The new McCarthy-ism

Simply amazing.

The face of blacklisting.

Another new toy

Powells Books here in Portland has a blog with daily updates. They link to reviews of current releases. They provide commentary on the show Lost. They have op-ed pieces by their staff. I linked up to the RSS feed and now I have one more really informative time-sink in my repertoire. Hours lost. Hours.

The "new" idolatry

This article in Counterpunch raises some good points. I think one of the most important quotes comes towards the end:

There is a sharp divide between a "deep green" look at the social nature of ecological problems and the "shallow green" approach of corporate environmentalism. Deep greens emphasize that America can improve its health and quality of life while manufacturing fewer objects and shortening the work week. Shallow greens are loathe to say anything about the need to produce less and flee from addressing moral and political dilemmas of a growth economy.

Shallow greens often accuse deeps of being uncompromising and refusing to accept small steps in the right direction. Mass transit shows the opposite to be true. While mass transit has negative aspects, it is a step in the right direction because it reduces the number of cars.

Don Fitz manages to express succinctly some of the main things that have been knocking around in my head about this topic. But his article raises a few very important questions. Primarily, how do we change the social landscape of the consumer-capitalist economy of the United States of America (or the entire first world even) by opting out of it's norms?

Examples of how you can live life without an automobile help illustrate the point, but they do little to actually reshape the communities where we live until more than the early adopters join in. How do we help people transition from car-dependency to pedestrian/bicycle-riding freedom? And a lower speed lifestyle inherently means a lower material wealth lifestyle by our current standards. Many people balk at the very suggestion that they give up the shiny toys even with the proof of very real health benefits from eschewing techno-wizardry.

And the science behind many of these diversions provides very real benefits in materials technology, deeper understanding of physical mechanics and medical advances. If we remove the consumer sector, how does the current technology development model adapt? Do we accept slower advances as part of the price?

Fun new car

This new car/cycle/trike hybrid doesn't solve the problem of everyone wanting their own auto, but it does reduce the amount of space needed for parking and operation.

More depressing thoughts

Found this on Daily Kos.

Really?

I thought Tommy Franks was one of the good guys?

From the BBC:

Iraq invasion plan 'delusional'

The US invasion plan for Iraq envisaged that only
5,000 US troops would remain in Iraq by December
2006, declassified Central Command documents show.

The material also shows that the US military
projected a stable, pro-US and democratic Iraq by
that time.

The August 2002 material was obtained by the
National Security Archive (NSA). Its officials
said the plans were based on delusional
assumptions.

The US currently has some 132,000 troops in the violence-torn state.

'Completely unrealistic'

The documents - in the form of PowerPoint slides
- were prepared by the now-retired Gen Tommy
Franks and other top commanders at the time.

The documents were presented at a briefing in
August 2002 - less than a year before the US
invasion of Iraq in April 2003.

The commanders predicted that after the fighting
was over there would be a two- to three-month
"stabilisation" phase, followed by an 18- to
24-month "recovery" stage.

They projected that the US forces would be almost
completely "re-deployed" out of Iraq at the end
of the "transition" phase - within 45 months of
invasion.

"Completely unrealistic assumptions about a
post-Saddam Iraq permeate these war plans," NSA
executive director Thomas Blanton said in a
statement posted on the organisation's website.

"First, they assumed that a provisional
government would be in place by 'D-Day', then
that the Iraqis would stay in their garrisons and
be reliable partners, and finally that the
post-hostilities phase would be a matter of mere
months'," Mr Blanton said.

"All of these were delusions," he added.

The NSA said it received the documents last
month, after making a request in 2004.

The NSA is an independent research institute at George Washington University.

It obtained the papers under the Freedom of Information Act.

Published: 2007/02/15 12:41:14 GMT

© BBC MMVII

Just found my dream commuter

I found it at REI of all places. Novarra made the Fusion new for 2007. This bike has most of the items I want on a daily rider:

-7- or 8-gear internal hub on rear wheel
-fenders - though this can be added to most any bike)
-cargo rack - again, this can be added to most bikes)
-road tires - many hybrid bikes have the fatter mountain bike style tires. I like the lower rolling resistance of road tires that run about 80 psi inflation.
-internal brakes - so I don't have to clean the rims every night when it rains.

Had I great riches, I would buy the Opa from Jorg & Olif. The bike has style and practicality. And allure. But the price tag weighs in at more than twice what I'll pay for the Fusion.

What he said!

This rant by Joel Johnson over at Gizmodo hits the nail on the ever-so-obvious head.

Best quote:

Stop buying this crap. Just stop it. You don't need it. Wait a year until the reviews come out and the other suckers too addicted to having the very latest and greatest buy it, put up a review, and have moved on to something else. Stop buying broken products and then shrugging your shoulders when it doesn't do what it is supposed to. Stop buying products that serve any other master than you. Use older stuff that works. Make it yourself. Only buy new stuff from companies that have proven themselves good servants of their customers in the past. Complaining online about this stuff helps, but really, just stop buying it.

Not just a good idea...

Let's make it law. Sign MoveOn.org's petition to Congress asking that they ban paperless voting machines in time for the 2008 elections. Takes 2 seconds.

Post a comment once you sign the petition, that way I can keep track. :)

Frickin' Unbelievable...

So the last renewal of that masterpiece of civil rights detroying legislation, The Patriot (Unpatriotic) Act includes an interesting amendment. The amendment inserted by Arlen Specter (who denies ever having seen it prior to the interview asking about it!!!) moves the power of appointment of U.S. Attorneys from the Senate to the White House and removes the need for Senate confirmation.

U.S. Attorneys investigate and prosecute government malfeasance. They follow up on whistle blowing. They find out who got bribed by who or who leaked what and so on. And now they can be appointed by the President without Senate confirmation. I wonder who exactly benefits from this arrangement. Not the taxpayers. Not the Senate. Hmmmm.

See this Salon.com article for more details.

Then go to the Senate page with contact forms for your Senators and send them an email or call them about this amazing travesty. Urge them to revoke this transfer of powers as rapidly as possible.

And then email everyone you know to do the same thing.

This is really big. This provision undermines one of the most fundamental safeguards to the integrity of government. Even if you don't believe that an email can make a difference, spend 5 minutes and send one anyway. Here's a sample letter you can use:

The hidden clause in the Patriot Act that transfers power of appointment for US Attorneys to the White House is unconscionable. I urge you to introduce a bill to revoke this usurpation of Senate authority. The ability to pack US Attorney positions with partisan hacks backing the White House agenda subverts the entire legal process in the government. Appointment of handpicked cronies to a position that monitors and polices the government for abuse of power and corruption leaves our entire Republic vulnerable. Please make the reversal of this tragic provision one of your highest priorities in the coming months.

Thank you,
Your constituent,

We can take our government back.

Late start

Rolled out of bed a little bit late this morning. Even with that, I managed to eat breakfast, walk the dogs (a 30 to 40 minute process) and get out the door on my bike by 8:15. Then I nearly set a personal record for my commute to work - 37 minutes. I was just screamin' along. Good way to start the morning. A little cardio. A little adrenaline. A little movement.

Tastes like chicken

Sunday night I bought an 8 piece box of fried chicken. I haven't had fried chicken for 3 or 4 years now. Generally I eat a pretty balanced diet. Lots of fresh fruits and veggies. Pasta and beans and rice as starches. Lean meats. And I like the way I eat.

I took 3 days to polish off the box. I enjoyed every second of picking the bones clean and gnawing at bits of fried flour and meat, and I'm set for another 3 or 4 years. But really, fried chicken tastes so good and is so bad for you I really don't see how it ain't illegal yet.

Layout changes

I'm playing around with some new templates and layouts in Blogger. If you really like or absolutely despise any of the changes then let me know. If I value your opinion then it might impact my changes. Cheers!

Oh fluffy powder!

Devon and I went to Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood to take the third and final lesson of our snowboard lesson package. My friends Chris and Espy came up from San Jose to hang out and go snowboarding for their first time ever. Dev and I warmed up for about an hour on the bunny slope while Chris and Espy took their lesson.

Snow kept falling from the sky. The wind kept throwing loose snow into our faces. And the sun occasionally peeked through the clouds. And the cycle repeated over and over all day long. This cycle deposited a ton of fluffy white soft powdery snow on the runs.

Dev and I managed to wrangle our instructor (he goes by "DC") from a few weeks ago into teaching our last lesson. Since only we two registered for the advanced beginner lesson, it was like we were getting a private snowboard lesson. He's a great instructor. Completely psyched about snowboarding. Completely psyched to be out teaching people to snowboard. Positive. Upbeat. Flexible. And he really pays attention. (Can you tell that Dev and I enjoyed his teaching style?)

He took us down the bunny slope one more time to evaluate our riding. Then he took us down the Pucci run. Our first time on a long open run. We got to do some straight downhill riding. We got to practice heel edge riding. We got to practice impromptu braking (crashing). But the soft powdery snow was fun to fall into. We even had to practice our balance on a level section on West End Road. DC had us strap in only one foot and practice placing our weight on that foot and balancing over that foot. Then we pushed off with our free foot and had to stomp our free foot on the board as many times as we could before falling. This exercise really worked at focusing our balance and body position - the practice graphically illustrated how we should be standing and balancing.

So we look forward to getting back up to the mountain. Dev has to travel this week and next week so we probably won't go back for at least two weeks. But we are chomping at the bit to get back up there.

Snowbound no more

The white stuff has finally melted. The ice is nearly gone. I rode my bike in to work for the first time in 4 days (Tuesday was a snow day, and I rode in cars Wednesday and Thursday). The rain started again though, reminding us all that we live in Oregon in winter. :)

My friends Chris and Espy are coming up from the San Francisco bay area this weekend. They fly in tonight. We go snowboarding tomorrow at Mt Hood. It will be a good weekend.

Snow at home

I woke up to snow falling from the sky in Portland. Falling snow still entrances me.

XC

Not Roman Numerals.

Cross country. As in cross country skiing. Sue took me out for my first time on touring skis. 3 hours. 8 miles. One good view of Mt Hood. One very sore and tired David at the end of the day.

But I had a lot of fun. Initially I had some trouble with descents (as in 8 falls). That ongoing misfortune was mostly fixed with some spot-on advice from a passing stranger (who obviously knows how to coach a newbie.) Aside from that, I feel like I caught on pretty well. I worked hard, but it happened in a relaxed pace. I had a chance to ride boards over hard pack groomed track, flattened but no-track snow, and on untouched powder. So I tried out a variety of styles in one afternoon.

The weather was outstanding. It never went above freezing the whole day, but the sun graced us for almost the entire trip. And Sue and I both had to shed layers of clothing to stay comfortable. At least until we got back to the parking lot - the wind by the car was evil.

Glorious sun!

The sun came out today in time for my morning ride to work. The sub-30 degree temperature still ranks as bitter cold, but riding in bright sunny clear weather more than made up for it.

Now I have to go defrost my toes. :)

Pictures posted

I posted pictures from New Years weekend for your viewing pleasure.

New Year on the Left Coast

Dev and I retreated to the coast of Oregon for the long weekend. We took the dogs with us and rented a house right on the beach bluffs with a coupe of friends (Nate and Sue). We spent all weekend do not a whole lot at a very slow pace. Walked up and down the beach. Read a little bit. Played Scrabble and Taboo. And watched the ball drop in New York's Time Square. And then we moseyed home pretty easily too.

Happy New Years!