American Soldiers

4th of July just passed. I know not all would agree. Some might even claim the opposite. But to me, these videos are proof that our soldiers are awesome, capable of operating at a level that I and many others can't even envision. I am not speaking tongue in cheek. I am completely serious, mainly because these videos are not serious.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Time



This is Why I'm Hot

Various Pictures In France

O, How Times have Changed...

I took this picture in New York a couple of Novembers ago...

Anais Ballet Recital

At the Roswell Cultural Arts Center

This one is the real recital. NOTE: The first 34 seconds of semi-darkness are the dancers getting to their places without spike marks.



This one is just her messing around after the show improvising to the house music:

Kathy Hangin' With Russert (and others)

Tim Russert interviewed Hillary Clinton in the WIS-TV studios in our hometown Columbia SC. (WIS stands for "Wonderful Iodine State" if you didn't know) My sister Kathy was in a green room or something like it after the interview, talking with Tim Russert about Bruce Springsteen, and Hillary Clinton walks in and interrupts them. (Kathy is a big Russert fan and was there to see Russert). A small clip of that ends up on the WIS news, about 45 seconds into the video you see Kathy back there:

Roswell City Council Election Results

I need to fix these images so they fit on the page better, but for now, here they are.

Winners are Rich Dippolito, Becky Wynn, and David Tolleson.

Anais Sings Annie

Listen to this: Anais Sings Annie

J'aime La Glace!

Happy Easter!

After the backyard hunt:

Roswell Theater

"roswellblogger" was talking about an old movie theater in Roswell in the historic district. I think this is the one he is talking about. It looks like the theater was probably a little to the right (North) of where Pastis Restaurant is now:

Televisions In Restaurants

This from nataliedee.com is so true:

The last couple times we went as a family to a restaurant, we might as well have stayed home and ordered pizza in front of the TV. The whole reason to eat together evaporated as each person locked onto their favorite silent TV hanging on a wall across the room and fixated on it the entire meal, oblivious to the fact they were even in a restaurant. I guess we need to start a list of the places that have a table or two with no sightline to a wall of hanging silent TVs.

R. I. P. 96 Rock

I didn't listen to 96 Rock all the time, but always just assumed it would be there. I listened to it when "I needed it".



Well, it is gone now.

This post is old but captures some of the "atlanta-ness" of 96rock. I'm sure someone will correct me, but i am pretty sure "96rock" at the moment it died last month had the longest continuous run of a commercial atlanta FM station still alive at that moment (in name, call sign, and format). All the others have gone thru many many cyclical renamings and repurposings throughout the years.

My buddy Darin and his family won the annual 96 Rock Memorial Day Ramblin' Raft Race on the Chattahoochee twice in a row i think, in the '70's. "the rafts were manifestations of that peculiar Southern genius for spare-parts engineering." (but not the ones that won). Darin's Dad, legendary Atlanta diver George Krasle, has pictures of the whole family on a raft on the cover of the AJC framed on his wall. This was not some race with a couple thousand people. It was like 100,000 people or something totally ridiculous.

The next closest continuous run in recent times of a station format might have been the period between the late '80's and 2004 that Z93 existed as a "oldies" station. I remember when they switched from top 40 to oldies and it didn't seem that long ago but i guess it was 15+ years ago.

Athlete Alert

NYRR Alert Service brought to you by Road Runner High Speed Online
Event: ING New York City Marathon
Runner: Jean-Clau Hermel-Villevieille

Below are the latest runner's results:
--------------------------------------
Location: 5 Kilometers
Time: 00:34:45.80
Pace/mile: 00:11:10.67
--------------------------------------
Location: 10 Kilometers
Time: 01:03:55.20
Pace/mile: 00:10:17.58
--------------------------------------
Location: 15 Kilometers
Time: 01:33:14.00
Pace/mile: 00:10:00.21
--------------------------------------
Location: Half-Marathon
Time: 02:09:10.50
Pace/mile: 00:09:51.64
--------------------------------------
Location: 25 Kilometers
Time: 02:33:44.45
Pace/mile: 00:09:53.97
--------------------------------------
Location: 30 Kilometers
Time: 03:05:29.60
Pace/mile: 00:09:57.08
--------------------------------------
Location: 35 Kilometers
Time: 03:44:18.00
Pace/mile: 00:10:18.75
--------------------------------------
Location: 40 Kilometers
Time: 04:26:15.40
Pace/mile: 00:10:42.87
--------------------------------------
Location: Finish
Time: 04:45:20.00
Pace/mile: 00:10:53.43
--------------------------------------
All times are unofficial. Times may vary in post race official results.

Please note: This e-mail was sent from the NYRR Automated E-mail Notification System. Please do not reply.
You receive this alert because your e-mail address was added to our notification list by a runner or yourself.

If you no longer wish to receive notification alerts from New York Road Runners, you can unsubscribe by visiting
http://athletealert.ingnycmarathon.org/unsubscribe.aspx.

Roswell is a Safe Place to Live

More national ranking for little ol' Roswell!

First we were the third best place in the whole country to raise a family (Roswell Third Best Place to Raise a Family)

Then we were recognized as one of the most bicycle friendly cities in America. ( Roswell One of the Most Bicycle-Friendly Cities in America)

Now we are the 18th safest city in the whole country (The most, least dangerous U.S. cities)

New York Marathon Info for Finding Runners

Find out when they pass 1 of 3 cameras: Runner Cam Tracker

Find out location: Race Day Tracker (Spectators can enter up to 5 runners’ bib numbers on race day at the ING New York City Marathon website and find out where those participants are on the course.)

Register email address to get notifications of key milestones: Athlete Alert (You must sign up for Athlete Alert and submit e-mail addresses by midnight Saturday, November 4.)

Subway: Subway Map

Viewing Locations and how to get to them: Subway Spectator Map

Approximate Splits: Arrival Times Chart

General Spectator Hints: here

Voting Machines Need A Paper Trail

Could Hugo Chavez have control over U.S. voting machines? Voting Machines’ Venezuela Ties (mirror)

The bad thing about this is not whether he does or doesn't (I'm sure someone will make the usual open-ended "we know of no evidence" statement). It is that whether Vic has a back door into our voting machines or not, there is no technology reason he could not. It is only the artificial steps inserted into the process such as documenting the custody of the software, rigorous code review, etc. that can protect the elections. And a paper trail is an important part of this process.

Imagine telling buyers of lottery tickets: "No receipt but don't worry -- we know what numbers you picked -- if you win we will call you". If lottery machines get a paper trail, then voting, which is way more important, should get at least the same courtesy.

This is so obvious to most programmers. Oddly enough, anecdotally, it seems the closer we are to the business of writing software, the more likely we are to distrust the machines and want the paper trail. The electronic voting machine system needs a physical paper trail. There should be a dot-matrix line printer sitting there in a locked box, one per precinct, attached to the local network of voting machines, printing a couple lines everytime someone votes. It should be a trail such that in the case of a total system failure, total theft of the precinct's voting machines, etc, (or, a challenge to the reported results), that the results of that precinct's election could be totally recreated from the paper trail. It has to be a dot matrix printer because (a) it is the only kind of printer that prints a line immediately when requested instead of saving up lines in memory and printing only when it has enough data to make a whole page and (b) you get audible feedback that the printer is still working.

There is a lot more to it, of course. The software should be secure enough that the entirety of the source code can be made available to anyone who wants to see it without compromosing security one bit. Any programmer should be able to review all the code and point out vulnerabilities. If the security of any system depends on people not knowing how the software works, it is fundamentally insecure. This is known as "Security Through Obscurity" which really means "not secure". C'mon this would be so easy.

Dear Georgia Voter

The letter sent to 300,000 Georgia voters telling them how to get free picture id to vote if they don't have one, or how to vote without picture id if they don't want to get picture id is still here on the Georgia Secretary of State website (as of today 10/17/2006) http://www.sos.state.ga.us/elections/ga_photo_ID_letter.pdf
Mirrored here just in case.

100,000 went out before a sudden ruling saying well no in fact nobody needs to identify themselves with a picture to vote. But the train kept rolling and 200,000 more went out afterwards.

"Voters who cast their votes in person must show one of six forms of photo identification. If you vote ABSENTEE BY MAIL, you do NOT need a photo ID. These rules ONLY APPLY if you vote IN PERSON by absentee or on Election Day.

Here are the acceptable forms of photo identification:

1. A Georgia driver’s license or Department of Driver Services identification card;
2. A valid U.S. military identification card containing your photograph;
3. A valid photo identification card issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of Georgia, any other state, or the U.S. authorized by law to issue personal identification;
4. A valid state or federal employee identification card containing your photograph issued by a branch, department, agency, or entity of the U.S., this state, or any county, municipality, board, authority or other entity of this state;
5. A valid U.S. passport; or
6. A valid tribal identification card containing your photograph.

If you do not have a Georgia driver’s license or Georgia identification card, you can receive a FREE Georgia Voter Identification Card TODAY. You can get your FREE Georgia Voter Identification Card at your County Voter Registrar’s office in the county where you live."

Roswell One of the Most Bicycle-Friendly Cities in America

The League of American Bicyclists includes Roswell in their list of The Most Bicycle-Friendly Cities in America

No big surprise, but nice to hear -- we can ride out of our garage and cruise along the river forever (with a few breaks of course in one or more riverside playgrounds that we pass along the way). Monday it was 5 hours. And we just noticed another new 1/3 mile or so bike trail that hugs the bank of the river right up to the Ace Sand Company! This is one of the best things about our Mayor and City Council. Though i must say it is the Mayor who seems to be leading the charge in expanding the trail system.

Roswell Not So Long Ago

This doesn't have anything to do with turning 40. I noted at our High School reunion how i felt kinda sapped of energy afterwards and attributed it to the general awareness of the passage of time. Well i think that was it. We were at a Roswell Historical Society benefit the other night and this guy who lived in my neighborhood as a child was telling us all these stories about how in the early '70's he and his brother used to drive (in a VW bus they got for $50) west on Rriverside Road in Roswell, down the hill from us (which was not a road at all once it passed Eves road) along the river, way into what is now Horseshoe Bend (which back then was just some farmland where they held the Atlanta Steeplechase, now it's a fancy neighborhood) He's describing basically our backyard and i can see what he's describing like it is today, and visualize all the places he is talking about, and so aware that what they used to do is just impossible now. Why should that have such an effect? I wasn't even there.

I've also read these books about this very same land another hundred years earlier than that (July 1864), when some soldiers from Illinois were messing around down the hill from us, drinking, and dishonoring some women they had taken prisoner from the Roswell mill, crossing the river nearby, one of them drowning, or writing letters about how good the blackberries are along the river here (BTW they still are). For some reason these older stories don't yield the same "lost" feeling -- it's just the ones that are within our grasp that same to have the most effect.

Born in the USA

After all these years, Bruce having to make that video of that Edwin Starr song after people misinterpreted Born in the USA, etc., it still gets tossed in there as a big pro-America song with "America the Beautiful" - this case in my son's 6th grade math book:



(Plus: is this word problem a subtle suggestion to make illegal copies of entire copyrighted songs?)