Cosmo's Condo

Don’t hate my blog. . .

cosmo — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:10:03 +0000

just because I’ve got nothing to say. In lieu of real posts, I’ll talk about the sandwich I had (yes, to further the bored blogger’s stereotype.) If it doesn’t say “tomatoes” on the menu, I shouldn’t have to tell them (*TWICE*) to leave off tomatoes, but, it was good after that was settled.

Safeway, Signature Select Sandwich - Hollywood Cobb (grilled chicken, blue cheese, ranch, smokey bacon, lettuce (and apparently tomatoes), with something called “sub sandwich sauce” (some type of vinaigrette) on a crusty bagguette style bun. I give it 3 out of 5 pickles on the sandwich scale.

Gnomedex 2007 Video

admin — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 05:20:44 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

Skip ahead to about 4:10 to see me. . . . heh.

Felony Arrest

cosmo — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 01:40:09 +0000

Mobile post sent by theunabonger using Utterli. Replies. mp3

Help me Buy White Poppies for Peace!

cosmo — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 01:11:57 +0000

Okay, so I have this really great idea, I’m going to buy some white poppies for peace for Veteran’s Day (Remembrance Day, if you are ruled by a Queen!), but I realized how much they cost, and I’m pretty much flat broke anyway.

So please, donate to my cause, Click on the picture above and donate! I need about $250 to get 200 poppies to hand out on November 11th.

Medical Pot - Washington Sets 60-day Limit

cosmo — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 06:26:46 +0000

Austin Jenkins from NPR interviewed me for a story broadcast on KPLU about the new medical marijuana “60 day supply” limits set by the Washington State Department of Health as per the Legislature’s direction to do so. Unfortunately, the DOH erred on the conservative side, and patients will likely suffer and continue to be arrested. The fifteen plant limit is too low for anyone but the best pot grower (certainly it strains the seriously ill patients who much grown their own medicine, or risk being taken advantage of by unscrupulous street dealers), and the twenty-four ounce dried pot limit is too low for those who ingest their medicine orally, rather than more traditional means, such as Vaporization or smoking.

Fortunately for me, Austin (being the good producer that he is) used the good quote I gave him, and none of the dorky stuff. Check out the Cannabis Defense Coalition for more information about helping patients who have been arrested and are facing trial!

cosmo — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 06:00:56 +0000

Just a cool picture of the Cosmobile on Deschutes Parkway (about halfway between my Condo and the Governor’s Mansion (as the crow flies), taken at long exposure (8 Seconds, 9MM Focal Length, and with the Aperture at 2.2. Thought I’d share.

Old Rock and Roll Concert Shirt Reproductios

cosmo — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 23:39:26 +0000

At the Target store this morning, I noticed an entire section of nostalic reproduction rock concert T-Shirts.

I thought this was weird, and made a quick post to BrightKite which joked “reproduction concert shirts, why buy inside when you wait thirty-seven years, and get it cheaper !”

There were shirts from AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, the Who, and Led Zeppelin. Party, Rock N Roll!

New Haircut

cosmo — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 21:56:47 +0000

Here’s a picture of my new haircut, courtesy of the hard work of my oh-so fabulous stylist, Eric Pollard of Olympia’s Jamie Lee and Company.

Political Halloween Masks

admin — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 03:43:07 +0000

Checking out the Halloween masks at JoAnne Fabrics (Formerly Ben Franklin) in West Olympia, I noticed that there were no John McCain masks, although they had both Hillary and GW Bush, in addition to Barack Obama…. How odd.

Magical Mystery Tour, Iterasi Gnomedex Magic Bus Tour in Four Video Acts

condo — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 05:56:16 +0000

Subtitled; Why I Love Gnomedex so much!!!

The Iterasi Gnomedex Magic Bus, in Four Video Acts

In the afternoon on day 1 of Gnomedex 8, Alex Williams had Chris Pirillo announce that the Iterasi “Magic Bus” was going to make a quick tour to an art gallery in North Seattle where KK had purchased a work of art from a friend of his that was on display, and he was going to pick it up. It turned into one of the best side-trips at Gnomedex, and was Legendary in it’s scope.

On the bus, we had bloggers (1,2,3), podcasters (1,2,3), photographers (1,2,3), writers (1,2,3), bon-vivants (1,2,3), hippies, and even a Cyborg Anthropologist!

Click here to view the embedded video.

To begin our journey, our virtual Cassady, who was channel proficiently by Nat, takes the wheel, and leads the Gnomedex magic bus (sponsored by Iterasi) on a mind blowing journey.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Part Two of the Iterasi Gnomedex Magic Bus Tour, people relax, enjoy the special magic bus atmosphere, and everyone enjoys geeking out on the bus, and many pictures that will end up on flickr are taken.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As the bus rambles north through ballard, we pass a city bus on 15th which is riding in the in Ballard, and head for Greenwood, Alex of Iterasi makes a few comments, and the bus passengers engage in much fun and frivolity!

Click here to view the embedded video.

after loads of good hospitality and good times at the Bherd Gallery in Seattle, the Gnomedex magic bus trippers get back on the bus, and get loose for the ride back to the Waterfront. On the way we got sidetracked by a drawbridge opening up to let a small sailboat through.

KK took this advantage to take some pictures. *check these out*

So a really big thanks to Chris and Ponzi Pirillo, who run Lockergnome, which is the host of this spectacular, unsurpassingly enjoyable tech event!!!

See you *all* next year, and thanks for all the fish!!

These videos are shared on blip.tv by theunabonger with a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

If you were on the bus, and want a link above, leave a comment, I’ll add it! I enjoyed hanging out with each and every one of you!

Kick Steve Jobs in the Nuts

condo — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:27:38 +0000

Okay, so I had to go the Apple Store in Tukwila this morning for my pre-scheduled iPhone repair/replacement appointment as ordered by the Apple iCare dude I talked to at length yesterday. He had made a big point of putting me on hold, calling the store in advance to make sure they had replacement stock; and he made an appointment (in the only available timeslot) , for me at 11:45, and I showed up about ten minutes early.

In true “Apple Weirdo Fashion”, the store was crowded with all sorts of strange folks, from grandmothers trying to get their 3G iPhones activated, to the goth dude sprawled on the floor with MacBook plugged into an A/C outlet meant for a display unit. I sidled up to the “Genius Bar”, and saw my name listed as number three on the list of iPod/iPhone appointments on the rotating flat screen, which alternatively displayed iTunes and Mac OS tips as well as flashy logos.

Since the only problem with my phone is the flat connector on the bottom came wonky from the factory, and when plugged into the dock or A/V composite cable, there is no “Right” audio channel, I sat and took pictures and compared location finding accuracy with a guy who had his 3G iPhone replaced due to a broken glass screen; (he also had a wicked case of big toe rot which should have been covered out of courtesy instead of ‘on display’ in his Birkenstocks.)

After waiting patiently (well past my 11:45 appointment, they finally call my name. I naively think that this means that they will just need to verify (duplicate) the problem and I’ll be out the door with a sharply boxed replacement.

Well, the first part was true enough, I explained the problem, my assigned genius “Larry” (who did a fine job), took the phone behind the hidden post-modern steel door, and came back out a few minutes later.

He says, “yeah, I’ll authorize a replacement,” .. it seems you just bought the 16gb (first generation) iPhone in March (to replace one that took a dive into my toilet while I was watching the Snoopy Easter Special,) *”but I’m afraid I don’t have any in stock.”* hello?

Great, the guy at AT&T/Apple iCare (?) basically lied to me, and now I’ve got to make another 130 mile round-trip to pick it up, whenever it arrives. Whatever, it would have been too good to be true anyway, if they had just replaced it right?

So to add insult to Apple’s injurious indifference, I get a call at 5:00pm tonight. “hi, I’m calling from the apple store, and you replacement iPhone is ready to pickup!” Ugh!

Do I drive back up tonight (probably), or wait until tomorrow when I’m bound to be über busy.

I still wanna kick Steve Jobs in nuts! Any volunteers want to help me form “The Committee to Pie Steve Jobs” ?

Blogging from the monthly democratic party meeting

condo — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 02:11:56 +0000

As the title says… I don’t think I’ll get much battery life, so here’s a picture.

Testing iPhone WordPress app

condo — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:46:11 +0000

Just sitting here at Applebee’s having dinner and a beverage to celebrate the fact I got my credit card processing Queue current and cleaned up. Now tomorrow I tackle the aging, which will help me clean out stale accounts in the billing system and allow me to concentrate on last few (large customer) account reconciliations.

Besides acting as treasurer for the Shrine Club Burger Wagon for Capitol Lakefair 2008, I also took over the books for my Condo association.

Next week, I’ll be Amazon EC2 boy, getting our Hosted Drupal and Wordpress AMI’s ready for easy provisioning.

Productivity! FTW!

Tune Stranglers at Olympia Farmer’s Market

condo — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 19:28:25 +0000

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Gaelica Performs “For Rocky Prairie” at Olympia Farmer’s Market

condo — Sat, 31 May 2008 06:37:29 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

Whilst stopping to pickup some smoked king salmon from Sea Blossom Seafoods I caught this diggity performance of Gaelica playing a song to benefit the Rocky Prairie south of Olympia.

Bluegrass at the Olympia Farmer’s Market

condo — Sun, 25 May 2008 19:42:17 +0000

Mobile post sent by theunabonger using Utterz. Replies. mp3

3rd Congressional District Democratic Nominating Convention - Napavine

condo — Sun, 18 May 2008 04:06:28 +0000

Washington 3rd Congressional District Nominating Convention - Napavine, WA

Chaired by State Democratic Party Chairman Dwight Pelz

Speaking for Brian Baird: Paul Berendt

Cheryl Crist, Speaking for herself.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Throwing Baird Out

condo — Fri, 16 May 2008 17:45:27 +0000

I needed to post this, to explain why I’m going to Napavine tomorrow morning, to vote for Cheryl Crist, who is challenging sitting incumbent Brian Baird for the party nomination to run for the 3rd Congressional District seat in the U.S. Congress. It is not an easy explanation for me to make.

I dissolved any ties I had (albeit loose ones) with the Washington State Republicans back in the late 1980s. An Evangelical Christian faction had basically taken over the party, and I could not stomach seeing the likes of the people who were rising to become leadership in the Legislature. I was revolted and turned off by them, in comparison to the Libertarian ideals which had drawn me, along with the cushy patronage jobs I kept secured by illegally campaigning for the state Republican Party. The illegal campaigning was all been done with orders from my boss in the House Republican Caucus Communications office, Leslie MacMillan, and the blessings of the House R Caucus Executive, and “sin industry” lobbyist Vito Chiechi, under the direction of none other than Jennifer Dunn, who later became one of our U.S. Senators. “Both sides do it, it’s okay, we’ll protect your jobs, just fill out these sick-day forms, and we’ll turn them in if the other side asks us why you’re missing” is what we were all told. From this experience, I feel I learned a lot about how people cut corners to get ahead, and why they should never do that when it comes to politics and their responsibilities in the public arena.

Alas, I’m older now, (and much more principled, I think) and feel I have to do something now to change the direction in which our country is headed. I was against the War in 2003, and I’m even more against it now. In fact, I’m against using war, weapons, and violence as a means to solve any economic, social or political disagreement, and I vow never to participate in such foolishness, but instead to help those who may be hurt in our community by such actions. (To some, this is a subversive statement, go figure.)

So tomorrow I travel to Napavine, to cast my vote as Precinct Committee Officer for my district as the Democrats try to re-assert control over who runs on their party ticket following repeated findings by courts that the primary process in Washington is unconstitutional. I will vote for Cheryl Crist. I don’t do it with glee, as I like Brian Baird well enough, I’ve communicated with him, and given advice on Telecommunications issues that affect consumers, and overall he’s done a decent job. However, he abdicated his responsibility as a Congressman under the constitution to declare war, and instead gave president Bush a blank check, and more war powers to the Presidency. He still feels we need to stay in Iraq, and that is too troubling to me to not do something to remove him from office.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Tags: olympia, washington, baird, congress, democrats, caucus, nomination, crist, peace, anti-war, republicans

Republican Madness

condo — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:05:36 +0000

How can the people be so easily hoodwinked? How can so many people watch Fox(un)News and think it’s anything other than revolting?

Stop watching Springer, put down the remote and read a goddamn book, you foolish foolish sheeple!

God help us if we elect that crazyman John McCain (”I’m Brian Fellows, you’re CrAZy”*) And I thought Bush was whack!

Click here to view the embedded video.

* Brian Fellows joke courtesy of Dingo, and of course, Tracy Morgan and SNL.

Inconsiderate Buffoon Parking

condo — Sun, 04 May 2008 02:34:50 +0000

Inconsiderate Buffoon Parking, originally uploaded by theunabonger.

inconsiserate WA 685WHC

Leadership Training Session

condo — Sat, 03 May 2008 18:20:52 +0000

Leadership Training Session, originally uploaded by theunabonger.

New Haircut

condo — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:42:18 +0000

With pomade!! Because the pleasing odor is half the point!

Thanks OlyBlog!!

Mobile post sent by theunabonger using Utterz. Replies. mp3

So wrong, on so many levels.

condo — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 06:11:38 +0000

So wrong, on so many levels., originally uploaded by theunabonger.

I saw this on the store shelf at safeway and had to resist the urge to gag. Not that I’ve got anything against Clamato… A fine vegetable beverage which is integral to what I (an under-educated American) consider one of two of Canada’s national drinks, the (bloody Caesar) a fine drink which is a near equivalent to a Bloody Mary. The other being the “China White”, which is baileys & cream de cacao, layered and sprinkled with cinnamon.

But Budweiser and Clamato? I mean, gag me dude, seriously!!!

Dalai Lama in Seattle with Dave Matthews

condo — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 16:44:30 +0000

Dalai Lama in Seattle with Dave Matthews, originally uploaded by theunabonger.

K Record & Dub Narcotic Studio

condo — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:30:05 +0000

K Record & Dub Narcotic Studio, originally uploaded by theunabonger.

Moo Cards

condo — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 05:30:05 +0000

Moo Cards, originally uploaded by theunabonger.

Ohh, my Moo Cards arrived, sweet.

Jake’s on 4th Hotdog Stand

condo — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 06:32:37 +0000

Mobile post sent by theunabonger using Utterz. Replies. mp3

I’m Late

condo — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 22:33:29 +0000

I’m Late, originally uploaded by theunabonger.

Why I’m Supporting Barack Obama

condo — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 08:18:04 +0000

You can never be sure, you can never fully trust the people you hire to govern, or the people to be governed. What do you do? I’ve decided this year to believe. To believe that our country can be healed. I’ve decided to come off the fence, and declare my support for Barack Obama

Please click on the image above, to see a bit more about why I’ve chosen to believe, against reasonable hope, perhaps, that our country can be united, and people can start to believe in the precepts of tolerance, welcoming immigrants of all nations, faiths, and ethnicities, and strong funded public education.

“The ‘we’ we’ve been waiting for to come and fix our problems is us!” It’s time to take back control of this country, and put the scoundrels who have damaged our country into jail where they belong!

If you live in Washington, please attend your caucus today!

Blogged with Flock

Tags: barack, obama, barack obama, olympia, washington, caucus, democrat, election, president, presidential election

a minor rant regarding Speedtests, 3G, iPhones and Paperclips

cosmo — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 22:07:49 +0000

I’m sitting here eating breakfast at my favorite breakfast place in Olympia, which I scheduled for low volume, with few customers coming and going. The smooth jazz is playing, as I watch a singular street person (derelict, bum, homeless, metallly-ill?) wander past the fenced in parking lot of the decrepit “ghetto Safeway” which has been closed since last june, and languishing due to “no retail stores clause in the sale agreement.” As I sit here, the logs trucks come by occasionally, loaded with their “National Forest Booty Give-Away” lumber. No question I’m in Olympia, for sure.

My Friday appointments and plans have all been pooched my schedule, (always bad timing) and now I set forth on a whole set of different priorities.

I’ve have done about 3 hours worth of research on Apache/PHP/Drupal tuning, and monitoring a server hosting a site on which I’m doing some “sys-adminy type” consulting, and performance tuning. Of course the problem with being a consultant, is you only get to bill for about 1/4 of your time, as you often have to do research to figure out what do to, and most of that is not billable.

I’ve brought a Belkin Wireless Access Point down to put in the restaurant (Cicada) to include them in the wildly popular Zhonka! Surfbreak program of free (no-marketing, no data-collection, no-logging, and no “give us your name and click here” website re-directs) WiFi Hotspots, our contribution to the “DIY, power to the people!” ideal I care so stongly about.

My AT&T 3G wireless card is serving me until the access point is in place. (Must eat first for strength!)

You can see my results (Olympia to California on AT&T’s 3G network, and back to Olympia via Intertubes), speeds not bad, but still pricey at $60 month ($80 without AT&T Mobile Phone on plan).

This of course reminds me that my iPhone has a pooched transmitter (or antenna connection problem), and that I received my over designed pre-paid FedEx mailer for service. They have a little white iPhone sized box with foam pad, and little pouch to put it in. Also included in the package was my Apple(TM) officially issued “paper-clip”, in a little parts baggy with a pictograph on how to remove the sim before sending. Wish me luck!!

Blogged with Flock

Tags: iphone, apple, at&t, 3g, speedtest, zhonka, drupal, apache, schlomo, theunabonger, cicada, olympia, washington

Winter Warlock, My Chumby, the iPhone and Hackability.

condo — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 14:42:44 +0000

I received my Chumby (a gift from Dingo, the “PC black” model) shipped directly from the factory in China to my door in 4 business days and hand delivered by a smartly dressed (overly energetic) UPS employee, who got it to me on time, even though there was a biblical-ish flood that shut down the freeway and generally has brought havoc to our front door.

I immediately went over the Chumby site, and set it up to display flickr pictures, and a few RSS news (yes news news) feeds that I read regularly, most notably; OlyBlog.

I’m using SSH to get into it and try to start Free Radio Olympia via the command line with instructions I found at the Chumby Wiki. This is cool, as it allows me to listen to my own streams, or MP3 playlists via NFS or HTTP, as well, while using the other Chumby based flash widgets, such as ones that let me look at my friend’s flickr streams…

It’s refreshing to know that the Chumby execs and engineers trust their users enough to allow them to mess up their devices, and they encourage hacking and a free flow of ideas on new widgets and how to get the thing to do “more stuff.”

Now, I’m going to ask around and find out about getting the Splashcast Player to work on it, and I’ll be very happy indeed.

This in contrast to the iPhone, of course. . . . who’s hackability is well known (and demonized by Apple and AT&T as being “illegal”, and they will break your phone if they catch you doing it. . . . Just makes you want to “kick Steve Jobs in the nuuuttttzzzz!”, sometimes, yes?

Blogged with Flock

Tags: chumby, retiredpirate, theunabonger, dingo, dingostewart, frolympia, free radio olympia, iPhone, splashcast, olyblog, flickr, flooding, steve jobs, john biehler

Port Rally Photo Slideshow - November 17th, 2007

cosmo — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 09:18:14 +0000

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Tags: olympia, washington, protest, november 17th 2007, police brutality, social justice, peace, police riot, rally, march, anti-war, impeachment, illegal war, george w. bush

Audio from Community Forum on Police Response to Port Protesters

cosmo — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 10:22:21 +0000

Here are some audio highlights from last night’s (November 11th, 2007) Community Forum on the Police Response to Port Protesters, called by T.J. Johnson, and held at City Hall, recorded by yours truly.

T.J. Johnson Pre-Opening Remarks:

Robert Whitlock’s Testimony:

Drew Hendrick’s Testimony:

Gus Kroll’s Testimony:

Daisy Montague’s Testimony:

Noah - Testimony on Police Gay Bashing:

Unknown - Trauma - Plum Street Blockade Assault:

Unknown - Nuremburg - Assaulted by Police:

Unknown - Panel Testimony:

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Tags: olympia, washington, port, port of olympia, port protest, police brutality, fascism, rob whitlock, robert whitlock, drew hendricks, Gus Kroll, Daisy Montague, T.J. Johnson, TJ Johnson, Olympia City Council, Impeachment, illegal war, anti-war, non-violence, police violence, police riot

Sign

condo — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 04:20:58 +0000

Sign, originally uploaded by theunabonger.

sign dingo dingostewart tongue

Village Idiots

condo — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 15:59:47 +0000

“God Bless Israeli Bulldozers!”, originally uploaded by Robert Whitlock.

This picture was taken by OlyBlog docent (and contributor) Rob Whitlock at the Port Militarization Resistance protest at the Port of Olympia, please click on the picture, read what Rob wrote, then go back and read this post I wrote 4 years ago to see where I stand on this issue.

Gus at Port Militarization Protest

condo — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 23:47:21 +0000

Gus at Olympia Port Militarization Protest, originally uploaded by theunabonger.

Before the meeting

condo — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 02:51:14 +0000

Before the meeting, originally uploaded by theunabonger.

Flickr Spam, Free Prizes, and Booby Traps. . .

condo — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 03:15:02 +0000

While checking out media feeds with Flock 1.0 RC3 I noticed a friend of mine’s flickr feed had been splooged on by Viagra Spammers. I assume he needs to change his-mail to flickr address, to stop the flow.

Also, another friend of mine sent me a myspace message (it turned out her account had been hijacked), with a “Free Macy’s Giftcard” message, which was a photo-ad-link to a survey site, where, assumedly, someone was getting ad referral money for the link.

This morning, (after heading out on the town to celebrate Halloween with Dingo in a costume contest at a notorious local gay bar), I got an SMS that said I’d won a free professional quality portable WAV/MP3 stereo recorder device. (An Edirol R-09 24 Bit Wave 24 Bit MP3 Recorder - see below) from Foneshow, as part of a promotion regarding their public beta announcement at Podcamp Boston. Since I had registered on their site the night before, I knew the drawing was for real, thanks to Bowl of Cheese for the tip about Foneshow through his twitter announcement!

This little device will come in handy with my work on the Clubside Breakfast Time Podcast, as well as enable me to expand the type and number of Podcasts I produce, including possibly reviving the good-intentioned, but completely neglected Olympia Legislative Watch.

These topics may seem unrelated, but as I thought about the universal connectedness of all things, I realized they weren’t. Buddhist (and other eastern philosophies) have always suggested that material goods can not bring happiness, and more often bring only suffering and pain. I’ve often found this to be true. . . . Prizes often come with booby traps (personal, no marketing slam against the nice folks at Foneshow, thanks again!), sometimes they spring long after the prize has come. . . .

Life comes with pitfalls, this is a truism that cannot be debated, nor proven scientifically. But no matter what, you have to climb up out of the hole and on toward the goal, so I try to keep the goal in site. Heinlein stated it best; “In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it.” . . . (this quote is attributed to Heinlein, who’s philosophy of humanism and “good-naturedness” in his bookschanged my life’s perspective early on.

So, I don’t know the answer to this question, other than “the universal law of Love” reigns as we enter the age of aquarius. Sorry if that’s cryptic and meaningless, but I question now, more than ever, my understanding of things around me.

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Tags: foneshowpodcamp podcampboston clubsidebreakfasttime clubsidebreakfast clubsidepodcast awdcast podcasthotel bowlofcheese heinlein dingo hopeinwa lawoflove love aquarius ageofaquarius flickr

A Great Olympia Breakfast

condo — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 02:09:13 +0000

A Great Olympia Breakfast, originally uploaded by theunabonger.

I had this breakfast at Cicada in downtown Olympia, which I highly recommend. They are a great NW / Cajun Fusion restaurant with four star food, a lounge, and a great inclusive Oly Vibe. A great place to get salmon for breakfast, which along with lunch, are served from opening until 2:00 pm.

Below (above?) is my breakfast from last week, a gastronomic delight. Filet of salmon with poached eggs, fried Yukon Gold potatoes and a wonderful sauce.

Chef Billy (and co-owner, along with Manager Lisa), and the staff are always ready to please!

GnomeDex 2007

condo — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 07:20:16 +0000

GnomeDex 2007, originally uploaded by theunabonger.

The faux-po

condo — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 21:46:03 +0000

The faux-po, originally uploaded by theunabonger.

July 4th, seen on highway 18, why do people drive these cars so similar to the WSP cruisers? Everybody was afraid to pass them, ugh.

Testing New Flock Browser - Super Saturday Content

condo — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 04:52:30 +0000

Here is a picture of my wife Dingo posing with her Police Dress Rehearsal Tour shirt with one of evergreen’s campus officers in the beer garder, (ahem, er), Greener Oasis.

Blogged with Flock

Tags: evergreentesc dingo dingostewart supersaturday “June 16 2007″ beergarden

The other Vancouver

condo — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 17:48:55 +0000

The other Vancouver, originally uploaded by theunabonger.

i’m driving to the other vancouver for Dingo’s IME at the behest (er, demand) of the Labor and Industry Department. A damn shame, as the doctor’s job is not to provide treatment, but to try and find a way to take away her meager time-loss benefits. . .

Why I Love Olympia - Part X

condo — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 19:44:01 +0000

Why I Love Olympia - Part X, originally uploaded by theunabonger.

Moderate weather, good times, hanging at the Farmer’s Market with Dingo, and watching the Tune Stranglers! Ah good times. . .

For Sale, the past. . .

condo — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 17:43:49 +0000

For Sale, the past. . ., originally uploaded by theunabonger.

Seen on my morning drive through West Olympia. Two Seventies vehicles for sale in the yard of this post WWII bungalo. The deep irony of the entire scene in front of of pulled me in and compelled of to take a photo and blog it.

Stonecap Syrah

condo — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 02:30:03 +0000

Stonecap Syrah, originally uploaded by theunabonger.

at tugboat annie’s, seventeen dollars. Having blackened salmon caesar salad, yum!

Tugboat Dinner

condo — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 01:44:52 +0000

Tugboat Dinner, originally uploaded by theunabonger.

missing don and shelly, but enjoying dinner.

Sign for golf tournament

condo — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 23:39:24 +0000

Sign for golf tournament, originally uploaded by theunabonger.

sign donated by brown and balsley

Red Tag Day

condo — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 19:12:40 +0000

Red Tag Day, originally uploaded by theunabonger.

There’s nothing like waking up to find the city has red tagged your door because you forgot to pay your utilities bill. Ugh, one more high priority item for my day. . .

Bené Gesserit Litany of Fear

condo — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 01:27:09 +0000

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

Frank Herbert - “Dune” Page 19

Bumper Stickers for Jeebus

condo — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 04:58:31 +0000

Bumper Stickers for Jeebus, originally uploaded by theunabonger.

Bumper stickers for Jeebus and W. Seen at Tumwater Fred Meyer.

Air Conditioning Install Day

condo — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 23:58:00 +0000

Air Conditioning Install Day, originally uploaded by theunabonger.

my friend and handy man Shane after installing my two air conditioners for the season.

One last test

condo — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 06:41:41 +0000

One last test, originally uploaded by theunabonger.

i’m digging this phone to blog feature and wanted to try directly from my phone with the best camera.

I might be taking this too far. . But. . .

condo — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 03:16:48 +0000

I might be taking this too far. . But. . .
Originally uploaded by theunabonger

In the spirit of my ‘no bacon, no cheese, no fries in June’ pledge, I’ve even removed the pepperoni from my bloody mary (ahem, er - Caesar, eh?) at my friendly local Applebee’s where I’m having dinner with Dingo, Jonathan and Cael.

Cosmo

Dingo’s deck Garden

condo — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 22:55:10 +0000

Dingo’s deck Garden, originally uploaded by theunabonger.

My wife Dingo planted mass foliage on our deck this year, including a catnip plant for the kitties. I need to go shopping and get a deck table, as the windstorms this winter caused ours to break due the fact that I stupidly put the umbrella back in Feb, after Dingo had removed it in December, doh!

Cosmo

Why I love Olympia. . . Part X

condo — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 00:30:05 +0000

Why I love Olympia. . . Part X
Originally uploaded by theunabonger

Because of Women in Black, the Olympia Movement for Peace and Justice, and other outspoken freedom loving, caring Citizens who oppose the war in Iraq and violence in general as a means to solve problems.

The Women in Black have been gathering on 4th avenue by Percival Landing every Friday night during ‘rush hour’ since the war began. I am honored to support them, their cause and the cause of peace throughout the world, and I salute them for reminding me why I live in the pacific northwest and not the bible belt.

Cosmo

Special KK+ Challenge

condo — Thu, 31 May 2007 20:30:13 +0000

During our trip to Vancouver, B.C., our friend Kris challenged himself (and me) to eat better during the month of June, in a continuing effort to become better people. here is the checklist he came up with, and we agreed upon.

I think that no bacon is going to be hard, but we agreed if bacon is in a healthy salad dressing, or the cheese is feta, blue or of the goat variety, it would probably be o.k.

I’m also going to get working out a bit more, including more walks (which I’ve been taking, much to the detriment of my professional tasks), and really abstain from the gift of that Barley Bree as much as possible too.

Wish me luck!

technorati tags:kk+, Kris Krug, Cosmo, Cosmo G Spacely, Cosmo Spacely, theunabonger, unabonger, Jacob Stewart, Special KK+ Challenge, healthy eating

Special KK+ Challenge
Originally uploaded by theunabonger

Chris Pirillo’s Italian Shoes

condo — Mon, 14 May 2007 01:27:36 +0000

I don’t know a Bruno Magli from a Mama Mia! when it comes to shoe fashions, but whilst recently enjoying a session at Podcast Hotel 3 in San Francisco, I noticed that Chris Pirillo of Lockergnome and Gnomedex (who was broadcasting live on hit ustream feed) was wearing shows that looked so stylish, I’d think to only see them on Adam Curry. You tell me? Are these fancy Italian shoes, or cheap dollar store “hide of nauga“?

technorati tags:lockergnome, theunabonger, unabonger, poho3, Podcast Hotel 3, podcast Hotel, Swedish American Hall, Bruno Magli, italian shoes, Chris Pirillo, scales, Robert Scales, Rain City Studios, Rain City

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Unusual Memories

condo — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 05:18:42 +0000

I love developing old film. I found a roll in my garage and took to the Walgreen’s and paid around $6 to get a CD-Rom with the pictures on it (no prints, please!). I found this picture of my friend Scott, driving his Ford Cortina, probably at the parking lot at ASH (now Cooper’s Glen) apartments at Evergreen. Ah, good times. . . . .

technorati tags:toad, ubertoad, ash, evergreen, tesc, cortina, 1985, Ford Cortina

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Police Activity at the Top Foods

condo — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 20:35:27 +0000

[splashcast GYWA3084GW]

Four Years On

condo — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 18:35:00 +0000

I couldn’t let this anniversary go without some kind of posting.

I saw an article in the newspaper about the new Rachel Corrie foundation, and thought I’d let people re-visit my post from March 16, 2003, the day Rachel Corrie died, (and three days before Shrub started the Iraq war.)

Although I’ve not been often proud of my country in the last four years, many members of my community have shown great courage and the will to bring justice that is giving me hope. I stopped by the Security Building office where the Rachel Corrie foundation is headquarted, (as I do almost every day to get a cup of coffee at The Cupping room), and took the snaps above with my mobile phone cam.

technorati tags:Rachel Corrie Foundation, Rachel Corrie, olympia, washington, war, George W Bush, Iraq War, rafah, Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace, Olympia Rafah Sister City, moral justice

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Obamania Hits Olympia

condo — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 05:52:28 +0000

The Barack Obama supporters will be having their first local meeting at Evergreen tomorrow (March 11th) at 4PM in the TESC Library building, Room 4300.

I’ll be there to see if the “history in the making” is “Gary Hart” history, or “John Kennedy” history. I have to admit I’m intrigued by Obama, and think that someone with little beltway experience might be just what’s needed in our country right now.

Cosmo

technorati tags:barackobama, Barack Obama, evergreen, Thurston County, March 11, 2007, obama2008, event, poster

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Old Toad

condo — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 06:28:48 +0000

Kids Chocolate cigarettes
Originally uploaded by teclo.

Kids chocolate cigarettes my arse! These are pure brown tar fructose, meant to hook kids on psychedelic mind-bending drugs or worse!!

Of course, it’s too late to rescue my friend, the Ubertoad, but I thought I would warn the public about this nefarious menace.

Cosmo

Just looking out for the kids, you know?

I am . . .

condo — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 17:20:35 +0000

Taking the lead of my friend Scott, I have taken the Sci-Fi writer’s quiz. Surprise on the answer, eh?

I am:

Robert A. Heinlein

Beginning with technological action stories and progressing to epics with religious overtones, this take-no-prisoners writer racked up some huge sales numbers.

Which science fiction writer are you?

Dave O hops the Cluetrain, riding the rails.

condo — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 22:31:43 +0000

Blogging for Retailers White Paper Provides Practical Advice for Online Merchants

My good bud, and fellow renaissance-man/entrepreneur and marketer extraordinaire Dave Olson gets the business press of the week, by feeding coal into the engine of the Cluetrain with an article in PR Web on his Practical Advice for Marketing Conversations White paper. (directly linked bypassing the form that gets you on the “marketing cold-call list.”)

Dave and I have had an unofficial contest running for years which measures which one of us can get the most press items published (either by us, about us, or including us), and he’s leaping out into a clear lead by a few good strides starting last year, with his exploits and successes of late.

Dave has recently had published two magazine articles and a guest blogging column in Heads Magazine. Some of Dave’s other new publishing ventures include a new colaborative Canucks Podcast, (to compliment his Canucks Outsider Podcast), a personal blog, a poetry blog, and of course, his world famous Choogle On with Uncleweed Podcast, which is breaking subscriber records each month!!! And, as I’m sure, more fame awaits Dave in the Great White North.

You can find the index to all Dave’s sites, and much much more at the grandiose clearing house that is Uncleweed.Net.

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Yet More Business Press

condo — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 22:31:19 +0000

This time featuring a great picture of me at the Zhonka! Data Center.

This is in response to the Attorneys General of many states, including Rob McKenna of Washington State, putting out a hot-air puffery press release (read the actual letter here) on how ISPs could help catch paedophiles, which is true, if we snooped on traffic and violated the privacy of our customers. Surely, there is a better way to protect children than turning our country into a “Big Brother” police state, where ISPs and telephone companies keep records of activity and data forever, so that the “authorities” can sift through it long after it would have protected any children. Law enforcement needs to start doing it’s job, and stop hassling poor (and brown) people.

Anyway, I think these are some of my best quotes ever published in the print media, and am proud to been able to speak out against this kind of fishing expedition.

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Picture of the Day - Scooter Olystyle

condo — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 08:32:28 +0000

I see this scooter everyday when turning from 5th Avenue to Water Street around the horrendous park construction that is happening (again) in Heritage Park. I assume the scooter is the master of some drone working in the Heritage Bank Mortgage office, which is right next door, but they could just as easily work over at El Guanaco, the El Salvadoran restaurant in the Traditions Building on 5th.

There is an eclectic style of decoration, including the “hands” diversity sticker, (very popular in Oly), a “Red Star” (of communism?), an Apple Mac logo on the muffler, and sooper cool arboreal camo cowling. C’est Chic!

Cosmo

technorati tags:olympia, olympia washington, washington, 5th avenue, Water St, Scooter, olystyle, redstar

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Peanuts don’t have gluten, do they?

condo — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 04:49:28 +0000

In honor of the sweet peanut butter cookies I’m making tonight, I’m re-hashing some of my old web 1.0 content, and posting it to my blog, and to OlyBlog. Have fun, and remember, all things in moderation!

Cosmo

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies	by Cosmo G. Spacely
Ingredients	Amount
peanut butter	1 cup
sugar	1 cup
egg	1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, (180 C), mix ingredients thoroughly with fork, and spoon out cookie sized blobs on a cookie tin, preferably one lined with tin foil and pre-greased, then place them in the oven until they are done. (Usually between 13 and 18 minutes, depending on your taste, oven weirdness, etc. Make your own judgment, eh?)

Please don’t make the mistake of thinking since these cookies are gluten free, they’re somehow more healthy than other cookies. These cookies are heavy in fat, cholesterol, calories, and carbohydrates, all of which are bad for you one way or another. Make and eat at your own risk. Cosmo G. Spacely makes no representation of any kind regarding these cookies, not even that they are truly gluten free, (There’s no flour, do peanuts have gluten?) Cosmo does think that they are delicious, however. * Nutritional information is estimated, probably largely suspect, but included here anyway, as some kind of penance for putting these tempting cookies on the web in the first place.


	Nutrition Facts*	amount per serving
(per serving, based on six servings total in recipe, you do the math)
	Calories	412
	Protein	12g
	Total Fat	23g
	Sodium	212mg
	Cholesterol	35mg
	Carbohydrates	42g
	Fiber	2.5g

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Clubside Brunch

condo — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 23:54:14 +0000

Whilst Chillin‘ at the Clubside Café brunch on Sunday, and catching up on some podcasts with my new Mobile Phone (LG CU 500) and Stereo bluetooth headset (Moto BT820) combo, (Dingo and I had brought the wee burn Cael in for showsies), I noticed our noted credit union teller, and FRO advocate Lacey having a breakfast bagel.

Since I was wearing my new bowling shirt, she cut out the Sunset Bowl Midnight Karaoke ad for the lanes in Ballard, and brought it over to me. It was all very dude like, dude.

Cosmo

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My Beautiful Wife

condo — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 04:35:27 +0000

Courtesy of Kris Krug, a visual homage to my sweet wifey-poo.

Of course, I agree with him completely, she is a hawtie.

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Good Friends from Gnomedex #5

condo — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 07:58:33 +0000

Robert Scales - Raincity Studios

Photo Credit: Uncleweed

Robert is the accomplished, formidable and talented design and business Wiz behind Raincity Studios, one of the premier design firms working with such prestigious clients as the Ask A Ninja Podcast, (iTunes #1 Rated Podcast), and many other clients.

From the short time we got to hang out, I learned that Robert’s got an incredibly elightened attitude about life, and what’s truly important (people), and shares himself with his friends without hesitation.

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Good Friends from Gnomedex, #4

condo — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 21:03:16 +0000

Corey Denis - aka CrazyWanda

(Corey and Kris Krüg)
Photocredit: Uncleweed

Corey met us on her birthday, the last day of the Gnomedex, and we tried to make sure she had a memorable one. Corey works for IODA, which is a company that allows bloggers and podcasters to use “rights-cleared” music from independant record labels. After all, who wants to listen to more of the crap the Big 5 record labels are shoving down our throats?

Corey is a powerhouse of a marketing promoter, and has an incredibly amazing intellect, as well as being a *hawt* geek-chick. Of course, my wife Dingo and Corey really hit it off very well, so we’re both looking forward to the next geek-vent we both attend; or if we make down to the Bay Area.

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Good Friends from Gnomedex #3

condo — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 03:11:55 +0000

Mark Chernesky - From CNN

Photo Credit: Uncleweed

We met Mark last year at Gnomedex5 and had a lot of fun talking to him about the news business, and the (then) newly burgeoning technology of RSS/XML feeds. Mark is a great guy, and another of the many friends we made, along with his colleague from CNN, Dermot Waters, and enjoyed the company of, at Gnomedex.

technorati tags:uncleweed, daveolson, markchernesky, dermotwaters, gnomedex, gnomedex6

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Monkey Crap

condo — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 03:20:49 +0000

Whoadude, I’ve been featured on the Crap Monkey Podcast, in Travis Petershagen’s often humorous Pieces of Crap Series, Episode #7. Listen to the podcast, it’s a hoot!!!

Here’s a picture of the after-hours party, shorty before Travis shoved the microphone in my face without warning when I sat down on the chesterfield for a break. Travis is the one in the white shirt in the top of the photo. He also runs the Seattle Podcasting Network Meetup Group, which I’ve been meaning to make it up to for a while. Now I have a good reason to go soon, to buy him a beer, at the *very* least.

Photo Credit: ME

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Good Friends from Gnomedex, #2

condo — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 23:00:28 +0000

Chris Heuer from Brain Jams

Not a great picture of Chris, (but one I took), although it was around 3:00 AM after we left the Broadband Mechanics after-hours party. We seriously enjoyed hanging out with Chris, as he was the one who helped us find a nice comfortable room at the W for a reasonable price. Chris is a lover of cats, and enjoyed hanging out with us in our hotel room and playing with our “wee kitten Oisin” during “in-between” times of the conference. (In between conference and night functions, in between functions and parties, etc.)

Chris went out of his way to make my wife Dingo feel included, and they talked about cats, and who knows what else. . . . . . . Cheers to our new friend Chris!

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Good Friends from Gnomedex, #1

condo — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 05:57:20 +0000

Jacob Gower from BloggyNetworks.

Jacob was a first time attendee to Gnomedex, who, although originally from Tennessee, is now living and running his own blog/hosting business from Arkansas. Jacob and I not only share a first name, but also a birthday, which is a pleasing coincidence.

Jacob left his Laptop and Gnomedex Swagbag in my car after the after-hours party thrown by Marc Canter and Broadband Mechanics. Since I slept late the next day, (missing yet another Dave Winer appearance), he didn’t have his laptop for the first part of day two.

Jacob became a great friend, hung around with us, and we hope that we made his first trip to the NW (anywhere north for that matter) as fun for him as it was for us to hang out with him.

Photo Credit: Uncleweed
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Flock Test Post #1

condo — Tue, 04 Jul 2006 17:51:21 +0000

Testing the cool new Flock browser, which I love! I had installed Firefox, but never let it be my default browser, which is annoying, because when I clicked on things, it would open IE instead, bah! But after seeing Flock’s “social network” integration, and two minutes of hassle-free configuration, I had it set to my default browser, and I’m Psyched!

Here’s a picture of Flockstar and “young padawan” Master Will Pate, with Megan Cole of Rain City Studios.

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Respect My Hospitalit-I

cosmo — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 22:00:16 +0000

A fine night after-hours party at the Marriott, (oddly enough, in the hard to find room 404), sponsored by Marc Canter, and his new venture Broadband Mechanics.

First, We stopped off at the Fish Club lounge for an Pike Kilt Lifter Ale for Dave and a Scotch for Me, the 10 year old LaPhroaig, “Scotland’s Most Flavorful Whisky”.

CaptainAjax Uncleweed, KK+, and the Canadian crew breaks into a spontaneous version of “O Canada!” minutes after midnight, to celebrate Canada Day!!!

Meta Blogging. .

condo — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 19:35:41 +0000

One more photo, (a Meta-Photo) for the blog before lunch. Senator Edwards is trying to weasel his way into an ending, but the crowd might not give him the chance.

More Gnomedex pictures. . . .

condo — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 18:44:50 +0000

Dave and Jay after caffeine.

Our Wee Kitten Oisin chillaxin(TM) at the corner suite at the W.

Dave and our friends Mark Chernesky and Dermot Waters from CNN.

Our View from Gnomedex (Yes, that’s the back Dave Winer’s head on the left)

Chris said to post this, so.

condo — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 17:55:28 +0000

I thought I’d see if it worked.

This is more important though. A proclamation signed by Governor Gregiore honoring RSS!

And Gnomedex begins. . . Unclweed is typing a massive missive, sure to be posted soon, Stay tuned for more.

Excited about Gnomedex

condo — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 07:15:16 +0000

Just like it says, I’m getting excited about Gnomedex, where we intend to mingle with the blogospheres gliterati, and hopefully learn a new trick or two, and make some new friends, like last year.

I’m ready to help pimp out and demonstrate Castblaster, as the best available, live recording, Podcast creating tool available for non-techinical users. I thank Castblaster Mike, and Combi-Tech for allowing me to be the unoffical Castblaster ambassador to the conference.

Here’s a picture of Adam Curry Demonstrating Castblaster on the day the first public beta was released (and the last day of last year’s Gnomedex), for me, Marc Canter, Uncleweed and a few other lucky souls.

I can’t wait to learn more about blogging, drupal, ajax, and learn how to use some of the great tools Google has been rolling out over the last year, like the new Google Calendar.

Cosmo

Tab Refreshing!!!

condo — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 22:50:33 +0000

I think I should let the pictures speak for themselves. I wouldn't want to ruin it for all us "not too old to remember the70's", who think that TAB is still cool.

Personally, I'll still stick with a SPARKS, when available, or more preferablly, a nice roasted coffee, hot, cold, black, creamy, however.

Another shot of Business Press

condo — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 00:53:08 +0000

From the South Sound Business Examiner

Jacob Stewart, co-founder, Zhonka Broadband
Class of 2003

Stewart continues to run his high-tech small business in Olympia. He is most proud to be associated with several nonprofit leadership positions, most notably as chairman of the Olympia Masonic Building Association, which oversees several million dollars' worth of commercial property in Tumwater, including the Masonic Temple on North Street, for the benefit of local Masonic organizations and charities. He is vice president of the Washington Association of Internet Service Providers, working with the Washington Attorney General and the Legislature to protect consumers in the Internet and telecommunications field. In 2005, they helped to get two important bills passed to help prevent, identify and protect Washington Consumers from Internet fraud.

Left to Right: Dave Olson, Zhonka Broadband Minister of Marketing, Jacob Stewart, Zhonka Broadband Secretary-General, Kevin Miller, Zhonka Broadband Intern, (unknown), Hunter Goodman, WA Atty General's office.

Oh, I’ll tak’ ye on the road again when the yellow’s on the broom

condo — Mon, 17 Apr 2006 15:35:47 +0000

It's becoming that time again in Washington State, when the Scotch Broom starts to flower, and many people incorrectly blame their allergies on the "Broom Bloom", (most likely it's the tremendous amount of Douglas Fir pollen that pervades the area that causes the allergies, and not the Broom.)

However, I have found a nice event, held along the east coast of Scotland, in Inverbervie, Aberdeenshire, about halfway between Aberdeen, and Arbroath (to the south), that celebrates the broom, and the coming of Spring with a Music and Arts festival. I'd love to attend, and do plan to make it someday. I also plan to take my beautiful wife to the truly romantic and scenic Isle of Mull, and stay at the Mish-Nish in Tobermory some day (hopefully in the next few years) for the folk and traditional music festival.

Illuminated? Heh, that’s right. . . .

cosmo — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 16:26:39 +0000

An anniversary, none of us can celebrate.

condo — Sat, 01 Apr 2006 07:38:59 +0000

Three years ago this month, fellow Evergreen Student, and like myself, longtime Olympia Resident Rachel Corrie met her untimely and horrific death under the blade and tracks of a US Purchased Israeli military bulldozer, bulldozing homes, and disrupting the lives of Palestinians living in Gaza.

Since that time, Israel has pulled out of Gaza, leaving the squabling Palestinian militant factions vying for power with their own internal Violent stuggle, and America is deeply involved in a quagmire, billed as a shadowy war on terrorism. As a proud member of my high school class of 1984, we were required to read the book by George Orwell. I wish our President would read, the news, books, scholastic articles, policy papers, and not make his decisions via faith and gut instinct.

See my recent Podcast (as Cosmo G Spacely) at the Clubside Breakfast Time Podcast, and look back in the archives of this blog to see what I wrote about this event the day it happened.

Protect your rights to public property!!!

condo — Sun, 05 Mar 2006 07:57:24 +0000

Ben the righteous, Ben the protector of the weak, poor, and uninformed, Ben the man with more angst than Howard Dean after losing the Iowa Primary, wants everyone to know about his experience with trooper R.J. Woods of the Washington State Patrol.

Phear the Beard

condo — Sat, 04 Mar 2006 10:07:08 +0000

A few young gentlemen purporting to be from Scarsdale High School have started calling me at my home number to inform me that they have formed a Beard club, which they said was one of the most popular on campus. They said they had admired some of the beard pictures I had put on the web, and asked for a “shout out.”

Last week, after receiving a few e-mails I dismissed as junk mail without really reading, two of their “officers”; purported to be Brett Schneider, and Dave ?, called me several times on Thursday and Friday, and one time they called during their club meeting meeting on Friday afternoon (around noon Pacific [UTC -8]) just to leave me a “shout out” on my home answering machine.

Later, on Saturday Night, I received numerous “drunk-dialing” calls from them, with some of what they tried to say completely unintelligible, due to loud background noise.

For the Truly Curious, Here are the Beards we should all phear!!!

Below are a couple of my wicked beard pics that inspire awe.

The best (beast) of the Beard
Mouse over for Full Description

Other great beards from my Pictures collection

And finally, for your enjoyment, a more modern
professional look for me (St. Patrick’s Day 2005)

I’ll probably call the principal of their school on Monday to see if in fact, there is a beard club, and what it’s mission is. (I’m putting odds at about 60% *for*). I won’t get anyone in trouble; no reason for that. My friend Ben suggested some mischief we might perform, but they seemed like nice enough kids, even though I’m still feeling that their intentions, and motivation are a little bit ambiguous. In anycase, this post is your shoutout guys.

Update: I called SHS and was trasferred to Student Governance manager, Neil Ginsburg, who has yet to return my call. I’ll try again tomorrow. FYI, I support this type of student spiritedness, which should be encouraged while still young enough to have fun.

Cosmo (Jay)

First Post - New Blog Format

condo — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 09:52:47 +0000

Cosmo’s Condo is open for Business!

Hello, I’m Jacob Stewart, also known as Cosmo G Spacely, on my *other blog*

Here’s a nice picture taken from the top deck of the condo during a snowstorm in 2001 as a starting point. This was taken one week before the big Nisqually Earthquake, which has its anniversary today.

Jay

Welcome to the Clubside Breakfast Time Podcast

condo — Mon, 04 Jul 2005 00:20:05 +0000

Entry #27

As promised, here’s the big announcement; I’ve started a podcast which will highlight local music, talk about news and politics, and hopefully keep you entertained. You can subscribe by clicking on the XML tagged link below, and entering the address in your podcacthing client, or you can just enter the url http://feeds.feedburner.com/ClubsideBreakfastTime in your iTunes client by choosing “Advanced - Subscribe to Podcast”.If you have questions, comments, criticisms, or just want to request a particular artist for us to play, please send them to us Clubside Podcast E-Mail

Cosmo

(update: the Clubside Breakfast Time Podcast has it’s own BLOG at Clubside Breakfast Time. All other posts previously at my old journal dealing with CBT Podcast will be posted over there.)

Podcasting enters adolescence . . .

condo — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 00:21:26 +0000

Entry #26“Apple is taking Podcasting mainstream by building it right into iTunes,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Podcasting is the next generation of radio, and users can now subscribe to over 3,000 free Podcasts and have each new episode automatically delivered over the Internet to their computer and iPod.” Podcasts are automatically downloaded to an attached iPod via a new set of iPod synchronization preferences. Users can choose to send only specific Podcasts to the iPod, and to download either all Podcasts or only those that have not yet been listened to. Apple will also release an update to the iPod firmware that puts a Podcast menu on the iPod, although this had yet to appear on the Apple Web site at time of writing.”

From PC Magazine Podcast Article - June 28th, 2005

Stay tuned for some big announcements. . . . .

Gnomedex

condo — Sun, 26 Jun 2005 00:20:48 +0000

Entry #25

Really getting into the swing of things at Gnomedex, which makes me feel the same kind of electricity felt when the whole Internet world started to take off. I can still remember when URLs were starting to get printed in newspapers, on product labels, and in advertisements, and how we were there from the beginning.

Now with RSS making it big, (here’s another link), and Podcasting reaching it’s first birthday, I feel that kind of excitement and *effervesance* that things are about to reach boiling. Hanging with industry leaders like Dave Winer and Marc Canter is a lot more fun and rewarding than the usual NANOG network-geek types we mingle with at the normal industry event. More interesting and more social too.

Here’s a picture of Dave being interviewed by Bre for his Videoblog.

The meat of the second day is starting, so I’ll just add a few links below for reference. Stay tuned!!!

Gnomedex

Gnomedex Photos stored at Flickr

Chillin’ on the West-si-eedah, for now . . .

condo — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 00:20:49 +0000

Entry #24

Been working hard, new DSL speeds up to 7Mbps, (at consumer prices), has us busy plotting, planning, and revising things at Zhonka now that DSL is cheaper AND faster than crappy Comcast.Just finished NANOG, where I met some cool guys from the various European Internet exchanges, and geeked out aplenty.

Heading to Gnomedex in three weeks, and off to Denver for Qwest sponsored sales rubdown, where I’m most definately going back to Casa Bonita, yeah! I went there once as a precocious young adolescent, and was amazed at the entire commercial MAGnitude and bulk-obscenity of it all, but it was great fun.

Yeah, I’m going to Casa Bonita! {Eric Cartman Voice}

Almost cut my hair, happened just the other day . . . .

condo — Mon, 13 Sep 2004 00:21:03 +0000

Entry #23

Well, actually, I did cut my hair, after more than a decade of being a natural longhair.

Here’s a before and a after shot from the Condo/Cat Cam.

Before	After

The first day I got my hair cut, the women started throwing much brighter smiles, and flirty comments.

I told my wife that there were two types of women in this world. Those that like guys with long hair, and those that don’t, and that now she has to worry about the other half of them trying to woo me. She laughed of course, which is always a “good thing”.

Always nice to . . . .

condo — Tue, 29 Jun 2004 00:20:03 +0000

Entry #22

read about myself in the local business press.

Outdoor What?

condo — Wed, 03 Sep 2003 00:20:57 +0000

Entry #21

I had a horrible stomach virus near the end of last month, which had me laid out most of late Thursday night and pretty much all of Friday. My beautiful wife got the bug, and is now reliving another bout of flu at the beginning of this month, poor girl. Thinking about all this intestinal woe, and it made me realize something about myself.

I am an “outdoor puker”. Simply put, if I’m sick, and I have to vomit, I like to do it outdoors. I don’t care about the weather; the colder, the better. I like the fresh air blowing against my face; refreshing me - reminding me that I will feel better in a matter of seconds, and that once I’m through with the current heaving process, I can relax and let the breeze evaporate the cold sweat that comes with especially violent intestinal purging. The last thing a sick person needs is to have his head inside a toilet, if they’re trying to feel better, right?

I don’t know exactly where this behavior comes from, but I can offer a few past behavioral suggestions from my past.

The first time I drank hard alcohol, I was maybe 11 years old, and visiting my friend Mike Rhino (sp?) in Petersburg, Alaska. I lived in Wrangell, Alaska at the time, so the trip was just a few hour ferry ride. We had nicked a few of his brother’s “airline bottles” of booze and headed out into the muskeg amongst the salmon berries and skunk cabbage. We drank an unfortunatly chosen mix of several of them, and after an hour or so, I was drunk (for the first time in my life) and we started to walk back to the trailer where he lived. I remember the dust, and the sun on dirt road, and thinking that I wasn’t feeling too good. Of course I puked my guts out and thereafter felt a little better. My friend and I hung out around his house, picking strange native plants, and burning them in a little fire we built, in a sort of ceremonial cleansing fumagation.

Of course when I was in high school, and after, around my hometown of Olympia, Washington, most of the partying was done outside, in the woods, fishing, hiking and such. Keg parties were held in Capitol forest, or at McPhee, a small area of undeveloped land comprising the neighborhood of what is now Capital Medical Center. Several summer parties were held there, with guys drinking cold bottles of “Vitamin R” from coolers, and throwing frisbees to the girls in their cutoff bluejean “shorts”.

I remember a camping trip, when after hiking 6 hours into the Olympic National Park, I drank too much scotch mixed with bad canned chili cooked over a campfire I found myself once again communing with the native plants. Of course I felt really good afterwards, so I looked at the stars and just enjoyed being alive.

During college at EWU, after a particularly late night of drinking, I had to take a test with a hangover on a cold wintery morning. After rushing through writing my answers in an official college “blue book” and handing them into the teacher, I went outside Patterson Hall and puked into the snow. I was always good at finishing tests early, but that day my speed was remarkable. I recall achieving a B-Minus on that test, but history was one of my easiest classes to excell.

Another example of when I drank too much and puked outside was when Alice and Chains played at Evergreen in August of 1992, when they played with Gruntruck during the APEX of the whole Grunge Rock (TM) explosion. I had managed to drink most of a bottle of Kahlua and was chasing it Coke(TM), a big mistake. Things came up quick and easy into a bush near “B” parking lot, I drank some water, and realized that puking had saved me from being too drunk to enjoy the show, which I then proceeded to do with gusto.

Anyway, I can’t think of any memborable experiences when I puked over toilets, a nasty experience from my recollection, so I always prefer to puke outside when I’m sick, preferrably in the woods or some other natural area. It always just seemed nicer.

Perhaps you just learned more than you wanted to know?

Plus ça Change, Plus C’est la même chose.

condo — Wed, 11 Jun 2003 00:20:11 +0000

Entry #20

I was riding as a passenger in a car up I-5 from Olympia to Seattle last week and since I’m usually driving, and don’t get much time as a passenger, It was kind of a treat. But while riding yesterday, on my way to another “failed dot-com” bankruptcy liquidation auction to check out the bargain computer and network gear, I couldn’t help but notice just how *pervasive* instant “location ignorant” mobile phone communications has become.

As I thought about the myriad soccer moms, pumpkin farmers, tradesman, surveyors, army rangers, goth chicks, homeboys, sales weasels, state welfare workers, and the numerous others I saw engaged in conversation with a disembodied voice emanating alternatively from their earbud speakers, hands-free units, and diverse miniature low-power handheld mobiles, I started to flashback and reminisce about the early days of cellular phone communications.

I thought about how just out of college in 1987, after having worked for a stint as a session worker for the Washington State Legislature, and a brief interlude with the heavily mismanaged and corrupt First Interstate Bank security services, working as a rent-a-cop bank guard in the main alarm center at the Rainier Bank HQ in Rainier Tower in downtown Seattle, I had a job working at the headquarters of USWest NewVector Group, a wholly owned baby-bell subsidiary that oversaw the USWest Cellular and USWest Paging brand names that had been newly created by Judge Harold Greene with his breakup decree splitting the former Ma Bell (AT&T) into the different Bell Operating Companies (BOC). This job had me dealing with wireless technology in it’s infancy, on the early fringes of sweeping technological changes that were now affecting what I was seeing on this normal uneventful trip to Seattle for business.

My memories faded back to the summer and fall and winter of 1987. I thought about the long days driving my car from Olympia to Bellevue and back each day to work. I thought of the head accountant at USWest Paging, who after discovering my technical prowess and usefulness, had me hired on as a “full time temporary”, and shared me with the fixed asset department of the USWest Cellular. I remember after being hired on as a “regular” employee, and being given one of those Motorola Brick Phones, which I carried in pocket. I also thought about the Motorola 6000, a top of the line mobile phone, which was later installed in my 1973 Volkswagen Superbeetle, and how because it was a phone that usually cost around $4,500 (or $450 monthly on a two-year lease) that I would get pulled over by cops and questioned, usually with some bullshit excuse, including more than once when the cop told me that as I was passing he couldn’t see my “garbage bag, which is required by law”, when questioned “Why have you pulled me over officer?” You see, I was (and still am) pretty protective of my civil and natural rights, and always insist on being granted full constitutional protection from unwarranted Police harassment.

I thought about those hazy (inside the car, not out) two-hour commutes I used to make, and how they were relaxing and infuriating at the same time. I thought about Day’s Grocery Quickymart, in Pacific along the West Valley HWY, and how back in 1987, before the Micro-Brewery craze, they had 101 different varieties of bottled beer, mostly imports, which I could pick up and chug down as I stopped in discreet places by the roadside to allow traffic to thin out.

I thought about the pace of technological pace back then, and how we all thought things were actually changing fast. Of course, since then we’ve been through three different generations of Wireless Phone Technologies. I laugh when I think of how people would have reacted if someone had told them that *ALL* wireless phones in the future would be handheld, and that they would send computerized pictures to other phones, or act as video conferencing systems. This was 1987, only a year after Microsoft had gone public, and the only time anybody said Microsoft back then, it was always followed or preceded by the words “IBM DOS”.

People would laugh now, at the price plans and coverage of the Cellular phone system of 1987, of course. If you drove more than 10 miles from your home city, it was almost a $1.00 a minute to roam, in addition to airtime fees, and long distance fees, which were substantial (~$0.25 - $0.60) as well.

Well, as the title of this entry says, Plus ça Change, Plus C’est la même chose.

My Sweet Wifey!

condo — Sat, 07 Jun 2003 00:20:34 +0000

Entry #19

I have the bestest wife in the whole world. Because I was so sick yesterday (it’s SOOO terrible to be sick when it is HOT outside), she brought me a home cooked lunch to eat at work today. Mmmm. Plus my medicines and some bottled water to keep me hydrated in this horrible weather. I hope she knows how much I love her for that.

On another note, I get my Second Degree from the Freemasons tonight, wish me luck.

Things I did the past few weeks. . .

condo — Sun, 18 May 2003 00:20:28 +0000

Entry #18

Some of them are weird.

Sitting in a family restaurant having dinner I heard a patron singing along to the piped-in muzak, which happened to be “Kiss’ - I Was Made For Lovin’ You Baby.”
Was told by a member of my most honorable and ancient fraternity, the Free and Accepted Masons, regarding an issue of bureaucratic red tape involving placing a sign on the Lodge in Olympia - “The City of Tumwater is an archaic institution”. I almost fell over laughing due to the irony
Purchased a new Olympus digital camera for my Wife, for mother’s day. It takes great pictures, short movie clips, and is small enough to be easily concealable.
Drank wine, ate salmon cream cheese dip on crackers and chinese BBQ pork all courtesy of Heritage Bank and the Olympia/Thurston Chamber of Commerce. A fine time was had by all in attendance.

More to come . . . .

Burning out the filth

condo — Tue, 08 Apr 2003 00:20:37 +0000

Entry #17
When driving through downtown this lunchtime on the way to a Mega-Lo-Supermarket in Lacey what won’t be named, I noticed the Apex grocery store, purveyor of fine pornographic materials and cheap beer was fully engulfed in flames with the OFD responding in full force to fight the fire.

After deciding that trying to negotiate the detour and continue on to Lacey was likely less enjoyable that checking out the flaming Olympia landmark, I decided to drive through the alley to the hated Ralph’s Thriftway, and parked on State in order to get a closer look.

The building was surrounded by a large amount of smoke, making the building visible from only one angle, by the USPS mailboxes near the 4th Ave entrance to Ralph’s. There were only two firemen actually fighting the fire that were visible from the angle Dave and I were viewing from, which was also the spot where several questionable people had gathered to watch the excitement. They didn’t seem much concerning with the attached house, which wasn’t burning, but it seemed they could be watering down the carport, just in case.

Assembled to watch the spectacle, there were a few white trash families, with offspring running as close to the police line as they could, inhaling the noxious fumes. There was also a few radically pierced and tattooed “biker dykes” nearby, who left shortly before the old neon sign, so much a fixture of the establisment, fell from the top to the entranceway to the ground below. There were a few goth types, and a strange looking man wearing cowboy boots, a small “cowboy-ish” straw hat, who had the most remarkable protruding proboscis.

A Ralph’s employee came out, to give away fresh oranges to the emergency workers, and one policeman was seen strutting as if he were “the cock of the walk” so to speak, after being given his portion of this small offering of fruit.

We left after watching for a few minutes, as the wind kept shifting and sending smoke near the crowd, so we thought it would be prudent to vacate. We’d seen enough anyway. At least we can say we were there.

A boring Monday it was not. . . .

Super Leech

condo — Wed, 02 Apr 2003 00:20:16 +0000

Entry #16

We’re moving some equipment and stuff into our (old/new) office and since our phone (or our phiber optic OC3) line hasn’t been installed yet, we’re leeching WiFi access from someone else in the building, who has a crappy bridge DSL connection to local Seattle ISP, Drizzle. We’ll have our own DSL installed about a week after the phone line goes in, which was supposed to be today, but will probably not happen until tomorrow or the next day.

But due to the free WiFi, I’m able to get online, work, and even run an 81kbps audio stream from the UW NPR station, which is cool.

People *really* should use encryption.

Another weird day.

condo — Thu, 27 Mar 2003 00:20:52 +0000

Entry #15

I got up this morning, showered and put on my tartan tie. Then I headed down to the State Capitol, where I needed to be in order to attend a meeting between State Senate Telecommunications Committee staffers, Public Utility District representatives, Telecom lobbyists and ISP lobbyists. The focus of the meeting was to be clarifications to the law that allowed PUDs to wholesale data services over their fiber optic networks, allowing ISPs to take advantage of an “open network” that would remain non-discriminatory in their business practices. The original law stated that PUDs could only sell to wholesalers, and not “end users”, but some of them have a different interpretation of the law, and have been directly competing with ISPs and Telcos for customers using dubious inter-local agreements between municipalities and other entities.

After parking on the diag, I walked across campus to the Cherberg Office Building, where the meeting was to be held. Before I could get into the building, however, I noticed a small group of police talking to some crunchy hippie type people near the entrance to the old State Library. The people were there as part of an anti-war protest, and had used Kryptonite bike locks, placed around their necks to make a human chain, and had affixed themselves to one of the entrace doors above the fountain. The police seemed to be talking to them, but otherwise they didn’t seem to be causing any distraction. I believe they had just been discovered, and the majority of additional protesters (supporters) had not yet showed up. Having a meeting to go to, I walked to the entrance near the sundial (the only one open, due to increased security), and was told they building was “in lock down, we can’t let anyone in without an ID badge.” Of course, I didn’t just turn around, I asked them “What about my meeting, I’m supposed to be in hearing room 2 at 10:00 for the PUD meeting?” One of the security guards said “Oh, yeah, I think that’s ok then.” And they let me in.

Proceeding into the hearing room, where approximately three dozen others were taking seats, I noticed a police car arrive and park, (blocking three cars) near the window. As the meeting wore on, the shouts and sporadic chants of the crowd grew thunderous. A few minutes later, we hear someone scurrying about in the staff section of the hearing room, and I determine that the security guard is closing and locking windows. Apparently they waited to secure the windows during their “lockdown” until the warning was given that the police may use pepper spray to try and get the protesters to break up.

All throughout the meeting, I could see additional police arrive, and Legislative staffers were gathering on the stairway landings of the portable temporary building that houses the House and Senate while the Legislative building is under repair and renovation following last year’s earthquake.

As my meeting adjourned, I went outside to take a closer look, and to observe the actions and tactics of the police in this matter. I noticed that a large crowd of protesters (with signs and handouts) had gathered near the sundial to help support the seven or so who had locked themselves to the building.

The police had acquired a large “dremmel” type rotary tool, with what was probably a diamond tipped cutting disk. They proceeded to cut the bike locks off from the necks of protesters, one by one, as sparks showered directly onto the heads of the protesters. A few shouts from the crowd and the police provided a wool blanket to shield them. People were still heckling the police, my favorite comment from one of the protesters being, “Hey, we’ve also got some people who stole the election, and are illegally occupying the White House, can you go and remove them too?”

Soon after that, I hear a request emanating from near the police crowd who are nearly surrounding the protesters that had yet to been unchained, “we need water!”.

One local Olympia punker, riding a bicycle, threw their water bottle up there, thinking they’d done some good for the protester, their fellow human being.

The result of this humanitarian gesture? The police used the water to cool the shaft of the overheating cutting tool. I could tell the protester felt used by the police.

I didn’t see the need to remove these people, they weren’t blocking, were on the State Capitol grounds, (a traditional place of protests), and they weren’t harming themselves, nor could they harm others, considering they couldn’t even move. I’m sure they would have left within a few hours after lunch, as it wouldn’t have been comfortable in that position. Of course, I also don’t see the point of protesting at the State Senate, who has no power to decide these matters.

I am worried about the country I live in, and its future. And I’m worried that I have to be worried.

War Begins; A Remembrance of Peace Through Individual Action

condo — Mon, 17 Mar 2003 00:20:46 +0000

Entry #14
I’m just writing to express my abhorence to find out about the death of fellow Evergreen student and Olympia native peace activist Rachel Corrie in Israeli occupied Gaza. For years I have held a strong belief that Israel regularly violates human rights by destroying homes of political enemies and suspected militants.I remember reading several years ago about how a woman had lost her son to political extremism. Her son had been recruited by the Hamas militia to act as a suicide bomber against Israel. Even though she and her family were peace loving, soon after the bombing, the Israeli government bulldozed her home, as a warning to other Palestinians to not oppose the marginalization and occupation that has become their existence since 1949. This was done without any warning or chance to argue their case in front of a judge, and without remuneration of any kind. This is a standard tactic used by the IDF in the Israeli/Palistinian conflict, which I have seen repeated time and time again over the years.

Violence begets violence and creates divisions between peoples, destroying the social fabric of community and brotherhood that characterizes our advanced civilization. To destroy the home of your enemy, without any due process of law, or oversight of any kind, is the basest form of hatred and abomination against mankind.

Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day, and U.S. President George Bush, Jr. appears poised to open the pandora’s box which may bring on World War Three, as he attacks Iraq at a time when stability in the Middle East is at an all time low.

Besides St. Patrick, who’s story is one of bringing the message of the unity of mankind, brotherly love and community to Ireland, I am reminded of St. Godric. the story of both of these men’s lives has had a positive impact on my life, my values and my attitute toward how we should treat our fellow human beings, whether they are like us or not. Gandi, Buddha, and others come to mind, too. Now, due to the death of a 23 year old local women that I didn’t really know, I have one more role model to remind me how to live a better life, promote non-violence and hopefully help to create a better world, and a livable future.

From: Godfather
Tue Apr 15, 2003 @ 1:49 pm

Nice piece on Rachel. I am planing to go to Gaza in late August til early september and then go to the MPA degree program. Sadly, since you wrote this, two other members of the ISM have been shot in the head. I’m sure you are aware of the reported circustances surrounding these war crimes. It seems the old USA is not in favor of world democracy just our brand in our country. Otherwise, we ould stay in the UN and act like a member not the ruler. On it goes….

The Old Alma Mater(s)

condo — Fri, 28 Feb 2003 00:20:49 +0000

Entry #13
Even though I started College in 1984 at Evergreen, I’m still not done yet! I only went to Evergreen for one quarter that year, then transferred to Eastern Washington University.

At EWU I lived the usual dorm life, drinking beer, smoking pot, going to classes every day, etc. I was glad to get away from Olympia and the seeming stagnation that I had created for myself there as a young lad. I loved the snow that blanketed the campus the day I showed up. I was not yet admitted, with no place to stay for the night, but I was thrilled at the prospect of a new beginning. It was the first Week in January 1985, and I was ready to take the world by the horns and ride.

I was able to get admitted, registered for classes, and assigned a dorm room in one day of futzing about the campus’ main building, Showalter Hall. Since I had arrived without notice, I ended up with a double room in the Morrison Hall Dorm, but no roomate for the first week. When a roomate was finally assigned, he turned out to be a foreign student from mainland China, and was frequently apologetic for disturbing me when he was in the room. I was normally just watching TV, or looking out the dorm window, and he wanted to study, but he just couldn’t get it in his head that the room was HIS too, and he could study if he wanted. He spent a lot of time at the library, and at a fellow Chinese student’s apartment. When he was about in the room, he was frequently leaving because he was a chain smoker, and smoking was only allowed on the “Adult Student” floor which was the 8th and highest floor in our building. He moved out after only about a week, and I ended up with the room for the entire quarter but didn’t have to pay extra. The following quarters I decided I’d like a single room, (thereby setting my pattern of not wanting roomates invading my private space) and ponied up an extra $100/qtr, and was moved from the 5th to the 7th floor.

To get by my first year, I worked a variety of work study jobs, including working through the ranks at Tawanka the student cafeteria. I started as a slop line (dirty dishes) worker, and quickly worked my way up to picking clean dishes from the machine and placing them in the “trucks” and “trays” and “baskets” to put them back out for the hungry masses. I moved on to burger flipper, hashbrown cook, and even worked the delivery line from time to time, which meant I could flirt with all the cute girls. I eventually snagged the coveted post of Busboy, whose duties didn’t include any work in the kitchen, but instead consisted of walking around the dining area making sure there were enough clean dishes and glasses, etc. out for the crowds of students that would come to dinner every night. It was a job that allowed me to be very social, and talk to my friends and fellow students as I worked. Other duties included replacing the 5 gallon boxes of milk in the dispensers when they ran dry, and bringing ice cream up from the freezer when the large tubs would become empty.

One night, the “Rock Dogs”, a couple of guys who lived near my dorm, and had a 70’s Hard Rock radio show on the campus Radio Station (Which has gone from College Radio to Jazz, it appears), and I schemed to steal a tub of ice cream for nepharious purposes. It was getting close to summer, and we decided to try and beat the heat that was getting to us. On duty that night, I went downstairs to get a new tub for the dining area, and placed a fresh new 5 gallon tub of strawberry near the loading dock, which they picked up as they left. That night, they dedicated the Van Halen song Ice Cream Man to me, to commemorate the party we had. Bong hits and ice cream was had by all!! Near the end of my first year, I was working an early shift (5:30-9:00) as bakery support, but I missed a shift the week before finals, because I was up late at a party, and forgot I had work the next day. I was suspended (fired) from my work study job, but happy to finally have some free time to study instead of working the last week of the quarter.

Another Day, Another Dollar. . . .

condo — Fri, 28 Feb 2003 00:20:42 +0000

Entry #12
Or is that about 100 Dollars, straight down the toilet, with no more coming in. Oh well enough pessimism.I don’t know what to write about today, so I won’t say much.

I am continually amazed at the weirdness and intolerance of our current Federal administration (Read: Wrinkly Old Men and a Cheerleading Kennebunkport Boy), and I notice Ashcroft has put his foot in a pile of shit again. This is the same guy who a year ago had the statue of Lady Justice inside the Justice Department in Washington, D.C. clothed because of his prudish tendancies. Now he has decided that despite all the courts ruling to the contrary, you can’t sell pipes and waterpipes if you appear to be a hippy. Of course this is the same guy behind the FBI witchhunt that has targeted a generation of male Muslim immigrants, punishing them harshly and holding them without due process of law, or even the most basic rights of a defendant in a court of law. All of this justified? by procedural violations of the law regarding their entry visa forms that were filled out when they entered this country. These people may hold views different to ours, they may even wish the United States great harm. If Great Britain had done this during the Revolutionary War after the first “Patriots” started rabble rousing in the colonies, we’d all be drinking Tea instead of coffee, and paying Homage to the Right Honorable Queen Elizabeth II, instead of electing our own leaders. We’d also probably have already fought that impending war, the great clash of the worlds’ three major religions that looms so threatening above our society, like the mythological Sword of Damocles, dangling precipitously from a single thread. If we could only just take the pinking shears away from GW and his coven of evangelical cronies.

Old TV

condo — Sun, 16 Feb 2003 00:20:50 +0000

Entry #11
While watching an episode of 70’s brit-tv show Fawlty Towers, I just remembered two other 70’s shows that I’d love to see on DVD or at least back on the air. They were both Norman Lear shows that pushed the envelope, and were a little ahead of their time. Both were extremely funny, but canceled out of fear from the networks that they went too far. They would have been huge hits, if FOX had been around back in 1975. One was called “Hot L Baltimore” (The E in the neon sign had burned out), about a seedy hotel with hookers and other scummy city dwellers, living in a rat infested downtown flophouse hotel. It had that “Night Court” ensemble feel to it, but was a too controversial.The other was “All That Glitters” about a gender backward urban 1970’s, which was real trippy. The women were in charge, and the men were all whiny little bitches. Kind of a total mind freakout.I hope they make it onto DVD someday. Norman, are you listening?

Masonic Initiation

condo — Sun, 09 Feb 2003 00:20:41 +0000

Entry #10

I’m just leaving a quick note to say that yesterday, February 8th, 2003, my petition to join the Olympia #1 Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons was read in lodge and I have been accepted into the local Blue Lodge, where I’ll now begin my degree work. I won’t give the details here, but suffice to say I expended more effor than normal in my journey to become a Freemason. If you are interested in this, or in what it is all about, feel free to ask me in person.

The worm turns.

condo — Tue, 28 Jan 2003 00:20:55 +0000

Entry #9

Last week’s internet worm, which overloaded computers running Microsoft’s SQL server, caused 13,000 bank machines owned by Bank of America to malfunction, and generally overwhelmed Internet backbones worldwide reminded me of the very first Internet Worm and it’s creator, Robert Tappan Morris and how any sense of security we have in computers, or in our own existence and daily life in general is unfounded.

While my own experience with last Friday’s worm was limited to a quick troubleshoot, call to my colo provider (who was having BIG problems), and remote fix from the comfort of my king size bed, I realize that many system administrators (most of them with far less brain capacity and skill that I esteem myself to possess) spent much of Friday night and Saturday working to get their systems working, under control, patched and back online. Poor slobs.

But the real message in my mind is how lucky we are every day. Although wars, hunger and plague kill millions every year, there is some good news. The sun hasn’t exploded, no giant asteroid has hit the Earth in epochs, people aren’t burning to crisps from radiation storms created by giant sunspots, giant gaping continental rift volcanos haven’t opened up and swallowed the majority of civilization. Because of the Internet and the unprecedented ease of communication it brings, we are experiencing a renaissance of knowledge unparalleld since western civilization heaved itself up from underneath the oppressive dogma of the Catholic Church.

People need to learn that life, security and prosperity are tenous things, never realized by the majority of souls that have walked this Earth, and that we should never trade freedoms for a phantom increase in security. Community and brotherhood are the watchwords we should be concerned with, not security and defense. These watchwords stand for values that create a much better world for all than any search for security from other people(s), whether they be different or seemingly threatening. Do what you can to spread them, and the values they represent.

A simple list

condo — Fri, 24 Jan 2003 00:20:11 +0000

Entry #8
This week I’ve been;

Working with Qwest to get our T3 for DSL access active so we can take customers
Supervising work on our webpage
Debugging and hardening security on about 10 Windows 2000 servers
Doing research for my class at Evergreen, for which I have to write a paper detailing why the U.S. shouldn’t force its own values on the International Monetary Fund
Negotiating with the landlord on our former and future office
Assembling and programming Web based management tools for our operational support systems (OSS)
Trying to keep peace at home, even though my entreprenuerial startup company could easily take 16 hours a day of time
Stocking up on good high quality food stuffs, and keeping my kitchen clean
Drinking a bit too much coffee, mayhaps. . .

Unbelievable progress. . . . .

condo — Sat, 18 Jan 2003 00:20:22 +0000

Entry #7
I made unbelievable progress today, on projects that looked like they would end up screwing up my whole day, if not the weekend.Heading up to Seattle at 7:15 AM in order to move our servers from the 18th floor of the Westin building to the 32nd floor, we experienced beautiful weather, smooth traffic, even though there was a heavy five-O presence on the freeway. We had a beautiful view of the sunrise and the mountains, and a pot of fresh coffee and other refreshments.

We had to move from an open rack to a closed cabinet upstairs at the data center because of our impending DSL access loop T3 installation. We arrived at 8:45, and had to wait about 10 minutes because the COLO center techs hadn’t arrived yet. After identifying an open rack, and telling us it was ok to move, the COLO center techs furiously went about dropping a T3 and Ethernet cable in our rack.

Unbelievably, our mission went well and we had the equipment moved and mounted, reconfigured and online before noon. Moving this much networking and server equipment inevitably means you’re going to have some horrible thing go wrong, making your work four times more difficult and lengthly that you planned.

After a nice cruise back to OlyWa, I checked the router to see if the COLO tech had finished running my T3 cable, and plugged it in. To my amazement, it was plugged in and running, and I was able to get the installation tech to configure a loopback PVC, and ran the circuit through a few successful transmission tests.

So let’s recap;

1) Beautiful Weather, Nice Commute to Seattle. 2) Quicker than planned work, no problems. 3) T3 installed without undue delay from qwest. 4) Good drive back, arrived before scheduled. 5) A good time was had by all.

That’s a combination that hasn’t come up often in my life lately, but I’m willing to take whatever I can get, gladly.

Business, Business, Busy as a Bee . . . . .

condo — Tue, 14 Jan 2003 00:20:04 +0000

Entry #6
I’m starting off my busy business week with a journal entry, because I’ve got so much on the table, I’ll probably not see light of day until Friday.Today I’m meeting with our former landlord and am going to talk to him about renting our old office, which is being vacated later this month. It would be a real coup to get that office as we start the new business, as it is already wired for fiber optic capacity up to 150Mpbs (OC3) level, and can easily be upgraded to Gigabit capacity. We need a local data center if we’re going to get colocation customers in Olympia, so it would be really cool. It would be kind of weird working there, what with all that has happened since we sold the business. Kinda of a complete Karmic circle, I suppose.

Today is also the start of the 105 day legislative session, which is being housed in the portable chambers because of the legislative building being closed for renovation and earthquake retrofitting. Since they can’t have a joint session of the two houses in the Capitol builing, they’re going to hold it at the Gymnasium at St. Martin’s College in Lacey tomorrow, so that Governor Locke can give his annual ‘State of the State’ address, which I’m planning on attending. That kind of thing is always fun.

I’m also supposed to find time to write an e-mail and send it to all 149 state legislators, offering them my assistance and expertise on political, technical and regulatory issues facing Internet business and users. The impetus behind this action being the truism that “government policy is decided by those how show up”, which I learned before I was even old enough to vote.

Of course that is in addition to the homework I’m supposed to do for my class at evergreen, but I’ll have to squeeze that in later. Reminder to myself; I have to remember to go to TESC and buy my last textbook.

I still haven’t heard from the Freemasons yet, on the status of my petition to Join the lodge. I had to deliver a second one to them after the first one I gave them (back in August 2002) was misplaced. It has been almost four weeks since then, and the Lodge Secretary told me he was anxious to read it in Lodge and take action on it, which makes me wonder about the additional delays.

I better get to work now, since it’s going to be such a long day.

Martha Stewart (not a true Stewart, since she married into that name, and has long since divorced her husband) is on TV right now talking about tulip bulbs from the Netherlands, which she is continually calling ‘Holland’. I notice the bulbs she brought back with her are in little brown paper bags, with varietal names written in sharpie on the top of the bag. Odd that they don’t have the proper US Customs agricultural import inspection sticker on them, which *MUST* be done in NL before you take the bulbs out of the country, or else US Customs inspectors will not let them enter the country. I wonder how she got around that requirement ? ? ?

Damnation

condo — Thu, 09 Jan 2003 00:20:04 +0000

Entry #5
I’ve been having a tough time this week.

First, I get a notice from Evergreen stating I’ve been “disenrolled” from class, because I didn’t pay by the deadline. Since I went to their webpage and tried to verify registration and was told “Your Registration Slot is January 8th”, I assumed I had until then to pay. WRONG! I guess I should pay more attention, but I only have “special student” status anyway, which is just a fancy term for “part-time”, and my class is only one weekend a month (when most of the campus offices are closed) so I’m not participating in the usual student experience, and have missed a few things.

Also, I thought my paper was due today (the 8th), but really it was due on the 6th, with a response to another classmates paper due today. Since the class hasn’t even yet met for the quarter, I’m thinking they’ll excuse the fact that it’s two days late.

Next, I get what appears to be a solication call last night due to extremely long pause between my saying hello and someone on the other end resonding, (long pause, *click*, “er, Hello, Mr. Stewart?”). I find out it’s Qwest, so I tell them I don’t want to buy whatever new phone feature they’re selling, and hang up. It rings again, and the lady says, “Mr. Stewart, I’m not trying to sell you anything, I just wanted to tell you that your phone is scheduled for disconnection unless you pay your bill soon.” Doh, I forgot. OK, so I tell her “thanks for the warning”, and let her go, thinking that since they warned me that they’d actually give me at least 24 hours to pay. Wrong again! I pick up my phone this morning to make a call, and no dialtone. Just an annoying repeating click, click, click.

A Brief Interlude

condo — Tue, 07 Jan 2003 00:20:38 +0000

Entry #4
After my last rambling post, I thought I’d post a brief followup regarding the tendency toward airport security fascism. Apparently, Illusionist Penn (of Penn and Teller), met with a hassle when recently flying out of Las Vegas, and he has posted an account of his experience on his weblog.Credit being due where it is due, I originally found this link on Adam Curry’s Weblog.

This brings to mind another interesting thought. I told a friend of mine about my journal, and he said “So you’re blogging, now?” To which I could only answer “Yes, I guess I am.” This is a pretty scary thought, because I never thought of myself as blogging, but I guess that’s kind of what I’m doing, even though I have only associated that description with what Macintosh Weirdos do. I am definately “keeping an online journal, using open database connectivity standards, with a backend SQL database, based on PHP active scripting.” But Blogging? Hmm, begrudingly, I guess I admit that I am. . . .

Ignorant Americans

condo — Tue, 31 Dec 2002 00:20:49 +0000

Entry #3
I hate ignorant people. Unfortunately, the ignorance level runs around 80-90% in America, what with people being more interested in the next Terminator movie, or who is matched up in the next Wrestlemania Smackdown! than in what is going on in International current affairs.Some examples.1) Senator Patty Murray (Wa-D) is currently being vilified on the talk radio programs, in newspaper editorials, and in numerous vicious letters to the editor in the local press. An example in our local paper, the Daily Olympian will provide some horribly glaring examples. One writer actually suggests that this sitting U.S. Senator should be tried for treason for making a blatantly unpatriotic speech! Senator Murray gave a speech to high school students and told them that Osama Bin Laden is well liked in other countries and by other cultures, and that the U.S. should try to understand why the world viewed us harshly because we enforce our U.S. Foreign policy through unilateral militarism and support for militaristic and dictatorial regimes. She didn't support him, or make apologies for what he did, she condemned him, but challenged students to think about the whole issue on a global basis, rather than from a U.S.-Centric point of view.2) This latest brouhaha reminds me of another seemingly inane debate brought up in the local papers ten years ago, when another George Bush was in the white house. I was living in Anchorage, Alaska at the time and a local veteran's group was protesting an art exhibit in a local gallery. The controversial exhibit, entitled What is the Proper Way to Display a U.S. Flag? was basically a guestbook on a podium, which the artist wanted viewers to sign, but in order to get to the book, then had to step on, and walk across an American flag that had been laid out like a rug in front of the podium. Dozens of letters condemned the artist, and some members of the veterans group actually stole the flag a few times in order to "stop the desecration of the flag that so many had sacrificed their lives for." Letter writers suggested that the Artist be arrested for everything from desecration of the flag to obscenity to treason. Eventually the controversy died down, but thinking back on it reminded me of the shame and hopelessness I feel when a Republican sits in the presidency.

3) Another example of the swinging pendulum of lost freedoms in America is airport security. Two days after my wedding last year, I was in the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport seeing my stepdaughter off on her flight back to California after she'd flown up for the wedding. Since I'd been stuck in the airport the night before due to an incident involving some spilled non-dairy creamer in the airplane galley I'd brought my camera to take some pictures and kill some time. The night before, one of the flight crew noticed some spilled creamer and thought it might be anthrax and had the plane met by hazmat and emergency crews. They held the passengers after the plane landed until they searched and "cleared" the plane, but by that time, the pilots had been on duty too long, and they needed to cancel the next leg of the flight out due to work rules.

While waiting for the flight in the unsecured portion of the airport (they won't let you down to the departure gates anymore, since only ticketed passengers can now pass through the metal detectors that lead to the flight gates) we had been taking pictures with my digital camera of our daughter and various other interesting things in the airport. Since this was only six weeks after the New York City terrorist attacks, there were marching groups of National Guard members, and a generally execessive police presence.

Since I'd had to wait over two hours in the over-priced airport bar the night before, basically twiddling my thumbs (the only open establishment in the airport that's NOT in the secure concourse areas) we sat around taking pictures and laughing. At this time, NOBODY took notice of us, or seemed to have issues with what we were doing, even though there were literally dozens of police everywhere we went in the airport.

While my wife was escorting my daughter to the gate (she's under 12, and needed to handed off directly to the flight staff), I strolled out to the departure drive, where passengers are dropped off with their luggage to get some fresh air. When I arrived, I noticed large line of police cars lining the drive, as if to block off the first lane to keep people from parking cars to close to the terminal. I decided to take a picture, and see if could get the camera settings adjusted for outside pictures with flash, so I lined up and framed a shot of the drive, and "click", pressed the shutter button. As I did so, the camera flashed, and I noticed a police officer was cruising by on his bicycle, basically driving right into my shot. He noticed the flash, jumped off his bicycle and screamed "Did you just take a picture of me?"

Being sure I had done nothing illegal, and had nothing to fear from this "peace" officer, I calmly said "Yes, I think you rode into my shot, is that a problem?"

Here's the Photograph

He replied "That's a big problem, why did you take my picture?"

I proceeded to explain to him that I was not trying to take his picture, just a picture of the drive. I also explained that I was in public, in an unsecured area of the airport, and that I thought I was within my legal rights to take pictures, which I had been doing for over 45 minutes, in and around the airport, without anyone telling me I shouldn't, and asked him if he felt I was wrong. Upon asking for identification I gave him my U.S. Passport, to which he replied it wasn't a good enough ID (even though the U.S. Passport is *the* most offical ID you can carry in this country), I was told I had to give him my driver's license, so he could run me for warrants.

After he cleared my ID, he started in with a barrage of contradictory statements, such as stating that I could be a foreign national, or a terrorist, (I had already given him my U.S. Passport??) The he stated he was undercover, (In full Police Gear, with a reflective "Police" embroidered on the back of his blue police coat with police department logo on his shoulder, on his bike marked "Police") and that I could jeopardize his work if I published his picture. I pointed out the obvious flaws in his statements, but he would just bark our some other ridiculous allegations, with me effectively refuting each one with logic and truth. He was getting pretty agitated, so I told him I thought he just needed to calm down, that there was nothing to be worked up about and again reiterated that I thought I had done nothing illegal, and unless he was prepared to suggest otherwise, I really didn't want to talk to him anymore, and could I go now please? He started in with some nonsense about possible trespassing, but I stated that I had been there to drop someone off, and was waiting for my wife to return from the gate, and unless he was prepared to ask me to leave, officially, then trespassing couldn't apply. He mumbled something about how things have changed, and I have to give up freedoms for security now. I then stated that I didn't think anything had changed that would warrant me giving up my freedom, and that as far as I knew, since I had done nothing illegal, could I please go now?

Capitulating, he said, "well ok, I've got your information, just don't go taking pictures of any of my friends."

I guess I should have just walked away and let him think he'd done his part to increase security in this "War on Terrorism" age we're living in, but as I was walking away from him and back into the terminal to wait for my wife, I said, "Well, that might be hard, since I don't know who your friends are."

At that point, he came racing back down the ramp from the terminal drive to the inside of the terminal itself, and said, "OK, I'm going to have to get some more information out of you know, I've determined that you're a 'security risk', so you're no longer free to go." He called for backup and started to barrage me with more questions.

"Who are you here to drop off?", "What flight are they taking?", "What's their name?", "Did you drive here?", "Where is your car?" He asked me in rapid fire.

At this point, being completely fed up with this muscle-bound, possibly steroid-juiced seriously aggressive cop, I told him. "I think you are getting too agitated, I think you should call your supervisor before you make a mistake. I'm not resisting you, but since I haven't done anything illegal, I don't think you have the right to arrest me. I know I don't have to answer your questions, and I'd rather not talk to you because of your aggressive attitude toward me."

After some backup officers showed up, (a twenty-ish young fresh faced kid, who actually looked like a cadet, and an older Seattle police officer, who had seen me earlier, and the night before when the Mariners playoff game was playing in the airport lounge), they continued to ask me questions, stating that I "had to comply by answering or I would be arrested, physically assualted and taken in handcuffs to jail." Again and again I asserted my right to not answer their questions, and again and again I was threatened with "being taken down hard if you don't answer our questions" and was told "We've already made the decision to arrest you, it's just a matter of whether we throw you down to the ground and make it rough". The younger cop (airport security?) was especially gleeful in making numerous threats to me. I again stated that I had no obligation to answer his questions without a lawyer, and that I had not been placed under arrest, and that I was not resisting or acting agressive in any way, and had not been asked to leave, which a prerequisite for a trespassing charge in this state, and that I did indeed have legimate business in the airport, although I didn't think that I could answer any questions until they had their supervisor (lieutenant?) show up, which I suggested would keep them from making a very large mistake.

Fearing that they would close down the entire airport, thereby delaying my daughter's flight for ANOTHER day, I finally capitulated to tell them ONLY which flight she was on, and her name, so they could check to see if I was telling the truth. The first officer (Officer Schmid, of the Seattle Police Department), who's picture I had taken, immediately walked over to the airline ticket counter and confirmed my information. At this time, the younger backup office continued to threaten my with physical violence, and again I pointed out that I was standing on my rights, and that I had broken no laws and was not resisting. he continued to argue that I was under an obligation to obey a direct police order, even a request for information, and that they would "take me down hard" and take me to jail if I didn't answer his questions. At this point, I calmly asked him to back away from me, because I was fearing for my safety with his behavior, and pointed out again that I was not resisting and again told him I would speak only with a supervisory police officer.

At this time, a higher ranking older gray-haired Seattle Police officer showed up and told them to back away a little. (I'm sure he could see that I was NOT presenting any physically threatening body language, and indeed, had placed my arms behind the glass railing I was leaning back against, in order to appear submissive and non-threatening.

The supervisor was told by the older of the backup officers that had seen me in the airport the night before. "He was here doing the same thing here last night." This was a complete fabrication, as I had not brought my camera, and sat quietly in the bar for over two hours watching mind-numbing baseball (which I consider insidiously boring) and milking a double vodka and a basket of french fries (16$).

The original officer had returned, after confirming that I had dropped off a passenger by the name I had given them, and that all seemed to check out. The supervisor decided it would be best to "escort" me, (with two large officers grabbing each of my arms, and a third wrenching my camera off my neck), to the "holding room", where the original officer, (Officer Schmid), decided he was going to start to play nicey-nice, and said he wouldn't arrest me. He said that he'd just "document the incident" for the security files, and have me sign a trespass warning, stating that I understand that I could be prosecuted for trespassing if I was in the airport without being there to either meet a plane, or if I was *myself* a passenger on an outgoing flight. He even said he'd check the box on the form that said it was an "advisory" rather than an "asked to leave for trespassing" warning. He acknowledged that I did indeed have a right to take pictures in the airport, but that "things have changed" and that I'd better be more careful. Again I told him that I disagreed, and that nothing had changed that would affect my lawful rights.

Upon escorting me back to the main terminal, he also offered to have my wife paged I couldn't find her, since I'd been detained for over thirty minutes by him.

4) The next item on my list is just basically in indictment of the actions of the current white house and pentagon leadership. The old Reaganite "Hawks" brought out of retirement to help Bush the younger "finally deal with Saddam and his outlaw regime". Of course I'm talking about Rumsfield, Ashcroft, Poindexter, and the rest of the "black ops" fixtures of decades gone by. They continually portray this "war on terrorism" as if these particular Islamic extremists are a serious threat to our country's existence.

COME ON! These guys are Wile E. Coyote, Daffy Duck-ish, cartoon enemies, seemingly getting what arms they didn't get directly from the CIA in Afghanistan from the ACME catalog! The Al-Qaeda terrorist training manual touted by the U.S. intelligence community as "proof" of their sophistication and threat level, is written at about an eigth grade level. More dangerous books on explosives and guerilla and terrorist operating techniques can be garnered from any local library with an archive of "Soldier of Fortune" magazines, or ordered from Loompanics. I mean, after decades of work and hatred against the U.S., the best these guys can muster is an occasional attack on a ship in the Persian Gulf, a bombing of a marine barracks in Saudi Arabia, bombings of civilian embassies in two large african cities, and one seemingly well planned and coordinated hijacking plan that tragically managed to take almost 3,000 lifes. As horrible and tragic as that event was, I believe it's pretty much the best they'll ever muster on American soil. If I was working in the Pentagon, I'd definately spend more of the anti-terrorism budget watching subversive American White Separatist Militia groups that these Arab clown warriors. Calling Al-Qaeda a serious threat to America is a complete and utter fabrication! Saying IRAQ has weapons of mass destruction, and therefore are a threat to freedom, completely ignores the fact that dozens of other countries, (some more actively embroiled in conflict with neighbors, such as Israel, India, Pakistan) have actual NUCLEAR weapons, the Grand-Daddy of all weapons of mass destruction. Shit, FRANCE has weapons of mass destruction, and we all know how unpredictable the French can be.

If we really believed in taking down oppressive dictatorial regimes by military force and replacing them with democracies, why aren't we starting in Saudi Arabia, long known for cruel and oppressive denial of women's rights, and of complete suppression of religious freedom. Its illegal for a woman in Saudi Arabia to be in the presence of a man other than her husband or her brother, or she can be charged with Prostitution. Its illegal for groups of foreigners to meet in private, in order to prevent any religous ceremonies or worship taking place, except officially sanctioned Islamic worship.

It is this damnable officially sanctioned Royal Saudi Wahhabi fundamentalist sect of Islam that is exporting the hatred and intolerance of other religions that fosters the attitudes in the middle east and southern Asia that fosters terrorism against Western society. Why are we attacking IRAQ again?

5) The average American doesn't know anything about world affairs, the politics or history of nations, multi-national organizations (other than that the president says the UN is baaa-aaad) because they don't get any good, thorough, objective news reporting. One last item that demonstrates how ignorant we are about world affairs in this country including the established press, is an experience I personally had while traveling in the Netherlands last spring. I had arranged to take another trip to Europe as a "second honeymoon", in order to visit Scotland and some other northern European countries we had not visited on our first trip the previous fall. Being an extremely avid follower of foreign news, including political news, I was delighted to be in Europe during the election season. The fall before on my trip to Ireland, I was traveling through their country right as the new "Good Friday" goverment sharing agreement was facing it's first real crisis. This time however, I would be privy to both the French and the Dutch elections, which were starting to generate considerable controversy. Radicals such as France's Jean-Marie LePen and Austrian Jorg Haider had been attracting much attention in the press.

Also, a new rising star in Dutch politics was making a large splash with his populist message. Pim Fortuyn, the always elegantly dressed, articulately opinionated, and controversial politician was threatening in the opinion polls to take almost 30% of the seats in Dutch Parliament with his newly formed political party. While I was in Amsterdam, a most uncharacteristic thing happened in the Netherlands. An aminals-rights activist, who has yet to state why he did what he did, gunned down Fortuyn in cold blood, as he left a radio station after performing an interview. That night, as I walked across Dam Square to make it back to my hotel, I smelled the strong oder of wax burning and saw between 200 and 300 people starting to congregate a vigil of remembrance for the slain politician. Hundreds of candles were lit in his memory. The Vigil lasted for the next two nights.

As I read the Dutch papers and learned about this maverick, appealing, straight-talking politician, and compared the known facts against what was being printed in the American and British press about this leader, I became appalled.

American and British news sources continually referred to Fortuyn as a racist, neo-facist politician along the lines of Haider and Le Pen. They derided him, calling him "far-right", frequently making sweeping, erroneous statements about his proposed policies and views, without providing any factual basis for them.

But what I heard and was reading locally did not jibe with what the British and American people were being told in the press. I was reading about an intelligent, tolerant, OPENLY GAY politician, who recognizing that the current state of Dutch politics was faltering and that flawed imigration policy was creating serious cultural divisions and large unacknowledged problems in Dutch society. He just wanted to rethink the open and liberal immigration policies as how it's application was changing Dutch Society for the worse. In much the same way as the immigrants applying for U.S. citizenship are given courses on freedom, rights, laws, and their obligations as good citizens, Fortuyn wanted immimgration policies to address things such as, freedom of religion, women's rights, tolerance and non-discrimination of homosexuals, BEFORE letting people into the country who's views were incompatible with life in Dutch society. Do these sound like the policiesof a "far-right, neo-fascist"?

Having been abroad, I can vouch, The Netherlands is a small VERY DENSELY populated country. They are taking far MORE than their fair share of refugees from the Islamic countries, (so many as to put the U.S. to shame; even Canada outranks the U.S. in the number of refugees it accepts yearly) and it seems reasonable to make sure that immigrants they are letting in can live within the confines of the civil society they are entering.

On my return to the U.S., I took the time to explain to everyone that would listen how badly skewed the U.S. press coverage of international issues was, and told them the truth about Pim Fortuyn. Later, I found a moving insightful article written by Adam Curry, which does much greater justice to this event than I.

So in conclusion, at this point in my live I am again ashamed of this country, and many of the people who live in it. (Not all the people mind you, just the ignorant patriotic jingoists and intolerant isolationists) I am ashamed because of the eroding civil rights accorded by citizens, the increasing "big lie" police abuses where police can pretty much get away with anything by lying and putting particular statements in their police reports that they know will absolve them of any responsbility for their actions. Statements such as "he lunged for me after acting agressively", or "he was agitated and continued to get close to me acting as if he as going to attack me", or the ever popular "I was in fear for my life", which seems to justify pretty any much any type of violent and abusive behavior on the part of police. They know the judges won't hold them accountable, so they continue to act with impunity.

Here are some additional links, please use them, expand your knowledge of current affairs on a global scale, get involved in something you believe in, or do something to increase tolerance and openness in civil society. And think about forgoing war and violence as a means to solve differences between nations and groups.

Really, think about your politics or risk losing your freedom and rights. The dark ages CAN Return! ! !

Jay (now getting off his soapbox)

Dreams of a Blue Turtle

condo — Sat, 28 Dec 2002 00:20:17 +0000

Entry #2
I just can’t seem to get enough of the blue these days. I’ve been eating mostly protein and fatty foods (on the advice of my doctor), and I’ve pretty much quit eating bread, pasta, cereal grains, or anything with wheat or sugar in it.

“That’s not so odd”, you may say, “a lot of people are doing that, what with Doctor Atkins’ Diet and all that hubbub about carbohydrates being the true weight gaining foods.”

But what is really weird iis what I’ve been craving since I’ve been doing this. I like to eat cube steak with jalapenos and BLUE cheese. Not some creamy blue cheese mind you, but the real *stinky* authentic Danish BLUE cheese.

Those of you who know me know that I can be a snobbish connoisseur about things both related to food and not, so be sure I’m using quality ingredients only. (Angus cubesteak, fresh ground; the blue cheese of former danish kings; sliced hot pickled jalapenos; and a touch of a mixture of meat friendly spices.)

Anyway, I just thought you should know that.

This little journal thing of mine . . .

condo — Fri, 27 Dec 2002 18:20:02 +0000

Entry #1
Well, if all goes well, this will be the first *real* entry in my new online journal. It’s taken me about 2 years to get it working, like everything else in my life. Technology seems to have “turned” on me, somehow knowing that I once enslaved their brethren and ilk, computers and pretty much anything electronical that I use in my personal life causes great pain and stress, frequently breaking at the wrong time, and never working up “to spec”. Maybe with the journal working, I’ll make some progress in turning this around in my life.On a positive note, I just received the Cisco 7206VXR-300 router with Fast Ethernet and Dual DS3 adapter built in, I added my enhanced ATM adapter and single port PA-T3 and now it’s better than a “Bitchin’ Camaro” in my esteem.Anyway, I’ll try to actually add things here at least once a week, so get used to checking back.

Jay

P.S., Props to Ben Livingston, who is a Gawd, and my idol, for letting me guilt him into fixing this script which I cribbed from him to work on my Corporate Windoze 2000 box. Now you’re a Windows PHP developer too! Way to go Ben

P.P.S., If you need to buy anything at Amazon, go to my homepage and click on the little Amazon button thingy in the corner, and I’ll get to keep 5% of your money. It doesn’t cost you extra, really, and I really really really the money right now.