July 2007 Archives

"We need to restore the people's trust in the country and the government."

I wish this had been said by someone in the US - in the current administration. Not that it would really mean much at this point. But it was said by the Japanese Prime Minister after an election defeat for his party. Fine words... I think that underneath all the scandal and botched policies, the problem isn't as much the individual issues, but that the People of the country don't trust or have a government that can actually do things right.

(source: Japanese PM to stay after poll defeat)

   .. I'm OCD. This Friday I felt like I was going to be on vacation. I have a weekend off, and nothing scheduled - nothing I have to do. This never happens. There's always something on my schedule. My Google calendar fills up faster than a drunk with a keg. It's either work or volunteering or ... something. I was elated until I remembered the 2 homework assignments due this weekend. Poo! So much for nothing to do...
   A dear friend says I multi-task - that's sweet, but it's really OCD.

   I'm not usually a sleep-talker. Thank goodness - with all the stuff that flies through my head on a daily basis, I would likely land in jail if I said everything that came to my mind. And I wonder if you're legally liable for what you say when you're asleep.... but I digress...
   The other morning I was woken up by someone talking, and that someone was me. I actually heard myself talking out loud and that's what woke me up. Strangely, what I heard myself saying was, "EW! That's disgusting!" I have no idea what I was dreaming about, but the Dream Dictionary says that disgust indicates that I have an unacknowledged aspect of myself. Yeah, it's the person who talks in his sleep...

   So while I'm whining about pet peeves today... I cannot stand when businesses advertise by putting leaflets or brochures on my car. First of all, don't touch my f--ing car. Secondly, why do they think that if they litter on my car I will be more likely to patronize their business? And you know what really sucks - when it freaking rains and the paper sticks to your car or worse leaves ink stains. Yeah, now I'll come to your business with a wet ball of paper to throw at someone.
   What I think is even better is when they leave a business card with their name on it. Thanks, now I know who to call and bitch at when I have to peal the rest of the wet pamphlet off of my windshield. Charlene, I'm not happy with you!

   Over the past few days I've been hearing things about "Christmas in July." One was about a festival of some sort, and another was for a sale at a department store. Yuck! Seriously, do we really need more than one Christmas? Grumpy people, folks running all over the place, getting up at 4am to get a microwave... Besides, isn't this sacreligious or something? On behalf of all those who work in retail, I hereby protest Christmas in July.

"Bush invoked the disability clause of the Constitution ... and transferred his authority to Cheney ... Nothing occurred that required Cheney to take official action during the transfer of power..."
Thank goodness nothing happened, but one wonders if he took any unofficial actions... Then again, I wonder if he actually gave Bush the presidential powers back? Hey wait, was Cheney actually a part of the executive branch for a little while there, and not the 4th branch of governent? When wonders will cease...
(source: Cheney Becomes President, Briefly)

Whoever he is, I made his list again last quarter! Yay!

   iTunes is a wonderful program. I've spent the past few days trying to find a replacement because I was thinking after my Nano crapped out I wasn't going to shell out another $200 for another one. Alas, I think I may be trapped in the iTunes world. Perhaps I just need to accept it, just as I have become obligated to Windows.
   But I do have a few pet peeves. One is that as the version numbers go higher, it takes longer and longer to load. Seriously, I can load just about anything on my PC faster than iTunes. And as I'm typing this, iTunes is updating itself - it takes for freaking ever! I can just about install Windows in the same amount of time. And is it just me, or is it retarded that the status bar isn't really a status bar? I mean, when the status bar goes from 0-100% 50 times, it's not really showing the status, unless perhaps its gauging my frustration level.
   Regardless, iTunes does what it is supposed to, and better than anything else out there. Now if only I could revive my Nano...

   I think the world would be a better place if everyone got all the sleep they needed. Truly, I am a better person once I've gotten a good nights sleep. But getting all the sleep you need isn't always easy. Like everything else that we need to do - lose weight, be happy, etc - there is a pill for this. Actually, there are several pills...
   My favorite recently is Lunesta. Not because I'm taking it or anything (I prefer a nice glass of Syrah before bed), but the commercial is so .. interesting. Apparently, this pill will not only knock you out, but it will also summon a radioactive, glowing butterfly to make sure you sleep through the night. It would seem that the nuclear nightfly flies around town like Santa on LSD making sure folks are falling asleep. It seems a bit nightmarish to me, but the commercial seems to indicate in the morning all will be well, as you slowly open your eyes, sit up slowly, and begin to glow. That's better than my usual alarm shock awake terrified that I have overslept rise and shine.

   New words start somewhere, right? Like when people started saying something was "rad" way back in the day, someone had to start that. And now if someone says it, although I might think they're stuck back in time, I would understand. Like, "that car is rad, dude!" I'm not sure how that came to be though - radial? Was there something circular that was cool?
   What else was there? Let's see... well, of course there's, "that's so gay" which I'm not entirely fond of. Oh yeah, "phat." I guess that means cool. Tight as in "that new car is tight."
   But this new one - sick. This one really threw me off. I saw it first in the forums describing someone's car. Someone had posted a picture of their modded car, and the response was "that's sick!" How rude, I thought. But come to find out that is a complement. And how did this one come to be? Someone was sick, yet cool at the same time? Wish I could pull that off.. Oh well.
   Apparently, sick is the new cool.

   I hate to be pessimistic or sound dramatic - maybe this is dramatic, who knows? But I'm having a hard time feeling patriotic today.
   Just this week, our president commuted the sentence of a man who had been legitimately convicted of a crime. Not that the commutation is a crime, but the fact of who it was is what upsets me. It was a member of his own administration. Something seems wrong with that. And we're still in the middle of trying to understand what the heck was going on when a bunch of federal prosecutors were fired and replaced. Oh, and don't forget habeas corpus is out the door too. What exactly is happening to our system of justice? Maybe it's stuck in Guantanimo Bay.
   And we're still stuck in Iraq after most of the country seems to have forgotten why we are there. As a matter of fact, most Americans think we went into Iraq because of 9/11. Our country has lost the good will of the world after so many people in the world said, "today, we are all American."
   On top of that our new, democratic congress seems inept and unable to act to change anything. Promises are already coming from the presidential cluster of potentials, but I believe them as much as any politician.
   I simply don't see the America that I was taught about in school. I don't see the America that I wanted to believe in. And quite honestly, I wanted to say it now before my right to free speech makes me an enemy combatant.
   Happy 4th of July. Just remember what it was a few hundred years ago. Tomorrow, call a senator or representative instead of smelling the remnants of fireworks.

   I spent a good portion of my weekend paddling. No, not the kinky kind - paddling a kayak. Went 10 miles on the semi-clean part of the Cuyahoga River. I didn't think 10 miles would be all that bad, being that most rivers have a current that will take you part fo the way. No, the Cuyahoga is like a long lake. At some points there was so little current that the wind would blow you back up river. Of course, the best part came in the last 1/2 mile or so where there were a few rapids, and one small waterfall.
   The rest of the weekend was spent camping which I really could have used just one more day of. I had just gotten to the point where I was relaxed and not worried about work, class, or anything else really when it was time to pack up. But the campfires were nice, and watching 5 teenagers try (and fail) to set up a tent was amusing. Good lord, the future of the country... The only thing I would have changed would have been the child who wanted to ride her bigwheel back and forth, back and forth in front of our campsite at 7am. But otherwise, another day would have been good...
   Back to work...