40 Minutes, 40 Pictures, Part 2

Daily Report: Poolside With Pattayan, Bedsponge

I haven't felt like writing lately. It happens from time to time. Unfortunately it usually happens when life is most interesting... and tiring.

Too much partying for starters. I won't even begin to describe last Friday... Jeebus I got smashed. I chucked too, which is exceedingly rare. That was in between lots of dinner dates, Eagles meetings, more Star Trek, a brunch party, two pool parties... and on and on and on.

Simon, co-owner of Shenanigans in Pattaya, was in Jasaan this week. His wife is from here, so he came over from Pattaya. He invited me out to Crystal Pool Resort today. Actually I had never met Simon before. He's a big, big fellow; he used to be a linebacker playing American football for team Australia. He has a little baby boy Nathan, who is already passing 25 pounds at 10 months of age... and has been walking for 2 months. (And never a cuter and happier baby could you hope to encounter. Actually, it seems like all the mistizo babies I see are unusually happy.)

In the evening, Epril and I had Simon and his wife, Charity, over for dinner. We didn't do anything too spectacular: I just served some pizza, and kid-sister Ednel made a nice cream-of-potato soup that she had learned in cooking class recently.

I've been trying to sleep without the air conditioner... just a fan pulling in outside air through the screen door of the balcony. Tonight was our fouth night in a row. It ain't working. Hell: The money I save on electricity is going to go to replacing the mattress every 2 or 3 months. Well, you know what the sponge in your kitchen sink is like after 2 or 3 months of repeatedly soaking up water and then drying out? Yeah... similar to that.

I did get my first electric bill after installing the electric timer that I purchased though: Instead of having the A.C. run from 9 p.m. until I wake up at 7 a.m., I have the timer set to turn off the A.C. at 3 a.m. The room stays cool enough without the sun shining through the windows, and according to my electric bill, I'm saving 1,500 pisos per month... from 6,000 pisos down to 4,500. Hmm... by my math, if a 40% reduction in A.C. usage results in a 1,500 pisos decrease, then it is (was) costing me 3,750 pisos to run my air conditioner every month. Ouch.

A Liberal Quaker In The Jungle?

Beliefnet helps you figure out what religion is best for you with the Belief-O-Matic survey.

Obviously, upbringing notwithstanding, my religious beliefs (quote-unquote) don't match up with the standard mainline American religious menu based on those religious groups the Belief-O-Matic chose for me.
(And I'm quite sure that the Belief-O-Matic's default response when it concludes "WTF?" about your responses is to tell you to go be a Unitarian.)

40 Minute Morning Walk, 40 Pictures To Share

I went for a walk this morning. Here is what I saw.

Smart Grids, Load Shaving, and Battery Storage

Watch this great video by Environmentalist Peter Sinclair. In it, he describes how a convergence of internet, electric system, and power-cell cars will bring (a rather obvious) balance to energery production in the future, actually lowering the cost of producing electricity.

The simple future is this: We'll be using the massive battery storage that electric cars represent to transfer electricity produced at night when demand is low (and cheap) to provide electricity during the day when demand is high (and expensive).



My father might wish to comment on this. He's an expert.

NY Governer May Resign Says Juicy Gossip

Hmm. (Twee and pithy post brought to you by the letter J.) Comparisons to Instapundit not welcome.

Do You Want To Be Scared? She Might Win.

This is a photograph of putative presidential candidate Sarah Palin's hand at a question and answer session last night.

Energy
Budget Cuts
Tax
Lift American
spirits

We apparently are seeing a presidential candidate who cannot remember even the most simple talking points of her own political worldview. I mean, if upon her hand was written something like "Mayor So-and-so" of the town in which she was talking, or "Mr. Whatshisname" who is sponsoring the event, I wouldn't be surprised... fair enough. But she can't remember "Energy, budget cuts, taxes, and lift American spirits" without palm notes? Hoe. Lee. Shit.

Even if you didn't know all of the other crazy things that this modern-day Savonarola believes, or how little she knows, or how often she lies. This. This alone should be more than ample evidence that she is the least qualified person to ever consider running for President... and I'm thinking of Al Sharpton when I say that.

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UPDATE: My mother asked if that was really Sarah Palin's hand. See for yourself.

P.S. In this same speech, she made fun of President Obama for using teleprompters.

Politifact Has The Details

Obama criticizes Republicans who opposed stimulus, then claim credit for projects it funded.

Shelby, America's Biggest Douchbag

It's normally hyperbole when we use "government" and "robbing" in close proximity to one another — at least in America.

Until today. Richard Shelby, the Senator from Alabama, has put a hold on all of the President's judicial and political nominees until the government gives his state billions of dollars for his pork pet projects. He is literally holding the government process ransom for money.

This really is about as low as legal politics can get. What an incredible scum.

The Fastest + Coolest Guitar You Will Ever Hear

Daily Report: Sort Of

I'm breaking several of my blog rules with this post. First off, I'm blogging when I'm tired and rather distracted. (It's 1 a.m. and I'm waiting for a conference call at work.) Second, I'm going to do some foreshadowing of what I'll "get around to" later... which I try to avoid because it breaks up the rather consistent time line of the blog. (Now, a future daily report will be referring to (and including photos from) stuff that happened several days ago.

But I'm bored.

I've been busy lately... quite. Friday found us in CDO doing some late night shopping, picking up some Japanese food and Star Trek DVD's before heading home by taxi.

Saturday had us putting a field day on the house, getting repairs done, and generally getting caught up.

Sunday had the Merediths over for lunch on the rooftop, a rather entertaining day out at the pools, and an evening party back on the rooftop with Daddy Aldrin.

Monday was the first anniversary of the ELCI (Expats Ladies Charity) and a get-together with lots of the expatriate community as well as Mayor Jarula of CDO.

And now Tuesday, I've finally gotten back to a regular schedule only to have it preempted by this 1 a.m. conference call. (It's the maybe-twice-per-year downside to the Asian life / American job thing... the middle of the night here / middle of the day there all-hands meeting.)

Right... time to get interested in this meeting. Hopefully photos will be coming along soon.

(Update: Grrr... Bastards didn't even take attendance. I could have missed it and nobody would have known.)

A Good Summary Of What Is Happening

From a blogger named "Slacktivist", copied mostly whole (thank you), a concise thought as to the main problem facing America:

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Hey you. You there in the Glenn Beck T-shirt headed off to the Tea Party Patriot rally.

Stop shouting for a moment, please, I want to explain to you why you're so very angry.

You should be angry. You're getting screwed.

I think you know that. But you don't seem to know that it doesn't have to be that way. You can stop it. You can stop it easily because the system that's screwing you over can only keep screwing you over if you keep demanding that it do so.

So stop demanding that. Stop helping the system screw you over.

Look, you can go back to yelling at me in a minute, but just read this first.

Get out your pay stub.

Notice that your net pay is lower than your gross pay. This is because some of your wages are withheld every pay period.

Notice that only some of this money that was withheld went to pay taxes. Notice that some of the money that was withheld didn't go to taxes, but to your health insurance company.

Now go get a pay stub from last year around this time, from January of 2009.

Notice that the amount of your pay withheld for taxes in your current paycheck is less than the amount that was withheld a year ago.

That's because of President Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan, which included more than $200 billion in tax cuts, including the one you're holding right there in your hand, the tax cut that's now staring you in the face. Republicans all voted against that tax cut. And then they told you to get angry about the stimulus plan. They didn't explain, however, why you were supposed to get angry about getting a tax cut. Why would you be? Wouldn't it make more sense to get angry at the people who voted against that Obama tax cut?

But taxes aren't the really important thing here. The really important thing starts with the next point.

Notice that the amount of your pay withheld to pay for your health insurance is more than it was last year. Notice that the amount of your pay withheld to pay for your health insurance is a lot more than it was last year. I won't ask you to dig up old paychecks from 2008 and 2007, but this has been going on for a long time. Every year, the amount of your paycheck withheld to pay for your health insurance goes up. A lot.

Notice the one figure there on your two pay stubs that hasn't changed: Your wage. The raise you didn't get this year went to pay for that big increase in the cost of your health insurance.

Here's where I need you to start doing a better job of putting two and two together. If you didn't get a raise last year because the cost of your health insurance went up by a lot, and the cost of your health insurance is going to go up by a lot again this year, what do you think that means for any chance you might have of getting a raise this year?

Did you figure it out? That's right. The increasing cost of health insurance means you won't get a raise this year. Or next year. Or the year after that. The increasing cost of health insurance means you will never get a raise again.

That's what I meant when I said you really should be angry. That's what I meant when I said you're getting screwed.

OK, we're almost done. Just a few more points, I promise.

The only hope you have of ever seeing another pay raise is if Congress passes health care reform. Without health care reform, the increasing cost of your health insurance will swallow this year's raise. And next year's raise. And pretty soon it won't stop with just your raise. Without health care reform, the increasing cost of your health insurance will start making your pay go down.

I wish I could tell you that this was just a worst-case scenario, that this was only something that might, maybe happen, but that wouldn't be true. Without health care reform, this is what will happen. We know this because this is what is happening now. It has been happening for the past 10 years. In 2008, employers spent on average 25 percent more per employee than they did in 2001, but wages on average did not increase during those years. The price of milk went up. The price of gas went up. But wages did not. All of the money that would have gone to higher wages went to pay the higher and higher and higher cost of health insurance. And unless Congress passes health care reform, that will not change.

Well, it will change in the sense that it will keep getting worse, but it won't get better. Unless the problem gets fixed, the problem won't be fixed. That's kind of what "problem" and "fixed" mean.

Sadly for any chance you have of ever seeing a raise again, it looks like Congress may not pass health care reform. It looks like they won't do that because they're scared of angry voters who are demanding that they oppose health care reform, angry voters who demand that Congress not do anything that would keep the cost of health insurance from going up and up and up. Angry voters like you.

Do you see the point here? You are angrily, loudly demanding that Congress make sure that you never, ever get another pay raise as long as you live. Because of you and because of your angry demands, you and your family and your kids are going to have to get by with less this year than last year. And next year you're going to have to get by with even less. And if you keep angrily demanding that no one must ever fix this problem, then you're going to have to figure out how to get by on less and less every year for the rest of your life.

So please, for your own sake, for your family's sake and the sake of your children, stop. Stop demanding that problems not get fixed. Stop demanding that you keep getting screwed. Stay angry — you should be angry — but start directing that anger toward the system that's screwing you over and taking money out of your pocket. Start directing that anger toward fixing problems instead of toward making sure they never get fixed. Instead of demanding that Congress oppose health care reform so that you never, ever, get another pay raise, start demanding that they pass health care reform, as soon as possible. Because until they do, you're just going to keep on getting screwed.

And it's going to be that much worse knowing that you brought this on yourself — that you demanded it.

Thanks for your time.