Home Alone

Today I dropped Shirley off at the airport for her 5 day visit to the Bay area. Get ready Michael, Judge Judy 24 hours a day.

Yesterday Gov. Schwarzenegger declared California in a state of emergency because of the severity of their drought. Forecast for Shirley's visit, rain everyday. They should pay her for visiting.

Free at last!! Five wild and crazy days on my own. Let's see, where's the block of cheese? Big plans, going to the dump with Eric and Landry this morning. ... and then ... well I'll figure it out.

Hayden Lunch

I had the pleasure of another lunch with Hayden. She brought both Jill and Tylir along this time. Once again she managed to get the attention of most the tables around us ... or it could have been Tylir. The good news is that Tylir found his lost again wallet ... but only after he had Jill search the house several times and asked her to cancel all of the credit cards. It turned up in the trunk of his car. I don't know why Jill put it there.

Tylir is anxious for Hayden to get a little older so she can side with him. He thinks Jill and I pick on him. When asked if anyone ever sided with him, he responded "no." So Tylir, guess what Hayden is going to do. Good thing you have a thick skin.

AstraZeneca Seroquel Studies Buried

The London-based company faces about 9,000 lawsuits (15,000 patients) claiming it failed to properly warn users that Seroquel can cause diabetes and other health problems for this FDA approved drug. According to an AstraZeneca official, "The drugmaker failed to publicize results of at least three clinical trials of Seroquel and engaged in “cherry picking” of data." ... "AstraZeneca has studied Seroquel extensively and shared all relevant and required data with the FDA -- both before and after the agency approved it as safe and effective.” I wonder how we would react if bin Laden had a way to give 15,000 people diabetes?

Choking

No, I'm not talking about something caught in the throat or what I often want to do to Judge Judy. I'm referring to blowing it under pressure. A recent study (probably paid for with our tax dollars) showed that skilled golfers do better when asked to putt quickly than when told to take their time. Novices miss regardless. A person can get better at handling pressure by putting themselves in pressure situations. You also need to admit to yourself that you have a choking problem ... which means you are normal. Are putting (short golf shot) and putting (placing an article somewhere) really spelled the same?? don't you love English.

Talk to the Box

A year ago the economy looked bad. Unfortunately, I didn’t know what bad really looked like. Now the economy looks bad …. And I really hope I know what bad looks like. It’s hard to look at Washington for solutions. The Republicans are hoping it gets worse enough that we start thinking the Democrats got us here. The Democrats are thrilled it’s bad enough that it is “spending time again”; the coffers are wide open for all their causes. Boy do we need some Obama magic.

I wish I felt that I know the answer but it is way too complicated. The government running banks doesn’t sound good, but bankers running banks sound even worse. Giving everybody health care and unemployment insurance feels good but it doesn’t feel like a solution. Tax cuts for all helps me but I really think tax cuts for businesses are really the only ones that have an impact. I’m afraid there is only one place to turn for answers; Shirley, go ask that little box that talks to you.

Terrorism is #3

A previous rant in this blog discussed how terrorism has fallen behind the economy the top threat to Americans. In reality, both of these are behind the environment. Dan Nocera of MIT points out in a recent publication that we “are a world out of balance. We seek immortality at the individual level and are oblivious to the health of our humanity at a global level.” Our R&D spending for health is 30 times what we spend for energy science.

One of the minor problems we face per James Anderson of Harvard is that that the current level of CO2 in our atmosphere now ensures sufficient heating to melt the Arctic summer ice cap within the next decade. The ice in the Arctic Ocean acts as a heat shield for our planet by preventing the flow of warm ocean currents to the furthest reaches of the northern hemisphere. ... Much of the world’s industrial centers and population are situated near coastline, which will be submerged under the water accompanying the 7 meter (~25 feet) rise in ocean levels with the collapse of the Greenland ice cap. … not to mention that Europe will be a lot colder. The Europeans and others will probably just move over here. Maybe we do need that military.

Polygamy

Shirley (aka JudgeJudy) and I were watching an episode of Numb3rs last night about a man with 73 wives. Part of the focus was on concerns about the inbreeding that seems to occur in the polygamy community. I would think the male gene that wanted multiple wives would be a much greater concern. What are they thinking? Multiple honey-do lists? Knick-knack purchasing contests? One that likes to go to a lot of symphonies, another a lot of plays, another art fairs and yet another that loves the museum circuit? And they need to eat, each with a different fine dining experience they prefer. Shirley said I couldn’t handle it. Once again she was right.

It's not a totally bad news recession

The banks need more money, the credit unions want some now, unemployment rises and home prices keep going down along with the stock market. It's the worst economy of my life ... but there are rays of hope.

• Maybe we will become energy independent. There is more public support and financing for home grown sources of energy from wind and solar to carbon sequestering and nuclear.
• Americans are realizing that our economy is our greatest resource and protection against enemies. Have any of the wars of the past 60 years done us any good? Do we need to spend more on defence than the rest of the world combined? Do we need troops in Europe, Korea, Japan and the middle east? Our resources are much better spent on assets that have a return; infrastructure, energy independence, the environment and world good (there are dividends for helping people).
• Americans are rethinking their spending habits, starting to save again. Our values are changing for the better by being more focused on our friends and family.

I think we will have a very different and better country when it is all over.

Tidbits from Popular Science

Things of interest in this month's Popular Science:

• Hurricane busters - scientists think they may be able to reduce the impact of hurricanes by flying supersonic F-4 Phantom fighter jets counter to the wind inside the wall of the eye. They think it could slow it down and choke off the supply of warm air that fuels the storm.
• Kuwait is about to break ground on a 3,300 foot skyscraper that will be a city onto itself. It will be 1,000 feet higher than any building today, about triple the height of the Empire State Building.
• Oasis of the Sea Royal Caribbean cruise ship will launch this year out of Florida. Its population will be 6,600 people, 2,000 more than the biggest thing that floats today.
• Pollution is going straight to our hips per three recent studies. Many of the chemicals we ingest from baby bottles, food packaging, plumbing, etc. (environmental obesogens) mimic estrogen and interfere with the body's natural mechanisms for regulating fat cells. Along the same line, artificial sweeteners make us fatter by blunting the brain's natural ability to measure calories, causing us to overeat.

I'll close on that happy note ...

Terrorism is #2

I've been trying to get the threat of terrorism downgraded for years. I've used this blog to explain that pharmaceutical companies intentionally kill many times more people than terrorists. I'm not so happy to report that terrorism has been reduced to the #2 threat to America. Unfortunately, its the economic fiasco that has taken over the #1 slot according to our national intelligence (oxymoron) community. The primary fear being that the economy could get so bad that our allies could turn on one another. Hard to believe they could turn on us with our brilliant moves in Iraq, Afghanistan and Israel. It would be nice to have that trillion dollars plus back.

I usually wake up in early in the morning. I like to just lay there and listen to BBC to hear whats going on in the world. I'm starting not to enjoy it because everything is negative and I can see where it affects us ... or more important me.

Back to Work

Monday was a Jack Henry holiday. Ahhh, the kids and grandkids were gone ... a great day to kick back and relax. Oops, I just remembered I was going to start on my taxes today. This is never a good thing. As usual, the first thing Turbo Tax asks for I don't have (the Jack Henry W-2). I feel the tension building. Now the IRS wants to know where our charities are located. Shirley, do we really give money to an Indian reservation in Montana?? We started donating to the micro lender KIVA. The founder won the Nobel Peace Prize a few years ago. They should be easy to find. Oops, not on their web page. What did we do before Google? I'm not feeling the serenity.

... and then there is the barn that was about 25% destroyed in the wind storm a week ago. The insurance adjuster has been by so there is no excuse for not picking up the debris. It amazes me that a 30' x 4' 100 pound piece of steel flew over 100 yards. Add another 50 yards for a 2x4 and still another 100 yards for a skylight panel. Dragging all of it to one spot meant about 20 trips. The 30' steel panels were the worst, though not too bad if you remembered to point the nails and screws up. Impossible the other way. I'm sweating. Trim the pompas grass and fix the tires on the surrey still on Judge Judy's list.

Tuesday morning, back in the office, thank heavens.

Sunday Sunday

It’s Sunday. It started off with Jill and I beating Eric and Tylir in euchre for the weekend championship. We made some bacon, egg and cheese tequitas for breakfast and it was time for Hayden to take her parents and the barking dog to go home. Shirley’s last words to me Saturday night were that she was setting her alarm for 7 AM so she could make breakfast for the kids. I woke her up about 11:15 so we wouldn’t miss the symphony this afternoon. What was I thinking?

We needed a place to eat afterwards. The Grotto is one of Shirley’s favorites but they are closed on Sunday. I decided to check on the Internet to see if maybe they would be open, being the day after Valentine’s Day. It turned out not to be the case, in fact they are now closed Monday through Saturday as well. I have discovered over the years that the likelihood a restaurant will go out of business is directly proportional to how much Shirley likes it. I wonder if there is a way to make money on this knowledge. Off to the symphony.

Fun Day

Hayden brought her parents to the ranch for the weekend. Saturday morning we all went to Landry's basketball game. He had 6 steals, 4 of which he dribbled the length of the court and scored. He won the offensive player of the game award. Putting it in perspective, Michael has been at Berkeley for 3 months. He has neither won a Nobel Prize or cured any diseases.

Jill and I won at euchre and Jill, Eric and I won at dirty clubs. Seems someone hasn't won at anything. Sorry Tylir. Serves you right for putting the plastic, blow-up girl in my sleeping spot.

Time to take my valentine to dinner at the B&B. Hopefully they won't double dip us on the tip tonight. ... and too bad we won't be there the same time as Jeffrey and his girlfriend. Ta ta.

Writers Block

I'm having trouble finding something to expound upon. It's not for lack of topics. Interesting observations of the last couple of days include:

• From watching the TV show Numb3ers, I learned a person is 3 times more likely to die in a car accident driving to purchase a lottery ticket than of winning the lottery. Sort of takes the fun out of thinking about what you might do with the winnings.
• UPS delivered a new wooden box for keeping recipe cards in. Shirley already has 2 double rowed wooden boxes for 3X5 recipe cards. When questioned, Shirley looked at me dumbfoundedly and explained that the new box holds 4X6 cards. I guess it leaves more room for the cobwebs.
• Congressman Barney Frank, when interviewing the CEOs of the banks that got TARP money, said, "Here's this problem: People really hate you, and they're starting to hate us because we're hanging out with you.” I would think Congress would be happy that we hate someone more than them.

I've got to go and try to think of something to write about.

Good Bet

When I have an evening requirement in Dallas, I generally spend the night at Jill and Tylir's. Last night was one of those evenings as I had a good dinner with a great friend, Scott Shafer. Afterwards, I trekked to Jill's for some cards and then to my bed for the night. If you were to place a bet on who would win the evening of cards, your money would be well placed on me. Not because the odds are better that I would win any particular game but rather because of how the winner is determined. I was holding my own in the regular play but as it got late, and as we always do, we play one final round for the nightly championship regardless of how it has gone so far. You may think the odds of being champion are one in three but you would be wrong. Because if Tylir wins he wants to keep playing so much so that he is willing to play another round to determine the "real" champion. If Jill wins she want to go to bed but the pressure to play another round from Tylir and me overcome her better instincts. Me, if I win, I love to get up and go to bed. The more they squawk the better I sleep. Now back to the betting. If you would have bet on me last night you would have lost. Jill won both the championship and the "real" championship rounds and I didn't sleep well at all.

Good advice

I heard two interviews this week that offered good lessons in life:

• Mike & Mike in the Morning interviewing Tiger Woods - Mike was asking Tiger how his dad helped make him be so competitive, have that killer instinct. Tiger responded "he always made it fun." Keep it fun, good advice.

• Charlie Rose was interviewing his friend and author of "Leading with Kindness" - William Baker described how intimidation works short term but kindness works long term. The COO of the USMC was one example. The COO was asked what he did. He responded "I teach kindness. If you want the person next to you to be willing to die for you or charge that hill, he better like and respect you." Kindness (not to be confused with pushover) is needed if you want people to tell you what's going on in your business. Or else, you just get what you want to hear. Like a lot of folks on Wall Street these past few years. Keep it kind, good advice.

The broad side of a barn

The wind howled, the thunder roared, the rain pelted the window pains and the dogs couldn't get close enough to you. It was a dark and stormy night. By morning it had passes and all seemed normal. The dogs wanted outside and to be fed, the clocks weren't flashing and the forecast was for 70 degrees and sunshine. Dena came by to drop a couple things off about 7:30. She said "have you seen the barn?" I'm thinking, this can't be good. Sure enough, the house survived but the barn didn't. The southeast quarter of it was strewn across the paddock, some large big pieces of sheet metal roofing were hundreds of feet away. Not good. A bigger storm is forecast for tonight. I wonder if it is too late to get insurance?

A Family Affair

It was the best of times, the worst of times. The food was great. The food was awful. The grandkids were wonderful. The cards were excellent. Then Tylir won a game. Then Jill went out of her way to set me while letting Tylir and Eric skate. I know it had something to do with me giving away her Barbie’s 20 years ago.

The day started with Eric, Jill, Tylir and all the grandkids arriving at the house about midday Saturday. The games began and I was winning. Shirley served the delicious, diet busting hor d’oeuvres: sausage and cheese biscuits plus chips and dip. Time was moving swimmingly until the dinner bewitching hour arrived … the dreaded school band fund raising spaghetti dinner, sauce and mush. I managed to eat some brown lettuce but that was my limit. Everyone else ate the dinner and later told me I had made the right choice. I did manage a grandkid in the lap for almost the entire 2 hour experience. Hayden managed to meet several strangers. It surprises me that people you don’t know want to hold your baby.

Back home, the cards kept coming and the Mavs win by a point on OT. I slept well. The next morning started well with a good breakfast and funny grandkids. I guess the lucky cards had to end but who would have thought that my own children would take such pleasure in my suffering. Can’t say I was that sorry to see them leave at noon.

I'll have my earth neat, please

A new study is out on the melting of Antarctica. It turns out that the mass of ice in Antarctica attracts water not unlike the mass of the moon causing the tides. All of it melting over the next couple hundred years has some interesting effects. The sea level in southern Chile and Argentina won't change but the level in the Caribbean/Gulf of Mexico area will rise 16 feet. Sorry Florida, you will lose a lot of land. The North and South Poles will move about 2500 feet, also changing the location of the equator. (... and yes Mike, I'm sure there is a surface tension involvement.) Can't wait.

Your lying eyes

Tim Cole (African-American) was convict of abducting at knife point and raping a 15 year old white girl in 1986. He was a freshman at Texas Tech. The girl that was raped IDed Tim from a photo. She also told police that the rapist was a chain smoker. Tim had asthma and never smoked. He also had 4 witnesses that put him in his apartment playing cards at the time of the crime. Outside of the eye witness, there was no evidence connecting Tim. No fingerprints in the car even though he drove it for several miles. No DNA.

In 1995, after the statute of limitations ran out, Jerry Johnson confessed to the crime. He wrote the prosecutor that he was guilty, not Tim. No response. He wrote the judge. No response. He wrote the defense attorney. No response. He wrote the district clerk. No response. In 2007, he tried to write Tim. Tim had died of asthma in his cell in 1999. (Texas prisons, another story) His mother got the letter of confession. She got a DNA test ordered ... and Johnson was a match. She tried to get her son exonerated but the Lubbock judge refused. Today a Texas appeals court is expected to clear Tim's record. This is the 34th case in Texas of wrongful conviction.

Three lessons:

• Texas Justice
• It's more than Texas and is why OJ got away with murder (the other side of so many wrongful convictions is some guilty go free)
• Don't believe your lying eye. Witnesses are unreliable.

Unintended Consequences ... sssssnakes

Scientists discovered a fossilized snake from 60 million years ago, a Titana boa. It is 45 feet long, three feet thick, weighs 2,500 pounds and eats 15 foot crocodiles for lunch. It lived when the earth was warmer. Did you see where Florida has been invaded by thousands of large (20 foot)anacondas?? Did someone say global warming??? Oh Oh

Little Visitors

Shirley got to watch Audrey and Landry today. Landry (aka "the Dipster") immediately sat down and announced he was hungry for dip and chips. Audrey noticed and decided it was time for a cheese pizza. Then Landry wanted a cheese pizza (he was hungry). And then they topped it all off with grapes. ... Time to go to the playroom upstairs and rearrange everything ... and everything they did. Audrey empties the large basket of stuffed animals to find the one she wants to take a ride in the carriage. Landry plays with all the toys in the game closet. He re-examines the closet for anything he hasn't yet played with. Time to practice running dives into the bean bag. Lets help hang the 3 new knickknack bicycle art pieces. Lets create our own art. Finally, the hour is up and Jeffery picks them up. It's safe for me to go home now.

Crossword Humor

The theme of an old NYT crossword puzzle was the same word(s) that can have the opposite meaning based on context. See how many you get:

Remaining or gone -
Add to or remove from -
Begin operating or stop operating -
Confirmation or uncertainty -
Unchanged or novel -
Easy to see or impossible to see -
Entangle or disentangle -

I wonder why foreigners have trouble learning English? The answers are - left, trim, go off, reservation, original, transparent and ravel.

TV, PC, Internet, Tivo .... and the iPhone

The iPhone has joined the list of technologies that have changed my life. I’m not sure why it is called a phone. A body appendage like hand or arm might be more appropriate. I never need to be bored at an airport, in a waiting room, waiting for a movie to start or a meal to be delivered. Applications I use include:

· YouTube
· Stocks
· Weather
· Google News
· Google
· Maps with GPS
· Google Earth for street views
· FlightTracker (all airlines) and AA.com
· UrbanSpoon for nearby restaurants
· Public Radio for NPR and BBC
· QuickVoice to record ideas
· Flixster for reviews and local movies
· ESPN
· RSS feeds
· USA Today crosswords
· Sudoku
· WhosHere for people near you
· Shazam to ID music
· Games Tangram Pro, Marple and Enigmo
· Camera and photos
· and about 10 others I haven’t had time to use

Excuse me, sweetheart what was that you said?

Evolution Revolution

It took me about a week after I began writing this blog before I told anyone. And then it was only Shirley (with an endless stream of corrections). I shared it with the kids a few days later. The kids were probably a mistake. Eric's response was that it sounded interesting and maybe he would check it out someday (I suspect by the year 2050). Jill likes to point out how I mischaracterize her. Michael wants to know if he gets paid for reading it. Michael read "Star Struck" and wants to know if Dan Rather and Colin Powell have blogs. He thought they would be more interesting. When does the parental abuse end?

Shirley then expanded the universe to some of her friends. She said they liked the personal stuff, not so much the political or Walden stuff. So I focused on the personal only to be greeted when I get home at nights with "I can't believe you wrote about ....". She says I embellish. Hellooo. It's called writing and as long as there is not talking animals it qualifies as factual opinion. ... and dogs are not considered animals for the purposes of this blog. For example, Michael and I were talking last night and he asked the question “Doesn’t Mom remind you of Judge Judy? Think about it.” (btw Michael doesn’t get cable TV so he is locked in to what the networks offer which apparently is a lot of the judge.) He continues, “they look, sound (except for some dialect differences) and act alike. Make a list of what they have and don’t have in common and I bet the have’s win.” We went through the exercise and the biggest difference we found was that in Judge Judy’s court there is a 50-50 chance of winning. Doesn’t this qualify as good factual opinion? It certainly comes closer than historical movies. Oops, she’s coming, I got to go.