Birthday dinner in Monterey

My wife, 4-year-old and I are heading out the door now to Monterey. Bobby has never seen such an amazing aquarium before.

It's my birthday today, so we'll be dining in Pacific Grove and spending Monday in Capitola. Not bad.

California smackdown: Arnold vs. Arianna?

Sheila asked for my 2 cents about the weirdness gripping the California political scene these days. Here's what I emailed her:

This is not politics as usual. If Arnold Schwarzenegger ran in a GOP primary, he would be facing the usual scrutiny by the Republican right wing over his straying from the party line on social issues like abortion and gun control. But Republicans here are absolutely apoplectic about Gray Davis. (Itís strange: Democrats have no love for him because heís an empty suit with no core values ñ a pro-death penalty opportunist who has never granted a pardon, who supports three strikes, who builds more prisons, and who canít be counted on to support progressive causes.)

In such an environment, the GOP will turn to anyone they think has the best shot at toppling Davis. They know Issa has no chance of winning, so they may turn to the best alternative. Given the collapsed time frame, Arnold has the name recognition and may have a legitimate chance. Although a majority of Californians polled say heís not qualified to be governor, the likely winner (if the recall is successful) may come away with only 25% or 30% of the vote, in an election when only 25% or 30% of eligible voters may turn out.

The most formidable candidate entering the race would be former LA mayor Richard Riordan ñ who should have been Davisí opponent last November, had Davis not meddled in the GOP primary. Riordanís perceived as a moderate, and heíd be the favorite to succeed to Davis if Davis is booted out.

Itís hard to say if an Arianna Huffington candidacy would grain traction. Sheís on the right side of most issues Californians care about. If Democrats, Greens and independents coalesce around her as the progressive candidate, she could have a shot.

By the way, we could care less if the national media are enthralled with an Arnold vs. Arianna street fight or not. (The NY Times' Maureen Dowd weighs in today from 3,000 miles away.) Weíll have to live with this governor for the next three years, long after the recall election fades from the national spotlight.

'Wired': The Coolest Magazine on the Planet

The Sunday NY Times books section reviews ''Wired: A Romance,'' a book by one of the magazine's contributing editors, Gary Wolf. Excerpt:

''Wired: A Romance'' is less a love story than a theological autopsy of a religion that flourished and went away in less than a decade. Things happened quickly for Wired -- remember ''Internet time''? At its height in the mid-90's, Wired could be found in the lobbies of venture capitalists, on the light tables of designers, underneath the coffee cups of computer geeks and in the middle of the only conversation that seemed to matter. It was, briefly, the coolest magazine on the planet.