Supper

I was getting ready to eat; people stopped by: here's what we eat:

Here's what was left:

You can't buy a meal like that.

The Tour

So for the nearly the whole of the penultimate and final climbs Ligget was babbling on about how Leopard-Trek had accomplished nothing but destroying its own team. Even prior to Frank's final and successful attack, it was clear that 1) neither AC nor CE had any troops left and 2) AC was in dire straights. CE is used to having no one to help in the mountains, it's one of the reasons he never wins. AC, on the other hand, isn't used to being dropped. It could be his knee or it could be that his team is terrifically weak. The Brothers Schleck, on the other hand, have a very strong team and between them they represent the most likely  #1 and #2 in this years Tour.

The Tour

Tomorrow is a big deal:

Schleck or Volkler. The former is the best bet the latter the Bastille Day miracle.

How Does Democracy Work, Any Old How?

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Ut) argues that

[t]o get a balanced budget amendment in this environment...we'd have to make the serious, credible, earnest threat that if you want to raise it and you want to have any Republicans voting for raising it, you're going to have to assist us: You give us 20 votes to adopt the balanced budget amendment in the Senate and we'll make sure you get the votes you need to raise the debt limit.

I always thought, foolish me, that a democracy relied on persuasion and mutual interest to resolve complex issues. Turns out, it threats and bullying. It's almost like if they can't win an argument they must resort to violence. You know who else resorted to violence when the argument was lost?

Ponies, Boats, and Books

As Lyle pointed out lo these many years ago ponies and boats are go together like love and marriage:


As Kenneth Gramham argued in The Wind in the Willows:

`Is it so nice as all that?' asked the Mole shyly, though he was quite prepared to believe it as he leant back in his seat and surveyed the cushions, the oars, the rowlocks, and all the fascinating fittings, and felt the boat sway lightly under him.
`Nice? It's the ONLY thing,' said the Water Rat solemnly, as he leant forward for his stroke. `Believe me, my young friend, there is NOTHING--absolute nothing--half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Simply messing,' he went on dreamily: `messing--about--in--boats; messing----'

Add in books to make the boat an earthly paradise:





Book barge via