Match Game

I've taken the plunge and created a profile on match.com. It's incredibly uncomfortable and bizarre - you have to try to capture what makes you interesting & fun in a few paragraphs. And, you just can't be funny under that kind of pressure and quite frankly, I'm all about the funny, ya know?

And then there's the picture thing. I did post a picture because I only want to look at profiles that have pictures, so it seems reasonable that this is a positive thing to do. I'm suspicious of anyone who won't post a picture.

I (and probably many other people, cause they're all like me, right?) only look at the profiles that have pictures that are attractive to me. But I've definitely had the experience where I've found someone attractive after I got to know them because I love their personality so much. Which theoretically means that I should look at all the profiles, even for the ones that I'm not attracted to, right? Eh.

And of course, the folks that are interested in me are not the ones I'm interested in.

Many of my friends have done the whole online dating thing and I've always been uber-reticent about it. But some have met folks they really liked (and in at least one case, married). I just figured it would jump start me on the whole dating world again, as I've been on hiatus for a while.

My friends are telling me that I should go out on "coffee dates" with folks I'm not necessarily attracted to so that I can get into that groove. This makes logical sense but I am having trouble generating enthusiasm for some reason...

When does my vacation start?

Dr. Albert Hofman

(inventor of LSD)

dead.

Cirque du Yummy

Last night, I went to see Corteo, a new (at least for me) Cirque du Soleil show. I've seen all of the touring shows (plus O in Vegas) since they started touring the US back in the early 90's. This woman I worked with told me that her son had convinced her to buy a bunch of tickets to go see a Mexican circus and she invited me to come along. Of course, I accepted. Who wants to miss out on a Mexican circus opportunity?

I had never seen anything like it. What I love about Cirque is not the amazing things that the performers do (and much of it is amazing), but the way they combine color, music and movement in such a beautiful way. I've seen some recordings of them on PBS, but I don't find that it can be captured on film properly.

I've liked some shows more than others, and I'd say this is one of the better ones. I'd say it's in the top 5. There were a couple of bits I didn't really dig, but overall, I did like it. It was different from the other shows in that they spoke English! There was also some Spanish, Italian and French mixed in there as well. That was new - I think I prefer that they continue to use made up languages - it sorta helps with the illusion that they're taking us somewhere else.

The show just opened up here in Seattle (well, Marymoor Park) and it's playing through June 1. I highly recommend it. Go here to get discounted tix.

Politicians in Belgium are different than ours

Belgian politician Tania Derveaux is a supporter of net neutrality (as I am), but she has her own way of lobbying for it. (Click on the link if you care to learn more about what net neutrality is, but honestly, it's totally inconsequential in regards to this story. It actually is important. But not nearly as entertaining as politicians deflowering virgins for a cause.)

You heard me right. Tania has made an offer that if you can demonstrate that you support the cause of a free and open internet—and you're an innocent flower 18 years or older—then she will screw you silly.  Fair warning though: "if anywhere along the process, it becomes clear that the applicant is not a virgin, Tania reserves the right to terminate all activity" ... and she clearly states that she is "not responsible for any genital injury."

According to Fleshbot (a very reliable source), this is all true. Look - here's her site (and here's a quote from her home page):

Net neutrality is paramount to safeguard free speech and innovation on the Internet. With only one arguably negative side-effect: an unusual amount of today's Internet users are virgin. That's a problem I intend to solve. In history, man has always waged war for freedom. Now it's time to obtain our freedom with love.

Sounds like a well meaning and dedicated politician to me.

(Please don't read Fleshbot from work. It's definitely NSFW and they are watching.)

Today's best "news" headline

And of course, by best, I mean "worst".

"Man Who Heckled Laura and Jenna Bush Arrested after Punching Girl in Wheel Chair". First of all, isn't it "wheelchair"?

Um, this is on a site called "TransWorldNews", so I'm not sure it actually qualifies as news. But if it does, here's the details. But I should warn you that the headline pretty much covers the entire story.

A man who heckled Laura and Jenna Bush as they were leaving a discussion about their children’s book was arrested after he allegedly punched a girl who was in a wheel chair.

Laura and Jenna Bush had been at the 92^nd Street Y where they spoke before an audience about their book “Read All About It.” As the two were leaving German Talis, 22, began shouting obscenities at the pair and questioned Jenna about Iraq and Iran.

John Lovetro who had been in attendance with his wife Wendy and 18-year-old daughter Maureen, reportedly confronted Talis and said “What are you doing? Shut up. This is about a child and books.” He then said, “Get out of here. You're being a moron” at which time Talis walked off but stopped to allegedly punch Maureen who is confined to a wheel chair due to cerebral palsy.

Penis Snatchers Snatched (allegedly)

Everyone's penis is safe. At least in the Congo. The police there arrested 13 people suspected of stealing (or shrinking?) victim's penises (peni?) These guys practice black magic and were snatched by the cops for their own protection. From Reuters:

Rumors of penis theft began circulating last week in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo's sprawling capital of some 8 million inhabitants. They quickly dominated radio call-in shows, with listeners advised to beware of fellow passengers in communal taxis wearing gold rings.
Purported victims, 14 of whom were also detained by police, claimed that sorcerers simply touched them to make their genitals shrink or disappear, in what some residents said was an attempt to extort cash with the promise of a cure...
"But when you try to tell the victims that their penises are still there, they tell you that it's become tiny or that they've become impotent, (said Kinshasa's police chief, Jean-Dieudonne Oleko.) To that I tell them, 'How do you know if you haven't gone home and tried it'," he said.

Link

Hey Ho Let's Go

I miss the Ramones. But here's a tribute. On ukuleles.

(And here are the Ramones doing it, live.) (via Boing Boing via Otomano)

You're probably happier than you thought you'd be

I heard this guy (Daniel Gilbert) speak on campus last year and really enjoyed him. He's a PhD & professor at Harvard who studies happiness. Basically, he says that what we think will make us happy (or unhappy) is generally inaccurate. He wrote a really interesting book called Stumbling on Happiness, which I definitely recommend (it's out in paperback now).

Anyhoo, the NY Times has a great interview with him today (titled "The Smiling Professor"). Here are some excerpts I thought were fascinating:

What we’ve been seeing in my lab, over and over again, is that people have an inability to predict what will make us happy — or unhappy. If you can’t tell which futures are better than others, it’s hard to find happiness. The truth is, bad things don’t affect us as profoundly as we expect them to. That’s true of good things, too. We adapt very quickly to either.

So the good news is that going blind is not going to make you as unhappy as you think it will. The bad news is that winning the lottery will not make you as happy as you expect.

...

We know that the best predictor of human happiness is human relationships and the amount of time that people spend with family and friends.

We know that it’s significantly more important than money and somewhat more important than health. That’s what the data shows. The interesting thing is that people will sacrifice social relationships to get other things that won’t make them as happy — money. That’s what I mean when I say people should do “wise shopping” for happiness.

Another thing we know from studies is that people tend to take more pleasure in experiences than in things. So if you have “x” amount of dollars to spend on a vacation or a good meal or movies, it will get you more happiness than a durable good or an object. One reason for this is that experiences tend to be shared with other people and objects usually aren’t.

Wesley Snipes - felon

A federal judge has sentenced action star Wesley Snipes to the maximum three-year sentence on tax charges.

Snipes' lawyers offered three dozen letters from family members, friends and even fellow actors Woody Harrelson and Denzel Washington attesting to his good character. They argued he should get only probation, because all three convictions were misdemeanors and the actor had no previous criminal record.

But he's a celebrity, so they'll probably just make him serve a week or two...

Remember Better

The oddest things stick around in my brain and some of the important stuff...not so much. I'm in the process of reading a list of things you can do to "amp up your brainpower" according to Wired magazine.

Here's the list:

1. Distract yourself

2. Caffeinate with care (okay, I'm brewing tea as I type.)

3. Choose impressive information

4. Think positive

5. Do the right drugs (eh? Hmmm...meth is on this list. They do indicate that "prolonged use can make you stupid and crazy" and that drawbacks include "prison, death").

6. Juice your IQ score 

7. Know your brain

8. Don't panic

9. Embrace chaos

10. Get visual

11. Exercise wisely

12. Slow down

Barack Obama on the Daily Show

Jon asks the questions that all of us are thinking...

More McCain is SO not a moderate news

He won't vote in favor of equal pay for women. Cause it might cause lawsuits. Um, doesn't pretty much any ole law these days cause lawsuits? Oh wait - it might cause lawsuits against big corporations. Ah...that explains it.

Anyone who thinks that this guy is a "maverick" or is a moderate Republikook is oh so wrong.

McCain = Bush 2.0

Updated at 4:48pm to include:

Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a measure intended to overturn a Supreme Court decision limiting pay discrimination suits in a politically charged vote certain to be replayed in the presidential and Congressional campaigns.

The ugliest website ever

but then again, who cares? It's for blind people. But the kicker is what type of info they have for blind people...

That's right friends! It's Porn for the Blind. After all, the blind should not be penalized and kept from their pornography. We all need to do our bit to help out those less fortunate than us.

Porn for the Blind is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to producing audio descriptions of sample movie clips from adult web sites.

And if you're a friend of the blind, you'll contribute too...Help out by recording a website description. There are currently 5 unfulfilled requests.

The interweb is a wonderful set of pipes.

You know how I love the water and the fishies

Well, I went to the Seattle Aquarium when my cousin Natasha came to visit a few weeks ago and grabbed a flyer about Orcas (cause I'm a big fan) and have been checking out a few sites about Orcas listed on the flyer.

There's an OrcaCam! I gotta get on a boat this year and go Orca watching. I saw some when I went to Alaska years ago, but now that they're around locally...

Spring me please

That's right - these are pictures of my backyard today (April friggin' 20th - oh yeah, happy pot day by the way to those of you who celebrate such things... And happy Hilter's birthday to those of you who celebrate that, you sickos). (I never knew about pot day until I got sober. The things you learn from your recovering buddies...)

Seriously, it's been snowing and then raining and then sunny all weekend. I'm oh so over it. It's not sticking or anything, but I so need it to be spring. I'm getting lots of errands and stuff done, but I want to go play outside. I want to ride my bike to work. I want to lie on my hammock. I want to whine. (apparently, I have no problem with that need.)

So what did I accomplish this weekend? I read almost all of The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin. It's pretty interesting - it's all about the (recent) Supreme Court, going back to around the Kennedy years. How things actually work, how the justices interact with each other, the whole 2000 election fiasco, etc. I'm enjoying it.

I saw The Namesake and I give it a big fat eh. I think if I saw it in the theatre, I would have been bored silly. It took a really long time to get going and quite frankly, even when it was "going", not much was happening. According to Netflix, I should have liked this 4 stars much, but in real life, I'd give it 2 stars. It's about an Indian couple (the Asian kind) who move to NYC, raise kids and then suddenly, it turns out that it's about the son (not the couple who we've spent the last hour focusing on) and his search for his identity as an American (or an Indian American) (or a New Yorker) (or a pumpkin).

Dragged my butt to a meeting this morning - it's been a while, but I found it quite pleasant and will try to get my butt moving again next Sunday morning to show up there again. Dropped off my regulator to be serviced and got irritated by the guy at the Scuba shop. I asked if they had a pool where I could jump in with my gear and just get comfortable under water again and he would only talk about selling me a refresher course. He said a lot had changed in 3 years. Hmmm...what part about diving has changed? The part where I know how to use my gear? The part about breathing under water? The part where I know how to use and read my computer? The part that I wanted to practice in his darn pool???? Phooey. I'll just rent a tank of air and wander into the pool at my hotel when I arrive. Seriously. In LA, if I'd been out of the water for a while, I'd rent a tank of air and sit on the bottom of my neighbor's pool and just breathe and do some basic exercises for 20 minutes. Although I have a neighbor with a pool here, it's awfully cold (see pictures above, in case you've forgotten).

I made my quarterly pilgrimage to Costco and stocked up on moisturizer, toothpaste, and $300 worth of other stuff I can't remember. It's always $300 when I go in there. Oh yeah, I got oatmeal too - that must be how I got it up to $300.

Counting down the days till I get to the Big Island. Very very happy, although my buddies there are already giving me a hard time for only coming for 8 days. Sigh.

I find this quite beautiful

Happy Passover!

The most widely celebrated Jewish festival, Passover (which begins at sundown April 19), also known by its Hebrew name Pesach, commemorates the ancient Israelites' liberation from Egyptian slavery.

At a Passover Seder, a celebratory meal, the story of the exodus is retold through readings, rituals and symbolic foods.

While some foods, such as matzo and bitter herbs, are required eating, others (including bread) are forbidden. Traditional Jews can't even store the taboo items in their homes or eat from dishes or cutlery that have touched them.

The Seder consists of 15 rituals, most of which occur before the meal is served. They include lighting candles, blessing wine, washing hands, breaking the matzo, dipping vegetables and telling the story of the exodus from Egypt.

Passover lasts eight days and begins with two nights of Seders. Traditions vary greatly depending on a family's background. While many Ashkenazi Jews won't eat legumes, corn, rice, most other grains or products made from them, Sephardic Jews are more lenient.

Most Jews eschew the "the five species of grains" — wheat, rye, oats, barley and spelt, all of which contain gluten.

The exception is matzo, which is made from wheat, but has not been allowed to ferment. Matzo must be baked within 18 minutes of the flour being combined with water.

Jon Stewart's take on the Pope's visit

As you know....I heart Jon Stewart.

I think that it's sweet

that not only did the Pope arrange to be in the US for Passover, but that he'll be in NYC (aka Jew central).

I'm a little burnt out on Pope coverage on the news. The last Pope seemed nice, but this one sorta scares me. Maybe it's the German thing. (Or the Nazi thing?)

Bad Blogger, Bad

I know. It's been way too long since I posted anything. I'm hanging my head in shame.

Soooo....my brother and nieces came to visit, which was very nice, but I have to say that in light of the amount of estrogen I carry around, I feel like I should be way more maternal. I'm just not. I love them and all, but when they start bickering, I just want to run out of the car. Or house. Or restaurant. I apparently have a very low child bickering threshhold. We did have a nice visit though and now I'm back to real life.

I'm off to the Big Island in a few weeks, which I am SOOOOO looking forward to. Why, you ask?

1. Hawaii is better than real life.
2. Kendra, Amy F., Alexa, Matthew and Dee are there and I miss them all.
3. Kendra had a baby - he just celebrated his first bday and I haven't met him yet.
4. Sun.
5. Scuba.
6. Hammocks by the ocean.

Ahhhhhh....

I heart the Dalai Lama

He's here in Seattle for a few days and there's all kinds of events. A friend called last night with tix (I had requested some, but no luck), so we went this morning to see him and a bunch of scientists talk about Compassion. (This "tour" or whatever they're calling it is called "Seeds of Compassion".)

First some guy with really bad cottonmouth talked for a while. I couldn't concentrate because I just wanted to toss a piece of gum down to him. Then a SECOND guy with cottonmouth started talking. I have no idea what was going on before they got up on the stage, but seriously...

Anyways, the second one was smacking his lips together for a while and then he turned to the Dalai Lama and said "Don't worry about what's happening now (I'm paraphrasing that part of what he said) - the world knows the truth" and the Dalai Lama stood up and they hugged and I got a big lump in my throat.

Then his Holiness the Dalai Lama talked a little bit and I'm blanking out about what he said but I was a little choked up the whole time. And he made jokes. You have to like a religious leader who understands the value of a good chuckle. Seriously. (or not, as it were.)

The scientists talked about research with children and how their brains develop and how much of that is believed to be innate and must be nurtured and what must be taught. It was kinda interesting, but quite frankly, I wasn't really there to hear them. Then they asked the D.L. questions and he answered. I liked that he always paused and took his time before answering and he would say things like "I think..." so that it was clear that this was just his take on the particular issue at hand and that he wasn't speaking as an authority. I appreciated that.

If you're interested, they're webcasting many of his events this weekend.

I really enjoyed it and am definitely on a bit of a Dalai Lama high this afternoon. The good news is that we're wrapping up work early this afternoon and having a ship party because we published the content we've been working on! (Of course, we're already working on the next iteration...)

Cute Kitty

Jeffrey Sachs

Widely considered to be the leading international economist of his generation, Jeffrey D. Sachs was hailed by The New York Times Magazine as “probably the most important economist in the world” and acclaimed by Bono in Time Magazine’s 2005 tribute to the “100 Most Influential Leaders” as “brilliant, controversial and passionate.”

His new book, COMMON WEALTH: Economics for a Crowded Planet outlines an important economic paradigm that will combat the environmental degradation, rapid population growth, and extreme poverty that threaten our global prosperity. Sachs is Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on the Millennium Development Goals. He is internationally renowned for his work as an economic advisor to governments and international organizations around the world.

He's on campus today and I'm going to go listen to him speak (while I eat a lovely boxed lunch they provide). Anyhoo...if you have a suggestion for a good question for him, please let me know as they always open these discussions for questions.

Do you watch Lost?

The cast also wants to know what the hell is going on...

See more funny videos at CollegeHumor

China's losing the (press) war

I love it. In France, they had to douse the Olympic flame to prevent people from dousing the flame...they stopped the run and put the flame into a van and drove it to the next point.

And although China is trying to make the Tibetan monks (and the Dalai Lama) look bad (yeah, cause the rest of the world buys that the Dalai Lama is instigating violence. That makes sense), they keep protesting and getting press coverage.

From today's NY Times:

China suffered another unexpected public relations setback on Wednesday when Buddhist monks interrupted a government-managed media tour in western China by waving a Tibetan flag and protesting that the authorities were depriving them of their human rights.

....

The protest in Xiahe came as the issue of Tibet continues to create a domestic political crisis and international public relations disaster for China. Tibet and other regions were rocked by anti-Chinese riots last month, and China is facing increasing criticism over its human rights record as it prepares to play host to the Olympic Games in August.

This week, anti-China protesters angry about China’s record on human rights disrupted the international Olympic torch relay as it passed through London and Paris, while San Francisco on Wednesday girded for a major confrontation with protesters during the only leg of the tour in the United States.

(Really? A protest in San Francisco? Shocking. Well, no one could have anticipated that and avoided it.)

As the US population gets older

will we be seeing more and more of this type of news story?

A 70-year old Wal-Mart worker beat a 81-year-old fellow employee with a pricegun inside a Florida Wal-Mart.

Dennis O'Brien and John Esposito began arguing Sunday and O'Brien swung at Esposito with the tool in his right hand. Authorities say Esposito suffered a swollen left eye and cuts on his nose and mouth. Esposito said both he and O'Brien worked at Wal-Mart. He would not discuss the nature of their argument.

The report says O'Brien told a sheriff's deputy he acted in self-defense, but security tape showed O'Brien raising his hand first, striking Esposito in the face and then pushing him to the ground. Officials booked O'Brien into the Palm Beach County Jail on aggravated battery charges.

Elderly Man Attacks Man with Pricing Gun at Wal-Mart [AP] (Thanks to Consumerist!)

For my LA peeps

who I miss so much...

I just booked flights and a car to come to LA for Memorial Day weekend. I arrive on Friday afternoon (5/23) and fly back on Tuesday morning (5/27). Thanks to Orin, I will be staying in Beverly Glen, which is a good, central location for seeing everyone.

Can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to this...

Chuck Heston

Dead.

10 things you should know about John McCain (but probably don't):

A lot of people (including a certain stepfather of mine who shall remain unnamed), believe he's a moderate guy. I don't believe that's true. Here's some info that Moveon.org sent out recently:

For all the coverage this week of Senator John McCain's background, there are some important things you won't learn about him from the TV networks. His carefully crafted positive image relies on people not
knowing this stuff—and you might be surprised by some of it.

Please check out the list below, and then forward it to your friends, family, and coworkers. We can't rely on the media to tell folks about the real John McCain—but if we all pass this along, we can reach as many people as CNN Headline News does on a good night.

Click here to tell us how many people you can pass it on to—and to see our progress nationally:

http://pol.moveon.org/mccain10/?id=12407-6628718-ZEAB04&t=231

1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's continued to oppose key civil rights laws.

2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."

3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.

4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."

5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.

6. He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.

7. Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he's too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."

8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates.

9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."

10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year.

John McCain is not who the Washington press corps make him out to be. Please help get the word out—forward this email to your personal network. And if you want us to keep you posted on MoveOn's work to get the truth out about John McCain, sign up here:

http://pol.moveon.org/mccaintruth/?id=12407-6628718-ZEAB04&t=232

Hmmmm....what's wrong with this picture?

Okay, it's circled...

Photoshop much?

Famous pix - recreated with Legos

Amateur photographer Mike Stimpson has recreated some of the most iconic photographs of the 20th century... with Legos.

Everyone makes mistakes

but this is kind of a big one...

John McCain apologizes for opposing a federal holiday for Martin Luther King 40 years ago...

In a speech outside the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, McCain said he was "slow ... to give greatness its due" before eventually supporting a state MLK holiday in Arizona.

"I was wrong and eventually realized that, in time to give full support for a state holiday in Arizona," he said. "We can all be a little late sometimes in doing the right thing, and Dr. King understood this about his fellow Americans."

Happy MLK Day!

In yesterday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution, King's son, Martin Luther King III, wrote an op-ed piece urging presidential candidates to create a cabinet-level position to deal specifically with poverty, saying, "The U.S. Census Bureau reports the current poverty rate is just over 12 percent, as it was in 1968, while the number of people living in poverty has grown from 25 million to more than 36 million, including 12 million children. Even worse, a family of four with two children and an annual income of $21,027 is not even considered poor by our government's reporting standards."

That's just obscene.

Good thing Cheney doesn't listen to public opinion

I'm sure you've heard that recently, when DICK Cheney was asked about the vast majority of Americans who think that the "war" in Iraq is a mistake, he responded "So?" and indicated that he doesn't think that public opinion should influence the government's decisions.

And in today's NY Times, they talk about a NYTimes/CBS News Poll that shows that 81% of Americans say that the US is on the wrong track. That's the highest number to indicate this level of dissatisfaction since the early 1990s.

In the poll, 81 percent of respondents said they believed “things have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track,” up from 69 percent a year ago and 35 percent in early 2002.

A majority of nearly every demographic and political group — Democrats and Republicans, men and women, residents of cities and rural areas, college graduates and those who finished only high school — say the United States is headed in the wrong direction. Seventy-eight percent of respondents said the country was worse off than five years ago; just 4 percent said it was better off.

And who are the 19% who think we're on the right track? What are we doing correctly? Perhaps they own a business that sells to foreigners, who are purchasing real estate and other American goods like crazy because of the massive drop in the value of the dollar. Or maybe they are muckety mucks over at Halliburton, who is making a friggin' fortune off of the misery also known as Iraq. Or perhaps they're Canadian.

Sigh.

Where I work

Just now, I was walking up two flights of stairs to go to a meeting and there was a stream of guys walking down the stairs for almost the entire two flights.

I immediately thought "It's a parade of geeks!" (and it was. seriously.)

As my friend Peter O'Kelly says "sign of the times..."

Foreclosure thoughts

See this map? It's a picture of a neighborhood in the Denver, CO area. The red lots have been foreclosed. (Click on the map for a larger view of the entire neighborhood).

Okay, let's just get the nastiness out of the way...yes, I was reading USA Today - "America's Picture Newspaper". In my defense, I didn't actually pay for it - it was lying on a table in the caf at work. And I had time to kill. And, it's a good way for me to know the "news" that the masses read about.

Anyhoo...when the whole foreclosure thing started, I was pretty irritated by the people who took out the darned stupid loans that they can't afford in the first place. And I still am irked by them. However, Amy being Amy means that I much prefer to focus on being pissed off at the companies that took advantage of said stupid people. I mean, it's  basically a scam - they knew that people couldn't afford the loans - many (most?) couldn't afford "regular" loans. And apparently (via NPR, I heard that) some people who were qualified for regular loans were pushed into these stupid loans anyways (and they were stupid enough not to ask or know better). But the mortgage broker and/or bank made more money that way, so at least someone benefited, right?

When I bought a home for the first time, I had no idea what I was doing. Fortunately, I have a friend who works in that business and made sure that everything was on the up and up and that I asked the right questions. I'm kinda lucky that way. Other people aren't that lucky. Or are obnoxiously cocky that they know what's best (those folks definitely deserve this, IMHO). (That kind of person rubs me the wrong way.) (Sorry for being hateful. I'll pray for them to become cockiless. Heh.)

But, this affects us all. It affects the economy in general, it affects neighborhoods, people's confidence in the short term, and probably lots of other things I'm totally not aware of.

But the good news is that the US government is making sure that Bear Stearns is taken care of. What a relief! I mean, that would affect rich people. And they're way too smart and nice to be harmed.

That would be unAmerican.

Change of Heart

You know, I am so tired of Hillary and Barack sniping at each other. And the Democratic party just is incapable of getting it together. I've begun taking a second look at McCain, and I have to say, as far as Republicans go, he's not so bad. I mean, at least he's honest that we'll be in Iraq forever and he's just playing nice with the church people - he doesn't really buy into their crap.

Just sayin...

(Oh, and happy April 1.)