Kate Fleming and Charlene Strong deserved better. (We all do.)

I get a lot of my news from my wife, who keeps up with current events far better than I. She's the one who told me about how the partner (widow, really) of the Seattle woman who was drowned by floodwaters in her own basement testified before state lawmakers on behalf of domestic partner recognition. Charlene Strong is the widow. Kathryn Fleming is the woman who died. I kept forgetting the names, but I feel like they should be noted.
Here's the story: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/301274_domestic26.html
Basically, while the victim was dying at Harborview, her partner was kept from her until the dying woman's family gave the OK by phone. What if they were against the relationship? What if so many things?

"As the minutes ticked by, I kept wondering, 'What if she dies without me holding her hand? What if she dies without knowing that I told her I loved her?' "

Honestly, I can't even bring myself to read the whole story. That quote stopped me in my tracks.

There's no law against Cheryl being my news service, at least not yet. All humor aside, it's just too upsetting to think that even though Cheryl and I have a civil union that's recognized in Vermont, and a marriage that is recognized in Canada, that doesn't necessarily mean anything where we live. I mean, let's say we carried our certificates around with us, instead of framing them and putting them on our wall … would they do any good?
We can be kept from each other, and while I believe we'd prevail in court, a judge can't give back a loved one's final moments.
How can anyone be against this basic right?

Our boys display their Thomas stuff ....

I'm just not as into sports anymore ...

I've aways been something of a sports fan, though the depth of my engagement in athletics has shifted, based on what's going on in my life.

When I was a kid, I got into the Mariners and Seahawks to a degree because they were new to Seattle. And then in '79, the Sonics won the title, briefly engaging my interest in the team and curly-top center Jack Sikma. I collected literally thousands of baseball cards, in part because my obsessive tendencies needed an outlet, and sports joined the cycle that also included Star Wars/Star Trek, Oz, etc.

I was never a fan of, you know, actually watching the games with an eye towards understanding them in depth. I mean, the obsessive part learned a lot of details, but I actually don't enjoy just sitting and watching a baseball game. Football is more interesting to me, maybe because the style of play has more drama than the chess-match stylings of America's Pastime. I like basketball in person, but not on TV. It's just harder to tell what the heck is going on. Football, on the other hand, is much more enjoyable on TV (for me). The cameras can get in close and illuminate the action in ways that I find entertaining.

Anyhoo, a year ago, I was in charge of the Seattle P-I sports department. And the Seahawks were in the middle of a playoff run. I subscribed to ESPN the magazine and listened to Jim Rome on the radio. And I enjoyed it. But I've since moved on to a different job and focus, and I find myself much less interested in all things (or even select things) sporty. I steal read the excellent blog deadspin.com, which is entertainingly written and mostly focuses on sports through a pop cultural filter (my favorite kind).

I still listen to sports on the radio, though often it's by default (like if there's nothing good on NPR). I know everyone needs an interest. Everyone has a reserve of attention that they pour into the buckets of their choosing. Mine is certainly not always poured into Proust, or politics, or shit that makes me seem smart. But sports increasingly seems just so empty ....

I was watching the playoffs briefly this afternoon and thinking of the "storylines:" Brady vs. Manning, hunk vs. geek, Super Bowl Champ vs. Guy People Think Can't Win the Big One. Very, very rich guy vs. very, very rich guy. I think I prefer scripted drama now, with a healthy soupcon of, ya know, real life and all its messes.

Dreamgirls makes me think of Florence Ballard

Just saw Dreamgirls tonight, and yes, I know it's Jennifer Hudson's movie. And it's a neat bit of foreshadowing that Simon Cowell thought Hudson too fat and, let's get real here folks, too black to make it to the top in American Idol (she finished in the top seven while others with less vocal talent carried on).

I'm glad that Effie got her happy ending in Dreamgirls, the Supremes-esque story of a girl group and the varying trajectories of those it touched. I'm glad that Jennifer Hudson's getting her happy ending. But let's not forget Florence Ballard. She had soul and a voice so strong that she supposedly had to stand more than 15 feet away from the mike while the other Supremes sang up close. But Ballard wasn't as pretty or as packageable as Diana Ross. So she got shunted aside, didn't take it well, and found herself booted from the group and on a tough road that included too much alcohol, welfare and eventually death from coronary thrombosis.

She was just 32.

At least Florence Ballard lives on in some ways. I found this online, along with an always helpful Wikipedia article:

http://www.florenceballardfanclub.com/

The Florence Ballard Fan Club was founded in 1986 by Alan White as a living memorial to Florence Ballard. The purpose of the fan club is to keep Florence Ballard's legacy alive in a positive light.

And then there's this, from "Call Her Miss Ross," the less-than-flattering bio by pro dirt digger J. Randy Taraborelli:

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n4_v45/ai_8325383

"You know, you told me you wouldn't try to stand in Diane's way if she wanted to go out on her own," Berry told Florence one afternoon at the airport in Vancouver, Canada, in 1966. (Though "Diana" is the name on Diana Ross' birth certificate, most of her friends and associates from the early days called her--and still do call her [perhaps not to her face]--"Diane", which is what her parents intended that she be named.)
"Yeah, that's what I said," Florence once remembered having told him. "If she wants to be on her own, then that's okay with me. But I ain't leaving the group."
"She wants out," Berry said, ignoring her last statement. "But you're making it tough on her. She told me you're making her feel guilty about it."
Years later, Florence recalled, "That's when I started getting pi---d off. I said, 'Look, Berry, she's grown. If she wants to walk all over people to get to the top, then that's her business. I'm not gonna make her feel no better by agreeing with it.'
"'You're a millionaire,' he told me. 'You can leave the group any time.' But I told him I ain't leaving."
With that, Berry and Florence became locked in the same quarrels about her excessive drinking and weight gain, all of which ended with Florence--tears in her eyes and her voice shaking--threatening Berry once more. "You'll be sorry you messed with me, Berry Gordy," she screamed loud enough for everyone in the terminal to hear. "I know a lot about you, more than you think. And don't you forget it."
Actually, Mary Wilson was "the quiet one," not Florence Ballard. Mary, content to be a Supreme at whatever cost, watched and waited to see what would happen next. But Florence shouted and made threats, claiming to have embarrassing information on Berry Gordy's business practices. She quickly became a threat to Gordy's peace of mind, to the continued success of the group and, maybe even more importantly, to Diana's future career.
On stage, as off, Flo was irrepressible--and audiences loved her for it. During the act, when Diana said, "Thin is in," Flo sassed back, "But honey, fat is where it's at." When Diana sang, "Gold won't bring you happiness," during their rendition of "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You," Flo would interrupt with, "Give me that gold and I'll do my own shoppin'." Flo was a crowd pleaser and Diana and Berry couldn't very well ignore that.
But Ballard's smart-aleck remarks on stage hid a lot of pain. Increasingly pushed into the background, she felt cheated. The more successful The Supremes became and the more attention Diana received, the more alienated and bitter Flo seemed. She put on weight and began to show up drunk for performances. She deluded herself into thinking that because she formed the group and chose its name, she was indispensable.
She was wrong. Florence was unceremoniously dumped and quickly replaced. Soon, she found herself without money, without a career, and, worse, without hope.

Hope abounds in Dreamgirls, which is wonderful. And Beyonce does Diana Ross a favor, portraying Deena Jones as an innocent who is led away from loyalty but leaves her friend behind with regret and comes through for her in the end. The most tarnished character is that of the Barry Gordy-esque entrepreneur (Jamie Foxx) who gets the girls their break, then breaks their hearts and spirits.

And Eddie Murphy deserves an Oscar. (So does Jennifer Hudson -- and not some "best supporting" crap. It's her movie.)

A Disney feast, and a confession about my real age

The fun folks at Boing Boing (www.boingboing.com) seem to have a Disney jones. Which is fine with me: I'm kind of a Disney freak myself: Not so much the mouse, or even the animation, etc., but more the experiences.

In fact, it looks like we're going to Disneyland this year, to celebrate my 40th birthday. Yes, I'm 40 this year, though I've fudged the year with people for the past five years or so. For a while, I even had Cheryl convinced I'm a year younger than I really am. But the truth is out, and I'm only a little reticent about it. I guess if there's a trip to Disneyland involved ....

So here are some of the Boing Boing goodies:
1. A link to a video about the history of Tomorrowland (which seems like an oxymoron). It is focused on Walt Disney World, which I've only been to once, but it's chock full of wonderful "future visions," which include significant doses of commercialism (the RCA Space Mountain??? Yes, it was), patriotism and supercool retro design. LOVE that stuff.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7520893542761833477

2. Unofficial Disney posters. Cheryl and I have a few of these -- official versions purchased at Disneyland and lovingly transported home. One way I can tell I'm getting old, by the way, is that I get excited by purchasing things like posters and not toys at D-land. Anyway, these unofficial posters are beautiful, and apparently got their creator a job making the real thing for the Diz.
http://gregmaletic.wordpress.com/2002/10/18/faux-disney-attraction-posters/



3. And finally, the frickin' motherlode! Found this on a link from a google video about the matterhorn. It's got backstage photos, attraction photos, "Disneyland deaths" (which you can sort by date or attraction), magazine articles, etc., etc., etc., ad infinitum. Oh and videos. The site interface is fugly, but the actual content is cool ….
http://www.dldhistory.com/

Trinity is missing!

My favorite action figure .... the last survivor of the great action figure purge of 2002 .... is, or was, Trinity. But she has gone missing, somehow lost when I moved to a new desk.

Having a window seat helps me deal with the pain, of course. (As well as the pain of losing the colleague who moved on to greener pastures -- a different store within the Big Internet Retailer universe). But I may need to get another Trinity. Unless I can find a Starbuck. Or maybe I can sub a Xena. But that's so 1997.

OK, I just checked eBay, and when I bought my Trinity (probably 6 or 7 years ago), there was only one kind. Now Todd MacFarlane (creator of Spawn and maniacal action figure maker who embraces verissimilitude to the extreme) has entered the Matrix realm and there's a ton to choose from. Sheesh.

Look at this one .....

She's falling off a building and shooting and God knows what. I like it better when she jumps in the air, time slows down and she kicks her foes in the head. But that's just me. :)

There are many, many more options. I think I'm going to go with the classic. I just need to find one with a gummed up box or something so I can get a deal -- less than $5, I'm hoping. This time around, I'm not sweating the whole "MIB" (mint in box) thing. I want her to come out and play. You know, in a grown-up, non-kinky way.

(Oh, and I will not ever buy myself a Trinity coat. Unless I weigh, like 100 pounds less than I do now and look hot in tight vinyl pants. Then, maybe ..... )

Why? 'Cause this is how I roll ...

So I picked up a little bit of "youthful lingo" from some of my Amazon colleagues, and now say things like "That's how I roll." Or "That's not how I roll."

And now that the boys have entered their "why" phase (asking why why why why why ad infinitum), I tried to use it as a conversation stopper, as in:

Boy: "Mama, why are you doing that?"

Mama: "Because that's how I roll."

Other Boy, intrigued: "I want to see you roll. Roll now, Mama. Show me."

At least he didn't ask "why."

This only sucks literally. Otherwise, it's very cool.

Cheryl, my domestic goddess, has gotten herself a fun little indulgence (as much as anything that involves housecleaning can be called an indulgence):

It's a "SweepEze," and basically it wakes up and starts sucking everytime a broom comes near. Or my foot, if I'm not careful. I think my dear partner felt a little silly for blowing $40-odd bucks on it -- nowhere near as much as, say, a Roomba.

I'm sure we'll be buying a new vacuum soon, after treating our former vac like a ShopVac when we put in the new floor. The belts keep breaking and it's just not well. Maybe we'll get a Dyson this time. But those cost a heck of a lot more than $40.


Or maybe by the time we're ready, these will actually be available to buy ....

Yes, those are vacuum shoes. Now you know what the good folks in Electrolux R&D have been up to:
http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/17/electrolux-unveils-vacuum-shoe-concept/

Maybe it's my cheerfulness!

How pathetic that my first post in days is about having a cold. Or, more accurately, not having a cold.

Thanks, Boing Boing, for this fabulous news:

Good moods prevent colds?
A new scientific study suggests that people who have a positive outlook are less likely to catch colds. Psychologist Sheldon Cohen and his colleagues at Carnegie Mellon University exposed more than 300 healthy adults to a cold virus and interviewed them about their emotional state. Those with "generally positive outlooks... reported fewer cold symptoms than were detected in medical exams." From Science News:
"We need to take more seriously the possibility that a positive emotional style is a major player in disease risk," Cohen says. Those who displayed generally positive outlooks, including feelings of liveliness, cheerfulness, and being at ease, were least likely to develop cold symptoms. Unlike the negatively inclined participants, they reported fewer cold symptoms than were detected in medical exams. The new study, which appears in the November/December Psychosomatic Medicine, replicates those results and rules out the possibility that psychological traits related to a positive emotional style, rather than the emotions themselves, guard against cold symptoms. Those traits include high self-esteem, extroversion, optimism, and a feeling of mastery over one's life. Link

Clutter is a good thing?

I greeted this news with a mix of relief and fear: relief that I'm not somehow messing up my life (or that of my kids) by having a messy house, and fear that the news will somehow derail any sort of organizational effort that Dear Partner and I have had going.

From the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/21/garden/21mess.html):

January is now Get Organized Month, thanks also to the efforts of the National Association of Professional Organizers, whose 4,000 clutter-busting members will be poised, clipboards and trash bags at the ready, to minister to the 10,000 clutter victims the association estimates will be calling for its members’ services just after the new year.
But contrarian voices can be heard in the wilderness. An anti-anticlutter movement is afoot, one that says yes to mess and urges you to embrace your disorder. Studies are piling up that show that messy desks are the vivid signatures of people with creative, limber minds (who reap higher salaries than those with neat “office landscapes”) and that messy closet owners are probably better parents and nicer and cooler than their tidier counterparts. It’s a movement that confirms what you have known, deep down, all along: really neat people are not avatars of the good life; they are humorless and inflexible prigs, and have way too much time on their hands.
“It’s chasing an illusion to think that any organization — be it a family unit or a corporation — can be completely rid of disorder on any consistent basis,” said Jerrold Pollak, a neuropsychologist at Seacoast Mental Health Center in Portsmouth, N.H., whose work involves helping people tolerate the inherent disorder in their lives. “And if it could, should it be? Total organization is a futile attempt to deny and control the unpredictability of life. I live in a world of total clutter, advising on cases where you’d think from all the paper it’s the F.B.I. files on the Unabomber,” when, in fact, he said, it’s only “a person with a stiff neck.”

Actually, it confirms what I've pretty much believed all along. It's nice to be as organized as you can. But I also know well what pathological clutter is, having cleared out my Dad's storage unit, and having avoided his house for months. I feel bad about that sometimes, but when I go to the place formerly known as home, it presses all kinds of buttons, especially the one that says: "Throw this shit away!" So I instead invite Dad to visit me, and leave him to his many old newspapers and, my favorite, issues of Catholic Digest from the '70s (we're not Catholic). Somewhere in all that mess are some things that are precious to me. I just hope I have the stamina and the patience to power through the crap someday when Dad's not around to stop me (and for the record, I do not want that day to be anytime soon).

The Long Tail meets journalism

At the Big Internet retailer where I work, after having walked away from journalism, The Long Tail is one of the fundamental texts (you know, it's not about the First Amendment, so we gotta embrace what we can):

http://www.longtail.com/the_long_tail/2006/12/what_would_radi_1.html

Anyway, I was interested to see this intersection of my past life and current principles:

(These are from Chris Anderson)
Six tactics of transparent media:

1) Show who we are. All staff edit their own personal "about" pages, giving bios, contact details and job functions. Encourage anyone who wants to blog to do so. Have a masthead that actually means something to people who aren't on it. While we're at it, how about a real org chart, revealing the second dimension that's purposely obscured in the linear ranking on a traditional masthead?
Upside: Readers know who to contact. The organization is revealed as a collection of diverse individuals, not just a brand, an editor and some writers.
Risk: Competitors know who to poach; PR people spam us even more than usual.
-------
2) Show what we're working on. We already have internal wikis that are common scratch pads for teams working on projects. And most writers have their own thread-gathering processes, often online. Why no open them to all? Who knows, perhaps other people will have good ideas, too.
Upside: Tap the wisdom of crowds
Risk: Tip off competitors (although I'd argue that this would just as likely freeze them; after all the prior art would be obvious to all); Risks "scooping ourselves", robbing the final product of freshness.
-------
3) "Process as Content"*. Why not share the reporting as it happens, uploading the text of each interview as soon as you can get it processed by your flat-world transcription service in India? (This may sound ridiculous, but it's exactly what wire services such as the AP have long done--they update their stories with each new fragment of information). After you've woven together enough of the threads to have a semi-coherent draft, why not ask your readers to help edit it? (We did it here, and it worked great). And while you're at it, let them write the headlines and subheads, not just for the site but also the punchier ones for the RSS feed and the one that has to work with the art for the magazine.
Upside: Open participation can make stories better--better researched, better thought through and deeper. It also can crowdsource some of the work of the copy desk and editors. And once the story is done and published, the participants have a sense of collective ownership that encourages them to spread the word.
Risk: Curating the process can quickly hit diminishing returns. Writers end up feeling like a cruise director, constantly trying to get people to participate. And all the other risks of the item above.
-------
4) Privilege the crowd. Why not give comments equal status to the story they're commenting on? Why not publish all letters to the editor as they're submitted (we did that here), and let the readers vote on which are the best? We could promise to publish the top five each month, whether we like them or not: "Harness our tools of production! Make us print your words! Voting is Power!"
Upside: Maximizes participation.
Risk: If we don't deploy voting tools or (sigh) a login system, trolls may rule.
-------
5) Let readers decide what's best. We own Reddit, which (among other things) is a terrific way of measuring popularity. Why should we guess at which stories will be most popular and give those preferential treatment? Why not just measure what people really think and let statistics determine the hierarchy of the front page?
Upside: A front page that reflects reader interest better.
Risk: A more predictable and lowbrow front page.
-------
6) Wikifiy everything. The realities of publishing is that at some point you push the publish button. In the traditional world, that's the end of the story. It is a snapshot in time, as good as we could make it but inevitably imperfect. The errors (and all articles have them) are a mix of commission and omission--we hope for the best yet brace ourselves for the worst. But what if we published every story on a wiki platform, so they could evolve over time, just like Wikipedia itself? The original story would be the foundation of what could eventually become a version expanded and updated by readers (our Fortune 500 blogging wiki was an experiment in this). If you want to see the original version, just push the "original" button, or see any changes in-between by looking at the version history.
Upside: Stories live and grow, remaining relevant long after their original publication (at no cost to us!)
Risk: Stories get progressively less coherent as many cooks mess with them. Whatever brand authority the Wired name brings is diminished over time as the stories become less and less our own work.

Being an action figure

It's been possible to get "personalized" action figures for a while now. All it took was enough money, or enough sculpey and skill, and you could be immortalized in all your miniature glory. But through the magic of the Internets, it's possible to get a made-to-order action figure for something less than the $600 or so charged by the schmancy places (www.highlyflammabletoys.com).

The schmancy places are cool, of course, but cooler still is self indulgence at a fraction of the price -- http://www.herobuilders.com/ondemand/. The only downside is you have somewhat limited options (all boys). And it's got a hip-hop/urban assault vibe. But it's still cool.

If only I had the self-discipline to stick with my original plan -- sculpt myself to match action figures like Trinity and Wonder Woman .... I'll be honest: An action figure of a soft suburbanite just isn't ... explosive enough.

Having a hard time with gifts?

So, dear partner Cheryl and I have very different gift-buying experiences .... She seems to stress a great deal about what she's getting me. I generally don't stress as much. I get a couple of things I'm confident about and kinda color in the details.

Which is why I thought of her when I saw this, from a Journal of Consumer Research news release (via Boing Boing):
"Our results suggest that familiarity caused [people] to put an overly heavy weight on pre-stored information. The pre-stored information that people possess about their partner is extensive. This elaborate knowledge makes predictors overly confident, such that they do not even attend to product-specific attitude feedback.”

Boing Boing's spin is that this is why it's so hard to pick out a gift for a loved one, i.e., one is overwhelmed by their certainty that their dear partner or family member is more like them than they really are. But I read this with the concern you might expect from someone who recognizes her own overconfidence (on a good day). Yeah, I know Cheryl and I have different tastes. But do I REALLY use that knowledge when I shop, or am I buying her things that are all too colored with my own desires/taste?

I actually like getting gifts that are as much or more a reflection of my loved one's tastes than mine, when I like their taste (as I do with Cheryl). In a way, it's like seeing myself through another person's eyes. Sometimes, it's seeing myself perhaps as the other person would like me to be.

OK, back at it .... Chuck E. Cheese, Pirates, Percocet and more

Wow, is it really Dec. 14? Yes. It is. The month has flown by, and I've gone from 3x to 3x. You'll have to fill in the second digit yourself. Once I hit 40, my new motto will be "fuck it," but in the meantime, I will embrace denial.

Oddly, snow, Christmas lights, putting up a tree and various decking of the halls, etc. were all November things, though fodder for December enjoyment.

So here is what December has included: A flat tire. A wild Percocet ride (not for me -- Cheryl's back went out, and the pain alleviation process did the same thing to her mind). Several visits with Santa (again, not for me). Several birthday parties for small children. I decided not to have my party at Chuck E. Cheese this year, since Aidan stole my thunder.

Chuck E.'s reminded me of my family. We went there a number of times for my brother, and when I was was in college I owned and actually wore a sweatshirt with a Chuck E. Cheese character (something purple whose name escapes me). Is it any wonder I didn't get much action? Chuck E.'s now is a much brighter place with more child-protecting rules enacted. You can't leave with a kid unless you have matching hand stamps, which are applied at entry. Of course, someone at the party pointed out that bad people could perhaps find a way to do something untoward INSIDE the building, but I looked all over, and I didn't see a place where one could achieve something resembling privacy (or peace, for that matter).

But that's not what Chuck E.'s is for. It was actually kind of fun, but I'm glad our boys want to have their birthday at their cousin Delsa's gym.

I'm not the only one with an Internet celeb watching habit ....

OK, I was checking out PerezHilton.com today, something I don't do all that often (really -- I'm a much bigger fan of Defamer.com), and saw this:

We set a new traffic record yesterday.
On Wednesday, we had 3.97 million unique visitors come to PerezHilton.com in that 24 hour period!!
More folks came to our site yesterday than read People magazine in the entire week!!!!
We had originally set the goal of 4 million by the end of December, and we already reached that. This is so beyond insane.
6 million by December 31st???

It's amazing how far you get when you'll actually run Britney Spears upskirt shots. (Confidential to Ms. Spears -- PLEASE start wearing underwear!)

The boys made it snow!

Or so they think .... I worry that they will be in for disappointment down the road, if their weather-creating ability doesn't hold up. But for now, they believe that putting the tree up, and getting all Christmas-y on November's ass, makes the flakes start falling.

The snow started falling when they were in their bath last night, but we still let them outside to frolic briefly. They just put jackets and boots on over their PJs! And, of course, they had to bring Duplo Thomas and Duplo Percy out to join them. Whether it's sand, water, or snow, Eddie in particular feels the need to pile it on to Duplo Thomas.

OK, even I'm not this maniacal of a parent ... yet

This just in, from the Associated Press:

'CSI' parents swabbing kids for DNA
Testing kits provide samples in case child is kidnapped or injured

MILWAUKEE - Many parents across the country are swabbing the inside of their children’s mouths to get a DNA sample just in case they need it if the youngster is kidnapped, runs away or suffers a terrible accident.

((Just wait -- it's only a matter of time before they come into play when the kid grows up and is accused of a crime))

News reports about child abductions and television shows such as “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” are helping drive the interest in keeeping genetic records that could be used to identify remains, hair or blood.
“It’s the CSI mentality: that DNA is going to be the answer to any problem that comes up,” said Jerry Nance, supervisor of the forensic assistance unit of the nonprofit National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
...
The kits are distributed by private companies, police stations, orthodontists and others. Most cost from $5 to $60, Nance said, but some are provided for free.
...
Ed Smart said he wishes he would have known about the DNA kits before his daughter Elizabeth was kidnapped from her Utah bedroom in June 2002. She was found alive nine months later. He said investigators took boxes of her belongings to find her DNA and did not get a sample back for weeks. Having the sample ready could have narrowed down suspects faster.
“It is kind of like an insurance policy you hope you never use,” he said.

The whole story is here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15922270/

And, of course, we had to put the tree up.

So, we have a mostly decorated house. And a tree glowing in the corner. And too many ornaments to fit. The boys were adorable, and then, by the end of it, so excited that they gave me a headache. They get the high, I get the hangover.

Actually, it's not bad as hangovers go. The house really does look great. The only problem now is that Eddie keeps trying to act like Christmas is tomorrow. He knows it isn't, I'm convinced, yet I also think that part of him believes that if it snows tonight or something, he'll have presents waiting for him.

I think it's going to be a long December.

It's two whole days after Thanksgiving -- time to decorate for Christmas!!!!

OK, so the original plan for today was to see a movie. Probably Happy Feet, though I was lobbying for Flushed Away. Yes, I hate the damn penguins. And I don't care who knows it.

Anyway, we were on track for the movie, with time to stop at the crafts store (clarification: Cheryl wanted to stop at the craft store, and I wanted to be supportive spouse who appreciates the end result, but not so much the process). The whole end result vs. process thing kinda explains how I am about Christmas decorating. I don't mind that Cheryl has enough Christmas stuff to fill our house. But I get sort of rubbery at the thought of putting it all up -- not to mention the thousands of ornaments. OK, maybe hundreds.

Now, however, Cheryl has two VERY willing accomplices. Eddie and Chas decided that they would rather stay home and decorate than go to a movie. So here we are. Three of us are VERY excited, to the point of running around the house, singing and literally jumping for joy. One of us is excited, but in a moderate way that cannot possibly compare to the mania of the rest.

DRM is not an abbreviation for drum

Before I started working in the realm of digital media (I don't count a newspaper Web site), I'm not sure I would even have noticed this tidbit on "DRM" from Newsweek via Boing Boing. It should also be noted that before I stared working in the realm of digital media, I did not read Boing Boing. And if you don't know what Boing Boing is, then you're really not ready for the concept of DRM, and you should continue to consider entertainment items you buy to be, you know, yours.

Anyway, here is the tidbit:

Now, an increasingly vocal grassroots resistance to DRM is cropping up. An anti-DRM campaign called “Defective by Design,” which is organized by the Free Software Foundation, has 15,000 registered members; the Electronic Frontier Foundation argues that DRM places limits on “your ability to make lawful use of the music you purchase.” Web sites like stopdrmnow.org and digitalfreedom.org have been launched “to protect individuals’ right to use new digital technologies” and urge boycotts on DRM-tagged content. David Berlind, executive editor of tech trade journal ZDNet, coined his own term for DRM: “Content Restriction, Annulment and Protection.” (Figure out the acronym).

DRM is going to be more of a thing. No matter how you feel about it (and I don't necessarily think it's evil), you should pay attention.