New Bluegrass Band

I'm not a great connoiseur of bluegrass music. Aside from O Brother Where Art Thou I am pretty limited. But last Saturday I had the chance to hear a performance of the Deer Creek Boys in Clifton Forge, VA. at the Dabney S. Lancaster Community College. It was at the end of a long day of Woodsmen sports competition. Everyone was wet, cold, and tired. The Deer Creek Boys livened everyone up as we ate and got ready for the awards.

The band's playing is great. The vocals need to develop, though. They will try anything and I think they have a great future. Here's a link to their site: http://www.deercreekboys.com/ Definitely check it out.

The Mission Song

I just finished John LeCarré's latest novel: The Mission Song. This book is shorter than the author's previous novels. Yet it follows a similar plot as his latest books. An eccentric hero on the fringes of the intelligence world gets involved with some scandalous or outrageous operation. He decides to fight against the wrong, but is eventually betrayed and ruined for his efforts. In this case the hero is a highly skilled interpreter of African languages from the Congo region. He gets involved with a scheme to steal the mineral resources of eastern Congo by a business syndicate led by a British politician. On the way, he falls in love with a sympathetic, but damaged woman with a young child.

In spite of this being familiar ground, I found myself drawn into the story. I knew that the hero was doomed, but I couldn't help reading on to see how it happened. LeCarré is a master of working a political point into his spy stories. The end of the cold war hasn't slowed him down. The bleak war on terror and the continued injustices of the world give him a lot of material to write about.

Cool Word Tool

I came across this new capability in Word 2007. It can now upload text directly to a blog. There is also a section to add a pictures. I suppose I could put pictures in the document and they would load. This is a very cool tool. It must be an attempt to make the internet experience almost seamless.

allAfrica.com: Guinea: The Case for U.S. Action (Page 1 of 2)

allAfrica.com: Guinea: The Case for U.S. Action (Page 1 of 2)

This editorial in AllAfrica.com by Herbert S. Challenor powerfully explains why the US should get involved in the situation in Guinea. We have direct economic and moral interests in what happens in Guinea.

Guinea is a natural ally of the USA. All its people want is a fair chance at a good life. They want an honest government. When I visited Guinea a few weeks ago, I was astounded at the patience of the Guineans dealing with so much corruption an incompetence. But that patience is at an end.

We can't let the situation in Iraq distract us from another possible tragedy which would have dire consequences for the people of Guinea, the rest of west Africa, and the USA.

NPR : Guinea Under Martial Law as Protests, Riots Mount

NPR : Guinea Under Martial Law as Protests, Riots Mount: by Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, who I believe is based in Dakar. I'm glad to see NPR do a story on the situation in Guinea. It's well worth a listen. The imposition of a state of siege and the curfew will not help. It will only postpone the eventual changes that have to happen.
I liked the interview with the injured man in the hospital in Conakry. It showed how so many innocent people are suffering. I remember driving right by the hospital when I was there. I never imagined how it would be needed in a few weeks.

More Megapixels

This is an article by David Pogue in the New York Times. He describes a test, done twice, where identical prints are made at three different megapixel densities. In spite of what most people think, almost no one can tell the difference between the prints. They are essentially identical.

So, this means that in choosing a camera megapixels are just one factor. The lens, electronics, storage capacity, etc. are equally as important.

I just upgraded from my three year old Gateway 5 megapixel camera to a 6 megapixel Panasonic DMC-FZ7. I was looking for the zoom lens (12X vs. 3X optical) and the faster response time in a newer camera. Also, to be honest, I couldn't afford the 8 or 9 megapixel model.

Terror Bird

I love these stories about new archaeological finds. The terror bird looks pretty fearsome. I'm glad our ancestors didn't have to face them. It seems that they were gone from this hemisphere long before there were any people here. We only have to worry about them in science fiction movies!