Posted inEntertainment

Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour — we loved it! (and our VIP seats)

Last Friday we braved a few snow showers in Portland to reach the Rose Garden, where we had tickets to see Cirque du Soleil's "Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour." Here's my five word review: Wow, Wow, and more Wow! This show is special. It isn't like a good movie where you enjoy it a lot, but the impact of the flick fades quickly. I'm still affected by this magical production.  It starts strong, and builds from there. Eventually I felt immersed in an almost other-worldly experience. Understand, I'm not at all religious. But "Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour"…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Policy at Occupy protest act like jerks

Back in the '60s, at Vietnam War protests, people called police "pigs." I'll admit that this word went through my mind when I watched this You Tube video of police pepper spraying peaceful protesters sitting down at a University of California Davis "Occupy" protest.   But now, in my mellowed out sixties (the age, not the decade), I'll call them jerks. Same difference. Here's a CBS news story of the event. And here's a petition calling for the UC Davis chancellor to resign.
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Posted inHome life Web/Tech

I return my Kindle Fire — after one day

Within half an hour of the earliest time it was possible to order a Kindle Fire on Amazon's web site, my one-click reservation had been made. Within three hours of opening up the Kindle box after UPS delivered it yesterday, I'd decided to return the pseudo-tablet. Which I did this afternoon. I'm sorry Amazon, but Apple has spoiled me. I have a MacBook Pro laptop that I love. I have an iPhone 4 that I love. My wife has an iPad 2 that I sort of love, my limited affection for it perhaps being more a matter of our passing…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Sustainability

Oregon court says “Stop!” to killing wolves

Yesterday I was happy when Oregon Wild reported that the Oregon Court of Appeals had reaffirmed a ban on killing two wolves in our state.  Download Wolf article  This above-linked info about the continued stay on any wolf-killing by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) whetted my appetite for learning more about why the Court of Appeals slapped the wrist of ODFW and the Oregon Cattlemen's Assocation (OCA). I wasn't surprised that Cascadia Wildlands, Center for Biological Diversity, and Oregon Wild won in court. I've been following this issue for quite a while, blogging recently about the absurdity of…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

God is joking with Republican presidential candidates

I don't believe in the traditional Judeo-Christian God. However, if I'm wrong and the Big Dude Upstairs really does exist, I like his sense of humor. (Hopefully he'll give me a smiling high-five when I reach the Pearly Gates and say, "Oops. What a surprise!) Anyway, some cosmic jokester seems to be having a good time with Republican presidential candidates Herman Cain, Michelle Bachmann, Rick Perry, and Rick Santorum. Each of them believes that God is on his/her side, urging on their candidacies. Cain says that God convinced him to run for president.  “I prayed and prayed and prayed. I’m a…
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Posted inSalem Sustainability

Electric car parking spaces being used by gas guzzlers

After owning our Nissan Leaf electric car for seven weeks, always charging it at home, I decided to check out the recently installed charging stations at the Chemeketa Parkade in downtown Salem (Oregon).  There are four of them, conveniently located on the first floor of the parking structure near the walkway to JCPenney's. So convenient, they're tempting to drivers of non-electric cars who blatantly ignore the signs displayed between each charger. Here's the evidence. Two parking spaces are dedicated to each charger, as the cord can reach a car parked in either space. So eight spaces should either be empty,…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Sustainability

Global warming deniers mocked in great “Denial Tango” song

Rational arguments and solid science only go so far when it comes to pointing out the ridiculousness of global warming deniers. For true mockery, it takes an Australian band, "Men With Day Jobs." (Reportedly the jobs are Insecurity Guard, Impersonal Trainer, and Communications Impediment.)  I learned about their Denial Tango on the Climate Progress blog. It's well worth a look/listen. My favorite lyric:  I'm in denial.Deep denial.And as the waters rise about meI'll just hold my breath and say"It isn't so."   On a more serious note, there's good news on the global warming front. President Obama has put the…
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Posted inHome life Humor

Help with my .XXX site market research

Until today I'd never considered becoming a purveyor of XXX material. But I just got an email from my domain name registrar, Dotster, informing me of how important it is to have a .XXX presence now that this top-level domain is available. Registering a .XXX domain enables you to keep control of your online brand. Landrush is open to members of the Sponsored Community or individuals who qualify to become members. General Availability is open to everyone regardless of whether you are an adult industry professional or simply looking to protect your web presence. Well, I don't exactly understand what…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Occupy Portland needs to shut itself down — peacefully

Great job, Occupy Portland'ers. For most of your urban park occupying and city street marchifying you've succeeded in raising awareness about the obscene imbalances between the wealthiest 1% and remaining 99% in this country. But the time has come to pack up, dismantle the tents, have a final General Assembly, vow to keep fighting against Wall Street excesses in other ways, and fade away from the occupy tactics. When proud progressives like my wife and I think, "Time to go," you know what? It's time to go.  Peacefully. With dignity. Proudly.  The Mayor of Portland, Sam Adams, has ordered the…
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Posted inHealth Home life

Why I decided to still get a PSA test

I'm a believer in scientific research. I worked as a health planner for over ten years. I wrote a well-received analysis, "Quality of life in allocating health care resources." I understand that much medical care is wasteful, unneeded, and ineffective. Nonetheless, at my annual physical last week this 63 year old guy still decided to get a PSA test, which is used to detect prostate cancer. Only problem is, the test isn't very effective. In October the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommended against getting the test, in most cases.  Healthy men should no longer receive a P.S.A. blood test to screen…
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Posted inSustainability

“Wild Shots” fundraiser skillfully pulls on boozed-up heartstrings

Congratulations to Portland's Crag Law Center for putting on another fun "WIld Shots" benefit event last Saturday night. After scoring a great Oregonian article, the industrial-chic Holocene on SE Morrison was densely packed with environmentalists decked out in a typically NW diverse array of party-going garb -- from tuxedos to flannel shirts and blue jeans. My favorite part of the evening was the live auction of nature themed photographic art (hence the name "Wild Shots") and other items. Crag's skillful handling of their biennial art benefit is a case study in how to suck money out of your supporters. The formula is…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Mitt Romney believes “personhood” begins at conception

It's becoming difficult to find much difference between the crazy Republican presidential candidates and Mitt Romney. This is good news for President Obama, since moderates and independents aren't likely to vote for someone way out there on the right-wing edge. Not long ago, in 2002, Romney fully supported a woman's right to choose an abortion. Now the flip-flopper in chief says he's on board with a state initiative in Mississippi that defines personhood as beginning at the moment of conception. In an interview this week with Mike Huckabee, Romney said that he would “absolutely” have signed life at conception legislation while…
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Posted inHome life

Coffee measuring rule: use 2 tablespoons per 6 ounces

I love coffee. I've made it every day for many years. But recently I learned that I've been making it wrong. Too weak. Damn you, Mr. Coffee! Obeying the instructions on my Mr. Coffee drip machine, I've been dutifully using three tablespoons of ground coffee per 20 ounces of water (four 5 ounce cups, which to me -- and lots of other people these caffeinated days -- actually is one cup of coffee, a "Venti" in Starbucks terminology). But that's just .15 tablespoons of coffee per ounce of water, whereas the Holy Commandment of coffee making is to use two…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Science

Republicans are seeking an unscientific America

Oh, yeah! Right on! That's what my mind screamed when I opened the mailbox a few days ago and saw the headline on the cover of New Scientist: "Unscientific America -- A dangerous retreat from reason." So true. It's mostly Republicans who are trying to lead us back to the Dark Ages of irrationality, even though a New Scientist editorial on this subject tries (semi-successfully) to spread the anti-science blame. Even today, as China and India flex their muscles, the world still looks to the US for leadership. This is especially true in science. A nation founded on the Enlightenment has…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Why doesn’t Britain get rid of its monarchy?

Hearing about the news that females are now equal to males in succeeding to the British throne, my initial reaction was "it's about time." Why shouldn't a first born girl be in line for Queen'ness, just as a first born boy is in line for King'ness? Almost immediately, though, my second reaction was "it's absurd that Britain and the Commonwealth still have this monarchy thing." Yet when I did a Google search on monarchy why, I was surprised to find that most of the top search results were sites defending the monarchy. It took me some scrolling to come to…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Home life

Getting smarter from doing something stupid

Our electronic air cleaner and I have a rocky relationship. It's down in our crawlspace, attached to our heat pump duct work. Every three months or so I vacuum the air cleaner's removable filters, which requires taking its door off. And more often than I'd like to admit -- but since this is a self-revealing blog, I'll admit it -- I have a tough time getting the door back on.  The door has metal flanges that fit behind its metal enclosure. A diagram on the door shows how it's supposed to fit over the enclosure, after which two gizmos are…
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Posted inWriting/Weblogs

I give TypePad a low approval score

Today I saw that TypePad, my blogging service, is asking its bloggers to give them some feedback. "Tell us how likely you are to recommend TypePad." I jumped right on that request. I was disappointed to see that comments on the feedback post were disabled, which doesn't convey the message that TypePad is genuinely open to discussion about how their blogging platform can be improved. But after giving TypePad a "2" out of "10" on the recommend question (meaning, I'd be unlikely to recommend TypePad) I felt better after utilizing an open-ended comment box to tell TypePad what I've been…
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Posted inHome life

Les Schwab in south Salem helps me get un-lug nutty

Les Schwab (the tire center) and I have a long relationship, all positive so far. Sure, we part company on the "Free Beef" deal -- how about some free tofu? -- and we've got different views on a proposed Oregon studded tire ban, but I really like the Les Schwab commitment to customer service. There's quite a few stories on the Internet about how a Les Schwab employee went above and beyond the call of duty to help someone with a tire problem. Mine isn't as dramatic as most, but I still want to share how my lug nut problem…
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Posted inSalem Strange Up Salem

K. Williams Brown gets Salem’s light just right

Salem, Oregon glows in the invisible ultraviolet wavelength, appealing-city wise. That's one of the insights that resonated with me in a column by K. Williams Brown in the Statesman Journal today.  Check out the "Let's make Salem's light visible, not ultraviolet" post on my Strange Up Salem blog for how Brown's thoughts stimulated my own.  But it's time (way past time, really) for Salem to evolve out of its ultraviolet phase of development. I'm tired of having friends and relatives visit from out of state and being stumped when my wife and I think, "What to do?"  Salem sucks when it…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Four strikes against Republicans this week

With baseball season nearing its end, I find it fitting that Republicans are striking out on key national policy issues more and more these days. That's good news for Obama's re-election chances, and for Democratic prospects in general come the 2012 election. I'm starting to feel better about where this country is heading, even though Republican intransigence and filibustering won't allow much to happen in Congress until voters repudiate the G.O.P. a year from next month. Here's some examples of what's buoying my spirits: Occupy Wall Street. This is the left's Tea Party moment. Except, Occupy Wall Street (or wherever)…
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