one week: change we need

If you read this LJ, you already know that I'm not a big fan of the NeoCons or the modern Republican party. You've probably noticed that I feel McCain has been corrupted by them; whatever honor he once held seems to have faded over the years. He used to be against torture; recently, he aligned with the Bush administration that certain tortures aren't "torture." He used to seem to match his self-annointed "maverick" label; recently, he's been almost 100% in line with the Bushies. And then I learned that his character is repulsive (to his current wife, Cindy: "At least I don't trowel on the makeup like a trollop, you cunt!" or leaving his first wife after saying he was "disgusted by her appearance" or any of his frequent abusiveness against his co-workers).

Anyhow.

Those of you who know me personally are aware that I don't label myself Democrat, even though I usually vote with the Dems; it's just that the Republican party is so backward politically and ethically, and I don't think rich people and major corporations are better than the rest of us, so my politics more closely match the Dems'. In fact, I think the policies that support the rich and non-human entities (corporations) over the middle class are destructive: I dare you to look at what Wall Street and the banking industry have done to the world's economy and tell me that deregulation is a good thing.

If you know me personally, you probably know that I was unsure about Obama during the primaries; I felt he was a fine speaker, but I didn't know what he was all about. I've been planning to vote for him; I've made my little donation and gotten my Obama 08 button, but I wasn't an Obamaian so much as an anti-McCainian and ultra-anti-Palinian.

Well, this video changed all that (it's 31 minutes long and worth it all; if you only have 20 minutes free, you could skip the first 10 if you must). Wowee, does it make me happy to hear him elucidate his platform! Everything he's for, I'm for; everything he's against, I'm against. Plus, y'know, listening to him speak is a joy and an inspiration, something this nation really needs right now. His calls for everyone to be responsible for helping themselves and helping save the world? Truly moving.

Obama's my man! If you agree with his platform, be sure to vote next week. The video:

Best,
Chris

one week: change we need

If you read this LJ, you already know that I'm not a big fan of the NeoCons or the modern Republican party. You've probably noticed that I feel McCain has been corrupted by them; whatever honor he once held seems to have faded over the years. He used to be against torture; recently, he aligned with the Bush administration that certain tortures aren't "torture." He used to seem to match his self-annointed "maverick" label; recently, he's been almost 100% in line with the Bushies. And then I learned that his character is repulsive (to his current wife, Cindy: "At least I don't trowel on the makeup like a trollop, you cunt!" or leaving his first wife after saying he was "disgusted by her appearance" or any of his frequent abusiveness against his co-workers).

Anyhow.

Those of you who know me personally are aware that I don't label myself Democrat, even though I usually vote with the Dems; it's just that the Republican party is so backward politically and ethically, and I don't think rich people and major corporations are better than the rest of us, so my politics more closely match the Dems'. In fact, I think the policies that support the rich and non-human entities (corporations) over the middle class are destructive: I dare you to look at what Wall Street and the banking industry have done to the world's economy and tell me that deregulation is a good thing.

If you know me personally, you probably know that I was unsure about Obama during the primaries; I felt he was a fine speaker, but I didn't know what he was all about. I've been planning to vote for him; I've made my little donation and gotten my Obama 08 button, but I wasn't an Obamaian so much as an anti-McCainian and ultra-anti-Palinian.

Well, this video changed all that (it's 31 minutes long and worth it all; if you only have 20 minutes free, you could skip the first 10 if you must). Wowee, does it make me happy to hear him elucidate his platform! Everything he's for, I'm for; everything he's against, I'm against. Plus, y'know, listening to him speak is a joy and an inspiration, something this nation really needs right now. His calls for everyone to be responsible for helping themselves and helping save the world? Truly moving.

Obama's my man! If you agree with his platform, be sure to vote next week. The video:

Best,
Chris

trees and cars, oh my!

Just wrapped up a heck of a day of physical labor. Matt came over at noon, and since then we FINALLY drilled out the shattered (hardened steel) tip of the bolt extractor stuck inside the broken bolt in the Saab's engine block. Woohoo! Victory! And the right-angle drill adapter necessary to reach the bolt didn't melt (the last one did)! Woohoo! And we tapped the hole so a new bolt will fit inside! Double-woohoo!

Between bouts of drilling (it took a really, really long time), we let the drill sit to let the right-angle adapter cool off. See, its casing is made of plastic. Yep, plastic. Which melts when the gears and bushings inside get hot. As they do when one is drilling hardened steel.

Those "breaks" consisted of cutting down four trees in the back yard as well as a lot of small trees, bushes, and other crap crowding the yard. Then of course we had to chop up the tree trunks and branches to make them small enough for the city (or friends: Hello! Firewood!) to remove. I wish we had photos. Matt held a rope which terminated in a grappling hook wrapped around the tree trunk, half way up, which I attached by climbing a ladder and hooking it in place. Then he applied pressure to pull the tree in the correct direction while I notched the trunk with my chainsaw. See, the safe fall-way lay between the fence and my garage is pretty narrow, and if the tree fell even 10° in the wrong direction... crunch!

But all went well! Now I have a giant pile of tree-pieces in the alley behind the house. Need to log off now and run downtown. I owe Matt dinner and several beers!

Best,
Chris

trees and cars, oh my!

Just wrapped up a heck of a day of physical labor. Matt came over at noon, and since then we FINALLY drilled out the shattered (hardened steel) tip of the bolt extractor stuck inside the broken bolt in the Saab's engine block. Woohoo! Victory! And the right-angle drill adapter necessary to reach the bolt didn't melt (the last one did)! Woohoo! And we tapped the hole so a new bolt will fit inside! Double-woohoo!

Between bouts of drilling (it took a really, really long time), we let the drill sit to let the right-angle adapter cool off. See, its casing is made of plastic. Yep, plastic. Which melts when the gears and bushings inside get hot. As they do when one is drilling hardened steel.

Those "breaks" consisted of cutting down four trees in the back yard as well as a lot of small trees, bushes, and other crap crowding the yard. Then of course we had to chop up the tree trunks and branches to make them small enough for the city (or friends: Hello! Firewood!) to remove. I wish we had photos. Matt held a rope which terminated in a grappling hook wrapped around the tree trunk, half way up, which I attached by climbing a ladder and hooking it in place. Then he applied pressure to pull the tree in the correct direction while I notched the trunk with my chainsaw. See, the safe fall-way lay between the fence and my garage is pretty narrow, and if the tree fell even 10° in the wrong direction... crunch!

But all went well! Now I have a giant pile of tree-pieces in the alley behind the house. Need to log off now and run downtown. I owe Matt dinner and several beers!

Best,
Chris