Launce Rake tried to get an estimate from the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) what they now estimate the water grab is going to cost. He points out that however many billions of tax dollars are going down this hole, er pipeline, it is certainly more than the 20-year-old $2 billion figure that is oft tossed about.

The SNWA plan seems to mirror the decades-old plan for the downwinders. The plan then suggested that if the government didn't collect data it couldn't ever be sued to release data under sunshine laws. Apparently SNWA would like us to believe the same of the water grab plans. A staff person for SNWA told Rake that they hope to have a number soon that they can share with the public.

Understanding that the number is a moving target that changes with time is easy. It is harder to understand why SNWA doesn't have a figure. Unlike the downwinder situation SNWA is dependent upon state and local funding for their project. The nominal blank-check of the defense industry is tucked away and not out on the table as it was for nuclear testing during the cold war. So the situation is either that SNWA's mis-management of this project is so great that they don't have a number or that they don't want to share it for fear it will awaken citizens of Nevada to what is going on here. Read more about Keep 'em in the dark and feed 'em....

Small town meetings can be a tough place to be. Often issues are of great concern to those in the room and since whatever the topic it has a greater impact on each resident of a small town tempers flare. Even when they do not flare so visibly there is all too often a kill the messenger mentality. We take leave of our senses, manners and all that we know about being professional and accomplished only to berate someone who has come to address the town. Frequently we do this in the name of speaking truth to power. In the long view it looks far more like lining up with a shotgun and taking aim at one's own foot - I can tell you it will hurt but can't stop you from pulling the trigger.

So what do we do to prevent this? One of the biggest things would be to come with a written list of questions one intends to ask. If others ask the questions then cross them off the list. If new ideas come out of the conversation then write them down and ask them. Read more about Curbing the mob mentality

Every once in a while something happens that just floors me. Often I think I've seen just about every cheap-trick in the book and know all the ways people are a bit odd. A recent exchange showed that I've still got more to learn. The story starts some months back when an organization asked me to work on their website. For a multitude of reasons the group was not happy with the site they had and couldn't get satisfaction from the process they were using. Read more about Organizational web-mastering

Though it is heresy for someone with a degree in journalism I have to agree with Unclutterer's assessment that folks would be wise to drop print newspaper subscriptions. As the article points out even in the case of papers that have paid online subscription models (i.e. Wall Street Journal) the online subscription is cheaper and has features you'll never find between the pages in the morning. Candidly the only reason to get a print paper these days would seem to be a form on information snobbery of being able to show you get the New York or Los Angeles Times while the neighbors only get the Las Vegas Review Journal. Even with commutes and assuming not everyone has an iPhone there are tools like Google's offline news reader, not to mention countless desktop RSS news reader programs. The time has clearly come that if one's interest is really in information that the laptop has replaced the newspaper. If image is worth killing trees and you don't mind not having information on a business trip and the clutter a newspaper adds then by all means keep on with the print subscription.