Clinton can run
I realized something the other day, listening to some talking heads talking about how Hillary Clinton is the Democratic presidential front runner. Now, honestly, I am no so sure about her. She has a lot of baggage and am not convinced she can gain any swing from the right. But...
One thing that seems to be missing right now from the discussions is that she is a woman. I know for me it has not even been a consideration, I kind for forgot. It appears to be a non-issue even from the right. Has America actually grown up a little in the midst of this infantile administration?
Its not like politeness is preventing people from mentioning it, its just doesn't seem to be an issue in play.
[politics] 08:31
Ann Coulter is a...
Skeksis!
Hah, got you didn't I? She is certainly a lot of things but I bet you didn't expect that one. The reason I say it is that in her latest nightmarish romp across the channels I have heard her say "Yes" is a particular way (low-high-low) that seemed strangely familiar. I recently had the chance to finally watch its^H^H^Hher appearance with Donny Deutsch and it finally struck me. She is a Skeksis like the ones from the movie Dark Crystal. An evil harpylike creature bent on nothing but its own survival and willing to commit atrocities in pursuit of that goal.
So there you have it...Skeksis.
[politics] 18:11
A storm, a symphony
It took a while for the storm to roll in last night. I was working in my study when I saw a few flashes and some thunder, so I went upstairs and out onto the deck. As I stood there, the storm came closer and the sky was lit up by almost constant heat lightning. Not that slow rolling variety that lights the clouds orange, no. This was something like I have never seen. It was constant with the clouds lit bright white from behind all over the sky. Thunder rose and fell but never fell silent. A breeze would grow into a gust and just as quickly dissipate, evoking gentle tones from thewind chimess behind me. The rustle of the trees echoed the wind.
I stood there staring up, listening to this magnificent symphony of nature with a grin on my face. I contemplated the raw power being loosed by this display and how far it is from our capacity to generate let alone fathom the kind of power the nature throws around as a matter of course. Finally the rain came, forcing me inside, filled with the wonder of our world.
Too bad an atheist like me couldn't really appreciate it... ;)
[atheism] 09:43
Naperville is NOT a "great" place to live, its okay
Yet again, Naperville, Illinois has ranked high in the "best places to live" listing thing. But the view is far too simplistic. I lived in Naperville for over 12 years.
I lived about 4 blocks west of downtown on Jefferson. It was a good location for getting to downtown, the festivals, etc. I do miss that part of living there. Last time i checked, my (at least what used to be my house) is the only one still standing on the block along Jefferson (and one of the few on the block). Every other house has been knocked down and rebuilt with a McMansion. I am glad I left because the neighborhood I liked is gone.
Anyway, Naperville does indeed have a park district with lots of programs, nice libraries, etc. BUT it has some serious problems as well, many stemming from the high density of people. I will just address a couple to be representative:
1) Park District
Like I said, Naperville does have a decent Park District with lots of program. Only problem is that there are still more people than programs. Damn near everything is a lottery to be able to get in. So when they look, they just look at the programs offered, they see "Ooh look at all the programs" without digging for just how accessible they are. And things like the Easter Egg Hunt are just a complete nightmare (see #5 below).
2) Traffic
What do people usually do on Saturday? Run errands, right? Not in Naperville. If you value your sanity you don't go out on Saturday before about 2pm. Traffic is probably the single most nightmarish facet of life in Naperville. There is almost never a good time to be on Route 59 (an important main road and location of much of the area's commercial offerings). I was stunned after I moved away and realized that I COULD go out to the hardware store on Saturday morning again. It was like I got a bit of my life back.
And rush hours are no better. Gridlock is the watchword. So as far as traffic is concerned, Naperville sucks.
3) Riverwalk
Ah..the picturesque Riverwalk. Sure its nice, but don't bother on the weekend, especially evenings in the summer (which is one time you probably really would like to walk there). Its crowded and in the evenings overrun with cretinous teenagers. And don't even get me started on the motorcycle idiots. The Riverwalk is a mixed bag, it is not the shining jewel they would have you believe.
4) Dining
Yes, Naperville has some very good restaurants. And forget eating in them unless you have made reservations months in advance (especially new ones). Simply a case of too many people, too few restaurants. I can't count the number of times my wife and I had to just go to another town because we couldn't get into a local restaurant on a weekend.
5) Attitude
Naperville is full of itself. And it shows. I have never dealt with a ruder, more self absorbed people. I don't know what causes it, whether its people taking to heart Naperville's ill earned affluent cachet or just nouveau riche asshatery.
People are selfish and their kids are unruly. As I mentioned above things like the Easter Egg Hunt are nightmarish. There is a egg limit that is ignored, with parents unwilling or unable to keep their children from taken stuff from others. And I am just using that representationally, you are pretty much greeted with terrible behavior from adults and children wherever you go.
Naperville is not a great place. It is a decent place if you are willing to put up with its significant problems, the main one being too many people.
[spout] 07:05
Ubuntu no go
I wanted to upgrade my server to Fedora Core 5 and thought that as long as I was going wipe the machine anyway, why not try Ubuntu as it been garnering all sorts of fuss. Admittedly, Ubuntu is more geared toward desktop rather than server (I wanted more than just the base LAMP server installation) so it was not the best choice. Well after installing it and running it a few days, I am currently installing FC5 on the machine.
It did have a more cohesive feel than the FC3 I was running, but Azureus ran like crap and there were other issues that made it pretty clear that it wasn't going to work out. Hopefully FC5 smooths out some of the rough edges that were bothering me in FC3.
[development] 19:14
Wasn't it "presumed innocent UNTIL proven guilty?"
I have a sinus infection. I get them occasionally, but this one is really bad. My sinuses are so swelled up that I can't get air through. I had one series of antibiotics and it didn't seem to touch it. So I was sitting at work and got fed up and went to Walgreens to find something to help. (Okay, the "too much information" part is almost over now, but I need the set up)
I had tried some other decongestants earlier with little effect so I thought I would try Sudafed as a start and then saw the nasal sprays that I had forgotten even existed. "Perhaps a combination will work" I thought to myself. (it did, for those interested and am currently on another series of antibiotics that it is responding to).
The key point here (YAY! He is getting to the point!) is that I live in Illinois. And in Illinois, Sudafed and over the counter medicines that contain it have to be kept behind the counter so that we can't make meth with them (see rant at end). Now when this started, you just had to ask and I believe there was a limit to how many you could buy at one time. Stupid, but a marginally tolerable inconvenience.
Oh no...not at Walgreens now. First I had to provide my driver's license, the number of which was entered into their system. Then I had to provide an electronic signature. THEN I had to fill out an entry in a binder with my name, what I was buying, and another signature.
For one box of Sudafed. Let me repeat that:
For one box of Sudafed
Funny...I thought I was the one NOT breaking the law.
PS: This whole Meth hysteria is pretty much a load of crap anyway. Yes it's bad. Just like crack, liquor, smoking, etc is bad. But this is a case of penalizing those not doing anything. If I remember what I read quite a while ago you need a substantial amount of Sudafed to make meth. Not like 3 boxes, but a pretty large amount to make it worthwhile. And from what I know of the process, using stuff like Children's Tylenol Cough & Cold (a product our kids use frequently) is pretty much going to fuck it up so there is not reason to restrict the stuff when mixed with other things.
[spout] 13:44