Purists keep kvetching about the wild card (original) in major league baseball. The common argument is that the wild card makes pennant races meaningless. I’m sorry, but was I somehow hallucinating when I watched the Red Sox straining to get back into the wild card hunt? Was the race between the Dodgers and the Giants somehow less interesting because it was for the wild card, not for the pennant? In fact, the wild card increases the opportunity for meaningful races in September, because it is not limited to teams within one division. If the Yankees and the Red Sox are sparring for the pennant, there’s no way the Twins can challenge either of them for that spot. If the Red Sox and the Blue Jays are going for the wild card, the A’s may well be involved — and to me that’s more exciting than watching the A’s sit around 10 games behind Seattle with nothing meaningful to do than play spoiler. ...

Spirited Away rocked my jammies all night long. The sheer visual imagination contained therein would have been enough on its own, but the plot was fairly interesting. I mean, sure, it was aimed at a younger audience but it was more of a plot than your average summer blockbuster. So good plot, amazing animation, insanely rich style — think of it as The Wall for kids, and you won’t go far wrong. See it today. ...

Background, just in case: three Democratic congressmen recently spoke out against the President’s policy vis a vis Iraq in an interview with CNN. At the time, they were in Baghdad. Quite a few people have equated this with treason. Today, two of them (McDermott and Bonior) defended their actions. I don’t want to rehash the definition of treason. What interests me is that today was the first time I’ve seen anyone mention that McDermott and Bonior are Vietnam-era veterans. They didn’t serve in Vietnam, but I’m pretty sure “peacenik” is not a word you should casually apply to someone who was in active military service at the time. Certainly they weren’t fighting to end the war. ...

Hey, wait a second. When Bush spoke to the UN, he said “The Security Council resolutions will be enforced.” That implies that there are Security Council resolutions in effect, right? So what’s all this about “ We feel the inspectors should not go in until there is a resolution that gives them the authority and instructions of the Security Council”? I mean, if we want new resolutions, that’s good; I’m pretty confident that Saddam would be willing to hide stuff inside his palaces, so I can understand wanting access. But that’s no reason to thwart (the State Department’s word) inspections under the current rules, is it? Let’s be clear on this: that’s a direct threat from the United States State Department to obstruct the work of the authorized and appointed UN weapons inspection teams. ...

Here’s the text of the resolution Bush is sending to Congress regarding Iraq. It looks pretty fair at first glance, although I think bringing up the 1993 assassination attempt on Bush smacks of revenge. I care that Iraq tried to kill Bush Sr., but I do not care more about that than I care about any single attempt to kill a US soldier. I also have not yet seen proof that Iraq is being harbored by al Qaida. However, this is in essence the bill that Congress needs to pass before we invade Iraq. I’m glad he’s acknowledging that Congress gets to decide.

Remember that 33 pounds of weapons-grade uranium? Well, turns out it was really only five ounces (original). The 33 pound figure counted the weight of the container. Except it wasn’t really uranium at all. And of course, we don’t actually have any evidence it was going to Iraq anyhow.

I really wish I’d found this CLI for the Linksys WAP11 a few days ago; I could have skipped digging out cables for my Windows box. Alas alack. Still, worth flagging for later experimentation, especially since it allows one to up the base station’s power output. For the curious, I’m using the WAP11 and the Linksys WET11 Wireless Ethernet Bridge to bridge between my apartment and my brother’s place. I could have used two WAP11s, or I suppose two WET11s, but either of those approaches wouldn’t have gotten me a wireless network — just a bridge. As is I can use my iBook while sitting on my front steps.

A little while ago, I kvetched about the algorithms that produce Google News. I feel somewhat vindicated, since I don’t think this image really reflects the top Sci/Tech news of September 30th, 2002.

The new Google News service kind of bugs me. The FAQ says this: The headlines on the Google News homepage are selected entirely by a computer algorithm, based on many factors including how often and on what sites a story appears elsewhere on the web. This is very much in the tradition of Google’s web search, which relies heavily on the collective judgment of web publishers to determine which sites offer the most valuable and relevant information. Google News relies in a similar fashion on the editorial judgment of online news organizations to determine which stories are most deserving of inclusion and prominence on the Google News page. ...

On October 11, 2002 (original), the following movies that I want to see will open: Below, a submarine haunted house flick directed by David Twohy ( Pitch Black) and written by Darren Aronofsky. The Grey Zone, directed by Tim Blake Nelson and starring Steve Buscemi, Harvey Keitel, Mira Sorvino. Knockaround Guys, a much-neglected gangster flick with Vin Disel, Seth Green, Dennis Hopper, and John Malkovich; the writer/directors also wrote Rounders. Punch-Drunk Love, the new Paul Thomas Anderson ( Boogie Nights, Magnolia) movie that happens to star, um, Adam Sandler. ...