A convergence of many of my geek-like tendencies: I watched the video of Obama's Nobel Acceptance Speech (lecture) this morning while reading the text as prepared for delivery, and noted the differences between what was written and what he was saying. Later, when I viewed the text of the speech on the New York Times website, I decided I'd copy that version and the original prepared remarks into Word documents and then use the comparison software I have supported for the past 3+ years to compare the differences between the two.

It's an interesting read (for me) trying to guess what changes were ad libbed, what were written as last minute revisions, and what may have been edited by the White House Office of the Press Secretary and the New York Times itself. I first ran the prepared remarks against the New York Times version, and then I ran the White House version against the New York Times version to see if there was any further editing by the New York Times. I found one change: In the last paragraph, the word "depravation" was changed, by the New York Times apparently, to "deprivation." The correct spelling, taken context, is clearly depravation.

I copied all versions into Word files at the time I noticed them. I'll bet some of that will eventually be corrected. I'll spare posting all of those.

But here is the comparison of the original remarks and the official White House transcript.

Last weekend the nesting ritual began after a brief "Braxton-Hicks" scare, so we're by and large prepared for the arrival of our second daughter some time between now and next month. This pregnancy has been tougher on K's body, a lot more kicking going on. Overall it seems to have progressed a lot faster. And maybe I've been in a bit more denial than I should, as in "holy shit, we're actually about to have a second child and I don't feel prepared in the least!" That is, until this past weekend, where we rearranged things in the house to put up the new crib in our room, packed up our hospital suitcase, put together our checklist, did the hospital tour (since we'll be going to Oakland Kaiser and not Santa Clara this time) and so on. When there's a little bed waiting for our little one, it seems more "real," to me at least. I hope I am up to the task of taking care of Livie a little bit more, especially in those "mommy mommy" moments when the only comfort is when K walks into the room...and she can't because she'll be nursing. Only one way to find out. Brenna Kay, you'll soon be here!

The Bay Area Toll Authority, otherwise known as BATA, is currently weighing a toll increase for all bridges in the SF Bay Area, purportedly for seizmic retrofitting and to make up a shortfall in revenue due to, according to this article, decreased ridership and increased operating expenses. They also reference to the fact that the bond markets have done poorly in the past couple of years.

Well, duh!

As a participant of casual carpool, I am especially concerned about one component of the proposed toll hikes: A new, $3 toll for carpool ridership. The carpool lane is currently free and we all know the benefits of that.

I wrote a letter to BATA last night and I thought I'd share it. If anyone else participates in casual carpool, I'd encourage you to do the same:

From: William Swan
Date: Sat, Nov 7, 2009 at 11:08 PM
Subject: Objection to proposed $3 toll for carpool lanes
To: tolls@mtc.ca.gov


Dear Bay Area Toll Authority:

I am writing to express my strong objection over the proposed $3 toll for carpool drivers as a component of BATA’s toll increase consideration for 2010. At best, the inherent logic in doing so is flawed. BATA states that among the chief reasons for the need to raise an additional $160 million in annual revenues is due to a “steady decline in toll-paying traffic on state owned bridges during each of the past five years.” Isn’t that the point of a carpool lane, to reduce traffic congestion and carbon emissions?

I am an avid participant in the “ad hoc” or “casual carpool” program, and it is my view that the $3 toll proposal for carpool lanes would in effect kill this arrangement, one that has been in existence for over 30 years and works well for many people of limited and fixed incomes across the Bay Area. It works well now because no transaction takes place, and both riders and drivers benefit. But I believe a $3 toll in the carpool lane would create an insurmountable logistical hurdle to this arrangement. Certainly the carpool ridership would decrease, and I wonder how close such a shortfall would get to offsetting any potential gain in charging the $3 toll for carpoolers in the first place? Further to the point: It certainly doesn’t look good in a state that constantly wrestles with smog.

The factors likely at play here: rising unemployment, fluctuating gas prices, poor investment on the part of the toll authority, make it even more objectionable that the ultimate decision of BATA to raise tolls would be done unilaterally, without being placed on a ballot. It used to be that proposed toll increases were put before voters. Perhaps something was buried in the fine print in one of those propositions so that public accountability is no longer required now?

Among the other reasons cited by BATA for the revenue shortfall is one that is sure to raise a few eyebrows: “Increasing operational expenses and rising debt, due in part to the upheaval in the municipal bond markets over the past two years.” It is not the carpool riders’ fault that the bond markets have tanked. Perhaps you can have a conversation with the Federal Department of Transportation if you really need a bailout.

BATA needs to step back and think more clearly about what is the greater good here. And charging carpool riders is counterintuitive at best, downright lunacy at worst.

With trepidation,

Bill Swan
Oakland, CA

From Happy Halloween!

Digging the new Flaming Lips record, thanks to Brian at work for letting me borrow it. I have a deep admiration for anyone who has gotten to the point where they can do whatever the fuck they want and eke out a living doing that. But I sit here not knowing what kind of sacrifices are made other than knowing what they do is extremely difficult for the average group of people to pull off. And I don't mean that just in talking about the execution of their art and taking the show on the road, itself a very impressive feat - having witnessed a sliver of it in person at sxsw 2000 and also in reading a recent SPIN article about the new record, but in the "spaces between," the stuff that's not as noteworthy in the art world. Need I go on? I assume anyone reading can catch my drift about feeling adrift. The good news is we're in the middle of the lake, not near a rocky shore. And there's plenty of joy in that.

From Livie Mini Movies

"Dancing with Daddy" is back. Starting this week, Livie has gotten back into this before bath time routine, now dancing on her own two feet instead of in the Bjorn like the early days. There was a time, when she was very little, where I would put her in the Bjorn and we'd dance to all sorts of fun obscurities. A favorite record became this one, an early record with the great Brazilian guitarist, Bola Sete. I'd hold onto little maracas, shakers and the like, eventually teaching her how to use them etc.

The following is a clip a little further along, as she was getting bigger:

From Livie Mini Movies

And then two things happened. She outgrew the Bjorn and there was a time when the dancing before bedtime got her too fired up to fall asleep. Back in those days we were at the in-law unit with limited, and open-plan space, so for a while every mouse fart on our side of the room would wake her up. So dancing with Daddy as we knew it ceased to exist.

This week, we brought it back. I am not sure what the catalyst was, but for the past couple of days, it's one of the first things she asks for when I walk through the door in the evening. Needless to say, I am thrilled that we can share this time and explore music together again. Oh, of course mommy joins in, too. Although right now she's almost 6 mos pregnant with our second daughter, so this dancing time give her a break. Video of dancing with daddy, part deux is forthcoming.