I have nothing against Amazon, nothing against humans living "the good life," nothing against most manifestations of advanced technology.

But when I see some of my fellow citizens deciding a snuggie for a Kindle should be valued at 12 hours of a hamburger flipper's gross pay, I decide some folks are beyond redemption by the wisdom of all mankind as it has been recorded for millenia -- Kindled or otherwise.

Kirk a doodle doo

In the AP lineup this morning is a story on Brown's official ascension to what was once an enemy outpost called the Kennedy Seat.

"Interim Sen. Paul Kirk, appointed by Patrick to temporarily fill the seat, plans a final speech on the Senate floor at about 3:45 p.m. to "discuss the urgent need to move beyond political polarization." (Emphasis added, emphatically).

What a difference a few months and one election make. You may recall that Governor Patrick and Senator Kirk led the Massachusetts legislature and bureaucracy into a n "emergency" (read panicked) revision of the Bay State laws and rules of procedure precisely to avoid moving beyond "political polarization."

Sure, it was predictable. So what? Must hypocisy be surprising in order to be held despicable?

There is one more predicable thing on tap. Senate Critter John Kerry, D-Mass., will, on the next close vote, demand Sen. Brown become "bi-partisan." Just like the said, sad, Sen. Kerry. And Kennedy, too, of course.

And if that ain't the by-Zeus truth I'll kiss your arse atop Desk #83 and give you time to fill the galleries and focus the C-Span cams.

Groundhog Down

Go ahead and steal the title for a new movie if you want.

I'm just thinking how nice it would be to have than damned marmot covered by the big .45 Black Hawk full of 210 grain HBWCs loaded backwards.

Ah so Toyoda-san, (redux)

So your pedal that wouldn't go back and forth is being fixed with a shim.

A shim? A freaken shim!?

And it doesn't help a damned bit to re-edit the news releases and in the second-day issues to call the shim a "precision steel plate."

You are in a good deal of trouble with us folks who tinker with guns. We know all about shims. We use shims to (barely) salvage rifle scope installations which we have totally screwed up due to purchasing incorrect or badly designed parts, or to simple laziness, or to ineptitude.

But at least we hardly ever claim our shim is a precision steel plate.

Hell, I guess I wouldn't mention fixing a deadly flaw on a $40,000 car with a 30-cent shim either. Shim sounds like sham which would remind some car buyers of scam which might get them wondering what other hidden and fatal shortcuts the Toyoda samurai might be trying to get away with.

On the other hand, I find your interior fabric collection simply stunning.