Category: Personal

Bill may be offline

Due to stubborn or poor negotiators, the AtHome network may shut down tonight after a bankruptcy judge (the apparently not-so-wise Thomas Carlson) gave permission today. So while this site would be unaffected, since it’s hosted independently in Indianapolis, my personal access and therefore ability to update may be interrupted. ATT Broadband (my cable modem ISP) has promised that it has a backup solution in place but there could be a delay of a couple of days to a couple of weeks before I get back online. The judge has suggested that the contesting parties (ATT versus a bunch of creditors) ought to be able to manage to not shut off the service but why should they be able to do it? Who’s representing the customer? Will Bill get screwed once again by his highspeed vendor (after getting left in the lurch by the Northpoint bankruptcy back in March and the inability–incompetence?–of Pac Bell in July)?

I heard the news today, oh boy

George Harrison, the quiet Beatle, died today after a struggle with cancer; he must have known his time was near as he passed away at a friend’s home with family and friends with him. I hope he got his fondest wish, to walk closer with his God. I’m not going to try and write another eulogy or biography of this man but just to pass on my favorite memory of his music. When I was little, in the late 1960s, I used to go rollerskating many Saturday afternoons with Joannie Reich in Livingston, NJ. Joannie was the first girl I ever kissed one Summer afternoon in the closet in my bedroom. When we went skating, we were the only little kids to be out on the rink during couples only skates, since you had to hold hands. Our favorite song to skate to was Harrison’s biggest contribution to the Beatles and still one of my favorite lve songs, “Something.” The lyrics and the gentle melody are so simple and beautiful, two things one ould surely say about the man himself. Harrison did many great things in his life but this will be how I remember him most fondly.

Psychotic and an Adams fan

Clayton Waagner is a seriously dangerous man, a man who feels he “was anointed and called to be God’s Warrior…. He freed me that I might lay down my life for His Will.” God’s will being, of course, the death of large numbers of people who work at abortion clinics; he has made a real threat against 42 such unnamed people. Therefore, Abortion Clinics are on alert across the nation. Steven points out that this is as much a terrorist threat as Al Quaeda albeit on a different scale and deserves a major response from the Bush Administration. But Waagner must also, in some twisted way, be a Douglas Adams fan, that’s the only place I know of where a reference to the number 42 makes a connection.

Understanding our allies in the War on Terror

I have often cited Steven Denbeste, Captain of USS Clueless, in recent months for his masterful analysis of curent events. But in this far from Clueless mini-essay, he takes a close-up view of our European and Arab allies. First he debunks the current mouthings of some sadly mistaken European ministers (lots of hot air), then he looks at the material contributions from other nations in the fighting and whether we could have succeeded without them (we could, although Pakistan and Britain’s assistance was quite useful), before concluding with a piquant note on the Europeans’ realization that “Europe is no longer the center of the universe.”

In a second post, based on a poll just done for The Washington Times and ABC, Steven explains how little Americans care about European attitudes towards our foreign policy and the strong probability that NATO will whither away from (U.S.) neglect.

Chomsky: Still absurd and proud of it

Doc points us to an article in Dawn, a Pakistani publication, reporting on a Nov. 25 Noam Chomsky lecture in Islamabad. The MIT professor has been speaking out against the US government’s response to the September 11 attacks since that day, before any actual American military activity. In this lecture, he essentially equates Al Quaeda and the American government, terming the actions of both the strong victimizing the weak. Mainly, Chomsky uses the lecture to explain how the US has been a violent bully for two hundred years, killing and maiming as it pleases: “The number of victims of US savagery are huge right upto the present moment.” Okay Noam, you can sit down now.

More on oil and security

Recently I argued against the Bush Administration’s claim that drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, ecological considerations aside, is important for national security reasons. Now the Economist chimes in with an article that surely supports my position. In it, various experts’ opinions on the amount of global oil reserves (and therefore years of supply) are discussed. The opinions on when the supply runs out range from early in the next decade to at least 70 years; one of the key differences underlying these estimates is technology. As a firm believer in our ability to continue to make significant strides in technology, I would have to side with the more optimistic experts but I still believe we are better served by keeping our own oil in the ground as long as possible. What if the pessimists are right?

Legality of Muslims detained by US

David Tell, writing in the (ultra-?)conservative Weekly Standard, examines with precision the claim by many that Bush and Ashcroft are overreaching legal bounds through the dentention of many Muslim foreign nationals. The examination was prompted by articles such as Kangaroo Courts by alleged conservative William Safire. Tell pierces these claims quite clearly in the light of Supreme Court precedents (Zadvydas v. Davis and Reno v. Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee) and applies them in frustrating detail to a current deportation case the Feds are pursuing against a top agent of terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Mazen Al-Najjar has been in the United States illegally (his visa expired) since 1985 but due to extensive court maneuvering by his attorneys he is still in America. His attorneys are allowed under US law, amazingly, to argue that since the US has shown Al-Najjar is a terrorist he cannot be deported and must be granted political asylum because “few foreign countries would even consider accepting extradition of such a character, and any that might would very likely persecute him.” Just f-ing amazing! I generally judge myself to be more liberal than conservative but even more enamored of logic than either and this just blows me away.

VCs: Some are trying to learn the lessons

Many people I talk with and read have little or nothing good to say about venture capitalists, even people who’ve made money off of companies for which venture firms provided the financing. Certainly the VCs, along with nearly everyone else here in Silicon Valley, went a little nuts from 1998 until fairly late in 2000 starting and funding companies which had no possible path to profitability. Some of these people are thoughtful, though, and are currently stepping back and assessing how to move forward once again. There are IMO many, many smart people here, perhaps more than anywhere else when it comes to technology, and while the wind may have slackened, it will surely come back and fill the sails again soon.

Bill Gurley, who as far as I know actually made some real money during that time with Benchmark Capital and Hummer Winblad, writes a weekly column for C|Net and in his latest installment looks at the realities of starting a company aimed at an IPO. Robert von Goeben, another writer/VC (Starter Fuid/Redleaf Group), looks at the current realities and sees that many of the people who lost jobs but not hope or ideas in the dot bomb crash are working steadily, if stealthily, on new projects. He says this group is trying to do the right thing, real customer research and real product development, rather than hit up investors for funding first off. Of course, this is the way things should always have been done but I’m heartened to see that people are getting closer in touch with reality.

2210: No more TVs, computers, or hospitals

Frederick Pohl is one of the last authors of science fiction’s Golden Age still actively writing; I was surprised that he’s only 82, since he was writing published stories and editing major magazines in the mid 1930s. Not only is he still writing but some of his most popular and meaningful works have come in recent years, including the Gateway/Heechee series (another title is on the way next year) and Eschaton Sequence. SciFi Weekly has an interesting interview with him in their latest issue. The 2210 reference above, by the way, comes from one of his answers when asked to name five things which will no longer be around in the year 2210. [He] said, “There will not be any computers, television sets, traffic jams, hospitals or airports.” As a kid I loved his collaborations with Cyril Kornbluth, particularly The Space Merchants.

More egoboo: My letter gets published

Recently I wrote an entry disagreeing with Gale Norton’s column claiming that drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is an important national security issue. In short, I argue that America is better off in a national security sense (putting aside ecological issues for discussion purposes) preserving our own portion of the finite supply of oil until others have exhausted theirs; instead the real shortterm drilling interest is oil industry profits. I also sent a slight variant as a letter to the editor of the San Jose Mercury News, where I read the column, and they published it. Due to the paper’s shortsighted web policies, the letter is unlikely to be available after 12/2/01 and for some reason the Wayback Machine doesn’t archive the newspaper’s site. Still, I love seeing my name on paper even if the boost is illusory.

You have to know when to keep your mouth shut

After years of flying on commercial jets, I understand explicitly that you don’t joke about bombs or guns or any kind of weapon in an airport or on a plane. In the wake of the 9/11 terror this admonition is even more important. To do so is just tempting a nasty fate. Loveland Adjei, a British citizen, didn’t understand this and spent a month in hell as a result. One can watch shows like Oz and Law and Order all day and all night but that just can’t prepare you for the realities of a place like New York’s Rikers Island jail. Sample quote from Mr. Adjei on his experience: “The guards don’t care. They treat inmates like animals and the food served you wouldn’t give to a dog. I’ve now got a bad back because I slept on a concrete slab for a month.” All this happened because a nervous stewardess misunderstood his original comment but the whole episode underlines the simple reality that one just doesn’t make weapons-related jokes in or around airplanes, unless one enjoys the company of nasty and dangerous men.

Jim Rome: Sports Idiot

Driving in the car this morning to mail my mom’s birthday card, I happened to have The Ticket 1050 on the radio left over from yesterday’s NFL action. Mornings they broadcast an opinionated idiot named Jim Rome who, amazingly enough, also has a show on the Fox Sports Channel. This guy talks and talks about athletes and teams and spews his opinions as if he were that other radio idiot Rush Limbaugh. A further parallel is that Rome calls his fans Clones, just like Limbaugh and his Dittoheads. Hey, you all know that Limbaugh wanted to audition for the Monday Night Football job that Dennis Miller got, right? The producers had two words for him: Yeah right.

Back to the SportsIdiot. This morning he was ragging on Martin and Bill Grammatica, brothers who are placekickers in the NFL (Tampa Bay and Arizona, respectively). I have no clue why Rome was so upset, he seems to feel that placekickers should not celebrate after making field goals because these guys aren’t really football players. Hmm, if placekickers aren’t football players, how come they take up roster slots? How come primetime teams like the Raiders take them in the first round of the draft? I’m not as familiar with Bill (although I know he kicked a gamewinner with almost no time left yesterday) but Martin’s nickname is Automatica Grammatica–in three seasons he has yet to miss a point after–which tells you how good he is.

And Rome had the nerve to say he hoped there was no third Grammatica brother to come into the league because he couldn’t stand it. He actually addressed this part to the Grammaticas’ mother! I mean, insulting professional athletes is, I suppose, something they have to accept in this day but to talk to a mother? Puh-leez! I’m happy to report that the SportsIdiot had to eat his words five minutes later after some listener, who Rome wasn’t man enough to put on the air, told him that there is a third brother, he currently kicks in college, and in all likelihood will make it to the NFL soon; of course the SportsIdiot claimed he knew of this younger brother all along, he just preferred to pretend the guy didn’t exist.

I’m going to be very happy for a long time and pretend Jim Rome doesn’t exist and I advise you to do the same.

Buy a friend, cheap

There are many conveniences one can buy in this day and age. But one that, hmm, really sticks in my craw is Friend to Friend. For only $2.99 per minute, you can call this 800 number service and someone, their TV commercial promises, will listen attentively and perhaps even offer suggestions that can help you get that promotion you missed out on or offer companionship that replaces a dead spouse. Oh yeah, only $180 per hour–damn even psychologists don’t get that kind of money. This appears to be a project of Michael Beskin but who knows? I suppose I could call and ask, eh?

College football: Upsets lead to predictions

I was challenged to put my forecast for this week’s AP Top 10 down on paper but I prefer bits to graphite. Nebraska and Oklahoma were the number 2 and 4 teams before losing yesterday, meaning that neither team will make it to the Big 12 championship game next Saturday nor will they be getting the Big 12’s automatic Bowl Championship Series bid; I expect Nebraska is likely to get an at-large BCS slot though. Anyway, here’s how I see the AP Top 10 (the writer’s poll, not the coaches poll) that will be published later today:

1. Miami: Unquestionable after their 65-7 destruction of #12 Washington.

2. Florida: Rex Grossman is driving this team and will pass all over Tennessee next week.

3. Texas: Just because they played yesterday.

4. Oregon: Just because they didn’t play yesterday.

5. Nebraska: 62-36? The Cornhuskers don’t give up that many points most seasons.

6. Tennessee: Not going to stay this high for long.

7. Maryland: ACC champs, throwing aside Florida State and their nine years on top.

8. Oklahoma: No chance to repeat now.

9. BYU: Sorry boys but you actually have to play teams that win more than twice to have your wins mean anything.

10. Illinois: Thursday win against Northwestern not impressive enough to move up.

BCS Bowl pick bonus: I think Miami will beat Florida by less than 10 in the Rose Bowl to win the national title. Oregon will beat Illinois in the Fiesta. Texas beats Maryland in the Sugar Bowl. Nebraska beats Tennessee in the Orange. I’m a little doubtful that Tennessee makes a BCS game after they lose to Florida next week but even more doubtful that the Big 12 gets three teams in (goodbye Oklahoma) and that BYU even gets a consideration. I was thinking of the SEC West winner but Auburn fell out of the Top 20 by losing to Alabama and Alabama, the only other team with a chance to win the division isn’t even ranked.

Update: Well, not too bad. I had the first four, five and six switched, seven straight on, my ten was eight, I didn’t even have nine, and my nine was ten:

1. Miami

2. Florida

3. Texas

4. Oregon

5. Tennessee

6. Nebraska

7. Maryland

8. Illinois

9. Colorado

10. BYU

Bowl picture: ESPN is speculating that Colorado may get the second BCS at-large bid even if they lose to Texas Saturday. I don’t see it, even though Tennessee will drop a few slots when they lose to Florida. Nebraska, Illinois, and Maryland are done until the bowls and Colorado has to drop as well if they lose. I’ll stick with my predictions.

Call Noah, get the boat!

Okay, so I may just not be used to big storms of any kind these days but the rain this morning is heavy! Coming down in proverbial buckets. Here, see if you believe me:

  

Do either of these show how nasty the weather is here in Mountain View this early Saturday morning? I wonder if the rain has anything to do with my not getting a paper delivered. The forecast says the rain will stay fairly strong until afternoon, when we may get (oh joy) thunderstorms, with the precipitation petering out overnight–but then rain again Monday night and later in the week.

Update: Well, it’s 3:00 and the rain is still coming down, we had some thunder and lightening within the last half hour, but my house has floated away. Maybe it will still be here tomorrow.

Good deal: No PFA strike

Players, Premier League reach deal to avert a Football Association strike Dec. 1. We hardly get enough English soccer here as it is and this would have messed up some good matches. Amusing from an American perspective as they were fighting over all of about $15 million, far less than what’s at stake in our pro league player negotiations. Heck, Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds will both get more than that per year in their new contracts.

National Security and Drilling the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

President Bush and his friends in the Republican party and the oil industry (as if you could tell them apart) have long advocated opening the pristine wilderness of the ANWR to oil drillers. Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton, essentially hated by the entire ecology/conservation movement, has stepped up the debate this week by arguing that such drilling is now a matter of national security (sorry, that link may not work after 11/28/01 due to shortsighted Knight-Ridder policies). Ecological arguments aside, on the face of it this is an absurd argument.

Back in 1972, the Club of Rome released a report called The Limits to Growth, which was about the depletion of the Earth’s natural resources. This book alarmed many people although it was ultimately proven to be far too pessimistic. Still, the report and the surrounding furor did make at least one point clear: the Earth does not have infinite quantities of natural resources. Be it 20 years or 120 years, there is only so much petroleum in the ground. My opinion is that we will get to a point where any and all oil in the ground will be fair game, although technology will allow us to minimize the impact on the terrain.

In the meanwhile, I believe that our real national security interest lies in preserving our own supply and allowing other nations to tap and sell theirs. What’s the big deal about giving them $19 (today’s price) or $35 (last year) a barrel now so that we have as much oil to tap years from now when it will be a much more precious resource. The oil industry, of course, isn’t really that concerned about the national security implications but are quite concerned about raising their nearterm revenues and profits. Could it be that the overwhelmingly close ties between the oil industry and the Republican party is causing the Republicans to miss the realities of this decision?

My Micro-advertising experiment, part 1

Well, all of the Pyrad impressions on Blogger.com for which I paid have been delivered; somehow the service actually gave me a bonus of three extra views. Pyrads is reporting 24 click throughs, or a 0.719% rate, but I believe there were actually nearly twice that many given what I saw in my referrer logs. Between this advertising, my mention in WinerLog, and good fortune, I had over 600 visitors in the last week, far more than any week since I launched the site. Woohoo! I think I might try a MetaFilter micro-ad next week and see what that delivers. Still, it’s all in fun and for egoboo.

Still more good fortune

For the third year in a row, I was happy to be invited to share the holiday with my buddy Byron and his family. What a great meal! Far too much food, I could have burst on the drive home. Thanks to Pam for the great stuffed mushroom recipe. Anyway, here are a few pictures. I like this one, of me and Byron:

Just looking at my belt, you can see how good the food was, thanks to Mrs. Nevins and Caroline!

The thanks of a grateful nation

In the first hours and days after September 11 I found myself crying when I thought about the people killed in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the four planes. The tears would come especially easy when I saw the people on TV who were searching Manhattan for their missing loved ones. I am so thankful that no one I know or love was killed that day. And I’m thankful for the police officers, firefighters, emergency response workers, and others who gave or risked their lives when responding. That was only 10 weeks ago but it seems like another lifetime as we’ve gone through the buildup to war, the anthrax, the war itself, and the changes (including some that seem ill-advised) since then.

But we’re still here. And beyond the families that the terrorists destroyed and dismembered, there are still people who need our help. Please reach out to Network for Good and see how you can help. Show the people around you who are hurting, hungry, homeless, cold, or sick that you care enough to share your good fortune with them. Go Nike on the bad things, Just Do it!