:: Life of Dave ::

:: Friday, November 30 2007 ::

Tee hee. Amazon wanted me to be sure I know that if I can get someone to buy one of their Kindle ebook devices, they'll give me ten percent of the proceeds. So if you're feeling the urge to spend a lot of money on yet another electronic gadget, you can click here to give me a chunk of the proceeds!
:: David (18:23 in Michigan, 0:23 in Paris) - Comment

The BBC is reporting pink is the new color in Thailand, after the king was spotted in a pink shirt with a pink blazer.
:: David (9:42 in Michigan, 15:42 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[1]

:: Thursday, November 29 2007 ::

There's a terribly interesting, if more than a little creepy, article in the NY Times written by a doctor who used to shill for a prescription drug company. IT goes into depth on his slide down the slippery slope, and his eventual realization that he had stopped being impartial. It also gives numbers, detailing the money one can make if your integrity is up for sale.
:: David (0:14 in Michigan, 6:14 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[3]

:: Wednesday, November 28 2007 ::

I was thinking about the fact that I never document any of my work related stuff, even when it's totally unrevealing, due to general dooce fears, and how that made no sense if I didn't say anything except innocuous comments about events. So: today and next week I have some pretty big goings on at work, a big technical project. Exciting stuff. Sasha also had some excitement on that front yesterday, which is very nice.
:: David (10:43 in Michigan, 16:43 in Paris) - Comment

:: Tuesday, November 27 2007 ::

My new toy arrived last night - a nice new thinkpad (see it spinning in space here). So far it's nice and quiet and just what I wanted, except as it turns out 1GB of RAM is not nearly enough for Vista. Holy cow is it not enough. I don't know why anyone in their right mind would choose vista over, say, an operating system that didn't chew up all the memory in the world. Crazy. But overall this new laptop experience has been a whole lot better than last time.
:: David (17:24 in Michigan, 23:24 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[4]

:: Monday, November 26 2007 ::

An article in the NY Times discusses Antarctic tourism, how it has grown by leaps and bounds, and the problems associated with it, one of which has been in the news quite a little bit - the sinking of a tourist ship on its way to the continent.

I've been thinking for some time of going on one of these cruises, and hadn't given much thought to the ethical/environmental concerns. I suppose I should - it's people like me that lead to massive growth and all the problems it engenders.
:: David (15:32 in Michigan, 21:32 in Paris) - Comment

:: Sunday, November 25 2007 ::

Craigslist is, I swear, pure comic genius. Where else can you get a NSFW reply from the cat to the guy who complained about paw prints on his sports car?
:: David (0:56 in Michigan, 6:56 in Paris) - Comment

:: Saturday, November 24 2007 ::

I fear I must stop the blog momentarily, in order to dance at the results of the election in Australia. Kevin Rudd will be taking over from John Howard, after way too long. Election results are still rolling in, but what is clear is that Labor has defeated the Liberal Party, and John Howard will be shown the door. It also looks like he will be shown the door that leads all the way out, as it appears likely he has lost his seat in Bennelong to Labor as well.

Rudd is interesting - he apparently speaks Mandarin, studied China and worked there for the Australian government. Given Australia's desire / need for good relations with China, he seems a very good pick.
:: David (22:44 in Michigan, 4:44 in Paris) - Comment

Man - we are just not nearly cool enough - we did not get punched in the face even once during yesterday's shopping excursion!
:: David (21:55 in Michigan, 3:55 in Paris) - Comment

:: Friday, November 23 2007 ::

We survived turkey day, survived black friday (though it was a close-run thing with Sasha). Now we're safely back at home, Sasha killing defias last time I checked, and the kitten very happy to see us. I hope you all passed a pleasant couple of days as well!
:: David (23:02 in Michigan, 5:02 in Paris) - Comment

:: Wednesday, November 21 2007 ::

A lesson in French, along with a dose of British news. Le Monde sums up the reaction of the British press to the news that the UK government lost the personal data of 25 million of its citizenry:

Choquant, risible, hilarant, incroyable (mais) au-delà de la farce, criminellement irresponsable, et impardonnable", écrit le Times. Pour le Financial Times, il s'agit d'une "bourde", pour le Guardian d'un "désastre", pour The Independent d'une "débâcle".

Give you a hint - those are mostly adjectives, and not complimentary ones. The BBC gives the details of the loss I quite like the opposition's position, as described in another article: "They believe the government's reputation for competence has been damaged, perhaps fatally, and that voters - at least 25 million of them - can no longer have confidence in ministers' ability to protect them or their families."
:: David (22:04 in Michigan, 4:04 in Paris) - Comment

An interesting article on the BBC talks about the clash between Japan's need for migrant workers and entrenched xenophobia. Due to the low reproductive rates in Japan, the population is expected to shrink by at least 25 percent in the coming decades.
:: David (9:31 in Michigan, 15:31 in Paris) - Comment

:: Tuesday, November 20 2007 ::

Another reason not to watch fox news: they can't tell Apple (the computer maker) from Abu Dhabi (the country). And don't even get me started on the whole 'Abu Dubai' and 'the arabs' parts of their exchange.
:: David (16:40 in Michigan, 22:40 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[3]

:: Monday, November 19 2007 ::

An interesting post on the "¿Por qué no te callas?" confrontation between Juan Carlos and Hugo Chavez discusses the language used, and just how much of a smackdown it was. The BBC is reporting that over half a million Spaniards have downloaded the phrase as a ringtone.
:: David (13:44 in Michigan, 19:44 in Paris) - Comment

OK, so I wasn't very excited about the Amazon Kindle, their new e-book reader announced today, until I noticed they have Le Monde as one of their subscription options, and even better, you can purchase just today's paper for about half the price of the paper version. On the other hand, if it's simply the web page repackaged for kindle consumption, I'm less impressed....
:: David (10:59 in Michigan, 16:59 in Paris) - Comment

Just in case you doubted that the pendulum swings both ways, and that the Victorians might be just around the corner, Sesame Street offers evidence: Slashdot pointed me to a NYT story about how early episodes of Sesame Street are marked 'adults only'.

I asked Carol-Lynn Parente, the executive producer of "Sesame Street," how exactly the first episodes were unsuitable for toddlers in 2007. She told me about Alistair Cookie and the parody "Monsterpiece Theater." Alistair Cookie, played by Cookie Monster, used to appear with a pipe, which he later gobbled. According to Parente, "That modeled the wrong behavior" — smoking, eating pipes — "so we reshot those scenes without the pipe, and then we dropped the parody altogether."

Which brought Parente to a feature of "Sesame Street" that had not been reconstructed: the chronically mood-disordered Oscar the Grouch. On the first episode, Oscar seems irredeemably miserable — hypersensitive, sarcastic, misanthropic. (Bert, too, is described as grouchy; none of the characters, in fact, is especially sunshiney except maybe Ernie, who also seems slow.) "We might not be able to create a character like Oscar now," she said.

I quite frankly don't know how to respond. I'd be awfully surprised if kids took up pipe smoking (or pipe eating). And I was always under the impression that people on Sesame Street showed real emotions so they could explain real emotions to the kids. Or perhaps I'm old fashioned (pre-Victorian, even?)
:: David (10:30 in Michigan, 16:30 in Paris) - Comment

:: Sunday, November 18 2007 ::

Hooray for Nordstrom! The clothing retailer has announced they will not be participating in the 'Christmas in October, November, and December' blitz their competitors have been doing this year. And speaking of 'Christmas creep', what does it say that we now have a phrase for the early marketing blitz retailers have been subjecting us to?
:: David (16:34 in Michigan, 22:34 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[1]

:: Saturday, November 17 2007 ::

So far, and the weekend has been nicely uneventful - a little bit of game playing, some minor work on the blog software (I changed the comments ever so slightly), a little bit of tidying up. I believe my niece has a birthday today, and I still need to call. Nothing too exciting. Next weekend, now - next weekend shall be exciting!
:: David (19:52 in Michigan, 1:52 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[2]

:: Friday, November 16 2007 ::

Oh boy! Smart has started taking reservations for people wanting to purchase a fortwo in the USA. If we needed a second car, I think this would be it.
:: David (15:31 in Michigan, 21:31 in Paris) - Comment

I meant to put this up when it first happened, but I'll throw it up now, as an amusing aside - the daughter of a friend of ours recently got to act as interviewer to the folks who are making the film(s) of the Dark is Rising books. She was flown to Romania and spent a couple days interviewing people. You can read the details over at Derek's blog and the article in French.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I read these books when I was 11 or so, and loved them, so I was pretty excited to see they were making films (though, as always, concerned they were going to screw it up). It's even more fun now.
:: David (10:25 in Michigan, 16:25 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[1]

:: Thursday, November 15 2007 ::

I learned an important lesson from NPR tonight. If you have just written a pop-y new book, full of half-thought-out off-the-cuff comments (kind of like a blog, really), be sure the other guest wasn't invited to cut you down to size. The show On Point had invited Peter Schiff, "an American stockbroker, financial analyst, and author who frequently appears as a guest on CNBC, Fox News, and Bloomberg Television" to talk about how terrible the economy was. They had also invited Ken Rogoff, Harvard professor and former chief economist of the IMF. One does not become chief economist of the IMF by being a slouch. I've the impression Peter never saw the truck that hit him. So the rule is, as in poker: If you look around the [recording studio] and you can't see the fish....you ARE the fish! If you'd like to hear the show, it's here.
:: David (22:10 in Michigan, 4:10 in Paris) - Comment

:: Wednesday, November 14 2007 ::

The bluegill is a fish local to this area, and is incredibly abundant. It is not native to Japan, but is apparently becoming incredibly abundant there too. According to the BBC

The fish were given to [the Japanese emporer] by the mayor of Chicago during a visit to the Chicago Aquarium nearly 50 years ago, when he was still crown prince.

They were taken back to Japan, and managed to escape into the wild, where they have now taken root.
:: David (9:36 in Michigan, 15:36 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[3]

:: Tuesday, November 13 2007 ::

I've been following the craziness in Pakistan over the past weeks, and because I listen to the BBC in the morning, I've been hearing a lot from Tariq Azim Khan, the Pakistani government spokesman. This man reminds me of Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, the Iraqi spokesperson who assured reporters Iraq was winning the war with the US, while US tanks could be clearly seen in the background rolling into Baghdad. It's really funny to listen to him, for example, explaining how people in the West would feel bad if Benazir Bhutto were to be killed in an attack after she were released from the helpful 'protective' custody the Pakistani government is holding her in because of Western pressure to release her.
:: David (17:16 in Michigan, 23:16 in Paris) - Comment

Oh my goodness - it seems the Iraq war is expensive! According to a new report by Democrats it could be as high as one and a half trillion dollars. Shocking. Nobody saw that coming. Especially not any Nobel prize winning economists. It goes without saying the White House has called this a stunt to divert attention from positive developments in Iraq. And there might be some good things happening. It's really hard to say, because everyone has been spinning this so hard. I certainly hope there have been some positive developments.
:: David (14:10 in Michigan, 20:10 in Paris) - Comment

A couple days ago there was a stampede at a 'French superstore chain' in China. I thought to myself 'that means Carrefour. I've been to a Carrefour in China.' As it turned out, I've been to -the- Carrefour in China (here's the picture I took). Now, in a move with interesting echoes as we move in towards Black Friday, China has banned time-limited promotions. We'll see if anyone gets killed next weekend, and whether American authorities have the same reaction (I suspect they will not).
:: David (9:35 in Michigan, 15:35 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[2]

:: Monday, November 12 2007 ::

I spent all day Sunday (pretty much) giving my old Mac a thorough going-over in preparation for selling it. I think I'll devote the proceeds to the Christmas fund. Except for a couple dollars, which I'll set aside for band-aids, as I cut myself twice while unplugging cables.
:: David (11:56 in Michigan, 17:56 in Paris) - Comment

There's a really interesting story in the NYT, which isn't really news but is rather just a detailed explanation of how a Torah is created. I had no idea. I guess I now understand why they aren't slipping them into every hotel room. At tens of thousands of dollars apiece, that'd be a very costly operation.
:: David (11:53 in Michigan, 17:53 in Paris) - Comment

:: Friday, November 9 2007 ::

My spiffy new laptop arrived yesterday. Unfortunately, it will be going back. And I will never be making another purchase from Dell. Read why in my story How Dell lost my business.
:: David (10:23 in Michigan, 16:23 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[2]

:: Thursday, November 8 2007 ::

A local blogger apparently made the big time, or something, as reported in the local paper. Other local bloggers were not impressed.
:: David (16:58 in Michigan, 22:58 in Paris) - Comment

:: Wednesday, November 7 2007 ::

Autoblog reminds us that it is Deer Season in Michigan. Actually bow hunting season has been going for some time now, but the guns will soon be coming out, and we can look forward to lots of venison consumption in the coming months. Given the economic situation in Michigan these days, hunting your food seems like a good idea.
:: David (22:07 in Michigan, 4:07 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[2]

Kind of a crazy day in the international news department. Georgia (the country) declared a state of emergency due to protests. Finland had a crazy gunman at a high school. And in the US, French president Nicolas Sarkozy addressed congress.
:: David (17:14 in Michigan, 23:14 in Paris) - Comment

A while back, while talking to a friend about the consolidation happening in the banking industry, I decided to buy some shares in National City, a regional bank. Those shares are now down 40 percent. But, ever the optimist, I decided to make lemonade with my lemons, and I have now started buying banking shares left, right and center. As soon as they announce a major loss, and lose half their value, I dive in. For the most part, it hasn't worked at all - and today was an especially good day for it not working. But I have a theory, and I'm going to stick to it - perhaps at my (monetary) peril.
:: David (16:02 in Michigan, 22:02 in Paris) - Comment

:: Tuesday, November 6 2007 ::

Apropo of nothing, a few bloggers I read have gone off on the theme of 'blogging commandments'. Apparently it started here, and overflow went here. A friend just started a new work blog, and jokingly said he'd come see mine for blogging pointers, so I thought I should get some up before he swung by.
:: David (14:57 in Michigan, 20:57 in Paris) - Comment

:: Monday, November 5 2007 ::

Ah, racism. It comes in many forms. My personal favourite in the list of (to me) truly obscure and bizarre groups to be picked on: the Romanians. Seems Italy has a new law allowing Romanians to be deported, despite the fact that it isn't clear this is allowed under EU law. There has been at least one attack on Romanians in Italy so far, and with Berlusconi urging Italy to close the borders to Romanian workers, I think we can probably expect more problems.
:: David (10:58 in Michigan, 16:58 in Paris) - Comment

We had an all-American day on Saturday - Davidly (who was the originator of the NASCAR race trip) was in town, so we went with him and Jen to an orchard to pick apples. As we drove in to the orchard we noticed there was a corn maze next door, so we went through that as well. When that was done we went over to Hospoda's to watch some American football and drink beer.
:: David (10:20 in Michigan, 16:20 in Paris) - Comment

:: Friday, November 2 2007 ::

Class action lawsuits are broken. This is all I can conclude from a spate of recent lawsuits I should have benefited from. The first was the lawsuit against credit cards for secretly charging fees when you bought something in a foreign currency. The settlement page instructed you to dig up all your financial records for the last ten years. Then today comes the Seagate hard drive settlement, which will require that "A separate claim must be issued for each individual hard drive purchased and will require a documentary proof of purchase, the specified hard drive name and model number, the amount paid, the date of purchase and the name of the merchant." So now I'm keeping receipts for every individual item I've purchased for the last ten years, just in case there's a lawsuit? I doubt it.
:: David (9:35 in Michigan, 15:35 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[5]

:: Thursday, November 1 2007 ::

About two and a half years ago, a kitty named Cinnamon was chosen to be the first cat to be gene sequenced. Now the BBC is reporting that the work is complete, at least the first stage. Given our discussion on pet care, this is a timely event!
:: David (17:00 in Michigan, 23:00 in Paris) - Comment

Some thoughts on hiring an expert technical staff as written by RevSys:

Anyone who has been a developer or managed developers can tell you that an expert can accomplish as much as 10 average developers. However, companies typically pay only a 10-20% premium for an expert over the average programmer. Whether or not their title is Lead, Architect, Development Manager, Guru or whatever nomenclature the company uses. I am not saying that if your average developer is paid $50k/year that you should pony up $500k/year for an expert. [...W]hat employers don't seem to realize is that in the end paying more saves them more.

It's always interesting to see other people who think that skill depth doesn't matter as much as breadth - it's the liberal arts attitude extended to the job market, which is usually not done (rightly or not).
:: David (16:39 in Michigan, 22:39 in Paris) - Comment

A posting on slashdot led me to an open letter to Microsoft's Steve Ballmer from a Linux company, after a deal with the Nigerian government went suspiciously awry.
:: David (11:03 in Michigan, 17:03 in Paris) - Comment