March 2003 Archives
I'm feeling quite the old man today - I have yet to recover from the weekend. The physical activities started on Saturday with my digging tree holes - not too bad, just some sore arms and shoulders.
On Sunday morning, though, we participated in the Capitol 10'000. Rita came down to Austin for the event and the three of us were walking the 10km route. Meredith O drove with us to the event, but she actually ran the whole route. The day was perfect for a road race. The morning was in very low 40s, but the sky was blue and it warmed up nicely by the time we finished the race. We walked it in just under one hour and 27 minutes - about three minutes faster than the Cowtown 10K we did a couple of weeks ago. Running shoes are definitely much preferred over hiking boots for something like this (I don't know what I had been thinking).
BTW, I very much preferred the Austin race to the Ft. Worth one. The weather was equally great, but the Austin route is much more varied. You get to go through the middle of town and neat neighborhoods where the wild flowers and wisteria are in full bloom. There are also bunches of people lining the streets just hanging out and cheering you on and quite a few bands providing live music throughout the route. Yep, the Cap 10K is definitely the zanier of the two events.
After lunch I spent a nice two hour nap in my recliner and then headed out planting the trees (not much work there). Then the O'Reileys came over with their dogs and we want for another hike and spent almost two hours in the park. By that time I could feel all sorts of muscles and joints in my legs.
So today my glutes are screaming and my left knee is aching and I don't feel too chipper. Still, it was lots of fun doing all these things. Next year we'll need to come up with some cool costumes for the Cap 10K.
Last week our Neighborwood trees arrived at the house. They were out of Monterrey Oaks, so we received a Burr Oak instead. The trees themselves are little more than sticks, ranging in height from six to eight feet.
I called up the utilities last week and they marked out the places where not to dig (exactly where the TreeFolks said we should plant one of the trees). On Saturday I began digging holes for the trees in kosher locations. I quickly discovered that my top soil is at most eight inches deep and that a spade doesn't make much progress in limestone. When Jennifer wen to Home Depot for potting soil and mulch I asked her to bring back a pick ax. She also brought back a digging bar which was recommended to her. It's a way cool 17lb hunk of steel with a pointy and a chiselly end and it worked wonders on the limestone (and made my shoulders ache the next day).
Yesterday afternoon we actually planted the trees. This went much faster than digging holes, but I had to make another trip to HD to pick up more soil and mulch (which we didn't actually need) and to return the pick ax. We now have three saplings in our front yard all emplanted and mulched. I'm counting on at least two of them making it, so wish us best luck.
The 25th anniversary of the oh-so-Austin celebration of Spam is this coming Saturday. That's right folks, it's Spamarama time!
My first (and so far only) visit to Spamarama was in 1997 and I have the El Pig T-shirt to prove it. I did sample many of the entries in the cook off contest and quite a few were actually good.
I bet Homer would enjoy the event. Especially the field after the Spam Toss competition.
It seems the al-Jazeera web site has been unaccessible over the last couple of days. It had been slow to begin with and getting slashdotted couldn't have helped. Still, there is more to it than their slow server. Their address and site have been hacked repeatedly. For most of the day, their domain name would not resolve. Earlier this morning, this page appeared on their site. Right now it's resolving to 127.0.0.1. I guess freedom of press and all that stuff doesn't apply when it comes to "them".
BTW, I found the civilian casualties pictures to which I was refering in my previous entry posted on this site (warning - they are very graphic).
At work, a while back I installed Cloudmark's SpamNet which does a fairly decent job of moving most of the copious spam I receive into a Spam folder. When I first installed it, would occasionally mark a legit message as spam, but that has not happened lately. I still get one or two pieces of junk a day that are not detected by SpamNet, but that's to be expected considering how SpamNet filtering works. For now, SpamNet only works on Outlook, although they're supposed to add support for Outlook Express in the future. Of course, the likelihood that they'll support the Mac is somewhere near zero.
No biggie, though. I have recently discovered that my Internet account allows me to use SpamAssasin on my personal email. I have enabled it on my account and it has been very good at intercepting spam. It takes a different approach to identifying spam messages than SpamNet and has been extremely effective for me.
I use SquirrelMail for on-line mail reading and have setup a rule that moves any messages with the (SpamAssasin inserted) header line X-Spam-Flag: YES straight to the trash. My in-box is so empty now, I almost feel unloved!
The IraqBodyCount.org keeps track of civilian casualties reported by media. They coraborate each count with at least two respectable media sources so their tally should be quite accurate as far as the minimum counts are concerned. Of course, since there is limited access to where the really mayhem is happening (bombing in the cities), the actual numbers are likely to be quite a bit higher.
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Yesterday I wandered over to Al Jazeera's web site (they are the Arabic CNN). The site is rather slow right now and although I've seen reports that they have an English version, all I can find is stuff in Arabic - which I do not read nor understand. I suspect anything they'd put up in English would bring their servers down with all the traffic from the west. Anyway, I followed some of the links and found their page from March 22, that's the day some of our troops took a wrong turn and got ambushed by the Iraqis. Al Jazeera was criticized for showing the footage of the US captives. Since then we have seen the same pictures of the US soldiers on American TV and in our news papers.
What I have not yet seen here, though, is something that has haunted me since I saw it on their site. It's the other pictures that Al Jazeera broadcasts. It's the faces of the other side of the war, the injured, mutilated and dead civilians. If you're easily shocked, do not look at these pictures. Still, it's something we're not likely to see soon in our papers of from our "embedded" journalists. It makes you aware of the grizly reality of what's going on. It also gives you an idea of how the "war of liberation" is percieved in the Arab world where people are much more likely to tune in to Al Jazeera than Fox News.
So I've been thinking about the war that has been unleashed. I really have mixed feelings about it. I think that most Iraqis are going to end up with better lives after Saddam is deposed (I don't doubt that that's going to happen). But there is going to be plenty of people there (as well as families of service members here) that are forever going to remember the conflict as the cause for having lost a dear friend or family member. I don't really have a problem with utilitarian philosophy (the gain of many outweighing the loss of few) but that's not where my problem with this war lays, either.
On Friday we had a friendly - ahem - discussion with some neighbors in the park about Iraq. I was struck by their enthusiastic excitement of us "kicking some butt" and "making anyone who'd do a 9/11 attack think twice". Good Lord, people! This is not the freaking Super-bowl - it's about lives and laws and the loss of both.
Do you not care that there will be hundreds or thousands of innocent civilians killed and scores of our soldier will "honorably die"? Do you not know or care that 9/11 was not Iraq's doing. What about the world implication of our attack? They don't seem to see the difference between the Gulf War of '91 or Afghanistan and what we are doing now.
I had been impressed with the yard signs I'd seen in central Austin. I discovered that you can get a peace sign on Wednesdays (5-8pm) and Saturdays (12-4pm) in front of Book People on 6th and Lamar. Jfer was concerned the we might get our house egged or something, but we went a picked one up on Saturday and planted it in our front yard (I had not seen any in this area of town).
I say we should exercise our freedom of speech less it becomes fat and lazy.
One of the many presents I recevied from Jfer for my birthday was a 90 minute massage at Avant Salon. I had given her the same gift certificate for her birthday and she had not yet used it, so she conveniently scheduled both our massages for this Saturday. It was great - Fran, my masseuse, is a goddes. I can't think of a more relaxing way to blow an hour and a half on a Saturday morning.
I think Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio has said it best:
Tonight, President Bush has commanded U.S. forces to go to war in violation of American traditions of defensive war that have lasted since George Washington. This war is wrong; it violates the Constitution and international law.
I saw this cartoon by Way Lay on salon.com. Then entire Hermann Göring quote goes like this:
Why of course the people don't want war. Why should some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally the common people don't want war: neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.
Pretty amazing! Can't you just see Rummy and Ashcroft whispering these words into W's ears? If you don't remember World War II propaganda, try googling for Hermann to see what I'm talking about. Oh, and go ahead and buy that Dixie Chicks CD, it's really good.
After Bush all but declared war last night, ABC followed it with a two hour extended report titled When Diplomacy Fails. I looked up the meaning of diplomacy just to make certain that it means what I thought it means and sure enough, the definition is:
- the art and practice of conducting negotiations between nations
- skill in handling affairs without arousing hostility
The first definition may apply what our government has been doing (although I question the art aspect of it) but the second definition is the exact opposite of what Bush has been doing - he has been extremely successful in arousing hostility everywhere.
I really have not seen any sincere efforts by his administration to engage our foes diplomatically - we refuse to talk with North Korea, for crying out loud! How do you conduct negotiations without talking with your opponent? Diplomacy, in the Bush administration, means convincing our allies into agreeing with our way of doing things. "Failed diplomacy" is not causing Bush to wage war against Iraq, it simply means that he does it without the world's blessing. I think true international diplomacy here has been pretty much absent ever since the Bush regime took over.
Ironically enough, ABC's special preempted Miracles a fictional show about strange events "which may point to a frightening and deadly "large event" that is coming…"
It's St. Patrick's day which means I'm another year older. I'm officially in my mid 30s although I'm still in the oh-so-coveted 18-34 demographic.
I've received lovely birthday wishes from my relatives, including a 5am call from my mother in law. It's a weird tradition for them to try to be the very first person to wish Happy Birthday. I don't think I was very receptive but I really do not vouch for anything when I get woken up in the middle of the night :-) If I manage to be awake, I'll pay her back with a 3am call when her time comes.
When I tried to go for lunch today, my car was missing! I first wasn't sure that I had remembered correctly where I had parked (it happens) but then I noticed a familiar PT Cruiser in its spot. So Jfer has kidnapped my car over lunch and I'm curious what has happened to it. It's either been converted into a souped up low rider or (hopefully) it's nicely clean. Yay!
Even though they sort of apologized for it, I am impressed with the Dixie Chicks standing up for their views concerning Bush's war in Iraq. This is definitely not a smart business move, considering the overall conservative nature of country music fans and especially country music stations. In my view, it's that much more admirable.
Personally, I also "feel the President is ignoring the opinions of many in the U.S. and alienating the rest of the world" and I know quite a few other real Texans who say they're "ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas". This despite the fact that W. was really born a yankee in New Haven, Connecticut.
Anyway, me thinks I'll be buying some Dixie Chicks CDs today...
We saw The Hunted today which is a The-Fugitive-meets-Rambo kind of movie. It was quite a bit more bloody than I expected, but was actually pretty good (it's got Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio del Toro so you can't really go wrong). I must say that the Pacific north-west is quite breathtaking. I remember admiring all the green in the woods (trees, grasses and moss everywhere) when I visited Redmond a few years ago.
One think that I find weird was the whole deer hunting thing at the beginning of the movie. There are two deer hunters with huge scopes on their rifles hunting elk in a dense forest. Do you really need a big scope if your line of visibility is so short due to all the trees? And wouldn't you take the lens-cap off the gun? Maybe they had the slashing coming.
And what is up with hunters covering themselves into camouflage and then wearing bright orange vests? I understand that the bright orange is for protection from other hunters - but then what's the use for the camo? Somebody please enlighten me.
I discovered today that you can report a litterer on the Don't Mess with Texas website. Obviously, the offender won't get a ticket just on your say-so, but TxDOT will send a letter "to the litterer along with a Don't Mess with Texas litter bag to remind them to put their trash where it belongs". That is so cool!
Oh, and they say not to confront another driver about littering because it could put you "in a dangerous situation". After all, they might be packing heat.
I stopped behind an SUV at an intersection this morning and observed a smoking butt flying out the driver's window. I was speechless - do people really do this? Don't they get smacked for this by their parents while growing up or is this something one picks up later in life?
I was too stunned to even honk at that person. In restrospect, I wish I had gotten out of my car and - with a bright and sweet smile - handed the butt to the driver informing them that they had accidentally dropped it. Oh well, maybe next time.
But if you know the person who drives the black Honda CR-V with Texas licence plate L52-YPD, please tell them from me that they're a pig.
Jfer took me to see Selected Shorts On Tour on Saturday. We have been going to these ever since we started dating and have always enjoyed the evening of literature. One of my favorite things is that after the three short stories have been read, you get to mingle with the "stars" at a reception which includes a jazz combo, coffee, and tables overflowing with pastries and cookies. Actually, I don't really care about mingling with stars, but pastries and cookies I never say not to. Or at least that's the way it used to be.
This year there were no pastries! Sure, the program had a $5 off coupon to Central Market which (I think) used to provide the pastries, but that's a very poor substitute at 10pm on Saturday night. Isiah Sheffer blamed it on last year's "incident" - in which the audience (your's truly included) stormed the pastries during the intermission instead of waiting for the reception. I don't really know what they were expecting, leaving them uncovered like that. Anyway, I don't buy that excuse and fervently hope that next year they'll reappear.
BTW, the stories themselves were once again pretty cool, although I don't think I got Tobias Wolff's Nightingale which was being read by Stephen Lang. Mr. Lang, BTW, is currently starring in Gods and Generals and is now sporting a Civil War looking mustache (which - combined with the turtle neck he was wearing - made him look like a dashing '70s porn star).
We watched President Bush's press conference last night - rather by accident since we taped it instead of Will and Grace. We didn't really learn much new, except that it's pretty obvious where this is all heading. There will be war, and nobody, not the U.N., our ornery allies, the protesters here and abroad, a big chunk of the Congress (thanks Lloyd Doggett) or anyone else can do anything about it. Not even Bush, since apparently it is Saddam's "choice to make as to whether or not we go to war" but unfortunately he just keeps making "wrong choices".
With domestic and international support lagging, Bush once again invoked the spirit of 9/11 and went on how (unless we disarm him - by going to war I presume) Saddam would supply his "weapons of terror" to terrorists who would use them "against America and other peace-loving(!?!) countries".
The Q&A was a little more interesting than the prepared speech. Of course, a lot of questions were not answered directly but more by "My job is to protect America, and that is exactly what I'm going to do" type of remarks. Still there was some interesting and amusing nuggets.
When asked about North Korea, Bush answered that "This is a regional issue. I say a regional issue because there's a lot of countries that have got a direct stake into whether or not North Korea has nuclear weapons." He then showed of his geography prowess by enumerating the big players in the area and mentioning for each that hey had a stake in this. I think "stake" was the word du jour, since he mentioned it 9 times in the evening - I had visions of him slaying vampires and Jennifer was drooling thinking about sirloins. Anyway, the prez thought that "the best way to deal with this is in multilateral fashion".
When asked about protests and disagreements with our allies Bush responded that he "appreciate societies in which people can express their opinion" and then pretty much went on to say that although everyone can express their opinion he ain't gonna listen to them because he believes and knows that Saddam must be banished, and that's that.
After waffling with his answers on whether success of war was contingent upon capturing or killing Saddam Hussein, Bush answered with "We will be changing the regime of Iraq, for the good of the Iraqi people." Obviously he's learned his lesson from Osama "dead-or-alive" bin Laden.
Turkey's rejection of basing US for a northern front? "That won't cause any more hardship for our troops; I'm confident of that".
Why do so many governments very strongly disagree and see the U.S. under Bush's leadership as an arrogant power? Blah, blah, blah ... "convinced that a liberated Iraq will be -- will be important for that troubled part of the world", because - you know - "Iraq will provide a place where people can see that the Shia and the Sunni and the Kurds can get along in a federation. Iraq will serve as a catalyst for change, positive change."
That's going to be so neat, I just can't wait!
Yesterday when we go home, there were three stakes in our front yard and a pamphlet on the door informing us that we can get three trees through the NeighborWoods program. It's a program sponsored, among others by TreeFolks and Austin Energy to reduce the Urban Heat Island effect by shading the streets.
We had several choices of tree types and decided on a Monterrey Oak for the street corner and on a pair of Chinese Pistaches to frame our driveway. I don't know when the trees will arrive and I'm sure it'll take several years before they look decent - but I'm definitely looking forward to the fall colors on the CPs.
Today Ray moved out to take over Omid's former office, which leaves me the sole propriator of a huge corner office. It's actually big enough for three people if you don't mind being cozy. It feels rather empty with just me in it, but now I can play crappy music that no one else wants to listen to. I probably should move my desk around, but where I'm sitting right now I have a really nice 225° view.
The wet weekend has moved today's Zilker Kite Festival to next weekend. Too bad - we were looking forward to it.
On the other hand, I don't think there is much wind out there today, so it's just as well.
