Automatically Backed-Up Hard Drive Catches Computer Thief

From Officer Casimiro Pierantoni’s Berkeley Area 1 crime update:

Someone left  left a laptop bag on the back seat of a car parked near Hearst Avenue and Euclid Avenue.  A thief smashed the car window and stole the laptop.   The victim had a back-up program installed on his computer that automatically uploaded new data from the computer’s hard drive to an online virtual storage location. The thief, not knowing of the back-up program, proceeded to take photographs of himself with the computer’s built-in camera; those photographs were eventually up-loaded to the internet based storage location.  The victim discovered the photographs of the suspect and passed them along to the police, who recognized the suspect as Gerardo Vegas,  with a long history of auto burglary and theft who had just been released from jail at the start of the year.

The Detectives closely examined the photographs and noticed that Vega appeared to be sitting in a motel room when he snapped the pictures with the computer’s camera.  Theorizing that the victim’s computer had accessed the internet thorough the motel’s wireless internet system, they began work to identify the I.P. address utilized by the victim’s computer.  They also checked Berkeley and  Oakland motels.  At one of the motels, they spotted Vega getting into a car in a motel parking lot. The Detectives stopped Vega and arrested him for possession of the stolen laptop.  They located additional stolen property (from other auto burglaries) inside Vega’s car and in his motel room.

New Yorker on Sale

An unmissable opportunity for New Yorker fans:  $20, or  80% off the price of the archive on DVD.

That’s right, our warehouse is moving across the country, so we’re giving you a one-time opportunity to own every page of every issue of
The New Yorker, from 1925 to 2005, (Original Price: $100). Act now to take advantage of this incredible offer.

They say that once the inventory is gone, they won’t make any more.

Also offering 2005-8 update.

Movie Review Site Worth Reading

…with the emphasis on the reading.

Stumbled across the Washingon Post’s capsule reviews of current DVDs and they’re so well-written — and such jewels of reviews — that I couldn’t stop reading (though I often disagreed).  Often bad reviews are a treat — the NY Times does them well — but here both bad and good are a pleasure to read just for the skill with which they are written.  Unsigned — don’t know who writes them.

Some examples:

“ Boy A” : Directed with unerring assurance and sensitivity by Irish filmmaker John Crowley, this finely tuned chamber proves that cinema doesn’t have to be spectacle-driven to be spectacular….the film unfolds like a thriller, but winds up being a powerful meditation on power, manipulation, trust and redemption. A cloud of tragedy hovers over the film, and when it finally descends, the film’s grip begins to tighten with wrenching finality. It’s beautiful. I loved it. And it broke my heart.

“ The Happening” : If you like suicide, here’s your main ride. All others, steer clear. …

“ The Visitor” …The film gives viewers a perceptive, deeply personal take on the timeless immigrant narrative, in which the most epic journey is finally one of self-discovery.

“ The Strangers”….A fellow passing by the house has his windshield blown out by a shotgun. Does he step on the gas? No, he gets out of the car and walks into the house showing clear signs of violent disturbance. A tragedy soon follows, but not as big as the one that compelled me to sit through the whole thing.

“ Star Wars: The Clone Wars” I’d go on explaining the plot, but you’d think I was high.

“ WALL-E” …It is a jewel of a film in conception, execution and message.

” Death Race” It might not be possible to make a film with less plot and more action without catalyzing some drastic change in the whole form… Although some critics detected elements of satire and political commentary in the original, all of that has been successfully eliminated from the current model. It isn’t so much a movie as a superheated, highly conductive miracle substance for the pure transmission of masculine aggression and misogyny.

” Henry Poole Is Here“… . The film takes a few surprise turns on this cruel journey. But a few smart turns in a forest of stupid doesn’t make a film smart.

” Disaster Movie” … This is a movie for anyone who gets the giggles from watching Amy Winehouse burp repeatedly or breaks into laughter when seeing a singing chipmunk bite a man’s crotch.

” The Duchess” …Everyone loves Georgiana, or will, except maybe women who are pregnant, or have been: By the end of the film she has given birth to four children, and she still looks like Keira Knightley.

“ Man on Wire” …” tells a gripping, affecting story but also a deeply cathartic one, as a place of loss and grief is transformed, briefly, into a place of transcendence and lyricism.

“ Transsiberian” … The story won’t pass the most rigorous logic tests, but it doesn’t insult your intelligence either. All in all, the film is an excellent, if modest, alternative for moviegoers who have been blockbustered into submission this summer.

“ Hellboy II: The Golden Army” … the screen’s most lovable anti-superhero, a giant the color of boiled lobster with Chiclet teeth and a really bad attitude… The enterprise reeks of authenticity, and is shot through with the franchise’s signature goofiness, sarcasm and good heart. As he has done in all his movies, del Toro creates unforgettable images, filled with color, texture, lyricism and horror.

” Never Back Down” … This is teensploitation at its most obvious: a boneheaded cliche-rama built around six-pack-ab standoffs between preening studs. .. Well, read this message: OMG DNT GO!

My Famous Relative?

Obama is descended from  the Kearneys of Moneygall, Co. Offaly.  My maternal grandmother was a Kearney from County Meath.  But, hey, all the Kearneys probably originated in the same place, from the same ancestor, right?  So — Hey, cousin, I’ll be in DC in the fall for a conference.  That’ll give you some time to settle in.  Put clean sheets on the bed in the Lincoln’s Bedroom, will you?

Oh, and if anyone’s looking for a job in the administration — as far as I can tell,  Obama’s new rules about lobbying etc. don’t apply to his relatives.  So — I’m rather partial to Haagen-Dazs pomegranate with dark chocolate bars.

The Way to Go – Literally

This impressed me when I first read the story in the paper, and I just had occasion to look it up, to get the facts straight, telling a friend about it.

A Bay Area couple in their 90s died together in a boating accident, on their way to helicopter over the world’s highest waterfall in Venezuela, on a stopover on the way to the South Pole, to sleep in tents at Amundsen-Scott Base.

 The only thing that could have made it better, I suspect, would have been for it to be on the way back.

Why Women of a Certain Age May Always Seem to Be in a Bad Temper

Went into the on-campus newly-re-located Scholar’s Workstation, which sells retail to campus community members for personal use.

Was trying out a keyboard on a computer I was considering buying.  A workman was wiring something in the ceiling nearby and commented on my fast typing.  “Is that what you are?” he asked.  “A professional typist?”

A young saleswoman was  busy chatting up a man who was clearly not ready to buy.  She  gave only the most telegraphic answers when I interrupted her to ask pointed questions about the Macs (a necessity, since nothing was labeled as to what it was or price).

When the saleswoman disapppeared, a young salesman stood across the room staring off into space as a young woman and I (the only customers) continued to try to figure out what was what.   I had to call to him, “Do you work here?” for him to wake  from his reverie.

I left muttering “Children!”  Yeah, the sales staff no doubt didn’t think they were children. They were, what, all of 20 years old?

(Hi, Vivien!)

Hope for a New Era of Civility?

I was walking in downtown Berkeley this evening and a young black teen came up behind me carrying a ghetto-blaster playing so loudly that the music was distorted — even he couldn’t have been enjoying it.  I turned and glared at him, and as he walked by he very pleasantly wished me a good evening.  I said, “Do the rest of us HAVE to hear that?”  He couldn’t hear me (of course), and asked me to repeat it.  He didn’t answer, but as he walked on, the volume went down, down, then off.

That’s not the civility I’m talking about.  (Although I was surprised and pleased at his response.)   As he receded, I saw that he was wearing an enormously oversized “Yes We Can!” shirt.  So — had he NOT acceded to my request — I now know what to say: “Do you think Obama would do that?”  We have a new role model – and not just for young black men! — a much-admired man of graciousness and civility.

The Election

I try to stay out of politics on this site, since it’s mostly related to my work and a lot of readers are my students. I want a variety of people to feel welcome in my classroom.

But — I am also aware that I have readers around the country and even around the world. And we have just been through an historic election for many reasons — not just the election of a black man.

Tuesday night, I invited a neighbor over to watch election returns. Like many people, I felt that this was an event that had to be shared. ( When I voted mid-morning (to avoid crowds), I was disappointed that, while people were coming and going, there was no line, and thus no crowd.)  We switched back and forth between the shouting panels of analysts on CNN and the measured discussion on PBS, with the CNN election map in front of us on my laptop.

On the stroke of 8 pm, as the California polls closed, CNN projected Obama as the winner — a result that had been clear for a while, but this made it official. I was tempted to run around the corner to my polling place, to see what the reaction was there.  (Anyone in line by 8 pm can still vote, and we had a critical state proposition on same-sex marriage on the ballot, so I suspected there would still be voters as well as staff.)

Twice after McCain’s gracious concession speech and before Obama’s speech, there were spontaneous parades (in the dark) down our residential street — something I’ve never, ever seen after an election. The first was tiny, a woman from up the street and her two kids. The second was larger and louder, around 30 kids and adults (mostly kids), with a drum, some percussion instruments, and pots and pans, chanting “O-ba-MA!” Several of my neighbors joined the procession. My friend and I stood on the porch and applauded.

In contrast, Obama was sober, even somber. When Biden came out beaming, the contrast was especially clear. Talking about it at a dinner party later in the week, my friends interpreted his subdued affect as awareness of the burden he has taken on.

The day after the election, once again I was at the county courthouse; once again I walked down the tunnel between buildings and past the Registrar of Voters. Monday, the narrow tunnel filled with hundreds of people cheerfully waiting to vote, squeezing past dozens of portable voting booths. At the Registrar’s office, eight or ten service windows were busy. Wednesday, the tunnel was empty, the voting booths gone, the windows closed, and absolutely no sign of activity.

The excitement was over. Time to get on with it.

This is the first time I remember being so excited about the outcome — thought tempered with caution. Obama can’t possibly live up to all the expectations heaped on him. The first election I remember was JFK’s — I had a poster of him in my bedroom. He was exciting for many reasons, including his being a Catholic (like my family). But we lived in a heavily Republican state, so there wasn’t a lot of collective happiness. As a college student, I walked precincts in 1968, getting out the Democratic vote, and then stood around the dark, quiet, depressing official Democratic election party, Nixon clearly winning. I know I was relieved when Johnson beat Goldwater, and was happy when Clinton won. And of course we all remember the prolonged agony, and the outrage, of the Gore-Bush election.

I’m relieved that we have someone who will make a major change in many areas. People have quoted Obama as saying that the advantage to taking over in a time of crisis is the openness to change. I’ve been relieved to see him consulting widely on the economy. But — the excitement is over. It’s time to get on with it.

Own a Piece of Battlestar Galactica

Six's red dress

From the NYTimes:

Cylons, Farewell: A Final ‘Battlestar Galactica’ Auction

By Dave Itzkoff

As viewers of the science-fiction television series “Battlestar Galactica” prepare to bid farewell to the show again, the studio that produces it will be offering fans an opportunity to purchase pieces of “Battlestar” memorabilia at a two-day auction in January, The Hollywood Reporter said. NBC Universal, which produces the contemporary remake of “Battlestar Galactica” (which had two previous, shortlived incarnations between 1978 and 1980), will begin the auction at the Pasadena Convention Center in California on Jan. 16, the same day that the final season of the show begins on the Sci Fi channel. Hundreds of items, props and costumes will be offered, from the desk used by Admiral Adama (the character played by Edward James Olmos) to a distinctive red dress worn by the actress Tricia Helfer.

UPDATE: In a release, Sci Fi has announced that the auction will begin with a preview day on Jan. 16, followed by a two-day live auction on Jan. 17 and 18. Those unable to attend can bid online at www.battlestarprops.com.

Biblioburro

From today’s NY Times:

In a ritual repeated nearly every weekend for the past decade here in Colombia’s war-weary Caribbean hinterland, Luis Soriano gathered his two donkeys, Alfa and Beto, in front of his home on a recent Saturday afternoon….

“I started out with 70 books, and now I have a collection of more than 4,800,” said Mr. Soriano, 36, a primary school teacher who lives in a small house here with his wife and three children, with books piled to the ceilings. “This began as a necessity; then it became an obligation; and after that a custom,” he explained, squinting at the hills undulating into the horizon. “Now,” he said, “it is an institution.”

A whimsical riff on the bookmobile, Mr. Soriano’s Biblioburro is a small institution: one man and two donkeys. He created it out of the simple belief that the act of taking books to people who do not have them can somehow improve this impoverished region, and perhaps Colombia.