Monday, February 10, 2003
Dude, You're Getting a Cell
Why is this not surprising?
Nate 3:04 PM - [Link] Say something...
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Sisters Suing Southwest over 'Racist Rhyme'
Ah, I'm going to say that somebody needs their sensitivity level turned down; not up. With any luck at all this lawsuit will be dismissed as ludicrous and the sisters sent home with a bill for the court costs.
Nate 2:02 PM - [Link] Say something...
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AndrewSullivan.com - The Real Cowboys
Or why the UN needs to pack up and move somewhere else... Andrew is quite right in his observations concerning the UN, Colin Powell and the state of diplomacy today. I've only recently switched to the side that believes the UN no longer has validity; Libya sitting as chairman of the Human Rights council is a fine case in point. Maybe if they don't want to enforce their own resolutions the UN needs to restrict its activities to feeding, schooling and medicating folks that need it.
Nate 12:44 PM - [Link] Say something...
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Urgh. Is it Monday already? I was so not ready to come back to work today. A 3 day weekend just isn't enough!
Lots to accomplish in the name of supporting America's Fighting Men (and women) so don't expect too much from me here. I'm also wounded from excessive keyboarding and mousing. I've been having a great deal of discomfort that I think might just be some carpal tunnel type inflammation in my right forearm. Its been here about 3 weeks now and getting progressively more distracting. I even had to switch my mouse over to left handed operation today to see if I can relieve some of the burn.
And I'm supposed to be going out to the pistol range tonight... might have to learn to shoot left handed for a time!
Nate 10:53 AM - [Link] Say something...
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Squirrel Fishing
Now this looks like my kind of experimentation! The few squirrels I have in my neighborhood give my bird feeder and yard a wide berth. Could it be the 2 cats that live in my house and patrol the territory?
Nate 9:53 AM - [Link] Say something...
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Sunday, February 09, 2003
Well, maybe I'll get around to some real blogging later today but this morning I've been mucking about with building a web page, courtesy of the AT&T freebie since they are my internet service provider. There is a link over there on the left. Right now its quite boring but there is a recent photo of my ugly self if you would like to see it. I'll be playing with this thing to see if I can add some value to this page by linking to the web page without making myself crazy.
In the meantime, my computer room is cold, I'm freezing and I need some food.
Nate 12:44 PM - [Link] Say something...
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Thursday, February 06, 2003
Its Fixed, Its Fixed! Hoorah!
I got my archives back tonight folks. It weren't pretty and they still don't look the way I intend for them to look, but at least they are back for your reading pleasure. Thanks and a hat tip to Kim (who is traveling right now, so be careful out there) from whom (& from Tom) I plagerized the new quote over there to the left of the page.
I did email the Standard-Examiner's editor about the multiple circumstances of inanimate objects or conditions that seem to be running amuck here in our little town. Tomorrow I'll post my note to him and we will all wait expectantly to see if he responds.
Nate 8:16 PM - [Link] Say something...
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Drug Addiction Stalking More Women(Registration rqrd, sorry)
Meth now the dominant problem in Davis County
Thr, Feb 6, 2003
By LORETTA PARK
Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau
No personal responsibility involved here! [sarcasm on] Lock up your women and children! There's nothing you can do, the crystal meth is prowling the streets searching for helpless women at the grocery store or the library to ravage! No one is safe! ( I wonder if we could get an artist's drawing of meth's method of travel so that we might recognize it on our street...) Does meth walk? Float, hover? Or drive a car? What kind of car should we be watching for? Something dark and ominous with black tinted windows or maybe something shiny painted and chromeplated and loud? [/sarcasm]
Sadly, the article doesn't mention what kind of transportation meth uses to get into our neighborhoods. It does say this [...] The drug, which has been around since the late 1800s, made a full-scale appearance in Utah in the 1990s. Until the middle of 1999, marijuana was listed as the primary drug of choice for substance abusers in Davis County (UT). But meth surpassed it, and no one can say why, except that it is cheap and easy to get.[...]
There are really 2 reasons I'm posting this, first because illegal drugs do exist in many communities; brought there by criminals and law breakers and folks who often prey on weaker individuals. I'm one that feels that the "war on drugs" needs not to be retired but prioritized and funded and the cookers and dealers jailed; for a long time. People that are addicted need treatment and it needs to be available somehow even for people of no insurance or limited means. It should not be a bankrupting circumstance to afford treatment for yourself or your family.
Secondly, the folks at my local paper need to read what they write in their articles and headlines. They need to put the action and responsibility on the humans, not the inanimate objects or the conditions that afflict the humans. (Personal responsibility is a big thing with me if you haven't noticed.) This headline is silly and an editor or supervisor should have fixed it. Next thing I'm doing today is taking them to task for it as I found 2 examples of inert objects taking action today. I'll let you know how receptive my email is when I get an answer.
Nate 12:13 PM - [Link] Say something...
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USATODAY.com - Productivity better than expected
Think how much the country's productivity rates will improve when your company's network nazis put Blogger's URL into their 'locked out" filter file!
Nate 8:47 AM - [Link] Say something...
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Wednesday, February 05, 2003
Half day only today folks, leaving right now for my rash treatment, at Powder Mountain Ski Resort
Got to put some powder on that rash don't ya know!
Nate 11:38 AM - [Link] Say something...
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Why Drinking & Driving is Bad - Jacqui's Story
An amazing story here and a brave move on Jacqui and the Texas DOT's part to make a television public service announcement that doesn't pull any punches about the dangers of driving under the influence.
I like my beer just fine thanks, but in my workshop, or my living room or under the canopy of the camper; not when I'm away from the house and have to rely on myself to get home.
So Jacqui; you're a brave woman. Reggie, you're a criminal and thankfully the state of Texas saw fit to treat you as such.
Nate 11:05 AM - [Link] Say something...
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Tuesday, February 04, 2003
Well, Terry & I have been trading some email this PM on the subject of my upcoming trip to Greece. Possum Daddy sent me this link, where I had a chance to peruse the weather predictions for March. Guess what I found out? Major religion in Greece is Greek Orthodoxy (go figure) and they apparently celebrate a similar church calendar as the the Catholic and Episcoplian faiths.
What's all that mean to my trip you wonder? Lent. Lent starts this year on March 9, Ash Wednesday. What comes prior to the Lenten season? Mardi Gras! Whahoo!
Now one of the problems with this upcoming trip is that the dates are still fluxing around and won't be firm until late this week. But for right now, the trip is scheduled for the last week of Mardi Gras!
Now since I am a convert to the Episcopalian method of worship after being reared Baptist under my parent's careful tutelage, Mardi Gras and the Lenten season were pretty strange concepts for me to get comfortable with for several years. Even when I was living in Louisiana, where school lets out for Mardi Gras celebrations like they do for hunting season up North, this celebratory period of excess was pretty difficult for a Baptist kid to adjust to. Lent now was another thing. Giving up favorite excesses is just normal operations for Baptists, so that was easy!
AW CRAP! I'm half way through this dang ramble and the email bell rings. Foolishly I interupted this goofing off to see if paying work demanded my attention. Its the letter; the letter cancelling until further notice the trip to Greece. If I were to bet, (but I won't, being a fine ex-Baptist) I'd say the meeting's cancelled untill after the war... Please forward your briefings for our review and we will get back to you...
So at the end of the day, I'll be celebrating Mardi Gras in Mormonland and you will have to go here for postcards from Greece.
Nate 3:04 PM - [Link] Say something...
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Oh to be 5 again
Terry over at Possumblog wrote a wonderful eloquent story yesterday about the Columbia shuttle disaster and trying to explain to his youngster not only what happened to the Columbia and the astronauts but also why he was feeling so badly. As noted before, my kids are big and can understand why I was feeling so badly. Terry sure writes about the day better than I can. Its a wonderful read, so if you somehow stumbled in here without the easy access from Possumblog, go check it out.
Nate 8:29 AM - [Link] Say something...
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ITS SNOWING! HOORAY!
I think I might be coming down sick, with a rash... a rash that requires an all day treatment with powder. "Boss, I don't feel so good, I'm taking a sick day." Maybe; oh hell, probably tomorrow.
Nate 8:18 AM - [Link] Say something...
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Sunday, February 02, 2003
Well I have truly tweaked up my archives link tonight and can't seem to get it back into working order without some professional or otherwise interested party help. I'm trying to copy & paste off Possum daddy's text but I still have a file name screwed up someplace. But it seems we are off to the movies, the spousal unit & I, so time to put on a clean shirt and clear out of here!
Nate 5:15 PM - [Link] Say something...
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Eternal Patrol
From the very talented cartoonist that works for our local paper, Mr. Grondahl, a very nice tribute.
Nate 9:47 AM - [Link] Say something...
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Saturday, February 01, 2003
DAMMIT!
Its my birthday today. I'm 47, old enough to have watched all of our nation's space program develop on my tv set. I sat on the end of my parent's bed and watched John Glenn parachute back to earth and get fished out of the ocean. I still have the newspaper with the front page picture of Neil Armstrong saluting a flag planted on the moon in a box somewhere. I can tell you where I was watching tv when Challenger blew up. And today I see that Columbia is gone and her crew.
I'm not linking to any of the obvious sites to direct you to read about this disaster, you can find them yourself. But a fine group of astronauts, (including the first Israeli) are gone. Go to CNN and check out the profiles of those we have lost.
My heart goes out to each of their families.
Nate 10:37 AM - [Link] Say something...
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