Disaster Preparedness

A mixed case of craft beer.
Four bottles of wine.
Steaks and lobster tails for the grill.
Fresh veggies from the farmer's market.
Bread and cookies from the aforementioned market.
Sauces and seasonings
A freezer full of protein.
Coffee.
Tobacco products.

A quad band radio that is crank charged.

Archer Season One on DVD.

Yeah, we are ready.

"Come on, Irene"*

*Apologies to Dexie's Midnight Runners.

Keywords

The keywords for this past week...some of them are weird...some of them are made of awesome:

(Retired from the list: Tobias Funke, Hermon Raju, "futile cynicism")

• Cheesecake Machismo/Eggy's (Two of my favorite places to eat really good bad for you food in Albany)
• gut me not that ye be judged
• megyn kelly mistakes
• a number of various combinations for the "Jon Stewart imitation of Rick Perry"
• things to do, albany, ny 9/3 (Yes, there are.  The celebration of the feast of my nativity.)

Oh, and there were a bunch of searches for people's names and such...

This is an amazing ad...

Now, I do not agree with the message, but I really think that Roger Williams (Running for the Texas 33rd as a Republican/Conservative). Williams is the former Secretary of State for Texas.

I hope that this advertisement is largely tongue-firmly-in-cheek (however, I really doubt it) but it is well done. It gets a very vitriolic message out with a little bit of humor and a whole lot of snark.

Via Ben Smith at Politico

So...there was a earthquake?

Apparently, there was an earthquake yesterday. I did not feel it. I am not upset about this. I felt one years ago on the west coast (6.1) and thank you very much, I do not need to experience that again. I am all about doing things that leave me terrified (or I was at one point...now the only thing I am willing to do that is terrifying is dating) like roller coasters with a screaming 8 year old (it heightens the experience to have someone who is legitimately terrified sitting next to you) or free climbing rockfaces.

TEA was able to experience it by watching the water of his fish tank slosh back and forth.

The Slate Culture Gabfest was recording during the middle of it, and the audio is comical.

I was watching MSNBC and reading something stupid as it happened and I noticed nothing.

So, that was my experience. Others, including close friends and family, had to evacuate buildings, and had a brief moment of real terror.

Then the Tweets and Facebook posts came in...

Some of them bothered me a little (or a lot). Specifically the ones from friends in LA and Seattle who presented messages like "5.8. Yawn." Really?

I have been pleasant when you have issues that people in the Northeast treat with calm and jokes while y'all FREAK THE F**K OUT!

Think about it and try to remember when you had three days of rain in LA last year. Or PNW folks, remember the "devastating inch and a half of snow that you had last year"? No, you are not used to things like that, and it is understandable that you were freaked, but...you cannot have it both ways.

So, let people be freaked out about the earthquake. I will let you be freaked out about a little bit of snow or rain.

(By the way, there were also a lot of people who were kind and respectful and I am trying not to paint with too broad a brush.)

Just a great idea

I think that Hubway is a wonderful idea. You can read more about it here.







The above Inhabitat piece links to another post that talks about how the NYC Bike Share Program is soon to come to fruition.

Just remember, don't run a red light on your bike on the island of Manhattan.

Protecting America?

Have you seen this flag?


Apparently, if you donate money to the NRCC, this is a give away.

So, if you are voting Republican, you are voting to protect America, right? What happens if you are voting for a Democrat, a Green, or a Libertarian?

Is voting for a platform other than the platform of Speaker Boehner and his caucus voting to destroy America? Seriously? Is a sensible tax policy actively working against the Republic?

I am just curious about this.

Getting over the hyperbole of the zealots on both sides (as if there were only two sides to an issue) of American politics is something that I have been happily working on.

Stupid Movie Quotes

Every so often (read once a day), my brother and I will reference this scene.



The purpose of this is to state the obviousness of some situation or something akin to that.

Then, yesterday, at ThinkingCup, and this is what our table looked like.

I had to take a picture (to share with my brother) and exclaim, "We landed on the moon!"

Ode to the Breakfast Taco

(or, Eggs, Cheese, Beans, and Tortilla? Don't Mind if I Do!)




Oh, little wrapped goodness on your foil plate.
Thank you for being so tasty.
For it is you that I will have thought I ate,
Whenever I eat something nasty.

(Pictured: The Breakfast Taco from Mike and Patty's)