The debates are so tame and managed. I would like to see a real dialog. Jim Lehrer should get a buzzer so he can buzz when neither candidates answer.

Symbol search web site. Very cool.

Saw this 200 things meme on Liz’s
site.

In keeping with my character, I enjoy seeing other people’s list but frankly am very hesitant about posting mine.

I have been wondering lately if this tendency, to play my emotional cards close to the vest, is a self defeating characteristic or not.

Today at the lunch table, Elise, my daughter age 3, asked Matthew, my son, age 4 a question.

He didn’t know the answer. So he replied with the following.

“I don’t presume to know.”

I would say that my personal survey of his peer group, indicates that he will be able to talk his way into or out of nearly any situation.

Here are some thoughts about driving in Boston.

The Newton Sheraton is located above the freeway. In addition, the hotel is surrounded by a roundabout. In addition to the usual confusion of a roundabout, there is a point on the inside that is a Mass Pike onramp, and a certain exit that is also an on ramp to the same highway. If you get on the Mass Pike you’ll have quite a ways to travel before the first place to turn around presents itself.

Lanes are just a suggestion.

The left lane will likely take you some place you don’t want to go.

Mapquest can deceive.

People at gas stations don’t give very good directions.

There really is no way to be gracefully 2 1/2 hours late.

There are two Grove Streets in Newton. Don’t go to the other one.

I heard someone use the phrase “log diving” recently. It was meant to capture that special activity where you look through many text logs in order to figure out what event occurred in your OS or application.

I liked this phrase immediately, but then when I used it, I felt nervous; wondering if perhaps it had a sexual connotation.

For now I think I’ll not use it.

I saw “Chasing Amy” last night. I enjoyed it sort of. The theme of meeting someone who finally is the embodiment a lifetimes search for intimacy and companionship was both touching and thought provoking. When the main character tried to solve the central problem of the movie in the absolute worst way possible, I was shouting “No, don’t do it. You’ll regret it.” That moment had the smell of the kind of self-destructive psychological horror story I have come to really enjoy. Thankfully, his solution was not pursued.

On the whole, the movie didn’t work for me in one major way. I don’t think that sex should be treated as casually as it is in this movie. I think there are long term consequences for treating sexual choices with the same gravity as one might muster when choosing ice cream flavors. Those “consequences” are both for the health, the head, and the heart of all involved. But it’s a movie so we all live happily ever after, right?

Potzer, BTW is slang for patzer, a chess term.

I spent a Saturday and Sunday working in my basement. When we purchased the house it had an unfinished basement. We haven’t really done much about it, up until now. Now after a long period of multi-lateral negotiations, we finally have agreed on a working floor plan to create an office, bedroom, and bathroom in the basement. I am sure the negotiations would have been smoother if I had invited the North Koreans to the bargaining table. Once we create those rooms, the remaining area will become a de facto family room.

So far, I have gotten a few walls up. It was a lot of fun to use a pneumatic framing nailer and the “stud gun.” I am a lousy nailer, and having the nails driven in so neatly and efficiently was a very nice change of pace. It took a while to get the nailer working properly as the regulator on the compressor was set to forty pounds which was half the amount required to drive the tool properly.

This fall I am hoping to finish the walls of the office and hag sheet rock, at least in the inside. We’ll see how much energy I have left after that.

The office is being built to be extremely quiet. The walls are extra thick and I plan to insulate them and hang double sheet rock. The office is also structurally isolated from the joists in an effort to keep the booming of little feet down to a bare minimum. I am hoping for a “fortress of solitude” effect. I am considering putting the computer outside the room and using KVM cables to allow the computer(s) to be placed further away.

I enjoy working with wood. It’s nice to deal with a medium where a firm smack can actually be a solution to a small problem.

I know wireless access in a public space is no longer the once in a lifetime event it might have been just a few short years ago. However, every time I run into it i find myself feeling giddy. I can’t wait until the day when municipal nets are commonplace and free.