Tuesday, June 6, 2006

The Bush Base must be really disappointed

Despite dire prophecies to the contrary, we have now gotten over half way through 6/6/06 and the sky is not falling , except for where it is
Memories

So I was looking for something this weekend. Just out of nowhere I suddenly really, really, really needed to find this thing and I was pretty sure I had seen it at some point somewhere, probably in the attic. In a box. Maybe.

So I had to go through the boxes in my attic. This was of course at 11pm Saturday night, which is really s great time to go pawing through dusty boxes in a sweltering attic environment in search of something that I may not have thought to save in the first place because, “why bother? I have it on disk! And 2.5 disks are always going to be readable! , why yes, please throw away that ancient, out modded word processor! I’m never going to need that thing again!” Hard copies people, it’s all about keeping hard copies. If you want to keep it, print it out! If it is “saved” on obsolete software it is trapped not saved.

I had to remember which box I was pretty sure what I was looking for lived in, and I was pretty sure where that box was. I have a lot of boxes. It wasn’t in the first group of boxes I went though. I thought I had found the right box, but instead it was full of stuff an alter server schedule dating from junior high – how did I save this? Better question why?. I don’t need it to remember happy days of alter server yore, being an alter server or a distaff Alter Boy for you who grew up in less progressive parishes, was hardly a happy task. It was a task and I only did it because my friend did it and then she promptly dropped out - I didn’t. I should have. But back into the box it went because there must be a reason that it has survived 24 or so plus years and a house fire and at least a dozen moves in the interim - I decided to treat it like a vase at the bottom of the ocean it shouldn’t have survived but there it is, be impressed with its resistance to the forces of nature.

There were also a lot of old letters. Huge amounts of old letters. Remember snail mail? It looks as though I had a healthy correspondence with just about every human being I ever met. There were even a few from people I couldn’t remember who they were. I think those dated from a pen pal phase I went though, the phase left me with a lot of bundled letters from people I can’t remember. It was a little jarring to find these strangers intermingling with my old high school paper press pass and clippings about the death of a friend.

A few years ago I went through another sifting through of my boxes and I pulled out all the letters I could find (and after digging through a few boxes, I found that I didn’t find very many) from a friend of mine that I had a correspondence with for years - She always surprised me, I would see her over the summer and she would inevitable ask “Hey, how is So and So?” and I was always Damn, did I tell her about him? When was the last time I even spoke to that person? She actually reads for content? Shit! I hope I’m not expected to know who her friends are. What’s the name again of that one she thinks is kind of a bitch? How do I frame that question, “Hey, how is whatshername? That girl you think is a bitch?”. I kind of hummed a lot.

I used to write letters, now I blog.

Monday, June 5, 2006

Shop Girl

Saturday I went shopping with a very short list. I was in the market for blue slacks and the new Dixie Chicks CD. I was partially successful. I did end up with the CD.

Of course, the search for slacks goes on. I can’t believe that standard issue blue slacks were some sort of Dallascentric clothing item. I remember racks of them in stores! Blue pants are blue pants, something I thought that everybody had as part of their work place wardrobe. Everybody needs a good pair of basic blue slacks. You would think.

No. Instead “everybody” needs a good basic fuchsia, turtle embroidered crop pants. Things like that? everywhere. But you know? I don’t think I have ever seen anyone wearing fuchsia crops pants embroidered with turtles. Oh, I know why - it’s because I go to work everyday and most people, even in my office with it’s more or less anything goes dress code, nobody wears slacks like that. I wonder why? Hmmm. You would think there wouldn’t be a big call for that item in a wardrobe. But oddly, there it was. Many, many , many of them. No basic blue slacks though.

After much looking around I did find two pairs of basic blue slacks, of course, neither fit. Baby bear was not happy. I found another pair that I was very excited about until I noticed that it laced up the back. Interesting, but a little too interesting for everyday wear.

So I got ready to leave Marshals, but not before I looked around a little. I found a new table cloth I didn’t really need, but it was on sale, and a slightly over the top gold, pseudo-Italianate oval mirror that I also technically did not need but that completes my long on hold decorating scheme for my bedroom. The mirror was not on sale, but it was there, it was under $30 and I was tired of looking for oval mirrors. Mirrors one and two cost me a combined total of $8 and one of them I rescued from the trash. I had planned on finding mirror three and spending a similar amount but it was not to be. Anyway. I left Marshals and went to where I was sure I would find something in the basic category. I went to Target, home of basic.

Basic must have left home because it wasn’t there. I did find the Dixie Chicks CD that had been one of the two things on my list before I went shopping, so I got that. I also found a book I wanted that I had been seeing at the grocery store for $7.99 and was too cheap to get it for that price. Screw you Kroger and your over priced paperbacks! Target is my friend. So, a table cloth, a mirror, and a book - not on my list and still no blue slacks.

I was going to leave Target and go to Kohls because Kohls is also my friend. The stupid traffic pattern decided that I was going to go home instead. Grrrr.

Going home meant that I was going to hit the Lark Spur Party on Saturday instead of Sunday. Which was fine with me. I went I saw and I bought three morning glory plants to camouflage/cover up my ugly back yard so the nice neighbors can pretend it isn’t there. Grow plants grow!. We’ll see how long it takes Dogger to discover them. In an attempt to thwart that behavior I went to the dollar store and picked up 16 feet of el cheapo garden fence to protect my new plantings, I also picked up a 17 quart cooler to thwart the hurricane season - with the idea being that if I am prepared for the power to go off for an extended period, it will not. It was kind of a relief to go to a store and actually find the fencing. It was making me oddly paranoid to not find what I was looking for in places it was supposed to be. To reward the store I also bought some batteries and a box of poptarts. Still no blue slacks.

Sunday, June 4, 2006

HAPPY SUNDAY !!!!!!!!

Saturday, June 3, 2006

HAPPY SATURDAY !!!!!!!!

Friday, June 2, 2006

Friday Cat Blogging

Today

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - The United States warned Iran it will not have much time to respond once it is offered an international package of rewards to encourage it to suspend uranium enrichment, suggesting that the window could soon close and be replaced by penalties. "It really needs to be within weeks," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told NBC.

Iran insists its nuclear work is peaceful and aimed at developing a new energy source. Mottaki, Iran's foreign minister, welcomed the idea of direct talks but rebuffed the U.S. condition that Tehran must suspend uranium enrichment before talks can begin.

At the White House, President George W. Bush warned that the confrontation would go to the Security Council should Iran continue to enrich uranium. "If they continue their obstinance, if they continue to say to the world, 'We really don't care what your opinion is,' then the world is going to act in concert," Bush said.


full story here

In other words we don't have the troop strength to go it alone this time and Shrub may have learned his lesson on the pitfalls of such grandstanding. When we do start bombing them, the available troops that are all ready stretched too thin are going to get stretched even further and the draft talk will be louder - perhaps even prior to an offensive.
Hurricane Season is upon us

Chertoff: FEMA is hurricane-ready . Because they really, really arn't. You should be.

Hurricane Preparedness Checklists.No one else is going to take care of you and its an excuse to go shopping! of course you need that new cooler! and have you seen the sexy new tarps for 2006? and hint, hint, buy your batteries before they tell you that you're going to need them! Those puppies leave the shelves faster than the milk and bread.

State Officials Urge Preparedness For Upcoming Hurricane Season, don't say you wern't warned, also, move to Montana and avoid the rush.

Running and playing and doing and being

I’m going to try an experiment with Dogger at the Dog Park tonight. I am going to wander around in hopes that she will wander around. See, I really, really don’t want to take her for a formal walk. It’s hot and I’ve had a long week and I just don’t want to physically walk on a walk with her. If I take her to the park, I can sit with the other owners and we’ll all try to persuade our dogs to “go run and play” – while not running or playing ourselves.

I need to run and play.

People who don’t sit where the people, are kind of looked at. in a not entirely open and loving way. The other night there was a couple there with some fancy long haired floppy looking dog that appeared to be a standard poodle. It wasn’t. It was some Italian breed – it didn’t matter because their people were sitting on a table a long way away and we couldn’t ask about their dogs - the main thing we talk about between wondering aloud where our dogs are and pleading with them to go run and play. The Italian dog people appeared unsocial and working on social skills is the main reason you go to the dog park in the first place.

Dogger needs to run around more though. We went last night after her vet visit and before she ate dinner and she at least worked the room a little more than she does when we go post walk, post dinner park going. Maybe she just isn’t into running around on a full stomach – but I defiantly think that she needs me to be up and around for her to be up and around. Last night I made an effort to throw a ball for her but she really didn’t have much interest in it. She watched me throw it and got a little excited and she made an attempted to propel herself in the direction it went but once it landed she decided she wasn’t really all that interested in it and really once it hit the ground it was kind of anti-climatic and she didn’t go after it. She thought about it though – I think she thought that she would get pet more if she went back to where the people were. You may get applauded for good fetching but you don’t get pet for it. Dogger is very tactile.

There ain’t no attention whore like a four legged attention whore.

The other dogs will makes passes through the seating area just to check in and make sure their people are still there, but mostly they wander around or play chase with the other dogs or go eat something they found on the ground or go roll in something (not everybody is a consciences dog stuff picker up) or they go see what some other dog is interested in – but Dogger just kind of stays where she’s planted.

I think my plan is going to end up being a quick walk to the post office, then home. Then dinner (for her), then a MASH rerun or two (for me) and then to the park. I think by that time she will have rested up from her walk and maybe had time to recover from dinner sufficiently enough to want to go run and play with the other dogs – but when I think of it, that is kind of what we have been doing and it’s not working vis-a vie Dogger running and playing. Maybe what I’ll do is watch some MASH, take Dogger to the park, take a few laps with Dogger around the perimeter and then go sit with the other folks and try to cajole Dogger into running and playing some more.

Thursday, June 1, 2006

Bushco plays politics with Homeland Security Dollars

*


DC sends big rasberry to NYC

NEW YORK (AFP) - ( ed note, blue cities in blue states!) New York and Washington, the two cities targetted by the September 11, 2001 attacks, were in uproar Thursday over federal plans to cut their counter-terrorism grants by 40 percent this year.The outcry was fuelled by simultaneous announcements that (ed. note, red cities in red states!) cities like Omaha in Nebraska and Louisville in Kentucky would see their funding increased by the same margin

On a national level, the total funding provided by the DHS fell from 825 million dollars last year to 711 million dollars."Our goal is to greatly enhance the collective preparedness of the nation while making certain that finite resources are directed to areas most at risk and to solutions that are innovative and regionally driven," said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.


Gawds Honest Truth

New York has no national monuments or icons, according to the Department of Homeland Security form obtained by ABC News. (PDF file) That was a key factor used to determine that New York City should have its anti-terror funds slashed by 40 percent--from $207.5 million in 2005 to $124.4 million in 2006.

*(image stolen from Atrios comment section)
As predicted

Iran rejects U.S. talks offer

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Iran rejected on Thursday a U.S. proposal to join multilateral talks as offering no "new and rational solution" to Iran's nuclear case, according to Iran's state-run news agency.
Thou Shalt Not Kill?

U.S. orders 'values training' for troops in Iraq


BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The U.S. military chief in Iraq on Thursday ordered troops to undergo fresh training in legal, moral and ethical standards for the battlefield. Lt. Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, Multi-National Corps-Iraq commander, issued a directive to his subordinates, telling them to pass the message on down to their units.

The back-to-basics move comes amid inquiries into the alleged killings of 24 civilians by Marines in Haditha, Anbar province, last November. Military investigators strongly suspect that a small number of Marines snapped after one of their own was killed by a roadside bomb November 19 in Haditha, a city on the Euphrates River northwest of Baghdad, and went on a rampage, sources told CNN.

A military source said it was evidence, including death certificates, indicating that many of the 24 civilians had been shot at close range that led to a full-scale criminal probe into the alleged massacre in March.


Warfare is not murder. Combatants on both sides are just that, combatants. Soldiers are not murdered. Civilians are not combatants, the intentional killing of non-combatants is murder. Massacring woman and children is not part of warfare.

Bush: If Marines killed civilians, they'll be punished

"The Marine Corps is full of honorable people who understand the rules of war," Bush said in his first public comments on the killings in Haditha. "... Those who violated the law, if they did, will be punished. I'm mindful that there's a thorough investigation going on," Bush said Wednesday. "If in fact, laws were broken, there will be punishment."

If? He's comfortable with "if". This is what happens when you fail to read your history. You are doomed to repeat it. No one wants another Mai Lai. But this is getting zero coverage and there is no outrage. The press doesn't care and everyone else is so mindful of "supporting the troops" that there is no chance that anyone is going to say anything about this.

The troops that took part in this should not be able to count on anybodies support. They need to be weeded out and punished. They bring the taint of dishonor to the honorable.
Yesturday and Today, p.s, hide your sons


Today...


TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's foreign minister on Thursday welcomed direct talks with Washington on his country's disputed nuclear program but rebuffed a U.S. proposal that Tehran must suspend uranium enrichment as a condition, state-run television reported. Yahoo News

...And while the Europeans and the Japanese said they were elated by Mr. Bush's turnaround, some participants in the drawn-out nuclear drama questioned whether this was an offer intended to fail, devised to show the extent of Iran's intransigence... New York Times

Yesturday…

In a significant policy shift, the Bush administration agreed Wednesday to take part in talks with Iran about its nuclear program if Tehran suspends efforts to make nuclear fuel.IRNA, Iran's official news agency, quickly dismissed the offer as "a propaganda move," according to the Associated Press. The statement said Iran had no intention of halting uranium enrichment.Yahoo News
Insert Title Here

Imagine, working at work two days in a row! I mean, one day at a time, thank you very much, ya know? I mean I don’t get paid for this shit. Actually, today I got paid. So today I did get paid for this shit.

The copy machine/pasta maker was in a much better mood . It worked for about two thirds of the time I spent working with it a big step up from the whole quarter of the time it worked yesterday. I learned about myself that if I get asked more than one time if I was going to “Break the machine again today too?” that I was definitely going to kill the next person who asked. I was shocked that I have that much patients with this question. They were lucky that the machine worked as well as it did today because if it hadn’t worked consistently I would have had to kill them. As it was I wanted to kill them and it did work consistently .

Dogger went to the Vet today. She charmed them. She is now protected from any number of nasty ickies as well as certified boarding ready. I’m sure the boarding people will be charmed as well. But, she’s not ready to be boarded yet and she’s only going to be there for three days. I had to pay for a vet visit and vaccinations and I still have to take out a loan for the boarding. Does Pell hand out grants for vacation boarding?

Dogger is getting better at Dog Park. Today she got a whole ten feet away from me! -she sat next to someone else. It was very exciting. Tomorrow I'm hoping for fifteen feet, Some day, I hope she will actually go interact with the other dogs.

Who's up for a little photo blogging fun?

Ohhhhhhh! Must be a really hard guy. I bet he's really dirrrrtttyy. So bad ass! He's so hard he needs a parental advisory on his poster


Yes. Such a bad ass, or really, A Bad "A". Mr. Fucking Amazin' isn't all that amaz**g. I'm betting he's really bragging on his MFA. In real life he got his masters in advanced music theory.



Wasn’t that fun?

We have a birthday lunch pot luck at the office tomorrow. She birthday haver has requested that we, the office, bring “meat”. So. I am making “meat” for lunch. Meat and french cut green beans. It will be meaty.

Okay. More photo blogging!


well behaved landscaping


When landscaping goes bad