Warren Zevon on Letterman Still Shots 
Seeing that last one makes a great big lump form in my throat. Again. #
Big Day, Big Week for Audrey
Audrey has been very busy. After all the hubub of the conference, she met with her thesis advisor , James Aber, today. He and Susan are on their way to a Kite Aerial Photography conference in California. We were hoping to do some Kite Aerial Photography at Audrey’s thesis site at Willow Beach, south of Las Vegas. But you need sufficient wind to get the kites up and, for once, the desert was not cooperating in that department. Oh well, it was still a good day for all involved. #
Happy Birthday Mr. Random!
via Ken 
#
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Warren Zevon on Letterman
Warren Zevon will be David Letterman’s only guest tonight. I know Al and Dori (at least) have already hit this, I’m just doing so for completeness. I’ve been following along on alt.fan.zevon on usenet for several weeks. Once you get to a certain age, I guess, attrition from natural causes in your ‘living artists I am a shameless fan-boy of’ group begins to become noticable. Warren is showing a lot of grace under pressure and Dave is showing a lot of class as a vocal long-time fan in having Warren on right now. We will probably not see Mr. Zevon in public again. Thank you Dave Letterman! #
Home again
Audrey and Ian arrived home safely last night. Audrey’s presentation went really well and Ian had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa and Audrey’s cousins. I’m glad everyone is back. #
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Apple Store Fashion Show
I just got an email from The Mothership. An Apple Store is opening in Las Vegas on 2 November. That’s this weekend! Color me six shades of flabbergasted. I don’t think of Las Vegas as a Mac-friendly town. But then, they are in the upscale tourista mall on the strip. Now I’m curious who works there. There can’t be more than a couple of ‘Mac Geniuses’ here. No, I’m not one of them. #
All We Have to Fear is Manipulation Itself
I don’t even know how to set this up except to say, if you’ve humored my taste before, please do so again. It’s thought provoking like a good conversation with a close friend. IMO, as always. #
"When you feel fear in a media-driven society, chances are it‚s because someone wants to scare you.
As previously conjectured, fear is usually the product of a media message. The message is certainly calculated, perhaps cynical. At its most benign, it‚s to sell you a hygiene product to avoid the purgatory of those who smell, look or taste human. If political, the message is surely cynical: to alarm you over a non-issue so convincingly that you reward the manipulator of your emotions with your vote or worse ˆ another of your dwindling freedoms.
(…) Let‚s break that down. In my recent Viet Nam recollection, I suggested that we pay too much attention to scary but improbable anecdotes and too little to our real lives and loves. Perhaps our innocence has been stolen by terrorists, but our energy is being drained by politicians. They can do it because we’re wired that way.
To be fair, the politicians face their own greatest fear: another major attack will expose their lack of control of this conflict. Their fear, then, is for their political security and not the security of their fellow citizens. All they have to sell us sell is the illusion of control over a chaotic world.
(…)[M]aybe we want to tell our elected "leaders" about our preferred terms of engagement. Here‚s one view:"
[much more from Britt at Escapable Logic]
Day three of just me and the critters
I manage, but I can’t say I prefer it. Not because everything falls to me for a bit, but because I really miss those two.
Audrey will present her preliminary thesis results at the GSA tomorrow. You’ll do great! Meanwhile, I’m given to understand that Ian is the nexus of a revolving cast of all sorts of kin and kissin’ cousins. Just don’t ask about the garage. #
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Good to hear from Jonas
Like Martin, I was glad to see Jonas’ post, but also puzzled a bit at what was unsaid. When I saw him quote Antonio Machado "In my solitude I have seen things very clearly, which are not true" today, I think I understand more. Or perhaps less… #
COMPLEXITY, TRUST AND TERROR [NetFuture]
Shit. I saw this in Doc’s feed and it just pulled me up short. I had convinced myself that it was my own pessimism coloring my perceptions of what has been happening to my government. If I’m not alone in these thoughts, things might be larger then my own delusions.
"Just as sixth-century Romans abandoned their city when the aqueducts were cut, Americans seem to be abandoning essential parts of the democratic civic culture that developed during the past two centuries. This appalling turn of events is certainly evident in the material features of public buildings and grounds. A visit to Washington, D.C., shows the place transformed by ever-present ugly cement barriers, recurring security place transformed by ever-present ugly cement barriers, recurring security searches and ubiquitous surveillance cameras. The city has been redefined as capital of Homeland, a strange new country where once-cherished freedoms of thought, expression and movement are regarded as luxuries too dangerous to afford." [NetFuture #137]
Hmm. I flee from the larger present and hope for the future.
"When the Master governs, the people
are hardly aware that he exists.
Next best is a leader who is loved.
Next, one who is feared.
The worst is one who is despised.
If you don’t trust the people,
you make them untrustworthy."
Tao te Ching Mitchell #17
"When the great Tao is forgotten,
goodness and piety appear.
When the body’s intelligence declines,
cleverness and knowledge step forth.
When there is no peace in the family,
filial piety begins.
When the country falls into chaos,
patriotism is born"
Tao te Ching Mitchell #18
"The great way is easy,
yet people prefer the side paths.
Be aware when things are out of balance.
Stay centered within the Tao.
When rich speculators prosper
while farmers lose their land;
when government officials spend money
on weapons instead of cures;
when the upper class is extravagant and irresponsible
while the poor have nowhere to turn—
all this is robbery and chaos.
It is not in keeping with the Tao."
Tao te Ching Mitchell #52
OK. that’s more than enough. It is not like I’m going to influence anyone from this forum. I’m just writing to see the words appear. Don’t forget to vote, I already have since Nevada has an early voter program. I want to believe that our voices could still make a difference. #
Fall Back
I must have needed that extra hour last night for sleep. #
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Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo remembers Paul Wellstone
Holding Down the Fort
Audrey and the birthday boy got on a plane this morning and flew off to Denver. Audrey will be presenting at the Geological Society of America national meetings and Ian will be spending some more time with Grandma and Grandpa at their house.
Neither of us has ever flown with an infant before. There is an extended set of airport logistics required to gate-check strollers and car seats. I got a gate pass to help Audrey with the additional flotsam and jetsam. Then there is 30 pounds of occasionally vocal, wiggling baby to contend with as well.
Once we got to the departure gate, some of the looks on people’s faces was interesting. I hope he doesn’t get fussy on the flight and contribute to some ‘there was this kid on the plane’ story as Audrey has more than enough to deal with traveling and thinking about her presentation on Tuesday. I walked Ian around a lot, trying to store some of the feeling of being with him. He did seem fascinated by the activity around the airplanes and was generally a real good kid while we waited for their boarding call. Then they were gone.
Sigh.
It is going to be waaay too quiet around here for a couple of days, but there are projects to keep Dad occupied during their absence. The ‘office’ needs to reorganized from focusing on my graduate work to focusing on hers. Two additional computers have come to live at Starbase blivet since the last exercise in entropy reduction and there is a nightmare of routers, hubs, cables and wall-warts on extension strips that have been annoying me for some time. It will be really nice to get that straightened up. I suspect the fire inspector would be pleased as well. Then there is The Garage. Now, I’m afraid. Can we just move instead?
Post arrival update: (1200 -0700GMT) It seems Ian didn’t travel very quietly. 
But, the fellow travelers were patient. He is with Grandma and Grandpa and the considerable extended family in the Denver area now, so let the multi-generational adoration and fussing over begin! Meanwhile, Audrey will descend into the horror that is herding a cross-platform Powerpoint presentation into shape. What version the presentation machine has on it is an open question. #
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Cute Kid! [PapaScott] #
SciFi on TV: Firefly
Like Dave, I watched tonight’s Firefly episode, entitled "Out of Gas". This ep was backstory and I really think the series is becoming one of the few things on broadcast TV I lok forward to watching. I hope that is not the kiss of death and it gets cancelled. It does sometimes seem that many TV shows I like have short runs. (How’s that for ‘center of the universe’ thinking? 
) #
RIP Richard Harris 1930-2002
Sigh. He was a good actor and will be missed. #
Senator Paul Wellstone (D, MN) killed in plane crash
"Democratic Sen. Paul Wellstone, his wife Sheila and daughter Marcia died Friday in a small plane crash near Eveleth, Minnesota, Democratic sources said." [CNN]
Kevin had this to say:
"Paul Wellstone was one of the last champions of the little guy, fighting daily for campaign finance reform, corporate accountability, universal health care, and a cleaner, safer environment. When the Democrats were falling over each other to prostrate themselves before Gore, Wellstone broke ranks to support Bill Bradley. When all too many of his Democratic colleagues in Congress voted to cede their constitutionally-mandated authority to debate and declare war, Wellstone voted no to Dubya’s Johnson-esque power grab. In sum, Wellstone had in surplus those characteristics that are in such short supply in today’s Capitol — vision, compassion, and above all, integrity. In a sea of mealy-mouthed, equivocating liberals, he was a bold, fighting progressive." [Ghost in the Machine]
Rafé points to this Congressional Quarterly article which has some more details.
This is tragic on many levels. Wellstone, his wife, their daughter, and five others were killed. At least two children lost their parents and six grandchildren lost Grandma and Grandpa. I don’t know about the five others who died. I’m sad for all of them and personally saddened that a leading progressive Senator is gone. So sad. #
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Can’t decide #
Nope, I really can’t decide where to put the permalink for entires. After the title or at the end of the post? I’m still hand coding it – I don’t seem to do any wysiwig blog stuff – so I have to decide every time. #
Thanks to my Father-in-Law…
I am given to understand that there are a series of baseball games being played on the west coast. You’ve probably heard that they are going on. If it wasn’t for talk of blogging the play-by-play on several blogs I frequent, I wouldn’t have known what Tom was talking about. It’s not that I’m anti-sport, I’m not. It’s more like I’m a-sport. I just don’t pay attention to most sports that seem to grip the population. #
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"I wonder how many of the chicken-hawks have children approaching draft-age?"
Ah, nothing like the musings of a career military man to bring things into focus. Thanks, Dave. My thoughts should come as no surprise to anyone who has been coming here very long. Not just ‘not in my name’, but “Not with my son!” Later: I thought it went without saying, but it looks like I need to make it explicit. I agree with what Dave said.#
Good road Grandma and Grandpa!
Ian’s Grandparents are heading back to Colorado after being here for his first birthday. I am glad they are getting to see so much of our little squiddle-boy. Back to Audrey’s GSA presentation in earnest. #
Server outage cleared
Thank you UserLand. In this instance, Userland is spelled Dave and Jake. #
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Doonesbury
Several non-blogger friends(?) pointed out today’s Doonesbury about blogs. Sure enough, it is all over the place in good recursive fashion.
2002 GSA Meetings
Audrey will be presenting some work that ties in to her thesis at this year’s Geological Society of America meetings. They are 27-30 October in Denver, CO. The GSA’s are a bigger deal than than my profession’s meetings. Corporations usually actually want Geologists to ply their trade. Anyway, we (I’m a co-author) are heads-down on that prep right now.
Thank you all for the well wishes on behalf of Ian.
It is very touching. It looks like the graphics server is down right now, however. Sorry about that.
Happy Birthday to my son, Ian!
Today Ian is one year old.
We had a party for him last night. Ok, I suppose the party really was for us, because Ian didn’t really know what the big deal was about.
Except that he had cake, which was a big hit. Grandma and Grandpa Hughes were there, as was Debbie, Tim and Samantha (our neighbors – we went to Samantha’s birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese last month), and SirDeath, Dr. ‘Liz, and Claudia, who is another Archaeologist. Thank you, Claudia, for taking these pictures!
