s n a p p e r h e a d

U-Mix: SCHWARM [timelapse] / The Flower Kings [Attack of the Monster Briefcase]

1. Turn your volume up.
2. Start the music above without expanding the screen.
3. Immediately start the video below and then fullscreen it.

Dearest Anon Wealthy Conservative Commenter (bless your heart),

In order to not get confused by all the chaff, I always recommend picking one thing (the bloody socks analogy) but, for those who need several, here is my response to your comment:

The Affordable Care Act, provides coverage to the uninsured and tames runaway medical-cost inflation.
The Recovery Act contained both short-term stimulative measures and increased public investment in infrastructure, green energy, and the like.
Dodd-Frank financial reform, while failing to end the financial industry as we know it, is certainly far from toothless (as measured by the almost fanatical determination of Wall Street and Republicans to roll it back).
A bailout and deep restructuring of the auto industry that is rapidly being repaid, leaving behind a reinvigorated sector in the place of a devastated Midwest.
Race to the Top, which leveraged a small amount of federal seed money into a sweeping national wave of education experiments, arguably the most significant reform of public schooling in the history of the US.
A reform of college loans, saving hundreds of billions of dollars by cutting out private middlemen and redirecting some of the savings toward expanded Pell Grants.
Historically large new investments in green energy and the beginning of regulation of greenhouse gases.
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act for women.
Consumer-friendly regulation of food safety, tobacco, and credit cards.
Elimination of several wasteful defense programs.
Equality for gays in the military.
Expanding targeted strikes against Al Qaeda (including one that killed Osama bin Laden).
Ending the war in Iraq.
Helping to orchestrate an apparently successful international campaign to rescue Libyan dissidents and then topple a brutal kleptocratic regime.

QED.

*Extracted from When Did Liberals Become So Unreasonable? - Jonathan Chait, 20 Nov 2011, NY Magazine

Toys

          My infatuation with gadgets began from watching The Man From UNCLE. As a wee lad, I played with toy guns. Everyone my age did. That was the one-word noun we used—guns. Playing guns. I recall my favorites in the mid-60s would transform from everyday items (camera, radio, movie camera) into a plastic pistol, rifle, or machine gun. From then on, the best gadgets were multi-functional tools.

   Although 'watch' is the label the Dakota company has placed on this timepiece, I call it one of my favorite gadgets.

          To describe it with more precision, it is an outdoor gear travel-clock (it's too large for a belt loop, body heat raises the thermometer, clothing blocks the UV sensor).

I clip it to the shoulder strap of my hiking case or golf bag. I keep it in the campsite. I use it on my nightstand. I take it to the beach.

It has all the standard features of most waterproof watches as well as: ultra-violet radiation level, moon phase, tide level, and temperature (centigrade/Fahrenheit).

The hinged clip is designed to act as a base which supports the clock-face at an easy-to-view, 60° from horizontal, angle.

My favorite features are: the nightlight automatically shuts off after five seconds and the alarm automatically shuts off after 30. The only negative: no quiet mode; when setting or scrolling through functions every push causes a beep.

Price range: $45-$60.

For those Gidgets who are unfamiliar with gadgetophilia I provide the following: Although my ability to gaze outside and skyward is undiminished—and, therefore, this pocket-sized back-up isn't a necessity—I revel in über-preparedness and enjoy my increased potential to mitigate the effects of our overhead orbs (the blistering one and the waxing-waning one) with more/less clothing, sunscreen, flashlight, or an altered beach destination.