Base10Blog
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Excellent
The Blogfather has an excellent piece in the Wall Street Journal today. He's basically dissecting the mainstream media as lacking a business model consistent with what the public wants. Good read.
Monday, May 30, 2005
Remember Our Heroes
Happy Memorial Day! Summer is here!
But take a minute to think about the sacrifices our soldiers and sailors have made to keep our nation free. As the old joke goes, if you're reading this, thank a teacher. If you're reading this in English, thank a veteran.
Base10's agenda for today involves the Glendale Memorial Day parade followed by our annual trek to Rockaway. Later.
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Base10's Pretty Busy
Base10 is very busy today and will probably not be posting much. Here are a couple of items of interest for the truly desperate:
- Blogger Gets Murdered. Unfortunately, the blogger was the one who was murdered. Unbelievably, the blogger posted that the suspect--his sister's ex-boyfiend--had entered his house and was acting suspiciously. Unfortunately, shortly after the posting, the guy murdered both him and his sister. The blog entry helped catch the killer. It happened out in Queens. Click here to read the story. Click here for a reprint of the blog entry.
- Terrorist Gets Bullet. The Iraqi government has now chimed in on their belief that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been wounded. There are some interesting tidbits in the above item. Check out this bit:
An Internet statement claimed the al-Qaida in Iraq terrorist group had appointed a temporary replacement for al-Zarqawi. The statement was quickly denied in another Web site claim that disputed Abu Hafs al-Gerni had taken over.
Could this mean that there's a little in-fighting going on among the insurgents?
The authenticity of either Internet statement could not be verified, although the second denying any deputy had been appointed was posted in the name of the person who usually handles the group's Web site claims and announcements.
Wednesday's first statement identified al-Gerni as "deputy of the holy warriors," saying he was "known for carrying out the hardest operations, and our sheik would choose him and his group for the tough operations."
But the Web site statement signed in the name of al-Qaida in Iraq's so-called spokesman, Abu Maysara al-Iraqi, denied the group had appointed al-Gerni "or anyone by any other name." - Economy Gets Boost. Well, maybe it's not on fire, but the US economy has logged in a 3.5% GDP growth rate for the first quarter.
- Internet Gets Attacked. The CIA is apparently conducting a three-day war game exercise involving internet infrastructure attacks. It's an interesting item. I'm curious what the results will be, but I doubt that any sensitive vulnerabilities will be revealed.
- Europe Gets Cold Feet. French politicians are admitting that Sunday's vote over the EU constitution has resulted in a resounding "Nay." The consequences of this are still unclear, but it's always good to see European politicians fall flat on their faces.
That may be it until tomorrow. Base10 will be busy with an office move all day and likely well into the evening. Later
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
This Could Be Good News, As Well
U.S. Launches Another Major Iraq Offensive - AP. Maybe al-Zarqawi hasn't quite made it out of the country yet?
This Could Be Good News
Web Posting Claims al-Zarqawi Fled Iraq - AP.
Could this have something to do with Syria's suddenly giving the cold shoulder to US intelligence?
There's One Person Happy About the Judicial Filibuster Compromise
Senate confirms long-stalled judicial nominee - Reuters.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
The End of Star Trek
Several commentators have remarked on the passing of Star Trek: Enterprise and lack of any Star Trek show currently on the air. For the best commentary seek out James Lileks. Click here for the mainstream version and here for the uber-geek version.
What do you get out of Star Trek and what should the series do? Simple. I want the next Star Trek to be more like Deep Space Nine and Babylon 5. I have a very simple set of rules culled from DS9 and B5, which the Star Trek creators should adhere to:
- Create alien races with some depth. Too often, in both TOS and TNG, aliens were defined once and every one of them fit the caricature. The writers should realize that every Klingon is not a warrior and every Romulan is not a ruthless killer. B5 created fascinating alien races. The Centauri were interesting people, and they didn't all believe the exact same thing. Likewise did DS9. Not all Ferengi are money hungry and not all shapeshifters want to destroy human life.
- Don't insult my intelligence with "Treknobabble." This is perhaps the most infuriating thing about Star Trek, at least in its modern incarnations. If you have to rely on a deus ex machina ending derived from some randomly generated piece of Trekish dialogue, you have failed in the story-telling art. If the resolution of the plot consists of "reversing the polarity of the field emitter to redirect it through the deflector array" you have lost. Create you universe. Then live in it. It's okay to stretch the rules sometimes, but don't give into this temptation on a weekly basis. B5 was attacked by Earth forces. It did not get out of trouble by "generating a positron wave from the field emmiter." It prevailed in the story because many people died and it showed the spaceships crashing and burning. Realism within the space of the universe that you have created is not too much to ask for.
- Have a compelling story arc. The only series to actually achieve this was DS9. Voyager almost got there, but became mired in silly plot devices and cheesecake sequences with Jeri Ryan (not that I'm complaining about the latter). The granddaddy of compelling story arcs is B5. The story is so tightly integrated that even today when you watch an episode from the first season, you see reverberations in the fifth.
- Do not create omnipotent characters and/or technology. It worked on a limited basis in DS9 with the wormhole aliens. It also worked in a limited way with Lyta Alexander and the Vorlons in B5. It did not work with Q in TNG and Voyager. An all-powerful alien is probably completely uninterested in what goes on among mortal humans and humanoids.
- Do not use ridiculous plot devices. No holodecks. No Nazis. I for one consider a Star Trek serial to have lost it if it succumbs to a Nazi episode. DS9 got the holodeck concept to work by portraying it as a diversion. Miles O'Brien and Dr. Bashir would use it to reenact famous battles, allowing them to troop through the set in ridiculous garb. But the "holosuites" in DS9 were probably meant for something a little more kinky than the holodeck on the Enterprise D. Finally, you can't be reminded of this enough: there are no Nazis in space.
- Avoid time travel. In fairness, time travel is a staple of science fiction so you should be able to use it occasionally. Do not use it as a regular plot device. Enterprise used it as an intrinsic plot element from day one and Voyager used it numerous times. Both examples failed. But it has been successful. In the Voyage Home, the device is put to good use. It was also used to good ends in the DS9 episode sending the crew back to the "Trouble with Tribbles" episode. B5 tightly integrated a time travel arc into its main story (as a matter of fact they did it two times in the story arc, both in the first season and the third). Normally, I'd say this is a mistake, but it was so well done in this case that I think it added to the plot.
Where should Star Trek go? I say into the future. Trash the Federation. Let's see what happens one hundred years after it has fallen. The Federation created in TNG was uninteresting. If science fiction writers have created a universe centuries from now that involves space travel and contact with diverse aliens and it's boring, there is something wrong at the heart of the concept. Let's face it, utopias are boring. Making the Federation one in TNG was ultimately a mistake. Giving it some scales in DS9 made it watchable. Destroying it would make a good series.
With Allies LIke This, Who Need Enemies?
Syria has reportedly withdrawn its ties with the CIA and the US Military citing lack of US support in recognition of its efforts. Boo hoo. Considering that militants are pouring over the border faster than Base10 can drink beer, Base10 wonders what the US really got out of this deal to begin with.
This Could Be Good News, Too
Several news sources are reporting that Iran will allow several reformist candidates to sit for Parlimentary elections in June. These candidates were previously rejected for being too liberal. It's hard to interpret this. Base10 has made the bold prediction that there will be serious internal protests in Iran by June. It could be argues that this move is simply a way to appease the reformers. Time will tell, but I'm sticking by my original prediction. Iran is ripe for the kind of revolutionary movements we've seen in other parts of the Middle East recently.
This Could Be Good News
Although the US is urging caution, an Islamic extremist web site has stated that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was seriously wounded in a firefight with Coalition forces. Newshounds will recall claims made earlier this month by the doctor who claimed to have treated him. Only time will tell.
Sports Wrap
Once again, the New York Mets have failed to beat Atlanta on their home turf. Although they did try to battle back from a 7-3 deficit, they twice failed to score with multiple baserunners in the 8th and 9th innings. Clcik here for the recap. Tonight's game features Glavine vs. Hudson. Click here for a preview. It is, of course, important for the Mets to do well on this road trip. They face two more games in Atlanta as well as three over the weekend in Florida. They must at least go .500 in the series. Winning both series would propel them to near top of the division. While the series against the Yankees is fun, bread-and-butter wins against division rivals are even more important.
In other sports news, a key vote required for the westside Jets stadium deal has been postponed. The Public Authority Control Board was due to vote on the project but Sheldon Silver asked for a delay. Under the board's rules any side can get one delay, which is fine. But Silver wants the vote delayed until all lawsuits are settled. That kind of dilatory tactic is not acceptable.
Base10 suspects the realpolitik of this situation will sink in for the Democrats. Thousands of union construction workers and others want this deal vs. a few obstructionist actvists on the West Side. The election is only a few months away and these people will vote with their pocketbooks. When all is said and done, the Dems will come around.
On top of everything else there's a letter being sent around by the IOC that basically says New York can kiss its Olympic bid goodbye if it doesn't approve construction. While this may encourage some to fight the stadium, I for one would like to see an Olympic Games in this city before I die. Although the frontrunner appears to be Paris (see Tradesports) it is entirely possible that New York would get it in 2016. Bottom line: build the darn stadium!
Digital Eye for the Analogue Guy
Base10 has his eye on a new laptop. Small is good. I was thinking about the Sony Vaio VGN-T250/L. It is lightweight, has intrinsic wi-fi and bluetooth, and is probably Linux compatible. The only knock is Sony's devotion to the Memory Stick.
There is however a new player in town. Toshiba just came out with a new Libretto. Althouh it is somewhat boxy in form (some suggested this was an homage to the original design), the Libretto U105 is a beauty. It is 7" by 8" by 1"--talk about tiny--and it has all the specs of the Sony. Also, I like the pointing stick. I hate touchpads. "J & R" has it available for $2099. (You know, it's really nice to have one of the best retailers for electronics right around the block from your job). We'll see how busy today gets.
Bear in mind, you probably can't do a full day's work on these things, but their portability trumps other concerns. The fact that you could carry this around anywhere enables true ubiquitous computing. You could even give up the PDA.
Not With a Bang But a Wimper
The Senate appears to have compromised, at least temporarily, over the vote to end judicial filibusters. Under the deal, nominees Priscilla Owen, William H. Pryor Jr. and Janice Rogers Brown will get full Senate votes, but there was no committment as to Henry Saad and William Myers. The compromise group agreed not to use the judicial filibuster unless there are extraordinary circumstances. Sound to me like an immediate, albeit short-term, victory for the Republicans, but this agreement really does nothing at all. Although both sides will probably tout this as a victory, the stage is set for a continuation of this fight over a Supreme Court nominee to replace William Rehnquist.
Tin Foil House
And we thought the tin foil hat was weird. Check out this house in Sacramento. Via Slashdot.
Monday, May 23, 2005
A Quick Aside
On his way to watch the Mets game on Sunday, Base10 passed by street vendors on the way to his usual watering hole in Jackson Heights. Now, anyone familiar with the area would not be surprised to see religious vendors selling Korans and other religious items. Base10 wanted to buy a Koran by asking "Is this Koran good for Flushing?" Get it? Flushing. The Mets. Base10 thought this was very funny, but was talked out doing it by Mrs. Base10, which was probably for the better.
The End of War?
Gregg Easterbrook, Base10's favorite sportswriter (he's actually a writer who sometimes writes about sports for NFL.com) has a really good piece in The New Republic about some recent studies that suggests war is going the way of the Edsel. What with the rise of democracy around the world, maybe we should have foreseen this. Of particular interest is the fact that when the the researchers went to UN diplomats with the results, they were laughed at. The article is worth a read, and Base10 might actually seek out the report.
Base10 suspects that we have a way to go yet, but can only hope that the conclusion of this study is true.
Failure in Flushing
This weekend was quite disappointing to Met fans. The stage was set for the annual matchup with our uptown cousins, the New York Yankees. Base10's beloved squad basically blew the series. First, the Friday loss on a Matsui error. Then came the Saturday win and all is right with the world again. But Sunday follows Saturday and the Mets collapsed. Blowing a 3-0 lead and masterful pitching by Pedro, the Mets succumbed to the Yankees on errors by David Wright and Jose Reyes this time. (Click here for recaps of Game 1, Game 2 and Game 3).
While the result is not what a Mets fan would have wanted, Base10 certainly agrees with some commentators that suggested this was as intense as a post-season game. This is certainly true. What with pitching gems, slugging exhibitions and fielding theatrics, fans certainly got their money's worth. The Mets visit Yankee Stadium on June 24 for the next half of the series.
In baseball, there always a tomorrow. (Unless it's the end of September). Tonight, the Mets battle the Atlanta Braves in the great state of Georgia. Alas, we are trailing 4-1 at this point, but hey if the Yankees can turn around a lead like that, so can we.
In an aside, Base10 discovered this weekend that it is almost as much fun watching the Red Sox kick Atlanta's ass as it is to watch them kick the Yankee's ass. The Sox look strong, winning the series against the slumping Braves.
One more thing...check out the Faith and Fear in Flushing blog about the New York Mets. It's refreshing to see a fan blog that's actually well written and not just a rant against the Yankees or Atlanta.
Base10 is Back, Sort of
Yes, well it was inevitable. For better or worse, Base10 is returning to his small slice of cyberspace in an effort to entertain, enlighten and educate. When I left blogging, I had doubts about keeping up the blog, what I should be in the blogosphere, and whether the effort of posting was worth it. I haven't answered any of those questions. But I do know one thing, I enjoy writing. So I'll keep doing that, I think. I hope you like it. I think there are some changes coming, but for now I'm going to stick with the sports-and-politics theme to which I have become accustomed.