Wednesday, May 31, 2006

We'll see

The United States will join multilateral talks with Iran on its nuclear program once Iran suspends enrichment of uranium, according to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Title


Bloggety,, blog, blog. Blog Blog durn it.

I had to work alllllllll day! I had to use the bad copy machine and it makes reallllly annoying pings and beeps and it is sooo slow. The other copy machine doesn’t make annoying pings and beeps and it’s reallllly fast. It also doesn’t work unless the repair guy is standing over it - and then he blames the machines misdeeds on everything but the machine: Oh, it’s the humidity, it’s just so hot in here! This paper is soaking wet! My Gosh! You have a ream of handi- wipes! My Gosh! Where are you storing the paper? What are you thinking storing this in the office? You should be storing the paper in a humidor! Are you out of your mind? No wonder the machine doesn’t work. This is totally your fault., or You shouldn’t put that much paper in it. Just one ream at a time. Yeah, it says it can hold 3000 sheets of paper but don’t put that much in., or It’s not made to work like this. It’s not made to make copies? Lots and lots of copies? That’s funny, because I thought it was a copy machine. I had no idea it was really a pasta maker.

I’m a state employee, I don’t get paid enough to work at work.

So I spent the entire morning hand feeding a couple thousand pieces of paper into the bad copy machine while I waited on the tech to come to the office and remove a stray staple from the good copy machine. It took him all day to figure out that along with its staple congestion issue it also had a “feeding problem”. Tomorrow it feeds like a shark or else.

Dogger and I went back to the Dog Park. I think I’ve figured out her Schick. Dogger doesn’t want to chase the other dogs, that makes her all hot. She gets her work out by constantly circling the seating area trying to convince people she spends all the rest of her time locked in the cupboard under the sink

Among the dozens of dogs last night, there was a weimaraner! In the past, people who had weimaraners may have thought I might be stalking them. I wasn't stalking them, I was stalking their dogs. I love weimaraners.

Maddie the Wiem Posted by Picasa


The one last night was a gorgeous male. He was so beautiful and in great shape. He spent his time running and playing with the other dogs. He didn’t need his ego petted, in fact, he rarely came near the seating area so I could worship him. Sigh. He was huge for a wiem even a male wiem though, bigger even than the one true wiem, our poor, sad, departed Moonie and she was a big damn dog. Not as big as Dogger, but Dogger is part pony and Moonie was a pure bred.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

North Carolina can be so proud.

"America would be nothing but one big fiesta for illegal aliens and homosexuals."

who said this?

Democrat Brad Miller?
or
Republican Vernon Robinson?

Need more?

"My wife was interviewed on three television stations last week about why we had not had children and what was my sexual orientation," Miller recently told delegates to the 13th District Democratic convention at Alamance Community College.

And people wonder why the rethuglicans have the reputation of being hateful bastards.
An interesting email

Libby Dole is sad.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee has just 36 hours remaining to meet our May budget goal - but we are currently $15,000 short.

Time is Running Out to
Save our GOP Majority!

In 36 hours, we will have reached our May budget deadline - but we are still $15,000 short of our fundraising goal! Meeting our budget goal is crucial as we fight to help elect and reelect 33 Republicans to the U.S. Senate this November. Otherwise, the Democrats and their liberal special interest groups will easily outspend us and gain Majority Control of the U.S. Senate!
World Peace Puppy



The Daily Puppy ( edited to fix link)
Dog Park

So, I can hear you asking, How did you spend the long holiday weekend?...I didn’t do a damn thing. Not a damn thing. Well, I mowed the lawn, sucked down popsicles, went to the store to replenish my popsicles (Damn the office for reminding me about the cooling properties of popsicles) and did some laundry.

I spent the whole weekend doing exactly as I pleased and what pleased me was to do as little as possible. I was very pleased. I wasn’t entirely useless, I did take Dogger to Raleighs' Brand New Dog Park! Yes, local Raleigh readers, you now do not have to drive all the way up to Millbrook to take part in all the dog park goodness. For those of you who might not know what a dog park is : A Dog Park is a dog lovers paradise. Big dogs, little dogs, baby puppies, elderly puppies, fluffy dogs, smooth dogs all the dogs. It’s like stepping into a dog calender. A fully fenced place where your dog can run and play with other dogs while you chat with other dog people.

I never would have driven all that way to Millbrook just to let Dogger wander around off leash, not when she can wander off leash in our own backyard. Now she can experience all the dog park goodness almost literally in our own back yard as often as she (or I) wants. This winter the park is going to be a God send... Is it in your back yard too?

 Posted by Picasa

(click to enlarge) or if you prefer:

Take I-440 Beltline to the Capital Boulevard South exit.
Stay in your right lane and exit at Atlantic Avenue/Blount Street Exit. Turn left at the light onto Atlantic Avenue. Turn left at second signal onto Brookside Drive (after the Circus Restaurant) Follow through neighborhood and turn left at second light onto Glascock Street Turn right on Madison Avenue, Park is on your right
(Between the Krispy Kreme and Circus Restaurant)

910 Brookside Drive
Raleigh, NC 27604


The space is huge (think football field(s)) and is completely shaded for you and your dogs comfort, water is provided and there is plenty of seating for the non-dogs in attendance. If you have a teeny little dog or an elderly dog or maybe one that has a little hitch in his/her giddy up they have a separate fenced area just for them or they can run with the big dogs. The dog park is located at Oakwood Park so there are bathrooms and parking aplenty.

The Dog Park is going to have its opening ceremony and official “leash” cutting on June 10. Offical Opening Press Release. Dogger and I will be there.

Poor Dogger has been on a leash so long that she really didn’t know what to do when she found herself off leash - which was surprising because in the past when she has been let off the leash either on accident or by design, she has run around like a crazy person - At the park when I left her off leash, she followed me at my heels or sat next to me. All those other dogs, all that lovely space and she just sat there. If I didn’t go wandering she didn’t either - but neither did the other dogs, they all seemed a little hesitant. I’m sure in time they’ll be more relaxed there and get more into it but for the time being, they all seemed to be waiting for the other shoe to fall. The saw the potential for having too much fun and they all seemed a little concerned about that. Dogger has never paid such mind to me in her life as she has at the park. The other dog owners were jealous of my remarkably well behaved, if needy, dog. I think this was because she didn’t have a lot of interest in the other dogs, the other dogs can’t pet her.

We were only there three times over the weekend. I told you, doing as little as possible was my goal and I was successful. An interesting side effect of dog parking with Dogger was that I learned an exhausted Dogger is a much easier to live with Dogger.

Monday, May 29, 2006

There are other ways...

Bush: "The ONLY way to honor our war dead is to continue to add to their number".
Memorial Day


Least We Forget

Sunday, May 28, 2006

HAPPY SUNDAY !!!!!!!

Saturday, May 27, 2006

HAPPY SATURDAY !!!!!!!!

Friday, May 26, 2006

Friday Cat Blogging

Long Weekend

I was going to bitch about the a/c not working again and how freaking hot it was getting in the office and how annoyed I was getting with the heat

Email 1
The air conditioning is still not working in the Building and the temperatures outside is rising. Staff have been patient up to this point (over a month) but are starting to become restless and impatient with the situation. We know there is a problem with obtaining parts for the current system, and they are doing what they can to get parts. We do have the large fans with windows open that is helping to keep air circulated but as the temperatures rise, the air coming in will be warmer. Has anyone had any discussion about the long range plans for cooling the building in light of the difficulty with obtaining parts and the warmer temperatures anticipated in the next few days and months?

Email 2
We are doing everything possible to restore the system to working order which includes short term and long term solutions.

…but then they fixed it.

Email 3
I have just been informed that the chiller for the Building is back online. We should go ahead and close windows and doors.

Now, they have “fixed it” before and it stayed “fixed” for three days. I would guess that was the “short term” solutions they were talking about. I really doubt they have a “long term” solutions ready as we aren’t going to be in this building “long term”, which I would imagine is fueling how they work to correct the problem - All they have to do is make sure it works off and on for a few more months, really and then the building will be empty and it won’t matter. Really fixing the problem would make as much sense as rebuilding the engine of a car you plan on using for a planter in three months. Right now,it's very nice inside, it won’t stay this way. It is too comfortable, which means by tomorrow morning when we all come in there should be frost on our desks.

And with this the holiday weekend, the a/c unit will have a whole three days of unsupervised time by itself. Right now the machine is making a huge amount of noise, which I think can’t be for the best, even if it is working double time to cool the building. It didn’t used to make that noise. Now it stopped and I am not noticing any difference in the output of the blowers. And now it’s back on making the noise it is supposed to make. I really don’t think the off and on and the new noise can be a good thing.

Now that they have the a/c taken care of they can concentrate on getting the copier up and running. I have two sizable projects for our federal masters and they are both due sooner rather than later. I was planning on spending the day making copies but No, the machine wouldn’t feed and kept getting jammed. The repair guy was called but he hasn’t shown up. No air, no copy machine. I don’t know who needs the long weekend more, the office staff or the office equipment.


See ya’ll Tuesday!!

Thursday, May 25, 2006

HOUSTON (CNNMoney.com) - Enron former chief executive Jeffrey Skilling and founder Kenneth Lay were found guilty Thursday of conspiracy and fraud in the granddaddy of all corporate fraud cases.

Jeffrey K. Skilling

Count 1 (Conspiracy) GUILTY
Count 2 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 14 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 16 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 17 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 18 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 19 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 20 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 22 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 23 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 24 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 25 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 26 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 31 (False Statements to Auditors) GUILTY
Count 32 (False Statements to Auditors) GUILTY
Count 34 (False Statements to Auditors) GUILTY
Count 35 (False Statements to Auditors) GULTY
Count 36 (False Statements to Auditors) GUILTY
Count 42 (Insider Trading) NOT GUILTY
Count 43 (Insider Trading) NOT GUILTY
Count 44 (Insider Trading) NOT GUILTY
Count 45 (Insider Trading) NOT GUILTY
Count 46 (Insider Trading) NOT GUILTY
Count 47 (Insider Trading) NOT GUILTY
Count 48 (Insider Trading) NOT GUILTY
Count 49 (Insider Trading) NOT GUILTY
Count 50 (Insider Trading) NOT GUILTY
Count 51 (Insider Trading) GUILTY


Kenneth L. Lay

Count 1 (Conspiracy) GUILTY
Count 12 (Wire Fraud) GUILTY
Count 13 (Wire Fraud) GUILTY
Count 27 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 28 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY
Count 29 (Securities Fraud) GUILTY

BANK FRAUD - ALL GUILTY



Full story here
Baby Bunnies!



Go check out this bunnys' siblings here
Over the Radar

LANGSTRAND, Namibia (Reuters) -- Half of Namibians voting in an informal radio survey believe the day Angelina Jolie gives birth should be declared a national holiday, an honor usually reserved for kings, queens and national heroes.The couple has remained almost invisible in their beach resort in the tiny village of Langstrand on the country's desert coastline, shielded by tight security

Baby Pitt jumps the shark

The only Hollywood celebrities in their time zone. Way to fit in! The child is a fame whore and it isn’t even born yet, it is totally being passed down genetically from his fame whore mother. Brad Pitt has the eerie talent of being able to morph into whomever he is sleeping with, but he has never had the stink of fame whore, very poor self esteem, but you have to be right up on him to smell that. ”Lets see Jr., you have your fathers eyes, your mothers chin, your daddies ears, your daddy’s love of Tiffany lamps and your mommy’s fame whore nature!”. Let’s see, if you want to quietly await the birth of your child and you would like as much privacy as possible … what should you do?

I would suggest you mind your own business and go about your life as normal, or as normally as you can what with the waddling. Lately there have been damn near countless pregnant celebrities and most of them seem to prefer to enter a period of “confinement” of sorts before their babies are born. They don’t do anything special, they stay in their palaces and they have their “people” take care of their errands for them. They watch A Baby’s’ Story marathons on TLC and they stay in the house; at some point, in the fullness of time, they give birth either at home or at a hospital and then they hand the baby over to a nanny and start their post-pregnancy work outs. End of story. Six weeks later they officially unveil the baby and we all forget about the kid until it gets caught in an underage drinking sting.

But. That kind of behavior is not fame whore-y enough for Angelina Jolie. Angelina Jolie had to go to a far off distant land with very few other western celebrities around to take the heat off - to wait for the birth of her child. She couldn’t just stay in LA or wherever it is she lives, No, she had to go to Namibia. . There is nothing "invisable" or low key or under the radar about your presents if your presents is sparking talk of a NATIONAL HOLIDAY! If people are using your name and “national holiday” in the same breath? You are not adequately sequestered.

Speaking of Namibia, just when I thought that people in places that are not Here and people who are not Us, are some how better bred, more tasteful and more together than we are. The people of Namibia remind me that, no, jackass behavior cuts across cultural boundaries, all Gawds creatures have 1)too much time on their hands and, 2) access to People Magazine.

What else.

I tore up my office and went through just about every piece of paper I own and was pretty well convinced myself of my total incompetence and inefficiency and drove myself into a near stroke, I finally looked at what I was able to find. What I was looking for was not where it should have been because it was not there in the first place! Things have to arrive in my office before I can lose them. I spent a good forty-five minutes looking for something that is in no way here, when I could have spent the time looking for and finding the stuff that is actually in my office and is still in a pre-lost state, the other states being : kind of lost (mild-moderate panic)– i.e. wrong folder but same cabinet, more or less lost (moderate-severe panic) – i.e. filed in the wrong cabinet under different facility name, but same part of alphabet, difficult but not impossible to find, very lost (stroke-hand in resignation) i.e. filed in wrong place under wrong name then purged and sent to archives.

Why can’t I go to Namibia

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Not even kind of photo-shopped



Today on a very special Oprah... The first play on I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings gets a boot to the head.
Health Fare

A REMINDER that the Raleigh State Employees Health Fair is today - Tuesday, May 23 from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. at the Jim Graham Building at the State Fairgrounds. Attached is a flyer announcing the fair. There are over 100 vendors and great raffle prizes offered as part of this event.

A Reminder:
The State Employees Health Fair is tomorrow (May 23) from 9 a.m.-3-p.m. at the Jim Graham Building at the State Fairgrounds.


Lather, rinse, repeat. Damn. Do you think they wanted us to go? There were other reminders but I deleted them as they came in, back in April. I kind of thought that the signs on all the doors, all the doors; I didn’t know how many doors we had in this building until I started to notice they all had notices about the health fair attached to them. I thought that we had been pretty sufficiently notified about the fair.

So I went.

I like health fairs. I consider them my primary care physicians. I went last year and it was fairly lame as Health Fairs go, long on chiropractors and podiatrists and short on everything else. Also, very little free stuff.

This year, this year there was lot’s of free stuff. Good free stuff. I made out like a pirate! A pirate with a brand new walkmanesque radio! This is so much cooler than the pedometer I thought I was getting when I grabbed it. I grabbed everything!. I didn’t do any of the more hard core health stuff because the bastards were charging for it!, I mean, Dayum! If I wanted to pay for health care I don’t actually need, I would let my inner hypochondriac out and I would, you know, go to a real doctor and I wouldn’t be going to a health fair in the first place. I wanted freebie cholesterol screening, hearing tests, and lung capacity screenings. I wanted all the little non-invasive screenings that I have come to know and love and get for free.



The one cool health related thing I did do was an “ear canal screening”. I stood in line for it even. I saw it on E.R one time and I always thought it looked kewl. It was! They put a little camera thingy in your ear and you watch on a screen! You never get to see the inside of your own ear. It’s right there and you can’t look at it, you could ask other people to look in your ear for you, but who wants to do that? I don’t want to look into other peoples ears but I am very interested in my own. But anyway. I got to see what my ear drum looks like and It looks like a bubble – now I understand the whole “burst eardrum” thing! It’s like a bubble and it bursts! The tech said mine was “very clear” and that the bones behind my ear drum are “large”. Wow! I’m sure the screening had little or no health benefit but it was certainly a neat thing to do.

The only thing the fair was not handing out was food. Oh, they made half bags of popcorn available, and someone was handing out apples, but there really wasn’t food around. So I went to McDonalds. I blame the health fair. And George Bush. But mostly the health fair for not giving us free food along with the free finger nail files and Frisbees. I ended up with a Happy Meal, which was great because the current toys are awesome. They come with itty, bitty “Build-A-Bears”. Only you don’t “build” them as much as you “dress” them. Have you ever tried to put a one-size-fits-all one piece swim suit on a three inch bear?

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Because Shrub doesn't want you to

An Inconvenient Truth. Okay, granted it's a PowerPoint presentation by Al Gore...It's good for you and you should go see it. Think of it as making a protest against the government without having to shelp around in the heat.Find a theatre near you
Because reruns suck

Positive Agenda House Party

For years, progressives have had to play defense against relentless attacks from the Republican machine. It’s time for progressives to get back to fighting for the positive goals we believe in most.

On Thursday, May 25th, thousands of MoveOn members will gather in living rooms across the country to start a great conversation. Together, we'll come up with a list of clear, compelling goals that MoveOn should fight for.

Each party will choose their favorites, and the entire MoveOn membership will get to discuss them and vote online.When we're done, we'll have three positive goals for MoveOn to champion in 2006 and beyond.


Check and see if there is one near you
Slurp it

Lies the Republicans tell us
RIP

Family members say former U.S. Sen. and Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen has died, The Associated Press reports.

Benson was the Benson in Dukakis-Benson. He was the one who administered the "I knew John Kennedy and you sir are no John Kennedy" verbal smack down to then VP candidate Dan Quayle.
Team Players

I was so busy I Saturday I changed clothes four times.

Now I know what it must be like to be Paris Hilton, but without the painful urination and traveling crab circus aspects of being Paris Hilton. I had to change clothes! I couldn’t wear what I wore to the convention to the Art fair and I couldn’t wear the Art fair outfit to mow the lawn! and I couldn’t possibly wear the mow the lawn outfit to Mass. I could have worn the Art fair outfit to Mass but the shirt was kind of political party centric and I try to keep a separation between Church and State – it is possible, the Bush Administrations ongoing inability to do so, non-withstanding and I guess I could have worn the convention outfit to Mass but by that time I was going for the record.

I’m sure the neighbors thought I had lost my mind. Every time they saw me leaving the house I was dressed in something very similar but not exactly the same as when they saw me come back to the house few minutes ago as if they sat around and gossiped about what I am wearing. Metrosexuals these guys are not. I don’t really think they have season passes forQueer Eye on their Tivos. In my mind they use their TVs for playing Grand Theft Auto and watching Scarface.

I don’t think they sit around a gossip about me or what I am wearing past “Oh look, it’s the white girl is home. Let’s turn the stereo up to 11”. I’m pretty sure they really only notice my comings and goings when I walk Dogger past their house because they then have to tell their pit bull puppy to not try to come with us. Pit bull puppy has been thus far a very cute little dog, all wriggly and puppy like. It’s too bad that in a few weeks he’s just going to be all pit bull like.

The Drug Dealers pits are for the most part very agreeable pit bulls and have never caused me any trouble, that is besides the point, really because the image of a full grown male pit coming at you is not an image of cute and fuzzy bunny, no matter how wriggly and not at all trying to sever your leg from your body he seems to be. He still can, pit bulls don’t casually come over to say “Hi!” and lick your hand, pit bulls stalk over and grit out “Fuck You” and taste your hand. I’ll miss that puppy.

Dogger is a large dog, but even when she is coming at you at full speed with her jaws open and her teeth out, she doesn’t seem like she wants to sever anything – shatter your knee cap and bring you to ground for the rest of her pack to tear out your throat and finish the job? yes, sever something, no. A grown pit wouldn’t need the rest of its pack to finish the job.

Thus far our first day without a/c is going well. I can tell the a/c hasn’t been fixed yet because A) I’m hot and not in a good way, and B) the blower is blowing like there is no tomorrow. There is a giant fan in the hallway that if I had to be closer to it, the sound would have made me throw myself out a window hours ago. It’s like listening to an easy listening buzz saw only and it isn’t doing anything to make it more hospitable.

The weather is co-operating by not being as hot as it was supposed to be and so far there have been door to door Popsicle deliveries.

Monday, May 22, 2006

Finding cheap gas

No jokes please. Anwyay, for those of you who are lot local Raleigh readers, Gas Buddy is nation wide Gas Buddy
Panda playground

Link goes to video
Grass green, Sky Blue pt. 298

Big Oil cleared by FTC for price fixing
Government says no evidence companies withheld supply, but does find instances of localized price gouging.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An investigation by U.S. antitrust authorities found no evidence that oil companies illegally manipulated gasoline prices or constrained oil refining operations, the Federal Trade Commission said Monday.

However, the agency said it had found 15 examples that fit lawmakers' definition of price-gouging at the "refining, wholesale, or retail level." It said factors like regional and local market trends appeared to explain the pricing in nearly all the cases.

Congress ordered the FTC probe last summer as part of a broad energy bill in response to a steady climb in crude oil and gasoline prices.
Interesting

Whistle-Blower's Evidence, Uncut The AT&T docs, and here is the PDF file

from Wired.com
Bill of Goods Vol. 2

Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Bill of Rights, Bill of Goods

The government has the legal authority to prosecute journalists for publishing classified information, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales said yesterday.

So should we expect Robert Novak to be frog marched off the scene? or are some pigs more equal than others?
I guess there are worse things than having no a/c... natural a/c

Tonight: Widespread frost after 2am. Otherwise, clear, with a low around 28. North northeast wind between 5 and 8 mph becoming calm.

Hazardous Weather Outlook
RIP

As of Sunday, May 21, 2006, at least 2,456 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of Iraq war in March 2003
Closing the barn door after the cow is all ready gone

"This is about saving lives," he said. "If we do our job right, it is quite possible this could be the way to stop suicide bombing." U.S. produces anti-suicide bombing ad for Iraq, will it air on Al Jazzera or FAUX News?.
Good for Us

I did make it the 2006 North Carolina 2nd District County Convention held in the beautiful rural outskirts of lovely downtown Lillington. I have to give the good people of Harnett county their props though, they built a very impressive county court house. And as long as I’m handing out props, I should mention that Yahoo Maps should be noted for their very impression version of the directions to the Harnett County Court House. Sadly, they need to find a moor appropriate outlet for their creative writing because road maps are really not the best place to “get creative”. It would also be nice if the signage was correct, coherent and consistent on the way to the court house. It was not. The signage I encountered was almost as creative as the directions.

If fitting in had been a goal, I should have worn a red, white and blue party dress. Instead I wore a SWTS shirt with jeans and sneakers. These people had dressed up for this. I went because I had said I would and so I bit the bullet and went there because I felt I had to, they seemed to be there because they wanted to be there. It was real it was fun I did not have real fun, it takes a special person to think that pep rally speeches coupled with the sheer wonky joy of voting on resolutions is fun. Participatory democracy is not usually described as “fun”, although, I guess it could be fun to a person who would own a red, white and blue party dress.

I did learn that North Carolina has a pledge to it’s flag, and everyone else knew it! 101 people and they all knew it (when I last was a delegate back in 2004, I think the attendance was more at the county convention, but it was held closer to Raleigh and it was a sexier election cycle). I now know why North Carolina has such poor test results, they waste valuable classroom time teaching the North Carolina Pledge to the students. In all my years in state flag worshiping Texas, I never had to say a pledge to it.

The Party didn’t throw much of a party, but I did get a couple of party favors: a neat-o We-Are-So-Patriotic-Damn-It flag lapel pin and an equally WASPDI retractable paper fan, I also bought a couple of liberals!Yay! bumper stickers and a kewl shirt. I got to be a little bit of a bitch at this years, my vote was the deciding in a little election for some inner-party position. I voted against the guy who ended up losing because at the 2004 conventions he was consistently an aggressive pain in the ass and huge time waster and I punished him for it. He lost by one vote! I was the only one from the Wake County delegation who voted for the other guy. If the other guy turns out to be an aggressive time waster, I’ll vote against him next time: Lesson being, Democrats, don’t waste my time. This year I don’t think I was the youngest one in attendance, I think that is a good thing for the Democrats.

After I got back from the convention, I went to the 2006 version of Raleighs’ Artsploser. Yes, it is a dumb name. I wandered around for a while but sadly saw nothing that I or anyone I could think of needed. I thought I was going to be able to spend some money on the festival tee-shirt but even that wasn’t to be. I mean who came up with the phrase “Grab a slice of art”? Art as pizza? Yes, actually, that was the graphic. No tee-shirt for me. I wore the Democrat shirt to the festival and while no one told me what a cool shirt I was wearing, no one spit on me either. I think that is also a good thing for the Democrats.

Sunday, May 21, 2006

HAPPY SUNDAY !!!!!!

Saturday, May 20, 2006

HAPPY SATURDAY !!!!!

Friday, May 19, 2006

Aggggggrrrrr

The !@#$% building smells like !@#$ smoke again!!!!

Edited to add:

Hi everyone,

The Chiller in our building is Broken Again! maintenance staff is bringing the big fans back over.

I'm sorry.
Friday Cat Blogging

Duty

I got this post card in the mail the other day. It was from the Democrats and it wanted to remind me that I had plans this Saturday.

2nd Congressional District Convention
Start: May 20 2006 - 10:00am
End: May 20 2006 - 12:00pm

Yes, yes I do have plans for Saturday, I said to the post card. I have an art fair right down the street to visit. It’ll be fun. I like art fairs..

“No. No”, said the post card. “You are a delegate and you have an appointment with your responsibility on Saturday! “You signed up for this and you are going to follow through! Duty calls!

And I said Duty needs to make it a local call. Is it down the street from me? and the post card said
“Harnett County Courthouse
301 W. Cornelius Harnett Blvd
Lillington, NC,”

And I said Lillington? Where is that? , I’ll answer myself: A long way away. A Long Way Away as defined by “not down the street”, which is demonstrably, not down the street from me. It is not down the block, avenue or boulevard either. It is very far away. Very. Very. I would need a map to get there. I don’t do maps. I am not mappy.

And the post card said “Go to a map site! It’s not that far away - Duty Calls!!”

And so I did and it is. Far. far. Away. And one some of the sites it’s further away then I want to go. Same place, three different map sites three different maps. None of them made me happy. I’ve never been to Lillington and I’m not sure I want to drive 45 or 48 or 55 minutes one way for a meeting where I have nothing to add, could care less about and the only thing selling it to me at this point is the post card promises breakfast - if I get there at 9:30am. If I really wanted breakfast I could go down the street and get my own breakfast. I don’t even eat breakfast. It is not looking good for the 2nd Congressional District Convention.

I can almost get my mind around being awake at 9:30am on a Saturday. I’ve done that before and got up all on my own and not even on purpose! But that was getting up at 9:30am, not arriving at some far off destination that I will no doubt become lost trying to get to at 9:30am. I would have to set my alarm – on a Saturday and drag my ass out of bed and then drive a very long way away at some Gawd awful hour of the morning and then get there and be lost!

The post card went on “It’s only a couple of hours! You can go and take care of YOUR DUTY and still make the art fair, which we know for a fact runs for two days!”

To which I answered: An hour there, an hour back and that is if I manage to get to either destination on my first try and then still sitting in a chilly space for two additional hours? It’s looking like an all day affair to me.

The post card said – “DUTY. You’ll be home by 1:30 at the latest! And that is adding time for this mythical “lostness”! What a big baby you said you would do it, you have to do it. Don’t you hate people who say they’ll do something and then make up excuses why they suddenly can’t? You really hate that.”

The post card knows me well.

Thursday, May 18, 2006

For yucks

I check Raleigh Gas Prices every couple of day to see what the damage is. Today, I needed to put gas in Mini and so I checked and saw that the lowest in the area was $2.70ish, that was before lunch, now, at roughly twenty after three, when I checked again, the prices have all gone down at least two cents. Hmm. I still paid about the going rate for cheap in Raleigh ( for cheap gas go to the Sams Club on Saunders, $2.69* members only.)

*at least that was what they were charging at lunch.
Defining "widdle bitty"

an Egyptian Tortoise


from Cute Overload
Gawds Own Weather Man

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - In another in a series of notable pronouncements, religious broadcaster Pat Robertson says God told him storms and possibly a tsunami will hit America's coastline this year.

"If I heard the Lord right about 2006, the coasts of America will be lashed by storms," Robertson said May 8. On Wednesday, he added, "There well may be something as bad as a tsunami in the Pacific Northwest."


Can you hear me now? . If I lived in the Northwest I might worry about drought.

stolen from Blondesense
Holy

They called me to come get my new glasses! Yay!

I was thinking about the whole “pre-pregnant” thing,all your uterus belong to us and being freshly outraged and I thought “what a bummer for the guys this would be”. I mean, if it gawd forbid caught on? And all us gals spent most of our time and energy dedicated to maintaining our “shrines” for the off chance we might conceive? Think of it ”Hi! My name is Misty and I’m 21 and pre-pregnant! I am totally fertile! I don’t drink, use birth control, do drugs, have a cat, have any piercing or tattoos, color my hair, get my teeth cleaned or engage in other unsafe activities that might put any prospective zygotes at risk! Wanna party!” .

Seriously. Ideas of this kind, a new focus on "maternal health", "improving infant mortality" the words used, the hereto-for upstanding pro-woman groups behind it lead to a slippery slope. Sure, it starts with chatter about improving the health of pregnant women, decreasing preventable birth defects. Good things.

Introducing "Pre-Pregnant" as a designation for all women of child bearing age? It creates a disturbing new classification. It will mean that little girls from their first periods will be trained to put the health of their unborn children ahead of their own. It says that they will most certainly have children. What about birth control? Are we just taking for granted that all girls will get pregnant? Are they going to take away birth control because it creates an environment that is not good for babies? And thus must be avoided. We don’t need to always be preparing our bodies for child bearing, our bodies do that quite well all by themselves, every month.

All the things they want woman of child bearing age to adhere to have nothing to do with their health. The things they want us to do are about nourishing and protecting potential future off spring that we may someday carry. It has the frightening supposition that child bearing is all we can do with our bodies and that we all even want to do that with our bodies.

So ladies, go now and stock up on birth control, and you know what else? Beer and caffeinated drinks and whatever tattooing or piercing needs you may have and smoke ‘em if you got ‘em - because pretty soon?> we’re all going to be vassals of the state. How wasteful!! Non-procreative sex is dirty and bad and painful and if you’ll hate it! If you insist on and enjoy having nonprocreative sex you’ll die! well, that’s what happens on House and CSI every week so it must be true!

Aren’t men walking baby makers as well? The Khristians tell us it takes a Mommy and a Daddy who really, really, really lurve each other to properly “miraculously” cause babies to be made. I mean it doesn’t matter how pristine a woman maintains herself as a perfect baby making vassal for the Daddy’s holy patriotic baby batter if Daddy’s’ holy patriotic baby batter isn’t up for the task - Mommy could have been awarded a gold plated uterus for her maintaining her baby making parts in perfect working order and if Daddy has mobility issues - well, that couple would end up wasting procreative sex intercourse! I mean, if both partners haven’t maintained themselves in order to achieve perfect fertility and that states resultant purity! Oh My Gawd! They might not be able to make holy patriotic love and conceive holy patriotic babies!! Or even worse, still engaging in unholy unpatriotic sex without the intention of holy patriotic conception! Gawd forbid! Sex for pleasure, non-procreative sex! Where would we be if couples on purpose engaged in the act of holy patriotic baby making and didn’t make babies? Dear Gawd, we’d be Italy

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

X-Treme President-ing

President Bush welcomed “dudes and dudesses” from the U.S. Winter Olympic team on Wednesday in a White House ceremony.

The ceremony wrapped up a three-day visit to the nation’s capital for the athletes, who thought they had seen and heard everything possible about their Olympic adventure until Bush came up with “dudesses.”

“That’s a little different,” snowboarder Kelly Clark said. “We don’t really use that one too much.”



This is not a joke, it doesn't come from The Onion.It's for realz, yo.
WTFOMGBBQ

Forever Pregnant
Guidelines: Treat Nearly All Women as Pre-Pregnant


New federal guidelines ask all females capable of conceiving a baby to treat themselves -- and to be treated by the health care system -- as pre-pregnant.

all your uterus belong to us

While I don't think there is anything wrong with suggesting that women who are planning to become pregnant should take steps to take care of themselves and that preventing birth defects is a noble cause - but at the same time, but to take better care of ourselves purely to make ourselves a better place for a zygote? DAMN IT WE ARE MORE THAN OUR UTERUSI. I REFUSE TO GO THROUGH LIFE AS PRE-PREGNANT. This is what happens when you let the anti-choice forces write the guildlines.
More with the A/C

As I am sitting here, I am not hot. I am even, feeling a bit of a chill. I know, me, too, I'm shocked. The chiller outside is also not running all the time either, which makes me think it may finally be working correctly. Or not.

I got my hopes up this morning because as I was driving into the parking lot I noticed there was a veritable flock of A/C repair trucks bunched up around the building. I was so excited I stopped by my managers' office to tell her about it. I do not stop by her office, ever. I could be dieing and I would keep going as to not stop by her office. I could be dead and if I died in front of her office she would put a subpoena in my hand and tell me they wanted it ASAP. She is the font from which all subpoenas come and I have made it a practice to never slow down in front of her office. But, but today there was the hope of A/C and that was almost worth the stopping at her office.

She dashed my hopes and told me they had been there Monday as well and we were still hot. Today we are less hot.

I survived my five year anniversary. Yay. I got a memo from personal telling me I am now going to receive 11.10 hours of vacation time a month up from 9.5 hours a month. There won't be another increase in my time until my 15th year. That seems not fair. I got a bump at two years and now one at five and not another for ten years? that seems draconian. I noticed my fancy new computerized time sheet does not reflect the change. Of course.

Instead of the more vacation time as a fifth anniversary gift they could have given me? Reading those, actually, I think the extra vacation time is fine. I don't really want a wooden salad set or a framed anything from them.

Tomorrow, everyone who is everyone and quite clearly not me will be out of the building attending a computer show. No one in this office does anything with computers other than use what is on our desks so it really isn't clear to me why everyone who is not me is going to the show. It's not like we get any say in the computers or the programs or the software. I think it's just an excuse to get out of the building and stock up on free pens and mouse pads. I like free pens.

I'll get my revenge though; next week is the Raleigh State Employees Health Fair. Woo-Hoo!! Free pens and blood pressure screenings for everyone!! And even better? Its way, way, way off campus! Too far just to pop over during lunch and they really want us to go

A REMINDER that the Raleigh State Employees Health Fair is next Tuesday, May 23 from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. at the Jim Graham Building at the State Fairgrounds. Attached is a flyer announcing the fair. There are over 100 vendors and great raffle prizes offered as part of this event. ($1.00 "Raffle Tickets" for 2 Grand Prize tickets to Carrowinds; 1st Prize - $500 gift certificate to Lowes; 2nd Prize - $200 gift certificate Sun Trust Visa; and 3rd Prize - $199 Gas Grill.)

Also attached is a letter from Secretary Odom encouraging DHHS employees to attend the fair. Please read the Secretary's letter and note the support in the letter for employees to attend this event.


If the 2006 verson of the "fair" is like the 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002 versions,most of the venders are chiropractors and personal injury lawyers and vitmain hucksters. There isn't a lot of health there but, hey, free pens!.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

World Peace Puppy



from The Daily Puppy
Two weeks notice

My office lights are off but there is this rather large conference room/bull pen area right outside my door and those lights are still on and it is not helping my headache. I think they could turn those off for me – I mean, after all there are windows and it is sunny out and I think it would be a lovely gesture if they were to turn the over head lights off and do whatever they need to do in the not-really-all-that-dark. It would also save energy.

I wonder if it would be an option for the rest of the building to turn their lights off. My head hurts and it would help me out tremendously if they would agree to turn their lights out as well. We still do not have A/C and while it isn’t especially hot inside or outside today for that matter, and there is only minimal discomfort being suffered by one and all – if they would just turn their lights off out of solidarity with me? They do it when it gets hot - I know I would feel better if they would be willing to sit in the dark for the rest of the day. I would sit in the dark for them and I have! I have walked down the hall in the dark and it was dark!, I could have hurt myself and did I get mad and turn on the over head lights because it would suit me better? I did not! I put their comfort first. They owe me.

They could save energy and aid in my pain management issues. It would be a win-win for me and them and the country in general – they would be doing their patriotic duty and helping me out! win-win-win!

I went to the doctor to solve my headache problem and he agreed that it was a prescription related problem and that new glasses would help solve my problem. He also wanted me to get light sensitive lenses that change color but I am just vain enough to not want to walk around looking like a geek. If I were to wear those I might as well start carrying around a brief case and buttoning my shirts all the way to the neck and wearing highwaters - because that’s what the well dressed geeks do. They wear light sensitive lenses and carry brief cases and I am having a very strong High School flashback now and… Ew. There is no cool way to wear sunglasses or glasses that appear to be sunglasses indoors. You are either one of the geeks I used to see in the halls at school or Max Headroom or poser or an Olsen twin or a poser dating an Olsen twin and who would want to look like any of the above? But if I were an Olsen I could afford to pay someone to have my headaches for me! A headache surrogate! That would be nice. It could become a new job field. If there are women who are willing to go through the agony of childbirth for a check, people would be lining up to be head ache surrogates! I would be creating a new job! I would be helping the economy! I would not have the headache and I would be adding to the economy! Win-win!-win-win!

What would really stop the headaches would be my new glasses. I am getting new glasses; I picked them out and everything. Did you know that if Lenscrafters can not do your prescription in an hour it could take as long as two weeks? Yes, two weeks. Two very long weeks. Two very long and very bright weeks with no certainty that co-workers will agree to work in an over head lights optional work place weeks.

I told the girl at the Lenscrafters, jokingly, not to rush the job. I said “Oh, take your time! I’m good with anything short of two weeks!” of course I was joking! . What I really wanted to say was “Oh, take your time! My TV show doesn’t come on until 10pm, we still have forty minutes! Don’t hurt yourself making them. I can wait”, forty minutes!!.

Monday, May 15, 2006

Puppies!

House cat hell
Ya think they might be laughing at Colbert now?

ABC News: Federal official says US tracking calls made by ABC News, New York Times, Washington Post

Do you think the press would sit there all stone faced today?Colbert transcript, now that their boyfriend is spying on them? Do you think that Scotty is happy he left when he did?
Ending sanctions againts Libya?


U.S. to restore relations with Libya
Hmmm. Could it be their oil? . Can terrorists be rehabilitated? If they are sitting on our oil? And we're about to go war with the other terrorists also sitting on our oil? And it's an election year? Look it's a Libyan Oil Study!. If they have an oil study like that? Yes. They. Can.

I wonder why now?

As the second-largest oil producer in Africa behind Nigeria, Libya holds 36 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, almost three percent of the known world total. But analysts say that only 25% of the country has been explored for oil and gas, and up to 100 billion barrels can be found. Libyan crude oil is particularly attractive due to its very low sulphur content; it requires much less refining than higher sulphur oil. It is extremely high quality crude, whose characteristics are not easily found elsewhere. Despite its unique treasure, Libya's production capacity is relatively small, standing on 1.5 mbd of crude, or 2% of world supplies. This is less than 50% of the country's 1970 production peak level, which was around 3.3 million barrels per day (mbd.)

One reason the country's oil production has been so modest in relation to its reserve base is that since its involvement in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing Libya had been under U.S. and United Nations sanctions which hindered its ability to generate enough investment to develop its oil sector.
This is not going to have a good outcome

Plan to put National Guard at border frightens West Texas town and they should be, Esequiel Hernandez, Jr. was one of them. I had a friend who lived in Redford when this happened and he was mad as hell. He was drunk all the time and even he in his condition could tell difference between a goatherd doing his job and an illigal trying to cross.

Border troops would be temporary, US tells Mexico Right up until they start killing people and the whole thing turns into a P.R nightmare.
Hell Yeah!

N.C. State Employees Want Equal Pay Raise Footing With Teachers
Burden

While I was shopping for sandals this weekend I found I carry a terrible burden, I want to buy Champagne but have to do so on a Mad Dog budget. It weighed heavy on me. I’m not sure that everyone around me shared this burden, it was clear from the sandals on display that individuals thus burdened are in the minority. What was available was either lovely but extremely over priced or cheap and tacky as hell. I think that is why poor people get stuck with shoes that either look like cartoon versions of real shoes on one end or some sort of wearable confectionery disasters on the other. Hootchie Mama's are the only ones that come out ahead. It may be hard out there for a pimp, but his hootchies could have their pick of reasonably priced six inch fuck me pumps in a plethora of colors, shades and styles. Nice leather flats? $72, six inch hills with maraboo feathers, silk flowers and enough spangles to bring Liberace back? $15.99.

It is hard out there for a poorish person with taste! Pimps do not know from how hard it is out there! There are furry orange sandals on every corner! If you are in the market for a pair of tasteful sandals you are going to be SOL and if you have enough time to really sift through the available sandals - you may be able to find something in the Not Tacky division, even something really cute, but you will pay for them. A lot, $72 for a couple of straps of leather and a sliver of wood.

Lovely, yes, worth the price? Not so much. The price shock alone is the kind of thing that can make you decided to just stick with your mukluks and hope for a cool summer. If the cost of sandals weren’t enough, there were over priced flip flops to make me feel my burden as well. Kate Spade should be ashamed of selling tarted up flip flops for $68

Finally deciding that that my burden was not going to be lifted on this trip and I was not going to find the one true sandals, I gave up and went to the sale section. I knew I wasn’t going to find sandals, but I might find next years mukluks. It’s never too early to be in the market to find good mukluks. The winter is long and the wind is cold and the toes are fragile and given to falling off. There isn’t any such thing as sale priced sandals in May but mukluks on the other hand go begging as soon as pedicure seasons starts.

Mukluks


The mukluk selection wasn’t very broad and the fur lined flip flops I had to choose from were less then inspiring. I did however find the light weight “dress” sneakers I have been looking for, not the color I had envisioned but, for $17.00 I decided I could deal with blue. I thought I was done with shoe shopping and went to the front. I took a wrong turn and lo and behold! Teva to the rescue . They aren't really cute but exactly what I had been looking for! Burden lifted!!

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Death From Above





I will never get Dogger to go back into the yard again.
HAPPY SUNDAY !!!!!
HAPPY MOTHERS DAY !!!!!!

Saturday, May 13, 2006

HAPPY SATURDAY !!!!!!!

Friday, May 12, 2006

Guess Who, Don't Sue


36
have been accused of spousal abuse

7
have been arrested for fraud

19
have been accused of writing bad checks

117
have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses

3
have done time for assault

71,
repeat
71 cannot
get a credit card due to bad credit

14
have been arrested on drug-related charges

8
have been arrested for shoplifting

21
currently
are defendants in lawsuits, and

84
have been arrested for drunk driving
in
the last year

Can
you guess which organization this is?

Give up yet? . . . Scroll down,
*
*
*
*
*
*
it's the 535 members of the United
States Congress!


The same group of Idiots that crank out hundreds of new laws each year designed to keep the rest of us in line - unless you are a republican and then you can do anything you want to.
Hanging up on the Culture of Corruption

Alert Reader Steve found this over at Think Progress:

Telcos Could Be Liable For Tens of Billions of Dollars For Illegally Turning Over Phone Records

Under Bushco, I don't think that they'll ever be officially held liable for anything, but it's nice to know that somebody is keeping track of what laws are being ignored by the Imperial Presidency.

If you're a Republican it doesn't matter if it is againts the law.
Friday Tryon Palace Garden Cat Blogging

Sigh

We continue to have problem after problem in obtaining repair parts for this unit. Due to the age of the system and the fact that it is obsolete we are trying to design alternate methods of repairing the chiller. I realize it is uncomfortable in the buildings but we are doing everything we can to restore the air conditioning. The contractors are scheduled to be back on site again this afternoon to continue with the repair process.

Thank you to you and all of your staff for being so understanding.
Ouch.

FBI searches home, office of CIA executive director Foggo under investigation for ties to contractor in bribery case

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Law enforcement officials executed search warrants Friday on the house and office of CIA's outgoing executive director, the FBI said. The agency's third ranking official, Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, has been under investigation by the FBI, IRS, Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the CIA's inspector general, said FBI spokeswoman April Langwell in San Diego.Under a sealed warrant, officials searched Foggo's Virginia home and his office at the CIA's Langley, Virginia, campus, Langwell said. She could provide no other details.


Spy v. Spy Under investigation by ever investigative body the government owns short of my office and he still works for the CIA?
File Under suspect poll results

Poll asks about phone records

New poll: Most say phone-record collection acceptable

In a poll taken Thursday, almost two thirds of Americans said it was acceptable for the NSA to collect phone records. When asked if they would be bothered if the NSA had their phone records, Democrats and independents were more likely to be bothered than Republicans. The ABC-Washington Post poll surveyed 502 people by telephone.

2/3rds of Americans? No one asked me?! Where did they get their sample?! a FOX News yahoo group? Roves'IM buddy list? This is riduclous and Rovian. Her may be down but he is not out.
Grrr


Explosion reported near oil pipeline on outskirts of Lagos, Nigeria, the Nigerian Red Cross tells CNN.There are conflicting reports on casualties.

Addendum:

-- Up to 200 people killed in oil pipeline explosion near Nigerian city of Lagos,
police official tells CNN.
Don't call me

One of BellSouth's greatest assets is our reputation. One of the key factors that contributes to our reputation and good name is our long-standing tradition of ethics -- a tradition which has built solid trust between us and our customers, our employees, our shareholders, and our communities. As we work to maximize shareholder value, we will not waver in maintaining our tradition of ethics

BellSouth's ethical culture is rooted in our values. It is these values that guide our actions and relationships with each other, with our customers, and with our investors.

While our values describe who we are and what we are about, it is our actions that make these values meaningful. Every action we take shapes the ethical character of BellSouth. That character is at the heart of our reputation and ultimately sets us apart in the marketplace.

We understand each individual employee's actions contribute to the trust we have earned. We offer our employees a variety of resources to help them make ethical decisions and maintain the highest level of integrity.



Dear Bellsouth,

I am very sorry that I still have to rely on your company to provide my local phone service. You have sold me out. You have sold millions of innocent Americans out to the government. I have in the past actually had very fond thoughts of Bellsouth. Once upon a time one of your service technicians really helped me out the day I moved into my house. He was a great guy. I hope he saw the light and left your employ as I would hate to think that that nice man was working for your company any longer. You are not worth that good mans’ time.

Recent news reports have brought out into the open that Bell South has betrayed us and did so happily. I am beyond angry with you. I didn’t think I had to worry about trusting my phone company; we don’t have that kind of relationship: You provide a service and I pay you for providing that service. It has in the past been a dry and bloodless exchange. I have since learned you had blood on your hands the whole time.

Your cowardly behavior when faced with the choice to either stand firm for your customers right to privacy or betray them changed that. Bellsouth might as well have broken into my home and planted a bug in my phone. I have serious and profound doubts about your corporate ethics and the way Bellsouth conducts business. What else have you doing to betray your customers? Yesturday I would never have even given it a thought. Today I suspect Bellsouth of countless crimes and have no trust in Bellsouth or it's business practices whatsoever.

How dare you hand over my phone calls to the Government! I have never done anything wrong, millions of other Americans have never done anything wrong! thank you for treating the people of the United States like terrorists. We aren’t terrorists! We are nurses and teachers and truck drivers and CEOs. Bellsouth is weak and spineless and has no corporate ethics to speak of and I hope people who can dump your service do! and in droves!

I want you to stop giving my phone calls to the NSA and I want it stopped now and I want an apology and a reimbursement of my bill for the entire period of time you allowed the Government to spy on me. Shame on you.


Sincerely,

Diana

Bellsouth "ethics" page

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Sounds like a hearty YES WE ARE to me

Bush says U.S. not 'trolling through personal lives'

President Bush says the government is "not mining or trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans" with a reported program to create a massive database of U.S. phone calls. USA Today reports the government has been secretly collecting records of ordinary Americans' phone calls in an effort to build a database of every call made within the country.

The NSA is the U.S. Government and yes, they are "trolling though personal lives", yours and mine.
Fun toy



link to Fun Toy
They can hear you now

Domestic spying inquiry killed Justice Department says NSA wouldn't grant clearance

DOJ "Tell us what you're up to".
NSA - "Die In A Fire".

In related news:

NSA has database of domestic US phone calls: report Your phone company (AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth) has sold you out, consider your phone tapped.
Better Too Late than Not At All.

I noticed yesterday that the time change has made me lazy. All winter long I raced home to walk the dog and get my chores done ASAP. I wanted everything taken care of and taken care of now. The idea being that if I got everything taken care of as early as possible I would have more time to do whatever because obviously, “whatever” is deeply important and can not be interrupted by chores.

The upside of saving time for “whatever” was that I never looked at the clock at 9:45 and asked myself “Did I make my lunch yet?” because I would have made my lunch hours ago and at 9:45 , I wouldn’t be thinking about chores anymore. I would be thinking about taking Dogger out one more time before I curled up in bed and watched TV. The only chores I would have left to do at 9:45 would be to turn on the alarm and turn out the house lights.

But dayum. Following myself around with a whip was exhausting. I mean, after a long day it’s nice to sit down and relax. I don’t have anyone else to take care of – neither animal is going to wind up in therapy some day because I watched Landscapers Challenge instead of dealing immediately with their needs- I know for a fact that my lunch bag isn’t going to call and complain because I filled it at 7:30 instead of at five.

But back to the time change. It stays light so much longer that I just kind of lay around so much longer than I did when it was getting dark at 5pm. Darkness really lights a fire under me, chorewise. It’s like its 5:30! It’s dark! I need to bath Dogger! Do the laundry! Fix my lunch! I need to get all things done right now!. While in the spring and summer it’s like I’m going watch TV for a while. Dogger can hang in the yard for a while. She likes that. Have I emptied the Kitty’s box? It’s still light, I’ve got hours. Maybe I’ll bring Dogger in and feed her now; she doesn’t want to go for a walk while it’s so hot. We can go later..

I’m so much less efficient then I was before. I just do not have the over whelming urge to hit the ground running. I don’t see why I have to have my tomorrow’s lunch made before I have fully digested today’s’. But. But. The later I make lunch the less I care about what goes into it. Last night when faced with late night lunch making I was not as careful; as I could have been in my choices

Me – Oh, this looks good, I can just put these leftovers in and be done with it.

Smarter Me – Or, you could save that for dinner and take a sandwich instead.

Me – Well. That was fast. What channel is Boston Legal on?

Smarter Me – Don’t touch that! It’s for tomorrow’s dinner! Make a sandwich

Me - That would take longer.

Smarter Me – Maybe you should have thought about that earlier? If you didn’t want to do it properly now, you should have done it before.

Me – Too late.

Smarter Me – Just make a damn sandwich.

Me – Sorry. Can’t hear you over Boston Legals’ dippy- ass theme music.

Smarter Me – Come back here! That guy doesn’t look like anything like Blaine’s’ hot evol friend any more. Come back here and make that sandwich!

Me – Hmmm. You know, I could go to McDonalds instead…

Smarter Me – No! Gas is too expensive to waste it going out to eat. The leftovers will be fine. We’ll find something else to eat for dinner.

Me - Mmm. McDonalds.



Never would have happened if it was still getting dark at 5:30.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

First the media would have to recognize it was a story

Did media miss real Colbert story? . Because they failed to tell the story they became the story. Link includes transcript of Colberts' performance.
Fun

The Generator Blog . If you want to generate it, it can be generated.
A New View

If I had sprung for a web cam and you watched people’s web cams, you would see that I am peering at into my suddenly absurdly bright monitor squinting and making a face. I have no doubt that when the sun finally blows someday, my monitor will step in and take over. It is that kind of bright. I mean , damn, it could literally light the world. I’m pretty sure if I put cake batter near it, I would end up with cake. Totally. It's a monitor, a source of heat and light and an Easy Bake Oven

I was sitting in my living room earlier, the cat lolling on my lap, MASH chortling along in the background, me in my sunglasses...Yes. I was wearing my sunglasses inside. Have you ever noticed how bright your TV is? It is insane how bright common household appliances are - turn on your microwave? Bright freaking light! Open the refrigerator! It’s a do it yourself tanning salon! I had to turn on the oven light and I think I scared my retinas. There should be warnings on these things.

So, why the sunglasses?

 Posted by Picasa


I went to the optometrist today and he agreed with me that my prescription has changed again. He also agreed with me that I am sensitive to light. He also put drops in my eyes to dilate them - so that I could become even more sensitive to light.

 Posted by Picasa


Hence, the sunglasses at night... Ow! The monitor! It burns!....

Tuesday, May 9, 2006

Eat The Rich

I mean, really. Go find some, sprinkle some salt on them and then chow down. I saw this ad:



Hot Potatoes!
THESE LITTLE TUBERS HAVE
A SILVER LINING
Inspired by that indigenous Andean staple,
these sterling-silver potato bowls by
Surevolution (www.surevolution.com) are
hand-hammered in Bolivia; $5,500 (top) and $4,400.
At Donna Karan, 819 Madison Avenue.


$5,500 for sterling silver potato bowls!... Wrap your mind around that. Think on it for a moment."Hand hammered in Bolivia". Why yes, that makes them worth five grand! Marie Antonette would love these! who else would have use for "potato bowls" sterling or otherwise? There is something so Reagan era about this product. I think it is aimed at the same group who used to support hand made Bolivian product years ago. Why didn't they just preface it with: You used to throw your money away on Bolivian product now throw your money away on this Bolivian product!! GAWD! How much do you think the hand hammerers are getting per hand hammered bowl? Do ya think it's not the entire $5,500? Do ya think it's a little less? a lot less, a huge amount less? Maybe lunch? I hope they eat rich people.

Bolivia
Surevolution - no prices given,natch. the most pretentious load of bull shit I have ever seen.

While I was "researching" this, I found I was not alone The Velvet Blog got there first.
It's hard out there for a newborn

U.S. has second worst newborn death rate in modern world, report says


American babies are three times more likely to die in their first month as children born in Japan, and newborn mortality is 2.5 times higher in the U.S. than in Finland, Iceland or Norway, Save the Children researchers found.Only Latvia, with six deaths per 1,000 live births, has a higher death rate for newborns than the U.S., which is tied near the bottom of industrialized nations with Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovakia with five deaths per 1,000 births. "The United States has more neonatologists and neonatal intensive care beds per person than Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, but its newborn rate is higher than any of those countries," said the annual State of the World's Mothers report.

Where are the right to lifers now? Where is their outrage? How are we failing at this? How?
He'd do anything to control the out of crontrol price of oil, but he won't do that, no he won't do that.


Oil rises above $70


(Oh, Look! There might be a way out of this! Could the sabre rattling be over?)

Continuing diplomatic impasse between U.S. and Iran provides support, just ahead of expected increase in gasoline stocks.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices gained Tuesday, passing $70 a barrel, as Washington dismissed Iran's move suggesting ways to ease tension over its nuclear aims. But the rise was limited as traders braced for an expected increase in U.S. gasoline stocks U.S. light crude for June delivery rose 31 cents to $70.08 after falling 42 cents Monday on hopes an unprecedented letter from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to President George W. Bush could help break the diplomatic impasse.



Oil falls below $70 on Iran hopes


(Oh, Hells no!)

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Oil fell below $70 on Monday on hopes tension over Iran's nuclear ambition will ease after Tehran made an unprecedented move to contact Washington.U.S. light crude for June delivery was down 78 cents to $69.41 a barrel. London Brent crude fell 76 cents to $70.19 a barrel.

Raleigh area readers, Alert Reader Tony sent on this link to gas prices in the area, the good, the bad and the ugly

Raleigh Gas prices
Looking out for yourself

Fed up with the roadblocks facing women who try to obtain the "morning-after pill," the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists today announced its "Ask Me" campaign, which encourages patients to obtain an advance prescription from their ob/gyn.

Hopefully you'll never need it, but in the case that you do, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists wants to make sure you can get it and they have started a new program Ask Me, to make sure you can get it if you need it. "It: is the morning after pill that many conservative-republican pharmacists don't want to give you. When you need it, you need it now, get it before you need it.
If this than that?

I think I have decided what my next project is going to be. No, not properly affixing the wall paper boarder to my roller shades as I have been planning on for months, and no, not moving myself downstairs for the season, but that would be a good project – but no, it was 54 degrees on Sunday and I can still tell myself it isn’t summer yet. No, I am going to go get actual prints of some of the pictures I have taken since I got the digital. I noticed when I was flipping through my most recent photo album that time more or less kind of stops right around Christmas – which would be when I got the new camera. I want time to move on and I don’t want to wait years to finally get around to getting the prints made. It would also be significantly cheaper .

It would also be nice to get on the front entry way ball and do something about it. I mean, if all I got done was painting it, the room would look better. As it stands now it is the only space in the house I haven’t done something to and it looks like a bus station waiting room in comparison with the rest of the house. It certainly wouldn’t kill me to do something to the space, it’s tiny so it won’t be a huge investment. I even know what it’s going to look like; I have the wallpaper picked out and everything. It’s just a matter of going forth and making the commitment to the job.

What else.

It rained on my way back from my parents place on Sunday. The closer I got to home the harder it rained. I think there was some intent present there, it was raining like a bitch and it was doing it on purpose. It could have waited until after I was home or got it over earlier in the day but it choose to rain like that while I was still on the road. Now, it seems to have a rain hangover. It knows it over indulged over the weekend and now the weather looks like it feels a little dizzy and maybe shouldn’t have gotten out of bed this morning. It forgot to turn the sun back on and didn’t remember to change the temperature setting on the thermometer. It’s still cold. It’s May, in the south! Dogger is curled up in a little dog ball when she should be stretched out under the porch – if I had a porch Dogger could get under. It’s more of a frame of mind then anything else. The A/C should be sputtering along, much like it is at work – but actually working. The only reason they haven’t made a Popsicle run today is that the outside temp hasn’t gone above 65 all day.

65 degrees! Poor Dogger keeps shedding her winter coat only to grow it back again. It also makes it hell to plan ahead for the week clothing wise for me - Is it going to be warm enough to wear short sleeves? If I go with the short sleeves because it’s hot outside, will I freeze at work where if the A/C is working it will be very cold? If I wear sleeves to dress for the A/C will the A/C not be working and leave me over dressed? Should I dress for the weather outside or the weather inside? Am I ever going to be able to take the lining out of my rain coat?

Monday, May 8, 2006

It would be sad, if it wasn't kind of funny

Career appointees at the Department of Agriculture were stunned last week to receive e-mailed instructions that include Bush administration "talking points" -- saying things such as "President Bush has a clear strategy for victory in Iraq" -- in every speech they give for the department. "The President has requested that all members of his cabinet and sub-cabinet incorporate message points on the Global War on Terror into speeches, including specific examples of what each agency is doing to aid the reconstruction of Iraq,"

The Washington Post
Did somebody forget to make their ritual sacrifice?

31%
April Showers Bring ...









Sunday, May 7, 2006

HAPPY SUNDAY !!!!!!

Saturday, May 6, 2006

HAPPY SATURDAY !!!!!!!

Friday, May 5, 2006

Question

Does anyone know what the Federal Marshals appeared to be taking/ to have taken boxes of files away from the courts building on New Bern Ave.? and why were there barricades up around the court building and in front of the post office? WRAL.com is useless.
When did they put a red light out in front of the Watergate?

Earlier Today:

Porter Goss resigning as CIA chief

From April 27:Harpers Magazine

The two defense contractors who allegedly bribed Cunningham, said the Journal, were Brent Wilkes, the founder of ADCS Inc., and Mitchell Wade, the founder of MZM Inc.; both firms profited greatly from their connections with Cunningham. The Journal also suggested that other lawmakers might be implicated.

I've learned from a well-connected source that those under intense scrutiny by the FBI are current and former lawmakers on Defense and Intelligence comittees—including one person who now holds a powerful intelligence post. I've also been able to learn the name of the limousine service that was used to ferry the guests and other attendees to the parties: Shirlington Limousine and Transportation of Arlington, Virginia. Wilkes, I've learned, even hired Shirlington as his personal limousine service.

(Shirlington Limousine is also a Department of Homeland Security contractor; according to the Washington Post, last fall it won a $21.2 million contract for shuttle services and transportation support)

The general consensus is that the “holder of a powerful intelligence post” is Porter Goss and that is why he left his post.
Friday Cat Blogging

Some good news

Main Darfur rebel faction, Sudanese government sign peace plan.
CNN.com

Rebel groups begin to sign acords
BBC.com
World Peace Puppy



from The Daily Puppy
Running Hot and Cold

I know you care and are probably at this very moment on the edge of your seat in anticipation. I would be willing to bet that more than a few of you have office pools running and want the new over – under’s.

Here they are

Q.Could you please give us an update on the air conditioning in the Bldg. It is really hot in here today and lots of our folks are very uncomfortable. We do have the big fans on but it is so hot outside that they do not seem to be doing much good. Thanks for any help you can give us. Call me at XXX if you need to.

A. Additional repair parts were ordered this week and expected to arrive tomorrow. We will continue with repairs as soon as the material is received.

I should mention that the giant chiller unit outside my window has been working like a son of a bitch all day. It’s not actually doing anything but it certainly looks busy. It’s been hanging around with state employees too long. So yes, to let you get your pools updated, today it is hot again. It was hot and than it was cold and now it is hot again. But if I come to work prepared for it to be hot, it will be cold. Like clock work.

I gave blood the other day, successfully, I might add, and I came home and a looked in the larder and found nothing that might aid in red cell regeneration.So I had to go out for dinner. Damn. I was putting Dogger into Mini and I happened to look up and there were two cop cars blocking my street. They were just sitting there, no lights, no sirens. Just kind of sitting there looking down the street towards my house. Shit.

I glance over at the drug dealers because lets face it, the cops aren’t blocking the street for me. The ever present group of people outside seem a little anxious, so anxious that they have turned off their car stereos! They must have been preparing for some imagined cop apocalypse because they turn down those stereos for no one.

So.

I got in the car with Dogger and decided to see if the cops were going to let me leave, they did. But really, after thinking about it for a couple of days, if they were going to rain hell down on the drug dealer and his friends and the rest of the neighborhood, they wouldn't just be hanging out in the middle of the street and it would be a good guess that two copsand a couple of cars are not enough man power to properly to rain hell down properly.

I never did find out if the cops were just being assholes or if they were there for a reason. I talked to someone yesterday and they suggested that the cops might have had a warrant for someone and they were just waiting for that person to put in an appearance. I’ve watched them arrest people and it usually takes at least three cop cars to do it properly. The last guy I watched them arrest was on foot and ancient and it still took four cars and five cops to do the job. He was being kind of verbally abusive and mildly unco-operative but he was also ancient. He was bitching at the cops he was also bitching at an equally ancient old man who was acting as a cheer leader for the cops. He wanted that old man “taken away” and “locked up” right now he was “dangerous” and could make a “real mess”. I guess maybe if he was incontinent he could make a mess but I appear a little more “dangerous” than the old guy it was taking four cars and five cops to haul away.

So I think the cops blocking my street the other night were just being assholes.

Thursday, May 4, 2006

Because you can

You are all about Xtremez! You totally don't want to get Mom another vase of flowers. You want XTREME Mothers Day Gifz! ideas

stolen from Manolo For The Brides
Happy State Employee Week

Greetings Fellow State Employees:

In recognition of your hard work and dedication to the State of North Carolina, I have proclaimed May 1 –7 as “State Employee Recognition Week” and today “State Employee Recognition Day.”


In no real recognition of your hard work, we're keeping it on the downlow - I love ya'll, but not in public you know, and cash would just cheapen what we have. Instead of paying you more we're going to spend a lot of money to do all kinds of improvements into the office space that you will be leaving in three months! Honest, new walkways and phone systems! The whole nine yards. We are all about investing in you, the state employee and the office space you will be abandoning in the coming months, you know, instead of paying you more, which would be too much like right and we don't do that. You ever hear the phrase "Close enough for government work"? Welcome to State Government! Improving soon to be abandoned buildings one building at a time.

The caliber of North Carolina’s State employees is evident in your continued loyalty and devotion to serving our citizens.

The caliber of all five of you whose loyalty (clinical depression) and desire (questionable home based business) have left you without much energy is evident in your continued non-ability to seek out higher paying and more prestigious jobs in the private sector.

As we honor your commitment to public service, I join all North Carolinians in celebrating the vital contributions you make on behalf of North Carolina’s working families.

As we somewhat but not really honor your commitment to "public service". i.e., dealing with Poor People. I join all of North Carolinians to thank you for your contributions on the behalf of North Carolina's Poor People.

It is your hard work and your passion for serving our people that makes North Carolina such a great State.

It is your hard work that has left North Carolina in such a state.

I am proud of your remarkable accomplishments in your work and in your communities, and I urge you to continue your career of public service. Together, we continue to build “One North Carolina.” Thank you for your service to our State. Keep up the good work!

I'm honestly shocked that ya'll get as much done as you do with what you have. Frankly, we're a little scared of ya'll. Next week we're going to try carpet bombing.

With kindest regards, I remain
Very truly yours,
The Governor.