Anger Management

• I've always been convinced that too much income inequality is not a good thing. It's nice to read someone who can explain why. I'm no socialist, but I just can't buy the whole libertarian position.
  
• What do I think of McCain's selection of Palin as his VP running mate? I'm pleased that he picked a woman, even if he did so purely for political reasons (well that, and probably a bit because he couldn't get along with the men under consideration). She seems like the kind of woman you might want to have a beer with or go camping with. But a heartbeat away from the Presidency (and a 72 year old heart at that)? I never faulted Obama for a lack of experience because no one has the experience to be President. But at least he seemed a bit battle tested and as ready as someone could be. Palin? Sure, she may be up to it, but how would we know? Ultimately though, the thing I want to get on the record is that, whether McCain wins or loses this election, everyone will be attributing it to his choice of running mate.
  
• I come into my office today to find an expense reimbursement returned to me in my mail box. I had submitted this over three weeks ago, and it's a couple thousand dollars. There's a note in there with a couple issues which don't apply in this case, and one matter that should have been easily resolved without my involvement. I'm steaming. So much so, I can't work. I call the administrator who returned it, knowing she'll be at lunch since it's noon. I turn to email her but know that I shouldn't, not in my agitated state. At 1:30pm, I call again and she's still not there. I write an email addressing each matter. I spend 10 minutes deleting every word and phrase that's not absolutely necessary. The email is terse, but not obviously angered. Though still mad, I'm at least pleased I've not yelled at anyone yet. Five minutes later I get an email from her with the first sentence saying she's working from home, but either through dedication or insanity she's responding to emails. The next paragraph basically just tells me to send the paperwork back and she'll address it promptly. Fine. It's dealt with. I email her back a nice thanks, hopeful she'll be better next time. But here's the rub...I had emailed her boss as well, and sure enough about an hour later, her boss emails that the administrator is out today for a family medical issue but should be back in tomorrow. So I respond that she took care of it from home, and the boss emails me back extolling the virtues of the people under him! So this administrator who seems barely able to do her job, is getting kudos from her boss because of me! What did I do wrong?
  

How do you spell Olajuwon?

I know everyone loves to read about politics on a physics blog. Well, either that or good travel stories. I have at the moment, what Colbert calls upon to begin his show, a big dose of "rage" (or ``rage" for all you LaTeX fans) at the moment.

If you don't read Talking Points Memo every once in a while, you're really missing out. Sure there's Daily Kos, Atrios, etc, but those are more like coaches constantly yelling and screaming on the sidelines. Josh (Micah...do I really need to add his middle name?) Marshall provides more a nuanced motivation. Kind of like the opening scenes of the generic revenge, action thriller in which the bad person/company kills the close relative of the protagonist. For Josh, it's less about liberals versus conservatives, and more about the everyman (everyperson) versus the hypocritical powers that be. The latest entries concern Bush's corruption of the DOJ details of which I have a hard time finding in newspapers.

As for the NBA playoffs, I was finally able to sit down and watch the last half hour of game six of the Rockets-Jazz series. Wow...it was like a time-warp back to the Stockton/Malone versus Clyde/Olajuwon, except both teams suck in comparison to the rest of the West (which says a lot about the East). Lots of flopping and picks by Utah, and a complete inability to close out the other team on the part of the Rockets.

One last thing regarding Imus. I had said that it was his job. Well, Don must be reading this blog because, sure enough, it looks like he's going to sue CBS for breach of contract. It turns out his contract had a clause for just this eventuality:

Company (CBS Radio) acknowledges that Artist's (Imus') services to be rendered hereunder are of a unique, extraordinary, irreverent, intellectual, topical, controversial and personal character and that programs of the same general type and nature containing these components are desired by Company and are consistent with Company rules and policies.