Third-time charm
The team went 3-0 this Sunday with a resounding 19-0 defeat of our opponent, another rookie outing by a new church. The bats were certainly mighty for us this week, as the team was able to put together great strings of singles and doubles to mount scoring opportunities. I fielded from third the entire game, as we only had five guys this week. There was one error on my part, which was saved on the next play by Gary at short, when he turned a double play. That was one of four doubles we turned this game, and I was in on the last one. My time at the plate was the worst yet, as I went one for three. The first time at bat, I hit in to a fielder's choice to end the inning. The second time was worse, as I struck out looking. (In this league, you step up to the plate starting with a 1-1 count.) The called strike looked exactly like the previous pitch, which was called a ball. It was low and outside. I guess this strike just crossed the edge of the plate. The third time was a single right up the middle, which advanced runners and got me my first RBI of the year. My overall average for the still-young season dropped to an even .500. The team looked really good. After we turned the fourth double, I heard from the opposing bench, "We've got to get the ball past the infield. These guys are stopping everything." Quite the compliment, and much appreciated. We're off for Easter Sunday, then it's in to the meat of the schedule, as we pick up games against teams that have been traditionally tough. It will be fun to see if we can maintain what has become consistent play on both sides of the ball.
Brainboost
I've been dinking around with the Brainboost Answer Engine. Pretty nifty. You've got to love the big 'fro-spinning gears icon. [Via Make: Blog.]
The too-quiet motorcycle
An interesting example of the law of unintended consequences: you design a hybrid motorcycle that results in zero emissions, but because it has no moving gears or other noise-making components, the cycle is too quiet. The designers are seeking a way to artificially add noise to the bike. They better look to partner with someone to provide more hydrogen filling stations while they're at it.
Incredibles: 5 million on the first day
It's nice to know I was able to contribute to the sales of five million DVD and video units of The Incredibles on the first day of its release.
The most color-accurate photographic system ever?
Tom Watson and his business partner, Rob Howard, have devised a 144-megapixel camera system. Watson claims it is "the most color-accurate photographic system ever deployed." Utterly fascinating.
Do we have allies or not?
The AP editoralizes:
Italy said Tuesday it will start drawing down its 3,000-strong contingent in Iraq in September, putting a fresh crack in President Bush's crumbling coalition. Yet these same left-of-center "reporters" have also spent a considerable amount of "news" space editoralizing that the United States was acting "unilaterally" in Iraq, and echoing the words of Senator Kerry, who said our allies were just "window dressing." So which is it? Do we have allies or not? Are they simply "window dressing," or are they actually participating in combat, supply, and support missions? Make up your minds, "reporters." You do not get to have it both ways.
Cat conversation
This IM conversation, which I had very early this morning, has been edited for brevity and comedy.
What's at stake in Lebanon
With the democracy domino wobbling and threatening to fall in Lebanon, there is a lot at stake for many in the region. The Wall Street Journal sums it up (paid subscription required):
An estimated one million Syrian guest workers reside in Lebanon and remit their wages to relatives back home, and Syrian officials have plundered much of the international aid Lebanon received over the past decade. The Bekaa Valley also serves as a lucrative transit point for narcotics and other contraband. Without Lebanon, Syria's economy might collapse. So, too, might the Assad dynasty: Bashar's grip on power is far less sure than his father's, and the loss of prestige that a withdrawal from Lebanon would entail might well be politically fatal to him and the minority Allawite clique through which he rules.
For Iran the stakes are strategic. Its elite Revolutionary Guards operate terrorist training camps in the Bekaa. Iran has also placed upward of 10,000 missiles in Lebanon, including the medium-range Fajr-5 rocket, bringing half of Israel within their reach. It thus maintains the option of igniting a new Mideast war at any moment, as well as a hedge against the possibility of a pre-emptive Israeli strike on its nuclear installations. Yet if Syria withdraws, no pro-independence Lebanese government will indulge Iran's military presence. The Lebanese have had enough of allowing their territory to serve, Belgium-like, as the battleground of choice for foreign powers.
For Hezbollah, the stakes are greater still. During the years when Israel maintained a security zone in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah could present himself as a patriot fighting occupation. But Israel removed its forces from Lebanon in 2000, and now Nasrallah's support for Syrian occupation exposes a different set of motives: not patriotic, but Jihadist. And the last thing the Jihadists want is for Lebanon to again become a flourishing, pluralist, cosmopolitan Arab state. Syria's withdrawal would likely precipitate a Lebanese decision to enforce UN Resolution 520, which requires the Lebanese Army to patrol its border with Israel, a function now performed by Hezbollah. At length, it could lead to the disbanding of Hezbollah as an independent militia, though its terrorist wings would likely continue to operate. So let's see: Syrian influence is weakened, the dictatorial ruling party is squashed, and the democracy domino potentially falls in that nation. Iran's influence is further weakened, and its military presence threatening Israel loses ground; actual, physical ground. Lastly, Hezbollah's power is further weakened, and the organization is exposed for what it truly is and always has been: a group of terrorists. Tell me, o occupiers of the Left and haters of America, democracy, and liberty, what is the down side?
Peerflix
I can see the value in a service like Peerflix. I've got some DVDs that I'd like to get rid of, but don't feel like wasting time with eBay or Craigslist. Peerflix would be an ideal way to dump these discs, while picking up one or two others.
SSA makes case for reforming itself
Private accounts would pay workers based on the total amount they've paid into the system over their working lifetimes, not an average of what they paid in for part of their time in the work force. If private accounts had been around in 1989, I would have started growing mine with the first paycheck I earned pruning apple trees in the dead of winter in upstate New York. That account would have then been able to take advantage of what Albert Einstein called "the most powerful force in the universe," compound interest. So instead of penalizing workers like me, who pay in early, private accounts will give workers the advantage of nearly two extra decades of accruing retirement assets.
Viewed from this perspective, it's clear that by uniting against reform, Democrats are defending a system that is skewed against the workers they claim to represent--those who are handed little in life and must enter the work force early. Some of them work their way through college, but many stay in blue-collar and service-related jobs. They make less money each year, but make it up by working longer and harder. The Social Security debate is now about whether to allow these workers to capitalize on all of their hard work while saving for retirement. Isn't that what the Democratic Party is supposed to be all about?
Windows: The Bloated Cow
I understand that the code name for the next version of Windows is "Longhorn." Note: this is not an improvement over "Whistler." All I can say is that they must not have longhorns in Redmond. I went to high school and college in Texas where longhorns were a regular feature of the landscape.
Let's start with the fact that a longhorn is a cow. Is that really the image you want people to connect with the newest version of Windows? What were you guys thinking!
But that's not all. A longhorn has one distinctive feature that separates it from all other cattle—its long horns. On a Web page called Longhorn Country, the author, a longhorn expert, writes:
There was probably no meaner creature in Texas than a Longhorn bull. The slightest provocation would turn him into an aggressive and dangerous enemy. The bull’s horns usually measured six feet or less from tip-to-tip, but could measure over eight feet long. In addition, the sharpness of horns of any length, the speed and muscle power of the bull, and the ease with which he could be aroused and enraged, made him a dangerous and uncontrollable animal.
Sadly, some would say that this aptly describes what Windows has become. A bloated cow that, when provoked, can become "dangerous and uncontrollable."
Spring training
So as the boys of summer gear up for another season of America's game, we dreamers suited up for game two of our spring season. I only fielded 2 of the 5 innings, but felt much better this time around. I didn't handle the ball as much as I would have liked, but simply felt more comfortable back in the position. There was this great play in the second inning. The batter put a shot in to center left, and the runner on first came around second, heading to third. A great throw by Keith, the center-left fielder, combined with a second great throw by Gary, playing shortstop and acting as the cutoff man, nailed the runner while she was still two steps from the bag. It felt really good. Except for the knee she put in the side of my right leg, just below my knee. I didn't know until about an hour later how big of a bruise I had. I know she didn't do it intentionally, it's just one of those breaks of the game, and my first injury of the season. At the plate, I had a better day, going 2 for 3. No RBIs again, but that's what happens when for one of those at-bats you're the first man at the plate for the inning. The second injury of the season came during the fifth, and last, inning, when I scraped up my right shin while mis-sliding in to second. Still beat the tag, and it's just that top layer or two of skin, which will scab over relatively quickly, so it's a small price to pay. The team we played is probably our favorite team to play against. I don't mean that in any sort of insulting way, like they're an easy win or anything. It's the team from Flower Mound UMC, and they're just a fun group of folks to play against. I see similar affections amongst the teammates, and we enjoy a certain good-natured ribbing and conversation with them during and after the game that we just don't have with any of the other teams. I see them as kindred spirits; it's great to win, and you play to win, but you really just want to have a good time playing ball. Truth be told, so long as they're not playing us, I root for these guys and gals. In the end, we managed to outlast them. After we went up huge in the third, FM UMC began a comeback, and looked to be on the verge of pulling it off in the bottom of the fifth. Our defense held and the final score was 15-11, putting us at 2-0 with 10 games left to play. Still a lot of season to go...
On the Apple lawsuits
I have refrained thus far from commenting on the lawsuits by Apple against Think Secret, PowerPage, and Apple Insider, none of whom I will dignify with a link. There are others who are doing a far better job of shedding the real light on this issue, in that is has nothing to do with the First Amendment. Notably, John Gruber and Jeff Harrell have gotten it right. Think Secret, PowerPage, and Apple Insider should have to reveal their "sources," and they should suffer some form of punishment. I don't think hefty fines or jail time is necessary, but something punitive enough to ensure they will discontinue this nonsense, because it is hurting Apple. My disdain for Jason O'Grady's rumor-mongering goes way back, and my thoughts then still hold true now. By combining real facts leaked by insiders and NDA-holders with utter speculation, these rumor-mongers set up false expectations for unannounced Apple products. This leads consumers, as well as Wall Street "analysts", to be disappointed when the real product is announced, and downplay the significance of the product because it is not exactly what the rumor-mongers said it was going to be. These sites are hurting Apple by revealing sensitive and private corporate information, and it has to stop.
So what exactly are you protesting?
I spent part of last week ringing up the organizers of the anti-war events with a couple of questions. The first: Would they allow anyone from the newly-elected Iraqi parliament to address the gatherings? The second: Would the marches include expressions of support for the democracy movement in Arab and other Muslim countries, notably Iraq, Lebanon and Syria?
In both cases the answer was a categorical no, accompanied by a torrent of abuse about "all those who try to justify American aggression against Iraq."
[...]
Why are so many Westerners, living in mature democracies, ready to march against the toppling of a despot in Iraq but unwilling to take to the streets in support of the democratic movement in the Middle East?
Is it because many of those who will be marching in support of Saddam Hussein this month are the remnants of totalitarian groups in the West plus a variety of misinformed idealists and others blinded by anti-Americanism?
Or is it because they secretly believe that the Arabs do not deserve anything better than Saddam Hussein? [This article requires a free registration; get one from BugMeNot.] [Via Best of the Web.]
Tiger RSS screensaver
I'm sorry, but you just won't see something so insanely, wicked cool as this on Windows.
Oh, to be working again
Though I don't drink coffee, I would have to have a chalk mug if I found myself in the workplace again. This would have come in so handy to send subliminal messages to certain former co-workers...
The real domestic issue
Peggy Noonan points to civil defense, not Social Security or tax cuts, as the real number-one domestic issue. The one no one is talking about.