(no subject)

Some days I'm really not sure if I'm extroverted or introverted. I was social with gaming buddies Friday evening and all Saturday, and had a fun date with jeliza last night. Today I have a couple of options for social events, and while I don't really like the idea of spending the entire day on my own, I'm not really that excited by the various possibilities.

Maybe it is just because I stayed up late the last two nights without sleeping in the next day and haven't yet had breakfast. Of course, one of the possible social events was Dim Sum with the poly folk, but I think I'd rather have Alki...

Other than my waffling this morning, not a lot else to report lately. My project at Sierra is getting close to 'donish', real testing is starting now, and actually will wrap up here before too long. Still spending an inordinate amount of time gaming, but having a good time doing it. Finally paid of the credit card debt from my two bouts of unemployment, so I'm down to my car loan which should be paid off by the end of the year and the graduate school loan. Still a ways to go before I feel ready for a down payment on a house, but one thing at a time I suppose...

Next weekend is pretty well booked. Friday night is jeliza's thesis show opening, Saturday is loree's birthday party, and as I haven't been down to Tacoma for a TERRA event in many months I think I'll be going to their Summer Solstice rit next Sunday.

Looking at my calendar, Outlook is reminding me that Kim's birthday is this week. I'm sure my OCD use of Outlook does not help my 'letting go' issues :> In past years, I've sent a card or an e-mail, but since all communication with her is sucked into a black hole, it isn't something I should continue to put any energy into... Still, another milestone for another year...

Come to think of it, what I really want is Trudy's migas, but that's not happening. Breakfast at Alki it is... I'll figure out the rest of my day after eating.

Survivalist nut

A week or so ago I saw the tail end of a 'disaster prep for the Pacific Northwest' show on TV. It basically reminded me yet again that I do in fact live in the next Pompeii. The show recommended a few disaster-prep things, and I figured I do a few of them.

Now, I'm not a survivalist nut. If the Apocalypse comes, I do *not* believe "the survivors are the lucky ones". But I am a frickin' Eagle Scout so the idea of being totally unprepared in the case of a disaster is at best embarrassing. The other issue at play is that I'm basically lazy. A slacker with OCD makes for some strange emergent behavior.

As such, I'm not going to dig a bomb shelter under my apartment, stock up on plastic and duct tape, or buy a 350 W gas generator. But I did put together a simple backpack to keep in the car with a radio, flashlight, first-aid kit, water, energy bars, tarp, batteries, and a few other things. I'm also going to stock up on some low-prep canned foodstuffs and a few gallons of water to keep in my pantry....

To date I've been very lucky. I've not had to deal with a disaster. I lived in the middle of Tornado Alley for nine years of my childhood, but we were never close to a touch-down point while we lived in Wichita Falls. I did spend probably two weeks a year hiding in the bathroom or closet since we basically lived on 24/7 tornado watch. We actually moved to Fort Worth a few weeks before a really big tornado smashed up the town, and came back a year later. We had one or two suspected gas leaks, but no fires.

So, while I'm probably more programmed for 'preparedness' than most, I'm pretty apprehensive about dealing with an earthquake first-hand. I doubt I'll wake up trapped under the two apartments above me or that Seattle will be paved over with lava, but the reality of an earthquakes means potential disruption of utilities for a lengthy period of time. No point in suffering needlessly during a week without power and/or water...

(no subject)

The Stranger has some good stuff this week:

A humorous piece about the new Seattle city library - "Killer Library: The New Central Library Offers Civic Validation, a Huge Collection of Material, and a Staggering Number of Startling New Ways to Die"

Naturally a number of stories about Ronald Reagan and his legacy from the leftist viewpoint. I particularly liked this editorial about how Bush Jr. tries to emulate Reagan.

Years ago Rosalynn Carter said that the American people liked Reagan because "he makes us feel comfortable with our prejudices." It wasn't a compliment.
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It's not just the policy similarities, which are obvious. Reagan endlessly repeated banal, feel-good platitudes about American virtue; so does Bush. Reagan was a Manichean, eschewing subtlety in favor of a cartoonish worldview, a B-movie morality play in which good always vanquishes evil; this tendency is even more pronounced in Bush.