Relying again on an iPhone app for guidance, I took on the task of preparing sweet and sour pork a couple of weekends ago. I originally got the inspiration a when I found a recipe that used pre-made sweet and sour sauce. I figured it would be a relatively quick and easy way to make a dish that I like. When I finally committed to make it, I left the family playing at the pool while I went to the store with the list of ingredients in my pocket. I thought.
Once at the store, I whipped out the iPhone. Unfortunately, none of the recipies I could find used pre-made sauce. The family was counting on me for dinner, so I found myself committed to doing it the hard way.
Cooking from scratch demands a lot of the kitchen's measuring cups, mixing bowls and stove space, but it is also remarkably liberating. Having control over every ingredient from its raw form to final plating is very satisfying, especially when it goes together well. That doesn't always happen. I've made casseroles that didn't quite gel, cakes that didn't quite stand straight, and entrees that just didn't taste as good (or look as appetizing) as the cookbook made them seem. Frustratingly, I would have nobody to blame but myself. When it all comes together correctly, though, it is a beautiful thing.
The sweet and sour pork was a beautiful thing.
The most unusual part was deep frying the pork. Finally, a legitimate use for the dutch oven, a dish I love for its solid appearance of utility that I have never actually used much at all. That is the part of the process that I need more practice with to keep the meat more tender and the coating more tasty, but it wasn't bad for a first effort. The sauce was interesting, because it was a vague watery mix of vegetables, pineapple syrup and vinegar (who thought up that combination?) until the very end when a small amount of corn starch is introduced. In a magical instant - poof! - sweet and sour sauce is conjured up. And it was every bit as tasty as any I have had in a restaurant (and far superior to Panda Express).
It took a lot of dishes and a bunch of time, but it was a complete success. Even the kids liked it, which is quite an achievement. I'm now two-for-two with recipes from the iPhone.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
A Justification For War
A trade war, anyway. The Chinese government is in a huff about the U.S. government's institution of 25% import duties on Chinese-made automobile tires. China complains that the imposition of substantial tariffs amounts to protectionism, and has launched its own review of U.S. exports to China.
The Administration apparently imposed a lesser tariff than was recommended by U.S. International Trade Commission. Setting aside the political ramifications and posturing, both internationally and domestic, here is one reason to support the move: Chinese tires are garbage. In this recent tire test, the Chinese tires fared far worse than their competitors. Some revealing analytical notes from the article:
(I have read tire reviews like this one for years. Even though magazines like Car and Driver are generally thought to be under the considerable influence of the automakers they cover (and advertise), I trust the integrity of the blind testing methodology of tire tests like this one. It is not a perfect system, and may not be sufficiently rigorous to measure up to academic standards for true blind testing, but for the limited purpose for which these sorts of tests are offered - a direct, largely objective comparison between similar consumer goods - I think the tests provide useful information.)
There is something to be said for allowing the marketplace to discover this on its own and make the appropriate and inevitable corrections to the market share of the Chinese producers. However, China's ability and intention to manufacture products at a substantially lower sales price that its competitors, coupled with dramatically worse performance, gives plausible justification for imposing punitive tariffs. The decades-old jokes about substandard quality of products made in China (jokes that even my seven-year-old son makes, without parroting his parents) are amusing when referring to household knicknacks. The situation becomes a whole lot less amunsing when your family's safety depends on the products in question. As China climbs the ladder of the global consumer products market, producing tires and entire cars for sale outside of its own borders, China will have to learn, one way or another, to bring its products up to basic standards of quality that, frankly, they don't reach yet. (Go here for a review of a new Chinese-made car's utter failure during a European crash test.)
Once, lawsuits were an effective tool to force manufacturers to improve the quality of their products. Like them or not, consumer-interest legislation had an undeniable effect on the design of consumer goods, most of it positive in the area of safety. I would not want to be the next person to attempt to sue a Chinese company for negligent design or manufacturing, however. As a practical matter, the tort system simply will not be effective against Chinese interests for the relatively near future. A trade war may be the best, first method to force Chinese manufacturers to understand how products must be made for Western consumption.
The Administration apparently imposed a lesser tariff than was recommended by U.S. International Trade Commission. Setting aside the political ramifications and posturing, both internationally and domestic, here is one reason to support the move: Chinese tires are garbage. In this recent tire test, the Chinese tires fared far worse than their competitors. Some revealing analytical notes from the article:
Consistently finishing last in all of the performance categories, the Ling Longs’ dry autocross performance was so far behind the other tires’ that we had to round its score up to zero to keep it from being negative.
Things got worse in the wet, where slip-and-slide behavior required a conservative effort to stay between the cones. The Ling Longs were a full five seconds off the autocross pace and needed 22 more feet—1.5 3-series car-lengths—to stop from 50 mph than did the best Hankooks.
On the street loop, we were irritated by a low-speed drone ...
... even though they cost half the price of many competing tires, they scored less than half the points of even the eighth-place tire. To us, that doesn’t qualify as a value ...
(I have read tire reviews like this one for years. Even though magazines like Car and Driver are generally thought to be under the considerable influence of the automakers they cover (and advertise), I trust the integrity of the blind testing methodology of tire tests like this one. It is not a perfect system, and may not be sufficiently rigorous to measure up to academic standards for true blind testing, but for the limited purpose for which these sorts of tests are offered - a direct, largely objective comparison between similar consumer goods - I think the tests provide useful information.)
There is something to be said for allowing the marketplace to discover this on its own and make the appropriate and inevitable corrections to the market share of the Chinese producers. However, China's ability and intention to manufacture products at a substantially lower sales price that its competitors, coupled with dramatically worse performance, gives plausible justification for imposing punitive tariffs. The decades-old jokes about substandard quality of products made in China (jokes that even my seven-year-old son makes, without parroting his parents) are amusing when referring to household knicknacks. The situation becomes a whole lot less amunsing when your family's safety depends on the products in question. As China climbs the ladder of the global consumer products market, producing tires and entire cars for sale outside of its own borders, China will have to learn, one way or another, to bring its products up to basic standards of quality that, frankly, they don't reach yet. (Go here for a review of a new Chinese-made car's utter failure during a European crash test.)
Once, lawsuits were an effective tool to force manufacturers to improve the quality of their products. Like them or not, consumer-interest legislation had an undeniable effect on the design of consumer goods, most of it positive in the area of safety. I would not want to be the next person to attempt to sue a Chinese company for negligent design or manufacturing, however. As a practical matter, the tort system simply will not be effective against Chinese interests for the relatively near future. A trade war may be the best, first method to force Chinese manufacturers to understand how products must be made for Western consumption.
Returning Safely To Earth
Maybe it's a little geeky, but I absolutely love this footage of the space shuttle Discovery's landing last week. I like any footage of shuttle landings. Chunky though it is, I find something deeply aesthetically satisfying about the form of the shuttle, particularly as it returns its considerable bulk delicately to the earth.
I think the whole scene is beautiful, but would be terrifying if airplanes landed this way. The video, while nicely focused on the orbiter, fails to convey how quickly the ship falls out of the sky. I wonder how the average mission specialist, who is not a combat or test pilot experienced with odd angles of attack in an aircraft, copes with the steep descent. The aggressive dive is intimidating enough, especially since much of the crew has no view out of the shuttle, but they are also feeling gravity again for the first time in a couple of weeks. That must be a gut-churning white knuckle ride for a few minutes.
Unless something changes, we will only be treated to six more of these landings before the whole fleet is mothballed (and we place our manned space flight cababilities in Russian hands until the Orion program is ready in 2015 or later). The shuttle can't fly forever; I just wish it were to be succeeded by another sleek flying craft rather than a tin can that will freefall into the ocean.
I think the whole scene is beautiful, but would be terrifying if airplanes landed this way. The video, while nicely focused on the orbiter, fails to convey how quickly the ship falls out of the sky. I wonder how the average mission specialist, who is not a combat or test pilot experienced with odd angles of attack in an aircraft, copes with the steep descent. The aggressive dive is intimidating enough, especially since much of the crew has no view out of the shuttle, but they are also feeling gravity again for the first time in a couple of weeks. That must be a gut-churning white knuckle ride for a few minutes.
Unless something changes, we will only be treated to six more of these landings before the whole fleet is mothballed (and we place our manned space flight cababilities in Russian hands until the Orion program is ready in 2015 or later). The shuttle can't fly forever; I just wish it were to be succeeded by another sleek flying craft rather than a tin can that will freefall into the ocean.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Higher Fidelity
I first bought a 35 mm SLR camera around the dawn of the digital photography age. At the time, digital cameras were large, clunky devices that were capable of taking photographs of only marginal quality. The march of time saw digital cameras shrink in size and increase dramatically in capability. We are now to the point that the camera on my phone takes excellent photographs under ordinary conditions.
I knew that the digital revolution would make its way to the SLR format (although I'm not sure I believed it would take over the film world so comprehensively). I expected that someday I would get a digital SLR once the technology became inexpensive enough to bring the products down in price to the level of ordinary consumers. That happened faster than I expected as well. After conferring with a colleague who is an accomplished photographer/hobbyist, I made the move to a Canon DSLR:
Costco was our friend here, enabling us to get the camera (with a throw-in small zoom lens) cheaper than even Amazon. We got the camera just in time for first-day-of-school photos and, most importantly, soccer season.
With the instant and costless response of the digital image, a budding photographer can experiment and learn how to take better pictures without the cost and delay of film development. After the first day of soccer games, I've already ordered a quality (on a budget) zoom lens:
I'm looking forward to playing with this very nice machine.
I knew that the digital revolution would make its way to the SLR format (although I'm not sure I believed it would take over the film world so comprehensively). I expected that someday I would get a digital SLR once the technology became inexpensive enough to bring the products down in price to the level of ordinary consumers. That happened faster than I expected as well. After conferring with a colleague who is an accomplished photographer/hobbyist, I made the move to a Canon DSLR:
Costco was our friend here, enabling us to get the camera (with a throw-in small zoom lens) cheaper than even Amazon. We got the camera just in time for first-day-of-school photos and, most importantly, soccer season.
With the instant and costless response of the digital image, a budding photographer can experiment and learn how to take better pictures without the cost and delay of film development. After the first day of soccer games, I've already ordered a quality (on a budget) zoom lens:
I'm looking forward to playing with this very nice machine.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
More Numerology
The universe can be a quirky place sometimes. It is not entirely surprising that yesterday, on 09/09/09, someone had a baby at 9:09. What is a little spooky is that child weighed in at ... yes, 9 pounds, 9 ounces.
Even though he was born in Wisconsin, maybe he will grow up to be a Niners fan.
Even though he was born in Wisconsin, maybe he will grow up to be a Niners fan.
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Number 9
If it seems like the Beatles are in the news lately all out of proportion to the attention that would normally be paid to a band that broke up almost 40 years ago, there are some reasons. The Beatles' original tapes have been remastered and will be released today. Early reviews are very positive. I'm not a fan of the way music and movie companies release old products with marginal updates to cynically rake in a few more dollars for the same old recording. The Beatles and their record labels pioneered the practice, but the word is that the new Beatles releases may be worth the money. Given the relatively primitive technology at their disposal at the time of the recordings, and the band's efforts to push the boundaries of that technology, the newly remastered recordings are reputed to bring out details in the performances that have not been heard before.
Also released today is the Rock Band Beatles game. This is a must-have for anyone who enjoys the fake-instrument game. (Let me repeat: "must-have." I happen to enjoy the fake-instrument game. Christmas is coming ... who's paying attention?)
Why release on September 9? "Revolution No. 9," one of the Beatles' most famously drug-addled compositions, ends with a loop of a man saying "number nine." Add that to the calendar quirk of 09/09/09 (one of the rare calendar quirks that Europeans and Americans share), and there is no other day that these Beatles releases could have happened.
Also released today is the Rock Band Beatles game. This is a must-have for anyone who enjoys the fake-instrument game. (Let me repeat: "must-have." I happen to enjoy the fake-instrument game. Christmas is coming ... who's paying attention?)
Why release on September 9? "Revolution No. 9," one of the Beatles' most famously drug-addled compositions, ends with a loop of a man saying "number nine." Add that to the calendar quirk of 09/09/09 (one of the rare calendar quirks that Europeans and Americans share), and there is no other day that these Beatles releases could have happened.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Wildfire, From The Inside
The webcam at Mt. Wilson, embedded with the dense farm of communications equipment that overlooks Los Angeles, gives the world a front row seat for the wildfire that has been threatening the area's northern suburbs since last week.
When we visited the observatories at Mt. Wilson in 1995 when Cheryl was working under a JPL grant for math teachers, the guide showed us a small cabin that had been used for decades by the caretakers of the observatory properties. The cabin had metal shutters, which we were told were necessary in the old days to survive the occasional fires that swept up the mountain. The personnel would barricade themselves inside the fireproof building and wait for the fire to blow itself out. Modern firefighting techniques had prevented fires in that area for a half-century, though. The guide told us that tire prevention is a mixed blessing in wilderness areas. Without the fires, certain plants do not germinate, unhealthy old growth is not cleared out, and new growth becomes overgrown ... leading to extreme fire danger. Nature will get its way eventually.
When we visited the observatories at Mt. Wilson in 1995 when Cheryl was working under a JPL grant for math teachers, the guide showed us a small cabin that had been used for decades by the caretakers of the observatory properties. The cabin had metal shutters, which we were told were necessary in the old days to survive the occasional fires that swept up the mountain. The personnel would barricade themselves inside the fireproof building and wait for the fire to blow itself out. Modern firefighting techniques had prevented fires in that area for a half-century, though. The guide told us that tire prevention is a mixed blessing in wilderness areas. Without the fires, certain plants do not germinate, unhealthy old growth is not cleared out, and new growth becomes overgrown ... leading to extreme fire danger. Nature will get its way eventually.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
A Summer Like None Before
The swim team season wrapped up a couple of weeks ago. It was everything that people told us it would be. It was a fun social opportunity for both kids (even though Kelly did not swim with the team, her best friends did, so she saw them often over the summer). It was a great social opportunity for us. Both kids learned how to swim. And with all the focus on swimming in this area, team spirit is a very big component of the whole experience. We decorated our car with decals and paint like everybody else.
We had a good time at the massive league championships, which involved more than 1800 swimmers from the nine clubs competing over three days.
We yelled ourselves hoarse, saw records fall, and chuckled at how two thirteen year olds in adjacent lanes can differ in height by a foot or more.
Michael consistently improved his times over the course of the summer. He even received a Coaches Award at the team awards presentation last week, essentially a good sportsmanship/spirit award.
All in all, it was a really fun summer. We already can't wait for next year.
So It Begins, Again
For the first time in three years, when Michael was still in pre-school, the school year began exactly like the previous year. Last year, everything was new. This year, we are building on everything that happened last year. Instead of sitting on a bench while a playground full of joyfully reuinited friends whirled around him, Michael was part of the frenzy, hardly looking back to say goodbye on his first day of second grade. Instead of bravely looking forward to making new friends out of everyone she would meet because she did not know a soul, Kelly headed to seventh grade eagerly looking forward to seeing which of her friends she would find in each of her classes.
Both got off to good starts, with positive reviews for their classes and friends. Kelly has eight class periods, and Michael is in a split second/third grade class that was put together with some of the better students in each grade (because they all have to be able to work semi-independently, and be capable of pushing a little faster than most students). Most of Michael's class is made up of kids from the swim team, so unlike last year when he knew nobody, he knows just about everybody in his class this year.
We're all sorry to see the summer come to an end, but the school year seems to be off to a good start.
Both got off to good starts, with positive reviews for their classes and friends. Kelly has eight class periods, and Michael is in a split second/third grade class that was put together with some of the better students in each grade (because they all have to be able to work semi-independently, and be capable of pushing a little faster than most students). Most of Michael's class is made up of kids from the swim team, so unlike last year when he knew nobody, he knows just about everybody in his class this year.
We're all sorry to see the summer come to an end, but the school year seems to be off to a good start.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Feed Me, Seymour
Do you have a rodent problem? Ditch the traps and poisons. Get a carnivorous plant. The Venus Flytrap is a mere popgun compared to the big-barreled, newly-discovered meat eater from the Phillipines:
Yummy. It's your very own Little Shop of Horrors for your domestic pests.
The plant lures in the rats with the promise of sweet nectar. When the rat leans into the plant to drink the saccharine liquid, it slips on the pitcher's waxy interior, and gets stuck in the gooey sap. Once it is trapped, acid-like digestive enzymes break down the still-living rodent.
Yummy. It's your very own Little Shop of Horrors for your domestic pests.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
(Falling) Stargazing
Spend some time outside tonight watching meteors streak across the firmament. The annual Perseid meteor shower will be at its peak overnight. The most spectacular meteor streaks are expected to appear between 9 and 11 pm local time, while the best time for sheer frequency will be closer to dawn on Wednesday.
Brew some coffee, pop some popcorn, put the deck chairs on the lawn and prepare to say "ooh" a lot.
Brew some coffee, pop some popcorn, put the deck chairs on the lawn and prepare to say "ooh" a lot.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
The Eternal Breakfast Club
This is a sad day for Gen-Xers. The man who simultaneously reflected and shaped our teen years, John Hughes, has died. He is the man behind "Sixteen Candles," "Ferris Beuller's Day Off," and "The Breakfast Club," among other '80s hits.
A generation of people who saw much of themselves in Hughes' slightly nerdy but good-hearted characters mourns today.
A generation of people who saw much of themselves in Hughes' slightly nerdy but good-hearted characters mourns today.
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
The Madness Reaches Fever Pitch
The swim season is nearly over, but the intensity has ratcheted up in advance of the league finals. The kids had two-a-day practices last week, and have now backed way off, preserving their strength and energy for the final meet. In preparation for the ceremonial parade to the aquatic center at Campolindo High School later this week, we joined everyone else in festively decorating the car:
It has been quite a year for Michael. He has reduced his freestyle time from 36 to 25 seconds, and now is very competitive over the first half of each race (and no longer doggie-paddles to catch his breath at the end). His backstroke has improved dramatically over the course of the year as well. When we noticed that he seemed to be very quick during warmups while swimming the butterfly, we had him swim it at the last dual meet of the season last week. Once again, he dropped his personal best dramatically, getting closer to a "bronze" time with that stroke than any other. Unfortunately, a scheduling quirk will prevent him from swimming the fly at OMPA, but he is already looking forward to next year. He figures, probably correctly, that he will probably hit bronze times next year as one of the older kids in his division after a full season of competition.
And yet, his biggest accomplishment for the season was not in a race. At the beginning of "Survival Week" last week, the team held a swim-a-thon to benefit a swim team family whose mother is struggling with a recurrence of cancer. The workout for all of the swimmers was to swim as many laps as they felt comfortable doing during their regular workout time, which is 45 minutes for Michael's division. I figured that Michael would swim a few laps and call it a day. Not quite; he swam 44 laps ... 1,100 yards, more than half a mile.
I am officially old. My seven year old son has done something athletic that I cannot do.
It has been quite a year for Michael. He has reduced his freestyle time from 36 to 25 seconds, and now is very competitive over the first half of each race (and no longer doggie-paddles to catch his breath at the end). His backstroke has improved dramatically over the course of the year as well. When we noticed that he seemed to be very quick during warmups while swimming the butterfly, we had him swim it at the last dual meet of the season last week. Once again, he dropped his personal best dramatically, getting closer to a "bronze" time with that stroke than any other. Unfortunately, a scheduling quirk will prevent him from swimming the fly at OMPA, but he is already looking forward to next year. He figures, probably correctly, that he will probably hit bronze times next year as one of the older kids in his division after a full season of competition.
And yet, his biggest accomplishment for the season was not in a race. At the beginning of "Survival Week" last week, the team held a swim-a-thon to benefit a swim team family whose mother is struggling with a recurrence of cancer. The workout for all of the swimmers was to swim as many laps as they felt comfortable doing during their regular workout time, which is 45 minutes for Michael's division. I figured that Michael would swim a few laps and call it a day. Not quite; he swam 44 laps ... 1,100 yards, more than half a mile.
I am officially old. My seven year old son has done something athletic that I cannot do.
Friday, July 31, 2009
The Kid Can't Help It
Our daughter has been known, on occasion, to exhibit extreme sensitivity to... let's call it "sensation." Ever since she has been old enough to talk, she has recoiled in horror from all sorts of foods that she called too "spicy." In my gentle, nurturing form of parenting, I routinely and openly mock her, telling her that what she is sensing is "flavor." Brushing her hair is a grim exercise of pain management. Brushing her teeth with anything more than the lightest pressure sends her into paroxysms of agony.
I have not always been terribly sympathetic to her plight. It will take her all of her teen years to catch up to me in the eye-rolling department.
Now it turns out I may have been more of a jerk than I realized. According to a new study conducted by a dental organization, redheads are significantly more likely to feel pain, and be less responsive to anesthesia, than anyone else. According to the study, redheads need 20 percent more anesthesia than people of other hair colors to achieve the same result. Conventional local anesthetics are far less effective on redheads. Apparently, there may be connection between a gene that affects hair and skin color and pain sensitivity.
One of the phrases that I never like to hear from my kids is "I can't help it." It turns out that to some degree, they really can't help it. Nobody tell Kelly, okay?
I have not always been terribly sympathetic to her plight. It will take her all of her teen years to catch up to me in the eye-rolling department.
Now it turns out I may have been more of a jerk than I realized. According to a new study conducted by a dental organization, redheads are significantly more likely to feel pain, and be less responsive to anesthesia, than anyone else. According to the study, redheads need 20 percent more anesthesia than people of other hair colors to achieve the same result. Conventional local anesthetics are far less effective on redheads. Apparently, there may be connection between a gene that affects hair and skin color and pain sensitivity.
One of the phrases that I never like to hear from my kids is "I can't help it." It turns out that to some degree, they really can't help it. Nobody tell Kelly, okay?
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Safety Is Job One
To non-fans, car racing makes little sense. It is loud, expensive, wasteful of resources and, worst of all, boring. Even if all of those things are true, though, it is undeniable that the car driving public has benefited from products developed in the crucible of automobile racing. Countless engine, suspension, tire and aerodynamic advances have been made by and through race teams.
Another area that has yielded benefits to race drivers as much, if not more so, than the public, is safety. Long gone are the days when the racing season in review inevitably included an in memoriam segment. Thankfully, deaths, or even serious injuries, are rare in nearly all racing formats, particularly at the highest levels of the sport.
The abuse that modern race cars can take while still protecting the driver from debilitating injury or worse is astonishing. Formula 1 driver Robert Kubica walked away from this horrific crash with nothing more than a sprained ankle.
It has been 15 years since a Formula 1 driver died on the track. Legendary champion Ayrton Senna died in a high speed crash when the front suspension of his own car struck his head in the impact. Drivers of open-wheel race cars now sit very low in the car, with padding nearly up their ears, as a direct consequence of the Senna accent.
The safety of Formula 1 cars came to the fore again this past week when Ferrari driver Felipe Massa crashed head-on into a tire barrier at 120 mph after being struck on the helmet by a part that had fallen off a car ahead of him. Massa suffered a skull fracture around his eye from the impact on the track, but no injuries directly attributable to the ensuing crash. After spending several days in the hospital, Massa is up and around and eager to resume his career.
Unfortunately, just one week before, young Henry Surtees, the teenaged son of former Formula 1 world champion John Surtees, was killed in a freak accident in a Formula 2 race by a tire that had come loose from another car. Some things even the best of safety equipment can't prevent.
Doctors may not let Massa drive for the rest of the season, which has led to the most interesting development in years: retired seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher will come out of retirement to return to the Ferrari cockpit while Massa recuperates. In his heyday, Schumacher and Ferrari were utterly dominant, which often led to predictable (maybe even boring) racing. A number of young guns have come along since Schumacher retired two years ago, and this year's championship is wide open. The return of the old lion will surely lead to great intrigue and even better racing. Take it from a fan: the next race, on August 23rd, will be an excellent spectacle and well worth the time spent to watch it.
Another area that has yielded benefits to race drivers as much, if not more so, than the public, is safety. Long gone are the days when the racing season in review inevitably included an in memoriam segment. Thankfully, deaths, or even serious injuries, are rare in nearly all racing formats, particularly at the highest levels of the sport.
The abuse that modern race cars can take while still protecting the driver from debilitating injury or worse is astonishing. Formula 1 driver Robert Kubica walked away from this horrific crash with nothing more than a sprained ankle.
It has been 15 years since a Formula 1 driver died on the track. Legendary champion Ayrton Senna died in a high speed crash when the front suspension of his own car struck his head in the impact. Drivers of open-wheel race cars now sit very low in the car, with padding nearly up their ears, as a direct consequence of the Senna accent.
The safety of Formula 1 cars came to the fore again this past week when Ferrari driver Felipe Massa crashed head-on into a tire barrier at 120 mph after being struck on the helmet by a part that had fallen off a car ahead of him. Massa suffered a skull fracture around his eye from the impact on the track, but no injuries directly attributable to the ensuing crash. After spending several days in the hospital, Massa is up and around and eager to resume his career.
Unfortunately, just one week before, young Henry Surtees, the teenaged son of former Formula 1 world champion John Surtees, was killed in a freak accident in a Formula 2 race by a tire that had come loose from another car. Some things even the best of safety equipment can't prevent.
Doctors may not let Massa drive for the rest of the season, which has led to the most interesting development in years: retired seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher will come out of retirement to return to the Ferrari cockpit while Massa recuperates. In his heyday, Schumacher and Ferrari were utterly dominant, which often led to predictable (maybe even boring) racing. A number of young guns have come along since Schumacher retired two years ago, and this year's championship is wide open. The return of the old lion will surely lead to great intrigue and even better racing. Take it from a fan: the next race, on August 23rd, will be an excellent spectacle and well worth the time spent to watch it.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
The Cloud Lifts
It's now nearly midnight on a Sunday night, and I just got home from work after putting in about 15 hours at the office over the weekend. This would have to have been a warm weekend, of course, so not only did I miss out on a lot of outdoor fun, the air conditioning in the office goes to an energy saving sauna setting.
I feel great, though. Vacation started as soon as I left the office building. Working hard to finish important projects, both long term and suddenly-appearing, is very satisfying. I could not, in good conscience, have left without finishing them. A clear conscience is really underrated.
Now, in less than seven hours, we point the car north ... for the next ten hours after that.
I feel great, though. Vacation started as soon as I left the office building. Working hard to finish important projects, both long term and suddenly-appearing, is very satisfying. I could not, in good conscience, have left without finishing them. A clear conscience is really underrated.
Now, in less than seven hours, we point the car north ... for the next ten hours after that.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Saturday Sports Highlights
Welcome to the premiere of video at Nowhere Near The Edge. Not a link to a YouTube clip, but original content. You always get prime product for your blogging dollars here.
Welcome to Moraga Ranch Swim Club, at the dual meet between the Piranhas of Moraga Ranch Swim Team and the Legends of Orinda's Sleepy Hollow Swim Team. We join the action in heat five of freestyle for the 7/8 year old boys division ...
Welcome to Moraga Ranch Swim Club, at the dual meet between the Piranhas of Moraga Ranch Swim Team and the Legends of Orinda's Sleepy Hollow Swim Team. We join the action in heat five of freestyle for the 7/8 year old boys division ...
Friday, June 26, 2009
Legends Do Not Pass Quietly
Michael Jackson's death has made its mark on popular culture in ways that echo the significance he and his music had. His iconic album, Thriller, is again number one, this time in sales on Amazon. And the demand for information about him and his rumored passing was so intense that even the mighty Google servers could not handle the surge of search requests.
Michael Jackson will always stand as a cautionary tale on the pressures of fame and fortune, but his talent was undeniable, and "Thriller" holds up, 26 years later, as a terrific album.
Michael Jackson will always stand as a cautionary tale on the pressures of fame and fortune, but his talent was undeniable, and "Thriller" holds up, 26 years later, as a terrific album.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Too Early To Hope?
70 games into the season, the New York Yankees, the colossus of a franchise with the eleventy-billion dollar payroll, has a record of 38 wins and 32 losses. That's a solid season, one that keeps the Yanks within sight of the division-leading Red Sox and well within the early consideration for a wild-card playoff spot.
The other team in baseball to have a 38-32 record? That would be the San Francisco Giants, leading the race for the National League wild-card playoff spot. The experts always say that pitching and defense win championships. The Giants, with their stellar pitching and anemic offense, will put that theory to a severe test. It's a long season, but the Giants have not been anywhere close to this successful in many years. It will make for an entertaining summer.
The other team in baseball to have a 38-32 record? That would be the San Francisco Giants, leading the race for the National League wild-card playoff spot. The experts always say that pitching and defense win championships. The Giants, with their stellar pitching and anemic offense, will put that theory to a severe test. It's a long season, but the Giants have not been anywhere close to this successful in many years. It will make for an entertaining summer.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Prison Sentence Lotto
One man runs over and kills a pedestrian while driving drunk in the middle of the night. Another man steals three bikes.
One of these men receives a three year prison sentence. The other, a 30 day jail term.
Children's placemats in restaurants often include simple games in which the child is to match items in one column with something related in a second column. Imagine, if you will, the placemat a particularly demented restaurant could produce in which the crimes listed in one column are matched with the sentences in the other. At our hypothetical CPK (California Penal Kitchen), little Johnny would confidently lay a crayon line between the bike thief and the 30 day stay in the pokey, and from the drunk driver to the three year trip to the Big House.
Little Johnny would be wrong.
The drunk driver, who happens to be a star NFL player (and who also agreed to a financial settlement with the dead man's family), is serving his 30 day sentence now. He has, however, been suspended indefinitely by the NFL.
The bicycle thief, who stole three bikes during this year's Tour of California from Lance Armstrong's team, including one of Lance Armstrong's $10,000 bikes, will soon be sentenced to three years in prison.
One of these men receives a three year prison sentence. The other, a 30 day jail term.
Children's placemats in restaurants often include simple games in which the child is to match items in one column with something related in a second column. Imagine, if you will, the placemat a particularly demented restaurant could produce in which the crimes listed in one column are matched with the sentences in the other. At our hypothetical CPK (California Penal Kitchen), little Johnny would confidently lay a crayon line between the bike thief and the 30 day stay in the pokey, and from the drunk driver to the three year trip to the Big House.
Little Johnny would be wrong.
The drunk driver, who happens to be a star NFL player (and who also agreed to a financial settlement with the dead man's family), is serving his 30 day sentence now. He has, however, been suspended indefinitely by the NFL.
The bicycle thief, who stole three bikes during this year's Tour of California from Lance Armstrong's team, including one of Lance Armstrong's $10,000 bikes, will soon be sentenced to three years in prison.
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