Have blog, will travel

This week, Phil's Occasional Musings is on the road. I'm coming to you LIVE from Novell's annual BrainShare conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. After a long flight sitting in the extreme rear of the plane, I got here about 11 AM this morning. I got to my hotel just in time to see the dreary end of the Mississippi State-Xavier game. I took a quick nap and now I'm sitting in the Salt Palace wondering why Novell doesn't provide free food until 6 PM tonight. A small breakfast and no lunch have left me a ravenous shell of a man. But they have games and sponsor booths to check out, so I'll have something to do until the party gets started. And I can bring it all to you, my few loyal readers, through the magic of wireless networking. Truly, this is the age of enlightenment.

One of the highlights of registration is picking up the BrainShare bag. Every year it's a different bag: usually a backpack, laptop, or duffel bag. I love my backpack from BrainShare 2002 : it holds my laptop, my gadgets, a book, and my lunch, and it goes everywhere. The only problem is that it's falling apart after two years of constant abuse. This year's BrainShare bag was hyped extensively on the Novell newsgroups as "not a backpack" and "not a laptop bag." My guess was that it would be some sort of rolling bag, like airline pilots and stewards use. And that's exactly what we got, in red and gray. I'm sure it will serve me just fine this week, but a rolling bag won't last long on the streets of New York. If the wheels don't fall off after I drag it up and down 86th Street each day, I'm sure it won't survive the beating it will take on the subway. But I'll find a lasting use for the new bag, and they're selling BS2002 backpacks in the conference gift shop, so I can always replace the old one. Or I could get off my cheap ass and buy my own laptop backpack when I get home. Like that's going to happen.

Desson Thomson on Joel Siegel

Last Saturday, Washington Post film critic Desson Thomson wrote an eloquent tribute to the late Joel Siegel. I can't believe I forgot to mention that Professor Siegel used to bring his dog to class and his office all the time, and she (I think it was a she) might have come along for some of our class adventures as well. I thought the picture that accompanies the appreciation piece is worth clicking on the link.

By the way, in case anyone is confused, this is not the same Joel Siegel that appears on "Good Morning America." He's a different movie critic that didn't teach at Georgetown in the early 1990s.

on the passing of one of my former professors

Today's Georgetown Voice mentioned that one of my English professors and my former advisor, Joel Siegel, passed away last week. (The Washington Post obituary is also available. Along with one of my high school English teachers, Professor Siegel was responsible for my desire to become an English major at Georgetown. I only had one class with him, and it wasn't his popular "Elements of Film" class; it was his section of the writing workshop that was an option for the freshman English requirement but that most students avoided. (From that last sentence, you can tell that his writing lessons didn't sink in. That's my fault, not his. Students avoided the writing workshop sections for the workload. They didn't avoid his section in particular.)

His class used the cultural resources of Washington, DC, as the basis for the papers we wrote every week. We wrote about paintings in an art gallery, a dim sum brunch in Chinatown, reviews of a play, a movie, and a concert (I was the class expert on the concert, which was a solo violist with piano accompaniment), and even a little fiction based on an Edward Hopper painting. While I was familiar with some of the museums and cultural opportunities in DC, it was his class that showed me the variety of options that students had at their disposal. Writing two-page papers every week wasn't hard for me, and it allowed me to work on my writing skills and apply them to papers for other classes. Throughout everything we did as a class, Professor Siegel was a knowledgeable, entertaining host and educator. He offered his opinions about our experiences and led engaging class discussions of our excursions. I was so impressed with his style, wit, and approachability, along with his writing talents, that I asked him to be my advisor when I decided to major in English. He was perhaps not the best choice (he said so himself when I asked him), since he was on sabbatical for my junior year and I had to ask another professor to substitute for him, but when I was able to see him for advice about my schedule, he was helpful and tried to provide what insight he could into other classes and professors. I wish I'd gotten more of a chance to know him while I was there. Given my current interest in films, I'm sure I would have liked his film class. One of the films he showed us was Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story Todd Haynes' infamous movie about the life and death of the singing star, told with Barbie dolls. It's extremely hard to find, since Haynes had to withdraw it from release after the Carpenter family refused to grant him the rights to the songs. It's disturbing and grotesque, yet oddly compelling, and it's just the sort of film that Professor Siegel liked for its effect on his class.

After graduation I continued to enjoy his movie reviews each week in the Washington City Paper. He was always entertaining, whether or not he liked the film he was reviewing. He won a Grammy in 1993 for liner notes he wrote for a jazz album, and I was sometimes proud that I could say I knew a Grammy winner personally. I thought of him occasionally but didn't think I knew him well enough to contact him. I regret not making any effort to stay in touch, and hearing that he's gone saddens me. It's so easy to write a letter to an old friend, and clearly writing is something that I enjoy, so I must make more of an effort to stay in touch with former educators like Professor Siegel while I have the chance.

What's that book again?

Today's Washington Post has this article about Mel Gibson's potential profits from The Passion of the Christ. He stands to make at least $150 million, and possibly as much as $350 million from the movie. But what struck me was this line:

Add profits from licensing and merchandising revenues on the best-selling tie-in book, soundtrack, and items like collectible "Passion" nails ($16 for the 25/8-inch pewter pendant on the Internet), a pay-TV sale, and robust video and DVD sales and rentals, and Gibson's returns could reach $500 to $700 million.

Isn't that "best-selling tie-in book" the Bible?! How did Mel Gibson get himself a piece of the sales action for the all-time No. 1 bestseller?

Esherick gets canned

I'm almost stunned at the news of Georgetown head coach Craig Esherick's dismissal. I figured that Georgetown's administration didn't care about the basketball program anymore, after school president Jack DeGioia and AD Joe Lang gave Esherick a vote of confidence two weeks ago. I forgot the "law" of votes of confidence: anytime the coach or GM gets one from management, he or she is likely going to be fired unless they win a championship.

Esherick seems like a decent guy, so I'm almost sorry to see him go. He was one of the Georgetown "lifers:" someone who takes a job at the school after graduating and never leaves. Unfortunately, the program has been in decline for years, since Allen Iverson left after the 1996 season, and Esherick wasn't able to make much of a difference. It's interesting how John Thompson's departure in 1999 looks now. Maybe he didn't leave because he was tired of the game, but because he saw the way college basketball was headed (more recruits spurning college for the NBA, diluted talent pool, academic scandals, etc.) and decided that coaching wasn't worth the trouble. I wonder if he doubted his own abilities to reverse the decline of the program and left while he still had some creative energy left. Esherick tried to continue the Thompson way and clearly didn't enjoy the success his predecessor did. I'm just a little surprised he got fired this year. I thought the school would give him one more year to improve. Maybe that's just what I would have done were I the president.

I'm glad to see that DeGioia still sees the need for a successful Division I basketball program. Aside from the financial advantages, a winning basketball team draws needed academic attention to the school as well. And I'll be able to wear my Georgetown hat with pride again.

The Sports Guy watches Wrestlemania XX so you don't have to

Twenty years ago, I was a 10-year-old boy who loved professional wrestling. I had magazines, action figures (I think), and I even saw it live a few times when the WWF came to Johnstown. I remember being near or even in tears when my mother wouldn't pony up the dough for me to watch the first Wrestlemania on PPV. I tried to watch the scrambled version but that was worse than not seeing it at all, so I gave up. Eventually, I outgrew my interest in wrestling, about the time Hulk Hogan went evil and/or started appearing in movies. The last time I watched wrestling was in 1998, three days before my wedding, when I put it on while waiting for my friends to drag me off to my bachelor party. My friends ridiculed me for it, and they were right to do so. Before then, it might have been ten years since I'd watched it; I'd dropped that habit long before they told us what we already knew: that it's all fake.

The Sports Guy has been a wrestling fan for much longer than I, but even he has his limits. Check out his diary from last night's Wrestlemania XX. It's all good, but it gets especially funny near the end, when the event threatens to drag on into the wee hours and wipe out the chance to see "The Sopranos." It reminded both of us (yes, I think of TSG as one of my friends) why we stopped watching wrestling years ago.

And I think Goldberg might just be one of the greatest Jewish athletes ever.

It's that time again...

No, not the NCAA basketball tournament, at least not this morning. I'm dreading the task of doing my taxes this week, before I go out of town next week. I'm either in for a pleasant refund surprise, or another annual gouging by both the federal and the NY state governments. It's usually the latter. An editorial in today's Washington Post discusses one writer's problems with his own tax forms -- it's quite a horror story. My taxes have never been as bad as his, but I can understand the headaches. However, the most important point in the piece is that the people who make the tax laws, Congress and the president, don't know how difficult it is for the average American to figure out the tax forms. Members of Congress can afford to pay accountants and tax preparers to do all the work for them, and they just sign the forms. But we have to wade through the paperwork or computer screens ourselves, and still wonder when we're done if the numbers are right. If the men and women in government could see how tough tax time can be for their constituents, would it make a difference? I'd like to think so.

"Hoosiers"

To get myself in the mood for March Madness, I spent my Thursday evening watching Hoosiers. I'd never seen the movie before, so now I can cross it off my list of "I can't believe you've never seen [x]" movies that often come up in conversation with my friends. I really enjoyed it, but there's not much I can say to praise the movie that the Sports Guy hasn't already said. I didn't have as dramatic a reaction to the movie as he did: it didn't make me want to run out and play hoops for two hours, though I did briefly think back on my short career playing basketball in gym class and for my Jewish youth group when I was in high school. I couldn't shoot or dribble, though my passing wasn't too bad if I had enough time to think about it. Anyway, this isn't about me. The only aspect of the movie that bothered me was the score. Jerry Goldsmith composed the music, and in some places it was exceptional and suited the scenes perfectly. Unfortunately, for most of the film the music was the synthesized crap that filled out countless soundtracks of '80s movies. Hoosiers is set in 1951 in Indiana, but the music sounds like it's New York, 1985. How hard would it have been for Goldsmith to come up with something a little more appropriate to the '50s? Maybe it was a budgetary thing: they couldn't afford an orchestra to play the entire score, so they went to the drums and synth for the rest of the movie. I was surprised to learn that Goldsmith received an Oscar nomination for best musical score for this movie. I guess that the music went over better in 1986. It really was distracting to Liz and I. More than once, I sang along with the music, making up cheesy lyrics like "Hickory's gonna win it/look, there goes Jimmy/the cheerleaders are dancing/oh no, Shooter's off the wagon." Aside from the music, it was a great film, and even knowing the outcome, I got a little misty-eyed at the end. To be fair, it IS dusty in the apartment. We haven't cleaned up in a few days.

Some sports-related thoughts

First up, the NHL.

This morning, Vancouver's Todd Bertuzzi was suspended for the remainder of this season and the playoffs for punching Colorado's Steve Moore in the head and riding him down to the ice. Moore suffered a broken neck, a concussion, and facial lacerations and will miss the rest of the season. I think the suspension should have been longer, and it may be: NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will reevaluate the situation before the start of the next season to see how Moore's recovery is progressing and whether Bertuzzi's suspension should be extended. I was all set to bloviate about the NHL's irresponsibility in mandating a short suspension for such a heinous attack (there are only 12 games left in Vancouver's regular season schedule) when another columnist reminded me that the next NHL season might not start until 2005 or 2006, if there is a lengthy work stoppage as everyone expects there will be. So Todd Bertuzzi could conceivably miss a year or two of professional hockey anyway, even if his suspension were to be lifted after the 2003-04 playoffs end. Still, I think his actions warranted a year out of the game, even if Moore were able to come back next fall. The league sends the wrong message by only suspending Bertuzzi for this year. In 2000 Marty McSorley clubbed Donald Brashear on the head with his stick, ending Brashear's season, and McSorley got a year's suspension for his troubles. Bertuzzi's hit was no less premeditated than McSorley's, so the only reason I can see for the shorter suspension is that Bertuzzi had the sense to drop his stick before slugging Moore. The intent was the same, so the penalty should have been the same. The league should also send a message to all the teams' coaches and GMs, indicating that behavior of this sort will not be tolerated. I understand that violence is part of the game of hockey, but there's no excuse for sucker-punching a guy, and there's no justification a coach, GM, or teammate can give for why someone would deserve this. The Vancouver coaching staff had to know that their players were upset about a check Moore delivered to Markus Naslund in February that knocked Naslund out for three games. The coaches should have taken the players aside and told them in no uncertain terms that there was to be no retribution. Unfortunately, that's the culture of hockey. I love the game of hockey, but I could live without all the clutching, grabbing, and hitting that passes for the modern NHL game. The league should be taking steps to eliminate all of the above, and even with a looming labor dispute, a short suspension for Todd Bertuzzi sends the wrong message to the players.

Next, the current trend of college basketball fans rushing the court after games.

Wednesday's Washington Post had an excellent article on the subject. While this sort of on-court demonstration used to be limited to the unbelievable upsets or unimaginable come-from-behind victories, lately everyone in the the arena seems to think it's acceptable to run onto the court after any win. I've never understood this phenomenon, and I've even been a part of it once. In 1994, I was a sophomore at Georgetown and I had season tickets to the mens' basketball games. One night late in the season, we were playing Syracuse, who were ranked much higher than we were, and we were winning a close game. I was in the student section near the front row, practically on the court already, and there was a palpable excitement in the crowd. We were living and dying with every shot. There were only a few games in my Georgetown days that were that exciting, so it was already a memorable night. As the seconds ticked down, word spread that we were rushing the court if we won. And when the game ended, we ran like we'd just won the national championship, not just a regular season game (albeit an important one against a longtime Big East rival). I remember being forced onto the court by the mass of people behind me, but when I got out there I realized something: there's nothing for a fan to do on the court. We jumped around and screamed for a few seconds, and I bumped into a few players who were just trying to get out of there, but it couldn't have been more than a minute before all of the students were calmly leaving the floor. There was no reason for us to be down there in the first place, and when we got there, I like to think that everyone figured that out right away. Probably not, though, because a week or two later, we were in the same situation against UConn, and as the game wound down and were were behind by only a few points, we got ready to rush the court again. This time, the barriers to the court were removed in the final seconds, even though the police presence righ in front of us augured against another successful rush. It was all moot when we lost the game. By the way, in neither case was I drunk, or even drinking, though I can't speak for the people around me. In my case, it was just youthful exuberance and a love for my team.

The point of all that rambling was that there's just no point to fans rushing the court, but university officials seem reluctant to do anything about it. Barricades aren't the answer, for safety reasons and also because they would probably be dismantled by fans intent on their goal no matter what the obstacle. I think the NCAA needs to step in and tell schools that if they can't control their own crowds, they'll forfeit games where fans run onto the court. If the people in the stands knew that their team would forfeit a hard-won game just because they ran onto the court, I think that would stop the practice. It might take an actual application of the penalty to do it, though, and I'd probably wait to announce the forfeit until after the fans have left the building. Otherwise a riot is a real possibility. But this trend has to be stopped, before someone dies during a celebration.

No hookups on the 4/5 trains

Occasionally (as in when I think about it) I enjoy the sarcastic commentary over at blacktable.com. For example, I particularly enjoyed the latest "Black List," the weekly review of pop culture phenomena and/or things that annoy other New Yorkers. I, too, received a check from the music CD settlement thingy to the tune of $13.86, and I'm equally perturbed at the thought of low-carb orange juice.

But what really moved me to write today was "Week in Craig," Amy Blair's review of strange and disturbing personal ads on craigslist.com. This week's column is all about personal ads from F train riders trying to hook up with each other on their daily commute. Apparently there's an effort to designate certain cars for meeting people, like a mobile singles' bar without the alcohol or ambience.

I haven't been single for nine years, so I'm completely out of the loop on how and where single people meet these days. If the F train works for lonely Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan residents, more power to them. I can't imagine trying to get acquainted with someone new between stops on any subway train, but especially on the East Side 4/5 train that I take to and from work every day. The 4/5 trains are cramped, crowded, poorly lit in some cases, and always unpleasant. It's tough enough just finding a place to stand without hitting someone with my bag or stepping on their toes. Over the winter, with everyone wearing heavier coats, it was stifling most of the time. As much as I love the subway system sometimes I wish I could get to work using any other mode of transportation. I don't see many people hitting on each other and getting phone numbers on the way to work. Like me, everyone seems to be suffering with the overcrowding and just trying to make the best of the situation. Music helps: I've been listening to MP3s on the train instead of reading, since there's not even enough room for me to break out a book. At least the music takes my mind off the utter discomfort of riding the only East Side subway at rush hour. The F train must look like happy hour by comparison, if all these craigslist folks are finding love.

Miracle, in more ways than one

Last night, James and I went to see Miracle, the movie about the 1980 USA Olympic hockey team defeating the Russians. It was an excellent film. I was most impressed with the dramatic tension of the final game despite the fact that everyone in the audience knew the outcome, and probably (like me) how most of the goals were scored. I had a tough time telling the players apart (it took me a while to figure out that "Rizzo" was Mike Eruzione) but I don't think the individuals on the team were the point, with the possible exception of Jim Craig, the goalie. The point was that Herb Brooks molded the players into a cohesive whole that believed they could beat anyone. Even with the liberties taken by the filmmakers, it's a worthy treatment of the team and a tribute to the late Brooks, who died tragically in a car accident before the film was released.

I saw the other "miracle" of the evening on the way home. I was waiting on the uptown platform at the 33rd St. 6 train station, looking down the tracks to see if a train was coming. I noticed someone crossing the express tracks, from the downtown platform to the uptown side. This guy (and it had to be a guy, no woman is this dumb) was not a transit worker, just some fool in street clothes. He had apparently found himself on the wrong platform, and since 33rd Street isn't a transfer station, rather than leave the station, cross the street, and re-enter the subway on the uptown side (and pay another fare), he jumped off the downtown platform, walked across four sets of tracks (downtown local and express, uptown local and express) and hoisted himself back up the chest-high platform on the uptown side. The local train was at least a minute away as he did this, so he had time to get off the tracks, but just after he was safe on the uptown platform, an express rolled through the station. Had he tripped or accidentally touched the electrified third rail, he would have been crushed by the express. There are all sorts of wires and rails on the subway tracks, and I wouldn't want to try changing platforms even if the trains weren't running at all. There are too many things to trip or step on if you're not an experienced track worker. Besides, the fare is $2. How would you like to explain to your family, or have someone else explain to them, that you were so cheap that you tried crossing the tracks to avoid paying $2 but got hit by a train in the process? I'll pay the $2 again, thanks.

What a complete and utter dumbass.

a test everyone can pass

I laughed out loud at the test of basketball knowledge former University of Georgia assistant coach Jim Harrick Jr. gave to his class as the only exam. You can take the test yourself, and read all about it as well. I'm a little ashamed to admit that I missed the question on how many referees call a basketball game, but I'm sure a college baller would know the right answer.

I know that "student-athletes" tend to be jokes most of the time. Even at schools like Georgetown, they get extra study help, academic advisors who direct them toward favorable curricula, and in the case of Minnesota, advisors write the athletes' papers for them too. I used to wonder how the players on the basketball team got through Georgetown's sometimes-rigorous classes, and now I understand. I'm sure that some of them took exams that weren't much harder than this one. All I'm saying is that we should start accepting our student-athletes for what they are: athletes first, and students second. The schools exploit their talents and in return give them degrees (assuming they stick around long enough) that aren't worth much more than the paper they're engraved on. And that's fine with me.

Is New York City prepared for a subway "incident?"

Considering that the news outlets here buried the story on the back page and got many details wrong, those who live outside NYC might not have heard about the track fire near the West 4th Street station in Manhattan on Sunday evening. Apparently someone threw a piece of metal onto the tracks, striking the electrified third rail and sparking a fire. The trains stopped in the tunnels and as you can read in two accounts here and here, it took over an hour before passengers got out of the subway system to the streets above. While they waited on the train, they heard announcements from the train operator that the fire and police departments were "on the way." I can understand the need for caution when you're dealing with track problems, but if this had been some kind of terrorist attack, how long would the MTA have waited to get people out of the trains? I take the subway to work each and every day, and I do this fully aware that if there's any kind of mischief in the works by anyone with a grudge, I might not survive the trip. I put that fear out of my mind, reminding myself that I'm more likely to get hit by a drunk driver while walking down the street to the subway entrance than I am to become a casualty of a terrorist attack. Still, the risk is there, and the MTA's response to Sunday night's incident (coupled with the news organizations' quiet coverage) makes me wonder just how bad the odds are against me if something terrible happens on my daily commute.

Now it's time for me to take the subway home. Hopefully I'll blog at you later.

yet another psychological profile quiz result

You are Charlie Brown!


Which Peanuts Character are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

I realize that these surveys aren't scientific, but it's creepy how well the above description fits me. Although if I am the Master (see 1/23/04 in the archives) AND Charlie Brown, does that mean that Charlie Brown grows up to be the Master? And does Linus becomes Torgo? The mind reels.

an Oscar live-chat transcript to answer all your questions

We hosted an Oscar party at our apartment tonight and with all the caffeine and food I'll be up a little while longer. The Washington Post's movie section editor held an online chat during the show. While our partygoers had many questions that were raised and answered during the telecast, there were a few queries that we couldn't figure out. However, those who were at their PCs the entire time found the answers we couldn't, so see the transcript if you're interested. Specifically in my case, Sting played a hurdy-gurdy for one of the Cold Mountain songs, and you can read more about that instrument here. Also, the blue pins worn by all of the LOTR participants were provided by TheOneRing.net, a popular LOTR fan site.

The party was a great success, though I think we'll let someone else take a turn hosting it next year. We'll be there, of course, but it might be more fun to rotate it to someone else's apartment instead of packing 15 people into our living room again. We have plenty of leftover chips and salsa, so come on over for a snack. Just call first.

An unexpected visit to Queens

This morning, Liz and I went to Queens for the funeral service for my mother's aunt who passed away on Friday. Some of you who know me might remember that my great aunt and uncle lived on Park Place in Brooklyn and that we used to visit them occasionally since we moved to New York over four years ago. My great uncle, her husband, died last summer, she had moved to her daughter's home in New Jersey, and her health had taken a few bad turns lately. It was a touching service. The two eulogies, one given by a neighbor from Brooklyn, the other by her son-in-law, reminded me of my aunt's love for family and friends, her garden, and her neighborhood. Liz pointed out that she also had a great love for animals; she and her husband kept cats for most of their lives, and after their elderly cat died last year, they got a new one-year-old cat. Even at the end of her life, she was still making jokes about the care she received at the hospital (she wasn't happy with the amount of salt in her IV drip) and enjoying the time she had with her family. My great aunt was a wonderful, funny, special woman, and I'll sincerely miss her.

Today' Tom the Dancing Bug

On the eve of the Oscars, today's TtDB made me laugh out loud.

Sorry I haven't written anything this week. I'd have posted my thoughts on gay marriage, or the presidential primaries, but many others have expressed what I'd want to say, only far more eloquently. All I'll say is if two people want to get married, let them get married. Go right ahead. I don't see why that should be a problem.

Liz and I saw a play tonight featuring a friend of ours in a prominent role. I can't comment on it yet, until we talk to him tomorrow at our Oscar party. Maybe I'll be able to write about it after that. Believe me, I REALLY want to post my opinions on this production.

my first impressions of the French press

The coffee I had from the press was better than the Filterfresh machine, but not even close to the Starbucks/drip quality to which I was becoming accustomed. I did get a small amount of sludge in the bottom of my cup, which is nothing new since the FF machine gives me the same thing. I think I used too much water for the initial brew, and too much milk in my cup (since the kitchen is down the hall and I didn't want to keep walking the hallways carrying mugs and coffeepots, I put the milk in first). But it was my first attempt with the press, so I'm trying to be forgiving and resisting the temptation to drop the whole idea and go back to Starbucks. I read the press pot guide on coffeegeek.com and found out right away that I'm not using the right kind of grinder for press pot coffee. Apparently a blade grinder like the one I have makes excellent fine grounds perfect for drip coffeemakers, but can't produce a uniform coarse grind suitable for a press. Hence the omnipresent sludge at the bottom of the mug. Since the alternative to the blade grinder (a wedding gift from a good friend) is a large and expensive burr grinder, I think I'll work with what I have. And my beans are several months old and not freshly ground by the time I make the coffee in the afternoons. Again, unless I start buying fresh beans in my office neighborhood and grinding them at my desk, I'm stuck with these limitations. If I go any further with this obsession, I'll have to start selling coffee at my desk to cover the costs. At least I'll go through the beans quicker if I'm using them every day. There is an empty cube in our space for the next few weeks. Maybe I could turn that into a coffee stand and make some extra cash.

The whole reason I have this problem in the first place is that I don't like to drink coffee with breakfast. I usually have a bowl of cereal and some OJ, and I've found that coffee doesn't sit well with that combination. The last time I did that, I was wired and vaguely nauseous until lunch. If I ate a full breakfast of eggs, sausage, muffins, etc., then I'd happily make drip coffee at home. But I don't have that kind of time or appetite in the mornings, so cereal it shall be. Besides, a cup of coffee around 2:30 PM is a great way to wake up for the rest of the afternoon.

Look at the fancy boy, with his ooh-la-la French coffee press!

I've become a coffee snob. The free coffee at the office comes from a Filterfresh vending machine, though I don't think of it as coffee. The drink that comes out is bitter, weak, and bears only a passing resemblance to what the rest of the civilized world considers to be coffee. We've complained to the catering company that handles the machines, but even when they change the grounds the coffee still tastes nasty. I spent most of last year drinking a cup or two a day of this crap, knowing that it was terrible. After I went home for Christmas and enjoyed good coffee made by my mother, I decided that I'd had enough of the crap. I got a Starbucks card for a Christmas present, so I started getting a cup a day from the Starbucks in the lobby. I also started drinking the coffee from the cafeteria, which is Ritazza and about the same quality as Starbucks, but for $.50 less. In my department, we've talked about getting a coffee maker, but I'd been advising against it. If we share a coffee maker in our office space, we have to share the chores of buying the grounds (and deciding what kind to get), keeping the machine clean, and so on. I know that it would get ugly after a while.

My policy of roughly $1/day on coffee lasted until Friday, when we received a money management book from my in-laws. One of the first anecdotes is about a woman who spends $3.50 a day on her grande double non-fat latte and realizes that her coffee habit is costing her big bucks from her future retirement income. I've heard this advice before, and had thought that $1 a day wasn't so bad, but in my financial situation, even good coffee can be a frivolous purchase if I do it every day. Having previously ruled out a drip coffee maker, I took the plunge (literally) and bought a coffee press for $20. I already have high-quality coffee beans at home, so I figure I can grind 2-3 days' worth of coffee and leave it in the refrigerator here at work, then make myself a decent cup whenever I want it. I'll try it after lunch and see how well it works out for me.

My latest kitchen exploits

For no other reason than it sounded like a tasty meal, I decided to make red beans and rice for Sunday's dinner. First I had to buy a stock pot, which I got at Bed, Bath, and Beyond on Saturday afternoon (along with a coffee press--more on that later). Then, on the way home, as I was reviewing the ingredients for the red beans, I realized that a) I needed lots of chicken stock, and b) I had old chicken bones in the freezer from which I had long planned to make stock but lacked a stock pot. Since I now had said pot, I made my own chicken stock on Saturday night. It sounds more exciting that it was. We did find time to go out for dinner with friends and entertain them at our place for a few hours, and I only got up every twenty minutes or so to skim the fat. The stock turned out OK, a little bland, but there was plenty to use.

Sunday night was the main event. I used one of Emeril's recipes for the red beans and rice, complete with the ham hocks and sausage. It was surprisingly easy. Everything went into the pot, covered with the stock, and it simmered for about two hours. I also made the cornbread that James baked for the Super Bowl soul food feast. Liz gave the entire meal an "A," and her criticisms were constructive as always. She likes a sweeter cornbread, so I'll add a little more sugar next time (and maybe some chopped jalapenos) and while the sausage and pork were delicious, the beans and broth didn't have much flavor. James makes this dish all the time, so I'll ask him what he does to make it extra tasty. I put some hot sauce in my bowl and it kicked things up the requisite extra notch.

Sportswriter responses to the Colorado football scandal

Some of the writers in ESPN.com's Writers' Bloc have posted their thoughts on the football program at the University of Colorado. I was appalled when I read in this week's Sports Illustrated Katie Hnida's account of her treatment and rape at the hands of Colorado football players. If it was possible, I was even more appalled/aghast/disgusted when I heard Coach Gary Barnett tell reporters in person, in front of cameras and microphones that his players treated Hnida the way they did because she was an "awful" player who "couldn't kick the ball through the uprights." Barnett has since apologized for his comments, which he claimed were "misinterpreted or taken out of context." Unfortunately for him, he's been suspended by the university pending an investigation, and the school president called his comments "unacceptable."

I should be surprised that someone like Barnett is in charge of a Division I football program, but after characters like Rick Neuheisel and Mike Price lost their jobs (for gambling and blowing university expense account funds on strippers, respectively), and years of stories about academic fraud in other programs (like Minnesota basketball a few years back) I'm not shocked by anything that happens in college athletics. But there's no way that Barnett should be allowed to keep his job after this week's events, even if it turns out he didn't know anything about the strippers, the harassment, or the alleged rape. Just the fact that these practices went on during his tenure should be enough to cost him his job. As the head coach, he must be held accountable for the actions of his assistants (who allegedly hired strippers for recruiting parties) and his players. There's no way to fix this problem with him staying at Colorado.

By the way, Rick Reilly's column in this week's SI is one of his best. It's not available online yet, so you'll have to pick up the magazine on the newsstand. Or you can borrow my copy when I'm done with it.

Who wants a salary cap in baseball?

The owner of the Boston Red Sox, John Henry, responded to reporters' questions today about the Alex Rodriguez-to-Yankees trade by saying that baseball's economic system is 'out of whack'. He thinks that baseball now needs a salary cap instead of the revenue sharing and luxury tax system currently in place.

I don't have much sympathy for Mr. Henry. His team tried for several weeks to negotiate a trade for A-Rod and couldn't get the deal done. Had the Red Sox acquired Rodriguez, I guarantee you that Henry wouldn't have e-mailed reporters with the opinion that baseball needs a salary cap to keep his own team's spending under control. But because the Red Sox have to compete directly with the Yankees (they're in the same division) and the Yankees have no drag whatsoever on their payroll, now Henry thinks baseball needs a hard cap. Unfortunately, he's working under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement that doesn't have a salary cap, and baseball isn't likely to institute one in the next agreement either. The baseball owners brought this state of affairs on themselves two years ago by not forcing a cap on the union or shutting down the game. NHL owners are prepared to shut down their league for as long as it takes to get a hard cap in place to prevent contracts like Rodriguez's from destroying hockey. If John Henry wants to own a team in a league with more favorable economic conditions, he should try the NFL. As much as people complain about parity and the salary cap in football, at least the season is always exciting and interesting, and nearly every team has a reasonable chance to make the playoffs. In baseball, my Pittsburgh Pirates can't hope to compete with the likes of the Yankees on the field or off, and so they're looking at a 12th consecutive losing season.

I agree with John Henry on this one: baseball needs a salary cap. However, he should have pushed harder for one when he had the chance. It's too late to complain now.

The future of mobile computing

I'm a regular visitor to Gizmodo, so I read with interest this article about one pundit's views on where increased storage will take mobile technology. I agree that greater storage on cellphones and PDAs will lead to more applications and hardware innovations to take advantage of the extra room. But I don't agree that it's a good thing. For the most part, I like a simple cell phone that just keeps track of my numbers and maybe a ringtone or two. I still don't see why cameras or video games need to be bundled into the cellular package. Just because I can keep my PowerPoint presentations on my PDA doesn't mean that it's the best tool to show them.

Speaking of new mobile technology, this seems as good a time as any to reveal that despite my love of simple cell phones, for the past few weeks I've been using a Treo 600 provided by my office as my phone and PDA. I wasn't as hot to get one as most people seemed to be, but when one of the pilot program units found its way into my possession, I didn't hesitate long to give it a try. Four years ago I bought a Palm Vx and used it lovingly for two years. But when I got an HP/Compaq iPaq from the office in December 2002, I made the PocketPC switch. Now I'm back to the Palm OS, and loving every minute of it. While the Treo 600 offers a web browser and rudimentary "push" e-mail functionality, I'm cheap, and since I don't pay for the data service on my AT&T account, I'm only using it as a phone/PDA combo. Even so, the phone sounds just as good as my Nokia 3595, and no one I've talked to has noticed a difference. I have a web browser on my Blackberry (data service paid for by my office), so I haven't really needed the browser on the Treo yet. I had to buy a $10 stereo headphone adapter, but once I got it I was able to listen to MP3s on the Treo just as I did with the iPaq, using my 256 MB Sandisk SD memory card for storage. The keyboard on the Treo is smaller than the Blackberry's, and I've had a little trouble with it, so I'm glad not to be using the Treo for my e-mail. I was able to reload almost all of the old apps I used on my Palm Vx and upgrade the ones that didn't run on the newer Treo OS. The built-in camera is nearly useless to me, as I already have a much more capable digital camera with important features like a flash and zoom lens. But I can see where people might want to use it, and it takes acceptable pictures for a cellphone camera.

Overall, I'm happy with my new toy, and so far my employer doesn't seem to mind me using it, so I'm going to keep it as long as they'll let me. I still don't see a need for an all-in-one gadget in my life, but the Treo is beginning to convince me I'm wrong. I know for sure that I'm keeping my Nokia phone for the few times I won't need the expensive and possibly fragile Treo. When I go cycling, for example, there's no way I'm putting the Treo in my Camelbak or saddlebag. And it's always good to have a backup cellphone just in case.

Brief weekend review

Friday night: Liz and I saw The Triplets of Belleville, one of the most creative and imaginative movies, animated or otherwise, that I've ever seen. It's about cycling and the Tour de France, but in the same way that Star Wars is about robots. The music alone is amazing, and I can't wait to see how the title song is performed at the Oscars.

Saturday: Liz volunteers at the ASPCA and she went to an adoption event where the featured guest of honor was the losing finalist from the first "Average Joe" series. I don't want to say that this guy wasn't a hit, but he had a stack of publicity photos and not many takers. Liz told me that someone at the event had to call her friends to come over and meet him so he would have something to do. At least the day was a success for the animals: at 3 PM when she left four dogs and fifteen cats had been adopted.

We went to Dawat, one of New York's best Indian restaurants, for dinner. They offered three prix fixe menus with five items each, and since we each ordered different options, we had about 10 dishes on the table when the main courses arrived. It was busy but delicious. Since they didn't offer sag paneer that night, we'll have to go back so Liz can get her favorite dish.

Sunday: I made buttermilk waffles for brunch and we spent the afternoon listening to Bob Dylan and George Jones CDs.

Monday: we went to see 21 Grams. It was quite a downer, though the actors were superb. Naomi Watts is quickly becoming one of my favorite actresses, and though it had nothing to do with the movie, I kept wondering when Sean Penn will star in a biopic on Johnny Cash. Regarding the movie itself, at first I was put off by the editing, but after a few minutes it started making sense chronologically and helped the story. Next on my depressing Oscar movie list: Mystic River.

Is "Friends" overrated?

One TV reporter on CNN.com thinks so. In looking at the series' key element, the relationships among the six cast members, Mr. Moore points out that there's not much depth to any of these characters. They've never gotten too far beyond what they were at the beginning of the series. He makes some other good points, but I think that the main problem with the series today is that it's just not funny anymore. Last night's big wedding episode just bored me to the point that I started washing dishes to get away from it. I'm sick of Ross's dorky behavior, Monica's control-freakishness, and where the hell are they hiding Rachel's baby? Apparently starting next week the writers are getting Ross and Rachel back together again, which is fine with me since I don't think they should have ever broken up. But if the series had ended abruptly last night I wouldn't care. It's been on too long, and I'm not looking forward to all the network hoopla that is certain to accompany the finale.

But is "Friends" overrated? I think it's a good sitcom, and in its best years in the late 1990s it rivaled some of the classics, but overall, I'd say it's just above average. For me, its reruns don't have the same "rewatchability" as "Seinfeld" and "Simpsons" reruns do. I think that's a crucial distinction that separates a good show from a great one.

I'm Basil Fawlty!

I've always been a big fan of John Cleese, beginning with Monty Python and later in his movies and TV appearances. Of course, I also love Fawlty Towers, and tonight I finally broke out the DVD set I received for a holiday present. While watching some of the special features about the real-life hotel manager in Torquay, England, who was Cleese's inspiration for Basil Fawlty, and then the first episode of the series, I realized that I am Basil. And it's not necessarily a good thing. He flies off the handle at any perceived slight, he gets frustrated when being berated by his wife for not doing something she asked him to do, he hates requests from guests, and he mistreats the hired help at his hotel. That sounds so much like me at work it's almost scary. Luckily most of my co-workers think I'm funny when I'm upset, so that helps avoid potential problems. While I'd like to think I could change my ways, I'm not sure I want to. One of the funniest moments in the first episode of the series is at the end, when Basil is furious that he can't continue to abuse a crooked hotel guest (because the police are hauling the guest away) and he can't persuade a rich, classy couple to stay at his hotel. All he can do is clench his fist, rage at the potted plants outside, and go inside and break something. Cleese used to do this sort of thing on Monty Python as well, and I always found it hysterical. Maybe I need to start doing that at work. After a help desk phone call that ticks me off, I can just hang up and shake my fist at the phone while referring to the caller as a "toffee-nosed snob."

Or I could try therapy. No, I like my first idea better.

No more "Playmakers"

ESPN has cancelled its dramatic series "Playmakers" after just one season. Unfortunately for the show, ESPN decided that it values its relationship with the NFL and its sponsors more than its programming, which is a shame. Like everything else in this world, it all comes down to money. I will admit that while the show was entertaining, I wondered how there could possibly be a second season, since they covered nearly every imaginable plotline in eleven episodes. They had marital problems, drug use and rehab, unplanned pregnancy, parent-child issues, homophobia, cancer, and steroids. I can't think of any story line that was left unmentioned, so aside from rotating these stories through the cast, I doubt a second season would do as well in the ratings. Still, I'd like to think that ESPN would have stood up to the NFL and said "it's just a show, relax." I never took any of the storylines that seriously, despite the "ripped-from-the-headlines" intentions. I thought it was about the same level of realism as the average "Law & Order."

Maybe the show will get a second chance on another network, like Showtime, that needs more highly-rated and critically-praised programming. I think it's unlikely, but stranger things have happened.

The Geek Test

My score on The Geek Test:

30.76923% - Total Geek

My "Big Game" review

First of all, despite what MTV would have you believe, the incident with Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake was completely planned. Why else would she wear a tear-away bustier, and why would he hold onto the piece of it he tore off? (Go here for close-ups of Janet's unique nipple piercing -- the link isn't safe for work, so if you can't see it now, she's not wearing a pastie, it's a star-shaped piercing.) You can expect this footage to replace Howard Dean's scream in the pop-video rotation next week. The word is that the NFL does not expect to allow MTV to produce future halftime shows. Does this mean Up With People will be making a comeback?

Second, the commercials were mostly lackluster. I liked the Willie Nelson advice doll ad and the Bud ad with the talking monkey, but most of them were forgettable. The AOL ads weren't bad either; James liked the one where the driver of the hot rod went back in time. As usual, you can never go wrong with guys getting hit in the crotch, animal flatulence, or women in bikinis. James and I got the most comic mileage out of the ads for Cialis, especially the one describing the possible side effects and counteractive medications. In case you missed it, we think Cialis will give you (if you're a man) a foot-long erection that lasts four hours (and requires immediate medical attention) and weighs you down in front to the point that you'll suffer lower back pain hours later. And if you have a heart condition and take Cialis, you'll get low blood pressure as well. Doesn't that sound great? Where can I get a free sample?

Our meal was excellent. James' fried chicken was crispy yet juicy, the macaroni and cheese was creamy, and the collard greens were spicy but not too bitter. The cornbread was good but needed a little more bite, perhaps from jalapenos or homemade creamed corn. My lemon chess pie came out less solid than I'd hoped but was sweet and tart just the same, and I brought home half of it to enjoy later.

Finally, the game was better than I thought it would be. It's not one of the greatest games ever played, but I'll put it near the bottom of my top ten Super Bowls. I thought that Adam Vinatieri would miss the field goal at the end and we'd see our first ever overtime championship, but he picked the right time to make the kick.

So that's it for another football season. Now I get to suffer through the Penguins' cover-your-eyes-awful season, and the Pirates' soon-to-be terrible season. How soon is the NFL draft?

The "Big Game"* party that almost was but then wasn't

About six weeks ago, James and I had the brilliant idea that all our friends should come to New York to watch the big game tomorrow and gorge on chili, nachos, and other fattening dishes. Two weeks ago, James told me that none of our friends were coming due to various conflicts and travel issues. No problem, we said; we'll have a party here with some people we know in NY. Then, on Thursday, I had this conversation with James:

Him: "Those bastards."
Me: "Who's not coming to the party now?"
Him: "Counting you and me, there will be two people at the party."

So we're down to the two of us watching the game and eating soul food, the current menu unless James changes his mind again. Rather than make Az-Tec Calendar dip from The Border Cookbook, I'm taking things in a completely different direction and making dessert, specifically lemon chess pie, from In the Kitchen with Bill, a collection/satire of Bill Clinton's favorite recipes. I'm not really a dessert person: while I enjoy eating them, I'm not interested in making them. But the feast of fried chicken, mac and cheese, collard greens, and cornbread doesn't need an appetizer. Around the end of third quarter, though, I'll be looking for something sweet to take the edge off all the salt and spice, and chess pie is perfect for rounding out the menu. I'd never heard of chess pie before meeting Liz's family and spending holidays in Mississippi, and now I wonder how I lived for 21 years without ever eating it.

You might think that our choice of a Southern-style dinner means we're pulling for Carolina in tomorrow's game, but that's not the case. I don't care who wins, I just hope it's a good game. We could just as easily make New England clam chowder, except that James already had all the ingredients for the fried chicken dinner. I don't think we've ever tried to match the meal to the teams in the game, it's just too hard sometimes.


*I'd use the term "Super Bowl, but I'm afraid I'll get sued by the NFL. Damn! I said "Super Bowl!" And I said "Super Bowl" again! Oops, I can't say "NFL" either. $%@&%&^!@%!!!

Please, NFL lawyers, don't sue me!

another geeky entry

Every few months, I get the inspiration to try Linux on my work laptop again. I've run Red Hat 8 and 9 on an IBM T22 and a T30, and now I'm using SuSE 9 Professional on my T30. The problem is that every few months, when I try Linux on the laptop, I remember why I inevitably dump the 5 GB or so I set aside for Linux and go back to using my Windows XP partition exclusively. While most of the hardware in the laptop works right after the installation, things that I rely on, like my built-in wireless card, don't work without lots of tweaking. Since I couldn't get the built-in wireless to work, I'm using my back-up PC card instead. Even that card takes some work to make it function properly. The good news is that once it works, it's just like I'm using Windows. I'm posting this entry from Galeon, a web browser running in Linux. I've installed Ximian Desktop 2 on the system, since it's now a Novell product, and so far I like it. If this OS doesn't crash as much as Windows, I just might stick with it. At least I can use it in March at BrainShare and look cool.

Unfortunately, the biggest problem with Linux is that I can't read my work e-mail (Lotus Notes) or manage my network without going back to Windows. Which is why Linux on the desktop will remain a novelty for me. It's something to play with or use in frustration when Windows keeps crashing, but ultimately I'm stuck with Windows.

Quiet Indignity: Which Mystery Science Theater 3000 Villain Are You?

What MST3K Villain are you? by Krankor.com

I am proud to be the Master, as Manos: The Hands of Fate is one of my favorite MST3K movies. Back in the mid-1990s, I used to have a Torgo screen saver, where he was running from the Master. Good times.

The Da Vinci Code

I've been meaning to write a brief review of this novel since I finished it a few weeks ago. After reading some reviews of it online and seeing Dan Brown on the "Today" show, I thought I should check it out. My mother got the book for me for my birthday, finally giving me the opportunity to read it.

At first, I didn't care for the writing style or the story. Throughout, it reads like a typical thriller: a cliffhanger on every page, Angnot much character development, but plenty of intrigue and excitement to keep the reader's attention. It reminded me of the later Robert Ludlum novels, published after Ludlum died and penned by a cadre of ghostwriters. For all we know, Dan Brown could be one of those ghostwriters. However, as the book went on and Brown got into the codes and symbolism of the story, I found myself unable to stop reading. As much as I didn't want to like the book, I couldn't help enjoying it. At the end, I didn't know much more about the characters than I knew at the beginning, but it didn't matter. The story was gripping, and even the excess of symbolic data wasn't too overpowering, though it was annoying at times to repeatedly learn that some modern custom started as a pagan ritual two thousand years ago. I liked the book enough that I'm going to read Angels and Demons, Brown's other novel featuring the same main character, and I'm curious how the movie version of The Da Vinci Code will look.

I'm currently reading Douglas R. Hofstadter's Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, and that's keeping my mind occupied in vastly different ways. I should be working out some of the puzzles in the book with paper and pencil, and that's hard to do on a crowded subway train in winter. I end up trying to work them out in my head instead, which is equally difficult in a crowded subway.

a little tech for you

After work this evening, I attended a Novell presentation on their current and future plans for the Linux platform. It had been billed as an exclusive opportunity to hear Novell's CTO talk about Novell and Linux from a technical perspective. Only 100 people would be allowed to attend. So, of course, I replied to the invite right away to secure my seat.

When I arrived at the Marriott Marquis, there were about 30 people in a room set up for 100. So right away, the presentation wasn't the hot attraction it was made out to be. That's OK: it was a Tuesday night, it was about 20 degrees outside, American Idol was on later. There were many reasons to skip the entire thing. Unfortunately, the CTO had to cancel at the last minute, so we heard from a marketing/product manager instead, and the presentation turned into a review of Novell's acquisitions in 2003 (Ximian, SuSE, SilverStream). What was most annoying was the interaction between the Novell geeks and the Linux geeks. As the marketing rep talked about Ximian Desktop being the most popular Linux desktop, the techie sitting next to me crossed his arms and shook his head; it was obvious he had some other Linux desktop in mind. Later, when someone asked how many copies of Ximian Desktop Novell had shipped worldwide, another Linux zealot pointed out that

1) Ximian Desktop is a free download, so there's no such concept as shipping that particular product;
2) Ximian Desktop comes with many Linux distributions, so there are millions of copies of it in use or at least available.

Neither of these points answered the man's question, and the Novell rep didn't have numbers for him either. My point is that these kind of arguments about Linux-- which desktop is more popular, which distribution is better, which vendors support your favorite distribution or desktop -- are just what I was hoping to avoid at tonight's event. Novell is trying to sell an operating system and a desktop interface, and it doesn't do the Novell community any good for us to be arguing over which interface or setup tool is better. I'm afraid that at BrainShare in March Novell's CEO will say something about Novell and Linux and inadvertently upset half the audience by mentioning GNOME instead of KDE. The trouble with Linux enthusiasts is that they all have different opinions about what makes the idea Linux installation, and will defend these opinions to death. These people scare me, and now Novell has invited them into the tent.

Comments are now available

Now the 3-5 people who actually read my blog can post their comments. Thanks to Chris Galdieri for the indirect tip on Haloscan; you can check out his blog via the link on the right.

Greek food and MoMA QNS

I spent the afternoon in Queens with my brother, who was in town for the weekend for a straightdope.com event. I joined his group of fellow Dopers(?) for lunch at a Greek restaurant in Astoria and then a visit to the Museum of Modern Art, currently located out in Queens while the Manhattan museum undergoes renovations. For lunch I had pastitsio, a sort of Greek lasagna with macaroni and ground beef. At the MoMA, there are selections from the museum's permanent collection on exhibit and two special exhibits. The permanent collection art disappointed me, compared to what I've seen in the Manhattan museum, but the special exhibits were interesting.

I'm glad I had the chance to spend some time with my brother and meet some of his friends from the Internet. And yet I'm disappointed that I spent my entire afternoon with people I (or rather, he) met through the Internet and not once did I quote Rob Truhn's oft-attributed line: "Sometimes you meet these chicks on the Internet, and they have no legs." All of the people I met today, men and women, had fully functioning appendages, as far as I could tell. And they were all fun to hang around; my fears of geeky inside jokes were unfounded. I'm tempted to join the Dope boards myself, though I really don't have the time to hang out on another web site just for the heck of it.

Hold the hot pants

The president of FIFA (the world's governing body for soccer) suggested that female players wear sexier uniforms to bring more attention to the sport.

My favorite line in the article is this one:

FIFA spokesman Andreas Herren said Friday that Blatter never mentioned the word "hot pants.''

But you have to see it in context. I laughed out loud at it.

Damn, it's cold out there

I've lived through cold weather like this before, but not since I was growing up in western Pennsylvania. January 1985 was particularly memorable: the temperature was 20 degrees below zero for a few days around the time of the presidential inauguration. It wasn't always that bad, but every winter we could count on a few weeks of subfreezing temperatures and plenty of snow. I looked forward to winter. So I'm entertained when it gets cold or snowy in New York and the city threatens to close down completely. But this current Arctic air blast is ridiculous. I actively hate the 4/5 trains now that number of people on them remains the same but they're all wearing so much extra clothing, it's even more crowded than usual. At least I'm finally getting some use out of the sweaters and warm pajamas we used to wear all winter in our old apartment. Our current place has such powerful heating that when it's above freezing outside, we're lounging in shorts like it's the middle of summer. Now that it's cold enough to run the Iditarod down Broadway, our apartment actually feels normal.

It's almost enough to make me wish for summertime heat. Almost.

Easterblogg's take on the Moon-Mars missions

Gregg Easterbrook has posted his thoughts on the Bush administration's new space initiative. I'm interested in this story, as you read in this space yesterday, and so you know I'm as big a fan of space exploration as you'll find. But this new plan is the boondoggle to end all boondoggles, as Easterbrook outlines clearly. Let's get a space elevator or a shuttle replacement first, and establish a cheaper, easier way to get people and things into orbit. Then we can think about getting to Mars.

The Nerd Test

59.523809523809525% of me is a huge nerd! How about you?

The above link courtesy of my brother, who posted in his blog that he is 73.8% nerdy. I'd believe that, but not based on this test. I had no idea about some of these questions, and I can't imagine how he knows the answers that I don't. I forget, of course, that we've lived apart for 12 years, so anything is possible.

Why go to the moon?

President Bush wants to go to the Moon, and then to Mars. That's one hell of a bad idea with the economy still in such sad shape. Why should the American taxpayer care about going to the Moon or Mars. Plenty of people have enough trouble getting groceries and affordable medicine to get excited about space travel. I guess the idea is to distract the public with dreams of Moon landings to keep the focus away from the debacle in Iraq and more terrorism threats. It worked in the 1960s when everyone was afraid of war with the USSR, so I guess it could work now.

As much as I like the idea of increased space exploration, we need a cheap way to get materials and people into orbit first. A space elevator would be the best solution to this problem, giving us a stable orbital platform from which to assemble a Moon lander craft and ultimately a Mars lander. But I don't hear anything from the Bush administration about space elevator research. That's probably because it's the most boring but sensible proposal for getting to orbit, and it's not going to capture the imagination of the average American like a Moon landing. Nothing gets public attention like lavish unnecessary spending, and that's just what Bush is going to propose.

I love Netflix

Last night, Liz and I watched The French Connection on DVD, rented from Netflix. What a fantastic movie! The acting, the action scenes, even the cat-and-mouse chase scenes were all riveting. I'd seen the subway chase before in countless clip shows but it was even better in the context of the complete film. We had fun playing "where in NY is that?" and I successfully picked out the Grand Central subway shuttle platform before it was identified on camera. On a different note, William Friedkin's direction was excellent, and we noticed the same camera angles and shots that he used two years later in The Exorcist. Before Netflix I wouldn't have thought to rent this movie at Blockbuster; I'd get distracted by more recent releases and pass up old classics like this one. But with Netflix, I put classics in the queue when I think of them and then it's a surprise when an old gem like this one turns up in my mailbox. If the ease of use and unlimited rental time didn't turn people on to Netflix, then the old movie angle should.

I feel like an idiot that I'm so excited for a 32-year-old movie that everyone else has seen many times, but if you're like me and haven't seen it before, you owe it to yourself to check it out, and on DVD. It wouldn't be half as good on TV.

The Upper East Side and the USPS

Apparently, the Postal Service thinks that East Side walkup residents are not interested in receiving any packages, because they never deliver any without at least three notices and a visit on your behalf to the post office. Three times now we've had issues getting packages delivered to our apartment: most recently two Christmas presents, and before that, a roll of stamps we ordered from the USPS web site. See, the way it works up here in the 10128 area code is that our mail comes from the Yorkville Station post office on 3rd Avenue, but the mail carriers operate from Gracie Station on 83rd St. So if we ask for a package to be redelivered (because we were home but the carrier didn't bother to knock on our door or buzz our apartment and just left a notice instead) the carrier gets the package from Yorkville and takes it to Gracie. If we're home again but they don't drop off the package, it goes back to Yorkville. Or maybe to Gracie, depending on who we ask or what the mail carrier feels like doing. When we call Yorkville Station (because it's the number on the notices they've left us) they tell us to call Gracie Station. When we call them, they tell us that our mail is at Yorkville Station, so we should call them. Eventually, we get our packages, but it's always a struggle. We've been through this three times, and we're sick of it. So if you're going to send us something, e-mail me for my office address. My firm has a superior mail room staff that is happy to deliver any package large or small, with several layers of record-keeping to insure that it got there.

Oh, I almost forgot: last Tuesday, we didn't get any mail at all. Not because we didn't have any, but because the mail carrier must have skipped our building altogether. We taped the redelivery notice to our mailbox that morning, and it was still there when I got home from work after 6 PM. Someone finally collected it when they delivered mail on Wednesday.

And the USPS wonders why they're losing business to UPS and FedEx.

Happy New Year

We had planned to watch a movie last night, but SciFi's Twilight Zone Marathon sucked us in and we ended up watching many episodes of classic Rod Serling entertainment. When I was a kid, I had a book of original stories that became Twilight Zone episodes. I've tried to catch as many shows as possible that I can remember from the book. So far I've seen "I Sing the Body Electric," by Ray Bradbury, "The Mighty Casey," "Little Girl Lost," and "A Stop at Willoughby," though I missed "Third from the Sun," one of my favorite stories. But there are more than 12 hours of episodes yet, with many other gems to come. "Elegy," "To Serve Man," "The Eye of the Beholder," just to name a few.

Meanwhile, there is football, but so far most of the games stink. I am looking forward to the Rose Bowl in about an hour, but that's the only game I'm interested in today. I'm planning my weekend around the NFL playoffs instead.

Another year has come and gone

Once again, it's New Year's Eve, I'm at work, listening to WQXR's Classical Countdown for 2003. I guess this is what adulthood is really like: the same thing as last year, and the year before that, and the year before that, too. It's not so bad. At least there isn't much work to do today. And the music is great. WQXR doesn't always play the standard hits by the usual composers, so it's a welcome change to hear my old favorites when I haven't heard them all year. And during the countdown, you hear the entire work, uninterrupted, which is unusual for ad-driven radio. Right now, they're playing Handel's entire Water Music suite, all 59 minutes of it.

I've stayed away from most year-in-review material so far, except for Dave Barry's annual list and the roll call of the dead on CBS Sunday Morning this past weekend. Here's my 2003 review: I went on some great trips, both for business (London and Frankfurt) and for pleasure (Mississippi, Maryland [twice], Pennsylvania). Liz and I moved into a larger apartment. I read some great books, saw a few excellent movies (and a bunch of not-so-good ones), and even got a chance to play the viola again. On the other hand, I've endured a few nasty terror alerts, a blackout, a hurricane (and subsequent blackout), and I suspect my suffering on the 4/5 subway lines has only begun. My grandmother passed away this year, but I did see her in England one last time just a few weeks before she died, and I'll always be grateful I had that opportunity. Overall, above average. At least it wasn't ever dull.

I'm making just one resolution for 2004: get to work earlier.

We don't have any big New Year's Eve plans tonight. I hate to think I'm getting old, but the idea of fighting crowds at a bar or restaurant isn't too appealing anymore. The fact that it's another "amateur night" doesn't make revelry any more attractive. We had a good time at Cafe Wha? last year, but I'm getting to the point that staying in or hanging out with friends sounds like the best bet. So we're staying home, watching movies and ordering food, and looking forward to 2004.

"Well, we're back."

When you've only been away for six days, paraphrasing Sam Gamgee doesn't have the same effect as it does in the book.

Liz and I were in Johnstown, PA for most of last week, visiting my mother and other family and friends. I got to meet some new additions to my extended family and catch up with old friends I hadn't seen in ten years or more. I could have used one more day at home but we did almost everything that we'd planned on, and ate enough for three vacations, so I suppose six days was enough.

We took the train from New York to Johnstown and decided that's the only way to travel. It took about eight hours each way but driving would have taken almost that long and flying about the same (once you factor in the travel time to and from the airport, the wait at the airport, and the drive from Pittsburgh to Johnstown). Once you're on the train, there's nothing to worry about, except falling asleep and missing your stop, which has never happened to us. You can use your computer, cell phone, or PDA as much as you want, you can eat and drink anytime, and you are always free to move about the train. It's the most stress-free long-distance travel experience we've had in years. And it's the cheapest way to get there from here! I just hope that the rumors of Amtrak closing the Harrisburg to Pittsburgh rail link are just rumors, because after taking the train, I'd hate to go back to driving. And then travelers would miss the famous Horseshoe Curve.

One of the highlights of the trip was something I hadn't planned on: cleaning my bedroom. I have this old clothes bureau that's been in my room since I was about seven years old. As soon as I got it, I started putting all sorts of junk into it, everything from schoolwork and newspapers to crafts projects to small toys to hard candy. The past few times I've been home, my mother has asked me to look through all the stuff in my room and see if I could throw anything away. I spent most of Friday afternoon sorting through all the bureau drawers and tossed two large bags' worth of junk: the aforementioned old hard candy and school newspapers, broken toys, many duplicate concert programs, and all sorts of detritus that a boy tends to collect over fifteen years. I kept all the work I did as a student, even though I doubt I'll ever need any of it again. I just thought that I should have evidence of my public school education, at least until I clean out the bureau again.

I hate orange alerts

Once again, there are vague and mysterious threats to our national security, so once again we're on orange alert thanks to the DHS. While the news stories tell of al Qaida operatives disguised as foreign pilots and dirty bombs inside the US, Tom Ridge tells us to go about our business: travel, shop, enjoy the holiday. Meanwhile, we'll be at orange until the end of January. I'm supposed to be calm with all this madness going on? It's enough trouble for me to finish preparing for the holidays; I don't need to worry about whether Manhattan will still be here next week. I wish that DHS would either tell us exactly what the threat is, or not tell us about the orange alert status in the first place. If we can't be trusted with the details of the threats, then we shouldn't need to know that they exist. If there's an attack, it won't make much different if we knew that we were at a greater risk before it happened. One news story mentioned that al Qaida detainees have said that increased security discourages planned attacks, so I guess that's why DHS bothers to tell us about these threats at all. Even so, I'd rather not know about the threats or the alerts. I guess my only option is to stop reading the stories. Just note the orange alert, get more bottled water and canned soup, and go about my daily business.

And if we have access to all this e-mail and cell phone traffic, why are we not arresting more al Qaida operatives? If we're listening in on their communications, it would seem we know who these people are. Our government hasn't shown much reticence toward arresting people on mere suspicions before now, so what's the holdup?

My late-night, best as I can remember it, spoiler-filled review of The Return of the King

It's definitely the best of this trilogy, and it affirms the entire trilogy in my all-time best movies pantheon. As much as I'd wanted to be, I hadn't been moved to tears by any scenes in the first two films. But for ROTK, the theater was dusty and my allergies kicked in more than once. I'll admit that I wasn't completely into the movie for the first hour or so: I was enjoying it, but I was thinking that I liked The Two Towers better so far. All that changed when the Rohirrim arrived at Minas Tirith and Theoden spoke to his army. My favorite scene in the book is at the end of the chapter entitled "The Siege of Gondor," when Tolkien writes, "Horns, horns, horns. Horns wildly blowing from the north. Rohan had come at last." (indicating the arrival of the riders of Rohan). This scene in the movie equaled my expectations and kicked the movie into another plane of filmmaking, as far as I'm concerned. The Battle of the Pelennor Fields was every bit as exciting as it is on the page, and then some. I missed the Mouth of Sauron at the gates of Mordor, but Aragorn's inspirational speech and the resulting confrontation didn't lack for excitement either. The Frodo-Sam-Gollum triangle was even better this time around. Even more than last year, Andy Serkis deserves consideration for Best Supporting Actor. His Gollum is even more cunning and deceitful than he was in TTT, and Serkis does an amazing job with the role. I especially liked the Smeagol and Deagol opening scene, where we find out how Smeagol became Gollum. But the best and most moving scene in the movie was at the end, when Aragorn, now King Elessar, and all the people of Gondor bow before the four hobbits. I admit that the theater got really dusty then. The ending was a little drawn out, but the stories needed to be wrapped up and there's no other way to end it than to put Frodo, Bilbo, Gandalf and Elrond on the ship. I'm sure the ending will be extra long in the extended edition next fall. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the extended version of ROTK runs five hours.

I'm sure there were more things I wanted to mention in this review. It would be more coherent if it hadn't taken me over an hour to get home on the subway. (Remember kids, the 42nd St. shuttle doesn't run between midnight and 6 AM!) So I'm sure you won't mind if I write more about this later, especially after I see it a few more times.

I need my Stadium Buddy tonight

PvPonline presents its review of Return of the King.

I guess I'll stay thirsty for now.

More additions to my reading list

At the moment I'm reading The Face of Battle, by John Keegan. It's a history of Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme told from the soldier's point of view. After that, I'll take Douglas Hofstadter's Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid with me on my train trip home for Christmas. I found out about Hofstadter's book while reading reviews of Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver, which was last month's epic read. If that's not enough, the Washington Post has recommendations for Tolkien fans who want to explore some of the author's source material and inspiration. I'm familiar with some of the Irish medieval epics from a class at Georgetown, and I've seen the musical version of Camelot, but I'll have to check out these other epics that I've only seen in excerpts so far.

Only 6 1/2 hours to go.

A dissenting opinion on "The Lord Of the Rings"

As everyone who knows me is aware, I love the Lord of the Rings, both the books and the movies. While movie reviewers are heaping praise upon the final installment of the theatrical trilogy (just take a look at the way things are tracking on rottentomatoes.com), there are a few people out there who don't care for Tolkien or the movies. In the interests of fairness, before I post my review tomorrow evening, I thought I should give equal time to those with contrary views. My old college buddy Chris Galdieri is one, as is the author of this article on msnbc.com. While I could take the time to refute their views point by point, it's not worth it. My own wife doesn't like the trilogy, and no amount of convincing has changed her mind so far, nor do I have any hope that she'll feel differently in the future. I'm content to let these people think what they want, and I'll enjoy the world of Tolkien without them.

Even though they're wrong.

Finished your holiday shopping yet?

I'm almost done, I just have a few items to pick up in stores. Up to now I've done all my shopping on Amazon, which makes my life so easy with its wish lists and gift certificates. To be honest, PVPOnline covered my feelings on holiday shopping on Saturday. I got a gift certificate for J&R from my office today, and it makes me so happy. It's a gift that I can use for anything I want, and I don't have to feel guilty for spending it on something frivolous like a computer game. The rest of the year I have to carefully watch where my money goes, and while I don't have to confer with my wife every time I buy something for myself, I do feel a certain amount of guilt when I spend my hard-earned money on fun things instead of food, shelter, clothing, or other necessary items of living. And that's my own self-generated guilt. What's my point? Gift certificates are great.

I'm just killing time until 6, when the office holiday party gets going. At 6:05, I plan to be working my way through a bottle of Chimay and a platter of shrimp. Mmm, beer.

Battlestar Galactica returns

I just finished watching the Sci-Fi Channel's remake?/re-imaging? of Battlestar Galactica . It was better than I expected. It probably helped that I don't remember much of the original TV series, so I didn't have many preconceptions of the characters or the story. While the movie doesn't explain why the Cylons are back, it does have a ending that leaves open the possibility of more movies or a weekly series. I wonder if the ratings will be high enough to warrant a regular series. And will Edward James Olmos, who said that people shouldn't watch the movie, return for a series? There aren't any other high-profile stars in the movie, so they won't spend too much money on the cast, but they do need Olmos to provide the necessary leadership role. If it comes back as a series, I'll probably watch it.

The BCS mess

The BCS has finally proven itself to be worthy of all the derision and abuse it's taken in the media for five years. Oklahoma, despite losing its final game (and league championship) by 28 points, will play Louisiana State for the "national championship" in the Sugar Bowl. Meanwhile, USC, the current No.1 team in both polls, traditionally the determinator of the "national championship," plays no. 4 Michigan in the Rose Bowl instead of hosting LSU in the Sugar Bowl for the title. Now there's talk of a split championship should USC win the Rose Bowl and remain No.1 in the AP poll.

Everything that went wrong here points to a true playoff to determine a champion. Every other NCAA sport in every division has a playoff system; only the money invested in the bowl structure and the BCS keeps Division 1-A football from having a playoff. I've heard all kinds of schemes to create a playoff system: 8 teams starting in December, 4 teams in January, one game after the bowls end, played on Martin Luther King Day. One of the craziest appeared in Dan Shanoff's Daily Quickie column on ESPN.com on Tuesday. Shanoff advocates a 117-team bracket beginning in the middle of the college football season. The first five games are rivalries and tuneups, then the real fun begins in week 6 when all the Division 1-A teams are seeded into a bracket. Of all the ideas, that's definitely the least likely to happen. It would mean the end of the athletic conference system as far as football is concerned, it would screw up traditional rivalry weekends at the end of the season, and because it makes the most sense.

Here's what I would do:

1. Shorten the season. Eleven games is enough for everyone. If you play in an early-season "kickoff classic," that counts as one of your 11 games.

2. I'd keep the bowl system in place, but require seven wins for a team to be bowl-eligible. If you can't go 7-4 at least, you shouldn't play in the postseason. Teams that don't get seeded into the playoff bracket are eligible to play in non-playoff bowls.

3. I would use the major bowls for my eight-team playoff system. We'd start with 8, and then see if we could expand it later. But you use the computer rankings and polls for seeding purposes only, just like March Madness, and then play the first round of games in mid-December, the semifinals on New Year's Day, and the final game two weeks later, ideally, when the NFL takes a week off between the conference championships and the Super Bowl. The two championship teams would play 14 games, which is not unreasonable since most of the college players will have played that many games in a season in high school, assuming they went to the playoffs, and you'd be done before the spring semester really got started. Six bowl games would be used for the playoffs, maybe the Sugar, Rose, Orange, Fiesta, Cotton and Gator Bowls, and the rest are for non-playoff teams. Or you could rotate the bowl games in the playoff system, so that the Rose Bowl could occasionally get its usual Pac-10 vs. Big-10 matchup.

I know this plan isn't original; I've seen it somewhere before and can't remember where. But I think it's the most workable solution for the next few years. Everyone gets what they want: a real way to choose a national champion in football. The extra games are kept to a minimum. The schools gets millions of dollars in advertising and network rights. Bowl organizers get increased interest in their games. If the playoff system expands to 16 teams, even more bowls get even more interest.

If I can remember any, I'll bring up counterarguments tomorrow.

You've never seen Santa like this before

I hope you will enjoy Fresh Hell, drawn by Eric Fritzius from a story by my wife. She and a friend developed the joke many years ago, and three or four years ago Eric turned it into a comic for a short-lived parody web site. I think the artwork really captures the message.

A snowy afternoon with the Royal Navy

I neglected to mention that the silence of a winter snowstorm on 1st Avenue is periodically interrupted by the sound of multiple snowplow trucks passing by. These garbage truck-like behemoths sound like a tank battalion, and last night they went by about every half hour. Today they've been less frequent, but it's still noisier than I like. Of course, it's always noisy living above this avenue.

I spent the afternoon watching Horatio Hornblower: Duty, recorded a few nights ago on A&E. My father is a fan of the Hornblower novels and has recommended them to me on several occasions. And after seeing Master and Commander the other day, I thought I'd explore the British naval tradition further. The Hornblower movie was quite exciting, if the level of suspension of disbelief was sometimes high. At one point an artillery cannon on shore hits a moving rowboat with its first shot. I thought that you needed ranging fire first with old cannons like that. Otherwise, the production looked better than I expected for a cable network, and the actors (who have played these roles several times before) all were excellent. A&E is re-running another Hornblower movie tomorrow morning, so I'll get another opportunity to enjoy the story. I wouldn't have wanted to serve aboard a wooden vessel in that time period, given the many nasty ways a person could be maimed or killed in battle, but I like watching it on TV. And while I'll ask my father if I can borrow his 6-DVD set of the first series of Hornblower movies, I suspect he'll offer me some of his collection of the original C.S. Forester novels instead. If the stories are as good on paper as they are on screen, I'll take him up on it.

Friday's (and Saturday's) snowstorm

As much as I enjoy the snow, it's mostly a nuisance anymore. Getting home from work tonight was a slow slog through slushy sidewalks and crowded intersections. We're supposed to go downtown for dinner tomorrow night but who knows if the restaurant will be open or if we'll be able to get there.

On the other hand, even in New York there's nothing quite like the silence of a winter snowstorm.

our Netflix history

I've checked the records, and the movies we held the longest were The Deer Hunter (six weeks), Under the Sand (six weeks), The Limey (seven weeks), Mulholland Drive (eight weeks), The Blair Witch Project (11 weeks), and, leading the pack at 13 weeks, The House of Mirth.

Of these, only Deer Hunter and Under the Sand are downers. The others are ones that we couldn't find the time to watch or couldn't get into the right frame of mind for several weeks. After we had Blair Witch for for two months, it just made sense to wait and watch it around Halloween. And I had no interest in the House of Mirth, so Liz had to wait until she had some time when I was busy elsewhere so she could watch it. I'd say as far as we're concerned, the results are inconclusive. Looking over the list, we haven't rented many depressing movies, and our average hold time is one month regardless of the picture. We've been meaning to watch more movies through Netflix, so hopefully our churn rate will improve.

More about Netflix

The New York Times' Circuits section has an article about the propensity of Netflix subscribers to hold onto sad or serious movies for longer periods than comedies or happy movies. That's been the case with us. We had The Deer Hunter (must be a common choice) for weeks, but we've watched all sorts of fun movies within days of receiving them. I requested my full rental history from Netflix so I can see how closely our habits follow this pattern.

Master and Commander

I took Wednesday off to spend time with Liz on her birthday, but since she told me that I didn't have to be there for every waking moment, I went to see Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World at the Loews Kips Bay Theater. I love going to weekday matinees: there's never a crowd in the theater, no lines at concessions or the bathrooms, so it's always a pleasant experience. The movie was excellent, easily one of the best movies I've seen so far this year. I liked that there wasn't any attempt to introduce the audience to the crew of the ship. The movie started with the ship already at sea for weeks, and the viewer had to meet the sailors as the story progressed. It was as if I had been dropped onto the ship and at times it felt like I was actually a part of the crew. I really enjoyed the way the movie portrayed life at sea in 1805: the traditions, the ceremony, the habits of the officers and crew. The battle scenes were as harrowing as I imagined 19th-century naval warfare to be, especially the first engagement between the two ships. I thought the music and the score was outstanding, especially the use of Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis for the funeral scenes. Russell Crowe clearly enjoyed being back in a commanding role, and Paul Bettany as the ship's doctor and captain's best friend was an excellent counterpoint. It was a great movie, but I'm not sure it's going to be a Best Picture nominee. I think there are going to be too many other good movies this year that will edge it out. However, I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Crowe or Bettany get acting nominations out of it. Their performances were just that compelling.

By the way, the movie is playing all over Manhattan, but the Kips Bay theater has it on a DLP screen, so that's why I trekked all the way downtown for it. Always go digital if you can.

Mister Herman has a blog

One of my wife's best friends from back home in Starkville, MS, Eric Fritzius, now has a blog. I've been a semi-regular visitor to his main web site, Mister Herman's Home Page, for several years now, and proud member of his mailing list since my college days. Of particular note on his site are the Horribly True Tales from the Drunken Trucker and the Recipes Page. I've only ever tried one recipe, Supacheez, and it didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. (I think I used too much taco seasoning.) Just reading the Tales and the recipes is most of the fun. Anyway, check out Eric's blog. I've always enjoyed reading his e-mails and epics, so I'm happy to see I can enjoy his particular brand of storytelling on a more frequent basis.

It begins

After harassing my friends for the third time, we finally agreed on a theater and showtime for The Return of the King. Hence, I just bought my ticket. For anyone who might want to join us, we're going to the 6:30 PM show on Dec. 17 at the Loews 34th St. in Manhattan. I've seen the two previous movies of the trilogy there on opening night, and so it's fitting that we see the final film there as well.

I had to restrain myself from buying the issue of Newsweek with Aragorn on the cover. This week, I'm re-reading the book for the fourth time. I can't wait to see Eowyn take on the Lord of the Nazgul during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. Grond smashing against the gates of Minas Tirith. The final confrontation between Frodo and Gollum. Aragorn becoming the King.

I told myself I wouldn't get all geeky over this movie, but it seems inevitable.