Reset

Wow, Nov 19 2008?? Guess this became a bit of a neglected exercise. So, reset. Start again. Hopefully there will be less bitching this time around, since its not an election year. (Then again, anymore, when is it not an election year.).

Just so we're all clear here at this point my goals for 2010 include 3500 miles, a trip to Costa Rica, remain gainfully employed, The total 200 and potentially maybe a bike race and a new 29'er. Tho, those last -2- are definitely "soft targets".

Facebook has started to take up some of my time, its interesting seeing old friends, high school, college and otherwise, that you thought you'd never see again. I've managed to actually reacquaint myself with some folks from "back in the day" and firm up communication w/ people that were once or twice a year contacts.

A good question.

So I’ve discovered the mind boggling time wasting potential that is “facebook”. This site is an incredible loss of productivity for the country as a whole. That said, I will plead the 5th when it comes to how much “at work” time I’ve spent there. The question at hand is whether or not to post this URL at that site. Do I continue to enjoy the mental masturbation experience of no one reading my blog, or do I expose myself to the masses. Granted most of the masses could hopefully be a little kinder since most would actually have met me at one point or another. It would hopefully drive me to at least post a little more often if nothing else. Ahh the perils of the internets.

Oh yeah, its my birthday, Yea me!! I’m in a caged telco closet waiting for VZ to call back. Oh yeah and I got up at 5:15 this am after a crappy night’s sleep. w00t!!


T minus 61 days

A New Dawn

Hyperbole abounds. Barack Obama was elected president last week in a reasonable majority. The sense history, symbolism, relief, hope, and renewed optimism is palpable. I find myself motivated (almost) to volunteer somehow to pitch in and lend a hand like I havent felt in years, if ever. Almost being the key word. I want to be involved, to take part in what I hope will be the start of something bigger than the age of greed that I/we have suffered through since 1980. If nothing else, the trainwreck that has been the 43rd president, had almost guaranteed the election for this man. There's been alot of press about what can be done to return the United States to its proper place in the international community. Executive orders, reversing signing statements, closing Git-mo and Abu Graib and Kandahar. There's honest policy work being done to try to relieve the stresses on the middle class.

I think the nation as a whole is holding its collective breath until Jan 20th.
Got Hope? isnt a question so much anymore as a statement.

All that and I've discovered Facebook! what an incredible way to waste huge chunks of time.


T minus 67 days

Got Hope?

Its no longer a question. I've got hope. We've got hope. Now the question is quickly becoming can we go forward and leave the partisan bickering, for the sake of partisanship behind. Can we go forward and put "country first"?? Can we do it with honor and grace?? Can we progress past the tactics of smear and fear. This isnt an us vs them situation. We all live in this country together. Lets try to make it a better place for *everyone*.

T minus 69 days

Last Hours

Its come down to the last hours. Will we “keep hope alive”?? Or will fear and paranoia rule the day? Will Chicago erupt in mass rioting no matter which way the election goes? Will someone find a way to interfere enough to actually throw the results into question? Will people accept their duly elected president if they can not accept the loss of their own candidate. Hard sayin’ there’s a lot of talk about rioting if Obama is elected. I can kind of understand it only in so far that I know occasionally sports fans get out of hand and riot in the streets after their team wins whatever championship. UMD had this problem a few years back after the basketball team took the final four. Is our racism really so deep and ingrained that normally rational people honestly think that black America cant be happy and joyous without tearing shit up?? What’s wrong with you people??? I don’t get it. I didn’t riot after Clinton got elected. He was the first time the presidential candidate I voted for won. Hell he was one of the first candidates of any office that I voted for who won. (Problem with being a liberal in a red state.).

Somehow this smells a bit like Y2K all over again.

T Minus 77 days

Stealing an Election

The election grows near and the noise from both sides is ramping up. But I think the thing that bothers me the most is that, once again the same strategy rears its ugly head, Voter suppression and the accusations of voter fraud. Voter fraud for this argument is one person trying to either voter more than once or trying to get many to vote more than once under false information ie. Hi my name is “Joe the Plumber” and I would like to vote please. Now imagine trying to throw an election like this. You’d have to be successful at a number of different points in the registration process with thousands of different identities and then have them actually go to the polling places and vote to have even the slightest impact.

Then there is election fraud. Election fraud is the wholesale manipulation of a voting segment. Literally 1000’s of votes and/or voter registrations being either altered or rejected in a single instance. Like say a recount being stopped, or stuffing the ballot box electronically on a voting machine without paper confirmation or throwing out tallies that don’t fit your particular desired outcome, or soldiers overseas being “caged” or for that matter people from a single demographic being targeted by either caging or under servicing of polling places, which would demand that certain people stand in line for hours in order to cast their vote. Not a very democratic thing to do if that population is an hourly work force. Laugh if you like; there is evidence of all these things happening over the last 8 years.

What does it say about your party when one of its primary strategies is to actually suppress voter turn out?? How is this supporting democracy??


In case you haven’t heard Lance is back. And back with Bruyneel at Astana. Contador was unsurprising less than thrilled, but Lance is Claim cancer awareness as his motivation. He’s already confirmed for the Tour Down Under, and the Giro. Could be interesting. My biggest concern/objection to this is simple, its time for someone else to get the attention. The US has more than one cyclist and more than one cycling team. I’m tired of Lance. And clean going forward doesn’t say anything about the past. Was he clean?? Who knows. All I know is that virtually everyone he competed against over that time has been busted for one thing or another, including a good number of ex postal/discovery riders.



T minus 88 days

Not So Fast Fucktard

Ok my bad. John McCain doesnt have a soul so much as a moment of regret. John McCain and his shit machine have carried on their hate spewing tour of darkness. John's moment of " Mr Obama is a good family man" seems to have been an apparition. He has returned to his "we cant help what our rally goers do and say" line of crap. Bullshit John McCain. You know full well that you and your "VP" prospect are inciting hate and hate speech. And you also know that if you wanted to, you could put an end to it. Way to put "America First".

T minus 95 days