Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Rhetoric and Orifices
It’s been a joy watching Dick Cheney, who totally rocks, rip a couple new posterior orifices for John Edwards. That must hurt!
Halliburton Halliburton Halliburton. Yawn Yawn Yawn.
You can really see the way Edwards employs rhetorical touches in an effort to bolster his case, however marginal, to the jury. Er, I mean, the voters. Yeah, they’re voters Breck Girl, not a jury. Your litigatory tricks won’t work on them. You’re not the candidate they’re looking for. Move along.
Oh, of course Israel has the right to defend itself. Duh. Like that was in question? Oh right, you need to bolster the ticket’s hawk cred. Uh huh.
But He’s So Pretty
He really is, but that voice. Ugh. Made worse by his apparent nervous, rushed form of speaking, whether that is discomfort about lying or plain nervousness at being in this outgunned, outclassed situation. This debate, he’s the one making faces. That just adds to the appearance of discomfort being masked.
Shame I have to leave the debate each time I feel compelled to comment about it.
Wow
I just saw the first question of the VP debate.
Wow.
I had no idea Edwards was that much of an idiot.
Definitely a reason to hope Kerry loses.
Catching Up: The Debate
We watched much of the Presidential debate last week at the hospital, between distractions of the baby, nurses and such. I never got around to commenting about it.
We were pretty much floored by the distorted and even outright fictional things Kerry said, his firm disconnect from reality, and could understand the obvious exasperation Bush was feeling and unable to keep from showing.
I love the way Tom Bowler described it: Beautifully Articulated Incoherence. Perfect.
Kerry did a nice job forcefully speaking things untrue, in the manner of one cleverly engaged in fact creation through well-spoken repetition.
Bush was more firmly on this plane of reality. Sadly, the limited control of his reaction to Kerry’s polished absurdity played poorly, and he was not at his own best. The contrast was startlingly clear between the two, if you are buying Kerry’s hollow chocolate bunnies because the wrappers are pretty, not realizing the plainly wrapped bunnies behind door number Bush were solid chocolate and not faking you out.
Kerry won. A hollow victory for a hollow candidate, but he won with packaging people expect even on the nakedest truth. It’s frustrating to know so many could wind up following the charmed fool off a crumbling cliff, while a plain spoken everyman bids them have a care and embrace the world that is, not the world of the facile fool.
Fortunately, I believe there are more people who would rather actively pursue safety and a better world for all than buy hollow chocolate bunnies in splendid wrapping.
Grand Rounds Is Up
The second edition of the weekly medical blogging roundup, Grand Rounds, is up at Galen’s Log. Even if you don’t ordinarily read medical blogs or posts, perhaps something linked there will catch your eye or give you new insight.
Barrelfish
I never eat at Long John Silver’s anyway. There are none nearby that I know of, and Legal Seafood is nearby. Not to mention many other fine places for seafood.
However, I will do everything I can to make a point to avoid Long John Silver’s. There are times for passivity and times to follow the policies of corporate stuffed suits. This was not one of them. Defend yourself. Save the lives of employees. Get fired.
Yeah, let’s all rush to eat there now.
Via Laughing Wolf
X-Prize
Knowing me, you’d expect me to have blogged from the rooftops about the X-Prize having been won yesterday. Yay!! That might have been the case, were it not for the lack of blogging and focus of attention on Sadie more generally. Not to mention it having been well covered and linked by so many other bloggers, both those who are known to do some level of space blogging, and those who ordinarily never would.
That said… yes! Woohoo!! This is the kind of thing I live for and have been awaiting for at least 26 years, since I first dreamed and schemed about starting or joining a private space business myself. Later that was subsumed into an idea for fiction, as I figured I would never accomplish it myself, but could describe how it might be accomplished. A semi-detailed book idea is a funny thing, in that it occupies a similar memory cubby to that occupied by some fiction I’ve read by others, or to that occupied by a vivid, compelling dream, or a well-lived film. They become almost as memories of real events, building blocks of the psyche.
Deb and I both spontaneously teared up on learning the news. Despite expecting it to happen, and knowing that was the day. It’s as joyfully historic as 9/11 is morbidly historic. It was our first full day home with Sadie, to boot, following her birth on the other historic day, when the first of the two launches took place. The real space age begins. Sadie begins. We couldn’t be more thrilled with the timing.
There is plenty of work ahead, scaling up, getting fully orbital, building the relevant infrastructure there, fending off active doubters and governments, surviving the early years. Yet it has begun, something not so before. Roll? No. Let’s soar.
Carnival of the Dogs Is Up
The latest Carnival of the Dogs* is up. Want to participate? Send a link to your dog post, or a dog post you didn’t post but would like to see included, to mickeym -at- comcast -dot- net.
Monday, October 04, 2004
52nd Carnival of the Capitalists Is Up
42 May be the answer to life, the blogosphere, and everything, but if you’re asking how many Carnival of the Capitalists have appeared, the answer is 52.
The October 4 edition of CotC is up at Drakeview, and not only looks chock full of good business and economics links, but also has a special look at the stats, top entrants, and so forth since CotC began. Excellent job!
Next week’s anniversary edition will be hosted by Rob at BusinessPundit, whose crazy suggestion this whole Carnival of the Capitalists thing was a bit over a year ago. Send in your entries in the areas of business and economics to the traditional capitalists -at- elhide -dot- com, or the new cotcmail -at- gmail -dot- com.
Photogenic Baby Alert
There are more Sadie Rose pictures here for those who may be interested. Also a small yet dialup-unfriendly video clip in which she sneezes.
What A Face
[Originally published to the old baby blog.]
Clicking the thumbnails gets you an 800 pixel wide version. Small text links are 400 pixel, huge links are original, big file size versions.
small1 small2 small3 small4
huge1 huge2 huge3 huge4
For the far away family, here’s a short video clip taken intentionally with the digital camera (I usually take accidental videos of things like the ground). It’s about 4.21 megabytes in size, so it’s a bear with dialup. It wouldn’t be particularly interesting, except I caught her just as she sneezed. sneezy.avi
Sunday, October 03, 2004
Home
We are home, as of a couple hours ago. There should be post(s) later. I have a ton of pictures to choose from for the baby’s blog, and today is coincidentally a very special anniversary I need to write about.
Deb is extremely tired, barely staying awake for the pizza we’re eating, relaxing in my recliner with Sadie sleeping on her. She wasn’t hungry even though she acted it, and forgot all thoughts of food when she suddenly realized she was in a new place. Her eyes flew open wide and she started around in wonder. Then fell asleep. Deb is doing well considering the nature of the surgery, but getting in and out of the car was rough, and the walk to the car was about enough real exercise for a while. She took percocet just before leaving, so that is good and kicked in now.
Speaking of pizza, I need to go see if she needs another slice yet. I’ll be back, probably after I go through the digital pictures. I also have one full roll of the baby to be developed, plus a few of the baby on the end of the roll that was in the camera when I fetched Deb from California. Most of those are “duplicates” of digital shotd taken just before or after, so you probably won’t miss much if I don’t scan and post any once they are developed.
It is soooooooo good to be home! We haven’t slept in our own bed since Monday night.
Friday, October 01, 2004
Sadie!
Yes! Obligatory additional pictures of Sadie have been posted. These are most of the second batch I took with digital. There are also some on traditional film that may or may not ever appear online, but will be convenient for showing off. As well as providing redundancy so there is no loss of pics.
The first batch is on the laptop. If I get it networked with the other computers in our humble abode, I may post more of them, or send them to family as appropriate. Mostly they are similar to the original five I posted. It’s sooooo nice to be back at my regular computer with DSL and all the tools. This gives me something good to do while I do a couple laundry loads, which seems to take forever and was needed. Deb may be wondering why I haven’t wandered back to the hospital yet.
I also discovered when I went down to do laundry that I had nailed another mouse long enough ago that it was just starting to stink. Yikes! That led to disposing of the body, and inspired a call to the landlord to update them even before I’d pressed play and heard their message asking me to call about when the electrician could come. So now they know about the new mouse and what it may say about where the critters enter the cellar, and about the outcome of my so far successful efforts to eliminate them as apartment intruders, and about Sadie.
But I digress.
Click on the picture of Sadie below to go to the baby blog post containing the latest pictures, or just go to the baby blog. Currently it’s the top post, and if not, you can scroll.
Can There BE Too Many Pictures
[Originally published to the old baby blog.]
Displayed here are 400 pixel wide images. Click each one to get an 800 pixel version in a new window, which can be nicer to view without being an absurd file size or larger than a typical screen. Click the text link below each picture if you would like the original, extremely large image produced by the camera.
Deb and Sadie
Really huge version
Closeup of Sadie on Deb’s lap
Really huge version
Sadie from the side
Really huge version
Sadie with me
Really huge version
Usual favorite way to quiet and sleep, until today when she decided she would cry unless I held her out in front of me in the air where she could look at my face. Then she slept and was happy this way.
Really huge version
Dad’s eye view of Sadie’s face when she’s held in my left arm.
Really huge version
She already has a spontaneous nickname of “Burrito Baby,” because swaddling her in the blankets seems a lot like wrapping burrito fillings in a flour tortilla.
She’s also closer to the strenth and coordination of a month old baby, rather than a newborn. I knew she was ahead, but a month was the spontaneous observation of one of the medical people.
Anyway, more pictures should appear here sooner or later, no doubt ad nauseum for some folks.
Speaking of Things Received In E-Mail…
I received the following e-mail from a friend in Providence, Rhode Island, regarding kitties needing a home. See pictures at the end of the post. If anyone in range is interested, I will be happy to put you in touch.
Hi all,
I’m asking people to look/ask around for homes (don’t hesitate to forward this email) for kittens or an entire family of cats.I’m desperate. I have a family of cats living in my back yard (again). Same cat as last time – new litter. She had them less than two weeks ago (as of today – Sep 29). Five little kittens just beginning to open their eyes. The mother is a beautiful and VERY sweet tempered, affectionate calico, a good hunter, too!
The reason I’m desperate is that I cannot keep them. My lease does not allow for pets and I really cannot take care of them the way they should be.
The weather is getting colder and wetter, and I’d really rather not wait until they’re old enough to give away one by one for fear of it getting too cold/wet for them (They’re probably OK, but tiny kittens and cold, sodden, wet leaves in the autumn does not strike me as a favorable recipe for good health).
I’ve tried calling various shelters, but they won’t take a family of newborns. The only place that would take them was the Providence Animal Control Office, who could give no guarantees as to their ‘viability’ after five days – NOT an option.
At this point I am willing to drive anywhere up to ooh, say 75 – 100 miles to get them all into a good temporary or permanent home.
If you cannot do this, please ask around (or forward this email to people you know) and let me know if you know of anyone that can take them.
Pictures are attached.
Paul Ruggeri
Update:
I received a followup e-mail indicating they are not at homes per se, but in the hands of a good shelter as described below.
Hello again,
I just want everyone to know that today I was able to bring mother and her kittens to the Potter League for Animals Shelter in Middletown RI (that’s Robert Potter, NOT Harry…). They were the only shelter nearby that would take a whole family and have a great chance of placing them all in good homes eventually. (Someone *did* have to pull a few strings for me – but ‘nuff said). They’re not strictly a no-kill shelter, but they will only euthanize as a last resort with either very sick or very difficult animals, and they have a VERY HIGH success rate not only with placement of animals but with pet owners’ satisfaction with the animals. Nearly 90%, I believe. And as this cat (never named her – just couldn’t let myself get that attached) was so sweet tempered and affectionate, she’ll probably be placed fairly quickly after the kittens are old enough (and given away)
The Potter shelter will also spay/neuter (as required by RI Law), give any needed shots, and attend to any medical needs of the animal before they are given away. To anyone looking to adopt a dog or cat, I highly recommend the Potter League.
I would like to thank everyone for all their help and suggestions, and I apologize to anyone who was hoping to get a kitten (or two), but I felt I just shouldn’t keep them any longer under my own inadequate care. I did everything my currently meager purse, time and temperament would allow, but it simply wasn’t, I felt, enough. But they are all in very capable, loving hands.
I’m gonna stop now before I start to cry – god, I hate cats… (that was sarcasm)
Thanks again,
Paul Ruggeri
Speaking of Recipes…
I received this in e-mail today:
WHY CHEMISTS DON’T WRITE COOK BOOKS
Chocolate Chip Cookies:
Ingredients:
1.) 532.35 cm3 gluten
2.) 4.9 cm3 NaHCO3
3.) 4.9 cm3 refined halite
4.) 236.6 cm3 partially hydrogenated tallow triglyceride
5.) 177.45 cm3 crystalline C12H22O11
6.) 177.45 cm3 unrefined C12H22O11
7.) 4.9 cm3 methyl ether of protocatechuic aldehyde
8.) Two calcium carbonate-encapsulated avian
albumen-coated protein
9.) 473.2 cm3 theobroma cacao
10.) 236.6 cm3 de-encapsulated legume meats (sieve size #10)
To a 2-L jacketed round reactor vessel (reactor #1)
with an overall heat transfer coefficient of about
100 Btu/F-ft2-hr, add ingredients one, two and three
with constant agitation.
In a second 2-L reactor vessel with a radial flow
impeller operating at 100 rpm, add ingredients four,
five, six, and seven until the mixture is homogenous.
To reactor #2, add ingredient eight, followed by three
equal volumes of the homogenous mixture in reactor #1.
Additionally, add ingredient nine and ten slowly, with
constant agitation. Care must be taken at this point in
the reaction to control any temperature rise that may be
the result of an exothermic reaction.
Using a screw extrude attached to a #4 nodulizer, place
the mixture piece-meal on a 316SS sheet (300 x 600 mm).
Heat in a 460K oven for a period of time that is in
agreement with Frank & Johnston’s first order rate
expression (see JACOS, 21, 55), or until golden brown.
Once the reaction is complete, place the sheet on a 25C
heat-transfer table, allowing the product to come to
equilibrium.
Carnival of the Recipes Is Up
Food Basics has the latest yummy edition of Carnival of the Recipes for your continued culinary repertoire expansion. Or something like that.