In that vein, I feel I have something to offer

i been tagged. by APJ no less. kind of fun even though i had to actually count my posts by hand.
the rules:
1. Go into your archives.
2. Find your 23rd post.
3. Post the fifth sentence (or closest to it).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
5. Tag five other people to do the same thing.

"from 7/12/05 is the context of the 5th sentence" that is the title:

That's a goddam goodlooking sandwich
she's eating all alone
enough for me and the twin I never had
and I'll have it too
if I have to break both
her glazed face and her diamond teeth
my last repast
paisley pastrami and
lettuce so latticed that it
couldn't hold its folds
ain't sittin' so pretty
like two lovers in love should
I'll break her fucking arms
the one holding the food
and the one holding his wood
and he looks like a guy
who can't get it up without-
goddam that's a goodlooking sandwich
grease slips soft and over
her busy little lips
red red meat and moist moist green
shoving their way past her gullet
musky dusky cheese and wet dripping
au jus
a Picasso of a poorboy
a thick quick slice of Van GoghI'll break her arms
both fucking one of them
just to force it whole
down her throat
it's that goddam goodlooking a sandwich.

who am i going to tag? dunno. mongo only pawn in Game of Life.

And Now For The "News"

Love it, absolutely love it. This soap opera will go for at least three seasons and will draw an audience of none after the first few episodes. but it's well acted, dynamic, great directors and shows the promise of a dead body or two.
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20051104.html

well, at least Kerry figured it out (unlike Gore), but that cuts no ice when the Democrats had four years in which to ensure that this never happened again. in fact, why would one want a president who couldn't press for the truth when treason is on the line?

this article states that republicans don't like eminent domain. huh? in my city of fresno, the reps take to eminent domain like a duck to water. it's how one does business. never mind the historical buildings. it's how all pols do business when it comes to ensuring "renewed interest" in a crappy part of town. doesn't matter if it george bush or anyone else. the congress passed a bill making it easier to invoke this policy and all cities are taking advantage of it as quickly as they can.

Eviction Notice

for those of you so bored you actually check in on my blog to see what i have to poop about i'm sorry to say that i will be a mite busy in the coming weeks to maintain a consistent whine from here. i have chosen to move to poulsbo, washington within a month. so, i will be involved in boxing up, throwing out, selling off and giving away whatall i can in order to lighten my burden during the actual drive up there. it's a very exciting and scary time for me, but i hope to be back to my usual curmudgeonly self sometime in mid-december after i've established myself up in the Great Northwest where the rain is deep and the women Norwegian.

need a diversion from what is truly the essence of our current administration (i.e. outing an undercover government employee for political gain and then letting subordinates lie about it to the FBI and a grand jury)? okay, but it's a quickie. alito (the new supreme court nominee) thinks the following two rulings are okay:
1) strip searching a 10-year-old girl, and
2) that a married woman must receive the permission of her husband before receiving an abortion.
look it up. 'nuff said. now, let's get back to outing karl "seig heil" rove and dick "lech mich am aschlach" cheney. the bushbaby we won't ever be able to touch, because i believe he really doesn't have a clue what's going on. other than that he has actually had to start watching television to get his news.

Oh, Happy Friggin' Halloween To Me!!!!!!!!!!

from ABC NEWS comes nothing but the sweetest aroma of dead skunk this boy has ever laid nose to (yesyesyesyesyespleasegodletthisbethereason
fitzgeraldhasn'tchargedrovewithanythingbecausehe
wantstoputthescrewstolibbyandgethimtotalkin
exchangeforlesstimeinprison):

Time Reporter Says He Learned Agent's Identity From Rove

Matthew Cooper Says I. Lewis Libby Confirmed Information

Oct. 31 2005 — - One of the reporters at the center of the investigation into the leak of the identity of an undercover CIA officer, says he first learned the agent's name from President Bush's top political advisor, Karl Rove.
Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper also said today in an interview with "Good Morning America," that the vice president's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, confirmed to him that Ambassador Joseph Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, was a covert CIA operative.
A grand jury charged Libby on Friday with five felonies alleging obstruction of justice, perjury to a grand jury and making false statements to FBI agents. If convicted, he could face a maximum of 30 years in prison and $1.25 million in fines. Libby was not charged with the crime that the grand jury was created to investigate -- specifically, who leaked the name of Plame to reporters in 2003. Rove has not been charged.
Wilson, who went to Nigeria in 2002 to investigate whether or not the country was supplying Iraq with uranium to make weapons of mass destruction, opposed the war. He said he found no evidence of such an exchange in an op-ed in The New York Times. Wilson has argued that the Bush administration revealed his wife's identity in order to silence his opposition to the war.
"There is no question. I first learned about Valerie Plame working at the CIA from Karl Rove," Cooper said.
Libby has since claimed that he heard the Plame rumors from other reporters. Cooper disputed that version of events. "I don't remember it happening that way," he said. "I was taking notes at the time and I feel confident."
If a trial goes ahead, Cooper said he would name Rove as his source of the information.
"Before I spoke to Karl Rove I didn't know Mr. Wilson had a wife and that she had been involved in sending him to Africa."

yes, virginia, there really is a traitor

want a good timeline of how our administration fucked themselves into a "wagons drawn into a circle" sort of thing while them damn unpatriotic liberals fling arrows at their buttocks? read this from the washington post.

In Memorium: Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks died today at the age of 92. While some will claim she was merely doing what she was told to by militant blacks and was no forward-thinking hero, remember that she was the one who agreed to take her life in her own hands and make a stand. She could have said "no". She could very rightly have said that it was too dangerous for a black woman to make such a public demonstration of defiance. But she didn't. She was a simple living person who chose to take on the establishment. She chose to say "no" not to possibly foolhardy bravery, but to foolhardy ignorance. So, light a candle, say a prayer of thanks and remember to give that "seat on the bus" to someone less fortunate than you.

JMill Doin' The Perp Walk, Journo-Style

Liar, liar, pants on fire.

Tom Stall Scores Again!

(October 15, 2005) Indicted House Majority Leader Tom DeLay today released a video entitled “Earle’s Gone Wild” in what he described as the first phase of the “Mother of all smear campaigns” launched against Texas prosecutor Ronnie Earle, who brought conspiracy and money laundering charges against him.
(omigod, this is like so funny)

Life Update

For those of you who know me and/or actually read my tripe, it's time to update you on my life situation. I will be flying up to Washington this Sunday evening to look at the Poulsbo lab for my company and meet the staff there. My bosses have decided (quite wisely, I might add) that they can't afford to let me work for another company (the usual story: skeletons, mob hits and all that). So, they are paying for the flight, hotel room, rental car and food. I'll return Monday night late. What's going on is that I posted my resume on monster.com and suddenly different companies were very interested in my talents. And I made it known that I wouldn't mind relocating to Washington (love the weather, seasons, culture, produce, snow, real fires in real fireplaces, the fact that spring is announced not by birds but by comely young women peeling off their clothes to show lots of leg and arm and neck and collarbone in public...makes a guy appreciate females anew each and every year). I lived in Seattle for 9 years, so I know.
Anyway, my company is ready to offer me management of the lab up there. I really like working where I'm at, but there is no room for growth. I am a technician who has reached most of my limits as such. And a very good friend is my manager at present, so I would never do anything to get his job. Hence, the only way to stretch my wings is to move to another lab or company.
Also, I got the weirdest email about my car. I have been told to consider the BMW sold and to pull my ad. Further, a check will be sent to me and I will deduct my price plus $100, then transfer the balance to the representative who will pick up the car. I'm down with that. There is one ethical dilemma, though. When this gentleman emailed me previously expressing interest, he asked me my final price. I had decided to drop it by $1000 and told him so. This was two or three days ago. Today he sent me three emails. The middle one asked me what my final price was (even though he had decided to buy it already). I'm thinking of sticking to the original price, because that is what is still showing on the car ad website AND I have received two other emails expressing interest at that price. I have not responded to that particular email. I feel that if he is wheeling and dealing and not reading his emails, then perhaps it's my call and reverting to the original asking price is ethically okay. Help me out on that one, would you folks? Especially since his first email of the day said he was going to send me a check for $5,500, but the third email said he was going to send me one for $7,500. Plus, I can tell this car is not for him. I can tell he is a reseller and most likely will be selling it in Europe (he's an English bloke who will be over there on business while his rep picks it up and I think the oversize of the check is for shipping to Europe). Either way, whoohoo for me. Thinking of moving has me all atizzy about what to keep, what not to keep, how to move it, where to move it (if I don't a place rented before I get there) and what to do with a second car I don't drive. He has one week to send me the check.
What a day. Hope yours was as weird as mine.

So much for Pain Management

When did the party of small government become its evil twin? quite a long time ago, actually. the evil twin, however, is still very much a growth industry.

And Dick Seemed Like Such A Nice Guy

(from the U.S. News)
Sparked by today's Washington Post story that suggests Vice President Cheney's office is involved in the Plame-CIA spy link investigation, government officials and advisers passed around rumors that the vice president might step aside and that President Bush would elevate Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Cheney clips right-wing objections (10/5/05)
Press fumes over Bush timing (10/4/05)
Standing by DeLay, somewhat (9/29/05)
DeLay indicted in Texas probe (9/28/05)
More from Washington Whispers
More from Nation & World
"It's certainly an interesting but I still think highly doubtful scenario," said a Bush insider. "And if that should happen," added the official, "there will undoubtedly be those who believe the whole thing was orchestrated – another brilliant Machiavellian move by the VP."
Said another Bush associate of the rumor, "Yes. This is not good." The rumor spread so fast that some Republicans by late morning were already drawing up reasons why Rice couldn't get the job or run for president in 2008.
"Isn't she pro-choice?" asked a key Senate Republican aide. Many White House insiders, however, said the Post story and reports that the investigation was coming to a close had officials instead more focused on who would be dragged into the affair and if top aides would be indicted and forced to resign.
"Folks on the inside and near inside are holding their breath and wondering what's next," said a Bush adviser. But, he added, they aren't focused on the future of the vice president. "Not that, at least not seriously," he said.


John Nichols Tue Oct 18, 1:08 PM ET
The Nation -- Well, of course, the investigation of who leaked
CIA agent Valerie Plame's name -- violating the federal law that bars the "outing" of intelligence operatives -- has come around to Vice President
Dick Cheney' name. While it may be news to the Washington Post -- which headlined a breathless report on Tuesday: "Cheney's Office Is A Focus in Leak Case" -- the fact is that Cheney and his aides have been likely suspects from day one.
No prominent member of the administration had more to lose as a result of the 2003 revelation by Plame's husband, former Ambassador Joe Wilson, that the White House's pre-war claims regarding
Iraq's weapons of mass destruction had been inflated than did Cheney -- who, to a far greater extent than
George Bush, had a hand in shaping the arguments for going to war, plugged them in media appearances and defended them after all evidence suggested his pronouncements had been wrong. It is important to recall that, while Bush may have deliberately fuzzed the facts in his 2003 State of the Union address, it was Cheney who leapt off the cliff of speculation with the pre-war declaration that, "We know
Saddam Hussein's been absolutely devoted to trying to acquire nuclear weapons, and we believe he has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons."
No key player in the administration was more at odds with the
Central Intelligence Agency than Cheney. Indeed, Cheney's badgering of the agency to come up with "evidence" of Iraqi WMDs and al-Qaeda connections was so aggressive -- he regularly stormed into the CIA headquarters to demand a briefing and then, when the information did not fit his biases, demanded that someone else brief him -- that members of the House Intelligence Committee complained in a reprimanding letter, "These visits are unprecedented. Normally, vice presidents, including yourself, receive regular briefings from (the) CIA in your office and have a CIA officer on permanent detail. There is no reason to make personal visits to the CIA."
No top office within the administration was better positioned than Cheney's to gather the information that was used to attack Wilson and his wife and to peddle that information to the press. In fact, as Joe Wilson told me in an interview about the leaking of his wife's name that we did early in 2004, "With respect to who actually leaked the information, there are really only a few people -- far fewer than the president let on when he said there are a lot of senior administration officials -- who could have done it. At the end of the day, you have to have the means, the keys to the conversations at which somebody might drop my wife's name -- deliberately or not -- a national security clearance, and a reason to be talking about this. When you look at all that, there are really very few people who exist at that nexis between national security and foreign policy and politics. You can count them, literally, on two hands."
Wilson added that, without a doubt, "the vice president is one of those people."
And no one, repeat no one, in Washington is known to be more vindictive than Dick Cheney. So the notion that Cheney would not only have been aware of but in fact delighted in punishing Wilson by ruining the career of the ambassador's wife is entirely plausible. By all accounts, special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald is investigating that prospect as his long examination of crimes that may have been committed in relation to the Plame leak draws to a close.
Does this mean that the vice president will be indicted by the federal grand jury that is currently examining the actions of White House political czar Karl Rove and, more importantly, Cheney Chief of Staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby?
Don't bet on it.
Libby is blood-oath, fall-on-the-sword loyal to Cheney. A Reagan-era State Department hand and Congressional staffer who came to know his future boss when Cheney was serving in Congress during the 1980s, Libby went with Cheney to George H. W. Bush's Defense Department -- serving Secretary of Defense Cheney as Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Strategy and Resources and Deputy Under Secretary for Policy. Libby was then a founder of the neo-conservative Project for a New American Century, which promoted the vision of American Empire that Cheney and his staff had cooked up in their controversial draft Defense Policy Guidance statement during their final days at the
Pentagon. And when Cheney returned to the corridors of power, as vice president, Libby was at his side.
But the Cheney-Libby partnership is not merely a power and policy connection. Their relationship is more father-son than boss-surrogate. Libby vacations with Cheney at the vice president's $2.9 million villa in Wyoming, and Libby's access is such that he is welcome to invite friends and compatriots along to enjoy the skiing near Jackson Hole.
The likelihood that Libby would give up a relationship that has buttered his bread for the better part of a quarter century is even more remote than the likelihood that Rove would turn on Bush.
Yet, no one who knows about how Cheney and Libby operate will doubt that the two men had no secrets from one another during the period when the attacks on the CIA, in general, and Wilson and Plame, in particular, were taking place.
The vice president is a famously hands-on player. He personally requested information about claims that the Iraqis were attempting to obtain uranium from African countries -- the issue that Wilson examined in 2002, when he was dispatched to Africa and found that the claims were not credible. And while Cheney now says that he knew nothing of the report that Wilson produced before the war, the former ambassador has never believed him.
"If you are senior enough to ask the question, you are senior enough to get a very specific response," said Wilson. "In addition to the circular report that was sent around as a consequence of my trip, I have every confidence that one way or another the vice president was briefed as well." Yet, it was the vice president who continued to claim, long after Bush had dropped the line, that Saddam Hussein was a nuclear threat. And Cheney always went much further than Bush or others in the administration when making that claim. Indeed, it was Cheney who specifically stated prior to the Congressional votes on authorizing the use of force in Iraq that, Hussein had "resumed his efforts to acquire nuclear weapons." Cheney claimed in the same speech that, "Armed with an arsenal of these weapons of terror, and seated atop 10 percent of the world's oil reserves, Saddam Hussein could then be expected to seek domination of the entire Middle East, take control of the world's energy supplies, directly threaten American friends throughout the region, and subject the United States or any other nation to nuclear blackmail."
It is certainly reasonable to argue that Cheney had more reason to strike out at Wilson than anyone else in the administration when the former ambassador revealed the truth in a New York Times opinion piece that appeared in the summer of 2003. And, while Cheney may not have done the deed directly, it is comic to suggest that the vice president -- who was in constant contact with both Libby and Rove around the time of the leak -- could have been unaware of any serious effort to discredit Wilson by "outing" his wife as a CIA agent.

Normally, I'd say my life is so-so. Not much movement anywhere, just hanging tough and wondering where the next punch is coming from. You know, weathering the storm or the lulls between. But something exciting has happened. I put my resume on the internet and I got hits (not punches). Two outfits contacted me. One was a recruiter for a San Jose firm that's looking to pay someone $45,000-50,000 a year to do what I do. The other was a regional heavyweight. I turned down the San Jose gig, because...well...it would mean moving to San Jose. The second I submitted my real resume to and am hoping they would like to talk. I don't know that I would accept that offer either ( I do like my current employer). However, my current employer has an automatic printout anytime an applicant puts a resume on monster.com and it matches up with their search words. So, they saw it. And they freaked. It's now possible that I will be offered a promotion and transfer to Poulsbo, Washington. I want to go back to WA if possible and financially feasible. So, stirring the pot has been good. I found out that it's a major seller's market for someone like me. There are no qualified technicians out there to handle all aspects of an engineering lab. Makes me feel good finally for sticking this out for over 5 years and getting as many certifications as I can.
Also, that bad BMW I own finally got a hit on cars.com. Who knows? If someone wants to buy it they'll find it to be a sweet, sweet ride.
So, I'm happy as a restless soul can be. Which is what I think I now have figured myself to be. I guess I always was, but thought I was just unhappy or hard to satisfy. Perhaps, I just refuse to settle when I think something on the horizon is calling to me. perhaps i simply refuse to commit. whatever it is and whatever happens, I now that change is the only constant. And, once again, I rush to embrace it.

Let's Get Serious

If "talking" to "regular" people is all it takes to be President, then I'm voting for Mickey Mouse. Remember that the Generals on the ground in Iraq have recently stated that one (ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!) Iraqi battalion is ready for operations sans American military supervision and accompaniment. ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!
In this "talk" the "grunts (read: officers and one Iraqi soldier)" are much more upbeat. Hmmm....why might that be? Because maybe (just maybe) they were vetted, coached and threatened? Nah...couldn't be. our president would never stoop to such levels, such abrogation of moral honesty. Why, if a leader of our society were to do something such as that then he should pilloried. And Bush is not an immoral man. Look at what he's done to find the culprit who outed Valerie Plame. Look at what he's done to find the person who fabricated the Niger uranium claims. Look at what he's done to corner the Iraq/Al-quaeda link liar. Look at what he's done to stop poverty. And AIDS. And genocide in the Sudan. And global warming (have you heard that the Northwest Passage may be open again within the next decade?). Look at what he's done to slow the bank accounts of the corporate mightys. Look at what he's done to ensure our domestic tranquility at the expense of "spreading" "democra-fascism" throughout the world. I mean, come on. People, this President has pushed us further toward global likeism than any leader since...uh...well, you get the point. A heck of a guy. FOUR MORE YEARS! FOUR MORE YEARS! FOUR MORE YEARS! BOO-YAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh, and I forgot to mention that the Democrats, Liberals, Europeans, Africans, Asians, Canadians, Russians (and all of those damn new countries under their sway), UNers, World Courters, World Bankers, World Tribunalers, and all of the other global thinking people are full of ess-aytch-eye-tee. Poo Poo.
P.S. And Greenpeace is anti-human.

Why'd I Even Blog?

Plamegate:
From Murray Waas in the National Journal comes this breaking story.
From Democracy Now comes Amy Goodman's interview with Murray Waas this morning.
And from 9/29/03 we get a White House press conference with Scott McClellan soon after this story hit the media.
...You know, I was going to spend my time today researching political stories and see what caught my fancy. I was in the mood and feeling ornery. Ready to spew forth my own little brand of venom on the Bush badministration for its hypocricy and discomboobulated conswervatism. Man, I was there. In the zone. Locked and loaded. A 5000 pound missile with words stenciled on it that read "Say Hi To Nixon For Me". or "Benedict Arnold Shoulda Had A Hung Jury". Or "My Bosses Went To Iraq And All I Got Was Bombed". But noooooooo.......! I find that I'm bored and all I want to do is watch TV. So, that's what I'm going to do. Ta.

Quag-Miers

it's a funny pickle. harriet miers is nominated by bush to the supreme court and the group that goes ape-banana-shit over it is the right wing. obviously, her lack of ANY judicial experience should raise two eyebrows straight to heaven. obviously, her statement that bush is a genius should cause ANOTHER tsunami to happen and this time roll right over the biblical lands. obviously, she is strong on rolling back abortion rights...or is she? obviously, she's big on constitutional interpretation...or is she? obviously, she has no track record on anything...or does she? james dobson claims that (from conversations he's not allowed to discuss) she's anti-abortion. other pundits claim they've been told that "on background" she falls right in line with the Right. democrats look up from the foxholes they've chosen to inhabit for the last five years and can't seem to find the weapons they brought into battle with them. instead of talking about her lack of judicial experience, why aren't they rattling sabres over bush's claim that her faith is enough? why aren't they agreeing with the Right who opposes her and then informing the public that the reason george will is against her is because she hasn't proven herself conservative enough? that is the real reason the Right is against her. it's not the lack of good lawyering or the lack of ever having been a judge. it's that her paper trail isn't cohesive. the conservatives don't consider john roberts a true conservative. he's not religious enough. now they have a fundamentalist, but she's not legal enough? come on. bull....shit. the Right realizes it bought a pig in a poke with roberts. he may turn out to be a dyed-in-the-wool conservative who will work to overturn every "liberal" ruling from the past 300 years or so, but they can't bank the farm on it. they feel that they are OWED. owed by this administration that they helped elect. owed by bush who claims visions from god (no one else seems to be that close to the Almighty other than him in the administration, though. noticed?). now they want a justice who will tell the congress in nomination hearings that god will kill all of their firstborns if he/she is not voted onto the bench.
and the dems sit by and wonder what the next step in acting more civilized is. note to dems: civilized is a word 86'd by webster's because it's "archaic, nondemonstrable and naive to the max". get on board the reality bus. miers shouldn't be on the court, because she's a wolf in sheep's clothing. whose wolf is what everyone is debating. but it's clear to me that she is bush's wolf. he's nominated her on the "trust me" ticket. in other words, he will not give out any concrete specs for her viability. why? that is the question. it may be that she has none other than her unswerving loyalty to bush. and the possibility that she helped cover up his national guard days.
necessity is the mother of invention, but
graft is the bastard of hubris.

No Title, Because That Would Most Likely Be Misleading And I would Never Want To Do That To You And (After All) I Am Already The Cosmic Gallactic Univ

(ersal Big Head In The Sky Who Loves A Huge Hummer Of A Post Title)
wow. it seems today's my day. if you know my previous posts, then you know that i posted a resume on monster.com. that was when? Saturday or Sunday? Maybe last Friday? Yeah, I think it was Friday. Hmmm...took longer than I thought.
When I got home today from work I found a message on my phone from a materials supplier who wanted to talk to me, because he has two openings. His is a company I know well. I test against it all of the time. I create asphalt mix designs (actually making asphalt in my lab) from its material and specifications in order to see if the material will do what it wants it to do. He called from L.A. Who knows where he has openings for. It could be L.A. It could be San Jose. Or Fresno.
Then I logged in to my email. On the bulk mail page I found two messages of interest. One was from the guy who called me. Very good so far. I decided to talk to my boss before answering that one. But then I read the second one. It was from a "head hunter" who may have not read my resume all of the way through. It's for a job in San Jose. I have most of the prerequisates, but I don't have a "Degree in Science or something equivalent". I wrote her back to tell her this. I also wrote that if the degree had any waiverability to it I would be interested. She wrote back almost immediately that the degree waiver had been lifted if the applicant had good enough experience (and, unfortunately, has experience in word, excel and something else). she says the pay should be $45-55,000 with benefits and a company car. i know i'm already either:
a) out of my depth
b) dealing with a company that is desparate for qualified talent.
Either and both could be the case. Don't even think for a moment that I know how to downplay my expertise. I love my knowledge and talent in the lab. I'm one of a rare breed who chooses to stay in the lab. A lab technician by definition makes the least amount of money per hour. Most technicians start in the lab and move on, because they want state wages when they can get on field job. Lab techs who stick it out become valuable commodities. As an example, I know more about asphalt and how to make it then my degreed managers do. I also know more about soil than most engineers do, because i used to deal with it every day. I looked at it, kneaded it, compressed it, stretched it, tore it apart, broke it down, reassembled it, theorized about it. Engineers know what it's supposed to do. Technicians know what it does. An amazing concept in many ways.
Engineers spend so much money to attain a piece of paper that states they know soil or asphalt or concrete. With that paper they can earn $50,000 right out of college. But they may not know what friable clay actually looks like. They may not understand what "heavy flushing" means when they look at asphalt. They may not know how to recognize "rootlet voids". When looking at a blueish soil from the foothills what would they say? Can they tell you what the Valley normally uses for an asphalt emolliant on highways? What is the minimal degree faranheit atmosperically allowed when paving in the Valley? When are you allowed to use a laser temperature gun as opposed to a metal asphalt thermometer when inspecting paving on the mat?
I can answer these questions. An engineer can't always. But an engineer can use a calculator to solve for an angle on a slope. An engineer can tell you how steep your hill can be and still build on it. He can formulate a theory based on my tests that lets you manifest your dreams.
I can't do that. I can only help. I can only provide reality. And both are equally important. But the engineer can look at what I've done and extrapolate. I cannot look at what he's done and interpolate.
So, the Astros will be playing the Cardinals. Who will be playing the White Sox? It's still up to chance.

Indiana Means In Diana And Nothin' Else!

we here at dyerama central, known clearinghouse of information, wish to pass along the following alert to anyone residing in the state of indiana: your rights to assisted pregnancy (i.e. you're infertile and wish to go the surrogate route, you're unmarried or gay) may end soon. a proposed bill has been introduced to the Health Finance Commission. it is Request Number 20061258. within this "request" is a line which states that an unmarried person may not be an intended parent. further down (and it's long) is a section that would require "intended parents" to describe in detail their lives and livlihoods (okay on the surface). however, within this list is: "values" and "relationships". read further and one finds that the bill would require one to list any and all "faith-based" associations and activities. evidently, this proposed bill has the backing of the commission's chairperson, state senator patricia miller. however, yesterday she withdrew this bill from consideration. one wonders why. one's mind boggles. one shakes the magic eight ball for insight into how this neanderthal was ever elected. then one checks the map that shows all 50 states, peruses past statewide voting tendancies, and shrugs. unles, of course, one has been to indiana in the past lifetime...then one doesn't even have to look at stats. one just knows.
p.s. ginandtacos has a good line on this topic as well. look to the october 6 entry.

fed up in fresno

so, i decided to post on monster.com and whore out my expertise. i did this, because today i found out that a field technician who is returning to washington and was going to quit working for my comapny was offered a lab manager position in poulsbo. he has no lab experience whatsoever. he evidently is a great field tech, but...he has none of the below. when i accepted employment with this company i made a point of telling it that i would be willing to relocate in order to help the company (and myself). i think that i am in the grips of yet another behemoth that will hold me back at all costs in order to keep me where it wants me. at my last job i was told i was their "secret weapon". in other words i did such a good job that they would never tell me when a rival company was interested. but they would tell lesser qualified employees about openings elsewhere. simply put, i am a bit put out. i can run 98% of an engineering lab's tests (plus, i have learned a few tricks that aren't in any test manual). i can run a lab. my only weakness is that i will tell managers where they can stuff it when i think they are being unreasonable or supercilious. so, does anyone know of lab openings at an engineering firm in washington? i'd actually like to move closer to my parents and one of my brothers and his family (who live in spokane). i'm tired of being the player not to be named later.

and i'm willing to post tattoos.
Laboratory Technician, Level 3

(blank) and Associates
Clovis/CA

I currently run all asphalt tests for this office. I am engaged in all phases of asphalt mix designs. Tests I am proficient in include: Hveem and Marshall compaction, stability, stability and flow, bulk specific gravities, theoretical specific gravity, solvent extraction, asphalt content via ignition oven, gradations, sand equivalent, coarse and fine aggregate specific gravities, CKE, particle size analysis, atterburg limits, L.A. rattler, tensile/strength ratio (asphalt), all soil compaction, expansion index, direct shear, soil permeability, cleanness value, durability index, unconfined compression, resistance values (soil), concrete cylinder compression, fractured faces, flat and elongated particles, unit weight, moisture determination (oven and microwave), material finer than the 200 sieve, Concerning field work, I am proficient in concrete specimen sampling (all phases), aggregate and oil sampling at batch plants, asphalt sampling from the roadway, batch plant supervision and inspection.I currently hold certification of Caltrans 105, 106, 125 Aggegrate, 125 Asphalt, 201, 303, 304, 308, 370, 382.I am Nicet Level 1 certified.I am ACI Field certified.I have been a co-manager of an engineering laboratory. I have been certified in all of Caltrans field concrete requirements. I have passed multiple government security clearances for field work.I have my Troxler Nuclear Gauge Safety certificate.I have more than 5 years experience in this field. My strength and enjoyment is in the lab. I am currently in the process of attaining my ACI Lab certificate and will be attempting to attain my NICET Level 2 certificates in the next month. Also, I will most likely have 8 more Caltrans cetificates as well in that time.I am a self starter and require no supervision.

HNT I got NOTHING!!!!!

i got nothing this week. so i reversed color on this tat. i like it. but i still got nothing. no story, no nothing. my life is a chasm of work hell right now and i literally don't know what day it is. lecram had to correct me earlier today when i thought it was tuesday.
but that is one good looking tattoo. better than the real thing. and you can still see the ribbon in the dancer's hands. happy HNT to all and to all a good fright.