Geistbear Musing

Odd week, my room's hand wired net cable has sprung a leak and spilling packets all over the floor. Luckily it's not much of a mess, but the downside is I have no net access until the weekend when I can go and buy a 50-75ft Ethernet cable. We are still sorting out configuring the wifi router, but it works well enough on my roommate's laptop so I can type this post. Work goes well I had my three month review today. I admit considering I had another job review about this time last year and it resulted in unemployement I was a touch nervous for the meeting. But it went real well, everyone was pleased with my progress so no worries on that end. Otherwise all is well. The pup is adapting to the new home and enjoys the constant stream of play fights with the other dog. The unpacking continues on and will be completed by the first snowfall of Fall, which knowing Flagstaff could be next week. ;-)

Home for a quiet weekend, I wanted to go to San Francisco with friends but between finances, exhaustion from the move last weekend, and the dog I decided it would be best to stay here. Rest, relax, and get the house in order. I wish I could have gone, but there will be other trips.

The list of folks taking Iraq 'Food for Oil' bribes just keeps getting longer.

It's good to be home. I constantly hear trains passing through town, I don't know when I first loved to hear the sound. I suspect it was when I was as a child in Ohio, the Akron area had a fair share of trains, It may be associated with the time when my parents traveled West to check out Arizona to live. I stayed at my Grandparents' house while my parents were looking for our new home. The window was open in my bedroom and the vivd memories of the trains' sound is one of the long last things from that trip. Regardless I have always enjoyed the sound and now as I hear a train rumbing down the hill and into downtown Flagstaff, with the horns sounding all I can do is smile.

My supervisor had a great comment tonight... When you worked in politics, you had to wear a suit everyday. Now you wear a suit everday too, a bunnysuit .

With the dramatically shorter distance I am starting to ride my bike to commute, I can use the exercise and with gas prices it will save money. Yesterday's ride home went well great view of the stars and I had properly layered so I didn't much notice the cold. The ride to work was a bit of a struggle between the hills, 7000ft elevation, and me being out of shape it was a tough ride. It will get better I know in the next few weeks, but it was a rough start.

More on the UN bribery with oil scandal. A little more seriously if there is truth in these allegations, as a supporter of the ideal of the UN, the body must act quickly with reforms and better financial oversight. Without those reforms I suspect the UN could be looking for a new home and the US withdrawal in the next ten years. Members of Congress are often not fans of the UN to begin with and a story like this would only give them more ammunition. Further followup on the issue

Back online, my service provider a few days ago discountinued service, but considering I cancelled it at the end of March I can't complain. I am mostly moved up to Flagstaff, hurrah. A whole lot miles the last few days hauling my stuff up the mountain, many thanks to my brther, Michael, and Jeff on the help. Very tired, but back online tomorrow the unpacking begins.

Looks like the move will happen, finally. :-) Just have to have the dogs meet and assuming it goes well I move Saturday. I can't wait.

Arizona finally leaves the dark ages and joins the rest of the civilized world. Not that it will dramatically change the world, but it means if I work overtime I won't have to speed to a store to buy beer on the way home or on New Years, my friends and I instead of going out in the cold for the pine cone drop, then rushing inside before last call can be a little more leasurely, not worried about gettting a drink to celebrate. It reminds me of the year we had hotel rooms and went to Safeway to stock up on beer, wine, etc before we went to the regular haunt for New Years. That way we could enjoy a decent drink after midnight. 2am is a respectable, mature hour.

911 Commission member Gorelick has a rather large conflict of interest , she has been highly critical of the current administration's information sharing, but she wrote the policy that dictated that policy. I am not a lawyer, but in that kind of position she should have recused herself from joining the Commission in the first place when she knew she might have the potential to be called as a witness. Unless she has an agenda to push...I know, I know a personal agenda on a government commission that NEVER happens. PS - More on the issue, I don't like Sensebrenner, but he's right on this.

Having you been following the 'Food for Oil program scandal'? Not that it was surprising that Saddam was taking money from the program, but Kofi Annon's son, Russians, French, and now Scott Ritter and an Irish politician . The NY Times covered the tip of the iceberg a while back, but everyday the story seems to grow. It doesn't surprise me about the corruption within Iraq, but how could these people take money that was supposed to go to help feed Iraqis and buy them medicine as a pay off. Furthermore by taking the money you were helping someone who was known to torture his own people stay in power, pretty sad, pretty sick.

Walked into my kitchen, next door, and someone was watch/listening to the President's press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Sharon. As I was cooking my breakfast it was usual press conference affair but then a reporter asks "Former President Carter says the current administration is too pro-Israel, what do you think of the comment?" To which the President replied (paraphrasing, but I think I have the phrase correct) "We have a pro-peace agenda... we are the first Administration to propose the existance of a seperate Palestinian state." He may not be the most eloquent speaker but he sure can blow and arguement away in a simple way.

Dinosaurs are seldom happy in a new world as current online price proves, the answer maybe as someone on slashdot suggests , make better albums. Or perhaps they should find a new line of work.

I have enjoyed Crabwalk since the Utah Olympics, I never added it to my blogroll, I just fixed that oversight.

By this scale I suppose I'd be considered a New Englander, certain former roommates tell the stories how it would be freezing, but I'd have the windows open in my room. I still do that but now I have my space heater on facing me on the lowest setting. It's still too hot.

Suw has a new site , check it out, I can honestly say she is my favorite Welsh blogger ( True I don't know any other Welsh bloggers, but she is still my favorite )

Friday Five Been a while, but it's a good one this week so why not. 1. What do you do for a living? I am building medical devices. 2. What do you like most about your job? Helping people even if I never meet them, one of my best friends had a similar device implanted in him that helped easing his pain in his final days. The one I am building helps people's quality of life not just for those terminally ill, but saving limbs. 3. What do you like least about your job? Not making enough money, but that will change in time I suppose, but then with my degree I don't expect to get rich. 4. When you have a bad day at work it's usually because _____... The drive, hopefully soon to be shorter, but the tourists get on my nerves and I hate the chunk of day and energy that could be spent writing that is wasted driving. 5. What other career(s) are you interested in? Writer, full-time to make enough to pay the bills and travel to conferences. Though to get to ...

Guinness is good for you, but then I knew that already.

Check out technologists Clay Shirky's interview on New York good stuff. Observant readers might note, um Thomas you ought to be at work just now, but we got Good Friday off, not that I care about Easter, but any Friday off of work is a good one to me ;-)

The Arizona Daily Sun used to allow free access to their archives online, which I thought was a great idea and cited them regularly. Now they charge, not sure when this policy changed, but regardless, I just sent the following email to the Editor Randy Wilson. I'll pass along what reply I get, normally the paper is pretty good about responding to emails. Hi Randy a quick note about your papers webpolicy, requiring me to pay $2.95 for a single story online that was published Monday when I could go to a local library to read for free will not improve the papers reputation. Especially when internet use is so inexpensive. The Daily Sun covered blogging a couple of months ago and one point that I don't think did not get mentioned is bloggers can highlight good stories and raise their profile to a wider audience. An example the DC paper RollCall used to be able to read whole stories online, bloggers noticed and regularly linked raising the papers profile besides just on Capitol H...

Ted Kennedy's Vietnam comments surprise me, I am surprised that Kennedy was ever sober enough back then to know about Vietnam. Who knew? PS - Okay it was a snide and sarcastic comment, but I thought funny. Lileks has a great quote from Kennedy saying that Iraq both was and wasn't a threat so his own position on the matter seems on both sides of the fence, worth the read.

Poetry Wednesday Since Warren quotes it in the video it gets the weekly poem. Herbsttag Herr: es ist Zeit. Der Sommer war sehr gross. Leg deinen Schatten auf die Sonnenuhren, und auf den Fluren lass die Winde los. Befiel den letzten Fruechten voll zu sein; gib ihnen noch zwei suedlichere Tage, draenge sie zur Vollendung hin und jage die letzte Suesse in den schweren Wein. Wer jetzt kein Haus hat, baut sich keines mehr. Wer jetzt allein ist, wird es lange bleiben, wird wachen, lesen, lange Briefe schreiben und wird in den Alleen hin und her unruhig wandern, wenn die Blaetter treiben. - Rainer Maria Rilke and for those who don't spricht Deutsch... Autumn Day Lord: it is time. The summer was great. Lay your shadows onto the sundials and let loose the winds upon the fields. Command the last fruits to be full, give them yet two more southern days, urge them to perfection, and chase the last sweetness into the heavy wine. Who now...

Some gifts make your day, thanks.

A Fun Quiz (via Mr Bear Guy ) 1: Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. 'kind of magic in having my arm around the warm' (Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom -Cory Doctrow 2: Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you touch first?: My Toshiba TV/DVD player from my parents playing a Highlander DVD 3: What is the last thing you watched on TV?: Live from Hollywood some show on late night Saturdays on the only channel I get in Sedona. 4: WITHOUT LOOKING, guess what the time is: 3:20 AM 5: Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?: 3:18 AM 6: With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?: My pup wandering the cabin and Highlander DVD Season 1, Episode "Band of Brothers" 7: When did you last step outside? what were you doing?: Three hours ago, I just got home and I went next door to microwave some pasta 9: What are you wearing?: blue jeans, black tee-shirt 10: Did you dream last night?: Yes, b...

I have been following the blog explosion about Daily Kos inappropriate comments, Matt Stoller has an interesting read of it, but I think he does give far too much credit this is not the act of some vast right wing blogger conspiracy, my words not his. It's more simply a case of when you speak in public there is potential consquenses of such an act. Freedom of speech exists but it demands responsiblity rather than playing a Weiner and republishing over it, he should have crossed it and apologized. I think had he acted more responsible in the first place people would have given him a pass on the issue and forgiven him, instead his actions make a mountain out of a molehill.

For as astute as George Soros is at making money it's a shame it doesn't cross over to politics as well or so goes this analysis of his recent comments.

Suw has a very informative post on Nick Denton's new service Kinja.

"I smoke in moderation. Only one cigar at a time." -- Mark Twain I love JR's website just wish I had the money to buy something, or many things.

Al Franken and Air America: "Silencing Minorities Since 2004!" If you are going to start a new radio network touting liberal values and diversity, don'tstart it by take diversity away from the existing radio network, it just looks bad. Instapundit has details and be sure to read Doc Searls post about have they really should have been more web savy.