We bought a 2010 Toyota Corolla on Tuesday night.  It was the federal government’s Cash for Clunker’s program that drew us into the dealership this week when we might have otherwise held out and waited a bit longer.  Ultimately we didn’t get the federal money, because somehow the 1995 Mercury Tracer we were trading-in allegedly gets more than 18 miles to the gallon of gas (oil and coolant rates per mile don’t matter), but the dealer made us an offer we couldn’t refuse, so we didn’t.

I have philosophical differences with government handouts, but after my participation in the Adopt a Wall Street Banker program was limited to paying for it, I wasn’t going to object to taking money that’s been approved for a specific purpose that includes me and my former Clunker.  I would have voted against both programs, but now that they’re law I’ll take what’s being offered.

Unfortunate to see though that the Cash for Clunkers Program seems to be on the way out.  Multiple professional media types are saying it will be suspended tonight because they’re afraid it will hit it’s cap of one billion dollars.  Yep, one billion dollars.  About 1/2 of 1% of the money given to prop up mismanaged and overextended banks.  1/10th of 1% of the proposed federal spending on health care.  I didn’t think either the current or the previous administration cared about billions anymore – it’s not real money until there’s a T at the front.

So, elected people in Washington: For the few days it was viable this was a popular program that people understood, unlike the rest of the stimulus trash.  If you’re insistent on throwing tax dollars at the recession without creating one tiny bit of infrastucture or enduring public benefit, maybe this is the program you should be fully funding.

Yes, we went to Comic-Con last Thursday and Friday.  Yes, I took lots of photographs.  No, I didn’t post here timely, though I had a few tweets and Facebook updates.  Spent the weekend on another web project that has a set go-live date coming up, so that’s been taking priority.

Comic-Con was great fun as always.  Going two days allowed us to spend more time at the sessions and not feel like we were missing too many of the booths.  A four-day pass would have been nicer, but we knew prior obligations would keep us from the weekend stuff.  Maybe next year.

Our celebrity autograph this year was John Barrowman of Torchwood.  Celebrity sightings were numerous.  Toys include a model of the Tardis, a Max bobblehead, a Comic-Con exclusive of Ninja Joe the Egg, and lots else.

Really loved the one CLE session I was able to attend.  Kinda upset with the organizers for scheduling two others at 10:30 in the morning when Comic-Con and the convention center were incapable of processing crowds fast enough to get people in the doors by 10:30 in the morning.  Also a tad upset with the Peanuts people for promoting a special Snoopy figurine commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the moon landings, then being unable to deliver.  Manufacturing defects don’t cause false announcements, bad management does.

Still happy with the experience though, and props to the unfortunately renamed SyFy for going all out.  Free shirts, a themed restaurant (offsite), lots of swag of every variety.  They really set the standard for the other studios and networks in promoting their shows.

FINA to ban high tech body suits in competitive swimming.  Finally swimming can get back to the athletics and the athletes, and not be just a technical competition where competing patent-holders get to swim vicariously.

Still going through photos from Comic-Con, and I should have write-up tomorrow, but this video was too good not to share immediately.

The video was shown during part of an MCLE on current trends in copyright and trademark law at Comic-Con this afternoon.  Yes, Comic-Con is not just costumes and toys but business, and for those of you lucky enough to not be in my business, MCLE is my continuing education requirement as a member of the California bar.

It was a good little presentation, but really too short to do the topic serious justice.  There were two other presentations I wanted to catch this week, but the timing didn’t work out.  Comic-Con’s slow processing of daily registrations seems to make catching any seminar before 11 or so close to impossible.  Might have to break down and get a four-day pass next year even if I won’t go all four days just to avoid the daily lines.

Great to see all the retrospectives on the Apollo moon landing.  It took place forty years ago today, when I was five.  I vaguely remember seeing one of the moon landings on the TV in my kindergarten room (I started Kindergarten at Wardlow Elementary later in 1969), but can’t say for sure whether it was the Apollo 11 landing or one of the others.

While I have nothing but respect for the 1969 triumph, the current state of the United States space program still just leaves me furious.  Apollo on steroids? Billions of dollars for Bush’s great leap back to the 60s?  Some days I get the feeling history will look back on the current program and compare it to the Viking exploitation of their discovery of the Americas.  Nice as a footnote, but pointless in the bigger scheme.  At least the private sector is finally stepping up.

I’m a huge fan of the University of California, and particularly proud of my alma mater, the Berkeley campus. Poor management and budget cuts are certainly taking their toll on the system, but I still believe it is one of the world’s best university systems, and includes what is probably the best public university in the world.  Budget cuts are painful for everyone, and there’s been plenty of pain spread around for nearly all the students and staff. I’d certainly argue the Regents themselves haven’t borne much of the pain, but that’s for another day.

I was very disappointed today to see an article in the Union-Trib on a proposed response by some of the UC San Diego faculty.  Basically the proposal boils down to ‘not us, them.’  Them being campuses that are not like theirs.  Some campuses are more equal than others, in the proposal’s author’s minds.  I suppose that in a better job market they’d be the rats on the sinking ship.  Stuck on the ship though, they’re looking for higher ground.  Research is clearly their priority, so they’re scurrying to the top of their ivory towers and looking down on what they call the “teaching institutions.” 

Let’s get something straight: teaching the next generation of California’s leaders in the most important thing the UC does.  If it’s supported by excellent in-house research and taught by excellent researchers with practical experience, so much the better, but any member of the faculty that thinks they’re above teaching needs to move on.

A couple of months ago I was at a retirement party for a local teacher who made an excellent point when it came time to respond to the accolades.  The teaching goal of a public academic institution is not the traditional three Rs, but the three As of academics, athletics and the arts.  The three Rs together are merely one-third of a complete program.  They should be producing well-rounded citizens fit to excel in all aspects of their lives.  Maybe Dean (the retiring teacher mentioned above and a Cal alum) could go over to UCSD now that he has some time free and show them how a complete program works.

Hiding in a dark but air-conditioned home office right now. The outside temp was 92 at 11:00 am, and we’ll probably hit triple digits today.

We went out Friday night and held our own little North County Pride dinner at a table overlooking the koi pond at the Karl Strauss in Sorrento Valley, then skipped the official parade on Saturday to join the Cal alums at a picnic and BBQ near Solana Beach. Great food and great fun, with no drama and no crowds. No photos though, due to some bad batteries.

Every year around this time the rumors that Comic-Con will leave San Diego for greener pastures start rumbling around town again.  Comic-Con is huge, maybe too huge for the convention center.  Comic-Con needs more parking and hotel rooms than the eighth largest city in America can offer.  Blah, blah, blah, they always come back next year though.  Inertia’s a wonderful thing.

Unfortunately that’s not the way with every big gathering though.  Las Vegas appears to have stolen the USA Rugby 7s tournament. This tournament was a part of a larger Rugby gathering that drew Cal Rugby to San Diego the last two years, giving me two enjoyable February afternoons watching the Bears beat up on OMBAC and Wyoming.

Cal sports teams come to San Diego rarely enough as it is.  I hope they’ll still find a reason to visit this far south, but I’m afraid this will just be another opportunity for the UC penny-pinchers to cut some more on the great drive to mediocrity by at least eliminating a road trip for the national powerhouse program.

I’m just trying to keep my head down around here right now; this is Spinner’s weekend.  He’s singing two shows Sunday with the San Diego Men’s Chorus at their Pride concert at the Qualcomm Campus (NOT the Stadium, but the Jacobs Concert Hall in Sorrento Valley), and coordinating a poetry exhibit as part of his Master’s program.

[Just had a little earthquake.  Back now.]

Me, with temperatures that might hit triple digits here in Escondido, I just want to stay cool.  If I end up venturing out, there better be plenty of water or air conditioning.

[Just got the numbers.  Looks like a 4.0 20 miles off the coast.]

We’ve had a running joke here about roller coasters ever since the Mouse tried to kill Spinner back in ’07.  Now I’m not even going to be able to get him on the Monorail.  Maybe we can just sit around the Carnation Cafe on our next visit to the Magic Kingdom and sip sodas while the Dapper Dans sing. That’s gotta be safe, right?