tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60966462012-02-16T18:04:53.603-08:00Ham Radio CentralBillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.comBlogger4411100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-13455825224587322592012-01-03T15:25:00.000-08:002012-01-03T15:26:21.934-08:00My sweet little Brenna is now 2 years old. She's a craft one, and parrots her big sister often these days. I have a lot of cute videos of this, but the time to edit and post I need more of. In the meantime, here's a photo album that chronicles the past year for our family.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-75606852236594782472011-12-26T21:55:00.001-08:002011-12-27T09:46:46.508-08:00It was a very meaningful Christmas this year. This is the "zone" for excitement in the girls (4 and almost 2). We opened presents at 7am and then headed south to Margo and Greg's to cook for the extended family (as we did with Thanksgiving). My focus was pretty much exclusively on not fucking up the 18 lb. Prime Rib and keeping the other eye on the Pack clinching the #1 seed against the hated Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-12681359639625093152011-09-28T10:22:00.000-07:002011-09-28T10:24:07.972-07:00Today is Olivia's 4th birthday! Time has flown by. When she was born we were still living in Santa Clara, not sure where we were headed next. The sleepless nights, pumping for extra milk, worries about jaundice, bewilderment about how our lives had just changed, excitement for the future...it was pretty overwhelming. Mostly, that sense of being overwhelmed was in a good way - we wanted this. And Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-70397931626068074522011-09-15T23:01:00.000-07:002011-09-15T23:01:10.868-07:00Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-7391447262525349742011-05-13T13:30:00.000-07:002011-05-13T13:30:27.876-07:00Approaching the weekend where K and some of her pals go north to Calistoga and I wrangle the girls. We have plans. First, music class for Livie at Acme House of Music...love that shop and Annette is an awesome teacher. She's so patient with those tots, and Livie is not easy to keep still. Then I'm debating whether or not to take them to a District 4 townhall meeting...I may not. It may be too Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-81505411131536430992011-05-13T13:16:00.000-07:002011-05-13T13:16:04.476-07:00Another in the multimedia series called "Post significant events that happened in your life before the proliferation of digital content..." or something like that.
Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-40527209230562220142011-03-24T12:56:00.001-07:002011-03-24T12:58:48.787-07:00
Better late than never, right? With all of the things that have happened since that gorgeous summer's day in 2001, the most notable is that digital cameras really proliferated shortly after that. Thanks to K's mom for having these old negatives finally processed, almost ten years later.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-43758758513189828062011-02-22T23:02:00.000-08:002011-02-22T23:02:54.169-08:00Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-90935559406720305312011-01-20T15:12:00.000-08:002011-01-20T15:12:58.379-08:00Happy 2011 from a dwindling repository of posts. I don't come here much anymore. It seems my thoughts have been truncated to 140 characters a pop. Well, I have good reasons I suppose (see prev post).
Predictions? Don't want to jinx it, especially Packer/Bear bowl followed (hopefully) by the second Superbowl in as many weeks. Goals? Get them in order. Maintaining is fine but where am I headed? Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-62217086044878072642010-12-10T13:54:00.000-08:002010-12-10T13:55:42.084-08:00
This is pretty much a summary of my life right now ;)Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-5233837810543652082010-10-22T11:15:00.000-07:002010-10-22T11:15:14.143-07:00People seem to be forgetting something about the recovery from this recession: Since the 2008 Mortgage meltdown brought us into the deepest doo doo since the Great Depression, of course the recovery is going to take longer. And let's not forget, the previous recession was a tech bust, and the "recovery" from that was another speculative (real estate) bubble, lulling us into an unrealistic idea ofBillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-64959851932636268222010-09-30T23:55:00.000-07:002010-10-01T00:01:12.582-07:00Here's my beef with Don Perata...
His website has this quote:
"The Oakland City Charter mandates a form of government that demands a strong mayor. A key feature in City Hall’s failure over the last eight years has been its lack of strong leadership."
And then it has this picture. (From here, bottom image)
Talk about having it both ways!Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-49253272995303265342010-09-13T10:17:00.000-07:002010-09-13T10:18:18.112-07:00When people, generally anti-tax and government republicans, look with misty eyes on the Eisenhower Presidency about how great things were back then, I like to provide them with this link:
http://www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/151.html#fed_individual_rate_history-june2010
This is a document that shows the tax brackets each year since the income tax was enacted in 1913. It's a Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-75154267956942337202010-09-10T11:05:00.000-07:002010-09-10T11:46:52.484-07:00Rambling rant for today. There are 51 days left until the mid-terms on 11/2.
The bankruptcy of supply side, aka "trickle down" economics bears repeating now more than ever as we approach the expiration of the Bush tax cuts. Obama wants to extend the cuts for the middle class but allow the cuts on the top rate to expire, and it looks like the strategy is to provide two votes: the first to extend Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-63166509483896744692010-09-09T09:21:00.000-07:002010-09-09T10:21:26.239-07:00Campaign season is on and I have some things to say.
"More tried, less achieved."
The above words are forever ingrained in my mind thanks to my English Lit. 101 Professor, commenting about an over broad term paper, but it could also be applied to my liberal and silent moderate friends who plan on sitting on the sidelines for the midterms over disappointment of Obama's Presidency. What I mean Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-60561523283668053912010-08-23T11:34:00.000-07:002010-08-23T11:34:37.321-07:00Goodbye, vinyl siding!Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-75909091912768585002010-08-16T09:55:00.000-07:002010-08-16T09:55:12.476-07:00This year's community walk for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is approaching, fast. K & I are starting off with a modest goal of $100, since we've tapped friends and family for years. I'm also trying to tap into my place of employment, to see if they'll hop aboard.
It's been almost five years now since my good friend Jon Thompson passed away, and fourteen since K's brother Ryan Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-5372083903411820072010-08-11T15:58:00.000-07:002010-08-11T15:58:05.630-07:00Gigging with Abbey and Eli this evening at the Bottom of the Hill, a little horn blowin'. Must. Pace. Self.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-6947830582568899852010-07-31T06:35:00.000-07:002010-07-31T06:35:56.245-07:00I have decided to institute a series of "Web Free" Fridays, the frequency of which will be determined. I'll have more on the subject and the reasons behind this soon, but yesterday was the first and it was a success. Web Free Friday simply means no use of computer, internet or mobile web devices for the day. I found myself reaching for the Blackberry to check email from time to time and remindingBillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-3525781284115067292010-06-30T11:57:00.001-07:002010-06-30T11:59:28.604-07:00Oh right, the third thing: My love for Oakland notwithstanding, the imminent Mehserle verdict + 4th of July = Armed and dangerous. We'll be getting out of Dodge.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-64868640425489570002010-06-30T10:46:00.000-07:002010-06-30T10:46:19.672-07:00Today was the last day of "freedom" for casual carpool. Starting tomorrow they're charging $2.50 for carpoolers (and $6 for everyone else during peak hours) on the Bay Bridge. I'd made my opinions known about the skewed logic in charging carpoolers when one of the cited reasons by the Bay Area Toll Authority is to make up for lost revenue due to decreased ridership (original post here). But now Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-56483294117496452992010-06-26T23:44:00.001-07:002010-06-26T23:44:56.805-07:00Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-13096248086540340662010-06-09T14:10:00.000-07:002010-06-09T14:10:13.004-07:00Downloaded "High Violet" by the National and "Veckatimest" by Grizzly Bear this past week. These are the biggest of the indies I can think of at the moment. One proggy, the other somewhat anthemic and 4ADish, almost gothlike. I'll leave you to guess which one is which.
K's dad and stepmom arrive today after a cross country drive, so the house will be packed for the next week and a half or so. I Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-15669230540729697872010-06-06T08:02:00.000-07:002010-06-06T08:02:37.169-07:00Just say no to rednecks. I'm reminded of that in the whole Arizona brouhaha. I love it how some people from my home town (and some in my family) get all aroused over "illegals" in this country. You know, the ones who take all the good jobs like picking lettuce in the hot sun all day for sub-minimum wage. And some have relocated to places like, oh, Mesa, Arizona, talking about how people who don'tBillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-12598843997978673302010-06-04T10:58:00.000-07:002010-06-04T10:58:22.967-07:00Trouble in Dumbfuckistan? Seriously, I read TPM daily and have been watching the Haley story unfold with some bemusement. I rather agree with Eric Kleefeld's post last week. It seems she does have the makings of a national politician. There's only one problem: her party is infested with racist, middle-aged teabaggers.
Meanwhile, some may wonder why I'm not doing much music these days? In Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-42890642470940886332010-05-28T10:06:00.000-07:002010-05-28T10:06:03.315-07:00Long weekend approaches, currently suffering from "presenteeism" at work, I think I'm one of three people on this side of the wall at the office. I found a really great set of recordings on Global Groove, slowed down versions of the Robert Johnson recordings, and am taking the liberty today to play through a song-by-song playlist of the classic v. slowed down versions. So far the difference is Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-43590164892751819132010-05-20T13:49:00.000-07:002010-05-20T13:49:35.884-07:00All the chatter aside about this week's early primary elections, it looks to me like the right's divided between GOP and Teabaggers, and I don't see a similar rift between the Dems and the Progressive caucus. Are Progressives entirely happy with Obama's centrist pragmatic approach? Well, no. But we have the 2000 election and 8 years of Bush to remind us that it's probably best to remain unified Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-86277402986287521122010-04-30T10:06:00.000-07:002010-04-30T10:09:45.465-07:00This blog be gettin' moldy, aye? HCR passed, Financial Reform passed GOP "filibust out of these jeans," too. Jason showed up to surprise me for my 40th birthday. Brenna's sitting up, smiling, cooing. We've passed the year mark in our house, got the $8000 tax credit, all's stabilized on the work front, but Livie's troublemaker twos. That about sums it up.
On the subject of turning 40, I don't Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-88608456911533863852010-02-27T08:01:00.000-08:002010-02-27T08:07:35.576-08:00No, I didn't watch the whole 6-7 hours of the Health Care Summit the other day, but I did watch the end, and then later went and watched a few clips. What I saw was a President clearly in command, able to cut through all of the talking points and rhetoric and spin and put chumps in their place. He knew the GOP was gonna show up with props and the same old arguments. One of the Republicans, forgetBillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-71722426624495550512010-02-24T09:09:00.000-08:002010-02-24T11:26:53.007-08:00Here is a pretty honest assessment of what's going on in the Health Care debate. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens tomorrow at the summit. The GOP have put themselves in a box, and they have Anthem Blue Cross to thank in part.
UPDATE: Indeed, there are signs there's finally a 'mo shift going on. Here and here. And there's also this reminder about messaging. What the Repugs are now Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-45609373478379879342010-02-23T10:14:00.000-08:002010-02-23T10:15:32.966-08:00The free-rent in my head continues. Pawlenty, who thinks he's gonna be the next President, is all for "phasing out" Social Security. The thing that makes me most sick about "phasing out" Social Security is the hypocrisy of people who support folks like this. Total pussy move, too. "Can't alienate the elderly voters in my district who support me, can I? Otherwise I'll stand on my 'principles.'" Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-76522436192172158972010-02-22T16:23:00.000-08:002010-02-22T16:23:11.154-08:00Since we bought the house almost a year ago now, we had this vague idea of the first time home buyer's tax credit, money coming back that would be useful to...reinvest in the house to do a seizmic retrofit, or some such big project. Then reality hit. We've been broke, which is to say cash poor, but we're making ends meet. We had to take on some debt to get appliances and the like, and Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-71972361872895205272010-02-21T08:16:00.000-08:002010-02-21T09:10:00.247-08:00Okay, I'm going to try and be done with caring about what the wingnuts think. As Roger Ebert put it recently (about resentment and caring about what others think of you), it's like "allowing someone to live rent-free in a room in your head."
Instead, I'll try and provide some analysis. The 2010 midterms look to be a classic one in longstanding patterns for a first term President. The oppositionBillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-83998762581359505772010-02-19T13:07:00.000-08:002010-02-19T13:07:26.560-08:00From the wanker that brought us the Governator: "It's not like we want to do any of those." Right. The GOP enacts tax cuts for the wealthy, starts two wars, works really hard at bankrupting the treasury so that someone like Paul Ryan is "teeing up the only possibilities," which is to eliminate Medicare and Social Security.
Folks, this was their strategy all along. One needn't look any further Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-36644057646054951912010-02-17T10:11:00.000-08:002010-02-17T10:11:15.272-08:00Mount Vernon Statement, gobbledygook.
The usual suspects are there, a.k.a. the referentless "some."
As in..."Some insist that America must change, cast off the old and put on the new. But where would this lead — forward or backward, up or down? Isn’t this idea of change an empty promise or even a dangerous deception?"
Who are those folks, who want to cast off the old and put on the new?
OkBillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-2433060039051319722010-02-12T14:03:00.000-08:002010-02-12T14:07:53.433-08:00I'm officially on the wagon (again), this time until St. Patty's day. This is one of those ongoing "take stock" kinda things, a gut check to see if I get the DT's and need to really worry about the beer/wine intake. I had the booze blues for the early half of the week, but am over the hump now. Had to take an Advil on Monday and Tuesday night, but now I'm fine. Mostly it was just me being pissed Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-21506884748901562902010-02-11T11:57:00.000-08:002010-02-11T12:01:49.255-08:00Every time there's a snowstorm you can bet there's someone (see yesterday's post for what I've decided to call them) who sends a political cartoon that usually has: a. A house buried in snow on it b. A reference to Al Gore c. Some flippant comment about "global warming."
Okay, fucktards, listen up: Global warming doesn't mean the temperature in every bumfuck backwater in the U.S.A. and beyond Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-49865998850027116322010-02-10T10:11:00.001-08:002010-02-10T10:12:20.709-08:00Thoughts on the word “retarded”The latest Palin induced kerfuffle—and there are many things she pulls out of her ass that the beltway press parrots these days—is over Rahm Emanuel’s apparent off the record use of the word when talking about liberal democrats in the context of the health care reform debate. She’s shocked, SHOCKED, that anyone would use such a word and of course she called for his Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-37894240910779041912010-01-20T10:09:00.001-08:002010-01-20T10:18:39.827-08:00I don't know if it's possible for me to get through a day without looking at a news or political site, but if it were, today would be that day. It looks like the pitchforks are out, and I'm reminded that, while the two party pendulum swing is as American as apple pie, I don't think the 21st century is going to be an American century because of it. Then again, it appears the patterns beginning Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-32392195315319937712010-01-18T15:20:00.000-08:002010-01-18T15:37:42.996-08:00First day back at the office since the holiday shutdown and my two weeks of paternity leave (I call it that, though technically it's regular accrued time off), and it's quite a soft landing, being that today is MLK day and everyone else is off. I spent the first hour catching up on emails, but mostly I just went around the office wishing everyone a happy new year, and thanking them for the well Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-77914262601927952872010-01-07T08:28:00.001-08:002010-01-07T08:28:16.619-08:00Brenna's here!Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-88490286502802798712009-12-10T15:49:00.000-08:002009-12-10T15:57:57.652-08:00A convergence of many of my geek-like tendencies: I watched the video of Obama's Nobel Acceptance Speech (lecture) this morning while reading the text as prepared for delivery, and noted the differences between what was written and what he was saying. Later, when I viewed the text of the speech on the New York Times website, I decided I'd copy that version and the original prepared remarks into Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-59164982273385568012009-12-09T11:09:00.000-08:002009-12-09T11:19:32.489-08:00Last weekend the nesting ritual began after a brief "Braxton-Hicks" scare, so we're by and large prepared for the arrival of our second daughter some time between now and next month. This pregnancy has been tougher on K's body, a lot more kicking going on. Overall it seems to have progressed a lot faster. And maybe I've been in a bit more denial than I should, as in "holy shit, we're actually Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-54753197813317840522009-11-08T10:06:00.001-08:002009-11-08T10:15:34.925-08:00The Bay Area Toll Authority, otherwise known as BATA, is currently weighing a toll increase for all bridges in the SF Bay Area, purportedly for seizmic retrofitting and to make up a shortfall in revenue due to, according to this article, decreased ridership and increased operating expenses. They also reference to the fact that the bond markets have done poorly in the past couple of years. Well, Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-44393035565446411512009-10-31T17:23:00.000-07:002009-10-31T17:24:19.067-07:00From Happy Halloween!Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-455227560357991472009-10-30T21:29:00.000-07:002009-10-30T21:41:58.502-07:00Digging the new Flaming Lips record, thanks to Brian at work for letting me borrow it. I have a deep admiration for anyone who has gotten to the point where they can do whatever the fuck they want and eke out a living doing that. But I sit here not knowing what kind of sacrifices are made other than knowing what they do is extremely difficult for the average group of people to pull off. And I Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-7106642989324234152009-10-17T08:13:00.001-07:002009-10-17T08:13:05.405-07:00From Livie Mini MoviesBillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-79196276610954369552009-10-16T20:54:00.000-07:002009-10-16T21:05:10.567-07:00"Dancing with Daddy" is back. Starting this week, Livie has gotten back into this before bath time routine, now dancing on her own two feet instead of in the Bjorn like the early days. There was a time, when she was very little, where I would put her in the Bjorn and we'd dance to all sorts of fun obscurities. A favorite record became this one, an early record with the great Brazilian guitarist, Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-36644661938743080052009-10-09T14:42:00.001-07:002009-10-09T15:02:55.452-07:00So, when I heard the news about Obama getting the Nobel Peace Prize this morning, I'm sure my reaction was the same as everyone else's except for the committee in charge of awarding the peace prize: I was stunned. And for that brief split second, everyone on earth who follows the course of world events was united in that sentiment, probably. No one would have expected it. Was it a bit premature? Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-58299731969315913792009-09-29T10:02:00.001-07:002009-09-29T10:06:32.075-07:00It's been a while. What, with Facebook, Twitter, trying to stay busy (and employed) at work, and a seemingly endless list of chores around the house, and with baby #2 approaching, I'm trying to find the brainspace to think other thoughts (besides politics and how outrageous some people in this country are at the moment). I will say things: something's bugging me, but I can't quite put a finger onBillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-3202704326318876502009-08-21T09:22:00.000-07:002009-08-21T09:23:08.455-07:00Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-67973478642950035242009-08-19T20:39:00.001-07:002009-08-19T20:39:18.288-07:00Here's a slideshow of our trip back to the midwest.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-71353772471741548092009-08-18T15:54:00.000-07:002009-08-18T15:55:19.818-07:00Brett, eat shit. May you have 30 picks this year.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-14225727712412070892009-08-05T05:39:00.000-07:002009-08-05T06:26:50.803-07:00Lifting a Weight:Today is my last work day for a while, we go on vacation to Wisconsin to visit my family. I'm up early for one last client "beat down" conference call at 7am sharp. It's 5:40 now and I can't sleep. Partly this is because, thanks to a discovery on our bookshelves by way of "special delivery" from Livie, of a passage of a letter contained in a collection of letters by one Kahlil Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-34206335305108121292009-08-02T21:10:00.000-07:002009-08-02T21:13:37.886-07:00 Oldie but a goodie.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-85947662039168151372009-07-29T21:20:00.000-07:002009-07-29T22:02:17.026-07:00So...my mother in law decided it was time to give up the old 1990 Toyota 4Runner V6 4-Wheel drive on account of this new "Cash for clunkers" program. What I didn't really know at first is what was in store. It turns out what she had in mind was to cash it in and get a new 2009 Honda Fit. Thing is, she recently had bought herself a Honda Civic Hybrid, so the question was...who would drive this newBillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-46048079700844332502009-07-07T11:38:00.000-07:002009-07-07T11:47:33.192-07:00This is big. A whole lot of people made a lot of money off of regular folks' misery, especially last summer. And then some of those, of course, gambled, then lost big.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-62197792834679720872009-07-01T11:46:00.001-07:002009-07-04T22:02:22.388-07:00Cheney can bloviate all he wants but this story tells us the real truth about why we went into Iraq.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-63407497446303181392009-06-25T11:20:00.000-07:002009-06-25T11:30:42.952-07:00Trundling deep into the week already, yet thinking about last weekend at Camp Mather and Yosemite. I must remind myself that I work on a set schedule for something I may not exactly be that passionate about so that my family can do things like this: Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-78103920816503553942009-06-17T22:59:00.000-07:002009-06-17T23:16:10.766-07:00Now that I have shown some selected photos of the interior of our house - well decorated, tastefully designed, thank you very much (Kiera)...there is the curiosity that is the outside (and underbelly) of the house. It is this subject to which I now turn my attention, and the amount of work that lies ahead. I will start with the exterior. To wit, a photo worth at least 1,000 words: From Our New Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-58484906774509044392009-06-17T15:05:00.001-07:002009-06-17T15:05:29.756-07:00Skunk hat, this from my mom: "The skunk hat was made for fishing guide Bud Norton who gave them to his favorite fishing customers in the late '50s or early '60s. Bob had one made extra-large for himself and wore it a few times just for the hell of it."Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-11481845175286702562009-06-16T09:29:00.000-07:002009-06-16T11:18:19.209-07:00Halloween, 1987:The hat I'm wearing is, in fact, real skunk fur. I'll have to fact check with my dad for the story, but it was a Truesdell Furs creation, back when he was a relative youngster. Guessing it was a prank. The only link I could find online about Truesdell's, which at one time was run by my grandpa and later, my dad, was a realtor site indicating the old building has been sold. About Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-6810683297256646472009-06-15T08:41:00.000-07:002009-06-15T08:43:08.521-07:00Some Livie pics so far this year:Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-6159940985478084982009-06-12T15:16:00.001-07:002009-06-12T15:46:38.160-07:00In all of my political ranting and raving, I failed to mention officially in here that we have, indeed, bought a house. So what I mused about here has in fact come to pass. I still can't believe it. I have to rub my eyes on a daily basis.Since closing on March 31st and moving in on April 18th, we've been slowly settling in as well as making some modifications. I'll probably spend the next few Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-41141493866188459792009-05-27T09:47:00.000-07:002009-05-27T09:48:18.460-07:00In fact, I'm more shocked by this.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-17445441706581366242009-05-27T08:25:00.000-07:002009-05-27T08:45:04.298-07:00The California Supreme Court ruling on Prop. 8 yesterday was a foregone conclusion. I'm somewhat surprised that anyone would be shocked by it. It was more shocking that the Proposition passed in the first place. Point is, opponents of same sex marriage have a small window of time. Eventually it will pass in California, and I suspect it will be on the ballot again and again until it does. And I Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-17771892382653406452009-05-21T16:02:00.000-07:002010-09-28T08:52:42.988-07:00The Three Pillars of Dysfunction in California’s Government:
1. Term limits for the legislature
2. 2/3rds majority requirement to pass a budget
3. The proposition system
John Lennon once quoted Harry Nilsson, who obviously had a Yogi Berra moment when he said “Everything’s the opposite of what it is, isn’t it?” So goes for our current system of governance here in the state of California. ThreeBillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-49498460886259568482009-05-11T14:59:00.000-07:002009-05-11T15:08:38.869-07:00What a Dick.I'm reminded of Ceauşescu. Unrepentant to the end. Think Cheney could survive a waterboarding? How about a dunk tank? Hot tub?Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-69787235821230804272009-05-06T06:43:00.001-07:002009-05-06T06:43:37.017-07:00Sad.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-61221840152710927212009-04-30T11:22:00.000-07:002009-04-30T11:23:32.479-07:00Mwahahahaha, keep pointing fingers at each other repubs. I dare 'ya! Losing sucks, doesn't it? Nice to be on the other end once in a while.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-30854212722244719432009-04-29T16:14:00.000-07:002009-04-29T16:15:22.473-07:00Smaller, but better. Hordes of folks are fleeing the Socialist Northeast and moving south so that they can vote Republican. Classic.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-67184636953786809102009-04-29T11:22:00.001-07:002009-04-29T11:26:32.813-07:00With all of the job losses, it's amazing how some manage to hold down a job, much less in the U.S. House of Representatives. Bachmann is better than the Onion.In other news, here is a couch.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-68522317004896311682009-04-28T13:25:00.000-07:002009-04-28T13:30:03.002-07:00One needn't look much further than Arlen Specter's defection from GOP ranks today to see that the current trajectory of that party spells disaster for them. Form ranks behind the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and other talk radio blowhards at your own peril. We saw signs of it in the election (Colin Powell and, for what it's worth, Buckley Jr.'s son), and it continues. It is a two party Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-52949925946874096372009-04-23T13:56:00.000-07:002009-04-23T13:58:11.173-07:00Check out the guitar solo at about 3:25ish. 11 years old. Hahahahaha! School of ROCK!On the other hand, I am reminded how l o n g that Journey song is.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-13739577526634095632009-04-23T13:15:00.000-07:002009-04-23T13:22:20.442-07:00So many things are converging at once it's hard to say how I'm feeling. We're settling into our new house, liking the new neighborhood so far, staying focused on that. Meanwhile, another round of layoffs at work, safe for now, but one can never be too sure. I've been through a number of downturns, but have managed to stay standing. I take solace in the fact that there will always be a need for Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-43019797125918452382009-04-22T11:08:00.001-07:002009-04-22T11:08:16.798-07:00Memo to Dick Cheney: Go fuck yourself.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-83843333722801621822009-04-20T20:37:00.000-07:002009-04-20T20:38:24.071-07:00Love the quotations from Reuters in the following paragraph: Cheney said in a "Fox News" interview with Sean Hannity that he found it disturbing that Obama did not also release memos that Cheney said documented the effectiveness of the interrogations -- a point contested by some experts.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-50722601423205754402009-04-16T14:45:00.000-07:002009-04-16T14:50:06.138-07:00I've been threatening to do this for years, and finally got around to it. Thanks to the expanded playlist on myspace, I've created a page for les plymouths and have managed to post 5/7ths of the record, "cruz is the lilac." I was going to wait until I scanned some old photos, but then thought...fuck it.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-47384147922103535832009-04-03T23:14:00.000-07:002009-04-03T23:23:13.723-07:00With all of this apocalyptic talk from the wingnuts of America, old white dudes flying their flags upside down, carrying pitchforks and such, I am reminded of what Molly Ivins said (RIP) a number of years ago about Pat Buchanan and his "culture wars" crap: "That speech was probably better in the original German."Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-33628363666417019822009-03-23T09:24:00.000-07:002009-03-23T09:26:58.321-07:00Looks like this "crossed in the mail," as it were. It was my dad who was making this very argument just yesterday. If Laurence Tribe is coming out and saying the bill is probably unconstitutional, you know the Roberts/Scalia/Thomas/Kennedy/Scalito will too.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-61932614424601993212009-03-23T09:13:00.001-07:002009-03-23T09:22:44.577-07:00The 90% "AIG" bonus taxation bill currently in Congress is all about the 2010 House elections. These guys know it will die in the Senate, or if not there, you think the Supreme Court as currently configured will let that one stand? I keep hearing all this talk about populist rage, how Obama and the administration are becoming endangered by it. As I mentioned before the election, and will repeat Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-10924536729942004902009-03-22T16:20:00.000-07:002009-03-22T16:27:57.884-07:00While disappointed by President Obama's Special Olympics bowling crack last week, I look forward to watching him get his ass kicked in a match against Kolan McConuighey, and that will do more to remind people that people with physical or cognitive disabilities can be very gifted, too.I'm actually bullish on the economy for the next few years. We're back to reality, that wealth that was made and Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-48479824924282551882009-03-04T13:48:00.000-08:002009-03-04T13:51:51.603-08:00The party of Limbaugh. I like the way that sounds. It sounds like marginalization. Couldn't see that coming with those McCain/Palin rallies in October, could you? You know the ones, where the old geezer has a monkey hanging from a noose labeled "Obama" and the "Osama Obama is a terrorist" meme? Yeah, good luck with that.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-32556294661219937562009-03-03T11:52:00.000-08:002009-03-03T11:55:05.066-08:00Right. So the Dow's back to 1997 levels. When you consider the fake dot com boom/bust and resulting mortgage echo boom/bust, this number seems closer to the truth to me. I'm not an economist, but what made all that wealth created, then lost, on a macro scale, any different from what went down with Bernie Madoff?Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-74417261549248295542009-02-19T08:30:00.001-08:002009-02-19T08:31:01.677-08:00Gotta love those repubs and their "principled opposition" to the stimulus package.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-61199964767204835462009-02-15T11:41:00.000-08:002009-02-15T11:48:37.084-08:00Since my last post, we found a house we liked, put in an offer, got a counter offer, we countered again and they accepted. I'm not going to jinx it just yet, but it looks like we'll be homeowners in the Bay Area by April. Inspections are next, as well as finalizing the loan process we've been preapproved for. There are some hurdles to go before we can say for sure, but I do believe I hear the fatBillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-73236547385053792712009-02-07T11:09:00.000-08:002009-02-07T11:16:54.274-08:00I've had a frustrating morning trying to edit a couple of small .mpg videos, and have given up for now. I'm also coming to the realization that Macs confuse me. I mean, it makes sense, my day to day existence is on PCs, and haven't owned a Mac for very long. I'm typying this on K's new PC laptop, for instance. But that's because of the way our apt. is laid out and where Livie's crib now is. We'reBillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-76134236116735192962009-02-06T15:34:00.000-08:002009-02-06T15:43:10.906-08:00New correction. It has come to my (own) attention that I was wrong in citing the Viking choke against Arizona as a game in 2004. It was actually this game, in 2003.Hats off to the Steelers (that was SO last weekend). It makes sense, they were the first to get to four, so it only makes sense that they leapfrog Dallas and SF to 6. I don't think SF's gonna be back for a while, and I'm going to Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-75310983897461434532009-02-06T13:54:00.000-08:002009-02-06T14:05:38.176-08:00Been a while. I'm spending more time on facebook than in here these days, so it goes. Too much media. So what's new? Livie's 16 months, walking, talking, climbing, causing a ruckus. She's very strong willed. That part she gets from her mama. And she's a little bit of an imp. That part she gets from me. I'm starting to put some mini videos up on YouTube.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-18447490614412490962009-01-12T09:08:00.000-08:002009-01-12T09:20:54.993-08:00On to other subjects. How about that Cinderella Bloodbath (patent pending) over the weekend in the NFL? The Cardinals?! Really. And the Ravens? Hmmm. Who'd have thunk it. Well, I hate the Baltimore Ravens, but could the coming Super Bowl matchup play out like this T-Shirt?On one of the Beulah tours, forget which one, we played a show in D.C. and some kid wearing this T-Shirt managed to make it Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-56288529485122439532008-12-31T09:59:00.000-08:002008-12-31T10:36:26.669-08:00Taking stock: What have we learned this year? Nothing new, really. What goes up, must come down, the higher they go, the harder they fall, and that the arc of history bent towards Obama in 2008. Who'da thunk it? I can say with pride that I was a supporter of his since the moment he entered the race in February, 2007. We can thank Kerry for making Barack keynote speaker in 2004. Often my father, Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-76877244222051621092008-12-19T10:04:00.000-08:002008-12-19T10:15:21.556-08:00This may be counterintuitive, but I am actually ok with Obama picking Warren for the invocation at the inauguration. I mean, for one, he's not picking him for a sermon. It will be like, "let us pray" and maybe a couple of paragraphs praying for the families, yadda yadda. He's not gonna say "I hate fags" or anything like that. Obama can use this opportunity to neuter some of the wingnuts while Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-65690776560438899422008-12-18T15:22:00.000-08:002008-12-18T15:24:02.774-08:00Can someone please tell me, really, what the difference is between what Madoff did and the global economy as currently configured?Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-44330483803126285852008-11-11T13:45:00.001-08:002008-11-11T13:45:48.250-08:00Here is a spot-on article from Michael Lewis, author of "Liar's Poker" and "Moneyball," which explains the root cause of the current financial mess.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-91750217945317415822008-11-06T16:31:00.001-08:002008-11-06T16:35:28.566-08:00The Obama victory is the final nail in the coffin of the age of corpulence. Fat people with fat cars and fat McMansions due to fat paychecks based on a fake economy....the age of corpulence. From here on out we're due for a reality check. Starting with the financial system, we'll modernize the regulatory framework so that things like credit default swaps don't slip by under the radar and the Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-19282204393688901072008-11-05T23:19:00.000-08:002008-11-05T23:24:51.009-08:00Vindication, victory! First drink in two months, by the way.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-77176708784340399412008-10-28T09:51:00.000-07:002008-10-28T09:55:28.252-07:00Am I wrong in thinking the 30 minute ad buy in prime time for Obama's campaign has a hidden danger in turning off folks who might be on the fence? Something in my gut tells me this is a bad idea. Or maybe I'm drinking too much tea or something? I secretly hope the World Series doesn't go to game 6. I just hope that whatever the content is doesn't give fodder for those who might think this is an Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-60079900502338367272008-10-27T08:49:00.001-07:002008-10-27T13:40:37.062-07:00Evacuate? In our moment of triumph?I'm reminded of that line in Star Wars this morning, turned on its end, I guess. Before I started my daily round of blog reading, I was thinking to myself: "Eight days until this Historic election, and it's looking good for Obama and thus, for America!"And then I start reading about the coming right wing populist fascism that will threaten our very fabric. This Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-25195546582069103582008-10-24T11:23:00.000-07:002008-10-24T14:36:15.802-07:00As if we didn't already know that the McCain campaign's final solution, if you will, to try and eke out a win was through race baiting, now there's this hoax which seals the deal. Now, I'm not saying they planted the hoax, but they were all too quick to hop on board.And I think it's one of the reasons why moderate, and thinking Repubs are doing the previously unthinkable and endorsing Obama. Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6096646.post-3406028817280539532008-10-23T08:56:00.000-07:002008-10-23T11:43:07.072-07:00So, Hank Jr.'s against Obama. Shocker. These guys are still bitter over the "bitter" flap. What's worse, saying (and I'm paraphrasing now) "I can see why some might get bitter and cling to slogans like 'god, guts and guns' without thinking shit through about the plutocrats in disguise they've been voting for all these years?" Or saying (still paraphrasing) "People who live in small towns are the Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07725343112293384851noreply@blogger.com0