Friday, July 23, 2004

Could We Have a Do-Over On That One, Please?

I’d like to call “Mulligan" on the tax hike in Virginia.

Gov. Mark Warner said yesterday Virginia, which passed a record $1.38 billion tax increase this year, will actually end the year with a $323.8 million surplus.

Of that figure, only $13.1 million is available for use, since the rest is earmarked by law. Most of it will go into the state’s Rainy Day Fund. Ten percent of the surplus will go into the Water Quality Improvement Fund.

Water Quality Improvement Fund? Um, how about road improvements, people!

“Although the revenue surplus is good news, it will not be used to start new programs, or increase spending for government operations,” said Mr. Warner, a Democrat who championed the tax-reform package this year. “We will continue to press for improved efficiency in state government, and to ensure that every dollar is put to effective use.”

Mr. Governor, I’d like to get my money back, if it’s all the same to you. You strong-armed the state legislature into the unnecessary tax hike in the first place. How about admitting that it isn’t required after all and returning the money to the people of the Commonwealth? I don’t think that’s asking too much.

Of course, they’re going to keep it. I just wish they’d actually use it for good - like improving the roads in northern Viriginia in order to accommodate the new housing and businesses that they’re still building despite not having planned for the increased traffic.

Posted by at 03:20 PM
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Getting Wallpapered

My office is to be wallpapered today. Somehow, I need to clear off my work surfaces so the maintenance guys can move my furniture away from the walls. Once that’s done, I’ll take my laptop into the empty office next to mine in order to work some today.

It’ll be very nice when it’s done, but oy vey, the chaos in the meantime.

UPDATE (11:00am): I’m in the other office, which is twice the size of mine and yet I think the desk is smaller. Both are a U-shaped configuration, but I have more space in between the arms (?) than at this one. And my back is to the door when I’m working on the computer, which I’ve never liked. Oh, and my radio won’t tune in at all either. Other than that it’s great! lol At least it’s just for today.

And now to try to get some work done today…

Posted by at 11:43 AM
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Thursday, July 22, 2004

Yes, I’m Addicted to TWoP

Even if you haven’t watched an episode, you have to find the Week 3 Recaplet funny.  For those who’ve been watching The Amazing Race it’s laugh out loud hilarious.

Even a classy show sometimes wrings a good episode out of a bunch of people competing in the Jerkweed Olympics, and such is the case with this week’s episode. Colin starts to show a certain icy, dead-eyed stare that tiptoes all over the line between “I am intense” and “I am in prison,” while either Marshall or Lance actually becomes a caricature of himself by taking the step from Guy Who Almost Seems Like He Would Yell “#####” Out Of A Car Window to Guy Who Actually Does. Mirna and Charla express their hope that by limiting their alliances to the “God-fearing,” they won’t have to deal with people who aren’t trustworthy, and then Charla uncorks an “I need a doctor” lie that probably isn’t going to earn her any sanctity points. Brandon and Nicole appear to bumble their way into angering a bunch of other teams, while Kami and Karli continue hating Chip and Kim for the imagined wrongdoing of last week. Bob and Joyce are still happy, and Linda and Karen seriously need to stop screeching. Seriously. Once a confusing airport scenario has been negotiated, the teams navigate a high-calorie Roadblock and a parasailing Detour, ending the leg at a gorgeous location where Jim and Marsha are sadly Philiminated, victims of poor airport strategy. While the failure of Marshall and Lance to be booted certainly constitutes bad news, there is good news in the form of the welcome return of the show’s trademark wit, including a brilliant pseudo-prayer sequence for Brandon and Nicole and the humiliation of KamiKarli when they realize that they just jumped in the water and swam to the pit stop when they could have, you know, walked. Even with an ending that seems inevitable from about the halfway point, it’s a funny and very telling episode that starts to set up some of the personalities we’ll be following for the next two months or so. And seriously, Mirna? Shut up.

Ah… *wiping a tear of mirth* ...good stuff. Posted by at 10:42 PM
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He Returns to Movies

My mother will love this. Apparently, that cool mutt from the disco era is making his cinematic return.

[via Bryan]

Posted by at 05:41 PM
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Classy

This is despicable.

L’ALPE D’HUEZ, France (Reuters) - Tour de France director Jean-Marie Leblanc has admitted he had seen fans spit at five-times champion Lance Armstrong during the 15.5-km time trial to L’Alpe d’Huez.

Leblanc also said the swarming crowds on the twisting climb on Wednesday had frightened him as riders, including Armstrong, were forced to weave through excited fans who jumped out on to the road.

“I was scared too and I felt relieved when we reached the section with barriers,” Leblanc told Reuters after stage winner Armstrong described the stage as a “bad idea” and hit out at some German fans.

“Until this morning, everybody thought this time trial was a good idea and now we realised it was not so.

“There were lots of aggressive fans surrounding the riders and I even saw two idiots spit at Lance Armstrong.”

[via Citizen Smash, who has a pretty picture of one spectator standing in the bike path with a double-fisted one finger salute pointed towards Lance.] Posted by at 04:45 PM
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New to the O-Rotation

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I just realized that I’m going to have add a CootieBoy photo rotation to the blog starting next month. Oh, my bandwidth hurts already just thinking about it. Hmmm...I’ll probably remove some of the older CootieGirl pics and add CootieBoy to the existing rotation, which will necessitate a name change for that section of the menu at the right.

In the meantime, CootieGirl now has her own photoblog.

Posted by at 04:07 PM
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Train Taunter Toppled

Here’s your weird news of the day:

An angry, wheelchair-bound Wisconsin man who enjoys flipping off freight trains may have to cut back on his hobby — one of the trains hit him.

Leland Laird, 54, was at his customary position, middle finger proudly aloft, next to the train tracks in Appleton at about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday evening, reports the Appleton Post-Crescent.

That’s when a Canadian National (search) engine’s gas tank clipped Laird’s wheelchair, sending him tumbling to the ground.

Laird, who suffered only mild cuts and abrasions, told police he was paralyzed by a train that hit his car in 1989 — but that wasn’t the reason he liked shooting them the bird.

“He was upset by the horns,” Appleton Police Lt. Pat Matuszewski told the newspaper. “He lives right near the intersection. That’s his way of addressing the loud horns blowing.”

Engineers and conductors are apparently used to seeing Laird’s finger flag flying high and consider him a “regular.”

The Canadian National train stopped after hitting Laird’s chair while police responded. Laird was given a ticket for being a pedestrian in violation of traffic signals.

Cops suggested that Laird make his grievances known in a more polite manner.

“We’ll put him in touch with the right people to make sure his concerns are heard,” Matuszewski told the newspaper.

Too funny. Posted by at 01:59 PM
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Individualism is Bad, Among Other Things

Via Ith, I see that the French don’t appreciate the Harry Potter novels.

A French literature professor at a teachers’ training institute thinks Harry “glorifies individualism, excessive competition and a cult of violence,” which he thinks is bad. A philosophy professor responds that Harry Potter is a socialist tract. The Star summarizes:

The five Harry Potter books—enormously successful in French translation—are stuffed with “neo-liberal stereotypes” which caricature approvingly the “excesses of the Anglo-Saxon social model,” (Ilias) Yocaris wrote.

Thus all representatives of the state (the Ministry of Magic) are lampooned as ridiculous, or incompetent or sinister. Harry goes to a “private” school, whose “micro-society” is a “pitiless jungle” that glorifies “individualism, excessive competition and a cult of violence.”

Public institutions are unable to protect individuals. Au contraire, Harry Potter and his friends find that they have to break the magical state-imposed rules to protect themselves from evil forces. [ed., links deleted]

1. Having gone to a private school for a year, I found Rowling’s Hogwart’s to be pretty accurate. Granted, I didn’t do the boarding school thing, which I bet is even more insular since the kids live there for the year without their families. It is a “micro-society.” Actually, it kind of reminded me of my college days from living on campus all four years - we had our own little culture going on there.

2. Excessive competition, I wouldn’t say it’s excessive but pretty normal. Kids compete against each other on all levels. I think it’s actually pretty healthy for kids to learn how to deal with competition and how to be competitive.

3. A cult of violence? Yes, there’s some violence in the Potter novels, but I seriously doubt it’s developed to a cult level. Talk about hyperbole. As for the lampooning of the Ministry of Magic folks - that’s sort of ridiculous coming from the French. Lampooning our representatives of state is OK in real life, but criticizing the same in a novel is a bit hypocritical. I find the Ministry staff to be portrayed moderately fairly - the whole point of the novels is that Voldemort has spies everywhere, including within the Ministry. Not all state representatives are cheery and helpful.

And the “socialist tract” thing? Aren’t the French socialists? I don’t see that at all in the novels, but maybe I’m missing something.

...Le Monde last week published an equally erudite reply to Yocaris. Far from being a capitalist lackey, Harry Potter is the first fictional hero of the anti-globalist, anti-free market, pro-Third World, “Seattle” generation, according to Isabelle Smadja.

...Harry and his friends show great concern for the “house elves,” the unpaid servants of the magical world. The fact that the elves are mostly content with their lot is, says Smadja, a “pertinent” critique of globalization.

Even worse, many of the wicked characters have French names, such as Voldemort (flight of death) and Malfoy (bad faith).

Actually, the Harry Potter books are about optimism and hope, argues King at SCSU Scholars, quoting Diane Durante of (shudder) Capitalism Magazine. Good can triumph over evil, if it’s got the guts to fight.

As I said in Ith’s comments, I think this lefty-Frenchie forgot that Rowling is British rather than American. Posted by at 01:55 PM
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Otherworld

I finished Jared’s first, as yet unpublished, novel this morning. I’m not surprised he has an agent and that there is interest in the book, it’s quite good. Whenever it does get published, the public will be in for a treat.

What I Liked:

  • The characters were pretty well developed. I found that I cared as much for the bad guys as for the good guys.
  • I liked the build up to the climactic ending. Really, the whole story just continued to build to those last few chapters.
  • It’s not a Christian novel as I’d classify it, but there’s a clear spiritual aspect to certain characters and the plot.
  • I enjoyed reading some of The Thinklings names throughout the story. I feel like an insider since I sort of know those guys from their blog!
  • I liked the use of the cold weather to convey the mood.

    • What I Wished Had Been There That Wasn’t:

  • I wish that Molly had been more prominent and more fully developed and the relationship she has/had with Mike was explored a little more. Mike’s despair about her was such a crucial part of the plot, but I didn’t get as full a picture of their marriage as I’d have liked.
  • I like epilogues. There is a bit of one, but I would have liked to know a bit more about how the three main characters (Graham, Steve, and Mike) went on from the story.

    • Other Thoughts:

  • I’m wondering when Jared wrote this. There are some elements that made me think of Columbine (Mr. Black) and life pre-9/11 vs. post 9/11. I’m thinking an editor will want to make some minor edits to those elements in order to be more timely.
  • I noticed some minor typos in the manuscript. wink.gif
  • It’s a short novel, so I’m wondering if his publisher (when he gets one) will want him to flesh out some of the “skinny” parts of the story. By skinny, I mean that there were a few places that I thought were pared down unnecessarily. Maybe not, I just got the sense that there should have been more stuff in places.

    • Overall, it’s a very good book. Thanks for letting me read it, Jared. I look forward to seeing it published! And I’m really looking forward to Black Dog Man.

    Posted by at 11:41 AM
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    Wednesday, July 21, 2004

    35 Things

    From Daniel:

    1. WHAT COLOR ARE YOUR BEDROOM WALLS?  I rent, they’re white.
    2. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?  Otherworld by Jared Wilson. I’m almost done, by the way - only about 50 pages to go. Woo!
    3. WHAT’S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?  At work it’s a Dilbert cartoon. At home it’s the CIA logo.
    4. FAVORITE BOARD GAME?  That’s a toss up between Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit.
    5. FAVORITE MAGAZINE?  Entertainment Weekly.
    6. FAVORITE SMELL?  Freshly baked cookies.
    7. FAVORITE COLOR? Blue.
    8. LEAST FAVORITE COLOR?  Black.
    9. HOW MANY RINGS BEFORE YOUR ANSWERING MACHINE PICKS UP?  Four.
    10. MOST IMPORTANT MATERIAL THING IN MY LIFE?  My dog.
    11. FAVORITE FLAVOR OF ICE CREAM?  Mint chocolate chip. Breyers.
    12. DO YOU BREAK THE SPEED LIMIT DAILY?  Yep.
    13. DO YOU HAVE A STUFFED ANIMAL IN YOUR ROOM SOMEWHERE?  I’m a girl. Of course!
    14. STORMS - COOL OR SCARY?  Cool in a scary kind of way.
    15. FAVORITE DRINK?  Vanilla Diet Coke or iced tea.
    16. WHEN IS YOUR BIRTHDAY?  March.
    17. FAVORITE VEGETABLES?  The spud, in all forms.
    18. IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY JOB, WHAT WOULD IT BE?  I kind of like where I am now.
    19. IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY COLOR HAIR, WHAT WOULD IT BE?  Red - either a dark strawberry blonde or deep auburn.
    20. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN LOVE?  Yes.
    21. TOP THREE FAVORITE MOVIES (IN ORDER)?  In order is tough. 1. Band of Brothers (yes, I know it’s a miniseries), 2. Schindler’s List, 3. You’ve Got Mail
    22. DO YOU TYPE WITH YOUR FINGERS ON THE RIGHT KEYS?  Mostly.
    23. WHAT’S UNDER YOUR BED?  Nothing but a container with my roll wrapping paper.
    24. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE NUMBER?  8
    25. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH ON TV & IN PERSON?  Baseball
    26. WHAT IS YOUR SINGLE BIGGEST FEAR?  Rape.
    27. FAVORITE CD OF ALL TIME & RIGHT NOW?  I don’t have a favorite of all time. Right now I have Third Day: Wire in my car player.
    28. FAVORITE TV SHOW OF ALL TIME & RIGHT NOW?  All Time: Seinfeld; Now: The Amazing Race
    29. HAMBURGERS OR HOT DOGS?  Hot dogs.
    30. THE COOLEST PLACES YOU’VE EVER BEEN?  Scotland and England.
    31. WHAT WALLPAPER AND/OR SCREENSAVER IS ON YOUR COMPUTER RIGHT NOW?  CootieGirl on both home and work computers.
    32. DOES MCDONALD’S SKIMP ON YOUR FRIES & DO YOU CARE?  Not that I’ve noticed. I couldn’t care less.
    33. FAVORITE CHAIN RESTAURANT(s)?  Baja Fresh.
    34. IF YOU HAVE A BOY (OR HAVE ANOTHER BOY) WHAT WOULD YOU NAME HIM?  Cameron.
    35. IF YOU COULD LEARN TO PLAY ONE INSTRUMENT OVERNIGHT, WHAT WOULD IT BE?  Guitar

    Leave your own list in the comments or at your own blog. Posted by at 07:23 PM
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    The New Chapeau

    I wear a few hats in my office out of necessity. For the most part I don’t mind it, except it sure would be nice to be paid for the increased duties. But alas, federal service ain’t like the private sector. I can’t just go into my boss’ office and demand a raise or else. He’ll just laugh and be within his legal rights to do so. Actually, my boss would cry and panic for a minute at the thought that maybe I was seriously considering leaving, but that’s not the point of this post.

    (As an aside, he did come to me this morning to tell me of a promotion possibility at one of our DC offices. I quickly assured him that there was no way I was doing that commute, even for a promotion, and especially not that office. He was pleased and more than a little relieved.)

    OK, so back to the point ... we had a short training thing this afternoon regarding emergency procedures. They have divided up some tasks to ensure a safe evacuation to specific people in each component of the building. At one point I leaned over to my boss to ask who our [position withheld to be mysterious] is. He didn’t know.

    When the training was over, we went to the deputy who’s in charge of this thing to ask him who our [position withheld to be mysterious] is. He leafed through his manual and when he got to the appropriate page, he pointed to the person listed. You’ll never guess who is the [position withheld to be mysterious].

    OK, you guessed it. It’s me. Is that irony?

    I immediately requested some additional training since I’m still pretty unfamiliar with most of the layout of the building (and I need to know it now). And I now have in my possession a snazzy orange safety vest with [position withheld to be mysterious] in large black letters across the front.

    Posted by at 06:37 PM
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    An Open Letter to Linda Ronstadt

    Dear Ms. Ronstadt,

    I understand that you don’t enjoy performing when you know that Republicans and fundamental Christians are in your audience. Some might call you bigoted for your views, but I say you’re free to think as you choose. You’re even free to make known your views in a public forum, it’s your First Amendment right to free speech. It’s the beautiful thing about the American Constitution and our open society. All manner of people are free to think and say what they want when they want. I’m sure you have many fans that will agree with your statements. Good for you and them. Of course, when you say something like that it makes you look like a petty idiot, but you’re completely free to say it.

    I’m willing to bet that with your petty remarks you lost easily half of your fans - fans who happen to be Republicans and Christians. I count myself in that number. That might translate to your wallet, too, so you might want to start saving for a rainy day (I hear thunder booming in the distance, by the way) since your ticket sales will be reduced. Oh, but wait, I hear you got fired from your latest gig. Seems that the rain has already started to hit.

    In the immortal words of Laura Ingraham, shut up and sing. When will you people finally ge tthe point that we don’t buy tickets to your shows to hear you espouse your political opinions? If you sing, I’m buying a ticket to hear you sing. If you act, I’m buying a ticket to see you act. I say this to those whose political views I agree with as well - just shut it. If you want to be politically active, go for it, it’s the American way. But not in a forum where your audience has paid for you to do the one thing you do that’s not political, because that’s not what they’re paying for. It’s a simple concept.

    Thanks for your attention. Good luck to you.

    Posted by at 01:11 PM
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    TAR5 Week 3 Results

    chrissw—570
    kdeweb—530
    tygertyger—385
    SteenShell—340
    denis—285
    Jaynee—275
    jenspeaks—235
    princessjami—220

    I have a ton of thoughts from last night’s episode, which was very good. They’re somewhat spoilerish, so I’ve put them in the “Still Speaking” section.

    Posted by at 11:31 AM
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    Tuesday, July 20, 2004

    Sloppiness, My Foot

    I don’t know what to make of the news about Sandy Berger’s brouhaha, but my first thoughts mirrored Citizen Smash.

    Every time I go up for a periodic security review, the inspector impresses upon me the seriousness of not violating security protocols. At the end of the review, I sign a document acknowledging the criminal penalties for mishandling or unauthorized disclosure of classified information: up to $50 thousand in fines and 10 years in prison for each incident.

    Right.

    My first job out of college was as an admin on a defense contract. I worked at our company site, but I was required to hold a SECRET clearance. I was given extensive training on how to handle secure documents and materials. I was shown the procedures for our vaults. I was assured time and again that if I violated the security regulations as set forth in US law, that I would not only be fired, but fined and prosecuted. And I was thankful that I never had to handle secure information.

    Until the day that our HR director asked if I would help her to shred some sensitive documents. She led me to our shredder room, which was really a closet. I was to shred some CONFIDENTIAL documents and there was one bag of SECRET level documents. Once it was all shredded, I needed to transfer the stuff to burn bags for further destruction. This stuff doesn’t end up in the regular trash even after it’s shredded to confetti. I was to be locked in the room, no one could come in except those with keys (I think there were maybe three people in the company who had keys to that room). I could leave, but I had to check in with her every time I left the room and, of course, she had to let me back in.

    To be honest, I never understood why some of those things were deemed SECRET. There didn’t seem to be anything warranting such security on any of those papers. But that didn’t matter, the reality is that they were classified and I had to follow regulations. And I did follow those regulations to the letter. I was completely paranoid that whole time.

    So it makes me wonder just how complacent you get when you see the super secret stuff on a daily basis. A man at the level of National Security Advisor sees classified stuff way more important to national security than the random documents I shredded. I can’t help but wonder what on earth Berger was thinking when he was so careless with classified documents at the Library of Congress National Archives. I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt about his motives, but something sure is fishy about the whole thing.

    Posted by at 09:16 PM
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    Week 2 TAR TWoP Recap

    Here begins our regularly scheduled The Amazing Race Television Without Pity recap post for the Week Two Episode. I’m laughing with the “previously on...”

    Previously on Hey! It’s That Uruguay!: The race exploded out of the gate at the Santa Monica Pier, complete with an opening injury that sent the valiant Jim to the hospital for 25 stitches, making him the first contestant to actually address the problem of being totally lame.

    Guffaw.

    LATER: Oh, yeah. Don’t forget that Episode Three is on TV tonight, my peeps.

    Posted by at 05:35 PM
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