Archive for July, 2018

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Headline of the day

Saturday, July 14th, 2018

Kicking, screaming, biting Kansas councilwoman finally taken down with Taser, arrested, police say

It’s not quite “You’re going down in flames, you tax-fattened hyena!” but it’s close enough for government work.

Bonus points:

A few days later, on July 2, Fowler refused to cooperate with jail workers as they tried to complete the booking process.
When officers were forced to remove jewelry and personal items from her, Fowler bit one of them on the thumb hard enough to break the bone.

The original charges against her were failure to appear on a public drunkeness and interferring with law enforcement charge from last year. Now she’s managed to escalate that into at least two, probably three counts of battery on a law enforcement officer. Plus interference with a law enforcement officer times two. Plus the drunkenness charge.

I wouldn’t expect her at a council meeting in the near or far future.

Posted in Cops, Law, Politics | Comments Closed

Let’s go!

Friday, July 13th, 2018

More car related updates and thoughts.

First of all, RoadRich left an excellent and thoughtful comment on the last post which you should go read.

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Posted in Bluetooth, Cars, Endorsements, Geek, Radio | Comments Closed

Headline of the day.

Thursday, July 12th, 2018

The best Austin bar for every Myers-Briggs personality type

A quick skim of the article does not reveal that they picked the best Austin bar for “I think Myers-Briggs personality types are a bunch of f—ing bull—t.” My personal favorite in that regard was the original Horseshoe Lounge: where they checked you for weapons at the door, and if you didn’t have any, they loaned you one.

Posted in Mixology | Comments Closed

Real estate watch.

Wednesday, July 11th, 2018

Do you have a spare $1.7 million lying around? Or can you get a mortgage for that amount? Zillow says the payments would be around $6,900 a month (20% down, 30 year fixed).

What are you getting for that amount?

Welcome to the Terrazzo dell’Infinito!

Or, in other words, the Infinity Terrace.

Take a step into this Tuscan sanctuary and be whisked off to the Old World.

It’s not just an infinite terrace, it’s a sanctuary. From what, I’m not clear. Certainly not the cares of the world, if you have to come up with $7,000 a month for 30 years to pay for it.

Enjoy the stylish Italian warmth with hints of royalty.

“hints of royalty”. I think you can get that in spray bottles; a spritz here, a spritz there, and pretty soon your home smells like Henry VIII.

The attention to detail was paramount during this design.

But apparently not in the writing of this blurb.

Relish in the tranquility of the grounds that provide multiple seating areas and a pool flanked by statues and lush foliage.

I don’t much like relish myself, but I guess if that’s your thing, “multiple seating areas” (as opposed to just dragging a lawn chair over), a pool, and lush foliage might make the relish taste better. Nothing like throwing some dogs on the grill next to your $1.7 million home.

This property is truly captivating, unmatched by its beauty.

Meh.

This isn’t simply a home-it’s a lifestyle.

Specifically, a criminal lifestyle. You see, this isn’t just any old Tuscan-style home: this is former Democratic state Senator and now convicted felon Carlos Uresti’s house.

He appealed the convictions, but told the court yesterday he does not have the money to continue paying for his attorney. Uresti asked a judge to appoint Michael McCrum, who represented him at trial, as his appellate lawyer at state expense.

Posted in Law, Politics, Texas | 3 Comments »

Kermit.

Tuesday, July 10th, 2018

I was 12 years old in 1977. I wasn’t an NBA fan at the time (and I’m still not one) but I remember the punch. It was all over the news.

I thought then that Kermit Washington should have been banned from the NBA for life and faced criminal charges.

Some years later, I read John Feinstein’s The Punch: One Night, Two Lives, and the Fight That Changed Basketball Forever. There’s some chilling stuff in there. (Rudy Tomjanovich tells a story about lying on a stretcher and asking the doctor why he had a bitter taste in his mouth. The doctor told him, “That’s your spinal fluid. It’s leaking out of your skull.”)

Feinstein’s book also, oddly enough, made me feel a little more compassion for Washington. When I was 12, I was convinced that the punch was a deliberate and malicious act, and that Washington planted his feet and braced himself before he struck Tomjanovich. After reading the book, I was at least willing to accept the possibility that I was wrong, and that Washington, while he intended to strike Tomjanovich, didn’t intend to do the level of damage that he ended up doing. It seemed as if Washington had been struggling for most of his life not to be defined by that one moment: and who among us wants to be defined by the worst moment of our lives?

Of course, it’s worth pointing out that Rudy Tomjanovich never completely got over being punched in the face and nearly killed. The whole story is like a giant pile of sad. Especially now.

Former NBA player Kermit Washington has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in charity donations on vacations, shopping sprees and plastic surgery for his girlfriend.

Somehow, I missed the fact that he was facing criminal charges, but he pled guilty last year to “making a false statement in a tax return” and “aggravated identity theft”. He’s also expected to pay $970,000 in restitution.

Posted in Books, Law, Sports | 3 Comments »

Obit watch: July 9, 2018.

Monday, July 9th, 2018

Tab Hunter, noted actor and Hollywood idol.

Arthur Gelien was 17 when the agent Henry Willson gave him a new name and added him to a roster of clients that included Rock Hudson, Robert Wagner and Rory Calhoun. “Acting skill,” Mr. Hunter said in his 2005 autobiography, “Tab Hunter Confidential” (written with Eddie Muller), “was secondary to chiseled features and a fine physique.”

Posted in Movies, Obits | Comments Closed

Obit watch: July 7, 2018.

Saturday, July 7th, 2018

For the record: Steve Ditko. WP “Comic Riffs” (which quotes Neil Gaiman at length).

Posted in Obits | Comments Closed

Obit watch: July 6, 2018.

Friday, July 6th, 2018

Claude Lanzmann, noted film director (“Shoah”).

Saman Gunan, former Thai Navy SEAL. He volunteered as part of the rescue mission for the trapped soccer team, and apparently ran out of air while delivering fresh air tanks to the cave.

Shoko Asahara is burning in Hell, along with six of his followers.

I’m not very well read in Haruki Murakami, but Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche impressed me, and I commend it to your attention.

Posted in Books, History, Law, Movies, Nazis, Obits | Comments Closed

Here in my car…

Thursday, July 5th, 2018

I bought a new to me car last Saturday. It’s a 2006 Honda Accord EX-L that had 82,000 miles on it (not bad, in my opinion, for a 12 year old car) and has quite few features I like: leather interior, sun roof, cabin air filter, power seats, and even seat heaters for that one month a year when those are actually useful in Texas. (Also ABS. I’m not clear on whether it has traction control or not. I checked the Honda-Tech VIN decoder and while it is useful, it doesn’t talk about traction control.)

Now that I have the car, I splurged on a couple of things. I got a dashcam for it: the Papago GoSafe 535, which is what the Wirecutter currently recommends. That one has gone up by about $13 in the couple of days since I ordered it, and it really wasn’t my first choice. I wanted the Spy Tec G1W-C, which was a previous Wirecutter choice that I bought for my mother’s car and have been happy with. But by the time I was ready to order, Amazon had sold out of the Spy Tec.

My other splurge item was a LELink Bluetooth Low Energy BLE OBD-II car diagnostic tool. Why? Several reasons:

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Posted in Android, Apple, Bluetooth, Bookmarks, Cars, Geek, Radio | 1 Comment »

Obit watch: July 2, 2018.

Monday, July 2nd, 2018

Donald Ritchie, ultrarunner.

Ritchie set international track records at distances from 50 to 100 kilometers and in timed events that took up to 24 hours, with a particularly successful stretch in the late 1970s. He set two track records at a blistering pace when he ran 100 miles in 11 hours, 30 minutes and 51 seconds in 1977, and 100 kilometers in 6 hours, 10 minutes and 20 seconds the next year. In 1979 he set a world road record after running 100 miles in 11 hours, 51 minutes and 11 seconds.

…

Ritchie was usually nonchalant when talking about his accomplishments, but he admitted that his 1989 run from Land’s End to John O’Groats, from the top to the bottom of Britain, had been a challenge.
“I developed a feverish cold soon after the start and then faced vicious head winds and sleet,” he told The Independent. “The cold soon developed into bronchitis, and this, together with stomach pains, intestinal blood loss, a sore mouth, regular nose bleeds, chest pains and torrential rains, led me to feel very relieved when I finally reached Land’s End.”
He still managed to set a record, completing the roughly 840-mile run in 10 days, 15 hours and 25 minutes.

I spent some time trying to put this into a different perspective for my fellow Texans. I found several different figures for the east-west distance across Texas, and I’m not sure which is most reliable. But one way of looking at it is: 1-10 from the New Mexico border to the Louisiana border is 877.45 miles. So Richie basically ran something very close to El Paso – Orange in less than 11 days.

Posted in Obits, Sports | Comments Closed

Personal and administrative note.

Monday, July 2nd, 2018

Those of you who are regular readers of my blog may recall that, almost exactly five years ago, I started working for the IronPort division of Cisco as a contractor.

I am pleased and excited to announce that, almost exactly five years later, and after many ups, downs, and changes, I am no longer a contractor: I am now an official, full time, “blue badge” Cisco employee, with all the rights and responsibilities appertaining to same.

I’m still doing IronPort and email security related stuff: the job hasn’t changed, only my status. This will bring some changes:

  • a hefty pay raise
  • possible yearly bonus pay (not counting those chickens before they hatch)
  • Paid time off!
  • Paid holidays!
  • Better and (I think) cheaper medical/dental/vision coverage
  • Reimbursement for continuing education. Unfortunately, St. Ed’s has apparently discontinued the Master’s program I was considering before I left Dell. But I might be able to leverage this into getting some certifications.

I’m also hoping that this will give me more access to resources, both inside and outside of Cisco, that I can use to pursue some projects that interest me, particularly with respect to computer security. (I’m thinking possibly more Bluetooth work.)

This blog’s policy remains the same: I won’t be discussing non-public matters involving Cisco here. I may point to publicly accessible documents, such as press releases or the annual security report, but don’t look here for anything internal. Anything I do say here is just my opinion: it certainly isn’t Cisco’s, and, you know, I could be wrong.

(Speaking of public matters relating to, in this case, an ex-employer: what the heck?)

Posted in Admin | Comments Closed

Quick random shots.

Sunday, July 1st, 2018

I hate soccer.

This is a story about a soccer ball.

Margalit Fox, one of the NYT obit writers, is leaving the paper. And the Times graciously granted her a few column inches to say goodbye.

Today, the subject of the first advance I ever wrote, in 1995 — a major American scholar — is still going strong at 90-something. He remains, blast him, almost obscenely productive, forcing me to update his obituary several times a year.

I have a theory about who that might be…

(Also, Ms. Fox’s new book sounds pretty interesting. I intend to keep an eye open.)

Posted in Books, Obits, Sports | Comments Closed

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