Oil Safari

I've had the opportunity to read only the first chapter - yes, I actually work at the office - but this Chicago Tribune story about our oil supply is fascinating (and sobering) so far. It was reprinted in the Sun today, which led me to look for the original site (the Sun is owned by the Tribune Company).

Patio, Heat Wave, & (scumbag) John Bolton

After six or seven hours Saturday, and another five yesterday, I'm almost done with our new stone patio. I probably need another half a day though, and with the latest heat wave hitting this week, it probably won't be finished until next weekend.

Speaking of heat, it's reaching the ludicrous level this summer. Highs of 102 on Tuesday and Wednesday? If we wanted summers as shitty as this, we'd move to Vegas or Phoenix. So what's it all mean; is a heat wave really a sign of global warming? Well, not one individual incident. But collectively - yes, and get used to it (but be glad you don't live in Southern California).

Finally: the more I read/see/hear about John Bolton, the more I'm convinced that he's not only a terrible diplomat, but also probably needs to work on becoming a likable human being. His latest thoughts on the Israel-Lebanon mess deny moral equivalence to Israeli and Lebanese civilian deaths, giving more weight to the Israeli deaths. This guy is our U.N. ambassador? How the hell did that happen, that the one person in the entire executive branch who should not be chosen for that post is the guy who holds the job?

Fire Island NY

We just took a few days off to extend the (otherwise always-too-short) weekend, and drove up to our friend Tammie's family vacation house on the eastern portion of Fire Island, a barrier island just south of Long Island. Well, we didn't really drive all the way out there, because there are no roads to speak of on Fire Island - hell, the "fire department" is a fire hose and pump mounted to the back of one of those golf cart sized John Deere wagons. The weather was kinda blah for most of the stay (we have our theories about that), but still an enjoyable and relaxing trip. Nice beaches, no commerical development at all, and there are even deer running around the island, fully acclimated to people. We had plenty of food at the house, and more importantly, plenty of alcohol, including a Piña Colada concoction that included ice cream and donut holes.

On Monday we drove into Manhattan to have lunch with Ben, Jenny's brother. I've only driven in NYC once before, but that was on a weekend - midday on a weekday is a whole different experience, almost non-stop thrills! We had lunch in Harlem, which isn't too far from Ben's apartment on the Upper West Side, at a cool little soul food place. Then, after less than two hours in the city, we hit the road again. You know, I dig New York a lot and like visiting, but after every trip up there, I still come home thinking that a small big city like Baltimore is still more my speed.

Happy Planet Index

I try to catch the Wired News column by The Luddite whenever I can, and his latest column refers to an index created by the UK-based New Economics Foundation called the Happy Planet Index. For those skeptics who will look at the list and wonder how developed countries do so poorly, the description of the index is that it measures "the ecological efficiency with which human well-being is delivered around the world". Of course, like most studies of this type, there's bound to be an agenda, right? Right - the NEF discloses the sponsor, Friends of the Earth, right up front.

So is this index worth anything? I guess that depends on whether you buy into the idea that a population's well-being should be measured against consumption of resources. It's interesting that the countries most similar to the U.S. in terms of ecological footprint, according to this study, aren't Western European nations like I would have guessed, but several of the smaller Persian Gulf nations. Also somewhat surprising: Scandinavian countries aren't too far behind us in this category.

Comments at Lay's Funeral: Please Don't Go There

But alas, they did go there. You know, I'm not going to begrudge anyone having kind words being spoken at his or her own funeral; it's certainly not a forum during which equal time should be given to supporters and detractors. But these are kind words for a convicted criminal who helped bring about the economic ruin of many former employees, and then died while awaiting sentencing, vacationing in Aspen (it's a tough life for white-collar criminals!) - not exactly the answer to "What Would Jesus Do?":

The Rev. Bill Lawson, pastor of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, likened Lay to James Byrd, an African-American man who was dragged to death in a racially motivated murder near Jasper eight years ago.

"Ken Lay was neither black nor poor as James Byrd was," Lawson said. "But I'm angry because he was the victim of a lynching." Lawson, who also spoke at Lay's Colorado memorial service, likened the businessman to President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Jesus — all of whom, the minister said, were wrongly victimized.

Super-Reality TV

Finally, a cool premise for a reality TV show. WIRED News has a brief write-up of this Stan Lee production, and here's the official website for the show. I wonder if it can join The Amazing Race and Hell's Kitchen as a reality show worthy of regular viewing. It debuts on July 27 on the Sci-Fi channel.

Last Football Post for a While

I promise, this is the last one. After this, I'm back to full-time blogging about the trite & inane, and other stuff besides politics, too!

Germany coach Klinsmann is stepping down - somewhat surprising after the love-fest between him and Germany's players and fans, but he wants to spend more time with his family in Collyfornia. Does this mean the U.S. has a shot at him? We shall see. This guy was a first-time head coach; for his next gig he could be even better, having learned from his mistakes with Germany (if, in fact, he made any).

Over on the winning side, Italy coach Lippi is also resigning. No surprise there, he did his job, and is going out on top. Now that he's set the bar as high as possible, there's no reason to stick around and potentially fail to live up to those expectations.

Zidane: The French Word for 'Thug'?

If Zidane's career indeed ended with this final, then he got exactly what he deserved. His head-butt had to have been one of the ugliest scenes in this tournament, and he managed to sabotage his team's chances of winning a second World Cup. An utterly disgraceful end for a talented and accomplished player.

It's a shame that an otherwise solid, if unspectacular match, came down to penalty kicks. But Italy is certainly a worthy champion; just enough offense throughout the Cup, and a defense that was far superior to any other team's. They now join the very top tier of world football powers, just one title below Brazil.

Third Place for Germany

Germany takes care of business in the third place game, vanquishing the side nobody seems to like, Portugal, by a final of 3-1. An exciting second half, with Bastian Scweinsteiger accounting for the first and third goals, and having a hand in the second, an own-goal off of his free kick. Both of Schweinsteiger's goals, from just outside the 18', were rockets. Kim Jung Il wished his missiles worked half as well.

Not the game Germany wanted to be in at the conclusion of the Cup, but a solid finish nonetheless. This is a young squad that's should be dangerous in South Africa (or Australia?) in 2010.

7/7/77: Happy Birthday to Jenny!

The celebration actually started eight days ago, when Em and Dave were in town and we went to an O's-Phillies game. I had called the O's a day before, and gotten Jenny's name - and upcoming age - up on the scoreboard with the other birthdays! She was (probably?) happy that her name was up there, but less than thrilled about her age being displayed, since she still had eight more days of her twenty-eighth year to enjoy.

Little-known fact: Jenny shares a birthday with fashion icon Pierre Cardin! (same day, but back in 1922)

World Cup Blues

I'm not sure it's that I'll miss it when it's over, or that both semifinal games were a bummer, compared with some really nice round of 16 and quarterfinal games. A few thoughts on the semis:

Germany-Italy: I don't think Germany went away from its attacking style, but it just ran into an excellent Italian defense. Also, I've seen a lot of Germany's matches, and the yellow card suspension of Frings definitely hurt them. Sad to see them not make it to the finals, but hopefully they'll crush those whiny bitches from Portugal tomorrow. Italy, meanwhile, played uninspired ball for the first ninety minutes, then looked like a different - exciting! - team in the overtime. The game-winning goal by Grosso was a thing of beauty, right up there, in my opinion, with my other favorite goals of the Cup: Maxi Rodriguez' long-range volley for Argentina against Mexico, Joe Cole's long strike versus Sweden for England, and Oliver Neuville's baseball-style slide against Poland for Germany (in extra time!! still my favorite). By the way, all the goals in the tourney are on the FIFA web site.

Portugal-France: I was pulling for France because the Portuguese take football drama to whole new, obnoxious levels, and because Zidane and the French midfield had played spectacularly in its prior two matches. Portugal should watch more game tape of Argentina or Italy, teams that know how to take dives; Portugal players just look ridiculous out there, flopping around on the field like there's a competition for 'dive that looks most like a seizure'. France played beautifully in beating Spain and Brazil, but unfortunately stunk it up in this match, one of the uglier games in the tournament. But yes, that was a foul on Henry, and should have been a penalty kick (I know plenty of people would argue otherwise, but I officiated this sport for five years, and it was an easy call).

France-Italy: I honestly don't care who wins at this point, I just hope it's a good match. I'd have to give the edge to Italy though, their back line is just too strong, and they have speed up front that should be able to beat the French defense at least once.