New Year Musings and Greetings

I rarely disagree with anything James Lileks writes in his Daily Bleat. After all, we're so much alike. People often mistake me for him...a less-intelligent, less-witty, less-perceptive and less-talented version of him, to be sure...but, still. And we have a lot in common. For example, we both use Macs. And...um...OK, we're both dog guys. Oh, and we both live in the same time zone. And...well, we both married way over our heads, but since that applies to about 99% of the married male population, perhaps that doesn't count for much. I must, however, take strong exception to something he wrote in today's edition:

Says you, Minnesota-Boy. I distinctly remember -- and continue to practice -- two longstanding New Year's Day traditions. One is the Ritual Eating of the Blackeye Peas, which has been scientifically proven to bring the diner good luck during the new year. I know I'm not alone in this observance; today's newspaper has an article stating that both Luby's and Furr's Cafeterias are serving "complimentary" BEPs tomorrow, so that no unfortunate will have to forego good luck for lack of access to a can opener.

In addition, everyone knows that what you do on New Years Day, you'll do all year long. So we take special care to engage in activities which we deem essential to our enjoyment of the next twelve months, including (but not limited to): breathing, drinking coffee, not watching Katie Couric, not wearing a tie (my wife tends to consign that one to irrelevancy, but I notice that she doesn't wear a corset on New Years Day, so I guess it evens out), and going for a run and/or a bicycle ride, weather permitting. (There are a few other activities that we also want to make sure get covered, but they're really none of your business.)

But, you know, regardless of how you observe or don't observe the passing of one year and the arrival of the next, the very least you should agree to is that January 1 provides you with a demarcation point for which to begin anew with whatever hopes, dreams and wishes you hold dear. And it doesn't hurt one bit to bid well to those things on behalf of others who've meant something to you during the past year.

With that in mind, I want to send a special New Year's Day greeting to the special bloggers* that most encouraged and challenged me in 2003, and pray that they'll experience some simple pleasures in 2004 like a tripling of readership, a six-category jump in Ecosystem Ranking, and some minor stuff like good health, safety, joy and peace. So, to Bryan, the other Bryan, Daniel, Jen, Natalie and the Inmates, Julie, John, Jack, Kevin, George, Wallace (and fellow blogger Julie [the other one,that is], the new Mrs. Wallace as of yesterday -- congratulations guys!), Dawn, Scott, Paul, The Thinklings (all 68 or so of them), Deb, Jared (also a Thinkling), Rachel and Irene: please accept my best wishes for you and your families for the best year ever in 2004! Youse guys is da bombs. And I mean it.

*Just because you're not in this post doesn't mean you're not appreciated! I just experienced a brain lock and forgot to mention you. Being the kind person I know you to be, you'll understand and have a good new year anyway.

Learn to Blog for Fun and Profit!

The International Webmasters Association/HTML Writers Guild (IWA-HWG) is offering a four-week online course entitled "Blogging Basics with Movable Type" starting February 16. For only $160 ($60 if you're a member), you'll master topics such as:

• What's a Blog?


• Configuring Your Blog


• Writing Your Blog


• Promoting Your Blog

I suspect that if you're a blogger, your initial reaction to this offering is one of righteous condescension. "A class to teach blogging?! Why, I didn't have no class when I learned to blog, way back in Ought One! I didn't need no stinkin' class, neither! What's this younger generation coming to, anyways?"

But, if you're honest with yourself (and you know that these comments are self-directed) you'll admit that, well, it would have been sort of nice to have a little training up-front, at least on the technical side of things.

The teacher, Kynn Bartlett, is an experienced blogger, and currently maintains or participates in four blogs (one of which is Mac-related, so he's obviously well-qualified, and another is a Large Mammal, so he's apparently got some readers). The students will thus get some advice and training from someone with real-world blogging experience.

Still, I can't help wondering if the students in this course will miss out on one of the more valuable experiences of starting a blog, and that's the serendipitous ministrations of fellow bloggers who drop by to give a hand or a word of advice or a bit of encouragement to newbies. I experienced that firsthand, and it was great. It is still going on, isn't it?

An Unmarried Woman's Perspective on Abstinence

Dawn over at The Dawn Patrol has yet another insightful post, this one directed toward those who continue to believe the lie that expecting unmarried people to practice sexual abstinence is a pipedream.

The "money quote":

Dawn has the answer (or, rather, The Answer) to this problem. If you need a hint, just look at the category into which I've placed this post.

On a related note, I'm impress and encouraged by the number of female bloggers who are stepping up and articulately endorsing what Dawn has written. In recent months, for example, we've seen similar offerings from Jen and Irene, two intelligent and thoughtful women who also know The Answer.

Lance is AP's Male Athlete of the Year

The Associated Press earlier today named Lance Armstrong as its Male Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive time. He received the honor for his fifth straight win in the Tour de France.

As I've written previously, Lance should be the odds-on favorite to win a record 6th TdF. He is in my book, anyway.

Winning six straight Tours should qualify him for Male Athlete of the Century (although his feat will have spanned two centuries, if he's successful).

ROTK: A Meekly-Offered Opinion of Dissent

We saw "Return Of The King" last Tuesday, and following six days of intermittent cogitation, I still haven't decided if it lived up to the hype. (And I'm just now getting the feeling back in my nether regions, courtesy of four hours in the less-than-plush seating at the local multicinemoviefilmoplex.)

Let me first state for the record that I'm a big fan of the LOTR movies, as well as the books, having seen the former and read the latter (including The Hobbit). I am of the opinion that Peter Jackson has brought the trilogy to life in a way that I previously thought impossible. ROTK is a fitting climax. It has almost everything: adventure, excitement, emotion, amazing f/x.

Everything, that is, except suspense. Aye, and there's the rub.

This is not the fault of the filmmaker or the actors. And it's not a problem for the multitude of moviegoers who have not read Tolkien's trilogy. But it does beg the question (for me, anyway) of whether movies which are adaptations of previous works deserve the same acclaim as those which are based on original screenplays.

In the latter instance, the director teams up with the screenwriter/author (and may, in fact, be the same person) in an exercise of "primary creativity." Putting aside the legitimate observation that there is, indeed, nothing new under the sun... that everything is derivative of something else in some form or fashion... such a movie is inherently more likely to mystify and challenge and surprise the viewer.

In the case of ROTK, and any other movie based on a previously published piece, "secondary creativity" is at work (assuming, of course, that the goal of the filmmaker is to remain true to the original piece). I define this as recasting or building upon the original creation, and it's a quite legitimate undertaking. It just yields a different product than primary creativity. And one of the things that's often lost is the aspect of surprise or suspense.

In the case of ROTK, we (who have read the book) know the outcome, and our knowledge is sure because we realize that it was the director's intention and desire to remain true to Tolkien's creation. Thus, the attraction and artistry of ROTK is not in its suspense, but in the vividness in which our own mental pictures of the story are brought to life on the screen.

But, is this enough to make a great movie? From an artistic and technical perspective, I think it is. From a storytelling perspective...well, I'm less sure about that. After all, the story was told admirably beforehand, albeit via a different medium.

Fortunately, it's not an "either/or" proposition for most of us. For every ROTK that appeals primarily on a "secondary creativity" level, there's an "O, Brother, Where Art Thou?" that appeals on a different, more original level. And from that perspective, the Matrix trilogy succeeds in a way that the LOTR trilogy does not. Is the latter inferior to the former? Not in my opinion, but I believe it's a legitimate question and reasonable people can differ.

In the end, ROTK remains a remarkable achievement, and the previous discussion is intended more to stimulate thought and discussion rather than suggest any deficiency. However, I still think "Pirates of the Carribean" was the most enjoyable movie of 2003!

Bigtime Boomtown

Does Jen realize that NBC is running three consecutive new eps of "Boomtown" tonight?

I hope she's got the VCR/Tivo running...this may be our last dose.

Santa Done Good!

I know it's bad form to brag about your Christmas gifts, but I'm going to anyway, so if it bothers you, feel free to mill about aimlessly for a while. (But you'll want to get back here soon, because I'm going to post a brutally critical review of ROTK, just to prove that I'm no pushover just because it's Christmas.)

My favorite gift this year came, as usual, from MLB, in the form of a teeny cell phone to replace the brick-like device I've been carrying for the past couple of years. My new phone has a color display, which is pretty cool -- more so because of the increased contrast of the screen than for the color itself -- but the neatest feature is the voice-activated dialing. I've programmed MLB's cell and office numbers and our home number, using the ultra-imaginative keywords of, um, "cell," "office" and "home."

My second-favoritist (doesn't Christmas bring out the kid in you?) gift is a tie among all the others (in case any of my family is checking in), but near the top of the tie is the auto-darkening welder's helmet. Now this is cool! You know how you never can see where to put the electrode on the metal to start the weld if your helmet is down, because it's too dark? So you leave your hood up until the last second, and hope that your hand doesn't move when you jerk your head to bring the helmet down... but your hand always moves and so your weld always starts in the wrong place. The auto-darkening hood fixes that problem, as it goes from clear to dark in 1/20,000 of a second (although I'm admittedly having trouble verifying that time). No longer will I have to break out the halogen work lamp when my welding projects continue past dusk (and they ALWAYS continue past dusk). Kudos to my parents for taking a hint!

The second-best tie for second-favoritist gift didn't fit, but it was great anyway. My brother gave me a BSA Red Dot Sight for my Colt Python. The Red Dot Sight is a "rapid acquisition" gunsight which uses a tiny bright red dot (more creativity in naming; see...I'm not the only one) instead of crosshairs to zero in on the target. Unfortunately, the Python doesn't lend itself to the standard mounting system used by BSA, so my nephew now has a cool new sight for his Wal-Mart special .22 rifle.

Yep, Santa did pretty good this year: no socks or ties, plenty of tools (arrr! arrr!), some electronic gadgets that I may or may not ever figure out how to work, and even a new Texas Almanac which is guaranteed to spice up The Gazette's 2004 offerings (here's a sneak preview: there were 51 divorces in Comanche County in 2001).

Best of all, despite the presence of 10 humans and six dogs, there was still peace and goodwill, and the grins on the givers' faces were even bigger than those on the getters'. If you know what I mean.

Mad Cow Disease Hits US

A single case of so-called Mad Cow Disease was found in Washington State, and now Japan has banned imports of US beef. This has huge implications for our region and state.

None of them are good.

Better than this? I think not!

The holiday season has officially begun in our household, as MLB's vacation began today and runs into the new year. So we've totally tossed our usual routine.

We slept until 7:00 (2 hours longer for her; 1 1/2 hours for me), then went for a pre-breakfast 5 mile run through the neighborhood (another change; we're usually pounding the treadmill indoors). The temp was around 30 degrees, but the wind was absent and sun bright and it was [almost] fun.

Back home, and Abbye was demanding her morning walk (she was quite indignant, as she had seen us running by the house from her usual perch at the front window), so we combined that with our post-run cooldown. Following that, I drove to Jumburrito and picked up breakfast (dos burritos desayuno grandes, con chorizo, huevos y queso) while MLB stuck a couple of glazed twists (from the Dietz Bakery in Fredericksburg) in the oven and sliced a couple of pears.

We're now killing time, drinking coffee and watching morning talk shows, awaiting a noon date at the movie theater for ROTK. If it gets any better than this, I'm frankly at a loss to understand how. Hope you have a good one today, too!

P.S. Oh, almost forgot the most important thing. We heard from our friend who lives in Paso Robles, California. She was unhurt in yesterday's earthquake, and her home has only very minor damage. The younger dog was scared, but the other was a veteran of past quakes and was unimpressed. Good news, indeed.

Wrapsody 'n Blue

The three wise men described in the Bible were married, and I can prove it. See, nothing in Scripture mentions anything about Mary and Joseph expressing cries of horror and disgust at the way the gold, frankincense and myrhh presented to the Christ child were wrapped. That can mean only one thing: the magi let their wives do the wrapping (they weren't called "wise men" for nothing).

I just finished wrapping my Christmas gifts to MLB, and once more I was reminded that God has a great sense of humor. He saw fit to give me opposable thumbs, while withholding the ability to use them for any purpose involving packages, wrapping paper and Scotch tape. Once again this year, the real estate under the tree will be scattered with glittering jewel-like creations with invisible seams and perfect bows (as performed by MLB), interspersed with shambling hulks apparently assembled by cross-eyed rhinos with ADHD and bad attitudes (my contributions).

In my defense, my wife bears part of the responsibility for this sorry state of affairs. For some reason known only to her and Hallmark, she chose to invest in many rolls of mylar wrapping paper. Now, mylar is a wonderful product, when used properly. It's tough as the proverbial nail; my sailboard has a mylar sail, capable of handling the gustiest of winds. The Library of Congress uses mylar overlays to preserve documents, and space-going vehicles employ mylar collector panels to capture photons for their solar-powered motors. But...give careful heed...mylar is an abomination to the practice of gift wrapping.

Mylar's raison d'être is simple to lay flat. It resists all efforts to conform it to another shape, say, a gift box. It's nature's ultimate anti-chaos device, and it was never ever intended to be used as gift wrap.

Never mind that my wife can employ it to exquisite perfection. My attempts to use it inevitably require the application of products adorned with the names of "Craftsman" and "Black & Decker." The beautiful shiny finish that otherwise screams "Christmas joy!" loses its impact when outlined with duct tape.

Mylar wrapping paper just won't cooperate. It's that simple. I'm sure there are many heart-warming, Norman-Rockwellian Christmas scenes to be conjured by the wrapping of presents, but I somehow suspect that my employing of both hands, one foot and my nose to a package, while fully astride the dining room table, with the dog cowering in her crate seeking refuge from the awful noises I generate, isn't one of them.

I can tell already that the theme of Christmas 2004 will be "gift bags." I'm wise that way.

One for the Highlight Reels

I've just witnessed two of the most unbelievable back-to-back plays in professional football. If you didn't catch the last two plays of the New Orleans/Jacksonville game that just ended, you'll get plenty of chances to see it, I gar-on-tee.

I was casually flipping channels when I landed on this game, just as the NO quarterback took the snap from his own 23 with four seconds left in the game and behind 20-13. He completed a long pass downfield. What ensued rivaled the famous college play from a few years back, where the players lateraled the ball back and forth down the field, finally scoring a touchdown as time expired in the game. This brought New Orleans to within one point of tying the game...which, by the way, they had to win in order to make the playoffs.

The teams lined up for the extra point. It's a gimme, right? Not if you're the Ain'ts. The kicker sliced it, missed it, and the Saints wasted one of the greatest plays in football, and will stay at home during the playoffs.

You wanna talk about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat? The Saints and their fans are living it right now.

Of Spider-Holes and Mangers

My pastor publishes a short column in our church's weekly newsletter. His most recent column contains a great contrast of an event that captured the world's attention last week, and one that changed the world's future for eternity.

Let's join him as he describes his viewing of the coverage of Saddam Hussein's capture...

Amen and amen.

Easing Back

Howdy, ya'll. Ready for Christmas? Me neither.

It's sort of hard to get carried away by the "Christmas spirit" (whatever that is) when you're mowing the lawn in a short-sleeved t-shirt, which I was this afternoon. Thank goodness, it was the last time to perform that chore until next April or so...a task I won't miss a bit. But, really...mowing the yard five days before Christmas? Ridiculous!

Things have slowed down a bit, work-wise, after a hectic week. I had only one cell phone call and no emails from political consultants today. Gave me time to, um, mow the yard.

As I type this, "Prophecy 3: The Ascent" is showing on the Sci-Fi Channel. The movie itself is pretty lame -- I couldn't even begin to describe the plot, although it involves Nephilim in a pretty non-Scriptural fashion -- but I'm struck once more by how much Christopher Walken adds to every role he plays. I always get the feeling that he's somehow in cahoots with the audience, especially in B movies where we really can't take his characters all that seriously. But he never patronizes or condescends; he takes pride in his craft, and I appreciate him for it.

I still can't recommend the movie, other than as a backdrop for a little blogging.

Blog Lite

I apologize for the light and/or lame blogging on The Gazette, and I make no promises for improvement anytime soon. This time of year usually slows down considerably from a business perspective, even as the personal agenda fills up with all the usual Christmas-related commitments. But this year is a bit of an exception, as I'm busier than usual with not one, but two political candidate websites.

Both are local candidates, one running for a US Congressional seat and the other for a state Senate seat. They're both conservative Republicans (gee, what are the odds?), and both are fellow members of my home church, although I don't believe that was a factor in the decisions to hire me.

I do appreciate that both campaigns elected to hire locally for their websites. That hasn't always been the case for things like this.

Anyway, it's kind of fun...this is the closest I've ever been to a political campaign, being someone who hasn't exactly burned with political passion in the past. But it's keeping me jumping, and keeping me from blogging. Well, one must have one's priorities, and coding for pay beats blogging for free almost every time.

Unfortunately, this also takes those two campaigns off the table for me, blog-wise. Not that I have any special insights to the elections, but in order to avoid any hint of conflict of interest, I shall refrain from making any observations about candidates or campaigns. (General issues are still fair game, however.)

So, perhaps we'll be able to return to more regular blogging in a couple of weeks. Don't hold your breath regarding any qualitative improvement though; if it hasn't happened by now, it likely never will!

Saddam to Geragos: "Got Some Spare Time?"

I understand that Saddam's asking for a dime to phone Mark Geragos, who, while pretty snowed under with Michael and Scott, is never too busy to help a guy in a jam. I further understand that the first thing Saddam wants Geragos to ask for is a change of venue.

Well, that's ONE approach, I guess...

I stumbled onto a new blog today, one with the amazingly descriptive title of "Weblog." Actually, it's the Rocky Mountain Progressive Network and with that link, it will now have a total of 1 incoming link, bumping it up from the coveted third-from-the-bottom spot in the TTLB Ecosystem.

I didn't read much on the blog, because I was too captivated by the very first sentence of the very first post (that's 2 links):

OK, two sentences then. Anyway.

I admit that I don't understand why you would devote part of a post to telling people how to fix a problem that is obviously a common problem, otherwise you wouldn't feel the need to tell people how to fix it. Why don't you just fix it?

And, yes...the font on the site is much too small. Thanks for noticing.

Midland: Love it or...leave it?

[Note: If you're not a Midland resident, this post is not likely to be of interest to you. Feel free to use this time to frequent one of the fine establishments linked at right.]

The good folk over at Jessica's Well are often harsh in their criticism of Midland's media, and its governmental and civic leadership. That's not a complaint, really; the skewering is sometimes well-deserved, and there's usually a sheen of truth to be glimpsed on the glop that often floats in The Well, if you look at just the right angle.

However, I'm sorely disappointed -- disappointed, I say! -- at the response to a specific comment left today on this post, which deals with the announcement of ChevronTexaco's exodus from Midland to Houston. Here is the comment, copied warts and all, to which I refer:

The one respondent who attempted to rebut this bit of tripe was piled on like a Baylor running back, and not without some cause, as he attempted to read more into the comment than was there. However, there's plenty there that needs to be addressed, without extrapolating to unreasonable lengths. I'm disappointed that the lads and lasses of JW didn't try to do that, thus saving me the effort. But, somebody's got to do it.

Let's just ignore completely the comment about the "Economic Development Board" and its alleged failure to keep ChevronTexaco from leaving Midland. The thought that any EDC could reverse a Fortune 50 corporation's decision about an office closing is simply naive. So, let's just stick to the meat of the subject.

I hate Midland

How can you hate a city? I can see how you could hate living in a particular city because of its location or weather or the fact that it doesn't have a Pappadeaux's Restaurant. If that's the case, the answer is pretty simple, isn't it. Move. Leave. Shoo. Go away. Seek your fulfillment elsewhere.

Or...perhaps you hate the other element of a city: its people. Now, we may be onto something here.

I hate Midland - its extreme rich people, who are blinded to the extreme poverty of the poor.

So it is the people you hate. Specifically, the "rich" ones. Say, they wouldn't be the ones who each year put Midland into the top echelon of US cities in terms of per capita giving to the United Way, would they? Or the ones who have made the grants to the foundations that ensure that every Midland high school graduate can have a college education? Well, whatever. Without your giving us something more concrete, we'll just have to guess at what you're talking about. All we know for sure is that you hate them.

The ever growing exodus of the middle class to Houston,

Ah, the "exodus." Let's jump ahead for a bit because you also seem to believe that people are voluntarily fleeing this "hell on earth," presumably for the garden spot of the Northern Hemisphere...Houston. I've lived in west Texas for 40 years, the last 21 in Midland. In more than two decades of watching people come and go, I can name only a handful who left happily for Houston, or anywhere else, for that matter. The vast majority were forced to leave by employers or other economic factors outside their control...and many of them came back as soon as they could. Just as many more decided they'd rather be unemployed in this "hell on earth" than leave it for a mere job. That's a little irrational, isn't it? I guess hell isn't all it's cracked up (down?) to be.

But, now we get to the good stuff. ...the Spanish being spoken everywhere, the Wal-Mart bags blowing everywhere...

Well, Mr. (or Ms.) NativeMidlander, you've managed to score a Daily Double here, sounding both racist and classist. Not to mention a little inconsistent. I assume that you have some empathy for the poor among us, given your desire to whack "the rich" for ignoring them. Wonder what economic demographics describe those households and individuals whose primary language is Spanish? Come on; you can be honest with us -- we're all gringos here, you know; I'm sure those people don't read blogs, at least not ones written in English -- do you hate Spanish...or Spanish speakers? It's really hard to tell from your comment.

Or...do you really also hate poor people? Wal-Mart bags...that's code, right?...for "those who shop at places other than Talbots and A&F." OK; that's just silly. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt here, and assume that you're railing against litterbugs. We hate 'em too. (That is what you hate, isn't it? Again, your words are just a tad, um, ambiguous.)

Well, that just about does it, I think. You might think I've overreacted, and that my comments are unduly harsh. I submit to you that you should consider the impact of what you place in writing in the future, especially the context in which you use words like "hate" and "hell on earth."

And to the good bloggers over at JW, a simple request: I've seen what you're capable of...please don't let such opportunities as this pass you by in the future. I'm not nearly as good as you at these kinds of things.

It's Now OK to Flash Your Co-Workers

It's been a while since I've linked to one of writer Deb Thompson's excellent posts...too long. (She's a prime example of why blog quality will always trump blog quantity.) So, herewith, I present her observations on the new phenomenon of companies which use flash memory modules to let office workers share computers.

Her allusion to the inevitable "genderization" of these modules has already taken place, if the Memorex ads in the current issue of MacWorld are any indication. In a series of ads on consecutive pages, the USB ThumbDrive® is shown (1) hanging from the ear of an obviously female-type person; (2) on a guy's car keychain; (3) hanging from the bracelet of another person of the distaff persuasion; and (4) posing next to a very pretty shade of red lipstick. Three out of four is a pretty clear trend, if you ask me.

Chanukah's Relevance to Christmas

Dawn over at Dawn Patrol has an interesting post about the origins of Chanukah, and why this Jewish observance is (or should be) important to Christians. I especially liked her comparison of Jesus Christ to the middle candle of the menorah...the shamash. What a beautiful picture to contemplate during this time of year.

I admit that for too long I was completely oblivious to the importance of Jewish heritage in my Christian life. It wasn't that I didn't believe it was relevant; I just had no beliefs or opinions about it one way or another.

This changed a few years ago when I met Dr. Mike Moshe Nangle, a self-described Messianic Jew and founder of "Aliyat Simcha," a ministry devoted to the dual purposes of bringing Jesus as Messiah to Jews, and to educating Christians about the significance of their spiritual roots in Judaism. I had the privilege of donating and hosting a simple website for Aliyat Simcha, which, although now dormant (Dr. Nangle died in 2002), still holds a number of resources that will be of interest to those who want to know more about the subject.

The flip side of the coin is that there are also Christians who overemphasize the role of Judaism in their worship practices, some of them to the point of heresy. In fact, in Dr. Nangle's last years, a rather significant portion of his ministry was devoted to debunking such heresies (some of which was taking place right here in west Texas, strange as that may sound).

I like Dawn's approach to the subject. There's nothing in the Bible, Old Testament or New, which doesn't somehow point us to Jesus as Lord and Messiah. If we can view Judaism through "Jesus-colored glasses" (if I may be so flippant), we'll be rewarded with a clearer vision of God's purposes for His children and His church. It's good stuff.

I'll close on this semi-personal note to Dawn, who refers to the first chapter of the book of Revelation in her post (I won't repeat the reference here; go read it). It was pretty cool that my "Read The Bible Through In A Year" passage this morning was...ta da...Revelation 1!

Sudan, Dubya and Midland: Common Threads

My pal Stan Fikes emailed a copy of an article that appeared yesterday on the website of The American Spectator, a "special report" entitled Midland Ministers to the World. The article is extensive and wide-ranging; it focuses on the influence Midlanders are having on the ongoing peace negotiations in Sudan, but it also touches on those same influences on our current President's values and style. It's about as fair a look at our city as I've read in quite some time, and I recommend it.

[Stan and his wife, Deborah (who is mentioned in the article) are some of the "movers and shakers" who are working behind the scenes to bring about peace and religious freedom in Sudan. Deborah is founder and director of BASIC Ministries, International, whose "Sudan Project" funds Christian outreach and humanitarian aid throughout southern Sudan and neighboring Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I have tremendous respect and love for them and the Sudanese people they work with in carrying out this ministry.]

Back to the article...here are a few excerpts to wet your whistle:

And this...

And, finally, this...

There's a lot more; go read it.

I find it refreshing when folks who have a direct pipeline to the highest levels of government choose to use their influence in such positive ways. Face it...there's nothing in a peaceful Sudan that will directly benefit any of these people who are devoting such large amounts of time and personal resources. They're doing it for a plain and simple reason: they love the people of Sudan in a way that can only be explained by understanding Christ's love for us. And that's what makes them so powerful; having a hometown President is just gravy.

Another One Bites the Dust

This just in...to confirm what we already knew. The local ChevronTexaco employees will have a "town hall meeting" after lunch today to hear the official plans for consolidating the Midland office into Houston.

Well, at least there are very many more of those shoes that can drop. We're just about out of feet.

Why Lance will Win #6

The next Tour de France is still more than six months away, but an article in the latest issue of "Bicycling" (treeware edition) contains a couple of insights as to why Lance Armstrong is likely to be the first rider to win six.

The article describes one of the Trek bicycles designed to Lance's specifications, a carbon-fiber framed, sub-16 pound rocket named the "Madone" (after a mountain in Southern France). To be sure, this bike is a marvel of technology, and technology is an integral part of a winning strategy in modern cycling. But, the insight comes from the process that resulted in the creation of this work of art. From the article...

The careful reader will find in that one sentence several gems that illustrate precisely why Armstrong is already at a place that his competitors can only dream about.

First, he has the ear -- and the engineers -- of one of the largest and most adept bicycle manufacturers in the world. They listen to Lance, because what he tells them about their bikes will make them smarter, even as they make him faster. And they'll sell more bikes...loads more. It's a win/win situation, and then some.

Second, and more important, while others are trying to figure out how to coax a fraction of a kilometer per hour out of a ride time, Lance's posse of nutritionists, physiologists and kinesiologists are charting plans in terms of energy output, down to the number of calories required to maintain a specified level of power output (expressed in watts). In other words, Lance is a machine, and if they're smart enough, they can figure out how to make that machine operate at peak level at every step of the race.

Combine that attention to detail and sophistication of training and strategic modeling with Lance's innate skill, desire and genetics, and you have the closest thing to a sure bet you'll ever get in an event like the TDF: Lance will win this one, and as many more as he wants.

Usability 101 for DVD Designers

It's 5:00 p.m. You have an important dinner meeting at 6:30 p.m. You figure you have just enough time to jump on the treadmill for a quick stress-relieving workout, and you ought to be able to make your meeting with minutes to spare. You pop a DVD into the player to help pass the time...the movie is, say, "Die Another Day,"* with Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry.

You hit the Play button on the remote, then repeatedly stab the Skip button to jump through the seemingly endless sequence of trailers for upcoming movies (which by now are old and busted). Finally, an amazingly complex CG animation begins, which, although stunning in a useless sort of way, serves only to waste precious seconds. Then you come to this inexplicable frame: "Initiate Sequence." What does that mean? You hit Enter, only to be confronted with another series of 3D animations leading to...the setup screen. Well, that's good, because you need to activate English subtitles, so you can leave the system volume at a manageable level while still being able to follow the dialog. You try to find where the subtitle toggle switch is located. Is it in the section labeled "Q's Files"? How about "Agency Briefing"? And why can't you see the on-screen cursor? Wait...there it is: the lemon chiffon (#fffacd) dot set against the papaya whip (#ffefd5) background.

You finally manage to get the settings in place, step onto to the treadmill, and glance at the clock. It's 5:30 p.m.! Your workout has just been flushed down the toilet that doubles as pre-recorded DVD interface design. Again.

Does any of this sound familiar? I'm of the opinion that pre-recorded DVD user interface design is where website design was in, say, 1997. Sure, the blinking text and gratuitous animations and always-on MIDI background sound are better done, but they still have the same effect, relegating the essential purpose of a DVD as secondary to the whims of a clueless designer.

Do DVD designers ever watch movies on DVDs? I think not. Otherwise, they wouldn't go out of their way to camouflage basic navigation tools, or label content and setup sections with obscure titles that assume that you've not only memorized the script of the movie but have studied the original storyboard layouts created before filming began.

I'm sure DVD designers don't read blogs, but if any of them happen to stumble in here, I'm not letting them leave without providing them a few suggestions for future design. To wit...

• DVDs don't need splash screens. We don't need a button to press in order to take us to the next step in the intricate Dance of the Playing of the Movie.
• We also don't need to read the FBI/Interpol/CMP/Power Rangers warning against pirating the disk. If you feel you must include it, put it at the end of the movie. Those of us who are impressed by it will still be impressed.
• We don't appreciate your turning setup navigation into a puzzle or a game. Give us a simple list of clearly labeled options: play movie, audio setup, video setup if appropriate, languages, subtitles (a separate category, not a language sub-category), scene selection and additional content. We'll take it from there.
• Make the selection cursor obvious. Keep in mind that most of us don't have high-definition TVs, and some of us are even watching on 13" screens or smaller. Create a nice high-contrast rollover effect; if you're confused by that term, visit a couple of websites. I'll be happy to make some recommendations.
• Make the scene selection option more user-friendly. Label the scenes with text in addition to the thumbnail image.

These are all simple things, yet they greatly improve the usability of DVDs. As with website design, it's not rocket science. In fact, it's all about the content, which in this case is the movie. If the movie is terrible, your fancy interface won't help; if the movie is good, the interface is not needed, except to get us to the content more quickly.

And don't even get me started on DVD players!

*"Die Another Day" used as an example; not everything described herein applies specifically...but a lot of it does.

Wacky Weather

OK, so it's 76 degrees and sunny. Tomorrow's forecast calls for a high of 46 degrees and rain.

Sounds like we're in for an interesting 24 hours.

Another Comment Spam-fighting Approach

Via Gadgetopia comes word of a new anti-comment spam plug-in for Movable Type: Spam Wait.

This proposed solution requires that a poster wait 15 seconds from the time the comment window is open until the comment can be posted. This presumably foils the efforts of mechanized spambots. I tried it out at Memeufacture and it works as advertised.

While I don't know what percentage of comment spam is mechanically generated, this solution is appealing to me because of its sheer simplicity. Of course, it will eventually be easily defeated by those who code the spambots, and it will merely annoy those who post spam by hand (and we know such cretins exist), but it's still refreshing to see proposed solutions that employ such low-tech mechanisms as the mere passage of time.

KC Glee

I apologize in advance to my Okie friends, but I'm just loving the old fashioned whuppin' K-State is putting on the Sooners. 77-0 gives rise to a lot of, um, animosity engenders a certain lack of empathy, and the fact that OU's loss will knock those lovable Longhorns out of a BCS bowl game is just icing on the cake.

Oh, did I forget to mention that I'm an Aggei Aggy Aggie?

What Billy Can Teach Jack(o)

As I watch with less than rapt attention the unfolding of the predicament that Michael Jackson has created for himself, I can't help but marvel at the sheer stupidity of the man.

I don't know if Jacko did the things he's accused of, and I will readily acknowledge that someone like him is an attractive target for such accusations, false or otherwise. But that's not the point, at least not for purposes of this post.

The point is this: it takes only a smidgen of common sense, coupled with a pinch of self-control, to keep from putting oneself in a position where the simple appearance of wrongdoing opens the door for all kinds of accusations.

It's instructive to observe how another incredibly well-known man accomplishes this. Billy Graham has appeared in front of more people through the decades than Michael Jackson can even dream about. Dr. Graham is careful to avoid situations that have even the appearance of impropriety; his refusal to ride on an elevator alone with a woman who is not his wife is well documented. He understands that his life is under a microscope, and behaves accordingly.

I'm no Billy Graham, but his example has influenced me. For example, I work from a home office and while most of my clients have their own offices, occasionally one of them will also be home-officed. When those clients are female, I always make sure that our meetings take place in a public setting...at a coffee shop, for example. (And even that makes me a little nervous, as I also understand that that setting could give rise to speculation.) If a female client drops something by the house when my wife is not at home, I go outside to visit with her and, impolite as it may sound, never invite her inside.

This precaution may seem obvious to some, and paranoid to others, but it's for my client's protection as well as mine. This is one way I attempt to avoid even the appearance of wrongdoing.

Michael Jackson would be in a much better position had he exercised some of the same common sense. Even the most innocent of motives doesn't justify allowing children to spend the night in your house (let alone in your bed) without their parents. A man of his resources could easily have arranged to have the parents always present, along with someone from his own retinue. The fact that such a simple precaution was never employed makes one think that Jackson is either clueless or guilty, or both.

Regardless of how this current mess plays out for Michael Jackson, a little "avoidance behavior" could have prevented a lot of grief. I'm sure Billy Graham would be happy to provide Jacko with some valuable counsel.

'Tis the Season...

MLB had the day off...father-in-law in town...took off a few hours to go Christmas shopping with them this morning. Spent most of the afternoon scanning labels from various wine bottles for a local restaurant's website. Just between you and me, much preferred the latter activity. Details not necessary; suffice it to say that I can do all my Christmas shopping in the time it takes certain people to pick out a single box of greeting cards. And I've picked out a new car in less time than it takes certain people to decide between two models of electric can openers. Granted, there was a $2.36 price difference to consider, but, still...

New Quizzes: Grammar/Punctuation & Finances

Sleepless In Midland has run across a couple of interesting online quizzes, one testing your financial acumen, and the other purporting to test your grasp of punctuation and grammar.

I had some quibbles with wording in the first test, and picked "don't know/not sure" on several questions that I would have correctly guessed...scored a 72. I guess that explains why I'm still working for a living.

The second exam requires that you think like a Brit, and who knows how to do that? I still got 7 of 10 right, and I couldn't care less about how Shakespeare referred to periods. Still, the "real" grammar-related questions are interesting. Give it a try.

Thanksgiving Day Report from Iraq

I received this via email from a friend. I have no idea as to its authenticity. I googled it and also did a search on Daypop and turned up nothing. Read it with those caveats in mind.

Update [2003-12-05]: According to Matthew over at Blackfive, this email is legit. Many thanks to Phelps at Do Not Remove for the tip (see his comment on this post).

The email came with a subject line of "An Email from a Captain in Iraq." I've copied and pasted the email content without any editing whatsoever.

Dru Sjodin and More

It's been a few days since I dropped by Julie Neidlinger's joint, so I'm just now finding her wide-ranging post centering on the disappearance of Dru Sjodin, and Julie's perceptions on how pornography might have played a role in this crime. She also shares some examples of how Dru's disappearance is affecting everyday life in North Dakota.

Update [19:34]: Julie helped with the search effort today, and blogs about the experience. I've got a renewed appreciation for her empathy and that of the 1,700 other good folk who showed up to give their time to help a family in need. This is not a stroll in the park, either physically or emotionally.

Closer to home, I'm getting busy once more with the creation of the new website for the Child Sexual Victimization Task Force, another reminder of mankind's apparently boundless tendency toward depravity. My client contact at the Midland Rape Crisis and Children's Advocacy Center has promised to start sending me the content to complete the webpages that now hold "coming soon" messages. To be honest, I'm not looking forward to seeing it.

Help Stop the Madness!

This is the time of year when our thoughts naturally turn to ways we can help the less fortunate around us. I'm sure that you are aware of the places in your city where you can find those who are in the most need. But sometimes, the need is right under your nose...it's associated with someone you may know well, but not well enough to recognize the need until it is one day revealed in a lightning-flash type of moment.

I've experienced such a revelation, and I now call on my blogospherian brethren and sistren to help one of their own, the depth of whose need is only now coming to light via an otherwise innocent post that appeared today.

I'm writing, of course, about Dawn Eden.

Yes, this exquisite Princess of Pun, the Petite Powerhouse herself, has been hiding a tragic secret for lo these many years, and it's time we who are more blessed step up and give her some assistance.

Under the guise of a post which presumably is about digital cameras, her plaintive cry for help is clearly seen in the photos of her refrigerator. Can you imagine, gentle readers, that in this day and age a cosmopolitan woman like Dawn has only the wherewithal to stock her icy pantry with one package of frozen broccoli, one bottle of catsup and one leaky vial of balsalmic vinegar? Oh, the horror of it all!

The dear thing is obviously in denial, as she has recently regaled us with details of her weight loss "program"...what we now know is a sinister codeword for "involuntary starvation." She's taken to hallucinating, so deep are the depths to which she's diven doven sunk, as she now thinks she's a record store clerk.

So, dear readers, I trust that you will join with me immediately in reaching out to Dawn in the true spirit of the season, as only we bloggers can: send good thoughts... calorie-laden thoughts... her way as you make your rounds through the buffet-swollen holiday party circuit. It's the least... the very least... we can do for her.

I just pray we're not too late.

Reviews on Church Websites, Redux

Last October I posted about some movie reviews found on the website of a church in San Francisco. I disagreed with the approach that the reviewer seemed to be taking in seeking spiritual truths in movies which pretty obviously weren't meant to have 'em...movies like "Hannibal," for example.

That post attracted a lot of comments on both sides of the argument, and I eventually attempted to clarify my original statement by saying that I wasn't necessarily knocking any church for addressing secular culture in its programs or curriculae, as long as it was diligent in always comparing and contrasting the secular culture with the truths spelled out in Scripture. What I found lacking in the reviews on this particular website was that contrast, and the highlighting of error. (Although I still see no value in having a review of a movie like Hannibal on a church website, in any context!)

I had almost forgotten about the post when I got an email notice of a new comment today. The comment was from Drew, one of the contributing reviewers for the Kaleo website. He asked me to read a couple of his recent reviews, one on Christina Aguilera and another on the musical group Live. His reason for calling these to my attention was to see "where you draw the line on what is being too steeped in culture."

Well, I'm happy to report that Drew has nailed the concept of judging secular culture by Scriptural truths, and highlighting where and how that culture falls short. If the movie reviews on Kaleo's website were approached in the same fashion, I believe the church's mission of being a light in a darkened world would be much better served. I appreciate Drew's calling these reviews to my attention, and I invite you to check them out if such things interest you.

Ski Resorts and Global Warming: Can't See the Blizzard for the Flakes

You've seen this report, right...the one that predicts that ski resorts will be out of business by the year 2050, due to global warming? Here we go with the wild-eyed arm waving, again.

I don't claim any special insight as to whether global warming exists or doesn't. But there are a couple of things in this and similar reports that need inspection.

Take this particular resort in Austria which seems to be the new poster child for Ski Bums Against Global Warming™:

2,493 feet ASL? These guys have no business with a ski resort at that altitude in the first place! Why, the elevation of Midland, Texas is 2,839', and you don't see us complaining about what global warming is doing to our ski bidness. (Note to MDC: Check into a tax incentive for getting a mountain installed.)

Then there's this report from The Skier's Journal, wherein the banding together of various US resorts to fight GW is chronicled.

If you look closely at the provisions of the McCain/Lieberman Climate Stewardship Act, you'll immediately see that it's a can o'worms, as far as mechanics and approach. It's interesting to see who voted against this bill (it was defeated by a vote of 43 to 55): U.S. Senators from states like Colorado, Montana, Utah, Idaho, New Mexico, Wyoming and Alaska. Last time I looked, these states had more than a few ski resorts. I guess the Senators didn't realize what's at stake.

Or maybe they do. Despite the claim of "cost minimization," any top-down imposed GW measure is going to have a significant economic impact. This impact will trickle down to the consumer...it always does. When the consumer is hurting, guess what's the first item to get cut from the family budget? Why, luxury items like, um, ski trips...new K2 skis and Burton snowboards...funky new Spyder and rugged North Face parkas. See where this is going?

Like I said, I don't know if GW is a real threat or not, but my advice to the Ski Bums Against Global Warming™ is simple: be careful of what you wish for.

West Texas Water "Mining" Proposal: Short-Sighted?

I'm pleased to see that the local media is now jumping on the Rio Nuevo "water mining" issue with both feet. Today's MRT coverage of last night's meeting in Alpine highlighted several unaddressed and troubling questions with the proposal to sell water under state lands in far west Texas.

First, this:

OK...I've been out of the oil bidness for a couple of years now, but is anyone...especially the State of Texas...doing oil and gas leases for a 10% royalty? C'mon...a 1/8th (12.5%) royalty is the standard, and 15-18% isn't unheard of. If you're going to sell this concept on an oil-deal basis, at least use a credible model.

Then this:

Setting aside for a moment the fact that there are no up-to-date comprehensive studies that delineate exactly how much water is present in the targeted aquifers, the numbers don't add up. 50,000 acre-ft/year x $1,000/acre-ft x 10% royalty = $5 million, not the $7 million quoted in the article. Where's the other $2 million coming from, out of the kindness of Rio Nuevo's heart?

I also have to wonder about the description of these lands as "currently unprofitable." What's the measure? Is the state actually incurring any cost to hold title to this land? I suspect that the "unprofitable" label is accurate without being meaningful.

And, finally, the thought that the revenue from the water royalties will go to the Permanent School Fund is one of those heart-warming proposals that actually generates no practical warmth. Aside from being a drop in the bucket (pun intended), we need only look at the educational funding windfall provided by the state lottery to relegate this argument into the rhetorical dustbin.

Bottom line is that we can always find alternatives to fund state education, if we get serious about it. We can always find alternatives to oil and gas, when they begin to run short. We can always find alternatives to water when...uh, no. There is no alternative for water. Once it runs out, so does the viability, economic and otherwise, of the region from whence it came.

I commend the General Land Office for its stated intent to take things nice and slow with respect to this proposal. We need a credible comprehensive study of the water reserves in-place, perhaps jointly funded by the State and Rio Nuevo, before even beginning to contemplate producing and sending that water to other places in (or outside) the state. In the end, there may well be a compromise position that satisfies all agendas, but it's much too early to know that.

The state of Texas may well own the legal rights to that water. But, let's don't forget who owns...who is...the state of Texas.

Good News for a Fellow Blogger!

Tony over at I Am Always Right has landed a new job...a good job...after more than 2 years of getting by following a dotcom layoff. He's got the details in a strange place: on Jen's blog (read the post to find out why).

Tony also provides a great testimony to God's faithfulness to care care of His children during difficult times.

Thanks for sharing the good news, Tony...and the Good News!

Back in the Saddle, More or Less

I feel some better tonight; thanks for asking. The doc wouldn't commit to a definite diagnosis - he wants to wait for the blood workup - but a shot of corticosteroid and a handful of Vioxx samples may be just what I need to get back in gear. (The Vioxx gives me a slight feeling of sadness, not because of its physical effects, but because it's what caused my mother-in-law's internal bleeding, the first domino to fall in the sequence that led to her eventual death.)

Anyway, I've got to do something here, or risk losing the rapt of attention of my five regular readers. Only thing is, I still can't focus on those issues of worldwide significance that continue to cry out for a forum, like: is it pronounced poinsetta or poinsettia? So you'll have to settle for a separate but equal answer...more in a moment.

First, though, allow me to exult in the fact that we went live today with a client's website which had been hanging fire for 15 months. Fifteen months! I'm not going to link to the site, preferring not to single out paying clients for ridicule. I'm sure there are solid reasons for a client to go AWOL with a website at the 90% completion point, and I did manage to get a progress payment (not 90%, but, still...). Nevertheless, it's a relief to close the books on this one.

Now, where were we? Oh, yeah. Thinking about The Holidays. And movies. The combination of those two leads one to contemplate the preparation of A List. It's a logical list, a "Top 10" list. It's obvious isn't it? Thus, I present...

What? You didn't think I was going to list Christmas movies, did you? Well, I might, but only if they were truly scary (and "Scrooged" doesn't count).

First, the obligatory disclaimer. Most of these movies are pretty old, and may or may not have stood the test of time. The point is that they scared me at the time I first saw them. Today, I might laugh, or snooze, through the same movies, but it was a much different thing back then. So, with that, this...

10. Fantasia (1940) - I first saw this in the late 50s, in a movie theater in Denton, while visiting my grandmother. The combination of dancing brooms, eerie music and a strange locale gave me nightmares. Not what Walt intended, I'm sure.


9. The Wizard of Oz (1939) - Flying monkeys with evil grins. Wicked witches - really ugly ones. And little people with voices that made me twitch. These are a few of my scariest things.


8. The Tingler (1959) - This Vincent Price classic came out when I was 7, and the trailers alone were enough to freak me out. I didn't actually see the movie until I was in my 20s, and, of course, it was pretty lame at that point, but it's still #8 on my list. (Incidentally, when did they stop being "previews" and start being "trailers"?) Update [2003-12-03] - See The Parson's note in the comments section for the answer to this question.


7. The Legend of Hell House (1973) - Richard Matheson wrote both the screenplay and the novel from which this movie sprang. Matheson is a masterful writer of macabre and sci-fi stories, and this cheesy horror classic has his imprint all over it. It was the first of the "supernatural thriller" movies I'd ever seen. My wife-to-be and I saw it at the Pecos Theater, which wasn't located in Pecos, but in Fort Stockton (the county seat of Pecos County...still with me?). The theater's no longer there, but the memory of jumping about three feet out of our seats during this movie remains.


6. Alien (1979) - You remember how the opening scene in "Star Wars" forever changed your perception of what a movie could be? "Alien" one-upped that feeling for 117 minutes. The chest-bursting alien entrance will remain one of sci-fi's most shocking scenes (and it's even better when you know that the actors were as clueless as the audience about what was about to happen!).


5. Manhunter (1986) - Anthony Hopkins was not the first actor to portray Hannibal Lector. Brian Cox was, in the movie version of "Red Dragon." Lector was only a minor character in this film, but that didn't prevent it from being truly horrifying. (CSI's William L. Petersen is the hero that finally nails the bad guy, btw.)


4. Silence of the Lambs (1991) - The climactic scene where the lights go out while Agent Starling stumbles her way through that real-life house of horrors gave me the Gran Mal Willies.


3. Night of the Living Dead (1968) - This low-budget classic had the look and feel of a documentary, and it just worked. In fact, it still works. The in-color slick gore-soaked let's-wink-at-each-other-campy sequels and "updates" just don't get it.


2. The Sixth Sense (1999) - M. Night Shyamalan created a new classic horror/suspense movie, as well as a line that has transcended its original usage. "I see dead people." I don't...but I could, and that's a very, very bad feeling.


1. The Exorcist (1973) - OK, I admit it. This movie scared the crap out of me the first time I saw it. Strike that. The only time I saw it. Yep...been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Got no need, no desire to see it ever again. I suppose it didn't help that I believe that's there really is such a thing as demon possession. I really didn't need to see it brought to life on-screen. Still creeps me out just to think about it. (I wasn't the only one. We went to see it in college with another couple. The girl called in the middle of the night, crying, seeking some comfort and reassurance. I wasn't up to the task.)

Honorable Mention: The Shining (1980) - Jack's slow descent into madness took me along with him. The ability of a homocidal maniac to crack wise while wielding an axe against the love of his life is scarier than the thought of another Clinton White House.

So, there you have it. Happy Holidays!

Update [2003-12-03]: Mark over at Kaedrin has called to my attention his own recent list of scary movies, and he's got some really good ones that I just missed (how could I forget about "Jaws"?!). Being the literary type he is, he's also thrown in a section of horror novels. Since I can't read, that part's lost on me...but you might find something of note.

The Dog Ate My Homework

I got nothing tonight. Well, that's not really true. What I've got you don't want to hear about, but it's pretty much eliminated the will to blog for the time being.

I'll leave you with two words: subacute thyroiditis.