Problems with 24

Searching "Jack Bauer" on Google summons over 2 million links. The first page listing of links all refer to the character on Fox's hit show 24. So, it's unlikely that you do not know anything about Jack Bauer or 24. In fact, there's a pretty good chance you plan your Monday evenings around Fox's airing of 24 (and maybe even Prison Break).

An article in this week's The New Yorker by Jane Mayer blends an interview with the show's creator Joel Surnow with a discussion of the use of torture in interrogation. If you watch the show, you should read the article. Of course, it could be disappointing to ardent fans of the show. In short, the article indicates that the abusive torture techniques implemented fail in most interrogations. Even worse, a West Point General states that his students are confused with Bauer's practices on the show. This is certainly a problem, and it is not my intention to embellish Mayer's article on torture. I am not fond of all the torture displayed in the show; it is rather excessive, even for a fantasy. What kind of fantasy is this? (By the way, I noticed that a drill was used for three shows last week: 24, House, and Grey's Anatomy. Interesting, isn't it?) Finally, Mayer's article mentions that since Sept. 11th, depictions of torture have become more common in America television.

While the torture seems excessive and unnecessary, what bothers me more is probably overlooked by many viewers. If you have been following the show, you know that Jack Bauer has been blamed for his brother's death. However, all the viewers know that Jack's father killed his brother. What went wrong here? Let me give a quick recap. Jack had an IV placed in his brother, Graem, and had another officer inject a neurotoxin that inflicts pain via the IV. After several injections, Jack ceases the interrogation and orders the IV removed. Jack's father (who it turns out is in on the current conspiracy with Graem) asks for a few minutes alone with Graem, closing the door to his room. The officers allow this (mistake 1). First of all, Graem probably should receive medical attention and have constant supervision over him to cover CTU's (the show's Counter Terrorism Unit) actions. Instead, they allow Jack's father into the room, and he injects more of the toxin into his son, which kills him. He shouts to the officers outside the room that Graem is having a seizure. Then, he blames them for killing his son--well, Jack is held responsible.

Here's my problem with this situation. If you are CTU, then you should know how much of that toxin entered the room. The interrogation was recorded. Jack did not administer the toxin, he ordered certain quantities to be injected. So, the other officer did the injection, which means that Jack could not say one thing and do another. This means they have an indication as to how much of the toxin is used in the interrogation. Finally, if you know that XX amount of this toxin can kill, then do not have that much directly hooked to the patient--unless you intend to kill them.

CTU is flawed. They should without a doubt know that Jack did not kill his brother. In the very least, they should be aware that someone administered more of the toxin after the interrogation. This sloppy record keeping is irresponsible, and it presents CTU as incompetent.

There are many other problems with 24. For instance, in the beginning a suicide bomber boarded a subway train with the intention of setting off the bomb. Which car would you board if you wanted to do more that structural damage? Probably the middle car, because it's a little harder to be removed without succeeding in your original objective. This idiot (which may be the point) boards the last car, which allows Jack to kick him out the back door of the car. The bomb explodes in the subway tunnel. Dumb.

With all of these problems, you would think I would stop watching the show. I probably will not. The overall story is rather interesting, but the details are terrible (which would probably change the overall story). Anyway, check out the video below. The first part is the funny part.

A few more pictures...

A few more pictures before the sun set. We let George onto the porch, and now, he keeps wanting to go back outside. What a crazy cat!!

Snow Pictures

Julia and I went outside to see what was up with the snow. We decided to clean off my car, since our apartment complex likes to have us move our cars so they can clear off the parking lot. It's a little disappointing, because they cleared off the sidewalks around 11am. By noon, the sidewalks were covered with at least an inch, maybe two inches, covering the sidewalks.

Enjoy the pictures below. It's still snowing...

Snow for Ithaca, NY

The snow in Oswego, Parish, and Mexico made headlines last week. Now, Ithaca is getting a little snow of its own. The slick weathermen down in Binghamton, NY expect that we'll see somewhere between 18"-24" of snow in total.

The snow has been falling since about 7pm last night. The maintenance guys at my apartment complex has been working to clear the sidewalks and parking lots since about 5am. The snow is still falling, so there is plenty of work left to do.

A live picture of Cornell University is available here.

Apparently it's not just water...

Remember the days when Evian water bottles were the rage and all the "cool" people (no pun intended) drank Evian water? (Now, everyone carries a Nalgene water bottle. If you're unfamiliar with Nalgene, let me just say that it's The North Face of water bottles. What's so great about Nalgene? Unless you loose it, you shouldn't ever need to buy another one. Check out the standard bottle's specifications here.)

What's the new water of choice? If you frequently have lunch at Collegetown bagels, you'll probably find Fuji, Evian, and Nirvana bottled water in stock. The Nirvana brand water has a very creepy and cheap looking label. Of course, you know what that means--there must be something creepy and cheap with the water. I have seen a few people take the plunge and consume a 16.9oz bottle of Nirvana water. Wait a minute! Isn't there something wrong with using Nirvana to describe water? Oh, OK my thesaurus tells me that nirvana is a synonym for paradise, heaven, bliss, ecstasy, joy, peace, serenity, etc... But, wait what's the definition of nirvana? Here it is:

a transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma and samsara. It represents the final goal of Buddhism.

So, if you have reached nirvana, then there is no desire. Should not desire include a desire for water, too? Why, then, should you reach for a bottle of water instead of plain tap water or, better yet, water directly from a stream (or melt an icicle if you're in Ithaca)? What are the Nirvana people thinking I am after when I look for a bottle of water among all those different brands? Perhaps, I am seeking escape from the mundane drone of the real world. Maybe by drinking this water I'll transcend my current state of being. That's a lot of expect from a bottle of water. Isn't it?

Enter Voss water. Voss is advertised as the pinnacle of water. Voss water was the idea of a student (Christopher Harlem) from Norway who attended the University of San Francisco. He noticed that students always carried bottled water, but he felt that he could never find bottled water comparable to Norwegian water. Eventually, he and his long-time friend (Ole Christian Sandberg) decided to bottle artesian water from Norway and distribute it around the world. Add Voss to the lengthy list of bottled waters.

Have you ever had Voss water? I have a few times, and it's definitely different. The most notable characteristic about Voss water is its smoothness. Of course, you won't find people lugging Voss bottles around, since it is bottled in glass rather than plastic. Plus, why not just dump your Voss into a Nalgene? Is that a sacrilege to bottled water?

You think I'm crazy with this long discussion about water? Check out Via Genova in Chappaqua, NY (just a little north of Manhattan). This is a water bar owned by Diane Felicissimo a proclaimed water connoisseur. I have even heard that people do water tastings, which probably is easier than wine, which impairs the discriminating power of the taste buds of the "non-spit backers."

Well, I suppose people do what makes them happy. If having a keen sense of distinguishing things with no taste is your forte, so be it. I wonder if there is a similar following for saltine crackers? This is scary enough...