Random Walk

Dusting this thing off...

2009-10-30T13:56:00.002-04:00

I haven't posted anything here in years and years. I'm thinking about restarting this, although I don't know if I'll have any followers anytime soon. I suppose my first substantive post on this should really be a quick 3 year review or something.

This space for rent...

2006-09-27T11:42:00.000-04:00

I haven't felt much like blogging (if you haven't already noticed). While I'm not officially ending this blog, I don't see myself updating it any time in the near future. It's been fun while it's lasted, but my creative energy is going elsewhere now. It may be back, it may not be.

Jay

Where I'm at today.

2006-09-15T09:06:00.000-04:00

Every year around this time, I get all depressed with the start of school. It's part of the "re-tox" or getting used my schedule again. It won't last and I know that. Still, I can't begin to express how much I want to graduate.

That is all.

Schadenfreude

2006-09-13T08:22:00.000-04:00

As part of my law school experience, my first two years were spent largely with the same group of people, all taking the same class. That's how it is commonly down with law school - they put everyone together into a cohort, though for full-time students this cohort only lasts the first year. In my cohort, I had an older gentleman who is a doctor (not the only one I've been in class with). He is generally very well prepared, well-spoken and contributed to the overall quality of class discussion. He is also an obnoxious blow hard.

This semester he is part of my evidence class (which I'm enjoying, great prof). One of our topics is relevance of past evidence. We were working on a hypothetical situation. I raised my hand and argued that the evidence had little relevance to the defense's argument, and explained my logic. So Dr. Blow-hard speaks next and he starts by saying I had gotten it "all wrong" and preceded to cut down what I said. Dude fuck you!

But the reason he disagreed with me was because he had gotten all his facts wrong. After he got done, I raised my hand and asked the prof to clarify the "facts" for the hypothetical as he and I differed. She said that, yes, my facts were right. I was satisfied at that was going to let the matter drop (I knew the point I made was a good one based on the fact pattern). She then re-iterated the point I made was "insightful" and an excellent point based on the correct facts.

It probably doesn't seem like a big deal to anyone else. And really it was just a small blip as part of the discussion. By next week no one (including myself) will probably even remember. But after two years of this guy I really enjoyed have a small moment tell him, however indirectly, that HE was wrong. Small and petty of me? Probably. But I'm still rather pleased. :-)

EDIT: I scooped him again last night. Either the good doctor is losing his touch or I've gotten alittle sharper.

So Marie Osmond is back from the dead huh?

2006-09-08T08:50:00.000-04:00

I watched Celebraty Duets last night. I'm so in love with that show. First it has the ADORABLE Hal Sparks, but it also has ~~Xena~~Lucy Lawless (who rocks my world)*.

It's the judges that really make the show. Marie Osmond likes to make tragically lame puns. If it wasn't funny, it would be painful. She looks like hell though.

Little Richard is so drugged up (or just out of his mind) he is not even coherent. Wooo!

And the Simon analog was the only let down. His bitchiness was prosaic as best.

Anyway, it was so cheesy it was really fun to watch!!

*I'm so hoping to hear the battle cry on one the shows.

I'm sure you think you're being progressive, but...

2006-09-05T11:49:00.000-04:00

So Matt and I went to a small BBQ on Monday. It was a very nice time. Eveyone else at the party had children. Some one asked if Matt and I ever planned to have kids. I said yes, we had even gone so far as to contact an adoption agency to get a feel for all the things required (expenses, length of the wait, etc) although we are years away from even beginning the process.

Anyway, one of the guys I was talking with said: "Well, I think that is great. And you know, if I had the choice between a low income family with a mom and dad or a higher income gay couple, I'd give the kid to the gay couple."

...

...

uh, RAGE! UNSPEAKABLE RAGE!

Dude that is really messed up!

1) Needing to stack the deck to make same-sex parents more/as desirable.
2) Assuming more money means better parenting.

He was trying to be a nice guy, I'm sure. It probably came out wrong. Fortunately, Matt made a joke that diffused the situation. Still, I was a little put off by this guy.

He blogs again

2006-08-28T08:34:00.000-04:00

I have been blogging much lately. I’ve been fairly busy and when I haven’t been busy, I’ve just been hanging out and relaxing. In the past I just included a laundry list of the things that I’ve done. But I haven’t really felt like doing that and not much “blog worthy” has happened (things both interesting and that I’m willing to share online), hence the lack of updates.

I start school today! Woot?

Going out to eat...

2006-08-16T09:32:00.000-04:00

Okay, for a little back story on this. My friend Laura and my partner Matt don’t see eye to eye when we go out to eat. Although they each deal with it in different ways: Matt makes unilateral and categorical statements like “I don’t eat at chain restaurants” and Laura makes declarations like “The food at that Chinese place tastes funny and I won’t go back” often, when I think it tastes better (or doesn’t differ at all). We tend to spend the first half an hour of every get together settling on a place to go. Which is to say, I’ve spent more time in my life listening to their food preferences than I ever expected. (And I admit I occasion put in my own weird requests like “no place in Royal Oak” for instance. But I didn’t want to deal with parking and all that.)

So I’ve decided to post what I like in restaurant.

1) Food: This actually matters very little to me. I’m not a terribly finicky eater and I enjoy a large variety of foods. I don’t care for seafood very much, but I’ll go to seafood restaurants because they generally have one or two non-seafood options. I also like Indian, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Middle Eastern, Thai, and Italian. I don’t eat French or German food enough to say I like it, but I think I would. I enjoy vegetarian meals. I do occasionally get a taste for things like a burger, pizza or those yuppie places that is “new twist on old favorites” and every ingredient is named after some far off place (in addition to getting a taste for Chinese or Indian). I do look at quality though, some places over-charge for what amounts to cafeteria food. I’m looking at you Como’s (an independent Italian place in Ferndale)! I also include Olive Garden in this.

2) Service: This is a bigger deal. When I go out, there are a few things that I enjoy. One, I like a server to be attentive, but not intrusive. I like getting refills on my drink promptly. In return, I tend to be a good tipper. I also eat off the menu and I don’t make any substitutions. I don’t like to be rushed out. I go out to eat not just to get fed, but also to relax.

3) Décor/ambiance: This is the most important to me. I like quiet places where I can hear my friends talk. This means I dislike big boxy places where the conversation echoes around. I dislike bands, with the exception that I enjoy music and would go to a place for the band, but I don’t like showing up to place that just has a band). I like the colors to be subdued (no red and orange places for me). I hate gimmicks. This means I hate singing servers, flashing lights, gift shops, “flair” and all that crap. I dislike it not only because it grates on my nerves, but I also find that some restaurants rely on the gimmicks as opposed to having good food or good service. I like comfy seats and space. I don’t like being jammed around a small table or really close to other diners.

Fortunately for my relationship, this lines up with Matt’s desires pretty much. I think a lot of these factors are what he means by no chains. Few independent places rely on gimmicks or loud bands. Chile’s and Logan’s Roadhouse are two chain places that I really like (Logan's servers sing, but infrequently enough that I can overlook it).

Looking at this post, this is much larger list of things than I expected. I don’t really have much trouble finding good places. Most ethnic places are good (expect the Mexican place that had the Mariachi band, but that was a fluke). Greasy spoons are good too.

I also don’t need every single factor. Bastone in Royal Oak can be loud because of its boxy format and some of the seats are uncomfortable, but I really like the food, service and the rest of the décor. I already mentioned two chain places above. It is not one of my favorite places however.

My favorite place to go is Angel’s Café in Ferndale. It has everything that I like in a place. Great food, wonderful service and I love the funky, relaxed vibe.

Partly I am writing this to remind myself about my own food preferences/issues. So many people in my life have odd food restrictions: My mom is diabetic; my dad is really finicky; Matt’s mom has psychosomatic allergies; Laura is finicky, Carrie is vegetarian. I’m also coordinating a kind of cooking a home-style meal for some a group I’ve involved with. This adds vegans and gluten free, one raw foodist and one person doing Atkins. Argh! I’m beginning to dread eating with other people. I don’t generally mind accommodating preferences, especially for people I like. But lately, I’ve just had enough of spending my energy into other people’s wants. Particularly because my mom, who actually needs a special diet, is the least pushy.

I'm at the point where I may be issuing more invitations for coffee rather than dinner pretty soon.

Guest House

2006-08-09T10:18:00.000-04:00

This being human is a guest house
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

This was written by a poet named Rumi, a Sufi mystic.

Less angry post!

2006-08-08T10:15:00.000-04:00

Okay, I'm doing a less political and more mellow post today.

I've been have a pretty good time. Matt and I put all the posts in for our fence this weekend and we're on track to finish it up this weekend. I've seen a few movies and splurged on a massage. So life is good.

Despite the beautiful summer we've had, I'm really looking forward to fall. I'm getting the itch to bake again, but my inner scorge doesn't like to run the oven and air conditioning any more than necessary. Plus, fall in Michigan is gorgeous and my favorite season! In preparation for baking weather, I'm scoping out cookbooks. I enjoyed the muffins so much last year, that I'm going to expand my range of baked goods. I've got the Fannie Farmer Cookbook and it rocks, so I'm planing to pick up the baking book too. It's gotten really good reviews by novice bakers, so that is perfect for me.

I think I'm going to have to start giving baked goods away though. I enjoy baking, but there is just the two of us. We'd get through the dozen muffins by the end of the week, but they'd be stale by that point. If I start moving on to breads, pies, cakes and all that, we're either going to either waste food or get even fatter. Neither of which sounds good to me.

More angry political rants!

2006-08-07T14:06:00.000-04:00

I may have posted this article, called Christian Virgins Are Overrated. Think sex and drugs destroy America? Try naive chastity, before. If I did it is worth repeating:

Let's just say it outright: The superiority of virginity myth, it is a massive, underreported disaster. It is a ridiculous and exhausting misconception that must be eradicated like a cancer. Perhaps French philosopher Voltaire said it best, nearly 300 years ago: "It is one of the great superstitions of the human mind to have imagined that virginity could be a virtue." So true.

I recently heard this popular fallacy: "abstinence is the only effective way to prevent unwanted pregnancies." For the record, that is just not true. Masturbation, oral sex and good ol' fashion gay sex don't result in pregnancy either.

Some people use that same structure, swapping out "unwanted pregnancies" with STDs. That's still untrue. At the very least, screwing around with a healthy person won't result in getting sick. We've known since the middle ages that disease isn't a spontaneous event. Of course, perhaps germ theory of disease, like evolution, is just one of the silly scientific theories.

And please don't mention that even screwing a healthy person is risky. Even in cold and flu season, I still venture out of the house. Beside, risk is everywhere. No one should live life of fear, especially not of giving and receiving pleasure!

Rage!!

2006-08-04T12:31:00.000-04:00

This Modern World is spot on. The fact is, the policy of containment put in place by Bush I and Clinton worked. Iraq had no WMDs and was stable. Every other limited success coming out of this war is soured by the fact that this operation was fundamentally flawed from the very start. I am overwhelmed when I think of the full tragedy of the Iraq war. All those lives and resources wasted due to Bush's (and his administration's) stupdity and hubris. Everyone who voted for Bush is a flat out fool.

Zzzzzz

2006-08-01T08:59:00.000-04:00

So we lost power last night. This is the 2nd time in the last two days. On Sunday, it wasn't too bad. It just lasted from about 4 or so until 8 PM. But last night, it was off from 9:30PM to 3AM. I tossed and turned all night.

So I'm exhausted this morning.

But beyond that, life is good.

2006-07-28T09:39:00.000-04:00

In a spurt of unplanned and ill-conceived self-improvement, I'm reducing the amount of caffeine that I consume. Not eliminate, as I've been down that road and it is not pleasant for me or the people around me. I've been doing it for about two weeks now and it is going well.

At the height of my caffeine consumption, this is what my day looked like:

Morning: Large coffee with shot of espresso.
Noon: Caffeinated soda
Mid-afternoon: Caffeinated soda
Evening: Caffeinated soda

Now:

Morning: large coffee, half-regular and half-decaf
Noon: Caffeinated soda
Mid-afternoon: soda, no caffeine
Evening: generally beverages without caffeine.

So I've reduce my in-take by half. I'll see how well I stick to no caffeine in the evening was classes start back up. I’ve also reduced the amount of chocolate that I’ve been eating (which has lasted a week, so go me). Okay where I am. My goal is to switch to decaf (as it is not completely without caffeine) as some point.

It's funny, I've noticed much difference is my energy level. I think I was drinking so much I build up a tolerance for it.

I do half-regular and half-decaf for my coffee (far cry from the cup of regular with a shot of esspresso that I used to drink every morning), and moved from two

Hmmm...

2006-07-27T08:57:00.000-04:00

So today, I went downstairs to the little convenience store in my building for a cup of coffee. I wasn't paying too much attention and overfilled my cup. I stuck a top on it anyway. A few drops were pressed out and I got those with a napkin. When I got back to my desk, I pealed back the part of the lid to drink it and the pressure of the top caused the coffee to jump out of the cup. It splattered on my desk and on my pants.

I think there is a life lesson there for me. Something about not overfilling my cup or perhaps about being more conscious in my daily life.

A beautiful day in the neighborhood

2006-07-25T13:27:00.000-04:00

I think that the morning is the prettiest time of the day. Everything seems so fresh and new. Today had a beautiful morning. I really love Ferndale. Sometimes I forget just how cute and alive I think it is. I've been enjoying the summer this year. I wish Matt and I had spent more time in the park this year. Last year, we played frisbee fairly often. Lame I know, but I really do enjoy simple pleasures. This years has been all about spending time in our back yard. Sundays, we sit outside, grill and share a bottle of wine. Good times.

Day of Rest

2006-07-20T09:10:00.000-04:00

I'm taking tomorrow off. Aside from running a few errands, I'm not planning on doing anything. I tried scheduling a massage with the student clinic at Irene's, but they are very popular. The didn't have any openings until August 6th. So I took that appointment. I really like Irene's. It is affordable, relaxing and professional.

I'm a little leary of just going to any place without knowing something about it before hand. I want to go somewhere with certified therapists and not some place that offers...more services that I wish to purchase. Still, I may try calling a few more places tomorrow to see if I can get in some where tomorrow. If it is sketchy, I can always bail.

Life is unfair!

2006-07-19T09:06:00.000-04:00

You know that Shania Twain song That Don't Impress Me Much which came out in 1999? I heard it on the radio this morning. It takes me back to that summer and reminds how life is so unfair. You see, Matt was spending the summer in France. I was bumming around East Lansing, having a good time truth be told. I first saw that video over at my friend CJ's apartment. CJ was totally hot. I hung out a lot with CJ that summer. In fact, he was a gamer and role played with him (Deadlands if you're curious). (But he was a sexy gamer, not a "I don't shower" type gamer.)

He flirted with me all summer, in his straight guy way. Did I mention that I thought he was adorable? Any, I enjoyed that summer. Matt came back in the fall and then CJ came out as bi. See how unfair life is! I was happily partnered. If I weren't, I totally could have gotten a piece of CJ that summer. And I so would have.

2006-07-12T21:33:00.000-04:00

How Conservatives Have Become Authoritarians and What it Means

Grumpy...

2006-07-12T11:13:00.000-04:00

Be grateful, the people of the world, that I do not, in fact, possess the power to explode heads with the power of my mind alone. No one would be safe!

...instead I'll just grump around like 2 year old who missed a nap instead. 'Cuz I’m mature like that.

2006-07-11T10:17:00.000-04:00

Well, a plumber was called, not an exorcist. It was a drainage pipe, not the washing machine. (I'm ready to move. Apartment living is the way to go.)

The fence thing is okay. We talked our neighbor into it. So the fence is going up in August.

My Big Deadline is Friday and I've got a final comming up on Thursday. Pretty soon, summer will begin in earnest for me. In fact, I'm taking a mental health day next week.

Public Service Announcement

2006-07-05T13:07:00.000-04:00

Please stay away from my basement. After much vigorous, peer reviewed analysis, it has been determined that logic will support no other conclusion than this: My washing machine is posessed. Indeed, my current hypothesis is that my washer is likely possessed by some water-demon that bides its time and strikes out when we least expect.

Now that I'm on to its evil tricks, I will prevail. Oh, yes. I will prevail. Satan get behind me!

/crazy ranting.

Musing of a first time home owner

2006-06-28T14:28:00.000-04:00

On some the blogs that I read lately, there has been a lot of talk about home buying. One couple just closed, another couple is just starting to look.

Lately, I've been feeling very ambivalent about home ownership. On one hand, I have to say that I really like our specific house, ~~flaws~~ character and all. I feel good about the handiman type stuff I've learned to do. I also really enjoy gardening. I also get a lot of emotional benefits. I feel rooted and part of community.

But you can have cute place and feel connected to your community and rent too. Of course people talk about it has an investment, but you can read up on a lot of "rent v. buy" analysis that show that renting can be finanically advantageous too. Plus, there is always some kind of repair or maintaince that needs to be done.

Of course, I'm a homebody and a nester when it comes down to it. A big part of that is why I was interested in buying a house. I just wanted to own. Working around the house, maintaining, repairing or improving, has become something of a hobby to me really. At first I begrudged it, but I've learned to enjoy it (mostly).

So I don't regret buying a house and certainly wouldn't warn any one away from it. But so much of the rhetoric around "owning your own home" is both over blown and biased.

Gardening

2006-06-26T11:10:00.000-04:00

I often blog garden angst in the summer. No more! Both Matt and I have put a ton of work into the yard.

This is our third summer in the house. As most of my friends know, the yard was total disaster when we moved in. Portions of the yard was just dirt, there was a 6ft thistle and a section of the front hedge was dead. The first summer, we did little outdoors. We tried (and failed) to revive a portion of our hedge. I think we got ride of the 6ft thistle that summer as well. With my dad’s help, I successfully grew grass on the whole part of the lawn. We did emergency trimming as well since most of the bushes are overgrown beyond belief. Still, most of our time, energy and money went was spent indoors, getting things pulled together there.

Our second summer's theme was "No More Dead Things" and fixing some of the worst spots. Like replacing a corner of our hedge that kept dying, getting rid dead bushes and what not. We transplanted some Irises, put in some rose bushes. We fond some annuals that we both really like and that flourish in the spot we have them in. Put in a perennial garden that mostly flopped, although some of it was successful.

This summer, we've moved some plants around. We've checked out other gardens to find plants that do well in our area. I've done a lot of weeding and finally put down mulch to help avoid weeds. Matt created a hosta garden in a corner of our lot. Our Irises and Day Lilies do so well, that we've done some dividing and are using them a board around the front tree (which was mostly bordered by weeds). While not technically gardening, we repainted our threshold and updated the mail box and address.

Not to sound like an ass, I am really impressed with us. I mean, there are a lot of yards that are much nicer than ours, but we’ve made so much progress. Yesterday, we had dinner on the patio and thoroughly enjoyed our time spent there, just relaxing.

It still has some trouble spots and there is still more to do (isn't there always?), but I'm really happy with what we’ve done so far.

On a less happy note, I think that we’re not going to be able to install the 6ft fence until this fall. We just decided how we were going to do it, so we stopped by city hall and got the informational packet and spoke to our neighbor. Our neighbor isn’t thrilled with the idea and it would easier if he signs off. If he doesn’t, we’re going to go with the 4 ft fence. We’ll probably supplement with a "living wall" privacy fence. One of my coworkers has a lot of good things to say about Arborvitae shurbs/trees.

As my people who read my blog and my friends also probably know, our backyard and our neighbor’s backyard lack a clear boarder. The previous owner and our current neighbors were siblings and the yards were kind of merged. In fact, it looks like our neighbor’s yard is a bit bigger than it is and that our yard looks a bit smaller. They did leave some makers in the front and the back that line up with what our survey says (from when we closed). So this weekend, we’re going to spend some time restoring the boarder. It likely won’t sweeten the neighbors to our cause, but it has to be done before they sell their house. I would rather go through the pain of separating out the yards (and putting up a privacy fence) with our current neighbors rather than with new neighbors.

One more thing...

2006-06-22T11:06:00.000-04:00

I am totally in love with So You Think You Can Dance. I hate the title, but it is fun to watch.

Consumer Driven Healthcare

2006-06-22T10:38:00.000-04:00

Matt and I were talking about this last night. Today, I happened to run across an article rebutting the importance of moral hazard in health care insurance.

I thought the article was odd as I've heard more about how the demand for health care consumption is "inelastic" meaning that when the price rises, we still consume health care, generally speaking. This is why people are willing to pay so much for it (until pushed out of the market entirely). If you take that idea for granted, the natural conclusion is that consumer driven health is a device to pass costs on to their employees.

Of course, one of my coworkers had told me in the current economic analysis is that the much tough inelasticity of the demand for healthcare is not as big as it is generally thought (which is in line with one of the points the author is making). Which is basically saying that employers are not just passing costs on to their employees, but that employees will not seek as much health care as they would if they are fully insured.

Personally, I don't get too angry at corporations for implementing this structure. We moved from old school pensions to 401ks as pensions became too expensive to maintain. Sustainability is not a concept just for environmental movement, in my opinion. Healthcare costs are crazy high, perhaps this is a more sustainable model. And such plans do kick in after the high deductible, if something catastrophic happens, you're covered. A lot of places don’t offer anything and I think that is the bigger injustice. If this helps employers to continue to provide some coverage to their employees, it is a good thing.

Of course, I do support a universal, federally-funded health care plan. I think that is the best option of them all.

Sunday Morning Interlude

2006-06-19T15:50:00.000-04:00

So a few weekends ago, Matt and I were adding a second coat of paint to the trim on our house. It was Sunday morning and it was about 9:30 AM or around there.

As we were painting, this random guy came walked up.

RG: "Hi, I crashed at a, uh, friend's house. I'm not sure where I am and I'm trying to find my car"

Me: "Well, you're in Ferndale..."

RG: "Right, but I'm not sure where my car is"

Matt: "Well, Woodward is over there," and points.

Me: "And Nine Mile Road is over there" and I point.

RG: "Thanks guys, I was supposed to be in Lansing an hour ago!"

Randome Guy leaves.

Me: "Friend, right. Odd that his friend kicked him out and didn't give him a lift to his car. Or that he doesn't know where his friend lives relative to Wooward and Nine Mile."

Matt: "It's been too long since I've seen a walk of shame." He pauses. "It's Sunday morning and instead of recovering, we're painting our house. Damn it, we're old."

Cool, free online applications

2006-06-17T18:02:00.000-04:00

The NYTimes had an article about a free, web based services for spreedsheets and word processing.

Here is a link a word processor and here is a link to the spreadsheet.

Very cool, I tried a few things and they seem to work great. You can even use the word processor to export to a .pdf file. Which I don't have the software to do.

Why wasn't I informed?

2006-06-13T15:05:00.000-04:00

I discovered today that Dr. Pepper afficiandos covert Dublin Dr. Pepper. DDP still made according to the original reciepe and uses real cane sugar, not corn syrup. The manufacturer still uses lead paint to decorate the glass bottles (click for more information). I also discovered that people consider themselves as Dr. Pepper afficiandos.

What a beautiful, diverse world we live in.

Tired...

2006-06-12T10:33:00.000-04:00

It was a good weekend, but busy. Friday evening, I went and saw Praire Home Companion with Matt, Carrie and Robert. I've never watched the show much, but I enjoyed the movie and would reccomend it.

Saturday morning I was up bright and early and was outside scraped and painting. Our threshhold was really dated and rusty. So we put a couple of fresh coats of paint and took the opportunity to replace our old mailbox and house numbers. That afternoon I stopped by Carrie's house and celebrated her nieces birthday. Ruby is adorable.

That evening I was bone tired, so I was just hope for chilling out at home. Bill and Laura (and later Carrie and Robert) and we just hung out and chatted. Matt ran off to fundraiser for his agency.

Sunday was another early morning to finish the painting and did some additional landscaping. Then we went to a recital by Matt's mom who is learning an instrument at 60! Afterwards we had dinner and came home to some other household chores.

This weekend was more exhausting than it was restful!

It's 06/06/06

2006-06-06T11:48:00.000-04:00

Drat! I was going to bring Devil's Food cupcakes into work today. I forgot all about it last night. Meh, it is too hot to bake anyway.

Back in the saddle.

2006-06-01T15:09:00.000-04:00

Well, I figure it is time that I brush the dust off this blog and get back to it. Unfortunately, I don't have much to say...of course, I never let that stop me before!

Life is going well. I've been working around the yard. Each summer, my yard gets to a bit more in shape and I'm really enjoying it in the evenings. So that is good. Work has been obnoxious lately, but it is getting better. No good stories there. My birthday was this past weekend. I am now 28 yrs! I'm pushing 30. How weird is that?

I have a list of things that I wanted to accomplish by 30. Some I'd done (like buy a house), some I no longer want to do (be an editor and live in New York). There are a few that I've added (which are a little personal for this blog). One thing that I've added is to switch careers, which is in progress. I'm really looking forward to doing something different. But I've had a bad week, so that is my frustration showing.

Rove: Smart or Not?

2006-05-23T14:38:00.000-04:00

IS Karl Rove a genius or stupid?.

Andrew Sullivan writes:

My money is on stupid. The right has long sought to portray Karl Rove as a genius; and the paranoid left has been only too happy to go along. My own view is that he's always been a dreadful political strategist. We don't have to wait for a GOP bloodbath this fall to see it. We had a president after 9/11 who could have asked anything of the American public and been supported. He chose a policy of brutal partisan division in war-time, and as commander-in-chief with a strong economy, he turned a 50 percent victory into ... 51 percent. If he'd risen above petty partisanship, asked for real sacrifice, listened to the military leadership on the war, and included Democrats in a war-cabinet, he could have won in a landslide.

The domestic policy record is also terrible. By allowing the staggering splurge of spending, especially on the Medicare entitlement, Rove has destroyed the Republicans' advantage on fiscal issues for a generation. By harnessing the GOP to religious fundamentalism, he has all but lost the center and independents; and by relying exclusively on that base, he is also alienating Hispanics on the immigration issue. His decision to ignore Iraq and go for an incoherent social security reform last year was another massive miscalculation. Yes, he can whip up hysteria against already-disliked minorities for short-term gain. But anyone with no scruples or conscience can do that. As for communicating the Bush message: Rove's tenure has been marked by some of the worst p.r. I've yet seen from a White House. So, yeah. Rove is a terrible political guru. To sell your soul - and your party's soul - for a permanent majority is one thing. To sell it for 51 percent is just pathetic.

I don't agree per se, I think that Rove gambled big and lost. Really, we all lost.

FYI...

2006-05-23T09:35:00.000-04:00

Dear Wayne State University Community:

The Law School Admissions Office is hosting an informational session on admission into law school.

This session will take place on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. in the Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium in the Law School. The open house will feature issues such as getting accepted to law school, taking the Law School Admissions Test, careers in the legal profession and law school student life. We will place a special emphasis on our part-time evening program, however all are encouraged to attend. The evening will conclude with a reception.

Please RSVP by calling (313) 577-3937 or e-mailing lawinquire@wayne.edu.

Argh!

2006-05-22T12:01:00.000-04:00

I just checked to see when my summer class started. I thought I had until next week. It turns out it starts tomorrow. I'm very glad I double checked as to not miss anything, but bummed that it is starting so quickly. Boo.

Once and future blogger

2006-05-15T09:23:00.000-04:00

Well, I suppose I ought to get back into the blogging saddle. Life is good. My finals are over. I'm gearing up for the professional ethics class this summer. It is not supposed to be a killer class and I'm hoping that is true. So there is my little check in.

An update! OMG!!!111oneone!!

2006-05-03T09:05:00.000-04:00

Matt left today for a long weekend in the woods (well, he's putting a half day at work, but I won't see him again). I will studying like mad this weekend for my finals on Monday and Tuesday. I get crabby enough around this time that it probably is in his best interest to flee.

After he left this morning, a smoke alarm went out and the cats barfed. I found it by stepping in it and grinding it into the carpet. It was still warm.

When Matt is feeling all marytr-esque, he is fond of saying this the house would go to hell without him. I guess he was right!

To finish later...

2006-04-28T15:48:00.000-04:00

Fascinating article on the development of the brain and the way the our environment affects us.

Procrastination thy name is Jason

2006-04-27T12:40:00.000-04:00

PSA: I haven't lifted a book to study in the last week. I'm going to be freaking out very soon.

That sweet guy of mine...

2006-04-26T14:40:00.000-04:00

On our way out of a CVS yesterday:

Matt: I think that guy was just flirting with me.
Me: I think he was too. Should I be worried?
Matt: Nah, I wouldn't leave money in the bank.
Me: ....
Matt: Did I just say that I out loud?
Me: You know I'm going to make you pay for that comment for years to come.
Matt: I figured as much.

So, I'm now taking applications for the role of Cute Young Thing that I will leave Matt for once I'm out of law school.

This Old Crack House

2006-04-24T12:53:00.000-04:00

Matt likes to joke that our yard would put our house on cover of Crack House Magazine and I've talked about our isses a lot in the past. This weekend, I did some good work on the yard. I weeded a fairly large section of some on our beds and put down mulch around the bushs and what not. It's beginning to look like we're doing something out there.

Just checking in

2006-04-21T08:15:00.000-04:00

I've gotten out of the habit of posting everyday. I haven't had much to say recently. Life has been good. This was the last week for 2 of my 3 classes. I have one more day of class on Monday of next week. Then I'll be moving into frantic why-did-procrastinate-again-this-year!!! study mode.

I turned in my last set of paper work for the nonprofit class. I have one more meeting with the nonprofit and then most likely I will be done. My class partner Ryan and I are possibely going to continue of the summer. It all depends on if the nonprofit will commit to pulling together its board of directors in time for us to actually complete anything this summer.

My 3 hour "bore me to tears" tax class is over as well. Surprisingly, that was a big refresher of Constitutional issues as state and local taxes implicate the Commerce clause quite a bit. Anyway, I've been enjoying the nice spring weather.

Water Heater Resolution

2006-04-19T08:34:00.000-04:00

Well, we had a contractor come out and quote us price for the new water heater. He told me that generally, this company has charged from $2,500 to $4,000. He poked around, looked at the pipes and all that good stuff. He estimated that we'd come in near the low end.

Okay, regular water heater it is then. It was installed last night for about third of the low end. I had a nice long hot shower this morning. Yay! It is a beauty, with a nice long warranty and capacity for a family of 4-5. Our last once was small and designed for a family of 1-2. Either they lie, they estimated for 2 minute showers, or our old water heater wasn't heating properly in the last few years because some times the first shower didn't even stay hot all the way through. So, I for one am thrilled with new water heater.

Oy!

2006-04-15T12:19:00.000-04:00

What I did today:

1) I woke up in really good mood. Yay!
2) Got some laundry together and get that chore done and out of the way. Aren't I proactive?
3) Go down stairs and find that our water heater is leaking.
4) Pretend that problem doesn't exist.
5) Go back down to see if I has hallucinating before.
6) Yell, scream, carry one.
7) Review this post.
8) Call around trying to find store that carries the right tankless hot water heater.
9) Find out that the installation fees for regular hot water fees.
10) Find out that the since this is emergency, they'll charge me a surcharge fee, but get it done on Monday.
11) Find out the before the stall of a tankless, they have to come out and look at our set up and then quote a price.
12) Find out that the only store that that carries the tankless water heater that best fits our needs is $998, $400 MORE than if I'm willing to order it online and let it be delivered to the store (with no shipping costs) in 1 to 2 weeks (which will be after to installer takes a look at our house).
13) Learn that I need to turn off the gas, the water and drain the current water heater so that the problem doesn't get worse.
14) More yelling and carrying on.
15) Figure out how to turn off the gas and water.
16) Reward myself with Chinese take out.
17) Drag in our outdoor hose and drain the water heater.
18) Blog about it.

My choices:

1) Go with a regular water heater and get this done Monday.
2) Take cold showers for much, much longer and go with the tankless.
3) Abandon the house and travel around doing street theater, subsisting on the money people will throw.

I'm leaning towards 3.

On Immigration

2006-04-12T08:46:00.000-04:00

I'm definitely against criminalizing illegal immigrants. Crossing into our country to work and support family doesn't seem like a felony to me. Beside, aren't our prisons overcrowded enough as it is? And I'm unsure what I feel/think about the amnesty issue.

But you know what I don't buy at all? The whole historical argument that the rest of Americans are all immigrants at one point too and thus we lose any ability to regulate our boarders. Fooy, I say.

I see several issues with that thought. Let's just put aside for a minute that most of us immigrated here legally (or there were no laws prohibiting us) and put aside that if we did immigrant illegally during some point in the US history, being born here still makes us citizens and that offspring are not liable for the crimes for their parents or other ancestors (in this country anyway). Let's also ignore that some people were brought there against their will as well. Let’s just focus on the whole Puritan type immigration and the expansion west.

Our European ancestors conquered. Right or wrong, that is a really big difference. The people currently holding right to the land who didn't want us did try to expel them. They just didn't let them. Then they expelled them.

In my property class, one of the early cases was between man A who bought property from a native tribe. The US later took control of that land (by force) and sold the land to man B. The court held (among several racist things) that since title springs from government, once the tribe no longer controlled the land, rights bestowed to A were no longer valid. Man B gets the land. It's not exactly pretty, but that is our current law. The reason that I own my house is because the tribes around here were expelled.

So my point here isn't advocating the morality of force and genocide so much as to point out that analogy between modern immigration and the immigration of the past is really flawed for several reasons.

Having said all that, my feeling is that we can either let the poor and disposed come to this country and work (and tax the factory) or those multinational corporations will just located the factories/farms in those poor countries. The US will lose that tax revenue and the chance to some of our labor and enviromental laws could mitigate some of the damages caused by those facotries. If there is one thing I learned from all that course work in international economics is either capital will flow to labor or labor will flow to capital. Since we can’t/won’t control capital resources and tell corporations where they can and can not locate their resources, then it is in our interest to allow labor to move it. It will help keep captial resources in this country.

Dixie Chicks and Laura Likes...

2006-04-11T13:49:00.000-04:00

I love the Dixie Chicks. Remember when they took at that crap for speaking out agains the war and the Prez? Well, their new album/single is called "Not Ready to Make Nice" If you follow that link, note the "subtle" use of oil imagery in the video. Also the x-ray of the backbone. Hmm...what could that mean?

While I doubt I have many reader anymore with my infrequent posting lately, I want to plug my friend Laura's new blog: Laura Likes.... It is about light, fun books with a paranormal twist. If you're looking for something fun to read, check it out.

2006-04-05T13:30:00.000-04:00

From the Onion, Detroit sold for scrap.

How you know it is satire: "The decision to demolish and cull Detroit for scrap was approved last month by a 6-3 City Council vote after a cost-benefit analysis revealed that, as a functioning urban area, it held a negative cash value."

Pfff. As if the Detroit City Council ever did things merely because they made sense.

Quickie post

2006-04-05T11:39:00.000-04:00

Remember by post about the state tax prof who dresses in corporate goth/artshow style?

Last night she wore a leather shirt. It looked sort of like a biker jacket, only made to be form fitting. As accents, it had shiney, stainless steel zippers done in assymetical designs. Other than the shiney zippers, she was in black from head to toe (black skirt, nylons and boots). Frankly, she looked like how I picture the Queen of Air and Darkness (from Laurel K. Hamilton's Merry Gentry series).

I got nothing else to talk about, so I thought I would share that.

No blog for you!

2006-03-29T16:05:00.000-05:00

So, I haven't been updating a much. My computer network as been weird at work. Supposedly, it has been fixed. I still can't load my blog properly. If I can't read the updates, no one can! Muhahahaa.

Plus, I've haven't been up to much.

toonces the driving cat

2006-03-27T09:07:00.000-05:00

Matt needs a dog. His dad likes to bring Roswell (his parent's pug) in the car with him as he runs errands. This as apparently made an impression with Matt who decided to bring the cats with him in the car. Yes, yesterday Matt brought Pandora with us when we went to the hardware store and took Murray with us to the pet store.

The man needs help. Or a hobby. Of course, what is life without a bit of crazy?

More on school

2006-03-24T09:26:00.000-05:00

Last night's topic was tax research and approaching IRS forms analytically. That's right, in addition to my 3 hr state tax block, I got an extra helping of federal tax in my nonprofit class.

My eyes filled with tears of joy. Well, I was crying anyway.

I did have a nice conversation with another evening student. She talked me into taking professional resonsbility this summer. She said that she took it and barely went to any class and still got an A. On the final, she just asked herself: "What would Jesus Do?" and answered the questions according. Lawyers are just so Christlike, so that really makes sense. Of course, I'm a little heathen, so I'm not so sure I can use that method. In any case, she was a riot.

PSA: Nice Guy Warning

2006-03-23T15:13:00.000-05:00

One of the blogs that I read posted this link. I thought it had was an insightful look at a mostly hetro archtype . What I thought was most interesting about it, was this passage:

I have some news for you, Nice Guys of the world. "Nice" isn't as much of a selling point as you'd think. In fact, for most women, it's like expecting that your new car will come with wheels attached. I know that you think ~~bitches~~ women only like bad boys and jerkoffs, but we'll get to that in a moment.

...

Nice Guys think it is enough for them to be so nice, so sweet, so attentive. Because it is enough, they think it's ok to let other stuff slide. Like it doesn't matter if they have good hygiene, because a girl who cares so much about exteriors is shallow and hypocritical if she can't see past a layer of funk to the shining prince beneath. They don't think it's important to develop much in the way of social skills or good manners (although some of them do have a certain amount of charisma). They never stop to ask themselves whether the fact that they haven't dated anyone since 1997 might have something to do with their annoying behaviors or poor sense of humor. In fact, they see no reason to make any extra effort to improve themselves or present themselves well at all-- because they're SO VERY NICE.

Conversely, though, most Nice Guys only fall for a fairly limited range of "hot" chicks. It's because women are all about the status for them, and they are out to prove something to the world. Some of them will deliberately only go after women who are fairly unattainable, if their martyr complex needs some care and feeding.

I liked the honesty here. It is not so much that "nice guys" finish last, but that nice is just one part of an overall package in a person.

EDIT: Also, I also don't want any of the straight guys who read my blog to think I posted this about them or anything.

More thoughts about law school and career change

2006-03-22T10:14:00.000-05:00

So I had to present the cases for State and Local Tax last night. I did fine. But I really hate that class. I'm glad I'm getting a taste of this and that I took the taste of federal tax last semester. I think I can cross off another field of practice off my list.

I think I will end up doing more administrative law type work either as a government employee or on the private side.

I like the structure and the research style. I did well in the ERISA class, the Banking Regulation class and the Enviromental Law class. All of which had big administrative law components. While my work is primarily field research, I have a learned a tremendous amount about the way the federal government works since working here as well.

I'd like to take the actual administrative law course that Wayne State offers. I also need to take Professional Responsiblity, which is still open and offered this summer at times that are convenient Tue/Thursday, 6:10 - 8:10.

Decisions, decisions...

School Ponderings

2006-03-20T10:17:00.000-05:00

I have completed 43 credits thus far. I need 86 credits to graduate.

I am taking 9 credits this semester. I am planning to take 16 credits next year (8 fall and 8 winter) and 16 credits that following year.

This adds up to 84 credits. Which means I would be two credits short by the year I plan on graduating.

This means, I have to take another summer course, either this summer or next summer.

I'm debating about taking one this summer. I don't particularly want to, but looking ahead it is doable in terms of scheduling. So perhaps I should take it now and then give myself next summer off with nothing looming. I'd like the break though.

St Patty Plans

2006-03-16T09:35:00.000-05:00

So tomorrow night is game night at my friend Carrie’s. Apparently, she was challenged to a trivia contest. I was a team with Carrie when we won a game of trivial pursuit in three turns. It might have been two turns, but I talked Carrie out of a right answer and then we lost control of the board.

Personally, I think she’ll crush the guy who challenged her. My contribution shall be beer. Green beer, if I can find it.

Ick

2006-03-15T10:34:00.000-05:00

So guy was talking on his cell phone will using a stall in the bathroom. Dude, that is so gross!

LIfe is rolling along

2006-03-15T09:37:00.000-05:00

I try to blog everyday, but not a whole lot has been happening. Life has been good. I've been working and getting out and talking with people this week. I should be catching up on homework or doing our taxes, but I can't bring myself to feel too guilty about taking it easy.

Weekend Redux

2006-03-13T09:06:00.000-05:00

Woosh! There went the weekend! It went by in a blur. Which also means I had a really good time. Friday was quality time spent with my partner. On Saturday, I did some chores, such as racking out some of the garden beds, clean uping fallen branches and "helping" (i.e. watching) Matt's dad clean our gutters. Saturday night, Carrie's family invited us along for some early St Patty Day's day fun. They made Corn Beef and cabbage. We then went to see an Irish band. Blackthorn was great and I picked up a couple more CDs. Afterwards, we had Irish coffee.

On Sunday, I did something I haven't done in a very long time. I went to church. Well, kind of. I went to a Unitarian service. It was much different that any other type of service I've been to. I enjoyed it and I'm planning to go again next Sunday. Matt sounded interested and may go with me. Afterwards, I came home and we went to brunch and then did a bunch of errands. After we got home, we spent the rest of the evening puttering around the house.

I look funny. Not funny haha, funny strange

2006-03-10T13:26:00.000-05:00

So I'm trying out a new "look" today. I picked up a very causal sport jacket at the store the other day. It is navry, with gray pin stripe. I paired it with a pair faded jeans and a green undershirt with a kind of tribal/totem type design. I was going for causal, hip, yet kind of professional. I ended up with "What is he wearing?" but my coworkers are too polite to saying anything.

I'm going to see Blackthorn on Saturday. Matt and Carrie have seen them before live. Matt brough home one of their CDs and it quickly became one of my favorite. It's not really what I think of when I think of Celtic music (e.g. some weird high pitched signing with airy-fairy background pipes). It is more like old drinking songs and other types of folk songs. Firstlight is slow, melencholy music. I'm excited to hear what their up tempo music is like.

Tonight, Matt and I have decided to have a date to bring back a little romance. It should be a fun time.

Celebrating Spring

2006-03-09T09:22:00.000-05:00

While I'm sure that we'll be getting more snow, spring is here a bit early this year. Matt spent some time yesterday cleaning up sticks and some trash was caught in our hedges. He noticed that some of the bulbs I planted this fall had started to come up.

Before I left for work this morning, I decided to go out and take a look for myself. So I took a walk around my small yard. I had planted a lot, but only a few are coming up right now. Still, it was a simple pleasure to see some things that I planted start to spourt. It was drizzling a little bit and the ground was kind of muddg, but it had the fresh, earthy smell that only spring has. I'm glad to see the green things start to come back.

KKK

2006-03-07T16:28:00.000-05:00

I saw my parents this weekend. They were full of disturbing news. Apparently, there is an opportunistic thief in Ferndale who is breaking into homes during the day to steal small things like ipods and lap tops.

They also told me that Adrian had an active KKK once upon a time. My great-grandparents had a cross burned on their lawn by the KKK because they were immigrants. But the really disturbing thing was that the KKK is currently trying to recruit new members in the surrounding areas of my home town. They did a mass flyering in the rural parts of Lenawee and Washtenaw country. The flyering took place in the area Northeast of Adrian and Southwest of Ann Arbor.

If you're curious, here is a news story and an editorial.

2006-03-07T09:45:00.000-05:00

I am wild, I am untamed! I forgot to wear a belt! Oops.

Beyond that life is copasetic.

The world is crazy

2006-03-06T11:07:00.000-05:00

Oh and Missouri has decided it didn't like freedom of religion after all.

Home Sweet Home

2006-03-06T09:24:00.000-05:00

I suppose I should have something to say from my own life. But I don't feel chatty.

Instead, here is "interesting" perspective on Detroit and why we shouldn't be concerned:

"I believe very strongly that our obligation is to people, not places, and I think we certainly have an obligation — ethical, economic, what have you — to the residents of Detroit," he told me. But he sees no economic or geographic reason to have a large city there anymore, and he views the prospects for any rebound as dim. (Detroit ranks last among cities with more than 500,000 residents in percentage of college graduates.) The city produced the cars that produced the sprawl that helped destroy the city; such tragedy might have been lessened had it produced more universities too. "There are no reasons why it can't, and shouldn't, decline," Glaeser says. "And I would say that for many other cities. There's no reason not to let decline go forward." The greatness of America is dependent in part upon regional evolutions and migrations, he adds. "Places decline and places grow. We shouldn't stand in the way of that."

Well, this perspective is well and good, but it certainly posits a very passive view of things. The article doesn't have a real sense of the academic scene either. The metro-area has several very solid universities and the Univerity of Michgian is in the extended metro area. Michigan State University is just 1-2 hrs away (depending on where you live). Michigan educates a lot of people, many from out of state. They just don't stay here. Detroit could innovate, create and make its own revial happen. It won't, but that is a failure of people not just the economic forces that make it better to move factory jobs outside of the country. There is barely consensus on a zoo, let alone any real commitment to created a better life or to innovate.

Oh, on that front, Detroit did eventually agree to cede control of the zoo in exchange for the 4 million dollar bailout. Unfortunately, the council did it after the offer expired. Apparently, the State of Michigan isn't so hot to extend the bail out now.

Gee, I wonder why more people don't stay here? We have such good governance to go with our great roads and dynamic economy. Excuse me, I need to go put in for a transfer.

I can't wait!

2006-03-02T09:41:00.000-05:00

You know, I'm really looking forward to the end of law school. At a certain level, it is crazy for me to be talking about finishing. After this semester, I still have 2 more years of this part-time school bullshit. But I've made through the half-way mark. That entitles me to think about graduation right?

Oh, I know. I've written about this before. Lot's of times. In a week (maybe two), this won't be on my radar as much. But right now, after spending time away from my life...well, I realized just how I frustrated and drained I am. I am debating taking a summer class. I really should as it fits my master plan to graduate in 5 yrs and I don't want to drag this process out any farther than it has already. Of course, taking some time to breath and recharge will ultimately mean I will be able to take care of my responsibilites better. Rest time as a necessary part of every activity and all that. So I'll see.

From time-to-time, I do toy with the idea of quiting a lot earlier and finishing my last year up full-time. Instead of scattering my time and energy, to focus it on one area of my life. But I'm not sure I want to make the changes in my life that would be necessary to make that dream happen, for a variety of reasons.

Of course, the time away has also reiterated that I really am ready for a career change. I just don't like the work I'm doing. It is really that simple. I remain committed to completing school. The pactice of law will have its own challeges, I'm sure. Lawyers are fond of talking about them and I would have to be a lot more naive than I am not to see that. Very few things all are sunshine, rainbows and puppies.

Anyway, I've had my morning bitch session now.

I'm back!

2006-03-01T09:24:00.000-05:00

So today is my first day back in the office. I am feeling relaxed and renewed. But not necessarily ready to face the world.

2006-02-22T09:15:00.000-05:00

The politics of this area in a nutshell. This is why there is a "brain drain" in this state. Patterson ought not to be getting into fights with the Detroit City Council. Which isn't to say that I think Council doesn't have their head up their respective asses. But this is ridiculous situation all the way around.

It's actually a really nice zoo. I'm glad that Matt and I took a day to go see the zoo earlier this summer. Belle Isle Aquriam is gone. The Detroit Institute of Arts is privately managed and I believe the Detroit Symphony is independent (I think) so those will be fine. I guess the zoo is next on the chopping block. It's very sad.

Frustration

2006-02-21T09:29:00.000-05:00

Because I’m so busy at work right now, I elected not to take the day before the trip off. To stay on schedule, we need to be in the car by 5 AM. Tonight, I won’t get home until 9:30 PM (my 3 hrs of tax law, woo hoo!) and tomorrow I’ll get home around 8:30 PM.

We got the minimum stuff done to get gone, including the directions, adequate supplies and clothing for the drip and what not. We asked friends to care of our cats (even remembered to give them keys) and I sent off the bills so we’ll have a house to come home to (with heat and power even!).

But it just feels like there are so many loose ends still to take care of. If they’re not finished it won’t be the end of the world. I probably have to just let go and accept that we’ll be coming home to a mess and I won’t have baked good for the road or for the friends who are cat sitting (thank you!!). Last year, we had the house spotless and it was a joy to come home to.

I’m just really frustrated I guess. Too much traveling it too little time and without giving myself adequate time to prepare.

I'm still alive!

2006-02-20T21:10:00.000-05:00

I've been super busy lately and have done mostly work and school stuff. Oy, the Chicago trip and my vacation in a few days is playing havic with my work and school deadlines and balance. Plus, my nonprofit clinic is turning into a pit of time and energy.

Of course, going out into the woods to commune with nature helps to keep me sane, so it is totally worth it in the end. But the logistics of this situation is hell.

Homebody

2006-02-13T09:43:00.000-05:00

I'm not going to be posting much this week. I'm going to a regional meeting/training going on it Chicago for the rest of the week. The trip should be fun, but I'm such a homebody, I don't really want to leave.

This weekend: I was very productive. I got an oil change, my headlight fixed, dry cleaned my suit, hand made candles (with friends), replaced an out door light fixture with a motion sensor (with Matt), and did all the laundry. Whew!

Other miscellaneous writing about my life probably of no interest to anyone besides my partner and I:

Matt and I also talked a lot about up coming house projects. We have 2 big goals. First, we want to install a privacy fence along the one side of our back yard. We've got a very small lot and privacy fence is badly needed. In addition, our backyard is enmeshed with our neighbor’s back yard. The previous owner of my house and my neighbor were brother and sister. They landscaped the yards together. When they sold this, they did some minor editing to make them look separate. The effect of that editing is that it looks like our yard is even smaller that it really is and our neighbors have more land that they really do.

Since they have their house for sale, Matt and I are worried that the new owners may buy the house thinking the yard is bigger that it really is. So this is a very good time to re-establish our boundary line as we don’t want to be the evil neighbors that stole their yard.

Still, it will be a time and money consuming process. Even before getting to the permits, stake surveys, price of the fence and whether we're going to do it ourselves - we will have to spend time separating the yards. There is a buried rubber edge that swoops from their yard into ours cross the boundary and then back. We're going to have to take that out...but it's all one piece. We can't do it without ripping up their stuff. There is a mix of plants and what not to move as well. Just the separation will be time consuming and a lot of hard physical labor.

On Friday, I talked about getting that fancy new water heater. As Stonetree mentioned, as we look through the expenses for that, they seem to be increasing. Realistically, we will be doing either the fence or the water heater this year.

So which one? Waiting on the landscaping will mean that we would have to deal with our new neighbors. Not only aren't these new people the reason why it is a problem, I don't think will be staring off on the right foot and we'll have to live with these neighbors.

I'm okay with limping along with our current water heater, but my instincts say it is will not be long until it breaks down entirely. And call me paranoid, but if I don't deal with these things proactively (to steal a buzzword) these problems happen at the worst possible time and are even more difficult to deal with. In this case, I can only imagine the water heater will blow during finals week while Matt is gone for the weekend and after we've committed or spent money on the fence. And it will probably flood the basement.

Decisions, decision, decisions.

EDIT @ 2:30 PM: Just to clean a few of the more glaring errors up.

Hot Water

2006-02-10T13:01:00.000-05:00

For all of you out there who can’t get enough my home improvement stories, I wanted to share what I’m up to now.

First, I did finally complete the repairs to the dyer. It was bigger headache that I thought it was going to be, but it has been working fine for about 3 weeks now. After announcing that to the world, I fully intend to go home and find that it exploded.

Second, Matt and I are thinking about upgrading our hot water heater.

We currently have smaller than average hot water heater. It is 25 gallons or 30 gallons. The typical size is 40 gallons. In addition, our current hot water heater is old and doesn’t work so well. Our home inspector thought it wasn’t long for the world and that was almost 2 years ago. So basically, who ever gets the first shower gets a hot - warm one. The 2nd person gets either a luke warm one or an invigorating cold shower.

Factoring in the fact that I don’t want to come home to a defunct, leaking hot water heater, I have decided to be proactive and get a new one. I will not be doing this myself, I’m going to pay others to do this for me.

But what kind?

Matt and I have decided on the tankless. This next part is going to be a bit technical, but it has the research I’ve done on this. So here are the pros and cons of tankless or on demand.

Pro:

1) The endless hot water shower!

2) Much more energy efficient. Some sources estimate a savings of about $50 to $70 per year (if varies on your usage and size of course). While rising gas prices, this could be more down the road.

3) Some manufactures provide a 12 year warranty. If it really lasts that long and you average $60 per year, that is $720 dollars you save. That’s basically the price of the smaller brands. These types can actually last up to 20 years.

4) There is a $300 tax credit for purchasing them. This brings the price of on demand to the same level as regular hot water heaters (or cheaper). Be careful about the model. Buying a model with a .8 energy factor or above will entitle us to the credit. The first unit I was looking at had only an energy factor of .78. Unless extended, this credit will be effective only in 2006 and (I believe) 2007. So this is a good time to upgrade.

Con:

1) Tankless have lower flow rates. The size I'm looking at means only one person can shower at once. Of course, we just have one shower, so that is not a problem. But on Sundays, I tend to do a lot of dishes and laundry at once. So I found some additional statistics on flow usage of various house hold appliance from this random website:

Faucets: 0.75 gallons to 2.5 gallons per minute.
Low-flow showerheads: 1.2 gallons to 2 gallons per minute.
Older standard shower heads: 2.5 gallons to 3.5 gallons per minute.
Clothes washers and dishwashers: 1 gallon to 2 gallons per minute.

Many tankless are between 3 and 4 gallons per minute. I would guess that I can do dishes and run the washer at the same time, no problem. All in all, I think our flow rate is so poor, this will be an upgrade for Matt and I regardless. The page that I got the appliance flow rates from, indicated that there could be an issue of generating more waste water unless a pump is installed. That’s on my question list.

2) The endless hot shower. Water usage may go up. :-)

3) Larger up front costs. While between the tax credit and the energy savings, you will come out ahead in the long run, these do cost more upfront.

Lowes carries these types of hot water heater. The tax credit information came from one of the manufacturers, so you can check that specific manufacturer as well.

So there you go, that’s the research I’ve pulled together.

Magic Spell

2006-02-10T09:26:00.000-05:00

Last week I shared a magic word with my readers. This week, I'm going to share more secret occult knowledge. To get some one to follow through on a tentative appointment at the last minute: double book.

While resembling the ancient spell "light a cigarette" often used in restaurants (when smoking was allowed) to invoke food arriving. It is actually more closely related to the even older magic of using the power of your lateness to get all traffic lights red.

Wish me luck, I just doubled booked myself. My meeting with the nonprofit is supposed to be this afternoon and I just scheduled a technician to come out and fix our copier (which broke yesterday).

The contact told my class partner she would let him know on Tuesday whether the tentative Friday appointment was a go or not. She then didn't call on Tuesday or return the message he left on Wednesday or Thursday. Thus, the only reasonable alternative is for me to turn to the dark arts. Since finding a virgin these days is a difficult proposition, I had do some fast substitution.

Of course, I may have ruined my spell by wearing my suit into the office today. Being prepared for the meeting has a powerful anti-charm to this kind of magic.

EDIT: Just got the call that the meeting is called off. I'm such a muggle.

More political ranting...

2006-02-09T10:06:00.000-05:00

While I’m pretty underwhelmed with the Prez generally, he just keeps lowering the bar. NPR reported that he wants to “cut programs that aren’t performing well” and this will balance the budget. What is he thinking? The government does pretty worthwhile things, like roads, schools and healthcare. If those things are worth doing (and I think they are), perhaps we should, I don’t know, FIX them if they have problems?

When my dryer broke, I fixed it. I didn’t just throw it way and wore wet clothing everywhere and then pat myself on the back for saving money by not drying anything. Cutting corners gets you things like levies that fail, resulting in great loss of life and a much bigger bill than you would have had other wise. Pardon me if I don’t think “Gee, those levies didn’t work the first time, let’s not bother rebuilding them. Invisible hand! Private Sector!”

In other news, the “Some Democrats Are Sensing Missed Opportunities” according to the NYTimes. You think!? I was watching some of the Senate hearings on the wire taping. Senator Kennedy started off by kissing ass and then offered a weak, long-winded and abstract criticism of it. It was hard to follow. I had to turn it off. The Democrats need to be sharp, not dull.

In other random ranting, Santino is still on Project Runway. He’s been designing crap almost consistently for the last few shows (okay, the garden dress he was fine on, but still). I was a shame to see the latest designer go, although I never thought he’d make it until the final 3 in any case. My current pick for the final 3 is Chloe, Dan, and Santino (due to drama, not talent).

This is what I'm thinking about when I should be paying attention

2006-02-08T09:02:00.000-05:00

So my state and local tax prof is kind of goth. Not alternative goth, but like corporate goth, if that makes any sense. She’s pale and either has flawless skin or uses some kind of base to make her face smooth and evenly pale (she’s very subtle with the makeup). Close scrutiny of her eyebrows shows she does in fact dye her hair. It is darker than her natural color, but not quite black. Every week she has dressed head to toe in black. How she keeps them all the same shade, her dry cleaner only knows. Shiny, black clunky shoes, perfectly pressed black pants and this week a black turtle neck. All items are a conservative, tasteful and done in a corporate cut.

She does add color by adding a jacket. The jackets are very high fashion, with distinctive patterns and color usage. The week’s jacket actually looked a bit like one done on Project Runway, only hers was done better. The material looked kind of like a coarse burlap sack, in terms of the rough weave and frayed edges. But the material itself looked very soft. It looked like several different earth tones were woven together, greens and golden browns. Instead of buttons, it had giant, silver safety pins. Frankly, it was bit much for me. Her other jackets, while fashionable and arty, were better in my opinion.

Bar none, she is the best dressed professor I’ve ever had.

My nome de blog

2006-02-07T15:11:00.000-05:00

Zyphre is a corruption of Zephyr God of the West Wind. It was my first and most long lasting screen name.

Not 1, but 2 rants!

2006-02-07T11:14:00.000-05:00

Rant I:There has been a lot of unrest about those cartoons that originally ran last September.

I was interested in the cartoons so I took a look around the internet to see if I could find them. Thank you Wikipedia! Part of what caught my eye was this cartoon. I agree and disagree with that take.

All forms of the speech in the cartoon are protected speech in this country. We have groups like the KKK and what not. But the point of the cartoon stands. Not all speech is good, true or appropriate. The lack of outcry by non-Muslims does show a lack of understanding about how offensive such a depiction is (and/or a similar solidarity to be offended on their behalf).

Having said that, I think the violent reaction is part of the reason why so much of the West views Islamic states with trepidation. Saying "I don't like what you said, so I'm NOT going to buy your product and I will tell everyone how bad I think you are" is a traditional method of dealing with hate speech here. But the idea that there must be violent repercussion or that the state ought to censure that kind of activity is a little scary and smacks of self-appointed thought police to me.

I don't like it when our country's socially regressive fundamentalists try to censor gay characters. One state actually had legislation introduce to purge all public libraries of books referencing gay characters last year. That's crazy too. I'm pro democracy, not some kind of creeping theocracy (under any religion).

The freedom of speech is the right to be offensive and insensitive. The same laws that stop a "bad guy" will also stop a "good guy" in just another circumstance. Blah, blah, I’m just repeating myself here. So on to rant II.

Rant II: Last night, we covered how to revoke a will. One way to do that is to burn or tear up the original. That will revoke the will. Now, what happens if some one dies with a will, but that will can't be found?

Assume the person just lost it and make it valid, taking the chance he or she revoked it? Or assume the person revoked, taking the chance it was simple error?

The courts assume revocation. And I think that is bad law. It creates an incentive for a "loser" under the will to destroy it when found, especially if they stand to inherit more under the default (intestacy) rules. At the same time, I think that it should be easy for some one to revoke a will without too much hassle, so I like the tearing up/burning idea and wouldn’t want to add some sort of witness requirement or execution of more paper work.

Okay, this isn't a rant so much as me puzzling over some thing I learned. A good idea that promotes fairness can lead to bad outcomes in other areas. I hate it when that happens!

Interlude

2006-02-06T09:39:00.000-05:00

I could tell you about the party I went to, the Super Bowl, the new recipe I tried (chocolate muffins, with chocolate chips and cherries) or other various odds and ends.

But really, I just want to sit at my desk and slowly drink my coffee while cursing the world. So back to that.

nonprofit clinic

2006-02-03T10:08:00.000-05:00

You know, I almost chickened out of the nonprofit clinic and took a regular class. I'm so glad that I didn't. Last night, I was so interested in the material, I didn't even notice that class went over the allotted time. In fact, when he let us go, I thought he was giving us the mid-class break. It turned out he forgot to give us a break at all.

I'm learning so much and not just about technical points of incorporation, but also things to encourage your client to think about. The lawyer as "counsel" not just as a legal technician. I'm really loving this class.

Before class, I met with my clinic partner. He was both prepared and thoughtful. We a good conversation about what we need to look for, questions to ask and etc. I think I'm going to enjoy working with him. I've had some bad group experiences, so I'm a bit leery of work that requires a partner, but so far he seems like a really solid guy. The fact that he is a hottie is just icing on the cake!

Anyway, during my first two years I had expressed doubts about becoming a lawyer. It is nice to feel passionate about this and that the legal field is place where I belong. Yay!

Work Meme

2006-02-02T12:39:00.000-05:00

So I've got to send in some answers to questions for this ice breaker deal (which look like a meme to me) and so I thought I would post my answers here.

1. Name your favorite Rock Group

Queen

2. Name a beverage that you would drink before/during/or after a [work] training session.

Do poppers count as a beverage?

3. What is your Favorite Sport to "Watch"

Nude Oil Wrestling

4. What is your Favorite Hotel Luxury

Any hotel that shows gay porn.

5. What is your Favorite Movie

BareBack Mountain.

Okay, so I didn't actually send these in. But come on, my favorite luxury hotel!? And why is watch in quotation marks?

Anyway, I think my real aswers are going to be:

1) ???? I've recently beening getting into Johnny Cash and Blues generally (Muddy Waters comes to mind), but Rock...I'm drawing a complete blank. And really, my musical interest are very transitory.
2) Dr. Pepper. It's an easy choice.
3) Basketball. Meh, it's as good as any.
4) Embassy Suites. I've got a very limited pool of exeperiences at luxury hotels.
5) I really enjoy a lot of movies and I don't really have a clear favorite. For this, I'm inclined to go with some arty and intellectual, rather than geeky. My current favorite geeky movie is Serenity. Hmm...arty and intellectual? Brokeback Mountain certainly springs to mind, but its too current to be appropriatly pretentious. I'm going for slightly more obscure. Amelie? I really liked it and it was a feel good movie, highlighting my upbeat and whimsical nature. Memento was freaky, distrubing and cool. I'm totally hardcore and forgetful. Plus extra points for beeing obscure. If I really want to crazy, I would go with Mulholland Drive. I watched it three times and still didn't get it, which it appropriate for my Dada-esque personality. Maybe I'll go with Garden State which I really liked as well. My mom's not dead, but I could pretend. Yep, Garden State it is.

Say the magic word

2006-02-02T09:29:00.000-05:00

They say “please” is the magic word. I would rather say that please is a magic word. Sure, you say please to make some things happen. “Please could you get me a glass of water?” And few minutes later, you’ll get that glass of water (if you a person you have the relationship with in any case). It invokes good things into you life.

But there are other magic words. “Thank you” comes to mind, “I love you” is another magic phrase that can either build a relationship or kill it in some cases. But the word I’m thinking of this morning is “no.” It is a strong word, a word of banishing, word that enforces boundaries. “No” worked for me today.

I was walking through the Scariest Parking Structure in the World this morning (it is where I park everyday). It was mostly empty and this man came up with a little flag on a toothpick. Now, I’ve seen these guys before. Usually they show up when special events give the flags to people and then ask for money. I’ve never paid them much attention. I just walk on by and generally they don’t even solicit people who look like they’re going home fom work.

But this guy was more insistent. He starts to hand me the mini-flag. I just politely say “no, thank you” and really don’t even slow down. So he steps in front of me. Surprised I stop. He continues on his spiel, saying this was for a homeless shelter. I just shake my head and try to move around him. He again steps in front of me and shoves the flags at me and, stupidly, I take it. I hold out the flag back out to him. I try to get him to take it again saying “no, I don’t have anything for you.”

I’m walking now but he is walking next to me on my left side and slightly in front of me. He continues to try to get me to give him money. At this point, my temper frays and I say loudly and angrily “NO!” and he immediately shuts up, takes the flag and leaves me alone. I didn’t see any security guards around, but I’m sure the he didn’t want any attention drawn to what he was doing. .

If I had thought about it at the time, I would have found a security guard and them know what this guy was doing. I’m pretty used to be hit up for money. I get asked for money at least once a day and often between two and three times, just between walking from my parking structure to my office building. I’m not bothered by it (generally speaking) and I’ve never felt the need to complain to anyone about it before. But this guy was really aggressive.

So while I’m feeling a little wigged-out today, I’m also grateful for the word “no,” for my temper and for security guards.

Odds and Ends

2006-02-01T09:23:00.000-05:00

Class: My 3 hour block of State and Local Tax is tedious beyond belief. So far, I've learned that the the same 4-part test is used to examine every state tax that affects interstate commerce. However, the 4 elements of the the test are applied differnetly depending on if it is a use/sales tax, income tax, tax exemption, property tax, ad nausem. This area of the law is a mess. My prof (who I like, she's spunky) often will explain a particularly screwy thing and then say "and this is why this area needs so many lawyers" with a gleeful look.

In the news: I've avoided the news. I don't want to hear about it. I am so dishearten. With all the lies, abuses of power, corruption and sheer incompetence that the Republicans have shown I would have thought the Dems would be moving in for the kill. Instead, no there has been no clear leadership or even a backbone. Frankly, I'm thinking about voting Green in the next election. At least the Green party actually stands for something.

Blog Olypmics: It's all over, but I decided to finish my "play at home" edition. I'm glad I did too as there are 2 interesting links.

The first looks at how linked your blog is: My count was 183. More that I thought there would be.

Finally, there was a free site that validates error in your HTML coding. I'm not sure how it works, but I've got 97 errors. A lot of them look to be in the template that I've chose. Actually, I've been meaning to update my look. More reason to do it I suppose.

Blessed be the peacemakers

2006-01-30T12:05:00.000-05:00

I found this article on the Christain PeaceMakers Team that was kidnapped. It looks they are alright for the moment.

Motown is 'Frotown

2006-01-30T08:58:00.000-05:00

Matt, my parents and I went to a Piston's game at the Palace on Friday. It was pretty fun and I learned a lot. Ben Wallance, a center, was fun to watch. I see why they are doing so well this year, he is a fantastic defensive player (see how much I learned!). He wears his hair in a Fro and apparently a lot people are into it. I saw various signs, such as "Fear the Fro" and I stole my subject line from another. His hair is pretty cool. The Palace was sold out and was very busy. We got there early enough that the were giving away little figurines on some old Pistons player (there are limits to what I can absorb in a given night).

The rest of the weekend went by in a blur. I blame the cosmo-like frozen drink that I made from the mix Matt got me for Christmas. I'm at work down and tired beyond belief. That's Monday for you.

2006-01-26T08:47:00.000-05:00

Not a whole lot to post. I got the list of nonprofits I can work with...and with it one of my first real lessons of what it will mean to be attorney. None of the nonprofits really spark any passionate interest and there is only one that I have any interesting in assisting what so ever. I put in my preferences. We'll see what I get.

I guess that is what being an attorney means: it's not about me. I need to take myself out of the process and focus on being an advocate.

On a light note, today's task in the Blogger Olympics is the list the largest number of out going links. I'm too lazy to check back at all my posts. I would guess five out going links would be my highest day.

A Typical Day

2006-01-25T10:11:00.000-05:00

6:30 AM Wake up

6:30 AM - 6:45 AM (maybe 6:50 on some days) take a shower

6:45 AM to 7:00 AM Putz around the bathroom, brushing my teeth, shaving and what not.

7:00 AM to 7:05 AM Crawl back into bed with Matt and the cats. Pet the cats and harass Matt to wake up.

7:05 AM - 7:45 AM (Often 8:00 AM) Finish getting ready for work. This includes fixing up breakfast, iron my and Matt's clothes for the day. I usually have the TV on in the background for noise. I like to have a fairly relaxed morning.

7:45 AM to ?? Curse at the other drivers during rush hour.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM ~~Read blogs~~ Work diligently.

5:00 PM - 5:30 PM Heat up my dinner and then drive to school, cursing at the other drivers.

5:30 PM - 6:10 PM Sit in the library reviewing (or reading for the first time) the class assignment.

6:10 PM - 8:10 PM ~~Play solitaire~~ Take notes diligently.

8:10 PM - 8:30 PM Drive home really fast.

8:30 PM - 10:00 PM Have a snack, chat with Matt, watch TV, surf the net or whatever.

10:00 PM Go to bed. Or watch Project Runway. Or watch the Real World/Road Rules Challenge.

And that is my schedule Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Tuesday nights my class goes until 9:10 PM, so I don't get home until 9:30 or at night. Which I LOVE! I mean an extra late night class discussing tax policy! It's a party.

Oh, I should include today's blog Olympics. I generally don't get a lot of comments. My biggest day was 4 different commenters, excluding myself. This round to you Stonetree! Just wait for the typo compeition! I will pwn that event!

(Um, there will be a typo event right? Right?)

Blog Olympics - sort of

2006-01-24T12:21:00.000-05:00

StoneTree is currently competing in the Blog Olympics. I'm not participating, but so far I thought the challenges were interesting. So I think I will play along at home.

I have had this blog for 473 days. I've posted 355 times.

473 / 355 posts = 1.332 days between posts. That sounds about right. I tend to post once a day, excluding weekends. Ocassionally more (like today) and occasionally less.

A bit of history

2006-01-24T11:20:00.000-05:00

Last night, I had Trusts and Estates. I'm still on the unit that takes about what happens if you die without a will. The class has been really interesting so far. We learned about the evolution of the rules regarding adoptions and "nonmarital" or child born out of wedlock.

Adoption: Until 1900s, adopted kids had to right of inheritance. Unless you specifically willed them property, they got nothing. After the 1900s, adopted kids got limited inheritance rights. Those rights were limited by the "stranger to the adoption" rule. While adopted kids could inherit from their parents by right, they had no right to take property by "representation" - the idea that you take the right to inherit as if you were your parent, once they have passed away. Which means they didn't have a right to inherit from their grandparents basically. The idea was that the grand parents were strangers to the adoption. That is all done away with that now and adopted kids are treated like bio-kids now and have full inheritance rights. Adopted kids lose their rights to inherit their bio-parents. Except if you adopt your step kid. Step kids can inherit from their bio-mom, bio-dad, and the parent who adopts him/her. They actually have more inheritance rights than most people.

Nonmarital: Reaching way back in the past, nonmartial kids did not have a right to inherit from either their mother or their father. As the law changed, nonmarital kids gain the right to inherit from their mother, but not their father. It wasn't until the 1970s that nonmartial kids began to get the right to inherit from their fathers. It was a Supreme Court decision under the Equal Protections clause that sparked change. In fact, in the olden days, a married woman’s children were legally considered her husband’s children and this assumption couldn’t be challenged. Now, fathers have a right to challenge that presumption. I think the real reason for the change in this area has been driven by medical testing that can establish paternity. Before that, society had worked out some pretty ungenerous (for the child’s point of view) rules

Odds and ends: The prof also talked about rights of children conceived using technology (like artificial insemination, egg donation), coparenting agreements by gays and lesbians and the like. That part was interesting, but more of a foot note to the class discussion rather than the meat of it.

On Muffins and Makeovers

2006-01-23T09:21:00.000-05:00

As Matt recaps I let him drag me to a stupid party. I suppose it was my fault for suggesting it, however facetiously. Matt found the whole thing funny, I was rather disturbed by visions of what might have been. As a child, I went through a faze where I wore nothing but sweat suites with a fanny pack (because you need the pocket space). It lasted until one day little Jay looked around, maybe the gay fashion gene kicked in, and thought, “this just ain’t right.” And I dragged my parents out for real clothes. I’m no fashionista now, but my style could have been tragically bad. And I’ve never worn a sweat suite since then.

Moving on from traumatic childhood flashbacks to my current muffin craze: I tried making blueberry muffins this weekend. As I mentioned, the cookbook that I'm using bemoans the "cupcake-ization" of muffins and has a "quick bread" philosophy. I was surprised by the way they turned out. They aren't really what I would call muffins. They're a lot closer to scones. But really tender, buttery, moist scones bursting with berries and not very crumbly at all. But definitely not like the more cake-like blueberry muffin you'd get at a coffee shop.

While good, I may fiddle with this recipe. I may add a bit more sugar and cut back on the amount of berries. It called for a pint of berries for just a dozen ordinary sized muffins. I want them a bit more cake-like.

Of course, I may leave it as is as they are more healthful as is and I really like them (I made a pig out of myself on them when they first came out of the oven, the blueberries all warm and gooey). Either way, they’ll make reappearance in the future. I may try the same recipe, only with raspberries.

Hodge Podge

2006-01-20T09:13:00.000-05:00

Class: We covered the Michigan Nonprofit Incorporation Act. I learned how to write the articles of incorporation in order to have it run by a petty despot. Well, I guess being a petty despot is more of a personality thing, but I did learn various ways of structuring authority, including concentrating all the power into one person's hands. In fact, the prof said that keeping the legal authority into few persons' hands helps to keep the nonprofit stable. Which I can see on one hand, but I'm kind of into shared power structures personally.

In Esates & Trusts, we spent an hour on domestic parntership agreements and gay marriage. I was pleasantly surprised. I learned a lot more on how to draft a dp agreement that won't be struck down by courts. Also, I learned a new word: meretrix. It's Latin for prostitute. It is used as adjective (mereticious) by the courts historically to strke down dp agreements (not just gay ones either). Basically, they said that if you lived with some one and didn't get married, but was promised money or material items that you were basically a prostitute. Or in fancy lawyer talk: the relationship and consideration was meretricious and therefore the contract was void against public policy. 'Cause love and affection couldn't have anything to do with it.

Project Runway: I just discovered "Tim's Take" which is the blog of Tim Gunn, one the hosts of Project Runway. My favorite clip:

Santino is becoming a caricature of himself...[h]e designed a Joke (capital J) that would have made Galliano wince. Santino declared, "I'm designing the biggest dramatic statement!" Okay, but Sasha Cohen is your client and how will it look on her? Answer: Like she'd been swallowed by a bird of prey. Santino also said, "I don't know what the f&% I'm doing!" No kidding

Santino has to go, I don't think the judges are going to let the producers drag him into the final 3 like they did with Wendy Pepper from last year. Unless Santino can really rein himself in. He's really been making crap lately.

Food: I baked some garlic muffins last weekend. Tasty, but I don't think they'll make a reappearance. Matt has put in a request for blueberry muffins. So I think I'll give in to his banal craving this weekend and make some up (who am I, Betty Croker!?). ;-) But next weekend, I'm going to make quiche lorraine muffins!

Capitalists really are evil!

2006-01-19T09:02:00.000-05:00

I work across the street from the Cobo Center, which is currently hosting the auto show. So it has been a little more congested around here, but really not big deal. Except (and you knew there was an except coming right?) one of the vendors apparently lacks a soul. Some guy set up a temporary store in an empty building to sell auto show merchandise. As some kind of sick enticement, the owner has hooked up speakers to that blare the first 30 seconds "Since U Been [sic] Gone" by Ashlee Simpson [sic]. And when I say blare, I mean it is loud enough to be heard in my cubicle, 13 stories above. It goes off every so often and has no pattern I have been able to discern (you know, once the bleeding in my ears stops).

Please say a prayer for my sanity.

Now with 50% more chaos!

2006-01-18T15:41:00.000-05:00

Marshall and Kim try marriage again. Will those crazy kids make it work this time? Or will the divorce give Eminem more material...you know with more songs about killing his wife. I'm sorry, but if someone wrote a song about killing me I don't think I would marry them.

Last night, I had my first local and state tax course. About an hour into class, the prof mentioned that this class goes until 9:10 at night, not 8:10. A bonus hour of tax law and it wasn't even my birthday!

Oy, this last week and half has been rough here at work. Some things go in cycle. The region has a whole didn't do so hot. I was fine though. Woot!

Also, I just checked out a blog whose author was talking about how she reached enlightment and that she likes to tell people that. She wants to people to know what the full range of human potential can be. How considerate of her! Now I know I don't have to be a weak-souled sheep who doesn't live life to the fullest. Now I can consciously choose to be a weak-sould sheep who doesn't live life to the fullest! Woot! In that vain, here is an article orginally published in the Onion: I am the serenest! Xtreme Religion! 'Cause spirituality is so totally a contest.

Come on already!

2006-01-13T14:00:00.000-05:00

So of my class mates talk about how they dn't check their grades that often. One guy told me he waited to look at his grades from last year until this fall. Me, I obsess. It's been three weeks and still no grades yet. I would have though 1 of the 3 classes I took would have reported back. Lazy profs.

I'm a flake...

2006-01-12T09:26:00.000-05:00

Nonprofit clinic: After much heming and hawing, I'm sticking with it. I emailed the professor about the classes I need to miss and he got back to me saying that it should be no problem. In all honestly, part of my cold feet was also due to the fact that I didn't want to rock the boat on my normal routine. The clinic is more work, team based and will require me to be mentally present every class (no more hiding in the back with my head down if I'm tired). But I realized this is something that I really want to do. I'm actually excited about going tonight. Plus, it should be mutually beneficial. It will be good for the nonprofit (free legal work) and it will be good for me (credit and client experience). Best kind of volunteer work.

Fluff: I'm totally addicted to Project Runway. This is the second time that Santino should have been eliminated. The only reason he is still around the fact that he stirs up drama. Only in TV land is that ever rewarded. I will miss geeky Diana. Although I never did think that she would make it to the end. She was very high concept (very cool stuff), but she had trouble translating her ideas into substance in the limited time frame the designers have.

2006-01-11T13:29:00.000-05:00

Apprantly if you can make in New York, you can't necessarily make it anywhere. Feel free to read the article, but it is basically a wank about how great living in New York is and how people had to return once they left it.

Just ramblings today...

2006-01-11T09:09:00.000-05:00

Mirror neurons are the biological bases for empathy. Who'd thunk it.

WDET sued!

2006-01-09T13:29:00.000-05:00

My local public radio station is getting sued! How weird. I'm assuming their donations must have been pretty big. I love NPR, but WDET is pretty cool too.

Quick acting karma

2006-01-09T11:42:00.000-05:00

Man finds mouse inside home. Takes it outside and tosses the living mouse into a pile of burning leaves. Mouse jumps out, on fire, and runs back to its nest, terrifed and in pain. Which is back inside this guy's house. House burns down.

True Story.

Random Musings...

2006-01-09T09:51:00.000-05:00

1) I've been seeing the word putative around a lot lately. I guess people are trying to change it up and not use allegedly all the time.

2) I made some muffins from scratch. I checked out a new cookbook all about muffins and the introduction was really interesting. It taked a bit about the history of quick breads that were possible after baking powder nad baking soda were invented (as well as some of its precursers). The receipes are a bit more traditional in the sense that they are not cupcake-like and more like a soft, sweet bread. Kind of like zuccini bread or banana bread, only lighter and not as sticky.

3) The dryer is giving me fits. The repair guys comes and tells me if I do x, y and z I'll fix it. Well, it heats up, so I declare it fixed. But then I find that it is drying very slowly. So I read up and learn that a clogged dryer vent is the biggest cause of slow dyers, so I clear out the dryer venting system. I do a load and it dries it really well. I declare it fixed. I then try to do all the laundry. And it is still very slow. Sigh. I'm going to order a new heating element and replace it. Argh.

4) My semester starts today. I'm talking "Trusts & estates, state and local taxes and ?? for the 3rd option. I am currently schedule in a clinic, but I've a some work and personal travel coming up and participate is key there. So I may be forced to switch to a class.

Saints

2006-01-06T21:53:00.000-05:00

Don't tell the Vatican. Or should that be remind the Vatican.

Give me some of that old time religion...

2006-01-06T12:51:00.000-05:00

Good ol' Pat Robertson, he is spreading more sunshine. I wonder if he gets a hard on when hears about natural disasters or people in pain. I mean, this is the guy that prayed that some of the liberal Justices would get sick or die. He is indeed a shining beacon for Christ.

This weekend, I'm going to sleep in late and play with the cats. That's my plan! Maybe do a little reading or something. Maybe not.