In April, I got laid off from a job I loved. They offered me my job back, and I declined. One of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make. Hope I'm doing the right thing.

life changes pretty quick

lots of work changes in the last few months, with no indication of finality or closure on the horizon. also, decided to try and upgrade some of the electrical systems in our house. not successful (yet). The kid is starting to seriously talk, two syllable words are his new forte. life is good, albeit frustrating.

A thought for Earth Day

What's a storm trooper to do when he's downsized by the Galactic Empire?

In a nutshell

I dabble in brush and paint; I have mixed a few hundred thousand gallons of cement; but my true oevre is in chopped greens with salt.

In this election season: an opinion on the state of things

I usually shy away from public statements of my political beliefs (heck, I usually shy away from private statements of my political beliefs). The issues which are important to me are usually ones no one is talking about, which doesn't particularly engender me to supporting one side or the other. Those issues are:

The National Park system including its continual growth and stimulation. National parks are the symbol of what makes america a beautiful place. We need to do more than remember that, more than respect that. We need to pursue more of it in our lives and in our nation; to cultivate it and help it to grow. If the park system is floundering, then we need to pull money away from the military, away from corruption, and make sure that our pride and joy, the symbols of our very essence, are cared for and shepherded. 

A tariff on foreign oil imports. This sounds stupid, but American oil and gas should be a source of pride to all Americans. That it is not is squarely the fault of the extraction companies and the media. All we focus on is the blunders and gaffes by humongous money sucking vile corporations, we don't focus on the simple fact that it is our responsibility to source our fossil fuel addiction at home before we look abroad. It is good for our economy and it is better for the environment. If you don't approve of the way companies are extracting resources, don't ban the extraction of resources, ask for stricter laws and more clean cut governing bodies. I can't tell you how much confusion there is in the industry with all the different government groups which try to get involved and the convoluted laws which muddle shit up. We need one government body on a federal level controlling all of the facets of the industry. Don't tell me that fracking is ruining the environment when there are still coal power plants fucking up the atmosphere. Fracking is perfectly safe when performed under perfect circumstances in a controlled environment. Hold companies accountable for achieving perfect circumstances, tell them they have to hold back when earthquakes start, but don't say it isn't safe. That's like saying we are giving up on space travel because it isn't safe after the challenger incident. I work in the industry, I know how hard it is to do this job perfectly. Having crazy rules doesn't help get you to perfect (or "Zero" as we call it). I'm not advocating super strict working conditions. That being said, when shit goes wrong, somebody has to step forward and fix it. If the company can't fix it when something goes wrong, then they shouldn't have fracked it in the first place. The problems with pollution stemming from the oil and gas industry are nothing compared to the cataclysms which plague the international markets, especially the transportation of crude in tankers. The long and the short of it is that it is our addiction, and if we can't handle it in our own back yards, then maybe we need to quit driving our fucking cars and buying shit made out of plastic. In order to protect our native fuel market, we need to tax the shit out of foreign oil imports. Hey, you could even use that money to protect the national parks. 

I also believe there needs to be an examination of campaign finance reform. This is bull shit. Buying candidates? You should have to do that shit in private, illegally. Corruption sanctioned in public is a disgrace. Just look at Russia. I mean, we're better than that, right?

Net neutrality. In their hearts, (almost) everybody in the whole damn world knows the difference between right and wrong. Psychopaths aside, it is freaking obvious that net neutrality is for the greater good. If companies need to raise prices to pay for upgrades to their systems, that is one thing. If they need to do some sneaky mobster shit to earn extra money on the sly, that's something else.

One last thing. Voter turnout. At this point in the game (March, 2016), I don't really care for any of the candidates. What I do care about is people voting. I want to see 75% of eligible american voters participating actively in this year's election. I don't care who you vote for, just vote, dammit. I would also appreciate it if you voted with your damn conscience, not out of some silly party affiliation. Voting on party lines isn't bullshit, it's horse shit (subtly different), and don't try to tell me that's not true. With so many dingbats with so many dumb ideas floating around, no one should be getting the office based on their party. 

Thank you for your time.

funny thing happened

So eight years ago, I was enthusiastic about running. I ran four or five miles per day, five or six days a week, wearing five pound weights in each hand much of the time. This had been going on for about a year when I blew out my knees. To be accurate, I didn't injure my knees as much as I shredded something in my lymph system in my thighs, resulting in a dramatic case of secondary lymph adema which just wouldn't go away. After about four dramatic months of self therapy and compression and icing, the swelling went down. Even after the swelling went down in my legs, I found that I couldn't shake the feeling that my thighs were corkscrewing themselves off. I started wearing compression braces on my thighs, and continued to do so until.... about a year ago, the braces started to really itch all the time. This week, I decided to try not wearing the braces, just to see if the corkscrew feeling would come back. It didn't. (Well, it did, but only every couple hours for a few seconds.) Eight years of discomfort quietly faded into the night.

Things Done So Far

After three months of ownership:

Burst pipes repaired by plumber, some copper replaced with PEX.

Slate roof repaired by roofer.

Cleaned whole house. Everything but the basement. Walls washed, floors mopped, Inside of all of the many cupboards on the first floor painted.

Guts to first floor toilet replaced.

Dozens of light bulbs replaced.

Head to shower replaced.

One valve stem to tub replaced.

Some of the holes in attic ceiling patched.

Vent to shower replaced.

Drain to washing machine repaired (with LH), Washer and Dryer installed.

Light fixture in the back yard repaired (with LH).

Electrical wiring in attic replaced by LH.

Mold eliminated from basement stairs.

Water line to ice maker on fridge repaired.

Pool pump and lines emptied and moved in doors for the winter.

Fence pulled into more upright position and cemented in place.