Obama the Decider

This is really excellent. I'm glad not to be in Obama's shoes.

A "pop-a-shot" ?

You know what I've always wanted? My very own Whack-a-Mole game.

Is a pop-a-shot like a human cannon, only with a spring-loaded button instead of gunpowder?

'Cause if it is, I want pictures and to know how that passed any kind of safety standard...

I thought that pop-a-shot had something to do with the wine cave. Rusty nails and barbed wire has nothing on playing in traffic.

My thing about the swing set is, is it American made or at least sold by an American company? And if so, are they getting the same boost that J. Crew did from the Obama kids' clothes?

I'm not a parent but have been hoping for a little stimulative effect or windfall for the swing set company since it was installed. Whoever they are, I would like them to sell more swing sets and preserve jobs. I wonder if there will be a delayed effect in their sales come warmer weather.

BTW, although it's not how swing sets were years ago, there are tons of these elaborate, colorful projects in how-to books and online, although this particular one is obviously not a do-it-yourself effort. I'm guessing there is probably a kit version for families (okay, dads) to put together and maybe less fancy but cheaper versions as well.

sending positive energy you way, Wilbrod. *sigh*

I'm going to tidy up the bunker, as it looks like a front page day.

To me, a revolutionary is just another word for a radical - someone who believes that the system is so corrupt that it cannot be saved. A reformer believes that there is still hope.

The problem with radicals, of course, is that it is always way easier to tear something down than build something up. And radical zeal tends to make one blind to compromise.

As I mentioned earlier, I am listening to a book about Gandhi and Churchill that touches on a lot of relevant themes. Despite his popular image, Gandhi wanted to be reformer. His original goal was simply to secure the rights due to Indians as citizens of the British Empire. But the intransigience of the Brits (especially Churchill) combined with the revolutionary zeal of his followers forced him to places he originally wanted to avoid. (For good reason.)

I can't help but see Obama in a similar role. He wants to reform, but he is facing an intransigient opposition and some fired-up supporters. It is a difficult position, and will be a true test of his leadership.

Not that I am holding up Obama as being like Gandhi. Just being in a similar situation.

I mean, a swing-set like the Obama's would doubtless have given Gandhi the vapors.

Obama to Geithner: "You're doing a heck of a job, Timmy."

Our *only* swingset I and my sister knew was made from leftover pipe and chain from the oilfields--welded by a friend of my father's. Durable for decades.

What the 60-minutes piece and this article fail to reveal is who actually paid for the swing set. Did the Obama's pay for it themselves, did the taxpayers foot the bill, or was it donated by a third party organization like the Presidential china? If the taxpayers are actually footing the bill for this monstrosity, which I'm guessing cost in the tens of thousands of dollars, there may be more "outrage" given today's rabid populism.

The swingset was not paid for by taxpayers. Very few of the personal expenses of the President and his family - including their food - is paid for by taxpayers.

Thanks, Jack and all on the boodle.

But he did not buy the swing set--he asked for 2 swings for the girls and that is what he got. I did like the rock climbing part--I think those rock climbers are great. But don't matter, Michele had them on the other side digging for a garden.

I wish they would show more of the family and not hide them all the time. I know safety is a concern and they also want this "life in the bubble" to be as normal as possible for them.

Either way lets not be knit pickers!

What we don't know is whether the Obamas paid for the "swing set" or whether a company or someone gave it to them. If it was given to them, they need to declare it as income. In either case, it was a shallow decision to put such a high-end "swing set" in while telling us that we have to sacrifice. As far as I can determine, the Obamas haven't sacrificed one thing yet. If they had, he would have brought it to our attention.

Obama mentioned about playing in dirt and mud when he was a kid. Well, there are a lot of kids who are still doing that today. He acts as though he was deprived as a child. No matter what he says, the "swing set" and the publicity about it are in poor taste. And him saying he would keep an eye out for backlash was just downright ignorant.

The comments about the play set suggest some commenters are from a more insulated and upscale social class than they may realize. Take a quick look on Google for "outdoor play sets" or "children's play sets" or similar phrases. The testimonials are all from middle-class families, usually in the Midwest.

When I took a quick survey of these things online, the one I saw that most approximated the Obama swing set was on the Walmart website. I'm sure theirs is a pricier, more solid version, but the concept of these sets is nothing new to normal parents outside the Beltway.

Admiral Rochon, who selected the play set, has broken barriers himself as the first African American chief White House usher. Somehow, the idea that he made the exact same choice for the Obama girls that any suburban grandfather would make, is not cause for outrage for me.

We had a swingset. When I got going pretty fast I could make the whole thing rock off the ground. Made my mother very nervous.

Swingsets are important learning tools because they teach kids about resonance. It matters less how hard you pump your legs than it does how quickly. It's all about matching the driving frequency to the natural frequency of the system.

But when I tried to explain this to my young son he simply rolled his eyes. (These kids today.)

Of course, the most fun place ever when I was a kid was the wide slow shallow stream that coursed through the woods across from our house. We called it "The Swamp" and made many unsuccessful attempts at sailing its serene surface with rafts. I was always the test pilot because I had a notable lack of common sense.

These voyages would always begin with great fanfare, and then, without fail, end in disaster as yet another noble craft met a watery grave.

In retrospect, a reliance on cardboard as a structural material might not have been the most prudent choice.

These disasters were always followed by a desperate attempt to dry out my pants and socks before mother found out.

Like I said. A lack of common sense.

A little Googling shows that the swing set is from Rainbow Play Systems of South Dakota. We had a Rainbow swing set, of a lesser model, which conveyed to the new owners when we sold our house -- it was a fair amount of work to put up, but even worse to break down and move, so we didn't even try. When we got it, we had an assembly party and brought guys over to spend an afternoon assembling it. When we moved it from one part of the yard to another, we had another party and got about six guys to lift the whole thing and relocate it.

Ours was a demo model, so we paid about 50% price. The Obama's is on the order of two to three times the level of niftiness in the playset that we had. I wouldn't know what the current price would be for such a thing. A lot less than a house, but not far off from a new low-end car. You should know, however, that Rainbow makes models that make this one look like a triviality, like rusty nails and barbed-wire with mud, by comparison. The King Kong model in the showroom stood three stories high (plus a treehouse deck another half-a-floor higher) and boasted a 360° spiral tube slide. I can knowledgably report that the slide was a hoot.

And in the Department of Redundancy Department:

Front Page Alert

_______________

Wilbrod, a "pop-a-shot" is sort of a mini-basketball free throw game you see in arcades. How many baskets can you make in 90 seconds, that sort of thing.

Why not a tire swing? We used to redirect the tire into the tree, just to see if the rider was paying attention.

This obsession with the swingset is just foolish. We need to give our attention to weighty matters. You know, like the shocking fact that the White House Veggy Garden will not have beets.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/21/AR2009032101758.html

No beets???? I'm apalled. Maybe there will be some shrubbery. With a path running down the middle.

No beets? What will they have with chevre?

The swing set retailed at $7K, but the company said there was a discount. The Obamas paid for it.

It looks kind of like the one my neighbors have. Eh. Move on.

And not too expensive.

RDP, you popped open the lid on the big box of childhood memories. My house was on one side of a steep ravine, my elementary school on the other. A chunk of cardboard, large enough to sit on and hold on to, made for a quick ride going downhill. I usually did that on the return home trip, otherwise I'd be too dirty for class.

SciTim, so good to see you back. How's the leg?

The principal advantages of the fancy play sets are non-obvious until you actually try to play on one -- we selected ours because it was "Tim-Tested." The heft of the chains on the swings is such that an adult can swing along with the kids with confidence. It will hold the most overweight or energetic of American children. The beams are 4"X4" or 6"X6" redwood (not 2"X4" or 4"X4" pressure-treated pine), with the major overhead beam 6"X8". Assembly is with steel bolts throughout, not wood screws. The A-frame spreads far enough that a child cannot rock it off the ground, but no concrete footings are required. I had some complaints with our set, but they were related to cosmetic issues, not structural. If we had a bit more money, they would have been easily fixed with original-equipment replacements. It lasted 10 years for us, and probably will be good for another 5 to 10. If I had maintained it better (I am certain White House facilities people will maintain the Obamas' set), it could easily last 20 to 30 years.

I would estimate that the Obama's playset did not cost "tens of thousands" of dollars but closer to ten-and-a-half. Less than 2 tens. In case it has slipped anyone's mind, both adult Obamas are successful lawyers and the Presidency, while not paying at Master of the Universe levels, does not pay chicken-feed. It also has an excellent pension plan, so retirement investments are not a problem. The whole point of economic stimulus is to get money into circulation rather than hoarding it, if you can afford to do so. These folks can afford this thing out of personal funds. I am sure that the South Dakotan craftsmen who built this playset appreciate the fact that the Obamas sent some personal stimulus their way.

But will the vegetable garden attract varmints?

I keep envisioning some unlucky Secret Service agent standing out their in shades and a earpiece keeping the area secure.

And when he gets bored running over to try to beat Obama's record on the "pop-a-shot."

Obama has done pretty well with those books of his too.

Only $7K? Is that with all the optional doodads (like the treehouse level in addition to the standard playdeck)?

Ours had a tire swing under the deck, one of the kind with three chains holding the tire, swinging from a central pivot.

Hi Don. The leg is improving. Still twinges when I walk, but I can do a little cautious jumping and climb stairs with it, now. I expect to be able to try (gently!) running again by the end of the week.

Wow! A CLASSY SWING set for Sasha and Malia! Let's bit$h about THAT for a while and forget about the $165 Million in taxpayer bonuses paid to AIG, the $50,000 corporate jets, the million dollar office renovations for Merrill Lynch and Bank of America...and the trillion dollar bailout of the messed up banks.....the greedy CEO's.

Now we have a REAL issue for the Wingnut crazies to holler about! A SWING SET on the White House Lawn for two little girls stuck living there for at least four years!

BURN DOWN THAT SWING SET!! LET SASHA AND MALIA PLAY IN THE MUD!!

Seriously, President Obama, I LOVE the swing set! I hope those darling little girls and their friends have a lot fun playing on it!

Leave Sasha's and Malia's swing set out of this. My goodness ... the girls live in a fish bowl. They are confined in ways other children are not. Let them have some fun on their swing set.

Growing up we didn't have anything near the swing set they have, but I'm happy for them. They didn't ask to be the First Daughters.

As for President Obama: He has inherited a huge, huge mess. How many of you could clean it up in two months? None of you.

I think the informed comments here on buying swing sets (play sets?), plus the detailed childhood memories, are part of what make washingtonpost.com so interesting for me to read. Thanks to everyone for sharing.

Also occurs to me that as a child, I could wander the local woods and streams at an amazingly young age, totally out of sight of my parents, with nobody considering this shocking or neglectful. If there had been a local park with swings, I could have gone there on my own, too. Today's kids are more likely to be playing in the confines of the backyard, so I can see why backyard play sets have gotten more elaborate.

Tim,

http://www.azcentral.com/style/hfe/decor/articles/2009/03/19/20090319whitehouseswing.html

Cashmere1, exactly. Let's all go play in the mud!

Obama garden:
>Local schoolchildren will bust the sod and help with the gardening.

That sod busting is no easy task. If I had to do mine again I think I would rototill that part of the lawn under instead of digging it up and taking it away.

Cure for muscle cramp in calf commonly known as a charlie horse:

Grab toes on afflicted leg with hand. Pull back.

Cure is instant and painless. You will never have to suffer through a charlie horse again.

My father-and-law and I spent an afternoon in the spring of 1994 assembling a wooden swing-set with integrated slide. This is a good memory, despite the tensions that inevitably occur when doing projects with my father-in-law. He doesn't believe in reading directions, so my job was to always keep one step ahead in the process. This was challenging because construction required approximately 17,000 steps. And pre-drilled holes have been known to not precisely align.

I supplemented the design with a small covered sandbox beneath the platform that led to the slide. My daughter and I created many amazing and eerily-realistic castles over the years. (Of course, the sandbox also became home to an alarming number of cave crickets that would jump out when we removed the top.)

Despite the notorious sandbox, both children had much fun on this swingset over the years. My son used to sell imaginary ice-cream cones from the platform above the slide. My daughter would love to swing for hours and watch me do yard work.

Then age and the sly allure of video games caused them to abandon the swing set. I eventually took it down a few years ago. But I kept a small piece of wood as a memento. For these were good times. Even with the cave crickets.

"single squeaky little swing perched over a puddle"
The puddle is perfect. I am lost in admiration.

A wonderful interview. He was smiling at times and relaxed. This guy is cool. I love that. Keep looking ahead Mr. President and watch your back at the same time. Multi-tasking is what it's about.

Obama's mind is a playground.
He should feel right at home, in the windmills of his mind.

mako2, if that cure is painless, then that confirms that what I had was not a charlie-horse. Tension on the calf muscle provoked by such a maneuver (I tried gentle stretching immediately) created astounding agony, complete with bad words and the sense of an impending fainting spell.

I considered (and still consider) the possibility of a torn muscle. I was doing nothing extravagant or unusual at the time. It was a highly-concentrated "pop!", followed by a highly concentrated region of extreme tenderness and sensitivity to stress on the leg muscle. As of yesterday, I was limping about fairly briskly and without much pain. As of today, I can walk almost normally. The relatively rapid recovery argues against "torn muscle" as a diagnosis. I still don't expect to try jogging until next weekend, at the earliest.

I hope Obama gets to play on the swing set too. Those things are awesome and, as someone has remarked, absolutely unremarkable for middle-class families all over the Midwest. We didn't get one because the Boy, unlike most of his friends, has a few acres to roam. Also, it was overkill for an only child. But had we had two, boy, I'd have been there. Especially for kids confined to a yard (and I suspect the First Family is on a pretty short leash) these things are wonderful.

The First Family is making the White House into something of a real house - an outdoor play set and a vegetable garden. This sends great messages to the country: get your kids outside, away from the computer and TV, and eat fresh vegetables. What's not to like? [Other than the absence of beets, of course.]

And you have to admire the Obamas' clever subterfuge in pretending to involve the community in the garden while really finding a source of cheap child labor. We still do the same with the family kids whenever possible.

You forgot to mention that Obama was one of the biggest recipients of AIG campaign money. Chris Dodd was another. When you say pragmatism that is factor number one in his decision-making. Politics as usual.......

"62 million dollars for something called 'volcano monitoring'..."
Bobby Jindal, TV address criticizing Obama's first spending bill

Today's news:
"Alaska volcano Mount Redoubt erupts 5 times
WILLOW, Alaska -- Alaska's Mount Redoubt volcano erupted five times overnight, sending an ash plume more than 9 miles into the air in the volcano's first emissions in nearly 20 years.
...Ash from Alaska's volcanos is like a rock fragment with jagged edges and ... can also cause damage engines in planes, cars and other vehicles.
Alaska Airlines on Monday canceled 19 flights in and out of the Anchorage international airport because of the ash.
Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage told only essential personnel to report to work. The Air Force says 60 planes, including fighter jets, cargo aircraft and a 747 commercial plane, were being sheltered."

The USGS volcano monitoring service has been warning for weeks that Mt Redoubt was due to erupt.

The USAF has already credited USGS volcano monitoring with saving billions at US bases in the Philippines by predicting Mt Pinatubo's eruption.

The USGS VMS also predicted Mt St Helens' eruption, allowing timely evacuation and saving hundreds of lives.

It has already paid back good value for that $62 million ... within less than a month.

Further proof, if any were needed, that Republicans are ignorant fools who hate science and cannot be trusted to protect Americans from even the most obvious dangers.

(I post this here because science is Joel Achenbach's beat).

Taking a hard right turn into nonkit territory, I note that we have not had a quiz in a very long time. How 'bout one from Reader's Digest?

http://www.rd.com/living-healthy/quiz-can-you-spot-a-liar/article28135.html

Would you believe that I got a perfect score? Didn't think so.

Jack, thanks for vacuuming and dusting. I got the bathrooms finished, and the fresh strawberry cobbler should be coming out of the oven shortly. The bunker is open for business!

My swingset was two swings separated by a ladder, early 50's basic. But I loved it and was highly annoyed when my parents gave it to the family that lived behind us. I'm sure it rusted out years ago.

I'm delighted the Obamas are going to have a vegetable garden. My plans are maturing; Mr. T moved earth for a raised bed, and I bought a couple of tomato plants and peppers yesterday at Lowe's. Now I need to get the seeds out and start them - squash, beans, cosmos, zinnias, etc.

I think I may pull more weeds out of the periwinkle this afternoon, and cut the deadwood out of the hydrangea. Maybe I'll plant the rosemary too. Rosemary likes the spot at the corner of the house; I had to pull the last bush out for Mr. T's drainage project, but it was about six feet in circumference and looked awful. The new plant will grow fast.

I mean really.....it's a swing set w/ extra's.....give me a break. Are we really going to constantly pick apart everything? So maybe you had to play w/ dirt and nails; does that mean everybody else's kids need to play w/ dirt & nails?

It's a humor blog. Good thing you noticed the illogic. Too bad your laugh muscles don't work properly.

My swingset growing up?

Dad obtained four old telephone poles, creosote and all. He dug three post holes and, using the fourth pole as the crossbeam, cobbled eyebolts, 1-inch rope and what I think were telephone lineman "seats" into what was likely the sturdiest 4-swing piece of play equipment in the county.

Perhaps in the state.

Yes, cigilmore, yes! Dirt and nails and small sticks. Not even sticks - twigs! We played with twigs! and dry grass!

It's a humor blog. Think of it as making fun of people who complain about a swingset, and perhaps it will make sense.

Actually, we did play with dry grass. We scraped it up in piles and made elaborate little houses and pathways. And this was on a playground with equipment, too.

Joel, you never have been to a park in Chicago have you? Many of the parks here are wonderfully equipped with swing sets somewhat similar to what you described. (Except for the pony, moon bounce and zip line, although my local Y does have a zip line.) In the three suburban towns I have lived since 2001, all have their share of well kept parks with great facilities. All three are well integrated towns on the edge of the city and children of many races can typically be seen playing in these parks. I can currently walk to three wonderful parks each with a variety of facilities and equipment. As I work and drive through the south and west sides of Chicago, I see plenty of nice parks with well kept equipment. Obama the Senator may have been able to take his children to these parks, obviating the need for any private swing set; however, Obama the President could never do this without placing his children at risk. This, to me, is a non-issue and I do not begrudge a father treating his children in a way that keeps them safe and healthy.

Get off Obama's JOCK. The swing set was a GIFT. Hell, I'd accept it, too, instead of spending my own money on something that extravagant. Also, keep in mind that this is a set for the WHITE HOUSE, not the white house on your corner.

What I really want to know is what she's actually growing in that garden. Judging by his performance on "60 Minutes" the answer seems pretty darn clear.

I bought a cheap steel-tube swing set for the kids but I certainly see the point of those big sturdy wood sets. The tube set is flimsy and light and so it has to be anchored on each legs. 2 out of 4 original anchors failed and I replaced all four with 3ft of 1" pipe driven in the ground. Much later, the Fungi and his teenage friends bent the cross member and one of the poles of the see-saw. So finally I put a "free for the taker" sign on it one Saturday morning. This guy stopped almost immediately and said he would be back to pick it up a little later. He came back with a friend in an antique horizon within the hour. They didn't dismantle the set. They just straddled it over the car and drove away, with me laughing my head off in my driveway. Hopefully there wasn't any highway driving involved.

This is the forecast for St-John's tomorrow morning. Doesn't look promising for commercial aviation being on time and all that.
"Periods of snow changing to periods of freezing drizzle in the morning. Snowfall amount 2 cm. Wind north 50 km/h gusting to 80. High zero."

The ones that kill me are the fake tire on a rope they sell. Oh, you're too good for a REAL tire on a rope? This is what I ask myself. When I was swing-aged, we lived across from an elementary school. Not an issue. Ball fields, swings, all convenient. I suspect the girls want a place to hang out and swing preferably without 100,000 people watching. I would have managed to make a hedged-off area for them.

I wonder if the Republicans OR the Democrats have a strong desire to stop megacorporate mergers and consequent megamonopolies from occurring. If we don't look out we'll end up with two companies: Acme and Tempworld. Everyone will work AT Acme, but will officially work for Tempworld. With no benefits, for close to minimum wage. Except the Chairpeople of the Board of Acme, of course. I think the Chairpeople would be very happy.

Dry grass is a lot of fun. My whole PS got in trouble for playing with it.
One spring Friday a couple of inventive kids found your could make a neat fort by forming and arch with sections of rusty old panel fencing they found and covering it with hay the farmer had left uncut in the field beside the school.
By sunday there must have been 2 acres of the farmers field under cover and about 50 yards of shiny new panel fence had been ripped off the posts.
Monday morning there was a school assembly and the tongue lashing began.
It's a good thing the screws couldn't identify individuals. Those were the days when they liked to lash more than tongues.

You had dry grass, Ivansmom? Well, la dee da! What we wouldn't have given for some dry grass! We had to get up at 11 at night and dig 16 hours in the radium mines. With our hands! And we called it fun, and thanked our lucky stars!

There is a "Herding Cats" wine
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36066289@N00/2535868613/

No more boodlehogging today. I am off with a chainsaw to assist elsewhere. We are presuming, based on some early intel, that both Bailey, and my journalist relative, who work at the local paper, have survived the latest round of job cuts.

So far I have seen little from Mr. Krugman that I have agreed with. If he is driven to despair by the President, I got to like it.

Holy Crap!
I mouse-sized rodent just appeared under my entertainment sweetie. I'm more astounded than upset because it looked like a mole. I've never heard of a mole in a house.
Shirley it's too early for them to be active?
Buddy is an excellent mouser, I hope he can adjust.

A vole maybe? The cat is eating them all year long. She can't be bothered to catch the mice living in the house but hunting voles is her life project. She's not very good at catching the moles tunnelling the flower beds either; she's a very specialized predator.

It's one thing for a person to disagree with Krugman's op-ed today. But for the Washington Post's Pearlstein to say on Andrea Mitchell's MSNBC show a few minutes ago that Krugman didn't read the new Geithner-Obama toxic asset plan, so that Krugman didn't understand it, and therefore wrote his unlearned op-ed today...

Lessee, did Pearlstein actually interview or talk to Krugman to learn that he didn't read the details of the plan?

Mitchell lost me months ago when she said to Chuck Todd about the cancer program that the three major networks were going to host. "Oh, the program won't be dry; it'll be fun and entertaining." My mother's breast cancer wasn't fun, and the hole in my husband's arm from malignant melanoma certainly wasn't entertaining. He finally wore--because the temperatures demanded it--several weeks ago, for the very first time since August, a short sleeve shirt into the office, without the cover of a wrapped bandage, so that the crater and scar on his left arm showed.

A vole? I don't believe I've seen one or perhaps I've always been confusing voles and moles (and myself). Hmmmmm. Thanks. I'll google.

Strawberry cobbler's on the stovetop, y'all eat up so I don't have to. I did try it, and it's pretty good.

The neighborhood park was across the big street and two long blocks away. I suppose I was 7 or 8 before I was deemed old enough to walk down there on my own. The best part was the creek that ran through the playground area. We neglected the playground equipment for playing in the creek. Alas, Parks and Rec has put in culverts and covered the creek up. I don't know why anybody would go there anymore.

laloomis, I think a bunch of us know first-hand, or a real real close second-, that the disease is not sunshine and roses. I think she was talking about the fundraiser being fun and entertaining, which actually does help if you're trying to raise funds.

Also, upper arm? FYI, people who aren't really great at following *all* of the doctor's orders will find that it is not hard to rip that baby open, even months later, and end up back at the drs so it can heal properly. And if he's not wearing short sleeves because of the scar, remind him that scars are signs that you've lived, and not spent your life up on a shelf somewhere.

About childish entertaining...you had dirt to play with? Talk about upscale. We only had clay.

I remember when 450 was paved, so we had somewhere to skate other than the cellar.

I remember the big snowstorm when they were building the beltway, and jumping off the overpass into the snow below (yeah, I didn't get that whole 'you could get hurt' lesson down until much later in life than normal. Also took an awful long time for the 'if your friends are jumping off the bridge' lecture to make sense. And, as it turns out, the answer to that one was yes!)

Bro2, who had a scientific bent but not the proper outlet, built this contraption, said 'hey LiT, come stand here,' and WHAM! catapulted me. Or I guess attempted to catapult me. Ouch!

A swingset might have been cool. And in the long run, it probably would have cost a lot less in emergency room visits.

This is where we played growing up.
http://www.davidbergerphotography.com/Ayrshire-Dairy-Slough2.jpg

Note the fabulous prairie grasses. Ivansmom! Tis a slough with the mud dried in swirled patterns.

Wish I had the arrow heads, pony beads, and the occasional gun shell or bullet we would find. This is near the big ox bough of the Missouri River. Some think that the Lewis and Clark Expedition may have stashed their huge keel boat near this ox bough.

The school ground had the VERY HIGH swings that legend said we could achieve forces to wrap around, which would only scare the livingbeJaysusandwhatwasforlunch out of us. If we hung on, we would simply arrive back into to swing-mode but on a shorter chain. We also had the most astonishingly HIGH simple slides. Remember when bread came in a wax paper bag? We used them to polish the slide. Girls had an advantage over boys: tights slide faster than dungarees.

Wilbrod: I read that sad story. On two list-serves for the Brookland and Michigan Park/Turkey Thicket are all sorts of helping practical alerts for the children. Erika H.'s sister lives near Catholic U.

It's a Northern Short-tailed Shrew. Which I shall eschew (if you get my meaning) shortly.

You had access to clay or dirt all year around? Lucky you! All we had for half the year was snow and ice.

OhMiGoodNess: On Google Street view, you might be able to check out your old playgrounds. I report that the Giganto-slide and Gigunda Swing are gone. Replaced by a tasteful and safe kiddie kastle play set thingie. The ball diamonds are gone but the plot is reconfigured to several short-side soccer fields. What remains is the snow fence. New I am sure, but somethings never change: blowing snow from the wind that roars down the Rockies, whipping over the riverbed and slamming into that field. Without the snow fences, the roads and one story houses are buried in snow drifts.

And the tiny blue spruces we planted circa 1967 and 8 are the BIGGEST trees on the block now. You cannot even see the front of the house. Still white clapboard atop red brick. With the ranch dinner bell handing near the breezeway. STILL THERE! We got it as a doorprize at a cattle roundup one year. (Mountain oysters on the menu, GWE.)

I am done now. Thanks for the nostalgia moment.

You were allowed to play? We were chained to our looms.

Sorry, past life comes out in times of extreme faux outrage.

Ah a shrew! Cute little predator, they eat bugs, worms and stuff you know, not grain. Maybe it had views on buddy!

I don't know if it's BS or not but someone told me that the American pigmy shrew (most live in Canada though) is , at 2.5g, the smallest mammal predator. It certainly has the cutest of sharp little teeth. I caught and kept one in a cage at summer camp, eons ago. We fed it crickets, worms and other delicacies. It died (of old age, I think) before the end of the summer, untamed.

Oh yeah...the sliding board at the school was a real shiny metal. In the summer, you risked second degree burns on the back of your legs. If it ws really hot, you stuck to the slide. Double ouch. And no landing on a composite material...you went straight into the gravel.

Aaah, the good old days.

My childhood swing set wasn't very fun because my dad never cemented the poles/footings (you had to do that back then) and if you swung too far the footings would rise up off the ground. Occasionally the whole thing would topple over.

But at my mom's little 'farm' (30 acres on the Pennsylvania side of the Blue Ridge Mountains) we would find very tall sturdy vines growing on big old trees, swing out over the nearby pond, and let go. Now that was fun.

Windy - that's how our swing set was as well. It was part of the thrill.

northern short-tailed shrew: "This species paralyzes its victims with its poisonous saliva, and is known to store surplus food. Males are territorial and mark their burrows with glandular secretions, the odor of which keeps other males out."

That might explain why the cat leaves those alone too.

You had play?

Are forts still made out of appliances boxes? Can't you just picture one of them on the White House lawn?

Speaking of which...what happened to the boxes their swing set came in? How long until the girls start cutting them up for covering the lenses of the security cameras? Girls will be girls, you know.

CqP--nice memory! (I also liked your quote from the last kit). Blue Spruce do get huge out here regardless of conditions. People plant them in their little surban (combo of urban and suburban yanno) yards and a few years later have to take out all the foliage around them or the trees themselves. Appears they kept yours.

I have stuck to 1 minature roundish blue spruce. Beautiful light blue color.

Good afternoon, all.

Finally had a few moments to Boodle on this topic.

We had a sandbox in back yard -- well, not so much a sandbox as a bare spot in the yard where my Grandfather dumped construction sand left over from the brick patio he laid. More like an unkempt golf course sand trap, really. No borders, no boxes, no edges, no covers except to the big oak overhead. Aside from being rather abrasive (don't slide in that stuff without your Toughskins on), it occasionally took on odd clumpy consistencies and sprouted interesting nodules that made for good scale stone wall constuction in preparation for little-green plastic soldier battles (for the WWII reenactments, of course).

It didn't occur to us until much later that the interesing textures and nodules were because the neighborhood cats had discovered it.

We also had a steel tube swingset that we could flip over when we synchronized our swinging motion, and eventually rusted to the point that I, being the oldest and largest of the boys, finished it off when a rusted bolt let go at the point of maximum stress - the bottom of the arc, naturally - and I augured straight into that sand.

My Mom emptied a can of Bactine onto those wounds, no doubt fearing the worst sorts of infection, and possibly gangrene.

Not sure which would have hurt worse than the Bactine.

bc

RD, yes but I liked to swing HIGH--no could do without getting into trouble. The city parks (one in Arlington I used to take my son rings a bell) often have the best, sturdiest (lawsuit protection) swings.

Two summers ago, while we visited Chicago, we went by my Grandpa's house in Winnetka. The elementary school next door to his house had this great playground : big swing set teeter-totters, merry-go-round, metal slide, etc. We spent most of our time over there while the adults did their thing. Most of that stuff was still on the playground when we visited, most surprisingly, the slide.

we played with the potatoes as we dug them out of the dirt. And they weren't even hot.

Maggie O'D

The elementary school I attended did have playground equipment such as swings and slides and monkey bars.

However, it was all set up over blacktop.

Really.

I assume the school facilites folks believed it to be softer than concrete.
Which I suppose it was.

Nothing but the best for us.

bc

You know what I've always wanted? My very own Whack-a-Mole game.
Posted by: Yoki | March 23, 2009 10:25 AM

THANK YOU, YOKI, FOR MAKING ME LOL.

I NEED IT WITH ALL THESE BAD NEWS OF VULTURES AND BAILOUTS.

But I liked the smell of Bactine. I had my fair share of that stuff. Not as bad a iodine that's for sure. I still have a couple small pieces of cinders in both of my knees from various bicycle disasters on my street. At least the swing set was on grass.

Dad installed an above-ground pool in close proximity to the Over-Engineered Swing Set. So close, in fact, that the situation offered endless opportunities to try and find the perfect trajectory to launch ourselves into the pool.

Missed it by THAT much, usually, but sometimes by much more. At least Dad made sure there was a very large pile of dirt to land in.

And may I say: We really are a buncha swingers around here, huh?

:-)

Remember mecuricome? The sibling who got hurt with or near you stood at the ready to blow.

LiT, I was *just* doing to say that very thing. And mention the weird orange stains that stayed on your skin almost as long the scab.

bc and LiT, yep, remember the blacktop (guess it was still the days of kids should be heard and not seen mentality) and the shiny, hot aluminum slides.

But nice for you Jack that the equipment was mostly still there--preserved memory.

Hot potato! I played that game!

Yeah, that's what it was called--mecuricome--nasty, awful stuff--and always saved for the worst scrapes or when we were out of Bactine.

Let's see, on my to-do list... Someone asked me if I am a rabbit! Why am I "Jumper?"

It's because I have the ability to teleport.
http://jumpersbloghouse.blogspot.com/2007/12/jumper.html

Been outside all day with friends yard clean, very sore, but to answer LiT's question about cardboard forts, yes my kids still make them and love them.

This one from last spring - the box was my idea as they wanted to make a fort just from the branches and I thought someone might lose an eye.

http://picasaweb.google.ca/dmd2921/CardboardFort#slideshow

I would much rather stay here and reminisce but duty calls. Nice talking to ya'll.

Oh yes, mercuricome (-crome?) was the antiseptic of choice in my childhood. I remember that it stung rather badly.

My mother also kept a bottle of paregoric in the top of the medicine cabinet for sore spots. I remember she had to sign for it before the pharmacist would give it to her, but it wasn't a prescription drug. It was great to have around when the braces were newly installed and/or adjusted.

So I guess I was a drug user, before it was fashionable:

http://www.drugs.com/ppa/opium-tincture-paregoric.html

dmd, how cute! Also, good call on the branches/eye thing.

Sylvia Plath's son commits suicide. A sad family history continues:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/23/AR2009032300679.html?hpid=moreheadlines

The article notes at the end that the second wife of Ted Hughes (Plath's husband), with whom he had been having an affair when he and Sylvia broke up, also committed suicide 6 years after Plath.

Where in the heck is 'Mudge, anyway???

And there's a home page article about red meat and health that does not bode well for Joel's future cooking strategies, but the link's broken... *SIGH*

Here's a working link:

http://www.seattlepi.com/health/1500ap_med_diet_meat_mortality.html

I thought I saw a post from Mudge last week that said he was going somewhere (see a man about a horse?), and would only interitent intertube service.

I saw an item on the TV show "Mythbusters" about trying to make a swing go completely around the pole. They could only do it if: (1) they attached a rocket to 'Buster', their crashtest dummy. (2) used a stiff legged platform, and had an acrobat swing it in the standing position. When it got to the top, it hovered for a moment, and the acrobat was supporting himself on his hands.

When my girls were little, I build them a plywood playhouse, 4' X 8' mounted on cement blocks. They loved it. Good times.

Oh my goodness. Dry grass and tire swings to play with. Mud and steel pipe swing sets. Working in the uranium mines.

I'll have you know that we were too poor live near uranium mines. We were too poor to have dry grass and too poor to have dirt. We were too darn poor to play. So there.

Jumper! Thanks. That was me wondering about the bunny-jack-a-lope idea.

The RED stuff. I remember that. My dad used to stitch up neighbor children. Not everybody had insurance long ago and far away, especially seasonal workers or the self-employed. My mom would call him, after using PhisoHex soap on the wounded. The mommy-of-the-wounded would drive to the hospital where he had an office. Stitched. Home. No charge.

He also distributed vaccines in the breezeway in summer, including to some Hudderite families and Piegan-tribe children.

We did not have BandAids; we had surgi-strips and gauze, which we were under pain of grounding to use without an appropriate gash. Sometimes, we dressed ourselves, then back to the slough or bank of the Missouri to play. I did that once after a royal road rash on my back thigh. I bandaged over the gravel, with an insufficient lick of Bactine. Ten days later I was in the hospital with blood poisoning and an IV drip.

New rule: show the wound to a grown-up before dressing.

Windy! During Masterpiece Theater's D. Copperfield, Betsey Trotwood said that love thing about coming through our misfortunes. On-kit, I think. Good Old DICKENs. Next week is a new production of Little Dorrit. I love this book.

Dorrit is a good name for a kitty. Does Peggity work as a paired moniker?

Ah, mercurochrome... The red colour is typical of mercury salts. The original red primer for steel, minium, had mercuric oxide as a major component. Another great product we can't use anymore.

Wiki
"Mercurochrome is the trade name of merbromin and (usually) of merbromin tinctures made of merbromin and alcohol or water (usually 2% merbromin to 98% alcohol or water)...the chemical soon became popular among parents and doctors for everyday antiseptic uses and it was very commonly used for minor injuries in the schoolyard. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) removed it from the "generally recognized as safe" and into the 'untested' classification to effectively halt its distribution in the United States in 1998 over fears of potential mercury poisoning. "

Well, if it's dogs, it has to be Barkis and Peggotty, doesn't it?

We had a swingset and a slide and I remember spending time playing on both--but my favorite use of the swingset was hanging upside down from the cross-brace on the side of the swingset. Skin-the-cat, backwards skin-the-cat, and ultimately, no-hands skin-the-cat. I liked that, it was as close to gymnastics as I ever got.

Now I will plunge off-topic.

This morning, my bike developed a flat tire about halfway through the commute. That meant a 3.5 mile walk and being about an hour late for work. Now, there aren't many things that make me tense like being late does. I really hate to be late for anything, especially work. But this morning, I went right to the serenity zone, realizing instantly that the situation wasn't my fault and there was nothing I could do about it; no matter what action I took, I was going to be late. I thoroughly enjoyed my walk. The weather was perfect--not hot, not cold, not rainy, not too sunny. It didn't take long for me to realize that I was doing exactly what I would most like to do and taking a nice walk was preferable by far to sitting at my desk for that hour. I was so peaceful, in fact, that I had this thought: "Nothing could stress me out today."

I arrived at work, did my morning reports as usual, and about 11:30 I was called into the boss's office and shortly thereafter had joined the ranks of the unemployed. True to my prediction, it didn't stress me out, and I am not at all upset about it. Surprised, yes, and slightly at a loss in terms of where I'm going next. But for the immediate future, all I see is FREEDOM to enjoy the great weather, and a chance to take a new look at my vocational pursuits. How much does "Full-time Boodler" pay? Oh. Never mind.

Yep, when I was a wee lad, I got to play with all me ol' Pap's eck-spare-yuh-mental aminals when he were done wit'em. Sad to say, th' onliest critter on which he worked were lobstah, an' what he did wit'em were he cut out their little lobstah hearts. So, truth is, they weren't much fun for the playin'. Not too cuddly in the best o' times. only these weren't the best o' no times they'd ever had, nosirree. Had to be inventive, we did. Stack 'em up like Lincoln logs. 'Cept he only gave me one or two a week. By the time I had enough for the stackin', some o' the older ones were a might too ripe for even such a puny sort o' play. So, then we cook'd 'em 'n we et 'em. Got to know the folks at the free clinic pretty well. Used to exchange Christmas gifts wit'em. Fortunately fer them folks, our tastes were inexpensive, 'n we had few enough lobstah that we never tried to give any to them. Plus, there were fewer of us each year, so the demand fer presents were ever-decreasin'. Now there's jist me sister 'n me 'n dear ol' Pap, wit' us tryin' ter decide which nursin' home to consign him to. I'm thinkin' o' Mr. Torquemada's home o' Rest & Revenge.

Gosh, kbert. Great attitude, but just, gosh.

kber...Congrats. The excitement of a new beginning...I'm happy for you. I'm sure you'll land on your feet.

Enjoy the nice weather, Kb. The stress will come later.

Gee, kbertocci, I am impressed by the grace and poise with which you are handling the situation. I will try not to create stress for you. Enjoy your time off.

kbertocci: I am very sorry about your job. I have great confidence that your courage and serenity will carry you through this unpleasant episode.

Back on Topic: Should we call the Obama Swingset Scandal "Rainbowgate?" "Swinggate?"

CowTown

Sorry, Kbert. If it gets dark, remember the immortal lines of Howard Beal: "I'm a human being, god damn it! My life has value!" Experts don't recommend shouting this at the time of layoff, however.

Ditto what Yoki said Kbert. I'm sure you'll do fine. I hope I handle my layoff as well as you do. I have a feeling it's coming...

Selfish senseless clod that I am, my first thought was "Awesome, kb is so well read and points out the best things on the web!" Enjoy the next chapter kb, may your life and your living coincide to your satisfaction.

kb,
I could not have your grace and calm. The silver lining is that I hope we get far more of your wisdom and perspective in the coming weeks. Your absence has been a sign that you had been hitherto far too diligent in your duties. Something that seems to have gone unnoticed and underappreciated by your employer.

And I hope you get that flat fixed soon.

Tim. I laffed so loud I sceered the dog.

Darn kb, good luck with your vocational realignment.

This idiot still has a job but I think if the parents and friends of the 116 Canadian soldiers who died in Afghanistan (and the numerous others who survived with debilitating wounds...) had a something to do about it he would head for the bread line. Fox News, what a disgraceful outfit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcJn5XlbSFk

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090323.wfoxapology0323/BNStory/International/home

When my son was little we were living in a series of apartments and townhouses so we never had the McMansion sized swing set. Instead we would take him to the monster public parkin Palm Beach Gardens that had playgrounds that put theme parks to shame. They had towers and tunnels and rope bridges and ladders and firepoles and tic-tac-toe boards. Literally hours of fun.

Perhaps for the price of the swing set, Obama could cost the taxpayer the equivalent amount in overtime for the Secret Service detail to take the tykes to a public park. And if that is too luxe for our commander-in-chief's kids maybe they could go to a nearby playground with plenty of used needles and broken beer bottles. Those shouldn't be too hard to find.

Blessings upon you, kber, and may you land in a better spot! I admire your serenity, as I know I'd be a snivelling wreck.

Freedom is nice. So is more kb.
I'm sure you'll get an even better job.

(I like 'an even'. Is that, like, gauche?)

kb, I am very sorry to hear about your jobloss, hope you will find something that you enjoy.

I sympathize with the dislike of being late, that is one of my big stresses as well.

kb, you're hired. But the pay isn't great. (Maybe if we got more page views?) Anyway, thanks for sharing that story and good luck.

Nice story Tim. Anything spectacular about GranPa findings on lobsters? I love the darn things dearly, with or without garlic butter.
My S-I-L used to work in a fish testing lab. By regulations the fish processing plants had to send "boxes" intended for the market for sampling. With the sample size in the 100g range and the box size in the 10kg range there was plenty of leftover fish and shellfish to "test".

Ah, let me join the exuberant chorus, KB (I put it in capital letters, just because) of well-wishers. I'm faxing daffodils (mainly because I already seem to have too much pollen in my airwaves) and karma to ya.

As for the swing set at 1600 PA Ave., I think it's very cool. My father, who was very, very handy with boards and nails, made ours. I occasionally still find pictures of me flying up in the air, although one of those pictures has me with an expression of sheer terror, so I suspect that my psychopathic (endearingly put) older brother had something to do with that.

The first draft of my pleading is done, so I shall rub my eyes (pollen, to be redundant) and try to get through the paper this evening. Old news, but, well, you know. . . .

firsttimeblogger, I'm sorry to hear about that pollen. I've never had an allergy to it, but one of my friends (one of my other friends) suffers horribly. Drugs? Humidifiers? Air conditioning?

No Rainbow-gate here, folks:

" The 100 percent cedar and North American Redwood structure has four swings, including a tire swing, a slide, a fort, a climbing wall and climbing ropes. There's also a picnic table with brass plates etched with the names of all 44 presidents, she said.

‘‘They ran right for it. They were really, really excited. All four of them,’’ McCormick Lelyveld said.

The girls played on the set for almost an hour in chilly weather, she said. Their mother went for a swing, too.

The Obamas paid for the swing set, which was made and installed by Rainbow Play Systems of Brookings, S.D. The company's Web site says it's the most trusted brand name in wooden swing sets."

from AP, March 4 (http://www.ohio.com/news/break_news/40749362.html)

I'm happy to see you survived the poisonous saliva shrew boko. Please do tell the story.

Thanks, abqcleve. I'm afraid we'll still see complaints that the Obama chilren are engaging in frivolty while they should be concentrating on saving the economy.

And, in line with the delightful personal reminiscences here today, I'll add that my personal experience, as one of two boys raised by a single mom, was playground sets in public parks in Los Angeles in the '60s. Times were tough. Most of those I remember were built on concrete pads and if you fell, you were in a world of hurt. Thank God for OSHA and whatever other organizations tell municipalities these days to install safe equipment in sandboxes..... I would have died to have a set like the Obama girls'. Good for them!

And, of course, if they were kept in working on the big problems of the world, we'd hear how scandalous it is that the Obamas don't let them out to exercise in the fresh air!

Thanks for the sympaki, Yoki. I never had seasonal (or any other) allergies growing up. I remember having a couple of snorffling problems when I moved to Stockholm, as the tree pollen is different over there. But when I moved back over here, I didn't seem to suffer at all.

It is said, however, that when one moves to DC (as in "built on a swamp"), over time, one acquires allergies. It gets worse year after year. It seems mainly to affect my eyes, and I have dry eye to begin with, so I feel pretty encumbered. And then the pollen starts to line my lungs and my throat.

But, even though I choke on it, Spring is just plain delicious. *cough* *cough*

kb, good for you staying positive. Enjoy the leisure and if you need to go back, I hope you get some time to reflect on where to go from here.

kb.. I know just how you feel! You go, girl, and get a better job, closer to home and someplace that makes you HAPPY just to be there.


We had the big open yard where the ball games were played, but my best friend next door had the swingset, slide, playhouse/cabin AND a rope swing. I can't imagine how many hours she and I spent over there playing. It was great.

The best part? She's still one of my best friends. Fifty years and counting.

A big thank you to everybody for virtual friendship and encouragement.

yj, I didn't tell the whole story about my bike; it's more serendipity in my day. As it happens there is a bike shop that I have never patronized and only recently learned about--I had to pass by it en route to work. Their hours are 10-6 so I just locked the bike up outside and called them at 10:00 to tell them the combination and arrange for repairs. After I had cleaned out my desk around noon, my best friend at work took me out to lunch and then dropped me off at the bike shop and I pedaled home. I have nothing to complain about!

Thanks again, my imaginary boodlefriends.

I'm jealous, TBG!

My oldest remaining friends are Himself (28 years), M and R and N (26 years) and L (35 years). And all that took some major effort, from time to time. The perils of moving often and far.

Though I have a feeling, that with science on the case, in about 70 years I'll still be Boodling (or whatever the equivalent of the day is) with you all from a long-term care facility.

I was a little concerned to find out that voles are venemous, SD, but I think Buddy's 'Grab, Snap, Gulp' technique will avoid any nasty vole bites.
Watching Buddy hunting in a field full of mice is like watching a ravenous but fastidious man at an oyster bar.

Excpt that oysters don't move and you don't have to swallow them head first.

Sorry.

I read "The Walrus and the Carpenter," Boko. You sure?

*Snort*

Oh darn! I didn'tbudget the heartwarm test.

The strangest thoughts come to me. Just a while ago I was wondering how P.J. O'Rourke was doing. Stupid, eh?

Nope. But generational, for sure.

Hope Buddy is OK.

Don't you just love MIT?

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2009/03/23/at_mits_agelab_growing_old_is_the_new_frontier/

Who can resist nostalgia? I had the usual for the times metal swing set but my father sunk the four posts in concrete. We used to swing as high as we could, until the chains went a bit loose. My elementary school had a slide to which we applied cut-rite wax paper making a wonderfully quick ride to the bottom, which was blacktop. The monkey bars were metal and also on blacktop. I don't remember anyone getting hurt on the playground but I'm sure some must have. My girlfriend had a swing on a big tree which was much more fun because it went much higher. I still love to swing. "S" and I have been known to stop at deserted playgrounds and use the swings now and then. The granddaughters have a less fancy version of the Obama girls' swing set. It's a great thing and more interactive and user friendly than the old metal type.
 
I'm sorry about your job KB. I understand your feeling of freedom and I hope you have an experience like TBG, out just long enough to enjoy, and then a great job close to home.

Hi Ricko.

And the new peeps. I played safety-netted by concrete, asphalt and dirt. I like the wood child better. I like safety. BUT, I miss the really high swings and slides. We need an adult park, really.

20 plus years with three excellent g-friends who will wash my body and see me into my wake and funeral, lasagna-ing all the way. My oldest childhood friend died in a ski accident at 42 much like Natasha R. (Big Sky, Yoki and Scotty). We had just started email big-time in the last year. So, we had from about three to then for a 39 or so year run. I think about her still.

One of our shared horror-delish memories was running barefoot in early summer after the Mosquito Abatement Truck. That spray was likely laced with ddt or something else not healthy for children and other living things.

I remember those mosquito sprayers from when we went camping - playing Crib with my dad at the picnic table while the truck went by. I try not to think what was in the mixture.

I too have happy memories of chasing the DDT misting truck. Followed by a visit to the trailing Good Humour Man.

Yoki, sorry if the O'Rourke ref was too obscure.
For a minute there I thought you were thought Buddy was my son.
I was a bit insulted.

I think of Buddy as one of the Boodle Dogs. He's one of my faves, anyway.

So... just had time to do a little backboodling. Looks like I missed some umbrage, ranting and apologies. Not quite sure what it was all about, but the apologizing is what makes this Boodle the Boodle it is. We know how to argue here, that's for sure.

So thanks to all parties for playing nice in the end, no matter what.

Obscure fact, Boko: the skin absorption of ddt is much worse than eating it. So, enjoy that frosty treat in retrospect.

Kbert, I am so sorry about the job, but I must say, you go girl, I like your style. I always have. Enjoy your freedom, and get prepared for an even better job. As they say in my line of work, God is closing one door, and opening another. Bless you, Kbert, and your family.

The g-girl is swimming in the bathtub, and I'm getting ready to put a wrinkle in that situation. I'm going to get her out.

I hope the Obama girls thoroughly enjoy their swing set and have a great time on it. I don't envy them, and happy they have it, regardless of who paid for it. And I think having a garden is just great.

As children we didn't have a swing set, but we had plenty of woods to explore and pretend all kinds of stuff. And I guess because we were children, and unaware of dangers, we never felt afraid.

Yes, those were the days. Pounding rusty nails into scrap boards with a rock. Happy for rain to turn dirt paths into toe squishing mud. Wondering why there was modeling clay mixed with the sand box sand, and wondering since if the neighborhood cats might have been part of the sand box scene. Climbing trees, jumping limb to limb. Swinging on the schoolyard giant stide--who remembers what the giant stride was? Running between shady spots on the sidewalk and slow strolling on the shade cooled parts. Walking a mile to the store and spending a nickel for two packets of coolaid. Walking the mile back to throw a coolaid party for all the visiting cousins and neighbor kids. Then we grew up.

Wilbrod

I didn't read the article, but I am sorry about your friend, and hope things work out for her family.

Oh, Boko, gimme a break! I was saying that I know perfectly well who O'Rourke is. And since you told us that Buddy is a good mouser, and you had a poison-saliva shrew, who went down head first (ah, see, I just got that this was a toilet, rather than a throat, joke!) I was just a tad worried about Buddy's digestion.

I wasn't saying you are ancient, I was saying I am. Because I don't need the PJ O'Rourke joke es'plained.

I remember the truck spaying Malathion coming through the neighborhood and the crop dusters spraying the stuff. All the kids would turn out to stand in the mist.

Could explain a whole lot about my gggggeneration...

kbert, go find that door that's opening. I betcha it leads you to even more grace and charm (although you're already setting a Guinness world record in that category). *HUGS* :-)

It's OK, Cassandra. You've heard and read enough of murder in these past years.

And in the This Can't End Well Department:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/23/AR2009032301714.html

A picture of her and her sons. She danced at Obama's inauguration.
http://media.nbcwashington.com/images/600*421/Trinidad+stabbing_all+3+dead+copy.jpg

My mother believed that if the cure was worse than the ill, then we wouldn't hurt ourselves or get sick. She was a firm believer in Mecurochrome and Merthiolate. Anyone remember Merthiolate? Hurt like hell. Merthiolate is a trade name for thimerosal, a compound containing mercury and sodium.

O dear, KB, was this a surprise? Are there temporary agencies that might allow you to test new settings?

Cassandra has given us her evening blessing. Would like a story from Mudge about his ancient childhood.

Scottynuke, if you're a old AF nuke troop see www.usafnukes.com.

Wilbrod-belated dismay, and sending of good thoughts.

Wilbrod, such a lovely family. I'm sorry to hear about her death and hope the boys will receive the love and support they need.

O Dear O Dear O Dear
Lemme see.
I just meant that Yoki was inferring that my dog was smarter than me. Arguable.
That other stuff is interesting though.

What happend to the money from TARP One, I keep asking. A very fine piece of investigative reporting by Isikoff and Maron at Newsweek: in short, some of the taxpayer money was converted into campaign contributions to members of Congress, primarily those who supervise the TARP program. Keep your pitchforks ready!:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/190363

A NEWSWEEK review of recent filings with the Federal Election Commission found that the political action committees of five big TARP recipients doled out $85,300 to members in the first two months of this year—with most of the cash going to those who serves on committees who oversee the TARP program. Among them: Bank of America (which got $15 billion in bailout money) sent out $24,500 in the first two months of 2009, including $1,500 to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and another $15,000 to members of the House and Senate banking panels. Citigroup ($25 billion) dished out $29,620, including $2,500 to House GOP Whip Eric Cantor, who also got $10,000 from UBS which, while not a TARP recipient, got $5 billion in bailout funds as an AIG "counterparty."

OK, now I'm just laughing. Love ya, Boko!

CqP, yes, it really was a surprise, although my company has been laying off personnel pretty aggressively for about a year now. I like temp agencies for the reason you mention, and also because there is a possibility of working for a few weeks and then taking time off. And ALSO because there's no interviewing. I really don't like interviewing. (Who does? you say. Well, my husband, I can testify, really enjoys job interviews. Hates having a job, but likes the interview process.)

Last time I was jobhunting, I signed up with two or three temp agencies. The first "temporary" assignment I got turned into the "permanent" position that lasted 14 years, and just ended today.

Transparency we can believe in?

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/03/24/geithner/

Treasury went to some unusual lengths to manage coverage of the plan. It did not want any visual record of Geithner's less than reassuring countenance. The briefing was what's known in Washington as a "pen-and-pad," though in reality that just means it's closed to still photographers and TV cameras -- laptops and even voice recorders are OK, as long as the recording isn't later put out on the air. Geithner did, however, take questions afterward and later appeared at the White House with President Obama, who made a few remarks for the networks to use. At Treasury, aides distributed a 22-page, glossy info packet on the plan and labeled it "for background use only," meaning none of it could be directly quoted or photographed. And when Geithner finished speaking, a little after 9:30 a.m., one enthusiastic spokesman tried to declare that none of what his boss had said could be reported until later in the day. The reporters in the room all laughed; the gist of Geithner's remarks, and quite a few direct quotes, had already been broadcast around the world, in every form from short Twitter updates to blog posts to full-on wire stories.

kb, I gotta say, I'm glad we had fun at the Miami Book Fair while we could. Hopefully this year too (but I might have to hitchhike - or win the Lotto).

I was quite dismayed when I tried to find mecurochrome or merthiolate a few years ago and realized it had been taken off the market. That stuff was great for hangnails and ingrown toe nails.

evening all
looks like your having fun.We used to use wax paper on our metal sliding boards to make them faster.

Kber,I have been interviewing lately and onceyou do the first one,the rest are easy.Hopefully today's will bear fruit.

It just clicked.
Honest Yoki, my reportage of the furry intruder was true. It wasn't just a riff on your 'Whack A Mole comment.'
Hence the "Holy Crap!"

Honest!

My most memorable childhood ointment was zinc oxide. When you are as fair as I am and you live in Florida and your family's hobby is boating, you need a lot of it.

Boke, we're really not at cross-purposes, I don't think. All is well.

I remember this! Running around on beaches all bright-white with zinc-oxide. I think I can almost smell it, sort of ointment-y.

I try not to think about it either.

Boko! My sister saw Johnny Winter in concert over the weekend. She said he looked frail, but sounded great. Best guitar she has had the pleasure of hearing in person. And she's been to a lot of concerts.

Over at the Kennedy Space Center, a big Delta 4 rocket should launch early tomorrow morning. Much anticipation.

Thinking of play equipment, the town beach had more-than-decent surf this evening as an onshore wind died down. There were only about a half-dozen kids out; the hardest-working kid had an old bodyboard without a leash or swim fins, much less a wetsuit, which would have been helpful in the 69 degree air and 72 degree water.

For these few kids at least, the beach is a rare place where they're allowed to take a few risks. A real playground, albeit this evening, one with too many portuguese men-of-war.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG5ZEJFgT0g

well done, seasea. That song is one of my favourites. This link is in honour of zinc oxide.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMlyqKa1p78

Thanks for the Johnny upddate sease.
He was 30ft in front of me on the stage of former catholic girl's school the last time I saw him. His fingers seem to float above the fretboard as this extroidinary music came out.
Johnny Winter doesn't get the credit that is his due for the blues rivial in the '60's and '70's.

Wilbrod, I am sorry to hear of your friend, my best to all of you whose lives she touched.

kb - my thoughts are with you, too.
I know - as others have said - that you'll turn this newfound liberty into opportunity, happiness, and success. And more great Boodling.

Goodnight, all.

bc

I had a couple of up front moments. The first was at a Kinks show, seven rows behind the orchestra pit at the Landmark in Syracuse. there were ramps between the stage and the pit, and Dave Davies would unleash from that vantage point. I couldn't hear anything when I left the auditorium. the second was the Shocking Pinks tour by Neil & Crazy Horse. The first set was acoustic, the second with Neil and a full compliment of synthesizers and a set of tunes from Trans (Mr. Soul *rocked*), and the third was rockabilly, from the Shocking Pinks selection. The closing song was Do You Wanna Dance, for what seemed to be an eternity. They had a closed circuit video set up in the dressing room and followed him out after leaving the stage. He left in an old Lincoln to the accompaniment of "Elvis has left the auditorium...". Classic.

Hey linda, just a heads up kinda detail...campaign contributions have nothing to do with corporate funds. Yes, I know that who the main contributors to PACs are. But the mechanisms are in place to keep those things at arms-length.

I think you'd have benefitted greatly from a few years in the dc arena. Clearly, you have an interest in the process, and knowing how it works *in practice* would clarify (maybe solidify?) things for you. PAC money has to do with the rank and file people who aren't union members. The big guys have federally mandated limits that they they clear in one check. It's the smaller fish (yet not the guppies) who contribute to PACs. The big ones...it's not worth their time. One check, each campaign (again, primary, general, special are each separate) and they're cashed out of the game.

I guess the upshot is...don't read more into the fact of PAC money than is really there.

Same with lobbyists...you know, in a lot of Eurpoean cultures, lobbyists are synonomous with criminal. The beauty of our system is that they have a legitimate, shoot...constitutional...role to play in the opera. Not nearly as nefarious as they appear on their face.

Evening all
back from 2 long days and happy to be home although D'oh!!I forgot to set a fire before I left or bring in more wood.So tonight is an extra sweater night.

Jack,I have been to a couple of shows where we were up close and personal,most were either sitting behind the stage or shows in the round.Usually every time I would see my Band,BOC, we stand jammed up against the stage.

Not sure you will find this kbertocci, but, very sorry to hear your news. Temp to Hire is the way to go. It is the cheapest and most guaranteed way for companies and orgs to find their best candidate.

I can see all sorts of businesses around here hitting the point where really tough decisions have to be made. Last week, I mentioned that I was "feeling" certain indications that the economic slide was slowing a bit (not taking credit for yesterday's bounce in the market).

Certain business sectors are still getting pounded and some locations are just not stopping the spiral process. If I remember correctly, your location is going to have a continued problem because of a soft real estate market... facts of life, so to speak.

I am sure from the few moments that we had to speak that you will certainly succeed in your search efforts. It just is going to take a bit of time. The nice thing about Temp to Perm is that it's a two way street. You get paid to test drive a group.

I've been working a bit with a group on a short term contract and I am just thinking "Oh, lordy!" ... they are really nice but, despite their success, they are not ready for the 1990's in the computer industry, much less what's happening now. ... not to say that I really can use the money!

So, K, I'm thinking of doing the same thing because this has got me into that mood to do a 20 hour per week gig as a computer expert for a firm again to go with my side stuff.

Trying to get a web site and automated web based order process management system done by Wednesday... ready for a test drive tomorrow.

Fueled by my coffee, music from Naked Blue and a cupcake that I thought had been lost! Sunday, after a very good day, as we were packing up, Ma Brown, the de facto Mayor of Eastern Market, gave me one of her Red Velvet Cupcakes as I walked by along with a "here, Sugar!" ...

Ma Brown is to Eastern Market like the Ben's Chili Bowl folks are to U Street. In fact, if you are looking for something fun for a weekend activity, think about visiting the market (a couple short blocks from the Metro Station). Match that with a trip to a museum and you have a nice day.

A bit of a warning, the city (D.) is rebuilding the main market building and also redoing the streets and sidewalks the next two months, so "stuff" is a bit in a make-do mode. The people are the fun part of the market, so that's all there.

Have one of Ma Brown's desserts along with our coffee (red tent) and you are set. There is the Crepe guy and the pickle guy and all the fruit and veggie vendors... even a great flower vendor.

If you have kids in tow, save a few bucks for Micha's Sherbet.

Eastern Market hint... bring backpacks (empty, if possible). They will fill up and your hands will be free.

God loves us so much more than we can imagine through Him that died for all, Jesus Christ.

Good morning, friends. Just a quick check in. I have to get ready for school, and have another meeting today, and I'm running so, so, late. Have a great day, folks.*waving*

I see that Mrs. D's flight has been canceled. Maybe she should just rent an apartment and wait for the spring.

Hey, Cassandra! It's awfully early for you to be late. I hope you have a pleasant and productive day.

Yesterday I got new glasses and now I look every bit the schoolmarm. They are very light, which I like, but the lenses are not as wide top to bottom as the previous pair, so I'm adjusting. However, I like everything looking so crisp and clear. Amazing how the myopia is getting less severe as I age. When I'm 80, I'll have 20/20 vision!

LiT, I suppose the deal with lobbyists is that the ones whose causes we like and agree with should have more influence, and the ones we don't should go away. F'instance, I know nothing about farm lobbies and don't see the point of subsidizing farming operations. But I'll bet farmers don't agree with that!

The Geekdottir is in the unenviable position of having a work contract but no work. She likes the flexibility of being able to work from wherever, but she needs income and there is none. I hope she will bestir herself to go to the temp agency and find something. She wants to go live with the boyfriend. He's in grad school three states away, and there are no jobs where he is. It's a problem.

Good morning, Boodle. Cassandra. I don't think 6:45 can be considered 'late' under any circumstance.

Another cold snowy day here.

Have a fine Tuesday.

Buenos Tacos, all...

Had to pull on the thin gloves for Dawn Patrol today, but yet another brilliant sunrise is acceptable compensation.

I think this is good news, maybe:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/23/AR2009032302972.html

There's a telling line in there about how local radio news is fading. *SIGH*

*I-know-there's-more-caffeine-around-here-somewhere Grover waves* :-)

Morning all. I was greeted by a glorious sky as I drove in. That muddy color of the horizon segueing to a clear pure blue. And floating in the middle of it all the thinnest sharpest swoosh of a moon I ever recall seeing.

Good coffee is making its way through my body as I sit here, and my recently-repaired fountain is filling the cubicle with the gentle sounds of water.

Much work to do. Many problems in this world. I feel badly for those, like KB, who have felt the harsh cruelty of this recession.

And TBG, as always, speaks the truth.

Thanks, agolembe, but I'z on the civilian side of the nuclear fence. :-)

I love the Obamas, and it's no concern of mine, but aren't Sasha and Malia older than children who'd enjoy such a thing? I'd jump on it, osteoporosis notwithstanding, but I'm in my 3rd toddlerhood.

I must applaud enthusiastically the decision to ban cameras from Geithner's presentation. To me what this accomplished was to keep the cable-news clowns at bay, thus allowing Geithner to spend some time answering serious questions by serious journalists. Which, I understand, is exactly what happened.

Part of me hopes this becomes a trend. How nice it would be if the focus was on the issues at hand, and not on creating theater for the cameras.

What a concept, RD_P... :-)

Good morning, Boodle.

I want all of you to know that there is a terrific swing set on the plaza in front of my apartment building. It probably rivals Obama's.

I haven't boodled much as I have been busy hanging out in literary cafes set up in nice green locations and writing stuff for some online appearances I'm sheduled for.

Have a good day, everyone.

Brag

RD, interesting point you made about cameras. I also would add that I was stunned that some reported that Eric Cantor and Paul Krugman were "in agreement" were in agreement about the Treasury plan on Toxic Assets.

I am really amazed that folks don't realize the difference between opinions that may suggest that a plan is bad because it doesn't go far enough or bad because it goes too far.

The fact that both Krugman and Cantor did not like the plan doesn't make their positions the same.

George Will is extra cranky today. You'd think he'd gotten an AIG bonus. I'm not so sure I agree with his evaluation of Mexico as a worker's paradise either.

Speaking of not creating theater for the cameras (at least during the campaign, when you'd think the opposite would be true):

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/23/AR2009032302801.html

Well done, Congresswoman.

Good morning, all.

LiT has been enduring some of the WaPo.com's infamous registration/login issues this morning, and asked me to post this:

"Slyness, I'm with ya. But lobbyists also lobby for regulations, not just subsidies.

Linda, my thing on PACs wasn't well-written (it was late). The fat cats can contribute to PACs, but their limit is $ on a par of what they consider to be a bar tab at the Waldorf Astoria. And then they're cashed out for the year on that PAC. The fat cats can also give to candidates, on a 'per election' way, but again, the equivalent of a parking ticket to them, and then they're out of that game too. Then, they can give to the party. (Individuals who give big money to the party aren't looking for votes favorable to their industry, they're looking for an appointment somewhere cushy like The Bahamas.) Each recipient of $ (PAC, candidate committee, party committee) is limited on what they can do with the $, and trailing it back to the actual contributor becomes so convoluted, individual influence becomes watered down. Hence, lobbyists. See note above. And then it trickles into a whole different sort of arena. Some detractors might say it becomes something of a wife/mistress issue. Others might say it's a wife/mistress/harem sort of deal.

But truly, it's the beauty of our system. There are PACs out there that a person of limited means can contribute to and make an actual honest-to-goodness difference. Really, there's a PAC for every industry/cultural/ideological interest. (Emily's List is right up your alley.) We as individuals can participate with our time, our vote *and* our dollars. It all folds together into our form of government so beautifully. Yeah, not always seamless, but we still fold it into a nice little rectangle, despite the wrinkles.

I guess the upshot is...it's not as cut and dry as it might seem on the surface. But it's also not as messy. Think about it. Everyone else wants to emulate us. This is why."

bc

Oh, please. Not everybody wants to emulate you.

You're right! How silly of me to use such a broad brush. A thousand apologies.

bc,

thanks for taken the time to take a run at PACs. PACs were created, in part, to give the little folks... the 70 or 80 percenters a chance to have a big voice. Of course, like anything else, the more wealthier Americans have the resources to take advantage of any set of rules, and they too use PACs.

To expand on my earlier point tangentially to this discussion, Bill Moyers just had Mike Davis on, who holds many traditional American social democratic views... as myself. What is interesting to note is that, despite the loud banging of pots and pans by the Rush Limbaughs of the world and Lou Dobbs, we are a large and growing group these days.

The older leadership of America and the wealthy and much of the traditional media have simplified the "Liberal" v. "Conservative" battle not even recognizing that there is a huge rift in the left (loomis also represents a rift, I guess, but in a different direction) between the traditional American social democrat and the centrist Democrat. Centrist Democrats are basically socially moderate Republicans with a smiley face.

Given a choice, we of the Social Democrats support the Smiley Face Democrats like the Clintons because they are the better of two evils. (that's not fair, but folks understand the expression).

My contention is that there are many more Social Democrats in the country than folks think. I would guess that our numbers are growing to eclipse those of the far-right Republicans who still have such a presence in the American Media and who get, every week, or almost every day, spout their position.

William Krystol is a perfect example. I would expect that, if I sat with a cross-section of Americans, more of them would support my positions than Krystol, but you don't see guys like Mike Davis on TV, but you do see all the Krystols.

Why, it isn't money, its power and control. The plutocrats are at the helm and America gets what it deserves.

What is bad is that several remaining printed news outlets are folding under the economic pressure. I really fear having a few people controlling our information sources when so few know how to discover other sources of independent information.

The only ONLY thing that may save us is that Ruppert has a "new young hot leftie main squeeze."

Hey...it's working again!

Hi LiT!!! *waving*

rthistle, that was me posting LiT's text as there were issues with the WaPo login system this morning.

Having said that, my own limited experiences and knowledge of PACs correspond with her text.

As to the idea that politics is theater (whether cameras are involved or not), well, some *could* argue that it certainly has that aspect.

Any sort of public speaking with intent to move an audience could be construed as theater, could it not?

Got meetings, gotta go.

Meep meep!

bc

NPR seems to be doing fairly well Weed.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/23/AR2009032302972.html?hpid=topnews

If you are hungry but want to lose your appetite I found (through the Times) the perfect site.

Porkgasm, the other white meat.
http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/page/2

The pizza burger is something else too.
http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/page/6

*Waving at LiT*

jhbyer, I'm thinking seven and ten are perfect ages for the swingset. Old enough to have a great time and not have to be watched every second. Do any of us ever outgrow the love of swinging? I haven't, and I'm 56.

LiT, you're right, of course. The impact of lobbying on policy is just as important as on subsidies. More, actually, because policy directs subsidies.

Good Morning All
Clear crisp and cool in west by god this morning.

I just perked a pot of hazelnut coffee and I am ready to dive in.

I wanted to touch on something somebody said about appliance boxes yesterday.Not only did they make very cool forts,but after they got old and flimsy,you could could them down to sled size and slide down a grass covered hill.

It was nice to see that the final in the WBC was such an exciting game.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/worldclassic2009/columns/story?columnist=neel_eric&id=4011321

It was also nice to see Ichiro Suzuki knock in the game winning run with one of his patented singles up the middle.I truely believe that if he had played his entire baseball carreer in the Major leagues,he would someday challenge Pete Rose for the all time hits lead. A look at his stats
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichiro_Suzuki

New kit, and chance for first is already lost to a remarkably insightful comment.

Weed, do you work at Eastern Market during the week, or just on weekends? When the weather is nice, my lunchtime run goes right past it. Perhaps I can stop in and say "howdy". Assuming, of course, that you really want to be seen talking to a sweaty, old, fat, bald fart who shoulda started running decades ago.

I have limited experience with PACs but was a little nervous with what I saw, that being employers using none too suble pressure upon employees to "donate" to the favoured cause. Should individuals wish to donate to a PAC of their choice that is one thing but to receive pressure or influence from an employer is quite another.