DNA...

Like a lot of people around the world, I laughed my head off reading Douglas Adams' books. I was saddened to hear of his death, and also prompted to reacquaint myself with and learn more about the whole "Hitchhiker" phenom on the Web.

That led me to the h2g2 site, which seems to combine journaling, threaded messaging, and the posting of "articles" that become part of a "real" Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy that is now maintained by - I kid you not - the BBC (as in: British Broadcasting Corporation).

Articles are posted on both an informal and formal basis, with the latter subject to an editing and review cycle (check out this article, about Paris, and not the one in Texas!). Everything on the site is subject to review by moderators to prevent the violation of the house rules (basically "don't cuss, don't defame, and don't post copyrighted material"). Also, while everything you post belongs to you, the BBC apparently reserves some rights to your content.

At first glace, the place looks a little deserted, with most of the articles I've looked at so far having been posted in 2000. A number of people have not been back to the site since it was acquired by the BBC. There are also a number of people like me who have discovered the site in the past few days.

I've staked out my own piece of the Guide, in case anyone wants to visit.

Cheers...

Last (for now) shift...

Yesterday's shift went until sometime after 5 pm local time, which made for a long day. What made it longer was that the last hour or so was spent in a long series of exchanges between the crew and the ground extolling one another's virtues. And there I was, feeding all of this to the folks attempting to spend a quiet night during their shift at the Moscow MCC. Yeow! That had to hurt!... or maybe it helped them nod off? :^) (Don't misunderstand me, both the crew and the control team have the right to brag on each other. They're doing an awesome amount of work and are improving with every passing day, it seems. But I'd be surprised if the folks in the Moscow MCC really listened to this traffic.)

Anyway, the flight control team informed us of a similar crew wake schedule today, so Elena E.-S. and I again showed up early, for a somewhat extended shift that's supposed to end at 4:30 pm local time. The end of today's work will mark the end of my time here in Houston for this trip.

I am surprised at just how itchy I am to be getting back on the road to go home to Colorado. Especially in light of having to spend some time gathering stuff (mostly bills and such) to take with me, as well as some time putting together a final invoice and expense report (sweet labor!).

Perhaps it is the knowledge that Galina and I could just as easily get "stuck" on the way home, stopping by every place that might look as if it might help Galina and me boost our retail business. Such a scenario would fuel a "gotta-get-on-the-road-ASAP" feeling. Or maybe it's the knowledge that I'll be back here in about three weeks, again helping the species take baby steps into the cosmos.

I miss Pagosa. I miss the kids. The dogs. The house. The business. The mountains...

I have not seen Lee since she promised to come home Thursday night, apparently reverting to old habits. (She did come home yesterday, but after I went to sleep, and was gone before I returned from work.) I hope I get to see her before Galina and I leave.

Cheers...

Batman found in Russia...

From the km.ru news wire:

The flying celebrity has finally been found in Russia. A resident of Chita [a city near China], who had become fairly drunk on the occasion of his birthday, decided to leave his apartment via a window. His apartment, though, is on the 8th floor. Grabbing hold of some curtains in order to look good, he took a running leap out the kitchen window and flew down five stories, just like the famous movie hero. Then, according to the Russian News Bureau, he fell onto some high-voltage lines strung at the third floor level, causing a powerful explosion that blacked out power to the entire district. The young man was thrown to the ground, after which he got up, dusted himself off, and went on his way. Curiously, journalists who came the next day to look at this "Batman" could find no visible injuries. When asked where he went after his leap, the young man gave a comprehensive answer: "For vodka."

Наконец-то в России нашли знаменитого летающего человека. Один читинец, изрядно подвыпив на своем дне рождения, решил выйти из своей квартиры через окно. Только квартира эта располагалась на восьмом этаже. Разбежавшись, он выпрыгнул из кухни, "захватив" для красоты занавески и пролетел как знаменитый киногерой пять этажей. Затем, по сообщению РБН, на уровне третьего этажа он упал на высоковольтные линии, после чего последовал мощный взрыв и отключение электричества во всем районе. Молодого человека отбросило на землю, после чего он встал, отряхнулся и пошел. Что любопытно, журналисты, приехавшие посмотреть на "Бэтмена" на следующий день, никаких видимых повреждений у него не обнаружили, а на вопрос "куда пошел после прыжка" получили исчерпывающий ответ – "За водкой".

My translation; km.ru's story. And one really lucky dude in Chita.

Cheers...

Awww...

Carter did not disappoint. Tonight's finale to the eighth season of The X Files raised more questions than it answered, ticked off members of the Society for the Protection of Alex Krycek, and taught us all what the truth is.

Mulder kissing Scully with the baby between them comes at just the right time, when Mulder is scheduled to becomes scarce on the series next season. All those years spent developing the mutual sexual and psychological energy as the relationship between the two developed and deepened will not be wasted the way it has been in other series (here, Moonlighting comes to mind). That is, if Carter has his head on straight.

Sometime, when I have nothing better to do, I might try to list all of the unanswered questions associated with this series... then again... why bother? Salient among the issues I'd like answers to are the following: Why did Billy Miles appear to be an aggressor up until the last minute? Who were all the people who arrived for the blessed event? (or should it be: Blessed Event, as the "subtle" hints about the light in the sky and the three kings Lone Gunmen bearing gifts might imply?)

The kiss was nice. Doggett's exchange with Kirsch at the end was better. All the unanswered questions are the best.

Cheers...

Jack Webb never dreamed of this...

Interesting segment on tonight's 60 MInutes on "DNA dragnets." The idea is to ask people to "voluntarily" give up DNA samples so that they may be compared against DNA collected at a crime scene.

The "pro" argument: innocent people have nothing to fear.

The "con" argument: it violates civil liberties and has the potential for massive abuse.

The argument against the "con" position: there are mechanisms in place to prevent massive abuse (laws preventing DNA collected in a criminal investigation to be used for other purposes), and innocent people have nothing to fear.

Laws can be changed. At one time, states laughed off the idea that they might ever sell data from their driver license databases, telling critics they described as "paranoid" that the idea was ludicrous and citing regulations that prevented such misuses from occurring.

Of course, today, now that everyone but a "lunatic fringe" is cool with the idea that driver license databases must contain not only name and address, but also a photograph, SSN, and often a fingerprint, several states routinely make their driver license databases available for a variety of governmental purposes not directly related to making sure that people are qualified to drive on the road. Too, if I am not mistaken, some states also sell such data to private-sector marketing firms (South Carolina comes to mind here as either a current offender, or one that had to give up this source of revenue as a result of public outcry).

Personally, I think Morley Safer did a very lukewarm job of presenting the civil libertarian position on this issue. The talking head they got to attack DNA dragnets sounded like he had little more to stand on than some fuddy-duddy legal tradition.

If citizens must give up their DNA "voluntarily" or else become suspects in criminal investigations (or victims of intimidation), then the Fourth Amendment - the one that goes, roughly, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated..." - means nothing.

If innocents have nothing to fear by allowing the State to take samples their bodily fluids on demand, then certainly they must have nothing to fear by allowing the State to search their persons, their premises, or effects on the same basis.

Don't expect people like Bush or Gore to help protect your privacy... their track records show a consistent and accelerating animosity toward the concept of privacy.

Cheers...