I don't know how this week of odd news could get any odder, but I gotta hand it to Sarah Palin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin) for getting the job done by doing what Republicans have been asking Mark Sanford to do: resign as governor (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/03/sarah-palin-resignation-s_n_225557.html).
She gave no real details in her press conference or in her official written statement (http://www.gov.state.ak.us/exec-column.php), which I made the mistake of reading, or at least partially reading. Good gravy. I know she's got that folksy image to maintain, but would it kill her to resign with intelligence and coherence? And ironically, she strike a note that sounds quite pro-choice.
And since she avoided specifying her future plans, speculation is running rampant. Most assume skipping out on her governorship spoils her chances at the presidency, but Bill Kristol wonders if it isn't a "shrewd move" (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/03/palin-resigning-could-be_n_225594.html) to free her for a run, which pretty much kills that option. If Kristol thinks it could be shrewd, then it's not. Kristal couldn't call a coin toss with a two-headed quarter. Nope, this just unleashes the pit bull to roam free, unencumbered by the responsibilities of public office or its ethics rules. This is going to be so much more crazy than anyone thinks. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
Lifehacker asked the question (http://lifehacker.com/5303042/is-your-handwriting-up-to-snuff). I'm answering it. Or rather, I've already answered it with a little more than 1,000 handwriting samples posted on the blog. I should point out, however, that even though I use a loose, casual style, there is a fair amount of correcting that goes on behind the scenes. I do a lot of scratch-out and use curve correction in Windows Journal. Also, I write in rather large letters, taking advantage of my 14" widescreen in landscape mode. My handwriting on paper is quite shaky by comparison. And don't even ask me about cursive.. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
In the past week, three icons of my youth, the era in which I grew up, have passed away.
Ed McMahon, whom I'd recently reflected on in celebrating the rebirth of the Tonight Show, was an emblem of the '80s, not just as Johnny's sidekick, but also from Star Search and The Publishers Clearinghouse Sweepstakes.
Farrah Fawcett peaked before my time, but her impact on television echoed well into the '80s. To this day, hers is the first name that comes to mind when I think of Charlie's Angels.
And now Michael Jackson. My generation is perhaps the last that met him before he because a regular of the tabloids. He was the King of Pop and also the king of the music video era, back when they played them on MTV. That's now I'll remember him. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
I'd been enjoying great news all day, but somehow it all pales in comparison to the climax of the "Where in the world is South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford?" (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/23/sanfords-story-questioned_n_219809.html) story. I'd been following it since Monday when people in SC started to realize nobody knew where their chief executive was.
At first, it was merely an oddity. A governor falls off the grid. His wife admits to not knowing where he went. No one seemed worried, but a governor shouldn't just leave for parts unknown. Even odder it happened over Father's Day and he had four kids at home.
Then his staff said we was "hiking the Appalachian trail." People had a good chuckle, started using the phrase as a euphemism for going AWOL. But other state officials, including Republicans, weren't so amused that no one knew where he was. I found it hilarious.
Today, he returned home, not from a trail, but from Argentina. He was met at the Atlanta airport by a single reporter, who got from him that he felt like "doing something exotic." I wad no idea what to make of this. but it seemed so strange that the last thing from my mind was some sort of sex scandal. He returned alone. His absence was quite conspicuous. And who travels all the way to Argentina for a booty call?
And the answer is, Governor Mark Sanford! Yes, all that weirdness and the plot twists back around to the obvious and predictable extramarital affair. But the jumping from one lie to another and the oddness of a trip to Argentina, well that's just ridiculous, absurd entertainment. Anyone can admit to an affair, but the whole smoke and mirrors show before that was delicious. Bravo!
Thanks to Gov. Sanford for a great show. And also for shortening the short list for GOP presidential hopefuls and stuffing more lead in your party's swimming trunks. Best three-day political serial ever. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
Generally, I don't like to blog about work too much, but it isn't every day I learn I'm working for the top-ranked medical imaging journal of 2008.
Per the Thomson Reuters Journal Citation Report, the JNM, Journal of Nuclear Medicine (http://jnm.snmjournals.org/), achieved the highest impact factor among its peers, and not by a hair but a sizeable margin. Basically, we had more citations relative to our number of articles than any other medical imaging journal in 2008.
Most of the credit goes to our editor-in-chief who maintains strict acceptance standards even as he tries to publish as many articles as possible (creating more work for me), but we all hold our work to very high standards. It's quite gratifying to see it pay off. [+/-] Hide/Show Text [+/-] Hide/Show Text
Ink + hyperlinks + searchable text + multimedia = Sumocat's Scribbles.
Partly a "proof of concept", partly an exploration into the capabilities of the True Notebook computer known as the Tablet PC, entirely a waste of time, unless you are interested in reading, hearing, or seeing my thoughts about the True Notebook (Tablet PC), politics, culture, and whatever else crosses my path.
About Me
Name: Sumocat
Location: Reston, Virginia, United States
Known throughout the Tabletscape as the "Father of Ink Blogging", Sumocat spills ink as part of an open-ended experiment in this new field of ink blogging. Armed with his convertible Toshiba R25 (a True Notebook a.k.a. Tablet PC), he evangelizes the cause of ink blogging through word and deed. Only when ink stains every corner of the Inkernet will the Sumocat find respite. And if you be not a friend of the pen nor a knight of the stylus, beware... for you have reason to fear the Sumocat.
