Let's see if this works now

Was pleased to find a freshly fallen shroud of snow in our neighborhood (and across the town as it turns out). Of course, being new parents, we couldn't resist the photo op.

Christmas Photos are here. Thanks for looking

Enspired by another post at the Oregon Blog: I enrolled at Lewis and Clark College in 1987, and was friends with some of the debate nerds. It was a crucial time in the world (fall of the Berlin wall and all that) and LC reflected that. Between 1987 and 1992 LC underwent a dramatic change in culture, educational goals, and political make up. We endured divestment from South Africa, divestment from same sex bathrooms, Political protests against Gulf War I (including a shanty town, symbolic graveyard, and the attack and abuse of protestors by fellow students), the rise of the Campus Republicans, the establishment of the Internet and World Wide Web, having the light shown on date rape, to a security department that could and would track your movements from dorm to dorm. It was a fun fun time. The recently departed President Mooney was hired on to fund raise pure and simple and to steer the college toward a strong role in international circles and scientific advances. The arts and humanities were deliberately left behind. Mooney oversaw the largest hike in tuition and the largest growth in administrative positions. Those professors and administrators who were not on board with the new philosophy were kindly shown the door, and if they wouldn't leave, had life made very difficult for them. Due largely to the increased costs, more students were transferring out of LC to two year and public colleges than were transferring in. Dorm rooms sat empty as those that remained fled the campus. And yet, that was just the beginning of the every mounting cost of higher education (and the process of learning to think critically about the world) that we still see today. As an Alum, I am still asked every year to donate to the school, but I can't bring myself to do so. LC is not the same institution I applied to and enrolled in. Any learning I took with me from the school came not from the classroom, but from the activities I found myself involved in. Student Gov't, Student Publications, Political Protests, Discussion Groups, etc... I can even point to the one instance that changed my life forever. I was a freshmen (sorry, first year student) just walking through The Templeton Center when the Student Body President (Kelly ??? I think) grabbed me by the shoulder and asked, "Do you support divestment from South Africa?" When I nodded my head affirmatively, she directed me to one of the meetings rooms and told me. "Stand here and don't leave. We're going to prevent the Board of Trustees from meeting unless they agree to divest." Then she left to recruit more students and I was hooked by activism.

Turkey Day at Nanny Rhoda's. Indigo's First Trip to Disneyland and more. All in photos. Enjoy!

It's amazing I work for a company that doesn't own its own Coffee Maker. So I am forced to walk next door to the Corner Market and buy from them. This does give me the advantage of theorizing over the most diabolical coffee cup problem. No, not styrofoam that will exist for 1000 years in the dump, nor the chemicals used to make said cup, not even the chemical addiction that caffiene causes... no. But rather the conundrum of the seam.

When you're using one of those lids with the raised small sip lip, you inevitably attempt to take a drink only to have some of the coffee leak out from the spot where the lid and the seam meet forming an imperfect union. I leave the actual hard mathmatics of this up to someone else, but I've worked out some of the simpler stuff.

A lid and the top of the cup both are round and therefore have 360 degrees. The seam itself takes about 1% or 3 degrees of the cup, but the raised portion of the lid, the most upstable part, is more like 20% or 72 degrees. So you have a 1 in 5 chance of putting on the top and and having the seam be somewhere in the drip zone. Can someone please solve this problem that is causing real anqst for us all???

Read this post. And had a few words to say. Don't know if you might be interested. But if you weren't you wouldn't be reading this blog now would you?

Hey, if Boston can have the Big Dig, we can have the Giant Swamp. Take everything from Memorial Colliseum down to Ross Bridge and Oaks Amusement Park and return it to its natural state. Cause, heck that will look better than a bunch of concrete. Seriously, I haven't lived in Portland for a while. I actually moved to SoCal to escape the traffic mess and poor economic options. Anything that would revitalize the economy is good with me. Heck, we here in Nevada (I've moved again)have a 100,000 tons of Nuclear waste we'd be happy to send Portland's way along with all the promised economic benefits it will bring. What Portland is really missing, and the true cause of Oregon's economic slump, are two senators who really weild power in Washington. Hatfield and Packwood, for all their faults, were really good at bringing home the bacon. Our once strong ties to the cash pipeline that is Washington have been long severed (the same thing that is happening in Nevada, btw) and our chances at benefiting from the 'war budget' are slim to none. NIKE can only make so many shoes and jackets for our special forces and most of those jobs are going to China anyway. So would an eastside Giant Swamp... er Big Dig... be golden? Yes, of course. Could the traffic be managed? Sure, but not like described on the website. It will require big ugly concrete somewhere, just not within sight of the river.

Now why didn't I think of this first.... Postcards from Las Vegas. Bender Style.

Neil Gaiman is asked 13 questions, in which we find out he carries a moleskin notebook. I guess my brother and I are in good company.

What are our national priorities (pdf file). Put it another way, what could we buy if we weren't dumping our national economy down the toilet that is Iraq.

Forget Spell Check

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it

deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig!

A few years ago, just before I left The Capital Group to move to Vegas, I wrote down some ideas on Mass Transit. I had planned to turn these into a whitepaper of sorts. I still might, but I haven't yet so it's probably best that I just hang them out to the world for consideration. Anyway, as we move toward a working monorail system and a potential high speed railway here in Vegas, let me present the...

Ten Unspoken Rules of Mass Transit

10. Mass Transit must move people from one place (entertainment, commercial, or residential) to another (entertainment, commercial, or residential) of a differing type.
9. Mass Transit is a web, not a straight line.
8. Monthly passes must be cheap. Daily transport must be affordable
7. Mass Transit must be accessible
6. Mass Transit must be clean and safe
5. The average transfer rate per trip should be within .25 of 1
4. Zoning laws surrounding stations must maximize pedestrian/carpool access to station
3. Transit corridors should, whenever possible, be established years before actual construction begins.
2. Pedestrian/Bikepaths feed -> Busses feed light rail loop -> light rail feeds intra-city/county lines.
1. Mass Transit must be exciting.

To #2 I'd add Segway to the Pedestrian/Bikepath bit. Obviously this needs to be expanded upon. Meanwhile check out monorails.org for great pictures of the Las Vegas monorail in its testing phase.

All writers of Fan Fiction need to read this. Just a small subsection of a very helpful website. It's amazing what is going on behind the public's back in the name of the DCMA and 'Copyright protection.'

Okay. Big news. Now that I've been cleared to go back to work (with limited lifting) by my doctor, I have an announcement to make. I'm employed again. I'm working as a Marketing and Internet/Ebay Salesperson for a Las Vegas company called "Front Row Sports." Most of FRSs sales are through their six local brick and mortar stores. They started their Ebay store 6 months ago and it is already outpacing their best selling B&M store. So, I've been hired to help out with the volume, try to increase sales, and do a little marketing work for the company as a whole. I'm excited to get back to work and have been thinking about ways to make their ebay store perform better all week. So, more on this later, of course.

I'm also excited because my cousin Kelly Doherty and her family will be in town. Haven't seen her since her wedding, I think.

Five Second Rule? Think again. It's amazing how large an impact science can have on our everyday life.

Apparently, I share my birthday with these celebs... funny that Ione Skye bit.

Beyonce Knowles 1981 Houston, Texas
Damon Wayans 1960 New York, New York
Dick York 1928 Ft. Wayne, IN
Ione Skye 1970
Judith Ivey 1951 El Paso, TX
Mitzi Gaynor 1930
Wes Bentley 1978 Jonesboro, Arkansas

Oh. I'm so happy. I got my first Zimbabwe scam email. I'll post it here in all its glory for your edification.


FROM:MRS,XXX XXXXX
E-MAIL:XXXXXXXXXXXXXX@yahoo.com
PHONE:NN-NN-NNN-7008.

DEAR SKYE,


MY NAME IS MRS, XXX XXXXX THE WIFE OF KENNEDY XXXXX WHO WAS
RECENTLY MURDERED IN THE LAND DISPUTE IN ZIMBABWE.YOU MIGHT
BE A SURPRISE TO YOU ABOUT WHERE I GOT YOUR CONTACT
ADDRESS.I GOT YOUR ADDRESS FROM THE AFRICAN CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE IN JOHANNESBURG,SOUTH AFRICA.

DURING THE CURRENT WAR AGAINST THE FARMERS IN ZIMBABWE
FROM THE SUPPORT MUGABE"S IDEAS, MUGABE SUPPOTERS
INVADED MY HUSBAND FARM AND BURNT EVERYTHING IN THE
FARM,KILLING MY HUSBAND AND MADE AWAY WITH A LOT OF
COSTLY FARM EQUIPMENTS IN MY HUSBAND FARM.

DURING THE CRISES AND BEFORE MY HUSBAND DEATH HE HAD
TAKEN ME AND MY ONLY SON TO DEPOSITED WITH ONE OF THE
FINANCE AND SECURITY COMPANY IN JOHANNESBURG,SOUTH AFRICA
THE SUM OF US$ 15 MILLION DOLLARS AS IF HE FORESAW THE
LOOMING DANGER IN ZIMBABWE.THIS AMOUNT WAS MENT FOR THE
PURCHASE OF NEW MACHINES AND CHEAMICAL FOR THE FARMS AND TO
ESTABLISHED OF NEW FARMS IN SWAZILAND.


WE THEN DECIDED TO LOOK FOR AN OVERSEAS FIRM AND
COMPANIES THAT WOULD BE OF ASSISTANCE TO MOVE THIS
FUND OUT OF SOUTH AFRICA BECAUSE AS ASYLUM SEEKERS WE
ARE NOT ALLOWED TO OPERATE ANY BANK ACCOUNT OR BUSINESS
WITHIN SOUTH AFRICA BASED ON THEY LAW.

WE HAVE AGREED TO OFFER YOU 20%OF THE TOTAL SUM FOR YOUR
KIND ASSISTANCE,10%WILL BE MAPPED OUT FOR ANY EXPENSES THAT
MAY BE INCURED IN THE COURSE OF THIS TRANSACTION AND
70%WILL BE FOR ME AND MY FAMILY TO INVEST IN YOUR
COUNTRY-UNDER YOU SUPERVISSION.

SINCE,I GOT THIS ADDRESS IS TRUE THAT I DID NOT KNOW
YOU IN PERSON,I DONT KNOW WHY I HAVE SUCH INTEREST IN
YOU.I STILL THANK GOD BECAUSE I WILL LIKE TO HAVE YOU
AS MY EVER PARTNER IN LIFE,WHEN I COME TO YOUR COUNTRY
TO INVEST.

I MRS,XXX AND MY SON (XXXXXX XXXXX)HAVE MUCH TO
DISCUSS WITH YOU BUT IT WILL BE WHEN YOU COME TO SOUTH
AFRICA TO HELP US FOR THE TRANSFER OF THIS FUND AND FOR
THE RELEASE OF THE FUND FROM THE SECURITY COMPANY.

ALL I WANT YOU TO DO IS TO FURNISH ME WITH YOUR ENTIRE
PERSONAL PHONE AND FAX NUMBERS FOR EASY COMMUNICATION.

NOTE THAT THIS TRANSACTION IS 100%RISK FREE AND
ABSOLUTELY CONFIDENTAIL-SINCE ALL THE VITAL DOCUMENTS
REGARDS TO RELEASE OF THIS FUND IS WITH MY SON BILLS
HERE IN JOHANNESBUERG,AND IF YOU ARE INTRESTED TO HELP US
PLEASE CONTACT MY SON XXXXXX THROUGH HIS E-MAIL OR
PHONE(E-MAIL:(XXXXXXXXXXXX@hotmail.com)PH:NN-NN-NN-7008.WHILEI
IMPLORE YOU TO MAINTAIN THE ABSOLUTE SECRECY REQUIRED IN
THIS TRANSACTION.

BEST REGARDS

MRS,XXX XXX,
UNBEHALF OF MY SON.


I feel like my life is complete now.

Heya,

It's been a busy 11 days since Indigo was born. He's a great kid, sleeps a lot and is only really fussy when he has gas troubles. I've promised you more details, but those will have to wait a bit.

Stacey's mom, Rhoda, was here until yesterday and my mom, Patricia, is coming in today. It's nice to have an extra pair of hands around the house to help us take care of the little things (like cooking, sweeping, etc.) and let us concentrate on Indigo's needs.

Meanwhile, I've started to list some stuff on ebay again. Check it out if you're interested.

Guess What?!?!?! I'm a papa! Here's proof:



Ma and child are home and doing well. More deets later. I promise.

This is either a very good idea, or a recipe for mass murder. We report. You decide.

Another reason why Texas should be quarantined.