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  • Belated post on language acquisition

    Well, as noted in my 18-month letter, Speck took her time with starting to talk, holding at some half-dozen words and signs for several months, and then adding just about that many more for the next few. But in mid-October (about 6 weeks after that last missive), everything changed. In [...]
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    Posted: November 27, 2009, 1:13pm EST
    by ACM

  • Happy Thanksgiving, all!

    Hoping all my readers (and passers-by) are having a little respite from the everyday world, without too much family stress along the way. Remember, both good and bad times are finite, so wallow in the former and let the latter slide on by . . . [...]
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    Posted: November 26, 2009, 8:00am EST
    by ACM

  • Tough luck, poor people

    Bigger entities continue to protect the interests of the wealthy while letting the poor pick up the tab (or sniff the fumes):State tax systems contribute to differential tax burdens, with the top brackets paying the lowest percentage of their total incomes when the math is done.Big corporate entities like Comcast [...]
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    Posted: November 25, 2009, 11:42am EST
    by ACM

  • Baby silliness

    Hate to keep this one to myself: Speck demonstrates her somersault (requiring slight parental assistance) -- very cute. Apologies that we felt the need to film this in a diaper. Sigh. 19 months here, which means I'm a bit behind...' [...]
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    Posted: November 24, 2009, 7:28pm EST
    by ACM

  • Crazy notions

    Wait, now people think we should start paying for our wars?!?!? What next, responsibility for our own decisions? Rationality in the face of evidence? The mind reels...(via Atrios) [...]
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    Posted: November 24, 2009, 7:24pm EST
    by ACM

  • Friday link-dump

    Have been piling up things I want to blog, while simultaneously running a time debt at work and at home. A couple of personal posts will be forthcoming, but meantime here are a bunch of things that each deserve a whole blog post but aren't going to get them...Here's a' [...]
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    Posted: November 20, 2009, 12:03pm EST
    by ACM

  • Holy crap!

    Number of comments: 1
    News in my day that may change the shape of plans for the next year or two. Hard to know how to take it in. I refer you to this chick for best approximation... [...]
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    Posted: November 16, 2009, 12:02pm EST
    by ACM

  • Quote of the day

    Number of comments: 0
    The cardinal can sing; the wind can move the ironwood trees delicately; a child can ask a wise question -- and where is your center? How can you respond?- Robert AitkenEncouraging Words(via whiskey river) [...]
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    Posted: November 13, 2009, 10:09am EST
    by ACM

  • I've rather been wondering this

    Number of comments: 0
    Rather than allowing the [health care] debate to center around what features of women's health we care about enough to fund, why not address male vanity treatments like viagra and hair replacement? Put your money where your mouths are, boys.Edit: more here (via Atrios).' [...]
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    Posted: November 11, 2009, 8:53am EST
    by ACM

  • Don't say I didn't warn you

    Number of comments: 0
    Totally addictive: Cloud of Atlases is a bunch of maps with the legends removed, so that you have to figure out what kind of feature (natural, sociological, etc.) is being represented. Just kept getting drawn along . . .(via kottke) [...]
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    Posted: November 10, 2009, 2:43pm EST
    by ACM

  • Fall color

    Number of comments: 0
    What could be more fun than introducing a toddler to her first pile of leaves? Run, dig, throw, burrow, dive -- a total hoot for all concerned. I think this one afternoon might cancel out the entire first month of desperate exhaustion . . .One happy kid, just over 20 [...]
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    Posted: November 10, 2009, 1:03pm EST
    by ACM

  • The taste of sight

    Number of comments: 0
    Back in my days as a neuroscientist, I used to particularly love the studies (usually in ferrets) that involved rerouting input from one modality to another -- i.e., directing auditory nerve fibers into the visual cortex to see whether the structures and maps that they made would look more like [...]
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    Posted: November 09, 2009, 7:18pm EST
    by ACM

  • Not pulling punches

    Number of comments: 0
    From Wired: An Epidemic of Fear: How Panicked Parents Skipping Shots Endangers Us All. I hate to be judgemental, but, um, yeah.(via Medley) [...]
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    Posted: November 09, 2009, 3:00pm EST
    by ACM

  • Baby bits

    Number of comments: 1
    You know, I started to post some obligatory Halloween pics, but then I just didn't really want to. Speck was a dinosaur this year, with green stegosaurus spines down her back, but the photos feel more documentary than actually cute. Meh. Perhaps more fun, she got to decorate a pumpkin' [...]
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    Posted: November 04, 2009, 9:37am EST
    by ACM

  • Hometown news

    Number of comments: 0
    I grew up in a Midwestern city that was a mix of liberal intellectuals -- generally involved with either the many colleges there or the pharmaceutical industry -- and pretty conservative types of Christians. I haven't lived there in a long time, so I don't have an adult perspective on [...]
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    Posted: November 04, 2009, 9:14am EST
    by ACM

  • Things that amaze me

    Number of comments: 0
    That we continue to spend so much on defense, and that nobody really even discusses it anymore. Why this war, how many troops there, but not Do We Need This Much? A crime.Similarly, how much medicine costs in the US -- not country-wide insurance, but per visit, procedure, test, pill, [...]
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    Posted: November 03, 2009, 6:49pm EST
    by ACM

  • Still an hour left

    Number of comments: 0
    Election Day today! Races are big in some places, small in others, but part of the job of Citizen wherever you are! [...]
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    Posted: November 03, 2009, 6:27pm EST
    by ACM

  • Twitter silly of the day

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    I hate paying bills... Son, don't say "me too." I didn't say that looking to relate to you. I said it instead of "go away".- shitmydadsays [...]
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    Posted: November 03, 2009, 6:25pm EST
    by ACM

  • Poem of the day

    Number of comments: 0
    Choosing to Think of ItToday, ten thousand people will dieand their small replacements will bring joyand this will make sense to someoneremoved from any sense of loss.I, too, will die a little and carry on,doing some paperwork, driving myselfhome. The sky is simply overcast,nothing is any less than it wasyesterday [...]
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    Posted: November 02, 2009, 11:27am EST
    by ACM

  • What is and isn't news

    Number of comments: 0
    Many journalists seem consternated by the White House's challenging Fox for the bias in its news coverage, as though They Could Be Next. I'm sorry, but Fox is more than quantitatively different from other network and cable organizations -- it isn't just biased, it (1) fakes its own news events [...]
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    Posted: November 02, 2009, 10:26am EST
    by ACM

  • Friday foot-fethish-I-mean baby photo

    Number of comments: 0
    I'm way overdue for uploading new photos, not least current Halloween costumey goodness, but life has just been beyond me lately. Hopefully some recent ones will trickle into the electrons soon, but meantime, a little sentimental out-take...' [...]
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    Posted: October 30, 2009, 10:18am EDT
    by ACM

  • It's fun to be a woman today

    Number of comments: 0
    Female boomers may be the driving force for fundamental reform in the healthcare system, demanding support for all of the informal caregiving that they do at home -- and the country may be best served by "upping their game" rather than trying to substitute professional services for such a large [...]
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    Posted: October 30, 2009, 9:51am EDT
    by ACM

  • Strategic randomness

    Number of comments: 0
    For anybody who likes to think about strategy, game design, and/or what makes things fun, I recommend this long but fascinating exploration of randomness and how it interacts with cleverness and strategy to make games fun and varied. Lot of interesting insights there on games you know, some you don't,' [...]
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    Posted: October 27, 2009, 2:10pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Jammin' babies

    Number of comments: 0
    Inspired: techno-pop tunes made from baby videos. I especially liked the percussive sneezing... (and really, all that baby spam should be serving *some* artistic end! hah!) [...]
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    Posted: October 27, 2009, 12:21pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Friday baby-blogging

    Number of comments: 0
    Has been a long time since I uploaded new Speck pics, let alone posted any. So, photos from about a month ago (thus 19 months old), when Mom managed to get her for an end-of-season visit to the Smith Playhouse playground again. Lots of colorful goodness there...Climbing through a circular [...]
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    Posted: October 23, 2009, 12:48pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Twitter quote of the day

    Number of comments: 0
    The baby will talk when he talks, relax. It ain't like he knows the cure for cancer and he just ain't spitting it out. -shitmydadsays [...]
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    Posted: October 23, 2009, 9:29am EDT
    by ACM

  • Random Tuesday linkage

    Number of comments: 0
    A spiffy story on how just about anything can be negotiated, from minor purchases to major projects. Amusing and amazing.(via kottke)Written for geeks, but really true of just about anyone: the value of finding Your People, a group that's not quite the same as your best friends.(via Medley)Things you don't' [...]
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    Posted: October 20, 2009, 4:59pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Hilarious bit for Monday

    Number of comments: 0
    For it's own sake, but even more because of all the parental paranoia and development-tracking that I and all my fellows wallow in, I love this McSweeney's edition of What to Expect. That is to say, I nearly snorted my morning tea.(via kottke) [...]
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    Posted: October 19, 2009, 11:04am EDT
    by ACM

  • Quote of the day

    Number of comments: 0
    There is so much baggage we burden ourselves with over the years that keeps us from seeing things the way they are. Some baggage we carry with us for a single thought, some for years, and some for lifetimes. But there isn't one piece that isn't our own creation.- Bill [...]
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    Posted: October 19, 2009, 9:59am EDT
    by ACM

  • Going shampoo-free

    Number of comments: 0
    Just wanted to take a moment to confess/proclaim that I've joined the "no-poo" movement. That is, I no longer use shampoo to wash my hair. There are a lot of reasons one might do this, from the environmental to the economic, but I did it because some combination of middle' [...]
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    Posted: October 13, 2009, 9:42am EDT
    by ACM

  • Twitter funny of the day

    Number of comments: 0
    Politics doesn't stop at the water's edge. It just pauses there for a moment because of surface tension.- HunterDK' [...]
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    Posted: October 12, 2009, 12:10pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Friday link-dump

    Number of comments: 0
    Things I appear not to be blogging, but want to:Expand transit, and all the housing nearby becomes very popular -- couldn't this become a positive feedback loop, beneficial to all concerned??? Edit: ah, it can lead to displacing the poor and elderly. Bummer.(via Atrios)Imagine a composite photograph you wish you' [...]
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    Posted: October 09, 2009, 1:09pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Science can be art

    Number of comments: 0
    A lot of silliness is made by "autotuning" various speeches and clips, to varying effect. Thus far, I have been unmoved, but this montage of Carl Sagan really worked for me -- his philosophizing fits well with emotional music, and the net effect is sort of joyous.... [...]
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    Posted: October 09, 2009, 9:57am EDT
    by ACM

  • DNC steps up

    Number of comments: 0
    Running an ad for healthcare -- my favorite quote: "...when health care is treated as a privilege, only the privileged receive it." Amen. More please! [...]
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    Posted: October 07, 2009, 12:17pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Quote of the day

    Number of comments: 0
    It is a mistake to suppose that birth turns into death. Birth is a phase that is an entire period of itself, with its own past and future. In other words, every moment of living is full and complete. It's not leading to something else. It's not in the process [...]
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    Posted: October 06, 2009, 5:30pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Keeping up with a toddler

    Number of comments: 1
    Recently Spouse and I are making a circuit of local playgrounds, trying to figure out where they are and which are worth visiting. And, obviously, Speck comes along on these outings, to provide her own perspective (and help us calibrate the equipment's age-appeal). And sometimes we tie in a local [...]
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    Posted: October 06, 2009, 11:11am EDT
    by ACM

  • So much to convey, so little time

    Number of comments: 0
    Totallyhilarious:The Mom Song.Parenting in a nutshell, at least after the diaper age... (what does it mean that I got teary in the middle??)(via a local parents' support group)' [...]
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    Posted: October 02, 2009, 12:33pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Twitter giggle of the day

    Number of comments: 0
    You're like a tornado of bullshit right now. We'll talk again after your bullshit dies out over someone else's house.-shitmydadsays [...]
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    Posted: October 02, 2009, 11:09am EDT
    by ACM

  • Grim statistics

    Number of comments: 0
    Total unemployment + underemployment is close to 17% this month. That's some ugly stuff...But the recession is over! over!!(via Atrios) [...]
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    Posted: October 02, 2009, 10:22am EDT
    by ACM

  • Hard to imagine

    Number of comments: 0
    ...but this blog is 5 years old today! Who'd have thought I'd still consider it such a vital way to express/record my thoughts and discoveries, from Bush rage to parental photodeluge. Thanks to all who showed the way -- here's hoping I'll still be around in another 5!' [...]
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    Posted: October 01, 2009, 9:00am EDT
    by ACM

  • Unexpected consequences, edition X + 1

    Number of comments: 0
    Wow, talk about things you'd never think of (but that sort of make sense in retrospect): hybrid cars hit more pedestrians and bikers because they're so silent! Reassuringly or hilariously, manufacturers are considering adding car sounds to their cars' electric modes (rather like a sulfer smell is added to household' [...]
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    Posted: September 30, 2009, 12:39pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Framing

    Number of comments: 0
    Just love this: More Americans Believe In UFOs Than Oppose A Public Option . . .(via an email from MoveOn) [...]
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    Posted: September 29, 2009, 4:46pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Life on (in?) the information superhighway

    Number of comments: 0
    We hear lots about how texting ruins grammar, the Internet makes us dumber, the next generation is bound to be idiots. Or something like that. In the last couple of weeks, have encountered two articles making the opposite argument, that by writing more in a more public context, a larger [...]
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    Posted: September 29, 2009, 2:25pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Tuesday baby fun

    Number of comments: 0
    In the last month or so, Speck, who loves carousels, finally asked to move from the stationary seats (usually a bench) to the animals that move up and down. She watched the other kids intently for her last couple of stationary rides, weighing the move. Here are her first two [...]
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    Posted: September 29, 2009, 1:46pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Tuesday giggle

    Number of comments: 0
    Legislators' amorous emails, as performance art. Good contrasts of style . . .' [...]
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    Posted: September 29, 2009, 1:43pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Suggestions to keep one up at night...

    Number of comments: 0
    JustsayNO! [...]
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    Posted: September 09, 2009, 9:20am EDT
    by ACM

  • The more things change...

    Number of comments: 0
    ...the more the South continues to play the white master/subservient black man game. They've spent centuries building the layers of coded language so that even the mildest comment carries unmistakable resonances to its intended audience...mmm, makes you feel good about America, don't it? [...]
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    Posted: September 09, 2009, 8:46am EDT
    by ACM

  • Some things, what needs linked

    Number of comments: 1
    Discussions about penalties for drunk driving need to take into account that bars are largely built into a car culture (like stadiums built in the middle of seas of parking lots) -- perhaps there is more than one way to reduce this problem!In a similar vein (that is, Missing the [...]
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    Posted: September 08, 2009, 4:21pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Quote of the day

    Number of comments: 0
    Let me keep my mind on what matters,which is my work,which is mostly standing still and learning to beastonished.- Mary OliverMessengerTwi Chi(via whiskey river) [...]
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    Posted: September 08, 2009, 2:36pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Holiday baby-blogging: forms of play

    Number of comments: 0
    Not pictures from this weekend, but a wash of color and fun in which Speck demonstrates high points of a toddler's forms of summer play:Speck in her UV-proof bathing suit and water shoes, enjoying the little sprayers at a fantastic local "sprayground" designed to cool the city's kids.Here Speck enjoys [...]
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    Posted: September 08, 2009, 10:14am EDT
    by ACM

  • Conduit for "facts"

    Number of comments: 0
    It's great that the media isn't our only source of facts about the healthcare debate -- oh wait, crap. I guess it's stuff like this that keeps the debate so elevated...(via Atrios)' [...]
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    Posted: September 04, 2009, 12:30pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Twitter giggle of the day

    Number of comments: 0
    At some point this will sink in: "bipartisanship" does not mean saying thank you when someone pees on your shoes.- HunterDK [...]
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    Posted: September 04, 2009, 9:43am EDT
    by ACM

  • What are we doing to our country?

    Number of comments: 0
    Sort of horrifying stories:A third of young workers (under 35) are living with their parents because of low wages and/or lots of debt. Almost that many are living without insurance, and not by choice. These are people putting their lives on hold because of forces larger than themselves... (via Atrios)Meanwhile, [...]
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    Posted: September 02, 2009, 10:47am EDT
    by ACM

  • Privilege, liberalism, and Ted Kennedy

    Number of comments: 0
    There have been many tributes to and examinations of the life of Ted Kennedy in the last week, but the one that struck me was this musing by Bitch, Ph.D., on what it means to come from a wealthy and powerful family and also care deeply about the poor, underprivileged, [...]
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    Posted: September 01, 2009, 9:59am EDT
    by ACM

  • Things that wig me out

    Number of comments: 0
    Have been increasingly disturbed by the shows of violence, vitriol, and prominent armaments among conservatives lately. It reminds me of this discussion of eliminationism, also creepy with overtones of totalitarianism. (yay!) But back then it was the swagger of the empowered (how dare you question us?!), while now it is [...]
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    Posted: August 31, 2009, 12:52pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Friday lighter bits

    Number of comments: 0
    What your tattoo locations say about you. Snark-a-mundo.Consequences of gay marriage. Made simple for the dim-witted.Imagine if the Presidential Medals of Freedom were given to reward lifetime achievements of the highest order! That might just make one feel inspired. Crazy! [...]
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    Posted: August 28, 2009, 12:28pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Friday healthcare links

    Number of comments: 0
    Have been piling up a bunch of compelling stuff over the last week or two, but apparently not getting together the umph to blog it. So here is the healthcare heap:An op ed by Gawande and others talks about critical steps to better healthcare, focusing on how to make the [...]
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    Posted: August 28, 2009, 9:29am EDT
    by ACM

  • To Speck at 18 months

    Number of comments: 0
    Well, this summer has been a busy one and initiated you as a Real Traveler: you went for a long weekend to Mom & Dad's college reunion (by car), to visit Grandma and Grandpa for 5 days on Cape Cod (by train), and for a week to Glasgow for an [...]
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    Posted: August 27, 2009, 2:22pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Tuesday Twitter quote

    Number of comments: 1
    GOP defends health care like it defends marriage - by making it hard to get and scaring those who already have it.- Medley [...]
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    Posted: August 25, 2009, 9:14am EDT
    by ACM

  • Quote of the day

    Number of comments: 0
    So strange, life is. Why people do not go around in a continual state of surprise is beyond me.- William Maxwell(via whiskey river) [...]
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    Posted: August 24, 2009, 10:06am EDT
    by ACM

  • A guy I'm really tired of

    Number of comments: 0
    ...is Joe Lieberman. It's really going to be great to have him as part of the conversation over health reform. (On our side, yup!)(via Talking POints Memo) [...]
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    Posted: August 24, 2009, 8:58am EDT
    by ACM

  • Must be the cool air

    Number of comments: 0
    Gotta love this ad for Maine equality. Made me tear up...(via a Medley tweet) [...]
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    Posted: August 21, 2009, 12:43pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Friday baby pics

    Number of comments: 0
    Really, I have such cute ones from Speck's introduction to the beach, that I'm already "over" these other shots. But those (and some videos) are still stuck inside the camera until my life ebbs a bit, so these will have to, um, tide you over....Speck enjoying the view from a' [...]
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    Posted: August 21, 2009, 11:08am EDT
    by ACM

  • Color me unsympathetic

    Number of comments: 0
    ...when chickens come home to roost. There's no need for a grocery chain CEO to take a position on health reform, let alone one that's patently misguided and in opposition to the opinions of most of his customers. Brand loyalty is a fragile thing...(via Atrios) [...]
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    Posted: August 19, 2009, 9:04am EDT
    by ACM

  • Old things made new

    Number of comments: 0
    You'll never see the alphabet the same way after hearing Big Bird sing it all as one word. Really. And, hey! classic first-season Sesame Street revived on YouTube! Gotta love it . . .' [...]
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    Posted: August 18, 2009, 4:57pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Latest stirrings on healthcare

    Number of comments: 0
    Was pretty bummed to come back from vacation to the pronouncement that the Obama folks might be turning their backs on the public option. (I'm still bummed, even after reading lots of tea-leaf analysis of whether it means Slight Weakening or Complete Abandonment of support.) Am extremely heartened this morning' [...]
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    Posted: August 18, 2009, 9:29am EDT
    by ACM

  • Ack

    Number of comments: 0
    Multitasking, the game. You start with one goal/game, and then periodically another one is added. Your fun/stress ratio may vary!(via kottke) [...]
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    Posted: August 17, 2009, 9:57am EDT
    by ACM

  • Four bits on healthcare

    Number of comments: 0
    More on not taking your health insurance for granted at face value:Digby takes a typically insightful look at how the insured are losing what they've got, either acutely when they get sick or gradually through dropping of coverage and upping of prices.A fellow parent offers this chilling example of a' [...]
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    Posted: August 12, 2009, 12:26pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Quote of the day

    Number of comments: 0
    It is not life and wealth and power that enslave men, but the cleaving to life and wealth and power. -Buddha (c. 563-483 BCE)(via A.W.A.D.) [...]
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    Posted: August 12, 2009, 8:59am EDT
    by ACM

  • Tuesday link-dump

    Number of comments: 0
    Man, I have a lot of interesting tabs open, and just no time, what with all the summery comings and goings and novel baby traveling. Anyway, here are a smattering from the last week or two -- maybe they'll create order all on their own! Apologies that I can't remember [...]
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    Posted: August 11, 2009, 1:23pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Tuesday baby blogging

    Number of comments: 0
    Went on our first overseas trip with Speck about two weeks ago, and it went remarkably well. Stayed in a little apartment in the city for several days and then trekked into the sheep-studded countryside for a castle-based wedding (and old pal catch-up) extravaganza thereafter. Photos from the first half [...]
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    Posted: August 11, 2009, 9:38am EDT
    by ACM

  • When progress backfires

    Number of comments: 0
    I have to say that I felt a pang of recognition in reading this observation about the lack of current action by healthcare supporters. It's bad, because this is a really important fight and our apathy is leaving the field wide open for the right-wingers, who in fact do feel [...]
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    Posted: August 07, 2009, 9:32am EDT
    by ACM

  • Twitter quote of the day

    Number of comments: 2
    BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE, PEOPLE! He can handle Kim Jong Il, now sic 'im on the Dem Senators.- Medley' [...]
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    Posted: August 05, 2009, 9:59am EDT
    by ACM

  • Tuesday haiku

    Number of comments: 0
    scent of rain —all the wayswe failed each otherNora Wood sultry afternoon —wingtip laceswork looseScott Mason ants working latein the afternoon sun . . .a drifting contrailRaquel D. Bailey(from the Heron's Nest, Volume XI:2) [...]
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    Posted: August 04, 2009, 4:45pm EDT
    by ACM

  • I get by with a little help from my friends

    Number of comments: 0
    I just love this photo of Julia Child on camera, with a hidden multitude to hand her things and who knows what else. It's good to remember that even the most impressive of experts and idols are standing on the shoulders of their predecessors, staff, families, and other invisible support [...]
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    Posted: August 03, 2009, 12:46pm EDT
    by ACM

  • More pink phones, more pandering!

    Number of comments: 0
    Great cartoon on how Hollywood pitches movies for women -- that is, pathetic parodies of femininity and feminine desires, etc. About right, meh. Reminds me of how extensive "study" of women and their needs results in products exactly the same as those for men but tinted pink. Pleeez. [...]
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    Posted: August 03, 2009, 10:05am EDT
    by ACM

  • Sine qua non

    Number of comments: 0
    This list of consumer protections that should be part of healthcare reform seems like a no-brainer, but given the scarcity of brains on Capitol Hill these days, that doesn't mean much. Still, sanity please!!(via Atrios)' [...]
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    Posted: August 03, 2009, 9:36am EDT
    by ACM

  • Adventure

    Number of comments: 0
    We're crazily heading out on an international trip this evening, baby and all her equipment in tow. Should be fun, unpredictable, interesting. Will see old friends, introduce Speck to new accents and odd foods, master driving country roads on the wrong side... Meantime, I leave you a little babycake to' [...]
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    Posted: July 22, 2009, 11:30am EDT
    by ACM

  • Let's just tighten this up a bit

    Number of comments: 0
    Am quite impressed by Vanity Fair's proffered edit of Palin's resignation speech -- not for the snark value, but to see what a difference in impression would be made if somebody who cared about words got to polish her speeches, even maintaining her intent. Actually, am most wowed by the [...]
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    Posted: July 22, 2009, 9:36am EDT
    by ACM

  • Sorry kid

    Number of comments: 0
    One look at this picture is enough to convince me that Speck will never be allowed to drive. Or at least, not until she's 25. Oy!(via a BagNewsNotes tweet) [...]
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    Posted: July 21, 2009, 4:38pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Poem of the day

    Number of comments: 0
    GenerationsOur stories lie down in the orchard,their time is not now, but something iscoming, something is going away. Theyrise to the stars, and wait to be told.There are listeners who know how littlewe know, how much we are feeling.We had to go our own way, a little off course,always, no [...]
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    Posted: July 21, 2009, 2:18pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Our "post-racial" society

    Number of comments: 0
    It reminds me a lot of our "post-feminist" era -- that is, complete crap. Just ask prominent Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., who appears to have been arrested for Getting Your Key Stuck While Black (and then being offended by the fact that police were called). I'm guessing that' [...]
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    Posted: July 21, 2009, 10:05am EDT
    by ACM

  • One and done

    Number of comments: 0
    We're just old and feeble, so the thought of doing the newborn thing again is almost inconceivable, let alone doing it with an energetic and attention-desirous toddler in the house. Anyway, in tribute to That Which Shall Not Be Done, I enjoyed this description from Dooce of her current household's [...]
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    Posted: July 21, 2009, 9:53am EDT
    by ACM

  • Man, that really wrecked my morning

    You just gotta feel good when your country tortures children in order to further pressure their parents (to, um, confess anything we say). I want not to think about it, but as a nation we just can't afford to give in to that instinct.' [...]
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    Posted: July 20, 2009, 12:37pm EDT
    by ACM

  • X steps forward, Y steps back...

    Number of comments: 0
    Healthcare, and whether we can get anything done... (well, and/or quickly)A bunch of centrists putzes in the Senate explictly want healthcare reform to move more slowly. Because what's a few dead poor folks against getting some more spotlight/pork? grrrrr....Meanwhile, Obama perhaps brings some of that heat to the issue, claiming [...]
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    Posted: July 17, 2009, 12:55pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Great minds

    Number of comments: 0
    Enjoyed this little clip (mostly). Can we get that first guy into some kind of important role? And, um, can we get that last guy off the *&%#! TV?!?!?(via Talking Points Memo) [...]
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    Posted: July 17, 2009, 12:52pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Morning thoughts

    Number of comments: 1
    Am almost entirely skipping coverage of the Sotomayor hearings. I guess it's in part because it's pretty clear that she's going to be confirmed -- making all of this pure kibuki -- and also because, while extremely qualified and rumoredly sympatico with Obama, Sotomayor is also pretty moderate as possible [...]
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    Posted: July 15, 2009, 8:48am EDT
    by ACM

  • Light a fire...

    Number of comments: 0
    Robert Reich argues that healthcare reformers need to hurry, or the momentum and will behind the effort will yield to election fears and other pressures. Eep! [...]
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    Posted: July 14, 2009, 5:37pm EDT
    by ACM

  • So much hatred, so few outlets

    Number of comments: 1
    I gotta say, the right wing is a really creepy place these days. There are "journalists" and bloggers fretting over what an Obama daughter is wearing (or perhaps her hairstyle), and now a soldier who contests his deployment to Iraq on the basis that Obama wasn't born in the US' [...]
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    Posted: July 14, 2009, 1:04pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Quote of the day

    Number of comments: 0
    There is no greater gift to an insecure leader that quite matches a vague enemy who can be used to whip up fear and hatred among the population.- Paul Rusesabagina, humanitarian (b. 1954)(via A.W.A.D.) [...]
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    Posted: July 13, 2009, 11:28am EDT
    by ACM

  • Friday baby faces

    Number of comments: 0
    Three moods of Speck, from recent days (meaning 16+ months)...Giggling grinGivin' some attitude (it's my *cracker*, dawg!)Off-line stare... Have a good weekend, all!' [...]
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    Posted: July 10, 2009, 1:00pm EDT
    by ACM

  • Twitter quote of the day

    Number of comments: 0
    From Hunter, as usual...Breaking: John Ensign, Mark Sanford resigning to spend more time with other people's families.Heh... [...]
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    Posted: July 10, 2009, 9:45am EDT
    by ACM

  • What goes around...

    Number of comments: 0
    The U.S. is holding up some anti-drug payments to Mexico because they're torturing suspects. Needless to say, the Mexicans find this standard a bit hypocritical . . . Imagine.(via rc3.org)' [...]
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    Posted: July 10, 2009, 9:31am EDT
    by ACM

  • Oh yay!

    Number of comments: 0
    Nothing chippers my Friday morning like gloomy economic forecasts!This economy can't get back on track because the track we were on for years -- featuring flat or declining median wages, mounting consumer debt, and widening insecurity, not to mention increasing carbon in the atmosphere -- simply cannot be sustained.That sounds' [...]
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    Posted: July 10, 2009, 9:00am EDT
    by ACM

  • A few things that need blogging

    Number of comments: 0
    Ah, the pressure of unblogged tabs. If you're lucky, they sometimes cohere. Other times, they just need attention! So here are some worthwhile things:At last some good news on health care reform, not least that Obama himself says that a public option must be created.Speaking of healthcare, here are two' [...]
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    Posted: July 08, 2009, 12:32pm EDT
    by ACM

  • I want it!

    Number of comments: 0
    This cool concept phone. Yes, I'd gladly have something that acts only as a phone, if it could be that small (and thus disappear into my pants pockets). I already have a camera, and nobody that I need to call on short notice could be relied upon to receive text,' [...]
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    Posted: July 07, 2009, 12:36pm EDT
    by ACM

  • A second opinion

    Number of comments: 0
    Apparently the updated Senate plans for health reform are much more reasonable in terms of cost than the initial estimates (based on incomplete plans). Perhaps this will dissipate some of the panic that has been driving so many legislators to flee this very popular and desperately needed effort. Here's hoping!(via [...]
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    Posted: July 06, 2009, 11:59am EDT
    by ACM

  • In honor of my previous post

    Number of comments: 0
    Speck spends a little floor time with Dad -- here they've been looking at photos on her camera, but clearly there were blocks, puzzles, and other fun just before this...(Also note the armload of critter pals)' [...]
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    Posted: July 02, 2009, 9:00am EDT
    by ACM

  • A father is a parent

    Number of comments: 0
    The subject line of this post seems like a truism, and yet in our society, dads who spend substantial time with their children, while increasingly common (at least in my generation and younger), are still treated as a bit of an amusing anomaly. This does a disservice to all involved.Scour [...]
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    Posted: July 01, 2009, 10:49am EDT
    by ACM

  • Thank goodness for small favors

    Number of comments: 1
    Coleman to respect unanimous court verdict and let Franken be seated as Senator. Can we get back to the real world now? [...]
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    Posted: June 30, 2009, 5:07pm EDT
    by ACM
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