reyonthehill

Saddam Hussein, the former dictator of Iraq, is set to be hung by 7pm, reyonthehill time. Will this act bring peace to the region? Would sparing Saddam's life have the same effect?

I remember first learning about Saddam during the Gulf War when I was young (and the Bills were playing in their first Super Bowl) and the joke that Saddam's name backwards is "madass." From that moment, Saddam has been a part of our lives, through the rest of Bush 41's administration, all of Clinton's, and most of the current Bush's.

Two more democrats have thrown their hat into the presidential election circle-jerk -- John Edwards and Joe Biden. Now conventional wisdom says that Biden cannot win and Edwards is a leading contender. Although I hate to agree with CW, it happens to be frustratingly true. Biden is from the northeast (Delaware), which is not a good thing for a democrat these days. And Edwards is from the south (Carolina), which is apparently what you want to be if your a democrat these days (or at least South-friendly, whatever that means). Unfortunately, Biden is the one who should get the job.

Flash forward to the primary. Biden had supported the war in Iraq, which will cause him to get hit hard (but who didn't support the war at one time or another, with all the mounting evidence of weapons of mass destruction presented by the Bush administration and all). And Edwards was the vice-presidential nominee in 2004, so his name recognition value is high. But can Edwards stand up to political wonks like Biden during the primary debates? Would American voters even care? In general elections, usually not, but in primaries, voters do. This doesn't bode well for Edwards, whose campaign strategy -- look good while telling sad stories -- will get old fast.

MY PROGNOSIS

With the field of potential presidential candidates in the democratic party so deep this election, Biden will eventually drop out -- he will have to; he will not be able to raise enough money. (Biden, in my opinion, would be an excellent president, but would make an even better Secretary of State or Defense. Something to think about in the future.) Edwards, on the other hand, is destined to become vice-president. Or, at least a candidate.

But that is why they play the game.

Former President Gerald Ford on the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld war in Iraq... "I just don't think we should go hellfire damnation around the globe freeing people, unless it is directly related to our own national security."

Back in May 2005, I blogged some Ford-era retro-style presidential photos featuring Rumsfeld and Cheney.

Who needs an end-of-the-year special when you have news items like these...

- "President Bush went to his ranch Tuesday to rethink U.S. involvement in
Iraq." Could this not have been any Tuesday this past year?

- Headline: Flaws Are Detected in Microsoft’s Vista. Um, who didn't see this coming?

- And "because scientists have concluded that carbon dioxide from power-plant and auto emissions is helping drive global warming worldwide, putting polar bears on the endangered species list raises the legal question of whether the government would be required to compel U.S. industries to curb their carbon-dioxide output." A good step, a year in the making.

I am here in Walnut Creek using up a gift certificate at Crate & Barrel (result: two lamps for our living room downstairs), and will head over to Chipotle for a burrito before heading back home. I am working on a MacBook here at the Apple Store, and although I really want one, I am still wondering what (computer) life would be like with only one mouse-button. I right-click in my sleep.

Toles crawls through the rhetoric...

Image: Washington Post

I am on holiday all this week -- jealous??? -- and I am in the middle of changing servers for the website (which is not the least bit fun but, at the same time, so very rewarding). reyonthehill is now finally situated at www.reyonthehill.com, and I hope you haven't noticed, because that would mean I didn't do a good job.

I've also stepped up my efforts on my latest project -- geotechref: technical references for geotechnical engineers -- and will be dedicating more time to that project in the future. I still have a few bugs to work out, and I hope to get it up and running some time early in the new year.

But in the mean time, what is the deal with all of the end-of-the-year specials on the cable news networks? Does the world take a week off (like me) and not create any news-worthy items? Is that the world's gift to American newscasters so they can enjoy the holiday season in peace? Just a thought...

Here's another: I watched All the King's Men last night -- not that good, really -- but it got me thinking. Has Jude Law ever turned down an acting job? He is in nearly every movie.

Although I am a born-again Pagan, merry Christmas.

Another earthquake, in the same exact location (2 miles south of Berkeley), with a 3.5-magnitude just shook my house. It occurred at 9:21am.

This is not a good sign; all of these small tremors may actually be foreshocks to the big one that is long due on the Hayward Fault.

UPDATE: SFGate's first report came at 9:39am, eighteen minutes following the event. (Hey, they are getting better.)

This is not a repeat: Another 3.7-magnitude earthquake has hit (just a few minutes ago, at 10:50pm), in almost the exact location: a few miles south of Berkeley, in the hills, along the Hayward Fault. I was falling asleep on my sofa on the third floor of our home when a quick jolt woke me up and brought me to my feet. Well, at least I know I won't be sleeping through the big one.

Update: SFGate's first report at 11:20pm, a half-hour following the earthquake event.