I was wondering what all the police vehicles were (I apparently drove by about an hour after the accident). Fortunately, nobody had life-threatening injuries.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Things I don't expect to see on my drive to work...
I was wondering what all the police vehicles were (I apparently drove by about an hour after the accident). Fortunately, nobody had life-threatening injuries.
Monday, February 11, 2008
The Android's Dungeon Endorses...
Well, tomorrow is the Maryland primary, and I'm keeping up a certain symmetry by being out in California for the Maryland primary, just like I was in Maryland for the California primary. My next stop apparently should be California, Maryland.
I did, however, get my absentee ballot in well ahead of time. For the Democratic presidential nomination, the Android's Dungeon endorses Barack Obama. I really like Obama, so I have a number of reasons, but I should go eat breakfast and get to work, so I'll just highlight two of them.
*Dynastic politics. As much as I liked Al Gore in 2000, he was a Senator's son. As much as I was unenthusiastic about John Kerry in 2004, he was the son of a federal government employee. I believe it is important for the health of our democracy to elect people from different families...fresh blood, if you will. As qualified as 'legacy' candidates sometimes are (and sometimes aren't), I think we need to reinforce the idea that you don't have to be related to someone famous to become president. I don't relish the idea of a race between a president's wife and an admiral's son.
*Integrity. God bless Bill Clinton, but the Clintons have come to stand for the idea that, "Hey, if the Republicans will do anything to win an election, we have to be prepared to as well." Think I'm exaggerating? The New Republic, in an editorial that reminds us they're still not sure whom to endorse says,
They're referring to Hillary's, "I agree with the decision not to count Michigan and Florida...oh, wait, I won? That changes things," plan.
So I've cast my absentee ballot for Obama, and I encourage readers who are eligible to cast future votes for him to do so. It's an interesting election year; maybe we can avoid making it too interesting (although a deadlocked convention would be fascinating...).
I did, however, get my absentee ballot in well ahead of time. For the Democratic presidential nomination, the Android's Dungeon endorses Barack Obama. I really like Obama, so I have a number of reasons, but I should go eat breakfast and get to work, so I'll just highlight two of them.
*Dynastic politics. As much as I liked Al Gore in 2000, he was a Senator's son. As much as I was unenthusiastic about John Kerry in 2004, he was the son of a federal government employee. I believe it is important for the health of our democracy to elect people from different families...fresh blood, if you will. As qualified as 'legacy' candidates sometimes are (and sometimes aren't), I think we need to reinforce the idea that you don't have to be related to someone famous to become president. I don't relish the idea of a race between a president's wife and an admiral's son.
*Integrity. God bless Bill Clinton, but the Clintons have come to stand for the idea that, "Hey, if the Republicans will do anything to win an election, we have to be prepared to as well." Think I'm exaggerating? The New Republic, in an editorial that reminds us they're still not sure whom to endorse says,
Looking at their plight with any detachment, it is even possible to develop a measure of sympathy for the Clintons. Or it was, anyway, right up until the point at which Hillary threatened to steal the nomination.
They're referring to Hillary's, "I agree with the decision not to count Michigan and Florida...oh, wait, I won? That changes things," plan.
So I've cast my absentee ballot for Obama, and I encourage readers who are eligible to cast future votes for him to do so. It's an interesting election year; maybe we can avoid making it too interesting (although a deadlocked convention would be fascinating...).
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Subscription Services
As a reminder, if you go to my home page, there's a link to subscribe to the Android's Dungeon via e-mail. Now, if you go to Christina's site, you can subscribe to her weblog by e-mail, as well.
For those of you using an RSS aggregator like Google Reader or similar, there's a feed of my site here and hers here.
For those of you using an RSS aggregator like Google Reader or similar, there's a feed of my site here and hers here.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Countries Visited
I was updating my Wikitravel home page, and I decided to check that the links to other pages were working. This, in turn, reminded me that it was time to update my countries visited map.
Map generated by World66.
Since my last update, I've visited Malaysia and Singapore. The mostly likely country to be added in 2008 is Turkey; we'll see.
Map generated by World66.
Since my last update, I've visited Malaysia and Singapore. The mostly likely country to be added in 2008 is Turkey; we'll see.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Tkts
All Arted Out
Yesterday I headed up to the Guggenheim. I had planned to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but in the end I felt like something more modern. As it turned out, most of the museum was closed for installing a new exhibit...that was fine with me. Admission was reduced to $8, and I still got to see a wide variety of "name" paintings from the late 19th and early 20th century. On the other hand, the paintings seemed to be the "other" paintings by great artists...nothing too inspiring. I did like one Picasso, though. The most impressive thing about the museum was probably the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building.
Afterwards, I turned on my GPS and discovered I was about a third of a mile from a geocache, which looked to be right on Fifth Avenue. As it turned out, it was a "virtual" cache right in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There was another cache another third of a mile away, so I headed into the park to catch it. If the park was semi-deserted the previous day in the cold, it was almost empty in the cold and rain.
Then I took the subway back to Midtown to meet up with Christina after her conference. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) has free admission after 4pm on Fridays, so we took advantage. I thought the collection of paintings was the most inspiring I've seen on this visit, with fabulous works by Picasso, Van Gogh, Johns and Lichtenstein.
I was, however, by the end of the day, essentially done with art museums, at least for this trip. I saw a lot of great paintings, but I'm going to turn my attentions elsewhere this afternoon.
Afterwards, I turned on my GPS and discovered I was about a third of a mile from a geocache, which looked to be right on Fifth Avenue. As it turned out, it was a "virtual" cache right in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There was another cache another third of a mile away, so I headed into the park to catch it. If the park was semi-deserted the previous day in the cold, it was almost empty in the cold and rain.
Then I took the subway back to Midtown to meet up with Christina after her conference. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) has free admission after 4pm on Fridays, so we took advantage. I thought the collection of paintings was the most inspiring I've seen on this visit, with fabulous works by Picasso, Van Gogh, Johns and Lichtenstein.
I was, however, by the end of the day, essentially done with art museums, at least for this trip. I saw a lot of great paintings, but I'm going to turn my attentions elsewhere this afternoon.
Friday, February 01, 2008
Everybody's a Critic
I have been my photos to the blog via Flickr, since that seems to be the easiest way when I don't have access to my own laptop. After I posted yesterday's Central Park picture, I got this comment:
"Nice composition--love the steps; otherwise rather mundane and not too exciting colors. Keep at it, friend! :-)"
Of course, it was from someone I don't know. From my perspective, it seems odd to criticize the colors -- that's not my department, that's Mother Nature's.
After trying a variety of dining options from guidebooks that ended up disappointing, we decided last night to try a place that I had not seen in a guidebook -- rather, it had caught my eye while walking back to the hotel yesterday. It was a Belgian restaurant called "BXL cafe". It was probably the best food we've had yet this trip. Christina's spaghetti bolognese was tasty, and my mussels were excellent. There's a Belgian restaurant kind of near home (in Olney), but we don't get out there often enough.
We had to wait half an hour for the table, so we walked around, and Christina bought a hat.
"Nice composition--love the steps; otherwise rather mundane and not too exciting colors. Keep at it, friend! :-)"
Of course, it was from someone I don't know. From my perspective, it seems odd to criticize the colors -- that's not my department, that's Mother Nature's.
After trying a variety of dining options from guidebooks that ended up disappointing, we decided last night to try a place that I had not seen in a guidebook -- rather, it had caught my eye while walking back to the hotel yesterday. It was a Belgian restaurant called "BXL cafe". It was probably the best food we've had yet this trip. Christina's spaghetti bolognese was tasty, and my mussels were excellent. There's a Belgian restaurant kind of near home (in Olney), but we don't get out there often enough.
We had to wait half an hour for the table, so we walked around, and Christina bought a hat.