September 2005 Archives

That there Genista bloke takes some bloody great photos.

[Moozik: New Order - Ultraviolence]

Staff meetings are randomly held 'off site' at particularly agreeable restaurants in downtown Phoenix. Today we spent an hour in Houston's at 24th Street and Camelback. Their Hickory Burger is, quite frankly, the best burger I've ever had. Anywhere.

[Moozik: Dark Illumination - I Know Now]

I can go months and months without the slightest hint of a runny nose, sore throat or any ailment for that matter. All in all I'm usually pretty healthy. Well, just to prove me wrong, this weekend my immune system decided it needed a rest or perhaps it couldn't be bothered to fight off any yucky crap. Who knows?

So yesterday I felt like a big pile of poo and slept for bloody ages. Today I feel a little better but I didn't go into work. Instead I'm sitting here on the couch attempting to get some coding done but my heart is totally not into it.

[Moozik: Funker Vogt - Fallen Man]

So yeah, last night's season finale[0] of Battlestar Galactica. Just got around to watching it. Oh my god. I knew the cliffhanger was coming but I still shouted 'noooooo' when the 'to be continued' came on the screen :-) There should be a law against cliffhangers like that :-)

I'm still digesting what I just watched. It was quite a moving episode and was easily the best episode of the season. Best bloody programme on TV bar none. In fact, BSG is the TV show by which all others will be judged in my opinion.

[0] Well, it's really a mini season finale. The season has a total of 20 episodes and we just watched the first 10. The next 10 will be shown in January.

[Moozik: Siouxsie & The Banshees - Slowdive]

The last seven tracks iTunes played at random:

Gorillaz - Kids With Guns
Coldplay - Talk
Emergence - Eschaton Entropy
Killing Joke - Love Like Blood
Blur - For Tomorrow
Manic Street Preachers - Natwest-Barclays-Midlands-Lloyds
Siouxsie & The Banshees - Slowdive

So now you know.

[Moozik: VNV Nation - Fragments (Splinter)

NBC news anchor Brian Williams points out another blatent Bush photo op in New Orleans last night.

I am duty-bound to report the talk of the New Orleans warehouse district last night: there was rejoicing (well, there would have been without the curfew, but the few people I saw on the streets were excited) when the power came back on for blocks on end. Kevin Tibbles was positively jubilant on the live update edition of Nightly News that we fed to the West Coast. The mini-mart, long ago cleaned out by looters, was nonetheless bathed in light, including the empty, roped-off gas pumps. The motorcade route through the district was partially lit no more than 30 minutes before POTUS drove through. And yet last night, no more than an hour after the President departed, the lights went out. The entire area was plunged into total darkness again, to audible groans. It's enough to make some of the folks here who witnessed it... jump to certain conclusions.

Friday morning (power) line

[Moozik: Curve - Left Of Mother]

Space Invader crop circle. Genius.

[Moozik: Skinny Puppy - Harsh Stone White]

Quick, Perl programmers everywhere, upload a Bundle::$UserId module to the CPAN. That won't get annoying at all. I'm thinking the less of these on the CPAN the better.

But that's just me.

Update: In all fairness to Ovid, he's not the first Perl hacker to upload a Bundle::$UserId module. But let's hope he's the last.

[Moozik: Seize - Too Good Too Be True]

I wonder if this worker still has a job?

A power outage in a large portion of Los Angeles, California occurred at approximately 13:00 PST (20:00 UTC). Reports from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power indicate that this was not an act of terrorism, but a worker that accidentally cut a line. This incident caused a chain reaction that took out power to a large part of the city.

According to local television stations, power is being returned to some of the city, including the UCLA Medical Center. Police are on "full tactical alert", meaning that they will only respond to serious calls and all officers must remain on duty. Most officers are directing traffic.

Los Angeles International Airport briefly was affected but generators engaged shortly thereafter. No flights were delayed or cancelled.

Los Angeles Undergoing Large Power Outage

And in somewhat related news, we had a 2 hour power cut at home ourselves this afternoon.

I was working from home and was hoping my laptop battery would last. Thankfully it did. Got a little warm with no AC or fans.

[Moozik: Coldplay - The Scientist]

Got to give credit to CNN for not caving to the government censorship policy.

HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) -- Rather than fight a lawsuit by CNN, the federal government abandoned its effort Saturday to prevent the media from reporting on the recovery of the dead in New Orleans.

Joint Task Force Katrina "has no plans to bar, impede or prevent news media from their news gathering and reporting activities in connection with the deceased Hurricane Katrina victim recovery efforts," said Col. Christian E. deGraff, representing the task force.

U.S. District Court Judge Keith Ellison issued a temporary restraining order Friday against a "zero access" policy announced earlier in the day by Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, who is overseeing the federal relief effort in the city, and Terry Ebbert, the city's homeland security director.

U.S. won't ban media from New Orleans searches

[Moozik: Die Krupps - Wahre Arbeit, Wahrer Lohn]

Yes, he certainly is.

[Moozik: Depeche Mode - Get The Balance Right (Combination Mix)]

So yeah, I've mentioned that Resident Evil 4 is prolly the best game I've ever played. I've since re-played it. Loved it just as much the second time around. Got to be a candidate for game of the year surely.

Anyhoo, the PS2 port of the game is almost here. Woooooooah, wassat? It's different? New stuff you say? Hmmm, should I buy the PS2 version as well?

When you look at the box art for the PlayStation 2 version of Resident Evil 4, you see a few things: Leon Kennedy facing you with a gun in your face, a pack of enemies charging after him in the background, and a nice shiny color gradient of black and blue that mimics the PS2 marketing colors. But there's a notable absence of Ada Wong, one of the side characters who popped in and out in the GameCube version, and is in many ways the star of the PS2 game.

Well, maybe "star" is taking things too far, as Leon is still the main character throughout the campaign, but when you look at the bonus features that will be available on the PS2, Ada stands out in front. From the Assignment Ada quest (returning from the GC version) to the all new Separate Ways adventure -- both of which put the player in control of Ada -- plus the unlockable "Ada's Report" file that fills in story holes with bonus movie footage, this game is all about Ada.

PS2 Resident Evil 4

[Moozik: Curve - Already Yours]

I've previously mentioned how handy it is to have an arena within walking distance of your house. Hmm what's this I see?

Depeche Mode will launch their first North American tour in more than four years on November 2nd in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The five-week jaunt will support the veteran electronic trio's fourteenth album, Playing the Angel, due October 18th.

Depeche Mode North American tour dates:

11/2: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Office Depot Center
11/3: St. Petersburg, FL, St. Pete Times Forum
11/5: Atlanta Gwinnett Center
11/7: Houston, Toyota Center
11/8: Dallas, American Airlines Arena
11/9: San Antonio, SBC Center
11/11: Denver, Magness Arena
11/12: Salt Lake City, E Center
11/15: Vancouver, GM Place
11/16: Seattle, Key Arena
11/18: San Jose, CA, HP Pavilion
11/19: San Diego, ipayone Center
11/21: Los Angeles, Staples Center
11/25: Phoenix, Glendale Arena
11/26: Las Vegas, The Joint
11/29: Chicago, Allstate Arena
11/30: Detroit, The Palace of Auburn Hills
12/1: Toronto, Air Canada Centre
12/3: Atlantic City, NJ, Borgata
12/4: Montreal, Bell Centre
12/7: New York, Madison Square Garden
12/8: Fairfax, VA, Patriot Center

Veteran synth-rockers return in November

Woohoo. Nice birthday present indeed :-) The tickets are not on sale yet (bummer) but as soon as they are, I'm handing over the cash.

[Moozik: The Cure - Shiver and Shake]

Sometimes I read the things that come out of Dubya's mouth and I'm completely flabbergasted.

At a news conference, Pelosi, D-Calif., said Bush's choice for head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency had "absolutely no credentials." She related that she had urged Bush at the White House on Tuesday to fire Michael Brown.

"He said 'Why would I do that?'" Pelosi said.

"'I said because of all that went wrong, of all that didn't go right last week.' And he said 'What didn't go right?'"

U.S. Offers Katrina Survivors $2,000 Each

Yeah see, this from the man in charge of investigating his own incompetence.

[Moozik: The Sisters of Mercy - Marian]

I see that Dubya is going to lead the investigation into his own incompetence. Nice. Let the passing of the buck begin :-)

Buffeted by criticism over the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, President Bush said Tuesday he will oversee an investigation into what went wrong and why — in part to be sure the country could withstand more storms or attack.

Bush also announced he is sending Vice President Dick Cheney to the Gulf Coast region on Thursday to help determine whether the government is doing all that it can.

"Bureaucracy is not going to stand in the way of getting the job done for the people," the president said after a meeting at the White House with his Cabinet on storm recovery efforts.

"What I intend to do is lead an investigation to find out what went right and what went wrong," Bush said. "We still live in an unsettled world. We want to make sure we can respond properly if there is a WMD (weapons of mass destruction) attack or another major storm."

Bush Says He'll Find Out What Went Wrong

Sigh. If his administration had spent as much time and energy in the relief effort last week as they're now pouring into covering their own arses, think of how many lives could have been saved.

[Moozik: The Stone Roses - I Wanna Be Adored]

From jwz's horror show update, a telling statement from Senator Mary Landrieu.

But perhaps the greatest disappointment stands at the breached 17th Street levee. Touring this critical site yesterday with the President, I saw what I believed to be a real and significant effort to get a handle on a major cause of this catastrophe. Flying over this critical spot again this morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a Presidential photo opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely piece of equipment.

KATRINA: LANDRIEU ASKS FOR MORE HELP

Sigh.

The Australian press weighs in on the total and utter clusterfuck in New Orleans.

American bewilderment has turned to fury as the richest nation on earth fails to rescue its own people from the ravages of Hurricane Katrina, which has left scenes of anarchy and Third World desperation.

Much of the anger is directed at President George Bush as the nation tries to comprehend television images of floating corpses, of lawless mobs, and of Americans pleading for food, water and medical help.

As authorities only guess at a death toll - it could be in the thousands - there are reports of women and a young boy and girl being raped in the New Orleans Superdome, while other refugees there are terrorised by rioters.

"This is a national disgrace," says Terry Ebbert, the head of emergency operations in New Orleans. "[The Federal Emergency Management Agency] has been here three days, yet there is no command and control. We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims but we can't bail out the city of New Orleans."

Storm of anger as US fails its own

It's almost gotten to the point where I can't watch the news anymore. I get so bloody angry. Why has it taken so fucking long to get help to these people? The hurricane hit on Monday for fuck's sake.

I've donated to the Red Cross but I'm at a loss of what else to do. I'm saddened, shocked, disappointed, and angry - all at the same time.

[Moozik: Depeche Mode - Sister of Night]

A tale of two photos: Mississippi Goddamn.

Update: The Cunning Realist sums it up nicely

At this point, a few things are clear. First, this president has either completely lost his "politician's six sense" about what do to when the spotlight is on, or he's getting some utterly gawd-awful advice from his handlers. Maybe it's both. Second, this is the latest chapter of strange behavior---bordering on the bizarre---when this president is under pressure (remember the antics during the first debate with Kerry, and the inexplicable silence for days after the tsunami in Asia?). One can't look at that photo and feel anything but deep concern that this is the man currently steering the ship during a war. It's extremely worrying, folks.

Perhaps the answer to all this lies in the following question: Do George Bush's actions demonstrate that he even wants to be president at this point? Wouldn't the nation be better served---particularly during a war and one of the nation's worst natural catastrophes---if he simply stayed on the ranch he so clearly loves, and let someone else formally take over the job he so manifestly dislikes?

And The President Played On....