Sunday without church

I'm sitting in my slightly adjusted living room, enjoying the sunshine flooding in through the patio door and the dryness associated with having the heat on. It's still only 62 degrees (EPA Energy Star settings, remember?) but the windows aren't all covered with condensed water vapor.

Or, I guess it would be more accurate to say that the windows aren't covered in water droplets, as a result of condensation.

Church for today was called off due to the lasting temperatures, and that we have no heat in the building.

Don't get me wrong, every year in Houston the temperatures drop down like this, but the ground and the infrastructure doesn't cold soak as it has this year. We rarely get ice forming on the roads and ground.

So, the church is cold soaked today. My old theater buddy Erin posted on FB just a minute ago that her church didn't have heat today either, so don't think that something is/was WRONG that the place I've spent the last eight years of Sundays was too cold this morning.

Which is just fine, as I didn't want to go today anyway. I'm waiting for brunch with a sleepy friend, and then I'm going to work on some spec work projects. Spec, meaning no one's going to pay me for doing them up front - I may earn something from them later on.

Everything's dusted, everything's vacuumed and I just LOVE having a place that I can cruise through in no time flat, leaving everything nearly Edgar certified! I did NOT however shampoo the white upholstered dining chairs, which I think will be required soon.

Tax season is about to start and I'm READY. I've already heard from a few tax folks, and I just LOVE hearing from them. I know, you already think I'm nuts, but filling out forms and figuring out what dry strings of words mean is something I'm brilliant at, and that I can bring comfort to others doing that AND that they support me for doing that which I do well already is just symbiotically grand.

Douglas Hord

Create Your Badge

So, I gave in and turned on the heat

And nothing happened. Nothing at all.

After sharing that the temperature has been between 58 and 64 in the apartment for days, I finally decided that it was time to bring the temperature up just a tad.

So, I switched the programmable thermostat to "heat" and confirmed that it was set for "Energy Star" programming.

Which keeps the heat at about 62 degrees. So, for the first hour that the heat was turned on, it didn't COME on.

Until just a moment ago. It will heat for a few minutes and then, it will shut off.

Why is it that people run their air conditioners until the temperature is below 70 in the summer, and then run their heaters until the temperature is above 75 in the winter?

The point I've been making is that a human can be quite comfortable between 62 and 70 degrees in the winter - you just have to THINK. Something most people refuse to engage in.

I still haven't turned on the heat (Saturday morning update edition)

When I awoke this morning, I could tell it was a mite chillier in the bedroom than it had been the morning before. I was very comfortable all night, and as I set foot into the apartment, I didn't think it was all that much colder - it wasn't - 57. Another gloriously sunny day today suggests that there will be more solar heat collection today.

If I were to clean the apartment today, it would go a long way to keeping me warm and happy.

Still haven't turned on the heat (early evening update #3)

Smug. Confident. Into the home stretch.

62 degrees here inside my little apartment, 26.7 and falling according to weatherbug, but a bit warmer than that on my balcony.

In a few moments, I'll be crawling into bed whence I shall commence producing prodigious amounts of body heat and will be toasty warm all night long.

Easy as pie!

And I STILL haven't turned on the heat (update)

Temperature is holding at 59 degrees indicated, but I'm getting a bit chilled. I may have to get radical and put on some thermal drawers.

This may seem crazy to some, but I'm figuring that this isn't but a couple of degrees lower than what many people try to air condition their homes DOWN to when they sleep during the summer months.

It's bright and sunny, but it is chilled outside. I walked over to the leasing office for a minute and it was VERY brisk. I wasn't dressed as warmly as I will be later, but..

It's now noon, and the heating action of the day should start momentarily. Will I cave in later tonight and turn on the heat? Stay tuned...

And I STILL haven't turned on the heat

Day (I have no idea) of my effort to make it through the winter (albeit in Houston). We have had an "arctic front" come through, but I remain committed to keeping my furnace turned OFF.

Why, you may ask?

Well, it's partly because I feel that most people are weenies when it comes to temperature variations. And, because I love very low electric bills.

And I hate the smell the heater makes when it fires up for the first time.

There is also a dash of feeling superior - admittedly, a fairly big dash.

Now, on to the details!

Last night, we apparently had a "hard" freeze. Here in Houstonia, that has a different meaning than it did in my childhood - it just means that the temperature was at or below 32 degrees last night. My heat saving techniques involve blocking drafts, absorbing heat from my downstairs neighbor (I figure since I get all of their cooking smells, I'm going to collect their heat as well) and bundling up a bit.

The indoor temperature has been hovering between 58 and 65 for the last few days, and this morning was no different. Today's solar collection is looking good, as it's relatively sunny outside and I'm expecting the indoor temperature to return to near 63 this afternoon, even though the outdoor mercury isn't scheduled to climb above 35.

I'd be surprised if we didn't make it over 45 today, the high temperature forecasts here are usually off and on the low side.

If I can make it to Saturday afternoon without turning on the furnace, I may have this project cracked for this winter! I may end up having to cheat by baking some fresh bread and allowing the gas oven to heat the place a smidge.

Maybe Nietzsche had a point -

Nietzsche is oft quoted and little read (much as is the Bible). Most are familiar only with his statement from Twilight of the Idols "What does not kill me makes me stronger"

For years, that statement just hit me as "make wrong". As in, how can you not APPRECIATE my selfish, dramatic victimhood?

As I moved through my issues of self-worth and shame, the statement made more and more sense. Why, yes - as I pilot through the jetsam of my own making, it gets easier and easier. Now, I can own and feel it. I am stronger, and none of those things that had been giving me the willies killed me at all.

Almost twenty years ago, a rebirther told me that her understanding of rebirth (or reincarnation, if you would rather) was that whatever lessons I failed to learn during this life would be added to the lessons in the next life.

"What, if some day or night a demon were to steal after you into your loneliest loneliness and say to you: 'This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more' ... Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus? Or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered him: 'You are a god and never have I heard anything more divine.' " - [§341] The Gay Science

That admonishment scared me and set me to deciding to buckle down and STUDY. I doubt that I'm done studying, but at least I've moved into a higher class recently.

People have long asserted that Nietzsche was an atheist, but I read his famous quote differently -

After Buddha was dead people showed his shadow for centuries afterwards in a cave, — an immense frightful shadow. God is dead: but as the human race is constituted, there will perhaps be caves for millenniums yet, in which people will show his shadow. And we — we have still to overcome his shadow! - §108The Gay Science

To me this suggests that people ignore the teachings and good works and instead live in the shadow of their chosen deity - they focus so intently on the shadow of the departed God that they cannot focus on themselves to apply the lessons to their own lives. They continue on as human beings - bigoted, blame-filled, fault-seeking victims of life who continue to wistfully look back at the shadow in the cave.

To live this way is to dishonor the hard work of the chosen Deity. It is to use the works of the Deity to blame and shame others without doing the dirty work of living those principles. I know that it is human nature to persist in feeling victimized and to look for ways to make oneself feel better by tearing others down. Most in ecclesiastical leadership (that I've met) engage in this behavior aggressively, turning any objection into additional blame toward the complainer.

It is my current belief (and I reserve the right to change this belief within the hour if I find other insight) that once a person reaches a place where they can clearly see and understand Nietzsche's statement about Buddha's shadow, they can begin to participate in spiritual pursuits free of that overruling draw to use spiritual teachings as a weapon against one's perceived enemies.

Where do we draw the line between

Where do we draw the line between thoughts, beliefs and automatic responses CREATING and the same quiet thoughts warning us of danger signs we are ignoring?

A wise man told me at dinner last week that the voice that whispers warnings is drowned out by all of the reasons we want something to happen.

A couple of weeks ago and purely by accident, I regained contact with a man with whom I was very interested nearly a year ago. Even though the end of our conversations months back was very punitive, I ignored the whispering voice that said "Danger, Will Robinson". He came on like a runaway coal train, 40+ texts a day, phone calls, emails, flirtations, he couldn't wait to meet in person. After a few days of phone activity, I saved his number into my phone - again. And, that whisper was right there - "you'll just end up deleting this in a few days".

Yesterday, I did just that. Before doing so, I thought "why didn't I listen to that whisper?"

I've successfully listened to the whisper more often in these last months.

Just about a year ago, I had quite a lot of whisper - clangor, practically. Each interaction set off the gongs, but as was said at dinner the other night, my desires overrode any warnings.

Until my desires changed.

Then, all there were left were the warning tones.

My question is - since all thought creates, did I engage in creating these two mini-dramas, or was I creating it through ignoring and not honoring the warning intuition?

Only 85 posts last year

This year, i shall strive to be more chatty.

Helpful hints as you start your New Year!

Use your camera phone!!

Huh?

How many times have you wished you could remember where you parked your car, what that bottle of wine was, what an address was, the license number of a car that dinged your door, some book you want to read - nearly anything!

TAKE A PHOTO WITH YOUR PHONE!

No note paper. No pens necessary. No misplaced notes. No more "where did I put that?"

This trick will, however, not solve the problem of walking into a room and not remembering why you did so.

Lower your energy bills!!

It's easy. Simple. Really.

My last two electric bills have been under $35.00, which includes more than $12 each on pass through charges.

How do I do it?

By refraining from trying to change the environment.

Oh, in English? I leave the A/C and furnace OFF most of the time. If it feels a bit cool, I put on more clothing. If it feels a bit warm-ish, I wear fewer items of clothing and turn on the ceiling fans.

It's insanity to try to heat the house to above 75 when a few weeks ago (in Houston, anyway) you were trying to cool it below 70. This is a mind game you're playing with yourself, and the cost of the game is reflected in your utility bills.

Cold while you're sleeping? Extra blanket. Warm while sleeping? Take the covers off.

Of course, you can rant at me all you want and tell me that you HAVE to sleep with covers, so you HAVE to make the house cold so you can wear your flannel jammies and socks and two blankets in the summer.

M'kay.

Save on your wireless bill - BIG time

Use Google Voice or Skype from your compatible wireless phone. They use data traffic for VoIP (internet) phone connections, and you can dump your unlimited or 2,000 minutes/month plan.

Also, CHECK your wireless plan - many carriers have dropped their monthly charges, and you could save 20% or more on your monthly costs. If you don't use your phone very often, get a pre-paid phone that charges you only when you use the thing.

Okay, that's enough - I realize that most people have already drifted off, humanoids having the attention span of a hamster and all.

The curtain rings down on 2009

Some thoughts before the last of 2009 dies away -

So many people have been making the statement that 2009 was a bad year - well, there have been about eight of those in a row. My 2009 was pretty darned good, all things considered - empirically, one might quarrel with that assessment, but I jettisoned a lot of baggage - both emotional and physical - which leaves me feeling much more stable and able than I was going into 2009.

I guess that if one feels 2009 was a bad year, one should review where they were a year ago and see if their understanding, their communication, their ability to focus on the important things in their lives improved at all.

Life just happens. How we deal with it happening is what sets individuals apart.

I spent just over three months of 2009 without fear or anger. Wow. That has been an amazing thing. I got to go to the inauguration of Barack Obama, and there I met two truly remarkable and awesome people. I met a magnificent guy, moved into an apartment that is small enough that I am living alone for the first time in my life. I share office space with an angel, and I have very little stress now.

I got to see my friend Matt four times? Five times? That was great. I "found" my best friend from law school after a ten year absence. I made friends with a guy I hardly knew in high school, with whom I have been carrying on a delightful, supportive and engaging correspondence. I was blessed to have my friendship with LEA restored. I have made friends with amazing ladies from the church, and gotten a lot closer with my Aunt Liz.

I have had six straight months of talking with my sister without recrimination or anger. SIX months. In a ROW.

I had the love and support of my friends. I have released a number of people in my life who were not productive, regardless of how it may have seemed from the outside.

My year was an endless experience of being appreciated, loved and cared about by my truly amazing circle of magnificent humans I am lucky enough to call friends. I hope I gave as good as I got, because each one of them is a treasure.

I gave up on following politics in the large part, and stopped looking for flaws in my thinking and character.

I got to see our city elect a moderated, unexciting, immensely competent and honest mayor - who just as an aside - is a lesbian. I am lucky enough to have met and talked to her several times, and she is the kind of political leader we need a few hundred dozen more of.

I'll say that, overall, 2009 was awesome. I'm no wealthier, no healthier, and still very single - but I don't see these as problems.

I still don't know exactly what I want to do with my life, but I'm getting a lot better at hitting the brakes when the runaway idea train picks up speed - and discerning what is motivating me and what it will benefit me.

When I wake up, it's going to be Friday. Many people are going to tell me that the day has some significance, but it's just a story that's completely made up. Other human cultures existing with us now honor other days as the start of the new calendar year, and who's to say that their selection of a "day" is right or wrong?

As I go from Thursday to Friday, I have on my mind that I am going to engage in a lot less omphaloskepsis and a whole lot more "getting the job done". I'm going to take care of myself as an investment, and I'm now utterly devoid of feeling sorry for myself.

Things will happen - flat tires, homophobia, events, maybe another hurricane or two. I will deal with them, without making those events "mean" something about me, or my past, or the people around me. I will continue to see and seek the best in people, and to understand that when they are displeasing, they're probably scared or alone or trapped in their own old beliefs.

I will continue to look every person in the eye, and smile at them to let them know that I see them, and that they're a human worthy of greeting, respect and acknowledgment.

I will recycle even more than I do now, and I will push processed foods further away from my table until they're gone entirely.

And I'm going to focus on the thing that matters most - being with the people in my life - and telling them how remarkable they are, how glad I am to be with them, and that I'll help them in any way I can. There really is no other point to living than that.

So, if you're reading this, you're connected to me in some fashion and I'm glad that we are. I know in my heart that your New Year will be everything that you can make of it. When you're feeling a bit like it's not working out, call me. I'll talk you down from your perch and assure you it's all working out just fine.

So, my dad sends me an email -

He does that, you know. The email that he sent me was from his brother in law, I think, who's a Tea Bagger.

The email was a purported presentation given by one Leo Carrington, owner of Carrington Automotive, to the entire employee body of his 12 stores assembled at the Grand Payne Hotel. You can read the email here.

So, Dad asks me "What do I think"?

Well, I spent about 90 minutes reading, doing some (very quick, because the facts are RIGHT there) Google research and composing a response for him. To-wit:

Oh, the horseshit starts flying.

My friend Nancy, who has a small business that brings in something a tad less than the Carrington example would LOVE to pay a payroll tax of 2.5% instead of the ferocious health premiums she's now been paying. In fact, it would push her balance sheet over from red to black. But, Carrington doesn't provide any health insurance.

I believe that the pending and incomplete legislation on health care prohibits a pushback on wages for any employer who is penalized for failing to provide health insurance. So, that part of the missive is an empty and illegal threat. The 8% tax penalty is only in the house bill, and the Senate bill (which everyone who isn't trying to panic people about the "socialists" knows is going to prevail) has a $750 per employee per year tax penalty for employers who don't provide health insurance. That's $140,250 in tax penalty for requiring that the government pay for his employees' health care premiums. Given that the average private health insurance annual premium WITHOUT dependent coverage is now $6,000 to the employer - sounds like he's still a cheapskate and getting off without much of a penalty. His insurance premium for employees only would be $1,122,000.

At least that way, by providing his employees with health care coverage, he wouldn't have to pay any personal income tax at all.

As to his assertions on the increase in taxes - let's come back to reality. The top incremental rate on income over $250,000 will increase by 3% to approximately $370,000, and the top incremental rate on income over $370,000 would increase by 4.6% The rates on income below $250,000 will NOT change.

So, the increase in tax on the portion between $370,000 and the stated $534,000 of taxable income would be the difference between $57,400 (the tax on that increment of income at present under the Bush tax cuts) and $64,944 (the tax on that increment of income if the Bush tax cuts were allowed to expire.) His taxes will increase by $7,544. Gee, I can do THAT in my head! The increase in tax on the portion between $250,000 and $370,000 - $3,600.

Our example, Carrington, will see his income taxes increase by $11,144 if the Bush tax cuts expire. Another sum I can do in my head!

According to our "example", $11,144 expressed as a percentage of his total taxable income is 2.08%. The "example" suggests that "nearly" 5% is the tax impact, $24,564. So, the "example" of the net effect of allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire is overstated by a factor of "nearly" two times. The net effect would be that he pays $11,144 in additional personal income tax, which is slightly less than $1,000 per store of twelve per year, or just about $90 a month in additional personal income tax.

Whoopie fucking do.

There is no proposal to increase the top incremental tax rate on incomes over $1,000,000. That part of the "example" is a flat out lie. A fantasy. Not even being discussed, EXCEPT IN BRITAIN.

About three quarters of the "example" in the missive is posturing, ranting and fantasy - the math I have countered above (with facts, sorry). The proposed tax increase (that was passed by the Republican controlled Congress and signed by Bush - how do they keep missing that part?) will cost him $59/employee/year. If the health care employer mandate is indeed effected, then STARTING IN 2014, he'd be paying an additional $750/employee/year for a total increase of $800/employee/year, or $66.00 per employee/month.

Next big problem, according to the SBA in 2009, just over 50% of all employment in the United States is by "small business". They comprise 44% of total private (non-government) payroll, which is a damned sight smaller than the 80% the "example" suggests, and job growth by "small business" is 64% of new jobs over the last FIFTEEN years - not just the last year. Spinning, let's add some more spin.

Now, for the coup d'grace. The ENTIRE EMAIL IS A FAKE. There is no Carrington Automotive, there is no Leo Carrington, and there is no Royal Payne Hotel in Norfolk, Virginia. There is, still, Norfolk Virginia, but the tea baggers probably have something up their sleeves about that.

The End.

Turd, flushed

While visiting in Tulsa, my friend T-rex christened the HS250 "the Turd", a name which stuck through this afternoon when I surrendered the car to Sterling McCall Lexus.

As I've been criticizing the HS, and as I have been finding little to recommend it on any level, I have been questioning myself. Am I just a cranky nudge who hates everything? I mean, those nice people at Lexus let me drive the car for a week for free and sent me a nice Priority Mail flat rate box haphazardly stuffed full of Lexus swag (most of which were coupons inviting me to spend money with Lexus partners, nearly all of which were in the San Francisco Bay area, where Lexus' marketing firm is located).

What I have kept finding is that the HS250 is a poor choice at $26,000, a joke at $36,000 and utterly absurd at $43,000.

Now, I've seen and examined the 2010 Lincoln MKZ, and it is a much nicer car than is the HS250 - nicer materials, more features, more room - and costs LESS - yet the New York Times pointed out that it is merely a "nice" car and that "nice" doesn't cut at when you're at the $40,000 mark.

More observations:

I cannot see the corners or edges of the HS250 AT ALL, which makes it VERY challenging to park. The steering is completely without feedback - it has all the communication of a trackball, and when one is trying to pilot into a parking space and has no idea where the car is, or what angle the steering is bringing up - one can find oneself parked like a dodo head.

The driveline surges - a LOT. I know that it's a hybrid and doesn't act as my gasoline powered car would, but driving the HS back to back with a friend's two year old Prius, the HS250 surges a LOT and the Prius not at all.

Fuel economy at 35.5 overall is NOT impressive, when a VW Jetta TDI for half the money would have had better performance, equal interior quality, three times the trunk space, equal interior room and gotten over 40MPG.

I have been reading stirrings of new Prius owners reporting that their brakes are failing - I had that experience with the HS at least three times, once this morning. The brakes push to the floor, start to chatter as if the ABS were cycling and n-o-t-h-i-n-g is happening. By releasing the pedal and re-applying braking force, the brakes recovered and stopped the car.

Notes for Nanuck

As in, of the North? I am learning that my metaphor and humor is lost on people I always thought were getting me.

So, I drove this car in snow and ice. Was it a lot of snow and ice? Yes, if you live in Tulsa, it was. For a boy who grew up in Kalamazoo and knows the exact meaning of "Lake Effect Snow", it seemed rather a gay romp. I mean, the Turd wasn't even covered over in snow!

However, if you live north of .. say .. Memphis, and you're considering this car, there are a few things you really need to know about:

The seat heaters don't get warm. Really. Well, a little warm. About as warm as if your butt were perched on the thrones for about an hour, but no warmer than that.

The rear window defroster cannot and will not clear the backlight. The Turd found itself on the 26th with a half dusting of snow and a smidge of ice. After cycling the rear defroster for TWO HOURS, the backlight had STILL not cleared. I am used to cars (and have had cars since the 1970s) that would melt butter off the backlight with the rear defrost selected.

The heater doesn't heat the car. Okay, so this may sound extreme. Allow me to clarify - you'll NEVER get too warm in the cabin of the HS250 during the winter months. EVER. Your feet will never get warm, and your breathing passages will not dry out from dry, hot air blowing in your face.

No, really - I rode home from Sterling McCall Lexus today in a 2008 SLK, and the seats had my buns sizzling within two miles and the defroster had the car uncomfortably warm before that.

You will NOT experience extremes of cold and heat in the HS250 during the winter in the snow belt.

Perhaps related to this, the windshield wipers are fully below the defroster line of the windshield, and - well - there's no easy way to put this - if it's snowing heavily, if there's a bit of freezing rain or anything such as that, you'll have to chip out the blocks of snow or ice from the wipers. The wipers are not powerful enough to lift themselves out of packed snow.

Finally, if it's snowing, or freezing rain, or blowing/gusting/drifting snow, I'd strongly recommend filling up BEFORE the weather moves in, because your fuel filler door will be frozen solid. As in, gingerly prying the lightweight plastic fuel filler door open with a thin blade until you can pry it open. Think about how frustrated you were the last time you tried to open a can of paint when the lid was stuck down from crusty old paint under the edge - and then add that concept to standing outside on 18 degree pavement, with gusting winds next to a gas pump.

Yeah.

Back to the meat of the matter

Driven next to a Prius, the HS250 ceases to be a "nice" car. It is a bit quieter, because the Prius is a hatchback. The HS250 slams into expansion joints and pavement breaks while the Prius slides by. The HS hardly EVER runs on battery, whereas the Prius will run quite a long way on battery alone. Just no justification at all for the $16,000 price difference between the two.

Finally, the HS250 is just flat out .. unattractive. The shape, the grille, the trim - just unattractive. Okay, I'll be straight about it - it's ugly.

Final notes

Is it just a Houston thing, or what?

I took the Turd back to Sterling McCall today at noonish. I parked the car out front, walked in with my friend who got out of his 2008 Mercedes SLK, and entered through the front door.

We could have successfully blown up our underwear, as none of the passengers of Delta flight 253 were present to interact with us.

After a couple of minutes of STANDING in the center of the showroom, I walked back toward the entry door to ask a salesman who was hiding in his (lovely and Rosewood) cubicle if he could help me find the PR gal I was to ask for.

My friend, who drove up in a very nice Mercedes-Benz, was never greeted in any way.

Really? You want me to spend HOW much money? Couple this with the indifferent delivery experience, and the outright refusal regarding a test drive of a newer model LS460, I'm going to give Lexus's showroom experience a big, fat zero.

Left behind..

So, this is an indecorous posting, inasmuch as I'm calling someone and something out.

This came to me today, in the way of "what does this mean"? This was written by a licensed attorney working for the Franklin County (Ohio) prosecutor's office. This was written as an official business communication from a person who has completed four years of undergraduate school, and three years of law school, and is working for the county government of the seat of state government in Ohio. I'll just let it speak for itself.

From: "XXX X. XXXX"
To: xxxxxxx@email.xxx
Sent: Wednesday, December 2, 2009 1:44:22 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: XXXXXXX




XXXX, I've tried calling you at ur number and no answer but this case is not being dismissed so u need to come to court or a warrant will be issued and if need be I will arrest you at Franklin when u go to school. Avoiding me is not going to get the case resolved so u need to contact me and not xxxx. Im the prosecutor on the case and u need to speak with me. Call me so that we can discuss the case.






Assistant Prosecuting Attorney

Franklin County Prosecutor's Office

Criminal Division

373 S. High Street, 14th Floor

P: 614-

F: 614-

Lexus HS250 drive days two and three

0930 to 1815 is quite a while to spend with any car when it is uninterrupted by anything other than bathroom stops and a single gas fill-up.

During a continuous time such as this, one becomes familiar with those elements of a car that bring comfort or angst to one's car purchase decision.

Comfort items -

The HS250 is a breeze to see out of. Glass everywhere, allows for a clear view of hazards in all directions.

Once mastered, the entertainment system works reasonably well. The iPod interface is a touch weird - if the car is turned off while the iPod is playing, it won't play the iPod again until one disconnects and resets the iPod.

The gear selector is a hoot and a half to operate, and the regen braking feature is AWESOME when exiting a freeway.

The seat BACK is extremely comfortable (for me).

The graphic display for the driver that shows fuel economy, charging status, and status is terrific and fun.

The rain sensing wipers are great.

Annoying, irritating and displeasing things -

The HS250 is LOUD on the freeway. The tires, being designed for fuel efficiency and low rolling resistence whine loudly, and pound on the expansion strips. There is a lot of wind noise along the entire upper window line.

The freeway noise washes out entertainment system performance.

The HS250 cruise control does NOT disengage with a light tap or a medium tap on the brake pedal; I could only get it to disengage by canceling with the cruise control stalk. When traffic ahead changes unexpectedly and the car continues to drive forward while you press on the brake, you are presented with quite a stressful, conflicted environment.

The lower seat cushion is woefully inadequate - combined with the lack of a dead pedal, one finds oneself exhausted after hours of micro movement and pushing back to stay in the seat.

Interior storage space in the HS250 is just weird - no cubby is deep enough to hold an average phone or iPod when connected to the charging cable. Also, when plugged into the console, iPod and charging cables have to be strung along the console to the center cubby under the armrest. Putting the USB/mini-plug and charging jacks inside the center cubby would seem to make more sense.

The interior materials are grossly inappropriate for a $42,000 Lexus. The center stack design is completely indistinguishable from a Toyota Venza, equipped with the identical entertainment unit, HVAC switchgear and secondary switches.

The entertainment (non-nav) has an LCD display that's light blue with black lettering. The other displays are LED, with lighted letters on a flat background. At night, the entertainment display is difficult to read in the extreme.

550 miles, 34.7 average MPG 75 average MPH. Not very impressive.

My thoughts, so far -

Without price weighting, the HS250 is not an impressive car. It is compromised in the driving experience, is agreeable for a moderately priced car, but wholly inappropriate for a luxury brand. The storage space and seating capacity isn't competitive. The car is, frankly, unattractive.

Price weighted, this is a turd. Ford would do very well by keeping one of these at each of their stores for comparison with their Fusion Hybrid that has far more room, better seating, equal features, better fuel economy and $32,000.

The HS250 has not moved today, and is currently covered in about five inches of snow.

Tulsa in Christmas -

I am "enjoying" being in Tulsa during their first ever blizzard warning. Tracey's parents are as charming as they ever have been, and I'm noticing that the absence of gift exchange provides more focus on human communications and reduces stress greatly.

I have some more political observations and social thoughts to share tomorrow -

Lexus HS250 drive day two

If I were more committed to alliteration, I'd have said "drive day dos".

It's not as much fun, being up and functional before all of one's online friends are up and chatty - true, there was no competition for the laundry equipment, and I'm still on schedule for an 0830 departure. However - will I make it to my destination in time for our 1830 dinner reservation?

Today promises nine hours of driving through forecasted rainshowers and thunderstorms. The HS is going to be tested against these conditions.

Yesterday's partial day was unremarkable and remarkable in several ways. We picked up the HS from Sterling McCall Lexus at around 2:00 pm - the store is standard Lexus fare, but without parking for more than about ten customer cars.

Unremarkable elements of the day's experience -

Driving the HS250 around the streets of Houston, during rainy conditions would not have provided many opportunities to really understand the car. Add in Christmas frenzy in my fellow auto pilots, and you get a lot of time spent focusing on not being mushed by an SUV, and being gleeful at having found any parking space at all.

We braved Galleria traffic AND Spec's main warehouse store - my resident Lexian Billy and I roamed the streets on Christmas related errands.

Remarkable elements of the day's experience -

The HS250 rides HARD. Harder than either of my Pontiac GXP cars, much harder than the Audi A4 prestige with sport package I drove a few weeks ago, and far harder than Guy's Prius. Which leads to the revelation that Houston's roads are atrocious for a major city in the southwest. Hint, hint, new mayoress.

The HS250 sits very, very high - think "Ford Five Hundred" high. This makes ingress much easier, but in this car it gives a sense of tippiness. At least to me.

The HS250's trunk is VERY small. It's well shaped, but it is VERY small. The American tendency to evaluate cargo space by how many sets of golf clubs can be carried will be stymied, as there isn't a way to get other than a collapsible set of irons in the car.

The aircraft like center stack is partly to accommodate the very high seating position, and partly because it's "a hybrid". It looks very cool and functional, but in operation, it keeps getting in the way of intuitive hand and arm movement.

While no Audi with MMI in terms of complexity, the car is loaded with buttons and things to push, which require study to understand. I didn't feel secure trying to operate some of the primary controls until after reading the entire quick start guide and supplementing with the owner's manual. By primary controls, I include "putting the car into gear" and the windshield wipers.

The stereo quality in the base car is very disappointing. The sound is muddy, and without depth. Bass notes just thump without definition. The two line LED display makes it very challenging to be sure of what station/song/track one is hunting for.

When we picked the car up at Sterling McCall, the salesman basically handed me the keys and said "see you on Tuesday" and fled. We had no introduction to the car, and no introduction to its controls. None of the terms of the loaner agreement were reviewed or discussed. Just "put your address here and sign here".

I guess they think I am not an HS250 customer at all. The salesman DID tell Billy and me that they do not and would not allow a test drive of the new, $76,000 LS460 sport model "because they're so unique". Um. Audi will encourage one to hop into one of their $120,000 S8s with far more sporting capabilities and take it out for some wringing. While friendly enough, the experience at the dealer did not encourage one to return, and was little different than the experience one would have at the Chevy store just up the street.

The interior materials of the LS250 (base model) are unremarkable - in fact, nearly identical to Dina's new Toyota Venza. The design lines are pleasing enough, but - for $42,000, the interior quality is indistinguishable from a $28,000 Prius, which has more interior space, more cargo space, rides better and gets better economy.

Speaking of economy - I reset all the stored values when I picked the car up (which took some doing, since I didn't discover the owner's manual in the trunk until a few hours later) and running around on surface streets yesterday, we were averaging about 27 mpg.

Now, to wrap up with something nice. My long time coach Jenny always used to say that if you had bad news, you must wrap it in good - the hamburger bun method, she called it.

My head doesn't hit the roof of the HS, which is nice.L

I tole you before, but you didn't listen...

The Twelve Days of Christmas haven't yet started

And they won't start until the 25th. Just so you know.

Yesterday, I went with Billy to IKEA and to BestBuy. We had a blast. I don't think he's been "shopping" with me before and didn't realize how amusing it can be. He got a new DVD player and I was helping him set it up, which required a flashlight to see what I was doing.

This led me to remark that I myself had a flashlight, the sole purpose of which was to facilitate looking into the coffee carafe in the mornings, to see if enough hot water had been put in.

I was Robert-napped today. It was just what I needed, actually.

The weather seems to have stabilized with dryer air and lower temperatures. That makes my sinuses much happier.

The 787 flew and looked beautiful doing it.

I'm a lot closer to starting my book idea (1 of 4).

Why did I not know about Firefox's ad blocking add on before? Life is incrementally better with it.

I'm no turkey!

So, I have a request to the members of the Congress of the United States of America (in session).

Just stop.

Just stop even pretending that anything you do at all is other than tweaking the tax code and doling out tax dollars for those wealthy and privileged enough to give you big campaign contributions.

Stop with the to and fro about health care reform - it's so clear that you're just going to give MORE money to the health industry, just like you did with Medicare reform - just leave us be.

Stop with the agonizing about financial re-regulation or making it harder for people to get home loans - we know you don't care about people with social security numbers and direct deposit twice a month and ten thousand or so in their 401(k) program.

It's okay that you're shoving rules down our throats that require school districts to buy software and test models from the Bush family, and that some other insider has a contract to sell the RFID technology for the new driver licenses. We know you're about to re-privatize the TSA and lord, who KNOWS how many zeros will be on that check? We know that you're going to continue to reward those highest paying corporations with enormous contracts, mostly for weapons and contracting related to defense - defense against what?

No one cares to ask anymore.

We know that you are pushing hard for the guy who gave your daughter a $250,000 consulting gig six weeks out of her Bachelor's - and that she's not required to keep office hours.

We know that you pontificate about pretty much anything that will get you face time - FREE face time - on television. We know that you are focused on two things - delivery for those that wrote you the checks, and re-election to keep the checks coming.

We know that you don't give a damn about abortion rights, or the right to privacy, or equal access to the public airwaves - you don't care about "public" anything if you can sell a piece off to someone who'll drill another big check into your offshore account.

Just stop. Stop talking to us. Stop telling us that you're going to do anything for anyone that's not listed on the Fortune 500. Stop telling us anything at all, just keep getting your face on TV.

Wait, I think that has already happened. Maybe that's why the pontificating has gone so far into the realm of the absurd. If one added some pratfalls and a few exploding cigars, you'd have a Marx Brothers show. Some of you would embarass the Three Stooges.

Maybe the answer is for us, the people, the people who have birth certificates and not corporate charters, lawyers and lobbyists, to tune you out for good. Ignore you entirely.

Maybe the answer is for us to all of us just stop participating in this bi-annual sham called "national elections".

Maybe if we, the people, those who have voter registration cards, focused as much attention on ignoring you vacuous money grubbers as we now do on arguing in favor of whatever squid ink you're squirting into the media waters - maybe, if no one voted at all, responded to your polls, gave your campaign Twenty Dollars, signed up for your Facebook fan page, signed up on your email lists - maybe, just maybe - you'd have the constituency you actually represent.

It ain't necessarily so ..

A friend recently was told by someone at a medical office that she had lumps in her breast that needed to be examined more closely. The appointment to have her charts and scans read took two months - at which time they told her that she had some fibroids that needed to be watched. Her results were a huge relief, of course, but this has been the fourth time THIS YEAR that a woman friend of mine was told by a clinician that she may have breast cancer and was left to stew in her own juices until the doctor picked up the charts and scans and reported "you don't have cancer". Several of these women have had to have biopsies. Each of them was put through months of internalized panic and stress to be told "oh, those are just fibroids. Perfectly normal for your age."

There are so many things in life that "ain't necessarily so". Someone's motivations, someone's internal monologue, someone's past - what something "means".

To be human is to focus nearly exclusively on what everything means. What words mean, events, weather, career paths, relationship developments. What does it MEAN? Depending on one's background, training and openness, this meaning can be attributed to one's own failings, to vague feelings that someone is out to get you, to feelings that God is out to get you.

The problem with that is - when everyone is trying to figure out what it "means" without listening, asking or observing - you have nothing but self-guided "certainty" with no real information.

All of life is complex, involving many independent parts, all of which collide depending on timing, order, temperature.. so many variables that it's impossible to know just what things "mean".

Just remember - it ain't necessarily so. Could be different. If you don't like how it looks, be open to seeing it differently.

Vampire plots

It has occurred to me that our planet has for the last two decades been the focus of a comprehensive campaign by vampires to lay the foundation for acceptance and dominance of the human world.

Previous to this time, vampires have always allowed themselves to be portrayed as gruesome, fearful beasts who appeared to be barely human. In the absence of long distance communication and fast responders such as police and fire departments (only those that are socialized, of course) the vampire society began to see that they had to gain acceptance or even admiration to maintain their wealth and power.

Nearly twenty years ago, female vampires were portrayed as sexy and powerfully appealing for the first time in a widely distributed film. While this changed the opinions of a portion of the male population, it did nothing to gain the complete social integration desired by the vamps.

In the last ten years, we have seen a constant stream of incredibly hot, sexy, lovable vampire males. Tom Cruise, David Boreanaz, the twinky boys from the Twilight series, Wesley Snipe, even Ryan Reynolds has made a mostly naked appearance to utilize his inimitable Adonis belt to persuade a malleable populace to want to be with a Vampire or be LIKE a Vampire.

Prescient as they are, the Vampires could predict the passage of the Patriot Act, which would inevitably bring them permanently out of the financial shadows and into the sunlight. This marketing campaign was only the broadest in their effort to grow their number and gain full civil rights.

Clearly, Hollywood is being run by Vampires, given all of this content.

(hee hee)