Last night, I went to a class on the polling process. It was...instructive, though not always as they had wanted.
Because I'm a judge, I got about a half inch of papers on processes and procedures that I have to be familiar with, from handling absentee ballots to people who aren't registered to people who are but their info has to be verified to disabled people to.... lots of stuff. And lots of forms, from the tally sheet that shows that no votes have been registered (you run it before opening the polls) to the pay sheet (showing who was working there that day) to the runaway voter log (which is a nifty little process all by itself) to what to do if the machine starts beeping (depends if someone is standing there) to....argh! I'm going to be doing some studying for sure. This is like becoming a parent, when you look at this infant and think Do these people realize that I'm virtually clueless here? I can't believe they gave me this job. About the only problem I likely won't have is people coming to the wrong polling place -- mine is one of the new ones, so if you come, its probably because you got a card telling you to do it. Unless, of course, you just happened to be driving by and said Hey, look, I didn't know there was one there, lets just do it here!
The room was pretty full, about sixty or so people, and the overwhelming majority were in their late sixties plus. I get the impression that these are the only people who have the time to do things like this. Kind of reminds me of the old joke about a jury of your peers being composed of the only people who were dumb enough not to have a plausible reason to get out of it. Most of them seemed reasonable -- no lawyers like the last time, bent on showing how this was a lark for them, they knew it all already -- though a couple of people seemed intent on wanting to have everything written down, particularly anything where you might need to challenge someone. It says right here... For example, you can't bring a camera or recorder into the polls. You can't bring an active cell phone (only I can do that, so that I can call for help if needed, or to handle problems). You absolutely cannot wear political buttons or slogans (the state says you can, the local board of commissioners says you can't). That last is particularly bizarre -- if the person cannot or will not take the political stuff off, they have to cover it somehow, and if they won't, they still get to vote, but you have to take their name and send it to the Board of Elections..for some unspecified reason. Me, I think its to intimidate them.
And then at the end of the day, you get to do fun things like add up all of the absentee ballots (writing down on a roster the names that were written in; apparently, you do NOT write down the names that are already on the form, even if someone wrote it in anyway -- doing that effectively invalidates their vote (!) )-- and then sealing it all up, along with all of the other forms and paraphernalia, shut down the machines, and guess who gets to truck it all back to the election office?
And, oh yeah, I get to go to another class just for new judges, next week.
Hoo, boy.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Morning
We tend to wake up my daughter around 615. She usually staggers out around 625, eats quickly, and is out of the house by five to seven, perhaps seven. Its about a one minute walk down the hill to where her bus picks up at 7:04. This morning, she didn't come out till 630, ate slowly, and at 7 was wondering where her sneakers had gotten off to. My wife, hearing her go down the stairs, called a good bye, and was briskly informed that she wasn't leaving yet...and when told that it was already seven o'clock, got a snarky why didn't you tell me that before? and a hurried bolt out of the house...followed, three minutes later, by an aggrieved I need a stupid ride in to school!
Ah,mornings.....
Ah,mornings.....
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Chili
I understand that people who like chili intensely have a deep and abiding fascination with it. I like it, but I know that the kind I like wouldn't pass muster with a traditionalist -- we make two kinds, Cincinatti chili and honey chili. That's it. Neither is 'serious chili', as they speak it in, say, Dallas. Wimpy Yankee chili, more like.
If a batch of 'serious' chili can be done with ground beef or ground pork (I'm not into meats that must be chewed a lot -- ask me again after I get my dental appliance built), I'd like to give it a try. So, if anyone happens to know of a recipe that meets that standard -- with beans or without, though I know that that is a dividing line, right there -- I'd appreciate learning of it.
A good cornbread recipe would be nice, too. I can make it, no problem, but it always dries out fairly quickly. I'd like something that still edible when I'm having those leftovers. Assuming the chili isn't so good that leftovers are never a problem.
Thank you.
If a batch of 'serious' chili can be done with ground beef or ground pork (I'm not into meats that must be chewed a lot -- ask me again after I get my dental appliance built), I'd like to give it a try. So, if anyone happens to know of a recipe that meets that standard -- with beans or without, though I know that that is a dividing line, right there -- I'd appreciate learning of it.
A good cornbread recipe would be nice, too. I can make it, no problem, but it always dries out fairly quickly. I'd like something that still edible when I'm having those leftovers. Assuming the chili isn't so good that leftovers are never a problem.
Thank you.
Contacts
I've been exchanging the occasional note with one of the people who comments on this blog, and I must say, I like it. Mostly, the notes have had to do with politics, wherein I've tried hard to keep my bias down -- its known, but I try not to write it in flaming letters -- but we've also discussed other things on occasion. I don't know how much more of it will occur, but since I'm not very good at 'making friends', its been a little bit of a surprise to me, and a pleasant one.
Creating Wealth
I have mentioned on occasion that it never, never, hardly ever occurs to me how to make money. I'm just no good at that. A few minutes ago, I read the following from the NRO site, and I thought, as Obama said at that luncheon, you can DO that?
When I first got to college, back in the last few weeks of the Seventies, I finally got a chance to see an ordinary game of Dungeons and Dragons. My immediate inclination was to play as a Paladin: the pinnacle of Lawful Good, a character required to dash in and fight overwhelmingly powerful evil forces anywhere and at whatever odds. These contests were short, depressing and hilarious, but all D&D really came down to in the end was slaying small monsters, taking their gold, buying slightly better gear and then slaying slightly larger monsters. Why not just save some time and become a Vorpal Sword distributor? Then you get the weapons and the gold, and people bring them both to you. And so a larval conservative was born. And I never played again.
That's the difference, I think. Never would have occurred to me -- and I still wonder how to invoke it.
When I first got to college, back in the last few weeks of the Seventies, I finally got a chance to see an ordinary game of Dungeons and Dragons. My immediate inclination was to play as a Paladin: the pinnacle of Lawful Good, a character required to dash in and fight overwhelmingly powerful evil forces anywhere and at whatever odds. These contests were short, depressing and hilarious, but all D&D really came down to in the end was slaying small monsters, taking their gold, buying slightly better gear and then slaying slightly larger monsters. Why not just save some time and become a Vorpal Sword distributor? Then you get the weapons and the gold, and people bring them both to you. And so a larval conservative was born. And I never played again.
That's the difference, I think. Never would have occurred to me -- and I still wonder how to invoke it.
Judgement Day
Tonight I get to go to a two hour class on how to be a polling place judge. I am apprehensive, and this is just the class. I can't wait to see how the actual day goes. They've been doing this for a long time, so I would like to think that they've got info on anything that could happen, but still -- there's always that something that you've never seen before. The grandmother only spoke Taiwanese? And the brother was in a wheelchair? Neither had ever voted but both were registered? I can only hope that crises only happen one at a time.
I already have two questions - first, if the polls open at 8, when do I vote? I'm guessing, I get to get in line with everyone else. And second, whats up with political buttons, and all -- do we have to tell people not to wear them? Hope not. I think thats stupid. I already know that if someone shows up a hair after closing time, I'm letting them vote. Supposed to be exactly eight is the cutoff, but screw that. Five minutes later, different story.
I told my daughter it'd be a long day - up at 5 to get to the polls by 6 to set up the machinery and check it out, there till 8PM, then half an hour to shut everything down and bundle it up (where are the seals? Who's got the checklist?), then half an hour out, half an hour back to drop off the vote tabulators in their special super sealed box to the county board of elections -- and she said Oh, thats just like a long day at band camp. Thanks for the sympathy, kid.
I already have two questions - first, if the polls open at 8, when do I vote? I'm guessing, I get to get in line with everyone else. And second, whats up with political buttons, and all -- do we have to tell people not to wear them? Hope not. I think thats stupid. I already know that if someone shows up a hair after closing time, I'm letting them vote. Supposed to be exactly eight is the cutoff, but screw that. Five minutes later, different story.
I told my daughter it'd be a long day - up at 5 to get to the polls by 6 to set up the machinery and check it out, there till 8PM, then half an hour to shut everything down and bundle it up (where are the seals? Who's got the checklist?), then half an hour out, half an hour back to drop off the vote tabulators in their special super sealed box to the county board of elections -- and she said Oh, thats just like a long day at band camp. Thanks for the sympathy, kid.
Ding!
Our house phone just rang, I answered. Got a burst of mechanical-sounding music, then silence.
Weird. Perhaps there was more, but I'd hung up by then.
Weird. Perhaps there was more, but I'd hung up by then.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Papers, Please
Taking the bus in Denver? Denver PD might arrest you.... just because they can.
I'm not a fan of the ACLU, and this actually happened about four years ago, with the charges ultimately dropped....but just that it happened at all makes me think that dropping them some bucks might not be a bad idea.
I'm not a fan of the ACLU, and this actually happened about four years ago, with the charges ultimately dropped....but just that it happened at all makes me think that dropping them some bucks might not be a bad idea.
Stable
Doing their bit for stablity in perilous times, the fine folks at Electronic Data Systems, where my wife works, have announced they're laying off more people. Today.
Not her. Another lightening strike dodged.... this time. She's guessing that if they do this two more times, she'll be ejected. Someone else at my wife's location was laid off - someone who's been there a very long time, just like her. Which means that its only a matter of time... Someone who was proactive and energetic would say that this means its time to get out there, network like hell, figure out a job you can sell yourself with...
Unfortunately, neither of us has those genes.
Not her. Another lightening strike dodged.... this time. She's guessing that if they do this two more times, she'll be ejected. Someone else at my wife's location was laid off - someone who's been there a very long time, just like her. Which means that its only a matter of time... Someone who was proactive and energetic would say that this means its time to get out there, network like hell, figure out a job you can sell yourself with...
Unfortunately, neither of us has those genes.
Suckah
As if proof were needed --
Two boys just came to the door and asked if we needed our grass mown. As it happens, we do, but I'm going to do it real soon now. So I told them no, but we talked a while. Apparently, they just got their mower fixed, and they have to get a wheel on a trailer (?) fixed, so they're out trying to earn some money. I asked how business was, and they said not all that good. They looked pretty downcast.
They got about halfway down the driveway, and I called them back. "Here's five bucks", I said. "I don't need anything -- this is just because you're out there, making the effort."
Yeah. That's what liberal Democrats do. Even if it makes us look like suckers.
Two boys just came to the door and asked if we needed our grass mown. As it happens, we do, but I'm going to do it real soon now. So I told them no, but we talked a while. Apparently, they just got their mower fixed, and they have to get a wheel on a trailer (?) fixed, so they're out trying to earn some money. I asked how business was, and they said not all that good. They looked pretty downcast.
They got about halfway down the driveway, and I called them back. "Here's five bucks", I said. "I don't need anything -- this is just because you're out there, making the effort."
Yeah. That's what liberal Democrats do. Even if it makes us look like suckers.
GBH
Several weeks ago, we were walking through the neighborhood, passing over the bridge that covers the wetlands stream, and into the housing development there. On one side, the ground is undeveloped -- it's a swale -- except for some paths that have been cut out of the tall grass by the Audubon Society. As we went by, my wife glanced down the path and stopped dead. Look, she whispered, so I did. It was worth stopping for. Halfway down the path, a great blue heron was standing, head cocked towards us. Abruptly, it spread its massive wings, flapped two or three times, and soared into the sky.
Since then, every time we go by, we glance down that path....just in case.
Since then, every time we go by, we glance down that path....just in case.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Alfred E.....
I think the thing that I found funniest was the guy who kept stolidly eating, back in the rear row....
D'oh!
I have no idea how the pizza itself will turn out, but the dough itself is delightful. I chilled it overnight, and this afternoon rolled it out to a six-inch disk, let it rise a bit, and just did my version of the 'rotate it on your knuckles'. I wanted a thin dough? This stuff came so thin, I can actually see through it. Awesome.
I don't recall where I found the original reference to the recipe (its actually from Peter Reinhart), but here is a blog that refers to it, too.
===========
Update: The dough turned out well -- read-throughable is apparentlyh a little too thin, but its in the ballpark, and the crust was excellent. I'll be baking one of the two remaining, unfrozen balls of dough tomorrow, and we'll see about making it not quite so thin. The anal-retentive part of me wants to measure the thickness of the dough in the center, but I think that'd be a bit much. Maybe.
I don't recall where I found the original reference to the recipe (its actually from Peter Reinhart), but here is a blog that refers to it, too.
===========
Update: The dough turned out well -- read-throughable is apparentlyh a little too thin, but its in the ballpark, and the crust was excellent. I'll be baking one of the two remaining, unfrozen balls of dough tomorrow, and we'll see about making it not quite so thin. The anal-retentive part of me wants to measure the thickness of the dough in the center, but I think that'd be a bit much. Maybe.
Beijing, We Have A Problem
(found here)
China's leading Xinhua news agency reported the successful flight of the Shenzhou VII - complete with detailed dialogue between the astronauts - hours before the nation's third-ever manned space mission had even lifted off.
On Thursday morning, Xinhua posted a story on its website saying the Shenzhou capsule had been successfully tracked flying over the Pacific Ocean even though the rocket and its three astronauts had not yet been launched.
Fundraising
One of the things that people who support Obama have noticed is that his campaign is very good about asking for money, repeatedly. You don't get an email from them without either a large red DONATE button (pressing it brings you to a page on their web site), or a comment about how critically important it is for you to give money NOW, because the forces of darkness are doing such a good job shoveling out monies of their own. I admit, these emails have been effective in prying money loose from our bank account; we haven't given at the level that would be considered significant, but we've given about ten times what we'd normally give to a campaign.
About two weeks ago, I started seeing the occasional news article about how the Obama campaign had enough money so that they could spend a fair amount in states where McCain had pretty much, but not entirely, a lock on it; the idea being that at the least, they'd force him to spend money there against them, and, who knows, possibly change the color of the state from red to purple, or beyond. This struck me as a pretty nice idea -- not the way I'd like to see campaigns operate, but, after decades of belonging to the party with moral purity and empty cash coffers, a delightful change. When I read articles about how ads for Obama are showing up in Xbox games, I thought it creative (though if I was a gamer, I might get a little annoyed). One article said that whatever else it did, this showed that Obama had more money than he knew what to do with.
So when I got a note about then asking for money, I thought Nah, I'll pass on this. I had the same reaction to the next one. Then I saw the polls dip a bit, about three days ago, going from an average projection of about 350 electoral votes to about 340. This made me slightly uneasy, and I thought that if they continued to slip, I might give them more money anyway. Then, this morning, I saw an interesting headline.
Last month, the Obama campaign raised one hundred and fifty million dollars.
I think maybe I'll keep the checkbook shut. Think they'll mind?
About two weeks ago, I started seeing the occasional news article about how the Obama campaign had enough money so that they could spend a fair amount in states where McCain had pretty much, but not entirely, a lock on it; the idea being that at the least, they'd force him to spend money there against them, and, who knows, possibly change the color of the state from red to purple, or beyond. This struck me as a pretty nice idea -- not the way I'd like to see campaigns operate, but, after decades of belonging to the party with moral purity and empty cash coffers, a delightful change. When I read articles about how ads for Obama are showing up in Xbox games, I thought it creative (though if I was a gamer, I might get a little annoyed). One article said that whatever else it did, this showed that Obama had more money than he knew what to do with.
So when I got a note about then asking for money, I thought Nah, I'll pass on this. I had the same reaction to the next one. Then I saw the polls dip a bit, about three days ago, going from an average projection of about 350 electoral votes to about 340. This made me slightly uneasy, and I thought that if they continued to slip, I might give them more money anyway. Then, this morning, I saw an interesting headline.
Last month, the Obama campaign raised one hundred and fifty million dollars.
I think maybe I'll keep the checkbook shut. Think they'll mind?
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Grievance Form
For those who may occasionally be offended by what they read here, this form may be of use:
Friday, October 17, 2008
Chirp
I like crickets. I like the sound that they make, late at night. Okay, I'm not too thrilled when we go into the garage, and the cricket who's taken up residence in the far corner abruptly stops chirping upon our entry, then fires it back up again a second later when its obvious that we're not a threat. I'm not sure what it says about us when even a cricket doesn't think we're much of a threat, though I suppose thats a good assessment. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm not a particularly combative guy, so though I would imagine I could handle things if the cricket abruptly jumped out, gave me the eye, and said 'You want a piece of me?', its just as likely that I'd say no, and walk quietly away. To the sound of mocking chirps, of course.
I really don't like controversy, or people getting agitated. I'll usually just shut down when that happens, wait for them to calm down, and then start talking again. People who talk very, very fast, particularly in a rising tone, tend to not get much of a response from me, because I'm not one to start jabbing my finger, interjecting, and all of that. Reasoned conversations are more my forte, all of which means that you likely won't be seeing me on any of the talk shows any time soon. Thats not to say I can't get agitated on my own, but as a rule, not in conversation with other people, unless I really, really trust them. And I don't really, really trust very many people.
Political conversations, lately, seem to be nothing but agitated people speaking quickly and loudly, though, and they quickly become emotional. People cannot admit that their candidate is anything less than perfect, or that the opposing candidate is anything less than a demon. I'm not sure if this might not be a defensive mechanism. I don't like John McCain, but there are things about him I do like. I prefer Barack Obama, but there are things about him that I do not like. Even sitting quietly, though, I have to stop and think: what are things I like about McCain? What are things I don't like about Obama? In a sense, I suppose it doesn't matter -- its a binary choice, and whether I like 50.001 percent of what I know about Obama or 100.000 percent, the result is the same -- he's my choice. So, why not just assume he's perfect, which of course means the other side is a demon?
Well, for one, because I think that doing assessments that way is wrong, and polarizing, which is one of the last things we need in this country. But I don't want to get into an argument about it.
[sound of crickets in the night....and one in the garage, laughing]
I really don't like controversy, or people getting agitated. I'll usually just shut down when that happens, wait for them to calm down, and then start talking again. People who talk very, very fast, particularly in a rising tone, tend to not get much of a response from me, because I'm not one to start jabbing my finger, interjecting, and all of that. Reasoned conversations are more my forte, all of which means that you likely won't be seeing me on any of the talk shows any time soon. Thats not to say I can't get agitated on my own, but as a rule, not in conversation with other people, unless I really, really trust them. And I don't really, really trust very many people.
Political conversations, lately, seem to be nothing but agitated people speaking quickly and loudly, though, and they quickly become emotional. People cannot admit that their candidate is anything less than perfect, or that the opposing candidate is anything less than a demon. I'm not sure if this might not be a defensive mechanism. I don't like John McCain, but there are things about him I do like. I prefer Barack Obama, but there are things about him that I do not like. Even sitting quietly, though, I have to stop and think: what are things I like about McCain? What are things I don't like about Obama? In a sense, I suppose it doesn't matter -- its a binary choice, and whether I like 50.001 percent of what I know about Obama or 100.000 percent, the result is the same -- he's my choice. So, why not just assume he's perfect, which of course means the other side is a demon?
Well, for one, because I think that doing assessments that way is wrong, and polarizing, which is one of the last things we need in this country. But I don't want to get into an argument about it.
[sound of crickets in the night....and one in the garage, laughing]
West Wing
In an early episode of The West Wing, Leo McGarry has just fired the only political advisors that Jed Bartlett, running for President, has ever known. Bartlett is stunned. He doesn't know why McGarry, who is a bigger player in the Democrat party than he is, wants to be involved with his campaign.
Bartlett:
Why are you doing this?
McGarry:
Because I'm tired of it. Year after year after year after year, having to choose between the lesser of Who Cares? Of trying to get myself excited about a candidate who can speak in complete sentences. Of setting the bar so low, I can hardly look at it. They say a good man can't get elected President. I don't believe that, do you?
As it happens, I don't. But I do think that it's damned unlikely.
Bartlett:
Why are you doing this?
McGarry:
Because I'm tired of it. Year after year after year after year, having to choose between the lesser of Who Cares? Of trying to get myself excited about a candidate who can speak in complete sentences. Of setting the bar so low, I can hardly look at it. They say a good man can't get elected President. I don't believe that, do you?
As it happens, I don't. But I do think that it's damned unlikely.
Contra - What?
As a rule, I don't feel the need to read articles which require me to gaze thoughtfully upon some guy's butt. But in this case.....
Meshugganah? Me Likey
From the Washington Post:
I attended a briefing at the CI [Counterintelligence] Center a year ago and one of the speakers was a former British SAS officer who worked Belfast for 10 years. He provided some fascinating insights into their operations and, specifically, some of the "out-of-the-box" methods they utilized to collect and target the IRA, PIRA [Provisional Irish Republican Army], Gerry Adams and their sympathizers.
One of the most interesting operations was the laundry mat [sic]. Having lost many troops and civilians to bombings, the Brits decided they needed to determine who was making the bombs and where they were being manufactured. One bright fellow recommended they operate a laundry and when asked "what the hell he was talking about," he explained the plan and it was incorporated -- to much success.
The plan was simple: Build a laundry and staff it with locals and a few of their own. The laundry would then send out "color coded" special discount tickets, to the effect of "get two loads for the price of one," etc. The color coding was matched to specific streets and thus when someone brought in their laundry, it was easy to determine the general location from which a city map was coded.
While the laundry was indeed being washed, pressed and dry cleaned, it had one additional cycle -- every garment, sheet, glove, pair of pants, was first sent through an analyzer, located in the basement, that checked for bomb-making residue. The analyzer was disguised as just another piece of the laundry equipment; good OPSEC [operational security]. Within a few weeks, multiple positives had shown up, indicating the ingredients of bomb residue, and intelligence had determined which areas of the city were involved. To narrow their target list, [the laundry] simply sent out more specific coupons [numbered] to all houses in the area, and before long they had good addresses. After confirming addresses, authorities with the SAS teams swooped down on the multiple homes and arrested multiple personnel and confiscated numerous assembled bombs, weapons and ingredients. During the entire operation, no one was injured or killed.
By the way, the gentleman also told the story of how [the British] also bugged every new car going into Northern Ireland, and thus knew everything [Sinn Fein leader] Gerry Adams was discussing. They did this because Adams always conducted mobile meetings and always used new cars.
The Israelis have a term for this type of thinking, "Embracing the Meshugganah," which literally translated means, embrace the craziness, because the crazier the plan, the less likely the adversary will have thought about it, and thus, not have implemented a counter-measure.
I attended a briefing at the CI [Counterintelligence] Center a year ago and one of the speakers was a former British SAS officer who worked Belfast for 10 years. He provided some fascinating insights into their operations and, specifically, some of the "out-of-the-box" methods they utilized to collect and target the IRA, PIRA [Provisional Irish Republican Army], Gerry Adams and their sympathizers.
One of the most interesting operations was the laundry mat [sic]. Having lost many troops and civilians to bombings, the Brits decided they needed to determine who was making the bombs and where they were being manufactured. One bright fellow recommended they operate a laundry and when asked "what the hell he was talking about," he explained the plan and it was incorporated -- to much success.
The plan was simple: Build a laundry and staff it with locals and a few of their own. The laundry would then send out "color coded" special discount tickets, to the effect of "get two loads for the price of one," etc. The color coding was matched to specific streets and thus when someone brought in their laundry, it was easy to determine the general location from which a city map was coded.
While the laundry was indeed being washed, pressed and dry cleaned, it had one additional cycle -- every garment, sheet, glove, pair of pants, was first sent through an analyzer, located in the basement, that checked for bomb-making residue. The analyzer was disguised as just another piece of the laundry equipment; good OPSEC [operational security]. Within a few weeks, multiple positives had shown up, indicating the ingredients of bomb residue, and intelligence had determined which areas of the city were involved. To narrow their target list, [the laundry] simply sent out more specific coupons [numbered] to all houses in the area, and before long they had good addresses. After confirming addresses, authorities with the SAS teams swooped down on the multiple homes and arrested multiple personnel and confiscated numerous assembled bombs, weapons and ingredients. During the entire operation, no one was injured or killed.
By the way, the gentleman also told the story of how [the British] also bugged every new car going into Northern Ireland, and thus knew everything [Sinn Fein leader] Gerry Adams was discussing. They did this because Adams always conducted mobile meetings and always used new cars.
The Israelis have a term for this type of thinking, "Embracing the Meshugganah," which literally translated means, embrace the craziness, because the crazier the plan, the less likely the adversary will have thought about it, and thus, not have implemented a counter-measure.
The Candidates and Science
From a New York Times article:
Both presidential candidates, in their careers and in their campaigns, have made detailed arguments for how the nation should deal with technology rivals, sharpen its competitive edge and improve what experts call its "ecology of innovation." Yet their visions are strikingly different. They diverge mainly on the appropriate role for the federal government in education, in spending on research, and in building, maintaining and regulating the complex infrastructure on which innovation depends. The visions both face tough questions on their viability amid the nation’s deepening financial crisis. Senator John McCain, the Republican nominee for president, seeks to encourage innovation by cutting corporate taxes and ending what he calls "burdensome regulations" that he says inhibit corporate investment. But Mr. McCain has also repeatedly gone up against business if he sees a conflict with national security, for instance, in seeking to limit sensitive exports. In Senator Barack Obama’s view, the United States must compete far more effectively against an array of international rivals who are growing more technically adept. Mr. Obama, the Democratic nominee, looks to the federal government to finance science, math and engineering education and the kind of basic research that can produce valuable industrial spinoffs.
The personal styles of the candidates also contrast. Mr. McCain says his leadership of the Senate commerce committee has versed him in technology issues, but he also jokes about his ignorance of personal computers and e-mail. Mr. Obama, an avid BlackBerry user, commenced an aggressive drive for campaign donations over the Internet. Mr. Obama embraces the theory of evolution and argues that the teaching of intelligent design and other creationist ideas "cloud" a student’s understanding of science. While Mr. McCain says he personally believes in evolution, he has also said children should be taught "all points of view." Mr. McCain has written five books, starting in 1999, but none discuss in any detail how the nation might respond to technical rivals — a central theme of Mr. Obama’s second book, published in 2006. Mr. Obama posted a detailed set of technology proposals on his Web site late last year; Mr. McCain did so in recent months.
It remains to be seen how the candidates would pay for their proposals.
Both presidential candidates, in their careers and in their campaigns, have made detailed arguments for how the nation should deal with technology rivals, sharpen its competitive edge and improve what experts call its "ecology of innovation." Yet their visions are strikingly different. They diverge mainly on the appropriate role for the federal government in education, in spending on research, and in building, maintaining and regulating the complex infrastructure on which innovation depends. The visions both face tough questions on their viability amid the nation’s deepening financial crisis. Senator John McCain, the Republican nominee for president, seeks to encourage innovation by cutting corporate taxes and ending what he calls "burdensome regulations" that he says inhibit corporate investment. But Mr. McCain has also repeatedly gone up against business if he sees a conflict with national security, for instance, in seeking to limit sensitive exports. In Senator Barack Obama’s view, the United States must compete far more effectively against an array of international rivals who are growing more technically adept. Mr. Obama, the Democratic nominee, looks to the federal government to finance science, math and engineering education and the kind of basic research that can produce valuable industrial spinoffs.
The personal styles of the candidates also contrast. Mr. McCain says his leadership of the Senate commerce committee has versed him in technology issues, but he also jokes about his ignorance of personal computers and e-mail. Mr. Obama, an avid BlackBerry user, commenced an aggressive drive for campaign donations over the Internet. Mr. Obama embraces the theory of evolution and argues that the teaching of intelligent design and other creationist ideas "cloud" a student’s understanding of science. While Mr. McCain says he personally believes in evolution, he has also said children should be taught "all points of view." Mr. McCain has written five books, starting in 1999, but none discuss in any detail how the nation might respond to technical rivals — a central theme of Mr. Obama’s second book, published in 2006. Mr. Obama posted a detailed set of technology proposals on his Web site late last year; Mr. McCain did so in recent months.
It remains to be seen how the candidates would pay for their proposals.
Listening
One of the things that I like to do is watch the Twitter feed for the keywords Obama, Biden, or McCain. I stopped watching for the fourth name about two weeks ago, when it began to be obvious that only two kinds of people were talking about her on that medium: rabid Republicans, and rabid Democrats. Neither, as a rule, had anything useful to say. Granted, Twitter is not the place to have a reasoned, reasonable discussion about politics unless you and your correspondent are both good at succinct statements. Even so, I've had brief discussions with people about topics relative to the election and the participants -- they'd say something that I agreed or disagreed with, they'd respond, and we'd go back and forth for two or three iterations. Such discussions did not occur, as a rule, when that fourth name came up. People who commented tended to either believe strongly in her, or projectile-vomit at the name. I wasn't learning anything new, I had nothing to add, and I'm not interested in getting flamed.
I believe in reasonable, quiet conversations.. For example, I spoke via Twitter with someone once who asked how I could possibly support Obama when McCain clearly had way more experience. I agreed that McCain did; even factoring in Obama's other experience, McCain has more -- as a missile launch officer I once knew said, putting down a newbie, 'I have more time in the elevator going down to the capsule than you have on alert'. McCain's got more time in the Senate men's room than Obama's got on the Senate floor. So I agreed -- I said that if it were just a question of experience, that'd be a no-brainer. I then said that what swayed me toward Obama was his attitudes -- I felt that he understood me more, cared about me more. My correspondent said that he did not agree that this was a reason to support him, but he understood why I did. And that, to me, is a decent conversation. I'm not looking to convert anyone -- if it happens, fine, in either direction -- I'm simply making my case, for you to accept or not as you will.
That doesn't seem to be a common view, these days. I find that sad. (I admit: that's wimpy of me. Guess I'm just not all that combative a guy, huh?)
I believe in reasonable, quiet conversations.. For example, I spoke via Twitter with someone once who asked how I could possibly support Obama when McCain clearly had way more experience. I agreed that McCain did; even factoring in Obama's other experience, McCain has more -- as a missile launch officer I once knew said, putting down a newbie, 'I have more time in the elevator going down to the capsule than you have on alert'. McCain's got more time in the Senate men's room than Obama's got on the Senate floor. So I agreed -- I said that if it were just a question of experience, that'd be a no-brainer. I then said that what swayed me toward Obama was his attitudes -- I felt that he understood me more, cared about me more. My correspondent said that he did not agree that this was a reason to support him, but he understood why I did. And that, to me, is a decent conversation. I'm not looking to convert anyone -- if it happens, fine, in either direction -- I'm simply making my case, for you to accept or not as you will.
That doesn't seem to be a common view, these days. I find that sad. (I admit: that's wimpy of me. Guess I'm just not all that combative a guy, huh?)
Michelle
I read an article this morning, from Vanity Fair's December 2007 issue, about Michelle Obama. If you don't like her, him, or them, you likely won't care for the article but if you do, you just might.
I never wanted to be President (think of it as doing my bit for my country; my sister in law, who works for the Feds, once asked me how much retirement income I got from my eight years in the military, and was astonished to learn Nothing - just the thanks of a grateful nation). I have, however, wondered how I'd feel when the first President was elected who was younger than me. Now I know. I liked the feeling before having read the article; now, I really like the feeling. These are bright, interesting, insightful, committed people -- the kind I always wished that I could be. I'll be glad to have them running things. I know that not everyone agrees, but I think that over time, they'll come around. Well, mostly.
I never wanted to be President (think of it as doing my bit for my country; my sister in law, who works for the Feds, once asked me how much retirement income I got from my eight years in the military, and was astonished to learn Nothing - just the thanks of a grateful nation). I have, however, wondered how I'd feel when the first President was elected who was younger than me. Now I know. I liked the feeling before having read the article; now, I really like the feeling. These are bright, interesting, insightful, committed people -- the kind I always wished that I could be. I'll be glad to have them running things. I know that not everyone agrees, but I think that over time, they'll come around. Well, mostly.
Slogans
Some slogans from an article about women's TShirts -
...none of which I've ever seen in person. All things considered, probably a good thing.
Real Boobs Bounce
Small Boobs, Big Heart
I am not a Bitch (I'm THE bitch!)
Don't Call Me A Cowgirl Until You've Ridden
Not Everything Is Flat in Florida
Damn, It's Freezing In Here
We Could Mate, But Then I'd Have to Kill You
I Make Milk - What's Your Super Power?
I Seem To Have Misplaced My Boyfriend
Ah, I See That You've Met The Twins
Small Boobs, Big Heart
I am not a Bitch (I'm THE bitch!)
Don't Call Me A Cowgirl Until You've Ridden
Not Everything Is Flat in Florida
Damn, It's Freezing In Here
We Could Mate, But Then I'd Have to Kill You
I Make Milk - What's Your Super Power?
I Seem To Have Misplaced My Boyfriend
Ah, I See That You've Met The Twins
...none of which I've ever seen in person. All things considered, probably a good thing.
Organizational Insight
I've always been fascinated by organizations. I believe that a good organization focuses and multiplies the abilities of its participants; though that can mean the ability screw up massively, it can also mean the ability to do magical, amazing things. I don't have the theoretical underpinnings to understand what makes a good organization work, though I suspect that there are very few absolutes in that regard -- the absolute for one organization is counteracted and counterbalanced by the style of another one, and yet both work. Perhaps it all comes down to What I Learned In Kindergarden.
This morning, reading an article about the McCain and Obama campaigns, I came across this phrase: "It's a disciplined, well-funded campaign against an unfocused, cash-strapped one." For a moment, I had a burst of deja vu, where the first described the Republican campaign and the second, the Democratic one. That's been the tradition. This time out, it isn't working that way, which, regardless of who wins, means that the next Presidential campaign will look very much like the Democratic one, this time. There will be massive Internet presence. Massive use of email, texting, IMs. Electronic meetups, mashups, and mapping. Plus, technologies and methodologies that don't exist now, or are in the prototype stage. The medium may not become the message, but it will certainly be a large part of it.
It brings me back to the idea of bureaucracies. Those much - cursed organizations started as a method of institutionalizing knowledge, allowing the use of relatively unskilled people to produce a repeatable, skilled result. Several years ago, I saw different articles -- one, on the building of Boulder Dam, the other, the design of the SR-71 -- which made the same point - that the key concept in each was the vision and energy of the drivers. They didn't have the sleek, sophisticated technology of today (soon to be the old mode, weary technology of yesterday); instead, they had bright people with a commitment to excellence, and an organizational structure that allowed them to focus that commitment to bring into existence something that none of them could have done alone, something greater than themselves.
I think thats how the next Presidential campaign -- the next successful one -- will work.
This morning, reading an article about the McCain and Obama campaigns, I came across this phrase: "It's a disciplined, well-funded campaign against an unfocused, cash-strapped one." For a moment, I had a burst of deja vu, where the first described the Republican campaign and the second, the Democratic one. That's been the tradition. This time out, it isn't working that way, which, regardless of who wins, means that the next Presidential campaign will look very much like the Democratic one, this time. There will be massive Internet presence. Massive use of email, texting, IMs. Electronic meetups, mashups, and mapping. Plus, technologies and methodologies that don't exist now, or are in the prototype stage. The medium may not become the message, but it will certainly be a large part of it.
It brings me back to the idea of bureaucracies. Those much - cursed organizations started as a method of institutionalizing knowledge, allowing the use of relatively unskilled people to produce a repeatable, skilled result. Several years ago, I saw different articles -- one, on the building of Boulder Dam, the other, the design of the SR-71 -- which made the same point - that the key concept in each was the vision and energy of the drivers. They didn't have the sleek, sophisticated technology of today (soon to be the old mode, weary technology of yesterday); instead, they had bright people with a commitment to excellence, and an organizational structure that allowed them to focus that commitment to bring into existence something that none of them could have done alone, something greater than themselves.
I think thats how the next Presidential campaign -- the next successful one -- will work.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Dope
I'm pleased with myself. Hey, its a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it.
Listening to an NPR article about the neurological underpinnings of obesity, and hearing them say that some people never seem quite satisfied no matter how much they anticipate a meal, I thought: dopamine. Yup, that was their point... three minutes later.
Cool.
Listening to an NPR article about the neurological underpinnings of obesity, and hearing them say that some people never seem quite satisfied no matter how much they anticipate a meal, I thought: dopamine. Yup, that was their point... three minutes later.
Cool.
Miscellania
We got the mower back. I'm more than a little surprised --the starter system's been changed, which we were told to expect, and the nameplate now says the newer mower -- the one that, had we bought a new one, we would have gotten. I haven't lifted it to see if there is any grass clipping stains underneath, but if you told me this was a new mower, I'd believe you. Odd.
I tend to think that Republicans and Democrats (real people, not politicians) don't demonize each other. However, I now think that I might be naive in that assumption. Guess I ought not to be surprised. Speaking of which, I'm surprised at the number of people weighing in on Joe The Plumber, some with information that alters the image a bit. No, I'm not going to link to it. I don't need to fan the firestorm. I'm just - surprised.
A local town tore down a Sunoco A+ convenience store/gas station. In its place, they will build: a Sunoco A+ convenience store/gas station. Um.
Tonight we go to a seminar on funding college. Should be interesting, given the current fiscal climate.
I get nervous when the forces of law and order get to play Army with this kind of thing. I don't trust them to use it wisely.
Found here, with this caption: The vehicle will be used by the SWAT unit to aid in the rescue and evacuation of people in dangerous situations.
I tend to think that Republicans and Democrats (real people, not politicians) don't demonize each other. However, I now think that I might be naive in that assumption. Guess I ought not to be surprised. Speaking of which, I'm surprised at the number of people weighing in on Joe The Plumber, some with information that alters the image a bit. No, I'm not going to link to it. I don't need to fan the firestorm. I'm just - surprised.
A local town tore down a Sunoco A+ convenience store/gas station. In its place, they will build: a Sunoco A+ convenience store/gas station. Um.
Tonight we go to a seminar on funding college. Should be interesting, given the current fiscal climate.
I get nervous when the forces of law and order get to play Army with this kind of thing. I don't trust them to use it wisely.
Found here, with this caption: The vehicle will be used by the SWAT unit to aid in the rescue and evacuation of people in dangerous situations.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Local Delights
I just dropped my daughter off for her part in the local Halloween Parade. It's a madhouse down there, and the rent-a-cops (why are so many of them really, really, fat?) aren't helping. My wife's going down to watch the parade tonight, but I'm copping out.
A local woman has a concealed weapon permit. She brought the gun to a soccer game. Yet another gun owner I'd like to see get a mental checkup.
Summer's back -- its 80 out there right now -- but the trees are a brilliant red and green and orange.
We brought the mower in. Oh, thats going to be about $150, they said, hoping we'd buy a new one ($400). We'll fix it. Once. And if I find out its just a battery replacement, I'm going to be highly ticked.
A local woman has a concealed weapon permit. She brought the gun to a soccer game. Yet another gun owner I'd like to see get a mental checkup.
Summer's back -- its 80 out there right now -- but the trees are a brilliant red and green and orange.
We brought the mower in. Oh, thats going to be about $150, they said, hoping we'd buy a new one ($400). We'll fix it. Once. And if I find out its just a battery replacement, I'm going to be highly ticked.
Clever
This morning, I played a bit with a site called Cleverbot, which is an AI prototype. Here's what I gave, and what I got:
Hmm......
Me: Talk to me about John McCain
CL: I know very little about God.
CL: I know very little about God.
Hmm......
Cycles
It's getting to be winter -- 45 degrees out there right now, though you couldn't tell it from me; I have shorts and a T shirt on -- and so its time for me to sing the song I sing every year around this time: why aren't thermostats programmable?
Oh, I know that there are thermostats that are called programmable, usually with a little bitty screen to set days, temps, and such. They're nice - though the three that we have downstairs (our home has zoned heat) have a flaw; if the power goes out, they reset to their coldest setting (which I found out about one day when walking into my mother's room and feeling the chill). But they do work. Not snappy enough for me, though.
I want ones that are smart enough to figure out for me when I tend to turn the heat up in the mornng, and down at night, and just do it. I want them to know when its colder outside than normal, or warmer, and adjust the inside heat accordingly. And I'd like them to be network-addressable, so that I can do it from this laptop, rather than peering at that little screen.
Take cae of that, will you?
Oh, I know that there are thermostats that are called programmable, usually with a little bitty screen to set days, temps, and such. They're nice - though the three that we have downstairs (our home has zoned heat) have a flaw; if the power goes out, they reset to their coldest setting (which I found out about one day when walking into my mother's room and feeling the chill). But they do work. Not snappy enough for me, though.
I want ones that are smart enough to figure out for me when I tend to turn the heat up in the mornng, and down at night, and just do it. I want them to know when its colder outside than normal, or warmer, and adjust the inside heat accordingly. And I'd like them to be network-addressable, so that I can do it from this laptop, rather than peering at that little screen.
Take cae of that, will you?
Monday, October 13, 2008
Books
The last time that the local college held a book sale, my daughter picked up a copy of a literature text, printed in 1952. I was more than a little surprised, but I thought 'heck, its her money, she wants to, and there's no harm'. The other night she walked into the bedroom where I was reading and asked me if I wanted to read the text. I demurred, and she said that it was really good, and I should. I thought I would pacify her by leaving it on my nightstand for a while, and then quietly disposing of it. Just now, I started reading the first piece -- a translation of The Illiad.
My golly. This is good stuff!
My golly. This is good stuff!
Monday
This morning I happened to take a short drive to a hairdresser to pick up my mother. The hairdresser's is in a small shopping plaza next to a supermarket which sells gas. Yesterday morning, I filled up the tank on the van. The price was $2.99 a gallon, which I thought to be pretty good, verging on excellent. This morning, I glanced at it, and was startled to see that it was now twenty cents a gallon less.
I'm still reading Bob Schieffer's America. The book is a collection of short pieces, none more than two pages long, pieces which he had given as a coda to a news program over the years. I like it enough that when it comes out in paperback, I'll likely get it. The reason I like it is that these are snapshots of America past, yet some of it - much, even - sounds remarkably like current news - more than once I've glanced at the top of a piece to be sure it didn't say 2008 in the date. Other parts invoke nostalgia - gee, remember when that was a problem? I just read a piece about Monica Lewinsky which did something that nothing else I've ever read about that tawdry affair has done - it made me a little sorry for her.
Our lawnmower is dying, and I don't know why. It's an electric cordless one - Black and Decker CMM1000. The CMM stands for Cordless Mulching Mower. Its worked well for the two and a half years we've had it -- about the worst we can say is that their estimate of how much it would mow on a charge assumes that the grass was recently mown, and the ground is flat. Neither of those is usually true here, and so there are times when I have to break the mowing up into two sessions. Hey, if I have to stop before I wanted to, thats usually not a problem. But this is different. The mower will run well when it starts. If I take it slowly -- the grass is a little on the shaggy side -- it'll make one or two passes down the long dimension of wherever I'm mowing. And then, it'll die -- sound just like a gas mower running out of gas. Wait thirty seconds, and it'll fire right back up. Now, its done this when it was getting clogged with grass, so that was the first thing we checked, but it isn't. So, I'm thinking, there's two possibilities. One is that the battery is failing -- I said it's been two and a half years? The warranty is for two years -- and we just need to replace it. The other is that it is the dreaded something else -- and we can't figure out what that might be. This is not the LHC, for goodness sakes!
Time to go read again. Oh, for McCain supporters -- there's an interesting piece in the Wall Street Journal (also in The Economist) on Obama vs McCain, specifically as related to their tax plans. I don't want to give aid and comfort to that group, but if you like McCain, you might like the articles.
I'm still reading Bob Schieffer's America. The book is a collection of short pieces, none more than two pages long, pieces which he had given as a coda to a news program over the years. I like it enough that when it comes out in paperback, I'll likely get it. The reason I like it is that these are snapshots of America past, yet some of it - much, even - sounds remarkably like current news - more than once I've glanced at the top of a piece to be sure it didn't say 2008 in the date. Other parts invoke nostalgia - gee, remember when that was a problem? I just read a piece about Monica Lewinsky which did something that nothing else I've ever read about that tawdry affair has done - it made me a little sorry for her.
Our lawnmower is dying, and I don't know why. It's an electric cordless one - Black and Decker CMM1000. The CMM stands for Cordless Mulching Mower. Its worked well for the two and a half years we've had it -- about the worst we can say is that their estimate of how much it would mow on a charge assumes that the grass was recently mown, and the ground is flat. Neither of those is usually true here, and so there are times when I have to break the mowing up into two sessions. Hey, if I have to stop before I wanted to, thats usually not a problem. But this is different. The mower will run well when it starts. If I take it slowly -- the grass is a little on the shaggy side -- it'll make one or two passes down the long dimension of wherever I'm mowing. And then, it'll die -- sound just like a gas mower running out of gas. Wait thirty seconds, and it'll fire right back up. Now, its done this when it was getting clogged with grass, so that was the first thing we checked, but it isn't. So, I'm thinking, there's two possibilities. One is that the battery is failing -- I said it's been two and a half years? The warranty is for two years -- and we just need to replace it. The other is that it is the dreaded something else -- and we can't figure out what that might be. This is not the LHC, for goodness sakes!
Time to go read again. Oh, for McCain supporters -- there's an interesting piece in the Wall Street Journal (also in The Economist) on Obama vs McCain, specifically as related to their tax plans. I don't want to give aid and comfort to that group, but if you like McCain, you might like the articles.
Value
I saw this in a recent article:
Gov. Sarah Palin was in downtown Pittsburgh Friday night for a private fundraiser. It cost $1,000 just to get in the door, $10,000 for a photo with Palin, and $25,000 to sit at a table with her.
..and it made me wonder: what would I pay to be in the same room as someone I admired? The photo, who cares, but being at the same table - yeah, that would be nice. What would I pay?
Not those prices, I suspect. Not even for Obama. But - anyone? Anyone at all? Hmm....
Gov. Sarah Palin was in downtown Pittsburgh Friday night for a private fundraiser. It cost $1,000 just to get in the door, $10,000 for a photo with Palin, and $25,000 to sit at a table with her.
..and it made me wonder: what would I pay to be in the same room as someone I admired? The photo, who cares, but being at the same table - yeah, that would be nice. What would I pay?
Not those prices, I suspect. Not even for Obama. But - anyone? Anyone at all? Hmm....
Genetic Predispositions
There's a scene in a movie -- I believe it's The Money Trap, though, as I've not seen it, I'm not sure -- where the somewhat exasperated lead female character says to the lead male 'You were very nearly late!' To which he replies 'There's a phrase for that -- it's called on time' .
My wife has a tendency to slip on guesses of when something will occur. If she thinks it'll happen at 10AM -- for example, today, when she guessed that her sister would stop by around 10AM -- it'll likely happen at 10:30. Left to her own devices, it'll be earlier -- say, 10:10 or so -- but this particular sister is notoriously bad in her time estimates. If she says she'll leave her home at 9 and be at your home by 10, she'll leave her home about 9:30, stop three places, and be at yours around 11. Or perhaps a bit later. My wife told me once that once of the nicest things another sister said to her was the observation that while she might not make it when she said she would, when she said that she was ready, she really was -- unlike the sister who's coming today, who has been known to say 'I'm ready - I just have to take a shower and get dressed. And put a stamp on those envelopes. And...'
I'm more in the other direction. If I have to be somewhere at 10, and I know that in anything short of a maelstorm I will take 30 minutes to get there, I'll leave about twenty five after nine. Well, perhaps twenty after. And if its really important that I be there, I might leave at 9. The number of times I've sat in the parking lot, waiting for the doors to open, is legion.
There's a phrase for that. It's called Being A Little Early.
My wife has a tendency to slip on guesses of when something will occur. If she thinks it'll happen at 10AM -- for example, today, when she guessed that her sister would stop by around 10AM -- it'll likely happen at 10:30. Left to her own devices, it'll be earlier -- say, 10:10 or so -- but this particular sister is notoriously bad in her time estimates. If she says she'll leave her home at 9 and be at your home by 10, she'll leave her home about 9:30, stop three places, and be at yours around 11. Or perhaps a bit later. My wife told me once that once of the nicest things another sister said to her was the observation that while she might not make it when she said she would, when she said that she was ready, she really was -- unlike the sister who's coming today, who has been known to say 'I'm ready - I just have to take a shower and get dressed. And put a stamp on those envelopes. And...'
I'm more in the other direction. If I have to be somewhere at 10, and I know that in anything short of a maelstorm I will take 30 minutes to get there, I'll leave about twenty five after nine. Well, perhaps twenty after. And if its really important that I be there, I might leave at 9. The number of times I've sat in the parking lot, waiting for the doors to open, is legion.
There's a phrase for that. It's called Being A Little Early.
China
When I was a kid, I read an article which said that people tend to hide away the nice things in their home, saving them for 'special occasions'. The article urged that they not do that, but rather take them out, enjoy them, get pleasure from them. The article made a lot of sense to me, and I repeated it to my mother - who was nice enough not to laugh out loud. What we had was the nice things, you see. There was no crystal hidden away, no china, no elegant porcelain figures.
Well, now we have some of that, and we do the same thing. We did the obligatory china purchase when we got married -- a very plain, simple pattern -- which is currently in a wooden cabinet, along with some crystal classes and pewter bowls. We used to use them fairly often, but when our daughter was born, we stopped. Now that she's significantly older, we occasionally think that we ought to do that again. Sometimes we get out the silver candle holders, and occasionally even the thin glass covers that give them an air of elegance - but usually not. When we think of the china, we like the idea, but we remember that we don't usually wash the china in the dishwasher -- its got a thin gold stripe which we think would get worn off fairly quickly -- so we just don't use it.
I admit, if those thin glass covers ever broke, I'd be quite unhappy, because I doubt we could or would replace them. I know that its silly -- we're effectively without them now, because we rarely take them out from that wooden cabinet -- but that's how we feel. We ought to use the china this weekend, we'll say, but we don't do it.
Someday, we should do that.
Well, now we have some of that, and we do the same thing. We did the obligatory china purchase when we got married -- a very plain, simple pattern -- which is currently in a wooden cabinet, along with some crystal classes and pewter bowls. We used to use them fairly often, but when our daughter was born, we stopped. Now that she's significantly older, we occasionally think that we ought to do that again. Sometimes we get out the silver candle holders, and occasionally even the thin glass covers that give them an air of elegance - but usually not. When we think of the china, we like the idea, but we remember that we don't usually wash the china in the dishwasher -- its got a thin gold stripe which we think would get worn off fairly quickly -- so we just don't use it.
I admit, if those thin glass covers ever broke, I'd be quite unhappy, because I doubt we could or would replace them. I know that its silly -- we're effectively without them now, because we rarely take them out from that wooden cabinet -- but that's how we feel. We ought to use the china this weekend, we'll say, but we don't do it.
Someday, we should do that.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Choose Better
This morning, as soon as I woke up, I started thinking about politics, and about the economy. I think I had been dreaming about them.
On the way to the store this morning to pick up the Sunday paper, I was thinking about how we've come to expect that politicians are going to lie to us. We expect that there will be differences of honest opinion, yes, but we expect that they're going to flat-out lie, too. Its usually okay if its our side doing it, and its usually reprehensible and vile if the other side does it.
When I was leaving the store, I passed two old men who work there doing odd jobs -- bagging, retrieving carts, and so forth. One was saying to the other 'Well, when I was laid off, they were laying off a whole bunch of people..."
At home, I thought that I haven't been doing much reading lately, so I picked up the copy of Bob Schieffer's America that I'd gotten from the library, and read about the Clinton push to reform campaign financing - but they wouldn't unilaterally do the right thing; they said they'd do it only if the other side did. I felt a little glow of pleasure about Obama's saying that the Democrats would not take lobbyist funds, and then I thought that he's not perfect, either - just a little bit better. I thought of how hard that must have been, turning down money - and then I thought about how he turned down federal money, too, breaking his word in the process, and opening the door to getting staggering amounts from other sources. I tried not to think about how much of those staggering amounts really is from lobbyists, just cunningly rerouted, and instead thought about how one person doing the right thing -- even if its not that right, compared to the way it ought to be -- can make a difference.
I wondered if we will turn over a country to our children who will look back at our time and think 'how simple it was, then'.
Incidentally, the book is pretty good.
On the way to the store this morning to pick up the Sunday paper, I was thinking about how we've come to expect that politicians are going to lie to us. We expect that there will be differences of honest opinion, yes, but we expect that they're going to flat-out lie, too. Its usually okay if its our side doing it, and its usually reprehensible and vile if the other side does it.
When I was leaving the store, I passed two old men who work there doing odd jobs -- bagging, retrieving carts, and so forth. One was saying to the other 'Well, when I was laid off, they were laying off a whole bunch of people..."
At home, I thought that I haven't been doing much reading lately, so I picked up the copy of Bob Schieffer's America that I'd gotten from the library, and read about the Clinton push to reform campaign financing - but they wouldn't unilaterally do the right thing; they said they'd do it only if the other side did. I felt a little glow of pleasure about Obama's saying that the Democrats would not take lobbyist funds, and then I thought that he's not perfect, either - just a little bit better. I thought of how hard that must have been, turning down money - and then I thought about how he turned down federal money, too, breaking his word in the process, and opening the door to getting staggering amounts from other sources. I tried not to think about how much of those staggering amounts really is from lobbyists, just cunningly rerouted, and instead thought about how one person doing the right thing -- even if its not that right, compared to the way it ought to be -- can make a difference.
I wondered if we will turn over a country to our children who will look back at our time and think 'how simple it was, then'.
Incidentally, the book is pretty good.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Amusement
I was looking for some amusement this evening, but what I found was substantially different.
My wife and daughter have gone to see a play -- not sure which one -- in Lancaster, which is about fifty minutes from here. I didn't care to go (partially because its going to be four women and their daughters; didn't quite think that I would fit in). I spent some time reading, and then I went downstairs to watch TV. Nothing was on, but I came across a short squib of Bush and the international finance ministers all sidling grimly into the White House. I thought about him trying to give them guidance and direction, and I was not cheered by the image. So, I put in a CD of West Wing, Season 2, and found myself watching Josiah Bartlett as he came to realize that he had not just a problem on his hands, when people started to learn that he had MS and didn't tell anyone, but a full blown crisis, with lawyers and disbarment and possibly impeachment on the horizon. His acting is good, unlike Bush, so I watched it to the end, but after all of it, I felt pretty gloomy. This is not what amusement is supposed to do for you.
I've said that we're in pretty good financial shape, and I truly believe it. We own our house, and we have no debt. The last time I looked -- and like most people who don't have their own executive jet, I am trying very hard not to look -- we had enough money in a combination of cash and stocks to be the equivalent of our income for about ten years. My guess is that that's down to about eight years now, with the current level of the market. Additionally, we've both got a retirement package (I've actually got two, though one is pretty small), and Social Security. I could invoke my retirement payouts now, if I wanted to. I believe (using the definition of 'belief' as something you act on as if it were real, though you cannot prove that it is) that this crisis will go on depressing the stock market for about two years. In a sense, I'm making that up; I don't know, don't have any specific knowledge, and certainly don't have any special expertise. But thats what I think. I'm assuming that in two years, the stock market will have staggered back to where it was about three months ago. That means that any income or gains we would have made for two years -- not just stock, but cash, too -- won't occur. Thats not an insubstantial amount, but it wouldn't kill us. We might have to forgo major elective expenses, like a vacation trip, but that would be about it. We've been telling our daughter that she'll have to pay for her own college time, as we did; we don't intend to skip on helping her, though she doesn't know that, so if it turns out that we have to, she won't be disappointed. Its also possible that my wife's company may decide to terminate her; they were planning on layoffs before all of this started, and I can easily see them accelerating that timetable. That would mean that the eight years I mentioned might shrink to six, but again, we ought to be okay. We won't be destitute. Many people will be, and not just in six or eight years, but now. We won't. I have to remember that. The net effect will be debilitating, but we should come out of it okay. Not as good as we would have been, of course, even if Bush does say that the economy will be stronger afterward. I think he's talking through his hat on that one, incidentally. He does that, as you've likely noticed. But still: okay.
All of this means that though I can't be cheerful, I should not be pessimistic. We'll be okay. I believe this, intellectually. Emotionally is another matter. In that, I don't think I'm alone. I watched a chipper person on the tube say that people with marketable and moveable skills should look into fields where they don't work now; for example, a finance person might look for a auto company that needs a finance person. It seems that these things are always easier in theory than in practice. I trust 'employment counselors' -- not at all. I think very, very few of them know what the heck they're doing, and even less have actual insights and helpful information. For the rest, you might as well read Wikipedia. I say all of this because, I've started thinking about working again - for obvious reasons. Don't need to, but doing so - even if nothing comes of it - makes me feel better.
My wife and daughter have gone to see a play -- not sure which one -- in Lancaster, which is about fifty minutes from here. I didn't care to go (partially because its going to be four women and their daughters; didn't quite think that I would fit in). I spent some time reading, and then I went downstairs to watch TV. Nothing was on, but I came across a short squib of Bush and the international finance ministers all sidling grimly into the White House. I thought about him trying to give them guidance and direction, and I was not cheered by the image. So, I put in a CD of West Wing, Season 2, and found myself watching Josiah Bartlett as he came to realize that he had not just a problem on his hands, when people started to learn that he had MS and didn't tell anyone, but a full blown crisis, with lawyers and disbarment and possibly impeachment on the horizon. His acting is good, unlike Bush, so I watched it to the end, but after all of it, I felt pretty gloomy. This is not what amusement is supposed to do for you.
I've said that we're in pretty good financial shape, and I truly believe it. We own our house, and we have no debt. The last time I looked -- and like most people who don't have their own executive jet, I am trying very hard not to look -- we had enough money in a combination of cash and stocks to be the equivalent of our income for about ten years. My guess is that that's down to about eight years now, with the current level of the market. Additionally, we've both got a retirement package (I've actually got two, though one is pretty small), and Social Security. I could invoke my retirement payouts now, if I wanted to. I believe (using the definition of 'belief' as something you act on as if it were real, though you cannot prove that it is) that this crisis will go on depressing the stock market for about two years. In a sense, I'm making that up; I don't know, don't have any specific knowledge, and certainly don't have any special expertise. But thats what I think. I'm assuming that in two years, the stock market will have staggered back to where it was about three months ago. That means that any income or gains we would have made for two years -- not just stock, but cash, too -- won't occur. Thats not an insubstantial amount, but it wouldn't kill us. We might have to forgo major elective expenses, like a vacation trip, but that would be about it. We've been telling our daughter that she'll have to pay for her own college time, as we did; we don't intend to skip on helping her, though she doesn't know that, so if it turns out that we have to, she won't be disappointed. Its also possible that my wife's company may decide to terminate her; they were planning on layoffs before all of this started, and I can easily see them accelerating that timetable. That would mean that the eight years I mentioned might shrink to six, but again, we ought to be okay. We won't be destitute. Many people will be, and not just in six or eight years, but now. We won't. I have to remember that. The net effect will be debilitating, but we should come out of it okay. Not as good as we would have been, of course, even if Bush does say that the economy will be stronger afterward. I think he's talking through his hat on that one, incidentally. He does that, as you've likely noticed. But still: okay.
All of this means that though I can't be cheerful, I should not be pessimistic. We'll be okay. I believe this, intellectually. Emotionally is another matter. In that, I don't think I'm alone. I watched a chipper person on the tube say that people with marketable and moveable skills should look into fields where they don't work now; for example, a finance person might look for a auto company that needs a finance person. It seems that these things are always easier in theory than in practice. I trust 'employment counselors' -- not at all. I think very, very few of them know what the heck they're doing, and even less have actual insights and helpful information. For the rest, you might as well read Wikipedia. I say all of this because, I've started thinking about working again - for obvious reasons. Don't need to, but doing so - even if nothing comes of it - makes me feel better.
Elections
I wonder how often McCain thinks about what life would be like right now if the financial crisis had just held off a couple of months...or started a couple of months sooner.
Friday, October 10, 2008
King
I watched a bit of the Larry King show tonight. He had four people on - two talk radio hosts, one Democratic strategist, and one conservative magazine staffer. It grew to be funny -- you knew who was going to like something vs who was going to argue against it. Two of the four were purely argumentative -- one reminded me of Rush Limbaugh, and the other never heard a conservative viewpoint he didn't like. One referred to 'a few nuts in the crowd' at a Palin rally; a woman on a different, liberal show said she was there, same crowd, and just about everybody was 'a wingnut'. You begin to wonder who's at the same rally.
One thing seems clear to me. When the nominee has to stand in front of these people and they moan and boo when he tells them to be respectful of the opponent -- that nominee and his running mate -- mostly, his running mate -- are playing with fire. Not rhetoric. Fire.
One thing seems clear to me. When the nominee has to stand in front of these people and they moan and boo when he tells them to be respectful of the opponent -- that nominee and his running mate -- mostly, his running mate -- are playing with fire. Not rhetoric. Fire.
Why Bookstores Dislike Amazon
Brisingr:
Borders:
Hardcover
Borders:
Hardcover
List Price: $27.50
Your Price: $16.50
(save: $11.00 40%)
Amazon:
Amazon:
83 Used & new from $14.80
.... and they'll ship it to you. Save gas, save time.
.... and they'll ship it to you. Save gas, save time.
Felons Past
From the Seattle PI web site, in an article about the sources of the great financial meltdown:
Ney (Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio) promoted a philosophy that protecting financial institutions was protecting the little guy, assuring an easy flow of money to lenders willing to help folks with bad credit buy houses.
"These strict (state) assignee liability laws threaten the availability of credit, frankly, in the subprime market," Ney said as he opened a June 2004 hearing focused on the subject. "Acting as a usury cap on mortgage lending, these laws effectively prevent people from receiving mortgages."
Ney's arguments were repeated by lenders, financiers and other lawmakers for years afterward, but he was removed from the debate. Because of influence peddling in a scandal involving lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Ney went to prison last year. Recently released and operating his own consulting business in Newark, Ohio, according to his father, he declined an interview request.
Wonder why?
Observation
My daughter has too many clothes.
Fathers have likely been saying that since the first one (Another leopard skin?) lo these many years . I know that part of it is that there are lots of different kinds of clothes (there is no male equivilent of a skort, so far as I know, and guys don't have an equivilent of a little black dress, or strappy shoes, or....). But - three bathrobes? Two of which I didn't know she had? Four T shirts with the color guard logo? Black satin -- shorts, I think; I couldn't really tell because they didn't seem to want to fold in any recognizable pattern. Two hoodies? (That's out; three more on the hooks). On and on and on. And, they're all over the place. We've done the usual fulminations about put those clothes away!, but now its getting really bad in her room. This morning, I kid you not, I found: the outer box from a bag of frozen corn. That, I can actually explain -- she was using it as a malleable ice pack -- but why was the box on the floor? Well, possibly because it was under a layer of clothes...some books...stray papers...a hair straightener (Your hair looks nice today...Yeah, Dad, its called straightening your hair.) and a hair dryer, the left sandal of two different sets....
Too many clothes.
Fathers have likely been saying that since the first one (Another leopard skin?) lo these many years . I know that part of it is that there are lots of different kinds of clothes (there is no male equivilent of a skort, so far as I know, and guys don't have an equivilent of a little black dress, or strappy shoes, or....). But - three bathrobes? Two of which I didn't know she had? Four T shirts with the color guard logo? Black satin -- shorts, I think; I couldn't really tell because they didn't seem to want to fold in any recognizable pattern. Two hoodies? (That's out; three more on the hooks). On and on and on. And, they're all over the place. We've done the usual fulminations about put those clothes away!, but now its getting really bad in her room. This morning, I kid you not, I found: the outer box from a bag of frozen corn. That, I can actually explain -- she was using it as a malleable ice pack -- but why was the box on the floor? Well, possibly because it was under a layer of clothes...some books...stray papers...a hair straightener (Your hair looks nice today...Yeah, Dad, its called straightening your hair.) and a hair dryer, the left sandal of two different sets....
Too many clothes.
Expectations
Right now, I expect that Obama's going to win. There is a feeling that he will be all things to all people; part of that is the abysmal occupant now -- "well, of course he'll be better than Bush" -- and part is the standard assumption that a new president will make all things better. New broom, and so forth. That’s a pretty heavy burden, and every president faces at least the second part. The almost inevitable result is that people are disappointed when, on day X of the new term, the streets are not paved with gold, the air not fresh, your children not properly respectful.
But this new president will have the additional burden of our terribly-performing economy.
I don’t trust professional economists. I don’t think that any professional economist knows what can be done to return this economy to its prior state. I’m not all that confident that they know why the economy works, in any but the macro sense. They know things that can be done at any time (raise taxes, lower taxes, tax asymmetrically, etc); they know what the effect of such things tends to be; they don’t know if doing such things will have the normal effect this time. Part of that is that for all its mathematical background, economics is a science based on people and how they react to conditions. No economist knows this, so when they build an econometric model, they make assumptions that the people will react in what they consider to be reasonable ways. These are bright people, and reasonable assumptions, but that doesn’t mean that the assumptions will work out this time. Later, from the far side of the crevasse, they’ll write learned papers to show that the solution was perfectly clear, and required simply the will to implement it – which will was blocked by the ideological fallacies of the prior administration; if they didn’t work, the learned papers will show that they should have worked; in this case, certain factors inhibited it.
Obama’s a bright guy, but he’s not an economist, so if he’s elected, he’s going to need some bright ones. I’m sure they’re lining up for jobs now. But those bright people are going to have to be smart enough to know what’s possible, politically savvy enough to make the case in terms that are believable to a politicians, and insightful enough to know which of the many tools and magic wants available to them ought to be used. They’re going to have to resist using a sledgehammer, but as the economy deteriorates its going to be more and more likely that that’s the level of effort that will be needed. If you can imagine a delicate tap with a very heavy object, that’s about right. If he can find such people, then he can get it done, and praise will accrue to him (along with papers showing that he could have done it faster, cheaper, more easily if he had only....). If not, we could be screwed for a long time, and his name will be up there with Hoover’s – who, incidentally, was a bright guy.
Why do people run for the Presidency?
But this new president will have the additional burden of our terribly-performing economy.
I don’t trust professional economists. I don’t think that any professional economist knows what can be done to return this economy to its prior state. I’m not all that confident that they know why the economy works, in any but the macro sense. They know things that can be done at any time (raise taxes, lower taxes, tax asymmetrically, etc); they know what the effect of such things tends to be; they don’t know if doing such things will have the normal effect this time. Part of that is that for all its mathematical background, economics is a science based on people and how they react to conditions. No economist knows this, so when they build an econometric model, they make assumptions that the people will react in what they consider to be reasonable ways. These are bright people, and reasonable assumptions, but that doesn’t mean that the assumptions will work out this time. Later, from the far side of the crevasse, they’ll write learned papers to show that the solution was perfectly clear, and required simply the will to implement it – which will was blocked by the ideological fallacies of the prior administration; if they didn’t work, the learned papers will show that they should have worked; in this case, certain factors inhibited it.
Obama’s a bright guy, but he’s not an economist, so if he’s elected, he’s going to need some bright ones. I’m sure they’re lining up for jobs now. But those bright people are going to have to be smart enough to know what’s possible, politically savvy enough to make the case in terms that are believable to a politicians, and insightful enough to know which of the many tools and magic wants available to them ought to be used. They’re going to have to resist using a sledgehammer, but as the economy deteriorates its going to be more and more likely that that’s the level of effort that will be needed. If you can imagine a delicate tap with a very heavy object, that’s about right. If he can find such people, then he can get it done, and praise will accrue to him (along with papers showing that he could have done it faster, cheaper, more easily if he had only....). If not, we could be screwed for a long time, and his name will be up there with Hoover’s – who, incidentally, was a bright guy.
Why do people run for the Presidency?
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Predicting
Looking for information on Electoral Vote ties, I came across this, from Time Magazine:
The Bush-Gore race is the closest presidential contest since 1976, maybe since 1960. And when the race is that tight, suddenly the unthinkable becomes thinkable. What if one candidate loses the popular vote but wins the Electoral College vote? ....Here are some bizarre, but plausible, scenarios that are not so simple.
The Bush-Gore race is the closest presidential contest since 1976, maybe since 1960. And when the race is that tight, suddenly the unthinkable becomes thinkable. What if one candidate loses the popular vote but wins the Electoral College vote? ....Here are some bizarre, but plausible, scenarios that are not so simple.
--THE MINORITY WINS It's not likely that a candidate will win the popular vote but lose the electoral vote. But it happened in 1888, when Benjamin Harrison defeated Grover Cleveland. If it happens this year, it's more likely Bush would win the popular vote but lose the electoral, because he will capture more states in which he will win by big margins. ...Unquestionably, the electoral vote winner would be President, but he'd lack a mandate and face a crisis of legitimacy.
Bush would win the popular vote, Gore the electoral vote, and Gore would become President but lack a mandate.... Hmm. Exactly the opposite, in every respect, as what did happen. This predicting is a lot easier when done backwards.Wednesday, October 08, 2008
The Law
This, I like. From CNN:
Sheriff Thomas J. Dart said Wednesday he is suspending foreclosure evictions in Cook County, which had been on track to reach a record number of evictions, many because of mortgage foreclosures. He said many of the evictions involve renters who are paying their rent on time but are being thrown out because the landlord has fallen behind on mortgage payments.
Sheriff Thomas J. Dart said Wednesday he is suspending foreclosure evictions in Cook County, which had been on track to reach a record number of evictions, many because of mortgage foreclosures. He said many of the evictions involve renters who are paying their rent on time but are being thrown out because the landlord has fallen behind on mortgage payments.
Software,Hardware
I'm in kind of a snit, at the moment. Couple of reasons.
First, the damn grass keeps growing. I let it get too long, and now I have to mow it again. I like our mower, but it does not like long grass, and it seriously doesn't like wet, even damp, long grass. Stalls out at the drop of a hat. I've been trying to talk myself into a riding mower - ahem, specifically, a 'garden tractor' (or 'lawn tractor', apparently they're not the same thing, though the terms are used interchangeably), one which can a) mow and b) blow snow. Optionally, c) pull a cart, and d) shovel snow (that last is really reaching). Okay, those are doable. The price goes up -- boy, does it ever -- as you add options, and when you say things like 'clutchless', 'auto-reverse', 'mulching', and 'Zero Turning Radius' - it rapidly becomes stratospheric. But the deal killer is: power. I'd really, really rather one that's battery operated. Don't care if it only runs for an hour before needing a recharge (I imagine I would, once we were using it, but thats then, not now), I want one. But, do you think John Deere, etc, make one? Hah. There apparently are prototypes on the market.... and thats it. So, I have to use this mower, or get a new one of the same type. Don't want to do the first, really don't want to do the second.
Second, my wife offered to bake something for a bake sale at work, and I said oh, I can do that. Which, usually, no problem. But, in the middle of that, my daughter presented me with
Third, a need to download a song onto iTunes. She didn't know how. I thought that was the prevailing paradigm, that all kids of course knew how to do this, not to mention, that Apple software was so freepin' easy and obvious to use. Hah again. Half an hour later (it kept dropping the network connection, and then restarting from the top), I got the song. Um. How do I get this stupid thing from the PC down to the iPod? Finally, after looking at every damn control, I just tried a drag and drop, which worked. iTunes, you suck.
...and I still haven't baked the damn cookies.
First, the damn grass keeps growing. I let it get too long, and now I have to mow it again. I like our mower, but it does not like long grass, and it seriously doesn't like wet, even damp, long grass. Stalls out at the drop of a hat. I've been trying to talk myself into a riding mower - ahem, specifically, a 'garden tractor' (or 'lawn tractor', apparently they're not the same thing, though the terms are used interchangeably), one which can a) mow and b) blow snow. Optionally, c) pull a cart, and d) shovel snow (that last is really reaching). Okay, those are doable. The price goes up -- boy, does it ever -- as you add options, and when you say things like 'clutchless', 'auto-reverse', 'mulching', and 'Zero Turning Radius' - it rapidly becomes stratospheric. But the deal killer is: power. I'd really, really rather one that's battery operated. Don't care if it only runs for an hour before needing a recharge (I imagine I would, once we were using it, but thats then, not now), I want one. But, do you think John Deere, etc, make one? Hah. There apparently are prototypes on the market.... and thats it. So, I have to use this mower, or get a new one of the same type. Don't want to do the first, really don't want to do the second.
Second, my wife offered to bake something for a bake sale at work, and I said oh, I can do that. Which, usually, no problem. But, in the middle of that, my daughter presented me with
Third, a need to download a song onto iTunes. She didn't know how. I thought that was the prevailing paradigm, that all kids of course knew how to do this, not to mention, that Apple software was so freepin' easy and obvious to use. Hah again. Half an hour later (it kept dropping the network connection, and then restarting from the top), I got the song. Um. How do I get this stupid thing from the PC down to the iPod? Finally, after looking at every damn control, I just tried a drag and drop, which worked. iTunes, you suck.
...and I still haven't baked the damn cookies.
This One? No, That One.
The cookies turned out okay, but not jaw-droppingly great okay. Not that this is my goal -- otherwise, I'd spend a lot more time in the kitchen on my knees, bewailing my inability to just make a simple damn cookie! -- and then looking around for something to lean on to stand up again, because I still can't get up from being down, without doing that; a little more than before, but not much. However. I was a little apprehensive that the cookies would be like the rum ball you take at Christmas which taste as if they've been marinated in rum for sixty days, and the only reason the dough is there is to solidify the rum. These cookies weren't like that. You can taste the rum, but very, very faintly. I really don't understand what happened in their creation -- I took a cup of dry raisins (not dried so much as 'been in the kitchen cabinet for a pretty long time'), put in six tablespoons of rum, making a small, shallow puddle at the bottom of the bowl, nuked it, and hey presto -- I had plump raisins that smelled like a distillery. So, the result was okay, but it wasn't what I thought it would be.
Speaking of 'wasn't what I thought it would be' -- it's likely obvious that I'm not a McCain supporter. Nevertheless, I can't believe he meant anything by his 'that one' comment. Maybe I'm naive (no, really?), but I think he was trying to be sly; to say 'that guy over there, don't trust him'. Some Obama zealots have said that this was clearly a racial comment, but I don't agree. Cut the guy some slack - it was just a throwaway line. Although, since it led to this result, its not entirely without value.
My wife got called at 5AM on a problem that was the kind of problem I've always liked. Its weird that I do, because my ability to solve them never was all that great. In a nutshell - an application (CA-7, if you know mainframe software) was running slowly; tasks that should execute in less than a minute were taking ten minutes to complete. The monitor they were using said that the task was waiting for CPU, which usually means that there are tasks with a higher priority that are completing before the one you want. The fix for that (assuming you don't want to just live with it) is to either kill the higher priority task, or make your 'loved one' task equal, or better yet, higher priority. They tried bumping the priority, but it did not help. They also bumped the priority of a user's interactive task, and it took off. Put together, that tells me that the task wanted to execute, but it was waiting for something, and that wait couldn't be fixed by just giving it more access to CPU; it wanted something else. Occasionally, that something else is another task thats even lower in the food chain; bump that guy up, he finishes, and your task takes off. No such task suggested itself, though. After everybody looked at the tasks for about an hour, all that it needed to do finished (much later than they would have wished), and the problem went away. So, nobody knows what really caused it.
The thing is, thats not supposed to be the way it is. You're supposed to be able to look into a system monitor and see not only the obvious things, like which task is running, which is waiting -- but infer things like 'this task is waiting for that task, and that task is doing this much work, gee, thats more than it normally does, so its going to take longer, so the main task is going to have to wait'. But nobody, and I mean, nobody, knows systems in that level of detail. Unless you immerse yourself in it, actually setting traces to watch and understand the ebb and flow of tasks, you don't know what its doing; it just does. And when it doesn't, you're mystified. I always wanted to understand systems to the point where I had that immersive knowledge, and I always thought monitors should give a much deeper, pervasive, and lingering view of whats happening versus what normally happens. Neither of which came to pass, but I still wish for it. Weird.
Speaking of 'wasn't what I thought it would be' -- it's likely obvious that I'm not a McCain supporter. Nevertheless, I can't believe he meant anything by his 'that one' comment. Maybe I'm naive (no, really?), but I think he was trying to be sly; to say 'that guy over there, don't trust him'. Some Obama zealots have said that this was clearly a racial comment, but I don't agree. Cut the guy some slack - it was just a throwaway line. Although, since it led to this result, its not entirely without value.
My wife got called at 5AM on a problem that was the kind of problem I've always liked. Its weird that I do, because my ability to solve them never was all that great. In a nutshell - an application (CA-7, if you know mainframe software) was running slowly; tasks that should execute in less than a minute were taking ten minutes to complete. The monitor they were using said that the task was waiting for CPU, which usually means that there are tasks with a higher priority that are completing before the one you want. The fix for that (assuming you don't want to just live with it) is to either kill the higher priority task, or make your 'loved one' task equal, or better yet, higher priority. They tried bumping the priority, but it did not help. They also bumped the priority of a user's interactive task, and it took off. Put together, that tells me that the task wanted to execute, but it was waiting for something, and that wait couldn't be fixed by just giving it more access to CPU; it wanted something else. Occasionally, that something else is another task thats even lower in the food chain; bump that guy up, he finishes, and your task takes off. No such task suggested itself, though. After everybody looked at the tasks for about an hour, all that it needed to do finished (much later than they would have wished), and the problem went away. So, nobody knows what really caused it.
The thing is, thats not supposed to be the way it is. You're supposed to be able to look into a system monitor and see not only the obvious things, like which task is running, which is waiting -- but infer things like 'this task is waiting for that task, and that task is doing this much work, gee, thats more than it normally does, so its going to take longer, so the main task is going to have to wait'. But nobody, and I mean, nobody, knows systems in that level of detail. Unless you immerse yourself in it, actually setting traces to watch and understand the ebb and flow of tasks, you don't know what its doing; it just does. And when it doesn't, you're mystified. I always wanted to understand systems to the point where I had that immersive knowledge, and I always thought monitors should give a much deeper, pervasive, and lingering view of whats happening versus what normally happens. Neither of which came to pass, but I still wish for it. Weird.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Shame
You remember the flap about Michelle Obama saying that 'this was the first time she was really proud of her country', and people jumped on that, saying she wasn't?
Listening to the bilge that Palin is spewing, I feel nothing but shame that this is one of the faces of my country. She's appealing to the basest instincts in the crowd. McCain's not covering himself with glory, either.
Listening to the bilge that Palin is spewing, I feel nothing but shame that this is one of the faces of my country. She's appealing to the basest instincts in the crowd. McCain's not covering himself with glory, either.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Greasy
I am slightly irritated (I know, it doesn't take much) by the GMail pop up that announces new mail is arriving. I found this Greasemonkey script that keeps that from occurring. I found the script here. Note that the line which begins with document.add..... is all on one line. Be sure to note the 'include' libraries when you define it.
// ==UserScript==
// @name GMail Popup Disabler
// @description Disable the annoying GMail Talk popup.
// @include http://mail.google.com/*
// @include https://mail.google.com/*
// ==/UserScript==document.addEventListener(’mouseover’, function(event){ event.stopPropagation(); event.preventDefault();}, true);
Reading Through The Pile
I realized with some surprise that I have been scattering books and magazines all over the house, this morning (the realization, not the scattering), mostly as I've been looking instead frequently - and I mean frequently -- at online news about the election. So, this morning, I piled (most) of them on the dining room table and read through them with what passed for brunch (not much of one, as my wife slept in; the effect of being up at 4AM to handle a system upgrade). All things considered, it's probably good that I wasn't very hungry.
The financial news was the biggest topic, as might be expected. Steven Pearlstein weighed in with an article about greed, and what we perceive as greed. He didn't have an answer, though he pointed out that some people, mostly on Wall Street, will always be regarded as greedy, but gosh darn it (as Sarah would say), they end up losing their jobs, their fortunes (well, a portion of them), and their income -- isn't that enough recompense for their bad judgement and misdeeds? I know what most people on other streets than Wall would say. I read one article which that that if you weren't completely aware of which stocks and funds your mutual fund were invested in, you were uninformed, and just asking for trouble. Gee, and here I thought thats what I was paying those guys to watch. Some said that a bear market is an excellent time to buy; others said just the opposite - terrible time, put your money under the mattress. And, of course: "Economists Predict More Turbulence Ahead".
I have no idea whether the bailout, in whole or part, was necessary. Some, I guess. I think that the impression of someone infallible was in charge was more needed -- and that, we didn't get. I do think its interesting to read the revisionist history which now says that all of this started from the housing bubble (I can believe that) which started from housing being so easily acquired (ditto), partially from cheap money, and partially from lenders loosening their standards, which both trace their roots to a combination of deregulation (John McCain, is that you?) and looser money supply (Alan? Alan Greenspan?). I also think its funny that now, when Alan speaks, its relatively coherent, whereas when he was at the Fed, it was all allegories and interminable sentences into which you could read pretty much anything you wanted. But Alan said, just the other day...
I also liked the headline "In Light Of Crisis, Common Trading Practice Looks Risky", from the Washington Post. "Regulators and Wall Street's scarred survivors increasingly are zeroing in on a massive risk to the stability of the financial system posed by rampant, unregulated trading in credit-default swaps." I admit, if you'd told me what the credit-default swap was (essentially, according to the article, insurance against an investment losing value because the issuing company's died'), I'd have thought 'Sounds good, what could be wrong with that?' But that kind of insight is what regulators are supposed to have -- or would, if they were there. Hi, John!
I think thats enough for right now.
The financial news was the biggest topic, as might be expected. Steven Pearlstein weighed in with an article about greed, and what we perceive as greed. He didn't have an answer, though he pointed out that some people, mostly on Wall Street, will always be regarded as greedy, but gosh darn it (as Sarah would say), they end up losing their jobs, their fortunes (well, a portion of them), and their income -- isn't that enough recompense for their bad judgement and misdeeds? I know what most people on other streets than Wall would say. I read one article which that that if you weren't completely aware of which stocks and funds your mutual fund were invested in, you were uninformed, and just asking for trouble. Gee, and here I thought thats what I was paying those guys to watch. Some said that a bear market is an excellent time to buy; others said just the opposite - terrible time, put your money under the mattress. And, of course: "Economists Predict More Turbulence Ahead".
I have no idea whether the bailout, in whole or part, was necessary. Some, I guess. I think that the impression of someone infallible was in charge was more needed -- and that, we didn't get. I do think its interesting to read the revisionist history which now says that all of this started from the housing bubble (I can believe that) which started from housing being so easily acquired (ditto), partially from cheap money, and partially from lenders loosening their standards, which both trace their roots to a combination of deregulation (John McCain, is that you?) and looser money supply (Alan? Alan Greenspan?). I also think its funny that now, when Alan speaks, its relatively coherent, whereas when he was at the Fed, it was all allegories and interminable sentences into which you could read pretty much anything you wanted. But Alan said, just the other day...
I also liked the headline "In Light Of Crisis, Common Trading Practice Looks Risky", from the Washington Post. "Regulators and Wall Street's scarred survivors increasingly are zeroing in on a massive risk to the stability of the financial system posed by rampant, unregulated trading in credit-default swaps." I admit, if you'd told me what the credit-default swap was (essentially, according to the article, insurance against an investment losing value because the issuing company's died'), I'd have thought 'Sounds good, what could be wrong with that?' But that kind of insight is what regulators are supposed to have -- or would, if they were there. Hi, John!
I think thats enough for right now.
Sprinting
From a Sprint ad:
A Blackberry PDA is shown, with this text on its screen:
Please tell me actual people don't really talk that way.
A Blackberry PDA is shown, with this text on its screen:
J, need you to spearhead deliverables for user-centric platform -
create onboarding opportunities. Cheers, -M.
create onboarding opportunities. Cheers, -M.
Please tell me actual people don't really talk that way.
Plans
I've mentioned our intention to build a shell room over our garage, with access from our bedroom, to serve initially as storage, then as our bedroom, converting the existing one into a sitting area, closets, and possible terminus for an elevator. The elevator thing always makes me feel a bit queasy -- first, because it implies getting really old and infirm, and I hate that image, and second, because I just don't trust that it can be -- well, I was going to say 'elegantly done', but I suppose thats pushing it, for this house. Let's just say 'well done'. I mean, these are workers who, so far as I know, just got out of the VoTech, rehab, or McDonalds. Letting them punch big holes in my house is a scary prospect.
That last is why something else we've had in mind is also attractive/scary, and thats putting solar collectors on the house. I'd like to put them on the roof on the back of the house, where they wouldn't be visible from the street, but the house is aimed the wrong way to get lots of sunlight back there -- we'd have to put it on the front, where they can look awkward. An article in the latest issue of Fine Homebuilding mentioned a company that makes solar collectors which look like skylights, instead of being propped up as collectors normally are. That isn't quite as efficient as the normal installation, but the house doesn't give the strange image that the collectors tend to generate (though I would imagine that as things go on, they'll become more common, right now they make me feel the way that the first dish antennas did -- looking, in their massive splendor, as if the occupants planned on contacting Mars routinely). An article here mentions, too, that the solar industry got its own little boost from that massive bailout package, and that adds to the likelihood that we'll do it -- probably in conjunction with the shell room. I'm not really sure how much good solar will do for us -- something to find out before the first hammer hits the first nail -- but I want to believe that it'll do a significant amount, without taking a decades-long period to recoup the investment. Frankly, I don't think we have decades left in the house.
Speaking of time left - does anyone else think it's odd to see lists such as '100 places you must go/100 books you must read/100 foods you must eat....before you die'? I know, all they're saying is 'hey, these are really good, you should see them/read them/eat them', but the juxtaposition with the 'before you die' strikes me as quite odd. He's failing...do you want us to resuscitate? Oh, yes, he's only on book 23.....
I wonder how many people subconciously feel that the day after Obama's elected, everything will get better? And be mad when they realize it isn't, that he doesn't even get sworn in for two months after that, which is plenty of time for the Bushman to screw things up even further? Lets take all the toilet paper out of all the White House johns when we leave....and superglue the keyboards on all the computers (giggle) Oh, and remember to attack Iran. And yes, I know I'm tempting fate by putting it so declaratively that Obama will be elected. I'm just tired of thinking of the alternative. Tired of, and tired by.
Interesting article in the last Economist on the technology of touch-sensitive screens. I smile when I realize that I sometimes press harder on them to get them to move faster. I know that they can't detect that. Only now, it appears, they can. Wonder if that 'accelerate' feature will ever get put into elevator call buttons? Press once to call the elevator.. press hard to get the damn thing here right now.
Glancing through the articles in today's Business/Financial section. Lots of Don't worry, your money is insured and Of course, maybe not. The one that caused me to smirk: Whats the biggest mistake investors make? And I think: giving their money to people who earn hundreds of thousands of dollars for themselves, but can't reliably do that for you. In other words, exactly what I do.
Chilly today. Bright, but chilly -- what I once heard called 'Radcliffe Days'.
Speaking of time left - does anyone else think it's odd to see lists such as '100 places you must go/100 books you must read/100 foods you must eat....before you die'? I know, all they're saying is 'hey, these are really good, you should see them/read them/eat them', but the juxtaposition with the 'before you die' strikes me as quite odd. He's failing...do you want us to resuscitate? Oh, yes, he's only on book 23.....
I wonder how many people subconciously feel that the day after Obama's elected, everything will get better? And be mad when they realize it isn't, that he doesn't even get sworn in for two months after that, which is plenty of time for the Bushman to screw things up even further? Lets take all the toilet paper out of all the White House johns when we leave....and superglue the keyboards on all the computers (giggle) Oh, and remember to attack Iran. And yes, I know I'm tempting fate by putting it so declaratively that Obama will be elected. I'm just tired of thinking of the alternative. Tired of, and tired by.
Interesting article in the last Economist on the technology of touch-sensitive screens. I smile when I realize that I sometimes press harder on them to get them to move faster. I know that they can't detect that. Only now, it appears, they can. Wonder if that 'accelerate' feature will ever get put into elevator call buttons? Press once to call the elevator.. press hard to get the damn thing here right now.
Glancing through the articles in today's Business/Financial section. Lots of Don't worry, your money is insured and Of course, maybe not. The one that caused me to smirk: Whats the biggest mistake investors make? And I think: giving their money to people who earn hundreds of thousands of dollars for themselves, but can't reliably do that for you. In other words, exactly what I do.
Chilly today. Bright, but chilly -- what I once heard called 'Radcliffe Days'.
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Sinfest
There are times that I like the Sinfest strip. And then there are times when I really like it.
Driving Conversations
I drove my daughter over to the high school this morning. I was a bit grumpy, as we need to have a talk with her about grades, and I'm not looking forward to that. Plus, this morning, she was a bit manic about getting over there, and that's wearying.
Once we were in the car, though, she seemed fine. I mentioned to her that I wondered how our neighbor had made out in his bail hearing -- so odd to use that phrase -- and she asked me why. Well, I said, there are crimes that are considered so egregious that there is very little impulse to cut them any slack, to let them out of jail while they are awaiting trial. Any crime involving a child is considered to be in that category, and if its a sex-related crime, the likelihood of getting slack is even less. Somehow we got from there to talking about divorce -- she doesn't know yet about her cousin -- and how there are families who get divorced without considering the effect on the kids. I'm sure there are divorces that really need to happen -- the environment is just toxic -- and I know that from the sanctity of my excellent marriage, its easy for me to point fingers -- but I really don't like the idea of divorce. In fact, I told her, I would do just about anything to avoid getting divorced. Sometimes, its necessary, but that bar is raised a lot higher, in my mind, when there are kids involved. Then, as we arrived at the school, she saw the football team practicing, and made a comment about it. I asked if the school really doted on the team and she nodded emphatically. They made a big deal of the team last year when they only won three games; this year they're undefeated, and they really make a big deal about it Do they make a big deal of any of the other teams? I asked, and she said no. I nodded. Like when I was in school, I said. They never cared too much about the academic teams -- but when the football team captain was in your class, the teachers made a point of congratulating him whenever the team won. She seemed surprised that I felt the same way she does.
Tomorrow, we talk about grades.
Once we were in the car, though, she seemed fine. I mentioned to her that I wondered how our neighbor had made out in his bail hearing -- so odd to use that phrase -- and she asked me why. Well, I said, there are crimes that are considered so egregious that there is very little impulse to cut them any slack, to let them out of jail while they are awaiting trial. Any crime involving a child is considered to be in that category, and if its a sex-related crime, the likelihood of getting slack is even less. Somehow we got from there to talking about divorce -- she doesn't know yet about her cousin -- and how there are families who get divorced without considering the effect on the kids. I'm sure there are divorces that really need to happen -- the environment is just toxic -- and I know that from the sanctity of my excellent marriage, its easy for me to point fingers -- but I really don't like the idea of divorce. In fact, I told her, I would do just about anything to avoid getting divorced. Sometimes, its necessary, but that bar is raised a lot higher, in my mind, when there are kids involved. Then, as we arrived at the school, she saw the football team practicing, and made a comment about it. I asked if the school really doted on the team and she nodded emphatically. They made a big deal of the team last year when they only won three games; this year they're undefeated, and they really make a big deal about it Do they make a big deal of any of the other teams? I asked, and she said no. I nodded. Like when I was in school, I said. They never cared too much about the academic teams -- but when the football team captain was in your class, the teachers made a point of congratulating him whenever the team won. She seemed surprised that I felt the same way she does.
Tomorrow, we talk about grades.
Elections
I'm ready for the election season to be over. I'm tired of thinking about it, waiting for the next surprise, watching to see what the polls say. I'm really tired of one of the candidates, but, collectively, I'm tired of them all. I just want this to be over.
I'm Cerulean Bill, and I approved this message.
I'm Cerulean Bill, and I approved this message.
Firesux
There are times when I'm not too fond of Firefox3.
I'm not a power user, so the ability to do this, that, and the other with it doesn't cut a lot of ice with me. I do like the ability to use Greasemonkey, and through it, user-written scripts to do useful things, like make the posting window for Blogger to be the width of the screen, and not the measly 2/3s that Blogger native gives you, and I like the Playpus addon that lets me selectively delete annoying flashing images on a page while I'm reading it. This is goodness.
But shutting down is another story.
Multiple times, I've gone to shut Firefox down, and very soon thereafter gone to start it up again, and been informed that 'Firefox is still running'. About a third of those times, trying again results in it starting, and of the remainder about a third of the time it actually is running, as seen in Task Manager, and a third, it is not. I have no idea whats going on there. If I had to guess, I'd think that it's trying to do something before it shuts down -- write out files, probably -- and sometimes, it takes a while. But whatever the reason, its irritating to have to wait.
Course, its also - free. Got to remember that.
I'm not a power user, so the ability to do this, that, and the other with it doesn't cut a lot of ice with me. I do like the ability to use Greasemonkey, and through it, user-written scripts to do useful things, like make the posting window for Blogger to be the width of the screen, and not the measly 2/3s that Blogger native gives you, and I like the Playpus addon that lets me selectively delete annoying flashing images on a page while I'm reading it. This is goodness.
But shutting down is another story.
Multiple times, I've gone to shut Firefox down, and very soon thereafter gone to start it up again, and been informed that 'Firefox is still running'. About a third of those times, trying again results in it starting, and of the remainder about a third of the time it actually is running, as seen in Task Manager, and a third, it is not. I have no idea whats going on there. If I had to guess, I'd think that it's trying to do something before it shuts down -- write out files, probably -- and sometimes, it takes a while. But whatever the reason, its irritating to have to wait.
Course, its also - free. Got to remember that.
Musical Hats
It's appropriate that this is reported by Yahoo News:
HARRISBURG, Pa. - Sue Nace thought election volunteers were joking when they told her she would have to remove her T-shirt to vote in the presidential primary last spring. But it was no laughing matter to the poll workers-turned-fashion police, who said Nace's Obama shirt was inappropriate electioneering — and made her cover the writing before casting a ballot. Now, a political fight over what voters can wear to the polls is headed to court in Pennsylvania — with the Republican Party favoring a dress code and Democrats opposed. To the GOP, the lack of rules could open the door to all kinds of questionable displays — even, one Republican leader suggested, something as outlandish as a musical hat. To the Democrats, voters should be free to express themselves. They fear a dress code could scare away some new voters.
....
State Democratic Party Chairman T.J. Rooney said GOP support for the dress code is a partisan effort to scare away new voters. "To go (to the polls) and engage in an expression of democracy and then be accosted by the fashion police is a form of voter intimidation," he said. The state Republican Party says Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell's administration crafted a partisan memo that would open the door to abuses. "The first thing would be a button or a shirt, and maybe the next thing would be a musical hat," said GOP chairman Robert Gleason...
Obama once said that all of politics was the silly season. I see now what he meant.
HARRISBURG, Pa. - Sue Nace thought election volunteers were joking when they told her she would have to remove her T-shirt to vote in the presidential primary last spring. But it was no laughing matter to the poll workers-turned-fashion police, who said Nace's Obama shirt was inappropriate electioneering — and made her cover the writing before casting a ballot. Now, a political fight over what voters can wear to the polls is headed to court in Pennsylvania — with the Republican Party favoring a dress code and Democrats opposed. To the GOP, the lack of rules could open the door to all kinds of questionable displays — even, one Republican leader suggested, something as outlandish as a musical hat. To the Democrats, voters should be free to express themselves. They fear a dress code could scare away some new voters.
....
State Democratic Party Chairman T.J. Rooney said GOP support for the dress code is a partisan effort to scare away new voters. "To go (to the polls) and engage in an expression of democracy and then be accosted by the fashion police is a form of voter intimidation," he said. The state Republican Party says Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell's administration crafted a partisan memo that would open the door to abuses. "The first thing would be a button or a shirt, and maybe the next thing would be a musical hat," said GOP chairman Robert Gleason...
Obama once said that all of politics was the silly season. I see now what he meant.
Friday, October 03, 2008
The Veeps
Last night, I got tired and was having difficulty keeping up with the debate, so I taped it and went to sleep. This afternoon, I listened to it. I would have taped it anyway, just to hear it in pieces -- I need to be able to think about things -- but this had an unexpected advantage. I was able to slow down and just listen.
Biden knows his material. He really knows. Now, granted, he'd just been through a series of debate preps, and he knew where the hot spots were -- what would likely come up, what he wanted to have come up, the points he wanted to make, the points he wanted to refute. This stuff wasn't a surprise. But still -- listening to him, running down the lists, laying out details, citing circumstances -- he really knows his material.
Palin didn't. She knew the high points, and she laid out the party line on those high points well. She was good at juggling concepts. To me, they sounded canned, but thats not necessarily bad -- maybe she's just not as fluent as Biden. But she just didn't know her stuff in detail. I suppose the idea was that she would learn the key ideas and then practice with them -- juggling them, integrating them, and so forth. And she did a great job at it. Couldn't match detailed knowledge, though, so she did what she's been known to do (based on an article in the Christian Science Monitor by a guy who'd debated her before). She went folksy. She shrugged off the details and the numbers and talked like a hockey mom, all folksy and folk-wisdom.
Biden would have had my vote anyway, its true. He's on the ticket I like. But now I think: he won fair and square. He knew his stuff. She didn't. It won't convince the true believers in the other camp, I know. But it convinced me.
Biden knows his material. He really knows. Now, granted, he'd just been through a series of debate preps, and he knew where the hot spots were -- what would likely come up, what he wanted to have come up, the points he wanted to make, the points he wanted to refute. This stuff wasn't a surprise. But still -- listening to him, running down the lists, laying out details, citing circumstances -- he really knows his material.
Palin didn't. She knew the high points, and she laid out the party line on those high points well. She was good at juggling concepts. To me, they sounded canned, but thats not necessarily bad -- maybe she's just not as fluent as Biden. But she just didn't know her stuff in detail. I suppose the idea was that she would learn the key ideas and then practice with them -- juggling them, integrating them, and so forth. And she did a great job at it. Couldn't match detailed knowledge, though, so she did what she's been known to do (based on an article in the Christian Science Monitor by a guy who'd debated her before). She went folksy. She shrugged off the details and the numbers and talked like a hockey mom, all folksy and folk-wisdom.
Biden would have had my vote anyway, its true. He's on the ticket I like. But now I think: he won fair and square. He knew his stuff. She didn't. It won't convince the true believers in the other camp, I know. But it convinced me.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Explanation
This article explains, more eloquently than ever I could, why Obama is the correct choice in this election.
Split
My wife told me this afternoon that her niece, whose wedding we attended about two years ago, is getting divorced. She said that they had 'major life differences', and that those became greater the longer that they lived together.
Hearing that kind of thing makes me more aware of how lucky I am, in multiple ways. Though a little part of my mind thinks "Apparently, McCain's not the only one who didn't do sufficient vetting!"
Hearing that kind of thing makes me more aware of how lucky I am, in multiple ways. Though a little part of my mind thinks "Apparently, McCain's not the only one who didn't do sufficient vetting!"
Baking
So here's the deal. I have bookmarked three sites related to food. This is different than the one thousand six hundred and twelve ones I have in Feed Demon which I do not look at because it would depress the hell out of me that a) I don't ever get around to trying what they show and b) even if I did, it would compare to theirs like the mud pies your child makes compare to delicate chocolate souffle. Sometimes I wonder why I keep those sites at all, I really do.
But these three sites are there because they sounded like fun. One has to do with using a food processor and heavy cream to whip real, no kidding butter. I thought you needed a cow for that, but apparently not. One has to do with making an actual chocolate ganache, which I sort-of did once, which turned out sort-of okay. Only problem is, you need something to put the ganache on. Oh, wait - we have that frozen cake downstairs that I made months ago. Yeah, this will help me lose weight. As will the third, about making a brioche that has chocolate filling. Chocolate ganache, as it happens. And, guess there's four, there's the one about making a creme brulee. I love creme brulee, even though I don't have the cute little cups, nor do I intend to get them, or the little blowtorch, ditto.
So do I make one of those, or do I make one of the chocolate chip cookie variants from the book I found at the libe, yesterday? Put it another way. Semi-difficult to difficult, or straightforward? Ingredients I'd have to get, or ingredients I have?
Ha.
But these three sites are there because they sounded like fun. One has to do with using a food processor and heavy cream to whip real, no kidding butter. I thought you needed a cow for that, but apparently not. One has to do with making an actual chocolate ganache, which I sort-of did once, which turned out sort-of okay. Only problem is, you need something to put the ganache on. Oh, wait - we have that frozen cake downstairs that I made months ago. Yeah, this will help me lose weight. As will the third, about making a brioche that has chocolate filling. Chocolate ganache, as it happens. And, guess there's four, there's the one about making a creme brulee. I love creme brulee, even though I don't have the cute little cups, nor do I intend to get them, or the little blowtorch, ditto.
So do I make one of those, or do I make one of the chocolate chip cookie variants from the book I found at the libe, yesterday? Put it another way. Semi-difficult to difficult, or straightforward? Ingredients I'd have to get, or ingredients I have?
Ha.
Songs
My daughter likes country songs. Yesterday, on the way to the mall so that we could get her new sneakers (No, we're not getting high heels too....no, we're not getting Uggs, too.....no, we're not getting Crocs, too... yes, fine, you can get a bagel), she started singing along to one on the radio. Titled, I'm not sure, something like "You Can Let Go, Daddy".
The first verses were the kid learning to ride a bike.
The second were the kid being given away in marriage.
The third were the kid getting to the hospital bed and being told 'he's been hanging on, waiting for you'.
What an incredibly depressing song.
The first verses were the kid learning to ride a bike.
The second were the kid being given away in marriage.
The third were the kid getting to the hospital bed and being told 'he's been hanging on, waiting for you'.
What an incredibly depressing song.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
In The Mood
I'm in the mood to bake. I had to give up on that bread book -- it was too serious for me. People who like Peter Reinhart's stuff would undoubtedly go for it. So I got something a little, um, lot more my style.
Big Doings
Not particularly cheerful ones, though.
For one, our neighbor who was arrested for sex with a minor is apparently up for bail. His wife is asking neighbors to pray for them, or come to a prayer service at their church. I was astounded to find that she's sticking with him. I'm not sure 'for better or worse' covers self-inflicted wounds. Anyway. I was thinking of going. I'm not particularly religious, but I feel so sorry for them that I wanted to do something -- more, perhaps, than the brownies I made and brought over there. The service is at 10AM this Friday.
That happens to be exactly when the funeral service will be held for the brother of one of the girls in my daughter's color guard, who died when he merged onto a highway directly in front of a dump truck, with predictable results. I don't know them, but apparently some of the families are going over.
So that's two events at the same time, neither of which do I particularly want to go to, and both of which I feel as if I ought to go to. Plus, its drizzling, and a couple of other what the hell? things are going on, not nearly as climactic but still distracting. Gonna be an interesting day.
For one, our neighbor who was arrested for sex with a minor is apparently up for bail. His wife is asking neighbors to pray for them, or come to a prayer service at their church. I was astounded to find that she's sticking with him. I'm not sure 'for better or worse' covers self-inflicted wounds. Anyway. I was thinking of going. I'm not particularly religious, but I feel so sorry for them that I wanted to do something -- more, perhaps, than the brownies I made and brought over there. The service is at 10AM this Friday.
That happens to be exactly when the funeral service will be held for the brother of one of the girls in my daughter's color guard, who died when he merged onto a highway directly in front of a dump truck, with predictable results. I don't know them, but apparently some of the families are going over.
So that's two events at the same time, neither of which do I particularly want to go to, and both of which I feel as if I ought to go to. Plus, its drizzling, and a couple of other what the hell? things are going on, not nearly as climactic but still distracting. Gonna be an interesting day.
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