Base10Blog
Sunday, July 31, 2005
 
Robots+Beer=Nirvana
Some whacky guys have created a robotic beer barrel called the Kegbot that tracks drinkers users beverage consumption habits. It will even provide rankings if used in "team" mode.

Now if we could only program the asian girl robot to fetch beers from the beer robot, we'd really have something.
Friday, July 29, 2005
 
When Cows Go Bad

Convicted Cows

Rowdy Sports Cows

Mean Cows.

Killer Cows.

Flatulent Cows.

Rebellious Cows.
Thursday, July 28, 2005
 
The Miami Dolphins

It looks like erstwhile NFL running back and yogi Ricky Williams reported for camp in Miami this week. Question for new coach Nick Saban who is trying to make the jump from college to the pros, "What are you thinking?"

There are some interesting tidbits out of Dolphins camp:

Ricky did give what was reportedly a heartfelt apology to the team. Whether this will convince his blockers to actually block some 300 lb. linebacker looking to knock his head off is another question.

Williams is underweight. He has to bulk up.

Caoch Saban properly put Williams at trhe bottom of the depth chart. What a way to coax performance out of their new rookie RB.

When asked why he came back to football, Williams replied, "I don't know." In fairness, maybe all the marihuana isn't out of his sytem yet, but that strikes me as a question you have to be able to answer as a professional. Base10 has an answer: the $8.6 million dollars you owe your team for breach of contract. That amount of money does tend to focus one's mind.

Of course, no one doubts that physically, Williams has the talent to make it to Canton, if Saban is successful, this will be the greatest reclamation project ever. But let's face it, Ricky Williams is a little, err, mental. He showed up at camp with dirty hair and a scraggly beard prompting one of his teammates to describe him as a homeless person. No amount of motivational speeches by the coach is going to change that.

The there's the drug issues. Ricky says he's through with drugs. I don't suppose the NFL approves of any other statement, but let's just say Dolphoin staff should have a healthy scepticism about that statement.


 
The Shootin' Range

Base10 had to go to the pistol range today. Rather than rising at some ungodly hour after the Mets stuffed Colorado (I hate 9PM starts), Base10 opted for the 3x11 tour to allow plenty of time to get to Rodman's Neck. Of historical note, Rodman's Neck is named after a local fellow named Rodman (surely not this one).

Random observations:

- You know your getting to retirement age when you stop running into people you know during your visit to the range.

- When you're young you get excited by shooting a gun--even if it's at a paper target. When you're old, it's just a pain in the ass.

- Getting to the Bronx is a pain as well. Being a dazzling urbanite, Base10 doesn't own a car. Whenever he goes to the range he has to rent a car. Not a horrible thing, but it's very hard to get here by train. (I actually biked it once from Queens, but I don't recommend this unless you're an experienced urban rider).

- Indeed, the outdoor range isn't what it used to be. In the olden days (you know, before we had newfangled automatic firearms), you could go to meal at City Island, eat a seafood dinner (or lunch as the case may be) and have a couple of beers. Those days are long over.

- So here we are. It looks like a fairly small group so far. Plans for today? Base10 will probably get out in time to watch a good proportion of the Mets game.

- Base10 will try to get some photos later if he can.


 
If You Were Going to Design a Robot...

Definitely make it a girl robot.

There is something quite creepy about this, although I think I saw her in an Austin Powers movie.

UPDATE: This is pretty weird, too.
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
 
Old Surrogate's Court


Gee, Base10 is making a habit of taking some photos whenever he leaves work. This is an image of old Surrogate's Court on Chambers Street and Centre Street. It is a breathtaking old building. I'm not happy with this image, though. The perspective is all wrong. I have to see if a better photograph of the courthouse can be taken at a different angle.



This is a detail of the left side of the courthouse's entrance. I'm also not happy with this image. The Concord did not produce a sharp image, even with Photoshop contrast correction.



This is the right side. This came out a little better after tweaking with the highlight/shadow tool.



This is the side entrance of the courthouse. If it looks vaguely looks familiar, it's because it is often used in exterior shots on police dramas like Law and Order and its many variations. The top of the facade of the building also has some absolutely stunning sculpture, but it's very hard to see from street level and Base10 can't figure out how to capture an image just yet.

For more information and images of Old Surrogate's Court, click here.
 
Tuesday Photoblogging in the Park


Base10 walked through City Hall Park last night and took these images. Although I prefer black and white, I wanted to see how the color on the Concord point-and-shoot looked. This image used the default settings and fill flash. The color is, at best, lifeless.



Then a very interesting thing happened. Base10 decided to try making the image using ambient light. It was still light out, but getting on toward dusk. Look at what turning off the flash did! While I admit the image of the blue plants is intriguing, it is not accurate At first I thought I had the lighting balance set to something wrong like florescent, but that was not the case. Why did the Concord render the image this way? Beats me.



Here's a closeup of the blue flowers. The Concord's focal range is pretty good.



Here are some accurately rendered flowers taken with Mrs. Base10 last week. I don't recall what the flash settings were, but notice that the colors are again pretty flat.
Sunday, July 24, 2005
 
Mets Update
The Mets came back yesterday with a wild win in a sunny and windy day yesterday. Click here for the recap. Although Pedro was not as sharp as usual, the Mets managed to cobble out a win, thanks mostly to an outstanding performance by Jose Reyes. Today's match pits Kris Benson against Brad Penny. They each have virtually identical numbers, so it should be a good game. Click here for the preview.

More later.
 
So Long, Lance

lance, originally uploaded by base10blog.

It's official. Lance Armstrong is riding his bike into the sunset after winning a record-shattering seventh Tour de France. Armstrong brought a great deal of pleasure to us cycling fans and managed to re-popularize the sport in the United States to a certain extent.

Future Tours will be interesting, without a dominating rider like Armstrong, the field is wide open. The race will certainly be exciting next year, but it will also have a little sadness.

Thanks for everything, Lance.


Friday, July 22, 2005
 
Not What You'd Expect in a Republican Neighborhood

Interesting. Base10 found this posted at John's Bar during his excursion this week. (Excuse the poor quality, I took it with the camera phone on the way out). This is definitely not what you'd expect to find in a heavily Republican area of Queens. Maybe Tom Ognibene is getting some momentum.

Then again, with NARAL's endorsement of Mayor Mike, can you really say that he's a Republican? Lame quote from the Times:
Naral's endorsement did seem to have one string attached: a strong statement by the mayor concerning President Bush's new Supreme Court nominee, Judge John G. Roberts.

Mr. Bloomberg did not go as far as the group did in criticizing Mr. Roberts, but he did say he would support him only if he gave "a clear indication that he accepts Roe v. Wade as the law of the land."

I'm certainly glad that the Mayor is so concerned with Judge Robert's position on this. It must mean there is a complete lack of other pressing concerns for the city.

UPDATE: I almost forgot. Boot Bloomberg has a website. It's quite professionally done, too.
 
London Police Shoot Suspect

There are some very interesting, albeit sketchy, reports that London police have shot and killed a bombing suspect.

Reportedly, the suspect had been under surveillance by authorities as a suspect in Wednesday's attempted bombing and was being tailed when he left his house. He was wearing a heavy overcoat in spite of the London temperatures being in the 70's.

Apparently, he jumped a barricade and ran toward a train stopped in the station. Police then chased him and shot him dead.

Reports indicate that the suspect was not carrying any explosives. No matter. Aside from the fact that Base10 would never second guess the London PD, it is likely that he did not know he was under surveillance and his actions today was a "dry run" to test security. In that case it would be ironic that he gets to meet Allah without even getting to blow any innocent civilians. No virgins in the afterlife for you!

Base10 will post some links when he gets to work.

UPDATE: Here are some links to the AP Story, CNN, Fox News, and ABC News. The facts still seem to be coming in.


 
Weekend Plans

As Friday begins, it is time to start thinking about the weekend.

- The Mets face the Dodgers in a three-game weekend series at Shea. Mets v. Dodgers always seems to be a good game, and the Mets have an opportunity to really build up a winning streak here against the struggling L.A. Team. Pedro is scheduled to pitch on Saturday at 3PM, which makes it a can't miss event. Sunday's game is at 1PM.

- Mr. And Mrs. Base10 were going to take time out to watch the individual time trial of the Tour de France on Saturday, the only real stage left. The Tour has unfortunately become somewhat anticlimactic. Lance is so far ahead of any competition that even Base10 questions the need to wake up early on Saturday to watch it.

- Photography. Base10 will undoubtedly take some photos over the weekend. If watching the Tour is off, Rockaway may be an option. But Base10 needs a compact tripod, since the legs on his old tripod don't seem to lock anymore. Another reason to stop by J&R today! Even if we watch the Tour, there's always photography downtown to satisfy the urge. The other thing I want to try is using my scanner to digitize a B&W negative to see how that goes.

More weekend planning later. Maybe there's NASCAR as well.


Thursday, July 21, 2005
 
Crowd Control Ray-Gun?

Slashdot has a report that a newly designed directed energy weapons system is going to be deployed in Iraq to quell riots.

The system uses microwaves to cause heat and intense pain to disperse violent crowds. How cool is that?

Would turning up the intensity knob to 'high' and careful aiming get somebody's head to explode like in Scanners?

All you evil overlord wannabees out there should acquire one of these device ASAP. One can envision many applications for world domination here.


 
One More Thing

An item on NY1 told of a new NYPD strategy to combat terrorism. It stated that police would conduct random searches on people's bags in the public transit system.

I suspect the article got it wrong, though. While having people comply with a bag search before coming on the system may be be legal (although probably not particularly effective), the very suggestion that police have the power to randomly search one's person without even particularized suspicion is ridiculous.

In the case of search-on-entry, a person not desiring to having his bag subject to prying eyes could opt not to enter the system. A random search system would allow the police to search based on any criteria, even none at all. What would happen if a suspect refused? Would he be ejected from the system? Would he be refunded his fare? Would he be searched forcibly? This is akin to the police being given the power to randomly search homes. Hey, I don't like the looks of that guy. Let's search his bag.

Base10 is no namby-pamby ACLU'er, but he is a trained attorney. The idea that random searches are possible is preposterous.

UPDATE: This story on Fox News seems to confirm Base10's opinion. The searches are being done before entry.


 
Leaving Early, Are We?

Actually, yes. Mr. And Mrs. Base10 are on their way to the eye doctor this evening. Base10 is figuring that he'll end up, as usual, with his annually strengthened eyeglass prescription. I notice my eyesight is weird. Some days it's pretty good, but on others it just bothers me tremendously. Part of it, I know, is the constant computer use.

Maybe Base10 better buy that digital camera sooner rather than later before he completely loses his vision.


 
More London Bombing

Fox News had early reports of additional bomb scares in the London Underground. Early reports indicate one exploded bomb underground and reportedly the discovery of an unexploded bomb, which would be a real breakthrough.

More later. This situation will be reported on all day.


UPDATE: Here's a link to the Yahoo news coverage page. It doesn't look like there are any casualties. It's just really speculation at this point.

 
Somebody Had to Say It

Base10 was never a big fan of Ann Coulter, but every once in a while she writes something very funny. In yesterday's piece she argued that Judge Roberts was not conservative enough and indeed would turn out to be a moderate on the court aka Justice Souter.

Refering to the abortion issue, she writes,

It means absolutely nothing that NARAL and Planned Parenthood attack him: They also attacked Sandra Day O'Connor, Anthony Kennedy and David Hackett Souter. The only way a Supreme Court nominee could win the approval of NARAL and Planned Parenthood would be to actually perform an abortion during his confirmation hearing, live, on camera, and preferably a partial-birth one.

Ouch. I think that both liberals and conservatives are too preoccupied with Roe v. Wade. The liberals are terrified abortion rights will be curtailed even a little, while conservatives clamor for a Court that will overturn the decision. Both should face the following facts:

- In spite of weak intellectual underpinnings, Roe is not going to be overruled by this or any other court in our generation. Period. It's similar to the Miranda decision in that sense. Both rulings have lost any remaining intellectual vitality, but no judge is willing to go down in history as being the judge that overturned Roe.

- Rulings around the edges of Roe need to be reconsidered. New blood on the Court would allow sensible restrictions like the ban on partial-birth abortion and parental notification statutes to become law.

- Even if Roe was somehow overturned, the issue would go to the states where it should have been all along. The liberals will win or lose in the states (probably win), but this time through the political process not by judicial fiat.

- There are other important issues before the court besides abortion. The recent Connecticut emminent domain decision is one. Another is the the DMCA and its relation to other internet freedom and privacy issues.

- Let's be more concerned about judicial philosophy than by the labels liberal or conservative. Any news outlet reporting on a nominee's past decisions usually wrongly equates the result with the jurist's outlook (i.e., this decision was anti-woman, or that decision was anti-equal rights) and misses the point. How did the judge arrive at the decision? Did he fairly apply the law in question? Did he interpret it narrowly in accordance with the legislator's intent or broadly to apply it to new areas where it was never meant to go? Does he think the rights in the Constritution expand with modern sensibilities or are they locked into the plain text of the constitution expanded only by the intent of the Framers?

These are the question Base10 wants answered.


 
How About Them Mets

The Mets won a decisive victory last night against the very hot Padres. Click here for a recap. The Mets face the final game of the series at noon today. Click here for a preview. A sweep of the Padres is just what the Mets need right now to boost them to the next level. Lets hope last night's slugfest is indicative of things to come and not merely a fluke. The NL East standing however remain largely unchanged.


UPDATE: The Mets are currently beating the Padres 12-0 in what will likely be a sweep.

Wednesday, July 20, 2005
 
Medium Format Photoblogging (Sort of)

A Stately Tree, originally uploaded by base10blog.

Base10 took today off hoping to catch the saturation coverage of the President's Supreme Court pick. (At least Bush didn't nominate Bernard Kerik).

In any event, Base10 broke out his 6x6 Yashicamat and took some photos in Juniper Valley Park in Queens.

This image is at the northeast corner entrance to the park.


 
Vegetation

Vegetation, originally uploaded by base10blog.

This is an image of some flora at the small north end of the park.

These images were not taken with the medium format camera. They were taken with a Concord 4 megapixel point-and-shoot camera from roughly the same perspective as the Yashicamat. The Concord's maximum focal length appears to be 50mm making it "normal" for 35mm film format. It is roughly equivalent to the 80mm focal length lens on the Yashica. The final images will differ due to film size.


 
The Path Taken

The Path Taken, originally uploaded by base10blog.

This is the path on the northwest corner of the park where it borders 80th Street.

Note that these images were converted to black and white using Photoshop CS. The Concord--which I must admit has surprisingly good resolution and image quality--has no B&W mode.


 
Contrast The Sun

Contrast The Sun, originally uploaded by base10blog.

While the Concord has pretty good image quality, the exposure system is certainly not perfect. This image shows the background between the trees overexposed by (I think) about two f-stops while the foreground is underexposed by roughly the same amount. The Concord does allow you to alter the exposure value, but how exactly are you supposed to figure this out with a point-and-shoot camera?


 
Contrast the Sun II

Contrast the Sun II, originally uploaded by base10blog.

This is the same image cleaned up with Photoshop. I only used the adjustment tool for brightness and contrast. Notice the detail now present in the foreground.


 
Burial Ground

Burial Ground, originally uploaded by base10blog.

Not many people know this, but Juniper Park was the site of a burial ground for the Pullis(?) family. The land on which the park resides was their farm. This image is from what remains of the gravesites.

Thank God for Photoshop! The Concord seriously overexposed the statue completely, washing out the details. I used the brightness/contrast tool and the shadow/highlight tool to regain some of the details and achieve a lovely gothic look.


 
Some Trees

43600050, originally uploaded by base10blog.

This is an image from the top of the hill that overlooks the "great lawn" of Juniper Park. This actually came out pretty good with the Concord. This was using the wide-angle focal length on the Concord. The shortest focal length appears to be equivalent to about a 28mm lens on a 35mm camera.


 
Look Again

Copse of Trees, originally uploaded by base10blog.

This is the same scene but with the "normal" zoom on the Concord. Notice that due to the (apparently) center-weighted metering on the Concord the sunlit area surrounding the trees is clearly over exposured, although I must admit this does create a somewhat surreal effect.


 
Juniper Valley Panorama

Juniper Valley Panorama, originally uploaded by base10blog.

This image is taken from the same location but faces south. In this example, I took the photo using the Yashica on a mini-tripod and then replaced it with the Concord without moving the tripod. Interestingly, it included a tree on the right that was not in the 6x6 viewfinder.


 
View from the Hill

View from the Hill, originally uploaded by base10blog.

Here's another landscape shot of the "great lawn."


 
A Cool Respite

A Cool Respite, originally uploaded by base10blog.

This is John's Bar, near Juniper. Hey, Base10 had to upload his pictures somewhere! It's hot outside and they have kickin' air conditioning (and very cold beer).

I can't really blame this on the Concord. No camera without fill-flash is going to capture this image successfully. Note however that Photoshop contrast and shadow adjustment made it into a somewhat interesting image.


 
So Long, Scotty

Many sources are reporting that actor James Doohan has passed away. Doohan was 85 and suffered from Alzheimer's.

After bringing so much pleasure to so many for so long, Base10 wishes his Chief Engineering Officer fair winds and following seas as he repairs the dilithium crystals of that great starship in the sky.


Tuesday, July 19, 2005
 
It's Official
President Bush chose John G. Roberts, a DC Circuit Court of Appeals judge as his first nominee for the Supreme Court, reports the AP.

The president is supposed to announce his selection at 9PM EST. Base10 is a little surprised the AP got the name an hour before (it must be a Rove leak!).

Let the games begin!
 
Alternatives to Digital Backs

Base10 is still weighing the pros and cons of medium format photography. One thing I've noticed is that there is major cross-over between media types. For example, getting film developed is no longer just processing-and-proofs. You actually have quite a few options. If you're interested in putting stuff on the web, don't rule film out. Obviously, no matter what, film has to be processed, so you always have that mechanical stage to go through. Many labs will do this same day or overnight. Second, instead of traditional paper proofs or contact sheets, many labs offer a scanning option. Basically, you get you film developed and it's immediately digitized for use. You can even get cheaper digital proofs and prints from the image files. The pricing is also attractive, with processing and scanning going for maybe $11-15 per roll of 120.

For the more technically ambitious, you could also just get the film developed and scan then yourself. Base10 is never one to shy away from technology (especially if it saves $10,000 on a digital back), so this is certainly an option. The thing is, a good film scanner will set you back a bit. But even my existing flatbed scanner should be able to produce useable web images from 120 roll film. This is a good short term option and I may try it over the weekend. Base10 will be sure to post the results.


Monday, July 18, 2005
 
Yeah, This Occurred to Me, Too
NRO suggests that maybe the London bombers weren't trying to commit suicide. The theory makes sense. How come the MSM hasn't been eploring this idea?
 
Understatement of the Week Award
Base10's prayers go out to Police Officers Dominick Romano and David Harris who were attacked early this morning in Queens Village. The perp--a shotgun wielding psychopath--fired at the officers after he was caught shooting the head off of a 100 year-old statue of St. Anne in front of a Queens church. The Daily News account describes it this way:
One officer was hit in the head and the other in the leg by shrapnel from police hater Kevin Davy's shotgun. But at least one of the cops managed to return fire and end the 2 a.m. spree outside Saints Joachim and Anne Church in Queens Village.

"I'm a hustler! I'm a warrior!" ranted Davy, 25, who used a sword to lop off the granite statue's arms and blew the head off with a 12-gauge shotgun before ambushing the police from less than 8 feet away.

"I'm warning you, m-----------s," yelled Davy, who once made an anti-police and anti-government DVD with his brother.

Officer Dominick Romano, 29, was hit once in the head and eight times in the back by projectiles, but his bulletproof vest saved him. His partner, Officer David Harris, 40, was struck in the leg five times - shattering his femur - and also hit in the arm.

Thankfully, it looks like the cops are going to be okay, especially thanks to the intervention of a nurse/practitioner who happened to be passing by and applied a tourniquet to the wounded officer's leg. But check out this quote from the perp's brother:
"He seemed angry," added Davy's brother Keith, 22, who spoke to him hours before the attack.

You think?
 
Adventures in Medium Format Photography

Bsae10 previously posted here about the resurrection of his photography hobby. Regarding the desire to buy a digital 35mm, Base10 is sure happy he waited and did some research. He was considering the Nikon D70 because of lens interoperability. No problem, I thought, the old lenses don't support autofocus. I would probably use manual mode anyway since I was never a big autofocus fan. But not only can you not use AF, there is no through-the-lens metering, either. Now this is a major snag. Unless you use separate metering--or have an incredibly good eye for exposure values--the lenses I have are not useable. So now I'm thinking about getting the Canon 20D. Good quality. Good price. Lenses are attractively priced. You can get it in a kit with the body and a 17-85 lens. Not shabby considering all the features.

But Base10 still had the itch to take some pictures. In an effort to scratch that itch, Mr. And Mrs. Base10 did a little medium-format work Saturday afternoon. Base10 is no Ansel Adams or anything, but he does remember a thing or two, and Mrs. Base10 seemed to be a willing student. We used the Yashicamat twin-lens reflex with 120 TMax 400 ASA B&W film. Mrs. Base10's theme was flowers and we tried to find things fitting that (for the most part) in our travels.

Ah, the vagaries of the F-stop, depth of field, film and shutter. The Yashica is just a fun camera to work with. We didn't do anything fancy, just tried to get Mrs. Base10 accustomed to the exposure meter. I was actually quite surprised at her patience in composing a shot.

What? No photos for the blog? The obvious drawback of film photography is the lack of immediate gratification. Alas too, it looked like rain in the morning, so Base10 was scared away from Rockaway.

Finally, if Base10 had his druthers and money was no object, he would buy this package.


 
Weekend Sports Wrap

Well, it could have been worse. After all the talk about the Mets needing to do something, they did indeed do somethine--they split their most recent four-game series against hated Atlanta. Click here, here, here and here for the recaps. First the good: Glavine looked okay, but the Mets simply got killed by Smoltz. Pedro of course looked good as well. The bad: except for yesterday's hitting frenzy, the Mets seem to have misplaced their bats. Did they leave them in Pittsburgh before the All-Star break?

There's still much ball to play, but splitting against your arch enemy when you're at home and in dire need of making up some ground is not the way to make it to October.

Where does that leave us? Again at .500, the Mets have once again achieved mediocrity. The season isn't over, but chances to gain ground in the standings are going to get increasingly rare as the weeks roll on.

Base10 also caught our uptown cousins, the New York Yankees, as they played the Red Sox. Pitching for the Yanks was Al Leiter who was acquired in a recent trade with Florida. We love Al and he pitched pretty well against Boston. The Yanks won the game and the series taking three of four and remain a strong contender in their division being one-half game out of first.

In other sports news, Lance Armstrong is completely dominating the Tour de France. Surprisingly, Ivan Basso of Italy has emerged as his only legitimate challenger, although he is behind by 3:46. It looks like Lance is a shoe-in as long as he doesn't crash. The only stage of interest left is the individual time trial on Saturday, the penultimate stage of the Tour.

In the golf world, Tiger Woods simply ran away with the British Open. This was an unusually low scoring Open IMAO. While no golf expert, Base10 noticed that the course picked for the Open this year was usually fast. Genreally British Opens are pretty tough, leaving players fighting it out for par. Such was not the case this year. Not taking anything away from Tiger, but a fast course simply plays to his stregths.

In Jets news, CB Donnie Abraham retired. The Jets acquired CB Pete Hunter from Dallas for a conditional draft pick. Hunter seems like a good player, but he tore his ACL last year. Remember, preseason football begins two weeks from this coming Saturday and the Jets start camp on 7/29. W00t!


Friday, July 15, 2005
 
This Seems to be Good News, Too
"Palestinian Security Forces Clash with Hamas" - AP.

Seriously, all out civil war in Palestine is probably counter to everybody's best interest, but if this is indicitive of a PA crackdown on terrorism, it is a start.
 
This Seems to Be Good News
"Chemist Sought in London Probe Arrested" - AP.

Judging by accounts of Egyptian detention practices, this guy is going to wish he was a Guantanamo Bay.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
 
Scholar?
"Islamic Scholar Sentenced to Va. Prison" - AP.

Ali al-Timimi of Fairfax was convicted in April of soliciting others to levy war against the United States, inducing others to aid the Taliban, and inducing others to use firearms in violation of federal law.
* * *

Prosecutors portrayed al-Timimi, a native U.S. citizen, has having "rock star" status among his followers, who frequently heard his lectures at a small mosque in Falls Church. In particular, prosecutors said, the defendant wielded enormous influence among a group of young Muslim men in northern Virginia who played paintball games in 2000 and 2001. Authorities said they were a "Virginia jihad network" training for holy war around the globe. Nine members of the group have been convicted for their roles in the conspiracy, with prison terms ranging from three years to life. (Emphasis added).

To repeat, why does this guy get the "scholar" title?
 
"May God curse the mujahedeen and their leader!"
The thing is, I didn't say it. A Muslim woman whose child was killed in a suicide bombing in Iraq today said it. The "insurgent" targeted an American soldier giving away sweets amidst a group of children. Twenty-seven are believed dead, among them about a dozen children. There is a special place in hell for those responsible for this attrocity.
 
What Would We Do Without Studies?
"Study: What's Good Often Turns Out Bad" - AP.
 
California Dogs Happy!
"Large Bones Found in Calif. Creek Bed" - AP.
Monday, July 11, 2005
 
What of the Mets?
Well, it's that time of the year again. It is a time for reflection and assessment. It is a time for sober analysis. It is a time to set aside fan-feelings for reality. In short, it is the All-Star break.

Before I begin, let me relate one of my favorite sports trivia questions. This is a good one and few people ever get the right answer.

Q: What are the two days every year that you can guarantee there will be no games involving the four major professional sports, i.e. the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL?

A: Why it's today and Wednesday, the day before and the day after the baseball All-Star Game.

People rarely get this one. The way the question is phrased, people immediately assume it's a holiday when no sports are played, but that's not the case.

Anyway, how 'bout them Mets?

Let's look at the obvious first. With their win over the Pirates on Sunday, the Mets are again at the .500 mark. So, once again we have achieved mediocrity! But take a look at the NL East standings:


Team W L Pct GB
Washington 52 36 .591 --
Atlanta 50 39 .562 2.5
Florida 44 42 .512 7.0
Philadelphia 45 44 .506 7.5
NY Mets 44 44 .500 8.0


The Mets, while in titular last place, are pretty much the same as Florida and Philly. While we do have a 5 1/2 game deficit to Atlanta, remember we have a four game series against them at Shea right after the break. That could virtually eliminate the deficit. While I'm not suggesting a sweep of Atlanta will be easy, you can't say we're out of it.

Unfortunately, the hitting stats are dismal. Click here for sortable stats at Yahoo. The Mets seem to lead only in stolen bases--thanks mostly to speed merchant Jose Reyes. The pitching stats are much better. Here the Mets are in the top half in all categories. Hey, it's not great, but it is something to work with.

And, while it's premature to talk about a wild card, the open spot will likely go to our division (or possibly Houston). The season is by no means over.

For a hysterically funny mid-season report card (and a genuinely good Mets blog for that matter), click here.

So, bottom line, where are the Mets? In Flushing, of course.
 
Iraq and al Qaida
Stephen Hayes and Thomas Joscelyn have a really good piece in the Weekly Standard about newly exposed connections between Saddam Hussein and al Qaida. More importantly, the mainstream media seems to be ignoring the connections that are certainly there.
Sunday, July 10, 2005
 
You Don't Say!
Wow, Drudge has an item that suggests that members of moveon.org would alter their message to get positive media coverage. Shocking!
 
Disturbing News from the CIA
But not completely unexpected.

Via RCP.
 
What Incredibly Bad Luck!
"A Bronx man who moved abroad after the 2001 terrorist attacks was among those missing in London after the transit bombings there, his friends and relatives said. " - AP.

Base10's hopes and prayers do go out to his family.
 
Rockaway and Gadgets
Mr. and Mrs. Base10 are spending the day in Rockaway today, which is really the starting point of today's rant. You see, Base10 has acquired some gadgets recently: namely, the new Toshiba Libretto U105 (which absolutely rocks), and the Verizon Audiovox vx6600 with the high-speed EVDO plan (which also rocks but somewhat less absolutely), but mainly, this is about digital cameras.

Base10 originally had a Sony Mavica that used floppies to store photos. Base10's logic in getting this was, "Hey, they still don't have a standard for digital storage and there'll always be floppies." Now that there are cheap 1GB memory sticks and PC's don't have floppy drives, it seems that Base10's logic may have been flawed. In any event, Base10 acquired a Concord 4 megapixel point-and-shoot about six months ago. It's a good machine, but I have been eying other, more sophisticated devices.

So I did a little research. I don't want to go professional because the costs are just too great. A top-of-the line Hasselblad goes for $22,000. That is not a typo. Even the pro Nikon D2X DSLR is something like $5000 for the body only. Let's just say that unless Base10 is generating income from these devices, that is not going to happen. I do have it narrowed down to the Nikon D70 or the Canon 20D. The Canon appears to be the better camera, but I have several Nikon lenses that are compatible with the D70.

Which brings us to today's rant. Base10 used to be quite the photo afficionado back in the olden days of film and developer and such. He even did his own B&W processing and printing. But this stuff seems to be going by the wayside these days. So, in anticipation of maybe a DSLR purchase, Base10 dug out his cameras and lenses. Base10 has a Nikon FM2 and 50mm, 80-200mm 35-80mm and 28mm. But wait, Base10 also experimented with medium format. He has a Yashicamat 124G.

A few points are in order, the Nikon is a completely manual camera. It was one of the last of its kind when I bought it in the mid-80's. The Yashica is a twin-lens reflex camera, another oddity today. The weird thing is that these cameras cost about exactly what I payed for them back then. The Nikon largely because it is used to teach photography students and the Yashica because it is a relatively cheap way to experiment in medium format. The Yashica was a great camera. Now you can't compare it to a Hassy or even a Mimaya, but talk about high quality images. While this is more a function of the 6x6 format than the optics, the optics are pretty good and the camera is just plain fun to use.

Which brings us to today's rant. The Yashica takes 120/220 roll film. I tried to find Tri-X B&W film yesterday with high hopes to take some shots at Rockaway today. No luck, although I went to several 1 Hour photo labs. Don't get me wrong, 120 film was never something you could get at the corner store. But I was surprised to see that it was imposswible to find now. Which brings us to the reason film photography may be on its last legs. The film itself may be fairly cheap--about $3-4 a roll, but you only get 12 exposures. Fair enough you say, but the processwing costs are huge. The cheapest mail order place I found was in the range of $17 per roll for processing and contact sheets. Prices are higher in Manhattan walk-in labs. Think now, every time you shoot a roll film it's at least $20 out of you pocket. This is an expensive hobby!

So photographing Rockaway is off for now. One of Base10's life goals is to publish the definitve guide to Rockaway bars. There will, alas, be no photos to that end today.
 
Forget Everything I Said...
in the last post.

Mets lose 11-4.
Saturday, July 09, 2005
 
The Mets

After yesterday's disappointing loss to Pittsburgh, Mets fans may be wondering whether it's time to throw in the towel and look to next year. With the All-Star break beginning Monday, it is time for reflection, but Base10 says it's too early to give up.

First, the current series isn't over yet. If the Mets win this series they go into the All-Star break on a positive note and above .500. The spread in the NL East is such that if any team manages to put together a good winning streak, they can take the Division.

Second, perhaps the more important test will be the first series after the All-Star break: a four-game homestand against Atlanta. A poor performance then really will support the towel throwers.

Third, the Nationals will come down to earth.
I don't want to take away anything from the Nationals, they have after all come in out of the Canadian cold and given their new fans quite a show, but they are beatable. The fact that they can do so well with their talent level is a testament to good coaching. But unlike football, where the talent level is so similar across teams and coaching is the difference between 8-8 and a Superbowl ring, in baseball, in the long run, coaching cannot make much of a difference in a player's batting average.


Monday, July 04, 2005
 
Happy Birthday, America


In spite of the last post, take a few moments today and ponder what the world would be like without the United States. Then eat a hamburger, and enjoy the holiday. We live in extraordinary times. Be proud of our nation.
 
The Religion of Peace
Mrs. Base10 and I spent our Fourth of July very pleasantly at Rockaway Beach. (See the post above). It really was a wonderful day until we encountered these representatives of the "religion of peace."



Now I'm still trying to sort out all the messages of hate here. First you have the rabid anti-semitism, then you have the kooky anti-globalization stuff. Then there's this one:



Please excuse Base10's poor phtography here. The upper sign asks, "Is your government making you Islamophobic? Can you think for your self?" Ironically, this display seems to foster enough Islamophobia all by itself without any help from the government. Also ironic is the name of the organization that is responsible, the "Islamic Thinkers Society." Then there's this one:



Yes, yes. Guantanamo Bay. Detainees held without trial. Torture by giving them three-squares. They're not being treated like the Geneva Convention says. Oh wait, the Geneva Convention allows summary execution of combatants out of uniform as spies and terrorists. By all means, treat them properly under the Geneva Convention.

This horrendous display was not in a foreign land, nor was it by some anti-war crazies in Union Square, it was in Jackson Heights, the most heavily Muslim neighborhood in Queens. It was at 67th Ave. and 73rd Street, if anyone would like to stop by and tell the Islamic Thinkers what they think. It's hard to really take the America-as-Totalitarian-Enemy thing seriously when this display is considered protected speech in this country and is protected even on the Fourth of July. Actually, nothing blows these "Thinkers" lame arguments away more than the fact that few other countries would allow them this fundamental right.

I almost don't want to link to it, but here's the homepage for the "Islamic Thinkers Society. " You can see how loony they actually are for yourself. Here's what some other bloggers think of the Islamic Thinkers Society:

The Islamic Thinkers Society are part of a vangard of fifth columnists who are enemies of the United States of America. While they may disclaim the methods which Osama bin Laden uses, they do not disclaim his goals. The group wishes to install Taliban like government in all Muslim countries unified under a single Caliphate. Eventually the group wishes to see a global Caliphate replacing the nation-state system. - Jawa Report.
On a planned Islamic Thinkers Society demonstration and extensive analysis of their literature,
"The families of about 3000 ex-NYC office workers must be overjoyed." - LibertyPost
Reports on this group are easy to find, and they seem pretty nasty.

Kristine Withers claims to have been assaulted by the Islamic Thinkers' Society, a group she says is likely tied to Al-Muhajiroun, which is a radical Islamic group that is believed to have worked with Al-Qaeda. - Global Politician
Finally, see the following post for some informative links about ITS,

The video that I posted below of American Muslims stomping on and then ripping up an American flag comes from a New York-based Muslim group called the Islamic Thinkers Society. According to "Not just another Jihadi face: The Islamic Thinkers Society - Al Muhajiroun's identical twin in NYC" in Militant Islam Monitor, the Islamic Thinkers Society is an American offshoot of the now-disbanded British jihadist group Al-Muhajiroun:

The radical Islamist Al Muhajiroun, appears to have surfaced in Queens under the oxymoronic name of the Islamic Thinkers Society aka Intellectual Thinkers Society. The groups North American spokesman, Kamran Bokhari, is now working as a strategic analyst for Statfor - Strategic Forecasting Inc. run by George Friedman. Stratfor who also employs ex government counter terrorism analysts has dubbed Bokhari their "in house Jihadi." - JihadWatch
Base10 will keep his eyes open next time he's in the neighborhood.
Sunday, July 03, 2005
 
Ullrich Better Get Used to this View


Lance Armstrong humiliated Jan Ullrich by passing him in the first stage of the Peloton, a 19km time trial. After the first stage, Armstrong led his chief rival by 1:06. He also led Ivan Basso, another threat by 1:24. The stage was won by David Zabriskie, a time trial specialist, who is riding in his first tour. Armstrong finished only 2 seconds behind. Click here for the stage one results.


Stage two is finishing as Base10 writes this. More results later, along with the results at Wimbleton.
 
Let's Hope This Doesn't Interfere With Minicamp
Dutch to Send Jets to Find Missing Teen - AP.

But I agree with the decision. The Giants don't know anything about detective work.

Seriously, many reports suggest that the three individuals in Aruba will be charged with the murder of Natalee Holloway this week.
Friday, July 01, 2005
 
Bias at PBS?
No. You don't say! The Corporation for Public Broadcasting's own study found there was a liberal bias in PBS?

But that's impossible! Everyone knows jounalists are completely independent and wouldn't dream of slanting the news coverage to fit a political agenda. But it's reported in the NY Times, so it must be true.

Via Drudge.
 
Sandra Day O'Connor to Retire
In breaking news, many sources are reporting that Sandra Day O'Connor has announced that she will retire from the Supreme Court. This news of course has serious implications for the President.
 
Fourth of July Weekend in Sports
This weekend is just fantastic for the sports afficionado. The pickin's are just great:

NASCAR. The Nextel Pepsi 400 in Daytona is Saturday night in prime time, so you can relax after a good long day of beach fun and watch Tony Stewart beat the pants off of his racing competitors.

Tennis. The Wimbleton finals are Saturday morning for the women and Sunday morning for the men. While Base10has lost some interest in the game since his current object of tennis affection--Maria Sharapova--was rudely unseated by Venus Williams on Thursday. The current matchup between Williams and Davenport should be classic tennis and well worth watching. On the men's side, Roger Federer meets either Andy Roddick or Thomas Johansson on Sunday.

Baseball. The Fourth of July is about summer and the sport of choice during the summer is baseball. With the All-Star break coming a week from Monday, Base10's beloved Mets have something to prove. Now let us first take the pat on the back for winning the series against Philly. Pedro once again had a fantastic outing. Once again, the Mets are at .500. Once again, we have achieved mediocrity. This weekend, the Metskies play Florida and on Monday begin a four game series against the red-hot Nationals. How does it stand now? The Mets are 8 games back but that's deceptive. They are only 2.5 games behind Atlanta in a virtual dead heat with the rest of the division and Base10 thinks that Washington will come down to earth during the second half of the season. With the next seven games at home against division teams before the break, a little winning streak could go a long way. Mediocrity may be all you need in the NL East. Click here for a preview of tonight's matchup with the Marlins.

Caveat: Base10 predicted last year that the Mets might do something if they managed to be .500 at the All-Star break. Technically speaking, Base10 was correct. The Mets did in fact do something. They ended as the worst team in their division.

Not to shun our up town cousins, the Yankees play Detroit over the weekend and start a series against powerful Baltimore on Monday. Click here for a preview of tonight's game. Another game of interest on the holiday is Boston-Texas.

The Peloton. The Tour de France is on. Base10 saved this for last because he looks forward to this all year. The downside: the live coverage starts at 8:30 AM. Ouch. Can Lance Armstrong go for seven straight victories? Puuuuhlease! There are naysayers as well, of course. But at least Lance can count on the support of his mom. The Prologue starts on Saturday morning. However, Base10 thinks that stage 10 and 16 will be the ones to separate the men from the mere testosterone bearers. Click here for the stage profiles. Armstrong's camp issued a statement that they thing they'll get the most competition from Ivan Basso, Alexandre Vinokourov, and of course Jan Ullrich. Base10 already has plans to find a place to watch it in the early hours and still make the beach later.

One more thing. There are now 38 days until the NFL Hall of Fame Game and 69 days until the start of the Regular Season. Hurrah!
 
He's Back and He's Sorry.
Yes. Yes I know. Base10 the big blogger. Goes to LA. Takes a few photos. Big woo!

Dear readers, you are right (and not just in the political sense). Base10 deserves the internet equivalent of a good flogging for failing to post after his excellent vacation. Of course a good flogging can run into money so you'll just have to settle for this apology.

What's in store? Well, dear readers Base10 is on vacation for a week after today, and would like to do a bit of this:

Follow up from LA. For goodness sakes, you mean Base10 wrote some stuff about LA but never published it. How selfish. Well, wait until tomorrow, kids.

The Kelo decision. And why I think it's a tempest in a teapot. As a matter of fact, I might go on about how the Ten Commandment decision is also irrelevant as well why media reporting of Supreme Court decisions is, in general, retarded.

Sports. This is actually a fantastic sports weekend coming up, and Base10 will tell you what he'll be watching.

Iranian Elections. Why I think the fact that Iran's new "president" was a hostage taker in the 80's really does matter.

New Tech Thingies. Base10has acquired a plethora of new gadgets (well really just two, but they are really cool) and is just itching to write a review.

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