Namibia, formerly known as South West Africa, has been reduced to abject poverty and chaos since the white minority regime was replaced by the communist South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO). This workers’ paradise (by Marxist standards) now has so much wealth, they can occasion this news story:

WINDHOEK. When outgoing Namibian president Sam Nujoma hands over power to his successor, Hifikepunye Pohamba, on March 21, he will reportedly receive a retirement package consisting of the same monthly salary as the new leader of the country, plus an extra gratuity equal to a year’s salary amounting to just over $71 000 dollars, plus a Mercedes Benz S500 (which currently retails locally for about $146 000), plus a four wheel drive station wagon, plus a light truck ten security personnel, plus three drivers, two private secretaries, two personal assistants, two office attendants, three domestic workers, three gardeners, two cooks, two waiters and two laundry persons to run Nujoma’s household, plus an office equipped with computers, telephones, furniture and other materials as may be determined by the cabinet, plus medical cover, first class seats on international flights and local travel – as well as entertainment, water and electricity expenses. All of the money will be tax-exempt.

Tsk, tsk. Kinda makes you nostalgic for the good old days, eh Namibians?

For people who have more money than brains, behold the Hatbox Toilet.

Here’s how you can tell that the Chinese are destined to rule the world.

I’m a right-wing extremist. Rush Limbaugh couldn’t even hold my flashlight while I’m formulating a conservative opinion of something.

But I also enjoy immensely learning what others believe and why, so I’m an avid listener to Air America, which recently began polluting the airwaves of Memphis. On Tuesday, the Al Franken Show played a most amazing clip of Bill O’Reilly claiming to have been an astronaut, and telling Buzz Aldrin that he (Aldrin) was the first man on the moon.

When Aldrin corrected him and said that Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon, O’Reilly responded that Aldrin was mistaken. Eventually he hung up on Aldrin and said that it’s too bad when a guy is the first man on the moon and therefore thinks that he knows everything.

Here’s an interesting web site: Discover the Network is dedicated to identifying the Left, who often try to pass for “moderate.”

At about 6:30 this evening I and a coworker finished up a big job. It involved removing an electric water heater and installing two gas ones in its place. We probably spent twenty four man-hours on it if you include the time it took to hunt down various necessary components.

I tallied up the receipts tonight. It looks like we cleared $210. My coworker will get $200, since it was my job and he was helping me. It isn’t his fault that I underestimated the job.

The customer got a bargain. I got a lesson in careful estimating.

On Dec. 18th I posted a link to an excellent video presentation honoring our military troops who would be spending Christmas away from home. That link is now broken. Use this one instead. If you haven’t seen the video, do it.

As most of the blues songs say, “I woke up this morning” to a really cold Memphis: 21 degrees. That makes us Southrons worry, as we are never really prepared for anything below 30. I began to lament my fate until I got on the web and read about the blizzard up in Yankeeland, as is depicted here:

When I walked out to get my newspaper, I was greeted with the Memphis version of January:

So here I sit with a hot cup o’ joe, fireplace consuming wood like a hornworm on a tomato plant, looking out at such a scene.

Y’all be careful up there.

See an animation of the aforementioned coffee.

I am indebted to my friend David Gish for this link.

There’s a coffee available for $300/lb called Kopi Luwak. It’s made from the excrement of an animal called a paradoxorus, who climbs around in coffee trees and eats the berries.

“Bottoms up!”