OK--yes, we are undoubtedly setting a bad example. Roxie is watching the Phillies play and she is a fan!

Seeing Sarah Palin today reminded me why we don't marry on the first date.

Roxie has arrived. To quote Stefanie, "She is magical."

I can't believe it. I forgot my tie! This happens two or three times a year.

In the past I've borrowed from Noah Finz. Today it was Dr. Mel as I realized what was going on. He said yes.

Would anyone have noticed? "Look! Channel 8's weather people all have similar ties."

If you like tonight's tie you now know who to compliment.

I need to store ties at work!

Just before air time tonight came word of a large water release from one dam in New London County (Southeastern Connecticut) and the overtopping of another. This is bad news. Any time a dam doesn't do its job there's a price to pay.

I created a flying animation to show where the danger was and labeled it as we normally do with a 2-line banner.

DAMN FAILURE
SYLVIA'S POND DAM

I came within around 90 seconds of not noticing and putting that faux pas on-the-air!

Phew--no YouTube tonight!

As much as I'd like to think it's just normal abnormal weather this has been a crazy June... and now early July. Southeastern parts of the state received a month and a half's rain in a few hours. Places that haven't seen flooding in decades were underwater. Crazy!

There is a reason for the nutsy weather, but it's a reason not revealed to mere man. The underlying causes that drive the weather to do what it does are often hidden beneath a layer of atmospheric noise.

We're not done. More rain overnight and tomorrow.

Helaine's computer is infected. AVG Antivirus says it's called "Defiler." It removed it and cleaned the wound... or so it said.

The first tipoff was computer's inability to update the AVG signature files. That's a trick today's smart viruses frequently use. I just did some minor surgery to the registry, rebooted and voila--updates are working.

I really don't know how much more infection is there. Undoubtedly just removing a file doesn't fix everything.

As is nearly always the case this virus came while antivirus software was present! I don't blame Helaine but it's nearly certain she clicked on something that looked OK but wasn't. It happens. Social engineering is a huge part of virus propagation.

If things still aren't 100% up-to-speed I'll backup her data, reformat and reload. Life goes on.

I worry about the economy. Will our lost jobs come back? Probably not.

The bad economy is one reason jobs have left--but it's not the only reason. There just aren't as many reasons to employ people when you can get machines or even the customer himself to do the work for you.

Look at all the jobs that used to exist but no longer do. There are the obvious customer service agents replaced by voice prompts and recognition. Checkouts at the supermarket and hardware store now self serve. The gas station too. Monday, my co-worker Ann Nyberg showed me a photo of a 'helpless' Dunkin' Donuts inside a grocery store.

No one wants employees if they can avoid them us. We are a pain in the ass. We are expensive, temperamental and prone to break down. We form unions. We kvetch. We need to be managed.

Businesses like Google where the cashflow overwhelms the staffing requirements are the goal.

When was the last time you heard an entrepreneur with a business model that was labor intensive? It's been a long time.

What was a department store is now Wal*Mart, Target or BJs. There's a fraction of the staff. And we're only seeing the front of the store. Every economy of scale is a reason for fewer people.

The 20th Century might have been the century of the employee, a time when the worker did well. The 20th Century, it can be argued, was the worker's shining moment.

Not so the 21st! Our notions about hard work and a good life have disconnected.

In the past as labor saving devices came on line workers and their bosses benefited. Now only companies benefit from increased productivity. And, the job market is so unbalanced there is no leverage for most workers. It's tough to see the playing field evened for a long time to come.

"I don't do crack, but I think this is probably what it's like."

The quote is from Helaine. She said it as I was scrambling to leave the house and drive to work. She was referring to today's Dallas, TX police chase.

"There should be a channel with only this," she added.

They are addictive even though they're entirely predictable. Attention miscreants: If you hear a copter overhead, pull over. You're done.

I knew what Helaine was talking about because the chase was on the TV in the bedroom as I got dressed. MSNBC's anchors were quizzing a Texas police dispatcher. They seemed more interested than he was.

It was a "routine traffic stop," the dispatcher said. In some quarters those words are considered cover for police as they hassle minorities. In any event the driver took off and led police across the Dallas area for a few hours before running through an intersection and getting slammed by a pickup truck.

Don't hold your breath waiting for a follow-up. When the perp was caught the story ended.

Why is this stuff covered? People watch--that's the easy answer.

Is it news? That's a tougher question. MSNBC and others were following it without knowing any off the underlying factors. They were not following a crime or criminal as much as they were following a chase.

In the past I've referred to this as soft core porn for newsrooms. My opinion hasn't changed.

The empty nest has been refilled. Since graduating in May Stef has been living at home where there's a comfy bed, free food, laundry service, hot showers and coffee.

She spent a few weeks splitting her time between the sofa and bed. Those days are over--she's working.

Stef has discovered she's not in college anymore! She really is working. It's not a question of difficulty of task--it's just the commitment of those same hours every day plus her substantial commute. That she really enjoys her job and the people she's working with makes it easier--but it's still work.

It's nice having her home. Should I say that? Am I cursing our relationship by claiming short term family unity?

She has, dare I say, matured. No--she doesn't think like a 58 year old. More importantly she doesn't think like a kid!

There's a lot to like about Stef. My favorite part is how she speaks and what she says. I have always been verbally judgmental. I'm the wrong guy to axe a question! Don't use "orientated" either! She's fast and funny.

When Stef was an infant I was doing some work in her bedroom. As she watched from her crib I smashed my thumb with a hammer. "Damn," I screamed. Immediately Stef followed with, "Damn, damn, damn, damn."

Nothing's changed in that respect. A few weeks ago she said a colorfully profane invective. "Never say that in my presence again," I said. It's not the word. It's the word from my child!

However, like damn, when there's a chance to use this word for effect there it is! It's her way to silence me, but when she uses it it's funny not disrespectful. That's a level of linguistic nuance not normally found at her age.

Friday we go to get her dog, Roxie. As with work, being responsible for a little puppy will change Stef. Hopefully she'll continue to change for the better.

As we sat on the couch yesterday afternoon Helaine said, "I'm surprised you haven't written about Michael Jackson. I checked a few times looking for it. Don't you remember sitting on that ugly couch in Buffalo watching Thriller?"

I do. It was quite an event. The world gravitated to MTV on December 2, 1983 when the video was premiered. There was as much hype and hoopla as I can remember surrounding a cultural/musical happening. It didn't disappoint.

This was Michael Jackson's second pop career. His first was as the front man for the Jackson 5.

When the J5 was at its peak they were being marketed in a way that made them seem unhip to me. It's only now I appreciate songs like "I Want You Back¹."

When I speak to people who've only seen Michael as a grotesquely reconfigured weirdo, I point out that he was genuinely cute pre-surgery. It's tough to believe.

I'm not a psychiatrist, but I still have my theories on what made Michael Jackson the truly strange person he grew up to be. I don't doubt he enjoyed the time he spent performing. Unfortunately, that time is surrounded by more dedicated time. As a child his life was full of adult responsibility and discipline.

Look who he's friendly and linked to--other grown child stars. They're the only people who might have a true understanding of his childhood... or lack thereof.

On top of that, imagine a life where money is truly no object. Martin Mull tells a joke about the saddest thing in the world--high school with money. Michael Jackson was that on steroids!

It's all really sad. I don't feel especially bad for the family whose motives have always seemed a little sinister to me. I do feel bad for Michael who never had the ease of life that his level of fame is supposed to provide.

Last night I decided to look and listen to some of Michael's stuff. That took me to youtube.com where loads of performances can be seen. Actually, there's more! I have no idea where it came from, but within youtube are the original Motown tracks for some of the Jackson 5 songs minus the lead vocal. It looks like these were mastered to allow Michael to appear on TV or in person actually singing, but without the expense of the sending a full orchestra (actually the Funk Brothers) and the rest of the family. It's amazing stuff to hear.

As we change from the vinyl to digital era and radio fades from its glory there may never be another artist capable of aggregating the outlandishly huge fan base Michael got. Mass media is become narrow media which doesn't play into this kind of over-the-top fame.

Saturday afternoon word came the physician in Michael's house when he died has 'lawyered up.' People will go to jail for this tragic death.

¹ - The piano glissando in "I Want You Back" has reached iconic status.

Wow. What an afternoon. Severe weather moved into Connecticut and just kept building. Hail, severe thunderstorms, strong winds with trees down and a little flooding. We had multiple tornado warnings simultaneously. All hell broke loose.

It's quieter now.

I was going to write something about Michael Jackson--and probably will tomorrow. Right now I'm trying to ramp myself down.