When the Berlin fell (was torn down!) and the USSR tossed itself onto the ash heap of history, Francis Fukuyama suggested that it might be "the end of history."

After the 2002 elections when the Republicans gained seats in the House and Senate while there are was a Republican President, some suggested that it might be the end of the Democrat Party.

Now, with a Democrat in the White House and Democrats in majority in the House and Senate, some are saying that it's surely the end of the Republican Party.

History is on-going. The Democrats managed not to collapse into nothingness after 2002. Why should 2008 or even 2009 be any different for Republicans or conservatives? It's all rather silly. The form may (and rightly should) change. But "the end" it is not. I'm not about to predict an automatic Republican resurgence in 2010. It's quite possible for them to screw up - just take a look at how well they did with NY-23 where they swerved so far off course that when a third candidate started gaining, the supposed Republican dropped out of the race and endorsed the Democrat. Unless that third party candidate was "caught in bed with a live boy or a dead girl" that is a Career Limiting Move. If they repeat that performance, they will likely get the same result.

It's just that I've been seeing many posts or comments about the end of one party that seem silly to me. I've seen the exact same thing from the other side not that long ago. And I remember. It's not the end. It's just different for a while is all. The population that got tired of Republicans can, and will, eventually get tired of Democrats and almost certainly for about the exact same reasons. The details will change, but the cause-effect relationship will be pretty stable. And time marches on.

Those that didn't push for a standing mixer suggested going with the GE for the higher power (the same as the highest power standing mixer as it turned out, though I probably would be more impressed with the standing model: KitchenAid, Made in USA) and the somewhat better seal. That's what I did, at least eventually. Evidently I managed to instigate a joke: How many Wal-mart employees does it take to process a check? Evidently at least two, after the first one plays silly games folding things funny as he's convinced that the magnetic ink isn't in the right location.

I made cookies this morning. They were sugar cookies[1] so the dough wasn't terribly stiff, but I did get to experience how the mixer works. There is no true off short of unplugging the thing. Plug it in and the display lights up (the too-cool and annoying blue, but there it is). The 'slow-start' anti-spatter function is nice but the control is backwards: it's always on unless you press the 'slow-start' button to turn it off. There are claims of load-sensing and automatic speed adjustment and they might even be true but I don't think I experienced it.

There are three different beaters. A pair of wire beaters that are supposedly for scrambling eggs or whipping cream, a paid of twisty dough-hook sort of things for stiff dough, and a whisk that the manual claims is for really stiff stuff(?) Uh, I suspect it wouldn't work out very well that way. I used the big dough-hook screws for the cookie dough and was reasonably impressed. They seem like they aren't likely to clog up like standard beaters, and seem less prone to spattering. On the other hand they also seem like it takes long and more manual jockeying to get things completely mixed. Overall it seems a win.

One thing I will have to get used to is that, other than the whisk that can go in either socket, the beaters are not the same and the sockets are labelled as to which beater goes in which socket. I supposed that's a matter of which way things turn and spiral, but it wasn't explained in the manual and since it's something I never had to deal with before I wonder if I'll forget it and mess things up somehow.

Penguicon may be in months away, but that doesn't mean it can be ignored. Better to be ready early than rush at the last minute. hopefully things will work out well enough that I (and therefore Orvan) will be there again in 2010. I am planning on that. Thus I am again asking for suggestions of vict... recipients and items to be delivered to these folks.

Due to some timing issues, deliveries at opening and closing ceremonies are unlikely to happen in 2010.

I'd like to avoid repeat recipients if possible, so that it isn't "Oh, ACME only delivers to that group." That's at an individual level. It certainly makes sense for the Guests of Honor to get something, but "So & so gets something every year" is what I am concerned about.

( Advise ACME )

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A day or so ago I made 'peanut butter blossom' cookies (the peanut butter cookies with a Hershey's Kiss stuck in the middle while still hot) and bogged the mixer down quite a bit. Last night I made some devil's food cookies with a cake mix and really bogged the mixer down. While the mixer was several years old, I almost certainly was asking too much of (that is, abusing) it. The result was that last night the mixer died. As in "let the smoke out." I've taken the thing apart and I suspect a shorted winding in the motor since that's about all there is to the thing.

Thus I need a replacement. I'd put a handheld mixer ob my Christmas list but I'm not about to wait that long, even if we move at least part of Christmas up to about Thanksgiving.

I went to Wal-mart (the only place that [A] was open by the time I went out and [B] had mixers) and looked at what they had.

What I had, and burned out, was a 200W Black & Decker mixer with the typical beaters and five speeds and a 'burst' for highest speed.

What Wal-mart has is:

1. Rival, 125W, 5-speed, for $6.36.

2. Hamilton Beach, 250W, 6-speed (burst), for $15.88.

3. Black & Decker, 250W, 6-speed, for 19.88.

4. GE, 300W, 6-speed, for $29.00.

1 and 2 looked like they had the usual beaters. 3 had wire beaters of a couple types and a little case for everything, while 4 has wire beaters of a few types, a little case for everything, and in what seems complete overkill, digital display and membrane keys. Actually the membrane keys or buttons make some sense: they keep things sealed and won't let flour/dust/dirt/whatever in that way.

While the Rival is cheap, I suspect that it is just that: cheap rather than merely inexpensive. And considering what I've been asking of my mixer a mere 125W seems inadequate. Both the Hamilton Beach and the Black & Decker should have more oomph than what I had and I'm not sure there's all that much difference between them. The 300W GE is tempting but I don't know if I want or even need that much - or want to spend that much.

The other choice, a standing mixer, is out due to lack of room in the kitchen and funds for something that fancy. No matter how nice such a thing might be, it just isn't going to happen. I don't have to stick to Wal-mart, but really the only other place in town is Shopko. Target or K-Mart would mean a trip to Mankato. There is a Sears in town, but it's a small place that concentrates on larger items - and I'm not exactly thrilled with the idea of dealing with Sears for various reasons.

So I ask the the folks who bake and put some stress on their mixers, any recommendations?

I went rummaging around the attic yesterday looking for something that as far as I can tell isn't up there. But I did find some other things, including the rabbit ears I was looking for a few months back, not that they'll do me any good anytime soon. I also found a couple old 'personal music players'. One was a cheapie GPX AM/FM radio and the other, to my surprise, was an honest to goodness Sony Walkman (WM-FX301 if model numbers have any meaning for you). It's no mp3 player, but it has AM/FM and the tape player is even auto-reverse. I had forgotten I had such a thing. I'm not even sure how I wound up with such a thing.

As if that wasn't enough, this has to have been sitting for oh, about 8 years I'd guess and the cells were still good. How did I manage to forget this, with a set of lithium cells in it yet? I don't know.

I used it last night while doing a few things about the house. The advantage is that I can listen and not disturb jmaynard. The AM band was full of noise, hardly a surprise in a house (or world) full of computers. FM didn't have as much noise, but aside from some of the programming on Public Radio, FM broadcast is pretty much junk. So I grabbed a tape. One that seems to have stuff on it from about 1984. I hadn't listened to it in some time.

One tune was Mark Russell singing about how "Fritz Can't Win Come Election Day" when it was plain a couple weeks before the election that Walter Mondale wouldn't get far. Another was Garrison Keillor going on about the loss, "We're Never Gonna Run For President Again." I suspect he'd be less than thrilled if Tim Pawlenty ran - and won. Another tune was about alternate energy and was clearly before the Anthropogenic Global Warming Hysteria as it belittled everything but coal - and fusion when it finally is made to work - and there was no concern at all about carbon dioxide. I'm tempted to copy down the lyrics of some of these to see what folks might have to say about them.

The Walkman seems big and clunky now, but it is mechanical and not all that much larger than the tape it plays. I'd still like to have a personal mp3 player, but I have something workable right now.

( Not coffee, not tea... )