Kite Day

Robert's on a Drawing Binge

Fathers Day

Yesterday the Pierces hosted a Fathers Day lunch attended by Robert Sr, Gertrude, John, Meredith, David, and, the guest of honor, Julie Payne. Fish tacos and cake. What fitting food. The weather is warming up, so we sat outside among the trees. Mira gave a toast in love of fathers. We'll remember it.

Skywalker Ranch

Robert cycles past Geoge Lucas's place a few times a week. So far, no invite.

Mercedes Finished School for the Year

From Steven Pierce Family

Dario Visit June 2011

Thanks to Dario for sending us some photos taken on the day of his visit to the Pierce house.

See photos here.

News From Crazy Argentina

Adoptees of Argentine Media Owner Allow DNA Tests

http://beta.news.yahoo.com/adoptees-argentine-media-owner-allow-dna-tests-182442402.html

FourandSix

Robert's former colleague, Kevin Connor, has started a new company in the nascent field of image forensics.  He has teamed up with Hany Farid, an important digital imaging researcher.  Very cool. Robert is very jealous.

http://www.fourandsix.com/about-us/

Finally Summer

Lots of flowers in Marin!

Result

Yesterday's fire was put out very quickly. Only a small burnt patch as the fire stayed out of the trees.

Fire in San Rafael Today

EHarmony Video

Remarkably similar to Mira's match.com video.

http://youtu.be/mTTwcCVajAc

Golden Northern Bumble Bee

Golden Northern Bumble Bee (Bombus fervidus). Like honey bees, bumble bees live on nectar and on honey that they make themselves. Unlike honey bees, bumble bees can sting more than once.

Art

Elephant Stag Beetle (Lucanus elephus).  Lives in the woods in the central United States.  Despite its ferocious appearance, this beetle is harmless to humans; it feeds mostly on plant juices. Let's just say that Robert's law practice has hit a lull this week.

Live and Learn

Robert enjoyed a book review in this week's New Yorker by Louis Menand titled "Live and Learn, Why we have college."

Recently we are seeing a flood of articles and books  that question the value of higher education.  This is true, Robert believes, because the analogy between the education market and the now burst real estate market are so obvious. Americans continue to be urged to invest (and, more importantly, borrow for) an eduction that they can't afford, and, arguably, do not need.  Colleges and technical schools are like pigs at the trough, raising fees and putting students in debt.  Why not?  It's not their money.  It is the working class and poor that suffer the most.  High student loan debt decreases the flexibility, entrepreneurship, and general risk taking of graduates.  The people we want to be exploring and innovating.  This is a shame.  Let's hope that policy makers get in front of this issue.

Snotty

 

My, those are big hands you have.

More Rain

We're getting more rain this weekend. Good for the water supply, but bad for the golf and tennis games. Here's some pickings from our walk today.

Dancing With Thomas Jefferson

Two weeks ago the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruled that the US Park Police did not act unconstitutionally when they arrested Mary Brooke Oberwetter for dancing silently with 17 of her friends inside the Jefferson Memorial.  According to the court, "the Park Service has a substantial interest in promoting a tranquil environment at our national memorials. (citation omitted). Here the government has reasonably advanced its interest in tranquility because . . .  the restriction on expressive activity does not sweep beyond the actual Memorial space. Outside the Jefferson Memorial, of course, Oberwetter and her friends have always been free to dance to their hearts’content."

Read the opinion here.

Visit

Yesterday the Pierce family was fortunate to host a lunch for Dario Bardic and Karel Hus, two visitors from Holland.  Dario is a (distant) cousin of Mira's, and both were in California for a wedding of a friend of Karel's in Los Angeles and a tourist visit to San Francisco.  John and Meredith came to lunch and John reminisced about his trip to Croatia in 1966.  John even broke out some Croatian.  Meredith and Robert tried to keep up conversation about the old country, but mostly drank wine and talked with Dario and Karel about their visit to the new world, recent sidewalk protests in the Castro, and life in Amsterdam.  We hope to see Dario and Karel again,  in California, Holland, and/or Croatia!

Foreign Affairs

Robert is enjoying his new subscription to Foreign Affairs.  He subscribed precisely because he knows nothing about foreign affairs. 

He found interesting the recent article by Susan Schwab, "After Doha: Why the Negotiations Are Doomed and What We Should Do About It."  Susan Schwab was the U.S. Trade Representative from 2006 to 2009.  Her point is that it is time for the international community to recognize that the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiation, started in 2001, is doomed to failure out of a lack of any meaningful progress.  According to Schwab, "the WTO has served the world well, but it risks losing its relevance as the Doha Round continues to drain its credibility and resources.  Now is the time to liberate would-be trade liberalizers and move on."

Mad Hatter

Here's a photo of Robert's former colleague, Russell Brown.  A Photoshop evangelist.  He goes into Apple Stores in Tokyo dressed like this.  True.

Bring in the Clowns