{"id":2474,"date":"2009-02-06T09:58:15","date_gmt":"2009-02-06T14:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blacknell.net\/dynamic\/?p=2474"},"modified":"2009-02-06T09:58:15","modified_gmt":"2009-02-06T14:58:15","slug":"friday-notes-this-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blacknell.net\/dynamic\/2009\/02\/06\/friday-notes-this-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"Friday Notes: This Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of my favorite pro cyclists – Magnus Backstedt – is retiring<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 At 6’4″ and 210lbs, he was proof that you don’t have to be a tiny little stick man to do well in cycling (tho’ it helps).\u00c2\u00a0 Good luck, Maggy.\u00c2\u00a0 We’ll miss you.<\/p>\n

~<\/p>\n

End to high times in Dubai<\/a>?<\/p>\n

[F]aced with crippling debts as a result of their high living and Dubai\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fading fortunes, many expatriates are abandoning their cars at the airport and fleeing home rather than risk jail for defaulting on loans.<\/p>\n

Police have found more than 3,000 cars outside Dubai\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s international airport in recent months. Most of the cars \u00e2\u20ac\u201c four-wheel drives, saloons and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153a few\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Mercedes \u00e2\u20ac\u201c had keys left in the ignition.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I’m sure that no one could have imagined it.<\/p>\n

~<\/p>\n

Did you know that the US is getting new pennies<\/a> next week?\u00c2\u00a0 I did not.<\/p>\n

~<\/p>\n

Fred Kaplan takes a good look at Federal archiving policy<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 That might sound a bit dull, but it’s terribly important if we want to be able to ever assess the gap between what our politicians tell us and what the government actually does.<\/p>\n

“Electronic records,” the study found, “are generally not disposed of in accordance” with federal regulations. In particular, many e-mails are “being destroyed prematurely,” for several reasons. [ . . . ]<\/p>\n

Finally\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand this is simply stunning\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthe National Archives’ technology branch is so antiquated that it cannot process some of the most common software programs. Specifically, the study states, the archives “is still unable to accept Microsoft Word documents and PowerPoint slides.”<\/p>\n

This is a huge lapse. Nearly all internal briefings in the Pentagon these days are presented as PowerPoint slides. Officials told me three years ago that if an officer wanted to make a case for a war plan or a weapons program or just about anything, he or she had better make the case in PowerPoint\u00e2\u20ac\u201dor forget about getting it approved.<\/p>\n

And now, it turns out, all those presentations may be lost to the ether.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~<\/p>\n

Supposedly, Virginia will have smoking ban legislation soon.\u00c2\u00a0 I’ll believe it when I see it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

~<\/p>\n

Trying to figure out what to do for your kid’s 15th birthday?\u00c2\u00a0 Hire the Abstinence Clown<\/a>!\u00c2\u00a0 Can’t be that expensive, since it’s federally subsidized<\/em>, and truly, the possible entertainment value is almost inconceivable.<\/p>\n

~<\/p>\n

I’ve been looking for a new motorcycle helmet, and I think I might have found it<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of my favorite pro cyclists – Magnus Backstedt – is retiring.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 At 6’4″ and 210lbs, he was proof that you don’t have to be a tiny little stick man to do well in cycling (tho’ it helps).\u00c2\u00a0 Good luck, Maggy.\u00c2\u00a0 We’ll miss you. ~ End to high times in Dubai? [F]aced with crippling debts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":4,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,2,6,8,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cycling","category-personal","category-policy","category-politics","category-virginia"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t