political stupidity: a response

i've been so happy/busy since i got my new puppy that i haven't had much motivation to write. but thanks to snakebite's latest post, i'm back on the ranting bandwagon!

snakebite opens with concerns about his tax dollars being wasted. he proposes the retaliatory idea of voting against incumbents across the board, with no exceptions.

oh, come now.

let's think about this for a minute. these people are being paid with our tax dollars. do we really want 100% rookies in their positions? i personally don't want my tax dollars being used for ojt.

completely cleaning house means bootstrapping a government. surely, anyone can see that this would not be cheap or easy. but now that i think of it...heck, if we start all over, we could just axe democracy altogether. since democrats and republicans can't get along*, we could test the waters of totalitarian-ism and see how that goes? or better yet, anarchy! to heck with any government at all!

okay, recall if you will the saying about throwing the baby out with the bathwater. necessarily, those parties whom you feel are doing a good job would also not be in office. [shush! don't tell me that nobody in office is working toward goals that match your social or economic belief system.] i personally wouldn't trade amy klobuchar in. maybe you (erroneously ;) feel the same way about michael jackson's twin in congress. snakebite, as a cyclist who has eschewed automobile ownership, would you really want to dismiss denny rehberg, who is backs the bicycle commuter bill?

pffffft.

there are a lot of things wrong with our government, but there are plenty of things right with it, too.


*we're a 2-party system, no?

tip of the day: always carry your digital camera

always.

i do not have my camera with me today. so of course, just a few minutes ago i witnessed the shortest parade ever. it was three floats and one marching band long. the band was playing rudolph the red nosed reindeer. they were going down nicollet avenue in downtown minneapolis.

i am not making this up.

really!

peanut's blog

like any good dog mom, i want to make sure my pup has every advantage in life. i'll scrimp and save so she can go to the finest schools...and have a blog.

the blog part is so that i don't junk up this blog with puppy reports. every day is a new day when you're little and discovering a new world, so there is lots to say. you can check out what peanut (her name now, but if i can find a good-sounding native american name that means "little deer" it may still change) is up to here.

it's a girl!

introducing my new 4-legged kid, peanut.


she is a terrier mix, about 3-1/2 months old. so far i have determined that she needs a bath *pew* and if she doesn't want to go somewhere, she plays donkey by lying down rather than sitting. and she doesn't know any commands. *sigh*

she knows what no means, though. :)

she is from saint martin (the caribbean). she and her littermates were left in a box for trash pickup. luckily, somebody heard the pups crying and they were saved.

i have half a mind to change her name to eeyore because she likes to play donkey so much.

oh joyous creation

labor day has passed, school has started, the days are getting shorter. things are looking pretty grim.

but wait. what's this i see?

an oktoberfest bier?

i am suddenly gleeful.

i love octoberfest beers. the appearance of the first octoberfest beer marks the beginning of my favorite beer season. the next few months will be filled with tasting every available octoberfest creation for 2008. i can't wait to see which ones match up to paulaner's oktoberfest (because that is the oktoberfest by which all other octoberfest beers must be judged).

and if the sheer joy of octoberfest season weren't enough, it's directly followed by my second favorite beer season: the winter brews.

so much to look forward to...

i love this time of year.

more thoughts on friendship (with no associated postulate)

in this article from the simple dollar, i was pleased to discover a kindred spirit in thoughts on friends. like the author, many of my college friends are no longer in close proximity, and also like the author, i chose new friends based on shared activities. that is a good thing, in my book - i have many activity friends, and have developed good friendships through this avenue. and since being active is core to my being, it works out well.

that said, activity friendships can be limiting, because you may have an activity in common but perhaps not a common value system. do you have a high-income golf buddy that spends every cent? a running pal that mocks and belittles others? a bike friend that spends every night at the bar? a multi-sport friend that constantly complains on her blog? ;)

maybe you have a curling friend who is a successful business owner. a hockey friend who is going to graduate school. a book club companion who is very active in her community.

if you have aspirations of being more than mediocre, surround yourself with people who are positive and supportive. if you're content with your life as it is, never mind all this. but should you be on the never-ending path of self improvement, try making some new friends or spend time with the ones who share similar values and goals. it's something you owe to yourself.

bike more for less accidents

good news. a study out of the university of new south wales finds that the more bicyclist on the road, the fewer crashes there are with automobiles. in a bit of sensationalistic journalism, they marked this finding as a paradox, since more cyclists should mean more crashes.

how obviously not.

of course, the more you see cyclists on the road, the more aware of them you are going to be, and the more aware you are, the less likely it is that an accident will happen.

i see the awareness effect each spring. i ride a motorcycle, and nobody has seen one for several months (in minnesota, anyway), and it's then that i need to be extra extra careful (as opposed to just extra careful the rest of the year), because motorists just aren't used to looking for bikes. there just isn't any thought that there might be a 2-wheeled vehicle in the vicinity. but on the up side, as people remember that motorcycles exist, they exhibit much better road-sharing tendencies. i feel pretty comfortable on the road this time of year.

so the obvious conclusion we can draw is that we all need to get out there and ride! don't just do group rides on rural roads to nowhere - bike to the grocery store; bike to the farmer's market; bike to the coffee shop. numbers mean more awareness and more respect and more safety for everyone.

two wheels good!

easy listening

what the heck? it's been 11 days since i've done a post on this blog? i knew i was busy, but jeepers. so on to the topic of the day.

we've had a wonderful summer here in minnesota. some summers, like the past few, have been very hot and humid. i don't have air conditioning, so i am more keenly aware of the weather than most folks. this year, there were only a couple of nights where i found it uncomfortable. and it was certainly nothing a simple switch to a higher fan setting couldn't handle.

during the summer (and in the spring and fall as much as possible), i have the windows in my house open. i love fresh air. i also love the sounds of nature. in the morning the birds chirp, the squirrels chatter and the leaves rustle. sometimes a beetle bumps against a screen, or a bee buzzes around trying to find a way in. right now, the crickets sound like they are having a splendid time.

i have noticed that there don't seem to be as many critter sounds as there used to be. apparently i'm not the only one. bernie kraus, a bioacoustician, has noticed that the sounds of the natural world are vanishing.

sad.

an article about kraus' work contained some wonderful soundscape audio. if you have a moment, then relax, listen and enjoy. perhaps it'll spawn the wish to visit a rainforest near you.

weekend report: heather in town

one of my college roommates, whom i haven't seen in way too long, was in town for her brother's wedding. we got together to eat dinn'r at big 10, an old favorite college hangout for both of us. it was great to see her and her family. i rode bobbin (my motorcycle), and the kids got a chance to sit in the cockpit.

i promised jason that i would put the pictures up on the internet so the whole world could see them. so here they are. enjoy.

dogs are closer to god

a friend blogged that she's single because [oversimplifying] she likes to ride her bike too much. my first impression was that of sympathy. i'm single because i like to ride my bike. and play racquetball. and curl. and golf. and motorcycle. and climb.*

but upon further consideration, i'm single because i like most dogs better than i like most people.

i used to think dogs were great because they were always glad to see you. it didn't matter if you came home late and drunk; you were still their favorite person. they just never hold a grudge. and dogs are great for that reason. but after years of intermittent consideration, i've realized that the god-like gift of complete forgiveness is not the foremost reason i hold the canine in such high regard.

this epiphany came while listening to a k.t. tunstall song.

leave it all to me
i will do the right thing
maybe i'll be everything i need
leave it all to me
i will do the right thing
do the right thing

dogs are extraordinary not only because they generally exhibit behavior that any deity would approve of, but because they make me want to be the perfect person they treat me as. and that's the intangible quality i require in a mate: the ability to conjure such admiration that it inherently demands i be my best, selfless, self. the ability to be that person, my friends, is love.

i'm all out of love, all out of faith
i would give everything just for a taste
but everything's here, all out of place
losing my memory, losing the best of me
...saving my face

*i've come to the conclusion that i'm a sports polygamist. i really intensely love doing each one, and for very different reasons, for the very distinct ways in which each challenges my mind and body.

proper paper towel use

a while back i ranted on about public restrooms. one of my peeves involved excessive use of paper towels. apparently, i'm not the only one bothered by inappropriate bathroom paper towel utilization.

guest towel visa program

:)