Month: September 2002

Jamie considered his current reality as the strange man pulled out a phone and walked away for a moment; whatever was being said wasn’t audible over the sounds of traffic whizzing by ten feet away from where he sat. So far he was late for work, met a pretty girl by, he thought, spilling coffee on her, been shot at and the pretty woman was hit, bleeding plenty on the parking lot next to him. He’d taken a very special chip from her, the apparent reason for the shooting, and promised to deliver it to some unknown man 25 miles away with only a fancy phone for help. Finally, bare minutes after leaving her, he got pulled over on the side of the highway by a cop who wasn’t a cop. This was no reality he’d ever imagined. He wondered if he ought to pull out the fancy phone while his, what, captor? was away.

But that choice was taken away as the man was back, unnoticed in his fog. He looked up to see the other staring straight in his face with sunglasses off.

“You don’t know the first thing about what happened back in that parking lot, do you?”

Jamie tried to think of something snarky to say but the words stuck in his throat. All of a sudden he could feel his heart beating faster and anxiety running through the nerves in his arms. He just moved his head, more of a twitch really, side to side and no more.

“I could shoot you right here and leave your bloody body on the asphalt where no one would bother to stop and look for hours. And that would be real blood, not that ketchup in a plastic blister that–what did she tell you her name was?”

“Lara,” Jamie said softly. She wasn’t shot? He hugged himself for warmth.

“Lara? Well, that doesn’t matter, you’ll never see her again anyway. If you live through this job she’ll be dead. Her bosses don’t tolerate mistakes on this level.”

“What..what’s your name?” He surprised himself with the question. That earned him a crooked half-smile. The man put his hand up to his mouth, as if he were trying to feel the smile, as if it was something unusual.

“You can call me, hmm, call me RL.”

“Earl?”

“No, two letters, R and L. Doesn’t matter, it’s nothing to do with my real name which wouldn’t help you.”

“You don’t work for the CIA, do you?” For reasons unknown his heart was getting back to it’s normal rhythm.

“No and neither does Lara. We both work for…competing private interests.”

“Are you going to take the chip away from me?”

“No. Wouldn’t do me any good. You understand that the driveby before was a put on, a little set play for your benefit?”

“That explains why no one came to see if Lara was still breathing and the job was done. On the other hand, RL, why are we having this conversation?”

This is a simple, very low carb vegetable side dish, prepared in a wok, that I made a couple of days ago. This quantity feeds four or five and goes well with steak or BBQ chicken. Feel free to vary the level of garlic but remember the old saying: “You can never eat enough garlic.”

Ingredients

• 4 bunches of bok choy
  

• 5-6 cloves of garlic
  

• 1 lb of button mushrooms (feel free to substitute more exotic varieties)
  

• 1 tbsp sesame oil
  

• 2-3 tbsp soy sauce
  

• 1 tsp ground oregano or basil (or both)
  

• olive oil
  

• fresh ground pepper (to taste)

Preparation

• Cut off the bottom of each bunch of the bok choy, separate the stalks, cut the leafy green tops off the stems; wash and dry thoroughly
  

• Smash and chop the garlic
  

• Cut mushrooms into thin slices

Cooking

• Heat skillet over medium flame, then add oil
  

• Add bok choy stems and stir, thoroughly coating with oil, about 60 seconds
  

• Add garlic, stir in and soften
  

• Add soy sauce and grind in pepper, stir another minute or so
  

• Add mushrooms, herbs, and keep stirring, until mushrooms appear light brown and very soft
  

• Add bok choy leaves and stir thoroughly to coat but only for 45-60 seconds until leave barely begin to wilt and remove from heat

This is a pretty basic garlic veggie recipe and you can substitute other green veggies such as spinach, broccoli, green beans, or Chinese broccoli for variety.

Enjoy!

Parisian Asphalt Initiative or, more directly, Pave France Now! Plenty of good reasons onsite.

I submitted the CNN article Nude video games? They’re coming this fall. this morning, so we’ll see. Keep your fingers crossed. Of course this isn’t the same as having an article on this website submitted but could be cool anyway.

Update: The answer is no, poor Billy got his entry put in the circular bin. Those dastardly /. editors!

Jamie opened his cell as he merged onto 101 from 380. He could see a 747 thundering to a stop on an SFO runway on the other side of the highway.

“Hey. I’m gonna be late getting there this morning, something came up,” he told his manager. “Won’t make the staff meeting.” He listened as the voice on the other end spouted meaningless unhappy words. “Can’t be helped. Have to help a friend down in Mountain View. With any luck I’ll be there by 1:00.” After some more babble he clicked off. At least he was late enough to have missed the morning traffic mess. He drove on, listening to some classic Springsteen.

Until he saw little red and blue flashers in his rearview mirror. From the front of a California Highway Patrol motorcycle. What was the reason for being pulled over? Not speeding, missing registration sticker, or a broken taillight. He pulled over and waited for the cop to explain. Could the day be getting any weirder? He put his window down.

“Get out of the car slowly, walk around to the shoulder, and sit down.” Jamie felt something he’d never, in 35 years of living, felt before, a gun at his neck and the words registered, barely coming through the fog of fear. He had his wallet in his right hand, ready to get out his license, so he popped the lock and opened the door with his left. Slowly pushing the door open, he slid his legs onto the ground. At least that was still were it was supposed to be. He noticed the cop had backed off, giving him room to get around the car, with the gun down at waist-level. Once he sat down away from traffic and took a dep breath, the cop walked over and leaned against the car, looming over him. Smiling, though not in a very happy way.

“I’m not a Highway Patrol Officer. We don’t have time to waste if you’re going to live to make it to your office by 1:00, so calm down and listen to me.” The not-cop put the gun back in it’s holster.

“Live? What the fuck do you mean by if?” Jamie couldn’t help but blurt out the words. “And how do you I just told my boss I’d be in at 1:00?” The energy in his voice started trailing off as a certain realization set in. The guy knew what he’d said on the phone not 15 minutes before.

“Pal, you do not know what you got yourself mixed up with in that coffeeshop. Do you think the coffee spill was an accident? Or your fault? Or that you weren’t picked for this? Hell no.

“You got picked by a pretty slick group and if you hadn’t stopped at the coffeeshop they would have found some other place to bring you in. They’ve been pickin’ over your life pretty good for weeks now. Lara was trailing you since yesterday, waiting for an opportunity. I was following her.” His captor spat out some bad taste from his mouth.

Jamie was getting a sinking feeling in his stomach and something else was rising in his throat. He leaned away from the car, hands on his stomach, and retched. The non-cop surprised him by handing over a handkerchief to wipe off his face.

“This is the real world, not some TV show, and why would anyone want to use me for any fucking thing?” The voice was rough but his vehemence came through.

“Maybe it’s not your reality, but it’s my reality. And now you’re in it, pal, make no mistake about that.”

A modern variation on Catcher in the Rye, Tadpole sets an upper west side Manhattan 15 year old boy on a Thanksgiving school break he’ll never forget. Mature beyond his years, capable of discussing Voltaire in the original French and so worldweary he has no difficulty being served in a bar, Oscar Grubman (Aaron Stanford, who’ll follow this up by playing Pyro in X-Men 2) has taken the train home from his Connecticut prep school to tell his stepmother Eve (the always alluring Sigourney Weaver) that his father (John Ritter) doesn’t treat her well enough and he is in love with her. Hijinks, of course, ensue though this is not major studio teen romantic comedy.

No, in Tadpole, director/co-writer Gary Winick has created the latest intelligent independent comedy, a worthy follower to My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Stanford and Weaver are excellent, Ritter is a weak link, Bebe Neuwirth is luscious and lascivious as stepmom’s best friend and even Robert Iler (Tony’s son on the Sopranos) is quite good as the Grubber’s best friend.

Note that although there is no nudity or blood splatter (well, no violence at all) and essentially no cursing, Tadpole deserves at least the PG-13 rating for it’s sophisticated subject matter.

Another Dollar Movie Night excursion that more than paid off!

Definitely recommended

In the opening match of the new Champions League season, LFC went to Valencia and lost 2-0. No Owens on offense, per expectations, and (for a second match) no Xavier on defense. But no win either, though Gerard Houllier said it was no surprise and this is the toughest test the Reds will face in the opening round. And Dieter Hamann, so important in Premiership play, took two yellows and turned them into a red card. Still, a draw would have been nice. And Stephen Gerrard says “We can still qualify.” Next stop on the CL road is a match next Wednesday at home against FC Basel, sans Hamann.

You woke up this morning

Got yourself a gun,

Mama always said you’d be

The Chosen One.

That is the question posed by Steve Denbeste over at USS Clueless, commenting on the concept that the (widening) gap in income between rich and poor about which many liberal activists are currently complaining. If your basic driving principle is freedom, as his is, then this gap is not a problem but rather the expected outcome of competition; the other side is not really seeking equality in the sense that all are treated alike but wants equality of results and is willing to take away any aspects of freedom until that point is reached.

In theory, I agree with Steve. In practice, though, we see all too many occassions where the results are compromised by people willing to infringe on others’ equality of opportunity by violating the law. Not just Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, or Martha Stewart, those are too easy targets, but what about Microsoft’s pattern of behavior over the past 15 years? His article is spurred by a corrpondent’s comments on the concentration of wealth in too few hands, so I picked Microsoft because three of the 10 richest Americans (according to the recent Forbes listing) have fortunes due to that company (Gates continues at the top, with Paul Allen and Steve Ballmer fitting in after Buffet–BillG’s best friend–and the Walton clan). What about the lifetime of largess granted to corporate chieftains after retirement? GE’s Jack Welch is the easy example just because of the information that came out this last week but if you look at any number of annual filings, especially in years in which a top exec retires, you’ll see much the same thing.

So, in our less than perfect world, my answer to the question is that it’s a flawed question. Neither answer allowed comes close to the reality we face.

Candide says this is the best of all possible worlds but of course Voltaire used that speech as an opportunity to propose that the idea is far from truth. And Steven, you know that, your Engineerist philosophy prompts you to take in the ever-present shades of grey.

I’d been looking for this film for months, since I started spending so much time with the Sweet One, because it’s one of my all time favorites and she’d never seen it. Fortunately BBC America cablecast it earlier in the week and Tivo stored it until we had some time. I consider it one of a trio of smaller, character-driven movies that came out in the early 1980s along with Chariots of Fire (also produced by Sir David Puttnam) and Barry Levinson’s Diner.

Dealmaker Peter Riegert is sent by corporate head/crazy old man Burt Lancaster to negotiate the purchase of a small coastal village in very northwest Scotland so that their company can build a new terminal and refinery. Picking up a native, though not local, lackey when he arrives in Scotland, he needs to work out the deal with the wily, randy hotelier/accountant/barkeep Denis Lawson. The locals decide to keep Riegert on the hook to get the most money but this is mainly a way for writer/director Bill Forsyth to keep us in the quaint little village (two fisherman argue over whether dollar has one or two l’s in it) and introduce us to people who really aren’t terribly well acquainted with the second half of the 20th century. Plus the amazing natural beauty of the barely touched by human hands territory and, I would guess, they filmed in late Spring or mid-Fall.

Peter Riegert never really lived up to his promise as an actor but he did make three really good movies: Animal House (his film debut), this one, and 1988’s Crossing Delancy, where he was amazing as Amy Irving’s reluctant, old-style matchmaker-arranged suitor. In Local Hero he really delivers as we fall in love with Furness through his eyes and feel his heart melt. At the open he is pissed about having to go on the road (“I’m more of a Telex man, really. I could wrap this up in an afternoon from the office.”) but at he end he is sad and reluctant to leave. Lawson is his key counterpart, a classic city versus country faceoff, befriending Riegert yet keeping him at enough distance to try for every last bit of money. The one mistake, though it does give Forsyth a way to his ending, is bringing Lancaster to Scotland to finish the deal when a last minnute obstacle appears to derail the entire deal.

I would write more about why this is such a favorite of mine but I’m having difficulty putting the reasons into words well: Riegert and Lawson’s performances, the beauty of the locale and Jenny Seagrove, Mark Knopfler’s enchanting music, Forsyth’s script. Just see it.

Absolutely recommended

Greenbeanz: Dr Atkins Diet & Low Carb Specialists. Two stores, in Fremont and San Ramon, with a third coming in a few months in San Jose. Did some serious shopping at this place, they have an excellent selection and good prices, also available online, plus the occasional class from one of the owners. Very helpful staff who know the products because they eat them.

garret linked articles on Rwanda and Afghanistan today that provoked a similar reaction in me: WTF, is everything everywhere our business (as a nation, not individuals)? Seriously, people elsewhere in the world (Rwanda) kill each other and because the US government didn’t speak out or intervene, the mess is our fault?

Same with the Afghans, no one is forcing them to live in a place with such few natural resources and harsh living conditions, or to fight each other. Okay, the Russians did start things up (and we saw some advantage in getting involved in a small way) but that’s still not on us.

Sure as individuals we might want to do our best to help our fellow human beings but that doesn’t give a nation, even one as powerful as America, the requirement to act. And therefore, cannot be blamed for not acting.

Mike Tarsala, CBS Marketwatch: Sun Micro’s secret dot-comeback plan

“Give me your phone,” Jamie said. “I need to get going and this will give me a way to stay in touch. What’s the speed dial for your boss? What’s his name, anyway?”

Lara looked over at him and he could tell that the blood loss was finally getting to her. That 15 minutes was feeling like a lot longer. “Alright but once you turn over the package you better destroy this. You don’t want to have this phone tomorrow.” She let out a short gasp and he could see the pain in her eyes. “My boss is name…his codename for this job is Stefan. Press Star One Send to get him. But only call him in an emergency, even our cellular connections aren’t as secure as we’d like, and be brief.”

He looked up, away from her for the first time in what seemed like ages but was only a few minutes. “Is there anything in your car I can get you, or a towel or shirt to put on the wound? I’ve never been up close and personal with anyone who was shot before, I don’t know what to do for you.”

“Just get going. The ambulance will be here in almost no time, they’ll take care of me, and you want to be gone before then.”

“Okay. Villa St. Roasting Company, Mountain View, man with a Toshiba laptop, browser open to the Times, Thai coffee, not white. Noon.” She shook her head yes, with effort, and he could see in her eyes that the med techs better arrive soon. This was so not what he expected when he accidentally spilled her coffee, what, 45 minutes earlier. To almost be shot at and then get asked to play spy! He got up, looked around to see that there was, well, nothing special to see. Jamie looked back down at Lara.

“Alright then, I’m gone.”

I haven’t been to the movies in a couple of weeks and I’d avoided this movie based on the terrible reviews in the newspapers. But there wasn’t anything else playing at the Dollar Movie night over in Milpitas (or Tiny Penis as the less than reverant locals like to say) that could be agreed upon. So we saw Sum of All Fears, the Ben Affleck re-imagining of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan character.

Ryan’s books are huge bestsellers and yet the series hasn’t done so well on the big screen. Alec Baldwin didn’t work out and Harrison Ford was just too old when he made his first appearance–sometimes the Hollywood studios get caught up far to much in star power. So Clancy and fellow producer Mace Neufeld decided that, with so many more Ryan novels yet to be filmed, they needed a fresh start with a younger actor and got the 30 year old Affleck, who will be thrilled to have the $15-20 million dollar paychecks these films are sure to bring him. The creative types also needed to revise the Ryan character, who is in his late 30s and at a more advanced stage in his CIA career in the novel, and so they made him just one of the analysts in the CIA’s Russia section. John Clark (played by Liev Schreiber in place of Clear and Present Danger’s Willem Dafoe) is another major character in the Ryan world and the script has him younger than the novel, though just as weary of fieldwork and just as efficient and deadly. They also changed the villains from Muslim terrorists to neo-Nazis although this was a pre-9/11 decision, but that was probably a wise choice.

Overall, I have to disagree with the critics. There were parts of the plot that got compressed too much and not everything made enough sense–girlfriend Dr. Muller is standing in front of big glass windows as the bomb goes off, the glass is blown in towards her and the pressure wave throws her 10 feet or so, but she is essentially unharmed and doesn’t get enough radiation exposure to do any damage. John Clark is almost as good at slipping in and out of personas as Jarrod from The Pretender but with a better travel budget and superior tools. The film moves so fast that it doesn’t always take the time to make sure we know who a particular character is.

But Affleck was strong as Ryan, Morgan Freeman puts just the right amount of wry in his delivery, Alan Bates delivers the leader of the neo-Nazis as someone who really believes in his own psychotic vision, and the remainder of the cast does well, especially the US Cabinet members and Michael Byrne as Russian spymaster Anatoli Grushkov. Phil Alden Robinson keeps his finger on the action button, with minimal stops at the exposition station, and the way he handled the big explosion was difficult to watch because of how real it seemed.

Recommended

As I was leaving this morning, another member of the self-inflicted pain brigade held the door open for me and said “This is my favorite exercise, pushing the door open to leave.” I think he held the door open for me just so he could have an audience for his quip.

Still, this was my fifth workout since starting last Thursday and no matter how boring, tiring, painful, or whatever, I am not quitting. You hear that, Mr. Fate?

The NFL is back. Watched the Jets squeeze past the Bills, when their defense barely made it possible, and fellow USC alum Chad Morton did the impossible, running back two kick returns for touchdowns, including the winner.

Also, set up a blog for a friend who shall remain nameless (at least for the time being).

Will be watching the season finales of Sex and the City and The Wire later.

This was Britney making men all over the planet drool again at the MTV Video Music Awards:

After the recent rumors about her hooking up with porn Jenna Jameson to watch hot girl-girl action, one wonders if the singer is looking to move her audience beyond young girls.

This morning’s SJ Mercury News editorial page published a My View column by State Senator John Dutra (D-Freemont) explaining his vote on SB773, legislation that would have given Californians some privacy from the companies with which they do business. The bill was defeated by a very small number of votes, including Dutra’s. I’m sure you’ll find his posturing ridiculous and a blatant attempt to cover his ass from allegations the financial industry bought his vote; I know I did. I wrote the following letter to the editor:

State Senator John Dutra, explaining his vote on the SB773 privacy bill, gives us a pretty good example of why so many people distrust politicians and feel they have no voice against the huge dollars corporations spend on lobbying and campaign donations. Given the recent changes in how the Mercury News reports on Wall St. and other market analysts, by giving a brief statement of their interest, I expected to see something similar accompanying Dutra’s essay. A listing of companies (and their executives) affected by SB773 who’ve donated to his campaign efforts in recent years and perhaps other similar information would be nice.

Specifically, of the three “central problems” Dutra cites with this legislation, I am referring to his second and third items. Some high-tech companies would be adversely affected? Some financial companies would certainly consider the effects adverse, otherwise why lobby against it, but in his first item he points to the unfairness of treating companies differently–surprised me how quickly he lost that thread of logic.

To lose some chances to be marketed at by companies I already do other business with? You mean that steady flow of junk mail might find some gaps on the occasional day? I’m sure my postal carrier would be as happy as me if that might happen. Seriously, the companies can still save their customers money but it might take a little more effort on the part of consumers. Taking some time to educate themselves on what they’re purchasing might end up with more people making more intelligent choices. Even if it cost me a few dollars here or there, though, this is still a small price to pay for keeping some of my vanishing privacy to myself.

I hope that MN columnist Dan Gilmour is right and that we get a real privacy initiative on the ballot soon. As the voters in North Dakota showed, that’s the only way consumers will get any measure of privacy in our current political atmosphere.

Culminating a Summer of increasingly difficult hiking, Byron and his buddy Rob took on Mt. Whitney and beat it like a silly snow toy. Mt Whitney, for those of you unfamiliar with your American geography, is the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states and is a part of the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. If you think you’re up to the challenge, check out this good informational site: The Mt. Whitney Day Hike Page, and then think again.

This photo was taken at the summit, which is (drum roll please) 14,436 feet above sea level:

On the other hand, there are friends like Roger, who had the following response to the picture: “Will those guys who did all those fake Apollo/Man-on-the-Moon pix ever quit?”