forgot —
Though bread was everywhere.
People asked from where it came,
Would very seldom know.
They would simply eat and ask,
"Was not it always so?"
However, Smith cared not a bit,
For millions ate his bread,
And "Everything is fine," thought he,
"I am rich and they are fed!"
Everything was fine, he thought?
He reckoned not with fate.
Note the sequence of events
Starting on the date
On which the business tax went up.
Then, to a slight extent,
The price on every loaf rose too:
]Up to one full cent!
"What's going on? the public cried,
"He's guilty of pure plunder.
He has no right to get so rich
On other people's hunger!"
(A prize cartoon depicted Smith
With fat and drooping jowls
Snatching bread from hungry babes
Indifferent to their howls!)
Well, since the
Public does come first,
It could not be denied
That in matters such as this,
The Public must decide.
So, antitrust now took a hand.
Of course, it was appalled
At what it found was going on.
The "Bread trust," it was called.
Now this was getting serious,
So Smith felt that he must
Have a friendly interview
With the men in antitrust.
So, hat in hand, he went to them.
They'd surely been misled;
No rule of law had he defied.
But the their lawyer said:
"The rule of law, in complex times,
Has proved itself deficient.
We much prefer the rule of men!
It's vastly more efficient.
Now, let me state the present rules,
"The lawyer then went on,
"These very simple guidelines
You can rely upon"
You're gouging on you prices if
You charge more than the rest.
But it's unfair competition
If you think you can charge less."
A second point that we would make
To help avoid confusion:
Don't try to charge the same amount:
That would be collusion!
You must compete.
But not too much
For if you do, you see,
Then the market would be yours
And that's monopoly!"
Price too high? Or price too low?
Now, which charge did they make?
Well, they weren't loath to charging both
With Public Good at stake!
In fact, they went one better
They charged "monopoly!"
No muss, no fuss, oh woe is us,
Egad, they charged all three!
"Five years in jail," then the judge then said
"You're lucky it's not worse.
Robber Barons must be taught
Society Comes First!
Now, bread is baked by government.
And as might be expected,
Everything is well controlled:
The public well protected.
True, loaves cost a dollar each.
But our leaders do their best.
The selling price is half a cent.
(Taxes pay the rest!)

Finally Posting Some Pictures Pt. 1

You know, I click the button on my camera all the time, but I always only end up with a handful of pictures that are worth anything. So sorry, these are the best that I have....

Philly with some of those weird people we know.

The whole fam damily!

YAAHH!

Me and Arthur at the bar.