Cool Streets of San Francisco

They've been talking about this event in San Francisco for months, mainly because it was blocked for months by PO'd residents of Pacific Heights. Still, a picture of stunt skiing with Alcatraz in the background is not something you see every day. They hauled in tons of shaved ice, lined a hill with it, and had a birthday celebration, contest, and publicity stunt for local Marin county boy and now Cal student Jonny Moseley. Sick, dude, as Jonny would say.

Yale Women vs. Yale Women

I wondered whether this article by Yale grad Louise Story would cause a stir at Yale.

The interviews found that 85 of the students, or roughly 60 percent, said that when they had children, they planned to cut back on work or stop working entirely. About half of those women said they planned to work part time, and about half wanted to stop work for at least a few years.

It only took a little bit of poking around on the YDN web site to see a response.

The only evidence Story referenced to prove this thesis was a subjective and misleading study. Only 138 undergraduate women at Yale responded to an e-mail survey, but The Times presented this self-selected sample as representative of all women at elite colleges. Any student in Statistics 100 would know that conclusions drawn from such a poorly designed survey are wholly unreliable due in large part to response bias.

Personally, I liked the two respondents who said they expected their husband to stay home.

Forthrightness

Via one of those lefty blogs I like to read, I saw this article about Tony Blair's new head of his Joint Intelligence Committee. This is the kind of tell-it-like-it-is civil servant we should be looking for. Read down through the paragraph starting with "It was subsequently announced that both Ms Moore and Mr Sixsmith had resigned" to see what I mean.

Hot Food

I mentioned a while back about a guy at work who was going to a class to learn how to breathe fire. It wasn't exactly what he envisioned, but if you're interested in how it went, here is his report.

Pres. Bush sells LA back to the French

BATON ROUGE, LA. - The White House announced today that President Bush has successfully sold the state of Louisiana back to the French at more than double its original selling price of $11,250,000.

"This is a bold step forward for America," said Bush. "And America will be stronger and better as a result. I stand here today in unity with French Prime Minister Jack Sharaq, who was so kind to accept my offer of Louisiana in exchange for 25 million dollars cash."

The state, ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, will cost hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild.

"Jack understands full well that this one's a 'fixer upper,'" said Bush. "He and the French people are quite prepared to pump out all that water, and make Louisiana a decent place to live again. And they've got a lot of work to do. But Jack's assured me, if it's not right, they're going to fix it."

The move has been met with incredulity from the beleaguered residents of Louisiana.

"Shuba-pie!" said New Orleans resident Willis Babineaux. "Frafer-perly yum kom drabby sham!"

However, President Bush's decision has been widely lauded by Republicans.

"This is an unexpected but brilliant move by the President," said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. "Instead of spending billions and billions, and billions of dollars rebuilding the state of Louisiana, we've just made 25 million dollars in pure profit."

"This is indeed a smart move," commented Fox News analyst Brit Hume. "Not only have we stopped the flooding in our own budget, we've made money on the deal. Plus, when the god-awful French are done fixing it up, we can easily invade and take it back again."

The money gained from 'T'he Louisiana Refund' is expected to be immediately pumped into the rebuilding of Iraq.

This article submitted by BSNews contributor Ben Spierenburg 9/06/05

Are We There Yet?

I thought this article in the SF Chronicle magazine was amusing and interesting. It centers around a guy who claims to be the "World's Most Traveled Man." What it's really about is being obsessed by traveling, and the obscure competition that goes on between an elite club of people:

If you can name it -- and, especially, if you can't -- [Charles] Veley has probably been there. He has, by his own count, set foot in 518 different countries, territories and islands, which he believes puts him far ahead of any other country collector. And while most of his rivals have filled their passports over a lifetime of travel -- many are in their 70s and 80s -- Veley has done it all in just five years.

His claim of being the world's most traveled person seems pretty unassailable -- except that there's another guy in the Bay Area [Jeff Shea] who asserts that he, not Veley, is the world's most traveled person.

"Charles is a nice guy, but his claim is bogus," Shea says. "I've seen a lot more of the world than he has, hands down. I am the world's most traveled person."

And then there is the guy who had the Guinness Book of World Records citation:

John Clouse, an 80-year-old practicing attorney from Evansville, Indiana, was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's ultimate traveler for a decade. It cost him, among other things, six marriages, and he doesn't like the idea of giving up his title.

"It's a competitive sport now," he says. "Charles gets off the plane, bops around and gets back on. I don't mean to sound mean-spirited -- he's been very kind to me -- but he wants me to surrender my sword."

Who knew? A fun read with a bit of weirdness and quirkiness mixed in with backstabbing.

Which Is Real?

In accordance with the unwittingly signed joke law, construction begins on Yellowstone's 15th hole.

First story:

A bill introduced by Sen. George Allen (R-VA) as "just a goof" several weeks ago was signed into law by President Bush Tuesday.

S. 1718, also known as the Preservation Of Public Lands Of America Act, authorized a shift of $138 billion from the federal Medicare fund to a massive landscaping effort that, over the next five years, will transform Yellowstone National Park into a luxury private golf estate.

Second story:

House Resources chairman Richard Pombo is circulating a draft of a bill that would sell 15 national parks and require the National Park Service to raise millions of dollars by selling the naming rights to visitors' centers and trails.

Pombo's spokesman said the proposal [...] is intended only to influence lawmakers to support an item in the budget bill that would permit oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

We report, you decide.

Down East

I got a call yesterday from A.J. and he informed me they will be moving to the Pa. next spring. I was a little surprised but very happy to know we will have more family nearby. It must be more than a little difficult to leave the tropical paradise of Ha. but his motivations seemed valid and opportunity presented itself with good timing. I'm sure Ursalas family is happy also, Tommy has more frequent flyer miles at 1 year old than I ever got in my life.

Working Man

Garrett today joined the wild world of the employed. He's working at GameStop in Redwood City. Aside from making use of his extensive knowledge to get unsuspecting kids hooked on inappropriate video games at an early age, he gets early access to new games himself. Anyway, it's pretty exciting! Way to go, Garrett!

1st Annual Relay By The Bay

I was sorry to miss the Vineyard Adventure over last weekend, but I have had our American Cancer Society Relay For Life scheduled that weekend for what felt like forever. My neighbor, Claudia, asked me to co-chair the first annual Relay By The Bay in North East with her. We've spent the last 7-8 months getting the event together and she would have never forgiven me if I didn't show. Claudia is a vetran and has done chaired relay's 7 times in the past. I, as usual, had no clue what I signed up for but jumped in with both feet.

A short version of what Relay For Life is that it is ACS' signature event and where ACS generates most of its funds to support their efforts in cancer research, education, and services. It is a walking team event, with 8-15 people on a team and is usually held at a school track. In our case, we were blessed to have the NE Community Park. It is a wonderful little park on the water with a .4 mile trail - (you can see our house from there). The event starts Friday and ends Saturday. There is supposed to be a member of the team walking throughout the entire event, signifying the 24/7 struggle with cancer.

Having always been a participant in these types of events, and a cyclist at that, I wasn't familiar with Relay and had no clue how things actually come together. I guess I just thought they happened magically. I've now learned they are the result of very hard work, persistence, and a wonderful group of individuals dedicated to the cause at hand.

Relay has a couple of standard events that have to happen, the rest of the event morphs around the personality of the community and committee members. There is the opening ceremony, which we started with the NE Elementry School kids singing the National Anthem at 6:00 PM. The kids were SO EXCITED about being asked to participate that they wouldn't leave their teach alone. "Is it this Friday Mr. Fite?"... They did a wonderful job. Too cute!

Next, the survivors & their caregivers take the first lap, led by the NE High School Marching Band. The band was GREAT! Who knew? It was a wonderful way to start. At 8:00 PM we had the luminaria ceremony. Luminaria are candles & sand placed inside paper bags that have been purchased "donated at $5 per" and inscribed with notes like "in memory of " or "in celebration of " someone who has fought cancer - successfully or not. The luminaria filled and placed around the track by a herd of boy scouts. Under an almost full moon, the candles were lit, the bag-piper played Amazing Grace and walks the track alone as the sound floated off down the river. Everyone follows on the next lap looking for their particular luminary(s). Needless to say, its pretty somber for a bit and very moving. We had over 300 luminaria for our little bitty town. Amazing how many people have been touched by Cancer in their lives.

After that, things perk back up, bands play, and the walk continues. Families & friends make up the teams and seemed to really enjoy themselves. Kids raged on the play ground or were pulled around the track in wagons. People played catch, joined the line dancing demonstration, visited... We had a DJ who was fantastic and 3 blues bands that played throughout the event - each one was better than the other. There was plenty of food & beverages. We had Jazzercise, Karate Demos, skin cancer screening, Reikki, Yoga, sand art, horse drawn carriage rides, and last but not least, the walk itself over the next 12 hours.

Even after all that time it felt like the only people who would show up would be the same 12 committee members we had been working with all along. By 3:00, teams were pouring in. By 7:00 PM, I walked out to bring some food & water to the High School kids handling the parking and I saw the huge empty field was no longer empty. It was full of cars & people. Tears leaked out. It really happened, people really came, and they were having a great time! Over 350 people signed in and I'm sure there were many that didn't.

Being that we are a tiny little town and it was our first year, we had goals set of 20 teams and $15,000. In the end, we ended up with 17 teams and raised over $50,000. The final figures are not in, but we are over that at this point.

It was humbling and truly an honor to be a part of it. Now - off to recoup in Paris for 5 days!

Busy Week

This week is Oracle World. There are something like 30,000 attendees in downtown SF. I have a bunch of meetings and evening engagements, so I probably won't be blogging until the weekend.

As I was standing somewhere near the Oracle-sponsored 12 meter boat that is inside the Moscone Center, I mentioned that my parents had retired onto a boat to a guy who works for me. He said that was funny, so had his. I said mine had sailed up and down the Caribbean for year, and he said that was funny, so had his. I think his parents (last name: Lehmann, from Vancouver) did it around 1995 or 1996. So, I don't think there was an overlap with Mom and Dad. Interesting, though, because it's a small club.

Hail To the Redskins

I know there is not an overwhelming interest here but I'm sure Mom and Dad care. One of the most exciting 3 minutes of football was played last night if you are a skins fan. From 13-0 the skins came back to beat their longtime nemisis the Cowboys. {14-13}It was a great victory for fans everywhere. As a side note with the cowboys final failing play my fantasy team gained 1 point just enough to seal a victory for me too. Skins 2 and 0 Va. Bushhogs 1 and 1. Well back to reality; with a smile on my face.

Wysteria Vinyards

The emerging Va. wine market just got a little stronger when Wysteria vinyard held its open house and wine tasting yesterday, it was quite a showing, and even more impressive for me when the host and hostess were Sue and Mousa. The viyard is beautifull with 2 varieties of grapes in various stages of maturity. The home and property were also quite impressive, obviously the product of hard work and dedication on their part. What impressed me most though was the wine. I'm not a big wine drinker but I know what I like and their red was a cabernet sauignon that was really good, the white was also great. A few family noteables in attendance were Uncle Joe with whom I had a great visit, I hav't seen him in some time so it was nice to sort of catch up. Also Ken and Sharon were there it was great to see them too they always bring a little life to a gathering. Ken seemed to surprise a few people when he volunteered to stomp grages then later asked if rolling over them would suffice. It was a beautifull day for an outdoor event like that and made even nicer by having a chance to visit with family. The vinyard is to young for much of a harvest this year but they are hopefull for next year, they know what to do with the grapes so I am predicting a big success.

Iris Obsession Continues

Miss Rumphius continues to stalk the woods and nursuries of Northern California in search of the elusive iris. These two beauties are some kind of Japanese water iris that need to be kept moist at all times. Considering it doesn't rain here from May to October generally, we must be violating some kind of law. Most of Miss Rumphius' obsession centers around Pacific Coast irises, though, that grow naturally within a few miles of the coast and hills around us, but which are cross-bred into different color combinations. They are very touchy and require lots of gentle talking to and encouragement. A few weeks back, we went to a nursery where the West Bay Iris Society was providing instructions and cuttings from more iris varieties than I've ever seen. Those are now planted awaiting spring.

Annoying Doggie

After the ugly dog story, this seemed like a natural followup:

A robot dog that monitors your daily food intake and exercise levels and warns you not to eat that cheesecake could encourage people to stick to their diets.

If you have stuck to your daily calories, he will jump up and down, wag his tail, play vibrant music and flash the brightly coloured LEDs that pepper his 50 centimetre-tall plastic body. But if you have already had too many, he will move slowly and lethargically and play low-energy music.

Why don't they do something useful and work on a genetically engineered cat that empties its own cat box.

week 1 RMA

Danny has completed his 1st week at RMA and we have declared it to be a complete success so far. They started slowly with 2 days of orientation and activities designed to boost evryones enthusiasm about returning to school. Then it was on to a full 7 class schedule and sports. Each student has a mentor to help them choose electives and sports they will be interested in and to make sure they are keeping up with their work. I have never seen Dan so interested in his school work, he seems to be motivated to do well. There is a wide array of sports to choose from, season and competition play a role in how long each lasts but they can generaly change sport each semester. Dan chose weight lifting this semester and seems to enjoy it. No polo available yet. This weekends shool activity is paintball wars and Dan signed up, so he will be gone all day saturday. If the first week is any indication of how the year will go 6th grade should be a blast.

Worrying About Ophelia

I seem to remember back in my worrying-about-everything days (these days I am more focused in my worrying) that Bop's philosophy was that there was no problem that a good spell of worrying didn't help with. Keith, did you know you can check out the live webcam at Ocean Crest Pier on Oak Island? We can only hope that Hurricane Ophelia meets a similarly bad fate as I learned the Shakespeare character did: Ophelia goes mad and drowns in a brook.

Pocket Stonehenge

You would think with all these great gift ideas, we wouldn't be so late on Danny's birthday.

Cowboy Chic

I didn't realize Kyla was leading a fashion trend, but according to the SF Comical she is.

"Cowboy boots are enjoying a big-time comeback with the season's bohemian looks -- even though they've never really gone out of style. A good pair is hard to wear out and somehow goes with nearly everything in the closet, probably even a wedding dress.

"At Nordstrom in downtown San Francisco, they can hardly keep up with the demand, especially for classic Frye boots, a saleswoman said."

Your fashion reporter will continue to monitor this trend.

Week 1

After a long hard hot summer, a day I wait for every year has finaly arrived, WEEK 1 NFL. My day started early with the final roster changes to my Roto league team, next I prepare a tailgate feast for our 1st redskins game, I am expecting big things from both teams this year. With Dan opting out of midget football this year in favor of weight training I'm not sure I will get enough football but I will get by somehow.

Speaking of Disasters

This avian flu thing is bad news. When the World Health Organization is telling you it ain't a matter of if the pandemic is going to occur, it's just a matter of how soon, it makes you think that living below sea level or on an earthquake fault is no big deal.

Dr. Jai P. Narain, Director of WHO's communicable diseases department, took time out from a Southeast Asia health summit in Sri Lanka to tell the press: "We may be at almost the last stage before the pandemic virus may emerge. Whether the avian influenza pandemic will occur, that is not the question any more, [but] as to when the pandemic will occur."

The Register, where this report comes from, is a bit of a rag. Still, I was a somewhat surprised not to read anything about this comment in any newspaper. Reading the regional WHO web site isn't any more uplifting.

According to the report, the H5N1 virus appears to have established itself as endemic in parts of Asia,with "a permanent ecological niche in poultry." Human cases continue to emerge, and "the virus may be evolving in ways that increasing favor the start of a pandemic," the report says.

H5N1's potential to ignite a pandemic depends, however, on its acquiring the ability to pass easily between humans. There are two ways this could occur. H5N1 could infect someone who also is infected with a human form of influenza A, and the two viruses could exchange genes (reassortment). Or, the virus could adapt in an evolutionary fashion during subsequent human infections, acquiring the ability to transmit itself efficiently from one person to another (adaptive mutation). The deadly 1918 Spanish flu pandemic is believed to have been caused by a virus that mutated in this way.

I don't think holding your breath is going to be the answer.

Polo Meets Genetics

I thought this article might be of interest to our horse-obsessed polo-playing biology major, who is apparently taking some graduate level genetics this time around.

Virtually all 500,000 of the world’s thoroughbred racehorses are descended from 28 ancestors, born in the 18th and 19th centuries, according to a new genetic study. And up to 95% of male thoroughbreds can be traced back to just one stallion.

Your Tax Dollars at Work

Just read the article, down to the last paragraph.

on shore

Having read Steve's post regarding the export of jobs, I wanted to comment but wasn't sure anyone would see it because of my tardy response. I sense a little agony being a part of the whole thing. Much like the eels in my earlier post the construction industry suffers the reverse of the Tech buisness. Muhamid has come to the mountain so to speak. I have reluctantly dipped into the growing latino labor pool for extra help from time to time. Around here if you want to be competitive you almost have to do it. I try to stay away because of the legal questions that can arise. After the authenticity of some of the Green Cards were called into question at my bank I have not used any since. I must say though those guys work their asses off and are surprisingly quick to learn. It didn't hurt my cause at all to have them around for a while and their american counterparts seemed to pick up the pace a bit also.

eel ladder instalation

A near perfect weekend in the shen valley ,3 days off all with perfect weather it doesn't get much better than that for me. Conditions in "The Canoe Capital of Va." {as they proudly call Front Royal} were a little sketchy for tourists with a float trip or fishing in mind. A well kept secret was released friday when the local power company announced the closing of 2 dams upstream the closings occurred 2 weeks ago and the water level is so low you can walk across the river without getting your knees wet. I guess eveyone wanted to know what happened so they came clean and announced their cooperation with federal wildlife managment agencies to install eel ladders on some lower dams. It seems eels are like salmon but in reverse they make a one time migration downstream to spawn. Because of a decline in the population they felt obligated to help them out. Explain that to some poor sucker that just dragger his canoe 13 miles over slippery rocks barefoot. Of course there is still some deep areas where the weary can get in a few strokes. Im sure the words "remember all rental agreements are final" were used frequently at the local canoe companies.

California Wildlife

Spied on our weekend dog walk at Pulgas Ridge: the venerable banana slug. Mascot to UC Santa Cruz, whose rallying cry is "Slime 'em slugs!!!" I have heard of these slugs being used to create a banana slug cream pie for some kind of banana slug festival before. I believe Kyla's group at camp one time was the banana slugs, and they had to kiss one as part of the ritual. It was pretty surprising to see this sucker on the trail considering it's almost fire season.

The Power of Blogs

I just thought it was worthwhile noting that the appalling performance of our emergency management infrastructure in the wake of Katrina was anticipated in this blog entry months ago.

Kepler's, Stages 2 and 3

The stories are coming out of the woodwork now, from the NYTimes:

The reaction of Steven Fields, a longtime customer, was typical on Wednesday. After having lunch at Cafe Borrone next door, he told his 11-year-old daughter, Hanna, that Kepler's was closed. She immediately burst into tears.

"What am I going to do?" she said. "Where am I going to go? It was the best place."

to reminiscences by local authors and the hastily assembled web site where I got the above pictures. The effort to renegotiate the dotcom-bloated rent and the search for local investors are underway. Still, it's got to be a business, not a charity.

Here's my own contribution to Kepler's memorabilia. When Dara was in bed rest with Garrett, flat on her back for months, I thought I'd try to find a copy of Flatland. The fantasy story of a two dimensional land, I remembered reading it in 8th grade as part of my geometry class. This was before the days of Amazon and Internet search engines. I had no idea how to find it. I went into Kepler's and said, "I'm looking for a book called Flatland," and the random clerk I spoke to said, "Oh, sure. It's by Abbott. Over here." As a thoughtful gift, it was a failure. But as a metaphor for the kind of thing that separated Kepler's from other bookstores, it was a standout.

Renaissance Geeks

I am sad to admit that I am one of those people who is sending jobs overseas. However, I'm not delusional enough to feel like cranking out more computer science students is the answer to our competitiveness problems. What difference do more engineers make when you can hire five in India or China for every one here? It's not like we're going to make it up in volume. Nor can I in my wildest dreams imagine why our captains of industry think any college-bound student with enough smarts to get into engineering school isn't also smart enough to see the dilemma and steer clear. So, it was interesting to read about the increasing trend to mix the engineer/computer science with other fields.

On campuses today, the newest technologists have to become renaissance geeks. They have to understand computing, but they also typically need deep knowledge of some other field, from biology to business, Wall Street to Hollywood. And they tend to focus less on the tools of technology than on how technology is used in the search for scientific breakthroughs, the development of new products and services, or the way work is done.

As usual, I am either a man ahead of my time, or I did things backward. I got the engineering degrees and worked my way into the industry that's being offshored.

College Senior

I just returned from helping Kyla move into her dorm at Yale. She will be a senior this year and I just can't believe it. Although it is her 4th year there, it is actually the first year I have had the pleasure of helping her move in. Buying posters and Ikea bookshelfs (not too many cinder block and board set ups at Yale), such fun. She has a single bedroom attached to a common room(living room) that she shares with 5 other girls. Being an old hand at everything Kyla gave all the terrified freshmen she met pep talks and advice. Such an experienced veteran.

As I walked around campus and looked at all the kids, so young and fresh and eager, I easily forgot that I was not one of them. It's such a shock to see another parent/child group and realize I am the equal of the old fogie and not the coed. The kids are all leaving the nest and finding their way. That I don't mind, it's the fact that I have to get older too.

Fyi, commencement for Kyla is Sunday May 21st and Monday May 22nd. Feel free to mark your calendars.

Update: The blogmeister has repaired Dara's post :)

RIP Kepler's

Who knew their 50th anniversary would be their last? We learned this morning that the best bookstore of all time ubruptly closed its doors yesterday. Our kids were raised in this bookstore. We would walk in with them, they would fly off to the kids section, and we'd rendezvous at the cash register. We've seen great authors lecture there. We ate at the restaurant next door. We partied for the last Harry Potter book there. We were probably there once a week. I always felt like we were the personal sponsors of at least one employee. No more. So sad. It almost seems sacreligious to complain after watching the news about the hurricane aftermath. We are all going through the seven stages of grief, though.

• Disbelief. Maybe it's just not true.


• Denial. If we go down there, maybe the doors will be open.


• Bargaining. Maybe some collection of people will band together and keep it open.


• Guilt. I can't believe I ever bought a book at Borders.


• Anger. That damned Clark Kepler didn't know how to run a business! Roy Kepler wouldn't have let this happen.


• Depression. There is never going to be another Kepler's.


• Acceptance. Shit, I think this one is going to take a while.