Monday, May 27, 2002

Nice surprise the other day: there was some fresh (as fresh as it can get in Minneapolis) Copper River salmon at the local grocery store. If you've never had it, it's worth the splurge. Make sure to ask for it by name, if it's not advertised as such. Pretty much the only time I eat salmon anymore (after growing up in Seattle) is during this time of year. Season only lasts until sometime in June, I think, so get it while the getting's good. 3:42:57 PM

On this Memorial Day, I'm reminded of a cover story I happened to read last summer while I was at a buddy's wedding in Louisville. Amazing story about Bob Kalsu, an NFL player who traded in his career to serve in Vietnam, and was killed in action. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like SI published it online. There's a little more history here. I'm reminded of the story because another NFL player -- Pat Tillman, a strong safety for the Arizona Cardinals -- recently announced that he's quitting the NFL to join the army. There's a bit more about Bob Kalsu at the end of this article. Food for thought: And so, rather than allow his sense of duty-bound responsibility to expire in a graveyard of good intentions, Tillman did something about it by depositing his football career in layaway for the next three years and enlisting in the U.S. Army, aspiring to become a member of the elite Special Forces group. 12:30:57 PM

Discovered a surprising name in the credits for SpongeBob Squarepants today. Mr. Krabs is voiced by Clancy Brown, perhaps best known as The Kurgan from Highlander, but he also appeared in that star-studded flick Buckaroo Banzai. Got that one for my birthday recently. Looks like he does a fair amount of voice work, if this list on Amazon is any indication. 12:14:50 PM

Another random thought: how come Qui-Gon Jinn doesn't come back and encourage either Anakin or Obi Wan to "use the force" in their times of need? What, is he too busy in the afterlife to offer a bit of encouragement to his former padawan learners? 9:20:39 AM

More morning reading: the partial text of a damning memo from Minneapolis FBI Agent Coleen Rowley. I have deep concerns that a delicate and subtle shading/skewing of facts by you and others at the highest levels of FBI management has occurred and is occurring. 9:08:09 AM

From the same section, a decent primer on Extreme Programming, with a couple of references to local business that are having a go with it. 9:05:24 AM

From this morning's business section: A Changed IT World. The number of people employed in the computer and data processing field in Minnesota fell every month from June 2001 to April compared to the same month a year earlier, according to state figures. "The IT sector is still very weak," said Jay Mousa, research director of the Minnesota Department of Economic Security. Unemployment insurance claims in computer occupations were 51 percent higher in April than a year earlier. 9:03:55 AM