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December 31, 2003

Things to Come

Ahh, the end of a year. I've never cared much for New Year's (and New Year's Eve) and this year won't be an exception, especially since we now have a fine reason to stay home and go to sleep by 10:30pm. I am hopefully looking forward to a new job sometime soon, but that's merely coincidental with the coming New Year (since most companies go dormat over the holiday). I am, however, looking forward to a day off tomorrow.

Things to come....the 2004 World Rally Championship season kicks off in Monte Carlo in a few weeks, so I'll be starting my annual team-by-team preview. This should be an interesting season, with two new rallies (New Mexico and Japan), a switch from tarmac to gravel for the Rally Italy, and a new, more compact service/recce system (Mille Piste) for some of the gravel events.

December 29, 2003

Back to the Grind

After having five days at home with the family, it's quite an adjustment trying to get back into the swing of work, especially when you don't particularly care for that work. Things are better than they were before the holidays, but I'm still desperate to find different work. I think I'm ready to work for a big stable company now.

And despite the fact that winter is only eight days old, I'm asking the same question Jen does.

December 28, 2003

Return of the King

We finally got to the see the last installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy this past Friday night. It does not disappoint. I'm really impressed with what Peter Jackson and his crew did -- they made three really great movies, and they kept the spirit of the work and the author. I would have to think that if he were alive JRR Tolkein would be pleased with what Jackson has done.

Quite a few people have said that the trilogy is the salvation of modern cinema. That's quite a label. The movies were fantastic, and (I'll say it again) Jackson did a nearly perfect job recreating Tolkein's world. But Jackson had a huge advantage over the average (or even above-average) filmmaker -- the perfect story was already written. It was just up to Jackson to not screw up the telling of that story. We haven't seen the final Matrix movie, but we've heard enough bad things about it that we can wait. The Wachowski brothers began the trilogy as geniuses, but they couldn't finish the story. The movies are inventive, and at time brilliant, but in the end, they couldn't bring it together. Peter Jackson didn't have to worry about bringing things to the proper conclusion -- he just had to get us there.

What's odd is that I feel like I have to constantly say that Jackson is a brilliant filmmaker, as if I didn't like ROTK, or the trilogy. The trilogy was fantastic, and I hope that Jackson is making a film of The Hobbit. He's gotten so involved with the story (and with Tolkein) that I don't think he could do a bad job. But I'll be interested to see what Jackson can do with any other movie -- something that isn't a work of genius to begin with. If I'm Peter Jackson, I'd hang up my lense now and go out on top. Anything else would be a disappointment.

December 23, 2003

Fight the Future

Last night, as I was looking over the various Christmas cards we had gotten from friends and relatives, I realized something about our membership in the adulthood club -- we weren't quite there yet. Sure, Jen sent out some Christmas cards this year, but because of lack of time, they were just generic holiday cards. "I thought about doing something with a picture of Seb, but I just didn't have the time," she said. Hah! I replied. If we were adults, we would have made the time. Some of our friends (who while slightly older than us, don't have children and have only been married two years) sent out a photo Christmas and a holiday letter. A holiday letter? Holiday letters are for older folks.

So we're not there yet. Even with a kid, a station wagon, and a house (albeit a rental), we're not adults yet.

December 22, 2003

There's Nothing Like...

a brand new chain and a clean drivetrain on your fixie. After a bit of maintainence work on my bike this weekend, the only thing I heard on the ride to work this morning was the buzz of the tyres on tarmac.

December 19, 2003

More Interesting French News

It looks like France will ban religious clothing in their public schools. There's two things I find really interesting:

1. Most "intellectual" Americans like to look to France as the example of why Europe is so much better than the United States. According to their logic, the French are much more open-minded (see their lack of support for the Iraq war) and tolerant than Americans.

2. France is a primarily Roman Catholic country (95% according the linked article). You would think this is a prime mover in this decision, but interestingly, most of the people who would not comply with this ban will end up at private Catholic schools (where they can wear head scarves, yarmulkes, and the like).

Another interesting bit is this quote from a U.S. ambassodor for International Religious Freedom:

All persons should be able to practice their religion and their beliefs peacefully without government interference as long as they are doing so without provocation and intimidation of others in society.

That sums up my opinion nicely.

December 16, 2003

Apples and Oranges

Joel Spolsky has an interesting article on his site comparing the cultures of Windows and Unix programmers. It's an interesting read, but I've got an issue with his basic premise -- he's comparing apples and oranges. He talks about the Windows developer as one who is developing applications for end users on top of the operating system, but he talks about the Unix programmer who writes operating system programs run from the command line. The Windows developer creating Outlook Express is an entirely different animal than the Unix developer tweaking Sendmail or Pine. But the Unix developer working on Evolution is like that Windows programmer. And the Apple OS X developers who did create a user-friendly Unix variant still wrote and used traditional Unix programs.

Spolsky is right on, however, about the often elitist attitude of Unix programmers. If you don't think this really exists, read just about anything on Slashdot. But I think he's stretching the truth by claiming that all Windows programmers aren't so zealous about their programming platform, and they're justing looking to get by. My response is a simple question: Joel, if you don't think Windows is a darn good programming platform, why do you use it? I know you aren't religious about it, but there are plenty of Unix programmers who feel the same way -- they program on Unix because it makes sense for their project, not because they live and die for Unix. Don't generalize the culture based on the few nuts who are the mouthpieces for it.

December 14, 2003

Welcome to Socialism

As you may have heard, France's Prime Minister Jacques Chirac must decide if the country should ban Muslim headscarves in schools. There have been several reactions to this potentially explosive situation. First, some people have said this is a problem nearly every large European country will have deal with very soon because, by their nature, European nations are quite tribal in their nationalism. That is, if you're not ethnically "French" you're really out of luck. Many people in America like to believe that Europe is just one big love in, but in reality, old prejudices die hard. There are people who haven't forgotten about things like World War II.

Another reaction has been shock. How could a country that so many hold up as being a beacon of culture be so dismissive of a particular ethnic group? Well, see above.

An yet another reaction is the support of government mandated "secularism" -- that is, the thought that religion has no place in the public face of a nation. I read one interesting comparision just the other day -- in the 1990s here in America, schools banned gang-related headwear in the interest of safety. This is exactly what the French are trying to do here -- make schools safer. If kids can't be associated with a particular worldview because of their attire, won't they be safer from violence and/or ridicule? So, the argument goes, why should major religions be given special preference. If everyone is the same, then won't we all get along?

Oops. Did I just say that? Many Americans who are quick to praise the quasi-socialist systems of Europe and Canada don't always understand how far the proverbial rabbit hole goes. At its core, socialism is about stripping away the identity of the working class -- if everyone is on "equal" ground, won't that lead to Utopia? Banning public displays of religion (and I don't mean state-sponsored displays like a creche) isn't going to make the world a better, more peaceful place. And what's the next step? A ban on individual expression? More and likely. Granted, socialism's least favorite brother, communism, would be more likely to breed this sort of intolerance, but the possibility is there. But I do agree with one point -- you can't ban one type of expression (gang-related clothing) and not another (Muslim headscarves). Gang-related clothing doesn't kill people, gang-bangers do.

December 13, 2003

WRC News

The early reports out of Subaru/Pro-drive headquarters in Branbury England is that Colin McRae will not sign with Subaru for the 2004 season. Seems as if Subaru brass in Japan see not signing a top tier driver for the upcoming season as a cost cutting measure, given that the schedule has been expanded to 16 events. McRae seems resigned to sit out 2004, with no factory drives available. Subaru is looking to sign youngster Mikko Hirvonen to drive the #2 Impreza next season.

This means that Subaru is essentially bowing out of the manufacturer's race next season (unless Hirvonen has a shockingly good year), leaving it to be a two horse race between Citroen and Ford -- the only teams to have two solid point scoring drivers on their rosters. This shouldn't interfere much with Petter Solberg's campaign to hold his driver's championship crown, despite his statements that he is still looking to learn from the older, more experienced drivers.

December 10, 2003

Sound Familiar?

I've been too busy/fed up with work lately to post much of anything, but I read this article on Slate regarding Al Gore's endorsement of Howard Dean. What really caught my eye was this quote from Gore:

"We can't afford to be divided"

Gore, sounding a bit like the neo-conservatives talking about the criticism of Bush's foreign policy, is basically saying the Democrats can't speak ill of one another because it will ultimately defeat the party. Interesting how what's good for the goose isn't always good for the gander...

December 07, 2003

The Changing Political Landscape

History is often difficult to discern when it is happening. When you're living what students will read about in textbooks in fifty years, it is really hard to see the picture the way historians can see it, with the facts laid out in a tidy outline on paper. Certain things are hard to miss (9/11 and its aftermath), but other shifts are so subtle when you're living through them.

I linked to this article at Reason Online last week because I thought it was an interesting observation -- the political parties seem to be switching sides, with the Republicans pushing through a massive Medicare expansion, and typically traditional big government Democratics, like Ted Kennedy, opposed it vociferously. Then today I read an editorial in the dead tree edition of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review that laid out the argument that neo-conservative has gone the way of the Great Society democrat. Government spending under GW Bush has risen over 20% (and this cannot be attributed to the war on terrorism, the government itself has expanded (just look at the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, and education, under the No Child Behind program, has become so intertwined with the Federal government the Democrats must be jealous.

But these little things go unnoticed, even by people who pay attention to them. I know conservatives who support the programs listed above, and believe that Bush and the current neo-con administration are doing the right thing. Yet don't see the big picture. And I know liberals who don't support the massive expansion of Medicare. What are people missing?

First, politics can no longer be associated with political science, at least in the traditional sense. Politics more closely resembles statistics than a practical branch of philosophy. It's all about what people want, and what you can tell them so they will vote you into power. Need proof? Look no further than GW Bush's claims during his election campaign that the U.S. would not be a nation builder. What are we doing now? Building democracies in Iraq and Afghanistan. Another pledge? Smaller government. We've covered that already.

The shift started under Clinton, who was notoriously addicted to polls and poll numbers. It was all about what people thought, and what they liked. And he played it to perfection. There he was, a Democrat, in the Rose Garden signing the death certificate for welfare as we know it. Why? Because his voters liked the idea. And why is Bush doing what he's doing? Poll numbers. It's all about staying in office.

So, pay attention to the news. History is being written right before your eyes.

December 04, 2003

X-Files Season 8

I was a bit skeptical going into this season, with Mulder gone and all, but the first couple of episodes were, well, not bad. Agent Doggett isn't as bad as I had heard, but there are a few things that have been bugging me (and we're halfway through the season):

1. Scully has become the open-minded the-aliens-did-it partner. This transformation is just too sudden.
2. Doggett's character tries to hard to be like Scully in the early seasons. It's that same science v. the paranormal argument.
3. The writing is just plain bad. Story lines aren't developed well, and little plot facts that would have been revealed in previous seasons are just glossed over. And nearly every episode has some weepy ending.
3a. If I hear Doggett say "dollars to donuts" again, I'll scream.
4. A.D. Skinner also makes quite a transformation, though this is setup much better via the end of season 7. He's got some new glasses too.

I'm no longer quite as excited as I was about watching the show, but I believe we nearing the episodes when Mulder returns, so at least that should be interesting....

December 03, 2003

More Basketball

ESPN has an interesting little article by Bill Walton telling LeBron James to stand up and get serious about winning. James isn't acting like the superstar he's supposed to be -- he's too interested in playing nice and being respectful to the league and his teammates. Walton argues -- quite correctly -- that real superstars (Jordan, Bird, Johnson, Malone) have such a desire to be the best that they don't care what people think.

Who's the King?

A bit of sports news this morning....

Despite all the fanfare before the NBA season, it looks like Lebron James may only be a prince. Carmelo Anthony (who spent a year at Syracuse University) has been quietly helping the Denver Nuggets to a 11-6 record, compared to James' Cleveland Cavaliers 4-14. And the two met again last night, this time in Denver, and Anthony again got the best of James with Denver winning. Anthony had a productive game, and his hot streak in the 4th quarter helped seal the win for Denver.

James may have a more polished game, but as the season wears on, Anthony will get more and more attention, especially if the Nuggets keep their winning record. James could do everything right every night, but if the Cavaliers only win once every ten games, no one will really care. Currently, James is always the optimist, saying Cleveland will get better, but how long til the honeymoon is over?

December 02, 2003

Jibber-Jabber

Lots of little things this morning....

First, Reason has an interesting article on the apparent policy flip-flops of the Republican and Democratic parties, especially concerning massive Federal spending (Republicans) and opposition to the Medicare expansion (Democrats).

The Post-Gazette's Tony Norman writes about the real problem with talk radio these days.

World Rally Championship news: Ford has confirmed that they will run a full programme next season. This was up in the air due to increased costs thanks to two new rallies (Japan and Mexico). This also provides a bit more fuel to speculation that Colin McRae will find himself behind the wheel of a Impreza at Subaru next season. Subaru had been keeping things close to the vest since news of Richard Burns illness broke, probably in hopes that they could land Markko Martin should the Ford rally programme fold. But now with Martin back behind the wheel of a Focus, and precious few good drivers left without factory drives (Harri Rovanpera tops that list), McRae is looking like a quite catch for Subaru.

And finally, Salon's King Kaufman has an interview with the Tuesday Morning Quarterback, Gregg Easterbrook.