Questions
I spent a good chunk of today reading and completing Holy Fire the fourth book I have read by Bruce Sterling. I must admit I think it's my favorite book I have read by him. What I find particularly interesting about his work is not the writing style, but rather the questions he asks in his writing. Not that he necessarily has answers within his books, but more than he is asking the right questions. He sees that we as people are getting to a critical juncture with our development.
We have found ways to feed ourselves, technology growing at a pace to outstrip out our childish nature as a species, but are we asking important questions about the next steps in the universe. With Moore's Law, understanding of the human genome, and other technical advances we are reaching the point in the not to distant future when we will possess not just the basic knowledge understanding to critically change the world and way we live but fundamentally alter them.
Heady stuff re...
Posts
Quiet morning in the office. Day before labor day, our office is keeping the door locked and there only about 5 of us around instead of the usual 35 or so. It's kinda funny, almost feels like a weekend day because no one has bothered to turn on the hall lights since there are so few of us about. I have the feeling it will be a real productive day...anyone for golf in the hallways?
Don't You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds
Hey…ooh…
Won't you come see about me
I'll be alone dancing
You know it, baby
Tell me your troubles and doubts
Givin' evrything inside and out on
Love's strange, so willing in the dark
Think of the tender things
That we were working on
Slow change may pull us apart
When the light get in your heart
Baby, don't you forget about me
Don't, don't, don't, don't you forget about me
I knew you spent above me
Look my way never love me
Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling
Down, down, down…
I knew you recognise me
Call my name or walk on by
Rain keeps talling, rain keeps falling
Down, down, down…
Hey…ooh…
Don't you try and peep in
It's my feelings. well, when in the end
I won't harm you or toucch your defenses
Valuble in security, ah…
Don't you forget about me
I'll be alone dancing,
You know what baby,
Don't you, I take you apart
I'll put it back t...
Catching up on important blog work, yes I haven't been posting my regular things because of being out of town, Poetry should be posted later tonight, but until then...
PromoGuy's Monday Mission 2.34
1. What do you do to make things better when you feel sad and/or lonely? Go to the gym or call up an old friend.
2. Are you a "touchy-feely" person? That is, do you like to touch people you don't know that well? And on the flipside of that, do you like being touched by someone you aren't close with? I am a "touchy-feely" person with family and old friends. Otherwise I don't generally like being touched by people I don't know, on the other hand I know some folks just are very friendly touchy people so I try to not let it bother me.
3. Do you like to have "me" time, time to yourself to be alone and relax? Or do you prefer to just do your own thing with someone else in the room? When was the last "me" time you got and...
Back in DC
I am back in DC I had a good time spent mostly with my family although I did get to see a few friends. I came back and all I want to do is pack and get home. Something to motivate me I suppose, but in the interim I have all those fun details before a move. So alot of work in front of me, but I am looking forward to it. I am going home.
Nothing more confirms that feeling of home when you step outside of your regular bar at the high of summer evening and watch the sunseting on the mountains, it was simply an incredible sight.
Arizona Time...
I have been surprisingly busy while I have been in Arizona a lot of time spent with family, in fact I didn't have dinner with just friends until last night. It has been nice, but the time is moving all too quick. Thankfully, it won't be long until I am back here on a more regular basis.
Highlights..
Getting alot of sun.... yes I am sunburned
I played a really challenging golf course... I really stink at golf
Flagstaff and Sedona...... ah HOME
Poetry Wednesday...um Thursday
I never got online yesterday, so it's on Thursday...something that hit me going through the terminals yesterday...
Security and Freedom
We walk lonely halls of terminals
From doing ourselves and others harm
Truth lies deeper
True security a desert mirage
That all the confiscated nail clippers won't make a reality.
We speak of freddom
of deeper truths
Yet imprison ourselves for security sake
Be it plane, train, or surfing the web.
Makes a prison of the mind,
Makes a prison of our souls,
of our freedom.
In Phoenix
I made the trip safely and with relatively few problems. A word of advice for travelers at the Federal Tavern in National Airport (Yes, I know the name has change, but I am going to call it what I want) order your eggs scrambled, because they don't understand the concept of eggs being cooked over hard.
If you happen to fly through Columbus don't order the chicken breast on foccica(sp?) bread it's not worth it.
I did happen to have a great dinner with my family, so it made up for all the bad meals early in the day. Watching my father and I go through the beer section at AJ 's market was not unlike watching to kids in a candy store. They have some great polish beer there, as well as many, many other tasty beverages.
I found Making of a Restaurant on the Best of Blogger page and it's one of my favorite regular reads. The idea is simple two guys will open a restaurant someday down the road, most likely a few years away, in the interim they throw ideas back and forth about what the atmosphere, food, set up and anything else to do with the restaurant. One friend of mine and I regularly discuss opening a restaurant/brewpub together and read the site fairly often...why?
For posts like this ...
"Just as you finish a chapter, our chef will emerge from the kitchen, pause at the doorway and slowly walk to the front window. He'll flip the 'open' sign to 'closed' and stand there a minute. He will sigh. He'll wring his hands in his apron. Finally he will return to the kitchen but quickly come back out with a half-full bottle of cheap red wine. He will grab two Ball fruit jars and walk over to your table. Without asking for permission, he'll pull down a chair, fill the j...
Buffalochips.com
During the internet bubble, I did occasionally wonder how some of the companies were going to survive like selling custom made furniture or shipping a 50 pound bag of dog food " because Pets can't drive ". Ever wonder how these people got there cash to begin with? Who would believe such ideas would fly? Well a recent chat may provide an answer.
Thomas : on a conference call at the moment :)....ah joys of multitasking
j : Indeed. Most conference calls only require the use of 2% of your brain.
j : I don't miss my midnight conference calls with Hong Kong.
Thomas : buzzwords shoooting around
Thomas : get a net
Thomas : gotta corral 'em
j : Ugh
j : Buzzword bingo
Thomas : BULLSHIT
j : Yeah, most of it is. I seriously thought about publishing a Consultese-English dictionary.
Thomas : with 37 appendixes and reference charts
j : Matrix it for me, Tom.
Thomas : website....program development on our campaign...elearning...eBullshit....it...
PromoGuy's Monday Mission 2.33
1. Many children have blankets, or a favorite nubby stuffed animal that they like to keep near them for security. Do you recall what you had for your "security blanket" as a child? When did you finally give it up? What brought that about? Teddy Bear, he is all beaten up and our dog chewed up one eye, but I could tell where it is now.
2. Now that you are a big kid, what do you have to give you that same sense of security? Myself
3. With a little over four months left in 2002, have you accomplished everything you wanted to for the year? Is there anything that you would like to accomplish before the year is over? I have not accomplished everything I want to for the year, in fact I have alot to do, move to Arizona, find a job, and figure out transportation. And I need to get to Austin to visit some folks TOGA!
4. I don't know about you, but it seems to me children have it pretty good these days. Game systems, computers in the ...
Mental Vacation
While my official vacation doesn't start until Wednesday mentally I think my brain has already left out the door. Granted it could be the coffee still waiting to take effect, but honestly I am just so ready to go...
Any sudden moves and the clown gets two rounds in his funny bone.
Fun weekend for the most part too long in the hot sun on the golf course Saturday. As for Sunday I ran some errands downtown around the Museums and I even made it into the Egyptian exhibt at the National Gallery. The detail on the cravings was incredible. The show only runs until October 14th so while it was filled with tourists at the moment but after Labor day the crowds should ease up a bit. If you have any interest in Ancient Egpytian artifacts or carving I highly recommend you pay the display a visit.
See what happens when you let the plumbing back up?
More seriously I am rather worried I have actually been in the middle of this courtyard, it was really pretty as are the parts of Prague that have been recently flooded. This is something we need to keep an eye on the earth is tell us something, now are we bright enough to listen? I hope so.
The Professor mentions this column on the German-American discussion on the War on terrorism and how it is really becoming a dialogue between nations, which I think is a healthy process. The thing that really doesn't surprise me is that it includes words from Dieter Dettke, head of one of the German think tanks here in DC. Dr. Dettke is one of the top voices in German American community and while I don't always share with him the SPD point of view I have noticed that when it comes to the Trans-Atlantic relationship he always provides keen insight. Besides that I happen to know he's a nice guy willing to spare a few minutes for someone trying to find his way when they first get to DC from personal experience. The Friedrich Ebert Foundation events I still attend when I can because I always learn something new, if you are interested in German-American issues and live in the DC area look them up.
Media and the Web
Salon has a thoughtful write up on media and Where they went wrong with the Web. Thanks for the heads up David. A lot of what it says directly applies to the AFF Blogger event a couple of months ago.
Motavalli, lamenting the post-bubble state of the industry, asks the quintessential media-insider question about the Web: "There are billions of Web sites, but how many of them matter?"
Excuse me -- matter? To whom, exactly? To the Manhattan lunch crowd? To the Beltway lobbyist? To the person searching Google for "Anna Nicole Smith" -- or "expansion joints"? That was the same attitude that alot of folks who were at the AFF event seemed to have about the web. I don't mean to keep going back to beat up on the attendees, some people at the event understand the web very well. But I just simply find it amazing how many people have been to a Austin Powers movie website and maybe have an email account. I don't mean to imply that th...
Poetry Wednesday
Mexican Quarter
By John Gould Fletcher
BY an alley lined with tumble-down shacks,
And street-lamps askew, half-sputtering,
Feebly glimmering on gutters choked with filth, and dogs
Scratching their mangy backs:
Half-naked children are running about,
Women puff cigarettes in black doorways,
Crickets are crying.
Men slouch sullenly
Into the shadows.
Behind a hedge of cactus,
The smell of a dead horse
Mingles with the smell of tamales frying.
And a girl in a black lace shawl
Sits in a rickety chair by the square of unglazed window,
And sees the explosion of the stars
Fiercely poised on the velvet sky.
And she seems humming to herself:
“Stars, if I could reach you
(You are so very near that it seems as if I could reach you),
I would give you all to the Madonna’s image
On the gray plastered altar behind the paper flowers,
So that Juan would come back to me,
And we c...
Elvis is Everywhere...
In case you hadn't seen it splattered all over the media in the last few days this week is the 25th anniversary of Elvis' death.
‹deadpan›wow‹/deadpan›
I really don't care, yes I liked his music and won't turn it off if it's on the radio, but I never really got all that excited about it. Wrong generation perhaps.
I heard at the convience store downstairs the owner talking with customers that Elvis evidently had a twin, but that he died at birth supposedly. But then it dawned on me, the Truth hit me, he did not die as a child. He was taken away and he has been alive all these years and when people think they are seeing Elvis at a truck stop in Memphis or the 7-11 in Charlettesville, no, they aren't. They are seeing his twin brother.
So in honor of this week of the King I give you my favorite Elvis song "Elvis is Everywhere" by Mojo Nixon.
Elvis Is Everywhere
When I look out into your eyes out there,
When I ...
Good Morning People, it's a magical morning here at Bear Droppings. Why?
Time for Thomas' medication? Yes, but how did you know about that?
Poetry Wednesday? Well yes but that will be later.
No, the real reason it is such a magical day is 5 more working days until I go on vacation! The excitement is building obviously. One week from today at around this time I will be standing in line at the airport being checked in, having my bags check, and a body cavity search ( well I hope not ). I will be sure to leave those pesky toenail clippers at home.
It will be good to get out of town for a week, see family and friends and well do not a whole lot.
Excited, me? Just a bit.
Damn, the Snake is making Sense
My friends who play fantasy football know I have few kind words for Jake "The Snake" Plummer . Every year the guy is listed as a possible breakout player and every year he never really takes off. Last year for the first time in his 6 years playing in the NFL he had back to back games without an interception. In fact to give him due credit last year he had the most touchdowns and the least interceptions of his professional career, 18 and 14 respectively.
All that being said I doubt I would draft him this season. I do however have a new found respect for the guy after this article . Defensive Tackle Wendell Bryant, the team's unsigned first-round pick still hasn't made it to camp due to contract negotiations. Plummer's advice?
"Go tell the agent to get your (expletive) in here," Plummer said. It shows team leadership and sensible position especially if this kid wants to play this season and considering the Cardinal...
Body Parts Campaign (Thanks to Burningbird )
Dear Mr. RageBoy ,
I'm emailing you today to protest your discrimination against body parts
other than those associated with the mouth. Though I appreciate the
interesting teeth and the ruby red lips, I think it's past time for you to
provide equal representation of other body parts.
For instance, my personal preference is tonsils . And the reason
why I think you should feature tonsils is when folks really get a rant
raging you get to see them!
And while you're at it, I would...
PromoGuy's Monday Mission 2.32
1. If I could guarantee that the Fashion Police would not lay the smackdown on you, which favorite out-of-style article of clothing do you wish you could wear right now? (and if you have photos of you wearing it, post 'em) I do enjoy wearing Hawiian shirts of late, but I don't know if they are in fashion or not and don't really care.
2. In your opinion, who is famous but shouldn't be? Seen anyone made famous by someone else's misfortune, there you go.
3. Are there any new movies or TV shows that you are forward to this fall? New episodes of Dawson's Creek, but once I move I won't have a tv at my new place so I suppose it will not make much of a difference.
4. If you had a time machine that you could use only one time (there and back), where would you go and what would you do? Late 1800's Russia and spend a little time living in the Revolutionary movements of the time seeing if another more productive pat...
You are 42% geek You are a geek liaison, which means you go both ways. You can hang out with normal people or you can hang out with geeks which means you often have geeks as friends and/or have a job where you have to mediate between geeks and normal people. This is an important role and one of which you should be proud. In fact, you can make a good deal of money as a translator.
Normal: Tell our geek we need him to work this weekend.
You [to Geek]: We need more than that, Scotty. You'll have to stay until you can squeeze more outta them engines!
Geek [to You]: I'm givin' her all she's got, Captain, but we need more dilithium crystals!
You [to Normal]: He wants to know if he gets overtime.
Take the Polygeek Quiz at Thudfactor.com Actually fairly true. (Via Jen , Dave , and a host of thousands)
Faces on the Metro
I remember in my first few months in DC riding in the metro looking at people's faces looking at them and seeing sadness and no really joy for where they were and what they were doing. At the same time I had just started working in DC so it was something new, interesting, and exciting for me at the time, but I also recognized that when my face got like theirs', the enthusiasm was gone it was time to leave the party. Find a new and more interesting path.
Truth is I noticed it a while ago on my own face and looking to trips, especially Northern Arizona, to get out of town.
But I had not been quite ready to leave...
I gotten to the place where I am ready to go back West. I actually made the decision last week, but I spent alot of time over the weekend thinking about it. I have alot of things to resolve to make it happen, but they will come into order in the due time.
I do know this isn't a permanent goodbye, my interest in politics is a bit to...
A Post About Nothing...
You know which posts I really get bored of quick? A post about nothing, where the blogger endless complains about the fact that they have nothing to blog and blog about that. I mean there are plenty of good topics out there and it's a beautiful, sunny but someday's you just don't have to blog. But people feel guilty I guess, well you HAVE a blog don't you, why aren't you posting content, I mean you do have at least 5 people reading right, I mean with blogger you even get the occasional reader while you post and maybe a few google hits.
But then again maybe I am wrong and this a post about nothing?
Poetry Wednesday
Nothing like a pleasant summer day, no?
Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And Summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd:
But thy eternal Summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. - William Shakespeare
I have been using Bartleby.com as a source for a number of recent poems, it's pretty handy, so if you happen to be looking for a poem online I'd recommend it as a site to check out.
Bored, Work Stressful, or Just In a Bad Mood? Try This...
I was sick of the office this afternoon so if you have a similar problem give it a try.
Step 1 - Walked out of office into beautiful afternoon
Step 2 - Walked up the hill to Courthouse
Step 3 - Bought a small Frosty from Wendy's ( Dosage may vary )
Step 4 - Enjoyed Frosty as I slowly returned to office
It will brighten your spirits for sure and while the steps may vary upon individual dosage, the end result is clear. A sweet treat and nice summer afternoon stroll make for better morale. Apply as directed, repeat as necessary. Your health tip from Dr. Tom
I listened to All Things Considered yesterday and they had one of their audio diary programs. It was about a girl with Cystic Fibrosis and what her life was like. A buddy of mine has it as well and just went through a lung transplant for it. I have always understood intellectually the problems he faced as I have seen him get worse over the years, but at the same time I knew I couldn't really understand what he was going through. I worried about him, I realized a while back I needed to take advantage of every chance to see him because I didn't know how long he had. A scary thing. Now with the lung transplant he has a second chance, though now he has a whole new host of problems to deal with, but as he says he can breath and from the pictures I have seen he is looking alot better. But it was good to listen to the broadcast, it gave me a bitter insight to what my friend had been going through.
Monday Mission 2.31
1. Ever considered just deleting your Blog and not doing it anymore? What prompted that and what stopped you? Nope, though I do ponder taking away my by line and going as a pseudonyme.
2. How about a quick review of the last movie you saw? Sure, the newest Austin Powers movie Goldmember, read the review here .
3. What's your favorite gadget? Are you lusting for any new ones? Will you ever be satisified??? My Handspring PDA, 8 Megs is plenty of memory for me, I would like to have some of the springboard plugin tools, but otherwise I am very happy with it.
4. Saturday night I played "UNO" for the first time in years, I mean it has been over 10 years since I played it. It was great fun, but it really made me want to learn how to play Backgammon again. What "table game" do you enjoy playing most with other people? Have you played it lately? Probably Trival Pursuit, but I don't really play all that often. I do enjoy a good game o...
FRIDAY FIVE
Friday Five has been annoying of late, I can't tell you the last time I was actually able to see the site, I suspect sometime in May, but since Dave answered it, I have the questions and they are interesting ones so here goes...
1. What is your lineage? Where are your ancestors from? French-English and that Slavic thing.
The French and English side is easy to trace back and depending on which branch of the family tree you can find a British soldier that fought against the colonials in the Revolutionary War, supposedly relation to President Monroe, one of Napoleon's bodyguards, and a horse thief.
The Slavic branch is alot tougher to trace because the unusual nature of my family name and a World War or two, not to mention the Soviet purges. My Great Aunt Stella has gone looking for the family with no luck, we know they are traditionally Russian Orthodox, in fact I have a distant Uncle who is a priest in their church. We say they are Russian, but truth be to...
Thanks to Zel. Who is Zel? What you weren't reading during the Blogathon? Why she runs Bitter Sweet , go give it a read, well after you get done reading this post.
A mental exercise: using only two words, describe the following:
Your home Not Yet
Your car Non Existant
Your job Occupies Daytime
Your S.O. Who's That?
Your Family Too Far
Your Friends Second Family
The Internet Humanities Potential
Television Boob Tube
Books Life Blood
Today A Possiblity
Traficant Loses His Top
One of the characteristics of Jim Traficant has always been the mop atop his head. Was it a really bad haircut or a toupee? Well thanks to being convicted of 10 federal counts we now learn the truth. It was a toupee , after his initial search his toupee was returned for booking pictures but he will not be able to keep it for long, as they are not allowed in federal prisons. But the issue makes me think, if it's ratty looking now, what will it look like in 8 years when he is released?