Normally, I’d be rather excited by the fact that it’s Friday. OK, maybe “excited” is a little extreme. But at least pretty happy. Today, however, marks the last day of what I’ll refer to as my “vacation.” The thought of going back to work next week (that other kind of work where I sit at a computer all day and wish I could be – or at least see outside) depresses me no end. Oh well, whattya gonna do?
Meanwhile, I exist in two places at once, which is getting to be a pain in the ass. Progress, however, is slowly being made. I picked up my new pellet insert from the terminal yesterday and, with the help of my friends (who happen to be my sister and her hubby, who I’ll never be able to thank enough for everything they’ve done for us), we managed to drag it into the house and up on the fireplace hearth (it’s basically a 300 pound cube of metal, and it was a royal pain in the ass).
I cursed the fact that it didn’t come with a manual – until we found it in the ash pan, which happened to be not only the last place we looked (and we even took all the goddamn covers off), but also the place that made the most sense (in retrospect, at least). At that point, we decided to call it quits, and regroup again this morning. Anybody know where I can get a piece of 2″ flex duct? It appears to be harder to come by than you’d think.
Anyhow, I really hope to have a fire going in the goddamn thing by this afternoon (but everything seems to take about 100 times longer than I think it’s gonna, so who knows).
We’re pretty much down to the moving shit part, now, and, along those lines, we had a storage “pod” delivered yesterday. It’s 16x8x8, and I don’t know how that sounds to you, but when you look at it, goddamn it’s big. Should be able to cram an awful lot of shit in it. The plan is to pack it full of boxes and then have it delivered to the new place, where we can unload it. Then we’ll get the furniture moved. It still seems quite overwhelming to me.
Come Tuesday, the cable and Internet (supposedly; I have my doubts that they won’t screw things up) are set to be hooked up. Since I’m not exactly sure where I’ll be spending the weekend (plans are to spend it at the new house so the dogs can get used to being there 24/7 without having to be totally alone), that means I may not be able to post anything for a couple of days. So, if you don’t hear from me, don’t got thinkin’ I’ve been killed in a tractor rollover accident or anything (though I suppose I might be; it would be quite a coincidence). If anybody would like to jump out there and put something up, feel free.
Otherwise, I’ll see ya when I see ya.
PJ, we will all be adrift without your wit and wisdom but we’ll do our best. I get chills just thinking about moving. The last time we moved was 22 years ago when we moved from an apartment in Flatbush Brooklyn to a house in Red Hook Brooklyn. Of course we were 22 years younger and still poor enough and stupid enough to move ourselves. Never again! So, good luck PJ and RG and be careful. Any marriage that survives such a move is a strong one, I’m convinced.
As for Cuomo, I’m not thrilled with him, either. But, he may be better once he gets into office. This has been such a stupid campaign in which all he had to do was appear normal and reasonable and not LOSE any voters. Had the Republicans not nominated Crazy Carl, Cuomo might have had to explain and defend himself more. Of course Carl did make for more comedy.
Whatever happens we’re headed back to the good old days of the robber barons. Won’t that be a thrill.
I suspected that when pj became the undisputed poster leader, he might bail Palin-style for greener pastures.
I think Johnny Marinara hails from Akron.
I think you’re right, Vern. Clearly that explains the tractor.
1. In 2008, we lost an average of 317,250 private sector jobs per month. In 2010, we have gained an average of 95,888 private sector jobs per month. (Source) That’s a difference of nearly five million jobs between Bush’s last year in office and President Obama’s second year.
2. In FY2009, which began on September 1, 2008 and represents the Bush Administration’s final budget, the budget deficit was $1.416 trillion. In FY2010, the first budget of the Obama Administration, the budget deficit was $1.291 trillion, a decline of $125 billion. (Source) Yes, that means President Obama has cut the deficit — there’s a long way to go, but we’re in better shape now than we were under Bush and the GOP.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/10/29/914820/-No-sleep-till-Wednesday
Halliburton officials knew weeks before the fatal explosion of the BP well in the Gulf of Mexico that the cement mixture they planned to use to seal the bottom of the well was unstable but still went ahead with the job, the presidential commission investigating the accident said on Thursday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/29/us/29spill.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper
RG, here is an article about my friend who was killed last week that reminded me of your thoughts.
🙁 :gate:
If anyone was curious about how the Buffalo Springfield re-union went last weekend…
http://rustfest.org/allonesong/BSB2010SAT/
Another gddnmed fire- this time directly west of the city. Our building is full of smoke smell (not full of smoke literally)
msnbc.msn.com/id/39912588/ns/us_news-life/
The owner of a franchise in Canton, Ohio enclosed a handbill in employees’ paychecks that threatened lower wages and benefits if Republicans don’t win on Tuesday.
snip
The note ends with a list of candidates McDonald’s believes “will help our business move forward.” It names Republicans John Kasich for governor, Rob Portman for Senate, and Jim Renacci for Congress. With the letter was a biography of Renacci.
“The handbill endorses candidates who have in essence pledged to roll back the minimum wage and eviscerate the safety net that protects the most vulnerable members of our workforce,” said Attorney Allen Schulman of Canton law firm Schulman Zimmerman & Associates, which received the documents from an employer who stepped forward
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/29/voter-intimidation-mcdonalds-republican_n_776187.html
We left Brooklyn at 6:30 AM for a very long (6 1/2 hr) drive to DC. Lots of buses. Every Ladies’ Room, at every rest stop, had a line at least 60 women long. But, unlike other Washington Rallies, the buses weren’t sporting handmade protest signs in their windows and the rally goers looked like everyone else ( or everyone else was a rally goer).
There were sooo many people. I’m sure Glenn Beck is weeping as I write. Mike and I waded through and got squished by hordes. Mike, who is 6 ft tall, glimpsed the stage and the throngs. I, at 5’2″ saw the backs of the mob in front of me. We never got near the stage and only clearly heard what was going on when we passed a guy with a radio, standing in the middle of lots of people.
Some cute signs. A girl in an Muslim head scarf held a sign that read: I scare Juan Williams at airports.
It really seemed that no one expected the huge crowd. The police parked their cars in intersections and were quite perturbed when they were marooned in a sea of people. They tried using their P.A. to insist that the crowds disperse but there was no where to move. As an old peacenik I can tell you that this was as big a crowd as I have ever seen in DC, maybe the biggest one.
If you watched on TV you know more about what happened on stage than I do.
We caught Stewart’s parting speech on the radio as we drove out of DC. He’s correct of course that we should all be nice and compromise but I’m not sure that the righties give us that option.
We live in interesting times. I think I could do with a little less interesting.
Thank you Sue and Mike for going. :dancers:
They’re saying the crowd was 200,000. About the same as Beck I think
Source: Politics USA
“Everyone knew today’s Rally to Restore Sanity would be a hit, and if the independent estimates of crowd size are any indication, Jon Stewart’s rally was the most well attended of the year as it is estimated that at least 250,000 people attended. This number easily doubles and almost triples the attendance for Glenn Beck’s Rally to Restore Honor.”
Wonderful news about DC! Thanks! :banana:
According to CBS News, 215,000 people showed up for the rally on Saturday. By comparison, CBS estimated that 87,000 — just 40% of the Sanity Rally estimation — attended Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally in August.
Canada’s CTV, meanwhile, wrote that 250,000 people were estimated to have partaken in the Rally to Restore Sanity.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/30/rally-to-restore-sanity-attendance_n_776547.html
I suspect that the estimates are of the people who actually got into the Washington Mall. However, there were at least as many who were in the streets and on the grass and steps. Outside of the mall it was packed for blocks and blocks. The police kept trying to get people on sidewalks but there was no room on any sidewalk and so the streets became a sea of folks and impenetrable by vehicles.
:omg:
Theodore C. Sorensen, 82, Kennedy Counselor, Dies
🙁 :gate:
Here’s a good video to send to your republican friends (if you still have any)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlBOv8m_Xa8
Great video, Art.
Here’s the NY Times on the rally. I thought they did a really good job of both getting the facts and capturing what was going on with the rally goers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/31/us/politics/31rally.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper
I also read in several comments on stories about the rally, so I cannot swear to the veracity, but for what it’s worth:
Glen Beck applied for a permit for 300,000. (He got 87,000) Stewart’s permit was for a crowd of 60,000 (which explains why everything seemed geared for a much smaller crowd than the actual one.)
Mr. FK has been home 1 week and returns to Asscrackastan tomorrow. 🙁
He gave several speeches explaining why we are there….North Waziristan……..think recent threats here and abroad. Wish this crap was reported…..
May there be Peace on Earth, says moi: :gate: