Lueders Haus Blog

Jon Stewart rips McCain a new one over his position on Iraq. Part One and Two. Does he have what it takes to be the next president? Stewart was featured on Bill Moyer’s new show tonight as well.

BusinessWeek published an article with the provocative title of: “The Myth of High-Tech Outsourcing“.

Unemployment for engineers, computer programmers, software developers, and other IT professionals is at the lowest rate in years. Less than 3% of computer systems designers are out of work and less than 2% of engineers are sitting at home searching the classifieds, according to the AeA study. U.S. unemployment across the board is about 5.1%.

Spent my last weekend Portland while Sherry is still in school. Met up with my friend John at Amnesia Brewing for some beer while the girls studied. Then Sherry and I caught an early show of Blades of Glory. If you think men getting hit in the crotch is funny (and sometimes it is) then this is the movie for you. Afterwards we had a late dinner at Andina. We stuck to the small plates menu (Cebiche, Chorizo, Causa filled with smoked trout.) Washed it down with a bottle of ‘01 Lorinon Reserva and glass of port for desert.

I spent most of last week watching the America at a Crossroads special on PBS. Two hours a night for six nights was more TV then I needed to the whole year. I really should just give up and buy a damn Tivo. The two highlights were “Operation Homecoming” which featured writings from veterans and “Faith without Fear” by the Muslim dissident Irshad Manji. I found Richard Perle’s “The Case for War” pretty disappointing. Something a little more like “Fog of War” would have been interesting but this was more or less completely driven by Perle with only limited time given to the opposing views. The “Gang of Iraq” was a some pretty scary shit as well. It has made me feel there is little hope now for avoiding some level of genocide when the troops eventually leave.

I read the New Yoker’s commuter piece on my commute today. It made me feel sad for those people but I guess I should include myself in their ranks. At least I don’t commute by car or live in Atlanta. If only I had the life of a New Yorker writer! To whom the idea of a commute is abstract. Something to write a long rambling narrative about.

I heard about this quiz on NPR today. I can’t believe a news junky like me only got 7 out of 9! Luckily I beat the average college grad. The report that goes along with the quiz found that since 1989, even with 24 hour news channels, as a nation our knowledge of current events has hardly changed. Only 69% could name the vice president! Fans of the Daily Show are some of the best informed people according to the study.

The Sunday Business section has a great piece on H-1B visas. Most of the requests this year for those visas has come from technology outsourcing companies like Infosys and Wipro rather then Microsoft.

“Microsoft may well be using the program to bring in the best and the brightest,” Mr. Hira said. “But it’s definitely not representative of how the H-1B program is being used today.”

With the girlfriend gone, the cat and I watch lots of movies. Tonight it was Babel. It was good. The setup reminded me a lot of Crash. All I’m going to say is that old Japanese man, what a jerk! Apparently it is part of a trilogy, with Amores Perros and 21 Grams. I’ll have to add them to the list.

I rented Robert De Niro’s The Good Shepherd last night. I’ve always loved a good spy movie and this movie did not disappoint. It had all the twists and turns of a good spy flick without all the glitz and gadgets that ruin lesser spy flicks. The only disappointment was Matt Damon’s acting. He seems to equate showing emotion with giving us a blank stare. But maybe that was part of this hardcore CIA character? The movie also ran a bit long, pushing the three hour mark.

As I approach my seventh year in Seattle, I am now the proud owner of a Seattle Public Library card. Why the wait? Don’t know. I do read books, just slowly. The new Northgate branch is nice and all, but a good bookstore makes me want to buy a book and read it. Libraries these days are like Internet cafes with some book off in the back somewhere.