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Quote of the Month
"The years teach much which the days never know."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Wednesday, June 30th 2010
Abby Sunderland is a 16 year old girl who attempted to sail around the world. In mid June she encountered three-story-hgih waves that snapped the mast of her boat, "Wild Eyes". About 40 hours later she was discovered and rescued by a French fishing vehicle.
Critics were very quick to criticize her parents for letting such a young person undertake such a dangerous, ambitious adventure alone.
Sunderland was an experienced sailor outfitted with the top notch equipment. And although it is sometimes hard to imagine a 16 year old as experienced in anything, it is possible for a mature person of such a young age to train for excellence.
So I find it sad that parents who almost certainly let their own kids drive vehicles 60 mph solo down a highway take issue with parents who let their experienced 16 year old undertake an amazing adventure. I think that we've lowered our expectations for what our young people are capable of when challenged. It seems to my mind that we should foster informed passion for life in our children.
In a story that seems related to me, I've seen in the TV news and read articles about the tragic death of a baby who was killed by a tree branch that feel some 30 to 40 feet and stuck and injured a mother and killer the baby that she was holding. Before it broke, the branch appeared healthy.
In the national TV news report I saw an interview with another woman bystander who expressed her new found worry about falling branches that might kill her kids. Other news stories reported that this is the third time in less than a year that somebody was harmed or killed by a falling tree branch in Central Park.
Some people have tried to find fault with the park or government for the accident.
Two things occur to me:
1) As tragic as this accident is to the family and friends, and as much as my heart can bleed for their loss, it probably shouldn't qualify as national news.
2) People need to learn that, given a long enough measure of time - life is 100% fatal. There are so very, very many human preventable tragedies in this world but sometimes nature takes it's toll and there is nothing that we can do. - There is no bubble big enough to keep us safe from all of the calamities of the universe.
Naturally, most of us with any survival instinct make reasonable precautions in our lives. But there is a line that many people seem eager to cross. - A line where we don't allow room for individual responsibility. - A line where we don't allow for nature and the inevitable call of mortality; where the word 'accident' has no meaning. - A line we cross where we give up living for the sake of being alive.
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Sunday, May 30th 2010
This weekend has included grilled cheeseburgers; a nap in a dark, air-conditioned bedroom; a stop at a roadside ice-cream stand and the joy of watching the purple twilight of a perfect late spring evening as I drove home from a lazy, sweet day with my family. There are so many dead, fallen to war, who forfeited their own sweet summer dreams and I have no words sufficient to honor them on this Memorial Day.
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Tuesday, April 27th 2010
Yesterday this site underwent the biggest change it's had in about 8 years and you wouldn't even know it to look at it. - What's more: the fact that you won't notice is the best thing about the change.
I've finally dumped ReadyHosting where the site resided for the vast majority of its existence and moved it to BlueHost.
I'd been burned by ReadyHosting severely a few years ago when they managed to lose ALL of my email. - And they didn't lose just mine, they lost a vast number of their clients' email. (Perhaps everybody's email but I can't honestly say for sure.)
I'm not sure what happened to their claims of data backup but they were unable to restore years of emails after their calamity.
I've suffered from that screw up for years - plagued by the need for those vanished emails many times but I procrastinated dumping ReadyHosting because of the hassle of switching hosts. However, recently my web based email became very erratic for weeks at a time: presenting various errors even though I'd not changed my browser or made any other system or network changes. (Indeed: I encountered the problem on multiple machines and multiple networks.)
As added incentive, my yearly dues were up so now was the ideal window to switch this year.
So I finally dug in and made the change. - And with a little bit of preparation, it wasn't much of a challenge to move. I've also recently switched my email client to IMAP so I've not got local backups of my emails - a lesson I had to learn the hard way.
Now, I haven't done a proper smoke test of the site but with the exception of the Contact form (which leveraged a different technology than what is supported by BlueHost), I believe that everything should be working as well as before.
As for the Contact form: I'm kicking around some options and it may be down for a bit which isn't much of a problem since the majority of emails I got through it were spam anyway.
I'm sure that it's another sign that I'm a geek, but I'm actually excited about the change which sets the foundation for some radical changes that I hope to get to in the not too distant future.
Hopefully BlueHost will serve me better going forward.
PS. Dig my new Favicon G-Squared logo (you'll note it in the address bar and bookmarks of your browser). Here is a bigger view:
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Wednesday, March 31st 2010
It's the end of March and I find myself panicked as I struggle to think of something to write about in my continuing goal to post something at least once a month to each of the major sections of this site. I was in a similar bind last month (as I think is evident from the very short February post.) I'm also aware that writing about writers block is a bad form but that's what is on my mind and I've got to get the juices going by typing something.
The thing is: I'm constantly thinking of things that I want to write about, it's just never when I have the time or the means. One of the issues that I have with this old site is that it's home grown HTML and I updating the site requires the right tools and files. I can't just login from any browser and update the site. It is for this reason that I've been thinking of switching to a different platform and why I've been doing research for many, many months. However, I've not done the switch in large part because of security concerns and because of the hassle of migrating data.
I've also been wrestling with the question of what I want to share on the web. When I started this site years ago, most people didn't have much of a personal web presence, but that's changed thanks to sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and many others.
So I'm aware that there is a higher possibility that somebody may search for me personally and that somebody may be a professional contact.
With this site, I have some strong opinions in the public forum. Opinions that will certainly offend some. So, I'm torn between projecting a more politically neutral face and a feeling that my life and thoughts should not all be filtered through the prism of work.
Ah well. None of that will be solved now. So here is a photo of Halle Berry from James Bond because: 1) She's smoking hot and to reduce the chance that you leave here unsatisfied and 2) I sincerely believe that there aren't enough photos of Halle Berry on the web.
- If that offends you, well, I probably wouldn't want to work with you anyway.
Halle Berry in (James Bond) Die Another Day (2002)
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Sunday, February 28th 2010
This February equaled snow and I was just fine with that.
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Sunday, January 31st 2010
As much as I'm a fan of Obama, I'm very disappointed to hear of this news:
Obama abandons bid to return to Moon for budget cuts.
I appreciate that we're in a finacial crisis but this is short sighted. The future of our country and even humanity as a whole is reliant on scientific progress and exploration. If we don't continue to push to the moon and the space beyond, we might as well not have left the trees. We need the some audacity here Mr. Obama.
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Tuesday, December 22nd 2009
I saw Avatar Sunday - just three days after its release. I'm reminded once again why I don't go to movies on the weekend. The problem this time wasn't talking but it was overcrowding exacerbated by the fact that we were late. We were forced to sit in the third row, left-most seats. I was prepared to leave but bowed to peer pressure. It's ironic paying extra for the 3D IMAX experience only to have one of the worse visual experiences in recent memory. It looked like all of the action was being viewed through a slow moving fan since we were far off of the optimal viewing angle for the 3D.
The experience was distracting enough that I'm not confident that I can render an accurate review of the movie. However, even with visual impairment I was able to enjoy myself and still be impressed by the visuals and the world-moon Pandora. But I might have been really blown away by a better viewing.
The following comments are largely spoiler free but purists may wish to steer clear until after seeing the movie.
After viewing the trailers and commercials for the movie, I went into Avatar with the feeling that it looked like a video game trailer. Smurf blue humanoid space cats are hard to pull off but in short order I was absorbed into the enticing world and its inhabitants. The animation / motion capture of the Na'vi was nearly flawless. (At least under my circumstances and upon first viewing.)
Alas, for as well rendered as the Na'vi are, I couldn't lose my yearning for more alien aliens. Knowing that with the movie's budget and fact that the Na'vi were generated from CG whole cloth, they could have done something very non-human looking. Even their culture was not particularly foreign. I suppose however, that it's a conceit of storytelling: the producers needed easily relatable aliens instead of say, floating sentient plasma fields. Perhaps I'm just not that trilled with the creature design which really does boil down to blue cat people.
(At this point, I must note that referring to the Na'vi as aliens is a misnomer since, a point central to the movie's theme us that the humans are the real invading aliens.)
The plot was fairly predictable: It's essentially Dances with Wolves in outer space. As with most science fiction, the story featured veiled social commentary on modern times. The science fiction prism did little to obfuscate the rather heavy handed anti-imperialism, anti-corporate, pro-environmental message. There were some subtler, very effective touches however. The most effective was an alien, sky scraper sized tree that is downed with echoes of the World Trade Center towers fiery collapse. The image juxtaposes the terrorist acts of religious zealots to those of runaway corporate greed and the destruction of our environmental heritage.
The cast of characters are engaging. Zoë Saldaña shined in particular as the Na'vi princess Neytiri and even manages to be subtly sexy. (I'm sure that the 'Furry' sub-culture will get a membership boost out of this movie.) She is well partnered by Sam Worthington but his human / Avatar character is at a disadvantage in the uniqueness category.
SecFor's Colonel Miles Quaritch is a predictable, rather two dimensional villain that is made engaging by the performance of Stephen Lang who seems to embody the archetypical war hawk.
The movie's action sequences are fun and involving but they didn't have the intensity of sequences found in the Cameron director Terminator movies or Aliens.
There were a few frustrating displays of movie based physics including plummets from several hundred feet that don't result in a scratch. (Even taking into account alien, carbon tube reinforced bone structures and bouncing off of vines and large leaves.) - Less forgivable to the giant alien cat people surviving great falls is the lesser but still deadly fall that is survived by a human in a mechanized robot suit. (This is like believing you'll be alright falling off a bridge just because you're in a car that lands on its tires.) Hollywood producers: it doesn't matter how sturdy the vehicle is - if it stops quickly enough from a fast enough speed: it will kill the occupant.
The movie is successful in involving the viewer in the plight of the aliens and in involving the viewer with the individual characters and the (straightforward) story. The world itself is enchanting and left me with a desire to visit Pandora again and what's more, the movie fills me with wistfulness for what alien worlds may be sharing our galaxy.
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Monday, November 30th 2009
Utah's Nutty Putty Cave to be closed for good after trapped caver's death.
By Michael B. Farrell | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
from the November 28, 2009 edition
"By all accounts, John Jones, who died around midnight Wednesday after being stuck in the Nutty Putty Cave south of Salt Lake City for 28 hours, was an experienced caver and avid outdoorsman. To access the cave, which is owned by Utah's State Institutional Trust Land Administration, explorers are required to have reservations and either travel with a guide or have experience...
... On Friday afternoon officials said it's too dangerous to retrieve Jones's body and that the cave will be permanently closed. A memorial for Jones may be placed at the entrance of the cave."
I'd guess that more than half of the people I've ever asked to go caving have shivered and said, 'No thanks' - that they're claustrophobic. (Another large percentage of people are irrationally worried about bats attacking them.)
I think that for the majority of people, caves and caving don't rate very high on their interest level. I think that for many people, caves - particularly the non decorated sort - are just dark, damp holes with creepy crawlies live and for these people, caves do not capture their imagination.
Mountains, beaches and oceans, forest and canyon lands are all more easily appreciated, if for no other reason than because they are in the light of day.
So I expect that many people who hear of the tragic loss of this caver will not think twice in hearing that this cave has been permanently closed. Perhaps they'll even nod their heads in agreement.
But it's a sad thing. There really aren't that many caves in the world to explore and it's a shame whenever one is closed. I'm sympathetic to the fact that the man's body couldn't be retrieved but there are other solutions including, temporarily closing it and waiting a few months for the body to decay and then remove it, or worse case: seal off the dead end passage where he died. After all, we don't close down every stretch of beach where a swimmer has drowned.
For my part, if I die caving (or in some other wilderness activity), the last thing I want anybody to do is to close off that piece of nature.
As for the cave being dangerous: that's life. - Don't go caving unless you're prepared to take the risks. And if you're a family member who loses somebody to the wild, respect your loved one's passion and at least leave the world open for other lovers of nature and adventure.
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Friday, October 30th 2009
The last few days have felt very 'Halloweenie': overcast days with just the right mix of crisp air and crisp fall leaves. Around the time of Halloween, gray skies feel 'right'.
I've taken the day off work and have listened to the pleasant drone of leaf blowers: the fall cousin to the hum of summer's lawnmowers.
Leaf blowers weren't at all common when I was growing up and when fall came I had to go rake leaves. Raking leaves was a pain and a pleasure. There was the tedium of raking and the minor blisters from the wooden rake handle but there was always a pile of leaves to jump in at the end. And in those days, we burned our leaves in great long rows in the street's drainage ditch that ran the length of our yard. It was an excuse to play with fire and inevitably I'd get near enough to get mildly sick from the great plums of smoke that billowed from the smoldering, damp leaves. - I think that there is a special flavor of burned leaf smoke that you can almost taste with your watering eyes.
As a kid we had a lot of trees in our yard. (Sadly, many have been cut down since.) The leaves would get shin deep which gave the pleasure of rustling through a shallow see of crackling color.
Today it's not one of those sunny fall days where the world seems ablaze but the haunted quality is a great pleasure just the same.
One day early: Happy Halloween everybody.
Photo by Glen Green - (Fall 2006)
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Wednesday, September 30th 2009
I've read and heard a lot of animosity directed towards the G20 protestors recently. I've protested before (a free speach issue) and I'm pro peaceful protestors. Hell, I even like those who use peaceful civil disobedience (see also: Martin Luther King Jr.). (The only kind of non-violent protest that bothers me is when people stick a sign in the hands of a child who do not have the faculties to understand complex issues in an exercise of political theater.)
The recognition of our rights to protest and have free speech is a pillar of what makes our constitution great. I also admire those (who I might not always agree with) for the power of their conviction, their commitment of time and effort and their willingness to put themselves out there as part of a participatory republic. I say: disrupt - shake the foundations and bring under heard voices to the public forum.
"We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason if we remember that we are not descended from fearful men, not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate and to defend causes which were, for the moment, unpopular."
-Edward R. Murrow
"The greatest right in the world is the right to be wrong. If the Government or majorities think an individual is right, no one will interfere with him; but when agitators talk against the things considered holy, or when radicals criticise, or satirize the political gods, or question the justice of our laws and institutions, or pacifists talk against war, how the old inquisition awakens, and ostracism, the excommunication of the church, the prison, the wheel, the torture-chamber, the mob, are called to suppress the free expression of thought."
-Harry Weinberger
"Agitators are a set of interfering, meddling people, who come down to some perfectly contented class of the community and sow the seeds of discontent amongst them. That is the reason why agitators are so absolutely necessary. Without them, in our incomplete state, there would be no advance towards civilization."
-Oscar Wilde
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Tuesday, August 25th 2009
I believe that reasonable people can disagree about the health care debate but what I cannot stomach is the willful fear mongering of those who spread misinformation about such ludicrous notions as 'death panels'.
I'm also saddened by the news organizations that spend so much time on the political theater of these town square meetings when some tin foil hatted, loons scream their objections that grandma is going the be blown up in the Carousel. The news organizations need to leave the sensationalist screaming matches to Jerry Springer and get down to some real reporting and fact checking.
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Monday, July 20th 2009
For millions of years our ancestors looked at the glowing face of the moon with wonder - (seemingly) hopelessly separated by from our closest companion in space.
40 years ago today humankind, (embodied through one man) took our first step onto our neighboring celestial body. We are past due for our next step: Mars and beyond.
Photo by Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The photo shows the lower half of the Lunar Module, the part that stayed behind on the Moon when Armstrong and Aldrin blasted off towards Terra and home.
For my money, not only was (is) the science amazing but I think that the moon landings were the greatest acts of art ever undertaken.
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Monday, July 13th 2009
Photo by Jenny MacBeth
At the end of that streak of fire and light was the Space Shuttle Discovery as it blasted into space and accelerated to escape velocity of 17,500 miles per hour. (That's 291 miles a minute, or 4.86 miles a second - aka Mach 23 - for those of you at home who aren't playing along with calculators.)
Photo by Jenny MacBeth
I'd wanted to see a spaceship take off for as long as I can remember and on March 15th, 2009 I stood on a beach with a crowd of others who marveled and gawked as Discovery thundered into the twilight .
The mission was a success.
Even as I write this, the shuttle Endeavour is on the pad waiting for its next mission. I'm rooting for a true flight and the illumination that its science will bring to our collective humanity.
With only a handful of Shuttle missions left before they are decommissioned, I hope that we keep reaching for the stars.
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Wednesday, June 17th 2009
I can hear a gentle spring thunderstorm outdoors as I sit in front of my Mac creating rain and thunderstorm iTunes mixes for sleeping. Welcome to the Matrix Neo.
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Monday, June 8th 2009
Never in my life have I thought, 'I have enough fireworks.' The closest I get to that is, 'I've already spent way more than I can afford on fireworks.'
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Thursday, June 4th 2009
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Facebook seems to be growing in popularity among many of my friends. I've had an account for awhile but I never used it much. (I've also had an account on the user experience nightmare that is MySpace but that's another story.)
What is interesting to observe is that I was able to clearly witness a viral effect take place at work. It seems as if some critical mass of users was reached and the dam broke, flooding Facebook with my colleagues. As more friends join, my opinion on Facebook has softened.
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I'm still not a fan of all the Facebook widgets that allow you to, 'karate chop' a friend or whatever. Facebook surveys are mildly more tempting but I really don't participate in them either. What I do like, however, is the mini-blogging that takes place.
Some people seem to be very knee-jerk contrary about the idea of blogging (or its smaller cousin, tweeting) but I'm a fan. (Hence this site of course.)
For me, a lot of social sharing's merit is summed up in the Twitter 'About Us' statement which reads:
"Isn't Twitter just too much information?
No, in fact, Twitter solves information overload by changing expectations traditionally associated with online communication. At Twitter, we ask one question, "What are you doing?" The answers to this question are for the most part rhetorical. In other words, users do not expect a response when they send a message to Twitter. On the receiving end, Twitter is ambient--updates from your friends and relatives float to your phone, IM, or web site and you are only expected to pay as much or as little attention to them as you see fit.
The result of using Twitter to stay connected with friends, relatives, and coworkers is that you have a sense of what folks are up to but you are not expected to respond to any updates unless you want to. This means you can step in and out of the flow of information as it suits you and it never queues up with increasing demand of your attention. Additionally, users are very much in control of whose updates they receive, when they receive them, and on what device."
I like the fact that blogging, twittering, etc. allows us to capture and share fleeting thoughts. A colleague at work (who swore he'd never use Facebook - and I presume never tried it), compared Facebook to 'annoying' holiday updates sent my some people.
But I argue that writing for social media is different because it's not a 'push' mechanism. - You only read or receive what you've signed up for.
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Secondly, it is more in the moment.
Sending a once a year summary is rather a challenge and misses the sundry, often interesting details of our lives. For example, one of my friends tweeted, "A spider is apparently "bungee jumping" from my lamp. Every couple of minutes he plunges 8 body lengths (5 in) to the end of the strand. Odd."
- What a wonderful, funny little observation that would otherwise get lost in the tide of the day and certainly be lost in the summation of a year.
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Now, I'm not all rosy about Facebook and its kin. There is almost certainly a line where all of this technological communication becomes a detriment. For example, there are the several observed occasions when a group of friends are gathered and are too busy texting into a phone to fully immerse themselves in the corporal moment.
There is also the tendency of some to race to have as many online 'friends' as possible, even if they hardly know the person. From my perspective, this just adds noise to the more meaningful communications I'm seeking.
For me, this site is still the heart of my internet presence but I'm happy for the extra thread of communications from my friends who prefer quicker venues of communication. Tweet on!
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Thursday, May 28th 2009
Better late than never, here's a salute to me and my website. May 22nd marked this site's 8th anniversary (it started in 2001 for those math disabled - like myself.)
And a special thanks to Mr. Edwards for the call out on his site: Deadville.com. I was very impressed and flattered by his kind recollection.
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Saturday, April 25th 2009
87 degrees and sunny today - beautiful - and I was working outside in my old neighborhood where I grew up. It's a bittersweet place to visit now - both dear to the heart and at the same time, haunted.
What's more, when you're a kid, time goes slower so even though I've been gone from the neighborhood for as long as I lived there, it feels like I spent the great majority of my life there.
It was a great place to grow up. - There were woods to hide in; trees for 'forts' and cabins; creeks for building damns and catching crayfish; hills for sled riding; untrafficed streets to ride bikes in; great open lawns to play 'army men' or matchboxes and endless blue skies for bottles rockets to whistle into.
But as an adult, I look at the old houses now - houses where my friends lived and time japes at us. So many people in that idyllic neighborhood found rough roads or bad ends. One sweet lady who use to make our family homemade pierogies, cut her throat with a razorblade. Her daughter found her in a pool of blood in their bathroom. A neighborhood bully went on to serve a lot of time in jail and missed his sweet father's funeral. His well liked brother is a recovering alcoholic after a DUI. A friend of my sister's married a man who beat her. She became addicted to drugs and died recently. In the same family, a childhood friend grew to hate his adoptive parents to the point that he won't have anything to do with them. On and on it goes... One house after another tells the story of personal tragedies.
Now the seeds of this must have been laid even when I was a child but it was hidden from me. There must have been some very sad things that went on behind closed doors as the kids went home from a day of playing in the neighborhood.
I'm not going to over romanticize things - my family has its share of dysfunction. But today, looking down my old road in the flush of a new spring, I'm reminded of how lucky I was to be raised by my wise parents, to have siblings who were kind to me.
The grey winter skys can be rough around here but when you see the sun, you can appreciate it more.
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Thursday, March 26th 2009
News flash! If you have a kid and work, that does not mean that it is more important that you get done with work and go home than it is for non-breeders.
When asked to stay at work with the those who are sans-children, the proper response is not, 'But I want to go home to my kid'. Non-breeders have lives that they want to get to just as much as you do. You've opted to reproduce while others have not, ergo it is not the responsibility of others to cover your work so that you can go home and play with little Timmy the Rug-rat.
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Friday, February 13th 2009
For dinner last night I had leftover chicken fried rice followed by three chocolate chip pop tarts. - All washed down with water. I could have had root beer but you know: a guy's got to be healthy.
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Monday, February 2nd, 2009
The first clue I had that the corporate controlled local game entity, (a.k.a. 'the steelers') won over the Palooka Partridges, or Omaha Ostriches or Wyoming Waterfowl (...some bird branded organization...) was when the neighbors started screaming and pounding on the walls.
So, I guess we're 'number 1' now. I'm not sure who all is included in 'we'. Am I number 1 by virtue of living in Pittsburgh? (Because they often say, 'Pittsburgh's number 1'.) Or do I need to count myself as a fan? And I wonder how long the number 1 status lasts. Is it an instantaneous moment or does it last until the next super bowl? I'd think it wouldn't last any longer than the first time the steelers lose. - In my book, it's hard to be number 1 after you lose. And if the steelers trade people - are they really the same steelers any more? (I never thought so - which is at least one of the reasons I could never get into following team sports.)
I argue that this whole steeler fandom thing is a cult. Consider the similarities:
- Chants and prayers. 'Here we go steelers, here we go!' (Not sure where they are going, but I wish they'd get there and stay.)
- Uniforms. (I beheld entire families from babies, to mothers to fathers garbed in steeler corporate logos.)
- Holy days. (Super bowl Sunday.)
- 'Transcendent' moments. (The enthusiasm is comparable to snake handling tent revivals.)
- Holy relics and paraphernalia (Super bowl rings, 'terrible towels'. )
- Reverence for holy men. (Hero worship of local sports figures.)
- And most importantly: persecution of non-believers. And just like religion, the greatest scorn isn't held for those with a different belief, but for the non-believers.
On the plus side, Springsteen gave a mediocre mini-concert half time performance. I tuned in for it a little late and thought that the sound mixing was bad. Plus, Bruce doesn't really get his best voice until he's been performing a while longer. I was also underwhelmed by his choice of playing 'Glory Days' - an OK song, but really overplayed.
Today, I tried to get tickets to his concert which went on sale but they disappeared in no time and I didn't like the seat quality to price ratio that I was left with. All the good seats were no doubt bought by fans who would never have gone to a 'Ghost of Tom Joad' acoustic concert, but who were reminded of Springsteen's existence by the half time show and Hoovered up all the good seats. Bastards.
Happy Groundhogs' Day!
(One of the great under appreciated holidays.)
If rodents are to be believed (and why wouldn't you believe one?), - we have six more weeks of winter ahead.
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Thursday, January 15th, 2009
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."
—George Bush. Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004
In about five days we get to flush the regime of George W. Bush from office. Too bad the smell will linger for years to come.
I’m sorry to say that I think I was fairly accurate in my entry on November 3rd, 2004 in which I made predictions about the Bush reign except I underestimated the horrible impact on the national and global economy.
But on the positive side, I also think I underestimated the number of Americans who would come around and realize what a terrible president he has been. Then again, if it hadn’t been for 9/11, I don't think he would have ever had a second term. (Fear has a way of short circuiting critical thinking. )
Now we have a new administration: one that I've championed. I have disagreements with Obama and I believe that he will do things that I don’t like but I also believe that he is both very smart and well intentioned. And call me elitist if you want: but I like my presidents intelligent, thoughtful and honorable (traits that were lacking in W.). And with the terrible legacy that Bush is leaving in his wake, we'll need these traits so that we can get ourselves out of this calamity.
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Tuesday, December 30th, 2008
As another year ends I'm reminded of the words of Emo Phillips who said, "The toughest time...in anyone's life...is when you have to kill a loved one just because they're the devil."
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Friday, November 14th, 2008
Reading CNN last night I saw an article headline that science has brought us the first images of extra-solar planets.
And the image made me immeditly think of the Eye of Sauron.
Geek: it's not just for breakfast anymore.
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Thursday, November 13th, 2008
A CNN report shows a home movie of the Pitton family on vacation on a lovely sunny day at Ecola State Park in Oregon.
Mother, Charolotte Pitton video tapes as three year old Alaina Pitton and her cousins walk around an observation area.
The three young children peer over the edge of a 150 foot cliff.
Now, let's stop the action for a moment, and give everybody a quiz. - From the perspective of an adult mother (or father), is it a good idea to let your 3 year old wander near the edge of a 150 foot cliff while you stand back, out of reach? Hmmm....
Obviously, it's a perfectly fine idea since 3 year olds are well known for their agility and balance...
...and CLEARLY the railing is a fool proof safety measure even in the great unlikelihood that something went wrong... Uh oh! Wait a second!
,... Something seems to be amiss! Watch out little Alaina, that's a 150 foot drop to the rocks and ocean below!
Phew! Thanks to small strip of land between the railing and the edge of the cliff, and the fast thinking actions of her older cousin, little Alaina is saved from become chum.
Good taping mother Pitton! Without your video tape we wouldn't have such a nice view of the 150 foot drop as Alaina is lifted over the guardrail.
Wow, that was a close one, and I think we've all learned a lesson here: parents, always stay vigilant... Oh, wait, Charlotte has a lesson that she's learned, let's hear what she has to say...
"Alaina's Mom wonders why there isn't a better railing to keep this from happening again. 'The more I thought about it, the angrier I got at the state parks because there is just no excuse for that.'"
Of course! How silly of me! We need to fence in the nature and views better! I'm going to write my congressman and state senators right now and petition for laws that put up more guardrails - nay - walls and fences around scenic overviews. Clearly, that's the best solution for problems such as this. Fence in the nature!
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Wednesday, November 5th, 2008
The audacity of hope: Yes we can!
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Friday, October 31st, 2008
We all have our peculiarities where things bother us completely out of perspective of their importance to the grand scope of life.
One of my best friends told me that when he was a kid, he didn't allow other kids to use their Tonka trucks in conjunction with matchbox cars because they weren't in scale. I can totally relate.
This same friend called me this week and told me that he's still super geeky. He lives in New York city now and was waiting in his vehicle while his girlfriend ran into a store. On a nearby sidewalk, somebody was dressed as a Star Wars storm trooper, handing out some kind of flyer. As part of the process the storm trooper made robotic gestures.
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After a little bit, my friend couldn't resist. He got out and went to the woman who assisting the storm trooper by holding the flyers. He didn't want to interrupt the storm trooper so he said to the assistant, 'I know this is really geeky, but I just have to tell you that storm troopers aren't robots'. The woman said, 'I know'. As he got back into his vehicle he heard the stormtrooper ask the woman 'What are they?' She responded, 'People'. As my friend drove away he saw that the storm trooper resume his robotic movements.
As I've said before, one of the things that bothers me beyond reasonable perspective is: non-scary Halloween costumes. People who dress up like Halloween is just some kind of free-for-all masquerade drive me crazy. One of the ideas behind Halloween is that people dress to blend in with the dead who were said to walk the world on Halloween. So, there is a little wish in me to see some undead rise up from their graves and drag all of the ballerinas, nurses, cowboys, super heroes, and pirates kicking and screaming to the netherworld.
Like I said: we all have our peculiarities...
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Wednesday, September 17th, 2008
The Happiest Place in the World has gotten a little more sinister since my last visit.
I've known a few anti-Disney people but most of them have never visited a park. For my part, I recognize some of the unsavory corporate policies - such as its draconian copyright prosecution - but I've always let the kid in me relax and enjoy Disney's excellent craftsmanship, creativity and customer service.
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However, on a recent trip to Disney World's Magic Kingdom and EPCOT center, I was greatly dismayed to see Disney now fingerprints its park visitors! What's more, tens of thousands of visitors willingly, apparently unthinkingly, slapped their fingers down on the little scanners. Nowhere in sight did Disney have signs explaining the process, however, I did some research upon returning and learned that starting in 1996 Disney started this process as part of a ticket anti-piracy control.
I'd already driven to the park, paid for the hotel and the tickets but I objected and found out that I could scan my license instead which is what I opted to do. Obviously, this is providing information to the company but at least it wasn't new, biometric data.
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The two times I was in line, asses behind me objected - they wanted to pass, because it took me an extra 30 seconds to get my license out. And it is for these people, more than the Disney corporation that I hold my greater contempt.
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- These people who so thoughtlessly submitted very personal information just because an amusement park asked for it.
And how critical will the next generation being after watching their parents so blindly submit their fingerprints to a corporation as if they were petty crooks? Will these children grow up to except bar codes on their skin so that they can buy a pack of gum?
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"In the last analysis, our only freedom is the freedom to discipline ourselves."
~ Bernard M. Baruch
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Friday, August 22nd, 2008
Being a non football fan in football obsessive-compulsive Pittsburgh, I grew up having my masculinity questioned.
This has transformed me from somebody who wasn't interested in football to somebody who pretty much hates it. So if (as I've been accused), I have a 'chip on my shoulder', then it was placed there by all of the rabid fanatics.
Case in point: some 'attitude' captured on a vanity license plate:
I know that this license can be taken as light hearted kidding of non steeler fans, but I've encountered this sentiment sincerely expressed by locals. To some fans, you might as well be a member of the Taliban if you don't love the steelers - let alone (gasp) football!
The humor for me is that this literally translates into: Stiller fans are shit.
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Monday, August 11th, 2008
Sometimes you can just tell when the marketing department was out sick. Spotted in the grocery store this weekend, I give you the unfortunately named 'Flavor Sack':
'Flavor Sack', just gets the mouth watering - doesn't it?
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Thursday, July 31st, 2008
Damn: the end of the month and I've not posted here... That's okay - I'll think of something worthwhile... Hmmm: perhaps Barack Obama's disappointing support of the Bush administrations warrantless wiretapping bill... Nah - to depressing and requires too much research... Perhaps a movie review on Batman The Dark Knight? What would I say? Good movie - good acting but a bit over rated with some elaborations about un-engaging action sequences and a need for editing. Nah - then I'd have to get into a whole long spiel about the infeasibility of jumping from heights and surviving just because you have a big cape... Or perhaps a review of Wall-e? - Eh - I'd just say the same stuff I've already said about the geniuses at Pixar - yadda - yadda - yadda...
So I guess I have nothing to say. Magic 8 ball says, 'Try again later'.
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Thursday, June 26th, 2008
Spoiler and gripe alert.
If you haven't seen Iron Man, or Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, you may want to avoid this next entry - I give away plot details. Similarly, if you don't want to hear me vent about something as a silly as an action movie, you might want to switch over to Amazon.com and buy yourself that oven mitt you've had your eye on.
Everybody left who is going to leave?... Good, I didn't like them anyways.
I've talked about movies and 'suspension of disbelief' before but here's a quick recap: I'm fine with a man who can fly at faster than the speed of light, is bullet proof and strong enough to lift a block of land the size of Manhattan (i.e. Superman) as long as the movie establishes his capabilities and limitations and then operates by the rules it set. Because, even though I can suspend my disbelief for the sake of the story, if at the end of the movie you suddenly show that he can turn invisible with no prior explanation - my suspension of disbelief will be broken.
So I'm watching Robert Downey Jr. give an entertaining and humors portrayal of the character Tony Stark in Iron Man. We watch as Stark is seriously injured and knocked out by an explosion that leads to his capture. In the scene where he escapes from the middle eastern terrorist-type captors, he stomps around in his lumbering prototype Iron Man suit. We see it display flame throwers and enhanced strength. As the scene's climax, Stark/Iron Man's flame thrower catches some explosive materials on fire. To escape, Iron Man deploys jetpack style rocket boots and blasts away from the flames. So far - we've established that Tony Stark is a brilliant genius, but otherwise a very normal human being capable of being injured just like anybody else. But then his rocket boots run out of fuel and we see Stark, still in his heavy-duty Iron Man suit, plunge to the earth from several hundred feet up and I'm thinking: we'll obviously, he's going to deploy some giant parachute to slow his fall. But no. Instead, we watch as he smacks into the side of a sand dune at about a hundred miles an hour. My brain registers: well, clearly - he's dead now. Again: no. We see that the suit is shattered but that Tony Stark is slightly scratched but otherwise fine - not even unconscious.
Let me ask you: if you were placed in an ultra hard, ultra sturdy metal suit and dropped several hundred feet - what do you think would happen to your body? - Pretty much liquefied - right? - Even if the ultra sturdy suit survived, you'd be soup sloshing around inside of it. And I can personally attest from jumping around on a few sand dunes in my life - if you hit one hard enough, they aren't soft and forgiving at all.
I'll admit that that at that point in the movie, I extended the lines of the suspension of disbelief and was confident that Stark was going to be fine no matter how hard he was smacked around, as long as he was in the suit. But that still doesn't forgive the fact that the movie had already contradicted itself by, in one scene showing Stark mortal and subject to injury under the same conditions that one would one would find in the real world and in another scene, showing him slamming into ground with nary a bump to show for it.
Alright now, Iron Man - that gripe aside - is a pretty rollicking good time. (Even though the movie's climax was a bit anticlimactic since Stark's victory depended more on dumb luck than guile. - Yeah, Stark encouraged Gwyneth Paltrow as 'Pepper Potts' to start an explosion that finishes off the bad guy, but why the bad guy is destroyed and Stark isn't - is not at all clear.)
Now let's switch to or Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. We've seen three other movies with Indie. We know the character. We know that he is smart, lucky, stronger and in better shape than any real human. - But he is never portrayed as any Superman. Hell: not even Spiderman tough. Arguably - not even Batman sturdy. So, when, during the movie's first act, we see him climb into a refrigerator -which the camera pans down to show is 'lead lined' (as if that's going to make a difference) and subsequently survives a NUCLEAR EXPLOSION AT GROUND ZERO - my suspension of disbelief, got up from the theater, got in the car, drove to the airport, flew to California, rented a taxi drove to Marin county, found George Lucas and Steven Spielberg toasting each other with glasses of champaign over another 'job well done' and kicked them both hard in the throat.
The shell of a movie goer who was left sitting in the theater was thereafter no longer surprised at all to see other wonders such as Indie and three other characters proceed over three Niagara Falls scale waterfalls in an amphibian boats and walk away without so much as a bruise.
There are more bad things to say about the movie, but that will have to do for now. But I have to admit: I hated it for an Indiana Jones movie, but I was mildly entertained outside of that context. I suppose that some of the sentimentality for the other movies keeps me from fully damning it. But it really, just wasn't good. (Sigh.)
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Friday, May 30th, 2008
Today we had our office birthday celebration for those born in May. Our office admin had bought cake and ice cream for the team.
The Giant Eagle box that contained one of the cakes had this helpful schematic:
Fortunately we saw this diagram before we started randomly scooping circles of cake with our spoons.
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Thursday, May 22nd, 2008
May 22 is the 142nd day of the year (143rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. Seven years ago today - in 2001 (for those math handicapped like myself) - GlenGreen.com. was born.
Happy birthday dear website - happy birthday to you my HTML friend.
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Tuesday, April 29th, 2008
Rush Limbaugh, is the nation's top-rated talk radio host, so given the tremendous size of his audience and the influence of his voice over public airwaves, one might almost wonder why the corporate controlled news media hasn't made a bigger story over his calls for deceitful election manipulation.
Limbaugh, called his 'ditto heads' fellow Republicans to vote for Hillary Clinton in open primary states like Ohio, Texas and Indiana to prolong the Democratic primaries (so the Democrats can fight each other) with the possible side benefit of nominating Clinton who he perceives would be easier to defeat in the national elections.
I won't enter into debate about the legality of this other than to say that it appears to be illegal in Ohio at least and to point out the irony that it has been the GOP that has pushed so hard to pass ID laws to prevent voter fraud - a law that was just upheld by the conservative controlled supreme court.
But I will expound on the morality of these self entitled 'value voters' who hold the democratic process in such poor esteem that they comfortably - cheerfully and willfully corrupt the voting process. For my part, I advocate legitimate and easy voting for all: right, left or other and it would be my shame if I ever advocated such underhanded deceit.
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Friday, March 28th, 2008
I know that Las Vegas has a high infestation of superstitious thinking but I was disappointed to learn that one of my favorite hotels there is hosting the ghoulish huckster Sylvia Brown - pretend psychic. ("Pretend psychic" is redundant - I know. I want to be clear: I'm under no illusions that there are real psychics.)
The woman is a lie monger and a fraud. If a con artist attempts to sucker money from the unsuspecting through scam, they are thrown in jail. Instead, Browne is featured on shows like 'Montel Williams Show' and 'Larry King Live' and is given a venue where she can charge $82.50 to $137.50 for her blood sucking claptrap.
As to the harm that she causes, I quote from the StopSylviaBrowne.com website:
"1. She is taking money, under false pretenses, from people who are in a very vulnerable position, emotionally.
2. She constantly gives medical "diagnoses" to people (and in fact, she refers to these people as her "patients") without any medical training. This can obviously be dangerous, leading people to pursue incorrect diagnoses, and to possibly ignore the advice of their own medical professionals.
3. She gives advice to families of missing children (and adults). Not only does this false information add to the trauma being suffered by the family (read about Opal Jo Jennings for just one example), but can lead those families to insist on law enforcement following up on these fictional "leads," wasting hours and manpower which could have been put to use following up on real leads.
4. By inventing information about (and messages from) lost loved ones, she is stepping on the true memories of these people."
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A ghoul is a legendary monster said to prey on young children, robs graves, and eat the dead - metaphorically - just like Browne.
Even though I have low expectations for a gambling casino to be a bastion against the irrational, it pains me to see that this criminal - this purveyor of lies - this larcenist by fraud and deception - is not ridden out of town on a rail.
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In related news - score one for the skeptics:
Skeptic giggles on Indian national TV as mystic totally fails to curse him to death
"Pandit Surinder Sharma, a famous Indian tantrick (magician) was on a televised panel discussion when he claimed he could kill any man with black magic in under three minutes. Fellow panelist, Sanal Edamaruku, the president of Rationalist International, challenged the tantrick to kill him right then and there. Hilarity ensued as Sharma chanted the death mantra, and, when that failed, waved a knife and sprinkled water on him, as Edamarku laughed the entire time.
After two hours of this, the show's anchor pronounced the attempt a failure. The tantrick said he must be under the protection of a very powerful god, to which Edmarku replied "I am an atheist". The tantrick claimed nobody could stand up to his extra-special death spell, but that could only be performed at night. The TV station promptly arranged another trial at night, with predictable results."
Thanks to Teddy Carroll for the story and the link.
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Thursday, February 21st, 2008
Congratulations to my friend on the YouTube debut of the Jesse Malin Video he directed: 'In The Modern World'.
You wouldn't know it to look at it, but it was produced on a shoe string budget. Be kind: leave the video the good comment and rating that it deserves. Have a website? Links to the video are greatly appreciated.
Best of all: enjoy! Not only is it a great video - it's a great song.
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Monday, February 11th, 2008
Well, I'm putting my money where my mouth is: I've contributed to Barack Obama for president.
Here's are a few of the reasons why:
- He wants to strengthen Civil Liberties. Strong civil liberties are fundamental to who we are as nation.
- Religious tolerance. - Although Obama is a devote Christian, he doesn't, 'believe that religious folks have a monopoly on morality' and he welcomes all faiths - and non believers into the public discourse.
- He has good goals for improving America's energy independence through multiple channels - including cleaner, renewable energy resources. This should be America's number one economic and security concern.
- He's viable: he has a very good chance to win.
But don't take my word for it: read the specific and realistic goals that he's outlined.
For years, I've not been voting for somebody, I've been voting for the lesser of two evils. With Barack Obama, although imperfect (I'm sure) - I believe in the man.
Thanks to Teddy and Sami Carroll for their fundraising efforts.
"Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you." - Pericles
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Thursday, January 24th, 2008
Great amusement and humor today. And like most humor: it came at somebody else's expense.
One of my colleagues reported that there was an icy spot on the Smithfield Street Bridge and that people were falling who crossed it.
Our office overlooks the bridge and a few of us took a gander. Sure enough: within moments we saw a beautifully executed pratfall. As if we were watching a circus performance, we ohhed and ahhed as about one out of every ten people who crossed the spot fell. (I'm guessing we saw an average of one fall every three minutes during the morning rush hour.)
More and more of my colleagues gathered at the windows to see what all of the fuss was about.
As some unsuspecting pedestrian would approach the icy gray spot on the snow, the tension would increase. Bets were called out - predictions made. People would hope out loud that some victim would lose their cell phone, laptop, brief case, purse or package over the railing to the frigid waters below.
When somebody would skate by, the crowd would boo. About a fifth of the time, a would-be victim would spot the ice and would skirt it - walking down a narrow dry patch to the side. It was suggested that somebody should 'go down there and pour water' on that particular dry spot. This idea was ruled out after the legality and liability had been determined as too risky.
When somebody would slip but recover, there was a great intake of breath followed by hisses of disappointment.
But when someone fell, there was a great round of cheering and applause. One of the favorites was a fellow who pulled a Fred Flinstone - his feet spinning futilely on the ice before ultimately landing on his ass.
Perverse – I know. But it was like having a live feed of America’s Funniest Home Videos.
I returned from lunch to find out that one of my officemates, after seeing a particularly gruesome fall, had called the city and the sidewalk had been salted.
Spoil-sport.
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Friday, January 11th, 2008
The temperature was in the mid-sixties on Tuesday and since then the weather has had an average of about forty-some degrees.
In the summer, such temperatures would be miserable but in the winter it cheers the heart.
This is the human condition: our happiness is relative and is so often dependent on adversity to allow us to appreciate what we have. Try as we might to value what we've got, our grasp is always tenuous and fleeting. I hope that I gain a little bit of wisdom and that my perspective on my good fortune grows. I hope this for all of us. Happy New Year.
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Friday, December 21st, 2007
I was recently given a little, safety blade, hand held Scotch Paper Cutter. (Exhibit A).
The paper cutter came in one of those ultra hard polyurethane plastic bubbles. (Exhibit B).
I needed scissors to open the plastic.
I cut myself on the shredded, sharp plastic edge of the bubble.
Kind of ironic - don't you think?
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Monday, December 3rd, 2007
Candi the Wheel Bug, 1 season old, Assassin Bug extraordinaire, dies
She began as a 'first instar nymph'. Her career of assassination ranged from the humble Housefly to the frightening Paper Wasp. She was well respected for her lunging, pinning and fluid sucking endeavors.
Robert F. found the body Monday morning in her Pittsburgh terrarium. The cause of death is unclear. Local authorities are interviewing Robert as a 'person of interest' since Robert was the last person to have access to her terrarium. Brian L. a concerned coworker reported that Robert had been heard happily discussing the 'end game for the Candi relationship': namely that she would be pinned on a board.
Candi the Wheel Bug: You shall be missed. We hardly knew ye.
Candi is survived by two egg clusters.
The body will be on view all week. A secular service and memorial will be held at her terrarium on Friday.
Donations can be made in her name to the 'Candi Conservation for the Orphaned Assassin Nymph Protection Fund'.
Morgue Photo: Candi (left, foreground) and a host of her assassinated bodies. Photo by Brian L. via iPhone.
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Thursday, November 15th, 2007
On Tuesday November 13, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue gathered three Protestant ministers, a gospel choir and a crowd of nearly 250 citizens on the steps of the state capitol building to pray for rain.
Wow. Where to start? Well, how about theologically?
Does god directly control the rain?
If no: - If this is part of the clockwork of the universe that it is imagined that god set in motion, who is the governor to ask her to change it? (Just to mix things up a bit, I'm going to assume that god is a woman for this argument. It makes as much sense to think that god has a vagina as it does a phallus although I'd bet that Governor Perdue is convinced that his god packs a penis.)
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If yes: then why have such a 'small prayer'? Why ask god for rain only for your small little region? Drought affects a lot more people than Georgia - and most of those in third world countries - MUCH, MUCH more severely. |
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Is it imprudent to petition god for such a big favor? Or is god incapable of granting such a big favor? If she is capable, and at all willing, why not ask for a permanent cessation of drought? For that matter: why not petition for a permanent cessation of all suffering?
In fact, why should we even have to ask? Isn't god watching? Or is it considered 'part of god's plan'? If it is part of the plan, then why solicit her for favor at all? If god has a master plan that includes allowing people to suffer, isn't a prayer to change any of that rather presumptuous and ultimately futile?
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Or can we ask god to deviate some from her plan? If so, how much is too much? Is that for god to decide? Or does she need our 'votes/prayers' to decide? And weren't people praying without the governor's help? Or, as an elected official, does he carry extra influence with god?
Next up: separation of church and state'
Should an official of the government, in an official (or even semi-official) manner promote his religion on the steps of one of our government buildings?
For this, I'm just going to take a well written argument from the Americans United for the Seperation of Church and State website:
"Jefferson knew that any government-sanctioned religious exercise, even if merely recommended, would endanger citizens' rights.
In the same 1803 missive, he wrote, 'But it is only proposed that I should recommend, not prescribe a day of fasting & prayer. That is, that I should indirectly assume to the U.S. an authority over religious exercises which the Constitution has directly precluded them from. It must be meant too that this recommendation is to carry some authority, and to be sanctioned by some penalty on those who disregard it; not indeed of fine and imprisonment, but of some degree of proscription perhaps in public opinion.'
Madison also tried to avoid government meddling in religion. Although he acquiesced to Congress' requests for prayer proclamations during the War of 1812, he expressed sincere regret after leaving office.
Prayer proclamations, he wrote in his Detached Memoranda, 'seem to imply and certainly nourish the erroneous idea of a national religion'.The last & not the least objection is the liability of the practice to a subserviency to political views; to the scandal of religion, as well as the increase of party animosities.'
Two of our greatest founders struggled with government-led prayers over 200 years ago. They came down firmly on the side of church-state separation in order to preserve government's secular duties and citizens' religious liberties. It's ridiculous, really, that our leaders aren't doing the same today."
If you doubt that this is an issue, just ask yourself what fallout would have occurred if the Governor was Hindu and presumed to ask Indra (god of rain) to intervene in the name of the people of Georgia.
As for the magical affects of the Governor's spell?
If any moisture fell that day, it was from Governor Perdue's pissing on every American's right to not have the government trouncing around in their religion (or even, {gasp}, lack thereof.)
10 Day Weather Forecast for Atlanta Georgia
"I think . . . that philosophy has the duty of pointing out the falsity of outworn religious ideas, however estimable they may be as a form of art. We cannot act as if all religion were poetry while the greater part of it still functions in its ancient guise of illicit science and backward morals. . . ."
- Corliss Lamont
"Think of how many religions attempt to validate themselves with prophecy. Think of how many people rely on these prophecies, however vague, however unfulfilled, to support or prop up their beliefs. Yet has there ever been a religion with the prophetic accuracy and reliability of science?"
- Carl Sagan
"Baloney, bamboozles, careless thinking, flimflam, and wishes disguised as facts are not restricted to parlor magic and ambiguous advice on matters of the heart. Unfortunately, they ripple through mainstream political, social, religious, and economic issues in every nation."
- Carl Sagan, "The Demon-Haunted World"
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Monday, November 5th, 2007
The Candi Chronicles have proven to be very popular, and I for one, like to give the people what they want. So, here is the third installment in the saga of one Assasin Bug.
My colleague, amateur entomologist, medical illustrator and defacto Candi wrangler Robert Finkbeiner has been kind enough to prepare this report:
"House centipede and harvestman (daddy longlegs) apparently died on their own, although it is possible Candi is responsible for one or both. The house centipede was very large and fast - doubtful Candi could have subdued it long enough for a good stab. She actually did grab the harvestman by a leg -- but was unable to stab it mid-femur, and couldn't reach anything but femur -- so she eventually had to simply let it go.
Wood louse (potato bug/rolly-polly) put up a good defensive struggle by clutching a chunk of gravel to its soft underbelly, escaping the first time - leaving Candi to stab ineffectually at the stone she was left holding. The same tactic was less effective later, Candi eventually torqued gravel and wood louse enough to find the gap in-between with her rostrum and make the fatal stab.
The first brown marmorated stink bug is still untouched after 3 weeks, during which time Candi has had little to eat. Of course the stink bug has had nothing - unless it ate some of the pumpkin guts we gave it while I wasn't looking. Glen's smaller stink bug (based on the dark hind wing patch, I'm guessing they are both males, but the original was much bigger) didn't last more than a day, but again, I think Candi was not implicated in the death.
Have taken to supplementing the insect foods with cherry jelly provided in a coffee stirrer, and a capful of water in the terrarium has allowing all of the bugs to occasionally take a drink.
She's already eaten one Western Conifer Seed Bug and we introduced another today.
Another assassin (zelus sp. nymph) brought in by Colleen has started exploring a good deal more - managing to stay under Candi's radar, but still not realizing it's small enough to fit through the slats in the terrarium cover and simply escape.
Another orb weaver spider hasn't been seen in a while, and is presumed dead.
We opted not to introduce the black slug - in addition to some question as to whether it would be palatable, we didn't like the idea of filling the terrarium with trails of slug snot."
So there you have the latest. As the temperatures drop, its getting harder to find bugs to feed her. Hopefully she can live off of Jelly.
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Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007
I can't rightly complain about the weather this summer. It was pretty darn spectacular: which is to say warm / hot with lots of sun and minimal undue rain.
We've even been lucky enough to have summer leak into fall, with the weekends featuring temperatures in the high 70s. And this weekend, it is almost as if the lingering summer sun caused the green leaves to burst into flames of fall colors. Sure, we've had some subtle warm yellows, oranges and reds leak into the pallet but before this weekend, green was in the vast majority. Now I look outside my office window and Mount Washington has the appearance of a fall themed miniature scale railroad set.
As for today: warm temperatures but gray skies. I expect I'll be able to whine about the weather soon enough. Already I'm waking up in the morning while its dark outside and I can feel the great gray oppression settling in for the long winter.
In other personal news. - very personal news in fact: Amazon.com has formulated an opinion about me. On my personal account, under recommendations - along with various books, CDs, movies, video games and electronics - the computer has made this particular recommendation for me:
Really, I have nothing to add to this since my choices for humor would seem to be either bravado or self-depreciation and I choose neither. But I have to say that I've never bought any form of birth control on Amazon.com or any other site, so the fact that it arrived at this suggestion based on my browsing and purchasing history is pretty entertaining - and has got to leave you wondering...
I also enjoyed reading the user reviews and I liked this one in particular from S. "strap" (Honolulu, HI) :
"Who are these made for? Elephants? I highly doubt the most prodigious of woodmen would need a jimmy hat this big. I certainly can't find a human use for them, other than to slip over my head when it's raining. That does a good job, until my hair gets gooey from the lube."
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Tuesday, October 16th, 2007
The Wolf Spider didn't last the night but it doesn't appear to the handiwork of Candi since the spider doesn't have the tell-tale signs of desiccation.
Candi is too particular to eat was she doesn't kill. So walking back from lunch today, a group of us scoured a local city park and building window sills for further bugs meals for Candi to no avail.
Dead Wolf Spider. (Robert F.'s handfor scale). Photo by me via BlackBerry.
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Monday, October 15th, 2007
Candi update.
To date Candi has eaten:
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Spider # 1
Spider # 2
Cricket
Beatle Grub
Fly
Moth
Wasp
Moth # 2
Spider # 3
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Today Dave S. brought her a Wolf Spider (Spider #4)- which looks rather formidable. In fact, there was some considerable debate that perhaps Candi had met her match.
Wolf Spider. (Robert F.'s finger for scale). Photo by Brian L. via iPhone.
The Wolf Spider appears to outweigh Candi but Candi is clearly the top predator. She's made several attempts on the spider but given its size, strength and speed she can't seem to nail it down.
Candi the Wheel Bug (background) stalks the Wolf Spider (foreground). Photo by Brian L. via iPhone.
The day-to-day grind of office life is such that watching Candi stalk the Wolf Spider is about as fascinating as being on the plains of Masi Mari watching a lion stalk gazelles - hence, coworkers gather around and monitor Candi's progress throughout the day.
Left to Right: Robert F., Dave S., Chuck B., Jeneen A., Sean Z. watches the live drama of 'Nature Attacks: Wheel Bug versus Wolf Spider'. Photo by your host. via lousy BlackBerry camera.
As I write this in the evening: Candi had still not mastered the wolf spider after 8 hours of stalking. (And she is hungry given the fact that she went all weekend without a snack.)
Also noteworthy: Candi appears to have laid eggs and there has been a stink bug in the terrarium for about a week that has not been eaten. Apparently smelling bad is a really good defense.
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Friday, October 5th, 2007
One of my colleagues (Robert F.) is something of a bug aficionado. In fact he has a website that will allow you to name a bug after a loved one. It's akin to those 'name a star' websites - and just as official: which is to say not at all. Still: if you are looking for a unique present for somebody - his website: BugName.com has to qualify as a geeky but cool place to start.
Since Robert is known for his insect proclivities, another colleague (Dave S.) brought in a little critter he found on his garage door. It turned out to be a pretty neat specimen: a Wheel Bug.
Initially the bug was going to end up skewered on a pin in Robert's collection but the office has taken to her. (After some research, it was deemed that it is a 'her' due to the size of her abdomen.) It was also determined that a stripper name was appropriate so she is now called, 'Candi '- with an 'i'. So Candi has at least a temporary reprieve from the pin - although when her time is up, I'm sure she'll be well preserved for posterity.
Candi the Wheel Bug. Photo by Brian L. via iPhone.
In the meantime, we've learned a lot about Wheel Bugs (for example: they are part of the 'family' of 'assassin bugs') and it has become something of a concerted effort to find other bugs to feed her. So far the tally (in order) is: two spiders, a cricket, grub, fly and a moth.
The sprocket like 'wheel' on the back of a Wheel Bug.
We've updated Candi's digs from the original mason jar to a high-rent plastic terrarium complete with colored pebbles.
Candi dines on a moth. Photo by Brian L. via iPhone.
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Monday, September 24th, 2007
Business has brought me once again to the charming, and little known hamlet of New York City. I fancy that I wouldn't mind living here - but only for a couple of years I should think. As Mary Schmich wrote in her essay, 'Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young', 'Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.' (Also known from the Baz Luhrmann song, 'Everybody's Free [To Wear Sunscreen])'.
Alas, I've never lived in New York City or California - northern or otherwise. Pittsburgh has its charms but my wander lust has gone un-allayed for far too long so I feel the rhythm of New York as a hypnotizing pulse. This metropolis is so vibrant and diverse: a truly exciting American city with a heaping dose of the surrealism which so strangely makes me feel grounded.
The Fuller Building A.K.A. The Flatiron Building
Vignettes of the city: - Last night I visited a street fair and rode a Ferris Wheel in the middle of Manhattan. - This evening, as I walked down 7th Avenue, my nose was confronted with a dozen powerful smells in the course of 25 feet: some good, some bad: tasty foods, the smell of nature blown in from some nearby park and the tang of ordure as a subway blew by blasting hot air from the grated sidewalk corridor beneath my feet.
A view from a NYC Ferris Wheel of a festival
Long term, I think that NYC would get to me since there is a real hassle to living here as well. - The unnatural uncomfortable annoyance of beaurocrats, regulations, nearly constant pavement and horn honks. And although I love the city, unlike many New Yorkers, I don't believe that civilization begins and ends here - and even if it does, I love the uncivilized spots in the world more.
But on my way back to the hotel, the nearly full moon was visible low on the horizon through a canyon of buildings, bright white next to a golden skyscraper. - Summer officially, over I could feel the heart of the city through the sidewalk on this abundantly warm fall night.
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Thursday, August 23rd, 2007
At the risk of sounding like a country song or a poster in a teenage girl's room, I have to say that I think dogs are some of the best things in the world. Dogs are the great companion of the human race. Their virtues include virtually unconditional love (some affection, food and water help), protectiveness and loyalty. For being a different species, they so often demonstrate the best of what we could hope for our own race.
sadism
noun
1. The deriving of pleasure, or the tendency to derive pleasure, from cruelty.
2. Extreme cruelty.
I don’t give a rats ass about football, so I sure as hell don’t give a damn about Michael Vick’s supposed talent at the game. But even if football was my favorite thing in the world, I'd like to think that I'd have the moral courage to be appalled and disgusted by Michael Vick.
The man is a sadist. He takes pleasure in extreme cruelty.
To make his brutal and barbaric deeds all the morally worse, he was a man of means. An excuse can’t even be pretended that this is some thug scraping some mean money off the street for his own survival.
> I was going to post a photo here of what a dog looks like after a dog fight. It was too gruesome. If you don’t believe me, Google images for dog fight and you'll see images to sicken the heart and stomach of any decent person. <
So, I was amazed to hear fans on the radio calling as apologists, concerned about his career. Where are these people’s outrage? You have a terrible personal defect if you care more about a game than showing your anger and disapproval over a man who shot, hung, electrocuted, drown and tortured dogs for amusement and money.
Angry? I encourage donations to Pittsburgh’s no-kill animal Shelter: Animal Friends.
"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you.
This is the principal difference between a dog and a man."
- Mark Twain
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Monday, August 6th, 2007
Minneapolis Bridge collapses: it's a miracle! - Or so it would seem from much of the news reported about the Minneapolis Minnesota Interstate 35W bridge disaster.
On the morning after it occurred I watched the morning shows and in the same breath after reporting some of the deaths the anchor 'personalities' happily started speaking about the 'miracle' of the school bus that was not plunged to the depths. Minnesota Deputy Police Chief Rob Allen said, 'If you ever need proof of the hand of God, just look where that bus is two seconds later, there's a massive fire right where the cab of that truck is, and those kids would have been killed in a fire. Two seconds earlier, and it's in the river.'
More recently, on the radio I heard of Laura Bush's visit to the disaster. I heard her asking the bus driver isn't it great how god smiled on the children(?)...
If the miracle advocates are saying that god is pulling strings here, I can't help but wonder what the criteria is for a job well done.
Here is the tally of the 'miracle' as I see it:
Mammoth Bridge collapse (with a cost which may exceed a billion dollars - a billion dollars which could be spent doing something else worthwhile).
13 dead (5 confirmed dead - 8 others presumed dead)
Some 79 people injured (including a bus load of children terrified, traumatized and injured)
Sure the bus could have driven off the edge and the children could have died. On the other hand, the bridge could have collapsed at 3am in the morning (that is: if we assume that it was part of god's 'plan' to have it collapse at all) then no lives might have been lost at all.
For me, this talk of god sparing some people and letting others die is an insult to those who did die. It implies that their lives are somehow less worthy. What about the children who lost a parent? Wasn't god smiling on them? Or was it more of a wink and a nod to them? 'Hey, I could have had both of your parents killed kid - count yourself lucky! Wink!' Are we to tally the fact that a boat full of doctors and orphans wasn't killed in the collapse as part of the miracle's success? - You know, if god hadn't arranged their safety through several twists of the supernatural, there would have been a cruise full of care workers and their charges floating down the Mississippi at that moment! But they weren't there - it's a miracle!
If the qualifications for a miracle are 'it could have been worse', then I'd like to get that written into my job evaluation. 'Hey Glen, you lost us a million dollars this month, but it could have been two million, so we're giving you a raise and a corner office'.
The idea of the devil actively creating disasters 'hands on' in our world isn't as popular as it once was or I'm sure he'd get the credit for the bridge collapse.
For my part, I don’t think that any devils or deities had anything to do with it. And for the positive side of this tragedy, I salute the numerous human heroes who put themselves at risk for strangers that they'd never met before.
'Fear of things invisible is the natural seed of that which everyone in himself calleth religion.' - Thomas Hobbes, "Leviathan" (1651)
"Those afraid of the universe as it really is, those who pretend to nonexistent knowledge and envision a Cosmos centered on human beings will prefer the fleeting comforts of superstition. They avoid rather than confront the world. But those with the courage to explore the weave and structure of the Cosmos, even where it differs profoundly from their wishes and prejudices, will penetrate its deepest mysteries." - Carl Sagan
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Monday, July 30th, 2007
Day to day life is full of so much mediocrity. This weekend I saw Pixar/Disney's Ratatouille and I was reminded of what excellence looks like. I'm not sure if you need to be a connoisseur of animation to see it, but Pixar's animation is utterly brilliant. They are the Mozart and Michelangelo of animation. They could have made the same story with adequate animation and maybe made the same amount of money but they didn't: they went the extra mile and delivered a quality of work that is stirring to observe. Bravo.
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Wednesday, July 25th, 2007
When I use to go on vacation, it would recharge me. Now when I come back from vacation to the grind of day-to-day life, it just depresses me.
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Tuesday, June 26th, 2007
I walked across Smithfield Street Bridge to Station Square for lunch today - as is my want on beautiful summer days.
The sidewalks on the bridge frequently have puddles of dried puke: usually more than one at any given time. I don't know why. I can only assume that they are from drunks either coming from the bars at Station Square, or those heading from the city bars to the parking lots on that side of the river.
Most of the puke puddles are pretty close to the railing which makes one wonder if the up-chucker tried to project it over the railing and into the river but failed.
If they failed, why? Did they suddenly have a drunken sense of vertigo as they staggered to the edge before deciding that it was unwise?
If they didn't even try for the railing - that's rather odd as well, since a drop to a river just begs for barfing.
The scary thought is that perhaps the residual piles of bile represent only a fraction of the vomit. Perhaps the vast majority of pukers make it to the edge and the frequent sidewalk vomitus is only representative of 5% of the actual puking that is happening every week.
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Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007
Six years ago today I launched this site. My time to write and post has diminished a bit but I still manage to write something for the main section of the site (Worldview, Friends & Family) at least once a month. So here's to me, here's to my site and here's to you for reading it.
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Thursday, May 10th, 2007
Frequently my neo-conservative friends will wail in grief for the corporate world: complaining about how much industry suffers under all of those silly, oppressive, environmental, 'hippie' regulations. Most often cited is the notion that environmental regulations cost jobs. But that argument is a logical fallacy of a false dilemma. Our choice is not 'work' or 'environment', because challenges present opportunities. The challenge of creating and sustaining environmental friendly industry represents untold business opportunities. Not to mention: it can be deadly to prioritize jobs for habitat.
This is analogous to the notion of safety regulations in factories, mines and offices that companies argued would cost money and jobs during the industrial revolution. The idea of safety equipment, decent working hours and wages and other rights brought to us by (the now frequently villainized) unions were once argued to hurt the company 'bottom line'. But even though the history of how those improvements have been wrought are so often forgotten, I know of nobody who would willing forfeit these rights.
Now, I won't say that there aren't some bad environmental regulations (just as there were/are bad union practices) but it is foolish to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Speaking of bath water or (more importantly) drinking water; here is an example of what happens to an industry zealous country that doesn't trouble itself with trivial thoughts about protecting the environment:
Beijing, China: Xu Jiehua (r), the wife of the detained Chinese environmental activist Wu Yilong, sits behind water samples collected by Wu Yilong from Chinese urban rivers and lakes.
Photograph: Teh Eng Koon
Hey, at least the plastic bottle makers have jobs! Drink up!
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Friday, April 27th, 2007
I've been watching old Mission: Impossible reruns. (Kids: there was a TV show before Tom Cruise made his bastardized movies.)
There is always a keen anticipation when mission leader Jim Phelps would receive his mission on reel-to-reel tape and it would conclude:
'As always, should you or any of your IM force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Jim.'
They always showed a close-up of the hissing, smoking tape and it was like holding your breath until you saw it.
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(On the earlier shows, Jim Phelps predecessor Bruce Geller got his mission on LPs. - They self destructed in cloud of smoke as well.)
On one of the shows I was watching (a two part series where they infiltrated a crime ring rigging boxing) Mr. Phelps got his message on a boat. He was instructed to dispose of the message in 'the usual fashion'. I was horrified to see him plunk it into the lake! No smoke - no self destruction: just littering! ...They must have exceeded their budget that week. |
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Friday, March 29th, 2007
Our work conversations are suffused with high levels of geek. Super hero conversations are especially popular.
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Today's speculations centered on the animated series Super Friends' 'Apache Chief'. By speaking the word "Inuk-chuk," ("Big Man") Apache Chief could grow to vast sizes. The debate was about whether or not the Chief maintained his density at all sizes. This was an important point since among my colleagues it is viewed as good character development if the super hero in question must also suffer from the benefit of having the super power.
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So the question arises, would you accept the Chief's super power of growing to giant size if it meant that you must always have a giant's density even when human sized? Things to consider: breaking furniture and an inability to ride in a typical vehicle due to your giant weight; crushing that special loved one if not careful when making out.
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Wednesday, February 28th, 2007
I had popcorn and caramel filled Reece Peanut Butter cups for dinner last night.
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Friday, February 2nd, 2007
Behold the nobel and wise Groundhog!
Punxsutawney Phil Predicts Early Spring
"Phil did not see his shadow today which, according to German folklore, means folks can expect an early spring instead of six more weeks of winter..
Since 1886, Phil has seen his shadow 96 times, hasn't seen it 14 times and there are no records for nine years, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. The last time Phil failed to see his shadow was in 1999."
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Tuesday, January 30th, 2007
From time to time at work, a birthday or similar card is circulated for everybody's signature.
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You sit at your desk and the last coworker who signed it hands it to you for your signature. The challenge is to be an earlier signer otherwise you must analyze the considerable list of scrawled names to determine who you can pawn the card to. Like the homeless begging for alms the unfortunate last signer wanders from cube to cube looking for a kind soul who will help them with the burden. Hand outstretched, pleadiing over and over again, 'Have you signed the card?', 'Signed the card?'...
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Thursday, December 28th, 2006
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At lunch today I was speaking with a friend who is on vacation and kicking back at home this week. She reported to me that since she wasn't going to work she'd not worried about her hair and had simply been throwing it into a bun. Finally she had to let her hair down because she was suffering from 'scrunchy soreness'.
If she'd said, 'scrunchy soreness syndrome' it would have been perfect.
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Friday, December 22nd, 2006
I've been a long time user of Netflix. During that time I've had a few issues with them, one of which I'm reminded of during this gift-giving season.
Last year I gave my folks a subscription to about 4 months of Netflix. When it was time to activate the account, the system required a credit card from the user. (Which was odd to me since I'd already paid.) The system claimed that it was used to validate the address or some such thing.
As it turned out, after my parents subscription was up, Netflix just started charging them. - No asking, no warning - just continued the subscription by taking money from their credit card. Pissed me off... I won't give another Netflix subscription, which is a shame since I thought it was a pretty nifty gift. (Nor am I going to link to them, if you don't know what Netflix is - use google.)
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Monday, December 18th, 2006
On CNN.com today the news headline, 'Las Vegas cracks down on the homeless' caught my eye.
Clicking into the story, I was struck by an ironic combination of images. On the left: a homeless woman; on the right: an ad of a scantily clad, Santa-hat wearing, Victoria's Secret model - hocking gift cards for Christmas.
Sadly, it seems very unpopular to point out that being poor isn't criminal and that Christmas is suffused with rampant materialism.
Perhaps those are separate ideas, but this story and ad remind me of the dichotomy between our ideals and the divergence of our reality. We fancy ourselves a great and giving nation. We tell ourselves that Christmas is a 'time of giving'. And the reality is: we so often seek to hide the poor and give to ourselves.
Alas, perhaps some will read this entry as a bit of a downer for the holidays. Pass the eggnog.
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Thursday, December 14th, 2006
My Coughing Monkey Pox lives on. The virus that had taken a lease on my body now seems to have gotten a mortgage. - A 30 year mortgage.
The plague is upon me. Twice now the Pox has subsided. The first time I had a reprieve it was at the start of some fun in NYC in mid November.
After a long weekend of hiking the Big Apple the virus would have no more of that and returned with a vengeance. A few more weeks and it was fading again until this weekend when it opened the door and invited in the dreaded head cold. Now my sinuses are are plugged and the cough is making a third showing, albeit weaker this time. Thats about two months of sickness (so far). People are pretty much ignoring my coughs now. - Their sympathies have been worn out. It is expected that I should be either better or dead by now. (They're mostly agnostic about the direction.) On the bright side, some coworkers use my hacking as a sort of coughing GPS to locate me.
I have no good segue to this next part, so let me just dive ride in. - I don't wear watches. I break them too easily. It doesn't matter if they were designed for astronauts, - I'll break them. After not wearing a watch for most of my life, I've adapted pretty well without them. But on occasion I've acquired a few watches for some reason or another. These watches are hidden in the forgotten corners of my life. (- One in a side pouch of my carry-on luggage, one in a coat pocket, another in a pile of stuff next to my computer at home.)
And what's weird is that sooner or later, their alarms get set on.
Sometimes they are purposely set (like a travel watch set for some long forgotten wake up call five time zones away.) At other times the watches just seem to get bumped on from jostling. All of this results in the tiny, but insistent beeps of alarm watches going off at random times in my life.
Often I'll try and figure out how to turn the little buggers off, but it can be so tricky. Each watch tends to have 4 to 5 buttons (none of which are ever labeled). And each alarm inevitably requires a combination of button presses in specific sequence, often with simultaneous pressings required. I'm not sure what the math is on it, but there are a lot of possibilities for each watch. - No two of which are ever alike. So, if the watch isn't set to some annoying time (like 5am) or stored in an location where I'll hear it all of the time, I've learned to ignore them, realizing that sooner or later the little sucker will either get jostled off again or run out of battery.
I have one such watch in my winter coat pocket. I never think about it until 11am every work day when I can hear its tiny voice calling to me from my coat reminding of me of an appointment long since passed. It only lasts 30 seconds and I only hear it about half of the time.
Therefore I will leave this watch to the fates or until I'm bored silly someday waiting at an airport and I feel like trying to decipher the Rubik's cube combination. Until that day: Beep...Beep...Beep..
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Monday, November 27th, 2006
I have to admit that I've become germ phobic over the last couple of years. I strive to wash my hands after touching public door knobs, elevator buttons or other fomites. - Those little germy items that you and ten thousand other people touch every day.
It seems to have paid off: I haven't been getting colds with as great of frequency. However, about three weeks ago I caught some kind of bug. I've been coughing for over three weeks. Just when I was getting better I went on a trip where I pushed myself and I suffered a relapse. The actual sickness isn't that bad but I am simply tired of being sick.
The women in my life keep telling me to go see a doctor. Interestingly, the men in my life don't give me any advice on the matter.
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Tuesday, October 24th, 2006
The other day at work the fire alarm went off. The alarm isn't nearly as screeching as the one we use to have when we were on a different floor. This alarm is one that you can tune out. Many people are tempted to ignore the alarm since it is a pain to wade into the overcrowded stairwells only to wait outside (in the typically cruddy Pittsburgh weather) only to be told that it is a false alarm. As one files, cow-like, into the queue for the stairwell, you can't help but wish that the building is really on fire just this once to justify all of the fire alarms in your life.**
** Boilerplate caveat: Yes, you hope that it doesn't burn anything you own, or hurt anybody...yadda...yadda...yadda...(But you still think it.)
Also, why do we say 'mom' for mother? If it's a shortened version of mother, shouldn't we say, 'mot'? **
** Boilerplate caveat: Yeah, I know, short for 'mommy'.
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Monday, September 11th, 2006
I was in New York City last week. A youngish, decently kept man was standing on the sidewalk yelling into the street various conspiracy theories about 9-11 and challenging anyone to refute him. After a few minutes of this, his attractive girlfriend came out from a store and he stopped his rant and they walked on their merry way. It was as if this man just switches to conspiracy screed mode whenever there is a little downtime. The most disturbing aspect of the man wasn't his yelling but how 'normal' he appeared when he wasn't.
I was half tempted to take him up on his challenge but I was reminded of the adage, 'Never argue with a fool. Someone watching may not be able to tell the difference.'
But the conspiracy purveyors piss on the facts of the day and do a dishonor to those lost. So, here is my yell into the public square (links open in new windows):
911 Myths
Debunking 911
'As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand.'
- Josh Billings.
I toured the World Trade Center site and viewed the large hole and collection of construction equipment. I even saw homeland security secretary Michael Chertoff surrounded by a bevy of bodyguards while being interviewed by network news crew. I took lots of pictures but the closest I could come to capturing the site was this photo of the empty, overcast sky where the towers should be:
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Thursday, August 24th, 2006
Sure, everybody has misplaced their keys from time to time but losing an entire planet is just reckless and irresponsible. Somebody had better lose their job over this.
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Friday, August 11th, 2006
Walking back to work from lunch the other day I came to a crosswalk with 'Don't Walk' illuminated. I stopped and watched a fellow in a wheelchair careen across the street in front of turning cars which led me to think three things:
1) That is one fast wheel chair.
2) He technically did not break the letter of the law.
3) I can imagine how he might have ended up in the wheel chair in the first place.
A thought for the summer:
It is unfortunate that as we get older we usually don't spend much time in tire swings. I noted this to one of my friends and coworkers and she responded, 'Old tire swings that collect rainwater are great breeding grounds for mosquitoes and the West Nile virus.'
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Friday, July 21st, 2006
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Pixar's 'Cars' depicts a dystopian world barren of animal life and ruled by machines.
Yeah, I saw 'Cars' a few weeks ago. The bottom line: it charmed me. But I was inspired to write my opening line by the creepy fact that there are no people, - nor other animals in the movie's world. That's no big deal for an animated movie right? Well, sure - normally but 'Cars' begs the question what is a car with out people?
Stories and fictional worlds can be fantastic. I can accept androids, dinosaurs, wizards, superheroes and more as long as they obey the internal logic of their own story.
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I can't say that 'Cars' didn't follow its own internal logic, but the 'Car's' world calls on the viewer to suspend their disbelief by asking the viewer to forget that cars are made by people for people.
Herbie (the Love Bug) is a magical, autonomous car with a personality: fine. But Herbie was clearly built by people and in fact, drives people around. But I couldn't get it out of my head, 'Where are the vehicles from 'Cars' suppose to have come from? There are no people, so who built them? Other cars? Okay but what is the purpose of the car if not as a form of transportation? Do these cars have seats in side of the? Steering wheels? If so: why?' (The film's creators studiously avoid showing us what is behind the vehicles windshields.) Clearly it seems to me that the vehicles must have overthrown their human overlords in a bloody, apocalyptic prequel that we've yet to see.
Another John Lasseter movie (that I happen to love), has a similar 'begging the question' issue with its main characters: 'Toy Story'. In 'Toy Story', the toys have their own secret lives but they were clearly made by people for people. (So far so good: people exist, but the toys have secret lives.) But near the end of the movie, the cowboy doll Woody states that they must reveal themselves (as alive) to the malicious toy abusing child Sid in order to rescue their friend and action hero, Buzz Lightyear. Woody tells his fellow toys that they must 'break the rules just this once'.
That always bugged me. Because it always begged the question what are the other 'rules'? And who made them? Perhaps the toys in 'Toy Story' are preparing for the day in which they too may overthrow their human masters and conquer the earth.
(My half-joking aside) once I suppressed the question about the logic behind 'Cars', I was able to tune into the story. And even here, I have to say that I didn't find the movie very funny. But in spite of this, the movie succeeds in being fun to watch. The characters, the story arc, the morality play, the spectacle of the world all work to enamor the viewer.
And the animation? Its easy to start to take animation for granted. 'Cars' had about 10 other trailers before it of coming attractions by other studios. They all looked good before 'Cars' started to roll. But Pixar goes the extra mile in the animation details and the viewer is reminded once again why they've been so successful. (They care about quality.)
I highly recommend 'Cars' but I still think that director John Lasseter may be a twisted 'end-times' would-be prophet of doom.
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Tuesday, June 6th, 2006
Bush and his intolerant cronies are once again pandering to their religious base in order to distract the country from issues such as war, gasoline prices, confusion over immigration, a disintegrating environmental policy, continued trade and budget deficits and a rampant national deficit. You can read my past comments on the specifics of why this call for a marriage ban is so outrageous from my Friday, February 27th, 2004 posting.
From CNN:
If you are one of those who make the hollow defense, that gays should be allowed to have civil unions but shouldn't be allowed to marry, then you really should re-read Animal Farm. George Orwell was delivering a warning and not suggesting a policy when he wrote "All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others."
"Was there ever any domination that did not appear natural to those who possessed it?" - John Stuart Mill
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Monday, May 22nd, 2006
Cue the band. Unfurl the banners. Release the balloons, confetti and doves. Today is the 5th anniversary of:
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Tuesday, April 11th, 2006
The Kitten Kommotion Trailer is now online at GoogleVideo. Please pass it around to your friends and family. If you have a website, please link to the trailer and the website KittenKommotion.com where videos are still being sold!
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Monday, April 10th, 2006
Janeane Garofalo did a commercial spot for Comedy Central several years ago. In it, she talks about the nature of evil and I found it surprisingly meaningful.
Click here to see the QuickTime movie
(Opens in a new window and requires the free Apple QuickTime plugin. You may initially just see the "Q" QuickTime logo. Please be patient while the movie downloads.)
Transcript below.
'A lot of people think that evil is an obvious, somewhat tangible thing, but I'll tell you, it's a lot sneakier than that. Evil is in the face of every frat guy that every raised a beer cup and went "Wahoooooo!" It's underneath the melon stained tarps at a Gallagher show. Evil, is in the mouth of every woman who said to me, "Oh, you have to read the Bridges of Madison County, it's the best book!" That keeps the chain of mediocrity going in this country and that's evil.'
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Friday, March 31st, 2006
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Note to Hollywood directors, writers and producers: people cannot outrun an explosion, even if you show it in slow motion.
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Monday, March 27th, 2006
I was an early adopter of Netflix and have been a long time user but to my great frustration, the Netflix customer service number is not listed on their website. (Or if it is, - it is buried deep.) So, for all my fellow Netflix users, here's their customer service number: 1-888-638-3549.
If you do call, I'd like to suggest that you echo one of my comments to their representative: tell them to make their phone number more readily available.
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Friday, March 24th, 2006
Sunday I spotted three bumper stickers on a small car:
1) Confederate flag with the words, 'Let it fly'.
2) 'Nuke the bastards'.
3) 'Vote Republican'.
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Wednesday, March 8th, 2006
Tubes of toothpaste are portals to alternate toothpaste filled universes. I can always squeeze more toothpaste out of a tube no matter how flattened and apparently empty it appears. The only reason I ever throw a tube away is because I get tired of extracting the toothpaste.
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Thursday, February 2nd, 2006
Phil's official forecast as read 2/2/06 at sunrise at Gobbler's Knob:
"It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Around the country there are many imitators of me.
In Harrisburg there is Gus who appears on TV
working for the lottery.
Then all around town,
Cute groundhog statues abound.
They all look like me, I found.
Today on the Knob as I'm doing my job,
I don't like this likeness of me.
It's my shadow I see. Six more weeks of mild winter there will be."
"THE STORY OF GROUNDHOG DAY
Groundhog Day may seem like a silly, forgettable holiday to some, but the holidays and festivals that inspired it were once among the most important of the year. Occurring at the midpoint between the winter solstice and vernal equinox, these early holidays were, from the beginning, tied to the weather.
The fact that hedgehogs, groundhogs and other hibernating animals begin to stir around the first days of February did not go unnoticed by our predecessors, who interpreted their behavior as signs of coming fairor continued foul weather.
Step back in time and find out how Groundhog Day came to be."
Happy Groundhog's Day!
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Tuesday, January 17th, 2006
I'm breaking out in Stiller Fever and I don't mean that in the 'Rah, rah goooooo team' sort of way. No, I mean it in the black plague, boils and welts manner of speaking. (And in case you don't know, 'Stiller' is Pittsburghese for 'Steeler': the local pigskin touching team.)
Apparently the team did well this weekend and it has raised the volume of inane conversation on the subject from mind numbing to seizure inducing.
When people hear me retching during their tedious football dissections they invariably ask (in a tone pitched to question my masculinity), 'Why don't you like sports?' - As if the world of sports is made of three choices: football, baseball and hockey.
I've learned to answer that I love sports, I'm just not a fan of 'games'.
For my part I have a really hard time understanding the cult-like adherence to team sports. Team loyalty seems like an oxymoron to me since, from season to season the team changes and the only thing that stays the same is the name. To me that's as weird as saying I'm a fan of a musical band that has lost its original members. Put another way, it's like saying you love Captain Crunch cereal even if they replace all of the ingredients with gristle and clock gears just as long as it has the same packaging.
If I'm going to root for something, it is going to be an individual and not just some incorporated name and registered/trademarked logo. And even for the (many) sports that I do like, I'd rather participate than just watch somebody else do them. (I'm even far less inclined to pay to watch somebody else play.)
Of course if the 'Stillers' win the super bowel, I mean superbowl, it is highly probable that we will be rewarded by the fireworks of the fans rioting in the street (lose or win). Lovely. - Wake me up when it's spring.
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Thursday, January 12th, 2006
It's a crazy nice day. 57 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny. It's almost the middle of winter and I have my office window open. Spring on January 12th! What will they think of next?
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I saw the latest incarnation of King Kong about a week ago. (The movie-going experience was great. A top notch theater that I and my two friends had entirely to ourselves.)
As for the movie itself? Well it seems clear that director Peter Jackson loved the story a bit too much because he was loath to edit anything out. At 187 minutes, the movie is about 100 minutes too long.
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But what really got on my nerves were the action sequences which denied suspension of disbelief. With the aid of refined special effects this type of silly action sequence is becoming more and more common. Example: the movie features characters running through a stampede of brontosauruses. Peter Jackson didn't think that was dangerous enough so he threw in some raptor style dinos biting at the characters' heels. But that STILL wasn't enough, so the stampede goes from a confined canyon to an eroding precipice where our protagonists stay one hop and one split second away from blocks of the cliffs as they break off and fall into an incredible abyss. Admittedly many of the minor characters are done in but you knew they were doomed from the beginning. (Akin to that one poor red-shirted ensign that beams down with Kirk, Spock and McCoy.) You never feel that the leading characters are in any real danger because the action is too outrageous.
The scene's sheer outlandishness reminds the viewer that this could only happen in the virtual world of computers and movies. This realization takes the viewer out of the movie thereby dispelling involvement and suspense (and therefore: enjoyment).
Attention Hollywood directors: just because special effects can make a scene appear photo realistic, does not mean that any action depicted will also appear realistic. (Or even plausible in a world that is supposed to be our own and where the characters are supposed to be normal humans.) Note: This notion should not be confused with alternate worlds and realities (example: The Matrix, Superman, Star Wars, etc. etc. etc.), where the 'rules' of the world allow the viewer to suspend their disbelief.
And yet! And yet: King Kong the ape himself, was masterfully executed. The giant ape represents the current pinnacle of a 'realistic' computer-generated character. The movie (and Ann Darrow) make the audience actually care about the big lug.
Sadly the King and Ms. Darrow are not enough to salvage this movie above a solid average flick.
'Twas over exuberance that killed the beast.
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Friday, January 6th, 2006
A new year called for a little housekeeping. I've packed away some the essays from December 2003 to December 2004. And unlike past archives, I've finally wised up and decided to store the dusty old pages not by month but by year. Furthermore, I am going to continue leaving 2005's wares sitting out here in the main isle until January 2007 for ease of browsing.
(Wow, that dates looks like something from science fiction. And it is even weirder to think that in thirty years the kids born today will laugh at this by rusty bygone era. [- Damn little punks. Oh well, at least I didn't have to grow up fighting mutated, giant, irradiated rats and cockroaches in a post holocaust world.])
Happy New Year my loyal readers. Let's hope it's a good one.
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