froggy's right. Software works better for people (who include women, these days) when it's got a better interface.

Reminds me of our old mail server program, Qmail, which would return bounce messages to users that included messages such as:

"Hi. This is the qmail-send program at ourserver.org.

I'm afraid I wasn't able to deliver your message to the following addresses.

This is a permanent error; I've given up. Sorry it didn't work out."

People would often reply to the program with messages such as "Thank you. I know you did your best" or "Thanks for trying!"

Compare this with the doltish messages you get off your Windows PC and its countless applications, messages which are either meaningless to anyone but another programmer, or are accompanied by a pop-eyed, waggling 3D paperclip? Plus a rude noise, no less. Come on! Who thought this was ever a good idea?

"And now, if liberals can cut consumption of foreign water, then maybe conservatives can ..."

No, they can't. Not if the latest trendy tabloid research is to be believed: that the current crop of Americans calling themselves "conservatives" actually are not capable of taking note of that little venue that libruls call "reality" - and adjusting to it, learning from it, accepting it, and maybe even working to modify it.

Mr. Keillor expresses gratitude for learning he's been doing something wrong, or could do something better. Bubba Dittohead would not. Ever.

Current polls suggest that 25-30% of Americans are Dittoheads. Blinded by ideology, in their own world of Vast Rightwing Conspiracy-manufactured "facts." (Not yet measured are the number of leftwing Chomskites, but we can't assume there are none.)

What if half or more Americans are effectively blind to reality?

"A proper hangman's noose has eight turns of rope" per timbuktom, who's usually a pretty reliable, not to mention perceptive, source.

Are you sure? I'd always heard that there were thirteen turns, for superstitious reasons.

I sympathize with long distance runners/walkers in the big city. However, if you're one of the majority with good tap water, you can buy yourself a "hydration belt" or a camelback-type rig and carry your home water with you. Most even have a pouch for your keys, medical insurance card, etc.

They're pretty pricey, though, costing about as much as 10-15 bottles of yer commercial water.

Pete H writes that he was surprised that "no one has ever brought up the notion that perhaps the memos provided to CBS were SUPPOSED to be revealed as fake".

Sure they did. There was intense speculation online in 2004, fueled in part by the wave of rightwing bloggers who had suddenly become typographers, experts in 1970s type fonts and typewriters, who had IMMEDIATE analyses and rejection as fakes of the CBS memos, in gory technical detail, within a day of the 60 Minutes broadcast.

Then more experts weighed in, and within a disturbingly short period of time, CBS threw in the towel.

In fact, a lot of the wingnut bloggers were just plain WRONG about the capabilities of 1970s IBM Selectrics. But wasn't it surprising, the progressive bloggers noted, how fast out of the gate they had been? How they all sang the same tune? And yes, there was speculation that the memos themselves had been a set up.

Liberal blogs traced the origin of the memos, and learned that the source had been forced to admit that he had gotten them extremely recently, by an anonymous source, under conditions that didn't bear scrutiny. His story held up - but those memos had been planted.

It looked like a Rove dirty trick then. It still does. Will the mainstream, so-called liberal media cover it?

Apparently, not -- even if Dan Rather sues for $70,000,000.00.

... we tried this approach. Bush is apparently peeved that the Iraqis have shown insufficient gratitude for their "liberation." Well, it shouldn't be hard to get a few dozen Iraqis who are willing to surrender a little dignity for potential real liberation. Bring them to Washington (it's safer for everyone, media coverage is easier to get, and it makes them look like supplicants) and have a celebration of Bush's victory. Thanks all around. They can award him the Medal of Nebuchadnezzar, or something. Declare him Gawd.

Democrats can begin talking up our awesome victory in Iraq - go over the whole timeline of successes, from "Mission Ay!" to each rigged election and poisoned "constitution". Sophisticates will see the irony; Dems will kindly keep a straight face: there are a lot of lives at stake here.

The news media can dust off footage of Mr. Bush's magnificent, shock'n'awe-inspiring fly-in, and Navy brass will urge him to do it again. Full coverage all around. Blanket the airwaves. Get a bigger codpiece for the "Commander in Chief."

At the end of which, of course, American troops AND CONTRACTORS will be withdrawn.

"Relaxing in retirement"? Is this some kind of joke? For most women, regardless of age, the housework and yardwork continues, even though she may no longer be drawing a paycheck - if she ever did. "Pension"? What's that? I thought pensions went out with disco.

But seriously - you bet elderly women are an asset. Besides continuing to do the housework and yardwork, they're partial to volunteer work. (That's right - more unpaid work.) A survey last year by the League of Women Voters found that the average age of a member was 71.

Although I realize that retired men do volunteer work as well, the whole concept of "relaxing" is more descriptive of men's work than women's (which never ends.)