Sunday - the day before Monday

An interesting day today indeed. Church was awesome. Came home right after, and Rick came by and groomed the dogs - while he did that, I cleaned the laundry room. Cleaned it - you understand? I pulled everything out of the laundry room closet, cleaned it all, sorted it out, hung up the ironing board, the mops and brooms, the can crusher, the grocery bag holder/dispenser, re-folded all the towels...

Rick clipped and bathed and groomed and clipped and shampooed and groomed and conditioned .. He got about a trash bag of hair out of Jackie. So, the garbage can outside is already full, the kitchen counters are cleaned up and the kitchen desk drawers are all cleaned out for the first time since I moved in. I hung the cool tea light hangers that I got in New York, re-hung some plant hooks on the patio covers, and then .. FINALLY cleaned the white chairs in the breakfast area.

My evil sister Mikey - he's a smart cookie. He got this Oxy/spray cleaner thing for his car seats, and I was really impressed with how the stains came right out of his car seats. So, I asked him, I asked "Mikey, evilness, would this clean my white cloth parsons chairs in the kitchen?"

He said that it would, and told me JUST how to go about doing it .. I finally cleaned those chairs today, and he was absolutely right. They look great! I have to do it again, but what an improvement.

Watching the movie "Adam and Steve," which is pretty silly. Bram's at the ambulance company, being an EMT. He's happy.

Bram and I painted part of the upstairs hall yesterday - I painted two of the doors, and he painted the trim coming up the stairs, so we can finally take down the blue tape. We learned several things - first, that the cheap foam brushes that I had before were crap, and only a decent brush works worth a flip. Second, that the grill for the A/C cold air register was REALLY dirty, not just old. Third, that the white paint WILL cover the FOUR colors on the doors and trim. The guest room needs to be repainted before his friends from Atlanta come in on Friday. I picked out colors from the Behr website for that room; hopefully that can yet come together.

I think I've made a deal to trade doing some really old tax returns for having the outside lighting installed before the weekend - and I'm going to ask the yard stud if he can power wash the house Friday when he comes to mow.

Things are very focused for me today - I'm being boiled in my own money issues, having to be responsible for someone else that I'd do anything for. Having to produce to keep someone else comfortable and secure is about sixty thousand times more intense than having to try to trudge along keeping myself supported.

I have a lot on my mind about this ..

Perhaps I had a wicked childhood
Perhaps I had a miserable youth
But somwhere in my wicked, miserable past
There must have been a moment of truth

For here you are, standing there, loving me
Whether or not you should
So somewhere in my youth or childhood
I must have done something good

Nothing comes from nothing
Nothing ever could
So somewhere in my youth or childhood
I must have done something good

Monday, Monday ver. 830.01 (but written on Tuesday)

Ahh, fresh java made from real beans that aren't New Jersey snarky.

Woke up today in fine fiddle, but without an internet connection, mostly. Spent most of today without much of one.

Been peeling open mail, on the phone hither and yon, been to the grocery, talked to Bram(bo,) washed the car (yes, I repeat - I washed the CAR.) Worked on the website development, was invited to be the instructor of record nationally for mortgage courses by an online company, listened to a tax client freak out totally because the IRS sent him a dunning notice, and shredded a bunch of "stuff."

More trip reports:

My Aunt Kay, who's the size of a green bean and is always worried about her weight, told me just as she was leaving that I looked five months pregnant and needed to do something about my weight. My Aunt Jackie, who's a bit larger at a stalk of asparagus, said that they were worried for my health.

Not that they asked about my health at all.

After two days, my assembled aunts began to criticize my sister's cottage; a stain on a table cloth, a slight depression in a gravel walkway, etc. If it's not perfect (in their taste and viewpoint,) it gets a turd bomb. I was also informed Saturday evening that I should take the (volunteered) responsibility of preparing the evening meal AND cleaning up, which carries the statement that I needed to make up for what I had not yet done.

Saturday morning, my stepmother launched this turd bomb - my flight Sunday left ALB at 0630; that meant a checkin time of 0530. Being an hour away from the airport, it meant leaving the cottage by 0430, and arising at 0330. My sister's partner had volunteered to drive me (us, my cousin was also going) at that hour, and said she loved getting up that early. This was confirmed before I traveled up there, and twice while there.

At the breakfast table (where I was not) my stepmother announced:

1. It was unreasonable for me to require carriage to the airport at that ungodly hour
2. If I were considerate, I'd offer to take a hotel room near the airport and stay there overnight
3. However, if I were to make such an offer, I'm so irresponsible that she would end up having to pay for it

Later that morning, said partner o'my sister and I headed into town to pick up more .. something food oriented, and she said she was looking forward to having some alone time at their home in town to recover from the endless, shrill talking (my words, not hers) and commotion that she'd been dealing with for three days. She WANTED the time away, and taking me to the airport was the excuse.

My stepmother, therefore, made up a problem that didn't exist, created a solution for the non-existent problem that suggested , since hadn't proposed it, meant I was thoughtless, and then added on a SECOND (or was that a third) assertion that I was thoughtless and imposed on others unreasonably for not having the ability to pay for the solution to the non-existent problem (although she never asked if I could or couldn't.)

On the same car trip with my sister's partner (SSO for sister's significant other) I asked what their plans were for the holidays. She replied that they (she, my sister and her son) were headed to my dad's in Ocala for Christmas, and that they were likely just staying home for Thanksgiving.

For years (and I mean .. twenty) I've felt hurt and punished because I wasn't invited to these family events. HELLO!? (hits self with clue by four) THESE PEOPLE ARE OBSESSIVE NUTBALLS. Would I *want* to spend Christmas with my judgmental, brutal stepmother? Uh, no thanks. How about just dowsing myself in lighter fluid and voting Republican instead?

Less painful.

SO - FREEDOM from feeling like I'm not part of things. WHOO HOO!

I'll just hurl in unrestricted love bombs from afar "oh, here's an XM radio for your car .. just was thinking of you." "Oh, here's another $150 in hardcover novels - I've already read them, but thought you'd enjoy them." "No, I'm so sorry I can't attend - I'm busy launching another website."

Drop the shackles and step into the sunlight.

Now, where was I? Oh, yes.

So, while gone in the land of enforced social contact, I had lots of time to reflect when I wasn't trying to block out the cacaphony of three aunts and a stepmother talking simultaneously and endlessly about nothing at all. Some of the things I reflected on were:

• Things I'm no longer willing to put up with in myself
• That I need to work a lot harder
• I am committed to executing on my (unwritten) business plan to have my website(s) support me fully by the end of the year
• I have a TON of work to do to make that happen
• I was going to start with the mortgage exam prep and mock exam course for that

So, there it is. A few days spent contemplating the exam prep and mock exam; talked to Tom about it yesterday, made some other steps. Then, last evening, I have an email from a client who asks "don't you have an exam prep course?"

Uh, not yet, but soon. He wants to buy a copy.

Today, I have a scheduled call with the people on the east coast; oh - just as an aside, would I be willing to be their instructor of record as they roll out into forty some other states? On retainer?

Yep.

I got in two of the lamps for the outside yesterday; two more are in transit, I guess. The eBay seller isn't writing me back anymore.

So, lots done today, and nothing done. Craziness.

I'm reading a book about the influenza epidemic of 1918-19 in which nearly 675,000 people in the United States died. It's fascinating from any angle. I hope to finish the book tonight.

Okay, I'm tired of writing and tired of sitting here. I did write up the "Standard Sugar Daddy Agreement" today - everyone who's seen it has been floored.

Sunday catch up

Oct 18, 2006

At Camp Casa Luna

Cassayuna, New York

The dozen or so family member are assembled outide on the patio, talking about real estate, assembling a complex puzzle, reading, knitting, and some inside cleaning up from lunch. The tree are blowing shit everywhere, including something that seems to have landed under my “S” key, making my typing rhythm somewhat difficult.

Here on the lake, there is no cell signal at all, and no cable, television signal, television, DVD player, and a rotary dial telephone with limited service. It’s enforced socialization.

Earlier today, Edgar, Sam and I trekked into Greenwich to pick up a few things and re-visit the nearly abandoned railroad yard in town. It was refreshing to have a few minutes of relative solitude. In a few hours, my stepbrother arrives from New Hampshire, and the birthday celebrating begins. Tomorrow morning, about 1/3 of the guests leave, and then I’m out of here at 6:30 Sunday morning.

The flight up was very nice. Bram dropped me off at Intercontinental, and I had an hour before departure when I hopped out of the car. Nearly fifty minutes in line for security – no one seemed to know anything at all about where to go, or the fastest way to get through. The side of the security lines that I chose had only one lane open. I walked up to gate C16 and was there just in time for final boarding. The plane was a nearly new 767-224ER that’s usually used on overseas routes; I was in the second row of coach, against the window wall, but had no window at my seating position. I was seated behind a couple who were very nice, and serious recliners. They both knocked back as far as the seatbacks would allow seconds after rotation from the runway, and kept their seats in the oral surgery position until landing. Next to me was a funny little guy who kept twisting and pushing up to see out the window (which was a row behind us,) and pulling on his crotch. I mean – PULLING on his crotch. Over and over. I kept wondering what sort of condition would make one’s penis that uncomfortable.

Walked off the plane at C76, right on time, and left out of C101A, which was a walk of one gate to the main terminal, over one pier, and out to the first gate. I barely had time to pee and they began boarding the XJT flight to Albany. Those Brasilian Barbie Dream jets have not been holding up well – I remember well when they all came into service five to seven years ago, and they look like .. well, like my sister’s car.

Since our arrival in Albany, I’ve been stripped of my normal internet access, except for a daily jaunt into Greenwich, which allows for intermittent signal. I’ve been checking my email using my Treo, and only answering those emails which were vital. Fun stuff.

I cannot remember a family gathering (for this family, anyway) in which there were no hostilities. Amazing. Perhaps it’s the six vats of cheap white wine.

Their lake cottage (called a “camp” up here in upstate New York) has bats galore. At dusk, one can see them swooping out of the furnace vent – dozens of them. They’re fun to watch, but one has to wonder about all the bat guano that’s deposited into the attic and the furnace unit.

This afternoon, my task is to shuck thirty-six ears of fresh corn. Later, I’m sure that there will be clean-up duties; tomorrow will involve quite a bit of cleanup to assist after the departure of the first 1/3 of guests.

Will there be another trip into town tomorrow? It’s hard to say.

This cottage is just as cute as it could be; they have worked so hard on this place. Most of the neighbors’ places look like Green Acres, complete with junked 1977 Plymouths and other dead appliances as yard art.

It’s almost time for today’s big afternoon nap.

August 20, 2006

Newark Liberty (how noxious) International Airport

In search of a wireless connection. And a decent cup of coffee; I seem to be in a nasty coffee zone. Four dollars and two cups of coffee later, none of it is drinkable.

So, it’s been since the 16^th that I’ve been able to nab and internet signal and actually connect with my world. I’ve been able to check email occasionally using my Treo, but that’s imperfect.

It’s a sunny, brilliant day here in Newark, after strong rain at Casa Luna that lasted all night long. The rain continued this morning until I dashed inside at the Albany airport for my 0630 flight – at 0540. I was up this morning at 0330, waiting until 0410 for my cousin to get out of the shower so I could finish getting ready. She’s an interesting study. The whole family is, actually. They’re lovely people, especially when we first get together. After a few days, though, the turd bombs start coming fast and furiously.

As my aunt Kay left yesterday morning, she advised me that I really needed to lost weight, as I looked like I was five months pregnant. Then, my aunt Jackie chimed in saying that they were only concerned for my health. Mind, they never ASKED about my health, only assumed that it had to be bad since I was fat. Last evening, I volunteered to cook, and the same aunt suggested that I should clean up after also. Since I’d not been helpful enough up until then, of course. Yesterday morning also, my stepmother volunteered to the group assembled that it was unfair of us to impose on Debbie to take us to the airport at the ungodly hour of 0430, and we should find a motel near the airport. Then, she assumed (verbally, for everyone’s enjoyment) that neither I nor my cousin Jay would have the money to do that, and they’d end up having to pay for it.

Interestingly, Debbie was looking FORWARD to taking us to the airport, as it would give her several hours of solitude from the four days of eight to sixteen Hords talking over each other endlessly at a high volume.

Debbie and Wendy have a smashing lake cottage; it was featured on the first page of the living section in today’s Schenectady Gazette. I picked up a copy in Albay’s airport. It’s quite the article.

Newark Liberty is very international this morning – Peter Max is here at gate 110, ElAl has a 747-400 parked at B61, Singapore has a brand new A340-500 tits up with a busted #1 engine at B59. Virgin has an A340-200 over in lower numbered B gates. The airport is already busy as you can imagine, even at 0800.

I’m now headed back to the land of air conditioning. I’ve been damp for five days. They don’t use ceiling fans. They have the windows open – I had to ask someone what that meant. They don’t use air conditioning in the CAR for god’s sake. They do have XM radio, but that’s … IT.

Who made this coffee? Die Hard by Sears? Yurg. I’m giving up on the java idea and heading toward the gate for some wireless signal.

Am I wireless now?

CRAP - the people in Stafford sold the damned car.

More after I get back to the land of air conditioning.

Monday, Monday ver. 829.01 (but written on Tuesday)

$670.00. For electricity. For a month. I finally worked up the courage to open it.

What's it going to be in August, one wonders?

We got up into the attic, as Bram was engaged in sexual congress Sunday, and had water unexpectedly drip onto his bare butt from the ceiling. I figured his bed was therefore: a.) under the water heater, the drain pan for which was leaking, or b.) he was under the A/C condensor, the drain pan for which was leaking.

Upstairs we went, and found the attic looked like a garage sale after a Hezbollah rocket attack. Christmas stuff, shoes, school stuff, children's stuff (from children that don't belong to either of the prior residents) packaging materials, empty boxes, etc. So, we viscerally enjoyed throwing every last piece (except for the VERY 80's cocktail table that we found) down the hatch to the hallway below.

The attic insulation is just thrown everywhere - it's cut into pieces, old, yellow and .. bleh. Since the power bill was just (points) I think I may need to think about buying some more insulation and laying it out upstairs (now that we have it all clean and such.) Who knows? It could save me a bundle.

Bram also went and looked at the Phaeton yesterday; he LOVED it. Was going to go with Kevin today to see it, but Kevin's in Lafayette, and I have a TON of work to get done. So, no bueno.

It's time to get cleaned up and go pick up Chuck!

NBC: U.S. Rushed Brits to Bust Terror Plot, Says Source

posted on TPM Muckraker

NBC News has learned that U.S. and British authorities had a significant disagreement over when to move in on the suspects in the alleged plot to bring down trans-Atlantic airliners bound for the United States.

A senior British official knowledgeable about the case said British police were planning to continue to run surveillance for at least another week to try to obtain more evidence, while American officials pressured them to arrest the suspects sooner. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the case.

In contrast to previous reports, the official suggested an attack was not imminent, saying the suspects had not yet purchased any airline tickets. In fact, some did not even have passports.

In your dreams

Got up this morning, and fiddle-farted around some - read a bunch of political blogs about Dick DeVos, the likely new governor of Michigan, about financial malfeasance, and about the Republicans (in the voice of CNN, Cal Thomas, Tom DeLay, Tony Snow and others) calling the Democrats who voted for Lamont in Connecticut "Al Quaeda democrats" or "in favor of terrorism."

Oh, okay. Thanks for warning us. Had a haircut at noon, then tried to work out just how it was that the Brain Trust that closes freeways intended for anyone to get from the downtown to the west side today. Seems that it was a mystery.

Got home, talked to a few people, and then was off to test drive THE CAR. We tried to find the Sugar Land CompUSA on the way, so I could buy replacement stylii for my Treo - they were the only store in the Greater Houston Metropolitan area that had the stylii for a Treo 650 - after several mis-steps, we found the store, the stylii, the cashier and .. on the way out of the parking lot, I discover that the silly thing has a built in PEN. Who knew?

Next, we were off to Stafford to look at THE CAR. It's the same car (essentially) as the one in Minneapolis, but ten thousand dollars less and 1300 miles closer. I'd been to this dealer before, in February (or something) to see a car that was similar, but black with beige leather, and many fewer miles on it.

That car (black/beige) I drove and was completely uncomfortable in. I hardly turned on the stereo. Drove it around the block. Okay, so up the street, on the freeway a minute, and back.

This one - it was dirty. Hadn't been cleaned up since the owner turned it in. Smelled of cigarette smoke. Silver with black leather. We got into it - the salesman suddenly remembered me, that I had wanted a four seat, so on - we nattered a minute. I asked if I could take it for a drive - he said sure, let me have your driver license and I'll pull it out for you.

Off we went - immediately the low fuel chime started bonging telling me that the trip was going to be SHORT. I put ten bucks of premium into it. Guy fiddled with the myriad computer settings, including the stereo which was AWESOME. I had made up a CD of different MP3 files; most of them were files Guy had sent me, starting with the "Divo car shopping music." He got a huge kick from that. The stereo was AWESOME - did I mention that? Holy cow.

Back in the car, which I had left running while I was filling it with petrol. The car was quieter than the outside ambient noise while RUNNING. No noise. No vibration. Nothing. I adjusted the seat around a bit and tried to set the seat memory to keep my settings. We pull out into traffic and stop immediately at a traffic light. I page through the user ID files (up to five drivers can have memory pre-sets for how they like their climate control, radio settings, mirror, seat, steering wheel, etc.) and the primary user ID was a naughty word. A common word for fellatio. We busted up laughing.

Light turns green. The accelerator doesn't feel like a normal car, as it's drive by wire. There is resistance, but the pushing doesn't immediately produce acceleration, as the computer is contemplating the wind speed, the last primary election vote, and the neighborhood you're in before delivering the results. In the 'hood, you get away from the light faster than you do in Sugar Land, where they expect more dignified motoring.

The car goes around the corner as if it were tethered to a post. 80 miles per hour is upon us and the car hasn't kicked above 3000 rpm. I decide to slow down a bit in a car without license plates. We get to the freeway. Screw zoom, zoom, zoom - this thing is more powerful than a 757.

Quiet? Did I mention that it's quiet? Guy was playing with the suspension settings (six) as we dashed up the on-ramp to US 59 and glass smooth pavement. Oh, did you need to get into that traffic hole over THERE? Why, sure!!

It's a 6,000 pound car that's larger than a big Mercedes and it goes like stink. Point and click and you're THERE. Think and it moves.

Off the freeway to head back to it's [temporary] home. Around the underpass u-turn. FAST. WHOOSH. I'm driving this car like I did my 1990 Grand Am HO coupe. A quick look out the right rear quarter and we beat ALL the traffic coming through the light. Hm. How's that fuel economy? 16 - not BAD.

Eucalyptus wood with near black leather and a light gray headliner. Built like a Tiger Tank, goes like a Stuka. Holy schmoly. We get back and I ask Guy to take my picture with my crappy cam phone. I tried not to look overly happy.

I walk in with the keys - the sales man is heaped onto the sofa in the office. I don't really want to give it back - but I left my checkbook at home, and I'm pretty sure (today) that the check would bounce. He says "call me with a $500 credit card deposit and we'll pull it from sale while you get your financing together."

Seems reasonable.

I'm more comfortable driving this car than I've ever been driving my Buick. The woman who hired my work for the online mortgage CE course said "Drive it like you stole it."

THAT'S what that meant.

Are ya proud NOW?

From America Blog

White House official gleeful that terrorists wanted to kill thousands of Americans on ten US airlines over the Atlantic
by John in DC - 8/10/2006 06:19:00 PM

"Weeks before September 11th, this is going to play big," said another White House official, who also spoke on condition of not being named, adding that some Democratic candidates won't "look as appealing" under the circumstances. - AFP, August 11, 2006

Well that didn't take long. The Republicans never did meet a threat of mortal injury to thousands of American lives that they didn't welcome as a political windfall.

This is a scathing piece from Agence France-Presse, and a brilliant example of what real journalists do. They don't just parrot what the White House tells them, they actually investigate and report the facts. Our American brethren could learn a thing or two:

US President George W. Bush seized on a foiled London airline bomb plot to hammer unnamed critics he accused of having all but forgotten the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Weighed down by the unpopular war in Iraq, Bush and his aides have tried to shift the national political debate from that conflict to the broader and more popular global war on terrorism ahead of November 7 congressional elections....

His remarks came a day after the White House orchestrated an exceptionally aggressive campaign to tar opposition Democrats as weak on terrorism, knowing what Democrats didn't: News of the plot could soon break....

Bush aides on Thursday fought the notion that they had exploited their knowledge of the coming British raid to hit Democrats, saying the trigger had been the defeat of Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut by an anti-war political novice....

Snow said Bush first learned in detail about the plot on Friday, and received two detailed briefings on it on Saturday and Sunday, as well as had two conversations about it with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

But a senior White House official said that the British government had not launched its raid until well after Cheney held a highly unusual conference call with reporters to attack the Democrats as weak against terrorism....

On Wednesday, Cheney had suggested that Democrats believe "that somehow we can retreat behind our oceans and not be actively engaged in this conflict and be safe here at home, which clearly we know we won't, we can't, be," he said.

While some Democrats have opposed some steps in the war on terrorism, and more and more are calling for a withdrawal from Iraq, no major figures in the party have called for a wholesale retreat in the broader conflict.

But Bush's Republicans hoped the raid would yield political gains....

"Weeks before September 11th, this is going to play big," said another White House official, who also spoke on condition of not being named, adding that some Democratic candidates won't "look as appealing" under the circumstances.

Happy Hump Day

Hump day - an interesting morning already.

My cable modem is doing its level best to interfere with my ability to do anything today. In the last 20 minutes, it's

recycled on and off at least eight times - meaning that my internet connection goes on, goes off, goes on, goes off -

Spent a long long time last night thinking about my big ol' trigger issue (the one that I said I was taking a vacation from in

August) and last night, after some meditation and reflection came to understand the link between the apparent trigger issue

and my sister - everything suddenly made sense. I felt a ton better, after being fully resolved last night to not go to my

dad's birthday party at her house in New York next week.

I got up this morning (still feeling a ton better,) had an email from my aunt telling me I had probably just mis-understood

my sister - still feeling all better - and thought I'd write my sister a simple email explaining to her that we needed to

establish a new paradigm - still feeling better!

And then, I realized, anything I said to her would be completely invalidated by her saying it was my own fault and

interpretation, and that she's done or said nothing and I needed to get over it. While medicated, preferably.

And that was the end of that.

So, I've written to her telling her that I'm expecting to not attend (the reasoning being that if I'm going to be punished by

the family for being an unreasonable bastard, better to not have to attend and take the beating in person,) and that talking

to her about any of it was pointless and that she should not call me anymore.

Yup. (visualizes cruise across the Atlantic on the Queen Mary 2 with Chuck en tuxedo) I can focus on the things I want

and how I want to feel, and I can chose to not engage in old patterns with people who aren't going to change their

behavior and expectations just because I've been working on mine.

Spent all that time last night going through financial claims and writing up a report. Sent that out last night around 10:30 -

and had a call this morning around 8:00. Seems I knocked that one out of the park. Looks like I've continued to polish

my halo there.

Cable modem's been offline now for a half hour. And, I'm on the phone waiting to talk to the cable company - seems

that they're busy today. "All agents are busy assisting other customers."

Ah! An agent! And a snippy one, at that.

After this phone call, I need to start getting ready to have a day. It's looking like I'm going to have to cancel with Rosita so I can be available for this client all afternoon.

Monday, Monday ver. 828.01 published on Tuesday

I've just not been feeling bloggy these last few days, I guess. I've been all wrapped up in the Liebermann/Lamont race, in getting tax returns finished up and out, and in other work. Spent this evening working on a bunch of spreadsheets - going through about six different source documents and creating a report. Fun stuff. Also worked a lot on church stuff today.

I'm fixing to go to bed, I think. I have a big big day tomorrow. Away from the house nearly all day. Actually, all day after the morning is over.

Heirat

So, last night I had a dream that Chuck and I got married. It was quite a dream; we discussed it after being challenged - again - as to how long and why were weren't a couple. In the discussion, we just decided to plan for it .. kind of funny.

I told Chuck about it, and his response was "Clairee, are you HIGH?"

Upon reflection, I couldn't do any better if that scenario came to pass.

Friday folderol

Today is Jenny Hunter's birthday. I should call her and wish her a happy birthday, I suppose. I'm ambivalent about it, but I know it's what I should do.

"Cuban dictator Fidel Castro is still in the hospital with a serious medical condition. Castro said that a half century of Communist rule seemed like a good idea right up until the point he was rushed to the hospital in a '55 Oldsmobile."
---Conan O'Brien

"President Bush has rejected calls for an immediate cease-fire [in Lebanon] on the grounds that he'd prefer a "sustainable" cease-fire. It makes sense. He doesn't want the killing to stop until he's sure it will stop. So there will be more killing until the president's convinced that there will be no more killing. Or everyone else runs out of people."
---Jon Stewart

"President Bush had his annual medical exam this week. The doctors said the president remains in excellent health and is fit for duty. In fact, so fit today the National Guard called and said, `So how about serving your time now?'.
---Jay Leno

Okay, so I've dialed Mrs. Hunter's phone number.. and that's no longer her phone number. Let's see if she's still advertising with Centerpoint. Nope, she's not.

The guy from Minnie called again today. He WANTS to sell that car. I think he's pregnant with it. He's so darned anxious about it. "When are you coming up? I'll pick you up at the airport!"

I bet you would, bub.

Fascinating article about China's economic growth and whether it's headed for a meltdown. It's short and sweet, and raises some interesting points that would tend to counter the commonly held belief that China will own everything in ten years.

Waiting for a handyman to come by and give me an estimate for several things here, not the least of which is going to be repairing whatever circuit breaker blew up Tuesday night and left me without indirect kitchen lighting and a microwave.

Thursday chaffering

chaffer (CHAF-uhr) verb tr., intr.

1. To haggle; to bargain.

2. To bandy words; to chatter.

noun

Bargaining or haggling.

[From Middle English chaffare, eventually from Old English ceap (trade, purchase), precursor of English cheap + faru (journey).]

Thanks to wordsmith.com

Today, we lead with two fascinating articles from USA Today; first, the Federal deficit is a lie. L-I-E. If I had prepared tax returns that used the accounting rules the Feds use, I'd be in prison. For a long time.

Take your pick, either the Federal deficit was really $760 Billion, or it was $3.5 Trillion. If they were using accounting in the same manner that business corporations are required to use, the actual deficit was $3.5 Trillion.

How do those tax cuts feel about now?

Second, we see that the United States has almost no history of welcoming anyone who's not straight, white, Christian and wealthy.

Garage door repair guy scheduled. Now, I have to find a handyman/electrician.

Hump day - hither and yon day

It's not quite time for leaving to the Clinic for my follow up appointment; banking this morning was easy. Very few emails - I spent about twenty minutes unsubscribing for lists that were to have given me information about how to market my website - it was all a bunch of horse hockey, inasmuch as they were all trying to sell me something, and they swap the lists around. So, I was getting twenty of these idiot emails each day, sometimes three and four times from the same sender, telling me that I shouldn't buy this program! It's free (if I sign up for this special offer.

What crap. I'd been deleting them, and last night finally got fed up and just nuked 'em all. So, the email load this morning was much lower.

I was all excited last night; I washed the new sheets (after I figured out another place to plug in the washing machine) and I also laundered the silk duvet cover - all of which are the same lovely shade of merlot red. I've never bought $75 sheets before, even though that's not what I paid for these sheets, that's what they were at retail before the mark down and my big discount coupon. I was so excited to slide in between them last night, and this morning discovered that I had not pulled the sheet back, I had just slept beneath the comforter. Ah, well. There's tonight.

Ruby's transmission started slipping last night on the way home from Bed, Bath & Beyond - that was enough to set one's brain to spinning, I can tell you.

Watched "Twisted" with Samuel Jackson and Ashley Judd last night. Oof. It was twisted, yes it was. She was manipulated and twisted in the wind; it wasn't easy to figure out who the actual killer was until the very last scene. There was an actorin the film who had a non-speaking role; Ashley picks him up in a bar and takes him to his place for athletic sex. What a body! Woof.

Somewhere in between my efforts to launder the sheets, make dinner, clean house, work on the computer, and so on - I managed to trip a circuit breaker last night. This circuit stretches from the laundry room, all around the kitchen counters to the microwave - it's funky. I still haven't figured out how to bring it all back to life, which means that there's a LOONG extension cord in the dining room to get my coffee maker enough power to produce java.

I think this house just needs a lot of electrical help.

WE INTERRUPT THIS BLOG FOR SOME BREAKING NEWS

From Daily Kos

BREAKING: Bush Grants Self Permission To Grant Self More Power

In a decisive 1-0 decision Monday, President Bush voted to grant the president the constitutional power to grant himself additional powers.

The Presidential Empowerment Act, which the president hand-drafted on his own Oval Office stationery and promptly signed into law, provides Bush with full authority to permit himself to authorize increased jurisdiction over the three branches of the federal government, provided that the president considers it in his best interest to do so. "In a time of war, the president must have the power he needs to make the tough decisions including, if need be, the decision to grant himself even more power," Bush said. "To do otherwise would be playing into the hands of our enemies." ...

Senior administration officials lauded Bush's decision, saying that current presidential powers over presidential power were "far too limited." ...

Despite the president's new powers, the role of Congress and the Supreme Court has not been overlooked. Under the new law, both enjoy the newly broadened ability to grant the president the authority to increase his presidential powers. ... Republicans fearful that the president's new power undermines their ability to grant him more power have proposed a new law that would allow senators to permit him to grant himself more power, with or without presidential approval.

WE NOW RETURN YOU TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED RAMBLING

Okay, maybe not - this is too juicy for words - From tpmmuckraker

In Congress, the French Fries Are Back
In an unannounced move, the House cafeteria has removed the terms "freedom fries" and "freedom toast" from its offerings, and has reverted to using the dishes' more common names, "french fries" and "french toast."

Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH), who had implemented the change in 2003 in a fit of hollow but PR-friendly patriotism, refused to comment on the switch. "We don't have a comment for your story," a spokesman for Ney said.

Owing to his notably unpatriotic involvement in the Abramoff scandal, Ney was several months ago forced to step down from his post as chair of the House Administration Committee, which oversees the cafeteria menu, among other things. The change appears to have been made by Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), although he too declined comment.

An indictment for Ney is rumored to be mere weeks away, which could send him to prison. If that's the case, we wonder: will he rename it "the freedom house?"

Okay, NOW we can get back to the meaningless tripe.

I need more coffee before I can continue, so you'll have to assume that there's a pause here.

Okay, we're back.

Yesterday, as I was driving home from downtown, I was cruising out the Westpark toll road at about 65 mph, and was passed by a black Phaeton - non-factory grill, all badges removed, limo tint on the windows, big wheels, Louisiana plates - they were going about 85 mph. Everyone was staring at that car - what IS it? It looked HOT. And me having just found that little plastic scraper tool to remove badges from a car.

I did NOT win the Mega Millions last night. Bastards.

I have to get work going here - so I'm going to close this out and see about that.

(later)

A day of long meetings and short doctor visits. I finally cracked into the huge pile of filing stuff that was in the wire

basket; my intention is to have that all fully put away tonight so that tomorrow morning, I have only to work on client work with nothing of my own lingering about choking up my productivity.

Amazing what I found in there. Shit that should have just been put away or thrown away. Stuff that could have easily been put into a file, if you made a file for it. I can tell that going through the file drawers later is going to be a trip through dreamland. I should have taken a more hands on approach to it.

I think only once in my professional life did I have someone else managing the files for me that it was organized and worked out. What is up with THAT? When I manage my files myself, my attention to detail gets bogged down if I don't have a lot going on, and I just shove stuff into folders, but when I have a LOT going on, it gets VERY detailed and organized. And, I've been moving into having a lot going on.

Note to file: If dinner plans haven't been fully secured by 6:00, don't agree to go.

My cable modem is acting up again tonight - in frustration, I just unplugged it and took the battery out. It doesn't want to reboot, it doesn't have to. Maybe after I eat dinner so farcking late that my blood sugar will again be sky high tomorrow, it will feel more like cooperating. TWC is allegedly coming out tomorrow to work on it.

And, I still don't know just what the heck to do with the busted circuit breaker.

Back to the car, for another trip down the freeway. Only four days into this tank of gas, and it's almost gone, because I allowed myself to agree to appointments and engagements that were solo trips, instead of combining trips as I usually try to do. Tomorrow, I'm not starting the bastard.

Watch the transmission drop out of it tonight to accomodate my desire.

(later)

Dinner with Chuck and his Maracas from Caracas. That poor boy. How can he compete? Ah, well. It was good to spend some time with Chuck.

Then, it was TomTime - that was nice enough. Came home, and now I'm fiddling with the computer. I need to get into bed here fairly soon. I'm shopping on Froogle to see if I can find a non-factory grill for a Phaeton, like the one I saw yesterday.

Tuesday - time to change the calendar

One of the best moments of each fortnight is when we get to change over the kitchen calendar to the next incredible beefcake picture - it's the Deaux Sade calendar of the French Rugby team .. oof! I sometimes would forget for days and days to change the calendar, but Bram's enthusiasm for the next artistic naked male photo means that I usually wake up the first day of the next picture to find it already turned over.

Bram's been so wiped out by his work schedule that he forgot to change the calendar over.

Remember, Jesus supports trickle-down, supply-side economics and loosening federal regulations. It's in the Bible.

Cuba Libre!!

CUBA: THE ACCIDENTAL REVOLUTION
AIRS SUNDAY, JULY 30 & AUGUST 6 ON CBC TELEVISION'S
THE NATURE OF THINGS WITH DAVID SUZUKI


Cuba: The Accidental Revolution are two one-hour documentaries celebrating the country's success in providing for itself in the face of a massive economic crisis, and how it's latest revolutions, an agricultural revolution and a revolution in science and medicine are having repercussions around the world.
Cuba: The Accidental Revolution (Part 1), airing Sunday, July 30 at 7 P.M. on CBC Television, examines Cuba's response to the food crisis created by the collapse of the Soviet Bloc in 1989. At one time Cuba's agrarian culture was as conventional as the rest of the world. It experienced its first "Green Revolution" when Russia was supplying Cuba with chemical and mechanical "inputs." However, the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 ended all of that, and almost overnight threw Cuba's whole economic system into crisis. Factories closed, food supplies plummeted. Within a year the country had lost over 80% of its foreign trade. With the loss of their export markets and the foreign exchange to pay for imports, Cuba was unable to feed its population and the country was thrown into a crisis. The average daily caloric intake of Cubans dropped by a third.


Without fertilizer and pesticides, Cubans turned to organic methods. Without fuel and machinery parts, Cubans turned to oxen. Without fuel to transport food, Cubans started to grow food in the cities where it is consumed. Urban gardens were established in vacant lots, school playgrounds, patios and back yards. As a result Cuba created the largest program in sustainable agriculture ever undertaken. By 1999 Cuba's agricultural production had recovered and in some cases reached historic levels.

In Cuba: The Accidental Revolution (Part 2), airing Sunday, August 6 at 7 P.M. on CBC Television, we learn that the country has been blockaded since 1961, but today Cuba has the highest quality of life in the region, the highest life expectancy, and one of the highest literacy rates in all of Latin America.


With the collapse of the Soviet Bloc, Cuba lost the foreign exchange needed to pay for expensive drugs and medicines. As a result, much of Cuba's medicine today is based on medicinal plants. These are grown on farms, processed in small labs and made available to patients through an extensive network of medical clinics. Today Cuba's advances in alternative medicine could have important consequences for other countries around the world.


Cuba boasts other firsts as well: The Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Havana is regarded as the flagship biosciences lab in the developing world. Cuban scientists are working on an HIV vaccine, a meningitis vaccine, a Hepatitis C vaccine, and other pharmaceuticals.


Cuba has also embarked on a program of medical internationalism. There are 25,000 Cuba doctors serving in 68 poor countries around the world. The Latin American School of Medical Science has 10,000 students from developing countries primarily in Latin America and the Caribbean. They are educated for free with the understanding they will return to their home countries to practice.


Fidel Castro has survived many perils and at 78, he is rumoured to suffer from a number of afflictions. As his health declines the world wonders: what will become of Cuba's Green Revolution after he is gone? Even now Castro presides over a political system, which although socialist, has an economy where bartering and quasi-entrepreneurial practice seemingly influence many trades and professions, including the "green" sector. There is also ever-increasing pressure from Canada and European nations for the U.S. to come to terms with Cuba's political dissent.

Will Cuba's "Green Revolution" become a blueprint for sustainable agriculture, medicine, and biotechnology, or will it be swept aside by the economic weight of foreign investors? Or will the public clamour for consumer goods from a weary people, fed up with lack of choice, overwhelm contemporary Cuba? Will Cuba's enormous experiment in sustainable development be maintained if the U.S. embargo is lifted and Cuba is exposed to the brutal arena of world trade? Whatever the future of Cuba's accidental revolution, Castro and his country has shown that alternatives do exist.


Cuba: The Accidental Revolution is produced, written and directed by Ray Burley. Michael Allder is executive producer of THE NATURE OF THINGS WITH DAVID SUZUKI.

Monday, Monday ver. 827.01

A glorious, sunny morning again - I'm on track to get everything done before 9:00 that I need to do, and reading things on the internest that are compelling and interesting.

If you're so motivated, have a look at two articles:

This one is a fascinating discussion of psychology, and how our small tribal psychology stays with us today in societies that are too large for it to work in. The suggestion is that, in a Darwinian analysis, there hasn't been enough time for our tribal thought patterns to adjust to the huge societies, and as a result, we're killing each other off just as we would have if we were protecting our village of 40 kinfolk.

This article documents government questionnaires about spending policy and reflects that, regardless of what Fox News says, the large number of Americans do NOT believe in eliminating social programs, funding for national parks, infrastructure development and so forth. So, from whence this driving need to cut taxes and eliminate all spending but that into the pockets of our biggest campaign contributors and the Defense budget?

Perhaps you should re-read article #1. Just a thought.

More cool articles - Thisabout the pastoral cost of not being fanatically conservative.

My mom used to call this "cutting off your nose.."

From Daily Kos

The "Stained Polo" Paradox
by proudlattedrinker
Sun Jul 30, 2006 at 10:55:50 AM PDT

In economic thought a paradox is the unintuitive outcome of a theory, which points up an unsupported assumption in its logic. It illuminates a weakness in the theory, a warning that its structure does not reflect reality. The "Stained Polo" Paradox is staring American corporations in the face, and they refuse to see it.

In her book Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, writer Barbara Ehrenreich describes her undercover stint as a Wal-Mart employee. Because Wal-Mart requires their "associates" to report to work in collared shirts, a co-worker had been keeping tabs on a polo shirt that was due to be marked down. When the price adjustment went into effect, she examined the shirt and discovered a stain. She and Barbara agreed that the stain should result in a further markdown. A manager rejected the deal. Even with the employee discount, the co-worker was unable to afford the marked down, stained polo shirt.

Let that concept sink in for a moment, as it did not sink in for Wal-Mart: their employees cannot afford the goods Wal-Mart sells.

The consequences of ignoring this paradox, on the flip:

* proudlattedrinker's diary :: ::
*

They obviously don't see the paradox. After all, a yacht broker may not be able to afford a yacht themselves. But they should be able to afford a motor boat, a small sailboat, or even a Zodiac dinghy. Yachts are the top of the scale, and it's understandable that a yacht-related employee would move down the scale for their own personal use. And they don't have to own a yacht in order to sell yachts.

It is an entirely different matter for an employee of Wal-Mart to not be able to afford a shirt required by Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart, by its own proclaimed goal, is the bottom of the scale. There is nowhere else for an employee to move down except off the retail map entirely, and "shop" at the local Salvation Army.

It puts a whole new meaning into the term "race to the bottom."

American business is busy slashing wages. They assume a closed system, where their slashing wages exists in a vacuum, separate and unequal to their base's buying power. But that is not the reality. The reality is that with lowered wages, income shrinks inexorably. And sales are inexorably based on income.

The true bottom line here is not the recent quarterly numbers, which show profits going up after the latest round of slashing. The result of their slashing, in the next quarter, is lowered sales. The true bottom line is: Who Can Afford to Buy What They Have to Sell.

They are shrinking that pool of consumers themselves, with all the speed and efficiency of a flu outbreak. It's an infectious disease they are spreading with no thought of how the ripples will roll back. It's not just the people who lose their jobs who can't afford to buy the things they used to make. The people who get those jobs, at the lowered wages, can't afford to buy the things they make.

The very top of American business feel themselves immune. They aren't slashing their own wages. They are murdering their workforce to keep from slashing their profits. But they can't murder the workforce without murdering their own consumer base. Don't they realize the workforce IS their consumer base?

The American economy is built on mass production and mass consumption. Mass, as we know from physics, is energy which can be converted from one form to another, but it cannot be created or destroyed. Mass production has to have its equal and opposite force, mass consumption.

Taking the mass out of consumption will also take the mass out of production. Now economy of scale no longer works to lower prices, and they go up. The mass is less able to afford goods at the higher prices, which drives the prices up more for those still able to buy. Which reduces the pool of those able to buy, pushing production down still more.

It's not even economics at this point. It's physics.

What are the consequences of ignoring The "Stained Polo" Paradox?

Soon the ones at the top are the only ones left, and they grab the money and run, letting the company itself, and the pensions with it, sink beneath the waves. They don't start a new company and make new jobs, either. They will whine about the "unfavorable business climate" they created themselves. They will sit on capital, as they are doing now, and complain about how it is shrinking because the economy is not growing.

They will hide in their gated communities, guarded by security personnel getting the tiny minimum wage so that the uniforms have to be bought by their employers, yet another expense that is devouring their stolen capital. They turn up their stereos, hideously expensive now that there is not enough workforce to support economy of scale. They listen to electronic classical, not for the status or the trends, but because out-of-copyright compositions played by one musician on a computer is all that can be produced within the collapsed music industry. They wake from drugged sleep, from nightmares lit by mobs with torches, to push the volume in their sweatshop speakers ever higher, to drown out that sound, that terrible sound.

That sound of Madame Defarge's knitting needles. Click, click, click.

Will they remember The "Stained Polo" Paradox? That warning that their assumptions are not in line with reality? Perhaps.

That woman pawing through the Salvation Army bin, before the bags get sorted, because she can't even afford the pittance the Salvation Army would charge her for the privilege of buying something on a hanger. That woman who once worked for them, until the company went under, and she couldn't get medical care for the child who died in her arms.

That woman's face, in their nightmares, by torchlight.

Sunday evening

Okay, just finished writing an answer to my brother's letter, and Mr. Felder and I are trying to cook up how many ways Bram's airplane can taxi across O'Hare field before they can take off. They left the gate nearly a half hour ago, and he's not in the air yet.

You ask how I can tell? Wizardry.

YAY! He's finally in the air! Out of the Windy City, but still flying over northern Illinois.

I cleaned the office tonight (I'm still behind on the filing, though.) Got all my files together to deliver to the office in the morning. Have the mail put together to go out.

I'm going to have to get to bed here, so I can be up in time to fill the bird feeder, take out the trash, run by the bank to transfer money, and drop off these files by 8:30. Ooof!

The whole pool. Pay no attention to the naked booty distracting you. Look at the POOL. 

The pool looks just like this. Except with all of the netting on it. 

The bird feeders are over there at the far right of the picture - you can see the hummingbird feeder; the bird feeder is on the other arm of that stake 

The bird feeder, after the birds went through it like Sherman went through Atlanta 

Hanging basket-y things. Just 66.66 cents apiece! 

The planter box and ivy therein. 

I've never ...

I've never had a bird feeder before. Well, I've had this one now for four months, but I've never filled it with bird seed before this morning. I didn't put out a little billboard saying "Free Bird Seed," but I did clean it up and fill it when I fed the dogs.

By this afternoon, the backyard was swarmed with birds. By 7:00 tonight, the bird feeder had attracted blue jays. By 7:30, they were all gone, and the bird seed was too.

Just for fun, I cooked up some hummingbird food, filled the hummingbird feeder, and re-filled the bird feeder. I'm going to have to get up early tomorrow to watch the commotion.

Filled up a planter box with potting soil, and planted some cuttings from the MANY ivy plants - then, set it up on the ledge so that the ivy can start growing up into the lattice.

Have you any idea that I've NEVER thought about plants in my life?

That would be - NEVER.

Anyway, I have been tending to the hanging baskets (which are looking better) and the dogs keep expecting that maybe they'll get some attention out of all of this. Fat chance.

I think that tomorrow, in addition to buying a new wireless router, I'm going to see if I can find some of the plants that are on the list published in today's Chronicle - plants that attract butterflies.

Nicole, this is ALL YOUR FAULT! You gave me that gorgeous Hibiscus, and it's been so beautiful, flowering every couple of weeks, that it gave me ideas. You have only yourself to blame.

And, thanks, by the way, again. Wow.

Let's see if I can nab some of the pictures I took today from my phone and post them.

Only 7,500 miles -  

Holy Toledo this is a hot car!! 

Saturday post-haste

So, I decided this morning I wanted to buy some hanging baskets for the patio and breezeway area - part of my uniform spruce up of the place here. I had that lunch with Tom down in the gayborhood planned, so I asked him if he wanted to go with me to Kroguuuuurl to see if they had anything (it being time to sell stuff El Cheap.) Off we motored, and they had some very sorry looking plants marked $5/each. Three of them were hanging baskets with viney things and little red flowers thereon (I'm not a plant person.) Tom thought that they were okay, but not great, and that they'd be great for the breezeway, so in we trundled with these three hangers filling the shopping trolley.

At the cashier, naturally, none of the hanging baskets were labelled, so the cashier asked for the floral manager, who came over - looked quickly at the baskets and prounounced "Two bucks for all three." The cashier was incredulous. Two apiece? No, two for everything.

Okay then!

They're not occuping space in the breezeway, and I'll be potting up some of the ivy in one of my unused pots here shortly.

Now, I need two more hanging pots for the breezeway, a hanging baskety thing for the front stoop, and something big and tall for the last big clay pot on the patio.

And something to keep the dogs out of the flower beds on the patio. Like maybe rattlesnakes.

I actually cleaned Ruby up this afternoon after driving home in a light rain. That I hadn't done in eons. I stuck a piece of velcro in between the door trim panel and the door structure to keep it from squeaking, and that seems to have worked like a charm.

These are all good things.

I think tomorrow that I'm going to have to break down and buy a better wireless router. This one keeps cutting in and out, and has the kind of signal stream that a 90 year old man with a prostate problem would have.

I've just spent the better part of an hour digging around looking for more pictures of Hitler's airplane. I found some interior photos of it, but no exterior photos. I did find ONE model of it (pre-war) online, but it's 129 POUNDS (Sterling.)

Oh, and I've fallen in love. Again. With another car. When I began to speak to Guy about it, he queued up the "Divo car shopping music," which he then sent to me. It was a SCREAM. I'm trying to load the pictures and music into my Treo, but I'll post the pictures here in a second.

I need to go downstairs, through the sheets in the dryer and make some soup for dinner.

The Second RScP Saturday

Ah, java and peacefulness. I need some more java. Shopping for exterior lighting on target.com - I've called in the professionals. Matticia in Orlando is trying to help, but he's just totally fixated on things that AREN'T what I'm looking for.

I supposed I should just NOT try to find these lamps until I get the house secured.

I was also shopping for cooktops again yesterday (as I mentioned) and still keep coming back to the woman in Huntsville that has the downdraft Whirlpool. I should just go up there and nab it.

Okay, through proper application of known channels, I found just the right exterior lighting .. on eBay. So, all of you who deride me for going to eBay first and always .. this is a big raspberry for YOU (pffffffffffffffft.)

Lunch today with Tom after a haircut, to talk about more web based marketing of a web template he wrote to my requirements.

This one's extra special for a few friends of mine

friends who believe that the illegal aliens are getting free health care

From Daily Kos

Don't blame immigrants for healthcare crisis
by Duke1676
Fri Jul 28, 2006 at 06:55:58 AM PDT

Contrary to popular opinion, and the propaganda coming from anti-immigration advocates in Washington, a new study released in health care policy journal Health Affairs found that undocumented immigrants are not the cause of a public health crisis defined by over-crowded emergency departments, higher health care costs, and lower-quality primary care.

The study of 46,600 people living in 60 different communities found that the communities with high levels of Hispanics and undocumented immigrants had far lesser rates of emergency department use than communities with low undocumented representation. Wait, let's repeat that - communities with high levels of Hispanics and undocumented immigrants had far lesser rates of emergency department use than communities with low undocumented representation. By far the largest cause of emergency department overcrowding was found to be an increased use of them as primary care facilities by native born Medicare and Medicaid recipients. This one bears repeating also .. By far the largest cause of emergency department overcrowding was found to be an increased use of them as primary care facilities by native born Medicare and Medicaid recipients

The supposed stress put on our healthcare system by the undocumented has been a cornerstone in much of the anti-immigrant rhetoric coming out of Washington.

According to the official Republican talking points on immigration, Respect for the Law & Economic Fairness: Illegal Immigration Prevention, Republican pollster Frank Luntz suggests that candidates should stress that "... as a matter of principle, we should not use our tax dollars to pay for services for illegal immigrants until we take care of the hard-working, tax-paying Americans. This shows voters that you have compassion but that you also understand where your priorities are - and should be."

He suggest that a good way to express this point is to use the following language:

"If we stop people from successfully getting across the border, then our schools won't be as overcrowded, the hospital waiting rooms and emergency rooms won't be as overcrowded, our highways and our streets won't be as overcrowded, our social services won't be as abused, and taxpayers won't be as punished." .... Frank Luntz


This kind of rhetoric works because between 1993 and 2003 there's been a 26 percent increase in the number of hospital emergency department (ED) visits, totaling about 114 million visits each year. Up to one third of these visits were classified as nonurgent or semi-urgent and could have been taken care of by regular primary care physicians.

It has long been assumed that these increases had been caused by the increasing population of undocumented immigrants and the growing number of uninsured Americans using emergency rooms as their sole source of medical treatment. More repeating - It has long been assumed that these increases had been caused by the increasing population of undocumented immigrants and the growing number of uninsured Americans using emergency rooms as their sole source of medical treatment.

According to the study What Accounts For Differences In The Use Of Hospital Emergency Departments Across U.S. Communities? by Peter Cunningham, a senior fellow at the Center for Studying Health System Change in Washington, D.C., "communities with the lowest ED use tended to have a higher percentage of Hispanics and noncitizens than communities with high ED use." The blame for the increase in ED usage falls not at the feet of the undocumented or the uninsured but rather on those who are the recipients of various government healthcare programs.

At this point, the author himself decides to repeat this point for the cheap seats - let's read that again, shall we?

This study examines the extent to which differences in populations and health system factors account for variations in ED use across U.S. communities. Contrary to popular perceptions, communities with high ED use have fewer numbers of uninsured, Hispanic, and noncitizen residents. Outpatient capacity constraints also contribute to high ED use. However, high ED use in some communities also likely reflects generic preferences for EDs as a source of care for nonurgent problems.

There is much concern that some of the increase will be driven by illegal immigration, which is cited as straining ED capacity in some hospitals, especially along the U.S./Mexico border. However, given the very low levels of ED use among poor noncitizens in general (many of whom are likely to be undocumented immigrants), it is very unlikely that these highly localized problems with ED crowding will affect the nation more generally as the Latino population increases and migrates to other parts of the country. Low use of the ED among noncitizens reflects low use of health care services in general and perhaps fear among undocumented immigrants about being asked about their immigration status.

...as our findings indicate, communities have high rates of per person ED use in part because they have fewer, rather than greater, numbers of Hispanics and noncitizens

Insurance, demographic, socioeconomic, and health factors are strongly related to individuals' ED use, although some of these results run contrary to popular perceptions. For example, in 2003, the uninsured had about sixteen fewer visits on average (per 100 people) compared to Medicaid enrollees, about twenty fewer visits compared to Medicare enrollees, and roughly similar levels of use compared to privately insured people (Exhibit 3). Noncitizens had much lower levels of ED use than citizens did (about 17 fewer visits per 100 people, on average), and the difference between poor citizens and non-citizens was almost twice as large. In terms of racial/ethnic differences, blacks had higher ED use levels than whites and Hispanics did in 2003. More in line with expectations was the higher ED use by poor people (less than 100 percent of poverty) compared to other income groups, and higher ED use by people in fair/poor health and with chronic medical conditions.

Although uninsured people rely on EDs to a greater extent than insured people do because of a lack of access to other outpatient care, their actual use of hospital EDs is no greater than that of the privately insured, probably because fear of incurring the entire cost of an ED visit acts as a constraint on how frequently they visit EDs. Although rising uninsurance rates might not raise ED visit rates among the population, higher levels of uncompensated ED visits in many hospitals are likely to result, especially in public hospitals and other safety-net hospitals that tend to serve a high proportion of uninsured people


The survey found that the one group that accounts for most of the increased usage of emergency departments are those on government programs such as Medicaid and Medicare. This is in part due not only to the general health issues of the elderly and poor, but the lack of other services available to this segment of the population. Many physicians are unwilling to take on new low-income patients due to Medicare and Medicaid's limited payment schedules. Ethnically, the study found that blacks were the most likely group to use emergency room services. This would be due to a combination of lack of services in low-income black neighborhoods and a resulting "generic preference for EDs as a source of care" amongst members of this under-serviced community.


High levels of ED use among Medicare beneficiaries and Medicaid enrollees are a potential source of increases in ED visit rates in the future. The aging of the population and retirement of the baby-boom generation will greatly increase Medicare enrollment and the proportion of the population who are elderly, who tend to have higher levels of ED use compared to other age groups.

Also, continued increases in private insurance costs could result in increases in both Medicaid and other public coverage of nonelderly people, as well as increases in the number of uninsured people. High use of EDs in Medicaid likely reflects in part little or no cost sharing for health services use, and perhaps lack of access to office-based physicians (because of low physician reimbursement rates under Medicaid)

This study also shows that longer waiting times for appointments with physicians and a higher number of physician office visits relative to the number of physicians in a community increased ED visit levels, and the effects were greatest for poor people (Exhibit 2). In part, this may reflect the fact that physicians with full practices and constrained reimbursement from Medicaid and other payers were less willing to see low-income patients in their offices and more likely to refer such patients to the ED.

As is the case with many of the "problems" attributed to the "immigration crisis", the overcrowding of emergency rooms and the subsequent economic strains put on the healthcare system, can be attributed more to governmental failure to properly administer its public health programs to assure proper care for all Americans, than on the influx of undocumented immigrants. It's just another of the many false preconceptions perpetuated by the anti-immigration proponents to further their agenda of misdirection and blame shifting.

Friday the last one of July

July is already over? What happened to it? How did I miss it?

Friday is already over? What happened to it? How did I miss it?

I think I scared the yard stud to death today. The pool guys came zooming into the driveway, saw the yard stud doing his thing, and then zoomed out of the driveway again, never to be heard from. He's changed his phone number, so I have no idea how to reach him, except for his regular Fridays.

Found a cook top at Sear's for only $220. I think I'll go nab it next week; I don't need a downdraft or ceramic burners.

Today, I re-arranged the pictures in the guest room - it looks about 600% better since I did that. I may actually PAINT that room this weekend. I know, don't get crazy or anything, but ..

I guess tomorrow morning, I'll re-arrange the wall hangings in the office here - that will also spruce things up significantly. I also want to dig out all of the giant weeds in the flower beds (weed beds) and re-pot some things in the back. And peel Jackie like a grape.

Also, tax returns to do this weekend, filing, all kinds of nonsense. And, tonight, I'm meeting Mikey and Ro-Ro out at the seat of Jarred! We haven't been there in four months!

So, did I figure this out?

From today's Houston Chronicle - two biodiesel plants to be constructed; one in Houston, one in New Orleans - look who's BEHIND it. This tells me that there will be a huge shift toward biodiesel in the next five years, and that those who were profiting the most from cheap oil will also profit from this.

The article I saw yesterday from the New York times that suggests that the EPA hasn't yet certified vegetable oil as a motor fuel under the clean air act - that's how they're going to control the market. From the New York Times

So, they get biofuel produced at the current price level (people are used to paying it) - the mighty agricultural corporations develop a huge outlet for the bio product that we destroy every year (not enough demand,) world trade talks are resolved (no more reason to worry about price supports when the market is consuming all that corn already) and we eliminate a fair portion of our annual trade deficit. At that point, what difference does it make that oil is priced in dollars or in Euro? What if the US becomes a net exporter of energy again with our massive ability to produce bio crops? What would that do to our trade imbalance with China, Japan and other countries?

Notice that each of these two biodiesel plants will only employ FIFTEEN PEOPLE. What a huge economic effect for so little change for the American population.

I think we've struck on what the future holds. Peak oil may be a laughable concept that the Bush family and their allies will profit massively from; it will only drive countries without bio capacity into our net.

I also think that we'll know that this is the future if one of our big US oil companies buys a significant ag company, like ConAgra or ArcherDanielsMidland.

These New York Times links are only hot for a week or so. Since this blog isn't for commercial purpose, I'm going to cut and paste the text of each article here for the sake of posterity. These articles are fair use - they're not my own work, and I am re-posting them with acknowledgement to the copyright owners to make more people aware of their content.

New York times article:

July 23, 2006
Green Tech
Grease Is the Word: Fill It Up With Fry Oil
By JIM NORMAN

ON a recent return trip from Massachusetts to my home in New Jersey, a distance of 160 miles, I burned a total of two cups of diesel fuel in my 2001 Volkswagen Jetta TDI.

Since that would indicate fuel economy of more than 600 miles per gallon, something didn’t quite compute.

The missing part of the equation was this: I was returning from Easthampton, Mass., where Daryl Beck, a mechanic well versed in such matters, had just installed a secondary fuel system in my car. The main fuel I used on the drive home was not diesel, which the Jetta was designed to burn, but straight vegetable oil.

I used diesel fuel for only the first 10 miles of the trip. After that, the diesel gauge stayed right where it was while the VW sped happily along on soybean oil — the same stuff that restaurants use for deep frying and salad dressing. I used less than three gallons of oil for the final 150 miles of my trip home, which calculates out to more than 50 miles per gallon. Not bad.

The conversion kit that Mr. Beck installed was produced by Greasecar, a manufacturer of vegetable fuel units for diesel cars; gasoline engines cannot be converted to burn vegetable oil. The kit cost about $900, including an optional temperature gauge and audible warning signal, and another $1,000 for the installation, which takes an experienced mechanic about seven hours.

Now, after more than 2,000 miles on veggie oil, there seem to be few disadvantages to the transformation. My car seems to get slightly better mileage, it seems to run a little more quietly and it has just as much zip as it does on diesel. According to test results I’ve seen, vegetable oil burns somewhat cleaner in most categories than diesel fuel, and emits absolutely no sulfur. What a veggie car does emit is a smell faintly redolent of the kind of oil being burned — or, in the case of used oil, the scent of whatever it might have cooked previously.

Vegetable oil, of course, is a renewable resource that emits no more carbon dioxide than next year’s crop will absorb and requires no drilling for soybeans in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge or anywhere else. The environmentally aware will give you even more points in the game of green for using oil previously used for cooking.

You’ll get no points, though, from the federal Environmental Protection Agency, which recently issued a statement stating flatly that using vegetable oil as fuel is a violation of the Clean Air Act and that modifying a car for vegetable oil subjects the owner to a $2,750 fine. [Page 2.]

Justin Carven, the founder and owner of Greasecar, says his company has started the process of qualifying his conversion kit for E.P.A. certification.

Going veggie is not the gas-and-go type of driving Americans are accustomed to. At discount stores like Costco or Sam’s Club, soybean oil costs about $13 for a 35-pound “cubie,” a squarish jug that holds about 4½ gallons. That makes it a few cents less per gallon than the current price of diesel fuel.

It’s possible to pay less — or nothing at all. I have also collected 20 cubies of waste oil, just for the asking, from various restaurants and from a generous fellow greaser with an excess of oil. Now that I have my filtration station up and running in a corner of my garage, even visits to the local big-box store will be few and far between.

There are a few things I must be attentive to: I have to remember to purge my fuel lines of vegetable oil and switch back to diesel a few minutes before ending a trip. If I forget this on a cold night, the oil could congeal and make starting the next morning impossible without the aid of a hair dryer.

I have to remember to use the purge function on my dash-mounted fuel selection switch for no more than 20 seconds or so. If I leave it in purge position, it can allow diesel fuel to flow back into the vegetable oil tank and overfill it until it flows through the air vent, a mess I would rather not experience.

Add a few factors to the category of minor inconvenience that accompanies my energy-independence euphoria: I have to carry a spare vegetable oil filter for that inevitable moment when the original says it has had enough. I also have a filter wrench and a pair of oven gloves to let me change filters while the engine is still hot. And I mustn’t forget the turkey baster: that’s to fill the new filter with vegetable oil from the tank, so I don’t introduce an air bubble into the system, causing the engine to stall.

My trunk is a little — no, a lot — less spacious than it used to be, because of the spare cubie of oil I carry, along with a big funnel that lets me fill the tank without spills. The spare tire also takes up space inside the trunk now; the veggie oil tank occupies the well that used to contain the spare.

Notwithstanding the inconveniences, my wife, Ginger, is as enamored of this experiment as I am. She has claimed the Jetta as her own, but has volunteered to help with the mechanical work to convert another car for me. She calls the experience the “Noah project,” named after our 11-month-old grandson, who she hopes will benefit from a better world if others do the same thing.

Despite the obvious benefits of using a fuel that contributes to the nation’s energy independence, that is relatively cheap and that can be burned after having already served its original purpose — cooking food — it is worth noting that vegetable oil is unlikely to replace petroleum anytime soon.

As the number of conversions rises, users will eventually soak up the supply of used cooking oil. As with ethanol and other agriculture-based fuels, it remains to be seen whether growing soybeans is an efficient way to produce nonpetroleum fuels, since the farming process consumes large amounts of fuel and chemical-rich fertilizers. Also, growing crops for use as fuels could have unforeseen effects on the prices and supplies of food.

The territory is uncharted in other ways, as well, as seen in the comments posted in an online forum sponsored by Greasecar.com. Take the case of “Chase,” a Massachusetts resident who was perhaps not as careful as he might have been in the storage of his cache of oil. “No BooBoo to be seen,” Chase wrote, “but this AM there was a really big black bear with its snout in an opened and overturned 5 gal. Luckily the grease spilled onto my gravel driveway, so it should soak in soon enough. Also lucky she did not get into the 12 other buckets! Some arm waving and yelling sent it packing.”

A frequent question about vegetable oil is whether cars run more sluggishly on it. Consider “TDIGuy,” who sought advice on whether a blown head gasket could have resulted from “running a VW too fast for too long” and “hitting the gas pretty hard.” After receiving some helpful comments, TDIGuy came clean: “When I said speeding a little, and a little hard on the gas, I was actually trying to hit 140 in the car. Managed to get 130, but I think I put too much stress on the engine.”

A common concern about converting a car for vegetable oil is that it could harm the engine. But some people who have done conversions say they’ve seen no damage, even after many miles. Phil Gibbs, a New York City firefighter who makes a 75-mile commute twice a week from his Putnam County home, said he had driven his 2002 Jetta 75,000 miles on vegetable oil with no trouble.

The car had 70,000 miles on it before it was converted. “It runs like it did when it was new,” Mr. Gibbs said. The key, he added, is not switching to vegetable oil until it has reached the proper temperature.

The typical conversion involves installing a parallel fuel system with an independent tank (mine is aluminum, shaped like a hockey puck and holds 13 gallons), a heating system that diverts hot engine coolant through copper coils placed within the tank and wrapped around a specially installed vegetable oil filter in the engine compartment, and a set of solenoid-activated valves controlled by a dash-mounted switch that diverts the flow between diesel fuel and vegetable oil.

There is also a fuel temperature gauge that tells the driver when to switch from diesel fuel to vegetable oil after starting out, and a somewhat representational fuel gauge that gives a rough approximation of how much vegetable oil is in the tank.

Greasecar, the company that built my conversion kit, was started in 2000 by Mr. Carven, a Hampshire College mechanical design graduate who had experimented as a school project on a $300 junk car. He went on to celebrate his graduation with a cross-country trip in an old VW van that he equipped with a vegetable oil system.

Now, Greasecar has 14 employees and ships about 300 kits a month from its shop in a 19th-century brick factory complex.

Many buyers follow the instruction manuals that come with the kits and do the installations themselves. Others, like me, seek experienced mechanics who know exactly what they are doing and keep up with the latest developments in the art of greasing. Several manufacturers of similar kits have loose networks of recommended installers.

In addition to the commercially available kits, many home-built systems are being installed by backyard tinkerers all over the country. You can get in touch with them on Internet forums like the ones at the Web sites for Greasecar.com; for another kit manufacturer, Frybrid.com; and at Biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve.

To convert a car to run on vegetable oil, you have to start with a diesel car; it cannot be done with a gasoline engine. Not all states allow the sale of new diesel-powered passenger cars, and there are different state rules governing the sale of used ones. (I bought mine from B & B Auto Sales in North Providence, R.I., sight unseen, via an eBay auction.) I was a lucky buyer; even though the car had 147,000 miles on the odometer, it was in fine condition, exactly as described by the seller.

I was surprised to learn that Rudolf Diesel, inventor of the combustion cycle bearing his name, originally intended his engine to run on vegetable oil. In 1912, seven years after he introduced his engine at a Paris exposition, he said: “The use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today. But such oils may become in the course of time as important as the petroleum and coal tar products of the present time.”

For me and my Volksvegan, that course of time is now.

Jim Norman is a staff editor for the Business Day section of The New York Times.


Houston Chronicle article:

uly 26, 2006, 10:18PM

Local biodiesel plant in the works
Another facility is planned for New Orleans
By DAVID S. ROSEN
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

A small Houston company said Wednesday it has created a joint venture with two investment firms to build biodiesel plants here and in New Orleans capable of producing more gallons of the fuel per year than American drivers used in 2005.
ADVERTISEMENT

Riverstone Holdings, The Carlyle Group and Houston-based Green Earth Fuels plan to construct two facilities beginning later this year.

They would each be capable of producing 43 million gallons of biodiesel per year, mostly from soy or palm oil at first, said Michael Hoffman, managing director of Riverstone.

Wednesday's announcement is further evidence of a healthy biodiesel market.

Chevron Corp. announced in May it was buying a 22 percent stake in Galveston Bay Biodiesel, which is building a plant on the north side of Galveston Island to make the fuel.

In 2005, the United States used 75 million gallons of biodiesel, up from 25 million gallons the year before, according to the National Biodiesel Board.

"The market is growing," Hoffman said.

"Some people are saying we'll be using as much as 1,500 million gallons over the next few years or so. It's growing very rapidly."

Also Wednesday, Nova Biofuels Oklahoma, a subsidiary of Houston-based Nova Energy Holding, released a statement saying it reached an agreement with ConAgra Trade Group to supply feedstock for its first biodiesel plant and sell the fuel it makes. The company is seeking a site in Oklahoma for the plant.

Construction on Green Earth's Houston plant, which it plans to locate near the Ship Channel, could begin as early as August, and be in operation within a year, Hoffman said.

In New Orleans, he said, construction on the facility will likely begin in October.

Biodiesel can be made out of a variety of materials and is used in its pure state or in a blend called B20, which is 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent petroleum diesel.

Much of the fuel produced at the two facilities will probably go toward B20, said Jeff Trucksess, executive vice president for governmental affairs for Green Earth Fuels.

Both Green Earth facilities are expected to create 14 jobs at each location, and 50 to 150 people will be needed in the construction of the plants.

Trucksess said while the production at the plants will exceed last year's national consumption, demand for nonpetroleum fuels is skyrocketing.

"Given the current climate in the world, there's a growing need for petroleum alternatives, and more incentive for domestically produced fuels," Trucksess said. "We see significant growth in the immediate future."

david.rosen@chron.com

Hump day - links, and other fun stuff

First, let's start off with some really fun links -

This one is a link to a Discovery channel quiz to test your knowledge about natural disasters. About twenty questions, it had a few stumpers (for me, anyway.)

Next, we have a fabulously tongue in cheek video of how Airbus is trying to respond to Boeing's new 787 "Dreamliner." This was NOT produced by Boeing, but I'm sure that they don't mind a bit.

Last night, I came across this one - sticking with my aviation theme for the moment - a series of short clips, combined into a video with music honoring the Boeing 777 - the video calls it the world's favorite airliner - you can dispute that if you choose, but it's MY favorite airliner. Near the end, you get some fabulous video of my FAVORITE favorite airliner - Continental's ship 014 - the Peter Max, and the final shot in the video, taken of a triple landing over the lights at dusk, is also of a Continental Triple 7.

Spent three HOURS at Legacy Health (formerly known as the Montrose Clinic) today - had a 9:30 appointment; they saw me at 10:00, then, I had to wait until 11:00 to talk to the STD/HIV counselor since I had asked that they do a STD/HIV screen while they were drawing blood (more effective use of available funds, you know) and then an hour from that until the tech drew my blood. This is the cost of not having health insurance. I should be thankful that it only took that long. If I followed the "advice" of some of my friends, I should just go to Ben Taub's emergency room for general care and "not pay for it." As a non-critical case, I would sit there for a day or better, and then get a bill for the service.

I was actually "advised" to "just give a fake name, like the illegals do."

Hm. Felony? Sure, why not?

I keep having stuff added to my huge "please get this done last week" pile. I guess that's good - it pays way better than not having anything to do, and I've surely been driving THAT bus since my job with Psycho Judy came to an end nearly five years ago.

Have to get ready for a conference call in twenty minutes. And then, back to pulling on my oar. More later.