Stu News and Photos

"What counts is not the best living, but the most living."
-Albert Camus

I had to wait a while to write publicly about California's Prop 8, which is now law - "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." - I was way too mad for a while - I couldn't put together coherent thoughts about this without veering off into a profanity-laced diatribe.

I don't know where all of you sit on this topic, so allow me to speak to the folks who agree with our new law:

Folks, this thing about gay marriage - is it because of The Bible (or The Torah) or is there another reason? - Me, I'm fine with religious beliefs. I respect them. I have them. But I'm not under the slightest misconception that my beliefs should be turned into public law. What is the difference between Americans who are in favor of a faith-based law and citizens of Saudi Arabia who embrace Sharia, law based upon the strict adherence to The Koran? If you live under Sharia, you can be put to death for homosexuality. Isn't outlawing homosexual marriage a clear example of the slippery slope?

And to look at this from a different angle, why do bible devotees think that some bible is to be strictly followed (no to homosexuality, no to blasphemy, no to vulgarity, no to prostitution) and some bible is ok to challenge (slavery is ok in the bible)...

My point is that religious fundamentalism should be anathema in this country. We must not allow religion to be a basis for a single law. And until science shows me that homosexual marriage will lead to anything, even psoriasis, let's leave it alone.

A group of mathematicians and a group of engineers are traveling together by train to attend a conference on mathematical methods in engineering. Each engineer has a ticket whereas only one of the mathematicians has one. Of course, the engineers laugh at the unworldly mathematicians and look forward to the moment the conductor shows up.

Suddenly one of the mathematicians shouts: "Conductor coming!" All the mathematicians disappear into one washroom. The conductor checks the ticket of each engineer and then knocks at the washroom door: "Your ticket, please." The mathematicians stick the one ticket they have under the door, the conductor checks it and leaves. A few minutes later, when it is safe, the mathematicians come out of the washroom. The engineers are impressed.

When the conference has come to an end, the engineers decide that they are at least as smart as the mathematicians and also buy just one ticket for the whole group. This time the mathematicians have no ticket at all…

Again one of the mathematicians shouts: "Conductor coming!".
All the engineers rush off to one washroom. One of the mathematicians goes to that washroom, knocks at the door, and says: "Your ticket, please…"

I'm sure some of you have seen this already, as it's been burning a path through the netweb, but for those who haven't, I present the comedy a cappella troupe Moosebutter - The video is one of the guys doing a multi-tracked vocal tribute to the much-revered composer John Williams. I find it to be of brilliant execution.

This is a video of a new bit of science from ENESS. The whiteboard and the markers are your garden-variety board/marker system. Embedded in the board is a computer that controls a moving light capable of detecting and deflecting from a dark color on the board.



I like science.

via this isn't happiness

US Democratic presidential candidate Illinois Senator Barack Obama shares a fist bump with Ethan Gibbs, the five year-old son of campaign communication director Robert Gibbs, upon disembarking from his campaign plane at Dulles airport in Chantilly, Virgina, on October 22, 2008. - Hat-Tip to BoingBoing

I just finished my article for Better Homes & Gardens... whew! It really wasn't that difficult, but the intimidation factor was pretty high. Fortunately my editor liked my draft, so I probably won't have to do a rewrite.

Also, I signed my contracts, so now I'm an official free-lance writer for BH&G. Not sure when I'll get my next assignment, but I'll keep my pencils sharpened.

And allow me to take this opportunity to thank Mom and Dad for earning money to keep me in a good public school system and for paying my way to college. Their investment has paid off, so, um, there's that.

Now it's back to my day job - this week I'm getting the house ready for Noelle's sleepover celebration of her birthday - lots of decorations to buy and chips and dip to hang. Oh, wait. Strike that. Reverse it.

And if Wes Montgomery is mentioned, a fair response would be Joe Pass - one of the finest solo guitarists ever. Here he is at the Montreux Jazz Festival:

Folks who dig music eventually get into conversations about "The Best" - who's the best drummer, who's the best singer, who's the best guitarist... One can't choose a single best, but it's fun to raise the possibility. - For me, if there's a discussion of best guitarists, Wes Montgomery must be included. Check out this video and see what you think:

I'm a pretty big fan of David Bowie - not as much as some, but I enjoy just about every song in his library, both early and late. One of my favorite non-hit albums is Tonight, from 1984. Featuring Omar Hakim on drums and The Borneo Horns, Tonight has quite a few tunes that deserve far more radio play. One of these tunes is the title track of the album, Tonight, a haunting duet with the great Tina Turner:

Just saw this over at CNN:

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- An Israeli archaeologist has discovered what he says is the earliest-known Hebrew text, found on a shard of pottery that dates to the time of King David from the Old Testament, about 3,000 years ago. The shard -- or ostracon -- contains five lines of text divided by black lines.

The shard -- or ostracon -- contains five lines of text divided by black lines.

Professor Yosef Garfinkel of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem says the inscribed pottery shard -- known as an ostracon -- was found during excavations of a fortress from the 10th century BC.

Carbon dating of the ostracon, along with pottery analysis, dates the inscription to time of King David, about a millennium earlier than the famous Dead Sea Scrolls, the university said.

Read the rest of the story here

For more of these, check out Errol Morris's wonderful work at People In The Middle For Obama

If you have a chance, I'd be interested in your feedback on my daughter's television-watching. Thanks!

By now it is likely that you've read the news of some Missouri school children who decided that "Hit A Jew Day" was a good idea.

Now, I think it's obvious to anyone reading my blog that any sort of racial/religious/social bias is not a solid plan. I won't rail against the kids, or even against their parents. Instead, I'd like to point out the school's principal, Linda Lelonek, whose public response was to say "What's tomorrow going to be? 'Hit A Principal Day?'"

These are the folks we need to reach. This principal had an opportunity to express outrage, or to express sadness, or to push for heightened awareness and sensitivity. Heck, she could have simply listed important persons who were Jewish (Albert Einstein, Michael Phelps, Zac Ephron, these are names that most kids would recognize and be impressed with)... Instead, she reaches into her bag of logic and decides that in the hierarchy of awfulness, hitting a school administrator is worse than hitting a Jew.

My point here is that we need to reach out, to have the courage to broach our community leaders and let them know where we stand. This isn't about what the kids did, it's about our response.

The following is a quote from David Sedaris's essay that recently appeared in The New Yorker magazine. The essay addresses his perspective on the upcoming presidential election and the voters who still claim to be undecided:

I look at these people and can’t quite believe that they exist. Are they professional actors? I wonder. Or are they simply laymen who want a lot of attention?

To put them in perspective, I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. “Can I interest you in the chicken?” she asks. “Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broken glass in it?”

To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked.

Read the entire essay here

I've been writing on and off my whole adult life. Every now and then I've gotten paid for it. Several years ago I reached what I thought was my peak - I was a feature writer for a small monthly out of the San Fernando Valley, called Valley Scene Magazine. It was fun, and while the pay wasn't great, I was writing cover stories with a decent circulation.

But then I decided to focus on raising the kids. We took them out of daycare and I became a fulltime stay-at-home dad. It was incredibly rewarding, and I don't regret any of it. But the kids are older now and they don't need me around as much. So I decided to try to get back into the writing game. For a while now I've been sending out writing samples to a wide variety of publications, hoping to land another local rag or maybe a stint with one of the local newspapers.

And then it happened.

I got an offer to write freelance for... Better Homes And Gardens.

Yep, no kidding, I got an assignment to write a travel article that will appear in the March issue of BH&G Magazine. This is my shot at the big leagues. I can't even begin to express how exciting it is. I've always dreamed of hitting the big-time as a writer, and now that it's happened, I feel vindicated, validated in my pursuit.

So now I have to write the thing. My editor and I are still finalizing the details of the article, whereupon I'll have a month to crank it out. If I'm lucky and I don't screw it up, there's a decent chance that this will turn into relatively steady work.

I hope, I hope, I hope...

Autumn is always the start of Frank Zappa Listening Season for me. He made Halloween special for so many fans, and his birthday is December 21st, so this is a poignant time of year. As such, here's a tune that should be accessible for most of you, a piece entitled St. Etienne - it is essentially a guitar solo, very gentle and soothing, showing that Frank had command of a wide vocabulary of musical emotions. This piece is a departure from his mangle it, strangle it approach to guitar. So, for those of you who hesitate to give Frank a serious listen, try this on for size -

You'll excuse me for foaming at the mouth, I get this way when I'm supremely outraged.

You see, here in California, we have a ballot measure that is up for a vote on November 4th which proposes an amendment to the California Constitution that will have the following text: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

The latest polls show a solid likelihood of it passing. I want to rip my eye teeth out.

This ballot measure is a truckload of crazy. Is the gay marriage issue anything other than religious fundamentalism? Is there any rational reason for defining marriage? And if we're going to define marriage, why don't we take the next step and write an amendment that recognizes only marriages that mention Jesus Christ. How about we only grant governmental approval to Christian men and women who earn more than $75,000 a year.

I used to be proud to live in California - we're a Blue state, we are diverse, we have unsurpassed natural beauty, etc. But the fact that we're even considering defining marriage in any way is immoral.

Look, I understand if you have trouble with homosexuals. I'm Jewish and have been around plenty of people who didn't like me for that, so I've gotten used to that kind of thinking. It's one thing to be nutty enough to not like someone because of who they are. But there's a huge jump in crazy when you make an effort to legislate against it. Jews weren't the only ones killed at Auschwitz. And remember, eventually they'll come for you too. Eventually they want us all in the camps.

If you live in California, vote no on Prop 8. And if you live outside of California, give money to the folks who are fighting Prop 8. Stand up now, because eventually they'll come for you.

Been busy the past few days. Leslie is getting better, but she's not over it just yet. And she's gutting out toy fair, which is really kicking her ass. She's got a meeting in Burbank today and it will be hard on her. These are the moments when I want to be the parent - I don't do it, I respect her personhood, but it's hard.

I'm still under the weather - really bad headache last night - not sure what the next step is - probably an allergist.

The kids are plugging away with schoolwork - it's definitely too much, but there's not a lot of options. I'd homeschool, but they wouldn't get into the best possible college that way.

Noelle's birthday is days away. She and I are going shopping today, but not for her - she has two other birthday parties coming up and she needs presents. Not much in this world I enjoy more than going shopping with my daughter.

The layout for the blog has been changing, and it's changed yet again this morning. I think I'll stick with this one for a while - it speaks to my artistic/philosophical bent.

I'm gonna go for a walk.

It started out mildly enough: One day, about two weeks ago, I got a headache. But then day turned turned into night and night turned into new day and I still had the headache. One day turned into the next and into the next and after a week of the same headache, I went to the doctor, who had little advice for me, other than "Get a CT."

CT was normal, headache was ever-present. Fortunately, I mentioned my headache to my brother, who told me I should try Flonase, a corticosteroid.

While I waited to get a new appointment with my doctor to discuss Flonase, Leslie came down with similar symptoms. Except she also had muscle spasms, and her headache was located in a different section of her skull. So off to the doctor we went, where she was diagnosed with... Shingles.

Yep. Shingles. Bummer. Nothing to be done to get rid of them, she has to wait for them to calm down on their own. She's on an anti-viral, which decreases the intensity of the symptoms, but she's still pretty inconvenienced by the pain. So she'll have to live with it for another few weeks.

I'm keeping her in Perrier and coloring books. But she may end up going to work next week, as Toy Fair is large and in charge and she needs to keep things together. Leslie's loyalty is an inspiration.

My brother reminded me of another great independent political video - this one is pro-Obama, although I challenge all of my readers to view it to the end without getting a lump in the throat.



I'll tell you this, I'm really, really getting excited. Great days are ahead, my friend, great days are ahead.

Why did the administration pick Neel Kashkari, an ex-Goldman Sachs banker, to oversee the bailout? Shouldn't we, the voters, have been informed that he was the White House's choice *before* the bill was passed? Didn't the failure of Goldman Sachs start off this debacle? Why isn't there a better method for us to control these people?

Bruce Springsteen spoke to the attendees of an Obama Rally the other day, a speech intended for all Americans. Mr. Springsteen addressed his interpretation of the meaning of the promise of America, something he has written about since the beginning of his career in the early 1970s. Now that he's seeing America in the latter part of the first decade of this century, his words bear a clarity that I find relevant and necessary:

I've spent 35 years writing about America, its people, and the meaning of the American Promise. The Promise that was handed down to us, right here in this city from our founding fathers, with one instruction: Do your best to make these things real: opportunity, equality, social and economic justice, a fair shake for all of our citizens, the American idea, as a positive influence, around the world for a more just and peaceful existence. These are the things that give our lives hope, shape, and meaning. They are the ties that bind us together and give us faith in our contract with one another.

Read the rest here.

My latest column for GNMParents is up as of this morning - here's the opening paragraphs:

One of the parents who writes for GNMP posted a a thought-provoking essay on fairness and how his efforts will effect his children on the long-term. I urge you to read it if you haven't, as fairness is a pretty common concern for parents and children alike.

After I read it, I thought about one of the comments on this essay, the reader saying that, for her family, "fair" was like other four-letter words, verboten in her house. In our house, we do things differently. Not to say better, just different. And the difference is this: For the most part, we let the kids use the terms that best fit their emotions, especially when it's important to them. So if they stop in the kitchen and see an empty jug of chocolate milk in the recyclables, we think it's ok for them to say, "Hey, there was chocolate milk in the house and I didn't get to have any! No fair!!"

Read the rest here.

In getting yourself ready for tonight's VP debate, I thought you'd enjoy this clip from the esteemed Governor of Alaska:


Watch CBS Videos Online

Let's note not only that she couldn't name another Supreme Court ruling, but also disagreed with her own opposition to Roe v. Wade by agreeing that there is an inherent right to privacy in the Constitution. - Let's not take our eye off the ball here, folks. It's about expectations, but not as though the governor is a fifth-grader, it's about your expectations of the person who would be a heartbeat away from the Presidency.

Time for me to concentrate on my soul. Tonight is the beginning of
Rosh Hashanah, the first of ten days dedicated to my personal atonement.

While I will spend time expressing sorrow for transgressions committed against those I love and those I don't, most of my time will be spent apologizing to myself for the many times I failed to treat myself with the respect I deserve. This is the lesson for me this year, to trust myself more, to respect myself more, to hold my head up and walk with
confidence. It's time.

L'shana Tovah to you and yours.

Some of you may think I'm a little too hard on Governor Palin. While I appreciate your view, it is my opinion that I am simply trying to shed sunlight on a piece of political theater - Governor Palin was chosen not for her experience or her capabilities or her intelligence, but for her specific age, sex, and views on hot-button topics meant to galvanize the hardcore right-wing voters. Pandering is always bad, but doubly so when we're talking about the election of a national leader.

As a way of defending my stance, here's an online lecture by noted academic Lawrence Lessig that details the governmental experience of our nation's previous Vice-Presidents. I hope you find it as enlightening as I did.

Today may prove interesting for us, as I've never been personally involved in a government seizure. Seriously, I'm not worried, it's just an interesting time and today will surely just be a footnote in my memoirs.

"Once I built a railroad, I made it run, made it race against time.
Once I built a railroad; now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?
Once I built a tower, up to the sun, brick, and rivet, and lime;
Once I built a tower, now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?"

-Yip Harburg

Do any of you have aspirations for the Executive Branch? Governor Palin seems to provide tremendous inspiration for a lot of folks, and after seeing this, she makes it seem that many of us would be capable of such lofty goals:


Watch CBS Videos Online

Jim's been away all week on vacation, so the kids have been with us. Then we found out yesterday that Leslie is going to be in San Diego for a few days - a company brainstorm. So when she said goodbye this morning, each kid independently made the same joke - Nich said, "Ok, only one parent left," and Noelle quipped, "Two down, one to go."

So it seems that Senator McCain is going to Washington, without being invited, in order to insert himself in the bailout negotiations. And he says that if they don't come up with a solution by Friday, he won't go to the presidential debate. This has me wondering - how will he be able to be President Of The United States? Doesn't the President have to deal with a dozen or so concerns every day, many of which interweave with each other...?

Anyone see this as an easy litmus test for those seeking the office of the Presidency? Heck, even if he were just running for reelection to his Senatorial seat, this would make me hesitate.

The weekend with Val was awesome, and I'll be recapping it soon. Meanwhile, laundry, dishes, groceries, and a never-ending sinus headache have my attention.

While I'm away, talk amongst yourselves. Talk about the Bush administration attempting to give the US Treasury Secretary the unchecked ability to spend your tax dollars on the financial markets. Talk about whether four-day school weeks would benefit your community. Talk about US foreign policy. Talk about yourselves.

Cousin Val flew in for a surprise visit! Awesome!!

As many of you know, my brother, Dave Mark, is a leading author of Macintosh programming books - he wrote some very influential books, books that today's top programmers were weaned on.

Today I am proud to announce that the first of many technical articles that he and a partner authored is now public on the Apple website. Here's the link. This article is for developers that focus on Xcode and Objective-C.

Now, I'm not a programmer, but I am technical enough to know good writing when I see it, and my brother is a brilliant author, where he makes the most complex concepts easy to understand. And that's not all. More than making tech knowledge easy to digest, he writes in a way that inspires programmers to trust themselves. My brother provides the platform with which the great coders make the great leaps.

I've been studying the 2005 film Stay for the past week and felt strongly enough about it that I wanted to recommend it to folks.

It stars Ewan McGregor and Ryan Gosling, and while I don't want to give any part of it away, I will say that it would fit in nicely in the genre popularized by Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock. The writing is taut, the direction intimate, and... well, this is something audiences don't normally mention: editing. I found the editing in this film to be the best editing of just about any film I've ever seen. Some of the transitions are jaw-droppingly gorgeous - you will hit the rewind button more than once, I guarantee.

And, if you are someone who prefer calculated risks, I say this: of the near 18,000 votes on IMDB, it averaged 6.8 stars, and on Amazon, it has an average rating of four-and-a-half stars out of five. While everyone's opinion is different, I can say that Leslie and I both love this film, and spent about an hour discussing it the other night. (oh, and folks, teach your kids to hold out for a partner with whom they can hold a lengthy conversation.)

I just read an article from The New York Sun that provides a very believable and logical explanation for the recent stock market run. Obviously there were a few other conditions, but the main problem is the credit crisis. A former SEC official, Lee Pickard, provides an easy to understand explanation.

He says that there are standing rules, provided by the SEC, which govern net capital. The rule is, in a nutshell, that a company's debt-to-net capital ration can't be higher than 12-to-1. But back in 2004, in response to a move by the European Union, the SEC created a voluntary exemption to the established limits. The exemption was for brokerage firms with capital of at least $5 billion, allowing them to have less restrictive debt-to-net capital ratios.

As it turns out, 5 companies volunteered for the program, each having a valuation of more than $5 billion. Who were the companies? Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and Goldman Sachs - And look what happened... Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, and Merrill Lynch collapsed, and Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley took huge hits, opening the door wide to the possibility of their being bought out - even as I type this, there is speculation that Morgan Stanley is in negotiations to merge with Wachovia. It's possible that Sachs and Stanley may pull out of this, but their performance has added to the growing panic.

Will the SEC consider changing their stance on regulation? Probably not. Of course, that may change come November, but for now, the West is still Wild.

As the media are reporting that the embassy bombing in Yemen is the result of an al-Qaeda operation, I got to thinking: First, in my opinion, as a result of the "liberal media" pundit campaign that was waged not too long ago, it seems that many media outlets have really started leaning towards the conservatives. I use CNN.com as one of my steady news providers, and I see that the headlines have been largely supportive of Senator McCean more than they support Senator Obama.

I'm a writer and an old newspaper guy, and I know how headlines are written - they are composed by editors who report directly to upper-management. Now, we'd hope that the editors would use pure journalistic standards for composing the headline for a news story, but it's easy to understand the possibility that a news organization would, in pursuit of their next dollar, follow the trends - if conservative readers bring you more ad revenue, make your headlines/stories conservative-friendly. While this is an ethically poor choice, it makes sense if you value your job more than your humanity.

I urge all of you to pay attention to the headlines from all of your news sources, and to see which ones grab your attention and to how they are worded - in other words, most folks form an opinion on a news item by reading just the headline, even if they then read the entire story, their opinion rarely changes. So see what you think - Again, this is a time for grown-ups.

And secondly, what are your guesses on the content of the upcoming October Surprise? Don't let the tail wag the dog - get your friends to make an informed decision. I'm totally cool if you vote McCean/Palin, but please do it because you've read through their literature and their voting records and believe that they are the best choice to lead America.

Melissa, one of my loyal readers, asked if I take requests. Of course! So, for Melissa, here's some facts pulled from Senator Obama's campaign literature (a balance to the list I put up for Senator McCean) -

Senator Obama plans to work to overturn the Supreme Court's recent ruling that curtails racial minorities' and women's ability to challenge pay discrimination.

He will sign into law his legislation that establishes harsh penalties for those who have engaged in voter fraud and provides voters who have been misinformed with accurate and full information so they can vote.

He will, in regard to national defense, invest in foreign language training, cultural awareness, and human intelligence and other needed counterinsurgency and stabilization skill sets.

He will create a Military Families Advisory Board to provide a conduit for military families' concerns to be brought to the attention of senior policymakers and the public.

He will create a $25 billion State Growth Fund to prevent state and local cuts in health, education, housing, and heating assistance or counterproductive increases in property taxes, tolls or fees.

He will also include $25 billion in a Jobs and Growth Fund to prevent cutbacks in road and bridge maintenance and fund school repair.

He will eliminate all income taxation of seniors making less than $50,000 per year.

He will dramatically simplify tax filings so that millions of Americans will be able to do their taxes in less than five minutes.

He will create Early Learning Challenge Grants to promote state "zero to five" efforts and help states move toward voluntary, universal pre-school.

(This is getting long, so I'll do a part two in the next few days - and if you're reading this, I strongly recommend you visit each of the candidates websites and read through their plans - While I respect Senator McCean and agree will some of his ideas, Senator Obama's plan is far more comprehensive and detailed, and for me, this is what I am looking for in a national leader, someone with a serious and extensive plan.)

The medication did their job and Leslie is almost fully recovered. She still has a slight bit of difficulty stretching out completely in certain directions, but it's not near as bad as it was. She thanks everyone for their kind wishes - your thoughts/prayers/wishes were greatly appreciated. If you have any left over, my front lawn is still a little brown. ;-)

Senator John McCain, the one who was cited by the Senate Ethics Committee back in 1989 for "exercising poor judgment" when he met with federal regulators on behalf of Charles Keating Jr., the chairman of Lincoln Savings and Loan, is running for President Of The United States, and he wants your vote. Before you give it to him, consider that after yesterday's Dow drop of 504 points, a number not seen since just after 9/11, suggested that the US economy was strong.

While I'm fine with his stance on several issues, I tend to focus on my everyday needs, and one of them is money. The economy is a serious issue for serious grown-ups. And the vast majority of economists agree that not only are John McCean's plans fiscally unsound, they also agree that since WWII, Republican administrations have been terrible for the economy.

Now, it's possible that some of you are willing to trade off poverty for a candidate that is militarily aggressive, socially conservative, and has a staff chock-full of lobbyists, but I'd rather go the other way.

And lastly, I love this quote from Senator McCain, back in 2007: “I am prepared. I need no on-the-job training. I wasn’t a mayor for a short period of time. I wasn’t a governor for a short period of time.” - so, um, anyone seen Mayor, I mean Governor Palin lately?

Let me be clear, everything is good. Having said that, I've been a little preoccupied lately, as Leslie threw out her back on Sunday.

It's been an interesting, and marriage-solidifying 36 hours.

Sunday afternoon, around 2pm, Leslie and I were hanging in the library, sans kids (they were with their father), listening to music and talking. At some point, Leslie mentioned her back was a little stiff, so she laid on the floor. After a bit of shifting, she said that it wasn't helping. We talked it over and agreed that the spine-aligner that we use (here's the link), which is a simple plastic platform with two rails - you lay your back into the rails, which are shaped into a doctor-approved spine position, allowing your spine to align properly. It really works - five minutes in that contraption and I feel like a million bucks, as does Leslie.

So I get the spine-aligner, she gets onto it, spends five minutes talking about how good it feels, and then pulls herself off, whereupon she lets out a blood-curdling scream. (Later on, she'd report that the pain was on the same level of Braxton-Hicks contractions)

For the next two hours, she could barely move. We discussed options, including an ambulance, but logic ruled the day, and as she had no other symptoms, she agreed that it was best to ride out the initial pain, as there were no other symptoms. Eventually she was able to get into a position where she could swallow some ibuprofen, whereupon, after fifteen more minutes, her pain subsided enough that she could get up and walk to our bed.

The next morning, she was still in noticeable pain, so we talked about going to our local health clinic. I laid down my bet that she had muscle strain and that they would give her an anti-inflammatory of 800 milligrams of ibuprofen and some amount of a muscle relaxant. We got to the clinic, saw a doctor, who diagnosed muscle strain and prescribed the ibuprofen and the muscle relaxant, along with prednisone (a steroid). Within an hour of ingesting the meds, she felt way better, and this morning, got right up with little stiffness and almost zero pain. She's still gonna take today off, but she may go back to work tomorrow.

It was pretty rough for Leslie, but she kept her cool. I'm not big on pain, so I can't imagine what I would have done - you know what they say: If men had to deal with contractions, the human race would have died out a long time ago. As always, I'm so very impressed by her. She is both a delicate flower and a rock. I'm lucky for every day she puts up with me.

I welcome emails if anyone wants updates, but if this morning is any significant sign, she's well on her way to recovery.

This week's GNMParents essay is about father's and daughters:

The mothers out there get this already, and a few of you dads do as well, but the rest of you, well, maybe what I’m about to say will hit home for you: Your daughters love stuff that bores you to distraction. Yes? Is this true for you? If so, you have two choices, either remain at arms-length from purses and clothes and make-up and hairstyles, or fall in love with them.

Read the rest here...

My family affected by Hurricane Ike are fine, health-wise, although I haven't heard about the extent to the damage of my cousin's house on Galveston Island. The storm surge was less than the height of the seawall, so there wasn't near as much flooding as what could have been. There was some flooding in some parts of town, so I'll be waiting for a report from them, once they are allowed back home. Hope, hope, hope...

Movie recommendation for the week: 1988's "Madame Sousatzka" - starring Shirley MacLaine as a piano teacher in London. I'm a MacLaine devotee and this is one of my favorite of her performances.

Have you heard this story yet? It seems that the Michigan GOP Chairman, James Carabelli, is openly planning to use a list of foreclosures as a block list on the day of the national election. I am not kidding. And, if that weren't enuogh, the GOP Presidential candidate, Senator John McCain, has a regional office in a building owned by Trott & Trott, a law firm that specializes in mortgage foreclosures, and that the firm founder, David Trott, has been a significant fundraiser for McCain's bid for the Presidency.

To me, this is a test for those who support Senator McCain and Republican political strategies. If McCain and the RNC Chair, Mike Duncan, don't denounce this, independent voters will have a moral dilemma on their hands.

The CERN Large Hadron Collider is now officially online - a step in scientific knowledge equal to landing on the Moon. It's not just about the destination, it's about the journey and what we learn along the way. Imagine, they'll be able to open a window into the past and be able to take a nice long look at what our Universe was like during its first millionth of a second. We live in remarkable times.

As you may know, of the many experiments planned for the Collider is an attempt to discover the BEH Mechanism, otherwise known as Higgs boson, the last element of particle physics theory yet to be scientifically observed. If the Collider shows evidence of Higgs boson, this will lead us to a better understanding of mass, and therefore, of the Universe. And as the Collider is acting as a "better camera" with which to view the Universe, there's a decent chance that we'll make entirely new observations, altering, forever, the science of particle physics. Of course, let's not kid ourselves, the scientists will also be using the Collider to make popcorn, which is fine, because scientists are good at sharing.

Here are some facts pulled from Senator McCain's campaign literature:

He plans to reduce the corporate tax rate.
He plans to increase domestic fossil fuel exploration.
He plans to freeze non-defense, non-veterans discretionary spending for a year.
He plans to use the line-item veto for the federal budget.
He plans to build 45 new nuclear power plants.
He plans to reduce the Estate Tax.
He plans to pursue legislation and investigation of energy/oil market speculators, as he believes that oil speculation distorts markets and drives prices.
He will repeal the 54 cents per gallon tax on imported sugar-based ethanol.
He will deploy surveillance aircraft to patrol the Mexican border.
He believes that gay marriage should not be legal.

If you're going to vote McCain this November, this is what you are supporting. On the other hand, if something above seems to go against your grain, feel free to reconsider. And, as always, thanks for your time.

I'm a huge fan of John Hodgeman - you may know him from the Apple Macintosh commercials, but I've been digging his humor since I first read him in McSweeney's. Mr. Hodgeman is a world-class humorist, absolutely a modern-day Will Rogers with a geek twist. He inspires me when I attempt to craft words into something worth reading.

Below is his appearance on BoingBoing TV - check it out, and if he makes you laugh, read his books and essays. If he makes you squirt soda out of your nose, clean your keyboard thoroughly, or else you'll get ants.

My latest GNMParents essay, Education And Fun: A Rant, is online, even as I type these words. Here's the opener:

My daughter started her final year of public middle school this past week. After the first day, she came home and told me about her day. While she was excited about school, about the learning and the friends and such, she was bummed about the new principal. Apparently he’s a bit of a hard-ass. As my daughter put it, “He sucked the fun out of school.”

Read the rest...

As some of you may know, I maintain a fairly transparent online presence - I blog with personal details, I keep my FaceBook NewsFeed set to publicize all my updates, and I use Twitter quite a bit. I enjoy the freedom it provides, the release of the pressure of hiding anything. It's not completely transparent, nor am I - there are certain bits of my life that I keep to myself (my SSN, my telephone number, my address, my habit of XXXXX in my sleep, whatever). But I put way more info out into the aether than I hide. And it's really quite liberating. Sorta like what it might feel like if streaking were legal.

Some of my other friends are also somewhat similarly open about their day-to-day activities. And this is where this post is headed - When you're friends with someone, and both of you share a solid chunk of your day-to-day stuff, you develop a different relationship. You become closer, you become more trusting, you become more intimate. It's an excellent feeling.

The NY Times Magazine published an exceptional essay that explains this concept and the phenomenon that has resulted - society is changing radically because of this ability (if chosen). Here's the link (requires free registration to NY Times) - I realize that this isn't for everyone, and for those who choose privacy, I don't raise an eyebrow - we all choose some level of privacy, how high the level is up to the individual. But for the folks who are part of this new wave of technology, this article is wonderful reading. And for those who enjoy sociology, this article is wonderful reading. And for those of you who are tired of reading, have you seen the new Microsoft commercial featuring Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld? It's awesome.

So, my phone rang Thursday, late afternoon, about 5pm. A man's voice, in a familiar Georgian accent, said "Stu? It's Boris, I have your part, you want me to come over now to fix it?" - Psyched!! He was at my door ten minutes later, and took maybe four minutes to put in the new heating sensor. Sweet!! We kibbitzed a bit, talked computers and weather, and that was that.

Of course, the sick thing was that as soon as I showed him out the door, I almost ran to get laundry to start a wash. And not because I needed to, I was just keen on watching the dryer work. I. Am. A. Geek.

Just read a great article from Associated Press writer Jim Kuhnhenn - it takes statements from Palin/McCain/Huckabee/Romney at the GOP Convention and compares them with facts. You know, facts, those annoying little things that get under your skin when you're trying to be right. Anyway, here's the link, dive in and swim around in the facts for a while, the water's nice and warm.

I was in my teens when MTV hit the airwaves, and I spent many an hour transfixed to my television, watching videos from band after band, some of whom I'd never even heard of before. It was, in an odd way, a great time to be alive.

With that, I give you 80s Music Videos - a site I stumbled upon while surfing. It contains a nice-sized music video library in an easy-to-use interface. 80s vids may not be your cuppa, but if they are, be prepared to lose some time going down this rabbit hole.

Just finished signing forms, filling out teacher's questionnaires, negotiating a tutoring session between the two kids, and I am tired. Fortunately for me, the kids are, for the most part, self-maintaining. I still have to monitor their progress, but most of my educational support is the occasional grammar lesson or writing craft lesson, and those are few and far between.

This is bittersweet - time was when I would have to hold their hands during homework, almost like holding their hands crossing the street. Now they are beyond that, and while I see the up-side of less work, most of it is a void, walking around with nothing to do (at least not mentally, at least not for them - obviously there's still chores and my own learning, but it's not quite the same) - Still, today was the first time in months that I was able to have a few quiet hours to myself without worrying about anything. So, um, yay for that.

Watching the details of Governor Palin's life unfurl before my eyes is like watching a flower unfold at high-speed. Here's a small list of the neato things the Republican Vice Presidential candidate has been up to over the course of her adult life:

As mayor of Wasilla Alaska, with a population of less than seven thousand, she procured federal funding through the use of a major pet peeve of Senator John McCain, earmarking. But not just a little money, we're talking about an estimated 27 Million dollars over three years. How big is your town? How much federal funding do you get? Oh, and when the earmarking was happening, McCain listed them in his catalog of objectionable earmarks. And now he picks her for Veep.

But wait, there's more. When she was mayor, she went to the librarian of the town and tried to have certain books banned. And when the poor librarian attempted to, you know, stand up for the First Amendment, Mayor Palin threatened her job. And now we're supposed to support her as the fall-back position if 72 year-old McCain takes the dirt nap.

And wait, even better, and hold on to your hats, kids, 'cause this one is the best one yet - Back in June of this year, Governor Palin spoke at a church, talking about her family and such things, speaking about her faith, etc. Fine, fine, no problems, everybody gets to pray, everybody gets to extol their religious beliefs in front of the like-minded. Except... She asked the congregation to pray for a proposed gas pipeline... and... She suggested, in plain English, that the congregation "Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right also for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending out on a task that is from G-d." - yes, ladies and gentlemen, apparently Governor Palin has such a direct relationship with The Lord that she knows that G-d has tasked America with occupying Iraq.

Now, there's more, but those are some pretty special facts. So, I say this with deepest conviction, if you're planning on voting for Senator Obama, please find time to convince others to do the same, and if you're planning on voting for Senator McCain, please contact me and give me a chance to plead my case, because it's grown-up time now and we need to get serious.

Ok, so, um, like, y'know, this is really boring, but... Dryer needs a new heat sensor, will get installed Friday morning. Hey, no laundry for two days, total bummer. ;-)

Turns out my dryer tech is from the country of Georgia, and that his parents still live there, near the border of South Ossetia. He said that while they were safe, they did see Soviet Russian tanks go by.

We talked about Putin and what a bad guy he is. We discussed his KGB past and how the KGB still functions and still teaches what the know to the younger generation, passing down the political construct of rule by fear.

Again, I hope the Russian economy picks up in a manner conducive the empowerment of the citizenry. Those people definitely need to take the power back.

Best part of being a homemaker? When the dryer breaks *before* the clothes are dry. - I've got a repair tech scheduled to come tomorrow morning and the wet clothes are spinning dry in the laundromat down the street. Gosh, if I only had some bills to pay and a kitchen to clean, my day would be complete. Oh, wait. I do.

For those of you who read my post that contained a bizarre theory about Vladimir Putin, read this story - and for those who'd rather not click, the gist is that Magomed Yevloyev, the owner of an internet news website that focused on criticism of police treatment in Ingushetia, was detained by police, and then shot and dumped on the side of the road.

Obviously it could be an isolated inscident, but let's not forget the story of Anna Politkovskaya. We need to keep our eye on the ball.

I'm on vacation, so my GNMParents essay is a repeat:

When I have a problem that concerns one of my kids (meaning: When I want them to do something that they refuse to do), I see that I have a choice. I could visualize my child standing on the other side of a line, next to The Problem, with me yelling across the line, "Hey, The Problem is yours! You better solve The Problem."

Click here to read the whole essay: The Kid Isn't The Problem, The Problem Is The Problem

The other day I wrote a short post about the ratio of expensive cars to rude drivers who don't signal when they change lanes. For those of you who don't read comments, my dad left one that made me laugh out loud:

"The SUV version of these cars (Hummer, Escalade) also have a "Pass and Cut" system built in. This allows them to pass a line of exiting cars (from the freeway) till they get to the zebra and then cut across and and exit without waiting their turn. On some models this costs extra."

And upon reading the above, my dad left a proper attribution, which I now share with you:

"Actually this is based on a line by mom. I used to get very angry and frustrated when I missed a turn while driving. Mom would say: On this car we bought we paid extra for the ability to TURN AROUND."

So my folks can bring the funny - I dig that a lot.

Many years ago, when I was new to Los Angeles, I made a sincere attempt at a life as a professional writer. I achieved the goal, although it was just by the skin of my teeth. Most of my work was either for a certain company's packaging, or feature stories for a San Fernando Valley monthly, but nothing larger to speak of. However, a goal's a goal, and as I received money for my words, I get to check "professional writer" off my list of things to do before I die. Of course, now I don't have a "things to do before I die" list, so the point is moot.

And speaking of moot, here's a short story of mine that got published way back when, in 2002, when my life was more different: Everything In Its Place - it's not very long, and it was more of an attempt at art than story-telling, so if you bother to read it, bear that in mind.

And for those who have unreached goals, remember, the bell tolls not for thee, but the guy down the street with the BMW who never waves when you wave at him.

As many of you know, I'm Jewish. As many of you know, we have been an oppressed people for quite some time. African-Americans have also been an oppressed people for quite some time. But time marches on and change happens. We now have, for the first time, an African-American running for President on behalf of a major political party. Senator Barack Obama truly represents me, more than any candidate I've ever experienced. I feel uplifted at this moment, filled with inspiration, seeing dreams realized. It is truly a magnificent moment in history, for all of us, from every corner of society. It is a time for dreams to be fulfilled.

Oppression can be overcome, justice can be served, and hope can indeed spring eternal.

The news came over the wire today: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is accusing the US of orchestrating the armed conflict between Russia and Georgia, suggesting that the United States government encouraged Georgia to put down the rebellion of South Ossetia. (Mr. Putin also officially recognized both South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the two areas attempting to break away from the democratic republic of Georgia)

I'm not much of a chess player, but I have an understanding of the game and I, like you, know that the Russians dominate in the arena, that it is part of their modern culture.

I also am familiar with Russia's Biopreparat, their biological weapons development program. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the program allegedly fell into a very slowed state, as economic conditions caused funding issues. However, there is no evidence that the program was ever shut down, nor has any Russian leader ever denounced the program, which successfully weaponized Smallpox, Bubonic plague, Anthrax, Ebola, and other lethal pathogens.

Knowing all this, and thinking of the long-term strategies involved in the game of chess, I am left wondering if Vladimir Putin is attempting to sucker the United States into a state of war with Russia, so that Russia will have an excuse to unleash a biological weapon on the citizens of this country.

Obviously this is all speculation on my part, and I am far from an expert in international relations, warfare, or history. But I have kids, and so I pay attention to certain things out of a desire to protect them. I hope that the United States and Russia can find their hearts again and keep the peace, but I fear that they will not.

If you're bored, here's a great little hack to find music on internet servers using Google - Simply go to Google.com or your web browser's Google field, and type (or copy and paste) the following code into the search field:

-inurl:(htm|html|php) intitle:”index of” +”last modified” +”parent directory” +description +size +(wma|mp3) “artist or song”

Then, replace the text (artist or song) inside the quotes with whatever music you are looking for. I do it every once in a while and occasionally find gold mines of music on people's servers. I don't keep the music, I just use the search to see what else people have on their servers. Sometimes they unwittingly clue me into new artists or genres or whatever.

Geek geek, boop boop.

Why does it seem that the most expensive cars have the highest rate of broken turn signals?

I’m not a doctor, nor do I carry any professional credentials, not the slightest. However, I am a stay-at-home, full-time, primary caregiver to two children. As such, I’ve developed certain techniques that work for me. I thought I’d share one; maybe you’ll find it useful. If not, hey, maybe it didn’t take that long to read this column and you didn’t waste *too* much time. :-O

...keep reading...

On our postage stamp of a yard sits a surprising variety of green things. Alongside the hydrangea, wisteria, roses, birds of paradise, star jasmine, and other plants, there sit four fruit trees - plums, pears, apples, and oranges. While I'm looking forward to moving to cabin in the woods, I will miss the enormous variety of plant life here in Southern California.

Here are two pics - first up, today's bounty:

And here is one of each, a Bartlett pear and a Fuji apple, if our assumptions are founded. Please, if we've got 'em wrong, let us know - we dig knowledge and stuff.

Thimbelle tagged me, and I think she's great, so I'll play -

Here are the rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog; some random, some weird.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

------------

Here's the link to Thimbelle: Creeping Towards Normal - If you have time, I highly recommend you read through her archives. She is a very good writer who comes from a place of candor and thoughtfulness. I always enjoy her essays, although some of them make my eyes sad.

Now, shield your eyes, here are 7 facts about me:

1. I ran cross country in high school, my best time for the 5K being 20:30. Not a horrible time, but if the coach actually had cared about me, I would have done better. It wasn't really his fault, because during my four years on the team, we had the best runners in our school history running in front of me. In fact, we always went to the state championships, and one year we broke the top ten.



2. I occasionally (once or twice a year) smoke cigarettes. My brand of choice? Dunhill Reds.



3. I was, during my mid-twenties, a roadie for a death metal band. My main focus was to squat behind the drummer and pay attention to two vital things: One, catch his snare stand or cymbal stand before it fell over, and Two, pull his incredibly long hair out of his mouth, so he didn't choke on it.



4. I can juggle three objects of similar weight.



5. During college, during the latter half of the eighties, I fought against apartheid in South Africa and, one evening, met Donald Woods and then heard him give a speech.



6. I have no known allergies, save extreme amounts of mold.



7. I have been fired from almost every job I have ever held.



8. While at home, especially with the kids, I anthropomorphize my pets

=======================

7 People Tagged:

Dariush
Sharfa
Suldog
VisiblyWorn (site down for the moment, but I'm holding out hope)
=Your Name Here=
=Your Name Here=
=Your Name Here=

If you have an iTunes Store account, you can now download our album, RetroFitting The Future. Neatorama! We're both pretty psyched about this, and really appreciate everyone's support. We believe strongly in our art project and to have it available on iTunes is the capper to a long process. It gives us both more energy to work on the next album, which we're looking forward to. (and for those who care, I just got off the phone with Mark, so I feel comfortable with my use of 'we' in the above statements)

For those of you with iTunes accounts, you can click directly on this link.

Again, thanks so much to all of you, your support was much appreciated.

It occurs to me that some of the folks may not be subscribed to GNMParents, but might be interested in reading the essays that I contribute - In the future, I will endevour to provide a weekly link to the latest essay. Who knows, this post may have actually made a single person happy.

Anyway, here's the essay that ran this morning: It's Ok To Think Your Kid Is A Genius

And thanks to all the kind folks who have given me such warm encouragement on my writing. I, like, um, appreciate it a lot and stuff. You're cool.

Some of you may know that I'm a fan of internet-based radio stations, places like Pandora and the like. Well, it appears that the RIAA (the trade group that represents record companies) has won the final battle. The RIAA, who represent companies, not artists, succeeded in their appeal (through a shell organization called Sound Exchange) to increase internet royalties 300% (at least that much - if you do the math, the increase can be as high as 1,200%).

This will cause Pandora and other stations to pull the plug. There is nothing to be done, as money talks, and those with the most money talk the loudest. Short of a nation-wide boycott on the purchase of all music, the RIAA will have won. Of course, aside from the sad concept of their stepping on the little guy, they're not seeing the long-term view, which is that if you let internet users listen to customized music streams, it increases awareness of otherwise unknown artists, thereby increasing revenues through music purchases. In other words, this is like the campaign the record companies attempted back in the 70s and 80s to stop people from burning cassettes of great records for their friends. It didn't work then, but it seems to have worked now, although it's just cutting off their nose to spite their face.

I'm really bummed about this - especially as someone who creates music in a genre that depends on internet radio for getting the word out (our genre is far too small to get a large record company to take interest in us). As no one else is buying our record (we've sold 4 so far), our only serious hope of getting any attention was by sending copies of our CD to various internet radio stations that focus on our genre. Now, that is no longer an option. The only hope we have now is to individually send out free copies to college radio stations, hoping one of them actually likes our record and puts it into rotation.

::sigh::

My cousin, Mark, did a video for the United Nations food program. He made it to the second round, but is a bit behind the leader - Would y'all do somethin' for me - Would you ask your friends to click on this link and let it play all the way through: http://tinyurl.com/6b35xt - It's only 30 seconds, it's for a good cause, and it might put my cousin over the top. If you have a blog, would you post the link and ask your readers to do the same, click on the link and let it play for the full 30 seconds.

Thanks!!

I ran cross-country and track in high school, and while I wasn't very good (my best time for the 5K was 20:30), I was a huge fan of the sport. I would spend serious tv time, watching every track meet that was on, no matter how small. My heros back then included Alberto Salazar, Greta Wietz, Mary Decker, Eamonn Coghlan (who, in 1983, set the indoor mile world record at 3:49, which stood for 15 years), and others.

To run the 100 meters in under 10 seconds is alone a pretty amazing thing. Usain Bolt ran it in 9.69, a world record. Oh, and he's 21. Oh, and when he saw that he would win, with a third of the distance still remaining, he stopped trying, relaxed his arms, then raised them in triumph, all before he crossed the finish line. Oh, and he did it with one shoe untied.

Needless to say, I am pretty psyched. Not just because of this awesome story, but because I am confident that he will beat his standing time of 9.69 - and if my math is even close, it's possible that he could beat 9.6 seconds for the hundred meters, a feat seemingly impossible before this year.

Makes me want to get out on the pavement and run.

Almost.

Thanks so much for all the kind words about our album, RetroFitting The Future, and thanks again to those who actually bought one! I really appreciate it, as it keeps the hobby from becoming incredibly expensive - now that we've sold a few, it's just a credibly expensive hobby. ;-)

For the past six months or so, Mark and I have been recording a CD. It is, at long last, finished and on sale. Very neato experience, I must say.

For those who don't know, Mark lives in the DC area and I live in Los Angeles - the entire album was recorded, mixed, and mastered without us being in the same room at the same time. The internet made it all possible.

The band is called AutoStar and the first album is entitled RetroFitting The Future. It's very synthesizer-based with occasional electric guitar. Specifically, it's in either one of two genres, called Acid-House, which is a form of ambient techno dance music, or Ambient-House, which is the same, except with a slower beat. Essentially, our album is seven tracks of slow tempo synthesizer music with sampled vocals acting as a type of narration. It's a modern form of a classical form from last century, Musique concrète.

For those of you who listen to electronica, we're using forms that are similar to The Orb and The Future Sound Of London and Spicelab and others.

Anyway, this is the official announcement that the album is done and available in CD form - it's also available as individual mp3 downloads from our myspace store (eventually it will be available on other digital sites, including the iTunes store) . If you're up for giving it a quick preview, go to our band website, Planet AutoStar - if you like what you hear, great. If you want to hear more (but don't want to part with the green stuff just yet), you can check out our myspace page - Planet AutoStar - where there are considerably longer samples.

So there you have it. Hope a few of you actually dig it. Not to officially speak for Mark, but... we had a blast making it and are incredibly psyched about it, and about the band. We both feel strongly about AutoStar and where we are heading, artistically. In fact, we're actually ankle-deep into the creation of our second album. It'll be somewhat like the first one, except shorter tracks and shorter samples and a bit more up-tempo. But like I said, we're just getting started, so it may take a left turn somewhere.

Meanwhile, thanks for reading and for considering our art.

My partner, Mark, created a video for a competition for the United Nations World Food Program. It appears below. (The score is mine, if that matters) - Part of the contest is decided by number of fully views - that's 30 seconds of your life, to watch this vid, which is a pretty great vid, if you ask me - My partner has got some mad skills. - So dig in, hit the play button, and, if you're up for it, send this blog entry to other folks, so they can watch it. Dig? Thanks.

Would be blogging more, but this thing in Georgia has got me preoccupied. Obviously there's also laundry and parenting and such, but Russia's crushing of democracy is really scary and it's filling my brain and eating at my creativity.

However, i still post regularly at GNMParents and so you can find some of my better writing there - certainly today's post about Nich learning to drive is better than what you're reading now.

Hope August is treating you like a butler of the highest order.

I saw this outside the BAC Street Lounge (a dive bar on a main drag near my house) and couldn't resist taking a snap. (it's an iPhone pic, adjusted in iPhoto, so don't blame me)

You know you're getting old when you get an hour's worth of bliss out of having just trimmed your nose hairs.

Folks, as you read more about Bruce E. Ivins, remember that The Gulf Of Tonkin Incident never actual happened, yet it was a major cause for America's escalation of military action in Vietnam.

Just one example, read this article from The Wall Street Journal, which provides some sound reasoning as to why it would be *impossible* for Ivins to have been the culprit.

Just because the government says it's so, doesn't make it so.

I found yet another use for my iPhone.

I'm an avid fan of the online music service Pandora. Essentially, when you login to Pandora (you sign up, but it's just an email and a password, and you can opt-out of their newsletters, and they don't sell your address)... Anyway, when you log in, you create your first station, by simply typing in a song title or artist that you enjoy. Pandora then creates a streaming radio station of songs that fit in with the vibe of the song or artist you selected. Pretty cool.

There's more options - for example, if you create a station with the artist name The Beatles, and after listening to your The Beatles station for a while, hear White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane, and you don't like that song, you can hit the thumbs down symbol and they won't play that song again. Pretty cool.

Anyway, back to my iPhone.

There's a free Pandora client for iPhone - So now, when I'm bored, I can hit my Pandora icon on my iPhone, pick a station, and get music. Plus, the iPhone's built-in speaker is so exceptional, if I run Pandora without headphone, it's like having a small transistor radio at my side, playing a great, commercial-free music station. Pretty excellent.

About a week after the September 11th horrors in 2001, letters containing Anthrax spores were received at the three major television news network headquarters, as well as by The New York Post and The National Inquirer. A month later, Senator Tom Daschle and Senator Patrick Leahy's offices each received similar letters, containing spores of Anthrax. These became known as the 2001 Anthrax Attacks.

The events of the autumn of 2001 was pivotal for me, and I've spent some time researching these events over the past 7 years, especially considering that we're still in a war against the alleged perpetrators of the 9/11 massacres and we're still seemingly unable to be provided with a credible resolution to who perpetrated the September/October Anthrax attacks. One of the standout tellings of this time, and the specific details, is a book by Richard Preston, entitled The Demon In The Freezer. It's a harrowing read, detailing the effects of Smallpox and Anthrax.

One of the central story-lines of this book is a detailed look at USAMRID, the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, located in Frederick, Maryland. USAMRIID is ostensibly a bio-weapons research facility, where they have a special setup for studying lethal organisms, for the express desire of defending our country from bio-warfare and infectious breakouts.

This week, one of the alleged suspects of the 2001 Anthrax attacks, USAMRIID senior researcher Bruce E. Ivans, committed suicide, via an overdose of codeine. This occurred days before the US Justice Department were going to charge Ivans with the 2001 Anthrax crimes.

Soon after this turn of events, I read this story, by Salon Magazine journalist Glenn Greenwald, which lays out a potential scenario that truly frightened me - One, that if Ivans was indeed responsible for placing the Anthrax in the letters, that there is a clear inference that the letters were intentionally linked to the 9/11 massacres, and that it was done by at least one US citizen. - Two, if the above is true, then there are two possibilities for a reasonable mind to consider - That either Ivans did this as a deliberate plot to create a demand for the vaccine he helped invent (he stood to gain financially), or that some segment of the government used Mr. Ivans to guarantee our entering a full-scale war, where friends of high government officials stood to gain financially.

I realize that both are plausible, and that there might be yet another answer to this puzzle. But I wonder - especially after seeing what incredible corruption their was during the Nixon administration - is it *possible* that the current administration would have wanted money so badly that they perpetrated the Anthrax attacks in order to secure nation-wide support for the War on Terror?

Yes, to the uninitiated, this may seem far-fetched. But if you read the transcripts of Richard Nixon's tapes from his Oval Office, and if you read about such events as The Tuskeegee Experiments, Project MKULTRA, as well as many other collusions documented by the US government, which provided little regard for the sanctity of human rights, you begin to see the possibilities. And I assert that is what our job is as citizens of this great land: to look for the possibilities and defend each other from the wanton disregard of our fundamental liberties.

I gave Nich my old phone and will be using my new phone exclusively. If you'd like the number, send me an email and I'll provide it.

Hope all is well - Peace be with you.