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November 26, 2003

Seb's Grand Day Out

You turn your back for one minute and the boy sneaks out....

Thanks to Pat for that one....

November 23, 2003

Knee Jerk

I came across this interesting discussion on Plastic about an apparently anti-Islamic episode of the B.C. comic strip. I don't have much time for the argument at hand, mostly because I don't care, but I was appalled that the supposedly intelligent Plastic readership thought that a crescent moon on an outhouse door was anti-Islamic. Hello? Has anyone _used_ an outhouse? The crescent moon is a very traditional symbol on the door, and was (is) generally cut into the door to allow light into the outhouse. Don't believe me?

Google Images search on "outhouse"

Note the overwhelming numbers of moons and suns cut into the doors.

Yeesh.

November 20, 2003

Wittgenstein's Music

Who knew that Ludwig Wittgenstein was a composer? I'd love to hear this piece, even though it's only 30 seconds long. I'd venture to say that Wittgenstein was one of the brightest people of the 20th century. Certainly there were specialists who achieved greatness in their fields, but examine the variety of things that he achieved during his life:

* As an engineer, he worked on an early iteration of the jet engine, as well as developing a patented propeller system.
* He was granted his PhD from Cambridge based upon his journal kept during his time as soldier during World War I.
* Taught primary school in Norway.
* Designed a built a house in Vienna, Austria for his sister.
* Taught philosophy at Trinity College.

Most of us would be ecstatic to achieve one of those things.

November 19, 2003

The Massachusetts Decision

As you may have heard, the Massachusetts Supreme Court has decided that barring the marriage of same-sex couples is a violation of the state constitution. I would have to have to agree, and here's why.

It's a matter of process. The state does not have laws barring the expression of homosexuality. If the 14th amendment does provide equal protection, then it follows that same-sex marriages cannot be unlawful. It's really that simple. The folks fighting against homosexual marriage need to fight for laws banning homosexual practices.

Now, much has been said about how the children of homosexual parents are not raised "properly" and that this becomes a burden on the state in the end (and there are statistics that support this). But this is a dangerous road to travel if you believe in personal freedoms/limited governments. Statistics also show that children born out of wedlock don't do very well. And statistics also show that certain family environments will produce healthier, more well-adjusted kids. Following the logic that anti-gay marriage folks use, the government should really be more interested in who is getting married and who is having kids because of the strain that certain situations put on the system. Perhaps the best choice might be to have more stringent licensing system for marriage -- you and your partner have to show that you are competent enough to marry and have children. Then anyone could get married, as long as they passed the test.

It is interesting that the dissenting judges in the decision mention this sort of thing (that same-sex partners may be just as good as traditional partners), but they ask that the world of science be given time to prove this is the case. The dissenting opinion is decidely limp -- they are trying hard not to claim that they believe that homosexuality (and marriage, by extension) is immoral. Instead, they veil their opinion behind the claim of looking out for the best interests of the state.

Another interesting line from the dissenting opinion:

Today, the court has transformed its role as protector of individual rights into the role of creator of rights, and I respectfully dissent.

The court is protecting individual rights in this decision. There is no law banning homosexuality, and therefore a homosexual should have the same rights as every other person. This case is all about protecting individual rights.

November 17, 2003

Black Helicopter Alert

Perhaps I've watched one too many X-Files, but I know I saw a black helicopter circling East Liberty tonight. I was riding home in the dark (since I went to the gym) along Penn Avenue when I heard the familiar whump whump whump of a helicopter overhead. I craned my neck to look at it, and sure enough it was there, quite high in the sky, and with just the minimal amount of running lights. I thought nothing of it, but by the time I was on Penn Circle, it was still circling high above the city. And as I started up Stanton Avenue, it was _still_ there.

They are watching you.

WRC News

The World Rally Championship got stunning news today from Richard Burns -- he will miss the 2004 season due to a brain tumor. While Burns is expected to recover fully pending medical treatment, his doctors advised him to sit out the 2004 campaign. This leaves Subaru without their second driver next year, perhaps opening a door for Colin McRae to stay another year in the WRC since he lost his drive with Citroen. On such short notice, the only other potential driver who could take Burns spot is Toshiro Arai, who spent half of the 2001 season with the Subaru WRC team (where he notched a fourth place in Greece).

The Liberal Dilemma

Slate has an interesting article this morning about the dilemma of being a rich liberal. Good stuff.

November 16, 2003

Nothing to See Here...

so move along. This space has been pretty quiet lately, due to the combination of doing more construction than programming at work (we're still at least 3-4 days away from starting to power up servers or even the network) and my involvement in the local gym's bouldering competition. But I will pass along some news about the boy.

Soon after we got back from Bishop, Seb entered the "grab everything within reach and put it in his mouth" stage. This lasted about a week or so, and now he's combining that action with a strong desire to go and get stuff out of reach to put into his mouth. Since the whole crawlng thing is still theory to him, this causes much distress. Thankfully, his exer-saucer provides an array of stuff to grab, while giving him the ability to move around.

November 12, 2003

Plotting My Escape

Sorry about the lack of activity here lately -- we're moving into new offices at work (which also entails me becoming a laborer for company, doing painting and other remodeling work) , and my workstation hasn't been up for about four days, and we're busy helping the local gym get ready for a climbing comp. So, what's news, what's news.....

First, I'm back in the hunt (publically now) for a new job. I'm currently conspiring to return to independent consulting, which would mean more time here at home with the family, which would be A Good Thing. It's funny how my attitude about work has changed since Seb has come along. Before, I really sorta enjoyed working -- I enjoyed being challenged, and being able to use my brain and help someone out (even if it was fairly mundane stuff). Now, it has definitely become a necessary evil. I've read stories by plenty of fathers saying "it's good to be able to get out of the house and go work" but I say "phooey" to that. Right now, I'm much happier hanging out with my family. Sure, Jen and I find time to do our thing (she's at the gym right now), but why would I want to spend 40 hours a week away from family?

Well, there is the whole "no work, no mon-ay" thing, but remember, work is a result of the Fall. But why shouldn't I try to do what I can to work primarily from home? Plenty of folks do it. Sure it's a bit scary if the work suddenly dries up, but that's why God created savings accounts.

So that's that. Anybody need any web/Java/Perl work done?

Perhaps I should look into this...couldn't be too much of a scam, eh?

Sad note: this man is currently the example of Christianity that is being broadcast on the national news. I saw his people a few months ago protesting the memorial service for Fred Rogers at the Pittsburgh Theology Seminary. As I rode by on my bike, I was so angered at what they were doing, I wanted to spit on them. Really. I didn't, but I still they are hatemongers (which I guess, I would have been as well had I actually spit on them).

November 09, 2003

Rally GB Day Three: Solberg WIns!

Petter Solberg has won the Rally Great Britain and with it, the driver's championship for 2003. Solberg won the final run through Margam Park, and extended his lead over Sebastien Loeb, winning the rally by over 40 seconds. Tommi Makinen finishes his career on the podium, as he won his battle with Colin McRae for third place, aided by a puncture for McRae during the last stage. Francois Duval finishes the rally in fifth place, thanks to transmission problems for Harri Rovanpera's Peugeot. Freddy Loix had a good first rally for Peugeot, finishing in sixth.

It was a fantastic season for Solberg, and he continued the streak he started this summer in Greece, winning his fourth rally of the year. Loeb had a fantastic season as well, proving he is more than a tarmac specialist, though he has to think about what could have been, especially his poor result in Corsica (which Solberg capitalised on, winning the rally). No doubt these two will be fighting for the championship again next season.

Tommi Makinen finished his career in grand style, and he no doubt is also thinking about what could have been at Subaru. He had a rocky two years there, with some success and much frustration, but as I've said before, Solberg owes much to his partner, as Makinen was always ready and willing to help Solberg learn the ins and outs of being a championship contender.

Both Carlos Sainz and Richard Burns will have a long two months before the start of next season. Burns led the points table for much of the season, only to see his chances for the title disappear with a bout of illness before the start of Rally GB. He's got to be happy to be leaving Peugeot, however, after a rocky two years. I'm astonished at how Peugeot treated Burns, because without his consistency this season, the team would have never even been in the running for maker's title (though they did lose to Citroen in the end). It will be interesting to see how things work out at Subaru, with Solberg now the clear number one driver and reigning champion. For Sainz, he again saw his title hopes crushed in Wales (just like in 1998). But with Sainz staying at Citroen for one last season, El Matador should be in the thick of things next year.

Peugeot has got a bit of work to do the next few months. The once unbeatable 206 is now quite mortal, and Marcus Gronholm has to hope that the new 307 will be ready for 2004, else it will be another long season. Without a driver of Burns' ability, Peugeot will not be a likely challenger for the manufacturer's title.

Ford has much to look forward to next year, should they decide to field a WRC team (the budget is still undecided for next season). The Focus was quick when it was working, and Markko Martin proved he could win, so if the engineers can work the bugs out of the car, Martin should find himself in the thick of the championship battle next season.

Skoda, despite finishing at the bottom of the manufacturer's points table, has a lot to look forward to next season, even with its limited programme. The new Fabia has become a more reliable car, and with Toni Gardenmeister and Didier Auriol staying with the Czech outfit next season, they should be able to challenge even more for points.

Only two months to Monte Carlo!

November 08, 2003

Rally GB Day Two

It was a generally quiet day in Wales, with Petter Solberg taking a clean sweep of stages (the last state, the superspecial at Cardiff, will be run this evening). He's extended his lead to just over 40 seconds ahead of Sebastien Loeb, and Loeb has resigned himself to getting the Xsara to the finishing ramp on Sunday to allow Citroen to win the make's title. Tommi Makinen has put in a consistent day, still holding third place ahead of Colin McRae by about seven seconds. Harri Rovanpera rounds out the top five.

Solberg did have a bit of scare on the last stage of the day, bending his Impreza's steering on a pothole. It didn't do much to slow him however, as Solberg still won the stage and extended his advantage over Loeb. It's just a matter of Solberg keeping his nose clean tomorrow, and that shouldn't be too hard with only three competitive stages (though one is the tough Margarm Park circuit). I think the most exciting battle will be between Makinen and McRae, as both try to end their WRC careers with a podium finish.

November 07, 2003

Rally GB Day One Update #2

With only the superspecial at Cardiff left on the day, Petter Solberg has a slim 6 second lead over Sebastien Loeb. The two traded fastest stage times all day, with Loeb admitting he's pushing hard, and Solberg simply going with the flow. Tommi Makinen is having a fantastic final rally, and he's currently in third place, roughly ten seconds ahead of Colin McRae. Harri Rovanpera has slipped past Gilles Panizzi for fifth.

Some thoughts and interesting tidbits....

As expected, Citroen team boss Guy Frequelin has ordered Loeb to keep things in check to be sure that Citroen wins the manufacturer's title. Currently, they have a five point lead in the table, and Peugeot's remaining points-nominated drivers, Harri Rovanpera and Freddy Loix, are well down in the standings, so it's critical that the remaining Xsaras finish high in the points. Peugeot boss Corrado Provera must kicking himself for promoting Freddy Loix instead of Gilles Panizzi. Loix is just inside the points at the moment, but Panizzi is currently in sixth.

Loeb has proven he can be quick on gravel, but no one really knows if Solberg is going at maximum attack at the moment. The conditions have been drier than usual, but the Impreza still seems just as fast. If things get messy (which they will by Sunday, no doubt) expect Solberg to mount a serious charge to take the lead. A change in conditions would benefit Makinen's attempt to finish on the podium as well. But will Loeb keep up the attack and defy the team orders? With several top drivers already out of the rally (Martin, Sainz, and Gronholm), Loeb's got a tough decision on his hands.

Rally GB Day One Update

It's been quite a day in Wales so far. First, the bad news. Carlos Sainz is out. He spun his Xsara off the road during SS3, and though Sainz and Marc Marti were unhurt, they could not continue. Markko Martin is also out with mechanical issues with his Focus. He was having problems from the start and was never really in the thick of things. Marcus Gronholm is also out after breaking a front damper.

On to the good news. Petter Solberg is currently 4.7 seconds ahead of Sebastien Loeb, though Loeb has already won two stages. Conditions have been a bit drier than usual, giving Loeb a more level playing field against the Pirelli-shod Impreza. Tommi Makinen looks to go out of rallying with a bang -- he's currently in third place, though well adrift of the leaders. Colin McRae is also poised to make a run at the podium in fourth. Gilles Panizzi rounds out the top five in his privateer Peugeot (which is too bad for Peugeot, since their chances of reclaiming the manufacturer's title are quite slim with Gronholm's retirement).

More news as it happens....

November 06, 2003

Rally GB Preview

The Rally Great Britain begins tomorrow, and the driver's championship will be decided on the muddy forest roads in Wales. Carlos Sainz and Sebastien Loeb are tied atop the points table, and Petter Solberg is only a point behind. If any one of the three of them win the rally, the championship will be theirs. Fourth place driver Richard Burns will not be contesting the event, however -- he withdrew with an undisclosed health problem (Burns was in the hospital earlier this week). A disappointing end to the season for Burnsie -- he's been atop the points table all season, and now he can't fight for the championship.

I'll depart from my typical team-by-team preview, and focus mostly on the front runners and a few of the also-rans.....

Solberg has already said he won't go maximum attack from the start (which has never been his strategy). Typically, Petter gets quicker as Sunday approaches, and I'm sure, especially with teammate Tommi Makinen's advice, he'll give a measured drive through Saturday just to see what his opponents do. Solberg has the best shot at winning this rally, though. He won here last year, and the Pirelli-shod Subaru Impreza has always been very quick in Wales. All told, it's Solberg's championship to lose.

Expect Sebastien Loeb to go flat out from the start. While he's generally considered a tarmac specialist, Loeb has been quick on gravel, and his Xsara has proven to be the most reliable car in the championship this year. Loeb will be the underdog going into the weekend, and while I think he'll be quick, I don't think he can beat Sainz and Solberg to take the title. Even if Loeb doesn't finish the event, it's been quite a year for the young Frenchman, and he'll be a force next season.

Carlos Sainz has experience on his side. He's been quick when he needed to be this year, but can he match up with Solberg? Sainz has already said his success or failure is going to be up to what Solberg does. While that's a bit of a psychological tactic on Sainz's part, he is right -- Sainz needs to keep himself in the rally, ready to take over if Solberg falters.

On to the also-rans....

Markko Martin will be gunning to win this event (he took second last year), and his main challenge will be whether or not the Focus can stay together. Martin has no reason to do anything but go flat out since he's got no chance at the championship. If his car stays together, Martin will be able to challenge for the rally win, and I'd guess that whichever of the contenders are closest to him will allow him to take it -- no need to jeopardize the championship for the rally.

Colin McRae would like to leave on a high note, especially since he may not return to the WRC. I don't know that McRae can challenge for the win, though, even with his experience in Wales, but he could make things interesting for the championship race.

Marcus Gronholm would like to end this disappointing season on a high note, and the Finn has won in Wales before. Of course, that happened when the 206 was still the car to beat. Times have changed, and Gronholm will have push quite hard just to get on the podium, especially if the title contenders are all driving well.

Tommi Makinen would also like to leave the WRC on a high note. Makinen probably doesn't have a chance to win the rally, but if the conditions are favorable for the Impreza (which they will be), he'll have a shot at a high points score, and he could do his part to insure that Solberg wins the title. If Solberg is crowned champion, he'd be wise to heap praise on Makinen -- I believe that Solberg's rapid progress over the past two seasons is due to having such a fine driver as a teammate.

Anyone else? I think that unless two of the challengers retire, the top of the results table will be crowded with the contenders. Perhaps Markko Martin could sneak on the podium, but that will take a solid drive and a reliable car. But...I am dallying with the idea of giving the win to Martin -- he can be quick enough, and the contenders won't pursue him....

My Top Five
1. Petter Solberg
2. Markko Martin
3. Carlos Sainz
4. Marcus Gronholm
5. Sebastien Loeb

Do I really think Solberg will fight tooth and nail with Martin? No. I think Solberg will pick up that much speed by Sunday that he'll win without driving flat-out (like when he broke his throttle in Finland).

Other bits of rally news....

Skoda will not take part in the complete WRC season next year. They will not join the manufacturer's championship, but they will run a limited programme, including all the European events. This is said news, especially given the development of the Fabia. With Ford also contemplating axing their team, it could be a bit of a disappointing season next year.

Freddy Loix will get the chance to finish this season with Peugeot, after budget disputes caused his Hyundai team to fold. The FIA has given Loix permission to test and drive Richard Burns' 206 during the Rally GB.

Some good news for the championship -- Mitsubishi is set to go all out next year in the championship, and they hope that the latest version of the successful Lancer will be competitive from the start. With Gilles Panizzi leading the team, I expect they could be a spoiler in the championship.

Mandala

Matt has posted a few pics of my futile efforts on the Mandala....

Getting started....

Matching in the undercling...

Trying to hit the intermediate....

The Vacation Story

We just got back from a week in lovely Bishop California. This post will be more of the short of it, just because. First, good news -- Seb traveled well. He got a round of applause at the end of our flight into Las Vegas because he quite calm the entire flight. He generally slept well the entire trip, and put up fairly well with being put in layers upon layers of cold, since it was colder in California than it was in Pittsburgh -- but more on that later.

The trip, at least for me, could be broken down into three acts:

Act I. The Sickness
I had been valiantly fighting some sort of cold/sinus thing the week prior to leaving, and the cold dry weather in Bishop brought it out in full force. I felt crummy the first few days (to the point that I didn't want to climb, even), and I really thought the trip was going to be wash for me, climbing-wise. For the first few days, I had a window of about 1 hour to climb as much as possible before it all caught up with me. Typically, this hour consisted of the hike to the boulders, a few warm of problems, then a wasted effort on a project far above my ability.

I had started to feel a bit better by last Thursday, but then the weather took a turn for the worst (see Act II below). Undaunted, Matt and I went to the Buttermilks, where we could see the snow (yes, snow) rapidly approaching, and the wind whipped through the boulderfield. Sounds terrible, right? Well, actually, the conditions were quite good for me to bouted repeatedly on the Mandala. I felt great that day, but paid for it the next.

When the weather stabilized a bit, I felt better, and had more energy, but I'm still dragging a cough around now (which should be worsened by a wet ride to work tomorrow morning).

Act II Hoodwinked by the Weather
As I mentioned above, we didn't exactly have classic California high desert conditions during our trip. In fact, typically, it was warmer in Pittsburgh. Our average temperature in Bishop was perhaps 55 degrees. They actually had a bit of heat wave before we got there, and we thought we'd get at least a day or two of that, but.....we headed to the Buttermilks on Wednesday, thinking it'd be a cooler higher in the mountains, which it is was. But...the relative exposure on the hillside meant we were blasted by the winds bringing in the cold front. I reckon the wind was coming in at a steady 30 mph, with gusts to at least 45 mph. Not very hospitable, especially when combined with little dust storms. We turned tail to the comfort of the Happy Boulders, and that was certainly better, but my window of non-sickness (see Act I) had come and gone....

We had one more day of relative warmth and wind, and we spent the time tucked in the narrow canyon at the Sad Boulders. It was a bit tough with Seb, though, as we couldn't lay him down thanks to the gusts of wind and sand. Fortunately, the car is all of 30 seconds away, so we could retreat there to hang out....

And then came the cold.....

The cold front came in and dropped a nice layer of snow on anything higher than 8000 feet. The weather in the valley was not good, with clouds, cold and wind. That didn't stop us from trying the Buttermilks, and Matt and I spent a few hours suffered to get some burns on our projects.

The weekend brought slightly better weather, though it was cloudy at times, and that brought the temperatures down. Yeesh. A check of the Weather Channel each morning confirmed our greatest fears -- it was warmer in Pittsburgh than in Bishop. At least it wasn't raining. We managed some good climbing time that weekend though, with a day at the Buttermilks and a day at the Happy Boulders.

The weather finally cooperated the final two days of the trip, and we had relative warmth at the Sad Boulders. Finally!

Act III The Climbing
Here's where I spray endlessly about all the hard climbing I did. That, of course, assumes I did some hard climbing, which mostly wasn't the case. Thanks to events in Acts I and II, I really only had two good days climbing on the last two days of the trip. Jen and I assumed that we'd be climbing less than usual since we had the boy, but the weather conspired to limit us even more. I think we both went through a couple of days where we just wanted to leave, and in my case, never climb again. But once the weather cleared up, and we could work out a system to keep Seb warm and well-fed, things were good. We still weren't climbing a lot, but things were good.

So, for those of you that want senseless spray, here it goes.....

I did work on the Mandala. I did not send it. Not even close. But I did manage to do the first part of the crux, and even though I was far from success, it was still good fun, just because the problem is so good.

The last day was my best of climbing. I managed to flash Barnacle (V9) at the Sads, though it felt like V7. But hey, I'm a number whore, right? I also did Pow Pow at the Sads (V7), which gets my vote as the hardest V7 ever. I worked on Beefcake (V10) as well, though it seemed to be beta-intensive, so I wasn't making huge progress. I also managed to do Chizam (V9) at the Sads, though at the time I thought I didn't do it, since I did it from the standup. Seems the sitdown start is quite hard and rarely done.

I had my annual failure on Chollos and Acid Wash, and neither felt any easier (though I was in the midst of Act I at the time).

Curtain

I'm sure I'll post more juicy bits as I have time/remember them. There's one new picture on the home page, and I'll be posting climbing images tonight, so stay tuned.

Oh, and by the way -- don't do a red-eye flight with a six month old. Seb was fine on the flight, but only getting four hours of sleep wrecked him the next day.....