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Archives January-August 2006

July 11, 2006

I came across this article this morning in the Times. It is about the first scientific proof of huge rogue waves at sea. Quite interesting for those of us that follow the sea. Rogue Waves

I write this in the motel in Portola. Heading home this morning. Caught a lot of quite little fish, and had great fun doing it.

July 10, 2006

On a two day trip of fishing solitude. Cammy is enjoying the solitude of being home after very much enjoying hosting lots of grandkids for a week. for fishing excerpts from my journal, and a few pictures click: more...

June 17, 2006

Check out this link to a New York Times article. Web Word processing and More. It seems that you don't have to buy software any more; you can do word processing, work spread sheets etc. right on the web. You can store your files on the web site or on your own computer. You can access your work from any computer connected to the net and even give your friends permission to collaborate with you.

June 12, 2006

The Gay Marriage controversy seems to keep coming back. Kind of silly actually. The very thought of it will always polarize people. I really believe that W is president because the gay community brought up the issue during the presidential campaign. Talk about shooting oneself in the foot. ...more

May 28, 2006

Although I think overpopulation is one of, and maybe the world's biggest problem, Mother Nature's negative feedback is already at work on the problem. This is one of the milder solutions. Some of the others she is working on are a lot harsher. The problem with this is that it reduces the population of only the "advanced" western countries, and in them only the middle, upper, and educated classes. I picked up this article in the Wall St. Journal: The Parent Trap

I have been trying to do some oil painting lately, and I'm glad that no one is watching. A few years ago, I also did a little stone sculpting, but no one would ever call me an artist. I was trained as an engineer, and I was more interested in the technical process. I am a technician, not an artist.

Although my work is unlikely to be acceptable in anyone's living room, let alone a gallery or museum, there has been a big payoff to me, and that is when I do look at great art, I can appreciate it much more by knowing a little of how it was made. When I look at a piece of marble sculpture in a museum, I inevitably search for evidence of the sculpting process. "Ah! there the sculptor used a drill. Or there he forgot to clean up a tool mark as he did on the rest of the piece."

So, beyond the therapeutic value, which is considerable, I find that making "art" is really worthwhile, even though the Art Police might arrest me should it get out in public.

May 16, 2006

Even though I am not a fan of W, and don't agree with the whole of his plan (see comments May 2), I do think he was on the right track last night. It remains to be seen If he can get the congress to agree and his government can implement it.

I am still writing this from the Portland Maine area and it is raining like crazy. The areas to the south of us: Mass., Southern New Hampshire, and Wells, Maine have really been getting flooding and breaking records, but until today we have just had mists and an occasional downpour. Now the radar shows a lot of rain about to descend on us.

Global Warming? Of course we really can't know whether particular bad weather is caused by anything like that. It is just when we add up the overall statistics over a period of time that we can begin to suspect. Nevertheless I wouldn't be surprised. Expect weird weather.

May 2, 2006

The price of oil and the resulting gas prices have everyone talking and making demands that the government "do something about it" Although the high prices are hurting you and me, and the real hurt will most likely come from the inevitable increase in the costs of everything ...more

Our immigration "problem" has been in the news with lots of demonstrations on May first. -- Let me first say that I have no problem with immigrants, legal or otherwise, as people. I know many of them, and find most of them wonderful individuals. However we do have a problem. ...more

April 9, 2006

I am fascinated by the publishing of the recently discovered Gnostic Gospel of Judas. This could be disconcerting to some fundamentalist Christians, however I see it as opening up our interest and knowledge of our rich and varied Christian heritage. Here are couple of references:
List of Web sites including an English translation ; Times Article

April 7, 2006

Back again with a couple of poems. Remorse and Dinosaur.

The rain in Auburn still falls, though today is still sunny.

March 2, 2006

Today I added a Poem and some New Books to the reading list in the right hand column.

March 12, 2006

The Snow poem moved to the right column.

March 11, 2006

I have always been fascinated by the concept of unexpected consequences. It applies in all areas of our lives, but it is especially obvious in the areas of technological advancement and political decisions. ...more

March 10, 2006

Sorry. Got too busy to write. Thought for the day:
Can a Canada Goose be a Canadian Goose if it comes from Canada.

March 2, 2006

Recently California planned to execute a condemned criminal using “lethal injection.” ...more

February 23, 2006

Recommended Movie: The Fastest Indian. We went to the movie last night, wondering if we should be wearing black leather jackets. The Indian referred to a 1920 motorcycle.

It turned out to be an Australian made, feel good movie, with plenty of good dry humor. We were pleasantly surprised. Worth seeing.

February 22, 2006

The news lately is that the big real estate boom is cooling off. Everyone seems to think that it will be just a little slowing, like maybe 10 or 20 percent less sales, and that just the frenzy of the breakneck sellers market will moderate. Maybe. Although timing is notoriously hard to predict, I don’t think the real estate cycle has been repealed. more ...

February 18, 2006

Snow. I write this looking out over a whitened landscape. Snow is rare here in the lower foothills of the Sierra, but today we have it.

Is this a new language? Instant messaging has brought a lot of new abbreviations according to an NPR story this morning. As i listened to it, Thought of the abbreviations used by ham radio enthusiasts. Their abbreviations mostly came from those used by operators of International Morse Code. "How are you OT (Old timer) and how is your XYL (wife, ex young lady, which of course is YL). Hi (Laughter)" For some of the current terms go to Messaging Terms

February 15, 2006

I am continually amazed at what ordinary people can do. Recently the rear bumper of my car made contact with the rear fender of a shiny new pickup truck in the parking lot of a local shopping center. My fault. I reported it to my insurance company and they said they would take care of it. The small accident got me thinking. more ...

February 14, 2006

Heard today from Dr. Dean Edel:
In fast food restaurants tested, ice from the drink ice machines had more bacteria than water from the toilet bowls.

February 12, 2006

It is getting light earlier every morning. I love the early mornings. If it didn't’t mean that I am rushing to old age, I would welcome each day that the sun rises earlier.
more ...

February 11, 2006

Global Warming. I am now completely convinced that global warming is a fact, and that human activity is the cause of most of it. Glaciers all over the world are receding at breakneck speed. The average world temperature is higher than it has been in 10,000 years.
More...

February 7, 2006

What is a "War on Terror?" We seem to be confusing the tools of war with the enemy. It is sort of like if we called WWII a "War on Ships and Planes."
More...

When I look at the proposed federal budget, I am reminded that we used to say of the Democrats: "Tax and spend, elect, elect." Now it is the GOP: " Spend, spend, borrow borrow." Where are the conservatives?

February 4, 2006

Woodworking When I start something that is new to me, there always seems to be a big learning curve. These days, it is usually an activity that is more of a hobby than a necessity. I have been trying to do some woodworking and have assembled a few power tools: small table saw, router and table, miter (chop) saw, drill press, and a table top band saw. Most of these are very small, inexpensive,  “starter” level tools.

So far, except for the normal home maintenance things, I have been just making small cuts, trying to learn how to be accurate. I have made lots of calls for advice to my friend who used to work in a cabinet shop.

My wife suggested that I make a cabinet for her hobby room. Great, I said, an easy project to learn on. Also, a few small mistakes would not be too serious. I started yesterday. More...

February 3, 2006

Bird Watching This morning, I am acting like a real ornithologist. I stopped at Grizzly House trail head and walked to an old gnarly oak tree, where I have previously seen a Pileated Woodpecker (of Woody Woodpecker fame). Not there this morning, but I did get in some good exercise.

February 2, 2006

Harder Work Than I Thought As I search my files for some material to start, I find my task is harder than I expected. I have a lot of material that I want to share, but a lot of editing is required. With most writing, I think shorter is better.

A lot of our projects that we are so excited to start turn out to be much harder than we expect. It happens with us personally, and also to governments. It seems as if most government programs never work as well as expected.

Science, Philosophy, And Religion The never ending conflict with science and religion continues. Now it is about what they call "Intelligent Design" It seems to me that the whole problem is one of not defining science, philosophy, and religion properly. To my thinking, science is that discipline that is based on testable premises, using the "Scientific Method." Religion is the organized practice of un testable metaphysics. Philosophy covers a range of subjects, but one of them involves speculating on things that cannot (at least at present) be tested by the scientific method. Each of these disciplines has their place, but we get difficult ground when we try to mix them.