From the BBC World News

Hello, this is Claire Bolderson with the BBC World Service ...

The BBC's Claire Bolderson and Minnesotta Public Radio's Kerri Miller co-hosted a debate on the challengest ahead for America's next president. The debate took place in front of a live audience.

Yes, that live audience would include Peter & Elizabeth - both of whom can be heard on the broadcast.

It was a fairly interesting event. We got to see the upper level of the Gutherie, which I'd not seen before. A stunning view over the Mississippi. There was socialization time before & after the show. The refreshment option was moved to after the show; since it was a co-production with the BBC, high tea was offered. One of the fellows we chatted with is an election official, and was quite informative of the inner workings of the Minnesota election system.

One of the panelists was my US congressman. It was interesting to hear him speak. It was far more interesting to watch his non-verbal response to the questions and other panelists' answers (particularly the rabid mindless businessman). His facial expressions and body language were a very clear commentary on the other speaker's words.

I got a chance to speak with him afterwards. I also got a chance to speak to both Kerri Miller (whose show I listened to practically every day until I started grad school) and Claire Bolderson (whose show I listen to whenever I'm in the car late enough in the day to catch the BBC World Service News Hour). It's odd seeing someone one normally only hears. I often wonder if the radio personalities at somewhere more professional (like the BBC) show up at work in their cut-offs and t-shirts (e.g. Mr. STFU) or in the professional attire they wore today.

One of the BBC producers said the show here was fairly similar to the other stops in their cross-country tour of the US. We're the last one before D.C. on Monday. He did mention ours was the first group which didn't mention Sarah Palin. He sounded sort of relieved.

When I said "sure, that sounds great, I'll come" to the invitation from MPR, I didn't realize it was going to be a live broadcast over the BBC. Taped for MPR or PRI, sure but the BBC?.= Wow - Kenya to Kalamazoo got to hear how offended I am.

World Record

U. Minnesota decided to break the Guinness Book of World Records for ... the number of flu shots given out in one day, that being more than 3,721 as a goal. I just got mine (3:45 p.m.), and was informed that they passed their goal at noon.

After getting the flu in March, and having forgotten how sick you could be and still live ... I couldn't pass up a free one. Jr.Gopher#2 is the only remaining member who needs his. And since he got the flu last year, and didn't wind up in the hospital (as quite a few little kids were, with post-flu pneumonia) - his pediatrician ascribed his relatively short recovery time to having gotten vaccinated.

Update:
The U did, indeed, pass the previous record, reaching 11,538.

New Pictures

Well, of course, here comes Autumn. The Halloween pictures will get put up sometime after tomorrow night.

We went out to an apple orchard somewhere east of here (not quite into Wisconsin) for a family day in the country. We wanted to ensure the boys understood that food comes from somewhere other than Cub Foods or Aldi.

It was a completely idyllic day. Blue skies, white clouds, pleasant temperature, not too crowded (at least when we showed up it wasn't). There was a taste-testing table at the front of the orchard, to determine which of their varieties you wanted.

And, of course, what Autumnal harvesting would be complete without pumpkins?

Jack o' Lanterns for Halloween & one for MamaGopher to for a completely-from-scratch pumpkin pie.







Well, rather than quicksand, they had a quick-hay pile. Just sucked the kids right up.






















It was a wee bit long for some of the wee ones. Jr.Gopher2 was draggin' his wagon by lunch time.















If you're tired enough, any pillow is soft.












Those are Regent apples in the bag.
















Wandering around the orchard having a late-morning snack.












Not quite the Garden of Eden, but thankfully no snakes.












The boys










Well, both boys are beginning to develop a sense of style. Of Fashion. Of Savoir Faire. well, of something.























check out both pairs of shoes.











Sing us a song, Mr. Piano Man





That little red thing is a stuffed lobster. Courtesy of a Maine-based scientific instrument company that makes ventilation equipment.

Seriously, talk about photogenic.


Jr.Gopher #1 has developed camera shyness. Try to take his picture, and he turns his back to you. Well, hopefully, he'll get over it and there will be more in the future.




We've got Jr.Gopher #1 Halloween costume made, ready for his pre-school party in the day, and the Trick-or-Treating in the evening. #2 costume, made to go with #1, is partially made. I ran out of spray paint, and need to hit the hardware store tomorrow.

Peter is going to make a foray on his first-ever trick-or-treating with our neighbors. The neighbor's adult "guys" are going out with their favorite potable Beverage in an Unobtrusive Container to escort the kiddies. Mrs. Neighbor & I will man the fortress walls against incoming hoards of children. .. well, we've no idea, but I'm looking forward to meeting some of the neighbors.

[movie review] In the Name of the King

This one is STFU’s fault. He stated Jason Statham was the most underrated action hero in Hollywood today. I respect his opinion. While searching for something relatively undemanding on the video store, I noticed In the Name of the King. Starring Jason Stratham & John Rhys-Davies. Sure, looked like a B-grade fantasy film. But, hey, I loved Tremors & still think Army of Darkness is epic. Rhys-Davies is good, but not particularly consistent. Indiana Jones #1 (there should only have been 1) - he was great; LotR, he was good. Most of his other stuff is hit & miss. And, looking like an action-flick, I thought, hey that Stratham guy, I'll check him out. Hmmm ... not one of my brighter ideas.

The scenery was not really off-putting, but it was obviously post-Lord of the Rings: ooooh, look, that’s Osgiliath ... and Helms’ Deep ... oh, and the pretty magic tree in Minas Tirith ... oh, and I think that’s the burning of the Westfold, done in much greater gory detail with uglier orc-y looking things. And, heaven help us, that’s Burt Reynolds.

Right off the top - any movie that starts with a sword-swinging, boomerang-wielding turnip farmer who can kick-ass with a minor hoard of orc-things .... come on, no matter who the actor is ... this just sets the tone for the movie, or else you’re tone-deaf. I’m okay with this, I wasn’t expecting great art. And, hey, Stratham is supposed to be an action-hero, he ought to be kicking orc-y ass. I only got to 39:42. I quit. I'm sure Stratham is probably an underrated action hero. And, if this is the material he produces, it's easy to understand that no one wants to watch him long enough to appreciate him.

If I’d seen the longer cast list, I wouldn’t have borrowed it. Ray Liotta would be enough to get me to rent anything else. I’ve never seen him in anything that I liked, and never liked him in anything I've seen.

Based on a comic book? Nope. A short story? No. A fairy tale? Someone's 13-year old D&D adventure? No? ... oh, a video game. Of course.

You know how I can tell the CGI is pathetic? Because even I can tell it’s bad.

As long as the camera doesn’t get close, the brother-in-law bears a striking resemblance to my landlord. Very Strange.

Rating: 6 - Go get your teeth cleaned.

[def.] Mixed Precipitation

You know what 'mixed precipitation' means? It means it's snowing.

Holy Mary, Mother of God. It's only October 26th. It's snowing. More and more snow, as I watch, and less of that "thick rain".

News from The Land of 10,000 Lakes*

* according to AAA, there are actually over 12,000

Again, a reason to have a camera: there is this fellow who comes into the local cafe who is the absolute spitting image of Richard Gere. So help me, a total shocking double take. Down to the same glasses, salt&pepper hair, it took staring (covertly) for a while to think, 'no, that's no him'. Of course, had it been him, it would just have become an interesting 'guess who I saw @ MayDay'. Besides, seeing Richard Gere (or anyone else reasonably famous) is far less remarkable in Minneapolis than, say, Big Isaac, West Virginia. Or even Lansing, Michigan. Rather like last year sitting in a restaurant and thinking, god, that looks like Al Franken. After a (much longer) covert stare, I finally realized, yes it is him. Of course, I hadn't realized StLP was his home town.

The Big Brother Factor is in full-swing with the boys. Jr.Gopher #2 sits & watches #1 in a very analytical manner, taking everything in. A few seconds later, the identical behavior appears. Unfortunately, this applies to playing Wild Boy at the dinner table, as well as joyful running around screaming in the maternally approved great outdoors.

Gregor is finally beginning to talk. Not much, but occasionally real, understandable words emerge. So, Müll is no longer his only word. There is little incentive for him to speak, since he comes equipped with a personal translator.

Me (to both boys): Do you want corn chex?
Michael: Do you want corn chex, Gregor?
Gregor: nods
Michael: Gregor wants corn chex, mama.

Boys running full tilt around the wheelchair ramp outside Kinderstube. Gregor falls down, gets back up.
Michael: Gregor, are you okay?
Gregor nods
Michael (to me): Gregor fell down. He says he's okay!

Michael wants a puppy. He doesn't want a dog, only a puppy. I don't want a dog. Dogs slobber. That's why I wanted a cat. Cats don't slobber. Except mine. Mine drools. A lot. So I'm confronted with 'would it be so bad, since I'm getting slobbered anyway?' Oh, there's that little "gotta let the dog out" every 6 hours or so. And that little euphemistic "walking the dog". Walking's ok. But, I'm really looking forward to the collection and disposal of fecal matter ending soon, not starting. Canine additions to the HealthyGopher family will wait until the children are old enough to comprehend "You will take care of the dog". And then I'll probably get the a bunny. Something that can play with the next cat. Cats eat bunnies? Oops. Maybe a guinea pig - Raven hasn't eaten the neighbors' yet.

I am officially done with my ethics class. Interesting reading. Totally useless course, if we're meant to learn anything about ethics. Useful, if we're simply meant to brush up on our composition and writing abilities. Oh, well. C'est la vie.

Autumnal fun

Jr.Gopher 2 & Josie
from his daycare
Yesterday was "rake the leaves" day.

Even cuter was me coming home. Gregor was still sitting at the same tree, leaning against it, reading a book sitting in the leave pile. I sooo wished I had a camera.

Leaves are changing. Today required not just a jacket for the boys, but hats & mittens before the bike ride with Mr.Gopher.

Dysfunctionality, USA

I have never seen any production by Arthur Miller. The Crucible, Death of a Salesman, All My Sons, nope. Haven't even seen the movies made of of all 3 of these.

Friday I corrected this literary deficiency and went to see A View From the Bridge, courtesy of a friend's extra ticket. We managed to miss the first scene courtesy of my bad directions. Set in early 19-something Brooklyn, this is the story of an Italian-American family (uncle-aunt-niece) who take in a couple of illegal immigrant cousins (married & single brothers) from the Old Country and the ensuing drama.

If this is what Miller's work is like, I'm surprised no one has done research to determine if there's an association between watching his work and an increased suicide rate. I guess the fact I was just morose, rather than seeking oblivion from the misery and futility of life, is due to the acting quality one normally finds at the Gutherie Theater.

Perhaps it was the initial "I wandered into the set of All In The Family" feeling, but I spent the first act wondering what god-awful thing was going to happen. The blatantly obvious foreshadowing in Scene 1 of some neighborhood guy ratting out illegal workers to the INS was so blatant that perhaps it was intended to leave me wondering 'when is he going to rat out these fellows' throughout the next 90 minutes? (BTW "submarines" must be an archaic antecedent to "wet backs").

Another surprise was the realization that the initial production date was 1955. I'm subsequently left unsurprised that the House Committee of UnAmerican Activities thought he was an undesirable character. The attitudes of the main character, Eddie, were unsurprising and perfectly acceptable for the 50s. Gays weren't exactly a widely embraced sector of American society; suspicion of illegal workers marrying just for their citizenship papers persists today. But, the final confrontation with his feelings for his neice, and his method for demonstrating the unworthiness of another man's affections for her was shocking. I just can't come to grips with that having been done in 1955. I suppose if it managed to shock me in 2008, it is a credit to the playwright's ability to draw me in to the play's setting, rather than my own.

The Actor playing Eddie was the picture perfect image of a 40s blue-collar archetype. I can see where Archie Bunker came from. The woman playing the 18 year old niece was an annoying version of the all-too-often-seen character which must be advertised as 'bouncy enthusiastic dotting daughter who is required to bouncily skip around the stage at all times'. Good lord, almighty - who in their right mind wants an actress to behave like this? Have you actually seen anyone over the age of 6 walk around the house like this? Dorothy on the Yellow Brick Road ain't got nothing on this chick. If this was supposed to underscore her non-adult behavior towards her uncle, being his 'little girl', it failed and simply annoyed me. There must be other ways to convey this.

Acting aside - I find I'm generally not great at assessing the merits of actors in any meaningful way beyond 'I like it' - the framework within which the action occurs was really nice. The theater is big enough to allow a complex set to be built. This provided plenty of space without needing to have a huge footprint. The little details, especially how the secondary sets were moved in/out were nice. E.g. a group of longshoremen bring in a huge crate, open it, and voila! the desk for an office scene is left on the stage's skirt. The primary set of the family's house remained intact, while the other scenes were set around the skirts of the stage, allowing the home life of the typical dysfunctional American family to remain the center point of the story, keeping it in view the whole time.

Right after the set design, as the best part of the show was Rudolpho, the single brother who - of course - falls madly in love with the family's niece at first sight. Perhaps he was remarkable simply by dint of not being some stereotype. He flung himself into the part with the same enthusiastic un-self-consciousness that one expects from the character himself.

I have no set recommendation scale for plays, as I do for movies. So, "would I recommend it?" Yes, I would. Although it's not a 'drop everything and go see it if you can'.


Hmmm... I suppose I need a scale for theater ...

Worth the price of tickets & babysitter: go see it!
If there's an afternoon matinee ...
Well, if someone else has an extra ticket ...
You need to balance your checkbook, don't you?

resume for Failin' Palin Replacement

So please, people, write me in on the ballot in November, or write me in New Zealand, where I'll be making my new home.
- RoseAnn Cash,
Why I'd be a Better VP than Sarah Palin (or, The Bridge to New Zealand)

hee hee hee

Underfunding

The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for the oversight and enforcement of compliance with regulations addressing the safety, efficacy, and potency of drugs (as well as all medical devices & biological drugs).

FDA sends its auditors to every drug manufacturer in the US at least once every 2 years.

They send auditors to foreign manufacturers who supply US drugs whenever they get around to it. 80% of our drug materials are made overseas.

I can personally vouch for the fact that the oversight of the FDA and their power to terminate licenses at will on zero notice quite sincerely does drive compliance with their regulations.

The 2007 congressional appropriation for this agency was $1.58 million dollars.

$1.57M is less than 3/4 of the budget for the county school district where FDA's headquarters is located.

$1.57M is approximately the projected cost of the Sarah Palin commemorative 'Bridge to Nowhere'. -Playing "Kick the FDA" - Risk Free to Players but Hazardous to Public Health, Alastair J.J. Wood, New England Journal of Medicine, vol 385, no. 17, 4/28/08

So the next time people start dropping dead from bad Vioxx or heparin or toothpaste made with anti-freeze labeled as sugar syrup, Congress needs to be added to the whipping boy list.

21 - 16 - 0

I actually need to pause and consider who to vote for in the US Senate election next month. While it's a pretty safe bet that I'd vote for the DFL candidate ... I'm not so doctrinaire that I wouldn't at least consider the Republican. And, of course, having a viable (currently holding 18% in polls) Independence Party, I have a 3rd to think about. And, before you think "god, 18%?" -- the other 2 have 36 and 39%.

Minnesota Public Radio has a Pick the Candidate page to match your opinions vs. the candidates on 11 policy questions. The Healthy Gopher matching rate was:
Franken (DFL): 9/11
Barkley (IP): 8/11
Coleman (R): 1/11

hmmmm... maybe I don't need to consider Coleman so much after all. The fact I concur with this position on stem cell research pales, utterly pales, in comparison to funding education, health care & energy.

Guitar Hero?

An e-mail note from Gregor's day-care:

Funny/Naughty/Smart Gregor story: I was trying to screw the rake back on to the handle but the 2 youngest, including Gregor wanted to strum the rake like it was a guitar. Tried as I may, I couldn't screw it on with them strumming so I asked them to stop. Gregor finally stopped after a few times and walked straight over to the "baby grass" [newly seeded lawn] and sat down in it. I asked him to get out. He looked down at the grass and back and me and gave me that contented look.

On the outside, I let him know I didn't appreciate the behavior with a time out. But on the inside, I died of laughter at his form of rebellion.
Tonja

Why I Hate America

... Representative Robin Hayes, who prefaced his comments by saying it was important to “make sure we don’t say something stupid, make sure we don’t say something we don’t mean.” Republicans, he reminded the crowd, were kind people.
Plus, he added, the liberal media had shown itself eager to distort such remarks. With the crowd duly chastened and put on best behavior, he accused Obama of “inciting class warfare” and said that “liberals hate real Americans that work and achieve and believe in God.”

Our own Palin clone was - of course - cited immediately after this paragraph. See revised comments below.

What is this? The RNC must have cut off funding for "Control Mechanism on Speech of Radical Christian Idiots We Are Trying to Distance Ourselves From"?

400:1 - good odds?

"Things are roughly where we expected. For having been outspent 400 to 1, we like where we're at." The Barkley Effect

(Barkley is the Independence Party's U.S. Senate candidate)

Our own Palin - revised

Unfortunately, in contrast to the individual running as the GOP-VP, this woman has actually been elected to office. And succeeded in winning the GOP primary. Although, since the party actually let someone run against her on the party ticket, I suppose it could be inferred that even within the party ranks she isn't a golden child.

Bachmann is pretty much a cookie cutter of Palin. Thank god she isn't my representative. She's a darling of the local media (at least the ones I read) due to her truly bizarre behavior.

People from around the country donated $640,000 to Tinklenberg's campaign after Bachmann said Friday on MSNBC's "Hardball" that Obama "may have anti-American views."

That comment not only replenished the campaign war chest of Bachmann's opponent, but it also clogged up her office voice mail with many angry messages.

During an interview Sunday on WCCO-TV, Bachmann suggested people are overreacting to her remarks Friday.-MPR

This is just all over the news today (Monday). Tinklenberg's campaign has received $800,000 dollars in 3 days (since Friday, after the 'misunderstood' comment). The Cook political assessment group has switched her district from 'definitly republican' to 'could go either way'.

Tuesday:
Bachmann's opponent in the primary has decided to launch a write-in campaign against her in the general election.

Bachmann Friday on MSNBC Hardball:
On B.Obama "Absolutely. I'm very concerned that he may have anti-American views."
On M.Obama's 'first time I'm proud of my country" comment: "And so these are very anti-American views."
On Media: "I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out, are they pro-America or anti-America?"

Bachmann on Monday: claims she didn't suggest "some House Un-American Activities Committee witch hunt into my colleagues in Congress." Well, that is true. Tangential and misrepresenting, but factual.

On top of the Democrats/liberal/reasonably intelligent people screaming for her head, the Governor of Minnesota, Republican Tim (I Wouldn't Be So Screwed If I'd Picked Him as VP) Pawlenty criticized her comments. Of course, T-Paw immediately appended "well, that's what happens when you talk all day", you say things you wish you hadn't said that way. Well, Mr. Governor, perhaps it's a matter of "you say things you should have kept your mouth shut & not said at all"?

[def.] Loitering

Loitering: the act of sitting in the chairs in the lobby of your apartment building.

a.k.a., translated into standard English,

All those damn niggers living in my building lowering my condo's property values by loafing in the lobby.

ed: an NPR interview-ee who didn't want to quite come out and put it this way. -- sorry if you read this and thought it was my opinion offered. It is not.

Parenthood: job requirements

Things you need to do as a parent they didn't mention:

1. Buy frozen peas in the 4 lb. bag
2. Put the fluoridated toothpaste out of reach
3. Laundry laundry laundry
4. Wear pyjamas
5. Explain death
6. Make sure your laptop's power cord is out of the reach of little mouths
7. Explain the family cat is not a pillow
8. Become totally immune to the gross-out factor of any bodily fluid
9. Buy band-aids in the child-size box (i.e., big)
10. Explain where the sun goes at night (Japan & New Zealand)
11. Explain why mama & papa kiss on the lips, but you don't get to
12. Sing the ABC song and Old MacDonald over and over and over and over and ...
13. Teach how to ride a scooter
14. Deal with sleep deprivation for 18 months
15. Read Mouse Paint over and over
    
16. Read Go Dog Go! over and over and ...
17. Watch Cars over and over and over and over and over and over and over and ...
18. Maintain a stock of either Goldfish or Cheerios in your purse
19. Wish you'd bought stock in Pepperidge Farms, considering how many Goldfish you buy
20. Laugh after being puked on at 1:00 a.m.
    
21. Laugh after being puked on at 1:05 a.m.
    

long way across the river

Today again I bicycled to campus. The bridge between the banks (the university straddles the river) is partially closed for repair/assessment. For some reason, the stability of the bridges around here got to be a big thing in the past year. The bridge upper deck has a covered central corridor - Yes, it's covered. When you need to walk to class in -10F weather, it's nice to have a windbreak.
- for pedestrians, with the outer edges for bikes. The whole thing spans the width of the 4-lane bridge.

I have no idea why it's okay to drive across the bridge, while I can't bike on it... One of the city buses must weigh far more than all of the bicyclists on the bridge at any given time.

I have to dismount & walk my bike across the river, which I discovered is a really, really long way. I never really noticed how wide the Mississippi is here.

The walls for the pedestrians' covered corridor are just cheap plywood. The interior of which are painted panels for the various student organizations, ranging from the Vedic Change Your Life to the University's marching band to Der Svenskaklubb. Some however, are amusing:

Queer Women: a flaming good time
CASH: Campus Atheists Skeptics & Humanists: the best damned group on campus
Heavy Metal: University Marching Band Flutes & Piccolos
University Physics Society: Is Carl Sagan your homeboy?

Hocky Fan Mom

I like hockey. I'm hoping Santa Claus brings me a ticket to the Wings' game here in town in January. I am not, nor shall I ever be, a 'hockey mom' (like I'm going to let my boys do that on a serious team? Be real. Pond hockey yes; NHL no). Soccer mom, maybe if you can be one without letting it consume your soul. We might have a mini-van, though. With camping gear.

After hearing about this for several days, I finally found a functional internet connection, and watched it. Wow. Awesome!

The Nation's comment about Failin' Palin hiding behind her daughter's skirts was the most laughable. If she's going to drag the little kid out onto the ice, to keep the Flyer fans from booing her, the least she could do is give the kid the damn puck.



Although, as a PR point someone should have made to her, she should have avoided the Burbury coat and worn a hockey jersey. Not from the Flyers (whose fans might have been even more enraged), but the U.Alaska/Fairbanks. They have a nice team. "Rah rah hockey" without the "I'm sucking up" factor.

Got Vote?

Think nationally, act locally.

Miller points to the ouster of ACORN's founder earlier this year after the controller, the founder's brother, had embezzled nearly a million dollars. --- maybe he should move to Alaska. --- Lewis, ACORN's chief organizer, says the group's profile has never been so high. "This election, this linking us to Obama in order to try to damage him, that's a great opportunity," she says.

And, since "others" (i.e., the RNC) are complaining about ACORN nationally (accused of getting people to register multiple times), the Hennepin County (i.e., Mpls) attorney is checking into them for potential fraud. ooooh, horrid! Fraud, in this case, means holding the registration cards for longer than the 10-day submission deadline. A deadline intended to avoid a document log-jam for the county, since they enter the registrations on the same day they receive them. Strangely unmentioned here is the fact the county attorney also said they would accept all of the registrations as valid; it's just that they might nail the poor schmuck in question anyway.

On an 80% positive note:
The Sec.State expects an 80% voter turn out, while achieving a 90% voter registration by Election Day (we have same-day-at-polls-registration).

A recent surge in Minnesota voter registration — 60,000 new voters in a little more than a month — has pushed statewide voter registration to an all-time high.

An analysis shows half of the new registrations come from three (most liberal & most populous) counties that voted heavily for John Kerry in 2004, potentially giving Democratic hopeful Barack Obama a boost in a critical battleground state as the 2008 presidential election enters the homestretch.

"These results actually reflect our strategy of focusing aggressively on new voters and current nonvoters and getting them engaged in this election," said Jeff Blodgett, Obama's state campaign director. StPl PiPress

Those 3 counties have been referred to as "ground zero for our get-out-the-vote efforts" (by DFL). Someone has been hammering voter registration on campus. I just got an email from the U's president reminding me to register to vote. My Tuesday evening class professor gave us permission to miss class for voting, since most have either work or a long bus ride rather prohibiting getting to class by 4:40. I've been accosted twice to get me to register. There have been postings all over the school of public health to get people to register (although I didn't notice which group posted them).

See, class, you should have paid attention in math class.

stupified

I realize the only people who read this are related to me ... so it's not like my view of politics is a secret, nor is it that different than the rest of you. That said... today's news (which actually means the past 2.5 days) just stupefies me. totally stupefies me. This exceeds even my terminally pessimistic view of the idiocy of U.S. elections.

I'm on drugs. I'm on hallucinogens. Please, someone tell me this is all one giant methamphetamine induced delirium. Lie, baby, lie.

please?

Who are these idiots?

I just drove home. Who are these idiots on the roads?

#1.
The major road through U-Minnesota's East Bank campus (major = only one that actually goes straight though) has a pretty long light to cross it, letting the pile of traffic through. It's got lots of traffic all day. Needless to say, the pedestrians at this particular crossing (none of the others, just this one) actually wait for the cross light. Not this chick. She is blithely strolling across the stopped traffic. This wouldn't be a big problem, except that my lane to turn on to Washington Ave is, by default of course, green. She abruptly gets this deer-in-the-headlight look as I come to a halt to avoid plowing into her and her GDMF cell phone. And you thought the drivers with them were insane? At least hitting a car (which would likely have had a Republican perfectly coiffed soccer mom in an SUV sitting 4 feet higher than my VW) would mean hitting a fairly well armored target. This girl? Splat! like a bug on my windshield

#2
2 lanes of a large road (Cedar Ave) at an intersection becomes 3 lanes: the same 2 + a left turn lane. Some SUV not only swerves in front of me as the light turns red, she swerves straight across my lane and turns left through the intersection. (Don't know if it was a Republican perfectly coiffed soccer mom.) Loud cursing and a long honk ensues.

#3.
Same road. Back to 2 lanes (in each direction). Another SUV just abruptly swerves 1/2 way into my lane and then swerves back. Why? There was a bicyclist in the right lane. There was also no one behined me in the left lane. Could the SUVidiot wait 30 seconds for me to pass, so that she could gracefully and safely pass the bicyclist? Apparently not. A much quieter curse and a little honk.

#4
Still the same road. 2 lanes in either direction. The black sports car in front of me starts to turn right on a green light. Using his turn signal. She abruptly comes to a halt, half way into the turn. I.e., I am part of the way into the intersection. I come within about 12 inches of hitting her. Why? Same bicyclist. This time there's significant cursing, although no honking.
Although, I'm willing to bet that the cyclist wasn't using hand signals before she got to the intersection. (why? Because I rarely see them used hereabouts. An amazing situation, given how many bicycles are on the roads). I would be equally willing to believe she used them, and the driver didn't pay attention. Considering her blatant disregard for her own life (no helmet + big city streets = stupid), I would be equally willing to believe that she drove ahead with no regard to whether or not she had the right of way compared to the car.
At this point, when the black car continues through the intersection, the cross-traffic has a green light. I have no room to back up, because another car is right behind me. I - of course - have to drive through a red light to avoid getting hit. It wasn't just a little red. Or orange. Nope, it was red all the way across.
Much honking ensued - at me.

I'm off the stupid street, into my neighborhood, onto a normal street. All is well, right? If it were, the post would end here.

#5
This is now an ordinary neighborhood street: one lane in each direction. Although with parking allowed on the sides, it is fairly wide (35th St.). Being wider than the completely residential streets, it follows that there's more traffic than in front of our house. What happens? This time I need to move out of my lane. Not abruptly, I might add. Why? There is a completely idiotic bicyclist on the road, bicycling in the wrong direction towards me. I'm not sure who has the bigger death wish - the chick on Cedar Ave or the old guy on 35th.

I'm afraid of getting back in the car to drive over to pick up Jr.Gopher #1.

When does something become a word?

At Stammtisch, the German language conversation group, we were discussing the size of something. In German, adding -chen to a word makes it a diminutive. So, Hund=dog, Hundschen=puppy or possibly, used jokingly, one of those itty-bitty yippy dogs.

The discussion in German involved a town the rest of the group had never heard of. The speaker tried explaining it was not a city, and not even a small town, but a village (Dorf). She then said she was hesitant to even call it a Dorf. I suggested that it was a Dorfschen. Everyone laughed (my goal). I thought of Big Isaac, which was apparently the size she meant. Not even a Dairy Queen.

No one could find the word in a dictionary. It wasn't in the monster-sized on-line dictionary. I had never heard the word from anyone else. After all, everyone listening knew perfectly well what I meant. Even in another context, they would have. I'm pretty sure a German would have understood, although she might not have found it amusing.

When does something become a "real" word? Is Dorfschen a word? In the absence of other knowledge, I figured this was akin to Mr.STFU's use of 'fucktard'. I'd never heard it before, but immediately understood his meaning. [of course, I have since seen it other places, so either it was already a 'real' word, or else my brother has had a huge impact on the English language.]

I'm thinking of submitting it to the German equivalent of the OED. (Being such an orderly culture, they must have one.) Maybe they'll like it.

Nothing special

Here it is, October. School is into 5th out of 16 weeks, just over 1/4 of the way. I'm confronted now with "what the hell are they doing?" The gizmo I need to start my research project isn't here. Unless I become far more efficient than I have managed to achieve in the past 42 years, I doubt it's going to finish before Dec.23 (or whenever the semester is over). The grade for my Spring 'incomplete' class isn't posted yet. Where is it? My "Field Experience" (read: internship) which I did in the Summer is technically happening this semester. Great, 3 credits on my schedule with no work attached. But, what in the world am I supposed to do now about it? Epidemiology turned from 'what's so hard about this?' to 'what the hell is this?' in 1 week. Ethics has nice reading, but none of us can figure out "what are they expecting of us?"

Here it is, October. Halloween is around the corner. Happy Birthday, Brother #2. This is the first time we've lived in a normal house in a normal neighborhood since Jr.Gopher #1 was 7 months old. First trick-or-Treating for both boys. Trick-or-Treating? Ooops, I'd better figure out what to get the boys for a costume. And figure out how to explain the whole thing to him. Jr.Gopher #2 probably won't care.

Here it is, October. Mr.Gopher was working late to submit yet another patent application. This one to the European patent office. I suppose that's good. If Honeywell wants it protected in more than one country, they must figure one of these days they might want to prevent others from using it.


We had some company over for dinner on Saturday. This is the first time I've had to consider a special menu for something other than vegetarians. My friend has some digestive complications that needed soft food, very soft. We had quite a pow-wow about what would be okay. Hmmmm. Mediterranean wound up being the choice: hummus, tzatziki, pita bread, babaganoush, extra cooked rice, and chicken I tried to cook super moist. At least on the last 2, I'm finally getting some milage out of the Angel's wedding present, a really big paella pan. Jr.Gopher #1 chowed down on the babaganoush (basically eggplant puree with garlic) that night, and has refused to eat it since. Jr.Gopher #2 seems to be willing to eat anything other than dessert (unless it's cookies or chocolate bars). The evening was really nice. Aside from pleasant company (and an entire bottle of wine consumed between Mr.Gopher and me - mostly him), I was really happy to be able to cook more than just beans & rice or spaghetti or some other "mix with real food for dinner in less than 30 min."

I just started reading Collapse: how societies choose to fail or succeed, by the author of Guns, Germs, and Steel. Of course, I could just as easily read the news for Collapse: how the economic fucktards in D.C. are choosing to abandon ship.

I'm hoping to upload some of the more recent photos off the camera, so that I can post them.

classroom behavior

I'm studying for an exam tonight (in 3 hrs). I am - of course - reviewing my notes from class. I see:

benchmark dose
alternative to NOAEL / LOAEL
lower confidence interval

~~~ sleep

modeling interpolation



I distinctly remember falling asleep in class that night. I figured I ought to put a note in, so that i could go back and get the notes. Ooops.

What do you learn at university, mama?

The LD-50 for sucrose (table sugar) is 29,700 mg/kg. This amount of material is expected to kill 50% of people who ingest it. For the metrically challenged people:

A 175 pound person who eats 5.2 pounds of table sugar will probably die.

To put this in perspective, the next time you go through the baking aisle at the grocery store, look for the sugar. It's normally sold in 5-pound bags.

Normal Coca-Cola has 39 grams of sugar in a 12-oz can.
It would take 60,161.5 cans of Coke to do you in.
Or 5,640 Gallons of it.
If that were gasoline, it would be $18,330. (Mpls prices)
Although, it would be $4,230 just to by the Coke (U of M prices).

So, the next time you want to persuade your kids that they shouldn't drink soda pop, you can simply tell them that it's toxic.

finally not procrastinating

Sitting on the downstairs couch, reading something which is anything but academic, listening to Over the Hedge, which Jr. Gopher #2 is intermittently watching. Jr. Gopher #2 was really sick yesterday. 12 hours of crying and insisting on lying on mama. With his stuffed ferret. I was sick too, albeit not as sick. And soooooooooooooo tired. Because, of course, he had been up all night with the same problem. All I wanted was a nice long nap. But did he take a nap? No. Did I get one? No.

Jr. Gopher #2 is sitting astride my lap at the moment, looking at my fingers typing.

Fare well,

ggggrrregorr

& Elizabeth --he did that all by himself. Well, with some help with which keys to push.

Advisers' 2¢ ain't worth 2 much

Who do I vote for?

Some fellow stopped by a few nights ago, just as we were sitting down to dinner. Peter answered the door and confused the man with a comment about not being able to vote. Delightfully, the first response was an offer to help get him registered to vote. The questions were referred to me, as the household's designated voter.

"Who am I planning to vote for [president]?" was the simple question. Wearing a bright "Ellison" t-shirt, there wasn't really any question about who he wanted me to vote for. However, considering our neighborhood is so blue as to be ultraviolet ... I was wondering why he was asking.

Honesty compelled me to state that, were the elections held today, I would cast my ballot for Obama. Honesty further compelled me to add, "since my favorite candidate, and my 2nd favorite are no longer on the ballot".

He also inquired about the U.S. senate seat and our representative. With far more assurance, I indicated my plans to vote for Franken & Ellison. He left with a smile after offering me a yard sign, which I had to refuse. I doubt my Republican landlords would approve. It's not as if there's a shortage of them in this area.

After watching the debate Friday night, I was left with a further positive impression of Obama compared to McCain. I voted for McCain in the primary in '00. (I figured Gore would get the Dem. nod, and wanted to limit the idiocy from any other party. Forlorn hope, that.)

The best rationale for picking a candidate is to look at his/her support team. After all, the president might be the ultimate arbiter of executive power, but the knowledge available to him will be from his picked advisers. Does he have the wisdom to pick them well? They'll be the ones driving national policy as much as the Big Cheese in the White House.

"Then there’s the frightening Mr. McCain — more frightening now [i.e. after the debate on Fri.] than he was a few weeks ago.

We’ve known for a long time, of course, that Mr. McCain doesn’t know much about economics — he’s said so himself, although he’s also denied having said it. That wouldn’t matter too much if he had good taste in advisers — but he doesn’t." - Paul Krugman, NYTimes

Apparently, Mr. Gopher is not alone in his value of staff advisers. I suppose I could point out how insane some of the politicians are (can you say "Katie Curick"?). But you already know. Thank god, it's almost over.

3.13/3.7

The Secretary of State has set a goal to get at least 80% to actually turnout and vote on election day.

As of last Friday, 3.13 million people are registered to vote here in Minnesota. The total eligible voters are 3.7 million. So, at the moment, 85% of the population is registered, with another 5,000 every 2 weeks.

Considering that we're allowed to "register" at the polls, it's expected that the state will pass the 77% turnout in '04. I think they're trying to keep the "highest percentage turn out in the country" title here.

On my way to school today, there was someone getting out the vote. "Excuse me! Do you know if you're registered to vote?" occasionally followed by "at your current address" and once "are you eligible to vote?"

Chaotic anniversary

Well, we made it to #5.

2 weddings, a trip to Greece, Green card hassle, travel just to visit relatives totally sucking up vacation time & disposable funds, moving to Minnesota, having 2 children, switching jobs once, balancing graduate school & children, and moving again. Yup. Nice quiet transition to the new phase of my life. I think this was the first time I completely failed to notice my other anniversary when it passed (a pleasant realization that it isn't much of a factor in my life any more).

Graduate school & moving into Minneapolis rather much prevented the celebration our April anniversary. So, since we conveniently have two of them, we just figured we'd celebrate in September. Saturday was the actual date. We decided to go out to a nice restaurant & movies. Since the movie we wanted only had a 9:05 showing, we called our older babysitter (hereafter referred to as #1), figuring a 16 year old is better off waiting till 11:30 p.m. than a 13 year old (hereafter referred to as #2). We scheduled her two weeks ago.

I hadn't heard from #1 by Thursday. I couldn't get her on Friday afternoon. Or Saturday morning. Or Saturday afternoon. Dinner time was rapidly approaching for the boys, which should have coincided with feeding the two demons previously acknowledged as our sons. Thankfully pasta is a reliable pacifier at the dinner table.

I tried reaching our #2, despite the late night we had planned. She wasn't answering her cell phone. Well, it's not as if she expected me to call. I called her home, to find out that she's busy. Her mom, however, said if we got desperate, she'd be willing to take the boys if we brought them to her house.

I called another girl recommended by our landlady, despite never having used her before. No answer.

I was willing to offer higher-than-normal rates due to the zero-scheduling time. "Hi, I'm willing to pay you extra if you can be here in 20 minutes," should have been a great inducement.

6:00 departure time passed. #1 is extremely punctual. At this point, I'm actually worried about her.

I call Sitter #2's mom. "Hi, Carolyn, this is Elizabeth Tobias. I'm desperate."

The boys went over to her house, where they apparently had a nice time. Despite, as Michael informed me this afternoon, being stepped on by the family dogs while he was asleep on the living room floor.

We went to an Indian restaurant with delicious food. I ate way too much. With a smile on my face the whole time. Apparently we and half of Minneapolis all showed up at the same time. Despite the very long wait (worth it), we had enough time to enjoy a leisurely meal.

This is point at which our celebration ceased to be chaotic.

Mongol was a good movie.

Hopefully anniversary #6 will be a bit less hectic. I'm not betting on it, though. It will probably be in September again, since I'll likely be getting ready for my thesis presentation in April.

[movie review] Mongol

Mongol was a good movie. I could easily imagine the director/screenwriter was trying to create a visual epic poem, rather like Der Niebelungenlied or Táin Bó Cúailng or Beowulf (the real one, not the movie). The film's images are often figurative ( "the clouds covered the land until it was as dark as night" = film at night) or archetypical (wife waits for hero to return = happens repeatedly with great stoicism from her). There isn't really character development in the modern sense. Of course, in these epic poems, the hero is either sprung fully formed as a hero, or simply goes from abandoned, enslaved boy to hero in a few lines of poetry/scenes in movie. Don't get me wrong, I like the old hero-poems. Just don't expect declamations of motivation and thoughtful consideration of behavior by the characters.

It was grand. Everything was grand. The scenery was grand; the characters' relationships were grand; the fighting was grand; blood spurting was definitely grandiose.

Someone figured out how to make blood spurting look impressive. Then she wanted to make sure you knew just how impressive and really cool it was, or perhaps just wanted to justify the amount of money spent on people like my brother, so she did it over and over and over and over again. And again. It got a little old by the culminating battle.

Speaking of Mr. STFU's profession: everyone in the industry has obviously been impressed with LotR, since we keep seeing more epic battle scenes in movies. The advancing lines of Mongolian hoards was very reminiscent of the Battle of Pelinor Fields in RotK. Better strategy (attack enemy with 10,000 of your buddies, rather than a couple dozen), but equally impressive looking.

Basically, as an action movie, this was pretty damned good. As an overall assessment, it was good. It was violent with lots of blood, though little gore. It was visually stunning. Parts of the dialogue were pretty funny to a modern audience, e.g. Temudjin's father describing to his 9-year old son how to pick a wife. Some parts of the story simply went from point B to C to D to H without mentioning how. After falling through the ice, how did the hero wind up on shore? Being eyed by a rather curious wolf, why is he still not eaten? It's back to the stylized epic, don't worry about it.

This definitely put Ghengis Kahn in a rather favorable light. Oh, yeah - this is the story of how some young boy turned into the Khan of all of Mongolia ruling the largest empire ever seen on the face of the earth. Hell, maybe he was a really nice guy driven by a sincere desire to bring order to the Mongols and the desire for the love of his life. However, anyone bloodthirsty enough to create an empire stretching from Korea to Kiev is probably not someone you'd want as your kid's godfather, even if he was great to sit around a campfire and drink beer with.

Nominated for the '07 Foreign Film Oscar from Kazakhstan, it's the first film I've seen in Mongolian. The Conterfeiters won the Oscar that year. I don't really see that being such a better film than Mongol. I even rather suspect that Jews in a concentration camp resisting the Nazi war machine elicited a more positive response from a predominantly American judging population than a blood-thirsty not-white guy who conquered most of Asia in the 13th Century. I don't know much (read: nothing) about Mongolia then, so there's no opinion about the quality and authenticity of the costumes, mannerisms, or culture. It sure looked grand, though. It was interesting enough to get me to at least glance over the entry on Wikipedia to see how historically accurate the basic story line was. Compliment, I suppose.


Elizabeth’s rating: 2

The cinematography just begs to be seen on the big screen

1 - Go see it on the big screen at full price.
2 - Go see it on the big screen, at matinee prices.
3 - Buy your own on video.
4 - Definitely see it on video.
5 - Well, if someone else it paying for it ...
6 - Go get your teeth cleaned.

Bumper Sticker of the Week

We've got to protect Freedom of Speech ~ how else will we know who the assholes are?



just got back from the total chaos of celebrating our anniversary. literally. I'm waiting for Mr. Gopher to get back from a short jog to the bank - part of the longer story. And, god knows, if you know me, that means a looooong damn story. Later. Good Night from Minnesota!

Phallus Fights & Other Strange Traditions

Title of a new series of articles from Der Spiegel. It's in English.

[running of the bulls in Pamplona] ... one of those festivals that make the saner among us scratch our heads in confusion and wonder, "How was that ever a good idea?" But just because it is Europe's most famous oddity certainly doesn't make it an isolated case.

The view from the other side

"It's the rhetoric of Sept. 11. … But this crisis actually has much larger dimensions than the attack against the twin towers and collapse seven years ago. Why? Because, this time, the attack on all-American doctrines is not the work of some foreign enemy. It comes from within, from the depths of the system. Largely unobstructed by its own state controls, American capitalism has created its own suicide bomber whose explosives -- derivatives -- have had an even greater effect than the flying bombs of the jihadists. The whole world -- and not just New York -- has a new ground zero now -- Wall Street." -- quoted from the Frankfurter Allegemeine Zeitung (a center-right paper)


As I sit, taking a lunch break at our local left-wing, progressive, so-totally-not-republican cafe, the constant theme of conversation seems to be "are you going to watch the debates tonight?" Now, if only they'll listen to the debates for reasons other than self-justification.

Miscellaneous

Mr. Healthy Gopher looked stunned the other day when it dawned upon him he's been living in the US for longer than he was in Sweden. (his last place of residence before coming here. I don't think the good ol' US of A will ever supplant it in his fond memories.) We had been discussing what to do on Saturday to celebrate our anniversary. #5. Or 10, depending on how we count. :)

Movie & dinner is on the schedule. Although, with the advent of Autumn, it is likely our plans to eat on top of Stella's Fish Cafe (i.e., outdoors) will come to naught. I find it annoying, if not down right aggravating, that movie theaters don't publish weekend schedules until Thursday. I want to make reservations for dinner. Can't do that unless I know when the movies are showing. We have the flexibility to go to a later show this time. We've got our older babysitter coming and don't need to worry about getting home late (well, sort 0f - she still needs to be able to drive home without worrying about the county-wide curfew). Aaargh.

This morning, while getting Michael dressed, he raised his arm and said "look at this". Wondering what prompted such a request, of course I looked. 4 year old armpit. He points at his armpit and tells me "I'm getting hair there. Almost!"

A couple weeks ago we were making our Sunday post-lunch walkabout in the cemetery up the street. It's from the turn of the last century, and in mild decay, being unused now. Michael kept running from headstone to headstone demanding to know, "who's this?" "why did they die"? An unfortunately apropos activity, since Peter's uncle Josef died that weekend. Michael never met him (neither have I), so we didn't mention it to him. While wandering around the graveyard, it was painfully obvious how many graves were for children. So many children under 2 years old. So very, very many tiny headstones.

My first exam is Friday. Epidemiology is soooo much fun! Go back to school! You too can take a course on how to define populations and calculate mortality rates!

Well, the only mortality going on in our family right now is our financial security. We could put our 4 year old son in charge of the Treasury and have greater confidence of our long-term financial stability.

Gotta go study for my exam. I want to be able to watch the Red Wings play tonight without guilt. Actually, I just want to be able to watch it. They're not playing the We-Sold-Our-Team-to-Texas-and-Are-Stuck-With-a-Dorky-Team-Name-Now, so it's not going to be on local TV. Not that our TV is working anyway.

Best autumnal wishes from all of us here in Minnesota!

Just so much fun ...

As Mr. Healthy Gopher observed, the longer Palin is in the race, the funnier she becomes. Funny like bizarre.

Palin: "community organizer? what's that? who cares? I am a governor"

Jesus Christ was a community organizer. Pontius Pilate was a governor.


The following observations are from one of the news blogs here during McSame/Palin's shindig up in Blaine yesterday:

• This woman scares me, I don't see how any foreign leader can take her seriously. I'd buy Avon from her, but not vote for her for serious office. It's like the Ketchup couple woman on A Prairie Home Companion running for office. Maybe I need some ketchup with its mellowing agents to calm down.
• When this over so I can turn my radio back on? I really find it annoying to listen to someone this stupid. It's like listening to Bush speak.
• Gov Palin says "We'll never forget we're there to work for you. It's about you. I've never forgotten who I'm accountable to." ... As long as 'you' and 'the rule of law' aren't the same things.

Placard/protest signs from Alaska Women Reject Palin protest in Ancorage, AK last Sunday. Which, if the head-count of 1,500 is correct, means that 1/4 of a percent of the entire state population was there.

Bush in a skirt
McCain/Palin - Unstable & Unable
Real Leaders don't have to Cram for the Interview
Pittbulls make poor Diplomats
Wrong Woman, Wrong Message
Hocky Mom for Obama
Sarah Palin: Fundamentally Wrong
Bristol Got to Choose: Why Don't We?
I Support My Choice (very pregnant woman holding sign)
Another Bush We Can't Trust (now, I'm not 100% sure how to take this, but I'll assume the artist was willing to be subtle, and consider this awfully, awfully damned funny)
I'll Need Reproductive Rights One Day (8-yr old girl holding sign)
I Don't Like Hockey! Figure skating Moms 4 Obama



Potential amendment to my Election Rules:

A multi-partisan commission will be established.
It will review advertisements and speeches.
The accuracy of claims will be established, regarding what the candidate claims to have done or what the opponents have done.

The commission will awards points for false statements. It will aware more points for each time the statement/ad is repeated after the first issuance of points.

For every 10,000 points you get, your side loses one electoral vote.

The above amendment is from bigalmn at MPR's blog, who added: "If we did this today both sides would likely be in the negative electoral votes overall and the Independence Party would win by default since they have no money to spend on advertising and get no press attention."

Pearly whites

this is like watching gangrene spreading; missiles descending upon your position; that slo-mo transition as the pick-up fails to stop at the rail-road crossing. It's so god-awful you just can't take your eyes off it. Our own lunatic in Washington. Well, not directly my lunatic. I've got the rabid Muslim-devil-Bush-hater as a representative.

The “Bachmann Smile” is a like a scary secret weapon. For folks accustomed to following MN politics this is not news. In fact, it is very old news. But for others like CP, who keep headphones on their ears all day listening to MC/VL and The Hold Steady, this could be new. Though we doubt it. The Bachmann Smile is like The Eye, searching for something like a ring to give it ultimate power. And if we want to go deeper into this meta-nalogy, her DFL [i.e., Democrat] opponent Elwyn Tinklenberg sounds like a name poached straight from the Shire. Let’s just hope Tinklenberg has a forthright buddy helping him along the campaign trail, as it seems like Bachmann could sum up the power of a million Orcs at any moment.

Or, as she puts it herself, while being shot down on L.King, “She’s proven herself to be a strong leader in Alaska, taking on pork barrel spending and making fiscal responsibility a top priority”. I'm not sure if Bachmann realizes the "taking on ... spending" does not mean "accepting it".

"Bachmann has yet [8/28/08] to hold an open public meeting for constituents in her district since being elected in 2006." Now that truly blows me away. oh, no! was I misled by the evil "independent" media? She has a permanent, standing "town hall" meeting! It's at: michellebachmann.townhall.com

Her "secret" RNC soiree / schmooze cruise / pow-wow to kowtow was on the river. I suppose it might be considered part of her district, since the boat dock is.

Gotta Re-name my Dog

Allegedly, someone with a group called "anonymous" posted the password to Palin's Yahoo account (gov.palin@yahoo.com) on a bulletin board last night, "and a field day ensued," the blog said. Another member of the group said he changed the password to "avoid further damage."

a comment was made about the pathetic lack of awareness of technology security. For example, not choosing one's zip code as a password.

CrackBerry

Study Finds That 35 Percent Of BlackBerry And PDA Users Would Choose Their Device Over Their Spouse

87 percent said they bring their devices into the bedroom.

"It can actually ruin relationships," said Dr. Susan Bartell, a psychologist and relationship expert. Bartell said couples should be interfacing more, but with each other. "People are so focused on their PDAs, they're not focusing on what might be going wrong in their relationships," Bartell said.

hmmm

I know a fellow who has a BlackBerry and who uses it compulsively. Of course, watching his relationship with his wife, I'm left wondering if it's simply "I gotta have it" or whether it's "If I'm focused on this, she won't bother me or at least I can pretend not to notice her ragging on me".

Die Industrie wächst überdurchschnittlich, die Milliardeninvestitionen zahlen sich endlich aus.

Industry is growing , the investment of billions is finally paying off.

Investment in industry = money. Wow, now is that a concept someone ought to consider here. What has American economy been investing in? Mortgages. Credit.

Nothing has amused me so much as Lehman and AIG screaming as their credit rating goes flushing down the toilet. Hee hee hee hee hee. They spent years buying things (mortgages and other investments) without adequate consideration of the long-term consequences. Just like the American idiot-Citizens (houses, credit cards). They spent decades without considering the consequences to their credit rating. Just like the American idiot-Citizens (buy more more more). Basically, they spent years underwriting the stupidity of American financial choices. People's credit goes down the tubes .... and now theirs does.

Welcome to the junk-bond neighborhood of modern America, Mr. investment bank owner. Oh, but that includes the Savings & Loan business, as well.

Perhaps more people ought to realize that the best choice for their kids' foreign-language immersion schools (really popular here) ought to be Chinese. Since they're going to wind up owning most of America, if they don't simply drown us in cheap plastic junk.

New Photos

Kitchen last night. We had chocolate sauce with desert.

























I missed this. I was asleep too.




















Tea party in the garden.




















Josie, Michael & Gregor having a tea party.



















Michael writing his name.
















Breakfast this morning.



















We just came home from dinner out. Sitter put the boys to bed. Almost.

Gravity: weaker than weak

hee hee hee
Science Geek Rap
the new whiz-bang nuclear gizmo in Switzerland all over the news.

News Cut Quiz of the Week

Question 5:

What happens if you actually try to put lipstick on a pig?

* They break out. Pigs are allergic to lipstick.
* You can't. Pigs don't have lips.
* They look kinda sexy, in a political kind of way, of course.
* They have a sudden urge to drive their piglets to hockey practice.

Bloated pustulant bodies

August 8, 2000 Republican National Convention, Philadelphia, theretofore known as the city of brotherly love.

Pics

More from Minnesota

Gregor & Josie (our neighbors' daughter, who is also MIchael's best friend)

















If you've been in a Catholic church, or seen much older European art, all of the saints have a standard symbol that goes with their images/icons, for all of those folks who pre-date photography. E.g Catherine has a wheel, George has a staff/spear. St. Albert the Great, appparently, has a frog. Really.



















Sunday afternoon lunch @ Falafel King: Michael & Mr. Giraffe

















Michael (blue hat) & the kids & Frau Anna from German pre-school at the GAI Family Day
















Gregor @ GAI Family Day























Gregor's daycare group. He's in the foreground. The photo was taken on the day the kids had gotten a pair of guinea pigs ("Heavy Duty" & "Duke"), and were enthralled with them. Gregor, apparently, was more interested in disassembling the outdoor fence for the little critters. If you come visit (hint, hint), you'll notice this is our front yard. Gregor's daycare is in the other half of our duplex.

[movie review] Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

I, as it happens, have time to waste and cannot do better than to quote from my review of "The Mummy" (1999): "There is hardly a thing I can say in its favor, except that I was cheered by nearly every minute of it. I cannot argue for the script, the direction, the acting or even the mummy, but I can say that I was not bored and sometimes I was unreasonably pleased. There is a little immaturity stuck away in the crannies of even the most judicious of us, and we should treasure it."

[def.] Lapel Pin Patriots

Now this is the lapel pin I recognize as patriotic.

of course, roasting the idiots

specifically 4:33 to 5:55.



okay, so I realized what would truly, truly be funny would be the All Inclusive Political Satire: include Obama in this as a 3-way comparison. Because I am positive all of this (other than the offer of admiration at the end) could be found with his speeches, too. Now that would have been funny.

Exercise does a body good?

Mpls school district discussions on making more kids walk to school ...

The report also highlights small changes. The number of bike-riding students at South High School quintupled with one action: The school installed new bike racks.

Whatcha readin' ?

Some miscellaneous thing on the web solicited an answer to "What are you reading this month?"

I paused to consider ...

Essentials of Epidemiology in Public Health
Risk Assessment in Environmental Health
miscellaneous scientific articles on ethics and epidemiology
Essentials of Air Contamination
Mountains beyond Mountains (non-fiction, about public health)
Stalin's Ghost: M.C.Smith (fiction) - as soon as it's done, it will be the end of reading for my own pleasure

Put on hold, due to the beginning of school:
Chronicles of the Black Company
vol 12 of the J.Evanovich books


Last Fall semester, I was in the public health's student lounge, with my feet up taking a break from studying. Another student walks by, stops, does a double take, and walks back to stand in front of me. She tilts her head to look at the cover of the book I'm holding, and asks in a tone of wonder and chastisement: "Are you reading for pleasure?" Several of us noticed that we hadn't read anything 'for fun' since school started. Last week, a friend in my program told me she was tired because she'd stayed up too late, in order to finish the book she was reading. "I was almost done! If I hadn't finished it last night, I wouldn't have been able to read it until Christmas!" Same reason I'm "still" reading Stalin's Ghost - I'll finish it tonight if I finish my epidemiology homework - otherwise it will probably wait until Thanksgiving.

Graduation celebration might consist of
a) sleeping for a week +
b) big party +
c) spending a weekend retreat alone to read myself silly

Protest signs

Favorite sign reported at the protests:
If we hadn't protested Vietnam, McCain would still be a POW.

Farben

Vor allem Schwarz und Weiß und Grau
vergesse ich manchmal
die bunten Farben in meinem Leben
Du bist für mich
weder Schwarz nor Weiß
sondern Rot und Blau und
meine Lust und Freude


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