Back from SF

All done with the mini-vacation. The drive up the coast (San Diego to San Fran) in the convertible was quite nice, really could not have asked for better weather. As usual, the view on the coast highway was spectacular. One thing I really enjoyed was the olfactory experience of the convertible. Driving through you could smell people cooking breakfast, eucalyptus trees, sage, redwoods and cedars, the ocean, etc. Driving in a convertible is an experience, rather than just travel.

Mark was a gracious host and the trip out to the SF bay was great. It was an impressive fireworks show (kaboom), and well worth the trip.

Update: Photos of the trip are here.

President Bush has installed more than 100 top officials who were once lobbyists, attorneys or spokespeople for the industries they oversee.

Videotape shows revelers at celebration – Survivors of May 19 airstrike cast doubt on U.S. account

Alan Greenspan, the social butterfly.

Following his retirement from the Marine Corps, the Bush administration thought so highly of Zinni that it appointed him to one of its highest diplomatic posts — special envoy to the Middle East. But Zinni broke ranks with the administration over the war in Iraq

2k pages missing from prisoner abuse report sent to the senate from the pentagon.

Ahmad Chalabi may go down as one of the great con men of history. But his powerful American friends are on the defensive now, and Chalabi himself is under attack. How could it be that the men who run the most powerful military in the world could not know that their own troops were about to run a raid on a man once regarded as the hope of free Iraq?

Organic Food: Outcry Over Rule Changes that Allow More Pesticides, Hormones

Big Sur and random links

Sipping on some jasmine pearls Anna bought for me. They are quite nice.

Heading up to Big Sur tomorrow for a bit of camping overnight. Then it is up to the bay. We are going to hitch a ride on Mark’s (Anna’s brother) boat to see the fireworks in the SF bay. Should be fun.

Database Measured ‘Terrorism Quotient’ – authorities apparently acted on the list of 120,000 people. I am waiting for ratemyterroristquotient.com…

U.S. Soldiers Raid Chalabi’s Home in Iraq. Probably part of the oil for food scandal, but lets hope they had some good evidence, this won’t be looked at kindly.

The Bush administration violated two federal laws through part of its publicity campaign to promote the drug changes in Medicare.

Nice one: House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) lectured McCain (R-Ariz.) — an outspoken opponent of Bush’s tax cuts — over war sacrifices, drawing a blistering retort from McCain, who nearly died of war wounds in a North Vietnamese prison camp.

McSweeney’s daily reasons to dispatch Bush.

Flames will play for Stanley Cup, wow.

Top 10 Dirtiest Foods Will Make You Sick. Start public panic… now.

Researchers hail dyslexia breakthrough. Too easy to make up a funny headline for this.

Internet guide to freighter travel.

Apocalyptic Christians

A very interesting read from the Village Voice regarding the meetings of the National Security Council’s top Middle East aide with apocalyptic Christians. The problem is not that George W. Bush is discussing policy with people who press right-wing solutions to achieve peace in the Middle East, or with devout Christians. It is that he is discussing policy with Christians who might not care about peace at all – at least until the rapture.

Nice: The Bush White House is going around the country taking credit for government programs it tried to eliminate or cut sharply.

Dozens of soldiers – other than the seven military police reservists who have been charged – were involved in the abuse at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison, and there is an effort under way in the Army to hide it, a key witness in the investigation told ABCNEWS.

U.S. forces beat three Iraqis working for Reuters and subjected them to sexual and religious taunts and humiliation during their detention last January in a military camp near Falluja.

The UN’s humanitarian co-ordinator for Sudan, Mukesh Kapila, described what is going on in Darfur, an arid region of western Sudan, as “the worst humanitarian crisis in the world“.

“JBX” is a little experiment being performed by Jack in the Box (their corporate headquarters are here in San Diego. I have to say, I think they look gawd awful.

Little Vietnam

Finally up and running on my RMA stuff.. we shall see if she holds together.

The San Diego Reader does not lie: BEST VIETNAMESE-FRENCH SANDWICH I went here tonight while I was waiting for Anna. Awesome sandwich. They are sort of like good Vietnamese food on really good French bread (a result of the French screwing over their country). Anyway, a great meal, and the sucker was only 2 bucks.

I wandered around Vien Dong (Vietnamese Supermarket) for a little bit. I like to check out all the wierd, sometimes smelly, fish and meats. But mostly what I went for was young coconut juice drinks. Ever since Burning Man, I have been a sucker for young coconut juice. We met a guy named Thomas at Burning Man last year that bought a case of coconuts and a machete. He kept them in a cooler packed with ice and then cut open a few a day. That stuff was ambrosia. I am using the greek definition here, not the crap jello thingy.

PS I like sunflowers

Travel

Just ordered my new backpack: Mountainsmith Retro Bugaboo, I almost bought it before, but it just went on sale with REI.

Its not a huge bag, but is very comfortable and is pretty much the exact dimensions of a slim carry on bag (I like to travel light and never check baggage). Would have rather had a black bag, but I think I will just cut off the labels to make it a bit less conspicuous.

While I have travel on the mind.. some good links: Art of Travel, and Travellite.