Life of Dave

Sasha headed off to London this morning, and so for the next six weeks I'm playing bachelor (minus the week I hope to be in London). It's very strange to find so much time on my hands - when I got home I cleaned part of the house, mowed the lawn, went shopping for cat things, visited the kitties we're watching this week, and closed with The Daily Show and Colbert Report while I had dinner. Now I'm trying to resist the urge to play with my computer until all hours (and trying to make the kitten stop chewing on my feet). Since I've been dangerously productive today, I'm afraid the rest of the week is probably shot. Or maybe this will be a trend, and when Sasha gets back she'll be horrified by the military efficiency with which I now live my life. But I doubt it.
:: David (0:05 in Arkansas, 7:05 in Paris) - Comment

Over the weekend a group of us were discussing the question of religion (well, Christianity) as it permeates Southern culture. There's no question it does - people here seize on religion as an opening conversational gambit, and the question of whether one has found one's 'church home' is reportedly oft-asked.

Being a fairly serious cultural relativist, I took the position that the assumption of one's religious affiliation had to be viewed as a way of affirming your membership in the group - a virtual equivalent to 'sure is hot out today!' where the expectation is that we are both in the same boat, and opening with this topic will allow further conversation. The basic assumption is inclusive in nature.

Our friends did not seem to agree with this understanding of the question, and rather felt it was problematic and invasive. Upon further discussion, we wondered in part if that was because, if viewed by people who do not consider themselves part of the group (perhaps they are not Christian, or perhaps they prefer not to talk about religion), the topic seems exclusionary, rather than inclusive. And if you feel the topic excludes you, perhaps your assumption is that that was what it was designed to do.

It's a tough topic, as trying to see past both your own cultural assumptions and those of the folks you live amongst can lead to some very muddled chains of logic. I think the question is further complicated, here in the US, by the association of conservative Christians with the Republican party. Now we might have the added assumptions of, for example, militarism or intolerance.

When we moved down here, I commented to Sasha that even though we weren't moving to another country, we were certainly moving to another culture. Sometimes I forget how true that was. And sometimes I am reminded.
:: David (23:19 in Arkansas, 6:19 in Paris) - Comment

The supreme court clarified when and how a student may be searched at school today, in a ruling that produced the wonderful phrase "nondangerous school contraband does not raise the specter of stashes in intimate places". The short form of the ruling is that you better have a darned good reason for strip searching kids. Bonus points to Stevens for noting "It does not require a constitutional scholar to conclude that a nude search of a 13-year-old child is an invasion of constitutional rights of some magnitude." Clarence Thomas, of course, disagreed, noting that "Redding would not have been the first person to conceal pills in her undergarments.... Nor will she be the last after today's decision, which announces the safest place to secrete contraband in school."
:: David (13:10 in Arkansas, 20:10 in Paris) - Comment

I hadn't heard about this until recently, but apparently the legislature, in a demonstration of why everyone thinks the government wastes our money, has voted that the possessive form of the state name, "Arkansas", should be written with an extra 's' - "Arkansas's". I have been asked a few times about the quality of education in the state, because the state has an image problem in that regard. I can't imagine how it developed this image problem, when the state government demonstrates such high regard for grammatical rules.
:: David (10:36 in Arkansas, 17:36 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[1]

You know, I'm really sad. When I first read the rather bizarre story about the governor of North Carolina, it sounded like he had popped out for a quick hike along the Appalachian trail. OK, fair enough, but people were quick to make it seem irresponsible, as though he had abandoned the state. I felt sorry for him - the guy can't even get away for a long weekend. Then it turned out he'd gotten away, not to Appalachia, but to Argentina. Sounds similar, but kind of different. Then it came out that, in fact, he'd been down there to see his mistress, which was apparently why his wife didn't know where he was. So we get everything - bizarre missing governors and a sex scandal! And, of course, just because I'm cruel, we also get yet another Republican falling out of favor. They really need to clean up their act in a big way if they intend to do something about the Obama threat.
:: David (17:46 in Arkansas, 0:46 in Paris) - Comment

Time has an excellent article pointing out some of the cultural aspects of the current uprisings in Iran:

[T]he cycles of mourning in Shiite Islam actually provide a schedule for political combat - a way to generate or revive momentum. Shiite Muslims mourn their dead on the third, seventh and 40th days after a death, and these commemorations are a pivotal part of Iran's rich history. During the revolution, the pattern of confrontations between the shah's security forces and the revolutionaries often played out in 40-day cycles.

The article discusses the woman being called 'Neda' ("Farsi for 'the voice' or 'the call'") who was caught on video being gunned down in the streets. It asserts that her martyrdom may be the spark that really causes the explosion, if there is one.
:: David (12:21 in Arkansas, 19:21 in Paris) - Comment

It's been a crazy busy week since we got back from Oklahoma City. I've managed to arrange to head to London for a while in July (to see Sasha, who'll be doing the NEH Summer Seminar). Work has been crazy, helping out with a summer program for children has led to some interesting photos. And the sidewalk group here in Conway is ongoing - it appears we managed to get $113,000 for sidewalks, which is not enough, but is a great start!
:: David (22:38 in Arkansas, 5:38 in Paris) - Comment

OKC, as Oklahoma City seems to style itself, is quite a lot of fun. This evening the art museum was open late, and had drinks and live music on the rooftop terrace, so we headed over there after the conference wrapped up. It seems like a younger city, with some really interesting directions being taken in architecture and the like. That said, after two full days playing tourist Sasha seemed to indicate she had about exhausted the 'things to see' list. It's a very driveable city (not so much with the walkable, at least where we are), and the Bricktown area is on its way to being a very nice district - very walkable and lots of restaurants, and a nice canal with a walking path running through the middle of it.
:: David (22:36 in Arkansas, 5:36 in Paris) - Comment

I'm really excited about a new media position happening locally, and I decided to rework my resume to make it fit the job. I applied for a similar position with the same organization a year ago and didn't get it, so I know the cover letter needs reworking as well. I remember when I worked for NITLE these great brainstorming session on marketing I would have with the person who produced those materials, and it was always a blast. It would be terrific to be back in that realm, with the brain cells constantly bouncing together to come up with exciting ways to present material I thought was exciting/important.
:: David (13:29 in Arkansas, 20:29 in Paris) - Comment

It appears 'Toad Suck Park' may contain a pun, as the Log Cabin Democrat reports a recent 'sting' has nabbed several people there looking for 'male companionship'.

The officer accepted the man's offer to go into a public bathroom for sex. The man dropped his trousers and the officer produced his badge.

The idea of our cute little riverside park being a hotbed of public 'indecency' amuses me to no end.
:: David (10:11 in Arkansas, 17:11 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[1]

Just in case you'd forgotten, China is now the big economic power. Geithner felt the need to reassure them, the Aussies are starting to get nervous about all the investing going on, "Nor is Australia alone. From the Philippines to Vietnam, China�s neighbors are recalculating the benefits � and potential deficits � of life in the shadow of a newly dominant nation." And, of course, there's Hummer: now a Chinese automobile. It's easy to claim that China will act as a stabilizing economic force, its growth driving imports which will help other exporting countries, but it's also worth remembering that the easy money provided by the Chinese (to keep the Yuan stable vs. the dollar) helped lead to the crash.
:: David (22:43 in Arkansas, 5:43 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[2]

A nice start to my day - a person from a company I'm working with emailed me this morning, and I immediately thought it was spam. Given that this person had the first initial 'S' and the last name 'Panky', I think I was well defended in thinking it was junk mail. Personally, I would have requested a different address.
:: David (8:19 in Arkansas, 15:19 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[5]

Why my cell phone plan must include unlimited data:

450 Minutes Included - 125 Minutes used
Unlimited Night & Weekend Included - 28 Night & Weekend Minutes used
Unlimited KB included - 523,505 KB used

Yup - half a gig of data used. Note this phone has not been tethered to a computer at all - this is my data for podcasts, emailing, and surfing the web.
:: David (22:42 in Arkansas, 5:42 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[3]

Painting a room may seem like a good idea... the first day. By the evening of the second one wonders why you didn't just pay someone to do it. But now the evil pumpkin color is gone from the sunroom, and it is all bright yellow. Sadly, it is a yellow that doesn't go at all with the rest of the house, but we like it, so there. It turns out that taping off and detailing takes at least as long as filling the walls, which came as something of a surprise. And on top of all that, it is apparently exhausting, which was also a surprise. But now it's (mostly) done, barring surprises when we go down to breakfast tomorrow, and so it makes us happy.
:: David (22:12 in Arkansas, 5:12 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[1]

The NY Times is reporting that North Korea has detonated a nuclear weapon, their second test detonation (the first was in 2006). If Obama wasn't having fun before, he certainly is now! According to the BBC, "The US Geological Survey said the 4.7-magnitude quake [created by the test] was detected at 0054 GMT. It happened 10km (six miles) below the surface." and that "Both South Korea's and the US geological agencies said the tremor on Monday morning indicated a nuclear explosion."
:: David (0:31 in Arkansas, 7:31 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[1]

There was a fun little story on NPR's 'This American Life', all about why, even though everyone loses when you foreclose on a house, and everyone wins when you adjust a loan to allow people to stay in their house, banks aren't adjusting more loans. The answer: software. It seems the banks never had to make those calculations when everyone was doing fine, so they didn't buy software with the capability. And now, of course, it's too late. It's a nice reminder of the importance of deploying the right system. You can listen to the show here - it's at minute nine, but the story which precedes it is worth a listen too.
:: David (0:15 in Arkansas, 7:15 in Paris) - Comment

We just got back from riverfest, a big music festival in Little Rock and North Little Rock (which is a separate town, across the river). Lots of smaller acts, and then headlining this evening, Buddy Guy. Our friends were worn out earlier in the day and so left, and all I can do is feel pity for them, that they missed such an amazing show. I hadn't been completely sure I wanted to wait around for the show, especially after it started raining, but it was worth the wait - maybe the best concert I've seen. The mind blowing thing was that the concert was on the smallest of the three stages (Heart had the big stage). It looks as though he's on tour now, and I cannot say enough how much you should go if you have the chance.
:: David (0:01 in Arkansas, 7:01 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[1]

Well, for all of you living in the states who actually bothered to watch television, the adventure (or is that 'the pain'?) is over. For us here in Conway, Arkansas, it's just beginning: Kris Allen won American Idol. To say people went nuts around here would be to understate considerably. There were screaming crowds. There were fireworks. People streamed out of their houses (I am not kidding here) to see the fireworks being set off downtown. It was amazing. To give you some idea of how gushingly excited the local broadcaster's evening newscast was after the event, I captured the front page of their website. Notice any themes? They, and again, I am not joking, tracked down his kindergarten teacher to do an interview, as well as his high school music teacher.

I've never really followed this stuff before, so I don't really know what Allen's victory means for the town (other than free cheese). I imagine he's off for a year of breakneck promotions, concerts, and whatever, and then either he's a star, or he comes home and returns to life as usual (I honestly doubt that will happen). Either way it's been an interesting ride, and I look forward to seeing what happens next.

Interesting tidbit: reportedly there were one hundred million votes cast in the final showdown. Thirty-eight million of them were from Arkansas (a state with a population of less than three million people). We take our Idol seriously down here!
:: David (23:36 in Arkansas, 6:36 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[1]

Photo: Barron

A friend pointed me to a New York Times story on sriracha, the sauce you know is asian, but you're not sure where it's from (as it turns out, it might as accurately be called an American condiment as anything else). It's an interesting read, in a sort of bizarre way, and if nothing else I was happy to find out what 'rooster sauce' was really called!
:: David (10:37 in Arkansas, 17:37 in Paris) - Comment

Slashdot pointed me to an article in Esquire, in which the author volunteered to have his brain scanned (what is called an fMRI, or 'functional MRI') to examine where and what in the brain causes (or responds to) 'love'. Specifically, they compared his wife to Angelina Jolie.

When I told friends and family I was trying to scientifically assess my love for [my wife], they all had the same response: "No good can come of this."

It's an amusing article, which contains more than a few unnerving tidbits:

If love is simply chemicals, doesn't that change its meaning? And how soon before we create a scientifically valid love potion? (Already under study, by the way.) What about a love vaccine to help us from falling for the wrong person? And if you have to rely on chemical enhancements, do you get an asterisk next to your name in the book of love, like Barry Bonds?

It's a fun read, if you have any interest in the state of brain science these days (or if you just want to know who wins - his wife, or Angelina).
:: David (10:34 in Arkansas, 17:34 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[2]

Some stuff just transcends. Stuff like Kris Allen gets free cheese dip for life. Apparently Stoby's, a local food institution, was mentioned on American Idol, and is now catching the edge of the media frenzy. And capitalizing on it - apparently when he was in town Kris had lunch there, and they now have a giant Kris Allen section on their site.
:: David (9:57 in Arkansas, 16:57 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[1]

A busy weekend - dinner out with a colleague Friday, then a big Master Gardener event Saturday morning (we arrived just in time for them to tell us to take whatever we wanted for free, which was nice) and then random socializing Saturday afternoon (we managed to miss our second horse race this year, arriving just in time for folks to tell us what happened). Today we did some much needed gardening, getting several plants in the ground (and mowing, so the darned lawn service people will stop coming round asking if we need someone to do it for us (I hope)). I also played with my new eee PC 900A, trying to get it set up as the home phone. So far, no luck.

We're also in the process of refinancing. Yes, the house we bought like eight months ago? We're buying it again. Fun. The problem is, over the course of ten years with our current mortgage we would pay seventeen thousand dollars more than if we refinance. So we go through the pain of refinancing now, and in four years we start making money (because, of course, we get to pay all the fees again), and each year after that we come out further and further ahead. As you can see at right, I was tracking the rate prices fairly closely before I finally decided to do it (click the pic to embiggen). But now we have weeks and weeks of annoying hoops to jump through.
:: David (22:25 in Arkansas, 5:25 in Paris) - Comment

Our kitten has a name. After two days of voting, and slightly more than 50 recorded votes, 'Moses' has carried the day. Already the nickname shuffling has begun, as 'Moe' takes an early lead, but 'Moze' has potential. And of course, there's 'little kitten' (as opposed to 'big kitten'). For all the numbers and names proposed, click through to the comments.
:: David (8:37 in Arkansas, 15:37 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[2]

Hm. I talked at a city council meeting last night which was looking for ways to spend a half million dollars of government money, intended to, basically, do nice green things while stimulating the economy. The definitions of 'green' and 'stimulate the economy' were a bit quirky/murky, but as with all things so far it seems like the basic idea at the federal level is to say 'here's a bucket of money - spend it as quickly as you can'. The story in the LCD seems a bit more optimistic about the chances the money will be spent on sidewalks than I am, but we'll see.
:: David (11:09 in Arkansas, 18:09 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[1]

When you buy something from one of the big box pet chains here in town, the credit card processor at the check out lane always asks if you want to give one dollar to help homeless animals. I no longer need to think about the question, after yesterday's visit to the vet to help our little (formerly) homeless animal. We had quite the (expensive) little adventure, which included getting weighed, having blood drawn (to verify he's not putting Mina in danger of disease), lots of pills and solutions, and treatment for fleas, ear mites, and three (count 'em) ticks embedded in various locations. Kitten did not enjoy the experience, but I expect when his ears stop itching from the creepy-crawlies he'll be happier. We then went to get kitten food, and I swear I think the people at the pet store recognized me, perhaps because this is my third visit since Thursday.
:: David (7:19 in Arkansas, 14:19 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[1]

We spent the weekend up in Michigan, Sasha working and me visiting my folks. I had the bright idea to simply fly to Chicago and drive over to Michigan, so as not to suffer through another O'Hare scheduling failure. I think in future I shall simply fly to Kalamazoo - the combined 'drive (to Little Rock) - fly (to Chicago)- drive (to Michigan)' was a little too much like an endurance contest. My favourite part was on the return trip, when it took me as long to drive across Chicago as it had to drive the entire route from Kalamazoo to Chicago.
:: David (6:33 in Arkansas, 13:33 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[1]

Walking home from drinks out with some of Sasha's colleagues, we noticed alongside of a busy road near our house a little ball of fluff, which resolved itself into a terrified kitten. Whether abandoned by its mother or some crazy person we couldn't really ascertain, but we really couldn't leave it there, so we brought it back to the house and set it up in the spare bathroom (because of the tile floor. yum for baby animals). I ran to the store and grabbed some kitten food, and we got everything arranged to care for it until we figure out what to do with it. Of course, we're going away this weekend, as are most of the folks we know, so it will fall on some unsuspecting victim to care for it while we're away. Having never cared for a kitten before I don't know its chances of survival, but it seems to be doing just fine right now.
:: David (6:26 in Arkansas, 13:26 in Paris) - Comment

Slashdot also pointed me to another person stepping forward to claim responsibility for the banking crisis - this one one of the people who wrote the software that allowed quick and easy slicing and dicing of mortgages.

As the government lowered interest rates to stimulate the economy, bonds increased in price. With a drop in rates, more people refinanced. There was more product for the securitization process, more meat for the grinder. Our software was rolled out to ride the latest wave. Traders loved it. What had taken days before now took minutes. They could design bonds out of bonds, to provide the precise rate of return that an investor wanted. I used to go to the trading floor and watch my software in use amid the sea of screens. A programmer doesn�t admire his creation so much for what it does but for how it does it. This stuff was beautiful and elegant.

Which was, I believe, a common attitude toward the process, right up until it rose up and smote us all. As the author of the article notes: "Some things could go bad, but not everything at once. It never has, except during the Depression, and we�re so much smarter now. That could never happen again."
:: David (8:43 in Arkansas, 15:43 in Paris) - Comment

Slashdot is chock full of interesting stories today. One that caught my eye was a reference to an article in Archaeology magazine, on how the proliferation of fake antiquities on ebay has led to a collapse in the grave robbing industry. It seems it's far easier to make a profit selling fakes, and, like all competitive markets, some manufacturers have chosen to go upmarket, making fakes so good the pros can't tell. Some of the methods are simply genius:

I know, for instance, of one fellow who makes grass-tempered reproductions of a 2,000-year-old pottery style. Having worked on archaeological projects for years, he learned to get the grass for his fakes from ancient middens near his house. If fired properly, and if the organic residue in one of his pots were carbon dated, it would appear to be a very old piece indeed. Looters on the north coast of Peru have discovered not only the famous 12th-15th-century A.D. Chancay anthropomorphic vessels, but also the original molds used to make the vessels. Thanks to publicly available archaeological reports, they also now use the original clay sources and minerals to make and paint the pottery. They can create virtually perfect reproductions.

It's a really interesting article by a very well informed author, and is an excellent example of why I love economics - you never know where the market is going to lead you.
:: David (20:04 in Arkansas, 3:04 in Paris) - Comment

Since I know you're all dying to know, Stuck on a Truck has entered what is probably its final day. Saturday was not a good day to be standing around hanging on a truck, and Sunday wasn't a great deal better. Now we're apparently down to the final three, and after more than 80 hours folks are probably more than a little punch drunk (there may be a plan to head over at lunch to see how out of it they are). I just discovered they also have a twitter feed, which has some interesting insights into what happens to sleep deprived people ("The contestants are getting crazy. One thinks there are things flying under the tent. One thought the officials had put him in time out.")
:: David (8:26 in Arkansas, 15:26 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[2]

Oh my - a supreme court opening. I wonder if the entire liberal old guard will turn over, now that there's a Democrat in the white house. Of course, Souter wasn't supposed to be liberal (Bush I appointed him), so there's no absolute assurance that Obama's picks will line up ideologically with him. But I certainly hope they do. Either way, on a purely selfish note, I hope his next pick is a David too (a woman named David will also be acceptable, as that seems to be where the discussion is leading).
:: David (23:07 in Arkansas, 6:07 in Paris) - Comment

One of the joys of Toad Suck Daze (the local festival happening this weekend) is apparently the Stuck on a Truck contest, in which people remain in contact with a pickup until only one person remains, who then gets to keep the truck. Being such a fan of pickups, as I'm sure you all know I am, I was thrilled to learn of this contest as it was hyped up over the last few weeks. But very little could contain my joy today, when I learned there is a live webcam where you can watch people being stuck on a truck.
:: David (14:14 in Arkansas, 21:14 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[6]

Mark Taylor, the chairman of the religion department at Columbia, has written an op-ed piece in the NY Times calling, more or less, for an end to graduate studies as we know them. Citing some well known problems ("It is simply cheaper to provide graduate students with modest stipends and adjuncts with as little as $5,000 a course � with no benefits � than it is to hire full-time professors"), he suggests what it sounds like is a 'liberal arts Ph.D.', and goes further, calling for an end to both traditional academic departments and the traditional dissertation. The opinion-o-sphere has reacted to his proposals, and Geeky Mom has an overview that links some of the major players.

Me? I think the academy could use a good solid shake up. Abolishing tenure would be a nice start. The down side of that is the possibility of the chilling effect it might have on teaching and/or researching certain unpopular topics, and of course the race to the bottom that would occur in wage levels.
:: David (11:34 in Arkansas, 18:34 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[1]

The BBC did a really interesting series on manbirdpig flu this morning, starting with an interview with Keiji Fukuda from the World Health Organization, who said that containment was judged to have failed, and that mitigation was where governments should be focusing their energies. In a different interview he did, he said "With the virus being widespread, from the international perspective, either closing borders or restricting travel would really have very little effect, if any effect at all, at stopping the movement of this virus." This was followed by an interview with another guy who commented that the media was falling down on the job, not only through scare tactics, but through a failure to educate people - for example, although the word 'pandemic' is being thrown around by governments and NGOs, very few people have any understanding of what a pandemic is, and the media isn't helping (perhaps for sensationalist purposes?)
:: David (8:41 in Arkansas, 15:41 in Paris) - Comment

Apparently MTV will be filming around town today, due to a certain television show that I will not name. We were hoping they were coming for Toad Suck Daze, which is this weekend, but I doubt they'll hang around until then. Which is too bad - that's going to be live music all weekend, though perhaps not MTV's usual fare (do they even do music anymore?)
:: David (8:24 in Arkansas, 15:24 in Paris) - Comment

So here's a thought - the US has declared manbirdpig flu a public health emergency (and special kudos to South Park for giving it a name before we knew it needed one!). And even though the Obama administration has said it's too early to talk about the economic impact of the flu, that hasn't stopped people from doing it. But here's a little spin on the idea - most people are currently talking as if the flu would have a negative impact - and in Mexico it might. But I also noted that lots of money is being mobilized to fight the disease. According to Bloomberg, "The [Mexican] Finance Ministry said the government has 6 billion pesos ($450 million) from an emergency fund to fight the virus and will help state governments cover the costs by advancing budget transfer payments." And that, my friends, is an economic stimulus - and one that might not have gone out were there not a scary disease. So if you are planning on talking economic impact, remember how weird the world is set up.
:: David (16:33 in Arkansas, 23:33 in Paris) - Comment

Here's a classic, courtesy of Maureen Dowd:

ME: I would rather be tied up to stakes in the Kalahari Desert, have honey poured over me and red ants eat out my eyes than open a Twitter account. Is there anything you can say to change my mind?
BIZ: Well, when you do find yourself in that position, you�re gonna want Twitter. You might want to type out the message "Help."

As noted earlier in the (truly bizarre) interview - 'brevity is the soul of wit'.
:: David (12:25 in Arkansas, 19:25 in Paris) - Comment

I'm not trying to make this into an American Idol blog, I swear! I just happened to be looking for the results from last night (our guy is still in, tho I think the Kalamazoo dude went home), and I ran across this L.A. Times article all about how disco was way more than the crazy outfits that now seem to be all that are left. I'm not absolutely saying I'm ready for a Disco resurgence (though I'm sure I'll get one whether I want it or not), but I will confess that some of the crazy orchestrations were, at the very least, original, which is something we don't get that often in music.

By the way - a little debate starter - Sasha and I have had the conversation that the musical genre where the most innovation is taking place is either Hip-Hop or Country. Any thoughts on the matter?
:: David (12:14 in Arkansas, 19:14 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[6]

American Idol is seriously big here:

A Kris Allen fundraiser and watch party will be held at the Pizza Inn, 724 Oak St., Wednesday night.
Pizza Inn will donate 10 percent of buffet sales [...] to help send Kris' brother Daniel Allen to Los Angeles to support his brother in his quest to be the next American Idol.

I keep thinking I should watch, either the show or the individual from Conway, just to see what it's all about. But I really cannot be asked.
:: David (8:56 in Arkansas, 15:56 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[2]

So the Obama trip abroad is over, and he finished it as he began it, diplomatic even to Hugo Chavez. There's been a lot of hot air wasted by fools on various elements of the trip, but I was reading one story that made me very curious as to how the long term will play out:

In Washington, both Democrats and Republicans said Sunday that they wanted to see actions, not just rhetoric, from Cuba.
"Release the prisoners and we'll talk to you. ... Put up or shut up," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
"I think we're taking the right steps, and I think the ball is now clearly in Cuba's court," said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. "They need to respond and say what they're willing to do."

The dialog is open, and now both sides of the aisle want action. Previously, there wasn't even the potential for action. Let's pretend that Cuba is ready to do some horse trading. If this blows open, and suddenly relations with Cuba were normalized, it would be a huge, huge thing. It would, all by itself, be something any leader would be proud to have in their portfolio. And all it would have taken was the slightest change in tone. Where else are these opportunities waiting for us to grab them?
:: David (15:30 in Arkansas, 22:30 in Paris) - Comment

I think, in my own special limited way, I've managed to add some facebook functionality to the blog. If for any reason you feel a story worthy of posting, just click the little facebook links. Right now they're only on posts that have been commented on (due to the fact that this was easier to do, and I am, at heart, lazy).
:: David (1:22 in Arkansas, 8:22 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[4]

So a while back, Wizards of the Coast offered a free sample of their game, Magic: the Gathering to anyone who asked for it. Since it was free, I asked them to send it to me (I'm a sucker for freebies). On Friday, the sample arrived, and I thought I'd take a picture. Maybe someday I'll actually open the packs (heck - maybe after I type this post). Their goofy 'here I rule' campaign reminds you that the target audience is not adults (well, there's a whole batch of psychoanalysis that could be done here, actually, but let's skip that).
:: David (23:51 in Arkansas, 6:51 in Paris) - Comment

I worked a live television show today, running the scoreboard for the Arkansas quiz bowl finals. This is what the set looked like, and it approximates my view of the day. There were seven categories, each with their own final, so it ran for the entire day. Working TV is weird - anything that happens that isn't where the camera is pointed doesn't count. Overall it was definitely a memorable way to pass a Saturday. And the questions were fun too - like seven hours of really tough trivial pursuit, with things like 'what is the electron that gets ejected from a nuclear reaction called?', or 'whose home run record did Babe Ruth break?' Crazy stuff. And the young people were nailing all of them.
:: David (19:39 in Arkansas, 2:39 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[2]

It must be that time again:

Like soccer and Kylie Minogue, the "Eurovision Song Contest" is a global cultural phenomenon that has never quite captured a U.S. audience. A talent competition open to 41 European nations plus Israel, it�s a bit like three hours of �American Idol� sung in Esperanto, with choreography by your mother. But it�s also the most fun you can have on the Internet without a credit card.

Special bonus points to the Times for calling their article imported cheese. If you're living over there, or have an affinity for one country or another, who is your band of choice? I'll probably be youtubing the results after the fact, unless I feel particularly fiesty.
:: David (7:26 in Arkansas, 14:26 in Paris) - Comment

OK, people who live in Conway, Arkansas (and people who might, I don't know, come visit?): here's the 2009 Silver Moon Cinema Schedule (that's the outdoor movies they show here in town).

April 25 Field Of Dreams � Baseball Night

May 9 Talladega Nights

May 30 Breaking Away � Bike-In Night

June 13 Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa

June 20 The Dark Knight

September 12 Pursuit of Happyness

September 26 Wall-E

October 10 Wizard of Oz

October 31 Ghostbusters

November 21 National Lampoon�s Christmas Vacation

As you can see, we're going to rolling in high-quality films down here. Also note that July and August are simply skipped. I have a theory on why that might be the case....
:: David (9:44 in Arkansas, 16:44 in Paris) - Comment

So as you may have worked out I'm fairly excited about the Tesla S. I'm also now kind of excited about the CEO of Tesla, who recently (on the record) called a NY Times reporter "a huge douchebag" after the reporter said Tesla shouldn't be given any stimulus money, in the form of low interest loans, because the technology wasn't proven. There's nothing like an outspoken CEO to test the rule that 'all publicity is good publicity'. And the auto companies have had some real doozies, no pun intended.
:: David (15:25 in Arkansas, 22:25 in Paris) - Comment

There are days the BBC is just weird.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.

I can't decide what I think of the so-called 'literary mash-up', of which Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is the first I've heard. I generally find these sorts of jokes last for a five minute riff, and then are done. But I find interesting the idea that it might lead people to read who might otherwise not read.
:: David (0:06 in Arkansas, 7:06 in Paris) - Comment

It was fascinating last night - there was a tornado west of here (in Mena, Arkansas), and I discovered twitter can be used as an emergency warning service. The posts started coming in early that there was a serious storm (it wasn't bad at all in Conway - although Mina was forced to move to a central room to escape the thunder), and then reporting hail and finally a tornado. Lance Turner examines the phenomenon in more detail, noting some of the state officials who were posting details as the storm developed. This is perhaps the first time I've thought twitter might be more than another goofy social media service.
:: David (8:33 in Arkansas, 15:33 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[3]

TechCrunch, home of all things new and shiny on the interweb, has an entry on a language learning website, which as a bonus lists the websites it considers competitors. I hadn't heard of any of the sites, and since I'm a language learning junkie (except this morning - RFI was on strike), I plan to work my way through them to see if anything sticks. My French is starting to get icky when I write.
:: David (23:05 in Arkansas, 6:05 in Paris) - Comment

We had what can only be described as an amazing time in San Diego. The wedding went off without a hitch, and we even found time to do a little touristing, visiting the boats and submarine along the waterfront. I took about a billion pictures, though far fewer than I would have if I hadn't been standing up front for the ceremony, and we met just a ton of really fun people, which was tremendously nice. And, of course, two wonderful people got married, which just makes you feel all gooshy inside. Now all I need to do is allow my face to relax from all the laughing I did over the weekend!
:: David (7:19 in Arkansas, 14:19 in Paris) - Comment - View Comments[2]

We made it, finally, to San Diego. At noon (an hour after the flight should have left), it looked like we would be spending the night in Houston, Texas. Then we were going to fly to an airport two hours North of here, rent a car, and drive down. But in the end it all worked out. It looks like a very busy weekend, with lots of lunches, dinners, and, of course, a wedding. It's a little crazy here, with so many folks from all over showing up, but, I think that's the point of these sorts of events. And I'm quite sure each additional person will only add to the merriment!
:: David (2:35 in Arkansas, 9:35 in Paris) - Comment

:: Life of Dave ::