San Francisco

I’m in San Francisco until Tuesday night at a conference. I’m staying right on the bay, so I ducked outside tonight for some fresh air and to take a few pictures. After spending 6.5 hours on a plane to get here, and then the next 4 in meetings, I needed to stretch my legs. For those of you who worry that the government isn’t spending your tax dollars wisely, know that I had to stop over in Phoenix because the direct flights were too expensive for the NCI. The experience has also convinced me that if I ever take a trans-atlantic flight, I should just load up on Ny-Quil before takeoff. I get a little stir crazy after about 2 hours.

The flight in is very picturesque. After hours of dull brown wasteland, the snow-capped Sierra Nevadas shoot up out of the desert, then give way to the lush green California Valley. The landing at SFO is interesting as well, because the approach is over the bay. Out the window, the water rises closer and closer, until you’re convinced that you’re about to splash down, but at the last possible second the runway appears to meet the wheels of the plane.

Sadly, there won’t be time for much tourism because I’ll be cooped up discussing integrative analysis of cancer biology. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to be here and expect to learn a lot, but I’m definitely wishing I could explore the kick-ass city right outside the hotel doors. Looks like I’ll have to come back with Heather one of these days. From the little bit I’ve seen, it looks awesome.

Clinton Rally in Houston

Today I saw the ex-president, and yesterday I saw the next president.

The turnout at UH was downright anemic, with less than 3,000 in a venue that seats over 10,000. The fact that a former president couldn’t even one-third fill the Pavillion has to be worrisome to this campaign. I agree that Obama’s rally yesterday had the advantage of better weather, and the actual candidate appearing, but this turnout was still just plain awful.

It was good for us though, because Mike was two rows (and about 10 feet away) from the Big Dawg, and I was just a little farther back. I had to run back to the car, because apparently umbrellas are a security hazard. Interestingly, security was much tighter at tthe Obama rally, and there were no metal detectors for Clinton’s speech.

As far as content goes, I was pretty upset with the Clinton campaign’s decision to trot out Florida Congressman Kendrick Meek, who called for the Florida primary delgates to be seated at the convention. I’ve explained why this is an unfair and harmful idea over at Turning Texas Blue. Additionally, attempting to undermine the DNC rules is not a smart move for someone who will need the establishment on her side should she win the nomination.

Bill Clinton’s speech was full of policy details, clearly designed to draw a contrast to Obama’s practice of speaking in broad themes. (more on this difference later) He was forceful and believable in his advocacy for Hillary, and he stuck to the major campaign talking points: that Hillary will be “Ready to start on Day 1″, and that “she offers more than inspiration”.

These days his hair is a little whiter, but the President looked fired up and happy to be back in front of a crowd. He’s a natural politician, and you can tell that he lives for this stuff. He stayed for almost an hour after his speech, shaking hands, signing books, and talking to people in the crowd. Mike was happy that he got his Clinton auto-biography signed, and wasn’t sure he’d ever wash his hand again after Bill shook it.

While it’s true that the Houston demographics favor Obama, the contrast between the rallies has convinced me. I don’t think it’s a matter of “if” Obama wins Texas, but a matter of how much he wins it by. There’s still some work to do, but as far as I’m concerned, the Clinton campaign is over.

Denver Airport

Panorama stitched together with Hugin

Washington Monument

The view from across the tidal basin

Jefferson Memorial

From my brief trip to DC earlier this month.

Elephun!

Stirring up Trouble

The Boy Scouts of America is a great organization, but their current leadership leaves a lot to be desired. I am an Eagle scout, and I’ve written about their discriminatory policies before. (Atheists and homosexuals need not apply).

This controversy is well documented on Wikipedia, but I noticed that the Eagle Scout page lacked any mention of the many Eagle Scouts who have returned their badges in protest. I added a sentence or two about it, and cited my sources well to prove that I wasn’t just another vandal. I’m still willing to bet that some uptight bastard will remove the text.

I hate edit wars, but I believe this is a notable piece of information that deserves to be included in the article. Here’s hoping some others agree with me.

Pop Art

A little photoshopping I did of my rock star Brother, playing a show with his band, Building Rome. Check them out.

New Pictures

I spent a few minutes last night sorting through some of the pictures on my hard drive and organizing them. While I was at it, I threw up another gallery of pictures. This one’s from a backpacking trip I went on last March, hiking part of the Ozark Trail. Enjoy.

Photo Galleries

The first of many photo galleries to be posted on my site is now up: Pictures from Downtown Chicago. The small size doesn’t do them justice, but I want to make this page accessible to users with low bandwidth.