The Ringy Dingy Edition

The biggest flaw in the iPhone is AT&T, otherwise remembered as Ma Bell, complete with all of the billing issues and poor customer service that Ernestine (Technorati readers welcome, enjoy the clip. It was ahead of its time in portraying the problem with service) pointed out so hilariously. Almost forty years ago.

On Sunday I made my annual trip to the Garlic Festival and what a disappointment it was. The parking was not as smooth or as convenient (and I was there at 10 am) as in previous years plus the Highway Patrol was taking pictures of license plates. There were very few garlic tasting booths, usually there is everything from garlic chocolate to different kinds of garlic mustards, etc. The garlic ice cream was still there but the escargot stand was gone as were all the habanero options. They had more clothes, paintings and trinkets for sale than anything related to garlic. But the real kick in the pants was when they swiped my I.D. through a reader for me to buy a beer. Gourmet Alley was moved to the back and called a cooking demo. In other words, it sucked.

I did try gator tail, tastes like chicken.

Big brother coming to a city near you. Unfortunately, this city really is near me. In fact I'll be there tomorrow night with the rest of the BARBARians.

Toilets need a redesign to help save water, but the squat toilet will never take off in the states, too many knee and hip problems.

Who jumps from the Golden Gate Bridge? Mostly 41 year old white men from the Bay area. On the average two people a month discover that it isn't the fall that kills you, it's the sudden stop at the end.

Another One Gone

Watching the Tomorrow show with my dad was one of my favorite activities as a young adult. Tom Snyder had the most interesting personalities on his show and he let them be themselves which sometimes was more interesting than he planned. His show featured such diverse guests as Patti Smith, Elizabeth Ashley (personal favorite of my dad's), Johnny Rotten and a host of others. My favorite episode was when he got involved telling off Anita Bryant's crazy Save Our Children representative, he didn't normally tell people that they had their head up their ass, that was good television.

It was worth staying up late (1 am) because the mental stimulation was some of the best (since Dick Cavett) and has not been the same since. The free flowing exchange of ideas as well as the off the cuff humor has never been repeated though several have tried. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert provide some of the intellectual conversation that is missing from the airwaves, but no one can replace Tom Snyder.

Rest in peace Tom, I will definitely miss you.

Random Flickr Blogging 1922

IMG_1922, originally uploaded by datkat.

Tired of crowded airports, anxious children and obnoxious flight attendants? Are you worried that your pilot may had more to drink than you? The new Short-Range Hydrogen Individualized Transport Service has you in mind. You control everything, from the time you leave to how high and how far you go. Enjoy the peace and quiet as you travel to your destination with the brilliant panorama of nature floating beneath you.

Individual landings may vary in speed and intensity.

Random Flickr blogging explained.

Knowledge Is Free, Education Isn't

Another way to separate the wheat from the chaff. As if the fraternity/sorority thing wasn't bad enough, appearing soon at a college near you, a two tiered educational system. So much for the illusion that attending college prepares you for a better financial future, it really does matter what your major is and it better reflect big business. Pharmacy, engineering, business and journalism (!) students are paying more for their classes at schools across the country. It's dressed up as paying for better equipment and teachers, but the end result is the same. The message is that controlling people is much more effective and financially rewarding than helping people.

“Where we have gone astray culturally,” he said, “is that we have focused almost exclusively on starting salary as an indicator of life earnings and also of the value of the particular major.”

Ah yes, one should always let a decision you made at eighteen control the rest of your life. If you won't take advice from a twenty year old because they don't have any life experience, why would you let a decision you made at the same age determine the rest of your life? And pay (borrow) more money for it?

One of the major reasons that medical care is in the state that it is, is because it became a way to make money and not help people because you wanted to. People who want to be healers, leave the professions in droves because it has been reduced to a businesslike concept with the human element all but nonexistent. The practice of medicine has been automated to the point that if you interrupt the routine by asking a question, everything screeches to a halt just like the debit card commercial. Since when did huh? become an appropriate response in a medical setting? When did the vacant look in the office staffs eyes become standard? Do you know the color of your doctor's eyes?

The wrong people have been encouraged to practice the wrong professions because of money and once again the message is being spread that one should focus on the material aspects of one's personal existence at the expense of helping others. Even if they have to charge you more. Because paying more for something makes it better, doesn't it?

Crossposted at Big Brass Blog.

Mice, Work And Food

As I've stated before, I hate shopping unless it is for food or geeky stuff. Buying a watch is sheer torture because I can't find what I want for under thousands of dollars and let's be honest, its function really is to tell time, isn't it? Cellphones solve the problem of the watch but have almost the same issue. What's wrong with something being simple, stylish and useful? Oh yeah, it's called the iPhone and I can't afford that either. Though I did get to hold one the other day. It was awesome and it didn't weigh much more than the cellphone that I hate with a passion and have since the day day it was bought.

I've needed a mouse for over a year and just couldn't justify the expense of the MX Laser top of the line model and didn't like the feel of the lower end models. So just the other day, I broke down and bought the MX 400 model. It all boiled down to how it felt in my hand and it was the cheapest for the curved shape. I use a trackpad and find it quite comfortable most of the time but occasionally a mouse is useful. I've been using it for about two days and it's okay, but then I found this little gem. A finger mouse. Add a blinking blue light in the ear and one might start to look assimilated.

Also by way of Little Addictions there was also this wireless access kit with a solar powered battery repeater. Now that's useful.

It almost bothers me that my work preferences have more in common with Gen Y than they do with the Baby Boomers. It used to be you were as old as you feel but now you're as old as you think.

A recall on bread. Our food supply needs a major overhaul because there have been way too many incidents in the last seven years.

And the light goes on. Otherwise known as stating the obvious.

While I feel sorry for the families and friends of the helicopter tragedy, it is the pilot's responsibility to fly safely, not get the best shot. Holding the car chase suspect responsible is stupid and irresponsible. Those reporters chose to do that job hoping that they would get a scoop and instead became the story. It was just a car chase and my need to know did not extend to other people risking life and limb for me to have an aerial view. Traffic coverage is in a different category, as in useful.

Damn.

The name of the rat is Remy, not Ratatouille. Ratatouille is the dish he makes for the restaurant critic. You would be surprised how many people don't know the rat's name.

Drugs, Truth And Fantasy

Sigh, the quarterly marijuana scare article is out today. It's the same one that came out a few months ago but written in a slightly more breathless manner. The full disclosure at the bottom helps to explain the conclusions.

Another shining example of supporting the troops that once again is a futile attempt to suppress the truth. The Pat Tillman tragedy is rapidly becoming another farce in the continued destruction of our once great military. Unfortunately it's becoming clear that he was executed by his own teammates and that it was covered up from the field to the White House. Why do people try to cover up things like this? Eventually the truth works its way out into the light and it's never pretty, with results that are usually worse than any original punishment would have been. Congress needs to investigate this to the fullest and everyone involved should be punished in some fashion. From demotion of the officers who tried to cover it up, to jail time for the murderers who committed the original crime, to removal from office from those who condoned the cover up. Friendly fire it wasn't.

Lying and forgetfulness are not limited to military cover ups, they pervade all levels of the current administration. It's a sad day for American when it's tough to decide who's telling the truth or lying the least. The Attorney General with the convenient memory problems and his own built in eighteen and a half minute gap, or the head of the FBI who has been practicing warrantless (in more ways than one) spying on innocent Americans. What a dilemma.

Heroes is fantasy, not hard core science fiction and Babylon 5 was the originator of the high concept series arc, not Lost or Invasion. It would be nice if people did a little research before they wrote articles. Especially from the Sci Fi channel. A proofreader would be good investment also. Networks are going heavy, not heaving.

Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins, Karen Allen (who knew she would be the least irritating of the female leads?) back for Indy 4 and Leonard Nimoy making an appearance in the new Star Trek movie with Zachary Quinto from Heroes playing a young Spock. Plus, a new Blade Runner DVD with more scenes and special effects. Future entertainment looks promising.

Proper Attire Required

No jeans, no shorts, no sneakers, no miniskirts, no T-shirts and no tank tops, no matter what the weather conditions are, if you want to see the White House. Suits, dresses and appropriate footwear will now be the mandatory dress code for touring the White House. The imperial presidency is now in full swing mandating the vacation attire of people who pay its salary and for the upkeep of the White House. I guess this site was prescient, if not entirely accurate. Can a national uniform be far behind? I'm sort of joking, but not really.

Indecision 2008 is in full swing and much has been made of the money race, so who is making the most money off the populace this early in the game?



I'd rather live free and die hard, but what do I know? Thanks to Michelle (she responds to email really quickly) at Comedy Central for the heads up and the links to the conservative talking points in the sidebar.

It was a big battle between Shai and myself while training her to drink clean water. Being the little princess that she is, she prefers running water over still and when she is at home, she always gets bottled water. My reasoning was that she is smaller and if there is anything toxic in the tap water it would affect her faster than it would affect me. I'm not the only one who thinks so. She's my best (and most expensive) friend and why cheap out on the most important part of her diet?

Babies Eating Lemons

When I was in elementary school we had a lime tree in our back yard and played this game to see who could change their face the least when munching on a lime. We pretty much had the same result as these unwilling (and very young) participants.



The parents should be ashamed of themselves, even though it did make me smile and wonder what practical jokes my parents played on me.

Tuesday's Oddities

It's too late to make this recipe (it looks so good) since I have too many ripe tomatoes that taste wonderful to worry about cooking them now. Yesterday none were ready, today there were ten Cherokee Purples of varying sizes, most of which would be considered large. The Pink Caspians should be ready tomorrow and the Mamma Mias are looking like they need to make a sauce soon. Is it possible to overdose on tomatoes?

Downtown Los Angeles is a fascinating place that very few people visit when they come to Southern California and they certainly don't walk around, all the strange people scare them. That being said, there is quite a bit of life in areas that you wouldn't suspect. The Pantry is an interesting place to eat, it hasn't closed since it opened in the late 1920s, not even during the riots. Their specialty is breakfast, and it's served 24 hours a day. Across from Union Station there is a place that serves the best cheese steak sandwich, very tasty.

The dog days of summer. Shai doesn't really enjoy them, she is most comfortable between 50 and 70 degrees. If it's too hot she can't breathe and if it's too cool she just wants to snuggle beneath the covers. Rain is totally out of the question, she doesn't like getting wet unless it is super hot (95+) outside, then she will let me spray her down. These are some good tips to cool off the dog during the worst of the heat, but the seem to be based on the assumption that you will be leaving your dog outside. We don't have air conditioning so I put ice cubes in her water, she also likes to nibble on them as treats and loves when we wrap a cold towel around her neck. She likes that so much that she comes as soon as she sees her towel.

Activate the iPhone without a contract.

The new physics exam. It definitely isn't up to Dark Wraith's (his require that you have knowledge of the subject, guessing won't help) standards but it does show how far education has fallen. Plus it's pretty funny espceially after reading the professor's rationale.

Lifestyles of the Rich, Poor And Not So Famous

How little must money mean to the people of Richistan that being worth 10 million dollars only qualifies you to pretend like you're rich? Why would anyone want to write with a jewel encrusted pen? Doesn't it hurt? Even if it is only to put your signature on another document that increases your net worth, that shows a complete disconnect with the reality of the rest of the people in the world. Though I have to admit that the private submarine sounds pretty cool.

Not to worry, an alternate reality can always be found, such as riding the rails with the hobos.

Another two days and I should have enough ripe heirlooms to make this tart. Mine are all a different shade of red but it should still taste great. Last night I dressed some of the cherry tomatoes (halved) and one of the Ace (sliced) with a little salt, pepper, red wine vinegar and a touch of olive oil. They were so good.

Yesterday someone read 89 pages in a little over 58 minutes on my site. I hope they enjoyed themselves.

The list for the latest round of recalled meats (botulism this time) can be found here. I've seen a few of the discount brands and then there are some that aren't discount brands. Plus some dog food is again in trouble, which makes me wonder what we are feeding the poor in this country.

The Pentagon is going to junk millions of dollars worth of gear for reasons only known to them. Not that the stuff is secret or in some cases old, but because they don't want to pay to store it or buy it back from surplus stores if they need it again. What is up with that? The supply situation is ridiculous. Half the military doesn't have what they need to protect themselves and do their jobs while the other half has too much of the wrong stuff. What kind of Republican administration is this? Usually they improve the military right along with padding their pockets, but it seems that they have decided to skip that step and just focused on taking care of themselves.

The Tape Never Lies

IMG_3588.JPG, originally uploaded by mcclarinj.

It isn't your imagination Frank, you are getting bigger.


Today's entry into the Random Fllickr Blogging project.

Drinking, Drugs, Sadness And Stupidity

I had way too much fun hanging out with the Barbarians yesterday. Since I had never met any of them before, after I ordered my Guinness (we met in an Irish pub) I figured it was the table that was talking the most animatedly, so I asked them. What a great group of people. Tom from If I Ran The Zoo has a picture of the 37.75% of IIRTZ contributors (guess which one is me) who were able to make it. The rest of them are east of the Mississippi and were unable to attend. I guess they won't be at the next one either. Too bad since it was some of the most intelligent conversation I've heard in the last seven years.

How to take a shower in sixty seconds or less. That would be water time, not total time. Extremely useful if you have a limited hot water supply.

Testing golfers for drugs, what a concept. They're going to be looking for performance enhancers when they should be looking for psychedelics. Because there is no other rational explanation for chasing a little white ball through sand, tress and rough grass in an effort to drop it into a little hole. Let's not get into what the people watching must be on, but it isn't amphetamines.

Imagine that, the mental health system in the United States doesn't work very well. Umm, duh? The only time the mentally disturbed get any attention is when they commit a crime and don't you think that's a little too late? Oh well, they'll keep blaming the system, they won't change it, they'll just keep shuffling responsibility like it's a game of Three Card Monty. Until the next time.

Tammy Faye went out gracefully, may she rest in peace. Pete Wilson was a real shocker and will definitely be missed here in the Bay area. He was a great newsman with a soothing voice and even better journalistic principles. He will definitely be missed.

Mitt Romney obviously didn't learn from George Allen's macaca moment. It makes you wonder if English was the first language of the people who wrote the sign.

Lost And Found

According to this article in Scientific American, if you tune your senses to a particular color, shape or motion, it makes it easier to find things. Which is probably how any good jigsaw player approaches the challenge. The real fun is putting together one of the irregularly shaped puzzles, those are a hoot.

Another female President in a discriminatory society, it's getting to be so common everywhere except in the former land of equality and freedom. Yes the position is largely ceremonial, but they already elected a woman (Indira Ghandi) to a position of power (Prime Minister) over forty years ago. Here in the US, we just got our first female Speaker, we're down to one woman on the Supreme Court and people are still debating whether or not we are ready for a female President.

This is supposedly a story about children flying alone and the difficulties they can encounter. It also provides a revealing look at the state of airfare today and it's pretty pitiful. Last month alone, more than 20,000 flights were canceled and someone is relieved that the rate is down to 26% for flights late or canceled for the first two weeks of July. Most businesses wouldn't exist with stats like that.

Playing The Fashion Field

Who the heck cares if Hillary is wearing a V shaped neckline instead of a round shaped one? What does her change of clothing have to do with the price of tomatoes or her qualifications in running for president? To waste a whole Washington Post column on something so frivolous and with such a patently passive aggressive bias by the author, isn't journalism, it's spite.

With Clinton, there was the sense that you were catching a surreptitious glimpse at something private. You were intruding -- being a voyeur. Showing cleavage is a request to be engaged in a particular way. It doesn't necessarily mean that a woman is asking to be objectified, but it does suggest a certain confidence and physical ease. It means that a woman is content being perceived as a sexual person in addition to being seen as someone who is intelligent, authoritative, witty and whatever else might define her personality. It also means that she feels that all those other characteristics are so apparent and undeniable, that they will not be overshadowed.

Isn't nice to know how equal this country perceives its women? Necklines and hemlines are more important than ability. These guys aren't even original anymore, they keep taking their cue from old episodes of The West Wing. Or in a worst case scenario, from the current occupants of this administration.

Emmy's, Tivo And Health

I had to read three articles before I found out that in addition to Heroes being nominated for an Emmy, Masi Oka was also nominated in the Supporting Actor (Drama) category and even then it was on the second page. Amazing what an R&D director for George Lucas can do in his spare time. We'll overlook the comedy snub for the drama nod.

A new Tivo for $299 and it can record two shows at once? Yes please, there might be be a television traffic jam for a few weeks after the season starts.

Simvastatins (Zocor, Lipex) reduce the risk of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease by almost fifty percent but the method in which it accomplishes this is unclear. The other statins don't work as well though atovastatins (Lipitor, Torvast) did show some reduction in dementia.

I'm refusing to read anything about Harry Potter until I have the book. Mom and I aren't going to wait in line at midnight this year, we're going to get the book at Costco so I have to avoid quite a few sites right now. I shouldn't have to avoid the New York Times(no link, they should be ashamed of themselves) but they just couldn't resist trying to destroy the fun for everyone else. If only they had been a little more like this five years ago, we might not be in the debacle that is Iraq.

Supporting The Troops, Just Not Right Now

Bush doesn't want the troops to have a larger raise, he thinks the money could be better spend in other ways to support the troops. If we thought that would translate into better armor, shorter tours or better medical help when they got back to the states, it might be considered acceptable. But hey, Congress got their extra $4400 a year so they will probably give in on this issue just like they continue to do on withdrawing troops from Iraq. Support those troops! But it has to be some other time because it is important that we continue further down the path to destruction before we wake up and realize that there is nothing left to support.

Meanwhile the media is doing its job, just not the one you think of first. While supposedly giving us "fair and balanced" reporting on issues that didn't involve missing blond women, they were also increasing the use of "stealth" ads. Artful product placement, this segment is sponsored by or those feel good reports about an individual business.

What's next, this newscast is sponsored by the Pentagon?

Terrorism, Sexism And Racism

The sky is falling, the sky isn't falling! Maybe if we had spent more time and money improving border security instead of trying to destroy a sovereign nation; perhaps if we had actually found (or tried to look for) Osama bin Laden, dead or alive; maybe if we hadn't wasted so much time, money and resources investigating (remember the wiretaps and banking issues?) innocent Americans instead of letting the intelligence agencies do their jobs without all the political influence, we might not be seeing a terrorist under every rock and around every corner. Maybe fighting them over there so we don't have to fight them over here wasn't the best policy decision and doesn't look like it worked the way it was promised. Or did it? Either way, we are going to lose more rights and freedoms. For our own good, or so the story will go.

It's that time of year again, let the female bashing begin. This year it looks like we are starting with the women have more power in the home and they win more arguments because men will do anything to keep them happy so they can live in peace theory. The comments are about how the stay at home mom understands family values, etc.
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Papers please. You don't look like us, do you have any right to be here? We are the police and we have no crimes to solve or criminals to catch so you need to prove you are an American, or we can arrest you and prove we are doing our jobs.

Thoughts Before I Sleep

Mechanical Mardi Gras masks, what an apt description. Stephen Colbert cracks me up. I just had my eye exam last week and while my distance vision hadn't changed very much, the up close and personal needed quite a bit of help. But then I knew that already or else I wouldn't be there, now would I? I can no longer flip between watching television and typing on the laptop. Disorienting doesn't begin to describe the sensation.

Thank goodness somebody came to their senses. The Troy Davis case is one of the many reasons I don't approve of the death penalty and it is good to know that maybe now someone will listen to the majority of witnesses who have recanted their testimony citing police coercion. Too bad that the victim's widow just wants someone to die so it can be over, never mind that it never will or that the true murderer might never pay for his crime.

Random Flickr Blogging IMG_2991

IMG_2991, originally uploaded by Johnny Gun.

The White House Press intern picks out the talking points.


Random Flickr Blogging explained.

Opinions, Everyone Has One

OMG! When one is spewing inflammatory rhetoric, shouldn't one have to provide some facts, some sort of justification for declaring that liberals have spent the last forty years systematically limiting free speech and free think? Something besides imagining crashing a plus size, lesbian only, pool party at Rosie's? Not one instance does he provide, he's just whipping up the fervor in an effort to raise the religious ...base. And I distinctly remember a time in America when people weren't regularly forced to endure one group's interpretation of religion and the role it played in our former greatness.

My brain felt the need for a cool rinse after reading that garbage but then I ran into Bill Kristol's version of reality. Interesting perspective, he says so himself. According to him, Bush is going to be remembered as a successful president and Bill drags out a variety of so called successes to back up his imaginary conclusion. No second terrorist strike on US soil. Nice, but what about the first one and doesn't he still have a year and a half left in his elected term? Second, a strong economy. That's true if you were rich before Bush got into office. If you weren't, the McJobs aren't enough to keep their standard of living and many people are declaring bankruptcy and mortgages are being foreclosed. Where he gets the idea that we are on our way to a successful outcome in Iraq is hard to follow. As is his belief that Americans want more of the same from their next president.

Frank Luntz believes that it will be difficult for the GOP to retain the presidency, but that it can be done. It would require a perfect confluence of events so maybe one shouldn't count on it. A message of hope? How the heck are they going to do that? Now that the majority is waking up to the reality that their lives are all about work and the lack of reward that comes with it, it might be a little harder to convince them that more of the same will make their lives better.

Save The iPhone, Save The Internet

It's more than just a shiny tricorder device that those of us who don't have, want. Great explanation of the closed cell phone system and how it applies to the internet. The future is up for grabs and some people only want us to see their version.

Comfort Food, Tragedy And Stupidity

Filipino restaurants, what a cool idea. In late 1979 I was introduced to Filipino food by a new acquaintance. She made these interesting dishes, but the one I remember the best was sinigang, a tamarind based soup. Many years went by (like 25) and I had this Filipino client and I was describing what I remembered of the taste and how it looked. She was really surprised that I would like such a thing and she taught me how to make it. Mom likes it with shrimp (with the heads on!) but I have had difficulty eating shrimp so I make it with beef. The meat isn't really the important part, it's the tang of the broth and the fresh vegetables that make this dish sing. One of these days I'm going to make it with guava, that should be interesting.

I'm sorry the little boy drowned in the wave pool, but I've been in one and a four year old has no reason to be alone on the beach, much less unattended without an adult relative right next to him in case something bad happens. Especially in this day and age. It can get chaotic very quickly and sometimes it is hard to keep your head above the water. I can swim but treading water is not one of my stronger skills and I would feel more comfortable with a life jacket if I was ever to do it again. This story is tragic and I feel for the family, but we don't need any more laws to regulate safety and crying that lifeguards aren't doing your job is insulting and ridiculous. What we do need is more common sense, it has a broader application and should be slightly more useful. One of those life skill things so it probably won't go over as well as legislating behavior.

At first I was shocked at the comments left on this story, but then I realized it was the OC Register and it all made sense. They are very conservative behind the orange curtain and comprehension isn't one of their strong suits. The article clearly states that the family filed suit only after nothing had been done to prevent the same mistake from happening again. The comments immediately became all about frivolous lawsuits, sleazy lawyers and victim bashing. I'm sorry, if I opened up an email and saw my brother's beheaded body as part of a chain mail, and the CHP had the only photos and did nothing to rectify or prevent the situation from happening again, heads would roll.

Blow-outs. I have neither the time, money or patience to deal with my hair. I used to go through all this, but now it is all about convenience. Mine. Had it done yesterday, no waiting, took 25 minutes and out the door I went. Mom likes it, but this isn't one of my favorite designs. Oh well, it'll grow back. Meanwhile I don't have to do anything but wipe my head for the next two weeks. It's great for hot weather and in the winter I slap on a hat and hat head is not a worry. Neither is bed head.

Whoa! Now that's a stop, look and listen moment. Some white parents don't want their kids to attend a school that is heavily Chinese because they are worried about it being too high pressure and they don't want their kids attending a poor school because it isn't good enough? So how do you expect the kids to compete in the future? Since integration isn't working, how about rebuilding the schools equally (computers for all), hiring competent teachers and paying them well so that all kids receive the same education? Maybe they could rotate the teachers between schools and have financial incentives for people to win, even the students. Money usually works but it has to be productive. I used to think all those 4-H competitions were stupid, now I realize they weren't.

I've Been Hiding

Last Tuesday I was humiliated at work in a way that I have never been. I'm not a fragile flower, otherwise I would never have made it through basic training, I can take criticism but this was beyond the pale and totally uncalled for because it wasn't criticism, it was a personal attack in public. It has affected every aspect of my life and I am not happy about it. What passes for management in my company leaves a lot to be desired.

We were in a meeting (dog knows how I hate them anyway, they're usually useless and prevent one from getting any work done) and as usual every time I tried to say something I was told to wait. I had been asked to do something over the weekend because no one else was available and would I please make a detailed report. On Monday I tried to give my report four separate times and was blown off for various reasons. Our boss has been on a tear for the past week and everyone is afraid of her so they were running around trying to make her happy which wasn't working. The way she talks to people can be extremely inappropriate and demeaning, no one was left unscathed.

So after preventing me from giving my report for over 24 hours, we and all of the management of our company are now in a meeting with the client's family, and as I stated before I was prevented from speaking several times. About two hours in, something came up and everyone said, "whew, it's a good thing that hasn't happened " and I said "that's not true." My boss demanded that I explain the circumstances and then she went off on me. Loudly. For several minutes. She accused me of trying to cover up for people, of withholding information and not being a team player just to get started. That was the nice version. She is yelling this and then tells me that if this is an example of my behavior, the company can do without me and I can just walk out the door and never come back and other assorted statements along this line.

Unfortunately I'm 51 not 21 so I didn't just get up and leave. Deep inside I was holding on to "never argue with a fool or a drunk, it's hard for the people watching to tell the difference" but I am boiling inside and I'm deeply embarrassed. I have bills to pay and I am trying to be responsible, otherwise I would have let the screen door hit me on the ass. Unprofessional is the nicest description of her behavior and she took every opportunity to snipe at me for the rest of the meeting. Even for things that I was not a part of and had no control or influence over.

I don't make enough money to begin with and I certainly don't make enough money for someone to humiliate me in public. I no longer care about doing my job and they have cut my hours to the point that I really don't see the point in disturbing my morning by going to work for two hours a day, so since I have been called in for another meeting (ostensibly to give a report on the progress of my client), it will be my last report. They don't pay me enough to be used and abused and I was looking for a job when I found this one.

I'm not particularly interested in cutting and running but since there has been no apology and I have been avoiding everything and everyone, I might as well quit and look for a better opportunity. I will miss the clients but I definitely won't miss the management or the abuse. There have been other slights over the past few months but this last one was the straw that broke the camel's back.

I'll be back later, after I've tidied up the loose ends.

Beyond Messed Up

I'm in a bad mood anyway and this story has not helped one flipping bit. Are these people crazy? Forcing this woman to repay the money or letting the alleged murderer of her husband take her assets is beyond criminal. It's nucking futs. You know this also could mean that OJ Simpson can get back all the money that was awarded in the civil action against him and the Goldmans will get nothing.

That statute of limitations thing sure gets used a lot to screw the little person, especially if they are female. The Supreme Court said so.

Three Quickies

Hmm, the more moles you have (that are protected from too much sun) the more likely you are to have reduced signs of aging. It seems that if you had more than 100 moles in your youth, your telomeres were longer than people who had less than 25. Supposedly this translates into six or seven years.

Michael Chertoff's gut is telling him that there is going to be some al Qaeda trouble in the future. Yes dude, one way or another we are going to hear from them again, you guys have made sure of that. From increasing the pool of recruits to the missed opportunities because you didn't want to offend someone who doesn't respect us; to leaving our borders insecure (but spying, abusing and restricting or abrogating the rights of the taxpaying American is ok); to not completing the original mission of locating and bringing Osama bin Laden to justice, you guys have deliberately dropped the ball and then blamed it on everyone else (Clinton, either one, being the favorite). And if your gut (what about the "intelligence" agencies? Or are they too busy spying on Americans and don't have the manpower or resources to determine what al Qaeda is up to?) is telling you anything, it's that you look like a walking cadaver and that gray isn't a normal color for one's face.

Twisted and mutilated the truth beyond all recognition. Wow. Don't hold back, write what you're really thinking. The NY Times did. Unfortunately it's many years late, but hopefully not too late.

Scandal, Tragedy, Politics And Food

In the grateful for small favors department, at least it wasn't sex with underage boys. So far. Wife, four kids, Republican and is committed to "advancing mainstream conservative principles". Nope, no surprise there. The only thing surprising is that he accepted complete responsibility.

Doggone it! You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave, at least according to the crew without a clue because it might make the situation worse. How do you ask someone to be the last one to die for a mistake? How many more? If only Roberto Causor, Jr. could be the last, but he won't be. Rest in peace, I'm so sorry.

Mixter is thinking about running for office again. She wants to challenge the Republican representative in her district but doesn't have the money or the corrupt connections. A little bit of help goes a long way, whether it is financial or emotional support. If more of us mounted a challenge to the status quo, we might be able to make a positive difference, at least in our local areas. Besides, isn't that how the conservatives got to the positions of power that they hold now?

In Chinese medicine the pancreas is that fatty thing that that the spleen is attached to, it isn't recognized as one of the main organs. Diabetes (Type 1) was described as a wasting and thirsting disease and was usually categorized as a spleen yin deficiency. Orange and yellow foods are considered to be tonics to the spleen and pumpkin definitely falls into that category. Now it looks like western medicine is considering pumpkin extract in the fight to control blood sugar. Regeneration of damaged pancreatic cells sounds like a step in the right direction, doesn't it?

It has finally started to be warm enough at night for the tomatoes to ripen. I'm going to have more than I know what to do with, so I'll give them away. One of the three serrano plants has quite a few peppers on it. I had a few green beans last week, but none since. What I have been using are all the herbs I'm growing. I hate pesto but I guess I'm going to have to make some, the basil is getting out of control. The flavor of fresh herbs really does perk up a meal. So does not having to pay those ridiculous prices for things that are relatively easy to grow. Next year I think I'm going to try and grow a few melons. Just for fun.

Monday Morning Musings

The cheapest day to buy certain items has some good information and logical reasoning. The gas, grocery and eating out tips were quite helpful even though I know better than to buy gas on the weekends.

Our military is overstretched and overtaxed because they are busy protecting us from terrorists over there, meanwhile back in the USA one fourth of the jobs in Homeland Security remain unfilled, which might be a good thing in the long run since political appointees haven't demonstrated that they have the nation's best interests at heart, just our pockets. As in emptying, but I digress. Isn't anyone else sick of the constant yammering about national security and then finding out once again that our knickers are down around our ankles?

Time's 50 best websites is out, I hope it's better than last year's person of the year. The Polling Report looks interesting and StumbleUpon made the list as did NetVibes which makes a great homepage.

It's that flipping work thing again, so off I go. I have to do some template work when I get back, it seems that someone is changing their domain and it isn't me.

Fascinating Video

Mark, over at Biomes found the original news footage of the fall of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, but the announcer drove me nuts so here is another version. And it's in color.



Mother Nature is a powerful being. How could the guy leave his dog behind while he escapes to freedom? Shameful.

Jerks, Quirks And Clerks

What I've learned from the legal eagles at the Bush White House this week. Number one, if you are rich, male, white and have a ridiculous nickname for a grown man, it is okay to lie to the grand jury because the president will change his previous policies just for you and you won't have to serve the time that a poor, black male with a ridiculous name would. Number two, if you have ever worked for the president it is okay to defy a subpoena, they don't mean anything because loyalty is more important and the other side is wrong, so sayeth the White House.

The United States is rapidly coming up on a constitutional crisis that if the public actually paid attention, could end in a revolution. But since they won't and we don't, it is likely to be replaced in the news by some blond bimbo at the earliest opportunity. The funny (as in peculiar) thing, is that every time the story resurfaces in the press (unwillingly because it means they have to do their jobs, not repeat the daily press briefings), it becomes even more obvious that there was something going on that the public wasn't supposed to know.

The crew without a clue responsible for fixing the clueless intelligence agencies? Are you serious? Only if you want to end up with something like the KGB or the SS. Except they wouldn't be that competent in preventing terrorism from "over there" but the death, destruction and elimination of civil liberties for US citizens would be the same.

Sigh. Just when you think the incompetence can't get any worse, you find out it has spread from the crew without a clue to their financial cronies. Either way, the Iraq war has been well and truly botched.

Quick change of pace. Decision making seems to be difficult for some people. I won't go to lunch with a group of people unless the place has been picked beforehand because nobody can make a decision. After an hour of talking they usually end up going to the first place that was suggested and I'll be finishing my lunch as they walk in the door. I'm fond of saying "make a decision, any decision but make a decision." I've never understood what is so difficult about making up your mind under pressure. It may look to outsiders that I didn't think about it very long but the reality is that I focused all my attention on the problem without thinking of anything else and this helps me to come to a conclusion quickly. Then there is this method. My problem is that I know what I don't want better than I know what I do want. At what age does that change?

Gore Vidal may have intended to go solar but it reads like the DWP is making him go nuclear. As soon as they figure out to charge for sunlight, solar in the city will be allowed. Until then, tough catooties.

Saturday Morning Quickie

Don't you just love it when an editorial sort of makes sense, even when the writer clings to falsehoods? I don't think Bush stands for anything positive, but you wouldn't know it by the hero worshiping tones of John Kass. He's fatuously going on about Bush's supposed virtues and then takes a quick left turn into reality.

It involves the rule of law. Conservatives were once quite conversant with the phrase while applying it to Democratic presidential stains on a blue dress. Lately though, many have willed themselves to forget, rather than look in the mirror and see their own eyes staring, searching for something irretrievably lost when they abandoned principle for party loyalty.

Last week, on the day before we Americans celebrated our independence, the president announced that he would commute the prison sentence of Scooter Libby.

Libby, the former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, was convicted by a jury and sentenced to prison for obstructing justice and lying under oath to a grand jury in the investigation of who leaked the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame to a newspaper columnist.

The politics of Plame and her husband, Joseph Wilson, were not the politics of the president, they were perceived as a threat to his Iraq policy, so there was a leak to discredit them, and another insider did the leaking.

But Libby did much of the lying—to investigators, to a grand jury. The jury that convicted him considered him a fall guy for Cheney. Libby's champions argue that since leaker Richard Armitage was not charged, how could Libby be sentenced when there was no crime?

Nonsense. There was a crime. Libby lied. Under oath.

Everybody gets blackmailed at some point in their lives. Maybe not for money, (I'm gonna tell ...)but sooner or later we are placed in a position where we are forced to make a decision. Do what the person wants, which is against our best interests, or be honest and take our lumps. For me this is not a difficult choice but then my dad is gone, I'm not rich, famous or running for public office so I can afford to take the high road. Plus, my authority issues prevent me from allowing someone without a gun to push me around.

Oh well, I owe, I owe, so it's off to work I go.

Geeks And Freaks

Firefox is prepping for its 3.0 release and released another alpha version, Gran Paradiso, on Tuesday. I think I'll wait for the release candidate. What I'm hoping they fix is the memory leak. It doesn't happen all the time but often enough that I notice it. Plus the activity monitor spikes to 100% and the program can be slow to respond, not quite the spinning beach ball of death but close. I can't figure out which extension might be making the problems worse since it isn't consistent, it was happening before the big crash. One of the extensions I find most useful is Back To Top, which I thought was stupid but turns out to be very useful so I'm keeping it.

Women talk more during arguments. Well, yeah. It isn't as if we can resort to violence every time we get angry. Do men and women talk the same amount? Let me get into major trouble here. Not in my experience. Men usually have specific reason for talking, such as sports, sex, their work, etc., things that are physically oriented or in the present. Women add to that list by talking about feelings and the future or the past. Plus the study was conducted on college students that volunteered, which skewed the results. Just saying.

Rats can learn to get along and help each other, why can't we? And why do some people think it is a sign of weakness to help your fellow man? It should be a survival skill.

As a kidnap plan it wasn't very wise, but when you're 10 and 12 it's hard to plan for every contingency.

I had always heard that history is written by the winners, I guess it can be rewritten later on by whoever is in power. Shameful.

Thinking Blogger Awards With Odds And Ends

Shaun from Kiko's House tagged me with a Thinking Blogger Award and I definitely feel honored. He likes the way I usually don't waste words in trying to make a point. Which in this case is, thank you.

Keeping the tradition going I nominate Rick at One Little Victory as a Thinking Blogger, his brilliant post for July 4, 2007 was just that, brilliant. He's going on to the Blogroll, he was already on the Reader.

The Omnipotent Poobah is also a fantastic example of a Thinking Blogger. He doesn't mince words and he gets his point across with a panache and flair that I only aspire to. He says he hates memes, but this is an honor not a meme, so he might not mind.

Staying in the O portion of the alphabet, Andy at the Ostroy Report is voicing his intelligent opinion on a regular basis again and it is a good thing, as Martha might say. He is definitely a Thinking Blogger.

JurassicPork at Welcome to Pottersville can skewer the stupid as smoothly as a sushi chef fillets a fish. Plus he can be supremely funny while revealing the truth, especially when he takes down the witch of the airwaves. He's one of my favorite Thinking Bloggers.

Last and definitely not least, Fake Steve at the Secret Diary of Steve Jobs is a Thinking Blogger of another sort. Negative people upset him but I get a smile every time I read his posts (an every day occurrence), the sarcasm is priceless. Between frigtards and iTards, he keeps me laughing.

Okay, back to my quirky point of view. How tiny does your dick brain have to be to kidnap a three year old girl for political reasons? They obviously aren't interested in the sympathy vote or they are trying to demonstrate their rendition skills in an effort to pick up some extra money from the Bush administration.

That sucks! seems to be the response of most of the commenters to the story of the man who got sucked out of an airplane at 20,000 feet. Quick thinking on the pilot's part and great strength on his is the only way he lived to tell about it. I just don't like flying and this story didn't help. He still looks a little wide eyed, don't you think?

I'm confused, which is it? Are civilian deaths in Iraq down or up? I guess you really can do anything you want with statistics, but these were people. Maybe not us overglorified Americans, but they were mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children, aunts, uncles, grandparents, somebody's loved one, you get the picture. I hope.

As Time Goes By

I become more disturbed by the actions, or in this case, the inaction of my fellow Americans. How anyone could just step over a dying woman, much less take a cellphone picture of her in her agony, totally baffles me. People will sit glued to their television sets, watching people being rescued and wishing they could help and then when given the chance to make a difference in someone's life, they can't be bothered? No wonder the Shrub thinks he can get away with lying, cheating and stealing.

Whatever you do, don't get lost in Oregon, it's the kiss of death. Twice in a year the Oregon police can't find a lost car and this time they almost had X marks the spot but once again, the correct information wasn't relayed.

The Washington Times thinks that the pardon was wrong and CNN thinks that hypocrisy abounds in the Scooter Libby case, I guess they should know.

It was bull doodoo yesterday and it doesn't stink any less today. I believe nothing that comes out of the White House, their credibility isn't worth the toilet paper it's printed on.

God blessed America and it lasted 225 years before the crew without a clue happily destroyed it.

The menu for today is Grilled Spareribs with Cherry Cola Glaze (I make it sweet and spicy, plus I'm smoking the ribs instead of baking them), Southern Greens, Garlic Potato Salad, Baked Beans (from the can with the unfortunate name), Garlic Bread and Blueberry Pie or Toffuti Cuties.

I really miss you dad, I can't believe it's been sixteen years and a Bush is still in office. Rest in peace, I love you. The rest of you have a Happy Fourth!

Bull Doodoo, Drinking, Dieting, And Legalized Brutality

First off, what is there to say that hasn't been said already about the Scooter Libby affair? For the President who didn't hesitate to put a black mentally retarded man to death; who laughed when Karla Faye Tucker asked for clemency and for her death penalty to be commuted because she had become like him (supposedly a born again Christian), for him to even intimate that the penalty for lying, obstruction of justice and let's not forget, helping to out a CIA officer (but it was ok because she was a woman and had a husband, don't worry about the loose nukes she was tracking) was excessive, is another in a long list of glaring examples of why Bush isn't fit to lead a troop of cheerleaders, much less what used to be the greatest nation on earth. If the Shrub was on fire, I wouldn't piss on it it to put it out and I wouldn't call the fire department either, I hear the forest needs a clean burn every once in a while. Yes, I do hate him, with every fiber of my being and a passion that will never be satisfied until God gives him the comeuppance he so richly deserves. Even Satan doesn't want him at this point, something about standards.

Okay, I think I got most of that out of my system, it took me all night to do it without cursing and hopefully without getting myself in trouble because I know my sentence wouldn't be commuted. So, what else is going on in the world? One in three Americans will have some problem with alcohol in their lifetime. Sheesh, have you seen the news lately?

Police brutality is once again condoned by the brotherhood. Chokeholds for skateboarding, give me a break. Every incident causes the public to trust the police even less and like most people who don't like to be beaten, they will try to run away instead of being used as a punching bag. Of course this then entitles the officers to shoot people in the back, as if they needed the justification.

The ONLY way to lose weight successfully is to change your lifestyle. That means reduce the amount of food you eat and increase the amount of exercise you do. Period. No drugs, crazy diet, plastic wraps, acupuncture, herbs or little pins in your ear will take, and most importantly keep, the weight off. Add color to your diet and park as far away from the door as you can. Over time those two decisions will give you the most consistent results.

Update: Are we sure that Ken Lay is dead? The timing was way too convenient and now it looks like the powers that be decided that faking death was too extreme and that commutations and pardons were the way to go. Just wondering.

Wear Your Headphones

The virtual haircut at the Starkey-Cetera virtual barbershop is extremely realistic, without actually cutting your hair. An intriguing explanation of how the brain interprets sound. It made me twitch like I was actually there without spending the money or seeing visible results. And yes, I do wear my hair that short.

Sunday Science And Fiction

Roswell, the story that never dies. Well, somebody who was actually working at Roswell died last year and his sworn affidavit has been released to the public. If even half of it is true, I have one question. Why haven't the aliens ever come back? Didn't they like us? Did they think we were a waste of time and valuable resources? Well, that was more than one question and here is another. Why would the Air Force have crash test dummies in weather balloons that were supposed to be looking for evidence of Russian nuclear tests ...in New Mexico?

Has Google gone too far? According to Duncan at TechCrunch they have, or at least one of their advertising team has. While I may use Google almost exclusively for searches and iGoogle and the Reader for my news and other interests, I will drop them in a heartbeat if they start to obviously take sides with obviously corrupt big business. There are enough alternatives out there for everything that they provide, including the Blogger platform. I'm always willing to learn something new.

Anybody with any sense would have known that if there was a fly in the iPhone ointment, it would be AT&T's fault, not Apple's. I wonder how long it will be before that deal isn't exclusive?

Robert A. Heinlein would have been 100 on July 7th, but he was no George Burns. Heinlein was my favorite author growing up, mainly because he was prolific and some of his books had female leads. As a kid I never wondered about the symbolism behind the stories, I just read them and was transported to different worlds besides the one I was stuck on. I'm sorry to hear that he was such a conservative, but then people do like to read more into fiction books than the author actually meant. I notice he didn't bring up Job: A Comedy of Justice.

Keeping it light for the folks at If I Ran The Zoo.