The Reconstruction

I’m excited that Google has published cycling directions, but as they are right now, they might get me in trouble if I follow them:

In The New Republic:
“In Virginia, I’ve argued,Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds, who on his record and on the issues had much to recommend him, suffered at least in part from identification with Obama and the national party.
“The disapproval of Obama among Virginia voters, which began to climb in late July, may have affected their enthusiasm about Deeds. In [...]

Two melons were laying in a field when one turned to the other and said, “You know, we’re going to have to invite my family to the wedding.”  The other asked, “Why?”  “Because we cantaloupe!”

From a friend:
One thing that’s hilarious to me is, I had this job that paid me well.  I saved up.  I bought a nice blender.  Instead of buying a 2-dollar skirt at goodwill, I bought an expensive one at a real store.  It was lovely, but it didn’t fill the void.  I think the cliches [...]

A quick lunch-hour observation…
Quincy Adams at The RBC is absolutely right that the control system for Metro trains, as described in the Washington Post, contains a fundamental design flaw.  I’d argue, however, that an effective solution can be designed that is far simpler than Quincy’s suggestion.  In fact, the system could have been designed far [...]

WMATA currently:
Red Line
Disruption at Fort Totten in both directions. Trains are turning back at Rhode Island Avenue & Silver Spring due to a situation outside of Fort Totten station. Shuttle bus service has been established. Expect delays in both directions.
WMATA between 9-10 PM yesterday (unofficial twitter re-broadcast):
Red Line
Disruption at Fort Totten. Trains are turning back [...]

Because Iceland is really just one big family, it’s simply annoying to go around asking Icelanders if they’ve met Björk. Of course they’ve met Björk; who hasn’t met Björk? Who, for that matter, didn’t know Björk when she was two? “Yes, I know Björk,” a professor of finance at the University of Iceland says in reply to [...]

Dear Barry,
Please confine yourself to talking about things you understand. Items I’d specifically suggest you exclude include the alleged mis-measurement of inflation, and any technical aspects of the measurement of GDP.
This morning, you suggested that TARP artificially increased GDP.
Unfortunately, you apparently did not read the passage you quoted in your post, or didn’t understand [...]

If anyone remembers the old internet joke theory known as the “Dark Sucker Theory“, the one in which light bulbs do not emit light but instead suck dark, they might be surprised to learn that this piece of silly internet humor is pretty well-aged. In a New York Times article on Daylight Savings Time, [...]

Violence again in the Democratic Republic of the Congo:
“IT STARTED with burning tyres and rocks thrown by protesters. Then gun battles erupted between rival soldiers using heavy machine guns, mortars and rockets. The fighting at the weekend in Kinshasa shows that peace in Congo is not yet assured. The battle brought the centre of the [...]