Ooo.. a potential problem with the Montreal trip...

A good look at the McCain and Obama tax plans.

Anyone on my friends list who makes more than $2.87 million a year is not going to like the Obama plan.

These numbers come from a non-partisan group.

(Yes, I'm home today. I'm running a fever, still feel like crap, and have other issues.)

tip of the Giants cap to filkertom for the link.

Bet I can outrun the Mounties

Since the trip to Montréal is now very real, I'm doing some reading on Canadian customs, re-entry to the US, etc.,

I'm shocked to see that while the Canada Border Services Agency addresses the issue of importing smokes and rum, it completely fails to address the vital French Perfume question.

I really should do an unlocked version.

Per kshandra's request, I've f-locked the actual itinerary for our trip to the 2009 Worldcon. But I feel the rest of you deserve at least the basics.

We're flying out of SFO on Monday, August 3rd on a redeye. After a long breakfast in Detroit's airport, we arrive in Montréal around noon-ish on Tuesday, and hopefully can get into the hotel room and die. Assuming a successful resurrection in the evening, perhaps meeting up locals for dinner. From what I've read, Old Montréal is best seen at night, so maybe do that.

Wednesday we're planning on a little sight-seeing. We will, of course, need to see The Village ("We bring greetings from The Castro!") and I'm told that there are in fact penguins. Kiri and I are both fiends for old churches and graveyards, so we'll want to see those. After a long, exhausting day spent seeing Really Cool Things (and probably getting lost at least once) we return to the hotel.

Thursday through Monday is the con. I'm sure there will be points where we'll emerge from the The Palais des congrès de Montréal needing to do something different.

Tuesday, we depart from Trudeau International at 1740. Since this is an international flight, I want to be there early, but the possibility of squeezing one more look at something is there.

Coming home, we have a short lay-over in the Twin Cities, and are dumped, dead to the world, at SFO at around midnight. We then confuse a SuperShuttle Driver by giving directions in our newly-acquired Québécois French and trying to pay with oddly-colored money.

Some classic baseball...

Since the Cubs have won the NL Central, and my Giants are looking at their fourth straight losing season, I thought it would be appropriate to turn to one of the classics of baseball poetry, Baseball's Sad Lexicon by New York Giants faithful Franklin Pierce Adams...

These are the saddest of possible words:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,
Tinker and Evers and Chance.
Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,
Making a Giant hit into a double --
Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."

Also from that era came the biggest blown call in the history of baseball. Fred Merkle's Boner. He touched 2nd.

But that stolen game led to the Cubs winning the World Series. For the last time. Ever.

Bwahahahaha!!!!

The latest email scam.

Dear American:

I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.

I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion dollars US. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you.

I am working with Mr. Phil Gram, lobbyist for UBS, who will be my replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a Senator, you may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. This transactin is 100% safe.

This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check. We need the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred.

Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction. After I receive that information, I will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds.

Yours Faithfully Minister of Treasury Paulson

And it still makes more sense than James Joyce

Grab the nearest book. Find the 5th sentence on page 23. Append it to the paragraph below. Append your name to the list below of people who have contributed to the paragraph. Post the result to your LJ.

( Not to mention The Eye of Argon )