Wednesday, July 01, 2009
New "message" from Sarah Palin.
Wow. Just wow. You know if you are Sarah Palin, you really shouldn't put out video's with out
a clear message, cause it will trigger all kinds of unintended thoughts.
Here are my second by second impressions:
0:00 Logo - One true media - sounds oddly like "the one" that O gets accused of all the time.
0:06 Hope for independence? - As an independence day message? Seems kind of wierd. Okay Ill bite, from who?
0:23 Oh from scary axis of evil types. Gotcha, hmmm I didn't know they were controlling the US.
0:25 Thanks for reminding us, that intercontinental ballistic missiles would be at her disposal, and in turn the possible fate of all man kind. Wait, doesn't she believe in witches? the rapture? Is that a good thing?
0:46 Ah hanging with the soldiers, that's a better independence day message.
0:48 Air craft carrier - don't do it Sarah, really you don't want that juxtaposition.
0:57 Okay just the head gear, but don't scare us like that.
1:10 You just had to didn't you. Sarah McFlight suit?
1:19 Hmmm transition to Obama looking like he may be praying. Doesn't Sarah like prayers, like to fend off witches, petulant hockey players and stuff?
1:36 Wait Sarah is going to protect us from Air Force one flying over NY? Thats what we need to declare independence from?
1:44 King Kong, really? A big dumb ape rampaging through NY? I doubt there is any racism there, but wow, it seems kind of in bad taste aye, when your trying to declare independence from the first black president, or something.
1:58 "We need her" - To what protect us from the nice smiling man in the picture before the words. Come on, you gotta do better then that.
2:07 "Celebrate independence day" - Wait I thought were were hoping for independence? Either we are independent and we don't need to hope for it or we need Sarah to make us independent. Or is she just so good in two minutes and seven seconds won independence for us? So confused.
2:12 Um juxtaposing Air Force One in the New York skyline verses things blowing up in the New York skyline, is probably borderline bad taste.
Hmmm so my only feeling after watching that, is its not much better then her campaign for the VP spot. Muddled, lacking in focus and clear direction and some clear missteps.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Shamwow guy gets nabbed for beating a prostitue
The bizarre news item for the day. Apparently the creepy guy in the ShamWow commercials got in to an altercation with a working girl over the price of services rendered. He leaned in for a kiss and she bit his tongue and would not let go. Apparently she just didn't love his nuts.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Cooking with fire...
In the past year or so, I have developed a bit of gastronomic hobby. I had developed a fairly good healthy chili recipe, but decided to give it some tweaks. It came out quite good. I originally put this together as a way for me to get in a second high soluble fiber meal in during the day, and have it taste outstanding. At the time my cholesterol was all out of whack and this was part of my diet to get it back on track. After eating this often , a high fiber breakfast, and exercise my numbers returned to normal with in a couple months.
Serves: 10
Faux turkey chorizo chili with tomatillos salsa.
Chili powder:
(This is based on Alton Brown's chilie powder recipie)
3 Ancho Chilies stemmed, seeded and sliced.
3 New Mexican Chilies stemmed, seeded and sliced.
3 Arbol Chilies stemmed seeded and sliced.
2 tablespoons whole cumin seeds.
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoons Mexican oregano
1. Place sliced chilies and cumin seeds in a dry pan and roast over medium heat for approximately 5 minutes or until the cumin seeds start popping.
2. Set aside to completely cool.
3. Mix ingredients in to a large coffee grinder* or blender, and run until a fine powder.
* I have had much better luck with a coffee grinder then my blender. Also wait until the power settles a bit before opening the machine, lest you mace yourself.
Faux Turkey Chorizo
1 pound ground lean turkey
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper.
4 garlic cloves minced or 1 clove of elephant garlic minced.
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon of freshly ground coriander
1 tablespoon of freshly ground cumin
2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons of cider vinegar
2 tablespoons of chili power(from above)
1 tablespoon of Hungarian paprika
1 tablespoon of sweet smoked Spanish paprika
1 tablespoons of olive oil.
1. Place everything in a bowl and mix by hand making sure to integrate everything.
2. Place in the refrigerator over night for the flavors to mingle.
All by itself this taste really nice. Not quite as good as from pork but the saturated fat content is much lower.
Tomatillos salsa
8 medium size Tomatillos
1 Red onion
2 Jalapenos peppers
2 Serrano peppers
4 cloves of garlic or 1 of Elephant garlic
4 limes(for the juice)
(optional cilantro)
1. Remove husks and stems from the Tomatillos and wash them.
2. Wash the peppers and remove as much of the stem as possible with out exposing the inside of the pepper.
3. Quarter the red onion.
4. Lay out the peppers, quartered onion, and tamatillos on a cookie sheet, and place them under a broiler on low for 20 minutes.
5. Half way through, turn everything over.
6. Remove from the oven and place in a food processor, and run until pureed.
7. Add garlic (and cilantro if your going to eat it as salsa, otherwise wait until later to add it to the main dish) pulse a few times to break it up an incorporate.
If your going to cook with it, you should be able to use it as is. If you are going to eat it like a salsa, place in the refrigerator to cool down before consuming.
The chili.
If you do not consume beans on a regular basis, or have gas problems with them, I recommend pre-soaking your beans and remove the first hour from the instructions below. Alternatively take a couple beano prior to consuming the chili and it should give your body the enzymes you need to fully process the complex carbohydrates. I personally love the texture of the starch that comes from them, so I put them in dry. It tends to make a thicker gravy as well.
1 batch of tomatillos salsa as made above.
1 batch of Faux Turkey Chorizo as made above.
3 tablespoons of chilie powers as made above.
2 cups dried pinto beans
2 cups dried black beans
8 cups filtered water(my water is very hard and has ill effect on the beans).
4 cups stock of choice(chicken is what I generally use but beef adds a nice dimension and have had luck with it). Low sodium preferred.
1 serrano pepper
2 habanero peppers
1 small can of chipoltle peppers in adobo sauce.
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 red or yellow onion
8 gloves of garlic, or two cloves of elephant garlic
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon of thyme
1 tablespoon of coriander
2 tablespoons of kosher salt
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of black pepper
3 bay leaves
cilantro bunch
1 stick of cinnamon(optional)
1. Wash beans under cold running water and pick out broken or defective looking beans.
2. Place beans in large stockpot and cover with water as much as twice the volume of the beans(since they are dry the will rehydrate and absorb most of the water). The beans should be done in about 3 hours total, the chili in 3.5 hours. At 2.5 hours I start adding the other ingredients.
3. Add all of the spices but hold back on any salt.
4. Bring water to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cover.
5. Check the water periodically especially early on. In the first two hours add more water to cover the beans. After 2 hours any liquid additions are made with stock.
6. While the beans are cooking, dice up the green and red peppers and place in a bowl.
7. Dice up onion and garlic and place in a separate bowl.
8. At this point, I make the salsa. When that is complete I stem the habenaro and serrano peppers add them to the food processor, along with the can of chipotles and all of the adobo sauce. Turn the food processor back on until pureed. If you made the salsa up a head of time dice up the peppers as needed and add to the salsa. Note: if you want you can remove the ribs and seeds, but I like the heat so I leave them in.
9. At two hours, if you used the cinnamon stick fish it out and toss. I take the chrizo and break it up in to very small pieces in a medium-high heat pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Saute until browned. Add meat to chili and stir in.
10. With the residual oil and goodness in the pan add the onions and garlic. Lower the heat to low-medium to sweat them. Add 1 tablespoon of kosher salt to this mix and let them sweat until they are translucent. Once that is done add them and all the liquid in the pan to the chili.
11. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the same pan and repeat adding 1 tablespoon of kosher salt with the green and red peppers. When soft add to chili.
12. Add tomatillo and peppers mixture to the chili. If you made it during the cooking process it will likely still be warm. If its cold, you will need to boost the heat to get chili back up to a simmer.
13. Cover and let simmer for 45-60 minutes.
14. 15 minutes before done add a handful of diced cilantro leaves and cover.
This sounds like a lot of work, but the result is really good. Word to the meek, this is spicy as all get out, just the way I like it. This keeps well in the fridge or the freezer. I usually make a batch of this on Sunday and eat on it for a week. Its also quite healthy, under 500 calories with 9 grams of fat(low saturated fat though), and packed full of fiber(26g a good chunk being soluble) and protein(29g).
Serves: 10
Faux turkey chorizo chili with tomatillos salsa.
Chili powder:
(This is based on Alton Brown's chilie powder recipie)
3 Ancho Chilies stemmed, seeded and sliced.
3 New Mexican Chilies stemmed, seeded and sliced.
3 Arbol Chilies stemmed seeded and sliced.
2 tablespoons whole cumin seeds.
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoons Mexican oregano
1. Place sliced chilies and cumin seeds in a dry pan and roast over medium heat for approximately 5 minutes or until the cumin seeds start popping.
2. Set aside to completely cool.
3. Mix ingredients in to a large coffee grinder* or blender, and run until a fine powder.
* I have had much better luck with a coffee grinder then my blender. Also wait until the power settles a bit before opening the machine, lest you mace yourself.
Faux Turkey Chorizo
1 pound ground lean turkey
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper.
4 garlic cloves minced or 1 clove of elephant garlic minced.
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon of freshly ground coriander
1 tablespoon of freshly ground cumin
2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons of cider vinegar
2 tablespoons of chili power(from above)
1 tablespoon of Hungarian paprika
1 tablespoon of sweet smoked Spanish paprika
1 tablespoons of olive oil.
1. Place everything in a bowl and mix by hand making sure to integrate everything.
2. Place in the refrigerator over night for the flavors to mingle.
All by itself this taste really nice. Not quite as good as from pork but the saturated fat content is much lower.
Tomatillos salsa
8 medium size Tomatillos
1 Red onion
2 Jalapenos peppers
2 Serrano peppers
4 cloves of garlic or 1 of Elephant garlic
4 limes(for the juice)
(optional cilantro)
1. Remove husks and stems from the Tomatillos and wash them.
2. Wash the peppers and remove as much of the stem as possible with out exposing the inside of the pepper.
3. Quarter the red onion.
4. Lay out the peppers, quartered onion, and tamatillos on a cookie sheet, and place them under a broiler on low for 20 minutes.
5. Half way through, turn everything over.
6. Remove from the oven and place in a food processor, and run until pureed.
7. Add garlic (and cilantro if your going to eat it as salsa, otherwise wait until later to add it to the main dish) pulse a few times to break it up an incorporate.
If your going to cook with it, you should be able to use it as is. If you are going to eat it like a salsa, place in the refrigerator to cool down before consuming.
The chili.
If you do not consume beans on a regular basis, or have gas problems with them, I recommend pre-soaking your beans and remove the first hour from the instructions below. Alternatively take a couple beano prior to consuming the chili and it should give your body the enzymes you need to fully process the complex carbohydrates. I personally love the texture of the starch that comes from them, so I put them in dry. It tends to make a thicker gravy as well.
1 batch of tomatillos salsa as made above.
1 batch of Faux Turkey Chorizo as made above.
3 tablespoons of chilie powers as made above.
2 cups dried pinto beans
2 cups dried black beans
8 cups filtered water(my water is very hard and has ill effect on the beans).
4 cups stock of choice(chicken is what I generally use but beef adds a nice dimension and have had luck with it). Low sodium preferred.
1 serrano pepper
2 habanero peppers
1 small can of chipoltle peppers in adobo sauce.
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 red or yellow onion
8 gloves of garlic, or two cloves of elephant garlic
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon of thyme
1 tablespoon of coriander
2 tablespoons of kosher salt
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of black pepper
3 bay leaves
cilantro bunch
1 stick of cinnamon(optional)
1. Wash beans under cold running water and pick out broken or defective looking beans.
2. Place beans in large stockpot and cover with water as much as twice the volume of the beans(since they are dry the will rehydrate and absorb most of the water). The beans should be done in about 3 hours total, the chili in 3.5 hours. At 2.5 hours I start adding the other ingredients.
3. Add all of the spices but hold back on any salt.
4. Bring water to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cover.
5. Check the water periodically especially early on. In the first two hours add more water to cover the beans. After 2 hours any liquid additions are made with stock.
6. While the beans are cooking, dice up the green and red peppers and place in a bowl.
7. Dice up onion and garlic and place in a separate bowl.
8. At this point, I make the salsa. When that is complete I stem the habenaro and serrano peppers add them to the food processor, along with the can of chipotles and all of the adobo sauce. Turn the food processor back on until pureed. If you made the salsa up a head of time dice up the peppers as needed and add to the salsa. Note: if you want you can remove the ribs and seeds, but I like the heat so I leave them in.
9. At two hours, if you used the cinnamon stick fish it out and toss. I take the chrizo and break it up in to very small pieces in a medium-high heat pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Saute until browned. Add meat to chili and stir in.
10. With the residual oil and goodness in the pan add the onions and garlic. Lower the heat to low-medium to sweat them. Add 1 tablespoon of kosher salt to this mix and let them sweat until they are translucent. Once that is done add them and all the liquid in the pan to the chili.
11. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the same pan and repeat adding 1 tablespoon of kosher salt with the green and red peppers. When soft add to chili.
12. Add tomatillo and peppers mixture to the chili. If you made it during the cooking process it will likely still be warm. If its cold, you will need to boost the heat to get chili back up to a simmer.
13. Cover and let simmer for 45-60 minutes.
14. 15 minutes before done add a handful of diced cilantro leaves and cover.
This sounds like a lot of work, but the result is really good. Word to the meek, this is spicy as all get out, just the way I like it. This keeps well in the fridge or the freezer. I usually make a batch of this on Sunday and eat on it for a week. Its also quite healthy, under 500 calories with 9 grams of fat(low saturated fat though), and packed full of fiber(26g a good chunk being soluble) and protein(29g).
Friday, March 27, 2009
Return of the Rocker.
So the rocker came back to deal with some family stuff a couple weeks ago, and gathered the band together for dinner and drinks. Low and behold her previous intentions be came clear and she started intentionally plying be with beer, to soften me up. I definitely shouldn't have but things appear to be back on with her. I plan to visit her homestead next month for a couple days. I have no idea where this is going with her, but I can't complain.
Getting back on track.
After my pause in my exercise/diet program, I am back at it. Its been hard getting back in the rhythm, but I am making progress..Last couple weeks I have dropped down 10 pounds and am well on my way to getting back to my lowest weight. Things are going well, and when I went on my first run this last week, while slower then when I stopped, I definitely didn't feel like I was gonna die. I am also pondering trying to couple up trying to quit smoking, but I am doubtful I can control both vices at once.
House of the mouse.
Last month the sibling, brother in law, me and a friend of ours, headed out for the first real vacation I have had in about two years. It was tons of fun. We did the Disney dining pass, and got reservations at various places "around the world" in Epcot. One night we dinned in France, another Canada, and Italy. It was by far one of the best chunks of money we spent. One night we dined at a restaurant called Boma's. It was African fair, most of it was good, but nothing exceptional, except a dish I had never tried before. Bobotie. The version we had was basically a meat pie with a slight sweetness from raisins and a tangy savoriness, topped with a baked egg custard. It sound very plain, but it was one of the most fantastic dishes we had when we were there.
And then there was the bad meal, at a place in Hollywood Studios, I think was called the TV cafe. Well the meal wasn't bad per se, actually I had meatloaf with collard greens, that despite plain sounding was pretty spectacular. The restaurant was a place that was trying to emulate the 50s, and the server was supposed to be like Mrs. Cleaver, i.e. mom. This is where the bad part of the meal comes. I am not entire sure how many servers get physically accosted, but I would bet its more the average. The server came by and immediately start giving me grief about wearing a hat at the table. After going rounds, and finally agreeing that I was a bum, she finally dropped it. Then it was elbows on the table and yadda yadda yadda. Aside from the obvious reasons why this was annoying, after walking around basically 10-15 miles all day, being treated like a child really grates. Luckily they had a bar and it was flowing..
Most of the week the crowds were non-existent. The weekend we were leaving was a holiday weekend so it was packed then, but due to the sparseness of the crowds during the week, we sailed on to everything. We spend little time in the magic kingdom, being that its basically a duplicate of Disneyland, which we have been going to since we were kids, it meant we were able to ply our selves with liberal amounts of alcohol. Overall it was a pretty sweet trip.
And then there was the bad meal, at a place in Hollywood Studios, I think was called the TV cafe. Well the meal wasn't bad per se, actually I had meatloaf with collard greens, that despite plain sounding was pretty spectacular. The restaurant was a place that was trying to emulate the 50s, and the server was supposed to be like Mrs. Cleaver, i.e. mom. This is where the bad part of the meal comes. I am not entire sure how many servers get physically accosted, but I would bet its more the average. The server came by and immediately start giving me grief about wearing a hat at the table. After going rounds, and finally agreeing that I was a bum, she finally dropped it. Then it was elbows on the table and yadda yadda yadda. Aside from the obvious reasons why this was annoying, after walking around basically 10-15 miles all day, being treated like a child really grates. Luckily they had a bar and it was flowing..
Most of the week the crowds were non-existent. The weekend we were leaving was a holiday weekend so it was packed then, but due to the sparseness of the crowds during the week, we sailed on to everything. We spend little time in the magic kingdom, being that its basically a duplicate of Disneyland, which we have been going to since we were kids, it meant we were able to ply our selves with liberal amounts of alcohol. Overall it was a pretty sweet trip.
Agility +10
So my current project is running at full steam. We have moved to a methodology called the agile method. So far it has definitely pulled the team together and seems to be generating good progress. We will see. The next couple months will be full steam ahead, and damn the torpedoes.
The year of the big O.
Obviously last year would not be complete with out a comment on the presidential election. For political junkies like me, last year was like the olympics. Four years ago, I was a Deaniac. I voted for him even though by the time it rolled around to my state's primary, he was pretty much done for. I cheered and applauded when the Kossacks helped him secure the DNC position. Changing the equation to a national party from 50% + 1 was far more important to the health of this country then him becoming the presidential canidate and losing to Georgie boy. There were still far too many koolaid drinkers out there and Georgie's utter failure was not complete yet for Dean or Kerry to win. In the end Obama and the democrats complete massacring that began in 2006 and coming to completion in 2008 were born out of Dean's defeat and subsequent victory for the DNC chair.
In the very beginning it was apparent that Obama's electoral strategy was going to be in the mold of Dean rather then the Clinton old school play book. As such I contributed to his campaign relentlessly starting in December of 2007. Watching him methodically and systematically defeat Clinton was truly awe inspiring. How ever I am glad that Clinton kept the game going as long as she did. Part of Obama's eventual defeat of McCain was heavily influenced by the fact that every state mattered in the primary, and that it required putting people on the ground everywhere. This fact is very likely the reason why Obama took places that he never should have been able to win even in a Democrat year.
Over the summer while McCain was out of the spot light, the Obama steam roller was gaining speed. By the time the Conventions rolled around, it was pretty apparent that McCain was going to get rolled. He tried for a hail mary, by selecting Palin, but it ended up showing how ill prepared and unable to be president. His greatest argument and fundamentally only argument was that he had the experience to run the country. After Palin, it was unclear if running the country meant running it straight in to the ground, and he basically removed his only argument. The basic problem was this election neither candidate was actually far to the right or the left, no matter how hard either side tried to paint them so. Both were pragmatist to some degree leaning slightly in different directions. With that, the only real argument came down to experience and judgment. With Palin in the mix it takes experience of the table, and it makes the judgment argument laughable.
Obviously this year will be a significant test for Obama, he has made a lot of pragmatic moves, some I agree with, some I don't. Most I don't, do seem like the best of a whole host of bad options, but we will see.
In the very beginning it was apparent that Obama's electoral strategy was going to be in the mold of Dean rather then the Clinton old school play book. As such I contributed to his campaign relentlessly starting in December of 2007. Watching him methodically and systematically defeat Clinton was truly awe inspiring. How ever I am glad that Clinton kept the game going as long as she did. Part of Obama's eventual defeat of McCain was heavily influenced by the fact that every state mattered in the primary, and that it required putting people on the ground everywhere. This fact is very likely the reason why Obama took places that he never should have been able to win even in a Democrat year.
Over the summer while McCain was out of the spot light, the Obama steam roller was gaining speed. By the time the Conventions rolled around, it was pretty apparent that McCain was going to get rolled. He tried for a hail mary, by selecting Palin, but it ended up showing how ill prepared and unable to be president. His greatest argument and fundamentally only argument was that he had the experience to run the country. After Palin, it was unclear if running the country meant running it straight in to the ground, and he basically removed his only argument. The basic problem was this election neither candidate was actually far to the right or the left, no matter how hard either side tried to paint them so. Both were pragmatist to some degree leaning slightly in different directions. With that, the only real argument came down to experience and judgment. With Palin in the mix it takes experience of the table, and it makes the judgment argument laughable.
Obviously this year will be a significant test for Obama, he has made a lot of pragmatic moves, some I agree with, some I don't. Most I don't, do seem like the best of a whole host of bad options, but we will see.
The incredible shrinking man...
After about two months of walking with the cane I was walking with a slight limp, but I was definately making good progress. I started lifting light weights to get my ankle and wrist back into shape and strong again. Since I was already working out fairly regularly, I decided to just go whole hog, and get my self in to better shape. After the accident, my weight was topping out at 285, it was time to make a change. At first I did as much cardio I could stand, which with the weak ankle wasn't much, on a gazelle. Over time I worked up to a generous amount of time. Then I changed by diet and started constraining my intake. To change things up I started running, something I always mocked, but it was highly effective. Sticking with the plan for the next 8 months, I dropped down to 201. Still a bit higher then I want to be, but after the slog, I put things on hold and enjoyed the holiday season. The holidays and a vacation to disneyworld where no food was forbidden, and I picked up a small bit of that weight back. Once the vacation was over it was time to get back on track, which has been a struggle, but I am honing in on the right balance.
One thing I didn't count on after dropping the weight was the drop in my alcohol tolerance. Once I was on the pain meds, I couldn't drink much due to the interaction and following that up with a slog of restricted dieting, I literally became a light weight. This bit me hard when I went to the company Christmas party and drank like I had been drinking for years and was 33% larger. Needless to say, I was "that guy". At one point, I just lost a few hours, and have no idea how I got back to my room.
One thing I didn't count on after dropping the weight was the drop in my alcohol tolerance. Once I was on the pain meds, I couldn't drink much due to the interaction and following that up with a slog of restricted dieting, I literally became a light weight. This bit me hard when I went to the company Christmas party and drank like I had been drinking for years and was 33% larger. Needless to say, I was "that guy". At one point, I just lost a few hours, and have no idea how I got back to my room.
The long road back...
With death in the rear view, my recovery was the next thing on the agenda. I started with minor ankle loosening, and tendon stretching. Not moving your tendons for the better part of two months causes them to shrink, which is one of the most pain full things I have experienced. After a time I was able to start walking by pushing the wheel chair, then I eventually moved up to a cane. It was long and painful, but I was bound and determined to get back up as quickly as reasonably possible. This whole time, work was amazing, they gave me a large task to take care of, but basically let me stay at the homestead for most of my recovery. Part of the issue is it was unsafe for me to drive my stick shift due to my clutch foot wouldn't be able to work at tip top shape. My first trip back to work was by far the longest day of work I had experienced. Walking around the house and down to my office with a cane was one thing, walking the distance in the office was something entirely different. Right about this time, the brother in law bought a wii fit for my sibling, and it turned out it was a great tool for me to get my ankle back in to walking shape.
Some where about this time, the rocker was flying in to see her parents and asked me to come get her. I was still pretty high on pain killers, but I hadn't seen her much since she left, so I pushed my self and went and got her. Come to find out recently, she had more in mind then just picking me picking her up, but I was so damn high on meds that I was completely oblivious. Oh well.
Some where about this time, the rocker was flying in to see her parents and asked me to come get her. I was still pretty high on pain killers, but I hadn't seen her much since she left, so I pushed my self and went and got her. Come to find out recently, she had more in mind then just picking me picking her up, but I was so damn high on meds that I was completely oblivious. Oh well.
The terrible two months...
A week after the fall, I went and saw the orthopedist. My ankle was still swollen(which turned out to be a good thing), so he decided not to put a cast on it, and to just strap me in to a boot. The wrist was good enough that he put a hard cast on, though it would have been better if it was just a removable splint. I was happy that I didn't need both in hard casts other wise the last few frays of my sanity may very well have gone out the window.
I was to be stuck off my feet for two months and at first I though that it was the worst thing that was going on. Unfortunately it wasn't. A couple weeks after my accident, my paternal grandmother, who had been deteriorating for some time, succumbed to her ailments. We visited her the night before her passing. Her breath was labored and she was slipping away. It was much the same as when my maternal grandfather passed. It was a terrible, bit of time, but we made the wake, even in my broken state. Things were some what awkward since, my father and his parents have never been very close with our tribe. We muddled through, and life went on, or so we thought.
Once my maternal grandmother had returned to her home from the homestead after her fall, her rehabilitation dropped off. Not walking was a huge impact on her health, and she began to deteriorate. For a long period of time her kidneys had been weak and only partially functional, but she repeatedly refused dialysis. From not moving around and being inactive, her kidneys finally gave up. The sibling took her to the hospital, and they told her that she had to have dialysis or she was going to die. After years of refusal, she finally relented and consented to the processes. The doctors said that she would be fine once the dialysis took place, so no one rushed to the hospital aside from sibling and mother. We all had planned to come by and see her once she had done her round of dialysis. In her final, act of obstinance, her heart stopped as she was waiting for the doctors to perform the dialysis. Even though she had a DNR, the technician tried his damnedest to bring her back, but she was gone, off to be with her husband, and leaving her ailing body behind. Mother and Aunt were there and called me, to tell me the news, neither one could find the words. I was heart broken that I passed up the chance to see her one last time, and they felt terrible that they didn't force the issue or get any of the rest of the tribe down.
Losing one grandmother was hard. Losing the second, one that had been as much a parent to me as my mother, was devastating. We held a service at our house, and it was just about the time I was beginning to be able to walk with the boot. With everyone there I refused to wheel around in the chair. It was a tough day for various reasons, but the pain in my ankle was the least of the issues.
I was to be stuck off my feet for two months and at first I though that it was the worst thing that was going on. Unfortunately it wasn't. A couple weeks after my accident, my paternal grandmother, who had been deteriorating for some time, succumbed to her ailments. We visited her the night before her passing. Her breath was labored and she was slipping away. It was much the same as when my maternal grandfather passed. It was a terrible, bit of time, but we made the wake, even in my broken state. Things were some what awkward since, my father and his parents have never been very close with our tribe. We muddled through, and life went on, or so we thought.
Once my maternal grandmother had returned to her home from the homestead after her fall, her rehabilitation dropped off. Not walking was a huge impact on her health, and she began to deteriorate. For a long period of time her kidneys had been weak and only partially functional, but she repeatedly refused dialysis. From not moving around and being inactive, her kidneys finally gave up. The sibling took her to the hospital, and they told her that she had to have dialysis or she was going to die. After years of refusal, she finally relented and consented to the processes. The doctors said that she would be fine once the dialysis took place, so no one rushed to the hospital aside from sibling and mother. We all had planned to come by and see her once she had done her round of dialysis. In her final, act of obstinance, her heart stopped as she was waiting for the doctors to perform the dialysis. Even though she had a DNR, the technician tried his damnedest to bring her back, but she was gone, off to be with her husband, and leaving her ailing body behind. Mother and Aunt were there and called me, to tell me the news, neither one could find the words. I was heart broken that I passed up the chance to see her one last time, and they felt terrible that they didn't force the issue or get any of the rest of the tribe down.
Losing one grandmother was hard. Losing the second, one that had been as much a parent to me as my mother, was devastating. We held a service at our house, and it was just about the time I was beginning to be able to walk with the boot. With everyone there I refused to wheel around in the chair. It was a tough day for various reasons, but the pain in my ankle was the least of the issues.
The attack of the killer Christmas tree.
Since things were mellow with work, and life was quiet on the relationship front, I decided it was time to take an extended vacation. For Christmas and new years I carved out a nice three week, time away. I had no plans but to catch up on some books and some video games that had been piling up, and that's all I did. It was wonderful. The day before it was time to head back, mother had asked if I could come and take her tree out to the curb for pick up. Instead of getting help from the brother in law I decided to head over and just take care of it.
The tree however had other plans...As I was taking out the tree, it got caught on part of the railing on the front porch. I gave it a good hard tug, but it was fairly well stuck. Decided to try one more time. Apparently it decided to let go of what ever it was grasping, and I tugged but there was no resistance. I was at the edge of the stairs and the momentum of my tug pushed me forward down the stairs. I planted my foot on one of the steps and by body just kept going. I put my hands up to stop my head from crashing into the rocks below and slammed my left wrist in to the ground. On my way down I heard a loud pop come from my ankle. At first it just felt like any other fall, a little bumped and bruised, but no worse for wear. However the tree had tasted blood.
I pulled my self up, walked up the stairs and plopped my self on the couch. My ankle and wrist started to throb and my mother called my sibling to come pick me up and take me to the emergency room. Of course the stubborn guy I am, I walked in to the ER under my own power. After taking care of the paper work they took me in to the X-ray lab, and snapped pictures. Two broken bones in my ankle and a hair line fracture of my wrist both on my left side. This of course poses a problem, since it means that I can't use a crutch, because I can't put weight on my wrists. For the next two months I was confined to a wheel chair. That night they put on the temporary casts, shot me full of morphine and the sibling took me home. When we got to the homestead, my mother was there and she felt terrible and felt that it was her fault, even though it was just me being stubborn.
The tree however had other plans...As I was taking out the tree, it got caught on part of the railing on the front porch. I gave it a good hard tug, but it was fairly well stuck. Decided to try one more time. Apparently it decided to let go of what ever it was grasping, and I tugged but there was no resistance. I was at the edge of the stairs and the momentum of my tug pushed me forward down the stairs. I planted my foot on one of the steps and by body just kept going. I put my hands up to stop my head from crashing into the rocks below and slammed my left wrist in to the ground. On my way down I heard a loud pop come from my ankle. At first it just felt like any other fall, a little bumped and bruised, but no worse for wear. However the tree had tasted blood.
I pulled my self up, walked up the stairs and plopped my self on the couch. My ankle and wrist started to throb and my mother called my sibling to come pick me up and take me to the emergency room. Of course the stubborn guy I am, I walked in to the ER under my own power. After taking care of the paper work they took me in to the X-ray lab, and snapped pictures. Two broken bones in my ankle and a hair line fracture of my wrist both on my left side. This of course poses a problem, since it means that I can't use a crutch, because I can't put weight on my wrists. For the next two months I was confined to a wheel chair. That night they put on the temporary casts, shot me full of morphine and the sibling took me home. When we got to the homestead, my mother was there and she felt terrible and felt that it was her fault, even though it was just me being stubborn.
Everything is fun and games until some one gets hurt.
Right about the time the geeky goddess and I broke up, grandma took a tumble, and broke her pelvis. Apparently her cat decided it was time to do some damage and pulled up some carpet that she tripped on. She was taken to the hospital and then eventually made it out into managed care. For a couple weeks, the sibling, the brother in law and I made daily trips to bring her ever thing she needed and spend some time with her. She quickly started to go down hill, and it was apparent that the managed care facility was responsible for that deterioration. She was severely dehydrated and it was not being properly addressed. So we took action and brought her to the homestead turning one of our rooms into a hospital room.
After escaping from the managed care facility she quickly rebounded, but still had a ways to go before she was up and about. After a couple months of care and rehabilitation, she was ready to head back to her home. Christmas rolled around and even if she wasn't to have the whole family over, my homestead became the location of gathering, she wanted a large tree to decorate as if everyone was to come over. We got her a nice size tree and mother help decorate it, and everyone was happy, except perhaps the Christmas tree. It would have its revenge.
After escaping from the managed care facility she quickly rebounded, but still had a ways to go before she was up and about. After a couple months of care and rehabilitation, she was ready to head back to her home. Christmas rolled around and even if she wasn't to have the whole family over, my homestead became the location of gathering, she wanted a large tree to decorate as if everyone was to come over. We got her a nice size tree and mother help decorate it, and everyone was happy, except perhaps the Christmas tree. It would have its revenge.
Vegas Gambling for dummies.
One humorous side note. One of the evenings we were in Vegas, after running around all day, and spending some quality time back at our room she was tired and ready to get some sleep. I however being a gambler and a night owl was getting going. After she crashed I went down to the Sahara for a couple hours and ended up dropping a 400-500 hundred at the craps tables. No biggie, but it was a big X in the loss column. I only planned to play one night anyways since the point of the trip was to spend it with the goddess.
We wandered out for breakfast the next morning, and when we were done, I went to use the restroom and she decided to gamble. She didn't make a lot of money so she rarely gambled, but she sat down and played a slot machine, anyways. Right away she hit a small jackpot, nothing big for the machine she was playing but a big deal for her. I told her should should cash out and call it a day. Of course, not really understanding how Vegas works, she wanted to play some more. She ended up putting most of it back, but still ending up cashing out a head.
For the next hour she was depressed and I consoled her over the fact that she actually won and was ahead for the trip. Of course, I was the one that not less then 6 hours earlier dropped what would be jaw dropping for her, and it didn't bother me in the least. I just found it oddly perverse that it was me trying to make her feel good that she won.
We wandered out for breakfast the next morning, and when we were done, I went to use the restroom and she decided to gamble. She didn't make a lot of money so she rarely gambled, but she sat down and played a slot machine, anyways. Right away she hit a small jackpot, nothing big for the machine she was playing but a big deal for her. I told her should should cash out and call it a day. Of course, not really understanding how Vegas works, she wanted to play some more. She ended up putting most of it back, but still ending up cashing out a head.
For the next hour she was depressed and I consoled her over the fact that she actually won and was ahead for the trip. Of course, I was the one that not less then 6 hours earlier dropped what would be jaw dropping for her, and it didn't bother me in the least. I just found it oddly perverse that it was me trying to make her feel good that she won.
The geeky goddess.
With the congressional election in the rear view, things turned back to work. We released another product, so things were crazy as can be for a while. As things slowed down a bit. I met someone new. She worked with my brother in law, and turned out to actually be geekier, at least when it came to science fiction and the the oddities that accompany that. Things were great, and drama free for a good long time.
We wandered out to Vegas, her first time, and I took her to all the landmarks. Being a geek, we spend some good quality time at the Star Trek Experience. It is quite a shame that they shut it down, but based on the traffic that we saw when we were there, it was completely understandable. All in all it was a fun trip and a lot of fun(see Vegas Gambling for dummies for a funny side story). We took a few more group trips with the sibling and some other friends, some of them going well, while others being more tense then fun.
All in all, her and I were compatible in more ways then I can count, and much more so then anyone I have ever been with. I don't know if it was because of that, that things went down hill or us having some fundamental world view incompatibility. While she was as geeky as can be, she also paradoxically, was also a Luddite. She viewed the advance in technology as a horribly bad thing that was going to end us all. As I am definitely a tech geek, this caused endless discussion that went round and round ending up no where good. That, in conjunction of significant differences in things we wanted out of life(I am not keen on little maotigs), things ended on a whimper.
We wandered out to Vegas, her first time, and I took her to all the landmarks. Being a geek, we spend some good quality time at the Star Trek Experience. It is quite a shame that they shut it down, but based on the traffic that we saw when we were there, it was completely understandable. All in all it was a fun trip and a lot of fun(see Vegas Gambling for dummies for a funny side story). We took a few more group trips with the sibling and some other friends, some of them going well, while others being more tense then fun.
All in all, her and I were compatible in more ways then I can count, and much more so then anyone I have ever been with. I don't know if it was because of that, that things went down hill or us having some fundamental world view incompatibility. While she was as geeky as can be, she also paradoxically, was also a Luddite. She viewed the advance in technology as a horribly bad thing that was going to end us all. As I am definitely a tech geek, this caused endless discussion that went round and round ending up no where good. That, in conjunction of significant differences in things we wanted out of life(I am not keen on little maotigs), things ended on a whimper.
The aftermath and the curious case of the tortured congressman.
Some where in all that, I started getting interested in politics again. Our local congressperson was coming up on his 12th year in this very gerrymandered district, and we actually had a reasonable candidate to run against him. So I provided what little I had time and what I could spare for contributions and tried to unseat Radanovich. Where we live it was pretty much tilting at wind mills, but it was and interesting experience. I got to talk with both the candidates and grate George across the coals. When asked about why he voted to authorize torture(he voted against the McCain amendment banning the practice), his lame excuse of not wanting soldiers to get in trouble if they brutalized a detainee was utterly disgusting and just illustrated why he really needs to go. Of course in a 65% self identified republican district, he would have to end up in a gay llama scandal before he gets tossed out on his ear. It was fun trying though.
Post 2004 election and the woman that rocked my world, aka the rocker.
After the election in 2004, I just tuned out of politics all together for a while and concentrated on work, producing various products for an unnamed software company. In the past, work-life balance was always a challenge. About that time I started seeing someone on a regular basis and that balance just seemed to fall out of that. Things were off and on for a while, then they be came long distance, but we just kinda plugged a head.
Eventually things got a bit more serious, and we decided it was time to move in together. At the time, it was three of us living in a 2 bedroom apartment, and it was already cramped, so the sibling and I decided to get a house and get some more room for us. In 2006 we bought a nice sized 4 bedroom with a pool and a spa. The timing of course was terrible as 2006 was near the top of the housing price madness. The homestead is not worth nearly what we bought it for, but its pretty much perfect for our purposes and given enough time the value will slowly creep back.
Once we moved in and got some-what setup, I flew cross country and picked the rocker up. She , I and her little dog too, traversed the country by car in a fairly quick fashion. It was my first time driving through the south, and definitely was an experience to remember. Like every relationship, the first period of time is fantastic. As flower put it, we were twitterpated, long before twitter became a verb. Things were great, but ultimately our living arrangements with my sibling be came a constant source of conflict in the house. That and a number of other issues, soured our relationship, and she eventually moved out.
Eventually things got a bit more serious, and we decided it was time to move in together. At the time, it was three of us living in a 2 bedroom apartment, and it was already cramped, so the sibling and I decided to get a house and get some more room for us. In 2006 we bought a nice sized 4 bedroom with a pool and a spa. The timing of course was terrible as 2006 was near the top of the housing price madness. The homestead is not worth nearly what we bought it for, but its pretty much perfect for our purposes and given enough time the value will slowly creep back.
Once we moved in and got some-what setup, I flew cross country and picked the rocker up. She , I and her little dog too, traversed the country by car in a fairly quick fashion. It was my first time driving through the south, and definitely was an experience to remember. Like every relationship, the first period of time is fantastic. As flower put it, we were twitterpated, long before twitter became a verb. Things were great, but ultimately our living arrangements with my sibling be came a constant source of conflict in the house. That and a number of other issues, soured our relationship, and she eventually moved out.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Back to blogging in the big bad world
Well its been quite a time since my last post. My last post being utter disgust at the results of the 2004 election. The last four years have been quite a ride. So before I really start getting back in to the full swing of things, I should post what the hell I have been doing in my absence. The following posts cover the last bit of time.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Monday, November 01, 2004
Canada any one? No not me.
So I have read various folks talking about moving to Canada, in an attempt to escape Bush. The fact of the matter is you can't escape. What he does effects us all, forien and domestic.
Ultimately Tuesday was a battle lost, and it was very disappointing. I hardly could consentrate yesterday, I was so angry. I did my part here in Californa, and I worked with the Kerry campain calling people in battle ground states. I contributed to my choice, Dean, and then to Kerry. I was emotionally and physically drained, and when it was all over, my first thought was, Canada would be a nice place to be an ex-Patriot.
But ya know, that is what I would be an ex-Patriot. By me leaving, I only help people like Bush get an even greater strangle hold on this contry. Now we are faced with the standard fight or flight syndrom. We can choose flight, but ya know, that means Bush really wins. Its not time for America's conscious to up and leave. Its not time for flight, it is time for fight.
Right now, we are in a dark time for our country. We can run away to the light places, but that means darkness will prevail. We need be the torch bearers, the light bringers, the conscious of our country.
If you want to up and move because Bush won, I won't stop you or discurage you, but I would suggest one thing, possibly change your destination. Instead of fleeing to Canada, think about moving to a closely contested red state, especially if you live in a deep blue state. I know, I know, red states are icky and backwards, but in contested red states, it is so, because there is usually a large metropoltin area that isn't backwards, but progressive. Here in california, San Fransisco and LA areas dominate the state's electoral votes. Out side of those areas the state has many fundementalist pockets(I happen to live in one). Even still, Californa is true blue. So I urge you if you are going to run somewhere, run to the suburbs of some large metro area, where you can really make a difference.
In the next four years, we can roll over like dogs, run away, or watch as DC burns while the nero-cons play the fiddle, or we can make them pay for every last inch. If you want to help, joing groups like DFA and others like it. Run for or work for any progressive canidate for every office from the school board all the way up. We are not going to take back tommorow in a day, but what we do today can make tommorow brighter. With out a doubt, it will get darker before the dawn, it always does, but we need to be stead fast and resolute that real American values will win the day.
(Didn't know I was) Unamerican
I was crusing on of the sites I normally post too, and ran across this:
(Didn't know I was) Unamerican
For the past two years, I was railing against what we were talking about doing and eventually what we did. So often I was called unamerican and worse. The song just hits so close to home, even if it kinda sounds like something you might hear from the late six
(Didn't know I was) Unamerican
For the past two years, I was railing against what we were talking about doing and eventually what we did. So often I was called unamerican and worse. The song just hits so close to home, even if it kinda sounds like something you might hear from the late six
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