USA TODAY… Ugh.

I suppose I’ve always had an inkling that the USA Today was something of a pseudo-news outlet, but even this OP/ED piece goes over the top.

In this country, unlike Iraq under Saddam Hussein, the government doesn’t have the right to imprison people indefinitely without having to justify its actions.
(Emphasis mine)

WTF? Unlike Iraq? This country? I had no idea! Has USA Today become yet another cheerleader for the administration, force feeding us sweet patriotic nothings, reassuring us that, yes, we are better than those Allah-loving Iraqis, and that the Iraq War is the best thing since sliced bread? And that, God damnit, it’s our mission in life to make them upstanding and proper? I’d say, saddeningly, yes.

And, if you read further, you’ll note that other than the fact that some of the detainees happen to be Iraqis, this article has absolutely nothing to do with Iraq or Saddam Hussein. Nothing like some masturbatory opinion pieces to keep the populus reigned in.

Nifty free Windows image software

I stumbled upon Exifer, free software that does lossless JPEG image rotation. It also preserves EXIF data, which is cool for camera geeks, and for the Gallery, which displays that data.

Surprisingly many image manipulation apps do not perform lossless JPEG rotations. I believe both iPhoto and the built-in Windows image preview/rotator things both lose quality when rotating. A list of well-behaved apps (for multiple platforms) is here. Also, the site that led me to Exifer: this one.

Chocolat

So I finished watching Chocolat this evening. I had put off watching the movie for quite a while since I was convinced it was just some chick flick of little value. Thankfully, I was mostly wrong. I suppose it still fits the category, but I felt fully comfortable watching it by myself :)

A few thoughts:

• I really wish it was in French. Or in American English. Or English English. Just be consistent! None of this quasi-attempt at English with a hint of a French accent by only some of the characters. It can be distracting to watch a movie with subtitles, but it would have been more authentic if it had actually been in French. Certain logisticial difficulties with that, I suppose, what with a Swedish director and presumed American writer.
• Everything falls in place beautifully at the end, as expected. It would have at least been interesting if the Comte did something more with the dagger.

Mmmm, chocolate. I enjoyed it. And now I want to raid a homemade candy shop.

Firefox 0.9 goodness

I use Mozilla Firefox as my daily browser. And, while it’s has been all over tech news, perhaps you haven’t even heard of this fantastic web browser and its recent 0.9 release. So, give it a try. You’ll like it, and it’s a < 5MB download. I’ve already converted one of my friends so far this summer… will you be next to say goodbye to Internet Explorer for good?

On the Waterfront

So I just watched On the Waterfront, which won best picture in 1954. It’s cheesy in a 50’s kind of way, but the then-young-and-strapping Marlon Brando is amazing, especially in the final scenes. One of my favorite parts of this movie is the priest (Karl Malden) that totally kicks corrupt union boss ass. Though, I’m not really sure how believable a Roman Catholic priest that hangs around the NYC docks with rough longshoremen is…

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

This evening I finished a most excellent and completely readable novel: Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. Weighing in at a hefty 630+ pages, it wasn’t a quick read. It was a page turner, though, in a way completely different than was The Da Vinci Code. In the Code and in other thrillers you’re flipping pages because of the suspense of who’s going to show up next, or who will next lose their life to a villain. Chabon’s writing compels you to keep reading, to keep turning the pages because it’s written so beautifully. His prose manages to be jam-packed with description, metaphore, and symbolism, but it never feels weighed down or wordy.

Chabon amazingly is able to string together comic books, a golem, New York City, World War II, Antarctica, magicians, and more without any suspicion on the part of the reader.

The details of the story are deeply intricate and convoluted, but the basic themes—among them that most vaunted of emotions, love—are clear and readily available. Put this book on your to-read list this summer. It won a Pulitzer for a reason.

My New Job

It’s official. As of July 26 I will be an employee of the United States Geological Survey, based in Reston, Virginia.

The official title of my position is Environmental Science Computer Intern, or something similarly insulting. It’s an internship mostly in name, as I will work alongside other USGS employees, have a boss, etc. It also has, in stark contrast to normal jobs, a definite ending date, which I suppose makes a major contribution towards the position being termed an internship. That ending date will be on or around July 26, 2005, with the opportunity, should both parties be in mutual agreeance, to extend the position for another year.

Oh—the other things about my job’s internship status: it doesn’t have as many of the much-touted benefits of being an employee of the federal gub’ment. There’s healthcare and such, but, suffice it to say, there are no union bosses out breaking kneecaps on my behalf.

Suffice to say I’m totally psyched and freaking out about the prospect—no, the near certainty—of having a job this late summer. And fall. And spring and summer. I’ll be working on USGS programs in the Everglades: analyzing the data, creating models, and other fun stuff. Apparently they’re getting in some acoustical doppler equipment in that I’ll be able to play with as well. My immediate boss is head of the TIME project, so much of my work will be involved with that.

Plus, there are periodic “field trips” to south Florida and the Everglades in the job description. Score

American Bridge Company

A bridge in Lake Placid, NY.

If you stand on the bridge railing you can get a nice view of the ski jumps from the 1980 Olympics. This photo was taken in early May, 2004.