Open Thread–11/10/2010

Yesterday was a bust.  When I got on the train to my medical appoints, I inadvertently twisted the bevel on my oxygen to continuous flow instead of the desired off position.  I arrived at the doctors’ with an empty tank.  The tests were sufficiently strenuous to knock me out four times.  In that depleted state, I had to come home, including a half mile walk and climbing a double flight of stairs with no oxygen.  I was in no shape to reply to comments or return visits.  Today I’m supposed to co-facilitate a therapy group, but I think I’ll have to stay home to recover.  What I get done will depend on how I feel.

Jig-Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 4:14 (average 4:23).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From richardcharnin.com: There was no reason to suspect that the midterms would be any different than prior elections. The pundits typical reaction promotes the conventional wisdom that it was a GOP blowout of epic proportions – even bigger than 1994. The party in power nearly always loses seats in the midterms. But the true number is unknown.  The unconventional wisdom is that in every election the Democrats do significantly better than the recorded vote indicates. The 2010 midterms were no exception.

I do believe the man is on to something, but the material is sufficiently technical to makes one’s eyeballs roll up.  If you have a brave heart, I recommend clicking through to the article.

From LA Times: And it didn’t take long for the video footage, shot by a television news helicopter just before sunset Monday, of what looked like a missile to set off fierce speculation about a rogue missile or a secret government rocket test.

But the curiosity over what exactly was spotted some 35 miles off the coast was met Tuesday only by a puzzling lack of answers from federal officials.

Somebody blew it on this one.  I’ve seen enough missile launches to know that the exhaust always spreads out into a wide cone.  I have no ideea what it was, but it was no missile launch.

Cartoon:

Happy hump day!