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October 30, 2006 I'm not sure why or even when I put Heights in my Netflix queue. Probably in part because it's the next to last Merchant Ivory production. Even after it arrived, I let the disc sit for more than a week before popping it in. But I did finally watch it this afternoon. Great little find. Though with its cast, I'm not sure the term little applies. Regardless, you should add it to your queue as well.
11:47 PM
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October 24, 2006 I know next to nothing about science. Oh sure, I can throw around words such as nucleotide and peptide. But do I understand them? Of course not. Doesn't stop me from feeling oh so proud of my niece Cyanna though. She's competing this week as one of the top 40 young scientists. Just don't ask me to explain what her project means.
05:31 AM
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October 17, 2006 I don't understand this country. Big surprise I know but bear with me. Normally I see pretty much eye-to-eye with The New York Times. But I just experienced a mental knee jerk reaction after reading its spin on the 80 mph speed limit introduced in west Texas. The writer subtly trotted out the hoary speed kills attitude. Why not flat earth and boogeyman under the bed? Decade after decade, the speed-unlimited German autobahn system sees fewer deaths per mile driven than than our interstates. But don't make the mistake of thinking that no speed limit means unenforced. Instead of focusing on speed, German enforcement concentrates on behaviors that cause accidents. Proper use of signals, drive-right-pass-left and tailgating all see heavy fines. The autobahns also get better maintenance than our roads. Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating unlimited speeds here. Our driver training, road design and maintenance, and vehicle standards don't support it now. Probably never will given the populist backward thinking. However, the 80 MPH limit should be more of the rule than the exception. Many stretches of rural interstate were intended for speeds of 85 MPH when they were designed more than 50 years ago. I find the debate stupid. Worse though is the reporting in the original article. Instead of a few uninformed quotes that clearly support a pre-determined agenda, why not find some real facts that challenge false assumptions?
07:17 AM
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October 13, 2006 I might have to buy a Red nano. Though the hot pink one remains tempting just because.
08:54 PM
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October 05, 2006 You know what makes me crazy today? The Marie Antoinette tv spot where the voiceover actually says, "Based on a true story." Duuuuhhhh. Even though the actual trailers don't commit the sin and look gorgeous, I have a knee-jerk reaction against seeing the film. At least until I can Netflix it.
11:39 PM
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October 04, 2006 I love to travel. New people. Sights. Places. But more and more I loathe the journey. Air travel, domestic in particular, has degenerated to the point that I'd just as soon stay home most of the time. Lunacy reigns in ways both large and small. From the officially-sanctioned harassment that masquerades as security to the airlines where nothing seems to matter except low price. The latter was driven home this weekend when two friends from New York showed up in town unexpectedly. We were delighted to see them but appalled to find out that Jet Blue had forced them to fly from JFK to Oakland by way of Boston. Not because seats weren't available on the many daily nonstops. Rather it was cheaper. How in the world can anyone rationalize adding four hours to a trip not to mention several hundred pounds of jet fuel? Next time don't leave home, even with it.
07:56 AM
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October 03, 2006 Why am I not surprised? Oh yeah, I've been in those Redmond conference rooms when decisions like that one are made. |
