Ash Wednesday -3

Pretty quiet day...of course, that's not too hard when you don't get your butt up until almost 1300. I'm going to be paying the price for that tomorrow, that's for sure, but in the meantime, I did actually get some productive stuff done today. The afternoon passed while I tweaked the map I'm working on, set up a new "station" on Pandora for James McMurtry, Aimee Mann, Son Volt and other country stuff*, and read a few more chapters in The Silicon Boys.

Eventually I headed over to Mom's to chat and do laundry, which I did; also helped Carlos with some of his homework, although it took a few minutes for me to remember how to figure the diameter of a circle given its area. Jesus, I haven't done any geometry since I did that demolitions subcourse back at DLI in '79.

Sometimes it doesn't pay to look up the lyrics of a song. The thing winds up making less sense than you thought it did.

I wasn't going to vote for John McCain (or anybody else) in the primary a week from Tuesday, since I didn't get my registration paperwork in on time, but after reading this post by Bill Quick I'm sure hoping Mitt Romney starts showing some balls and hitting back in the debates. Mitt may have done some flip-flopping in his time, but he never threatened to change parties out of pure pique. The Senator, he just ain't right.

P: I got the candles. They were (predictably) at WalMart.

*As opposed to WGTB Blue, which is an awkward mix of heavy metal and electronica in various flavors.

Ash Wednesday -3

Pretty quiet day...of course, that's not too hard when you don't get your butt up until almost 1300. I'm going to be paying the price for that tomorrow, that's for sure, but in the meantime, I did actually get some productive stuff done today. The afternoon passed while I tweaked the map I'm working on, set up a new "station" on Pandora for James McMurtry, Aimee Mann, Son Volt and other country stuff*, and read a few more chapters in The Silicon Boys.

Eventually I headed over to Mom's to chat and do laundry, which I did; also helped Carlos with some of his homework, although it took a few minutes for me to remember how to figure the diameter of a circle given its area. Jesus, I haven't done any geometry since I did that demolitions subcourse back at DLI in '79.

Sometimes it doesn't pay to look up the lyrics of a song. The thing winds up making less sense than you thought it did.

I wasn't going to vote for John McCain (or anybody else) in the primary a week from Tuesday, since I didn't get my registration paperwork in on time, but after reading this post by Bill Quick I'm sure hoping Mitt Romney starts showing some balls and hitting back in the debates. Mitt may have done some flip-flopping in his time, but he never threatened to change parties out of pure pique. The Senator, he just ain't right.

P: I got the candles. They were (predictably) at WalMart.

*As opposed to WGTB Blue, which is an awkward mix of heavy metal and electronica in various flavors.

the monday status report

The rebuilding of the Cardboard Box Fund starts tomorrow, since the cash rollover from my Wells 401K hit today. Unfortunately, they're not allowing me to do anything but trade until next Tuesday when the check clears, which gets in the way of a few things I was planning to do this week. When I discovered this unpleasant fact, I grouched to the account rep, who gave me five free trades as a reward for not flipping out on her. Who says nice guys always finish last?*

Tomorrow I'll be ping-ponging between work and Kaiser, since I have an appointment with my primary care doc at 0900 and another appointment with a GI specialist at 1400. This should be awkward, and we'll see how it works.

Tonight's plan is to go home and crash early, maybe after reading some more of Cally's War, which has turned out not to be the ugly cross of the Posleen War novels and Kaleidoscope Century I was afraid it might be. You know, Watch on the Rhine done retail instead of wholesale and without the SS polemics.

*Shut up, fellow baseball fans. I already know it's Leo Durocher, who was never in any danger of testing the proposition himself.

the monday status report

The rebuilding of the Cardboard Box Fund starts tomorrow, since the cash rollover from my Wells 401K hit today. Unfortunately, they're not allowing me to do anything but trade until next Tuesday when the check clears, which gets in the way of a few things I was planning to do this week. When I discovered this unpleasant fact, I grouched to the account rep, who gave me five free trades as a reward for not flipping out on her. Who says nice guys always finish last?*

Tomorrow I'll be ping-ponging between work and Kaiser, since I have an appointment with my primary care doc at 0900 and another appointment with a GI specialist at 1400. This should be awkward, and we'll see how it works.

Tonight's plan is to go home and crash early, maybe after reading some more of Cally's War, which has turned out not to be the ugly cross of the Posleen War novels and Kaleidoscope Century I was afraid it might be. You know, Watch on the Rhine done retail instead of wholesale and without the SS polemics.

*Shut up, fellow baseball fans. I already know it's Leo Durocher, who was never in any danger of testing the proposition himself.

The return to mediocrity continues - NOW WITH AGONIZING REAPPRAISAL

Twins trade Johan Santana to Mets for $24 worth of glass beads, and some minor league pitchers, which is coals to Newcastle. Fuck, they could have just brought up Denard Span early, kept Santana, and picked up a bunch of spare arms in the Rule V minor league draft. Meet the new boss, just as dumb as the old boss...oh, and I see fan favorite* Nick Punto is still clogging the roster, ready to continue being one of the least productive third sackers in the major leagues. I'm sure glad I have the Nationals to distract me.

UPDATE AND BUMP: Well, maybe fsf_rapier wasn't wrong about this trade after all. Aaron Gleeman's not
too thrilled either but he likes Gomez and the prospects the Twins got better than I do. Which isn't saying much, but it's better than the "we wuz robbed cuz the new GM's a moron" reaction I had. Gleeman does this stuff for a living, so I'm inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt here, but neither he nor I are happy about the trade.

In other news. I had my annual review today. Yeah, it's kind of early, considering I've been on board for all of two and a half months, but it does lay down a baseline for what they expect of me in 2008 and vice versa. It was as mixed as I expected it to be, but generally good. No raise or slice of the 2007 bonus pie since I came on board so late in the year, but that's okay too. Next year's slice will be even sweeter, judging from the pace at which work is coming in during what is nominally a slow month.

Went shopping at Salvation Army after work; they had no phones, but they did have a pot that'll do for cooking pasta and a good condition pb copy of Red Storm Rising, which I picked up since my copy is packed up and getting kind of ragged anyway.

Predictably, when I arrived home, the stock certificate for my Wells shares was in the mailbox. It would have been nice to send it off to Ameritrade today with the check that made up the remainder of my 401k, but there's no real rush for the shares. I'm going to hang onto them for the next dividend in March and then sell half of them so I can buy something with a better rate of return. It won't be too hard.






*This is sportswriter code language for "useless waste of a roster spot", especially when applied to 30+ utility infielders not named Cal Ripken or Ozzie Smith.

The return to mediocrity continues - NOW WITH AGONIZING REAPPRAISAL

Twins trade Johan Santana to Mets for $24 worth of glass beads, and some minor league pitchers, which is coals to Newcastle. Fuck, they could have just brought up Denard Span early, kept Santana, and picked up a bunch of spare arms in the Rule V minor league draft. Meet the new boss, just as dumb as the old boss...oh, and I see fan favorite* Nick Punto is still clogging the roster, ready to continue being one of the least productive third sackers in the major leagues. I'm sure glad I have the Nationals to distract me.

UPDATE AND BUMP: Well, maybe fsf_rapier wasn't wrong about this trade after all. Aaron Gleeman's not
too thrilled either but he likes Gomez and the prospects the Twins got better than I do. Which isn't saying much, but it's better than the "we wuz robbed cuz the new GM's a moron" reaction I had. Gleeman does this stuff for a living, so I'm inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt here, but neither he nor I are happy about the trade.

In other news. I had my annual review today. Yeah, it's kind of early, considering I've been on board for all of two and a half months, but it does lay down a baseline for what they expect of me in 2008 and vice versa. It was as mixed as I expected it to be, but generally good. No raise or slice of the 2007 bonus pie since I came on board so late in the year, but that's okay too. Next year's slice will be even sweeter, judging from the pace at which work is coming in during what is nominally a slow month.

Went shopping at Salvation Army after work; they had no phones, but they did have a pot that'll do for cooking pasta and a good condition pb copy of Red Storm Rising, which I picked up since my copy is packed up and getting kind of ragged anyway.

Predictably, when I arrived home, the stock certificate for my Wells shares was in the mailbox. It would have been nice to send it off to Ameritrade today with the check that made up the remainder of my 401k, but there's no real rush for the shares. I'm going to hang onto them for the next dividend in March and then sell half of them so I can buy something with a better rate of return. It won't be too hard.






*This is sportswriter code language for "useless waste of a roster spot", especially when applied to 30+ utility infielders not named Cal Ripken or Ozzie Smith.

Lions laying down with lambs...

...Hell freezing over, and Yr. Humble Narrator agreeing with Garrison Keillor.
IT'S ALL A SIGN OF THE END TIMES!

Seriously, though - Keillor takes his fellow Donks to task for carrying the NEA's water on NCLB and Reading First just because "it's Bush's idea!". Which, actually, they aren't, as he points out. Probably the best thing he's written in quite a while, and not just because I agree with him. (Joanne Jacobs)

Speaking of people I don't agree with, my Pandora country music "station" played James McMurtry's "We Can't Make It Here" for me last night. I don't agree with the politics and sentiments behind the song, but it's very well done and I think I'm going to go ahead and get Childish Things sometime soon.

Lions laying down with lambs...

...Hell freezing over, and Yr. Humble Narrator agreeing with Garrison Keillor.
IT'S ALL A SIGN OF THE END TIMES!

Seriously, though - Keillor takes his fellow Donks to task for carrying the NEA's water on NCLB and Reading First just because "it's Bush's idea!". Which, actually, they aren't, as he points out. Probably the best thing he's written in quite a while, and not just because I agree with him. (Joanne Jacobs)

Speaking of people I don't agree with, my Pandora country music "station" played James McMurtry's "We Can't Make It Here" for me last night. I don't agree with the politics and sentiments behind the song, but it's very well done and I think I'm going to go ahead and get Childish Things sometime soon.