Happiest place on earth?

Well, here I am in Orange County. Yesterday we went to Disneyland. We meant to go the entire 14 hours, but were so exhausted by 10 p.m. that we had to go back to the hotel. I guess we're all just getting old. We'll have some "before and after" pictures up on the Web site soon.

Today, Chad and Susan are going to Magic Mountain while Andrea and I go to California Adventure. Chad is more gung-ho on the rides at Magic Mountain, but Andrea's not much of a roller coaster person, so we figured it would be easier to split up for the day. I actually like the complete Disneyland experience -- the shops, the thematic details, etc. -- so the idea of Magic Mountain never really thrilled me. (I did want to ride that new roller coaster, The Goliath, though.) We're planning to take today a lot slower, meandering around the park rather than going from ride to ride. Hopefully we won't be as tired. California Adventure is a much smaller park, too, so we'll probably be able to see more of it.

I think this trip is going to hot my wallet pretty hard. I forgot how quickly everything adds up. But I'd say the experience is well worth the money.

Meet Frankenchicken

Naked chicken may ruffle feathers

This is weird...

Because a simple hijacking would have been OK...

Rice: Pre-Sept. 11 alert too general

WASHINGTON, May 16 — The Bush administration chose not to tell the public about a potential al-Qaida threat to hijack airliners a month before Sept. 11 because it did not want to risk shutting down civilian aviation “for very general warnings,” national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said Thursday.

...

Rice repeated the administration’s insistence that the al-Qaida information referred only to a general threat from bin Laden involving jetliners. She said Bush and U.S. intelligence did not know that suicide hijackers were specifically plotting to use planes as missiles, as they did against the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon.

Make that 5.2

Shake, shake, shake

I just experienced my second Northern California earthquake, the first since I moved here. Apparently, it was centered in Gilroy and measured 5.0 on the Richter scale. I'm fine.

Enron memos detail Calif. schemes

Enron memos detail Calif. schemes

Ah, so Enron DID benfit from energy policy. And this was while the conservatives were blaming California for last year's blackouts.

Ah, yeah. Top story on the MSNBC local news page. I did work hard on that story.

Carmel By-the-Sea

Andrea and I took a fun little day-trip to Carmel By-the-Sea today to relax and test out her new Minolta Dimage 7. Anyway, you can see the photos here.

Pollution battle moves to the states

One of the few reasons to love Califonia.

Little Jesus Dolls

This is wrong on so many levels.

The Empire Bounces Back

Let's hope this one is better than Phantom Menance. Double for the video games based on it.

CNN.com - Mr. Elmo goes to Washington

The apocalypse has arrived.

FDA panel backs nonprescription Claritin

Sweet!

Melee closes down theme park

The one day I decide to go to our crappy little excuse for a theme park, a riot breaks out. Sarah, Jeff and I got out minutes before the fun really began, but we did have several -- yes, several -- verbal run-ins with line-jumpers affiliated with the step-dance competition.

Come Home, McCain - The Washington Monthly and New Republic are right: McCain should run for president as a Democrat.

Interesting....

I just got out of jury duty, which is a big relief, since I came within one juror of being selected. (Here, potnetial jurors are questioned in groups, a process that stops when all 12 jurors plus one alternate have been selected.

It was actually kind of nice to not have to show up for work on deadline day. But it also means that I had only two stories in this weeks paper...

Researchers find 3,600-mile ant supercolony

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Woo-hoo! Off to the beach!

Study suggests how a pill could build muscles

I got really excited about this story until my girlfriend reminded me that "it's not a belly pill."

Darn, it looks like the Friday Five site is down today.

I know, I know. It's been a few days. I've been busy with another video project for church, which I needed to have ready to show today. I hope the folks in charge don't need any changes, because I was looking forward to spending Saturday in Santa Cruz at the beach.

In other news, our editor told us this morning that she'll be undergoing agressive cancer treatment. It sounds liek she'll be fine, but she'll lose her hair in the course of treatment, which must be weird. It was the first time I've ever seen one of my bosses cry.

Iran joins call for oil embargo

Yet another reason to push higher fuel standards.

Happy Easter, everyone!

My roommate got me a very sweet Easter card and a plastic egg filled with jelly beans and a certificate for Jamba Juice. Of course, this makes me look like a creep since I didn't get her or anyone else a thing for Easter.

Oh well, as she always says: "It's OK; you're a guy."

Here's a really cool group e-mail I got a few days ago from my friend Lisa. I never considered turning 30 a big deal, but I thought Lisa has some pretty insightful things to say here. And it reminded me how fortunate I am to have journalists as friends...

The big Three-Oh (No!)

....OR

Not going gently into the good night, czech style

This morning, March 26, I officially stopped clinging to the phrase “young adult;” ceased to be in that prized 18-29 demographic that gets all the cool test marketing gigs; and morphed into someone shifty, according to those even older folks who were alive in the 60s. (weren’t they the ones who said you should never trust anyone over 30?!)

So I’ve officially finished the first day of my fourth decade. Please send over-the-hill jokes, hair colorants and Depends undergarments. As well as the guide to how Early Bird specials work, and instructions on how to drive a mini-van. And DON'T remind me that at this age, Mozart only had five years of life left.

Actually, I haven’t really been fretting too much about this milestone, as it doesn’t feel that much different than 29. I certainly don’t *feel* as ancient as this age used to sound. Twenty-six, when you were officially closer to 30 than 20, smacked of much more calamity. Still, you just can’t escape the fact that no matter what, 30 comes with all this weird emotional baggage, no matter who you are, what you’re doing and what kind of lifestyle you’ve chosen. You’re supposed to have some things figured out by 30. I think we all do, to an extent, but you can’t help but wonder if it’s the right things…

I’ve decided all you can do is keep your sense of humor. A wonderful cousin who also recently turned 30 reminded me of this.

Was it brutal? I asked Jennifer of her passage to the no-longer-young side. “Puhleeze,” she says. “It’s so silly how people go around worrying about how old they are. Or saying they’re younger than they are. I go around saying I’m older than I am. I mean, for a 30-year-old, I look alright, but for a 37-year-old, I look hot!” (For the record, Jennifer looks pretty fabulous for a 30-year-old, too.)

Anyway, I do believe she’s right. It’s all how you choose to frame it. They say the 30s are supposed to be the decade when you come into your own. When you’ve established yourself; gone thru some trial and error to find your path, or at least a decent one. You’re supposed to have exchanged idealism for a more realistic picture of how the world works, and what you can accomplish in it. You’re finally considered wise enough to serve in Congress, and are even a desirable candidate to lead services on Jewish high holidays. (!) Apparently, one of the criteria in Jewish doctrine is to seek someone over 30, “because a 30-year-old has been humbled and broken-hearted, and can thus sincerely ‘pray from the heart.’"

Though I still like to believe I could do anything I wanted if I set my mind to it, it is true that, after my jading 20s (ha!), I’ve come to accept that some childhood dreams will probably never come to pass. They include: becoming president of the United States (yes, I realize this was a long shot, and that these few years out of the country has drastically torpedoed my chances!); dancing as a ballerina; and making an appearance on the Johnny Carson show as the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Ambassador (this one is actually in writing from the sixth grade!) I also probably will never figure out how to repopulate the wilds of China with panda bears, nor will I ever pull together that penguin pool for the backyard…(considering I’ve not yet *had* my own backyard…)

Speaking of backyards, there's these, I don't know, THINGS the world tells you you should be doing by now. Things like owning a single piece of furniture besides the papasan chair I recently sold; ascending some ladder some place; buying a house with the money from the ladder; and meeting a nice young man who will fix things in the house. (among other things...) And some nights, when I lose touch with my gut and my perspective -- like last night when I stayed up thinking about all this till 4 am -- I start to wonder if I’m off track.

But I was reminded by a wonderful friend in Prague today, that though life is short, it is also long, and there is plenty of time for such things if those of us exploring other options decide we *do* want to give them a try. And that we will appreciate them that much more -- they will be richer and sweeter -- for having taken this time to explore, seek adventures, and see what life looks like OFF the merry-go-round for a moment. Or maybe in building a whole different type of merry-go-round.

And anyway, there are still PLENTY dreams to tackle to in the next 30 years. I’m putting “weaseling my way into being the token white girl in a gospel choir” at the top of the list. I look forward to checking in with you at 60.

And being like a fine bottle of wine.

G’nite,

Lisa

Here's this week's Friday Five:

1. If you could eat dinner with and "get to know" one famous person (living or dead), who would you choose?
Abraham Lincoln, still the greatest U.S. persident.

2. Has the death of a famous person ever had an effect on you? Who was it and how did you feel?
Not really, but one of the few famous people I was sad to see die was comedian Phil Hartman, one of the funiest and most industrious actors of the 1990s. He starred in one of the funiest shows ever, News Radio, and made frequent appearances on The Simpsons among others.

3. If you could BE a famous person for 24 hours, who would you choose?
Conan O'Brien. Talk about a dream job.

4. Do people ever tell you that you look like someone famous? Who?
People have said Iook like Ethan Hawk and Jim Carey, which is odd since they don't even resemble each other.

5. Have you ever met anyone famous?
I once had dinner with a small group of people that included italian singer Andrea Bocelli, but he didn't seem too happy to see me. (Rimshot) I'll be in town all week, folks! Tell your friends about the show! Seriously, I really did have dinner with him.

Well here we are in Arizona. The fist night went well, and Andrea liked the Orange Blossom smell of Arizona spring.

It's here! Now I need to buy a wireless Ethernet bridge.

UPS Package Tracking
Status: In Transit
Scheduled Delivery: Mar 21, 2002
Shipped to: SAN JOSE, CA, US
Shipped or Billed on: Mar 18, 2002

That's right, folks. My ReplayTV should be here in a matter of minutes! I hope it's worth it. If I had known they were shipping it from Tempe, I would have just picked it up this weekend.

After nearly two years of banging my head against a wall, searching Microsoft's "knowledge base," scouring the newsgroups, upgrading twice and seriously contemplating deleting all my credit card account information and starting over, I've finally solved an extremely annoying problem with Microsoft Money.

The issue: despite setting my total monthly debt payments at a healthy, serious-about-paying-off-my-debt figure every month, my debt reduction planner was scheduling the minimum payments, which according to its own projections would extend the payments out through the year 2013, and then pay off the cards in one ridiculous lump-sum of $5,000 or so at the end. Obviously, the planner should have allocated my full intended monthly payment amount among the credit cards to pay the total off in a few years. No matter what I tried, I couldn't get the stupid thing to work right, and just guessed the payments myself every month. This is not a good idea for English majors, by the way.

The solution: I deleted my Macy's account, which had been acting weird and showed a credit, though I had not updated activity with Money for months (it's an Enron-style off-budget account). Problem solved; it's allocating the monthly payment just fine now.

While I didn't actually work on the issue continuously, I did keep looking for a solution every few months for at least two years. Finally, I feel like I've accomplished something great, when I should have just switched home-banking applications. Microsoft should thank its lucky stars that I liked the automatic online banking features so much, or the company would be $20 poorer. And then where would it be?

Senate passes campaign finance measure

Wow, this is big. I can't believe it passed.

I just got off deadline and feel like I've just gotten over college finals or something. Writing all day can really wear a person out.

Here are the Monterey pictures!

Is the weekend over already? I visited Monterey for the first time on Saturday and saw the real Cannery Row made famous by the John Steinbeck novel of the same name. I suppose "real" is relative there, since it's a tourist attraction now and every other building is a Steinbeck memorial. But it was pretty cool. I'll post pictures later today.

This week's Friday Five:

1. What's your favorite animal?
Dogs are great. I don't own one now, but I'd love to get one someday when I have my own house. Pardon the cliche, but there's no more loyal animal. If you're talking about exotic animals, lions and kangaroos are pretty cool, too.

2. What pets have you had in your lifetime?
Just the usual collection of housepets: Dogs, cats, a cockateel, hampsters, rabbits, a pony, a snake, a ferrit, 28 Polish chickens and four pigs named after family members.

3. Is there any specific pet that you've wanted but never had? Why?
Monkeys, because they're so facinatingly human-like. It's weird to see such intelligence in an animal.

4. Are you allergic to any animals?
Definitely cats and probably dogs, too. When ever I go to Goeff and Sarah's apartment (they have a large collection of feline misfts), I start sneezing uncontrolably. But maybe Claritin solves that problem. I'll have to conduct an experiment.

5. Do you have any 'pet' pet peeves (your pets or others')?
Cat pee. That stench is nearly impossible to remove once it's set in something.

Re-freakin-posted from earlier today, after Blogger deleted my post in the middle of editing it.

This week's Friday Five:

1. What's your favorite animal?
Dogs. Excuse the cliche, but dogs are the most loyal and loving animals around. Sure, it's more a case of bred instinct than true love, but what's the practical difference? In fact, one could argue that instict is more constant than fickle emotion. (No, this is not a sly reference to my wonderful girlfriend, just a general observation.)

2. What pets have you had in your lifetime?
Oh, the usual. Dogs, cats, hamsters, turtles, rabbits, a cockateel, a ferrit, a pony, a snake, 28 polish chickens and four pigs named after family members.

3. Is there any specific pet that you've wanted but never had? Why?
I think monkeys are pretty cool. There's so fascinatingly human-like. It's just so intriguing to see such intelligence in an animal.

4. Are you allergic to any animals?
Definitely cats and probably dogs. Everytime I go to Geoff's and Sarah's apartment (they have quite a collection of feline misfits), I fall into an uncontrollable sneezing fit. But maybe Claritin solves that problem. I'll have to conduct an experiment.

5. Do you have any 'pet' pet peeves (your pets or others')?
Cat pee. That stench is nearly impossible to remove once it's in something.

I can't believe Blogger deleted my last, long post. CRAP!!

My Yahoo! for Ken_brown_98

I got my shoes shined after lunch today, and now my cubicle smells like I've been sniffing paint all day.

Deep Breath

My roommate came home last night to say her boss photocopied a story I did a few weeks ago about Web services and distributed it to the people who work under him. It's nice to know that people in the industry are reading your stuff and taking it seriously.

Salon.com Comics | This Modern World

Another good one from Tom Tomorrow.

CNN.com - September 11 Memorial

CNN has created a simple but dignified September 11 memorial. It lists all the names, ages, hometowns, employers and locations of the more than 3,000 victims of that horrible morning, most of them with pictures. It's a reminder of why we're in Afghanistan.

Yet another Friday Five:

1. What makes you homesick?
The cold weather here in Northern California. Granted, it's not East Coast cold, but Arizona is one of the most consistently warm and sunny areas anywhere.

2. Where is "home" for you? Is it where you are living now, or somewhere else (ie: Mom & Dad's house, particular state/city)?
Without a doubt, the Phoenix, Arizona area. I've never lived anywhere longer, and it's still the only place I've seen change over the years. But at the same time, I really miss the beaches and culture of Southern California.

3. What makes it home for you? People? Things?
A little bit of both. The distinguishing environment also plays a big role -- the scenery, climate even the roads and buildings. And of course, the memories associated with all of those.

4. Where is the furthest you've been from home, miles-wise?
I've hardly been anywhere, but I've visited Costa Rica, which according to Internet distance calculators is 2407 miles from Phoenix. But interestingly, New York is actually farther from my current home in San Jose, California at 2558 miles. I need to get out more

5. What are your plans for this weekend?
I really want to see Todd Solondz' movie, Storytellers. Other than that, nothing much.

Ford to sell hybrid-powered SUV

This looks interesting. Now let's see if Ford can find a way to think up an SUV name that doesn't start with the letter "E."

I'm watching the HBO Monica Lewinsky special (I swore I wouldn't), and have to say how interesting it all is in this post-Sept. 11 world. It's so interesting that we bombed an Al-Queida training camp during this whole mess. What seems more important now?

It's been a few days, but I'm happy to report that I'm finally better. Apparently this hell I've been through is all allergy-related. The doctor gave me some Claritan and so far, it's really working well.

I spent last night in a roomful of Republicans (yes, they do exist in California) covering the election. Conservative Bill Simon beat moderate Richard Riordan for the GOP nomination, assuring a victory for Democrat incumbent Gray Davis, who actually helped Simon win with TV ads attacking Riordan. You gotta love politics.

I did something today I may end up regretting: I ordered a ReplayTV. It costs $700, so I won't be buying anything gadget-related for the next few months. I think it'll be worth it, though.

Here's this week's Friday Five (a couple of hours early, even):

1. What's your favorite vacation spot?
I haven't been to a lot of "vacation spots," but one memorable trip I took was to Costa Rica. My traveling companions and I did pretty much all the things you can possibly do in a week there -- volcanos, beaches, rainforests and of course, monkeys.

2. Where do you consider to be the biggest hell-hole on earth?
Besides San Jose, California? Ha ha, just kidding. Sort of. My final answer is Catoosa, Oklahoma, where I spent the worst few months of my life. I understand the place is a well-manicured big golf-course community now.

3. What would be your dream vacation?
A summer traveling through Europe, as if I were a college student again.

4. If you could go on a road-trip with anyone, who would it be and why?
I guess I'd better say my girlfriend, Andrea. I generally don't like road trips, but that would be a good way of knowing someone in a hurry. You deal with stress, irritating habits, sharing, compromise and money all in one setting.

5. What are your plans for this weekend?
The girls at work are having their monthly poker night, so Jeff (Sarah's boyfriend) and I are going to see a few movies at Cinequest. The event wraps up this weekend, and I'm sad to say I've only seen a handful of films. On the bright side, most of the ones I've seen are are decent, and if you add up all the good films I've seen so far, I'm already ahead of last year's film festival. Anyway, Saturday night we celebrate Andrea's birthday, which actually occurs on Sunday. But maybe it really is Saturday, when you take into account the time difference between here and Brazil. At any rate, I suppose I'll spend part of Friday shopping for a gift. Or maybe I'll just put it off until Saturday.

Yahoo! News - 'We've got work to do' on image with Muslims, Bush says

Though a majority, 67%, said the terror attacks Sept. 11 were morally unjustifiable, a significant minority, 15%, disagreed. Only 18% of those polled in six Islamic countries said they believed Arabs carried out the attacks. U.S. officials said all 19 hijackers were Arabs.

You're kidding me -- only 67 percent of Middle East Muslims think the WTC attack is morally unjustifiable? Suddenly, I don't give a crap what our "allies" in that region think of us.

GOP unlikely to filibuster campaign bill

Can it really be this close to passing?

Pearl Case Defense Lawyer Prefers Trial in U.S.

Because we're so unfair here, and all.

Salon.com News | Bush renews campaign for Arctic oil
President Bush on Saturday renewed his campaign to open an Arctic refuge to oil exploration, contending that drilling is essential to national security and job creation.

National security? Mr. President, even you can milk things only so much before the teat becomes dry.

I went with Sarah to the Cinequest film festival opening last night. Despite having "platinum" press passes, we got there late and got stuck in the second row of the theater. Before the movie started, we were talking in our usual loud way about the movie's star/director, Mike Binder, agreeing that we both hate his HBO show, Mind of the Married Man. Anyway, when they asked him to come to the front of the auditorium to make some opening comments, we realized to our embarrassment that he had been sitting directly in front of Sarah the entire time up to that point. We laughed, and continued to talk about how much we hate the show. Then Binder introduced his co-star in the movie, Sonya Walger, who also stars in the HBO series. As she got up to speak, we realized she had been sitting in front of me the whole time. True story.

This week's Friday Five:

1. Hey, baby, what's your sign? Do you think it fits you pretty well?
Cancer, and I don't believe any astrological sign fits very well. Come on, its the 21st century. Isn't voodoo passe?

2. What's the worst birthday gift you've ever received?
A stupid clock thing I got last year from my employer. Office gifts are always crappy -- the employee gift budget is too low to get anything nice, and co-workers (usually managers) are too pressed for time to get something creative.

3. What's the best birthday gift you've ever received?
Probably my first computer, an Atari 600 XL.

4. What's the best way you've celebrated your birthday thus far?
For my 30th birthday, my friends hosted a "trailer-trash ball" party. It was very fun and touching. So naturally, I moved away a few months later.

5. What are your plans for this weekend?
The annual San Jose Cinequest Film Festival has officially begun, so I'll be seeing lots and lots of movies for the next two weeks. I'm hoping to find a couple of gems among the loads of crap that couldn't find a first-tier distributor. And Sunday, I pick up Andrea from the airport!

Missing reporter dead

Bastards.

Here I am, waiting for V.P. Cheny to speak. I couldn't be more bored.

After Canada’s tie, Gretzky loses it

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, Feb. 18 — Team Canada executive director Wayne Gretzky lashed out Monday at critics of his Olympic hockey team, saying other countries — especially the United States — revel in Canadian failure.

He says that like it's a bad thing.

If you're not following the big debate oncampaign finance reform, you ought to. I'll be amazed if this bill makes it through the process intact. And though I'm a big fan of campaign finance reform, I have to agree with some Republican critics who say the ban on television ads within 60 days of an election is probably unconstitutional. But equating campaign contributions to free speech? Pu-leeeze.

Whatever you do, don't rename a JPEG file as a *.pif, even if you just want to see what the heck the "pif" format refers to. Trust me.

Still sick, so I didn't go to church today. I think I'm going to sleep most of today and maybe catch up on some reading.

I just took Andrea to the airport and now I am feeling sick again. I think I've actually been sick all week but too busy to notice. Now I will get some sweet, sweet sleep. ZZZZZzzzzzzz...

Here's my very late Friday Five:

1. What was the first thing you ever cooked?
I have no idea, but in 7th grade everyone had to take both home economics and shop (quite a gender-progressive requirement in the heart of the Bible Belt, Oklahoma), meaning all the girls had shop class and all the boys had home economics at least one semester. Anyway, this is where I learned to cook. The only thing I can remember actually making, though, was a V-shaped cookie in a desperate attempt at extra credit in geography class, taught by Mr. Victor or Vickson, or some other V-named instructor. I did get the extra credit, but that didn't help my grade much. I aced home economics, though.

2. What's your signature dish?
Spaghetti. Ah, yeah.

3. Ever had a cooking disaster? (tasted like crap, didn't work, etc.) Describe.
The "Great Chocolate Chex Experiment." In theory, it sounded great -- I love Rice Chex cereal, I love Hershey's chocolate syrup. Why not combine them into something doubly delicious? The actual product was a disaster.

4. If skill and money were no object, what would make for your dream meal?
Capellini Pomodoro, which I understand takes only a little bit of skill and a little bit of money. I really ought to learn how to cook.

5. What are you doing this weekend?
I'm starting the Friday Five so late that my weekend has already started. I went shopping with my girlfriend -- she spent $138 at Walgreen's alone -- and we went out for dinner at a Greasy Tony's-type place in downtown Sunnyvale. Tomorrow I take her to the airport for her week-long trip to Brazil, and I suppose I spend the rest of the weekend pre-girlfriend style: back to Fry's and Barnes & Noble. I'm sure they've missed me.

An excellent proposal for a Sept. 11 memorial. Slate wrote a piece on it, but other than that, I've seen nothing in the media about this.

CNN.com - Alert issued for potential teddy bear bombs

If you receive this bear for Valentine's Day, you may want to re-evaluate your relationship. (Thanks to Chad for this item.)

Heinz launches chocolate fries

I love progress.

Star Wars Galaxies - Official Site

I may have found my new favorite game. I hope this comes out soon.

‘Highest alert’ after FBI warning

It's just after midnight Wednesday morning and still no attack. I guess we'll have to go back to reporting on the Olympics and Enron.

Be on the lookout for these men.

I was sick today, so I stayed home, sleeping and watching TV. I think I'll be able to go to work tomorrow, but man, it sure was nice staying home for the day. I still have so much work to do this week...

Here's my Friday Five. It's a semi-risque Valentine's Day set of questions, and like several other participants, I'm exercising my right to pass on a couple of them:

1. What's the most romantic thing you've ever done for someone else?
I've written plenty of silly songs for girls I had crushes on, serenading them with my limited guitar-playing skills. That's too many songs, and too few chords.
2. [pardon the Cosmo question] What are your erogenous zones?
Chest and neck. And the usual manly places.
3. How old were you the first time you had sex? Care to expound?
N/A
4. What's the most unusual place you've ever had sex?
N/A
5. Do you have plans for Valentine's Day or is it just another Thursday?
Actually, this is the first Valentine's Day I've had a girlfriend, as far as I can remember. Since she reads this Web site regularly, I won't reveal what the evening has in store. Disclaimer: Due to my Valentine's Day inexperience, I'm asking for special leniency if my activities are insufficiently romantic.

OK, here's what I wanted to write about last night:

I've never seen such a black-white contrast in the way we business reporters are treated by big tech companies than I have in the last two days. On Tuesday, I went to Nvidia's launch event for its new GeForce 4 processors, where we press got the royal treatment. We got a big show at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, were well fed and liquored up, and even got a goodie bag that included a pretty nice sport jacket.

The next day, I went to PalmSource, where I and other journalists were told that we could have only Expo passes because "there are limited press resources." When I explained that I didn't need access to the press room, only the keynote talks, the registration officials wouldn't budge. And judging from the nonexistent lines, there was no way those keynotes were anywhere close to full. Needless to say, the event didn't get any coverage from the Business Journal. Actually, neither the the Nvidia event. So I suppose it doesn't matter.

Anyway, here's my first impression of the GeForce 4 graphics chips: they're good, but I wouldn't recommend buying them just yet. They're not completely DirectX 8 compliant, most games won't even begin to use their most advance features for a year, and there should be some pretty nice bargains on the GeForce 3 cards now. Also, the low-end GF4s don't perform much better than the bargain-basement GF2s).

So very, very tired. I have much to write, but I'll have to save it for later...

Alright, Fox News, what have you done with the real Greta Van Susteren?

CNN.com - Man convicted in wife's killing wants state to pay for sex change

"He claims in a lawsuit that the corrections department is violating his civil rights and subjecting him to cruel and unusual punishment by refusing to provide treatment for his gender identity disorder. He said he suffers continuous depression, anxiety and a high level of stress as a result of being denied treatment."

Are those symptoms consistent with simply being in prison?

‘Sesame Street’ gets a makeover

They're dumbing down Sesame Street! Please help me organize a consumer boycott to urge the letters P and L and the number 5 to withdraw their sponsorship of the show.

Salon.com Comics | This Modern World

Another good one.

Here's my very first Friday Five:

1. Have you ever had braces? Any other teeth trauma?
I only wish my family could have afforded braces. Sometimes I mull over whether to get them now, but adults always -- and I mean always -- look silly in them. Maybe I can get those invisible kind.

2. Ever broken any bones?
No.

3. Ever had stitches?
Nope, no stitches, either. I'm unbreakable. Well, I once had to go to the emergency room for kidney stones. That's pain, my friends.

4. What are the stories behind some of your [physical] scars?
I have a weird mystery scar on my chin. No one from my family can explain it, though I do wonder if it had anything to do with an accident I barely remember from early childhood -- some kid riding a bicycle ran into me as I was walking down the sidewalk. Dismissed as...coincidence!

5. How do you plan to spend your weekend?
Friday night: Barnes & Noble woo-hoo! I'm a wild man!
Saturday: Don't know for sure, but it will probably involve Fry's Electronics.
Sunday: Church, Evita (the musical), and maybe some Super Bowl action.
That's right, folks. Having a girlfriend has not changed my weekends in the least.

Well, here I am at the fourth Web services conference I've attended in the last three weeks. As big as this concept is going to be, I'm getting a little sick of listening to all of this...

Taliban Prisoners Plead To Go to Cuba

Amnesty International: what is it you were saying about our treatment of the captured terrorists?

Freshette ®

Who says girls can't aim?

CNN.com - GAO to sue White House over energy notes - January 30, 2002

Anticipating a court battle, Bush said Tuesday, "Bring it on."

Hey, Mr. President: this ain't Texas. So leave your six-shooter at home.

Anyway, nice to see Bush isn't letting his ego or covert partisanship cloud his judgement.

Enron memo lobbied Cheney on price caps

The plot thickens.

Another out-of-control Bush kid:

President Bush's Niece Arrested on Drug Charge

Another Enron cartoon.

New Republic's Longtime Owner Sells Control to 2 Financiers

This is probably the worst news I've heard all day, with the possible exception of my girlfriend getting hit by a truck at lunch (she's fine -- more on the incident later). The moderate-left publication is being sold to a partnership that includes at least one arch-conservative. Quoting from the Times article:

"Diehard liberals often complain, of course, that The New Republic has gradually shifted to the right over the years. But the transaction nonetheless marks a break with the venerable magazine's history. At least one new owner, Mr. Hertog, is a prominent patron of conservative organizations, as chairman of the Manhattan Institute and a trustee of the American Enterprise Institute. And the new partners have stirred questions among readers and contributors about both The New Republic's future and about Mr. Peretz's reasons for selling two-thirds of the magazine."

KPCC - KPCC Reveals President Bush Has A Heart Arrhythmia

Pretzels, huh?

In case you're wondering, the post below is for a story I'm working on. We needed a screenshot to show how it works, so I had to type some filler text.

I'm using the new Blogger Pro, which allows me to make quick updates to my Web site. Thank goodness I don't have to format text, edit HTML, or perform cumbersome FTP uploads.

Best of all, I can create a running commentary on my Web site from any Web broswer -- or even my Internet-connected phone.

With the Pro version, I can check my spelling, use formatting shortcuts, add links, upload photos and more.

Here's a link to my favorite site. Should I post now? Or sometime later today. I should probably make a draft of this and send it later. Or maybe I can finish it and have the site updated later. So many choices, so many features, so little time...

Yahoo! News - Cheney: Won't Turn Over Energy List

Hmmmm, I wonder why he won't turn over this list. Could it be related to the largest corporate implosion in U.S. history and its hand-in-hand relationship to Republican energy policy?

I've upgraded to the new BloggerPro, so expect more pictures with posts soon!

Oh wait, we do.

Enron-o-Rama: From Scandal to Spectacle By Rob Walker

Ex-Enron vice chair commits suicide

Keeping in mind that this guy was an internal whistle-blower, where are all the Vince Foster-era presidential conspiracy theorists now? Man, I wish we Democrats had a kooky religious fringe.

I had to sit in a room full of Republicans this week to help out our political reporter (the first GOP gubernatorial debate) and was reminded again why I despise the GOP. Of course, the leading Republican candidate, former LA mayor Richard Riordan, would be a Democrat if he were running in Arizona. If you think CEO's of tech startup companies crave media attention, get within 50 feet of a campaign event with a notepad in your hand.

And while I'm on the topic of angry mobs: if you think Mormons and Scientologists are cults, try offending Apple fans. This was just one of a flood of angry letters over this story. Can you find the offensive paragraph? (That's a trick question: the letter-writers were offended by the paragraph we forgot to include, one equating Steve Jobs with God.)

How, in the name of everything that is good and holy, did this nut-job get his own show?

TNR Online | The Real Enron Scandal by the Editors

Once again, policy does matter.

Woo-hoo! Off to San Francisco again!

TNR Online | Recount by Jonathan Chait

A well-reasoned argument for a repeal of Bush's tax-cut plan.

It looks like the war honeymoon is over;

Simple Gifts - How Bush's shallowness makes him a good war president. By Jacob Weisberg

Also, see item below...

Daschle attacks Bush on deficits

Finally, someone noticed that last year's tax cuts were bad.

How's this for the start of a New Year: I woke up at 11:30 or so, played Tribes 2, went back to sleep, woke up, took a shower, and for a highlight, visted the giant downtown San Jose Fry's I didn't realize is there until about a week ago. It even has a cafe that serves a pretty decent Tuna Melt.

Last night was fun. I went down to Santa Cruz and met up with my buddy Murray and his wife for First Night, an arts program started in Boston that now includes 200 cities. We had an awesome dinner and saw a couple of performances, including a ska band and a blues duo.

But it's time to get back to work. I dread going back to the office tomorrow. But I guess I should be happy I have a job.

Happy New Year! Let's hope 2002 is better than 2001.