Events

From today: It’s not the whole story, but something like this threatens to develop: 1. US debt is downgraded, sparking demands for more ill-advised fiscal austerity 2. Fears that this austerity will depress the economy send stocks down 3. Politicians and pundits declare that worries about US solvency are the culprit, even though interest rates have actually plunged 4. This leads to calls for even more ill-advised austerity, which sends us back to #2 Behold the power of a stupid narrative, which seems...

This is actually a scan of a print, from July 1991: That's available light on Kodacolor 100, in Balboa Beach, Calif., about here.

From the New Yorker: UPDATE: Pretty pleased with what I’ve come up with in just six days. Going to take tomorrow off. Feel free to check out what I’ve done so far. Suggestions and criticism (constructive, please!) more than welcome. God out. COMMENTS (24) Beta version was better. I thought the Adam-Steve dynamic was much more compelling than the Adam-Eve work-around You finally settled on. Adam was obviously created somewhere else and then just put here. So, until I see some paperwork proving otherwise...

Two more photos from yesterday. First, my hat's off to this guy, who has suffered more than most of us will ever know: And Carlos Zambrano rounds the bases after his solo home run in the 3rd: This was Zambrano's 23rd career home run making him one of the top-10 homer-hitting pitchers, and a solid argument against the hated designated hitter rule that afflicts some of the minor leagues.

Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano warms up before yesterday's game at Wrigley Field, Chicago: Canon 7D at ISO-400, 1/800 at f/5.6, 171mm, exactly here. In this shot, I corrected the color to 7500K (based on a gray card reading), pushed the contrast, and desaturated. Later today I'll have another shot of Zambrano in which I did almost the opposite.

I like afternoons like this one. Yes, it was a little warm, and yes, a little sticky. But I had seats in aisle 10, row 6 at Wrigley, which failed to suck: Zambrano pitched, with a few walks here and there but mostly nothing for Cincinnati to hit: And you know? I always like seeing things like this: More photos later. Right now, I need about five showers, three for the sunscreen and two for the hot weather.

Six months ago, at North Avenue Beach in Chicago: 2 February 2011, Canon 20D at ISO-100, 1/250 at f/11, 27mm, near here. I should have posted this photo a couple of days ago, when Chicago baked in near-40°C heat. Today's forecast calls for a mostly-pleasant 27°C under sunny skies. Go back and relive those few days last February when it gets hot again.

Yesterday, when I talked about American's new pricing tool, it didn't produce any results for me. Today, it seems to be working. Chicago to San Francisco, August 20-24, costs 26,000 miles using the dynamic tool but 32,500 miles using the regular tool. Searching September 3-7 got me to 25,000 miles through a regular award and 24,000 miles dynamically. So, no really huge savings (at least with my pathetic sample size), and you have to use both tools simultaneously to see the deals. Also, their regular...

This is cool. American Airlines now offers frequent-flyer trips to U.S. elite members (those who fly more than 40,000 km per year) at demand-based costs. This means, instead of costing a flat 25,000 miles per round-trip, elite members will be able to book trips for less if the flights have lower demand—or more, if there's more demand: Dynamic Air awards are an enhancement to our existing flight award offerings, providing AAdvantage® elite status members with a range of flight redemption options below...

Lonely Planet has a lighthearted wish list based on tons of passenger surveys: Article I: The right to remove shoes Passengers shall be allowed to remove shoes from their feet, but only if the aforementioned feet don’t stink or present health risks to other passengers. The right of the passenger to go to the lavatory without shoes shall not be infringed, as it is really your own business should you want to stand in the urine of others. Article II: Freedom from unreasonable aromatic assault No passenger...