Posted inSalem

A rose cleavage tattoo: to stare or not to stare?

Ah, I enjoy etiquette questions of this sort (especially when I get to both ask and answer it):Q. Mr. Manners, if an attractive young woman wears a low-cut top, showing off a rose tattoo nestled in her shapely cleavage, is it proper to admire this work of body art in an obvious fashion?A. Absolutely.That's my short answer. Here's the explanation, and some background.Recently I went into a Salem business and was approached by a twenty-something female employee. I was immediately distracted from my intended task by a more enjoyable activity. Namely, appreciating the sight of an artistic rose tattoo that…
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Posted inSustainability

Fox News still denies reality of global warming

It never fails to amaze me that a cable news channel -- Fox -- is so dead-set against reporting reality. I watch Fox News occasionally as part of my exercise regimen, since it usually only takes a few minutes of viewing to get my pulse racing into the "Outrageous!" zone. Yesterday, what got my heart rate up was more global warming B.S. inspired by Al Gore's testimony at a Senate hearing.Fox commentators made a big deal out of the fact that it was snowing in Washington, D.C. when Gore spoke. Which, of course, shows their abysmal ignorance regarding the difference…
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Posted inWeb/Tech

Solution to Safari not loading pages completely

One of the few glitches I've found with my dearly beloved MacBook laptop is how the Apple web browser, Safari, fails to load all of a page much of the time.Sometimes it stalls and I have to reload the page to get any content. Sometimes it will download some images, but not others -- leaving Google News or Google Reader, for example, littered with annoying missing picture icons.Others have complained about the same problem. Today I found an easy solution that, so far, seems to be working.As the suggestion on that link said, I went to my Mac's system preferences…
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Posted inEntertainment

My advice: Dump DISH and grab DirecTV

If you're thinking of getting rid of DISH network because it no longer has a favorite local station (like Portland's KATU, in our case), don't hesitate to jump to DirecTV.That's what I decided to do, and after five days of experience with DirecTV -- the installer came last Thursday -- I'm wondering why I didn't dump DISH sooner.Since we have several Qwest services (local line, unlimited long distance, DSL), adding DirecTV shaved another $10 off our bill. It's hard to compare the costs of DISH and DirecTV, given the many programming and receiver options, but it looks like we're going…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Advice from Salem for Sam Adams: don’t resign

Sam, don't resign. That's my advice -- and it's been echoed by every progressive friend I've talked with here in Salem over the past few days.Based on blogospheric news this afternoon, I'm glad to hear that you seemingly are going to stay on as Portland Mayor and not let the Prude Patrol chase you out of office. There's lots of ways to look at your involvement with a 17-18 year old gay guy, and your subsequent efforts (a.k.a. "lying") to cover up the sexual nature of this relationship. Here's how things look from my vantage point fifty miles or so…
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Posted inSustainability

Big Look task force on wrong track

Oregon's 2009 state legislature has many pressing problems to deal with, notably our steadily sinking economy. Proposals to reform the land use system should take a back seat, especially if they don't make sense -- which describes what the Big Look task force has come up with.Today I went to a Salem City Club meeting where three Oregon land use experts shared their take on the Big Look legislative recommendations.Mike Thorne, who chaired the task force, tried to present a rationale for "tweaking the system," as the Portland Oregonian called it in a story published today. But he failed.He admitted…
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Posted inHome life

Spikes-Spiders and the Tao of tire traction devices

Finding a way to safely drive around on snow and ice needs to be based on a basic Taoist principle of the universe: everything has an opposite.Put otherwise, there's no free lunch. Both personal experience with traction devices and considerable Internet browsing on this subject has convinced me of that fact.Example: I used to have a front wheel drive Volvo 850 wagon. Great car, but not super in our Oregon snow until I put Blizzak winter tires on it. They're made of a special rubber that stays flexible in cold temperatures and have a mud/snow tread design.One day I'd driven…
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Posted inEntertainment

Ustream shows inauguration live on iPhone

Oooh! So cool. Both Obama's inauguration and Ustream's new video player for the iPhone that is streaming live coverage.I just turned on my new iPhone, clicked on the App Store, and downloaded it via a "Ustream" search.On my phone it wants a wi-fi connection. We don't have 3G coverage at our house, so I don't know if it will stream video over 3G.Still, it's neat to be able to watch CNN on both our TV and my iPhone. Now I can go to the bathroom and not miss a live moment of history.Thanks, Ustream.
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Last chance for some Bush bashing

Starting tomorrow, everything in the United States (heck, the whole world!) is going to change. Change, change, change. Obama's inauguration is going to bring some wonderful a'changin (just like his campaign did). Time for Some Campaignin' | Funny Jokes at JibJabSo I've got to get in my last Bush bashing today. Because soon I'm going to be caught up in the Wonderful World of Obama where everything is going to be so much better, I might forget how much I disliked what Bush did to the country the past eight years.Stephen Colbert is fond of saying, "Bush, a great president...or…
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Posted inEntertainment

“Slumdog Millionaire” puts financial meltdown in perspective

We here in the United States, who think we're going through tough economic times, need to put Slumdog Millionaire at the top of our movie-watching list.Laurel and I saw it last night at Salem Cinema. Aside from the film's entertainment value (off the charts!) I came away with a fresh appreciation of how good the lifestyle of most Americans is compared with how Indians live in the Mumbai slums.Many scenes are incredibly powerful, showing how children and adults alike live perpetually on the edge of existence, eating meal to meal, not being sure whether the bed they sleep in one…
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Posted inSalem

Salem is a tourist draw? Only for bland lovers.

Don't believe everything you read in the newspaper. Especially if it's a front page story in the Salem Statesman Journal with the headline, "Is Salem a tourist draw? Absolutely, bureau says."Download Salem, a tourist draw? I'm a long time Salem resident (I moved there 31 years ago, but now live about five miles south of the city limits). I know Salem well, obviously.When family or friends come to visit for the first time, Laurel and I start to panic. "What are we going to do? Where are we going to take them? There's nowhere interesting to go."So I guess we're…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Digital TV changeover will hurt many rural viewers

Since we watch television via satellite (DISH network now, DirecTV soon), the February 17 changeover from analog to digital won't affect us -- since satellite already uses a 100% digital signal.However, quite a few rural viewers are going to find favorite stations disappearing in a few weeks, even if they've gotten a converter box that allows an old television to tune in digital TV (new televisions have a built-in digital tuner).Harry, a HinesSight regular who, like me, lives in rural Oregon, made me aware of this problem recently via email. He wanted me to complain about the changeover. Digital reception…
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Posted inHome life

Reasons to love a 3G, GPS’ized iPhone

After extolling in a quasi-philosophical manner why spending money on an iPhone brings legitimate happiness, a commenter on my other blog asked me to explain why I'm so enamored of this piece of technology.Glad to oblige. Tonight I got around to recording my voice mail greeting in which I used the phrase "dearly beloved iPhone." So just as I was eager to tell people about how wonderful my wife-to-be Laurel was after I met her, it's a pleasure to share what -- after five days of togetherness -- I find so enticing about the 3G iPhone.(Note: obviously I'm an iPhone…
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Posted inHome life

iPhone shows money can buy happiness

Jeez, here I am, sixty years old, and only now realizing that I've had it wrong for most of my philosophically-inclined life: notwithstanding the oft-heard adage, money really can buy happiness.I know this, because I've become increasingly blissful the more dollars I send in Apple's direction.Like a drug dealer that gets you hooked on cheap highs before bringing out the expensive good stuff, my first taste of the modern Apple offerings was the iPod Touch.It was cool. So easy to use. Such an elegant interface. I eagerly transferred my favorite CDs into iTunes, and thence to my new best friend,…
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Posted inEntertainment

I’m done with DISH network after Fisher feud

Sorry, DISH Network, I've changed my mind. Your satellite dish on our roof soon will be replaced by a DirecTV model. On January 1 I was planning to stick with DISH, even though turning off our local ABC affiliate, KATU (Channel 2) was deeply irritating. Watching the 2009 Rose Bowl on a 4.5 inch laptop window wasn't nearly as much fun as seeing it on our new 42 inch LCD television would have been. And we're getting anxious about the new season of "Lost" starting in a few weeks on ABC.Still, I was going to give DISH more time to…
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Posted inBooks

“Return to the One” published under new imprint

In case you're wondering what happened to my best-selling book (in the admittedly narrow Greek philosophy: Plotinus category), "Return to the One" is still available on Amazon.I've published it under my Adrasteia Publishing imprint, having gotten the rights back from Unlimited Publishing as of January 1, 2009.So now the book is in a transition zone. The old Amazon listing doesn't show any decently priced new copies available, because that edition is out of print. But the positive reader reviews are still there.The new "Return to the One" listing lacks the reviews, which hopefully will be copied over by Amazon soon.…
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Posted inTango/Dance

Tai Chi African dancing…only in Salem

Well, that was different. And fun. Doing Tai Chi to an African'ish drum beat. Learning a few Zambian dance steps from Mary, a visitor to our class who is finishing up a Ph.D. in fisheries science from Penn State.Mary's education has been supported by the Elizabeth Bowers Zambia Education Fund. Gerry, a fellow Tai Chi student, and his wife started the Fund in memory of their daughter. It's a great cause that Laurel and I contribute to each year. A little $$$ goes a long way, when its helping Zambian girls get an education.Mary gamely followed along with unfamiliar Tai…
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Posted inHome life

Warning: Buying a new TV can be dangerous to marital health

Whew! Laurel and I got out of Salem's Video Only store with our relationship intact. But it was touch and go for a while, as choosing a new television has become an exercise that highlights male-female differences.It used to be that you looked at a bunch of TVs lined up at a store and picked one that had a pleasing picture and was within your price range.On the afternoon of New Year's Eve, though, Laurel and I found ourselves taking a crash course in HDTV technology as we tried to decide on a 42 inch LCD set to buy.The impetus…
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Posted inEntertainment

How I see the DISH vs. Fisher dispute

Wow, it sure was fun to watch the Rose Bowl on a 4.5 inch screen this afternoon. That's the only way I could see the game -- via the Internet -- thanks to the hugely frustrating standoff between the DISH satellite TV network and Fisher Communications, which owns several ABC stations in the northwest, including Portland's KATU.Like I said before, curses on both DISH and Fisher. And I know a lot of other DISH subscribers feel the same way.I've asked representatives of both companies to give me the details of this contract dispute. How much was DISH paying previously to…
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Posted inEntertainment

How to watch 2009 Rose Bowl live on internet

I'm one of the disgruntled DISH network subscribers who just realized that the Rose Bowl is on ABC today, and our local affiliate (KATU) no longer is on DISH due to a ridiculous contract dispute.After having done some quick Google research on how to see the Rose Bowl for free over the Internet, here's the best option I've come up with. This site has a list of feeds around the world. I tried a few. Not wanting to download additional software I found that this feed opened even on my MacBook. At the moment I'm seeing a live feed of…
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