Very pink.
“Play Safe Thong.” In the words of an old friend, “There’s too much di-sease out there, honey.” Accent on the second syllable.
File under “ounce of prevention.”
Rob Galbraith:
Preview of the new Nikon D2H digital camera. “... Nikon has set out to build not just a camera that matches the sexier specifications of the EOS-1D, but one that stomps all over its Canon competitor in the thoroughness of its design.”
And a beauty it is, too.
What to do with my excess cholla.
Edible no risk plant harvesting. I don’t exactly call dicing with cactus spines ‘no risk,’ unless one is wearing armored gauntlets. But it’s a thought. I’ve got a lot of cholla still to clear on my property.
The Economist:
Two articles of note. First, ‘The Morning After,’ on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s candidacy. “The smart money is still on Mr Schwarzenegger.” It’ll be a good gauge of the Economist’s accuracy going in to 2004.
Also, ‘Manifest Destiny, warmed up?’, continuing the discussion on the tired old saw of American imperialism. I don’t think imperialism is the point; you don’t need to run the world. Merely control the most important resources. Hard to take imperialism seriously when China holds most of our debt, eh?
FYI.
Just on a personal note, the heat wave broke about the same time I took this weblog down. The monsoon season has been a bit late, but full-bodied, roaring through just about every afternoon with a loud gullywasher. The piñon trees are sprouting young green ends on their branches, the parched foliage is recuperating, and our traditionally-brown grass is getting that well-watered olive tinge.
Reuters:
Cable TV networks pull Schwarzenegger films. Might I make a suggestion? “Raw Deal.” It’s a howler. So very bad. My favorite line: “You should not drink and bake.”
Santa Fe New Mexican:
The Tex-Exodus update ... Republicans vote to fine absent Democrats. Someone in Texas should set up a Paypal donation site.
Santa Fe New Mexican:
Drum destined for WIPP catches fire. “We’ve vented dozens already without incident.” Oh, that’s comforting. Nothing like the smell of burning plutonium in the morning.
Santa Fe New Mexican:
“Santa Fe Municipal Judge Frances Gallegos says she’ll no longer assign defendants to a defensive-driving class taught by the court administrator because the controversy detracts from more important initiatives—- like tai chi.”
Going Live!
There’s a lot yet to be done, and I’m not satisfied with anything yet, because there’s been little time. This design has been ‘in the can’ for a while, a mild modification of the MT standard template. I felt the need for something brighter, cheerier, simpler. I felt the old site was carrying too much baggage; the ‘virtual projection of my physical self’ was not reflecting my current state of mind. I’m really looking forward to having the extended format to allow more discursive posts when the muse hits, without overweighting the index page. Titles still bug me, but I think I’ve got them tamed to where they’ll fit in my normal flow. It’ll make commenting a bit odd with multiple posts from the same source, but I think it’ll be O.K.
On to the technical: Navigation will probably end up back on the right; feels odd on the left. The archives are online (talk about baggage!), and a subset of the Image Galleries. It’s enough to start with. Let me know if there are any obvious breakages. The style sheet is a bloody train wreck, but it seems to work in IE6, Firebird, Opera, Mac IE 5.1.6 ... so I think I’m safe until I have time to pretty things up.
I’ll be too busy to post anything of substance for the next few days, so thanks for your patience. Still moving other client sites, checking for craziness.
[And yes, your eyes don’t deceive. Initial caps. A real RSS file. Don’t get too giddy; I’ve had no time to seriously fiddle and destroy anything ... yet.]
Santa Fe New Mexican:
New Mexico a ‘Poster Child’ for water crisis. “I’m not sure the public understands how serious the problem is.” Well, I’m not sure the politicians do, either ...
New York Times, Maureen Dowd:
Blah, Blah, Blog. “It could be amusing if the pols posted unblushing, unedited diaries of what they were really thinking, as real bloggers do.”
Just testing to see extended entries.
First “Entry” in Movable Type.
I feel like I’ve traded my jacked-up, nitrous-oxide 50’s Studebaker pickup (dropping parts on the road every time I fire it up), for a sleek new Triumph motorcycle. I’m digging this. Though I will have to get used to putting titles on everything ... something I’ve never done before.
The style of my weblogging will change a little bit. With the change in design, and the re-introduction of initial caps, some will believe there’s been a sea-change in philosophy. Hardly the case. You’ll find I haven’t changed ... this weblog is now simply reflecting a different flavor of my online mind. It’s been WAY too long since my last redesign ... and I’ve been itching to do it. Not that this is anything ground-breaking, mind you ... but it’ll do for a bit. I needed some color.
Monday, December 27, 1999.
Back to work!
Working out scheduling for this week, and for the first weeks of 2000 with my clients.
More later.
Sunday, December 26, 1999.
Time magazine has announced Albert Einstein as ‘Person of the Century.’
Growing up in Princeton, we all lived with Einstein and his legacy. One of the favorite stories in town involves his sailing excursions on Lake Carnegie. He loved to sail, but couldn’t swim. During the war years the Secret Service would follow him along the banks of the lake, to make sure he didn’t drown.
There was an unwritten rule in town ... you drove VERY slowly. Oppenheimer, Einstein, von Neumann and others had the habit of getting into very deep discussions, and not looking where they were going. You didn’t want to be the person who ran over one of our country’s leading thinkers!
If you ever get the chance, visit the grounds of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. A beautiful large lawn out in front, with a circle drive, the pathworn woods behind. Princeton has changed mightily, but that area still remains much as it did when einstein walked to the institute from his home.
All these years later, you’ll still feel the buzz in your synapses.
You will find that the intelligentsia in Princeton are more impressed these days with the mathematician John von Neumann. Not many people realize he’s buried in Princeton Cemetery. His speed of thought (able to calculate complex equations in his head in seconds) are the stuff of legend. He apparently would work it all out in his head first, then write it down!
His “Theory of Games and Economic Behavior” still has wide-reaching effects. The aspiring mathematician is not the one behind the chess board ... he/she is the one playing poker.
Saturday, December 25, 1999.
It’s snowing ... heavy flurries, no accumulation.
But it’s Xmas snow!
Back to basting the turkey ...
Friday, December 24, 1999.
Well, it’s cold and sunny. snow’s lingering from the storm we had a couple of days ago. We’ll call it a ‘half-white’ Christmas.
Big event today, the Farolito Walk up Canyon Road this evening.
Time to play with Manila some more!
12:30AM MST, Xmas Day:
Merry Xmas, one and all! Can’t flip the home page, because the server’s in PST!! Merry Xmas to all, and to all a good night!
Thursday, December 23, 1999.
The moon was *very* bright last night. IO stood outside and could read text!
Day Two of experimentation with Manila. Stay tuned.
Well, I didn’t get to do much with this site today. Interesting, however, that the CSS I programmed for this site didn’t work especially well with Netscape. Remove the #px line-height measurements, and everything works again. Just goes to show ... we really do need standards in our browsers.
Well, everyone’s happy now ... onward!
Oh, and one last comment. You can’t respond to items in the discussion group unless you become a member of this site! Sneaky way to glean contact information, but hey, it works.
First Post - Wednesday, December 22, 1999.
OK. I’ve got the graphic I want on top.
Now how the heck do I get a different colored background behind the calendar?
What’s that you say? Read the manual?
