December 2004 Archives

This week's tsunami that devastated most of South Asia is causing scientists to look closely at other potential disasters. Here's an article from the BBC on La Palma Island in the Canaries.

Mega-tsunami: Wave of Destruction

Scattered across the world’s oceans are a handful of rare geological time-bombs. Once unleashed they create an extraordinary phenomenon, a gigantic tidal wave, far bigger than any normal tsunami, able to cross oceans and ravage countries on the other side of the world. Only recently have scientists realised the next episode is likely to begin at the Canary Islands, off North Africa, where a wall of water will one day be created which will race across the entire Atlantic ocean at the speed of a jet airliner to devastate the east coast of the United States. America will have been struck by a mega-tsunami.

Christmas Eve dinner with my family was the nicest in years. We had a great dinner, a fun gift exchange, and talked long into the night over pie and ice cream.

Everyone seemed pleased with Christmas morning. After gifts, I made big breakfast, then we watched some of Jeremy's extended ROTK. We planend to leave at noon, but hung around until 2:45. Karen called from Running Springs to suggest we take the back way up to Big Bear, and once we got there I figured out we saved an hour by taking her advice.

Dinner was late - a long-standing Christmas tradition - but we caught up with everyone while we waited. William leaves for his trip to England on Sunday.

We stayed too late, and got home at 12:30, after a long but satisfying Christmas.

I watched Mean Girls while donating this morning. Like Kirsten Dunst, I'm not sure what people see in Lindsey Lohan, but that's probably me.

My friend Cory, who works in the office next to mine, made his claim to fame at the end of this morning's TJ Simers' column in the LA Times Sports Section:

T.J. Simers:
McCourts Trying to Be Good Club Members

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A new bridge opened in France a couple of days ago, spanning the River Tarn valley. The tallest of the piers is 240 meters - slightly higher than the Eiffel Tower, and the tallest piers in the world. It took less than four years to build. Drivers who used to have to wind down into the valley and back up on twisty mountain roads save over an hour.

Sam's high school band, along with the school orchestra, held their Winter Concert tonight. The orchestra opened the festivities with a few songs, then the band took over. That punch when the tubas kick in is cool.

Here's a small sample of one of the band's numbers, listen, along with a so-so picture. My camera just does not do well in low-light, no-flash situations. We went out for dessert afterwards, winding up at a Carrows, and agreed that we'll never go back there for dessert again.

I felt crummy. I had the endings of a migraine after taking an Imitrex at 1:15, heartburn from an overly agressive lunch, dead legs and a sore back. The game was anti-climactic, with Duarte scoring early and often for a 5-0 win. Before the game I had some weird handshake thing with one of the JV refs, a great referee that I've done playoff games with, but I can't remember his name.

Before the game, I got the registration and insurance on the V-Star all settled, returned some things to JCPenney, and hit both Chicks and Sports Chalet for some new referee shoes. No success on the shoes, but the rest of it felt productive. After the game, I did my monthly clean-up of the file drawer, and finished up the laundry.

It's opening day at the newly relocated donation center - I was the first apheresis donor ever at the new site. The new center is at Walnut and Altadena in Pasadena, with more beds for both apheresis and whole blood donations. Each station has it's own attached flat screen monitor, but otherwise there aren't any major changes.

I watched Along Came Polly, always expecting that it would get better, but disappointed at the end.

A collection of web sites selling gadgets:

• Pak-Lite - cool 9-volt flashlights
• eKitchenGadgets
• Radica Games
• Columbia River Knife & Tool
• Kensington - Laptop security
• Stadium Pal - Eliminate those pesky visits to the restroom...

Here's a PDF with cards you can hand to rude cellphone users who insist on disturbing the peace. View file

2-1 So. Pasadena. Adriana might have deserved a PK, but I thought the defender got to the ball first.

3-1 to OCHS. With 2 minutes left in the game, a couple of players went up to for a high ball and knocked heads - the OCHS player came down spouting blood from a cut above his right eyebrow. The Duarte staff helped an OCHS mom bandage it up. The mom said she'd take him home and have his mom decide where to go to get it stitched up.

A fun game at Manual Arts High, right by the Coliseum in downtown LA. The varsity game was spirited, in the Latin style, on a very muddy field. Manual Arts led 4-0 at half time, and finished up with a 6-3 win. Alberto and I gave out 3 cautions.

The JV game was held back by the lack of light, but the kids seemed to have fun, and game finished a 1-1 draw.

I watched Paycheck while donating this morning. Dogma is the last Ben Afflect movie I can remember actually liking, but Paycheck is a above average as action movies go. It's always fun to watch Uma Thurman, though I kept waiting for Ben to jam a needle into her chest. I left at the end of the motorcycle chase.

Pop your way to a state of bliss with Virtual Bubble Wrap: Web link, and a Palm OS version.

It took me 15 minutes to find the teams, who'd been banished to field 1 at the Glendale Sports Complex, but I still got there 10 minutes before game time. Al Guevara had the same problem, and we started 5 minutes late.

IH took the lead on a PK midway through the first half, and generally dominated play. Mayfield adjusted at the break, and came on strong to score twice, for a 2-1 win.

Ken Jennings paid the price for doing his own taxes, and maybe for a little hubris in his two incorrect Daily Double questions in Double Jeopardy, losing to a real estate agent from Ventura on last night's show. It was a good run. I think I'll take a few weeks off - it won't be the same without Ken at the right-side podium.

Update:The real estate agent lost in her first game as champion.

Here's an audio clip of the Final Jeopardy answer: Listen

I've been enjoying the documentary series Long Way Round, where Ewan McGregor and his friend Charley Boorman, along with their cameraman Claudio, ride east from London to far east Russia, then from Alaska to New York. It makes me long for a nice, extended ride - minus the icy river crossings.

The series is broadcast here on Bravo, but I prefer the British version available as a torrent from digitaldistractions - it's in HDTV format, the trip is spread over seven episodes instead of the six shown on Bravo, and the commercials are removed.

Here's my copy of the Long Way Round eBook: Download file.

By The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON — The International Committee of the Red Cross found "cruel, inhumane and degrading" treatment of detainees at the U.S. military prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, during inspections there last summer, and issued a formal report in July that said some interrogation tactics come close to torture, a source who has seen portions of the report said yesterday.

The human-rights group decried tactics used on some detainees — including severe temperatures, loud music and other sounds, the sharing of medical information with interrogators and forced nudity — that it said violate international rules against torture adopted by the United States and other countries.