[germanophilia] An Important Anniversary:15 Years After The Wall

This seems apropos: 9.Nov.2004 is the fifteenth anniversary of the sudden opening off all checkpoints between the Russian and the Allied sectors of the German capital.

Amdist a welter of confusion and amid the breakdown of what was then the Deutsche Demokratsche Republik...or as we called it then, East Germany, checkpoints between East and West Berlin were suddenly thrown open.

While there would exist a Bundesrepublk Deutschland (West Germany) against a Stalinist-Communist eastern sibling for some months to come, this act put writing on the wall of the Egon Krenz-led regime. Soon enough, Germany would finally be a united nation for the first time in nearly 50 years.

Though the Berlin Wall itself would also persist for a while, it would no longer be a deadly barrier.

9.Nov.2004, The fall of the Wall. May our own walls fall, eventually.

Check out these links:

The German Information Center homepage, follow the big link on the front page.

Curious about getting a glimpse of Germany but don't feel inclined (or rich enough) to travel there? Cityscope has a selection of panoramic views of some of the greater German cities which are constantly updated.
See the construction of the new Regierungviertel including the Reichstag, view the newly reborn Pariser Platz (Paris Square)-the area immediately behind the Brandenburg Gate which, til the 90's, was a no-mans-land within the Wall's killing field. It's a document of space and time, where you can view the development of the biggest construction zone in the world-Central Berlin (follow the "City-Panorama" link in the navbar).

[volcano] Loo-wit Is A Growing Girl

This just heard on the radio: at the rate the new lava dome is growing, if it continues unabated at this pace, Mt St Helens will work itself back up to pre-18.May.80 dimensions, about 9700 feet in elevation at the summit, in about...10 years.

If. If it continues.

They really can't say.

[or_politics] Cryin' Ron Saxton

Ah, pundits. How else can one make such a good living whilst knowing absolutely nothing?

So Ron thinks there should be a stronger Republican party in Oregon? (The link is to a opinion piece by him on the KATU-2 News website)

Oh, ai yi yi. This is why I have trouble respecting pundits.

The Democrats who were elected and re-elected were approved by remarkable majorities, I'd go so far as to say landslide. The problem with the Republican party in Oregon (as well as everywhere else) is that they think that a Democrat winning is prima facie evidence that the R candidate isn't good enough, and that electing a Democrat to anything is simply wrong.

It never occurs to the elite Republican mind that the Democrat may just be the better choice. The People (who Republicans are fond of lionizing when they back thier play) actually thought that the Democrats were pretty good folks, and deserved to go back and keep working.

And don't go on about the power of incumbency. This last election put the lie to that. Tom Daschle knows this all to well now. And despite the obscene amount that the national Republican party spent on Goli Ameri, her honor-free campaign still couldn't knock David Wu out.

No, Ron, we don't need a 'stronger Republican party in Oregon'. We're pretty happy with the Democrats we have. They actually do good work and most of us like them!

In case you ain't heard, Ron, your party pretty much runs the country now. So try to buck up.

For a while there, I thought Saxton was a Tom McCall-Vic Atiyeh Republican (the kind I'd actually consider voting for). Won't make that mistake again.

[sundial_life] Back From OryCon 26

Indeed, am back from OryCon26, looking ahead to 27. Did fairly alright despite leg bothering me.

Todd McCaffrey was there. Tall, biggish fella, resembles his mom, Anne, she of the Pern saga. I'm not a reader, but it looks very much as though Todd will take the franchise forward and, judging by The Wife[tm]'s reaction to the latest Pernography, he's probably going to to a bangup job.

The neat thing about SF Cons is that you come up against people who you idolize and who, to you are celebrities in thier own right, and you walk right up to them and realize that they are kind of like you, really. Except maybe Larry Niven and Harlan Ellison. No, strike that; Definitely Niven and Ellison. I think they are higher life forms.

Altho', in my time, I had the chance to kiss Ursula le Guin's hand when she 'graphed my omnibus edition of Earthsea Trilogy.

As long as OSFCI and OryCons exist, the world isn't completely, wrong, you know.

A couple of links to follow in another post, and more prattling guaranteed.

[us_politics] Democratic Party Customer Comment Card

Many Democrats got a party emailing inviting feedback. I answered but, due to fatigue, it was a bit rambling.

But here it is:

I think it's time for the old leadership to step aside. I want my party to be ready to take on and eat (literally, if necessary) any Republican who gets in the way. Our party is not being led well. The biggest example of this is the aftermath. It may have been proper for John Kerry to concede, but there is more than a hint of massive voter fraud. My party should be all over that like Repbulicans over oil profits, and it just isn't. Air America is leading the charge and the Black Box Voting Project has filed the largest FOIA request in history. The Democratic Party should be backing that.

Heck, I saw a distinct lack of support of Air America Radio, which did more to get me excited about being a Democrat again than almost anything the party did.

Mr McAuliffe, please consider stepping aside. You've presided over the a most astounding contraction of Democratic political power and the Republicans are gloating over it. Rove is bandying about casually the things he and his party are thinking of doing now that they feel they have decades of majority ahead of them. Do you feel any responsiblity? I think you ought to, you ought to do the honorable thing: step aside now and get new leadership in. ASAP.

And lastly but not leastly, OPPOSE! We are the loyal opposition. Remind the Republicans of this 24/7/365. Have our representatives vote on Democratic, liberal principle. Democrats are naturally leaders, but it's time to band together for the good of the party and against single-party rule in America.

Get going. Stop navel-gazing and fretting over what we should have done. Clear the decks. Or face being the permanent minority party.

And get on those e-voting machines and don't let up until they say uncle!

Well, at least I'm trying to. The DNC website isn't responding.

Erg.

[sundial_life] We Are On A Spree

Me and my The Wife[tm] will be attending our yearly habit, OryCon 26, which is all this weekend thru Sunday evening.

Will probably do the most basic checking in but, if I become famous somehow, I will alert the media.

After the election, the loss of Keeeton, and with the cellulitis, this will be a needed break.

[us_politics] Memo To The Democratic National Committee

Terry McAuliffe must go.

In my lifetime the Democratic Party, once the 800 lb gorilla in Washington, has undergone a contraction nothing short of astounding.

Who's the captain of this ship?

What the hell is he doing? Arranging the deck chairs?

If this was the Republican Party, his next job might well be close to "you want fries with that?". They'd clear the decks. Hard. Believe it.

Mr McAuliffe has seen my party through two horrible national experiences. I can't see him doing anything about it. We need someone at the helm who believes, is committed, and will eat the first Republican who tries to cross them and thier party.

He's not looking out for my interests.

One more time: McAuliffe. Must. Go. Now.

[sundial_life] Keeeton's Ashes

The original Hauptkatze, Keeeton, was cremated. This is standard for most pets I understand.

But this time, we were asked if we wanted the ashes. I don't know about The Wife[tm], but I was kind of gobsmacked. But we said yes.

We retrieved that yesterday, on a long errand run. It was so tastefully done. we have a very charming little wooden box with blank sides, suitable for a later-added plaque (or perhaps a certain photo), absolutely sealed. I expected maybe a laminated box or something.

His ashes are on a high shelf in the front room now. I place where we can remember and recollect.

He was, as they say, one hell of a cat.

[blog_life] Stand Back, I'm Growing Fast!

One New Link!

Rob Salzman blogrolled me after I permalinked to his article about draft, so I returned the favor: see "Blogging, Oregon Style" and click through to "About It All-Oregon".

I must say, I like the cut of his jib.

I Evolve!

With 2 unique links, I've moved up from Insignificant Microbe to Crunchy Crustacean in N.Z. Bear's ecosystem. See the very bottom of links.

[or_politics] One Other Shaft Of Sunlight

Both the Oregon House and Senate are controlled by Democrats again. Hey, if it can happen at the State level...

My own rep, Jeff Merkley, is going to be a D leader in the next session. He's also one of the smarter guys. Sweet!

Correction: Apparently it's only the State Senate that will be D. 'Sokay. Right now I'll take whatever good news I can find.

[us_politics] If GWB Told The Truth About No Draft...

Then why are they doing this behind the scenes? (link to post at About It All-Oregon, please credit Rob Salzman for the sharp eye)

The truth is, a lot of things are happening behind the scenes that suggest there's going to be one. They're happening whilst GWB is swearing to God we won't have one.

Here's a happy little site that should provide some food for thought: enjoythedraft.com.

It's pretty irreverent. Here's the "just-the-facts" version of thier FAQ.

[or_politics] Winners And Losers

I'm thrilled that Tom Potter and Sam Adams won. Especially Tom.

I'm aware that there are people who are unhappy that Nick Fish didn't win. Keep your eye on Sam. I have a feeling he's going to make us all glad he won.

And I said before that if Nick runs again for council, he's gotten my vote. I mean it.

And even though Bush apparently won legitimately, I at least don't have to be ashamed of my own state, which is still Blue Oregon (apologies to the website).

Ecotopia, anyone?

The passage of 36 is a big shameful spot on everything though. We, the electorate in aggregate, did not do a good thing here. We wrote discrimination into the state Constitution, moreover, we-in-the-aggregate actually removed rights from a group of people who aren't really harming anything.

But, if you aren't on the same page with that sort of thinking, look at it this way; we have now made it concievable to remove rights of any group of people we choose to scapegoat. It's the Niemoeller Principle, of which I will refer thus to prevent the repetition of a quote many are no doubt doing now. Essentially spoken, as long as nobody is out to get "me", it's okay if someone is out to get "them" and gets "them". But since I didn't object to going out to get "them", they now know it's okay to go after various forms of "them". Eventually the "them" could become "me".

Actually, I don't know why I'm worrying. The real immediate result will be litigation (and isn't it nice that our state has money to toss around for that)(oh, wait, we don't). This is going to court. This will eventually get overturned because it's unconstitutional. I'm counting on it.

It's a real mean world now. Choose up what side you're gonna be on. It's going to be a rough ride for a few years.

[blog_life] Retiring Certain Links

The graphic link for the Electoral Vote Predictor and to the Kerry/Edwards campaign are being removed from the links list, for obvious reasons.

Tip of the hat to Andrew Tanenbaum, who came up with the most clever and interesting bit of civics information that have been published to the 'net for a long time.

Gratitude to Mssrs. Kerry and Edwards, who reminded me why I used to register Democrat, and compelled me to register Democrat again. I will remain Democrat until and beyond the date the next Democratic administration comes to power.

Stick it in your ear, Karl Rove.

[us_politics] The Best Man Didn't Win

It won't be the first time I've been contrarian.

We got the greater of two evils, if evils they be. George W. Bush has prosecuted his war of choice as ineptly as anything. He's gotten away with being for the troops even as he denies them proper equipment, refuses to adequately pay them, and even (through surrogates) blames the troops for the loss of the high-explosives as al-Qaqaa.

We have a President who is in favor of removing your right to overtime pay.

We have a President who was against the 9/11 commission...until he was for it.

We have a President who was saying we'd win the war on 'terror', and then said we couldn't, and then said he could.

We have a President who swears he won't reinstitue the draft, and won't...until he has to.

There were very likely problems with the electronic voting machines in Ohio and Florida. There will never be an investigation of this. There is no paper audit record.

We have a President who presided over the first actual loss of jobs since Herbert Hoover. As a matter of fact, if you aren't one of the rich elite, your upward mobility has been handicapped more and more.

What's more, we have a President who acts like a common man. He's never been a common man. The bottom line is, that a man who showed little character until he was 40 won out over a man who's shown nothing but character.

People who have nothing but contempt for "the common man" have apparently been approved of by "the common man". But were they really? Do people wait on line for six to eight hours to approve the status quo?

I learned at an early age that honest and smart people are usually made out to be chumps, and fortune seems to favor the not-so-bright and not-so-ethical. It would really seem that nothing has changed.

I reserve the right to not be happy about the outcome of this election. At least while it's still legal to do so in public.

[design] QuarkXPress 6.5 Has Been Released!

Just found on the Quark, Inc. website: the QuarkXPress 6.5 Updater is available for download. It is also available on a CD-ROM, which can be ordered.

The QuarkXPress 6.5 upgrade is free to all registered 6.0 and 6.1 users. This, from Quark, is more that just a 'very good price'.

At 156MB, though, it's a bit much for me to download, and I won't be anywhere near a broadband link, so I ordered up the CD-ROM. They're shipping that for no additional cost as well.

Drawback: mail ETA is 6-8 weeks out. So it'll be a little while yet. However, I will get it, I will install it, and I will report on what I find.

[us_politics] We Did The Deed

Voted. Our ballots are down at the county elections office, dropped off into the hands of a friendly volunteer who stood out in the rain on SE 11th Ave between Morrison and Belmont. Only way to do it this time.

Stars, am I suspicious. This is the kind of country we've become; I completely believe that there is a hit-squad of thugs out there who'd love to tear open my envelope and, once they see it has a vote for Kerry/Edwards on it, make it go away. And why shouldn't I? When you have squads of Republicans ready to challenge voters in Ohio just because they might vote blue rather than red, you know that they playing field is about as fair and balanced as Fox News's coverage or Lars Larson's viewpoint on nearly anything.

Like I said, we voted blue. We also voted Democratic for the state offices (Bradbury, Myers, Edwards). I feel that the challengers have a case to make against voting for the incumbents. To me, hell, that's at least half the definition of challenger right there. The best thing the state Republicans can come up with is a ghost-story negative commerical saying how they were clubby with Goldschmidt. WoooooOOOOOOooooOOOO, scaAAAAAaaaaAAAAry.

Mere coincidence that Election Day is so close to Hallowe'en? I think not.

Voted for Potter. Francesconi impressed me negatively from the first. From his slickly-polished "you know you're going to vote for me" first run, from his reinvented, studied "man of the people" second go. I look at it this way; if your first run didn't work, and you reinvent yourself to be more palatable, then you care more about marketing yourself than actually serving and, as far as I'm concerned, you've gone from public servant to cynical resume-filler. Maybe Jim has good ideas. I'm not convinced he cares more about his ideas than he does being Mayor.

It's more than an anti-Francesconi vote though. I was impressed by Potter's campaign donation limits. I was baffled by his stealth campaign but have come to accept it as his ace-in-the-hole, although I don't quite know how it works out, it greatly impresses me. He has a lot of support and it's despite the fact that he hasn't run a campaign of any profile. And Howard Dean likes him. I liked him when he was Police chief (that bit over the jaywalkers not withstanding).

I voted for Sam Adams. I'm of the camp that it would be nice if there were two open Council seats, that I could vote both for Fish and Adams. I liked Sam when he was Vera's chief of staff, I appreciate inside experience and I think that's what we need right now. Nick, run next time a seat opens up. I'll vote for ya, buddy. Promise.

Selected comments about the other stuff:

Voted against the "Marriage" amendment. We have bigger problems. It will hurt people whether or not they are gay. I'm also against encoding the Bible as civil law. Some think no doubt it would be nice to take some terrible, swift sword and make everybody Christians who agree on everything, but that's not ever going to happen. Hell, there are disputes even amongst Christians over which version of dogma or doctrine is worthy (and if you think all Christians are one big loving fellowship, just ask a fundamentalist what's to become of Catholics. Naturlich, I disagree). Civil law should be secular. Period. If you want to see what a good Church background does to a government, look no further than Iran.

Voted against disembowling SAIF. Let's call it what it is: it's Liberty Northwest going to take out a rival. They can't compete, so they go this route. I'm not going to help Liberty Northwest play dirty. Also, I'm not convinced that the sweet light of competition and lower workers comp rates will be shed on the Original Beaver State. I think they're just saying that to get me to vote for it. Also, I'm told, because of the way workers comp is done in Oregon we already have some of the lowest rates around. Low worker's comp rates is...good for business.

My State rep-Jeff Merkley. Democrat, rising star, generally credited as lively, intelligent, and quick.

My County commish-Lisa Naito. She was a fool, but McCarty is an imbicile.

Yes on Wyden and Blumenauer. This is a no-brainer.

Two people I would vote for if I was in thier districts:

David Wu in the 1st District. Has Goli Ameri had anything elsel to say about him besides harping on the indiscretion of 28 years ago? She stands for two things: defeating Wu and being a good little Republican. At least Wu cares for his district. Goli is this close to being a red-hack.

And will someone tell Ron Sunseri to take his ball and go home already?

That's it. That's all. Tomorrow evening it's Election Night Pizza. Should be exciting.

[sundial_life] Borg Implant Removed

The P.I.C.C line is gone. It stayed in over the weekend; today the home-care nurse came in and removed it. They are glorious, these people. They tell me it's going to feel odd, then when I look, the deed is done. They have the touch of the butterfly, they do.

My current medical and emotional situation indicates that withdrawing from the two art classes I worked so hard to get into may be the sensible way to go. I don't know that that will do to my GPA, not yet anyway, but the money spent will be gone.

That's something I hate most of all.

Actually, I'm kind of seesawing. The first step is talking to the instructors and seeing if they have some sort of program they can put me on that will catch me up or at least show that I've learned what I need to have learned. I'm going to try and speak with my advisor over the phone and find out if withdrawal is indeed the best thing to do.

Tough choices.

[sundial_life] Notes From The Fray

• We haven't voted yet. We also haven't been plagued with all those campaign workers we're s'posed to be plagued with. We know pretty much who and what, we just haven't gotten our number twos out to do the job.
• I was going to come up with this snarky little 'heres how you should think' posting, but I've decided I'm not gonna. Too much opinion, too little time, not enough writing ability.
  
• However, I'm not voting for Bush. If he can't figure it out after four years, another four years isn't going to do it for him either.
• The i.v. medcines from Kaiser have been gone through, and now I'm on Keflex (its generic version, actually–cephalexin) orally, qid. The leg still looks a fright, but much less of a fright.
  
• Am most of the way through the last novel in Stephen King's The Dark Tower (Book VII-The Dark Tower). It's a good read. I count myself as a Constant Reader. It's been worth the wait, especially the statement King seems to be making about his art with respect to what happens to him in the outside world, and most specifically the roadside accident in 1999 that nearly ended his life. It's almost as though he's working it out through the story. The surprising thing is, that it's working. We also lose two major characters in the story before feet are set on the last leg to the Tower. I won't spoil it here, except to say that the ka-tet will be broken. Bastard made it so that even if you expect it, you won't expect who, and it will surprise you when.
• Formulating a plan on catching up on the art school-work; I have to complete a watercolor and make a new one before Monday, and on Monday I will have some sort of discussion with the life-drawing teacher.

[volcano] The Mountain By Moonlight

Hey, guys, looka this pitcher:



This is Loowit on a clear night. The USFS Volcano Cam is a pretty naff device, eh? Due to the low light level, it can't resolve out the chatter but it can provide enough gain that you can see very very white things illumnated by the full moon, such as the snowcap on the old broken cone, and the plume coming off the new dome.

Your tax dollars at work, my babies, your tax dollars at work!

[sundial_life] All's I Can Say Is, Thank God For Health Insurance

My, but it's been an eventful weekend, friends and people. Had everything in it for a great weekend away: sights not usually seen, new faces, different places, different cuizine. Everything in it but actual fun.

The last major thing that happened before this was the loss of our Original One Gray Cat (see last posting). The Wife[tm] and myself went home, had our private times, got a bit drunk. She slammed down 5 shots of Vanilla rum (Rum[R], the drink ya drink when ya wanna hurl). And I had a couple - enough to feel little pain but not enough to produce a bad aftermorning.

The Wife[tm] paid her respects at the porcelain cliche, and I saw her to bed.

We slept well.

On Thursday I woke up with the worst shivers I'd had in a good long while. This I get off of two-and-a-half shots or rum...taken slowly? No. Not right. Advice nurse came of the opinion that I was suffering from a "virus that was going around", and sounded like something others were reporting.

But it was obvious that this was a day-breaker. Into bed with me. Shivering and actually too tired to go to sleep. That became too weak to sit up and take fluids. Then the telltale pains in the leg started.

There is a nasty infection out there whose ravages are reserved, apparently, for a select group, and apparently I'm one of them. Cellulitis. Look it up for the details. Suffice to say that it turns my leg (sometimes one, sometimes both) bright red, bloated, and exquisitely painful. This takes usually a week, min, to get back up on the feet, and 1-2 months for all signs of the infection to wane with constant treatment.

I never asked, but I'm betting that, if left unchecked, it'll probably kill you. I don't have the nerve to look that one up.

Fast forward now: Thursday afternoon, call in sick to work, go to Kaiser Sunnyside E/R, get Vicodin and Keflex (am reactive to Augumentin, damitall), go home to take it easy. Friday afternoon, back, given more look over, white cell count very high of course. They nearly let us get away. My lack of fluids intake over the past two days is such that it looks like my ever loving kidneys are trying to fail.

I am admitted to the hospital for what becomes a three day stay.

During this three day stay, our old, beatup Subaru is...broken into.

The thieves take the stereo. And also my backpack. Which has nothing in it except the homework for my Life Drawing class for the entire term so far, and the syllabus containing contact information for the instructor. It's taken me so long to get through to PCC Art Department (not thier fault, don't think that) that the instructor has yet to get through to me. Art tools lost (replaceable, but crap). Dairy with leather pullover cover missing. I was almost up to entry #900.

Most thieves look real quick and see if there's anything in there they can sell, and if it's all just personal stuff, toss it in the nearest dumpster. This is never the kind of thief we get (over the past 13 years our wagon's been busted into twice. Both times I've never seen my personal items again. What do they do with them?).

I'm also gonna miss that Flash drive. SanDisk Cruzer 256Mb. From The Wife[tm] for last anniversary. Hope they have fun with...well, whatever.

In a move of prescience, The Wife[tm] remembered to retrieve the Palm M130 and the Stephen King novel (library) that I'm reading. Left the rest down there deeming it too heavy. It probably was. She's been kicking herself on that one.

The car was in a well-lit area of the hospital less than twenty steps from the E/R door and within sight of the security office. But then, it was a curious weekend out at KSMC, as news-watchers will know; not long after our incident, some knife weilding dumbass gets a purse from a woman being wheeled out of the E/R toward the parking garage. This guy they got. The woman in the chair got his license plate as he drove off. It was found parked in front of his house on SE Linwood Avenue later that night. Imbicile

I'll backfill this later on. Suffice it to say that right now, I am home, getting antibiotic fired into me via a little tiny tube, and if there's anything that make you think some cliched' joke like "borg implant", it's a "P.I.C.C." line.

I'm getting over it. I may even be able to get back on board and catch up on school matters. Though that Life Drawing class is going to be a bit of a toughie.

[sundial_life] Woolgathering, 21.10.04

Have listened to the new Duran Duran album Astronaut. As a matter of fact, was priviledged to snap the last available deluxe copy off the shelf at the East Burnside Music Millenium.

You a DD fan? You a "durannie"? Then you need the deluxe version. The package is a 2-CD case; one CD is the album, the other is a DVD containing the new video to the radiolicious single "(Reach Up For The)Sunrise", which is a fine video for a fine song.

But that's not all. The DVD is a clever thing. It is a tour documentary combined with concert footage of the 2004 campaign through England. The clever part is the formatting; the "play all" menu item plays the documentary with the songs in, and the "songs only" item plays the...well, the songs only.

I'll go over the content in a more detailed review soon. Suffice it, for the present, to say that it's 1983 all over again, with a modern finish. If you think of Astronaut as DD's fourth album (with a lot of interesting experimentation starting with Notorious and ending with Pop Trash) then you have the idea, pretty much.

After The Keeeton

It's been an interesting night, in the wrong way. I'm pleasantly numb, but my poor The Wife[tm] kind of went over the deep end. Yes, this cat was that beloved by us.

I could provide details of how she came so wrought, but I've already given up too much in that last sentence. Look at it this way: every remarkable personality that leaves you, that makes you contemplate death and the end of things, has an effect on you. Some people went ape over the death of certain celebrities. Can we be blamed if we go a little frayed around the the edges when we lose a good friend of seventeen years, one who taught us and nourished us as we cared for him?

Even if that someone was a very special grey and white cat?

[sundial_life] Denkmal für die erste Katze

Or, Memorial for the First Cat.

Some will recall that, in this post, I detailed the physiological travail of our beloved Keeeton, our Hauptkatze, Number One Son.

While we did get him some treatment, and The Wife[tm] was giving him sub-cutaneous fluids in an attempt to get him his strength back...well, on a younger cat it would have maybe made a difference. Keeeton was diginifed, but old Moe Mentum has swung the other way.

At 02:00 approximately, the three original family members, The Wife[tm], Me, and The Cat[tm] were in emergency at SE Portland Animal Hospital (138th and SE Stark, in case anyone's wondering) and we were facing a big decision.

Keeton had, not long before that, done something unprecedented. He had a minor seizure. That caused the both of us to drop what we were doing and get him in. After a mercifully short time of examination the doc came in to give us what we knew we were going to hear: The Best Damn Cat In The World was never going to get any better, was never going to improve even a little from a frail thing that would only move if you picked him up and that had stopped communicating with the world at large.

He, at that time, had a temperature of 91F. Normal kitty body temp is 102F. It was almost as though he were shutting himself down.

I can almost believe that. In a way, he did me a favor. Losing him is tough, but a little less tough because that elan vital that was Keeeton had seemed to have slowly departed over the course of the last few weeks. It was easier, but just by a little bit.

We've had to escort cats to the end of thier paths before, so the procedure was actually familiar.

This will be the only cat, so far, that we will retain the ashes for.

His number will be retired. There will be no more Number 1 cat; Keeeton is an act that cannot be followed. The Top Cat's official designator from here on out will be die zweiten Katze, or the Second Cat; actually, there will always be a First Cat, and that cat, in memory as well as in life, will be Keeeton.

He found us in October, 1987. We had to let him go in October, 2004. He was 17 years old.

[us_politics] Paul Krugman: The Smartest Man In Print

I've followed Paul Krugman for a while. His column is one of the few things I'll let my personal info out for a free online registration to read a national newspaper.

A few posts ago I opined as to how the President is being less than honest with himself or us when he proclaims that there will be no draft during his second term, given the array of shell games that are being played to stanch the flow of people leaving the forces.

But Krugman's a smart fellow because he can explain it so much better than me.

[geek_life] All-In Computng

Can four Brits, a 'fridge, and an assortment of cooling liquids overlclock a vintage ISA motherboard (powered by an Intel 486SX) by a factor of more than nine hundred percent?

No need to do the math, friends:

1. Proceed to Project E.U.N.U.C.H.


2. Sit down


3. Shut up


4. Strap in


5. And hold on

Seriously, this is one of the most inspired bits of lunacy I've seen in an awful long time. The supporting website (Temple ov thee Lemur) is a howl too. Just go there.

[us_politics] Jon Stewart: Smartest Man In TV

Tucker Carlson is such a putz. (Clicky the Linky)

That's one fellow who needed to be hoisted on his petard, was, and just doesn't get it. And, he so damned impressed with hisself that he never ever will.

[us_politics] The Best Damn Health Care System On The Planet

We are desparately short of 'flu vaccine. I'm not getting a shot this year. People are waiting in lines like they were Springsteen (ca. 1987) tickets.

However, you can get Viagra everywhere and the airwaves are laden with self-indulgent ads in questionable taste with this complete bozo who's exstatic because his "Wild Thing" is back. Ending with two horns coming out of his head.

They were right; it is the work of the Devil.

Which horse is this? Must be pestilence.

[us_politics] Is Someone Telegraphing?

Credit Knight-Ridder Newspapers (via TheState.com) for the article containing the following quote by the President at one of his events:

"I made it very plain. We will not have an all-volunteer army." The crowd fell silent. "WE WILL have an all-volunteer army," Bush said, quickly catching himself. "Let me restate that. We will not have a draft."

So, which is it?

Let's be honest with ourselves. If the current campaign in Iraq cannot be sustained without stop-loss, without activating the IRR, without the so-called "back door draft", then the President is either being dishonest to himself, to us, or to both (does it matter which?) that a draft will not be needed to maintain the force strength.

We hear of various methods being used to keep enlisteds in just a little bit longer. Why do them if the sitch is a-okay?

[design] QuarkXPress 6.5 Release Imminent

The folks over at Quark, Inc are preparing to roll out thier next refinement to their flagship page layout program, XPress.

The new release, version 6.5, will be available free to registered Quark users, according to copious press releases displayed on the Quark home page. It will include not only QuarkVista, the XTension providing basic image geeking from within XPress (and not coincidentally, enable importing of native Photoshop files, according to the press releases).

XPress 6.5 will also include an XTension called QuarkXClusive, which allows for integration of databases to designs, resulting in customized outputs.

This will be well worth watching for. 6.5 will be Quark's first real answer to Adobe's InDesign insurgency. The concept of imagesmithing from within XPress without having to save out and re-edit would be an innovation for Quark. The idea of integrating database content with design is intriguing, but will it be recieved with as much indifference as, say, synchronized text was?

I anticipate the release of 6.5, and promise to publish whether or not I consider it worth showing up for.

[pdx_life] Powell's Travel Store to Close

This just in from the business pages of todays Oregonian: citing declining sales in travel books, Powell's Travel Store, located in Pioneer Courthouse Square, is slated for the axe.

I don't know if they're going to have any clearance events or such, but the date for winding up has been set for 31 January 2005.

It will be missed. Not that I'm any sort of traveler, but I am crazy mad about maps, especially city maps, and Powell's has been the best source, not just for local maps but also for city maps across the USA as well as around the world. Little quirky maps by local publishers, of cities I couldn't have gotten any other way. I hold out hope that they will expand the travel section at Burnside, but we shall see.

Have gotten my best German maps there as well. Always a pleasant place for a browse. I shall miss it. For a long time you could get backstocked maps of the incorporated city of Rajneeshpuram that the State of Oregon put out while it was an unchallenged city (I have one, naturlich, but I didn't get it from there.

I don't write often about my abiding love of maps or my rather large collection that would be simply wrong for anyone who doesn't love maps. Way too distracted. But that's a subject for the future.

[net_life] Some Very Funny Incidental Stuff

Clicky thee hence for:

• The strangest and funniest eBay feedback log I've ever seen(Which reference I ripped off from this very witty site). NB:Not entirely work-safe!!!!


• Here's one for Ayn Rand fans (whatever they are).

Also, welcome Mover Mike to the Oregon blogs section of my links list.

[sundial_life] The Day After Tomorrow DVD

Me and The Wife[tm] finally got a chance to see the TDAT DVD that she got me for our anniversary. After a long full day of makin' art at PCC and watching a recording of the third debate (Kerry won), mixed myself a rum and Dr Pepper and sat back.

The bottom line for this is that, if you really like the movie, you'll want to have it. If you're neutral or didn't care for the movie, you'll want to rent it or wait until a 'directors cut' or something comes out.

The movie is fine. The extras are lame, lame, lame! Promised is DVD-ROM content that provides access to over an hour of behind the scenes content. Hot Damn! But it's only compatible with Win 2000/XP...and not Macintosh! Crap!

Thanks, Rupert! Value for money! Especially if, I understand correctly, the DVD-ROM information links out to a website. I can't be sure. And I won't find out, because my hot PowerMac G4 isn't good ennough for 20th Century Fox to market to.

There is commentary. I haven't listened to it yet, as I was interested in reliving the movie experience. I'll listen to the comments later. However, if the director's commentary is as bland and banal as the stuff for Independence Day, it won't be worth showing up for.

There is a featurlet called "Inside Look", which isn't an inside look at TDAT, but an inside look at Fox films that are coming up. Which, in the main, I'm not interested in. Also uninteresting is the trailers for movies I don't plan on seeing stuck on on the front of the DVD (which you can't use the Menu key to get round).

There is one extra worth seeing. It's an interactive demo that gives you an idea of how sound happens in a film. The demo centers on the scene of the doomed RAF helicopter expedition to rescue the Royal Family from Balmoral, when the helos fly out of the storm into the eye and are then annihilated by the -150F downdraft. The scene can be played and replayed with just the sound effects, only the mechanical sounds, only the dialogue, only the Foley effects, or use the Audio button to cycle between sound layers. It was actually very interesting and fun. Didn't make up for the absoute dearth of extras, but it was interesting and fun.

Bottom line: if you can't bear living without this movie, go ahead and get the disc. If you only have a Mac, though, learn to like doing without most of the extras. If you buy DVDs for the extras, and are not a big fan of this movie, wait until it goes on sale somewhere.

I love the movie, but I feel like we've been had.

[volcano] The Nose Of The Gopher

Mount St. Helens, right now:




See that bright spot in the upper part of the graphic, on the right? That's the glow of lava off the clouds of steam, my children. Bright enough to show in the imaging field of a camera five miles away. Lava, of course, is what we call magma when it's exposed to the atmosphere. Magma must remain forever unseen to remain magma.

We just saw, on KGW-8, overflight video of the crater that showed red lava glowing through the cracks in the new lava dome. KATU-2 and KOIN-6 showed an unhealthy fixation of Qyntel Woods and dogfighting, of which a sudden epidemic of people getting caught has happened. They got to the mountain eventually, with Paul Bukta of KATU-2 on that really cool grainy green night-scope.

He also delivered the line of the night, when commenting on the USGS's desire to fly an unmanned drone over the crater and the necessity of notifying the FAA: "First, the Government is going to have to get permission...from the Government"

The gopher...has arrived.

[sundial_life] Anticipating, 11.10.04

• The DVD Edition of The Day After Tomorrow


• The new Duran Duran album, Astronaut


• The release of Phil Stanford's Portland Confidential, at Powell's Books

Be there. Aloha.

[volcano] Steam Event Today

When I logged in on getting home today, here's what I was treated to on the VolcanoCam:



That's been the way it's been most of the day. A current check of the camera shows something that looks like a weaker version of the same. Radio reports suggest that it may be due to water seeping down into the hot parts of the dome, as it is mostly steam, very little ash, and no apparent change in seismic activity.

[us_media] High Hackery

As I review the impressions of the media coverage over the past year-plus, I am struck over and over by how the media have given the incumbent a pass over things much more serious than what Clinton ever contemplated.

Perhaps they were thinking they were banking goodwill?

Don't bet on it.

A few positive stories on the Democratic candidates and look how they turn on 'em. (The link goes to an opinion piece at the New York Post, which is a Murdoch organ, natch).

For those who have eyes to see, here is all you need to know about national media today:

• The President is a wise leader


• He's not really made any mistakes


• Anything that comes to the surface in that wise isn't newsworthy


• The Democratic candidates are fundamentally evil


• Any positive attribute they have is insincere at best


• Any positive coverage of them is prima facie evidence of thier being surrogates for the Demos, and likely paid ones at that


• Any such activity will cause the source to be destroyed in place

Mix the above with a healthy dash of the traditional There's a liberal bias in the Media whine. Serves serveral millions apparently.

The above is why people say Fox News misinforms its public. That is what they do.

That is also why we don't have cable.