 |
Thursday, December 25, 2008
goodby #9
Sunday, November 30, 2008
baby is here
 |
| From gamera |
I am such a pushover.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Now that the voting is over
The voting is well over and it seems that not everyone is happy with the outcomes. Who would have thought an election would not solve all of your problems? It has taken me a while to put my thoughts together on this and write them down. I am still not sure I have it all the way I like it, but if i wait any longer it will not be timely and relevant so here goes.
Prop 8
If the State Supreme Court has any balls they will rule that Prop8 is legal and amend the state constitution. Religious conservatives will be able to rejoice in their victory over the forces of homosexuality.
Until...
The State Supreme Court should follow this decision with the abolishment of State Marriage. You heard me. All state issued marriage certificates would be reworked to only allow for civil unions between two consenting adults. Polygamists will have to wait. This will get the state out of the marrying business, force the acceptance of Civil Union as the legal equivalent of a marriage, and let the religious types keep Marriage for churches and heteros. No it is not perfect, but it would be a mighty endrun around the constitutional amendment.
I have never thought that the state should be involved in either the relationship between people and their gods nor those between consenting adults.
The Presidential Election
As has been said over and over again this was a historic election. This is said every four years as partisans do their best to paint this election as vital to the survival of the nation.
But history was made with the election of the first non-white man the office of President. It is a big step for this nation and will, I hope, go a long way towards combating racism. My kids will never know an America that didn't have a black man in the highest office and that makes me proud. I sincerely hope that President-Elect Obama will succeed big enough to shame his criticsm, but he inherits an aweful mess. It is going to be a big job and I hope he is up to the task.
His critics have gone to great lengths to diminish his success. They claim that he slandered Hillary and Palin with sexist and unfair attacks. They claim that he has a shady past and that the Liberal Media have been covering up for him buy not reporting on his dirty dealings. The tired refrain that they were "in the tank" for him throughout the election. That he stole the election through ACORN or other nefarious means. It is my belief that he won because optimism was more appealing than fear. Near the end fear seemed to be all the McCain had to offer. I only rarely heard him speak of himself, instead using his air time to try and cast fear, uncertainty and doubt upon his opponent. I found this tactic unsavory to say the least. I once held Senator McCain in high regard, but his conduct in this election actually made me sad. It was beneath him (and his campaign) to question Obama's patriotism and associations. To add insult to injury, it didn't work.
If indeed there is evidence of a shady past or dirty dealings, then report them. Stop complaining that the Liberal Media are not doing their job and do it yourself. The internet makes it possible for anyone to report their findings and send them to Right leaning news organizations, they do exist. To be taken seriously you need more than rumor and supposition. Simply saying that we still don't know all about Obama's relationship with Bill Ayers does not make it so. If he is being truthful then there is nothing left for him to say about it, if he is not being truthful, find the pictures of them on ski holiday together or copies of their correspondence. Anything less is conjecture. I truly am incredulous that people could be so deluded as to honestly believe that no news organization would run the story because of their bias. Apparently the video of Rev Wright, the Flag Pin controversy and the National Anthem brouhaha have all been forgotten.
You will still find the conspiracy theories swirling at any right wing website just as they have continued on the left for the past 8 years. To my eye there is no real difference between the two extremes. They are both populated by cranks who are compelled to loudly voice their ill informed opinions and are believed by their extremist opposition to represent the mainstream instead of the fringe. No amount of reason will pry such people from their position because they did not reason themselves into it. It is an unfortunate truth that reasoned discourse does not sell papers which is why people who should be shouting their rant on some street corner are given time on TV or in print. This lends much more weight to their arguments than they deserve.
I will likely have to devote and entire rant to this in the future as it is a giant issue that deserves some attention.
Post election drinking game:
1) Go to Daily Kos or a similar site and retrieve a vanity post from 2004 whining about Bush stealing the election
2) Replace Bush with Obama, and post to FreeRepublic or Pajamas Media
3) Drink a shot every time someone replies positively
4) Die of alcohol poisoning
Prop 8
If the State Supreme Court has any balls they will rule that Prop8 is legal and amend the state constitution. Religious conservatives will be able to rejoice in their victory over the forces of homosexuality.
Until...
The State Supreme Court should follow this decision with the abolishment of State Marriage. You heard me. All state issued marriage certificates would be reworked to only allow for civil unions between two consenting adults. Polygamists will have to wait. This will get the state out of the marrying business, force the acceptance of Civil Union as the legal equivalent of a marriage, and let the religious types keep Marriage for churches and heteros. No it is not perfect, but it would be a mighty endrun around the constitutional amendment.
I have never thought that the state should be involved in either the relationship between people and their gods nor those between consenting adults.
The Presidential Election
As has been said over and over again this was a historic election. This is said every four years as partisans do their best to paint this election as vital to the survival of the nation.
"If $CANDIDATE is elected the country will become a $IDEOLOGY state and be doomed. The founding fathers would roll over in their graves."
And yet this never happens.But history was made with the election of the first non-white man the office of President. It is a big step for this nation and will, I hope, go a long way towards combating racism. My kids will never know an America that didn't have a black man in the highest office and that makes me proud. I sincerely hope that President-Elect Obama will succeed big enough to shame his criticsm, but he inherits an aweful mess. It is going to be a big job and I hope he is up to the task.
His critics have gone to great lengths to diminish his success. They claim that he slandered Hillary and Palin with sexist and unfair attacks. They claim that he has a shady past and that the Liberal Media have been covering up for him buy not reporting on his dirty dealings. The tired refrain that they were "in the tank" for him throughout the election. That he stole the election through ACORN or other nefarious means. It is my belief that he won because optimism was more appealing than fear. Near the end fear seemed to be all the McCain had to offer. I only rarely heard him speak of himself, instead using his air time to try and cast fear, uncertainty and doubt upon his opponent. I found this tactic unsavory to say the least. I once held Senator McCain in high regard, but his conduct in this election actually made me sad. It was beneath him (and his campaign) to question Obama's patriotism and associations. To add insult to injury, it didn't work.
If indeed there is evidence of a shady past or dirty dealings, then report them. Stop complaining that the Liberal Media are not doing their job and do it yourself. The internet makes it possible for anyone to report their findings and send them to Right leaning news organizations, they do exist. To be taken seriously you need more than rumor and supposition. Simply saying that we still don't know all about Obama's relationship with Bill Ayers does not make it so. If he is being truthful then there is nothing left for him to say about it, if he is not being truthful, find the pictures of them on ski holiday together or copies of their correspondence. Anything less is conjecture. I truly am incredulous that people could be so deluded as to honestly believe that no news organization would run the story because of their bias. Apparently the video of Rev Wright, the Flag Pin controversy and the National Anthem brouhaha have all been forgotten.
You will still find the conspiracy theories swirling at any right wing website just as they have continued on the left for the past 8 years. To my eye there is no real difference between the two extremes. They are both populated by cranks who are compelled to loudly voice their ill informed opinions and are believed by their extremist opposition to represent the mainstream instead of the fringe. No amount of reason will pry such people from their position because they did not reason themselves into it. It is an unfortunate truth that reasoned discourse does not sell papers which is why people who should be shouting their rant on some street corner are given time on TV or in print. This lends much more weight to their arguments than they deserve.
I will likely have to devote and entire rant to this in the future as it is a giant issue that deserves some attention.
Post election drinking game:
1) Go to Daily Kos or a similar site and retrieve a vanity post from 2004 whining about Bush stealing the election
2) Replace Bush with Obama, and post to FreeRepublic or Pajamas Media
3) Drink a shot every time someone replies positively
4) Die of alcohol poisoning
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Wash Me
This is the kind of thing one expects to have put on the rear window of their car when a good wash has been a long time coming. A few mornings ago I got up to find that someone had scrawled an indecipherable "tag" on my poor Subaru. Such is life in the ghetto.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Economic Mumbo Jumbo
I have been trying very hard to make some sense of the Economic Bail Out that is currently working its way through the bowls of the Congress and I think that I may finally have it. It is crazily simple in its complexity and I hesitate to say that I understand it because, if I am right, it makes almost no sense. It is so nutty that it just might work.
All of this debt that banks and mortgage firms built up over the last few years is crippling them and in some cases, driving them clear out of business. What the Feds are proposing is that they (we, the taxpayer/citizens) will buy up all of these mortgages and mortgage based securities on the premise that they will indeed be valuable again one day. It seems even the banks that are being crushed by this dept believe that. The problem is, none of them have enough money to absorb the losses and remain in business long enough for the value to return. That's where we come in, with the dump truck full of money.
The Federal Reserve buys up all of mortgages and debts at rock bottom prices, and for good measure, loans themselves the money to do it. Thus they become both debtor and creditor and can allow themselves to slide on the payments. In the meantime, they collect money from all the good mortgages and any payouts from the securities. After some time passes, those mortgages and securities will become somewhat valuable again as the bad loans are weeded out. At that point the Fed begins selling them off to the banks again, but at a profit.
That is the plan as best I can piece together. My big fear here is that if enough people see the mirrors through the smoke they will realize that the whole system is built on deception. If that happens, all bets are off and everyone begins investing in beads and shells.
All of this debt that banks and mortgage firms built up over the last few years is crippling them and in some cases, driving them clear out of business. What the Feds are proposing is that they (we, the taxpayer/citizens) will buy up all of these mortgages and mortgage based securities on the premise that they will indeed be valuable again one day. It seems even the banks that are being crushed by this dept believe that. The problem is, none of them have enough money to absorb the losses and remain in business long enough for the value to return. That's where we come in, with the dump truck full of money.
The Federal Reserve buys up all of mortgages and debts at rock bottom prices, and for good measure, loans themselves the money to do it. Thus they become both debtor and creditor and can allow themselves to slide on the payments. In the meantime, they collect money from all the good mortgages and any payouts from the securities. After some time passes, those mortgages and securities will become somewhat valuable again as the bad loans are weeded out. At that point the Fed begins selling them off to the banks again, but at a profit.
That is the plan as best I can piece together. My big fear here is that if enough people see the mirrors through the smoke they will realize that the whole system is built on deception. If that happens, all bets are off and everyone begins investing in beads and shells.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
sadness
A friend of mine died the other day in a motorcycle crash near Yosemite. Pat and I were not super close, but I call him a friend because he was a person who I enjoyed drinking beer with and would have backed up in a fight. I did not see him often and had not known him for a long time, but I very much enjoyed when he was around. I will miss him.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
The Politics of Insomnia
I have officially given up on sleeping this night.
I don't know why, but i just cant seem to shut down. It may be related to the sad state of political affairs in this country that has be revved up.
Politics has been a rancorous and ugly process since ancient times, but it looks worse up close. I guess I expect better of our enlightened modern selves than I do of the men of old, though apparently I should not. Well, there is far less murdering in the streets now so we have that going for us.
I find that the subject of election year politics is so polarizing that it is nearly impossible to have a civil discussion with someone unless they are already in agreement with you. Even then it is difficult to have an intelligent conversation. I find that most people make visceral rather than reasoned decisions about who to support. Few people can give you their reasons for supporting Candidate Alpha over Candidate Beta, they just don't like the other guy. As long as they can vilify Beta, Alpha's policies are policies are not relevant nor open for discussion. Any defense of Beta is seen as an attack on Alpha even if you are correcting some bit of verifiably false information. In all likelihood your new info will be dismissed as media bias and you will be dismissed as a patsy.
It is a sad state of affairs and I wish I were better and more eloquent writer so that I could make an impassioned plea for change that would move the hearts of my countrymen to do better. Move them to ask the tough questions and demand good answers of candidates instead of platitudes and ad hominem attacks. I feel we are half way there, but that second half is much bigger than the first. Citizens do demand answers, but only from the Other Guy. And no answer can be good enough.
I don't know why, but i just cant seem to shut down. It may be related to the sad state of political affairs in this country that has be revved up.
Politics has been a rancorous and ugly process since ancient times, but it looks worse up close. I guess I expect better of our enlightened modern selves than I do of the men of old, though apparently I should not. Well, there is far less murdering in the streets now so we have that going for us.
I find that the subject of election year politics is so polarizing that it is nearly impossible to have a civil discussion with someone unless they are already in agreement with you. Even then it is difficult to have an intelligent conversation. I find that most people make visceral rather than reasoned decisions about who to support. Few people can give you their reasons for supporting Candidate Alpha over Candidate Beta, they just don't like the other guy. As long as they can vilify Beta, Alpha's policies are policies are not relevant nor open for discussion. Any defense of Beta is seen as an attack on Alpha even if you are correcting some bit of verifiably false information. In all likelihood your new info will be dismissed as media bias and you will be dismissed as a patsy.
It is a sad state of affairs and I wish I were better and more eloquent writer so that I could make an impassioned plea for change that would move the hearts of my countrymen to do better. Move them to ask the tough questions and demand good answers of candidates instead of platitudes and ad hominem attacks. I feel we are half way there, but that second half is much bigger than the first. Citizens do demand answers, but only from the Other Guy. And no answer can be good enough.
Friday, September 5, 2008
games
There are 2 new games in my life, though i have very little time to play them.
Wii Fit - it is not exactly a game as others are but it sure can be fun like one. It can also be frustrating to have a machine call you a disgusting fat body, though in the most polite way possible.
Fantastic Contraption - This is the greatest web game I have come across in a long time. It is awesome fun and has great replayabilty. I highly recommend it to any of you mechanically minded readers out there. That last bit was an attempt at humor, I know I have no readers.
Wii Fit - it is not exactly a game as others are but it sure can be fun like one. It can also be frustrating to have a machine call you a disgusting fat body, though in the most polite way possible.
Fantastic Contraption - This is the greatest web game I have come across in a long time. It is awesome fun and has great replayabilty. I highly recommend it to any of you mechanically minded readers out there. That last bit was an attempt at humor, I know I have no readers.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Of Oil and Tire Guages
I have seen and heard people poking fun at the "Obama Energy Plan" the last few days. This has taken the form of Paris Hilton videos and tire gauges and generalized ridicule. This is, of course, all the result of his comments the other day in Springfield MO that we could save as much oil as we would get via off shore drill just by keeping our tires properly inflated. Political pundits jumped on this quote like ducks on bread and wasted no time proclaiming themselves underwhelmed and the statement ludicrous.
I admit to finding the idea a bit silly at first glance, but I make it a point to get facts straight. To this end I went looking for some numbers and did some math.
According to The Dept. of Energy by 2030 off shore drilling would have
increased domestic oil production by 3% to 5.6M barrels/day
5,600,000 barrels/day *.03 = 168,000barrels/day
A quick search of the Interwebs indicates that a barrel of oil makes about 20 gallons of gas
20g/barrel * 168,000barrels = 3.36M gallons/day
or
1.226billion gallons/year
According to this article from AAA it is estimated that "3.6 billion gallons of gas is wasted by U.S. drivers each year simply because they're driving on under-inflated tires."
3.6 billion gallons > 1.226 billion gallons.
It is also important to note that the DOE production numbers include drilling off the coast of California (accounting for about 50%) which has already indicated that there will be no new drilling there in the near future.
(*note - I will gladly alter this document if my math is incorrect)
I managed to find all of this info and do my calculations in a matter of 20 minutes or so, and I didn't even have to look very hard. I can only conclude that the people that are busily spouting off instead of investigating are not interested in honest answers.
I also find completely dishonest the characterization that properly inflated tires is the whole of Mr Obama's energy plan. Once again, anyone interested in finding out more facts about the subject could easily find the actual Obama Energy Plan in about 10 seconds thanks too Google.
For the record, this is not an endorsement of Barack Obama nor his energy plans. It is simply an attempt to look at issues objectively which is something severely lacking in modern politics.
And old politics.
And ancient politics.
Politics in general.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/newenergy
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/otheranalysis/ongr.html
http://www.eia.doe.gov/basics/quickoil.html
http://news.aaa-calif.com/pr/aaa/tireinflation0408.aspx?ncid=6061
I admit to finding the idea a bit silly at first glance, but I make it a point to get facts straight. To this end I went looking for some numbers and did some math.
According to The Dept. of Energy by 2030 off shore drilling would have
increased domestic oil production by 3% to 5.6M barrels/day
5,600,000 barrels/day *.03 = 168,000barrels/day
A quick search of the Interwebs indicates that a barrel of oil makes about 20 gallons of gas
20g/barrel * 168,000barrels = 3.36M gallons/day
or
1.226billion gallons/year
According to this article from AAA it is estimated that "3.6 billion gallons of gas is wasted by U.S. drivers each year simply because they're driving on under-inflated tires."
3.6 billion gallons > 1.226 billion gallons.
It is also important to note that the DOE production numbers include drilling off the coast of California (accounting for about 50%) which has already indicated that there will be no new drilling there in the near future.
(*note - I will gladly alter this document if my math is incorrect)
I managed to find all of this info and do my calculations in a matter of 20 minutes or so, and I didn't even have to look very hard. I can only conclude that the people that are busily spouting off instead of investigating are not interested in honest answers.
I also find completely dishonest the characterization that properly inflated tires is the whole of Mr Obama's energy plan. Once again, anyone interested in finding out more facts about the subject could easily find the actual Obama Energy Plan in about 10 seconds thanks too Google.
For the record, this is not an endorsement of Barack Obama nor his energy plans. It is simply an attempt to look at issues objectively which is something severely lacking in modern politics.
And old politics.
And ancient politics.
Politics in general.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/newenergy
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/
http://www.eia.doe.gov/basics/
http://news.aaa-calif.com/pr/aaa/tireinflation0408.aspx?ncid=6061
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Horrible, horrible freedom
I have been left to my own devices while the family is off in Colorado. After nearly a year and a half of parenting I have no idea what to do with my time now that it is my own again. It is a strange thing. Today I went to my old haunt, Belmont Shore to have a beer and I felt terribly awkward walking about by myself. Normally I would be accompanied by either my wife, or my daughter or both but today I had but me. I felt the whole time that I should be doing something as opposed to nothing. Strange indeed...
Thursday, July 24, 2008
puppy
I tried to think of cute and clever title for this post, but what is cuter than a puppy? Not much I say. Well "lucky" me I found one in the alley behind my house last night. A tiny little whimpery thing that was very cold and lost and lonely. As sweet and cute as he is, I can not keep him. Keri is concerned that he will end up evil if he is raised in our neighborhood. A legitimate concern, but not enough reason to keep him in our tiny, tiny house. Perhaps some dog lover at work will take him in for a while.
===UPDATE===
The puppy is happy in his new home. An interwebs friend of mine adopted him on 7/25
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
mmm...unpronounceable beer
On sunday I was at the Jons Market in Huntington Beach, CA browsing their beer selection. They have a pretty big selection of unpronounceable beers from Old Country. I picked a few at random then retired to my uncle's house to sample them.Yum.
This one was exceptional. It reminded me of Czechvar but a bit sweeter. I may have to make a trip over to HB this weekend and get me some more of this delicious stuff.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Bellflower
Oh Bellflower.
What a place. It is unlike any other place I have lived, and I don't mean that in a good way. Sure, I had to kick some random PCP head out of my nice house in Belmont Shore, but that was on event in 8ish years. Unusual events like that are much more usual in Bellflower.
The week I moved in the liquor store clerk on the corner (100M or so from my front door) was beaten to death. My gang member neighbors at the time were upset with some individuals they believed to be involved. Another time a man died on the neighbors lawn under mysterious circumstances. I have woken up to people brawling like savages on my lawn. While in my pajamas I have gone out to tell party goes to shut the hell up or bellowed at them to stop tossing their empties on my lawn. I have had strangers park in my front yard. A friend's car in my driveway was burgled.
While not quite as exciting as all that, this morning there was a work truck parked across my driveway and a man asleep in the front seat. An odd choice of stops on any night, but since monday is street sweeping, there was not another car for a block in either direction to interfere with his parking. The Public Safety officer was kind enough to push the truck out of my driveway, but he then split and left the vagrant asleep in front of my house. This would not be the case in any other place I have lived. My wife called the Sheriffs herself and they came out and chased the guy off.
What a place...
What a place. It is unlike any other place I have lived, and I don't mean that in a good way. Sure, I had to kick some random PCP head out of my nice house in Belmont Shore, but that was on event in 8ish years. Unusual events like that are much more usual in Bellflower.
The week I moved in the liquor store clerk on the corner (100M or so from my front door) was beaten to death. My gang member neighbors at the time were upset with some individuals they believed to be involved. Another time a man died on the neighbors lawn under mysterious circumstances. I have woken up to people brawling like savages on my lawn. While in my pajamas I have gone out to tell party goes to shut the hell up or bellowed at them to stop tossing their empties on my lawn. I have had strangers park in my front yard. A friend's car in my driveway was burgled.
While not quite as exciting as all that, this morning there was a work truck parked across my driveway and a man asleep in the front seat. An odd choice of stops on any night, but since monday is street sweeping, there was not another car for a block in either direction to interfere with his parking. The Public Safety officer was kind enough to push the truck out of my driveway, but he then split and left the vagrant asleep in front of my house. This would not be the case in any other place I have lived. My wife called the Sheriffs herself and they came out and chased the guy off.
What a place...
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Relics
Behold!
A relic of a bygone era. Proof that in the days of yore men created things themselves! They did not simply consume products produced in far away lands by strange peoples. They fashioned with their own hands items that they needed from raw materials. A strange people they must have been, so far removed from our modern selves.
A relic of a bygone era. Proof that in the days of yore men created things themselves! They did not simply consume products produced in far away lands by strange peoples. They fashioned with their own hands items that they needed from raw materials. A strange people they must have been, so far removed from our modern selves.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Projects
Aside from completing my house I have a number of other projects I would like to get to work on.
My homie Mark and I are in very early planning stages of a algae->fuel project. This is likely a pipe dream that will never be anything other than a pile of materials in (lucky for me) his back yard.
I have secured an old motorcycle in order to convert it to electric. This may sound as pipe-dreamy as the algae, but I think it far more likely to produce results.
Pop-Pop Boats! Probably my most realistic project.
A variety of electrical power generation ideas for the garage. No reason other than it would be fun. Since I can not DIY solar cells, I will likely use windmills or make steam with reflectors.
A web enabled smart watering system. It will be a nice web interface to program your sprinkler system with. Even my wife (who generally thinks me kooky) likes this one. One the face of it is pretty simple, which is good as I have a short attention span. It is also useful. This will probably warrant its own project page when I really get the ball rolling.
My homie Mark and I are in very early planning stages of a algae->fuel project. This is likely a pipe dream that will never be anything other than a pile of materials in (lucky for me) his back yard.
I have secured an old motorcycle in order to convert it to electric. This may sound as pipe-dreamy as the algae, but I think it far more likely to produce results.
Pop-Pop Boats! Probably my most realistic project.
A variety of electrical power generation ideas for the garage. No reason other than it would be fun. Since I can not DIY solar cells, I will likely use windmills or make steam with reflectors.
A web enabled smart watering system. It will be a nice web interface to program your sprinkler system with. Even my wife (who generally thinks me kooky) likes this one. One the face of it is pretty simple, which is good as I have a short attention span. It is also useful. This will probably warrant its own project page when I really get the ball rolling.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Cogswell Institute
I need my own group of Hong Kong Cavaliers. I feel as though I am chock full of really good ideas but I lack the detail know how or time to make them reality. Perhaps I am just plain too lazy and cheap. Perhaps I am not as smart as I like to think and am really a 2bit hack with delusions. The last is most likely, but I don't want that reality to get in my way.
Stupid reality.
Who put you in charge anyway?
Stupid reality.
Who put you in charge anyway?
Monday, June 23, 2008
Being Sick
Being sick totally sucks.
Really eloquent, I know but it accurately sums up the feeling pretty well.* Even worse is being sick and being at work. Sure, I have it better than a Roman slave,no sunup to sundown toil for me. Instead i have to contend with mind numbing monotony with a mind already numbed by illness. Lucky for me no one is breathing down my neck insisting that their vitally important project is doomed unless I give them root access, or install Hideous Software X.
Nope, far from being a race car on the infobahn, this company is more of a farm tractor idling in first gear. Slow and steady. Normally this is very boring (well it is now too) but it is what i need today.
* note to future historians, this term has negative connotations. If something "sucks" or "blows" or "suxorz" it means it is bad or unpleasant.
Really eloquent, I know but it accurately sums up the feeling pretty well.* Even worse is being sick and being at work. Sure, I have it better than a Roman slave,no sunup to sundown toil for me. Instead i have to contend with mind numbing monotony with a mind already numbed by illness. Lucky for me no one is breathing down my neck insisting that their vitally important project is doomed unless I give them root access, or install Hideous Software X.
Nope, far from being a race car on the infobahn, this company is more of a farm tractor idling in first gear. Slow and steady. Normally this is very boring (well it is now too) but it is what i need today.
* note to future historians, this term has negative connotations. If something "sucks" or "blows" or "suxorz" it means it is bad or unpleasant.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Kids TV
I know that there are a lot of parents out there who will call me a monster for allowing my daughter to watch TV at such a tender and impressionable age. I counter that if not via the TV, then how will she ever learn to be a responsible consumer of goods?
Being the good parent that I am I try to direct her toward good programing and away from that I deem harmful. Here are a few of the good and bad in no particular order.
Sesame Street - Without doubt my daughters favorite show, and rightfully so. It is chock full of music and dancing and numbers and letters. Good stuff in my book. It also has Elmo who is adored by children the world over. I think he was created to bring more money in to PBS.
Animalia -WTF is this show supposed to be teaching kids? I don't get it and the animation is "teh su ck".
Zaboomafoo - I am pro-lemur so I like this show. It has actual learning content all about critters, and kids *LOVE* critters. To balance the good learning-about-animal parts it has the unfortunate Zabuland segments.
Charlie and Lola - Awesomeness.
Thomas and Friends - Gits. Sir Toppem Hat is always getting very cross with his possessed possessions. I can't figure out why he doesn't sell them all off and get some tools that dont give him any back talk.
Handy Manny - I like this show because it encourages kids to use tools and fix stuff.
Being the good parent that I am I try to direct her toward good programing and away from that I deem harmful. Here are a few of the good and bad in no particular order.
Sesame Street - Without doubt my daughters favorite show, and rightfully so. It is chock full of music and dancing and numbers and letters. Good stuff in my book. It also has Elmo who is adored by children the world over. I think he was created to bring more money in to PBS.
Animalia -WTF is this show supposed to be teaching kids? I don't get it and the animation is "teh su ck".
Zaboomafoo - I am pro-lemur so I like this show. It has actual learning content all about critters, and kids *LOVE* critters. To balance the good learning-about-animal parts it has the unfortunate Zabuland segments.
Charlie and Lola - Awesomeness.
Thomas and Friends - Gits. Sir Toppem Hat is always getting very cross with his possessed possessions. I can't figure out why he doesn't sell them all off and get some tools that dont give him any back talk.
Handy Manny - I like this show because it encourages kids to use tools and fix stuff.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
Sumo
Had a family outing yesterday to the 2008 Grand Sumo Championship and it was awesome. Back in the Before Time you used to be able to catch some sumo on late night Channel 56 (i think it was 56) but those days are gone. If you are not actively seeking it out then you are not going to come across it in SoCal anymore. Lucky for me, one of my friends was on top of the situation actively seeking it out. Thank you Sayo.
Syd and I even got to shake hands with Ama Kōhei. Well, Syd got a cheek pinched and I got a hand shake. I am glad it was not the reverse. We got numerous pictures but have not yet had a chance to go through them to see if any are worth keeping.
Check back for an update (if you care)
*update*
Syd and I even got to shake hands with Ama Kōhei. Well, Syd got a cheek pinched and I got a hand shake. I am glad it was not the reverse. We got numerous pictures but have not yet had a chance to go through them to see if any are worth keeping.
Check back for an update (if you care)
*update*
Friday, June 6, 2008
an excuse to rant
That is, after all, what a blog is.
This my place to spout off about whatever strikes my fancy without other folks calling me a crank (stupid neighbors). No more standing on the street corner with a bullhorn, not for me! I am coming into the digital age.
Advantage : I will get rained on much less and get hit with fewer coke bottles.
Disadvantage : People have to come here on purpose to hear me.
Such are the burdens of being a 21st century kook.
This my place to spout off about whatever strikes my fancy without other folks calling me a crank (stupid neighbors). No more standing on the street corner with a bullhorn, not for me! I am coming into the digital age.
Advantage : I will get rained on much less and get hit with fewer coke bottles.
Disadvantage : People have to come here on purpose to hear me.
Such are the burdens of being a 21st century kook.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)