What are the first two rules?

When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done. — John M. Keynes

keep to the Fen Causeway

I gave blood earlier today.  My blood comes out very slowly apparently, giving me a full 15 minutes with the needle and a concerned nurse watching my blood drip out at it's most leisurely pace. So I need to drink more fluid, be less laid back and not so little next time.  

I felt reasonably ok until I got home and then projectile vomitted in the sink from about 6 feet away. A finely honed skill.

A night of chilling out is called for and we have another long bank holiday weekend to look forward to, Monday AND Tuesday off.

Ad astra per aspera

quote from NYT but I'm not linking.

While much of the Congressional political focus has been on the declining fortunes and numbers of House Republicans, House Democrats have their own problem - they are winning too many elections.

By prevailing in conservative locales where they ordinarily would not have a chance, Democrats are widening the ideological divide in their own ranks and complicating their ability to find internal consensus.

"Your closet's scarier than Bush's Agenda"

While googling for the image, I also found this one from last year:

Admittedly, they were probably hobbled last week by the SATs, but every time I look out the window, they're standing around doing nothing.  And, with the assistance of a small mechanical digger, they've shifted less cubic meterage than a single nineteenth century canal builder could have managed in a day with a pick.

I'm all for Keynesian employment, but I'm getting a bit irritated.  They could be mowing lawns for the elderly or something.  Hell, they could be mowing mine.

I have seen the future, and it works.

O.K., I know that these days you're supposed to see the future in China or India, not in the heart of "old Europe."

But we're living in a world in which oil prices keep setting records, in which the idea that global oil production will soon peak is rapidly moving from fringe belief to mainstream assumption. And Europeans who have achieved a high standard of living in spite of very high energy prices -- gas in Germany costs more than $8 a gallon -- have a lot to teach us about how to deal with that world.

If Europe's example is any guide, here are the two secrets of coping with expensive oil: own fuel-efficient cars, and don't drive them too much.

Allowing scientists to carry out stem cell research using hybrid human-animal embryos "is a step too far and should be banned", the Commons has heard.

Senior Tory MP Edward Leigh said there was "no evidence yet to substantiate" claims that this may lead to treatment for Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

Gordon Brown has urged MPs to back the work, saying it is a "moral endeavour" that could save thousands of lives.

MPs are voting on a series of reforms to embryology laws that date from 1990.

The measures, part of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, are aimed at updating laws in line with scientific advances.

The tiny state of San Marino is poised to take a great leap when it takes part in the Eurovision Song Contest for the very first time.

The Appenine country surrounded entirely by Italy - population 31,000, popular exports stamps and coins - is pinning its hopes on five-piece band Miodio to make a musical impression with their song Complice.

So why has the small republic, said to be the world's oldest, decided to join the Eurovision family?

Almost 10 years after the Ottawa Treaty banned the use of landmines, more than 100 countries are gathering on Monday to attempt to ban cluster bombs as well. However, the United States and other big producers will not be attending. Washington is arguing that the proposed treaty threatens to undermine the very fabric of NATO...

The biggest producers of the cluster weapons, the United States, China, Israel and Russia, are not attending the 12-day conference and have been lobbying hard to have it watered down. Benjamin Chang, a spokesman for the US mission to the United Nations, told Reuters that Washington is opposed to any ban. "We do not believe they are indiscriminate weapons."

Some of those who are attending, particularly the United Kingdom, are hoping to secure exemptions on certain weapons, or have more time to dismantle their arsenal. And there is also a push by allies of the US to scrap or water down a key clause that would prohibit signatories from mounting joint operations with any state that uses cluster bombs, something the US argues would make the alliance almost unworkable.

Humanitarian organizations are pushing for a complete ban, which they argue would be a measure comparable in importance to the ban on the use of land mines agreed in 1999. Groups such as Human Rights Watch emphasize the danger cluster weapons pose to civilians in particular. Dropped from planes or fired from artillery, cluster bombs explode in mid-air, randomly scattering bomblets. Many fail to explode and are scattered across terrain, causing death or injury to civilians -- particularly children who sometimes mistake them for toys.

The International Committee of the Red Cross says it continues to see the consequence of the bombs. "Cluster munitions are weapons that never stop killing," ICRC President Jakob Kellenberger said in a statement last week.

The case of Formula One boss Max Mosley and his uniformed prostitute flagellation orgy took a new twist over the weekend, as it emerged that one of the ladies of negotiable affection involved was married to an MI5 operative.

The Sunday Times reports that the Security Service (MI5) officer in question was forced to resign last month, for failing to disclose the nature of his wife's work during vetting procedures. The man, said to be in his 40s, was a former Royal Marine who had worked in surveillance while in the forces.

just when you thought a story couldn't get any stranger.

Interviewer: What do you believe is behind this recent increase in terrorist bombings? Helpmann: Bad sportsmanship

I am finally 100% over the flu. I can run up the stairs at work without getting winded again. Just in time for summer. Still gotta drop my 5 lbs of winter weight for beach season.

Going to see Richie Hawtin (plastikman) in two weeks, and I'm going to a rave down in the big sur mountains in three weeks. I can't wait.

you are the media you consume.