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April 29, 2003
The apple never falls far from the tree
I hope Jack recovers [thanks Breean].
Reminder: today is free cone day at Ben & Jerry's.
Posted by sam at 11:55 AM
April 28, 2003
The new iPod
I want one of these.
Bulgaria baby, Bulgaria. Details coming.
Posted by sam at 03:03 PM
April 27, 2003
Slate yes, Salon no?
Slate Sets a Web Magazine First: Making Money
Posted by sam at 11:01 PM
April 25, 2003
It's almost impossible to get
It's almost impossible to get anything done at a German company between April and June. Easter is in April, May is full of obscure Christian holidays and in June everybody seems to use half of their six weeks of vacation. My mailbox fills up with out-of-office auto replies. My jealosy grows with each one.
Posted by sam at 03:15 PM
And this is news?
BBC Chief Attacks U.S. Media War Coverage:
U.S. broadcasters' coverage of the Iraq war was so unquestioningly patriotic and so lacking in impartiality that it threatened the credibility of America's electronic media, the head of the BBC said on Thursday.Clear Channel has been under attack for a while now but it's hard to imagine their coverage could be worse than Fox. There must be a lot of people in the U.S. that turned to the BBC and NPR - I just hope the networks noticed.
...
U.S. broadcasters came under attack for "cheerleading" during the Iraq conflict, with what some critics saw as gung-ho reporting and flag-waving patriotism. In one example, a U.S. network described U.S. soldiers as "heroes" and "liberators."
Dyke suggested the problem stemmed from the recent fragmentation of media, with no single network having the clout to stand up to the U.S. government.
Posted by sam at 01:02 AM
April 23, 2003
My vote is for Roshumba Williams
The Onion: New Fox Reality Show To Determine Ruler of Iraq They call it Appointed By America [from doc]
On a totally unrelated note, The End of Human Nature: why designer babies are "a very bad thing."
Posted by sam at 07:57 PM
The question is... would he serve chicken?
Want to be invited to Mayor Bloomberg's house for dinner? Just call 311
Posted by sam at 06:02 PM
April 22, 2003
Is this for real?
According to Appel, waste goes in one end and comes out the other as three products, all valuable and environmentally benign: high-quality oil, clean-burning gas, and purified minerals that can be used as fuels, fertilizers, or specialty chemicals for manufacturing.
...
If a 175-pound man fell into one end, he would come out the other end as 38 pounds of oil, 7 pounds of gas, and 7 pounds of minerals, as well as 123 pounds of sterilized water.
Posted by sam at 11:44 PM
April 21, 2003
TV Turnoff Week 2003 starts
TV Turnoff Week 2003 starts today. MTV refused to accept their money and would not air the 15-second Adbusters commercial.
Posted by sam at 05:03 PM
Huh?
Concept Cars Hop on Eco-Bandwagon:
At the 2003 New York International Automobile Show, Volvo unveiled a car that actually cleans the air around it, while Ford showed off a car that uses recyclable organic materials for its interior.
Volvo's Versatility Concept Car, while powered by a standard combustion engine, includes a patented air filtering system that the company claims does more good than harm. The Volvo Ambient Air Cleaner system sucks in air from outside the vehicle and removes the nasty hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides by burning them up in the engine and catalytic converter.
According to Volvo spokesman Christopher Westerberg, this filtering process can actually remove the equivalent of three cars' exhaust emissions during the course of a day.
Posted by sam at 03:56 PM
This is what he gets for 'Dude, Where's my Car?' ?
I wish I had nothing better to do all day than Punk my celebrity friends.
Posted by sam at 02:27 AM
Not that it would be anyway
If you've seen Con Air or Air Force One this is not going to be reassuring.
Posted by sam at 01:37 AM
What a great start to the playoffs!
I can't remember another time with so many young stars. Who's the best offensive player in the league right now? T-Mac? Iverson?
Until the Lakers lose you've gotta say Kobe.
- McGrady goes for 43
- Nowitzki lights up the Blazers
- Paul Pierce scores 21 in the fourth to beat the Pacers
- Kobe scores 39
- and Iverson shows everybody up with 55
Posted by sam at 01:16 AM
April 18, 2003
We're kickin butt and takin names
SAP weathers gloom, nets profit
In the key U.S. market, where SAP has revamped its sales organization, software license sales climbed 1 percent, despite the recent dollar weakness. Adjusted for exchange rate effects, the rise was 24 percent.
"The U.S. registered the best performance it's had for some time and on the whole, they're doing hugely better than the competition. It's a great result for them," said Deutsche Bank analyst Kevin Ashton.
Posted by sam at 02:53 AM
April 15, 2003
Someone should be fired
It's unbelievable given the current political climate that the Pentagon would ask Rev. Franklin Graham (son of Billy) to preach on Good Friday at the Defense Department.
Posted by sam at 08:13 PM
CNN takes heat for action,
CNN takes heat for action, inaction:
An admission by CNN's chief news executive that he kept quiet for years about government atrocities in Iraq -- including those against his own journalists -- raised questions about whether CNN committed an ethical transgression: trading silence for access.
And a French media watchdog group says CNN is setting a ''dangerous precedent'' by having a team in Iraq traveling with an armed guard.
The NY Times has an update defending Eason Jordan's decisions in Iraq.
Posted by sam at 12:43 PM
April 14, 2003
Sam's first law of high-tech
Q: What's the first sign of lay-offs at a high-tech company?
A: Management holds a meeting to announce that there will not be any layoffs.
Q: What's the first sign that Syria is 'next'?
A: Britain, U.S. deny that Syria is next
Posted by sam at 08:27 PM
Austin is my hero
|
I think what I really want to do is be a spy. Or at least an international man of mystery. Of course I don't want to kill people doing the government's dirty work. But the lifestyle is attractive... world travel, car chases, cool gadgets, fun little 'projects'. If only there was a way to support that lifestyle without all the baggage... |
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Posted by sam at 01:08 AM
April 13, 2003
Only twice as many as a fruit fly
From New Scientist - analysis of the human genome reveals we have far fewer genes than expected:
While past estimates varied up to 140,000, two international scientific teams have now shown the true number is between 27,000 and 40,000. The finding deals a heavy blow to genetic determinism, the idea that many aspects of a person's life are controlled by their genes.
Posted by sam at 09:14 PM
April 12, 2003
Commute to Nowhere Depressingly long
Commute to Nowhere Depressingly long article about the un- and under- employed in today's economy.
Posted by sam at 05:00 PM
It's another dreary day
 |
It's another dreary day here at the manor. Since when does it rain on April 12th in California? Oh well, it seems to be dumping at Squaw so I can't complain. I'll be inside all day working on my Columbia application anyway. |
Posted by sam at 03:38 PM
April 10, 2003
I'm in the wrong industry
PR flacks throughout the country are "distraught at the sudden disappearance" of Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed Sahhaf:
"He has taken our profession, such as it is, to a level that is as inexplicable as it is humbling. I would hire him in a nanosecond."
...
"In all my years in this business, I have never seen anyone handle himself with such 'skill' as he demonstrated during his press briefing yesterday -- with his Ministry of Information building literally on fire, causing him to move his news conference to the sidewalk, and with the flames visible behind him, saying with a straight face that they had 'the infidels' on the run, that the Iraqis are winning this war. They just don't teach you that in college."
The 'stache is back: "It's fuzzy! It's scuzzy! And it's adorning upper lips all over L.A." Does Salon really expect people to pay for stuff like this? [from gawker]
Morality tale in a 'Phone Booth' CNN interview with Joel Schumacher, director of Phone Booth.
Posted by sam at 02:41 PM
April 09, 2003
BBC: Baghdad falls to US
BBC: Baghdad falls to US forces
Posted by sam at 04:20 PM
April 08, 2003
Colorado to take school vouchers
Colorado to take school vouchers step: "Colorado will soon become the first state with public school vouchers since a U.S. Supreme Court ruling declared such programs constitutional."
Posted by sam at 04:44 PM
April 07, 2003
Passive smoking at work kills
Passive smoking at work kills three people a day in the UK.
This is one of the ugliest NCAA championships I've ever seen. Carmelo Anthony is the only guy on the court that wants the ball. I'm amazed either team made it this far.
Posted by sam at 11:01 PM
April 06, 2003
The New Yorker: Offense and
The New Yorker: Offense and Defense by Seymour Hersh. Rumors that Rumsfeld is micromanaging the war in Iraq and bullying the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Posted by sam at 04:04 PM
April 05, 2003
IBM is MIA at JavaOne
I have May 11th tentatively set as the NYC move date. Breean and (hopefully) her friend Lisbeth will drive a rental car from Mountain View to NY with all of our stuff.
I don't mean that Lisbeth is hopefully her friend, but that hopefully Lisbeth can drive with Breean. I'll be flying (hopefully).
Of course I haven't mentioned anything to my boss yet. But I don't expect any problems. I can always take the train to SAP America headquarters in Philadelphia. Besides JavaOne this June, less and less of my work seems to require my actual presence in Palo Alto (or the West Coast).
Posted by sam at 08:05 PM
April 04, 2003
U.S. Economy lost 108,000 jobs
U.S. Economy lost 108,000 jobs in March
Posted by sam at 02:52 PM
Bush Mix of God and
Bush Mix of God and War Grates on Many Europeans:
The religious overtones in President Bush's speeches increasingly grate on many ears in Europe, where leaders invoking God in times of war are widely suspect of misusing faith for political purposes.Obviously Bush's religious imagery increases the perception in the Arab world that this is a religious war. My hope is that it also alienates more and more of secular America and Europe.
...
In his speeches, he has asked for guidance from "the loving God behind all of life and all of history," hinted he believed there was a "divine plan" for the world and warned Americans that "we are in a conflict between good and evil."
Posted by sam at 02:42 PM
April 03, 2003
I've been reading John Robb
I've been reading John Robb for insight and commentary on U.S. military strategy. I'm not the only one. He's a former USAF Special Ops soldier.
Posted by sam at 03:27 PM
It's on my calendar
I'm feeling better today. The sore throat is mostly gone and my fever feels much better. I woke up sweating like a pig a few times last night though.
April 29th is Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's. Show up between noon and 8 pm for a free cone.
Legal MP3 Downloads "helping you legally download digital music that rocks"
Posted by sam at 12:34 PM
April 01, 2003
I called the Stanford Medical
I called the Stanford Medical Center at 11:30 today and they were able to get me in at 11:50. The good news is that I don't have SARS and I probably don't have strep. The bad news is that I have a 100.2 degree fever. The doctor said I need a vacation.
Posted by sam at 08:58 PM