Keelhauling

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June 30, 2002

I was browsing through a

I was browsing through a real estate listings magazine I picked up from my hotel in New York -- just because I like to look at houses, not from any intent to move -- and I came across a house that I really, really like. Found it online. I love this house. It is unfortunately (1) located in Connecticut (too cold for me!), and (2) out of my price range. Nevertheless... It looks like it has just the right combination of elegant and sophisticated, gracious and warm, and grown-up's club house.

Posted by John at 12:35 AM | Comments (0)

Browsing around my friend Stephen's

Browsing around my friend Stephen's web site today. He has a section for quotes that he likes. It's always interesting to see people's lists, particularly when you know them. Stephen had one quote (actually it's a list) up there that surprised me, since it was from none other than Chuck Norris, featuring Chuck's 12 Rules to Live By. As a movie star, Chuck doesn't do it for me. As a karate practitioner and public advocate for the sport, and as a relatively famous guy who gives of himself with time and money to promote worthy causes (especially involving children), Chuck is a model citizen. These 12 points provide a good set of guidelines for living your life. Food for thought over the weekend.

Posted by John at 12:12 AM | Comments (0)

June 29, 2002

SatireWire has a pretty clever

SatireWire has a pretty clever little piece entitled, "I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for Which it Stands, One Nation, (Sponsorship Opportunities Available), Indivisible, With Liberty and Justice For All."

Posted by John at 11:35 PM | Comments (0)

June 28, 2002

So here's our high school

So here's our high school graduate!  Despite many hurdles along the road to academic success, he emerged victorious and is off to college this summer.  For Julie and me, that's one down, three to go.  On graduation night, the school of course held a graduation party and had an artist doing caricatures of the graduates.  Travis' picture came out great.  It is really amazing to see how someone with an artist's eye and drawing talent can capture the face, with personality, in just a few lines.  Congratulations Travis!

Posted by John at 11:11 PM | Comments (0)

This week Microsoft announced in

This week Microsoft announced in a Newsweek exclusive their new project, Palladium. It's supposedly designed to make the Internet safer, basically by attaching digital certificates that establish the originator to every page, every message, every byte. PBS' Bob Cringely has what I think is a more accurate spin on the story, sort of "How I Stole the Internet" as attempted by the Redmond gang.

Posted by John at 10:38 PM | Comments (0)

Now the cartoonists are up

Now the cartoonists are up in arms over the criticism they receive for tactless, insensitive and anti-American cartoons they try and get published. This strikes me as hilarious -- like it could be the tide-turning announcement -- "Oh, no! The cartoonists are feeling threatened! Maybe this campaign to mobilize Americans around the issue of anti-terrorism really is bordering on censorship..." People are confused about freedom of speech. [Just like the pledge of allegiance business -- if you don't like it, don't say it.] Cartoonists do not have a constitutionally guaranteed right to have their distasteful drawings published. They have the right to draw them and not get arrested for it. The rest of us also have a right to get mad at idiots who draw cartoons featuring "the president flying a plane marked "Bush budget" into the twin towers marked 'Social and 'Security'." That's not funny. It's not witty or insightful or anything good. If a newspaper runs it, people get pissed and write letters. And maybe stop buying papers. The whining in this article is funnier than most of the cartoons.

Posted by John at 12:08 AM | Comments (0)

June 27, 2002

Mailwasher. Going to install it

Mailwasher. Going to install it this weekend myself and give it a try. Looks like the real deal, including interfaces to ORDB and SpamCop, and it's almost free (if you like it and use it, you should make a donation). I'll let you know.

Posted by John at 11:54 PM | Comments (0)

Blah, blah, blah pledge of

Blah, blah, blah pledge of allegiance. I'm not even going there. The nutjob up in Sacramento needs to get a life. I DO understand why 49.5 out of the 50 states think people from the Bay area are just insane, and he's not helping our image. I did like this little history lesson on the pledge, though.

Posted by John at 11:52 PM | Comments (0)

June 24, 2002

You know the definition of

You know the definition of a camel: a horse designed by committee. Well, when scientists redesign a human being, you get "a 6-year-old with pointy ears on steroids."

Posted by John at 03:41 PM | Comments (0)

Accenture allegedly spent $1 billion

Accenture allegedly spent $1 billion changing their name to distance themselves from the accounting firm of Arthur Andersen, a move which, in light of the Enron debacle, was absolutely brilliant. Now Price Waterhouse Coopers' PwC Consulting is following suit, changing their name to "Monday". The URL www.introducingmonday.com redirects you www.monday.com, which looks more like a corporate placeholder that's "under contruction" than a full-fledged consultancy's web site. And Monday needs to learn to think in international terms. Aside from the fact that everybody hates Monday, this move is looking decidedly less brilliant.

[Click here for the Boomtown Rats' "I Don't Like Mondays".]

Posted by John at 06:44 AM | Comments (0)

I saw a short piece

	I saw a short piece on ABC News about racial profiling, then received this email forwarded by a friend. Even given the relatively high level of attention that racial profiling has received in this environment of heightened security, and all the arguments about how defensible it might or might not be,
I have to admit that if I were screening passengers boarding airplanes I might give this guy some extra attention. I can only hope He would understand.

Posted by John at 06:42 AM | Comments (0)

June 23, 2002

In less than two weeks,

In less than two weeks, the 6 billionth can of Spam will roll off the assembly line. Buck Wolf expounds on the wonders and the historical significance of "America's Paté de Foie Gras."

Posted by John at 07:54 PM | Comments (0)

Travis' High School graduation photos

Travis' High School graduation photos are up.

Posted by John at 01:01 PM | Comments (0)

June 22, 2002

Everything from Peter Pan and

Everything from Peter Pan and Aesop's Fables to Sherlock Holmes and Moby Dick, all online. Project Gutenberg is now adding new complete online text versions of books at the rate of over 1,000 per year. This is an excellent resource whether you're searching for that famous quote, researching a term paper, or just want to catch up on some light reading. Mostly books from pre-1923, as there are no copyrighted works here (all public domain), but what a treasure trove!

Posted by John at 11:13 AM | Comments (0)

Baby, honey, sweetie, luv, sunshine,

Baby, honey, sweetie, luv, sunshine, darling. If you live in Malaysia, the government wants you to call your significant other "darling". They are taking this drastic step in an effort to reduce the divorce rate. A recent survey reports that "honey" and "sweetie" are the preferred nicknames, though. Or you can choose one of your own. This is very good thing. I do this all the time and highly recommend it. It not only serves to remind your lover that you think they are special, but it reminds you that you think that, too.

It's long been one of my pet peeves that married couples forget the little things, like common courtesy and terms of affection, things that were probably elements in the equation that drew them together in the first place. People treat strangers who come to the door with more respect and courtesy than they treat their spouse or their children! That's just wrong, and we've promised each other we wouldn't let that happen to us. So far, we've been married 19 years, so it seems to be working.

Posted by John at 02:37 AM | Comments (0)

June 21, 2002

OK, so I should open

OK, so I should open my brokerage statements. I should NOT just throw them in a drawer and reconcile them at tax time each year. I know this. I'm a trained financial manager, fer Pete's sake. If I were a little more disciplined about managing my affairs, I would have known that my broker had changed banking relationships and we wouldn't have written a check against that defunct account to deposit in the bank account. After we had written all the expense checks. Right before I took off for New York for the week. Right before Julie took off for Mexico. On a mission trip, with kids from the church in tow. Now at this point, if you're me, all the horror stories of trying to get mistakes rectified through the customer service departments of financial institutions come to mind. Particularly dealing with it from out of town, and trying to get access to the ATM machine for my wife in Mexico. But I have to commend Bank of America on this one. They not only helped me fix the problem, they came up with creative ways to help Julie out as well, refunded the returned items charges and cleared the outstanding checks. Lydia, the rep who was on the phone with me for over an hour, came up with all the solutions and stuck with it until every wrinkle was ironed out. That's a "10" on my customer service scale. Maybe they should put her on the case to help find the Kingdom of Tonga's money. I'll bet she could do it. King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV would be a happy ruler indeed.

Posted by John at 01:58 PM | Comments (0)

June 15, 2002

According to this map, I

According to this map, I live 12.8 miles from the nearest nuclear waste route, and 82.4 miles from Rancho Seco, the nearest waste source. That's good news, I guess. It's kind of strange to see a map with an agenda all its own, but this is still good info to have. Enter your street address and zip code, and find out.

Posted by John at 06:17 AM | Comments (0)

June 14, 2002

One of the most recently

One of the most recently discovered dangers inherent in being keelhauled is that the Bloop might get you. [link via MeFi] As if the shark attacks were not enough (although an interesting sidebar is that more people are killed by falling coconuts each year than by sharks, so don't tease the palm trees). Anyway, our main interest here is the Bloop, which scientists are guessing is "most likely to be biological in origin". Some spectrographic analysis of the sound is also provided to lend credence to the theory that it's a really, really big animal. The sound that is made by the Bloop has been picked up - simultaneously - by sonar sensors 3,000 miles apart! And there's an audio clip. The audio is sped up by a factor of 16x to make the sound more discernable in the human hearing range. BTW, 50ºS 100ºW is where it was heard, and those coordinates put you about 1,000 miles off the southern coast of Chile, off the western side of South America. Here's what I would like to know. If this was picked up in 1997 as stated in the article, why is it hitting the news on CNN today? Who's been sitting on this, and why?

Posted by John at 12:53 AM | Comments (0)

June 08, 2002

Your geek quotient has to

Your geek quotient has to be pretty high in order for you to be fascinated by an online Periodic Table of the Elements. Ok, I am fascinated. Drill down and be amazed. If you get really excited, sponsor an element!

Posted by John at 10:21 AM | Comments (0)

June 06, 2002

iFilms has the XBOX commercial

iFilms has the XBOX commercial that was pulled before it ever aired. I like it. Fast and clever.

Posted by John at 09:44 PM | Comments (0)

Know the signs. 18 to

Know the signs.
18 to 25 feet tall. Silent.
Right hand up. Left hand down.

This is one of the most interesting little web projects I have ever seen. Beware The Secret Plot of the Muffler Men. Although I linked roadsideamerica.com many months ago, they've been adding to the site with new jewels such as this one. [link swiped from MeFi]

Posted by John at 09:26 PM | Comments (0)

Sometimes basic economics overrules even

Sometimes basic economics overrules even my Mom's rules. Mom always said, "Make sure you get a fixed rate mortgage when you buy a house. Don't get one of the adjustables where the rate can go up on you." But when we refinanced our mortgage 3 years ago, I told my wife (hey, I have the economics degree here, so I'm the family expert on the topic) that interest rates were headed down worldwide, and even though the dotcom bubble was going strong at the time, interest rates were not rising. So we opted for an adjustable rate mortgage, figuring we would save a lot at least during the first three years compared to a fixed rate mortgage which had an interest rate nearly 2% higher. And maybe rates would continue to go down. The "teaser rate" period just expired and we moved to a fully indexed T-bill +2.787%, and the rate dropped. My monthly payment effective 7/1 will go down $501.57. Whee!

Even a busted clock is right twice a day.

Now, Olympic Funding is offering a 1 year jumbo Treasury ARM with an interest of only 2.200% rate locked in for three years. Potential negative amortization, of course, but with a little discipline a rate that low can save you a LOT of money. Time to refinance? Hmmm, tempting... have to crunch some numbers now.

Posted by John at 12:01 AM | Comments (0)

June 05, 2002

For one of the best

For one of the best introductions to RSS I've seen, visit your non-techie librarian, Steve Cohen. Excellent overview of Rich Site Summary feeds and how to use them in your web browsing. Unfortunately, most of the web sites I frequent, which are financial services technology related, are still in email distribution mode only, with no XML options available. Still, I can dream.

Posted by John at 11:18 PM | Comments (0)

And you thought you would

And you thought you would never learn anything useful in Social Studies. How about How To Flirt? This is a great article, although it does drain some of the fun out of the discussion when it's couched in social studies language. "If, on the other hand, your target avoids making eye contact with you, or looks away after a fraction of a second and does not look back again, you should probably assume that your interest is not returned. There is still the possibility that your target is just a very shy person". From the friendly and flirtacious folks down at the Social Issues Research Center (SIRC). Probably operating under some $200 million grant from the Federal government to study this stuff (which would be a more productive use than usual of my tax dollars).

Posted by John at 10:58 PM | Comments (0)

An entertaining diversion as Dave

An entertaining diversion as Dave Itzkoff, formerly an editor at Maxim magazine, rips his former employer. "...whatever Maxim once was or ever hoped to be, it is currently a magazine that has no ideology." (Maxim? Ideology? Is he smoking dope?) Somehow Dave's diatribe on the utter uniformity of the magazine's layout month after month and the formulaic nature of the content fails to elicit the degree of sympathy he seems to be looking for. Did he think he was going to work for The New Yorker, or The Economist? I'm not a regular reader, but I've seen the mag, and it seems doubtful that 2.3 million guys buy it for the hard hitting commentary and groundbreaking analysis of current events. Geesh.

Posted by John at 10:49 PM | Comments (0)

I put up some simple

I put up some simple instructions for creating your own web site, as several friends have requested it. This is definitely the non-technical approach. Feedback welcome.

Posted by John at 04:41 PM | Comments (0)

June 04, 2002

I hope when I'm 63

I hope when I'm 63 years old, I have developed a little intelligence, learned from my experience. Unlike some people. Evel Knievel wants to stage a return, and is interested in jumping again. I wonder why? Does he just miss the limelight? Or is it ego driven? Or maybe he's just bored.

Posted by John at 04:05 PM | Comments (0)

June 02, 2002

Word of the Day: apoptosis

Word of the Day: apoptosis
Read about it and learn. After all, it may hold the key to a cure for cancer.

Posted by John at 11:18 PM | Comments (0)

Along the same lines as

Along the same lines as the previous post, it turns out my friend Miguel is a close friend of Marcelo Gleiser, Appleton Professor of Natural Philosophy and professor of physics and astronomy at Dartmouth college, and author of The Dancing Universe, which Kirkus Reviews describes as "An attempt to bridge the gap between spiritual and scientific inquiries into the nature and origins of the universe". And in case you're wondering how it's all going to end, Gleiser has written a new one, The Prophet and the Astronomer : A Scientific Journey to the End of Time. [From Amazon.com, "Buy Together Today: $29.34"!] Gleiser was doing a book signing at Cody's Books in Berkeley tonight, but after all the kids activities today, Julie and I just didn't have the energy. I will, however, read his first book. I'm interested in any intelligent and open-minded approach to tie together the weird and wonderful nature of our universe. Maybe Marcelo can explain the precognition thing.

Posted by John at 12:52 AM | Comments (0)

Dick Bierman, of the University

Dick Bierman, of the University of Amsterdam, can rock your cosmology. Check out this article in the current Wired, whic says in part,
"On Tuesday, Dick Bierman of the University of Amsterdam presented a report that shook a few foundations.
     He repeated and amplified earlier work that studies emotional responses to shocking or erotic imagery, seconds before the subject sees the randomly timed stimulus.
     Bierman's first study, published in 2000 in the book Toward A Science of Consciousness III, found his subjects' skin conductance change one or more seconds before the disturbing or sexually explicit images appeared. Yet when mundane images randomly mixed in with the shocking ones were shown, subjects' skin "presponded" differently.
     Bierman's work may have revealed a crude ability to sense the future, much like the "precogs" in the forthcoming Steven Spielberg movie Minority Report, even if this skill only spans a few heartbeats.
     On Tuesday he presented new magnetic resonance imagery from a similar experiment that confirms this result. More strikingly, he also found the same "pre-sentiment" effect when he re-examined two related studies performed by other independent research teams."

Now there's a good one to ponder on a lazy Sunday morning.

Posted by John at 12:37 AM | Comments (0)

The whole concept of a

The whole concept of a malicious web site bothers me.

Posted by John at 12:32 AM | Comments (0)

June 01, 2002

On April 20 when I

On April 20 when I got online I got the popup box notifying me that a new version of Internet Explorer was available. I checked it out, found out it was version 6.0 and upgraded. Twenty-five (25) days later, Microsoft unveils the first security patch. If you have the stomach for it, read the technical documentation. Six-oh has more holes in it than a pair of cheap nylons. So anyway, my friends, download the patch. It will close some of the gaping holes that hackers could exploit. (At least it will block some of the stupider hackers. I have a funny feeling that in order to have a really secure product, we'll have to wait for the next patch, and the next one, and the next one...)

Think I'm kidding? You better go check your C:\Windows\ directory. See if you have a file called bvt.exe. If so, you're infected with the Backdoor worm. Symantec (Norton Anti-Virus) offers this observation, which ought to thoroughly freak you out: "This file is usually obtained by visiting a malicious Web site that then attempts to download and install CoolStuff.cab to your computer." Symantec fix here. {Thanks to Dean at Paxtonland for the link, and he notes that he had to run the fix program in safe mode to get around the virus.]

Posted by John at 11:56 PM | Comments (0)

An excellent -- although Mac-centric

An excellent -- although Mac-centric -- overview article on the CD copy-protection schemes now being deployed, including the best explanation of the magic marker trick that I have seen. The RIAA is evil, and any solutions to work around copy protection are OK in my book. If I buy music, I should OWN it for my own personal use, and I should be free to make tapes from my CDs, CDs from my tapes, and yes, even CDs from my CDs. Travis made a bunch of copies of CDs to play in his car, and when they all got ripped off he was upset, but not heartbroken -- at least they're replacable. I do check the copy-protection list when I head for Borders to freshen up the music supply, and you should too.

Posted by John at 12:50 AM | Comments (0)

I saw the LAX airport

I saw the LAX airport monitor earlier this week and sent it to a couple of friends, but didn't take the time to log it here. Until now. This is a nifty little near-real-time simulation of the current air traffic around LAX. Click on the 96-mile perspective button down on the bottom right, and I guarantee you'll be glad you gave up your plans to be an air traffic controller. Pushing tin, indeed. Makes me want to take a bus. The disclaimer down at the bottom is unintentionally hilarious.

Posted by John at 12:35 AM | Comments (0)