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Liveblogging the CNN "Fight for the South" Debate

2012-01-19T20:02:00.012-05:00

8:01 - And so, the 573,637th Republican primary debate begins

8:02 - The intros to these debates have become almost epic. CNN's calling this "The Fight for the South" Blah

8:04 - All of them have a single button on their jackets buttoned. Paul and Romney carry it off. Gingrich needs to get a larger jacket.

8:06 - That was a beautiful rendition of the national anthem. Been a while since I've heard an all-male chorus sing it.

8:07 - Romney introduces himself by rattling off his extended family. 17 grandchildren. The way it came off, it was fairly transparently pandering.

8:09 - Not sure why John King started off with the Callista Gingrich question. 1) It's red meat for Gingrich, who has demonstrated quite clearly in the past that he'll just insult the questioner. 2) What's the purpose of asking that question without a clear way of tying it to a national issue.

8:11 - And then Gingrich goes back on the attack.

8:12 - Dear god, John King, just move on already.

8:15 - Paul, somewhat round-aboutedly, says we need to reform bankruptcy and finance laws. I know it

8:16 - Gingrich says we need to repeal Dodd-Frank because it's killing small businesses. That's just plain bullshit. The Port of Charleston expansion is actually a good answer ... except that it's his own Republican colleagues who've blocked that, not because of environment concerns, but because they've blocked any public funds and no private industry will touch the investment without that guarantee.

8:18 - Oh please. Obama's been practicing crony capitalism? Good reasons for doing it aside, the Solyndra investment was started under Bush. Detroit is a success story.

8:20 - Romney documents the 100K job figure as 120K jobs added minus 10K jobs lost = >100K jobs added. That's definitely going to be fact-checked out the wazoo, and is almost certainly overly optimistic on jobs created. Romney responds to the Bain question by saying he's for capitalism. So is practically everyone. The problem with Bain is that heads, Romney gets $40 million and people keep their jobs. Tails, people lose their jobs ... and Romney still gets $40 million. That just rubs people the wrong way.

8:25 - Someone should tell Ron Paul that the reason government spending went down by 60% after World War II ended is because ... World War II ended.

8:30 - Kind of interesting that most of the candidates actually favor high government spending, it just has to be at the state level. Gingrich makes the case for higher government spending.

8:34 - Did Gingrich just say that Congress needs to repeal Obamacare, but he doesn't trust Congress, so he'll do ... something?

8:37 - Santorum goes ballistic on health care. After Romney for Massachusetts care. Gingrich for his support of individual mandates back when it was still a conservative idea (ie a few years ago). "Footsies with the left" sounds like a twitter meme!

8:42 - Santorum vs Gingrich! Round two! Fight!

8:51 - Santorum: "It's a worrying situation. Something's gonna pop." It sounds like he's talking about a pimple.

8:52 - I'll say one thing for John King: his early screw-up notwithstanding, he successfully turned this into Republicans vs each other. Everybody's attacking each other. Except for Ron Paul, who just keeps talking about what it was like before 1960's.

8:53 - Santorum says Gingrich played a part in the "biggest scandal in 50 years" in Congress. I think he's referring to the page scandal, but not sure.

8:56 - Did Romney just describe himself as growing up "on the streets"? The guy is tone deaf. And for Romney to describe himself as not a politician is just dumb.

9:01 - Romney says he's not going to release ANY his tax returns until April, which is after the primary is decided and they have no chance to influence the outcome. Oddly enough, his refusal to release them is making them an issue.

9:02 - "They're at home and nobody's home right now and so when I get home I'll get them cause I'm home." Huh?

9:03 - Wow ... Romney just got asked about his tax returns, made a very nervous laugh, and then got heckled. His rational for not releasing them until April is that Democrats will attack him over it. But that just doesn't make sense. The election is in November, which gives Democrats over half a year to make those attacks. The real reason, which pretty much everyone knows after tonight, is that they show he takes certain liberties with his taxes and income that are only available to the super rich, and they're pretty much a poster child for what's wrong.

9:11 - I honestly didn't expect a question about SOPA. Gingrich kind of stumbles his way through it. Romney strongly opposes. Paul strongly opposes, and actually says Republicans were on the wrong side of the issue at first. Kudos for honesty. Somehow Santorum manages to make this about personal responsibility and what he describes as America's "anything goes" culture. Oof.

9:37 - Ok, after a long break, we're back to exciting social issues.

9:51 -

Resolution Update

2012-01-03T21:03:00.004-05:00

So, how're my resolutions going so far? Let's see:

Always have apartment in un-embarrassing condition? If somebody came over right now, I wouldn't be embarrassed, so check!

Empty litter box every 2 days? Did it as soon as I got home, so check!

Blog post every day? As soon as I hit "post", check!

Have breakfast at home? I was running a little late this morning, but I made some english muffins and ate it on the way down to the car, so kinda sort check.

At least 500 calories per day? I didn't have a chance this morning to go out and walk/jog, but I did go to the gym this afternoon and I'm on the treadmill as I write this to round out the day, so I'm going to say pre-emptive check!

Be on treadmill if tv is on? I'm actually tri-tasking right now: watching the Iowa caucus results, writing the post, and on the treadmill, so check!

Eat more natural foods? For lunch I had some raw veggies from the salad bar and some lemon chicken stir fry with rice. For dinner I finished off the stir fry and had some leftover saurkraut, so I'll say mostly check.

Also, I'm embarrassed to say that I forgot a resolution last night, so here it is to complete the list: Don't "should" on myself and get my daily lists done. This means that if I think to myself: "I should do this", then I ... should ... just ... DO IT. No more procrastinating. Don't go to bed or watch tv or play computer until my daily list is done. And how'd I do on that today? Wellll... I did stay relatively late tonight and got a lot of my list done, although it's not completely done yet. That's next on the list of things to tri-task tonight. So kinda sorta check.

To sum up, that's 4 definite checks, 2 pretty much checks, and 2 kinda sorta checks. Resolutions off to a good start!

2012 Resolutions

2012-01-02T23:23:00.002-05:00

My resolutions for this coming year:

Always have the apartment in a condition where I won't be embarrassed if company comes over. This doesn't mean it has to be spotless, or that I have to be proud of its condition, just not messy or embarrassing.
Empty Lucy's litter box at least every other day. I do this far less than I should, and my cat deserves more.
Blog post every day, even if it's just "nothing exciting happened today". Supplementary resolution: a least one Cat Blogging every week!
Have breakfast at home. I've gotten into a really bad habit of just rushing out the door and grabbing something at work, which more-often-than-not, isn't healthy. Coffee at work: yes. Breakfast at work: no.
At least 500 calories of cardio each day. This really isn't that hard to do: it can be done in less than an hour each day at the gym, and it will be.
To help with the above resolution: if the tv is on (either cable or video game) then I'm on the treadmill doing at least 3 mph. The only exception to this is if I have company over.
Eat more natural food. I got pretty good at this during the summer when I had my co-op box, but when the weather turned colder I got back into a lot of unhealthy processed food again. Come to think of it - I haven't had salmon in a while.

Don't ride in the car with my mom

2011-12-26T21:34:00.003-05:00

Just got back from a Christmas visit to a good family friend who lives close to Lancaster. It was a pleasant evening, good food and good people, but the most interesting moment of the night had to be in the car as we were driving over.

If you know my parents, you know that to say my dad has strong political views would be something of an understatement. Discussions and arguments usually don't go very well, and it's generally better to just not try to have them in the first place. So with just me and my parents in the car, completely out of the blue, my mom asks: "So Nik, would you vote for Ron Paul? How about Obama?"

... yeah

Desperately fighting off the panic, I stammered out something about Obama doing well enough for the hand he was dealt, and changed the subject as fast as I could. What my mom was doing even bringing that topic up I'll never know, but it was just one of the most random comments ever.

Merry Christmas Everybody!!

2011-12-26T11:13:00.006-05:00

Merry Christmas from Lancaster, PA everybody!

This has been an awesome Christmas so far. I came to Lancaster determined to enjoy myself and break the funk that I've been in the past couple of month, and it's just been great. From late night burgers and shopping with Mom to a quasi-marshmallow-iced split-level birthday cake to oyster fricassee to family parties with hilarious paper plates, it's just been a great time. The plan for the rest of the morning is to sit, drink some coffee, watch Katie struggle with her crochet work, and relax.

Oh, and cats. Can't forget them :)

Time for a Gingrich

2011-11-27T20:52:00.003-05:00

Seeing as how Newt's atop all the Republican polls these days, I thought I'd take the opportunity to remind everyone of this little gem. It gets really good around 2:30 ... and yes, that is the actual text of the press release, verbatim. Enjoy!

The Colbert Report
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Thanksgiving at the Parents

2011-11-25T10:39:00.003-05:00

As usual, Thanksgiving was a blast this year. I think we ended the night just under 20 people, which isn't the record but still a pretty decent size compared to previous years. The turducken, after a disastrous first attempt, turned out pretty well, and everything else was predictably tasty.

Not everything was peaches and roses, though. The antibiotics I'm taking right now don't mix well with alcohol, so that meant no wine during the day to dull the edges. Also, I think somebody passed on their cold virus to me, which gave me the sniffles and destroyed my already-on-life-support sense of smell and taste. Finally, my work computer seems to have succumbed to the Recursive Loop of Doom(C), and is unusable, meaning I can't do all the work I'd planned to catch up on. Hmph.

Thanksgiving night, though, has to take the cake for the worst part of thhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gife trip. Mom and I sat down to watch some different holiday specials: Ice Age Christmas and the new Charlie Brown movie. Both were GOD. AWFUL. HORRENDOUS. Ice Age was a spastic mess; maybe it appeals to hyperactive 10-year-olds who absorb info in 2-second hyper bursts, but not me. And Charlie Brown should've actually been titled "Linus Tries and Fails to Conquer Addiction". I'll outsource the review to Charles Solomon, who writes:

The familiar characters sound angry, impatient and sarcastic; the viewer looking for joy and whimsy will do so in vain.

Ouch. Yet Accurate.

Right now Katie's out shopping the Black Friday sales, which honestly I wouldn't be caught dead at and have never understood the appeal to. I'm sure there are great bargains and everything, but tolerating the throngs of shoving people after a long and tiring day just isn't my cup of tea. Much rather be at home enjoying a hot cup of coffee.

Fox News Republican Debate

2011-09-22T21:01:00.002-04:00

9:01 - WOW, that is a red jacket

9:04 - First question asks about how to incent small businesses to hire. Perry responds with general regulation & taxes (and somehow gets in tort reform). This has been talked to death, Texas' celebrated job growth came from government employment, not private business responding to lower taxes.

9:08 - Wow, the accoustics in this debate are horrible.

9:09 - Michelle Bachmann apparently believes we should have 0% tax rates. Ok, now she's admitting that we need some taxation, but won't give a number. Bold, especially since the entire question was "you didn't give me a number last time".

Liveblogging the Tea Party Debate

2011-09-12T19:58:00.007-04:00

7:57PM - Hmmm ... apparently the emcee is explaining to the crowd that he's going to tell them when they need to applaud. Odd

7:58PM - Wolf Blitzer: "How exciting is this?" Complete deadpan. Crowd is not all together enthusiastic about him. Especially his "Here in Tampa. Tampa? Is that where we are?" schitck.

8:01PM - Did CNN really just describe Newt Gingrich as "The Big Thinker"?

8:06PM - Odd observation: you don't realize just how many 8 candidates is until they're each introduced one by one.

8:10PM - Michelle Bachmann definitely brandishing her Tea Party credentials, probably thinking this is her last big chance to not become irrelevant.

8:12PM - Newt Gingrich: In the spirit of 9/12, I want to fight against special interests. Huh? What's THAT mean?

8:16PM - *Sigh, people need to stop spending so much time on Social Security. Yes, under pessemistic scenarios, it has a small shortfall over the next 50 years, to the tune of 2% of GDP. Without any changes, any retiree over the next 100 years will get more money than anyone does now. Small tweaks and its solvent forever. Period.

8:17PM - Tea Party Debate. Otherwise known as Romney vs Perry 2.0. And Perry is dodging, weaving, and misleading. The Romney quote was misquoted and misleading. Perry's completely ducking the question on how he can believe SS is unconstitutional and still needs to preserved.

8:19PM - Oh geez, Social Security is not "on its last legs". This really needs to stop, it's flat out bullshit.

8:22PM - Gingrich throws out the red meat. Then throws out more in the process of saying it's not red meat. (Aside: Wolf is actually pretty skillful at moderating this. I'm genuinely impressed.)

8:25PM - Gingrich says we can balance the budget by stripping out "waste" and modernizing. First, the waste has been cut over the years, precisely because it's so easy to cut. Second, the modernizing costs money.

8:27PM - Santorum says we can balance budget by privatizing Medicare. First off, the prescription drug coverage is underbudget because we're in a recession. Second, we know that privatizing Medicare doesn't work, because we have Medicare Advantage, which is exactly what they want to do. And it costs more.

8:28PM - Perry won't repeal prescription drugs. The other candidates are starting to get under his skin.

8:30PM - Romney actually tells the truth about waste, but then goes into the 20% budget cap. That's a REALLY bad idea, but not enough space to discuss here.

8:31PM - Paul wants to balance the budget by stopping the wars. Eliminating Energy and Education, though, while having the benefit of being mathematically possible, are horrible.

8:32PM - Bachmann says we need to balance budget by moving to 'personal responsibility'. Vague and star-bursty. Wonder how many people on SS right now think they're personally irresponsible?

8:36PM - Huntsman's answer to growing the economny: 1st, unemployment sucks. 2nd, reform the tax code. Huh? 3rd, repeal Obamacare & Dodd-Frank, because of 'uncertainty'. Real businesses say otherwise. 4th, drill baby drill.

8:38PM - Perry says stimulus didn't work, created exactly 0 jobs (will Blitzer call him out on that?) That and regulation.

8:39PM - Bachmann throws out red meat. The "blank check" thing is flat out wrong. And repatriation doesn't work ... we tried it 8 years ago, and it didn't work.

8:41PM - When did Dodd-Frank become the most recent boogeyman?

8:42PM - Cain's 999 solution is ... unique. Never heard of this before, have NO idea if it will work.

8:42PM - You know, I really wonder if Blitzer is trying to get Romney and Perry to go at each other? A lot of his questions are subtly doing just that.

8:43PM - Romney is laying out a 7 point plan. Detail like this is sorely needed, but this is stone deaf politically. "If you're dealt 4 aces, you're not necessarily a great poker player." Oh SNAP.

8:44PM - Perry's trick of ignoring the actual question, then putting out blind platitudes, is getting old. Ok, wait, now he's touting tort reform? Huh?

8:45PM - Wow, Paul just threw Perry under the bus. "I live in Texas, and my taxes have gone up." Ouch.

8:52PM - Ok, small break. This is getting depressing. Red meat, doctrine, and fantasy-based policies.

8:54PM - Santorum apparently proposes no income tax. Interesting, particularly when you consider the budgetary impacts.

8:56PM - The crowd just cheered, CHEERED, the idea that Ben Bernanke should be tried for treason for trying to help the economy. Bachmann isn't going to answer whether she agrees that he should be tried. Perry slimes his way out of the question, somehow saying that it's ok to help the economy, but not if helping the economy helps the president's poll #'s. Which, of course, it would. Umm, k?

9:00PM - Bachmann "loves that question. Loves that question." Oh, she loves that question. Romney gives an actual answer - and props for that, at least. Everyone else gets a pass ... which I think they're all kind of relieved about.

9:02PM - Gingrich keeps coming back to domestic drilling. Someday, I really want somebody to put up those numbers on a chart, show it to Gingrich (and his supporters), and say "ok, now what?"

9:03PM - Blitzer's follow up on tax deductions being an effective tax increase was a good one. Gingrich's answer kind of rambled.

9:05PM - Romney got NO applause and quite a few boos for that answer about consumption tax. Cause it included math and references to WTO tarriffs, I expect.

9:06PM - Perry's answer about the cervical cancer vaccine is actually somewhat compelling - he made a mistake about means, but he did it to save lives. It's worth a step back here and remember that we're talking about a vaccine that STOPS CANCER. One of the ways you catch that cancer is via sexual transmission.

9:08PM - Bachmann says no mandatory vaccinations, period. Wonder what she thinks about polio & small pox?

9:10PM - Bachmann makes a very direct shot at Perry for campaign contributions, and says she's offended for the little girls he hurt. Wow, she was out for blood. Wonder if one of her staff told her over the break she was losing?

9:13PM - Cain's health care plan is dumb. Tort reform doesn't work (we know, we tried it in Texas, costs rose faster).

9:15PM - Romney's settled on "what works for Massachussetts doesn't necessarily work for everyone" to explain his healthcare accomplishment. It's weasley and he (and everyone else) knows it, but it's his only shot at winning the nomination, which is all he really cares about.

9:18PM - Sounds like Paul is saying the young-man should die. Now he's scrambling furiously to find a way out of this. Settles on the charity solution.

9:19PM - How on earth did Paul get inflation into his healthcare answer?

9:20PM - Bachmann ate her Wheaties this morning. She's practically screaming now. Ok, now she's actually screaming. At Romney. Dun dun dun.

9:29PM - Paul throws a barb at Perry about in-state tuition for illegal immigrants. Then brings up English as the official language, which wouldn't actually do anything, but whatever.

9:30PM - Perry defends his tuition piece, with a somewhat progressive answer, and gets booed. Bachmann goes in for the kill, and gets cheers. She might be coming back tonight.

9:32PM - Perry's getting a little ruffled on this issue, and you can bet it's going to show up in several campaign ads.

9:32PM - Whoooaaaa ... Huntsman just said Perry's comment that we "can't secure the border" is treasonous. Wow.

9:34PM - This is definitely Get-Perry night. Now Romney's going after Perry and Huntsman for the immigration issue.

9:35PM - Perry definitely feels very passionate about the immigration issue, and oddly enough, it's a pretty progressive position. He's arguing that children, even illegal immigrant children, should be given a chance.

CNN Photo Fail

2011-05-31T11:47:00.003-04:00

Ok, I guess technically this is probably an ad vendor's fault and not CNN, but seriously, this woman looks like she's got on war paint and about to do a double flip into a mob of angry amazons to wreak vengence upon those who used up her conditioner. For a mortgage ad. Honestly CNN, can't we do better?

Mark & Johanna's Wedding

2011-05-29T19:46:00.003-04:00

Pictures of my cousin Mark's & his bride Johanna's wedding are up here on facebook.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Also, for your viewing pleasure, a video of my mom and brother Will dancing along to "Love & Marriage" at the reception.

Lancaster & Catch Up

2011-05-28T09:13:00.005-04:00

Ok, all of these will gets posts of their own, but to summarize the past 3 weeks:

Backyard fence went up
Downstairs bathroom was (mostly) finished
Went to Strawberry Hill, had fun
Helped out at an RWC concert, had fun
Visited Lancaster once, and then again 2 weeks later

This post: the current Lancaster visit, aka the "My Cousin Mark is Getting Married!" post. The trip up was uneventful enough, although there were definitely some interesting people on the train.

Interesting Person #1 was the food car attendant who'd had 10 cups of coffee by 6AM, and who was obviously not used to that much caffeine. In between the shakey hand movements and darting eyes, I managed to order a bagel, which he then delivered in a kind of flirty way. I know it was probably the caffeine, but in another context all this could really be kinda sexy. "Soo... what're you gonna DO with this bagel once I make if for you?" and "Butter or cream cheese? Or, maybe, I have some ... jelly. You want some of my jelly? I'd give you my jelly if you wanted it."

Interesting Person #2 was a lady who was going to visit her family, and who couldn't remember whether her aunt had arthretis or dysentary. 'Nough said.

Interesting Person #3 was some cranky old lady who is one of the most entitled-feeling people I've met on a train. Business class, naturally. But god help the conductor if he didn't come back every 10 minutes and check to see if she wanted a drink so he could go get it for her. I think she had a mobility issue so I certainly don't begrudge her having the conductor get it for her, but she gave him hell after Baltimore because he spent too much time taking tickets instead of waiting on her hand and foot. I mean, she actually sent one of the other passengers back to find him so she could yell at him for not checking to see if she wanted scotch. On the rocks. Splash of water. NO FRUIT! At 10:30 in the morning. Jeebus.

Eventually I got to Lancaster and met my brother Will, who picked me up in his old beat-up Ford pickup. Threw my luggage in the back. It's good to be home :)

Trevor Bannister: 1934 - 2011

2011-05-05T22:39:00.003-04:00

Trevor Bannister, who played the junior salesman Mr Lucas in Are You Being Served, passed away on April 14th this year.

I don't know what my odd fascination with this show really is, but I do love it.

Arts in the Park

2011-05-04T22:40:00.003-04:00

Keep meaning to blog about Saturday, but put it off until now. But no more!

Saturday was Arts in the Phttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifark, an annual gathering of arts, crafts, etc. Went with the Drakes (a fine addition to any afternoon), and then we ended our day with a walk in Carytown and basil icecream from Bev's. Good times.

Thoughts on Bin Laden

2011-05-03T23:56:00.002-04:00

Well, unless you've been living under a rock, you know that Osama Bin Laden, the ultimate mastermind behind the September 11th terrorist attacks that killed 3000 people and brought down the World Trade Center Towers, is dead.

In the earlier years of my life I'd always heard about how you remember exactly where you were and what you were doing when certain important events happen ... and I'd always kind of wondered whether it was true. Then 9/11 happened, and now I know what that means; I'll always remember those couple of minutes when I was watching the tv and my mind actually processed what was happening. And I'll never forget those next couple of hours, when I walked around campus and saw people on cell phones desperately trying to get through to somebody, anybody, who could tell them whether person x was ok (Cornell had a lot of students from NYC). And yet they pale in comparison to what those who were actually present would've experienced. I just can't imagine that, and hope I never have to.

It's kind of weird, but I don't feel 'joy' or 'happiness' at the news, at least not really. A kind of 'stoic accomplishment' is the best I can come up with. I mean, on the one hand, I didn't really lose anyone, so 9/11 will never be 'real' to me in the way that it is to thousands of others. And if this gives them closure, I'm genuinely happy that they get it. But for me personally ... dunno, it just doesn't seem like something necessarily worth celebrating. There's certainly a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that a murderer has finally been brought to justice, if you can call what happened to him 'justice'. And there's a lot of valuable intelligence that will certainly help in some shape or form. But joy or celebration? That I just can't feel.

From the "Things I Didn't Know" File..

2011-05-01T10:19:00.003-04:00

From CNN's writeup of last night's White House Correspondents dinner:

The White House Correspondenhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifts' Association dinner was Obama's second as president. It has been a ritual in Washington since 1920, when it was first held to boost communication between the press and the president, according to the association's website.

It was only open to men until 1962, when President John F. Kennedy said he would not attend unless women were invited.

I'm still always surprised to read things like that, although thinking about it for a bit I guess I really shouldn't be. Props to JFK for making a statement.

Sunday Cat Blogging

2011-04-24T17:15:00.003-04:00

Earlier today I found a bunch of Lucy's ping pong balls under the treadmill, which eventually all ended up on the papasan chair in the office.

Lucy decided this would be a perfect place to nap, promptly curled herself up on top of them, and even managed to maneuver one into her "this is mine" space. At least that's my interpretation. You be the judge.

Quiet Moment

2011-04-19T23:59:00.003-04:00

So, yesterday, when I was changing the contacts over from my old phone to my new phone, I realized I still had my PopPop's cell # stored in it.

At first I stared at it for a while, not really sure what to do, just remembering for a bit. Then rational Nik started yapping, saying of course there was really no reason to have it stored there anymore, it probably already belonged to someone else, and really this was taking way too long for a simple phone number that I'd never have a reason to call anymore. But of course, it wasn't just a simple phone number. It was PopPop's phone number. And making the active decision to delete it meant I was making an active decision to delete a reminder of him. Even though I have so many other reminders (pictures, memories, letters, etc) that aren't related to this.

After a few minutes of thinking, I deleted it. The indecision and open-endedness just got to be too much, and I had to do something. And I knew that if I didn't do something permanent, I would keep thinking about it forever now that it was in my mind. So I made a decision that I couldn't undo. And now ... I'm glad I did, but I wish I hadn't. I know that doesn't make any sense, but it's the best way I can describe how I feel.

It's so strange ... only 10 years ago these little devices we call cell phones were a novelty, a tool to be used, nothing particularly special. Certainly they didn't contain anything particularly special. And now, for whatever reason, deleting a 10-digit # that I couldn't tell from Adam off of a microchip just feels so much more permanent, so much more meaningful, than anything else I could possibly do. It's so strange.

Love you PopPop.

Department of I-didn't-know-that

2011-04-19T22:55:00.005-04:00

Oh Virginia...

Via Mother Jones, I learned today that sodomy and oral sex (ie gay sex, although it applies equally to straights) are still classified as a class 6 felony in the State of Virginia. The Supreme Court's Lawrence v Texas decision means that can't be enforced, but the statutes are still on the books, and all efforts to repeal have been blocked by social conservatives in the General Assembly. *sigh

Long Day

2011-04-18T23:02:00.001-04:00

Ugh ... today was one of those brutishly long days that just didn't seem like it would ever end. Nothing necessarily bad happened, but no matter how many different items I crossed off my list, there would be another one waiting.

The work day was almost entirely free of meetings (a big rarity these days), so I spent most of it doing busy work that needed to be done but I just couldn't normally find the time to. So by the time 5 o'clock rolled around, I'd been staring at a computer screen all day, having thought through a gazillion small issues, which was ultimately satisfying but also exhausting.

Day didn't end with work, though. I made myself go to the gym for an hour, then to the gas station (which just always seems like a chore, I don't know why), then across Richmond to the FedEx facility to pick up my replacement phone. Once I got home I had to finish trimming the strip of grass between the sidewalk and street that I couldn't finish yesterday, then inside to cook and eat dinner, then transfer all my contacts & pictures off the old phone, and then some more work, and etc.

Finally, finally, everything that can't wait until tomorrow is done, and now I have just enough energy to vent in a blog post before collapsing into bed.

Spring Time!

2011-04-13T23:05:00.003-04:00

Ok, fall will ALWAYS be my favorite season, but I have to admit that spring has its perks too. I was a little worried at first that my tree out front wasn't turning green along with the rest of the block, but now some green is starting, and I couldn't be happier. Funny how tiny things like that can make such a difference.

Next up, planters out front!

Sunday Cat Blogging

2011-04-13T23:03:00.002-04:00

Sleepy head. It's tough doing nothing all day. :)

House Update

2011-04-13T22:52:00.003-04:00

It dawned on me the other day that I've had the house for almost 6 months, and besides some minor repair work, I really haven't done anything to it that I planned. No fence, no bathroom, no planting, and (most importantly) no renting out the downstairs.

This isn't entirely my fault - I called 3 contractors to come out, look over the house, and give me estimates. The first one I wrote off almost immediately as way too expensive, the 2nd one (recommended to me by my realtor) got me an estimate in less than a week, and the 3rd one ... well, the 3rd one is now 2 months overdue for the estimate. I called him in mid March to check in and see if he was going to get back to me, and he promised he would in a few days. 30 days later ... still nada.

He came highly recommended by a friend, so I really wanted to give him a chance, but the weeks just kept going by, so last week I made the decision that 2 months overdue was too long of a wait, and called back #2 to give him the job.

First up is a fence for the backyard (right now it's completely open to the street), followed by some gutter work, and then some major work on the bathroom. The bathroom is going to be tricky, since I won't be able to use it while he's working on it, which means either a hotel or imposing on a friend for a few days, and figuring out what to do with Lucy.

Once that's done, though, it's time to rent!

Sunday Cat Blogging

2011-02-21T16:41:00.009-05:00

Ok, so technically it's not actually Sunday, but it's the last day of the weekend before work, so it feels like Sunday.

On the left, we have Lucy looking out of the kitchen door, which I had open during the warmer days last weekend. I've had them open a few days now, and she really seems to like it. On the right, we have a very content kitty enjoying a very sunny spot on my bed. This wasn't captured mid-roll, she was actually sleeping like this. Which is weird, because anyone who knows Lucy knows she is definitely NOT a tummy cat.

UPDATE: Argh, and if anyone knows how to make blogger put these pictures side by side, I'd love to know.

Random Thought

2011-02-06T02:02:00.002-05:00

How pissed does Brett Favre have to be that all the attention is on two quarterbacks who aren't him? Or that his latest retirement papers didn't so much as generate a peep of interest?

Saturday Cat Blogging

2011-01-22T14:05:00.003-05:00

Not sure what I did, but this is the Lucy Shun(c). Who knows what goes on in that feline head?

Wicker Box and the Heebie Jeebies

2011-01-03T21:01:00.004-05:00

So, 2 things to share:

First, the box cover that I bought for Lucy's litter box came today, and I put it together. It's a lot smaller than I thought it would be, but it fits her litter box, which is key. I got it for a few different reasons: 1) I think the wicker box looks nice. 2) It's a functional piece of furniture that I can throw my gym bag on. 3) The litter box was taking up valuable space in the bathroom, and I wanted to move it, but not without giving it a cover. The flash somehow illuminates the box so that you can see right through it to the concealed litter box, but in regular light you can't see a thing. Weird.

Second, I am kind of scared out of my mind right now. Last night between 9 and 10 I heard what sounded like a door opening and closing - and closing violently enough that I actually went to my window at one point to see if I could see anything. I couldn't, and just wrote it off as my neighbors. This evening when I went downstairs to get the mail, though .... the door to the first floor apartment ... was open. There's a door chain that locks from the inside that was keeping it from swinging wide open, but it was taunt and there was a 3 inch gap that you could see directly through into the dark, downstairs apartment.

When it comes to the idea of strangers being inside my house, I am not what you would call a brave person. In fact, I kind of freak out. In my old apartment I knew I was surrounded by a bunch of other apartments & people, which was actually kind of comforting. That's not true in my new place, and for the first couple of nights I was acutely aware of that. The open door downstairs, combined with the banging last night, brought all those feelings back.

So, without looking into the apartment, I grabbed the door handle, pulled it shut (tightly), and went straight back upstairs, where I will remain for the evening. Tomorrow, during daylight, I will go back downstairs and check the apartment to make sure nothing's wrong, probably with a hammer or something. I know, I know, there's really no reason to be scared, it was probably the wind or the fact that it's an older door, but rational-Nik is not in charge right now.

I have a Problem

2010-12-31T08:22:00.003-05:00

It really takes a lot to man up and admit this, but they say the first step towards recovery is admission, so here goes:

I have a Jersey Shore Problem. Like Brokeback, I just ... can't ... quit ... it! As you first start watching these people go through life, you're forced to wonder: is it all an act? People can't really be this way, can they??? And then slowly it dawns on you that they may not have been exactly that way before, but the seeds were there, and all the camera's done is let them flourish into the beautiful, exotic, poison-venomed invasive species that they are today. If you think about it, they've accomplished a rather impressive feat. Just like invasive flora and fauna, they're ruining life for themselves and everyone around them, but they're having a hell of a party and eating up every free resource while doing it. They've managed to build themselves a universe where everything is about them and no one else ... all implicitly premised on the undeniable fact that it's actually all about the 20 million people watching them every week.

It's a fascinating and captivating documentary into what we, as a species, are capable of turning ourselves into if circumstances allow. You watch with a mixture of awe and horror. It takes a trainwreck's captivating power, mixes it with some fake tan lotion, and slathers it onto 4 ripped guys who never wear a shirt. How can you NOT watch???

So if I see a Jersey Shore link, I have ... to ... click. And this morning, I was directed thus: New Years Eve will go down in Jersey Shore for Snooki

The crux is that Snooki was going to come down in a glass ball (not THE glass ball) in Times Square, but then NYC found out about it and told them hell no. So she (and MTV) moved it to the site where it all began: Jersey Shore. You should definitely click on the link and read the whole thing, but here are the BEST parts:

[Snooki] will drop inside a ball on New Year's Eve in a location where she has fallen before: The Jersey Shore.

Ewww....

The location has been switched to Seaside Heights, N.J., where season 1 and the upcoming season 3 of Jersey Shore were filmed.

There's an upcoming Season 3?? Joygasm! I wonder which of the boys got the most ripped over the break??

"She cannot be denied," MTB said in a statement.

I have a horrible, terrible feeling that this may actually be true. And yet I SOOO want someone to try...

"It was never intended or requested for Snooki to be in the actual New Year's Eve Ball in Times Square," the producers say in a statement.

Thank god some things remain sacred.

No word on if her costars, who planned to attempt a Guinness world record-breaking fist-pumping marathon, will hold up their end of the deal

Such a thing exists? And we give out records for it?

Don't quit your day job, Amazon

2010-12-22T22:30:00.002-05:00

I was on Amazon.com doing some late Christmas shopping, and after I completed my order Amazon recommended I create a personal 'payphrase' that I could use to turn on express ordering. Amazon even went so far as to come up with a potential phrase:

Um, yeah. Not quite Amazon, not quite.

Virginia's Continuing Nosedive on Gay Rights

2010-12-21T17:25:00.003-05:00

Oh Virginia, how I love your displays of idiocy

MANASSAS, Va. (WUSA) -- Conservative delegate Bob Marshall says he will introduce a measure in the Virginia House of Delegates that would ban practicing homosexuals from serving in the state's National Guard

"It's a distraction when I'm on the battlefield and have to concentrate on the enemy 600 yards away and I'm worried about this guy whose got eyes on me ... If I needed a blood transfusion and the guy next to me had committed sodomy 14 times in the last month I'd be worried"

Bob Marshall ... now where have I heard that name before? Oh, right:

Marshall is one of the most conservative delegates in the Virginia state legislature. His claims to fame include writing Virginia's constitutional amendment defining marriage as heterosexual and outlawing civil unions.

"One of the most conservative delegates in the Virginia state legislature" is the polite way to put it. Lunatic homophobe who thinks gays are The End of Civilization is another. His amendment didn't just define marriage as heterosexual and eliminate civil unions, it also specifically invalidates any private legal contracts between gay couples that may attempt to approximate the benefits of marriage. Think about that for a second. This guy hates gays so much, he can't allow them to see each other in the hospital, to appear together at parent/teacher conferences, or even to designate each other as beneficiaries of each others' wills. *Sigh.

Productive (and oddly relaxing) Weekend

2010-12-19T18:58:00.005-05:00

Wow, for the first time in a long time, I really feel like I had a relaxing weekend, and strangely enough, it wasn't any less busy than any of my previous weekends for the past couple months or so. I was always doing something: running errands, moving boxes, driving places, sorting paperwork, shoveling snow, doing chores, etc. I'm exhausted, and yet very very relaxed. Why?

I think the big difference is that this week I got to do what I felt needed to be done, vs the past few weekends where all the stuff I had to do (like work and parties and everything else) just felt like it was getting in the way. My part of my life is now much much better, and the difference that made is huge.

So ... the list!
Shovel the sidewalks - DONE
Emptied out old apt and turned in keys - DONE
Sorted through stacks of papers and actioned the ones that needed it - DONE
Sorted through stacks of papers and got the rest organized - DONE
Many gifts checked off my x-mas list - DONE
Laundry - DONE
Cleaned the office / guest room - DONE
Refilled prescription - DONE
Cleaned a bunch of dishes that were stacking up - DONE
DADT Repealed - DONE

Ok, that last one wasn't really my accomplishment, but I'll celebrate it just the same. :) Plus - Eagles WON, Steelers LOST, and there's nothing that I have to do for work tomorrow besides show up and take care of loose ends. Now there's nothing to do except curl up with the cat on the couch, and watch the Packers/Patriots game while drinking some hot tea. Ahh.. relaxation.

Oh, and snow!

The Future is Here

2010-12-18T10:46:00.004-05:00

This is just absolutely amazing. It was less than 10 years ago that I got my first cell phone ... one of those monochrome flip phones where you had to pull out the antenna to get good reception. It was cutting edge at the time. Less than 10 years later, I've got a universal translator in the palm of my hand.

Too Much Snow

2010-12-12T13:28:00.006-05:00

Holy Crap. Metrodome collapses

Didn't think that one through....

2010-12-04T15:02:00.002-05:00

whoopsie

Update #3: Life & Health

2010-11-20T14:34:00.002-05:00

It has to be said: physically, I'm in the worst shape of my life right now.

Ever since I moved to Richmond I've been yo-yo-ing up and down on weight; sometimes I have good months, other times I have bad ones. And this past month has definitely been a bad one.

The mountain of work, the late nights, and the packing/moving/unpacking have added a lot of stress to my life. And when I stress, I eat. A lot. And when I don't have a kitchen to cook things in, I either order pizza or go out and grab something, usually something loaded with salt and cholesterol, which basically just makes a bad situation worse.

Anyway, the result of all this is that I am now as heavy as I was my senior year in college (which, for several reasons including weight, I consider the low-point in my life). My immune system has more or less shut down, which means that my latent allergy to pet dander is kicking up again, and it's getting more and more difficult to breath at night.

I've been coping by drinking lots of licorice tea, doing some yoga stretches before bed, and -most importantly- squeezing every last bit of medicine out of the sample inhaler my doctor gave me at my last checkup 2 and a half years ago. The tea and stretches help me get to sleep, but after a few hours (usually around 3-4 in the morning) I'll wake up and my lungs will be so tight I can barely breath. A shot from the inhaler lets me breath again, and I can get back to sleep for a few more hours.

I could tell the inhaler was running low, and given that I haven't seen him in over 2 years and could use a checkup, I scheduled an appointment with my doctor for this upcoming Monday, thinking that would be enough time to get a prescription. It wasn't. After staying up til 2AM the night before working on a presentation for an exec, the inhaler ran out completely. I went to bed hoping I wouldn't need it, but woke up a few hours later as normal, only this time without any medicine to help. So, at 4AM I got up and walked around the apartment for an hour trying to calm myself down and getting to where I could breath more normally. Finally around 5AM upright posture and exhaustion got me to the point where I could get a bit more sleep, but I still had to get up at 7 and prepare for the presentation with the execs - which, incidentally, went well.

Knowing I really couldn't wait until Monday, I went to Patient First that afternoon for a consultation - they gave me a 10 minute breathing treatment (kind of Darth Vader-ish, but it worked) and also a prescription for a new rescue inhaler, which I filled across the street at Walgreen's immediately. The difference between a brand new prescription inhaler vs a year-old sample inhaler on its last legs is enormous, and I slept like a baby last night. I know it's only temporary and I really do need to change my lifestyle, but still being able to sleep and breath at night has already made a world of difference. We'll see what Monday brings.

Update #2: The House

2010-11-20T14:23:00.004-05:00

This past week was my first full week in the new house!

I have to say that, honestly, it doesn't quite feel like home yet. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I'm still unpacking, that there are things I know I want to build (like a backyard fence) but haven't yet, and oddly enough, that there's no tv service yet.

When I first moved down to Richmond I didn't even have a tv for 2 years, but this past year I've developed a strange fondness for watching professional football. I never liked football growing up, but now it's one of my favorite sports to watch (playing it is a different matter completely; if I never touch a football again I can't say as I'll be sorry). And I think not being able to watch it last weekend or this weekend has a lot to do with how I feel about the place so far. Odd.

So far I've had a fridge delivered and had 2 contractors out to look at a) replacing the back doors and b) installing central air/heating. Verizon was supposed to come out this past week and install FIOS, but being Verizon they screwed up and now it'll be installed next week instead. Harumph.

Stuff I want to get done before the Thanksgiving Break:
Buy & install radiator covers (so simple but makes a big difference)
Buy & install new doorbell (nothing fancy, just a wireless one)
Buy & install new mailboxes (the old ones are, well, old)

Update #1: India Trip & Work

2010-11-20T14:07:00.003-05:00

Wow, what a month.

The big trip to India didn't quite go as planned. We arrived a few days before they were going to announce a verdict in a 60-year old trial about disputed religious land. The last time anything noteworthy happened in the case (way back in 1992) there were riots, and corporate security didn't want us there. So, after a grand total of 26 hours in India, the team was evacuated to London because of safety concerns. We stayed there for 3 days (one of which we were able to tour London, see facebook for pix), and then flew back to the States. Ho hum.

While I didn't get to go to any markets or anything like that, I was able to pick up a few scarves from the hotel lobby. So, I have something from India. Probably made in Taiwan. But bought in India.

The big project that I'm working on has certainly been an experience. A lot of visibility from execs, which is nice, but with that comes a LOT of work, not all of which comes easily. These past couple weeks in particular have been pretty stressful, and it doesn't seem like I'm ever able to get ahead of the work. I've talked to my manager about it a bit and we think we can do some stuff that'll help, but these past few weeks have not been kind.

Something to leave you all with...

2010-09-26T14:27:00.002-04:00

House Update - 9/27/2010

2010-09-26T13:38:00.003-04:00

Lots to share this week:

House Inspection
The inspection was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but we got a call Tuesday morning saying that the electricity hadn't been turned on in time, so could we please move it to a different day? Wasn't too thrilled with that, especially considering how hectic the week was turning out to be, but not much of a choice.

So Thursday afternoon comes around, we get there, and meet the electrician wiring the boxes so the place will have electricity. Not confidence inspiring, but in the grand scheme of things it worked out well, since we got to talk to him about what my options are as far as putting in central air. Turns out that if I do that, I'll need a new line into the building since the existing one can't handle that kind of load.

As far as the inspection itself: there are a myriad of small things that are pretty common in a house of that age in that area, but we did find 3 big things that need to be addressed before moving forward.

When the owner redid the kitchen, the new drain wasn't properly tied into the existing pipes. As in: just smashed a hole in the iron pipe and then sat the new pvc pipe into it.
The roof is questionable - some of the slate is loose, and the rubber coating is showing signs of age. We're getting a roofer in to check it out.
The back decks aren't properly supported on one side, and there's some crushing happening. I'm almost positive I want to redo the decks anyway, so this is the one I'm least worried about.

Besides the inspection, I also started the mortgage proces on Friday - pretty straightforward, but holy crap does it take a long time. You're sitting there, doing nothing but signing papers for a whole freaking hour. Nope, I'm not a terrorist. Nope, I don't know the seller. Nope, I'm not lying about my finances. Yes, I know Liberty Mutual isn't my agent. Yes, I know Libery Mutual will check my credit. And on and on and on.

T-Minus 1 Day to India!!!

2010-09-26T13:16:00.002-04:00

Just one more day, then it's onto a plane and off to the other side of the world for 2 weeks to help launch our newest customer service channel!!

It's a weird feeling; I'm excited, a little anxious, and a little sad all at the same time.

I'm really gonna miss Lucy (although I know she's in great hands with Todd), but still I hate the idea of her thinking I've left, and it's nagging me. Over the weekend I've been cleaning and packing, not just for India, but also started on a few boxes for late October.

As far as travel itself, the part I'm most worried about are the transitions, like customs and immigration. I don't know what it is, but anytime I go through one of those kinds of processes for the first time, I just get really anxious that something's going to go wrong. Blah.

But, I know it's gonna be awesome, and a great experience :)

Football Week 2 - Also not a good week

2010-09-20T23:09:00.001-04:00

Harumph, sez I.

Reggie Bush - Broken leg. Our for 4-6 weeks, at least.
Joe Flacco - Unimpressive yardage. FOUR interceptions. Thankfully a touchdown kept him from having negative points. No other quarterback on my roster. Gonna be a looonngggg season.
Apparently our league gives no points for safeties, which is very odd since it actually results in points on the board. Weird.
Finally, I had the lowest point total this week, which means I'm officially out of the running for our side league. Oh well.

T-minus 1 Week to India

2010-09-19T21:18:00.002-04:00

This afternoon I sat down to make some lists for the India trip: to-do's, to-buy's, to-pack's, etc..

I know it's probably just the fact that it's Sunday evening and I have nothing else to think about, but I'm already starting to get the travel jitters.

Football Week 1 - A Horrible, Awful, No Good, Very Bad Week

2010-09-12T18:28:00.006-04:00

UGH. If the rest of the football season is going to be like this, then I think the part I'll enjoy most of all will be ... walking on my treadmill during the games.

First, the Philadelphia uniforms. If I have to stare at a pale imitation of tri-force green for a whole season, well, let's just hope it doesn't come to that.
Second, the Philadelphia team. I was never a HUGE fan of McNabb, but at least he was able to lead the team down the field. I am NOT a fan of Vick (for obvious reasons), but right now he's the only reason one might plausibly describe Philly's performance as "respectable" instead of "downright embarrassing".

Third, my fantasy team, aka the Smurfsville Blue Ones. This was my first fantasy team EVER, so I wasn't going in with high hopes, but holy crap, I never expected the shellacking this has turned into. My kicker currently has 1 field goal and 1 extra point, which gives him 5 points, and HE'S THE 2ND HIGHESET SCORING SINGLE PLAYER ON MY FREAKING TEAM. Maurice Jones-Drew leads the list with a whopping ... 10 points. Reggie Bush, Robert Meachem, Desean Jackson, Percy Harvin, Brent Celek all clocking in at ... 4 or less. At the start of the week, ESPN predicted I'd have 104 points. I currently have 33, and unless Joe Flacco (my only remaining player) pulls off a miracle tomorrow night, I won't even get half that.

I don't think I like this game anymore.

UPDATE
Well, that didn't work out TOO badly ... Vick brought the Eagles back to respectability, and while I didn't come close to winning my fantasy match I did manage not to be eliminated this round. On to next week!

Guess who made my pizza today?

2010-08-23T19:05:00.003-04:00

A certain few will understand this post. You may have to zoom in.

Sunday Cat Blogging

2010-06-13T15:49:00.003-04:00

It only looks like she's spoiled. In reality, she's had a hard day, and it's all my fault.

First, daddy slept in this morning, so she didn't get breakfast until 9AM. Second, daddy had Prairie Home Companion on in both the living room and the bedroom, so she had to listen to that regardless of whether she slept on the sofa or the bed. Third, daddy washed the sheets today, and had to disturb her nap to take them off the bed. Fourth, daddy did more laundry, but folded it immediately and wouldn't let her sit on the warms. And finally, daddy had his laptop case on the sofa right where the sunnies were, and she had to make him move them so she could lay down.

See? Hard day.

Spazzing Emu

2010-06-07T09:46:00.002-04:00

WTF?

Idaho Falls - Day 2 and a half

2010-05-11T19:50:00.003-04:00

Last post was kind of a downer. Here is some fun stuff I've seen up here:

Tumbleweeds exist! They are real! I saw one blow across the street!

Squirrels in Idaho have sulfur-yellow tummies. Weird.

Kids who chase geese and their goslings and scare them half to death suck. And I am unanimous in that!

Idaho Falls - Day 2

2010-05-11T17:18:00.001-04:00

Today started out fairly well: I woke up at 4AM local time (6AM my time), got dressed, made coffee, and went downstairs to the car, where it was a chilly 40 degrees and raining out. It was perfect.

Then began the day-long circus.

Like I said yesterday, I gave Michael and Catherine the wrong key, and the night maintainence guy wouldn't let them in without the office's say so. So I called the office. 3 times. Twice I left messages, the 3rd time the phone was answered ... by a girl who was not the complex manager. Turns out that the manager was on vacation, and the girl who was subbing for him didn't know the policy and couldn't decide on her own whether to let the neighbors in, so she had to call the manager and leave a message.

An hour or so later, she calls me back, and says that yes, she can let them in, but only if I fax over a signed statement that says she can. The good folks at Center Partners were kind enough to lend the use of their fax machine, and off it goes. I called the office again, confirmed reciept, and a few minutes later Michael texted to say he had picked up the key and was walking over now. Phew, problem solved!

Or so I thought.

About 20 minutes later, Michael calls. The key they gave him was to his apartment, not mine (seriously!?!?) He went back and asked for the right key and was told there ... was ... no .... key. Yes, you read that right. The apartment complex DOESN'T HAVE A SPARE KEY TO MY APARTMENT. Apparently in the entire universe there are only 2 keys to my apartment, one with me, and the other presumably resting in the pewter bowl on my living room table.

Ok, deep breath. Think this through. What are the options? The maintainence guy said I had two:

Raise up a ladder and try to break through one of the windows of my 3rd story apartment. However, the ladder was so big it needed 2 people to carry, and only 1 maintainence guy was around. Because of liability, they wouldn't let Michael carry it. So I'd be stuck until tomorrow morning. Scratch option #1.

Have the maintainence guy drill out the lock, and replace it. This would cost $50 and would require another round of phone tag with the apartment manager. Additionally, since there'd be a new lock, my old keys wouldn't work anymore, and I wouldn't be able to get into my apartment at 12:30AM Friday morning without waking Michael & Catherine. While this wasn't ideal, I was getting desperate, and so I called the office again to start the 2nd round of phone tag. And called. And called. 3 messages and 2.5 hours later, the girl finally calls me back, and says that she would be happy to have it done, but it'd have to be tomorrow morning. *Sigh. Scratch option #2

Eventually, I decided to go with option #3, recommended by Justin. Go to Walmart, make a copy of the key, and FedEx it overnight to Michael & Catherine. It costs less than the lockout, is more convenient for everyone, and I get an extra key that I'm sure the office would love to have . One problem: Jodi and the rest of the gang were about to leave for Jackson Hole for a good dinner, and their car was going with them. Worse, nobody seemed to know exactly where this FedEx place was, and Google, Mapquest, and FedEx's website all disagreed about it's precise location in ID Falls.

Luckily, the kind folks at Center Partners were kind once again, and one of the VACD program leads drove me to Walmart and then sought out the FedEx location (for the record, MapQuest was right). Knock on wood, this is finally fixed, and my poor Lucy will not starve or dehydrate to death. (I'm not really REALLY worried, she had a full water dish and a good amount of food when I left her yesterday morning, but more than 48 hours without fresh food/water would've started to be worrisome).

Also, Michael and Catherine absolutely ROCK. You guys are awesome, I will hate to see you move away this summer :(

Idaho Falls - Day 1

2010-05-10T23:14:00.000-04:00

Well, technically Day 1 was Richmond-Chicago-Denver-IdahoFalls, but that's a bit too long for a title. Over it was a pretty decent day, but with one big exception that I'll get to in a sec.

The flights were long, and boring. To give you an idea: the most exciting leg was Chicago to Denver: our plane, a Boeing 757, was the same as our flight number, UA757. It was also a little bumpy. Whee!

Idaho Falls is pretty - my hotel room actually looks out over the river and across to the Mormon Temple, which is absolutely gorgeous when it's lit up at night. Pictures of it, the river, and a gigantic fountain in the middle of town coming soon.

Dinner last night was an adventure: Justin recommended a place called "Smitty's Steak and Pancake Houe", but it was voted down 3-1 (sorry Justin, my travel partners just aren't as brave, or as crazy, as you are). We set off looking for a restaurant called Iggy's ... but apparently the average lifespan of a restaurant in ID Falls is about 6 months, so typically what happens is that Jodi (CapOne's relationship manager with CP) will eat there once or twice, love them, and then try to go again on a later site visit, only to discover the restaurant has closed. Which Iggy's had. So we drove around a little more, and eventually found a brewery called the Brownstone. It was decent - I had fish & chips (while everyone else had something healthy, sheesh) with a beer, which was a good way to relax.

Ok ... now for the not so good stuff. I left Lucy at home, and gave Michael & Catherine (my neighbors) the spare keys so they could look after her while I'm gone. Only ... I gave them the wrong keys. So they can't get in. Which is a problem. I called the after-hours maintainance (which answers the phone as "Fidelity Services" ... wtf?), but he won't let my neighbors into my apartment without the office's permission, and said I'd need to call them Tuesday and have Michael pick up the keys directly. Which is a perfectly reasonable policy and I copmletely agree, but still it sucks. I feel like the worst dad ever. :(

Cholesteroids of the World Unite!

2010-04-04T11:03:00.002-04:00

For we have a new savior and champion!

Last August, we wrote about the "Double Down," ... it's bacon and cheese sandwiched between two pieces of fried chicken.

...

KFC announced the decision to go live with the Double Down yesterday, but we weren't sure they weren't playing a April Fools gag. But no, they truly are going nationwide with the delicacy on April 12.

Now, even though I was stupid enough to click through the link and see just exactly how bad this thing is for you, I have this strange sickly feeling that, when presented with the opportunity (and you know it's going to come sooner or later), I just won't be able to refuse it. But boy oh boy, will it be delicious going down.

House Hunting Part 3

2010-03-21T20:39:00.003-04:00

Technically, part 2 was last week, but I didn't blog about that. Oops. Oh well.

Not all that much to share right now, except:
Yes, that is a bidet.

DADT Dumbness

2010-03-14T20:02:00.003-04:00

Ok, this has got to be one of the most glaring examples of just how stupid our Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell military policy is, and just how stupid it is that people can abuse it.

So called "3rd Party Outings" are when the soldier in question does everything within his/her power to keep the orientation secret (as the rule requires), but someone else finds out that person is gay, outs them to the military, which then has to discharge the person in question. Thankfully it's rare, but not rare enough:

The Rapid City Police Department says Newsome, an aircraft armament system craftsman who spent nine years in the Air Force, was not cooperative when they showed up at her home in November with an arrest warrant for her partner, who was wanted on theft charges in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Newsome was at work at the base at the time and refused to immediately come home and assist the officers in finding her partner, whom she married in Iowa - where gay marriage is legal - in October.

Police officers, who said they spotted the marriage license on the kitchen table through a window of Newsome's home, alerted the base, police Chief Steve Allender said.

Got that? Jene Newsome at work at her air force base. Police showed up at her house and asked her to come home to let them in. She said no, she had to stay at the base. Police started peering through her windows, saw a marriage license on the kitchen table (seriously!?!), and decided this was absolutely vital information that the Air Force base just absolutely HAD to know.

And now Newsome's lost her job. Wonderful.

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG

2010-03-09T18:54:00.001-05:00

I have been waiting YEARS for this.

House Hunting Part 1

2010-03-08T20:02:00.006-05:00

Well, house hunting has officially begun. Yesterday Graham (my broker) and I went and looked at a place on Hanover Ave.

The positives:

Absolutely gorgeous kitchen. It's been remodeled, and they knocked out the wall between the kitchen and the dining room, making one big room for entertaining. Lots of counter space, lots of cabinets, both of which are sorely lacking in my apartment.

Nice backyard that I could really do something with. The house is elevated about 6 feet off the street, and a corner lot, so it has a detached quality about it.

The upstairs is crying out to be remodeled, and I've already thought about what I could do to transform it.

The negatives:

North, south, east, and west ... all apartments. I know it sounds horrible, but I want a block where I know that people are invested in its appearance. I've walked by there a couple times in the summer, and there's usually some living room furniture outside on the lawn. Not what I want.

The kitchen floor sags a bit, and when you go down to the basement you see that the previous owners installed their own support to hold it up. Not exactly confidence inspiring.

Small closets.

Don't think the fireplace works.

On a scale of 1 to 10 where 8 and above is "I want to buy this!", I'd give it a 6. So, still looking, I guess. Here're some pictures. In case you're wondering, that guy in the last one is Graham, my broker.

CNN Fail

2010-02-20T13:45:00.005-05:00

So apparently Tiger Woods held a press conference on Friday. I know this because:

1) Every single tv network kept playing the same 2 minute segment over and over again all day, because this is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING EVER.

2) CNN had almost their entire website devoted to it.

What's that you say? Someone flew a plane into an IRS building? 36 worshipers died when their mosque collapsed on them? Peanut allergies may finally be treatable? 64 students almost died when their boat sank? Nevermind all that! Does Tiger Woods' apology make you like him more or like him less? What's your instant reaction?

Elephant Fail

2010-01-31T21:22:00.003-05:00

Dear Elephant Insurance. Your commercials are absolutely god awful, and you play them way way WAY too much.

If I had been considering your product, I am not anymore.

Things You Don't Want to See in a House's Description

2010-01-23T09:53:00.004-05:00

Every once in a while, I go browse through some real estate pages and look into the possibiliy of buying a home. I know I probably can't afford one right now, but it never hurts to look, right?

So today I start browsing through a site, and see a pretty nice house in a good neighborhood for a very VERY reasonable price. I mean, so reasonable that you start to wonder what's wrong with it, that they're selling it so low. So I scan the description, and then I see it:

"Property being sold as-is. Inspections are for informational purposes only."

Right. Cause nothing says "Buy my house!" more than "There is something seriously wrong with this place and rather than fix it myself I'm going to offload it onto some sucker."

The No Good, Horrible, Awful, Very Bad Day

2010-01-23T09:47:00.002-05:00

The site still isn't doing the agent survey, depsite their (many) promises to the contrary. This has now been going on for 6 weeks.
I can't find an important email from December, and it's making it look like I'm lying about something else.
I got stuck in a revolving door at work, making the jerk behind me very impatiently tap his foot.
The cappuccino that was supposed to make it better ... was 1/3 coffee and 2/3 foam.
Later I went grocery shopping, then stepped in a giant puddle, soaking my foot.
I tried (unsuccessfully) to get a cart, only it was stuck, and I spent 20 seconds trying to yank it free before realizing everyone in the store was staring at me like an idiot.
On the way back, I walked into a tree, got my umbrella stuck in its branches, and whacked myself on the head in the process.
Oh, and I forgot the potatoes.

Hmph

Things that make no sense

2010-01-08T23:34:00.002-05:00

The "3" mark on my coffee pot is 2 fluid cups. Can anyone explain this?

Gun Lobby Gets into Healthcare

2010-01-03T16:11:00.003-05:00

Well, points for creativity, at least.

Perhaps afraid that they losing out on the action, Gun Owners of America (GOA) is now officially opposed to health care reform ... on the grounds that it would infringe upon Americans' right to own guns.

Yep, you read that right. And how, exactly, does healthcare reform relate to gun ownership? Over to the GOA's healthcare report:

Every draft of the ObamaCare legislation on Capitol Hill would give Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius tremendous regulatory power. And in early versions of the Senate bill, the anti-gun Sebelius could very well have mandated that gun ownership is an activity so dangerous that your insurance coverage needed to be suspended.

In other words, there's nothing in the bill specifically prohibiting the HHS Secretary from declaring that gun ownership is hazardous to your health, and then, through some (unknown and unexplained) mechanism, using that declaration to make healthcare more expensive for gun owners.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the reason it isn't specifically prohibited is that the idea is so absurd no one even thought about it until the GOA 'discovered' it 6 months into the healthcare debate. There's nothing in there specifically prohibiting the HHS Secretary from declaring that excessively long nose hair is hazardous to your health either, but that doesn't mean Medicare is going to start requiring its seniors to buy nose-hair trimmers.

But it gets better. When the GOA brought this up to several Democratic senators, they got a diplomatic version of "Wtf are you smoking?"

Bob Casey (D-PA):
"There is no mention of 'gun-related health data' anywhere in the Senate's health reform bill, and there is nothing in the bill that would result in any such data being reported to the government. I support the Second Amendment and will continue to uphold the rights of law-abiding citizens to own firearms."

Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
"It is my understanding that there is no discussion within the Senate concerning firearms in relation to health care. Please be assured I will keep your comments in mind as the Senate debates comprehensive health care reform."

But the GOA kicked and screamed and made enough noise that Harry Reid eventually threw up his hands in exasperation, and added language specifically prohibitting firearm data from being collected or used in conjunction with healthcare.

And NOW, the GOA is crowing that including this language actually proves that eliminating gun ownership was Obama's goal all along:

To listen to these and other liberal senators, you would think there were no 2nd Amendment concerns in President Obama's signature piece of legislation. But then, lo and behold, Sen. Reid included language in his substitute amendment that totally undercut these senators' excuses.

So let me get this straight. 1) GOA comes up with a completely absurd argument that healthcare will be bad for gun ownershp. 2) Senators tell GOA they're a bunch of idiots, but GOA whines enough that Reid finally adds language to the bill addressing GOA's concerns. 3) This proves GOA was right all along, since lack of absurd language in the original bill obviously proves that the absurdity was the real goal all along.

*Sigh. Better idiots please

Quote of the Day

2010-01-02T14:12:00.002-05:00

Ezra Klein:

It's a reminder that when times are good, government seems almost vestigal, like a weekly psychiatry appointment that you keep even though you're feeling fine.

2010 Resolutions

2010-01-01T22:09:00.002-05:00

Go to the gym to lift at least 2 times a week, and do 30 minutes of cardio at least 4 times a week.
Eat better food, but less of it. Use stuff out of cans or boxes as little as possible. Limit myself to 1 meal per week at the CapOne cafeteria. Eat breakfast before going to work instead of at work.
Through a combination of #1 and #2, lose 40 pounds.
Have my home by visitor-ready all the time (ie clean and well stocked).
Get my passport.

Behold, the Acai-politan!!

2009-12-31T17:27:00.004-05:00

Ring in the new year with good health and gay vibes!

Acai-politan
(pronounced ahh-see-politan, and yes I know that's not how it's spelled, but it's my drink so I get to call it whatever I want!)
1 part vodka
1 part cranberry juice
1 part Acai berry juice (generously provided by my Aunt Jeannie)
1/2 part orange liquer
splash of lime juice

mix with friends and enjoy!

LATE UPDATE
The universal consensus is that I should not quit my day job to become a mixologist. Hmph.

X-mas Presents I'm not Quite Sure Where to put

2009-12-31T12:46:00.005-05:00

Hmmm... those who know my apartment: any suggestions?

Computer Issues II

2009-12-29T09:57:00.008-05:00

My work computer is having issues, too. Apparently, it's discovered a way to transcend space/time itself, and receive data from the future!

Actually, it's far more mundane: it's internal clock has stopped working, and it's stuck. You'll have to take my word for it, but when it was Tuesday morning at 9:45AM, my computer thought it was Sunday afternoon 5:14PM. Stupid computer.

Fortunately, dealing with work computer issues is much much easier than personal computer issues. I can take it downstairs, and they'll fix it. Special bonus: I still have the oldest laptop model in circulation, and since tech support is tired of dealing with all the associated issues, they're just swapping them out for the newest model! At least that's what I've been told ... in a few minutes I'll head down and check it out.

UPDATE:
Shiny new computer!! Yay!!

Bread Pudding - Fail

2009-12-20T21:17:00.005-05:00

*sigh, it has not been a good week for the epicurious adventurer.

To begin with, the plum pudding was less than stellar. And now, my amazing idea for Christmas gifts to the extended family isn't working very well either.

Butter, sugar, milk, bread, and cognac ... seriously, what's NOT to like about bread pudding? And in cute little canning jars ... it makes the perfect gift that people enjoy and then get rid of.

Well.... I found a recipe that looked good, and tried out a batch in the crock pot. Or actually, I think I tried a batch and a half of batter in a batch sized container, because it expanded quite a bit.
Then I took it off of the heat, and it promptly collapsed.

Well, not one to be deterred by a simple failure, I cut the batter in half, and set the timer again. This one collapsed too:

Hmm... I think I need to go in a fundamentally different direction. Either a) go for more of a french-toast-like chunkier pudding, or b) get everyone virginia peanuts.

An Open Letter to Richmonders

2009-12-20T20:59:00.002-05:00

Dear Richmonders who have no idea how to deal with snow. This is an open letter to all of you. Pay attention, this could make your lives much easier.

If you own property with a sidewalk, it is YOUR responsibility, not the city's, to clear the sidewalk. It is 8 blocks from my apartment to Kroger, with many properties along the way. Exactly 4 properties on Nansemond cleared their walks (including, to their great credit, the Verizon building that Verizon's trying to get rid of), and exactly 0 properties on Thompson cleared theirs. Do your civic duty and buy a shovel.
Yes, the sun will help considerably, but only if you give it a start. If you want your car to be nice and clean on Monday morning, that means cleaning off the snow on Sunday morning so that the sun can do it's job during the day. A single day's worth of sun in the middle of winter will not completely melt 10 inches of snow off of your car that's parked in the shade.
If you do clean your car off, move the snow onto the grass ... DON'T just shift it onto the parking lot. If you do, it will slightly melt, and then refreeze overnight, and then you'll have a wall of ice around not just your car, but also around the cars parked next to you.
If your car is stuck and spinning its wheels to no avail, the correct solution is not to spin your wheels harder. It is to a) turn your wheels back and forth to get some grip and b) ask for help if that doesn't work.
Just because you have a truck doesn't mean you can drive in snow like you drive in clear weather. And to the idiot pickup driver who nearly caused a 3-vehicle crash at Nansemond and Grove by trying to make the red light and then lost control and skidded sideways through the intersection ... you are really REALLY lucky the only thing that happened was that the other 2 cars blew their horns at you.

Christmas Dinner Roundup

2009-12-20T20:42:00.004-05:00

It's been an interesting week.

To start with, I thought work was going to slow down considerably, but instead it seemed to speed up. Part of it was my fault - I agreed to prepare for something that I really had no time for - but mostly it was just a bunch of random stuff popping up all over the place.

Friday night was my Christmas dinner with Justin and Danielle. Because of work I was really really behind and didn't have their gifts, but it turned out they didn't weren't ready either, so we agreed to move Christmas back by 2 weeks. :)

We had ham and macaroni & cheese (so I guess maybe that makes it my birthday dinner), and I also decided to that maybe it was time to start a new tradition and attempted a recipe for British Plum Pudding. Besides being difficult to construct (how the hell does one chop kidney fat 'powdery fine'?!?!?) it also had to steam for 18 hours in the crock pot before it was done.

And after all that effort, what did I get? Not much, actually. It looked absolutely amazing (you can't really see the flame, but trust me, we sprinkled brandy over it and lit it)

The taste, though, wasn't too swell. Maybe I screwed up, maybe it was the cognac, or maybe the Brits have this weird pathological aversion to eating food that actually tastes good. Who knows? Anyway, lesson learned for next year.

Sunday Cat Blogging

2009-12-13T18:17:00.002-05:00

Cookies!!

2009-12-13T18:15:00.002-05:00

2 days of baking and lots of trips to the store = holiday yumminess

Af-Pak Thoughts

2009-11-30T12:36:00.002-05:00

Looking over Obama's proposed 35K troop increase, I'm honestly not sure quite what to think.

On the one hand, thinking about the past is the classic sunk-cost fallacy: whatever time and effort we've put into Afghanistan/Pakistan is irrelevant at this point, and what matters is what makes the most sense right now and going forward.

On the other hand, I can't just dismiss our involvement to date. When we went into Afghanistan 8 years ago, we changed a lot of stuff, and integrated American presence into the every day lives of the country and it's people. If leaving means that many people's lives will change for the worse, and if our continued presence can prevent that (two very big if's) then I'm very uncomfortable with the idea of just wiping our hands and saying "see ya!" Of course, there's a temporal aspect to that as well: if our presence needs to continue indefinitely (which realistically, it can't) then it's a matter of having bad stuff happen now, or later. And since there's additional cost to us (both money and lives) the longer we stay, that points to a quicker exit. But nobody can say with certainty that there's absolutely nothing we can do.

In other words, we need to value an indeterminate number of American lives and American money against an interderminate number of Afghani lives and Afghani money for an indeterminate number of years. Argh. I do not envy Obama this decision one bit.

Enter Keys and Congressional Districts

2009-11-15T10:45:00.003-05:00

My enter key doesn't work anymore, and it's very annoying. I haven't been able to figure out how to get a paragraph inserted via html, so you're going to have to put up with a lot of strung-together text. Also, I was searching around for info about my congressional district (where I found this awesome map btw), and found that districts #3 and #7 represent greater Richmond. Looking at it, though, I realized something. In the span of 2 miles, when driving home from work, I 1) start out in #7 when I'm on I64 2) enter into #3 when I hit the 64/95 interchange 3) go back into #7 once I get onto 195 4) go back into #3 as I exit 195 5) go back into #7 as I cross Broad St and 6) finally get back into #3 when I cross under 195 to get to my apartment building. Yowzas.

Nary a Brain to be Found!!

2009-10-29T20:17:00.006-04:00

I know what you're thinking: the world is full of idiots. Which is true. But not what I'm getting at here.

Danielle and Justin are coming for dinner tomorrow, and the planned meal was Eggs and Brains. More on why after the break, but sufficed to say Justin requested them.

So off I went tonight, looking for brains.

Tried Kroger - nope.
Tried Whole Foods - nope (and they said even when the whole sheep comes in, including the head, the brains are removed).
Tried Ukrops - nope.
Tried Tom Leonards - nope.
In a fit of desparation (and because I know Justin will ask), I tried Walmart - nope.

So, no brains. Oh well - Liver and Eggs will have to do.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sunday Justin and I drove down to Petersburg to try Dixie Diner, a dive he found online. We got there, and found Eggs and Brains on the menu, so naturally, Justin had to try it. I tried some too and it wasn't bad, although it was mixed in with the eggs so you couldn't really taste it.

Also, Petersburg is an odd little town. Dixie Diner can best be described as Goth meets Renaissance Fair, and the Sherrif's Office owns several blue-painted school buses. Why the Sherrif's Office would need these vehicles is unknown, but they were there.

Finally, there is a restaurant there called Le Venue de Bombay. Cause everyone knows French and Indian cuisines are a natural pairing. :P

My Sister in Austria: Part III

2009-09-27T21:06:00.002-04:00

Apparently there is a German version of SpongeBob Squarepants. According to Katie, it is "kinda creeeeeeeepy".

After watching the below, I have to agree. The SpongeBob-on-acid scene at 1:03 is particularly freakish.

One Clever Stat too Far

2009-09-27T16:11:00.004-04:00

In general, I think it's a good thing that NFL broadcasters have a weath of data available at their fingertips. But sometimes they try too hard.

"Not since 2004 have the Jets opened a season 3-0!!!" shouted the commentator, apparently under the impression that this little tidbit of info is among the most important tidbit of tidbits ever.

Seriously, "Not since 2004"??? OMG, that makes it like, what, 2 seasons out of 6 that this happens? My gosh, how incredibly rare!!

I propose a new rule for broadcasters: you don't get to start a sentence with "Not since..." unless the next words out of your mouth describe a point in time more than 10 years ago.

Sunday Cat Blogging

2009-09-27T15:52:00.001-04:00

Lucy Goosey Rabbitfoot

My Sister in Austria: Part II

2009-09-26T12:22:00.001-04:00

OrionSky019 (12:17:13 PM): Soooo
OrionSky019 (12:17:24 PM): apparently the austrians are not nearly as amused as I am, when I walk out of the wrong bathroom..
OrionSky019 (12:21:29 PM): ya, that's right, i'm an international idiot
OrionSky019 (12:21:58 PM): i got the STRANGEST look from this elderly man
OrionSky019 (12:22:05 PM): haha i think his eyes got about as big as the moon

Authentic Mexican!

2009-09-26T10:34:00.005-04:00

As opposed to the apparently unauthentic Asian. Silly Target.

My Sister in Austria: Part I

2009-09-23T19:45:00.007-04:00

Her exact words:

"Mozart should only be heard in a place as beautiful as this."

UPDATE: Originally this was titled "My Sister in an Austrian Music Hall", but I decided to make this into a series, chronicaling my sisters adventures across the sea.

Foul Mood this Morning

2009-09-21T10:30:00.005-04:00

For whatever reason, I seem to be in a very foul mood this morning. I don't really know why, since I have several reasons to be happy (Giants humiliating the Cowboys in their fancy new stadium; dinner with good peoples tonight).

I do, however, have several theories:

I didn't get enough sleep last night. Weird, since I went to bed around 12 which is when I normally go to sleep, but I am very tired, especially my eyes. This leads directly to the next item:

I woke up 2 hours later than I wanted to, and had to rush around this morning.

There are idiots on the road. Hey idiots: here's an idea! If two of you are driving side-by-side on the highway and you both need to get into the others' lane, don't keep both slowing down assuming that the other will speed up. Take the goddamn initiative and fix the backup that you're both causing by continuously slowing from 65 to 60 to 55 to 50 to 45 to 40 to 35 mph on the freaking highway ... and for heaven's sake if you see it isn't working then don't keep trying it! Morons.

I listened to the radio on the way to work, and their show this morning was about parents not making their kids eat what was prepared for dinner, and instead just microwaving some chicken nuggets because the little buggers fake vomit the food out. This pissed me off as well.

Futhermore, the annoying glowy-orange reminder that Outlook insists on popping up on my toolbar is the bane of existence. This pisses me off as well.

A direct result of the first two: I just checked the mirror and I have huge bags under my eyes. *sigh.

Saturday Night Blogging

2009-09-20T00:11:00.002-04:00

Todd just said "I want to take pills that make me constipated for three or more days."

Also, there is a new Barbie movie coming out. It is "Barbie and the Three Muskateers". How far have we fallen as a civilization? How far? How far?

Lucy Look-a-Like

2009-09-19T10:33:00.001-04:00

Weekend Cat Blogging

2009-09-13T20:46:00.005-04:00

Right before snapping this with my camera, Lucy was curiously sniffing these turkey decorations, and I could just see the wheels turning: Does I eats this? Looks like bird ... but no smells like bird, very confoosing ... uh oh, Daddeh is takins out da camera, gotsta look pretteh.

This is actually a gift for my mom, but she probably won't look at this blog before Thanksgiving anyway, so I'm safe.

Football Epiphany

2009-09-13T20:24:00.003-04:00

Many many years ago (I don't even remember if Will was born yet), when I lived in Lancaster, my parents took the family to see a Millersville University football game. We sat on the vistor's side, mainly because my sister and I were still young enough to be thoroughly amused by rolling down the hill by the bleachers, which we spent the better part of the game doing.

My parents ended up sitting close to a big black guy, who clearly had a son on the opposing team. The guy yelled constantly, calling out the refs, cheering on his son, standard parent stuff. Then, at one point, he bellowed "BOOOOOOOOO!!!! Grounding, grounding!", and when I say bellowed, I mean BELLOWED. In all honesty, that was the first time in our short lives that my sister and I realized humans could sound like foghorns. And we found it incredibly hilarious.

So, like good little kids, we pointed and laughed our asses off. Looking back on it, my dad was probably sweating bullets that this big black guy was going to get pissed off and come over and punch him out, which wouldn't have been funny, but at the time Katie and I just couldn't stop laughing.

For whatever reason, that particular memory has stayed with me for decades, and every once in a while something will trigger it, and I'll chuckle to myself.

Tonight something triggered it, and I chuckled ... and then ... EPIPHANY! After all this time, something like 15 years, I know what grounding is! And I understand what the guy was bellowing about.

Excitement.

That is all.

Republican Response Liveblogging?

2009-09-09T21:06:00.002-04:00

Sure, why not?

9:07PM - Oh my. Who picked this guy? It sounds like a campaign ad. And why is he standing openly?

9:08PM - Nope, bored.

Obama Address Liveblogging

2009-09-09T19:59:00.004-04:00

Obama's about to start his healthcare address to Congress. Naturally, I am live blogging.

8:01PM - Introducing the cabinet and diplomatic corps.

8:02PM - Blitzer is saying to expect hearty applause from Democrats, but some stony silence from Republicans.

8:03PM - Michelle Obama's dress. Very pink. Eh. Someone needs to tell her she looks her best when her bottom doesn't flare out like that.

8:05PM - Wow, they're playing a clip of Bill Clinton's '93 address, and I'd forgotten how young Clinton actually looked 16 years ago.

8:07PM - Good point by one of CNN's talking heads: there are 5 healthcare bills being considered right now, and Obama's probably going to propose a 6th. It's going to get complicated.

8:12PM - Enter Obama. You know, I've always wondered why there isn't a larger door into the House for these sorts of things. There's just a small 4 ft wide entrance with a plain octagon inset overtop.

8:15PM - Did Pelosi just ask Obama to grab her a copy of the script?

8:17PM - Starts off by talking about the economy and how we still have a way to go. I wonder, is he going to link this with healthcare, or is it a stand alone issue?

8:19PM - "Didn't come here to clean up a crisis, we came here to build a future." I see, so no link :)

8:21PM - Some points about health insurance, and how it has problems, like cost, lack of stability, pre-existing conditions, recision, etc. Stories about insurance failures, a woman needing a double masectomy denied because of acne. This is good stuff.

8:24PM - Hmm... describing rising costs as a hidden tax, 1K a year, because of uninsured. Interesting formulation. I wonder if it's designed to bring over Republicans, which, I'm sorry to say, is a lost cause.

8:25PM - Applause from the left for the Canadian option. No applause for the right's option.

8:27PM - Obama says Congress agrees on 80% of what needs to be done. If that's true, it's pretty telling that the remaining 20% is what's stopping us.

8:28PM - Some gentle scolding to Congress about partisanship. Lots of applause.

8:28PM - 3 Simple Goals: More stability for those who have insurance. Provide insurance for those who don't. Slow the growth of costs.

8:30PM - "Nothing in our plan requires you to change what you have." A good try, but really, "Nothing requires"? Sounds technicalityish. Who put that in?

8:30PM - No more exclusion of pre-existing conditions. No more recission. No more caps. A limit on out-of-pocket expenses. I like this all, and yet ... altogether I wonder how insurance competition is going to work out of all this?

8:33PM - Insurance exchange is the 2nd part. Good line about how exchanges are what Congress uses, and should be what everyone can get. Tax credits for those who can't afford.

8:34PM - Ahhh... the short-term insurance against financial ruin from McCain's presidential campaign. Good policy, good politics.

8:35PM - Don't know if it's the 2nd part or 3rd part, but Obama's plan includes a mandate. He's completely correct that this is necessary to make everything work, especially to keep the insurance business viable.

8:37PM - Ohh, now he's going for Palin and the Death Panels. Calls her out as a liar, plain and simple. Also clears up the illegal immigrant thing, to loud boos ... not sure who from. Interesting if it came from the left. Interesting if it came from the right. Also clears up the abortion thing, to applause.

8:39PM - Here comes the public option. Frames it up as holding the insurance companies accountable, and ensuring competition.

8:42PM - Hmm, public option would only be available for those who go onto the exchange and can't get employer insurance. He also insists that he will require it to be self-sufficient.

8:44PM - Oooohhh... addresses "progressives" on policy, admonishes "Republicans" to bring forth "reasonable objections". Ouch.

8:46PM - Obama promises not to sign a plan that will increase the deficit. Good. Spending cuts if savings don't materialze ... yikes.

8:47PM - Ouch again. Plants blame for the deficit squarely on Bush. Doesn't call him out by name, but it wasn't subtle.

8:49PM - Talks down the Medicare myths. Promises that Medicare benefits will not be touched, and reminds seniors that the scary stories are coming from people who tried to abolish it earlier.

8:51PM - Ah, now we get to the nitty gritty. The plan will be paid for by surtaxes on expensive insurance plans.

8:52PM - "Defensive medicine may be contributing to unnecessary costs." Yikes, who wrote that line? Incidentally, this gets back to my idea about a healthcare bubble - namely that we've simply advanced way too quickly and can't pay for anything.

8:55PM - "I will not waste time with those who've made the calculation that it's better politics to kill this plan than to improve it." Good line. Promises to call out people who spread lies.

8:56PM - Whoh, Ted Kennedy wrote a letter a few months ago, and asked for it to be delivered upon his death ... and called for health care reform.

9:03PM - Obama rounds up his speech with national greatness stuff. Honestly, I find this stuff kind of boring. I don't need him to tell me how awesome I am :P

Fall is Back

2009-09-09T19:59:00.001-04:00

It's a brisk 70 degrees with a chill wind outside ... and I'm LOVING IT.

The Cat, She is Weird

2009-08-30T11:24:00.002-04:00

Apparently my gym bag is exactly the right size for napping.

Exciting News on the HIV Front

2009-08-29T10:31:00.002-04:00

Some very exciting and potentially game changing news in the fight to find a cure for HIV/AIDS: a doctor in Germany appears to have cured a man's HIV using a bone marrow transplant designed for Leukimia patients.

The story: an American with both Leukimia and HIV went to Germany to undergo additional treatment after his first round of chemo didn't work. There, Dr. Gero Hutter (who specialized in Leukimia, but not HIV/AIDS) recommended a bone marrow transplant: risky, but maybe the only way the man would survive. Trouble was, the man also had HIV, and his chances of living decades longer weren't much better.

Then Dr. Hutter had an idea. Back in the 90's, it was proven that men with the CRR5 gene mutation were almost entirely immune to the HIV virus, since the CRR5 protein was what allowed the virus to attach itself to the body's cells. And as luck would have it, there was a bone marrow donor in Germany who had that exact mutation; the transplant was approved, and finally carried out.

And 3 years later, after extensive testing and without any anti-viral cocktails, the virus is undetectable in the man's blood, if it's still there at all. For all intents and purposes, the man is "functionally cured".

Now, there are caveats galor to this. It could be a fluke. It could be a different mutation that we haven't identified yet. It could be the intensive radiation therapy that killed off most of the man's immune system before the procedure. And bone marrow transplants aren't exactly simple to perform.

Nevertheless, in this particular case, it seems to have worked, and at the very least it's a promising new lead to follow. Hutter and others are starting to look at different kinds of gene therapy as possible alternatives to marrow transplants, and their research may finally lead to the cure for one of humanity's most perplexing diseases.

Here's hoping.

Well, They're Out

2009-08-28T15:09:00.003-04:00

It's over and done with: my mouth now has 4 fewer teeth in it than it did 24 hours ago. So far the recovery seems to be going pretty smoothly: the bleeding stopped a few hours ago, there's a small amount of aching/pain but it's bearable (of course the pain meds probably have a lot to do with that), and not much swelling, although I'm keeping ice on it regularly.

I'm definitely taking it easy on the food and drink for a while. I have some ginger ale and have been sipping that, I've also been nibbling at the rice pudding every 15 minutes or so. Right now I don't feel that hungry, but if I keep going at this rate I'll have had about 1/2 a cup of rice pudding as my only nourishment for a whole 24 hours.

Going under anethesia was weird: the doctor put the IV in and told me it wouldn't take long for me to feel light headed - and he was right, in a few seconds I started to feel a little buzz. And then ... nothing. It didn't feel like I was going to sleep, one second I was wide awake and the next consciousness and awareness just flat out stop ... and then I was waking up in the recovery room. Definitely a weird experience.

One disappointment: they didn't give me the teeth to keep, which I kind of wanted. Oh well.

Getting Nervous

2009-08-27T21:22:00.002-04:00

Now that Lucy's dental work is done, I'm free to worry about mine.

This Friday morning the wisdom teeth - all four of them - will come out. I'm kinda nervous since it's the first time I've been under general anesthesia, but rationally I know I'll be fine.

My subconscious is messing with me though: now that I've started the 12 hours of no-food-or-drink-before-surgery, all of a sudden my mouth is very dry and all I want is a nice icy glass of water, but of course I can't have one. And tomorrow when I come out of surgery I'm sure icy water is one of the last things I'll want. Harumph.

A week full of teeth pulling

2009-08-27T21:12:00.002-04:00

I am happy to say that Lucy is back from the vet and is perfectly fine, although not without one or two developments.

Right around 2:30 Wednesday afternoon I got a call from the vet, and thought "Great! It's time to go pick her up!" Nope - turns out her gums were worse than the vet thought, and she needed to have a tooth pulled or else it could get much more serious. Well, when you get a call like that, of course you tell them to go ahead and do it, which I did. But then I spent the next 3 hours worrying and waiting ... and waiting ... and waiting.

The vet never called me a second time to tell me she was ready. When it got to be 5:30 I decided to call them myself, since I know they close at 6 and I really wanted her to come home. So I called, but got the answering machine, and finally decided the heck-with-it-all, I'd just drive there and see for myself.

All along the way I was worried and nervous; not because I was really afraid that something was wrong, but I just wanted to know what was going on.

Well, I got there, and turns out they were having a very busy day and just hadn't had the chance to call, which was fine, since everybody has those days and deserves some slack. Lucy came through just fine too, only she has to have some antibiotics twice a day for a week ... and in less than a day she's already learned what the dropper is and runs the second she thinks I'm going for it. Fortunately, I am still smarter than my cat and can catch her pretty easily, and once I have her it's relatively simple to grab the scruff and force the dropper in her mouth.

Random Tuesday Musings

2009-08-25T18:08:00.003-04:00

Last month I paid off my car loan, and today I got the title in the mail from the bank. Weird how something as simple as a piece of paper can be so significant.
Relatedly, I had the car inspected today at McGeorge Toyota. and I drove myself so I decided to wait for it in their lounge. I was expecting a "lounge" with some chairs and a few magazines ... I was NOT expecting an array of comfy lounge chairs, several tvs, snacks and drinks, and complimentary wifi. Wow. What do they do if you actually buy a car from them?
The far right has gone crazy. More on that later.
Tomorrow morning I have to drop Lucy off at the vet, and then pick her up later in the afternoon. She's having her teeth cleaned, and needs to go under general anethesia, which makes me kind of nervous. I feel horrible that she's going to be all alone at the vet with strange people sticking strange stuff in her, and just a few minutes ago I had to take away her food in preparation for tomorrow. I will feel MUCH better when she's home tomorrow evening.
On Friday I'm having a dental procedure of my own: all four wisdom teeth will be removed while I'm under general anethesia, which I've never had before. Oddly, I'm less nervous about my procedure than I am about Lucy's, but I'm sure that will change. Insurance is picking up most of the tab so that's good, but they won't give the prescription for the painkillers until after the procedure ... when I'll be doped up and shouldn't be "signing anything or making important decisions". How, exactly, am I supposed to have a prescription filled while I'm in that state?

UPDATE: Lucy's sitting where her food bowl usually is, and looking at me with this I'm-hungry-and-I-don't-understand-why-you're-not-giving-me-food-like-you-always-do look. Ugh.

Are You Being Served?

2009-08-10T01:26:00.003-04:00

I had no idea that Mollie Sugden had died. Seriously, no idea, and I (and the world) am worse for it.

I guess the best compliment I can pay her is that when I watch Are You Being Served, I forget that she's an actress playing a character, and see a 1970's Ladies'-Ready-Made-Senior-Sales-Person-Mrs-Slocobme.

RIP Mollie Sugden.

It Has Not been a Successful Weekend

2009-08-09T23:46:00.003-04:00

Besides the Mint Syrup fiasco, it was going to be a good weekend: brunch at a new restaurant with a good friend from work!

Only: the good friend had technical problems and missed my email, it turned out to be one of the hottest weekends this year, and nobody told me it was the watermelon festival. So I basically got dressed up, sweated my ass off in the hot sun, only to encounter a situation where we wouldn't have been able to have brunch anyway.

Oh well. At least someone knows how to spend the Sunday:

Mint Syrup .... FAIL

2009-08-07T21:43:00.003-04:00

Mojitos are one of my favorite drinks, but keeping fresh mint on hand is difficult and muddling it in the glass with a wooden spoon is a hassle. I've thought about buying some spearmint extract, but couldn't find it at either Kroger or Ukrops.

So I had an idea: why not make my own? Seems simple enough, right? Some mint jelly, some hot water, mix them all together, and *poof*, instant mint syrup just waiting for a mojito to go in!

Fail.

You know all those tv ads where you see the top of the blender pop off and everything fly out? Never happened to me ... until tonight. For whatever reason, when I pushed the pulse button it created a LOT of pressure inside the container, the lid popped off and half the mint jelly mixture flew across the kitchen. Sticky. Yuck.

But, I still had half-a-blender worth of minty syrup left, and it certainly smelled like mint, so I thought I'd try to salvage, and maybe come up with something good.

Mix some rum, some ice, some minty syrup, aaaaaaaaand ... some Sprite Zero. Because if I'm going to cheat, why not go the whole way?

This drink wasn't just fail. It was TEH EPIC FAIL. I don't know if it was the syrup, the rum, or the Sprite, but the taste was like a Mojito sweetened with Splenda. I mean, it was just horrible. I added a bunch more lime to cut the flavor, but still, not so great.

*sigh* oh well. Tomorrow I will go and buy a mint plant, and a muddler.

Wow, It's been a While

2009-08-04T00:38:00.004-04:00

So long, in fact, that gheby.blogspot.com doesn't even prepopulate in my address bar!! Yikes.

Well, you probably don't want a 2 month recap of my life. So I will say:

Right now, I am watching Kathy Griffin on Comedy channel. With a gin and soda.

And it is AWWWWWEEEEEESOME.

Although ... she just talked about her Emmy dress. And I kinda have to say ... eh, not so much.

-Nik

Person of Authority & Maniquens

2009-06-08T22:24:00.003-04:00

I did several things after work today:

I went shopping at Bed Bath & Beyond for Andrew & Michelle's wedding gift. Halfway through, some lady came up to me and started asking me questions about the store. When I just stared at her with a quizical look on her face, she asked "You work here, right?" Um, no, and I have no idea why she would think that (especially given I was wearing my "summer casual" work attire), but this kind of thing happens to me fairly often. Apparently I look like a Person of Authority.

I also went shopping at S&K Men's Store for a new suit jacket. All the ones I have are either from when I was 20 lbs heavier or 20 lbs lighter, so I need a new one for this weekend. S&K is going out of business, so everything is drastically reduced, and I ended up finding one that wasn't too expensive and a good fit. I also found these:
I have no idea why suit maniquens need packages, but there you go. The tags on them say $60, but something tells me that might be negotiable, especially considering the market for them is probably a bit limited. Maybe I'll go back later in the week and barter with them.

Random Sunday Thoughts

2009-06-07T21:14:00.002-04:00

Impromptu 4 hour trips with one of your best friends can be very fun, particularly when it results in good seafood for lunch and an icecream sunday.
For whatever reason, I keep getting into peoples' way today. On the street, in the parking lot, in the grocery store, it just keeps happening.
Herbivour men in Japan are not interested in sex.
Please, please, PLEASE GOD LET AMERICA FINALLY BE OVER WILL FERRELL!!

Didn't Know That

2009-05-31T21:21:00.003-04:00

Matt Yglesias debunks an urban rumor that I myself believed was true: that the building height restriction in DC has something to do with the height of the Washington Monument or the Capitol. Turns out, it's far more mundane:

The actual rule is that a building can be no more than 20 feet taller than the width of the street it’s on. Given that DC folks both seem very attached to the policy and also mistaken as to what the policy is, I’ve often wanted to propose that we actually adopt the rule that people think we have, limiting buildings to the height of the Washington Monument. This would approximately triple the permitted density in the central business district.

I had no idea it was that simple, and thinking about it, I pretty much agree with Matt. DC is an incredibly popular city, lots of people want to live there, and artificially limiting building height like this is an example of zoning run amok.