RIP Paul Newman

Paul Newman has merged with the infinite.

We've lost him at the age of 83.

I've only seen a fraction of Newman's work, but, hell... what red-blooded American made it through college without watching "Cool Hand Luke" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"?

For the Ladies: I also have a firm memory of taking a class on "relationships" at UT, and talking about ideals for men and women, and the cacophony that hit the 400 person auditorium when Mr. Newman's image was presented as the ladies went a bit nuts. Well done, Mr. Newman.

There's no question we've lost one of the best who will ever grace the screen. Few actors have been smart enough to follow Newman's lead either in choice of roles or in his example for how he lived his life off the screen (the food line has been able to give $200 million to charity).

You'll be missed, Mr. Newman.

To Infinity, and Beyond...!

Sweeeeeet.

Sure, financial news is dire... but just as the Depression brought us aerial circuses and barn stormers, so should be turn our eyes to the fellow who just strapped a kerosene powered jet-wing to his back and crossed the English Channel.

Here's the article.

This Moment in History - Watching the Financial Crisis

It's always odd to live through a moment in the news that you realize is becoming a moment in history. I've been around the block long enough to recognize them when they crop up, I think (and getting the history degree doesn't hurt, especially once you see how these things cook up when using primary source documents in research). And, Leaguers, this story is picking up enough steam to maybe be one of those events.

And while the events of the current financial collapse won't be recognized in the same manner as, say, Pearl Harbor, 9/11, etc... it could be recognized in much the same way as Black Thursday. And you know what the big difference is between those events (aside from loss of life and the road to war)? The mistakes made along the way are amazingly clear in hindsight.

I am unsure what to make of the bailout. We're getting a plea from a government that has made a lot of claims over the years insisting that the public rush to get behind them, but its a governments whose credibility has been tragically diminished thanks to requests for blind faith (and this isn't just opinion here. I'm going off well known polls, Sunday morning show consensus, etc...) and then finding their goodwill has been taken advantage of.

Add in the idea that the government hasn't ever really reacted this way before to financial crisis, and the American public surely isn't too excited about finding themselves holding the bag (taxwise) for what's seen as nothing less than an act of hubris by people who would as soon step on them as speak to them.

The American public seems to have a feeling in their gut that the bailout plan is the wrong way to go, and you can't blame them. After all, where's the bailout for the people losing their homes? Why are CEO's for failing companies regularly receiving "golden parachutes" after driving their companies into the ground and losing their jobs? Why were the financial policies of the past few years ever allowed if anyone was aware of the potential risk? And whys hould we be expected to pay for their risk? When so many people have already lost so much thanks to participating in their risky behaviors? And it seems hopelessly mired in the notion that the financial well being of the country should be based in propping up the wealthy (and wealthy institutions) to support the trickle down effect theory of economics.

That's not to say I believe that $700 Billion should be set aside for people who took loans they couldn't afford, but I don't see the value in putting your $700 billion in fewer baskets over spreading the wealth when the institutions seem to lack the discipline to handle the money they have/ had. (Either way seems to be a dud. I wonder how historians and economists of the future will see the economic stimulus checks we got this summer. FYI: Mine was spent in Costa Rica. Viva America!)

Economists will be studying the past six years for the next fifty. And, I assure you, we'll do it all over again in my lifetime when another generation is running things, doesn't know their history and believes the people in their same jobs of a few decades back were merely fools who couldn't handle things the way THEY can.

In a way, we sort of know what will happen if the bailout doesn't happen. We have a major financial crisis and have to hit the reset button. And while it will surely hurt many, many people, its something that may serve to force our economy into a natural equilibrium. Joe Average on the street has no faith in the companies who have failed in the first place, so why would we give them $700 Billion again (whether that's how the administration looks at it or not, it's our dough...)? In short, if we think we're about to bottom out, anyway, why go further into national debt throwing good money after bad?

Frankly, I'm a bit stunned that this plan came from the White House. But if I were an outgoing President, I wouldn't be too keen on letting the end result of eight years of my economic policy being financial collapse of the US, either, I guess. So I'd be looking for some stopgap to try to keep that from happening. Nobody wants to be remembered as going down in flames in the same manner as Hoover.

Whether right or wrong on this bailout request, unfortunately the current administration has burned through its goodwill and claims of wise leadership (I guess they call it political capital). Which is another lesson in government to you future leaders of America. Sooner or later you might actually need for people to get behind you on something, so you better not waste and/ or drop the ball on the first two or three requests.

Part of me wonders if Bush did more harm than good in going begging to the public for their support instead of leaving the idea of the bailout as more of an abstraction without a face.

Part of why I'm writing this post is that LoM might be your daily bit of goofiness, but it's also got a multi-year archive at this point. So it seems a shame to not mark some of this stuff for posterity for myself. Especially if I suspect that events as they unfold will be part of our national narrative. So I can see if I was right or wrong in my predictions, and see how what I was thinking about the news as it unfolded.

So, yes, perhaps a bit selfish, but I hope it'll have some value for me in the future.

Back from New York

Things I learned:

1) In New York, every two blocks, you are in a new town. We stayed in Great Neck, but worked in Manhasset, two miles away. This is all left over from the great days when, I guess, these were smaller towns run by people in tri-corner hats. But its weird to someone who grew up in the wild, wild west where we call areas of that size "a neighborhood". But people are dead serious about those being whole different towns.

2) Morgan Spurlock, or a guy who looks just like him, is taller than you'd expect. I think he was on the plane with me from New York to Austin.

3) Break it down with your team regarding polite amounts to spend vis-a-vis the costs of items on the menu when the client is paying. Nothing so sinking as seeing someone ordered the @#$% lobster.

4) I am too old and tired to go into the city to rock out with the rest of the team. But not old enough to care if they get lost/ arrested/ whatever... when they go off to the big city.

5) The reason the older airlines are failing is because JetBlue provides better service to the plebes like myself who fly coach, as they have nothing but coach seating. They've given everyone more legroom (noticeably more than American, I'd say), and don't spend their time reminding all of us in coach that we are not Platinum, Elite, or whatever else special group. They don't charge for the first bag. Or a drink. Or a bag of (good) chips. AND, there are little TV's in seatbacks with satellite TV. Which leads me to -

6) You can watch Animal Planet with the sound off and still get the basic idea. Also, baby walruses are very cute.

7) There is nothing better for airplane zoning out than This American Life on your iPod.

8) There is no such thing as a New York accent that is too over the top. I need to return to New York on a regular basis so that when I think characters on shows taking place in New York are acting a little wacky... it is as real as the big-haired Texas lady with the ridiculous drawl.

9) Nothing is more awesome than a 20-something hustler cab driver trying to make it in a tough, tough town. He was wearing a suit. To drive a beat-to-hell cab. We all LOVED that guy. And, you know what, he's going to make it. But I am not joining his pyramid scheme operation as the Texas branch.

10) I learned how to use my phone as an alarm clock for the first time. My hotel had this iPod Charger/ clock radio thing that seemed just too complicated for my blood.

11) Sometimes you get off the plane, and Kevin Bankston is just hanging out in the airport waiting for his ladyfriend.

Blogging from Great Neck, New York

Hi Leaguers.

I am tired as heck. After Jamie's day Monday, traveling and corraling my crew yesterday, having an intense but (and I'm not just saying this) highly, highly productive day today with my team and our client/ partner team, I am bushed. And it's 8:30 central time.

I'm really impressed with this area. I could never afford to live here, but it's really lovely. Sort of like an overpopulated small town with a whole lot of name brand shopping, nice homes, nice storefronts, and some seriously pricey cars.

I feel a bit out of my element, but have had two great dinners in a row (both fish, while I can take advantage. I love fish.), and had NY pizza for lunch.

I think I actually eat more sensibly when I travel. If I lived on the road, I'd be in much better shape.

One interesting thing I'd forgotten about NYC, is that you forget living in Texas that not all women are blond. I'm not sure how natural all of the hair color I see actually is, but not everyone is blond.

Obviously I don't dislike blond (note: the wife), so its just an observation after living in Texas and Arizona.

But people are also a lot thinner here. I'm a whale in Great Neck. I miss my fatties in Texas.

I miss Jamie. And the pets (in no particular order). And I'm looking forward to getting home.

This Week

This week is going to be pretty nuts, so if posting dries up, I'm going to ask you bear with me.

As you might have read at Jamie's site, she's undergoing some testing tomorrow. So... Monday is going to be highly unpredictable.

Then, Tuesday - Thursday, I'm traveling for work. So, I'm going to be pretty seriously out of pocket and busy with clients and co-workers.

Sorry about this. Posting is possible, but by and large... its going to be pretty quiet at LoM.

I was planning to actually post tonight, but I'm pretty tired, and I didn't have much to say, anyway. I'm sure you saw the Texas and Cowboys scores.

So, I'm off to get some rest.

In the meantime, it's election season, so here's Charlie helping Dennis run his campaign for Comptroller on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia".

Things That Bug Me

-Yahoo, etc... knowing I am a male, and so my computer seems half-filled with ads for off-brand dating sites with video loops of 19 year old girls "flirting" with the camera. I'm good, thanks.

-Seeing 17 year old kids walking down the street, heading away from the high school at 9:45 in the morning, who obviously just ducked out of going to school.

-When the cat pees on me when I take him to the vet

-When the government has to bail out financial institutions who behaved obviously recklessly for years to even a nimrod like myself, putting us even further into crippling debt, in order to keep us from having some sort of 1929-style financial collapse.

-The lack of a proper Hawkman title from DC

-Dolls that can swim. And the inferred message to impressionable kids that maybe babies can swim.

-When your trusted robot goes crazy and tries to kill you.

-Daytime TV ads reminding me I'd probably have a full-time job if I DID just sign up for a trade and technical school...

(edit) - I am also deeply irritated that whenever I turn on my cable TV, it tunes to channel 1, which runs nothing but an ad for the three services (cable, internet, phone) provided by Time Warner Cable. Which I already have. Time Warner, please quit selling me (badly and constantly) that which I already have.

Of course, the only way you can actually see the ad is if you already have digital cable, thus eliminating at least one of the three items they're hard selling.

Nothing Tonight

My thoughts are with the folks in Houston and the Gulf Coast.

Kid Invents New Solar Cell

This kid William Yuan, has invented an all-new solar cell. Something PhD's and eggheads are no doubt working on.

Read the article here.

What I was doing at 12:

-raiding Peabo's Mom's cabinet for Dr. Pepper and Teddy Grahams
-Reading Batman and X-Men
-Sitting second chair tuba (in a section of 2)
-worrying about if Sophia Chiang "liked" me
-Growing twice as fast as the other kids (6'3" by 8th grade, suckahs!)
-Working on my free throws
-watching "Aliens" for, literally, the 23rd time
-getting lectured by The Admiral about my most recent infraction
-getting a black eye at the bus stop from Steanso laying me out with a single punch
-Social Studies homework
-Getting a "C" in Talented and Gifted math and getting booted down to plain 'ol "honors" math because of a ScanTron mishap

I was not:
-revolutionizing energy collection

UT Tickets up for Grabs for September 27th

Hi everybuddy.

Both my folks and myself won't be available for use of the tickets for the Arkansas/ UT game on September 27th. There are 4 tickets available.

If anyone is interested in obtaining the tickets, please let me know.

"Sunny" returns tomorrow

Hey, just a heads-up that League-favorite program "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" returns tomorrow on the FX network.


Official Link, which, I believe, shoots loud, loud music at you. So be careful.

"Sunny" is definitely not to everyone's taste, but, by gosh, it is to mine. Just, uh... clear the kids out of the room before watching.

I confess to a special fondness for Kaitlin Olson's character, "Sweet Dee". The character seems to channel Jamie at times, particularly when exasperated or trying to prove the rest of the cast wrong, which occurs just about every episode, just as it occurs just about every day at League HQ.


Leaguers will be shocked to learn I like scrappy blondes

Due to the nature of many of Sweet Dee's better moments (the welfare episode is still a gem), Jamie will, no doubt, be horrified that I've made the comparison. But there you have it.

Superman Auctions Raise Goal (the rest is gravy)

Look, it's been a lousy week, news-wise. I don't even feel like talking about it. But here's a ray of hope:

The Siegel house exterior renovations can begin. Already.

There are still several huge auctions left, and they've already raised the $50,000 wanted to fix the exterior of the house. The balance will go toward re-doing the inside. Read the article here.

If you're filthy rich and want to bid on stuff, go here.

If that's a little rich for your blood, you can still donate a sack of money here.

I want to remind readers that Meltzer's new charity isn't just for the Siegel and Shuster Society. It's to remind people that Ordinary People Change the World.

Texas will be digging itself out from under the destruction of Hurricane Ike for a long, long time.

If you can, please think about giving to:

The Red Cross

The Austin Capital Area Food Bank

or other charitable organizations helping out evacuees

Comic Fodder Post

New post:

Superheroes should have super friends wherein I make an argument for a strong supporting cast and maybe a little less action.

Obama y Unicorn

Shoemaker mentioned the first picture to me, so I looked it up using search words "Obama Unicorn". This is what I found.


If you don't click on this for the full size, you are missing out


From the JibJab website.


I have no idea.


I like that I know who the "we" is now.


And this one is... interesting, but the "adult" end of the spectrum (sensitive eyes should not click).

Make of all of this what you will. I will find it awesome.


I told you this was going to get dumber before it got better.

Ike (and: I am right. Occasionally. About the weather)

Ike in my High School Hood

Some of you (Meredith) have been to my folks' neighborhood. Here's some Admiral-approved photos of damage in Cypresswood.

No idea how your old house held up, Mere. The Admiral mostly stuck to that end of the neighborhood where he lives, back by Mirror Lake.





This is actually a somewhat familiar site from my childhood. Hurricanes. Tornadoes. It's bizarre anyone lives in Houston, let alone its now the 4th largest city in the US.

September weather change

I always say "we get our first break in the heat around September 15th". And, sure enough, Austinites... when did we first see a dip in the warm air that had hung over Austin since July?

September 15th.

This week is in the 80's. Fall has begun to fall. Yes, as everyone tries to tell me, it will probably heat up again for a while in October. And, yeah, sometimes the cool front comes earlier. Sometimes later. But, as a rule of thumb, we get the first days when you can comfortably wear jeans outside and the air is in the 60's at night around September 15th.

yes, sometimes its hot as hell on Halloween. And sometimes it has literally hit freezing on Halloween (1993), but in general...

I'm just saying. September 15th.

Last night I got Jason to put out his Halloween jack-o-lanterns. And that is just awesome.

West St. Paul

This has been stuck in my head for two or three days. Now it can stuck in your head, too.

A musical tribute to West St. Paul, Minnesota.



no thanks to Steven and Lauren for bringing this into my life and creating the endless loop in my head.

Me v. Twitter

I've been discussing (via e-mail) with Lauren the merits of internet social tool Twitter. I don't intend to bag on Twitter, but it IS an odd social phenomena. Just as blogging is an absurdly ego-driven push of one's opinions out to the world (as I am doing here), Twitter takes the possibilities of public navel gazing to a whole new level.

By it's 140 character format, clearly no thought can be articulated beyond a spartan, simple expression. We have not yet begun to see the trickle-down effect of the phenomena, but as sure as 14 year olds believe text-speak is okay for other forms of communication, it won't be too long before we're being told that we aren't hip (and are, in fact, dinosaurs) if we can't think and communicate in micro-bursts that somehow encapsulate entire arguments in 140 characters or less. It will be something out of a Stephenson novel.

I suspect that Twittering is in its early stages now. Just as the first years of blogging tools were a mess of yokels like myself with no real direction, but how in a few short years blogs have found that structure equals readership and blogs have been turned into a business/ marketing tool... so, too, I guess, Twitter shall develop. Or must develop.

It's already started, but its a blunt instrument at the moment (which reminds me of Blogger in clunkier, more adorable days).

But until it is refined, it's still a lot of people sort of blogging in microbursts. And, as I said about maintaining a blog such as this... it takes a certain amount of ego. What's tough about Twitter is that there's a tendency to do it often by some, less by others. And at that 140 character limit, and with such a friendly user interface, Twitter becomes a magnet not for observation, but for reporting of minutia.

Which leaves me in the awkward position, that I've been discussing with Lauren, that I feel somewhat obligated to be on Twitter, but I am failing to see the value. And I feel like I'm missing something others find obvious. And I strongly suspect my disinterest in the goings-on of others says nothing good about myself.

But I also suspect that this isn't the last stop for how Twitter is used. And, Lauren had suggestions. Use it to keep up with news, etc... use it for the messaging. Use it to learn new things about people you're following, or to keep up how you feel is appropriate.

My nightmare, as I shared, is that anyone is ASSUMING I am keeping up with them in Twitter. I am sorry to say, if you think I am keeping up with you on Twitter, my readership is pretty spotty. But that's the ego thing, too. I learned long ago not to expect anyone I know is actually reading LoM. And for the ease of Twitter, I suspect many aren't aware of the indifference toward their efforts by friends and loved ones. So... yeah. There it is.

But I am also someone who doesn't relish the idea of iPhone because I don't treasure the idea of everyone I know being able to find me any time via phone, e-mail, IM, etc... all in one box. While I appreciate the technology and business application in particular, I consider myself separate from the technology that I use. It is a tool, it is not a necessity.

Some folks feel the necessity not just to own the iPhone, but to play on it constantly. I sometimes go for days without realizing my phone has been off. The idea of picking up a Blackberry or some other device when my contract is renewed in December runs cold fear down my spine. I have flashbacks to doing work at a Diamondbacks game in Phoenix when they saddled me with a device.

I'm still a control freak. I'm just a control freak about whether my life belongs to me, or to a piece of silicon and plastic in my pocket. And I don't know if that same constant need for communication isn't part of the difference between myself and folks who are jumping headfirst into Twitter.

Follow The Leaguer

If you look over on the left hand menu bar, there's a new feature where you can list yourself as a Leaguer. I think you have to have a Google account to make it work, but it's easy to do otherwise. Listing youself wil put your icon in the box, and then.... SHAZAM!

Not only will you be publicly listed as a Leaguer, but you'll be on several NSA watch lists.

A Dry, Clear Sunday

Today I woke up late after condemning Jamie to wake up and feed the dogs.

We cleaned up the house a bit more to accommodate my dad, who was driving in from Ike-damaged Spring, TX to take part in our electricity and air conditioning. His office in Houston apparently has power, but water is still iffy. The house I lived in back in high school has water, but no power. And no power for the foreseeable future. So I'm discouraging him from going home, but The Admiral is not one who believes in the creature comforts. He's been using a kerosene lamp for his light.

We met up off 2222 and headed out to Steiner Ranch to go see the progress on Rancho Relaxo, my folks' soon-to-be house. I have to say, if you're going to build a house for my folks, Rancho Relaxo really fits the bill. Lot of space for them to spread out, big windows, a lovely (unobstructed) view of a preserve. And The Admiral has included a workshop area, which he has, unfortunately, dubbed "Daddy's Playhouse", which was deemed creepy by all.

I am a bit at a loss as to what I should be doing, as per helping out in the wake of Ike. With Katrina, I was pretty far away, and so I sent money. Well, with my recent employment status, I am not exactly Rich Uncle Pennybags, and I'm pretty close to Houston... so after The Admiral leaves and I'm done putting my my token evacuee... I need to figure out some way in which I can help.

I've been pondering Austin's identity as the go-to destination for evacuees.

Austin is 1/5th the size of Houston. It raises a lot of questions about the assumed ability of the city to absorb and support over a sustained period (Houston could be without power for up to two weeks, provided it DOESN'T get hit with any more hurricanes). Hospitals, etc... get stretched to their limit during these emergencies... and one wonders what can be done to make these resources more expandable. (I heard a story of someone being turned away from receiving medical help at the ER because Ike evacuees meant that the ER was beyond capacity. Understandable, but... where do you go when the ER is full and you need help?)

All of that said, I hope we Austinites CAN be the sort of people we hope we are, and that we can continue to be the default place for evacuations in years to come.

We might need to rethink some our practices to make it work. We're using schools as shelters can't mean disruption of school... looks like we got that one figured out by Monday this time. Other resources, like the Austin Food pantry, are being quickly drained to serve the evacuees, rather than serving its normal purpose. Which is a great resource, but what happens when the evacuees go home and the pantry is bare?

There are a million little things that will, no doubt, be brought up in the wake of Ike. But I give credit to the Red Cross for their response, Austin, San Antonio, etc... for opening their doors. FEMA has responded much, much better than during Katrina and Rita. And it seems whatever plans were put into place since Katrina are working to the extent that people will follow instructions and leave when told "you will otherwise die".

Do evacuees have anywhere to return to? What will happen in the weeks and months ahead? Can the evacuation destination cities sustain themselves as evacuation destinations?

I do not envy Chertoff or whomever replaced Brownie as head of FEMA. Because I have no idea how to answer these questions without coming to some uncomfortable conclusions.

Do Nothing Hurricane Day

It's been a slow, slow day.

For those catching up:

The Hurricane hit Houston. It missed Austin almost entirely aside from some clouds and lovely wind. Although we were projected to get 60mph gusts and driving rain all day, we received a light downpour from 11:40 - 11:55pm, as I'm writing this.

I was on the phone a lot. I called The Admiral at 9:00, and again in the afternoon. He's okay. The house has some leaking he managed. He's probably coming to Austin tomorrow to take in some air conditioning.

Spoke briefly with Jamie's mom, and for a long while with Wagner.

Jamie wanted to watch "American Psycho" on cable this morning, a movie I've always been squeamish about sharing with her, but I figured... what the heck? She's a big girl and can handle it. And she did. Partially, I think, because I'd forgotten how watered down the movie is in comparison to the book, which I haven't read since 1991-2, but which (if you've read it) sort of leaves an impression on you.

We also went down to South Congress for coffee with Matt and Nicole, and had a lovely time.

I am often reminded that most people sort of think of The League as sort of a dullard. And so it was today, in having coffee with pal-Matt that I received the cold splash of reality, that it doesn't help if someone knows you pretty darn well...

Me: -but their one movie I saw that I just didn't think worked was "The Man Who Wasn't There".
Matt: Hmmm. Yeah.
Me: I honestly didn't think it was very good.
Matt: Well, you know, that might be more of a "film person" movie.
Me: I... have a film degree.
Matt: (thoughtful pause) Yeah, well...

Sigh.

I know, I know. I've set myself up as this sort of Superman loving dingbat. You make your bed, you sleep in it.

This evening we wound up watching Oceans 13 (which now caps me out on views of all the new Oceans movies, I think). Then Saturday Night Live (until the musical guest, who I had never heard of). I believed Pohler and Fey's opening sketch was a bit of genius. If it's posted, I'll link.

But, totally uneventful day.

I think the buzz is that everyone in Austin was sort of wound up for the bad weather, and when it didn't arrive, it was maybe a big disappointment.

Also, there were a lot of bored-looking evacuees wandering around Stassney and Manchaca today.