Copyrighted article from
Casey Research, Inc. c/o InvestorsInsight Publishing, Inc.
14900 Landmark Blvd, Suite #350, Dallas, Texas 75254.

(c) Casey Research, LLC. 2007

Please note that I have no commercial interest in my blog, so any cross-posts here are for distribution of the material only, and I have no material gain.

What's Happening in the War on Terror?
By Doug Hornig

Let's just make this clear at the outset: We do not in any way deny that the threat of terrorist violence exists in this country (and around the world). Nor do we wish to minimize the suffering of people who have been victims of that or any form of violence.

But having said that, the War on Terror--itself a misnomer, as Doug Casey likes to point out, since terror is a tactic, and you can no more make war on it than you can on cavalry charges--seems in some ways to have disappeared behind the clouds put out by the Washington fog machine.

It's a bit like the old story about the guy who blesses his neighbor's house by saying, "May this house be safe from tigers," then takes the credit when no tiger-related incidents come to pass.

See, the government tells us, our anti-terror measures are really working. There have been no attacks lately, because we've stopped them.

Lots of them, apparently. The only trouble is, we have no specifics. All the foiled plots are so sensitive that we can't be told anything about them, for reasons of national security.

Now, personally, we can't see all that much downside to telling the American people at least a few details about what they saved us from, if only to help rebuild people's eroding confidence that government can, in fact, keep us safer than we would be able to do on our own.

But no. So what we're left to fall back on are cold, lifeless statistics.

These are not terribly encouraging. According to a Justice Department Inspector General's audit report published in February, only 2 of the 26 sets of statistics on domestic counterterrorism efforts compiled by the Justice Department and FBI from 2001 to 2005 were accurate. The numbers were both over- and understated, depending on the data cited and the part of Justice doing the counting, the report said.

The biggest problem lay in numbers submitted by the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys, which tallied hundreds of terrorism cases which, in reality, were minor crimes with no connection to terrorism.

Critics were quick to point out that the government has an interest in both under- and overreporting terrorism cases, the former because it helps people feel safer, and the latter because it means more money for the reporting agency.

Justice Dept. spokesman Dean Boyd immediately said that "the notion that the Justice Department inflated its statistics is false," and the I.G.'s report was careful to stress that the discrepancies appeared to be unintentional, having more to do with shoddy bookkeeping, disagreements over definitions, and other problems.

Yet it's worth noting that the I.G.'s office delineated the inaccuracies even after having accepted the government's tallies at face value. That means if the government said it was a terrorist case, it was recorded as such. There was no follow-up.

Still, the audit turned up any number of airport arrests on immigration and false document charges, and such non-terrorist activities as brokering fraudulent marriages, false information on a passport application, and dealing firearms without a license. These, and others, were lumped in with terror cases solely because they were investigated by federal Joint Terrorism Task Forces, even when prosecutors said they shouldn't be.

A skeptical Washington Post put a team of investigative reporters on the story back in 2005, after President Bush said publicly that "federal terrorism investigations have resulted in charges against more than 400 suspects, and more than half of those charged have been convicted."

The Washington Post's conclusion: "An analysis of the Justice Department's own list of terrorism prosecutions [...] shows that [only] 39 people [...] were convicted of crimes related to terrorism or national security."

The rest were tried for "minor crimes [that] produced modest punishments. The median sentence for all cases adjudicated, whether or not they were terrorism-related, was 11 months."

Thus the massive sweeps initiated since 2001 have yielded little in the way of results. Of the fear that there may be embedded terrorist cells within the country, Martha Crenshaw of Wesleyan University, who has been studying terrorism since the 1960s, says, "we really don't know if they exist here in any significant way. It's possible that they could have sleepers planted here for a long time and we could always be very surprised. But I'd say that's less likely compared with them trying to repeat a 9/11-style infiltration from the outside."

Perhaps that's what Canada is thinking, that we're exporting our terrorists to their country. How else to explain the difficulty of present-day border crossings.

Not long ago, Americans traveled to Canada on a drivers license and a smile, much as travelers today can move freely among the European Union members' countries. No longer.

Canadian authorities can now tap into American law enforcement databases, and they use them. Got any youthful indiscretions on your record? Some college drug use, a DUI, a shoplifting incident you've regretted ever since? Forget about getting into Canada.

"It's completely ridiculous," says Chris Cannon, an attorney representing a man who was told he was "inadmissible" to the country. Because of a marijuana possession conviction. In 1975. Such stories are now commonplace.

All of this has come about because of a 2002 partnership known as the Smart Border Action Plan, which combines Canadian intelligence with U.S. Homeland Security information. Basically, "They can call up anything that your state trooper in Iowa can," says Canadian customs attorney David Lesperance, who adds that this "is just the edge of the wedge." Soon to come are similar data-sharing agreements with any number of other countries.

Of course, you can get into Canada, even with a prior. But you have to apply for a "Minister's Approval of Rehabilitation." Now, doesn't that have a nice ring to it?

We're sure our neighbors to the north feel oh, so secure.

Finally, returning to the home front, we'd like to mention that the DHS is hard at work trying to track down foreigners who remain in the country even after being ordered to leave. A DHS I.G.'s report from March states that there are 52 separate teams on the case.

Honestly, we have no doubt that these are diligent, hard-working officials who are doing their best. But it's going to be a struggle. The bad news is that the agency still has a staggering backlog of about 620,000 fugitive aliens.

It's best if they're not all caught at once because, as the I.G.'s report readily admits, there would be insufficient jail space to house them.

Just thinking

I'm thinking that I am really glad to be in my house. It's very comfortable. I feel as comfortable in it as I did in my apartment in Midtown, but the fear and the anxiety isn't there. Neither is the nightly carousing in the parking garage, and the weekend-only thump-ing from the club on the corner.

I'm thinking that I want to create a bunch of money and remodel the house in the manner I've envisioned.

I'm thinking I need to hop back on the pony that is Fabulair.

I'm thinking that I need to get off my ass and outline my novel, and get a bunch of stuff sold on eBay.

I'm thinking that I want to paint my bedroom this weekend.

It's franchise tax day - I've done the only return that needs be mailed off.

Jerry Falwell is dead. It is next to impossible for my heart not to lift from that news.

I'm thinking about this "Jay Leno" post. I'm wondering how many of the enthusiasts who re-posted it really READ it. "protected us from terrorism?" You're kidding, me, right? I don't think I have enough time today to write about that one.

How about "cut taxes and ended the recession?" How about that NO ONE but pundits and ideologues credit Bush's tax cuts with anything but providing more money for the wealthy to put in their offshore bank accounts?

No Child Left Behind, the largest fully unfunded mandate in the history of legislation?

Hurricane Katrina - black people losing their lives and livelihoods - days before a Bush photo op - four. White kids being shot at Va Tech - days before a Bush appearance and emotional performance - less than one.

The largest budget deficits in history?

Calling the US Government obligations to the Social Security Trust fund "IOUs" with a dismissive wave, and then trying to privatize Social Security in a manner that has proven disasterous for every other country that's tried a similar scheme?

Setting up Medicare so that they had to buy drugs at catalog prices and making it illegal to negotiate pricing? Then, claiming that Medicare's broken and should be shut down?

Lying to the US, to the Military, and to the world community about Iraq and their threat to the US?

Utter destruction of the military?

Stripping the National Guard away from the states, making most states incapable of response to a national disaster or civil disturbance (like Hurricane Katrina?)

Refusing over $600,000,000 in foreign aid offered without conditions to the victims of Hurricane Katrina?

Let's just stay away, for the moment, with the rampant politicization of the government, violations of campaign laws, unleashing bank regulations to allow for the sub-prime lending boondoggle that may end up melting down the housing market, the hundreds of billions of dollars shoveled into the pockets of Halliburton on no-bid contracts?

The sort of sentiment expressed in the rant falsely attributed to Jay Leno seems to me to be saying, fundamentally "sit down, shut up and ride."

One of the things that USAmerica USED to be about was that people could speak up when they saw something that was unfair, that wasn't working, and they could engage the process to cause change. If that change didn't turn out to be good, we could change it again.

Now, the overwhelming sentiment (primarily coming from people who are of fairer skin) is that people shouldn't EVER complain or object, and if one does, one is somehow anti-American.

American, in the position of such sentiment, means white, Christian (which, if you actually read the bible, isn't very much in keeping with what Jesus actually preached, but is more a justification from different parts of the bible for bigotry and racism) and Republican.

Just yesterday, I was wearing my t-shirt that spoofs President Bush and Dick Cheney, and my neighbor finally figured it out. Her demeanor immediately changed, and she walked away from our conversation, her words trailing off as she lost interest in me as a person.

If I'm not a Republican, then I'm not worth talking to.

Either we stand for the principles of the Constitution, as enumerated in the Bill of Rights, or we are just in favor of the corporations making as much money as possible while we numb ourselves with intoxicants and media.

So, which is it? Do we have a free press, a right to assemble, a right to free speech, a right to not have religious beliefs forced down our throats, or is the only piece of the bill of rights with validity the one that says that the population shall have the right to bear arms?

The media, when I was a younger person, tended to present views slanted toward a more "liberal" opinion; actually, they tended to show things on the exploratory side of the middle, which passes for "liberal." There are really no liberals anymore, except for a few people that are now so far from the mainstream (which has moved hard right) that they appear to be whackjobs.

"Liberal" would look like Denmark - cradle to grave health care, full government management/paid disability, free education, and a 60% functional tax rate.

"Liberal" now here in the USAmerica looks like believing in Habeas Corpus and separation of church and state. "Liberal" is in belief in the Bill of Rights, Medicaid and Social Security.

After the Watergate scandals, a group of very wealthy conservatives began to aggressively buy up media properties. ABC, CBS, NBC, the Tribune organication, Knight-Ridder, CNN all became wholly owned subsidiaries of multi-national corporations.

Part of the changes wrought by this buy-up was that news organizations had to become profitable. Prior to that, news organizations ran at a loss or at cost, based on a philosophy that news' responsibility to the public was a higher duty than was profitability. This resulted in a massive RIF of investigative journalists. For instance, the billionaire buyer of the Tribune properties recently said something to the effect of that the USAmerica only needed three investigative newspapers in the country, and the WaPost and the NYTimes were two. In connection with a MASSIVE layoff of reporters and staff at the Tribune's properties.

The other major part of the change was that the new corporate owners began to insert their own management, and began to drive news content away from progressive, moderate or even middle of the road viewpoints.

News, like most everything else in USAmerica, began to be far less locally unique and far more processed for a national, 7th grade sensationalist audience.

Have you ever noticed that the kidnapped children and raped women who are featured on the news are ALWAYS blond?

Have you noticed that CNN turns into "COPS" when there's a police chase on?

The news media is to blame in the sense that people now have no reliable information source of what's really happening with their tax dollars, and who's doing what. They do know, though, that Julio and Maria had another knock down, drag-out drunken fight, and that Julio's been deported and Maria had the shit kicked out of her before the SWAT team showed up.

I stopped watching local news more than 15 years ago when they led with a murder that they had to go to a Mississippi trailer park to get. Who cares?

I stopped reading the local paper when it was clear that they were shills for one side of the political spectrum - and not a liberal side, young man, so don't start making assumptions.

Most people's opinions of the world are formed thoroughly by their parents' views, and they do very little analytical review except to try to gather evidence that what they think is correct.

Even during the Watergate era, Republicans were people who believe in fiscal conservatism, and they respected "liberal" points of view, complained quietly that the news media didn't focus enough on the other sides of the issue and were open to voting for the best candidate.

Now, people who identify themselves as Republican believe that people who have any opposing view should leave the country.

Even during the McCarthy era when people were terrified to speak out, and the media ran fear mongering stories of Communists in the school boards, people were open to reasonable debate. At least, I think so.

It's about time to hop into the shower and head down to church, but I got the recharged batteries in the camera, and have some pictures to show my progress over the last day and a half at home.

This is what the downstairs closet looked like before I moved in:



Then, I junked it all up, which was annoying me. The stuff I wanted to get at was at the bottom, and the stuff I didn't need to get at was unorganized, and it all looked very heterosexual garage, if you follow my meaning. So, here's what it looks like now:



Speaking of heterosexual garages, this is what a homo-garage looks like:



I asserted that I had waxed the car, here she is - the light's not the best, so I'll take some more pictures later:



Yesterday, when I was hanging pictures, I put up my great-grandfather's framed "Lord's Prayer" in the dining room on the ONLY open spot on the wall. It's from the 1890s, and I noticed this morning how great it looks there -



The lithograph is very detailed, and it's been beaten up over the last 110 years, but it's very cool:



I was looking into the dining room from the kitchen, which was what drew me into said dining room whence I noticed how good said lithgraph looked from the corner of my eye -- the morning sun streaming in the windows in front was awesome:





It looks even cooler around 6:30 to 7:00 in the morning.

So, this afternoon, gardening. Yuck. I am going to take the overgrown patch o'dead pansies and make it look - barren. At least it will be better than overgrown with weeds. And, pictures from upstairs where I've hung all the family frames, and if I'm a really good boy, a bunch of eBay listings.

So, let's see how I did today:

a.) got the downstairs closet totally emptied out, consolidated four boxes of personal junk into two, brought in a client's four boxes of records, brought down two more boxes of records from upstairs, took two plastic bins and two big cases of photos and scrapbook fodder (now sorted out) and incorporated them into my burgeoning bedroom closet
b.) swept the floors
c.) cleaned the kitchen
d.) hung the bird feeder outside on a tree
e.) hung up the pictures that occupied both sides of a corner of my bedroom on the floor
f.) vacuumed the upstairs
g.) did the laundry, folded it and put it away
h.) moved the Tom Clancy novels downstairs and put them in a shelf (it seems they're collective worth about the price of a pack of Diet Coke, not worth the time it takes to load them up on Amazon.)
i.) dusted all of the pictures

Compared to my intended list at the beginning of the day, not a bad result, considering that I hadn't thought in advance that I'd have to go through three big boxes of paper treasures that needed to be handled one at a time.

I did find my ticket jacket and ticket for my first airplane flight - a PanAm charter to Hamburg. That's so cool!

So, I feel pretty good about all this, except that I'm sore and my head is throbbing from the dust I raised.

Nothing listed for sale on eBay, though.

Yet.

It's 20:15, and I need to shower, since I've been working all day, and I don't want to go to bed all slimy. I still want to vacuum out the car, and move the shop vac to the other side of the garage, where it will be away from the arrival of Brambo.

Yet to go - boxes filled with packaging (boxes that things came in, that must be saved) go into the attic. The vast collection of stuff I drew, earned, achieved, and whatnot has to go into scrap books. The 15+ images of the 20th Century Limited must be framed and hung in the stairwell. All the stuff in my closet that's to be sold on eBay has to be researched, listed and then boxed and shipped. My bedroom has to be painted, and two pieces of furniture moved.

Maybe next weekend.

At least it doesn't smell like ass in here anymore, as it did yesterday when I arrived at home.

Lately, I've been noticing that most political blogs (that I'd read, anyway) have become just like political propaganda - not unique, new, unusual at all, just shrill and repetitive.

Yes, the Bushies are corrupt and think they can get away with it. Tell me something I didn't already understand.

The Blogs have become everything that I abandoned corporate news for years ago - bone jarring thumping on a particular, half-baked point that could be easily argued the other way. And, I'm not the only one to have noticed.

It seems that concomitant with my own fading interest in re-reading the same drumbeat, someone with a stronger voice has protested the uselessness of the blogs.

One of those blog summaries today led me to a most interesting article discussing engineered responses to climate change. I've read it, and all I can think of is "here again we have people thinking that they can control a complex and incomprehensible, interactive system. And, that they're smarter than God." There are always unknown and unintended consequences in these actions, which are frequently worse than are the symptoms for which management is desired.

Today, I believe I'm going to engage in the following:

a.) avoid as many people as I can
b.) mop the garage and courtyard flooring
c.) scrub the downstairs tile floors
d.) laundry
e.) weed the front flowerbed
f.) re-arrange the downstairs and my bedroom closets

These things will give me a sense of accomplishment that has been sorely lacking in my career these last seven months, but will not produce any income.

I am reminded that I have to go into town to pick up the things at my PO box. Which they weren't prepared to deliver yesterday, even though some items had been received on Thursday.

That does give me cause to get the car out of the garage, which will make hosing out the garage and courtyard that much easier.

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Got up and out this morning; amazing how intentional I can be when I have a commitment to be here before 9:00. And, it's amazing how much less traffic there is leaving at 8:00 - each of the last two days it's taken only about 20 minutes to get to the office.

I'm reflecting today, after a comment made to me last night about my ongoing drama with having to always have a young man of certain character in my life. I've been thinking about all of those characters and what they all had as a quality, what I sought from them, and how it all ended up the way it did with each of them.

Since the only power in life is one's own interpretation and recognition of one's own input into a situation, I have to reflect on what my involvement, unfulfilled expectations and disappointments were, and how I can manage those differently.

Another new loan today; looks like another workable deal. Two more appointments today, and then I have to decide if I'm going to attend the rainbow thing or just go home.

I've decided that my illness now is just a serious sinus infection.

Had a little Joe T visit last night, which was a lot of fun (after watching two episodes of "Hustle" season two on DVD and whining to Guy in IM for a few hours.) Then, I spent an hour fishing around on the internet looking for a mount for the Delphi GPS that I appropriated from Bram for the car. In my search, I found that a guy with the same car had installed an in-dash Delphi GPS and that it's WAY COOL. Now, I want one. I asked Matticiamatic if she could install it for me and she said "of course, Mary."



My 3:00 just reset for tomorrow morning, which pretty much means that I now have zero reason NOT to work on the content for my website.

Sunday afternoon in the park with .. no one

I came straight home after church, feeling dizzy and weird again. Now, I have to run over to the Food town and refill my water jugs, then come home and do some house cleaning. I stopped at the Clear Lake HEB on the way home from church; they have the BEST bulk foods aisle outside of Whole Paycheck on Kirby. Got a bunch of brown rice and raisins, forgot to get oatmeal.

Ben, Roberto, Chuck and George are coming over tonight to watch "The Sopranos." Very good stuff.

I keep trying to focus my thoughts on providing safe and comfortable housing for people. That's what I do. That's who I am. Keeeeep focusing. Focus, focus, focus. Refrain from focusing on other stuff, except that I also help people expand and improve their small businesses. People who also have houses. Houses, businesses - I help people feel safe and comfortable and successful. Yep, that's what I do. Who I am. Focus, focus, focus.

I wish I felt like cleaning up the car, and the garage. My head is just all wobbly and full of goo.

The little weather widget says we're going to be windy today, and it seems to be correct. I need to go out back and do some plant watering, too it seems.

Spent some time today in church beating on the subject of money. "Money's not the problem, money's not the solution, money's not what you really want." Who was I trying to convince? I did a damned fine job of it in any event. Amazing how I can listen to what someone asks or comments, apply science of mind philosophy to it, give a cohesive, coherent answer AND process on it in my own mind for my own mental shenanigans.

I've been thinking about my diabetes, and looking at people around me who are wrestling with it. Makes me want to do better. I only have about six weeks before my next check in with the doctor, and I feel like I've gone in the wrong direction. Last night, I was looking at the website of a personal trainer who's got his own gym in the Rice Military area, and is pretty cheap - $100/3 hourlong sessions. It would conflict with my "ride the bus and save money" idea. Hm. Must give this some consideration. His website emphasized both food intake AND exercise. Can I successfully exercise with this giant hernia thing? Who knows? I suspect that if I reduced my weight somewhat, the hernia would abate further and it would be a gradual adjustment.

In the book I just finished "Starship Troopers," there is a significant passage in which a classroom teacher is trying to get the class to understand that anything that will be valued has to be EARNED, and cannot be given. I've been reflecting on that quite a bit since I read it. It's always been something that stuck out, since the first time I read the book ten or more years ago, but now it really makes a lot of sense in a broader, philosophical/spiritual way. Specifically, people (including me) frequently want to have some huge change (benefit) that will relieve them of their stress and fear. While that's possible, it's probably not beneficial in the long run. I think that change of major belief structures and experiences is more gradual, when it's effective.

Not that it makes anything easier, but it at least gets one (me, for instance) off my own case that relief isn't fully at hand.

I think it's time to go fill up those water jugs, work on the patio, the stairs, and such. Plus, Jackie needs to go pee again.

The quiestest afternoon I've spent in weeks



Larry's back without the dogs he thought he was driving down to pick up. While he was out, I spent some time fiddling around on eBay, doing some clean-up, and surfing around looking at nothing in particular on the internet. Found one of the brand new 05 Bonnevilles lurking about. Wrote a review of same on eBay.

Picked up the dry cleaning. Didn't yet clean up the car, which I intended to do.

I'm enjoying this very peaceful day.

Why is it that men are just so focused on one time hits? And that they're just so wanting to talk about this one time hit, and not about anything else?

I was thinking today that it is easier to deal with human behavior the older I get. It's not such a surprise, and it's not as hurtful. The guy I met early last week who was SO interesting, and SO talkative - BRYian was giving me grief about it the next day. Here I am nearly a week later, and not a peep out of him. He did say (as he rode his horse off into the sunset) that he didn't have much personal time on the computer. But, I think it's easier to manage the expectations of how that could all turn out.



I'm really getting excited about how this house is going to turn out. REALLY excited. I want to get started.

Been twitterpated about Sean Lamont, who plays Rugby in Scotland, and adorns my wall on the Dieux de Stad calendar.

He "regrets" having done the photo shoots. Aw. He's a gay icon, and hates it?



"The problem with beauty is that it's like being born rich and getting poorer."
Joan Collins



Don't spend it all in one place.



Thoughts of a fagulized casa

So, Larry and I hung out last night, watched some BBC programming, talked about this and that. I had another allergy attack - what FUN! We talked about this house, and how strange it was for him that I was back here.

All things being equal, we talked about what I wanted to do to the place, the solarium, the new garage, etc. And, I mentioned that I wanted to fagulize the kitchen, but didn't see myself doing the traditional granite counters/stainless appliances, etc.

Larry had a phone call, and while he was handling that, I thought to go look at an appliance line that I had seen in Genre magazine - Elmira stove works. They looked pretty nifty, but I'd never investigated. Well, hold the phone, Mattilda! They're HOT.

They have a 1950s retro line that's particularly enticing - here are a few photos:



And the matching fridge -



Which, as you can see is quite modern inside -



So, I have about 40% of the kitchen re-designed in my head. New cabinets, adjustments to the appliance placements, smaller dishwasher with higher efficiency, and based on this cool 1950s buttercup color. I love it!

Anyway, this morning, I've been cleaning up while Larry and I nattered. He's tottered off for a while, and I'm going to run and pick up my dry cleaning, grab a few things at the Food Town and then come back here. He's asked if I'll be up for a night out tonight - so, we'll see what develops.

Rain, rain ...

My little desktop weather widget is telling me we're going to have thundershowers today, and it seems to be lining up with reality.

I kind of like the rain. Mostly because here in Houston, when it rains, it's serious about it, and then when it's not raining, it's not raining. Even if it's overcast, it's pretty much not going to rain on you.

I'd like the rain here at the house better if my new windows were installed, if my garage and courtyard were re-made into the new garage and solarium that I've envisioned, and if the house had rain gutters again. Right now, the rain is splashy in the back, and the car is getting wet, even though parked in the garage. The splashing out back is quite loud, and that's contrary to the peacefulness that I wish to have here at home.

The thunder makes Jackie upset, and she's been very clingy so far this evening.

Here she comes again.

The water here at home smells terrible; I've made a request of the City that they check things out, but I was also looking at whole house water filtration systems today. They're inexpensive, but .. I guess I'd have to find someone who could install it for me. I need to have the garage and solarium worked over this summer, also. I wonder if Ben's ready to draw me up some plans for it.

Another new loan today; one each day this week so far. Another one set for tomorrow. Wow.

I'm liking the direction that things are taking at work. And, I'm starting to feel like something did shift the other night in my Psych-K balance. Did it shift quickly enough, though? That's the question.

The other day, I had JPO help me put the cabin air filter into the car. It's amazing, either I'm dreaming or it makes a difference both in air quality and in air conditioning noise level. I think I'll post a little note over on the website and see if other people who had the same experience.

Not very. If you're not sure what you're reading, or what this means, it means that WE'VE BEEN EATING MEAT THAT'S CONTAMINATED WITH THE SAME INGREDIENTS THAT HAVE BEEN KILLING OUR DOGS AND CATS.

Only for the last eighteen months. Not bad.

Nothing like food from China, apparently.

The progression of the flu-like thing that's gradually moving on out. YAY!

Earlier today, I attempted to install the Fram cabin air filter that I purchased for my car; opening up the spot that it goes into I discovered that said space was vacant. "Humph" I said to myself "someone took the filter OUT and didn't replace it. I asked JPO to help, since I couldn't see shit in there, even with a flashlight, and the device looked not to fill the hole under any circumstances.

He came out and proclaimed that the part was the wrong one. Off to the internet, where the part number was cross-referenced and validated. So, it's not just having older eyesight, the part really didn't look like it would fit in there. So, he worked and fiddled, and I hopped back on the web to see if better instructions could be had. I inquired of NowNow, which is an awesome service, and they sent me one answer that was rather half-assed but effective enough. JPO was stymied by the filter having an "air flow this way" arrow that seemed to contradict any way the device could be inserted. Finally, he shoves 'er in, and we decided that no matter whether it was correct or not, it was the only way it was going in there, and it was better than nothing, which was what I had before.

Just a moment ago, I got another answer from NowNow, and it was a link to a Bonneville owner's website, complete with a step by step, an endorsement of the Fram filter (yay me) and pictures showing how the stupid thing looks when correctly inserted (yay JPO.) And, the comments in the thread indicated that most of the Bonnies were delivered sans tenant in the cabin air filter department.

Interesting.

Talked to John (F) on his way home on his bluetooth (tm) phone in his brand spanking new car (yay John!) The sound of his phone's connection was AWESOME. Sondra was by this evening, and she's got an extra Motorola bluetooth gadget for use in the car, but holy smokes, if I get yet one more thing that has to be plugged into the cigar lighter, I may as well start buying stuff from Havana.

Jean came by today and smudged. She's so fabulous at that, and she's so super fabulous for driving nearly a hundred miles to do that for me AND bring me plants to boot. Thank you, Jean (big smoochies.)

And, tomorrow night, I have a balancing appointment with a Psych-K prac here in town. Thank GOD. Hopefully, that's going to help. It's why I went up to Dallas, for Lord's sake.

And opera tickets tomorrow night, with Nicole. That should be fun. Dennis is all twitterpated about this show, so I'm looking forward to it.

Hopefully, by then, I won't be gagging and coughing.

Sticks and twigs

I don't get sick often. When I do, I tend to do a very good job of it. Almost time for a little more non-computer work action - like maybe cleaning up my room or something. I actually need to take some time today and list everything on eBay that there is to sell. That would be an effective use of my sick time.

Also, there's the car, which needs to be detailed, the garage, which needs to be put together, the gas grill, which needs to be checked out and cleaned or put out for trash .. an endless stream of things that could be accomplished.

How many of them will actually BE accomplished? That's the question.

I'm feeling a lot better, just a little fever-y and cough-y.

No replies from my several pings to the universe today about gathering sticks and twigs. Shit.

More are required, sticks and twigs

Yesterday, John and I were talking about car payments, obligations, that sort of thing, and he mentioned that the Danes were the happiest people on the planet. It seems that the Danes have a lower expectation of how life should be than do other people (we in the USAmerica ranked 34th) and they have far more support that they can count in in the way of education, opportunity, public health, retirement and public services.

And, their tax rate is about 60% of their gross income, all things considered.

Rather than bitching about how they are overtaxed, they have an expectation that the government will do a good job of providing transit, health care, retirement, elder care, disability, public health and cleanliness. In their world, the common defense doesn't have aircraft carriers; it has clean streets and bathrooms.

It is very clear that the cause for unhappiness is the disparity between expectation and reality.

In our country, we focus on having unreasonable expectations, and then beating ourselves up to satisfy them.

I think, frequently, that people get their panties in a twist about things that don't really affect their lives to distract them from their dissatisfaction with their own lives.

For instance, I had this email today:

Dear Editor:

So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land
is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear
down the Statue of Liberty because the people now in question aren't being
treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and other ports
of entry.

Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people
like Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind
of immigrant any longer. Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas
of Europe to come to the United States, people had to get off a ship and
stand in a long line in New York and be documented. Some would even get
down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a pledge to
uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They
made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and
some even changed their names to blend in with their new home.

They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children
a new life and did everything in their power to help their children
assimilate into one culture.

Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor
laws to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they
had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity. Most of their
children came of age when World War II broke out. My father fought along
side men whose parents had come straight over from Germany , Italy ,
France and Japan . None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any
thought about what country their parents had come from. They were
Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan . They were
defending the United States of America as one people. When we liberated
France , no one in those villages were looking for the French-American or
the German American or the Irish American. The people of France saw only
Americans. And we carried one flag that represented one country. Not one
of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another
country's flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have
been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here.
These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred
the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl.

And here we are in 2006 with a new kind of immigrant who wants the
same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a
different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a
guarantee of being faithful to their mother country. I'm sorry, that's not
what being an American is all about. I believe that the immigrants who
landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900's deserve better than that for
all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future generations to
create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a
better life. I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an
example by those waving foreign country flags.

And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty ,
it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration
bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling the United States just
yet.

(signed) Rosemary LaBonte

P. S. Pass this on to everyone you know!!!

KEEP THIS LETTER MOVING!!

So, this isn't exactly how I wish to spend my morning - reading this sort of bombast, so I replied to the sender:

Please do not send me such spam in the future. Thanks!

Apparently, that wasn't the patriotic thing to do, as I got this as a reply:

Acknowledged. I'm sorry you don't seem to care.

Now, wasn't it nice of me NOT to rip her a new one? I merely replied:

I do care, I just don't agree with your position. Please respect that there are other ways to interpret things in the world. Just because I've already reviewed and considered this issue, or any issue, and choose not to review non-factually based communications that are designed only to inflame and not inform does not make me an uncaring person.

She merely replied: Acknowledged.

I really don't understand people getting their panties in a knot about immigration.

I really don't.

Today, I have to accomplish a damned miracle. A big one. And, it will happen, somehow.

"You can hear a pin drop"

"You can hear a pin drop"

Mostly because you're no longer on the phone.

So, I spent my entire drive home talking on the phone to Sprint. Disconnected once. Routed back to the main customer service queue once by an advanced tech support person.

So far today, I've spent two hours with them on the phone (which I will NEVER get back,) been disconnected thrice, been promised that they'd fix my problem repeatedly (promises as empty as those of the current administration) aggressively worked to refrain from screaming or cursing, cried twice, and accomplished probably squat. I'm to go to the Sprint store tomorrow morning, to ask for service.

They are going to a.) offer to replace my phone if I pay the $50 shipping fee, whence I will receive yet another remanufactured Treo 650, which won't work, b.) treat me as being worth lower than dirt ('cause that's how Sprint is in their retail stores,) and c.) accomplish nothing.

You see, the most demeaning and de-humanzing retail experience that there is on the planet is to have to go to a Sprint store (at least one in Houston, although I have experience at Sprint stores in Fort Myers and Dallas, and they were no better, only less heavily trafficked.)

You go into a Sprint store, and some heavily coiffed and gelled person is standing at a podium near the door. They insist that you must sign in. The make a great show of signing you in, and the person who walked in right behind you.

Then, the coiffed person has to run and talk to someone - usually another co-worker. Maybe a necessary break is required. Perhaps a donut. At which point, the podium is untended. For five minutes, maybe ten.

During this time, twenty-two new people come in the door. Unimpeded by the sign-in process, they blaze past your patient waiting self and approach a representative directly, frequently interrupting said representative who's mid-client.

Your wait time, if you allow yourself to be wrangled by the podium hair gel, is increased by at least a half hour.

Then, you wait for the person who's pulled up your name in the podium queue on the in-store computer network (which they don't pay attention to when a blazer is knocking on their terminal.) You have 2.9 seconds to arise from your patient seating position and RUN like your ass was on fire over there before they cancel you out and call the next name.

If your device requires service, then you're given a repair tag and invited to come back "in about 90 minutes," which means next Thursday, week.

They won't explain service plans to you in any meaningful way, and the published materials reveal nothing of the restrictions or requirements.

They can't explain anything to you, only look at their Windows 2000 environment, bitch to the other representatives that all the computer terminals are again locked out, and they can tell you to please wait while they try to figure out what to do. Then, they tell you to call customer service.

When you call customer service, you wait. You wait until your eyes dry out. Each representative you speak to requires that you explain the entire problem to them again, and then, even if there is a history of concerns expressed, you are required to patiently wait while they go through the identical traps that the other six representatives before them (whom you would have had a complete conversation with had Sprint's shitty network not dropped the call, ending your association with the representative you've just invested some 20 minutes cultivating.)

Then, they'll "transfer" you to someone else, who requires that you go through the whole story again. Or, who just transfers you back to the begining of the customer service queue.

Which will then disconnect you.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

Greenetic Fury

So, scientists have discovered a new chemical substance in Serbia that has the same formulation as does Kryptonite. It's not radioactive, though, and it's not green.

I'm trying to think green(ly) though. Especially since I spent $50 on gas yesterday, $40 on gas Sunday morning, $45 on Friday last, and $43 on the Monday before that. Holy crap, Batman! (wrong super hero, I know, but ..)

So, how to get back and forth to the things I do without having to burn through $3.00 gas to do it? Aside from the occasional jaunt to the store or the dry cleaner, I generally only drive down to church and back and forth to the office. I read an auto blog today (why is everything a blog? It used to be an article) that suggested we'd have $4.00 gas (which for me here in Houston means $3.50 gas) by mid-summer.

Obviously, there are few choices available when thinking about getting back and forth to the church. It's 43 miles each way, and three bucks in tolls each way - no way around it.

However, to work - there are buses. And, it turns out, the 53 bus picks up on the corner by my house and runs straight over to Louisiana, a block from the office. For a dollar.

Which (round trip) is exactly one half of what I'm paying in tolls to get to and from the office, saving the gas. A net benefit of about $10/day. Call it $40/week, and $160/month by taking the bus instead of driving.

That would offset the cable bill, for instance.

And, it would reduce my carbon footprint by .. 72 gallons of gas a month.

I have been working away today; didn't get my website edits started, and I really need to do that. I also need to work on my flyer presentations for the several real estate projects that we're trying to support. And, work on my website. And find some business to work on that will actually pay money.

I suppose I'd be well served by going through what I learned this weekend and seeing if I can apply it somehow.

Phaeton Phantasy

I lifted this from a new post on the VWVortex forum... so, it's not mine. I just like it a lot.

I know this may be a little indulgent, but there are so many fantastic little nuggets of trivia associated with the Phaeton I was wondering whether we could put as many of them together as possible (so as to keep passengers entertained for... ooooh... at least 100 miles )

Just add any bits that haven't already been mentioned!

1) Has a chassis so stiff (35,000nm/degree) that you could, in theory, bolt a Golf GTi on to a 3m long metal pole, bolt the pole on the Phaeton and the body would flex by one degree.

2) Was designed to cruise at 186mph with an outside temperature of 50 degrees centrigrade whilst keeping the interior at 22 degrees centrigrade. (W12)

3) The German Chancellor, the Pope and Kim Jong Il are all driven aroung in Phaetons.

4) 100 patents were filed during its design.

5) The air conditioning tracks the position and intensity of the sun.

6) Provides the underpinnings of the Bentley Continental GT and Flying Spur (just with extra cow and tree)

7) The air conditioning was specifically designed not to upset Dr Piech's asthma.

8) Was the first car in the world with 4-zone air conditioning.

9) It's the only car in its market segment that is hand-built.

In fewer than 24 hours, I'll be in Dallas, awaiting the start of the Psych-K conference. I'm very clear what I'm taking up there to be revealed and unraveled; I just hope that the discussion and environment is adequate to the task. I'm going to focus tonight on what it is that I intend to accomplish while there, and how much of it hinges on how I see myself, how I treat myself, and how I invite others to treat me.

There are several major groups of how this all relates:

Being ditched by my family at the age of five when we moved (which was my interpretation at the time based on what happened; I wasn't actually abandoned)
Being thrown out of the family from 1988 to 2004
Being thrown out of Landmark Education in 1997
Being thrown out of the Country Playhouse in 2002
Being thrown out of UCRS two weeks ago

And

Falling for str8, especially married men over and over
Only having an interest in unavailable men
Having a succession of broken boys that I have hosted in my home since 1982

And

Since law school, only working in industries in which I can end up earning nothing when a file or matter falls apart through no direct fault of my own
Only working on projects that, although well thought out and conceived, don't make any money or are ill-timed

And

Never taking care of myself, physically or .. well, physically, since I left law school

All of this circles back around to my fundamental complaint I raised in my first practitioner session back in 1997 - "nothing works out for me."

"Nothing works out for me," as in "it falls apart through circumstances out of my control."

I know that I have to focus on other things, other enthusiasms, other elements of life to accomplish what I think is the only acceptable level of performance for myself. The change may end up being only subtle, or it may end up being huge. I can't say.

The path that I have walked since 1982 doesn't work anymore. It doesn't even work for a few days or weeks now. The time is neigh to have it all be different, and that starts with my definition of self.

I was only called on to express that definition of self a few weeks ago in a conversation I had with JPO. It was horrible; I couldn't lie to him and tell him some answer that was false. I had to say what I really thought, and it was .. awful. I tried, even, to run away and not answer.

That's what has to be addressed and changed. I hope that I can manage it., or this will end up being a wasted life.

Phaeton Phrenzy

So, last night I spent a few quality hours phiddling with the German Phaeton website, and looking at pictures of the 08 mildly re-styled Phaeton from the Geneva auto show. Holy crap! Now, I want to move to Berlin and live there so I can drive one of these Phaetons all the time.

The 2008 Phaeton. It's HOT. And it's not available here.



First, there's this amazing piano black wood trim that one can order in Germany (and other, more advanced countries) that's the same thing one can get in a Bentley Continental (which, if you recall, is the same car, built in the same factory as the Phaeton.)




They've also added a dash more dashing chrome trim...



The taillights are just a bit more dramatic - designed to look deeper and richer, although the shape hasn't changed. Yes, I'm a Phaeton Phreak, I can tell the difference..



The headlights are more Star Trekky with double projector beam bi-xenon lamps and the turn signal incorporated into the inboard projector housing, which is different from the long strip that used to run along the bottom of the headlight structure..



More of the chrome increase, a view of the amazing, $4,000 "piano black" paint job and new wheels that are VERY COOL...



This year, a DVD navigation system (which, from the screen prints still isn't quite as zippy as more updated systems, but at least everything's on a single disc with faster data access.

Anyway, I "configured" a German 08 Phaeton last night - 146,000 Euros. Now, let's do some math. A Euro is $1.35. $197,600. The same price as a Bentley Continental GT (for the same car, frankly.)

They sold for about 60% of that here, and still didn't have any takers. No wonder they pulled out of the market.

Speaking of REALLY expensive, the Andersen window people were here last night giving me an estimate - $8600 for six windows. Yurg. "We finance."

What's with this freezing cold crap?

Fortunately, the big piece of loose tin on the roof stopped banging, or I was so tired that it just didn't matter. I slept anyway.

I love my room now that the giant, upended black sofa is gone from it. It looks smaller now (the room,) which is curious given that an 82" black monster is no longer occupying one whole corner. I've been thinking that I wanted to have a red club chair in that corner, but now I think instead I'd put in a tv stand that was very .. unusual or something. And put a TV on it.

Last night, Ann was suggesting a jewel toned teal color for the bedroom, which is interesting. I love the idea of the purple I had in my apartment bedroom, but .. teal in a similar shade may be a good compromise and provide a good color for the art on the walls.

Much discussion over what to do with the patio - which most people called a courtyard, probably because it's fully enclosed and not open to any walk up. The two schools of thought are to leave it a courtyard open to the sky or to build a weather proof roof over the courtyard and make it into a solarium - skylights, ceiling fans, and still with plants, outdoorsy furniture, etc. A place where people could sit and socialize without the home theater, whether it be raining or whatnot.

The question was repeatedly asked "would you go outside?" Uh, no. It's hotter than anything in the summer? Solarium it is. I think it's cheaper to build, anyway. And, it would reduce the solar heat transfer into the family room. Uh, Chad? Bring your tools.

Now I have to get it designed and paid for.

Last night while surfing around (and thinking about Secret Agent Man,) I discovered his position on a HPD org chart. I was absolutely right that he's in law enforcement. And, an executive therein. Amazing.

I've been having people tell me of late that I look like I'm losing weight again. That makes me happy. I haven't been focusing on it like I was over at the big house, but .. yurg. Without someone's social support, it's just not something I seem to be able to do on my own. There's always something that needs dusting, reading, calculating, or preparation which takes me away from any faint commitment that I have for physical exercise.

The sun has finally caught up with the daylight savings time. Thank God. It's so hard to get up and be motivated when it's still dark as pitch outside. Plus, the snails are still everywhere when it's still twilight.

And I hate stepping on snails. I feel guilty about snuffing their lives out, and feel inattentive.

As I was driving home from the office yesterday, I heard a creaking sound from the front end of my car. 28,000 miles and creaking? Are you kidding me? I hit eBay last night shopping for a lightly used STS-V. Since it's one of the only cars that I'd like and Brian approves of, it seems a good choice. I like the sharkskin color with red and black interior. Looks unusual enough to suit me.

Before everyone came over yesterday (and before I realized that I had sold the big sofa) I broke down most of the boxes in the garage expecting that the sofa would have to go in there. The garbage cans are FULL, but having more order in the garage is a nice thing. I am thinking about just slinging the two remaining boxes out with the trash in the morning and seeing if they pick them up. Then, I'd only have the boxes in which the rest of the garage stuff is packed, the grill, which remains uncertain as to its usefulness, and .. not much else in there.

I just have to get on top of listing all of this stuff on eBay and selling it off. Not only is it annoying having the closet full to the brim, but I need the cash.

People were making fun yesterday that I was going to need room for more tschtokes - and I said "uh, no. I'm done with accumulating worthless visual objects." They didn't believe me. We'll just see. I'm gearing up for another big unloading of crap (meaning, useless visual objects that are antagonizing me due to their need for constant dusting and otherwise lack of function.)

Speaking of useless crap, I'm over it with ick. More unreliable than an early 70's Chrysler, full of drama, I'm just not again initiating communication there.

I need to eat my oatmeal and hit the shower. Have to leave for church in an hour. Board meeting after church, and then I have to hit the grocery store, the gas station (which is again feeling more and more like a cocaine habit) and come home to hang up a bunch of pictures and get ready for company.

Happy Death and Ressurection of Jesus (observed) weekend!

Drinking coffee, and thinking about how to reorganize the kitchen cabinets. I know that I want to make them more functional, and utilize the space over the washer/dryer for stuff that does get used but with less frequency, but .. where to put it all? I think that I'd be well served to check first with how to pull everything out of the cabinets over the washer/dryer and go from there.

Pulled the stereo equipment out yesterday afternoon and put it all back in. I still have the annoying hum from the cable box. The HD cable is AMAZING. Of course, there are like 12 HD channels that don't cost extra money. HBO, for instance, has two of its eight channels also in HD.

Okay, it's nearly 0800, and I need to make a move.

Late-night snark builds healthy bones:

"Hillary Clinton is running for president. She set a fundraising record---she's already raised 26 million dollars. That's a lot of money. To put that in perspective, that is more money than President Bush lost in all the years he was a businessman."
---Jimmy Kimmel

"Republican candidates are announcing their first quarter fundraising totals so far. Mitt Romney announced he's raised $23 million, Rudy Giuliani said he's raised $15 million, and Congressman Tom Tancredo announced he's raised two children."
---Conan O'Brien

"Bush visited Walter Reed today. When you've got a problem like Walter Reed that needs solving, what better sight than to see George Bush walk through the door? He's created so many disasters, I'm not sure he knows which is which anymore. He walked into Walter Reed and he said he wanted to have it ready for next year's Mardi Gras."
---Bill Maher

"Actor and former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson---the guy from Law and Order---is thinking of running. He's only been married twice. By Republican standards, that would make him the family values candidate."
---Jay Leno

Grab your bongs and don your thongs---a west coast-friendly edition of Cheers and Jeers starts in There's Moreville... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]

I'm running late already because I slept in a little bit and then didn't get immediately on task but rather paused to read a little bit. Ah, well. I have a short day today and much to accomplish.

And, last night, I spent some time researching how to breed and raise honeybees. It's scary how reliant we are on a SINGLE species of insect for our entire organized society and how this has been coming on since the LATE 1980s WITHOUT ANY ATTENTION . (grumbles.) Okay, I'll move back to Brittney Spear's ass crack.

And it's too challenging to raise bees for a hobby. And, I'm not sure what benefit there would be (punny) from it here in the middle of the city.

Oh, and there's a resistant strain of a fungus that attacks wheat crops too. Yeah. Fire, flood and famine. I thought that the Four Horse(wo)Men of the Apocalypse only came together when my family had a reunion.

Maybe I'll stick with figuring out how to reorganize the kitchen cabinets and re-wiring the stereo rack, which are my afternoon projects.

Just in case you really still think that things haven't changed

So, you think that Fox News is onto something, that the fundamental values of this American nation are intact, and that the government and the corporate structure of this country really are inclusive, rather than operated solely for the benefit of the wealthy, white people.

Here's a little nugget for you that may open the door a crack in your dim little perspective:

In the comments of the diary yesterday, I posted about a man who brandished a gun during the protest and about how AU Public Safety would not confirm who he was. As you will see in the testimonies, the man was threatening to arrest students and intimidating them with his firearm. Well, yesterday the Director of Public Safety on campus confirmed that the man with the gun was indeed a Secret Service agent. Let me reiterate: a Secret Service agent came to my school and pulled a gun on a group of peaceful protesters and threatened them with violence, and the media is framing the students as the aggressors.

Yep. Karl Rove goes to speak at a university in the United States, and students are OUTSIDE protesting, and this is what they get - threatened with a weapon by an agent of the Federal Government, who is then supported (as is Rove and the rest of the gummint structure) by the "Liberal" media who suggests that the STUDENTS were aggressors.

I have a question for you - why the FUCK was the Secret Service at an event protecting Karl Rove, who's not an elected official? They don't protect CONGRESSMEN unless they're running for President. Have they become the SS of our new society?

The next person who hints at the concept of a "Liberal Media" is going to be packed up in a straight jacket and shipped off to Argentina to live in THAT society for a few years. Then, you can come back up here and tell me what you think about our cow-like population and the sycophants in the "media" who live only to support those wealthy white people that they so aspire to be part of.

In a nation where they burn the buses if the government tries to raise the bus fares, where they take over the factories from the wealthy owners when they try to outsource those jobs to Malaysia and operate the factories for the benefit of the workers, and where the newspapers are more likely to report scandal than the rise of Brittney Spear's jeans, you have some public interaction with the machine of society.

Stuff your nonsense headlines you gained from Fox News and the Heart organization without doing any research on your own. You and Bill O'Reilly all deserve a special place in Hell.

This one, though is my favorite - it shows a German auto journalist who's driving a W12 Phaeton .. at night. The controls and interior lighting - how FABULOUS...

Did I mention that he's driving this Phaeton at 170 miles per hour? 280 km/hr. ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY? Or are my math skills weak this morning? At night? Hell, my night vision isn't what it used to be - plus, there's the risk of someone driving their kids around in a Suburban hauling into your lane without looking at sixty.

Maybe a trip to Germany..

Here's another video that I've just found - a guy demonstrating all the cool stuff that his Phaeton does - check out the way the trunk opens up...



I wonder if I can buy the one in Minnie to hold me over until the 2010 re-do is brought back to the US?

Here's another amazing VW ad from Germany (of course for the Phaeton, which I'm getting hornier for by the moment.)

Donna sent me this European VW commercial the other day. Now, I'm all horny for a Phaeton again.

The one in Minnie is still for sale.

Speaking of things still for sale, the big house on Warwickshire is STILL for sale, and they're down to $220,000 - which is only $10,000 more than what I offered them last.

Poseidon POS Redeaux

I'm watching the Hallmark Made for TV "Poseidon Adventure" from 2005. Everyone who hasn't had a job in twenty years seems to be in it. They're following the structure of the book more closely, although the rollover is caused by a terrorists' bomb instead of a tidal wave. It's just not .. um .. that great.

Last night, i was watching "Mother, Jugs & Speed," the 1976 Bill Cosby/Raquel Welch movie. A hoot. Oh, my. I have the soundtrack on vinyl. John's away for the evening and Bram's working until .. next week, I guess.

Tomorrow's Good Friday. I need to work on my Easter Sunday service - not that it's going to be all that well attended.

Bram told me last night he thinks he's sticking around for a good long while. That makes me happy. I like him enormously, and I love having him here. I love both of my boys, and I like having them here with me.

I've been talking to this guy on gay.com that I've been wanting to meet for more than two years. He's a big muscle boy/personal trainer. He always talks so tough and aggressively, but now that we're actually talking, he's a pussycat. I think he's really shy. He doesn't have a boyfriend, hasn't had one in forever, and works a Bram-like schedule.

I talked to him about the cruise; he was like .. "um, me? On that cruise? Why me?"

Well, you'll look great in a tuxedo, and you'll do.

One of the guys at the office has reduced 35 pounds in four months. FOUR MONTHS! With that kind of diligence, I could probably meet or exceed that result.

Which would have me down to what I weighed before 1990.

John's working on a food program for us; this is going to involve a weekly cook night, where I make up about 24 chicken breasts at a time and package up a huge cooker of brown rice, and package everything up for use all week long. Then, eating every three hours (a little something per the schedule) keeps my glucose levels stable, which keeps the insulin production in check AND causes the body to consume its fat stores.

Plus, exercise, of course.

I'm loving having this cool new office..

Now, I need some business flow to go with it.

I have some tax work to finish today, and then I have to work on web marketing with Tom.

Houston is now larger than the Miami/Ft.Lauderdale/Palm Beach MSA. Houston's now the 6th largest MSA in the USAmerica. What about THEM apples? When I moved here 26 years ago, Houston was the 12th largest MSA. Who's bigger? New York, of course, followed by Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Philadelphia and then Houston. Houston doesn't need to haul in cities from across the Trinity River, or down in Orange County. We're just one sprawling carbuncle.

Rather explains why we're getting so much international air carrier attention, but hardly explains the crappy auto show.

It's just so damned peaceful here in my little corner. I want some masonry picture hangers today so that I can finish hanging pictures - I thought I was done, and then I opened the drawer back here and found .. yet more.

Today would normally be my Rick day. However, with recurrent cancellations, and an hour's drive each way, I'm over it. So, no more atlas adjustments. More's the pity, 'cause it was really wonderful.

So, it's not just me

Honey bees, Sean Michael DuBose and holy crap, but things are just getting weirder.

So, I sent Sean a text message over the weekend and he didn't reply, which was very strange. Then, I sent him a MySpace message, and he still didn't reply, which wasn't very strange. But, it sent me back over to his MySpace profile, where I found a friend of his who had as his profile headline "RIP Sean DuBose."

I shot that boy a message. He replies "he was killled." Apparently, education in Oklahoma is to a higher standard. However, I got that message back tonight, and thought "well, hell, if Sean was killed here in Houston, surely the Chronicle would have something about it - his mother's all about that sort of obituary thing."

And, there it was. He was killed sitting in his car at 04:30 a.m. last Wednesday; his car caught fire, he was in it, it burned up with him in it.

Amazing. Judy's now had her husband die of a heart attack, her first son die in a little hazing incident, and now this.

And, what if it just doesn't matter? My thoughts about honey bees are not silly, wildly out of hand or anything. Check this out (which I've hauled off of an email subscription I get from John Maudlin...)

Honey Bees and Food Supply
By Shannara Johnson

"If the bee disappears off the surface of the globe, then man would have four years left to live," said Albert Einstein. "No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man."

The question many beekeepers and scientists are asking themselves these days is, are we there already?

Recently, there's been a great media buzz about the mysterious disappearance of hundreds of millions of honey bees in the United States. Beekeepers have helplessly stood by while up to 95% of their bees vanished into thin air. One Midwestern beekeeper lost 11,000 of his 13,000 hives, others in 24 states face losses of 60% to 80% on average. Internationally, the same phenomenon--to a lesser degree--has surfaced in Canada, Poland, Spain, Germany, and other European countries.

What's the cause of the "colony collapse syndrome," as it is now called? No one knows for sure, though there are plenty of theories.

Award-winning TV producer, investigative reporter and editor of Earthfiles.com Linda Moulton-Howe talked to various scientists about the bee bane. "Penn State entomologist Diana Cox-Foster, Ph.D., analyzed some bees found in deserted hives," reports Moulton-Howe. "Dr. Cox-Foster has seen as many as five different viruses and unidentified fungi in the bees. She says that is two times more pathogens than she's ever seen before in honey bees."

Something is compromising the bees' immune systems, other scientists agree; among the suspected culprits are modern pesticides and GM crops. And while no one agent might be solely responsible for the bees' disease, Moulton-Howe wonders "what happens when farmers spray herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and rodenticides on land that has also genetically modified crops with pesticides built in?"

As an example, Monsanto's "Round-up Ready" crops, which are modified to withstand the spraying of herbicides, are widely used in the U.S. Recently, though, weeds have developed a Round-up resistance--resulting in frustrated farmers spraying more and more of the weed killer, in combination with others, on their fields.

Eric Mussen, an entomologist and Extension Apiculturist at UC-Davis, also found that some fungicides approved by the EPA for bee safety, while not killing adult bees, are fatal for bee larvae and young bees.

How did the EPA react to his warnings?

"Well, they said they wanted to see some evidence or some data," Mussen told Earthfiles.com. "So, I sent them the evidence. And I cannot see that anything has changed since then and that was a couple of years ago."

Another hypothesis is that nicotine-based pesticides, which have emerged in the last six years, might be messing with the memory of the honey bees, rendering them incapable of finding their way back to the hive.

"The interesting thing [...] is that bees are leaving the colony and not coming back," states Jerry Hayes, chief of the Apiary section at Florida's Department of Agriculture, "which is highly unusual for a social insect to leave a queen and its brood or young behind. They are seemingly going out and can't find their way back home.

"Imidachloprid [the most common nicotine-based pesticide], when it is used to control termites, does exactly the same thing. One of the methods it uses to kill termites is that the termites feed on this material and then go out to feed and can't remember how to get home."

It also causes their immune systems to collapse, says Hayes, adding that imidachloprid has recently evolved from a mere seed treatment to a foliage spray, often combined with fungicides to increase its efficacy.

Mounting stress for the bees might be another factor, suggested a February 23 article in the New York Times. There are fewer and fewer beekeepers in the U.S., who are trucking their hives on 18-wheelers around the country to serve increasing demand from their customers.

"Bees are being raised to survive a shorter off-season, to be ready to pollinate once the almond bloom begins in February. This has most likely lowered their immunity to viruses."

But it's not just viruses. Mites are also a big problem, "and the insecticides used to try to kill mites are harming the ability of queen bees to spawn as many worker bees. The queens are living half as long as they did just a few years ago."

But how dire is our situation due to the loss of honey bees?

Honey bees pollinate fruit and nut trees, melons and vegetables in the U.S., a $14.5 billion industry. A 2006 study by an international research team found that pollinators affect more than one-third of the world's crop production, increasing the output of 87 of the leading food crops worldwide.

"Every third bite we consume in our diet is dependent on a honey bee to pollinate that food," according to Zac Browning, vice president of the American Beekeeping Federation. And Paul Wenger, VP of the California Farm Bureau Federation, said that with fewer bees, "you'll see lower pollination, lower yields, lower crop production."

So, could we face a national food crisis soon?

It's possible, says Jerry Hayes, wondering if honey bees are the canary in the coal mine. "What are honey bees trying to tell us that we humans should be paying more attention to?"

He thinks having to import more food could be a dilemma in itself: "How much of our food production do we want to turn over to other countries that might be friendly now and not friendly in the future? [...] Then the question is: who fills the gap? And do we become reliant on them? I think I read a figure from the USDA that they project by 2015 that 40% of our vegetables would be coming from China."

Given the, to say it mildly, less-than-perfect environmental track record of the Chinese, we wonder what agents our veggies may be laced with in the future. (Case in point: according to ABC News, it is now suspected that the recent pet food poisoning, which caused renal failure in hundreds of cats, may have been caused by melamine, a toxic fertilizer component found in wheat gluten from China that went into U.S. pet food.)

And as to Hayes' question what honey bees are trying to tell us, it seems pretty clear to us: in the long run, you can't mess around with Mother Nature without facing the consequences.

Flubber

This is what it feels like operating on just over two hours' sleep.

Was I worrying about the honeybees? No, but it's worrisome. Very worrisome.

Tens of millions of commercial honeybees, gone. All gone. Not dead, not somewhere else. Gone. Like the scientologists were right, but only for bees.

That garage remodeling project just got kicked upstairs. Good thing I got that Costco membership card last week.

I've mostly moved into the new office, but have to move files and the computer and hanging stuff. And clean up the floor and shelves. Dusty. What is it about straight men and their ability to tolerate dirt accumulation?

Revealing the sources of my material

Yesterday, I worked on cleaning up - hanging up the patio baskets, working on the dining room, and then John popped in and helped me hang curio cases, pictures.. what would I have accomplished without him? I can't say. It's all put up and away.

I was so sore last night, I could hardly move. This morning is better, but still. Oof.

Time to get cleaned up and over to the office.

It takes all day??

Okay, so I did start off this morning fiddling around. I was deleting text messages, and my Treo just sort of blew up. It kept rebooting endlessly. I had to go to Wal-Mart anyway, and so I just figured I'd zip out to the Sprint store on Highway 6 and see about getting the phone fixed. Dry cleaning had to be picked up, and I just happened to think about going over to the old house to see what was what.

I pulled up in front, and .. it looks terrible. The front yard has waist high weeds, the back gate is standing open, the pool is dark green, and the back yard is completely overgrown with weeds. I picked up my gas cans, a rake, Barney's leash, and a gallon of windshield washer fluid that I had left behind in my rush to get the heck out.

The trunk now full of clean laundry and dirty garage stuff, I headed out to Sprink. While they worked on the phone, I went to Wal-Mart to trade in the masonry hangars (which were worthless) for a towel hanger and a masonry drill bit. Then, up to OfficeMax to buy some stuff for church and the office, then back to Sprink.

They swapped out my phone, and I headed back by way of Spec's for my FOURTH bottle of vodka this week - I bought one for Secret Agent Man's visit on Monday, then two more yesterday - all of that went into the infusion jar last night, so I figured we needed one for consumption while the vodka infused for three weeks.

Home again at 14:30 - and I started working on my bedroom. I hung the picture box frame on the wall (which was easy) and then tried to re-hang the curtain rods, which was NOT easy. I got them attached, unpacked the box of photographs, distributed those all around, plugged in lamps, timers, cleaned everything, and now it's 20:10. Sheesh!

So, tomorrow's focus is the downstairs powder room and the dining room.

If only I had some helpers, to-wit:



I have the masonry plugs and screws, the gorilla glue, and everything I need to hang the pictures, etc. I just am convinced that I'm going to have a huge batch of stuff that won't have a home - and is, therefore, headed to the garage sale.

Yep. Watching more of "24" season two. They haven't found the bomb yet.

Washing the infusion jar so that I can slice up the fruit into it and pour in the vodka. It has to infuse for three weeks - so I'm going to have to put a "do not touch" sticker on it or something.

Got the estimate for the replacement windows - $6700. More than a thou per window. They're out of their bloody minds.

More shopping.

I have 48 hours of unplanned, unscheduled, unstructured time. Amazing.

Taxes, schmaxes

I woke up tired today. I can't explain WHY I woke up tired today, but I did. I presented myself for my 8:15 dentist appointment, had my new crown installed (ouch) and learned that I have ANOTHER cracked tooth, just above that one. It's cracked in such a way that it's leaking under the inlay, so in eight weeks (and not a second more) I'm going back for an "onlay," in which they cut out the inlay in that one tooth, mold a new one that covers the broken area, and install it.

And another $700.

In October, I'm having the inlay put in on the lower right quadrant of my mouth, which will finish replacement of my almalgam fillings from childhood. Another $2100.

I've today gotten my desk cleared off to a considerable degree. My tax files are getting processed out, and will be mostly gone by the beginning of next week. I have the house to myself again this weekend, and it's going to be all about cleaning up and organizing. And, taking crappy picture hangars back to Wal-Mart.

I am SERIOUSLY thinking about skipping church on Sunday.

Okay, so I'm skipping church on Sunday.

How did I get tomato stains on my shirt sleeve when I didn't have anything with tomatos in it all day?

Fun, Fun, Fun links - all GAY! GAYGAYGAYGAYGAY

Here are three articles my friend Brian showed me today - anti-gay, sort of anti-gay, and anti-anti-gay. Read 'em and weep.

First, we have Garrison Keillor in a lovely anti-gay rant in Salon magazine.

Then, we have Garrison's non-apology apology on NPR.

Finally, we have Larry Kramer's anti-anti-gay rant in the LA Times - I must tell you that I agree with every single word he's written here.

Perhaps I should listen to my voice mail

It's been building up since Saturday.

I'm going in late this morning, as I'm cleaning up the living room. I've just finished separating out the "Airliners" magazines, now they need a home. I have to put up the sheet music, and sling the other box into the hall closet, and this room is, essentially, finished.

The little computer stand I have in here is just right AND the office chair that I was using in the kitchen at the Warwickshire house is the right size FOR the computer/laptop stand, so that's terrific. A few adjustments in here, and things should just be workable. I'll need to tie these cables together so that they're not all catawampus.

I need to get the car cleaned up and yet, it's supposed to rain tomorrow. Bleh.

Actually talked to Leslie last night by email for the first time in years. And, she's buying a new house. YAY!

I've gotten everything done in the living room now, except for hanging up the high school musical posters which I'm going to do in a moment. That requires moving some furniture and getting on a step stool.

later

YAY! It's all done. The living room is, anyway. Now, it's time to hit the shower and go into the office to get some work done there. Then, back here to complete resurrection of the dining room.

So, I unlocked this again

Why? Well, I figured it had been locked down long enough. I'm thinking that it's now time to open it back up - I have lost contact with a couple of people who read it, and this is just easier.

Plus, I think that it's possible nothing in here can be used against me. Now.

Late night collisions with dreams and other musings

Morning

Of course, NOW I'm motivated to take apart the dining room and re-assemble it. BLAH.

If I had the morning to myself, I'd have the dining room fully put together by noon. I know now just where to put everything and in what order to approach the mess.

But, I need to be on the road in thirty minutes or fewer.

So, I repeat - BLAH.

Last night, I was awakened by a terrific auto collision right outside the house. There seemed to be no one moaning in the street, but I lay there thinking about the dream I had two nights ago and thought "well, I had better get up and see about whether I have that text message I dreamt about."

After lunch

Goodness. I started feeling weird, got told how the cow ate the cabbage on the diet/exercise thing, had a fabulous conversation with Nicole about working out for onesself, came home and got to boil a realtor in oil. And a title company! A two-fer!

Then, Secret Agent Man came over, and .. it was like a REAL DATE or something between REAL PEOPLE.

Danger, Will Robinson.

He just left (20:10 hours) and I'm going to eat a sandwich and watch a DVD.

Who wants the exercise equipment?
I'm working to get stuff out of my hair - the exercise equipment, the stuff in my bedroom closet, the 2006 paper receipts, these two loans, etc.

I got a commitment on the exercise equipment, I've got about 2/3 of the 2006 and all of the 2007 paper receipts scanned, and the two loans have been moved forward to the goal line.

Yurg.

Tonight, I'm headed home to work on the living room, then the dining room. I have a DVD of "24" season two to watch; I may be losing interest in its drama.

Jackie was so funny this morning; she didn't want to go anywhere - just stand there in her yellow rain slicker and fret. John about busted laughing when he opened the door and Jackie and I were in our matching yellow rain slickers...

I need to consider packing up and heading out here...

Status report
So, I didn't get as much done as I would have liked. I got the patio cleaned up, and I got some of the dining room put together. I got my room kinda organized a little. Hung a couple more pictures. I need to hang pictures on the brick walls, which is going to take a masonry drill bit and some serious screws. And measurement - I wno't be able to eyeball these.

I think that I'll be making the downstairs powder room into my "Continental Airlines" memorabilia room. There's no other place to really put all of those things. Bleh. I still have all of these prints that need to be framed up and hung up and ...

Had lunch today with Foghorn Leghorn. He's one nosy piece of work. He asks how I'm doing at work. I said "going fine." Then, he asks about specific loans I'm working on, what I have closing, practically what I have in gross commissions coming in. Uh .. none of your beeswax?

He's also someone who can be counted on to divulge and gossip about everything mentioned, whether casual or detailed.

I have to remember to run the clocks forward tonight. Bleh.

Garage first?
I have to get to work here - cleaning the garage, organizing the dining room, getting things into the old clothes hamper to get off to the church garage sale - I would like to get the downstairs all put together, except for hanging the curios, for which I'll need some help. And, I'd like to get the garage put together so that Bram can more easily park in there.

I've got the "Incredibles" on the TV - it sounds awesome, and it looks awesome.

Where to start with this project of cleaning up the house? I think that the dining room, maybe. I have all of these cookbooks, which need to be .. sold. Or something.

So, red in the dining room - should I put the red framed Continental airlines poster in there? I think so.

Or, I could put the curio there. Hmm.

These curio cases are causing me the most difficulty so far. Where to put them? I'm not happy with the unfinished condition of the smaller one. BLEH.

However, it's nearly time to pull the excess stuff out of the dining room and put it somewhere else while I re-glue up the buffet shelves. Then, the dishes can go into the buffet and ... it will look like a dining room again.

And then ...

Okay, I'm off to do some more organizing and cleaning.

all in a jumble

So, I'm trying to move software and data from the old desktop computer to the laptop computer, which will be the only computer I have at home and the computer I use at work.

In other words, the only computer. The old desktop computer will only have tax and financial software on it, and will live here at the office but not be my day to day computer.

TO that end, today, I resynched my new Treo with the old computer, on which all of the data was stored and now I'm resynching the Treo with the new computer.

The fun part of that seems to be that ALL of the versamail is being copied to the laptop from the Treo. It's taking forever. And, I'm trying to get NeatReceipts installed, which is also fighting me tooth and nail; trying to get the data moved over is presenting some challenges.

Chris Price died back on Monday - untreated/undiagnosed diabetes. Wow.

The cube is MOSTLY organized here. I have big stacks of paper that need to be filed, handled and dealt with, but it's MOSTLY organized. All of the office supplies are stacked into the cabinet of there (points) and all of the drawers are full as a tick.

A night at home alone.

I'm teaching myself a lot about my Palm device. Somehow today, I added 1168 email messages to it by synchronizing it with my Outlook. BLEH. I don't even think so. I'm going to discontinue using Sprint's Business Connection, and focus on using Versamail. I also deleted some other software that I just don't use over on the Treo.

Right now, I've deleted the 1168 messages, and I'm emptying the "trash," to clear the memory out. The poor thing had almost no memory left!

Now, I'm re-adding some of the software that I do use, and cleaning things up.

If only other elements of life were as easy to study, learn and use.

Got the newest light bill for the old house today. The last 22 days - $90. Before then, it was always more than $300. The pool seems to have made the difference.

That suggests that my light bill is/has dropped substantially. That's awesome! I need the relief. The $900 light bills last year were killing me.

Okay, so now I've watched all of the "24" season one DVDs. And, eh. Whatever.

It's nearly 10:00, and I'm thinking that going to bed early may be an outstanding idea. Perhaps I'll do just that.

So let me get this straight -- according to conservatives, lying about a blow job was an impeachable offense, but lying about outing a CIA agent focused on the Iranian nuclear program is much ado about nothing? Okay, got it.

Chewing gum

Years ago, my best friend Scott had an unexpected call from our mutual friend Richard.

Richard had been seeing some new guy, and he'd dropped off the face of the earth for a few months. He and Scott worked together on the same floor (as I recall, this was years ago) and yet, Scott hadn't seen hide nor hair of Richard in some time.

Scott finally got on the company phone system and called Richard at his desk, just to make sure that he (Richard) hadn't been fired in one of Frank Lorenzo's frequent temper tantrums.

"Oh, yes - I'm still here .. I've just been seeing this new guy, and he's SO wonderful. I'm really enjoying spending time with him."

Scott's outstanding reply was "Well, I enjoy chewing gum, too, but I take it out of my mouth from time to time to call my friends."

Richard was undaunted in his single minded pursuit of the new relationship. Months later, when the newness wore off, Richard began to again circulate with his friends, and to interject his new boyfriend into those friends.

It's irrelevant, but fun that Richard's boyfriend, with whom he was so smitten, cheated on him after Richard bought him a car, and housed him for two years for free. The boyfriend took off for Phoenix to be with the new boyfriend WITH the car. It was a mess.

Once the relationship was over, I was called upon by Richard to be his social structure, constant companion and back-shaver. Until the new boyfriend came along a few years later.

This morning, a lad who's been half heartedly pursuing me for a week or so mentioned that I was cynical. Ayup (that was with a Maine accent, by the way) I am.

It's nearly impossible to avoid interpreting someone's dropping you like a fresh dog turd for a new love interest as anything else than a judgment on your value to that person. Regardless of what's said, regardless of the intimacy, the companionship, and the interaction, what you're worth to that person is a big fat ZERO when the new relationship comes onboard.

That's Z-E-R-O. A nullity. Non-existent.

Back to the cynical comment from earlier today, yes, I am. And, I don't take friends back anymore when they've defined me as meaning nothing to them at all.

In the not so distant past, one of my very good friends began dating a new man. Never once did he slow or stop the flow of communication, and never once did our normal social interactions diminish. So, it's clear to me that it's not what everyone does, and it seems that my judgment of what is being communicated by being dropped like a dog turd has validity. It's a matter of personal choice on the part of the newly in love, and I don't have to accept it.