Just received word that my grandmother passed away this afternoon. We’d been expecting it, but still, when a person has already lived into her mid 90s, you kind of expect that she’ll always be around. Tough old birds aren’t supposed to die. They’re supposed to stick around and peck at you whenever you try reaching for a cookie without asking first. They’re supposed to keep their sofas covered in heavy

In a post defending Karen Armstrong’s Guardian piece (on which Dan wrote here) advocating for an Orwellian idea of “tolerance” — by way of an institutionalization of politically correct speech when the objects of that speech are protected groups designated by the elites who presume to prescribe the parameters of what counts as “tolerant” — Mahablog counts protein wisdom among the “haters” whose “knee-jerk reactions” could be reduced to this:

While Jeff’s busy fixing computer gizmo stuff, what better way to pass the time than by watching intactivists go into a frenzy?  Wait . . . what’s that you’re using for chum, pal? ** Mass circumcision to fight Aids ** South African Aids experts call for mass circumcision after studies showed it reduced HIV infections. < http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/africa/6730261.stm > ** BBC Daily E-mail ** Choose the news and sport headlines you want

Thousands of people in Britain were left stranded in villages and towns Monday during the worst flooding in 60 years, which Prime Minister Gordon Brown linked to climate change. Swathes of central and western England were submerged as rivers swelled and burst their banks during four days of heavy rain, leaving thousands without clean water or electricity and facing the prospect of more rain. The largely rural counties of Gloucestershire,

Sorry for the lack of posting, but I’ve been spending this morning trying to get my computer to update software and the like. Still working at it. I’ll be back as soon as I can get things figured out. In the meantime, please enjoy a refreshing beverage and a snack, provided for your convenience: Diet Coke / Diet Dr Pepper / Arizona Ice Tea Cheezits Pistachio nuts bite-sized Twix bars