A little FF and DD, and other super stuff.

I am watching the Fantastic Four movie for background noise as I clean my apartment. I have reviewed this movie on my website.

A few thoughts occur to me. First, Jessica Alba ain't so bad, regardless of cranky fanboys. And I am a little less annoyed by Mr. Fantastic in this flick. Although I still don't see nearly enough of the great Reed Richards intellect.

And the guy who played Doctor Doom is an excellent actor. BUT HE WAS HANDED A ROTTEN PART. Why? I figured out why it really bugs me, especially in these economic times.

In the comics, Doctor Doom is a self-made villain. He started from poverty and worked up to being a world power. In the movie, he starts from riches and goes to everything being taken away.

It's just another example of the viewpoint of the rich being shoved down our throats (oh weep, oh cry, the rich Doctor Doom lost a bunch of cash, oh, cry me a river) and the viewpoint of the poor (the comic book Doctor Doom is a self made man, he knows his roots and protects his countrymen, at least those he has not tossed in the dungeon). The comic book Doom has earned every last scrap of power and money he has, and he knows it. No silver spoon, hundred billion bailouts for him. The movie Doom is just upset about the silver spoon being yanked out, and us working stiffs are supposed to identify with that? UGH! It's a conspiracy, I tell you! A Hollywood executive conspiracy!!!

Oh, and why is the movie Doctor Doom firing a shoulder-launched missile from inside a building, WITHOUT OPENING THE WINDOW FIRST?!?!? Really, that is stupid, what if the impact with the window sets it off prematurely?

Oh, and although I have not seen FF 2, why in the heck wasn't Alicia the one to talk to the Silver Surfer, instead of Sue Storm? Especially this Alicia, who was a great character in the first FF flick. Sue Storm should be fighting alongside the other FF4 members. Did Hollywood think about Sue, "Oh, she's just a GIRL"?!?!?! OK, I hafta see FF2 sometime, I have done enough guessing. Except that turning Galactus into a cloud sucks. We can take a rubber guy, a rock guy, and a fire guy, but we can't handle a 50-foot-tall guy?

As for my book. I did a reading at Red Rock Coffee last night. I might be getting the beginnings of fans. I got a couple of compliments. One guy told me he had heard some of my other performances. And one of the coffee guys told me that he really liked my reading and that maybe I am getting superpowers.

On Sunday, I went to Script Frenzy, where people try to write a 100 page screenplay in one month. I am thinking of joining that, and writing my book as a screenplay. Although I know that it would be a lot easier to sell my story as a book than a screenplay. Heck, it would be hard enough to sell as a graphic novel (considering that I do not draw). Still, it would be an interesting exercise. I might try this.

OK, enough blogging. Time to go back to cleaning.

Another reading at Red Rock Coffee.

Another lesson. The reading went OK, but I have to shorten the scenery description at the start. After all, isn't that one thing I am poking fun at from Duh DaVinci Code? And that would leave more room for the colorful characters there. Like the guy who had his face reconstructed to look like a cat face (well, I never saw that, but Steve Notley of Bob the Angry Flower did).

I do love open mic night. The performers vary widely and wildly. OK, some are better than others. But I love seeing the little guy trying his stuff out. When you are on stage, the best thing to do is to always always always FORGE AHEAD!!!

I am about to see if I can write some simple iPhone and Android apps. This would be good for me. Start small. (Hello, World!)

I have been checking out cinemasports.com lately. The website shows blank, except for cinemasports' phone number, and that the website is having technical difficulties. If cinemasports is going outta business, I am really gonna miss it. The Iron Chef of filmmaking. Making a 3 minute film in one day. Totally from scratch. Hmm, maybe I ought to look up these 48 hour short film makers. I could do that. Ah, the RUSH of filmmaking!!! I... NEED... IT!!! I will check this out. Hmm, I wonder if I can stand 48 hours to adrenalin.

Here I am. The writer.

I am at Red Rock Coffee. Listening to local bands. Writing another chapter of my book. Not quite as far as I would have liked into the chapter, but OK, I have a good shot at having it ready to read at Red Rock's Monday night Open Mic.

I am beginning to wonder if I should post some of the chapters. Or maybe that should go into a separate blog, aimed only for the book.

And my nose is getting, uh, a little runny. I ain't gonna last much longer tonight.

The music here is good. Several little bands. The voice of the little guy! And a few cute girls. They all sound pretty good!

I am at a table with two chairs. I sit in one, the other is empty. I was asked 4 times if sir, is this chair free? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes, it is, yes, go ahead, yes yes YES. (It was a little noisy that fourth time.)

Well, time to pack up. I also deleted some rotten marketing posting off my blog. C'mon, you jerks, very few people look at my blog! You wanna get your filthy rotten stinking spam read? Aim higher!

Dave Strom's Nov 2008 Votes (ya know ya luv it!)

Here is the link to my usual election rantings on my website. Most of the links below will also go there.

Here is the link to my vote on the prez: Barack Obama! Click the link to read it.

Here is the link to my analysis of the propositions. Click the link to read it.

• Prop 1A: High Speed Rail, YES YES YES!!!!
• Prop 2: Let chickens and cows have the right to turn around before they are devoured. YES,
• Prop 3: Children's Hospital Bonds. NO. I think.
• Prop 4: They STILL wanna kill pregnant teen girls?!?! STILL?!?! NO NO NO NO NO!!!!
• Prop 5: Give some drug addicts a break. YES.
• Prop 6: The boogieman is not breaking down your door. NO.


• Prop 7: Kill small solar and wind power. NO.


• Prop 8: We're not homophobes, we just hate gay people! NO.
• Prop 9: No parole ever! Lock them up forever!!!! Uh, NO!
• Prop 10: Don't be gassy. NO.
• Prop 11: Us politicos can draw up our own districts, you voters are too stupid for that. NO.
• Prop 12: Veterans Bonds. YES.

Here is the link to my vote on California State District Stuff. Click the link to read it.

• California 12th Congressional District: Jackie Speier.
• Member of the State Assembly: 19th Assembly District: Jerry Hill.

Here is the link to my vote on San Mateo issues. Click the link to read it.

• Measure Q: Parking tax. Uh, yeah, I guess.
• Measure R: Rental tax. Uh, yeah, I guess. Again.
• Member of the Governing Board, Trustee Area 4: Rod Hsiao.
• Member of the Governing Board, Trustee Area 7: Memo P. Morantes.

To make up my mind, I read my voter guide. I also looked up the San Francisco Bay Guardian endorsements. And I used smartvoter.com.

Dave's picks for the June 2008 election

Here is the link to my usual election rantings on my website. Most of the links below will also go there.

Here are my picks for the California 12th congressional district. Click the links below to read them in more detail.

• Green pick: Barry Hermanson. He is the only choice I have, since I am Green. He is a good guy.
• Democrat pick: Jackie Speier. I think I am falling in love. She is serving out the remainder of Tom Lantos's term. And the first Congressional speech she made--blasting Bush over the Iraq war--had some repubs first boo her and then walk out. Fine, now, could you dirtbags please STAY OUT???
• Republican pick: Mike Moloney. Yeah, I have already talked about him. The repub surprise. The link leads to my previous post about him.

Here is the link to my analysis of the propositions: I HATE 98! 99, YES YES YES! 98 is another piece of crap convincing you that if you don't destroy all rent control in California and gut water pollution laws also, that a bulldozer will flatten your house. HOW DUMB DO THEY THINK WE ARE?!?!?! YES on 99!!! (99 had to be put on the ballot so 98 would not do damage. These Jarvis guys have annoyed me enough that I made up a new term for them. You can click the link to read it.)

Here is the link to my vote on San Mateo issues. Click the link or scroll down to read it.

• Judge of the Superior Court: Don Franchi.
• Member of the Board of Supervisors, 1st District: Mark Church.
• Member of the Board of Supervisors, 4th District: Rose Jacobs Gibson.
• Member of the Board of Supervisors, 5th District: Adrienne J. Tisser.
• County of San Mateo Sales Tax: Measure 0. Yes. This measly 1/8 of one percent sales tax still has the Libertarians howling. I got mad enough to kick them some. And kick Ayn Rand once. Guess I am not too mad at her. Yet.

To make up my mind, I read my voter guide. I also looked up the San Francisco Bay Guardian endorsements.

Dave's pick for the 12th Congressional District Special Election

Tom Lantos passed away recently. We in the 12th Congressional District in California have to vote in a replacement. April 8 is that special election.

To make up my mind, I tried reading my voter guide (online and printed), but it had diddly-squat info. I looked up smartvoter.org for this election. Barry Hermanson, the Green candidate, killed a few trees and mailed me a fairly good flier about himself. And I shoulda went to the debate a week ago! Nuts! I searched on 12th congressional district on the San Mateo County Times website, and found a few articles. And I found each candidate's website for this election.

Here are links to my ranting on my website about the candidates for the 12th district. Click the links to read the longer rants on my website, or read the tiny bullet list rants below the links.

• Green: Barry Hermanson. My pick!
• Democrat 1: Jackie Speier. The fave.
• Republican 1: Greg Conlon. The nut.
• Republican 2: Mike Moloney. The surprise.
• Democrat 2: Michelle T. McMurry. The cutie.
• A Word About Tom Lantos. The almost apology.

So why did I pick the Green guy? Other than I am also Green.

• Barry Hermanson says it: the Iraq war was wrong then and now. And his other issues (single payer health care, spend money on the people and rebuilding our infrastructure, and other neat stuff) are nice and Green and agree with me. Yay. He got my vote. Take a look at www.BarryHermanson.org.


• Greg Conlon, the radical-right incapable-of-learning-from-Vietnam kick-the-poor-inna-nuts bonehead, hasn't a snowball's chance in hell of winning. Not even his own party leaders support him. (Not because he is a nut, but because they figure that he has no chance to win.) So on the pragmatic side, there is no reason to vote for a democrat. Not that I vote pragmatically anyhow, pragmatism is what neutered the demos and what makes Hillary extra nauseating. Here is his website for this election, www.gregconlonforcongress.com.


• Mike Moloney is a real surprise: a Republican I have some respect for, a repub who is opposed to the war for some of the right reasons. He says loudly that we were lied into it. His website is fun to read on its issues page, although the rest sounds like he is screaming into your ear, and I wish there was more info on more issues. But a repub who wants Bush and Cheney impeached? I think I'm in love. But to vote for him, I would have to be in lust also. Look this guy up on www.mikemoloney4congress.com.


• Jackie Speier is the fave to win, Tom Lantos's pick to follow him. She is fairly good on the issues, although she (of course) cannot admit that the Iraq war was immoral and illegal from the start, she only mouths that wimpy "badly executed" propaganda. C'mon, Jackie, you have taken bullets, you should have the courage to face and say the truth. Here is her website for this election, www.jackieforcongress.com.


• Michelle T. McMurray is way cuter than the other candidates. (Hey, I gotta say something sexist at least once.) She is a superdelegate who supports Obama (Jackie Speier supports Hillary). But she is soft on stopping the Iraq war and on universal health care. Her intellectual mind and her cute face do not sway me. But they do make me sigh a little. Her website, www.mcmurry2008.com, is skimpy on the issues.

Dave's picks for the Feb 2008 election.

OK, so I am late. Had stuff come up, like taking care of my brother's place and cats, and a visit to Linden Labs, and starting an AJAX class. Anyhow. Here goes.

Click here to go to my webpage for this election.

Here is the link to my picks for the presidential candidates. Click the links to read them.

• Demo pick: Barack Obama.


• Repub pick: Ron Paul.


• Green pick: Ralph Nader.

Here is the link to my analysis of the propositions. Or click my picks below.

• Prop 91: NO. Why Is This Prop Even Here?


• Prop 92: YES. Cheap College. In a Good Way.


• Prop 93: YES. Loosen Up That Dumb Term Limits Crap.


• Prop 94-97: NO. Even if Duh Guvernator Sez Bote For My Gamblink Bills!

Here is the link to my vote on San Mateo Measure L: YES. Stop Water From Dripping On Sixth Graders. Click the link to read it.

To make up my mind, I read my voter guide. I also looked up the San Francisco Bay Guardian endorsements.

YouTube embedding in blogger: slight problem

I find that if I leave my blogger page open for a while, I get the message "we're sorry, but this video is no longer available" when I try to play an embedded YouTube video. Refreshing the blogger page fixes this problem. (But I'd rather not have to refresh the page! I will post a fix if I find it.)

OK, now to try a YouTube link.

I posted the video I made for my barber. I am referring to the YouTube site I made for him rather than my own, just in case someone in San Mateo wants a really really good haircut at a place with character.

another test for a photo

Here is a photo of me on a rock. I managed to get this to work by using my flickr account; I am guessing that I must fork over cash to MarsEdit if I am to post photos directly from my Mac. Seems to work OK; in a pinch, all I will need to do from MacWorld Expo is to post my pix to Flickr and then import them into MarsEdit.



Next, maybe I ought to try posting a YouTube link. Been meaning to do that anyhow.

This is a little test of MarsEdit software, preparing for my blogging from MacWorld.

Test, test, test. OK, I hope this works.

I am having trouble adding a photo to this blog post. I will try just the text first.

Dave Strom's Nov 2007 voter guide

(Edited on Nov 4; changed one vote for the San Mateo School Board)

Skimpy ballot this year. Just local people running for stuff. Local people are also the most challenging to investigate. I do love a challenge. I googled one of the candidates and opened a site. I read, and read, and read, but could not get a lot of info on the candidates. Then I read whose site it was: "San Mateo County Republican Party." Why am I not surprised? I did find newspaper sources (I have links to them) and to smartvoter.org. But you know what? I need to go to the San Mateo debates (city council and the like). If I go to this much trouble to investigate these guys, I should see them in real life once in a while.

Here is the link to my analysis of the candidates for School Board Member; San Mateo Union High School. My picks: Donald S. Havis (I love this guy, in a non-gay way) and Dave Pine.

Here is the link to my analysis of the candidates (pick 2) for School Board Member; San Mateo-Foster City School. My picks: Colleen Sullivan and Mark D. Hudak (incumbent).

Here is the link to my analysis of the candidates (pick 2) for City Council Member; City of San Mateo. My picks: Jack Matthews (incumbent) and John Lee (incumbent).

To make up my mind, I read my voter guide. Then I read smartvoter.org (the San Mateo page) to find more information on local candidates and issues. I found one article about the city council that helped. Go to the San Mateo County Times, search for John Lee, and then find the article about "Incumbents grilled on growth."

And then, I read the San Mateo County Times Nov 4 picks for the San Mateo School Board and the Oct 26 picks for the City Council.

iPhone SDK: YEAH! Now, how about a Mac Shuttle?

The iPhone finally opens to 3rd party native applications in Feb 2008. It's about time. The iPhone could not have survived the same idiocy that nearly killed the Mac.

Years ago, when the Mac first came out, it was running on floppy disks. Where I was working, the most prized Mac had 3 floppy drives: one for the OS, one for your application, and one for your data. Then IBM desktop computers started having this thing in them called a "hard drive". And some third party started selling them that you could hack them into your Mac. What was Apple's (maybe Jobs's) response? Something like, "They can't do that, we designed the Mac to not be able to do that!" Idiocy!

Apple was (and sometimes still is) way too fond of closed systems. Making the iPhone a closed system would have killed its growth and made it a tiny niche player. Just like the Macintosh was for a long long long time, and only recently is the Mac getting back its much deserved market share.

And as long as I am at it, there is a tendency for Steve/Apple to close Mac hardware. Except for the Mac Pro, it is nearly impossible to upgrade the hard drive or DVD burner in a Mac. (OK, the MacBook has an easily-replaced hard drive, and why can't the MacBook Pros work that way? Laptop hard drives can DIE!!!!)

When Steve introduced the new iMacs, he talked about how they are all in one unit: monitor, motherboard/CPU/GPU, hard drive, DVD burner. OK, that is fine, iMacs are great computers, but what about people who want to be able to upgrade without replacing EVERY LITTLE BIT OF HARDWARE IN THE WHOLE DARNED COMPUTER?!?!?! As for the other Mac desktops, the Mac Mini is too closed (upgrade its RAM? HAH!), and the Mac Pro is too expensive ($2500? GASP! says the average wallet).

I would like to see a Mac Shuttle. A blend of the Mac Mini and the Mac Pro. Go to http://us.shuttle.com/ to get the idea. Shuttles are compact computer cases where the motherboard (USB and Firewire ports in front and back of the case), and power supply are built-in. You, a Windows desktop builder, add the rest (CPU, hard drive, monitor, etc.).

In my hopes and dreams, a Mac Shuttle would come fully built, like the Mac Pro. (As with the Shuttle case and the Mac Pro, you buy the monitor and speakers separately.) But you, the user, could easily replace the hard drive (they do wear out, and you always want a bigger one). You can replace that old DVD burner with Blu-Ray. You could even add a card or two, if you want to add video inputs or Firewire 1600 (someday). Maybe you can even upgrade the CPU and GPU. Cost: somewhere on the level of the iMac.

I would go for a Mac Shuttle so fast, it would make Jobs's head swim. An economical, very user-upgradeable Macintosh. But this is not even in the rumor mills. Sigh.

But I can dream, can't I? Or at least whine some.

Star Trek, Remastered. YEAH!!!!

You do know that the original Star Trek Episodes are being remastered, right?

Remastered as in redoing the old special effects? As in making the Enterprise orbiting a planet look like a real starship orbiting a real planet (not in a rather good-looking-but-still-plastic model orbiting a fuzzy orange ball in a really tight orbit cuz it was hard to get the proportions right in the 60s)? As in making the Doomsday Machine look really KILLER?!?!?!

I saw The Galileo 7 when I watched it late one night (TV volume very low, of course). I was thinking, "Hey, how come the planet from orbit looks so real? How come the shuttlecraft looks like it is really moving, instead of hanging from fishing lines? And there is no wax-paper-like ellipse around the shuttlecraft? HOW COME THIS LOOKS SO GOOD?"

I have always been a Trekkie. Even liked Voyager. (Loved the Doctor, LOVED when Seven-of-Nine walked down corridors, front AND back.) But the special effects on the original often looked cheesy. Like the Galileo 7 inching along in orbit, or the Constellation starship wobbling its plastic way down the Doomsday Machine's gullet.

The new effects replace the 60s starship models with 2007 computer models, and they look great. Check it out. (TVLand does not seem to show the remastered episodes; check out a more local station.) However, stuff like the Gorn from Arena (still a great episode, even with the cheap silver-sparkle Gorn eyes) still looks the same.

Look up the episode list. And check out The Doomsday Machine! (remastered)

Anyhow, about time I posted again. One more thing: these episodes are available on iTunes. I am likely to buy a few.

Star Trek still RULEZ!!!

Grado SR80 headphones: A review by Dave "Lovesick" Strom

My old Sony headphones at home were falling apart. I wanted new ones. Ones that would cover my ears to block some external noise, and stay on my head better.

First, I though noise-canceling headphones would be neat. After trying them, I found they do the job, but only on low rumbly frequencies, not on whiny kids in coffee shops. So they would be great for an airplane (don't fly as much now), train (rare), or car (don't use headphones there). I will change my mind if I fly or train more in the future.

So I looked for the headphones that would sound the best. And whadda ya know, I found great ratings at Consumer Reports online. Some brand called Grado was rated highly; the Grado SR80 headphones for $95 were second only to the Bose $300 noise-canceling headphones. I looked on Amazon; everyone loves Grado SR80.

I need to try before I buy, but these are hard to find in a local store. I found an audiophile store in Berkeley that sells them. (Music Lovers Audio & Video,1995 El Dorado Ave, Berkeley, CA. Complete with audiophile hardware and a very pettable store kitty.) They are not Frys; if you buy, you keep. I listened. They sounded good. I bought ($95, even on Amazon), trusting the reviews.

Today I REALLY listened, whilst eating Pho and reading my Sunday paper. I am not an audiophile, so I will not talk about different frequencies, warmness of tone, crispness of blah, blah, blah. OK, I noticed that bass sounded bassier, and trebles sounded, uh, treblier? I noticed that with many songs, I heard stuff that I had not heard before. Hey, I had not heard that tambourine! Or that beat! These headphones sound GREAT!

Then I turned on "Mystery Achievement" by The Pretenders. (* I love that song.) The beginning drums sounded clear as a bell. And 13 seconds into the song, I heard... IT.

Chrissie Hynde drew breath. "Huh..."

I had never heard THAT before!!!! Was I imagining it?!?!? Was I getting even MORE Chrissie??!? With trembling, fumbling fingers, I set my iPod to the beginning of the song again. 13 anxiously awaited seconds later...

"Huh..."

Oh, Chrissie. Oh, Chrissie! OH, CHRISSIE!!!! Move over, Tyra Banks! I'm in love with my old crush again!

If you want to hear more of your music that you have ever heard before, if you want more high/mid/low range sound, if you wanna hear every little delight hidden away in your music (like Chrissie's smooth sexy little inhale 13 seconds into Mystery Achievement), get the Grado SR80 headphones. You can't find better headphones for less than $100 (before taxes).

The only debits: After an hour, before you get used to the headphones, you might adjust the fit some. Or maybe it is just that you won't wanna take them off. But I find these headphones are feeling better and better. Also, they will not block out external sound, with their foam earcups, quite as well as the top-of-the-line Bose, with their deep plastic earcups. But the SR80s sound so good, you won't notice the external noise (much). I know I am gonna get spoiled.

* Many years ago, I saw The Pretenders live. When Chrissie Hynde sang, I cried out in a lovesick plea, "Chrissie!!!", every 1 minute and 22 seconds, give or take 10 seconds and my testosterone levels at the time.

Anti-global-warming scientists = Exxon cash

Mallard Fillmore cites Thomas Sowell global hot air articles backed by "respected climate scientists" "open-minded" about global-warming.

A 1995 article in Harper's Magazine, Ross Gelbspan said that Richard S. Lindzen "charges oil and coal interests $2,500 a day for his consulting services."

From www.exxonsecrets.org:
Patrick J. Michaels' admits that 20 percent of his funding comes from fossil fuel sources.

From www.sourcewatch.com:
In a September 24, 1993, sworn affidavit, Dr. Singer admitted to doing climate change research on behalf of oil companies, such as Exxon, Texaco, Arco, Shell and the American Gas Association. Dennis Avery works at the Hudson Institute, which received $9.3 million in 1993 from such companies as General Electric, Monsanto, DuPont, and Exxon Mobil.

Open-minded? More like open-handed for oil money.

P.S. I just sent this to the Smirkury news. Let's see if they print it. Or if they's rather listen to a duck (brain the size of a marble).

David Strom
626 Mariners Island Blvd, #207
San Mateo, CA 94404
650-574-8398

Mallard Fatso thinks Dean is crazy? Try Bill.

Mallard Fillmore thinks Howard Dean is crazy. Literally. Over a years-old cheerleader scream. A lot of football fans can be tossed into straightjackets using that illogic.

You want crazy? Obsessive-compulsive: CNN's playing Dean's scream over 600 times for two days. Denial of reality: The radical-right's screaming that the press is ultra-left liberal, when that same press blacklisted Gray Webb and drove him to suicide over his CIA-Contra-Cocaine story. Paranoia: Bill O'Reilly's ordering Fox security to threaten a caller to his radio show (phoning the caller at home), for saying, "I think Keith Olbermann's show –" (Bill cut the caller off here). Insanity: Prez Dubya feeding the Iraqi meat grinder more American troops again and again to try to clog it. Benjamin Franklin said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Different that another 3000 American troops dead, perhaps.

P.S. Don't believe me about Ballistic Bill? Read Bill's transcript, and the caller's story.

P.P.S. I sent this to the San Jose Mercury News, after cutting out the Gary Webb line. I figured that since the Mercury News was the leader in the blacklist, my pointing out the sticky gooey nasty BLOOD on their hands would not sit well with the letters editor. So I am sneaking that into this blog. Wonder if the Mercury News might gimme a phone call?

P.P.P.S. Oh yeah, the Merc only want letters of 125 words or less. The incredible shrinking letter. The soundbite police. Like hell, Smirkury News! I got a blog!

Molly Ivins and Texans And Lennie Briscoe

Molly Ivins passed away. Only 62 years old. Her jolly liberal (and Texan) wit will be missed.

Molly pointed out qualities about George Dubya Bush that many Texans share, and many Americans find appealing: religiousity, anti-intellectualism, and machismo.

As for those last two qualities, I think Molly would have been amused at what Law & Order's Lennie Briscoe had to say to a young male perp: "Look, kid, stupid and arrogant is a really bad combination!"

Colbert & O'Reilly: guess who will bomb?

Steve Colbert and Bill O'Reilly are switching host jobs for one show. That's right, for one night, Steve will be on Fox and O'Reilly will be on Comedy Central.

I bet Steve does fine and Bill bombs. Why? Steve is a satirist, Bill is a bully.

When Star Trek's Captain Kirk and his away team returned from an evil alternate universe (having accidently switched places with their evil counterparts, dang those cranky transporters), Kirk asked Mr. Spock how Spock found out the evil counterparts so quickly, while the good Kirk and friends were able to fool the evil universe people.

Mr. Spock's reply: "It was easier for you, as civilized men, to act like barbarians, then it was for them, as barbarians, to act like civilized men."

Dave Strom's Nov 2006 vote endorsements (Say you love it! Say it!)

Vote. And use paper, lest your electronic vote be changed to Republicans only (blech).

Here is the main page for my November 2006 Election Endorsements. For more direct links, see below.

Here are links to my picks for the California Propositions. Or you can just scroll down to read them sequentially.

• NO. Proposition 1A: Spend the gas tax on things that have a use for gas


• NO. Proposition 1B: Roads, roads, roads!


• YES. Proposition 1C: Housing and Emergency Shelter (or when you got a gorilla at home, you need to have a place to move to!)


• YES. Proposition 1D: Improve School Buildings, Like More Labs and Keep Earthquakes From Squishing Kindergarteners


• YES. Proposition 1E: Keep California From Turning Into Katrina New Orleans


• NO!!!! Proposition 83: Jessica's Let's-Forget-About-Mark-Foley Law


• YES. Proposition 84: Protect Water. Again.


• NONONONONONO!!!!! Proposition 85: The Dead Teenager Act?!?!??! AGAIN?!?!?!?!


• YES. Proposition 86: Tax Cancer Sticks Some More


• YES. Proposition 87: Charge Oil-Drilling Fees, Like They Do Everywhere Else


• YES. Proposition 88: Pay 14 Cents A Day, A Measly 50 Dollars A Year, For Teaching Supplies


• YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!! Proposition 89: Public Financing Of Political Campaigns


• NO NO NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Proposition 90: Rich land fatcats make us pay made-up Enron prices for their land

Here are links to my picks for the California Politicos. This time, I have a lot to choose from.

• GUBERNATOR: Undecided


• LIEUTENANT GUBERNATOR: DONNA J. WARREN, Green


• SECRETARY OF STATE: DEBRA BOWEN, Democrat


• CONTROLLER: JOHN CHIANG. Democrat


• TREASURER: MEHUL M. THAKKER, Green


• ATTORNEY GENERAL: GOVERNOR MOONBEAM (Jerry Brown), Democrat


• INSURANCE COMMISIONER: LARRY CAFIERO, Green


• STATE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION, DISTRICT 1: BETTY T. YEE, Democrat


• U.S. SENATOR: TODD CHRETIEN, Green


• U.S. REPRESENTATIVE, 12TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT: If no Green, then Spongebob Squarepants


• STATE SENATOR 8TH DISTRICT: LELAND Y. YEE, Democrat


• MEMBER OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY 19TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT: GENE MULLIN, Democrat


• POMBO SUCKS!!!

Here are links to my picks for the San Mateo politicos. Or you can just scroll past the California Propositions to read the San Mateo stuff sequentially.

• SAN MATEO COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION: OFFICE OF THE GOVERNING BOARD, TRUSTEE AREA 3: RHONDA CECCATO. Incumbent


• SAN MATEO COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION: OFFICE OF THE GOVERNING BOARD, TRUSTEE AREA 4: ANTHONY FEL AMISTAD


• ASSOCIATE JUSTICES OF THE SUPREME COURT: Yes to incumbents


• PRESIDING JUSTICES OF COURT OF APPEAL, DISTRICT 1: Yes to incumbents

To make up my mind, I read my voter guide. I read smartvoter.org (the San Mateo page) to find more information on local candidates and issues. I also used the San Francisco Bay Guardian for more information about the state propositions and the California politicos. As usual for the local non-partisan candidates, I also googled some local newspaper articles and included the links.