General

Al Jazeera has unveiled a code of ethics reports CNN:

Arabic satellite television channel al Jazeera, accused by Washington of graphic and anti-American conflict coverage, has unveiled a code of ethics it said would ensure balanced and sensitive reporting.

The Qatar-based channel defended its right Tuesday to report “the ugly face of war” but said the new guidelines would take account of Western and Arab sensitivities when considering whether to broadcast gory images of violence.

Code of Ethics.. Al Jazeera. Yeah, that’s an oxymoron.

I was going to write a longish entry tonight about what my typical day is like.. but as I started to write it I discovered that I really can’t.

Not that I don’t want to share what happens, because it is interesting, but because to do it right would require me to write about things that I clearly can’t share, particularly right now with what I’m working on, and so this will have to wait until another day.

Sorry….

The work finished, the laundry folded, the sun set.

A fine glass of Glenmorangie 12 with the Sherry Wood Finish over a few cubes of fine ice.

Ahhh.

Philip Greenspun writes today about restricted airspace and flying near a Presidential Candidate last Friday:

Flying down to the Eastern Shore of Maryland on Friday I got a good preview of what life will be like for New England pilots should Kerry be elected. Flying over Connecticut on a magnetic heading of approximately 230 I was monitoring 121.5 megahertz, the standard emergency frequency. I heard the following call “Aircraft heading 230 at an altitude of approximately 4200′: This is the U.S. Air Force. You are in a restricted area and must immediately turn to a heading of 360 or you may be fired upon.” Note that the Air Force did not say where the plane was, not even which state. I assumed that this was a puny Cessna somewhere near York, Pennsylvania where Kerry and Edwards were doing a tour but could not rule out the possibility that it was my plane.

Definitely not something I’d want to hear while piloting an aircraft.

I’m a geeky guy, so I have been tracking my mileage and the like on a spreadsheet to see if this Honda Civic Hybrid experiment is going to work out for me.

Some interesting stats so far:

• Gallons of Gas: Down 43%
• Cost of Gas: Down 53%

I’ve spent roughly $111 on gas in the last six weeks. Mind you, I have a 124 mile round trip to my office and back – and I’ve driven to Connecticut and New Hampshire during this time as well.

Not a bad deal so far.

The UK’s News of the World appears to have the scoop on Britney’s marriage to Jayson Alexander:

“Afterwards I led her back into the bedroom. At first she was on top of me and then I was on top. We did it every way you could. But it wasn’t cheap. I really cared about her and it felt right.

“At times she was noisy. She didn’t call me any names, she just moaned. We didn’t use any precautions either.”

After sex they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

“I woke up and was really aroused again,” said Jason. “Britney was asleep but when I tried it on with her she didn’t hold back. She said she wanted to be with me and I told her I wanted to be with her.

No pictures though!

Two great posts already this morning about the meaning of the 4th of July..

Muffy writes these thoughts of being an American and actually taking the time to read the Constitution:

Now, I don’t care if you disagree with me, but please do me a small favor, believe what you want, but do your own research. I have lived all over the world, studied our culture and others for my undergraduate degree and have discovered for myself that of all the choices available, being an American has won me over hands down of the things that are available today. We aren’t perfect, but we are the best thing going, by far.

Today we celebrate an idea that people are endowed with certain unalienable rights…that the people who coined that phrase had to think about it, create that, and felt that it was not part of what was in their world at that time. And while his argument needed further research, my friend never questioned it, never gave it a moment’s pause in declaring that he had rights…I think it would be nice if they knew how far their dreams had gotten.

Over on the other side of these United States, SMASH has written his own thoughts, in the vernacular of the times, about Independence Day:

That being said, we must not overlook the importance of this Occasion. In one unanimous vote, the Delegates of the Continental Congress have sent to the World a clear and unambiguous Message – that we are no longer rebellious British Colonists, but American Revolutionaries. It is not possible to turn back now. Every Man must choose his path – loyalty to the Crown, or to these newly united States. There can be no middle Course. As Pennsylvania’s Benjamin Franklin warned the Delegates, “We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

This is not the end of our Struggle; the way ahead will not be easy. Still, it is a necessary and important Milestone on our road to Freedom.

[…]

The document concludes with this Oath, followed by the signatures of the various Delegates:

For the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Our Leaders have spoken, and a new democratic Nation on this day has been born. May Providence grant us the wisdom to keep it free.

A great way to spend my morning with some coffee and the deep thoughts of friends.