Abulafia






						w A P R I L 3 0 , 2 0 0 3 Moved to the Arena District Back and forth from the old building to the new building during the morning, put the paper to bed at 6, then setting up computers and the network with Phil, Tim and Bruce. We left at midnight. There was temporary panic over a (possible) misnumbered port, but a reinspection resolved the crisis.The numbering was correct. Quark is not yet rebuilt for OS X, so all machines, although loaded and ready to go on OS X, will still be booting 9.2 for now. t A P R I L 2 9 , 2 0 0 3 Final packing More unpacking at B&A Paint building, the new offices. m A P R I L 2 8 , 2 0 0 3 New computers delivered to the new offices Though late, as the movers had neglected to put in a work order for the transfer. We broke some out their boxes, but I was demoralized and not as organized as I should have been. Still not her community garden Both parties were back at it this morning, the horrible woman threatening to call the police, threatening to sue, and as belligerent as before. Unbelievable. n A P R I L 2 7 , 2 0 0 3 Not her community garden A horrible woman (who is perhaps under the misapprehension that she owns the community gardens) announces that she is leaving (taking her toys with her -- she actually said her "tools") and will not return. Another case of "threatening" to do what everyone else fervently wishes? I was there to insert and water a couple transplants, and met a pleasant couple who were enjoying the beautiful evening and their newly acquired garden plot -- in which they had just planted some pumpkin seeds. The above mentioned woman showed up and claimed the very same garden plot, as she had had it the year before. Rather than discuss the issue rationally, she refused to hear of the organizaiton that owns the garden and the people who assign the plots (name and number posted at the front gate), claming, I suppose, either divine right or guidance from New York City (she was very contemptuous of us "Ohio hicks"). Everyone else I have met at the garden has been extraordinarily polite and kind. And then I came home and had a dead goldfish in the bowl on my desk. It was just one of those evenings. Non-community gardening Inside my very own fences, valiantly attempting to ignore the outside world. The (new) delphinium is struggling. I never have luck with delphiniums. Put wire over the Corsican mint -- something is pulling at it and unravelling it. The goldfish have found new places to hide. Trying to transplant a mallow, several forget-me-nots, and a clump of bergomot from the endangered (by lawnmower blades) edges of Mom's garden. Tulips All over Mom's front yard. She remembered that they came from a neighbor at the lake. Huge white and yellow ones are over, but deep red and gold and pink ones are out. The First Sunday after Easter Short service, sparse attendance, a Trinity student officiated, no acolytes (no one lit the candles) Very traditional anthem, simple but good Paul Harms read the lessons and gospel as only a seminary professor could Strange choice for a psalm -- a good day is compared to the oil running down Aaron's beard. Perhaps we don't need to sing the appointed psalm every Sunday. Amy to Akron s A P R I L 2 6 , 2 0 0 3 Buffy Only one episode to catch up on, though we tried to find more Barbeque chicken Dinner at home Green beans, baked potato Dinners with Amy are always wonderful. Walks through German Village Frank Vetch Park, Schiller Park, Cup 'O Joe, the old City Park garden f A P R I L 2 5 , 2 0 0 3 Sketches from a Life George Kennan Amazon Pulled out the book and reread a few of the entries. Novosibirsk in 1945. Sverdlovsk. Kazan (the third! largest city in the Soviet Union at the time). The head of the Kazan NKVD refused to be seen publicly in a car with a foreigner, (Kennan), and so walked home. Kennan's observations of the Soviet totalitarian state are not dissimilar to the picture emerging of Iraqi society under Saddam Huseein. And his advice, in 1945, for dealing with the regime? "... leave the Russian people ["indubitably one of the world's greatest peoples: a talented, responsive people, capable of absorbing and enriching all forms of human experience ..." (p.109)] -- encumbered neither by sentimentality nor foreign antagonism -- to work out their destiny in their own peculiar way." (p.110). This I believe is the American default position, and was for some time in Iraq, too. There was always the hope that Saddam Hussein would be dealt with by Iraqis too proud to live under his repression. President Bush has been unable to convincingly articulate why he felt compelled to intervene, and the United States is suffering international oprobrium due to his failing. Threatened rain Amounted to perhaps drops here and there. The ground (and Amy's pressure-change headache) could really use some water. Quiet rest After a week of many puppies, children and people for Amy, quiet rest is a good and welcome evening Amy to Columbus Packing, packing, ... Not sure that everyone appreciates that we still have to put out one more paper before we actually move the offices r A P R I L 2 4 , 2 0 0 3 No choir rehearsal We got the week off Mom came over and looked through the garden, enjoyed the wisteria w A P R I L 2 3 , 2 0 0 3 Long, blah sort of deadline day ... ... ... ... ... t A P R I L 2 2 , 2 0 0 3 Tour meeting It feels so close Sally Came home with Amy's mother A cross between a Lhasa Apso and a poodle m A P R I L 2 1 , 2 0 0 3 Monday Monday What else to say? n A P R I L 2 0 , 2 0 0 3 The (formerly) legitimate government of Iraq "At least 300,000 people are missing, according to human rights groups who fear that may be a conservative figure." Washington Post Media notes ArabNews (Saudi Arabia) OK Kuwait urged the Arab League president to resign, prompting him to counter by -- threatening to resign. ArabNews A calculation to emulate Peter Steiner Let's see, I was born in 1970-something, so that means ... Community Garden Three more hours of weeding. And it could still use quite a bit more. Met Doug, who lives above the Downtown Writers Group which he runs, and through which he is familiar with a lot of Business First people. He had some suggestions for getting the plots parcelled out to the public which I will try to get someone from City Flowers and/or OTENA to work on tomorrow. He also proferred the combination to the lock on the shed, (which I have not yet tried), which surprised me in that I had been looking for a key. Met a group of elementary school-age girls who wanted to know if they could fill their water balloons at the water pump. Why not? Met a man from German Village (since 1974) who used to be an avid gardener, before an automobile accident left him in a wheelchair. He was visiting friends (for Easter dinner) in the house behind the garden but was unable to get in until their teenage children returned to lift him up the stairs. So he thought he would come over and read his German Village Gazette in the garden in the meantime. Met another man who wanted to know if Olde Towne still had home tours and where could he get tickets? Gave him a poster (since I didn't have a postcard on me). Met the man who moved into Mark & David's house (who had tended the garden for a number of years, until they moved to Gahanna last year so that their child could attend a decent school). He travels a lot, but would like to help out every now and again. Liz to Sioux Falls Dinner in Bexley Steak, asparagus, sweet potatos Easter The opening hymn (Jesus Christ is risen today) was a challenge -- sing the first three verses from the hymnal, and on the fourth verse -- sing the words from the hymnal but the notes from the sheetmusic. The anthem went, well, OK. I am convinced that it was not a difficult piece; there was nothing difficult about it. It just never clicked.We got better at it, but from the first, it felt as though it always did the opposite of what it ought to have.If you want to sing, don't sing. If you want to go up, go down. The brass sounded very good, and Mark did a very good job on the organ. s A P R I L 1 9 , 2 0 0 3 Colored Easter eggs It took several eggs before we remembered how it worked Community Garden Almost five hours of weeding Met the neighbors across the street who had tended the garden ten years ago Met the owner of the apartment building next door, who is considering turning it into condominiums -- he also owns the condos on Madison, which he took condo in the 1980s though he still owns three (he is concerned that the current owners may vote to replace the beautiful slate roof with asphalt shingles because the management company they have hired is inexperienced with historic properties), and the old schoolhouse in Milo-Grogran that he has utilized for artists' spaces despite opposition from the city of Columbus. Also met Abe, who was taking pictures of the above properties to appear on the website. He had time to talk as he had to wait until the battery for his digital camera was charged before he could begin taking pictures. His father lives on the south side and has an extensive garden. f A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 0 3 Fish ... more & more Replenished the goldfish bowl, now back up to three Cleaned it out, and put blue pebbles in the bottom instead of the green/black/clear marbles for the time being Moved the bowl up to the bedroom alcove so I can watch them as I work Moved the hyacinths outside (that had been forced), cleaned the bowls, and put a beta in both of the bowls. Blue, of course. They had to be separated -- when the bowls were too close together, they would bet very agitated, spread their fins wide and run headlong into the glass. A fairly short day a the office ... Though it felt interminable r A P R I L 1 7 , 2 0 0 3 Choir rehearsal Bexley afterwards, talked to Liz Looked through her wedding album w A P R I L 1 6 , 2 0 0 3 Liz to Columbus Terrible things ... The mayor's house caught on fire -- Again. 10TV I had the radio on at work as I finished up the front pages and jumps (polybag night, everything goes to press on Wednesday), and heard vaguely talk of a fire at the mayor's. I thought only of the first fire (2001), and that they had only just moved back in to the house in November. Not until the paper was signed out and sent on its way did Dominic exclaim from his office that this was new fire did I realize that it had happened again. Time to move, I say. Finished reading the Secret History It was a long book, and it felt like a long book ... Not too long, just long ... I appreciate beginning in medias res, such that the whodunnit (and the whodunnwhat) are answered right away -- I enjoyed the how it happened far more on the first reading this way Raked the side alley Gathered the fall's leaves and spring's buckyballs into 1 1/2 yard bags. I think the ivy will still need to be trimmed back (chopped back), to prevent it from overtaking the alley. t A P R I L 1 5 , 2 0 0 3 Long, relaxing bath Reading ... The Secret History Donna Tartt Amazon My cruel streak The five brand new goldfish in the pond were determined never to be seen. So I took away their hiding places -- I removed the rocks they invariably stayed under. Now I can see them. Availability inquiry Christ Church wants to know if I will run for the communications committee chair position on the church council. Am I up to it? Could I follow through with what I would want to do? I don't feel that my track record is very good in these situations -- I would need dedicated help from people with specific talents, and I am not sure that I could pinpoint those talents (though I am sure they exist) among the church membership and form the necessary committee. Tax day Had only city taxes left to mail today The simple act of mailing something is always for more difficult for me than I can imagine -- I never have stamps and envelopes and addresses at the ready, & the difficulty of acquiring all of these necessary components in one place at one time is usually overwhelming. The stamp machine on the second floor of the Motorists office building had no single stamps available -- surely this would embarrass a real company exceedingly, but of course the Post Office is not a real company. I mean, no Hallmarks would be caught without Valentine's Day cards on Feb. 14 -- even people who never mail anything need the Post Office on April 15. I boldly and recklessly submitted both federal and state tax returns online this year (I suffer greatly when submitting my social security number over the internet. I have no qualms about credit card numbers. Visa, at least, from personal experience, has made the process of removing bogus charges (and changing to a new credit card number) fairly simple. That someone might steal a social security number, and require me to then deal with the federal government, I am certain would result in me set asail in the Atlantic on an open raft, unable to prove to any nation that I have ever existed). The city of Columbus does not yet have access to such technology, and so forces me to resort to archaic, yet less harrowing (intellectually) measures like the U.S. Mail. On the third attempt to surprise a stamp hiding in my desk drawer at work, I successfully emerged with one in hand. The city tax forms have been mailed, and might even reach their destination so long as stamps are still 37¢. I would call the Post Office to ask, but I am certain they wouldn't know. > APRIL 01
		2 0 0 3 APRIL 01 MARCH FEBRUARY JANUARY L I N K S AAA Abulafia Boardwalk Bread CHN Christ Lutheran Church Neighborhood Research Institute Old Oaks Olde Towne Polyphony INTP Business First Business First Daily Edition Call and Post Columbus Alive Columbus Dispatch Columbus Free Press Columbus Post Communicator News The Daily Reporter Inner Art The Lantern The Other Paper Suburban News Publications Short North Gazette NBC4 Columbus WSYX 6 10TV WBNS ONN BBC World Service CNN Christian Science Monitor The Guardian IndiaTimes New York Times StarTribune Washington Post Washington Times AfricaPundit William F. Buckley Jr. Command Post DebkaFiles Daniel W. Drezner John Ellis David Frum Hit & Run Instapundit Mickey Kaus Little Green Footballs Joshua Micah Marshall The Note The Politburo Virginia Postrel Wes Pruden Jim Romenesko Andrew Sullivan Volokh Conspiracy Doonesbury Ted Rall Peter Steiner Tom Toles Tom Tommorow Rob Pegoraro Matt Drudge Communication Arts Acme Art Company Ballet Met CCAD Columbus Arts Columbus Arts Festival Columbus Metropolitan Library Columbus Museum of Art Columbus Symphony Dialogue Franklin Park Conservatory Glass Axis Music in the Air Opera Columbus Thurber House Wexner Center City of Bexley City of Columbus Columbus City Council Columbus Police Columbus Public Schools OTENA egroup OTENA-NIC egroup OTENA-tours egroup OTENA-trustees egroup Old Oaks egroup Ohio Parsons Blockwatch egroup