TCR Rides Again

I don't really agree with some things he says; but, he's at least a clear thinker. He shares the same fear that I fear.

Why can't people understand basic facts?

Commit this chart to memory.

And the girls were really tough tonight to put down. They had a really hard day and were quite tired by around 7pm. Of course, being young children, they don't sleep when they get tired. Instead, they cry and refuse to go to sleep. This was their first day at day care, though it was only two hours and Hirono was with them the whole time. Then a long walk with me and my parents. Dinner out at a restaurant. And four hours of Hirono being away to get her hair and some shopping done. So they both cried for about two hours straight. Then, as one started to fall asleep the other would cry loudly enough to wake her up. So the crying lingered on for another hour after Hirono got home.

Add this on top of the suckitude at work and I'm emotionally drained. A walking zombie. I can't wait to get to Las Vegas this Friday to party with the brothers.

Hmmmm

What does this say about patriotism and nationalism?

We'll Never Get That Money Back

As if GM will get smart, produce low consumption cars and sell well; and then be able to pay this back. Ain't gonna happen.

Ouch

As Alisa was chewing on my finger today I felt her first tooth cutting through and rubbing against my fingertip. I thought she drooled badly before. Now its going to be like a water hose.

Must. Sleep.

I'm exhausted. This is the first moment of rest today. Both girls are taking a nap. So is Hirono. I've got to lay down. A quick note, though: Today is the first day that Leia ate from a spoon. It was prune juice, so it was more like drinking from a spoon. Nevertheless, she opened wide and chowed down. There was a mess, of course; but, the mess wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

The Real Risk

What Yglesius says. Across the nation, liberals are the majority. If the government doesn't take advantage of this opportunity they're nuts. We better see more than a Supreme Court Justice from this presidency.

I Wanna Go

Now this looks like fun.

What Is It With Fridays?

Here we are, another Friday night and again I can't sleep. This time its that I can't stop my mind from thinking about work. The fallout of the economic train wreck is causing all sorts of political battles while people try to hang on to their teams. Turf wars are ugly and counter-productive; but, nobody wants to have to lay off their team. Luckily my team will pull through this round of bloodletting with more people than when we started. That doesn't mean we won't let a little blood. Its the worst thing about my job and I loose a lot a sleep over it.

Then I've got this battle going with the business unit architect. This is like, the architect for all suite products and quite the brainiac; but, he's wrong. We're starting up a new effort that's projected to get us $500M in the next three years. Thats a 12.5% increase in our revenue stream, so its nothing to sneeze at. The kicker is that the entire $4B revenue stream depends upon its success. If we screw up its big time failure. Well, he's not taking the risks into account and trying to be hasty on the design side. We've been designing this project for about 3 weeks. Given that its an 18 month project, we should be spending about 4-6 months on the design; but, he's trying to get started in writing code now. Sure, we've got a lot of work to do; but, skimping in the design phase ends up making more work overall. Its going to be a wild ride for the next 2 years.

I'm Tired, I Think I'll Go Home Now

Its been a long day battling the effects of macro-economic meltdown. Tomorrow will be the same. Royal suckitude. Its too bad Adobe isn't "too big to fail." That would make work a lot easier and a heck of a lot less emotionally stressful. I could certainly use some of that AIG spa treatment right now.

Hilarious Burnett?

I was never a fan of Carol Burnett, though I did laugh at Tim Conway as a young child. Anyway, for any sci-fi geeks out there, here's a skit she did that really is funny.

h/t Cap'n Dyke

Another Sign of Sanity in the World

Here's another positive sign of people actually trying to understand the rules of the game instead of blindly excepting free markets.

It seems like my friend Toast has had enough of me rattling on about the economy and the stupid bailout package of the last few weeks. Who knows, maybe he's right and the $700 billion was needed or things would get much worse. I've not seen any talk about measuring how to know whether or not it is working. We're in for a shit storm economy anyway. And those people who have already lost their jobs aren't in for a soft landing whether or not this $700 billion makes a positive difference.

At least the things that really are going to make a difference, like changing laws and enforcing regulations, are being discussed openly again.

Sleepless

Its 1am. I've not had much more than 6 hours of sleep on any given night in months, usually broken up three or four times with a baby waking up to eat. By all accounts I should be absolutely exhausted, and I am. But I cannot sleep tonight.

So instead, I'll give you an update on the world according to Wilde.

Work has been a long, hard slog for some time. In June of 2007 I inherited this $2 billion project, little budget, two top-notch engineers and the mandate to get it done. This Wednesday we hit the street. So its been 16 months. There are approximately 45 people on the teams I'm leading, the majority of which are 12-15 hours time shifted. Five kick-ass managers across the geos (some with good sub-managers under them.) Operationally the project is better shape than it has been in its history (we shipped version 4), with clear direction for the project in its next version prior to actually shipping this version. So work is going well, even though I am stretched to the limit of my capacity given the amount of sleep I'm getting.

Hirono and I have two beautiful, healthy daughters. That's more than I dreamed to ask. We feel so incredibly fortunate. Leia is stubborn, reserved, watchful, loves music and very dextrous with her hands. Alisa is a charmer, with a ready smile and easy going manner. They are both a sight to behold.

So the world is going well here. I don't know what tragedy may befall us in the future; but, for now, I am probably the most satisfied I've ever been in my whole life.

May you and yours find happiness as well.

I Don't Understand

What in the world has gotten in to W? He seems to be actually trying to do the right thing.

Update: I changed the title because the notion of using the same words as the Marvin Gaye classic, What's Going On, just seemed like sacrilege to me.

Done and Dusted

I filled out my mail-in vote yesterday. Its going out in tomorrow morning's mail. D down the ticket. No on 8. Yes on the Supertrain. A couple of small bills voted on.

Step Down

McCain, step down. It's only hate that is driving votes for you now. Salvage your honor and step down.

Update: Something about the booing McCain got made me want to check out Freeperville. I won't link to it. They don't deserve the advertisement. They want to see blood. You betcha! So I felt some pity for the man and sent his campaign this email:

Senator McCain,

Please salvage your honor and step down from the race for the presidency. If only hate can propel your voters is it worth winning? Please think of your country first.

Respectfully,
--Eric Wilde


Something tells me it will go unanswered.

--e

Another One In the Right Direction

Krugman is on the right track as well; but, I still think the hurried rush he implies does not need to be a headlong charge. Move slowly. There is a lot at stake. It took decades to get here. It will take decades to get out. Get it right.

--e

Mind Blowing

Wouldn't it be totally cool if the first extraterrestrial life we found wasn't on a planet at all?

--e

Finally, Somebody Speaks Some Sense

And its from the White House, no less.

If this is just a trial balloon to see how strongly the public reacts against anything so close to socialism as nationalization of a bank, I hope it sails well.

--e

Early Sleep Routines

Leia has an interesting sleep routine that she needs about every third night. When she’s cranky and can’t get to sleep she likes to be held on her back. Her butt is against my diaphram. My right hand is holding her hips and my left hand is holding her head. This way she gets to look me square in the face. I’ll hold her like this, bounce gently and sing to her. In this position there are two song that invariably get her to drift off to sleep: Traffic’s Low Spark of High Heeled Boys and John Barleycorn Must Die. Either of these songs usually puts her to sleep. They’re both long and gentle enough to sooth her softly.

The only problem is, she often wakes up when I stop singing. Sigh.

--e

Fierce Rage and Pain

I have friends who feel pain and anger at Biden tonight for the Senator’s view against gay marriage. And I do try to understand. I have my own pain. I’ve felt the pain of outright love and rejection of it. The only thing helpful I can say is to vote on election day.

Today, though, the debate doesn’t seem as important.

I feel tremendous outrage against the bank bailout. We are all giving money to the rich so that they can be richer and screw the rest of us. This is getting worse and worse as the decades roll by. This is my daughters’ livelihood and well being they are stealing. And the outrage comes from a new pain to me. Its something that I haven’t quite felt before. The anger is fierce. But thinking about the pain behind the anger helps me think much more rationally. What really are the long term trends and what can we do to fight American fascism.

Update: OK, get this. Congressman Honda is quite difficult to get hold of in a most common manner for his constituents. And he's supporting the Bailout Bill.

He're we are in the beating heart of Silicon Valley. On a good day I send 150 substantive email messages. Yesterday I went to Mike Honda's website and tried to send an email. Seems I needed my 9 digit zipcode. Barrier 1. I have some more time tonight so I try again. Get and enetr the 9 digit zipcode. Java error. Barrier 2. Go to his "blog", the one with zero comments (ahem!) The link for "Read More/Leave Comments" is broken. Barrier 3. Not all blog posts even leave an opportunity to leave comments. Barrier 4. Find one, leave a comment. The comment will appear after it has been approved by the moderator. Barrier 5.

Congressman, you're rapidly losing my vote. You've already lost a chance at my donation. Its so easy to read your opinions. Why aren't you helping us to give you our opinions?

--e

Thieves and Liars

Call your Congresscritter and let them know what you think of their stinking bailout. Be courteous but firm.

Here's mine:

The Honorable Mike Honda
DC Phone: 202-225-2631
Local Phone: 408-558-8085

Congressman Honda's email system sucks and serves to isolate him. So I'll just give him a call.