Honeysuckles and fireflies

A nice way to end May - standing on the back deck with the scent of honeysuckle filling the air.
And fireflies lighting up the night sky.

Bang up idea

The Maryland boy who got suspended from school - after eating his Pop-Tart into the shape of a gun - have been given a membership in the NRA.
What can I make into a gun shape to get a membership?

Bad news inside the numbers

Liberals were crowing last week when California's Obamacare exchange announced its proposed rates for 2014.
See, it's not that bad.
We just needed some time to look inside the numbers. And at ehealthinsurance's current offerings.
So if you’re 40, your cheapest option is the bronze plan. In California, the median price of a bronze plan for a 40-year-old male non-smoker will be $261.
But on eHealthInsurance, the median cost of the five cheapest plans was $121. That is, Obamacare will increase individual-market premiums by an average of 116 percent.

Costly cure for bad penmanship

Via Legal Insurrection, the Razor slices up Electronic Health Records.
The key decision in any software development is to address who the software is for and the key needs it is meant to address. Judging by the current EHR systems available none were designed for doctors. Instead they were designed for the employers of doctors such as large health systems, insurance companies and the federal government who are interested in aggregated data in order to answer questions such as “How many patients are uncontrolled diabetics?” or “How much is being spent on obesity-related illness?”
The doctor will see you now - in between keystrokes and clicks.

Weekend watchdog

Will the Heat return to the NBA Finals?
Which teams on ice will play for the Stanley Cup?
The quests continue this weekend.
We know one member of the NBA Finals - San Antonio swept Memphis and awaits the winner of the Eastern Conference battle between Miami and Indiana. It's Game 6 back in Indiana Saturday at 8:30 p.m. Game 7, if necessary, will be Monday in Miami.
The Spurs continue to rest ahead of the Finals June 6.
On ice, the Penguins host Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals Saturday at 8 p.m. on NBC. The Blackhawks, fresh off an overtime victory in Game 7 Wednesday, host the Kings Saturday at 5 p.m. on NBC Sports network. Game 2 of the series will be Sunday at 8 p.m.
The Nationals head to Atlanta for the weekend, with games Friday and Sunday on MASN and Saturday on Fox. The Orioles host the Tigers on MASN2 (Saturday afternoon on MASN).
The Yankees face the Red Sox Saturday night on Fox and Sunday night on ESPN. TBS has another choice from Fox - Giants against Cardinals - Sunday afternoon. Other parts of the country will see the Pirates-Reds and Diamondbacks facing the Cubs.
College baseball's road to Omaha begins Friday, and ESPN2 shows South Carolina-St. Louis at 7 p.m. There's another contest Saturday at 8 p.m. on ESPN2
Fox closes its NASCAR coverage Sunday at Dover. Tune in at 1 p.m. to hear DW say "Boogity, Boogity, Boogity" one more time. ESPN has the Nationwide race Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
The Indy car racers head to Detroit Saturday and Sunday at 3:30 p.m. on ABC. NBC Sports network has the Tennessee National 450 motorcycle races Saturday at 1 p.m.
ESPN2 continues coverage of the French Open Friday at 5 a.m.
The PGA tour heads to Ohio for the Memorial. CBS has coverage Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday starting at 2:30 p.m.
The NCAA softball World Series continues Friday at 7 and 9:30 p.m. on ESPN with the winner's from Thursday's action. The loser's bracket games start Saturday at noon. ESPN2 has two games in the afternoon, with two more on ESPN at 7 p.m. ESPN starts coverage Sunday at 1 p.m., and ESPN2 carries if necessary contests Sunday evening.
D.C. United heads to Chicago Sunday to face the Fire at 5 p.m. on Comcast. NBC Sports network offers Los Angeles at New England Sunday at 4:30 p.m. The United States has an international friendly against Germany at 2 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2
NBC brings the Collegiate Sevens Rugby championships Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m. NBC Sports network has the action Sunday at 2 p.m.
The Prefontaine Classic brings track and field action to NBC Saturday at 4:30 p.m.

Dark side of solar power

Proponents of solar energy rely on the free access to their power source, sunshine.
Except they need man-made systems to turn that sunshine into electricity.
Ones that last more than a year before failing.
Or starting fires on the roof.

Singing for her state

Miranda Lambert let the emotion flow at Wednesday's concert for Oklahoma relief.

Is it summer vacation yet?

The days have dwindled to six on the Augusta County school calendar.
One of my nephews graduates high school tonight.
Some people struggle with the last month of school.
But cheer up. August 19 is coming.

Inspire and draw fire

Dan Riehl gets to share his thoughts on Michelle Bachmann to NPR.
The left thinks they can laugh, that sees going to go away.
I doubt it.
Like Sarah Palin, she will continue to inspire and draw fire.

Cheers for Cuccinelli

American Spectator likes Ken Cuccinelli.
Time for the rest of Virginia Republicans to join up.
Unless they prefer Terry McAuliffe to a Republican administration.

Buy now, pay later

A nice list of eight bad things coming with Obamacare.
The problem with one-size-fits-all solutions is that everything has been decided for you and you will be forced to purchase a policy that costs more than you’d like, that contains features that you have no interest in.

Ten little Indian foes

Ten members of Congress sent a letter to the NFL, urging the Redskins change their name.
The name Redskins is offensive to them.
Redskins
Redskins
Redskins
Redskins
Redskins
Redskins
Redskins
Redskins.
There you go. Ten mentions of the word the ten of them object to.

Houston's job gusher

The Atlantic tells the good news about the economy in Houston.
The recession in Texas was relatively mild, partly thanks to mistakes learned by the region's real estate and energy industries, said Patrick Jankowski, an economist and vice president of research at the Greater Houston Partnership. Texas "won" the recession not only because of the jobs it's created, but also because of the jobs it's hoarded -- particularly in energy.

Today's Tied with me

Technorati has this blog tied with Drudge Retort, a left-wing attempt to grab traffic from the Drudge Report.
How's it going?
They are tied with me today.
Nuff said.

Bazinga

A New York Times critic repents of his sin - underestimating "Big Bang Theory."
Now he's happy to be part of the in crowd.
For me, though, true validation came last summer when I was on vacation, walking up a darkened hill in the kind of resort town where the smart TV talk veers toward shows like “Girls” and “Mad Men.” I was wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the word “bazinga,” Sheldon’s self-satisfied exclamation whenever he thinks he’s got the better of one of his pals. A car crept toward me, a window rolled down and my shields went up: Uh-oh, I thought, here comes some snarky comment. Instead the driver just said the word, Sheldon-like, quietly but rascally: “ba-ZING-a,” and then moved on. It was an acknowledgment of a shared secret, a coded utterance of the sentence that some people wait a lifetime to hear: How cool are we!

Last man standing

The world's oldest living human is 116 - born in 1897.
The next oldest man was born in 1901.
The world's oldest man retired from his job in 1962 - the year I was born.
Just have to live until 2078 to match his current record.

Sooper new tax form

Sooper Mexican has unearthed a new tax form specially made for Tea Party conservatives.

Here's your sign

No power

The Republicans have done a great job splitting the Democrats on energy policy.
After talking up oil and gas exploration off the coast, Senators Warner and Kaine support the approach.
As does gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe.
Liberals are steaming.
Maybe we should put them in a room and use the steam for power generation.
It will take a lot of liberals to match the energy production of coal.

New classic

After reading the story behind "I drive your truck," I have to post the video.
People will be singing this, and wiping away tears, for years.

Guess she knows she was going to lose

SWACgirl notes a Republican candidate in Rockingham County withdrawing from the supervisors race.
She cites "extremism."
Probably extremely likely she was going to lose next week.

Memorial Day song

Trace Adkins sings of Arlington.

Facebook quote of the week

I could swear this country is being run by a bunch of sorority girls, the way T-shirts keep popping up after every national tragedy.

Do you trust the volume doctor?

California has been among the first states to offer insurance exchanges under Obamacare.
Thursday, they announced the 13 companies that will participate in the individual exchanges.
How do the insurance companies plan to make this work?
Volume.
To get prices at such competitive points, winning health plans built their bids around the expectation of high enrollment, not high profit.
Volume may work at Costco or Sam's Club - stock up on several months' worth of toilet paper.
Do you want the high volume doctor?
The one seeing more patients in a day to make up for lower reimbursement for his services?
Much uncertainty looms before January 1, 2014, when Obamacare takes full effect.

Weekend watchdog

In past years, race fans have been able to catch 1100 miles of action the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.
Add a few more hours of action in 2013.
NBC will broadcast the Formula One Grand Prix of Monaco Sunday at 7:30 a.m. after NBC Sports network shows qualifying Saturday at 8 a.m.
After the twists and turns of Monaco, it's off to the brickyard for the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday at 11 a.m. NBC Sports network brings Friday's practices at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Cap the day in Charlotte for NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 on Fox at 6 p.m. The Nationwide racers go Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on ABC.
For more speed this weekend, NBC Sports network has motorcycle racing Saturday at 3 p.m. from Thunder Valley.
The NBA conference finals continue, with Game 2 between the Pacers and Heat Friday at 8:30 p.m. on TNT. The Western Conference final shifts to Memphis Saturday at 9 p.m., with the Spurs holding a 2-0 lead. The Eastern series heads to Indiana Sunday at 8:30 p.m. for Game 3.
The NHL playoffs continue Friday as the Penguins host Ottawa in Game 5 at 7:30 p.m. on NBC Sports network. NBC offers Game 5 of Chicago-Detroit Saturday at 8 p.m. after Game 5 between the Rangers and Bruins on NBC Sports network.
The Kings and Sharks will play Game 6 some time Sunday, and if Ottawa wins Friday Game 6 will be Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
The Orioles host Toronto Saturday on MASN and on MASN2 Friday and Sunday.
The Nationals take on the Phillies Friday and Sunday on MASN, and Saturday night on FOX. Other parts of the country will catch Marlins-White Sox, Cardinals at Dodgers, Mets-Braves and A's taking on the Astros.
ESPN shows the Braves and Mets on Sunday night, while the Yankees and Rays battle on TBS Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
Comcast continues coverage of the ACC baseball tournament, with three games Friday beginning at 11 a.m., and two more Saturday. ESPN has the championship at 1 p.m. Sunday, followed by the SEC title game at 4:30 p.m.
The NCAA softball tournament has reached the Super Regional stage.
There's a pair of elimination games possible Friday at 7 and 9 p.m. On ESPN2, Alabama meets Tennessee at 7 p.m. ESPN has three games Saturday, starting with Michigan facing Louisiana-Lafayette at noon. After an elimination game at 2:30 p.m., Alabama plays Tennessee at 5 p.m. Arizona State hosts Kentucky Saturday at 10 p.m. on ESPN2, following an elimination game at 8 p.m. Sunday, Florida plays UAB in the second game of the super regional at noon. There's an elimination game Sunday at 3 p.m., followed by Arizona State-Kentucky at 5 p.m. ESPN2 has an elimination game if necessary Sunday at 8 p.m.
It's time for the Lacrosse final four. ESPN2 has Cornell-Duke Saturday at 2:30 p.m., followed by Denver against Syracuse. The national title game will be Monday.
CBS has the PGA tour at the Colonial Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m.
The French Open begins Sunday at 5 a.m. on ESPN2.
D.C. United hosts Portland Saturday at 7 p.m. on Comcast. On NBC Sports network, Kansas City takes on Houston Sunday at 3:30 p.m. and the Galaxy meet Seattle Sunday at 11 p.m. on ESPN2.

Best day ever

Google did a decent job picking its contest winner in 2013.

Dancing Queen

Kellie Pickler danced her way to the title at Dancing with the Stars this week.
When she made the field, I used a past picture of her in a post.
Can't go wrong with Kellie.

Know your IRS rules

The internet allows people with inside knowledge to cut through the crap on issues like the IRS/Tea Party delays.
Powerline received a lengthy note about the rules IRS agents live by - which makes the Tea Party delays more striking.
Our reader adds this note: “Believe me, every employee at IRS is acutely conscious of 1203, no matter where they work. After it was passed seizures, liens and levies dropped to almost zero. Took a long time for people to even think about sticking their necks out.”
Sorry Democrats, but more to come.

Can you dig it?

Dustbury knows Oklahoma. And why there aren't underground shelters everywhere.
The Atlantic tries to explain for those just joining in.

Can Weiner be a winner?

Commentary watches Anthony Weiner's announcement video - and wonders if New Yorkers will fall for his comeback try.
The latest Quinnipiac poll does show him not all that far behind the frontrunner, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. The poll shows Quinn in first with 25 percent and Weiner in second at 15 percent, with 27 percent saying they don’t know and the rest scattered among a crowded field. Theoretically, that means that there is plenty of room for Weiner’s share of support to grow and give him a chance to win.
But the poll also specifically asked New Yorkers whether they thought Weiner should run. Nearly half said no. Only 38 percent thought he ought to be in the race. When you consider that he already has what must be almost 100-percent name recognition, that means about half the voters won’t even consider voting for him. That will make it nearly impossible for him to win a runoff, which is mandatory if no candidate gets 40 percent of the vote.