Virginia results

Cool widget from the Virginia State Board of Elections shows real-time election results!!

If the world could vote...

This site allows people from the world over to cast their ballots for the current US Presidential election.

At the moment, with over 700,000 votes from 200+ countries, John McCain is winning in Albania & Macedonia.

And to any of my readers who choose a candidate based solely on his stance toward Israel - note which candidate 64% of Israelis so far have chosen.

McCain & Government Healthcare: Hypocrisy in action

John McCain and his Vice-Mouthpiece, Mrs. Palin, have been railing on about how Obama plans to create a huge, inefficient government bureaucracy to ensure health insurance for all Americans that want it.

Funny thing about that... I wonder who paid for the top-notch medical care that cured Senator McCain of his potentially life-threatening melanoma?

Government healthcare SAVED HIS LIFE and he's bloviating about how awful it would be if all Americans had the opportunity to have government healthcare.

Awful, indeed. Can you just imagine the impact on national elections if we were to close the racial life expectancy gap?

It's still my blog!!

Just decided it was time for a new outfit.

Where do your Petrodollars go?

The Energy Information Administration, a department of the US Dept of Energy, publishes a monthly report listing all petroleum products imported into the United States, broken down by company.

There's some interesting stuff in there. Personally, I like to get gas from companies that import little or no oil from oppressive Theocracies. This report identifies them.

You can download the spreadsheet for yourself here (top link in the list), but I've prepared some quick statistics on the major-brand gas retailers. It's not 100% reliable because independent gas stations buy from a variety of importers & refiners - but rather directionally helpful.
Given, I arbitrarily selected Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Libya. I left out several moderate Arab states like Oman and Kuwait. But through this lens, some things are starkly apparent.

• ExxonMobil - more than 40% of their oil imports come from Saudi Arabia & Iraq
• Chevron - not far behind, with 34% of petroleum imports coming from those two countries
• Marathon - imports 28% of their petroleum from Saudi Arabia
• BP & Valero - both get more than one fifth of their oil from Iraq, Libya & Saudi Arabia

On the flip-side, these companies import little or no petroleum from Iraq, Libya & SA:

• Hess
• Irving
• Sinclair
• Citgo (mostly from Venezuela; I'm okay with that)
• Sunoco
• Shell (imports less than 6% from Libya)
• ConocoPhillips (imports 8.4% from the three, but only 1.3% from Saudi Arabia)

The experts say this is a goofy way to decide where to fill your tank - since there's a limited supply of petroleum, any intelligent company is going to buy from where there's availability - but I have to admit that the silver lining of filling my tank at Sunoco or Shell is knowing that not a penny of it is going to line the pockets of the Saudi royal family.

EDIT: And while all of this data is just for the month of August, I've pulled the report in other months and the percentages are relatively consistent.

Bad week for Zoos & Aquariums

An angry rhino attacks and kills his cellmate at the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk.

The Georgia Aquarium experiences paranormal activity while hosting relics from the Titanic.

And, double-whammy for Atlanta - a pregnant elephant at Zoo Atlanta has died. After unexplained weight loss of 800 lb!!!!

Jews for Jesus: They want to rescue my soul and my vote, too! (A multiple-choice question)

A true email exchange.

Video from Jewish Syndicated Columnist
CreationsByTim@a*l.com Mon, Oct 27, 2008 at 4:03 PM
To: Flipper

Please watch this short video by syndicated Jewish columnist.
shocking and revealing.

http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=193353

THE JEWISH CASE AGAINST OBAMA

This clearly presents the positions of Obama. He is no friend of Israel
As a Jew, many people ask me who I am supporting in the upcoming Presidential election, my response has always been, and will remain, who will be the best supporter of Israel?
The United States position on the future and well-being of Israel is at stake and it is my Biblical responsibility to defend God's People, my people and His Land, I will support nothing less......If we Americans take care of the "Apple of God's Eye," then He will take care of America. There can be no compromise.
There is much at stake in the upcoming election, it is my prayer that you will prayerfully consider your vote as well.
Blessings Robin

Video from Jewish Syndicated Columnist
From: Flipper Mon, Oct 27, 2008 at 4:19 PM
To: CreationsByTim@a*l.com

Who are you?
Where did you get my email address?


Read up.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/opinion/18friedman.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrill_McPeak#McPeak.27s_response

The sensationalist crap doesn't work so well with me. I happen to know one of Sen. Obama's senior Middle East advisors personally.

Note - at this point, I also forward the original email to AOL's TOS abuse address to complain about being spammed.

Video from Jewish Syndicated Columnist
CreationsByTim@a*l.com Mon, Oct 27, 2008 at 4:36 PM
To: Flipper

Your email is posted on your website. I too am Jewish. I am trying to get the truth out to my people. God forbid this man should get into office. Have you seen this?
YouTube - Gaddafi: Obama is a Muslim - Foreign Donations to the Obama Campaign

Video from Jewish Syndicated Columnist
Flipper Mon, Oct 27, 2008 at 4:41 PM
To: CreationsByTim@a*l.com

Jewish, eh? Bridgeway Church is an interesting choice for a Jew...

(I, too, can Google)

And please turn down Rush & Hannity long enough to actually learn some facts.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/donations.asp

Anything further from you is headed straight into my Spam folder where it belongs, so please don't bother.

Re: Video from Jewish Syndicated Columnist
CreationsByTim@a*l.com Mon, Oct 27, 2008 at 4:49 PM
To: Flipper

Have you ever heard of a Messianic Jew....there are plenty of us out here.

At this point:

A. I respond with "HAAAA HAAA HAA Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!! Messianic Jew. That's funny."

B. I respond with "Given the paucity of actual facts in the sources you've sent, I deduce that your 'concern' for Israel is simply your presumption of the best way to prevent me from voting for a Pro-choice, pro-equal-rights candidate? You see, I have a degree in Early Christianity (or, as I like to call it, Messianic Jews (Pagans too) version 1.0). So I'm rather suspect of your motivations. And while it's certainly noble to think you can influence the outcome of the democratic process, Spaming with sensationalist BS is a pretty pathetic M.O. So I ask you, with all sincerity, to please get a life. Preferably, one that doesn't involve trying to convince others that their millenia-old heritage is bogus."

C. True to my earlier promise, I do not respond at all.

Okay, fine, it was C. And for the record - I found one blog post on Flippish in which I accidentally included my email address. I'd posted to the blog via email and forgot to erase my standard footer. Now remedied.

So... what do you think, folks?

If I were running for President

Charlie Gibson: Forgive my bluntness, but you're a relative unknown on the national political scene. In what way do you feel that you are qualified to be President? Let's start with foreign policy experience.

Me: Charlie, that's a fine and fair question, and I am prepared to allay the voters' concerns in this area. Let me ask you a question. What do all foreign leaders have in common? Putin, Ahmawhatchamacallitajad, that Karzai guy, the Iraqi leaders? What do they all have in common? They all wear clothes. And I - this is important - I do my own laundry. I've washed clothes. I've dried clothes. I know how to fold a pair of slacks without losing the crease.

Charlie: I'm sorry, laundry?

Me: Look, Charlie, we all wear clothes. But having done laundry myself, I understand the inner workings. I know what makes these people tick.

Charlie: (bewildered) Umm... okay then. But in what ways are you prepared to deal with the current economic crisis?

Me: Charlie, I understand the predicament facing the middle class. I have a full and deep understanding of their situation. I've been there. I've done my own laundry, just as they do. And I want to make life better for the middle class, because they're essential to our economy. Under my administration, it'll be easier for the middle class to make ends meet. To put food on the table. To do a couple loads of permanent press without the colors running. Color-safe bleach isn't cheap, and I understand these needs far better than my opponent because I've been there.

Baseball trivia for which I actually know the answer

I came across a major league baseball player who hit for the cycle* in two different leagues in two different millenia. I have no idea if he's the only player to have accomplished such a feat, but I'll give a prize of no value whatsoever to the first commenter to figure out (a) who I'm thinking of; and (b) if anyone else accomplished the same.

One person is disqualified from answering this, and he knows who he is.

*Single, double, triple, and HR in the same game. Now go sit this one out - if you didn't know what "hit for the cycle" means, you probably didn't have much likelihood of finding the answer.

Me & McCain

There was a time, around the "agents of intolerance" days, that John McCain might have been my favorite Republican politician.

Then he started kissing up to Falwell & Co, and I lost quite a bit of respect for him.

Then he showed his mean and nasty side during the early stages of this presidential cycle, and I lost more respect for him.

Then he picked a totally unqualified, polarizing figure for his VP, and again, his stock fell in my estimation.

Then he launched some of the most vicious, untruthful campaign advertising we've seen in years. The kind of thing that was supposed to be prevented by forcing candidates to feign dignity by stating "I approved this message."

At present, I'd say he's about on par with Dubya and Cheney in my book. So much for post-partisanship, eh John?

Reflections

It's impossible, at least in this part of the country, not to be thinking about it today. Even just for the impact on my commute this morning, since I often take a Metro bus to the Pentagon to pick up the subway. Virtually every route into the Pentagon is blocked today by police cars, officers, military trucks, and uniformed members of the armed services. (Buses are re-routed to a nearby station.)

Then again, I have reminders on a regular basis. On days that I don't take the bus, my carpool passes the Western side of the Pentagon, where a huge swath of the facade is clearly a newer, cleaner shade of stone. The Pentagon Memorial, which will be dedicated and opened to the public today, lies just yards from our regular route, so I've watched it under various stages of construction.

But today is the day that we all relive the moment. I was in the office when rumor started spreading about a plane hitting the World Trade Center. I clearly remember which coworker's voice I overheard, saying, "No, I think it was a commercial plane!" in response to somebody's inquiry. I walked down to the cafeteria, which had a dozen or so TV sets, to see what was going on - more as an aviation enthusiast than out of any concern or fear. But as minutes passed, the cafeteria filled with employees - there were over 2,000 in the building - and the fear struck everyone deeply, as we all realized the gravity of the situation. Nobody got any work done that day, and many of us spent it phoning relatives and wondering why we weren't being sent home.

It's cliche to say that we were all Americans that day. But there's something to that - in fact, a little bit of that seems to return each year on the anniversary. On the Metro this morning, there was just a slightly different air. It wasn't a group of people who were all annoying one another to some degree - with their appearance, loud headsets, or general grumpiness. There was more eye contact than usual. Everyone knew that we were all, to some degree, in the same boat, not just stuck in the same Metro car.

Even though the 9/11 Commission Report would later shed light on what happened behind-the-scenes over the next hours and days, at the time, there was an incredible sense of unity. Indeed, a nation had been mobilized toward a cause, and that doesn't happen often.

So let's resolve to relive that part every year. The media makes certain that we have ample opportunities to relive the horror. It's our job to relive the sense of unity and pride that arose, seemingly out of nowhere. Let's take a day off from the partisan bickering, which isn't easy for some of us who are deeply passionate about the choice facing us in November. And let's tell both campaigns - all campaigns - that this day is not a political tool. We don't want to hear your rhetoric today. And for the next seven weeks, we don't want to hear rhetoric that exploits this day. No political party has a monopoly on protecting America.

FUD

There's a concept in Marketing known as "Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt". The general idea is that you can win a customer's business by creating or perpetuating FUD about the alternatives to your product. (Either your competition, or simply the absence of your product, as in the case of computer anti-virus software.)

The plethora of Y2K products (computer protection, survival kits, etc.) are a great example of FUD marketing. Average Joe Consumer had no way of really knowing with any confidence what would happen at the stroke of midnight of New Years Eve. Would planes fall out of the sky? Would the electric grid collapse? It was very fertile ground for FUD marketing.

I don't think it's anything of a stretch to say that the GOP has become the Political Party of FUD. Their primary tactic in both the 2004 and 2008 presidential campaigns has been to stoke the electorate's anxiety with a massive FUD campaign. For example, "if you vote for the other guy, we'll get attacked again." Even the suggestion that this year's democratic nominee is underqualified falls squarely into the category of FUD marketing. (Underqualified? See Lincoln, Abraham)

FUD is certainly an effective marketing tactic in some situations. But it's also an awfully sleazy way to run a political campaign.

If you can make yourself see through the FUD, there are only a few reasons I can think of to vote for McCain this November:

• You are an Oil company executive
  
• You own a private defense contractor that is currently raking in Zillions from Iraq contracts (See: Blackwater)
• Your income is in the top 1% of Americans, in which case, yes, Obama might let your current tax breaks expire (lots of overlap between this and the first two groups)

So you see, I'm confused as to why the polls are so close. I guess 45% of Americans are susceptible to FUD.

I invite any GOP defenders to provide their rationale in the comments... but please don't just restate the FUD. I'm looking for substance.

Brave[s]heart

Following up on a previous news item...

The two rock-solid leaders on the 2008 Atlanta Braves were shipped off together to DisabledLand today in a symbolic move intended to quelch any remaining hope within the hearts of Braves fans that their team might pull off a late-season comeback. To drive home the point, GM Frank Wren cracked a genuine Native American tomahawk over his knee, then impaled a geniune Native American on the splintered remains, all the while muttering something about "rebuilding".

In the history of baseball, has there ever been a more depressing roster move than "Chipper and Hudson to the DL, making room to call up Morton & Sammons"?

news in the information age

About 12 hours ago, a Qantas 747-400 lost cabin pressure over the Pacific Ocean and successfully diverted to Manila.

Already, BBC has video footage shot by a passenger during the emergency. People take for granted that news is instant in the information age. But every once in a while, isn't it amazing to step back and think, wow?

Now, if we can just remind people that evaluating the cause of such an incident isn't as instantaneous as reporting it.

You really CAN get anything on eBay!

You know those annoying sponsor links that you sometimes find in the middle of a legitimate news article on the web? They're usually double-underlined, and provided by one of several advertising companies that offer keyword-linking. When you mouse (cursor) over them, you sometimes get a little pop-up preview of where the link will take you.

Well, below is a screenshot of one that I came across this morning on the Jerusalem Post website. I guess you really can get just about anything on eBay.

Waxing Poetic, Part II

"To buy or sell?" Frank Wren was perplexed.
At home they could win; on the road they were vexed.
Then in came the Nats
And took some big hacks,
I guess this is adios, Tex.

Waxing Poetic, Part I

I haven't written much of late
My readers' appetites to sate,
So here's a new way:
A lim'rick each day,
'Less I'm too lazy to create.

The Boy didn't sleep much last night,
Making Mom & Dad's rest also slight,
Though I shouldn't shirk,
It's a quiet day at work,
A quick office nap would seem so right.

Thanks

Thanks.
Thanks.

I think it takes me approximately one second to type that word. Sometimes I change it up in written communication - the occasional Thank You or Muchas Gracias or Much Obliged.

All of this takes a minuscule amount of time and energy.

Why, then, do so many people include "Thanks" in their standard email footer? It certainly doesn't feel so genuine, especially when the footer is in a different font/size/color from the actual written email. Rest assured, every time you see the following at the end of an email from me, I typed it just for you.

Thanks.

Flipper

McCain was once cool.

There was a time that John McCain would've had a chance at getting my vote. Back in the "agents of intolerance" days, when he had the guts to stand up to the Christian Right's take-over of the Republican Party.

Of course, since that time he's had his spine removed, making it easier to bend over backwards to kiss the butts of the likes of Pat Robertson.

However, I came across one additional proof point that McCain was once, dare I say it, cool. When he was held and tortured by the Viet Cong, they demanded the names of his squadron-mates. Giving in under what he humbly calls "physical pressures that were put on me", he finally provided them with some names... of the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive line.

[via Deadspin]

Seth Godin: Is it worthy?

Seth Godin is a marketing guru and the founder of Squidoo.com. He also writes a marketing blog, one of the world's most-read blogs.

Today's post is excellent and extends will beyond product development and product marketing - it's something that anyone could benefit from reading.
Read it here.

Excerpt:

Is cutting corners to make a buck appropriate when you consider what you could have done? What would someone with a bigger vision have done instead?

Is being negative or bitter or selfish within reason in face of how extraordinarily lucky we were to have been been born here and born now?

I take so much for granted. Perhaps you do as well. To be here, in this moment, with these resources. To have not just our health but the knowledge and the tools and the infrastructure. What a waste.

Hypermiling

If you aren't familiar with the subject of this post, it's a new technique that green and/or frugal drivers are employing to extend their fuel economy. Examples include very gentle acceleration, moderate highway speeds (wind resistance decreases fuel economy dramatically above 60mph or so), and more extreme measures such as drafting behind trucks or shutting off the engine whenever conditions permit coasting.

I confess, I've engaged in a sort of novice hypermiling from time to time. I've intentionally reduced the briskness with which I pull away from a stop. I've even been known to occasionally shut off the engine when coasting up to a stoplight - but only when it's a long-cycle stoplight that I'm familiar with, and traffic is light, and the weather is conducive to sitting a minute or two without windshield wipers, heat, or A/C. I don't encourage (or perform) this on a frequent basis - it really takes a toll on your alternator and starter if you stop-and-start your car dozens of times per day. (Hybrids, on the other hand, are designed with a more durable starter motor and are programmed to shut off the internal combustion engine whenever it's not in use.)

How far has hypermiling gone? Well, that bastion of energy conservationism, the tree-hugging organization known as NASCAR has embraced it. Or at least, they've awkwardly patted each other on the back.

For years, drafting behind another car has been standard practice in NASCAR, as you might remember Tom Cruise depicting on the thigh of his ex-wife in Days of Thunder. But last weekend, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won the Lifelock 400 at Michigan International Speedway by making his gas tank last an unheard-of 55 laps, while all of his competitors pitted to take on more fuel. That's 110 miles on the standard NASCAR tank of 17.75 gallons, or a little better than 6mpg. Not exactly a Civic Hybrid, but pretty good for an 850hp V-8.

And how did he do it? Extreme hypermiling, of course:

[Crew Chief Tony] Eury told Earnhardt to shut the engine off and coast whenever he could under the caution flag in a desperate effort to save more gas.

The misery of flying

As if there weren't enough hassles associated with flying commercial airlines these days, United and American have found perhaps the single most efficient way to increase the misery of flying exponentially.

You've probably heard by now that both airlines will soon begin charging $15 to check a single bag. (And $40, total, to check two.) Sure, it hurts to be nickel-and-dimed for such goofy things, after they've taken away pretty much everything but window shades over the past few years. But frankly, the $15 isn't what I have a problem with.

My issue is how severely this policy will impact the flying experience. What will be the #1 result of this? Passengers trying to carry-on everything they own. What does this mean for average Joe Traveler?

• Slower lines at security, as more luggage needs to get screened
• Slower boarding at the gate, as everyone tries to find a nook for their 40lb suitcases
• A less comfortable flight, since you'll doubtless need to store your own carry-on items in the measly footspace under the seat in front of you once all the overheads are overloaded
• More flight delays due to the plethora of carry-on bags that need storage, and likely about half a plethora that need to be gate-checked

Will they charge for bags that get gate-checked? If not, seems like an obvious loophole. And if they do charge for those, what's it going to do to departure times if they have to collect $15 from dozens of passengers on every flight?

For these reasons, I will avoid American & United like the plague in my own future travels. It may seem illogical to pay $100 more for a ticket on an airline to save a $15 fee - but the difference, in my mind, will be more-than-made-up-for by the savings in hassles and delays outlined above.

If these fees are AA's & UAL's strategies for survival, maybe it's indeed time for some of the legacy carriers to disappear. I, for one, won't miss them.

New ballpark, please

In my lifetime, I've seen baseball games at eleven major league ballparks.

• Atlanta Fulton County Stadium
• Turner Field
• Fenway Park
• Yankee Stadium
• Oriole Park at Camden Yards
• Wrigley Field
• "New Comiskey" Park (officially US Cellular Field)
• Safeco Field
• RFK Stadium
• Nationals Park
• Busch Stadium (the new one)

Two of those are no longer used by MLB teams, RFK and Atlanta Fulton County. Next year, Yankee Stadium will be decommissioned, too. In fact, next season, the following will represent the distribution of major league ballparks by age:

1910's: 2 (Fenway, Wrigley)
1960's: 3 (Dodgers, Angels, Oakland - representing the rise of California baseball in that decade; note that Oakland plans to move into a new stadium in Fremont by 2012)
1970's: 1 (Kansas City)
1980's: 3 (Twins, Marlins, Blue Jays - the former two with new stadiums in the works to open in 2010-2011)
1990's and beyond: 19 (all the rest)

Essentially, by 2012, no baseball teams will play in a concrete bowl, cookie-cutter multi-purpose stadium. At that point, the distribution will be even further skewed, with only 6 teams playing in stadiums that predate 1990. Has the rash of new stadiums been worth it? There's certainly a strong argument to be made that it's revitalized the sport and contributed to urban renewal in many cities. On the flip side, the construction of all new MLB stadiums built since 1990 (including Tampa's multi-purpose stadium and Atlanta's Olympic stadium, but not including the ballparks currently in the works or Toronto's $570 Million SkyDome, which opened in 1989) have cost a little over $5.5 Billion.

It's a false comparison since the dollars are not inflation-adjusted, but just for kicks: Fenway (1912) and Wrigley (1914) combined were built for around $670,000.

My dream car.

I admit, I've always had a thing for Porsche 914/916's. They're a dorky pseudo-sports car built in the early 70's by Volkswagen. Only in the US was it sold as a Porsche - the rest of the world knew this car as only a VW.

There's something about the low-slung, tidy lines and tiny footprint that just says "street-legal go-cart". I've lusted for a 914 for years, and only self-restraint has prevented me from shelling out a pretty modest amount of cash for one. (One can be had in decent running condition for less than $5000.)

Of course, the problem with a car such as this isn't the purchase price; it's the maintenance costs. 914s are notorious for rust, especially on and around the battery tray. In addition, the mid-engine layout makes it difficult and expensive to do any significant engine work. The engine is located very low, just behind the seats - there are storage trunks both fore and aft, with only a small hatch granting access to the top of the engine for things like adding oil.

I'm happy to report that someone -- MIT engineers, no less -- had the vision to complete the perfect Porsche 914. They removed all the internal combustion bits, and converted this 914 to be 100% electric.
After a five hour charge from a standard wall-socket, this electric 914 would have a range of about 130 miles and a top speed of around 100mph - the latter probably as good or better than the original boxer-4 engine.

I think I'd have a hard time convincing MIT to gift this car to me, and being one-of-a-kind, I doubt it'll show up on eBay anytime soon. But if you, dear reader, have any connections at MIT, feel free to submit my name when they eventually look to dispossess this fine automobile.

Office move: Part I

My office is moving across town in two weeks. It's really only about a mile difference, but in a concentrated downtown area, that's a whole different part of town. Heck, Central Park and SoHo probably aren't separated by much more than a mile, but Manhattanites would consider them at opposite ends of the geographic spectrum (among other spectrums, perhaps).

So I thought I'd start a series on the Good and the Bad of the office move. Disclaimer: This could be the first in a series in the same way as Mel Brooks' History of the World Part I.

First, The Good

• The office itself. Modern facilities, maybe even a window!
• TONS of restaurants within walking distance, including the Flippish previously mentioned California Tortilla
• A slightly shorter trip by public transportation. Also, $0.05 cheaper! If I save up all those nickels for a whole year, I might be able to buy a sandwich!
  

The Bad

• Chief among the bad is the possible disintegration of my carpool. It's been a very effective way to get to work for all involved. But it probably doesn't make sense for them to go out of their way and sit in downtown traffic to drop me off, nor does it make sense to commute to the wrong part of town and then take public transportation (rather than just take transit the whole way)
• I will miss the Greek Deli, badly. In fact, I confess: the inspiration for this whole post was today's lunch, perhaps the first note of the swan song for my lunchtime affair. Oh, the deliciousness...
  

Skylights

Now that Hil's out of the race, the media's beat-a-topic-to-death du jour seems to be all about whether or not she was impacted by the "glass ceiling". I admit, I've never been much of a fan of this term. After all, isn't that just a skylight? (In the same way that "mirror" is a fancy city word for reversifyin' glass.)

So let's just put it out there. NO, no, a thousand times no, Hillary was not held back by the architectural oddity known as a glass ceiling. The fact that she was a woman hampered her candidacy no more than the fact that Obama is a black man with a funny name aided his. If she'd been the charismatic orator with the more clever campaign staff, she'd be the nominee.

The glass ceiling phenomenon does still exist in terms of pay inequalities between men and women. I suspect this is largely because of vestigial subconscious bigotry more than overt chauvinism. But when presented with a simple, fully transparent choice between two candidates, most rational human beings aren't voting based on what's between the candidate's legs. (for some, an intern... sorry, couldn't resist)

And keep in mind - we started this thing months ago with over half a dozen viable candidates. And all the white males ended up on the sidelines.

Interesting side note - the causes of Civil Rights and Women's Rights have historically had a loose linkage in terms of historical progression. How remarkable is the manner in which they've converged in this primary. It's as if the two were never really separate causes, but rather just an evolutionary enlightenment by white European males that hey, maybe we're not the only ones capable of intelligence.

How much do you love your car?

I know people who love their cars. I've loved some of the cars I've driven. Some, I loved so much that I'd just hop in and take a Sunday drive from time to time - of course, this was long before $4 gas.

Do you love your car? I mean, really, really love your car?

Enough to take it on a road trip?
Of over 10,000 miles?
With an 11-month old in the back seat?
And a 3-year old, too?

That's what Argentinian Diego Percivaldi did. And this was no Lexus. Not even a minivan with DVD player for the kids. Mr. Percivaldi drove his 1981 Ford Falcon wagon (an Argentine model not sold in the US) from his home in Argentina to Ford headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. Edmunds Inside Line has the scoop - or see Mr. Percivaldi's blog if you retained enough of your high school Spanish.

An interesting note from his trip was the highest- and lowest-priced gasoline: $8 per gallon in Peru, but only $0.90 a gallon in Ecuador.

I'll trade you Chopper Jonze for Alburt Poohols

Thanks to the US Supreme Court, you may never have to make that offer to someone in your Fantasy Baseball league. But you should realize how close it came to being reality, and thank the men and women in black [robes] for that.

You see, Major League Baseball, which probably isn't above suing me for using that phrase on my blog, is always on the lookout for ways to take for itself a slice of revenue from every possible way in which human beings relate to professional sports. A number of years ago, a handful of baseball geeks started the first "rotisserie baseball" league, where they each pretended to have their own team of players. They followed "their" players by checking the box scores in the newspaper each day.

As you might have noticed, Fantasy Baseball caught on and is now a pretty significant subset of the American Pastime - and, as MLB argued, a pretty significant industry, too. So MLB claimed that Fantasy Baseball leagues needed to pay a licensing fee to "use" baseball players' names and statistics. (As the headline suggests, one way to get around this - as some early video games did - would be to come up with completely different [wink] player names and statistics.)

Well, the USSC refused to hear MLB's appeal of a lower court ruling that baseball players' names and statistics can be used without license from MLB. A triumph of common sense, if I do say so myself.

Think about it. MLB was suing to prevent its own biggest fans from keeping track, not only of the teams they like, but of specific players and the minutiae of those players' statistics. "Thank you for being such big fans of our product! You must now pay us even more of your hard-earned dollars for the privilege of being such a big fan!" The MLB Players Association showed just how bone-headed it could be by refusing, for years, to allow steroid testing. Was management just trying to beat the union in a game of moron one-upsmanship?

Sometimes, I wonder what I typed to deserve certain targeted ads in Gmail.

Like, for example, Banana Guard.

Get ready for bumpy dollars!

WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. discriminates against blind people by printing paper money that makes it impossible for them to distinguish among the bills' varying values, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The ruling upholds a decision by a lower court in 2006. It could force the Treasury Department to redesign its money. Suggested changes have ranged from making bills different sizes to printing them with raised markings.

I presume that the wallet industry will lobby for different sized bills so that it can sell millions of "new currency compliant" models. Hope that they go with raised numbering or imprints instead.

Full article from AP.

In other news, a 2400 pound Boar was seen soaring majestically over Washington, DC

A former Ku Klux Klansman, who filibustered the 1964 Civil Rights Act on the floor of the US Senate, has just endorsed a black candidate for President of the United States.

Bit o' Lit

Walking down the street in DC today, I came across one of those newspaper vending machines (of which there seem to be thousands per block). This one caught my eye. It was labeled "Bit o' Lit" and contained free booklets with excerpts from published books.

What a grand idea. So many commuters read a paper (or something, anything, to avoid making eye contact with other passengers!!) on the Metro trains and buses. Why not spend that time reading a bit o' lit? Writers get more exposure for their works, publishers can expect to see some increased sales if the excerpts are enticing enough, and we get a more literate society.

I also noticed on their website that they [plan to] hand out the latest issue in and around Metro stations each Monday. I hope it catches on!

Tip: Get off the junk mail lists

From someone who spent a significant portion of his career sending junk mail, here are a couple of tips.

You can have your name blocked from "pre-screened" credit card offers by calling 1-888-5-OPT-OUT or visit the Opt Out website here. Note, this doesn't mean you won't get any credit card offers, but it should cut the volume dramatically. That's because it's much more cost-effective for credit card companies to send mail to people who've been pre-screened. For one thing, it means they aren't wasting time and resources sending mail to a list where ~40% of applicants might get rejected for the card they are peddling. For another, pre-screened offers typically have higher response rates overall. So you might still get a handful of offers, but they'll be a general "invitation to apply", not a pre-approved offer, and the volume should be a fraction of what you'd otherwise receive.

NOTE: The day I found out that I was being laid off from a credit card company, Opt Out was one of the first things I did. Until that point, as an industry "insider", I wanted to get as many offers as I could to see what the competition was up to.

Tip number two: 41pounds.org. They are a non-profit, and they take their name from the amount of junk mail that an average American receives in a year. For $41, they'll get - and keep, for five years - your name and address off the mail lists for

...most common junk mail such as credit card offers, coupon mailers, sweepstakes entries, magazine offers and insurance promotions, as well as any catalogs you specify.

 It's not free, but for less than $10 a year, you can save yourself some hassles, save some trees, and honestly, save some direct mail companies the wasted expense of mailing you stuff that's going straight into your recycle bin anyway.

PS - if there's anyone left who hasn't signed up for the Do Not Call list, do that too!

What's right, and what's wrong, with the internet

That's an awfully broad title up there, and I don't intend to address it very thoroughly here. But I have one example that occurred today that illustrated a little bit of both sides of that argument.

There's a construction site that I pass daily, at the corner of Backlick Road and Old Keene Mill Road, abutting the Amherst Avenue bridge in Springfield. It's a mixed retail area, with some adjacent blocks in desperate need of redevelopment. In recent weeks, masonry and steel framing have sprung up on the construction site very rapidly, but there's no sign acknowledging what's being built. I'd heard rumors (can't remember where) of a new Marriott hotel, but the framing that's up so far seems to suggest retail to my untrained eye.

So where did I turn? To the internet, of course. (Is there still a physical world that exists somewhere, or do we all exist exclusively online now?) I started out with two relevant browser tabs open: Fairfax County's list of zoning permits by street address, and Google Maps. I used the latter to figure out the approximate street address of the construction site.

Fairly quickly, I uncovered the truth. It is, indeed, being developed as a new six-story hotel. A quick Google of the street address turned up several yellow page listings for a Residence Inn by Marriott at that address. So I guess it's true - hotel to be there soon.

Clearly, this illustrates what's RIGHT with the internet. Only took a few minutes to discover what's going on at the construction site.

So what's WRONG? In short: why wasn't there a mash-up?

A big part of government's role in a free society is informing the citizenry of changes that might impact them, and giving them a chance to weigh in (when appropriate) on those proposed changes. That's why there are zoning commissions and public hearings on projects that impact a neighborhood, like this example. The problem is that we're still using 1800's techniques to manage the government-citizen relationship: public notices of building proposals, in-person hearings, etc. The fact that zoning notices have moved from the newspaper to the web is a very small start, but we can do better.

It's time for public municipalities to get with it. In return for my tax dollars, I expect to be kept well-informed of what's going on in my neighborhood, and appraised of opportunities to weigh in on proposals that might impact me or my neighbors. The tools are out there, and many of the best ones are free. I should be able to pull up a map of my neighborhood/town/county, with all current or proposed development plans highlighted and linked to details. I should be able to add county events like parades and meetings to my Google Calendar.

I already get county-generated emails about this type of thing, but they contain cryptic proposal numbers and zoning terms I don't understand. Isn't transparency supposed to be a good thing? Isn't it good to have an informed citizenry? I'm sure the developers love the way it is now; hardly any neighbors even know where to start to get their opinions heard by the relevant decision-makers. But citizens are the constituents of government, and they want to be informed. It's time for government to publish relevant information for citizens in the format that's easiest for them to digest.

By the way, I'm not upset about the hotel construction. It'll be the closest hotel to my house, walkable if not exactly a stone's throw.

Circles colliding

I'm sure many of you are familiar with that phrase. We've all had it happen: you're at a business lunch, and run into your roommate and a few buddies. Or you're on a date, and your ex is seated at the next table.

For the most part, it was rare, and when it did occur, often intentional. I'd generally make plans with one group of friends or another, or perhaps host a party (OK, more likely a BBQ) where I've invited several of my circles and I spend a lot of time introducing people. Because those situations are planned, they're generally pretty safe. For instance, if your boss is there, you might refrain from kvetching about work to your buddies as you otherwise might.

In the age of Social Networking, however, it's much harder to keep your circles separate. I have Facebook friends from elementary school, high school, college, work, old jobs, summer programs, and so forth. When I update my status on Facebook, they can all see it. Makes you think twice before changing your status to "can't wait for 5:00!" on a Friday when the guy in the office next door - or even your boss - might see that in their Facebook news feed. (And no, that doesn't mean your boss is on Facebook during the workday - s/he might see it the next time they login, whenever that might be, even if you've since changed your status again.)

At the moment, this very blog is linked from my Facebook profile. I want to share it. It's optional reading, for sure, but I'd welcome my friends to get the peek into my life that is available here on Flippish. Does that limit my choice of topics? Perhaps. Should it? That's another matter.

In the old world, context was everything. You could kvetch about work to your friend or neighbor. Everybody did that, including your boss. But make that same snide remark in the office, and it's scandalous.

So here's the issue (took me long enough!)... living in a world where circles collide and overlap via Facebook, personal blogs, etc., it's entirely likely that any snide remarks you make about a person or a job will eventually find their way to that person or your employer.

Is that a good thing, or a bad thing? Will it make us all start to clam up in reaction to all this open information flow? Or will it teach us all to be a bit more diplomatic, a bit more honest, and a bit more tactful in expressing ourselves?

Getting political

I've resisted blogging on political topics for the most part, although I have mentioned Tom Friedman before.

But his column in today's NY Times is just dead-on. PLEASE read it.

Did you know that the USA is no longer the world's largest exporter? It's not China, either. Nor Japan. India? Nope.

It's Germany. Why? Because they know how to attract burgeoning industries like tech and clean energy.

Rethinking the clock

I've come across two very cool clock sculptures in the blogosphere recently:

The Indoor Sundial (complete with second hand!) seems to have been thought up as a joke, but dozens of commenters have expressed interest in buying one. I would too.

Dutch artist Christiaan Potsma has designed a complex analog wall clock with mechanical clockwork (animation) that constantly rearranges a set of "hands" to spell out the name of the current hour.

Eating disorder

A bum came up to me on the street and said he hadn't had a bite in a week.

So I bit him!

This joke has been around longer than dirt. Some people find it funny. Some people think it's not funny because it makes fun of bums. Me? I think it's not funny because I haven't had a bite in a week.

That's only a very slight exaggeration. But today marks a full week since I've been able to eat in the normal sense.

This all started, quite inconveniently, on my birthday. Since that morning, I've had virtually no appetite whatsoever. I feel full -- too full -- all the time. It's uncomfortable. I've been surviving on liquids: mostly ginger ale and gatorade, with some tea, both hot and iced. Yesterday, for example, my diet consisted of ginger ale, tea, four gummy bears, a slice of bread, and about three bites of pasta. At no point during this time did I actually feel hungry; I ate because I figured it was a good idea.

I saw my physician on Monday. He suspected it might be a stomach infection picked up from the last meal I ate (more on that later), and put me on an antibiotic in case it's bacterial. He also ordered blood tests and recommended that I see a gastroenterologist who happened to be in the same building.

I managed to get an appointment with the GI doc for today (Wednesday), probably due to a cancellation. He turned out to be a rather useless individual, spending a total of about ninety seconds with me and offering the sagely advice to stick with a bland diet and come back in a week if I'm not better. His Physician's Assistant, however, was kinder and spent time understanding my situation and offering advice. She also gave me some free samples of a prescription antacid, deserving of its own digression...

Somewhere, in a cubicle inside the headquarters of a giant pharmaceutical company, sits a copywriter who missed the day of kindergarten when they taught phonics. In fact, several layers of management must also have flunked phonics, in order to let this slip by. Either that, or they were all "in" on the joke and I simply fail to share their sense of humor. For you see, dear reader, some giant pharmaceutical company saw fit to release an antacid called Aciphex. Seriously. A medicine for digestive problems that is pronounced virtually identically to "ass-effects".

So that's the deal. I haven't felt hungry in a week. Each day of the past week, The Boy (17 months) has undoubtedly consumed more calories than his Daddy. And the strangest part of all: despite all this, I've only lost a little weight, and I still have a reasonable amount of energy -- all the more surprising since I've avoided caffeine throughout this whole episode. I am surviving on ginger ale, with a slice of bread or (that's OR, not AND) some applesauce each day.

Oh, and about that meal that might have been the culprit: I'll continue to eat at tex-mex restaurants. I'll even happily go back to the same tex-mex restaurant that started all this. But tex-mex restaurants, my friends, are not the place to order grilled tuna. (In this case, served over a caesar salad - the very notion of which turns my bloated stomach every time I think of it.)

One of those great parenthood moments

The boy has been learning lots of new words lately. Today while
playing with his shape sorter, we tried to get him to say the names of
some of the shapes. The first one he got was "oval". Then he was able
to say "star" very clearly, which we celebrated with a rousing
rendition of Twinkle, Twinkle.

Fast forward a few hours. We're getting him ready for bed. His Mommy
and I spontaneously burst into song:

"Twinkle, twinkle little..."
...wait for it...
...wait for it...
"Oval!"

Nothing I can add to this

Except a HT to הציד.

Best Little League Game Ever

With another HT to the Good Experience blog, I have to share this.

The group ImprovEverywhere has previously wreaked such pranks as the pantsless NY subway ride, the topless Abercrombie & Fitch innundation, and dozens of other public stunts. This time, they've outdone themselves by giving a bunch of little leaguers in California an experience they'll never forget.

Check it out here.

The oil bubble

Please read this excellent article in Business Week, by Ed Wallace.

Congratulations, American consumer. You've done your part. You've stopped buying SUVs, resulting in a net drop in petroleum consumption in the US year-over-year. Unfortunately, speculators in oil futures (Goldman Sachs, for a very big one) don't get it - they're ignoring the fact that oil reserves are at their highest level in almost 20 years; supply continuing to grow and demand shrinking. All the while, they're profiting by making dire predictions for a continued rise in oil prices ($200 a barrel, anyone?) while investing more and more in oil futures. Wouldn't those practices be illegal if they were issuing reports on, say, a stock, while holding a huge position?

The administration, more interested in protecting the profits of oil futures speculators and Big Oil in general, isn't about to step in and regulate things in the interest of John Q. Taxpayer.

But sooner or later - like dotcoms, like housing... isn't this bubble going to burst? Keep on buying efficient cars and using less oil. Eventually, when refineries have to stop production because of the surplus already in the market, maybe a few speculators will get scared and begin the massive sell-off.

Handle with Care Hampton redux

Yep, injured. Again. 15-day DL.

AJC

Jeff Schultz:

Mike Hampton isn’t an injured pitcher anymore. He’s a wrenched ankle away from being the poor schlep on the Operation game. He’s way south of Chris Chandler and just north of Monty Python’s Black Knight.

Deja vu.

Grow your own gas!

What if you never had to pull into a gas station again? What if you could refuel your car with a renewable energy source, right at home?

Electric Vehicles (EVs) have been promising this for many years. But I'm not talking about EVs. I'm talking about cars (and trucks!) that are readily available today, at comparable prices to what you probably drive now. There are even vintage cars out there that could run on this renewable energy source, with no modification!

Are you starting to wonder what Flipper has been smoking? Well, that's a fair question... Diesel fumes!

The Brazilian Diesel Tree (scientific name: Copaifera langsdorfii) can be tapped, not unlike getting syrup from a maple tree. But instead of syrup, you get diesel fuel. No need for refining - simply filter the stuff, and pour it right into the tank of any diesel-fuel vehicle. Bonus: Diesels tend to get 20-30% better mileage than similar-sized regular gas cars anyway.

Given, you'd have to wait 15 years for saplings to produce fuel. But with just 1/2 acre of land dedicated to Copaifera langsdorfii, you might get all the fuel you need from your own backyard.

Read all about it here.

HT to B-dot on this one.

Ending the week on a high note

A story that just might restore your faith in humanity.

As the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, "Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you're going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm."

Pop-up book that's not for kids

Even though it only contains the letters of the alphabet, I think this would need to be kept away from toddlers' hands...

According to the Youtube description, it's due to reach bookstores in October.

(HT to Mark Hurst of Good Experience, who recently HT'd me)

Apology on behalf of Crackberry addicts

I never thought I'd become "one of them".

You know who I'm talking about; you see them everywhere. Walking down the sidewalk with Blackberry-in-hand. Or perhaps a blue-glowing minigadget dangling off the ear. (Techno-jewelry?) Better yet, my favorite - the combination of phone-in-hand, and so-called "hands-free" device on the ear. (Can someone please explain to me the benefit of "hands-free" when you're going to use your hand to hold the darn thing anyway???)

And yet, here I am, with a Crackberry and the reviled bluetooth headset. Oh, there are ways I can try to justify owning each -- the Blackberry for business trips (and to finagle an unlimited data package that I don't pay for), the headset because DC bans the use of hand-held phones will driving -- but the simple matter is, I gave in.

When I bought this stuff, I figured I could use it responsibly without becoming "one of them". I'd only use the headset in the privacy of my own car, or at home to free up both hands for kid-safety-situations while on the phone. But alas, I recently found myself punching out an email to my boss while walking down a busy sidewalk.

However, I can share one personal insight that might make "them" seem a little less evil. When we walk down the street, Blackberry in hand, and avoid eye contact with anyone: It's not because we think we're better than you. It's because we're too ashamed to actually look anyone in the eye while acting like such a tool.

Burritos & Bill Murray

Time, once again, to blog about a local DC eatery (sorry, out-of-towners, but if you read on, I'll try to make it worth your while).

Today's lunch came from The Well Dressed Burrito. Like the Greek Deli, this is another landmark in the "Golden Triangle" district, particularly throughout the blogosphere. Or more accurately, exclusively in the blogosphere. That's because The Well Dressed Burrito is anything but a landmark... it is accessed through an unmarked door, through a narrow gate, up a couple of stairs, in an alley off 19th street. Adding to its hidden mystique, the entire block where it's located (between 20th & 21st) is currently fronted by a massive construction crane, lots of scaffolding, and temporary fences. They take pride in their location, printing "somewhere in an alley..." on their menus and website - a phrase probably taken from a critique.

Now on to the food. I should mention that I take my burritos seriously. And they make a seriously good burrito. I had the sauteed vegetable burrito today, along with a bag of chips (a sandwich bag, hand-packed with store-bought tortilla chips). I sprung for fresh spinach, an extra $0.50 - and they give you your money's worth. To my pleasant surprise, the veggie assortment included onions, more than one type of squash, cauliflower, carrot, and possibly some mushroom. Quite tasty. I'll have to go back and try one of their salmon offerings - available in quesadilla, fajita, and burrito forms.

I'm reminded of a scene from the movie Scrooged. Bill Murray's character, having just been kissed by one of the sultry actresses in his Christmas production:
"Boy, that was very good. But you know what? It wasn't great. There's only been one 'great'."

That sums up how I feel about burritos. The one great? OK, technically it was two: Big Burrito & Burrito Max, sister-restaurants which at one time flanked the campus of Boston University. Sadly, both are now gone. But I've yet to find an equal. They made their own chips, their burritos were HUGE, and they're still the only burrito place I've patronized that used yellow rice. The zenith of my burrito experience, life to date, was their BBQ Tofu burrito. Homemade BBQ sauce, tofu with perfect consistency, yellow rice, cheese, pico de gallo... It didn't attempt to be authentic Mex or Tex-Mex, but it was outstanding.

Honestly, nothing else has even come close. I'm still a fan of Moe's and Baja Fresh (and to a lesser extent, Chipotle). The Well Dressed Burrito might even fall into my top tier, but it doesn't take down California Tortilla - my favorite burrito in the DC area.

Why do boring messages have to be boring?

Miami.com, a website of the Miami Herald, decided to have a little fun with their "page not found" message: (click for full-size)

Awareness Test

Take this Awareness Test. (Much better with audio, although not required, strictly speaking)

Ode to Oatmeal

Some people like their oatmeal thick. Some like it more watery.

As for me? The consistency of my oatmeal varies, since there's no consistency to how much hot water I add.

Blogging without blogging

I've setup the following tools to use with my blog.

1. Automatic email posting
I can send an email to a top-secret email address, and it automatically becomes a new post on my blog.

2. RSS reader
I read my new blog entries in an RSS Reader (I use Google Reader), along with lots of other feeds that are of interest to me. (I know, it's a little goofy to read my own blog in a feed reader, since I'm the only one who updates it... but it's a good way to make sure new blog entries submitted via #1 above are posted correctly.)

3. Email notification of comments
Any time someone comments on my blog, I automatically get an email with the content of the comment

As a result of all this great (and not particularly new) technology, I can keep up with my blog without ever really visiting my blog. Hopefully, now that I'm using all these efficient tools, I will be more frequent with the blog updates. Time will tell...

The cost of war

I try to avoid blogging about politics here, but this has been running through my mind for the last couple of days. I'm sharing it to see if it's a valid idea, not to evangelize my beliefs.

The Iraq War has been going on for five years. During that time, it has cost the United States $500 Billion, and the lives of 4,000 Americans.

Imagine for a moment that instead of invading Iraq five years ago, the government had launched an initiative that put just 10% of that total - $50 Billion - into advanced research projects in alternative energy sources. And in addition, put another $5 Billion (one percent) into homeland security initiatives to prevent another attack on American soil.

Realistically, would we...

• be any closer to energy independence than we are now?
• have a fundamentally different attitude in our foreign policy, with little or no need to "play nice" with OPEC nations?
• have a more stable economy? (less fluctuation, or less relevance, of fossil fuel prices; perhaps higher employment)
• feel more (or less?) secure from extremist terrorism than we do now?

Thoughts?

All that and a bag of chips

Ever since I started my current job, a friend* has been nagging me to try The Greek Deli (that's the name, not a description) just up the block.

Today, after two months, I finally tried it out.

Here's what I knew before going in. First of all, there is always a line out the door at lunchtime. Second, they have 3 tables on the sidewalk, but most people get take-out, so it's perfect for grabbing a quick bite and returning to the office - literally across the street. Third, almost every mention of The Greek Deli that you might find on the internet contains high praise for the food, which includes some vegetarian options.

Having experienced it myself, here's my review:
Although it seems a little Soup Nazi ish to onlookers, the line moves fairly quickly and the staff are very polite (interrogative: "and for you, my friend?"). Fortunately, the line is always deep enough that there's time to look over the menu and check out the day's specials before you're called upon to order, which can happen when you're still 5 people deep from the counter. If you like licorice, be sure to grab a free ouzo candy from the bowl while in line and save it for later.
I was thinking about being adventuresome with my order today, but the menu's characterization of their tuna pita as "famous" won me over. When I got back to my office and tried it, the food did the same. Delicious tuna salad, with perfect consistency, atop very fresh lettuce, dill, tomatoes, and feta cheese, wrapped in a warm, soft pita.

My only regret today was grabbing a bag of Utz chips to go with my pita, instead of a side of homemade vegetarian soup or dolmas.

It will be hard to resist hitting up the Greek Deli at least once a week. At $6.70 for a tuna pita ($8.20 with a bag of chips plus tax), it's completely reasonable by DC standards but not cheap.

My list of things to try next is almost long enough to rotate something different each week until my office relocates across town this summer:
Tuna Gyro
Falafel
Spanokopita
Veggie Pita
Soups
Salads
Occasional Salmon specials
Veggie platter

For my DC readers, you really must try it for yourself. 19th Street, between L&M.

Stealth Fighter being retired

This news item seems to have fallen to the back pages.

I have a few reactions to this:

1. Am I that old??? The F-117 debuted when I was in Middle School. And it's already being retired?

2. No, I'm not that old. The F-14, made irretrievably cool by Top Gun, was in service for 32 years from 1974 to 2006. The Stealth Fighter served less than 20.

3. I'm sure that the retirement of the F-117 is being downplayed to avoid the harsh spotlight of fiscally concerned taxpayers. Although there are no official figures, there's little doubt that this was one of the most expensive military aircraft to design & develop in history, and one of the largest Skunk Works projects. Seems pretty inefficient to have the outcome of a 15-year development project in service for only 20 years.

4. The Stealth Fighter played a unique role in American folklore. Many of the claimed UFO sightings around the infamous Area 51 in the Nevada desert during the 1970s and 80s were probably caused by prototypes of the F-117. When most well-known jet aircraft looked something like this (below), it's not unreasonable for people to think something that looked like the picture above must have had extra-terrestrial origins.

Where've I been?

I've heard that question from several of my readers.

There are several answers. Or at least, several excuses. Here they are:

1. Work
As I noted previously, I started a new job in January. Although it started off a little slowly as I ramped up to speed (that's the reason you got two new blog posts in my first couple of weeks of work), it's now keeping me pretty busy. I'm very happy with it. There's a moderate amount of travel required, but the primary impact on the blog stems from my reluctance to blog while at work. Did I mention that I share an office with my boss? (He's on vacation this week; ergo, the current update.)

2. Classes
Not my classes, mind you... the wife's. She decided that teaching full-time and raising a toddler wasn't keeping her busy enough ;-) and subsequently enrolled in two online courses through Penn State University. After this semester, she'll have completed 40% of a certificate program in Family Literacy. Although she enjoys the classes, it's keeping her overwhelmingly busy. I've been trying to help out around the house by cooking and cleaning more often. Impact on the blog: Because she's doing classwork at the computer almost every night, I rarely have time to veg in front of the screen. Possible solution: Blog from my Crackberry (deserving of its own post), if my thumbs can handle it.

3. $%!(# Facebook
Facebook is an internet phenomenon, but that's old news. I signed up a few weeks back -- for work, incidentally, but that's a long story -- and I can now confirm several things. First and foremost, Facebook nourishes itself by feeding on its members' free time. It's ravenous in this regard. Second, all that "big brother" stuff? It's true. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find out that Facebook is actually a DARPA project so the government can easily keep tabs on citizens. The data contained therein is priceless: who you affiliate with, what groups you join and interests you express, etc. So why am I still using Facebook? It might be the greatest example to date of the transformative nature of the internet in social terms. The internet has minimized so many barriers, not the least of which are geographic and demographic. It's like being constantly in touch with all of the people you care about (well, the ones who use Facebook), regardless of where they live or how long it's been since you've seen each other. Impact on the blog: I'm trying hard not to let it become a replacement!

So in short, I'll try to overcome these hurdles and blog more. I miss you!

What's your sign?

If you asked Seth that question, he'd tell you it's this:
It all started when his Mommy began pointing out the Exit sign above the door on the way out of his day care center each day. Now, he finds them everywhere we go. And he knows what they are. If you ask him, "Do you see an exit sign?" he'll start looking around the walls and ceiling for it. Lately, he's even saying "Exit Sign!" when he sees one.

At the Museum of Natural History, he even found one at his eye level, mounted low on the wall. He wouldn't leave it alone. Got so excited, in fact, that he peed his pants. (OK, he does that all the time.)

Maybe he's got a future as a fire marshall?

Weather & Roads

Why is it that storms so frequently adhere to the boundaries provided by highways? Think about it - happens all the time. Here are a few examples, paraphrased from weather reports I've heard both in the DC Metro and Boston:

"A line of thunderstorms along I-95"
"Areas North and West of I-95 can expect some snow accumulation"
"South of the Mass Pike and 128 will get a dusting to an inch, while the Northern side will see as much as six inches"


I just grabbed this image from Weather.com's very cool interactive maps this morning, showing a storm that has so far remained obediently to the East of I-95, all the way from Richmond up into Delaware. Not to worry - later in the day, they predict that only areas West of I-95 will get any substantial accumulation of snow.

Is there something scientific going on? Do cars on highways produce enough turbulent air to actually cordon off an advancing storm? Or are storms just very well-trained to look both ways before crossing?

updates

Today, we joined Costco. We've visited once or twice before - particularly to evaluate the selection of food items, but today we bit the bullet. $50 membership, which included a free gift bag with a few product samples.

The samples in the gift bag are the only items in the store that come in anything less than feed-an-army size. Among the items we bought were 1400 baby wipes, a box containing approximately 12,000 granola bars, and a container of chopped garlic, which, in my estimation, includes the entire garlic crop of the United States for one week.

On the bright side, their products tend to be good quality, the prices are such that the membership fee will quickly pay for itself, [in part because] there's a store close to home, and the deals on electronics might just be good enough to one day justify the purchase of a flat-screen TV.

On the downside, I'm pretty sure that the rise of warehouse stores has some connection to the rate of obesity in the United States. When your options are: buying a loaf of bread at the grocery store for $2.99, or buying 3 loaves of bread in a single package for $3.99 at Costco, your personal consumption is likely to increase.

In other news, I start work tomorrow. Wish me luck. Gotta remember what that whole experience is like - it's been a while. Tomorrow also marks the first time that I'll take public transportation to my job.