Friday robot blogging

Pixar's next animated star will be a robot named "Wall-E."

Catch ya on the flip-flop

We're off on a four-day road trip, letting our freak flag fly.

First concert

There's seems to be a meme going around that induces bloggers to post the group they first saw in concert. Besides some pathetic agape-love christian rock and some very excellent live jazz I saw courtesy of my parents in the seventies, my first real concert was The Dixie Dregs, 1981, in an old movie theatre in Petaluma, California. Steve Morse, their guitar player, went on to join Deep Purple. There's not much of The DD on YouTube, but here they are in 1978. Is it worth mentioning that I was sharing a big bag of weed with a group of friends, and that my memory is very hazy? I remember the stage colors, bright pinks and reds, most of all.




Wow, no wonder I never made it to a Day on the Green.

Last day of school

BB had his last day of kindergarten today. He's now officially in first grade. He is kind of ho hum and excited at the same time. He's grown so much this past year (we're already moving into size 7 clothes) that he seems surprisingly wise and old at this point. I don't remember being quite so self-possessed in first grade. In any case, camp starts tomorrow, with lots of outside play and a trip to the city pool. But the end of the school year is also bittersweet. His very best friend this year, who came over and smoked us all recently at Lego Star Wars, is leaving. His other two best friends this year have turned out to be a couple of girls, which really makes us feel good. He's got lots of boy energy, but this proves that what we see as his kindness and solicitousness is working for him. These two girls took a real shine to him.

When we picked up LB this evening he was sucking on a stone in his mouth. Daycare folks, I wanted to say, stones aren't good in my kid's mouth. The two teachers were excited about his galloping skills and his sit down on the "potty," however, so I guess their priorities are in the right place. It was raining at pick up time, and the boys claimed the two umbrellas. I threw LB's sweatshirt over my head, which turned out to be quite hilarious. Dad -- always good for a laugh.

"Commercial intent"

Why I hate Microsoft, edition ad infinitum. From Salon's Machinist blog:

Microsoft has announced that it is shutting down Live Search Books and Live Search Academic, two search engines that aimed to index scholarly works that are often difficult to find online. The company is also ceasing its ambitious effort to digitize library books, a project that it had long promoted as an alternative to Google's own such efforts.

The company says it "recognizes" that closing these services will "come as disappointing news" to publishers and Web searchers. And yet Microsoft says it must shut them down anyway, because letting people search through books and academic journals no longer fits into the company's business strategy.

What's that new strategy? Microsoft wants to help people who have "high commercial intent."

I am not making that up. Satya Nadella, the company's vice president for search, actually uses those words. Microsoft would simply prefer to build search engine just for people looking to buy stuff.

As usual, Microsoft's strategy seems short sighted. Google runs the no-profit features, like Google Scholar, because those same people (e.g., students with some discretionary funds) come back to Google when they're looking to spend money. As the happy architect of certain obscure searches, I'm glad it works for them.

Going well

It's been an excellent three-day weekend so far. AO began Saturday with big ambitions, but we've ended up puttering around the house, doing yard work and modest kid oriented things, like going to the library. We've got a big family and friends event coming up next weekend, which will mean driving four or five hours and staying in a hotel. So I'm glad we've been relaxed. The weather has been great; we bbq'd last night, ate outside; the kids stayed up late. Even better is seeing the dog really bonding with the boys, especially Little Boy. LB likes to tell the dog things, read to him, and generally treat him like a buddy. The new fenced-in backyard has helped. The dog also sleeps in BB's room until we're ready to go to bed, so he helps keep BB company. (Dogs give a little more than cats, in my humble opinion.) It all helps because BB is at a stage where he wants to go to sleep with the door wide open. The last day of kindergarten is tomorrow. We've already signed BB up for the library's summer reading program.

Big breath . . . things are going well today.

Spahn Ranch

Sunday disco edition. Madonna's "Swim" covered by Spahn Ranch.

Devendra Banhart

Covering "Summertime." Includes dancing hippie in boxer shorts.

Conspiracy

Did Hillary Clinton just say today that she should stay in the race because Obama might be assassinated? How else does one interpret the following?

“My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don’t understand it,” Mrs. Clinton said, dismissing the idea of dropping out. Link

What's even worse, if as she claimed later she didn't mean it "that" way, is how utterly stupid the remark is. Tone deaf, insensitive, solipsistic, scary.

Party play list II

Second set of ten songs for the play list.

11. Ball of Confusion, The Temptations
12. Yer Blues, John Lennon
13. California Dreamin', Eddie Hazel
14. Hey Mama, Wild Tchoupitoulas
15. Mama Soul, Soul Survivors
16. Son of a Preacher Man, Dusty Springfield
17. Tell the Lie, The Bellrays
18. Don't Call Her No Tramp, Betty Davis
19. I'll Take You There, Staple Singers
20. Lean Lanky Daddy, Little Annie

The next ten moves to some disco. We'll see tomorrow, perhaps.