| Reason to be proud, again! |
[Oct. 10th, 2008|12:47 pm] |
With today's news of Connecticut's Supreme Court decision, now all three of the states I've lived in allow same sex marriages. 3/50th of the way to equal rights in marriage, for Americans!
I'm pretty surprised that Connecticut got there before New York, but since most of the people in Connecticut work in NYC, New York shouldn't be far behind. It's so nice to feel proud of where I'm from every once in a while. |
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| More urban species |
[Oct. 10th, 2008|05:46 am] |
There are at least two species of things I've encountered lately, that I need to write MUS entries on. I need to actually get decent pictures of them first, however!
One is a plant I finally IDed last night, even though I've been aware of it since the 4th of July. I had never seen it before working at the zoo, and it's freaking everywhere there. Weird. The coworker who pointed it out asked me "do you know what this weed is that smells like kerosene?" Now I do.
I'm pretty sure the other one is the one sometimes called "the largest organism in the world" but I need to get the photos and hit the books to be sure. |
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| I agree with John McCain! |
[Oct. 9th, 2008|07:21 pm] |
Too bad John McCain hasn't agreed with John McCain since he won the nomination. Thanks to ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) roaming and ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) barackobama2008 for the link. (EDIT--It's only fair to point out that this clip is from 2000, and he's referring to GW Bush's negative ads.)
(Only four more weeks folks, then it's back to complaining about the weather. ;) ) |
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[Oct. 9th, 2008|12:24 pm] |
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| chipmunk003 |
[Oct. 8th, 2008|06:02 pm] |
Our cat likes to bring us presents. I have stymied her killing two out of the three gifts so far ( I found the third, a dead mole, while saving this one). She likes to play with her "toys", so whenever I see her out in the grass crouched over something, I need to go investigate. This little dude/dudette was hiding buried as far into the grass as they could make it, frozen. I scooped it up into a plastic snack container, took some pictures, and let it go up a tree (it ran up the tree pretty well.)
Another life saved!
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| Debate analysis |
[Oct. 8th, 2008|05:53 am] |
As long as I'm going to lose people off my friends list every time I post something political, I may as well enjoy it. My big hope at this point is that the Independents, especially those in Ohio and Florida and other places where the vote count needs to be overwhelming to counter the likely fraud, are going to factcheck.org to see if what the candidates are saying is actually true. Their analysis comes across this way, in my reading:
1. McCain takes credit for something he didn't do.
2. Both candidates oversimplify the financial crisis blaming the other side for their part (I don't see how you can't trace this back to Reaganomics, frankly).
3. Obama makes dubious claim about his health care proposal's results.
4. McCain overstates (by double) the effect of his health care proposal, while OUTRIGHT LYING about the effect of Obama's.
5. McCain omits the truth about his own vote to "withdraw in humiliation" from Somalia.
6. Obama's position on Nuclear Power drifts toward the center.
7. McCain grossly overstates the amount of people who "make their living on Ebay" (what did this have to do with anything, again?)
Obviously, the outright lie bothers me the most. Apparently none of this matters, since the economic meltdown is enough to give Obama the edge. That's not exactly how I was hoping it would go, but I think he's better positioned to help things get better, anyway.
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/factchecking_debate_no_2.html
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[Oct. 7th, 2008|11:12 pm] |
I did something today that I haven't done in probably 15 years. Something you used to do. Something that used to be an important skill. ( Give Up? ) |
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| Not a $#^@#$^ Rick roll |
[Oct. 7th, 2008|11:36 pm] |
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So much better than politics... I promise you it's great: The 8 Phases of Dating |
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| It's on now |
[Oct. 7th, 2008|09:17 pm] |
If, like me, you are interested in politics as well as juvenile humor, you should, like I am, be watching the debate right now while reading Cracked.com's debate live-blog.
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| I want all you skinheads to get up on your feet |
[Oct. 7th, 2008|06:17 pm] |
I'm really grumpy today for a variety of reasons I'll try not to vent about.
I've been wicked busy the last few days though I've got nothing to really show for all my running about.
Friday night I went to Darkroom to see Cars Can Be Blue and ended up dancing to bad 80s hits for a while. Eventually I extracted a very drunk Becky Can Be Blue (old hardcore nomenclature there) from the dance floor and the duo came back to my house (in their beaten blue Dodge Colt) that night for sleeping.
Saturday I did brunch with the band at Pick Me Up (second time in 6 days!) then bid the band farewell for their show in Milwaukee and headed to a end-of-the-season cookout at Ben's. Quite a spread for just the few of us that showed up. Turned out all of us scooter chums of Ben's were leaving just as his other friends showed up. We picked the right time though, because when I left at 7:30 it was dark and the temperature was dropping considerably.
That night I saw Symarip at The Bottom Lounge. It was lovely. So lovely. Anyway, history lesson for the 90% of you who aren't a part of the scene: Symarip is one of a handful of artists that reigned in the skinhead reggae scene from 1968-1970. The genre was essentially Jamaican reggae before it slowed down and turned Rastafarian. Sometimes called early reggae, but generally skinhead reggae as the UK skins were the major consumers of the music. Now so on the stage we have an old black man (Roy Ellis -- the vocalist, and only original member of the band), wearing a nice suit and red Doc Martens, commanding a room full of (mostly white) skinheads and skinbyrds. As he says in his archetypal hit, he was indeed the "boss skinhead." I was in heaven and I danced and danced and danced.
Sunday I stayed in, did some laundry, watched The Colts eek one out, ran, and then the Cars Can Be Blue kids came back down as they had a day off. We watched moves ("This is England" on Nate's request incidentally) and ate popcorn. Low key.
Monday Nate and I walked around running errands and when we returned the band went to work silkscreening shirts in my basement. I cleaned the carb on my scoot (so much better now) and basically puttered around in the sun-drenched yard until 4:30 when I had to leave to meet up with Heather. I wired her entertainment center, we did dinner, I borrowed her 35mm 1.4fL, then I slipped over to the Black Kids show at the Abbey. Afterwards I returned the lens then zipped home and slept.
I went to bed in a foul mood Monday and woke up with it today. I've just had no energy, or interest in anything. The rain has kept me from running today and that's two days in a row so I can't even run out the grumpies. Mostly I've been listening to music, processing photos, and watching loads of TV (again watched the Monday night game where the Vikings barely beat out The Saints, as well as the normal Daily Show and Colbert Report). Soon I think I'll head to The Orbit Room for a meet up with scooter folk though I'm not sure how I'll get there. If I drive I'll never get a parking spot for my truck when I return, if I scoot it'll be in a downpour, and the bus will require me to leave right about now in order to make the transfer. Bah I say.
Tonight I HAVE to write about the show last night or the opening band that put me on the guest list will cry foul and have every right to.
Tomorrow I need to pack and then head to the airport. I'll be off to Nova Scotia for almost a week. Sadly that trip is falling apart so who knows what that will entail. I believe I'll be left having my Thanksgiving Dinner (that's next Monday for you non-Cannucks) at a homeless shelter. Fortunately I should get plenty of pie as there are only two homeless in all of Canada.
Now because you all seem to like randomness, here's a list of bummers:
My Comcast remote no longer has the functionality to skip ahead 30 seconds, it now skips head five minutes. That's not nearly as handy for skipping commercials. Thanks comcast.
I got a ticket in the mail saying I blew through 5 toll booths in Chicago from Oct '06 - April '07. Turns out those are the times I had Katherine's iPass. I guess it didn't work. That'll cost me $104.10.
The low bookcase upstairs that I carefully mounted, is pulling out from the wall and taking the drywall with it. Someone had to have sat on it, or pulled on it to try and move it. I know the date it happened. There are culprits, but no remediation is available. |
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| What does Wiley really race |
[Oct. 7th, 2008|12:50 pm] |
Since various folks ask, this is the car I race in the SCCA's Solo program. First in class last year, Second in class this year. Woot.
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| Near Future Goals -- Continued |
[Oct. 7th, 2008|11:44 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  contemplative | ] |
So, in order to make my previous "near future goals" a reality, I need to do the following:
1) Come up with a business model that can generate at least $250 a week with limited investment (in time or money). That will cover a $175 000 mortgage with a 25 year amortization, paid bi-weekly. $175 000 + the profits from the sale of my current house will let me build a nice straw bale house in the country side. Worst cast, 2 days a week contracting should be more than sufficient.
2) Obtain and read books on the following: Plumbing, foundations, straw bale buildings, plastering, green roofs, general contracting, other.
3) Finish paying down my student loan.
For now, I have to get my ass in gear. 7 weeks until I go on parental leave and I have a lot of work to do in that period. Joy. |
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| Doorways of Brookline |
[Oct. 7th, 2008|05:56 am] |
I come back to this project in October because that's when we start our evening dogwalks in the town instead of the park. It's dark when we walk the dogs now, and the park is full of nocturnal wildlife that get the dogs very excited. Night walks in the town are much more peaceful. Plus it's easier to pick up the poop 'cause we can actually see it. ANYway, the doorways of Brookline are also more interesting to me in the evening, with their glass panels and unusual lights. I accidentally found a new setting on my old camera, which is why the second two pictures look so weird.
( weird 11 and 23 )
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| more to ponder |
[Oct. 6th, 2008|05:57 pm] |
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We are prisoners of our biology |
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| Finance Question |
[Oct. 6th, 2008|02:59 pm] |
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Why hasn't the federal government told Wall Street to close down or halted trading, to limit the ridiculous losses we're having today? (I don't know if they SHOULD or not, but I remember them doing this shortly after 9/11, I think....) |
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| Public Art? |
[Oct. 5th, 2008|12:59 pm] |
It was such a pretty day yesterday, that everywhere I looked it seemed like there were works of art. It was hard to tell what was art and what was just the beautiful chaos of the world. I love happening upon bits of deliberate art on the street, like this oceanscape of lobsters, waves, and the sun. But It seemed wrong to exclude the staples and ABC from the collage.
( search for more art! )
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| A little political note: |
[Oct. 4th, 2008|12:58 pm] |
This president we have, with the lowest approval rating in the history of approval ratings, is a member of the Republican Party. Everything that he has done to earn the disrespect of 3/4 of the American people is known as "The Republican Platform." As much as it seems like we vote for a personality to be president, we're actually choosing which party we want to have the disproportionate power of the executive branch. If you believe that President Bush is doing a bad job, as 225 million Americans seem to believe, then voting for the Republican ticket--NO MATTER WHO is on it--makes no sense.
Once again for simplicity's sake: We have a Republican president, if you want "change," DO NOT vote for a Republican candidate.
I don't know why this is confusing.
EDITED TO ADD: my point as seen as a comic strip
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| Doorways and other things of Brookline |
[Oct. 4th, 2008|10:31 am] |
Today is so brilliantly sunny that I want to take pictures of everything. I think later I'll go for a bike ride photo safari and maybe a trip to the library to pick up a movie. Alexis is out of town and I'm out of money. I could wallow around the house and play rock band, but not while the weather is so pretty. I don't know why 31 station street is a National Historic place, but I assume it was a building associated with the train station somehow. Nice ornately carved door.
( see more... )
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