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.

Vacation log Day 2: Crater Lake

When you're looking for the soul of the west, as I said before I came
on this trip; just stop, be silent for a minute, it's right there in
front of you.

New insights:
* Pumice stone is lighter than styrofoam
* Some flowers look like dusters for cleaning blinds
* Twisted snags always remind me of Ansel Adams, who captured the soul
of the west better than anyone. Maybe he is the soul of the west.

You can be freezing on Labor Day weekend if you have to stand in line
for an hour in the morning shade. Frozen enough to numb each one of
your fingers even with gloves.

Line theory. Humans evolve to this kind of behavior when collected.

Political fish live in Crater Lake - William Steele , political
candidate and advocate for Crater Lake to have national park status.
More people would visit, he figured, if they could go fishing.

Mutant snakes live on Wizard Island in Crater Lake - black garters
that have evolved without their yellow stripdes so as not to get
picked off by birds (not like the ones under our front steps).

1000 letters and continued advocacy - and William Steele made a
national park happen. Took him 17 years, that was 1902. I am always
inspired by letter writers.

Vacation Day 1: Hillsboro and beyond

Today I have faced my fears. They came true. I survived.

I know I should've taken Ash out of his cage first but oh well, Clover
got first choice of external cages (the one with her name on it).

Opening Ash's hutch door, even with a spotter next to me (thanks Jim)
he did as I had feared. Attempting to recreate "flying chillas from
Mars" he did fly straight at my face. Missing it so no plastic
surgery needed today.

I screamed bloody murder as anyone would do when an unexpected object
with fur, teeth,claws comes lunging for the kill. He scampered away
which could've led to another, separate nightmare, the repeat of
"chillas escaping from he'll" where you grovel around on the floor
trying to catch them, trap them, grab them.

But age and pudginess have caught up with the little guy so ok the
other side of the basement he was easily mine for the taking.

Throwing his fur, as chillas do, did not deter me (does it deter any
adversary?). It's involuntary I guess, much like shreiking.

For Robert, Ahmad, and a rogue planner

No one can replace you when you are gone. New people will come to the fray, with their own ideas and contributions. But you alone are unique in how you impact the world and the people around you. Even in the habitrails of my institutionalized life, are there like 5,000 people who work in Salem (I can count that many looking out my window at the marble ediface buildings).

Now, September is upon us. The leaves collect on the patio, on the cement steps. There is no one here in the early morning to sweep them. There is no cheery smiling face to greet me. The leaves collect. There is silence.

The times I spoke with you are precious few. But I miss them. This is for Robert.

I appreciate that you swooped in one day in tornado mode and cleaned out all your things, leaving me space to grow my own bureaucracy. However you left some things behind. A business card in the drawer - I'll keep that in memory. A drawer full of old office supplies. Is that a flowchart template? Clearly you weren't put on this earth to be a programmer, since real programmers don't flowchart (no, they design, build, debug, and eat little chocolate donuts. They do not hack).

If I am brave later I will see what other vestiges lurk in the drawer from your previous life. But my plan at the moment is to pack my stuff and leave your legacy supplies for the office gods.

Then there is the time capsule corner. The stack of immovable binders, some with infamous green bar reports, stuck wedged between book shelves, file cabinet, desk surface.

Others will remember how you saved the state's employers, unemployment trust fund, and collapse of Western civilization by your creative actuarial policies. I will remember the stuff you left behind. The stop watch I salvaged (Can I time how long it takes to pass new legislation?). Or the time I spotted you on the mall, the vision of someone else needing an espresso fix after lunch, and the vision that after those interviews I would have a new job and be your colleague. This is for Ahmad.

I first learned about how entrenched each line of a project schedule is. But somehow you didn't fit the mold of your peers. They were entrenched all right, but material planners have a role to play and without materials no one could design, build, test, or ship widgets sooo... Yes that is one view of the world.

You were open, I remember actually talking to you, which is not something I can easily say about your peers. Open to working with other groups, hey.

But your real life also had nothing to do with work. You were not content with the way you were put on this earth, it didn't make sense to you.

I cannot begin to understand the transgender world or how people are so distressed and unhappy that they feel they must, and I guess medical science now makes this possible, switch genders.

Even a goal like that does not always work out (did the doctors give you disclaimers?) Unable to live in your assigned world, unable to achieve the world you intended, you took another option - you opted out.

I also cannot begin to understand how one person can take their own life. Don't they realize they are connected to the rest of us - or am I being selfish. I could not possibly understand your pain, but the pain of the 100s who attended your funeral, the multitude of work colleagues, was real. This is for George.

Wave Theory

Remember when the most important thing in life was to find a pair of good fitting jeans? Only I'm not 18. Gone are cuffed hems. Painters pants from the Army Navy store. Bell bottoms. But stuck with me, straight leg jeans.

The shadows of my kids, my shopping buddies, when they're in town. On my own devices now, they would like the tight fitting calf sort of jeans.

hmm. Well I'm not 18 like they are (sort of). I'm from a different wave.

And I refuse to pay more for Levis-trying-to-accommodate-fat-middle-aged-bodies.

Gloria has it right. The new me. If you can buy jeans in 20 minutes (or less) then there's something right about them.

Its not only about how they fit. That person looking back at you in the mirror is just standing there. This is not what people do. People run. People think. People dream. People jump. People go for it.

The California sun is out tonight. The right jeans give you the right attitude. Maybe I am 18 again.