Sat. September 10, 2005
Greenhouse in Holland
Spending a great afternoon in Amsterdam experiencing their excellent coffee. The Amsterdam Coffeeshop Directory. Thank goodness for java!!
Thu. August 25, 2005
Flying to Alaska
Not really, but I am flying to Seattle on Alaska Airlines, rated dead last in on-time arrivals. Nice people, although we are indeed more than an hour late.
Thu. April 28, 2005
Not Again
I gotta tell you, this is getting frustrating. Every time I find a new, pretty young actress to fantasize about, she goes off and hooks up with some buff hollywood hunk. I mean, first it's Jennifer Garner getting engaged to Ben Affleck, now it's Katie Holmes shagging Tom Cruise. Tom Cruise Dating Actress Katie Holmes [ABC News.com].
There they are in Rome, holding hands. Too cute. Well, if I were a woman, I definitely would not throw Tom out of my bed. But Katie, you really shouldn't piss on the dreams of all your secret admirers!
Wed. April 13, 2005
Small Minds
This just makes no sense. One day after concluding that breast implants remain too risky, because of lack of actual data in field trials, to permit their reintroduction, an FDA advisory panel voted 7-2 to permit a different manufacturer to resume their sale. FDA Panel OKs Implants [RedHerring.com]. Yesterday's decision was based on the rationale that the company, Mentor, had only three years' of test data. But today's approval of silicone devices from Inamed was based on only two years' testing.
BusinessWeek describes the debate as a "ball of confusion." I think it's more simple than that. Big breasts reduce men to small minds!
Mon. April 11, 2005
Santo Subito
Even as a Jew, I deeply admired Pope John Paul II, feeling that his humanity, charisma and courage more than overshadowed his conservative (actually, reactionary) views on issues like opposing condoms for AIDS prevention. This is a man who helped topple Communism in his native Poland (born Karol Jozef Wojtyla and a priest there for decades) by suporting Lech Walesa and the Solidarity movement and helped the Roman Catholic Church, for the first time, apologize for its silent acquiesence during Hitler's Holocaust of World War II.
Now that he has passed away, an old, stooped and silent man, the cry in St. Peter's square is "sainthood now" (Santo Subito in Italian). John Paul II on Fast Track for Canonization? [Catholic World News]. Whether he's got enough living and posthumous "miracles" for beautification is questionable, as is the whole idea of religious miracles, but the man was indeed a saint. The conclave should make him one officially.
Wed. April 6, 2005
Human Cannonball
Very cool. Hunter S. Thompson's ashes will be blasted from a cannon sculpted into a 53-foot high fist in a public ceremony in August, his widow said Tuesday. Mr. Gonzo journalist was also a gun freak, and this was one of his dying wishes. Have a blast, Hunter!
Sun. March 27, 2005
This is the Life
I'm back from vacation, where it snowed all but one day at Telluride. Check out my photos. Sure beats working any day, especially on powder days, like we had all week.
Wed. February 23, 2005
It Never Rains in California
Unlike the 1972 pop song by Albert Hammond, it's not true that "it never rains in Southern California." The media is all over the story of the recent storms in Los Angeles and Orange County, what with mudslides, houses falling off cliffs and other spectacular images. Deadly S. California Storm Rages Into its 5th Day [USAToday.com]. But the truth is that February is always rainy in California -- north and south -- something Easterners simply don't understand. They see pictures of the San Gabriel mountains, snow-capped around greater L.A., and think that's what the basin looks like year-round.
In reality, February is the time to bring umbrellas, ponchos and very bright headlights. Once, when I lived in Del Mar in North San Diego County, it was so foggy in the early evening (the "marine layer" never burns off in the winter) that I could not even find an exit off the freeway.
Now it's true that these rains are much more substantial than in the past 15 years. But it always rains in the desert in the winter. Things are just backwards in California. Winters are green, summers are brown, and Republicans are moderate. Welcome to California -- do not back up, severe tire damage.
Mon. February 14, 2005
Long Time Coming
When one works in an industry, it's somewhat amazing how wrong the press -- including those frequently praised as erudite -- can be about the issues of the day. Take the current wave of mergers in the telecommunications industry, like SBC-AT&T and Verizon-MCI. Verizon to Acquire MCI for $6.75 Billion [Forbes.com].
The usually thoughtful Forbes opined that the MCI deal "is the latest example of how regulatory changes in Washington are continuing to transform the telephone industry." That's hardly the case. Despite the Telecommunications Act of 1996, there have been very FEW regulatory changes in Washington (i.e., the Federal Communications Commission) because the local telephone monopolists -- who years ago were granted permission to merge the "Baby Bells" down from seven to four -- used the courts to overturn almost every regulatory change commanded by the FCC. (Indeed, the basic telecom regulatory and policy issues are the same now as they were two decades ago.) Meanwhile, fundamental technological changes continued to make dramatic cuts in the cost of long-distance, which in turn meant that the source of AT&T's and MCI's earnings was being vaporized by low margins, cell phones and the like. Combine that with huge overcapacity in long-haul fiber optic networks, available post-bankruptcy for pennies on the dollar, and one has all the makings of a classic market glut followed by shakeout.
These deals are not happening because of regulatory changes, rather despite (or maybe even because of) the lack of regulatory change in Washington.
Tue. November 30, 2004
74 In a Row
So Ken "Jeopardy" Jennings, after dominating the TV game show hosted by Alex Trebek for $2.52 million over six months -- the biggest quiz show money winner in history -- finally lost. He's an amazingly smart guy, filled with obscure trivia, but he's become arrogant and mightingly annoying after 74-straight games of winnning. And most of the competitors matched against him wouldn't even ring their buzzers!!. So long, Ken! Take the money and run -- far away.
Tue. September 7, 2004
Newton Anyone?
Newton Nuts Show How It's Done [wired.com]. I was once an Apple Newton fanatic, owning the original and every subsequent model Apple shipped from 1993 through 1997. This is a little much, though. Give it a rest!
Frances
Just spoke with my mother, who lives in in Lake Worth, Florida and has been without electricity, phones or gasoline since Saturday in the wake of Hurricane Frances. Today power outages still affect 2 million homes and businesses -- about a quarter of the state's 16 million people -- and topped a list of concerns as tanker loads of gasoline arrived but could not be pumped because there was no electricity at most gas stations. Out-Of-State Power Crews Return to Fla. [Forbes.com].
She says civilization has not broken down and folks are being generous and civil to each other, for instance in navigating streets when all traffic lights are inoperable. I saw the same phenomenon last year, after a post-hurricane (Isabel) storm felled hundreds of trees in the Washington, D.C. area, knocking out power and blocking roads. Remarkable. But why does it seem to take tragedy or loss to make people behave nice to each other these days?
Sun. August 29, 2004
Nice Tits
This is hilarious. Check out www.nice-tits.org. Not at all what you (dirty minded reader) may expect!
Wed. August 11, 2004
Vacation
Hey, I'm finally getting a break, at the ocean in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, so no blogging for a little while.
Tue. July 27, 2004
Sweet Revenge
Acts of personal vengeance reflect a biologically rooted sense of justice, geneticists say, that functions in the brain something like appetite. Payback Time: Why Revenge Tastes So Sweet [NYTimes.com]
This sounds more like sociology than science to me. But the truth is the same; revenge is an endorphin and, like all emotions, both serves a social function and can get carried away, beyond its usefulness. So F.U.R.B.
Mon. July 26, 2004
Games for Girls
A New Player at The Video Screen [TechNews.com]. Another in a long series of pesudo-exposes about why there are so few video and computer games oriented towards girls. Well, since 61% of all gamers are boys and young men, like Willie Sutton, that's "where the money is." No different than network TV advertisers going after the 18-34 male demographic. They may not like it, but chicks don't count very much in the computer gaming market. That's capitlailsm. Get over it.
Sun. July 4, 2004
Blood, Sweat and Gears
The Tour de France has started once again. It's a spectacle, an epic sports event and a social happening in France, and if you follow just a few days on cable's Outdoor Life Network you'll become hooked. So hop on, peddle like mad and enjoy these tremendously strong fellows biking around at an amazing 30+ miles per hour. Then have your domestique (support rider) send up a little musette (snack in a cloth bag) and you'll be able to settle in for all 23 days and 2,000 km [ESPN Glossary].
Wed. May 26, 2004
Suicide Is Painless
A U.S. Appeals Court on Wednesday ruled that a Bush Administration directive seeking to stop Oregon doctors from helping terminally ill patients commit suicide was unlawful and unenforceable. The decision by the 9th Circuit held that Attorney General John Ashcroft overstepped his authority when he ordered Oregon doctors to ignore a state law -- the "Oregon Death with Dignity Act." both passed and then later reaffirmed by voters via referrendum -- that allowed phyisicians to prescribe lethal doses of medication to terminally ill patients who wished to die. [Reuters.com].
The specific legal question addressed was not whether physician-assisted suicide is appropriate, but rather only who decides, states or the federal government. In a switch much like 2000's Bush v. Gore case that decided the presidential election, a liberal majority relied on principles of federalism to find that medical practice is an issue on which states have the final word, while the dissenting conservative judge argued that the Attorney General and the Constitution permit federal regulation of medical practice when it involves controlled substances. (The full opinions are here.)
The dissenting judge was J. Clifford Wallace, for whom I clerked in 1981-82. He is an independent, tremendously principled and courageous jurist. But I find it ironic that Judge Wallace used decisions extending the scope of federal power to override what he and other conservatives have for years championed, namely the limited nature of federal authority vis-a-vis traditional state activities regarding health and safety (known in legal parlance as "police power"). I think he's wrong here, but I have and always will greatly respect his legal judgments even when they disagree with mine.
The one point on which I violently disagree with with Judge Wallace's dissent, however, is his claim that the majority's decision overrides the democratic process. Seems to me it's really the other way around. Ashcroft disregarded the state democratic process to issue a federal edict. When state voters affirmatively decide, twice, to allow physician-assisted suicide, what right does the federal government have to step in and change that? And even if the feds have the power, isn't it contrary to everything America stands for to have the courts permit it to do so -- particularly when there is no constitutional barrier to state law -- in the face of a democratically approved law in an area of traditional state concern?
The next battleground of this issue will be the many cases certain to arise regarding gay marriage. It will be interesting to see whether the same, ironic switch between liberals and conservatives happens here, as well. I suspect the answer will be like the case last year in which the Supreme Court, by a 6-3 vote, overturned Texas' law criminalizing homosexual sodomy. It will be treated almost as a no-brainer.
Tue. April 20, 2004
Cell Phone Holding Tank
What a great and simple idea. At Baltimore-Washington Airport, just north of where I live, officials have put together a 50-acre parking lot where motorists can await wireless calls from arrivng passengers. This avoids driving in circles around the airport or wasting time and money on leaving one's car. BWI 'Cell Phone Lot' to Untangle Traffic.
Now all we need is a similar holding lot for all the terrorists, the TSA inspectors, the federal air marshals and the rude flight attendants, and we would be all set. Not!
Tue. April 6, 2004
Flush the Ducts
This is just too good to resist. According to a recent research study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, frequent ejaculation helps to decrease a man's chances of developing prostate cancer. [MSNBC.com]. So if your woman isn't giving you any......now there's a health reason for whacking off.
Of course, other stories pointed out that "on average, the men overall had four to seven ejaculations a month." And you thought men were obsessed with sex? That's a pittance. We're talking basically once a week, like church. Let's get with it, boys!!
Sun. March 28, 2004
Seat Belts for Pets
In Santa Fe, New Mexico, local officials are contemplating passing an ordinance that would require pet owners to restrain their dogs, cats and ferrets in special pet seats or with seat belts while traveling in a moving vehicle. Most news outlets ran the story today under their "odd" or "oddly enough" banners. Screwy, whacko or insane would be a more appropriate categorization. America may have become a nation in which personal resonsibility is unfortunately excused because we are all treated as vicitims, but now we're treating pets like children. Since the U.S. already has a new federal law that makes it a crime to kill a pregnant woman's fetus, why not prosecute those who fail to put pets in seat belts as murderers, too?
Wed. March 17, 2004
A 10th Planet?
For years when I was young I was fascinated by the planets and the solar system. This has led to a deep interest in cosmology and relativity, but still is based on those majestic other worlds that, in space terms, lie right in Earth's own backyard.
This week's announcement of the discovery of a 10th "planetoid" -- dubbed Sedna for an Inuit goddess because it is so cold -- orbiting in an eliptical path many millions of miles outside Pluto throws everything into chaos. Pluto's Planet Status Could be Jeopardized by Sedna Discovery [Yahoo! News]. The mini-planet has an eccentric 10,500-year orbit that ranges between 8 billion and 84 billion miles (12.8 billion and 134 billion kilometers), which is much farther away than the existing nine planets and an outlying ring of frozen cosmic leftovers known as the Kuiper Belt.
For decades after Pluto's discovery, no other objects were discovered beyond Neptune. In recent years, however, other round objects about half Pluto's size have been detected in the Kuiper Belt, much closer than Sedna. And Sedna itself is so far from the Sun that if you were standing on the surface of Sedna today, and you held a pin at arm's length, you could cover up the entire Sun with the head of that pin.
So is this new discovery a planet or not? The International Astronomical Union is set to decide by establishing standards for what constitutes a planet (size, distance from the Sun, shape of orbit, etc.) I tend to agree with Michael Brown of CalTech, who first spotted Sedna. "Either Pluto is not a planet, or many other things are planets," Brown said today. "Which is a better choice? I want my planets to be more special, not less special, so I favor Pluto not being a planet. Emotionally, though, I have to admit that I have grown up thinking Pluto this special odd-ball planet at the edge of the solar system. While I now know scientifically that Pluto is less special, it's still hard to let go."
Wed. January 7, 2004
Princess Di
So while the British coroner starts an inquiry into the death of Princess Diana in her Mercedes limousine in Paris six years ago, the London tabloids have now released a letter allegedly written by Diana in the months before her death claiming that Prince Charles was planning to have her killed in a car accident to clear the way for him to remarry. Accusations Swirl Around Diana Probe. This is good stuf. Sick, but good!!
Mon. January 5, 2004
Spirit Soars
With the successful landing of the "Spirit" spacecraft rover on Mars, we are once again, at long last, treated to the thrill of NASA getting it right. The rover beat dismal odds and landed inside an ancient Connecticut-sized crater on the planet late Saturday night. The touchdown sparks the most ambitious search yet for life on Mars and has the potential to reinvigorate NASA, which has come under stinging criticism for a string of failures.It's especially delightful since the British/EU probe "Beagle" still has not responded from the Martian surface, suggesting it was destroyed on entry.
Mon. December 29, 2003
Mad Cow Mistakes
Seems that two of the major assumptions the Bush Administration is peddling about the Mad Cow disease found in a Washington State cow that was slaughtered are both wrong.
First, it has been determined (at least tentatively) that the animal was imported as a calf from Canada, making the point that international rules to prevent transfer of diseased livestock do not work. Second, while the U.S. Agriculture Department was adamant that the carcass was not delivered into the human food suppply, the fact is that the infected cow's meat reached retailers in eight Western states.
Japan, the EU and lots of other countries have banned US beef imports, for the same reason Canadian beef was banned last year and British beef before that. The US does not help its case by lying. And making pronoucements based on incomplete or inaccurate information that no infected meat was sold to humans is about as close to lying as one can come. That the truth only came out a week later just compounds the problem.
UPDATE: The government did a major about-frace yesterday, leading to this disturbing conclusion. "It seems almost inevitable that some part of the cow was eaten." It was killed on Dec. 9, and ground up with about 20 others to make a batch of 10,000 pounds of hamburger that was shipped to groceries in eight states and Guam, although 80 percent went to Oregon and Washington, the Agriculture Department says.
Tue. December 9, 2003
Sterile, Stupid and Fat
Great Britain is breeding "a generation of adults that will tend to be infertile, obese and prone to mental illness," the British Medical Association announced yesterday. [TimesOnline.com]. The research focuses on teens and is related largely to income levels, but the same conclusions seem to hold in the US as well. Not a pretty picture.
Fri. December 5, 2003
My Brain Hurts
Even a little tipple shrinks your brain, according to the Times Online of London. Prior studies had found that moderate alcohol consumption reduced the risk of heart attack and stroke. Well, who needs to think anyway!!
Sat. November 29, 2003
Black Friday
Retailers call it "Black Friday" because it has traditionally marked the day of the year when they get out of the red and start to profit. Others call in insanity and a crass reminder of the commercialism pervading American culture. But I've got to say that one hasn't really lived until you've braved the mall crowds in the early pre-dawn hours on the morning after Thanksgiving in suburban America.
I paid tribute to the shopping gods at 6:30 a.m. yesterday in Alparatta, Georgia -- surrounded by good old boys, SUVs and a surprisingly diverse mix of racial and ethnic groups. Oh yeah, we bought a few things, too.
Wed. November 12, 2003
God and Country
Suspended Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore says he did not violate judicial ethics laws in refusing a federal court order to take a 5,300-pound granite monument to the 10 Commandments out of his courthouse. "10 Commandments" Ethics Trial to Begin [FOXNews.com]. Well, 40 years ago George Wallace stood in an Alabama schoolhouse door and refused to comply with another federal court order compelling integration. There's a history here, and it all points to these guys taking the law into their own hands. Hebrew National hot dogs can advertise that they answer to a "higher authority," but not judges in the United States of America. Unrepentant Roy Moore should take a civics lesson and learn some of the sordid history of his own state.
Fri. November 7, 2003
My Ozone Made Me Do It
According to Toronto's Globe and Mail, scientists at the Scripps Research Institute in California have found evidence that human bodies produce ozone gas -- a component of smog -- that contributes to hardening of the arteries. Humans Produce Ozone, Researchers Find. So maybe Ronald Reagan was right after all and trees really are responsible for polution!!
The End of the Solar System
After traveling for more than 20 years, the Voyager I spacecraft is now nearing the edge of our solar system and is about to pass into interstellar space. [usatoday.com]. It is 8.37 billion miles from the Sun, three times further away than the planet Pluto. Not a bad ride. There's only 44,000 years left to the next star, and after that we're into the realm of "V'Ger" from Star Trek. Very cool stuff.
Tue. September 23, 2003
Desperate Disney?
Tim Goodman, TV critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, says that ABC (owned by Disney & Co.) is a "desperate and clueless network" for continuing the "8 Simple Rules" sitcom starring the late John Ritter. One Simple Rule: Don't Support ABC's Cruelty. Goodman writes that
Well and truly correct. But the current episodes are in the can and one can hardly blame ABC for trying to salvage their leading show. I suspect the new scripts will more likely be almost a tribute to Ritter, and a reminder of the fragility of life, than a maudlin effort to reap returns from his sudden passing. At least one can hope.
Fri. September 5, 2003
Building Bridges
The American Society of Civil Engineers has given United States infrastructure -- roads, bridges, water systems, etc. -- a "D-" grade and warns we may be in for a chatastrophic failure. American Infrastructure Gets Poor Grade [ABCNews.com].
So let me get this straight. America is spending billions repairing and improving infrastructure in Iraq, that we spent untold billions destroying in the first place, and now our own stuff is crumbling. Someone needs to get their priorities straight. Listen up, President Bush!!
Wed. August 13, 2003
Hotties in the EU
Yes, it's hot in Europe, more than 30C (that's 86F here in the US), with forest fires blazing. Europe Swelters And Suffers [cbsnews.com]. 
But that is nothing compared with what we in the "New World" routinely suffer through in the summer, and we've got the best (or worst, depending on perspective) wildfires on the planet. One difference is that those EU'ers apparently don't believe in air conditioning -- and they don't have shopping malls for teenagers to hang out in -- so inside is even hotter than outside.
Vive la difference!
Sun. May 25, 2003
Conquering Everest
Fifty years to the day after becoming the first human being to summit Mt. Everest, Edmund Hillary of New Zealand says he is a man "of modest abilities." That once-incredible achievement has becoming less daunting over the years, though, illustrated by this week's firsts. A 15-year old Nepal girl became the youngest person to scale the mountain, and another Sherpa climber, Pemba Dorjie, broke the record for the quickest Everest ascent. [The Observer].
But this fascination with Everest has a cost, especially for the intrepid souls who challenge the world's highest peak. The going rate is UKŁ29,000 for a 70-day trip. This includes hotel and airport transfer fees, accommodation in Kathmandu, all road transport by private vehicles, camping facilities and meals on Everest, oxygen supply and apparatus, as well as costs for porterage, leaders, guides and Sherpas. And, of course, now there are Everest climbing guides on the Web. As MSNBC says, "Everest has been has been fetishized, commodified and, predictably, trashed."
Thu. May 22, 2003
The Other Michael
He's led 398 laps in 13 races, the most of any racer, without a victory in the Indianapolis 500. [rpm.espn.com] 
He's saddled with the famed "Andretti Curse," begun by his father Mario, which mysteriously causes their machines to break -- over and over again -- agonizingly close to the checkered flag while leading. So Michael Andretti's last driving appearance at the Brickyard has got to be an emotional favorite in this weekend's Memorial Day classic. I know I will be cheering for him.
Mon. April 14, 2003
WorldCom Is Dead
So Bernie's fiasco is finally over. They've taken his ranch and now are mothballing his corporate name. It's just a shame that the once-proud MCI brand will apply to the sad remnants of such a sordid band of scum. [Washington Business Journal]
Thu. April 3, 2003
Hey, This is Better!
Read the MT documentation and added a stylesheet. Much improved, I think.
Way to go, MovableType!
Wed. April 2, 2003
Excuse My Format
I've switched the blog from iBlog, a local Macintosh application, to Movable Type, a server-based CGI scripting package. This will allow me to post from any computer with Web access. There's a lot to learn, however, and all I could accomplish this evening was installation and importing prior entries. So it's a Plain Jane blog for a little while.
Sat. March 29, 2003
Welcome to My Blog
It doesn't seem right to begin this process without an appropriate welcome.
Weblogs, also known as "blogging," are based on a new technology that with the benefit of RSS and XML, supports the collection of linked, related information in a free-form manner -- a little like stream of consciouness. Blog definition. Having just launched it, I do not know what Glenn's Blog will turn out to be. Perhaps a quickly passing fad. Perhaps a longer term journal substitute. Only time will tell.
Posted by glenn at 10:00 PM