Instant Topic

Well, as long as I can't seem to get pictures to load on this, I have an instant, if repetitive, topic of conversation. Actually, I also think it would probably become a dull topic--really, how many different ways can one expound on the situation. It isn't a matter of blaming one or the other, since I don't know if it is my laptop or blogger that is having the issue. The combination of the two definitely doesn't work. I guess I could go to my windows machine, but that isn't nearly as comfortable as typing while curled up on the sofa.

The work week is finished, and I was very ready for it to be done, even striking up pointless conversations during the last half hour of the day, because the business at my desk was just not calling loud enough. Now I have to figure out the weekend, but that generally works itself out, though dinner tonight is my immediate concern. If I follow up on my thoughts, it will end up being the fourth night in a row I go find food outside of my kitchen. Ah well, the stomach is growling, so before this devolves further and further into what my appetite would like me to write, I will wrap it up.

Yet Again...

Another day that blogger is just not agreeing to accept photos. Oh well, aside from that, there is a fear that is rapidly being realized here, that of having nothing to write. Yes, I could lament the sun being down by 4, or that I haven't found the perfect gift for all those who need gifts this season, but that all seems so trivial. Not to mention, problems here don't always need to reflect problems facing the general populace, besides, aren't gift cards the end all be all of don't know what to give you gift giving. Aside from a general belief that those things aren't always great for everyone, I like to try and think some gift giving out, and keep that status of best gift giver that I somehow have managed to attain with my sister's kids.

The water is about ready for tea, so this is a good pause point. (Moroccan Pomegranate Red, if you are curious.) While Fred Meyer has the Celestial Seasonings Teas on sale 10/$10 this week, this purchase was not made as part of that. I bought a few, but do to limited space in my cabinets, I opted not to purchase more than a couple.

I guess that is about it for the night. The lack of fodder, as who really wants a continual update of the inanities of work, is the biggest deterrent on getting the magical 100 posts, which of coarse is just magical because I have decided it is. I could try for eleventy-one posts, but since there aren't that many days left this year, it would involve a several days with multiple posts, and with nothing to write about once a day, then my blog could well become Seinfeldesque in its coverage of nothing, which is of course better than nothingness, but that is Sartre, not Seinfeld, though the two are probably affiliated, perhaps with some L. Ron Hubbard thrown in.

Will I hit 100 this year

In January, I had hoped to do better than last year in quantity of blog entries. At some point, I had a good chance of doing it without going into overdrive at the end of the year. Now of course, too much screwing around with video games, I need to go into overdrive, though I am not sure that I am all that gung ho to do such a thing. I am a little irritated that blogger & tiger don't seem to get along well, or perhaps it is some other aspect of Apple's software that blogger doesn't like.

Tonight, I uploaded some pictures from a bit ago, and was going to upload one for the top of this, but it just didn't want to upload. Amazing how that is my re-occurring problem here, and, even more amazing, is that is isn't happening when I am using Vista. I don't think I have written any entries here on my Vista enabled PC, though I do know I have written about my Vista experiences. Consider this my complaint about Apple software post, though, more accurately, it may be a complaint about blogger/Google software, since their stuff seems more aimed at the Microsoft market, because Apple users have no need for internet based word processors.

Superfluous in Words

Only today did I read the comment on my October 29th post, and I wonder, is it that what is said about me is dull, or is it that I am just superfluous. It could be that I just don't fit. Odd, though, is the feeling, lately gaining momentum, that I don't have much of a place nor much of a focus as to where in the world I should go. Now, I am being edited out of places in other's writings. Hardly do I take offense, though I find it funny that several people found me to be the extraneous element in places the author identifies with me. On the other hand, if I find out that I am edited out of Sovata or the All-Saints' Day Bus ride to Targu Mures, then I will know the Purdue English Graduate Program Staff has it out for me, and intends to excise me from all my best friend's writing efforts.

(I can't say that Ozzy Osbourne did justice to the Beatles' "In My Life.")

Now that those things I hadn't intended to write about have been written about, I guess it is time to figure out what I planned to write about today, but it is too late. Thoughts have vanished, and I should take Twain's proposed advice to Fennimore Cooper, but I haven't always been known to take good advice. Actually, I managed to spit out a journal entry today, and I don't transcribe them, for some reason, the electronic and the written tend to stay in their separate stacks. If I can merge the electrons and the ink molecules, perhaps I can create something, and if I toss on a bit of paint, perhaps I will dub it Cubism for the 21st century.

What I really need to merge is my attention and focus, as they wander where they will generally taking my time with them, all over the place, but one thing they don't take is production or creation, and that is what is bothering me, but paint, write, or some other of the muses' blessings, it doesn't really matter, just do something.

The title of many of my blog posts start with "Wednesday"

Lately, Wednesday might as well be any other day of the week. Too many days for me are becoming inter-changeable, with the main difference in being where I choose to eat dinner. Tonight was The Peoples' Pub, yesterday the Old Town, and Monday, well, then I went to Zayda Buddy's, where I can happily say they now have an 8" pizza which works for one. I do with that more than dinner differentiated my days, but that is what things have been reduced to. The passion of youth burned up in charging to the moon and paying off that trip before I hit 35. The next round of passion and energy just doesn't seem to have arrived, and life is holding onto the the steady drone of bi-weekly paychecks and regular hours, all the while making me wonder what I have done wrong. How can people not remember the passion of youth, when the world was going to change and the greatest minds of our generation were not going to stare blankly in the mirror wondering what happened, but were going to create that something, and maybe they have, but instead of poets and artists the greatest minds of this generation are coders and entertainment people, if this is the case, then they have succeeded in refocusing the gaze of the masses in ways which would appall the artists, not of old, but of 40 years ago. Life's zest denied by debt and then silly perceived necessity of maintaining a job.

Not even trying

to post a picture today. I am not really in the mood for it. I don't know why, but tonight my mood is pretty wretched, and it wasn't a bad day at work, that was yesterday. Oh well, sometimes life is just like that, and it tells me that what I need to do is add more things to my life, but not acquire more things because this things is activities not physical objects. Truly, I doubt I need many more of those things in my life, though other things it might be nice to add. Oh, the variety of things out there is truly amazing, and if I am lucky, perhaps I can add a few of those things to my life, but not the other things, which I have too many of already.

Facebook has been an interesting new toy, as I have found some people I had lost contact with. Some actually use Facebook, and others, I am sure, joined because someone told them that they had to. Either way, it can be interesting. It also has the ability to become a nightmare if you are truly paranoid. Look at all this information they have, they know who I know, etc. Yes, there is the potential for that information to be misused, but, in everything, there is that potential.

Pictures aren't go, unlike Thunderbirds

I do with I could figure out why Blogger accepts pictures somedays with no problems, then on others it just goes on uploading for an eternity. I am sure there is a very good technical reason, but when it doesn't work, I don't really care what that reason is.

It was another really nice autumn day here, sun and temp in the upper 50's lower 60's, I think. Like yesterday, I decided that staying in the house would be a bad idea, so I walked the loop trail at Discovery Park again. Unlike yesterday though, Kip came over and we tried our beer, which like the first batch, is pretty darn good. Someone at work once said that homebrews tend to smell skunky, and I have to say, neither of our batches have had that odor, and while the first had a better nose, this one has a slightly stronger flavor.

A really nice day

Really, you would think that Ballard Blandmark wouldn't be the best name for a building, but this fabulous new thing is indeed that, unless, of course, that fancy "B" in the middle is supposed to stand for Ballard.

Today was a great day. I enjoyed it tremendously, as I got out of the house and walked over to Discovery Park, seeing a sea lion at the locks looking for meals. Imagine my delight in discovering that at Discovery Park there is a 2.8 mile loop trail. While I doubt that I will be taking a 45 pound pack there to get a work out, the fact that I can walk there and do a loop, and by the time I get home, I would have covered over 5 miles is a good thing. Today's walk in the woods was nicer than thirty minutes of cardio any day, though I am sure I never quite got the appropriate heart rate and such.

I have been putzing around in Facebook lately, and it is interesting to see who I know and don't know. It is also nice to reconnect, electronically at least, with some who I have lost contact with. Those I never lost contact with, but who have been negligent in calling, well, it is nice to harass you as well.

Keeping the flow going

Hey, it is time for the really have nothing to say post that I am posting because, well, I have the urgent need to fill in the space. Filling in the space. Making sure the gaps between entries this month are few and far between, which of course means, in the predictable nature of making such comments, that I won't be typing any more this month here, though I could, but it could only be once or twice more. Conversely, not Nikely, I could spew way too much pointless dialogue that does not reflect positively on my mental capabilities, but then again, I am more of a lemming than a maverick. All that being said, tonight is the beginning of my three day weekend, which seems to be the nature of things for the foreseeable future, at least until the strike ends, and no one is predicting that until later this year, or perhaps January. What's a lemming to do?

A little something before bed

I think I mentioned sometime in September that they were installing this public art along the overpass leading to the Ballard bridge on 15th, and if I didn't mention it, I meant to. All of these have lights that shine up the middle, so there is a glowing sort of effect. If I went out at night and took pictures, some of these might make more sense, but there is a nice bit of enigma with them and the daylight.

One more day of work this week, but the high muckity-muck is over-reacting (his mantra sometimes seems to be why react when you can over-react), and a flurry of directives was issued regarding the purchasing department today, so it remains to be seen if there will be more work days next week. The most disconcerting thing that happened is that people who don't know what my job is assigned someone else the responsibility of doing that which I spent two weeks doing after we turned off outstanding orders. Of course, there was a trigger for it, and part of that trigger had to do with parts we wouldn't have stopped anyway because no directive existed to stop them until possibly yesterday, after they had already been returned to us. If I am lucky, perhaps my boss will get me working on whatever project he assigned last week but has yet to explain or detail, which he said he would do near the end of work last Thursday.

Distractions and such

Something about trying to type an entry, chat, and listen to Tom Waits and his gravelly stories that makes this difficult. I managed to be on the mostly story disc, causing me to listen rather than type. It normally doesn't take me quite so much time to come up with something, but today, I can't remember what I was going to say, aside from my fingers vacillating on the "put in cart" button for complete Appalachian Trail maps.

By the way, politics and Wall Street will play out the way they will. In truth it is so absolutely perverse I am sure some creative novelist will write some sort of greed porn out of the whole thing. The election is coming up, and I will do what I can then to create change in Washington, since regime change (at least Bush) is certain, since he isn't running. Exasperation and absurdist acceptance is my general feeling. I am trying to understand the macro-economic reasoning behind the whole thing, though because of the continued idiotic behavior by those being bailed out, there is no sympathy, rather I would like to see some hefty tax audits.

That pleasant directional feeling

If you have ever made a decision to do something difficult, but something which holds some allure to you, for whatever reason, then used that decision-momentum to get you through the following months until the decision becomes a reality of action, then you will probably know what I feel like. It is sort of like the decision made in October or November of 2001 when I decided Peace Corps would be my next move. Of course, that decision, unlike the similar one that is likely to be made regarding the Appalachian Trail, had outside influences that determined whether or not I could do it, such as the requirement of an invitation, so in the paperwork filled out, things became a bit more of a reality as each bar was passed. Here the same thing will likely happen, though some other things need to happen as well. Each and everything on a list that doesn't yet exist has to be evaluated and acted on, or not. Many things need to be done by March, and the planning of the whole thing is only just begun. I can't really answer how I feel, but I know it is good to be in motion again. Seattle has been a slothful time. While a pretty place, it just hasn't been terribly fulfilling. Maybe I will find that perspective I need while away, or maybe I will find something different, and discover that I need to be someplace else, east of the Mississippi, or else perhaps Portland. (Goodness, there seem to be an awful lot of ifs, maybes and perhapses.)

Again, though I can't say for certain it is the answer, I do think it is a good goal and a real possibility that by this time next year I will either be at Katahdin, or at least tried to get there. I was over at trailjournals.com earlier, and it is interesting reading, though I really wonder just how people update that, unless they do it in bunches during their town visits.

Another Tuesday, though Monday for some

Well, week two of our reduced schedule at work commenced today for those who have Mondays off. I am sure the schedule will change again, though no decisions are likely to be made until next week. I am really hoping they manage to justify the reduced hours we are currently on, because if they cut them more, I don't know if my savings level will hold steady or decline. Currently, it won't grow by much, but I don't think it will decline.

Oh, for some reason Blogger doesn't like my pictures today, so maybe tomorrow...

Using Christmas Presents

Last year for Christmas, I received this nifty headlamp, which at the time I had no idea what I would use if for. Mom, who chose it, thought I could come up with a use for it. Considering that, I can't see how she would disagree with my potential decision to hike the Appalachian Trail--a decision, much like that of Peace Corps, which becomes more concrete the closer it becomes to being possible, and the more I take it seriously as a possibility rather than something I can't do because of my experience or because it takes too much planning. I do think trying to plan weekly mail drops is a bit extreme, and would cause me to consider stock in the USPS. It would also be a decision that would drive my sister and brother-in-law both crazy, as they have volunteered to do the mailing. Oh well, it is just another detail that will be figured out later on. With luck it is something that will fall in place as time progresses, as I don't know if I want to carry a month's worth of foodstuffs, but somewhere between a week and month makes sense, because towns and general stores aren't too far off the path.

Still Saturday

It is still Saturday, and it is very autumnal, with the wind blowing these little yellow leaves everywhere, at least when they aren't stuck to the ground from the rain earlier today. As can be expected, I was at the Old Town earlier today, caught up in the thoughts that have been occupying me lately. Next year's decision, and I don't quite know what it will be, would do well not to follow the mistakes of the past, though those mistakes seem to follow upon re-integration, rather than the decision itself being wrong. Going back into the business world after Peace Corps is an example of this, though in doing so, it has opened another opportunity for me to figure out what the right thing is. Again, the right thing may only be right for a certain period of time, but capturing it during that time is the goal.

Someday, I will

actually have what I want to say here planned and perhaps somewhat thought out. That day is not today. Today is one of those mornings where it has been raining all morning, and when I woke up, I thought, great, another day in the house. Lots of house time has become a bit tedious, and, just as the weather is turning, and finances are tightening, I get cabin fever. What is a world traveler with a soon to expire passport to do? The passport thing shouldn't be a big deal. Interestingly, the dollar, after falling to pathetic levels this spring and summer, is now back to where it was last November when I went to Paris and the lowlands. I don't say that to imply international destinations are on my list, as I haven't really considered any lately. I also haven't really considered much US travel, though I have a friend who has a fabulous apartment for another month or so in San Francisco. The sun is trying to break through the gloom, and I guess that could be a metaphor right now to describe my life, though I think that angst is supposed to be burned through as an adolescent.

Decisions to be made

Today is the first Friday I am off based on our current strike schedule. I am not totally sure what to do with the time, but did decide to finally update my voter registration with my current address, of course, tomorrow is the deadline. Since I don't have a car, I am not sure how I would have gotten to Woodinville to vote. Other than that, my thoughts have been on next February and March, and what I am going to do then, and the answer right now is that I really don't know. There are always challenges out there, but choosing the right one for the right time can be difficult. We are having typical misty rain sort of weather here, and while I was out earlier, a smile crossed my face recalling the occasional walk in the rain during university, when I just needed to get out of the dorms and away from people. It didn't really help me make a decision, but the smile gave me a reason to think about what is next. I should live in the present, and I do frequently, but it is also necessary to plan some things for the future. Living now doing nothing because you plan on doing it when you retire is stupid, because there is always that proverbial bus.

Post-Non-Bailout Reflection

Not being an economist, it is a bit difficult for me to know why the Wall Stree Bailout needed to be immediately, if not sooner. The spiral has been going on for how long? The government chose to do nothing, or very little, for how long? I can understand the need to keep money moving and banks in business, but I really think it should be done on terms the people footing the bill can live with. I have read where in order to successfully perform the bailout the government would need to pay more than the distressed assets are worth? In other words, we are paying premium for garbage? All while someone on Wall Street is still getting a nice check? Truly, this is a mess, but Congress needs to take a bit of time to come up with something. If another bill that is unacceptable to Congress gets put up to a vote, the same thing will happen, and this, I would bet, would be worse than no vote at all. Anyway, even though the Dow went down over 700 points yesterday, it does appear to have regained half of that, making me wonder if those numbers really have any bearing to anything.

Fear 101

While I am sure there was a good reason for the Feds to seize Washington Mutual, there were a conspiracy theorist's concoction of unusual bits about it that raise doubt as to whether or not it was warranted. Perhaps the most glaring is that seizing banks traditionally is a Friday afternoon affair, rather than something mid-week. The other sort of odd thing is that Washington Mutual's management didn't sound terribly involved. Personally, I think it was a way of getting Congress to act, in Treasury's favor, by pulling this off just before the vote on bailing out Wall Street. Of course, the downside of all this is that now I have to move my money, as JP Morgan Chase (First Chicago, Bank One, etc) is not an institution I care to do business with, because from my experience Bank One/First Chicago were more interested in billing people to bank with them, then providing decent services to their customers. The less money you had in their bank, the more you paid the bank to handle it. Considering Washington Mutual's collapse was due to mortgages to people at the lower end of the monetary spectrum, I don't have high hopes they will be able to keep their homes. In addition, I would be the Feds also planned to buy all the bad stuff from JP Morgan as soon as they could, allowing the new owners of Washington Mutual a really cheap expansion opportunity. Remember, the legislation Treasury & the White House are clamoring for includes no oversight and no questions about the propriety of the purchases my with the tax-payer money.

All that being said, I doubt Washington Mutual needed to be seized yesterday, but that it happened to scare law maker's into action and tax-payers into asking fewer questions. If the Bush administration hadn't done this sort of thing before, remember Colin Powell's UN testimony, perhaps I wouldn't be so cynical, but I think they are just trying it again. And again, it is to the disadvantage of the american people. If Congress and the tax-payers fall for it again, then to paraphrase our future VP, Americans are exceptional (exceptionally stupid). I really hope that exceptionally scary lady does not become VP.

Saturday, with Rain

I am not sure if my thoughts of going to the Fremont Octoberfest will move into actions, as the day is overcast and rainy/drizzly in a fashion that makes drinking beer outdoors a less than ideal way to spend the time. I have been playing around with Facebook, though I can't really determine if there is any point in it. Incredibly silly things like giving people plants of pixels, then raking their pixel garden-- all of this in order to save rainforest. Yeesh, I don't know who comes up with these things, but the price is right, so it is easy to spend time mindlessly doing such tasks, designed to appear that you are doing favors for your facebook friends, some of whom you may know.