http://www.kalebm.com/index.htmlK...enKalebCopyright 2007 Kaleb Michaud2012-01-16T13:49:44-06:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:58:43 -0500KalebParties2012-01-16T13:49:44-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/0e9aaabfcce18150cec6a4db36873ef9-139.html#unique-entry-id-139http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/0e9aaabfcce18150cec6a4db36873ef9-139.html#unique-entry-id-139KalebLife2012-01-16T13:24:49-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/be2bb50c9877d5aef7a714ecae7fe983-138.html#unique-entry-id-138http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/be2bb50c9877d5aef7a714ecae7fe983-138.html#unique-entry-id-138So clearly I haven’t updated this site in a LONG time. I’ve been using Facebook to do the more A.D.D. updates - shorter and more often. Still, if you’re reading this, thanks for the subscription! I’m not promising much more this year, though I will be updating the mystery parties soon out of necessity. As for what happened in 2011 - lots! See the pics for a bit of a summary: lots of trips, meetings, lost TB to kidney failure & Uncle Rob to a car accident, good times with friends and family. All in all, a tough and memorable year. Time continues to fly...]]>KalebLife2010-07-12T09:07:11-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/531669ab133e19e263d2cd8c2c25fb40-137.html#unique-entry-id-137http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/531669ab133e19e263d2cd8c2c25fb40-137.html#unique-entry-id-137Due to unusual & unforeseen noises coming from my phone early this morning and new rain storms, one of my dreams was captured with much greater detail. I should add that I’ve been using Sleep Cycle to not only record my REM/deep-sleep cycles, but to help ensure I’d wake up in a rested state.

I had joined a couple UNMC professors to work out at this large, unfamiliar building (it reminded me of a modern take on the unwieldy Palestra/Z-building at the U of Rochester). It was easy to get lost in side, but this time the placed was packed with people there for a stamp/coin show. I was amazed at how popular it was. There were people of all genders and ages (actually more women than men). As I walked around, I noticed that everyone was going from looking with wonder at the various collections/stores/trades, to being very social.

Several asked me if I’d like to play a round of “Shazbot”. (OK, I don’t actually remember the name of it, but it was one word and everyone there seemed to know what it was.) Here’s what I deduced about this game: all attendees were encouraged to make a short collection of pictures taken from stamps or coins. Each picture would be on an individual sheet that the “player” would look at and then try to provide information as to the significance of the picture. This could include just facts like who/what/where it is, to the impact it had on society, hence the reason for it being made timeless into a stamp/coin. On the back contained lots of information about the picture so the “tester” could use this to educate the player in case they had no idea. The tester would then check a box on how well they thought the player did, and the player would check a box ranking the picture. This would go back and forth for about 2-5 pictures each.

How strange. But then I realized, how wonderful! One of the reasons there was so many people there was that this was supported by the local schools and the history channel as well as national coin/stamp organizations. It got kids to get involved and to learn from these stamps/coins as well as interact and learn from the adults who may have had stories related to the stamp/coin pictures they showed in the game.

I played once and there was a picture that looked like an old editorial cartoon with someone who looked like FDR with a few others that I didn’t recognize. I was told they were some various cabinet members that were responsible for some of the New Deal. Another was a picture of what I thought was an old Ford, but was some European car from the 20s that I had never heard of (they also made trains). The point being, I was learning a bit about history from a social setting.

As I thought about this dream this morning, I was wondering how this game was really a game. Well, I guess at some point during the show that they would put all of the rankings/scores together and put together a diverse collection of the easiest/hardest/best/worst/etc to show at the end. These people could get small award stickers to put on the side of their pictures.

Anyhew, off to work, but am curious if you think this is something the schools & other orgs could get excited about? Ever been to a stamp/coin show? It’s been many years for me, but I recall it being mostly men and sometimes boys with their fathers and mostly quiet browsing.

And what is it in us (and in me) that drives us to collect? To possess? We’d have much more money to put into great causes if we didn’t have this drive, though it would discourage others from creating these imaginative items and art that we like to collect.... *sigh* :-)
]]>KalebLife2010-07-02T16:29:43-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/d44ec2c12c4b73071402c9ff41eeb31f-136.html#unique-entry-id-136http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/d44ec2c12c4b73071402c9ff41eeb31f-136.html#unique-entry-id-136There is some guilt associated with not posting here regularly, especially with me posting so many pictures. Well, this is to coincide with uploading 106 pictures from Rome where I spent a week at the annual EULAR meeting. I had a wonderful time, though I was overwhelmed and impressed with the Vatican (especially St Peter’s Basilica) and the Pantheon. Rome was beautiful. I walked the streets all over and everywhere I went I was surrounded by ancient sites and historic buildings. Fashion is clearly king as all around the non-tourist areas I found custom designer clothing stores, as well as gelato shops and, of course, various Italian food restaurants everywhere. The latter wouldn’t have been bad if there were at least a bit of variety (give me a little Thai or Chinese to help cleanse my palette of mozzarella, tomato and basil ;-) ). I know, there’s a lot more to Italian food than that, but clearly I’m a picky foody. (it didn’t stop me from having Italian in Omaha 3 days after my return)

We had our normal string of heavy thunderstorms in throughout June. Most of the cats’ room in the basement had water on the floor. Absolutely amazing storms, but losing electricity multiple times does change your opinion on them. It also made me value using my cell phone for my Internet & alarm.

I’m using Google Buzz to share my links these days as well as Facebook for the regular short updates. Please look to those places for more regular links, but I’ll do my best to put up some of the best links here. I have this space for a reason, right?!

The holiday weekend is upon me, as the street is full of cars parked for an event hours away. The college world series is over. USA is out of the World Cup & Ghana just lost in the most heart-breaking game of all. I’ve weeded my yard twice already as the long winter has meant everything is growing twice as tall as normal (and twice as beautiful, flowers everywhere!). The rubber tree I made a last-ditch effort to keep alive is now thriving outside (as my dark office and the threat of the cats make my home inhospitable to any other living things - even bugs, which is a fair trade).

I hope you like the new purple style. The previous one kept on cutting off some of my links on the right. Now I’ll have to come up with something to replace it (so this may be temporary).

Thanks for your patience!
]]>KalebLife2010-04-25T21:01:03-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/bdbb502f866386399ad058e60ab27b0f-135.html#unique-entry-id-135http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/bdbb502f866386399ad058e60ab27b0f-135.html#unique-entry-id-135Tonight marks the end of a memorable 40 days. Starting with Grandma Michaud’s death and funeral (see previous post), to then spending several days in Marin County, CA as part of the Inner Journey Seminar. It was a great space and was wonderful at getting more in touch with myself (emotionally, physically, & spiritually) at the same time others were doing the same. Then the family gathered over Easter - Dad has been spending several weekends up in NE helping Grandpa out. Then had an all-day conference in KC, then a week back at Stanford, CA, and then back at work. This past week we had our annual RAIN conference here in Omaha, followed by my Grandmother’s 80th birthday party that was a bit of a family reunion. Of course I’m leaving out lots of details, amazing food and other events, but that helps explain why I haven’t been home much and exhausted.

I’ve added many new pics - mostly me with other great people that I haven’t seen in too long. Seems so many of “my generation” are having kids, and it’s harder to catch up in person... I can’t wait to have that problem. ;-) No one is standing still, nor would I expect them to, and it’s fun to catch up with those that have touched me years ago and still see their impact on me.

Was quite the contrast being with so many family members last month for Grandma’s funeral to this weekend with to celebrate my other’s birthday. Grandma Belknap (maternal) hasn’t recovered from Grandma Michaud’s death... but she continues to live so fully! My maternal/paternal sides have many clear contrasts (primarily in behavior), but both value family and have much love to offer/express, albeit in different ways. I suspect that my parents both having four younger brothers provide a lot of the similarities... I feel very fortunate!

I’m also exhausted and still have laundry to finish. OK, how about some random comments?

#1) I drove home late last night from Lincoln. I spent ~30 mins driving ~70 mph on the interstate and counted 161 tractor trailers (semis) driving the other way. Good thing they’re expanding to 3 lanes, but I was surprised to see so many! Aunt Karla thought it was a good sign of the economy picking up. I suspect it’s a combination of many things and is likely not a bad indicator compared to so many others out there. Economist magazine, I’m ready to be cited anytime. ;-)

#2) I got an iPad. While I’m not an Apple fanatic, I’m likely in the fan-boy category. I try to keep on top of most things tech since the 80s, and I’ve been very happy with my switch to Macs 4 years ago when they went to Intel CPUs (though I still work with a few XP machines so I don’t get rusty). So why get an iPad, which is just an oversized iPod touch and I already have an iPhone? Well, I’m all about creating spaces. I have two spaces in my house for entertainment - the living room and home theater. That’s where I watch movies, tv, sports, and play games, etc. The problem is that I watch TV very rarely. I’ve reduced movie watching to my weekly movie nights, and my xbox playing is limited to ~1-2 hours a week. Yes, between work, travel and organized events, I’m left with ~6.5 hours sleep. I’ve noticed that I spend a lot of time reading blogs, checking out Facebook, and even watching Netflix on my computer. This is clearly a breach of protocol in having my office computers be for work only... enter the iPad. This is for play and can take my computer play away from my office and bring it back to the entertainment spaces as well as travel. It won’t replace my notebook computers as I need their power to run my full suite of statistical and publishing/presenting software. Anyhew, it’s an amazing (unsure about magical) machine. They’ll have a better one next year, but I’m very happy with the first version now!

#3) What happened to spring? I mentioned the brutal, but full of snow (yay!) winter we had. Now my flowers are blooming, trees/plants/weeds everywhere have sprung up and I have no need for jacket since April started. I shouldn’t complain, especially since today was nice and cool at 55F, but it’s great to have the full range of weather again. Just hope it’s not a sign of having a hot summer especially since the last few have been so mild. Still, love the changes no matter how much they remind me of time flying by!

#4) Anyone know of a good Tai Chi Gong teacher/class in the Omaha area? Anyone use the UNO swimmingpool? Two things I’m hoping to be experienced with myself during May. After passing out after a run in CA last month, I’ve learned that my sense of reality can be different from what my body’s is and I’m hoping to take care of it physically, as well as keep up the good nutrition.

#5) I started Fallout 3 on xbox this weekend. I’m hoping to get more than an hour a week for it (yes, I know I’m ~ 2 years behind, nothing new!). So far I love the beginning, nothing like learning to walk again as a 1-year old! Also, very impressed with Dungeon Lords board game. Very challenging & entertaining!

Links to come later this week!
]]>KalebObservations2010-03-31T00:25:00-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/7e6ce9cb920382d12f63ffb5dc90e792-134.html#unique-entry-id-134http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/7e6ce9cb920382d12f63ffb5dc90e792-134.html#unique-entry-id-134So I’ve been using Facebook and Google reader/buzz to share most of my links this past year, but after some folks told me how much they liked what I posted here, thought I’d revisit my old format of those I’ve saved from the month of March.

Some highly entertaining videos!
Cycles from Youtube - What one guy recording a bit of the beach can do with his computer. bwain esplode! :-)

Utah Saints, Something Goood 2008 Remix from vimeo - A hilarious take on the origin of the “running man” dance.

A Galactic Empire State of Mind from Topless Robot - Another example of making my nerdiness semi-public, but this video (& lyrics) rock! All sung by Darth and Leia. :-)

This Was A Triumph, 3rd grade choir sings Portal’s “Still Alive” - Though few of you have actually played the 3-hour long impressive game, Portal, the closing song is often enjoyed by us in Rock Band and elsewhere. This performance made me very proud!

OK Go, This Too Shall Pass, Rube Goldberg Machine from YouTube - This is just pouring out with awesomeness, a must see!

Saturday Night Live Presidential Reunion from Funny or DIE - Incredible gathering of classic comedians for this funny and semi-sound political message (yes, I think we should pull together all of the many consumer protection agencies into one organization, though that’s not mentioned in this skit). Also, Jim Carey was on In Living Color, not SNL - who was the primary Reagan? Phil Hartman?

Trailer from Rabbit Fever movie (that I’m in!) - this went live a month ago. Amy’s done such a great job with it. Check it out!

Some amusing pictures:
Single Ladies comic from xkcd - hilarious take on Sauron from The Lord of the Rings.

Popular Thoughts about Global Climate Change from GraphJam - seems very true to me! I’m surprised at how many folks I’ve met in the “weather business” here despise Al Gore. Yes, they’re all conservative.

Ostrich Win - so much funnier as I think of all the people who try to feed (or punch) the animals at the zoo. Also, I was poked in the head-butted by a baby ostrich when I was in kindergarten, so I have a bit of sympathy, too.

Personal links:

As my previous post mentioned, my grandmother died recently. With the help of my uncles and aunts, I put together several pictures into the following video montage for the funeral. While all her grandkids were pallbearers, I also spoke at her funeral which helped to grieve, remember and celebrate her memory. It was wonderful to see so many family members there. She was truly loved!

I am a volunteer for Project Interfaith, a wonderful organization that promotes education of all faiths. You’ll likely hear more and more about this in the coming months.


And, while not a link, is stolen from my friend Eric’s blog - a nice observation of the incredibly cold and snow-filled winter we’ve had (of course now it feels like summer is here with the temp in high 70s already!):

“Number of the week: 107. That's how many days we went in the Omaha area between days with the high temperature above 50F, December 1 to March 17. I did some checking, and over the last five years, the second longest such streak was 68 days (Nov 19, 2007 to Jan 28, 2008). This year, between December 5 and March 3 (88 days) there were only two days that the temperature got above 40F. During that 68 days referenced above, there were 14 days where the temperature got above 40F.”
]]>KalebLife2010-03-16T23:33:22-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/a49bd67ceb763b6ff9327b6919d02d51-133.html#unique-entry-id-133http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/a49bd67ceb763b6ff9327b6919d02d51-133.html#unique-entry-id-133I went to bed "early" last night since I had to get up early for an all-day conference on writing. It was 1am when the radio and alarm was set and I konked out.

I awoke at 6am to nature's call, went back to bed and couldn't fall back asleep. Lots of items in my mind, couldn't fully relax. I heard sounds from my house - whether from the furnace, cats prepping themselves for a surprise early wake-up from Kaleb, or the house creaking from thoughts of winter being over.  Later I was startled by the sounds again and the thought of it being Grandma's spirit coming by kept my imagination going. I imagined her being there and felt at peace though I didn't believe she was dead as I was going to see her later that day after work. I had made plans to go the next day, but after warnings from my uncle, I was going to leave right after the conference ended at 3:30pm.  After dwelling on thoughts of her impending funeral, being with my family, and grandpa, I faded a bit for a while and then awoke for my 7am alarm.

I made it to the conference on time with my head somewhat cloudy but I was excited about gaining skills to improve my writing (or lack of it). After an hour or so I noticed a couple messages on my phone from my mother. I had no signal in the classroom, but I did have Internet access. A few minutes later I got the email from my mother stating that Grandma died in her sleep this morning. I won't be visiting her after work today after all...

I have only begun to grieve for Grandma Michaud. She was always Grandma to me, but Mom, Dorothy and Dot to others. Very strong-willed, outspoken, yet kind, loving and fun. I last saw her 2 weeks ago as I went a week after her birthday to check in with her. She was very tired. She fell asleep at the dining table twice while I was there. Her face had mostly healed from the large “raccoon” bruise from the holidays, but everything was clearly much more difficult to do.

I had sent a long email to her that she had never received and ended up covering the main parts of it with her in person. I first asked how her 5 boys came out so similar and so different. She paused and just shrugged; then she said “I just let them do what they wanted to do”, referring to their life choices after high school, I inferred. Then I thanked her for doing and being so much in my life. As I wrote in my email:

“The other thing I was thinking about was how great of a job you both did in raising your boys and in being such a wonderful influence on them and us (your grandkids). I know I wrote about my memories living with you for your 50th anniversary - but I truly value that time and feel fortunate to have been able to stay a summer there - and lots of previous times when I was younger and more recently during our brief visits after going to college.  I love the fact that you drove me to Rochester for my sophomore year (your cantaloupe was responsible for my best friend, Josh, to meet his wife!) and came up again for my final graduation! And your help for me to go to Israel, all greatly appreciated!  Sorry if I'm sounding sentimental, but I was just so amazed at how fast time has gone by (reflecting on your birthday, Grandma), and how important you & my parents have been along the way.  This is clearly something I'd rather share with you in person this past weekend, but wanted to let you know either way. So, again, Thank You! :-D”

That night she started to cry as I gave her a hug goodbye. She said “don’t forget me” and we both were in tears... Oh Grandma, how can I ever forget you? You’re one-fourth of me and will live on through me (and others!). You’ve been the foundation for the Michaud family and I can’t imagine it without you. I miss you so, but glad you’re at peace after such a wonderful, full and challenging life.

Your proud and ever-loving grandson

]]>KalebParties2009-11-15T22:30:29-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/9f7cacec7c3791d487c7610bec8dd3c3-132.html#unique-entry-id-132http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/9f7cacec7c3791d487c7610bec8dd3c3-132.html#unique-entry-id-132KalebLife2009-05-31T23:51:33-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/b81df6a74425083556a48ba126d457fd-131.html#unique-entry-id-131http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/b81df6a74425083556a48ba126d457fd-131.html#unique-entry-id-131OK, I realized I never finished posting my report from Rochester. So much has been happening! Never a dull moment.

Memorial weekend George, Jennifer & Rachel (yes, the gang from Rochacha) decided to make a last-minute trip to visit Omaha. Lots to rearrange, but had a blast. Being a tourist in my own town - walked the new pedestrian bridge on a perfect afternoon. Walked the zoo with many memorable moments including the giraffe’s tongue obsession (pic), the orangutan’s begging, the massive koi feeding, the butterflies, alligators & nutria, and the giant evil wild rabbit (something that I had repressed for decades straight out of the Twilight Zone movie). We feasted on local BBQ & watched a movie at home. On Sunday we visited the local rabbit show in Seward that my sister was judging, met up with the grandparents & rest of the family, and then attended Wicked (pic). Even though we couldn’t get tickets all together, it was an amazing show! The wonderful trio left very early on Monday morning to make their 20 hour drive back to Rochester in time to get rest for work on Tuesday - crazy wonderful!

So, with only a few hours of sleep myself, I hosted my family and the extended maternal fam at my house all day. I had 15 people over, TONS of great food, and hours of fun playing badminton and Rock Band. A perfect day/weekend!

The next day (Tues) my good HS friend, Clint, showed up to stay/visit with me for a couple days. He’s keeping very busy and currently runs his own e-reader store, cyberread.com, among other projects. We caught up each evening and played lots of evenly-matched table tennis.

By Thursday I was off to Washington, DC, to attend Inner Journey “retreat” weekend in the hills of VA. What an incredible and enlightening experience! Three days of exploring our masculine & feminine sides, pushing our bodies, opening up to fully experience the world around us. I made some wonderful new friends (though sadly, they’re all in the DC area) that I plan to be in touch with for years to come. I also got to see Prea before she flew off to Bangladesh. I highly recommend this program - they have seminars in San Francisco, Chicago & DC throughout the year.

Couldn’t have asked for a better way to end the month. Never a dull moment! (some things are worth repeating)]]>KalebLife2009-05-20T00:10:12-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/e86f9f583e2f37abc58008e635c455b7-130.html#unique-entry-id-130http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/e86f9f583e2f37abc58008e635c455b7-130.html#unique-entry-id-130Oh, what a weekend!

Notice that I’ve added a lot of new pictures from this month. I took a short vacation weekend to visit Rochester, NY - primarily to see George & Jenn, but their families and many other friends I haven’t seen in many years. Little did I know that this was UR graduation weekend, so many people were very busy with these events at UR or left town to get away from it all.

Friday afternoon I arrived at the university to visit with Berthenia at the computer library (used to be called CLARC) - she fed me lunch to my complete satisfaction. I then caught up with Laura B. at Wilson Commons (she’s very pregnant). Got a whole hour chatting with VP Paul Burgett (pic) - which I still find amazing since he was packed with graduation events to attend and speak at. Briefly saw the chair of physics, Professor Nick B., and A/V head, Matt Felthousen. While everything looked great, it did feel weird knowing so few of the folks on campus. Probably only recognized 4-5 others during my 3 hour tour.

George picked me up and we went and visited with Anne-Marie Algier (pic) at her 10-year old’s baseball game. We also got our Buffalo wing quota over at the Distillery. We played xbox & several boards games over the weekend. Amusing that I need to take a vacation to be able to do such things! On Saturday I visited the Lilac Festival with Jennifer, Sean & the three kids (11, 5 & 2 yrs old). Lots to see, plenty warm, and I became the cotton candy dispenser on the walk home. Aiden (5 yr-old) commented: “I think you’ve given Faith (2 yr-old) enough cotton candy. No more for her!”. Jennifer & I went to Wegmans (which continues to impress me) where I stocked up on food/drinks for a party at a lodge next to a pond in Webster, NY that I rented for the evening. Several came out to visit in person (pics) - we played a couple games and mostly just ate & caught up. Good times!

Sunday was more of the same - mostly playing games with George, but caught dinner with Jennifer and the three of us bonded (pics). So good that George got to meet several of my Rochester friends. I like being “the connector” (Doug’s term for me). George & I wrapped up the weekend with an introductory game of Agricola (pic) - what a wonderful game! I also made a couple new friends in the Rochester area as well - always room to know more good people! I’m very glad I made the trip. Will have to plan one again for next year!]]>KalebLife2009-05-11T00:37:25-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/e2f07fef410ab8072951d278645720b2-129.html#unique-entry-id-129http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/e2f07fef410ab8072951d278645720b2-129.html#unique-entry-id-129Rock Band 2’s Endless Setlist going non-stop getting 5-stars on each song (medium difficulty) without any pauses (~6.5 hours). It’s an arduous task as there were several times the mic wasn’t working, or we feared a cord being unplugged, or when the xbox started to freeze or even two songs where we got the 5th star on the last notes we played together. Crazy! THe last couple hours were the toughest as the songs were harder and, for the most part, not fun to sing along to (lots of speed metal), but we persevered. Thanks to Sarah (drummer extraordinaire), Ben (string guru), Troy (Mr Bass Man), Eric (it’s OK, I can sing it), Vickie (How does this song go?), and Merinda (arrived for the last hour to sing this crap?). Pictures added shortly (we filmed it at various times for posterity).

Yesterday I hosted a game night and put up my new badminton set in the back (after spending the day trimming the trees to make room for it all). It’s a perfect, though tight, fit and we played into the night using glowing birdies - fun! Had another great turnout - ~14 for games. Mandi also stopped by earlier in the week for a game night in her honor with a high of 13 for a Wed night and folks staying until near 1am after tons of good food and fellowship. I truly feel lucky to have such great friends!

Also related to the bladder, last weekend Lizzy & I drove to Wichita on Saturday, visited with high school friends (Clint!), caught up with Fred, and had dinner with my mother & Grandmother, then drove to Dallas to see the King Tut exhibit, stayed with Bavana (the perfect hostess) and drove back to Omaha straight on Monday arriving 10 hours later just in time to play 90mins of ultimate frisbee. Lizzy tried to hold out ~2.5 hours between potty breaks (she hardly drank anything to help). We also enjoyed some Braums twice that weekend - joy!

Weekly movie nights continue to go well. It’s hard to spend much time in the dark basement though with it being so nice and light late into the evening.

Arthur has been more of a pain than usual this past month or so. I’m changing meds after 10 years - a bit anxious about it all. In another not so positive observation, I’m reminded again at how small Omaha still is. Still very single after my 2 years here.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom & Grandmas!
]]>KalebObservationsTechHumor2009-04-19T22:48:47-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/c2111059ac4c895c432e0dcecefe6822-128.html#unique-entry-id-128http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/c2111059ac4c895c432e0dcecefe6822-128.html#unique-entry-id-128
22 Firefox Extensions to Turn Gmail into a Powerhouse - Google took my gmail down on Friday afternoon. I’ve rarely felt so helpless! Here’s some pointers to customizing Firefox for gmail. Still love it - but may have to pay to get premium reliability. Any personal recommendations from this list or your own?

The dark side of Dubai - Johann Hari, Commentators - The Independent - a completely different look at Dubai from my week trip of last month. Scary stuff, though every place has it’s good/bad sides... just like us. Still, I’d return to visit.

Monopoly Killer: Perfect German Board Game Redefines Genre - I learned how to play Settlers of Catan back in 1996 in Rochester, NY, while at a Star Wars card tournament (I never learned how to play that card game). My UR friend Jeff Hannes taught me & Seth Leamer that Saturday afternoon - he was supposed to be writing about the tournament and was still obsessed with a board game - crazy! Well, 150+ games later, it’s still the one that got me into the hobby. Each of the family members have their favorite version (mine is Cities & Knights), but we rarely play it at game night as it’s almost considered old school by now. This article talks about how it’s gotten so popular in the US in the past 5 years!!! Guess I’m ahead of my time? ;-)

Magazine Preview - The Civil Heretic - Freeman Dyson - Profile - NYTimes.com - I have tremendous respect for the aged and legendary Dr. Dyson, though I disagree with him on a few hypotheses.

3-D: The Future of Movies - TIME - since I built the home theater, the only movies I’ve seen in the theaters are 3D or independent. I’m sure 3D home movies aren’t too far away, but they definitely justify the trip/experience now!

Rheumatology Exhibition and Conference 2009 to open doors in Dubai tomorrow | IIR Middle East - has a short interview with me.

Why is there Anti-Intellectualism? - intriguing question. I so often notice the anti-technology/science themes in movies/books that ride this wave of being afraid of what we don’t understand...

Topless Robot - TR Non-Review Review: Watchmen - I read the whole graphic novel and enjoyed the movie more for it, since it’s truly made for the readers/fans in mind (and out to ensure an R rating). Still, not the best movie, but I appreciate what was done to create it. The novel is outstanding.

His and hers: Study examines the role of gender in the stigma of mental illness - may not be new, but still fascinating.

And to close, some statistics humor: xkcd - A Webcomic - Correlation What’s sad is that I love this one - laughed out loud for certain. Oh how I’ve changed. ;-)
]]>KalebLife2009-04-19T22:33:26-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/30810d0c1775d8552715906e0a60462b-127.html#unique-entry-id-127http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/30810d0c1775d8552715906e0a60462b-127.html#unique-entry-id-127
During lunch on Saturday I bit my tongue by accident surprisingly hard. I was embarrassed by it and didn’t say anything and soon forgot about it (though I wasn’t about to do it again!). Later in the day I noticed how my mouth was hurting and how it was painful to swallow anything. I didn’t investigate, but got ice cream (it was a great spring day) and all was better. Looked in the mirror and found that I had removed a small strip of the side of my tongue! It was swollen and had the teeth marks from where I punctured it. No wonder it hurt! Dinner was ridiculous, so I found ice cream again (root beer float) as well as some sake to burn/heal the wound.

Watched Sunshine in the home theater. Apparently it’s listed as one of the most beautiful movies in the last 10 years (see links) - directed by Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle. While I expected a space sci-fi R-movie to have lots of people killed by some alien/computer, I was delightfully surprised with this one - yes, people still got killed. My only complaint was that it should have created more of a sense of what was truly at stake back on Earth, but that would have required a bigger effects budget, I suppose.

Later on Saturday I went to Omaha’s The Maxx, a gay dance club. A decent size one that was packed with techno/house dance floor and an R&B floor. I was surprised that such a place existed as I’d been missing the many places to dance back in SF. And, yes, I still have the moves... though am also still out of shape! :-)

Back on track with the sun exposure, spend most of today pruning outdoor plants, cleaning and being domestic as it’s the first spring weekend that I’ve actually been home - what a treat! Tonight was movie night - showed Immortal Beloved. Nice to experience in the home theater.

TB & QBert continue to lose weight - they’re looking very good and are much more active now. The diet of 6 months really has made a difference! Now it’s a matter of letting all of the extra skin (& fur!) come back.

I’ve been keeping a daily update on Facebook this year - wish I could export them all as they do a good summary of what I’ve been up to. The daily twitter of sorts. I wrapped up an NIH challenge grant this week - it’s competitive, but no clue if that means it’ll get funded. It’s such a crapshoot it seems.

Thanks for reading - and nice to be able to write! Keep smiling! :-D
]]>KalebLifeWork2009-04-07T21:57:36-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/a0695d17c81183021521699e2f420755-126.html#unique-entry-id-126http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/a0695d17c81183021521699e2f420755-126.html#unique-entry-id-126
I arrived at 7pm on Monday night and had dinner on the beach just outside Burj Al Arab (the “7-star” hotel that’s the 2nd tallest in the world, on it’s own island, and looks like sails). Gorgeous colors light it up at night. You can still make out the helicopter landing pods near the top, too.

Day 2 Humeira took Claire & I to see the inside of the Burj Al Arab (you need special pass to go there). Truly gorgeous! Then we went to the Atlantis resort, had lunch, talks for the Emirates Arthritis Foundation and I gave talk#1 about the cost-effectiveness of RA drugs to patients, insurance providers, and a few doctors. That evening a small group of us went to a restaurant/resort out in the desert where we ate well and I did some dancing with the belly dancer and went up on stage with Claire for more public embarrassment/entertainment. :-) I also rode a camel... in my jacket and tie!

Day 3 the conference, Arab Health: Rheumatology, got into full swing. I was taken to the local market - so much amazing fresh produce and seafood! Did some shopping at the souks. Still have a bit to learn about haggling. Saw a local art exhibit, attended several talks and went back to Atlantis where I gave talk #2 on safety of biological drugs and had a late dinner/bbq outside overlooking the palm and part of the southwestern city skyline.

I’ve skipped over a few important details. First, Atlantis. This $1.5 billion resort just opened in Sept at the top of The Palm Jumeirah, these large chain of islands in the shape of a palm. See Google Maps/Earth for more details - it’s amazing! I took pictures inside the vehicle with GPS to prove where I was on the palm. Second, there are cranes and construction all throughout Dubai! Over 50% of the world’s cranes are there and I can believe it! Skyscraper after skyscraper filled my views. My hotel, the Dusit Thani, a Thai hotel in the shape of bowing palms (hands), is along a line of skyscrapers that are next to the Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building at 170 stories! It truly dwarfs everything within sight. Below it is the world’s largest mall. And you can see the construction of a metro rail line along the 16 lane highway outside my hotel window. All of the city is within a few miles of the coast - the desert is all too present. The temperature was in the 80s most days until the final weekend when it was near 100 and we had a wind/dust storm. Bus stops are air conditioned. This is the nicer season - the summer is much more unbearable. But since it was dry, seemed more tolerable.

Day 4. By now I’ve had serious jet lag, unable to sleep well and every day was tough to function, but the thrill of so much new kept me going. Another full day at the conference where I gave talk#3 on quality of life, work disability and non-clinical outcomes in RA. That night I went to a special art exhibit (Kids from around the world) and “hobnobbed” with the locals (which were almost all ex-pats). Then I had dinner with many of the rheumatologists from the region at Raffles, a well-known British hotel/casino brand with a pyramid hotel.

Day 5. Friday is the beginning of the weekend, but many docs still showed up for my 9am talk#4 on how to create a rheumatic disease database. It went well over an hour, but that was good as the next speaker didn’t show. That afternoon I went on a desert safari with Humeira, the guest statistician, Kok, & wife from Singapore, . I thought this would entail a simple drive through the desert to see the few animals and sights... I was so wrong. This was a 2.5 hour rollercoaster of a drive through the tremendous dunes! Our driver/caravan was crazy! Yet, so much fun! If I didn’t get car sick, I would want to go again (as it is, I’d like to make such a drive myself). Sliding down giant dunes, going sideways, getting stuck, near collisions with other trucks (all with roll bars) - great fun! The ride ended with dinner and more belly dancing out in the desert (yay!). I held back on dancing this time, though I befriended a newly-wed couple from Pakistan.

Day 6. This was a full day trip to Oman - the tip of the Arabia peninsula at the Straight of Hormuz. It’s a near-uninhabitable collection of giant rocks with a bit of a bay inside that we toured on a dhow. I swam in the water - I was the first one in and the last one out both times we stopped. There was red tide that we avoided, the fish that I avoided, the dolphins we couldn’t get enough of, and the reef sharks we smiled at (and avoided). Considering I have a fear of heights and sharks/water, I was definitely enjoying the thrills! The drive was long - 4 hours there, but the driver was different on the way back and drove our bus like a madman, making it in 3 hours! In time for a home-made meal among friends/family.

Day 7. Cathy & I went shopping at one of the big three malls - the one with the indoor ski slopes. Very impressive place, though it could have just as easily been a fancy mail in another big city. I did pick up a new large luggage bag to replace the current one with broken handle. Picked up some postcards, got a Chinese massage, and then one last dinner in an amazing looking skyscraper (I forget the name, but part of twin towers) with a new local friend. The flight back to DC was 15 hours long (12 hours to get there).

In summary, was wonderful to spend time with great friends, make new ones and future work colleagues, to see such futuristic architecture/engineering marvels, and to learn so much of the native and local cultures (not just the capitalistic side). I’ve said I could live in Singapore, and now I feel that Dubai is livable as well - much yet to be done there, but was great to see a piece of it during the boom (and bust).
]]>KalebObservationsTechHumor2009-03-09T00:16:39-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/134ec3079ddbb63e6d66f7cad24d4b16-125.html#unique-entry-id-125http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/134ec3079ddbb63e6d66f7cad24d4b16-125.html#unique-entry-id-125
Ten Years On, Office Space Returns! - Dallas Observer. Classic movie with some great pictures and stories 10 years later!

Surprising stories behind 20 Muppet characters - CNN.com Can’t leave out a story about Muppets! Here’s a Muppet movie poster a local friend made.

:: THE HUNT FOR GOLLUM :: A Lord Of The Rings Fan Film - Very impressive!

YouTube - Girls on the dance floor - Far East Movement Music Video Contest Submission - My friend, Kristen Chan, made this for a competition. Fun!

ThinkGeek :: I void warranties - Kids :: Action Shots - My friend, Melissa, took this shot of her son. Perfect!

YouTube - WoW Intervention! - Hilarious! Just in case, WoW = World of Warcraft.

The True Stories Behind 5 Famous WTF Images | Cracked.com - Entertaining short piece (w/pics of course!)

Prank War 7: The Half Million Dollar Shot - CollegeHumor Video - OMG! Hilarious practical joke involving Maryland men’s college basketball game.

ABC News: Kinky Sex Is on the Rise, Therapists Say - Hmm... wonder if it’s just on the rise for people who can afford therapists?

Metrogrades: The Best Cities for Recycling: Men's Heath.com - Not surprising, many midwest towns not high up, though Omaha is better than most!

The Daily Show's Best Evolution Moments | Comedy Central - In honor of Darwin’s birthday.

Pharyngula: Louisiana boycotts science; scientists boycott Louisiana - Staying on theme.

Huge gamma-ray blast spotted 12.2 bln light-years from earth - am very curious as to what this could be from.

Testing relativity from the 1919 eclipse— a question of bias - Physics Today March 2009 - Bias?! That’s what I study! :-)

J!NX : Clothing for Gamers & Geeks - Jessica Chobot profile - I’m a fan of this T-shirt site and Jessica’s (who works with a friend of mine at IGN). Two for one!

Paul Harvey - 1918 - 2009 - Listened to him a lot when I was a kid. Usually with grandparents or in the car going to another school for class trips/gifted. Had no idea he’d been around so long. Page 2. That’s the rest of the story. Good day. All quotes I garnered from him. Rest in peace.
]]>KalebWork2009-02-08T23:22:05-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/4707d530384d9a1ff085a5f7cf9f5220-124.html#unique-entry-id-124http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/4707d530384d9a1ff085a5f7cf9f5220-124.html#unique-entry-id-124National Data Bank for Rheumatic Diseases (we go by NDB and not NDBRD). He appeared in the AP news today in this story about Fibromyalgia (FMS).

While it does cover a few of the issues of the problem, it’s weird that there’s only two quotes from Fred, yet says “"I think the purpose of most pharmaceutical company efforts is to do a little disease-mongering and to have people use their drugs," said Dr. Frederick Wolfe, who was lead author of the guidelines defining fibromyalgia in 1990 but has since become one of its leading skeptics.” He wrote a wonderful chapter about FMS in Kelley’s book of Rheumatology that came out last year that covers the topic in greater detail. Plus we’re working with the top FMS doctors in the country in devising a new and updated criteria for diagnosing FMS. Not sure what the AP means by “leading skeptics” and I’m concerned that this will hurt the NDB in our patient participation as FMS patients have zero tolerance for anything that may make them think they aren’t being taken seriously (which is far from the truth - if anything, we’ve done a lot more FMS outcomes research than anyone at UNMC wants us to).

It’s a thorny issue. The pain and problems faced by these patients is real, but the recognition of FMS as a disease by the FDA & ACR hasn’t led to the solution of the problem, but rather to a lot of drugs first approved for other less common problems and then major marketing of them in FMS. There’s the very real concern that the number of patients diagnosed with FMS will increase dramatically after this push by Pharma just like the number increased dramatically after FMS was first named in the 80s (this isn’t coming from Fred, just my own thoughts). Fred was invited to speak at a FMS conference recently, but was uninvited when he said he wanted to talk about medicalization & disease mongering (a talk that he gave to a packed house at UBC in Vancouver last fall - you have less pharma money for such things outside the US).

A fellow rheumatologist and noted opinion-writer, Nortin Hadler, was also quoted in the above AP article. He makes some good points in general, but is often considered to be on the further end of the spectrum on these debates (always interesting, though - his books are thought provoking). Here’s one of his articles now sponsored by abc on heart disease.
]]>KalebObservations, Tech, Humor2009-02-06T22:23:59-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/0ac7b0b32d0e60cc1eb263c389da1b7b-123.html#unique-entry-id-123http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/0ac7b0b32d0e60cc1eb263c389da1b7b-123.html#unique-entry-id-123
Science/Technology:

Physics the Next President Needs to Know | Wired Science

Stop Government Interference With Science : NPR

Richard Feynman on Boltzmann Brains | Cosmic Variance | Discover Magazine

Scientists discover new forest with undiscovered species on Google Earth - Telegraph

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Drillers break into magma chamber - VERY impressive, reminds me of journey to the center of the earth. Any “Vernians” among us?

Baby born during trans-Atlantic flight to Boston - Yahoo! News

The Evidence Gap - A Big Hypertension Study, and Its Minimal Impact - NYTimes.com - A link for something related to my work, even!

Concrete casts new light in dull rooms - optics.org - Transparent concrete!

Keys Can be Copied From Afar, Jacobs School Computer Scientists Show

The Top 10 Architectural Wonders of Dubai | StyleCrave - I’ll be there next month!

YouTube - Hans Rosling: No more boring data: TEDTalks - Wonderful short talk by an ex-Swedish stat professor using technology for a new Google startup, Gapminder.org - For a fact based world view.

Sex:

Bollywood Sex Symbols: Thirty Sexiest Actresses | Gunaxin - OK, no good reason to post this, but after Prea got me hooked on some Bollywood movies, it’s hard not to notice. Guess there’s an advantage to having near a billion people - lots of folks on the edge of the bell curves in talent, brains & looks! (even with such poor infrastructure)

Is Having Sex with a Robot Hooker Cheating? Revisited - Asylum - Amusing short debate.

Books: Ten of the Kinkiest Science Fiction Books You'll Ever Read - I’ve actually read a couple of these (& agree) and had a couple more recommended.

Texas Pastor’s Advice for Better Marriage - More Sex, More Often - NYTimes.com

TV/Movies/Muppets/Games:

ROTTEN TOMATOES: 10th Annual Golden Tomatoes - I’m hosting another Oscars party this year. It’s a shame there weren’t more of the movies from RT in the Oscars. Mainly disappointed The Dark Knight didn’t get more nominations - what a great movie! So guess I’ll be cheering on Slumdog Millionnaire (& Wall-E as I’m still in disbelief that Kung Fu Panda won all the Annie awards!)

Topless Robot - The 10 Most Disturbing Puppets Ever Shown on TV - Sadly, I’ve seen most of these and agree. If they ever showed Meet the Feebles, that would be numero uno!

The Screens Issue - If You Liked This, Sure to Love That - Winning the Netflix Prize - NYTimes.com - Was just discussing this with statistics faculty today at lunch. Here’s a nice radio interview about it from On the Media.

Topless Robot - The 10 Greatest Zombie Films of All Time (with Evidence)

The Muppets take over TODAY - allDAY - msnbc.com - Cute clips, but seems like a long FAO Schwarz muppet advert.

Topless Robot - The 8 Most Underrated Muppets - again, more memory lane muppet joy!

THIS WOULD’VE BEEN A BETTER COMMERCIAL | FilmDrunk - If you’ve EVER played Guitar Hero or Rock Band, you need to watch this home made video. Outstanding!

Topless Robot - This Is Why You Don't Wear Red - Remember when we’d see someone on Star Trek wear the red uniform? Crazy compilation worth see if only for the cultural reference.

Topless Robot - EGM, R.I.P. - This was THE games magazine to read for the 90s & even beyond (I know Josh was shocked when I showed him this). Farewell!

Politics/(Not so) Current Events:

Neb. parents rush to leave kids before law changes - Yahoo! News - Something I imagine many of you heard about back in November.

Why Justice Lawyers Defied President Bush | Newsweek National News

Bush's Final F.U. : Rolling Stone

Assessing the Bush years | The frat boy ships out | The Economist - I see a theme here. ;-)

Report: U.S. Power Will Fade By 2025, National Intelligence Council Predicts

FiveThirtyEight.com: Electoral Projections Done Right: What In The Hell Happened in Alaska? - The BEST site to watch before the elections. Had lots of good articles on possible shenanigans happening in a few states (like Nebraska, Minnesota & Alaska).

ACLU: 2/3 of US population lives in "Constitution-free" zone - another reason to live in the midwest! ;-)

Humor/For-kicks/Sports:

Winston finally had to concede he might « Lolcats - reminds me of TB, but a whole lot funnier!

xkcd - A Webcomic - I'm An Idiot - I showed lolcat & xkcd pics in some of my rheumatology seminars. Very few laughed - another sign that I’m out of touch? One of the doctors thought I had made them up myself. :-)

The Mystery of the Yellow Line Video - all about the Yellow Line used in American football coverage. I learned a lot and was surprised as to how much tech goes into it! Now, if only they could get rid of those stupid chains (I know, blasphemy!)

New Year, No Limits: Maddison Motorcyle Jump - ESPN Video - Insane NYE jump!

Play Auditorium - Addictive, pretty & musical browser puzzle game.

Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » design guide: omaha, nebraska - Special blog of places to visit in Omaha!

Crystal Head Vodka - So hard to express how I feel after watching Dan Akroyd advertise this new vodka. Feel free to send me a bottle! :-)

moosebutter - Hilarious & talented a cappella group that did the best mash up of John Williams tunes in a Star Wars compilation. Unfortunately the video is now off of youtube, but still worth listening to.
]]>KalebLife2009-01-19T22:28:17-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/07333ed4c2354b00d0aef6abf6f4ee1e-122.html#unique-entry-id-122http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/07333ed4c2354b00d0aef6abf6f4ee1e-122.html#unique-entry-id-122
Some of you know I pre-ordered a little smartcar fortwo convertible (same color/model as in the picture) almost 16 months ago. Remember then? When we hated the current president for only botching up our reputation, the wars, outing V. Plame and for just being incompetent, etc, etc - not like now when we get to add the financial crisis of the century to the list (I know... it’s been a short century, and only a few more hours of W). So, back then I thought it was a smart idea to pre-order this hot cake as I knew they’d go fast just like the mini coopers did earlier and with the insane gas prices, seemed like a sure deal to either buy for myself (wee! fun tiny convertible!) or to just resell for a profit to a new Husker college student (it’s red with black trim on the outside and inside - perfect for campus attention and tailgating - leaves so much room to actually sit down in the same parking spot!). But, alas, the car arrived a few days ago. Have I mentioned that it’s been -8F? Today was much warmer at 34F, but the wind picked up tonight and was still not fun to be outside.

So I drove this tiny cutie around in the wind, on the interstate, and around the neighborhood. It’s an automatic manual transmission -> so it does the bunny hop when shifting gears as it’s really a manual. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I changed the gears myself instead of moving my head into the steering wheel at semi-random times. Still.. would be a lot of fun to have, especially once the nice weather returns.

But I’ve decided it doesn’t make any sense now. No place to keep it. No sun to enjoy it with. Rear-wheel drive and tiny size makes for crazy ice/snow driving. And less money for students to buy it with for any profit. Ah... so sad, there goes that dream... but for 30 minutes tonight, it was a fun ride! :-)
]]>KalebObservations2009-01-18T22:05:07-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/9b55bd731f936a97aa76763a2956ceb8-121.html#unique-entry-id-121http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/9b55bd731f936a97aa76763a2956ceb8-121.html#unique-entry-id-121
So, last year Angela brought this Tostitos spinach dip along with Tostitos flour tortilla chips. It was a great combination, but didn’t work nearly as well with other chips (corn, potato, etc). Last month I bought a large container of this said dip, but then noticed the store didn’t have the chips anymore. Over the past month I’ve visited the other 4 large grocery store chains here, two local specialty stores, a Mexican grocery and Whole Foods... NONE of them carried any flour tortilla chips! I finally had success with a local Mexican restaurant, but the chips have to be eaten that night as they go bad by the next day.

Who knew this would become such an issue... I can get lots of tropical fruit and items that were grown across the world, but I can’t get flour tortilla chips. Nice to have such problems to worry about. ;-)

Be sure to check out the latest picture of the cats in the K...Pics section. Was hard to get them to jump on my lap with the new Christmas decor to distract them (this was one of several taken).
]]>KalebLife2008-12-10T21:39:05-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/6db09b291f941d1faeec2edb215883a7-120.html#unique-entry-id-120http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/6db09b291f941d1faeec2edb215883a7-120.html#unique-entry-id-120
Here’s his bio from the Nobel committee and the NPR article.
]]>KalebLife2008-12-10T01:43:27-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/98540e70465a35cd300c3731c8dca038-119.html#unique-entry-id-119http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/98540e70465a35cd300c3731c8dca038-119.html#unique-entry-id-119
Starting off with December. To celebrate the anniversary of my house being broken into, I once again drove down to Kansas to work in Wichita for a few days at the NDB’s office. Played some new games with the family, got lots of work done with daily meetings, teeth cleaned, annual Ada massage, dinner with Fred & Donna, saw William (visiting from Hawaii and a day before he shot a nail through his hand), ate some Gambino’s pizza & Braums’ limeade, and made the 350 mile drive to Mount Hope from Omaha in record time (4.25 hours, nonstop). Needless to say, a full 3 days. After I drove back, I was quickly off to San Francisco again for an ACR meeting. Got to have a small game night on Friday at Terry’s place (great to see Mandi, Doug, Melissa, Emily, Stacie & Mike), gorged myself on excellent dim sum on Saturday, then had meetings the rest of the time at the SF Wharf though with a brief break to take the trolly across the city and watch a late showing of Quantum of Solace (good, but not great as was previous Bond flick). Lots of stories from this past weekend, but maybe most memorable was at the airport. I thought my flight was at 12:30pm and I arrived at 11:45am (no bags to check), only to discover the flight was at 12:03 (have I mentioned that I’m bad at remembering numbers?). I arrived at gate to find no one staffing the area. The plane was still docked and I waved and jumped up and down to get the pilots’ attention to no avail. The computer said they were missing only 1 passenger (me!). The door to the plane had lots of warnings about alarms going off if I tried to enter. 6 minutes later when the plane started to leave I decided to set the alarms off and return to waving - this time the pilots saw me, pointed and got them to re-dock so I could get on board. Not a fun experience and likely bad due to short staffing the area, but fortunate to make it!

Oh, and I beat Jade Empire on my one night in NE between those trips (it’s only an xbox game that’s 4 years old!). It was very impressive, but a sign that time hasn’t been on my side for some time. :-) Stay tuned for much more!!!
]]>KalebParties2008-11-16T23:18:16-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/57f1a630344094c76e088465173e41d9-118.html#unique-entry-id-118http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/57f1a630344094c76e088465173e41d9-118.html#unique-entry-id-118here.
]]>KalebLife2008-11-07T09:09:25-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/135149ccbe039b18e73e234eb4584367-117.html#unique-entry-id-117http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/135149ccbe039b18e73e234eb4584367-117.html#unique-entry-id-117Prea would always laugh and sigh as she said I was the one major outlier for her research that showed the more educated one was, the less likely they were to eat fast food. If I had good company and less work, I’m sure I would be better about such things, even bring my own lunch, but I’m far from that for now. *sigh*

These 3 weeks of conferences had food accessible to me all the time. I feel like I’ve gained weight and so now am a bit more self-conscious of what I’m eating (likely a good thing). Starting on Monday, DDR every day! :-)

Now to get rid of these 5 pounds of leftover Halloween candy... maybe I can slip them into Troy & Merinda’s silverware drawer like they so discretely did to mine... Nice to write a more random blog entry! (and it’s cold and windy)]]>KalebLife2008-11-05T22:01:23-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/ca99cee3dea24a76083b8af0ec081156-116.html#unique-entry-id-116http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/ca99cee3dea24a76083b8af0ec081156-116.html#unique-entry-id-116
Nice to feel good during the night of and after an election. Also “nice” to be free of predicting the correct winner of the presidency 2 years in advance (on Thanksgiving day) since 1982. Yes, I picked McCain 2 years ago and, not that he was my choice, just was my gut pick. He likely had it had he groomed Palin better (or picked Lieberman instead) and not looked silly during the economic crisis. I’m not complaining, though. :-)

Oh, and they just released a Portal expansion entitled “Still Alive” - can’t play until next week when I post all the real news and pics that you’ve been dying to read!

Oh, and just for the record, I LOVE the amazing weather we’ve had with the gorgeous colorful leaves. It’s been tremendous and now, starting tonight, the cold of late fall/winter is upon us. It was a great way to spend the first days of November!]]>KalebObservationsTechHumor2008-10-10T21:51:55-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/c2fe1da031f8c6f3eccef30339e89dcf-115.html#unique-entry-id-115http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/c2fe1da031f8c6f3eccef30339e89dcf-115.html#unique-entry-id-115Anyhew, enjoy!

I really like my xbox 360 (currently playing Jade Empire & Rock Band 2), but I don’t play much with strangers on it, even though it’s got the best online video game system (non-PC). This is one of the reasons why:
Topless Robot - The 10 People You Meet on Xbox Live

The Video Game Revolution: "Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked" by Henry Jenkins | PBS

Mad Geophysics: Magnetic Anomaly Map of the World

Brian Cox on CERN's supercollider | Video on TED.com - more info on the LHC by a great lecturer (very short talk)

Pictured: The 20-stone sumo girl... aged just 14 - Girls just wanna have fu’un! (wedgies are fun, right?) Amazing size for one so young.

ABC News: Exclusive: Inside Account of U.S. Eavesdropping on Americans - I often tease my family members and friends who are very pro-privacy (eg. they don’t use grocery discount cards, prefer cash, and hide their bridge-toll detectors in foil when not going near a toll) as I often use and can understand the reasons for wanting to collect such information. But the phone-tapping by the NSA is way way way over the line. Hasn’t The Dark Knight taught us that this is bad bad?

Official Gmail Blog: New in Labs: Stop sending mail you later regret - I could have used this function during my jet-lagged mornings and nights after returning from Sweden. Doh!

Berkeley Breathed says goodbye to Opus: 'I'm destroying the village to save it' - My favorite long-running comic is gone... again!

Revealed: Plans to build the world's tallest building at 1km high - So, I”m speaking at a conference in Dubai next March and I’m looking forward to seeing all of the crazy skyscrapers that already exist there, but this one... this one is breathtaking!

Topless Robot - Doctor Who Has No Idea What You're Doing Here - Can’t believe I watched the entire video. More to remind myself what all of the Dr. Who characters looked like (why did they get younger with every iteration? Is this like a Mork from Ork thing?)

Topless Robot - Rock Band Needs "The Touch" - Maybe you’re impressed? Maybe you’re just embarrassed, but I sing this song out loud every once in the while when I hit a few buttons to make things work and, of course, while striking a Saturday Night Fever pose.

Can’t Open Your E-Mailbox? Good Luck - NYTimes.com - This actually has me very nervous. Do NOT let someone take over your gmail account. I’ve got redundant accounts just in case this happens, but I hope I never have to deal with it. Be afraid!

]]>KalebLife2008-10-10T21:08:23-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/c7aa5b7676807c1ea2607f3023f25e61-114.html#unique-entry-id-114http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/c7aa5b7676807c1ea2607f3023f25e61-114.html#unique-entry-id-114
Halloween time
Last night I celebrated my friend, Angela’s, birthday at the local Vala’s pumpkin patch. Was so much fun feeding goats (see pics for “2-headed” goat), haunted house, running through the corn-field maze, wandering a pumpkin field and riding/singing on a hay-rack ride. Regressed 20 years, easily. :-) In the maze, which was huge!, I had a habit of running ahead, hiding around corners and surprising the group. One time I ran ahead without my partner in crime, Merinda, and found the perfect hiding spot. But the group wasn’t coming by. Smaller groups did, and none of them saw me. Once a staff person was making the rounds with a bright flashlight, so I jumped out and acted innocent. Went back to hiding... more people passed, still no group. Then a kid run up the path and crawled backwards right in front of me. She wasn’t going to do the same thing as me. So I decided to scare the crap out of her, first. Boo! She about messed her pants, but she held it together so she could scare her kids (yes, apparently she was much older, just acted young... hmm, sounds familiar). She pointed to the husband at me, and he made the comment, “yeah, that looks like a good place to hide” as he didn’t even see me as I was further in the corn. Then when she pointed me out again, the whole group started to freak out. Still, I waited... after 15 minutes I gave up. I ran through the rest of the maze and found the group waiting for me on a bench. Apparently they went backwards and back the way we came in! Ugh! My perfect plan failed. Still, so much silliness and fun!

Hosted several more game & movie nights, played some new rock band 2 (new drums rock!), and have gotten my share of football games watched (could the Chiefs be any worse?). Finished the final pieces of my basement rec room (last curtains, pictures), too, so soon there will be a post of what I actually did on it.

I taught two 3-hour lectures on health outcomes (focused on physical measures and quality of life) in this new graduate-level public health class. It has been so long since I taught! And I really enjoyed it! (no real surprise) May have to revisit this thing again in the future... ;-)

There will be tree...
Apparently my tree, that was split down the middle, will go on to live several more years. It will cost me $1100 to have it completely removed or $300 to have it trimmed nicely. The arborist said that it won’t look good and I’ll have to watch for beetles/infections, but it should last a while. I was so happy as the leaves have come back in deep green and the inside of it has started to grey as if trying to grow new bark (or it’s just dirty).

Trip to Sweden
I took my first official vacation trip in Sept to Stockholm. I spent a week visiting a new friend, Marie, making new ones, and catching up with old ones, too. It didn’t all go the way I had hoped (it was cold!), but I made the most of seeing the many sights (see picture section). Notably, watched Marie’s brother play in the championship American Football game. His team only had 16 players including a girl (see pics), while the other team had 40+. What impressed me was that they were winning until the 2nd half when they were just worn out (he played both offense & defensive lineman - EVERY play!). Though they lost, her brother won MVP - for only age 19, he’s very impressive. I had fun watching, cheering and explaining to worried mothers around me what was happening. Was hard when one son got injured - his mom ran to the end of the of the stadium to help, but resisted when he started limping off the field. New perspective for me. Went to many museums, areas of note, got familiar with the subway system, ate way too much high-fat butter & yogurt, lots of breads, and got a supply of Coke Zero going (again, fairly popular there, too). Took lots of pictures of the great scientific designs on one of the subway stops, and other pictures of random dogs, babies and other notable signs. Note, it’s hard to get pictures of people’s babies! Why was I doing this? Well, a friend in Omaha challenged me with this task - I got a lot, but I’m sure some thought about calling me out. I was very smooth - like a secret agent. ;-)

Rant about age
While in Stockholm I befriended an attractive stranger (Natasha) on my way to the National Swedish Museum. Even though she was from Moscow and had a thick accent, we hit it off well. Near the end she asked me how old I was - apparently she thought I was 27 (not so uncommon with my baby face, it seems). The issue was, I thought she was near 30 (I said 26), but she was actually 21. Not like I was looking to date, but apparently that wigged her out and put an end to our plans to meet up again. OH well. Back in the US I asked a 24-yr old PhD student out, and while she was flattered, she said I was too old (again, fair enough as 24 is my lower limit on the “creepiness” scale). The same day, I’m buying a bunch of liquor and at this point I’m chanting in my head “You better not ask, you better not ask...” - the guy, of course, asks to see my ID. I grunt. Get it out and ask how old I had to look for him to ask. He said “27 or younger”. Crap! OK, so while many people think it’s a blessing to look young (and I agree), it has not been kind to me in the social arena!

For something cute, be sure to see the latest TB picture in the cat section. I have more trips coming again soon, but that’s it for the year. Plus I’ve been working on the new murder mystery party - a jungle themed event!
Until the next time...
]]>KalebObservationsTechHumor2008-10-03T08:09:58-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/63030a1425b9860445db04e195ee8d1c-113.html#unique-entry-id-113http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/63030a1425b9860445db04e195ee8d1c-113.html#unique-entry-id-113
Technology/Science

Astronauts Return Safely to China - NYTimes.com - Did any of you know about this?

Private Company Launches Its Rocket Into Orbit - NYTimes.com - What about this?

Science News / Snapshot Of A Planet Beyond The Solar System - Or this? Clearly I’m getting excited about the future of space!

YouTube - end of the world?, the Large Hadron Collider ( LHC ) - Educational and entertaining video of what the LHC actually is. Yes, I miss physics, but am happy to be on the outside.

Has the Large Hadron Collider destroyed the earth yet? - related to the above for those of you who want to stay on top of things.

Health/Psych/Personal Improvement/My Job

How to Overcome Resentment | ThinkSimpleNow.com - In case you’re in a resentful kind of mood, here are some pointers to get through it (though when really resentful, do we want to get over it?)

A New Epidemic - YouTube - This is related to my research. Fascinating subject - the idea of disease mongering. Nice BMJ article about non-diseases and how most anything normal these days is treated like an ailment or disease for many reasons, but often to sell drugs/remedies as well.

New study proves that pain is not a symptom of arthritis, pain causes arthritis - Interesting new article on osteoarthritis. Yes, more shop talk, but strange to find an arthritis article on a physics web site.

Going Big - Harlem Renaissance - This American Life - I was recently asked what podcasts I listen to. If you’ve gone through my blog, you’ll only find mention of RadioLab. But I listen to NPR regularly and greatly enjoy This American Life. This week covered a man and his effort to reduce poverty in Harlem and how it led him to teach mothers how to be better parents by talking and reading to their babies. How just the increase in the number of words used and interaction could have such a great impact long-term. Seems also appropriate as a friend told me she thinks anyone who uses corporal punishment on their kids should be locked away. I disagreed and commented that people made too big of a deal about this, but that a quick spank or something to get a kids attention wasn’t so bad. But the more I thought about it, the more I questioned how I would be as a future-father. Let’s just say that I’m not so rigid in my beliefs. :-)

The Incredible Podcast Episode 1: What online gaming parents know that you don't - Sent from Katie. Maybe you’ll all start playing more online games now? ;-)

Medicare Drug Premium on Rise - WSJ.com - Grandma, be sure to check out what your new rates will be. You may want to change to something better for you.

UNMC Today Headlines - Dr. Michaud awarded Arthritis Foundation New Investigator Grant - This was top of UNMC daily paper while I was away. I got so much “press” after it, even though I got this grant last July. What a difference some PR makes. Oh, and lots of comments on the new, cheesy smile picture. :-D

Religion: why do people believe in God? - Telegraph - Thought provoking article, but clearly short and overly simplistic (but therefore quick digestible for a mid-day snack :-) )

Politics

Don't Vote - CollegeHumor video - More for the younger peeps (?), but entertaining vid of lots of famous actors trying to get you to vote.

The Great Schlep - More Sarah Silverman trying to get us to get our family members in Florida to vote Obama. Funnay!

Experience 101 - Dick Cavett - Opinion - New York Times Blog - So many articles about the debates and the election, but enjoyed this fellow Nebraskan’s take from a few weeks ago.

Movies/TV/Sports/Games

Wehastrouble - Don’t view picture unless you’ve played any of the Settlers of Catan or CATAN games.

ESPN - There's no argument where the best QBs live: the Big 12 - Columnist - The Big XII in college football has shown it’s got great teams. Now they start to cannibalize each other in the coming weeks. Still, fun games!

Spore’s Piracy Problem - Forbes.com - the biggest computer game to arrive in years has gotten lots of protests from users due to its new copyright management. Revenge of the nerds!

Film - Disney Prepares to Use Its Marketing Magic to Bring Back the Muppets - NYTimes.com - I’ve had several comments about upcoming Muppet events planned and now I see it’s all part of a larger strategy of Disney, but I am concerned since the Muppets were more for adults, their edgy comedy. ABC put them with mindless kid-fare sitcoms back with Muppets Tonight (which was brilliant, btw) in 1991 or so, and it didn’t do well... I’m curious to see how much the brand is altered to make them appealing to the current-day kids.

Geeky Movies' Top 10 Coolest Kids | Geekdad from Wired.com - What happened to SpyKids? At least our geek from Real Genius made the cut.

South Park protest in Russia - remember when I mentioned that Russia wanted to ban South Park, well, some Russians aren’t happy about that. Check out the pics!

Ranking The Films Of The Coen Brothers | Movie Crunch - So many great movies by these guys. Though I haven’t seen their worst two on this list (or the new one).


Misc

Spippo's deviantART Gallery - These aren’t the My Little Pony ponies that we had - I like them even better!

YouTube - Ninja cat comes closer while not moving! - Hilarious cat video!

NIN Dazzles With Lasers, LEDs and Stealth Screens - They’re in town next month and I plan to attend (which is a big deal since I’m not a fan of most concerts, let alone hard alt rock ones).

Hallowindow - Mark Gervais - Amazing video this guy projected on his house’s windows for Halloween. Hmm... giving me ideas. :-)

Enchanting Essentials - a new web site for my cousin’s, Summer’s, soap/care products company out in Oregon.
]]>KalebLife2008-09-14T23:45:24-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/a9bb00a3187650d3ee00e6190b932b33-112.html#unique-entry-id-112http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/a9bb00a3187650d3ee00e6190b932b33-112.html#unique-entry-id-112Football! So after Nebraska’s horrible last season, they’re no longer automatically on local TV, which means there’s a lot less to watch these football weekends. But NFL in HD on the big screen... it truly does rock! (even if my Chiefs truly do suck)

Dennis, one of my best friends in Omaha and the source of almost everyone else I’ve ever met here, has moved to Albuquerque, NM (the life of the military). Lizzy & I threw him a goodbye party last weekend where we played laser tag (and we all got to figure out how out of shape we are, though I did get the highest score in one match out of 10 of us!), and then grilled steaks and played Dennis’ favorite games throughout the night. It was a fun time and he will be sorely missed. (a nice group picture was added)

Tried swing dancing again this week - didn’t fall down or step on too many toes and had a good time, though it’s clear I have a lot to (re)learn. Hosted another game night that was more intimate and a lot of fun, cleaned the house up and down (the cats continue to shed like crazy), and continue to keep very busy with work.

The links show where my web-surfing mind has been (mostly on LHC and politics), but Neal Stephenson’s Anathem arrived the other day, so I’m off to finish up The Diamond Age so I can give it a try.

Oh, in even more uninteresting news, my car says one of my tire’s air pressure is low. I checked all 4 and their all the same (at 36 PSI), tried adding more (with no luck) and now am wondering if this is normal for that first cold day of Sept? Any car talk experts out there?

Go Chefs!
]]>KalebObservationsTechHumor2008-09-10T09:48:33-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/af18382e7324c2ace9a75ca28a1ed2c7-111.html#unique-entry-id-111http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/af18382e7324c2ace9a75ca28a1ed2c7-111.html#unique-entry-id-111
Business/Ecomonics/Politics

Can Diesel Ever Become Fashionable In The U.S.? - BusinessWeek. My family has owned a diesel van of some kind since I was a little kid. You can always hear it coming, but it got relatively good mileage. Here’s a good article about the hurdles of getting the good diesel cars more popular and available in the US. (plus, check out the great Honda diesel commercial narrated by Garrison Keillor!)

Lots of commentary regarding the Freddy/Fannie bailout this week. I’ve heard the pros and cons and believe we needed a bailout but with more serious consequences for the shareholders and decision-makers of the companies. I’m not a fan of having more welfare for the rich, once again. (or is that just a poor perception, Jay? You being 1 of 2 economists who read this blog. :-) )
A $75 trillion fright fest: 8 megahorror debts chilling the U.S. - MarketWatch
US Is "More Communist than China": Jim Rogers - Financials * News * Story - CNBC.com

I was surprised there wasn’t greater coverage of all of the arrests at the RNC last week. Here are a couple interesting videos - one showing how this was reported in Russia (how the rest of the world was hearing about martial law in US, while here it didn’t make much of a splash at ABC).
YouTube - Martial Law at the Republican National Convention (Russian Times)
Political Radar: Police Clash with Demonstrators, Make Arrests at RNC (ABC)
Minnesota Independent: News. » Best of the RNC, outside the ‘green zone’ edition

Op-Ed Columnist - The Resentment Strategy - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com
Angry Amateurs - Swampland - TIME
Well written articles, but I still can’t get over the “Drill! Drill! Drill!” from the RNC. Can’t imagine a sweeter chant to hear by all of the countries that we’re at odds with (Ven, Rus, Iran, etc).

Sarah Palin Gender Card | The Daily Show | Comedy Central - and on the lighter side. :-) A must-see video.

Science/Physics/Tech/Health

The most “important” event this week - CERN’s LHC is up and running! (as of today) Lots of press on it, but here’s a few you may have missed.
Hawking bets CERN mega-machine won't find 'God's Particle' (Update)
AP: This ain’t no jive, particle physics rap is a hit
YouTube - The Large Hadron Rap
xkcd - A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language - By Randall Munroe (it’s good to dream of a place where such a line could work - I’ll try it tonight before it’s too late. ;-) )

Top 10 Amazing Physics Videos | Wired Science from Wired.com- good to have on reserve.

Ok, this may be more appropriate in the politics section, but three related articles on science policy by the 2 main parties.
Cocktail Party Physics: physics politico
Physics Today Campaign 2008 - Where do they stand on science?
Sciencedebate 2008

Looking for Love In All the Right Alleles | Wired Science from Wired.com - waiting for the time when online dating sites will ask for blood to find your best match. :-)
Single Men Want a Child, but the Relationship Can Wait - NYTimes.com - on the same theme - I’ve often wondered since my quest to find a life-partner has not had success, if I would ever choose something like this... probably not.
When sex becomes an addiction - CNN.com - due to Mr. X-files recent newsmaking.

Autism and Vaccines: Why Bad Logic Trumps Science | LiveScience - title explains all. Can’t tell you how many times I was told vaccines caused all of my health problems.

Important work can be done while daydreaming - The Boston Globe - yeah, I knew I was getting important work done! ;-)

You may have heard about Google’s new browser. I can’t use it, yet (not for Mac), but two good links among many:
Google Chrome - A nice comic from Google illustrating why they created a new browser
Why Did Google Abandon Firefox? - GigaOM

Why Disasters Are Getting Worse - TIME - another article discussing geography more than climatology.

Invertebrate Astronauts Make Space History | Wired Science - Impressive creature!


Entertainment/Sports/Misc

10 Movies Needing a Muppet Remake | Geekdad from Wired.com - Keeping the muppets theme alive and well.

Bid to ban extremist U.S. cartoon | U.S. | Reuters - We tried banning South Park in the US years ago, interesting to see if Russia does the same (and they’ve only aired through season 3, there are 12 of them so far!)

The curse word 'Battlestar Galactica' created - CNN.com - FRAK! (What about Farscape’s “Frell” and their many words for other private words? Though I still like the made for TV editing of Breakfast Club, “FLIP YOU!” - as we all shouted it out loud at the recent 80s party. )

Topless Robot - The World Is Now Higher Pitched - great little video of the best voice in movie trailers. Farewell Mr. Don LaFontaine.

YouTube - How Lord of The Rings Should Have Ended - one of many hilarious little Youtube videos showing how so many popular movies should have ended. :-)

Believe! — Bernard Pollard Fan Club - Red tee - It’s still a little raw and my NY Giants fan-friend (living in Boston) is walking a fine-line as she mocks the Pats fans, but still, this shirt is funny in it’s bad-taste. Besides, it’s on a Steeler’s fan site. Go Chefs! :-P

A Lingerie League of their Own - SPIKE - Lastly, seems so wrong in so many ways (though of course I’ll have to check it out on TV next year). I alway thought there should be a co-ed or female football leagues, but this wasn’t what I had in mind (clearly I lack imagination/daydreaming). Enjoy the pics!
]]>KalebObservations, Tech, Humor2008-08-31T23:30:43-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/1ab1022f28559716abb2fee55a6b18a5-110.html#unique-entry-id-110http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/1ab1022f28559716abb2fee55a6b18a5-110.html#unique-entry-id-110Google launches White Space Offensive with new web site - so much bandwidth out there yet to be used! (why can’t I get my cell to work at my home, yet?)

Time to kick out some olympic sports - I didn’t give you the one with Peyton Manning trying to get American Football in the olympics, but I tend to agree with a lot of these. The medals race was interesting and a sign that there are a lot of “minor” individual events out there - though unfortunate events like the decathlon and others that are less specialized have been demoted in the public eye.

Maker Faire - the science fair for adults! (coming to Austin soon) Make magazine rocks!

NASA - Strange clouds on the edge of space - Noctilucent clouds way way high up!

Lost Temple of Doom Theme Song - this was “found” recently by L B Rayne. I found it catchy and appropriate for my 80s month theme and funny, ok, that’s enough praise that they’ll probably “find” many more now! (Archaeology isn’t all it’s cracked up to be!)

Goblin shark caught on video - whoa, I thought I was almost over my fear of sharks, but the “Aliens” like mandible on this rarely seen creature is crazy!

Japan is working hard on the world’s largest synchrotron. Interesting science, but also of note as the US “falls behind” in its basic research budgets.

Takashi Murakami’s video for Kanye West’s “Good Morning”. Seems rare to see such anime work for Hip-Hop music - both are good!

There’s talk of a new Muppet movie and possible revival of the series (woot!). After more inspection, I uncovered some new Henson studio work on entertainment for adults, including this 10 min “web pilot” for Alien Boot Camp on Logo (one of the gay tv stations) called Tinseltown.

Possible that the world record ($100,000) prime number has been found. But the main reason I have this is to see the strangeness of a math article written for the public (Scientific American). So poorly written - He uses “9.808358 million” which just happens to equal 9,808,358. Also, “French smarty-pants”?

Christopher Lee knows that booze really heals - a funny musical number from the movie The Return of Captain Invincible. If you enjoyed Rocky Horror, you’ll like this! Now where’s my drink?

An old hilarious comedy gymnastics routine from Paul Hunt from a few years ago - a good one to end on - enjoy the holiday!

]]>KalebLife2008-08-31T16:43:03-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/1dfc25f15007701ca9fb44b80f84df30-109.html#unique-entry-id-109http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/1dfc25f15007701ca9fb44b80f84df30-109.html#unique-entry-id-109
Ok, enough existential thoughts - the Life of Kaleb updates!

July 28-Aug3
I started and finished a grant application (a new record, not something I am proud of, due Aug 1 at 3pm, submitted all 14 sections at 2:59pm, 2 minutes “better” than last year), hosted a Mummy movie marathon, and helped my summer student get her poster ready for display - an hour later, headed out to Lincoln to join the family gathering at the grandparents as Grandpa had a new brain implant to control the palsy in his other arm. Continuing that first weekend of August: parents, sis, Uncle Garry, Aunt Paula & Justine visited in a mini-reunion (since we couldn’t make it to our real reunion the following weekend). We played tourist downtown, lots of ping-pong, games, a little late-night badminton, cooking, and trying to survive the heat - lots of fun! That same weekend (Sunday afternoon), I flew out to California.

Aug 3-10 - in CA
Worked at Stanford for a week staying at Stacie & Mike’s (a month after being wed, and they still rock :-) ), though enjoyed seeing friends/colleagues during most lunches and evenings (including a memorable game night at Doug, Melissa & Emily’s). Got a lift with new friends, Aaron & Masumi Fries, for the weekend up at Point Reyes for Yony & Amy’s wedding. So many great people were there, but the first night Cindy & I (we weren’t in the wedding party, so we had lots of free time), crashed another wedding dinner party at the local pizza parlor, and then played several games of Race For The Galaxy (RFTG - my current favorite “board game”). The next morning Cindy & I decided to take the 5 mile hike to Arch Rock and back to the lodge (it was 10am and the wedding started at 1:15pm). Our precarious start foreshadowed the hike as we first left the grounds and Cindy got stung by a small wasp or two (behind me I heard “Ow! Damn! Ow! Run, Kaleb, Run!” only 15 minutes after others warned teasingly to keep her in front of me at all times). A 15-minute delay by choosing the wrong path, and we were off in the right direction (which I knew because my iPhone got great reception once we were out in the hills/fields, as opposed to the small town we were in). At the halfway point (timewise), we were 0.9 miles away from Arch Rock - so we decided to run. Mind you, I’m not sure I’ve ever run so far, and especially in street shoes/jeans. We got there, enjoyed the 3 minute breathless view (see pics) and hurried back. Our new dilemma - the path goes right through the wedding ceremony and we weren’t going to make it in time (ie. we were about to be true wedding crashers). After deciding against committing a couple bike-jacking offenses, we convinced a trio of understandably nervous tourists from Michigan to give us a lift to the lodge (a different path). I did the 2 minute shower, changed (watching the ceremony process outside my window), and then changed again as my new shirt’s button popped off (first (and last?) purchase ever from Von Maur). Snuck in and enjoyed a marvelous ceremony, followed by lots of good food, fellowship, dances, bubbles, cake, more sun, and then relaxed with pizza, beer, billiards, and RFTG (~6 more games until 3am with 3 other PhD’s - 2 string theorists, 1 mathematician - all who were intent on “solving” the game. A great challenge amongst new friends!) The next day we did brief wine tasting, a mandatory In & Out stop, and I was back in Denver the next morning.

Aug 11-13 - in CO
I originally had a couple work meetings in Denver to take care of, but my 6am flight hung out on the runway at San Jose for some time before “The hydraulics aren’t working, we’re bringing it in for inspection”. I first wondered which part - the landing gear or flaps, and then decided that neither would be good to lose(!). 4 hours later, we were finally off, but so were my meetings. I stayed with my close childhood friend, Katie, and her three little ones: Archer (4), Sylvia (2), & Clark (9 mo’s). Randy, Kate’s hubby, was called out of town for work at the last minute, so I got to help with some parental duties. Oh my - going from 2 cats to 3 children was not a jump I was prepared for and I have renewed respect for Katie and so many of my other friends who are parents. Overall, since I was just helping, it was a lot of fun. Especially going to the library and swimming! After kids were asleep, Katie & I played some games (yes, including RFTG, of which she won on her first game, something none at the wedding can say). A slight brag-detour: 7+ years ago I had a streak of winning 30+ games of Settlers of Catan in a row among 40+ different people. Katie broke the streak over the holidays in 2001 which was a huge relief since I couldn’t talk about it until it was broke (as it’s easy to gang up on someone in it). I also saw fellow U Rochester classmate, Thuy, who also looks amazing despite a family of 5+ keeping her plenty busy!

Aug 14-17 - back in Omaha
My “aunt” died while I was in Denver. I had sent her some of the pictures of the basement that she helped me color-coordinate. That weekend her family held services in Kansas and in Seward, NE, a small town west of Lincoln. It was a gorgeous day, and it was so nice to see so many relatives (many of which had met a week earlier for the reunion I missed). You’d have to be a stone not to be moved by the words shared on Connie’s behalf. She had clearly touched so many and will not be forgotten. The for-fun themes about Connie were about her ability to create beauty and her love of Nebraska football, of which several spoke about. (Not to take anything away from the service, but it was hard not to escape how important football is here when it’s mentioned so much at a funeral. Definitely like its own religion and something so many of us can come together over, like so many others out there.) Since it was the last I’d see a lot of family for a while, some had surprised me with birthday cards/gifts. I enjoyed being with distant family and wanted there to be pictures/videos as everyone looked so good and after the service were in higher spirits as we remembered Connie and caught up. Guess it’s not good form - can’t remember the last time I saw a picture taken from any family funerals. Hard to still imagine how Shana, Connie’s daughter and one of my favorite cousins, is handling it all. But we keep on...

Aug 18-24 - birthday week
Prea made a visit for my birthday - her first trip to Omaha from DC. It was an overdue, but very welcomed surprise, even if only for 2 days. I took 1.5 days off of work (another strange thing for me) for her trip, and had fun shopping, cooking, and just catching up. The gang at work got me a carrot cake for the bday and a nice card, the game-night crew got me a brownie cake with a group-card, and my inbox and Facebook were filled with bday wishes - something that did overwhelm me with gratitude. So fortunate to have so many great people in my life! On Saturday Dennis & Lizzy (in honor of Lizzy’s bday back in July) led us on a 4 hour innertube ride down the Des Moines river (I still don’t know where we were, I was operating on 4 hours sleep). It was so relaxing and fun, though the only scare was when a river snake was headed right towards me (I was armed with a plastic squirt gun which I used to get me wet (more than others), as an oar, and here as a possible snake-whacking device. Smartly, it decided to avoid me. Apparently using loads of sun-block wasn’t enough as I ended up with a lobster-red sun burn over the entire front of my body. I did fall asleep briefly while floating downstream which brought memories of sleeping on a raft at Cheney lake when I was 10 and subsequently getting a 3rd degree sunburn which resulted in the white archipelago on my right leg. All 11 of us on the trip were completely spent. What I haven’t mentioned is that in honor of the bday, I had been hosting a few 80s-themed events in Aug (since I was born in the 70s). This same Sat night was the climax with an 80s party - dance music, decorations, lots of 80s foods (thought mostly bad-for-you snacks), big hair/outfits, trivia, arcade games all followed by a group viewing of The Breakfast Club. For the few that showed, they were true troopers. See the wonderful new picture section dedicated to them. Kudos to Dennis/Lizzy for their amazing outfits, for helping me decorate the night before and their unlimited energy.

Aug 25-31 - wrapping it all up
Keeping busy with per usual, showed Real Genius (surprised as to how well it has held up over the years) and hosting a game night this past week (with Jamaican jerk chicken and beef patties). Working on possible settings for the murder mystery party this fall (the zoo, most likely). Hosting another Fantasy Football league (we draft on Monday). Saturday had two great BBQs to attend, and the later one didn’t end until 4am or so. Surprised how untired I was - makes a difference having good company! Trying to get lots of time with Dennis before he moves to NM. Took a nap with the cats with college football on (yes, it was very cute). So now I’m getting into the mundane, but also happy to have my hands and mind full as I wrap it all up. ]]>KalebObservationsTechHumor2008-08-18T22:21:11-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/d4502f2a9151e2a38938a4f05f146b75-108.html#unique-entry-id-108http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/d4502f2a9151e2a38938a4f05f146b75-108.html#unique-entry-id-108
The Guinea Pig Olympics - Telegraph - so... darn... cute... can’t resist. :-)
Lupin/Cavy Related: Pet rabbit saves owners from fire.
TB’s long lost cousin? 40lb cat needs a home!

Nice graphic of how US men are predicted to die in 2008 (from Men’s Health, copyrighted pic, so may not be around long)

Interesting research on IQ, evolution, sex and brain size. General Intelligence Factor (Scientific American), Social brain theory (Science), Fluctuating asymmetry and intelligence (journal) (Thanks, Stacie)
Related: Police reject candidate for being too intelligent.

Bernie Mac in the news - he is missed!

Death Star (and other SW ships) over San Francisco - cool video!
Other invasions in the world: Why Russia’s response to Georgie was right. (commentary-Financial Times)
In-depth article of the double life of Karadzic, an infamous Serbian fugitive (NYTimes)

I really enjoyed Firefly (and Serenity, too!) but was disappointed with what they did with Shepherd Book’s character. Now his backstory is coming out in a new comic book.
7 Biggest a-hole computers in Sci-Fi. We all know #1, but what about the rest? (also, we must fear what we don’t understand, right? How about just respect? :-) )

It’s taken me a while, but I’m now following the olympics a bit. Still, America, What About Handball?!
This is now out of date, but reasons why this is the biggest, baddest olympics ever.
The gender trap - issues with women close to losing olympic medals for not being woman-enough.

Desperate climates call for desperate geoengineering? (physics today) - scary and interesting stuff.
Signals travelling faster than speed of light? - never know what’s real in these pop-science articles, but still interesting!
SLAC is being renamed? Ugh, seems ridiculous.
More fabulous Hubble pictures!

CUIL - the Google killer. Um, at least was in the news for a couple days, anyone really use it?

I’m celebrating the 80s this month. How about this: Top 10 delicious extinct candies from the 80s

Chemistry of Sex Drive (health)
Aging is an accident of evolution - says Stanford researcher.
7 Common dreams and what they mean (Divine Caroline)
and 14 reasons you’re not sleeping (Forbes)

When in Japan, drink the “beer” for kids! (really crazy video)

For those who watched Batman - THe Dark Knight (which is now #2 top grossing movie in US all time - just passed Star Wars!), you may have been intrigued by The Watchmen trailer before it. Here’s an intro to that comic book from the 80s. Looks cuil!

Study reports that most corps don’t pay US income taxes. (Reuters)

For an inspirational talk - Randy Pausch Last Lecture: achieving your childhood dreams

Thank you for your support! :-)
]]>KalebObservations2008-07-27T22:57:58-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/9b9291689244bd10562c5a6499279121-107.html#unique-entry-id-107http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/9b9291689244bd10562c5a6499279121-107.html#unique-entry-id-107
Scientific Method: Relationships Among Scientific Paradigms Interesting algorithmic map showing relationship/connection between all sciences

Senate Approves Bill to Broaden Wiretap Powers - NYTimes.com Argh! I can completely understand why the citizenry has an even lower view of Congress compared to W when they do things like this. Old news by now.

Band Geek Hero! - Brought To You By TorsoPants.com - great shirts, but where is “Bass Clarinet Hero” shirt when I need it?!

ABC News article on aging tires - I wasn’t aware of this, though I’m still unsure how much of a problem it really is.

Muppets head to D.C. for special homecoming - CNN.com - Must go to DC to check this out!

Thinking Outside the Box: 8 Ways The Dark Knight Shines | LifeDev - OK, so I watched this on opening night at the nearby IMAX (yes, they just built it over in Council Bluffs). I was VERY impressed and thought this one of the many articles helped highlight some of the ways it was so good.

While I haven’t played Rock Bank much of late, the newest incarnation (Rock Band 2) was announced for September. So many great songs!

Topless Robot - the 10 Lamest Dr. Who Villains - I haven’t watched this show since I was a kid and no one was as good as Tom Baker, but thought it was still fun to make fun of and to share with you another geeky blog site, Topless Robot!

And, the main video for this time - a 6-min recreation of John Carpenter’s horror movie The Thing done with GIJoes! (plus it’s a music video for Zombie Zombie: Driving)
]]>KalebLife2008-07-27T22:57:08-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/72df50fbea875d1c7a1b1716bdf79e5a-106.html#unique-entry-id-106http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/72df50fbea875d1c7a1b1716bdf79e5a-106.html#unique-entry-id-106
The restaurant was incredible. It’s hard to comment enough on how amazing it was. My meal was $54 without tip, but easily one of the best meals. I’m salivating thinking about it. I had half a duck, prepared with morrel mushrooms, and... ok, I’m doing a horrible job describing it! The dessert... I didn’t think a white-chocolate cheesecake & creme brule hybrid could taste and look so good!

I took a swim around 12:30am on Sunday morning to unwind. The pools were open 24 hours. With Camelback mountain behind me, and a starry sky (clouds came in later), it was breathtaking.

OK, I’m done with the adjectives - a mostly good trip! I highly recommend them!

********

Back when I was a kid, I learned that there were a few ways of communication, in order of effectiveness: writing (typed and then handwriting), speaking, seeing and touching. That may not be intuitive, but for those moments when you see someone’s reaction, or the effect of a simple touch on the shoulder - there can be a lot communicated very quickly. Why bring this up? Just a bit of concern about maintaining friendships over instant messaging/email/telephone/distance. I’m trying hard to make sure human contact is made when possible, but it definitely isn’t easy (even with those who live nearby). Seems that time is the most valuable commodity of all.

On that theme, my father’s cousin (and also the interior design consultant to my new basement room) is nearing her death this week with kidney failure and cancer. My amazing second cousin is doing her best to take care of her mother at home until that day arrives. I wanted to see her while she was here at the hospital, but got the feeling that they’re keeping it someone low key with the close family though I know so many of us are thinking of her. While, for now, we all have this one thing in common (an end date), it acts as a reminder to enjoy fully every day we do have. Celebrating others at weddings or just bumping into them in the hallway, finding shapes in the clouds while floating on a pool or lying on the ground or on the roof of a building, trimming the plants and petting the cat (all things I’ve done this past month) - sounds so corny, but I don’t take any of it for granted.

A lot of profound things have happened lately and I don’t share too much private happenings on this blog, but if you were here, you’d know that besides being crazy with work and travel (and I really am), I have been moved so much by others and feeling incredibly fortunate to have some great folks in my life (likely you if you’re reading this!). Thanks for you!

(Ok, no thanks to you, Mr. Loony Stalker, just in case you got your hopes up. ;-) )
]]>KalebLife2008-07-16T23:18:21-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/04e4d63fdc677d93d5c949a6d16619ff-105.html#unique-entry-id-105http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/04e4d63fdc677d93d5c949a6d16619ff-105.html#unique-entry-id-105
Had my first ever 4th of July in Omaha a couple weeks back. My block had a mini-parade and brunch to start off the day. Seriously, everyone on the block gathers for an hour or so - it was great to see everyone and catch up a little bit since we all seem to keep busy even in these great summer months.

I missed my Aunt’s all day party near Lincoln, but spent a long time at Phyllis’ party near the Old Market (downtown Omaha). Lots of food, drinks and people I’d never met before. SOOoo much food! Joined a fellow Omaha-newbie couple to the roof of their Old Market building. For OVER AN HOUR fireworks could be seen across the Iowa and Omaha horizons. There must have been over 20 different organized locations we could see fireworks (mostly in Iowa since the hills hid most of Omaha). When the big series went off at the ballpark (2 miles south of us), that lasted 30 mins and was the most impressive. Plus you had random fireworks being shot off of roofs everywhere. Just amazed me how serious this holiday is taken - I had forgotten what it was like after being in the “no fireworks here or the state will burn down” Cali, but even looking out at the SF bay area from the Stanford hills (a much larger and more populated area), there were far less firworks than here. Finished the night back at the original party. Had a fabulous time! (oh, I taught the group a game called Cash-n-Guns where we shoot each other like good gangsters to split the money - all around a table. Since we were outside, I’m sure it caused quite the stir from the neighbors! :-) Pics to come).

With the help of Dennis, we finished all “construction” of the basement with the final wall base trim. All furniture arrived, and now I’m putting up posters and waiting for the curtains from my sister. Then you will see the final product in pictures!

Spent the past 6 days in CA. Saw lots of faculty/work colleagues (including Jay, yeah!), also caught up with a few friends and had an incredible time with Stacie & Mike at their small wedding on the beach. I was a bridesman (never a bride! oh wait) which was a first, and not only felt honored, but got somewhat emotional during the beautiful 15-min beach ceremony. Friends I have known for much longer told me that S&M have made them all look bad by visiting me 3 times in Omaha while no one else (except George!) has made the trek. I agreed with them, but reassured them that because of S&M I have manage much better to survive such transgressions. ;-) S&M have been together off/on for almost 13 years - true love AND stamina in a couple! Another reason we can spend hours upon hours together - the three of us have a great love of inquiry. Discussing any topic and learning as we go. I’m so happy for them and am excited about the many years to come (why am I such a sap at this hour!).

I also got in touch with a long-lost friend from Rochester this past week. 12 years later, Jen’s a proud mother of 3, musician/singer/writer, educator/administrator and life-long student. So happy to be back in touch!

And, on a completely unrelated link note, check out drhorrible.com for fun mini-movies by Joss Whedon, Neil Patrick Harris & others that will be taken down soon!
]]>KalebObservationsTechHumor2008-07-07T00:21:20-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/ae9530bcafd4bd6403367bd1a799a6b5-104.html#unique-entry-id-104http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/ae9530bcafd4bd6403367bd1a799a6b5-104.html#unique-entry-id-104
FORA.tv - Paul Roberts: The End of Food Listened to this 1-hour talk by Paul Roberts, author The End of Oil and The End of Food. Well done and while pessimistic at times, I enjoyed the big-picture view of food, oil, economy, global-warming, etc.

3 Ideas That Are Pushing the Edge of Science | Gadgets | DISCOVER Magazine

Judge Orders YouTube to Give All User Histories to Viacom | Threat Level from Wired.com Old news, but still quite troubling.

Poll: US taxpayers want more funding for scientific research About time! ;-)

The 10 Most Awesomely Bad Moments of the Bush Presidency | Election 2008 | AlterNet In case you had forgotten, here's a reminder.

Midwest Teen Sex Show Recommended by local pediatrician - surprising funny AND educational. Good for folks of all ages, though probably not safe for work.

CrunchGear » Archive » AT&T’s text messages cost $1,310 per megabyte I have been planning on getting the new iPhone, but two big issues: 1) range of service here in Omaha is questionable & 2) increase in rates including text messaging - may be enough to save money and not switch over this year either.

Funny t-shirts, Funny shirts, t-shirts, shirts, Cool t-shirts, Cool shirts, tees A funny site by itself, but also a great selection of funny t-shirts. Torsopants.com!

Uno and only -- chicagotribune.com New cross between Segway, motorcycle & Star Wars vehicle.

nsf.gov - Discoveries - Not a Quirk But a Quark ... a Quark Star! - US National Science Foundation

Science News / Citizen Astronomy Story about many astronomy amateurs finding new astronomical findings (that was awkward)

Roberts' record on high court defies '05 pledges of centrism -- chicagotribune.com I have respect for both Obama and McCain, but the latter, similar to Dole in '96, has changed in ways I don't like as he leads his party (actually, so has Obama). Not a fan of Scalia, Thomas and now Roberts and McCain has said he would add others similar to them.

Eppendorf International - It's called epMotion Very funny and real boy-band advert for a machine to do automated Eppendorf pipetting. So many (including myself) have spent so many hours pipetting that the humor and need for this would ring true - enjoy! (especially Kim Smith, Stacie, and the BoxerLab gang) Though the critic in me thinks they could have added a more pertinent 2nd verse. :-)
]]>KalebLife2008-06-30T11:20:40-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/389c555747476bcf731737e6988b7a76-103.html#unique-entry-id-103http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/389c555747476bcf731737e6988b7a76-103.html#unique-entry-id-103
The previous weekend my family drove up and helped with the rec room one more time. We got 9 more ceiling lights installed (major pain!), sister built a media cabinet, covers for various holes in the wall, and found the source of the cat-pee smell (I sat in it!). While the cats continue to be adorable (they have their own picture area here), if they continue to react so poorly to the new carpeted rec room, we may have to take more drastic action.

Dennis bet a nice bottle of wine back in March that I wouldn't have the home theater complete by the time he returned in June. He returned, and it still wasn't complete (the "bar" or game table hadn't arrived, yet). So, to celebrate the new lights, table and him winning the bet, my Dad brought up a very nice 2000 Silver Oak Cabernet that we all shared along with some nice cheeses, crackers and the showing of a cheesy movie (National Treasure 2 - Mom's choice).

For those of you that asked, I haven't seen WALL-E, yet, but did have fun watching Wanted last night with a couple friends. Sadly, this once respectable theater pales in comparison to my own. Not bragging, just a sad state of the local theaters. I do miss the Warren theaters of Wichita!]]>KalebLife2008-06-28T11:09:53-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/c8b417b4aa62b86949d709a3f840c1d9-102.html#unique-entry-id-102http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/c8b417b4aa62b86949d709a3f840c1d9-102.html#unique-entry-id-102
Driving home was a mess. It took 1 hour to drive 2.3 miles. From flooded streets, to trees blocking every other road to police not letting go the way I needed (I was oh so close (2 blocks) and when I asked if I could go that way and how I could get home (it was the 3rd time I'd tried that intersection) the officer yelled at me "It's not my problem, figure it out!"). To give some perspective - there was the annual Memorial Park concert and fireworks (Kool and the Gang plus .38 Special this year) planned at 6pm so there were a lot of people at the park (blocks from my home) and people at work were told to stay there until after the storm had passed, so the roads in that area were full of cars, even if it was dangerous to be out (I drove under several broken trees that could fall at any moment and over logs and curbs at places).

When I finally got to my block, the neighbors were out giving me condolences so I know something bad had happened. Nothing I could see and just a few large branches were down on the block, but then I saw it. My front large tree was split down the middle. I was so relieved that it didn't hit the house (I had seen several cars and homes flattened by trees on my drive home). See the pictures. Some friends came over for food and games anyway which was good for cheering me up.

I'm off to go help remove the tree - the rest will have to be taken down some other day, but it doesn't look like it will live. Maybe seeing WALL-E will be another nice escape this weekend. :-)]]>KalebObservationsTechHumor2008-06-26T22:26:05-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/41ffbcee2be76ac062d38ae2942df4df-101.html#unique-entry-id-101http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/41ffbcee2be76ac062d38ae2942df4df-101.html#unique-entry-id-101Comedy Central Early Tribute
Recent one on America (used by those groups listed above)


Physics/tech links:

Phoenix Mars Mission (great that this project, led by U of Arizona, has gotten so much attention. They've done a good job managing it and setting up PR - maybe a sign that future projects should be outsourced from NASA?)

Fastest-ever flashgun captures image of light wave - tech - 19 June 2008 - New Scientist Tech (I hate it when headlines mislead readers on the science, but it's still cool to see)

IBM's Roadrunner breaks petaflop barrier, tops supercomputer list | Tech news blog - CNET News.com (People wonder what IBM does these days since it's no longer in the PC business... here's one thing it still does well!)

Colliding with nature's best-kept secrets - CNN.com (never heard of this guy before, but it's interesting to see how the scientists get attention)

Earth Will Survive After All, Physicists Say - NYTimes.com (another story on CERN)

The End of Theory: The Data Deluge Makes the Scientific Method Obsolete (curious take on the subject)


Health-Science/Sex links:

Adventures In Science: The Incredible, Inedible Egg (fascinating first-time ever pictures of a woman's ovulation - this should just disturbing enough that the following links about sex won't be as scintillating)

Can’t Find The G-Spot? You’re Not Alone: The Science of Sex (curious - still have a lot to learn about women)

I've had the G-shot...and YES,YES,YES, my sex life has never been better (UK paper)

ABC News: G-Shot Parties: A Shot at Better Sex? (see a theme, yet?)

AskMen.com - The G-Shot (last one, honest)

Baby born with eight limbs takes her first steps after life-saving surgery (whoa! Amazing pics and story)

Morbid thoughts make you reach for the cookies | Health & Fitness | Reuters (this somewhat explains my purchases from the month of less sleep from shoulder pain)

Books - 2 Books on Illness and Wellness Give Opposite Advice - Review - NYTimes.com (Nortin Hadler is a unique rheumatologist. I have his previous book and can usually appreciate his somewhat cynical view of the health system.)


Potpourri:

Re: Neck of the woods. (In Paris I used the phrase "In my neck of the woods" with a Portuguese doctor. I realized after a second that she had no clue what that meant, and then I thought of how those words together didn't make any sense to me, either. Well, this link cleared it up, but I'll have to work harder on not being so difficult to understand. :-) )

Nintendo Wii Fit women and the $41m damage bill | The Daily Telegraph (who knew the Wii could be so expensive after all!? ;-) )

Daily Herald - Crazy Horse monument turns 60 with no end in sight (hope this gets completed in my lifetime)

A ROMAN GLASS GAMING DIE (on sale at Christies - I love this line "Modern scholarship has not yet established the game for which these dice were used." How cool is that?! Gamers of the ancients? :-) )

Lego Death Star Exclusive High-Res Pics: 3,800-Piece Death Star Diorama Is Coolest Star Wars Lego (meh, I stil prefer the recent huge Millennium Falcon - though I own none of these!)

Airplane Pilot Shares His Thoughts | Your America | Reader's Digest (tell it like it is!)

Picture of trends in CEO pay from NYTimes. (I could imagine BJ saying that CEOs need to be paid this much to encourage them to do what they do well, etc., but isn't this ridiculous?)

And the fun video to end on - Matt is back with his new higher res video of dancing around the world! Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) on Vimeo]]>KalebLifeObservations2008-06-15T10:56:30-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/56e24aa7bf1a18c2b635a1bb1fc6c9f4-100.html#unique-entry-id-100http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/56e24aa7bf1a18c2b635a1bb1fc6c9f4-100.html#unique-entry-id-100While trying to figure out which train I should take, a good friend from Switzerland, Axel, ran into me. Made my "winging it alone" approach much easier. But when before I was at the stop where I was supposed to get off, they had a small strike, so I had to find a new route to the hotel (Axel had already left). Once there, I still had to fill 3 hours since my room wasn't ready (they said 10am online for me, but it was 1:30pm). Exhausted, I took a long nap, then headed out to see the Eiffel Tower and surrounding area.

Wow - it's much more impressive than I thought it would be! Which is good 'cuz if I wasn't distracted by it, I would have been by all of the couples there (meh ;-) ). Actually met a fellow tourist in line travelling by herself (boyfriend was at Radiohead concert). She's a German med student - which is especially good since the elevator to the top had me in a bit of panic/vertigo! I have a fear of heights, but at the same time I love them - something I crave and find fascinating, especially the vertigo that "tells" me to jump.

I actually went to the meeting every day of the conference. Was nice to visit with my friends and colleagues from all over the world and more relaxed than the American one (this Oct in SF) as I had very little to present and only a couple meetings requiring my attendance. Still was surprised at the lack of very large conference centers in Europe - every year it's bigger and every year it's still not big enough. Next year is Copenhagen which may be less popular of a destination, but I'm excited about it for the physics history! :-)

As for Paris, so many observations. The obvious - very expensive and crowded. So many stores of fashion/style and pastries and so much good food. There were a host of beautiful women of all ages (maybe a requirement of living there?) though less notable attractive men. Fairly dirty in many places - more garbage cans are needed and definitely more recycle areas (they have green pods that look like the scout-probe droid from Star Wars hiding every several blocks). No recycling at the convention center.

In other important observations, they had Coke-zero everywhere - JOY! (even at McDonalds) Yes, I tried Mickie D's on the Champs-Elysees with some friends from Portugal. It was huge with a limited menu and a wide counter with ~15 staffed registers/attendants. I wanted to try some frites in France (French fries), plus there was special pleasure in reliving the scene from Pulp Fiction in my head. AND they had a mayo-salso for fries. Met a group from Vancouver there (yes, I have a habit of talking to strangers when I'm in foreign countries. Similarly 2-years ago I had a nice time (& surprsingly nice food) at a Burger King in Amsterdamn with ~10 Jamaican soldiers. Maybe it's because I have less pressure to behave myself? More likely due to preferring it to talking to the voices in my head. ;-) ). A young woman was crying on the flight to France. I gave her a Milky Way. I know, ridiculous, but she was happy to have it, and then told me in a few broken-English words about leaving her boyfriend in the US for 6 months as she went back home to school. The French miltary guy on the flight back who read more about computer RPGs than actually playing them (Josh, sound familiar to us?). So many stories...

Yes, I did try a bunch of nice French restaurants - from small social joints, to deli's, to fast-food (Paul is a nice chain), to some of the finest around (Restaurant L'Angle du Faubourg - over $100 and oh so good!). Also had some Middle-eastern, Italian & east Asian cuisines. I expected to gain weight, but made up for it by drinking coke zero (again, yeah!) and tons of walking.

How much walking? Well, I didn't take the pedometer (a mistake), but easily 10 miles a day. For example, the Louvre, which is HUGE - walked from the Arch de Triumph down to it (my friends wanted to go shopping at the Disney store. Disney is big here - almost went to Euro-Disney just because I'd never been to any of them and thought it would absurd... but I digress). This museum went on and on. So many impressive works (and so many "stolen/recovered" from times of antiquity). Loved the Egyptian writings/sculptures. The French paintings didn't impress me as much - maybe the size of them. You need a place as big as the Louvre to display them! I'm looking forward to returning there and seeing more. On the way back the metro broke down, twice, so we were forced to walk again. This time taking a detour since W was visiting. Security was incredible - makes me wonder the costs of having a disliked world-leader visit anywhere. In so much pain from walking! Also of note that evening - France lost badly (4-1) in Eurocup play, so the town was a bit depressed; I walked through a small alley filled with young lesbians (a bit of a spectacle, but here, like many other times, I couldn't interact much since I didn't know the language). Another sight - was walking to hotel after great food one late evening and discovered 9000 young adults dressed all in white, drinking champagne, and lined up around tables all up the Champs-Elysees. Apparently they meet some place random with only hours of notice every year - still don't know what it's for, but not quite a flash-mob (too well organized), but close!

My hotel room had a bidet. Just seems useless for what people tell me it's for - seems more useful for washing the feet as it's just so damn low (pic taken for Michelle's curiosity). Other notes - spoiled wrotten Americans. Can't help but notice these princes(ses) when nearby. No looks make up for such at-times vile behavior (not just women, but for this trip they stood out). Sun goes down at 10pm - no wonder everyone eats late! I finished my meal last night at 11:30pm. Sun comes up at 5am (wha?! how the hell does this make sense? Oh yeah, we are further north. But hadn't noticed this profound difference since Stockholm in 2002 which was only mostly dark between 11pm-3am). Online told me to expect cold and rain all week - it was so wrong! Yes, clouds, but it was gorgeous most everyday with temps near 70. Couldn't even get the next day's weather correct.

Tried to see Musee d'Orsay, but they had security problems and wouldn't let anyone in. It was my biggest disappointment as it houses some of my favorite paintings (impressionists). Did a walk-by of Notre-Dame. Really want to see the Disney movie again. :-) Walked by Montmartre. Want to see Amelie again. (See the theme, yet? Though have fought away my desire to see French Kiss a 2nd time ;-) ).

OK, novella is almost done. Love the public transportation, the views, the food and overall spectacle that was Paris. Plenty more to see some other day, but great trip overall. Spent some down time working but kept it mostly to here on the plane. Body is in a lot of pain, but so it goes. Oh yeah, also saw the new La Defense in the financial center - it's huge! Took the glass elevator to the top and didn't have a med-student to save me from the vertigo/panic - completely took me by surprise! Not much to see on top, but was hilarious to see the small computer museum - I recognized so many of the machines (some of which my father still has hiding at home). Crazy to treat them as historical artifacts when they're so young. They had an Apple Newton & the same model iMac G3 that my grandparents still use! I'll put up pics shortly.

Ok, bod needs me to sleep. Congrats for reading this far!
]]>KalebLifeWork2008-06-09T14:43:57-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/8e96d9c831a4e574b83e962669c73b32-99.html#unique-entry-id-99http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/8e96d9c831a4e574b83e962669c73b32-99.html#unique-entry-id-99
Carpet was installed and I've been using the new home theater for a few local events. I now have a public Google Calendar (permanent link in my K... tab above) showing past and future events so friends can either plan ahead or check it when they want. Everyone who helped me with the basement gets to choose a movie/show of their choice in the new theater. Parents are coming back in mid June to help me finish it up - install 10 more lights, trim, curtains+. Should be a full weekend again!

I have two and a half students "working" for/with me this summer. Overall I'm fortunate as the two full-time students are hard working and good to work with, but it does change my work schedule some and adds to the responsibility list. Spent a few days working in Wichita - drove through a flash-flood storm along the way (and, just like the dislocation - which is still a major pain - I got pulled over for speeding along the way as I suspected would happen after I read about what to do when pulled over (see previous list of links), though only a warning (it's good to be so damn sexy ;-) )). Having to get a lot done before I leave for Paris - I'm actually typing this in the airport as my flight is slightly delayed. I've done nothing to prepare for what I'll be doing in Paris (besides the usual meetings, sessions, etc). Guess I'll just wing it!

While the yard looks great - new flowers popping up all the time (currently I have a pink rose bush in bloom, plus some peaneise ?sp) while others fade, we've had night after night of incredile thunder storms. Last Sat night was the worst - sirens from 2:30-3am, tornado hit a few miles away and we lost limbs, trees and power lines around the neighborhood. The worst is that I now have water collecting on the unfinished part of the basement - scared of what may be happening on the theater side! Got a new dehumidifier to help out (the kitties were taking too much time in walking through the water puddles, drying off upstairs, rinse, repeat).

Speaking of the kittehs, QBert hurt herself 10 days ago during the first marathon Heroes showing. After several days of guilt-by-others and watching her limp around (I suspected nothing was broken, but there was the uncertainty that it broke and was healing wrong), I took her to the vet, only to be told (after many xrays) that nothing was broken and that I should just let her limp and heal. Still not used to the expense of city vets.

Yesterday was my annual clothing purchase day. It's nothing official, but I rarely go shopping for clothes, and when I do, I get a lot - often to last me for the year. The bad thing is that these stores don't have carts (and the extra sad thing is that I usually need one!). Needless to say, I'll be sporting the latest in US fashion while walking and being rained on in Paris this week. :-) As for the credit card debacle from last month - still finding new fraudulent purchases. Items that didn't reach me until I got the paper statement (don't know why they weren't listed online) - the crook easily charged over $1K in online purchases, but nothing over $100 (maybe that triggers a flag?). Also makes me question the online places I made purchases this spring - maybe that good deal on the surround speakers made this possible?

Ok, they're herding us up for boarding - off for now!]]>KalebObservationsHumor2008-06-07T16:20:06-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/18e68bcbc03bb58ee6138118b73239fd-98.html#unique-entry-id-98http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/18e68bcbc03bb58ee6138118b73239fd-98.html#unique-entry-id-98
One of my favorite recent movies, the overambitious Donnie Darko. I'll be showing it in the home theater this summer, but if you've seen it, here's a followup article on it. Everything you were afraid to ask about "Donnie Darko" - Salon.com

It's likely not a coincidence of the timing of this announcement - the Phoenix lander on Mars (and uncovering the near-surface ice!), the upcoming X-files movie and relapse to the paranoia of aliens instead of terrorists. It does make me wonder if they know something and are preparing others for an announcement. :-)
Vatican: It's OK to believe in aliens - Yahoo! News

Who Owns the Moon? Lunar Property Rights - Real Estate on the Moon - Popular Mechanics


One of the funniest niche-hobby sites I've seen (that isn't ICHC or theonion) - BEE DOGS! (Bee sure to read the transition text to each page - I was amazed at how many pictures of beedogs there are!)

OK, another funny picture - in fact, I laughed so hard I cried on this one. Neither dog was injured, but it's still so damn funny. Excellent demonstration of conservation of momentum!

Biggest Drawing In the World (also an advertisement for DHL).

A lot of the physicists I worked with at Fermilab came up from TX after this project was canned. It's sad, but I'm glad the LHC at CERN is up in action. USA, don't give up on your basic science research! Super Collider lab now gathering weeds near Dallas | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Another link to CERN - YouTube - The Grid (the Internet of the near future?)

Technology Review: Pretty on the Inside ("3D" pictures of cells)

I linked to stories of the strange dieing-off of the honeybees last year. Still a problem! Last flight of the honeybee? Alison Benjamin reports on a very real threat | Environment |

Something closely related to my research in the NYTimes. Personal Health - An Update on Jane E. Brody's Total Knee Replacement Surgery, 3 Years Later

Lovers and liars: How many sex partners have you really had? (Interesting research)

And a couple comics from a wonderful and eclectic online strip, xkcd. Described as xkcd - A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language - By Randall Munroe - Fortune Cookies (something I often do), and I am also an ex-marching band drum major - this would happen to me as I often walk to the beat in stores. :-)

]]>KalebLifeWork2008-05-19T11:59:40-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/759b9bf8483ad92d0f439a15af6301f3-97.html#unique-entry-id-97http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/759b9bf8483ad92d0f439a15af6301f3-97.html#unique-entry-id-97
But today may beat all. First, was told one of my coworkers in NDB in Wichita died (she had been fighting cancer for a while), then was told that the fellow I helped recruit last year and who was to be our new "research star" now has little interest in research (a big blow), then after returning from an hour of more basement shopping at Menards, I find my car has been dented and scratched along two doors from a parking lot hit and run (easily $1K+ damage), and tonight while doing my finances I discover 8+ purchases of $600+ made fraudulently on my credit card from the past two weeks.

I'm ready for tomorrow!
]]>KalebTech, Observations2008-05-13T23:02:50-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/9557487c79fbbf7cbbea7a7ecbe27143-96.html#unique-entry-id-96http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/9557487c79fbbf7cbbea7a7ecbe27143-96.html#unique-entry-id-96
Gen.Vang Pao's Last War - Communism in Southeast Asia - Hmong People - Laos - New York Times

Why Emotional Memories Of Traumatic Life Events Are So Persistent

Kung Fu finger calls it a day | Video | Reuters.com

The World’s First Zero-Emissions City…In the Middle East?

The 6 Most Frequently Quoted Bullsh*t Statistics | Cracked.com (many of these I've been exposed to and taught were the truth!)

Fotos Tormenta eléctrica en erupción del volcán Chaitén - TERRA (Amazing photos of lightning storm caught up with volcano eruption)

XBMC For Mac: XBMC Turns Your Mac into the Ultimate Media Center (remember how I wanted to do this with my xbox, well, since that was stolen, looks like the future of HD movies on my hard drive is with the mac!)

LiveLeak.com - Strange Clouds Mesmerize Japanese Airliner Crew - (apparently this is a specialized form of Mountain or Gravity Waves (not THE gravity waves, but the horrible name given to these types of cloud formations))

SCIENCE AND SOCIETY: Talk Nerdy to Me -- Heyman 320 (5877): 740 -- Science - I'm not a big fan of "The Big Bang Theory" TV show (not really a fan of any current TV show), though I always wanted something to show the reality and silliness that is/was physics grad school. Maybe I'll give it another try.
]]>KalebHumorObservationsTech2008-05-11T23:23:35-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/a66bd53048458c44c848ac89b2b47e24-95.html#unique-entry-id-95http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/a66bd53048458c44c848ac89b2b47e24-95.html#unique-entry-id-95
YouTube - Title Of The Song (fun a cappella generic romance song)

What to do when you're pulled over by a cop while driving (mostly obvious stuff)

I'm a fan of this - making a game out of protein folding. Use human brain power to do what computers can't.

A woman who can literally remember everything (really a curse?).

This one hit home a bit: 30 years of Man's Life disappear in Mysterious 'Kansas Rectangle' - at the Onion

New free album from Nine Inch Nails: The Slip

Barenaked ladies have a new kids album that just came out - actually really fun, it's called Snack Time and you can listen to it free here, temporarily (scroll over to it). I like "The Ninjas" and others - all very short, but here's the first video (cartoon) called "7 8 9".

To my friends getting married this year, a toast from xkcd (an eclectic online comic)

Has anyone used the software SuperMemo? You can get it here. Read a lot about it in Wired and will use it to learn/remember something useful (like French for when I go to Paris next month?). You can practice/learn anything with it, just needs a library to learn from.

Ars technica article entitled "Evolution: what's the real controversy?"

This Scientific American article got me a bit sentimental. The LHC will finally get activated this summer at CERN (in Geneve, Switzerland). Here's initial pics of it on the initial internet web page - something I was using at Fermilab back in 1994 and I actually worked on simulations of the hadron calorimeter in 1995 - only 13 years later it'll finally get activated!]]>KalebLifeWork2008-05-11T15:48:14-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/50a5f41f68d1843b5d19e46046f75f3a-94.html#unique-entry-id-94http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/50a5f41f68d1843b5d19e46046f75f3a-94.html#unique-entry-id-94
*POP* Back it went. It hurt, but felt like I could use it. So I got up, walked off the field and sat and whimpered. My friend Michelle took me to the ER, did X-rays and confirmed the dislocation. Was told that most folks don't pop it back themselves, but they come to ER, get tons of pain pills and get a team of people to pop it back. Made me feel like a tough guy. ;-) Sent me home and I've been semi-useless for a lot of the week. First night I awoke after 3 hours screaming in my sleep and then couldn't sleep for 3 more hours. Pain was too much. Discovered later that I fractured my coracoid process - just means it will take longer to heal. I see an orthopod on Wednesday (happens to be a research collaborator). Still very uncomfortable, but we'll see. I've gotten behind with work again due to it. Can't type for long. Was told by doc that I can't play ultimate for many weeks and am at high risk for new dislocation.

In good news, I got my first grant this week! It's from the Arthritis Foundation - a career development award for two years. I'm very pleased. I'm also off to Atlanta to give a high-profile talk (which I haven't started due to April abstracts and the shoulder injury). Had a few folks over for games/food last night - good way to cheer myself up and enjoy the coming of spring. Absolutely gorgeous outside! So many flowers and my house is surrounded by lilies - the entire neighborhood is awash in colors. Truly can appreciate the entire city during this time of year.

The ceiling of the basement is almost finished, but I'm unable to do much on it for a while. Electrical work is next, then carpet, then almost done! :-) Very behind on email - hard to type for a while - still a bit slow. Appreciative of the kitties cuddling...]]>KalebObservationsHumorTech2008-05-01T23:13:07-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/8db788e2eb09ee0c1057c0a524c875d9-93.html#unique-entry-id-93http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/8db788e2eb09ee0c1057c0a524c875d9-93.html#unique-entry-id-93
Science:
Scientists Unveil High-Res Map of the U.S. Carbon Footprint | Wired Science from Wired.com (go Omaha! ;-) )

How Deja Vu Works (seemed appropriate with this month I've been having)

Scientists Now Expect to Find Gravitational Waves (part of LIGO - was once recruited to help with this 11 years ago!)

Physicists model how we form opinions

The $25,000,000,000 Eigenvector (ie. Google's)

Stephen Hawking calls for Moon and Mars colonies

Does the Earth's magnetic field cause suicides?

Recent Events (ie. politics/tech/misc):

NPP INCOME TAX CHART | National Priorities Project (good to be reminded where the US taxpayer money goes)

Expelled Exposed (it's the new Intelligent Design documentary - haven't seen it, but not happy of the messages it's portraying and I've lost all respect for Ben Stein)

On topic: YouTube - Why do people laugh at creationists? (part 22)

Was disgusted by the questions asked at the Penn Democratic debate. Guess I wasn't the only one: MoveOn.org Political Action: Enough Distractions

From friend who recently returned from Africa: Islamic schools lure African boys into begging

Banks meet over £40bn plan to harness power of Congo river and double Africa's electricity

Sub-prime fallout metrics US map (NYTimes)

Nebraska High School Project on Genocide Was a Portent of Real-Life Events - New York Times (similar to my reaction in college when studying Weimar republic of Germany - couldn't we have predicted and done something to prevent the travesty?)

How to Win the War on Global Warming (Time magazine)

Superheroes in Real Life - City Pages (Minneapolis/St. Paul)


Game related:

Mr. Jack. Wonderful 2-person board game that you can play for free in your browser. Feel free to invite me to a game - I'm "Kadorus".

The Best Videogame Stories Ever (not that I fully agree with this, but it does highlight some amazing games from the 90s and more recent - especially loved Planescape: Torment).

Ikariam - The free browser game - haven't played it, but friend recommended it (she's on planet Iota) and says it's similar to a massive multiplayer Civiliation

Grand Theft Auto IV: Dystopian Liberty City - New York Times (don't know if I'll ever play any of these games, but this one definitely has had the buzz the past week/year!)

Humor:

YouTube - Flight of the Conchords Ep 4 If You're Into It - Hilarious short song on this HBO tv show, very catchy!

An Engineer s Guide to Cats on Yahoo! Video (can't forget the always entertaining kittehs!)

Funniest Valedictorian Speech Ever video - probably funnier when thinking back to high school. Ah, those were the days... of mental incarceration.

Sex, Pop Culture, and Misc:

WNYC - Radiolab - back for another wonderful season. Listen to these podcasts! (I know, belongs more in Science)

ABC News: Christian Sex: Holy and Hot!

BBC NEWS | Health | Masturbation 'cuts cancer risk'

Men, women, sex and confusion : Booster Shots : Los Angeles Times - my friend was amazed at this, but every guy told her it was true.

Song about relativistic plasma jets (plus trippy visuals!) Blogs Scientific American - again, another not quite science link

YouTube - We_Are_The_Strange - Don't watch this here, it's trippy and doesn't work in small Youtube format, but you at least get an idea about the fuss. I think this will make a great backdrop to game night. :-)

Six Diseases You Don’t Want - humor and medical science

Guillermo del Toro Chats with TORN About ‘The Hobbit’ Films! - Yes, I'm very excited about the upcoming movies!

Life-changing books: Recommendations from 17 leading scientists

And lastly, the one I've been saving for several of you: Carl Zimmer's Science Tattoo Emporium - yes, look on in surprise, envy, awe and disgust! ;-)

That's it for April - let me know what you think!]]>KalebLifeWork2008-05-01T22:41:17-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/257cd9fa4cde7e1855b2ac3b99c32313-92.html#unique-entry-id-92http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/257cd9fa4cde7e1855b2ac3b99c32313-92.html#unique-entry-id-92
So I'm still on the nasal sinus rinse and liquid prednisolone for my sinuses. I'm curious as to how much of an effect this will for the long-term use (my research often looks at steroid-induced osteoporosis) though it's been worth it to breath easily and be able to work without headaches.

I finished painting the last of the 2x2' ceiling tiles last night and tonight I began on round 2 with them - going with 2 coats. Woot! Also made headway on basement - done painting the walls (April 5-7), insulation in ceiling (April 22), speaker cables all wired in walls (April 20-tonight), and started on the ceiling grid panels (April 29-next week). Carpet comes in on May 12th or so, which means all should be operating in time for the weekend of the 17th! It's exciting as it gets closer, but damn it's been a lot more work than I thought it would be! (now I understand why people hire out)

Stacie & Mike visited the weekend of April 12 (yes, they win for flying out to visit me more than anyone else!) and we had a quiet 2 days of conversation, food and fun. Always memorable and appreciated. It was miserably cold then and off and on all month. Seemed like The Longest Winter that was 2008 didn't want to end in March like a lamb after all.

Last weekend was our annual RAIN meeting - I gave a 50 min talk on the RAIN database that I and Kate, my talented grad student, had been working on. It's not finally live, but is now publicly viewable here. Also spent a full day learning how to write better grants last Tuesday. Likely will work on another "new investigator" award this summer as well as a 5-year NIH K-award. One could spend so much time writing these... and probably should, though I'd rather write papers and do new research. Who needs money?

QBert got the plastic cone of silence placed on her head for the past 10 days. Had an ear infection again and had scraped her head up rotten (see camera-phone pic in Cats section - my camera broke 2 months ago so apologies for no nice new pics in a while!). She's much better, but not sure she's forgiven TB for hissing and attacking the cone-head so often (though it was sad and funny to watch her bump into things with it). I still have to give her meds every morning and night. I'm thinking of putting the cone-head on TB so she can be teased/tortured and may lose some weight.

Still much to do with and at work. Trying to sleep earlier - nice when I have more of a nice day to get things done. :-) Wrapped up season 3 of Battlestar Galactica and wondering about catching up with 4 (the last). Still my fav show on TV, even if I don't watch TV. Have had active de ja vu of late, too, with bizarre and wonderful dreams. And speaking of bizarre, check out Southland Tales, the movie. Definitely enjoyed it, even if overly ambitious (just like the same director's Donnie Darko, but very different).

Still doing the weekly game night (we had 14 this week!) and finally started weekly ultimate games, though only made 2 so far (too many Mondays were freezing!). When the basement is done, will host regular showings. About time I had something nice for the multitude of flicks at home - though the next question, how many bean-bag chairs to get? ;-)

There's a lot more I'm leaving out (my private life stays private it seems), but it was a full and exciting month. The flowers I planted last Nov are blooming and I had crocuses, tulips, daisies and now roses blooming. I love my yard!

Next up, trips to Dallas, Atlanta, parents visit, graduations, more work work - then only 1 trip per month for the rest of the year (so far). Also, I had lunch with coworkers and Warren Buffett sat next to us again. Twice in one year - such nice neighbors! He says that the recession will be long and deep... what a perfect time to go to Europe while the dollar is down. ugh. (Paris in June)

Thanks for not giving up on me - I'm baack!]]>KalebObservations2008-04-05T22:55:31-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/baa785d3a9eba2385b7984274d04a05b-91.html#unique-entry-id-91http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/baa785d3a9eba2385b7984274d04a05b-91.html#unique-entry-id-91the new CERN particle detector/accelerator isn't a threat to Earth (something I had to deal with while working at FermiLab years ago).

Entertaining home-made (?) video for a Daft Punk song involving two gals with black markers. Check it out!

Brief news article about the local neighborhood gathering to better local security after an 11-year old boy and his house cleaner were killed (stabbed) while at home last month (<1 mile away).

Story about much better source of fuel (biodiesel) than corn - grows on trees! (just takes a long time to grow)

5 most ridiculous lies we were taught in history class (warning: foul language)

This was April Fool's week - Google didn't let us down with these two gems: New email option & work to travel to Mars!

First ever in US, appendix was removed through a woman's vagina. Seems like a smart way to do surgery - through natural body cavities.

Who wants to join me to Africa for a stay at the Giraffe Manor?!

PBS's Frontline has always been the best news/documentary program on TV. You can watch all episodes for free online and catch the newest and great series: Bush's War.

Who wants to host a party with the International Dance Party? (still not sure if this gadget is for real... guess it is!)

]]>KalebWorkLife2008-04-05T22:33:55-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/af7b5fc9f4aa688a30d8f55b2681b80e-90.html#unique-entry-id-90http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/af7b5fc9f4aa688a30d8f55b2681b80e-90.html#unique-entry-id-90
One of the better friends I've made here in NE drove off to Virginia this morning. We got a lot of fun time in this week and I hosted a goodbye party for him last night with food, games and then cheering him on in a 11pm hockey game (the highlight of which was him pursuing the puck, the defender and him flying into the wall, Dennis turning and in one motion launching the puck 30' into the air and goal net while the ref blows his whistle and gives him 5 mins in penalty box for checking even though the defender hit the wall on his own accord). Dennis will return in June, but means that our band, Frash, may be on hiatus for a bit.

In work I had my annual review (actually, it was to my surprise since I continued to have phone problems and had no up-to-date calendar - got new phone and fixed the software problem (as of yesterday!)). While it was probably mostly positive, it was easy to focus on the criticisms. Because I don't see patients, it becomes easy for others who do to think that I have lots of free time at work and add more to my workload. It got a bit over the top this winter with this combined with being sick too often. I also was asked to chair a university committee and our first meeting was this week. I didn't know anyone on the committee, and only being here a year, I knew very little about the system we were being asked to provide new regulations/designs for. I wasn't overly worried as a couple higher-ups were to start this meeting, give us our charge and provide early leadership... neither of them showed up! I did a decent job on the fly, but it was very frustrating since I was asking more questions than I was able to answer and probably did little to establish confidence in the committee's goals. (and while I was determined to say no to jobs like this, this one will apply directly to my research in getting data for my local database plus give me some needed cool points with the university).

Kansas just won - what an exciting and krazy game! Gonna use this energy to do some more painting. Still feel like I have a ways to go on the basement, but it's nice to see the transformation in action. One step at a time...

In good news, my grandfather had his gallbladder taken out last week (right after Easter) and is doing much better. Yeah!

I'm skipping over a lot of other important events from this past week including some major ups and downs, but I'm off to paint! ]]>KalebTech2008-03-25T16:40:37-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/f6324da6c17fd82bc7a2cdfb2bda1487-89.html#unique-entry-id-89http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/f6324da6c17fd82bc7a2cdfb2bda1487-89.html#unique-entry-id-89
So, with that in mind, everyone back up your hard drives, phones, & mind now!

And here are the links that I've neglected to put up over the past month, so quickly, before I lose them...

Top 10 Amazing Chemistry Videos (from Wired)

While looking to create a blueprint of my remodeled basement, found this great free graphic program called gliffy!

Commercial for Wendys that they never used.

Blog entry about Oklahoma passing a new law that allows religious views to substitute for science answers.

You may have seen the original video this is based on, but clever advert from the UK.

Amazing story of a baby being "flushed off a train" in India.

South Park has done it, they've put ALL of their episodes online for viewing for free! I have a few favorites - I still recommend the Emmy winning "Make Love Not Warcraft" episode.

Old op-ed about the costs of the Iraq war - may be more worthwhile to check out the latest book on it.

My colleague, Ted Mikuls, just got two big awards at the university. Big ceremony and seminar. Was very cool!

NYTimes article about our new local art-house theater.

And just for kicks, CBS article about why sex is good for you.
]]>KalebTechHumor2008-03-03T00:13:53-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/2c33949e8c4c92112ed65e39ed34c97c-88.html#unique-entry-id-88http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/2c33949e8c4c92112ed65e39ed34c97c-88.html#unique-entry-id-88
How Good People Turn Evil, From Stanford to Abu Ghraib - interview

Some complicated mazes you can either solve or just read about.

I have 20+ links related to home theaters for my recent research, but will keep only this one, audiovideointeriors.com, for examples of the uber rich and/or just the creative have down to create their own home theaters.

There have been a lot of hilarious pics this last month on ICanHasCheezBurger.com, but this one has been on my wall for a wall - so damn funny! (OK, here's another for reference to one of my fav Beatles' songs)

NASA baffled by unexplained force acting on space probes (new force drawing them toward the sun or just wrong wrt gravity or just nothing?)

Some amazing pictures of parts of earth from space. Some false color is used at times, but still breathtaking.

More cool pictures, this time of the nanoscale level.

New NIN uber album, Ghosts I-IV, that you can get cheap or first 9 songs for free!

Hilarious Maki Lemur video w THX theme (original was removed by THX, but u get the jist from this)

]]>KalebLife2008-03-02T23:34:28-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/7138386283f53085484bb02bf80dadb9-87.html#unique-entry-id-87http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/7138386283f53085484bb02bf80dadb9-87.html#unique-entry-id-87
It's been a while since I put anything here. The sinus infection didn't go away, just lingered. Got CT scan to show just how bad it is. On the longer kick of antibiotics, steroids (hence doing so much work today! ;-) ), and other sinus gunk removal. TMI!

March 1 brought a beautiful day - ~65F! Most of the snow/ice melted, though I was in a work meeting for most of daylight. And today, it rains, then snows and now freezes to everyone will slide around into each tomorrow. Back to the miserable winter! (Ok, I like precipitation most times, but this winter has been brutally cold - coldest on record in a several decades. So I don't complain as an ex-Californian, but along with the locals. :-)

Celebrated my uncle's birthday on Friday - only his 13th! The joys of being born on Feb 29. (OK, it's sad that I don't know any of my other uncles' bdays or even that my Grandmothers was a week or so ago. Bad habit of not knowing/recording from being a kid and being far away from extended family (ie. never celebrated with them).

Visited my close friend Teresa over V-day weekend in Memphis. Got to see her "perform" in Vagina Monologues, met some of her fellow faculty, and she & hubby treated me lots of good bbq pork, breakfast, and some hippy homemade food to help clear out the damage. :-)

Saw Gaelic Storm last Thursday in a live show - very fun with bagpipes, guitar, fiddle and many other unique mix of folk and rock performances. Hosted an Oscars party last Sunday. Played Scene It, had food/movie competitions and, of course, the requisite ballot for the awards. Came in 2nd with 10 correct. Was disappointed that Diving Bell and the Butterfly didn't get any awards (or even nominated for best foreign language film, but overall was content. Not quite sure why Bourne Ultimatum was so popular for sound though.

Hosted one of the annual game nights, too, with lots of Indian food. SOooo happy and full! Good to know that I can prepare a few things, but still managed to burn the basmati rice (no one knew, I think ;-) ). Also have been playing some weekly indoor basketball/ultimate. Last Thurs/Sat drove home to Kansas for work and fam - got it down to 380 miles in 4.5 hours as my standard time (only interstate for a third). Never a dull moment!

In the big geek department, Frash did the Endless Setlist in Rock Band - we did all 58 songs in a row in one night. Whew!!! We still get stuck on The Police's Next To You, but feel that we're getting better and better.

On a more somber note, an amazing man, Gerhard Kander, that I had the pleasure of meeting 3-4 times in the past 2 years died on New Years (I noticed that many others that I knew or friends died that day). Nice little write-up about him. He introduced me to fine cognac and had stories that kept me enthralled.

Falling asleep, but wanted to get a full "Life" update out! Pictures will arrive one of these days!]]>KalebLifeTechHumor2008-02-12T22:55:28-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/c770d208a0f892958fbe2d3fb6f9a798-86.html#unique-entry-id-86http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/c770d208a0f892958fbe2d3fb6f9a798-86.html#unique-entry-id-86
I've been slow with my internet surfing of late. But here were a few highlights.

NYTimes business article on the effective (Red) campaign for charity.

So I was sick for the Superbowl, but I did laugh out loud for a few commercials. Here were a few of my favorites:
Talking Stain ad for Tide
Contest winner for Doritos
Will Ferrell - Jackie Moon - for Bud Light - original, and a longer different one
Pepsi Stuff (extended) with Justin Timberlake (ok, here's the Chris Kattan Pepsi one as well)
E-Trade w baby and clown

And for a mix, here's Hollywood physics - they didn't put on some of the more horrendous refutations of natural laws (The Core, Real Genius, and Back to the Future come to mind ;-) ), but still some bad ones (and credit to 1-2 for doing it well!).

A good friend of mine is looking to recruit fellow math-geeks for a 1-2 year adventure of teaching in Kenya. See here for more details. She says the recent violence is isolated and has not affected expats or this group at all.

Here's to being healthy again! (and not catching up with mail, email, work... ack!)]]>KalebTechObservations2008-02-05T17:27:39-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/5edc59c4817051e6458d274b3bd8e5d4-85.html#unique-entry-id-85http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/5edc59c4817051e6458d274b3bd8e5d4-85.html#unique-entry-id-85
I decided against putting up techee geek links like The Holographic Principle and M-theory, The Science of Sex: Does the Nose Know?, and an editorial Beware the Child-Man. Oops, guess I did it again!

Actually, there is something to the scent of another. But never would have guessed it could be linked to genetic variety. The scientist in me is aware of these differences, which may be related to my taste in dating partners - they really have no factor in common. Once my nose is working more properly, I'll be extra sensitive to report my findings. ;-)

Speaking of Child-man, I finally beat Bioshock last week. Great game! Word is they'll make it into a movie. Definitely an interesting and unique story of man's ego/drive gone awry. Next up is the highly acclaimed Mass Effect. FOX news had a brief show highlighting it for "full digital nudity and sex". It was amazing at how bad this news program was. But what is of note is the heavy backlash FOX and the psychology expert they brought received online afterwards. Here's a NYTimes article that covers the whole story.

The 4th undersea Internet cable was cut in the Middle-East this week. Friends in the area say it's all media hype, whereas others are predicting something dire is about to happen. I'm not sure what's going on and the trusted news groups have been less than helpful, but it's more than suspicious. Here's a more detailed ABC article on it.

The primary vote tallies are almost done. Google maps and Twitter teamed up for this interesting "live" take on it all. Should be more interesting in an hour or two.

Back to work!]]>KalebTechObservationsHumor2008-01-22T10:36:48-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/52280fdc65d778228be3073fb112d141-84.html#unique-entry-id-84http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/52280fdc65d778228be3073fb112d141-84.html#unique-entry-id-84
I really like HD-DVDs, in comparison to Bluray Discs. The upconversion on regular DVDs are great (ie. play a regular DVD on an HD-DVD player on HDTV and it looks almost high-def). They're cheaper, easier to make and the technology is mature whereas the only current BD players that will work with the discs that come out next fall is the Playstation3. Plus, it's Sony being all proprietary again (which is why I don't own a Sony camera or TV). Anyway, here's a nice business article about BD winning by Sony buying out Warner and one about HDs price drops (I went ahead and got a few more for just over $10 recently).

So, for those that missed it, MacWorld had their Steve Jobs keynote recently (visit apple to view). Since the future of my HD-DVD player's usefulness is questionable, I'm more interested in downloaded HD video content. Here's a comparison on the main 2 consumer HD download movie rentals (xbox live & apple tv). Still happy with my xbox360. Plus, quick review matrix of MacBook Air. It looks very sleek!

Back to the home cinema theme - check out these! Some day... some day... ;-)

Is this (noca) how we'll be making all our future online payments? I would be happy to find a credit-alternative that has no fees for the seller.

News article on kite-powered cargo ship - fuel efficient shipping of the future is here now?

Interesting card-trick video. Something out of psych 101? View it & let me know if you figured it out!

OK, the next two links have a lot of foul language, so don't click if that bothers you.
The 5 most horrifying bugs in the world - while I had heard of all of these at different times, the humor of the article and some of the pics reminded me of the fun I was missing. ;-)
From the Onion, pho-editorial by Jimmy Carter called "I Got What America Needs Right Here". Wrong, but hilarious!

Continuing on politics, Legacy table of George W Bush's Presidency - what he started with, where things currently are. Yes, very sad, though biased & silly at places - but short!

Ex-US Congressman Mark Deli Siljander now charged in terror conspiracy (from Kansas City!)

Not quite related, but fascinating map of leading church bodies in the US. Since college I would tell others that in high-school we often differentiated each other by which church we attended. Now I see that KS does have quite the variety where we were!

Sad and long article about where and how Bobby Fischer is festering.

Bloomberg article about a free-sex brothel called Big Sister, that apparently is catching on big time.

Lastly, real-life love story of Chinese couple - man carves 6K steps for his wife.]]>KalebTechObservations2008-01-08T00:30:38-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/ab935602eb76d0ee655928a0599eafab-83.html#unique-entry-id-83http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/ab935602eb76d0ee655928a0599eafab-83.html#unique-entry-id-83
Some great quotes from Einstein - just ignore the blogger's interpretation of them. Though I can't help but think about Einstein and so many other geniuses did their greatest work in their 20s...

Been playing more rock band, but hoping to reduce the loudness of playing the drums this way. Bang your head!

Interesting and impressive application of magnets to create a working motor, reminds me of asymetrical fields I used in grad school to sort membrane proteins... ok, there is a similarity, but it's likely non-obvious.

Hilarious self-mocking video of Bill Gates post-Microsoft, something that gives Steve Jobs and others a run for their money in the humor and coolness department.

The Washington Post just put up McGovern's OpEd. Yes, something I, too, have questioned often as to how we could impeach Clinton and proceed for it with Nixon, but not the current Bush/Cheney duo.

Here's a list of 20 Super Brain Foods. Or, just made me feel good to know that I eat plenty of these. Now, where are the packaged/processed ones that supposedly are even better for the brain? Don't I drink a Coke Zero every afternoon for a reason?

Lastly, second thoughts on life, the universe and everything by the world's best brains. Not sure about world's best brains, but short and some interesting thoughts.
]]>KalebLife2007-12-31T19:52:51-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/1d66c23fc0a825c2c7fbb8801231f326-82.html#unique-entry-id-82http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/1d66c23fc0a825c2c7fbb8801231f326-82.html#unique-entry-id-82
This was also the first Christmas that I wasn't traveling cross-country since 1991... and even then we drove 5.5 hrs to Lincoln. It was great to have my family nearby and Dad worked hard to help fix up some holes, electrical outlets and other fix-it items in the home. No lights up yet, but the neighborhood definitely looked festive and more than made up for my lack of lights, though the moment we get a new real snow (and not just short layers on top of our ice), I've got all the fixins for a snowman! (thanks to Phyllis - also thanks to Melissa for sending me one of the items that was stolen as a nice surprise gift!)

Some more rock band playing, Frash and other "groups" - see the latest addition in pics, plus a crazy pic of Dennis, Lizzy, Marie & me being goofy next to the Christmas tree. It's been a big change being in Omaha, and I wouldn't have survived it without such great new friends and family nearby. Lots ahead and looking forward to each day still with a skip in my step (though with the ice outside, may have to be a bit more careful - it's been a lot of fun sliding around on foot and in my car!)
]]>KalebTechHumor2008-01-01T19:18:20-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/25855f799160033f4c6b7c7ffc2fa08f-80.html#unique-entry-id-80http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/25855f799160033f4c6b7c7ffc2fa08f-80.html#unique-entry-id-80world's largest building in Moscow - gotta put that oil money to good use!

And, as I look for more ideas for the home theater, how about this BatCave model?

With the holidays behind us, how about this huge collection of crying babies with Santa Clause?

Very similar to a murder mystery technique, but this was in real life - kiss of death.

Another link to zero punctuations videao game review - this time on Guitar Hero 3. I find myself stuck on the final 1-2 songs on hard level and they are currently impossible for my hands to beat. Very vulgar humor, but if you can get over that, you may be laughing a lot like me.

If you have access to the journal Nature, here's a recent article about scientists working over holidays. I myself took my first day off for 2007 yesterday (Dec 31) and only went to work for an hour and felt weird about it all still. :-)

NYTimes article on the psychology of perfectionism. Something that describes many of us at different times...

A poster, Death and Taxes, that is a gorgeous way to show where the US spends its money. Adding it to my annual wish list now...

Continuing on this theme, Congress & Bush has done it again by gutting funding for Fermilab - where I got my second big start in physics research. Drives me nuts to see so many brilliant minds have to leave physics research due to lack of funding and have to deal with an up/down budget process. Oh the stories I have...

There's a wonderful site, boardgamegeek.com, that has reviews of every non-electric game that exists and a large supporting community for games. I've set up my profile on it, though not fully up to date, hoping to at least keep track of my games (so many, and so many I haven't played!). Let me know if you're on here, too!

Lastly, while my parents were here we looked at >100 pics on icanhascheezburger.com and cried with laughter with almost each one. This one isn't as funny, but still damn cute (yes, it has the bunny theme)!
]]>KalebTechObservations2007-12-19T00:10:15-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/fc09a4b29530ea9c8d43260f562bcb6d-79.html#unique-entry-id-79http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/fc09a4b29530ea9c8d43260f562bcb6d-79.html#unique-entry-id-79AFI's top 10 movies of 2007. I've seen and enjoyed 4 of them and have the rest on Netflix.

Full review of the redone Blade Runner DVD release. (likely last link to Blade Runner, evah!)

Great fan art of the Simpsons - making them more comic book "realistic" (and her Futurama art, too)

It's finally official - Peter Jackson & Fran Walsh are doing 2 Hobbit movies for New Line Cinema! I often thought it would have to be way too long to get the full book covered in one movie, but where to split it at? Sounds like the first film will be the Hobbit and the 2nd will be the 80 years between it and the LOTR. And who to play Bilbo with Ian Holmes likely a bit too old.

An AP story stating Bioshock game of the year and The Orange Box as best deal & Rock Band best "off-sofa" game. I agree with all except for statement that Bioshock is available fore PS3.

And for the pop scientist in all of us, news about finding tapes by Hugh Everett from the 70's covering his parallel worlds theory which has gained popularity again. I wrote a class paper on this back in '93 - fun to think about. I also like the Eels (band) and Everett is the father of their lead singer - cool!]]>KalebLifeHumor2007-12-16T23:26:28-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/6e5fbd6b79d7a3e30ee7ca449f3e23db-78.html#unique-entry-id-78http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/6e5fbd6b79d7a3e30ee7ca449f3e23db-78.html#unique-entry-id-78
Went with a group of 9 to see Blade Runner: The Final Cut at the local arthouse theater. It was wonderful to see my favorite movie for the first time on the big screen! It was gorgeous, but honestly I was slightly disappointed that they didn't "fix" the minor flaws in the movie (transitions, voice-over dialogues, etc). In fact, it was hard to tell what was different in it besides cleaning it up and a couple brief scenes here/there. Three of the 9 hadn't seen it before and had fun mocking the old-school style and technology and the fact that everyone in the theater was quiet and serious while at least two of them couldn't help but giggle at it... silly girls!

Lots of holiday parties - got to see the local botanical gardens last night with the internal medicine department. Our band, Frash, is back in action and we're tearing up Europe in Rock Band. Can't believe Christmas is a week away - I am so far behind. Looks to be one of those years where January is where I send out my gifts. ugh. And, to keep each line a different subject, it seems my fantasy football luck has run out during the first week of the playoffs after doing so well (2nd place in both money leagues). *sigh*

On to the links!
Something to add to my wish list: inside-joke logo from Portal (the game!) This is from jinx.com, creators of the baby-wear that I still giggle about (see, I can be silly, too)

They have a theater production of "Point Break Live" in LA. Apparently, just like in the real movie, they take a no-talent man from the audience and have him play the main character, Johnny Utah (Kueno Reeves in case you don't know the movie - I actually like him, but am not a big fan of his acting).

You may have heard/seen this already, but enjoyed Carly Comando's Everyday original piano composition that you can hear and watch the "inspired" youtube video at. Apparently the Simpsons recently referenced it tonight as well including the Youtube self-reference. :-)]]>KalebLife2007-12-09T19:52:10-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/b88cfc7c30a36f0ba426eb49c2529e52-77.html#unique-entry-id-77http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/b88cfc7c30a36f0ba426eb49c2529e52-77.html#unique-entry-id-77
Spent a few days working in Wichita - lots of projects to work on. Took the parents out to see the Digital 3-D showing of Beowulf at the Warren Theatre. Truly amazing show! I HIGHLY recommend this - we had such a blast even though we had the dorky plastic 3-D glasses on.

Tuesday night found out from my neighbors that someone had broken into my house. Left work early on Wed so I could get back and have the police check things out (they wouldn't do anything other than a quick house check while I was away). On the drive up the mall shooting occurred near my home in Omaha. I found out about it from friends texting me before I heard it on the news. I called the police when I got home and an officer spent a few hours working on the report, talking to neighbors and getting the crime lab guy over for taking prints. The latter came over from the mall where he said he had seen "too many dead people today". President Bush spoke earlier in Omaha that day, then the mall shootings, then getting home...

As for my house, the thief broke in through a back door and stole ~$1500 worth of electronics. Mostly xbox hardware, peripherals and games. Yes, it sucks to lose such things, but the bigger thing is a) feeling less secure because of it (I haven't had a full night's sleep yet, very sensitive to any noises) & b) losing all of those saved games from the last 6+ years including my 100+ hours each in DDR and Morrowing/Oblivion. Needless to say I've more sensitive to securing my home and improving it as well. A great thanks goes out to my neighbors for watching my house, calling the police, and boarding up the broken door window as well as taking care of my kittens (of which TB has blackened paws as she apparently stepped in the powder used for fingerprints and is now leaving her mark many other places... argh!).

One of the residents at work told me a story. She asked her technician to get her something at McDonalds last week. The tech came back fairly late and unhappy - said she had horrible experience, bad service and yelled at McDonald's worker. Apparently the guy she worked with was the same one who got fired last week and then went on killing spree in the mall on Wed. Trippie. Also, while I expected this, saw a letter to the local editor stating that this crime was due to growth of secular humanism and turning away from Christianity. This knee-jerk reaction always disgusts me (as it happens after every tragedy).

On a lighter note, the week ended with friends and games. Also watched Labyrinth ('86) and remembered how much fun it was to sing-along and dance to David Bowie in it. Also, here's a line I didn't pay attention to 10+ years ago when I last saw it. Jennifer Connelly says "Sorry Hogwart" to Hoggle, the dwarf. I wonder if JK got the name from this?

So what will next week bring?]]>KalebTechHumorWork2007-12-09T18:18:17-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/e4dc8f3e6c32f9ab48228b132427bc8d-76.html#unique-entry-id-76http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/e4dc8f3e6c32f9ab48228b132427bc8d-76.html#unique-entry-id-76Giving Him The Business - great college game referee detail though apparently first used by a ref in an NFL game 15+ years ago.

Decent plan for establishing a playoff in college IA football, though we'd have to decrease total games or make it ok to have possible 16 games for a couple of teams! I'm a big football fan, but still find this aspect frustrating. The lower division playoff games have been more exciting than the bowl setup.

Disturbingly funny motion picture of a guy and a kitten...

Interesting direction NIH could take on future funding - I've been discovering the pain and "system" young faculty must go through in order to compete for grants. Got my first (of many) rejection letter this past week and what I got out of it was: don't apply for money for anything new and exciting, just do simple things that you've already done all of the work for. Seriously, damn frustrating.

I've made reference to how much I enjoyed playing Portal previously even for a 4 hour game, well here are a few articles that touch on different aspects of it. Very short, Why Portal is perfect; overstuffed but entertaining, Portal is the most subversive game ever; and while I love the end-song for the game, apparently it was written by Jonathan Coulton (I know him from his many songs including "Code Monkey" (an important namesake) and "Re Your Brains") and here is a live acoustic performance of it with scenes from Portal. Portal did pick up the Video Game Awards "Best Breakthrough Technology" award today and yes, I did notice that 3 of the big VGA winners were stolen from me (Bioshock - game of the year, Halo3 - best multiplayer & most addictive & Portal).

Some older science news about a huge body of water discovered underneath East Asia.

Here's something cute that you can go to everyday - the Human Calendar. Fun how it works! Let me know when you see this as a widgit or maybe put it in someone's digital photo frame.]]>KalebObservations2007-12-01T10:15:33-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/929e40c5cbdc06b03016ee71ee449def-75.html#unique-entry-id-75http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/929e40c5cbdc06b03016ee71ee449def-75.html#unique-entry-id-75
The next dream (same night) I'm at the same party, but this time I'm one of the "robbers". Apparently we came to get the A/V equipment to film another event while some others needed to use this smaller room so they had to move the coats/purses and at the same time a phone call was made that apparently someone who was supposed to attend was in a bad car accident so the people who got that call were upset. We start to leave and on the way out I'm being chased by some crazy people...

Anyway, it was fun as I was convinced in the first dream that something was awry. The second dream gave me a completely different perspective. I love it!

Lastly, I'm suspecting that this is my grandparents' 60th anniversary which is scheduled for next fall - stay tuned. :-) I used to log such dreams in order to show that many of them would come true - also entertaining.

Off to brave the ice outside!]]>KalebTechLife2007-11-26T21:14:10-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/8ffd93c62ba6b9b5995938f006642c70-74.html#unique-entry-id-74http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/8ffd93c62ba6b9b5995938f006642c70-74.html#unique-entry-id-74
Had a good Thanksgiving weekend. Nice time with family and celebrating my sister's birthday. Ate lots, played lots of games (Wits and Wagers, Zooleretto, Werewolfe). Friday was a surprise birthday party for Dennis - played games of all types for 13 hours! Took a lot of Rock Band breaks - yes, my living room looks like a garage band hangout. Four of us created a new band... called "Frash". The name came in second to "Fresh Produce". The game is a lot of fun. We'll have to meet up and practice more this week. ;-)

Watched some football. Kansas played a good second half, but the first put them too far behind (couldn't make any field goals!). Hope Missouri will go all the way. Even though Nebraska was horrible, I did laugh out loud when Eric Cartman introduced the Colorado defense. Chiefs & Stanford lost, too - made it a perfect losing weekend!
]]>KalebParties2007-11-26T00:53:52-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/460b15b5d7038b02451fb5d365a1d173-73.html#unique-entry-id-73http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/460b15b5d7038b02451fb5d365a1d173-73.html#unique-entry-id-73It was held at the UNMC Alumni House and had 35 attend in costume on a cold and rainy October evening - maybe perfect for such a dire event. :-) ]]>KalebHumor2007-11-21T08:49:58-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/115023badda7d1eaaa710fcdec89879e-72.html#unique-entry-id-72http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/115023badda7d1eaaa710fcdec89879e-72.html#unique-entry-id-72
First, it was in the 70sF outside on Monday - a gorgeous day! Didn't even have a cool wind or anything. Yesterday was tremendously dismal with grey skies and a high in 30s (it's really hard to imagine such a change from one day to the next!). Waking up today to watching snow come down! Makes me appreciate this cat. (by the way, it's been hard to hold back with so many funny lolcats on icanhascheezburger.com the past few months)

Sesame Street just came out with 2 volumes of their "old school" programs (440 mins each, yowsers!). Nice NYTimes article on it and lots in the news about how it's now inappropriate for youngsters (lots of changes over the years). I watched this old stuff and turned out ok... *twitch* *twitch* ;-)

Maybe one of the best placed online ads I've seen (for Mac) - be sure to turn on the volume.
]]>KalebObservations2007-11-20T11:43:10-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/5fd56eec714c88fb3c05bf2360dd3d6a-71.html#unique-entry-id-71http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/5fd56eec714c88fb3c05bf2360dd3d6a-71.html#unique-entry-id-71article about their relatively short QBs.

Played and beat an incredible game called Portal (part of the Half-Life 2 Orange Box for Xbox 360 and PC). It wasn't very long, and no shooting, all about solving puzzles, but there was incredible narration to the story where you are a guinea pig. The end had me awestruck and throughout the game I was laughing even at the sinister aspects. Apparently it was written by Erik Wolpaw, one of the 2 great minds who wrote my favorite game for the original Xbox, Psychonauts (Tim Schafer is the other). This wonderful interview sheds some life on the great mind at work. Even now I'm listening to the youtube video of the final end-game song that is well-done in its own right - a new ipod addition!

If you were thinking of getting a Playstation3 with 15 free Blu-ray movies, this Saturday's secret sale is your best chance at WalMart. I've debated it, but am sticking with my 360 & HD-DVD player. Both formats will be around for a long while.

And for my future movie theater, here's the chart detailing on when you can tell the differences between 720p & 1080p projectors.

In the more controversial links, here's a 2 hour movie, Zeitgeist, (in three parts) that's entertaining and thought-provoking, though good at making one angry as well. Lots of paranoia in presenting this "documentary", but some aspects I enjoyed debating with others. Each part puts together relatively well-discussed (ie. old) arguments as to 1) Christianity was created for social control, 2) 911 was an inside job & 3) world is run by international bank cartels. Here's a decent review. There's a bit of truth to all of it, but I don't agree with much of the main messages/conclusions. The 2nd part has been what has upset me the most. How we (mankind, US, etc) have gotten into many of our recent wars. Anyway, if it doesn't create some sort of reaction within you, check your pulse.

In a more constructive conversation, there is an interesting series called Beyond Belief: Science, Religion, Reason and Survival. I haven't watched more than one, but will do so bit by bit over the coming weeks.

I'm currently into watching Heroes, season 1. Suspect it may go the way of many popular new drama series (ie. go downhill fast), but here's to hoping. I'm not a fan of the narrator or his character (acting-wise) and I could go on for other criticisms, but the premise and multiple-converging stories are great hooks.

Lastly on the tech theme, the new Beowulf movie is absolutely gorgeous! One to see soon in a digital, IMAX and/or 3D theater. (Sadly none of which are near me - wait, in Olathe, KS!)

And some more help on what to buy this Black Friday.
]]>KalebLife2007-11-20T11:10:16-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/8469484953a68d4a8f6f01321b2c9f2e-70.html#unique-entry-id-70http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/8469484953a68d4a8f6f01321b2c9f2e-70.html#unique-entry-id-70Wii for first time and get my butt handed to me repeatedly on boxing. I love the implementation of the wiimote in Wii Sports, but not going to get one, yet (graphics are lousy, too many good 360 games). But, as I play DDR for exercise and my legs show it (tight!), after only a little while with the Wii, my arms were sore - clearly a sign that I should be working out with them, too. OK, from now on DDR with punch moves! ;-)

I'm going to skip a lot of the business of the convention in Boston. Needless to say, I spent 18 hours a day in meetings, finishing posters/talks, networking, and working on new project ideas. But enough about that! (I was fortunate enough to see some great friends during the week, too, and made some new ones - so I kept what little remains of my sanity in tact)

Got to see Wicked at Boston Opera House. Wonderful story! Music was pretty good. When I returned to Omaha, 2 hours later I got to see Spamalot - hilarious! Fun all the way through - better music and comedy, but less on the story (imagine that). Feel fortunate to see them both in 8 days.

While away the neighbor-folk took care of the kittehs. Here's a picture of them ensuring that my dining table is being used well... but where are the kittehs?! (edit: picture currently not working :-( )

Actually, the heater hasn't been working. Neighbor "Stevo" brought in an expert who did the quick fix and last night he was nice enough to come over and finish the job. Too much humidity getting in, causing buttons to get stuck, metal to rust and fuses to go out. Still more to fix, but so good to have heat - though it was nice to have extra attention from the kittens, though now I know it was because they were cold and wanted to curl up!

Had another game night - expected only 3 to show but in the last 3 hours everyone wanted to come over and there were 14 or so who came by throughout the night. Take 6, Ticket to Ride, Guitar Hero jams, DDR match-offs and Werewolfe were part of the fun. We also got to figure out who was allergic to cats and who wasn't. I HAVE to get rid of the extra cat hair! Even my allergies have gotten much worse.

Got to be part of a surprise 40th birthday party for my coworker, Ted. A wonderful surprise put on by his wife, though I don't think anyone really wanted to see him get his arse beat with a paddle by 40 different attendees - his siblings were rough!

Good to be back for a while including being able to spend the holidays with family without having to go far. Spent time on weekend trimming down the plant growth from around the house. So many leaves! Planted some tulips for next spring... we'll see if anything comes from it. They should be deep purple. :-)]]>KalebTech2007-11-01T21:44:56-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/edf6acfd9e9aba54b16e546da8bfa141-69.html#unique-entry-id-69http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/edf6acfd9e9aba54b16e546da8bfa141-69.html#unique-entry-id-69
Halloween was nice - fun to have so many little trick or treaters come by for the first time as a home-owner. Though I was surprised of the number of toddler/babies (ie. Momma wanted some candy!) as well as undressed teenagers - or maybe it wasn't the number as much as these just stood out. I watched the Muppet Show (family friendly fare for kids to see in the window) for a bit, but still have too much leftover candy! :-)

I'm obsessed with getting a nice metal DDR pad for my xbox 360 - hoping to get one made for it, or better yet, one made for PS/2 with an adapter for the 360 (I know, M$ would never agree to this, but thank goodness for the mod-crowd). Here's where I've been looking... mymybox, cobalt flux, bunker project (may be my best bet), and possible PS/2 adapter XFPS 360. Yes, I miss my 360 while it's being repaired, but even more I miss my DDR exercise (especially with so many sweets this past week!!!). Anyone have advice or want to help me mod one?

There have been lots of Halo3 videos this past month, this bug cracked me up.

Fan video of Batman, Joker and a little bit of AVP thrown in for spice (from 2003).

Looks like I'll have my hands full with GH3 & Rock Band this holiday season. My living room will look like a garage with so many "musical" instruments! Well, that's what I have a big closet for, I guess. ;-)
]]>KalebLife2007-10-28T22:17:46-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/069ea7ce8559e9f5033da0cc11f4e33d-68.html#unique-entry-id-68http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/069ea7ce8559e9f5033da0cc11f4e33d-68.html#unique-entry-id-68
There was a large gathering of family members this weekend to celebrate my grandfather's 80th birthday. It was nice to see so many in attendance! I got a lot captured on video, but haven't taken the time to figure out how to transfer that here... yet.

The mystery party was a hit! A bit difficult for so many that were new to it, but still a lot of fun. A group of 12 of us went to Perkins until 2am to chat afterwards. I'll create a new web site for it once I'm back longer.

Also did some work at Stanford, got to see some friends in CA and attended Bo & Laurie's wedding in Santa Rosa. Afterwards I spent 4 days at a conference in Pittsburgh. Gorgeous weather and view of downtown skyline, and learned a lot as well. Zooloretto is Michael & Smita's newest favorite board game, too. :-) And, as usual, I am grateful for my neighbors taking care of my kittens while I'm away.

Today I got to see Baxter (now named James), too. The new owner surprised me by bringing him by. TB hissed at him and he definitely looked disoriented being back at home (though he knew to go downstairs to get food!). Glad he's happy at his new home and reminds me that 2 cats are plenty. :-)

The weather is getting cold! Need to get the sprinkler system aired out...

Had 2 game nights this week - one with the usual game-night crowd (played Arkham Horror), and one with the non-game night crowd who were dismayed not to know anything about the "official" game night crowd from the mystery party. Both were a lot of fun and both had way too much Halloween snacks! I'm feeling stuffed still and no DDR to help... time to run around the block a few more times. :-)
]]>KalebTech2007-10-28T11:55:07-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/3f505c4868150d42f2e95cd5f7026f9e-67.html#unique-entry-id-67http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/3f505c4868150d42f2e95cd5f7026f9e-67.html#unique-entry-id-67joystick for Xbox360. There are so many good new games for the Xbox 360! Mine got the 3-red rings of death last week and is being repaired down in Texas. If I wasn't leaving again so soon, I'd rent one for a temporary spell. Instead, got the old xbox working to watch dvds and maybe even try some old unplayed games... (ok, still only a thought, not a reality).

Something I've been "suffering" from for years now - phantom vibrations in my leg where my cell phone is. Sadly, it's gotten to the point where I can't tell if it's the real thing or fake and just put my hand down to see. I also hear my phantom ringing, too... ack!

This week is when the new Mac OS arrives - I get my copy tomorrow. Exciting! Leopard vs Vista and some impressions. Here's the main review, though, on ars tehcnica.

A friend showed me this interesting safari battle between water buffalo and lions and...

And this one, of Matt, dancing around the world. If I could be like Matt...

Impressive transformation of an old missile silo in Kansas to a new-age tourist site/home. I could live there (though I may transform it slightly differently).

Oh yeah, and an amazing finish to a football game - never seen so many laterals!
]]>KalebObservations2007-10-10T23:38:47-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/49ce619e31c7ff4b203d1352753ce0f9-66.html#unique-entry-id-66http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/49ce619e31c7ff4b203d1352753ce0f9-66.html#unique-entry-id-66
First, if you listen to NPR, Marketplace or surf the web, you likely have heard that Radiohead's new album, In Rainbows, was released today only by downloading from their site and paying whatever you want to pay them. I gave them 3.45 lbs (~$7) and am happy with the album, though the audiophile in me wishes it was a higher bitrate. (yes, you can download it for free, too)

A Nation of Christians is not a Christian Nation - oped piece in the NYTimes this week. It's a short one, but I couldn't find the better comments I heard recently with the writer of a new book about the history of Christianity in the US. Email from friends/family that talk about how the US was founded upon/within Christianity and how it should be a greater part of our government tire me - and yes, I disagree completely. Not that it didn't influence the founders and many in it now, but we don't need to become a Christian nation/government any more than the world needs another Muslim or Buddhist Theocracy.

This probably shouldn't be on YouTube, and I haven't taken the time to watch it, yet, but I hear good things about this 60 min documentary on The Life of Buddha.

While we're on religion, back to the issues closest to my heart... or at least see an amusing news article on the FSM.

OK, last week I wrote about putting up $ for the incoming SmartUSA car, but anyone going to do the same with this 300 mpg "car"?

Here's an impressive short video from NASA showing a comet getting it's tail ripped off by a solar eruption.

And, finally, a good article about why email and IM aren't so good for communication (at least compared to being in person with someone). I've noticed plenty of times interpreting mood/emotion incorrectly (and being misinterpreted, too).

OK, now I'm free to return back to work. ;-)]]>KalebObservations2007-10-04T23:16:49-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/4b4062503bcbbf7bba99ee4ee7bb2ab4-65.html#unique-entry-id-65http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/4b4062503bcbbf7bba99ee4ee7bb2ab4-65.html#unique-entry-id-65
So the first mystery party of Nebraska will happen this month. Can't believe I couldn't invite all I wanted to - nice that it's so popular! May have to have a re-shot at it come February (assuming it goes well).

Since it's football season, it's the only time I actually watch TV. Here's the full and great video for Feist's 1234 (seen for Apple iPodnano).

As for something scary, how about the brain-eating amoeba in US lakes? (thanks, Katie)

I knew nothing about the fancy ways of tieing shoes back in the 80s, but here's a wonderful site showing LOTS of fun ways of re-lacing your shoes.

Am I the only one curious and interested in getting in on the first set of smartcars when they arrive in the US next year? I'm thinking of getting one in Nebraska colors and if I'm not happy with it, turning it around for 0 to little profit. Definitely a city car.

Mary-Lee sent me this (which I've now discovered was written by Michael Kinsley in the New Republic, NOT Reagan): The following is from Ronald Reagan's recently published diaries (entry dated May 17, 1986):

"A moment I've been dreading. George brought his ne're-do-well son around this morning and asked me to find the kid a job. Not the political one who lives in Florida. The one who hangs around here all the time looking shiftless. This so-called kid is already almost 40 and has never had a real job. Maybe I'll call Kinsley over at The New Republic and see if they'll hire him as a contributing editor or something. That looks like easy work."

Oh my!

BTW, I did finally get Halo 3 in the mail. Simply amazing... and yeah, I'm still not good at it.]]>KalebObservations2007-09-28T17:03:18-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/82b0e596d6bfa4e5545a5bbf8341b4e3-64.html#unique-entry-id-64http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/82b0e596d6bfa4e5545a5bbf8341b4e3-64.html#unique-entry-id-64
If I wanted to take on another hobby/collection, it would start with this. The ultimate in Star Wars Legos!

My friends who work at Intel thought this was hilarious (Ok, I thought it was funny, too) and was very accurate as to how dull the work environment is for their employees as Conan O'Brien takes a tour.

There is E85 ethanol in every gas station around here. It's a deceiving "green fuel" - not nearly as good to use as the propaganda would have us believe. I know Dad anticipates more future bio-diesel vehicles. Here's a nice article in The Economist covering future fuels, though there have been plenty of others out there to learn more (the cover of Wired is on switch grass).

While we're at Wired, my favorite movie, Blade Runner, is being "finalized" - yes, I've mentioned this before, and I'm still excited!!!

A lot of news this past week on the release of the transcript of Bush and then Spanish Prime Minister Aznar back in 2003. Here's a more insightful Slate article on it.

How to Accept Criticism with Grace and Appreciation
]]>KalebLife2007-09-23T22:35:13-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/947d9999e204fdf24c78d19b2d81a59b-63.html#unique-entry-id-63http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/947d9999e204fdf24c78d19b2d81a59b-63.html#unique-entry-id-63NU wins 41-40. Horribly exciting game. If they had lost, I never would have been allowed to attend another future game. :-) It would have been arguably the biggest upset at home ever (though Ball State's 2 losses are now at 1 pt and their quarterback was the MVP by far). So many people in that stadium. It becomes the 3rd largest population center in the state (after Omaha and Lincoln) and holds the record for longest consecutive sold-out games at 200 & some since the 1960s.

Visited with the grandparents afterwards and then got stuck in 2+ hrs of traffic driving home as they blocked off the entrance to the interstate and made thousands of us drive 3mph on 2-line highway through small towns back. It was ridiculous! To add injury to insult, I got a horrible sun burn on the right side of my face (I was on the NW corner of the stadium) and so not only does it hurt like hell, I have an early Halloween costume as Two-Face. ;-)

In other news, Baxter is no longer with us. He joined his new home, a mile or so away, on Wed night. It's been rough and I miss him dearly, but I'm already breathing better and have had less attacks on the plants. Plus, not sure if it's fear of being sent away, but the remaining two girl kittens (TB & Qbert) are being extra affectionate since he left. Apparently he's a bit hit in his new home which makes me feel better. He definitely had a big impact during his 4 months with me. Irreplaceable...

Today, besides the Chiefs pulling out a win from behind, our block had a dedication of a tree/memorial to someone who used to live here. It was a touching small ceremony with so many neighbors in attendance and with food/drinks afterwards. Makes me feel fortunate to live on such a nice block.

For humor link this week - an alternative animation of Spiderman 3 (don't watch if you haven't seen the movie and still plan on it someday).]]>KalebTech2007-09-18T12:04:09-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/d267d0f199892540bccfc22047a8c393-62.html#unique-entry-id-62http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/d267d0f199892540bccfc22047a8c393-62.html#unique-entry-id-62clip after The People's Court.

Myths and falsehoods about global warming

Make your xbox into a great media center (I collect this as I still have yet to do it with mine, but from my friends who have done it, it's amazing!)

On xbox theme, I did purchase more than my fair share of Halo 3 Mountain Dew, pre-ordered the game (comes out next week or so), but this is still another leap in great licensing. The Halo3 Pontiac G6.

The last take on computer games in humor form - the ultimate MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) - Outside! Which goes along nicely with the South Park episode, Make Love Not Warcraft, which won an Emmy last week for best animated short show.]]>KalebLife2007-09-18T11:24:14-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/eb166fe7e6652f3a305a364fff9c4880-61.html#unique-entry-id-61http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/eb166fe7e6652f3a305a364fff9c4880-61.html#unique-entry-id-61
The second time was less offensive, though the more I thought about it, the more negative it seemed. Usually after our weekly ultimate frisbee event we relax with burgers at a local dive (with buy 1, get 1 free deal). This week our new waitress wasn't very good especially in comparison with the past 7-8 weeks of going there. We had 3 bills for the 7 of us. For one bill she gave them $6 more back for change than she should have, but the two people who got this free money didn't tip her, nor did 2 others, any thing at all. This was done primarily at the urging of one guy who seemed to be upset with food, service and was tight for $ (jobless). I protested to the group on deaf ears and, in the end, came back and put some more $ on the table. I was hoping we would still get service for future evenings there as I recall from my days in the restaurant biz of 1) refusing future service to those who didn't tip (or someone doing bad things to the food to those who didn't tip), 2) wait staff getting taxed on each table regardless of how much they were actually tipped. Such that when I have bad service, I mention it to the manager and/or give 5-10% tip as a minimum. Guess it's not a set thing for all, but no tip plus the "stealing" of money that wasn't theirs got me going.

All in all, great and full weekend with Stacie & Mike from CA! Game night on Thurs, swing dancing on Fri, football party on Sat with neighbors and a few other friends (yeah, NE got smoked again) with lots of DDR & ping-pong, saw Holy Family Shrine on Sun, the zoo on Mon (OK, I dropped them off there after visiting with friend who is admin there and gave us a short mini-tour) and lots of good food and drinks throughout.




]]>KalebTech2007-09-12T00:31:49-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/504adab109fd35aa1fbe566ecac55aa5-60.html#unique-entry-id-60http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/504adab109fd35aa1fbe566ecac55aa5-60.html#unique-entry-id-60
This week's links to share (more techy theme):

Funny video review of main 3 video game consoles

Keeping the theme, amazing video of completion of the most difficult tetris level on arcade (invisible!)

Appropriate commentary on the iPhone early adopters (referencing the Apple Lisa!) who complained enough to get Apple to give them credit (I'll get mine next year or so)
]]>KalebObservations2007-09-01T11:53:07-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/a9cc91b59b0ec9f988206dc9ffce0839-59.html#unique-entry-id-59http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/a9cc91b59b0ec9f988206dc9ffce0839-59.html#unique-entry-id-59http://www.orthosupersite.com/view.asp?rid=23446" rel="self">1 & 2) and last night Uncle Mark drove up in a stretched Hummer and we chilled and played cards (though I'm sure more than one neighbor was curious). Bombing the house today to get rid of the fleas and spiders in the basement (perfect weather to be outside with kittens, snacks and book) and working and watching football (yeah!).

Video of amazing homemade "machines" - though the Japanese jingle gets old quickly, the creativity doesn't.

All over the interwebs this week were jokes at Miss Teen South Carolina's expense (though FTLOG, I couldn't believe how horrible her response was!). Here's a web site collecting maps for Us (plus a clip of the teen's statement).

Funny pic (warning, old video game reference).

For those that finished the latest Harry Potter book, here's the best review I've seen written by Stephen King (yes, that Stephen King).]]>KalebLife2007-08-27T01:05:39-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/97fcad4157a269d04a6812fee1c5a812-58.html#unique-entry-id-58http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/97fcad4157a269d04a6812fee1c5a812-58.html#unique-entry-id-58kitteh area. They had so much fun with the bubble-wrap! Today when I let them out of the basement (so I don't have to constantly be protecting the few remaining plants and other breakable items in the house), only 2 appeared though the 3rd was audible... then I noticed the ceiling panels were bowing one by one. Q-Bert was trapped up there! :-) It was hilarious - no idea how she did it, but the other 2 were fascinated watching me try to pull her out. They've gotten big enough that they're no longer as scared of the Roomba, mostly just annoyed by it (Baxter plays chicken with it, too).
My non-working life has been full - weekly game nights with friends, swing dance lessons and parties (no, still a newb at it!), weekly ultimate (frisbee) games, and lots of ad-hoc events mean there's never a dull moment. In fact, I miss my neighbors! Cooking more at home, using the kitchen. Finished the Harry Potter book (I don't usually put a book on pause to read another, but so many people were talking about it, I felt peer pressure to read before major plot points were revealed. I loved the book, but can tell that it's a kids book as knowing these plot points can ruin it whereas the "adult" books I read doesn't really matter as much what happens, it's all about the journey).
Better call it a day, but there are still pics from Spain to arrive next (so close to being caught up!). Thanks for your patience and for reading!]]>KalebLife2007-08-27T00:52:12-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/89455892cbb190eb81d168e9ae0dcf17-57.html#unique-entry-id-57http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/89455892cbb190eb81d168e9ae0dcf17-57.html#unique-entry-id-57
After spending a few days back in KS for work and seeing the fam, I hosted a Forney family reunion (Mom's side) at my house. One day of lots of BBQ, games, ping pong and hanging out. Good to see everyone!




]]>KalebWork2007-08-27T00:24:56-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/cfe4732e20dc2070ac97648e7a7ad744-56.html#unique-entry-id-56http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/cfe4732e20dc2070ac97648e7a7ad744-56.html#unique-entry-id-56
We had a ribbon-cutting publicity event to announce the formal opening of the Nebraska Arthritis Outcomes Research Center where I got to meet the chancellor and the donors, Bill & Ruth Scott (without whom I wouldn't be here!). That same week I was the guest on the local weekly Community Health Line radio show (here's the site where you can listen to it from July 25 - I can't stand that they only use RealPlayer files!).
That same night my house was host to a rheumatology section party where everyone brought their fams, catered great food, and Renee did some juggling (I tried, too, to much lesser effect). Fun time!







Work hasn't let up - flew to Dallas last week to work with the VA, this week I'm off to Chicago for an all-day meeting, and I've got conferences in Pittsburgh, DC and Boston this fall. Bringing on the miles again!]]>KalebLife2007-08-26T13:44:35-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/6e0129d7829dab58e08cc32ac9c9bc2f-55.html#unique-entry-id-55http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/6e0129d7829dab58e08cc32ac9c9bc2f-55.html#unique-entry-id-55Mall of Horror), and a new vid game, Bioshock, that came out the same day.

I also got a special treat from Amy who was in Leipzig, Germany for work (at a games conference).

Who is this? Why it's the infamous, attractive, and face of gaming (the Baroness)... Jessica Chabot! Since I probably know much more about video games from the media rather than from actually playing (end sob story); she's been reporting and playing them for fans like me for as long as I've been paying attention to such video reports. Her IGN blog. Myspace (who knew a myspace profile could look so good?) & personal site. Yeah, I should have known that she would have a larger web presence... guess that makes this gift that much more thoughtful! :-)

Plus, a couple other friends "celebrated" my bday by discovering they were pregnant. To each their own way of celebrating. ;-)
]]>KalebObservations2007-08-26T13:33:55-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/abe2538673a580d3d23d13c1f2ad7972-54.html#unique-entry-id-54http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/abe2538673a580d3d23d13c1f2ad7972-54.html#unique-entry-id-54
Frozen smoke as new material to impact our world.

Further evidence that working out helps your brain/smarts.

An incredible and talented member of my family, Tony Sheets (son of Millard Sheets), has worked hard to get a book of much of his fathers paintings in one exhibit at the LA County Fair this month. You can read more about it here.

I'm so excited that football season is almost here again. Of course, living in Nebraska means I have to take this a bit more seriously than I did before (is that possible?), and I'm in a few fantasy football leagues as well. I thought this was one of the more entertaining columns on Nebraska's football team for this season. (plus be sure to check out the embedded brief Family Guy clip about Nebraska - there's a corn eating contest tonight at the local swing dance festival, too! ;-) )
]]>KalebTech2007-07-21T15:23:49-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/1620e6bc9dbd735b63c327ce1398303a-53.html#unique-entry-id-53http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/1620e6bc9dbd735b63c327ce1398303a-53.html#unique-entry-id-53On how to write a research paper (for students)

I played Uno online (xbox live) this past week as a very late break from work and kittens before bed. Had lots of foul language voiced my way (playing a "Draw Two" definitely isn't worthy of what I got) and it really turned me off, again, of playing online with people I don't know. My friend at MS, Ben, recommended this site, geezergamers, for a community of 30+ game players. It's really sad to consider myself a "geezer", but nice to have such a community. Mind you, I've had more positive experiences than bad, but the bad ones really stand out.

I won't go into all the details as to why France doesn't deserve all the disdain we have given it since 9/11 (as sometimes it's just fun to make fun of), but this nice story seemed to miss the newsfeeds.

In many ways I understand why it's not good to have a true democracy (ie. the will of the people is rule), but here's an interesting top 10 list of items most Americans want, but aren't getting through our government (and peace and pie aren't on the list, but universal health care is).

On the lighter fair, I'm a big fan of Christian Bale, and here's an article giving him some fun, macho praise (don't click on the first video link if you're faint of heart as American Psycho is very violent though it was his breakout role).

Lastly, a hilarious Japanese game show - human tetris.

]]>KalebLife2007-07-16T00:23:00-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/565abdd655a0e0090f7146c67d821e31-52.html#unique-entry-id-52http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/565abdd655a0e0090f7146c67d821e31-52.html#unique-entry-id-52
Oh, and I still have three so if you want a beautiful, sweet and loving kitten, please take mine!!! I'm getting a bit desperate as I'm no longer able to rest or do work at home while they're up and about and that's impaired me in many ways. Yeah, I'm making an assumption that my life will be better minus 1 or 2 kittehs.

Saw my cousin Erica's performance in Crazy for You (the musical) in an outdoor production near Lincoln. It was a lot of fun and more so as clouds and lightning and wind threatened to end it early. Instead I had the most amazing lightning show straight ahead on the horizon. I've had a lot going on lately (when is that new?), but maybe more so emotionally, and the spectacle reminded me of why I trudge on. That life isn't fair, but it can be beautiful and you never know what will happen next and it's too short and ... and that I won't forget what and who is important to me and that I need not ever forget the good times in the past but will live creating and looking forward to the good times of tomorrow as they will come again in new ways. Yeah, something about an electric storm, fun musical and driving (and being tired) that leads me to this reflective state.

I'm way behind in many ways, but a lot of pictures are coming out soon (including pics from Spain & Cali!).]]>KalebLife2007-07-11T23:28:15-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/c16207b56a9744e2f04077a6992ecf05-51.html#unique-entry-id-51http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/c16207b56a9744e2f04077a6992ecf05-51.html#unique-entry-id-51
The carnage here left the entire bathroom full of dirt all over the tiles (and a permanently shut door for kitties). Uncertain if plant will make it (it was Sara's, too! :-( ).


The faux flower display on my dining table was the most recent casualty - lots of small pieces of glass to clean up.


The saddest one was the discovery that my favorite mug (gotten a decade ago at the Renn Faire with Josh, Sarah and friends) was ceramic and destructible after being pushed off of 4 ft heights. At least they're following the scientific method...


Lastly, I'd like to tag some or any of the kitty pics on this site. Maybe something for icanhascheezburger.com fame? I especially like QBert hiding from the Roomba (maybe a Dalek reference here?) or the series of pics of TB attacking the fish on the TV while I was watching the BBC's Planet Earth (wonderful series!).

Got the 3 musketeers vaccinated today and related first check-ups. Over $300!!! Just another reason why I need to get their number down to 2 or 1 (update, cousin Kortney will be new owner of QBert as of Sat and will likely rename her).]]>KalebLife2007-07-01T10:29:47-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/909136de1a3b30f28bcff2b2525d7a9d-50.html#unique-entry-id-50http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/909136de1a3b30f28bcff2b2525d7a9d-50.html#unique-entry-id-50Friday night had too many things going on at once. Uncle Garry & Aunt Paula and family+ (10 total) came by to see the new home and attend the free local concert and fireworks at the nearby park. Attended work picnic with literally a horde of little kids and babies (apparently all of the residents/fellows at UNMC chose that time to reproduce - breaking records). Had 4 friends come over afterwards and we all joined neighbors for BBQ and walked en masse to the fireworks and a little dancing to the final throws of KC & the Sunshine Band. Fireworks were impressive considering they were right above us and we just walked a few blocks to get there.
Yesterday I played softball for 2+ hours with a new group (mostly made up of swing dancers - the Omaha jitterbugs) and then ultimate frisbee. I haven't done either since jr high (softball) and college (ultimate) and my body is sore! Very nice group - got invited to do movie, D&D, and more for later that night. Instead took the option with least amount of physical activity - played poker with another group for 5 hrs or so. Whew!
Needless to say, the summer has brought out many new friends, activities and renewed my faith in the Omaha area. ]]>KalebObservations2007-07-01T10:24:40-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/6c7e217c29e9ba0b975d2981cba7a58b-49.html#unique-entry-id-49http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/6c7e217c29e9ba0b975d2981cba7a58b-49.html#unique-entry-id-49Nice article that covers it a bit.

Remember when I got to eat next to Warren Buffett a month ago? Well a guy paid $650K to eat lunch with him on ebay 2 days ago. Here's the news article. I feel like I got a much better deal for my lunch.

Earlier this week when I was sick, Mandi sent me this pic. It was delayed, but laughed my arse off for long time. Good therapy. Though most of you likely won't find it nearly as funny as me (D&D reference).]]>KalebLife2007-06-27T00:12:46-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/db6daa706fda17965e78c586e0b82673-48.html#unique-entry-id-48http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/db6daa706fda17965e78c586e0b82673-48.html#unique-entry-id-48
What I do know: I) that stomach ache is likely related to stress and that I need to not let it or any other ailment own me, II) that my neighbors absolutely rock (from taking care of kittens while I'm away, lending me vacuum for flood, and just being good company when I'm down or up), III) that bills and work will get done and I'll do the important items first and enjoy the parts that are worth doing (ie. most parts - research, teaching, managing), and IV) that I feel incredibly fortunate to have people out there that care about me even if they don't live close by (most likely the same people who are reading this... yes, you!).

I look forward to sharing about other recent events including a) trip to Spain, b) beginning of summer midwest style & c) other reasons for taking pictures, but one step at a time. I think I have one more trip to the basement in me before bed...]]>KalebLife2007-06-04T00:32:27-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/1d6ec60dd2427ffe3c10be0a80bf4863-47.html#unique-entry-id-47http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/1d6ec60dd2427ffe3c10be0a80bf4863-47.html#unique-entry-id-47
Also, we stopped for lunch at Gates in Kansas City. Oh my goodness - wonderful BBQ! I know it's not the best in KC, but the ribs put everything I've had in CA and NY and most states in between to shame! A nice reminder of a "food stuff" that we have better here than on the coasts. Soo good!]]>KalebWork2007-06-02T00:01:32-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/1d74bfbbb76f224af4d46f8fc587e004-46.html#unique-entry-id-46http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/1d74bfbbb76f224af4d46f8fc587e004-46.html#unique-entry-id-46A&R). It was nice food and good company though a little awkward as everyone in the restaurant could see (and hear if they tried) what I was showing the group rather than having our own private room.

Got to meet with a visiting professor from the Brigham yesterday and today we had lunch together. What surprised me was Warren Buffett, the 2nd wealthiest man in US and my neighbor of sorts, came in and had lunch with another guy right next to our table. Seemed so ordinary - no body guards, nothing else fancy outside of having a tie and business jacket on. Quite a different life he's living here in Omaha especially compared to what one rich man is now doing in India.

One more link - a fellow rheumatologist and friend of Fred's, Norton Hadler, just posted a thought provoking OpEd about drugs that possibly don't do much for us at abcnews.]]>KalebObservations2007-06-01T23:59:29-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/ad413f85f3cbe758e0ebb79ad4f3fdf2-45.html#unique-entry-id-45http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/ad413f85f3cbe758e0ebb79ad4f3fdf2-45.html#unique-entry-id-45 these pictures of clouds in Nebraska and wanted to share. Amazing.
]]>KalebLife2007-06-01T22:46:37-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/e28a590fdad34b200777974f53eda913-44.html#unique-entry-id-44http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/e28a590fdad34b200777974f53eda913-44.html#unique-entry-id-44






Then spent a week working at Stanford, meeting up with colleagues I've missed, enjoying the evenings and was treated to lots of good food (Korean dinner party - does anyone have a good group pic from this?), watched Spiderman 3 & Hot Fuzz (the latter was hilarious!) and a game party at Doug & Melissa's new home (same question for here) where I also got to see a very pregnant Melissa! (OK, Kemmeo, you were pregnant, too, just not very pregnant ;) )

I returned to NE only to drive down to Mt. Hope, KS (my home since I left in '92 for college) to pick up new kitties (see previous post) and spend the week working at the NDB offices in Wichita. Also got to see high school classmate, Christine, who is also pregnant (ack! this is an epidemic!).

The last two weekends I got the ping pong table set up (took hours with the help of Andy, Erin, and Uncle Mark), and had an Indian themed party over memorial weekend. That same weekend Stacie, from CA, came to visit (my 2nd visitor to NE, yay!) and see the sights of Omaha as well as just hang out and catch up. Also, memorial weekend, my sister Sara, Mom & Grandma came to visit and Sara stayed over as well and helped out at the party. They had a rabbit show on Sunday and on Monday I got together with most of my Mom's family and then hung out with my Dad's parents. Long overdue and a very full weekend! As for the party - had lots of great Indian food - some made/bought from local grocer, other was brought in from Tandori Fusion restaurant. Had the movie Lagaan play (almost 4 hrs long, but you'll learn how to play cricket after watching), played ping pong and then some party games later on.





Good times this month!!! :-D
]]>KalebTech2007-05-23T23:53:08-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/f781512adf8735540f767c57543080d0-43.html#unique-entry-id-43http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/f781512adf8735540f767c57543080d0-43.html#unique-entry-id-43
Voice Coaching

Traveler's Dilemma (like Prisoner's)

Why Bush hasn't been impeached

Something funny and useless and requires speakers
]]>KalebObservations2007-05-23T23:16:53-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/6bd74a5df41924638b7050a561cc1b5a-42.html#unique-entry-id-42http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/6bd74a5df41924638b7050a561cc1b5a-42.html#unique-entry-id-42
]]>KalebLife2007-05-23T22:33:08-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/7d6ec6cea5848dbebea7c2e642f5175b-41.html#unique-entry-id-41http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/7d6ec6cea5848dbebea7c2e642f5175b-41.html#unique-entry-id-41

I knew Aunt Dee primarily from our rare family reunions held in parts of Colorado far away from civilization (harder and harder to find there). She taught me to play cards (and bed with pennies) and she and Uncle Bob quickly became a pair of my favorite family members. After I moved to California in '97 I got to see her again, but this time she was living with her daughter, son-in-law & granddaughter (Summer) - all new to me. Not surprisingly, they quickly became some of my favorite family members. Ones I plan to stay in touch with until my last breath.

So cheers to a life well lived and cheers to my extended and lovely family out west. I mourn for (y)our loss, but am excited to follow the growth of your next generation (Kelan and company).]]>KalebLife2007-05-19T23:41:14-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/82db0162bcd41a90b167b188a3c105b8-40.html#unique-entry-id-40http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/82db0162bcd41a90b167b188a3c105b8-40.html#unique-entry-id-40


Day 1. Kitties 2. Kaleb 1.


Momma and her kits:


Also, posted an overdue and requested pic of Frankie who is now adult size. I've never seen a cat with such strange use of his body. He sits upright, uses his large arse as a base and doesn't use his front legs much except to play and swat us with. He still has gorgeous blue eyes, too (not shown here with flash).


PS. Kitty just met Mr. Roomba - stepped on his start button and took him for a short ride before running for her life. Nice way to get ready for bed. :-)
]]>KalebTech2007-04-23T21:04:24-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/f5a1ea9103432e0bf7ab7af943fcccf1-39.html#unique-entry-id-39http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/f5a1ea9103432e0bf7ab7af943fcccf1-39.html#unique-entry-id-39physorg.com, that a parent hooked me up with today. Best one I've seen so far!

Been very busy with work. Took a bit of a break over the weekend that was long overdue and has me in a crazy good mood, but still so crazy tired (can't you tell with the duplicate adverb?). Only 9 days until the ACR abstract deadline is here and then I can move on to other work. :-) so it goes! Oh, and in more tech news, got my computer at the office today - at last! It's very nice and everyone is envious of the 30" screen. Thank you Apple. ]]>KalebObservations2007-04-19T21:49:31-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/71a81290655955f83576017e2f261f78-38.html#unique-entry-id-38http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/71a81290655955f83576017e2f261f78-38.html#unique-entry-id-38Studio 360, on the arts/music scene in Omaha that I heard on the radio today. They compare it to Seattle, but add that the difference is that the artists are choosing to stay here even after they become big (which in my mind means they can't become too big). The web site above also has maps (including a Bright Eyes live concert that was held at the nearby park) and the program on mp3. This one is similar to the NYTimes article pointed to before, but audio. Enjoy!]]>KalebObservations2007-04-17T19:31:06-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/fcd0e509b4a531a3938d49aec2c4a813-37.html#unique-entry-id-37http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/fcd0e509b4a531a3938d49aec2c4a813-37.html#unique-entry-id-37
Have lots of projects due, still. Important one to finish tonight. Was working hard when I got distracted thinking about how many horrible things, important things and items worth taking time to do something about were going on, yet we still manage well by keeping busy with our jobs, keeping the economy going and staying somewhat apathetic or at least resigned to suppress. It was nice to see the large outpouring of flowers in the neighboring memorial park today for those at Virginia Tech. In other notes: Grandpa apparently recovered well from his surgery last Friday and I got to catch up a little with sis last night. Tonight I'm looking forward to getting a call from Mandi out in CA. Yes, another gorgeous day with myself buried behind my computer and repressing my own needs for outside contact (only in small doses). Listening to Hooverphonic, moving right along as this, too, is temporary...]]>KalebObservations2007-04-14T21:46:32-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/9759a01bf4804d1caba850c4916a0d6c-36.html#unique-entry-id-36http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/9759a01bf4804d1caba850c4916a0d6c-36.html#unique-entry-id-36Team Omaha Final poetry slam competition that was held at the Omaha Healing Arts Center. What a rush! I've heard that there are several places around town for this, but had no idea of the strong talent and enjoyment I'd get from being a witness/listener. These are poems and performances that I could easily see being on television on pre-NBC Bravo. I feel I missed out a lot living near SF for so long and not spending more time a the Edinburgh Castle or other intellectual/artsy locales. Guess that's while I'll have plenty to see when I visit. :) But this is another bright note for Omaha - there was so much life and energy in the Old Market section of downtown - quite the place to be!

Back to work - I'll come up for air in May.
]]>KalebWork2007-04-12T18:34:07-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/1c942173f4e6d404111fd2046885018d-35.html#unique-entry-id-35http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/1c942173f4e6d404111fd2046885018d-35.html#unique-entry-id-35rejected by the FDA today. Definitely of note for what I do. Arthritis patients in Europe have been taking it for some time already. Definitely a strong reaction from post-vioxx days. Not to say it didn't deserve this vote, just was surprised as to the vote tally and how still little we truly know the full effects of our pain medications.]]>KalebTech2007-04-11T23:36:54-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/ae630ed8e57da6722ba814143f634921-34.html#unique-entry-id-34http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/ae630ed8e57da6722ba814143f634921-34.html#unique-entry-id-34Nice article on him. I recall reading "The Sirens of Titan" in high school. Taught me to question what is fully meant by and justified in the name of "progress" - may even be linked to my strong interest in studying evolution of systems as well as trying to determine what's really important to me & us. So it goes...


(and to fully justify the tech tag, I have an Apple bluetooth keyboard and mighty mouse that I don't use - let me know if you'd like to try or buy them!)
]]>KalebObservations2007-04-10T22:14:36-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/1df2dd7f424945f50963c0cb72cdb451-33.html#unique-entry-id-33http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/1df2dd7f424945f50963c0cb72cdb451-33.html#unique-entry-id-33
*Still singing after all these years*
]]>KalebHumor2007-04-09T21:37:40-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/c9469a16bd2a5d1c6f534a75fd09a27f-32.html#unique-entry-id-32http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/c9469a16bd2a5d1c6f534a75fd09a27f-32.html#unique-entry-id-32
Cat takes bus regularly.

All lolcats on flickr.

The classic cheezburger one.

And, of course, a non-cat that still isn't old - Tyson the skateboarding bulldog.

]]>KalebLife2007-04-08T22:20:52-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/ff42df4ed152d9a73a2d46a37ff8c654-31.html#unique-entry-id-31http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/ff42df4ed152d9a73a2d46a37ff8c654-31.html#unique-entry-id-31
On Easter Sunday, we did the belated bday celebration of several Michaud family members who had bdays in Feb & March (including Uncle Rob who has had less birthdays than me, though he's lived a lot longer - the curse/blessing of a Feb 29 bdate). Got to spend time with my parents, grandparents and most of the local Michaud clan. LOTS of good food, played Through the Desert board game, basketball across the street with brand new blue ball (still freezing!), chatted with family, and comforted Frankie (who is going through recovery after losing his front claws and "manhood" last week). Investigated the manly men working on the home-made ice cream in the basement and discovered the machine doing almost all of the work ;-) (pic below). Grandma & Grandpa still know how to be the "hosts with the mosts"!



]]>KalebLife2007-04-08T21:16:36-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/c7fb2b251e0de8688481264a3e6dbb0d-30.html#unique-entry-id-30http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/c7fb2b251e0de8688481264a3e6dbb0d-30.html#unique-entry-id-30
Yes, I'm building this up because after all this time (and only 3 throws on Wii Bowling), I got the highest score of our 6-member group! Yeah, for those that know me, this will be hard to believe so I've included a pic for proof (I'm KAL, btw). So I'm on a high from this and feeling like hot stuff and so round 2 comes around and the hard dose of reality returns. From 134 to 77 - I have a ways to go still, but for one moment there - on top of the world! ;-) Thanks to the family gang for making the night so much fun (Justine, Chris, Emily, Kendra & Kortney) and to those that made the day a hoot, too!

Will have to add more pics later, but Kendra had this power swing that made me fear for everyone else's life - but more than not, she landed the ball down the run way.




]]>KalebWork2007-04-08T21:14:14-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/e843233098945979396591283b866e25-29.html#unique-entry-id-29http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/e843233098945979396591283b866e25-29.html#unique-entry-id-29this in their email inbox ~10 days ago. Now folks know who I am and part of what I do research on, but not the other way around. It's a start. ;-) Oh, there's another pic of me on this same link, too - from early Feb.
]]>KalebLife2007-04-07T11:11:09-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/51bb72a098e3f11fdf413f5256593cc0-28.html#unique-entry-id-28http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/51bb72a098e3f11fdf413f5256593cc0-28.html#unique-entry-id-28]]>KalebObservations2007-04-05T23:15:53-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/63368e33e8e0ea313e8d6e7e4cb0d18c-26.html#unique-entry-id-26http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/63368e33e8e0ea313e8d6e7e4cb0d18c-26.html#unique-entry-id-26
But what blew me away - today I was awarded the booby prize for coming in last place in the chief resident's pool - with over 20 teams! Oh how the "mighty" have fallen! What a crazy month that was. Where I had blizzards and rain and hail and winds and lots of sun in between. Now that it's April it's been mostly 30F daily. Aack! Keeps the wardrobe in constant flux. :-)
]]>KalebTech2007-04-03T18:42:19-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/33d197af076da4788e48e547547f78bf-25.html#unique-entry-id-25http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/33d197af076da4788e48e547547f78bf-25.html#unique-entry-id-25how we know who we are. Today's was about stress. Here's their home page. Enjoy! (I have!) (tech note, unfortunately Season 1 is only on RealPlayer, which I despise, but Season 2 is available as mp3)
]]>KalebObservations2007-03-28T21:34:57-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/8bd64e444cae949500875d077c7e95af-24.html#unique-entry-id-24http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/8bd64e444cae949500875d077c7e95af-24.html#unique-entry-id-24here. I voted for Boba Fett, but either him or Darth Vader would be cool to have on stamps... actually Yoda, too. Mmm...

Next, this is a great and longer article in the New York Times about Omaha last week. Give it a read to learn more about my new home town - don't you want to live here now, too? :)

Oh, and here's a mathematical thinking in physics site for those more inclined that way.

Today I had "soul food" for dinner - BBQ ribs on white bread, mashed potatoes, fried okra(!), cornbread and ice cream for desert. Yeah, and I wonder why my gut has been bothering me so much lately. ;) (Though it tasted good!) OK, break's over, back to work!
]]>KalebParties2007-03-22T23:17:59-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/e70967270951ff68b3b08c1eaddde500-23.html#unique-entry-id-23http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/e70967270951ff68b3b08c1eaddde500-23.html#unique-entry-id-23http://www.reuters.com/article/email/idUSL2238338820070322
http://www.reuters.com/article/email/idUSL2238338820070322
http://www.reuters.com/article/email/idUSL2238338820070322" rel="self">This one isn't mine, but seems like a cool way to spend an hour while in NYC! Here's the web site for the folks hosting this mystery.
]]>KalebObservations2007-03-22T10:28:24-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/4f4c37b10fc4b0a7efde7f64cb9e25bd-22.html#unique-entry-id-22http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/4f4c37b10fc4b0a7efde7f64cb9e25bd-22.html#unique-entry-id-22
My previous landlord. Mr. Chang could have ended my phone call to him today on a nice note as I was indicating I will no longer seek a return of $65 he took from my security deposit for removal of carpet stains (he already took out $125 for other items). I indicated that these stains existed before I moved in, but after a fuller explanation from him, I realized I wouldn't be getting any of this $ back. Right before hanging up he says "sorry I didn't respond to your email, but it didn't seem worth responding to for only $65". Dude! If it's no big deal, then just send me the check already! :P

Antibiotics. (Mostly) good for the immune system, but wrecks havoc on my GI system. I wonder if I have any e. coli left? Just 12 more hours of this... I hope.

Guess everyone can be glad I stayed local with my rants and didn't carry on to items such as 1) RIAA & Congressionally enacted new exorbitant internet music fees, 2) Gonzalez, Rove, Cheney, & Bush (get rid of em!), & 3) why ethanol for alternative fuel isn't the answer for gas prices, economy or environment (though it'll make a few farmers temporarily wealthier).
]]>KalebLife2007-03-22T10:23:48-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/d82d7c919825a0596a6ba187f376f763-21.html#unique-entry-id-21http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/d82d7c919825a0596a6ba187f376f763-21.html#unique-entry-id-21
]]>KalebObservations2007-03-18T21:11:29-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/a865364304a06536aae983013f2e8179-20.html#unique-entry-id-20http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/a865364304a06536aae983013f2e8179-20.html#unique-entry-id-20


Was nice day to visit various family members in Lincoln (much busier than I expected so I didn't get to see everyone). Hope the Michaud clan can meet up soon to celebrate all of the Feb/Mar birthdays next weekend... we'll see.

Good day - Kansas won and got to play Ticket To Ride online with great folks in CA.]]>KalebWork2007-03-17T02:10:03-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/f6c7f0a1a693e2e24954c05ae2f6a4e9-19.html#unique-entry-id-19http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/f6c7f0a1a693e2e24954c05ae2f6a4e9-19.html#unique-entry-id-19press site. It wasn't my paper, but funny how they can fill up such space.

Also, in non-work news, it's the end of the zefrank show. I highly recommend it for amusing regularly videos from the past year.]]>KalebObservations2007-03-14T23:00:04-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/1aa7119d36aac19214ea01d5812ba2d1-18.html#unique-entry-id-18http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/1aa7119d36aac19214ea01d5812ba2d1-18.html#unique-entry-id-18









]]>KalebLife2007-03-13T22:18:06-05:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/57c7aeeb11f195206e4e6d9750adb025-16.html#unique-entry-id-16http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/57c7aeeb11f195206e4e6d9750adb025-16.html#unique-entry-id-16
Had a great week following this. Weather got good, started using the kitchen, went to the zoo (yes! many pictures to come!), and explored more of Omaha's food joints. I've developed this horrible head cold. Today I was mostly useless and went in and out of consciousness at home and work. It's crazy, it reached 80 freakin degrees outside today and I still had a bit of snow in the yard! (ok, it officially was all melted by tonight) And to be sick while it's so nice outside - just a kick in the pants. But the up and down weather of the midwest is back and I like it (I think). Once again the weather guy becomes a local celebrity, known more than any other personalities.

So, last week was mahvalous. Got high on Lucky Charms. Discovered funniest site evah here at icanhascheezburger.com. KU won the Big XII both ways and I've started up the annual college bracket contest among friends/family from all over (if you're interested, let me know - starts Thursday!).

I'm also on a mission - to find white sour cream frosting. NO ONE carries it in New York, California and now Nebraska. But they do carry it in Wichita. Crazy! Got new orthotics in shoes and now feel like I'm walking sideways and got the new DDR so I can mess up my toes by dancing at home cuz there's no one below me to complain, mwa ha ha! Ok, this is all clearly proof that the cold meds are taking full effect again. Ciao 4 now!
]]>KalebLife2007-03-01T23:31:57-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/2dc48160e14873c70de2d6fbc1e0b97a-15.html#unique-entry-id-15http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/2dc48160e14873c70de2d6fbc1e0b97a-15.html#unique-entry-id-15KalebLife2007-02-27T23:35:19-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/cf309ab94ae170ccddc699dec93a8f0e-14.html#unique-entry-id-14http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/cf309ab94ae170ccddc699dec93a8f0e-14.html#unique-entry-id-14
It was very impressive - rain, then freezing rain, sleet, and lots of thick, wet snow. When it was all done (only 2-3 hrs long!), we had 6" of snow. Dad went out to shovel it at 11pm. I thought he was crazy, but after I went outside, it was so beautiful. There was so much light, so much snow and it was strangely warm - full of energy and then I wanted to shovel it!



I put Mom & Dad to work all weekend. Got lots done, but mostly in the walls or outside in the lighting, patching walls, cleaning, etc. Time flew by while working! Oh, and Frankie was a treat to see. He's gotten much bigger since the holidays (he's got a big butt like in "Get Fuzzy")
]]>KalebWork2007-02-27T22:03:13-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/bac2de80a9d68cd3b3d69f67886bb491-13.html#unique-entry-id-13http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/bac2de80a9d68cd3b3d69f67886bb491-13.html#unique-entry-id-13

It's unbelievable the entrenched machines that are institutions. I spent a few days trying to modify this card. I ended up arguing with the printer directly in trying to get "email" and "mailing address" removed from the card (redundant!), but they are required by the public relations of the university (or something to that effect). I also couldn't put my NDB affiliation on the other side (I'll do it manually myself later on) to make it a dual-use card (it's annoying to have 2 cards for one person!). My only success was in getting the two top lines of the lower left there instead of them being large in the middle below my name (these small victories!).

Did I mention that my huge institution doesn't recycle plastic? I'm doing it on my own for now (as they do recycle it at my home).

I got my diplomas put on the wall in my office - they had to put in a work order for it. Also, apparently Coke Zero isn't on the allowed drinks available through the university (not to worry, I bring in my own). Yes, I'm on a roll. These aren't all complaints, more observations. I know I'll probably pick on something important to me at some point to rise up and change, but for now I'm learning and only slightly resisting. My wonderful "boss" gave me a book called "Orbiting the Giant Hairball" last spring and it seems so relevant here (and back at Stanford, etc).

I got a pneumonia vaccine injection yesterday. My arm is killing me and the numbness/pain woke me a few times in the night and kept me wide awake all day today. Funny how pain can stimulate the mind. Even a headache, but then it's harder to think. Still have some symptoms, but it's a different kind of pain. Maybe this is what institutional pain is about? ;) The logical expanse from this is that various pain can be very beneficial in doses. (so, yes I have no need to start my own Fight Club any time soon)

Oh, and it seems everyone in the midwest is on eastern time - ie. they go to bed and get up at the exact same time they do in NY. This is unfortunate as back on west coast time not only did we get up later and leave work later, we were already 3 hrs behind eastern time zone! Needless to say, I'm finding it difficult to transition. Still working late... though starting a new wake up system - getting the heater to change to let me know when I should be out of the house (it gets cold!). :)]]>KalebWork2007-02-21T11:10:53-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/c2489ceb32aba4f7b33d1957773e5168-12.html#unique-entry-id-12http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/c2489ceb32aba4f7b33d1957773e5168-12.html#unique-entry-id-12here (likely requires Real player, which I abhor - so I haven't tried it).

Finally got some office furniture, though I'm still using my laptop as my work computer - waiting for a new machine. Guess it's part of the new faculty life - work while you wait. Speaking of which - back to work! :)]]>KalebTech2007-02-12T18:44:13-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/8289845ecd42e07adc93ccba39f1b33b-11.html#unique-entry-id-11http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/8289845ecd42e07adc93ccba39f1b33b-11.html#unique-entry-id-11
I told myself I couldn't get a new car until I graduated. I kept my deep amethyst 97 Dodge Neon for almost 10 years and it's been fabulous, but I'm excited to announce the newest member of the gadget family: 07 Lexus IS 250! (Hau predicted this a month ago) It's currently learning the tricks of the trade in the garage with said Neon - it's a black saphire pearl color (ie. looks black, but the right light shows its deep blue insides). It's being leased for now so not too much to modify, though the first things are to get the windows tinted & get a true ipod adapter (aux audio is NOT the same!). It was frustrating that I had to educate the salesman and the manager of the dealership that I couldn't control my ipod from the car through the headphone jack (they didn't believe me until 2 days later when they spoke with their tech guy).

But it's almost max'ed out for an AWD. It's green in that it burns very cleanly, but it's a far cry from my original plan of Camry or Civic hybrid - hence the lease to wait for one like that in 3 yrs from now.

Here are the pics. Quite the presentation - I'm so excited! :D





]]>KalebObservations2007-02-07T22:49:24-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/65f12ea4b2a51c3c8368611bf9546303-10.html#unique-entry-id-10http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/65f12ea4b2a51c3c8368611bf9546303-10.html#unique-entry-id-10Qwest arena is impressive! Looks like a pro stadium, not college - and everyone over age seemed to be holding a huge beer at halftime. Had a fun time, as they were down 14 pts at halftime (maybe the reason for the gluttony on beer?) and got the lead within the first 2 minutes of the 2nd half to win.

Before leaving home, I noticed something a bit unusual. A squirrel with incredible balance! Look at the previous pics to see that this critter was keeping a very unstable metal hoop completely still. Goes to show that those with the best tail do win! ;)]]>KalebParties2007-02-05T17:21:32-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/66d8897ffd0a4d0c8a1576a5a81cfa8c-9.html#unique-entry-id-9http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/66d8897ffd0a4d0c8a1576a5a81cfa8c-9.html#unique-entry-id-9here for my excuses. :-) The nice thing about this party is that you can recreate the first half of it in many different ways. The second half with everyone all together was fun, too, but we ran out of expensive catered food way too fast! The other very hard part was to keep the main scoop of the party private from those attending. But again, it was a nice way to have lots of folks attend who didn't want to role-play as much but who were happy to have fun and play along in trying to solve the mysteries. My primary mistake was in not making the person who did the foul deed be more aware of it! (though not as bad as what I did in 2000) Here's the link.]]>KalebParties2007-02-05T17:14:16-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/0886cf6dc72e0c39615045311db7e6a6-8.html#unique-entry-id-8http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/0886cf6dc72e0c39615045311db7e6a6-8.html#unique-entry-id-8link.]]>KalebParties2007-02-05T17:11:12-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/5560c52093cbdf1b67c89172d4edc651-7.html#unique-entry-id-7http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/5560c52093cbdf1b67c89172d4edc651-7.html#unique-entry-id-7link.]]>KalebParties2007-02-05T17:05:23-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/2d5b03b8589da51902e7261da2e2da7d-6.html#unique-entry-id-6http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/2d5b03b8589da51902e7261da2e2da7d-6.html#unique-entry-id-6here.]]>KalebParties2007-02-05T17:02:53-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/cbb2664ab80c62e01c223ac6d68bb7c0-5.html#unique-entry-id-5http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/cbb2664ab80c62e01c223ac6d68bb7c0-5.html#unique-entry-id-5link.]]>KalebParties2007-02-05T17:01:12-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/df5e84148b27bedc5713a41cae56ce98-4.html#unique-entry-id-4http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/df5e84148b27bedc5713a41cae56ce98-4.html#unique-entry-id-4link to this party.]]>KalebParties2007-02-05T16:48:42-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/e1993c26acf653e510ccaf63d8c4e4e6-3.html#unique-entry-id-3http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/e1993c26acf653e510ccaf63d8c4e4e6-3.html#unique-entry-id-3link to the page on it.]]>KalebObservations2007-02-04T16:43:07-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/a9d7215e3f644378f1723e52ca7a8694-2.html#unique-entry-id-2http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/a9d7215e3f644378f1723e52ca7a8694-2.html#unique-entry-id-2can be fun to watch come down.

Even more entertaining is the alpha squirrel - go squirrel go! I did catch a rabbit nibbling on the pieces of corn the squirrel didn't eat in the dark of night. Also fun to see all of the animal prints in the snow - ah, I've missed this season!]]>KalebLife2007-02-04T16:15:02-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/09c0d68028fb08351ba3c7628e653c47-1.html#unique-entry-id-1http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/09c0d68028fb08351ba3c7628e653c47-1.html#unique-entry-id-1
Living Room, Kitchen, Front, Entrance]]>KalebLife2007-01-27T01:00:28-06:00http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/92f87ae8cf13b218acb7fc38d98ff9fe-0.html#unique-entry-id-0http://www.kalebm.com/page1/files/92f87ae8cf13b218acb7fc38d98ff9fe-0.html#unique-entry-id-0
Spent the spring in dissertation writing mode and came up for air after my defense in May.

Took a weekend trip to Oregon in June and met up with this grizzly bear.

Had a conference in Amsterdam and discovered that my hotel was in the red-light district (quite the eye-opening perspective!). Lots to see and enjoy especially during the World Cup.

My sis visited in July and participated in Mystery Party 2006. Keeping the theme, Mom & Dad visited in August and we caught views of four humpback whales in Monterey Bay.

Went on a 3-day caving trip to the Lava Tube National Monument and caught some amazing views.

Finally finished dissertation and graduated with my PhD - to both my relief and that of my advisor, Jay.

Went to 10-year college reunion at UR in Rochester, NY where I got to revisit favorite offices, dorms, and friends. Couldn't believe how fast time has flown since school (not to mention all the babies!).

Presented research at conferences in Boston & Washington, DC (ACR without and with Dr. Wolfe), and made several other trips during the fall such that between Sept 20 & Dec 31, I was home for only 3 weeks! There were so many people of note I got to meet and see during this time that I'll spare you (& them!) their pictures, but Frankie did steal the show at Thanksgiving even when he was sleeping. Lastly, at Christmas Dad liked his new jacket especially with the antler accessory.

Whew! What a year!!!

]]>