A very annoying thing happened at work today, but my general rule is to not blog about work. I'm not going to comment except to ask, "why"?
Instead, I thought I'd share that my knowledge of toilets is expanding. I had my first crash course last February when I had to replace the tank-to-bowl seal because the tank sprung a leak after Nacho used the toilet as a trampoline. Long story, but the lesson was that my dog does NOT like enclosed spaces.
Last week, the lever arm (the thing that connects the flush valve to the flapper) in my other toilet broke. Apparently it rusted apart. So I had to replace it.
See what an exciting life I live?
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
In defense of Portuguese
I'm listening to the News Hour with Jim Lehrer on NPR. Mr. Lehrer had a clip on Bush's veto of the $150.7 billion Labor/HHS appropriations bill. As an example of what he determined to be "wasteful spending" in the bill, Mr. Bush cited an earmark for a Portuguese as a second language program.
Now, I don't know the specifics of the cited program, but to me spending money encouraging Americans to learn Portuguese isn't wasteful. Depending on how you measure the number of first-language speakers, Portuguese is the sixth most spoken language in the world - more than Russian, Japanese, German, or French. But I bet Mr. Bush didn't know that.
The veto came on the same day that Mr. Bush signed a $459 billion bill for non-war spending for the Pentagon, and it came on the same day that the Congressional Democrats released a report estimating the hidden costs of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq at $1.6 trillion. The Labor/HHS bill no doubt included spending on programs addressing long-term health care for veterans.
Democrats may be tax and spend liberals, but that is better than spend and spend Republicans. This president has ZERO credibility on the issue of fiscal restraint.
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In other political news, I got a robo-call phone survey this evening from my representative, Congressman Jeb Hensarling. The survey asked a series of leading questions, such as whether I thought illegal immigration was one of the most pressing issues facing our country today, whether I would support a bill granting amnesty, and whether I would support Jeb Hensarling in his efforts to protect my Second Amendment rights. As an indicator of the composition of his base, the last two questions somewhat bizarrely asked if I was male and over 35. My answers were: no, yes, no, yes, no. Perhaps my answers put me on his do not call list.
Now, I don't know the specifics of the cited program, but to me spending money encouraging Americans to learn Portuguese isn't wasteful. Depending on how you measure the number of first-language speakers, Portuguese is the sixth most spoken language in the world - more than Russian, Japanese, German, or French. But I bet Mr. Bush didn't know that.
The veto came on the same day that Mr. Bush signed a $459 billion bill for non-war spending for the Pentagon, and it came on the same day that the Congressional Democrats released a report estimating the hidden costs of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq at $1.6 trillion. The Labor/HHS bill no doubt included spending on programs addressing long-term health care for veterans.
Democrats may be tax and spend liberals, but that is better than spend and spend Republicans. This president has ZERO credibility on the issue of fiscal restraint.
-------------------
In other political news, I got a robo-call phone survey this evening from my representative, Congressman Jeb Hensarling. The survey asked a series of leading questions, such as whether I thought illegal immigration was one of the most pressing issues facing our country today, whether I would support a bill granting amnesty, and whether I would support Jeb Hensarling in his efforts to protect my Second Amendment rights. As an indicator of the composition of his base, the last two questions somewhat bizarrely asked if I was male and over 35. My answers were: no, yes, no, yes, no. Perhaps my answers put me on his do not call list.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Próximo viaje
After much obsessing,* I've decided on my next vacation spot. I'm going back to Honduras in February. I was there in August of 2002 and had a great time exploring towns on the mainland, the ruins of Copan, and diving on Roatan over the course of two and half weeks.
I have less time for this vacation, so I'm going to spend about a week diving on Utila and then a few days on a beach on the mainland, probably in Tela. If I see a whale shark, my wetsuit will get even wetter.
*Dominica was the other option, but it was much pricier and the flight times sucked.
I have less time for this vacation, so I'm going to spend about a week diving on Utila and then a few days on a beach on the mainland, probably in Tela. If I see a whale shark, my wetsuit will get even wetter.
*Dominica was the other option, but it was much pricier and the flight times sucked.
Monday, November 05, 2007
JetSet
I experienced the suckiness of business travel last Thursday. I spent more time in the air and almost as much time waiting in airports as I did in DC. My flight landed at 12:30 and left at 6:45 PM, was delayed on both ends, and both flights were completely full. Thank goodness I bought my lunch ahead of time, know my way around the city, and had a 2 + year old Metro card that miraculously still worked.
But on the plus side, I think the interview went fairly well. The three interviewers seemed to like me and were interested in my background. I spent a lot more time talking about The Cradle of Our Fathers and about my adopted country of origin than I did about my current job. And come to think of it, I didn’t talk about law school at all, save for something about my work in the clinic. But I guess everyone they are interviewing went to law school, so that wouldn’t be a distinguishing characteristic.
I’m not getting my hopes up and am trying to keep a realistic perspective. The division that interviewed me only anticipates hiring 12 people. My odds are about 1 in 7 and I should hear in a couple of weeks. If I get it, great. If not, that’s okay, too.
But on the plus side, I think the interview went fairly well. The three interviewers seemed to like me and were interested in my background. I spent a lot more time talking about The Cradle of Our Fathers and about my adopted country of origin than I did about my current job. And come to think of it, I didn’t talk about law school at all, save for something about my work in the clinic. But I guess everyone they are interviewing went to law school, so that wouldn’t be a distinguishing characteristic.
I’m not getting my hopes up and am trying to keep a realistic perspective. The division that interviewed me only anticipates hiring 12 people. My odds are about 1 in 7 and I should hear in a couple of weeks. If I get it, great. If not, that’s okay, too.
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