Harry's Ruminations

Revelation of the morning: "Piano Man" by Billy Joel is LIMERICKS! He says, son, can you play me a memory? Im not really sure how it goes But its sad and its sweet and I knew it complete When I wore a younger mans clothes Now john at the bar is a friend of mine He gets me my drinks for free And hes quick with a joke or to light up your smoke But theres someplace that hed rather be Now paul is a real estate novelist Who never had time for a wife And hes talkin with davy whos still in the navy And probably will be for life Its a pretty good crowd for a saturday And the manager gives me a smile cause he knows that its me theyve been comin to see To forget about life for a while

There once was programmer from Kentucky. In finding an office, he was unlucky. They cleaned out his bin, And gave it to Min, A PM who was much more plucky. * * * Wow...just...wow.

I just wanted to tell you and remind others that we are leaving Monday, May 28 for Tanzania, Africa. We will be traveling until May 30th, due to a 14 hour layover in London, England. Please pray for our team of 7 for a safe flight and time in Africa. :-) May your journey be blessed from Him above, from Whom all blessings flow.

There's a new 'Pirates' movie * * * In other news, Alea iacta est . More to follow.

Pirates of the Caribbean In sum: What the hell was that? It was long: 168 minutes. Trim 30 or 40 minutes, and call me in the morning. It was confusing. Isn't there some screenwriter rule against more than 4 double-crosses in the same scene? Everyone betrays everyone else. As you might expect, this makes it tough for the audience to understand their motivations or actions. The action scenes explode without context. Who's fighting whom on which ship, and by the way, which way is UP? When you can't answer any of these questions as a viewer, you're watching an overwrought mess. :-) On the bright side, it was a night at the Bourbon Drive-in, one of my favorite places, even if Whitney hates it.

Good Night, and Good Luck reminds us that history isn't always rosy. Set in that halcyon era after World War Two, but before the Cuban Missile Crisis, Gary Powers's U-2, or Castro's revolution in Cuba, the film reveals that all is not right in Utopia. Communists are everywhere, or so "the junior senator from Wisconsin," Joseph McCarthy, would have them believe. As the film opens, it's 1953, the height of McCarthyism, when folks with any prior association with Communists--even decades before--find themselves blacklisted and convicted with hearsay evidence. Accusation assures conviction, especially among intellecutals and entertainers. Enter into this, Edward R Murrow (David Strathairn), voice of America during World War Two, and now the most recognized face of the new medium, television. It's worth noting, at this point there were only two 'channels' as we'd know them today--Columbia Broadcasting Service (CBS) and the National Broadcasti...

This is a bit of a stretch, but here goes: Imagine building an airplane not in a factory, but on the runway itself. Let's say the runway is 5000 feet long, and you have to build the airplane as its accelerating for takeoff. You're the only one on the plane, because what kind of fool would tie himself to a plane that might not make it off the ground? :-) As you look to your left and right, you see all sorts of people yelling at you, telling you what to do as the plane slowly, inexorably lumbers down the runway. They shout encouragement, or distract you, or maybe jump on and off the plane, but they're NOT tied to the plane itself like you are. That's just...insane. Who would do that? If you get done properly, the plane takes flight and you're a hero. If you don't, you crash and burn in the wreckage. You'll survive, but you won't be the same again. * * * So, taking the above analogy, we got 4000 feet down the runway, and we were at takeoff speed and...

I'm not ready to be a manager. There's no way I could use that much hair gel.

This is ridiculously mundane. On our return trip from the Cane Ridge Shrine today, we needed gas and all I had was cash, so I went in at the Shell Station, corner of US460 and US68 an prepaid for $25. So, I started the 87-octane fueling and checked the oil. By the time I was done, We'd pumped 8 or so gallons, at a bill of $25.08 Crap. I never considered saying "too bad" and driving off. I fished out a nickel and 3 pennies and paid. :-) It was a good feeling.

Me: What's the password on that server? Shred: 12345 Me: Really? Shred: Yep. It's the same combination as my luggage.

As title states. I took one of my India guys to the movies on our team outing two weeks ago, and it was a different sort of experience, just riding in the car with him. His mind seemed alive with questions about America--how we get to work, our various religions, how my family is organized, politics, culture, etc. Then, when I got him back to his place, he invited me to come in and sit awhile, relax and have something to drink. We then continued our discussion of education, and the various differences between American and Indian public education. Anyway, two things struck me: - This guy (Indians use the term "This guy" or "That guy" in place of 'he'...sometimes) works more than I do, and yet, he seems to have work/life balance figured-out, where I do not. - This guy has to be dead tired, and yet he invited me to his apartment in a mannerly way and conversed with me. - This guy has broad interests outside work. * * * I was warned way back by my friend Bill ...

Joey: I'm freezin' hungry

Watched The Rose last Sunday from 4am to 6am. Yeah, it's been a weird week. It was a very compelling story, if difficult to watch. Bette Midler is stunning as Janis Joplin...er...Mary Rose ("The Rose") Foster. According to IMDB, the original script was the Janis Joplin story, but Midler said it was too soon after her death to portray the story onscreen so it was rewritten. In any case, the highpoints are similar--a tortured woman with an incredible voice whose story ends in an overdose.

ROFLBOT

Update from Jeff: So, apparently, he went by Don Jacobs a couple of hours later, and the police were ESCORTING people in orderly caravans, with one cop car in the lead and another at the rear. Yeah, I feel like crap.

Let me summarize: I got asked to leave and not come back. I was asked to LEAVE A CHARITY EVENT and not return. This is not a proud story, but I'm learning to deal with it. Here goes: I got to Don Jacobs BMW around 1:15 and signed my waiver with my information (including my cell phone #). They had all sorts of BMW's to drive, from Z4 roadsters to 3-, 5-, 6-, and 7-series cars, all with different engines and Rear- and All-wheel-drive configurations. I was in heaven. The place was busy, but I was interested in driving only one car for my first drive, a BMW 335i coupe (E92 in BMW parlance). This was THE car, BMW's first turbo passenger car in 20+ years, twin-turbocharged and tractable. So, I put my name in and waited patiently, watching the crew of permatan 20-somethings shuffling people in and out of the 18 cars, wagons, and SUVs they brought. This was a much bigger event than the last one I attended on a lark back in 2001. After about an hour, Gal in the White Cap ca...

Spiderman 3 is a boring mess. The story is a mishmash of plotlines, centering around the three (yes, THREE) villains -- Goblin Jr., Sandman, and Venom. Overlong, the film languishes in its many plots, opening with Spidey wounding his friend Harry Osborne, now the reborn Green Goblin, then sauntering to the Sandman, and the Venom super-spidey suit. There's no discernible momentum until Mary Jane calls it quits with Peter, who's been quite an ass, though she herself has been a needy baggage for 4 reels. In any case, this sets off a battle between Harry and Peter, and FINALLY some action. Had the movie begun here and run for a tight 85 minutes, cutting out the Sandman character altogether, it would've been awesome. As it stands, this bloated ($300 million) mess has probably killed its franchise. * * * Also, I need to remind myself that I get sick if I eat too much popcorn.

The Day After Tomorrow is a strangely compelling disaster flick tarring Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhal. Quaid plays climatologist Jack Hall, who predicts a nightmarish return of an ice age if the world doesn't wise up and stop pumping Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere. Yeah, 'bout that...looks like when Gaia gets pissed, she doesn't take gradual measures. Over the course of a week, the weather rakes the Northern Hemisphere with globe-spanning ice hurricanes that flash-freeze everything. Millions die, with the small-scale human story of Hall and his son (Gyllenhall) framing the events. I really liked this movie--the science is sound, and the characters were believable. Like any disaster flick, there's a surreal quality to the action, from New York's inundation three choppers deep-frozen in mid-air. Still yet, it's plausible.