This will be short, as I'm still letting it all sink in. I am experiencing an amazing mix of emotions and have yet to figure out how to put it all into words. In short, I'm speechless. I can tell you I sobbed tears of joy last night, and have had a few more tears trickle down as I have watched the news today.
I'll write more in the coming days, as I come to terms with what our nation has actually done, and can put more thought into the proper words to express my elation.
President Barack Obama...has a nice ring to it, doesn't it.
Yes We Did!
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Saturday, October 04, 2008
A Big Fat Karma Sandwich
13 years ago, today, I, along with most of America, wondered how in the hell that damn jury in LA voted 'not guilty'. We realized how inept Marcia Clark really was. And that if you have $10mil to drop on a "Dream Team" of legal-eagles, that you could basically buy your freedom. "If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit!" (Johnny Cochran, RIP)
Not that it affects me in any way, but finally, he got what he deserved. I have some mixed feelings, though...the Browns and Goldmans finally get to see him behind bars (possibly for the rest of his life), but not for the death of their children. They will never see another dime of the money they won in the Wrongful Death suit. But his life as he knows it is over, and I hope that gives them some sense of karmic justice after all these years. On a completely different note...damn, that man was a hell of a running back.
Remember the old joke? "I'm changing my breakfast drink...'cause O.J. will kill ya."
Not that it affects me in any way, but finally, he got what he deserved. I have some mixed feelings, though...the Browns and Goldmans finally get to see him behind bars (possibly for the rest of his life), but not for the death of their children. They will never see another dime of the money they won in the Wrongful Death suit. But his life as he knows it is over, and I hope that gives them some sense of karmic justice after all these years. On a completely different note...damn, that man was a hell of a running back.
Remember the old joke? "I'm changing my breakfast drink...'cause O.J. will kill ya."
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Firefox 3.0
Sweet Jeebus, I love the new Firefox. That's all, I just thought I'd let everyone know so they can upgrade, too. I cannot believe how much faster it is! Much easier to navigate, too.
If you aren't using Firefox, why not?
No, I'm not a shill for Mozilla. It's just rare that something gets upgraded and I'm actually happy with it. Usually, they get rid of the functional stuff in the previous versions and replace it with stuff that looks nicer, but doesn't make a lick of sense and requires multiple steps to do what could be done with one click.
If you aren't using Firefox, why not?
No, I'm not a shill for Mozilla. It's just rare that something gets upgraded and I'm actually happy with it. Usually, they get rid of the functional stuff in the previous versions and replace it with stuff that looks nicer, but doesn't make a lick of sense and requires multiple steps to do what could be done with one click.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
The Link
As the news of Ted Kennedy's brain tumor broke today, I realized I'm not ready to lose him. I'm young; I wasn't around during Camelot, or for RFK. So Teddy is my link to that time of hope and change. I'm not ready to give up that link. We need more Ted Kennedys - men and women who are unapologetically liberal and aren't afraid to take a stand, even when it isn't popular. I know he's had his problems (as have most people) but the good has far outweighed the bad.
Tonight, my thoughts are with Ted, the entire Kennedy family, and with our country, who needs this link to our past. May he live long, the Last Brother.
Tonight, my thoughts are with Ted, the entire Kennedy family, and with our country, who needs this link to our past. May he live long, the Last Brother.
Friday, April 04, 2008
ZOMG!!! NKOTB!!!
I feel like I'm 10 years old again! They're Back!!!!!!!
Donnie, Jordan, Jonathan, Danny and Joey!!!!!
Too bad I threw out all of that memorabilia about 15 years ago...thought I'd gotten too old for it. Heh.
Donnie, Jordan, Jonathan, Danny and Joey!!!!!
Too bad I threw out all of that memorabilia about 15 years ago...thought I'd gotten too old for it. Heh.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
The Last Straw - An Epiphany
I honestly couldn’t decide who to support for the nomination after Chris Dodd dropped out. I really, really couldn’t. I was so proud to be part of the Democratic Party during this historic primary season. I was so completely unable to commit to either candidate that I couldn’t even bring myself to caucus for one or the other on Super Duper Monster Tuesday. I still hadn’t decided by last week.
But now, I’ve made up my mind. And with such conviction that I cannot believe it took me so long to pull my head out of my butt. What finally did it for me?
The claiming of 35 years of experience didn’t do it…
The SNL skit didn’t do it…
The Somalian picture didn’t do it…
The “Is Obama a Muslim?” answer didn’t do it…
The “3am” ad didn’t do it…
The offering of the #2 spot to the #1 candidate by the #2 candidate didn’t do it…
Even the Ferraro comments didn’t do it…
It was the moment today, right after work, when my brain connected all of these things together. I realized that Hillary has run a Republican campaign. She’s used every Rovian tactic in the book, and even a few things that would make the Swift Boaters blush. The math makes it nearly impossible for her to win with the support of the people, and she seems hellbent on taking the Democratic Party down with her when she finally falls. Rove must be so proud.
At the same time, it occurred to me that Obama represents a new kind of politics, even if I don’t fully agree with him and really wish he’d be more aggressive in his healthcare policies. He represents what the Netroots have been trying to do since Dean. He is truly people powered, and seems to have no emotional attachment to the Old Guard. Clinton represents politics-as-usual. For her, it’s all about winning…nothing else, nothing more. It’s not about what’s best for the party, or the country, but what’s best for her and her machine. She is stuck in the old smoky-room mentality where the party elders decide who’s going to be the nominee, and she can’t seem to handle being beat by the people. She’s determined to bring the party down with her when she goes.
After Iowa, I put some serious thought into who I wanted as a candidate. I landed in Hillary’s camp to begin with, for no other reason than I wanted a woman in the White House. I know I was being sexist, I admitted it then, and I admit it now. On all policy questions, I felt the two candidates balanced out; that both had shortcomings and both had strengths and that they were roughly equal in the big scheme, and that either was light-years ahead of anything the knuckle-draggers would pull out of their asses. But I couldn’t bring my self to caucus for her because I knew my reasons were impure. I loved Obama’s vitality and charisma, but knew that if I caucused for him, it wouldn’t be because I thought he was the better person, it would have been because I didn’t want to solidify my sexism by voting for the woman. (I had some regrets about my lack of caucus initially, but since Obama won my precinct by such a wide margin, one more vote for him wouldn’t have mattered.)
Now, I’m so set against Hillary and her tactics that I am actually disgusted with her. At first, when she began her scorched-earth campaign, I made excuses for her. I told people, and truly felt, that I was still all for her, but just didn’t like the people she was surrounding herself with. Then, today, in the midst of my epiphany, I realized these were the same people she’d surround herself with in the White House, and I just couldn’t handle it. Having Mark Penn on your campaign is a judgment call, and a bad one at that. And that’s her judgment.
I was truly, madly, deeply, and still am, in love with the thought of a woman in the White House…just not this woman. I am beginning to understand the people who say they won’t vote for her in the GE, even if it means McCain will win. I would never, ever, say or do that, but I understand how they’ve come to that drastic conclusion.
This isn’t meant to be a “your candidate sucks” post. I do not fault people who support Hillary. That’s the beauty of democracy. The purpose of this post is to chronicle the thoughts that crossed my mind before and since finally choosing my candidate.
So, FWIW, I hereby endorse Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination, and of course, the presidency.
But now, I’ve made up my mind. And with such conviction that I cannot believe it took me so long to pull my head out of my butt. What finally did it for me?
The claiming of 35 years of experience didn’t do it…
The SNL skit didn’t do it…
The Somalian picture didn’t do it…
The “Is Obama a Muslim?” answer didn’t do it…
The “3am” ad didn’t do it…
The offering of the #2 spot to the #1 candidate by the #2 candidate didn’t do it…
Even the Ferraro comments didn’t do it…
It was the moment today, right after work, when my brain connected all of these things together. I realized that Hillary has run a Republican campaign. She’s used every Rovian tactic in the book, and even a few things that would make the Swift Boaters blush. The math makes it nearly impossible for her to win with the support of the people, and she seems hellbent on taking the Democratic Party down with her when she finally falls. Rove must be so proud.
At the same time, it occurred to me that Obama represents a new kind of politics, even if I don’t fully agree with him and really wish he’d be more aggressive in his healthcare policies. He represents what the Netroots have been trying to do since Dean. He is truly people powered, and seems to have no emotional attachment to the Old Guard. Clinton represents politics-as-usual. For her, it’s all about winning…nothing else, nothing more. It’s not about what’s best for the party, or the country, but what’s best for her and her machine. She is stuck in the old smoky-room mentality where the party elders decide who’s going to be the nominee, and she can’t seem to handle being beat by the people. She’s determined to bring the party down with her when she goes.
After Iowa, I put some serious thought into who I wanted as a candidate. I landed in Hillary’s camp to begin with, for no other reason than I wanted a woman in the White House. I know I was being sexist, I admitted it then, and I admit it now. On all policy questions, I felt the two candidates balanced out; that both had shortcomings and both had strengths and that they were roughly equal in the big scheme, and that either was light-years ahead of anything the knuckle-draggers would pull out of their asses. But I couldn’t bring my self to caucus for her because I knew my reasons were impure. I loved Obama’s vitality and charisma, but knew that if I caucused for him, it wouldn’t be because I thought he was the better person, it would have been because I didn’t want to solidify my sexism by voting for the woman. (I had some regrets about my lack of caucus initially, but since Obama won my precinct by such a wide margin, one more vote for him wouldn’t have mattered.)
Now, I’m so set against Hillary and her tactics that I am actually disgusted with her. At first, when she began her scorched-earth campaign, I made excuses for her. I told people, and truly felt, that I was still all for her, but just didn’t like the people she was surrounding herself with. Then, today, in the midst of my epiphany, I realized these were the same people she’d surround herself with in the White House, and I just couldn’t handle it. Having Mark Penn on your campaign is a judgment call, and a bad one at that. And that’s her judgment.
I was truly, madly, deeply, and still am, in love with the thought of a woman in the White House…just not this woman. I am beginning to understand the people who say they won’t vote for her in the GE, even if it means McCain will win. I would never, ever, say or do that, but I understand how they’ve come to that drastic conclusion.
This isn’t meant to be a “your candidate sucks” post. I do not fault people who support Hillary. That’s the beauty of democracy. The purpose of this post is to chronicle the thoughts that crossed my mind before and since finally choosing my candidate.
So, FWIW, I hereby endorse Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination, and of course, the presidency.
Friday, January 18, 2008
The Story of My Life
As many people know by now, I got rid of the Red Rocket about a month ago since it was pretty much useless all last winter, and this winter was shaping up to be about the same. I decided it was time to get a more sensible vehicle...an SUV. Well, the night I picked up my new 4X4, they were calling for snow, and of course none came. But here's the kicker...we've not gotten a snow storm large enough since then to justify the use of the 4 wheel drive.
I am opposed to SUV's in general, but determined that after the Hell that was last winter, I needed to suck it up and get one. So I chose a nice 08 Xterra with the Off Road package to replace the Altima, thinking that with the Off Road package we'd use it for camping and such, and it wouldn't be a Barbie Truck. But this is ridiculous. By the time I got the Xterra, there had already been a few days this winter when the Altima was doomed to the garage. But since then, the only time I've even had it in 4 wheel drive was to be a smart ass and park on top of a snow bank in the parking lot at work.
Last winter, beginning the week before Christmas and extending through February, we had about 6 major snow storms (with more than 6" of snow each), two of those were more than a foot, and another (the first one) was almost 2 1/2 feet. There was snow on the ground for 2 consecutive months, every day. The Altima was in the garage from December 21 to February 6. I couldn't get the damned thing out of the driveway because of the ice buildup on the street. (Of course, with my luck, the day that I finally got it out of the garage, some dipshit in a mini-van decided to pop a U-turn out of the right hand turn lane while I was beside her, and T-boned me. She might just be the biggest dumbass I've ever met.)
Needless to say, I didn't want to go through that crap again, especially since this year, we no longer have the 'spare' 4Runner that we had last year (having sold it when Dill got his new truck), so we only had enough vehicles for each of us to have one available. Dill was also worried that me and the Altima would end up in the ditch, and not necessarily because of the snow. But now, I have a 4 wheel drive that is usable in any weather, but can no longer spin the tires all the way through 3rd gear. I guess it's a trade-off. I got safety, security, off road capabilities and 31" Bridgestone All Terrains instead of speed, handling, gas mileage, and 18" low profile speed rated Yokohama summer tires.
I'm not gonna lie, I miss the Altima. I had a blast in that car, it just wasn't made for year round driving in Colorado. I made it through 3 winters with the previous Maxima with snow tires on the stock 17" rims, but the brakes were too big on the Altima to put 17" rims and snow tires on, and they don't make 18" snow tires under $1K a set.
I love my new truck, it's got tons of room, it's not slow (ironically, it has the same horsepower as the Altima, but is a good 1.5 seconds slower to 60), it looks great, has a kick-ass Rockford Fosgate stereo with iPod interface, and is quite possibly the most utilitarian SUV ever built. I think I'll be happy with it for a long time. It'll be great if we do as planned, and take it to Moab this summer. But, dammit, I bought it because I needed something to get around in the snow, and the damned snow won't come. I want to play in the snow!!! I want to be able to get around in the snow while other people are stuck!!! I want to roll my eyes at people who bought cars that are a bad idea for this area!!!
Once again, I try to think something through and fate comes back and laughs her ass off at me.
...And that's the story of my life.
I am opposed to SUV's in general, but determined that after the Hell that was last winter, I needed to suck it up and get one. So I chose a nice 08 Xterra with the Off Road package to replace the Altima, thinking that with the Off Road package we'd use it for camping and such, and it wouldn't be a Barbie Truck. But this is ridiculous. By the time I got the Xterra, there had already been a few days this winter when the Altima was doomed to the garage. But since then, the only time I've even had it in 4 wheel drive was to be a smart ass and park on top of a snow bank in the parking lot at work.
Last winter, beginning the week before Christmas and extending through February, we had about 6 major snow storms (with more than 6" of snow each), two of those were more than a foot, and another (the first one) was almost 2 1/2 feet. There was snow on the ground for 2 consecutive months, every day. The Altima was in the garage from December 21 to February 6. I couldn't get the damned thing out of the driveway because of the ice buildup on the street. (Of course, with my luck, the day that I finally got it out of the garage, some dipshit in a mini-van decided to pop a U-turn out of the right hand turn lane while I was beside her, and T-boned me. She might just be the biggest dumbass I've ever met.)
Needless to say, I didn't want to go through that crap again, especially since this year, we no longer have the 'spare' 4Runner that we had last year (having sold it when Dill got his new truck), so we only had enough vehicles for each of us to have one available. Dill was also worried that me and the Altima would end up in the ditch, and not necessarily because of the snow. But now, I have a 4 wheel drive that is usable in any weather, but can no longer spin the tires all the way through 3rd gear. I guess it's a trade-off. I got safety, security, off road capabilities and 31" Bridgestone All Terrains instead of speed, handling, gas mileage, and 18" low profile speed rated Yokohama summer tires.
I'm not gonna lie, I miss the Altima. I had a blast in that car, it just wasn't made for year round driving in Colorado. I made it through 3 winters with the previous Maxima with snow tires on the stock 17" rims, but the brakes were too big on the Altima to put 17" rims and snow tires on, and they don't make 18" snow tires under $1K a set.
I love my new truck, it's got tons of room, it's not slow (ironically, it has the same horsepower as the Altima, but is a good 1.5 seconds slower to 60), it looks great, has a kick-ass Rockford Fosgate stereo with iPod interface, and is quite possibly the most utilitarian SUV ever built. I think I'll be happy with it for a long time. It'll be great if we do as planned, and take it to Moab this summer. But, dammit, I bought it because I needed something to get around in the snow, and the damned snow won't come. I want to play in the snow!!! I want to be able to get around in the snow while other people are stuck!!! I want to roll my eyes at people who bought cars that are a bad idea for this area!!!
Once again, I try to think something through and fate comes back and laughs her ass off at me.
...And that's the story of my life.
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