There's much chatter today about "assassination chic" as it relates to an upcoming film, in documentary style, about the imagined assassination of President Bush.

The real problem is not that such a film has been made. Jeff Goldstein mentions several other political thrillers which tend to fall into the category of what Jeff refers to as "ideological wish fulfillment."

No, the problem is that in the BDS-charged atmosphere of today's far Left, this new TV-movie is not going to be merely a docudrama.

It'll be a recruiting film.

So, the header says it all, pretty much. Well, not quite all. I've been busy working on other people's blogs quite a bit the past few days.

Which makes complete sense, since my writing here is so current and prolific.

I did one new installation and three major upgrades... only one of which went bad. Seriously bad. Bad, as in, there are database issues [handy hint, kids: always have a backup] and commenting just won't work. I'm going to be scratching my head over that for a while.

So until I get to be more productive right here — maybe tomorrow, maybe not — mull over this.

$2.00/gallon? In 2001, less than three months after 9/11, I tanked up in Atlanta and paid the [freakishly] low price of $0.79/gallon.

Regular periods of relaxation are important, even when, like our country kitty Bubba, you're definitely not part of the urban hustle and bustle, the big-city daily grind, or even the metaphorical rat race. You just have to know how to relax.

Bubba really really knows how to relax.

He does, of course, participate in actual rat races. Well, not rat races, so much as rat hunts.

See all the critters at the 101st edition of the Friday Ark.

And be sure to drop by the Carnival of the Cats on Sunday, at Catymology.

Just in case you're the last blog-reader not to have seen it yet, check out Protein Wisdom's Jeff Goldstein in the debut of his new video series, The Citizen Journalist Report.

Episode 1 revolves around a great concept, well executed. It seems that the quality of Jeff's writing may be matched by his ability to think on his feet in a "live" situation.

It should be interesting to see what Jeff has in store for future outings.

I haven't been posting much lately, though not due to a lack of anything to say. I'm doing plenty of writing. The problem is, it's all for work, and it's all company confidential.

I just spent an hour writing an email to my management, detailing the perceived problems with a new and hugely unpopular automated system we have here, and making a number of suggestions for improvement.

I'm getting so loopy from looking at this problem, I actually suggested, using an "Old Yeller" metaphor, that the project be taken out behind the barn and shot.

Maybe I need a vacation.

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Yes, the image updates from time to time.

Elvis sightings? Mycah is too easily distracted; fortunately, other cats are on the job:

Let's ask the cats if Elvis is alive.

I am an idiot.

My brother has been waiting years for me to make that admission.

This afternoon, not half an hour ago, I was logged into a customer's router. They couldn't get from the US to their router in the UK. I was wondering why the UK router wasn't advertising the host route for its Loopback via BGP.

If that doesn't mean anything to you, never fear. I'll not be long with this.

I had added a configuration command, so the router had to be advertising the address, and yet it wasn't.

Now, here's where the idiocy comes in.

"0.0.0.0" and "255.255.255.255" — do those numbers look even slightly close to being the same? You don't exactly have to be a computer geek to spot the difference, and yet I had used one instead of the other when configuring the router. Fortunately, after only five minutes of head-scratching, my error was easily spotted and corrected. But still... duh.

I'm just glad I didn't take down the customer's network when I made that particular goof. Maybe, just to maximise my idiocy, I can log in after hours and shut down their trans-Atlantic frame-relay connection.

Or better yet, in the middle of the business day.

1939... 2006:

Chamberlain's diplomacy ultimately failed: Hitler wanted war too much. But Chamberlain stayed true to his countrymen, yielding his place to Churchill and strenuously supporting him when Britain was in peril.

Can we expect as much of our Left? It seems doubtful.

Michael Barone (link via Mr. Minority)

Mom has been on my case lately to make sure I get plenty of vegetables in my daily diet.

Do Fritos corn chips count?

My sister's cat Lou (twin brother of the infamously cute Bubba) has all the makings of a fierce predator. He is equipped with the sort of natural camouflage an Army sniper would envy.

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It's a good thing for everyone that Lou is too nice to use his talents for evil. Unless, that is, you're a small rodent... in which case, tough luck pal.

The Modulator presents Friday Ark #99.

The 125th edition of the Carnival of the Cats is up at blog d'Ellison.

Benedick presents an eight-point plan for ending the Islamofascist threat.

I could probably do without #8. What the heck is "qahwah," anyway? Sounds like it might be "fermented camel phlegm" or something equally noxious.

But I'm all kinds of keen on #4.

I find myself liking Steve's idea for speeding up airport screening.

It's late. Too late. And I have a headache. But aspirin might give me an upset stomach.

I wonder if there's a remedy out there that doesn't involve taking pills. Maybe something I could apply directly to the forehead...?

I can't think of any such thing.

Coming soon to every cat blog on the planet: The Kittycat Dance!

Yes, it's dumb. Still, my colleagues and I couldn't stop laughing.

Mycah might not be much of a boozehound (er, boozecat?) but she can often be found under the table.

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The Friday Ark is, as always, at The Modulator.

The Carnival of the Cats this week is hosted by Catblogger Prime, Laurence Simon, at This Blog is Full of Crap.

This post exists merely to disprove the proposition that I have become nothing but a catblogger.

Don't get me wrong — I like cats — but I really ought to be posting more than photos of Mycah and seven-word movie reviews (eight, if you break out the contraction.)

But I'm at the office, and it's busy enough that I can't sit and compose anything longer at the moment... or most other moments, really.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
^{(Directed by Gore Verbinski, starring Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightley, with Billy Nighy as Davy Jones)}

Wow. That's put me right off seafood.

4½ Stars