I was a delegate this past Saturday at our Sentate District Convention. Fortunately, my wife who had agreed to be an alternate tagged along. Our little precinct got 21 delegates, 12 for Hillary and 9 for Barack. Hillary's organizational structure being what it is, four of the 12 didn't show up. The two alternates took the place of two no-shows (after the Obama folks backed down after claiming they got to pick the replacements), but one Clinton delegate was replaced by an Obama delegate. Obama's people are exceptionally well-organized, thought more than a little underhanded in the way they try to manipulate the process.
My biggest take-away from the event? The Democratic Party in Texas is a remarkably disorganized beast and will succumb of its own miserable inertia unless it gets in gear. It was embarrassing, watching all of these ostensibly intelligent people trying to perform the simplest tasks and failing miserably at ever attempt. Horrific disorganization, exceptional levels of internal partisanship, and barely any effort at all trying to persuade the rag-tag masses that, regardless of which candidate comes out on top, the Democratic candidate is the candidate of choice. I overhead way too many Obama supporters say they would not vote for Clinton is she ends up on the ticket and I heard similar numbers say the same thing from Clinton supporters who would abandon the party if Obama gets the nod.
Fucking idiots!
The experience taught me something. Rather, it reinforced something I've known for a long, long time. We need at least one strong third party, maybe a couple more. We could get along well if we had the Practical Democrats as a moderate arm of the wig-outs. And even Fiscally Conservative Social Radicals would be a good party. Or the Humanistic Pragmatists.
Or something.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
A 33 Year-Old Jalapeño Sandwich
I re-read a post on Indian Food Rocks this morning and it made me think back to a time in college when I went on a geology field trip. The author (who's name is Manisha) wrote the post about her daughter encountering difficulties with her classmates who made fun of her for the "funny" food she brought to school for lunch. Her daughter hasn't yet reached the point of feeling comfortable telling the other kids to take a hike. I'd personally love to hear about the girl explaining to her classmates that their lack of maturity and intellect is "your problem, not mine, thank you very much, and I happen to enjoy chutney-cheese sandwiches far more than I like rancid peanut butter!" But that's not what this post is about.
What I recall about that field trip, for reasons unknown, is that I had damn near nothing in the apartment to eat. And I had absolutely no money to buy anything. But I had to take a lunch, for it was an all-day field trip to a geological formation quite a distance from Austin. I rummaged around in my pantry and refrigerator and came up with the only thing I could: a jalapeño sandwich. I used all I had to make my lunch: four pieces of dark rye bread, slices of the three or four remaining pickeled jalapeños and carrots in the usually-full Tupperware container in the refrigerator, and the tiny little bit of mayonnaise left in the jar, spread on the bread.
Actually, this was not a particularly unusual sandwich for me, though I usually didn't eat it for lunch and I made it a bit different than normal. I'd make jalapeño sandwiches for snacks when I came home from class for the day, but I used white bread instead of rye (for some reason, the white bread tended to tone down the heat of the sliced jalapeños) and I added iceberg lettuce for some added mass. I really liked those sandwiches! In fact, I mayhave to buy some white bread and some iceberg lettuce just to see if I still like them, now that I'm thinking about it.
Back to my story. For this field trip, out of necessity I made an unusual version of my snack, with dark bread and without the lettuce. Once I made those two sandwiches, my place was utterly and completely bare of food. I went on the field trip and, at lunch time, I sat with a girl whose name was, unless my memory is playing tricks on me, Patty McClung. As she and I talked, she expressed a fascination with my sandwiches. I don't think it was a fascination as in, "may I have a bite?" but, instead, it was a fascination as in, "is this something you'd usually eat?" For some reason, I felt proud that I had brought something unusual for lunch, something no one else brought.
I'm appreciative that my refrigerator and my pantry are no longer so barren. I don't recall what I did for dinner that night, nor when I was able to replenish the larder. But I still remember how my "choice" of a field trip lunch made it easy for me to talk with Patty McClung. We became friends for the remainder of that semester, but I lost track of her after that. I wonder if she remembers the boy who brought that unusual lunch on the field trip.
What I recall about that field trip, for reasons unknown, is that I had damn near nothing in the apartment to eat. And I had absolutely no money to buy anything. But I had to take a lunch, for it was an all-day field trip to a geological formation quite a distance from Austin. I rummaged around in my pantry and refrigerator and came up with the only thing I could: a jalapeño sandwich. I used all I had to make my lunch: four pieces of dark rye bread, slices of the three or four remaining pickeled jalapeños and carrots in the usually-full Tupperware container in the refrigerator, and the tiny little bit of mayonnaise left in the jar, spread on the bread.
Actually, this was not a particularly unusual sandwich for me, though I usually didn't eat it for lunch and I made it a bit different than normal. I'd make jalapeño sandwiches for snacks when I came home from class for the day, but I used white bread instead of rye (for some reason, the white bread tended to tone down the heat of the sliced jalapeños) and I added iceberg lettuce for some added mass. I really liked those sandwiches! In fact, I mayhave to buy some white bread and some iceberg lettuce just to see if I still like them, now that I'm thinking about it.
Back to my story. For this field trip, out of necessity I made an unusual version of my snack, with dark bread and without the lettuce. Once I made those two sandwiches, my place was utterly and completely bare of food. I went on the field trip and, at lunch time, I sat with a girl whose name was, unless my memory is playing tricks on me, Patty McClung. As she and I talked, she expressed a fascination with my sandwiches. I don't think it was a fascination as in, "may I have a bite?" but, instead, it was a fascination as in, "is this something you'd usually eat?" For some reason, I felt proud that I had brought something unusual for lunch, something no one else brought.
I'm appreciative that my refrigerator and my pantry are no longer so barren. I don't recall what I did for dinner that night, nor when I was able to replenish the larder. But I still remember how my "choice" of a field trip lunch made it easy for me to talk with Patty McClung. We became friends for the remainder of that semester, but I lost track of her after that. I wonder if she remembers the boy who brought that unusual lunch on the field trip.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Weather Expectations
There's a promise of Spring weather today. Fifties and rainy for much of the day, with the skies turning belligerent and surly from time to time, followed by periods of driving rain and fierce winds with intermittent periods of roiling clouds and rolling thunder. Occasional outbursts of lightening and other shuch demonic displays are to be expected.
Friday, March 28, 2008
The Work Week is Offcially on Temporary Assignment Elsewhere
Tomorrow, I get to spend the day in the madness that is the District Democratic Party Convention. I'm getting increasingly upset with the two Democratic candidates over their annoying bickering and name-calling and flat-out lies about their experiences.
I have actually found myself agreeing more and more with McCain on some isues, specifically the proposals to reward irresponsible homebuyers for getting in over their heads with mortgages they could not afford. Don't get me wrong, the mortgage bankers were equally irresponsible, but my progressive tendencies don't give the home-buyers a free ride on my coattails, either. But, that notwithstanding, I could never, ever vote for McCain for hundreds of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that the warmongering bastard isn't smart enough to separate his Vietnam psycholgical experiences from the realties of our illegal attack on a country that had not attacked us. He equates the two so much that he is utterly unable to deal with reality.
Enough of the political ranting.
We got our new electric stovetop, so we no longer have to worry about our old stovetop starting a fire and burning the house down. I'm actually very impressed with the new electric cooktop, but I'd still rather have gas. One day, when I grow up and get a real job that pays real money, maybe...
We're going to Chicago in early-mid-May. Yay! We'll meet one of my favorite sisters-in-law and the man with whom she shares an illicit life, living in sin, in Boston. They will be there from Saturday until Monday. We go up Thursday and leave Tuesday morning. The hotel we're staying in doesn't have internet access in the rooms...only in the lobby. I may break my internet addiction over those five days...or I may break instead several Starbucks stores after they close and check my email.
I have actually found myself agreeing more and more with McCain on some isues, specifically the proposals to reward irresponsible homebuyers for getting in over their heads with mortgages they could not afford. Don't get me wrong, the mortgage bankers were equally irresponsible, but my progressive tendencies don't give the home-buyers a free ride on my coattails, either. But, that notwithstanding, I could never, ever vote for McCain for hundreds of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that the warmongering bastard isn't smart enough to separate his Vietnam psycholgical experiences from the realties of our illegal attack on a country that had not attacked us. He equates the two so much that he is utterly unable to deal with reality.
Enough of the political ranting.
We got our new electric stovetop, so we no longer have to worry about our old stovetop starting a fire and burning the house down. I'm actually very impressed with the new electric cooktop, but I'd still rather have gas. One day, when I grow up and get a real job that pays real money, maybe...
We're going to Chicago in early-mid-May. Yay! We'll meet one of my favorite sisters-in-law and the man with whom she shares an illicit life, living in sin, in Boston. They will be there from Saturday until Monday. We go up Thursday and leave Tuesday morning. The hotel we're staying in doesn't have internet access in the rooms...only in the lobby. I may break my internet addiction over those five days...or I may break instead several Starbucks stores after they close and check my email.
Monday, March 24, 2008
My New Hobby
I need a hobby. No, not more blogging, I need an actual hobby, wherein I create something or otherwise can point to the outcomes of my endeavors. I don't want to point to more words on the screen that people never read (I know, you're people, but not many of them). What I need is real hobby, something people who know about these things would say, "Yes, that's a hobby alright, no question about it."
The things that come to mind are building model railroads (which I could do, but have no plans to do), creating and flying radio controlled model airplanes (another thing I might find interesting, but not my ideal hobby), and making pottery. I would like to make pottery, but I'm reserving that hobby for the time when we move onto an acre or two in the country and I can build a little pottery shack, complete with kiln. Stained glass has always been of interest but, again, I'm lacking the studio and, for the moment, the skills.
So, what shall it be? Well, my friends, I just might make things! The thing I found most fascinating is the high speed photography kit, which attracted me right away. Of course, I'll have to upgrade my camera and will probably have to build a workshop for this one, too, but I think this is an endeavor that could really capture my fancy!
The things that come to mind are building model railroads (which I could do, but have no plans to do), creating and flying radio controlled model airplanes (another thing I might find interesting, but not my ideal hobby), and making pottery. I would like to make pottery, but I'm reserving that hobby for the time when we move onto an acre or two in the country and I can build a little pottery shack, complete with kiln. Stained glass has always been of interest but, again, I'm lacking the studio and, for the moment, the skills.
So, what shall it be? Well, my friends, I just might make things! The thing I found most fascinating is the high speed photography kit, which attracted me right away. Of course, I'll have to upgrade my camera and will probably have to build a workshop for this one, too, but I think this is an endeavor that could really capture my fancy!
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Home Exchange
Today, my newest interest is in arranging a home exchange. I've heard of this before, of course, but this morning I stumbled across an advertisement in The Guardian and, after looking for more information, came across this website.
People all over the world are interested in exchanging homes for a week or a month or 3 months. Our problems, of course, are: 1) we can never find more than a week at a time to be gone; 2) we live in Dallas, so the number of people who might be interested in an exchange will be small; 3) we live in a modest home, so people who want to exchange their 7 bedroom ocean-front homes may not think our place would be a good exchange; and 4) people who might want to exchange for our home probably live in the bowels of Calcutta.
Oh well, I like the concept.
People all over the world are interested in exchanging homes for a week or a month or 3 months. Our problems, of course, are: 1) we can never find more than a week at a time to be gone; 2) we live in Dallas, so the number of people who might be interested in an exchange will be small; 3) we live in a modest home, so people who want to exchange their 7 bedroom ocean-front homes may not think our place would be a good exchange; and 4) people who might want to exchange for our home probably live in the bowels of Calcutta.
Oh well, I like the concept.
