Chasing national political limelight is making Paul Ryan as nutty as a moth closing in on a flame

The brighter the national political limelight shines for Paul Ryan, the more he seems to be beating his wings madly as he spirals toward the light. And the scent of presidential political pheromones wafting toward his antennae just makes him act all the crazier. The more he keeps playing to the far right base, the more he marginalizes himself.

Take his Prosperity PAC's recent attack on AARP because the organization opposes his plan to end Medicare and gut Medicaid.

"Last week, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), a left-leaning pressure group with significant business interests in the insurance industry, launched a national ad campaign that intentionally misleads seniors about the Medicare debate," wrote Pat Shortridge, a senior adviser to Ryan's PAC, in an email to supporters.

It was a stupid bit of demagoguery, because if AARP really were only following its own financial self-interest, it would be supporting Ryan, not opposing him.

AARP was quick to respond.

“We make decisions on policy based on what we believe will be in the best interests of Americans over age 50. A recent attack on AARP from a political action committee erroneously suggests otherwise. The truth is that the budget plan passed by the House probably would present more opportunities for AARP to strengthen its finances, since every older American would be forced into private Medicare plans, including those that AARP brands.

“But we opposed the legislation nonetheless because we believe the goal should be to strengthen Medicare, not upend it, just as we’ve expressed concern about alternative plans that could use unelected boards to cut Medicare benefits. That has been AARP’s long-stated position, and the well-being of those who need Medicare is the only ‘interest’ we have in this debate.”

It's hard to tell who Ryan is trying to impress. Other than his corporate sponsors, he may have some support here and there from members of the base have no understanding of the issues and think they'll never get old. Everyone else, not so much.

Using your camera for bird ID when the lighting is bad and you're too far away for a good photo

This duck was just a back-lighted silhouette offshore when we were walking around Stricker's Pond yesterday and M noticed that it had an unusually large beak. We couldn't see any markings at all, just a shape in the water. It was too far away for a good photo, but I zoomed out to 200mm and took a photo anyhow. Later, I cropped in ruthlessly, selected the duck and boosted brightness and contrast. Not much of a shot by any means -- but enough to identify the duck as a Northern Shoveler, with the aid of Stan Tekiela's easy-to-use-for-total-amateurs Birds of Wisconsin Field Guide, which says it swims "low in water with large bill always pointed towards water as if it's too heavy to lift."

And even if you don't have a bird book handy, you can post your photo in the Bird Identification Help Group on Flickr. Usually someone identifies it within minutes in the comments, even from photos shot from too far away in bad light. Usually the habitat, the bird's shape and posture, and the slightest indication of markings and color will let an experienced birder make the ID from even a bad photo. I think this group is one of the coolest features of the Flickr community.

Great New Way to Procrastinate

Since I tend to be all over the place, I'm always looking for a better way to get organized. Mostly I manage by making lists on yellow pads, crossing things off as I do them, and then when the whole page looks too messy, rewriting the remaining items on a clean page. I always thought there should be a better way of doing essentially the same thing electronically. However, most desktop software -- and more recently, iPhone apps -- just seemed too complex for my needs, with so many bells and whistles that keeping track of them all would be a fulltime job itself.

That's why I was so delighted to find Errands, a sleek little free app for the iPhone. Nice little to-do list manager, simple and intuitive. It's also a great way to procrastinate. Click "Put Off Till Tomorrow" a few times and you really feel you accomplished something and got a lot done. That's my kind of to-do list.