Arivee en France

The view was great and the dinner simple at Moulin de l’Homont this evening: bread, fruit, cheese and some local bourgogne. This capped a long, long day making our way from San Francisco to Frankfurt, then Lyon by air and finally by car to Montpont en Bresse. There were many long walks and steep staircases […]

Conflicted about the Pope, circumnavigating MP, a Linux mini-laptop

The Pope has expressed some admirable sentiments since arriving in the U.S., but there’s one phrase I have a problem with. Commenting on faith in a secular democracy, he said ‘faith is not a private matter,’ suggesting, I am guessing, it should be enforced, presumably by the Church. Judging by some of his previous comments, […]

Tuesday musings

Mike Spillane’s passing leaves me very sad, but to be true to his spirit, life, and the blog, must go on. Thusly:
The Pope is visiting the U.S. this week, and I am very interested in learning more about this man and his ideas. I have been a little leery of Benedict, given some of […]

A day in the city

Our day started with the usual Wednesday Caltrain/Muni journey to UCSF: there was a bit of added interest when the N Judah streetcar was halted for 15 minutes near the Bay Bridge and we glimpsed a group of pro-Tibet would-be torch watchers, seen above. We were late for our 90-minute physical rehab session, but very […]

April fool

Well, we haven’t seen any standouts yet, but here’s Google’s Wake Up Alert, with bed flipper and connection to your water main. Public Knowledge offers the APRIL Act, a new IP bill, that, while a joke, uses actual language from bills before Congress - the FBI can wiretap you if they suspect you’re ‘attempting to […]

Los Angeles Herald Examiner photo staff

What a crew, and what a night. Paul Chinn, former Herexer and current S.F. Chronicle photog sent me this pic of a pretty scary group. L to R front row: Dean Musgrove, Chris Gulker, Leo Jarzomb. Back row: Jim Reubsamen, Xavier Mendoza, Paul Chinn, Rob Brown and Mike Mullen. Thanks, Paul! I’ll have more […]

Anti-depressants and rampage killings

Our friend Sara Bostock was over for dinner last night, and the topic of the role of anti-depressants in rampage killings, like the recent tragedy in Illinois, came up.  Sara, who lost a daughter to suicide shortly after she began taking an anti-depressant, is a founder of ssristories.com which collates public accounts of killings and […]

Vote, please

Record turnouts are predicted in California, but it won’t happen unless we get out and make it happen. If I can vote YOU can vote…

Liberals are born that way

Conservatives, too, according to this week’s New Scientist. There’s mounting evidence, including twin studies, that a liberal or conservative bent is a genetic trait. While there’s probably no gene for disliking long-haired hippies, genes do shape personality traits and these can influence political opinion. Hmmm. .. we may have to rethink political campaigns….

Phone co. cuts off FBI wiretap: bill overdue

Makes me feel safe: first the FBI et al. have been given unprecedented powers to listen in on  American’s phone and email conversations, which is spooky in that Big Brother kind of way. And now we hear that the FBI can’t be bothered to pay its phone bill for a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act wiretap. […]

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