tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61215632011-08-06T18:19:26.392-07:00WestPunditA blog dedicated to the personal musings of Kevin L. Connors - a pragmatic libertarian, engineer, businessman, and journalist.Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.comBlogger511100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-7034592190676376922007-05-30T23:17:00.000-07:002007-05-31T00:19:42.275-07:00Commercial Flying Wing:Here's something interesting from Google patent search - US Patent 2,650,780 - the passenger version of Jack Northrup's "Flying Wing".Of course, by the time this patent was granted, it was moot, as instability problems with the YB-49 doomed the flying wing. (But note that the illustrated design is for a prop-drive craft, like the earlier YB-35.)We are still unlikely to be Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-4689761567120061272007-05-17T18:15:00.000-07:002007-05-17T18:25:49.430-07:00NASCAR Legends Drifting:I'm currently watching a gig on Speed TV's Redline, about NASCAR drivers learning to drift. And they are all naturals. And why shouldn't they be? I mean, all the NASCAR stars that came up through the ranks started on the dirt tracks.And doesn't that stand to reason? I mean, it's the same dynamic, save for that, on the dirt, you are trying as hard as you can to make it hookKevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-5858870777753425812007-05-10T11:29:00.000-07:002007-05-10T11:45:52.081-07:00Favorable Internet Radio Legislation Offing:Serious progress is being made in the effort to save Internet Radio. And all while big media still seems to ignore the issue. This just in:WASHINGTON, May 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Legislation introduced by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sam Brownback (R-KA) today would save Internet radio from a recent royalty hike that threatens to bankrupt the Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-60393504005943320852007-05-07T23:16:00.000-07:002007-05-08T00:13:14.582-07:00Getting So Much Better:I'm currently watching Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on Encore Love Stories. And, even though I'm currently listening to it on the little 3" speaker of my Toshiba TV, I heard (and watched) this film at the cinema when it was new (1978, as I recall). And, with all due respect to Peter Frampton, the Bee Gees, and the whole vast array of talent which went into creatingKevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-23381023421223480022007-03-22T21:18:00.000-07:002007-03-22T21:37:32.489-07:00Who's That Girl? March 22 07:The buzz is that the hot spokesperson for the new Right Guard RGX "are you ready to step up" campaign is actress Rachel Specter. I've emailed Dial Corp. for a confirmation.Dial, a unit of German giant Henkel, just bought the Right Guard brand from P & G last year, and is looking to "reinvigorate" it:Reinvigorating the Right Guard Brand This is a bold opening launch Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-63471162797142540302007-03-16T23:48:00.000-07:002007-03-17T00:24:59.261-07:00Since I left The Daily Brief, I have judiciously deferred to my friends there on military matters. But I break with that here. And the subject upon which I chose to part with my good friends there is gays in the military. And where I hinge my argument is on a statement by a newsie we all deplore, on a show we all deplore: Dan Rather, on this week's installment of HBO's Real Time With Bill Maher, Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-75467829754348536552007-03-07T22:49:00.000-08:002007-03-07T23:10:30.656-08:00Holy Gerrymander, Batman!!!!Well, I said I've been "out of the loop" for some time now. But, much to my surprise, I find I'm no longer in Dana Rohrabacher's 46th California congressional district:But where am I? My heart kind of sank when I thought I might be in Loretta Sanchez's 47th District. (Actually, as Jackasses go, she's not that bad.) But it seems I'm in the 40th, and my representative isKevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-42112735256029968672007-03-05T19:29:00.000-08:002007-03-07T15:50:44.019-08:00THE END OF "RADIO" AS WE KNOW IT:I have to admit to being somewhat "out of the loop" up to now; as nothing seemed to work properly on my old Windows 98SE set-up, I haven't been listening to Internet radio for several months. But I've just installed Win XP Pro SP2 (on my new Core 2 Duo system, thank you), and I've just put up WinAmp 5.33. Of course, the first thing I wanted to listen to is Radio Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1170568988762751932007-02-03T22:02:00.000-08:002007-02-03T22:46:56.876-08:00Entertainment Trivia For 02/04/07:OK... first the answer from my long forgotten "Entertainment Trivia For 09/30/06:" question (and perhaps fortuitous that it comes up today): America's Cup boats.But now I promise not to be so obscure, and come closer to my core competence...While Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (Download free MP3), [which Daffy Duck and Donald Duck play as dueling pianos Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1169399517260471132007-01-21T09:00:00.000-08:002007-01-21T09:11:57.583-08:00JUST CAN'T KEEP THOSE AUSSIES OUT OF THE WATEREven Muslim Aussies:In Australia, with its spectacular beaches, observant Muslim women have felt out of place in their burkas and robes. But now a Muslim dressmaker has created a costume that permits Muslims to go swimming and still stay modestly covered up. The designer has sold 9,000 of the outfits for up to $160 a piece. They are called, of course,Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1168577933539239992007-01-11T19:22:00.000-08:002007-01-11T20:58:54.540-08:00OH, MY ACHING VOLVOSeems as though things are breaking all around me. Mileage on the VEV is currently 227,125. And it seems that at least one of the intermittent problem(s) with the fuel injection or ignition have gone permanent.The day I limped it home, from about three miles away, it just started running really weak. That, coupled with the occasional popping out the exhaust, led me to believe Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1168572052462073572007-01-11T19:19:00.000-08:002007-01-11T19:20:53.410-08:00BACK ONLINEAs some of you know, I've been offline for about a month now, save for occasionally checking my email at the college. I'm now back - kinda'-sorta'.I've just put together a Core 2 Duo - based machine. And it's pretty great. But getting my old Windows 98SE to run on it has been pretty dicey. But I have here an evaluation copy of Windows XP Pro x64 (a sort of pre-Vista), and I will be Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1162274116015790722006-10-30T21:54:00.000-08:002006-10-30T21:55:16.406-08:00On Borat!Absolute crap! Totally derivitive of Yakov Smirnoff and Andy KaufmanKevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1159605196255654382006-09-30T01:22:00.000-07:002007-02-03T21:48:56.733-08:00Entertainment Trivia For 09/30/06:Here's one a little off-beat, but few would argue that professional sports aren't a form of entertainment:Present above many major sporting events is one of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company's fleet of blimps. With just a few exceptions, from what do these blimps derive their names?Answer: (sorry for the delay) America's Cup boats. OK, I will endeavor not to Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1157515073433098262006-09-05T20:47:00.000-07:002006-09-05T21:01:54.336-07:00Nip/Tuck Season Premiere:For those of you who (like me) are wondering why Brooke Shields would appear in a scene entirely contrary to the prim and proper image she's been trying to cultivate for herself of late, or why Kathleen Turner would want to change that wonderful deep smokey voice (or pity Bree Walker, not for the congenital defect she has risen above, but for her badly done cosmetic Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1156571927083276682006-08-25T22:17:00.000-07:002006-08-25T22:58:47.546-07:00VEV Logs Installment #2; 225,317 miles:The Compression Test, And Other StuffI finally got around to doing a compression test on the VEV. However, as much as I touted the need to do a initial compression test "cold and dry," I wasn't able to follow my own advise. But, it didn't exhibit the cold starting problems that such a test would identify, so I wasn't too worried. It had sat for about 10 Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1156137043853202312006-08-20T21:51:00.000-07:002007-02-08T16:14:07.163-08:00The Volvo I Should Have Bought:At $13,759.99, this was a little over my head. But I was wondering what a good '94 Volvo 940 or 960 wagon goes for, and found Paul Newman's Kenne Bell supercharged 302 Ford powered 965 just sold last week on eBay.If you turned back time to 1997 and tried to think of the most conservative "mom-mobile" on the road, the Volvo 960 station wagon was probably high on the Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1155975172103800292006-08-19T01:10:00.000-07:002006-08-19T03:14:13.376-07:00VEV Logs, Installment #1:Getting ReadyThere has, since way back, been a central appeal to a Volvo beyond their rugged construction, and dedication to safety (something which all manufacturers share, inthese days). It’s their stone-axe simplicity. This was a quality that was lost, going into the ‘90s, with the FWD 850 series, and the 4VPC, twin cam, B234 engine. Now a Volvo is pretty much a Ford, Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1155612440879050052006-08-14T20:13:00.000-07:002006-08-14T20:27:21.100-07:00NASCAR Road Racing:I haven't been following NASCAR for some years now. Hell, really for some decades. I sort of lost interest after Chrysler won the aerodynamics war against Ford, all the manufacturers dropped out, and the France family decided the cars were going too fast for current chassis and tire technology (although, despite limitations, they go faster now). You see, I've always been Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1155609754531333362006-08-14T19:42:00.000-07:002006-08-14T19:42:34.970-07:00The Alcohol Years:Damn! I just (very briefly) tuned in to The Alcohol Years (2000), on The Sundance Channel. And here I thought it was going to be about drag racing.Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1154594963664802822006-08-03T01:16:00.000-07:002006-08-03T01:50:07.663-07:00Absolute Crap:I'm not familiar at all with a blog called General Watch. And I only read this ridiculous post, quoting an idiot named Jerry Flint, from WardsAuto.com, because my good friend, Mark Tapscott included it in his last Carnival of Cars. And I have only to say that, Jerry needs to pull his head out of his ass.The problem, General Watchers, is not one of having multiple brands at the same Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1154587892540520602006-08-02T23:43:00.000-07:002006-08-03T00:14:36.766-07:00Gas Tax Controversy:Over at The Volokh Conspiracy, Todd Zywicki has this post, about suspending the gas tax. Here is my opinion:We should sharply increase the gas tax! And then (here's the novel part) actually spend the money on our roads! It's time for the central planning zealots out there to admit that, for the vast majority of things Americans buy an automobile for, nothing does it better Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1154252747899542172006-07-30T01:55:00.000-07:002006-07-30T13:42:37.346-07:00I Googled This Term Just For Her:Well, hardly. But I did have to use Google to get the spelling right - it's been a long time since I used it.I've just watched another episode of the recent redo of The Twilight Zone - Time Lapse: Dead Man's Eyes (2002), which starred Portia de Rossi, whom you might know from Ally McBeal or Arrested Development. Well, I Googled her name a couple of commercials agoKevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1154072797009371312006-07-28T00:12:00.000-07:002006-07-28T00:54:46.873-07:00Is Liz Taylor The Most Beautiful Screen Goddess, Or What?Well, let me preface this by stipulating that the age of the Screen Goddess ran out with Faye Dunaway. There was some talk of it coming back with Michelle Pfeiffer, but it didn't happen. So there's no sense in throwing Charlize Theron or Angelina Jolie into the mix here; it's a 'ol 'nother league - like comparing contemporary MLB pitchers Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1154032683023789352006-07-27T13:37:00.000-07:002006-07-27T13:55:19.126-07:00All Hail The HondaJet:With all the turmoil in the Middle East, you would hardly know it. But, mark my words, no news item today will be of greater historical significance than the introduction of the HondaJet - "the Honda Civic of the air."Make no mistake, private jet travel is still out of reach of the average Joe. But recent advances in VLJ technology have been marked. And the introduction of Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1153947036736820252006-07-26T13:46:00.000-07:002006-08-15T08:23:30.230-07:00Entertainment Trivia For 7/26/06:The Beatles are generally credited with spearheading the British Invasion. But this band was actually the first to tour North America.The Answer!I had totally forgotten about this question until yesterday, when I heard Gerry and the Pacemakers lovely Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying (their biggest US hit). But that's not the answer. The first British Invasion Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1153389493051202402006-07-20T02:56:00.000-07:002006-07-21T23:39:44.550-07:00Ve Are In Der Vild Und Volly Days Oft Der Blogosphere:Ann Althouse casts aspersions on the Puffington Roast's offer for $5m in venture capital:And 1.3 million visitors a month? That's not too good for them! It's half of Instapundit's traffic. And Kos... Kos has more than 10 times that. So I guess he could raise $50 millionWell, I know a little about this, as I was on the ebb of the Pajamas Media Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1152773398657140922006-07-12T23:24:00.000-07:002006-07-13T00:00:57.243-07:00There's No Such Thing As An Old Joke 07/12/06A friend was amused by these two classic blonde jokes, and passed them to me:Q: What do you call a smart blonde?A: A Golden Retriever!!Q: Why did the blonde jump off a building?A: To see if the maxi-pad had wings!!In checking the thread where he got them, the rest (IMHO) are pretty lame. But then there's also this old classic:A man escapes from prison Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1152162663157087172006-07-05T22:10:00.000-07:002006-07-25T06:27:19.823-07:00A Libertarian By Any Other NameOver at Volokh, David Bernstein and Ilya Somin are revisiting the question of the meaning of libertarianism. It occurs to me that I covered this in some depth, on my opening post back at Samizdata. It has gotten pretty hard to ferret-out my old Samizdata stuff, as they seem to have eliminated their author archives when they changed format. So I figured I'd reprint Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1151837638355337902006-07-02T03:35:00.000-07:002006-07-06T06:59:56.813-07:00Entertainment Trivia For 7/02/06:Here's one with a hat tip to World Cup fever, which has embraced the entire rest of the world:Men's soccer - whether amateur or professional, gets the support of a bastard child, here in the US. Such is hardly the case for women's soccer. Just what was the Brit girls', Jess and Jules, "dream school", in Bend It Like Beckham?The Answer! Well, I guess nobody saw theKevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1151530197721468902006-06-28T14:29:00.000-07:002006-06-28T14:30:02.006-07:00Fully Sorted Linux?I have recently been checking ot Ubuntu, which I have read some good things about. I partitioned my hard drive a couple of years ago, with the express purpose of setting up a triple-boot 98SE/2000orXP/Linux. But I haven't had the money to buy XP, and I haven't been really happy with the Linux versions I have seen (and many, such a Red Hat, aren't truely free).But Ubantu seems Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1151479355476824522006-06-27T23:54:00.000-07:002006-06-29T11:03:56.360-07:00LOGS OF THE NEW VEV:Back at TDB. I frequently mused about Sgt. Mom's references to her "VEV". Well, it took a while, but I learned that "VEV" was a reference to her "Very Elderly Volvo."Well, now it seems I have my own "VEV" - a 1986 740 Turbo Wagon.And it has 224K miles on it. And for most cars, that would be a ticket to the junk yard. But, for a Volvo...But still, a quarter-million miles is a Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1151283863028751822006-06-25T18:03:00.000-07:002006-06-25T18:04:23.370-07:00For Once, I Agree With Joe Klein:Harold Ford (D-TN) will be the first Black American Senator elected out of the South.Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1151030862086185352006-06-22T19:42:00.000-07:002006-06-29T19:32:10.463-07:00Entertainment Trivia For 6/22/06:Ok, here's an easy one:As one of America's favorite sit-com dads, in this series, his side-kick was named "O'Casey", and played by this guy, and this guy. But, earlier, in this film-noir classic, his contragonist was named "Keyes", and played by this superstar,The Answer:The Series: My Three SonsThe Actor: Fred MacMurraySide Kick #1: William Frawley, as Michael Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1149071779310319502006-05-31T03:26:00.000-07:002006-06-06T00:12:57.286-07:00Entertainment Trivia For 05/31/06This character, one of the two protagonists from this classic film, was based upon blank - who's real name was blank - history's first living marketing icon.The Answer:This character; (Aunt) Delilah Johnson, played by Louise Beavers.This classic film; Imitation of Life (1934).Based upon; Aunt Jemima.Who's real name was; Nancy Green.Interestingly, Nancy Green had Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1148402637606840292006-05-23T09:41:00.000-07:002006-09-30T01:41:04.683-07:00The Answer For Entertainment Trivia For 05/03/06...Is now up.Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1147942810113199302006-05-18T01:12:00.000-07:002006-05-18T03:05:28.936-07:00The Mercurial Nature Of A Hollywood CareerI'm currently watching Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines. And I can't help but reflect on what a harsh master Hollywood is...1965 was a big year for films: We had The Sound of Music ($174m gross), Doctor Zhivago ($103m gross), Thunderball ($62m gross), and, in fourth place, was Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines or How I Flew fromKevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1147937699427709882006-05-18T00:31:00.000-07:002006-05-18T00:34:59.566-07:00As I don't know how to jigger the post time tag with Blogger just yet, readers should note the new hint on my last Entertainment Trivia puzzle.Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1147933107983403582006-05-17T21:56:00.000-07:002006-12-02T18:51:26.513-08:00Coffee Blogging 060516This morning, my good friend, Glenn Reynolds, did this post, apparently because a lot of people would be interested in his opinion on coffee makers. Glenn, buddy - you know I love ya'. But please, stick to what you know. It sure ain't coffee makers. Here's his post, reproduced in full:MORE COFFEEBLOGGING: Various people wanted followups on my earlier coffeemaker post, and, Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1147557161573831582006-05-13T14:48:00.000-07:002006-12-21T23:03:21.046-08:00Engine/Transmission Package DimensionsI encountered this somewhere on the web, and thought I'd post it here, for future reference. My thanks go to Mr. Williams, you obviously did a lot of research to create this.Engine Weight Chart Engine Weight/Size FYI version 00.02.04 by Dave Williams, dave.williams@chaos.lrk.ar.us It isn't really a Frequently Asked Question, so Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1147325623912094422006-05-10T21:55:00.000-07:002006-05-11T07:39:16.793-07:00Creative Way To Fill A NeedWhile, over at the Volokh Conspiracy, Orin Kerr is concerned about well-heeled college applicants gaining an "unfair" advantage by hiring admissions consultants, this self-described "cute college grad" feels her chances for success in her journalism career would be better if she had bigger breasts. So she is advertising for the $3000 for augmentation surgery. Think Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1147152945376752372006-05-08T20:08:00.000-07:002006-11-18T19:04:40.510-08:00This is the second installment of what I intend to be a series of posts on alternative vehicle fuels if you are new, check here for inst. #1.Biofuels: EthanolThe great promise - the big lieI had initially intended to do a single post on liquid biofuels (ignoring, for the moment, such things as biomass methane, which really stinks as a vehicle fuel). The three main contenders here are biodiesel, Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1146738906514524562006-05-04T03:27:00.000-07:002006-05-04T03:35:56.560-07:00Ducks Skunk Calgary3-0 This is like duuuuuuuuuuuude, too cool.Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1146734300345959882006-05-04T01:50:00.000-07:002006-05-04T02:18:20.356-07:00Freedom of the Seas LaunchedRoyal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas has just taken to the seas, as the world's largest Passenger Ship, eclipsing the Cunard (Carnival) Queen Mary II.As I had noted in this TDB post, the Passenger Ship label is important, as FotS cannot be considered an Ocean Liner.I had trivialized the differences in my earlier post; but they are actually significant. Indeed, the Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1146731481106065332006-05-04T01:05:00.000-07:002006-05-11T10:31:41.186-07:00DARPA Grand Challenge 3I would like to go on record here as saying that I would be interested in participating in, or forming, a team to compete in DARPA's "urban" Grand Challenge 3 (2 pages PDF). Instead of a course through the desert, this one is to be run through a mock city. It would seem that I was breed for this: My background as an engineer is in sensor and control systems. And I was Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1146690991316285262006-05-03T14:06:00.000-07:002006-09-30T01:42:51.963-07:00Entertainment Trivia For 05/03/06Correlate these two people: Ida Lupino, Otto Preminger. And the answer isn't an actor, director, or other crew member with whom they both have worked (of which there are many).Hint #1: OperaHint #2: Family Guy: Brian Wallows and Peter's SwallowsThe Answer! They both directed take-offs on Georges Bizet's opera Carmen. For Preminger, it was the cinema classic CarmenKevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1146668801502252762006-05-03T08:04:00.000-07:002006-05-03T08:06:41.503-07:00May Day, 2006: Let me just go on record here as noting this as the day the tables tipped against Islamofascism.How, exactly, I divined this prophecy, will have to wait for another day, as I am about to turn-in. But, mark my words: today is the tipping point.Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1146525019932862162006-05-01T16:05:00.000-07:002006-05-01T16:10:19.943-07:00Into the Twilight Zone: On tonight's installment of Hardball, Chris Matthews tried to equate today's unrest over immigration to the Iraqi campaign. What's with that?Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1145642676176789072006-04-21T10:53:00.000-07:002006-07-11T05:48:47.306-07:00Alternate Vehicle fuels I'm making this the first in a series on alternate vehicle fuels. For the next, look here.Just over four years ago, I had emailed Patrick Bedard of Car and Driver, in response to this article, arguing that any large-scale conversion to hydrogen or electricity as a vehicle fuel would require a massive investment in both nuclear power, and the electrical grid. And that was Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1145557750005015382006-04-20T09:39:00.000-07:002006-04-20T11:29:59.666-07:00I've enabled comments on this blog. I'm somewhat concerned about spam. Blogger offers a content spam filter. We've used that for some time at The Daily Brief, and I've found it rather lacking. The greatest problem is that it's not sure-fire, and suspect comments have to go into a moderation queue. Legit commenters whose posts are flagged like this are left confused and anxious over why their Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121563.post-1144949693992120762006-04-13T08:53:00.000-07:002006-04-13T15:49:13.660-07:00I was watching the 1937 classic Topper on TCM last night. And I wondered what became of the show's "fifth star" - that outragous customized 1936 Buick Roadmaster. Old timers might recall that the car had quite a long and storied career after Topper, becoming first a promotional car for Gilmore Oil, and then Mobilgas.This from Carl Bomstead at Collector Car magazine, April 2002:Of the epic movies Kevin L. Connorsnoreply@blogger.com0