Nads

Warning: If you grew up in the 1990's and your parent were hippies this post may cause you to have some kind of psychotic episode.
Last night we watched 'Gentlemen Broncos' via Netflix and although the movie was very strange it still had entertaining qualities. The most disturbing residual of the experience was seeded a long time ago and deeply buried within my psyche resurrecting through any and all mental blocks at hearing music in the movie. I have looked up the music in question so that you, the reader, can share in my pain. Basically anything from Ray Lynch, but more specifically the tracks named; 'The Oh of Pleasure', and 'Celestial Soda Pop' are the musical suspects. I'll boiling it down for those of you who can't listen to a sample online; it's the equivalent to musical carob; not quite what it pretends to be, or in this case it's not quite music. It's not that I thought the music wasn't appropriate for the sci-fi scenes in the movie, in fact I thought it was a perfect fit, rather it awakened an internal disturbance from the past. As a teenager I was awaken occasionally on the weekends to the sounds of Ray Lynch, although I didn't know the name of the artist, the tracks, or even the genre of the music at the time, it has stayed with me, dormant. I've searched my feelings as to why hearing something from so far in my past would bother me so much here in my present and I can't say I totally understand it, but it seems clear to me something is certainly wrong. I've wondered if the issue with the strange hippy music is that it woke me up when I didn't want to be disturbed or maybe my mother was communicating with the universe with her crystals those mornings and I suppose I wasn't in harmony causing a conflict within, or maybe I just can't stand that crap and that's why it annoys me.

Becoming an Uncle

On this day, February 4th, back in 1998 I officially became an Uncle. It was a strange thing becoming an uncle as I found myself feeling a comfortable sense of purpose, and an immediate bond of unconditional love. I still remember the first time those little arms attempted to hug me as hard as they could in a deliberate attempt to convey how much she loved me. I have a lot of memories of my niece Alyssa, but that hug is one of my favorites. I've made it through several of these birthdays since her untimely departure focusing on the happy memories, but not this one; this one I miss her too much, and that makes me sad.

The Turtle Head

I've been annoyed lately with all the political propaganda being put up on Facebook as we head toward the November 6th election. It's not that I have a favorite candidate but one side is more actively annoying. There hasn't been much if anything that has swayed me, and I don't believe anything that has been posted nor do I want to believe the people posting it believe it either. There are facts out there about candidates and then there is speculation and speculation is exactly that; a guess. So why is there so much crap out there that has so little to do with fact? I suppose it's all about the fear tactics. My take on the election is simply; has President Barrack Obama done a good enough job to be reelected? I of course have an informed opinion based on facts, but I doubt that anybody gives two cents about my conclusion; most likely in the same way I feel about the political Facebook spam I've been hiding and blocking. I will say that I am ultimately disappointed that we the people of the United States of America have yet to do something AMAZING when it comes to our self governance. Don't you think that two parties is just a little to close to one? I have offended plenty of people when I tell them that I don't see much of any difference between career politicians of either party, and I doubt any of the entrenched "leader's" political interest represent their constituents. Then of course the reply is almost always that 'it is important to pick the lesser of the two evils'; I feel they missed my point completely. Isn't the power maintained by the Democrats and Republicans based on the cooperative efforts to deflect and fix the attention of their supporters on the opposing party? I think it's worked so well that they have even got people believing that they are our leaders instead of our elected representatives; they are not one and the same. What am I advocating? The end of the strangle hold the two party system has had on our government. I am tired of hearing that unless I vote for Red or Blue I am just throwing my vote away. I don't believe each vote that doesn't go toward Democrat or Republican parties are wasted or don't count; a vote is a vote. There is no real reason why 3, 4, or more parties wouldn't work or even be beneficial to our system of government.

Yogurt the Greek, Or a Very Boring Review of Yogurt

I started eating Greek Yogurt and I have found there is a real difference in brands.

The first brand I tried was Chobani and although there are many flavors and it is thinker and creamier than standard yogurt I did have a problem with an unfavorable odor; it's something in between sweety feet and hot garbage. I found the Cherry was the worst offender when it came to weirdness.

The second brand tried was Dannon Okios. There maybe other flavors available than Strawberry, Vanilla, Blueberry, and plane, yet none of the stores I shop at have a greater variety than the four flavors I've listed.
Okios is only slightly thicker and creamer than standard yogurt, and that could just be my mental effort to cover up any feeling of getting ripped off. I don't find Okios smelly, and it's usually fairly decent.

The third brand I tried was Fage. Fage seems to have a limited selection of flavors, or at least at the stores I shop at, but thus far I have only tried the Strawberry. Fage is thick and creamy and by far my favorite. Fage is usually the most expensive, but I have found it at Costco for way less than the Grocery store. If I find any problems with the other flavors from my Costco flat I'll post an update via comment.

The forth brand I've tried is the Yoplait 100 calorie Greek Yogurt. Although I've only tried the Strawberry I think I can say I'm not going to try any other flavors. The Yoplait is not very thick and I'm not that thrilled with the flavor.

Medal of Freakdom

A few weeks ago I found a lump on my lower right chest which concerned me. I wasn't too concerned that it was cancer, but with my genetic makeup I was and am concerned that I could develop more lumps. I went to the doctor this last Monday just to be sure it wasn't something bad as I'm not big on diagnosing myself. The doctor told me I have a Lipoma, a benign fatty tissue tumor, so nothing to worry about. My problem with this lump comes from the fact that my father is riddled with these f-ing lumps, like freak-show time. I suppose I could have asked to have my quarter-size micro-Kuato removed, but then I thought about the little jello sack and what it meant or could mean. Isn't this disturbing badge of strangeness worth retaining? I chose, yes. Now when I take off my shirt in public I'm telling, nay warning the world 'I am a genetic freak, fear me, FEAR ME!

Seattle to Victoria

Recently my wife, Sam, and I set out on a planned adventure to Victoria, British Columbia. We were only there for a few days, but we had a good time. Even though Sam and I have both been to Victoria before; in fact we were on the same band trip back in 1993 when we were both still in high school. Victoria seemed quite different for some reason; buildings we remembered to be in seemingly different locations, streets we didn't seem to have noticed or remembered have evidently existed all along, and in one case an area I remembered from my childhood on my first trip was completely gone and redeveloped. Another thing that was very different for us this time was we were in control of our journey, lodging, and entertainment, which meant I needed to do some research before heading out. This is what I learned.


Venturing to Canada isn't like going to an alien world or anything, but is kind of like stepping into a bizarro world where everything is the same as home, yet still quite a bit different. Somethings are definitively better, yet there are somethings that made me feel much better once I was back home in the good old U.S. of A, like higher speed limits posted in MPH, and Constitutional Rights. There are a few ways for the international traveler to get from Seattle to Victoria. First there is the Victoria Clipper passenger ferry which leaves from Pier 69 in Seattle which is convenient departure point, and is a fairly quick way to get there, but at a starting price of $99 (U.S.) round trip per/person it is a bit expensive. An even more expensive way but probably the quickest way to get from Seattle to Victoria is by sea-plane, and even though Kenmore Air takes off from South Lake Union in Seattle and Lands in the inner harbor of Victoria the cost of around $300 per person is steep by my standards. Something worth thinking about when considering taking the Victoria Clipper or sea-plane is where you want to go while in Victoria; if you are only going to be milling around downtown Victoria  the Clipper or air may be the choice for you, but if you are planning on going else where like Butchart Gardens it might be worth taking your car as a bus tour from Downtown Victoria to the gardens will cost around $50 per person; and Public Transportation would take a very long time. There are the ferry options to get across the water to Vancouver Island if one decided to drive. The more ridiculous option is the Blackball/Coho ferry out of Port Angeles, WA which cost $61.50 (U.S.) per vehicle and $17 (U.S.) per passenger each way, so not only is it expensive it is also an extraordinary long drive to get to Port Angeles from Seattle; and it's an added cost to take the Bainbridge Island ferry to get across to the Olympic side of the sound. I chose to take the Anacortes Ferry to Sidney, B.C. which was $77.85 each way for 1 car and 2 total passengers. I strongly suggest that if one planned to take the Anacortes/Sidney Ferry to make a reservation with the Washington State Ferry system via  https://secureapps.wsdot.wa.gov/Ferries/Reservations/Vehicle/SailingSchedule.aspx or by calling   1-888-808-7977. The sailing from Anacortes is very picturesque, and takes about 2 1/2 hours; it's a little over 4 hours with the 90 minute drive from Seattle. All ferry business whether Washington State Ferry or Blackball is done in U.S. dollars or in Canadian dollars with a exchange fee. Also if driving a car consider parking fees, yet as we stayed at a nice hotel it was only $16 a day for parking; I am sure less expensive parking could be found.  Getting from Sidney to Victoria is easy and is only about a 20 minute drive. One of the many little differences in Canada is they use the metric system and that includes road signs, yet since most cars display Km/hr (Kilometers per hour) it's really not that difficult to adjust.

  

The options for lodging appear to be wide and various, and I can only suggest doing what we did and select a somewhat centrally located hotel that is within your budget. We only drove to Butchart Gardens and we walked everywhere else.

One might wonder what is so special or rather what there is to do in Victoria once you've arrived. Obviously one thing to do is immerse yourself in the Canadian culture and notice all the little differences; like how most people are friendly and polite, that's different. There is a multi-level museum downtown near the harbor, also known as the Royal British Columbia Museum; it's interesting. If that isn't your cup of tea maybe make a reservation to have High Tea, a truly victorian experience, at the Fairmont Empress Hotel; it is a bit expensive. If treating yourself to tea sounds like a good idea yet you don't want to spend a bunch of money I suggest once again doing what we did and find a less expensive alternative; we went to a place called Murchie's, which not only sells tea, coffee, and traditional tea treats, they also sell tea sets and other brewing related stuff.

 The big tourist attraction is of course Butchart Gardens, but it's not Disneyland. If the subject of gardening causes you immense mental discomfort, or you otherwise have little to no interest in flowers, bushes, and/or trees DO NOT make the effort to visit Butchart Gardens as you most likely will start eating the flowers from boredom or insanity. If your the kind of person who loves spending hours and hours working on your garden or if you just appreciate pleasant looking things then it might be worth the rather steep admission fee of $29.60. On the bright side the hours are extremely generous open to as late as 10 P.M. in the summer. The snack bar is surprisingly above average just in case a snack is needed. You maybe asking yourself 'what kind of time one would spend at a place like this?', and all I can say is that it is all relative; we aren't big plant people and we stayed for just over 2 hours before feeling like it was time to go. 
If you find you run out of things to look at I suggest taking a look at the Canadian money, it's very different. The Queen ages on the coins showing her likeness at the time the coin was pressed. I know, not very interesting but hey, it's Canada. 


After a weekend in Victoria you might find as I did that is the kind of place you don't really have a problem leaving, yet it was pleasant enough you'll feel like returning. I look forward to travelling to Victoria again, and maybe next time we'll take the Victoria Clipper.

Plumbers and Harpoons

This Sunday the wife let me know the drain wasn't working very well when she was taking a shower. I decided to put some laundry detergent down the drain and checked it after a while but no increase in drainage occurred. Why detergent? I used to clean the drains in my last residence which had chronic clogging problems with detergent and it usually helped. The next step was to go to the store and get some Drano, and long story short, it didn't work. I noticed after running the water in the kitchen the bathtub in the bathroom, of course, had water in it where as it didn't moments before. This was a disturbing realization as it meant all water would flow backward through the tub drain. Yikes! Also this meant no toilet. 'No toilet' is the key terms that signal when it is time to call a plumber. Surprisingly even in the modern metropolis of Seattle it is very hard to find a plumber on Sunday, and after calling several plumbers, over six, with good reviews on Yelp and no responses we called one of the Plumbers in the yellowpages that stated they were available Sunday. One of the first things the person on the phone said to my wife was that it was going to cost $100 just to come and look at the problem, and after the actual plumber showed up I had to show him where the clean-out was, because he couldn't find it. I was informed that to run a snake would be $477. I had to repeat the amount because I couldn't believe it, but he was there and I wasn't sure that we could get another plumber to show up or that we could go without a toilet for a day, so I gave the 'go head'. Unfortunately I assumed rather erroneously that the $477 included the $100 show up fee and tax, but that wasn't the case. We were harpooned for the gargantuan sum of $630 just to have a plumber run a roto rooter snake down our drain, but wait there's more. The guy who couldn't find the clean out 3' in front of him continued to try to sell a video survey of the drain for an extra $150, or else he couldn't guarantee the clean out. Maybe I don't have to say it, but I passed on the expensive sewer video. On the bright side the plumber did point out a leak in the drain from the kitchen I wasn't aware of. After the Whaler A.K.A. the plumber got in his truck and left I investigated the leak from the kitchen and found it was coming from under the sink. The odd thing was it was a really bad leak but it didn't flow out into the kitchen. Today, Monday, I tackled fixing the kitchen sink leak but found an old galvanized fitting that had corroded away that I was unable to break loose. I did my best to mend the situation and put everything back together. The result is the leak is a much slower drip instead of a flowing stream, and the landlord will be coming by this week to see what he can do. 

Snow in Seattle

This last week Seattle's nasty wintry weather was national news, and at one point the L.A. Times called us in Seattle something like 'snow wimps'. The snow wasn't too bad even though we got more than expected, but the freezing rain really screwed things up. The Tacoma Narrows bridge had to be shut down because big dangerous chunks of ice falling from the suspension cables on to the road way. Trees covered first by snow then coated in heavy ice from the freezing rain caused a few roofs to collapse and trees to snap; in some cases snapping trees and branches took out power lines. Power has been out for tens of thousands of households for days, and according to the local T.V. news the power companies are still working to restore power to customers. Where I live we were fairly fortunate only getting a small amount of freezing rain and only about 6 inches of total snow fall, also we never lost power. Our biggest heating problem has been that during the storm our heater working harder than normal started making a loud rumbling noise most likely from a bearing going out in the fan. During winter storms the city of Seattle only plows and treats 'arterial streets' or main commuter routes leaving the side streets covered in whatever state nature left it. Driving isn't that big of a deal with chains or four-wheel drive and I say that living on a small hill. I watched some knuckleheads and inexperienced drivers slide around on my street. I really miss having a 4x4. I mostly stayed off the roads for the worst of the three days during the storms, but mostly because I didn't want to become a victim of the knuckleheads or inexperienced drivers; state wide there were thousands of weather related auto accidents during these storms. When I did drive before and after the storms in my two wheel drive car I didn't even chain up, but to be honest the roads were at worst snowy but mostly slushy. As far as Seattle being 'weather wimps' I think not, but there are those who won't go out of their houses if there is any kind of sticking snow on the ground which is of course a drastic over-reaction. I can't imagine how the greater Los Angeles area would react to this same kind of weather as I have personally seen how badly traffic gets in SoCal when some residents become frightened by water mysteriously falling from the sky or otherwise known as rain.

Wish Lists

This morning I was watching the news and the subject of 'gift registries'/'wishlist' was being covered. It is the Holiday Season, but who knew there would be such polarized opinions about wishlist. There are people that like having wishlist, like myself, who believe there is nothing wrong with letting people know what gifts you might be hoping for. There are also those who seems to like the convenience of being able to see what someone would prefer. On the other side of things there are people that don't want to have a wishlist because they want people to put thought into the gift. And there are people who believe that people who have wishlist are being arrogantly expectant. But who's right?

I myself think that a wishlist/registry should be vast in the amount of items it contains, and diverse with concern for price ranging from the ridiculously expensive to the humbly affordable. I believe my system allows the shopper a true option to be thoughtful. I'm not saying that a big wishlist is being expectant, but rather shines a light on ones interest and in that way a shopper could decide on their own if they want to purchase a wishlist item or come up with something on their own based off of the information they have observed from the wishlist/registry. From this stand point the argument could be made that people who have wishlist with very few items or have no wishlist at all are conceited jerks who desperately want attention, but that could be false. I believe some people are actually humble, and I believe there are people that want to hide behind a facade of being content for elitist reasons but really do have wishlist wants they won't publish. And then again there are people who aren't very creative, so they just aren't able to add many items to their wishlist. There could be other reasons for having a limited wishlist but frankly I don't care. So is a big wishlist wrong?

No! There are some people out there that see a big wishlist and think the creator of the wishlist is greedy. I disagree. In addition to the points I've made above I'd like to point out the obvious, it's a "wishlist", it's not a 'practical needs list'. What fun would a 'practical needs list' be anyway? If society decides to go that route I think it should be based on all one's needs, and not just selective needs; we can all learn so much about one another. For example: You are looking at someones needslist and see the person needs hemorrhoid cream, you now know more about that persons life and you can assist with an uncomfortably personal gift. After all wouldn't that be thoughtful? That may be too extreme. I don't think it's wrong for a person to list their wants and/or needs, or even their demands. There is nothing that says you have to buy anybody any gift if you don't want to. I don't even think it's presumptuous if someone dares to add a "highest" priority to a wishlist item, and that being said I wouldn't hesitate to purchase an item from a wishlist that has a "lowest" priority, as the person who added the item to their wishlist obviously wants it but just not as much as something else. So what does my wishlist look like?

It should not shock anyone that I have 173 items contained in 8 categorized wishlists. Of the 173 items and 8 list there are 23 items in one list of weird and/or funny things I've found that I don't want, but thought it would be neat to share my finds. My categories are fairly basic; Clothes; Cooking Stuff; Media; Outdoor; Tools; Ridiculous; Stuff I don't want; and Miscellaneous.  If you are curious as to what the biggest and most expensive item I have on my 'Ridiculous wishlist' is, it is a new Toyota 4x4 pickup. Am I ashamed to display such extravagance? No. It's on my ridiculous list for a reason, and I have no expectations or even rational hopes that I'll be receiving such a thing as a gift........well ever. The least expensive items in my wishlists are only around $4.

As a shopper/gift-giver I don't think I've ever looked at a wishlist and thought "what an expectant @#%!" or anything like that. I'm not saying I've never had a problem with other peoples wishlists, because I have. My issues with other peoples wishlist are usually things like they have too few items for any gift to be a surprise, or every item on the wishlist is more expensive than my budget. I have also found that sometimes I'm just ornery and don't want to purchase any of the options listed, but manly because I don't understand the interest in the items. Eventually I get over my personal issues and figure out something to give. It's hard for me to understand the people that just hate wishlist. 

Basically I think there are people that prefer to complain and try to justify their negativity with a glazing of moral superiority. I don't like it. If you feel some sort of irrational obligation to buy a gift from a wishlist that is your problem, and resenting the list or the person who made it isn't going to help anything, nor is it in the holiday spirit. If you don't feel that way GREAT! My advise to everyone this holiday season is to relax and enjoy being with people you love or at least like, and if you are going to give gifts remember it's hardest to think of something on your own, it's easier to shop off someone wishlist; it's even easier to pick something at random; it's even easier still to give a gift card; and it's easiest to give cash. Giving nothing doesn't count because doing nothing is nothing and nothing is disappointing.

Hope and Change Not Paying the Bills

I've tried to avoid politics on my blog, but that is about to change. So no matter who you want to blame for the United States economic crisis it is clear the government doesn't have any good ideas how to fix it. I have some serious ideas, yet what fun would it be to focus on those. What could I possibly have in mind? We the tax payers are paying for storage of untold thousands of secret documents, and occasionally some of them get released after they are deemed and/or censored safe. I think that the U.S. government has some information in files that are deemed secret yet pose no risk to national security, and could be wildly profitable. Currently the government just announces they are going to release designated files and they become available to the public; I think this should continue, yet I think this process could be modified to provide much needed cash. The premium price I propose would be for early release and the limited rights to individual specific media formats; Movie; T.V.; Internet; T.V. news; Printed news; Books, etc. All deals would of course contain a royalty clause for smaller yet continual revenue flow; no contracts would be forever exclusive and other parties could produce materials based from public records after they have been released to the public. I think all items should be subject to public auction to avoid any 'behind door deals' or any unforeseen manipulations, as well as public right to know who made the purchase, and how much money we the people received for the privileges. I'm fairly sure the entertainment industry would pay a premium for the opportunity to view and produce materials from certain types of government information. For example I think the uncensored U.F.O. files or the files for the J.F.K. assassination would be top picks.

I think it's about time these files were open to the public, so why not make a buck on it? With the J.F.K information I find it very hard to believe something that happened over 48 years ago should remain a secret. I have no idea why the J.F.K. files are off limits and I wonder if it is because of some misguided honor to the Kennedy family. It's not quite clear why, and that is a problem. There are other files that are mysteriously still off limits with no real explanation as to why. I understand that some U.F.O. files would contain current military information, and that should of course remain off limits for the near future. Yet with very few exceptions information 40 years and older as well as the non-military stuff should be public, and uncensored; or at least minimally censored. I mean what is the point of releasing pages and pages of blacked out text? This information after all is the property of the U.S. tax payers, and if we are not allowed access to information we pay for we should at least ask 'Why?'.  I don't think that this is going to happen, nor do I think it will fix the economic crisis or even stop the ever increasing national deficit, but it would add revenue to a damaged system that doesn't seem to know how to manage a budget. The next step would be to hold politicians accountable, but I think that is a topic for another time in another Blog.