JULY 2008
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
2008.07.31 - Needed a photo to spruce up the h
ome
page and came up with this one from the year 2000. It's Willie lying
on the living room floor... 8 years old - I just love him.
More progress on fixing the website. Without getting into a lengthy dissertation regarding software woes, I (fingers crossed) think everything is back to normal. Unlike last night when at 11:30 I discovered more problems... [big sigh]
Life is Beautiful (La Vita e bella) is the name of a very good movie, but only if you're in the mood for a Nazi prison camp flick that doesn't turn out as well as you wanted... still a good movie - done with Italian sub-titles. At the end you want to say everything in Italian... "Buon giorno, Principessa!" Works better with dramatic hand gestures...
Emily recommends it.
PS: Tomorrow begins my birthday month... woo hoo!
MIXED NUTS
2008.07.30 - Saw this in the news a few days ago... LA is considering a ban on fast-food restaurants. Apparently residents in the low income neighborhood of South LA are getting a little hefty and cannot be trusted to make healthy food choices. And so the good members of the city council are gonna help out by making it more difficult to load up on a Value Meal.
Oh my gosh... the Nanny State continues to hunt down and eliminate personal responsibility. Wonder if they're considering the impact to global warming from people driving that much farther for a Big Mac.
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More silly solutions - Congresswoman Anna Eshoo tackles the really tough issues and has aimed the full and mighty force of the federal government at TV commercials that are too loud.
The Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act was introduced as a bill before the House of Reps... seriously.
Yep - can't drive much because of high gas prices (unless you're in south LA looking for a burger) and home loans are twice what the house is worth - but count on Anna to make sure those TV commercials don't annoy you.
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This last item comes from a really great place that deserves much better. In St. Paul Minnesota a 1200 pound section of concrete broke off of a bridge and damaged a couple of cars passing underneath.
No injuries, thank goodness, but on the heals of the bridge collapse last year the people of The Land of 10,000 Lakes have to be wondering every time they go over or under a bridge.
Anonymous sources at the Minnesota DMV will not comment on reports that safety helmets may be required for cars as well as motorcycles.
UPDATE: This one's for Dad - the state engineer who declared the offending bridge still "structurally safe" is named - Dan Dorgan. Too funny!
DON'T WORRY BE HAPPY
2008.07.29 - Finally from the NY Times - what NOT to worry about..
FANNIE AND FREDDIE
2008.07.29 - Heard there was more mucky stuff going on w/Fannie and Freddie but didn't quite understand the specifics until reading an article in the Wall Street Journal. Just think of these two mortgage institutions as the helping hand of congress removing money from your wallet.
The short story is F&F either own or guarantee about half of the $12 TRILLION mortgage lending market. They were established by Congress to do this sort of thing, and pretty much for the most part have done it well until the housing/credit crisis devalued all those mortgages.
And make no mistake - Fannie and Freddie need to be bailed out. If they went under we'd all be standing in soup lines and the current "recession" we're in would look like a gift from heaven.
The problem comes when you look at the political contributions made by Fannie and Freddie. Yes, these two quasi-government institutions make POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS to... (drumroll please) Congress!
In 2007 Freddie donated $25 million to political groups, while Fannie came in at $21 million.
Think about it... your tax dollars pay Congress to setup a mortgage institution - paid for by your tax dollars again - to give money to Congress.
There's a special place in hell...
MORE COVERUP
2008.07.29 - Wikipedia is the world's largest online encyclopedia created from users around the world. Due to a significant amount of expert contributions this site is a noteworthy resource on a variety of topics.
The problem is it can be manipulated by diligent users who constantly battle to make sure their edited side of a controversial topic is the only material posted.
So here's the Wikipedia page for John Edwards.
That bad smell keeps getting stronger.
BUSY
2008.07.28 - It's just a word, but happens to be one that is a little challenging to someone for whom English is a second language. So once in a while she would pronounce it "beezy" and I thought it was cute and would teasingly mispronounce it also.
Except now she wants to say it correct ALL the time - which means any conversation that happens to include the word "busy" is interrupted by a short practice session where she says "BIZZY" over and over and over until the proper enunciation is achieved.
Bizzy... BI-zzy... bi-ZZ-y... BIZZY!
What's going to happen when she speaks perfect English and there are no more clever words to play with? That's when I'll drive her nuts by attempting to learn Vietnamese.
GARDEN UPDATE
2008.07.27 - It's growing... photo below shows bell peppers, basil, a little bit of dill, string beans, and tomatoes. The Puzzle Master (who enjoys beer, but not nearly as much as she hates her picture taken) had some basil left over from a meal and simply stuck it in the planter... darned if it hasn't turned out to be one of the fastest growing plants!
MORE JOHN EDWARDS
2008.07.27 - I really toyed with the idea of removing my post below about Sen. Edwards as the story was first reported by the dubious National Enquirer and is now only followed by internet blogs. However...
- For the past year Edwards has been battling rumors that Rielle Hunter was pregnant with his child. If these rumors are false, wouldn't a simple DNA test decide the question once and for all?
- Fox News is now reporting that security guards at the hotel that night confirm the events related by the National Enquirer. Contrast that with Edwards statement that he already commented about not commenting on the incident.
- Edwards was considered a strong candidate for a prominent position in Obama's administration, possibly even VP. Think that's still a valid option?
- Edwards also was promised a prime time speech at the Democrat's convention in Denver - don't think that's going to happen either.
DESPITE all this no news reports by major media outlets... TV, print, or online. The longer this draws out the more evident it becomes that news editors favor one political party over another.
MEMO FROM MANAGEMENT
2008.07.25 - Wow... these past two days I struggled with some very frustrating problems with this site, particularly the Schmitz Picnic page. Each time I thought it was fixed something crazy and unpredictable would happen - was driving me nuts.
So after doing some research it turns out the software (Microsoft Expression Web) had a bug, and after installing a patch everything seems fine... for now.
In looking back it's curious to note how much this bothered me - quite a bit of my time goes into this site and for it to suddenly, randomly fall apart... well, lets just say it was driving me nuts.
Okay - with fingers crossed - back to regular scheduled programming.
UPDATE: More troubles... it's hard to determine what is related to bugs in the software and what is a result of my ignorance. Oh well - this type of struggle is where real learning comes from.
WELL THAT EXPLAINS IT
2008.07.24 -
There are a lot things I don't know about, but John Edwards poor
showing in last year's Democratic primaries was very puzzling. It
seemed a great victory for the women and minority movements when
their candidates beat out the good looking white guy. So
here's the scoop...
Rumors of this were hotly denied in December and the press was
apparently willing to extend Edwards the benefit of doubt when he
claimed to be so devoted to his cancer stricken wife.
So now it takes the National Enquirer to perform dirty work for the
Fourth Estate as they staked out Edwards visiting his mistress and
love child at a
California hotel.
Most of us would rather not witness the airing of dirty laundry, but
when the person in question was a
presidential candidate claiming to to have been unfairly attacked - well sometimes it's just poetic justice.
My question: Would this have been handled differently if it was a
Republican candidate? Maybe we should ask
Larry Craig..
UPDATE: This is just too exasperating. Virtually NO major media
outlet has reported on this -
the LA Times has actually ordered it's people to NOT to talk about
the subject. Remember the
NY Times piece
when McCain was alleged to have had an inappropriate relationship with
one of his advisors? That also was denied by those involved - but
did it stop the NYT and others from making it front page news.
Un-be-fricken-leivable.
THIS is why I stopped believing anything that comes across the TV
networks or major newspapers. And they wonder why subscription rates
are falling...
ABC NEWS: COW FARTS ARE KILLING US
2008.07.21 - I'm only the messenger... or as one person commented, "If we really are doomed because of cow farts, then as a species its probably time to go and hand the place over to the cockroaches."
News editor, meet scientist. Scientist, meet news editor. Now both of you hold still while we smack some sense into you.
OH MY GOSH...
2008.07.19 -
Recently
spoke with someone at work over a short break in the coffee room. My
goodness... all I said was I sometimes run my system without Windows
Firewall and you would have thought I gave away the keys to modern
civilization.
According to my friend, there are cyberspace robots out there
searching the web for vulnerable systems so they can install
horrible things
on unsuspecting computers. When I said I hadn't
noticed bad things happening to my computers he countered that
nobody can detect their presence once installed. Accounts are
compromised along with passwords, credit cards, and social security
numbers and the next thing you know your credit card has a $5000
charge from Home Shopping Network. Rumor has it the Chinese broke
into every system in corporate America and stole vital secrets.
Government and municipalities have been duped and recent power
outages have been directly traced to foreign computers.
There's no way to stop them and the world is coming to an end.
Oh my gosh... all I wanted was a cup of coffee - now I have to learn
to speak a foreign language to greet the new conquerors.
Didn't say anything to my friend, but I re-enabled Windows Firewall...
sheesh!
Little different direction - have you noticed the absence of news
reports about rogue viruses affecting millions of computer users? I
think the virus problem has been pretty effectively neutralized.
Nearly every DSL or cable modem comes with a firewall along with the
one provided by Windows, so my point above still holds true - it's
very unlikely you will be a victim of identity theft because your of
home computer was hacked.
The big threat of ID theft comes from large companies or
government institutions holding huge data banks of finance and
social security information. These large databases are the gold rush
of the new millennium and thieves are attempting to mine them in
greater and greater numbers. News reports are played down by
companies in an attempt to minimize damage to their public image,
but the fact remains this is still the largest potential of
individual ID theft.
Whenever you make an online purchase do NOT check the box that says
“remember my credit card information.” And if you want to reduce the possibility of ID theft
to an absolute minimum – pay cash, in person. No credit/debit cards,
either online or at the store.
And don't EVEN get me started with electronic voting.
Gotta go... have a good weekend!
MID-WEEK MEANDERINGS
2008.07.16 - Took the day off today and didn't do a
whole lot... the kids had to go to the orthodontist, one to adjust
and the other to get a brand new grill. Much less eventful than what
we were expecting...
Trying
to keep an eye peeled for interesting topics to post and nothing
noteworthy has risen to the top...
Still riding the bus to work, which is about the sweetest deal
around. Most Palo Alto companies either pay a partial or total cost
of riding the bus. Combine that with sky high gas prices and I would
have thought the bus would be very crowded - but it just isn't.
Amazing... people simply refuse to climb out of their cars, which is
their free capitalistic choice to make. More power to 'em... but
I'll take the bus.
So I haven't been totally uninspired lately... I know I've gone on
and on about it but this Linux thing has really taken hold of my
attention
.
It's my goal to replace all the Windows software I own with a free
Linux version.
Problem is, nothing really compares with Quicken. I tested out
several Linux apps just to manage my checkbook and had to admit
Quicken is the best. Maybe there are Linux apps that are as capable
or even as feature rich, but nothing was so intuitive as the Intuit
product. They just do it best...
THURSDAY MEANDERINGS
2008.07.10 - So it's a Thursday night and again, sitting here working on my system while she works on her puzzle. Quite the contented couple... maybe more on that later.
Still in the middle of my Russian novel (Brothers Karamazov) and
absolutely LOVE it... Dostoevsky is truly the great author I had
expected. His ability to identify and describe thoughts and feelings
that most of us have but so few ever attempt to put in words is
masterful.
I'm a little more than a quarter thru it and totally in love with
this book. Even as I'm reading it I'm noting sections that I want to
post here, portions which would serve as good samples of what I
enjoy.
While searching for a good image to post about Brothers Karamazov I
discovered (not surprisingly) this book has been made into a play
and movie... likely several times. Which is interesting, since I
can't imagine a Russian novel appealing to the sort that Hollywood
usually attempts to satisfy.
(Side note - while suffering thru the 189th commercial for Will
Ferrell's new movie "Step Brothers" I thought of how good Ferrell is
at acting the part of an immature boy... in every movie he's ever
made.)
Anyway, Brothers Karamazov would not be easy to produce on stage or
screen... it's very introspective and (so far) not a lot of action.
Still, after reading the book I'll be very curious and likely take
in the movie also.
I'll post an update when that happens. Emily wants me to read some Faulkner, but I think I'm going to try The Art of War next - highly recommended by none other than Tony LaRussa.
Not quite ready to let it go... it struck me while reading that our times are SO VERY different in how we consider a man's potential. Back then there was such a strong belief that people NOT born into aristocracy were limited in potential, as though their very genes promoted or prevented genius fulfilled.
Which is dealt with in the movie My Fair Lady, where the refined "gentlemen" wager a bet over whether a "commoner" can be turned into a lady.
Brothers Karamazov deals with this occasionally and it is such a contrast with today's prideful belief that anyone can become anything they like... the sky is the limit and all that is necessary is to dream the impossible dream.
As usual, the truth lies likely somewhere in the middle.
LONG LIVE LINUX
2008.07.02 - Well it's been a looooong journey but I think I've FINALLY reached the place I want to be - for now.
Linux is now the main operating system on my laptop along with a software package called VMWare, which lets me run Windows XP. It's kind of complicated, but the short story is Linux runs VMWare faster than Windows runs VMWare, and I need VMWare to run everything on the same computer.
I need XP to interact with others at work, but Linux is so so sweet.
So I am now officially hooked on it. My recent accomplishment was to reformat a data partition, which led to setting permissions and mounting the drive automatically when booting... just like the old Unix days.
One thing that impressed me about Linux is its speed, which contrasted with my experience running a very slow Vista for the past 6 months.
Quote me here and now: Vista will be one of the reasons Microsoft falls. It is the most bloated, slow, useless, disliked operating system known to mankind. And according to the business plan Microsoft will force Vista on customers who have been very vocal about their displeasure with this decision.
Maybe I'm being too pessimistic - on it's own merit Vista might be okay... the problem is everyone is used to XP, which may not be as pretty but runs circles around the cumbersome Vista.
Here's a viewpoint from the engineering world where software performance is critical - we cannot use Vista. It simply will not run 3D solid modeling applications as well as XP, and no amount of memory or CPU cores will change that. In a competitive business environment it's a step backwards, and backward steps lead to unemployment or bankruptcy.
I have no doubt Microsoft started Vista with great expectations, however if the people responsible for the end product still work for Gates and Co. then they deserve to be smoked by Google.
FROM NEWSCASTS TO NEWSPAPERS
2008.07.02 - Instapundit comments on the decline of newspapers...
If you turn out a product whose quality is steadily declining, while simultaneously treating a substantial part of your customer base as somewhere between evil and idiotic, don't be surprised if your business gets worse. I've said for years that hard-news reporting is the killer app for Big Media, but they just don't want to do it. They want to tell people what to think, instead of telling them what's happening.
I remember back in the 80's being totally frustrated that so much reporting went into describing what people thought instead of what was actually true. This was when public opinion polls became popular, as well as the hope that such "opinions" would help influence society in one direction or the other.
I don't care so much about what people THINK, because people (myself included) can think the dumbest things. Tell me what is true - THAT is newsworthy.
GAS PRICES
2008.07.02 - More from Instapundit, this time highlighting Robert Samuelson of the Washington Post writing about oil speculators and the price of gas...
"Who are these offensive souls? Well, they often don't fit the stereotype of sleazy high rollers: Many manage pension funds or university and foundation endowments... Politicians promise to tighten regulation of futures markets, but futures markets aren't the main problem. Scarcities are. Government subsidies for corn-based ethanol have increased food prices by diverting more grain into biofuels. A third of this year's U.S. corn crop could go to ethanol. Restrictions on oil drilling in the United States have limited global production and put upward pressure on prices. If politicians wish to point fingers of blame, they should start with themselves."
I don't think gas prices are coming down soon, at least not until alternative energies begin to catch on. And while we're waiting for that to happen (because there's no guarantee they will be cheaper or cleaner or more abundant) we should drill and refine and develop our own resources instead of paying others to do it for us.
And if my pension or 401K was in the market I'd hope it was invested in oil too.
Mary Quite Contrary
2008.07.02 - How does your garden grow? I'm running out of time here (11:30 pm and still editing) but wanted to mention we're finally seeing some veggies in our garden. String beans and some tomatoes from plants Mom and Dad started for us... have some pics and wanted to post them, but like I said - it's getting late.