I haven't put in any political commentary for a while, and I really have little to say about the federal government's new Operation TIPS program that Tom Tomorrow hasn't already said better, so go pay his site a visit.

I will say this: I predict that some 90% of their calls will be bogus tips from truckers or truckers' spouses/partners who are angry at their other half for cheating on them while one of them is on the road. Nine of the remaining ten percent will be needlessly alarmist calls about some very mild case of constitutionally-protected dissent.

The upshot being that more than anything this program will waste taxpayer money while creating a needlessly intrusive and ill-foreboding system of citizen informants.

Who needs that? Definitely not me.

OK, I love how most people turn out. There are the rare exceptions.

Case in point: the guy who lived down the hall from me at the Texas Academy of Math and Science, and used to come over to play cards with me and my roommate.

Guess where he is now?

On the lam, wanted for murder, and one of America's Most Wanted.

They can't all be good eggs, I guess.

So if you're from Austin, and you have a blog, consider attending the Austin Weblogger Meetup this Thursday at Ruta Maya Coffee House.

Yes, we actually succeeded in making the venue something uniquely Austin instead of (shudder) Chili's, or something like that.

Click the button below for details. You know you want to.