October 2005 Archives

Opened this spammy goodie today by mistake. Metaphors run amok!!!

Don't question it anymore. Women want a ROCKET.
Men want a SLUGGER.
When the SLUGGER & ROCKET meet you get a powerful TOOL.

The TOOL that controls the  "Field".

Big & Powerfull, LONGZ !
"Hammer with Power & Endurance."

[URL omitted]

Not for you now then continue.

[Different URL omitted] 

Parts of my body hurt now just thinking about it. Yikes!

I've noticed that when people get an injury like carpal tunnel or tendonitis, they seem to have a tendency towards inflammation in other parts of their bodies too, like their knees.

It's no fluke:

Early nerve damage caused by repetitive strain injuries can trigger "sick worker" syndrome -- characterized by malaise, fatigue and depression, and often mistaken for poor performance, according to a study by Ann Barr, Ph.D., and Mary Barbe, Ph.D., at Temple University's College of Health Professions. The study, "Increase in inflammatory cytokines in median nerves in a rat model of repetitive motion injury," is published this month in the Journal of Neuroimmunology.

With apologies to the real This is Broken... I have had several unpleasant web-related experiences lately:

Item 1. We have the technology if you're using Windows (but we forgot to tell you it broke.) I tried uploading photos to RitzPix. Since I have a Mac, this is a somewhat annoying process. I have to select the pictures one at a time with a form. Why is this necessary, when PhotoAccess/PhotoWorks have an uploader system that works with Mac, Windows and Linux? Anyway, I suffered through it, gamely uploaded my pictures and got a confirmation message... only to be told when I went to pick them up that "the machine is broken." What, they have this wonderful automated system... and they couldn't email me to offer to have the pictures developed at another of their locations? Asinine.

Item 2. All Flash, no substance. I tried getting a poster printed from a desktop publishing program. ZooPrinting came up during my search. They have a nice-looking site, a cool Flash-based interface... and a totally broken site with zero customer service support. After giving them my credit card info and placing my order (what a mistake!) I tried uploading my file. The uploader applet wouldn't work. I tried using their FTP server. It rejected me. I emailed them. They ignored my email but charged my card. How charming. Avoid, avoid, avoid!

Item 3. You call that a "feature"? I tried to pay my PG&E bill online. I didn't want to stop getting the paper bill though. But when I clicked the "Decline e-bills" button I kept getting kicked back to the previous screen with no explanation. If you look more closely, just before the "accept" and "decline" buttons, it says "We’ll stop sending you paper bills when you enroll to view or pay bills online." So declining e-bills means you can't pay your bills online at all. What the hell?!?

Anyway, I know it's very, very hard to get e-commerce right, and to design online applications that work... but in these cases, it's difficult to imagine that they even tried very hard. Feh.

An article in the Chronicle yesterday discussed a "new" trend: magazines that come with free CDs. This is something I've seen for years overseas, where newstand sales are key to a publication's survival and all kinds of goodies are thrown in as incentives. In fact, I once spent a very pleasant hour at Heathrow Airport rummaging through W.H. Smith and coming away with a beach tote, a makeup mirror, a small paperback book, and goodness knows what else, in addition to a pile of magazines I'd read within the first hour after takeoff.

Similarly, English music magazines often came with freebie soundtracks. Select was a magazine published during the 90s which reliably added to my tape collection every month. The cassettes are now mouldering on my shelf and waiting for me to convert them to mp3s, but they brought me many hours of joy at the time.

Having been spoiled elsewhere, I've been wondering for years why magazines here in the United States didn't follow suit. And now, they are starting to. Many computer magazines offer software compilations, either at the time you pay for your subscription or included with each issue, and magazines like Paste (inexplicably not mentioned in the Chronicle article) come with fabulous indie mixes and sometimes DVDs as well.

As the Chronicle points out, mixing music and issues leads to some, well, issues...

In some respects, it's a perfect marriage of mediums -- a way to open up music reviewing and the entire magazine reading experience. On the other hand, having free CDs stuck inside magazines further erodes the public perception of the compact disc as something worth the $15 that record companies ask at retail stores.

In Britain, BPI's Webster knows the problem well.

"People do not value what they get for free," he said. "The number of people who play cover-mount CDs, who have built entire CD collections with them, they're going to value less the CD we want them to pay 10 or 12 pounds for."

With all the DVDs and CDs already being stuffed inside magazines to advertise new television programs or hype new bands, if this keeps up, it's going to get difficult to tell the products from the commercials.

Newsflash: 10 or 12 pounds is way, way too much for an album. (It's about $20.) As for the problem distinguishing whether the CD was compiled with the influence of sound musical judgement or advertising dollars... sounds a lot like radio, doesn't it? Only without the obnoxious DJ yammering away over the songs.

Support our troops.

Is gorgeous in October. Funny that all the tourists are gone.

We didn't pass a single soul on this trail!

Their loss.

By the way, that little grey ribbon there is Highway 1.

I had a craving today for turnip cake, which is one of my favorite dim sum items. However, I'd been hanging out with my vegetarian friend much of the weekend and was not feeling inclined to cook with meat. "There mus be a recipe on the Internets for vegetarian turnip cake!" I thought. I thought wrong.

So in the end, I took this recipe and made some modifications. I used a six-ounce pack of fresh shitake mushrooms instead of the dried variety; I omitted the pork sausage and dried shrimp and added dried onions; I replaced the chicken boullion granules with "Better than Boullion" vegitable boullion and, instead of using sliced ginger and removing it, I diced in and left it in the mixture.

Unfortunately, I also apparently used a little too much of the five-spice powder and white pepper; I'd be more cautious about how much I put in next time.

Also, Michael's initial reaction was that the texture was "weird" — too "chunky." I had grated the turnips, and the texture seemed similar to that of some homemade turnip cake I'd had before, but I wonder if the restaurants puree the turnips or add something else to make the cakes creamier.

Matters were helped somewhat when, after steaming the cake per the directions, I cut it up, poured a little olive oil into a pan and pan-fried a few pieces. The bottom got nice and crispy.

The whole project took me two hours  — longer than I expected — but now I have a plate of turnip cakes waiting in the fridge for my next craving!

David Brooks writes today about the trouble with Harriet Miers... not the uncertain religious affiliations, or the fawning over Dubya, or the unclear positions on various issues of the day. No, she's unqualified because she's a bad writer.

He gives some examples, which are, admittedly, pretty poor...

"More and more, the intractable problems in our society have one answer: broad-based intolerance of unacceptable conditions and a commitment by many to fix problems."

Or this: "We must end collective acceptance of inappropriate conduct and increase education in professionalism."

Or this: "When consensus of diverse leadership can be achieved on issues of importance, the greatest impact can be achieved."

Or passages like this: "An organization must also implement programs to fulfill strategies established through its goals and mission. Methods for evaluation of these strategies are a necessity. With the framework of mission, goals, strategies, programs, and methods for evaluation in place, a meaningful budgeting process can begin."

Or, finally, this: "We have to understand and appreciate that achieving justice for all is in jeopardy before a call to arms to assist in obtaining support for the justice system will be effective. Achieving the necessary understanding and appreciation of why the challenge is so important, we can then turn to the task of providing the much needed support."

As someone who fancies himself as quite the wordsmith, he is appalled.  

I don't know if by mere quotation I can fully convey the relentless march of vapid abstractions that mark Miers's prose. Nearly every idea is vague and depersonalized. 

Did somebody say, "relentless march of vapid abstractions" and "vague and depersonalized?"

It somewhat undercuts your point if you then go on to write a paragraph like this:

"The conservative movement was founded upon the supposition that ideas have consequences. Conservatives have founded so many think tanks, magazines and organizations, like the Federalist Society, because they believe that you have to win arguments to win political power. They dream of Supreme Court justices capable of writing brilliant opinions that will reshape the battle of ideas." 

David, David, David...

Why, oh why, did Bush have to write "P.S., no more public scatology" at the bottom of a birthday card he sent to Harriet Miers?

He did, you know. The Smoking Gun has a collection of their correspondence up on their website.

(It's kind of ironic he mentioned "public scatology." Just what does he think he's been doing all over this country since he took office?)

...about that letter I got the other day. Yeah, I need to get a life. Nonetheless, it's not all bad. Iraq Veterans Against the War is now $25 richer, and a postcard is on its way to Mr. Bradshaw:

Dear Mr. Bradshaw,

Thank you for your letter. I was touched that my piece in the Chronicle struck such a chord with you that you were moved to go to the trouble of tracking down my home address!

I wanted to let you know that your words inspired me to make a donation to Iraq Veterans Against the War. You can learn more about them at http://www.ivaw.net.

Once again, thank you. I'm glad we were able to exchange ideas and inspire each other to action in our own ways.

In peace,

Katherine Falk

But that day is not today.

However, the theme of the day appears to be small-plates restaurants. First, there was the glorious news that Cesar will be opening on Piedmont Avenue in the near future. If you don't know what Cesar is, it's a wonderful tapas restaurant in North Berkeley. OK, maybe "glorious" is too strong a word, but still, it's an exciting development.

Then, in the San Francisco Chronicle, there was an article about a new-to-the-Bay-Area trend in Zhou — jook served with a variety of interesting little side dishes like stir-fried peanuts and anchovies, or seaweed salad. The article also mentions two restaurants which specialize in these kinds of small plates. Alas, they are in the South Bay, but it may be worth an expedition.

Finally, in this week's East Bay Express comes a review of a new restaurant on 40th Street in Emeryville called Ferenzu which also sounds like something I've got to check out — and it has the added virtue of being ten minutes away.

Unrelated to the small-plates theme, there was a review today of Mangosteen, a restaurant in the Tenderloin that Michael and I stumbled upon a few weeks ago. It was also very good.

Darn it. Just ate dinner and now I'm hungry again.

Pretty shiny video iPod!!!

Really. I'm not insane...

Really...

Pretty...

I came home from a crazy day at work to find this screed, which had been mailed to my previous home address. The return address was:

William C. Bradshaw
Post Office Box 1288
Oakland, CA 94604

and the letter said:

3 October 2005

Dear Ms. Falk:

Contrary to what you may think, there have been significant numbers of courageous men and women --- who "do truly value life and freedom" --- have [sic] lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.

You may rest assured that you, and those who agree with you, do not have a monopoly on wanting a better future for all - here and abroad.

As far as the protests are concerned, they are merely social events which bring out those people who have all kinds of time to chase around the street with boring signs and silly little rhyming chants.

Quantities mean absolutely nothing.

Sincerely,

William C. Bradshaw

copies to:
Senator Dianne Feinstein
Rep. Nancy Pelosi
Selected Others

He thoughtfully also enclosed a few articles from 2002 and 2003 about how awful Saddam Hussein was. Wow, I had no idea. Thanks for opening my eyes! NOT.

Yes, "those people who have all kinds of time"... to write letters to total strangers? To track down their home addresses? While using a P.O. box to shield his own? To argue against statements I never made in my original letter? Quantities mean nothing... when nearly 2,000 of the "courageous men and women" he claims to support are dead because of this wretched war?

I'm guessing Mr. Bradshaw could use a big hug right now... and maybe some gift subscriptions to various liberal publications. That'll cheer him right up. Just in case you missed it, that address is Post Office Box 1288, Oakland, CA 94604. Drop him a line if you like.

Just read a fascinating interview with Richard Cizik, vice president of governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals, who is spearheading an environmental movement of "creation care" in the evangelical community... and due to his position, he actually has a chance of getting somewhere.

What's particularly fascinating is his description of how he goes about changing minds.

Take mercury. If you reframe mercury regulations as a pro-life issue -- curbing mercury emissions protects children from learning disabilities and unborn children from brain damage -- that gets people's attention. Last January, Jim Ball of the Evangelical Environmental Network and I carried a placard to a pro-life rally that said, "Stop Mercury Poisoning of the Unborn." I distributed flyers showing that one in six babies is born with dangerous mercury levels, and urged protestors to demand improvements in the Clear Skies Act. People were a little perplexed at first, but they got it.

and

There are those who are concerned that by going down this road of creation care we are saying that plants and animals are superior to people. Again, much of the challenge is reframing the environmental issue for the evangelical community as a people issue. We have to say, for instance, that addressing climate change is a way of saying we care about the millions of people worldwide that might have to endure tremendous suffering and displacement from the drought, hurricanes, and flooding associated with global warming. Certainly the human trauma caused by Katrina has brought this issue home.

I never thought a "pro-Bush Bible-brandishing reverend zealously opposed to abortion, gay marriage, and embryonic stem-cell research" would ever give me so much hope... but it goes to show you never can tell. I hope he can persuade his co-religionists in power before it's too late.

A random roundup of music, restaurants and stores I've enjoyed recently...

Music

• You Could Have It So Much Better, Franz Ferdinand. OK, it's never going to be like hearing "Take Me Out" for the first  time again, but it's a really, really good album. There's even a couple of slower songs (including a love song to the lead singer's girlfriend) that I really like. 
• KCRW Sounds Electico. KCRW must be the public radio station that all others envy.  They have Le Show, and they have Morning Becomes Eclectic. This is a compilation of performances from the latter by musicians like Mano Chao and Thievery Corporation, as well as a bunch of other performers I wasn't familiar with but think I'll have to check out now. Good stuff.
  
• "Caleb Meyer" by Gillian Welch. I saw her perform this song at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival last weekend. Amazing (and disturbing!) song.
  

Restaurants

• Clay Pot, San Pablo near Solano, Albany. Interesting food including chicken and chestnut clay pot, cucumber garlic salad and the best shao lum bao I've had.
  
• Old Place Seafood Teahouse, 391 Grand Avenue, Oakland. Not old, but very good. The dim sum is fresh and varied, the service is really friendly (they always tell us it's nice to see us again, whether they really remember us or not) and the prices are dirt cheap. And it's right near the Grand Lake Theater, and consequently not that far from us. This is my current favorite place to get dim sum.

Stores

Well, just one...

Rockridge Home, College Avenue (near Forest), Oakland, CA. I kept walking by this place, and especially the last month or so, I've been very intrigued by what I saw in the window. I finally got to go it. It is the reincarnation of the late lamented Integrand Design shop in Santa Cruz - that is, lots of very stylish and well-designed items, from furniture to housewares to bath products.

It's funny to read a travel guide to downtown Berkeley... but the Chronicle has produced one on their website.

"If you can't find something to watch, eat or buy in downtown Berkeley, call the doctors because you don't have a pulse.'

They don't mention Ross, though, which is a shame. Although it's a chain, I sure lucked out when I went there the other day. A jacket, a cardigan, a skirt, a sweater and a t-shirt for $64? Try finding that at a boutique! (There have always been chains in downtown Berkeley.)

One of the usual neanderthals opined thusly on the Letters to the Editor page today:

Blue Angels

Editor -- Mea culpa. Call it guilty pleasure, but with the first startling roar of military jets flying overhead Thursday morning, my heart raced and I broke out in an ear-to-ear grin. No, not just because the Blue Angels are once again in town to celebrate Fleet Week, but, rather, because I know every time those taxpayer-supported jet fighters scream overhead with exquisite precision the next few days, it's going to drive the anti-war, anti-military, anti-Bush crowd absolutely nuts. Heh.

RICK VAILL
Sausalito 

Let's see. Anti-war? Check. Anti-military? Somewhat. Anti-Bush? Hell yes.

But the moment I heard the Blue Angels roaring overhead, I too broke out in a big grin. I can't help it. Planes are cool, and planes flying in formation, doing daring loop-de-loops over Alcatraz and the Bay Bridge, defying gravity... I eat that sh*t up.  

Yes, it is a show of military might as well as gravity defiance... but on the other hand, every plane flying over the Bay is one less plane bombing some other country!

Anyway, Rick, how's this for a deal. You fantasize about how the Blue Angels are going to drive liberals nuts, and I'll fantasize about how every piece of bad news that's come out in the last month... Hurricane Katrina, Harriet Miers, Tom DeLay, etc. is going to drive Republicans nuts.

Oh, sorry, I forgot. You're already nuts! 

(The picture is one I took two years ago, last time the Angels were in town. I didn't get any good pictures of them today, alas.) 

Hee!

It's the Flying Spaghetti Monster! Spotted on a sidewalk in front of a Starbuck's near our house!

Michael points out the spot:

And here he is in all of his noodly goodness...

Compare for yourself.

It's almost... eerie.

You know how in movies, the bad guy always tells you his nefarious plot in great evil detail?

And how when you're dating, if a guy starts telling you "I'm trouble, baby, I'm trouble..." you're supposed to believe him?

Cue Bill Bennett in the Clinton years. Reed Hundt says...

When I was chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (1993-97), I asked Bill Bennett to visit my office so that I could ask him for help in seeking legislation that would pay for internet access in all classrooms and libraries in the country. Eventually Senators Olympia Snowe and Jay Rockefeller, with the White House leadership of President Clinton and Vice President Gore, put that provision in the Telecommunications Law of 1996, and today nearly 90% of all classrooms and libraries do have such access. The schools covered were public and private... At any rate, since Mr. Bennett had been Secretary of Education I asked him to support the bill in the crucial stage when we needed Republican allies. He told me he would not help, because he did not want public schools to obtain new funding, new capability, new tools for success. He wanted them, he said, to fail so that they could be replaced with vouchers,charter schools, religious schools, and other forms of private education. Well, I thought, at least he's candid about his true views.

So keep that in mind if you are tempted to play down his comments about how aborting black babies would reduce crime. Yes, he wasn't advocating baby-killing, but he sure as hell was saying that black people commit most criminal acts... and now we know he also advocates public schoolicide.