Black Friday… sitting in the living room, enjoying the new stereo rack, the sunlight, the peacefulness, and watching Will & Grace. In a moment, I plan to pull EVERYTHING out of the mud room closet (laundry room, for your Texicans and southerners) and then reorganize everything.
Then, have to run by Costco to pick up meds, and go visit Chuck. Then, come back here and more relaxing.
Who am I kidding? I have a grant proposal to review and grade/respond to, letters to write, more office stuff to pack up and get ready for taking to the office.
And Ruby needs to be cleaned. Deep cleaned. Dry cleaned, actually.
Went for a walk this morning – which I’m two weeks late on executing. Went around the neighborhood, and as I was walking, I noticed the SAME HOUSE just a few blocks away. It was reversed, but the same floor plan. Beautifully groomed. Painted, clean, smashing. That’s only a hint of how gorgeous this house could be.
Only ten days to go before the foreclosure on this house. Will they accept my offer before, or am I going into the high-intensity uncertainty of post-foreclosure negotiating? Mitch has pulled his headboard out of here, which was the next to last bit of his stuff that he had here. His motorcycle is now outside under a tarp, so it’s no longer annoying me.
However, I wake up every morning at 4:00 or so, and have to quiet the finance committee meeting in my head.
18:40 – same day
Home alone. Alone. ALONE! John’s off visiting some girl, and Bram’s in Illinois. I’m watching Star Trek Insurrection. I visited Chuck this afternoon at P&J’s. I left 90 minutes ago; they’ve already taken him back to TMH.
Holy shrikes, Batman.
The pool guy cleaned today, the pool looks good again. Cleaned out the under-stair closet today; pulled EVERYTHING out of the mud room closet. Pitched out a bunch of stuff, have to organize and sort the rest. Pulled the books out of the under-stair cabinet that never got unpacked, pulled out the Christmas lights.
So, the question is – do I put up outdoor Christmas lights? Do I just forget it? I have a bunch of white mini-lights for the backyard that we recovered from the attic, and my parents’ old big colored lights for the front. I guess tomorrow that I’ll pack up the Marvin the Martian stuff, and put out Christmas in the morning.
I’ll wait on the tree thing until NEXT weekend. I guess.
DJHJD
Friday, November 24, 2006
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Tuesday before Turkey
Holy schmoly, Batman!
Where to start? What to leave out (in the interest of future reviews by people who's current shenanigans could embarass them?)
How about how fabulous my new stereo rack is? It's kind of like this, but it's nicer, and the color is perfect. Black glass tempered shelves, and nearly 5' 5" tall. I got everything placed, and then Matticia hooked everything up for me last night. It's FABULOUS. I keep looking at how glam it looks, and how much better it is than the perenially str8, crappy stand that Mitch had loaned me.
John's extra refrigerator is already serving well in the mud room, taking the overflow of Bram's exuberent food purchases. His gas dryer is saving me money on a day to day basis. YAY!
Bram leaves for the weekend tomorrow evening. John's in town all weekend. I have a list of "honey do-s" that's as long as my leg. Plus, I have a ton of accounting work, computer cabling and such to do. And, the Imperial to clean.
The garage is such a huge improvement EXCEPT for Mitch's gigantic California King sized headboard, that is always in the way.
Greg the incredible yard stud is doing the backyard tomorrow, and he's coming to weed/feed next week, as the clover is overwhelming the backyard. Matt the pool cleaner is coming tomorrow to sanitize the pool after the big winds and Barney's pool deposits from a week ago.
Tomorrow afternoon, I have to re-organize the mud room closet to take out some things that are no longer needed and to make things easier to find. And clean up the kitchen to make way for the Thanksgiving day feastifying.
Ruby needs cleaning in the WORST way.
I'm moving cubes on Monday. I have to plan my assault on the new cube tomorrow. I want to see how I can get my metal desk in there along with the existing cube furniture. I think that there's room. I know that I also want to bring up my rolly-cart file cabinet.
And hang up all of my myriad diplomae, and wall art.
Maybe a measuring tape.
By Monday, I have a bunch of documents, reports, spreadsheets, accounting and tax amendments that need to be done, cooked and ready to mail out.
A working weekend. Again.
It's nearly time for me to skedaddle, so I can jet home, take stock of what's happened since I left this morning, and make a grocery list. Maybe something good is waiting for me at the UPS store.
Chuck's almost cooked, and should be sprung loose from the medical penetentiary tomorrow.
Been thinking about the law of attraction, the law of cause and affect, and things that have always felt they didn't work for me. Hm. Pondering, pondering.
Okay, off to plan my next moves.
Where to start? What to leave out (in the interest of future reviews by people who's current shenanigans could embarass them?)
How about how fabulous my new stereo rack is? It's kind of like this, but it's nicer, and the color is perfect. Black glass tempered shelves, and nearly 5' 5" tall. I got everything placed, and then Matticia hooked everything up for me last night. It's FABULOUS. I keep looking at how glam it looks, and how much better it is than the perenially str8, crappy stand that Mitch had loaned me.
John's extra refrigerator is already serving well in the mud room, taking the overflow of Bram's exuberent food purchases. His gas dryer is saving me money on a day to day basis. YAY!
Bram leaves for the weekend tomorrow evening. John's in town all weekend. I have a list of "honey do-s" that's as long as my leg. Plus, I have a ton of accounting work, computer cabling and such to do. And, the Imperial to clean.
The garage is such a huge improvement EXCEPT for Mitch's gigantic California King sized headboard, that is always in the way.
Greg the incredible yard stud is doing the backyard tomorrow, and he's coming to weed/feed next week, as the clover is overwhelming the backyard. Matt the pool cleaner is coming tomorrow to sanitize the pool after the big winds and Barney's pool deposits from a week ago.
Tomorrow afternoon, I have to re-organize the mud room closet to take out some things that are no longer needed and to make things easier to find. And clean up the kitchen to make way for the Thanksgiving day feastifying.
Ruby needs cleaning in the WORST way.
I'm moving cubes on Monday. I have to plan my assault on the new cube tomorrow. I want to see how I can get my metal desk in there along with the existing cube furniture. I think that there's room. I know that I also want to bring up my rolly-cart file cabinet.
And hang up all of my myriad diplomae, and wall art.
Maybe a measuring tape.
By Monday, I have a bunch of documents, reports, spreadsheets, accounting and tax amendments that need to be done, cooked and ready to mail out.
A working weekend. Again.
It's nearly time for me to skedaddle, so I can jet home, take stock of what's happened since I left this morning, and make a grocery list. Maybe something good is waiting for me at the UPS store.
Chuck's almost cooked, and should be sprung loose from the medical penetentiary tomorrow.
Been thinking about the law of attraction, the law of cause and affect, and things that have always felt they didn't work for me. Hm. Pondering, pondering.
Okay, off to plan my next moves.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Someone bought him a clue as an early Christmas present
From this morning's Houston Chronicle
Judge calls for easing of drug penalty
Citing felony docket loads, he asks Perry to cut sentences for minor possession
By BILL MURPHY
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
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UNDER A GRAM
Two long-serving local officials disagree about jailing people for possession of small amounts of illegal drugs.
The debate
State District Judge Michael McSpadden
•The cases clog court dockets and further crowd jails without addressing the underlying causes of drug abuse. Prosecutors and police use such cases to pad their statistics.
County Commissioner El Franco Lee
•Residents in some neighborhoods complain that they are under siege by street criminals. Zero tolerance, including arrests for drug possession and even jaywalking, helps reduce the perception and the reality of criminal activity.
Common ground
•Lee and McSpadden agree the drug problem is complex and that long-term solutions will include better use of specialized drug courts that can offer drug treatment as an alternative to jail.
But after more than two decades hearing felony cases in Harris County, the former prosecutor is calling on the governor and Legislature to reduce sentences for low-level drug possession.
"These minor offenses are now overwhelming every felony docket, and the courts necessarily spend less time on the more important, violent crimes," he recently wrote to Gov. Rick Perry.
Nearly twice as many defendants in Harris County were sent to state jails last year for possessing less than 1 gram of a drug than in Dallas, Tarrant and Bexar counties combined.
McSpadden recommended making delivering or possessing a small amount of drugs a Class A misdemeanor carrying no more than a year in county jail.
Gov. Rick Perry is aware that bills may be submitted in the upcoming legislative session that call for reducing penalties for possessing small amounts of drugs or drug residue, said Kathy Walt, the governor's spokeswoman.
"He is willing to look at anything that the Legislature presents him, and he wants to hear the debate in the Legislature about the pros and cons of the issue," she said.
The judge said the Houston Police Department and District Attorney's Office are clogging court dockets and causing crowding in the county jail and state jails by bringing so many drug-possession cases against those found with pipe residue or a sugar packet's worth of cocaine.
But District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal said state law makes no distinction between residue and up to a gram of a drug. Under state law, a person caught with either should be charged with possession of less than 1 gram, he said.
"That's what the law says we should do," he said. "We don't get to make the facts. We don't get to change the law."
Police officials and County Commissioner El Franco Lee said McSpadden is oversimplifying a complex problem. HPD goes after low-level dealers and buyers when neighbors complain that they cannot go outside because there is an open-air drug market or a parade of addicts buying drugs from a store or home.
"I guarantee you there are more of my constituents who want their property protected and want more police on the streets than there are people complaining about the nature of the charges brought against those arrested in their neighborhoods," Lee said.
Fears retaliation
In the dozens of apartment complexes that dot the Fondren area in southwest Houston, many law-abiding residents know nothing of the policy debate over whether low-level drug offenders should be charged with drug possession or a lesser crime. But they know fear firsthand.
"There are gunshots going all night. The security guard would sit in his car all night. He was afraid to get out," said a part-owner of an apartment complex on West Airport. She requested anonymity because she fears retaliation.
The owners took steps to make the complex secure, installing lights at the rear of the property and repairing a fence. Drug dealers shot out the lights and made new holes in the fence to make sales, she said.
As for her investment, "I can't sell it because it's 30 percent empty," she said. "The good people are moving out."
Crack-residue cases are a way of addressing a neighborhood's needs, said HPD officer Jason Streety.
"Even little frivolous charges are a good way to get those causing problems off the street," he said. "In a high-crime area, you gotta take what you can get."
HPD Executive Assistant Chief Mike Thaler said narcotics or other special units may target a park or a basketball court if neighbors have complained that drug sales are occurring there. Police will try to arrest dealers and users, who sometimes are charged with drug possession for having a pipe with crack residue.
Incarcerating thousands of drug offenders convicted of possessing less than 1 gram of a drug is expensive. It cost more than $59 million to hold more than 4,800 such prisoners in state jails last year, based on Texas Department of Criminal Justice figures.
Commissioners Court is mulling over building two jails for at least $267 million because current jails are overcrowded.
On some days, as many as 800 people are in county jail awaiting trial or serving time for low-level drug charges, said sheriff's department Chief Deputy Mike Smith.
Last year, 1,869 of 4,418 offenders serving time in state jail for committing offenses in Harris County were convicted of possession of less than 1 gram of a drug.
Not included in these statistics are hundreds of low-level drug offenders who were in Harris County jail awaiting trial or who cut deals, pleaded guilty and served county jail time.
Little deterrence
McSpadden, a Republican not known for being anti-police or anti-prosecution, estimated that more than half the cases for possession of less than a gram of a drug in his court are crack-residue cases. The county and state do not keep records on whether a drug case stems from possession of residue.
Those caught with crack pipes should be charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor — not drug possession, McSpadden said. People convicted of carrying crack pipes can be fined $500 and put on probation.
Possession of less than 1 gram of a drug is a felony that often lands people in state jail for six months to two years.
McSpadden said prison and jail sentences aren't good deterrents. "Unfortunately, it is obvious that the demand for drugs will not diminish, no matter what the consequences are," he wrote Perry. "I changed my mind a few years ago when it was obvious the 'war on drugs' was a complete failure and should be considered as symbolic at best."
McSpadden asked Perry to work with state lawmakers in reducing the sentences for low-level drug-possession offenses.
Perry spokeswoman Walt said the governor supports creating drug courts, believing that they have a better record of preventing future drug use among addicts. But those who violated drug laws should be prosecuted, she said.
Continued prosecution
McSpadden says the HPD is trying to pad drug-arrest statistics and make itself look good in the eyes of the City Council.
Rosenthal said prosecutors have debated whether residue cases should be handled as paraphernalia cases. At the end of these discussions, Rosenthal decided they would continue to be prosecuted as possession cases.
He said some prosecutors argued that HPD officers working extra hours to tackle drug problems in a neighborhood "pick the lowest hanging fruit" and arrest low-level drug offenders to justify overtime.
Thaler denied his officers had that motivation.
"The real objective is to make people feel safer. There are areas that feel under siege," he said. "People feel uncomfortable, and they can't go to the park because dealers are selling drugs. We are trying to maintain order."
McSpadden said HPD could get addicts off the street by charging them with possession of paraphernalia.
The judge and the district attorney do agree that drug courts appear to be more successful than prison sentences in helping addicts stay off drugs.
Three state district courts in Harris County serve as drug courts. Judges in any of the state district courts can refer addicts to these courts if the addict makes a case he or she wants to beat the habit.
In the drug courts, addicts can plead guilty and get treatment and intensive social services while under supervision.
McSpadden and Rosenthal said more money should go to creating additional drug courts.
bill.murphy@chron.com
How much is a gram?
•A gram of a powdered substance is about the amount that a sugar packet holds, but even smaller amounts, such as residue in a pipe, can result in conviction.
Inmates in state jails in 2005
•Inmates serving time for possession of less than a gram in Harris County: 1,869
•Such defendants in Bexar, Dallas and Tarrant counties combined: 969
•Total such prisoners in Texas: 4,846
•Annual cost of incarceration: More than $12,000 per inmate — $59 million a year
Sources: Texas Department of Criminal Justice; Judge McSpadden; Commissioner Lee
State District Judge Michael McSpadden once believed that long sentences would deter drug sales and drug use.
Judge calls for easing of drug penalty
Citing felony docket loads, he asks Perry to cut sentences for minor possession
By BILL MURPHY
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
TOOLS
Get section feed
Subscribe NOW
RESOURCES
UNDER A GRAM
Two long-serving local officials disagree about jailing people for possession of small amounts of illegal drugs.
The debate
State District Judge Michael McSpadden
•The cases clog court dockets and further crowd jails without addressing the underlying causes of drug abuse. Prosecutors and police use such cases to pad their statistics.
County Commissioner El Franco Lee
•Residents in some neighborhoods complain that they are under siege by street criminals. Zero tolerance, including arrests for drug possession and even jaywalking, helps reduce the perception and the reality of criminal activity.
Common ground
•Lee and McSpadden agree the drug problem is complex and that long-term solutions will include better use of specialized drug courts that can offer drug treatment as an alternative to jail.
But after more than two decades hearing felony cases in Harris County, the former prosecutor is calling on the governor and Legislature to reduce sentences for low-level drug possession.
"These minor offenses are now overwhelming every felony docket, and the courts necessarily spend less time on the more important, violent crimes," he recently wrote to Gov. Rick Perry.
Nearly twice as many defendants in Harris County were sent to state jails last year for possessing less than 1 gram of a drug than in Dallas, Tarrant and Bexar counties combined.
McSpadden recommended making delivering or possessing a small amount of drugs a Class A misdemeanor carrying no more than a year in county jail.
Gov. Rick Perry is aware that bills may be submitted in the upcoming legislative session that call for reducing penalties for possessing small amounts of drugs or drug residue, said Kathy Walt, the governor's spokeswoman.
"He is willing to look at anything that the Legislature presents him, and he wants to hear the debate in the Legislature about the pros and cons of the issue," she said.
The judge said the Houston Police Department and District Attorney's Office are clogging court dockets and causing crowding in the county jail and state jails by bringing so many drug-possession cases against those found with pipe residue or a sugar packet's worth of cocaine.
But District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal said state law makes no distinction between residue and up to a gram of a drug. Under state law, a person caught with either should be charged with possession of less than 1 gram, he said.
"That's what the law says we should do," he said. "We don't get to make the facts. We don't get to change the law."
Police officials and County Commissioner El Franco Lee said McSpadden is oversimplifying a complex problem. HPD goes after low-level dealers and buyers when neighbors complain that they cannot go outside because there is an open-air drug market or a parade of addicts buying drugs from a store or home.
"I guarantee you there are more of my constituents who want their property protected and want more police on the streets than there are people complaining about the nature of the charges brought against those arrested in their neighborhoods," Lee said.
Fears retaliation
In the dozens of apartment complexes that dot the Fondren area in southwest Houston, many law-abiding residents know nothing of the policy debate over whether low-level drug offenders should be charged with drug possession or a lesser crime. But they know fear firsthand.
"There are gunshots going all night. The security guard would sit in his car all night. He was afraid to get out," said a part-owner of an apartment complex on West Airport. She requested anonymity because she fears retaliation.
The owners took steps to make the complex secure, installing lights at the rear of the property and repairing a fence. Drug dealers shot out the lights and made new holes in the fence to make sales, she said.
As for her investment, "I can't sell it because it's 30 percent empty," she said. "The good people are moving out."
Crack-residue cases are a way of addressing a neighborhood's needs, said HPD officer Jason Streety.
"Even little frivolous charges are a good way to get those causing problems off the street," he said. "In a high-crime area, you gotta take what you can get."
HPD Executive Assistant Chief Mike Thaler said narcotics or other special units may target a park or a basketball court if neighbors have complained that drug sales are occurring there. Police will try to arrest dealers and users, who sometimes are charged with drug possession for having a pipe with crack residue.
Incarcerating thousands of drug offenders convicted of possessing less than 1 gram of a drug is expensive. It cost more than $59 million to hold more than 4,800 such prisoners in state jails last year, based on Texas Department of Criminal Justice figures.
Commissioners Court is mulling over building two jails for at least $267 million because current jails are overcrowded.
On some days, as many as 800 people are in county jail awaiting trial or serving time for low-level drug charges, said sheriff's department Chief Deputy Mike Smith.
Last year, 1,869 of 4,418 offenders serving time in state jail for committing offenses in Harris County were convicted of possession of less than 1 gram of a drug.
Not included in these statistics are hundreds of low-level drug offenders who were in Harris County jail awaiting trial or who cut deals, pleaded guilty and served county jail time.
Little deterrence
McSpadden, a Republican not known for being anti-police or anti-prosecution, estimated that more than half the cases for possession of less than a gram of a drug in his court are crack-residue cases. The county and state do not keep records on whether a drug case stems from possession of residue.
Those caught with crack pipes should be charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor — not drug possession, McSpadden said. People convicted of carrying crack pipes can be fined $500 and put on probation.
Possession of less than 1 gram of a drug is a felony that often lands people in state jail for six months to two years.
McSpadden said prison and jail sentences aren't good deterrents. "Unfortunately, it is obvious that the demand for drugs will not diminish, no matter what the consequences are," he wrote Perry. "I changed my mind a few years ago when it was obvious the 'war on drugs' was a complete failure and should be considered as symbolic at best."
McSpadden asked Perry to work with state lawmakers in reducing the sentences for low-level drug-possession offenses.
Perry spokeswoman Walt said the governor supports creating drug courts, believing that they have a better record of preventing future drug use among addicts. But those who violated drug laws should be prosecuted, she said.
Continued prosecution
McSpadden says the HPD is trying to pad drug-arrest statistics and make itself look good in the eyes of the City Council.
Rosenthal said prosecutors have debated whether residue cases should be handled as paraphernalia cases. At the end of these discussions, Rosenthal decided they would continue to be prosecuted as possession cases.
He said some prosecutors argued that HPD officers working extra hours to tackle drug problems in a neighborhood "pick the lowest hanging fruit" and arrest low-level drug offenders to justify overtime.
Thaler denied his officers had that motivation.
"The real objective is to make people feel safer. There are areas that feel under siege," he said. "People feel uncomfortable, and they can't go to the park because dealers are selling drugs. We are trying to maintain order."
McSpadden said HPD could get addicts off the street by charging them with possession of paraphernalia.
The judge and the district attorney do agree that drug courts appear to be more successful than prison sentences in helping addicts stay off drugs.
Three state district courts in Harris County serve as drug courts. Judges in any of the state district courts can refer addicts to these courts if the addict makes a case he or she wants to beat the habit.
In the drug courts, addicts can plead guilty and get treatment and intensive social services while under supervision.
McSpadden and Rosenthal said more money should go to creating additional drug courts.
bill.murphy@chron.com
How much is a gram?
•A gram of a powdered substance is about the amount that a sugar packet holds, but even smaller amounts, such as residue in a pipe, can result in conviction.
Inmates in state jails in 2005
•Inmates serving time for possession of less than a gram in Harris County: 1,869
•Such defendants in Bexar, Dallas and Tarrant counties combined: 969
•Total such prisoners in Texas: 4,846
•Annual cost of incarceration: More than $12,000 per inmate — $59 million a year
Sources: Texas Department of Criminal Justice; Judge McSpadden; Commissioner Lee
State District Judge Michael McSpadden once believed that long sentences would deter drug sales and drug use.
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