Blog Master G

It’s an absolute outrage that a mere $1.2 billion is threatened to be cut from the federal budget that would essentially mean the end of Amtrak. This country was founded on the backbone of the railroad and there’s no reason why that relatively small subsidy shouldn’t continue to support the nation’s railroad system. We need it. The reasons are many.

There’s our over-zealous reliance on cars and ever-rising oil prices. There’s our self-isolating desire to ride in cars instead of with each other in trains. There’s the health impact: More cars equal more pollution, which means more breathing problems, which means greater impact on the healthcare system. You can begin to see how we’re talking about a hell of a lot more than $1.2 billion if we don’t save Amtrak.

Please urge your representatives in Congress to save Amtrak.

Times Union / Keep Amtrak rolling:

It’s still not too late for Mr. Sweeney to make believers out of non-believers and open the eyes of those hawks who can’t see beyond their own narrow constituencies. The strongest argument for an Amtrak subsidy is still the economic one. The railroad reduces auto congestion in heavily populated regions of the nation, and that, in turn, reduces the need to build more highways to accommodate more automobiles. Amtrak’s $1.2 billion subsidy might seem large, but it is modest compared with the $284 billion transportation package now being assembled in Congress.

Judge strikes down ban on same-sex marriage

“Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It is not a day when you lounge around doing nothing. It’s when you’ve had everything to do, and you’ve done it.”
– Margaret Thatcher

Friday night we hit the Wine Bar followed by the Tin & Lint. Saturday morning while bending over doing nothing terribly unusual my lower back began to hurt like hell. Heating pad, foam roller, stretching, Advil after Advil, and it still hurts today.

Saturday night we loaded up the dogs and all their gear and headed to Kinderhook. We watched bad movies (Underworld and You Got Served, which is only possible to watch in 15-minute chunks and makes the South Park You Got Served episode that much funnier). Karen and Joti came over briefly. Meanwhile in the basement, Happy, eternal escape artist, and Stella were barricaded. No barricade can hold Happy back. One of the dogs (my money’s on Stella) killed a mouse and left it for us on the dog bed.

Sunday morning we left the dogs to hunt garage mice and drove to NYC. We made excellent time (two hours and fifteen minutes from Kinderhook) and parked in a $13-per-day garage near the Javits Center just outside the Lincoln Tunnel. We walked several blocks to Penn Station to meet up with Katie and Elliott, who were in town from Oregon for the weekend.

We cabbed to Chinatown for some dim sum, then walked to the Village in search of Sunday happy hour cocktails. We stumbled upon a funny little place on Bleeker Street called the Back Fence. Little did we know the strange treat we were in for. It was open mic poetry afternoon and the recitals ranged from a heartbroken kid (“I found you fucking my friend / How’s it feel to be a fucking slut?”) to an elderly singing couple with a fondness for each other and memories of World War II.

We settled on a place called 1849 for a couple more drinks. With red plush couches and plasma TVs throughout, the place was also lined with “hip and ironic taxidermy,” as Jen so well described it. It was great fun getting to spend time with Katie and Elliott, and I love getting down to the city, if only for a day.

And oh yes, why is this post titled “New Jersey Sucks?” With apologies to Jonty (the state’s biggest advocate) and no offense to all our other friends who live in or hail from the state, I do declare that your state has the worst infrastructure, the worst road signs, and the worst drivers. Last time we drove to Hoboken, we got lost and ended up somewhere near the NJ Science Center due to part of the highway being closed (“Road Closed / All Vehicle Traffic Go This Way,” which was not the way we wanted to go). Of course, that sign didn’t stop the locals; a number of cars continued down the closed road.

Last night when we were heading home through the Garden State, we were on 17. Without warning or without signs, suddenly our lane peeled off and we were heading the wrong way. After finally finding a place to turn around, we thought we were back on track. We saw signs to 20/80 to the right, so we went right. Not until we had taken that exit ramp did we look to our left and see that in New Jersey, apparently, “go right” arrows really means “go left.” So we’re on this one-lane exit ramp and look ahead in disbelief as the car in front of us tries to pass the car in front of it.

As if that’s not bad enough, here’s the kicker: We round the exit ramp and are heading toward a toll plaza as several other lanes merge with us. What do we see in one of those lanes? Headlights. Yes, headlights. Coming right at us. Another car was going the wrong way on the highway and making no attempt to correct the situation. Luckily, I swerved in time to the left. I honked at the buffoon because I didn’t know what else to do.

So there you have it: New Jersey sucks.

It seems that my blog was mentioned in a story in today’s Saratogian. I had no idea, but this shows what a small town this is.

The Saratogian / Local bloggers make for good reads:

Locally, Saratogians can travel right alongside the globe-trekking Masies on their blog (www.elliottmasie.com), check in on the doings of their neighbors at www.blogmasterg.com/life, and read up on the visions for the future propelling Saratoga Springs Democrats at saratogaspirit.blogspot.com.

(Emphasis mine.)

Contrary to the story’s headline, the tone is pretty negative and sarcastic:

The downside is that the blog also provides a forum for the delivery of some of the most pitiful poor-me ramblings, half-baked truths and personal vendettas — usually from unverifiable sources.
…
With so much information, the question is just how much is too much? Other than his mother, does anyone really care that ‘Joe’ visited Saratoga Springs, ate a sushi dinner and shopped at ‘a very granola clothes store’?

Considering my blog typically covers anything but “poor-me ramblings,” I won’t take offense to that accusation. As for the question of too much information, I don’t know that the comments were necessarily directed at my blog, but I will say that my blog is as much for me, my friends, and my family as it is for anyone who happens to stumble across it.

For the record, my blog has been a resource over the years for many people from around the world in more ways I can count. Some examples:

• Technical resource (MT Random Entries | Unix/Linux Find & Replace in Multiple Files)
• Financial discourse & recommendations (Buh-Bye, MBNA | ING Orange Savings)
• Ethical discussions (Golden Gate Bridge Jumpers)
• Food reviews (Leon’s Mexican Restaurant)

If any of my Saratoga neighbors are reading this, please drop me a line to say hi; I’d be interested to hear from anyone who comes across my blog as a result of the Saratogian story.

Although blogging is, in the eyes of the mainstream, a “fairly recent phenomenon,” my blog has been online since 2000, so I’m no stranger to it.

(Thanks, Justin, for the heads-up on the Saratogian story.)

After a hard night’s work of refinancing our mortgage (we got a much better rate that will take a number of years off our loan), then catching up on TV shows such as Lost, The OC (ended with the new Star Wars III trailer), and Blind Justice (the new show with the most implausible of all plot lines — a blind crime scene detective), there wasn’t much left to do besides hang out in bed. We had no intention of falling asleep — after all, it was only 930pm and we normally don’t hit the sack until 1130 or midnight — but that’s exactly what happened.

Ten-and-a-half hours later, we woke up. Quite a bit longer than the seven or eight hours we usually get. But we must’ve needed it. Watching TV is hard work, you know. Oh, and eating popcorn and delicious apple cake homemade by mother-in-law. It’s strenuous.

Good thing the weekend has arrived and we can get even more rest before the next TV-watching marathon happens.

I did make up a bit for the laziness last night by riding my bike through snow and freezing wind nearly a mile home this morning after dropping off the WRX at the shop for things such as annual NY state inspection and tire rotation.

[ Apple Joins Blu-ray Disc Association ]

If you use Gmail and Windows, do I have a treat for you: The Gmail Drive shell extension. Quite simply, it maps your Gmail account to your file system so that you can drag ‘n drop files for backup directly into your Gmail account. How kick-ass is that?

The primary limitation is not one of this handy little extension, but one of Gmail itself: A 10 MB per file maximum. That aside, this extension works wonderfully, automatically generating an email to yourself and attaching the file you’ve placed on your Gmail Drive. As the author recommends, you can create a filter that will label the backup email and filter it out of your inbox.

If you still haven’t checked out Gmail but now have yet another reason to do so, let me know and I’ll send you an invite.

In other cool Google news, you can now customize the page layout of Google News, including creating a custom section based on your own news keyword searches.

[ GOOG: The Greatest Company in America ]

Winter continues to reign here in Saratoga Springs, where we got nearly half a foot of snow yesterday. It looks and feels like January all over again, shining sun aside. After coming in from walking the dogs this morning, the 9 degree air temperature, with a Feels Like of -5°, made my fingers numb through my leather gloves. Gotta bust out those glove liners again. And there’s no end in sight. Now through Saturday the snow should continue. I love the snow, but it will be nice to go outside again without bundling up in layers of clothing and big winter boots. As I’ve always said, living here really makes one appreciate sunny days. The seasons keep things interesting.

Last night I watched Jamie Foxx in his Oscar-winning performance of Ray. Though it was on the long side (two-and-a-half hours), I enjoyed the movie and caught myself getting a bit teary-eyed. Foxx’s performance was well deserving of the Oscar.

I opted for the theatrical version of the movie, even though the DVD I rented had an extended version with an extra 25 minutes. It reminded me of a conversation I once had (with Ben, I believe) about extended versions versus theatrical versions. Which is the “real” movie? Is the extended version a different movie? My argument at the time was that both versions are the “real” movie because the director made both of them for different reasons. Though I still believe that and am a proponent of more content (if only because I really enjoy movies), I opted for the theatrical version last night because I wanted to see the version that won Foxx the Oscar.

That said, I do own the extended versions of the first two Lord of the Rings movies, and plan to add the extended version of Return of the King to my collection at some point. Of course, I’ve also seen the theatrical versions of all three movies, so had I not, I would probably want to see them before watching the extended versions. It’s also fun to keep an eye out for new scenes.

The odd duck in this conversation (in many ways) is Donnie Darko, one of my favorite trippiest movies. I do own that DVD (the original version) and have been meaning to watch it again. The director has recently released a director’s cut with added scenes that “complete the story” (follow link at your own risk; I haven’t actually read that interview yet, but know it contains that phrase). Some might argue that that’s cheating and that it’s a whole new movie. Is it? Or is it merely the director’s filling in the blanks of the story he originally envisioned? Is it possible to figure out what the hell’s happening in Donnie Darko without seeing the director’s cut? I’ll watch it and report back.

Seen yesterday on Jordan’s blog:

“I’ll quit coffee. It won’t be easy drinking my Bailey’s straight, but I’ll get used to it.”
– Megan Mullally

As has become tradition on this day each year, my site is pink in honor of Nana, the amazing woman who left this earth three years ago today and who touched so many lives. She continues to be a significant part of who I am today and inspires me always.

The last Thanksgiving we spent with Nana was at her house in Sacramento in 2001. It was also her first time having a mimosa, to which Jen and I were ecstatic to have the honor of introducing her. She was not familiar with the orange juice and champagne delight, but she lit up at the concept and smiled that smile that made you feel happy and warm all over.

Nana really knew what was important in life and enjoyed nothing more than spending time with family and friends. It was the little things that could make her smile light up the room, as it did for all of us that Thanksgiving day.

I love you and miss you, Nana.

[ Gabe’s Remarks at Ruth Pritchard Memorial — March 16, 2002 ]

I get more and more in trouble these days with the likes of Jonty and other faithful readers when I don’t do my usual morning blog post. So here it is on Monday evening…

Friday night we headed to Justin’s place for pizza, beer, and Elfin Dressup (’cause we haven’t done that before this winter). Little did we know how close we were to beating the game. Bear in mind we already beat the first Elfin Dressup (Champions of Norrath). This was the second installment (Champions: Return to Arms) that we were to conquer that night. We did. So then we imported our original characters from the first game and started from the beginning, albeit the next hardest level. That game is like crack.

Saturday we did stuff around the house (cleaning, contract work, and the like) before heading to Roadhouse 29, a new venture of fellow Vassar alums Gordon Sacks and Tim Cartwright and a friend of theirs. RH29 offers excellent grub and drinks in a 50s-style setting. The trio has done a superb job of fixing up the old building and I look forward to my next visit.

Sunday Jen headed south for a stitch ‘n bitch with her high school friends. Any guesses as to whether or not I attended? It gave me a chance to chill out at home, finish some contract work, and watch snippets of bad movies (Torque, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton) and CSI: Miami.

And tonight we watched the existential comedy about everything and nothing and the meaning of life, I Heart Huckabees. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Man selling 9/11 flag to cover his cancer treatment (eBay auction | Screenshot)

New car or used booby? Yesterday the auction for stripper Tawny Peaks’ implant was up to nearly $17,000. Today it’s gone back down to about $11,000. Who has that kind of money to blow on used silicone?

Here’s the live auction and here’s my archive of it (for preserving this piece of strange history when eBay eventually takes down the page).

[ via CNN Money ]

We made the mistake last night of leaving Happy alone for a bit too long while playing some Elfin Dressup at Justin’s house. He’s had the shits since we picked him up from the farm on Tuesday evening (and Stella the pukes). We arrived home to find not just a gift from Happy, but the blinds pulled off our front door and chewed up. He also went to town on another set of blinds in the kitchen as part of his desperate attempt to get outside. Good Happy.

Jonty recently quipped about why we moved from the Bay Area to upstate NY. There were many reasons, of course (financial, family, buying a house, no traffic), but in pondering this question the past couple days I’ve really started to notice things that reinforce the “why.”

Yesterday I rode my bike into town for a haircut. I locked it up next to two other bikes that were just parked at the bike rack (no locks).

This morning while walking the dogs I came upon some major commotion at an intersection. I thought, “Oh no, did someone die in a car accident? Did the cops apprehend a criminal?” Nope. Someone had driven an SUV onto a lawn and left it there. Not into the house. Just on the lawn. No damage. No injuries. Just an abandoned vehicle. There were two cop cars, two tow trucks, two camera crews, and a small gathering of onlookers. Traffic, consisting of a few cars in either direction, was backed up.

When chimps attack.

Got wisdom teeth? One of the worst photos of me ever, after 3 of my wisdom teeth were pullled nearly 5 years ago, which I’m posting here on a dare from my wife.

But how much does that hair rock? Maybe I should cancel my haircut appointment tomorrow.

In other news, it turns out that I’m 40% gay (compared to my wife’s 46% gayness, Stella’s 43% gayness, and Happy’s 55% gayness), according to this test (via Sarah).