It's General Sherman!

Ok, it's taken this long for a Simpson's reference on this page. And if you know me, this would be astonishing. But I think this guy caught General Sherman! Hope he wasn't on a marriage retreat.

My favorite line of this episode.

 At the bait shop...
 
 Clerk: Yep, `General Sherman'.  They say he's five hundred pounds of
        bottom-dwelling fury, don't you know.  No one knows how old he is, but
        if you ask me (and most people do), he's hundred years if he's a day.
 Customer: And uh no one's ever caught him?
 Clerk: Well, one fella came close.  Went by the name of Homer.  Seven feet
        tall he was, with arms like tree trunks.  His eyes were like steel,
        cold, hard. Had a shock of hair, red like the fires of Hell.
 -- The making of a legend, ``War of the Simpsons''

Engineers...

Engineers: Everything we see, everything we touch, we think we can make better. We "discover" what's "wrong" with a design in 2 seconds. But most of us don't start our own website. We just bore our wives and non-engineer friend with these observations.

P.S. Bad web design. ;)

AP Cardio

Nothing like a little AP reading to get your blood going at lunchtime.

But Democrats worry that Republicans want to get rid of judicial filibusters so the White House can use the Senate's GOP majority to ram through a nominee that Democrats will find extreme and objectionable. If such a move were to succeed, it would give the GOP full control over which nominees could be confirmed for lifetime judgeships since the party controls the White House and has a 55-44-1 majority in the Senate.

I object to the word RAM. Ram? 55-44-1 is a majority. Majority rules.

"If Republicans roll back our rights in this chamber, there will be no check on their power," Reid said.

RIGHT? Majority rules. That’s the RIGHT.

But more importantly, both sides would have to operate on "good faith" when it comes to future nominations. Republicans would be bound not to ban judicial filibusters only if Democrats forswear judicial filibusters on court nominees except for extraordinary situations, aides said.

Don't do it! It's a trap! EXTRAORDINARY? You’ll see that word before you know it.

Post War?

I've been hearing more and more about FDR, and the more I hear, the more I think he was not the great president that I've been taught he was. Pat Buchanan makes a good point here. I wonder how we apply it to today. We can't leave Iraq, now? And we can't stop at Iraq...? That's what it sounds like to me.

The Emotion of Tragedy

This is a very sad story about a Marine killed in action – a Marine K-9. As I was reading this story, tears welled up in my eyes, and I had to resist grimaces. I felt my sorrow in my face as feelings of pride and empathy hit home. We have a dog. We have no children. As I read this, though, I wondered, “Would I be this emotional if this were a person?” I don’t think I’d be as moved. It’s sad. Why should I have more emotion for a dog than a person? I understand the sanctity of life and the love of family and friends. I have been blessed to not have yet had a human tragedy in my life. Is this why I cannot connect? Have I been desensitized? “Another solder has give their life for freedom from tyranny.” Or is it simpler?

I think it might be liked to my childhood. Dogs (animals) are so innocent. And we grow up cherishing them as that. And we learn to care for them and they care back. And as a child we are allowed to cry – to show emotion. So maybe as an adult, I allow myself to show emotion about animals and I stay stoic in the face of human tragedy.

The reality is, it’s a little of both.

The Celebration of Failure

Employee performance appraisals are always interesting. They should be satisfying, eye opening, aggravating and inspirational. I just had mine and here are my comments on my performance (edited to protect the company)

I feel that the performance rating of "Solid Performance" accurately characterizes my efforts. I am not satisfied with myself for this rating. I believe I am capable of far better as I have previously demonstrated at (the company). I attribute my inability to achieve "Exceeds Performance Goals" or "Outstanding" to two factors. 1) Many of my tasks have been menial and monotonous. These tasks are not challenging, and are not where my strengths and interests lie. My strengths and interests lie in project management and leadership combined with my technical abilities. 2) My confidence in upper management has been shattered. My motivation to complete the menial tasks that must be accomplished in order to improve product and process is stymied by previous attempts to “exceed performance” only to be disappointed by corporate decisions that undermine these efforts. Examples include previous attempts to improve (one of the) product line only to be starved for resources and sidestepped for specials orders, later to be lashed for a lack of improvement in the product line. Lack of commitment to a process of improvement such as previous attempts at developing a New Product Introduction Process that have fallen by the wayside. And finally, the character assassination of a product such as the (flagship product) and those who sacrificed blood, sweat and tears. Thousands of man hours were poured into product design striving to exceed expectations, learning from (the company)’s rich history in order to introduce the company’s next generations platform, only to be denigrated at the highest levels for errors beyond engineering’s control and which are today being uncovered (i.e. suddenly, we are able to buy the product for the cost targets because there has been a focused effort on justifying the supplier’s price.) And in the end, engineering’s reputation is soiled.

How can one be inspired to “Exceed Performance Goals” in an environment of despair? Despair which comes from decades of failure. And the celebration of failure.

Is this a copout? Am I whining? After 5 years of these feelings and being one who voices his opinion and not being heard, I don’t believe it’s a copout. You can only point the finger at yourself for so long.

Some bloggin tips for me

Gotta read more of this. I've got 1, 2, 3, 7 and 9 (to some extent). Put I've got a ways to go.

Remember this Crater?

Remember when Opportunity rover on Mars saw Endurance crate? It looked big!
Look what's over the horizon... Victoria.
You can follow Mars Rovers here.

And don't miss the amazing pictures from ESA Mars Express. Like this "frozen sea ice". And look what's ahead for ME.

Terri

Where to start? Such a tragic story. Such a pull of emotions. Spousal right. The sanctity of life. The freedom of death. And a real story. A horrible situation. Yet a time for us all to reflect and to ponder the difficult thoughts that more than likely will face us at some level some day directly or indirectly.

Below you can see where I stood on this issue. "Stay out of my life!" And I still feel this is true. At this point, there I don't see a means to distinguish between black and white. So someone has to be made in change if the situation requires.

But I have to say, I'm learning a lot from this poor family's tragedy. I've been forced to think about the other side. Why has "The Right" fought so diligently over this? Why have they put politics into this and put their political necks on the line for this case? I don't believe they are so low to drag this into the national spotlight to court the evangelical vote. I have more faith in them than that. So I have been listening. I have been trying to understand their drive to sound the message of life.

I keep trying to think of analogies. And I keep hearing people on talk radio discuss this subject. "Pulling the feeding tube is no different from pulling the ventilator." "Suffocate, starve, what's the difference?" But I'm coming to think that this isn't the root of this story. The root of "the sanctity of life" plight.

For me (and this case is all about you. If it's not, Terri's life and death has no purpose to you and she died like any other death that day. Except it was humiliatingly dragged out into the open.), Terri's life has made me think of this situation beyond an brain injured spouse. There's a fine line between life and death.. Where do you draw it? A coma, a ventilator and a heart lung machine? A feeding tube? Alzheimer’s? the mentally retarded ("Who'd want to live like that?") Where is the line? And where should our government get involved. Of coarse the government should stop any attempt to euthanize retarded people. And grandpa in the nursing home with Alzheimer’s shouldn't be allowed to perish because his brain can't take him to the store to buy food (thereby "letting nature take it's coarse). But where's the next line? Terri? Terri.

So this IS a story that matters to me. It isn't just a family's tragedy being dragged through the street for political gain. It's about the future of society. It's about where we draw the line. And if we don't continue this discussion today, then Terri's sacrifice - Terri's family's sacrifice is for not. And Pope John Paul leaves us at the very same moment. I valiant missionary for the sanctity of life. His sacrifice, and the celebration of his life in his death. That life leads to death. That death is eventual. But life is eternal even in death.

So don't let the subject fade, or Terri's death and the Pope's death are without meaning - without lesson. We must refine the line. Whether Terri wanted it that way or not.

Pulitzer Message

Interesting story about this year’s Pulitzer Prize photos. View them here, then read on.

What do you think? Are they "anti-American"? Do they support terrorism? Biased? Are they missing anything?
I first read The Belmont Club. I thought he was spot on. He refers to
Michelle Malkin. Of coarse, the same view point. And she links to
Jawa Report. Which is an excellent breakdown of the photos.

In the end, I tend to agree with the view that this is a sad testament to the Pulitzer Prize and to our major media. Are these photos "a distinguished example of breaking news photography"? Of coarse. But half of these photos could have been take during the Saddam era. The dead children? The man is a cage? Mutilated bodies?

Aren't there other photos that also show breaking news? How about the photos of men, women and children greeting American and Iraqi soldiers who have liberated their neighborhood of thieves and murderers? How about millions of Iraqis dancing in the street with purple fingers, breaking down and crying as the reality that the tyrant, Saddam, is gone forever - crying for the family members that died unjustly for decades? Sure terrorist executions are news. But voting in Iraq... That's breaking news.