Cobb

Gangsta Hobbit

Elijah Wood is being marketed as a sex symbol now. That's why you'll see more photographs like this.

I had to do a double-take at the checkout line when I saw him and his buttboys posing on the cover of some entertainment mag. Wait a minute says me. Aren't those supposed to be hobbits? Where are the big fuzzy feet? Where's the curly hair? Where are the rosy cheeks? Gone! Gone I say. They've all been taking fashion cues from David Spade.

What on middle earth are we to make of all this? It's such a perversion that I'd rather they have been animated. OK I say that now when I haven't seen the final film. Still, I don't want to see these guys in metrosexual mufti. I realize that they need to get out of being typecast, but do they honestly believe that they'll ever do anything to top this?

I dunno. Short of a sex change, I suppose this is the best thing they can do. It's part of the devil's deal. I'm not mad at ya Elijah, but stay away from my daughters, you you...

I made up a comic routine out of this guy. It went something like this. (sue me if you don't laugh I have a real job now.) What's up with Frodo Baggins and why is he walking halfway to hell with a half naked AIDS patient on a leash? I finally figured it out, LOTR is all about gay marriage. There's what? three women in the whole film, the rest are a bunch of hairy guy chasing each other around tarnation in search of a ring. They all want to wear it. They want the respect!

OK it's much better performed than written, and I probably wouldn't say 'tarnation'. But I like Frodo. And I like my Frodo to stay Frodo, just like in the old days when he was humble and honest and incorruptible. Now he's a walking advertisement for.. something I'm sure the world doesn't need.

The little bastard is having the time of his life, and I'm testing French fax software.

What I Should Have Said

I just took the longest telephone survey in my life. It's sorta the kind of thing I've waited a very long time to do, and yet not because of one thing. The race question.

This one was unbelievably long, something like 35 minutes and 18 seconds. Well exactly that, because I have a gadget phone that tells me these things. The subjects went from cable TV to Philip Morris to Biotechnology to men's fashions and metrosexuality. My guess is that Kraft Foods is about to be a major sponsor to a new men's equivalent of the Lifetime Network. It's about time. Oh yeah and the Hallmark Channel was in this one a lot.

So we get to the end of the interview where she asks about marital status, family income and race. I say 'Black', she says 'Black?, I can usually tell these things..' and I interrupt her with some bullshit about my international business experience and having to speak clearly for people who don't understand English.

But what I should have said is "Well it's a big country and that's why polls are important because you never know until you ask, do you?"

And quite frankly if I wasn't black and proud, I probably wouldn't have taken the survey anyway, considering that I generally get paid to do research at this little marketing company I know.

What I Should Have Said

I just took the longest telephone survey in my life. It's sorta the kind of thing I've waited a very long time to do, and yet not because of one thing. The race question.

This one was unbelievably long, something like 35 minutes and 18 seconds. Well exactly that, because I have a gadget phone that tells me these things. The subjects went from cable TV to Philip Morris to Biotechnology to men's fashions and metrosexuality. My guess is that Kraft Foods is about to be a major sponsor to a new men's equivalent of the Lifetime Network. It's about time. Oh yeah and the Hallmark Channel was in this one a lot.

So we get to the end of the interview where she asks about marital status, family income and race. I say 'Black', she says 'Black?, I can usually tell these things..' and I interrupt her with some bullshit about my international business experience and having to speak clearly for people who don't understand English.

But what I should have said is "Well it's a big country and that's why polls are important because you never know until you ask, do you?"

And quite frankly if I wasn't black and proud, I probably wouldn't have taken the survey anyway, considering that I generally get paid to do research at this little marketing company I know.

Panic

Wal-Mart Strikes Again

This time directly against those idiot music companies who didn't move when they had the chance. You can now download music for 88 cents per song at Wal-Mart. They've got the top hits and they've got the lowest prices, again.

What's interesting about this is that it's difficult to believe that this is a loss leader for Wal-Mart. In fact everything about online music pricing is arbitrary. Wal-Mart, however, understands pricing better than just about anyone - they actually run supply and demand models. So don't be surprised if the prices go lower or become individuated rather than just stick at the 'magic number'.

I love it.

Wal-Mart Strikes Again

This time directly against those idiot music companies who didn't move when they had the chance. You can now download music for 88 cents per song at Wal-Mart. They've got the top hits and they've got the lowest prices, again.

What's interesting about this is that it's difficult to believe that this is a loss leader for Wal-Mart. In fact everything about online music pricing is arbitrary. Wal-Mart, however, understands pricing better than just about anyone - they actually run supply and demand models. So don't be surprised if the prices go lower or become individuated rather than just stick at the 'magic number'.

I love it.

Clocks

Is it just me, or are all the year end slow-motion retrospectives playing that Coldplay song in the background?

Clocks

Is it just me, or are all the year end slow-motion retrospectives playing that Coldplay song in the background?

So Where's the Product?

Very huge exciting news in the world of speech recognition occured several years ago when two USC professors found a solution that would be able to discern human speech from all other kinds of noise. They claimed to have solved the problem which had made all previous SR products impractical - you can't use them in noisy environments, like driving your car or walking in an airport.

So where's the product? I haven't heard anything. Have you?

So Where's the Product?

Very huge exciting news in the world of speech recognition occured several years ago when two USC professors found a solution that would be able to discern human speech from all other kinds of noise. They claimed to have solved the problem which had made all previous SR products impractical - you can't use them in noisy environments, like driving your car or walking in an airport.

So where's the product? I haven't heard anything. Have you?

Begrudged

Stock Secret

It has been a long time since I've played with real money and I no longer have any bookmarks for clearstation, e-trade or even hsx on my browser. But I still have a knack for picking them, at least it would seem so.

I was skeptical during the bull run in tech stocks. I read a very good book in March of 2000 while trying to understand things like warrants and overhang and learned a valuable lesson about IPOs. That is, don't do them unless you've been invited by a principal. Nevertheless, I did make a pile on Inktomi, exactly half of which I squandered on General Magic.

Stock Secret

It has been a long time since I've played with real money and I no longer have any bookmarks for clearstation, e-trade or even hsx on my browser. But I still have a knack for picking them, at least it would seem so.

I was skeptical during the bull run in tech stocks. I read a very good book in March of 2000 while trying to understand things like warrants and overhang and learned a valuable lesson about IPOs. That is, don't do them unless you've been invited by a principal. Nevertheless, I did make a pile on Inktomi, exactly half of which I squandered on General Magic.

Wow

I've looked at more web pages than the average bear. But this is the first time I've ever seen anything like this. I think this man is a genius.

Wow

I've looked at more web pages than the average bear. But this is the first time I've ever seen anything like this. I think this man is a genius.

Resignation

Bovine Apathy

The Baton, Mr. Muschamp

The wonderful thing about being a modern Westerner is the fluidity of thought and the interoperability of knowledge representation. Despite the tension between modernity and organicism, I find it lovely to not have to do everything, think everything and do everything before I can represent everything. What better expression of this than the blogosphere itself? Although I tend to take my own inspirations for most of the blogwriting (more than average, I'd say) this place would be half itself without biting a bit of the flow of other blogging MCs.

Every once in a while someone comes along with words that so completely express your opinion that you can just detach that element of your thinking world and install a permanent pointer. Well, a strong one at any rate.

The Baton, Mr. Muschamp

The wonderful thing about being a modern Westerner is the fluidity of thought and the interoperability of knowledge representation. Despite the tension between modernity and organicism, I find it lovely to not have to do everything, think everything and do everything before I can represent everything. What better expression of this than the blogosphere itself? Although I tend to take my own inspirations for most of the blogwriting (more than average, I'd say) this place would be half itself without biting a bit of the flow of other blogging MCs.

Every once in a while someone comes along with words that so completely express your opinion that you can just detach that element of your thinking world and install a permanent pointer. Well, a strong one at any rate.

Clueless

The Taste of Billions

Last night I put on my Hollywood suit and went out for a night of.. well, for a night. Destination: Beverly Hills.

My boy K, with whom I share similar tastes, appetites and aggressive tactics in the flirt department invited me. He had me hookup with Brooks, someone I know on the periphery of many internet conversations at a joint in Beverly Hills called the Friars Club.

The Taste of Billions

Last night I put on my Hollywood suit and went out for a night of.. well, for a night. Destination: Beverly Hills.

My boy K, with whom I share similar tastes, appetites and aggressive tactics in the flirt department invited me. He had me hookup with Brooks, someone I know on the periphery of many internet conversations at a joint in Beverly Hills called the Friars Club.

Snarkiest Remark by a Ten Year Old

I really had to laugh out loud this afternoon when, at a birthday party the kid gets his fellow boys to engage in a chant.

What do we want?
NOTHING!
When do we want it?
LATER!

His dad is supermarket management. We live in Southern California, you do the math.

Snarkiest Remark by a Ten Year Old

I really had to laugh out loud this afternoon when, at a birthday party the kid gets his fellow boys to engage in a chant.

What do we want?
NOTHING!
When do we want it?
LATER!

His dad is supermarket management. We live in Southern California, you do the math.

Blip

A Hero Ain't Nothing But A Sandwich

Or a hot dog, as the case may be. One has to ask what the world is coming to every once in a while. This man is a hero to some.

Where are the Fear Factor heroes, I wonder. Somebody has got to make these guys take themselves less seriously.

A Hero Ain't Nothing But A Sandwich

Or a hot dog, as the case may be. One has to ask what the world is coming to every once in a while. This man is a hero to some.

Where are the Fear Factor heroes, I wonder. Somebody has got to make these guys take themselves less seriously.

Can You Hear Me Now, Biatch?

I am so pleased with today's court decision in favor of Verizon against the RIAA in their peer networking case that I'm going to change cellphone providers at the next opportunity.

The sharply worded ruling, which underscored the role of judges in protecting privacy and civil rights, is a major setback to the record companies in their efforts to stamp out the sharing of copyrighted songs through the Internet. It overturns a decision in a federal district court that allowed the music industry to force the disclosure of individuals simply by submitting subpoenas to a court clerk without winning a judge's approval.

Big ups to Verizon for sticking up for their customers.

Can You Hear Me Now, Biatch?

I am so pleased with today's court decision in favor of Verizon against the RIAA in their peer networking case that I'm going to change cellphone providers at the next opportunity.

The sharply worded ruling, which underscored the role of judges in protecting privacy and civil rights, is a major setback to the record companies in their efforts to stamp out the sharing of copyrighted songs through the Internet. It overturns a decision in a federal district court that allowed the music industry to force the disclosure of individuals simply by submitting subpoenas to a court clerk without winning a judge's approval.

Big ups to Verizon for sticking up for their customers.

Flu Panic

All this talk about the flu is making me angry. Every time somebody sneezes people freak. I was sick a couple weeks ago, it basically knocked me out for long weekend. That Monday I was good to go. I suppose it was flu.

Just the other day, M9 stopped playing. When this kid sits on his butt at the playground, something's wrong. Sure enough he had a fever. It got up to 101.7 that night. So I downloaded half the content of WebMD in search of answers. It turns out that kids can sustain temperatures of 102-104 for 2-3 days without cause for serious alarm. That's what a healthy body does to give virii the beat-down.

But as I looked through the chicken soup and hot lemonade recipies, I didn't find anything to confirm the broadcast dangers of this flu which is widely reported to be 'killing children'. Quoth WebMD:

At-risk people include:

• Pregnant women who will be in their second or third trimester during flu season
  
• People with underlying diseases such as diabetes, HIV infection, or heart disease
  
• Children age 6-23 months
  
• Adults age 65 and older
  

If a member of your household is in one of these groups -- or if you're a health-care worker who cares for such people -- you should get vaccinated to help insulate them from the flu.

What about kids age 2 and older?

"Overall, kids have a very low risk of developing severe complications from flu," CDC director Julie Gerberding, MD, MPH, today said in a news conference. "That doesn't mean it will never happen. Sometimes it does, and parents, of course, find that alarming. Fortunately, FluMist [nasal spray] vaccine is available for that group. Parents who are really concerned should contact their doctor and see if FluMist would be helpful for them." FluMist is not recommended in children under 5 because of the increased risk of asthma and wheezing seen in clinical trials.

I swear I'm never going to watch broadcast news again. I'm almost willing to admit that there is a digital divide. Needless to say, I do trust WebMD and not only because of C. Everett Koop, but my sister the nurse says I should.

It turns out that this is just an ordinary flu. Wash your hands, prepare the toddies and relax.

Still, F8 is coming down with the same bug and the spousal unit is miserable having tried unsuccessfully to evade it. I'm rather confident that this is the same thing I got just after Thanksgiving and I'm not surprised, having been out of the house a lot, that it took this much time to spread. On the other hand it might be something altogether different which is, as far as I'm concerned, just another good workout for the old immune systems.

We do tend to take our good health for granted in the Yellow House, but we work out at the Y and eat smart. We've built up a lot of wellness equity. So this being just an ordinary flu, we're going to sweat it out and continue. I will say that we should have gotten the shots to avoid all the headache of downtime. Other than that, we are being levelheaded amongst the panic.

I hope that helps.

PS. M9's fever went down to 100 within 24 hours, and was normal this morning. He still had a pretty bad sore throat, which isn't generally indicated with flu. F8 was playing dolls this morning too.

Flu Panic

All this talk about the flu is making me angry. Every time somebody sneezes people freak. I was sick a couple weeks ago, it basically knocked me out for long weekend. That Monday I was good to go. I suppose it was flu.

Just the other day, M9 stopped playing. When this kid sits on his butt at the playground, something's wrong. Sure enough he had a fever. It got up to 101.7 that night. So I downloaded half the content of WebMD in search of answers. It turns out that kids can sustain temperatures of 102-104 for 2-3 days without cause for serious alarm. That's what a healthy body does to give virii the beat-down.

But as I looked through the chicken soup and hot lemonade recipies, I didn't find anything to confirm the broadcast dangers of this flu which is widely reported to be 'killing children'. Quoth WebMD:

At-risk people include:

• Pregnant women who will be in their second or third trimester during flu season
  
• People with underlying diseases such as diabetes, HIV infection, or heart disease
  
• Children age 6-23 months
  
• Adults age 65 and older
  

If a member of your household is in one of these groups -- or if you're a health-care worker who cares for such people -- you should get vaccinated to help insulate them from the flu.

What about kids age 2 and older?

"Overall, kids have a very low risk of developing severe complications from flu," CDC director Julie Gerberding, MD, MPH, today said in a news conference. "That doesn't mean it will never happen. Sometimes it does, and parents, of course, find that alarming. Fortunately, FluMist [nasal spray] vaccine is available for that group. Parents who are really concerned should contact their doctor and see if FluMist would be helpful for them." FluMist is not recommended in children under 5 because of the increased risk of asthma and wheezing seen in clinical trials.

I swear I'm never going to watch broadcast news again. I'm almost willing to admit that there is a digital divide. Needless to say, I do trust WebMD and not only because of C. Everett Koop, but my sister the nurse says I should.

It turns out that this is just an ordinary flu. Wash your hands, prepare the toddies and relax.

Still, F8 is coming down with the same bug and the spousal unit is miserable having tried unsuccessfully to evade it. I'm rather confident that this is the same thing I got just after Thanksgiving and I'm not surprised, having been out of the house a lot, that it took this much time to spread. On the other hand it might be something altogether different which is, as far as I'm concerned, just another good workout for the old immune systems.

We do tend to take our good health for granted in the Yellow House, but we work out at the Y and eat smart. We've built up a lot of wellness equity. So this being just an ordinary flu, we're going to sweat it out and continue. I will say that we should have gotten the shots to avoid all the headache of downtime. Other than that, we are being levelheaded amongst the panic.

I hope that helps.

PS. M9's fever went down to 100 within 24 hours, and was normal this morning. He still had a pretty bad sore throat, which isn't generally indicated with flu. F8 was playing dolls this morning too.

Human Affairs

Conflicted

Meet-Up

Under the Jail

On crime and punishment, I want to recant my half-joking sentiment on deportation of criminals to anarchic societies. I actually do mean Gulags and desert islands. It came to me in a flash last night while listening to an Iraqi woman complaining about public safety in the wake of Saddam's release of all Iraqi prisoners during the War.

Much has been made of organized resistence in Iraq and Hussein's role in or absence from it. But it doesn't take much imagination knowing that 20,000 prisoners are in the streets as well as Saddam's money to see how chaos can and will thrive. Notably in that news, much was being made of the fact that the Baghdad cops are the slowest to the scenes of explosions and the like. American troops are there first, followed quickly by the new Iraqi civil defense forces trained by the Americans.

Anyway a lot of people need to be put back in the slammer in Iraq.

Speaking of which, Lee Malvo has been found guilty and will die in prison, with any luck sooner rather than later. This is excellent news. I think of it chauvinistically to mean that African America is stronger now having rid itself of one more ignorant fool. He actually thought he was in the Matrix? Yeah right.

I forget the name of the other monster, Muhammed or something like that. Is he dead yet?

Finally, the news the Jacko is converting to the Nation of Islam means one and only one thing to me, he's knows that he's going to jail. The NOI has basically one redeeming quality. It is a staunch defender against prison rape. Mark my words, Jacko is preparing for the worst.

Under the Jail

On crime and punishment, I want to recant my half-joking sentiment on deportation of criminals to anarchic societies. I actually do mean Gulags and desert islands. It came to me in a flash last night while listening to an Iraqi woman complaining about public safety in the wake of Saddam's release of all Iraqi prisoners during the War.

Much has been made of organized resistence in Iraq and Hussein's role in or absence from it. But it doesn't take much imagination knowing that 20,000 prisoners are in the streets as well as Saddam's money to see how chaos can and will thrive. Notably in that news, much was being made of the fact that the Baghdad cops are the slowest to the scenes of explosions and the like. American troops are there first, followed quickly by the new Iraqi civil defense forces trained by the Americans.

Anyway a lot of people need to be put back in the slammer in Iraq.

Speaking of which, Lee Malvo has been found guilty and will die in prison, with any luck sooner rather than later. This is excellent news. I think of it chauvinistically to mean that African America is stronger now having rid itself of one more ignorant fool. He actually thought he was in the Matrix? Yeah right.

I forget the name of the other monster, Muhammed or something like that. Is he dead yet?

Finally, the news the Jacko is converting to the Nation of Islam means one and only one thing to me, he's knows that he's going to jail. The NOI has basically one redeeming quality. It is a staunch defender against prison rape. Mark my words, Jacko is preparing for the worst.

What Kind of Post Modernist?

You are a Revisionist Historian. You are the Clark
Kent of postmodernists. You probably want to
work in a library or in social services. No
one suspects you of being a postmodernist...
until they read your publications!


What kind of postmodernist are you!?
brought to you by Quizilla

I'm really not a post-modernist at all. I just dig historical fiction. At least they got that right.

Impasse

Lost in Space: Dot Com Personified

A little early archeology. What did the dot com revolution feel like culturally? Lost in Space is a very good example, bordering on great.

One of the first DVDs I purchased was 'Lost In Space', the remake-movification of the old Irwin Allen TV series. Aside from the fact that it's got a ponderous father-fixation and a really awful script I think in many ways that it stands up as an extraordinary testament to the Dot Com Style. The DVD itself was one of the first to get all themey with the menus.

I want to say something briefly about the awful script. I viewed the film this evening with English subtitles on and I think I understand something about acting. Actors, at least these kind, work very hard at adding life to very dumb sentences. It must try one's patience to make 'Really. No kidding' into the best laugh of a movie.

Aside from all that, there are countless visuals in this film that mark it directly at the turn of the century. It is noticeable for its lack of product placements which we have almost come to expect in cheesy sci-fi action, but the big fat self-referential one in this is for Silicon Graphics. At the time, few things could be hipper. Today Silicon Graphics itself is an anachronism. (This afternoon in the test lab, I found a pathetic looking hunk of a purple Indigo2 SGI computer sitting in the corner of a stock room, under a Quadra 700)

Classic within the DVD is the Apollo 440 music video in the features. Everything about it is perfectly reminesent of the turn of the century, rivalling the Propellerheads' singlular album. The sountrack, even the script, is all about downloadable soundbiteyness. Sampled repitition, and pre-blogging video diaries are rampant throughout.

What characterizes the Dot Com style best to my mind is its metallic circularity and its organic electronic integration. The best of the technology was bent on human augmentation - away from the austere minimalist angularity of the 80s and the evolving past the organic funky retro of the early 90s. Lost in Space captures that moment when the electronic was still distinct enough to be large but trying to be small and human factored. The moment when cellphones became pocket-sized and rounded, when circles and swoops were in vogue and when it began to be ok to move past matte black everything.

Accellerated, snarkily self-mocking yet digging the coolness, Lost in Space is such a y2k flick it's embarassingly revealing of the times. Check the moment.

Lost in Space: Dot Com Personified

A little early archeology. What did the dot com revolution feel like culturally? Lost in Space is a very good example, bordering on great.

One of the first DVDs I purchased was 'Lost In Space', the remake-movification of the old Irwin Allen TV series. Aside from the fact that it's got a ponderous father-fixation and a really awful script I think in many ways that it stands up as an extraordinary testament to the Dot Com Style. The DVD itself was one of the first to get all themey with the menus.

I want to say something briefly about the awful script. I viewed the film this evening with English subtitles on and I think I understand something about acting. Actors, at least these kind, work very hard at adding life to very dumb sentences. It must try one's patience to make 'Really. No kidding' into the best laugh of a movie.

Aside from all that, there are countless visuals in this film that mark it directly at the turn of the century. It is noticeable for its lack of product placements which we have almost come to expect in cheesy sci-fi action, but the big fat self-referential one in this is for Silicon Graphics. At the time, few things could be hipper. Today Silicon Graphics itself is an anachronism. (This afternoon in the test lab, I found a pathetic looking hunk of a purple Indigo2 SGI computer sitting in the corner of a stock room, under a Quadra 700)

Classic within the DVD is the Apollo 440 music video in the features. Everything about it is perfectly reminesent of the turn of the century, rivalling the Propellerheads' singlular album. The sountrack, even the script, is all about downloadable soundbiteyness. Sampled repitition, and pre-blogging video diaries are rampant throughout.

What characterizes the Dot Com style best to my mind is its metallic circularity and its organic electronic integration. The best of the technology was bent on human augmentation - away from the austere minimalist angularity of the 80s and the evolving past the organic funky retro of the early 90s. Lost in Space captures that moment when the electronic was still distinct enough to be large but trying to be small and human factored. The moment when cellphones became pocket-sized and rounded, when circles and swoops were in vogue and when it began to be ok to move past matte black everything.

Accellerated, snarkily self-mocking yet digging the coolness, Lost in Space is such a y2k flick it's embarassingly revealing of the times. Check the moment.

Strom's New Legacy

I wrote to Earl Ofari Hutchinson last evening to remind him of how highly I think of him, even though I haven't been thinking of him recently. More than anyone I can think of, he has been an Old School contrarian who has retained integrity and a true love and respect for blackfolks. Ofari is conservative, period.

He has discovered that his granddaughters are too, related to Strom Thurmond.

It is ironic that as I breezed through his website that one of his readers has created a Republican strawman of vile proportions. I think Earl would make a good Republican and he has made the case that African Americans should play both parties, a sentiment with which I agree heartily. Nevertheless, people will continue to invent excuses why it is impossible for African Americans to admit any affinity to the Republican Party.

What would you do if you suddenly discovered that beloved members of your family were secretly related to someone you despise? Perhaps you would keep that a secret. More's the pity, because in finding something worth respecting in your opposition makes you a better person, even though it hurts to admit it. I think it is a sign of maturity, no better a sign of wisdom that we not take our partisanship to extremes. Because you never know who has done right by you if you keep it a secret.

I find it rather ghastly that Thurmond had sex with a 16 year old domestic. But his sexual appetites were the stuff of legend, at least inside the Beltway they were. I wouldn't be surprised to learn of more and more of the Thurmond gene expressing itself publicly. However, not many of us civil libertarians out here knew or cared about all that. We only knew his monumental error and his unwillingness to die.

I don't see a great contradiction in the soul of this man. I believe he dominated that young woman unfairly and unchivalrously. Arnold's gropes pale in comparison. One can hardly imagine how such a relationship could survive the light of day and of course it was the young black woman who was sacrificed. But that which doesn't kill one, makes one stronger and a family which has survived to become part of Ofari's is no doubt stong, should brook no backtalk and harbor no shame.

The NextGen will do things which surprise and inspire us, and I hold out high hopes for at least two of Thurmonds great-great-grandchildren. There is no greater testimony that King's words were prophetic, the long arc of history does indeed bend towards justice.

Strom's New Legacy

I wrote to Earl Ofari Hutchinson last evening to remind him of how highly I think of him, even though I haven't been thinking of him recently. More than anyone I can think of, he has been an Old School contrarian who has retained integrity and a true love and respect for blackfolks. Ofari is conservative, period.

He has discovered that his granddaughters are too, related to Strom Thurmond.

It is ironic that as I breezed through his website that one of his readers has created a Republican strawman of vile proportions. I think Earl would make a good Republican and he has made the case that African Americans should play both parties, a sentiment with which I agree heartily. Nevertheless, people will continue to invent excuses why it is impossible for African Americans to admit any affinity to the Republican Party.

What would you do if you suddenly discovered that beloved members of your family were secretly related to someone you despise? Perhaps you would keep that a secret. More's the pity, because in finding something worth respecting in your opposition makes you a better person, even though it hurts to admit it. I think it is a sign of maturity, no better a sign of wisdom that we not take our partisanship to extremes. Because you never know who has done right by you if you keep it a secret.

I find it rather ghastly that Thurmond had sex with a 16 year old domestic. But his sexual appetites were the stuff of legend, at least inside the Beltway they were. I wouldn't be surprised to learn of more and more of the Thurmond gene expressing itself publicly. However, not many of us civil libertarians out here knew or cared about all that. We only knew his monumental error and his unwillingness to die.

I don't see a great contradiction in the soul of this man. I believe he dominated that young woman unfairly and unchivalrously. Arnold's gropes pale in comparison. One can hardly imagine how such a relationship could survive the light of day and of course it was the young black woman who was sacrificed. But that which doesn't kill one, makes one stronger and a family which has survived to become part of Ofari's is no doubt stong, should brook no backtalk and harbor no shame.

The NextGen will do things which surprise and inspire us, and I hold out high hopes for at least two of Thurmonds great-great-grandchildren. There is no greater testimony that King's words were prophetic, the long arc of history does indeed bend towards justice.

2kx

Remember 1998, 1999 when everybody wondered what we would call the years of the new millenium? OK maybe it was just me. Well I think that it's clear that the colloquial way is generally accepted to be the 2ks, especially if you are a techie or a gamer. We're leading the pack anyway so get over yourselves and follow.

So now we are in 2k3 and next year will be 2k4. If you don't believe me, write 2k3 in the date field of the next check you write. The bank will honor it.

2kx

Remember 1998, 1999 when everybody wondered what we would call the years of the new millenium? OK maybe it was just me. Well I think that it's clear that the colloquial way is generally accepted to be the 2ks, especially if you are a techie or a gamer. We're leading the pack anyway so get over yourselves and follow.

So now we are in 2k3 and next year will be 2k4. If you don't believe me, write 2k3 in the date field of the next check you write. The bank will honor it.

NextGen Briefs

The next generation is doing very well thank you. I want to thank you all who nodded nicely to M9's essay. He's got a fever and a sore throat today and is missing the last day of school. Poor kid. Fortunately, the spousal unit is disposed to ministrations of care, whilst I toil afar.

The good news is that my New York neice has just been accepted to Brown University. That makes the second Browner in the family and the first in the nextgen. It seems like only yesterday that she was giggling at my wedding.

NextGen Briefs

The next generation is doing very well thank you. I want to thank you all who nodded nicely to M9's essay. He's got a fever and a sore throat today and is missing the last day of school. Poor kid. Fortunately, the spousal unit is disposed to ministrations of care, whilst I toil afar.

The good news is that my New York neice has just been accepted to Brown University. That makes the second Browner in the family and the first in the nextgen. It seems like only yesterday that she was giggling at my wedding.

Diversion

French AND Funny

I studied French in highschool as if I were going to be a French major. Back then, I expected to spend a lot of time in West Africa, like my uncle. Plus, I was pretty good in French.

This past week, for the first time in my life, I'm actually getting paid for understanding French. I may be particularly attuned to French syntax and logical style, but I find it a great deal more straightforward and expressive language than German. You see this week and last I've been a test engineer debugging a French version of, well I don't want to go there right now.

That's not the reason I'm writing this entry. It's this guy. That's the funniest, most wholesome comedy I've seen since The Blue Man Group.

French AND Funny

I studied French in highschool as if I were going to be a French major. Back then, I expected to spend a lot of time in West Africa, like my uncle. Plus, I was pretty good in French.

This past week, for the first time in my life, I'm actually getting paid for understanding French. I may be particularly attuned to French syntax and logical style, but I find it a great deal more straightforward and expressive language than German. You see this week and last I've been a test engineer debugging a French version of, well I don't want to go there right now.

That's not the reason I'm writing this entry. It's this guy. That's the funniest, most wholesome comedy I've seen since The Blue Man Group.

Blackout Retrospective

I mentioned just after NYC went dark and I started sleuthing that there was a reasonable possibility that computer failure was at the heart of the problem. Bruce Schneier is looking closer and here's what he thinks.

The chain of events began at FirstEnergy, a power company in Ohio. There, a series of human and computer failures turned a small problem into a major one. And because critical alarm systems failed, workers at FirstEnergy did not stop the cascade because they did not know what was happening.

This is where I think Blaster may have been involved. The report gives a specific timeline for the failures. At 14:14 EDT, the "alarm and logging software" at FirstEnergy's control room failed. This alarm software "provided audible and visual indications when a significant piece of equipment changed from an acceptable to problematic condition." Of course, no one knew that it failed.

Six minutes later, "several" remote control consoles failed. At 14:41, the primary server computer that hosted the alarm function failed. Its functions were passed to a backup computer, which failed at 14:54.

Doesn't this sound like a computer worm wending its way through FirstEnergy's operational computers?

His speculation is backed up by some pretty unusual coincidences, such as the fact that FirstEnergy has been hit before by Slammer and the time that these alarm servers were failing was exactly the same time Blaster was knocking out machines nationwide.

I gave Gent the benefit of the doubt...