Len Munsil scares me.

I think liberals/Dems/moderates/etc. would be very, very smart to take his campaign very, very seriously. He's showing a lot of smarts with his gubernatorial campaign, and while I'd still bet on Gov. Janet Napolitano to win in November, it would not surprise me if Munsil made it a race. And it's not too far-fatched to think the right-wing homophobe could pull an upset; after all, this is a red state.

Case in point: Earlier today, I blogged this AP story that discussed two of Munsil's not-a-chance-in-hell primary opponents taking Napolitano to task for (gasp!) being unmarried and childless (read: they're accusing her of being a lesbian without actually saying that).

Well, Munsil just issued a press release (a short version of the release can be found here) in which Munsil chides his candidates for going there.

It's brilliant. He can claim he's taking the high road here, whereas he's actually giving the story—and its accusations—more legs. Very shrewd.

Did you watch the Discovery Channel's report on global warming last night, hosted by Tom Brokaw? Did you? Good. If you didn't, shame on you (unless, of course, you don't have cable, in which case, this link is for you). Sure, one can always argue that it uses too much energy to watch TV, but that's just downright snarky.

Anyway, besides all of the obvious ways to reduce your carbon footprint so that me and my unborn children won't starve and burn to death in 2050 (Drive less. Drive a more fuel-efficient car. Throw eggs at Hummers. Buy locally produced food. Turn off lights and electronics when not in use. Use low-energy light bulbs. Get those greedy, money-grubbing morons out of the White House.), I couldn't help but brainstorm all kinds of ways that we could live the way we live, only smarter. Here's a solution to the obesity problem and the energy problem: What if the only way you could power your TV was if you pedaled a bicycle for an hour a day? Sure, it's not realistic, but it's an idea.

What we really need is to be more open-minded toward new ideas, and not fear change. Take it from Norbert Wiener, who wrote in The Human Use of Human Beings (in 1950, folks), "We have modified our environment so radically that we must now modify ourselves in order to exist in this new environment. We can no longer live in the old one."

-- Two Republican goober candidates think it's a good idea to criticize the Napster because she's single and has no children. Meanwhile, idiots like these Republican goober candidates keep breeding, creating a frightening future for the Earth.

-- The TPD is on the lookout for the killers of a southside convenience store clerk.

-- The space shuttle Discovery is back, safe and sound.

-- Things still suck in the Middle East.

-- And finally, Tucson's not the only place in this great land of ours that's really friggin' hot.

Folks, if you don't already know, I have two greyhounds. They are calm and sweet and the ultimate couch potatoes. I am a couch potato, too, but I am nowhere near calm and sweet.

I hate the greyhound racing industry, and believe me—it's an industry. It's not about the dogs but about the money.

Here's a very sad article from the London Sunday Times how one man killed 10,000 greyhounds over a 15 year period.

And if you think it couldn't happen here, think again. Ten thousand to 20,000 greyhounds are still killed in this country every year because of greed and supply and demand. The supply of adoptive homes and adoption groups cannot nearly keep up with the demand and resulting overbreeding.

The CEO of Coors got his driver's license revoked for a DUI citation. According to the report, he had one beer. One. And his blood alcohol level was right at the .08 mark, a good 50 minutes after he drank said beer. Now, I'm not much of a beer drinker anymore, but an hour after one beer, I'm as sober as a teetotallar in church on Sunday. The report does not mention if the one beer he drank was a Coors, but if it was ... I need to start drinking Coors.

On Thursday, we had a lot of police activity in my neighborhood with a flurry of police cars, motorcycles on the side walk, a canine unit and helicopter. This went on for a good 90 minutes from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

The bad guys have been casing out our neighborhood. A lot of vehicles have just been sitting in front of houses or driving slowly up and down the street. People have been knocking on doors asking inane questions, maybe testing to see if anyone is home—and if people didn't open their doors, their front patio furniture got stolen, or worse. This happens every summer, but it seems to be worse this summer.

Yesterday we had two, maybe three burglaries, all in row. One of the suspects (two young males) dropped a backpack that was filled with cameras. Some houses have alley access that can accommodate vehicles, so one car goes down the alley while another sits in front saying the coast is clear. Everyone who has been burglarized said their back door was kicked in. We had a scurry of them two weeks ago too, but the culprit was caught with blood on him from broken glass.

Last year, another neighborhood had a weird scenario where one night, things were moved, like front yard furniture, boulders, and planters. Those people who didn't rearrange them back to their former configuration were burglarized.  

I have half a mind to put up a sign in front of my house that says: NO cameras, laptops, Blackberrys, iPods, GameBoys or jewelry on the premises. I have a 15 year old television with bad reception.

Moral of the story: Know your neighbors, their schedules, when they're on vacation. If you see someone suspiciously cruising the neighborhood, write down their license plates, make/model/color, and as much description as possible and call the police. 

When I think of overpriced cities—I think of San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City. According to Forbes Magazine, the above cities are mentioned—but so is Tucson, in the Top 10 overpriced cities. What they're saying about Tucson is the pay scale is very low and the housing market (while lower than many other cities) is too high for the salaries that Tucsonans make.

Remember in late 2001, when some newspapers were mailed anthrax? Well, those cases have never been solved, and today, The New York Times received a letter with suspicious white powder.

UPDATE: The powder is reportedly harmless. But still, jeez ...

After reading my Editor's Note in this week's issue, a helpful reader called in to tell us about a story floating around the Internet that poses this question: What if paint were sold like airline tickets?

This is a conversation between an AOL customer who wants to cancel his account and an AOL employee who, um, won't let him. It confirms the widely held belief that AOL is a jilted lover who simply doesn't understand when the feelings are gone. It's quite sad, really; I'm shedding a tear as I type this.

There was a time for people of my generation when "America Online" was synonymous with "Internet." You signed in, listened to that chirpy guy say "Welcome" and "You've got mail" and then you had access to all the chat-room cybersex and text-based RPGs you could handle (I know Carrie Stern remembers solving crimes in Modus Operandi, which is still alive somewhere on the Web today). The Internet was new and crazy and cool back then; now it's just an integrated part of my life that I take for granted. Actually, let me qualify that: I take it for granted until I'm away from a computer for more than 48 hours, at which point my pupils dilate, my breathing becomes quick and shallow, and I lose track of who and where I am.

But AOL is no longer a part of my Internet addiction, and it hasn't been for many years. Somewhere along the way, it got clunky. It got the reputation for being "the Internet for dummies." It became the place to be for people who think that navigating with a mouse entails picking up the mouse and tapping it against icons on the monitor screen. And, yet, the price inched up. Fancy that.

Just google "AOL subscribers," and you'll come upon all kinds of information about how the company is hemorrhaging customers. Is it any wonder that they'd be ruthless in their attempts to retain what little glory they have left?