Randomizations
Worried
My beloved Austrian Snowflake Dagmar is scheduled to have her surgery in a month. I hope we have enough money piled up... All our scribbling on the backs of envelopes and midnight insomniac mental math tells us we should be okay. Things will be a little tight, but we'll cover our bills and will have grocery money. I'm very grateful that I've had enough freelance work in the past few months to be able to save up for this!
Dagmar wants me to take a few days off and go fishing in Minnesota with my parents in a couple weeks. I have to say it sounds really good... A good 350 mile solo bike trip up to the lake region, a few days in a tent behind the little hotel in the woods, a day spent fishing, a day spent riding, plenty of opportunities to take photos, a nice 350 mile ride back home... My only problem is that I feel guilty spending money to go fishing just a few weeks before Dagmar's surgery, even though I'm sure we have enough to cover it. It seems insensitive to me somehow. I'm not sure what to do.
I do know I'm really looking forward to next summer when Dagmar's healthy again and has some vacation time! We'll go to the zoo, we'll go to the park, we'll go camping, we'll ride our bicycles, we'll go EVERYWHERE together 'cause she's my best friend!
Just a thought...
Hey, next time we have one of these election thingies, why not do all the states at once? Maybe over a long weekend or something. Say, the polls open at noon on Friday and close nationwide Sunday at 7 p.m. Eastern time. That would give everyone time to get to the polls... I can handle a long weekend, but GEEZE we gotta do something about this 19-month-long election cycle! I know, I know -- Iowa makes a lot of money by having the candidates and all their entourage spending a year campaigning across the state. But realistically I went to four or five candidate rallies and I didn't learn one single thing I didn't already know, except that Joe Biden looks bigger on TV than he does in person.
From the Party of Family Values
Found this on the Innernet...
Actually, Senator John McCain started having affairs with other women in the late 1970's, even though his first wife, who was crippled in a car accident, had waited faithfully for him for years to come home from Vietnam (McCain was a POW in Hanoi for five years). Speculation abounds that McCain started cheating on his beauty model wife shortly after his return to the states (and recovery from the torture he endured in prison) due to the fact that she didn't look the same after her accident. Some people contend McCain broke the UCMJ during that time frame by having affairs with subordinates while in the military, and might have been court-marshaled, or at least disciplined, had he not had the right connections. Eventually the 42-year-old McCain met 24-year-old Cindy, who happened to be heiress to millions of dollars. They were married just a month after his divorce from his first wife. McCain and his present wife do not live together due to their schedules, though they do vacation together every year.
Senator McCain has done a lot for the United States, but if he starts preaching family values this is gonna come back to haunt him -- especially after what the Republican party did to President Bill Clinton. Personally, I think his family life of nearly 30 years ago is his own business, and his familial problems may be a symptom of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder due to his service in Vietnam... But if the Republican party tries to fly the Family Values banner over Senator McCain this could be a problem for him. People may forgive McCain's indiscretions, but they hate hypocrisy.
Four Bucks!
How long do you think it'll be before the riots start? I'm just happy that two of our three vehicles get 40+ miles per gallon (I don't drive the third car more than six blocks to work, and then only when it's snowing or raining).
Think about it. Nearly all our economic problems stem from oil going from $18 a barrel when George W. Bush was appointed president in 2000 to $130 a barrel today. (I guess that's what happens when you put two men deeply invested in the oil industry in charge of the government.) Food costs more because it costs more to transport it to the market. Same with all consumer goods. Prices are going up at a startling rate, all due to the increased price of oil.
Now, it doesn't really matter WHY oil prices are going up, what matters is what we're doing about it, and what we're allowed to do about it.
Drill for oil in Alaska? Not gonna help. It'd take between 17 and 20 years before the first drop would get to us, and the percentage of oil that would come through the pipeline would be minuscule compared to our daily usage. Too little too late. ANWR really is more valuable as a
wildlife refuge than a source of oil. It's just not gonna get us out of this crunch.
What we need is to find the Model T of alternate fuel vehicles. Don't give me a Prius that costs nearly as much as my house. I don't have that kind of money -- I gave it all to the oil executives so they can hire lawyers to get them out of paying taxes. Rather, give me a little plug-in hybrid for $7,000, and let me build a wind turbine on my garage to make the electricity for the car. Make a bunch of these. Sell 'em to the Chinese and Indian folk. Don't tell me we can put a man on the moon and build atomic bombs but we can't find a way to put a battery in a car... We can do it.
Shoot, I'm about out of time.
My next item up for bid, real quick and without any more forethought than the preceding ravings, is ethanol. I live in Iowa, so I could probably be shot for saying this, but we really shouldn't be making fuel out of corn! Two reasons. The first is that corn-based ethanol yields 1.4 units of energy for every 1 unit it takes to manufacture. In other words, it takes just about as much energy to make corn-based ethanol as we get out of it. Switchgrass, on the other hand, yields a ratio somewhere between 7 and 9 to 1 -- MUCH higher than 1.4 to 1. Second reason -- corn is not native. Corn really doesn't grow well without a lot of help from the farmers. Switchgrass, on the other hand, is what grew here before we plowed it all under to plant corn... It grows all on its own.
'kay now, I'm done.
My beloved Austrian Snowflake Dagmar is scheduled to have her surgery in a month. I hope we have enough money piled up... All our scribbling on the backs of envelopes and midnight insomniac mental math tells us we should be okay. Things will be a little tight, but we'll cover our bills and will have grocery money. I'm very grateful that I've had enough freelance work in the past few months to be able to save up for this!
Dagmar wants me to take a few days off and go fishing in Minnesota with my parents in a couple weeks. I have to say it sounds really good... A good 350 mile solo bike trip up to the lake region, a few days in a tent behind the little hotel in the woods, a day spent fishing, a day spent riding, plenty of opportunities to take photos, a nice 350 mile ride back home... My only problem is that I feel guilty spending money to go fishing just a few weeks before Dagmar's surgery, even though I'm sure we have enough to cover it. It seems insensitive to me somehow. I'm not sure what to do.
I do know I'm really looking forward to next summer when Dagmar's healthy again and has some vacation time! We'll go to the zoo, we'll go to the park, we'll go camping, we'll ride our bicycles, we'll go EVERYWHERE together 'cause she's my best friend!
Just a thought...
Hey, next time we have one of these election thingies, why not do all the states at once? Maybe over a long weekend or something. Say, the polls open at noon on Friday and close nationwide Sunday at 7 p.m. Eastern time. That would give everyone time to get to the polls... I can handle a long weekend, but GEEZE we gotta do something about this 19-month-long election cycle! I know, I know -- Iowa makes a lot of money by having the candidates and all their entourage spending a year campaigning across the state. But realistically I went to four or five candidate rallies and I didn't learn one single thing I didn't already know, except that Joe Biden looks bigger on TV than he does in person.
From the Party of Family Values
Found this on the Innernet...
Actually, Senator John McCain started having affairs with other women in the late 1970's, even though his first wife, who was crippled in a car accident, had waited faithfully for him for years to come home from Vietnam (McCain was a POW in Hanoi for five years). Speculation abounds that McCain started cheating on his beauty model wife shortly after his return to the states (and recovery from the torture he endured in prison) due to the fact that she didn't look the same after her accident. Some people contend McCain broke the UCMJ during that time frame by having affairs with subordinates while in the military, and might have been court-marshaled, or at least disciplined, had he not had the right connections. Eventually the 42-year-old McCain met 24-year-old Cindy, who happened to be heiress to millions of dollars. They were married just a month after his divorce from his first wife. McCain and his present wife do not live together due to their schedules, though they do vacation together every year.
Senator McCain has done a lot for the United States, but if he starts preaching family values this is gonna come back to haunt him -- especially after what the Republican party did to President Bill Clinton. Personally, I think his family life of nearly 30 years ago is his own business, and his familial problems may be a symptom of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder due to his service in Vietnam... But if the Republican party tries to fly the Family Values banner over Senator McCain this could be a problem for him. People may forgive McCain's indiscretions, but they hate hypocrisy.
Four Bucks!
How long do you think it'll be before the riots start? I'm just happy that two of our three vehicles get 40+ miles per gallon (I don't drive the third car more than six blocks to work, and then only when it's snowing or raining).
Think about it. Nearly all our economic problems stem from oil going from $18 a barrel when George W. Bush was appointed president in 2000 to $130 a barrel today. (I guess that's what happens when you put two men deeply invested in the oil industry in charge of the government.) Food costs more because it costs more to transport it to the market. Same with all consumer goods. Prices are going up at a startling rate, all due to the increased price of oil.
Now, it doesn't really matter WHY oil prices are going up, what matters is what we're doing about it, and what we're allowed to do about it.
Drill for oil in Alaska? Not gonna help. It'd take between 17 and 20 years before the first drop would get to us, and the percentage of oil that would come through the pipeline would be minuscule compared to our daily usage. Too little too late. ANWR really is more valuable as a
wildlife refuge than a source of oil. It's just not gonna get us out of this crunch.
What we need is to find the Model T of alternate fuel vehicles. Don't give me a Prius that costs nearly as much as my house. I don't have that kind of money -- I gave it all to the oil executives so they can hire lawyers to get them out of paying taxes. Rather, give me a little plug-in hybrid for $7,000, and let me build a wind turbine on my garage to make the electricity for the car. Make a bunch of these. Sell 'em to the Chinese and Indian folk. Don't tell me we can put a man on the moon and build atomic bombs but we can't find a way to put a battery in a car... We can do it.
Shoot, I'm about out of time.
My next item up for bid, real quick and without any more forethought than the preceding ravings, is ethanol. I live in Iowa, so I could probably be shot for saying this, but we really shouldn't be making fuel out of corn! Two reasons. The first is that corn-based ethanol yields 1.4 units of energy for every 1 unit it takes to manufacture. In other words, it takes just about as much energy to make corn-based ethanol as we get out of it. Switchgrass, on the other hand, yields a ratio somewhere between 7 and 9 to 1 -- MUCH higher than 1.4 to 1. Second reason -- corn is not native. Corn really doesn't grow well without a lot of help from the farmers. Switchgrass, on the other hand, is what grew here before we plowed it all under to plant corn... It grows all on its own.
'kay now, I'm done.
posted by Chris the Hippie at
8:44 AM
10 Comments:
Some Random Comebacks...
1)If Dagmar says go then it would be insensitive not to go. The last thing she needs is you stressed during her recovery. Go, unwind, and then be there for her after.
2)Primarys and caucases should be done away with. Just let the people vote for crying out loud. If I hear Hillary say "not so fast" one more time, I'm going to drive to wherever she is and punch her in the mouth.
3)McCain is probably the best candidate the Democrats could ask for.
4)I've also read that switchgrass is a "carbon sink", and if grown in mass could help remove much of the CO and CO2 from the air that we've spent years building up by burning oil. Though a comnpletely non- polluting alternative would be best. Until the money goes that way, though, I don't see a bright future.
PS. My family is praying for Dagmar, and you... always.
I've never understood the election cycle as you call it but I'm all for your idea both there and here in Canada.
It sounds like Dagmar wants you to have a little r&r which will help rejuvenate you and in turn help her even more. I love the way you talk about her.
I paid $4.07 today - holy crap!!
You cover a whole lot of ground here Chris, but the really important thing to comment on is best wishes to Dagmar on her surgery!
I love your posts. They make me laugh, they make me think, they make me jealous. We'll go to the zoo, we'll go to the park, we'll go camping, we'll ride our bicycles, we'll go EVERYWHERE together 'cause she's my best friend! I, too, love how you talk of her. Special lady, that Dagmar.
I think you should go fishing. Dagmar wants you to.
And I also think your idea of getting all these primaries done in one weekend is frickin' brilliant. I am so sick and tired of this whole election already.
Chris Radloff for emperor! You have some great ideas. I think the election process should cover 3 - 6 months with each candidate receiving a fixed amount (say one million dollars) to spend on their campaign. It would level the playing field. Do we really care about a guys indiscretions 25 years ago, or another guys minister or the favorite color of a gals dress? I would like to hear their positions on the issues that face the country TODAY!
Dagmar is a sweetheart! I wish her the best. If you think you can enjoy the fishing deal, go for you and your best friend.
Hi ever'buddy! Dagmar really is pretty cool! I wish you all could meet her... She's all choked up about all the nice comments you guys made!
She's been feeling well the past few days -- we were able to get out and go to a park yesterday. It's hard for me to know when she's hurting and when she's not; she's a tough cookie and isn't letting the pain show. But some days she comes home from work and goes straight to bed with a tight look on her face, and other days she's fine. It's an up and down deal...
This will only make sense to you: IT WILL BE OKAY. I can promise you that, proof-positive.
Okay... and Dagmar... {{{DAGMAR}}}, it will be SO GREAT for you to feel well again.
I share the sentiment: you love her so much and it is so apparent. My kingdom for that kind of love...
Sending you hugs and then, some more hugs.
Love.
When I think of Dagmar in pain it makes me think of LK and what it would do to me to have to witness it. Chokes me up. LK and I wish you the very best.
On another note, my beloved aunt, the kindest, gentlest woman on earth had to have surgery recently. She now has to take out a loan to pay what her insurance wouldn't. She is alone, on a modest salary, and has to TAKE OUT A LOAN to pay for her medical bills. Sometimes I hate this country.
A big AMEN on the rest. And elections are the biggest money wasting pissing contests I have ever witnessed. I caught Jesse Ventura on Leno a few weeks ago and loved his comment on adding None Of The Above on the ballots. (Like Brewster's Millions) He said it would show them that 'Here I am, I voted, and I do not approve of any of the candidates. Brilliant!
two things...
First and most important - we all wish the best for Dagmar. May she recover as quickly as possible after her surgery.
The second thing...stop making sense...I mean all the primary elections in one day? Why would we want something that would be so simple and quick? I say with all the ideas you have I want to vote for Chris Radloff for president.
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