My handle originated for use on a Florida Gators sports site, gatorcountry.com I selected it as something of a black-white reference that many Floridians would pick up on. There are two land-grant universities in the Sunshine State: Florida A&M (the Rattlers), and UF (the Gators). Although a rabid Gator fan and UF grad, I have family that are just as rabid about the Rattlers and my wife is an administrator at the school. Thus, RattlerGator. I liked it so much, I've generally used it many other places as well.

Thanks, Dean. So glad to see you're still around and handling your business. Royce, I'm appreciative that you still hang around although I'm posting so little. KingShamus, the kind words were well-earned. Keep up the good work.

Alexis, trust me, I'm not ignoring you. The hazing situation is personally complex for various reasons; wifey has been sent in to clean up the Music Department. I will necessarily not comment on the matter further.

Much obliged, Todd.

Please give him my congratulations, Elizabeth, and best wishes to you with your work with JBT. I will soon have a post up (hopefully; procrastination rules the moment and it may be days before it gets up) on my recent trip to Haiti. Maybe, just maybe, the crop copter might have a role to play with agriculture in the north of Haiti and perhaps even your work with citrus.

Phil, I tried to respond to this when you first commented but my cell phone interface failed me and then . . . life happened, you know? Yes, I've been somewhat impressed by Cain and I've heard good things from his foray into Florida. So far, so good. But, yes, I'm also watching and observing Mama Grizzly still -- looking for hints or direct commentary on what she's sensing or seeing. I want to like he and his team, I do. I'm hesitant, however, and I'm not expending any time at this point trying to comprehend why I am so hesitant. I am comfortable readily admitting that part of my hesitation is surely a desire not to have the G.O.P. trapped into some colored melodrama (my black man vs. your black man, etc.) that allows the nation to sidestep the importance of this national election and the removal of an empty suit proxy from the White House. If Herman Cain can make his case, hold his ground, assemble a team, and convince me he can take out Obama -- while simultaneously demonstrating an appreciation for & comprehension of national defense, world commerce and American exceptionalism -- I'm cool with that. But he's not there yet with me. The fact that you're an advocate, however, argues strongly in his favor.

I understood what the hell you had to say and why you said it. I also comprehended why you linked it. Nothing in my prior response suggests otherwise and nothing in your retort displays superior education. So . . . what? But I do hope you're self-satisfied and affirmed.

Well, damn. Ornery yet informative. Nicely done.

Race-a-licious. That's a good one, Cobb, and I'm going to certainly steal it. And Mahndisa, I second Cobb's point that it is so very good to have you around and commenting. However, [1] just as eyewitness testimony is inherently unreliable -- personal perceptions suffer from the same deficiency, correct? And [2] the kind of racism you believe you experienced at the tea party function, wouldn't a mixed-race couple find something of a related "racism" at an event deep in the black community? Damn right. As you properly note, Mahndisa, we are insular. You maintain we're too insular as a nation but I suspect this is merely the hard-wired human condition. That tea party event you described may have been precisely as you suspected. But it also could have been that you and hubby made them incredibly nervous and they couldn't figure out how to get beyond the ice-breaker stage (said stage being a fact of life precisely because our nature is to be insular). Is y'all is or is y'all ain't (so to speak) cool? Are y'all truly down with the tea party or are y'all merely slick infiltrators? That could have been what the vibe you received was all about but populist settings (in my imagination) are difficult for mixed-race couples. But I've always been impressed whenever I've read your stuff and that leads me to believe the racial animus you perceived (sheer hatred?) was real. It happens. Look, I happened upon this discussion while trying to hunt down some post or buzz or something Cobb generated back in November 2010 (I think) on data-driven startups and I'm hesitant to wade further into the subject of this post. But I don't need to attend a Tea Party rally (I've never done so but I certainly am not opposed to the idea) to get their flavor. I suspect I've interacted with them most of my life. Just as we (African Americans) aren't monolithic, neither are they. Do we really gain from walking down the "knuckle-dragging objectivist programmers" road while allowing a hijacker in this thread to brag about voting for Bob Barr? Cobb, I'm gonna try and check back to read that Peasant Theory stuff.

Welcome to the family, my man, welcome to the family. I'm gonna have to figure out a way to properly celebrate this historic moment.

You shouldn't be doing anything around alligators except avoiding their space.

Phil, it's good to hear from you again, my friend. You may recall that Romney was my preferred guy at this time four years ago. He isn't my preferred guy now but we shall see how things play out. Who is my preferred guy? Anybody but the Democrat. To answer your direct question, yes. I am serious, because there is a serious train of thought getting discussed on the down low about Madam Bachmann. She has made an informal accommodation with Romney and will play the part of "in it to win it" as long as she can. Romney has all the money and the backing of the establishment, and they would rather deal with her than Sarah America. I'm going to support the Republican nominee, period. But they better not mess with Sarah; no dissin' and no dismissin' -- at all. I'm reserving judgment on Herman Cain; if he catches fire, cool, if not, cool. But get ready, my man, Romney may be forced down your throat.

Damn. You're going to air out your brain in the next couple of weeks? I can't quite settle on why that line grabbed me so hard (hell, Singapore I understand; and I embrace the external imperative noise that is seemingly everywhere in America) but I suppose it has something to do with the time of year. We used to routinely do all kinds of spring cleaning around our family home and vivid images of house furnishings out in the bright Florida sunshine came to the forefront of my consciousness. Air. Out. Your. Brain. Is that part of what we've undertaken in this country, politically? With even California looking to pare back special benefits bestowed upon public sector unions? With senior citizens, relatively speaking, embracing Paul Ryan's budget proposal? With people across the political spectrum wondering why we've been told four or five different things from media and politicians about the impossibility or absurdity of obtaining Obama's long-form birth certificate and then -- voila! -- there it is? Yes, I'm wishful thinking.

Loved the Foxx-like rant *and* that damn YouTube video. I'm too old for that whole gaming scene but if the "minorities" were more aggressively targeted, wouldn't that have given them something of an advantage in attempting to sharpen their skills? And you're competing in that world, right? So, why the bitching and moaning? Unless, of course, the point of the exercise was a sham; a sham designed to provide a club with which to bash. So it goes.

Hmmm, I think I heard your father in that last paragraph, brother man.

Cobb, had they acted earlier and decisively -- even if it was to do precisely what they have done, I'd tend to agree with you. But crucial time has been frittered away and unnecessary delay has undoubtedly emboldened the Libyan regime to fight on. So, this is going to be Obama's problem, period. For he would have driven this train -- that's the burden of being President of the United States, he would have dictated this type of setup, and he will be seen worldwide not only as the one who allowed the failure to happen, but -- in the case of success -- as the one whose inaction gave the totalitarians the will to fight on. And resulted in many unnecessary deaths, and much destruction. Obama may not like that, but that's the fact of the matter. It's very true that not everything in the world is our problem; that's not what we've communicated to the world in this instance, however. We've clearly said this *is* our problem. But, we've also just as clearly said to the world that we refuse to lead on this issue. An American President who refuses to lead, yet commits American resources, is gambling bigtime and may very well be derelict in his duty. That's the way I see it.

Hmmm, my earlier comment should have read "serious snow" rather than "serious now" of course. Hitting 50+ is hell, I tell ya. Yeah, Mary, sometimes our individual ethos -- when warped and bastardized -- works against us. That was New Orleans and Katrina, unfortunately. "Let me sit on my ass and bitch and moan about the government" -- you don't try and score political points in situations such as that. And the Democrats did. It was really sick to me.

As with the weather, but on a different rhythm, I suspect it's all cyclical. Our planet is a living thing, it wobbles and turns to regular patterns. I was just looking at a 1958 yearbook from Florida A&M the other day. In February, there was serious now in Tallahassee -- the likes I've never seen in any part of Florida in my lifetime. But, we're back in a pattern now where we get some super-cold and weird weather that is capable of producing real snow in North Florida. So it goes.

Steph, there's a reformation coming to the Dems and their party. One way or the other. And the dumb asses that have led them astray will pay the price for their America-hating stupidity. This country desperately needs a patriotic left-wing but these public-sector union clowns have made an unholy alliance with the America-haters and forever warped that party. To hell with all of 'em.

I suspect you're wrong; Florida will not have high speed rail. Instapundit cited Joel Kotkin thusly just the other day: * * * * * “The ongoing Census reveals the continuing evolution of America’s cities from small urban cores to dispersed, multi-polar regions that includes the city’s surrounding areas and suburbs. This is not exactly what most urban pundits, and journalists covering cities, would like to see, but the reality is there for anyone who reads the numbers.” This is why most mass-transit plans are stuck in the 20th Century, presupposing that everyone commutes to jobs downtown. Nowadays they tend to travel around the edges. I wrote a piece on this subject a while back, inspired by Robert Breugmann’s excellent book, Sprawl: A Compact History. * * * * * Central planners keep trying to force this nonsense on Americans and Americans keep saying hell no. Time to get a clue, my friend.

Very kind of you, gadfly. Yes, there are issues and challenges at every step of the way but we are very hopeful about making the extrusion process, and its end-product foodstuff, work through creatively marrying up Haitian and American ingenuity with American technology.

I love your style, Scot.