Back from hiatus (ok, not really)

OK, so not really a hiatus so much as I blew it off for two years. However, I am going to try to start this up again. I find writing therapeutic, and I am starting to do it again at work, so I need the practice.

I might slowly backfill some highlights of the past two years, but for now let's just say they were good and bad (what years aren't?). All you need to know:

• The Bird is still around, and will continue to inspire
• The Partner is too, but so is the cancer (six years now) - he will also inspire (he always has)

Love,

Jack

I'm Off to Hollywood

Hotel California

Flying High

I flew today from Boston to Los Angeles via American Airlines (which despite all its problems I still like, usually).

When I booked this trip, I did not consider the timing very well - it is school vacation week and apparently lots of people now take their kids to Disneyland in CA rather than Disneyworld in FL (damn them all!). When I get to the gate (after my usual battle with airport security), they are announcing the flight is overbooked and they are looking for volunteers to move to another, later flight. AA teases us with a free flight voucher, but I say NO. I want CA.

I board the plane and cannot help but notice the plane right next door (above) - Look at all the patch work holding that tail fin on! I hate traveling by air, but not because of fear of flying, just because I hate the whole process. But looking at this patchwork makes me suddenly worry about the act of flying itself.

Despite this, I have an very uneventful flight to LA - and a very nice week to escape the Boston winter.

Angels in the Outfield

Today I got to go the only 2009 season game at Fenway Park. My first game of this season, and my first post season game ever. I was hoping this would provide some luck for the Sox, as they were trailing the Angels 2-0 in the series and this game they could face elimination. However, I hoped their return to Fenway would help turn it around.

Alas, it did not. It looked like the Sox could close this game - I had a tweet ready to go to Twitter telling LA to put their brooms away. It is a good thing I did not send it because then Jonathan pulled a Papelboner and it was done. The Angels finally beat the Red Sox in the ALDS, to send them against NY in the ALCS. And where did they all celebrate? Out in the field in Fenway Park. Angels in the Outfield.

Bummer.

Carnival, 2009

Great week lounging in Ptown for Carnival 2009.

Off to Bird Camp

The Partner and I are off for a week to Provincetown, so we know we had to do something with The Bird. An entire week is a long time to have someone come by every day and feed him and provide him with some company. So what do we do? Take him to Bird Camp!

Well, Bird Camp is really more a small animal veterinarian hospital outside Boston that also provides Kennel services. We had put him up here before, during our last visit to CA, and the staff were already used to him and his "eccentricities". So they were happy to have him.

The last time we had him there he shared a room with several other parrots and he was extremely excited about it. This time, however, he was put into a room with about 10 cages. One was for him, all the others had cats in them. I was surprised, but did not think this was a problem. Cats and birds do not always get along, but they would be in cages, so everything should be fine. However, I did get concerned when I started realizing that the cat beneath Rick's cage was a loud, constant meower.

I really did not want The Bird to start meowing.

Finally, the Light at the End of the Tunnel

The Buffoonery will soon be over, and a real Leader - one with intelligence, poise and who can inspire will take over. The Dark Times are coming to an end:

Fluffee Talks on YouTube

If you have not seen this guy's videos yet, check him out. He is so damned funny. A YouTube phenom:

Fluffee Talks

The Plan

We plan to move forward with the Plan. A detailed plan of the plan can be found in the planning folder entitled “Plan”. Please plan time to examine the plan prior to implementation of the plan. We apologize for the unplanned planning, but we had planned on providing plans to review the plan but unplanned planning for another plan got planned.

For planning purposes, please plan on an alternate plan in case unplanned events cause the plan to go not as planned. Please plan to provide the planners with a copy of your alternative plan so that they can plan to plan for the unplanned.

As planned, should the plan go as planned, additional planning for the next plan will be planned. Please plan to attend the planning.

McCain's crap is starting to really smell

Who does McCain think we are?

You know, I really, really dislike John McCain. But the people I probably dislike more are the nutjobs on his campaign who either a) encourage him to do the stupid things he does or b) are not gutsy enough to stop him from doing them.

How much crap do they think they can pull before people start to smell it? At first, the Sarah Palin choice seemed like it might have some real punch. No one knew her yet, and you gotta hand it to John, he stole Barack Obama's post acceptance speech thunder and squashed it! One of the best political speeches in ages (it got me completely converted) and no one spoke of it again. So if that was McCain's goal, he totally scored. However, if choosing a sensible running mate was his goal, time is starting to show that he blew that one. I suspect the debate will only blow that wide open. Do their handlers really expect, I mean REALLY expect, that we will believe that because Alaska is closest to Russia, that she has "foreign policy experience"? I studied political science in Germany for a year - I have more real foreign policy experience! Do they think we are so idiotic that we would consider a refueling stop in Ireland to count as a visit to a foreign nation?

So while we are all trying to get through the ridiculousness that is the Sarah Palin nomination, we now get the whole silliness of the "suspended campaign" and attempt to put off the debates ridiculousness last week. Is McCain getting advised to do this crap or is the old maverick finally firing his last neuronic activity in that old brain of his? He goes through this grand effort to look like he wants to do the right thing, stop everything and go save the economy. Let's forget, momentarily anway, that he basically got this idea when the Obama campaign reached out to his campaign suggesting they issue a joint statement of solidarity. What followed was a crystal clear attempt to steal the thunder from Obama again (after all, the polls clearly show that Obama is pulling ahead, especially in the areas of the economy). So McCain just figures he will pull one of these stunts. It worked briefly with Palin. The funny part is the all the photo opps show McCain looking like a useless idiot, where Obama (who was clearly set up to be ambushed) looked positively Presidential. Oh, and McCain ended up having to show up for the debate after all, the one he wanted so badly to blow off.

Oh, and boy I can only imagine how badly he wishes he could have stayed away - talk about a poor performance. How many people could actually still want this team to be President and Vice President now?

People are starting to see through the smoke and mirrors now. McCain's Crap is starting to smell.

A Word or Two About Rudy Giuliani

Rudy Giuliani's seething torrent of whining sarcasm at the Republican National Convention pretty much used up any remaining 9/11 credits he had left. I have a hard time believing that he actually supports the Sarah Palin nomination. He must feel pretty slighted, I mean, he has such a high opinion of himself. However, I think we now know he is mostly irrelevant.

Barack - love ya, but really...

It is your election to lose. I only fear that you are peaking with your extremely hot performance overseas at the same time that McCain is bottoming out (I mean, really, can you get any lower than going to a German restaurant to compare to your Berlin appearance?).

I just want to be sure you can pull this off through the actual election. Sounds great right now that you can be so presidential, but McCain (ick) does seem to be pulling up in polls. I do enjoy watching you right now, but I remember a time that I loved watching Michael Dukakis driving a tank - and we know how that ended up.

Jack

What A Bird (the video)

Almost three years into this blog (and yes, I know it has been "sparse" this past year), I finally have a video of the Bird who inspired it. Meet Rick...




With Election 2008 running into high gear, you will be hearing a lot more from me (and Rick). Hopefully I can reconnect with some of you who I have corresponded with over the last few years.

Tornadoes in New Hampshire!

And Rhode Island? Anyone still wondering about climate change problems?

Facebook, Part 2

Man this Facebook stuff is addictive! A quick recap of my first month:

• Contrary to what I expected, I actually have reconnected with old friends that I have not heard from in many years. In fact, it has been fun. That alone has made the awkwardness of setting up, revising and re-revising my profile worthwhile.
• Currently, I have 70 "friends". Some of my "friends" have hundreds of "friends". Some of my "friends" are people I have spoken to once or twice. Ever. People I have hardly ever spoken with have accepted my friend requests and conversely, people I hardly know have sent me friend requests (which I eagerly accepted). Do not get me wrong, I would be friends with these people under any circumstances. Most are traditional friends, and the rest are people I would be friends with. But I completely see how cyberspace has changed what a "friend" is. Maybe I just take the whole friend thing too seriously.
• I learned too late that every profile change you make is broadcast to your "friend network". I managed to find the control panel for controlling that behavior (I am in IT after all).
• The social gaming online in Facebook is completely addictive. But what in Cyberspace is not?

So if you are on Facebook, drop me a line, maybe we can become "friends".

Generation Kill

HBO's new mini-series "Generation Kill" is based on Rolling Stone reporter Evan Wright's best selling book about his experience as an embedded reporter with the first recon marines during the early days of the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

This is a true story being told from the point of view of an outsider who was allowed to ride along and write what he saw. As a result, we see a very narrow view of the Marines as they carry out their mission. When the war started, I very hesitantly supported it. I had a very hard time believing our president, even this president, would commit our men and women to war without a good reason. I also had a brother in the Marines, and he was part of the initial invasion. He was, in fact, part of the first recon Marines being depicted in "Generation Kill".

So 5 years later - we know there were no WMDs, no harbored terrorists and the tentative faith I put in George Bush that month have been replaced with contempt and a desire to see him in prison. And my brother survived this invasion, and a second deployment to Iraq a year later. And I am a fervent believer in ending our involvement with this war. But I do watch this series and see what it wants to tell us, because they were doing what they do, and I want to have an open mind about it.

I suggest we all do.

Riding the T

So the Partner has been car-less for a while now, and he has also been getting very involved in the antique and collectibles business. So I pretty much have given up my car to him on weekends and even during the week sometimes because I can get around on the "T" (MBTA - Boston Transit system).

One recent change on the "T" is that they announce at each station when a train is "approaching" and then again when it is "arriving". Other than the words "approaching" and "arriving" these announcements differ by about 5 seconds. I mean really. Really? Do we need both announcements?

I like the T - it works for me most of the time. Even when that moron stands in front of the subway door acting like they did not realize it just opened to let people on and off. Even when that person who just can't quite manage the personal hygiene thing sits next to you. Even when I get to the station just as a train is leaving. Even when..... do I have to go on?

But I love the Partner so I put up with it.

Summer Solstice

On Fathers Day, one of my Brothers and I visited my father on Cape Cod for a nice waterfront lunch. He mentioned that his neighborhood association was going to have a "Solstice Party" on the first day of summer (today).

I asked him jokingly if there would be dancing around a bonfire inside a circle of stones. He smiled but did not deny it. He did say there would be a fire, but that it would be the one cooking burgers and hot dogs.

OK, I can totally get the "any excuse for a party" rule. Mine is called "Friday". But if you are going to have a Solstice Party, I personally feel you should observe some simple druid rules:

• There must be a bonfire. It should be in the center of festivities and be at least 20 feet high.
• One virgin must be present (gender is irrelevant). Just be present, nothing else, god what is on your mind people?
• Chanting is required.
• A minimum of one High Priestess must be present.
• No Witchcraft allowed.
• A semi-circle of 3 ton granite blocks set on short ends will represent the party boundaries.

See? Very simple. Get with the program.

Facebook, Part 1

So I am finally going to set up a Facebook account. I have been blogging long enough, why not go to the next level, right?

Some of my friends use it and lots of my co-workers use it so I am always being told I should set up a page. So I decided to do it. Before doing it I decided to gather together some stuff to post and realized right away that I have no recent photos of me and very few digital photos. I have some (gads) film photos from way back (even as far back as the 80's - gasp), but not many recent ones. I had some that were scanned as part of a family project I did last year, but most of those were from my childhood. I know photos of me exist, they are just not in my possession (which might be a bad thing?).

I also realized quickly that filling out an online profile that will be read by anyone quite intimidating. How much to reveal? Did that sound too gay? Do I say that I am gay? I guess it will be a dynamic learning experience, kind of like everything else we do in life.

Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions, I am entirely open.