October 07, 2008

More Debating

I just watched the debate, and was distinctly underwhelmed.  Nobody offered a single body blow.

That being said, I think McCain sort of won.

Obama was articulate and compelling as an orator.  McCain was affable, and kindly, maybe even a bit diffident.  Neither of them charged to the fore.

I suspect and hope that this is a bit of strategy on McCain's part.  Tonight, he showed that Obama is a bit of a boob.

Obama prepared for McCain to come out swinging and was ready to defend and attack.  McCain was pleasant, and mostly avoided direct attacks on Obama.  Obama was baffled, and went on the defense even when McCain didn't bother to attack.

One of the rules of warfare is to make a noise in the east and attack from the west.  Obama seemed focused on the east.  If he was prepared to attack he never did.  He was focused and prepared to defend against something which never happened.  And that's why he was shown to be a boob.

Obama is focused, to the point of being single-minded.  He wants to be president, but hasn't a clue as to what the job entails.

I think McCain has a plan.  I don't think this oatmeal debate is cause for panic.  McCain said the gloves are off, and he wasn't lying.  However, everybody assumed that meant he would take every opportunity to smack Obama.  That would be stupid given the 24/7 news cycle, and the short attention span of the average American.

McCain is gambling again.  Nobody won the debate.  I doubt McCain thinks it was a battle worth winning.  He will take the fight elsewhere.  Afterall, another rule of warfare is to pick the battlefield.  McCain will bash Obama on the campaign trail.  He intends to seize the initiative and drive the debate in a venue where Obama will necessarily have to take time to formalize a response and fight back.  So long as he can keep Obama in defensive mode, he will have an advantage.

I would provide a link, but I don't remember where I found the quote (paraphrase, really), but if McCain is smarter than I, what would he do?  McCain is a successful politician and decorated military hero.  He might make mistakes, but fighting a battle to a draw isn't one he would make without having a greater goal in mind.

I guess the question is; can his tactics keep up with his strategy?

Posted by: roggowj at 08:37 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 410 words, total size 2 kb.

September 17, 2008

We're Running Out of Alphabet

Being a computer guy, I have to know a lot of acronyms.  PHP, SQL, LAMP, WAMP, CMS, and so on.  Further more, I used to work for the DSS (Department of Social Services) which became CPS (Children's Protective Services) which then became DHHSCPS (Department of Health and Human Services Chilren's Protective Services).

Frequently I had to fill out a collection of forms to request a certain document.  I filled out the ADM-2, ADM-2A, and the ABCDM-4.  All of them in triplicate, two of them with nearly identical information only in different boxes.  Talking to co-workers was a gabble of letters and numbers.  I swear we all sounded like Star Wars robots talking dirty to each other.

Posted by: roggowj at 11:50 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 121 words, total size 1 kb.

September 03, 2008

"Firestar"

I finished a book today called "Firestar" written by Michael Flynn, published in 1996.  It was in a collection of books given to me after my aunt died.  It's an ambitious book and would have been better served if it were written as a number of volumes rather than a single tome.

As far as the writing goes, it was mediocre. The dialogue didn't exactly compare to Oscar Wilde.  The story was moderately predictable without being tiresome.  I would describe the theme as being a business-opera meets techno-drama.

In "Firestar" a rich heiress witnesses a meteor during the day in Jackson Hole.  This event drives her to get mankind out of the cradle.  All of her wealth and business acumen is directed to create an orbital industrial base and send humanity to the stars.  Meriesa van Huyten's efforts create a sprawling conglomerate of industries from smelting and plastics to MEMS and school administration.

I would have found the book truly riveting had the author focused a bit more on the intrigue and politicking of VHI (van Huyten's Industries).  The plot is more of a backdrop aimed at developing character stories, and thus the plot suffers.  Potentially exciting intrigues and political wranglings are introduced and solved pages or chapters later with a few sentences. This particular technique relieves the reader of any pesky suspense.  It's also a bit of a pie-eyed story, but I don't mind that so much.  Fiction is an exercise of the imagination, and as a techno-optimist I rather enjoy reading feverishly optimistic stories of future tech.

As a bit of an aside, the book is very timely in its treatment of technology.  It got a few things wrong, like voice-actived computers; a few things right, like remote-controlled armed-forces units; a few things not yet realized, like the aerospike.  The timing was a little optimistic since it has only been in the last five odd years that private enterprise has actually begun to pursue a potentially lucrative space industry.  There's also an important sub-plot on education which is a source of some of the other (interesting) characters in the book.

But, as I mentioned the book is primarily character driven and I will discuss that below the fold as I wouldn't want to ruin anything.
more...

Posted by: roggowj at 06:44 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 985 words, total size 6 kb.

August 25, 2008

My Goodness

Daniel Radcliff is a tiny little fellow.  By way of reference, my current date is 5'4" at best; weighing 120 lbs.

Radcliff, on television, looks to be about 4' 1" and 60 lbs.

Who says television adds 40 lbs.?

Posted by: roggowj at 11:06 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 41 words, total size 1 kb.

July 24, 2008

Batman vs. Superman

I watched 'The Dark Knight' today.  It's a fantastic film.  I recommend it.

Batman has always been my favorite superhero.  Even the travesty of 'Batman and Robin' gets a pass from me.  Put Batman in the title of a film and I'll watch it, no questions asked.

I've had the Batman vs. Superman argument a time or two.  Superman would win the battle, of course.  But he's not that compelling.  Superman can only be killed by some chemical, the likes of which doesn't occur on Earth.  There's no suspense or question of his success.  Superman is effectively a god among insects.

Batman is a human.  Bullets and knives are deadly to him.  He gets hurt and knows that a bus could run him over at any moment.  His utility belt doesn't protect him from RPGs.

The big point people like to make is that Superman wears Clark Kent as a costume.  He's actually Superman.  Clark Kent is the alter ego.  Superman's mythology makes him a secret hero among men as we all wish we were.

I think it's fair to argue that Batman does the same.  Only he's actually human.  Batman rides the wave of depravity and insanity.  Bruce Wayne is a facade.  Bruce only exists for Batman's sake.  More importantly, Bruce exists for the trust fund's sake.

I think of Batman as the John Wayne of the modern age.  He's a slave to the human condition as we all are.  The purely altruistic hero doesn't exist.  The guy that does the right thing in spite of his desire to drink and smash and shoot is extremely human.  Batman would load up his M16 and blast dirty fuckers into oblivion if he thought it would be right, but he doesn't.  Batman knows restraint.  Batman does separate himself from the beasts.

I guess, the short version of this post is that Batman understands that people need a rough man to do violence on their behalf so they can sleep easy in their beds.  (Yeah, I'm paraphrasing.)  He's just the man to do it.

Posted by: roggowj at 09:31 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 345 words, total size 2 kb.

July 15, 2008

An Interesting Day

I rode my bike downtown on Saturday.  It's about 8 miles from my house to downtown Boise, so it's a fair ride.  Anyhow, I spent the day wandering around the farmer's market and watching people from the bar.  On my way home it was really fucking hot, so I stopped at the bar for a couple of beers and ran into some friends when I was walking out the door.  My afternoon out turned into a two-day bender and I'm not sure the pants I wore home are mine.

Anyhow, I had a curious conversation with a friend during the coffee and vodka stage of sobering up.  The guy is a flaming liberal.  You know, the sort that believes if another Republican takes office, we'll see a third-world police state with rioters being gunned down in the street.  Nonetheless, we had a civil conversation and even agreed on a few things.

Actually, we agreed on two things.  During a four hour conversation.

Immigration policy was the only area where we found commonality.  I think amnesty is reasonable.  The expense and logistics of hunting down and deporting some 12 million illegals is staggering.  Especially when most of these people have friends, family and compatriots willing to help them hide.

But, it needs to stop.  The borders need secured, even if it means turning the border into a no-man's land rivaling that between the Koreas.

The conversation demonstrated something I've understood since living in San Francisco, but never experienced quite so directly.   After discussing issues for a time we always arrived at the same point.  I argued for individual responsibility, while he wanted communal responsibility.

He's an articulate fellow, and pretty well informed.  But his position came from one of empathy.  Mine from analysis.  He accused me of being cold and selfish, I accused him of being a bleeding heart socialist.

I've never had such a candid and civil political conversation with a liberal.  I may have to sleep with him now.

Posted by: roggowj at 12:55 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 333 words, total size 2 kb.

July 04, 2008

Happy 4th of July

My brain spent part of this morning thinking about Independence Day and doing some small reflection on America.  I found that a line from 'America the Beautiful' touches me deeply and represents what I think of our nation.

Thine alabaster cities gleam, Undimmed by human tears.

For all the poverty, crime, and assorted ugliness in America, we remain a beacon of hope.  We are a people of ingenuity, generosity, and ambition.

Now it's time to celebrate.  Here's to another 200 years of wealth, health, and happiness.

Posted by: roggowj at 12:21 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 90 words, total size 1 kb.

May 28, 2008

Wow!

Just. . . wow!

Tarja Turunen is wow!



Perhaps one more after the fold:
more...

Posted by: roggowj at 02:46 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 15 words, total size 1 kb.

<< Page 1 of 1 >>
23kb generated in CPU 0.0275, elapsed 0.0943 seconds.
43 queries taking 0.0752 seconds, 84 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.