As you can see, these have surprisingly shallow roots relative to their height. And like all cacti they're mostly water, making them very heavy. I talked to the homeowner as Al and I walked by this afternoon and he said, "At least the baby survived." Yes, and in another 100 years it will look like the big one now laying on the ground.
We had a couple of cacti come down at our house. We have one of these on each side of the house and they both blew over. This one was about 7' tall and the other a little shorter. Same shallow root system. Don't know why the single spike version managed to stay upright. I don't really like these, so I'm not bothered that they came down. But they represent a couple hundred pounds each, so cutting them up and getting rid of them will be a chore.
But toppled cacti don't matter for much. At one of the high-end auto auctions in Scottsdale, the Russo-Steele Auction, two of the huge tents came down, doing an estimated $2 million in damages to the very expensive cars that are the specialty of that auction. They're not allowing anyone in until tomorrow because the area still isn't safe.We got over four inches of rain where we live out of this latest wave of storms. That's half-again what we got all of last year. I haven't heard what the week's total was but it's got to be near twice that. Up in the mountains to the north it's still raining and they're predicting that the normally dry riverbeds here will get that water in about 24 hours.
Charles Phillips, President of software giant Oracle, was recently appointed to Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, but today he resigned from that position. His resignation comes as the result of large billboards put up in NY, Atlanta and San Fransisco, billboards that show Phillips canoodling with LaVaughnie Williams. They also list the URL of a website, since taken down, with more intimate photos of the two of them dating back to 2001 and scans of love notes he wrote her.
The problem? Charles Phillips was married while he was carrying on this 8-year affair with Ms. Williams, an affair that included vacations to exclusive resorts all over the world. (How do guys pull that off?) He divorced his wife in 2008 and recently dumped LaVaughnie, too. Alas, she didn't take it so well, and when she heard Phillips had scored a prestigious appointment she decided the world needed to know he was a bum, and she was willing to spend big bucks to get that message out. Hence the billboards and the web site.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
Back to last night's discussion of the Pendulum Principle.
If the Republican leadership asked me (something they mysteriously have failed thus far to do) I would tell them to QUICKLY get a health care bill before both houses. A majority of Americans now oppose the Democratic plan, fearing its size and cost. But they also agree something needs to be done to control health care costs and put some fairness into the system. So rather than be the party of (pendulum) opposition to any and all legislation, why not take more moderate and focused regulations? How about individual bills, one for tort reform, another to get rid of the "pre-existing condition" exclusion, another to either eliminate or significantly raise the benefit ceiling....
Pendulum opposition seems incredibly short-sighted and ultimately self-defeating. Color me naive, but I think the Republicans could own Congress if they took a moderate, reasoned approach to the issue. There's something to be said for the middle.
Tomorrow I'll take down the old cabinet doors, putty the screw holes and paint the face frames. The new doors will get hidden, "European style" hinges and I'll go to the wood shop Monday to drill 28 holes on the drill press with a forstner bit. Then it's install!
2 comments:
There's a story about a large group of moderates marching on the state capitol. As they approached, they were chanting, "What do we want?" The response was, "Gradual Change." Then they yelled, "When do we want it?" The crowd responded, "In due course."
The funny thing about the above story is that moderates don't march, protest or (generally) vote in primaries in large numbers. I once heard a colleague call the concept of a "passionate moderate" an oxymron. Many of us (myself included) wish the political process would become more moderated -- which is where our country tends to be, based on surveys.
The core of the two political parties are the ones voting in primaries and protesting in the streets. By the time moderates actually vote in the general election, the candiates tend to be polar opposites. In 2008 (and most of the last decade), only 22% of registered Arizona voters voted in the primary (this is where the state legislative and congressional candidates were selected for each party). That number bumped up a little for the 2008 presidental preference primary to 50%. Take into account that about 3/4 of the state's voting age population are registered to vote, and the above numbers look even more dismal.
While a moderate healthcare bill would likely be what a majority of Americans would want to see enacted, the active core of the parties (the ones working the campaigns and voting in the primaries) are who candidates have to answer to when they come home. You are right about your pendeuum analogy. But when voters want the pendulum to swing in a new direction, candidates produced in the primaries do not leave room for options. So if one wants change, it tends to be 180 degrees.
At the end of the day, my opinion is only worth what it cost for me to give it. Since no one's paying me, I can't promise its worth much.
Jeff,
When the Republican leadership contacts me I'll send them your direction. Sounds like we agree, but you have the expertise that only comes with experience. Me? I'm just a blowhard.
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