Worst Ever

Many people (myself included) have long been saying that George W. Bush was the worst president in U.S. history.  George and his apologists keep saying that history will be the ultimate judge and that he will be vindicated.  Possibly, but there is little evidence to support that theory.  Every aspect of his presidency has been an utter failure from the economy, to the wars, to foreign policy and relations, denial of human rights, flouting the Constitution and Bill of Rights, torturing prisoners, hindering science and suppressing it in favor of superstition, increasing the income disparity between rich and middle class, etc.  The list is almost endless.  Some will say well, he deposed Saddam Hussein.  The problem with that argument is that it assumes that invading the country and occupying it interminably was the only solution to the problem.  

The Onion has a great recap of George's final hours.  Surveying the damage of his presidency.

Doonesbury piles on as well.

Badminton

Many years ago, when I lived in Atlanta, a colleague--Leighton--taught me how to play badminton. Well, he did his best. I'm not a great student perhaps. There was a regular group that used to play at a college gym in downtown Atlanta. After moving to Dallas I stopped playing.

In '97 I moved to the Bay Area and began playing again occasionally. There are a lot of badminton players in this area, and I found a good place to play at a local school near my office. I also discovered that my old friend Leighton had moved to the area, though he and I live some distance apart, unfortunately, so we aren't able to play together regularly.

Once again, though, for no particular reason, I let things slip and stopped playing for about 3 years.

Recently, however, I decided to start playing again, and after a bit of research, discovered two new dedicated badminton clubs in the East Bay: one near my office in Dublin, the other in Emeryville, not too far from my home in Oakland. I've been out twice now, and plan to start playing regularly again.

Those that don't play badminton or are not familiar with the competitive version of the sport think it's just a casual backyard activity. At a competitive level, however, it is an astonishingly fast game. In fact the shuttle travels faster than any object in any other sport (when stuck by the top players). It is a fast-paced and enjoyable game to play, even at the club pickup level. Now I have another activity in addition to ice hockey to keep me from getting too fat.

Badminton is most popular throughout Asia, though there are a few countries in Europe in which it is popular, notably Denmark and Great Britain.

Here are a few links to some badminton sites for those that might be interested in learning more about the sport:

http://www.badzine.info/

http://www.internationalbadminton.org/index.asp

http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/

See you at the gym. Smash!

Ozumo

My friend Fred visited San Francisco this past week, and we were able to get together at Ozumo in San Francisco.  Ozumo is an exceedingly hip Japanese restaurant.  Very nice place with excellent food and a extra-modern decor and atmosphere.  The only negative (in my view) was the relentless and loud techno-disco permeating the place.  It made conversation challenging. I'm not so hip.

Enough about the location.  The point was to meet up with a friend. I hadn't seen Fred in about 4 years, but it was nice to catch up, talk a bit about politics, our jobs, the economy, current events, etc.  Other friends of Fred also attended, and it was pleasant seeing them too.  Wes and Reg I'd met before, Matt and Wes's friend Jackie were new to me.  Good folks all.

Is it 1929?

During the great depression, it was famously reported that stock brokers were leaping to their deaths from skyscrapers in New York. The scale of this was overblown, but it did happen.

Now it seems the latest financial collapse is reviving the practice of suicide.

German tycoon kills himself
Investor suicide from Madoff affair
General report on the trend

"We are in the throes of the worst recession since the early 1980s," said Kevin Flanagan, fixed income strategist for global wealth management at Morgan Stanley. "Factory orders are getting hit again. The economy is really not receiving any support from any cylinders of the engine."

Wait, the early 80s, wasn’t that the time of the “Reagan Miracle”. You remember, when Ron spent more than the Dems, cut taxes anyway, just ran up huge deficits. Who was the VP during that administration? Oh yeah, George Bush senior. Now junior’s administration, following in the footsteps of his father and mentor and helping create another disaster.

These neo-con policies fail over and over again, but they just keep regurgitating them anyway, to the detriment of us all. If at first you don’t succeed, fail fail again.

Goodbye Ozzy

When I was a kid, and during the time I was growing up, we had always had dogs.  I like dogs, and I never considered myself a cat person.  When Heike and I got together, however, I inherited (was adopted by) a couple of dogs and a couple of cats that Heike owned.  

Ozzy the cat became my favorite.  He was a wonderful little fellow, affectionate and friendly, with a distinctive personality.  He was happy and playful and liked being around us.  When I returned home from work, he would come running across the yard to greet me.  When I watched a movie on television he would sit with me and put his paws on my arm.  He was a talkative guy, and told me when he was happy, peeved, curious, whatever.  He occasionally caught a bird or mouse and brought them to us, almost as a present.  When we worked at home he would hang out in the office as if interested in what we were up to.

During the past month Ozzy's health began to deteriorate seriously.  He lost appetite and couldn't retain any nutrition.  We tried many things, as did the vets, but his illness was too severe.  He became thinner and weaker, until the past two days when he wouldn't eat at all.  He was uncomfortable, and a shadow of the joyful little man we knew.  We came to the painful realization tonight, at the vet, that he would have to be put down.

It was emotional and painful, but I stayed with him as he went to sleep and shed his mortal coil.   I wanted to help make his final moments as comfortable as possible, and I wanted him to have a familiar friend with him during his last moments.  My only consolation right now is that he is no longer suffering.  Also, I'm comforted somewhat knowing that he had a good life with us.

Goodbye Ozzy, I'll miss you very much, and will never forget you my little friend.