Sunday, July 14, 2002

Bold plan could reduce gridlock An influential group including nearly every blue-chip corporation from San Jose to Santa Rosa is considering an unprecedented, regionwide measure for the 2004 ballot that promises to unsnarl traffic by adding toll lanes to major highways, extending BART and building a bridge across the bay. [ San Jose Mercury News ] Great, just what we need, another tax to subsidize the growth of obscenely populated region. How about if we don't tax the people, but tax the blue-chip corporations that are drawing the masses to the region. We should realize that "smart growth" in the Bay Area is an oxymoron. Any growth in this region is stupid. We have vastly exceeded the regions carrying capacity and only survive because we drain the rest of the state and country. Its time to stop thinking about smart growth, and start thinking about how to build a sustainable society. 3:38:06 PM     Comment []

At home today, after 405 miles of research yesterday. We are back home and writing today, taking a break from our research for Birding Washington after visiting sites at the northern part of Western Washington yesterday. We didn't see any rare birds during our 405 miles of travels yesterday, but we did get a good look at the Pacific Tree Frog in the photo to the right, as well as tons of mature and immature Bald Eagles. Probably a highlight of the trip was watching nine Kingfisher interacting and hunting along a freshwater marsh area at Birch Bay State Park north of Bellingham. There are sure lots of great things and places to see here in Washington! [Mac Net Journal] We used to have hundreds of these small frogs (Hyla Regilla) in our backyard in Los Altos. One morning I found one in the shower, so picked it up and carried it outside, I went back in to start my shower and found another one in the shower. I was alone in the house, so I think that the gods were playing with me. When Michele and I moved back to Los Altos in 1995, the frogs were gone. I miss their evening choruses. I haven't heard them in San Jose either, even though we are just a couple blocks from Coyote Creek. I'm guessing that the pollution and neighborhood cats have killed them off. 2:22:28 PM     Comment []

EyeTV turns an OS X machine into a PVR. Jim Heid digs into the capabilities of the about-to-be-released EyeTV, a $199 gadget that attaches to any Mac running OS X through a USB port and turns your Mac into a TV viewing and program recording device, much like a TiVo. Interesting...read about it in EyeTV Review on the Macintosh Digital Hub site... [Mac Net Journal] This is interesting. I have been using TiVo for about 6 months now and can't imagine watching TV without it. I find myself wishing that I could replay radio as well. The one downside of TiVo is its limited interface. I get tired of scrolling through menus with a remote, when using a mouse and keyboard would be far easier. I'm going to have to look into this further. 2:06:20 PM     Comment []

Download the fix for Security Update. Apple posts Software Update security fix [MacCentral] Congratulations go to Apple for such a speedy response! [Mac Net Journal] Better still, I was able to upgrade all my servers without killing them. On the other hand, MacInTouch is reporting problems with the update. Apparently, if your system is not up to date (10.1.5) you will no longer have the option to update it to 10.1.5. I am guessing that it is a minor glitch that will be fixed shortly. But you may want to update your system before to run this updater. I had no trouble updating my three 10.1.5 systems. 4:27:24 AM     Comment []