I have a day job. So every word of this is my opinion, not that of my employer. This offer IS void in Wisconsin. Except, of course, that some material in this column comes from incoming e-mail; such material is usually reproduced in the Sans Serif type font to distinguish it from the (somewhat) original material.

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Tales of Teaching 2004
Tales of Teaching 2005

February 27, 2006 Vol. 8, No. 9

General News

• Bodega Bay/Rae Returns II

Political News

• Going Soft, Telcos Role in NSA Scandal, Safe Nuclear

Craig Reynolds' Technobriefs

Humor

• Blonde Joke

Movies

• Illusion

Letters

• Lorrie's Alternate Pink Panther View, Invest in Rocketry, Peterman Finds Top Song Site, Tech Support, Dan Grobstein File

General News

Bodega Bay/Rae Returns II

Vicki and I spent a wonderful three-day weekend at Bodega Bay, walking on the beach, taking long naps, watching DVDs and Olympics at night, and eating out at the Union Hotel in Occidental. The weather was cold and windy, sometimes even rainy, but it was relaxing. Just as there are mountain people and beach people, there are "relax on your vacation" and "get stimulated on your vacation" people. Vicki and I belong to the relax category, which, I believe, frustrated our girls when they were younger. Heck, it probably frustrates them now.

Rae arrived Monday afternoon at Oakland via JetBlue from Long Beach after a couple of days of rollicking with her Los Angeles friends. Her Macintosh has a little problem (it couldn't videoconference) which I managed to turn into a big problem (it wouldn't boot). I hate Macs. Of course, I did something so stupid it defies description: I did not back up her hard drive before starting work. A beginner's error and it embarrasses me. As it turns out it was a hardware failure, so I wasn't really at fault, but still. While she was home, I taught her how to do backups. Let's hope she starts doing them, and then keeps doing them.

Thursday after school, Rae and I rode bikes from the Iron Horse Trail trailhead at South Broadway do Andronicos in San Ramon--a little less than half the 40 mile length of this former SP right-of-way now converted to a multiple use trail. We had a great time, and I learned that Rae used to dread our rides here, but doesn't anymore. It is so cool when children grow up.

Vicki and Rae tried to play tennis on Friday, both in the morning and afternoon. It was cold (for California, which means 50) and a little windy, but the worst part was that all the courts were taken at Meadow Swim and Tennis. It was disappointing to both of them that they could not play tennis, and disappointing to Vicki and me that we pay all these dues for a club we rarely use, and still had the misfortune of not finding a court available.

Those of you who have been paying attention may well remember that Le Petit Nid was once my favorite restaurant in San Francisco--it was a little six-table French place in the Marina just off Lombard in San Francisco (I took you there once, Harrison, remember?) I didn't go that often, and it disappeared between visits.

Well, we don't get over to Lafayette as much since they closed the Park Theater, so imagine our surprise when the venerable hole-in-the-wall pizza place transmogrified into an absolutely delightful six-table Italian restaurant, with great food and real personality of an owner/host. Ask him about his remodeling!

Rae left Saturday morning and I missed her before she was off the ground. Vicki and I feel blessed by God in abundance by the fact that both of our daughters still want to spend time with us.

11am

Political Notes

Going Soft, Telcos Role in NSA Scandal, Safe Nuclear

Maybe I'm losing my edge, but I cannot get riled up about the scandal du jour, the Dubai takeover of P&O. I really don't think it's going to compromise port security. I heard a telling NPR analysis, which noted that it is nearly impossible to find an expert (not a politician, but an expert) who is worried about the deal. Clearly Steve Gilliard and Uggabugga are worried (thank you Dan Grobstein),

First Dick Cheney, and now this. Speaking of Dick, there's a lot of speculation that he was drunk at the time of the shooting incident--well more than the "one beer" he admitted on Fox. Those of us who've known people with drinking problems (or DUIs for that matter) know they always vastly underestimate their alcohol intake. I am sure Cheney is no different. But of course, we'll never know, so I plan to continue to give him a pass. Bad judgment, failure to notify the press--as the question goes, does this rise to the level of an impeachable offense? No. Bush's actions do, but we know he won't be impeached either. Batten down the hatches, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

***

Richard Dalton has been following the communications industry for years. He notes:

***

The problem with nuclear power, as those of you who have been paying attention are aware, is that in the event of a catastrophic loss of coolant, the reactor goes critical and can melt through its container vessel, spreading radioactivity over a wide area. How about a nuclear reactor that "scrams" (shuts down) when it loses its coolant. Thanks to the folks at MIT (among other places) such a reactor exists: it's called a Pebble-Bed Modular Reactor or PMBR. There are arguments, of course, some of them listed in this Wikipedia article. The South Africans swear by PMBR. There are better solutions of course, including mini and micro power generation by wind or solar. But if the world is going to avoid massive electrical shortages in the next few decades, it may be time to allow the good to triumph until we can get around to the perfect.

***

• One shot over Cheney's bow; the Internet is full of speculation he was drunk; here's just one more example. I won't pile on; I could have done a whole section on this issue. If he was drunk, that does change things a little.

• BBC: Report probes US custody deaths
• The author of The End Of History says he can no longer support neocon foreign policy.

• When William F. Buckley Jr. says "One can't doubt that the American objective in Iraq has failed," you know the President is losing his right wing. National Review: It Didn't Work.

• CNN: Pentagon: Iraqi troops downgraded: No Iraqi battalion capable of fighting without U.S. support

• Watchdog Group Questions 2004 Fla. Vote

• From Truthseeker a website that's a bit on the tinfoil hat end of the spectrum: Renewed Afghan Drug Trade
• Remember when Bush rode his bike into a Scottish constable? US leader crashed by trying to 'pedal, wave and speak at same time'

• White House 'Discovers 250 Emails Related to Plame Leak. The very same GOP lawmakers who howled when Hillary found law firm billing records remain oddly silent...

8:00

Craig Reynolds' Technobriefs

One more week on vacation

7:00

Humor

Blonde Joke

I am married to a blonde, and still I can't resist:

6:50

Movies

Illusion

4 stars

While Rae was home, she talked me into seeing a little indie film called Illusion starring Kirk Douglas. I wasn't bowled over by the description: a man in a theater watches the movie of his life. It seemed familiar, even hackneyed. Well blow me over! First of all, the fit and finish, the polish of this film (made on maxed out credit cards according to the director in a radio interview I heard) is absolutely remarkable. Secondly, as any avid moviegoer knows, Kirk Douglas had a stroke a few years ago. If you head him on Terry Gross (or anywhere else) you know how much trouble he has communicating. Well, he doesn't have any difficulty turning in a virtuoso performance as the man near death in this film. It's kind of like watching Shakespeare. My mother the English teachers says you just have to accept the fact that you won't understand anything for the first 15 minutes. Same with Kirk. But as with Shakespeare, you start to get used to Kirk and you realize what an amazing actor he still is.

Believe you me, Illusion won't make it to the mall or probably even Blockbuster. But see it at the art house now, or put it on your Netflix list for later.

630

Letters

Lorrie's Alternate Pink Panther View, Invest in Rocketry, Peterman Finds Top Song Site, Tech Support, Dan Grobstein File

My Pink Panther review drew this letter, proposing an alternative and more appreciative view:

Interested in advancing the cause of reusable rocket science? If you have deep pockets, you can lend a hand. Rich Pournelle wrote me to say:

I doubt I have many readers in that league, but if you are, this is your chance to help make space travel commonplace.

Kent Peterman checks in with advice from the New York Times on how to make a tech support call, as well as:

Your editor swiped two of Dan's items for the Politics section...

• The Simpsonmaker, [to which your editor can only say two things: wow and "this flash programmer has too much time on his hands"]
• This novelty item is probably only effective if you use mass transit.

5:00

Dave Methvin's PC Pitstop