So I look at the Times this morning and I see two stories about Supreme Court decisions:

First: WASHINGTON, June 28 - With competing blocs of justices claiming the mantle of Brown v. Board of Education, a bitterly divided Supreme Court declared Thursday that public school systems cannot seek to achieve or maintain integration through measures that ( Read more... )

Consider the Algerian War. Imagine that, circa 1960, the French public and chattering classes were to admit that they had lost the war, but then went on to explain why they could not leave Algeria, because they had a moral obligation to the country. That is, the army that had been fighting a war against the country had to stay behind to help ( Read more... )

The Girl and I went to a 60s-themed party at thoroughbass's apartment on Friday. You hear 60s party and think hippie, headband, bell bottoms, right? Not this mook. I went as one of what Kennedy called "The Best and the Brightest":


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I worry about prattling on about my hobbies. Yet someone once laughed at me for feeling self-conscious about rambling in my livejournal, so fair's fair. Also, damn. How could you not think that wood is pretty cool? Look at this piece of quilted maple:

( behind a cut because huge )

Woodworkers, save your scraps! You can for example take a leftover length of mahogany--less than two feet by four inches...


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My opinion on legalizing gay marriage was like my opinion on smoking bans. Neither is an issue I can get passionate enough about to vigorously campaign for. Once they are law, neither is an issue that I will ever support removing. Yes, of course I support equal rights for gays; I'm just ambivalent enough about marriage that one's "right to marry" ( Read more... )

Q: Why are woodworkers always wetting themselves over tropical hardwoods? Is it the color or the hardness or something ( Read more... )

la_chispa: I like this "getting up early in the morning" thing.
la_chispa: You should try it some time.
the_macnab: I got up at 6.30. You got up at 6.14. Fuck off.
la_chispa: You did not get up at 6.30. You snoozed.
the_macnab: I got up at 6.39. Fine. I slept 25 minutes longer than you did.
la_chispa: I got up at 6.11.
the_macnab: I'm going to punch you in the mouth. You ever been punched there? It hurts.
the_macnab: If I ( Read more... )

la_chispa, tinctoris, our friend Richard and I rode in Bikes Not Bombs's 20th annual Bike-a-Thon yesterday. Picture is the link to the flickr set:


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The Supreme Court does so many outrageous things these days that it's hard to keep track. Still, you might want to search around a bit to read the Court's 5-4 decision about the limits under which employees can sue employers for discrimination in pay. The majority has decided that employees must file charges within 180 days of being employed. ( Read more... )