Armadillo

Big Spring Falls

Scorpion

Portland's Holiday Express

Bearded Dragon

Scenic Cruise

Trains Only

From last night's shoot

This weekend's photos

The link to the photos from this weekend's team penning event is here.

RFID Chips - Broadcasting Your Data To The World

Because that's what they do.

Here is a video of a guy who can drive around, read and clone the RFID tags in U.S. Passports and the new enhanced driver's licenses.

Donald and Lydia - Lyrics

From the John Prine tune:

Small town, bright lights, Saturday night,
Pinballs and pool halls flashing their lights.
Making change behind the counter in a penny arcade
Sat the fat girl daughter of Virginia and Ray

(Spoken:)
Lydia
Lydia hid her thoughts like a cat
Behind her small eyes sunk deep in her fat.
She read romance magazines up in her room
And felt just like Sunday on Saturday afternoon.

Chorus:
But dreaming just comes natural
Like the first breath from a baby,
Like sunshine feeding daisies,
Like the love hidden deep in your heart.

Bunk beds, shaved heads, Saturday night,
A warehouse of strangers with sixty watt lights.
Staring through the ceiling, just wanting to be
Lay one of too many, a young PFC:

(Spoken:)
Donald
There were spaces between Donald and whatever he said.
Strangers had forced him to live in his head.
He envisioned the details of romantic scenes
After midnight in the stillness of the barracks latrine.

Repeat Chorus:

Hot love, cold love, no love at all.
A portrait of guilt is hung on the wall.
Nothing is wrong, nothing is right.
Donald and Lydia made love that night.

(Spoken:)
Love
The made love in the mountains, they made love in the streams,
They made love in the valleys, they made love in their dreams.
But when they were finished there was nothing to say,
'Cause mostly they made love from ten miles away.

Repeat Chorus:

My favorite story of the day

Passenger repairs airliner, flight arrives only 23 minutes late

Pascal's Pensees

I have come to this masterpiece of French prose by a strange route -- through the Jack Taylor mysteries by Ken Bruen.

Taylor is a hardbitten Irish P.I., struggling with the Irish Affliction since being cast out of the Garda. He is a literary man, whose enemies know they can wound him by destroying his book collection. He shares the Irish love for verbal jousting and gymnastics; many pages spend as much ink on words thought but not spoken as they do on the actual dialogue. His thoughts are littered with literary references, including frequent references to Pascal's Pensees. Pascal and Taylor both have strong religious sentiments, but Pascal was on much better terms with the Church than Taylor.

Danny Goes To Church

Ruth brought Dan to church for the fellowship hour after the service.

He dashed upstairs to the now mostly empty sanctuary, then walked slowly up the aisle to the front of the church. He folded his hands reverently, bowed his head, then looked up and announced:

"I know why you have come! I have every intention of granting your request!"

The intersection of Christianity and The Wizard of Oz. I'll bet that Dan was one of the few making an offer rather than a request, though.

The Intelligence of Crows

Slight Shift In Word Usage

Oregonlive.com posted this Associated Press report about the death of Michael Jackson:

Michael Jackson, the sensationally gifted child star who rose to become the "King of Pop" and the biggest celebrity in the world only to fall from his throne in a freakish series of scandals, died today. He was 50.

Before Michael Jackson, "freakish" meant unbelievably improbable, as in "freakish weather." Now it means relating to or being a freak, where freak means a strange deviation from nature.

Story of the Day

Trippy Skippy

Does Curry Fight Dementia?

The BBC ran this story.

Some Background On Heartspring

This story is making the rounds of the Wichita media outlets right now.

Cinco de Mayo

Portland's Cinco de Mayo Fiesta.

Admiration

One of my favorite photos of the day.

Mother Nature Takes Out Our G3

A big line of storms came out of nowhere, at least as far as the National Weather Service is concerned. We were in a matinee of Lincoln High School's production of Annie, and you could hear the storm hit from inside the auditorium, over the sounds of the orchestra and cast. We walked out of the theater to see that the tree next to our parked car had fallen in the other direction.

Our luck was a bit different at home. We returned home to find that a power surge had knocked out our old G3. My reaction reminded me of the reaction that Philip Roth had when he learned of his ex-wife's death, as he marveled, "She's dead and I didn't do it."

That machine had pretty much turned into an e-mail only machine, so we lose all our old e-mails and address book. It's the electronic version of no longer needing to clean house because it burned down.

One of the things I will miss will be the iCal calendar application. For anyone who follows my web calendar, you won't see any changes for a while. When we buy the new machine, I will see if the new iCal that comes with it is to my liking.

I am going to try something a bit different for the next computer. We bought a relatively small flat screen TV for Dan's use when at home, which is also designed to be used as a computer monitor. I like the idea of buying a Mac Mini, and hooking it up to the TV. Bored with the web? What's on TV?

Dead Computer

The old G-3 we put into service Christmas 2002 finally died, and our mac.com e-mail address book died with it. If any of you send us e-mail though that account, please drop us a message so we can capture your e-mail address.

Oaks Park #4 - Disk'O

Oaks Park #3 - Car 16

Oaks Park #2

Autism Awareness Walk

This photo taken yesterday at Oaks Park.

Cowboy Action Shooting

I made this video 2 years ago. I was slower then.

Danny Sings

I particularly like the big finish.

I'll stop whining, at least for a little while

Here's a question

When the SEC was investigating Robert Allen Stanford, which government agency told it to "stand down"?

Which government agency was running interference for Mr. Stanford?

A Good Weekend in Albany

Great Depression Cooking

The Banks Get You Coming And Going

So, with the economy in freefall thanks to the banks and George W., there are 5 million people in the US on unemployment benefits.

Thirty states have deals with banks to issue unemployment benefits in the form of pre-paid debit cards. But the banks are set up to take the skim from those benefits.

Call to check your balance? That costs 50 cents.

Use the card twice in the same day? That's $1.50.

They'll even allow overdrafts, and then charge you $20.00 for the overdraft.

Oh yeah, and they get about 3% of each transaction.

All this from the people who got us in this mess, and then got bonuses with taxpayer money.

What's on my iPod tonight?

Out of the thousands of songs my iPod had to choose from, this is what it chose to fling at me while I prepared dinner:

A Night In Tunisia, Jimmy Rowles

Looking At You, Rebecca Kilgore

When I Come Back Around, Jamie Lidell

Rebecca, Pat McGee Band

I'll Get Even With You, Leann Rimes

Ever The Sun Will Rise, Tony Levin

Fire, Crazy World of Arthur Brown

Billie's Blues, Billie Holiday

Good Times, Bad Times, Led Zeppelin

Workingman's Blues #2, Bob Dylan

All Along The Watchtower, Jimi Hendrix

The Tracks Of My Tears, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles

No Greater Love, Ahmad Jamal

Spell Check Strikes Again

A news story about the California budget legislation quoted the Lt. Gov. as saying:

And then, when you have recalescent Republicans that have taken a no new tax pledge and seem to really just want to throw this state, and the nation, into chaos and further decline in the economy.

Looks like the spell checker turned recalcitrant into recalescent, which is an interesting word in and of itself, having to do with the glow that steel gives off as it cools.

Seems circular somehow

So, the Seattle municipal water company was ordered by the court to refund customers for an improper fire hydrant surcharge.

So, the water company is raising the money for the refund with a new refund surcharge.

A Roger Bertholf book review

Editor's note: political diversity is welcome here, especially when it comes from my friends.
---------------------

“The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse” by Gregg Easterbrook (Random House, 2003)

In this carefully researched and extensively referenced book, Gregg Easterbrook, a contributing editor of the Atlantic Monthly and visiting fellow of the Brookings Institution, poses the simple question: Why do so many citizens of Western countries express such collective malaise over their state of affairs when, by virtually any objective measure of human existence, they are better off than well over 99% of all the homo sapiens who have ever walked this earth? His question demands historical perspective, something many of this generation lack, and he does not answer it conclusively, but his exploration into the possible reasons is careful and reasoned. Despite the premise in its title, there are several things this book is not: It is not a “feel good about how well off you are” admonition. It is not a dismissal of all things bad about Western society. It does not preach that you’ve got no reason to complain, and it doesn’t even suggest that Western society is necessarily good in all respects.

Politically, Easterbrook is difficult to define. He clearly embraces the overwhelming superiority of democratic government, free market economies, moral values, personal accountability, reduction of the federal debt, and fiscal restraint, which would generally align him with most conservatives. Yet, he rails against social and economic inequities, greed of corporate executives (outright theft from shareholders—and now, taxpayers—is one of the more generous descriptions he applies to CEO largesse), greenhouse gas emissions, egregious waste of petroleum resources by SUVs, lack of universal healthcare in the U.S., and the plight of the poor in underdeveloped countries, an agenda that would cause even the most liberal activist to blush. A liberal who happens to support democratization of the world, decries deficit spending, and suggests that we’ve never had it better? Or, a conservative who blames corporate greed for economic inequity, urges us to consume less and be more charitable, and frets over global warming? You can decide, if that is important to you. It wasn’t to me.

One by one, Easterbrook convincingly challenges commonly-held notions of Western society’s decline. Income? Even at the lowest strata of society, income and quality of life have improved; this is true not only in Western countries, but in underdeveloped countries, as well, with the one exception—frequently cited by Easterbrook—of sub-Saharan Africa. Health? Longevity in the Western world has nearly doubled in just four generations, and although Easterbrook considers it a national disgrace that universal healthcare is not provided in the United States, he points out that some form of healthcare is available to almost everyone, albeit inequitable and to many, woefully inadequate. Gas prices? Inflation-adjusted prices for gasoline are no higher than they were a half a century ago. Armed conflicts? There are fewer wars being waged today than at any time in modern history. The environment? The Environmental Protection Agency, created in 1970, has been, arguably, the most successful government agency the history of the United States. Our water is cleaner, and our air is less polluted, than at any time since the advent of industrialized society. The single exception that Easterbrook points out is greenhouse gases, not universally defined as a pollutant, but a serious concern to him. Crime? Crime has steadily decreased over the past two decades, and sociologists are unable to explain why (Easterbrook amusingly observes how movies and television dramas exaggerate the frequency with which police are involved in shootouts—85% of policemen, he notes, serve their entire career without ever discharging their weapon in the line of duty, except on a firing range).

Easterbrook points out that many of these problems were once considered insolvable, but many have been solved, or at least dramatic progress has been made. So, he wonders, why doesn’t anyone acknowledge these societal gains? Why is the perception so common that we are worse off than our forebears of just a couple of generations ago? In his analysis of this question, Easterbrook makes the remarkable argument that qualities such as charity, forgiveness, and humility have a basis in evolutionary biology; these qualities, he suggests—with considerable research to support his view—are not simply moral teachings founded in religious precepts; evidence suggests that these qualities confer an evolutionary advantage, by a variety of social and biological mechanisms. This is a counterintuitive notion that Easterbrook develops at great length, citing many sociological, psychological, and epidemiological studies that demonstrate the influence of moral behavior on longevity and overall happiness with life.

The last two chapters are titled, revealingly, “Changing Our World,” and “Changing Their World,” the latter in reference to what can be done by affluent societies to improve the desperate conditions in many underdeveloped countries, as well as countries with fabulous wealth that does not translate into a higher living standard for the majority of their population (oil-rich countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Russia being prime examples). Of course, helping the poor is not a novel cause; it has been embraced by many who say, rightfully, that it is the compassionate thing to do. But Easterbrook’s argument for raising the standard of living, not only for the disadvantaged citizens of affluent Western countries (particularly the U.S.), but for the world in general, is unique in that it is based on three premises: We have the wealth to do it if we make sensible decisions about what we need and don’t need; it is the right thing to do; and it is to our advantage, as a society and individually, to make such a commitment.

Easterbrook suggests that “. . .if we decide well, the future may hold an ever-better life, about which our descendants will complain.”

Roger Bertholf

Another Victim Of The Economy

Rod Blagojevich explains his job loss this way:

There are tens of thousands of Americans who are losing their job every single day. I just happen to be among the ranks

He wasn't impeached, he was just laid off

They Just Can't Be Expected To Live That Way

Regarding bank executives and bonuses, from the NYT:

“Without a doubt, $18 billion is a lot of money, but it’s a drop in the bucket on Wall Street,” said Gustavo Dolfino, president of the WhiteRock Group, a headhunter for the banks. “These bonuses are down, and the salaries are not enough for these people. They can’t live on $150 to $180,000, so they haven’t saved any money. They put it on credit lines and at bonus time, they thought they’d pay it off.”

So the taxpayer, with a median income of $49K a year, must pick up the tab.

Question: What are the bank executives doing to prevent taxpayers from suffering unacceptable living circumstances?

Roughing it, American style

Propane powered. Now that's my kind of camping. Only in America.

Cowboy Poems

Bill's in Trouble

I've got a letter, parson, from my son away out West,
An' my ol' heart is heavy as an anvil in my breast,
To think the boy whose future I had once so proudly planned
Should wander from the path of right an' come to such an end!
I told him when he left his home, not three short years ago,
He'd find himself a plowin' in a mighty crooked row—
He'd miss his father's counsel, an' his mother's prayers, too;
But he said the farm was hateful, an' he guessed he'd have to go.

I know thar's big temptation for a youngster in the West,
But I believed our Billy had the courage to resist,
An' when he left I warned him o' the ever waitin' snares
That lie like hidden sarpints in life's pathway everywheres.
But Bill he promised faithful to be keerful, an' allowed
He'd build a reputation that'd make us mighty proud;
But it seems as how my counsel sort o' faded from his mind,
An' now the boy's in trouble o' the very wustest kind!

His letters came so seldom that I somehow sort o' knowed
That Billy was a trampling on a mighty rocky road,
But never once imagined he would bow my head in shame,
An' in the dust'd waller his ol' daddy's honored name.
He writes from out in Denver, an' the story's mighty short;
I just can't tell his mother, it'll crush her poor ol' heart!
An' so I reckoned, parson, you might break the news to her—
Bill's in the legislatur', but he doesn't say what fur.

by James Barton Adams (1843-1918), from Breezy Western Verse, 1899

Understanding the Middle East

I have been reading The Devil We Know, by Robert Baer. From one review:

The reality, according to Robert Baer in his new book "The Devil We Know: Dealing with the New Iranian Superpower" (Crown Publishers, 288 pages, $25.95) is much more complicated and subtle -- and dangerous. He says we must deal with reality -- with "The Devil We Know" -- or find our access to Persian Gulf oil eliminated.

The Shia regime in Iran is halfway to winning its undeclared 30-year war with the U.S. which began with the overthrow of the Shah in 1979 by using proxies such as Hezbollah and the Kurds, forging alliances with Russia and China and exploiting the Muslim divide of Shia and Sunni factions, Baer says.

He's a former CIA operative whose character was played by George Clooney in the movie "Syriana," based on Baer's book "See No Evil." He has extensive contacts throughout the Middle East, including Israel, which he says is pursuing a realistic approach to Iran since its defeat by Hezbollah in the 34-day 2006 war in Lebanon. Baer quotes -- on Page 109 -- an assessment from the Winograd Commission Report, the official Israeli investigation into the 2006 war: "A semi-military organization of a few thousand men resisted for a few weeks, the strongest army in the Middle East, which enjoyed full air superiority and size and technological advantages."

The neocons who thought that conquering Iraq would alter the balance of power in the Middle East in Israel's favor have done precisely the opposite. The way they went about it, by destroying both the Iraqi army and the moderate Shia clerics, have handed Iraq to Iran on a platter. Iran now controls Iraq by proxy.

The context for the current Israeli invasion of Gaza is that the foes of Israel have been emboldened by Israel's defeat by Hezbollah, another Iranian proxy, in 2006. The Israelis may well think that they had to engage in the current conflict and win it to tilt the balance back towards the middle. But what if they don't win it?

Baer's book also gives me the impression that Iran would be perfectly happy to have us spend our efforts and attention on preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. Iran is well on its way to accomplishing their plans for regional empire, which do not require nuclear weapons for success.

Why do we still have our head stuck in the sand? (I confess, less charitable images for head placement come to mind.)