BillSaysThis Weblog

Brazil 3-2 USA: And the future

2009-06-29T08:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great day. When Clint Dempsey put in the first goal I was jumping and screaming, though I had to see the replay to believe it. When Landon drove home the second just past Julio Cesar's leaping form I was laughing with joy and pounding the countertop.

And then reality set in. Or at least Bob Bradley's reality. 40 seconds after the restart Luis Fabiano secured the Golden Boot by nutmegging Jonathon Spector and Brazil had their stride back.

When Sasha Kleschjen was subbed in I knew in the back of my mind we were done. This is how we really missed Michael Bradley: Bennie Feilhaber did a decent job in his place but we were left without a quality sub. Bradley the Gaffer could have done a better job in the locker room at the half because letting in three second half goals after pitching first half shutouts once is on the players but twice is on the boss.

My big hope is that with this tournament and a good showing next Summer, at least last eight and preferably last four, will change the minds of the next Rossi or Subotic. Think where the US would be with those two youngsters in the squad!

Now I know we have players born in other countries playing for us, and may soon have another in Jermaine Jones, but the difference is that, for example, Freddie Adu came to the US with his parents as a small child while Rossi was not only born here but lived in the US through high school (give or take). He plays for Italy based on his father's birth certificate.

In any case I'm not saying players should be prevented from choosing to play elsewhere, rather that US Soccer should be their choice.

I also think the attitude question is subject to generational change. A generation ago we didn't even think to qualify for the World Cup, nor did we have a serious professional league. This generation expects to qualify, and regularly win our regional tournaments, and MLS is seen as a place to start before hopping to a European club.

Next generation, the kids who are 8-12 now, will expect to win. Against anyone.

USA 2-0 Spain

2009-06-24T13:55:00.000-07:00

For those of you who somehow managed to avoid seeing this result, how did you do it? LOL.

For me beating the world numero uno, 15 straight wins, 35 straight undefeated La Furia Roja is one of the greatest results in USA team history. Right up there with beating Mexico in the 2002 World Cup round of 16 and the wins over Brazil and Portugal.

Spain completely dominated possession, shots on goal and the US even finished a player down. Tim Howard, the back four and midfield were outstanding in defense, I'm hardpressed to pick between Howard, Oguchi Onyewu and Jay Demerit for Man of the Match. Landon Donovan was everywhere today, playing at the outstanding level he showed before his disastrous spell at Bayern Leverkusen and MLS return with the Galaxy.

Livingston's own Jozy Altidore had the first goal, matching strength against Joan Capdevilla and winning. Landon and Dempsey combined for the second, nice close in work inside Spain's six yard box. Both times $150 million-rated keeper Iker Casillas could do no more than get fingertips to the ball.

USA also suffered again at the hands of referee Jorge Lariondo. This clown was horrendous at the 2006 World Cup, sending off two Americans in our game against Italy. He was below average but not terrible until inexplicably pulling a red card out against Michael Bradley in the 87th minute. FIFA must, I mean MUST, revoke his international license.

We may lose big to Brazil again on Sunday--but no one can fairly say the USA hasn't earned their place in the final.

Safeway: Customer Service, Marketing Fail

2009-06-19T12:01:00.000-07:00

[Note: I sent this email to Safeway over a week ago and have not received so much as an automated response.]

I am very unhappy about the false promise made by Safeway regarding accumulation of 10 cent per gallon discounts. I live in Mountain View, CA, and shop at the store on Shoreline Blvd. Given that I've accumulated 6 or 7 and the discount expires next 10 days I tried to use it yesterday only to find out that I cannot, at least not in any reasonable way. $0.60 * 14 gallons to fill up is $8.40 (or $9.80 for 7), a meaningful amount in these days of rising gas prices.

I looked very carefully at the related pages on Safeway.com and find nothing that says the reward can only be redeemed at Safeways which sell gas, just "participating locations." But nowhere are participating locations listed and the closest such Safeway is in Pleasonton, over 40 minutes drive from here! Past similar programs have been redeemable at the Arco next to the Safeway at which I shop.

Indeed the PowerPump Locator page lists three locations in Mountain View (when I enter zip code 94043). But instead of being places where one may redeem the reward these are the three stores you have in town and this distinction is not mentioned at all.

To me this is similar to false advertising since Safeway is creating the same false expectation that I'm getting a deal by shopping at the store. Either the company should arrange for location redemption locations or stop making the claim on every receipt I get.

Guiseppi Rossi and being American

2009-06-16T16:23:00.000-07:00

Ives Galarcep had a good post today, Hating Giuseppe Rossi, that made me think a bit about this American-born emerging soccer star who scored twice against the US team yesterday at the Confederations Cup. Rossi was born and raised in New Jersey but due to FIFA regulations is allowed to play for Italy since both his parents were born there.

On the one hand I'm sad that a player of his quality, who could easily be part of a new generation that might have lifted our national team quality to where we'd be serious challengers for World Cups, decided to play for a nation that is the reigning World Cup holder and has no shortage of top flight players. Neven Subotic, a defender, seems to fall into this bucket as well.

Soccer fans from other countries criticize our team and say we'll never really measure up, but if our potential world class stars play for Italy or Serbia how can we?

I have no issue with Americans playing club ball in Europe or Mexico. Heck, this only makes them better when they line up in red, white and blue. And honestly, MLS is years away from the financial state that will allow them to be competitive with those clubs. Having Dempsey, Gooch, Altidore and so forth playing MLS ball doesn't seem likely to put all that many more fannies in seats for now.

The other issue I have with Rossi's choice is tied in with how I feel about California ballots and other printed literature coming in English, Spanish, Vietnamese and other languages and having to listen to business phone lines tell me to press 1 for English or 2 for Spanish over and over.

I have no problem with legal immigration in America, in fact I think our country has benefitted enormously from it. But if someone comes here because the opportunity is so much better than where he or she was born and especially if that opportunity becomes reality, than these people should be Americans.

Not just legally but culturally. Celebrate your heritage--I am after all president of the Jewish High Tech Community--but learn English, be part of the whole community and not just your local ex-country's and when it comes to sports root for the frakking US team. If your family is from Italy and the Italian team is playing Brazil root for Italy but if its Italy v. US, root for the USA.

And if your kid starts showing serious soccer skills, raise him to believe that his highest (sports) destiny is to wear our colors! Not the colors of the country that you left behind for a better life.

A Wave Idea for Dev Teams

2009-05-31T18:40:00.000-07:00

Google Wave has really caught my attention the last few days. Vidar Hokstad's post Google Wave as Infrastructure was very insightful and inspiring.

Here is a thought of mine of a way to use Wave in software development, as a sophisticated project center. A dynamic gathering place of practical types of content. Something people suggested wikis might be good for when wikis first started appearing.

My illustration below is not intended to be exhaustive but just a thought piece since, of course, it would require many types of applications to get Wave-enabled. That will take time and software execs with belief.

Boycott Steven Cohen

2009-05-29T09:10:00.000-07:00

[This is the letter I sent Fox Soccer Channel today in support of the Boycott Steven Cohen campaign]

To whom it may concern,

Steve Cohen has, and not for the first time, told lies about the deaths the 96 fans at Hillsborough, claiming that Liverpool fans were responsible for killing their own, amongst other lies. Is this the type of person you want representing your company? Steve Cohen has done this before, apologising when the outrage grew too large only to continue with his comments a short time later. Clearly, he will not stop, so our objective is to see him being put off air permanently.

Fox Football Phone-in used to be enjoyable and good for a laugh but now I cannot watch it at all. If there were another way for me to watch English football than FSC you can be sure I would.

I urge you to reconsider your use of Cohen.

I will be posting this message to my blog and elsewhere until your support for Steve Cohen and his lies ends.

Thank you,
Bill Lazar
http://billsaysthis.com

NCIS: Los Angeles and other Fall TV pronouncements

2009-05-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

So the wizards at CBS have done it again. This is the network with the oldest demographic and having just turned 48 I shouldn't be surprised that more of its shows are getting on my list. NCIS, for instance, who can resist Mark Harmon as a hardcase?

I saw the two episode backdoor pilot they ran a few weeks ago featuring LL Cool J and Chris O'Donnell and wasn't shocked to see "NCIS Spinoff" listed on the likely CBS Fall schedule. Sure enough this got a pick up but with what name? NCIS: Los Angeles! I know older folks prefer simplicity and the naming pattern seems to have done the network well with CSI: Wherever but still?!?! On the good side, I suppose this means we won't be getting a CSI: LA.

The team is part of NCIS's Office of Special Projects which, unlike Harmon's team, does mainly undercover investigations plus they have much newer tech toys. I was hoping the series would be called OSP but what can you do?

Don't forget, NCIS is itself a spinoff from the late, unlamented JAG. Acronyms must be another simplification us old coots prefer.

Other CBS

The producers at Without a Trace must have realized the jig was up. Props to them for getting Danny and Elena married, resolving the Jack/Samantha/Brian triangle well and not leaving anyone hanging off a cliff.

Numb3rs was allegedly on the bubble but will be back and no surprise so will The Mentalist, though moved to Thursdays at 10. If you haven't been watching this one, give it a look as its one of the most 'fun' police dramas in a long time.

Elsewhere

[Note: The Futon Critic has all the gory details, which you may want to start with at this Fall '09 schedule chart.]

NBC did pick up Chuck, hurray! Only 13 episodes and it will timeshare Mondays at 8 with Heroes, meaning the latter will not get an increase of the announced 19 episode order and Mr. Bartowski won't be returning until March. Earl won't get to finish his list of amends as the never quite funny enough My Name is Earl is done.

While I have been a loyal Law & Order viewer the entire 19 year year I think the show has more than run its course and would have much preferred to see Life renewed and paired with Southland.

Fox did renew Lie to Me and Fringe, very nice thank you, but unfortunately chose Dollhouse over Sarah Connor Chronicles. While the former has pretty much everything you would think I like--Joss Whedon, Eliza Dushku, semi-science fiction plus action plot--I watched the first couple of episodes and snored.

Lie to Me was generally compared to Mentalist for the similarity of the lead characters but over the course of their first seasons showed themselves to be very different in practice.

Tuesdays will be strange for those of us who generally dislike reality fare, as ABC, NBC and Fox will all be showing 'unscripted' series in the 8-10 block. Fortunately CBS will have the NCIS/NCIS: LA pair during that time.

Happy 6th!

2009-05-10T11:40:00.000-07:00

Six years ago tonight TS1 and I stood up in front of family and friends to pledge our love and lives together. Simply put, I've never made a better decision: no woman is a better match for me and she gives me hope that the future will be ever better.

For all of you still searching for a partner in life I wish only that you find someone as wonderful as Viv!

Wither the Republicans?

2009-04-28T10:44:00.000-07:00

Two interesting GOP things today:

Arlen Spector will run for reelection as a Democrat: The senior senator from Pennsylvania recognized he has drifted too far to the center to win a sixth term as a Republican. Once Al Franken is freed of Norm Coleman's death rattles this will give the Dems a filibuster-proof majority.
Cheney for President: A NYT OpEd column by Ross Douthat that jumps off from the idea that Dick Cheney ought, by his own lights, have been the Republican nominee against Obama. Not that Cheney ever said this nor is Douthat suggesting a different election outcome.

My opinion of the Republican party is no secret: I think they are, on the whole, sleazier and more hypocritical than Democratic politicians. To use less directly derogatory terms, GOP positions are based more on emotion than logic and are far less logically consistent; further they are far less open to true intellectual debate. How many officeholding Dems during the Bush years said, as Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) recently did, that his or her state should secede from the Union?

This latter incident is one example of how Republicans are showing their true colors. My way or the highway. Cheney has been giving interviews--after President Obama changed government policy on the use of torture and released the Bush DOJ memos giving legal cover for it--claiming that America is now less safe.

"I think that's a great success story," he said to Politico.com of using torture as an intelligence gathering tool. The problem is that any actual intelligence or results from them is classified and so impossible for Americans to judge. Given how badly Cheney and Bush lied about similar things, like Saddam Hussein possessing weapons of mass destruction, I can't just take his word for it.

As for Sen. Spector I'm happy to have his vote in the Democratic column as long as it doesn't come at too high a price. Frankly I think he's switched to save his political bacon since Pat Toomey seemed likely to whip him in the Republican primary.

Spector is already 79 years old with health problems; given a surging Democratic majority in the state, I'd rather see him switch now but retire when his term ends at the end of 2010 and put his weight behind a younger, real Dem candidate. Yes he's long been a friend to Labor and voted for Obama's stimulus package, which are causing him trouble with hardcore PA Republicans, but his foreign policy and finance positions are problematic.

Both these things, Cheney and Spector, illustrate the GOP move away from their so-called Big Tent policy and back towards the Goldwater/Nixon era Jesus and guns first, last and always litmus tests.

Endings

2009-04-28T08:03:00.000-07:00

Chuck really has to come back next season. NBC Universal, please renew the show because I have to see what its like now that Bartowski will be able to hold his own in a fight!

This was hopefully a season finale and not a series finale but, if it was, then I think the writers did good. This year has seen the end, or possible end, of several shows I watch and the writers impressed me with quality finales. In this regard, compared to past seasons this has to be one of the best--though for the most part I'd have rather had more episodes.

Battlestar Galactica, The Wire, The Shield, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Life, MI-5, these are the ones I'm thinking about. The L Word was close but not quite at the same level; they did at least finally get back to the whole Jenny's murder thing in the last episode. Life and Sarah Connor, at least as of this writing, are only on the bubble and not cancelled, though the latter seems sure to go.

There was plenty of criticism of the way Ron Moore brought the four year flight to an end. Almost everyone loved the first hour but the second not so much. I felt it was great that all the main character arcs and nearly all the questions were answered. I specifically wanted to know what the Six that only Baltar and the Baltar only Six could see were, and we got that answer. My main quibble was that the very last bit, with the two angels walking down a Manhattan street, was a ham-handed method of getting a point across.

The Wire, as I wrote a few months ago, gave us a "final season of an awesome show [of] 10 episodes that layered on the death of the American big city newspaper to a stack of stories that were already deeper than the aggregate total of the 500+ episodes of the three editions of CSI" and I like the CSIs. This was, quite possibly, the finest show produced by American television.

The Shield was another great one, very bleak (as were BSG and The Wire), but like them it ended and did so honestly within the framework created over its run. The sight of Vic Mackie forced to sit quietly at a cubicle desk for years to come was a terrific way to punish and reward the atrocious behavior we'd seen.

The Sarah Connor Chronicles finished at a point that let the creatives go forward if the show is renewed--try figuring out how they were going to explain John Connor's trip forward and how and/or why he would come back to the present--or if not gave viewers a sense of one major part of his life coming to a close.

Let's just hope the NBC execs have the good judgment to bring back Chuck and Life.

Using Compass with Blueprint in Rails

2009-04-14T11:33:00.000-07:00

For a new programming project I decided to see what the whole CSS framework and grid design craze is about for myself, and to refresh my Ruby on Rails programming skills.

A little research turned up Chris Eppstein's Compass gem. This is a very nice meta-framework, which can be used with Rails, Merb, Sinatra or other Ruby frameworks as well as pure Ruby, that combines Hampton Caitlin's SASS gem with any of several CSS frameworks, including (at this writing) Blueprint, Yahoo! UI Grids and 960 Grid System. Blueprint seemed sufficient for my needs and the easiest choice so I went with it.

Author's note: I tried publishing this with Blogger as a regular post but it just wasn't working, so its available as a standalone page.

Blaming the gun

2009-04-04T12:26:00.000-07:00

Today a man in Pittsburgh shot and killed three police officers who had responded to a report of domestic violence. Yesterday another man shot and killed thirteen people in Binghampton, NY. Both gunmen were wearing body armor, apparently prepared to take on any police response.

Online comments, in this case on the Yahoo Buzz discussion of the Pittsburgh story, are certainly not to be taken as more than anecdotal evidence of community sentiment but still I was seriously wound up by the majority of those posted as of now.

Most of the posters seemed more concerned that President Obama and the Democratic congress were trying to override their Second Amendment right to own guns than with the 16 dead people and their grieving families. A couple of particularly sad examples:

"these brainwashed killers are brought out intentionally, so to take away our 2 amendment. bring on the chaos so to create more control. gun control that is. biden is on it!" said dorite.

"Will Obama insist on calling the shooter something other than a murderer? Perhaps this event will be called a "Disturbed Citizen Confrontation." If we can't call terrorists "Enemy Combatants." how can we call Americans "murderers?" said (the ironically nicknamed) Patriot.

Seriously, sixteen people who were doing their jobs or else in the same boat as the murderer are being buried and these dunces want to make up absurd claims with no basis in reality?!

Let's for a moment, though, take them seriously. Another poster makes the valid point that the majority of gun owning Americans do not use them to murder people or commit other crimes.

Is that a good enough reason to continue allowing Americans unfettered access to all types of guns? The NRA and the rest of the gun lobby use their muscle to prevent any limitations on gun ownership.

The primary arguments I have seen are that people need guns to protect themselves and for hunting. If this is so then why are laws that cover guns and ammunition which are not used in either of them a problem?

The Second Amendment is not, after all, as absolute in its language as the First. "Congress shall make no law" is much stronger than "shall not be infringed."

Some people will argue that what the Founders wrote should be taken literally and not interpreted, either in regards to the times in which they lived and their other writings or in light of changes since then and current thinking.

My answer is simply WTF. You want a rifle for hunting and a pistol for the house? Fine. Armor-piercing bullets and .50 caliber machine guns? Kiss my heiny.

Another argument is that if we outlaw guns only outlaws will have guns. By definition I suppose that would be true as any hunter who kept a rifle in the garage or homeowner with a .22 in the back closet would be an outlaw. But that isn't what's on the table, its just a strawman argument to generate emotional appeal where logic fails.

Finally some will argue that an armed populace keeps the government on its toes, from overreaching its place. When the government has Stealth bombers, divisions of M1A tanks and nuclear subs I do not believe any group of civilians will be able to achive that result.

The only answer for this is to hope some substantial portion of the military will side with, well, whichever side is actually right. Even without the military, the lack of change brought about by various anti-government groups over the last 20 years is reasonable proof that armed civilians cannot succeed.

No, the truth now is that gun owners have become religious. They speak and react with the same zealous vigor as religious fanatics--and not surprisingly there's a serious overlap of the two groups.

In a way this strange. You shall not kill is one of the 10 commandments, stated as an absolute. Not you shall not kill except in self-defense or in order to eat (the commandment isn't specific to humans. No killing period.

Meanwhile our families, friends and neighbors are dying in front of our eyes. Are these two men murderers? Yes. Are their guns to blame? No. But when gun-owning fanatics will not allow the least restrictions on gun sales so that clearly mentally unbalanced people can buy them, then they share blame for the result.

Last: Our literal-minded compatriots will make exceptions on the one hand, since it suits them, but not on the other even when doing so might be closer in agreement with their self-proclaimed religious beliefs.

Next time you happen to be in a conversation with a religious gun owner, have some fun and ask them how they reconcile the contradictions.

Rampant Reds!

2009-03-23T15:18:00.001-07:00

This posting is really just for my future recollection. Liverpool FC are going all guns now, following up the 4-0 win over Real Madrid with a 4-1 win at Old Trafford and yesterday's 5-0 Anfield thrashing of Aston Villa. The latter, coupled with a second straight ManUtd loss and Chelsea's surprising loss to Tottenham, means there are at least two teams who can win the Premier League and neither plays at Stamford Bridge... or the Emirates.

Villa were hoping to push into the top four but based on recent form this seems unlikely. Martin O'Neill is a pretty good manager but has overworked his shallow squad and its beginning to affect results. Lucky for him there's an international break before they have to go to Manchester United.

With frontman Dimitar Berbatov likely to miss due to an ankle injury, no Wayne Rooney or Paul Scholes--both bad boys got reds on Saturday--and an off-kilter Cristiano Ronaldo, will O'Neill deploy an aggressive front line of Heskey, Carew and Agbonlahor in a 4-3-3 to try and extend Sir Alex's misery?

The Reds go to Fulham the day before, and the Cottagers will be proud of their victory, but I think the traveling squad will be too much for Roy Hodgson's backline, too eager to make up points dropped earlier this season that evaporated what was an eight point league table lead prior to Christmas.

Reds have won four straight, scoring 16 and conceding one--ONE!--goal since the wakeup call at Middlesboro. They've taken 13 of 15 possible points against the other three Top 4 teams.

Torres did not get any of the goals against Villa and that's got to sting. Riera will want more of the plaudits he's had the last few weeks. Reina is making the stops and setting up goals. Stevie G is being called the in-form player period, in any league.

Look out this week to see Gerrard and Benitez get player and manager of the month awards. Fulham, just look out ;)

Springsteen and the Ministry of Rock and Roll

2009-03-15T17:39:00.001-07:00

The E Street Band Live in New York City video was blasting in HD this afternoon while I struggled with some web programming and then a song came on which is the perfect example of why Bruce and his band are for my money the greatest rock act to ever play the big stage.

Light of Day (Youtube Part 1, Youtube Part 2) isn't one of his hits or even well-known--heck the original release was a version done by Joan Jett and Michael J. Fox in their obscure 1987 film of the same name. But the way the guys worked it up for this tour simply has everything a great rock performance needs.

Bouncy, fast-paced basic chords with plenty of room for all the guitars, keyboards and Clarence's sax to add color and style
Lyrics that are fun and still actually make sense
Improvisations that break from the expected (like counting up the miles, breaking into a dizzying, poetic listing of all the tour stops that ends with New York and moving on to the kind of teasing a Jersey guy will do to a crowd of New Yorkers)
Bruce dancing around the mic stand, waving his arms to incite the crowd to even greater abandon, throwing in a gospel-inspired chant that ends with him fountaining water over his head like a rock and roll baptism

"I've seen people lost! In envy over the New Jersey Devils winning the Stanley Cup!" he sings, and then holds his hands up in surprise as the audience hisses. "...But that's alright because I'm here tonight on an ambassadorial mission to unite these two great civilizations," he finishes, and then the band jumps back in to rock out the house.

I can't explain this better but this is what I love about rock and why, despite my recent misgivings over his, er, business judgment, I can always get a thrill listening to Springsteen and the E Street Band.

The iconic image is Bruce, hands over his head and the Telecaster hanging low down his back:

Liverpool 4-0 Real Madrid: Red Hurricane

2009-03-10T15:38:00.001-07:00

All the pundits forecast that Liverpool would come out tonight to squeeze the life out of their Champions League second leg match after bringing home a 1-0 win from the Bernabeau two weeks ago. Rafa confounded everyone, including the Spanish brain trust, by having the players blaze up the field from the start and there was really no doubt at all that the Reds were moving on to the semifinals for the fourth time in the last five years.

The outcome was clear from the first Liverpool attack in the first minute when Fernando Torres took the ball at the top of the box with his back to goal, backheeled it between Fabio Cannavaro's legs, spun around Cannavaro to the outside and regained possession to get off a shot that was only stopped by a great save from Iker Casillas.

The Reds continued pounding Real relentlessly and broke through just before twenty minutes when Torres muscled Real's other central defender Pepe off the ball. Dirk Kuyt was just outside of them and touched the ball back to Torres in the center and, with Casillas pulled out of position, Torres needed just the lightest of taps for the goal. Torres never beat Madrid in his years with crosstown rivals Atletico but now has two in two weeks!

The Reds got a huge favor from the sideline assistant ten minutes later when he raised his flag for hand ball by Gabriel Heinze inside the box. Replays showed it came off the Argentine's shoulder but the officials don't have the benefit of video and Captain Stevie coolly sent the PK the other way for numero dos.

Just after the restart the Reds broke down sloppy back line passing--which they did the whole game, to be fair--and Ryan Babel drove clear to the touchline where he pulled it back to Stevie G, who scored again from a very difficult ball. Andrea Dossena, a late sub, got the final tally just before the end when Casillas could not get back to recover from one last giveaway by his field players.

Besides the score good things from this match:

Torres was doubtful to play at all but got the opener and was very aggressive coming back on defense to harrass the Madrid midfield.
Gerrard showed a full recovery from his ankle woes
Jay Spearing made an impressive senior team debut after subbing in for Gerrard in the 72nd

Draw for the next round is on Friday. Already through are Chelsea, Villareal and Bayern Munich--the German side was especially impressive today, drubbing Sporting of Lisbon 7-1 to go with a 5-0 beatingin the first leg. Favorites to go through tomorrow are Manchester United, Arsenal and Barcelona, and though I have no idea about Atletico Madrid v. Porto I would certainly like to see my Reds draw the winner of that matchup.

In the Premier League the Reds are having a rough spell but today's result and the 2-0 beating of Sunderland last time out should give them a good frame of mind for Saturday's crucial visit to Old Trafford. Only a win gets them back in the title race, though a draw or a tight 1-0 loss will give them hope should the two meet later on in the Champions League.

Liverpool v. Manchester United in the May 27 final in Rome, now that would be a dream fixture!

The Disturbing 3: Standing Targets

2009-03-08T15:59:00.000-07:00

Lines of supporters snake past the turnstiles
Boldly shouting club chants across each other
Waving colorful pennants and angry fists
Pounding out a rhythm everybody knows.

Players are out on the field warming up
Cameramen line up shots of the goals and benches
Kids climb over their seats, waving at friends
Hands sticky from pop and candy, happy.

Physios set out rolls of tape and extra shinguards
Helpers get trays of bottled water and towels
Announcers and color commentators jabber,
Rushing to scribble final notes and thoughts.

Louder than the fan's cheers the starting whistle reigns
The referee's arm comes down and the players jump
Home supporters shouting again, traveling fans
Hold their own, altogether shaking the stands.

Action races up the pitch with the ball flitting,
Wing to mid to fullback to striker to wing, defender
Jumping in to disrupt the play, bounding the ball
Off a leg, off the field and into the technical area.

Starting to get that Summer movie itch!

2009-03-05T11:37:00.000-08:00

Star Trek - May 8: From everything I've seen so far, this will be outstanding for Trekkies and non-fans alike
Public Enemies - July 1: Johnny Depp and Christian Bale as John Dillinger and Melvin Purvis, directed by Michael Mann
X-MEN: Wolverine - May 1: Hugh Jackman's back with the sideburns and claws
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - July 17: Getting serious about He Who Must Not Be Named
Terminator Salvation - May 22: Getting back to the serious business of saving the future
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - June 26
The Taking of Pelham 123 - June 12: Denzel vs. Travolta in Tony Scott's remake of the '73 subway thriller
Land of the Lost - June 5: It's Will Farrell, you know you want to see it
Up - May 29: Pixar's latest
The Ugly Truth - July 24: Katherine Heigl is the new Jamie Lee Curtis is the new Ursula Andress
Inglourious Basterds - Aug. 21: Tarantino takes on WWII with Brad Pitt and Mike Myers
GI Joe: Rise of Cobra - Aug. 7: Not sure, but has some good actors and the trailer looks pretty good
Taking Woodstock - Aug. 14: Ang Lee makes a comedy about the story behind Woodstock
The Boat That Rocked - Aug. 28: Richard Curtis, who made Love, Actually, one of my favorite films, looks back at UK pirate radio in the '60s with a terrific cast including Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Ken Branagh, Bill Nighy and Gemma Arterton

Core principles of good documentation

2009-03-02T09:09:00.000-08:00

On one of my mailing lists someone asked for guidance on creating software docs. I responded with a few simple principles:

Less is more: People simply do not like to read this kind of stuff and so leave out anything they don't need to know, such as theoretical discussions of why something is the way it is. Also, at least in the first release of docs, use the 80/20 rule and only document the main use cases rather than the exceptions. Think of this as paying rent.
Pictures really are worth a 1000 words: Screenshots and even better screencasts are much better ways of explaining action sequences than text. Any time you're putting a numbered list in the text, consider doing a short screencast instead or also.
Fix the software: If you have a tough time explaining a feature or capability for the documentation then consider rewriting the software. The best documentation is software that needs none, the ultimate less being more.
Steal or copy: Look at the documentation for software you use or is competitive or you respect and see what you can reuse from that, whether it's formatting, how they use graphics/screencasts or method of explaining difficult concepts.

While screencasts are a very new concept I think they are a tool very much suited to our times. Already there are a bunch of free and inexpensive applications available for making them, all seem very easy to use, meaning a low barrier to adoption. If bandwidth costs are a concern for you or your organization, post them to YouTube or similar services--after all, the more widely available these videos are, the better!

Aptana has produced many and put up Aptana TV to host them (not to mention that site is the first production ActiveJS application, good job Ian and Ryan). Many of the videos are done by the developer who worked on the part of the product described, which I think is very powerful when the product itself is used by developers. No marketing fluff, at least.

Glen Lipka at JHTC March 10: Outstanding!

2009-02-26T14:16:00.000-08:00

For quite some time I've wanted my former co-worker to speak to JHTC and now he's agreed to be at our March 10 meeting. The title of his talk is "Drive Product Success with User Experience" and I'm disappointed in not coming up with a better one but to be blunt Glen is a UX god, absolutely worth your time to come hear.

Glen is someone who can cut through any discussion to find the real decision points and turn that into product requirements and visual design. His blog post today, What are you arguing about?, is a perfect example of his ability to convert argument (in a rhetorical sense) into answerable questions.

One his pithy principles that I love is Who's the landlord? What he means is every product feature, design aspect or word on a page or screen has to carry its weight. Nothing "just gets" in without contributing to the end goal, which is (in his case) building lovely software, software whose customers say "I love this and have to have it."

See for yourself March 10!

Not recommended: American Baseline

2009-02-13T10:22:00.001-08:00

Summary: Robert Hunt of American Baseline was either negligent or incompetent in handling my situation and I would not recommend other homeowners use his services.

The Longer Version:

One of the annoying things about our lovely new house that I didn't find out until long after I could actually use the information is that this house is in a flood zone. An AO-1 flood zone and the garage is far short of the permanent open space (venting) required.

Flood insurance--required by all mortgage lenders--usually costs around $500 a year for this size house. Being in the AO-1 zone raises that to almost $1400. Having too little venting increases that by about 50%.

This is in Mountain View, mind you, and so completely ridiculous. What is the source of the flooding threat, according to FEMA? Not Permanent Creek, which literally runs across the back of my property, but ponding from the nearby 101 on ramp. Ha! I say. You cannot tell me that any water wouldn't flow first to Permanente Creek, which is far closer than my house.

There is the possibility of relief by getting a Letter of Map Amendment from FEMA. This requires submission of an Elevation Certificate prepared by a licensed professional. No one I knew had gone through this so some web searching brought me to Robert Hunt of American Baseline.

Robert claimed over a decade's experience in preparing these certificates and related matters. His fee was $800 but okay since I'd be saving over $2,000 a year.

I submitted the certificate he prepared and six weeks later got an envelope from FEMA. Happy days, I thought, but instead the letter inside said there were three deficiencies in my request.

I passed the response along to Robert and he sent me back a revised certificate. A few weeks go by and again the FEMA response is there are still two problems.

I sent this to Robert. Now he--from what I could tell--actually read the FEMA letter.

One of the additional items FEMA wanted was a topographical map of my property showing the structure and drainage. Robert said he'd never heard of this being required but it would cost another $1700 to prepare.

I called the company to which FEMA outsources the evaluation of these requests to get an explanation of this out of the blue map requirement. When I first looked into getting the LOMA I had also spoken to someone at this company and he never mentioned needing the map.

I was told that all they needed was a hand-drawn map, not something formal. Phew!

The other issue, though, was that by one of the measurements my house was four inches (out of over 25 feet!) short of the requirement and so my request couldn't be granted, making the map unnecessary anyway. After a lengthy discussion I came away with the understanding that if a different but still applicable reference monument could be found, I might get past this measurement hurdle.

One of my neighbors was granted a LOMA in 2007 so this seemed like a possility.

I spoke with Robert and he agreed to look for a different reference monument, now that he had the address of the neighbor who got the LOMA. I would have to pay for the extra work, even his time if no monument could be found, and I was okay with that since it would still save a lot of money.

Another monument was found, a certificate was prepared and submitted and--you guessed it--another rejection letter was received. My house was still four inches short, despite getting an additional three plus feet of elevation!

Talking with the FEMA (outsource) rep again he explained that the problem was not the absolute elevation but the relative position of my house to the height of the center of the road out front. This could not really change just from finding a different monument. He claimed to have tried to explain this to me in our previous conversation but from my POV he used language that required a solid grasp property surveying to understand.

A grasp that a layperson can reasonably expect a licensed land surveyor with over a decade's experience preparing these submissions to have, wouldn't you say? When I asked Robert Hunt about this he said that wasn't his to say, that I knew the risk involved and he did what I asked.

When I asked for a refund of the second payment, which was almost as much as the original fee, he said that I knew the risk involved and he did what I asked so no refund.

To me this is a terrible answer. Of course I would like my money back and any no would be bad but in this case I think Hunt is being unprofessional and should give the refund. As with any area that requires extensive training and education, like law, medicine or plumbing, a professional should give clients advice on how to achieve their goal--or if the goal is realistic at all--and not just blithely do useless work.

I do not believe that Robert Hunt did not know that the second round of work was unnecessary, not if he has the professional skill and experience he claims to have. As such I think he acted against my interests; this is neglicence or incompetence but either way I should not have had to pay.

Portsmouth 2-3 Liverpool: Skin of the Win

2009-02-07T11:58:00.000-08:00

Liverpool have played a lot of games, six in two and a half weeks, and Steven Gerrard is out for the next three weeks on injury so Rafa Benitez decided to give some younger players a chance to show value today against relegation zone Portsmouth. He also switched formations to three at the back, an interesting choice, though in the end I don't think it hurt us.

No, what hurt us was the inability of Ryan Babel and David Ngog to combine effectively in the final third. Babel has been looking especially week of late and today was little different as he muffed an absolute sitter that went past David James in the 61st minute.

Benitez was forced to bring on Dirk Kuyt, Xabi Alonso and finally El Nino, Fernando Torres and the trio were able to get the necessary second and third goals for the three points. Torres got the winner in the 91st on a header which was a virtual carbon copy of the winner he scored last Sunday against Chelsea.

The win puts us back at the top of the Premier League, at least until Manchester United play West Ham tomorrow and make up their missed game with Fulham on the 18th. Liverpool are off for two weeks for the international break and the FA Cup fifth round, the latter due to a heartbreaking goal from an Everton debutant near the end of extra time. One less trophy possibility but perhaps not too terrible since that means fewer games for a lean squad.

Chelsea, by the way, are spiraling out of control. They couldn't manage a goal today against Hull City, though Cech and Terry saved the point for them. With Aston Villa posting a strong win, the Blues dropped to fourth--six points ahead of Arsenal but the Gunners don't play until tomorrow and could have that against a staggering Tottenham.

If the last two league games are a real trend, the Reds fortunes are looking up. The boys are fighting hard until the very end and always going for all three points. Sweet!

The Disturbing: 2 - Wet Sheets

2009-01-27T08:49:00.000-08:00

She lay on the bed, wet and sticking, taking a deep breathe
She reached over and grabbed a robe lying beside the bed
Covered herself. Her, well, co-star was already sitting up
Faced away from her and chatting up a guy who finished
His own scene in the next setup.

The cameramen, sound guys, stagehands, directors were
Standing in various groups arranged by concerns:
Players, sets, the technical requirements for the next
Set of scenes to be shot. No one was really looking at her,
No one was talking to her. An anonymous body,
She may really as well have been a stick of furniture.

A very pretty and well-stacked bit of blond furniture
That suited the technical requirements called for in
The day's scripts and directors were well satisfied
She could perform on camera as requested, her
Skin worked well with the lighting and props, her
Hair lovely but easily managed to not interfere.

She wondered whether any of her co-workers
Noticed that she often forgot to avoid direct
Bodily fluid exchanges and how happy she was to
Service anyone on the set. Some actresses were
Like that, happy to use a sexy body for career
Advancement or reasons stumbling around
Inside a woman's mind. None of them, of course,
Knew the results of her last doctor visit.

Barack Obama: A Good Change

2009-01-20T08:49:00.000-08:00

Today is a wonderful day, for reasons stated voluminously elsewhere. I do not think our new President can work miracles any more than I believe in Santa Claus but he can do good and will in ways that neither GWB, Dick Cheney nor John McCain would consider.

Speaking of McCain, man did we dodge a bullet! His potential presidency was looking more and more like a third term for the current criminal crew. With the added bonus of biting our nails to the quick over the prospect that he would be in some way incapacitated, thus putting a former TV weather girl in charge of our nation.

My prediction is that Obama will have serious difficulties dealing with the ongoing adjustment to globalization of which the trouble with Al Qaeda and the economic quagmire are but two manifestations.

As pointed out to me by self-described conservative friends, we liberals tend to get stuck in on decisions because we try to account for every point of view (see appointments of Clinton, Hilary, and Gates, Robert). While I tend to see this as a strength, since the decisions made are stronger--for all its good and bad, the United Nations on whole is still a useful organization that would never have been founded by a (modern) Republican administration--such a process will not produce the immediate results some fantasists forecast after the elections.

We are, once again and most happily, on the Freedom Highway. The destination is many mile markers down the road.

Sharks know how to thrill!

2009-01-17T22:47:00.000-08:00

TS1 and I went down to the Tank tonight and got to see a blast of a game that finished with the Sharks winning 6-5 over their top rivals in the Western Conference and defending Stanley Cup champs, the Detroit Red Wings.

The Sharks opened fast, getting the first goal from Dan Boyle inside of three minutes but the Red Wings aren't the best team in the league the last decade or more for nothing and they tied it up fast, just a minute later. The Sharks' Joe Pavelski took three minutes to get the next, and that's how the first period ended.

The referees were just terrible tonight. Los Tiburones started the second and third period on penalty kills from some pushing and shoving as the teams went off the ice at the end of the periods, and the Red Wings capitalized on the first of those to tie it again 90 seconds into the 2nd and taking their first lead soon after. The Sharks got an equalizer from Christian Erhoff and the teams traded another pair of goals towards the end of the period.

The 3rd started 4-4 and I was afraid we could see a late goal loss like the Sharks gave up Thursday night, but Milan Michalek and Patty Marleau scored in quick succession midway through. The Red Wings were able to get a fifth score but despite pulling Chris Osgood for most of the last two minute of the game were not able to get the tie.

Se now Ts1 has been to two Sharks games in the last two seasons and our boys won both times! I think the Sharks should give her season tickets to see how long her streak can run. The loss to the Flames Thursday was the first home regulation loss in 11 months, tonight started a new run. I'd love to see them do what Chelsea did until earlier this seson, go more than four seasons without a home loss!

Republican pot #2: Charles Freid

2009-01-11T12:59:00.000-08:00

Following up my post from a few days ago, I want to point out another sad OpEd piece by a Republican apologist. This time it's Charles Fried, Solicitor General under Reagan and someone who thinks SCOTUS Associate Justice Samuel Alioto is just conservative and not nearly as radical as Freid's longtime pal Antonin Scalia.

Freid's essay addresses whether the Obama Administration should pursue criminal charges against Bush Administration staff and their allies in the various Cabinet departments over allegations of torture and perjury. He comes down, not at all surprisingly, against the idea:

There is now ample reason to believe that Mr. Gonzales was among those at the highest level of government who allowed Americans to engage in torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment of those in our custody. Mr. Gonzales's misleading and cowardly testimony certainly deprives him of any claim to our indulgence, but nonetheless neither he nor any of the others who participated in this abuse of detainees should be criminally prosecuted � not for their sakes but for the country's.

Of course, we wouldn't want to emotionally upset the country over partisan divisiveness! Unlike, say, what the Republican leadership did in the late '90s to Bill Clinton, attempting to remove him from office for lying about getting a blow job.

I find this manner of claim sad enough but completely consistent with Republican behavior of wrapping themselves in the flag at every turn on every issue. Freid, though, doesn't stop there; instead he elevates the hyperbole by comparing the charges to the behavior of Soviet dictators and--you guessed it--Hitler's treatment of officials he perceived as betraying him. "Night of the long knives" indeed!

Apparently Freid has been working a bit past his sell by date, having been on the Harvard Law School faculty since 1961. I applaud the NY Times for attempting to present a balanced selection of perspectives but the editors need to exercise better judgment on what they publish.

And the Republicans need to recognize that miscreants need punishing, which would really be the best thing for America.