30
Dec
09

Some Light Home Remodeling

You would think that when I was done with the house in Conservative Hell, that I would have been done remodeling things.   Today I find myself working in my mothers kitchen.

Her house was built before microwaves were commonly used, so that meant that all her cabinets were designed without the use of a microwave in mind.  When an over the range microwave showed up for Christmas, it wasn’t a simple matter of taking the range hood down and replacing it with the microwave/vent/light combo.   Instead I found myself down in the workshop hacking 3-inches off the cabinet and reworking it so the microwave would sit over the stove at a height at a distance so that pots and pans could be used.

The cabinet when I started?  18-inches tall, when I finished, 15-inches.  That 3-inches makes a world of difference.  Instead of hanging below the base of the side cabinets 4 or 5-inches, it will now only hang below 1 or 2.

Much better.

I’ll take a photo when the microwave is finally on the wall.

29
Dec
09

The TSA has gone CrAzY!

I thought when we elected Barack Obama as President that the insanity of how the TSA responds to security flaws would change.

Can someone please explain to me how disallowing me my carry-on bag AND my backpack in the cabin (instead of only my backpack) would prevent a terrorist from detonating a bomb that is in their underwear?  Also, how is forcing me to sit down and shut-up during the last hour of the flight going to prevent an attack attempt like the one hatched on the recent Northwest flight?

What’s next?  Will they strip search everyone, perform a full body cavity search, issue each passenger a diaper, and then padlock them otherwise nude into the seat for the duration of the flight?

Congratulations TSA!  You’ve accomplished nothing other than to make innocent people suffer for no tangible increase in security.  Now I have to sit in the cattle call that is waiting for luggage to arrive in a customs hall instead of being able to jump ahead because I’m smart enough to know how to pack light.

Why don’t you guys do something smart like not allowing the terrorist onto the plane in the first place?  After all, he *was* on the watch list.

You fall down on the job and the public suffers.

23
Dec
09

At The Movies

Tonight I went to see Invictus. This movie is mostly about Nelson Mandela and his desire to unite South Africa shortly after the end of Apartheid.  In many ways, I thought he was worried that the same things that happened in Zimbabwe were about to happen in South Africa due to a high amount of black nationalism against the former white minority authorities.  Much like what happened in East Germany at the hands of the western government after the fall of the wall , there was a great desire by the black majority population to wipe out all things associated with the former government.

Different countries, similar situations.

In this case, Mandela realized that while the black majority was now in power, the white minority still owned the economy, the police force, etc.  So he wanted to do things to bring the country together as a whole to include all races.  I think something the western government in Germany failed to take into account with the east during reunification.  You simply can’t wipe out all things historic moving forward, you have to let people have some of their history.  I think South Africa picked up on this quicker than what happened during German reunification.

Overall it was a good movie and it gave me some time to think about the similarities and difference between the South African situation and that which existed in East Germany.  The biggest difference prior to the actions was how the population were segregated from one another.  In Germany it was through different government systems and national borders, and in South Africa it happened through the forced partition of the population within the same territory.

From what I could tell a majority of the movie was filmed in South Africa.  There were many things throughout that I recognized from the trip TQE and I took in May 2007.

If you enjoy movies with a political undertone, this would be a good one to see.  It did a good job at portraying how inhuman humans can be to each other.  It also showed how a formerly oppressed person upon gaining the Presidency of South Africa had to deal with going against the trend of the majority population in order to secure a reasonably prosperous future for all his citizens.  South Africa may not be perfect, but if you look at how it has fared post-white rule compared to it’s neighbors after a similar passage of time, they’ve done a pretty good job.

I’ll be curious to hear what others have to say about the movie after they have seen it.

18
Dec
09

The Big News

The big news that I alluded to earlier is that I’m going back to school.

Today I went to the orientation session and received my books and other materials along with my first assignment.  While waiting for the program director to come in I opened the book to a random page and what was staring back at me was something that most gay men cringe at.  Yup, there in full color was a photo worthy of being published in Playboy.

The gods are either  having a good laugh at me or they’re telling me, “Get used to this, you’re gonna be seeing a lot of those…”

17
Dec
09

Blah…

Runny nose, scratchy throat, sneezing, etc.  I can’t wait for my head to depressurize.

This, combined with my grandfather turning everything into an argument, is making for a wonderful day.

16
Dec
09

Going Straight

Now that I’ve given my gay friends a heart attack…

No, I’m not saying I’m taking my skin boat to tuna town.  This post is about possibly ditching that rather expensive, wasteful, and manly appliance known as razor cartridges.

For some reason the major razor manufacturers have convinced the majority of the public that cartridges for razors that cost them, I’m guessing, less than 50-cents to manufacture sell for as much as $25.00 for a pack of eight to the consumer.  That’s simply ridiculous.  As such, I’m giving serious consideration to converting to a straight razor.  Buy a kit once for $100 to $150, and you’re set for life other than shaving soap.

My main concern with straight razors is that they do require a bit of maintenance.  You have to hone them, strop them, etc. all to keep a nice, sharp edge.  The other issue is that it is rather easy to cut yourself using this particular shaving device.  On the good side, once mastered, this is the closest shave a man can possibly get.  I get nasty 5:00 shadow somewhere around noon, so hopefully using such a device would allow me to meet the shadow at it’s namesake time of 5:00.

I’ve still not committed myself to this idea 100%, so I may still continue to use the razor cartridges.  One thing is for certain, should I travel on a plane, I’ll have to use the razor cartridges unless I wish the TSA to take my razor away from me.  After all, one of these things cuts much easier than those box cutters the terrorists used in the 9-11 attacks.

What do you think male readers?  Should I take the plunge?

15
Dec
09

For those of you who watch Dexter…

I certainly didn’t see *that* coming…

Oh. My. God.

That was one hell of a season finale, and in the last minute of the show to boot!  If you’ve recorded the show for later viewing DO NOT fast forward to the end to see this.  What’s going on in the rest of the episode is barely related to anything that happens in the last scene.

It’s that shocking!

10
Dec
09

I Heart Rep. Alan Grayson D-FL

I’m beginning to like representative Grayson from Florida.  This guy tells it like it is.  Dare I say it?  He’s starting to become my political hero.

For those of you who don’t know, he is the guy that said the Republican health care plan was: (link goes to video)

  1. Don’t get sick.
  2. If you do get sick…
  3. Die quickly.

He is again back in the news.  What for this time?  For telling former Vice-President Dick Cheney to “STFU!” Yup, he told the former VP to put a sock in it.  Al Gore didn’t stay out on the stage for a year after Bush “won” the presidency (more like stole, but that’s been gone over a billion times).  No, he faded out and found other things to work on.  Cheney is no longer in the government but for some reason news organizations keep giving him a microphone.  He’s not running for anything, and as far as I can tell isn’t involved directly with the government any more.  So why is he getting so much press?

To representative Grayson, you may not be my congressman but I’d certainly give to your campaign.  The national party shouldn’t marginalize you, they should be pumping as much cash into your campaign as possible.  We need  more truth speakers in the Democratic Party, so please keep up what you’re doing.

07
Dec
09

We Got 8-Inches Last Night

Winter is officially here in California.  Today I drove into the hills from the central valley to discover that the overnight storm had dropped snow as low as the 500 ft. level in my area.  It actually snowed in Sacramento today as well.  This kind of weather rarely finds its way to the valley floor.

In California, your chance of seeing snow is usually given based on elevation.  The higher up in the hills you are, the more likely a storm will produce snow.  I cannot remember hearing about or seeing a storm in years that has produced this much snow, so low.  In a given winter the snow will get down as far as my folks place at the 2300 foot level about two or three times, in usually light amounts, but to get clear to the valley floor is about a once in a generation occurrence.  I actually saw snow inbetween travel lanes in the area where I was sweating to death and getting a sunburn on the motorcycle this past summer.

Fortunately, I encountered no slippage whilst driving until I turned into my parents driveway.  The roads all the way to the driveway had been plowed before I drove in.  It didn’t mean I could drive quickly or at the speed limit once I left the state highway, but my travel was delayed by a few minutes.  It could have been much more significant since California requires the use of these odd things called tire chains or, as I like to call them, wheel alignment destroyers.

While the snow can be inconvenient to those folks who rarely see it or drive in it, it does make for scenic driving.  As I was driving up out of the valley this afternoon, I saw a hill in the distance that probably doesn’t get past about 1000 feet in elevation, covered with snow.  Normally this time of year the hill is a golden brown from the dried out grass that adorns the landscape here until spring.  Today it was white, with a dark grey backdrop, and green trees framing the view as I drove up the highway.

California can be dusty, dry, and boring.  Today it was simply beautiful.

On another note… Big news may be on the way shortly. :)

02
Dec
09

Pot Pourri

Just a few things today:

  1. Can the State of California explain to me why today is a burn day and tomorrow is not?  The weather and air conditions are going to be identical, yet I could have burned the entire county down today if I had wanted to.  I guess I’ll let the massive pile of brush I cut today burn on its own next summer and let CalFire put it out, along with the scorched earth the rest of the mountain behind the house will become.
  2. To the purchaser of my Conservative Hell home:  Which part of the phrase, “CLOSING SHALL CONSTITUTE ACCEPTANCE OF THE PROPERTY IN ITS THEN EXISTING CONDITION UNLESS PROVISION IS OTHERWISE MADE IN WRITING” in our contract do you not understand?  There were no other provisions made in writing, or otherwise.  You had your inspections, everything was disclosed, and the fact you’re seeing bugs 7-months after you closed and took possesion of the property is not my problem.  That was disclosed to you.  I’ve contacted the bug people three times on your behalf as a courtesy, but the issue you’re asking about is yours to resolve.  I no longer own the house, YOU DO.
  3. Hey Microsoft, why did your Windows Vista update to service pack 2 so completely crash my computer I’ve had to re-install the entire freaking operating system?  Fortunately my computer had a way to retreive all the files I wanted to back-up (and I had saved many to CD’s before this happened) but really, why do I have to spend a significant portion of my day downloading and re-installing software because you guys f**k-up on a consistent basis?  No wonder everyone is converting to Macs.
  4. What is this frackin’ lump on my eyeball/eyelid?  I’m not convinced it’s a stye, but my vision is a bit blurry.
  5. Why does the tendon on my left ankle hurt?  Why has it been this way for 3-weeks now?
  6. Why did it take my new jacket 40-hours to cross the entire country by UPS ground, and 3-days to make it from Oakland to the delivery address that is 100-miles from the Oakland warehouse?  Just curious is all.  I love my jacket!
  7. Christmas shopping is done for mom and grandpa.  Older brother and Big D are all that is left.  Younger brother will be lucky if I don’t mail him a cow-pie or send the fat Samoan after him.  I like having a short Christmas list. :)
  8. When can I make a doctors appointment to get a physical, my eye checked, and my prescriptions updated?

That is all.