Cartoon Saturday

A man shot and injured two police officers outside the Pentagon before being killed by the officers' return fire; six persons were killed when a bus - which was operating illegally - crashed Friday on an Arizona interstate south of Phoenix; a former Ohio emergency room doctor has been convicted of aggravated murder for poisoning his wife in 2005; the Navy has fired a female ship captain for cruelty and maltreatment of her crew of 400 - among other things, she was known to swear like a ... uh ... sailor; and a cruise ship in the Mediterranean was hit by a huge rogue wave, killing two people, injuring 14, and severely damaging the ship.

If ever you needed Cartoon Saturday, it's now.

The temperature is supposed to be in the mid-50s this weekend (that's about 13 degrees Celsius, for those of you in Metric lands), which means we may finally see the last of the big piles of snow still dotting our neighborhood. Here are two melting-snow cartoons in honor of the event...

and...

Just for grins yesterday, I decided to count the number of security cameras that monitor my progress between my office at the Pentagon and my front door. I lost count at 23. I think we need a new Oscar category ...

Agnes and I have a new dog...Nessa, an exuberantly friendly Chocolate Lab, has come to live with us. In some ways, it's nice to have a dog...she gives us companionship, security, love, and exercise. The exercise part comes from the long walks she enjoys. But being in this family, when the dog wants to go out, the dog wants to go out...

You can tell you're getting old when...

And finally, I wonder what the eventual outcome of all the fiscal bailouts we've seen in the last year or two will be. Does anyone know? Is anyone looking to the future? One wonders...

It looks like it's going to be a beautiful, sunny weekend here in Northern Virginia...perfect for walking the dog and surveying what's left of our landscaping after the snow has melted and the deer have feasted. I think it's going to be a long Spring.

Have a good day. More - and more serious - thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo