Midwest Earthquake

Some residents of the Chicago area reportedly felt the 4.2 magnitude earthquake this morning near Kokomo, Indiana. The earthquake occurred at 6:55 CST. Kokomo is roughly two-thirds of the way to Indianapolis south from South Bend. Our animals did not tell us anything was unusual. Like in February when there was a 3.8 magnitude earthquake near Pingree Grove, Illinois, I did not feel it.

Chinese Stealth Fighter

The Chinese government allowed the release of photographs of what may be a new fighter prototype. Some observers speculate the photographs are fake. This potential new aircraft, combined with Russian developments, suggests the U.S. lead in fighter technology - especially stealth - is dwindling. Apparently we do not have any new manned aircraft in queue following the troubled F-35. The U.S. dependence on China for manufactured products and financing our debt is a concern.

Reference:
Sweetman, Bill. "China's Stealth Striker." Ares: A Defense Technology Blog. Aviation Week - The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 27 Dec. 2010. Web. 30 Dec. 2010.
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&newspaperUserId=27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7&plckPostId=Blog%3a27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post%3acaf36660-d425-4fbc-a284-008017b2b444&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest

Metra Shuffle

People can be amazingly forgetful. Last week I was in Seattle. There were numerous traffic delays Tuesday blamed on rain. Come on, it is Seattle - nine months of the year it rains. How can people forget to drive in the rain? Yes, the week before it snowed and traffic came to a standstill. That is understandable. It does not snow often in the Seattle area, the communities are not prepared for it, and the hilly terrain makes for treacherous driving on snow slickened roads. But, rain???

With the wind chill this morning in the suburbs of Chicago the temperature was -6°F. The trains were running late due to frozen switches. People were appropriately bundled up to stay warm. Amazingly though, not everyone standing next to the commuter railroad tracks danced the Metra Shuffle. Most of us remembered to start the dance by facing in the direction of the train. After the wave of wind from the train blasted us in our backs, on queue we shuffled around perpendicular to the tracks to board the train. A third of the passengers waiting with us though apparently forgot about the Metra Shuffle and had the side of their faces blasted by wind from the train.

By last Wednesday the drivers in Seattle largely remembered how to drive in the rain. Will Chicago’s Metra commuters remember to dance the Shuffle tomorrow?

United, but Different Origins

A common flaw of company mergers is the failure to recognize the contributions from the past - the positive heritages the different companies have brought to the new corporation. Yes, the new must have its own identity to which all stakeholders can unite, but this should not come at the expense of recognizing what had been accomplished previously. Boeing, for example, following the acquisition of parts of Rockwell and merger with McDonnell Douglas had new organizations called Boeing North American, Douglas Aircraft, and Phantom Works. Each recognized the contribution of a component that had been merged into the new Boeing. Even employees associated with the Seattle jet maker were proud to have the connection with the series of incredible DC series of airliners. The corporation though did not tolerate such diversity long, and the Douglas name quickly disappeared, followed by North American, and almost Phantom Works.

Now the Proud Bird with the Golden Tail is Flying the Friendly Skies. A new United is coming into existence. There appears to be a recognition that both airlines have heritages to be recalled. United is planning to paint a Boeing 757 in a retro-United paint scheme. I hope they will paint one in a Continental scheme, too.

You have the opportunity to help decide which retro-United paint scheme the airline will use. Go to http://bit.ly/fxDndT and vote. I favor the DC-4 scheme even though the Mainliner scheme is what I most closely associate with the airline. Vote and let your voice be heard.

Kudos, too, American and US Airways, both of which have retro-painted airliners. Among transportation companies, though, no company has acknowledged its heritages as has Union Pacific, which has a small fleet of locomotives in heritage paint schemes.

The Green President

If you wonder whether the Obama Administration has a green agenda, the answer was obvious at the G20 summit in Seoul, South Korea. Headlines spoke of how other countries view the Administration's economic policies as out of line. Take a look below the headlines. The trade agreement between the U.S. and South Korea remains stalled. The reason is South Korea refuses to relax its emission and mileage standards so U.S. automakers can more easily adapt their cars for the Korean market. Yes, the U.S. asked the Koreans to lower their environmental standards. One could argue the President is willing to compromise on his principles, to account for what the American people conveyed at the polls earlier this month. Without solid economic growth, electoral support for "change" is unlikely, so he had to compromise to be able to sell more American-made cars in Korea. Does anyone believe in the short-term South Korea is going to be a major market for American-made cars and save American jobs? More realistically by keeping the barriers to trade higher than would be the case with a trade agreement, the Administration is hoping to keep more Korean cars from selling in the U.S. and save UAW jobs. Even this is flawed logic because the way around the barriers is to produce the cars in the U.S. at sites likely not to support the UAW.

The Administration's actions appear simply to be political payback for the support from the UAW. Yes, the Obama Administration has a green agenda - keep the green dollars flowing into the political campaign war chests.


References:

Richardson, Alex. "Factbox: Outcome of the Seoul G20 Summit | Reuters." Business; Financial News, Breaking US; International News | Reuters.com. Ed. John Chalmers. Reuters, 12 Nov. 2010. Web. 14 Nov. 2010. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6AB1G920101112.

Griswold, Daniel. "President Obama Represents UAW Rather Than U.S. in Korea Trade Talks | Mad About Trade." Mad About Trade | Observations on Trade, Globalization and Immigration. N.p., 12 Nov. 2010. Web. 14 Nov. 2010. http://madabouttrade.wordpress.com/2010/11/12/president-obama-represents-uaw-rather-than-u-s-in-korea-trade-talks/.

College Football Tradition Lost

As a Kansan and a sports fan, I rarely looked forward to KU playing Nebraska in football. Each year since November 17, 1906, the Jayhawks and the Cornhuskers have played on the gridiron. In the one hundred five continuous years the teams have played, KU won only eighteen games. To Nebraska's dismay, KU did not lose all the other games; the teams tied in 1920, 1923, and 1937. Of course, the ties are offset by three added losses (1901, 1902, and 1903) before the series began its record of the longest unbroken series of annual football games between two teams. Despite the blood flowing on the field being predominately KU Blue, I recognize the game is a football tradition.

When asked if he was sentimental at all about this being the last game in the series, Bo Pelini simply said "I don't care… we're moving on." Where is the sense of tradition? Where is the recognition of our heritage? Where is the acknowledgment that as bad as Nebraska's season could be, they always knew they had a chance against Kansas? Where is the thanks to KU for being football's doormat of the Big XII (Big 8, Big 7, and Big 6)? College sports are too much of a business now. We are losing much as we idolize money.

I am not now, and never have been a fan of Notre Dame football. A team I want to win on Saturday is always the one playing against the Fighting Irish, even if it is the despised USC Trojans. Nonetheless, I respect Notre Dame in continuing to play Navy even though there were years (not recently) in which the game would be even less competitive than Nebraska playing KU. The series continues though, because of tradition and to honor a commitment made decades ago. Kudos.

As the conferences realign and jockey for financial gain, our traditions can be preserved or restored. I accept it is likely KU and Nebraska will never again play football against each other, but can't we at least have the Apple Cup be the last game of the regular season for the Washington Huskies?

References:

Associated Press. "Martinez Is OK, and Huskers' Defense Dominates." Sporting News Today 14 Nov. 2010: 17.

"Kansas vs Nebraska 1869-2009." College Football Information. Stassen.com, n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2010. http://football.stassen.com/cgi-bin/records/opp-opp.pl?start=1869&end=2009&team1=Kansas&team2=Nebraska.

Saturday at the Opera

I had seen the look one time before. The forced smile could not cover the reality of the distaste for the opera. I thought I had learned from when I took my first wife, Kim, to Carmen in Seattle. This time Donna and I together chose the operas we would see at the Lyric in Chicago. The familiar Shakespearean tale of Macbeth by Verdi seemed a safe introduction. Before I entered her life, neither the symphony nor theater were part of Donna’s experience. Now she enjoys both – albeit with some qualifications on the symphony. The combination of symphony and theater held the false promise of combining the best of both.

I partly blame Chicago. That which makes it a great city is also what can make it unpleasant. Something is always going on in the City of Broad Shoulders. Saturday the Blackhawks raised the Stanley Cup banner and opened their home season, a country music festival took place at Millennium Park, and people were gathering for Sunday’s marathon. The Lyric’s Macbeth was just another of the multitude of events taking place. We allowed an hour to get from the northwest suburbs to the restaurant, twice the time it takes without traffic. Experience taught us Saturday evening traffic can be heavy, but with our I-Pass we would avoid the toll plazas and should be downtown with time to spare. Instead it took thirty-five minutes just to get to O’Hare and there the signs showed another 67 minutes travel time to the Loop. Amazingly once we canceled dinner reservations and got off the highway, traffic eased and we foolishly thought we might even be able to eat before the 7:30 curtain. By the time we parked and walked to the Lyric it was 7:00. Having never been to the Lyric and knowing there is no late seating, we went in, and contributed to what must be a primary profit center – wine and snack sales.

May I suggest to the Lyric when asked how to get to the first balcony, they not say go around the corner and go up the stairs to the fourth floor? Yes, the first – not the second – balcony is at least four floors up from the stage. Even with our binoculars, er, opera glasses, the faces on the stage were nearly impossible to see. By opera standards, these were not even the nose bleed seats! Somehow the acoustics were excellent even though our backs were against the wall. We are first time subscribers and these are the seats they gave us to encourage subscription renewal? Remember how I qualified Donna’s enjoyment of the symphony? Mahler and Schoenberg, for example, are definitely out. Well, Verdi can be added to the list.

I may generally be clueless, but I can learn. At Carmen, I took Kim’s assessment of “fine” to mean she would be willing to stay to the conclusion. At Macbeth, I took Donna’s “fine” to be the cue to get the heck out of Dodge. We left at the intermission. The night was not a complete loss. I enjoyed the music. Donna enjoyed the people watching. We also had an enjoyable dinner at P. F. Chang’s.

Anyone want tickets to Lohengrin?

Physical Heart Health

I suddenly awakened yesterday morning between midnight and 12:30 with acid reflux. It was violent enough to wake Donna who came over to clean up the vomit from the floor. Thankfully I did not throw up, but the burning in my mouth and throat confirmed it was not a dream. I was unable to go back to sleep because of the taste, anxiety, and squeezing in my chest. I finally went back to bed around 1:30 and slept until my alarm went off at 5:00.

When I left to catch the train I was again aware of the ache in my chest. It was not severe and I saw no reason not to go to work. Through the morning the ache to the left center of my chest continued and occasionally was mildly piercing. Radial pain had spread to my left shoulder and jaw. The pain was never as intense as I often experience with my atypical complex migraines. Given the symptoms were different enough from what I have experienced with migraines, considering I declined to go to the Emergency Room, and with encouragement and insistence from Donna, my primary care physician made room in his already double-booked schedule to see me. The doctor's assistant performed an electrocardiogram (EKG). My doctor and I then discussed alternatives and I elected to go to the hospital for ambulatory lab work. Thankfully, the results showed my triponin levels were not elevated. I am fine and the only change for the near term is to take pantoprazole (brand names of which are Protium and Protonix) to lessen the risk of erosion of my esophagus from the acid

The EKG results, though, are of interest. Yesterday's EKG differed from all previous ones in three ways.

1. While I continue to have an abnormal t-wave (it dips when it should be straight), the magnitude has substantially increased.
2. The abnormality is for the first time showing up on the V6 lead.
3. Medical personnel previously observed my abnormal t-wave was present only when I was horizontal for the EKG. Yesterday, there was no significant difference between the readings when I was horizontal and vertical.

I do not know what these differences mean and I am told they are not diagnostic, but are evidence of change that will monitored.

Did the Detroit Lions Really Win Sunday?

My understanding of the NFL rule that was applied Sunday to take away the apparent touchdown by Detroit's Calvin Johnson is the following.

If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contact by an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball after he touches the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete.
(Reference: http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/post/_/id/16142/like-it-or-not-megatron-call-was-right)

The defense of the call is based on the second half of the first sentence. My objection to the call is the "if statement" in the first half of the sentence - the premise for the balance of the rule - is not applicable. Mr. Johnson was not in the act of catching a pass when he went to the ground, he had already caught the pass. The rule cited, then, does not apply. Rather than being an incompletion, it was a touchdown. If what I view as the correct interpretation had been applied, the game would have changed significantly, but I do not know if it would have resulted in a Lions victory. No one can know that even though the odds are highly stacked to support such a conclusion. Football is a game of improbabilities. Had the Lions been given the touchdown, improbable as it would seem, the Bears - with a superb placekicker - could still have won. We will never know.

Dogs and Polling Data

I guess the context has changed.

November 2008
The other [criterion in choosing a dog as a pet] is that "our preference would be to get a shelter dog," which would point to the possibility of a mixed breed, or, as Obama said, "a mutt, like me."

Silverman, Stephen M. "President-Elect Obama May Get a Mutt 'Like Me' - Barack Obama." People.com: The #1 Celebrity Site for Breaking News, Celebrity Pictures and Star Style. Time Inc., 07 Nov. 2008. Web. 07 Sept. 2010. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20239003,00.html.

September 2010
He [President Obama] said interest groups he has battled "talk about me like a dog."

Superville, Darlene. "Obama Assails GOP, Promotes New Jobs Program." Post Business. The Washington Post Company, 06 Sept. 2010. Web. 07 Sept. 2010. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/06/AR2010090600805.html?wprss=rss_business/economy.

Day Trip to Volo

Less than two weeks ago I read an article stating the corn crop was at its ideal picking. We had other plans that weekend and could not get away to sample the corn. Yesterday, Donna and I made the trek to Volo, Illinois, where the article stated the corn was especially good. Volo is less than an hour away, yet we made a day of it. The tiny town has an automotive museum and a large antique mall. The museum was not up to the standards of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles or the Imperial Palace Hotel's automobile collection in Las Vegas, but considering it is in the middle of nowhere, it was a pleasant surprise. We found the cars too tightly packed for us to fully appreciate them. The acoustics were awful and we could not listen to any of the audio video displays. Yet the collection was nice, particularly if you have an interest in late-1960s and early-1970s American muscle cars. The picture is of Donna next to the Lotus Esprit used in Pretty Woman, starring Julia Roberts, and Donna's favorite, Richard Gere.


Aside from being next to a spot where Richard Gere had been, the antique mall was the highlight for Donna. She was unable to make it through each of the buildings but she added to her collection of tea cups. Amazingly, I made it through the mall without spending any money, although the temptation was great.

On the way out of town as the vendors were packing up, we remembered the reason for the trip and got a few ears of corn. The selection was fairly well picked over. I suspect we missed the prime time, but we are looking forward to trying the fresh corn tonight.