| Saturday, July 4th, 2009
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ernunnos
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11:30a
Is single-warehouse anything like single-payer?
Washington State is out of booze
I can't wait until these people are in charge of health care. Y'know, in some respects, competition is wasteful. Economies of scale exist, and one provider for a market is the largest scale possible. That's why even in a free market you see consolidation.
But what you make up in efficiency you lose in fault-tolerance. It's worth it to pay a little bit more to have a backup.
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commonreader
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11:28a
Dirty Piano
It's so dirty. I don't know how to clean it! It seems to generate more dirt than the children.
I hate to say it but I am thinking about getting rid of it and getting a sanitary clean keyboard. Then there will be no piano fairies of course.
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libertarianism
[ fandantium ]
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12:28p
Children and Taxes
Was thinking the other day about the concept of “No Taxation Without Representation” Ya know the thing we fought and won a war over. On the premise that we pay taxes because we have elected representatives that we choose for ourselves… Why are children required to pay sales tax. Certainly they do not vote. The British told us that we did have representation in England. What we objected to was having no vote in their choosing. Children have no say at all in the choosing of their representatives either. Under these foundational principals of taxation and representation… why do children pay sales tax?
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neworleans
[ erotic_vulcha ]
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11:24a
Ferry info for tonight
As requested, here is what I found out about the ferry tonight.
I just called 376-8180, which I found on this helpful site:
http://www.friendsoftheferry.org/
That phone number appears to be the police station in charge of the ferry (or something like that).
Anyhow, I was told:
The fireworks start at 9 p.m. and are expected to last about an hour. The man I talked to indicated that the ferry would essentially run up until the fireworks start and then will run again after the fireworks end. He did not tell me a specific last ferry before the fireworks, or the first ferry after.
Schedule:
On the East Bank, the ferry leaves on the :15 and the :45 of every hour.
On the West Bank, the ferry leaves on the :00 and the :30 of every hour.
Here http://www.algierspoint.org/resources.htm, it says:
Toll: $1 from the Westbank to the Eastbank for automobiles. Pedestrians and bikes ride free.
Happy fireworks!
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btripp
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8:39a
Fireworks ...
Chicago is a wise old city that understands about the weather. As such, they have "tentative" scheduling for the main city fireworks that start a day ahead. This was a Good Idea this year, as tonight they're forecasting thunderstorms!
We ended up with a Major Undertaking this year. Daughter #1 had 3 friends along and Daughter #2 one, giving us six girls to keep reigned in. We started up by us, with two big carts full of stuff, walking the two miles down to the north end of Grant Park.
As you can see in the above, the spot we picked was somewhat "out of the way", especially in regards to the masses attending Taste Of Chicago in the area centered on Jackson & Columbus. The sort of crowds that would have been down in that part of the park would have been horrendous. So, we got down there fairly early (arriving at 3:45), blocked out "our space" with blankets, and tried to keep The Girls amused for the 5 hours between setting up and the fireworks. Fortunately, some of their teachers were in a party nearby, and they went to hang out there for a while. Between snacks and games and eventually dinner, boredom was limited.
This was the view to the south of us ... don't know any of these people. This was at about 6:30, when things started to fill up (a lot of the "gaps" between early-arriving groups were starting to get muscled in on by latecomers). By the time it started getting towards dusk, folks were wandering right through our area ... very irritating (we should have come with "caution" tape like some of our neighbors!).
And, of course, there were fireworks. We'd brought a radio so that we could tune in to the musical accompaniment to the show. I'm hoping that one of these days I'll be able to again afford toys like a camera that can take quality pictures of fireworks. I took several dozen shots that all looked pretty good in the back of the camera, but were blurry once on-screen. Bummer. The above was one of the sharper images.
All six girls slept over last night and we're in the process of whipping up some breakfast, then we're heading up to the Chicago Historical Society for their annual 4th of July thing (activities, music, speeches, etc. ... we go every year) and then send the others home. We may (weather permitting) end up back down in Grant Park this afternoon for a concert The Wife wants to attend ... but we'll see how accurate the thunderstorm forecasts are!
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(2 comments | comment on this) Friday, July 3rd, 2009
commonreader
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11:31p
Finished
Called Out of Darkness, Anne Rice
It's pretty good until the last chapter, but the last chapter can be summed up as "if I have to take the Church's teachings on sexuality seriously I'll have to stop publishing all my porn and I need the money."
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(2 comments | comment on this) Saturday, July 4th, 2009
(5 comments | comment on this) Friday, July 3rd, 2009
commonreader
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9:48p
I Hate It Here So Much
I wasn't crazy about North Carolina but there were redeeming factors, such as really nice people.
You know what is the major redeeming factor in Seattle? A bunch of my neighbors have interesting espaliered fruit trees.
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(comment on this)
guns
[ andrewlee ]
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11:03p
Gun Auction in Chicago
Gun that killed Dillinger up for auction
A Colt Army Special revolver used by East Chicago, Ind., police Capt. Timothy A. O'Neil to fatally shoot John Dillinger could be yours for what auctioneers say may be much more than their conservative $8,000 to $12,000 estimate.
And this sentence from the article caught my eye:
An image of the gun, owned by O'Neil's family, will be projected on a screen at auction because Chicago bans handguns and automatic weapons within city limits.
Silly Chicago-ans...
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commonreader
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7:44p
I LOVE YOU SARAH
Political operatives descended on Alaska last August, digging for dirt. The ethics law I championed became their weapon of choice. Over the past nine months I've been accused of all sorts of frivolous ethics violations – such as holding a fish in a photograph, wearing a jacket with a logo on it, and answering reporters’ questions.
Every one – all 15 of the ethics complaints have been dismissed. We’ve won! But it hasn't been cheap - the State has wasted THOUSANDS of hours of YOUR time and shelled out some two million of YOUR dollars to respond to “opposition research” – that’s money NOT going to fund teachers or troopers – or safer roads. And this political absurdity, the “politics of personal destruction” … Todd and I are looking at more than half a million dollars in legal bills in order to set the record straight. And what about the people who offer up these silly accusations? It doesn’t cost them a dime so they’re not going to stop draining public resources – spending other peoples’ money in their game.
It’s pretty insane – my staff and I spend most of our day dealing with THIS instead of progressing our state now. I know I promised no more “politics as usual,” but THIS isn’t what anyone had in mind for ALASKA.
If I have learned one thing: LIFE is about choices!
And one chooses how to react to circumstances. You can choose to engage in things that tear down, or build up. I choose to work very hard on a path for fruitfulness and productivity. I choose NOT to tear down and waste precious time; but to build UP this state and our country, and her industrious, generous, patriotic, free people!
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