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2007.11.13 at 09:25 PM CST As of November 5th, I'm done with the traveling that I had planned. Photos from Boston, Maine, and Seattle are now available. Here are a few hilights:
Next, a few opinion columns from the IHT:
A few semi-related thoughts... Why, oh why is whether or not waterboarding is torture even up for debate in the US? Also, we (the US) might need to consider the possibility that we won't be the biggest, strongest, richest country/power in the world forever. We might not always have broad support from allies abroad (or the ability to convince them to do what we want). We might not always have the strongest currency. These are not all bad. Things go in cycles. If we're smart, we'll survive and maybe regain some of the positions to which we've become accustomed. And, on the topic of nuclear proliferation. We're currently campaigning to get several countries to stop nuclear arms programs (or suspected programs). This isn't necessarily a bad thing, in that nuclear weapons, and their use are not generally a good thing (understatement on purpose). However, might we be going about things in the wrong way? Talks, not threats, could be a good start. That and we might listen to the IAEA when it implies that mutual disarmament and inspections for all countries to verify lack of nuclear weapons might work. That is, if you were a developing country, being bullied by a nuclear power over your actions and resources (for the benefit of people outside your own country), would you want to continue without an equal amount of attack/response power? Ahh... I thought not. So, can you understand where various developing countries might be coming from with regard to nuclear weaponry? Do you get why they are reluctant to let the US and other nuclear powers force them to stop arms programs? So instead, if we were to consider disarmament (for all sides) as we negotiate, we might have a better chance. And yes, we would have to be careful, as there are still extremists out there. The world as a whole would need to stay observant. And, the US would need to become a better world citizen, so as to attract less ire form around the world. I'm not suggesting isolation, and I'm not suggesting dissolution of our armed forces. I'm suggesting treating people and other countries fairly. We could actually demonstrate our supposed philosophy versus just talk about it. And yes, I realize it would take time for such a shift in behavior to be noticed and actually believed. I don't think this is a new problem for the US. Nor is it the fault of any one political party. (Yes, I know these are unpopular opinions within the US. However, we might need to consider things from the perspective of other countries if we're to avoid finding ourselves further hated and targeted in years to come. Finally, I realize there's a snowball's chance in Hell of the US actually changing its ways. *sigh* But I am still allowed to ponder and talk about this so at least some people can think and debate about it.)
2007.09.22 at 06:00 AM CDT Yes, you are correct in surmising that I am back from traveling as this new entry has appeared and new photos are online. Before I include a few photo hilights from San Francisco, there are some things to which I want to link. First is www.nycsubway.org, which has historical and current information about rail-based transit systems in various US cities. Next is one I've linked previously, Mike's postings/rantings on transit in Austin, which are worth reading and pondering. Third is a statement released by the Mayor of San Diego regarding his change in opinion on gay marriage versus civil unions. He more clearly worded something that I've tried, not so successfully, to express. The idea that having "separate but equal" civil unions will not work, much as "separate but equal" failed in the context of civil rights. Finally, there is an essay on how societal and governmental reactions over the past 6+ years have been "silly." And now, the promised photos:
2007.09.03 at 03:00 PM PDT Yes, I am still traveling. :-) However, while I have time on the train from Portland, OR to San Francisco, CA, I wanted to get a few photos selected and online for people to see. (The first few are from Austin just before I left, and the rest are from my travels.) There will be more after I get back to Austin and have attended ACL.
More updates when I'm back in Austin... For now I'm going to enjoy San Francisco. If you need to get a-hold of me, I have the cell.
2007.08.01 at 06:20 AM CDT Let's see... Where to start? I suppose big things first. As of last Friday, July 27, I am no longer working at ISA. I decided that since I'd been there just over four years and am about to travel for a bit, it was a good time to make myself move on. I will miss seeing my co-workers daily, and will be keeping in touch with many. Tangentially related to leaving ISA, I recently had MOO make some name/contact cards. They work with various services, such as Flickr, so that you don't necessarily have to directly upload photos. Anyway, 100 MiniCards for US$25 (including shipping) seemed like a pretty good deal, and now I have cards to hand out with contact information and URLs to my photos. The other semi-related bit is traveling. JT, JK, and I (a.k.a. J3) will hang out a bit in Chicago and then catch Amtrak's Empire Builder to Glacier National Park and later on to Portland, Oregon. This will be my first time in Montana and Oregon, and I will hopefully have more time to explore Chicago. :-) Also, as it will be especially useful in Glacier, I finally purchased the Nikon 12-24mm f/4 lens that has been on my list for quite a while. In other news, Austin and nearby areas have been much wetter than usual lately. It is still very green here, when usually by late July and early August most non-evergreen plant life has become somewhat brown. Anyway, the geek in me enjoyed being able to keep up with weather events through the usual channels, but also through the LCRA Flood Status page. Finally, a few recent photo hilights:
2007.07.12 at 11:20 AM CDT
2007.06.15 at 03:00 AM CDT I'm typing to you from a resurrected Thinkpad T22. :) It's old Windows 2000 install is updating while I journal. I'm not going to keep said install, but it is useful to verify full hardware functionality. I've had this machine for a while now, but until tonight it had a bad motherboard. It has now been "saved" so that I can loan it to JT now that her Dell Latitude L400 has finally died (after surviving longer, better, and through rougher times than any other LS/L400 I've seen). (Ahh... How pretty all-black hardware can be. *grin*) Also, it seems it has been my couple of days for repair work... At work I fixed a cheaper Dell Inspiron that had two screws loose and occasionally shorting the video circuitry or preventing use of said laptop via battery. I also opened one of the white Apple USB extended keyboards to re-seat the support bars for the left shift key and the space bar. The space bar was not set quite right, so the key felt wrong (to my picky fingers at least), while the bar for left shift was completely loose and occasionally rendering left command, left option, z, and caps lock unusable. Whee. In other news JT and I have been pondering vacation plans. I've discussed them a bit with JK, and will soon talk to work, so we can make actual plans/reservations/etc. More on that soon-ish. But for now, I sleep. Current music: T's iPod (via the Epoch stereo)
2007.06.05 at 03:05 AM CDT Tonight is another list of interesting things/sites to explore. Some are recent finds and others have been in my "to link" queue for a while. They come from my own browsing and/or discussions with friends. Enjoy.
2007.05.31 at 02:35 AM CDT The memes... They don't stop. :) In other news. My brother now has a modern computer in the form of a Turion X2 based Dell laptop. Whee! Left to do and/or assist with is getting both parents newer hardware and/or operating systems. Then we'll all be using modern or nearly modern hardware...at least for a bit. So first, digg has a user revolt over the AACS key leak. Then JPG Magazine changes editorial leadership. And now LiveJournal bans various user journals and communities, some for good reason, and some out of what seems like too much paranoia. Whee... Drama. And then six apart realizes that they screwed up and will rectify the situation.
2007.05.24 at 10:35 PM CDT As I write, I'm finishing food and listening to a storm outside. So, if we go on my last two entries, it takes a storm to get me to journal? :) I have no major news to report, though I did recently close my account at JPG Magazine. This is due to no longer really trusting the head staff. More detail is available from the two founders. I enjoyed the bit of participation I had and wish H and D well in their future endeavors. I can only hope that the current head staff learned from what I and many feel was a badly handled situation. On a better note, recent photo hilights:
Speaking of photos, via contacts at Epoch, I have had a couple of photos published. From two different photo shoots were picked photos for use on the page listing the AGLCC board members in the new publication Forward Austin. The first issue has been out for a bit, and the second should appear later this month or before pride in June. Finally, a mix of extreme silliness and transit geekiness:
Now you have seen far far far too many cats and know too much about automobile transit systems. :)
2007.04.28 at 04:10 AM CDT Tonight, I'm sitting at Epoch doing random things. However, I've wanted to note two things I like about late spring / early summer in Austin. First, all the pecan trees have bright green leaves in the morning sun. Second, sitting outside at the favorite coffee shop with several friends watching the lightning from a storm just rocks. It was a wussy storm with regard to wind and rain, but the blinky was quite pretty. Entries (most recent to oldest): 1 - 10 | 11 - 20 | 21 - 30 | 31 - 40 | 41 - 50 | 51 - 60 | 61 - 70 | 71 - 80 | 81 - 90 | 91 - 100 | 101 - 110 | 111 - 120 | 121 - 130 | 131 - 140 | 141 - 150 | 151 - 160 | 161 - 170 | 171 - 178 |
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