The uber-brawl between Colorado and Detroit occured 10 years ago today, and back in those days I wrote for a hockey website called In the Crease (where "Top Shelf" was the title of my column, and became my /. nick). It was a purely "by the fan, for the fan" endeavor, but we had garnered enough credibility that I was issued a press pass to cover this, the most anticipated regular season game in ages. I've posted the original piece I wrote that evening over at my blog (complete with a link to some video of the game), since ITC is no more, only to be found over at the Internet Archive.

Enjoy...

Wednesday night I went over to UC Berkeley to hear this guy speak for about forty-five minutes and thirty minutes of questions. He didn't have encouraging words though.

Currently the Palestinian government needs funding and aid from the US and European countries. These countries essentially give the money while saying "won't you please change some things to help your people and the peace process?" Then the Palestinians say they'll see what they can do. The money runs out, and the cycle repeats. The way Khaled Abu Toameh sees it, the Palestinian government won't change until the West firmly refuses more money until changes are made. For one, it needs to plainly acknowledge Israel's right to exist. Unfortunately, he sees no indications the Western countries are going to do that.

He also explained that that Fatah won the elections with promises of ending corruption and bringing change. Then they proceeded to abandon those campaign promises. Hamas won because their campaign was basically the same promises and voters figured they might as well see if anything would change this time, because Fatah sure didn't.

Just maybe the new Wasatia party will deliver on some of its promises.

Straight Talk on Palestine
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
March 20, 2007;
Wall Street Journal - Page A19

Even before the Palestinian "unity" government was sworn in Saturday at least five European countries announced that they would resume their business with the Hamas-led coalition.

The U.S. has endorsed Israel's position on the Palestinian government -- namely, that its political platform does not meet the conditions set by the so-called "Quartet" of the U.S., EU, U.N. and Russia for ending the boycott. Washington is now under heavy pressure from its Arab allies in the Middle East to deal with it.

But the U.S. should stand firm. The Palestinian government is not committed to the Quartet's demands that it renounce violence, recognize Israel and abide by agreements signed with Israel in the past. The speeches delivered by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his new Hamas partner, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, at Saturday's parliamentary session show that the Palestinians are determined instead to continue their strategy of double-talk.

Neither the president nor the prime minister openly called for an end to terrorism or for recognizing Israel's right to exist. And to add to the confusion, the two men came up with a political program that contains many contradictions and ambiguities.

The wording of the program was drafted in such a way as to allow both Hamas and Fatah to argue that neither party had totally abandoned its traditional position. The equivocal tone is also designed to appease the Americans and Europeans. After all, the main goal of the new coalition is to get the international community to resume desperately needed financial aid.

With regard to the three main demands of the Quartet, the program leaves the door wide open for different interpretations.

On the issue of terrorism, the program states that the new government "stresses that resistance is a legitimate right of the Palestinian people . . . and our people have the right to defend themselves against any Israeli aggression." But the program also says that the new government will "work toward consolidating the tahdiya [period of calm] and extending it [to the West Bank] so that it becomes a comprehensive and mutual truce."

The program sets a number of conditions for halting the "resistance" -- ending the "occupation" and achieving independence and the right of return for Palestinian refugees, as well as an end to Israeli security measures in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (including the construction of the security fence). In other words, Fatah and Hamas are saying that the violence will continue as long as Israel does not meet these demands.

Regarding Israel's right to exist, the program does not even mention the name Israel. Instead, it refers to Israel as "The Occupation." It also makes no mention of the two-state solution. Rather, it reiterates the Palestinians' opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state with temporary borders.

Although the document declares that the "key to peace and stability is contingent on ending the occupation of Palestinian lands and recognizing the Palestinian people's right to self-determination," it does not specify which "lands" -- those captured by Israel in 1967 or 1948.

Fatah representatives, of course, argue that the program refers only to the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. Hamas, on the other hand, will be able to argue that the phrase "Palestinian lands" applies also to all of Mandatory Palestine.

Referring to the third demand of the Quartet -- abiding by agreements between the PLO and Israel -- the political program states that the new government will only "respect" agreements signed by the PLO.

Hamas leaders have already explained that there is a huge difference between "respecting" an agreement and making a pledge to fulfill it. In other words, Hamas is saying that while it accepts the agreements with Israel as an established fact, it will not carry them out.

Elsewhere in the program, the new government says that it will abide by unspecified U.N. and Arab summit resolutions, leaving the door open for Fatah to claim that this is tantamount to recognizing the two-state solution and all the agreements with Israel. Fatah will cite the 2002 Arab peace plan that implicitly recognizes Israel.

Hamas, on the other hand, can always claim that among the Arab summit resolutions that it intends to abide by is the one taken in Khartoum, Sudan, in September 1967. The resolution contains what became known as "the three no's" of Arab-Israel relations: no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, and no negotiations with Israel.

Although the program makes it clear that the PLO, and not the new Hamas-led coalition, will be responsible for conducting negotiations with Israel, it also seeks to tie the hands of President Abbas by stating that any "fateful" agreement must be approved by the Palestinians in the PA-controlled areas and abroad through a referendum.

The program, moreover, closes the door to any potential concessions on the problem of the refugees by emphasizing their "right of return to their lands and property [inside Israel]."

The international community must demand an end to the era of ambiguity and double-talk. If the new government is opposed to terror, there is no reason why it should not state this loudly and clearly.

If it recognizes Israel -- as some of its members claim -- then why not announce this in unequivocal language? The international community must insist that the messages coming out of the Palestinian leaders be the same in both English and Arabic.

There is no point in pouring millions of dollars on the "unity" government as long as it's not prepared to make a clear and firm commitment to halt terror and recognize Israel's right to exist.

Mr. Toameh is Palestinian affairs editor of the Jerusalem Post.

I remember how some forums used to show posts and replies in a threaded Usenet-style. Only the title was visible until clicked on and unread ones could be in bold.

I can't remember any recent forums letting me easily see which replies are new since the last time I viewed the page. I find it hard to believe people wouldn't like this feature. I'd like to see which are the new comments on multiply, slashdot, fark, and so on.

So why doesn't this exist? It doesn't have to add work to the server. The server doesn't have to keep track of when a page was asked for. The client can do that, say for the last seven days (changeable), and bold the title of new posts.

Google announced today a partnership with the National Basketball Association to provide a new "NBA Channel" on YouTube, featuring game highlights and videos featuring NBA players. The new arrangement isn't as extensive as that between Google and the National Hockey League, which provides full games for online viewing, but marks a significant new addition to YouTube's partnership-driven content.

The NHL repeatedly gets blasted for perceived marketing failures, so it's interesting to see the media-darling NBA following in their footsteps in this case.

edit: I overlooked a simple checkbox.

Just upgraded from Firefox 1.5 to 2, and Tabbrowser Extensions don't work anymore. I found Tab Mix Plus, which is almost as good. [Edit: cut, snip, delete.]

I just found the MileWideBack add-on. Just slam the mouse to the left edge of the browser page and scroll up or down to cycle between tabs, or middle-click to close a tab. Unless the cursor is already positioned over the tab bar, it's probably even faster and more convenient than having to accurately position the cursor along the bar.

Waitasecond. In the pursuit of further speed and convenience, how about if the user could just right-click-and-hold and scroll or middle click to do what MileWideBack does? Can anyone think of a problem with this? When I right click there's no menu until I release. With an extension, if I scroll or middle click those actions would cancel the menu from appearing. Or does this already exist too?

Specifically people from the Bay Area going up to the snow for the first time this winter. Until last week the snow was crap so I can sympathize. No sense buying snow clothing and boots for your kids in December if there's the chance you just won't go this year.

Nevertheless, outdoor retail functions a month or two ahead of the season it's targeting. Meaning that my store shifted to fall clothes in mid-August, replaced bikes with skis in October, and this past weekend was the start of our super clearance sale so we could have room for spring-wear. The sale runs through Monday, but 75% of the merchandise was sold last weekend.

So especially for kids, there is zero ski and snow-wear left. This has led to sad and frustrated parents. One solution is combine a rain jacket and pants with warm fleece leggings and jacket underneath. If the kid(s) have a jacket or fleece already, it won't cost so much, and the separate garments are useful in Bay Area weather and temps. Some of the parents get it. Those used to getting what they want take more time, or walk out to try another store that they'll find also has nothing. I experience a slight bit of schadenfreude when they break down and buy the rain-wear/fleece I suggested.

Alternatively, I know stores in the towns around Lake Tahoe keep plenty of stock on-hand longer than the Bay Area stores. Since there's basically no gloves and boots left, these parents will have to stop in to the Tahoe-area shops anyway and pay extra.

Someone took neimo back in 2005, so I'm neim0
    Meh.

There must be something wrong with it, because I looked over Apple's hardware, and I don't see anything particularly wrong for casual gamers except the graphics cards are crap. Is it not worth it to Apple to get get the gamers onboard and another 2% market share?

I can buy an iMac with a Radeon X1600? That card retails online for $90. For $180 I can get a GeForce 7900 GS that has around three times the performance. More importantly, it will run today's and tomorrow's games satisfactorily. The X1600 will not. Furthermore, the X1600 only comes with 128MB, unless I pay Apple $75 for 256MB. The 7900 GS of course comes with 256MB.

Or I can buy a $2000 iMac with a GeForce 7300 GT. Too bad the 7900 GS is still twice as powerful. And that's still the 128MB version. If I want it with 256 I have to pay Apple $125. Wait. WHAT? According to pricegrabber.com, I can buy the 256 version today for $100. What a way to screw the customers.

It's such a waste. Macs could be fine gaming machines. The pieces are all there except for the video card. Damn it Apple. PC users already have monitors and most don't need a new one. Please sell a mini-tower headless iMac with power in the $900 to $1400 range.

The boxes wouldn't even have to be that big. As tall and deep as a 17" iMac, but wide enough for a replaceable PCI-E card and two quiet 120mm fans in the front and back. If not used for gaming, the fans would run silently.

I thought this was supposed to happen on Monday mornings, but I'm just in pissy mood today:

1. Weight loss has steadied off around 188, down about 20 pounds from where I started (and not going back up), but it's been hard to get back into the 3-workout-per-week routine, particularly after coming down with Strep last week. My original goal was to get down to 175 by early March, and it looks like I'll miss that by a fair margin.
2. Our hockey team, which is much improved this season, lost last night 5-3, and I had a couple bone-headed blunders that, while they didn't lead to a goal against, didn't help things.
3. We're not making as much headway on paying off our debts as I would like. We decided to go with minimum payments during the holiday season, but now we're having to catch up with some things (car repair, vet bills, etc.) that are getting in the way.
4. I found out yesterday (indirectly) that I'm not going to the user conference for the ERP system I'm implementing - although the CIO and a VP who's in charge of an entirely different system are going. I had specifically asked to attend this conference a couple months ago.
5. For our implementation project, we need to get IT training rolling to support our internal development plans, but HR is requiring every aspect of this plan (who's getting trained in what, and when) to be nailed down to the gnat's ass, with objective justifications as to why various people are getting trained and why some aren't, etc. Protecting the company from doing something that will get us sued is one thing, but they keep taking this way too far. We need to get the damn training going...
6. Our ERP vendor blows chunks. We're two months into a massive development effort (think many many man-years) with is due in Q3, and they still don't have a complete plan of how they're going to make it happen, and are still lining up resources. Oh yeah, and the bulk of the work is being done in an offshore startup (not outsourced, as it's their firm, but halfway around the world).
7. I'm realizing more and more that I hate project management. Nagging people to make sure they get $hit done is excruciating to me. Some people are great at that kind of thing, but I'm not one of them. Give me the analytical/architectural problems, and I'll do a great job.
8. WTF, Red Foreman? Where'd ya go?

Not everything is woe and misery. My writings are getting quite a bit of run over at Fox Sports these days, including my recent finding that there may well be a lefty/righty matchup advantage that coaches should utilize during shootouts.

Gotta go, time to flesh out this f*cking training plan for back-to-back meetings coming up...

Well, this is annoying - both Technorati is down, and Blogger's not serving up my blog, or allowing new posts.

I sense something terrible has happened...

Now that I've had a few days to recover, I can write up my vacation.

We started out around noon on Thursday, Jan 4th. I packed up the minivan that morning, packed the kids in, and away we went. Ahead of us was about 1200 miles and 22 hours of driving. My wife and I were equipped with an XM Satellite Radio, an iPod, and a laptop with EvDO wireless internet. The kids had a DVD player and a whole mess of DVDs.

The first stop was dinner in south Jersey, just short of the Delaware Memorial Bridge. As noted in my last JE, we were making most of our stops at Cracker Barrels. My wife and I are both dieting, and it isn't hard to make good choices from the Cracker Barrel menu. The food is a lot better than McDonald's or the other fast food choices, the atmosphere is kid friendly, and the prices are really low.

After dinner, I switched off and drove for the next stretch through Delaware, Maryland, around DC, and into northern Virginia. Unfortunately we hit this area around the evening rush, so we had to fight traffic.

After a batchroom/gas break, we changed the kids into PJs and headed back out. I got my first good nap while my wife drove to the North Carolina border. Then we switched again and I got us across North Carolina and into South Carolina.

My wife drove across South Carolina. We got stopped for speeding in Yamassee, SC. We were clocked doing 82 in a 70. Fortunately my wife had just slowed down after seeing a car ahead with its hazards on. She couldn't tell if it was on the shoulder or not, so she slowed from 100 to 82! The cop figured out the kids were sleeping in their seats, and managed to do the traffic stop without waking them. I think he felt bad for us, since he gave us a $25 seat belt violation instead of the $100 speeding plus points violation.

I drove across Georgia and into Florida. We had breakfast at another Cracker Barrel near St. Augustine. Our accommodations in Orlando weren't available until 4 PM, so we headed to the Kennedy Space Center and spent half the day there.

The kids really had a good time at KSC. They had dressed as astronauts for Halloween, and we took their orange NASA flight suits with us. We took a whole bunch of great photos of them in real space capsules. A big part of the KSC is the bus tours of the actual launch facilities. We didn't bother with those since the kids just wanted to run around after being strapped down for so long.

Then we made the hour and a half trip to Orlando. We were staying at the Liki Tiki, which I'd highly recommend for families with kids. The Liki Tiki is about 6 miles west of the Disney main gates on Rt 192. It has 1 and 2 bedroom timeshare condos, equipped with full kitchens, in room laundry, etc. It isn't a five star resort, but the place is clean and comfortable, plus there are several pools and a small water slide park right on the premises.

The best part, however, is that it is economical. We stayed 7 days in a two bedroom unit for only $350, or $50 a night. On top of that the kitchen is a huge benefit, especially when traveling with kids. The last thing we needed was to try to get an 18 month old and a kid a little less than 4 into a restaurant 3 times a day. In the morning, we could make some eggs or some pancakes and then go straight to the park. In the evening, we could come home and make some mac and cheese or a frozen pizza instead of trying to make two exhausted kids sit still in a restaurant.

BTW, there is a Publix supermarket about another mile west on Rt 192. In the same strip mall is a Papa John's Pizza and a surprisingly good Chinese takeout place. About another mile to the end of Rt 192, then a few hundred feet north on US 27 is a Walmart. Less than $100 in groceries took care breakfast and most dinners for the entire week. That is tons better than we would have spent in just a few days.

In addition, the laundry is a great benefit too. We didn't need to travel with a full week's worth of cloths, only a few days. Makes it easier to pack. I'd do a load or two of laundry every few nights and we were set to go. I also hate coming home with a pile of laundry, so it was nice come home with clean cloths.

After checking in and unpacking, we did go out for dinner. There is a large resort hotel just outside the Disney gates called the Gaylord Palms. The hotel has a huge atrium divided into three zones, representing three areas of Florida. One was themed around St. Augustine, one around the Everglades, and one around Key West. Each zone has walking paths, plants and animals representative of the area, etc, as well as a restaurant. We had dinner at Key West, at a seafood place aboard a sailboat floating in a small lagoon inside the atrium. It was a little expensive but worth it.

The first full day, Saturday, we spent the day at the Magic Kingdom. The kids had a blast, but my younger one isn't used to sleeping in the stroller and had a meltdown. We went back to our condo in mid-afternoon to let him nap, then we all went swimming. It was in the 80s so this was a nice relief form the heat. After dinner, we went to MGM. Most of the attractions suitable for preschool level kids weren't open in the evening, but we got to scout out the place some.

Sunday we went to Animal Kingdom. The Safari is an really great ride, BTW. We had a good time there, but again it was hot so we went back to go swimming in the mid-afternoon. In the evening we went to Epcot for a bit.

A quick hint about Epcot: As you enter the nations area, Mexico is the first nation on the left. There is a restaurant there with outside seating right next to the lake. Grab a table there about an hour before the fireworks and watch the whole thing sitting down.

On Monday we went back to Animal Kingdom. This day was really chilly. It made it to about 60, but the wind was really brisk. We didn't have enough heavy sweatshirts with us to deal with the wind, so we had to buy some.

Tuesday we went to the Magic Kingdom. The highlights today were the Indy Racers and the ever popular Pirates of the Carribean. The ride has been modified to include Captain Jack Sparrow. The modifications were well done. Traditionalists will not be disappointed. I wish I could say the same for the Tiki Room.

On Wednesday, we split our time between MGM and Epcot. We enjoyed several shows at MGM, especially since they involved the characters the kids watch on the Disney Channel. The kids got to meet the Little Einsteins, for instance. The behind the movies and the special effects tours were really fun too. By today, my youngest had figured out how to sleep in the stroller, so we were able to spend the full day there. The "Soaring" attraction at Epcot is a must-ride. Basically it is a large IMAX screen that shows images of hang gliding around California while you sit in an articulated seat, your legs dangling. The sensation of actually flying is accentuated by little touches - getting squirted with a few droplets of water, for instance, while you glide a few feet above the crashing surf of Monterey. You need to be 40 inches tall to ride, and my oldest is about 39.999 inches. In order to ride, he stood under the height requirement bar and the attendant tried to slide a credit card between the bar and his head. The card got stuck and he got to ride.

Thursday we went to the Magic Kingdom again. In the evening we had dinner at the Crystal Palace while Winnie the Pooh and Tiger wandered about. Then we watched the electric light parade and the fireworks.

Friday we packed up and drove to Homosasa, Florida, a town about an hour north of Tampa on the Gulf Coast. My wife has an Aunt and Uncle that live there and we visited for a day and a half, mostly relaxing and swimming in their pool.

Saturday after dinner we packed up and headed on out. The only highway near Homosassa goes in the wrong direction, so we needed to drive smaller roads up to Gainesville before we were able to get to an interstate. A significant chunk of this drive is along a stretch that has lots of deer activity so we needed to stay extra alert just after dark.

My wife drove from Homosassa to Gainesville, then I did the next leg up to Georgia. We switched of again and she got most of the way into South Carolina. I drove most of South Carolina, then she did much of North Carolina.

I drove the last third of North Carolina, then in Virginia we headed toward Williamsburg. My wife's college roommate is a grad student at William and Mary, and was just married a few months earlier. We met her and her new husband for breakfast at a place called "Aromas", which is jsut about a block from the Wren building, the original building for William and Mary, and still in use by the college. We let the kids run aroudn a bit before setting off again.

After that my wife drove to Northern Virginia, I brought us through DC - a wrong turn put us on I-395 into the city rather than going around, so I just kept going up to New York Ave and back out rather than backtrack. Then she drove us through Baltimore and I did Jersey and back home to New York.

We got home around 8PM. The return trip as about 26 hours total, including the extended stop in Williamsburg.

If anyone is in the market for a good family vehicle, the Honda Odyssey is a great choice. Last year we did this trip in a rented Chrysler minivan and the difference was astounding. We were so much more comfortable in the Honda. In addition, the Honda held the road well at speed, the Chrysler did not do well in a crosswind. The seats were more comfortable, there is a lot more storage space, and it is easier to sleep across the back bench. We were extremely satisfied with the Honda.

I wrote a JE a week ago, but the browser ate it since I logged in with the Public Terminal option.

I went on a Birthright trip for ten days with 40 18-26 year-olds. We're all Jewish by birth, but most of us were secular. Our program had four mountain bike rides, aparently the first tour to try that. Some other tours are for Hillel or Orthodox groups. Tuesday night the official tour ended and about 30 people flew back to New York. For $200 I extended my stay until Monday night to see my Mom who has been living here for two years.

I've had a great time going around this New Jersey-sized country. We traveled just over 1000 miles in our bus. Now I'm more rested and seeing a few things there wasn't time for before.

The rules for extending tickets are both flexible and strict. For the same fee I could have flown back up to 90 days after the tour. However I have to fly back from Tel Aviv to JFK no matter if I lived in New Jersey or Miami. (One tour departs from Miami) A few of the ~10 who extended are flying to Egypt or eastern Europe to sight-see before coming back to Tel Aviv for the flight home.

Of course I live in the Bay Area, and I before this trip I hadn't been to New York. So I"m spending Tuesday through Friday afternoon in the city. Tuesday morning at 01:00 my eleven hour flight takes off and I'll be in JFK around 06:00. I'll sleep on the plane, giving me a long day, but maybe I'll nap before seeing Rent at 8pm. Thursday night I'm seeing Avenue Q, but the rest of the time I've left open.

You'd think with all this exercising (mostly involving lifting Red Foreman's karma out of the gutter) I'd be making quicker progress on the weight front, but the going is slow. Of course, it didn't help that I got access to a suite for Tuesday's Ducks/Predators game in Nashville. Open access to wings, hot dogs, popcorn & chips was just too big an indulgence to pass up, plus I missed a workout that would normally occur that night.

I made up for it this morning though, heading in to the Y before work. It's definitely been harder getting focus back after the holidays than I thought, however. Down 1 more pound this week, still a couple away from my peak low right before Christmas...

After hitting a bump in the there in late December, the weight loss plan is back on track - down 2 pounds over the week back down to 186, and resuming the routine of 3 workouts a week at the Y, with the odd 15-minute walk during the workday thrown in. The new hockey season starts in a couple weeks, so the more I can drop before then, the better...

Gotta get back to watching the rest of the Steve Yzerman jersey retirement night. Wow, what an event...