Probably not better than nothing...

...but I feel guilty about not posting anything.

If you live in west Texas, you'll understand very well what allergies can do to your creativity. If you don't live here, you may or may not know the feeling. So imagine coughing intermittently for 48 hours, taking a break only to sneeze, while contemplating why the oxygen level in the atmosphere has suddenly been reduced to half of what is normal.

But, other than that, everything's great! How 'bout you?

MDC Website Retraction

In an awesome display of either the power of blogging or the curse of bad timing, my post from earlier this morning which slammed the Midland Development Corporation for its delay in getting its website up proved to be eerily coincidental with the rollout of said site.

Giving them the benefit of the doubt, I've removed the earlier post, as it's no longer relevant (thereby highlighting one of the advantages of blogging over traditional print journalism).

Go see the new site at www.midlandtexasedc.org. And, yes, I did include the incorrect URL in my post this morning, for those of you who tried to follow it and got nowhere. All-in-all, that was one post that was better left unpublished from the get-go.

The new site is fairly impressive, although you have to look pretty closely to figure out it's for Midland, Texas and not Midland, Michigan or some other Midland. I'd advise them to expand their title meta tag to be more descriptive. Thankfully, they seem to have lost the nav-related sound effects, although they may just not work on a Mac.

Update - 4:16 pmThey're messing with our minds, folks. The new site is now gone, and the old-and-busted is back up again. Apparently they're beta testing...only they're doing it live. Interesting approach, I must admit. Anyway, I will no longer predict just exactly what you'll get when you visit the URL shown above. However, if you really want to get a sneak preview, here's the URL of the beta site: www.midlandtexasedc.org/betadefault.asp

Update - 4:57 pmThe beta site is now live at the main URL, but who knows for how long. You're on your own from here on out!

Movable Type & Campaign Blogs

Back when I was asked to take over Mike Conaway's Congressional campaign website, he was considering adding a blog to it. As part of the research in letting him know what was involved, I contacted Six Apart and asked them if a political campaign was required to purchase a commercial license in order to install a Movable Type blog on its site. Their online documentation wasn't really clear in that area.

I emailed Six Apart back in November, but didn't hear anything until earlier this month...and that response was simply to tell me that they were really backed up in their customer support due to some changes in their support system. In the meantime, Mike and his staff had decided that a blog probably wasn't going to be a big asset in this particular campaign, a decision with which I areed. My advice from the beginning had been that if you're going to blog during a campaign, you'd better commit to doing it diligently, or it could turn into a liability.

Well, I heard from Six Apart again this evening, and even though it's a moot point for the Conaway campaign, it's interesting to note that a commercial license is indeed required for an installation of an MT blog on a political campaign website.

The email went on to say that the whole spectrum of MT licenses is being re-visited, due to the proliferation in the kinds of ways that people are beginning to use blogs.

And, for any website designers who might be contemplating installing an MT blog for a client -- regardless of that client's status -- if you're doing it for money, you (or your client) will have to pay a commercial license fee. (I don't think that's anything new; this is just a reminder.) That being the case, if you're doing work for a non-profit entity which wouldn't have to pay for a commercial license, it's probably wise to hire Six Apart to do the installation, and save a hundred bucks or so.

On a more general note, the fact that Six Apart is taking a closer look at its licensing structure is yet another indication that blogging is becoming a communications tool whose use is limited only by one's imagination.

[On an unrelated note, I wonder what it would be like to work for Six Apart in client support, realizing that your every email is bloggable? Six Apart isn't unique in that status, but they are surely more cognizant of the implications than most everyone else.]

More Power (Guy Stuff)

I was thumbing through the new issue of Bicycling Magazine when a full-page ad for a motorcycle caught my eye. It's not unheard of for motorcycle manufacturers to advertise in the human-powered cycling publications, although you don't see Harley-Davidson buying any ad space...something about the wrong demographics/lifestyle image/etc. Harley riders don't wear lycra, at least not in public.

Anyway, this ad was for the new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R, a truly hot-looking bike if you go for that style. But it was the juxtaposition of these two phrases that really grabbed my attention: 184 horsepower, 375 pounds. I don't know about you, but I find that astounding. That's a pound/hp rating of just over 2, and I don't know of another production vehicle on the face of the earth that can match it.

And, speaking as one who once hit 120 on a Kawasaki that wasn't nearly as jet as this, I can say that I don't really want to know what it will do down a long straight stretch of west Texas highway.

I did some quick research to try to find a way to put this bike's credentials into perspective, and came up with the following table.

I just threw Lance in there for fun. Obviously, his $10 mil per HP isn't accurate; the net present value of $10 mil per year for who knows how many years is going to inflate that number considerably.

Of course, the McLaren F1 is the world's fastest production auto, hitting just over 240 mph back in 1998. I don't think it's still in production, but there used to be one flitting around Midland.

So, what's my point? Well, if you have to ask, then you really shouldn't be reading posts like this to begin with. The simple contemplation of man's mastery of the mechanical should instill a joy and pride that leads to an unconquerable desire to go into the garage, don a welder's helmet and bang on something with a hammer.

See ya...

No Sparks

Don Sparks has just announced that he will not further pursue the District 31 State Senate seat. He will also not endorse a candidate (and for that reason I considered titling this post "No Sparks Plug," knowing that at least Dawn would appreciate it).

I suppose I'm now free to comment at will about this race, now that I no longer have a fiduciary interest in its outcome. However, I'm having a hard time working up much enthusiasm for commentary. With Quackenbush out of the race, it's not exactly a page-turner.

I did find it interesting to note that Kirk Edwards paid more than twice as much for his new campaign website, compared to Don. I guess I'm going to either have to revisit my rates, or start using an Austin address. OTOH, Kirk's in the runoff and Don isn't, so maybe I'll just keep my mouth shut.

It's Over (Lasted longer than Britney's, though)

Some relationships just aren't meant to last, I guess, no matter how hard one works to keep them alive. And so I sadly announce the end of an important chapter in my life.

Things started out so well. Of course, any relationship is going to have those minor irritations, but you figure that you can work through them; after all, nobody's perfect. What you don't count on is the way the irritation keeps growing, until it becomes a pain, and you finally just can't take it anymore. The early thrill...the ease with which you move together in that great eternal dance, joined at the soul...proves temporary and reality sets in.

Sadly, I must assume most of the blame. It's my fault for taking an ill-advised fling rather than staying true to what I knew was right. I succumbed to lust, my eyes taken in by the flash. I'm wiser, if sadder, for the pain.

It was a good run, but, ultimately, we're both better off with someone else.

So, today, I'll pack it in...box things up...and send my new running shoes back to Road Runner Sports. I never should have strayed from my staid-but-comfortable NB 1122s, which are a much better fit for my low-arched feet.

This chapter closes, but another opens, and while my soul still aches for what might have been, my soles are rejoicing!

Monday: The Masochist's Friday

The wind continues to howl as another cold front advances from the Panhandle. Abbye returned from morning walkies with a Thousand Yard Stare, thanks to countless blown-leaf sorties carried out against her person; she's now retreated under the bed, where I suspect she'll remain for most of the day.

My PHP lesson for the week is "Statefulness and Persistence," which sounds like the title for a Victorian morality play, and, thus far, is about as spellbinding. But, when I'm finished, I'll be able to impersonate the Cookie Monster. (That's about as close to a PHP joke as I can muster.)

Dawn had an "interesting" experience at church yesterday and is seeking input from others regarding what constitutes the proper Biblical practice of communion, or, in Southern Baptist lingo, the Lord's Supper.

And, speaking of church, our pastor's sermon of the week has the provocative title of "Do Christians and Muslims Really Worship the Same God?" If you're interested in a candid comparison of Christianity and Islam on the things that really matter, you can listen to or download the MP3 here.

Classical Mass

If your church is open to some musical ministry in a somewhat different key, I highly recommend this guy. Rodrigo Rodriguez is a classical guitarist from Ecuador, now residing in Florida, who has turned his musical gift into a fulltime ministry. He's got a great testimony, and an amazing talent.

The highlight of the service was his arrangement of "Via Dolorosa," which cries out to be played on a classical guitar anyway. In his rendition, he adds to the melody a counterpoint of a drum-like plucking of the E and A strings that evokes the cadence of Roman soldiers escorting Jesus to His sacrificial death on the cross. You have to hear it to understand the full impact. He then seamlessly segues into "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus." It's just an awesome and lovely arrangement.

The downside of attending one of his concerts is that if you are an aspiring guitarist, you might come away vowing to never again pick up the instrument. Having seen and heard a master at work, you realize how far you have to go. (And, of course, that "you" is really code for "I.")

Interestingly, Rodrigo addressed this very issue...albeit without knowing he was doing so. He said that he was once asked why he plays with his eyes closed. One reason is that he's playing for God, not for an audience, and he can visualize God better with closed eyes. But another reason is that he no longer worries about making mistakes when he plays, as he once did when he was a commercial artist. He strives for excellence, of course, in order to present a worthy offering to God, but he is also content in the knowledge that God is pleased with a sincere offering, even if it has a mistake or two in it.

It's a good lesson for me. If I wait to exercise my spiritual gift(s) in service to God and others until I'm perfect, they'll never get exercised, and will therefore be wasted. God doesn't require perfection, just a willing and available heart offered in humility and love. He'll take it from there.

Now, Where Were We...?

Six days. One post. <sneer> And you call yourself a blogger. Sheesh.

Well, that six day period does represent the longest I've gone without posting since this humble blog was birthed. I'd like to say that I missed it, but I didn't, really. I've been distracted by other things, very few of them more fun than this, but the distractions seemed to drain me, mentally if not physically. I haven't had anything left at the end of the day for writing here.

Still don't, for that matter, but it's not stopping me. Stick around at your own peril; this may not be pretty. But it's still a post, and I get credit for it.

Actually, what I'd like to do is just offload some random observations (hey, it's what we do!) which have been accumulating like navel lint. To wit...

• I bought new running shoes. They're New Balances, model 1041 I think (sounds like a tax form, doesn't it?). This is a Big Deal for me, as I buy new shoes once a year. My old pair ended up with about 600 miles on them, which might be a little more than is optimal, but I do almost all my running on a treadmill, so they don't break down as quickly. The cool thing about these new shoes is the laces; they're kind of scalloped, if you can visualize that, so they won't accidentally come untied. I think advances in shoelace technology get far too little press. Hey, wanna see a photo? Thought you might...just happened to have one:

• The biggest contributor to my blogging absence is my PHP class. I've never spent so much time getting so frustrated, and finally feeling so good about understanding so little. This week's assignment was only three questions, but I was consumed with trying to finish them, and not just answer them, but really understand the theory. If you're interested, you can see my assignment here. If you're a script-kiddie, be prepared to be underwhelmed. But it works, and I don't think it's half-bad for someone who couldn't spell "PHP" two weeks ago.


• I still think Jay Leno had the best line about Howard Dean's post-Iowa screamfest: "The cows in Iowa are scared to death of catching Mad Dean Disease."


• I've gotten some really interesting spam lately. First was the advertisement for "Heaven Insurance." Here's the intro:
  
  
  I don't know about you, but I definitely want to go to Heaven. I live my life according to God's will and like many of us, I'm not perfect. I'm not sure if going to church is enough and figured that my family and friends could use a little extra help. Heaven Insurance will provide that help. That's why we created this certificate and it is already helping people all over the world!
  
  It goes on to offer a color certificate with the insured's name printed in genuine ink-jet, along with the amount of the insurance ($100,000 for only $19.95; $1,000,000 for $24.95...obviously a much better deal).
  
  I was just about ready to pull out my credit card when I saw the fine print: Heaven Insurance is a gift/novelty item and is not an actual insurance policy. It is intended strictly as an artistic novelty designed to remind and encourage those with a true spirit to work toward and remain on the path to better living and to take comfort in the ways and security that faith in the lord provides. Well, rats. So much for that idea for a great Valentine's Day gift for the pagan of my choice.


• In a less lighthearted but somehow more forthright solicitation, I received an email offering to help me with my hosting needs if I was seeking space for my "child p**n, illegal content, spam advert site." It went on to offer me "fresh stolen dumps" (with URL); "credit cards with cvv2 information" (with URL); "SSN of any US citizen"; access to "fresh eBay accounts"; and an assurance that "our site will be usefull [sic] for the those [sic] who want to wash their money also :) (If you don't want to pay taxes or you need to buy something illegal like weapons or drugs)."
  
  I did a whois lookup on the URL, which is registered anonymously to someone in Miami with the email address of cumbajohnny@mailvault.com. The come-on sounds tempting, but I'm afraid I'd end up on a fundraising site for a Democratic presidential candidate, so I'm going to pass.


• Just so you'll know that I haven't been totally blog-free for lo these many days, I've added TulipGirl to my Neighborhood blogroll. I won't disclose the identity of TG; I'll say only that she's the Power Behind The Throne of another Neighborhood blogger, and they both have past Midland connections. She's perceptive, smart, eloquent and a sister in Christ. Read her; you'll see.


• Speaking of treadmills (go back to the top if you've already forgotten), I've also taken this week to develop a brand new rating system for movies on DVD. It's the creatively named "Treadmill Rating" and it's my assessment of how many miles of running I can do in front of the movie before either giving up from exhaustion or boredom. It's simple, objective and probably destined to replace the tired "thumbs up or down" system that less perceptive reviewers rely on.
  
  Under this rating system, a movie like "Terminator 3" (rating: 4) scores higher than, say, "LOTR: The Two Towers" (rating: 2.5). A classic like "XXX" (rating: 4.5) will outperform "Saving Private Ryan" (rating: 3). I'm not saying that these are better movies, but I am saying that pounding out eight minute miles makes one less able (or willing) to enjoy extended dialog and a plot that relies more on cerebral gymnastics than C4 and swordfights. Fortunately, my aging knees top out at 5 miles, and so does the rating system, which keeps it in line with other, less objective systems.

Well, that's it. I feel better. And please accept my apologies...for either being gone so long, or for returning so soon, whichever fits your pistol!

"Single Issue Voter"? Yeeaah, Baby!

Today our church observed the annual "Sanctity of Life" Sunday, joined no doubt by hundreds or thousands of congregations around the world. As always, it's a time to reflect on the importance and significance of every individual human life, and a reminder that we are called to see life through God's eyes.

Last decade, there was a great condescending hue and cry by political pundits over the phenomenon of "Single Issue Voters." These are people who tend to fixate on one issue or cause and vote for a candidate based on his or her stance on that issue.

These people were deemed by the "elite" to be generally uneducated, naive, short-sighted, un-American sheep, voting with their hearts instead of their heads. Back then, they were generally known as "pro-lifers." [Today we would call them Democrats, with their single issue being the re-election defeat at any cost of our current president. But that's another post for another day.]

For a brief second, back in the 90s, I was one of those people who tended to looked skeptically upon the "Single Issue Voter." Logically, it just made sense that we should view candidates in the totality of their beliefs, positions, dogma. After all, they'd be dealing with all manner of issues, not just the one hot button that "those people" focused on.

But that didn't last long, for as I became more perceptive and educated about the state and direction of our nation, the more concerned I became about its viability. The more I understood about the "sanctity of life," the more I understood that it's not just a theoretical position you take in an abstract argument.

Long story made short: I'm now the quintessential "Single Issue Voter." The issue upon which I "fixate" is the right to life: of the unborn, the elderly, and all those in-between. I will judge a candidate based on his or her stance regarding abortion, and I will not support anyone who is pro-abortion.

It's not a matter of whether the issue is applicable to the office for which they are a candidate. It's a matter of defining the candidate's character...it informs his or her outlook on every other issue.

It's often said in the church that people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. I don't care what your views are on the federal budget deficit or US immigration policies or school vouchers, until I know what your views are on giving babies the right to be born.

I feel strongly enough about this to put my money where my mouth is. I'm getting enough requests to design websites for political candidates that I've put up a new page on my site to discuss my services in this area. One of the sections on that page is a list of considerations regarding who I will and will not work for, and one of those considerations is that I will not design a website for a pro-choice candidate.

So, yeah...I'm a single issue voter. The way I see it, if American continues down this path of removing protections from those least able to protect themselves, we'll eventually cease to exist as a nation, and a federal budget deficit will be the least of our problems.

Photo of Sarah Marie Switzer undergoing intrauterine surgery in 1999 for spina bifida surgery at 23 weeks' gestation. She was born two months later, in good health.

It's GOOD to be ADHD!

I worked on 15 websites yesterday...starting at 6:30 am, ending at 11:00 pm. Plus PHP class, two dog walks, dinner/movie with friends. Only seven sites today...but the day's young. And PHP has me tied in knots.

Blogging? What's that?

Whistling in the Graveyard

This just in from the Wall Street Journal:

I'm sure that if this takes place, Cingular's service center in Midland will actually be enlarged to accommodate the new customer base. After all, who ever heard of a merger causing companies to close major offices in Midland? The very concept is laughable.

Hmmm. I don't hear any laughter out there.

CWEI Stock: Do You Feel Lucky?

Local oil and gas independent Clayton Williams Energy Inc. (CWEI) has enjoyed an impressive — nay, amazing — run-up in stock value this year. From a 52-week low of $10.30/share last April, the stock price has appreciated about 350%, closing at $36.49 yesterday. The following chart, courtesy of the Wall Street Journal, documents this phenomenon over the past 12 months:

12 month stock price - CWEI

So, what would you do today, if you owned a few thousand shares of CWEI?

As they say, past performance is not necessarily an indicator of future performance. At the same time, only a very foolish person would ignore the potential lesson illustrated by the following chart...a five-year graph of CWEI stock price:

60 month stock price - CWEI

West Texas Politics: Better than cable.

OK...I'm going for a record here: two consecutive political posts.

Owing to a previous promise, I must present the following quote without commentary. OTOH, it pretty much speaks for itself.

"Mr. Pickens" is, of course, the inimitable T. Boone.

One of the anonymous bloggers over at Jessica's Well also weighs in on the significance of this exchange.

Incidentally, here's the article that provides the entire context for the issue. It's an important one, too (the issue, not the article).

Leader or 1st Grade Teacher?

I read some of the excerpts from Paul O'Neill's whining memoirs of his [blessedly] short time in the Bush administration. Most people seem to be focusing their attention on the allegations of pre-9/11 Iraqi invasion plans, but I was struck by something much more relevant.

In this particular account (I tried to find a link, but couldn't), O'Neill made the following observations [considerably paraphrased]:

• Bush met with me once and I had a lot to discuss with him, and all he did was listen. It turned out to be a monologue.
• We were always frustrated because we never knew what Bush wanted us to do.
• When Bush attended cabinet meetings, he appeared to be "disengaged." He hardly ever asked any questions.

You know, I don't doubt a bit the veracity of O'Neill's observations. But what he obviously interpreted as weakness I see in a much different light. And I'm really surprised that O'Neill's background as a corporate executive didn't allow him to understand what he was observing.

It's called "leadership." Listening instead of talking. Expecting highly-paid, highly-qualified people to know their jobs and how to do them, to the point where you can focus on setting the vision, and they use their expertise to do the rest. Not getting so bogged down in the details that you can't set that vision.

O'Neill didn't want to work for a leader; he wanted to be back in the first grade.

Church History

Our church turned 118 years old yesterday. To put that into perspective, the US accepted a gift from France 118 years ago: the Statue of Liberty.

Our pastor had a great message about our church's legacy (and future) in west Texas, Midland and around the world. If you're interested, you can listen here.

Me, the Anti-Cool

It's official. I'm pretty sure I'm the least cool of Dawn Eden's blogging amigos, and by a large margin.

She's posted her ballot for the Village Voice's 2003 Music Critics' Poll. There are two polls, one for Pop and Jazz albums and one for Pop and Jazz singles. Out of the twenty songs she listed, I am familiar with...let's see, um...carry the one...yep, that would be zero, zip, nada, uh-uh, none. In fact, I recognized only ONE of the artists' names, that being Lou Christie, and I thought he was dead. I guess I was wrong about that, too, fortunately for Lou.

Sigh.

(I'll bet she doesn't have an "Elbow Bones and the Racketeers" LP, though. Not that that mitigates my extreme uncoolity.)

Deuce-and-a-Half Guys; Tampax Commercial

"Two and a Half Men" has just won the People's Choice Award for Best New Comedy. Watching this show is a guilty pleasure that I'll cop to. It has absolutely no redeeming social value, other than being funny as all get-out. Charlie Sheen is, in my humble opinion, one of the top three sitcom actors on TV today (and I would say that he's the best, but I really don't want to get into a huge flame war that leads to massive de-linking, threats of legal action and drive-by shootings. I'm still smarting from the last such episode.).

...

And, on an entirely unrelated note, except that it's something that showed on the same program, I just saw a commercial where a young lady uses a tampon to plug a hole in the hull of a rowboat.

OK, I realize that Arm & Hammer has done a wonderful job of pitching the multiple practical uses of baking soda (eg. refrigerator detox, dental hygiene, makeshift flux material for TIG welding), and this is a very legitimate market-expansion tactic for many consumer products. But, still...

BTW, I just made up the TIG welding thing.

Can they do this?

According to this report, the newest version of Photoshop contains secret technology that prevents us from counterfeiting $20 bills using that software.

I was going to conduct a real world test and report the results here, but I ran into a couple of problems, both related to the fact that I'm a freelance website designer. First, I can't afford Photoshop CS. Second -- and closely related -- I couldn't find a $20 bill. However, if they ever want to add anti-counterfeiting technology aimed at quarters and dimes, I'm ready and waiting to do the testing.

[Link tip courtesy of Gadgetopia.]

Analog Sci-Fi Mag Cover Art

I forget...have I ever pointed out my lovely collection of cover art from "Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact" magazine (1966-70)?

It's a work-in-progress, but the first two years have turned out nicely, I think. If you were a sci-fi geek like me in the 60s, perhaps this will bring back some pleasant memories.

NBC: Nothing But C___

You can fill in the blank of the subject line yourself, as long as you don't use anything complimentary.

I've made no secret of my disgust for the partisan leanings of some of the folks on The Today Show, Katie Couric in particular. But I continued to give the weekend edition the benefit of the doubt, since it tended to focus on softer stories that were harder to politicize.

This morning I realized that there's nothing that can't be politicized; there's no topic that NBC's morning hosts can't distort to an anti-Bush, liberal agenda.

Campbell Brown was at the helm (I should have heeded that warning flag to begin with) and she was interviewing Bill Nye, aka "The Science Guy," about Bush's pronouncements this week regarding a moon station and a manned mission to Mars. For someone who's supposed to be a gung-ho science advocate, Nye was surprisingly unwilling to acknowledge the excitement of the vision, and instead chose to nitpick details (even though none have been announced). For one thing, Nye feels there's nothing new to be learned by another moon mission. Then he dropped this little throwaway line regarding the potential cost of a moon mission: "The current Mars Rover mission cost only $100 million, about the same as one day of war in Iraq."

Brown and Nye went on to discuss why these proposed projects were "not very good ideas" (Campbell's exact words). But I didn't hear any additional remarks, because I switched channels, and I won't be back.

P.S. I must mention that the Campbell/Nye exchange came immediately after a pronouncement by the Cloned Guest Meteorologist of the Week that "global warming is no longer a theory; it's a fact." According to him, global warming is to blame for record high temps, record low temps, record drought and record rainfall totals. Wow. Lord of the Meteorological Theories...One Paradigm to Rule Them All.

Big Fish

OK, just for the record, let me tell you what kinds of movies I like, by giving you a representative sampling:

• Tremors (1, 2 & even 3)
• Starship Troopers
• Silverado
• Time Bandits
• A Boy and His Dog
• Platoon
• Lake Placid
• POTC
• Clear and Present Danger
• Joe vs. The Volcano

I think I've made my point. Nowhere in that list do you see movies about feelings or emotions or bonding with the father you never really knew until it's almost too late.

That's why I'm mystified as to why my future lists will have to include Big Fish.

Frankly, the only reason we decided to see BF was (1) we had a craving for popcorn, and (2) The Last Samurai wasn't showing early enough to accommodate that craving. Neither of us knew anything about BF other than it was directed by Tim Burton. I think I was expecting something of a wild ride. I wasn't disappointed in that respect, but it was so -- SO -- much more.

I don't want to say anything more about the plot. And, really, all I can share is that this movie was something of an emotional MOAB. After it ended, there was absolutely no conversation from our fellow moviegoers. People filed silently out of the theater, trying to assimilate what they just saw.

I was just trying to compose myself, as was my wife. Neither of us could even comment on the movie during the drive back to the house, fearful of not being able to hold back the emotion.

The thing is, this was a hilarious movie in many respects. It was a FUN movie, mostly. But, in the end, it was simply a powerful movie. If this intrigues you, by all means, go see it and decide if I'm right, or just off my rocker.

The only practical advice I'll share with you might seem kind of strange, but here it is: if you've lost a loved one recently -- if you're still a little raw and tender from that loss -- consider carefully if you're ready for this movie. It could be therapeutic; it might be painful. It most assuredly will be tearful...from both sorrow and joy.

Man...I need to go watch a football game.

Que Sera, Sarah?

One of my fondest memories of the 2002 Winter Olympics was watching 16-year-old Sarah Hughes win the gold medal in women's figure skating. She skated with such joyful abandon that you couldn't help but share her wide-eyed grin. She was the next Peggy, the next Dorothy.

So, when I heard the results from today's short program in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, I was puzzled by the absence of her name. I was obviously out of touch.

Turns out that Sarah has stopped skating and is now a "regular student" at Yale, Class of 2007. And it sounds like she's bringing the same enthusiasm to her academic pursuits that she did to skating. Good for her. I applaud her desire to regain some balance in her life.

And good for us, too, that she envisions an eventual return to skating, possibly in time for the 2006 Olympics. The odds are stacked against her, of course, but I have a feeling that Sarah still has some joy and abandon in reserve. I can't wait.

Julie's Lost It!

Julie Neidlinger's completely lost it...well, almost. Her hair, that is. But, it's for a good cause. Go see the photos!

And wish her a happy 30th birthday while you're there!

Oil & Gas Reserves Estimates: Science, Art & Magic

In response to my earlier post about Royal Dutch/Shell's decision to write down its proved reserves by 20%, my pal Daniel over at Behind the Wall of Sleep left this comment:

Daniel is referring to something that occurred about five or six years ago, when a Canadian company called Bre-X announced that it had discovered one of the largest deposits of gold in the world, in the jungles of Borneo. The alleged discovery eventually turned political, with the government of Indonesia getting involved, and finally the American company Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold was brought in to be a third-party objective project manager. (Daniel no doubt remembers this because FM is a Louisiana company, right there in Daniel's swamping grounds.) Anyway, it turned out that there was little or no gold and Bre-X collapsed under the weight of public opinion (investors are so fickle, you know?). Here's an interesting summary of the scandal, if you care to learn more.

Having refreshed my memory about the Bre-X scandal, I have to respectfully disagree with Daniel in that this was conscious fraud, compounded by corporate greed, from the get-go. In the case of Shell's writedown, however, I don't see the same smoking gun. Now, I do agree that corporate greed is probably a factor, but not in the obvious way that we see in many business scandals.

No, Shell's situation is hardly scandalous, as it simply reflects the reality of the difficulties in projecting the value of oil and gas reserves. The engineering challenges coupled with internal corporate politics make reserves estimates a game that's hard to win.

Let me say right off that I'm not a petroleum engineer, but I spent the better part of 15 years working alongside of engineers as they evaluated oil and gas reserves, and with management as it secondguessed and/or blessed those evaluations. So I feel pretty confident that a reservoir engineer for a major oil company wouldn't have much problem with this statement: you never really know how much oil (or gas) is in a given reservoir until you've plugged the last well and tallied up the production. (And even that's not true, as there will always be hydrocarbons left in an abandoned field...sometimes significant amounts. The abandonment decision is rarely based solely on how much oil or gas is left. But that's another post.)

If you're not from an oil-producing region, you may not realize that oil and gas is not found in a big underground lake, where you can drill down and just suck it up through a bunch of steel straws. Hydrocarbons are trapped in the pores of solid rock and those pores are often microscopic in size. We don't have time or space to delve into the intricacies of how oil and gas is produced from this rock; suffice it to say that it's a fascinating feat of engineering, physics and geology.

The real trick is, of course, to guess the size of that section of rock containing the oil. Then you have to guess how much oil is trapped in the rock's pores, and how much you can expect to recover, given some very strong natural tendencies of the rock to hang onto the oil. And, finally, you have to figure out how quickly you can pump out the petroleum...and "as quickly as possible" is not the right answer. Contrary to logic, those rock reservoirs can be quite fragile, and many a good oilfield has been ruined by failure to treat it with the equivalent of kid gloves during the producing stage.

But that's just the beginning of the reserves estimation process. It's not enough to produce oil and gas; you have to produce it profitably (darn those stockholders!). That means being able to estimate such "simple" things as: the price you'll receive for future production; the future costs involved in developing the field (capital investment); the future costs of producing and transporting the oil and gas; future tax rates imposed by all the various governmental entities that want a piece of the action; the amount of overhead burden the corporation is going to saddle your group with (remember, we're talking about a major oil company here). Oh, did I mention that by "future," I mean up to 40 years or longer?

As you might imagine, an error in one of these estimates can affect the outcome, but taken in aggregate, the potential for compounding of errors is significant.

Then there are the "soft" factors that play into the equation. At some point in the past, it's a certainty that your executive management has made a commitment to the stock analysts about reserves additions and the percentage of current production that your company will replace via new reserves. You, as a lowly reservoir engineer, have no idea where the numbers behind this commitment came from; all you know is that it's a huge number and it's your job to achieve the goal.

It's important to make that reserves goal, because the stock market expects it. But it's even more important because incentive bonuses and stock options are depending on it. And not just for the executives, although they surely get the lion's share. But every major oil company has an incentive bonus program that extends throughout the ranks, and reserves replacement is part of the computation (in some form or fashion) that determines your bonus and that of your co-workers.

In addition, your estimates are subject to a long line of second-guessers and tweakers, as the numbers move up the line and are aggregated with those from other producing fields and projects and operating divisions and subsidiaries. At each step of the way, because of the aforementioned "soft factors," any adjustments in numbers will almost surely be made in a mindset of "imposed optimism." At one level, 9.45 is legitimately rounded up to 9.5; at the next level, 9.5 is deemed to be meaninglessly precise...let's make it a nice round 10. And so on. Apply this optimism to all the components of the estimate, and then to the estimate itself, and you'll clearly see how easily the numbers get inflated, with absolutely no single person along the way taking an intentionally fraudulent or misleading step.

Sure, every publicly traded company has a series of checks and balances and audits and reviews that should mitigate these tendencies. That's apparently how Shell discovered the current situation. But these are times of endless cost-cutting and "productivity-enhancements" (fewer people doing more work), and quality control isn't exactly optimized.

So, every now and then the estimating errors and unintentional biases and irrational exuberance catches up to you, and if you're someone like Shell, you own up to it, take your licks and move on. A few people will get demoted or assigned to Uzbekistan; there may even be a firing or two. But in the end, it still comes down to how much oil and gas you can coax out of that rock, and you'll never know for sure until it's over.

When is a Deal not a Deal?

Lea Fastow let the noon deadline pass today without accepting the plea bargain that was presented to her, and thus will go to trial on February 10 for her role in the Enron scandal.

Can't say as I blame her. The deal offered her by federal prosecutors looked on the surface to be acceptable, if not appealing: five months jail time. But closer inspection reveals that this "deal" was really a pig in a poke for Ms. Fastow. The presiding judge refused to be bound by the five month sentence, instead reserving the right to impose more jail time. And a Houston TV station reports that the judge has already stated that five months probably isn't enough, given the charges against her.

Whatever she may be, Lea Fastow is no dummy, and she recognizes a stacked deck when she sees it. She and her defense team no doubt came to the conclusion that her chances will be better in front of a jury -- who will be presented with significant testimony regarding her young children and the seriousness with which she takes her maternal responsibilities -- than with a judge who already seems to have hangin' on his mind.

Sheesh. Haven't these guys ever watched "Law and Order"?

Shell Cuts Oil & Gas Reserves by 20%

In the oil and gas business, this story is the equivalent of "Existence of UFOs Confirmed by US Government." It's huge, and I don't remember ever seeing a similar announcement.

It's one thing to write off your investment in a big exploration project where you rolled the dice and came up snake eyes, or to announce that a tricky technological play (remember the Canadian tar sands projects of the late 70s/early 80s?) isn't going to be economic after all, but the announcement by Royal Dutch/Shell seems to indicate a more widespread systemic reserves estimation problem. The company got hammered in the overseas markets immediately following the announcement, and you can look for that to continue. I wouldn't be surprised to see some ripple effects in other international oil and gas stocks, like BP (bad news for my portfolio...again), ChevronTexaco and Exxon (the latter two being big partners in the Gorgon gas project in Australia, the biggest project being written down by Shell).

Energy stocks have made a remarkable recovery over the past six months, but this news is liable to be a major setback to that trend, despite the continuing strength in oil and gas prices. The energy market is characterized by jitteriness, more so, in my opinion, than almost any other segment. People are just hunkered down, waiting for the bad news that they feel is inevitable. Shell's announcement is exactly the sort of thing they need to justify their pessimism.

Update [20:52]: Well, I wasn't too far off on my prediction about the market's reaction to this announcement. Royal Dutch Shell's stock dropped almost 8%, ExxonMobil's dropped 1.5% and ChevronTexaco's dropped just over 1%. Thankfully, I missed the prediction with regard to BP, as it was actually up a penny. What I didn't know at the time of my original post was that neither Chevron nor Exxon had booked any proved reserves in conjunction with the Gorgon Gas Project, and therefore would not have to follow Shell's lead in the reserves writedown. In that respect, my observation about the market's jitters was also affirmed; both companies were apparently unfairly tarred by the brush directed at Shell.

HDTV: Exposing the Ugly Side of Beauty

If you're a regular guy (or gal) like me, you just love stories like this one in today's Wall Street Journal: "High-Definition TV Causes Worry Lines For Stars, Producers; New Wrinkle: The Technology Puts More Focus on Flaws; Blemish Becomes Volcano."

The story gives some examples of various trompe d'oeil techniques to fool the viewer into thinking that sets and actors are better-looking than they really are.

Hugh Hefner must be very proud.

Anyway, we can be forgiven a minor indulgence in schadenfreude, as we contemplate that, perhaps, beauty IS a curse...particularly when it relies on someone else's skill to make it a reality. So while the actors and actresses point their glazed, airbrushed faces (unflinching, of course, to keep the façade from splintering) toward this brave new world, the makeup artists and set designers can rub their hands in gleeful contemplation of swelling banks accounts. Score another one for the little guy!

The Happy Crumpeter*

Proving once again that I shall go to any lengths to provide useful culinary recommendations to my loyal readers, I have immersed myself in the hoity-toity world of British breakfast pastries, and I bring you glad tidings of great joy: crumpets are the cat's meow!

I rejoice in breakfast; it's my favorite meal of the day, and I enjoy a wide variety of morning consumables: regional faves like huevos rancheros and migas; down-home delights like biscuits and red-eye gravy and aigs fried in bacon-grease; upper-crust creations such as scones, English muffins and bagels-and-lox (not that we ever have any of the latter worth writing about here in Mid-Land). The only thing I draw the line at is menudo, for reasons which I shan't document here.

I now add the crumpet to the list of A-OK breakfast provisions. I always thought that crumpets were more cookie-like..."crumpets and tea" just conjured visions of a delicate butter cookie. But if Wolferman's is authentic (and I don't doubt that it is), a crumpet is actually more like a working man's English muffin: a tad denser and more compact, perhaps just a bit sweeter, and just a little less chewy. Don't be fooled by its resemblance to a frozen toaster pancake (the creation of which is a crime against humanity deserving of the most severe sanctions).

They're also pretty nutritious, compared to some alternatives (Krispy Kreme comes to mind). The plain crumpets from Wolferman's are 90 calories each, all carbs (sorry, Atkins Apologists). Of course, I can't leave well enough alone; the temptation to slather them with butter as soon as they pop from the toaster is just too great.

If you prefer a sweeter topping, you'd do well to consider another Wolferman's product, their Raspberry Curd. It's sweet-tart and creamy, and makes your run-of-the-mill jellies and jams seem like something you'd find in a little peel-open plastic container at the end of a school cafeteria line.

I think that about covers it. Let's see...lunch in 90 minutes...hmmm...did I mention that crumpets are great for dessert, too?

*A tip of the stetson to Bert Kaempfert for penning "The Happy Trumpeter" waaaaay back in 1962!

What Corporate Websites Can Learn From Blogs About Search Ranking

There's been a lot of talk lately about how blogs are ruining search results. It's all anecdotal, with little actual research to back up those claims. Until now, that is.

In the latest issue of Digital Web Magazine, Brandon Olejniczak introduces us to a project undertaken by Microdoc News to test the premise that "personal websites" are disproportionately represented in Google search results.

Microdoc's researchers did 5,000 searches on Google using words and phrases from AllTheWeb's "Recent Queries" page (Google has no similar report), then counted the number of blogs which appeared in the top 5 and top 10 results. The outcome was not surprising, at least not to me. In this survey, blogs appeared in the top 5 less than 2% of the time, and in the top 10 less than 3% of the time.

In addition, in an admittedly subjective bit of analysis, blogs which appeared high in the rankings were deemed to "add value" to the search results almost 84% of the time.

The results are interesting and I recommend reading the short report linked above. But I want to return to Brandon's DigitalWeb article, because he makes an excellent point which from a design perspective is really more important than the issue of whether blogs are overrepresented in search engine results. His point is that if blogs are well represented, it's because of their inherent design strengths and not because of any weakness in search engine methodology.

Most blogs are simply oozing with the characteristics that search engines find attractive: frequent updates, clean layout, text-heavy, non-Flash/non-PDF content, meaningful headings and titles and focused articles. A blogging template is a virtual pheromone to a search engine spider.

This isn't rocket science, folks, yet these simple rules are consistently ignored by many (MANY!) otherwise savvy commercial websites. The lesson is simple: if you want to get better search rankings, be more like a blog. Brandon goes so far as to suggest that perhaps more corporate sites should use blogging tools for their websites. I don't think I'd go that far, but the blogging templates do offer some easy and practical guides for search engine optimization.

If you're a corporate designer and you don't know how to take advantage of these resources, there are plenty of us out here in the blogosphere who can show you how to do it. And, for the most part, our consulting fees are quite reasonable: just spend an little time and read!

HTML Email: Need Some Advice

Hey, all you geeks and techies out there in blogland, I need some help. Do you have a tool, process or technique for creating complex HTML-formatted email?

I'm not talking about the simple formatting that most email programs have built into them. I need something that allows use of CSS in its most exotic incarnations. I can do most of what I need with tedious hand-coding, but I'd like to find something that's a little more efficient...that takes some of the drudgery out of the process.

Any pointers you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

Oh, and please spare me the lectures about how HTML email is the work of Satan and will lead to the end of civilization as we know it. The reason I want to use CSS is to avoid re-creating the worst aspects of such email (using images to produce effects that are easily done in CSS, for example). Thanks for understanding.

Hue Auto Be In Pictures

Years ago, I recall hearing a report claiming that red cars were involved in significantly more accidents than other-hued autos. The reasoning behind this phenomenon was that the color red seemed to bring out the aggression in drivers... those behind the wheel as well as those "competing" with them in traffic.

A less, um, romantic -- but more scientific -- interpretation is that red is one of the less visible colors. According to the AAA Foundation,

In any event, a recent research project in Auckland, New Zealand reveals some different conclusions. According to this study, silver vehicles are the safest, and brown, black and green vehicles are the least safe.

Now, one obvious question is whether the driving habits of pastoral Auckland are applicable in any fashion whatsoever to those in the frantic USA. I also wonder about the results if the study had been expanded to report all accidents, not just those where an occupant was either hospitalized or killed (a rather macabre bit of methodology, if you ask me).

Nevertheless, the fact that different colors mean different things and elicit different responses is indisputable. Color Matters is an extensive website devoted exclusively to exploring the role color plays in many aspects of our lives. One of the more interesting features is the Global Color Survey, a list of 20 questions which cover the waterfront, from " Which color do you associate with the deity (God) in your culture?" to " Which color do you associate with nausea?" According to the website, more than 30,000 people from around the world have taken the survey, and it's interesting to see how your personal preferences and perceptions match up with that "global sample."

Just for the record, in the survey results silver is the color most often associated with technology. Could it be that silver cars are therefore safer because of our modern, enlightened desire to revere and worship Technology, and therefore we avoid crashing into silver cars like devout Hindus would avoid collisions with cows? I smell a lucrative government research grant in the making!

Brain Stretching

I started a new online class on Monday, "Beginning PHP." It's offered through the International Webmasters Association/HTML Writers Guild (IWA/HWG), of which I'm a member. I've taken several of their courses in the past, and have generally been satisfied with what I've learned. And it's really cool to take something that you've acquired in an academic environment and immediately use it on a real-life, honest-to-gosh paying project.

This is the first programming course I've taken (outside of company-sponsored on-the-job training seminars) since, well...since the era when programming was accomplished using 80-column punch cards. <geezer>Why, I remember when you didn't have a decent program unless you had to use a dolly to cart the card stack to the reader. And there was only one reader for the whole durn building! I remember when we were charged by the CPU-second to access the mainframe, and I remember how excited we were when technology advanced to where we could use a Texas Instruments Silent 700 terminal instead of punch cards! You young whippersnappers don't know nothin' 'bout REAL programmin'!</geezer>

Ahh, the good old days...not. I don't know if I have the mental wherewithal to become a competent PHP programmer, but it's a blessing to have the opportunity to give it a shot. My perspective is simple; learning is like breathing...you really ought to be doing it pretty much all the time.

Fun With English

I don't normally forward emails, but I'm not above posting the occasional gem, in the hope that one of the remaining eight people on the earth who haven't seen it will stumble upon it here and be impressed. The following showed up in my mailbox before Christmas, and I consider it blogworthy on a cold and dreary January afternoon.

I'd like to give proper attribution to the original author, but it arrived without any identification.

Flash iPod Mini Just Announced

Steve Jobs is two hours into his keynote speech at MacWorld Expo in San Francisco, and he's just announced Apple's entry into the flash-based (as opposed to teeny hard drive) portable music player market:

Way cool. Flash-based players are the Next Big Thing.

Update: Here's the official scoop. However, now that the final specs are published, I find that the iPod Mini is not flash-based after all. It's just a smaller hard drive. I'm now officially confused about the flash announcement...

Update #2: Daring Fireball has a good analysis of the market dynamics for Apple's newest iPod.

Truth in Advertising Needed in Las Vegas

You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a talk show host who is gushing about the short-lived Britney/Jason wedding in Las Vegas. I suppose it's a Good Thing, in that it means that there aren't any significant world crises (other than the usual ongoing ones) that would bump such a non-story into the well-deserved dustheap of irrelevancy.

Nevertheless, I'm thinking about filing a breach of promise class-action lawsuit against the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. After all, in their new ad campaign for the city, they assure us that "what happens here, stays here." Oh, how I wish that was the case!

Care to join me?

Things Your Mother Didn't Tell You About Blogging

Tom Mangan over at Prints The Chaff has a short-but-sweet post designed to stick a pin in the blogging balloon. Well, all he's really trying to do is to open the eyes of those poor suckers who think blogging is a quick and easy path to fame, power and riches. OK, I admit that it worked that way for me, but, you know, you're not me, and you're not likely ever to be. So go read Tom's post and get thee back to earth.

For the record, Tom's a real newspaperman, so he can be forgiven for his cynicism; he comes by it honestly. And his post was called to my attention by another real live journalist, Bryan, over at Arguing With Signposts, who has apparently rekindled his passion for posting, albeit at a significant cost to that pesky world peace plan.

Death Contemplated, Once Again

This morning I attended the graveside services for a man who committed suicide last week. I didn't know him very well; I had been around him only a few times in the past five years, and not at all for at least three. He was the ex-husband of a former co-worker; they were still married at the time I met him.

I've never been to a funeral for someone who took his own life. I know some of the details of the addiction that consumed his finances and destroyed his marriage, but I cannot begin to comprehend the personal demons that would not allow him to persevere. In the end, I suppose the pain was simply too great, the desire for rest too overwhelming.

I don't believe that suicide is a "mortal sin." Based on the words of the minister this morning, I believe that the man was a follower of Jesus, and though his final action has caused immense grief to his family and to the Holy Spirit, I also believe that he's now resting in the arms of his Savior. How sad it is that he couldn't find that solace in the presence of his loved ones on earth.

How happy it is that God's purposes for His children are ultimately redemptive in nature. Paul said, "to live is Christ; to die is gain." But Paul chose life, for as long as he could do so. That, I believe, is the far better way.

Stick a fork in 'em...

...OU's done. USC and LSU can argue about things for the next 12 months.

Half-Time Observations

Remind me again. Why is OU in the Sugar Bowl? Oh yeah; they won the Big 12, which will soon be 2-6 in bowl action this season.

But, as pitiful as the Sooners are looking, they be stylin' compared to Nokia, judging by the pitiful ad "serialization" featuring that Real American Icon, Snoop Dogg. Who came up with that idea? (Now, having the TCU Horned Frog mascot as a recurring character was a stroke of genius, but not enough to save this stinker.) To add insult to injury, Nokia's ad agency has to live with the fact that their theme meme is now officially uncool.

Iranian Mullahs: Cruelty in Action

Jack Rich has a powerful indictment of the Iranian mullahs who decided that their hatred of Israel is greater than their love for their own people, with their decision to reject that nation's offer of humanitarian aid for the earthquake victims of Bam. Jack also points out the insistent decency of Israel's reaction to what would be called a snub if it wasn't a matter of life and death.

One has to wonder how much longer the people of Iran will tolerate such indifference by their rulers. How ironic it would be if the mullahs are ultimately consigned to crypts built, in effect, by their own hands from the rubble of Bam. How ironic if this earthquake levels not just a city, but also a regime.

Wading Children and Swimming Elephants

I was operating a TV camera in our worship service this morning, so I didn't catch much of what the pastor said in his message entitled "Who is Jesus Christ?", but this phrase did stick with me:

This quote is attributed to Dr. Leon Morris. It captures the truth that John's account of the Good News can speak to us on many levels. It can communicate the simplest, most basic truths of sin and salvation to the unsaved "seeker." It speaks of the nuturing love that moves the new Christian along the path of discipleship. And it contains deep philosophical and theological statements that can challenge the most studied and mature believer.

I think this applies to the entire Bible. We began a study of the book of Proverbs this morning in Sunday School, and verse 7 of the first chapter contains this familiar statement:

To me, this means that the most educated and knowledgeable person is still not truly wise until he or she can use that knowledge within the context of God's will. And the ability to understand God's will is given to each of us, regardless of IQ or bank account or the plethora of initials after our names. It's in the words of Scripture, which are as deep as the Marianas Trench, and as transparent as a child's wading pool.

As Steven Curtis Chapman put it:

The Living Water is fine; come on in!

"Brokenhearted Joy"

I'm a day late in noticing it, but Thinkling Bill points us to a great online article by Dr. John Piper. In this short essay, Piper attempts to describe the proper attitude Christians are to have toward the secular society in which they sojourn:

Bill focuses on another quote from the article, and I think it's good enough to repeat:

I recommend reading the whole thing.

On a semi-related note, I jumped over to Piper's Desiring God Ministries website. (BTW, I'm continually amazed at how much is going on in Minneapolis!) Any ministry that has a webpage entitled "Don't Give Us Your Tithe" deserves a second look. I've always been a firm believer in providing support to worthy "para-church" ministries (for lack of a better term), but I also believe that my tithe should go to my local church, and any additional financial support should be above and beyond the tithe. God may have led you to a different understanding of your financial stewardship, and that's fine. The main thing is to clear it with Him in advance.

Southern Vocabulary

At the risk of initiating a world-killing trackback death spiral, I refer you to this post over at The Fat Guy's joint, where he skillfully inserts the word "tump" into a sentence about lattes.

I've used "tump" as a verb for years without thinking about it, but I'm not sure I've ever seen it in writing. And upon seeing it, I now wonder about its etymology (score another for my "big words" New Year's resolution!). My guess is that it's a combination of tumble and bump, but that's just me. So I went a'googlin' to see if there was a more scholarly explanation.

The American Heritage Dictionary's entry for tump seemed to indicate that I wasn't that far afield, although it was hardly definitive (pun intended!), saying that the etymology was probably akin to tumble.

But what I thought was extremely cool, showing that someone either has a sense of humor, or is pretty dang good at pinpoint marketing, was the sponsoring ad that showed up in the right margin of the page.

How'd they know that anyone interested in the word "tump" would be from Texas? Brilliant!

Calendar Worlds

I dreamed last night that Hillary Clinton was the antichrist. Really. But that's neither here nor there; what I really want to talk about is calendars.

I realized this morning that I've finally slipped the last vestiges of the surly bonds of corporate indenture. For the first time in two decades, I've entered the new year without a Month-At-A-Glance™ desktop calendar.

In the past, by November, or early December at the latest, I would have procured a fresh new calendar, a clean slate for the upcoming year, onto which I would record the shorthand that described my working life, and more. I can rustle back through the old calendars, peeling away layers of my career like sifting through an archaeological dig, and reconnect with those events I deemed significant enough to mark as milestones. My desktop calendar was a lo-tek anchor of stability in an otherwise constantly changing world.

But I forgot about it this year.

Frankly, my passion for the desktop calendar had been waning. When I started working from home a couple of years ago, I began keeping a Palm software calendar, in addition to the paper version. The inefficiency of keeping duplicate calendars won out over the fear of losing everything to a software meltdown, and I began recording fewer and fewer events on paper. In fact, about the only thing I recorded in 2003 was rainfall measurements from my backyard gauge. (You have to live in the desert to understand. And, knowing your curiosity, we ended the year with 10.8", none of which fell in December.)

So I suppose it was inevitable that I would finally move completely to the software calendar. It makes sense, logically. But, emotionally, it's harder to accept. My old month-at-a-glance calendars could just as well have been labeled "life-at-a-glance." There's something comforting about being able to flip pages and re-live the past in such short order, like the fast-forward scenes in "The Time Machine." You can move quickly past the entries reading "Funeral - 2pm," or dwell on those like "MIA to Bonaire - 3:15pm departure (don't forget passport)," depending on your mood. The sterile pixels of the online version don't seem to have the same ability to re-create the mood.

Perhaps in ten years I'll regret my choice to do away with the treeware calendar. But, if that's the biggest regret I have in ten years, I'll gladly put up with it.

Good Beginning

The new year is off to a propitious start. (No, I don't really know what "propitious" means, but one of my unofficial New Year's resolutions is to use more big words.) We slept in this morning, which for us means until 7:30 a.m., ate a leisurely breakfast, read the paper and watched some of the Rose Bowl Parade (including the 12 seconds that the combined Odessa/Permian high school bands were on camera). Abbye then took us for a walk, after which we headed out for a bike ride.

It was our first tandem ride since mid-November, and it felt good to be out together. The weather was almost ideal -- lower 60s, mostly light winds (and those were at our backs on the return trip), and mostly sunny. Judging by the other dozen or so riders we saw during the 20 mile jaunt, we weren't the only ones resolving to make 2004 a cycling year.

I hope your new year is suiting you equally well thus far.