Seems like you can't go one day without hearing about some mental midget blowing himself up and murdering a few dozen folks who were just out for the daily shopping. Now we all know that this is a horrible and evil act* But the thing that I just don't understand is this: "Mr. Terrorist/rebel/"freedom fighter", how does this vile act advance your cause one inch? You have a gripe with the government? With a religion? With the big, bad USA? So you kill a bunch of women, children, average people. Does the government suddenly say, "Oh, all right then. You guys take over, we give up!"? Nope. Does the other sect (whose view of the 'true faith' only differs from yours by the position of a comma on page 751, so they are heretics and must die!) suddenly realize their horrible error and convert? Nope. Does George the thickey agree that American-style hypercapitalism is a mistake and order all corporations to close down their foreign operations? As much chance as a snowball in a supernova.
And now the big question: HAS A SINGLE TERRORIST OPERATION IN THE LAST 50 YEARS ACTUALLY ACHEIVE THEIR GOALS BY KILLING PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO CONTROL OVER THESE GOALS? Again, a resounding NO!
So, from a strictly practical point of view, it just doesn't work! The IRA finally figured that out after 75 years. To get what you want takes the real source of power: money. To paraphrase Tony Montana of Scarface, "First you get the money, then you get the power, then you get what you really want." Real political power takes money, and lots of it.
Strapping on a bomb and getting on the subway just won't do it.
That's my babbling rant for the day.
*I like to use the Terry Pratchett definition of evil: "Treating people like things". Treating them like vermin, cattle, expendable resources, etc. I think this can be found at the root of just about everything considered evil.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Scaredy Cat
Well, we picked up little Sir William last night and brought him home. He's been very quiet, hardly said a word. We had one of the spare bedrooms set up as his 'transitional room'. Yesterday I rented a carpet cleaner and did all the upstairs floors. Plus we had gone through a lot of stuff up there in pitch/pack/giveaway mode, both in preparation for Willy the Wonder Cat and for eventually moving.
We did some shopping yesterday for the little guy: food dish, litter box, catnip, feathery-thing-on-a-stick, water dish (electric, recirculating, dome gizmo). He came with his own bed, some toys, food, and a carpet covered furniture/climby thing.
He spend most of last night scared. I sat in the room for a couple of hours until he finally poked his head out of the carrier. After very cautiously surveying the room, he hid under my chair. Eventually, I left the room to give him a chance to check things out privately. I went downstairs to watch a little TV. Soon came the thumping sounds of cat playing. Later, when I checked on him, he had eaten, used the litter, and played with one of his toy mice, but was back hiding. We checked on him a couple of times more last night and left the blinds open for some light.
Today he's still nervous. Spousal unit is sitting in there with him now. Given time I'm sure he'll adapt. We may wait up to a week before introducing him to Mowgli.
Mo is very curious about who's in that room, but she does not seem upset. A good sign, I think.
We did some shopping yesterday for the little guy: food dish, litter box, catnip, feathery-thing-on-a-stick, water dish (electric, recirculating, dome gizmo). He came with his own bed, some toys, food, and a carpet covered furniture/climby thing.
He spend most of last night scared. I sat in the room for a couple of hours until he finally poked his head out of the carrier. After very cautiously surveying the room, he hid under my chair. Eventually, I left the room to give him a chance to check things out privately. I went downstairs to watch a little TV. Soon came the thumping sounds of cat playing. Later, when I checked on him, he had eaten, used the litter, and played with one of his toy mice, but was back hiding. We checked on him a couple of times more last night and left the blinds open for some light.
Today he's still nervous. Spousal unit is sitting in there with him now. Given time I'm sure he'll adapt. We may wait up to a week before introducing him to Mowgli.
Mo is very curious about who's in that room, but she does not seem upset. A good sign, I think.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Meet the Hairy Things
We have finally decided that our cat Mowgli needs a new friend. Her best buddy, Floyd, died almost 2 years ago at the age of 17 (we think). Since then she has lost much of her spark and energy. About all she does now is sleep. Now, this is typical of cats anyway, but she's sleeping even more than that. It's clear she is lonely and bored. So we figured this might be a good time to introduce a new critter to the household; give us some time to adjust before I head off to the new job, and some time to bond to Mo before we sell the house.
We contacted an organization called Animalert, which arranges foster homes and adoptions for animals. They look at each situation and try to pick animals whose personalities might be a good match. We were recommended two options: first is a pair of male cats who already know each other, and the other is an individual male whose friend was adopted a couple of months ago.
We met with the pair (Jay and Molson a.k.a. Carrot-Top) last Saturday. We liked them. Jay was quite energetic, and a bit friendly, while Molson was quiet and a bit timid. They were great, and I could certainly imagine them in our home.
Today we met the other cat, William. I have to say, I love this cat already. There is a chemistry there that I just didn't feel with the other two. For one thing he was very friendly and playful, and seemed to like me quite a bit, for a stranger he had just met. Initially I thought my reaction could be because he looks very similar to my lost pal Floyd. There were some superficial similarities in behaviour as well, but we was quite different in personality. I can't totally explain, but I had a strong gut-feeling that this was the cat for me (us). I think we will adapt well to Mo, and she will be able to get along with him as well.
So we came home and discussed it for maybe 5 minutes. But by this point, Sir William had won me over. There was no doubt. I liked Jay and Molson, but I really liked William. We'll be contacting Animalert tomorrow to let them know. We figure it will take about 3 weeks to determine if he'll fit in here with Mowgli.
Here's a picture of William:
We contacted an organization called Animalert, which arranges foster homes and adoptions for animals. They look at each situation and try to pick animals whose personalities might be a good match. We were recommended two options: first is a pair of male cats who already know each other, and the other is an individual male whose friend was adopted a couple of months ago.
We met with the pair (Jay and Molson a.k.a. Carrot-Top) last Saturday. We liked them. Jay was quite energetic, and a bit friendly, while Molson was quiet and a bit timid. They were great, and I could certainly imagine them in our home.
Today we met the other cat, William. I have to say, I love this cat already. There is a chemistry there that I just didn't feel with the other two. For one thing he was very friendly and playful, and seemed to like me quite a bit, for a stranger he had just met. Initially I thought my reaction could be because he looks very similar to my lost pal Floyd. There were some superficial similarities in behaviour as well, but we was quite different in personality. I can't totally explain, but I had a strong gut-feeling that this was the cat for me (us). I think we will adapt well to Mo, and she will be able to get along with him as well.
So we came home and discussed it for maybe 5 minutes. But by this point, Sir William had won me over. There was no doubt. I liked Jay and Molson, but I really liked William. We'll be contacting Animalert tomorrow to let them know. We figure it will take about 3 weeks to determine if he'll fit in here with Mowgli.
Here's a picture of William:
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Butthead of the Week Award...
...goes to the dork sitting in his vehicle in front of the grocery store last night. Spousal unit and I went to pick up a few items to keep us going for a few days, so we parked in one of the many open designated parking spaces, like good little shoppers. As we're walking up to the store we notice this week's number one bozo sitting in his idling vehicle, apparently waiting for someone to come out. We often see people parked along the front of the store like this. Apparently they are far too important to be bothered by parking with the lowly masses.
So, anyway, Captain Smeghead here is sitting there wasting gas and helping us to have no more white Christmases ever while waiting for someone else to finish shopping. Someone who can't stand to walk to 40 or 50 feet to the nearest, actual, designated parking spot. Fine. We've seen this kind of thing before. Shrug it off.
Twenty minutes later, we've complete our purchase and are making the horrid, grueling trek back to our car, and guess what, there's the man the dinosaurs died for, still sitting there with the engine running.
As far as I'm concerned, this knob is out of the game:
* Idling your vehicle unnecessarily for 20+ minutes, puking out some more greenhouse gases to fuck up the world some more. Strike 1!
* Blocking space in front of the store because he and/or his wife are too fucking lazy to walk from a regular parking spot! Strike 2!
* And Strike 3 is that jerkboy is doing this in an SUV that, I can almost guarantee, has never been off pavement.
* And Strike 4 (my game, I make the rules), is that the thing was a BMW X5 or whatever. A BMW, I might have known. I've observed over the years that approximately 90% of BMW drivers are total assholes. Somehow they figure that overpaying for some Nazi land yacht makes them into some kind of superior, Eurotrash, uber-pinhead. "This isn't a parking lot! This is my personal autobahn!"
Spousal unit and I drove away in our humble Honda Civic, with a mixture of disgust and smug superiority.
So, anyway, Captain Smeghead here is sitting there wasting gas and helping us to have no more white Christmases ever while waiting for someone else to finish shopping. Someone who can't stand to walk to 40 or 50 feet to the nearest, actual, designated parking spot. Fine. We've seen this kind of thing before. Shrug it off.
Twenty minutes later, we've complete our purchase and are making the horrid, grueling trek back to our car, and guess what, there's the man the dinosaurs died for, still sitting there with the engine running.
As far as I'm concerned, this knob is out of the game:
* Idling your vehicle unnecessarily for 20+ minutes, puking out some more greenhouse gases to fuck up the world some more. Strike 1!
* Blocking space in front of the store because he and/or his wife are too fucking lazy to walk from a regular parking spot! Strike 2!
* And Strike 3 is that jerkboy is doing this in an SUV that, I can almost guarantee, has never been off pavement.
* And Strike 4 (my game, I make the rules), is that the thing was a BMW X5 or whatever. A BMW, I might have known. I've observed over the years that approximately 90% of BMW drivers are total assholes. Somehow they figure that overpaying for some Nazi land yacht makes them into some kind of superior, Eurotrash, uber-pinhead. "This isn't a parking lot! This is my personal autobahn!"
Spousal unit and I drove away in our humble Honda Civic, with a mixture of disgust and smug superiority.
Monday, January 01, 2007
2006, I'm glad that's finally over!
I'll be blunt, for me 2006 royally sucked! Our reproductive attempts failed, succeeded, and failed. I was fired from a job I'd been at for 7.5 years (although, that may turn out to be a good thing in the longer term), by a drab little, no-nothing, Dilbert-level boss with a Napoleon complex. And the marriage thing got a bit of a shake up (in my mind, anyway). The year has been a roller-coaster ride of brutal ups and downs, mostly downs. I began to seriously question my sanity, and fear what the future would bring. However, the year ended with the bright note of a new job (almost certainly).
2007 will be difficult, but potentially rewarding. I've been doing a fair bit of daydreaming over the last while, imagining what life will be like:
1. The new job will take me away from this town and the Spousal Unit. She plans to stay and finish her university degree. This will take a couple of years. I understand why she wants to do this, but it won't be easy for either of us, and I worry about what it might do to our marriage. But, we've lasted more that 16 years together (13 married), through bad times and good, so I think we're strong enough to make it through this.
2. I'll be renting a room out temporarily until we can sell this house and get a place up there. Getting this place ready to sell, packing, and moving will be a serious annoyance. We'll probably buy a smaller place, possibly a condo, and use the equity money to finance Spousal Unit's schooling.
3. The time alone may actually be good for something. I'll have more time to concentrate on doing things myself. I can learn to cook (better). I'll spend more time exercising, reading, learning useful things, and less on stupid time wasting things like watching TV and playing games. Not to slag Spousal Unit, but often I find it hard to maintain the self discipline to avoid junk food and exercise regularly when she is around. I'm hoping a more regular schedule will help this.
Things I want to do while/after settling in:
1. Drop all but basic cable TV, or perhaps all TV. I'll keep the internet connection, of course.
2. Buy a new computer. I've been putting off upgrading for years because of money. The money freed up by getting a smaller home will clear off some debt, and allow us to make a few long wanted purchases. Yes, I'll get some new games, too. I won't go cold-turkey on those.
3. Buy Lego Mindstorms and start building robots and strange machines to irritate the cat.
4. Get another cat. Mo is lonely, and will be even moreso without Spousal Unit around. She needs someone to play with and keep her company when I'm at work.
5. Maybe set up a home gym. A power rack, a bench, a bar, a couple of dumbbell bars, and 3 or 4 hundred pounds of plates would set me up nicely. Until then, I may use the facilities at my new employer. I'll have to see what they have.
6. If possible, find a group in the new town that plays D&D or some other similar game. I'd like to get into a regular, reliable game.
7. Enjoy my new job. Enjoy the learning process. Keep a positive attitude. Study a few job-related self-improvement books, perhaps. I want to take a different approach than I had with the last job, which I had learned to hate.
8. Have the occasional visit with the Spouse. As much as possible. And, I hope, she will eventually want to join me in the new place permanently.
Anyway, that's my rough idea for 2007. We'll see.
2007 will be difficult, but potentially rewarding. I've been doing a fair bit of daydreaming over the last while, imagining what life will be like:
1. The new job will take me away from this town and the Spousal Unit. She plans to stay and finish her university degree. This will take a couple of years. I understand why she wants to do this, but it won't be easy for either of us, and I worry about what it might do to our marriage. But, we've lasted more that 16 years together (13 married), through bad times and good, so I think we're strong enough to make it through this.
2. I'll be renting a room out temporarily until we can sell this house and get a place up there. Getting this place ready to sell, packing, and moving will be a serious annoyance. We'll probably buy a smaller place, possibly a condo, and use the equity money to finance Spousal Unit's schooling.
3. The time alone may actually be good for something. I'll have more time to concentrate on doing things myself. I can learn to cook (better). I'll spend more time exercising, reading, learning useful things, and less on stupid time wasting things like watching TV and playing games. Not to slag Spousal Unit, but often I find it hard to maintain the self discipline to avoid junk food and exercise regularly when she is around. I'm hoping a more regular schedule will help this.
Things I want to do while/after settling in:
1. Drop all but basic cable TV, or perhaps all TV. I'll keep the internet connection, of course.
2. Buy a new computer. I've been putting off upgrading for years because of money. The money freed up by getting a smaller home will clear off some debt, and allow us to make a few long wanted purchases. Yes, I'll get some new games, too. I won't go cold-turkey on those.
3. Buy Lego Mindstorms and start building robots and strange machines to irritate the cat.
4. Get another cat. Mo is lonely, and will be even moreso without Spousal Unit around. She needs someone to play with and keep her company when I'm at work.
5. Maybe set up a home gym. A power rack, a bench, a bar, a couple of dumbbell bars, and 3 or 4 hundred pounds of plates would set me up nicely. Until then, I may use the facilities at my new employer. I'll have to see what they have.
6. If possible, find a group in the new town that plays D&D or some other similar game. I'd like to get into a regular, reliable game.
7. Enjoy my new job. Enjoy the learning process. Keep a positive attitude. Study a few job-related self-improvement books, perhaps. I want to take a different approach than I had with the last job, which I had learned to hate.
8. Have the occasional visit with the Spouse. As much as possible. And, I hope, she will eventually want to join me in the new place permanently.
Anyway, that's my rough idea for 2007. We'll see.
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