Mayflower

I just finished Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick. Here is a link to the book information. It is a retelling of the history of the settlement of Plymouth Plantation minus the hero worship that we all  learned in school. It makes the story even more amazing to see how easily the colony could have failed without the happy accident  of the Pilgrims meeting up with Chief Massasoit and his strategic decision to help the Pilgrims to provide himself with allies in his weakened state.

The story is a tragedy however, with the start of King Phillips' war 50 years later, when according to Philbrick, the descendants of the the first colonists and the Pequots forgot that they needed each other to prosper.

Alot of this material was also covered in less detail in 1491, by Charles C. Mann. These are both great books.

There are two great TV shows on tonight, at least if you like science fiction.

• Dr. Who is on at 8. This is the new series. They have updated the special effects, but they still retain the essential British wackiness.
• Battlestar Galactica follows at 9. The season premiere takes up with the Cylon occupation of New Caprica. Both of the battlestars escape, so I assume that they will fight on and eventually kick the cylons out.
  

I am writing this with the new online word processor, Writely. I can see some intriguing uses for sharing and editing documents. Also, you can publish it on the web.

Tigger's New Hiding Spot

This past summer Tigger disappeared in the middle of the day. It took me a while to look up throught the mulberry tree and find him in the soffet of the shed behind us.

Falwell Comments

CNN.com - Falwell: Hillary Clinton beats devil in drawing No votes - Sep 24, 2006 Jerry Falwell is the gift that always keeps giving. But he is right. Although he claims to be joking, if Hillary Clinton is nominated for president in 2008, she will be treated as the devil incarnate. It is curious though. If you look at her personal life, she leads a very traditional lifestyle. She has stayed with her husband even when she had all the justification she needed for a divorce. She is in no way the fire-breathing dragon she is painted to be.

A Slip of the Pen - New York Times

A Slip of the Pen - New York Times

The issue of signing statements by the president is fascinating. At first thought, wouldn't it be better if the president just refused to sign a law he disagrees with? In this editorial Walter Dellinger gives examples of why a president may need to sign an omnibus bill which has a few provisions he doesn't approve.

The real problem here is the question of proportion. A president or Congress may need to do things that are, strictly speaking, illegal. The important thing is not to do it too often, only in cases of emergency. If the president would honestly reject bills he doesn't feel he can enforce, then the few cases of signing statements wouldn't be a problem. The system won't work if everyone insists on going past the boundaries every time.

PICT0356

PICT0356
Originally uploaded by P_Linehan.

Crossing the bridge.
Here is the link to all the pictures in the set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/p_linehan/sets/72157594174435485/

PICT0384

PICT0384
Originally uploaded by P_Linehan.

This is a shot of the Lewiston-Auburn Railroad Bridge from the Auburn side. It has been converted to a pedestrian bridge with beautiful parks on either side. Who would have thought of such a great use of an old resource across the Androscoggin River.