It's almost 24 hours past the equinox and the traditional new topic hadn't been created yet. Everybody must be busy. Hope it's "fun" busy.

quote:

---

Originally posted by pegasus_x:
It's almost 24 hours past the equinox and the traditional new topic hadn't been created yet. Everybody must be busy. Hope it's "fun" busy.

---

Not too busy. How are you? It's a beautiful day here in the Valley of San Fernando. :-)

I know it is Spring, but is also 30 degrees outside.

Thanks Pegasus!
We had a nice, if not very warm, first day of spring with forsythias beginning to bloom and I spotted one magnolia tree with flowers already. But the temperature is stil a bit on the nippy side and my heat is going on from time to time. But around here, it could suddenly turn to air conditioning weather, so I'm not complaining!
Busy time- my husband's family is in a very stressful period right now with his mom and medical stuff-all complicated by Alzheimer's. (he's driving their car up from Florida as I type) His future employment situation is still uncertain so we've been trying to not get sucked into the blues too often. On the day that he found out he was wrong about one particular investment that we thought we could use for college without incurring a penalty, my daughter got accepted into Bennington-one of her "expensive" schools! We'll see if they offer her any money. That letter is supposed to come next week. I am busy updating my resume and trying to prepare myself for the hoops I am going to have to jump through. I am so used to being my own boss, the transition should be interesting to say the least. (shocking will be more like it!) It's been a long, long time. I guess I will be needing an interview outfit!

ITTOT- what did you think of the Stargate season finale? I thought it was very exciting!

quote:

---

Originally posted by cassandra:
ITTOT- what did you think of the Stargate season finale? I thought it was very exciting!

---

I liked it -- had a good time watching it with a bunch of other Gaters. Why couldn't they have written more shows with the team interacting like this, this past season? Color me baffled!

The weather was (I'm sorry to say for your Northerners) fabulous this weekend. I had an out-of-town visitor over the weekend and it was great to have easy-going company. Yesterday we went to the beach and it was glorious. It's pre-stifling-humidity weather right now; the sun was shining and there was a nice, steady breeze coming off the gulf. I got a little tan (after my coworker called me "Casper" on Friday).

When do we spring forward on the time? Yuckers.

I just heard that the temperature is supposed to dip to 49 tomorrow. Urgh!

"49" sounds like warm-up to me, WALKER.

Woke up to 20 degrees today, but it is supposed to be 60 by Thursday. I'm just glad it's not raining or snowing!
Is anyone else a CSI fan here? My husband got me into watching that show and now it's one that I don't like to miss. I know we have no trouble finding things to talk about here (besides the weather!) but it might be nice if we could find one show that everyone watches. Maybe we could all list our regular shows and see if there is one we have in common. I'll go first.
Everybody Loves Raymond
Scrubs
Angel
Friends
Will and Grace
CSI (not the Miami one though)
Stargate
Monk
Dead Zone (if it ever comes back on)
Oliver Beene
Simpsons
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

And as far as syndicated shows go- Buffy, Simpsons, Friends, Seinfeld, and oh, yes, the occasional XFiles!

I have now watched 9 episodes of Stargate Season 6!

Other shows I watch (depending on availability):

Smallville
24
Frasier
The West Wing
ER
What Not to Wear
Sex and the City (it ends here this week)
Stargate (when it's available)
The Shield (when it's available - usually about 6 months after the season ends)
Nip/Tuck (starts about 2 months later)
Alias

1. This Old House
2. Monk
3. Trading Spaces
4. What Not To Wear
5. Nova
6. Antiques Roadshow
7. Extreme Makeover (the people one)
8. Peacemaker
9. Any TLC/PBS/Discovery/History show talking about the Universe, time, Einstein's theories, quantum mechanics - you know, all that weird stuff.
10. Barefoot Contessa (cooking show on HGTV)

Shows I don't miss:
Monarch of the Glen
Angel
PBS period "reality" programs (1900 House, Frontier House, Manor House and the soon to air Colonial House)
NewsHour withJim Lehrer

Shows I try to catch:
Everwood
One Tree Hill
Daily Show w/Jon Stewart
Martha Stewart Living
Barefoot Contessa
Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
Jaques Pepin and Julia Child

Reruns I love:
Friends
Seinfeld
That 70s Show
Buffy
Angel

[This message has been edited by Walker (edited 03-23-2004).]

I've never heard of Monarch of the Glen -- what is that?

I dunno how much more Martha Stewart Living you're going to get..... Hmmmmmm.

Should she go to the slammer? Oh, probably for a little while, I think.

For those of us answering to date, we haven't listed one common show that I can see.

[This message has been edited by govtlawyer (edited 03-23-2004).]

Monarch of the Glen is a lovely little BBC program about a son who returns to the family estate the Scottish Highlands to save the estate from ruin. It's a really nice show (and Archie is very easy on the eyes). It's usually on Tuesday nights (PBS) but it wasn't on last week. :-(

I've decided to be in denial about Martha's fate.

p.s. http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/tv/monarch/

[This message has been edited by Walker (edited 03-23-2004).]

Govt, looks like both you and I watch "What not to Wear". I do wonder where the people actually *find* the clothes they wear. I doubt I'd have any trouble spending the $5000 on a new wardrobe.

Do you mean the old clothes or the new clothes, when you ask where they find their clothes? I think you mean the old clothes. I hear ya. Where are some of those clothes sold or manufactured? Skirts like tents - T-shirts with big faces on them, etc. etc. YIKES!

Me too. I could EASILY go spend the $5000. I enjoy clothes and putting outfits together and I'm amazed at some of the really dreadful wardrobes some of the people have. The one that gave me the most laughs was the guy whose wardrobe consisted of about 7-10 black t-shirts, a really ugly old ski sweater, and some black pants - that was it! And, he owned a company of some kind!

[This message has been edited by govtlawyer (edited 03-23-2004).]

quote:

---

Originally posted by cassandra:
Is anyone else a CSI fan here?

---

Yep. A fan of forensics oriented TV shows since way back before "Quincy".

quote:

---

... it might be nice if we could find one show that everyone watches.

---

The West Wing
The Shield (my husband only)
CSI (Las Vegas one)
CSI: Miami
Nova
also govt's TLC/PBS/Discovery/History show talking about the Universe, time, Einstein's theories, quantum mechanics - you know, all that weird stuff.

Yeah, loved that one about string theory, "The Elegant Universe". However, my husband is easily disgusted by nature shows that depict predators killing their prey so I don't get to watch such very often.

PBS period "reality" programs (1900 House, Frontier House, Manor House and the soon to air Colonial House)

Everwood (husband only again but I have watched a few lately; tends to have too much teen angst for me.)

NYPD Blue
Crossing Jordan (Watch only because of the forensics. The stories are not that well written.)
Enterprise (getting tired of the cliches and the catering to the lowest denominator - but just love Porthos!)

Still looks like no show in common.

I really enjoyed "The Elegant Universe" too. Mr. govt gave me the book for Christmas. I've worked my way through a little over half of it...but cannot report that I have understood everything. Brian Greene, the author, tried very hard to keep the math at a minimum (and puts the math back in the endnotes for those so inclined - I looked at a few of those endnotes and decided I would be better off trying to read Greek). But, his explanation of "time" as a dimension was an eye opener. I've long heard about time being a dimension, but never could grasp that concept. Well, his explanation near the front of the book was like a light bulb going on - an "Ah Ha!" moment.

Anyway, this book/Nova show is all about "string theory" - trying to explain the Universe in that unified theory. As I understand him, he is saying these vibrating strings, which theoretically make up THE smallest thing in the Universe, have no mass - and I'm thinking, how can that possibly be?

[This message has been edited by govtlawyer (edited 03-24-2004).]

Very interesting lists...too bad we don't have a common denominator though! Govt- maybe we could talk everyone into watching Monk.
I'm not a big fan of shows that have to do with clothing or make-overs; I would probably qualify as someone that they would want to make-over! I've watched a few episodes of Queeer Eye with my daughter. I have some issues with the whole idea of changing people- I know, as my daughter says, I should lighten up, but I guess I still have memories of my first husband (who was gay, BTW) trying to change me and I have a problem with people thinking that their way is better. When people see my clutter and dorm-style house, I figure they usually go back to their own homes with a new appreciation for their own style. I would find a world of well-dressed people with nice furnishings to be very boring! As long as personal hygiene is followed, I don't care about much else.
I am also not a fan of reality TV, but I find the upcoming Colonial Life on PBS a bit tempting. Educational reality TV!
Reading about The Elegant Universe made me wonder if anyone else has read The daVinci Code? A parent of one of my students loaned it to me and I am now intrigued by the number PHI. It is interesting that having been a math phobe in my youth, I now find it a compelling and intriguing subject that I wish I understood better.

[This message has been edited by cassandra (edited 03-24-2004).]

Cassandra, we have the Buffy/Angel series in common but Buffy is off and Angel will soon join her. :-(

Have you seen any of the other PBS period shows? I first caught 1900 House almost 4 years ago and really liked it. The poor wife was livid that her burden was so great, while her husband just went off to work everyday and left her and her children to labor in the house. Her hands suffered from the lye in the clothes detergent; her husband gave her live chickens for her birthday; and her daughter had to stay home from school every Monday to assist with laundry. Also, she was a vegetarian and her diet did not give her adequate nutrition, given the heavy labor she had to do. It was very enlightening.

Frontier House showed modern-day Americans in a less than favorable light. One family felt very competitive (like those reality shows), the other family kept cheating, but the newlyweds were a lovely couple. In the end two of the families would have fared very poorly through the winter as they had not enough food for the animals or themselves and not enough firewood to keep themselves warm.

Manor House was great! I loved the insight into manners and social positions of that time.

I'm really looking forward to Colonial House.


[This message has been edited by Walker (edited 03-24-2004).]

WALKER: It seems like the vegetarian participant might have considered re-thinking her late 20th century notions in order to survive - after all, that was one of the points of the show. I must admit, I have no sympathy for her "predicament." I'm not up on the history of vegetarians, i.e. whether people were doing that back in 1900.

CASSANDRA, I've been trying to figure out why the re-decorating/makeover shows fascinate me. I think it is the process more than I think anyone needs to do those things. Also, I'm a bit of a neatnik (though definitely NOT compulsive) and I like my house, my office, my clothes, etc. to be "pulled together." So, watching someone/something get "pulled together" must satisfy my own tendencies to be that way. How's that for psychoanalysis?

Regarding "Monk" - Mr. govt and I had not watched that show until USA had a "marathon" - I think it was around New Year's. We flipped it on, got engrossed, and then watched all the new episodes. It is a great show...really good writing and a lot of truly funny lines...plus good acting especially from the police captain and the other police officer Sherona (sp?) is always sparring with. Speaking of Sherona - I'm not sure why she dresses like a prostitute.

GOVTLAWYER: According to the show's historians, vegetarians were rare in that time. A woman simply could not sustain herself on a vegetarian diet given the heavy work load she had to bear. A woman of means, on the other hand, would not have had to do much work and she could indulge in a low protein diet. However, this would have been difficult as well because, unlike today, fresh vegetables were not available year round and they did not have the variety of vegetables. The food fare was ... slim pickins.

There was a scene where the butcher brought a basket of meats to the house (as did the baker), as it was the custom to do. The wife was "disgusted" at having the meats put right in front of her.

[This message has been edited by Walker (edited 03-24-2004).]

Thanks for the info, WALKER. Very interesting. So, did the woman ever eat any meat during her time in the house?

quote:

---

Originally posted by cassandra:
... maybe we could talk everyone into watching Monk ...

---

I wouldn't mind adding Monk to my viewing list if everybody agrees on this show.

quote:

---

Originally posted by govtlawyer:
But, [Greene's] explanation of "time" as a dimension was an eye opener. I've long heard about time being a dimension, but never could grasp that concept. Well, his explanation near the front of the book was like a light bulb going on - an "Ah Ha!" moment.

---

Now this sounds very interesting. I'll have to check it out. I love "Ah Ha!" moments.

quote:

---

... these vibrating strings, which theoretically make up THE smallest thing in the Universe, have no mass - and I'm thinking, how can that possibly be?

---

Not too great a stretch if E=mc2. Aren't the items on each side of the equal sign in a math equation interchangeable? Then mass is made up of energy and vice versa. The mass in an atomic reaction creates a great quantity of energy. Now if we can reverse that we'd get mass out of energy - or physical particles made up of vibrating energy strings.

I've been contemplating your E=mc2 explanation, PEGASUS. I think I actually, at least momentarily, and in some miniscule part of my brain, grasp what you are saying. I read a whole book called "E=mc2" and still couldn't adequately explain, even to myself, what the equation means.

But, just as a concept, that the strings (if they exist) have no mass, makes my brain hurt. It seems like everything has to be something. So, energy, let's say, from the sun, has no mass? Light has no mass? Am I "getting" it?

I don't have Brian Greene's book with me at work, but his explanation was something like this: You have to meet someone at a certain apartment in NYC on March 25, 2004 at 3:00 p.m. You will be in the spatial dimensions in the apartment (e.g. corner of Broadway and 12th, 3d floor, apt. 301) and in the TIME dimension on March 25, 2004 at 3:00 p.m. So, if you were at the apartment at 2:00 instead, that would not be the right time dimension. Ergo, space/time.

I will try to remember quote his actual explanation when I get home and get the book.

Re. "Monk" on USA. It just finished it's season and now there's another show on in that time slot. I don't know when Monk is showing re-runs, but if you can catch a few re-runs, I think you'll be drawn into it.


[This message has been edited by govtlawyer (edited 03-25-2004).]

No time to comment on the very interesting topics here, but just had to share this with our left-coasters: I will be in CA a week from tomorrow!!! Remember that school trip I was going to go on and then decided against for financial reasons? Well, someone had to cancel at the last miunte and she *offered* her slot to me!! I will, of course, try to reimburse her as much as I can, when I can; she is losing a lot of money. But, it seems like fate has determined that I am supposed to go on this trip after all!
So, Argo, Pegasus, and ITTOT- let's plan! I will email you next week (busy weekend coming up- cassandra jr. has one last out-of-town audition)- but I will get in touch with you as soon as I can. I really hope we can get together!!

[This message has been edited by cassandra (edited 03-26-2004).]

Richard Clarke. Discussion?

It was gratifying to hear him say "we failed, I failed, we tried, but we failed, I'm sorry."

Of course 'they' failed. Had they succeeded, there would be no 9/11 Commission. But in the game of politics, it seems no one is supposed to say "we're sorry."

It annoys me that the Bush administration stopped doing things that were done in the Clinton administration (daily meetings to 'shake the trees') simply because they wanted to be not-Clinton-like. That's childish and reckless. Keep doing it - what could it hurt? Oh that's right...

It's great the Bushies wanted a bigger, long-term solution. But you can't flush tactical defense while trying to draft strategic defense!

Last year we debated the impending invasion of Iraq. A year later, we find that we were lied to and now we hear from several sources that the Iraqi invasion was pre-ordained policy. Worse yet, it diverted the attention of people who were so fixated on their Iraqi agenda that they didn't focus on the real threat of Al Queda. Our government failed us. They deserve to be thrown out.

Also, I am annoyed with Clinton. Had he not had so many frickin' scandals, maybe he would have had the credibility get public approval to do something bold to counter Al Qaeda. Had he not been embroiled in the Lewinsky affair, maybe he could have given his FULL attention to this growing menace.

Very annoyed.

[This message has been edited by Walker (edited 03-26-2004).]

Cassandra,
My mother is visiting from April 1 - 7th, but is leaving earlish on the 7th (that's a wednesday). It is Spring break for my daughter also, so an evening time would be easier -- I can leave the kids with Mr. Ittot for the evening and have a par-tay time with you guys. :-)

Phew! I'll have also just come out from a media convention (Stargate, ST, others) and I'll be so needing the quiet time!

Let me know when you'll be in town.

cassandra, great news that you can come out here. A week from this Saturday, Apr 3rd? I believe I am free then and on into the next few days.

Got this from a friend and being a Southern Californian it just made me laugh out loud.

With all the news on TV lately about the sub zero weather and snow that the
east coast and upstate NY areas are experiencing, we shouldn't forget that
Southern California has it's share of devastating weather also.

I've attached a photo illustrating the excessive damage caused to a home
from a west coast storm that passed through the San Diego area a couple of
days ago. It really makes you cherish what you have, and reminds us not to
take life for granted!!!









Warning: The following picture is quite graphic and may not be suitable for
younger viewers.

The pic doesn't show up on my computer but the text is identical to a similar picture showing incredible devastation in Victoria, British Columbia. Two knocked-over lawnchairs on a deck.

WALKER, I'm never sure quite what to make of persons like Richard Clarke. It seems that folks like him are always popping up from time to time. They've been on the "inside," helped develop policy, had the ear of some high government official, then KABOOM! So, their hand-wringing book is written, the testimony is made before Congress, the political party not in power salivates, the person tells us, with utmost sincerity that he is "not after anyone," but he's just "telling the truth," etc. etc., ad infinitum.

I dunno. If Clarke was so darned bothered by the policy of either the Clinton or Bush administrations, what took him so long? It seems to me he milked his position for years and years, got everything he could out of it, including a nice salary, enjoyed his "powerful" position, could brag about having the ears of the President, then when he'd gotten as much out of it as he could - heh -- he'd make that last million for retirement by "telling all" with a hefty book advance and offer an alleged "apology" to the 9/11 families for all the world to see. If he was so sorrowful, why did it take him 2 1/2 years to get around to saying so? What a performance. I am totally unimpressed.

I'm halfway through Richard Clarke's book. Very interesting read. Enlightening to see how things get done - and don't get done - in the White House, DoD, CIA and FBI.

Richard Clarke lost one of his closest friends, John O'Neill, in the collapse of the WTC. Here's what he has to say about him:

"... a man determined to destroy al Qaeda until the Bureau (FBI) had driven him out because he was too obsessed with al Qaeda and didn't mind breaking crockery in his drive to get Usama bin Laden. O'Neill did not fit the narrow little mold that Director Louis Freeh wanted for his agents. He was too aggressive, thought outside the box. O'Neill's struggle with Freeh was a a case study in why the FBI could no do the homland protection mission. So, O'Neill retired from the FBI and had just become director of security for the World Trace Center complex teh week before."

Clarke concludes this first chapter of his book with O'Neill's funeral mass, writing:

"I wept from my gut. There was so much to grieve about. How did all this happen? Why couldn't we stop it? How do we prevent it from happening again and rid the world of the horror? Someday I would find the time to think through it all and answer those questions. Now is that time."

I'm not ready to be dismissive of this guy; I consider him a national hero. This guy coordinated the White House response on September 11. He and a small group of people stayed in the White House Situation Room when they were told that an airplane was headed in their direction. They were told to evacuate. They stayed. They communicated with the President and Vice President (both in their respective bunkers) to get top-level orders to shut down all flights; they set Continuity of Government procedures in motion; and so much more. Aside from 9/11, he has put himself in harm's way during his career in service to his country.

Transcript of Richard Clarke's appearance on Meet the Press yesterday morning (in case you missed it).
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4608698/

WALKER, after reading your post, I went over for my daily DrudgeReport fix and saw two articles: one about Clarke getting a million for his book and another about a group of 9/11 families who are mad at him. Interesting.

It seems to always be the way with these "whistleblower" players. They are both lauded and villified. I don't know if he is a "national hero" if he was just where he was supposed to be, doing what he was supposed to do. Perhaps. It's the after-the-fact "tell-all" that always makes me give these characters short shrift. If he was so concerned about Al-Qaeda pre-9/11 and he couldn't get his boss' attention, and it was so dire, why didn't he leave his job and shout it from the rooftops then? Go to the media? Whatever. But, no. Here he is, creating a spectacle, selling his book, seeking exoneration through mea culpa -- like Pete Rose.

Wow. Comparing him to Pete Rose? Pete Rose was a dishonorable man.

I wasn't really comparing him to Pete Rose as a person - I'm just comparing him to all the "tell all" books. Who was the last guy we just went through this national exercise with? My gosh, I can't even remember his name - the guy who worked in the Treasury Department? A few months ago?

So a few months, a year from now, it will be someone else, accompanied by the usual media blitz.

Thanks for clarifying that.

The guy you are referring to is Paul O'Neill. From CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/01/13/oneill.bush/

O'Neill, former CEO of aluminum producer Alcoa, sat on the National Security Council during his 23 months as treasury secretary.

He was pushed out of the administration in December 2002 during a dispute over tax cuts and growing budget deficits, and was the primary source for author Ron Suskind's book, "The Price of Loyalty: George Bush, the White House and the Education of Paul O'Neill."

"From the start, we were building the case against Hussein and looking at how we could take him out and change Iraq into a new country," O'Neill is quoted as saying in the book.

"And, if we did that, it would solve everything. It was about finding a way to do it. That was the tone of it -- the president saying, 'Fine. Go find me a way to do this.'"

That's the guy. Thanks.

What happens, is that these things always happen - not just in this administration, but in prior ones. I think I tune them out more and more, because, to me, it is the same "play" being re-enacted, with just slight variations on the theme.

I downloaded over 150 pages worth of transcripts from the 9/11 panel testimonies for March 23 and 24. I haven't begun reading them yet; I'm half way through Clarke's book.

It's not looking good for President Bush's case that he should be elected based upon his response to terrorism.

in other news...
argo and ITTOT- I emailed the itinerary for my upcoming trip to you. I hope you got it.
pegasus- I have no email address for you- if you write to me at lou1478@hotmail.com I will write back to you and send you the same info. It's a very busy week planned, but hopefully, we will be able to work something out.

Thursday afternoon might be the best day for me, too, but I might have to bring my kids along. It's Spring break, but I might be able to leave my daughter with a neighbor for a few hours, depending what their plans are, but I'd definitely have to bring the 3 year old with me.

WOW! I sure hope you can pull off your California meeting. I cannot wait to hear the DETAILS!

ITTOT- Thursday afternoon works for me. The students will be attending a workshop in the hotel at 1:30 and the next planned activity is a trip to the Samuel French bookstore at 4:30 (I can never pass up a trip to a bookstore!) Call my cell phone sometime next week and we'll see what we can work out. I'm really looking forward to another forum visit- if I meet pegasus and argo, too, I might match govt's record-what is it, 3 or 4 forum people?
In other news, cassandra jr. has been getting nothing but bad news in the mail for the last 3 days. She's handling it much better than I am! This is a very tough year for theatre students- no one from her high school got into Emerson, so at least she has friends to commiserate with. We have one school left to hear from, and if that's a wait list letter too, she'll be off to Bennington in the fall. That may be the best fit anyhow-very quirky, square peg kind of kids.

CASSANDRA, sorry Cass Jr. isn't getting the good news she wants, but glad she still has a good back-up school. Good for her!

I think ARGO may have the record for most Forum Meetings. I've only met 2 people - BBF and ARGO. I talked to SYXX on the phone once - long, long ago. And, do you remember when TRUSTNO1 set up his camera so we were getting a live shot of him? That was also a long time ago.

quote:

---

Originally posted by cassandra:
Call my cell phone sometime next week and we'll see what we can work out.

---

Long story (well, boring one) but could you resend you cell phone number to me?

Thanks!

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ittot:
Thursday afternoon might be the best day for me, too, but I might have to bring my kids along.

---

At the moment, ditto for me (but no kids). Argo kindly forwarded cassandra's itinerary and I will be mulling all the possibilties.

govt- would you believe that I still have the photo files of Trust's pictures on my computer? (I never throw anything away!)
ITTOT- just sent you my number.
Pegasus- got your email and hoping we can connect! (argo too)
Getting panicky- I have so much to do and not enough time to do it!! Must go unpack all the trip stuff my daughter and I bought at Target last night.
very excited!