tfl: The Flatiron Life

I have moved into my work apartment in Madison. It is nice. If I wanted to be working here or if I lived here this place would be amazing. It is large. It has all the amenities that you could want. There is build in A/C, dishwasher, and washer and dryer. There is also a large kitchen. Yesterday, Bengi and I made a Wal-mart run to buy some furnishings, on the company?s dime. I bought coordinating bathroom items. They are sort of a palm tree oasis theme. I also bought a bed set that will fit my bed at home. Next week I am going to by some dishes thanks to the boss man.

Bengi and I were returning from lunch today when the subject of Aquafina came up. We discussed how exactly some one is spotted in their ?Get Spotted? promotion. As we turned a corner on the Beltline, Bengi pointed into the sky. There it was, the Aquafina blimp! It was flying over Mad Town. Sadly I was not drinking Aquafina at the time.

Over the last year or more I have been receiving daily emails form Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, through an email list. They are short reflections on how to live a Christian life. I have really enjoyed them. Dr. Bright had been ill for some time and had found the email to be the best was to fulfill God’s mission for his life. The email for 20 July have a bit different, Dr. Bright had died the night before. Now, I am still getting emails. These messages were prepared in advance by Dr. Bright, but now I cannot bring myself to read it.

The King of Pop has spoken out against a new law that would make downloading copyrighted material, like music, illegal. He has some smart things to say about the subject.

Stuff is going on in THe Flatiron Life, but really do not feel like writing about it now. I promise I will soon.

Here and here via The Great One in The Corner.

What would Ann Coulter do?

I went to the Dane County Fair tonight. It is good. It is not as large as I expected. Much to my disappointment the dome was not full of 4-H projects, in fact it is not part of the fair at all. I am likely underestimating the Dane County Fair and overestimating the Vermillion County Fair but I think this fair is only 2-3 times larger than VCo?s. The projects are poorly arranged and in an air-conditioned building. What is the fun of looking at projects, if you are not sweating to death? There are in a few rooms of the convention center that is on the grounds. I also noticed that there are no Champion, Grand Champion, or their reserves. There is much more was in the livestock than in far north haute. In the barns, there are many farm and club banners, but there are also FFA banners. There are many of the silly animals like horses, goats, sheep, poultry, etc. There are a lot of hogs. There is much more cattle. This being Wisconsin the vast majority of these are dairy. There is also an automated milking station. This is used for exhibit purposes, but I assume that the animals are probably so conditioned to the machine that being hand milked would disturb them.

Through out the whole fair I could not wipe this large grin off my face. This is because I realized that 4-H folks are the same everywhere, at least in the mid-west. I heard 4-Hers and there parents disputing the judges finding, complaining that others had not followed the exact text of the rules, or that their projects were displayed incorrectly. I saw people who just as easily could have been Tomaws, Bartons, or McFalls. In the barns, the folks looked just like Hickses, Morgans, or Hills.

Rich Lowry of National Review has a great syndicated article on the subject. He references a book I read a review of a while back and really would like to read.

For all its flaws, and there are many of them, English is a great language. For one thing we have no problem using words from other languages, mostly because english is composed of other languages. The French on the other hand still have to speak French and use the words the government demands.