It’s just about midnight. Henry (18 months now) konked out around 11PM. Tre (4 years) is determined to make it to midnight this year. Vicky seems to have fallen asleep on the couch. Sleep isn’t something ever comes easy to me, so I know I’ll make it.
I have a feeling that 2008 will be a great year for me. I hope it will be for you, too!
A tiger at the San Francisco zoo jumped the moat and killed someone yesterday. As is usual with cases where people screw up, the article in the Contra Costa Times has lots of quotes about how it’s nobody’s fault. Of course, it’s the fault of the people who run the zoo! The version of the story at the site is missing some amazingly stupid parts that I can’t pass up quoting here.
“We won’t know until tomorrow whether this was negligence or intentional or how the tiger got out,” Mannina said.
That’s Sgt. Steve Mannina with the SF police. Apparently eye witnesses told reporters that the tiger jumped the moat and climbed the fence. I hope that it’s only negligence on the part of the people who work at the zoo. Is he suggesting that someone might have let the tiger out on purpose? Anyway, negligence is intentional.
Safety measures can help only so much when dealing with predators such as tigers, said Chris Austria, an animal trainer who has worked with tigers at Marine World in Vallejo and with bears at the San Francisco Zoo.
Much like indoor domesticated cats who escape from their homes, a captive tiger would be very interested in the outside world, Austria said. Tuesday’s attack likely had nothing to do with hunger, he said.
I’m nearly at a loss for words. These comments that don’t appear in the online version of the story make Austria sound like an idiot. The motivations of a wild animal are a non sequitur! And it’s a lie that safety measures can help only so much! The fence can’t be higher? The mote can’t be wider? He’s saying there’s nothing that could have been done. Wild animals will eventually attack and kill us.
The people responsible for the zoo should be fired, minimally. That should include Robert Jenkins, the zoo’s directory of animal care and conservation. It doesn’t seem unreasonable for there to be criminal charges. I would never return to the zoo unless they demonstrated that this kind of thing won’t happen again. I’m not feeling very confident about Marine World, either.
Chris Austria was involved in a tiger attack at Marine World in 1998. That’s probably why the reporters who wrote the story, Barbara Feder Ostrov and Sean Webby, knew to get a quote from him. I wonder why they didn’t mention the 1998 attack in their article.
While Core PHP was my first book and the one that most people know, I also wrote a book in 2001 on MySQL called Core MySQL. It didn’t sell very well, probably because Paul Dubois already had a good book on the market about MySQL. Core PHP owed a good portion of its success to being first (well, Egon Schmidt’s book in German came out a couple weeks before mine, but the English-reading market is a lot bigger.)
Still, I am proud of Core MySQL because I had a better handle on the principles of organizing a book after doing two editions of Core PHP by that time. And I had to think through more things for that book because MySQL is more than just the SQL language. I liked learning relational database theory deeper than I did when I was in college and then figuring out how to explain it.
My contracts with Prentice Hall include a clause that returns the rights to the text to me if they cease publishing them. It’s taken a year for them to work through the process. Recently I got a letter confirmed that the rights are now returned to me. That will allow me to release the text under some sort of open license. Hopefully my spin on thing will help someone learn MySQL and relational databases.
Stay tuned for details and send me suggestions for licenses. I haven’t researched the options yet.
USA Today reported that the TSA is now tied with the IRS as most disliked government agency. Since all of these annoying patdowns and shoe x-rays don’t seem to be worth anything at all, an enterprising presidential candidate should take up its abolishment as part of their platform. Other than all those useless agents who will have to be let go, the only people who might protest are comedians.
In Martinez, the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving is called “holy night”, at least by people of my generation (class of 1988). It started with kids being home from school for the holiday. We’d all meet at College Lane in downtown Martinez. Several years ago we moved the party to Joe Tully’s house. This year he’s holding the party at Ferry Street Station. This is not a private party at all, and everyone is welcome to join us. Following is the announcement he sent out.
Now then, it is with well-noted regard that the citizens who reside in the Center of the Universe, Martinez, California, and those who reside in Martinez by proxy, come together on a night most worthy of such reverence to celebrate such benevolent oneness with the cosmos. The Night Before Thanksgiving is this night of merriment and jubilant excitation.
Let it now therefore be declared that there shall be a party on the planet, in the center of the universe, Martinez, California, commencing at the time of nine (9) Post Meridian or as soon as possible thereafter. New to this year, the location of the celebratory gathering shall be at none other than Ferry Street Station located in downtown Martinez. The purpose behind this specified locality shall be none other than to bear witness to the musical accompaniment and harmonious emanations of the fREEX!
Will there be a cover? No! Such monetary trifling would be unworthy on such a night. Will there be present a tremendous amount of libations? Yes! For this, it would seem, would be a necessary celebratory staple.
Therefore, all who have great love in their hearts for Martinez may come down to celebrate the Holy Night in downtown Martinez and bear auditory witness to the fREEX as well as other musical acts commencing at the hour of 9 Post Meridian!
Be It Resolved!!!
If you’re nearby, please come join us.