Maggie's Farm

France hopes to improve image. Good idea. It needs it. And not just image - reality, too.

For gun buffs and military fans: A letter from a soldier re Iraq weapons, tactics, etc., at Atlas. Gotta love that gun that shoots around corners, but gotta hate 9 mm for stopping bad guys. One quote: "Fun fact: Random autopsies on dead insurgents show a high level of opiate use." No surprise there: on the morning of Austerlitz, Napoleon gave the soldiers a triple shot of brandy - would have given them opiates if he had 'em. Dutch courage. I enjoyed his "thumbs up" for the Mossberg 12 ga - cheap, simple, low-tech gun for ducks or bad guys in close quarters. Low tech always best in bad conditions.

For under the tree for someone: The new Sony R1 camera. My problem with such wonderful toys is that, by the time I learn how to use 1/20th of what they can do, they're obsolete.

We all have favorite charities to whom we'd give lots of money, if we had it.  Charity Navigator has all the info.

An amusing Kerry verbal gaffe. Sensible Mom

A book: Why do Men Have Nipples?: Hundreds of Questions You'd Only Ask Your Doctor After Your Third Martini

Effects of economic growth and population growth in the Galapagos