:: Ray's Periodic Rantings ::

:: Monday, June 30, 2003 ::

More politics, the weekend, and an embarrassing admission

Today's Salon has a thought provoking interview with John Mellencamp about his career and his recent anti-war and anti-racist music that has not received airplay. He makes an interesting quip: "Most people who are Republicans -- they're not rich enough to be Republicans!" Right on, John.

Today's Daily Howler compares Tim Russerts questions and Howard Dean's performance on Meet the Press a week ago to the appearance of candidate Bush on that program in 1999. Howler makes the case that Russert pretty much hammered Dean unfairly, when you look at his reaction to Bush's similar responses back then. And Russert didn't start right off with an attack on Bush's daughters, as he did Dean's son, either.

I am really sick of all the negative punditry that has met the publication of Hillary Clinton's book, Living History, most of which is by people who haven't actually read it or have merely "skimmed it for the good parts," but are simply taking its existence as license to attack the Clintons yet again. What can I do about it? Vote with my checkbook! I bought a copy and I am reading it, cover to cover. I will report on it here when I am finished.

This past weekend I finally did battle with the human size thistles that had taken over one of my planting beds. On some advice from a knowledgeable friend, I spot-applied some weed killer while yanking them, to discourage them from coming back. I don't like using chemicals in my yard, but pulling thistle plants out really sucks, and I hope to do as little of it as possible in the future. I also removed the awning from Betty, which had broken during last year's Burning Man expedition. In the process, I discovered the problem, and may yet be able to get it repaired.

Betty is being prepared for her first outing of the year: next weekend we will make the journey to Bethel Horizons in Dodgeville, WI, the site where I was married two years ago. I will camp there for a night with friends, then more friends and family will join us to spread Mary's ashes. I have some very complex feelings about all this, which I may attempt to write about here if I feel called to do so, but not right now.

Finally, today's embarrassing admission: I really like Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, Starlight Express. It is a musical about a dysfunctional romantic rivalry among train cars and locomotives played by people on roller blades, with some new age "power is within" spiritualism thrown in for good measure. I have seen it twice, once a really fantastic semi-permanent production in 'Vegas with skateways that went out into the seating area, and then a really wretched production on ice that was lip-synched. Anyway, there is a touring production in town, and I plan to take the kid on Tuesday evening. If he doesn't want to go (and he is old enough and jaded enough that he might not), I will go alone, because I can't think of a single person I know in town that might want to accompany me. If you see this before then and you want to go, let me know!
:: Ray 11:39 AM [+] ::
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You are full of it, Antonin

Dear Justice Scalia,

Yesterday, you dissented the Supreme Court ruling overturning anti-gay sex laws, saying, "It is clear from this that the Court has taken sides in the culture war, departing from its role of assuring, as neutral observer, that the democratic rules of engagement are observed." (for the rest of my readers, the conclusion to Justice Scalia's dissent is here)

Justice Scalia, I was always taught that the framers intended to protect minorities (be they political, religious, ethnic, or whatever) from mob rule and persecution by the majority. What makes homosexuals any different? Why should states be prohibited from legislating against Italians, for example, or Lyndon LaRouche, Scientology, or even Wicca, but when it comes to gays -- consenting adults in the privacy of their homes -- it's open season? The Court didn't take sides in any culture war yesterday, Justice Scalia, they simply righted a wrong that has been permitted to go on for far too long. If anyone took sides, it was you.

The second half of your statement is laughable, too, coming from a man who, two years ago, overrode the Supreme Court and citizens of the State of Florida, denying a fair count of their votes, and instead placing George Bush into the White House. Where were neutrality and democratic rules of engagement then, sir? Forgive me when I snort with derision when you mention these words. You have lost all credibility to lecture about them.

Sincerely,

Ray Koltys
:: Ray 11:27 AM [+] ::
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Politics
Tuesday I voted for Howard Dean in moveon.org's straw poll primary that determines which presidential candidate gets the support of that organization. As I have said here before, I like the man, and I like what he has to say. Go Howard!

Another man I am a fan of, Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV), spoke on the floor of the Senate on June 24 about "revisionist history" and just whom is revising it. Read his remarks, entitled The Road to Coverup Is the Road to Ruin.

Three cheers for the Supremes! The Supreme Court, that is, whom today struck down a Texas anti-sodomy law by 6-3. If you ask me, government has no business poking its head into the bedrooms of consenting adults. This law was particularly heinous, as it banned sodomy and oral sex by gay couples, but not heterosexuals. I can't think of any remotely kind words to describe the person so obsessed with the sex lives of others that he or she would push for passage of such a law, but I can speculate that he or she doesn't have much of a sex life or his or her own.
:: Ray 4:06 PM [+] ::
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CDs, entropy, and energy
Three weeks ago I finished 35, a mix CD for my 35th birthday. It is a happening collection of tunes, if I may say so, myself. I look forward to being able to exchange it for a mix of someone else's at the next Chicago blogger meeting I make it to.

I mention it for two reasons. First, I want to make the offer that the first 5 readers that write to request one will get one, assuming you haven't received one already...just send your name and snail mail address to my last name at batmo.com and it is yours. I haven't looked at the weblogs for this site lately, but let me just say that I will be highly surprised if I send out all five. So surprise me.

The second reason I mention it is because I did some landscaping today. You see, one of the songs on the CD is MC Hawking's Entropy, a rap by the Hawkster (wink) about the tendency of ordered systems to fall into disorder. All of our lives are spent fighting it...mine certainly is. My kitchen, my bathroom, my house, my yard, all seem to fall into chaos if I don't expend energy maintaining order.

Every once in a while, I score a tangible, if temporary, victory in this fight, and today was one of those times. A few weeks ago I mentioned I had cut out some shrubs behind my deck. Since then, I hadn't done anything with that space, and weeds were starting to encroach. Today, however, I went to a big box home remodeling supply store that does not have "depot" in its name, and purchased barrier fabric and 300 lbs of pea gravel. I cleared and leveled the area, put down the barrier material, edged it with red centipede bricks I had already purchased, covered the material with the gravel, then placed flagstones that I previously pulled up from elsewhere in the yard on top. The result looks quite handsome, if you ask me, and best of all, new! The forces of entropy will soon have their way with it, but for now, one small part of my yard is sticking it to them. I will post a pic at my earliest convenience.
:: Ray 1:14 AM [+] ::
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Cool
I just set myself up with one of the coolest geek toys ever. Several months ago I switched wireless phones to one that included Bluetooth, a wireless communication standard for small devices. Yesterday I finally bought a USB Bluetooth adapter for my iMac, and installed software that lets me use the phone as a remote control for it. Specifically it lets me control iTunes, which I have been loading up with my CD library and some digitized songs from my vinyl collection. If I don't like a track, I just click a button on my phone, and it skips to the next one. If the phone rings and I need to pause the music, no problem. Not sure what the name of this song is? Click, click, and it shows up on the screen of my phone. Phone and I leave Bluetooth range? iTunes automatically pauses, then resumes playing when we return. I love this! It makes me feel like...well, like a kid with a cool new toy.
:: Ray 11:36 PM [+] ::
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Weeds never knew what hit 'em
It worked. Tonight I had the kid, and he was practically begging to use the weed whacker. I insisted on eye protection this time, and let him go to it in the back yard. He actually did a decent job of trimming. We'll see now long the novelty lasts.

I did a fair amount in the yard, myself, on Sunday. A bunch of creeper vines and their ilk needed to be cut back, along with several branches on small trees. My new 18v cordless saws-all made quick work of it, but there was too much to fit in the yard waste can, so I had to bundle with twine. Plus I had to mow the lawn and trim and edge the front, to make it look all respectable-like. Life is so hard in the suburbs.

One pleasant surprise occured as well: Sunday I picked the first ripe strawberries of the season! Yum! And in the flower category, the pianis and rhododendrons are spent, but now my roses have bloomed like I have never seen before. I love my yard.

Oh yeah, and I passed my welding class, just not with flying colors. Unfortunately I won't be pursuing it as a hobby until I can find someplace to weld where I won't burn down my wood house or garage. Plus I don't need to be spending money on a welding rig right now. I need new windows in my house, and the Airstream needs a new battery charging system. You've got to have priorities.
:: Ray 11:09 PM [+] ::
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Welding and whacking
It's been a busy week at work and at home. I am playing catch-up in welding class, and with one two hour session left tomorrow morning, I am not caught up. The main project that has me stymied is a bend test of a V-groove butt weld. This involves welding two 3/8" steel plates together end to end, having beveled the edges so they abutt leaving a "V", which is then welded into with several passes to completely fill it, all from the open side. The welds are then ground flush, the plate is cut into strips, and then bent at the weld using a hydraulic jack. If the welds are good, they bend right with the rest of the base material. If not, they pull apart or snap. It is a standard test of welding qualifications, a true test of a welder's metal, so to speak (bad, I know). Anyway, twice I have gone through the entire exercise, which is fairly time consuming, and twice my welds have broken. Ouch. There is no longer time to try it again, so I will just have to see what kind of grade I get.

So Monday evening I had the kid. We went to dinner at a Thai place, then for Ice Cream at Oberweis, yum, then had some time to kill so we we went back to my house. I hadn't lined up any activities, and he was getting restless, when I had a stroke of genius. What do all boys love to do? Destroy things! What is even better? A handheld machine that destroys things for you! Enter the weed whacker. From his reaction, you'd think I had just handed him a laser gun. He didn't even mind slightly that I was directing where he should whack...just holding in his hands a device that made small plants fly apart violently was a major rush and power trip for him. I think that in the future I will insist on safety glasses, but the idea of a kid who will enthusiastically do some of my yard work for the fun of it is quite appealing.
:: Ray 8:46 PM [+] ::
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Grrrr
Why, in the Blogger interface, does the "Sign out" button have to be right next to "post & publish"? Let's see if I can reconstruct what I just wrote:

Somewhere in the last few weeks, I can't remember where, I read something to the effect that nature doesn't waste any time, and the plant life in the writer's yard was really taking off. I am here to say, "me, too!" The tulips have already come and gone, along with some nice lavender tree blooms whose names I don't know. Now the orange poppies are standing tall, and the rhododendrons have opened, along with brilliant red pianis. The pianis put roses to shame, they are so red. If you know who I quoted, please write to me. I would love to attribute the remark.

We had a cold and wet May in Chicago. It was no fun for us people, but my strawberries seemed to like it. They are thriving much better than they did last year. Hopefully by late July, I will be harvesting much berry goodness.


:: Ray 6:03 PM [+] ::
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Go get 'em, Dennis!
I don't think his presidential bid has a chance, but Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) (wow, that's an unfortunate party-state identifier) has written an interesting letter to Donald Rumsfeld asking for clarification from the Defense Department over the Pvt. Jessica Lynch rescue controversy.
:: Ray 2:08 PM [+] ::
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Catching up
Yesterday, June 1, at 1:04 AM, I completed my 35th orbit of the sun. At that moment, I was having a beer with my friend, Angie, at the Gold Star bar on Division St, after attending This American Life live at the Chicago Theater. The show was fantastic, and it was a very pleasant evening.

Earlier Saturday I had a frustrating day in welding class. I had played hooky the week before, and now I have to hustle to finish the remaining assignments before the term ends, but of course things went slowly and I didn't get as much done as I wanted to. The two last projects are the hardest. I have to do a v-fillet butt weld to join two pieces of 3/8" plate together, and subject the weld to a bend test. Then I have to weld three pieces together to make a corner like a box (which, I am told, is more difficult than it sounds). I will be going in a night or two this week to try to get in as much time as possible...I paid real money for this class and I want to get a good grade!

Friday night, I had a bite to eat with Molly, in town from Italy for the Digital Genres conference. It was great to see her and catch up a bit. She may have some Italians interested in coming to Burning Man!

Finally, I had fun at last Wednesday night's big get-together of Chicago area bloggers at El Cid #2 in Logan Square, written about by Andrew, Heather, and others. A mix CD exchange was conducted. Unfortunately, I didn't finish my 35th birthday mix CD until Thursday night, so I didn't get to participate. Next time!
:: Ray 12:42 PM [+] ::
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