The Big One

We Tivo'd the new Ken Burns documentary, The War, and made it through the first 2 1/2 hours last night. It's very good. The story line follows four towns (Luverne, MN; Waterbury, CT; Sacramento, CA; and Mobile, AL), the effect of the war on them and some of their residents and soldiers. In a segment about Luverne right after Pearl Harbor, they showed a grainy film of a couple of kids having a great time being towed snow-skiing behind a car. I was telling Dara, "My father told me the only skiing he ever did was behind a car." Not more than a minute later, they showed a picture of a street sign in Luverne. One arrow pointed leftward: Pipestone, 27 miles. Maybe that was Dad they were showing!

Tuning Out iTunes

At various points in time I have whined about iTunes and the oppressive Digital Rights Management (DRM) that comes along with it. DRM means that you're restricted from sharing songs, even if you're only doing so for your own purposes. Most rational people would have thought that the lawsuits that accompanied VCR and Xerox technologies would have established your personal right to do what you want with stuff you purchased. Uh, no. Not in the digital age.

Recently, Apple announced a program by which you can pay more for not having their DRM crap attached to the songs you download. Some of this is just righteous indignation on my part, but it's also just a plain pain in the ass to me, since I can't play the music I bought on iTunes using my fancy wireless stereo setup. I didn't buy the box from Apple, and they won't come to terms with the manufacturer. To work around the problem created for this law-abiding citizen, I have to actually burn CDs and then rip them back in, a massive pain and waste of time that has made me even more passionate about the evils of DRM.

Well, welcome Amazon to the fray. I'll probably be saving money, pain, and time by switching my purchases from Apple to Amazon. Seems to work great and have a great selection of content. Songs go right into iTunes and onto your iPod. Check it out.

More Mitochondrial

Since Kyla had me read The Seven Daughters of Eve, I have a cocktail party level of knowledge about what she's working on. She's been working on a project to build up a mitochondrial DNA database. That's different than nuclear DNA, where both parents' DNA combine to form the child's. In the mitochondrial case, it's purely passed down from the mother, and the rate at which it changes is relatively predictable and due to mutation over long time periods. When they're trying to identify you, mitochondrial DNA is one more item in the bag o' DNA tricks as far as I can tell. Recently Kyla forwarded an article about the crash of a Northwest Airlines plane into a mountain in Alaska during WWII. AFDIL was involved in identifying the crewman that belonged to a single arm that was recovered from the glacier not too long ago.

That's a long story for the rest of you as a lead-in to point Kyla at an article in the Mercury on a very similar topic: another WWII plane that went down just north of Kings Canyon in the Sierras. The article really centers around the families, who even after all these years would still like some closure as new clues and new techniques emerge.

The case is a forensic replay for military anthropologists now trying to identify the remains. Two years ago, ice climbers had found the frozen body of another one of the four crew members, air Cadet Leo Mustonen, 50 feet from the body Stekel discovered Aug. 15 on Mendel Glacier in Kings Canyon National Park. To identify Mustonen, authorities collected DNA samples from the airmen's families. This time, with the DNA already in hand, investigators hope to identify the second airman within weeks. For the three remaining families, the anguished wait continues.

With my cocktail party knowledge, I thought Kyla might be particularly interested in this snippet of the article:

... investigators are meticulous as they go over the biological, DNA and physical evidence. Though they declined last week to talk about their progress, they did say that having DNA samples from the relatives on the mothers' side of the three remaining airmen will help solve this case much faster.

It's always nice to know when you're doing something useful!

Dash of News

In case she didn't already know, I knew Mom would want to be apprised of the demise of the hyphen.

"People are not confident about using hyphens anymore, they're not really sure what they are for," said Angus Stevenson, editor of the Shorter OED, the sixth edition of which was published this week.

Another factor in the hyphen's demise is designers' distaste for its ungainly horizontal bulk between words.

"Printed writing is very much design-led these days in adverts and Web sites, and people feel that hyphens mess up the look of a nice bit of typography," he said. "The hyphen is seen as messy looking and old-fashioned."

I knew he wouldn't be able to explain it without using a hyphenated word, though.

Great Bear Sighting

I know I have posted before about seeing bears, and I have seen several since my last post but yesterday I had a sighting I will always remember. I was mountain biking in a remote part of the National Forest by myself and going up hill so I was going slowly and fairly quietly. I spotted an adult bear in the trail ahead of me about 50 yards so I stopped to watch, she didn't see me so she calmly meandered around the trail and appeared to be looking for somthing to eat, I watched her for a few minutes when out of the woods above her came 3 cubs probably 50 pounds each, they didn't see me either and went about their buisness of playing with each other and bugging their mom who was still looking for some food. Eventualy they wandered off the trail and out of my sight, I waited a few minutes and moved on, I guess I didn't wait long enough because I hadn't moved more than a few feet when all 3 cubs shot up a tree right in front of me, 2 in one tree, and 1 in another. I stopped immediately and got a good look at 3 cubs treed not more than 20 feet away from where I was standing, then I got a good look at the 300+lb. mother standing on her hind legs to see what all the fuss was. She didn't look very freindly, in fact I could sense her agitation and you could tell she was ready to defend her cubs. Fortunately I never got between her and her cubs. I backed off about 50 yards and watched 2 of the cubs come down the tree and could hear the group moving off through the woods. Kind of stunned by what I just saw I moved on, I got close to the sight of all the action when the 3rd cub came crashing down out of its tree, sort of a controlled fall with a 15 to 20 foot jump at the end. I thought for sure he was hurt after that fall, the sound was awfull you could hear it knock the breath out of him, but he got up and hauled ass thru the woods in the direction of the others. I wish I would have had a camera or at least a witness to enjoy that with. I have seen a few things in the woods over the years but that one takes the prize for best wildlife encounter. By the way I was mnt biking as a way to stay in marathon shape after I injurred my inner thigh somehow running. 2 weeks till the marathon and I still plan on running. I feel fairly confident I can work thru what has turned out to be a nagging injury.

Just for Kyla

Don't break out your snowboard yet, but they did get some snow at Kirkwood.

Manassas Pansyasses

The team formerly known as the Badasses rated 16 of 16 in my roto-league has been officialy changed to the Pansyasses at least untill I win a game. Oh what a difference a season makes. If Rex Grossman throughs one more int. I may go to Chicago and give him a pansy. On another subject, Steve posted about the new Va. slogan and the hand sign that inadvertantly was some sort of gang lingo. Dan and picked up on the hand sign [forming a heart with thumb and index finger on both hands] and flash it frequently we like to call ourselves "the lovable gangsters of Va." it gets alot of laughs amongst the 13 year old..to geeky to be in a gang set.

Steve Shrugged

I thought it was ironic to find an article on Ayn Rand on the same top-ten most EMailed articles in the NYTimes as an article on the genetic basis for "do unto others."

For years, Rand’s message was attacked by intellectuals whom her circle labeled “do-gooders,” who argued that individuals should also work in the service of others. Her book was dismissed as an homage to greed. Gore Vidal described its philosophy as “nearly perfect in its immorality.”

In spite of the association of Rand with capitalism, I've never seen a conflict between being a flaming liberal and a capitalist pig. Rationally, it seems like to me it's ultimately in my capitalist interest (and the interest of my kids) for there to be an empowered middle class in this country. It seems like to me for that to happen we have to think about how we continue to build and empower that middle class. Government policies are at the heart of that. It's not something that a completely laissez faire free market approach results in, at least from my perspective. Rand-worshipping libertarians (and lord knows there are a ton of them in the technology world), many of whose schooling was underwritten by government loans and research programs, are particularly tiresome to me. It's that "I have mine, screw the rest of the world" attitude that is the dead give away.

In contrast, we now get the view that we have baked into our genetic makeup a desire to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. The emphasis we put on the various aspects of so-called moral behavior is, as you might expect, different between liberals and conservatives.

Working with a graduate student, Jesse Graham, Dr. Haidt has detected a striking political dimension to morality. He and Mr. Graham asked people to identify their position on a liberal-conservative spectrum and then complete a questionnaire that assessed the importance attached to each of the five moral systems. (The test, called the moral foundations questionnaire, can be taken online, at www.YourMorals.org.)

They found that people who identified themselves as liberals attached great weight to the two moral systems protective of individuals — those of not harming others and of doing as you would be done by. But liberals assigned much less importance to the three moral systems that protect the group, those of loyalty, respect for authority and purity.

Conservatives placed value on all five moral systems but they assigned less weight than liberals to the moralities protective of individuals.

See, Rand was fighting our genetic predisposition to resist selfishness. Food for thought anyway.

More good news: you Paul Krugman fans can now read him without the for-pay TimesSelect subscription.

More Travels

I haven't been blogging much because I've been on the road since last Wednesday, to Raleigh and then Boston, with a swing through Knoxville over the weekend to see Dick Beatty. Like Dad, he has an 80th birthday coming up, and I'll be missing that too. If you'd like the update on my trip, you'll have to check out the Beatty Blog entry I did. The next side trip will have to be to Harrisburg! I guess I better not time it to coincide with surfing season.

Warren County Vrs Skyline

I have commented before on how much growth there is here localy. This year Warren county built 1 new high school and doubled the size of an existing building and turned it into another high school. Untill this year there was 1 rundown high school surrounded by trailers to handle the overflow. They didn't even have their own athletic complex for football, baseball or track and field. Last week they had the dedications of both buildings and all the related hoopla that goes with it. Then Friday night they had the 1st ever Skyline High vrs Warren County High varsitiy football game, pitting the new in county rivals against each other. Kirsti and I walked over and watched for a while, it was a spirited competition to say the least, and about what you would expect for HS ball. The turnout was what was surprising, not an empty space to even stand in the stadium and not a parking place to be had for at least 2 miles. All arteries entering Front Royal were at a stand still as complete gridlock tookover for 2 hours surrounding the start of the game. Kirsti and I watched from a hillside overlooking the stadium. Both new schools are huge and claim to be state of the art in education, and having seen the outside sports complex I know they spent the money on atheletics as well. Dan is looking forward to attending Warren County High next year Kirsti and I are looking forward to it also since it is so nice, free, and walking distance for him.

Off to (Pre)School

Ursula sent this photo of Thomas going off to his first day of preschool. She said he loved it! I didn't think you would see this unless I posted it. I now have it as my screensaver.

Don't Make 'em Like They Used To

Like an old pair of shoes, there is something to be said for your favorite tool. I didn't realize there was a business in catering to the obsession, though. Makes sense.

Approaching the front door of Liberty Tool through the cluttered porch, a chalked notice on slate seeks to reassure customers that the inventory won't run dry: "New load of tools every Sat."

Partitioned wooden boxes hold metal punches, tiny files, drill bits and different kinds of saw blades. Larger bins bulge with tin snips, channel locks, chisels, pipe cutters and drill bits. A soda box holds screwdrivers of various styles and sizes.

A rack holds scads of hammers and an even larger rack holds time-tested sledges, mauls and crow bars. There are squares and wooden levels, and some of the windows are shaded by the ample supply of antique buck saws.

Me, I can't find a hammer when I want one. Odds are if I find one, it will be an antique just from having been hidden away for so long.

Living History

Years ago, when we went to Carpinteria with Mom and Dad, we were in search of the California equivalent of the East Coast beach vacation. It was as close as it gets out here. Just below Santa Barbara, the water is warm enough to get into briefly anyway, and the houses manage to converge on an actual beach, as opposed to cliffs. Later, we went back down that way and stayed at the famous-but-declining Miramar Beach Hotel. Looks like it's been declining and passing through the hands of various well-intentioned investment-owners.

We stayed in one of the boarded-up places in the picture above. The grounds were still georgous, and the cafe was decorated with pictures of famous visitors. One of my favorite pictures of Garrett that is in a collage on our wall was taken right on the beach in front of the building above. He's about 12 or so, smiling broadly at an elaborate sand castle we all built. It was a classic family beach vacation!

Your Next Challenge, Keith

I seem to excel at living vicariously through others. In your case, Keith, it is no doubt simply my guilt at watching you get your act together to live longer while my own contribution consists of seeing a doctor regularly, eating oats, and popping cholesterol medicine. So, here is something you might try next with Dan: kayaking down to the Chesapeake. Sounds like a heck of a trip. Last time I remember doing it was on the Pepto Bismark.

Smokey

When Dara and I walked the dogs Monday evening, we spied a plume of smoke coming up across the bay. Looks like the fire under that plume has now consumed over 14,000 acres, with predictions of up to 30,000 coming up. Today the air looked like, well, almost like Beijing. Very thick. It is that season.

I guess I will have to defer my marathon training until the air clears up.

Closely held secret revealed

For sometime now I have been running. Since I started I have had the secret goal of completing a marathon, as the race gets closer I couldn't keep it secret any longer. Last weekend I told Mom and Missy now I'm blogging about it. As the training miles add up I am getting nervous so telling people is sort of a safegaurd against wussing out. So far my long run has been 16 miles, 10 miles short of marathon distance, I'd like to say no problem but I have to admit 16 miles kicks my ass pretty good. The next 2 weeks are going to be critical training weeks then its decreasing milage untill Oct 13 when I run the Baltimore Marathon. The only goal I have is to complete it, so no pressure to beat any time in fact I have never timed myself since I started and I have never concerned myself with how fast anyone else is. It maybe lonely at the finish line but I plan to be there. I thought my age made me something special in marathoning but that is not the case, yesterday I heard from a guy that runs his age every year, last Sat was his 53rd B-Day and he went out and ran 53 miles, by comparison I'm something of a lightweight. I have enjoyed the training and feel great, but I won't be doing much running for a while when this is over.

Sad ending to Kirsti's trip

Kirsti has spent most of her time over the last 8 weeks helping nurse her Mom who has had a whole array of health issues. Yesterday it ended with her Mom passing away in her sleep in the comfort of her home. It came as no surprise to anyone but still a sad time for everyone. Kirsti has been burning the candle at both ends recently and has still managed to miss 2 weeks work. Dan and I both look forward to her return Thursday and helping her ease back into her normal routine. Her Dad plans to continue on at home for now but will probably get some help from her brother Bobby who lives about 3 hours away. Shirley will be remembered as a kind and generous women and evryone will miss her. Sorry to bumout the blogusphere but I firured you would all want to know.

New Iris in the Garden

The iris lady poses with the finished work.
It ends up as a tabletop on her left, but this made for a better picture.

And here it is in place, temporarily clean of pine needles and ants. This picture shows off the colors a bit better.

4-13 year old boys for the weekend

Dan's B-day has a way of lasting for weeks. Last weekend we enjoyed a visit with Mom, Dad, Missy and Mike. They were so nice to help celebrate Dan's 13th...balloons,cake Amish freindship Bread (which by the way he is keeping up with completely on his own) and some $ quite a fuss. Thanks to everyone. This weekend it all started with 1 freind over for the night at the farm, I let that expand to 2, then 3, next thing you know I am hosting a full blown birthday party complete with dinner, cake, and elixer of the devil Mountain Dew/Game Fuel. After resurecting 3 bikes so they all had wheels they sped off into the flood plain for a little trail riding. The activity now is something with a flashlight, 2 of the bikes, and a pedestrian, I'm not sure exactly what the game is but it sounds painfull. I'm sure later it will settle into an all night marathon of x-box. Dan really has some nice freinds and I don't need to worry to much about mischief, but the combined energy is sometimes enough to ware you out. Next week we are expecting Kirsti to return from NC, and this will activate a whole other round of B-Day hoopla, she has already told me how guilty she feels about missing his b-day, so I fully expect another cake, present giving, special dinner ect. ect. They call it birthday not birthmonth, oh well you are only 13 once might as well stretch it out.

Peet's and Starbucks

I see in today's Chronicle that Alfred Peet, founder of Peet's Coffee, died. Peet's was and still is a Berkeley institution. When we moved to the peninsula from Berkeley, we were happy to find one of the only four Peet's stores nearby in Menlo Park. I always knew there was some story about Peet's vs. Starbucks, and the article spells it out:

Peet sold his business in 1979 but stayed on as a coffee buyer until 1983. In 1984, Starbucks co-owner Baldwin and Reynolds, the roastmaster, with a group of investors bought Peet's four Bay Area locations. In 1987, Baldwin and Peet's owners sold the Starbucks chain to focus on Peet's, and Baldwin and Howard Schultz, Starbucks' new owner, entered into a no-compete agreement in the Bay Area. In 2001, Peet's became a public company.

So Peet and his roastmaster sold the company to Starbucks when Starbucks was just a local Seattle phenomenon, then sold their interest in Starbucks so they could focus on Peet's. The non-compete kept Starbucks out of the bay area for a while, but the Starbucks juggernaut pretty much bulldozed them. I see Peet's made about $230M last year, while Starbucks made almost $9B.

Peet's is still better coffee.