Video notes

Here are a few more thoughts on the video below.

1) This is .wmv format taken from digital video so should be decent quality even after the compression.

2) If your connection is somewhat slow, playback quality will be reduced. Usually this can be fixed by hitting "pause" and letting the video stream build up before resuming. Just watch for the bar moving left to right across the bottom of the screen, this tells you how much of the video stream you've received -- you're at 100% when the bar reaches the right end.

3) You can fast forward or reverse by clicking and holding the slider, and just drag it in whichever direction you wish to move.

Graduation speech (wmv test video)

This footage is from Patricia's speech at ASU College of Nursing graduation (way back on May 12, 2006). A fine speech!

James Smithson; Washington D.C. tourists

Back in early April, Nicole, Chris and Patrick (plus a couple of their friends) visited Kerry in Washington, D.C. I heard they had an excellent visit. Among other highlights, Kerry used her “connections” to line up tours not available to mere tourists.

Anyway, they brought a gift for me: “The Stranger and the Statesman,” by Nina Burleigh. The book goes over what little is known of the fella that endowed the Smithsonian Institute (James Smithson). It’s well worth reading. While specifics about Smithson are hard to come by – including why the heck he bestowed his money on the fledgling United States – the author does a good job developing the information that’s available. And it’s interesting to hear the contrast between early 19th-century Europe – which was quite advanced in so many ways – and the frontier United States (in particular our then-dump of a capital, Washington D.C.). And the role of John Quincy Adams is interesting. The guy apparently had a long and varied career beyond his Presidency (remember Anthony Hopkins playing him in the movie “Amistad” in 1997?)

So I liked the gift a bunch, and am glad they had a fine trip.

Video test 2 (same video, but using google)

Phantom of the Opera (test video)

End of the line

For you NBA fans, the Phoenix Suns' season finally ended tonight. The NBA has been my favorite sports league since watching the Baltimore Bullets in the 1960s (Gus Johnson, Earl Monroe), but this Suns team was particularly enjoyable, at least for those of us here in Arizona. Not only were they forced to deal with the absence of critical players due to injury, it turned out that the injuries were concentrated among all of their bigger players: Amare Stoudemire, Kurt Thomas and Brian Grant. So they were forced into playing even smaller and faster than planned (which already was pretty small and fast). It's ridiculous that these guys got within two wins of the NBA finals.

Their success was so striking -- and fan-friendly -- that it clearly is influencing the style of play across the entire league. Just watch the personnel moves this off-season and the playing tactics next year. Actual skill will be important, rather than large men simply grabbing and beating on each other. So I thought it was worth a post.