Shabbir's Diary

Echinacea is crap

For years people have been telling me to take echinacea when I felt a cold coming on.  Reluctantly I would do it.  One particular unreliable acquaintance in New York used to distill her own echinacea.  So pathological was she, that I imagined her in Central Park just grabbing a handful of weeds, boiling them down and selling them with the malicious thought, "they'll never know the difference".

Support Nathaniel Ethan Kiehl

I came across this tribute to a Texas soldier killed in Iraq and reading it when I came across the photo of the slain soldier's infant son on this page.  I have to say, I've seen my son wrapped up just like this, with almost the exact same expression on his face. 

The latest adhocracy: Iraqi insurgency

From Wikipedia: "Adhocracy is the absence of hierarchy and is therefore the opposite of bureaucracy."

Adhocracy is a concept that existed before the Internet and will exist long after the Net is gone.  It's currently at work today in Iraq, and it would behoove you to read conservative journalist Michael Yon's essay today on why so many people have so much to gain from the continuing chaos in Iraq.  (Read "Empty Jars", by Michael Yon)

 

North Carolina Poker Laws Challenged

The Attorney General of NC claims that poker is illegal in the state, but it's unclear enough that enforcement is spotty.  A company that organizes poker tourneys for businesses has pre-emptively sued to cause a judge to rule in the matter.

Link: North Carolina Poker Laws Challenged.

Buying properties on the cheap at the DC Tax Auction

I was listening to the radio the other day when they were interviewing the District official in charge of the auctions of property with delinquent taxes.  It seems like a smart enough financial strategy.

Raked home game in Augusta, GA raided

Police draw pair of arrests in gambling raid, July 1, 2005

Quote:

Mr. Singletary was leasing the residence and had set up a large poker table in the living room, authorities said. He and Mr. Stewart face a felony charge each because police said they took a cut of each game's money. A "concerned citizen" tipped off sheriff's deputies to the poker games, which occurred about three times a week, Investigator Elim said.

Six Flags Mystery Man

Link: Answer Man: Six Flags, One Mystery

You didn't know I was obsessed by that freaky old guy on the Six Flags commercials, did you?  Well, I am.  And now I know a bit more about him.

Why are we in Iraq?

Joe Grossberg, my coworker whose blog you should be reading, pointed out an interesting take on the war in Iraq that's worth a read.  My favorite excerpt:

"What Iraq has that Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia do not is not oil, but fresh water. In fact, Iraq has almost all of the fresh water in the region. It is water that determines life in the Middle East and there's not a lot of it. The two largest rivers, Tigris and Euphrates, flow down the core of Iraq before bending towards Iran to share those waters briefly with Iran before meeting the ocean. No other country gets so much of a taste unless Iraq agrees. Iran has little fresh water as does Syria. Saudi Arabia has almost none. It is one thing to control oil fields. The wealth from that resource can buy desalination plants that give your expanding population the water to survive. If the oil tap is cut off, the economies of the west would begin to wither and die within three months. Cut off water and populations begin to die within three days."

Oil, indeed.  The five reasons given for controlling a foothold in Iraq are none of what has been talked about in the debate with the public.  As you read it, it makes sense, and makes you wonder, do we ever really debate the real reasons for any US policy anymore?  Or do we merely debate the most convenient points?

She's married to Harpo

Apparently I haven't been resting enough.  On Saturday morning I completely crashed out on the couch and Sarah and her mom took care of me.  I basically didn't move from that spot for 48 hours, and then came down with laryngitis, losing my voice.

First day back at work

So it was my first day back in the office after being out for a month and a day.  I was only there for five hours, but I caught myself twice reaching reflexively my shoulder where my son would be.  For a month now, he's only been four steps away from me.  Not having him for five hours was weird.  I'll obviously get over it, but it was weird.