Where can I?

Get glaucoma? That seems to be one easy way to get a med-weed card. Can I just claim it or is there an available ersatz doc around that can see me? I can feel it coming on... My eyesight isn't what it once never was so why should I wait? Give it to me now! I promise that I won't drive, can't see at night anyway, and in fact I'll not leave the house. I hear these clubs are now delivering.

I wonder though that if I call the pot club for a delivery, will they then have the pizza guy call me a while later with a special? That would be a real business model. Joe's pot and pizza. Get me an angel investor and we will get rich. The pizza can just be cheap crap since once the stoner devours it he won't remember anyway. Call 1-800-give-me your money for details on your own franchise.

Remember, if you dig a hole big enough, they will jump into it!

Soup with meat

I've been reading Mandela's biography "Long Walk to Freedom" and it's been a continuing source of inspiration. In 1955 the Congress of the People was formed that included Black, Indian, Coloured and White groups. This was a very early attempt to fight back against the white government's oppression. (which was to get much worse as time went on) Their founding meeting was broken up by the authorities and in the chaos the police even took the signs directing delegates to the meals appropriate to their cultures. They said:

Soup with Meat
Soup without Meat

Almost two years later, in January 1957, these signs were entered as evidence in the trial of Mandela and the ANC leadership on charges of treason. They all were released this time but were caught up again later. The signs were supposed to be evidence of the attempt by the group to break up the country into dissident groups and thus overthrow the ruling powers.

To me, the confiscation of the signs are clear evidence of an insecure paranoid organization that was making sure that no one had any independent (hence dangerous) thoughts. Since an organization like this has no rational argument to justify it's defensive behavior it reacts by lashing out at anything different from itself. I think you can see this happening around the world all the time. Too bad we all can't do better.

Superficial glitter?

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI decried the increasing commercialization of Christmas as he celebrated Christmas Eve Mass on Saturday night, urging the faithful to look beyond the holiday's "superficial glitter" to discover its true meaning.

Benedict presided over the service in a packed St. Peter's Basilica, kicking off an intense two weeks of Christmas-related public appearances that will test the 84-year-old pontiff's stamina amid signs that fatigue is starting to slow him down.

Huh? I guess he's more comfortable with the real glitter that is St. Peter's in Rome. Gold and marble everywhere, not superficial at all. It's realficial.

I know the pope is stuck between years of history and layers of bureaucracy, but who decided what year everything had to be stuck and never changed again. Wouldn't it be cool to see him wearing a t-shirt? Like maybe "I'm the Pope." lettered on the front. Or how about "Jesus Rules and I'm with Him"?

Merry Christmas everyone!

From the front

Please contact me if you haven't received your key(s) yet. Message follows:

Fb Wbfrcu nyfb jrag hc sebz gur gbja bs Anmnergu va Tnyvyrr gb Whqrn, gb Orguyrurz gur gbja bs Qnivq, orpnhfr ur orybatrq gb gur ubhfr naq yvar bs Qnivq. Ur jrag gurer gb ertvfgre jvgu Znel, jub jnf cyrqtrq gb or zneevrq gb uvz naq jnf rkcrpgvat n puvyq

Merry Christmas to all.

Silver Bells

Well, not really but a memorable Christmas memory anyway. Someone had dumped a bunch of popcorn, like a couple tubs worth, at the fare gates in the Bart station yesterday. Didn't slow us herd of commuters much but a different feeling underfoot. The poor guy with a broom looked pretty overwhelmed, the agent sat in her cube ignoring everything as usual.

The trouble with popcorn in this situation is that it gets more and more finely ground and harder to pick up. I can only wonder who had it and how it dropped? Reminds me of a memory from years ago, you remember bean bag chairs? On Locust street, in front of the plastics store I watched a guy try to shove a plastic bag of beans into the passenger seat of his small British sports convertible. MGB perhaps?

The bag broke and the beans filled up the cabin to the top of the doors. As it was starting to spill over and blow away I continued my stroll down the street.

PDT 11/150 and kids

Look at these cute kids, what's not to love. But this picture caught my eye for another reason. A couple vintage computer items that I've long lost. Picture circa 1987.

On the left, a H19 Heathkit terminal that I built from a kit. Next to that a VT100 with a modem on top, Racal? On the far right my beloved PDT 11/150. Two 8 inch floppy drives that made a horrible clatter in operation.

To complete the story, I paid $500 for the H19 kit, bought at the store on Middlefield Road in Menlo Park, CA. The Vt100 was a loaner from my then current employer, Relational Technology Inc, makers of Ingres. The PDT was free from my local DEC sales guy, but I paid another $500 for the UCSD P-system to run it.

For those of you who would like to grab this stuff, sorry too late. I sold it all for a couple years later for $40. The kids are all mine, no matter how grown up they are.

Patty Dunn

Dead today at age 58. You may have heard bad about her in relation to various HP scandals but I knew her different. When she was our President at Wells Fargo Nikko Investment advisors I couldn't have been treated better. I was the guy who showed up to look at her VAX station and crawl under the desk to check the cables.

In the few meetings that we were both in, she treated us all with respect and listened to what was being said. She started as a clerk/typist at Wells and her obvious talent took her to the top. Rest in peace, Patty.

The news sources have always labeled her as Patricia, she will always be Patty to me.