Commuter Theme today:

Get In Front of Matt and Drive Slow Day.

Some days have themes during the commute to work and from work. Today's theme is cars getting in front of me to drive slow. It seems like there was some organized effort. A lane would open up completely, so I'd change lanes only to have someone else get into the lane right in front of me and drive slower than the crowded lane. Once, twice, three, and then four times this morning. The traffic wasn't even heavy. I only got held behind one red light because of this, so it isn't as bad as it has been on other days.

I like it when the commuter theme is more along the lines of Get Out of Matt's Way Day, obviously. :)

Sailboat racing

The first race sailboat of the season this past Friday afternoon, aboard the Spitfire in Oakland, was a lot of fun. We did well, coming in second in our class. The race lasted a little over an hour. I had just gotten over a cold, and was a little wore out, but managed to do well in my position on the boat. We saw a lot of good work on the part of all the sailboats, and one crash between two boats near the mark. It was all fairly exciting.

Trouble with California

First, this whole recall business is making California look stupid. It is proving that our system is for sale to the highest bidder. Anyone with a lot of money can come in an pretend to be a politician for a year. It's starting to get pathetic. Isis is like the third guy to come in out of the blue and try to pull something in the pass few years. Note to the very rich newbies: Either be a real political or just Fuck Off! I'm against a recall until after the budget has been hashed out for this year. Then if you aren't happy, let's get rid of Gray. Problem is, anyone who becomes governor now is going to be faced with the same issues and is politically doomed.

Second, term limits in the state legislature is leaving our leadership in shambles. Any experienced members are lame ducks, and the rest are rookies. There's no accountability because no one is around long enough to care! Originally, term limits was supposed to help minorities and women get into government, but now it is having the opposite effect. We need to get rid of term limits.

Third, is the ridiculous requirement for a 2/3rds supermajority vote on the budget each year. This is a democracy, where the majority rules, but the rights of the minority are protected. How is a supermajority vote requirement for something as mundane as the yearly budget supposed to do either? It is unheard of to use supermajorities except in cases of political crisis (impeachment) or changing winds (changes to the constitution). To use them for anything else is damn near anti-democratic! We need to get rid of the supermajority vote requirement for the state budget. Even this "55%" replacement requirement being floated around is not acceptable. It is still a supermajority requirement.

If you have any rants to add to this, please leave a comment. Gray (or it is Grey) Davis, you are welcome to leave a comment about your recall if you like too. LOL

Anthrax Detection at your local Post Office may come soon

Check this out! Of course, the reason I care is cuz the company I work has technology at the heart of the detection system. :)

There's a lot of stars out there

A lot!!

U.S. fights Fake Wars from Time to Time.

The U.S. wages two kinds of wars; Real wars and fake wars. How can you tell the difference? Here's how: If the name of the war begins with "War on...", it's fake. As in, War on Poverty (late 1960's), War on Drugs (1980's, 1990's), and War on Terrorism (turn of the 21st Century). Real wars have names like Civil War, World War II, Persian Gulf War, and Cold War. So, if you are ever in doubt about whether or not the U.S. is really fighting some declared war, just judge it by its name.