Monday, February 27, 2006
Found A Great New Blog.
Actually, the Sonic-mate found it and sent it to me. This blog has some of the most stunning insight I've read in quite some time. I will definitely "Blogtopus" it.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Who Should Operate US Ports???
Is THIS good enough reason to oppose this sale? I mean if the worst foreign policy president of the 20th century likes it, it must be bad.
Seriously, I think Carter supports the sale, because opposing it would undercut his Camp David legacy, the only real foreign policy bright spot people remember.
There is a concern that no-one is yet talking about. What will the regional backlash be if the sale is halted by Congress or the President? Arab unification in demanding Middle East base closures? And we can't just say we don't want our ports operated by foreign interests, since the current owner operates out of Great Britain.
I don't think the fallout from this, if the sale is rewound, will help us in the WOT at all. But we'll see.
PS. The Bush administration must have known this would not sit well with the average American. This could be a gambit played by the Bush administration to try and fend off negative reaction by the UAE or other Middle East WOT partners. If Congress overturns the sale, Bush can show that he was for the sale, but was overruled by the people. And as for Bush? Well, he's not running for office, nor does he have a clear predecessor, as Clinton did with Gore. So he is not schackled to short term politics like others who will be running for office in the next few years. I think Bush is very much a long term strategist. The Iraq action and reshaping the mindset of the Middle East is a long term project. Compare that to the "capture Bin Laden" crowd. They make it sound like his capture or death equals the end of the War on Terror.
Seriously, I think Carter supports the sale, because opposing it would undercut his Camp David legacy, the only real foreign policy bright spot people remember.
There is a concern that no-one is yet talking about. What will the regional backlash be if the sale is halted by Congress or the President? Arab unification in demanding Middle East base closures? And we can't just say we don't want our ports operated by foreign interests, since the current owner operates out of Great Britain.
I don't think the fallout from this, if the sale is rewound, will help us in the WOT at all. But we'll see.
PS. The Bush administration must have known this would not sit well with the average American. This could be a gambit played by the Bush administration to try and fend off negative reaction by the UAE or other Middle East WOT partners. If Congress overturns the sale, Bush can show that he was for the sale, but was overruled by the people. And as for Bush? Well, he's not running for office, nor does he have a clear predecessor, as Clinton did with Gore. So he is not schackled to short term politics like others who will be running for office in the next few years. I think Bush is very much a long term strategist. The Iraq action and reshaping the mindset of the Middle East is a long term project. Compare that to the "capture Bin Laden" crowd. They make it sound like his capture or death equals the end of the War on Terror.
Monday, February 20, 2006
Yes I Am!!!! Again!
Your results:
You are Superman
You are mild-mannered, good, strong and you love to help others.
Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz
Here's one for Trekkies... or Trekkers.
Your results:
You are Geordi LaForge
Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Test
You are Superman
| 70% | ||
| Robin | 57% | |
| Spider-Man | 55% | |
| Green Lantern | 50% | |
| Iron Man | 50% | |
| The Flash | 50% | |
| Supergirl | 45% | |
| Catwoman | 40% | |
| Hulk | 35% | |
| Wonder Woman | 30% | |
| Batman | 30% |
Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz
Here's one for Trekkies... or Trekkers.
Your results:
You are Geordi LaForge
| You work well with others and often fix problems quickly. Your romantic relationships are often bungled.  |
Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Test
What I Did On Sunday...
.. and what I will be doing on Monday, and Tuesday, etc. etc.
Engine
Turbo
Cylinders
You see, my car has a blown head gasket. When you have a blown head gasket, you know because your car will lose water and run hot, feels like not all cylinders are firing, and develop a milky foam on the dipstic and on the inside of the oil cap. In college, I had a car that would blown head gaskets every six without fail. As I was extremely cash deficient at the time, being in college and all, I got very, very good at repairing this problem myself. Lets just say a torque wrench was one of my best investments.
This is likely where the problem occurred. It is the # 3 cylinder in my engine, and is known to be the weak spot in this engines design. If you look closely, you can see the arrow points to two partially clogged passages. The clog is caused by something I put into the engine called Barr's Stop Leak. It temporarily fixes blown head gaskets. I started the repair now because I think the stuff was starting to wear off, so I figured now is as good a time as any to tackle the job. My car, a 1987 Subaru GL-10 Turbo Wagon, has two cylinder heads, one on each side of the engine. Though the other head showed no signs of having a blown gasket, it is always a good idea to replace both gaskets since you have the engine apart anyway. kkjj
Engine
Turbo
CylindersYou see, my car has a blown head gasket. When you have a blown head gasket, you know because your car will lose water and run hot, feels like not all cylinders are firing, and develop a milky foam on the dipstic and on the inside of the oil cap. In college, I had a car that would blown head gaskets every six without fail. As I was extremely cash deficient at the time, being in college and all, I got very, very good at repairing this problem myself. Lets just say a torque wrench was one of my best investments.
This is likely where the problem occurred. It is the # 3 cylinder in my engine, and is known to be the weak spot in this engines design. If you look closely, you can see the arrow points to two partially clogged passages. The clog is caused by something I put into the engine called Barr's Stop Leak. It temporarily fixes blown head gaskets. I started the repair now because I think the stuff was starting to wear off, so I figured now is as good a time as any to tackle the job. My car, a 1987 Subaru GL-10 Turbo Wagon, has two cylinder heads, one on each side of the engine. Though the other head showed no signs of having a blown gasket, it is always a good idea to replace both gaskets since you have the engine apart anyway. kkjj
Saturday, February 18, 2006
The Birds and Bees, According to Volokh
They're not gay cowboys, but it's close. Check this out. And the funny thing is, I found it on Eugene Volokh's site. God, lawyers are repressed or something!
Friday, February 17, 2006
Monday, February 13, 2006
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Dancing Naked In a Fountain!
So I wasn't going to blog much for the next few weeks....
And I'm not. But This picture at "Caption This" just demanded a post.
THIS is for my sister, Mary Beth. Love Ya!
I'll elaborate on the reason for this post later, but she'll get it.
PS. Here are the lyrics, and they have a dulcimer tab too!
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Notice
Blogging will be slow for the next few weeks. I am completing my last class in school, am selling the business, and have all sorts of tax work that needs to be done. I will try and post if something big or interesting comes up.
PS. I won't be like Andrew Sullivan and blog MORE when I say just the opposite.
PS. I won't be like Andrew Sullivan and blog MORE when I say just the opposite.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Remembering a Friend
This week there was a violent attack against gay patrons in a Massachusetts bar. When ever I read or hear about his type of thing my blood boils. In ‘93 my friend Rob Johnson was bashed to death in his apartment in San Diego.
I had met him a year earlier while visiting my family in SD (I was going to Fresno State at the time). We met at “The Flame” a lesbian bar that hosted “Boys Night Out” on Tuesdays, and hit it off quite well. He was in line right in front of me and instead of stamping his wrist, he pulled down trow and had them stamp his right cheek. I was hooked right then. His positive attitude was infectious, and he was just a normal guy. No hang-ups. Normal. And just happened to be gay. We hung out for the next few days, I even spent the night at his bungalow overlooking Pacific Beach, which was strange for me being a “Hit and Run-Out-the-Door” guy back then. And then I went back to school.
We hooked up a few times that year, when ever I was in town. But there was no possibility of a relationship, even after I moved back to SD in the summer of 92. I had not broken down all my barriers yet, keeping my guy and straight life separate for example, and was not ready for a relationship. And he was a bit of a player; he liked to have his fun. We didn’t socialize much after I moved back. Things move on. But I still loved him, and I think he knew it. I kinda melted when I saw him, even when he was with another guy. In late Feb of 93, I guess I hadn’t gone out for a week or so (not unusual for me) and was at “Flicks”, one of my regular hang-outs. I overheard friends talking about the wonderful but sad funeral they had gone to that day. When we were leaving the bar I asked the question that needed to be asked, although I had a gut feeling I might not like the answer. “Who’s funeral did you all go to”? One of my friends said “Our friend Rob in PB”.
I said “Johnson?!?”
I think the look on my face said everything. Someone said in a shocked tone “Oh my God, you knew him, you didn’t know?”. I remember the looks on their faces, as I’m sure they reflected the look on mine. Since the relationship was in the past, and I was not exactly the most social type of person, how could they know I knew him? And no one called since no one had my number. Anyway, they told me that he was robbed and shot dead in his apartment. We went out to Denny’s-ish restaurant, and I was OK. Then the next morning the full weight of the new reality set down on my being. Rob was gone. I’ll never see him again. Never again see his smile. Hear his laughter. That was so hard. A week or two after, I started hearing different versions of what had happened to Rob, so I went to visit Robs best friend and maybe ask about the details of Robs death. I couldn’t. As soon as Bill opened the door I knew I never could ask him because the pain was so clear on his face. So I simply told him how sorry I was “and call me if you need to talk”. How stupid. I was the one that needed to talk. So I went to my car, grabbed my lyric notebook, and walked down the beach to the shoreline, and with the waves cresting before me, wrote the best, gut wrenching, most honest lyric I will probably ever write.
JUST ONE TEAR
Who's to say
That the road we take
Is the road we should be traveling
Who knows
If the path we take
Is the one we should be on
Without you here
Life is slowing down
And any sense it made's unraveling
No need to try and wonder why
Or dwell on things we left unsaid
I'm only left to sit and hope
Yours was a life with few regrets
Who's to say
If what we do is right or wrong
I guess now I'll never know
I can say I knew you, You were a friend of mine.
I don't now how to say goodbye, You were a friend of mine
There must be something more to say
It may be better off this way
You were a friend of mine
This would come out fine
If I would cry just a little
This might come out better
If I could cry just a little
Just one tear
You were a friend of mine.
I have always kept my emotions close to the vest. It was a survival mechanism I had used to get through an unhappy youth. Is that response genetic or learned I don't know, and it's not important at the moment. Anyway, because I missed the funeral, I never got the chance to weep for my friend.
I did eventually find out what most likely happened. Rob was known for “skimming” the beaches late at night and picking up strangers to have fun with. Well I guess he picked the wrong guy. They went to Robs apartment and the guy, who was never caught TTBOMK, beat Rob to a pulp and left him in the tub to die. I also found out that Robs parents didn’t know he was gay, and didn’t find out until his funeral. That gave me the courage to finally tell my parents the truth about being gay. I couldn’t imagine having them go through the same thing. It's sad irony that Rob’s death helped me cross a final barrier; the tragic end of his life helped me move forward in mine.
I wish to God I would have had the courage to tell him how I felt about him. He was, and still is, a major influence in shedding my negative feelings about being gay, and I miss him to this day.
I had met him a year earlier while visiting my family in SD (I was going to Fresno State at the time). We met at “The Flame” a lesbian bar that hosted “Boys Night Out” on Tuesdays, and hit it off quite well. He was in line right in front of me and instead of stamping his wrist, he pulled down trow and had them stamp his right cheek. I was hooked right then. His positive attitude was infectious, and he was just a normal guy. No hang-ups. Normal. And just happened to be gay. We hung out for the next few days, I even spent the night at his bungalow overlooking Pacific Beach, which was strange for me being a “Hit and Run-Out-the-Door” guy back then. And then I went back to school.
We hooked up a few times that year, when ever I was in town. But there was no possibility of a relationship, even after I moved back to SD in the summer of 92. I had not broken down all my barriers yet, keeping my guy and straight life separate for example, and was not ready for a relationship. And he was a bit of a player; he liked to have his fun. We didn’t socialize much after I moved back. Things move on. But I still loved him, and I think he knew it. I kinda melted when I saw him, even when he was with another guy. In late Feb of 93, I guess I hadn’t gone out for a week or so (not unusual for me) and was at “Flicks”, one of my regular hang-outs. I overheard friends talking about the wonderful but sad funeral they had gone to that day. When we were leaving the bar I asked the question that needed to be asked, although I had a gut feeling I might not like the answer. “Who’s funeral did you all go to”? One of my friends said “Our friend Rob in PB”.
I said “Johnson?!?”
I think the look on my face said everything. Someone said in a shocked tone “Oh my God, you knew him, you didn’t know?”. I remember the looks on their faces, as I’m sure they reflected the look on mine. Since the relationship was in the past, and I was not exactly the most social type of person, how could they know I knew him? And no one called since no one had my number. Anyway, they told me that he was robbed and shot dead in his apartment. We went out to Denny’s-ish restaurant, and I was OK. Then the next morning the full weight of the new reality set down on my being. Rob was gone. I’ll never see him again. Never again see his smile. Hear his laughter. That was so hard. A week or two after, I started hearing different versions of what had happened to Rob, so I went to visit Robs best friend and maybe ask about the details of Robs death. I couldn’t. As soon as Bill opened the door I knew I never could ask him because the pain was so clear on his face. So I simply told him how sorry I was “and call me if you need to talk”. How stupid. I was the one that needed to talk. So I went to my car, grabbed my lyric notebook, and walked down the beach to the shoreline, and with the waves cresting before me, wrote the best, gut wrenching, most honest lyric I will probably ever write.
JUST ONE TEAR
Who's to say
That the road we take
Is the road we should be traveling
Who knows
If the path we take
Is the one we should be on
Without you here
Life is slowing down
And any sense it made's unraveling
No need to try and wonder why
Or dwell on things we left unsaid
I'm only left to sit and hope
Yours was a life with few regrets
Who's to say
If what we do is right or wrong
I guess now I'll never know
I can say I knew you, You were a friend of mine.
I don't now how to say goodbye, You were a friend of mine
There must be something more to say
It may be better off this way
You were a friend of mine
This would come out fine
If I would cry just a little
This might come out better
If I could cry just a little
Just one tear
You were a friend of mine.
I have always kept my emotions close to the vest. It was a survival mechanism I had used to get through an unhappy youth. Is that response genetic or learned I don't know, and it's not important at the moment. Anyway, because I missed the funeral, I never got the chance to weep for my friend.
I did eventually find out what most likely happened. Rob was known for “skimming” the beaches late at night and picking up strangers to have fun with. Well I guess he picked the wrong guy. They went to Robs apartment and the guy, who was never caught TTBOMK, beat Rob to a pulp and left him in the tub to die. I also found out that Robs parents didn’t know he was gay, and didn’t find out until his funeral. That gave me the courage to finally tell my parents the truth about being gay. I couldn’t imagine having them go through the same thing. It's sad irony that Rob’s death helped me cross a final barrier; the tragic end of his life helped me move forward in mine.
I wish to God I would have had the courage to tell him how I felt about him. He was, and still is, a major influence in shedding my negative feelings about being gay, and I miss him to this day.
Friday, February 03, 2006
Isn't this....
how world wars get started???
But look on the bright side. At least it isn't the American flag being torched for a change.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
November Elections, Decided Today
Today the House Republicans vote for a new Majority Leader. There are two choices; current Majority Whip and DeLay acolyte Roy Blunt of Missouri, or either Ohio's John Boehner or Arizona's John Shadegg, both of whom have not been enticed by the delicious taste of congressional pork. If the Republicans vote for either of the latter, AND show REAL progress in gutting pork barrel projects, they will be OK come election day. If the vote goes to Blunt, well, you will probably see the Dems gain a number of seats in the House as many conservatives will just stay home in protest of the Mega-Government policies that have ticked off the base. Here is more from the Wall Street Journal.
Hat Tip: InstaP.
UPDATE: Looks like Boehner's in. Now GET BUSY and clean up your act, or else say bye to your Majority status.
Hat Tip: InstaP.
UPDATE: Looks like Boehner's in. Now GET BUSY and clean up your act, or else say bye to your Majority status.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
The Future of News???
"Googlezon" would like to think so.
Here is the Wiki.
PS. I tried to find the Googlezon logo but liked this one better for some reason. And the original title of this post was "The Shape Of Things To Come", but after adding the logo I decided it was too tackey!
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