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June 27, 2005

By NY Rep. Jerrold Nadler

In regards to the proposed Constitutional Amendment to outlaw burning the American flag in protest:

If the flag needs protection at all, it needs protection from members of Congress who value the symbol more than the freedoms that the flag represents.

Via Zoomed In.

08:01 | Quotes

June 22, 2005

You Are What You Eat

In Shooting-The-Messenger News, British potato farmers are protesting the Oxford English Dictionary to have the term "Couch Potato" removed from the dictionary, claiming it's harmful to the vegetable's image.

As if people are going to stop eating French fries and potato chips (chips and crisps, if you're British) just because potatoes are used to describe a sedimentary lifestyle. In fact, I would argue that the people who most fit the term "Couch Potato", eat the most potatoes.

Also, I don't think the farmers' recommendation, "Couch Slouch", is going to catch on any time soon.

20:24 | Stuff

June 20, 2005

Retraction and Rant

So it turns out my resident managers did not in fact sign for my package. I had to stay home sick from work today (I'll mercifully spare you the details of my gastro-intestinal hardships), and was able to sign for my delivery. I guess DHL decided to try the managers, and when they weren't home, silently decide to re-deliver on the next weekday. This is all kinds of stupid, since I was home all day Saturday, and had no idea where my package was. I couldn't ask my managers, since they're still MIA.

So what's in the package, you ask? It's my (new) iPod. One day my iPod just stopped working. Instead of the friendly Apple logo when I turned it on, I would get an icon of a folder with an exclamation point. Not the most descriptive error message. I searched online, followed all the troubleshooting tips I could find, then eventually had it sent back to Apple. They replaced it with a brand new iPod (sweet), and since it was still under warrantee, all I paid was shipping.

So to sum up:

18:04 | Rant | Comments (2)

June 19, 2005

Open Letter To My Resident Managers

Dear Apartment Managers,

Thank you for signing for my package that arrived on Friday morning while I was at work. The package is worth several hundred dollars, and I appreciate you holding it, and not leaving it in the lobby. However, I would appreciate in the future that if you sign for a package, then promptly go away for the weekend, to at least call me and try to arrange some time for me to pick up my delivery.

Granted, this was only a piece of personal electronics, not vital by any stretch. But you had no way of knowing what was in that package. For all you knew, it was my much-needed insulin, without which I could have slowly slipped into a diabetic coma as you enjoyed your weekend away from the stresses of on-site apartment management.

Speaking of which, what's the deal with the on-site managers leaving for three days and not letting the tenants know? What if an emergency occurred, like, oh, I don't know, our apartment flooded? It would be nice to have a contact number for such an occasion.

Again, thank you for signing for my delivery. I hope when you get back, well-rested and suntanned, we can arrange for me to pick it up.

-Chris

11:34 | Rant

June 9, 2005

Doggie Bag

There are two kinds of dog walkers in my neighbourhood. One consists of the people who let their dogs crap on public sidewalks. They don't care who sees them either. I once stared down a middle-aged lady as her pug deposited a steaming curl of processed kibble five feet away from me. The whole time she just stared up at the sky, as if she had no idea what was going on at the end of her leash.

Then there's the other kind of person who goes to all the trouble of bringing a plastic bag while they walk their dog, picking up the doggie crap, tying the bag, and then just leaving it on the sidewalk. It's like a sadistic little loot bag for whoever comes by next.

I don't know which of these people piss me off more.

22:14 | Rant | Comments (1)

June 8, 2005

Dav and Khris and T's Excellent Adventure

I have been pretty bad about blogging about my exciting weekends. Three weekends ago, Dav came to visit. The first time he visited me in Seattle, I had only been here two months, so basically all I knew were the touristy things (Space Needle, monorail, Starbucks) and my immediate neighbourhood. This time, older and wiser (also accompanied by Teresa), we showed Dav some of the cooler parts of town, like The Stumbling Monk on Capitol Hill, Gasworks Park and Freemont. We also stayed up all night and drank a lot of beer.

Then we hit a rift in the space-time continuum and visited the future (actually the Seattle Library on 4th Ave):

Chris and Teresa in the Seattle Library

Thanks again for the visit Dav!

20:47 | Stuff

June 7, 2005

Oregon Coast Photos

As promised, select photos from our camping trip down the Oregon Coast.

We left Seattle Friday night, and drove straight to Nehalem Bay campgrounds, on the west coast just south of the Washington-Oregon border. From there we drove south, stopping in small towns and sandy beaches, until we realized we forgot T's cell phone at the campsite, and went back for it. But after that, it was all south to Beachside Park where we were lucky enough to see a sunset over the ocean (well, until the sun sank below Oregon's ever-present cloud cover).

Sunday we made a lot of stops along Oregon's less friendly shores. At Cape Foulweather (yes, that's what it's called), we saw the most beautiful tide pools teeming with sea anemones, sea stars and sea urchins. All the surrounding rocks were encrusted with mussels, which we tried very hard not to step on as we inspected the sea life. That night we stayed at Honeyman Park, which has about 2 miles of sand dunes between it and the ocean. I have never seen sand dunes this large, nor have I ever seen dunes surrounded by evergreens.

Monday we drove home with a stop in the fine city of Portland, and got home by bedtime, which was particularly sweet since it was the first bed we slept in all weekend.

Even though some of the campsites were crowded and full of screaming children and jocks blaring music out of their 4x4s, and even though our tent was within spitting distance of the car, we had a great camping trip.

21:26 | Misc Rambling

June 6, 2005

Black Tie Wedding

We just got back yesterday from a 3-day trip to Norfolk (pronouced Naw-fuck), Virginia as guests to Teresa's friend's wedding. It was a black tie affair, and very impressive. I had a blast, and will be posting stories and photos soon.

22:57 | Stuff | Comments (2)

June 1, 2005

The True Meaning of Disassemble

President Bush's reaction to Amnesty International calling Guantanamo Bay the "gulag of our times":

It seemed like to me they based some of their decisions on the word of -- and the allegations -- by people who were held in detention, people who hate America, people that had been trained in some instances to disassemble -- that means not tell the truth.

Source: White House transcript

20:28 | Quotes