this is the boBLOG...
|
this is the boBLOG... |
this is the boB
|
 WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) - or - who knows?
|
Friday, February 22, 2008
Posted
11:15 PM
by Robert Ronald Smith
Wandered around Southdale today, and was confronted by a sight that always disturbs me: empty store space. Aside from having an empty major anchor space where Mervyns once was, a number of interior spaces are now vacant. Even worse, Southdale will soon lose the large Crate & Barrel store, when C&B moves into their massive new building attached to the Galleria across the street. As reported recently, Galleria is about the only commercial space growing. I don't shop a lot any longer, but I can remember many Southdale businesses from the past. One I miss from the distant past was the Brothers Deli. That was before malls had food courts and attached restaurants on the outside. Southdale's food court now has only 4 or 5 shops, about half what they once had. Empty store space is an accurate economic indicator, and there are a lot of retail spaces available around the city. Businesses do come and go, but when the economy is good, space doesn't stay empty very long. Sunday, February 17, 2008
Posted
11:44 AM
by Robert Ronald Smith
Within my World of Bob Smiths, there are a couple of new OLD guys there... Thomas Jefferson's Secretary of State, and Robert Smith, the publisher who first printed the U.S. Constitution, beating 5 Philadelphia newspapers. It's not known how he got the text... was it a bootleg copy someone gave to him? His small publishing office was just half a block from where the Constitution was written, and he scored an historic coup by being the first to publish the basis of a new nation. Friday, February 08, 2008
Posted
10:35 AM
by Robert Ronald Smith
The Libertarian Party has sent Republican headquarters a funeral wreath. Read the press release here. Thursday, February 07, 2008
Posted
6:45 PM
by Robert Ronald Smith
Now Mitt Romney is gone, and the GOP comes down to McCain, Paul, and Huckabee. Eleven started, and several who at one time were thought to be leaders have dropped out. The Ron Paul campaign has concentrated, not on winning states or polls, but on accumulating delegates at the national convention, and on influencing voters. They estimate they have at least 42 delegates now (including 9 they picked up in Minnesota). Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Posted
2:08 PM
by Robert Ronald Smith
Watched some of the early Super Tuesday TV network coverage last night. To a couple of them, there were only 2 GOP candidates, on another there were 3, and on another, they had room for 3 results, then shuffled to another screen with the 4th, alone. Their pundits were talking about 2... McCain and Romney. Not long ago, they were talking about Huckabee taking over, and before that about Thompson or Guiliani driving to victory. Now both Thomson and Guiliani are out of the race and the Huckster is lopping along in 3rd place. Seven GOP candidates, all of whom the pundits would have predicted were more likely winners than Ron Paul, are now all gone, and Paul is still gaining. Despite being counted out, by media, from the beginning as a "long-shot" or "marginal" or "dark horse" candidate, all descriptions that influence some voters into thinking they're true, Paul is still in the race and has lots of money left. At my local caucus last night, Paul got 8 of 47 votes in the preference poll. That's 17% in a precinct heavy with senior citizens (I actually felt young in the group). Sounds like Paul got around 15% statewide. In a 4-man race, with the Governor stumping for McCain, that's well more than respectable, it's important, and it's influential. More importantly, it's a stubborn percentage in the face of media that still pretends there are only 2 candidates. It has become a strong message vote. Sunday, February 03, 2008
Friday, February 01, 2008
Posted
12:02 PM
by Robert Ronald Smith
The Twin Cities is a 2-major newspaper area: the St. Paul Pioneer Press and the StarTribune. The way they report news can be very different. This morning is a good example. Bright and early, this was the front of the Pioneer Press website:  Later in the morning, the same news appeared on the StarTrib site, as an also-ran story hiding under the item about our Guv campaigning for McCain, which he's been doing for some time:  If you go to the StarTrib article, you'll see that it begins "Long-shot Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul...". The StarTribune never misses a chance to diss candidates they don't approve of. Later this morning, their top political story became Rep. Oberstar endorsing Obama. Despite meager billing, the Ron Paul mention is getting more views than any other political story.  The StarTribune doesn't report news desired by their readers, they report what they want to see happen. They influence by their reporting, not just in their editorials, but in subtle smears disguised as news. Here's their subtle judgment from earlier in the week:  A two-man race? Paul is still in the campaign (and the only candidate coming to Minnesota), and Huckabee is still running, but the StarTribune is trying to get voters to ignore them. Sure, they know it isn't true, but they want to make it true. They'll trick some readers into believing that the other two candidates are out of the race and should be ignored. That's not reporting the news, it's distorting the news. Monday, January 28, 2008
Posted
8:35 AM
by Robert Ronald Smith
As if to nail an exclamation point behind my previous comment about my liking Al Jefferson better than Kevin Garnett, Big Al scored 40 points and pulled down 19 rebounds in the Wolves' win over New Jersey. Hey fans... if you really like basketball, and can avoid being turned off by wins versus losses, watch the Wolves. They're playing at their inexperienced maximum, maybe just a tad over their ability. I love watching anyone play like that. They're not likely to rise to that level in every game, so there are going to be disappointing losses, but, to my mind, there is nothing more exciting than watching someone perform at their peak capability. It's like watching the Twins of the 80's, when their kids were turning into the stars of the '87 World Series. Success depends on a lot of little actions becoming natural and routine... automatic. That takes time and experience, and the courage to keep trying when the moves aren't yet routine. Watching that process is the most fun in sports. Friday, January 25, 2008
Posted
9:22 PM
by Robert Ronald Smith
Sure, I was a Kevin Garnett fan while he was with the Timberwolves, mostly because I watched him grow from a skinny high-schooler into a great player. However, the Wolves are better with Al Jefferson than with KG, and I'll take a workman-like player anytime over a snarling show-off like KG has become. The Wolves came within one point of upsetting the Celtics tonight, in Boston, and a couple of official calls or non-calls could have easily changed that outcome. KG is now the highest-paid player in the NBA, and Boston has 2 others in the top 30. Minnesota has none. Boston has the best record in the NBA, Minnesota has the worst, but you couldn't tell it tonight. Oh... and Jefferson outscored KG 15-10. Welcome, Big Al. Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Posted
9:37 PM
by Robert Ronald Smith
Aquarius has dawned again, and I've survived another year. More than survived, in my opinion, and even gotten healthier. Am I, then, actually "older" or "younger" than I was a year ago? Durned if I know, and I doubt that anyone besides me really cares. "Old" is, of course, relative. If you're 23 and think of me as 3 times your age, "old" comes easily. My 91-year-old aunt or uncle can't accept me as "old". I don't know why we make a big deal of birthdays. I'm a year older, but so is everyone else who hasn't died, so it should be safe to assume that YOU too are a year older than you were a year ago. What aging does allow is more observation of the "human condition". I'm sorry to say that we aren't doing well at all. My simple explanation is that governments here and abroad have gotten stronger, and more aggressive, and that individual citizens have allowed, even encouraged, that result. Power does indeed naturally corrupt, and that's what is happening. Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Posted
10:12 AM
by Robert Ronald Smith
Looking through dusty old tapes accumulated through the years. Can't remember what got me started... something on the web. Listening to an old audio tape of a Four Freshmen live concert, but the variety of stuff is boggling: An audio tape of the 1992 Spring Concert of Anthony Middle School An audio recording of a Star Trek episode "Where no man has gone before" An audio recording of my mother's 2005 funeral An audio recording of "The Shadow" A number of home-recorded 8MM video tapes All the 16MM movies I took back in the 70's have been converted to CD, and some VHS tapes I made in '88 are now on DVD. After dealing with 16MM for several years, splicing and running a reel projector, I bought an 8MM camera as soon as they became readily available. Aside from viewing those films through the camera, it could be plugged into the TV for a larger image. Oh, the work involved in recording history! Now we've "progressed" to hundreds of thousands of low-quality videos and snapshots from little cellphones, quickly posted online... so easy and fast that we just settle for them. That reminds me; I have many hundreds of 35MM slides stashed around here somewhere, and a few Polaroid prints from the 60's, when producing a photo in 60 seconds was astonishing. Not to mention my many 33 RPM platters from the same era (yes, I can and do still play them). Sunday, January 20, 2008
Posted
10:07 AM
by Robert Ronald Smith
The city of Richfield is taking another step toward their seeming goal of becoming the old-folks home of the area. They're adding 250 stop-signs on residential streets, on north/south streets specifically. Richfield has already created umpteen big new developments of primarily senior housing, now they're going to make the rest of us feel like seniors by having us start and stop more while driving. Y'know... we already have the option of stopping at an intersection, even without a stop-sign, and some cautious drivers do, because it's difficult to tell whether the other traffic has a stop-sign. Personally, I like the old "whoever gets there first" right-of-way rule (in case of a tie, the driver to the right wins. If you're paying attention to driving (not talking on a cellphone, writing notes, or fussing with kids), that works perfectly well. Another instance of government treating citizens like half-wits incapable of doing anything more cerebral than following instructions.
Posted
9:45 AM
by Robert Ronald Smith
The woman who spent more time on my personal "sexiest woman" list than any other, is gone now. Suzanne Pleshette, best known as TV psychiatrist Bob Newhart's wife Emily, died yesterday, Jan. 19th, 2008. I've run across other men who also had her on their own list, but none of us were able to really explain exactly why, but I think it's more attitude than anything else. She never seemed to try to be sexy, but acted as if she was any man's equal, or more. I had an idea that she would have been fun in any circumstance. Add in a husky voice, and real, natural beauty, and you get "sexy". I'm glad she ended up married to long-time funny man Tom Poston. I'm sure she died with a smile on her face. Thursday, January 17, 2008
Posted
10:18 AM
by Robert Ronald Smith
Having grown up in Iowa & attending the U. of Iowa, when football was discussed, the name Hilgenberg was omnipresent. I was saddened to read the StarTrib article this morning about Wally Hilgenberg having Lou Gehrig's disease. Of course, Wally was a great Vikings linebacker for 12 years, but that name, for me, goes back even further, to Wally's older brother Jerry, who was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 1954 and was an assistant coach (along with Jerry Burns) with Forest Evashevski during Iowa's glory years. Hightening the Hilgenberg family football success was that they came out of a small Iowa town, Wilton (called Wilton Junction in my day), and all attended the U. of Iowa... first Jerry, then Wally, then 3 sons of Jerry - Jay, Jim, and Joel (all centers like their father). That lineage means that almost anyone who has followed Iowa football at any time for the last half-century knew the name Hilgenberg. Methinks someone closer to Iowa would do well to write a book about the Hilgenberg family. Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Posted
11:16 AM
by Robert Ronald Smith
Old soft-spoken, down-home "aw shucks" Garrison Keillor has brought suit against his next-door neighbors and the city, to prevent a 2-story expansion toward the alley, next to his 3+ story historic mansion. He claims it will block his light and view. The Pioneer Press has a poll about it, with 86% voting against Keillor's claim. Judge for yourself from the photo below... Keillor's on the left, the "violator" on the right. As the neighbor said, it's like an elephant next to a rabbit.  Yep, liberals are always so concerned about their neighbors (as long as it doesn't affect them personally). Sunday, January 13, 2008
Posted
11:03 AM
by Robert Ronald Smith
In my last blog, everything seemed to be going wrong at the same time. Email was out, two phones weren't working, thermostat was dead, and construction noise was vexing. Within a day, with some luck and effort, all was running smoothly. There are days when I have no contact with others... nobody phones, or emails, or drops by. Then, often the very next day, I'm somewhat deluged with contacts. A return from a quick run to the store will find phone messages. There are days in which the phone won't ring for many hours... until I go to the bathroom. How do they know to call when I'm unavailable? Yesterday was a treat. I spent a couple of hours with an old friend I worked closely with in the early 70's. Back then, we were at important developing points in our careers and personal lives, so all events were memorable. Reminiscing was rampant, challenging our memories of names and happenings. This friend and I were known as quipsters back then, especially when we were together. Our wit and quick tongues gave us a reputation as nuts but funny. We found ourselves doing it again yesterday... not as witty or quick as in the past, but anyone overhearing probably still would have labeled us as nuts but funny. In the 70's, our positions in the computer industry were antiquated but ground-breaking. We understood that we were part of an industry still being defined, and it was exciting. Nobody was doing what we were doing, and we often worked on a conceptual, fairly experimental level. I was truly a smart-ass know-it-all who, at least with computers, could always back it up with sterling results. It was an intensely creative time for me... not the first, not the last, but perhaps the most fun. Thursday, January 10, 2008
Posted
10:51 AM
by Robert Ronald Smith
Perhaps something of an exaggeration, but the past couple of days have caused teeth-clenching and cursing. Not surprising that it was technology that failed. First, my phone went dead. I hooked up my spare phone and re-phoned the person I was talking to. Problem solved, I thought. After a couple of days of not receiving any calls (some of which was a blessing) I had someone phone me, then called them back. Their call to me went off into space. Went back to my original cordless phone which had charged up again. Problem solved, I thought... but it quickly went dead again. Same problem redux. Ran off to Radio Shack for a cordless replacement battery. On getting home, discovered it was the wrong one... close but a different connector. Ran back, new battery, installed, phone now working (I think). Meanwhile, my primary email has been bouncing for days. Online-chatted with support, after a long, long wait, but the support person said he found a problem and fixed it. A day later, it still isn't working. How many people, unable to reach me, just figured that this old geezer bit the dust and is laying here rotting? If you did think that, would you drive over to verify my passing? Interesting question, isn't it? I imagine that few people would (not sure I would either). Meanwhile, alive and well but with virtually no communication, I've been accompanied by constant pipe-pounding as part of highway reconstruction. It starts at 8 AM and continues until about 3 PM. Since my thermostat isn't working properly, causing excess heat, I have a window open, which makes the pounding louder. Methinks it's another good day to just go somewhere... anywhere... and hang out. Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Posted
11:15 AM
by Robert Ronald Smith
Since you're reading this, you join me in living to see yet another new year begin. Naturally, a lot of people didn't make it through 2007. It's difficult to remember who's gone and who isn't, so here is a short list of well-known folks who died in 2007 ("well-known" depends a lot on your age). George Grizzard Deborah Kerr Joey Bishop Teresa Brewer Robert Goulet Norman Mailer Evel Knievel Floyd Red Crow Waterman Oscar Peterson Aaron Russo Phil Rizzuto Merv Griffin Ingmar Bergman Miyoshi Umeki Luciano Pavarotti Jane Wyman Marcel Marceau Tom Poston Jack Valenti Boris Yeltsin Wally Shira Beverly Sills Tom Snyder Frankie Laine Betty Hutton Kurt Vonnegut Don Ho Frank Morgan Friday, December 28, 2007
Posted
10:11 AM
by Robert Ronald Smith
As long as I can remember, I've hated major holidays, especially Christmas. As a relatively poor child, Christmas was that unique time of the year when purchased presents were thrown into, and distorted, the mix of stuff that kids played with. Normally, we played with things we found or made. In the winter, snowdrifts became forts and any little hill was pressed into service for sledding. In better weather, every boy carried a small bag of marbles for impromptu games. Finding an occasional orange crate was like having your own lumber yard. With great luck, you could find all the materials to make a scooter using a pair of clamp-on roller skates. Sometimes a group of kids would discover better discarded wheels, such as from an old baby buggy, and little else was required to create a downhill racing car. Mostly though, we hid and chased each other, playing characters from comic books or the occasional movie we saw. Cap guns were prized (and rolls of caps even more so) because they made the chase more realistic. Even just walking around was a game. Stepping between the sidewalk cracks (so as not to break you mother's back), or spying a Lucky Strike pack and stepping on the big red circle (which gave you the right to shoulder-slug your companion) and saying "Lucky Strike, no strike back". Every boy's special winter toy, if he had one, was of course a sled. I remember my first one well. My mother got hold of a used one somewhere and painted it. I received it when I was 7, I think. It was only a little more than 2 feet long, but it slid. The prize sled was a long Flexible Flyer... in a completely different class from the rest of us. I finally got one when I was in my 50's. I don't see kids out playing in the snow any longer. Christmas presents are mostly for indoor use now. When I was a kid, hiding out from parents... having a place of our own... was the greatest. A little shack in an empty lot, sitting inside a snow fort, or the ultimate... a tree house. The nicest thing about being a poor kid was having (being allowed to) entertain ourselves; no parents allowed. Our modern, controlled, tidy, purchased, junk-free world has made all that very difficult, and I doubt that kids even have any idea what they're missing. Modern parents don't leave kids unattended. Instead, they organize "fun", and worry if kids are out of sight. It's a self-fulfilling worry, I suspect... kids may now be unable to safely play with junk, trash, or even snow. A time of year that was once an adventure eagerly awaited has become a pain in the butt. There is this HUGE pile of snow at the end of our parking lot. A little digging could create an cozy inside hideout big enough for a dozen kids. Hmmm. Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Posted
11:51 PM
by Robert Ronald Smith
Have you been to the post office recently? Naturally, many people go there around Christmas, to send packages to friends and relatives. My own experience was necessary only because I ran out of stamps. I went on a Tuesday afternoon, about 2:30, thinking that was probably close to an ideal time to avoid a crowd. To the extent I was right, I pity those who went at less ideal times. The waiting line wound around the room, out into the P.O. box room, and down the steps to the outside door. The line went past a stamp machine which had a note saying it is disabled, only accepting coins... no paper money. I stood in line 20 minutes to get a standard roll of first-class stamps. Maybe I'm odd, but I wouldn't stand in line for 20 minutes to buy anything else, but of course one has little choice when it comes to postage stamps. Many times I've walked out of a too-busy store and went to another store. Is there any other organization that treats their customers as poorly as the post office? Aside from other governmental offices, not that I've ever seen. Any private store that did so just wouldn't stay in business long... people would quickly avoid it. Does the post office care? Why should they? They have no competition. We are their captive customers, forced to accept what they offer. It stinks, doesn't it? Sunday, December 16, 2007
Posted
12:22 AM
by Robert Ronald Smith
Made my usual mistake of checking the war news, and our government continues to dig us in deeper. U.S. intelligence says Iran isn't building nuclear weapons. Israel says that's crazy and not believing them could cause war. U.S. is building a military base 4 miles from Iraq and deploying missiles in Poland to protect against Iranian missiles. Russian says that's crazy because they think we're aiming at them. Meanwhile, the Turks are attacking Kurds in Iraq, Sunnis are attacking Shi'ites, and vice versa (and both attacking us), Afghans are attacking us, and vice versa. Some of that could be wrong, but give me a week and all of it is bound to be accurate. Meanwhile, Americans, or at least the media, is reporting every infinite detail about who's ahead in the race for President, which won't be decided for almost a year, and which won't likely make any difference at all anyway. Politics is so insane that I might as well go back to being a wrestling fan. My apologies to our youth for allowing this mess to occur on "our watch". Saturday, December 08, 2007
Posted
10:24 AM
by Robert Ronald Smith
I was shocked to discover that two very funny young libertarian whipper-snappers, Dave Barry and P.J. O'Rourke are both 60.
Posted
9:51 AM
by Robert Ronald Smith
I think this is our first night with a temperature less than nothing, although I don't check the temp in the middle of the night. Odd that it would come on Pearl Harbor day (did you notice?) Nothing is really quite cold enough. It doesn't get as cold as it used to (and some people want to stop global warming?). I won't tell you tales about how damned cold it was when I was a kid (feeling your nose hairs ice up), or how the snow was over our heads, or walking 2 miles to school in that crap. They're all true stories, but most of you just wouldn't believe them. For those of you too young to have realized it yet, it isn't really cold until the snow squeaks underfoot. It's a delightful sound, like music to the beat of your steps, sort of a squishy/crunchy sound. I used to walk around just to hear it. Of course, I used to do a number of things I don't do now. When I had a leggy 4-wheel drive Trooper, I used to enjoy heading out after a big snowstorm, just because I could. I actually looked for snow to drive through, and felt good about making tracks that would make driving easier for others. Now I'm one of the others, looking for tracks to follow. It's always been entertaining watching inexperienced drivers in the first couple of deluges. Young'uns often believe driving in snow is best done by spinning tires progressively faster, whether the car moves or not. Sometimes I'm tempted to go out and show them how easy it really is with a little cool... but then I would lose the chance to stand scornfully at the window, watching to see how long it will take them to learn on their own. Driving on snow/ice is a great test of cool, calm subtlety. Eventually it becomes second-nature, but until you've had to dig yourself out, with help from others, a few times, it just feels like nature is picking on you in particular. Modern cars, with front-wheel drive and better all-weather tires make it easier to get around, but they also tend to insulate the driver from the sound, and feel, of what's happening with the wheels, so you can easily do dumb moves without even knowing it. Here's an experienced tip for winter city driving. When you're waiting at a stoplight, let your car creep slightly forward while you wait. That prevents your warm tires from forming ice under them. Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Posted
4:02 PM
by Robert Ronald Smith
I get catalogs from The Alzheimer's Store. Worse, I don't remember putting myself on their mailing list. Is somebody playing a trick on me... trying to make me think I ha Monday, November 26, 2007
Posted
11:28 PM
by Robert Ronald Smith
That Thanksgiving went by as no more than a normal Thursday. That the incessant din of freeway construction took the long holiday weekend off. That I wasn't part of the Black Friday shopping madness. It doesn't require a national holiday for me to be thankful for many things: Two splendid young women who I'm proud to call "my daughters". Some unusually good friends I look forward to seeing again and again. A great many acquaintances who diligently fight "the good fight". Some good "down home" relatives in Iowa. Fine art and fine music that thrills and inspires me. I'm a very lucky guy... don't you think? Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Posted
4:47 AM
by Robert Ronald Smith
If one looks back over the past 9 Presidents, there is an oddity. Five of them were born in the "teens" (Kennedy-1917, Johnson-1913, Nixon-1913, Ford-1913), Two were born in the 20's (Carter-1924, G.H.W. Bush-1924) and two in the 40's (Clinton-1946, G.W.Bush-1946). None born in the 30's, in fact, none born between 1924 and 1946... a whole generation... missing. That's my generation (1939). I remember being shocked when Clinton was elected, as the first President younger than me (by 7 years). Before that, Presidents had always seemed like elders, but the last two have seemed (and certainly acted) like juveniles. Both Clinton and W are "boomers", born post-WWII, certainly the most spoiled generation in American history, and they acted like it. Looking at the crop of presidential candidates, there are three who could fill the 30's gap... Ron Paul (1935) and John McCain (1936), Mike Gravel, 1930. Most of the rest are more boomers, born in the 40's, 50's, and Obama in 1961. For those who are interested... of the 16 major-party candidates, 5 were born under the sun-sign Gemini (Dodd, Gravel, Edwards, Guiliani,Hunter), 3 are Leos (Paul, Obama, Thompson), 3 are Scorpios (Clinton, Biden, Richards), 2 Virgos (McCain, Huckabee), 1 Pisces (Romney), 1 Libra (Kucinich), and 1 Sagitarrius (Tancredo) No Aries, Taurus, Capricorn, Aquarius, or Cancer. Sunday, November 18, 2007
Posted
4:00 PM
by Robert Ronald Smith
...when you just didn't want to do anything? Yep, that's today for me. Have no idea why; I feel fine, no other excuse, just feel like I'm not "with" the rest of the world today. I would make this explanation interesting, but I'm not even with writing about it. Catch me another day. Thursday, November 15, 2007
Posted
11:29 AM
by Robert Ronald Smith
Today is the so-called Great American Smokeout, a day to encourage people to stop smoking. Now, I don't personally give a whit whether you smoke or not. If you want reasons to stop, you probably don't have to go any further than the enormous tax load smokers have to pay just to enjoy a legal product. But... as I've said so many times, the anti-smokers escalate the issue to unbelievable extremes in their effort to blame smoking for every ill you can imagine... all to increase their own donations. Today, there is an exhibit of what smoking will do to your looks over time. It's complete bullshit, but it's bound to scare some young, naive people into not smoking, and will intensify the effort to punish smoking in new ways. Somebody decided what effect smoking may have on your looks, and programmed it into aging software. The results are ludicrous and completely unbelievable to anyone who knows older smokers. People age very differently, depending on a LOT of factors. As far as I can see, smoking really isn't one of those factors. My own appearance, and that of many others I know, directly contradicts in no uncertain terms what these people are presenting as scientific fact. Bullshit only. I'm usually guessed at least 10 years under my actual age, and you'll have to look hard to find anyone who has smoked more than me. Exception? Certainly some aspects of my aging is related to having parents who looked young (one was my father, also a heavy smoker) but if smoking has any effect on appearance, I haven't seen it during my 68 years on earth. Monday, November 12, 2007
Posted
4:23 PM
by Robert Ronald Smith
Just as I was about to go work out, I got an email from a KSTP-TV reporter, asking if I would agree to an interview about the new anti-smoking campaign targeting apartment and condo buildings. I agreed, and they were here in less than 15 minutes. After perhaps 15 minutes of video of me (and my full ashtray), they hurried to edit (in a truck parked here), and then broadcast from here. Without more filming, they did that again about 45 minutes later. I enjoyed chatting with the KSTP people, who are very good (and fast, and pleasant) at their jobs. Part of what appeared on TV is also on their website. Just look for my full ashtray in the video section. As if to fill out my already busier-than-usual day, I finally got a fix from iPower to allow me to update smith.mn again. It took weeks, and it was a change on their end, not mine, that kept me from FTPing. After finally getting that fixed, I tried to update my site and found that I was, once again, out of server space (a regular problem). So, as I've had to do numerous times, I deleted some photos and the link to them, then returned to updating my home page. I'm sure my site being out-of-date has inconvenienced and disappointed thousands Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Posted
7:46 AM
by Robert Ronald Smith
Boston whups Colorado in 4 straight games... big surprise (not) and another depressing drop in what was once an exciting sport. The Red Sox, with player salaries almost 3 times that of the Rockies, was never in jeopardy of even losing one Series game. What sickens me is the obvious excitement of Red Sox fans, who can somehow delude themselves into believing that their city is better for having a "winner". How can anyone be thrilled at "their team" simply buying overwhelming talent? The last 4 World Series have been yawners, and Boston has won two of those four in 4-0 sweeps. Baseball is supposedly a "sport", but the World Series has become no more "sporting" than the Roman Circus was. Today's fans flock to the event, not for a sporting event, but to take delight in the destruction of opposition. How a Boston fan can feel anything remotely like pride is an indication that the word "sport" has lost its meaning to them. Sunday, October 28, 2007
Posted
9:49 AM
by Robert Ronald Smith
For some reason, my PC thought we just had a time change overnight. Near as I can tell by checking other sources, we did not. Just an annoyance, and not nearly as serious as the baggy-pants jackasses who hang out upstairs and play constant "music" with the bass turned up high, resulting in a near-constant thumping. Thursday, October 25, 2007
Posted
10:14 AM
by Robert Ronald Smith
In a splendid example of "what's good for the goose is good for the gander", or "turnabout is fair play", the President of Ecuador is willing to renew the U.S.'s lease on an air base in Ecuador in exchange for an Ecuadorean base in Miami. President Correa made a simple argument: "If there's no problem having foreign soldiers on a country's soil, surely they'll let us have an Ecuadorean base in the United States."Seems perfectly reasonable to me.
|