09.30.08
Posted in Your Rights Online, and yet true, unbelievable at 8:35 pm by paul
As I left work today I spied this truck:
Just because
Now, those of us who are pathologically paranoid get our antennae up when a provider of internet connectivity puts a sticker reading “EYES & EARS” on the side of their connectivity installation truck.
Of course it was AT&T that provided unfettered access to all of our traffic histories to The Feds, in the name of protecting us from The Terrorists. But it does not inspire confidence to see a sticker that seems to cop to willingly spying on one’s customers. Even if it is a Comcast technician’s idea of a joke.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 8:17 pm by paul
Jacquie and I had lunch at Split Pea Seduction today, largely because it appears on the Chronicle’s Bargain Bites list.
It was wonderful! Jacquie had Chilled Heirloom Tomato with Crème Fraîche, and I had a corn chowder (which is already off the menu, so I don’t have the exact name). We both had House Venison Sausage and Pesto crostata, which was also wonderful. A bit on the oily side, but when there is pesto involved, there is bound to be a little oil!
Here’s Jacquie enjoying the meal:
Jacquie smiles during a fine meal
On top of that, though we were given a small handful of disposable tableware, at least it was all compostable. Here’s what we wound up with:
meal leftovers
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Posted in offline at 6:34 am by paul
Apparently I needed a reminder that I should always carry a camera. Saturday morning as I headed out for errands I passed a gentleman at 14th and Noe posing on his motorcycle. In accordance with California state law, he was wearing a helmet. The law is silent on what else one might need to wear on a motorcycle, and since this past weeked was the Folsom Street Fair, I guess he decided to follow the letter of the law.
Not three blocks away, as I approached Ocatvia and Market, what should approach but a throng of people riding mopeds – Puchs, Peugots and others I did not recognize. All trailing a giant cloud of blue smoke, the hallmark of two-stroke engine.
Two very fine and different photographic oportunities. Our point-and-shoot camera now has a home in my shoulder bag …
Update: here’s the crowd I was refering to, apparently at the south end of the Great Highway.
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09.24.08
Posted in politics at 7:22 am by paul
Dear Ms Pelosi,
It’s been almost two years since your historic rise to Speaker of the House. I have bad news for you: you suck at it.
You rolled on the surge, on torture (sorry, “interrogation techniques”), on two budgets, on illegal eavesdropping (sorry, “warrantless wiretapping”). Yes, you presided over pardoning previous and documented illegal acts. It is no consolation that most of your delegation rolled with you.
You are about to roll on the coup de grace, the bailout. A bailout from bad financial decisions for the richest of the rich, and by their own argument the most sophisticated financial minds, ever. And brought to you by the same crew that lobbied to make credit card debt survive bankruptcy! Could there be a more glaring double-standard?
So I was going to say “if you vote for this bailout in any form, I won’t vote* for you.” Well now that I’ve inventoried the situation, here’s what it will take to get my vote:
- promise to change the wiretapping rules back to the old FISA setup
- promise to roll back the tax breaks for the people who just demanded a bailout
- fight the bailout in any form
You’ve got six weeks. Go!
* yes, I am a constituent of Ms. Pelosi’s. And yes, I know she got 80.4% of the vote in ‘06.
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Posted in and yet true, unbelievable at 6:50 am by paul
Such is my skepticism that I believe — not think, believe — that our officials (not leaders!) in Warshington have taken this awful crisis as an opportunity to offer a sword to the Democratic party. “Take this sword,” they say, “and shove it in to your abdomen before I use it to cut off your head.”
How did we get here? Proposing this enormous bailout is a construct only a game theorist like Rove could dream up.
Democratic Party leaders are left with a double-bind: approve the bail-out and participate in further enriching the same 1% that benefited from the Iraq war and the tax cuts and the prescription medication coverage (in the form of a subsidy to the pharmaceutical industry’s shareholders). Oppose the bailout and get blamed for the inevitable economic disaster.
What is toally upside-down about this situation is that the “conservatives” are proposing an enormous expansion of Federal responibility — stabilizing financial markets, and in a huge rush, natch — while “liberals” are preaching caution, prudence and oversight to compensate for the inevitable failings of a governmental first pass at, well, anything.
When it comes to what to do, my rational side fails in this circumstance. The situation is so complex, so unpredictable that even someone such as myself, who takes pride in understanding enough about just about anything to judge public policy on it, is completely lost. Normally, in such a situation, conservatives and liberals are at each other’s throats over whether to do something or nothing. When the consequences of action and inaction are both unknown, conservatives default to inaction (the markets are perfect and will tend to themselves!) and liberals to action (even if we are wrong, what about the little people?). So on this question you can count me as a conservative.
Oh and dear “conservatives”: where are your constructionist judges now? Surely they will not simply rubber-stamp this expansion of federal authority? Surely a plan this large requires buy-in from someone not in the midst of a re-election campaign?
My short-form opinion of the situation: Wall Street, you may now hang, from your own carefully-constructed pétard. It’s been real.
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09.21.08
Posted in offline at 6:21 pm by paul
I’ve got a new look. I really needed a cut! Before:
- Well past senator hair
And after:
As short as I have had it
Sweet Pea convinced me not to shave it right off, which is probably a good idea. I might do that before I get over my short-hair craze, but best not to shock those around you too badly! The poor clipper (really a beard trimmer) sounded like it might conk out a couple times. But it did the job in the end.
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09.12.08
Posted in beer at 6:01 pm by paul
I purchase three beers from City Beer Store. Nice things about this place are it is on the way home from work and they have a pretty good variety of beer. You can also taste beer while yo are there for a $1 “corkage” fee. Bad news is it is a pretty small space and on Fridays they are apparently very busy so it isn’t exactly a leisurely shopping experience.
First up is Half Moon Bay Brewing Company’s “Mavericks“. In honor of election season, they’ve labeled some bottles Obama and some McCain which was just gimmicky enough for me to buy it (from City Beer, more on that later).
Price: $3.99 fro a 22 oz bottle.
First impression: this tastes like what I imagine a “classic American Lager” would have been like before Prohibition. Except it’s an ale, probably best described as a pale ale since:
- it’s pale
- it has a noticeable, but not pronounced, hoppy flavor
It has a very earthy feel, like maybe it was made in someone’s kitchen or basement. It’s a very accessible, middle-ground beer; I’d be comfortable serving it to a mixed crowd of beer snobs and people who are more used to mainstream brews. It’s a good match for mild fish or vegetarian dishes with subtle or mild flavor, but probably not cream sauces or more intense flavors such as smoked fish or salmon.
Update: sad news, Jacquie is allergic. Le sigh!
2nd beer: Port Brewing 2nd Anniversary Ale; purchased from City Beer for $7.99 for a 22 oz bottle.
Note: 9.5% alcohol, by volume
Well, this one has a bit of a kick! It has the overall taste of a Belgian ale, not surprising given the high alcohol content. It is quite hoppy and very aromatic. Medium/amber colour, slightly cloudy.
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09.08.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 8:10 am by paul
This morning at around 5:30 the upstairs neighbors/TIC partners decided it was time to move in some furniture. It was an unwonderful wake-up call. After fitfully getting back to sleep, construction started up downstairs at 8:00, followed quickly by a car alarm and, as of a minute ago, one of those machines whose true name I have forgotten but I’ll describe as a tree shredder has started up.
I feel sorry for Jacquie, who has to try to keep working through all this. It’s enough to make a man look forward to going to work!
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