Doty says

November 19th, 2008 by Max

More wisdom from the source of all wisdom, Doc Doty.

“Never miss an opportunity to keep your mouth shut!”

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My long day

November 18th, 2008 by Max

Getting out the door is always a task. Especially on Tuesdays because its garbage day. But most days you can leave most things till tomorrow if its going to make you really late. I’m not usually really late, and today was fairly typical.

Still, I was planning on bringing the hard boiled eggs I made last night, in the car with me. No eggs. Left them on the stove. Yes I turned it off, but that’s as far as I got. Made sure the cat box was clear, the cat food box was full, the cats had food and water, brought my clothes, my laptop, my work laptop that is, and the newly returned Macbook, their associated power cords, my phone and its power adapter, my camera (you never know) but left its battery charger, my teeth stuff, my comb - ok, kidding, the barcode labeller, the book of inventory, the inventory scanner with its power cord - you get the picture. And this is for a three day tour. A three day tour.

The weather started getting tough.

Now I had been told about the HHR (loaner from work) and how it is uncomfortable and has bad sight lines, so I took all of the headrests off except for mine. And for the first twenty miles the car was quite comfortable. Then I wanted to spread my feet out just a bit. Forget that. But the cruise was intuitive, which it hadn’t been on other Chevys and my podcaster worked with the radio, so I was off.

A little breakfast in Whiskey Point. McDonalds of course. I don’t like to stop and eat once I get rolling. My brother is that way too. Get in. Get there. Get out. Go pee.

Unfortunately you HAVE to stop for gas and peein on a 6 hour trip. If the weather holds.

The weather didn’t hold. By Palmyra it was a full on blizzard with white out conditions and driving behind a car with its lights on just so that you could see the road. At the point where I thought that I had an hour to Rochester and was going 40 miles per hour I thought I’d never get there in time for work, so I’d just see if I could get there at all. I really didn’t want to turn around, but I knew it was going to be a long drive.

Then it cleared.

Then it snowed again.

Then it cleared.

Then it rained.

Then it cleared.

Then it snowed again.

Then it cleared.

Then it snowed again.

By the time I hit 290 it was pretty much over.

At the Niagara Falls boarder crossing I was feeling relieved.

“What is your reason for going into Canada?”

“I have a meeting”

“A meeting with who? (sic)”

“A meeting with a guy I work with”

“I need a real answer here!”

“Um, I … um am meeting with a guy from work.”

“Where does this guy work?”

“Meadwestvaco.”

“Where do you work?

“Meadwestvaco.”

Then he said something about bringing weapons into Canada. I didn’t hear him exactly so I just said “I’m not bringing any weapons into Canada”

“What are you bringing besides your clothes into Canada?”

Innocent enough question, except the last time I said I was bringing 2 computers into Canada they pulled me over and searched my hard drives for porn. (Which they didn’t find!)

“My computer.” Notice the singular.

“Ok”

He gives me back my passport and I’m home free right? Got the podcasts going. I’m doing great. I might even be early. I made such good time and didn’t stop. I don’t remember what time that was because the clock in the HHR is still on DST.

However … the roadsigns in Canada aren’t quite as explicit as in NY and apparently I went west on the 403 instead of east on the 403 even though I specifically intended to go east on the 403 and know where I picked which road went east. It was where the road to Guelph was.

I went to Guelph. Then to Branford.

“Hello Peter? I’m in Brampton.” It took a while to make the connection that Brampton (my delusion) and Branford (my location) were not the same place.

When I got directions to Toronto and got turned around and was heading (yes, say it with me “East on the 403″). The sign said Toronto 85! Now that’s kilometers. But I had to pee. It still seemed a might bit far away.

So …

403
QEW
427
401 and then to the hotel and then work. Peter calls. No cell phone connection. Peter leaves voicemail. Voicemail works. (Why is this?) “There’s an accident on the 401 you won’t get anywhere. Take Eglington.”

I take Islington. Go pee at a Walmart in Islington. Ahhh yay Islington. Get directions to Eglington, and eventually work.

Now the thing of it is (an expression that always makes me think of Max) is, when you don’t know where you are, you don’t know how long it will take to get where you are going. So not only was the 401 stopped but by now it was rush hour and traffic in Toronto is tight! And every red light, even the one the block before Eglington, is a source of frustration and tension. Every 10 foot drive and stop makes your chest just a little tighter. Toronto is huge and it all looks the same and none of it looked familiar. Stopped on Eglington, I’d have sold my soul to be back on Floral Avenue, a road I used to curse when I was delivering pizzas and wondering if I would ever get off from it.

I love driving. On my own back roads where I know where I’m going, or when I have the chance to explore at my lesiure. But I had a place to go and every minute was nothing but traffic from the 401 through to Eglington. The trip back from Branford alone took at least an hour and a half, and I had to pee!

It was not a good day of driving. I did find the office. I did find the hotel. I did find a beer!

Posted in Max's Theories | 2 Comments »

Long drive tomorrow.

November 18th, 2008 by Max

Short blog tonight. I was listening to TWIT and heard that it is possible that the government (ours I suppose) are allowed to confiscate all electronic equipment at the border for national security.

I thought about not taking the Mac.

But I just got the Mac back. Oh yeah, did I mention that my refurbished Macbook twice has had to have the hard drive replaced and this time I lost ALL my data? So I got the Macbook back last week and despite hardware troubles I’m bringing it to Toronto. I want to Skype from there. If you don’t hear from me … well, probably worse things than losing my Macbook have happend since I am brining my work laptop too! But it I don’t want to blog through it.

And I have an MP3 player and a cell phone and a camera and on and on and I hope they don’t take my gear. Its bad enough that I have to lie to …….

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Forgetting Sarah Marshall

November 14th, 2008 by Max

4 of 5 Smiling Maxes

Hi there.  This is my first movie review under the new system.  So here goes.  Go see Forgetting Sarah Marshal.  Don’t bring the kids!!  Bring the girl.  This is a great date movie.  All the better for her if she wants to see Jason Segel in the buffo, because boy will she get her chance.

I should start by saying that I watched the extended cut.  So I’m not sure how much you get to see in the theatrical release.  And yes guys, plenty of topless shots for the horny boys.

But forget that.  I had fun watching this movie, and, at least in the extended cut, and yes, I counted, I litterally laughed out loud 6 times.

Mila Kunis (That Seventies Show) proves, and please people believe this, that you don’t HAVE to be blond.  More than sizzling hot, Mila is subtley so sexy and at the same time so adorable I defy any man to not fall in love with her during this movie.  If there is such an award as best supporting, or hell even best lead actress in a comedy, give it to Mila right now.  She was that good.  This is not the dumb girl from the TV.

I put this movie in my must see list (its all in my head) because of Kristin Bell.  Because of Veronica Mars, and because she is SO damned hot!  And brother she is hot in this movie.  The great benefit of that is, that at least in one scene in at the front desk of the hotel, she wells up with emotion where her eyes water and her face gets all flushed and holy smoke she’s acting! So we have two good gorgeous females who can act, though in truth Mila steals the show.

The supporting cast fills in as quirky backdrops to what sometimes seems a script that’s a little too dumb. And though I love him (with his clothes on) Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother) somehow is flatly comedic in a role that a real lead actor could have made into a winnng romance.

And maybe that’s the only problem with this movie when its funny its laugh out loud funny, and when its love, god, you want the girl, I’m just not sure its always both at the same time.

So onto the new smiling Maxes.  This movie gets four smiling Maxes.  I fell in love and laughed out loud.  What more could you ask for?  [Maybe a little less of Jason Segel.  Watch it without the kids!]

(Oh yeah, the best line was “Its kinda like a dark Gothic version of Neil Diamond!”)

p.s. I watched it again, as the short version.  Much less nudity, but still not a movie that you want to watch with the kids.

Director:Nicholas Stoller
Writer (WGA): Jason Segel (written by)

Release Date:18 April 2008 (USA) more

Genre:Comedy | Drama | Romance

Posted in Max's Movie Reviews | 1 Comment »

Fuck OPEC [or George is still stupid]

November 14th, 2008 by Max

This is how dumb George W Bush really is:  He “let The Market” determine oil prices all the way up to $150/barrel.   But now that his buddies, the Saudi’s, are feeling the pinch from “The Market”, he seems to have no problem with OPEC, which as an Economic Cartel [the last two letters in OPEC stand for economic cartel] would be illegal if there could have been such a thing in these United States … Now that OPEC has agreed to limit oil prodcution to keep gasoline prices artificially high, he doesn’t open the Strategic Petrolium Reserve (AGAIN) to fight this anti-free market activity!

When OPEC made this decision, oil went up $2/barrel.

When we REALLY needed him.  When we were all spending twice as much money on gasoline as the year before, George failed us.  Part of this economic turn down is related to high oil prices.  Last WEEK we lost 516,000 jobs.  516,000 jobs in a week!

Jan 20th can’t come too soon!

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Old friends

November 14th, 2008 by Max

I talked to an old friend tonight.  It had been too long since we’d talked.  Its the second old friend I’ve reconnected with in a short few weeks.  Once again it just felt great to speak with these people from years ago.  And its not trying to get the old days back, its knowing they enjoy reconnecting - that something that was there is different now, but still there.

Yay Brian

Yay Gesele

Yay me.  Its nice to feel connected.

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Boone Pickens is on The Dailey Show

November 13th, 2008 by Max

and even though I agree with him on new sources of fuel (and have since Jimmy Carter) I can’t help but thinking of the Swift Boat campaign every time I think of him.

Fuck Boone Pickens!

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Take off

November 12th, 2008 by Max

Posted in My New York, Photos, Science | No Comments »

Fun with photo stitcher

November 10th, 2008 by Max

Just figured out how to use this:

A stop outside Indian Lake

Unknown lake where the Osprey box used to be

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Informal Survey

November 6th, 2008 by Max

Ok, now you can’t just say “The economy”.   You’d have to say, the banking crisis, or the recession, or possibly trade or jobs.  And you can include such vagueries as Hope, what would you say is the biggest problem that President Elect Obama should tackle first?  Here’s a list I just made up.  It may get changed.

1. Banking - without money flow, everything shuts down.

2. Guantanamo Bay - (As suggested by Bob Doty)  Its illegal, its immoral, it hurts us in many ways.

3. Energy developement - let’s get out of the middle east completely

4. Get us out of Iraq

5. Recession

6. Infrastructure - another bridge collapse

7. International relations - speaking of bridges

8. Imigration

9. Manufacturing

10.  Oil prices - Heating our homes.   Its a terrible tax on all Americans and the drop in prices proves this was mostly about proffiteering.  And this isn’t last and may be should be part of something else.

What do YOU think this list should look like?  What did I forget?

Posted in Changes in the World In My Lifetime, Economics, Max's Theories | No Comments »

President Obama

November 5th, 2008 by Max

Now we see if a Liberal can govern effectively, and with a generosity of spirit.

This segement, from President Elect Obama’s speech in Grant Park last night, suggests that he can.

“Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, “We are not enemies, but friends…though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.” And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world - our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down - we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.”

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My Obama endorsement

November 3rd, 2008 by Max

Lately its come clear to me, that this year, as in other years, I’m voting for more than just the issues, though the issues are important to me.

This year more than any other year, I’m voting for hope.

I’ve poured my dreams into the Obama bucket.  I think everyone pours their feelings into a bucket that reflects not a candidate, but what they feel that candidate represents.

And here is why there is a difference.  John McCain ran on fear.  He ran on the fear of what might happen in Iraq, the fear of Al-Qaeda and a generalized George W Bush type fear of an anonymous boogieman that was at our door.  He also tried to make us afraid of a 1960’s radical, who had nothing to do with the election.  Then he tried to make us afraid of Socialism.  This was nothing more than the graduated tax system that we’ve had since the early part of the last century.  Walking all around the issue of race, he encouraged us to be afraid of Barack Obama by saying he’s an unknown and allowing people to think Obama is Muslim, Arab and a terrorist, even despite the fact that he told that woman in the midwest that Obama wasn’t an Arab but that Obama was a good “family man”, as if they are mutually exclusive.

So if you are optimistic, as I am, and hopeful where do you pour your dreams?  Into the bucket that says Obama.  I’m voting for change.  And I want the change to filter down through the appointments and bureaucrats that fill Washington and do the ‘day to day’.  I believe in Liberalism, so it doesn’t bother me that Obama is one, though McCain wants us to fear them.  In truth the biggest reason Obama is so liberal is that he is so different from George W.

And it’s Poetic Justice, as my friend Pat would say, that the man who George W. defeated by using fear, and who embraced the fear, would be brought down by George W.  The Dubaya screwed him one last time.

But this story is about hope.  Hope for a decent relationship between business and the government, with the government regulating business for the good of the people.  And in case you forgot, this is about ‘the people’.  It is also a story of hope for the readmission of the United States into the community of nations.  Before W we lead the world.  Now we are pariah!

It is a story of American conquering its own ‘original sin’ and for 18 percent of the population to feel fully enfranchised for the first time.

It’s a story of hope for peace.  I wish I knew who said that war is a failure of imagination, because right now I’m imagining peace and prosperity; remember that?  We had it 8 years ago.

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Hawks at play

November 2nd, 2008 by Max

oK.  Occaisionally I go up to Franklin Mt to watch the hawks, see if I can see an eagle, and maybe help the counters find a few birds they might have missed.  The thing is my eyes aren’t great and I don’t do the binocular thing well, I don’t hold them steady and I tend to see double.

So its no surprise that I haven’t learned to easily spot the difference between a Sharp Shinned Hawk and a Coopers Hawk.  This is more difficult because the Sharp Shin tends to be smaller, but the female Sharpie can be larger than a male Coopers Hawk.

So, while I knew the Coopers Hawk tends to have a curved end of its tail, I just from this day learned that the Sharp Shinned Hawk tends to have a curved scoop like form at the front of its wings near the head and that the Coop’s wings are more straight across.

With that, I’ve picked which I think, is which, in each photo.  Did I get it right?

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Bush endorsement

November 2nd, 2008 by Max

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The last of the Adirondack photos

November 1st, 2008 by Max

These are the last of my vacation pictures from the 2nd week of October.

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Vote Obama

October 31st, 2008 by Max

I was planning to write here, expressing my thoughts on why I must see this particular Democrat in the White House, when I heard of this column from Peggy Noonan.  I really like the way she writes, and while I won’t be adding the McCain parts, I will add a link to the essay in case you want to read the rest of it:

• 

• OCTOBER 31, 2008

Obama and the Runaway Train

The race, the case, a hope for grace.

• By PEGGY NOONAN

The case for Barack Obama, in broad strokes:

He has within him the possibility to change the direction and tone of American foreign policy, which need changing; his rise will serve as a practical rebuke to the past five years, which need rebuking; his victory would provide a fresh start in a nation in which a fresh start would come as a national relief. He climbed steep stairs, born off the continent with no father to guide, a dreamy, abandoning mother, mixed race, no connections. He rose with guts and gifts. He is steady, calm, and, in terms of the execution of his political ascent, still the primary and almost only area in which his executive abilities can be discerned, he shows good judgment in terms of whom to hire and consult, what steps to take and moves to make. We witnessed from him this year something unique in American politics: He took down a political machine without raising his voice.

Ken Fallin

A great moment: When the press was hitting hard on the pregnancy of Sarah Palin’s 17-year-old daughter, he did not respond with a politically shrewd “I have no comment,” or “We shouldn’t judge.” Instead he said, “My mother had me when she was 18,” which shamed the press and others into silence. He showed grace when he didn’t have to.

There is something else. On Feb. 5, Super Tuesday, Mr. Obama won the Alabama primary with 56% to Hillary Clinton’s 42%. That evening, a friend watched the victory speech on TV in his suburban den. His 10-year-old daughter walked in, saw on the screen “Obama Wins” and “Alabama.” She said, “Daddy, we saw a documentary on Martin Luther King Day in school.” She said, “That’s where they used the hoses.” Suddenly my friend saw it new. Birmingham, 1963, and the water hoses used against the civil rights demonstrators. And now look, the black man thanking Alabama for his victory.

This means nothing? This means a great deal.

…

But let’s be frank. Something new is happening in America. It is the imminent arrival of a new liberal moment. History happens, it makes its turns, you hold on for dear life. Life moves.

http://online.wsj.com/article/declarations.html

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Vote Obama

October 31st, 2008 by Max

Still working for a new calculation in the Google Ad.

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Vote Obama

October 31st, 2008 by Max

I have to get that add to reflect my views.

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John says enjoy the landslide

October 31st, 2008 by Max

Well, I hope you’re right.  I just can’t get there.  I know it’s all about the electoral college, but that’s what scares me.  Florida is even.  PA is margin of error.  Ohio is close.

The states Obama may take away are all close except for Virginia.

Schmidt (evil) - the student of Rove (evil) - the student of Atwater (evil) ran an awful campaign and still there is “a path to 270″.

My heart would break if we have another 4 years of these wretched, greedy, insincere and even “nefarious” (I just got that off the tv) and especially lying and selfish people who use patriotism as a weapon and charge any who may think differently with being at best unAmerican and at worst evil or stupid.

We can’t have 4 more years of “the REAL America” and the “other America”.

I love my country and they’re hurting it.

Here on Halloween … Its too scary.

Posted in Politics | 1 Comment »

Loon sequence

October 31st, 2008 by Max

I thought this might work as a series of photos.   I liked it.  We’ll just have to see  how it looks on the web.

Posted in My New York, Photos, Science | No Comments »