Yes, I'm in Orlando now. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology and a $1.25 phone service charge, I'm connected to the internet from my motel room. I'm not quite sitting my in my underwear, but I am comfortable. Get your minds out of the gutter, please.
It is freezeing here. Right now it is 10 degrees. It only got up to 17 today. On Wednesday it is supposed to go up to 25, which is better than 10. Somehow I'll try to survive these Florida temperatures.
Saturday was Terpsichore at the Tower at Cynnabar, and I had a fantastic time. The sites were great. Elaine and I (with help from the Marcus Man) taught a dance class, which went well. I think we had a lot of people there. But, as I'm not at the Monday meeting, I won't know for a while.
That night I got to herald court (always fun, it is like Improv to me). Feast was very good. That bread was to die for. I also got to serve, which was also a fun time to Improv. Except while serving, though, I didn't dance that night. I played a game and then went home early with just Marcus to give Elaine some quality dancing time.
I should have have stayed a bit longer, because Marcus woke up five minutes out, started bawling, and didn't stop at all during the 40 minute drive home. I was speeding most of the time, and was quite shocked when a cop passed me and kept on going.
Thank goodness Alison came up with me. Between the two of us tag teaming, we got Marcus changed (me), fed (her, then me, then her), ourselves changed, our stuff brought in, and the dishwasher loaded with feast gear and done (me). We even watched two episodes of Buffy, which wasn't so bad either.
Alison agreed to look after Marcus if he woke up so I went to bed.
My flight was at 7:15 AM, so I had to get up at 5:30. I made it with no problem, and got bumped to first class, which is always nice. They even gave me an okay breakfast! I didn't get much sleep on the flight, but yes, Patrick, I did play Galactic Civilizations, and yes, it is a much much better game than Moo 3. I'm having fun with it!
When I landed at the airport, there were announcements that everyone would be accomodated, and all flights would start leaving, etc. Apparently, there was a bomb scare at Orlando airport. Apparently, a middle school student had a science fair project of a box with wires in it. With all the chaos it caused, I hope he gets an A.
I hung out in my room a bit and forgot to eat lunch, then heading on out to the workshops at the conference. Boring. It seemed like five hours instead of four, because it was. They went over, and I really didn't learn anything.
Dinner was nice, then I headed back to my room and tried to stay awake, but I couldn't. I slept for almost twelve hours.
Today was business meetings, and one of them went extremely well. I love talking technology with bright people...actually, I just like talking to people, tech or not, bright or not, so that was cool.
I think I'm going to play some more Gal Civ and then head on off to bed. I'll try connecting to my work email. If I can't, then I have a problem, as there is an important one that I really need to read.
Goodnight everyone. I hope the weather is nice up in Michigan. I'm really not gloating Elaine, honest!
I just attended a conference on UCAVs. UCAV stands for Uninhabited Combat Aerial Vehicle. And before you ask, no, it has nothing to do with The Little Mermaid.
UCAVs used to be called Unmanned CAVs, but that wasn’t quite accurate. People, who just aren’t in the vehicle itself, man them. Hence, uninhabited. Non combat UCAVs are called UAVs, but I’m going to use the term UCAV for both of them.
So, what are they? They are small (compared to piloted aircraft), cheap (compared to piloted aircraft), expendable (compared to piloted aircraft) combat air vehicles that are controlled from ground stations. UCAVs carry a wide variety of sensor packages and munition payloads.
In one regard, an ICBM can be considered a UCAV, except that it is a one-way UCAV that is destroyed at the end. UCAVs can return to their base after completing their mission.
We’ve heard of them in the news. The Predator and X-47A Pegasus are in use right now in Iraq, doing something or other.
Anyway, the conference was very useful for me and my company, and I thought I’d relate some things I overheard that three people who read this might find interesting.
So, in no particular order…and remember, all of these blurbs, except where otherwise noted, were given by pilots. Including the jokes.
Congressman Weldon was there. He is very supportive of UCAVs. He discussed the problems with funding UCAVs, and it has to do with the military budget. He mentioned how in 1945, 45 cents out of every tax dollar was spent on defense. Today it is 15 cents. Between 1945 and 1991, military troops were deployed 10 times. During the Clinton years, troops were deployed 38 times. This is a budget drain. Uncontrolled proliferation of Soviet Union technology is also taking military funds away to deal with that problem. So funding UCAVs might be hard.
He also went on to bash the Clinton administration, which I found humorous. Not that he was wrong in general, but it was a very Republican point of view. Then again, he is a Republican. Overall, though, a good talk and I’m glad he was there.
A traveler in the early part of the 1800’s is traveling through new lands of the United States and stops at an Inn for the night. A large number of people are gathered near the fire, so he takes a seat far away. The Inn Keeper apologizes that he can’t get warmer – a legal Court is going on, so they need that space. The traveler doesn’t mind, and the Inn Keeper asks him where he’s been. “I just got back from Hell.” “Literally?” “Yes, good Inn Keeper.” “What was it like?” “It was like this Inn: all the lawyers closest to the fire.”
Key technologies that are needed for UCAVs are network systems, including novel exploitation of bandwidth, secure environments, connectivity, and efficient protocols. My company does that!!
Pilots are thinking about using UCAVs for defense, and for electronic attack. Some are even considering having a pilot, while on a mission, control a small swarm of UCAVs that are flying along side. Pretty cool!
Advanced cognitive aids are highly important. We have a contract with the Air Force to do just that work. Note that I’m not saying Artificial Intelligence. I’m talking about cognitive systems that aid a UCAV operator in information management and decision aids.
UCARs (Rotor/Helicopter UCAVs) are also being developed. They’ll have vertical take off and landing, and be able to handle very low altitude missions (5 meters to 100 meters).
There is a new fighter aircraft being developed that has a crew of two: a pilot and a dog. The pilot’s job is to feed the dog. The dog’s job is to bite the pilot if the pilot tries to touch the controls. (A pilot told this joke, honest.)
The ultimate UCAV might be a space vehicle. That is, UCAVs can do things that a man vehicle can’t do, which includes very hostile environments and month long flights. A space UCAV can do that, and no life support is needed. In one way of thinking, satellites could be considered UAVs, except that in current thinking, a UAV can take off and land to be reused later. Still, I find the space UCAV idea intriguing.
Military Data Flow:
WW I: 30 words per minutes field phone
WW II: 60 wpm radio
Vietnam 100 wpm SatCom
Gulf War 192,000 wpm networked computers
2010 1.5 trillion wpm Wideband Datalinks
Btw, 1.5 trillion wpm is equivalent of transferring the entire Library of Congress each minute.
So, the problems of the future (and now) are data overload and information camflauge.
The final talk was, by all people, an Air Force Ph.D. (he was the one who told the pilot and dog joke). His talk was the best, and he has appeared on NOVA talking about UCAVs. He actually got his Ph.D. in how UAVs are as a technology development system.
He discussed some of the history of UCAVs, which have been around since before WW II. Did you know that the Navy had a helicopter UCAV in the 1960? It actually held a nuclear device on it. I kid you not. It had a hard time not dropping it at inappropriate moments, so that program was scrapped pretty quickly. He had wonderful tidbits of cool information, and had the best talk of the conference.
One of the many interesting points he brought up was this: contrary to what I assumed all along, the Nintendo generation will not automatically be fantastic at flying UCAVs just because they know how to play computer games. In fact, it has been show time and time again, using real systems, that in order to get good performance from a UCAV, that real combat pilots need to be controlling them.
Of course, if you were an Air Force Pilot, and you were given the choice between controlling a remotely controlled UCAV, or flying an F-15, which would you choose?
Exactly.
And that, my friends, is why the UCAV program has a difficult time ahead.
I’m in beautiful D.C. today. It is sunny and warm, but due to the UCAV conference I won’t be getting outside at all.
Not that I mind. I’m having a good time, learning an awful lot that will help us out with our contracts, and I even have figured out some new white papers I need to write.
But my arrival yesterday had one part that was quite the downer for me.
The flight was fine – heck, they even bumped me to first class, so I got to get an extra mini bag of mini pretzels.
It was the drive over to my hotel that was the problem. While sitting in the airport shuttle, a talk radio program was on (it wasn’t NPR) and the caller was complaining about Iraq.
His problem?
The Jews.
Apparently, the great Jewish Conspiracy is the reason why we are fighting a war in Iraq. Israel, along with all the Hebrews in the United States, are controlling our government and military, and that is why we are in Iraq, to destroy the Moslem world.
Hmmm.
I’m Jewish. This is the first I’ve heard about this. I guess I missed that newsletter.
The host asked him what proof the caller had. The caller just said that he knows, and has people who told him it was true.
I see.
Well, maybe such hearsay is good enough for Saddam to shoot people, but that doesn’t work here in the good old U.S. of A., thank goodness.
I just don’t get it. What is this Jewish Conspiracy? Why do many otherwise smart people think it exists?
At times I wish it did exist. I wouldn’t have $45,000 in student loans to pay off – I would have gotten through school for free. My house would be free too.
If this conspiracy existed, they sure would have helped my family so that my Dad wouldn’t have had to hold down three jobs, and my Mom one, just to support our family. Those JC checks would have sure come in handy.
Blech. These are the same yahoos who say that the Holocaust never happened, nor has the United States landed on the moon.
I think what bothered me the most, though, was how scared that caller made me. That is the type of person who would kill me just because of my last name. Who makes assumptions without any facts. Who promotes fear just to advance his own agenda. I don’t want to live in a world like that.
So in another way, I’m glad I’m here, at this military conference. This Jew is going to conspire with the U.S. government to make the best damn Uninhabited Combat Air Vehicle systems for our military.
In my own little way, I can fight back.
God Bless America.
This rant has been done before by people better than me, but I just have to do it now.
In April I’ll be traveling to Tokyo for a day (two nights). We got direct flights from NWA from Detroit for a pretty decent price (around $1,500).
Now, I travel quite a bit. So much so that I’m Silver Elite, which means that, if there is room 24 hours before boarding, I get a free automatic upgrade to first class. It is a reward for people who fly a lot.
I asked our travel agent what the odds were for me getting bumped to first class. I figured they’d be small, because the people with Gold and Platinum Elite would be way ahead of me.
Apparently, it doesn’t matter. For international flights, the elite status doesn’t matter. You have to pay for first class or use your miles.
Not to worry, I also have lots of frequent flier miles stored.
And, I can use them!
Of course, not with the tickets we bought.
If you get a reasonable fare, you can’t use frequent flier miles. You have to pay more to use them (or use a lot to get a free flight).
So I could fly first class – if I spent $1,300 more dollars on my ticket. And there is no way I am going to ask my company to pay for that. That would be absurd.
So why have these frequent flier miles? There are so many restrictions on them – it ends up a way to just get discounted first class tickets, and those tickets are usually far to expensive to buy anyway.
I’m glad to be going to Tokyo. I still wish I could fly there in comfort.
I know the title encourages people to think about PBS and Mr. Rogers, but that isn’t what I’m talking about.
Ann Arbor has finally had some really nice weather. Now that my main part of the FCS proposal is complete and in the hands of those angels at Federal Express, I was able to take Sunday off and enjoy the fine day.
The kitties were especially pleased. We had many of our windows open, providing wonderful fresh air for the cats and us.
But, back to Sunday, I put together the baby stroller, and Elaine, Marcus and I took a nice stroll around the neighborhood. Well, Elaine and I strolled. Marcus pretty much fell asleep as soon as we started moving in a nice gait.
This was the first time we got to really explore the neighborhood. A lot of houses there are like ours – a two-story colonial. There were also many other types of houses, plus some condos and I think even an apartment area. The neighborhood is made up of many courts and cul-de-sacs, but there were enough curvy loopy streets that we had no trouble walking for 45 minutes without hitting a major street for more than a block or so.
What surprised us the most was that we seemed to be the only people out for a stroll. This is the first time in months that Ann Arbor had nice weather, and it was a Sunday, so we expected to see more. I think we saw two joggers, and one nice lady walking three dogs (reminding me of the poor old woman in the movie, A Fish Called Wanda), but that was all.
Not that it mattered. It was nice to stroll with my wife and son, getting fresh air, and watching all the snow melt. We’ll be doing this a lot this spring and summer.
In fact, I think I’ll for a walk right now. It is again in the mid 60’s…don’t want to waste it!
I’m in a lull right now, the eye of the hurricane. We (i.e. Cybernet) are writing a HUGE proposal for a big government program. The instructions alone are over 3,000 pages long. Yes, three thousand.
My job was to write the management volume. I did that this weekend, working around 20 hours both in the office and at home. Most of it was very new to me, but I did learn a ton by writing it. I hope we win these contracts so we can implement some of the management policies and contract procedures.
I’ll know in a few months.
Anyway, during this lull while Natalie is ripping her hair out while proofreading my document, I wanted to discuss two movies I saw on television.
The first was shown on the Women’s Entertainment channel. Now, when I’m on the computer I don’t leave WE on in the background. I usually have on some comedy show. For example, late at night I watch Nick at Night and catch up on all the Cheer’s episodes I haven’t seen more than five times.
But, while checking out the schedule online, I noticed that WE had a movie on there that, well, didn’t seem to make any sense for that channel.
Let’s see if you can guess the movie. First, it is on WE, as a part of their Cinematherapy where, according to the station blips between commercials, they tie in women’s relationship discussions with the movie. So, I’d be expecting a chick flick, right?
Second, let’s consider the cast. Mel Gibson. Anthony Hopkins. Laurence Olivier. Daniel Day-Lewis. Liam Neeson. That cast alone drew me to the movie!
It was made in 1984. Can you guess the movie?
You aren’t going to believe me.
It is The Bounty. Yes, a movie about Captain Bligh and the mutiny.
On Women’s Entertainment.
I swear to you that between the movie and commercials a very attractive woman was trying to convince me that the same relationship problems Bligh had with his crew were the same as those between men and women when she takes him shopping for a new sweater.
It didn’t make any sense, but I didn’t really care. I had never seen the movie before, and enjoyed it very much.
I’ll say one thing for WE – they do have a wide variety of movies showing. They don’t repeat the same movie like TBS does with the Patriot, showing it twice a day every other day, or TNT with all the Lethal Weapon movies. Hmmm…lots of Mel Gibson flicks there.
Also, WE, as far as women’s entertainment goes, is much better than the Lifetime Network. They say it is television for women, and I do like that they show reruns of Mad About You, but honestly, every movie on there is either about a Deadbeat Dad or Women Getting Raped. That being said, I don’t understand the statistic I read on CNN a while ago which stated that more men watch Lifetime than ESPN2. On the other hand, I validate that statistic, so I can’t really talk.
Still, I don’t understand why they showed The Bounty on WE. Diehard is more of a chick flick than The Bounty was – at least John McCain talked about how badly he treated his wife. Hmm, maybe they should show that movie on Lifetime…
The other movie I was excited about was show yesterday, Sunday night, on CBS. Yes, I’m talking about the new Batman Movie, called Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt. I have to say, that even counting the original Adam West and Burt Ward Batman movie from the sixties, this is the best live action Batman movie I’ve ever seen. Keaton, Kilmer, and Clooney move over…there is only one Batman, and that is Adam West.
(Oh, as an aside, the best Batman movie, period, was the animated one called Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.)
Back to the CBS movie. It was made for television, and followed the two aging actors, Adam West and Burt Ward, as they try to track down the Batmobile that was stole from a car museum. “No, let’s not call the police. This is a job for … actors!” What fun! The movie showed clips from the old show, and other actors playing them during the filming of the series, going into some of the back-story. The whole thing was just good, campy fun. Frank Gorshin is still fun as The Riddler, and Julie Newmar (Catwoman) is still sexy. I’m sure I missed a ton of in jokes, but that didn’t detract from the fun.
Some of my friends were too snobbish to watch it. Phooey on you, I say. At least my Bat-buddy Natalie watched it.
Well, I think that covers what I wanted to write for this blog. See you the next time I update, same bat-time, same bat channel.
I admit it. I love watching television. Even when I’m on the computer, I like having it on in the background. I figured out that I like having something on to cover up the tinnitus, but rather than music, I’d rather have M*A*S*H, Seinfeld, or some old Eastwood movies on.
A friend recently asked me what I watch every week, so here there are, starting with my most favorite and working my way down.
#1: Smallville
This is the story of Superman before the flying and the costume. I didn’t expect much from this show, and I admit I didn’t watch the first season until it went into reruns. On the surface it looked like season plots dealt with the “freak of the week.” That is, someone would be affected by kryptonite and get some sort of super power, and Clark had to stop them.
But the show is much more than that, and I realized that I was looking forward to and enjoying each episode. The first season was setting the stage for the rest of the series. The established that Clark, while having super powers, doesn’t have them all, and is more concerned with fitting in, just like any other high school student. How to deal with friends, school, and the like. The stories were enjoyable, and showed some character growth.
Now we are into the second season, and the whole show has really exploded. Clark is finding out who he is. One of his friends knows his secret, and that dynamic has changed the characters. This show’s Lex Luthor is one of the best antagonists I’ve ever seen. He wants to do good, to do right and be a better person than his father, but he doesn’t care how he achieves his goals. His road to hell literally is paved with good intentions. For all the right reasons he is doing the wrong reasons.
Last weeks episode was one of the best I’ve ever seen. They had Christopher Reeve (the actor who played Superman in the movies) guest staring as a scientist who could help Clark learn about his past. It wasn’t just them having Reeve pass the Superman torch that made it great. It wasn’t just that, during the part where Reeve was translating the messages from Krypton that they had the original musical score from the Superman movie playing softly and subtly in the background, sending shivers down my spine.
It was when Clark guessed that one of the reasons why he was sent there, with all those powers, was that he might have been sent to take over the Earth, and he was horrified at that. His father tried to comfort him, saying he was raised to be good, and no matter why he was sent to Earth, he, Clark, would not and could not do that. And yet while he hugged his adopted son, the look in his eyes said it all, “What if my son was sent here to enslave us?”
This show cares about its characters, the story, and its history. While watching the first season I wondered why no one was noticing all the kryptonite lying around. Then, in the second season, we see that Lex’s father has dozens and dozens of kryptonite bars in his safe, with a secret file on Clark.
There is a lot going on in this show, it is the best science fiction show on television, and I’m glad to be there for the ride.
#2: The Daily Show
Jon Stewart is amazing. This is the only news program I watch (I read CNN online), and I love his satire and, with his real news guests, he probes and asks questions other real reporters won’t ask. He speaks his mind and shows the stupidity of many situations. I even watch this show during presidential elections.
And on most Wednesdays, Lewis Black does guest commentaries. Who could ask for anything more?
#3: The West Wing
In my fantasy world, all of our government officials are as smart and competent as the President and Staff on the West Wing. This show makes me think. I can’t be on the computer and know what is going on. I have to give this show and its dialog my full attention, and I love that. I would be thrilled to be able to talk like the characters on this show.
#4: 24
Yes, last season’s ending let me down. It bothers me when characters act stupid and, well, out of character. But this season has kept up the thrill and excitement of last season. The politics, maneuvering, drama, and action are all there, and the writing is tighter. I applaud them for keeping the 24 concept: each hour of the show is one hour of real time, and the twenty four episodes cover one day in the characters lives. This show has constant twists and turns, and I always feel like that hour was a time well spent, and I’m always looking forward to the next episode.
#5: Angel
I’m surprised that I put this Buffy spin off above Buffy itself, but there you go. As with Buffy, this show takes risks with its characters. The thing is, I like these characters more. I care about all of them, I enjoy watching them grow, and the whole arc to me is fascinating.
The only problem I have with Angel, and also with Buffy, is that there is too much supernatural. There are vampires and demons everywhere. When Buffy first started, vampires were in the background, the shadows. I could accept that perhaps there were vampires, and people just didn’t notice them until too late.
But now, in if you lived in Angel’s LA, I’d be surprised if anyone I met there was human.
Hmmm, maybe the show is more realistic than I though.
#6: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
While the show isn’t as good as it was in early years, I still enjoy it. Each year is a story arc: a big bad is there that Buffy and the Scooby Gang (or Slayerettes) have to defeat. The early years had good episodes and wonderful story arcs (the third season with the Mayor is my favorite). These later years have okay story arcs, but some of the individual episodes are amazing (Hush, or Once More With Feeling).
Then again, I might just like Buffy because I get together with friends every week to watch it, one week at my house, and the other week at a friend’s (where they make really good food and snacks – when Marcus is older we’ll probably start going there again more regularly). When Buffy isn’t on, we watch old movies or play Cattan. Not a bad way to spend an evening.
#7: Friends
Yes, I like Friends. No, take that back. I love Friends. It is my guilty vice. I can hold my head up high with most of the above shows and say it is good drama, or science fiction, or fun fantasy, but Friends? That is just fluff, formula television with no redeeming value.
The show makes me laugh. I like the characters and how they interact. When the writing is good it is incredibly good. Sometimes it is bad – usually they make the characters behave in a dumb manner to get them in a stupid situation for a cheap laugh. I hate that. But normally, it is a good half hour of fun, and they are around my age, and it reminds me of the time I lived with five friends in New York City and a pet monkey.
#8: Boston Public
This high school is scary, as everything that can go wrong does, in this one school, every week. The writing is tight and consistent, and I enjoy how they deal with todays issues. Now that I have a son, thinking about his high school drives these plots home to me more and more.
Or maybe I just like watching shows about high school students (this one, Smallville, Buffy…).
#9: Law and Order
This is the only show on my list that doesn’t have any character arc or story arc at all. Each episode is self contained, about a major crime in New York. The first half follows the police around trying to solve the crime, and the second half is about the prosecutors and the trial.
No continuity (or at least, very rarely), no character development. Just great writing, great stories, and good entertainment.
#10: Enterprise
Yes, I watch this latest incarnation of the Star Trek universe. A couple of times this year, when the show was preempted by sports (stupid UPN), I noticed I forgot to watch it on Saturday or Sunday, and then surprised myself when I realized that I just didn’t care.
Yet like a bad book by a good author you just don’t want to give up on, I can’t stop watching Enterprise and hoping it will be better.
I doubt it ever will though.
Most episodes are just okay, and quite frankly I expect far more from Star Trek. They have decent action, but at the end of each episode, I say to myself, “So what?” I’ve been wasting my time, and the show isn’t even trying to be anything more.
I’m not asking Enterprise to be Ben Hur (or even Babylon 5), but I’d like the show to be about something. Do the characters learn about themselves or grow slightly? Do we find out more about the beginnings of humans exploring the galaxy? Do we see something that makes us think about our lives and goals, or question our beliefs?
No, no, and no. We get Vulcans who aren’t Vulcans, the same plots I’ve seen in four other Star Trek series, and people behaving in a stupid fashion with technobable and contrived circumstances masquerading as a storyline.
I should give up on it, but I don’t. I keep hoping it gets better, but it doesn’t. I didn’t give up on Voyager either, and that last episode really ticked me off.
Ah well, the other nine series are tons of fun.
What shows do you like?