Thursday, September 30, 2010

Random Thoughts 9/30/10

  • The Big 12-ish will now officially have a round-robin conference football schedule next year. Each Big 12-ish team will play nine conference games. For KU that means that in odd years (like 2011), home games will include Baylor, K-State, MU, OU, and Texas Tech, while away games will be at Iowa St., OSU, Texas, and Texas A&M. In even years, the reverse will be true.
  • Did anyone else play the computer game "Myst" or "Riven" back in the 90's? Well now a film adaptation is being worked on, which actually sounds like a good idea to me.
  • It sounds like the new Apple TV won't replace my cable box quite yet, but it's probably coming around the corner. Meanwhile, it seems that TiVo is partnering with DirecTV again. I really liked TiVo's interface and service but I've been using DirecTV's generic DVR service for almost two years and it's been perfectly adequate.
  • A lot of Americans know very little about religion, even the faith they profess, especially Catholics, according to recent polls… and I believe it. I took Pew's quiz and scored 15 out of 15 and also Prothero's somewhat difficult religious literacy test (and got a 92, owing to holes in my knowledge of Buddhism). But more disturbing than a lack of knowledge on world religions is that when quizzed by Pew on Christianity and the Bible, Catholics got less than half of the answers right, with Hispanic Catholics getting about a third correct. White Evangelicals and Mormons scored much better, but now what I would call great. The Church obviously needs to get people better educated in their faith.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Random NFL Thoughts 9/29/10

  • The NFL seems determined to expand it's season up to 18 games (from 16).  In my mind, going to 18 games is jumping the shark for the NFL, i.e. horrible idea that will mark the turning point in the NFL's fortunes.  As Gregg Easterbrook often writes, there is no immutable law of nature that says the NFL must be successful.  By getting too greedy and diluting their product (and wearing out their players) they may just kill the golden goose.
  • 16 games is ideal in a lot of ways.  Scheduling is uniform and predictable; it's as fair as it can possibly be.  Adding extra games means scheduling stronger or weaker opponents, probably at random, which used to be point of contention for some teams.
  • Clark Judge has an excellent compromise:  If you won't stay at 16 games, consider a 17 game schedule, with the extra game at a neutral site.  These 17th games could be located around the country and internationally, building the brand in new locations like Los Angeles, Mexico, and London, as well as various NCAA stadiums around the country.  At least this addresses the marketing and business side of the equation which seems to be driving the NFL but might still be palatable to the players.
  • My fantasy team is 2-1 but I'm leading my league in points (thanks Arian Foster).
  • I can't imagine the players union being okay with more games without getting a lot more money.  But the owners want two more games and they want the players share of NFL revenue to be less.  Play 12% more games and take a pay cut?  Yeah, that'll never fly.
  • I'm all for cutting the number of preseason games.  Those "games" are horrible examples of what NFL football actually is.  I've been an advocate of scrimmages and reality-TV style, follow the little guy around while he hopes to make the team.
  • A part of this will probably be salary caps for rookies.  If the veterans want more money and the owners won't give it, the only place left is to take from the Ryan Leafs and JaMarcus Russells of the world.  If these unproven rookies were limited in what they could be given, then more money would be available in the pool for the veteran players.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

The Bane of my Existence (Today)

We're dog-sitting my mother-in-law's little dog, Maisy, this week.

It turns out that a dog's energy is inversely related to it's size. Yay for us.

My theory is that little dogs are mostly evil; here's my proof:





Look at those eyes! That's a half pint of evil right there.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Patriotic iPhone Wallpapers

The new "Retina" display on my iPhone has a much higher resolution (640x960) than my old iPhone, lending itself to some beautiful wallpaper backgrounds.  [That's actually a higher resolution than the computer I had 10 years ago or the big screen projector at church (600x800).]  Here are a few of the new wallpapers I've found, keeping to a patriotic theme.















Here's one at 320x480 for you 3GS users:


Friday, September 24, 2010

Random Thoughts 9/24/10

  • Comcast, the new owner of NBC, has fired Jeff Zucker, the recent CEO of NBC Universal.  Zucker you may remember is the genius that got rid of Leno, then brought Leno back to fail, then pulled the rug out from under Conan O'Brien, then re-installed Leno to fail more.  Rush Limbaugh thinks Zucker will end up on staff at the White House.  That would be perfect.
  • Target will begin selling the iPad on October 3, as Best Buy is expanding sales of the tablet to all of their stores.  If I was buying a computer for my grandmother or for my 10-year old, I would seriously consider an iPad.  I might consider it for me, especially as the tablet gets increasingly capable/powerful.
  • Socialism makes promises that can't be paid for… unless you cut your Navy in half.  Winston Churchill is probably rolling in his grave right now.
  • The demise of the military pilot may have been greatly exaggerated.  Granted, high performance military fighters and long-range spy planes and bombers may all become automated but that doesn't cover all the bases.  Not only will human pilots be preferable in some circumstances (a computer hacker can't co-opt a human pilot) but those pilots may be flying "old-fashioned" propeller planesThis article says it well; cheap, effective turbo-props put human pilots near the action when jets and drones are just too fast, too complex, and too expensive.
  • Did you see the time-lapse video of the New Meadowlands stadium converting from a Giants home game to a Jets home game, in just over 24 hours?  That was kind of cool.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Random Thoughts 9/23/10

  • It's almost Brennan's 10th birthday.  How crazy is that?  We have a 10 year old!
  • My 10th anniversary at Wyandotte extends over some time (though I've always thought of it as September 1st, which I'll explain).  I interviewed and got hired over the last weeks of August, 2000, and tried to start immediately.  But we were 9 months pregnant with Brennan and living in Joplin, so we stayed home for most of September.  I did a few youth group lessons via speaker phone and might have traveled to KC a couple of times to preach during the August/September time frame.  I don't recall the dates precisely but I do remember getting paid, starting September 1.  When Brennan came at the end of the month, we immediately began going to WCCC every week, staying in people's homes and traveling back to Joplin.  But by this point, I'd already been on the payroll for a month – what a generous first impression that made!
  • "The Office" returns tonight.  Awkwardness commencing in 3…2…1…
  • Mark Mangino, the former football coach at Kansas, has been hired as a consultant at the University of Minnesota.  I just with the guy would get weight-loss surgery.
  • IHOP is suing IHOPThe International House of Pancakes is suing the Kansas City-based church organization International House of Prayer for infringement of their trademark.  Oops.  Why can't we just get along… and have a prayer breakfast?
  • The DVD of HBO's "The Pacific" (think Band of Brothers for WW2 Marines) hits the beaches on November 2.  The history geek in me can't wait (I've already read all the pertinent books).
  • My birthday is coming up on October 4 and I always get asked what I want.  Nothing really; God has really blessed me and there's nothing that I'm especially pining away for.  But if you want to buy a nerd a book, my wish list is at Amazon.

10 Years at Wyandotte

I was really pleased to find a couple of cakes waiting for me at Bible study tonight. Thanks so much to Alisa Y. for being so thoughtful!







My 10th anniversary with Wyandotte County Christian Church was the first of this month (September) and it feels so good to know that folks remember the little things like that.

Actually, it's surprising that 10 years would register on the radar at Wyandotte — the previous minister was here 29 years!

I sincerely hope I'm here that long or longer. I'm blessed to be at a church like Wyandotte. I want my children to experience a healthy environment like this and connect it to what "church" is.

I don't want to be anywhere else.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Sometimes Homeschool Looks Like This…

When Mom and Dad are both at church, one of the empty classrooms will do just fine.




And Graham helps Mom in the kitchen, while sis sleeps.




Tuesday, September 21, 2010

New iPhone 4

Ooooh, video conferencing! On a cell phone! Great idea!
I upgraded today to an iPhone 4. It worked out real well, as I sold my year-old iPhone 3GS for $255 and bought the new iPhone 4 for only $215 (including tax). That's a $40 profit for upgrading to a new phone with a front-facing camera, gyroscopic sensors, a high-definition retina display, and lots of other little upgrades.

I made my first "Facetime" video call to my brother, Dustin. Surprise, I can see you and you can see me! Now there's no picking your nose while you talk to me. Actually, I put the camera on the television and let Dustin and Alanna watch the last two minutes of the football game on ESPN. How cool is that?

Hopefully they don't call every Monday night.


We put my old phone on Craigslist and had dozens of responses in the first hour. We made a deal with the person making the best offer and made our way to get my new phone at the Apple Store. With new phone in hand, I erased the old one and met the buyer at McDonald's while the kids played. It all worked out great!

I love gadgets. Especially ones that don't cost me anything out of pocket.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Rearranging the Office

I rearranged my office last week, much to my satisfaction.  I've had the same basic arrangement for 10 years, even when we changed buildings.  My desk faced south, toward the door, with my books on the shelf behind me, with a another set of shelves on my left and chairs in front of my desk.  I've collected a second set of chairs over the years, thanks to the many Elders meetings and occasional group counseling sessions that are held in my office.  I've also inherited a couch recently, which is welcome addition, though it crowded my chairs a bit, leaving them lined up on my left.

But then I started moving things around.  I drew my office out to scale on graph paper, cut out representations of my furniture and had at it.

I tried moving my desk into every conceivable position, but generally speaking I hate the idea of someone entering the room from behind me.  Finally I settled on just rotating my desk 90Âş so that I face East.  Almost everything else stayed in the same place but it all fit much better.  The "flow" of the room is better, especially since the chairs aren't crowding the couch anymore.

Just a small change makes a big difference.  Everybody oohs and ahs, even though I've only rotated my desk.  Who knows, in another 10 years, I might move it all around again.





Friday, September 17, 2010

Random Thoughts 9/17/10

  • No volleyball practice this Saturday morning, just in case anybody was planning to join us.
  • Shannon passed her test to become a personal trainer!  Now my side of the bed won't be covered in textbooks, flash cards, and study guides!
  • So much for KU being a "surprise team" this year.  I wonder if the Chiefs can win two in a row?  I think they might.
  • Buying computers is tough.  Right now I need to get a new laptop, I'd like to upgrade my iPhone, and hey, if you're handing them out for free, I'd like an iPad too.  Of course Apple doesn't let you know when devices are about to be upgraded because they don't want to discourage you from buying now, all three of these items might be upgraded.  Most likely is the Macbook laptop, which has been upgraded every fall for several years now, so if I can hold on for another month or two I'll get more bang for my buck.  The iPad is rumored to be upgraded early next year but the iPhone 4 is looking unlikely to be touched for several months despite some possible design flaws.  If you're shopping, use MacRumors Buyer Guide.
  • "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" began tonight with all four boys and me glued to the TV.  We're such nerds.
  • "Castle" and "Chuck" return next week.
  • See a Boeing 787 fly sideways as it lands in extreme crosswinds.  The link also includes a video of an Airbus 320 striking a wing as it does the same maneuver unsuccessfully.
  • How do you hang your iPad securely in front of you while you cook?  By using a $3 plate hanger.  Very clever.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Random Thoughts 9/14/10

  • Today is the first day of our volleyball league.  Our church has two teams again this season and I think we'll be pretty good.  Practice is at 10am Saturdays and everyone is invited (we usually don't have enough players for 6 on 6).
  • Can you believe the Chiefs won last night?  It's kind of exciting.  One could almost get his hopes up.
  • The first living recipient of the Medal of Honor since Vietnam was announced recently, Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta, for action in Afghanistan.  Another Medal of Honor was announced for Staff Sergeant Robert James Miller, a Green Beret who died in Afghanistan two years ago.
  • Standford Medical School handed out iPads to their students this Fall.  The iPad seems like the perfect tool for a student.  Almost makes you want to matriculate again, huh.
  • In case you missed it, I still have an iPhone 3GS and Radio Shack is off my Christmas card list.
  • My laptop is falling apart fast.  I got it in May, 2006, and it's been fantastic, considering that's it's been used virtually every day for 52 months.  But I noticed (and blogged) in May of '09 that it wasn't holding up as well and I've been seriously talking about replacing it for about a year now.  My goal right now is to buy a new laptop by the end of the year, making this one last four and half years.  This next laptop may very well be my last laptop, if tablet computers evolve like I expect them to over the next few years.
  • I think this is the first "commercial" I've seen for a specific iPad app.  Pretty funny.

Monday, September 13, 2010

I Hate Radio Shack

Somehow I knew, one way or the other, Radio Shack would ruin my day.  Again.

To be fair, I've never been a fan of Radio Shack.  From the first time a Radio Shack salesperson sold us a Tandy computer (c. 1989) and said, "There's no way you'll ever need more than one megabyte of memory," I've been leery of the place.  Is it too much to say that most Radio Shack employees seem "legally-required-to-inform-the-neighbors-of-your-criminal-past" creepy?  Over and over again, Radio Shack has been the place where I've grossly overpaid for a poorly-made component that doesn't quite fit or work, sold by a socially awkward salesperson who has never kissed a girl but wears his Star Trek pointy ears to the Renaissance Fair just in case.

Let me assure you, if you're willing to wait for delivery, there's nothing at Radio Shack that you can't buy for a fraction of that price on the internet.

So… the local Radio Shack called me Friday and offered to buy my year-old iPhone 3GS for $196.  I told the caller that I thought the going rate at Radio Shack was $138 but he assured me, Radio Shack will pay $196 and have a new iPhone 4 waiting for me.  So I made an appointment. 

I went in today, eager to upgrade to a shiny new iPhone 4 but… the pimply, greasy-haired chess club president behind the counter found a "gouge" (how appropriate) on the back of my phone.  Understand that my iPhone is in exceptional condition but holding it up to the light, with his eye inches from my phone, he discovers a pinhole sized mark.  Not a scratch, not a even a dig, but a stabbed-by-a-needle sized defect in the finish.  He then informs me that this scar brings the price for my otherwise flawless iPhone from $196 to $138.  What?

$60 bucks for a nearly invisible nick?!  Forget it!  What a joke.  I got so flustered and upset that I yelled at him.  "You guys called me!  You guys assured me that my phone was worth $196, when I thought that seemed to good to be true.  Now you're telling me that this little-bitty mark is costing me $60?!   You've got to be kidding!!!  I'm never shopping here again!!!"

Unfortunately nobody shops at Radio Shack anymore so my protests echoed through an empty store.  But I'm not going back; I'll buy my flimsy radio-controlled cars and beige-colored plastic radio alarm clocks online from now on.  And thanks for making the electronics department at Walmart look upscale.

Oh, and by the way, World of Warcraft players don't count as "friends" and nobody calls you "the Shack."

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Rock Chalk Football? Really?!

KU just beat the defending ACC Champions, #15 in the nation Georgia Tech?  In football?  On purpose?  No way!  Kansas lost to North Dakota School for Blind Girls just last week.  Now they knock off a ranked team!  Who knew?

Congrats to our new coach, Turner Gill.  Now I don't have to take down the KU football poster from my office door… at least for another week.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Random Thoughts 9/10/10

  • Having eye strain from staring at your computer or smart phone?  Use the 20-20-20 rule.  Every 20 minutes, stare at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
  • "Heroes" was dead as a TV show, now it's dead as a TV movie too.  The proposal to continue the story was rejected by the studios.  The first season of that show, right up to it's anti-climactic finale, was a true phenomenon.  Then the ideas ran out.  There wasn't any depth to the creative team (I'm looking at you Tim Kring–who admitted he wasn't even a fan of comic books, on which the series was based).  There's nothing worse than when the fans know and like the subject matter more so than the creators of the show.
  • The September 8 episode of "the Colbert Report" was really good, honoring the troops in Colbert's usual funny way.  I won't link to it from here, as it is, as usual, a bit off-color at times.  Other than that, it's really nice to see "Hollywood" give a shout out to our troops.
  • I think I'm going to upgrade my iPhone to an iPhone 4.  I got on a waiting list at Radio Shack and they called me today to pay $196 for my 3GS.  The iPhone 4 is $199.  That seems reasonable to me.
  • Here's a syllabus of sorts from Wired for reading classic science fiction.  It's a pretty good list, actually, with significant works from the last 200 years.  I've read a lot of Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, and Robert Heinlein but not many of the works on this particular list.
  • Shannon comes home today, thankfully.  It's not fun when Mom is gone but I'm glad for her to get to do these things.

Thursday, September 09, 2010

Day Without Mom Survived

The kids and I just barely survived an entire day without Mom here to take care of us.

Shannon made a trip to Joplin to help a friend, leaving at o'dark-thirty, which meant the rest of us were left to fend for ourselves.  Somehow I managed to clean the house, do the dishes (twice), do four hours of homeschooling, feed and entertain everyone and watch an NFL game!  From a Dad's point of view I'd call that a success (I took a head count at bedtime – still had five rugrats).

That said, we're all desperate for Mom to come back home to us.  We need her pretty bad; even if we can survive for 24 hours, I wouldn't want to try it for 48 or more (that would require doing laundry).

Wednesday, September 08, 2010

Random Thoughts 9/8/10

Here's a random funny t-shirt design.  Just because.
  • Apple released it's update of iOS (the software that runs iPhones and iPod Touches) and it includes an app called Game Center.  Game Center doesn't actually have any games… yet, but it's meant to be a social network for iOS games.  Right now, you can just add friends, but soon it'll have a collection of games to play with and against your friends.  By the way, I'm Thumper44 on this network, as well as on "Plus+" and "Open Feint."
  • You don't still believe in man-made global warming climate change, do you?  That bandwagon is getting empty faster than the one that said President Obama was a new and different kind of politician.
  • The iPad seems to be hurting netbook sales and even the sales of low-end PCs.  I personally don't think the iPad is quite there yet, in fact, I'm getting ready to buy a new laptop in the next few months.  But the iPad as a platform shows so much potential, this next laptop may be the last one I buy.
  • I'm taking down our trampoline for the last time tomorrow.  We've got it used three years ago or more but it's finally starting to fall apart.  Fortunately we managed to avoid any major injuries… or at least any broken bones.
  • I'm teaching a parenting class on Wednesday nights from John Rosemond's The Well-Behaved Child.  That's a great book well worth reading.

Saturday, September 04, 2010

Random Thoughts 9/4/10

  • Sleeping with the windows open at night, snuggled under clean, fuzzy blankets, with the smell of chimney smoke wafting through the air… Ahh, the last two nights have been nice.
  • With KU about to kickoff for the first game of new head coach Turner Gill's tenure, it sure would be nice to have a stud WR like Dezmon Briscoe on the team. But wait, Briscoe left college a year early for the NFL, only to be cut by the Bengals yesterday. Oops. Listen college players, if a first-team all conference, school record holder in almost every category, prototype WR can get cut, then so can you. Stay in school! Here's hoping that a WR with Briscoe's potential catches on somewhere else… like KC.
  • The NFL owners are pushing hard to get an 18 game season. This is a terrible idea for the game. 18 games means that star players are going to be at a higher risk of injury. The only way to avoid that risk is to sit those players. Who wants to see NFL teams "resting" their stars for two or three games each season? It's already a problem in the one week before the playoffs start; why make it worse? 18 game will dilute an already long season, which would probably need a second bye week, meaning a 20 week regular season (up from 17). That means the season will run from a couple of weeks before Labor Day, with a Super Bowl coming after Valentine's Day. The NFL is reaching its saturation point. Don't ruin a good thing!
  • If the NFL owners wanted a good compromise, here are my two suggestions: #1 – Add another week of televised games by adding a second bye week: 16 games, 2 byes for each team. The extra rest will help the players and the extra weekend of games (18 vs. 17 weeks) and the extra weekend of televised games means more commercials for networks to sell, i.e. more money. The fans see a few more games (because the same number of games are no spread out a little more) but the season isn't further diluted. #2 – Admit that preseason games aren't "real" games. Nobody cares, nobody is trying, success or failure means nothing in regard to the regular season. Reduce the preseason by a week and hold televised, game-like scrimmages. Each side gets 10 plays, then a special teams play. Rinse and repeat. Introduce some reality-TV style "will the underdog make the roster?" type of drama; do anything. Just don't pretend that these are real games that actually matter (and that season ticket holders have to pay full price for). Poorly produced, overly pretentious preseason games played by soon-to-be-working-for-FedEx players are terrible television. Period.
  • More good commentary from Gregg Easterbrook on the NFL's 18-game proposal. And if you're curious where all those scary hurricanes (of the meteorological variety) went, read Easterbrook's article on that here.
  • Commentator and conservative uber-thinker Charles Krauthammer has been on roll lately. Did you read this one about President Obama's lack of leadership on Afghanistan? Or this one where he points out that cornered liberals who lose their arguments call you a bigot. Or this one about the Ground Zero Mosque.
  • Here's your politically incorrect thought for the day: For a Christian to murder an abortionist, they have to act contrary to the plain meaning of their scriptures. For a Muslim to justify killing an infidel, they only have to take their scripture at face value. That is, some 90% or more of the world's Muslims explain away jihad as an internal struggle and ignore some texts in favor of others. I appreciate that interpretation, but our nice, liberalized, peaceful Muslim friends need to address what this means: radical Muslim extremists are not extreme; they're fundamentalists. They haven't hijacked a religion, they've taken it literally.

Friday, September 03, 2010

Apple TV for Me

This is the future of the television. This is where the computer and the living room television begins to merge for the average family.

The Apple TV.

This slim little box plugs into your High Definition television and brings you streaming content from the internet, your computer, your iPhone, or your iPad. You can rent movies from Netflix or iTunes, you can rent television shows for 99¢, you can watch YouTube, or you can watch a slideshow of your family photographs, and much, much more. Oh, and the price was just cut from $249 to $99.

In my opinion, this is the direction living room-centered, home entertainment is heading. It's coming into the house through the internet and is dovetailed with your computer and personal devices. Your television, movies, music, and photographs all play well together in the same environment.

Here's a few thoughts:

  • This will further redefine what a "remote control" is. Increasingly, we all carry a computer/communications device around with us that could wirelessly control our television. Who needs three to five plastic sticks full of buttons, when one touchscreen device can do so much more?
  • The idea of starting a movie on my phone or iPad and then "throwing" it to the family television, and then back again to my personal device is fascinating. It changes the dynamic of sharing the television, when Dad wants to watch football, Mom wants to watch a movie, and the kids want to watch their own stuff.
  • Listening to her iTunes library over our home theater sound system is going to appeal to people like my wife. A lot.
  • This doesn't replace Cable (or my 10-year relationship with DirecTV)… yet. But with YouTube, NetFlix, internet podcasts, Flickr slideshows, and more… it's getting closer to the day I call DirecTV and tell them to come get their dish.
  • 99¢ to rent a single episode of a television show is a much more reasonable than the old $2.99 price. That's actually tempting, if you're trying to catch up on an episode you've missed or try a new show.
  • There are some pieces missing here before Apple takes over the living room: Primarily, it needs to also be a DVR, preferably with an HD antenna attached. I would rather use Apple TV to watch movies, but what about the news, the football game, or plain old network TV? My family's television viewing revolves around recording television (for free-ish on our DVR) and watching it at our convenience. Apple TV doesn't help me watch free, over-the-air television.
  • If Apple could give me an a la carte choice of cable channels, streamed to my Apple TV, then DirecTV would get the boot. I'd take ESPN, the History Channel, Fox News, and a few others, along with a reduced cable bill, and life would be grand. But cable TV packages of 100, 150 or 200 channels are bloated with dozens of channels most folks don't want. I'm sure we don't watch 25% of the channels available to us, especially the 15 home shopping and 30 music channels.
  • It's not 1080p, but that may not matter. It's still HD (720p) and HD is really all about bit rate and the ratio of your screen size to viewing distance.
Right now this is just an extra gadget, to help wrangle your iTunes, Netflix, and iPad-centered video. But the future is heading in this direction. Another couple of years and we won't be able to remember the way it used to look.

Thursday, September 02, 2010

My Fantasy Team

Well, I drafted 9th out of 10 teams in my fantasy football league. It seemed like everyone was drafting off my list and a lot of players I really coveted were gone when my picks came around. But here's my team:

QB Carson Palmer, CIN
RB Michael Turner, ATL
RB Steven Jackson, STL
WR Calvin Johnson, DET
WR DeSean Jackson, PHI
TE Jason Witten, DAL
K Adam Vinatieri, IND

I've also got Eli Manning, Chris Chambers, Arian Foster, Tim Hightower, Lee Evans, and others.

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Random Thoughts 9/1/10

  • I love it when it thunderstorms at night. Other than the occasional startling peal of thunder, it's so pleasant to hear the rain and gentle rumblings. Not cool is when the power goes out. Over and over again.
  • We went to visit the Overhaul Base at the airport in Kansas City yesterday, where Dad spent most of his 43 years working for TWA and American Airlines. Dad gave a great tour and was a fount of information but it was sad to see the place mostly emptied of equipment and workers. Only one plane (a Boeing 757) remained.
  • I have to admit that I'm doing a lot more reading online and on electronic devices this year than in previous years. In the near future, that option may increasingly become the only choice you have. The iPad and devices like the Kindle are making "dead-tree" media a lot less important.
  • I went on a 7am bike ride yesterday with my friend, David T. The wind killed us on the outbound leg of our ride but the same wind pushed us home in the second half. Thanks for riding, Dave!
  • Maybe Flash on a mobile device isn't such a great idea after all.
  • It seems like the British may be a step ahead on uncovering falsehoods about supposed man-made global warming.
  • My fantasy draft seemed really mediocre. I ended up with a few people that I wanted and several that felt like huge gambles. I'll post more later.