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!

Thanksgiving 2001 – I’m thankful, are you?

So tomorrow we’ll mostly all sit down with friends, or family, or even by ourselves and enjoy a day, maybe two, off from work. Insert cliche here. Blah blah blah, right? But how often do you actually think about how good life is for you, how fortunate you are not to be living in a refugee camp just inside the border of Pakistan with a hellacious winter about to come on? I know I don’t think about this often enough. Okay, I don’t have a job right now. But I do have a warm house, food to eat, a nice car to drive, I just got a Tivo, and especially I have friends with whom to share these good times. I am thankful, I hope you are too. Have fun, enjoy the day, enjoy the football, the food, the company, just remember that if you can read this webpage you have it better than most of the people on this planet.

The Anti-Thesaurus

Nicholas Carroll has published a very useful proposal for a new HTML metadata tag named nonwords. This tag would allow web authors to block a given page from showing up in a search engine result set; Carroll points out that he is “embarrassed by drawing in … searchers, when I have no useful information for them” and the page hits use up his resources needlessly as well as wasting the searchers’ time. I think this proposal is useful, meets good design criteria of being minimal and tightly focused, and ought to be watched to see if any search engines (Google, are you listening?) agree to it. [Wes pointed me here.] A well-educated friend says that the proposal reminds him of “the Zen thing about knowing what something is by knowing what it is not…. or Plato’s shadows.”

Toys for well-to-do suburbanites

Scot Peterson, in EWeek (I still have to remember it’s no longer PCWeek), writes about the problems Microsoft is having demonstrating the value of .Net My Services. You mean, besides the clunky name? Good thing, Peterson says, “even Microsoft President Rick Belluzzo appeared as nauseated as I was.” I suppose the MS marketing crew is trying to preserve the purity of the .Net brand by forcing it to be the first word in any product name but would My .Net Services roll off the tongue a whole lot easier?

Testing new TextRouter version

Version 0.40 has lots of nice improvements, fixes a bunch of usability issues, and adds the ability to drag and drop URLs into the editing window. A few more improvements and fixes and he ought to be able to call it a finished 1.0! Cool.

The crankiest man in America

For the twelfth time since 1977, George Carlin brings his Complaints and Grievances to HBO this week. After a humorous five minutes on 9/11, he blasts just about everyone in America. Guys named Todd (and Kyle), parents who put honor roll bumper stickers on their cars, and guys who fly hot air balloons around the world all qualify to have the sh$t beaten out of them, are missing chromosomes and ought to be thrown out of helicopters. Of course, it’s all funny funny funny! The NRA are dickless lunatics–damn I love him! And don’t miss this wild caricature of the man, it truly captures his wild irascibility.

Great Chefs: Guilty Pleasure

Another great cable show that hypnotizes me with the cool anonymous vioceover is Great Chefs (and its cousin Great Chefs of the World). These shows are very simple, every episode features three chefs, one cooks an appetizer/starter, one an entree, and one a dessert. Discovery Channel (you know, the place where they do it) shows this every weekday afternoon except Fridays when they show the unappealing Epicurious. I watch and just get a chill, you know? Doesn’t matter who cooks or what they cook.

CIA goes military?

I remember reading about the CIA and assorted military or quasi-military events back in the day (LOL, ain’t I hip?) or at least back in the ’50s and ’60s, before they got busted in the wake of Watergate. I don’t ever remember reading, though, that the Company had formed an actual military unit. Now, apparently, that has changed and this unit, the Special Activities Staff, is leading the way in closing in on bin Laden. Not really sure how I feel about the news of this group though. I wonder why the CIA needs this capability, instead of just working with an appropriately trained, staffed, and equipped company from the Marines or the Army.

From the Palm to the Brain

Jeff Hawkins is probably the person most responsible for the success of PDAs today, being the original technical vision behind the Palm Pilot and Handspring. But he’s also had a lifelong interest in the workings of the human mind, stemming from a mid-1980s incident at home. And unlike some very rich people who’ve put money into scientific inquiries of personal interest, Hawkins is actually doing original work himself: he has developed the beginings of a theory suggesting that the brain works by anticipating and completing patterns. Cool stuff, eh?

At lunch I discussed Hawkins’ idea with a friend. We digressed a little bit but he brought up an interesting point. Evolution seems to have attempted an optimization in the nature of our brains, trading off the ability to learn from the environment (external stimulus) against speed of response. Accordingly during the first dozen years of life, when human children are most likely to have parental support and protection, brains are very malleable and open to learning; consider, for example, how much quicker children learn a new language than do adults. After that age, humans (until the Industrial Revolution came along) are more or less able to handle themselves and the brain becomes hardwired (my friend used the analogy of an EEPROM burning in a PROM around that age). Interestingly, most cultures’ coming of age ceremonies such as Jewish bar mitzvah and Christian confirmation take place at age 12 or 13.