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The chase for the NASCAR championship gets under way this weekend. The sport that goes around and around enters the playoffs for the first time in a test of skill and consistency.

Before things get started, I thought I’d take a shot at guessing the win, place, and show positions at the end of the year. Much to my delight, this list happens to coincide exactly with my current list of favorite drivers. Now, they just need to deliver.

1. Jeff Gordon

Gordon remains, along with Dale Earnheart Jr., the most exciting driver on the track week in and week out. The fact that he led the regular season point standings — and, by virtue of that fact, also leads the playoff standings — makes him the favorite to win it all. It also helps that he has four other championships under his belt. I’m voting for Gordon, who has been my favorite driver since I took interest in the sport.

2. Dale Earnheart Jr.

Dale, my wife’s favorite driver, has had an interesting year. He led the point standings a majority of the year, displaying a level of consistency that he hadn’t matched to this point in his career. Then a near tragedy happened. He found himself in the middle of a non-NASCAR race trapped in a Corvette enveloped by flames. His Sundays became a struggle that forced him to the sideline for a large portion of each race. The sideline was an uncomfortable place, a place where he could only watch as his position in the standings sank. The good news: he’s all better. He showed as much by winning both the Busch and NEXTEL Bristol races a little while ago. He’ll be in the mix in the end. There’s no doubt in my mind.

3. Jimmy Johnson

I became a fan of Jimmy’s for two reasons. One, Gordon owns his car. Two, I needed someone to root for when Gordon was knocked out of a race. I’ve been a fan of his since he was a rookie and he’s surprised me. I didn’t expect him to be so good, contenting for the championship not only this year but in the years past. This year might be the year he finally breaks through, beating his boss at his own game.

?. Mark Martin

I don’t know if Mark really has a chance, but he’s the sentimental favorite for both a majority of fans and myself alike. He’s an old-timer, someone who represents what the sport is really all about. It doesn’t hurt that he’s a nice guy. I’m glad someone with grey hair made it into the mix.

I promise to revisit these predictions, good or bad, at the end of the season. I should note that I’m not going out on a limb here. These guys currently lead the standings, albeit by a very small margin. But with the small margin of error afforded these drivers in the coming weeks, nobody has a real clue how things will turn out. That’s almost exactly what NASCAR had planned.

I lost a tooth on Monday. This was not a surprise. I knew problems were on the horizon when pieces of tooth were ejected from my mouth last week, leaving a sharp edge and scratched cheek in its wake. After a bit of jaw pain, I was on the phone with the dentist.

Come to think of it, perhaps “lost” is a bad word. I didn’t misplace it, although I can’t tell you its location at the moment. The dentist removed through a surprising quick but forceful move. The resulting crack still echoes in my skull.

The removal itself reminded me of shaking a tin can with a penny inside. You hear the dentist rummaging inside but the effects of novacaine leave you a little detached. Snap. Crackle. Gone.

For a moment and about the 2 hours afterwards, I had time to compare the effects of novacaine to that of Bell’s Palsy, an affliction I suffered about a year ago. With Bell’s Palsy, a side of your face becomes paralyzed. It stops working. Feeling goes away. In some respects, novacaine acts in much the same matter. Things go numb. That snapping sound made me flinch, but not from pain. It was the sound.

But novacaine is really much different. Novacaine makes you feel numb. A slight tingle warms your face. Bell’s Palsy doesn’t feel at all. Things just go away – frightenly away. You don’t feel numb. You don’t feel at all.

I found this incredibly comforting. I wanted the two to be different. That desire is less about dredging up nasty memories. It’s much more about keeping my nerves straight about what’s going on. This isn’t a relapse. It’s something different. Novacaine is good, especially when bone is being removed from your skull.

And good is how I felt when I left the dentist. Yes, I was minus a tooth, a tooth mostly forced from its home by an unruly wisdom tooth. As I understand it, it’s gone forever. That’s a bummer. The good news is that the unruly wisdom teeth in question aren’t the problem. An issue with my impacted wisdom teeth means surgery, a surgery I had hoped to put off permanently. I’ll trade a tooth for surgery, at least this time. Procrastination has a strong foothold in my psyche.

Now I just need to wait for the tooth fairy. I don’t have the tooth. The dentist kept it, a bit to my dissapointment (let’s think penny in a glass jar this time). But I swear its gone. She missed me last night but that’s almost certainly an oversight. Mom, give her a call. Will you?

I finally bit the bullet and upgraded Movable Type. That little number beside the words “Powered By” on the bottom left used to say 2.6 something something. Now it displays a number greater than that.

Much like any upgrade, this one was driven by irritation. It’s hard to get these fingers moving along an upgrade path. I procrastinate. I’m a big fan of the status quo. But annoy me long or bad enough and I can demonstrate change, barely.

My happiness of the status quo was easy to come by. After all, Movable Type 2 dot something did just about all I needed. I don’t look at blogging, and the tools behind it, as rocket science. The job is pretty simple. Take some text and create a running list of this text. I once even thought of home brewing my own blog-like tool, undoubtably underestimating the effort involved. Movable Type does a wonderful job as a replacement. It makes the simple things simple while adding so many bells and whistles that my inner programmer shines with pride. Not only does it do a wonderful job, it did a pretty good job just a week ago.

I also feared some of the changes that version 3.0 of Movable Type would bring. Well, “some” is probably overestimating. Two is a more accurate number. The first of these involved changes to the licensing of the product. Movable Type used to be free. You could donate if you wanted. The authors appreciated it and, if you asked me, deserved the rather low asking fee (No, I never paid for it. That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t have done so. MT rocks!). Now, all that has (mostly) changed. You are now more than encouraged to pony up some dough. “Free” is now version of the software as opposed to a price. This version is limited, albeit in ways that really don’t affect me, especially in the short term.

(I should be clear that I don’t want to bemoan MT’s authors from shaking the cash cow. They’ve put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into one of the most used pieces of free software I don’t really own. I just worry when the meaning of free is altered a bit.)

Second, I was worried about their solution to comment spam. Somehow I was under the impression that TypeKey would be the only option for comment registration. TypeKey is a registration system designed to fight comment spam. Basically, grab a TypeKey account and you are considered a trusted user. It’s a global account, in that you can use it for all blogs that support it (i.e. any Movable Type powered blog version 3 or higher). The registration process stops most spam efforts in their tracks and spammers that do manually register (yes, manually register thanks to some well-established safeguards like initially entering a code displayed on an image) are easier to sniff out and ban. Apparently, this impression was wrong — the old Name, Email, URL standbys are still around — but it was still a worry. I didn’t want the same registration process designed to hinder spammers to hinder casual readers alike. I didn’t want my already low comment count to dwindle to zero.

But, like I said, irritation pushed me forward. I love MT-Blacklist, a MT plugin that wrestles comment spam to the ground. Without it, a spam attack I suffered in January would have made me cry. Dealing with the rapid rise of comment spam in my coffers since that event would have been a major pain in the ass without it to light the way.

Still, it wasn’t perfect. For some reason, I never got one of its most touted features to work. Namely, I couldn’t get it to reject comments at the point of entry. I could use it to search for spam and eliminate it — it was pretty obvious when I received a good round of crap — but I wanted a process that didn’t require manual intervention. I was happy (mostly; see status quo above) but not as thrilled as I would have liked.

Then, my comment incident. happened. As I mentioned, something nasty got into my special sauce. Some comments went AWOL and, given my relatively low number of comments, this is considered a bad thing. Those things are precious. So, I upgraded.

And I’m happy, even though that happiness was delayed a couple of days while I dealt with some technical problems with said upgrade (note to self: don’t accidentally overwrite your configuration file) as well as my fantasy football draft (note to self: go LaDainian Tomlinson).

Movable Type appears better than ever. The interface is cleaned up. Mechanisms for dealing with comments — like some special configuration options, a screen that lets you view comments in mass, and the aforementioned addition of a TypeKey option — are great additions. Best of all, the upgrade of MT-Blacklist is not only better integrated, it works like a charm. Want to chat about penis enlargement? Too bad!

Version 3 is up. I still have some work to do, mostly in the form of some new templates that need to be updated, but the upgrade is complete. If anyone notices any wierdness, let me know. I’m getting comfortable in these new shoes.

Damnit! I’m probably one of the biggest fans of MT-Blacklist out there but I’m going to have to be more careful with my left mouse button. A good friend of mine stopped by the other day and left a rather wonderful comment regarding Doom 3. Unfortunately, in my haste to remove my spam from this weekend, I somehow removed his comment as well.

Argh! I’m guessing this has something to do with yahoo.com sneaking into my blacklist. MT-Blacklist always gives you the option to add URLs discovered in comment spam to your blacklist. I normally choose this option, blindly ignoring the list itself. Apparently, this can backfire, leaving innocent links to fend for themselves among correctly incarcerated.

Bummer. If you come by and notice your comment gone (you may know who you are), I apologize. Like everything in life, blame spam.

Like a lot of folks, I was pretty impressed by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s speech at the Republican National Convention last night. I was surprised to find myself watching the television coverage of the dog and pony event and more surprised to find myself a little entertained.

And Arnold was entertaining. His speech was engaging. His delivery, despite his accent, was strong. His speech was, dare I say, inspirational. It had the words and conviction you want to get behind, even if you don’t necessarily agree with its content. It was an interesting pick for a speaker — I certainly wouldn’t have chosen Schwarzenegger to stir emotions — but a good one. Arnold got an opportunity to prove he’s more than an actor. Apparently, he’s a legitimate politician.

It also continued a trend of positive messages coming from the convention. What I’ve witnessed to this point is a message that stands in contrast to the negative message offered by that other convention held not so long ago. The Republicans want you to believe everything is rosy. The war is going better than reported. The economy is an inherited problem rather than a creation of this administration’s policies. The Democrats want you to believe the opposite. The war is a failure. Our economic problems are the fault of the current president.

I don’t completely agree or disagree with either position or party but, like most everyone, I lean one direction. Like many, my mind is already made up, making wonder why I spend any of my time watching these standing parades of like-minded people.

But I can’t help myself. I’ve yet to check out the DNC speech of State Senator Barack Obama that caused a bit of buzz but I will. I’ll be sure to read the RNC speech of Maryland’s Lt. Governor Michael Steele to see if a local boy did us proud. But my expectations are low. I don’t expect to hear words that could change my vote. I only hope to glean a couple details from the personalities that stand at the podium.

The conventions, like my mind, present a decision made up long before the crowds gathered. Let’s get on with the interesting stuff. Let’s debate. Let’s start pulling levers.

Madden: Acquired

Poop: Brown

All in all, a fairly good weekend.

I’ve been feeling like crap since about Sunday afternoon. My stomach and mouth can’t seem to agree on what constitutes a healthy meal. My ass keeps interrupting to weigh in with its own opinion.

My illness this week has led to some interesting challenges. I’ve been spending time on both sides of the sickness fence. On Monday, I stayed home and slept. The hour or so I spent in a status meeting that day were painful, as sitting upright made my nauseous meter go to full.

Since then, I’ve been heading to work with mixed success. I feel good. I feel bad. I feel in between. Yesterday, I made it down to a customer site only to spend half my time in the bathroom issuing lighting strikes that crackled through the nearby halls. Watch out.

Believe it or not, I have other things to discuss outside of a good, solid grip on the toilet seat.

Madden

Madden 2005 was released late last week and I haven’t bought it. This would be considered news, as it may mark the first time in about 10 years I have not purchased the game immediately after it was released. I’d say the issue was money but it’s also this. I’ve joined an online football league and I’m winning. Madden will have to wait.

While I’m on the subject …

Here’s another, more conservative, article about stem cell research and Kerry’s disingenuous use of it as an issue. He wants to lift the stem cell ban. That should be easy. No such ban exists.

DOOM!

I picked up a copy of Doom 3 the day it was released and I have to say I’m pretty happy with it. Most reviews have been pretty positive. Some haven’t been that enthusiastic.

I’m just pleased that they included an actual game along with some of the most impressive technology I’ve seen in a videogame. They took a couple parts Half-Life, a couple parts System Shock 2, and turned off the lights. I’ll have something to show off my PC while I wait for all the (sure to be) amazing user modifications to be released.

The Metro

I rode the DC metro to work yesterday and couldn’t help but think a bit about Spain and their absolutely awful reaction to terrorism. Of course, I did all that thinking before I got to the train. It didn’t really cross my mind once I was there. Good thing. There’s something about the metro and its underground tunnels that I enjoy. I’m sure that has something to do with the fact that I don’t have to ride it every day.

Baby Room, part 2

My wife keeps mentioning something about a baby that’s expected at our doorstep in the near future. I’m unsure of what she’s talking about but I’m feeling the pressure (and the knocks on the inside of her belly). Somehow she expects me to give up my computer room for our oldest child. That won’t be a problem. However, getting me off my ass to do so will.

And isn’t about time I stop talking about my ass?

The Slate has an article up about stem cell research, an issue the democrats hope will drive a wedge between the Republican party and its voters. I find the whole issue of stem cell research pretty interesting for two reasons. One, the issue itself is full of unknowns and promises. Two, I’m with the Democrats on this one.

On the surface — and, I should note, we are often encouraged to look at only the surface — it sounds like a simple issue. Barriers exist, in the form of a lack of Federal funding for human embryonic research. These barriers hamper scientific progress, science that has the potential to save lives. In the name of Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and more all efforts must be made. Those barriers must be removed.

This one is personal. My father and father-in-law have diabetes. My grandfather died of Parkinson’s, a disease I couldn’t wish on my worst enemy. Trapped in your body, unable to function is not the way to go. Parkinson’s is another checkmark in my family medical history, that list where an empty checkbox signals strength and a pencil mark echoes with fears of the future.

This fear drives my interest. Stem cell research feels urgent, something that can’t come fast enough. I’ve seen a battle lost to a disease that stem cell research seeks to cure. I witness battles still in progress.

I worry about the role of the religious right, a group I often feel a part of, in the President’s decision to limit federal research. Ron Reagan, at the Democratic National Convention expressed similar worries:

Compared to Reagan’s grandiose remarks, the actual policy of the President seems muted. It seems reasoned and well thought out. It appears sensitive to the issue of life.

Unlike Reagan, I can appreciate the concept of an embryonic life. I don’t necessarily agree — much like my thoughts on abortion don’t coincide with the Republican party — but I can appreciate the debate. What is and isn’t life is a sticky argument. It’s a fight I don’t feel particularly qualified to weigh in on, even if a position in this argument appears essential to taking a strong position with the entire issue of stem cell research.

Also unlike Reagan, I recognize that no funding of certain types of embryonic stem cell research is not the equivalent to no funding at all. It might not be obvious, particularly if you spent the last week looking through the windows of the DNC, but quite the opposite is true. This issue isn’t the Democrats’ issue alone. The issue isn’t about the pie. It’s about a piece of the pie and how big that piece really is.

Politicians — and, in some respects, researchers alike — want us to believe that stem cell research is a cure all. That’s unlikely to be the case. It does, however, provide a great source of hope, both nationwide and within my home. That hope feeds my fervor. On this one issue, I waver, surprised to find myself leaning towards the other side of the political fence and concerned about political plays on my hope. A wedge issue has been found, even if the Democrats go out of their way to overstate their case. I hope they are careful with it.

I noticed something about Canada during my recent visit. It’s a whole
different country. Some things are the same. The people look and
talk much the same (eh?), assuming your aren’t running off to Quebec. Cars
still drive on the right. Cows still moo and ducks still quack. But there
are all sorts of little things that throw you off.

First, there’s the whole metric system. I never really understood why
us Americans could never get jiggy with a world full of multiples of ten
but it’s interesting to hang out someplace that does. I used 3 kg bags of
ice to keep my beer cold. I had to keep a close eye on the inner circle of my
speedometer. We have 100 to go. Wow. That’s really far. Perhaps it’s in
kilometers? Did that feel like 100 km? How far is 100 km? Where is my
slide rule? Slow down. You are going 120!

Then there’s the money. American dollars and Canadian dollars have almost
nothing in common outside of the fact that they are currency.
It wasn’t the odd colors or exchange rates that tripped me up, however.
It was the use of coins for dollars. On my first full day in Canada, I
picked up beer for $35. I handed the cashier $30 in cash and got my $4
change in coins. Odd, I thought, as my head worked out both the monetary conversion and the worth of these loonies now lining my pockets.
My pockets jingled nearly the entire trip. Too bad I never found one of
these
quarters. They are too cool.

Lastly, we have the beer, which was different in more ways than one.
While shopping, we couldn’t help but notice the huge amount of recycling
going on. Two guys pulled up in a truck bed filled three deep with cases
of bottles. I remarked to my brother-in-law, “They must own a restaurant.”
The woman pulling three cases of bottles from her trunk made me reconsider
that comment.

The store we entered didn’t have any beer on the shelves proper. Instead,
the walls were lined with empty bottles. Choose your poison, order from
the cashier, and watch the beer come flying out a conveyor belt. It seems
that there are some things we could learn from our Canadian neighbors.

And we quickly learned that the beer on those conveyor belts packed a much
greater punch than their American counterparts. Budweiser came in at 5%
alcohol and without its American aftertaste. Yum. I need to start importing
the stuff. Coors light, much to the chagrin of my brother-in-law, sported
a similar boost (up to 4% alcohol). I’d say it was fact I was on vacation
but that wasn’t it. Beer really did taste better around the campfire.

Still, things were much more the same than different. The subtle twists
gave the trip its own special flavor. We did travel to another country
even if, for the most part, America was just 3 miles and a barrel ride away.

The Wootton family went to Canada. We’re back now. In fact, we’ve been back for a while now, our camping experience in Niagara Falls long since over. Don’t worry. Canada is no worse for wear. The moose still graze comfortably by the highway. The mounties can still find their horses.

The whole trip kind of snuck up on me. We didn’t decide to the head for the Falls until about two months before we actually hooked up the camper to leave. That left us just enough time pick a place to stay, search out our birth certificates so that we could not only leave the country but return, and juggle all the responsibilities of an extended vacation (like packing and picking up beer). Surprisingly, we found other willing participants for the trip. The brother-in-law and his family signed up. An additional camper would be coming with us.

The trip to Niagara Falls was about as pleasant as a nine hour trip with an 18 month old child can be. Unlike when I was wandering the back seat for bread crumbs as a kid, Cambell is stuck in his seat, strapped in like a unwilling rollercoaster passenger. I sympathize with the kid. It’s tough to sit still for so long, particularly at an age when the world is so interesting. I’m happy to report that he was an absolute angel. He slept a lot, kept himself occupied while awake, and only resorted to crying just as we were pulling into the campground. He was even better for the trip home.

I should mention that I think we did a pretty good job planning the traveling part of the trip. Cambell ate while on the move so that when we did stop he could chase butterflies. Nothing is worse than sitting in the car forever and then sitting again to eat lunch. Walkie talkies kept the two vehicles navigating together and served as entertainment when times got boring. We discovered that one strength of having a camper around that has no need to pop up is that your bathroom is available whenever need be, something invaluable when you have a pregnant woman on the trip. I do think of my brother-in-law as more than the carrier of the toilet, I assure you, but I know my wife was relieved that both the toilet (and he) were there.

My impression of the falls themselves and Canada in general was almost universally positive. One of my biggest fears — that I’d stare at the falls for 15 minutes in wonder and then wonder what else there was to do — was unfounded. The Falls were an incredible sight. We visited them in one way or another nearly every day. When my 15 minutes were finally up, there was more than enough to do. Let me be your tour guide a little while and I’ll explain:

The Falls

No trip to Niagara Falls can be discussed without mentioning the Falls themselves. I wondered if such a long trip was worth it just to see a single thing. It was.

For those who aren’t aware of this, Niagara Falls is not one waterfall but two separated by a thin stretch of land called Goat Island. The American Falls are impressive but the Canadian falls are where the action is at. The Canadian Falls, called the Horseshoe Falls, is what most people think of when they think about Niagara Falls. If you ever get a chance to go, visit the Canadian side of the border. Not only does that put you next to the more impressive of the two falls, it gives you a much better perspective to view the both of them.

Obviously, this is the attraction but don’t forget to spend some time there. Check out the river a bit, situated in a deep canyon. Check it out at night when they turn the lights on. Walk to the edge and look down at the drop. Grab a barrel and have some fun.

Tourist Trap

The area immediately around the Canadian side of the falls is the definition of a tourist trap. Noise blares from nearby haunted mansions. Lights blink from the surrounding arcades. It reminded me a little of downtown Tokyo, not that I’ve ever been to Japan.

Video screens and bright letters light up the street at night. The prices are too high. The attractions are a little too tailored to the average folk who is looking for ways to part with their money. I should say that the collection of chain restaurants were useful for eating (although the Rain Forest Cafe may want to turn their lights on; a real-life amazon night settled upon us as their power went out) and the outside free fall rides did provide amusement to both residents of the ground and sky alike. It’s not all bad but not particularly exciting either.

The Skylon Tower

The Skylon Tower provides a bird’s view of the Falls. A meal in the tower gives you a nice, rotating view of the entire area. The meal itself, while rather expensive, was rather yummy. My chicken cordon blue was excellent and more than made up for fear laiden trip up the glass elevator. Me and heights don’t get along. Me and chicken, however, do.

The Whirlpool

I don’t know how much I can actually speak to this one since we didn’t see it up close but I was unimpressed. From afar, it didn’t look like much of a whirlpool to me, leaving us with little reason to see it from above while juggling a child in our lap. I pictured it a giant version of my bathroom tub draining away. I was dissapointed, even with the awesome view.

The Maid of the Mist

A boat ride on the Maid of the Mist is almost a required journey when you visit the Falls. Don’t miss it. It may be the tourist attraction in the area but don’t let that deter you. Embrace your inner sightseer. Don the poncho and grab a seat on the second level, where no roof will obstruct your view.

The boat takes you directly to the base of both falls, actually settling within the horseshoe of Horseshoe Falls at one point. The ride gives you a couple of minutes to really appreciate the power of the falls. It’s the best view of them you are ever likely to get.

These stops barely scratch the surface of the available activities. There was a ton of other stuff to do. Helicopter rides, a journey behind the falls, and jet boat rides — enough left for another whole trip. That’s a good thing. One day we might return.

Note: The pictures above all sport larger versions. Click on them. You know you want to.