Now that it's clear that the 'killer' was not really the killer (surprise, surprise), will the media get back on the story that was happening when this non-story 'suddenly' came up?
For those of us with short memories, it had something to do with a judge ruling that Bush is a criminal.
Remember?
BTW - Nice work, Karl.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Saturday, August 26, 2006
dog days
None of my blog buddies seem to be posting much these days. I keep checking and nothing new appears. C'mon, bloggers, get with it.
Here in sunny, hot Portland (on its way to breaking the record for most-90-degree-days-in-August), it's been a busy time with work stuff. Fortunately, it's going well, and, I must say, sitting in my computer dungeon knocking out code for six or seven hours (with occasional breaks to talk to the dog and - amazingly - the still-alive cat) makes for a darn satisfying lifestyle.
This morning, I built a list of about six chores in the neighborhood, and one by one, ticked them off - all before 10:30. In the great film 'My Dinner With Andre', Wallace Shawn has a lovely speech where he says that doing that - making a list of little things to do and then accomplishing them - is one of the great pleasures in life, and he asks for nothing more than that. None of them were earthshaking in importance, but there is a certain pleasure in the sense of having some control in your life.
The final activity was taking the dog for a romp in Gabriel Park, a nearby paradise of little trails, athletic fields, trees and open fields. He was thrilled and I was happy to stroll along and enjoy the walking and the quiet.
Then I came back home and Karen and I did a little weeding and planting in the yard. It's starting to really warm up - supposed to be 93 later this afternoon. I have about 5 more plants to plant, then I'll get cleaned up and bike over to the house of some friends, who are having a summer party. Karen is not feeling well - in fact, she just walked by and said she's going upstairs to lie down. We have out-of-town family with us, from this evening thru Monday, so this is a lull before a lot of activities.
We have this one sheltered alcove in our yard, under some big trees, where we have lawn chairs permanently set up. I sat there for about a half-hour, listening to the Saturday NPR shows, just looking out at our trees and yard. It was so peaceful, so green, so soothing, and there is so much food in my local Safeway.
And so much of the rest of the world is exactly the opposite.
And Greenland is melting.
But the cat still lives, quietly resting at my feet.
Here in sunny, hot Portland (on its way to breaking the record for most-90-degree-days-in-August), it's been a busy time with work stuff. Fortunately, it's going well, and, I must say, sitting in my computer dungeon knocking out code for six or seven hours (with occasional breaks to talk to the dog and - amazingly - the still-alive cat) makes for a darn satisfying lifestyle.
This morning, I built a list of about six chores in the neighborhood, and one by one, ticked them off - all before 10:30. In the great film 'My Dinner With Andre', Wallace Shawn has a lovely speech where he says that doing that - making a list of little things to do and then accomplishing them - is one of the great pleasures in life, and he asks for nothing more than that. None of them were earthshaking in importance, but there is a certain pleasure in the sense of having some control in your life.
The final activity was taking the dog for a romp in Gabriel Park, a nearby paradise of little trails, athletic fields, trees and open fields. He was thrilled and I was happy to stroll along and enjoy the walking and the quiet.
Then I came back home and Karen and I did a little weeding and planting in the yard. It's starting to really warm up - supposed to be 93 later this afternoon. I have about 5 more plants to plant, then I'll get cleaned up and bike over to the house of some friends, who are having a summer party. Karen is not feeling well - in fact, she just walked by and said she's going upstairs to lie down. We have out-of-town family with us, from this evening thru Monday, so this is a lull before a lot of activities.
We have this one sheltered alcove in our yard, under some big trees, where we have lawn chairs permanently set up. I sat there for about a half-hour, listening to the Saturday NPR shows, just looking out at our trees and yard. It was so peaceful, so green, so soothing, and there is so much food in my local Safeway.
And so much of the rest of the world is exactly the opposite.
And Greenland is melting.
But the cat still lives, quietly resting at my feet.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
well done, again, Karl
It has been pointed out that the current issue of Time magazine has 35 words devoted to the judicial ruling that Bush has violated the Constitution, and 1109 words on the JonBenet 'killer'.
Here's a cartoon that sums up how I feel.
The first rule of magic is 'direct their attention away from where you are managing the trick, and you can get away with anything.' I bow my head in admiration for The Master. Too bad he's on Their side.
Here's a cartoon that sums up how I feel.
The first rule of magic is 'direct their attention away from where you are managing the trick, and you can get away with anything.' I bow my head in admiration for The Master. Too bad he's on Their side.
Friday, August 18, 2006
and then, the phone rang...
Every software developer knows the feeling - you receive an email or a phone call from a client that you haven't heard from in a while.
Invariably, it's one of two things - either word that they have more stuff they want you to do (yea!) or they have found some unexpected bug that needs to be fixed (darn!). When it's a phone call, it's almost always the second.
My cell rang a short time ago and a client identified himself. His message: his staff just got back from using a handheld data-collection application I wrote, and ... ... ... ... when they got back into the office to bring the data over to the desktop database ... ... ... ... it worked perfectly.
He just wanted me to know. I appreciate that.
Meanwhile, have you watched that 3-part BBC documentary referenced below? It's really worth your time.
Meanwhile, Maisie is still with us. She still shows enough normal behavior (grooming, asking to go out, nibbling - very little - her food, and purring when cuddled). She is amazingly skinny, and generally lethargic, but we just can't bring ourselves to call an end to it.
Invariably, it's one of two things - either word that they have more stuff they want you to do (yea!) or they have found some unexpected bug that needs to be fixed (darn!). When it's a phone call, it's almost always the second.
My cell rang a short time ago and a client identified himself. His message: his staff just got back from using a handheld data-collection application I wrote, and ... ... ... ... when they got back into the office to bring the data over to the desktop database ... ... ... ... it worked perfectly.
He just wanted me to know. I appreciate that.
Meanwhile, have you watched that 3-part BBC documentary referenced below? It's really worth your time.
Meanwhile, Maisie is still with us. She still shows enough normal behavior (grooming, asking to go out, nibbling - very little - her food, and purring when cuddled). She is amazingly skinny, and generally lethargic, but we just can't bring ourselves to call an end to it.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Maisie's last night
Yes, Maisie has hung in there, even though, back in June, the vet thought she wouldn't survive our being gone for two weeks,when we went to Spain.
She has been slowly but surely declining and is now little more than fur and bones. She pretty much stopped eating a couple of days ago, and just lies on her side, breathing quietly. Karen and I decided that this is the end, and are planning to take her to be euthanized tomorrow afternoon.
This has been a marvelous cat, my friends - smart, affectionate, and a good companion to Zack the dog.
She will be very much missed around here.
She has been slowly but surely declining and is now little more than fur and bones. She pretty much stopped eating a couple of days ago, and just lies on her side, breathing quietly. Karen and I decided that this is the end, and are planning to take her to be euthanized tomorrow afternoon.
This has been a marvelous cat, my friends - smart, affectionate, and a good companion to Zack the dog.
She will be very much missed around here.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
great Greg Palast column
here - as always, the venality of Bushco shines thru. As Ed Schultz often says, all you need to know about the Republicans is "they think you're stupid."
Monday, August 14, 2006
seen on 'Daily Kos' this morning
Another classic phrase to describe our Government's policies: 'The War on Liquids'.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Friday, August 11, 2006
last night in Manzanita this summer
Just had a fine dinner at Wanda's Cafe, in Nehalem - 11 of us altogether. Now catching my last WiFi-at-the-Beach before heading back to the house. Tomorrow morning we pack up and head back to Portland.
There is still a little glow in the western sky, above the ocean, while, overhead, the night darkness is broken by a few stars. The eternal dull roar of the surf continues. See you next year, Inshallah!
There is still a little glow in the western sky, above the ocean, while, overhead, the night darkness is broken by a few stars. The eternal dull roar of the surf continues. See you next year, Inshallah!
Sunday, August 06, 2006
a rather unusual day
Lounged around the house in Manzanita this morning, while we tried to figure out alternatives for getting Dylan back to Portland. Unfortunately, our initial plan fell thru, when Karen's cousin bailed on the weekend.
Eventually, it appeared that the only reasonable thing to do was for me to drive him back. We left town around 12:30 and made record time back to hot, dry Portland. I spent a couple of hours watering, talking to the animals, doing a little laundry, and assembling other things on my list, to bring back to the beach.
I had considered spending the night there in my normal bed (much more comfortable than the one at the beach house), but, around 5 pm, decided to go for it. Fortunately, most of the traffic at that point in the afternoon was Portland-bound, and I zipped back to Manzanit, arriving in time to have dinner with Karen, Sylvia and Barbra, and even go for a little bike ride along Ocean Avenue, at sunset.
It's now after 9 pm, and there is still a hint of yellow and green in the darkening sky, while the white noise of the ocean bathes my auditory senses. I'll sleep well tonight.
Eventually, it appeared that the only reasonable thing to do was for me to drive him back. We left town around 12:30 and made record time back to hot, dry Portland. I spent a couple of hours watering, talking to the animals, doing a little laundry, and assembling other things on my list, to bring back to the beach.
I had considered spending the night there in my normal bed (much more comfortable than the one at the beach house), but, around 5 pm, decided to go for it. Fortunately, most of the traffic at that point in the afternoon was Portland-bound, and I zipped back to Manzanit, arriving in time to have dinner with Karen, Sylvia and Barbra, and even go for a little bike ride along Ocean Avenue, at sunset.
It's now after 9 pm, and there is still a hint of yellow and green in the darkening sky, while the white noise of the ocean bathes my auditory senses. I'll sleep well tonight.
Saturday, August 05, 2006
it doesn't get much better than this
Sitting on a bench a block from the ocean, at Manzanita, grabbing a WiFi signal from one of the motels in the neighborhood.
Sunny, clear, and 70 degrees, and the world at my fingertips, as long as my battery hold out.
My mother-in-law, who fell and broke a major bone here a couple of years ago, is with us, and walking beautifully. She is an inspiration, at 96.
We have many Portland friends here in Manzanita, and are continually running into them. For example, about the time I typed 'sitting on a bench', above, a couple of friends strolled by. We have two social engagements planned for this evening - cocktails with Kim and Dave, and a dessert pot-luck with the rest of the crowd.
It's almost enough to make you forget the ills of the world.
Finally, here's a shout-out to Shirley and Joe, in town very briefly for Joe's Dad's funeral. They head back to Florida yesterday, but managed to set up a sushi lunch at our old Enron-days hang-out, with Duffbert also present. Took me back to those halcyon days of 2000, when we were all paper-millionaires. Fortunately, the sushi is still delicious. Some things CAN be depended on.
Sunny, clear, and 70 degrees, and the world at my fingertips, as long as my battery hold out.
My mother-in-law, who fell and broke a major bone here a couple of years ago, is with us, and walking beautifully. She is an inspiration, at 96.
We have many Portland friends here in Manzanita, and are continually running into them. For example, about the time I typed 'sitting on a bench', above, a couple of friends strolled by. We have two social engagements planned for this evening - cocktails with Kim and Dave, and a dessert pot-luck with the rest of the crowd.
It's almost enough to make you forget the ills of the world.
Finally, here's a shout-out to Shirley and Joe, in town very briefly for Joe's Dad's funeral. They head back to Florida yesterday, but managed to set up a sushi lunch at our old Enron-days hang-out, with Duffbert also present. Took me back to those halcyon days of 2000, when we were all paper-millionaires. Fortunately, the sushi is still delicious. Some things CAN be depended on.
Friday, August 04, 2006
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
danger, Will Robinson...
Well, it's officially August now, the traditional time of year for world wars to begin.
Given armies on the move, 'mistakes' upon 'mistakes', inflamed media, long memories, desperate people, and impotent leaders, and all you need to add is the final spark, to cause one side to commit an absolutely irrevocable move.
Is it time to stockpile rice and beans?
There's the macro level. Now the micro level.
Maisie has pretty much stopped eating. We are discussing putting her down, either tomorrow or Friday, before we leave for a week. She has lasted much longer than the vet originally predicted, and we are almost at the point where declining 'quality of life' is really apparent.
Everything in the world is looking grim today.
Maybe coffee will help - hey - I should stockpile that, too!
Given armies on the move, 'mistakes' upon 'mistakes', inflamed media, long memories, desperate people, and impotent leaders, and all you need to add is the final spark, to cause one side to commit an absolutely irrevocable move.
Is it time to stockpile rice and beans?
There's the macro level. Now the micro level.
Maisie has pretty much stopped eating. We are discussing putting her down, either tomorrow or Friday, before we leave for a week. She has lasted much longer than the vet originally predicted, and we are almost at the point where declining 'quality of life' is really apparent.
Everything in the world is looking grim today.
Maybe coffee will help - hey - I should stockpile that, too!
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Republican November battle plan continues
If you are afraid that you can't win elections based on the traditional 'let the voters decide' method (i.e. democracy), the next best thing is to make sure that people who don't like you can't vote. It's that simple.
Criminals.
Criminals.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
an afternoon with Maisie
Karen went to Pasadena for a couple of days, to help her Mom out with a party, celebrating the small improvements in the bone density of her femur, broken in a fall in Manzanita two years ago.
It's a long story.
At any rate, it's been a quiet weekend, with Karen gone, Ben only occasionally checking in via phone, and Dylan off with his buddies, since Friday night.
Yesterday, I had to hang around the house, waiting for the electrician to come and rebuild a line that was ripped out, when the big maple tree next to our house dropped a giant limb on the power line from our house to our out-buildings. It's a long story, too, and, to finish it up, was fixed with ingenuity and $100.
I did a bunch of yard-work yesterday by myself, then had a pleasant evening watching the DVD of the old Brian DePalma thriller, 'Blow Out', which I had, inexplicably, never seen. It was most enjoyable - great film-making and competent acting by Travolta and, as a dastardly Bad Guy, John Lithgow. Hitchcock will always be with us.
I got up this morning to a quiet house, lounged around reading about XML processing in Python (it's an aquired taste) until it was time to get back to work. I spent about three hours cleaning up our compost area, which was being overrun with morning glory, blackberries, and laurel. It made a big difference to that sector of the yard - a place I have to attack with extreme prejudice, about every two years.
By then it was around 1 pm, and I was ready for a break. Made myself some lunch, then lay down on the living room couch, to enjoy reading, for the first time in many years 'Across the Wide Missouri', Bernard DeVoto's seminally entertaining history of the fur trade during the 1830s (hey, it's a lot more entertaining than you could possibly imagine).
Maisie wandered into the room, jumped up on me, and made herself comfortable for a snooze, lying in the crook of my arm. For those of you who are either new here, or have short memories, Maisie is our old, old cat, who we were convinced was about to die (or be euthanized) before we left for Spain.
Maisie is still hanging in there, not eating a lot, and looking very skinny and bony, but still with us, providing purrs and the presence that only a cat can bring to a room. I didn't want to disturb her, since she appeared so comfortable, so I just lay there, putting down my book, and savored the heat from her little body and her soft breathing.
Her tumors, first identified in early June, have grown. She is clearly going slowly downhill, but we are putting off taking any action as long as she does not appear to be suffering. The vet, back in early June, thought she would not survive our two-week absence.
Next weekend, we go to Manzanita for a week, leaving dog and cat in the capable (we hope) hands of Dylan. Yesterday, I went to Safeway for grocery shopping, and bought a great number of little cans of dog and cat food. I guess the dog will always be happy to eat cat food, but I wonder how many of those little cans will be eaten by the old cat.
At any rate, the two of us had a long time to enjoy each other's company this afternoon, before I had to get up, do more yard-work (finished turning the compost piles), make some dinner, and sit down to write this.
Karen returns tomorrow afternoon. Our out-of-town guests begin arriving Wednesday and we leave for the beach Friday afternoon. I am savoring my solitude and freedom this weekend.
Also rented 'Crash' from Blockbuster - will watch it tonight, after 'The Splendid Table', now on my local NPR station, finishes. See you in a day or so.
It's a long story.
At any rate, it's been a quiet weekend, with Karen gone, Ben only occasionally checking in via phone, and Dylan off with his buddies, since Friday night.
Yesterday, I had to hang around the house, waiting for the electrician to come and rebuild a line that was ripped out, when the big maple tree next to our house dropped a giant limb on the power line from our house to our out-buildings. It's a long story, too, and, to finish it up, was fixed with ingenuity and $100.
I did a bunch of yard-work yesterday by myself, then had a pleasant evening watching the DVD of the old Brian DePalma thriller, 'Blow Out', which I had, inexplicably, never seen. It was most enjoyable - great film-making and competent acting by Travolta and, as a dastardly Bad Guy, John Lithgow. Hitchcock will always be with us.
I got up this morning to a quiet house, lounged around reading about XML processing in Python (it's an aquired taste) until it was time to get back to work. I spent about three hours cleaning up our compost area, which was being overrun with morning glory, blackberries, and laurel. It made a big difference to that sector of the yard - a place I have to attack with extreme prejudice, about every two years.
By then it was around 1 pm, and I was ready for a break. Made myself some lunch, then lay down on the living room couch, to enjoy reading, for the first time in many years 'Across the Wide Missouri', Bernard DeVoto's seminally entertaining history of the fur trade during the 1830s (hey, it's a lot more entertaining than you could possibly imagine).
Maisie wandered into the room, jumped up on me, and made herself comfortable for a snooze, lying in the crook of my arm. For those of you who are either new here, or have short memories, Maisie is our old, old cat, who we were convinced was about to die (or be euthanized) before we left for Spain.
Maisie is still hanging in there, not eating a lot, and looking very skinny and bony, but still with us, providing purrs and the presence that only a cat can bring to a room. I didn't want to disturb her, since she appeared so comfortable, so I just lay there, putting down my book, and savored the heat from her little body and her soft breathing.
Her tumors, first identified in early June, have grown. She is clearly going slowly downhill, but we are putting off taking any action as long as she does not appear to be suffering. The vet, back in early June, thought she would not survive our two-week absence.
Next weekend, we go to Manzanita for a week, leaving dog and cat in the capable (we hope) hands of Dylan. Yesterday, I went to Safeway for grocery shopping, and bought a great number of little cans of dog and cat food. I guess the dog will always be happy to eat cat food, but I wonder how many of those little cans will be eaten by the old cat.
At any rate, the two of us had a long time to enjoy each other's company this afternoon, before I had to get up, do more yard-work (finished turning the compost piles), make some dinner, and sit down to write this.
Karen returns tomorrow afternoon. Our out-of-town guests begin arriving Wednesday and we leave for the beach Friday afternoon. I am savoring my solitude and freedom this weekend.
Also rented 'Crash' from Blockbuster - will watch it tonight, after 'The Splendid Table', now on my local NPR station, finishes. See you in a day or so.
Friday, July 28, 2006
an interview with My Hero
Gore Vidal, in the August 2006 'The Progressive'.
Classic GV quote: "There is no human problem which could not be solved if people would simply do as I advise.”
Classic GV quote: "There is no human problem which could not be solved if people would simply do as I advise.”
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