I just felt the need to give some positive feedback to Raynham Hardware. Our basement, like many people here in our area, took in water. In the past we've never even had so much as a puddle, so we didn't own a water pump to take care of it, and everyone we knew who had one was using it or had lent it out.

Finding a utility pump was hard — every single store was sold out. But Raynham Hardware had some and saved the day for me (and, seeing how fast the pumps were selling, many other people). I wondered how this one little store was the only one for miles with pumps, and it turns out that they had an employee drive to New York this morning to get a bunch. I can't thank them enough, other than to give them my business going forward.

Ace is the place with the helpful hardware…

I didn't know who German filmmaker Werner Herzog was until I recently saw Grizzly Man. (Sidenote: that movie was not what I expected.) Now that I'm familiar with him, I find these readings of children's books by "Herzog" hilarious:

"Werner Herzog Reads Mike Mulligan And His Steam Shovel"


"Werner Herzog Reads Curious George"

I'm not naive enough to think the passing of the health care bill is the end of all our health care problems, but I do think it's a step in the right direction. This bit in the Atlantic summarizes my feelings pretty well:

Why This Moment Matters

There are countless areas in which America does it one way and everyone else does it another, and I say: I prefer the American way. Our practice on medical coverage is not one of these. Despite everything that is wrong with this bill and the thousand adjustments that will be necessary in the years to come, this is a very important step.

Cute joke, but it's her laugh that really gets me every time.

I didn't grow up with Nintendo. I played plenty of arcade games, but for some reason we picked the "wrong" home video game systems: Odyssey 2 instead of Atari 2600, Atari 7800 instead of NES. Of course I've played Super Mario Bros. but I didn't "grow up" with it the way my wife, many of my friends, and most people my age (late 30s) did.

I recently bought Super Mario Bros. on the Wii's Virtual Console so the kids can play a game that is easy to understand and control (though it isn't an "easy game"). They really like it, and I was a little surprised how much I enjoy it, too. And if I felt guilty for liking an old and silly game (I didn't) I've recently come across a couple pro-Mario articles:

Why A Man Plays Mario (Kotaku.com)
Better Late than Never? (AV Club)

I think this (from the latter article) sums it up:

Here's another thing I didn't understand about games until I played Super Mario Bros.: Games are supposed to be fun. And it is enough for games to be fun.

Dick Maul's Bike Shop held a contest at Skater's Edge in Taunton, MA today. It was great seeing some old friends and a lot of fun shooting BMX again (it's been a long time). Here are some shots from the contest:

‘Freedom’ and Faux Populism

[W]hen freedom is invoked by the GOP it means liberty for corporations. It's big government getting out of the way so big business can step up. The GOP wants Chevron, Haliburton and United Health Care to have more independence – not the Joe Everyman, Six-Pack or Plumber they try to appeal to.