Thursday, December 31, 2009

2009: I Leave You With This

As this decade fades away, I am struck by how much has changed. How the Soviet Union and the World Trade Center fell; one that raised and one that crushed hope.
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But today I read the opening paragraph of "As We Are: A Modern Review" by the best author ever, E.F. Benson. In this, my closing post of 2009 and the decade that is best forgotten, I leave you with his words of 1932 (after "The Great War" but before it became the first of two world wars).
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Across the chasm which, in 1914, split time in two, making for the space of a generation at least a new era, A.B. or Anno Belli, from which to date our chronicles, little glimpses of a world, very distinct, but immensely remote, as if seen through the wrong end of a telescope , occasionally flit across the field of memory.
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It is not only the sundering years of the War which make them so distant, but chiefly the accomplished transition for the days when so much was taken for granted as being part of a secure and immutable order to the days when nothing seems secure, and when only the most reckless gambler would take the longest odds that he would live to see the discovery of a working hypothesis of which a return of national prosperity could be framed.
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Ever higher in the waste-paper basket for useless formulae grows the debris of scrapped suggestions, and more frequent the collapse of Utopian palaces which idealists aspired to build in a world which the War, so they declared, had delivered from the possibility of its recurrence.
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Sobbering words to be true, but hope - the greatest of our human gifts - propels us onward. Looking back makes me want to go foreward. To quote that other famous prophet, Gloria Gaynor, I Will Survive!

Revenge is a dish best served cold... over and over

Stephanie Edwards will once again HOST the Rose Parade. Now, apparently she was returned last year to the booth, but I missed it.
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But this year there is a BIG insert in the LA Times lauding the fact she is back.
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For those that may not remember, in 2006 without warning they booted her from the booth to the sidelines (where it poured rain). In 2007 and 2008, she wasn't even invited.
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Then in 2009 she was asked back tot he booth and this year she is officially the co-host again.
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And so the 2010s, like the 2000s, the 1990s and the 1980s will be rung in by Miss Stephanie Edwards (born in Kenyon Minnesota).
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And Miss What's-her-name pretty girl is gone gone gone. Old people watch the Rose Parade. They are not looking for a hot little Latin spitfire at 7AM. It's too damn early for that.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Desert Dogs

Trevor and Miss Abby are getting alone just fine!


They are both working Eddie

Scooter's Hoped For Next Trip


So, next year Eddie and I are trying to go to Peter and Keith's wedding in Frankfurt at the end of July. If you know me, you know that I don't want to waste a trip to Europe. So I am working feverishly on Eddie to go to Slovenia (which add almost $0 cost to the trip) afterwards. I figure we can rent an apartment in Ljubljana (doesn't that sound pretty...).
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And I am pretty sure I know someone in Shepperton, Balham, Tyler's Green or Hersey that might wing over for a few days (cheap flight to LJU from Stnastead on EasyJet - just don't pee).



Here are some pictures. The Bled Castle and Abby on Lake Bled (30 Miles from Ljubljana).




A square in Ljubljana.


A Castle built into the Italian Alps.
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Pretty huh? Well, still working on my honey, but hopefully next year.

Jake Tapper gets funny (really!)

So I was reading the following article in Salon, and I followed the link to Jake Trapper's tweet. I shall let you laugh for yourself.
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(Article included with Jake Tapper's Tweet at the end)
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Not McCain and Lieberman's finest hour
With Lindsey Graham, the two ask President Obama to halt the transfer of Yemeni detainees. There's just one problem

Alex Koppelman
Dec. 30, 2009

Following on the news that the man who attempted to bomb Northwest Flight 253 came by way of Yemen, and that an al-Qaida group based there has claimed responsibility, three senators had a request for President Obama. Sens. Lindsey Graham, Joe Lieberman and John McCain wrote to the president to express their concerns about the impending transfer of six Yemeni detainees from Guantánamo Bay.
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"Given the security situation in Yemen and the failure of the Yemeni government to secure high-value prisoners in the past, we believe that any such transfers would be highly unwise and ill-considered. Recent events underscore why this is so," the three wrote.

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"[W]e request an immediate halt to the transfer of all detainees to Yemen until the American people and the Congress can be assured of the security situation in that country. We must do everything in our power to ensure that these detainees do not pose a future threat to the United States. Until we are certain that released detainees will not return to the battlefield, all detainee transfers to Yemen should cease."

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Now, I'll leave it to the reader to determine whether this is a good point on the part of Graham, Lieberman and McCain or whether it's a politically motivated call to close the barn door after the horses are miles away.

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There is one piece of information that seems relevant to that determination, though: Turns out that the six detainees were actually repatriated about 10 days before the senators sent their letter to Obama. Apparently, no one on their staffs bothered to check on these sorts of details, much less talk to anyone in the administration, before trying to get some press for the request.
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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

FINALLY

A good college football day for the family:

UCLA 30 - Temple 21
Wisconsin 20 - Miami 14

As LRP would say...."YAY"

A Bowl is a Bowl and a Win is a Win Baby


And then there is true Nincompoopery

Quoted from the Washington Post via The Daily Beast

GOP Holds Up TSA Chief
Wondering where the TSA chief has been since the attempted Christmas bombing? There is no TSA chief: Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) has a hold on the White House's nominee for the position, Erroll Southers, citing fears that Southers would allow TSA workers to join a labor union. Southers has passed through two Senate committees, but DeMint's hold prevents his nomination from being subjected to a full Senate vote, and the Senator's demands for testimony about unionization would likely mean at least three days of debate and test votes. DeMint spokesman Wesley Denton blamed Democrats, saying that "President Obama waited 243 days in office before making a nomination"; DeMint, in a statement, had said the Christmas day terror attempt was a "perfect example of why the Obama administration should not unionize the TSA."
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Read that last line again... "DeMint, in a statement, had said the Christmas day terror attempt was a "perfect example of why the Obama administration should not unionize the TSA."
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Why? or How?
1st it is "fears" only - not fact - that TSA might be allowed to unionize.
2nd the screening of the terrorist occured in Amsterdamn - not by the TSA
3rd Whaaaaa?

NOT Complaining.. ... but....

I am not really complaining, because that would be annoying as people are stuck in freezing cold and snow. But... the desert is awfully dry.
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Ed and I are both snoring to wake the dead from the dryness. It's odd how quickly you get un-used to it.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

This is Beyond Comment

This is the page from UCLABruins.com. I think I speak for all Bruins when I say... sad.
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LA @ Christmas: Movie Time: Up In The Air

One of the great things about being in LA after Christmas is the movies. I mean they are playing everywhere in the country (except the few that are out "for consideration"), but in LA (home, as it were) there is something about going to see a bunch of movies after the holidays that feels less frivolous than it does elsewhere.
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I don't pretend to know why, but it does. And, having said that, let me say this about "Up In The Air."

"Up In The Air" is a odd, very odd, little movie. It is one of the movies that I was really glad I saw, but I couldn't tell you why. Much less tell you know on Earth it got made except perhaps that George Clooney said - let's make it. And I think anything that catches George's eye, gets made.
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First off, the three leads see in the poster (George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick) are masters of their job. You know George enough that he doesn't actually get lost in the role. But you very quickly believe that this man has hollowed himself out to the epitome of a "road warrior". On the other hand, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick are less known, and so inhabit the roles you could believe that they really were these people.
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It was a little hard for me to watch, since the literal story is about people who fire other people for a living (when the company doesn't have the stones to do it themselves). And, having just gone through this particular experience via e-mail and the promise of "we will call and talk about it" - but never having gotten the call - I found that a little close to home.
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After the movie Eddie asked what I thought and I said, "I LOVED it and hated it". And he said, "Me too?" Question mark intended. It was a movie that made you think and I am still not positive what I think about it - but I have thought about it a lot and that in itself is quite a recommendation from me.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Eggs and Zela







In a comment, Jo sent me pictures of Zela (my Grandmother RIP) in her visit to Mankato. Making the Eggs for us all with Sean and Faithie at the table.


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Thank you Jo.


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Merry Christmas Zela, where-ever you are.

Well, I loved it, but Downey can do almost no wrong for me (in a role)


We saw Sherlock Holmes yesterday and I loved it. But, as mentioned in the header, Robert Downey Jr. can do almost no wrong in acting as far as I know. The man may have had a screwed up life, but he can bring breath into almost any role.
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Jude Law, whom Bradley doesn't like, was very good. Even Bradley admitted that "he didn't bug me".
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It was very "steam punk" for those that know the phrase - but still plenty of good old fashion deductive reasoning. I enjoyed it.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Deviled Eggs for the Neighbors...


Tonight, I made my grandma Zela's (RIP) deviled eggs for Christmas Eve Dinner with the neighbors. Tonight, I have my grandma Zela's (RIP) deviled egg gas. It's nice going down - not so nice as it completes the journey.
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Kind of makes me homesick for Zela.
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And Ed homesick for beano.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Still Orange


Just in case you were wondering, we are still at ORANGE

An Article About Obama's Problems from a Poli Sci Prof

There is a very interesting article in the Huffington Post about Obama's style of leadership. It isn't flattering, but it seems pretty articulate and pretty spot on.
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And here a just a couple of key paragraphs that I think his advisers should read. And I say this as someone who wants him (and with him, our government) to succeed.
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1st
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What's costing the president and courting danger for Democrats in 2010 isn't a question of left or right, because the president has accomplished the remarkable feat of both demoralizing the base and completely turning off voters in the center. If this were an ideological issue, that would not be the case. He would be holding either the middle or the left, not losing both.
What's costing the president are three things: a laissez faire style of leadership that appears weak and removed to everyday Americans, a failure to articulate and defend any coherent ideological position on virtually anything, and a widespread perception that he cares more about special interests like bank, credit card, oil and coal, and health and pharmaceutical companies than he does about the people they are shafting.
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2nd
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Like most Americans I talk to, when I see the president on television, I now change the channel the same way I did with Bush. With Bush, I couldn't stand his speeches because I knew he meant what he said. I knew he was going to follow through with one ignorant, dangerous, or misguided policy after another. With Obama, I can't stand them because I realize he doesn't mean what he says -- or if he does, he just doesn't have the fire in his belly to follow through. He can't seem to muster the passion to fight for any of what he believes in, whatever that is. He'd make a great queen -- his ceremonial addresses are magnificent -- but he prefers to fly Air Force One at 60,000 feet and "stay above the fray."

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Avatar: Very very pretty... very James Cameron

Okay it was very very very pretty. And well done...
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but..

Well, it is still a James Cameron which means an ending, then another ending, then another ending, then a wrap up, then the second half starts.
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It was an interesting story, made rather two dimensional and flat by us of stupid stereotypes. I think James Cameron is so powerful no one ever says "the bad guys don't have to be 1000% bad". He is a man who doesn't deal in nuance, except visually.
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But the visuals were amazing, and some of the animated acting was great - which sounds odd, but was true. Sam Worthington does a lot with his voice and face.

3-7 Worst Start since 1945!!!

With apologies to the Big Guy (D. Amiot), once again I have to complain about Ben Howland - the defensive wiz.

We are having our worst start since the 1945 -1946 season. Notre Dame beat us and only scored 84 points!
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a) I hate defense
b) I hate to lose to Notre Dame
c) I am not alone in my opinions re:UCLA Alumni...
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I don't mind given Rick Neuhesiel a little time, but Ben "Lose to Miami" Howland - defense wizzer - his time is over. Spend a little practice time have the team throw the round thing at the basket!

LA Times is Mean Mean Mean


Today's Front Page of the LA Times. They are just mean here.
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In case you can't read it, it talks about the girl on the beach making a "sandman" (like a snowman but not so sturdy).

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Christmas Choir Fun


So out in the desert tonight, we saw our neighbors sing. They are in their church choir and they have a big performance at Christmas (2 shows on Saturday and 2 on Sunday). Anyway, they are great singers - and the choir is great.
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But apparently the Choir Director is a bit of a task master. And there were some technical difficulties because they just built a new booth. At one point the wrong music started and the choir waited until the music was changed.
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Well, a rather deaf older man 2 rows behind us "quietly" told his wife (and the entire audience), "Ut oh! That director is a real perfectionist. He is going to be pissed off!" Well the wife tried to shush him, but he thought she didn't hear so he said it again ... louder.
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It was very funny.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Winging our way west with Trevor

We are on our way to LA for the night then Palm Springs until New Year's.
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warmth!!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Salon's "Year In Crazy"


Salon decided that Year End Top Ten Lists are fun... so they have added to the fun with the "Top Ten Year In Crazy" events.
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I thought it was funny. But I leave it to you to judge should you want to. Should you not, I have reproduced the top 10 list below.

Now I understand...


Momma came in from waking the dog on a morning like this and said, "Poppa, load de wagon. We are heading west until we hit sun and surf" (or warmth and waves - I forget how Momma spoke).
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"But... but..."
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"Oh shudda-up. You know that Mrs. Donner always exaggerates everything."

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Easy Lights


How a Brain is like a Mac

After my unfortunate parting of the ways with Citibank (ie, being let go), I have investigated my options for regaining gainful employment.
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I have found that in order to do the job I have been doing for the past decade or so, I need to get a professional certificate (a PMP Cert) from the Project Management Institute. In a way this is good, because people used to not understand what I do - and now they kind of do.
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And I easily qualified for both the education level and the work experience to take the test. I just completed the 35 hours of class time needed to qualify and I take the test tomorrow.
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Another good thing is that PMI has brought a standard vocabulary to the table in Product / Project Management. The bad thing is that this vocabulary is not consistent with mine (via Citibank, Software Waterfall Development Method or Xerox) - and so I have had to memorize it.
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One would assume no problem, but there is. My brain is chock full of 50 years of crap that I can't get rid of and it gets harder and harder to shoehorn new stuff in there. The 9 knowledge areas of PMP - hummm Communications, Human Resources, Procurement, Risk Management, .... damn I gotta look it up. Information about Lichtenstein - Capital Vaduz, Largest City Schaan, Free Bus System, Run by the Duke of Lichtenstein, 66 sq miles large, last country in Europe to give women the right to vote, Member of the European Free Trade Area (made up of Iceland, Norway and Lichtenstein in association with the EU).
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See I don't need my Lichtenstein information anymore, but I can't move it around to make space for the new stuff.
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And, one of my strengths is translating from non-tech to tech and back again for customers and developers. So to all my developer friends... let me lay out the problem this way...
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My brain is like a Mac - there is no defrag command.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Are You Kidding Me!!!!!


50 Million Windows Shades are being recalled, because it resulted in, perhaps 8 deaths - and 16 injuries.
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If you buy the upper limit of this - 24 - that makes the chances of getting hurt 24 in 50 million or roughly 0.00004%.
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If that is now the criteria then the following should be banned.
- Flying any commercial flight.
- Driving any car
- Bees
- Hippos
- Lightening
- Moving Sidewalks
- Bicycles
-Horseback riding
- Walking
- Jogging
- Democrats
- Republicans
- Joe Liberman (who will cause a lot more than 8 deaths even if you only consider heart attacks after listening to him).
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This 50 MILLION only includes this recall. They have previously recalled 75million other shades with drawstrings.
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Please write your congressman to outlaw Hippos since more Americans are killed by them than by window shades - which are a threat to life and limb.

How Can You Not Love Him?


Salon Addresses Census Fears

Salon addresses the fears you might have that the census will change your representatives.
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Dear nobodies
A congressman writes to his constituents: "Thank God for gerrymandering"
By Michael Lind
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Dear Constituents:
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The district in which you live and which I represent in Congress is soon going to change its borders. Do not be alarmed.
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As you may know, in our system the voters do not choose the government; the government chooses the voters. Every 10 years, following the federal census, the districts of members of the House of Representatives are modified to reflect changes in the population. As strange and unfair as it seems, the power of redrawing districts for the U.S. Congress is in the hands of the state legislatures.
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The party that controls the state legislature engages in what is known as "partisan gerrymandering" -- the drawing of district lines to maximize the chances that members of the controlling party will be elected to Congress. Thanks to the miracle of gerrymandering, the majority party can draw the lines so that members of the other party are a minority in most or all U.S. congressional districts in the state.
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Thank God for partisan gerrymandering. I owe my many terms as your member of Congress to the fact that our beloved district is rigged. After the 2000 Census, members of my party in the state Legislature drew the borders of my district to avoid the neighborhoods of people likely to vote against me, with limbs going out to rope in likely voters. The district goes down the highway, veers away at a right angle, wriggles through a parking lot and down an alley, flares out to take in an apartment complex and then shrinks again to avoid a suburb. Some people think the district looks like a boa constrictor that swallowed a porcupine. Others think it looks like Bart Simpson squashed by a steamroller. I think it's beautiful.
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I'm writing you now, my dear constituents, because, after the 2010 Census, my friends in the state Legislature, if they retain the majority, have promised to redraw the lines of our beloved district to give me an even safer seat, if that can be imagined. Some of you will be assigned by the Legislature to other newly gerrymandered districts. Not that I'll notice. Unless you've given me more than $10,000, I wouldn't know you from Adam.
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For those of you whom the Legislature will choose to cram into my new district, there's good news -- many of you never need to vote for me again, even if you support me. You see, the new district will be so heavily gerrymandered that it will be impossible for the other party ever to elect a candidate. As long as I get re-nominated by my party every two years, I'll be reelected as long as I choose to run -- no matter how low the turnout goes. I could die and be mummified like King Tut and the voters that my friends in the Legislature have assigned me will return me to Washington in a sarcophagus.
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Not that I really represent you people, anyway. Visiting the little town I pretend to represent is just a chore I have to put up with every two years, before getting back to my real job: representing the industries that pay for my campaigns.
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You see, the real two-party system we have in this country involves the voter party and the donor party, and take it from me, your alleged representative in Washington, the donor party is way more important.
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If any of you bothered to read my campaign finance disclosure forms, you would notice that only 20 percent of the contributions to my campaigns come from the district where you live. Eighty percent of the money I raise comes from outside the district -- about half of it from ZIP codes in the greater Washington, D.C., area. That's where the lobbies are located for the various industrial interests I represent on the various House committees and subcommittees that affect them: the investment banks, the pharma industry, the insurance industry. And my personal favorite, the payday loan industry.
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My buddies in Congress and I allow companies to charge 4,000 percent total annual interest to cash the checks of poor people who are too ignorant to know they're getting fleeced.
As long as I keep them happy, my industry friends will pay for my campaigns. Of course, if I cross them, I'll pay a heavy price. They'll spend millions of dollars to defeat me. Oh, they won't spend the money on the candidate of the other party in the general election. They know that my district is so gerrymandered that my party will always win. Instead, if they want to punish me for standing up to them, they'll offer limitless money to somebody in my own party to challenge me in the party primary, knowing that if a rival knocks me out in the primary he or she is sure to be elected in the general. I know what they can do to me in the primary, and that's why I do whatever the industry lobbyists want.
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Like submitting the bills they write in my name. Are you shocked that lobbies write the legislation that I introduce? Well, wake up and smell the coffee. Do you really think that my staff and I actually write legislation? I'll let you in on another little secret: I don't even read the bills that I introduce. They're really boring and technical. Besides, I don't have the time to read any bills, even my own, between committee hearings where I can grandstand for TV and fundraisers for my next campaign.
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I'm not sure exactly where my friends in the statehouse will put my new gerrymandered district. I've told the guys drawing the new lines to make sure that my house is in my district. It would be a real pain to have to buy another house to keep up the pretense that I'm just one of your regular-guy neighbors. The secretaries and repairmen and nurses and such among you have no idea how hard it is to pay for two houses: one of them a crappy colonial in the town I pretend to represent, and the other an expensive townhouse in Georgetown, which is hard for me to pay for, even with a rich lobbyist as a spouse.
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My wife's a lobbyist, you know. She works for one of the biggest lobbying firms in Washington. They pay her much more than I make as a member of Congress -- partly for her work, but mainly because she's my wife. (Just kidding, dear!)
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I wish I didn't have to keep a house in my congressional district at all. It's such a joke. We hardly ever visit. Our home is in Washington. It's where my children have grown up, and it's where they attend Sidwell Friends. I'm afraid, my dear constituents, that my D.C.-bred kids don't like you. They think you're crude. And they think you talk funny.
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I love my kids. They're not that bright, to tell you the truth, but they'll get into my old Ivy League school because of their pedigree. Thank God for legacy preferences. Otherwise, they'd get knocked out of the competition by smart, upwardly mobile middle-class and working-class kids with higher test scores.
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And once they're in college, we'll set the kids up with some Washington internships, to give them a head start over less privileged but more talented kids when it comes to elite careers. You know, the unpaid or underpaid internships, the ones that most American college students can't afford to apply for. That's one of the perks of being part of the bipartisan American establishment -- college admissions and internships are rigged in favor of your not-so-bright but rich and well-connected offspring. God bless America!
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At a town hall meeting a few years ago, one of you asked me whether I would be coming home to the district when I retired. After I've spent most of my life in Washington, do you really expect me to move back to a town where the new art exhibit consists of photos of a fishing trip on the wall of Dairy Queen?
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Sure, Lyndon Johnson retired to the ranch and Harry Truman retired to Independence, Mo. But Johnson and Truman were hicks. My role models are sophisticated politicians. Look at Bill Clinton. Did he retire to Arkansas? He lives in Manhattan! He wants to be around the beautiful people, not the hillbillies. And Bob Dole didn't go back to Kansas, he has a condo in Miami. Gerry Ford spent his golden years in Palm Springs, not Michigan.
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I'll tell you a secret, my dear constituents: My final campaign for Congress will mark the last time I'll ever set foot in our beloved district. As soon as I leave Congress, I'm planning to unload the house in your town. I hate to break it to you, but you live in flyover country and that's exactly what I'm going to do to you.
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I don't plan to be in Congress forever. On the contrary, I consider my terms in Congress a mere apprenticeship leading to the job I really want as a lobbyist on K Street, where, as I mentioned, my wife already works. I've already built up a good résumé, doing favors for powerful lobbyists. A few more terms in the House, a few more choice committee seats where I can do big favors for the folks I'll be regulating, and the best lobbying firms in Washington will be fighting to have me as a partner.
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I can't wait to move from Capitol Hill to K Street. The minute I leave public service, I can start raking in the megabucks from the industries I've been working for anyway all these years in Congress. Only I'll be able to take the money directly and I won't need to come up with phony-baloney public-interest reasons to do favors for my clients.
.Best part of being a lobbyist? I won't ever have to feign interest in you voters again. No more boring Q&A sessions at HoJo's. No more checkered red flannel shirts and no more pancake flipping at the high school gym. Once I've left the Hill, the guard downstairs in our shiny green glass office building will keep you people away from my new corner office suite. And if you somehow should make it up the elevator, my secretary will tell you I'm out, and I'll hide in my office until you finally give up and go do something touristy like gawking at the Washington Monument.
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I can't wait to decorate my new office in the lobbying firm. I can't stand my congressional office, packed with all the stuff from my district: the kitschy painting of the local lake, the photo of the high school baseball team. That stuff is there to make you, my constituents, feel at home, if any of you visit Capitol Hill. (This assumes that you can find Washington on a map).
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Still, I plan to keep some souvenirs in my new office from my career as your representative in the United States Congress. Photos of me shaking hands with presidents, foreign heads of state, celebrity billionaires, sports stars and movie stars. Those will impress my industry clients, I'm sure. As for the photos of me at the nursing home and the elementary school -- I mean, really, you don't expect me to put those on the wall when I'm a lobbyist? My clients would think I'm some kind of populist or socialist or subversive or something.
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Nope, along with my celebrity photo endorsements I'm going to have an abstract painting on the wall. A big expensive one with gloopy colors draining all over the canvas. I don't like modern art, but it sends a signal that you're sophisticated and rich and global and all that.
Well, I can't think of anything else to write, my dear constituents. Some of you will be in my new district after the post-Census gerrymander. Some of you won't. Not that it makes any difference to me.

These are why we have unwritten rules


This is the Trev-ster with his new toy from Paula & Lyoda's boys. He loves it.
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Yet this is not the story.
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No, our story concerns the unwritten rules between Trevor and the pigeons of this city, - the ubiquitous, disgusting, fat, lazy pigeons.
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Here are the rules of the game, Trevor sees a group of pigeons, gorging themselves on bread crumbs thrown by nasty old ladies who insist on ignoring the big DO NOT FEED DISGUSTING PIGEONS signs (which are also unbiquitous).
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Trevor lunges at said pigeons, they scatter, Trevor feels like he has done a civic service and they land back the moment he has passed, content to eat the breadcrumbs and foul the city streets. Trevor ignores their return and everyone is happy in our Kabuki Theatre of the New York animal life.
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But today, a fatter than average, nastier than average pigeon decided to ignore the rules. In fact, she reminded me of the nasty old ladies that feed said pigeons. She sat there as Trevor lunged. Now Trevor has no desire to kill the pigeon, but rules must be enforced. So he snapped, and she didn't move, so he took his nose and shoved her, forcing her to lift her rather extraordinary weight up into the air. She wasn't moving entirely fast enough to make the T-Bone happy - and so he barked his "noisy" bark.
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This is an annoying bark to me, and I am 8 feet of leash and 6 feet of height away, so I can only imagine that it was painfully annoying to the pigeon who flapped her fat ass off till she got away. And then Trevor sat down on her crumbs - not letting her return. Apparently two can play at ignoring the unwritten rules.
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Miss Priss Pigeon finally forced herself to land (rather ungracefully) across the street, whereupon Trevor left and the faster, lighter and rule abiding pigeons got to her crumbs quickly.
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Trevor trotted off, had his morning BM and is now back in bed with Eddie - day begun anew.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Never have I felt more "why bother"


ARGH! (I took it down)

A day in the life of Scott & Ed.......by Ed

Ed: Doh!
Scott: what did you do?
Ed: nothing
Scott: Doh!
Ed: what did you do?
Scott: you tell me first
Ed: no you tell me first
Scott: no you tell me first....(repeat as necessary)
Ed: ok, I picked a scab on my leg and am losing blood by the quart.
Scott: ok, I almost at the cookies that were the present for the dog. The heart shaped ones looked yummy, but then I saw the dog bone shaped ones
Ed: yours is worse
Scott: yours is worse (repeat as necessary)

A Bowl is a Bowl Baby!

The Blind Side

The Blind Side is a surprisingly good movie. I say this fully knowing that it looks to "aw shucks" for it's own good.
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It is saved that fate by Sandra Bullock - who is as good as I have seen her bar Miss Congeniality - and the black actor who (under)plays Micheal Orr.

It could have easily fallen into tear jerking melodrama - but Sandra Bullock - beautifully directed, never lets it. It is a feisty fun time. And, if you like a sports team (I know this let's you out Lisa) and ever hated a sports rival - there are times this movie will make you laugh so hard you spit your soda all over Ed (maybe that was just me).
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I lurved it.

MTV's Jersey Shore and the Death of My Generation's Version of Respect


In the off chance you haven't seen or heard of MTV's show, "The Jersey Shore", let me give you a quick summation. It is just like the movie 2012, only instead of the Earth being destroyed by sun spots, the Earth is destroyed by bad taste.
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And, by saying that - I am guilty of being "a jealous hater". You see, they believe (and constantly explain) that no person in his or her right mind could NOT want to be them - so any criticism - no matter how small - isn't from truth only jealousy. Which is convenient if a little self-delusional.
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But this post isn't about "The Jersey Shore" as much as it is the culture of boundaries I guess. I mean one could argue that I step WAY over those boundaries all the time, in this blog. But generally I step over them purposefully and relatively lightly (although some might disagree).
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And, while the blog is open to all, I started this as a way to keep in touch with family and friends and give me a creative outlet. Fine as far as it goes I think.
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And I enjoy a good "reality" show as much as the next one. Even the beginning of last night's show, where one drunken mess of a housemate cried as her boyfriend (who is married to someone else) dumped her because she was too trashy for him!, even then I wasn't shocked. I cringe, but am not bothered by the embarrassments, the dramatics and the gratuitous skin. But later.... later.. I was watching a tivo'ed episode and I was truly stupefied. Awestruck.
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The guido to the left here (and it isn't a bad term -they all heartily embrace a "guido" and "guidoette" lifestyle - which appears to be steroids, vodka and sausage (both literally and figuratively) in mass quantities). Anywho the guido to the left here and the guidette to the far right in the picture above went out, got hammered, and went into the "guest suite" and locked the door.
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One may think the guest suite is for guests. No. It is the only lockable room in the house and has a bed big enough for two and night vision cameras. So you gotta screw under the covers. Which they did. This was followed by a little post-coital hugging and round two - after which the girl rolled off him and they kissed. THEN (bear with me here), he rearranged the covers, which had been too high, so they lay just right to show off his chest, and looked at the night vision camera and smiled widely.
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Soon after they went out with house mates - professed their undying love for each other ("I never thought I would come on a show like this and fall in love") then parted momentarily while he danced and grinded with some blond ho-bag and she gave her phone number to a beefy off-duty cop.
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Drama erupted as we prepare for next week.
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Now the sex, followed by profession of love, followed immediately by tyring for the next score doesn't really appal me. Hey, I was 21 once too, but I was smart enough not to be followed around by cameras. No, what appalled me was the fact that, after banging on camera twice under the covers, he arraigned the bedding so he still looked hot as she cuddled with him.
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I am not sure if it is narcissism, or steroidal self love or just horrible manners, but that kind of creeped me out. Even in porn they have the good taste to cut away after the big finish (not that I have ever watched porn - but you know, I hear things). It was, if nothing else, not respectful to the girl you just banged on TV.
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Brought to you by basic cable for teenagers; MTV.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

So Long Uncle Timo: Updated


So this is my Uncle Timo. He was my mom's brother - and this is a picture of him and his daughter Elise (who has been out to NYC a couple of times).
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He came to our house in the desert for his mother's 90th birthday.
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I loved him like crazy. He took me to see Yellow Submarine. I have always looked a lot like him and followed in his foot steps.
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Anyway, I don't want to go into it or anything, but I needed to share (and I share everything here).
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My love to Elise, Alana (his daughters) and Connie (his wife). He was blessed to have them in his life - as I was to have him in mine.
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****later***
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It seems out of place and all to say good-bye here. But a) he meant a lot to me so I don't want to gloss over that. I have been freaked out and distant - so this helps explain what I have been going through....
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But then on a different level, this isnt' the place to say good bye to a loved one. Hard as it may be to believe, my good bye is personal and heartfelt and not really shareable. My admiration for my uncle isn't easily put into words, but a feeling.
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Remember when you were a kid - and you would meet a distant relative once (like a cousin or uncle or someone you didn't see all the time) and you were gob-smacked. You thought they were the COOLEST PERSON EVER. That was Timo. He was in college and a kid, bu he got to hang out with the adults, and still had time to talk to me and treat me like I wasn't 8 or 9 - but like I was a real guy. That was Timo. And he grew older, but didn't seem to grow old.
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And I miss him - but this isn't the place to mourn. I do that much more internally. So... well.. whatever.

Yesterday's Christmas Party

Yesterday we had a Christmas Party with a bunch of friends, including the Paula and Loyda's new boys Eugeini and Kirill. Since it was the boys first Christmas we made Arts and Crafts Projects (you know me).
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I made big paper-mache balls and got stickers and things for them to decorate them and put them on the tree.
We also had Kiril (from Billy Elliot) and his mom, Raisa over. They can speak Russian so Kirill and Eugeini got to hang out with Kiril and speak a little Russian.
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Ed, Randy, Kirill took the boys to get our tree. They we all helped them decorate it.


So above is the decorating committee with the tree with the tree (including the big paper-mache) balls.

Above is a picture of most of us (a couple friends showed up later). Sitting on the couch along with Raisa and Kiril is Aldona, Coco(-Channel) and Joe. Aldona and I made a great lunch. (In the back row is Loyda and Paula along with Ed, the boys and Randy.)
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So then Joe and Kirill - who love to play pool on the 31st floor. Everyone down with them, while I cleaned up for a while and baked cookies the boys decorated.

So Kirill and Joe each picked one of the boys and they teamed up. They had a great time (as we all did).

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Apologies to my mom.. but.. Fox.... Really???


Problems with this poll?
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Not if you're Fox. Total = 120%, AND there is 15% they didn't discuss.
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What actually happens is that FOX included the "very likely" answers separately AND in with the "somewhat likely" to make their own asinine assumptions look more real.
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PS - "Fair and Balanced" sees no problem with this.
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Really?

LOOK! Mascot of the Month Wins Best Windows in New York

For those of you that remember, the windows at Bergdorf Goodman are our mascots of the month. Well, my dearest Suzanne Fortier forwarded this article.
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I copy the lead paragraph below.
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DDI Magazine has named department store retailer Bergdorf Goodman as the Platinum Award winner in the annual Winning Windows Manhattan holiday retail window competition this week. Macy’s Herald Square took home the second-place Gold Award, and Bloomingdale’s was honored with the third-place Silver Award.
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For the 10th consecutive year, the DDI Winning Windows awards honor the top three Manhattan retail stores for their excellence in holiday window design. The magazine’s editors put on their walking boots and toured the storefronts of New York City, delighting in the creative, clever, and ever-entertaining designs that window teams across the city have spent the past year planning and executing.
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To which I can only say, 'HA HA Thermond. Curse is broken!!!"

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

So how much snow fell in Wisconsin in 1 day!!!!

How much snow fell in 1 day in Wisconsin! 18 inches. That is nearly .5 meters for you peeps across the pond.

And this is is Phil, not enjoying the snow nearly as much as mom and Donald were enjoying the sun in Florida.

I am in a Project Management Class these last 4 days...

... and it is good, but kind of blows.

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Ed's Parents Taunt All




Much as we did with pictures of Rio. Eddie's parents (Jo and Don) are in Florida -having fun, and sharing to make us all jealous.

Monday, December 07, 2009

Yeah Yeah... it will be great



Invictus.
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blah blah blah
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I would have a lot more respect for Clint Eastwood as a director if he did anything besides "big message pictures".
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I mean come on.. Week-End at Bernie's III; Rigamortus is calling.
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Does everything he does have to be moving? Hell, he did that horrible Iwoa Jima movie in English AND Japanese.
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Now if he nudes up Matt Damon... all is forgiven (and Clint directed Unforgiven.. see how I bring it all together with a theme).
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