What can I say?

The punch line from "The Gang that couldn't Shoot Straight". Obamacare passed the house late last night. Everything that can be said has been said.
November is coming.

Tankers for USAF Part IV

Perhaps Airbus will submit a bid after all. They just asked for another 90 day extension of the bid deadline to get their act together. I dare say a lot of USAF officers begged and pleaded with Airbus to submit a bid. With two bidders USAF gets a better price, AND all they have to do is pick the lowest bidder. Anyone can do that. And you don't have to justify your choice to angry losers, the Congressmen from angry losers district, SecDef, and MSM.
Money Quote from Airbus: the Pentagon's overture "does not address EADS' underlying concerns that the request for proposal clearly favors a smaller less capable aircraft, and that the additional combat capability offered by our system may not be fully valued".

Translation. Airbus has proposed as significantly bigger plane than Boeing. Bigger planes are more expensive than smaller planes. In a straight lowest bidder competition the smaller cheaper plane wins.

Note to Airbus. Take a hint, propose a plane the same size as Boeing's plane. You will have to redo a humongous stack of paperwork, but that's what computers are for.

Note to USAF. If you want a plane about the size of the existing KC-135, say so up front. Bigger planes carry more fuel, smaller planes can operate out of smaller shorter runways. Figure out what you want, and tell the bidders. Boeing apparently had an ear close to Pentagon walls and proposed a KC-135 sized airplane.

Note to protectionists. It doesn't really matter whether Boeing or Airbus builds the plane. Both planes have American built engines, and engines are like one third of the cost of the plane. Even if Airbus gets the job, American companies get a lot of business selling expensive parts to Airbus.

Damn rollies

Rule. Small tools like screwdrivers and chisels and scribes shall NOT have round handles. It lets them roll off the workbench onto the floor too damn easily. Always make the handle hexagonal or square so the damn thing stays put when you put it down.
Thank you.

The Wall St Journal finally catches on.

Canada has a much more sane banking scene than the US does. The Wall St Journal had a favorable op ed today. I blogged about it here, some weeks ago. Key point, home ownership in Canada is as good as in the US, with a whole bunch fewer mortgages in default, and a lot less loss of home value.

The end of the World as we know it.

Wired has a long article on a new strain of wheat rust. Should it keep spreading it could wipe out the world's wheat crop. No more bread.

The Nanny State moves on

According to the Boston Globe, a Malden man just won $1.5 million against Ryobi after he ran his fingers thru a Ryobi table saw. Grounds? The Ryobi table saw did not have an electronic safety device that would stop the blade as soon as it encountered flesh. This from a US district court in Boston.
Such a table saw does exist, trade named "Saw Stop" and according to the various hobby magazines, it actually does work. It's expensive, and rare. I have never seen such a saw, even in stores. It is pretty new, probably had just come on the market at the time the Malden man got clumsy.
As things stand, after this amazing bit of judge made law, all makers of power tools are liable for every accident that happens.
Unless overturned on appeal, this decision will raise the price of power tools by a factor of two. I'm glad I already have all the power tools I'm likely to need.
I'm so glad I live in a representative democracy where laws are made by the legislature.

Why "deem and pass"?

The Democrats are talking about, close to, about to, who knows, pass Obamacare by a parliamentary trick. Rather than voting on the senate bill, which many Democrats are queasy about, they want to pass the fix up Obamacare bill with a paragraph at the end that says "We deem the senate bill as passed".
Does anyone think the voters will be less outraged by "deem and pass" than by a vote on the senate bill?
Nobody in the country really thinks this is kosher, although Democrats are ready to do what ever it takes. A court challenge to the "passed" Obamacare is a sure bet if they go with the "deem & pass" trick. Was it me, I'd rather pass the thing the old fashioned way, queasy stomachs or no, to avoid the endless headlines about the court challenge. The court won't act before November, keeping the Obamacare issue before the voters thru the election. That ought to guarantee Republican control of Congress.
There comes a time to wrap it up. Obamacare is at that point. If Nancy doesn't have the votes to pass the senate bill she ought to give it up.