Stick a fork in him -- he's done

Trent Lott's Segregationist College Days

I was willing to believe that he didn't really mean he favored segregation when praising Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond, but after his halfhearted apology and now this, he's got to go.

And I must say it's pretty sad to note that, after Tom Daschle defended the remarks, it was George W. Bush who finally spoke out firmly against them. Yet another example of spineless Democrats missing an opportunity to take the moral high ground.

Bush shakes up economic team

Bush has an economic team?

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

So I finally have a few spare minutes to blog. A pain-in-the-ass freelance assignment for my former employer sopped up all my free time this week. But the extra cash is always nice.

Thanksgiving weekend was really nice. I stayed with Andrea and work out of IBD's Silicon Valley office that Friday. Being able to spend a lot of time with Andrea at a leisurely pace was nice. We got to see the newly re-opened Union Square in San Francisco and Santana Row, a high-end residential and retail village of sorts in San Jose. It was all pretty fancy, but I heard that a studio apartment right in the heart of the development was renting for $1,200 a month -- exactly what I was paying for a room in San Jose. If only I were still making that kind of money.

This weekend is Andrea's and my 1-year dating anniversary. Man, it went by fast. What a crappy year it would have been without her. Anyway, she flies in late Friday night. I think we'll just hang around Westwood on Friday and drive up to Santa Barbara on Saturday. Maybe we'll even get to see Chad and Susan on Sunday, though Chad has certian romantic obligations of his own, considering it's her birthday. Maybe I'll have new pictures to post. Andrea says I've gained more weight since I moved, so we'll just have to compare photos. For the record, the scale still says 150.

Now it's not just slippery-slope alarmism...

In terror war, 2nd track for suspects

"The Bush administration is developing a parallel legal system in which terrorism suspects — U.S. citizens and noncitizens alike — may be investigated, jailed, interrogated, tried and punished without legal protections guaranteed by the ordinary system, lawyers inside and outside the government say."

Why is a proven liar and wanted man in charge of the 9/11 investigation?

Interesting article in Slate.

Combination Of Market, Operating Strategy Keeps Drug Maker Busy

Another fascinating story from IBD.

Yaaaaaaaaay!

FDA sends Claritin over the counter

Bad font choice

Patricia Breen - Treat Seeker Ornament

Bush Saves Turkey from Thanksgiving Dinner Table

Here's the problem with this silly little tradition: I can't imagine presidents not eating Turkey on Thanksgiving Day, so some poor Turkey just replaces the pardoned one every year.

So, so tired.

I did indeed do to Disneyland. I spent most of the day in California Adventure, which was practically empty, then to Disneyland, then back to California Adventure, where Chad and Susan met me, then back to Disneyland. The California Screamin' roller coaster is so fun at night, though a little cold. But beware the funnel cakes. They're the worst I've ever had.

I ended up crashing at Chad and Susan's place, so we went out to breakfast at the Newport Beach pier. And then to Costco and Ikea. Alas, I didn't buy anything.

Chad lent me Battlefield 1942. It may be the best game ever. It's like Tribes 2, but set in WWII. Its hardware requirements are pretty steep, though.

Anyway, I took a three-hour nap this afternoon, and I'm still groggy. I can't wait to fall asleep...

Another exciting Friday night

I was so exhausted when I got home that I went straight to bed and slept for two hours; Andrea woke me up via instant messenger. I forgot to get change at work today for laundry, so I'll have to go to the arcade in Westwood. maybe I'll stop by Diddy Reese's for the $1 cookie-and-milk deal.

I think I'll go to Disneyland tomorrow. I could spend all day there, go to church with Chad and Susan and then go back until it closes. Or maybe I'll just go on Sunday, to both. Hopefully the Matterhorn is up and running.

The Republicans are in charge #2.

Major change is in the air for pollution rules

"The Bush administration on Friday gave 17,000 older power plants, refineries and factories greater flexibility in meeting the Clean Air Act — a move that some states planned to challenge in court."

Who You Callin' A Moron?

From the recent Canadian flap....

On Thursday, when first asked about the reported comment, Chretien said Mr. Bush was "not a moron at all, he's a friend. My personal relations with the president are extremely good."

Not exactly a ringing endorsement, eh?

Yes, the Republicans are in charge

Government agency pulls Web site

Oxymoron of the day

From a page-one article in today's LA Times:

"...Nobuko Nakano, head of a one-person group..."

Now that's just silly. How does a single person ever constitute a "group?" And even if such a group were logically possible, how could there be a "head" with no followers? It is so hard for the nation's No. 2 newspaper to admit they're quoting a *person* rather than an official?

He's alive.

Officials: Audiotape is of bin Laden

The Golden State

I'm loving today's perfect Southern California weather.

Success!

On the third try, my Capellini Pomodoro recipe came out exactly like it's supposed to. I actually used the right amount of tomatoes, weighing them instead of just guessing how many the recipe calls for. Andrea and I thought we might be putting too much in, but it came out perfectly. We had Chad and Susan over for dinner, but forgot to cook the asparagus or prepare the olive oil / balsamic vinegar dip. Oops. Anyway, I have leftover for today and can't wait for lunch.

Overall, we had a nice weekend. We saw the IMAX version of attack of the Clones, but the picture quality was actually worse than the original. The new resolution made it easier to tell which backgrounds were real and which were digitally created still picture. And other scenes showed pixelization!

Yesterday, when Andrea and I took her Brazilian friends to Downtown Disney, I thought I'd be a big man and use my Annual Pass to get us in the parking garage for free. But they were doing free parking for some reason, so it didn't matter. Zip-a-dee-do-da.

...and step to the left

Can Pelosi pull a ‘Gingrich’?

Unfortunately, the Democrats are associating old-school liberalism with new ideas. This is one way to practically guarantee the Bushies and second term.

Gadget of the week...

Now *this* is what a cordless mouse should be.

Step to the right

This has all been said before, but one of the big reasons for the Republican route last night was Democrat's failure to inspire its constituents. After rolling over on Bush's big priorities -- the tax cut, Iraq, etc. -- and offering no centrist alternatives, they gave Democrat voters very little reason to show up to the polls. As James Carville put it, they had no message and no backbone. Here's hoping they get their act together.

Republicans near control of Congress

Aw, crap.

Republicans near control of Congress

Another reason to watch the WB...

No pesky election coverage!

Welcome to the Big Blue Bus -- now get off.

More like the Big Blue Rip-Off.

Being the concerned citizen I am, I took Santa Monica's transit system to the 3rd Street Promenade rather than taking my car. Little did I know that the last bus of the night leaves the area at 10:30 p.m. and doesn't go all the way back to Westwood. So I ended up walking a mile home. Three girls on the bus were equally surprised and yelled "I don't like you!" as the driver kicked us all off.

Anyway, it occurred to me on the walk home that there ought to be some formula for calculating the relative costs of mass transit (for the consumer) and private vehicles. I mean, my car payment, insurance and registration are fixed costs that call for maximizing vehicle usage. The question is, what are the additive costs of parking, gasoline, maintenance and hit on resale value? It's an easier case in place such as San Francisco, where parking is expensive and exasperating. And of course, as the MasterCard commercials would say, you can't put a price on not having to fit your schedule and itinerary around a bus route or mixing it up with the borderline-demented who find their way onto public transportation. I guess this is why I didn't major in math.

When technology goes bad

My roommate bought an electronic hampster today that shadow-boxes and sings the Rocky theme in a high voice. It wasn't a gift -- he bought it for himself.

Another fascinating story in IBD...

Instant Message Firms Wooing Businesses

It's my first real tech story for IBD. I'll be doing about one a week from here on out.

Back to work

The weekend was pretty fun. Andrea and I got to see a lot of our old work friends at a Haloween party and spent some time with Sarah and Geoff and their very cool new place in San Francisco.

It sounds like Andrea didn't get the job she interviewed for here. I think she was at an inherent disadvantage not living here, but to her credit, she was one of four finalists for the position. And it wasn't clear if they just couldn't afford her. The chain, like many Southern Calif. second-tier chains, is notoriously cheap.

Arrrgh!

It looks like Blogger Pro, the service I pay good money to, is eating my entries AGAIN. Anyway, I just wrote a rambling piece on my weekend. Update: the original post is above.

I want this.

.

D-Link wireless Ethernet bridge

I guess I don't really *need* it, but this really would have come in handy in San Jose when I had to string 30 feet of Ethernet cable across my apartment to hook my ReplayTV into the router. It basically makes anything with an Ethernet port able to connect to your wireless network.

Update...

Wow, it's been more than a week since my last update. I'm flying up to San Jose tomorrow to see Andrea and attend the big Halloween party on Saturday. Weekends seem so short when I travel. Last weekend was pretty fun, too. I hung out at Disneyland with Chad and Susan, and they came up to L.A. the next day to see "Punch Drunk Love" with me in Santa Monica. An odd, wonderful little movie.

Andrea finds out tomorrow whether she'll get a job offer from the San Gabriel Valley Tribune chain. I hope she gets the offer, but I'm not sure whether they'll pay her enough to make the move worthwhile.

My first real tech story should appear in Investor's Business Daily sometime in the next couple of days. It's about instant messaging in the workplace and whatnot.

Awwww, yeah....

Act Of War Hit Close To Home For Tech Firm

I guess I'll have to try them.

Actual quote from one of my roommates:

"Have you tried Fuji apples? They're the thinking man's apple."

Alternative Chains Close Papers In LA, Cleveland

Bummer, I really liked New Times. I guess I'll have to read the Phoenix edition online.

Another weekend, another move

I spent the weekend helping Andrea move into her new place. Did I mention that I hate hate HATE moving? And this weekend I get to help Chad and Susan move into their own place.

I really need to buy a house, just so I don't have to move anymore.

Coyote vs Acme

It's about time someone filed this lawsuit.

News flash!

Be sure to pick up a copy of Thursday's Investor's Business Daily. I hear there's a really cool story on page A7.

Plan B

Well it turns out Andrea has to work this weekend, so I don't get to see her. Unfortunately, they also have working the night shift more often, which can't be healthy. She sounds very tired when she calls and had an intense headache when she called this afternoon.

In other news, the Business Journal call us deperately asking for a tape of the video presentation we did last year. We're going to offer to create another copy, but charge them market rate for our time, which isn't cheap. Ah yeah....

I'm driving to Orange County tomorrow to visit Chad. We're not quite sure what the plan is, but I may end up getting my yearly Disneyland pass this month instead of next month as planned. That means I'll have to delay getting this way cool MP3 player.

One more thing...

I almost forgot: Andrea's coming this weekend! Her Brazilian friend is moving to Orange County, so she's catching a ride.

An LA moment

As I was walking through Westwood tonight to grab some basil from the grocery story and look at the cool new MuVo MP3 player at Circuit City, I passed a red-carpet Hollywood premier event for the new movie "Four Feathers." Tonight's newscast said Britney Spears showed up, but alas, I missed her.

Life in the fast lane.

Ah, it's so nice to have broadband again. Verizon may change my mostly negative view of DSL. They use a technology in which the modem connects directly into the service as if it were a persistent network -- no dial-in, passwords, PPoE, etc. Just plug and play. And it seems much faster than my San Jose service, too.

Speaking of San Jose, I visited Andrea this weekend. We went to San Francisco and took the ferry to a cute little town called Tiberon, where we ate lunch. We also had a fun dinner with our friends Sarah and Geoff. We did a make-your-own pizza and traded our creations amongst each other. At any rate, it was nice to catch up. And in the highlight of the evening, Andrea made one of the best chocolate mousses I've ever had. If I had known she was capable of this, believe me, I would have dated her much sooner.

Stop the presses

One of the section editors said that he's sending me a couple of story assignments, so I should have some bylined work to show soon.

With this being my first weekend alone and completely moved in, I’m finally getting a chance to do a more personal blog entry. My DSL still isn’t on, but at I do have an installation date (Sept. 12), so updates should reach their usual frequency soon. [Update: they turned on my DSL today.]

Anyway, things are going pretty well here. I’m really enjoying my living situation in West L.A.. Geographically speaking, my home is close to Westwood Village, Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Beverly Hills and Hollywood. More significant, I’ve always wanted to live somewhere that has everything within walking distance, and Westwood Village comes pretty close to that ideal. All of my favorite fast-food and casual-dining chains are in the area, along with a large grocery store, two electronics retailers and my favorite no-cost weekend haunt, Borders Books (that’s where I’m writing from now) and at least five movie theaters. The grocery store is a little pricey -- it has a captive audience of dorm-bound UCLA students -- but Safeway-owned Vons just started online delivery, which is a little cheaper, not counting delivery. If I have to pay a premium, I might as well have it delivered. The area does lack a Fry’s Electronics, however, and the nearest one is a 45-minute drive. Once you’ve adapted to Fry’s, Best Buy seems a little too much like Sears’ electronics department. Speaking of Fry’s, the one here is themed like a 1950s alien drive-in B movie, complete with a flying saucer crashed into the front of the building, huge mothership on the inside and army jeeps melted in half, presumably by some sort of death ray. Very cool.

My new job is OK. The people there are smart, funny and nice. The work is a little less challenging than I had hoped, but my immediate boss has given the nod for other editors to assign me some real stories. So here’s hoping to get my first national print byline soon…

I haven’t purchased my annual pass for Disneyland yet, and since I’ll be out of town two out of the next three weekends, I may wait until October. I hear they re-make the haunted mansion into a “Nightmare Before Christmas” theme for Halloween. Chad and Susan got theirs the first day they were both out here. It actually makes more sense when you live in Orange County, though a co-worker says that getting the pass is mandatory for all Southern California residents.

Andrea’s situation is still up in the air. She isn’t being used anywhere near her full potential, and based on the experiences of co-workers, there’s little chance of her getting a full time position there anytime soon. But even that could be a good thing; it gives her an incentive to move down here. The job situation doesn’t look good in either location for graphic designers, and I’m not familiar enough with the industry to give her any useful advice. UCLA offers a graphic design certification program, and that could provide good job contacts.

As Andrea would say, aye aye aye!

Orange alert! Orange alert!

Terrorist risk level raised to ‘high’

Why the Sixth Amendment exists

Yahoo! News - Memo: al-Qaida Taught Bomb Suspect

"But the memo, written by Defense Department adviser Michael Hobbs and released Tuesday by the Justice Department states that other intelligence shows Padilla was not a member of al-Qaida and that there was no timetable for an attack.

Hobbs wrote that some of the people who informed on Padilla may have provided false information to mislead the U.S. government.

The memo was included with a government court filing in which Justice Department attorneys defended the military's detention of Padilla without trial."

I'm not saying the guy's innocent, mind you, but if John Ashcroft and George W. could strip this suspect's constitutional rights, they can take away anyone's. And the the truth is always a little more complicated than the government would have you believe.

Say my name...

From this story on Dan Rather's weird 1986 assault, I've learned that my name is slang for a confused or clueless person.

In other news, my phone is installed, but not my DSL. I tried using a dialup ISP, but apparently, the quality of my connection is just awful. I feel so isolated without an unfiltered Internet connection.

One of these kids is not like the others...

A snarky comment here would almost be redundant.

T-minus-one (day)

Did I ever mention that moving sucks? Here's my new address:

10747 Wilshire Blvd. #1103
Los Angeles, CA 90024

My new phone number, once it's installed Aug. 26 or so, will be 310-441-9767.

Chad got his job, too.

In his words: "Keep your head but we going to be neighbors again."

Ah, the irony...

Islam reading assignment draws fire

The lawsuit against UNC was filed July 22 in U.S. District Court in Greensboro, N.C., by the Virginia-based Family Policy Network, which calls itself a socially conservative Christian educational organization.

The suit contends that it is unconstitutional for a publicly funded university to require students to study a specific religion.

In light of evangelicals' support of school vouchers and insisting that the phrase "under God," (added in 1954) is now inseparable from the Pledge of Allegiance, this stance seems ironic if not hypocritical.

Eric Alterman: Altercation

An interesting historical look at the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, a bad constitutional shift that's still affecting international policy today.

Officially employed

I officially got the offer. It was a little less than I was hoping for, but a little more than I expected. I start Aug. 26. Thank goodness!

Jobs jobs jobs

I should find out in the next couple of hours whether I got the Investor's Business Daily job. In the meantime, I've gotten nibbles from the Bakersfield Californian (that's a smallish city two hours north of LA) and Bloomberg.

Andrea got a job!

Andrea got an offer from the San Jose Mercury News on Friday, after being the only candidate out of the last six who could pass a Macintosh production skills test. It's not the ideal position -- it's a non-creative, on-call, no-guaranteed-hours situation -- but it is a foot in the door of a respected daily, and more importantly, income. She plans to continue looking for a job in Southern California, but she's understandably eager to start working again.

My interview with Investor's Business Daily went pretty well, too. I regret saying one or two things, such as revealing that I didn't appreciate Orange County politics -- before knowing out the interviewer's political affiliation. But Murray seems to think I have a good shot. It turns out that getting laid off is indeed a black mark of sorts (a good manager doesn't lay off the best workers), but IBD reached some former editors I hadn't put on my list of references and got glowing reviews. I hope that mitigates the perception created when Carole and (the appropriately named) Dick laid me off. I should know by Tuesday.

And Chad thinks his interview went well, too. So maybe all four of us (including Chad's wife, Susan) will get our Disneyland wish of living in Southern Cal.

Actually, it comes in threes

Chad has an interview in Orange County Friday morning, too!

Good news comes in pairs

Andrea has an interview on Friday with the San Jose Mercury News. It's kind of a crap job (part-time, on call, hourly wages), but it is money and a foot in the door of a daily. Of course, if we both get the jobs we're applying for, we'll be working in different cities, earning wages that will make frequent trips difficult.

Hope...

Investor's Business Daily is flying me to Los Angeles this week to interview for a job compiling the newspaper's news summary page. This won't involve a lot of reporting, but it sounds like a good way to get into a daily newspaper -- national at that!

The hunt continues.

Now I'm applying for non-tech reporting positions, slowly running out of places to apply. Andrea hasn't heard back from the San Francisco, which is making her nervous. But she's applying at a bunch of different places.

Man, nothing kills a person's self-confidence like a layoff.

Fed Chief Now Blamed for Inflating Stock Bubble

Fed Chief Now Blamed for Inflating Stock Bubble

... the future may require reduced expectations for millions of Americans who staked their hope for their comfortable retirement on stocks. The average recovery time--the length of time it takes the market to return to its boom-time peak--during the big busts of the 20th century was 20 years. Those declines were 1906, 1929 and the late 1960s.

Hey, whatever happened to Bush's brilliant idea about investing Social Security funds into the stock market?

Business Journal death spiral

I apparently missed the best meeting of the year. Here's an excerpt from today's IM chat with Sarah:

spacylacy2002 (01:11:47 PM):I just read your cover letter and am typing up feedback. you missed a firework-ladden meeting today- I ran out in tears at one point- mullins was insane- tim's entire budget got shut down

spacylacy2002 (01:11:58 PM): shot down I meant

ken_brown_98 (01:12:53 PM): You're kidding.

spacylacy2002 (01:12:56 PM): no

ken_brown_98 (01:12:57 PM): What happened?

spacylacy2002 (01:13:09 PM): can you imagine ME crying? mullins said he never thought he'd see the day

ken_brown_98 (01:14:19 PM): Thyat's why I can't believe it myself.

spacylacy2002 (01:14:27 PM): It's been horrible here the last few days- you have no idea. I almost just quit this morning.

spacylacy2002 (01:14:56 PM): I'm going to have a meeting withcarole tomorrow am.

ken_brown_98 (01:15:01 PM): I wish someone had recorded the meeting.

spacylacy2002 (01:15:31 PM): I know- mullins started pressing her on why she laid you off in particular- it got really uncomfortable.

spacylacy2002 (01:15:55 PM): for some reason- sharon once again - was praising and defending all management- why does she doe that in meetings?

ken_brown_98 (01:16:30 PM): Maybe that's why she still has a job. Robert is going to get himself fired. So did Carole respond?

spacylacy2002 (01:17:50 PM): oh i'll fill you in on the whole thing tomorrow- she didn't really say much on that topic- but what really got me upset before the meeting was I walked in the door and she was like "kent wants only local breaking exclusive news on this budget and if it doesn't happen he's going to come out here and make it happen" I was like fine- we have a few empty seats.

ken_brown_98 (01:20:08 PM): Why didn't they tell everyone months ago? Even last week Carole was insisting that she was in charge and that the coverage wouldn't change. Even after we talked about the mixed signals we were getting?

spacylacy2002 (01:21:29 PM): I know- and this week my breaking news story was on five and my big picture industry story was on one- I was like "this doesn't make any sense!" and she kept trying to justify it then she admitted that I was right and she was getting mixed signals and she started to cry and said she's trying to fight for our staff but she doesn't think she can fight hard enough and that she didnt think she knew what news was anymore either- can you imagine?

ken_brown_98 (01:22:28 PM): Oh my gosh. That;'s bizzarre. It sounds like Kent was the one who didn't like my stuff.

ken_brown_98 (01:23:07 PM): That is the strangest meeting I've ever heard. I would have given anything to habve been there...

spacylacy2002 (01:23:09 PM): I don't know- she said she made the lay off decisions- but I got the impression that dick has been driving a lot of this stuff- and going through charlotte to do it

spacylacy2002 (01:23:33 PM): she said she isn't even getting the sales numbers anymore

ken_brown_98 (01:23:43 PM): Death spiral.

A Police State In Stars And Stripes

An interesting read in TOMPAINE.com about dirty bomb suspect Jose Padilla.

The other two nominal Americans nabbed thus far in the present conflict, John Walker Lindh and Yaser Esam Hambi, arguably forfeited their claim to citizenship by fighting on behalf of a foreign power. Each was captured by military forces in a combat zone.

Padilla, on the other hand, was born in Brooklyn, raised in Chicago and arrested by civilian authorities at O'Hare Airport. As we're all equal before the law, his legal status is the same as any other citizen's. If he can be forever detained by executive order without so much as a hearing before an independent magistrate, so can anybody else. When your liberty is insured solely by the goodwill and competence of those in charge, you live in a police state.

Unemployment: Day Three

Andrea, Geoff and I went back to work to pack up our personal belongings, which provided, in a sad way, closure. I wanted to cry when I unpinned from my cubicle wall a photograph Andrea had taken of me when we were in downown San Jose scouting out backdrops for our video project. It really seemed back then that we were making ourselves indespensible to the company, particularly to our publisher. From what I understand, he was the one who made the initial suggestions about who to cut.

It dawned on us afterwards that the four people affected most directly by the layoffs had frozen our spending, going so far as to start bringing our lunches, as if we unconciously knew, despite all other outward logic, that we were the ones getting the axe. Funny.

On todays agenda: I'm redoing my crappy cover letter and applying at TechTV, the Washington D.C. Business Journal, the San Jose Mercury News and the Contra Costa Times. Andrea is putting together her portfolio, lookin for more leads and preparing for her interview tomorrow.

Unemployment: Day Two

I couldn't slepp at all last night, so I woke up around 6 a.m., hours before my usual wake up time -- on the one weekday I could justifiably sleep in. Andrea and I have turned her apartment into a job-seeker headquarters, where both of us have been applying for various jobs all day long.

Andrea's still sick, so she hasn't had a chance to hit the pavement in full force. Nonetheless, she has an interview this Thursday at the San Francicso Business Times. Our friend Geoff (also known as Sarah's boyfriend), who was laid off with us, is applying for the same position, and it sounds like both of them have a pretty good shot at it.

So far I've applied at Bloomberg, TheStreet.com, CBS Marketwatch, Ziff Davis' video game group, the Boston Business Journal and talked to my old editors at the Orange County Business Journal. I'm sure I'me forgetting a few. The OCBJ and I are seriously discussing my moving back to Southern California. I wanted to stay here in Silicon Valley, but unless I'm raking in the dough, there's absolutely nothing redeeming about the San Jose area. San Francisco, maybe, but that's still expensive. At least Orange County is a lifestyle upgrade. Unless Andrea gets the SF Times position, that's a really decent option. The first thing I would do is buy a season pass to Disneyland to numb the pain.

We also applied for unemployment benefits online, a nifty benefit to living in California. I don't think I could have taken standing in that joyless, stereotypical "unemployment line."

Coping with the 5 stages of grief and bereavement

I’m still processing this morning’s layoff. I’ve been racking my brain, trying to figure out why, out of all the reporters who could have been laid off, I was the one who got the axe. My colleagues seemed just as stunned as I was; according to Sarah, Robert Mullins marched into Carole’s office afterward and launched into a diatribe about how stupid it was for her to get rid of me.

It was pretty clear from the start that the editor and publisher didn’t care for tech news. It was something they vowed to do while the sector was hot, but they never did enjoy it or even understand it. When the sector fell, my work became dispensable. That’s especially true with the paper’s shift to small-business news. Now, they’ve completely dismantled the tech team they worked so hard to recruit.

Anyway, they say that every significant loss involves five steps of grief -- I think I’m still in denial. I just can’t get myself to feel much of anything about getting laid off. Well, maybe I’m a little angry already. If that’s the case, I’m already in stage II. I’m angry that I got recruited from a job I was perfectly happy with and in an area I loved to be abandoned in this high-priced rat-hole. I’m angry that I put so much effort into this job and tried so hard to make my tech coverage stand out, only to find out too late that they couldn’t care less.

It doesn’t matter that my former editors are complete morons. A layoff is a a form of rejection, and it’s hard getting rejected by anyone, let alone someone with such influence over your standard of living.

And of course, I’m worried. I’m afraid that in this economy, I won’t be able to find another job that pays as well -- if I find a job at all.

Unbelievable.

Andrea and I both got laid off.

Layoff news

Well, Carole has finally confirmed that layoffs are a real possibility in the editorial department. She said we'd have more specifics within the week. This is bad news, but at least we're getting some clarity.

Power crisis redux

I just got a wireless notification from the state of California that we're in a stage 2 power emergency. At stage 3, the power starts going off.

Who Wants This War? - And why don't we find out before we start one?

It looks like I'm not the only one a little unnerved by Bush's unilateral declaration of war.

Michael Kinsley writes:

The eerie non-debate we're having as vast preparations for battle are made before our eyes is a consequence of a long-running constitutional scandal: the withering away of the requirement of a congressional Declaration of War. Oh, the words are still there, of course, but presidents of both parties flagrantly ignore them—sometimes with fancy arguments that are remarkably unpersuasive, but mainly by now with shrugging indifference. The result is not just a power shift between the branches of government but a general smothering of debate about, or even interest in, the decision to go to war among citizens in general.

Interesting point.

No Quick Crucifix

Speaking of church and state, here's a Slate article outlining some of the downsides to school vouchers, at least from a mainstream Christian perspective.

Visual Studio .NET

One strange thing after installing: when another application crashes there's a new "debug" option. I guess Microsoft wants me to take some share of the blame.

The New Republic Online: Pledge Class

In light of the controvery surrounding the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals pledge of allegence ruling, here's an interesting counterpoint to the widespread outrage.

Just as the founders of this country rejected the idea of a king, so they rejected the idea of an official state religion. Here in the United States, religion is a personal matter, not subject to state control. And if most Americans would stop and think about it for a moment, they would agree that they prefer to keep things that way. Who really wants to have Congress writing prayers and weighing in on questions of faith?

The full article is worth considering.

Happy Independence Day!

With Andrea in Atlanta, I think I'm going to spend the next four days learning C# (the language, not the note), playing video games, catching up on reading and watching movies. If I'm feeling really ambitious, I might even look for an optical connector for my DVD player.

Everything except thinking about work.

S.F. bans urinating in public

Only in San Francisco would this be controversial.

Brazil Back on Top of Soccer World

After staying up until 6 a.m. with two screaming Brazilians, I still don't understand what the big deal is about soccer.

Bush to be sedated....

CNN.com

Asked about the decision to transfer power, Bush said, "I did so because we're at war, and I just want to be super cautious."

Am I the only one irked every time he says this? When did Congress declare war?

smattering.org >> the friday five

Since all the tech companies have shut down early in anticipation of next week's "holiday," I actually have time to do the Friday Five:

When was the last time you...

1. ...sent a handwritten letter?
Years. I don't know what I'd do without e-mail and instant messaging. Luckily, most of my family is pretty tech-savvy, too, so that's how we keep in touch.

2. ...baked something from scratch or made something by hand?
I made some capellini a few weeks ago -- everything was hand-prepared, except maybe the noodles. (No, I didn't squeeze out the olive oil or milk a cow for the cheese, but let's get real.)

3. ...camped in a tent?
College, I think. Not something I enjoy all that much.

4. ...volunteered your time to church, school, or community?
This is something I need to do more. That last time was Feb. 14, when my church undertook a "kindness project" in downtown San Jose. I signed up to pass out food, but ended up on the team passing out flowers.

5. ...helped a stranger?
I helped an old woman cross the street in San Jose a few months ago, at her request. No lie. A few months before that, I helped another elderly woman get her car out of a tight parking spot. She actually trusted a complete stranger to get in her car and back it out of the parking space. We have a lot of retirees around the area I work.

Bush's lucky Enron break

Bush vows investigation into WorldCom scandal

Why is Bush so suddenly interested in a federal probe about accounting fraud? Because WorldCom contributed to Democratic candidates.

The chickens come home to roost

Bush Facing Test in Fight to Avert a Financial Crisis

Of course, he'll find a way to blame this on terrorism and not his government giveaway to the rich.

Argh.

Within minutes of my implementing the new system, it goes down. The error is completely on their end, so I can only assume it will be fixed soon.

New comment system

I added a new comment system that's easier to customize and manage. Unfortunately, that's means all of the old comments are gone forever. Easy come, easy go, I say.

Planet Replay receives a subpeona

Now the movie industry is dragging ReplayTV enthusiast-matching site Planet Replay into its lawsuit against SonicBlue. With uncertainties at the workplace, this may not be such a bad time to start boycotting movies.

Who's next?

Charmain, a secretarial-type assisant for our special events coordinator, got the pink slip today.

I don't know what to make of that. She was a part-time employee, so the move isn't going to save much money. What's even scarier is that she was plenty busy, so it wasn't like they were getting rid of deadweight or anything.

I guess I shouldn't worry about things I can't control. The only thing I can do is keep applying like crazy to other jobs.

No news is ________ news.

No big news today; Mr. Bernhard just wanted to sit in at our meeting and hear our story lists. They're really trying to shift our coverage of "hard news," or at least their very narrow definition of the term. Typically, that means news not found anywhere else -- even if that's because it wasn't a big enough deal to warrant coverage in competing publications. Needless to say, this is not the sort of thing that gets me excited -- and contradicts just about everything our editors have been telling us since we got here.

But if that's what they want, that's what I'll have to do. That sort of news is a lot easier to do, but is completely irrelevant in this market.

Dia dos Namorados

For those of you who don't know, today is Dia dos Namorados, or the Brazilian version of Valentines Day. and if you're dating a Brazilian, that pretty much makes it Valentines Day for you, too.

Closure?

Here's an excerpt from an e-mail everyone in the newsroom received this morning:

Wanted to let you know that Kent Bernhard plans to sit in on our staff
meeting tomorrow morning, via conference call.

I'd like to please ask that everyone make a special effort to get here
for a 9 a.m. sharp start time.

Kent is vice president for editorial forparent company American City Business Journals and almost never sits in on a newsroom-only meetings -- at least, he hasn't during my time here or at the Phoenix business journal.

Even if this doesn't mean layoffs or salary cuts, his presence augurs big changes for the job. On the bright side, at least we'll end the agonizing uncertainty. I'll keep you posted.

Damn dirty apes

Police hunt 'criminal' chimp
World domination always begins with a few minor burglaries.

Perhaps I was a bit too hasty...

It turns out the parking snafu was an adminstrative mistake brought on by our accounting system going down last week. It's fixed now, but that doesn't mean we're out of the woods yet. Stay tuned...

More photos

These are from our trip to Napa last weekend.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

It may be worse than we thought. Today when I left the parking garage, I and other Business Journal employers discovered that our employer has not paid the monthly parking garage fee.

Sarah L. had to complain loudly to get her reimbursement check, which hadn't been paid in nearly three weeks.

And Andrea overheard an editor asking our payroll department why a freelancer hasn't been paid.

Those are the types of things business reporters look for when trying to determine whether a company is about to go under.

Trillian is back!

Trillian has finally fixed a minor but annoying bug with Yahoo Messenger, which means I'm once again universally connected to all the IM services at once. Woo-hoo!

(Yes, I am a geek.)

Suit filed over ReplayTV features

Well it's nice to know that someone is looking after my rights as a consumer.

Six months...

It's official -- Andrea and I have been dating for six months now. Happy semi-anniversary, sweetie!

Apple bites

I've never really been a big partisan when it comes to operating systems; I championed the Mac operating system in the 1980s and still use one regularly at work. At the same time, I have the lastest versions of Windows XP in my laptop and home PCs. As far as I'm concerned, people should use whichever operating system feels right for them and lets them do the things they want to do.

But it really irks me when some igorant Mac user -- particularly one who doesn't know much about computers to begin with -- starts popping off about how superior his beloved Apple is. I'm talking about the little smirks when a Windows machine crashes (because as we all know, Apples NEVER crash -- I reboot my iMac twice a day for the fun of it), the snarky comment when a Web news outlet issues a new Windows virus alert (like most software developers, virus writers ignore the Macintosh) and the clicking tongues when Microsoft attracts more antiturst scrutiny (Steve Jobs, apparently, is not a control freak who wants to control every aspect of computer from hardware to software to retail experience).

Every system has its strengths and weaknesses, and people will naturally have different opinions about the best system for them. But why do Apple users have a fervor unmatched in the Windows world? Because when you're in the majority, you don't have to be so defensive.

Buying a Mac doesn't just mean paying more for your computer. Buying a Mac means you're stuck with one vendor for your machine, the operating system, nearly all of the software and most connected peripherals. So this is freedom from a monoploy? Buying a Mac means having to adjust the memory allocation for each application separately. This is user friendliness? Buying a Mac means having to make sure your printer fonts match the ones installed on your computer. This is simplicity?

Don't get me wrong. Apple makes some elegant, brilliant computers and software. That's something that no single company in the Windows world has yet duplicated, simply because of the split hardware/software nature of the PC arena. And OS X is a nice operating system, pretty to look at and rock solid to use. But I, like 97 percent of computer buyers, want choice. I like choosing from dozens upon dozens of different computer systems, made possible becuse Microsoft embraced the concept of licensing the operating system. I like being able to find software for almost every whim, made possible because users flocked to the idea of a low-cost PC and created a wide audience for Windows developers -- who in turn created a vast array of software. I like having a wide array of peripherals that extend the life of my machine and make it more useful over time.

So you like your new Apple iBook? Good for you. It's a well-designed machine, and is probably worth its premium price.

But for most of us, the world is a lot bigger than four computer models, or for that matter, a single PC manufacturer. Isn't that what Thinking Different is all about?

Crap, crap crap

Well, the bad news is filtering in. Both of the editors in that videoconference look extremely upset, and I just heard that our sunscription levels have fallen nearly 30 percent in the last year. This is not good.

Dun-dun-dunnnnnn.

Our publisher and all of our editors are meeting with one of the corporate guys from our Charlotte headquarters. This can't be good.

Reading tea leaves

Our publisher announced some mid-year "budget revisions" yesterday that everyone here is interpreting as "layoffs." I'm not worried about getting let go myself, but I do worry about Andrea for a variety of reasons. Sure, she's among the most talented graphics people here, but this office isn't exactly run in a logical way.

I'm more worried about having to take a salary cut, which would really stink in this area. At any rate, I'm posting my resume on HotJobs this weekend to see whetherI get any bites.

Will game makers' universe expand as prices contract?

How cool is this? My video game story appeared on the regular business news section of MSNBC. Woo-hoo

It's a small world...

Here are the Disneyland photos!

That was easy...too easy.

OK, comments appear to be working again...

Comment system upgrade

YACCS has upgraded its comment system, rendering my old code dysfunctional. (One of the major drawbacks of Web services). I'm working on some fixes and hope to have comments back online soon.

Top story again!

My video game story made it to the top of the MSNBC local news page this week... Woo-hoo!