Mix n' Match Sentences

Here is a quote from Pres. Obama regarding the Bush-tax-cuts-unemployment-free-for-all:
"This isn't about the politics of the moment.
It's about what we can do right now."

Either I didn't do enough sentence diagramming as a kid, or miss parsing syntax, but something makes me want to take these two sentences and mix n' match them.

How about these alternates:
"This isn't about the politics of right now.
It's about what we can do for the moment."

Then throw in some logic (see, I knew this stuff would come in handy one day, just like those NP-complete analysis of algorithm truisms like "NP complete" (unsolvable problems) or the laws of thermodynamics..)

politics === what we can do
right now === the moment
(equivalencies)

I know some of my readers *hate* taking mathematical or scientific theories and applying them to social or political situations. Well then - you have a constitutional right to write your own blog, and it will just be for mathematicians.

So what did Obama say exactly?

"This isn't about what we can do right now.
It's about the politics of the moment."

Oh! Of course!

Under Another Name: $900 Billion and Counting

First, I am not one of those liberals angry over extending those Bush tax cuts for rich people. Lets look at some facts: in Oregon "rich people" (those making over $250K 0r so) actually pay more (in magnitude) in taxes than any other group. Widely more.

So it all depends how you slice and dice it. Their percentage might be smaller. But they pay a great deal.

But I am one of those unhappy with Obama's negotiating with the Rs. Basically caving and giving them everything they asked for! Nice, come to my party and eat all my cake. Well that was nice. Maybe my sisters wanted some too, but I forgot about them for the time being.. They are sisters so they'll forgive and forget, right?

Is it possible to negotiate with both Republicans and Democrats at the same time? How about shuttle diplomacy. Sounds like a state department core competency. Can they help here, in navigating the territorial waters between the blue coasts and the red central part of the countries (sorry - I meant only one country)..

But! Its not over. Christmas is coming and the tree must be decorated!
So kiddos (and your kiddos beyond that), it will be nice when you pay off your share of the $900B (plus whatever decorations get added this week). Hey! That is even more than the first Stimulus!

The Fog Makes Everything Quiet..

Macy's is finally a local store, local to Portland. While we could lament the loss of Meier and Frank, it is the way the world is today - all industries trend toward consolidation. So Macy's has finally gotten a clue, more than one in fact. From the original dowdy clothes they thought we wore here in Oregon country (did they know we've been a state since 1859?), they finally have clothes that real people wear. And cute ceramic pots for cooking, someday, when I feel like spending that kind of money. And of course the ipod vending machine at Washington Square really makes me feel 1st World.

The parade can now be called Macy's holiday parade. At first they didn't understand how middle school bands could participate in this event. Did they think this was the Rose Parade or something? Do they want middle schoolers to become hoodlums and be deprived of one of the only events they can participate in at a community level? I was really really happy to see at least a couple middle school bands in this year's holiday parade. Rah!

And Franklin H.S. had their own band this year too! I seem to recall in past parades the various high schools from Portland had to grab a few people from each school - not sure where they got the different uniforms from, maybe from Portland's past days of high school glory. But this year standing on their own was Franklin H.S. Go for it! I hope to see you in the Rose Parade! And many other Portland high school marching bands too! Of course, Century will still outshine any of you, but competition is healthy.

If life can be measured in 12-hour increments, which I sometimes think, it didn't even take that long after the parade ended and the masses gathered at Pioneer Square for the tree lighting. Eighteen minutes before the tree lighting (or maybe 1 hour and 18 mins) a 19-year old kid was nabbed for an attempt to blow up the crowd.

Shouldn't terrorist attacks happen in foreign cities? But not the ones my kids go to. Or shouldn't they happen on east coast cities? But again, not the ones my kids go to. Or shouldn't we be "fighting the terrorists over there, so that we don't have to fight them here?"

Don't believe any of that. They are here among us. Two words come to mind:
"entrapment". This is what happens when the FBI give you the tools, encouragement, and opportunity to commit an act which will land you in jail forever. Or it could be the police. From my knowledge of this case, news stories, I don't see how this kid would have followed the garden path on his own. Granted he got the bomb making supplies from Radio Shack. Must be the one in Corvallis cause the one here in Hillsboro doesn't stock C-4. As a naturalized citizen he should have the same rights as me or any other citizen, right?

So he rails on Islamic sites exercising his free speech. But wait. He was advocating treason against the U.S., which blowing up the tree-goers at Pioneer Square certainly is. So you can draw that line. Which leads me to the next word:

"integration": I can't help wondering about why this kid didn't become integrated to: his community, his school, American society. Maybe this is white middle class guilt or something. But why didn't he go out for band and end up marching in the parade? Or why didn't he sign up for the chess club, or just find some friends to go party with? How has the community failed to integrate this child?

Last thought of the day - Safeway has it right. For a little over $6 you can buy a bag of groceries for people without, and I checked the label - this is staple stuff like beans and rice. Yes, you do not need to eat confined animal farm chickens to get protein, as 400 of the world's 436 countries have figured out, despite our propagating Western ways to the rest of the world. In a time of corporate strip malls looking the same from here to Tigard to Framingham, Mass, our local Safeway is there In the Community. This month it is a pitch to buy food bags along with your groceries. Last month it was a book sale to raise money. They have it right. Rah and aloha for the Aloha Safeway.

As darkness descends two days after the parade, after the tree lighting, the fog makes everything quiet..

15 Minutes at the Hollywood Farmer's Market

Last day of the season..

It was balmy at first..









The band was playing old Emmy Lou Harris tunes, a good twang, a strong female voice (Sandy Saunders)


The clouds moved in, my fingers turned yellow..

















Sigh, till next spring then..

What is Legal, What is Ilegal?

.. and in-between..

Illegal: toner cartridges on airplanes
Legal: toner cartridges for home or office use

Illegal: energy drinks with alcohol in Washington State
Legal: rum & coke

Illegal: marijuana (at the federal level)
Decriminalized: marijuana in Oregon
Though, no dispensaries (Measure 74 went down), and it is not legal in California (their initiative went down too)
Watching 1:1 encounters at the gym - be it handball, basketball, or staring contests.. Most of them seemed pretty competitive. Maybe the world needs legal marijuana. I don't remember men fighting back-in-the-day. Cause when you're stoned you have other objectives, fighting not among them.

I am all for coherent policy. But if one person tomorrow puts a bomb that can be detonated by a bag of cheetohs in their pink wig, will we see a ban on cheetohs and pink wigs on airplanes? Did anyone besides me who saw the "breaking news" last week about toner cartridges banned on planes think it might be a joke?

No joke. Also the energy drinks in Washington State. I am not sure why it is illegal to add caffeine to an alcohol drink. The producer is saying - hey, you need to regulate bars too. So, while rum & coke is legal *today*, tomorrow may be another story.

Back to mixing your own, perhaps. Except I don't drink coke anymore. Just the rum with a bit of lime. Yes we still have some Belizian rum, a place where rum is actually cheaper than wine. I suppose in Venice box wine is easier to come by than clean water. So, when in Rome (or Venice or Belize).. I'm glad I had some cheetohs today, cause they may be on their way out...

State Foot Soldiers

State workers are not the favorites these days.. No, I would have to say, the paparrazi are not trailing me, just to get a glimpse of what exciting policy issues I am thinking about. Or what the latest forecast might be for people in Trade Act training. Darn, I would love to offer autographs.

But there are plenty of people with hatred for us, it seems. Fat and happy they think we are (sometimes I wish like Yoda I could talk, but that wouldn't satisfy the bureacracy).

OK well lets draw a comparison. When troops come back from an unpopular war - take your pick - Iraq, Afghanistan, or even wars of old like Vietnam. Its all about the individuals who sacrificed so much. People mostly get that the individual private first class or enlisted man or woman does not define policy. They go where they are deployed. They do what their mission commander tells them to do. They are issued weapons of war, and carry it out. And the individual (should be, I believe we fall short as a society) should be respected and treated with what they need on their return.

But you don't yell at the soldiers returning and say - hey, why did you do that?! Why are you accepting those VA benefits? And why are your family members getting benefits too?

But state workers seem to bear the brunt of policy decisions. As today's letter writer to the Oregonian offered, maybe just maybe they aren't overcompensated. Maybe there are too many of them. Since the state "system" has to be sustainable, in a budget sense.

I guess we don't have this problem with funding soldiers, and wars. The check is blank and any amount can be written in. Maybe there are policy objectives, maybe there aren't. Well no one holds military commanders to performance-based budgeting. Every federal appropriation for war is "supplemental", as in "lets figure out how much we need, debate it, and go for it!".

I would like people to think about the "system" that state employees are in. I did not chose Governor's Day - it is something handed out, as perhaps a weekend pass for a returning soldier. I did not chose to have more spent on prisons than on schools in this state. Those are policy issues - please contact your legislator. And maybe I will do the same.

Since some day, when the mass of state workers leave for their cars at 5pm from government plaza, we would like to be appreciated. Maybe not paparrazi, ok (don't have the dark glasses for that in any case) but some respect, appreciation for keeping the state rational and sane, as much as we are able, for another day.

the Lessons of Leaves

Usually running (or walking, or taking turns with these) around the elevated track at the gym I look to the people shooting baskets down below for the inspiration of the day.

Sometimes it is a young punk's chance to win (ah, the young will take over the world!). Othertimes a middle aged guy will score baskets (the old world can still rein!). Anyhow this time I turned my sights outside.

There are tons of trees all around, tons of windows to stare out of while listening to my legacy ipod. Fall brings all kinds of states of leaves, lets see how we can map this to politics:

* The stubborn ones hanging on to trees - like the oak leaves that have been brown. These are the old guard who still think Woodrow Wilson was the best president ever.

* Fluttering leaves - perhaps people like me who try to think independently, once a registered Democrat (forever actually), now a registered Progressive. And maybe twice in my life now I've voted for a Republican - once was Sen. Gordon Smith when I really really needed those unemployment benefits to be extended, so no use switching horses midstream..

* Streaming leaves - see them racing across the parking lot. Flocking together like birds. Unlike organic birds who get minute messages that keep their flock together, I think its the prevailing wind that keeps these leaves streaming together. Or maybe they have a strong leader? This could be mapped to many different groups, from Democratic union groups, to tea party groups, to well just about any group that sticks together without too many sticking out.

* Mashed and soaked leaves in puddles. I think these are the ones left behind. Any George Bush supporters out there? Maybe they will experience some joy at his new book. But mostly they are ignored and clog drains.

* Then there's the classic - falling leaves. As they jump (if the weather is frigid) or fall (if its not) off of tree limbs, they have a chance to experience some poetry in the way they fall. Stuck for their entire life on a tree limb, they are giving up that life for a new adventure. This is their 15 seconds of fame! The brightest will get collected by schoolchildren, old ladies and old men, and other random people. As they sit along sidewalks they can beam at the joy they bring people. And no matter *where* you are, the smell of leaves is the same. These are the ones who set their own direction.

Fact, Hope, Reality

Fact: Oregon has 10.6% unemployment.
Hope: That by focusing on the deficit (nationally), we can get our fiscal house in order and create jobs
Reality: Not likely in 3 months time. What is significant about 3 months? Thats when all those tea partiers and Republican voters get disenchanted, yet again, with the folks they voted in yesterday. Thats when things start looking up for Obama in 2012..

Fact: War spending - is it up to $1 Trillion, or $3 Trillion now? Remember how many B-1 bombers that is (a lot). Someone pointed out that a 10-year old has lived in a country where we have *always* been at war in Afghanistan. Somehow the term "war" loses its meaning when it is persistent.
Hope: The limited government types, will they address this? Weird as Rand Paul is sometimes, I think I heard him say military spending was fair game.
Reality: How many jobs in your congressional district depend on the military-industrial complex. Oh they Republicans claim they want to cut out earmarks. Well, except for those that impact their own constituents.
Patty Murray case in point - she is massively inspiring and I would want her for my senator. Maybe I should move to Washington, except for my little patch of land up there is 100% Rossi territory. Well, so what, I will pay my taxes and not put my car up on cement blocks or anything, so it should be ok. But she does bring home the bacon, and Washington has like 7 military bases. Hmm, Washington and its economic base is sounding better all the time..
But the reality here is that along with earmarks, and military spending, come jobs. And I don't think anyone, however principled, has the stomach or ill will to kill jobs right now.

Fact: Business uncertainty kills expansion, hiring, innovation.
Hope: Are tax cuts enough? If the lame duck Congress extends, even for a year, those Bush tax cuts, will this be enough certainty?
Reality: Confidence begets confidence. Here is a factoid - the Intel expansion in Hillsboro, which just may be (acc to our current Gov Kulongoski) the biggest industrial investment at $several billions, in the nation for the past two years. Well - Intel is able to take advantage of some $30B in Stimulus provided low interest bonds. Think again, dear Republican friends, before you think Stimulus is a 4-letter word.

Fact: Consumer spending is down.
Hope: Everyone can get back to living their lives, but, live within their means.
Reality: The Foreclosure mess is messing up a lot of people's lives, including those evil bankers. This will either take ages to work out, or, maybe something sensible can happen. Maybe allowing court-ordered "workouts", where a judge can mandate re-setting your home to current market rates. Instead of what you paid for the house which may have been a bubble-inflated price.

Fact: The Oregon Governor's race - done. I think. Dudley conceded. The vote tally is slightly ahead for Kitzhaber. But the votes aren't all counted yet...
Hope: Change for something new (back to the future type of new? Well, I guess some can be nostalgic for those glory days). Hey, one time I rode 7 floors in an elevator with-the-man-who-is-projected-to-be-the-next-Gov. Seemed like a regular guy. That was my 15 seconds of brush with fame.
Reality: To be written, day by day. Tomorrow may be Day 1.

Entrepreneurial Whistleblowing

Subtitle: A tale of two gentlemen

First lets think about entrepreneurism. Some examples:

* A small CD-ROM publishing company comes up with a nifty idea for putting medical journals on CD-ROM for doctors. Since, as the founder explained to me, in Saudi Arabia back in the 80's you could just not get current medical information. There was a time, Little Theorem, before the internet, nope, no google either. CD-ROMs were massive! 650Meg of data! So this was nifty but along came the internet and the web and well, you can tell the rest. That company was swallowed (drat missed my opportunity for some stock gains, will never ever make that mistake again, if I can help it).

* A trio (do startups always require a trio? I used to think so - the perfect triefecta of general manager/CEO, finance & sales guy, and technical genius). They escaped from the big corporate world of ATT to found their own tiny software company. Yes in fact we sold compilers under the Micrsoft label, once upon a time. I even saw Bill Gates walk across a crowded floor one time at one of those private high tech parties around Comdex (which used to be a big technical conference), and even heard he was a good dancer. This was before Melinda. Well I never did get to dance with him. Alas, that company was also swallowed, by a very-large-customer-headquartered-in-Cary-NC who still exists too!

So entrepreurial companies - people with vision, passion, and a desire to break with the big bad corporate world. No meetings allowed! Popsicles for everyone! Ping pong or may be laser tag on occasion! OK you get the picture: not held back from tradition, and in fact too impatient to wait on tradition. The desire to make-things-happen-right-now.

So lets see how entrepreneurialism can apply to whistleblowing, and the two gentlemen so subtitled: Mr. Drake and Mr. Manning.
One gentleman, Mr. Drake, took the prescribed route, reporting what he saw as un-lawful things (spying on people without getting official warrants) going on at the NSA through appropriate channels. The chain of command, congressional inquiry hearings. Years go by. Inaction results.

One gentleman, Mr. Manning, took the entrepreneurial road. Contacting Wikileaks about what he saw in Iraq as an Army Private First Class, as the un-lawful abuses of war. Prisoner abuse, with Americans complicit. Innocent civilians killed outright.

Both may serve jail time. One got his message across, and Wikileaks now has published over 300,000 documents which detail field reports on the abuses of war in Iraq. The other got lost in the bureaucracy (and eventually got his message across).

It is interesting that existing whistleblower laws, which aim to protect federal employees who report abuses within their federal systems from retaliation, exempt people in intelligence agencies. There is (was?) pending federal legislation to enhance whistleblower protection to cover intelligence employees as well. Write your congressperson about that, assuming they recover from lame duck November without being cooked or boiled..

The Horrors of War

War is horrible. It is meant to be.
Somehow we are not made aware of this, but we should think about it every day. Does it take close to 400,000 field reports to be released by Wikileaks to make it real and up close?

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/world/iraq-war-logs.html

The New York Times is one of the newspapers Wikileaks gave these field reports from Iraq to (also German, British, and French newspapers).

Read them and think about - attacks on the Green Zone (the safe place for U.S. inside Bagdad), human rights abuses by Iraqi police as U.S. military watched on. Iraqis fighting Iraqis as we watched on. Prisoner abuses, attacks by contractors.

I have never been inside a war, and didn't even watch the Vietnam War on TV like many people did. Which exposed them to horrors. I didn't have anyone I know drafted, but I've known people who have come back from Vietnam and other wars, and never quite felt right about life after that.

If it takes Julian Assange hiding from couch to couch around the world to avoid being shut down. If it takes him as the trusted outlet for field reports to be released. If it takes this kind of operation to expose what is really happening in Iraq to the American public, to the European public, and to the world.. Well thank you Mr Assange.

We all, especially us U.S. citizens, need to see this. We need to be outraged. We need to have our eyes opened. We all need to express our outrage.

Intel Inside (tm)

Announcement to the world today - Intel will be building a new fab, right here in Hillsboro. What was I babbling about yesterday - how the economy needs people with bonuses to spend, this will spur the economy.

Our prayers are answered. As Jean-Luc Picard would say in his definitive way, "make it so."

A $6-8 Billion dollar investment, 6,000 construction jobs, and 800 long-term manufacturing jobs. That would be $2,000 for every man, woman, and child living in Oregon. And for every Intelite, both blue badge and green badge, lets have shiny new laptops for each member of their family. So they can tape their favorite fortunes from Chinese restaurants until the tape gets so old it is glued to the case.

Thank you Intel.

Not Your Mother's Park Blocks

Back in the day, when I was a technical dweeb, there was Powell's Technical Bookstore. There was the resident cat "Fup", who had his own (her own?) business cards. A spiral staircase that went... up, someplace.

The dusty stacks, the only place in Portland to find technical books. It is gone from the Park Blocks, moved over towards "regular" Powell's. Have not been there, yet.

But the North Park blocks, that used to seem somewhat seedy. Then the Sister City gift from China arrived, for kids to check out in the park. The play structure. Alas, Daisy Kingdom moved out. So too the sheet music store.

Now, there are trendy urban spaces along the west side of the blocks. Large barely furniture-populated urban spaces. Very well lit. No people, but warnings of security cameras.

But, true to history, there is still something seedy about these blocks. Still homeless people in the park. So look like you know where you're going. Still people who are no longer institutionalized talking and swearing and making strange gestures. Ignore them.

I wonder what will move into the old Powell's Tech store. Alas, the few software types I run into of late have turned to (chose one): {telecommuting, home remodeling, teaching high school math}. Yes, there really was a time when you could drive into a new parking lot and find yourself a new job. There really was a time when you could count on those bonuses to upgrade your standard of living.

A new couch this year! A new TV next year! A new car! Hey, now I realize what is wrong with the economy. Do I get bonuses? No, which severely limits my ability to contribute to the economy.

This morning I recommended performance bonuses if technical projects hit their projected budget. Hmm, maybe this can help the economy after all.

Lowell Mill Girl

Back in Lowell, Mass, the first planned industrial city, they recruited farm girls to work in the textile mills.

To encourage the girls to stay out of trouble (not sure what trouble lurked in Lowell back in the early 1800's) and to give them opportunities to improve their mind and their character, they offered lectures that the girls could attend in their non-work hours.

Keeping up this tradition, the Oregon State Library offers lectures at the noon hour to those who happen to be around the capitol mall during the day. Which ends up being a lot of state employees. Today the Oregon Humanities offered us a "conversation" (their new style, instead of calling it a lecture as in the old days) about the Initiative Process in Oregon.

Factoids from today:
* Oregon ranks #1 in the number of initiatives over time (since 1904). Thanks Bill Sizemore!
* A book written in 1912 called out the good and the bad about initiatives, most of which is still relevant today: On the positive side, it allows citizens to influence our legal system, and provides for "direct democracy". On the negative side, it can allow a minority to influence and change the state constitution, can allow buying and selling of names and issues
* One-third of the initiatives have passed, cumulatively (so, 2/3 get defeated)
* Voter turnout is 3-8% higher in the 24 states that have an initiative system
* Womens suffrage - due to the initiative process (1912, a banner year)
* New this year - a Citizens Review panel (look for their comments in a Voters' Pamphlet near you)
* Oregon has the most open of any state initiative process. In other states crafty lawyers have to vet and review them. We allow an open process by the citizenry. Just like the western pioneering state we still think we are sometimes..

The process itself is interesting. The "ballot title" (what it is listed as in the Voters' Pamphlet and on your ballot) is written by the Attorney General. The Secretary of State is responsible for validity of signatures collected (by random sample, they don't check every name, and they work with the county elections offices). Interesting that both these positions are elected partisan positions. (Is this fair?)

Some initiatives of note:
Measure 60 (1998) - vote by mail
Measure in 1914 sponsored by the Socialist Party - would have guaranteed a job to anyone who wanted one. An actual third party got an initiative on the ballot!

I can hear TV Highway from my front porch

Today on c-span I learned some new phrases, and no it was not foreign language instruction (not Russian, for instance, and no I cannot see Russia or even Washington from my porch). Things like "D-Triple-C", or "NRCC", or "Mississippi 4", or "knock her out".

For a moment I might have thought it was ESPN, but why would that be one of my presets? Unless my husband had surreptitiously stolen into my car, now that it is nice and clean and not disgusting, amazing that Windex can clean absolutely any plastic surface! Even the champagne that was not supposed to open when placed in a bag in the back seat, or the multitudes of snack crackers that had fallen next to the seats, or the melted candy canes (who would know that a satellite radio receiver would generate heat?!)

Oh! It is campaign season, and they had the national executive directors from each of the 2 primary parties (Dem, Republican, not anyone from the national Progressive party, if there is such a thing, actually they should be international lets not stop with petty country politics).

How is campaigning like sports? I was starting to space out. Sort of like basketball - watching it live is fun, but on satellite radio, not so much. Do politics have more of an impact on my life than sports? Hmm. It depends on where you live.

In Oregon there is not much in the way of sports to chose from (marching band doesn't count anymore, sorry Em). No afternoon watching the Cubs with a good friend and a brewskie at Wrigley Park. Defining your identity as a north-sider (Cubs fan) or south-sider (Sox fan). Not to mention da Bears, Blackhawks, and of course the Bulls.

Maybe politics are more interesting in Oregon cause there are precious few other sporting teams to route for.

Sigh, we need major league soccer. The Timbers will be ours come 2011! I read on a sister blog that they already have a shirt sponsor (Alaska Airlines), which only half the major league soccer teams have. This will propel them to winning-hood for sure! Rah! Time to be a soccer fan (next year, for this year, there is still politics).

Remember Puzzle Rings?

I am, today, a victim of fashion (or, lack thereof).

It is October in Oregon, it is raining, and it is time to wear boots. Every year I buy a new pair of boots, well mostly since the pair from last year is literally worn out, leaking, shabby. Cause I wear them every single day, lacking any originality, they must suffice for 180 days till the start of spring, which I will call March 1. The day the blanket comes down off our attic (also known as bedroom) windows, the day the space heater can be retired. Oh to have a bedroom with heat, and without drafts - sigh, some day..

I secretly (not so secretly, I just like that word of late) bought a copy of Lucky magazine. Just like old times. From this I have learned that there are spas now in places like Chicago, where you can, for $100, get yourself pampered in a spacious establishment with bright hardwood floors, cushy couches, even a wine bar. Along the gold coast in Chicago.

My one experience along the gold coast in Chicago, was when we trekked there from Evanston, college kids that we were, to see a movie. OK lacking money for popcorn or pop, we brought out own. Even our own pop, that was fun. Even our own ice. So before the movie we got out our plastic cups, put a couple ice cubes into each one, and opened the liter of coke (hiss!), pouring our own. And some snacks (well that will be a perennial tradition - bringing my own snacks, as in for-ever). Not exactly up to gold coast standards but hey.

What else I noticed in Lucky magazine, the magazine dedicated to shopping! Which you can do, even if you don't have daughters at home (you can read it, but can't afford to shop, really). I noticed the new Nine West look, "vintage", but what they mean is a distressed western look. Yuck, who would want that? Do I want to look like I live in Eastern Oregon? Why would I want that? I'm not trying to run as a Republican candidate or anything (though I may vote for one for governor, which has some people I know up-in-arms, and others happy, so I guess its a no win no matter what. Alas there is no Progressive party candidate, which would piss absolutely everyone off, then they would all just let me be).

So what do I find at the mall in terms of boots. The tall (long tall lady in a black dress) type, can't wear those - my calves are too fat (muscular, as I would like to say, from those bike rides up Rolling Hill Drive back when I was in high school - isn't it possible this muscle has stayed with me all these years??) The other choices were either the distressed western look, or the biker gal look with chains. Oh and the (you know what me now) boots with spikey heals. Nope, not looking for that type of look at work either.

I did succomb to the distressed western look, if only cause it will save me buying yet another pair of boots that will wear out in exactly 180 days, or less. I told my husband last time I paid $99 for boots (and, they were Nine West too, cosmic!) I had left them in my car. My car was broken into, the boots stolen. Since then (that was 23 years ago, which is also cosmic as it is my favorite number, and no this has nothing to do with Michael Jordan, that is merely coincidence). Since then its been cheap boots all the way.

But the real benefit of these boots is their weird lace up styling. The laces go up, then they wrap around, them come back in front to tie. So, since I tend to whine about not having "spatial reasoning" or "mechanical ability", I figured if nothing else these boots would give me, on a daily basis, a spatial/mechanical exercise to strengthen these skills. And I promise I will not leave them in an unattended car next to a vacant lot in a marginal section of Chicago.

Puzzle rings promised mechanical (or was it puzzle solving?) ability back in the day. The Indian shop in Morristown sold puzzle rings. You could wear them, if you took them off the 4 rings would come apart, and you couldn't wear them again unless you solved the puzzle and learned how to re-assemble them.

Executive Order alert: no more snack food!

Should all state taxpayers pay for me to exercise my first amendment rights to eat cheetos on the way home?

Our governor, in his wisdom, has issued an Executive Order to ban unhealthy snack food from vending machines. Oh and also hamburgers, fries, and other unhealthy foods from the delis sequestered in state buildings around the state.

This has resulted in alarm and discontent among the vendors (the delis are run by the State association for the blind) who say they will lose money if state employees have to eat healthy and miss out on their favorite comfort food.

Have you tried working a state job without some comfort food? My favorite is soup in the morning. Which, come to think of it, is probably not on the banned list.

But my little secret, web friends, is to safely drive home requires me to consume an entire bag of crunchy snacks on the way home. Do you want me to fall asleep? No, so crunching something is a requirement, and sorry I just cannot get it together to neatly cut up healthy and low calorie celery in the morning, not at 5am.

Is this how our Gov is spending his waning days? Should he be thinking about world peace or something? Ok how about bipartisan peace? How about actually talking to the Legislature, well I guess its too late for that. How about coming around to talk with state employees? That would be novel. I've seen him a time or two, surrounded by an entourage. Never in my building though, only over by the capitol.

If you follow the thread of high calorie junk food to people who gain extra pounds, and not all of us work on road crews, some of us sit and stare at spreadsheets to earn tuition dollars for our offspring. If you follow the health hazards of being overweight, maybe this is his parting gift to reduce health care expenses and hence the state budget.

Grain of the Day: Rice

Why am I thinking about rice today? Cause I love rice. Cause 50% of the planet lives on rice. Cause rice is a staple.

Today, cosmically, I heard on BBC that we (the US of A) are a significant exporter of rice. Well, must be those rice paddies in the "Cadillac desert" of California. Didn't see any, but they are probably further south (with that nice, overallocated Colorado River water perhaps?).

Rice producers receive major subsidies. The statistic on BBC was that our federal government (our tax dollars) spends more subsidizing rice producers than we send to Haiti in foreign aid.

Why is this important? Haiti *used* to be able to produce its own rice crop. To feed its people. Then, in part due to US subsidies to make rice cheap ("cheap food to feed the world" may have been a good intention..) this no longer allowed Haiti to produce a profitable crop. It was cheaper to just buy it from the US.

However, the price, as agricultural prices do, fluctuated, got higher. No longer very affordable. Meanwhile, the land and techniques for growing rice had already been lost in Haiti.

Food is a national security issue.
I also heard today (possibly from a political candidate, since it is, after all, the season) how manufacturing was a national security issue. Indeed. If we do have to go to war, are we going to import tanks from China? I believe military equipment, including uniforms, boots, etc. - are required to be manufactured in the US. But it is also important to maintain a manufacturing base, so we have enough people, understanding, processes, etc. to be able to spin up a war machine if we need to (and, if peace fails).

I am not planning to grow rice in the backyard. Maybe some other grain, that would be fun. Honey, now that we are staying here - lets grow golden fields of grain on the side yard, and water them with our well! That would be fun (really!)

Meanwhile, write your congress person and tell them to stop subsidizing rice production in this country. As I've said 10 times daily, we live in a global world. Lets act like it.

Number of the day: 22
The one time I was in the World Trade Center, I was 22 years old. I visited the 22nd floor. Those days are gone, but something reminded me of that riding an elevator today...

It really Is all about New Jersey

A tragedy occurred in New Jersey. Good things happen there too, but this is not one of them.

Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi, harassed by his roommate and another person. It is very easy to webcam someone, very easy to post it to YouTube. But does anyone think about the consequences? Will they now?

Tyler's roommate thought it would be "fun", I guess, to video his roommate doing it with another guy. I know college kids do weird and unusual things to each other, I know that they don't always think through the consequences. But when it leads to someone taking their own life, it is time for everyone to literally stop dead in their tracks and pause.

Tyler committed suicide, leaving even a text behind that he would be jumping off the George Washington bridge, and apologized.

I don't know his reasons. Maybe he was humiliated to be "outed". I'm sure embedded gay/lesbian constituencies will seek out this as the reason. Maybe it was that his intimate life was no one's business. I'm sure the embedded privacy community will attest to that and seek this out as the reason. Maybe he felt the public exposure would not allow him to show his face again on the New Brunswick campus, with his family, with his friends, with his teachers. Ouch, anyone can latch onto that as the reason.

All of these are good reasons. I just hope that, despite the embedded constituencies that will try to claim him, and use this to their political advantage, that every college student everywhere stops to think. What harm will happen if I post this on YouTube. Cute cats are fun to watch, so too unicorns that say outrageous things. Maybe that is harmless, though it does seem to suck a lot of time away (wasted? enjoyed? you decide).

But to publicly humiliate someone, to the point of suicide, that is not ok. Should the two perpetrators be prosecuted to the full extent of the law? Put in prison for 5 years to set an example for the world?

Not sure. The brave new online world continues to evolve, and continues to have consequences. We can't use that as an excuse. As with everything, "people before things". Just cause its fun or cool doesn't mean there aren't people underneath all that cool instant technology. Stop to think about people. Stop and say a silent prayer for Tyler.

How Many B-1 Bombers is That?

Kudos to Defense Secretary Gates, who is trying to squeeze $100 Billion out of the Department of Defense, through "efficiencies". There are probably lots, if you can find them..

Not to be outdone, today in the Senate which is trying to pass a continuing resolution to keep the federal government going - they are one day ahead of schedule, since the last day of the fiscal year is tomorrow, a Republican Senator introduces the "Fast Act", which promises to cut $100 Billion of waste from the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP programs.

Remember the B-1 bomber? It was a replacement to the B-52 (so, Little Theorem, catch up on your armaments..) The price tag was $290 Million.

So - for $100 Billion, you could have 344 B-1 bombers. Now, there were only 100 in production, and not all are still in active service.

Remember when $290 Million was a lot of money?

Take Me Back

A house is demolished in Salem. One of the beautiful old ones, aqua-green paint along the window frames, a white house, a porch, a sun room. Lots of plum trees. An old woman lived there, I saw that often in season she sold plums from baskets on the front porch.

The house has been empty awhile. A credit union is next door, with three drive-through lanes. A woman's domestic violence shelter is on the other side. Across the street is a large government building labeled "Employment".

The neighborhood has become too civilized for old houses with plum trees. For residents.

Though there are still some on the next block over. They rent out alley parking spots to people like me.

Seasons fade. Thursday is the last day for the vacant lot along State Street that sells topiaries and other quite interesting potted plants.

Leaves throw themselves off a one-story strip mall building of offices, landing in organized piles. Ah! So this is when dried old leaves from the prior season (FY 2009 vintage) finally jump. I have always wondered that.

This is also the season where ladders like to be seen. I saw half a dozen today, propped against various houses. Not a person in sight.

What else fades. If this was Facebook (tm), I would take a poll to get a long list of everyone's ideas.

Summer, of course, fades. The lists of fiction I didn't read (but, I did get started reading, linearly, the "1001 Books to Read Before You Die", that was fun). Dreams of selling the house - a lost cause, for now.

A new house, back in the city, with plum trees in the yard. Faded but not forgotten. Next year for sure.

Why government agencies need manufacturing engineers

(besides of course full employment)
You have heard (and perhaps witnessed) about "government inertia". Well, this is true sometimes, people cling to the way they have already done things. I wonder if I would have turned out like that, if I had stayed with my 1980 government job, instead of flitting off to work on software, on manufacturing, then seeking my way back to the shelter of a safe government job 25 years later..

So while some people cling to the old ways - we even have green bar reports! These are current, I am not talking about the ones in the 'time capsule' that were buried beneath my desk/shelving unit. Those were unearthed when they moved all of us - MPU reports from the 80's. (Minutes per unit, since we carefully track this type of activity - even without manufacturing engineers!) I didn't know you could still find printers to actually print those green bar reports on form-feed type paper. And now in a new environ, I can hear some accounting types tearing the pages apart. Interesting that I recognize that sound..

Ok back on topic - the other side of inertia is letting things spin out of control without paying attention. At the widget factory, you have to build a product to spec, get it to the customer on time, and have it actually perform its intended function. Oh! And of course you have to buy all the components and build and test it, and still make some money - you know to pay for all the carpet crawlers on the second floor, oh and all the birthday cakes so that each and every person can have their birthday celebrated on a separate day (ok so maybe *that* is how I ended up with 25 pounds to lose - at some point you have to stop blaming your kids, esp if you haven't been pregnant in over 10 years. Stop the cake and voila, 25 pounds gone! try this at home!)

So - in widget world to implement changes you have to do an ECO - Engineering Change Order. Everyone involved with the project needs to sign off. And even in our old Lotus-Notes world we had these with online signature capability. Nifty.

In government circles they haven't heard of this. But as people around me grapple with "why are IT projects always over budget?" and have no ideas, I am going to suggest they hire a tribe of manufacturing engineers. OK they might not fit in, too much static electricity in our environment. But think what we could gain - time & motion studies for every process. Test things before they go out the door (test those white papers and legislative concepts). Stress test them (Highly Accelerated Stress Screen) - see what the boundaries are of policies (seems I actually suggested this once.. I don't believe I was successful though). Do a quality check on components - see if operations in the field are really following administrative rules, which as we know have the Force Of Law.

And, they could implement an ECO process. You want to take IT project XYZ and its not going to meet the original requirements document - time for an ECO and everyone in the world will have to sign off. Is this really what we want, or what you in IT want.

Prisoner #6 and Hopscotch

dear Gov -- from #6 to #1:
First, thanks for the furlough day off! OK it was unpaid, ok so we had to send my day's wages back to the federal agency from whence it came, but it had the appearance of saving money! And, I had a day off, which I did appreciate.

Now lets see who shall I vote for, I am getting a bit perplexed.
Dudley - not willing to stand up against offshore drilling. Feels he must side with the Republicans, who have all taken the same vow to "say" they don't believe in global warming. Must be things like sun spots (convincing, but not convincing enough). To unify the world, global warming is the single most important international issue. Also to improve our economy, our air, give us jobs, and on and on and on.

Then again, how much control does a Gov have about such things? Should he really be focused on the state economy, and not the international presence of Oregon? Answer: he/she should focus on all of the above. We are all interconnected in the world, no turning back.

Meanwhile, on the Kitz front - will you really listen to anyone? Or do you have all the right policy answers? I read today that when you were Gov in a previous life, you vetoed environmental legislation something like 32 times. So tell me, what is that about??

My new party, the Progressive Party. I received a voter registration card, so its real! The symbol is 'PRG'. There are complaints that the Secretary of State wants to stick to 3-letter abbreviations for party affiliation. Well DEM and REP are probably well know. Is PRG possibly going to be confused with 'Pregnant candidate'? And I am not, I tested negative!

So Gov-to-be, lets think about this some more. Prisoner #6 is the designation from "the Prisoner", that fine Patrick McGoohan series from the 60's, that was avidly watched in the 70s at a certain lovely college I know very well (in between failing math exams I guess).

question for today - how is Congress like hopscotch? Give up?
One foot, two feet, jump again. Then start the sequence all over again..
Democrats are coming out swinging with very very positive commercials touting health care reform (rah!). They have also passed financial regulation. What the Dems do, the Republicans, should they gain control of Congress, are threatening to undo. Back to square one, as if none of this ever existed.

And our Mt Tabor was in the news today. The head of Hawthorne Auto Clinic, Jim Houser, was asked to be part of Obama's press pool today, and bear witness to the fact that the new health care reform has helped save his small business money. Possibly my new auto repair shop, now that I've made a vow (please keep me to this!!) not to go to the dealer anymore.

postscript. Today I was designated printer slot #6 in the new multiplex printer that serves the west side of financial services. Example of cosmic coincidence, for those looking for examples.

Letter Writing Matters

What if you were in the room in the year 2000, with Osama bin Laden and others, strategizing a terror attack against the U.S.? What if, as a representative from a Libyan jihadist organization you counseled him *not* to attack the U.S.?

While the U.S. failure of imagination might have been that people could and would use aircraft as weapons against iconic symbols, populated with real people, of U.S. capitalism and world strength, perhaps there was an equal and opposite failure of imagination by Al Queda.

Noman Benotman appearing on Fareed Zakaria's GPS show today, is the dissident in the room. He said the feeling was the U.S. would retaliate, sure. But with cruise missles, in their anonymous drone/flyover fashion. No one ever imagined hand to hand combat in a protracted war.

While U.S. politicians on both sides continue to play the fear card, the truth is Al Queda is down to numbers smaller than "1001 Terrorists You Don't Want to Meet". Not quite down to the 52-card deck of playing cards I bought for my kids (not sure why) which had the 52 most wanted terrorists. But in the 100's.

Ten years later what would you do? Well Benotman wrote a book. Also - what he did was write a letter. An open letter - to bin Laden.

Telling him that now is the time (or even past time) to change direction. The time to fortify Islam through peaceful communications and not terrorism, which is important to Muslims worldwide. That it is the time to take a 6-month unilateral ceasefire. And to the next generation, he wants young people who might ponder life as a career terrorist to believe there are other paths.

The letter is described at: www.cnn.com/gps
The letter itself is found, in English, at: http://www.quilliamfoundation.org/images/stories/pdfs/letter-to-bin-laden.pdf
(Quilliam is an anti-extremist think tank in the UK focused on issues that affect Muslims)

Will it change bin Laden's game plan? What if it changes one mind, then one more mind, then each of them change other minds. Letter writing matters.

Furlough Day

dear Gov, thanks for the day off! OK so its unpaid, well..

Just how far from Salem can you get (& back) in one day? Well lets put that to the test.
Then again, furlough means no pay, hmm.. And a tank of gas too. Well - is that like "real money" or "budget money"?

Subways (sandwich shops) have a lock on I-5 restaurants, they are absolutely on every exit sign

Its hard to do some things at 60 mph (tune a satellite frequency). Then again, if you try again, you can (do some things at 60 mph..)

Moss covers the concrete bridges along Highway 101

In the town of Potlatch, there are 2 espresso stands. I could live there..

Johnston Realty and Windemere seem to be cleaning up - 99.999% of the properties along Hood Canal seem to be listed by them (the other 3 are for-sale-by-owner). Note Johnston Realty is a local company - who have expanded from their original 2 offices in Quilcene and Brinnon to also have a site in Hoodsport.

Whitney Nursery has Free WiFi! Catering to tourists..

Sign along the road: "Do you have defensible space?"
I wonder if this is like the "castle initiative" in Oregon - where a property owner has the right to use deadly force against intruders. Well lets just completely devolve into the jungle shall we? But we will faithfully follow what the NRA instructs us.. I could be way off here - maybe it is about people willy-nilly cutting down your trees - maybe you should spike them to mess up their chainsaw.. which also sort of sounds like deadly force, but in a different more defensible way.

Geese make way for cattle. Used to be next to the store (where I tried in vain once to get an "arm" for my campstove, but they don't sell such things, so it was chicken fingers for me+kids from the Geoduck Tavern for us around the campfire) there was a goose farm. Old geese, middle aged geese, and lots of little goslings - cute and fuzzy. No more, the center section with trees now has big old cattle roaming around. Now I know of 0 goose farms that I pass on a regular basis (the one in Hillsboro became a housing development).

Olympic Timber House - is back! Was once the "Timbers", what Pat at the hotel called a "Seattle class restaurant". Then shut down in the Last recession, now is back and looking inviting (and Seattle-priced).

Mount Walker Inn - still alive and kicking. It seems this small motel used to be under a different name.. now has a new gazebo! Loggers' Landing restaurant - still alive. Good - the best corned beef hash, and I've learned to not wear Birkenstocks there (though to their credit they didn't seem to care) to not piss them off with the 'Spotted Owl' Helper box above the cash register.

Peninsula Foods & Grocery in Quilcene - still alive. They are so very nice in there - I left a license there once (not sure why) and they actually mailed it to me in the U.S. mail. At their expense.

Quilcene showing some tough signs - Chevron - shut down. Quilcene Grocery and gas pump - shut down. Though the building looks pretty nice, maybe someone will occupy it? Can I ever get back the frequent espresso card that I kept in their little index file box? Where I had an investment of at least 3 or 4 punches - would the new owners honor that?

Heading north from Quilcene on Highway 101 - old gas station looks like it is filled with plants, and possibly occupied by squatters? Not sure, but its been repurposed in any case.

Sign offering "Alder control"; I know I hate it when those darn alder trees run all over my property.

If you see one thing, it is an observation, see 2 of them, it may be cute, if you see 3 - maybe this is a trend. Old wooden boats as yard decor.

Rossi for Senate territory - Jefferson County, WA. I had to remind myself who he is running against - Patty Murray is the incumbent. Not a single sign for her.

Then lets see what local radio stations have to say:
* The Cowsills will be at Silver Reef Casino on Saturday! Now, they are so so old, I was a small child when they were making songs. Wow.

* CBC news from Canada - in Alberta where they are reaping oil from shale, the Athabasca River is getting polluted and fish getting tumors.
* New Westminster Salmonbellies, apparently a hockey team - yes they are Canadian

* 100.3 "The Q" broadcasting from Victoria. Story about a homeless man at UVic. In the kind Canadian way they will have a hearing to evict him. Process matters.

The city of Port Townsend
The espresso stand outside Swain's General Store, where the gal called me "love" had an interesting if disheartening tale to tell. Her chickens were getting eaten by coyotes. She told me several times that this area is a "no kill" zone. But that the coyote population had increased over the past two years, and the coyotes were taking advantage of their superior position by being more bold, looking into windows and such. Nope, you can't take a gun to them in the city limits. (Hmm, maybe my NRA friends have a point, who wants to wake up to see slaughtered chickens sitting around in the yard?) Her next step is traps, and an electric fence.

If you tell the merchants in PtT that you are from Oregon and that it is important to you to "live free or die!", they will let you get out of paying Washington sales tax. OK you don't have to really tell them you have reasons, just show them your driver's license.

Ron Paul yard sign

Yard sign - Yes to Proposition #1. All I could find online about this is a King County sales tax. I suppose the folks in Jefferson county are happy if Seattelites have to pay more in taxes?

Whistling Oyster bar in Quilcene - shut down. Crimson Cart store - shut down, for sale.

Bus stop signs along Highway 101. I don't ever remember that before.

Geoduck "Restaurant and Lounge" (no longer a "Tavern", but family friendly!)

Brothers' Welding - business for sale.

Richie Brothers Auctioneers in Olympia along I-5: a sea of excavators and construction equipment - 100s of them!

Time to take a tally of life on the Olympic peninsula:
+11 - continuing local businesses, espresso and wifi for tourists, and buses as public transportation
-6 - businesses that have shut down

Plus a new category, for "repurposed" estalishments:
+1 - squatters taking up a plant residence in an old gas station

Life inside Salem

Life inside Salem today, deep inside one of those marble ediface buildings (only I think ours, dating to the 70's is actually concrete, to save money no doubt over the Vermont marble used on some)..

It is take and grab day. No not as in the "grab and go" deli in the capitol, but when offices move, all the "surplus" stuff is lurking around in the halls, in the basement. The guy from the front desk who shall remain nameless showed me the stores. Wow, like Christmas! I found some choice parcels. Was it like Christmas, or was it more like shoplifting? Not sure, but it was fun, and in plain sight of the facilities folks too (which sort of took some of the fun out of it).

I get what a "non load bearing wall" means. OK so I heard that term on "Sleepless in Seattle", which is not exactly This Old House as far as learning construction terms. But in my old office they built walls in like 1/2 day. Metal studs (not the construction dudes, but the wall things), fill them with very thick looking insulation (it is labeled thermal and sound insulating, and - is formadehyde free too!). Then I believe they do put sheet rock over this. It is all very quick and presto changeo you have instant walls. I had no idea. But needless to say - these are *not* load bearing walls.

We have freed more parking spaces for patrons (customers? clients? claimants?), by kicking out the state employees that used to park there. Let them eat cake someplace else. Free the parking spaces and they will come! Well, I have hardly seen anyone park there -never ever more than 2 cars at one time. Maybe the word is not yet out.

Several of us in our newly "restacked" office now look out onto a lovely terrace (and closely looking might see the capitol, though for me a fir tree will, in any season, block this view, which is probably as it should be, more on that in a later post no doubt since I will be staring at it for a very very long time). So instead of facing a musty cobwebby terrace, or for some who were previously landlocked, we now face this terrace with potted trees and everything. My friend thinks I am stepping up, well maybe, just a different view. But I do understand my colleague's view on watching the trees and spacing out. When the trees are moving as when fall and rain moves in they captivate me.

I'm sure you could hypnotize state workers to do your bidding if you could find the right cypher sequence to tgigger the desired behavior.

Maybe the next Gov will need this? Or, maybe a project for future NSA cryptographers who may be reading?

What I Learned in an Earthquake Drill

Things I learned in an earthquake drill:
* My desk is made in the U.S.; so yes there are still items manufactured in the U.S.
* My desk is formaldehyde compliant. I believe that means it does not contain this nasty stuff; or maybe it only contains the compliant strands
* It is RevA. OK I get this, back to manufacturing lore (everything I need to know I learned at the widget factory, though on alternate days I might say "cspan", or "Star Trek: The Next Generation", but today is not one of those alternate days). You get to RevA when you are ready for production release. Production release is usually followed by attaining this as one of your quarterly "management by objectives", and if it is your goal you are a star. If it is a group goal you are still a star and so is your group.

The releases prior to RevA cannot be called this, they are called by clever names such as "Rev1" or "Rev2" or something. But RevA is the first actual production release.

Reaching quarterly objectives of course means bonuses for all, chickens in every pot (not really, but I did work for a software company once, an offshoot of a neon sign manufacturer, no kidding - and we all lined up to get our turkey bonuses for Xmas - real 22 pound frozen turkeys!), and money to spread on the economy. Ah, those were the glory days, we thought they would last forever.

* And best of all today, I am still confident that reading signs brings new insights, so one should do this whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Good Thing I-5 is a Federal Highway

I can only guess that farmers' permission is needed to put up political signs - so far Thatcher and Dudley. With the emphasis on Dudley. Not a single Kitzhaber sign, or whoever Thatcher is running against.

If we liberals were to drive along state routes with these signs maybe they would try to tax us.

Oh but that would run counter to their philosophy, right..

I wonder how they think these fine highways get maintained. 18 cents per gallon of gas federal highway tax doesn't cut it.

Don't they like driving their nice big trucks and refuse mileage standards and most of them refuse to believe in global warming too?

Driving into oblivion for today - as if tomorrow doesn't matter. As if the fact that even highways across this huge country should be called into question since over 50% of the world's population lives in cities. Do they think it can't happen here?

Its already reality. Oh but, they prefer yesterday's reality - everyone has a quaint farm a Dudley sign on the lawn, maybe a stay at home wife too!

We all like to see the past with rose-colored glasses, well I know I do - but thats not going to get us to tomorrow.

(I promise no more mean blogs, there are enough out there, only this one..)

Vacation log Day 9: Books Still Exist

When you can sell books from the past eight decades along with espresso, maybe this is enough for a going concern in Roseburg. Double espresso $1.50, Rachel Carson $2.00.

Why is housing so expensive in Ashland? Is it recession proof? I only see two stores going out of business, which I guess is the normal churn of things. Some of those 361 tickets were sold, but Eugenia tells me she has never seen so many empty seats at the Elizabethan theatre so...

Vacation log Day 8: Branding and Rebranding

Denny's vs Denny's Diner. The waitress told us that the ownership was
in the process of converting all Denny's into Denny's Diners (in the
world?). In the diner format they had the same menu, but jukeboxes
turned up Loud, and the waitresses had to stop to dance the twist each
hour. I'm not making this up, and somehow I don't think she was
either. But then the owners stopped flat, leaving one standard
Denny's and one Diner in the same California town, on opposite sides
of the freeway. An attempt to rebrand.

All Holiday Inns,no longer to be found, all are now Holiday Inn
Express. So I guess they don't want you to hang out and relax, the
rebranded chain is for express people.

The US military and Robert Gates. I'm all for "defense, diplomacy,
and development" (rebranded from just plain old defense).

Gates killed continued production of the F-22 Raptor. So what of air
shows? Will they now show armoured Humvees in battle bot competition?

Acc to Gates we have not had any air to air combat in decades. So
much for precision flying teams. So - time to rebrand air shows for
the 21st century.

Since kids with good hand-eye coordination from playing decades of
Nintendo video games can now fly drones from a mil-base in Iowa - are
they the military's next air show rock stars?

Vacation log Day 7, continued: the New Normal

I have not felt we are in recession. Maybe there are always people
willing to be on holiday. Sacramento is way more interesting than
Salem, as far as state capitals go. What would Harriet see & hear
along these pathways?

The hotel barmaid said the Gov does not live in the mansion which is
across the street and no dear that is not why I booked this hotel, I
swear!

He lives in Folsom. He used to live on the 4th floor of a hotel near
here. As in the entire 4th floor. As in Folsom like the prison. I
don't care what anyone says - jail, prison - people are killed in
these places and best to stay out. And away too in case of escapees.

The pool at this hotel and the garden entrances are vintage 60's. I
love it! Ok maybe I am the only one who's taken a swim in the "sun"
heated pool xc for the Scandinavians that were here last week. The
water really is warmer than the Oregon coast, and refreshing! I swam
one whole lap (ok sideways across the pool).

Nope the closest I've come to feeling recession is when I got online
to see about getting Shakespeare tickets for tomorrow. In a normal
year I never would have guessed this was even possible. But! In the
new normal there are 361 tickets available, for tomorrow, at the
Elizabethan theatre. Thats recession for you.

Vacation log Day 7: Lettuce capital of the world

Aquaducts spanning the length of California, from where to where? One
named after Pat Brown, dear Jerry Brown's father. Why does political
dynasty run in families?

The #1 crop in the Salinas area of Cali is lettuce. The #2 crop is
also lettuce.

How expensive would fuel have to get to turn off the
California-feeds-the-nation model? Maybe it would not matter, even if
we had a sane energy policy where fuel was $6 a gallon, 1/3 going to
alternative energy development. As long as labor is cheap. Why is
labor cheap after decades of UFW organizing?

Some people are still in power. Are the same people always in power,
unshakeable?

Or is that just what it looks like from the outside. The mayor of Los
Angeles is Hispanic. I take that as a good sign.

100 years ago my ancestors made their way to this country from the Old
Country, Italy. I don't think my grama spoke much English.

Now we've seen an Italian-descent mayor of New York City. I take that
as a good sign.

And New Jersey seems to have captured the nation's imagination. Why
just today Snooki from the show "Jersey Shore" was in court, the judge
accused her of being a Lindsay Lohan wanna be. She sincerely
apologized for being drunk and out of control on the hot beaches of
Jersey. Well isn't that notoriety?

Vacation log Day 6: more along the coastal hwy

I learned something today. The crazy aggressive ground squirrels,
cute as they are, do not go away if you start yelling at them. No in
fact they just bring their friends along and move still closer.
Thinking I could get them off my back and remembering we had some
donut holes left in a box in the car, I thought this would satisfy the
first one.

In fact he gladly took the crumbs of donut hole I threw down for him!
But nary a moment went by when the seagulls realized it was feeding
time. Half a dozen birds started closing in. I thought I was over
the incident where a crow attacked me when I was a kid...

I was thinking I might take the entire box of (powdered) donut holes
and put them out for a feeding frenzy sacrifice. But, my husband had
taken a liking to them so might not get that I was doing this to save
my life. What about the quality of my life he might ask me. Just
where do you think we can buy these fine donut holes in the middle of
the coastal highway??

So I got in the car and shut the door. Lets go to a different view
point where the squirrels don't know me please.

Vacation log Day 5: Coastal Highway

At a cafe along Highway 1, I paid $3.50 for adouble espresso, and $2
for a rice & bean burrito. It was a microwave burrito. I am glad
they have their priorities straight here. yes!

This is not the Oregon coast, though the casual observer might think
so initially. Ocean and rocks and all. But look closer..

Wild dill growing, as it can only do in California. The smell of
eucalyptus. Cypress trees. Coastal redwoods. Some of them are 100's
of years old.

Vacation log Day 4: Lassen

Have you ever seen a live volcano? Neither have I. Mt Tabor, with
it's paved basketball court, is extinct (dormant?)

Lassen erupted in 1915. wow.

Today I have learned: all Indian children are cute.
Its never too late to learn how to breathe.
The earth is amazing and wildly diverse.
Potatoes are the perfect food. And last year was the International
year of the potato, according to the UN. I wonder what this year is.

Everyone in Northern California looks the same -- healthy, relaxed.
Maybe they say that about people from SE Portland?

Vacation log Day 3: en route to Mt Shasta

You know how when you have a taste of something but then it gets
ripped out of your hands and you aren't quite quenched yet- you
remember the taste and keep wanting more it stays with you even 20
years later.

California. The first time I heard the word "Mt Shasta" it was for a
conference room at Sun. Back in my high tech mothership days; they
named several - Shasta, Lassen. Oh!

Here we are. I have a snapshot of me with baby Emily somewhere along
I-5 when we were moving to lovely Oregon. (ripped from California ,
that I never really got to explore xc for Cuesta Park in Mountain
View). I still remember the curve of the trees there.

Mt Shasta up close and personal. Communing with. Yes I love the
smell of the woods in California. The fact that a restaurant in a
small town will have vegan fare and the best iced tea I've ever had in
my life. The waitress called it "Tropical Paradise".

See I always knew California was paradise. It was. It still is. And
it will never fall into the sea, cause it will remain paradise.