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Cool, brisk, foggy morning. 6:30-6:50: The 7 yr…

Cool, brisk, foggy morning.

6:30-6:50: The 7 yr old requested milk so I ran to the corner convenience store. The radio djs were talking about a letter to the editor that got my goat the other day. They read this lady’s words that said she had to quit her job as a courier because the law enforcement in Knoxville refused to ticket speeders particularly through construction zones. I missed the phone number or I would have called in. Perhaps it is time for me to write another letter to the editor myself. See. I believe what makes our roads safe is predictability. Predictable driving comes from when everyone obeys the same rules. Everyone obeys the same rules when we have good teaching. Speed trapping causes unpredictable driving. I contend that if everyone is speeding but going basically the same rate, particularly on the Interstate, then nothing is wrong. When someone sees a patrol car and slams on their brakes, an unpredictable change has occurred and the roads have become dangerous.

I was once on the Florida turnpike in a perfect straight stretch of road with miles of visibility. The group of cars were all doing the posted speed limit. We come across a couple of patrol cars and the car in front of me slams on his brakes dropping to 10 miles an hour below the speed limit in a very short distance. I almost tailended him and had to do evasive maneuvers to avoid having an accident. I half expected to get pulled over for wreckless driving.

I’m all for pulling over wreckless drivers. But let’s not arbitrarily say that because someone is driving faster than some posted figure that they are being “wreckless.” Let’s determine wrecklessness by the actions of the driver, the swerving, or the dramatic speed difference compared to the flow of traffic. A person zigzaging in and out of traffic is being wreckless and a person on the Interstate driving below the speed of traffic in the left hand lane is being wreckless as that person causes unpredictable behavior when people are forced to pass on the right.

Just teach people to drive.

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Useless Information for Today


Let’s not forget Britney’s Guide to Semiconductor Physics


I started writing these pages to help me consolidate some of the information I had been reading while studying for my MSD. …

… I would like it to be a useful reference to anyone that wants to know about semiconductor physics of lasers and VCSELs. The strange addition of Britney Spears to the guide has made the web site stand out from the crowd. I hope that Britney does not mind being an ambassador of science and that the fan part of the site promotes her every endeavour in the future .

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Charitable Causes


Ok. Buyer beware. I have not validated the authenticity of any of these sites but they look legitimate and they cost you only a click. Click a button and the sponsoring company donates food, mammograms, etc. Apparently you can click and help once a day.

The Hunger Site The Breast Cancer Site The Child Health Site The Rain Forest Site The Animal Rescue Site

Campbell’s Soup does a similar program called Click for Cans which I can personally vouch as legitimate.

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Task 4 complete

Afternoon spent playing with the 20 mth old and helping the 10 yr old with math (after she got started it was just reminders to keep working–homework took 3 hours). Chopped some wood. Helped the neighbors puppy find its way home. Tended the fire. Worked on the wife’s computer on some long procrastinated maintenance issues. Shrimp for dinner. Kids to bed. Now I’m tired.

Managed to slip in several chapters of Mutant Message Down Under. My vote for the book as spiritually uplifting stands. On reading it I find myself questioning all my habits from how I deal with my kids to how I approach business to how I handle strangers in the mall. It inspires me to want to treat people better. I highly recommend this book.


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News

Disney boss gave cold shoulder to Comcast


Preparing for the monumental call, the Comcast team, over cold cuts and Caesar salad, had kicked around various scenarios, expecting Eisner to suggest a face-to-face meeting or tell Roberts he would discuss the matter with the Disney board….

…”he blew me off,” is essentially how Roberts described Eisner’s reaction, according to people on the team.

Yeah Disney!