Oh, what happen?

I suppose we should thank the state of California for a unique experience we're having here in Front Range Colorado. Apparently because California is one big conflagration, we're able to forget we have mountains, unless we're within a couple miles of them. I'm sure in a few days when this blows over most denizens of this realm will exclaim with glee, "Holy shit! We have mountains!" but for the time being we're in a zombie-like stupor thinking we live in a high-altitude version of Kansas.

As an aside, what the hell is wrong with Kansas? 70 mph on the Interstate? If any state needed to bump that to at least 75, it's Kansas. I mean, look at all the cool states around you.

So in celebration of today's Superbowl, ramaba is wearing her Chicago Bears shirt and I'm wearing a Quebec Nordiques shirt.

I really hope the Golden State Warriors can pull this one off.

You may want to reconsider whether you want to watch CNN's streaming videos.

Thanks dasgeek

I'm pleased, in kind of a subdued way. There's too much shit going on and too much work ahead for me to be ebullient.

The GOP earned this one. 8 years (6 of it in Congress) of your gentle yet reckless leadership seems to have left this nation with little other choice. Perhaps some introspection for your party is in order, instead of just blaming it on someone else, especially the voters? Maybe you could actually return to some semblance of fiscal responsibility? Maybe you could take a more pragmatic view toward, well, everything? Perhaps you could dump your stinking social conservative baggage?

Just sayin'.

I am pleased, however, that my old stomping grounds of Colorado's 4th Congressional district will not have to be nuked (mdatmariana should breathe a collective sigh of relief). Musgrave was an embarrassment to everything I grew up with and learned from. Good riddance.

I'm under no naive illusion that things won't suck in some ways going forward. Utopias are excluded by something like the second law of thermodynamics, or perhaps the Pauli exclusion principle. But, I think things will suck somewhat less overall.

You go, O.

Well, sorry to say norcalpaco and snarkybleu, that the Sharks completely embarrassed themselves by only winning by two goals against the Avs. I don't think your team can live this one down.

And, as I told lokifrp the Broncos have built themselves a credible and awesome edifice to failure, with some special help from officiating. How are they still on top of their division?

Hopefully the upcoming election won't suck.

Because you care, my Halloween playlist (on random):

Anathema - Eternity
Dio - Holy Diver
King Diamond / Mercyful Fate - A Dangerous Meeting
My Dying Bride - The Angel and the Dark River
Candlemass - Ancient Dreams
Ozzy Osbourne - Diary of a Madman

Sweet.

I don't think you're likely to find me at a political rally. In general the shouting and cheering and whatever seems more appropriate to a sporting event, where the effects of the outcome are much more confined to the silly and fickle emotions of the fans. Politics should be afforded the grim skepticism and perhaps derision that accompanies that which, you know, actually can seriously affect our lives. Shortly, a somewhat new crop of (mostly) bozos will be running our nation.

Again mdatmariana (the FD part) sends a very good article from The Economist that really mirrors my own thoughts as to why I support Barack Obama this election. The article is not saccharine adulation or lame attack-and-scare tactics, but a well-reasoned and non-partisan analysis of the two (front-running) candidates.

Besides, in reference to my first paragraph, the Avs have looked like roasted wildebeest dung the last couple games.

This is an amusing, and kinda interesting with the technology, way to train a cat not to do something when you're not home: The Blender Defender. (some Flash movies on the page)

Thanks, icanhaspustule

This really isn't a problem in our house since we don't maintain any houseplants.

In stark contrast to my last post, this post will be RANDOM and POINTLESS.

The MIGHTY COLORADO AVALANCHE finally won their first game this season against the Flyers, and looked pretty damn good doing it. It's not that they looked hideous in previous games other than leaky defense at inopportune times, but this one was good. Cody McCormick, who woulda thunk it? That guy had some SERIOUSLY ENLIGHTENED HOCKEY PROWESS tonight.

I filled out my ballot tonight, ready to mail tomorrow. That's right, as soon as I mail off that ream of parchment (SRSLY, this year it was so long I was almost gonna write-in TL;DR for some of the ballot measures), I will become part of the throbbing electorate, eagerly awaiting the government's acceptance of our votes into its hungry receptacle.

I mainly voted one side of my political philosophy with candidates, and another with ballot initiatives. The other 7 or 8 sides just had to suck it.

Politics, skip now if you want.

I don't really like these town hall format debates as much. I got bored more quickly and ramaba and I started chatting about stuff that related to the debate only tangentially. I did try and pay some attention, though, through making dinner (mmmm...off-the-cuff scallops with asparagus pasta!) and other distractions.

I think Obama won this one, somewhere between slightly and moderately. Foreign policy is a wash, although I think the international good will that Obama would engender would probably be an overall benefit in that department. Economic policy is about even. Obama's health care plan isn't perfect, but McCain's is utter crap. Energy policy, I did like McCain's stance on nuclear power, though Obama's overall policy seemed more broad based. I hope Obama would encourage nuclear power as much as McCain.

Overall, Obama came out a bit more likable, more level-headed, and more qualified to lead. Not by 45 points, though. More like the hard-fought but cool 16-13 win the BRONCOS pulled off over the Bucs on Sunday.

January 28, 1990: in Super Bowl XXIV, the San Francisco 49er's defeated the DENVER BRONCOS by the score of 55 to 10. It was the most lopsided Super Bowl in history.

Tonight, Sarah Palin was not the San Francisco 49er's in early 1990. Joe Biden was.

Biden had points that were specific, knowledgeable, and mostly addressed the issues, even if I didn't always agree with him. Sure he dodged a bit, and had a couple minor slip-ups. Palin turned the housing crisis into energy. She mostly avoided Biden's health care challenges. She tried to be likable more than electable. Hell, I'd put her on my f-list. She did decently for someone who was coached on this for five weeks - which she basically admitted she was. I couldn't have done any better myself, but I'm not running for elected office. Maybe I should.

Palin did have one bright moment, though. She winked at me.

Biden was like a cool Joe Montana that lit up the BRONCOS defense, without really having to try too hard.

I do hate that American politics too often turns into a binary choice, and as an independent, I have disagreements with both major parties. But when a first term senator in Obama can match wits with a grizzled veteran like McCain, which shows a lot of promise on Obama's part, and when the VP debate was like the BRONCOS most ignoble (I like that word) loss, well....draw your own conclusions.

So we watched the whole presidential debate last night, after I made a delicious dinner of pan-seared ribeyes with waffle-cut fries. Man I love me some ribeyes.

With the help of some Tennessee sour mash, I made it through all 97 minutes of non-specificity and hackneyed rehashing of slogans. As objective as I can be, I'd call it a draw. Both candidates managed to get in a few good logical jabs on the other.

vodgut still endorses senators Obama and Biden.

May CU take either sweet cuddly or terrible vengeance upon Florida State this afternoon, and NU likewise on Iowa. Amen.

Well, I guess I didn't jinx it. All 3 tier 1 football teams are still undefeated.

We took the cats to get serviced (oil change, tires rotated, fluids checked) over the weekend. They're racking up some miles, I tell you. They're all fine save some mild to moderate periodontal disease in three of them. Kari, who is the worst off, is having a mechanic look at that October 2nd.

Happy Fall (to those of you in the northern hemisphere). 'tis the best season, as instead of yardwork coming up, it's coming to an end. Also, it rules that soon most flora will look dead or dying in deference to winter's upcoming icy embrace. But getting rid of all those damn leaves is a pain.

In stark contrast to Samsung's horrid rebate process, Sears online rebate process has been very smooth so far, as it doesn't require submitting anything physical or original that could mysteriously be lost. It's usually good when something doesn't suck.

Guess I have to include something political. After seeing this, I might warm up to McCain: (video) McCain’s Economic Plan For Nation: "Everyone Marry A Beer Heiress"

Politics, some humor.

( I'll spare most of youCollapse )

It's mostly dead, Jim, despite cat-hair removal and thorough vacuuming. (Isn't this annoying if you just read my public posts?)

Politics now, coming from an INDEPENDENT, skip at will.

Got home just in time to catch McCain's speech. It was good. Finally some inclusiveness, something sorely missing from the rest of the speeches at the RNC that I actually heard. Definitely best of the RNC in terms of both content and delivery. (Huckabee had the best delivery, as much as it pains me to say). McCain's speech skipped most of the grating "Anything you can do, I can do better. I can do anything better than you." attack-ad like crap that plagued the RNC, especially Palin, and that at least infected the DNC. Obama's speech was better in delivery and content, though.

The DNC's sets were more theatrical and garish. The RNC's speeches were more grating, except for McCain's.

There's also one other thing that I liked about the DNC more. The RNC played way too much country. DNC seemed to play more classic rock. Advantage DNC.

But those are just speeches and pageants. Actually delivering on what's in them is probably something that, in either case, is only going to happen in part.

So what are we left with? The issues. The estimation of how the candidate, given their personality, would handle various crises. The knowledge or guess of who they might put around them, and how those people might help or detract from them.

Let's put it this way. I'm a Star Trek fan. (and according to my google search, some of the following is not a novel idea) McCain is like Captain Kirk. Obama is like Spock, but with a more interesting and dynamic personality. If it were up to me, I'd probably vote for the ENGINEER, Scotty, but engineers aren't prized politicians, and are disinclined to seek political office. Probably because we actually try and fix problems, and sometimes accept the trade-offs involved in any solution.

But, I still think I'm gonna have to go for Enhanced Spock on this one. Live long and prosper.

Unless something completely off the rocker happens, vodgut still endorses Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

I'm vodgut and I approved this message.

I've been thinking about doing something rash. I want to go somewhere where I can tell people stuff and they will laugh or get mad or maybe say nice things or better yet just ignore it. I'm thinking about starting a 'Live Journal'. I will christen it vodgut. Good idea? Yes? No?



Is McCain Palin's Bitch? (audio NSFW)

EDIT: Interesting comparison of tax plans.

( Politics, read at own perilCollapse )

I'm vodgut and I approved this message.

DNC fanfare, part deux. I wore my aloha shirt to make sure I wasn't confused with a protester.

And perhaps as a subtle tribute to Obama. (No my mind isn't 100% made up yet)

No flying excrement in sight.

( Joe Biden made me do it.Collapse )

Glad I'm not downtown tomorrow, though I have to say today also had a festive and interesting mood, at least in the parts of downtown where I was.

So, downtown Denver and the DNC.....

I actually took some extra time to get out and about, walking up and down the 16th Street Mall. No excrement was hurled. It was just a lot more activity, but otherwise business as usual. Lots of extra cops all over the place, obviously. In general the mood was quite festive. Apparently Joe Biden was on the Mall, but he didn't deign to talk to me. I didn't run into anyone really recognizable.

I did drag my point-and-shoot camera down there, and got a few pics:

( Deluge of (mostly) DemocratsCollapse )

Overall it was an interesting experience. I'll go back down there Wednesday.

I'm a complete jerk-dork!

But damn, I thought it was funny for that community.

So ramaba's MacBook is dead. Well, not so much dead as it has a horrid case of amnesia. Namely, it seems to have forgotten that it has a hard drive.

MacBook [to ramaba]: I CAN HAS HARD DRIVE?

She's using my traditional laptop now (the Sony VAIO, which hardware-wise, has been solid as a rock for three and a half years, knock on wood) and I guess I'm relegated to my COOL LINUX DESKTOPS. It's always good to have plenty of backup computers. I think there are 9 of them in the house, with perhaps 5.5 of them being functional.

I would say "It's an Apple! It's just supposed to work!", but I also realize that any particular piece of electronics has a finite probability of failure at any given moment, and laptops are notoriously bad. Good thing we got the Apple Care!

Ah well. It tried to get sunny, but the rain returned, and that's good.

Stupid LJ limits on subject length.

This is what summer should be. Low 50's and near-constant rain, not that dumb blistering heat shit.

There's nothing like dreary, mid-day near-darkness to lift one's spirits!

SOME DIRE WARNINGS: Remember Rule 34!

So I just got home recently. What would keep me out this late on a weeknight?

Only my (and several of my metalhead friend's) favorite underground metal band, The Lord Weird Slough Feg left the Bay Area on tour, and visited a local bar tonight. Nothing fancy, just straight-up ass-kicking classic METAL. As an aside, their web site is woefully out of date.

They actually have some full length MP3's up on the site. If you go here, "Hiberno Latin Invasion" is one of my favorite songs by them. The rest are worthwhile, too.

Interestingly the last time I saw them the other stupid bar (which I think in the intervening time may have been the victim of having their building razed) put them on last, at 1am, such that I didn't get home until well after 2:30. Tonight, mercifully, they went on at about 11. I think the bars have this lame idea if they keep people there longer they'll drink more or something, which doesn't really work with me. Well, okay, it did when my friends got me a drink all garnished with fruit like cherries and shit, and with a little umbrella. The drink was water.

I'd like to see them start weeknight shows at 7 or 8.

It was good to see that my friends and I weren't the only 4 or 5 people at the show tonight. There may have been 50 or more. Righteously so, this band is too good for small bars. Still, the $6 cover was more than worth it. We even got to chat with a couple of the band members before the show.

Since our fine city is about to be deluged by Democrats, this post will focus on them. Don't be surprised if you see me here crying for a life preserver as I attempt to stay afloat during their torrential onslaught.

While waiting in line for the bus this morning I was accosted by one. It was none other than Jared Polis, candidate for Colorado's 2nd congressional district, where we live. The primary is tomorrow, and he's got two opponents, and was using the Park n Ride to drum up support. He seemed somewhat personable. His ads in earlier years when he was running for the Board of Education kinda annoyed me, but his recent ones have improved his image, I think. I told him that I was an independent and that he'd have to wait until November. He looked sad. His campaign seems to be spending a lot (probably because he's all rich and stuff), because the primary is important. I wouldn't be surprised to see less campaigning after tomorrow, as the 2nd district is tilted somewhat Democratic, probably thanks to Boulder.

We had messages on the answering machine from his two opponents today.

The video in this post over in denver about telling Democrats what to expect as they arrive here was pretty damn funny.