Long week

Having taken that workshop over the weekend, this will be a long week, since I didn't get quite so much relax and do nothing time the last few days as I normally would. That isn't a bad thing, but I am sure I will be feeling it as the week progresses. Today's photo from the workshop results is basically different ink and papers with the self-portrait image. It was a lot of fun for me to see how the image would show with a few variables thrown in. Black and white is always nice, but sometimes color, or off-white paper really sets everything off.

I just compared this to the image from yesterday, which is actually the fourth image from the left, and in yesterdays, the color of the paper is totally missing, and I didn't do any processing of the photo besides cropping it, which is something I find interesting. I wonder if it is the contrast with the other images that gives the paper its proper color, or if some auto-adjust happened.

Finished, but not ready for work tomorrow.

Well, I am finished with my two day workshop, and today I did manage to finish the self-portrait shown here. I have it in black, which will eventually link, as I don't think the red on sage colored paper really shows the color of the paper. I printed up my other two images as well, also in a variety of colors, but did not get a start on a fourth image, other than a preliminary sketch. I was worn out around four, with two more hours to go, so I printed a few more images, but spent the rest of the time socializing and helping to clean up and whatnot. I can say I am pleased with the images, and may very well continue playing with this technique, though I am a bit concerned as to where I will do the carving, at least until it gets warm, since my living room is carpeted, and I doubt I want to try and remove linoleum chips from the carpet. It was definitely a fun class, and if you are interested in a relatively low tech printmaking technique, then I would suggest such a class, as you don't really need much in the way of special equipment. Oh well, time to wrap up and hit the sack.

Exhausted at the end of day 1

It has been so long since I spent an entire day focused on something like art making, I forgot just how exhausting it can be. The flamingo and lava lamp motif frequently showed up in my college printmaking and I could not resist the urge to bring them back. This is the first three stages, and the third may be the final, of this particular image. It is fun, and my birds can't help but appear sinister, though I don't recall ever being traumatized by Hitchcock's film. I took a photo of all three as I think it gives a nice overview of how things change during the carving of the block. I am hesitant of taking too much out in the beginning, so I always know the first is not likely to be my last, but with each additional removal I tend to focus on one area, then print to see how it works as a whole, before moving to the next. Of course this is probably slower, and I use a lot more paper and ink, but I like the variations, and changes. Someone mentioned in class that by doing this, I always have at least one image I may like, before I remove too much surface and ruin the piece. I guess tomorrow I find out if I end up doing that, though this process seems to be easy enough that I could do it at home, if I were careful, so theoretically if I don't do it in class, I have plenty of time to mess things up on my own.

Almost forgot a title for little more than an update.

Well, another week has passed and another class of fusing. I am having quite a bit of fun cutting and making glass pieces. Working with color here is very different from working with paint. The image above are some small pieces destined for an exchange at the end of class with the other students. This is prior to the fusing process, and I hope to remember to take post fusing photos of them for comparison, as it should be interesting. Other than the class and work, I haven't done much this week, so there isn't really much to post. I dislike posts like this, but I didn't want to forsake the blog for too long, as having done that in the past, once put to the side, it can remain there for far too long.

Saturday Evening

It is Saturday evening, and I have just finished dinner at Zayda Buddy's, and now I am trying to decide what is next. Since I promised the other two pieces I have made so far in my fusing class, here is the second. It started out inspired by Matisse's paper-cuts, and then, as I was messing with the yellow glass, when I managed to place them in an almost dynamic pose, I forgot the Matisse, and stuck with the pose, as it seemed fun. The purple seen in the image is from the scanner and doesn't actually appear on the coaster, for better or worse. I loaded all the images on Facebook, and Mom took a liking to the one that is made of all transparent glass, so it goes back to the kiln for the installation of a loop that will allow it to be used as a sun-catcher, as we both agree that glass coasters are pretty, but impractical if actually under a sweating glass. I am glad that I have affixed the little rubber things on the bottom of that particular piece, as I would relish trying to remove them.

In a really nice change of pace, I must say that I think I have spoken with Mom more since Christmas than in the first 6-8 months of last year. I can't say why, but she is calling more, and when she commented this morning on Facebook that she really liked the green and blue piece, I gave her a call. Though that call was short, as she was in the middle of something as per usual, it was at least the third conversation this year. I am not really sure what changed, but perhaps something finally kicked in there that email and Facebook posts are not the best way to engage me, for whatever reason.

A Picture

I will upload the other two coasters I made last week in my glass fusing class a bit later, but I thought it might be fun to post at least one now. I was lazy and didn't take a picture actually, but put the coasters on my scanner and scanned them, figuring the scan light and the white background would probably yield better image quality. Of the three, if I wanted to turn any into sun catchers, this would be the one, as it is made of all transparent glass, and the others are made from opaque. The class is fun, and we are working on a slumping piece now. I am hoping I kept mine simple enough, but I worry I added too many things. I guess I will find out next week.

One thing I like about this class is that it gives you an idea of how things work in incremental steps, rather than an intensive workshop where you make all of these things, but due to the firing time, you don't really see the first pieces until late in the workshop, when it is very possible you repeated some of the same techniques, but you didn't know they wouldn't yield the results you wanted.

In other news, I did reactivate my Facebook account, and deactivated virtually every notification the idiotic thing can send me. The main reason is I don't have my adobe photo site up quite yet, and I also figured that some of my friends/family would be interested in seeing the images now, rather than when I got around to writing something to accompany them.

Electronic Stasis

As I looked at my blog, I was taken by the fact I haven't updated Library Thing in ages. While I still own the books that it says are on my shelf, there is a distinct lack of anything newly acquired, or, in truth, anything vaguely resembling a complete list. I am not sure if the partial list reflects my disillusion with the project or the tediousness of the project. Once there, I am sure a book will stay there forever, or at least until I remove it, but the process of uploading all those titles is more than a bit tedious--much like the first time one uploads collected discs into I-tunes or something similar, with the major difference being that you can listen to your music without needing to carry all those discs around; whereas, with the books, all you get is a list. I can't see publishers of either sort ever actually making it so that if you buy a physical version, then you can automatically access an electronic copy of the same thing. While music is easy to move to the PC, the thought of trying to type the next chapter you want to read into your Kindle seems a bit silly. I guess the reason this came to mind is that it would be nice to be able to have a selection to read at lunch while at work, but keeping a bookshelf at work seems a bit overkill. As it is, sometimes while eating I read whatever newspaper I can find, then after eating, in the remaining portion of my lunch, I have been reading a chapter or so of a book. Do I really need to combine those two activities (newspapers and books) with one device? Probably not, but I can understand how it could appear desirable using that premise. For me, at least for the time being, I will continue bringing my book to lunch and hoping to find a newspaper, and if no paper is available, there is always a bit of daydreaming that can be done while I eat.

Buying Music

I figure I must still be old school when it comes to this, as I still prefer to go to a music store and buy discs. Considering the number of hard drive failures I have experienced, and how much I dislike constantly needing to download repeatedly that I have downloaded at least once before, my reluctance to buy music electronically can probably be explained. I still need to download a copy of Dragon Age again, as my only electronic copy happened to be on the hard drive that died on me. It isn't as if I don't trust backing up files on a spare hard drive, but that spare hard drive periodically needs to be backed up as well, since it is as likely to die as any hard drive on a computer. While I would guess that it would be extremely rare for all of one's drives to die at the same time, my guess is that it is a possibility, and then one is really stuck trying to put all of one's files back together again. There is the possibility of storing things on the cloud, but it seems silly to pay for more storage online if you have a back-up at home. If I really wanted to be a bit of a conspiracy theorist, I guess I could just believe it is all a big scam so that we store all our information in the cloud, where it can be accessed by us, but where companies can then scan it, and target advertising more effectively, which would boost the bottom line in addition to the storage charges. While I would not put that out of the range of business practices, I doubt there is a currently a company with that sort of business model.

Anyway, the purchases were Balkan Beats Volume 1 and Balkan Grooves from Eastblok Music. After my time in Romania, I still haven't tired of the Balkan sounds.

Sunday Reading

This article in the New York Review of Books reminds me of the something that was going on in Peace Corps as well. The second half of the article deals with the influence of modern business practices on the American university system, but I found some parallels with some of the requests made of volunteers by the program managers during the periodic reviews that occur during service. One of the requests that was made of us was a count of total number of people assisted, which in my case, being a teacher, meant I would just count the number of students in my classes, then add the number of any students I was tutoring outside of class, and present that. I retrospect, from reading this article, I could very well have added any of the Outward Bound programs that I actively assisted with, though I am sure I did not do that, since I thought this exercise was pointless. Again, in the context of the article, I am able to see, that while I thought the exercise a waste of time, there was probably a bean counter somewhere who would compare totals between the various countries and determine budgets based on productivity, and this bean counter is the reason our program managers really pushed for everyone to be included, like those I tutored outside of my primary responsibility of teaching at the high school. Now, while I believe the end result would be of Peace Corps Romania receiving more money if those totals showed, via whatever formulas used, that Romania was a better return for investment than say Bulgaria. Remember, this is all hypothesis and I do not know for a fact that it the way the country budgets are determined, and even if it is, I do not know if after the budgets are set, if it carries down further, and increases the budgets of the various programs proportionally.

What bothers me a bit about this is that just because as a teacher I have a set number of students I assist directly, that doesn't mean others don't help more people by teaching skills to organizations that in turn pass those skills on. Since the volunteer wasn't directly involved in assisting the second generation, for lack of a better phrase, they can't include those numbers, even if those people were assisted while the volunteer was in country working on a different project, perhaps even with the same group they initially taught the skills now being passed along.

While I have no issues with accountability, I do believe that metrics for social service agencies are not going to be as cut and dried as those in the accounting world, or whichever sphere creates these metrics, might wish.

(Simon Head is the author of the article "The Grim Threat to British Universities" linked in the first paragraph, in case that link dies.)

On pictures (and other things)

I think this picture may have surfaced previously in a slightly different form, but I like it, and it is from one the places I have been lucky enough to visit, Ljubljana. At some point I remember being advised to keep adding photos to my blog so people would know when I updated, and while I can say it would make determining updates quite quick, since they would be at a glance, though the real question becomes, if the picture used is not sufficiently interesting, will anyone bother with the words, whether they are new or not? Either way, here is a picture, and some new words, though I can not guarantee the quality.

It is only Saturday morning, and while I have started Lynd Wards' "God's Man", I haven't finished it, and would like to save my opinion on it until I have finished, likely to be this weekend, but one never knows, maybe I will go get a car stereo instead, since that is one thing my new vehicle does need, since I spend at least 40 or so minutes each way, to and from work, it would be nice to listen to something other than the wind and the engine.

That said, I have finished my morning coffee, and read all sorts of news, so I should get going and get away from the computer for a bit. Perhaps I will get lucky and find something to do that involves leaving the house, which seems rare for me on the weekends for some reason (most likely, habit).

First Week

The first week of the new year is done. And even though the work week wasn't a full one for me, I am pleased that tomorrow is a day off. The week at work wasn't anything new, and much to my pleasant surprise, I wasn't as backlogged as I had thought I would be after the break, so work was a pleasant readjusting to the flow, rather than trying not to drown in a deluge.

Today I received my Library of America edition of Lynd Ward's "Graphic Novels." I used quotes because I don't think that term was active when he created them. They are books whose stories are told entirely with wood cuts. In the brief skimming I have done so far, I haven't seen any words cut into the blocks, so it is definitely a visual style of storytelling vastly different from what we are accustomed to in today's graphic novel form, where the story is told in a combination of words & pictures.

That is probably the highlight of my week, though I am working on "How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe" by Charles Yu right now as well. It has mostly been my lunchtime reading after I have eaten, but it is proving a satisfactory read thus far, and I hope as I get further into it, that it can remain so. This book was a Christmas gift from a former room mate, and as I was an unexpected guest for the holiday there, I am rather enjoying the thought that it was not picked out for me (perhaps it was purchased for his own use), but that he thought I might like it regardless. I sometimes have a tough time with modern fiction, especially if it is too self-reflexive and draws one constantly out of the story, or worse when they are trying to be too clever, and everything falls flat. Initially, I was thinking this was the latter, but that opinion has changed a bit the further I have read, which is something that pleases me.

Today's Interesting Vehicle

Had I had the patience to wait around in the cold today, I might have asked for a tour of this vehicle. I saw it on my way to the Sunday Market today, and thought it was one of the better looking modern RV's I had seen, though my hunch is it may also be DIY, and if so, kudos to the creator, as it is a nice looking vehicle.

Mixed Bag

While today has been a bit of a mixed bag, with it being another sunny and chilly day, I managed to head out to see if there was anything up at the Ballard Sunday Market. There were people, buskers, and vendors, but I bought nothing, though while there I did stop into the new kitchen-wares store, though nothing caught my interest. I really hadn't planned on buying anything, and my cooking has been so sparse that I wouldn't even know what I might need. I also managed to jot a bit in my journal and play a little Age of Conan (AoC), in the latter more trying to catch up with those who I would team with previously, but whom I haven't seen since my hard drive induced hiatus from the game.

The New Year

Well, the New Year arrived, and I slept soundly through any celebration by the neighbors. I didn't relish the idea of trying to stay awake and spend it in a crowded bar with cheap champagne at midnight, so sleep was my solution. Today hasn't been unpleasant, though it has been uneventful. I got the car out and went to Half-Price Books after meeting someone for lunch. The lamb curry was nice, but I managed to refrain from purchasing anything at the bookstore, as I have a few too many unread books already.

Today's entry is mostly to keep things going, but I am wondering if I came up with some sort of theme rather than random commentary if this might be more interesting as well as easier for me to keep going. Time will tell, and maybe something will show up on the radar that makes a good theme. I don't see enough movies to make a review site, and haven't been reading enough books for it to be much of that either. I am also sure there is more than enough commentary on technology and inter-connectedness (including social media) that other than the occasional mention, it doesn't really deserve another blog. Besides, how many rants and questions regarding its merits does anyone want to read, let alone write.

Beer could be fun, but I honestly enjoy drinking it more than trying to critique it, since it is so much a matter of personal preference--some folks like a northwestern style IPA and others do not.

As it is, I will probably just try and write regularly. Perhaps, I will find a compelling voice, and if that happens, then all my ramblings will have been worth the effort. If that doesn't happen, then at least I will still be able to type in complete sentences, comma faults and all.

So yesterday's isn't all alone

Just a little something to bring my blog total up to two for the year. I don't really have much to say, as today is bright and cold, at least right now the sun is shining but I don't think the temp is above freezing.

As of yet, I don't have any resolutions or plans for the New Year, except stay with my contract job until it ends, currently that date is April First, which my manager thought was a fun day to make it after all the other false end dates I have experienced. Since no one knows what March will hold, I am not making plans for afterwards, as if the offer is there to continue a bit longer, I don't see a reason not to, though something could grab my attention prior, and make that date seem an attractive end point--too much can happen between now and then. Planning is something that should be done, but to do it at the cost of not seeing other opportunities is also a bad idea.

I keep watching my little wireless icon move up and down, as it seems my signal is inconsistent, though I am in my living room with the modem maybe fifteen feet away on the other side of the wall. So I don't lose this, I am going to go ahead and publish, perhaps I will have a motivated streak later and add another post today, though better would be to think of something interesting to write tomorrow.

Almost the new year

Honestly, I am not sure if this will get a bit more play now, but I deactivated my rather pointless Facebook account. It seems I have been as unable to keep that timely as my voicemail messages. If you ever happen to call and leave a voicemail for me, it will be better for me if I recognize your phone number, as the messages, unless I am job hunting, don't actually get a hearing. I have been told my voicemail is full, and my guess it is from election season, but perhaps as a New Year's gift to those who want to leave messages, which includes my insurance agent, as he couldn't when quoting auto insurance, I will go in and delete everything -- most likely unheard, as if memory serves, "7" is the magic number. I did actually think about disabling voicemail, but when I did chat with my phone service about voicemail, they gave me three more service I won't use and reduced my bill in the bargain, so it seemed silly to try and get them to remove voicemail and then charge me more for the privilege. Now I have a full range of useless stuff on my phone, but I pay less, which I guess makes it progress.

New Art

I think I may have finally come to agreement with the notion of there being nothing new in art. This doesn't mean that new art cannot be provocative or inspiring, but that I highly doubt there will be any new ways to apply paint to canvas, words to paper, or chisels to stone. Most, if not all, art will likely be derivative of something, whether that something be comic books, religious icons, or Greek pottery, doesn't really matter. What will matter is creating something that still speaks to the current age and hopefully to future ages. I am also fairly certain that this notion stretches across all disciplines, from poetry to painting to sculpture to music.

Ephemeral Reading

The recent shuttering of Geocities brings something up which I don't think many people have truthfully considered in the grand realm of "free" Internet services. If Geocities managed to last ten years or so after its heyday, what sort of lifespan will blogs experience. The Geocities article points out that cost probably wasn't the reason for the shuttering, but rather that there was no profit in keeping it open. How far back will Blogger, Blogspot, and other sites decide to store data, and at some point, will they charge for maintaining it? I think the same article mentions the average audience size for blogs is one person, which would indicate little ad revenue from the majority of pages maintained. Considering many, if not most, are like this blogger in the their frequency of updates, and you have the reason for so few readers of any given blog. Why go back if nothing changes? The odd thing, from the writer's perspective, is why keep writing if there isn't anyone reading, so you have your vicious circle. There may be an answer here, if one considers some of the successful blogs, they tend to be quite focused (DailyKos) or project driven (like the one that became Julie & Julia), meaning their audience is fairly specific. Then again, if you turn your blogging into a business or a novel, you no longer are concerned with what the free service's corporate parent will do years down the line with your material. Perhaps some bloggers have already considered this issue and are keeping their own copies of what they write on personal hard drives, and then backing those up appropriately, but with the recent removal of geocites from the web, perhaps now isn't a bad time to consider if you want to keep your old entries, and if so, how you will go about doing it.

Marriage, Gay or Otherwise

In reading the linked article I was disappointed. As a gay resident of Washington the fact that our state government will recognize a committed relationship regardless of if the partners are of the opposite sex is a big deal. Now if we can get the state out of the marriage business altogether, life would be so much better. If marriage is a sacrament, then our government, with its theoretical division between church and state should have no role in declaring what is and isn't a marriage, but if it needs to define relationships and families for legal purposes, then by all means, there are a plethora of non emotionally charged legalistic phrases they could use, and let the church keep marriage. By letting individual churches decide what constitutes marriage, most couples are likely to find a sympathetic pastor who will perform the ceremony.

Personally, I don't see gay marriage leading to anything but gay divorce, and while I am sure to be pilloried, I doubt I am the only person who has ever proposed this.

I found it peculiar

I should still be thinking about roughly the same things I was thinking about four months ago. If the problem had resolved itself, I probably wouldn't still be thinking about it, but I doubt the problem will solve itself outside of the foreseeable future, and when it does resolve itself, there will be a moderate-right party. I am not saying there won't be a far right party, but there are too many socially liberal fiscally conservative folks out there with no real representation, as the party of Lincoln is no longer functioning in that respect.

Thoughts on media and rationality

I have been wondering lately, if Fox News didn't make loads of money by being right leaning, would they actually balance things out, or perhaps lean left if that brought them the cash? Honestly, I would bet they would go where the money is, as after all, they are good free market capitalists, or so they claim. That being said, I doubt there will ever be good money on the left, generally because the left is willing to debate rationally rather than emotionally. From what I have seen of Fox, they do not look at things from a rational right wing perspective, but from an emotional right wing perspective. My guess is that rational Republicans tend to be far too moderate, but this is only a hypothesis.

Air America was/is an attempt at a successful left-wing talk radio business model. It hasn't made money, but how do you make money trying to discuss issues when you aren't yelling and creating a commotion. Of course, many of Air America's target audience probably already get their news from NPR, and if you have the news, in a relatively straight forward format, one can come to one's own opinion of its effects. Not to say that on something complex like regulatory legislation, some expert commentary isn't appreciated to help decipher the complexities, but in most cases people figure things out on their own, and aren't put out by creating their own opinions.

Maybe I am wrong, but I also doubt the left looks for talk radio to be strictly entertainment, and would prefer if it is going to attempt to be info-tainment, then it should fall heavier on the info part of that portmanteau.

Getting bent out of shape happens on both sides of the fence, hence overkill with political correctness on the left and equating public health care with death camps on the right. When either side reaches the ridiculous, one might as well give up any hope of rational debate, though one doesn't necessarily need to concede. Oddly, when dealing with someone far to the emotional side, they don't even want to allow you to settle with an agreement to disagree, and without this nod, civility becomes strained.

Meaningless Fascism

Because I was reading a newspaper, and because I am lazy and don't feel like looking up the article online to link it, my word will just have to be taken on this. There was a book review in today's Seattle Times that roughly said that using fascism as an argument point in any discussion on the current state of things is a pointless end to the argument because the word fascism is not longer used in its historical context. Actually, it said something more akin to the word having been misused that it no longer carries with it anything, though I would add it still has emotional cachet. Everyone knows arguments based on emotions are rather pointless.

The book in question was something about the political right and the difference between traditional conservatives (perhaps not a bad thing) and those who would prefer to scream and shout and engage people at a visceral level for changes in the government that may not even be constitutional. Regardless, the article gave me a something to think about on the way home from Taco Time. What I wondered about, aside from how the word fascism is fanged but without fangs, was how it seems that in this country the Republicans seem to scream more when they are out of power than the Democrats. Let's just grab Rush, since he is an easy target. I don't recall hearing of him prior to the Clinton administration, but I am guessing he has been doing this since longer than '92, though at some point after the election his frothy style of talk radio just took off. Now he numbers seem to be up again, at least his press coverage is, now that the Republicans are out of office. On the Democrat's side, there really is no one that fills the same shoes, and that could be because Democrat's don't like being told what to do, but more likely because even when out of power, the Democratic party does not feel threatened. You lose, get up, brush off your knees, and start all over. Rush (or any other "name" Republican, until enmeshed in a scandal) is basically a rallying point for people who don't know how to work within the system because for too long they have been fed instructions, just like Rush is doing now. The party of small government isn't really that at all, just different government. President Bush told everyone to be scared and they were, and he said I need to violate the constitution in order to protect you, and the people let him, and now the current administration needs to clean it up, which isn't something that can be done easily, even less so when former administration muckity-mucks decide to bray.

While President Obama is doing little to discourage the stereotype that the Democrats are something other than the tax and spend politicians they have been painted as, the times are extra-ordinary, and perhaps they will manage to bring the spending back into the responsible realm shortly. Unfortunately, the situation was damned if you do, damned if you don't, but I do believe it is better to try something based on historical precedent than do nothing, which also has a precedent. Now, if we could only get everyone on board as to the necessity of action rather than knocking the action but not offering an alternative.

from Rilke, a book bought today at Epilogue

Why I started readying "The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge" today, as opposed to some book that has been languishing on the shelves for ages is hard to say, but I did find, on page 15, this passage: "What's the use of telling anyone that I am changing? If I am changing, then surely I am no longer the person I was, and if I am something else than heretofore, then it is clear that I have no acquaintances. And to strange people, to people who do not know me, I cannot possibly write."

The reason the passage struck me is that is resembled a phone conversation with my sister regarding our relationship with various other members of the family. For both of us, our mother has sort of morphed into a person we no longer really know (and who no longer knows us), though the odd kicker is that neither of us really want to apply the effort to know this person. Certain family functions will still bring us together, but there is little really to talk about. My life experience is so far removed from theirs, I might as well speak Greek around them, and personally I have very little interest in activities at Mom's church, which is not one of the many I attended growing up. With that said, there is very little common ground, and very little to make a smooth conversation, which makes getting reacquainted rather cumbersome. The pauses in a recent phone conversation had me wonder if there was much of anything we could talk about, though she was on her cell phone and there were other things causing distraction, so maybe I am wrong. For the sake of things, I did mention I wouldn't be able to see the fireworks from my balcony, and the response was of the "well, I haven't seen your balcony" sort of comments, to which I should add, that after living here for three years, it isn't my fault you haven't chosen to visit. Family always supplies one with interesting observations on life, and if one thinks about it, observations regarding that most basic and complex of relationships.

On a different note, there have been people who I have kept in contact with, who have changed as I have changed, and who make a constant effort to relate, and to those people, I will likely never be "strange" in the sense used by Rilke, though I may be odd.

Lament for Ballard

The brutality of the climate is becoming apparent on the commercial streets of my neighborhood. Every week another store seems to be closing up. From consignment shops, to camera shops (likely on its last legs for a couple of years), to book stores. Abraxus and Epilogue, both used books shops (with a limited selection of new), are closing. I am told the former is moving, which is what I was told about the latter as well, but that was a false rumor, as they wanted to stay in Ballard. While I didn't ask, I can only surmise that some increase in rent must've been their death knell, as a year or two ago they were forced to shrink the size of their space. Perhaps another pet shop will open up, making three within a year to open up, though I didn't realize we had enough pets in the area to support more than a single shop (which we have had on Ballard Ave for at least 3 years), the new-comers being big and bright and chains.

More than anything, I think the lament is for the variety, as now, we will have but a single bookstore in Ballard to complement the library, and that bookstore's focus is children. I see no reason for them to expand, as they have worked ever so hard to specialize and build that audience. If there is something good to say, it is that at least at one point they took special orders.

It was a grey day today, so grim news like another book shop closing wasn't perhaps unusual. I now have another book to read, and will have to stop in again as they reduce their inventory.

May the 4th be with you.

Starting with a bad pun from someone's Facebook status may not be the best way to begin, but it is there... done. Titles for these things have become increasingly difficult to create, though if perhaps I managed to find something witty to write in the body, then something witty might emerge for the title. Whatever. It has been a week of wonder. Wondering what I am doing here, and why I haven't decided what it is I want to do next, though this latter wonder may actually be more focused to the last several days, but as it is never far from my thoughts currently, I might as well toss it here.

It seems I need to write more letters. I think I just need to write more, and disregard any concerns about what format, but letters would probably be a good thing. I really haven't written any in ages, or at least since January, as I think that is when I wrote a quick letter to Mom. It seems that right now I am doing a superlative job at doing nothing, and it has occurred to me that I should probably change this situation, but I haven't quite figured out what to do when I stop doing nothing, and, of course, what to do when you aren't doing "nothing" is a very important decision.

Why not mention that is it Thursday

Why not? I mentioned several of the other days of the week this week. Amazing, that I have four days running on here, and nothing to say. Actually, I think Americans are pretty good at running at the mouth while not saying a great deal of anything, if we weren't there wouldn't be nearly as much talk radio as their is. We had another really nice day, and I managed to get myself in gear and hike the loop trail over at Discovery Park. I still need to get better about getting out of the house on nice days. I mean, yes, I got out of the house, but I didn't manage to get myself in gear to do so until 3 p.m., but considering I did some job search and unemployment stuff today, I can't beat myself up too much. Tomorrow I still need to send off those resumes, which even though I looked at stuff today, I tend not to do until Friday. Sometimes, that is a good thing, because in rereading the notices, I discover that something is part time rather than full time. I am sure I would have discovered that at some point, but best to not be taken by surprise on something that significant.

Wednesday, by golly

Wednesday and a pandemic in imminent according to WHO. I am pleased that I don't have any plans on a trip to Mexico, though I am planning on riding the bus to go to some GLBT networking event, which means at some point I should probably create some personal contact cards, but I am not quite at that stage yet, and I am not quite sure what information would need to be on them. Anyway, as much as anything else, I need to get out of the house, and this is a fine excuse.

I have actually come to a few conclusions this week, but only time will tell if I manage to keep up on the follow-through. Conclusion number one, is that job hunting has to go a lot better when you feel pretty good about yourself, and currently, I am feeling rather sluggish and out of shape, so if I can improve that, then I should be able to improve how I feel about the former, as I don't really want things to get to the panic point, where I am out for any job I can get, because I simply need money.

The second conclusion is that I need to find activities that get me out of the house, because too much time looking at these same walls will eventually get me down. Also, if I get out and do things, I will hopefully have a better chance at finding that serendipitous opportunity that leads to a job that I enjoy. (And that means I could just have a brainstorm while out walking, or I could meet someone who has a need for transportation/logistics skills.)

And of course during all of this, I am reading Camus' "The Rebel" and actually looking forward to reading some of the letters exchanged between him and Sartre after this book was published, as Sartre took great exception to it, and their friendship broke up because of it.

Tuesday's bit of something

And bit of something is about the best description I can possibly come to regarding today's stellar activities, or lack thereof. Aside from laundry, and some push-ups and sit-ups, today's big accomplishment was making brownies. Inexplicably, IE7 on my desktop decides that it really needs to crash on a regular basis, and does so, normally while I am trying to do the job search thing. It did it this morning, and I managed not to go back and work on the job search thing any more today, though I did make some progress in reading Camus' "The Rebel," which is so far rather interesting as he analyzed the works of several writers/philosophers (Sade, Dostoevsky, and Nietzsche) and the effects of their works on the twentieth century. Not really just the effects on the twentieth century, but his interpretation of their works, then how others interpreted them (particularly Nietzsche) after their publication. Next he is moving to regicides, which the touched on with Sade, and how in killing the French king, ruling by divine right, the French also could be construed as having killed God. It is something to get my mind working, and no matter how much I may enjoy Lord of the Rings Online, reading is a bit better for me, so I need to spend more time reading, less time playing the game.

such a beautiful day

April has been anything but showers this year. Gorgeous mild and sunny weather seem to have been the predominant theme, though maybe that is just the last two weeks, and I have conveniently forgotten the early part of the month. It doesn't really matter, as right now I am sitting on the balcony typing away, trying to think of something interesting. The whole job thing is more depressing because I am not sure what field to look in. While sending out resumes is required, there isn't much heart in what I am sending out. Oh well, that is just the way of things I guess, and since I don't make the rules, at minimum I need to follow them if I want the benefits.

Ugly sort of job thing

I honestly think the only reason the "Employment Security Department" (Washington state's unemployment office) really expects you to send out resumes and such is so that you can see, on a weekly basis, how few new jobs are posted in your field. Maybe I am being too cynical, as I know there is a good reason to make sure people stay actively searching, though the problem is that one can easily throw up their hands and call it poo. The harder part of the job thing, at least for me, is determining what it is I care to continue doing. I fell into a job in a familiar field and I did it. The funny thing was, I found it and accepted it after spending time looking for something that I thought would be more interesting. This should be the ideal time to look for what I want, at least after I figure that out. I think Dave is right and perhaps I should write more, as it does a marvelous job of sorting things out, though I don't know if he thinks I should blog, journal, or try something in the creative vein.

Weekly Chores

Winter seems to finally be over, and the wonderful dampness of Spring has arrived. It also seems that Thursday is my day to finish up stuff for the unemployment thing, as I have managed to get my jobs applied for and my electronic form submission done today. I guess I should be happy that it is now that I get to do it, and not the old fashioned find the unemployment office and go there sort of thing. Coffee and job search are a nice combination, or at least an adequate one. I doubt I could ever get organized enough to do things on specific days and have my life compartmented like that, but I can sometimes be envious of those who manage it. For me, I think I just need to be busier, as I seem to get more done when I have less of what is perceived as free time. Oh well, someday I will learn the trick.

Another Echo

I wonder, truly wonder, just how much that we expect from main stream media will still be there at the end of 2009. With cities and towns losing their newspapers, just what is Google going to compile on their news service? This is just one change, I can't help but hope that AIG and the banking sector get transformed as well. It is quite obvious Detroit is getting a makeover. One thing though, can anything be done to aid those out of work? For every journalist out of a job, there are pressmen and custodians and secretaries that also go when the newspaper closes. For every factory that closes, in addition to the blue collar, there will be white collar jobs lost--as well as design and engineering. Somehow and some way, we will get through this year, but I hardly think the country will be the same, though I also believe that it is too early to tell if the change will be positive, though retraining all those out of work isn't likely to be done in a year, and shipping them overseas to fight in a war the administration is trying to end is also not a good solution. Change is inevitable, but considering how quickly it is happening now, there is no reason to figure out what is next, because next might be different in twenty-four hours.

Not much really

I have spent the day doing little things, scanned craigslist, deposited my unemployment check, and caught up with some folks on Facebook, including a few of my favorite teachers. I guess I shouldn't expect instant knowledge as to my next move, and to be honest, I think most of these posts will be on the dull side as I ask questions out loud, only to answer them. After three months of inactivity, I can hardly expect any peanut gallery will be there to comment, but all sorts of surprises happen.

Oddly Detached

Having been laid off a bit over a week ago, I have made the odd realization that I don't much care. The income was nice, but I really didn't like the job. Make sure that is clear, I didn't like the job, though I did enjoy the camaraderie of my colleagues, as they were a great bunch. Now that the Seattle phase may be over, I am having trouble deciding what is next. When I moved out here, it was to be for five years and then a decision was going to be made as to whether I should stay or go. I am a few months shy of that five years, but nothing has presented itself yet as to my next destination, nor has a compelling reason been given to me to stay here. I think in truth, where I go is less important than what I decide to do, but I do believe there is some connectedness between the two. [Dave tells me I need to write more.]

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.

Fine day for a bit of Gloom

I live in Seattle and work for a company that makes aircraft parts. It was only a matter of time before the strike at Boeing trickled its effects down to us, much faster than Reagan's economic policy at any rate, which I believe those of us who have not had the benefit of getting paid handsomely to run a company into the ground are still waiting for. Aside from my feelings about corporate leaders who are only following the herd to big pay packages and platinum parachutes when concrete shoes might be more appropriate, there were other things that were discussed today at work. Boeing's machinists have been on strike for two weeks, it seems that Boeing's engineers have a contract that expires in December, and that there are those out there that believe the two unions will form a league of interests, perhaps giving the machinists cause to hold out until then. This is of course rampant speculation, as I don't believe I know anyone in either union at Boeing, unless of course it is in the sense of knowing someone but not what their occupation is. Gray, overcast days are the best sort for companies to warn of potential lay-offs, so who knows, perhaps I have a vacation later this year. I probably won't worry about that right now, and, to be honest, I don't really know how such a thing would affect our department. Generally we seem to be understaffed, but only last week it was mentioned that we were "overhead." If all we are is that, then we will be decimated fairly quickly if they do staffing reductions.

On the brighter side of things, yesterday as I was leaving the Jolly Roger I bought a growler of the Imperial IPA, and today I am drinking it.

Wednesday-- just about over...

Our friends over at Boeing have made life at work all sorts of fun with their strike. The last day and a half I have been really focusing on the pixels of my computer at work determining what we can and can not accept. No complaint about the speed of the day, though by the end of it, I am more than happy to have a break from computer screens. Today's break entailed some mini-burgers and a dry-hopped red ale at the Jolly Roger. That was after work, as for some reason if I were to decide to go there or Hale's during lunch and imbibe the pleasures of the tap, I am sure the bosses wouldn't look highly upon it, though since I don't operate heavy machinery, nor have a car to drive back from those establishments, they probably couldn't do much.

I am going to try and get some pictures of the new public art along the Ballard bridge. They are replacing lamp-posts with this stuff, so I may have to make it out one night as well as one day.

not terribly important

Having had this going now for quite a while, though I don't think I have managed to hit the 200th post just yet, though that may happen sometime this year, though not at the rate I have been going over the summer. It would be nice to say something new and different on there, but with politics the way they are, and isn't everyone pleased about the options, and work just that, no better or worse than two months ago -- the new, interesting, and erudite perspectives just aren't there. It may just be the time of year, or it may just be that I am so sapped after work that I don't feel like making much effort on anything. I really need to get the paints out and putter about with those as well, but that is a mess I only recently thought about breaking into, but in my moment of, "that sounds like a good idea," I was also planning on bottling beer that night, and after Kip got here and we started the bottling thing, then started the let's go eat dinner and have a few more beers, it was way too late to paint when I got home, and the inspiration had vanished by Saturday.

Now it is not that late, but I am tired. Because of that, I am calling it a night, as rambling doesn't really add much.

Friday before the bottling

While I am not relaxing and having a home brew, I am relaxing and having a Bridgeport Hop Czar. Come to think of it, I should buy one or two for christmas gifts, as I know several people who like hoppy beer.

The company I work for is affected by the Boeing strike, and those effects are gradually rippling through, so as long as the strike goes on, life should be interesting. If it last more than 4 weeks, we get 32 hr, 4 day weeks, which I wouldn't complain too loudly about, though it would likely dent what I could stash aside into savings (translation: next year's slush fund). As I try to decide what next year will hold, I am doing my best not to go buy a larger computer monitor or anything totally foolish. If my current monitor dies, I will replace it with a larger one, but I am not going to buy a larger one just because....

Well, if I am lucky, perhaps Kip will prove a sounding board of ideas on what to do when so many options arise.

Future Reflections

Or reflections on the future... English is really sort of fun. With all the world open to me next spring, though at an unfavorable exchange rate if I go abroad, I am really beyond puzzled as to what to do. Too many things seem to be some sort of escape, which is something that just avoids rather than confronts the issues. But then, I also probably need to decide the issues to be confronted rather than escaped, because otherwise I am making no progress by staying here, either.

Oh well, tomorrow is bottling night, and that allows me a bit of stuff planned, as well as running 50 bottles through the dishwasher with heated drying so I know they will resemble sterile, even if they technically aren't (or maybe they are since I don't know either the standard for sterility or how close the dishwasher gets, if it doesn't exceed it. Dryers on high heat exceed it, I believe, but my neighbors would surely frown upon brown glass bottle shards in the dryer.

Funny?

If the attitudes expressed (click the title link) weren't something that could conceivably happen, perhaps I would find this funny, rather than frightening.

Mid-September already

Amazing how fast time passes. It has been almost a month since my last post, and if I had been off doing something of great interest, like hiking the Appalachian Trail, perhaps that would be excusable. Rather than that, I have been having a less than delightful time at work, and trying to work out what February holds, since I can't justify it holding a commute to Woodinville on a regular basis.

Whatever next year holds, an extended vacation is not really in the plans, as anything chosen will still be some sort of work, relocating involves the work of moving and the work of finding a job, but why would I want to move somewhere else just to start back up with the daily 9-5 monotony, though it might be someplace more enjoyable.

I have been working my way through Danube, and found a nice passage yesterday while either waiting for or eating my gumbo at the Old Town, but today I can't find it, so suffice to say, it was around section four, "Cafe Central." The last 2 days someone has been doing laundry when I arrived home, which is why I was out yesterday, because I couldn't really do that which needed to be done at home, though today, I am doing laundry. I would like to use it as an excuse for unusual topic breaks, but that is rather lame, and the topic switches just have to stand on their own, with the internal logic of creation as flow rather than creation through revision. I can't really say that one is better than the other, but the phone rings...

And I have a conversation about beer and bottling and fun things like that. Friday, the second round of beer will be bottled. There was a bunch of over spill during the initial fermentation, and I am hoping that is not a problem, but only a few weeks will tell, after the bottles have been capped for 2-4 weeks.

just something to add

So people don't think I have totally abandoned this, I am adding something, though not really much of anything. It is nice outside, and here I sit messing about with my computer. Such is life in this modern age-- perhaps in another time I would be scribbling in some notebook or else working 70 hour weeks for little compensation. This is really only an improvement if I manage to do something with the extra time. Creative things have not been flowing from me, which is no doubt one reason my mood has been so foul. I would like to blame it on a lot of things, but the truth of the matter is I am just not putting any effort there. All creation requires work, and we live in an age of relaxation. Why would I want to work any more than I already do to pay my bills? The answer, in theory, is so that I can do something I enjoy in order to pay the bills, rather than something I do just to pay the bills. That's it for now, more work about the house, which I was doing before launching into this.

Remember the home-brew...

Well, it has been bottled and aged appropriately. If the pour is done correctly, it is a very nice beer with an appropriate amber color, and a light head. The flavor is better if you don't allow the bottle dregs into the glass during the pour, as they change the flavor just enough. I should write more, but Kip is here (though he is on the phone right now), and we are enjoying the libations of our labors.

Found while browsing at work

Reading Dave's blog, and his highlights on the Declaration of Independence highlighting a couple of Georges, brought to mind this really cool image from Chip Kidd submitted for an exhibit in Florida. More on the exhibit can be found here and here. (The second is from the New York Times, so hopefully the link won't change.)

Lousy work week

Warning... if you actually venture to speak with me, do not ask about work, for I am afraid if you do, you will get what happened to Kip, which was a rant of frustration. I believe that the leader's in D.C. have infected everyone with the attitude of give me a report I like, rather than the much more uncomfortable truth. Yesterday I was basically told to put in bogus due date information in the computer so that all concerned parties would need to look in the system to see where the problems are, rather than a report which is pulled up in a manager meeting, but makes the boss look bad when the colors are raging red, and it seems everyone in the company is Pavlovian to see that red is bad, even if they can write it all off to a problem, the red itself is problematic.

To vent is nice, to job hunt is a better solution, though.