Wednesday, February 26, 2003

Manhunt for bin Laden and Top Aide, Zawahiri, Continues to Be Fruitless. The fruitless manhunt serves as a reminder of the Bush administration's inability to achieve one of the main goals of its antiterror effort. By Raymond Bonner with David Johnston. [New York Times: International] 10:55:25 PM    comment []trackback []

Hubbard Resigns From Economic Panel. Glenn Hubbard, the chief architect of the Bush administration's tax cut package, announced his resignation as head of the Council of Economic Advisers. By The Associated Press. [New York Times: NYT HomePage] 10:52:46 PM    comment []trackback []

Cats and Laptops Cats and laptops do not mix well. I know this with absolute certainty. Quite often, when I leave the ibook for just a few minutes, it sits perched on the arm of the couch (not as bad as it sounds--it's a big couch with oversized arms), a pratices which my wife has warned me about almost everyday since I received the ibook for Chistmas. This morning was no different. I finished my morning surf, closed the lid, and headed into the basement to find clothes for work. Pulling a pair of pants off of a hanger, I heard a series of thuds, one loud, two quieter. I knew it was the iBook. When I check it out, it awakens, no signs of problems. Of course, thanks to its tough case and magnesium frame, a tumble off a low-slung couch isn't much of a test for the Apple's constitution. Relieved, I set the 'book back on the couch (the seat, not the arm this time) and finished getting ready for work. On my way out the door, I stop to grab the laptop. I disconnect the phone cord, and reach around to pull out the power cord. No power cord. It's gone. it took me a minute to find it a foot or so away from the couch, it's pulled out from the wall outlet as well as the computer.It doesn't take a degree in engineering to know this isn't a good thing. I checked the outlet end. Nothing snapped off, nothing bent. Wonderful. Not so good at the other end. The metal sheild around the pin is split and the power pin is bent at what I can only describe as an unhealthy angle. Alas, poor power adapter, I knew him well. I now have an iBook with a 65% persent chage on the battery and--for the time being-- no way to rechage it. $80 for a new one. Which seems to be a lot of money for such a small thing. So for now, my computer use is moving back to the desktop, and the ibook will sit on a shelf. No, I haven't told my wife yet. Yes, I know that not telling her is only going to make it worse when I finally do (which means I will avoid telling her, which will make things worse when I finally do, which means...). This is a death spiral known to husbands the world over. (Remember Bill Paxton in Aliens? "Game over man, game over!") 10:42:23 PM    comment []trackback []

A Lot 'o Green Iraq War Cost Could Soar, Pentagon Says The Pentagon has begun telling the White House and Congress that defeating Iraq and occupying the country for six months could cost as much as $85 billion, according to sources ? considerably more than what senior administration officials have been saying in public. Combined with aid for regional allies such as Turkey, the price tag for the conflict could top the $100-billion mark, twice the war costs cited just last month by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and an amount that the White House dismissed as outlandish last fall.   And the tally could rise further. Indeed, some close to the process say war planners have no firm grip on the conflict's final costs, a fact that is causing consternation among administration policymakers as the nation edges closer to war. "It's like watching numbers roll higher and higher on a slot machine," said one State Department official, who asked not to be named. This official said that during recent interagency meetings, White House budget aides "put their hands over their ears and said, " 'We're not listening.' " Read the whole article. It gets worse. [Update: The Agora: Home of the World's Stupidest Blogger. Here's the link, 18 hours late: Iraq War Cost Could Soar, Pentagon Says 6:46:03 AM    comment []trackback []