I watched Bobby last night. It is a good movie if you haven't seen it. He always spoke of poignant themes of equality and service.
Ted Kennedy gave RFK's eulogy. It is a beautiful speech.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
The end of the world as we know it.
While I was sliding around the mountain last week, Samuel Huntington died. Among other things, Huntington created a political theory which has yet to replaced. Huntington's Clash of Civilizations is completely worth the time to read. Terribly interesting and relevant.
U.S. NEWS DECEMBER 28, 2008, 12:25 A.M. ET
Political Scientist Huntington Dies at 81
Associated Press
BOSTON -- Samuel Huntington -- a political scientist who argued that future conflicts would have their seeds in culture and religion rather than friction between nations -- died Wednesday on Martha's Vineyard, Harvard University announced Saturday. He was 81.
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, left, talked with Samuel Huntington before a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum on Feb. 3, 2002.
Mr. Huntington had retired from active teaching in 2007 after 58 years at Harvard. His research and teaching focused on American government, democratization, military politics, strategy, and civil-military relations.
Mr. Huntington began teaching at Harvard at age 23. For the next half century he served as a mentor to generations of students and fellow faculty members.
Mr. Huntington was best known for his views on the clash of civilizations. He argued that in a post-Cold War world, violent conflict would come not from ideological friction between nation states, but from cultural and religious differences among the world's major civilizations.
He identified those major civilizations as Western (including the U.S. and Europe), Latin American, Islamic, African, Orthodox (with Russia as a core state), and Hindu, Japanese, and "Sinic" (including China, Korea, and Vietnam).
He made the argument in a 1993 article in the journal Foreign Affairs, and then expanded the thesis into a book, "The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order," which appeared in 1996. The book has since been translated into 39 languages.
In all, Mr. Huntington wrote 17 books including "The Soldier and the State: The Theory and Politics of Civil-Military Relations," published in 1957 and inspired by President Harry Truman's firing of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, and "Political Power: USA-USSR," a study of Cold War dynamics and how the world could be shaped by two political philosophies locked in opposition, which he co-authored in 1964 with Zbigniew Brzezinski.
His 1969 book, "Political Order in Changing Societies," analyzed political and economic development in the Third World.
"Sam was the kind of scholar that made Harvard a great university," Mr. Huntington's friend of nearly six decades, economist Henry Rosovsky, said in a statement released by the university.
Mr. Huntington was born on April 18, 1927, in New York City, the son of Richard Huntington, an editor and publisher, and Dorothy Phillips, a writer. He received his B.A. from Yale in 1946, served in the U.S. Army, earned an M.A. from the University of Chicago in 1948, and a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1951, where he had taught nearly without a break since 1950.
Mr. Huntington is survived by his wife of 51 years, Nancy Huntington and sons Nicholas Huntington and Timothy Huntington.
Copyright © 2008 Associated Press
U.S. NEWS DECEMBER 28, 2008, 12:25 A.M. ET
Political Scientist Huntington Dies at 81
Associated Press
BOSTON -- Samuel Huntington -- a political scientist who argued that future conflicts would have their seeds in culture and religion rather than friction between nations -- died Wednesday on Martha's Vineyard, Harvard University announced Saturday. He was 81.
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, left, talked with Samuel Huntington before a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum on Feb. 3, 2002.
Mr. Huntington had retired from active teaching in 2007 after 58 years at Harvard. His research and teaching focused on American government, democratization, military politics, strategy, and civil-military relations.
Mr. Huntington began teaching at Harvard at age 23. For the next half century he served as a mentor to generations of students and fellow faculty members.
Mr. Huntington was best known for his views on the clash of civilizations. He argued that in a post-Cold War world, violent conflict would come not from ideological friction between nation states, but from cultural and religious differences among the world's major civilizations.
He identified those major civilizations as Western (including the U.S. and Europe), Latin American, Islamic, African, Orthodox (with Russia as a core state), and Hindu, Japanese, and "Sinic" (including China, Korea, and Vietnam).
He made the argument in a 1993 article in the journal Foreign Affairs, and then expanded the thesis into a book, "The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order," which appeared in 1996. The book has since been translated into 39 languages.
In all, Mr. Huntington wrote 17 books including "The Soldier and the State: The Theory and Politics of Civil-Military Relations," published in 1957 and inspired by President Harry Truman's firing of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, and "Political Power: USA-USSR," a study of Cold War dynamics and how the world could be shaped by two political philosophies locked in opposition, which he co-authored in 1964 with Zbigniew Brzezinski.
His 1969 book, "Political Order in Changing Societies," analyzed political and economic development in the Third World.
"Sam was the kind of scholar that made Harvard a great university," Mr. Huntington's friend of nearly six decades, economist Henry Rosovsky, said in a statement released by the university.
Mr. Huntington was born on April 18, 1927, in New York City, the son of Richard Huntington, an editor and publisher, and Dorothy Phillips, a writer. He received his B.A. from Yale in 1946, served in the U.S. Army, earned an M.A. from the University of Chicago in 1948, and a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1951, where he had taught nearly without a break since 1950.
Mr. Huntington is survived by his wife of 51 years, Nancy Huntington and sons Nicholas Huntington and Timothy Huntington.
Copyright © 2008 Associated Press
Monday, December 29, 2008
Buehler, Buehler, anyone....
Well I'm back in DC.
First day back at work, not so fun.
There wasn't anything to do.
I went home for lunch, and walked out the door at exactly 5:30.
I have a few projects I could work on, but by in large, the involve someone else.
And no one else is working. Other than two conference calls sponsored by the Jewish lobby about the situation in Gaza, I don't have anything to do tomorrow either.
Good, great, fabulous.
First day back at work, not so fun.
There wasn't anything to do.
I went home for lunch, and walked out the door at exactly 5:30.
I have a few projects I could work on, but by in large, the involve someone else.
And no one else is working. Other than two conference calls sponsored by the Jewish lobby about the situation in Gaza, I don't have anything to do tomorrow either.
Good, great, fabulous.
Monday, December 22, 2008
I heart snowflakes
It's snowing something feirce today! The entire mtn is open tomorrow including the pomel lift to Clair's Run. There still isn't the base that there should be, but I'll make due. Tomorrow the snowbunny rides again...if I can get up the mountain.
Snow Conditions
New Snow 24hrs = 3"
New Snow 48hrs = 7"
7 Day Total = 20"
Mid-Mtn. Base = 30"
Road Cond.= red
Snow Conditions
New Snow 24hrs = 3"
New Snow 48hrs = 7"
7 Day Total = 20"
Mid-Mtn. Base = 30"
Road Cond.= red
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Snow, Snow, Snow.
I went up to the mountain today. It was lightly snowing, and the entire mountain wasn't open yet. My snowboarding yoda and I opted to stay on the lower lift and as we were chatting about the sub-par conditions (only half the mountain, only a 6 inches of fresh powder, kind of cold 25 degrees) we took stock of the situation and decided that we are spoiled.
I admit it. I am a spoiled Utah snowboarder who is grumpy with anything less than powder up to my knees and a high speed quad (and french fries and hot chocolate at the top of the mtn). I have never been riding on the East Coast, although I think maybe someday I'll try to poach the single chair lift at Mad River Glen.
But you ride with the snow you've been given, and as my snowboard Yoda always says, a bad day of snowboarding is better than a good day about anywhere else.
I admit it. I am a spoiled Utah snowboarder who is grumpy with anything less than powder up to my knees and a high speed quad (and french fries and hot chocolate at the top of the mtn). I have never been riding on the East Coast, although I think maybe someday I'll try to poach the single chair lift at Mad River Glen.
But you ride with the snow you've been given, and as my snowboard Yoda always says, a bad day of snowboarding is better than a good day about anywhere else.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Utah - Day 1 : no snow
Well, I'm in Utah. It is lovely, everything is great. Everything but one tiny detail. THERE IS NO SNOW. Powder Mt. is STILL not open during the day. (And I don't do night riding - it is just no fun to freeze.)
Today was cool. I hung with Mama Bunny. We ate at Rainbow Gardens, I had my jewelry cleaned by the nice people at Farr's Jewelry, we went to Layton to the Barnes and Noble to pick up a book for Mama Bunny and then hit the Albertsons for dinner fixins. All in all, a nice, chill day. I stayed in my pj's until 11 and never got around to washing my hair. Beautiful vacation I tell you.
But I'm starting to get a little stir crazy. Mama Bunny is reading a book called Grave Matters. It's all about green funerals and burials etc. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT get embalmed. Trust me on this one. Good book, very enlightening, but you don't want to know how they keep your eye lids shut or how much damage is done to the environment thanks to caskets which take a million years to decompose.
There is supposed to be a big storm tomorrow. I really hope that it's a big one. I have not NOT been riding on my birthday for as long as I can remember. I would really like this not to be the first year. I would be quite an unfortunate way to kick off 30.
Today was cool. I hung with Mama Bunny. We ate at Rainbow Gardens, I had my jewelry cleaned by the nice people at Farr's Jewelry, we went to Layton to the Barnes and Noble to pick up a book for Mama Bunny and then hit the Albertsons for dinner fixins. All in all, a nice, chill day. I stayed in my pj's until 11 and never got around to washing my hair. Beautiful vacation I tell you.
But I'm starting to get a little stir crazy. Mama Bunny is reading a book called Grave Matters. It's all about green funerals and burials etc. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT get embalmed. Trust me on this one. Good book, very enlightening, but you don't want to know how they keep your eye lids shut or how much damage is done to the environment thanks to caskets which take a million years to decompose.
There is supposed to be a big storm tomorrow. I really hope that it's a big one. I have not NOT been riding on my birthday for as long as I can remember. I would really like this not to be the first year. I would be quite an unfortunate way to kick off 30.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Oh to be a fly on THAT wall.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Must Adapt to a New Boss
New York Times
By ELISABETH BUMILLER
December 15, 2008
WASHINGTON— As President-elect Barack Obama convened the first meeting of his national security advisers on Monday, there was just one person at the table that the new president did not choose to have there: Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Admiral Mullen, who was selected by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates for a two-year term, has been on the job for a year. Come January, he will face perhaps the biggest challenge of his career — pivoting from one commander-in-chief to another, in the middle of two wars. Friends describe him as an even-tempered, intellectually curious and politically astute presence who sees the world beyond the immediate battles of the Pentagon and White House — all skills they say will serve him well in the new administration.
“He’s not a jumper or a screamer, he looks at things to make them better for the long term,” said Adm. Dennis C. Blair, a retired Pacific Fleet commander who is expected to be named by Mr. Obama as director of national intelligence. “He’s an incredible networker, too.”
In the last year, Admiral Mullen has sought advice from the retired generals who revolted against former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, reached out to the former Army chief who was vilified for saying more troops were needed in Iraq and invited to dinner prominent Democrats like Gregory B. Craig, Mr. Obama’s choice for White House counsel. His efforts may have been an attempt to soothe the military after the cataclysmic Mr. Rumsfeld, or an anticipation of a change of administration — or both.
Admiral Mullen, the son of a former Hollywood press agent whose clients included Anthony Quinn and Julie Andrews, has a world view that friends say is closer to that of Mr. Obama than to Mr. Bush.
He was initially opposed to the Bush administration’s troop escalation, or “surge,” has long been in favor of diplomacy with Iran and considers Pakistan — where he traveled in early December to press military leaders to crack down on the terrorist group behind the Mumbai attacks — one of the most dangerous countries in the world. As the man in charge of training and equipping the military, Admiral Mullen’s desire to ease the strain on forces fighting on two fronts may well dovetail with Mr. Obama’s desire to draw down American troops in Iraq.
In short, Admiral Mullen, 62, could be more influential in an Obama administration than he has been in the Bush administration, where he has been overshadowed by the success and showmanship of Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commander of United States forces in the Middle East and the former top commander in Iraq. Friends say that Admiral Mullen sees an opportunity to assert himself in the traditional role of chairman, as the president’s top military adviser, particularly if General Petraeus, who joined his fortunes with President Bush to sell and oversee the surge, no longer has a direct line to the Oval Office.
So far, Mr. Obama has not met with General Petraeus, who is based at the headquarters of the United States Central Command in Tampa; Mr. Obama has met with Admiral Mullen and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, whom the president-elect has asked to stay on in the job.
“I’m encouraged by the fact that he said he’s going to listen to his military commanders,” Admiral Mullen said in a telephone interview this week, recounting a meeting he had with Mr. Obama in Chicago on Nov. 21. Mr. Mullen declined to discuss the substance of the conversation other than to say “it was a good initial meeting — we talked about a lot of things.” He discounted any concern on the part of senior commanders that Mr. Obama had not served in the military.
“By and large, I’ve found that those who really care about us and learn about us and are supportive of the military, having served in the military isn’t a requirement,” Admiral Mullen said.
In preparation for his new commander-in-chief, Admiral Mullen is overseeing the final stages of a comprehensive military strategy review of the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan — one of four such studies in the government — to guide Mr. Obama in his first days as president. More quietly, he has also had initial conversations with his top commanders about potential changes in the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law that allows gay men and lesbians to serve in the military as long as they keep their sexual orientation secret.
Mr. Obama has taken a strong stand against the law as a moral issue, although his team has signaled that he will not push for repeal in the early months of his administration to avoid the kind of blowup that engulfed President Bill Clinton when he sought to lift an outright ban on gay men and lesbians in the military in his first days in office. (In a cautionary tale for Admiral Mullen, that 1993 storm raged in part because General Colin L. Powell, who was the holdover chairman of the Joint Chiefs from the first Bush administration, publicly disagreed with what became a Clinton compromise solution of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”)
Fifteen years later, Mr. Obama is of the view that “don’t ask, don’t tell” is long out of date and that it is time for gay men and lesbians to serve openly. “The president-elect’s been pretty clear that he wants to address this issue,” Admiral Mullen said in the interview. “And so I am certainly mindful that at some point in time it could come.” A friend of Admiral Mullen said that he had begun to think about practical implications like housing, but Admiral Mullen said there had been no formal planning or task forces on the issue.
In the meantime, Admiral Mullen’s supporters say that he is very different from his two predecessors, Gen. Richard B. Myers and Gen. Peter Pace, who were sometimes derided by critics within the military as “Stepford generals” because of their acquiescence to Mr. Rumsfeld.
“He’s not dogmatic or doctrinaire, and he’s also not a lap dog,” said Lt. Gen. Gregory S. Newbold of the Marine Corps, who retired in 2002 after objecting to Mr. Rumsfeld’s plans for a small Iraq invasion force and then aired his views in Time magazine as part of what became known as a “revolt of the generals” against Mr. Rumsfeld in 2006.
General Newbold is now consulted by Admiral Mullen, as is Gen. Anthony C. Zinni, who led the United States Central Command in the 1990s and was another retired general who called for Mr. Rumsfeld to step down.
“Under Myers and Pace, nobody wanted to talk to me, but I’ve heard from Mullen a lot,” General Zinni said.
Admiral Mullen’s Hollywood past would not seem to suggest a future as the nation’s top military officer — his father was also the press agent to Ann-Margret, Peter Graves and Dyan Cannon — but in the interview he said that his family taught him the importance of communications and the Fourth Estate, and that it was by and large a stable life of Catholic schools and relatively modest means. As the oldest of five children, Admiral Mullen needed a scholarship for college, and he got one when he was recruited to play basketball for the Naval Academy at Annapolis.
To the amazement of his family, he took to the life instantly. “I got there and met the best people I’ve ever been around in my life,” Admiral Mullen said. Among his acquaintances in the class of 1968 were Admiral Blair; Senator Jim Webb, Democrat of Virginia; and Oliver L. North, the Reagan-era official who secretly sold weapons to Iran to support the anti-Marxist rebels of Nicaragua.
These days Admiral Mullen throws regular dinners at his 19th-century home on a small naval compound near the State Department, where the walls are not hung with medals but framed show bills from nearly every Broadway show that he and his wife have attended. Recent guests have included Brent Scowcroft, the national security adviser to the first President Bush who enraged the second when he publicly warned against war with Iraq. Mr. Scowcroft is now advising Mr. Obama.
Admiral Mullen has also reached out in recent weeks to retired Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, who was reviled by the Bush administration for saying publicly on the eve of the Iraq war that far more troops would be needed than had been committed by Mr. Rumsfeld’s Pentagon. General Shinseki has since been named secretary of Veterans Affairs by Mr. Obama.
So how hard is it to change commanders in chief in the middle of two wars? “Not that hard,” said Admiral Blair. “I think people way overestimate that.”
New York Times
By ELISABETH BUMILLER
December 15, 2008
WASHINGTON— As President-elect Barack Obama convened the first meeting of his national security advisers on Monday, there was just one person at the table that the new president did not choose to have there: Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Admiral Mullen, who was selected by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates for a two-year term, has been on the job for a year. Come January, he will face perhaps the biggest challenge of his career — pivoting from one commander-in-chief to another, in the middle of two wars. Friends describe him as an even-tempered, intellectually curious and politically astute presence who sees the world beyond the immediate battles of the Pentagon and White House — all skills they say will serve him well in the new administration.
“He’s not a jumper or a screamer, he looks at things to make them better for the long term,” said Adm. Dennis C. Blair, a retired Pacific Fleet commander who is expected to be named by Mr. Obama as director of national intelligence. “He’s an incredible networker, too.”
In the last year, Admiral Mullen has sought advice from the retired generals who revolted against former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, reached out to the former Army chief who was vilified for saying more troops were needed in Iraq and invited to dinner prominent Democrats like Gregory B. Craig, Mr. Obama’s choice for White House counsel. His efforts may have been an attempt to soothe the military after the cataclysmic Mr. Rumsfeld, or an anticipation of a change of administration — or both.
Admiral Mullen, the son of a former Hollywood press agent whose clients included Anthony Quinn and Julie Andrews, has a world view that friends say is closer to that of Mr. Obama than to Mr. Bush.
He was initially opposed to the Bush administration’s troop escalation, or “surge,” has long been in favor of diplomacy with Iran and considers Pakistan — where he traveled in early December to press military leaders to crack down on the terrorist group behind the Mumbai attacks — one of the most dangerous countries in the world. As the man in charge of training and equipping the military, Admiral Mullen’s desire to ease the strain on forces fighting on two fronts may well dovetail with Mr. Obama’s desire to draw down American troops in Iraq.
In short, Admiral Mullen, 62, could be more influential in an Obama administration than he has been in the Bush administration, where he has been overshadowed by the success and showmanship of Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commander of United States forces in the Middle East and the former top commander in Iraq. Friends say that Admiral Mullen sees an opportunity to assert himself in the traditional role of chairman, as the president’s top military adviser, particularly if General Petraeus, who joined his fortunes with President Bush to sell and oversee the surge, no longer has a direct line to the Oval Office.
So far, Mr. Obama has not met with General Petraeus, who is based at the headquarters of the United States Central Command in Tampa; Mr. Obama has met with Admiral Mullen and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, whom the president-elect has asked to stay on in the job.
“I’m encouraged by the fact that he said he’s going to listen to his military commanders,” Admiral Mullen said in a telephone interview this week, recounting a meeting he had with Mr. Obama in Chicago on Nov. 21. Mr. Mullen declined to discuss the substance of the conversation other than to say “it was a good initial meeting — we talked about a lot of things.” He discounted any concern on the part of senior commanders that Mr. Obama had not served in the military.
“By and large, I’ve found that those who really care about us and learn about us and are supportive of the military, having served in the military isn’t a requirement,” Admiral Mullen said.
In preparation for his new commander-in-chief, Admiral Mullen is overseeing the final stages of a comprehensive military strategy review of the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan — one of four such studies in the government — to guide Mr. Obama in his first days as president. More quietly, he has also had initial conversations with his top commanders about potential changes in the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law that allows gay men and lesbians to serve in the military as long as they keep their sexual orientation secret.
Mr. Obama has taken a strong stand against the law as a moral issue, although his team has signaled that he will not push for repeal in the early months of his administration to avoid the kind of blowup that engulfed President Bill Clinton when he sought to lift an outright ban on gay men and lesbians in the military in his first days in office. (In a cautionary tale for Admiral Mullen, that 1993 storm raged in part because General Colin L. Powell, who was the holdover chairman of the Joint Chiefs from the first Bush administration, publicly disagreed with what became a Clinton compromise solution of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”)
Fifteen years later, Mr. Obama is of the view that “don’t ask, don’t tell” is long out of date and that it is time for gay men and lesbians to serve openly. “The president-elect’s been pretty clear that he wants to address this issue,” Admiral Mullen said in the interview. “And so I am certainly mindful that at some point in time it could come.” A friend of Admiral Mullen said that he had begun to think about practical implications like housing, but Admiral Mullen said there had been no formal planning or task forces on the issue.
In the meantime, Admiral Mullen’s supporters say that he is very different from his two predecessors, Gen. Richard B. Myers and Gen. Peter Pace, who were sometimes derided by critics within the military as “Stepford generals” because of their acquiescence to Mr. Rumsfeld.
“He’s not dogmatic or doctrinaire, and he’s also not a lap dog,” said Lt. Gen. Gregory S. Newbold of the Marine Corps, who retired in 2002 after objecting to Mr. Rumsfeld’s plans for a small Iraq invasion force and then aired his views in Time magazine as part of what became known as a “revolt of the generals” against Mr. Rumsfeld in 2006.
General Newbold is now consulted by Admiral Mullen, as is Gen. Anthony C. Zinni, who led the United States Central Command in the 1990s and was another retired general who called for Mr. Rumsfeld to step down.
“Under Myers and Pace, nobody wanted to talk to me, but I’ve heard from Mullen a lot,” General Zinni said.
Admiral Mullen’s Hollywood past would not seem to suggest a future as the nation’s top military officer — his father was also the press agent to Ann-Margret, Peter Graves and Dyan Cannon — but in the interview he said that his family taught him the importance of communications and the Fourth Estate, and that it was by and large a stable life of Catholic schools and relatively modest means. As the oldest of five children, Admiral Mullen needed a scholarship for college, and he got one when he was recruited to play basketball for the Naval Academy at Annapolis.
To the amazement of his family, he took to the life instantly. “I got there and met the best people I’ve ever been around in my life,” Admiral Mullen said. Among his acquaintances in the class of 1968 were Admiral Blair; Senator Jim Webb, Democrat of Virginia; and Oliver L. North, the Reagan-era official who secretly sold weapons to Iran to support the anti-Marxist rebels of Nicaragua.
These days Admiral Mullen throws regular dinners at his 19th-century home on a small naval compound near the State Department, where the walls are not hung with medals but framed show bills from nearly every Broadway show that he and his wife have attended. Recent guests have included Brent Scowcroft, the national security adviser to the first President Bush who enraged the second when he publicly warned against war with Iraq. Mr. Scowcroft is now advising Mr. Obama.
Admiral Mullen has also reached out in recent weeks to retired Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, who was reviled by the Bush administration for saying publicly on the eve of the Iraq war that far more troops would be needed than had been committed by Mr. Rumsfeld’s Pentagon. General Shinseki has since been named secretary of Veterans Affairs by Mr. Obama.
So how hard is it to change commanders in chief in the middle of two wars? “Not that hard,” said Admiral Blair. “I think people way overestimate that.”
Sunday, December 14, 2008
AHHHH!!!
Powder Mt. IS NOT OPEN.
HOW COULD THIS BE HAPPENING TO ME?
I do not want to go to Snow Bird or Park City. They won't let me into Alta or Deer Valley and I would rather sit by the fire and drink hot coco than go back to Solitude (because even though they let my 'kind' in, they really make you feel unwelcome. (Who has a electronic pass reader which is only on the left - I RIDE GOOFY, how in the tar-heel am I supposed to get my right leg over to the left side to swipe my pass???!!! And I know all of you SUPER smart skiiers are saying 'why don't you just put the pass in your left pocket silly?' BECAUSE my left leg is attached to the board and thus I cannot lift it off the ground to swipe my thigh to the reader. It's so much more complicated than it should be.)
Ok, so Powder Mt. is not yet open, but as always, I have faith. I have faith that the Snowbunny mountain elves will burn another pile of skis and appease the snow gods.
I hit Eutaw in 48 hours... let the snow countdown begin...
HOW COULD THIS BE HAPPENING TO ME?
I do not want to go to Snow Bird or Park City. They won't let me into Alta or Deer Valley and I would rather sit by the fire and drink hot coco than go back to Solitude (because even though they let my 'kind' in, they really make you feel unwelcome. (Who has a electronic pass reader which is only on the left - I RIDE GOOFY, how in the tar-heel am I supposed to get my right leg over to the left side to swipe my pass???!!! And I know all of you SUPER smart skiiers are saying 'why don't you just put the pass in your left pocket silly?' BECAUSE my left leg is attached to the board and thus I cannot lift it off the ground to swipe my thigh to the reader. It's so much more complicated than it should be.)
Ok, so Powder Mt. is not yet open, but as always, I have faith. I have faith that the Snowbunny mountain elves will burn another pile of skis and appease the snow gods.
I hit Eutaw in 48 hours... let the snow countdown begin...
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
61 - I vant to suck your blood
I tried to give blood today. I am a regular blood-giver, but have really tiny veins. I feel my donation is a double donation. Not only do I donate blood, my tiny veins turn into a learning experience for the technician as s/he enevitably has to call her supervisor for help. Generally, this is after she has given up on one arm and has moved on to the other. There has only been one experience when there was no trouble finding my vein - and it was at a children's hospital.
So, I waited in line to answer my questions... if I have ever had sex with a man who has had sex with a man (um, the answer is no) and sat down on the blue reclining chair thing and waited.
Well not only were my veins tiny, they were TOO tiny. I was turned away sans needle prick. At least I didn't have to go through the pain of having them prod around looking for my veins and THEN give up. The nice supervisor came over, tried to find a vein and then said, '61 this one - insufficent veins in both arms'.
Boo.
So, I waited in line to answer my questions... if I have ever had sex with a man who has had sex with a man (um, the answer is no) and sat down on the blue reclining chair thing and waited.
Well not only were my veins tiny, they were TOO tiny. I was turned away sans needle prick. At least I didn't have to go through the pain of having them prod around looking for my veins and THEN give up. The nice supervisor came over, tried to find a vein and then said, '61 this one - insufficent veins in both arms'.
Boo.
Monday, December 08, 2008
Trying to stay off the Red Bull
So, this blasted paper just may be the death of me.
I've been typing, typing, typing and I couldn't get to a decent number of pages. I was about ready to just turn in 24 pages and call it good. And then I looked at my paper and thought to myself, 'man thoes margins look awfuly small, wonder if they are a full inch'.
UM, NO, THEY WERE NOT.
I was working with .36 margins!!! I just adjusted the margins to the correct settings and POOF - just bought myself 5 pages.
There is a Santa, and he likes me.
I've been typing, typing, typing and I couldn't get to a decent number of pages. I was about ready to just turn in 24 pages and call it good. And then I looked at my paper and thought to myself, 'man thoes margins look awfuly small, wonder if they are a full inch'.
UM, NO, THEY WERE NOT.
I was working with .36 margins!!! I just adjusted the margins to the correct settings and POOF - just bought myself 5 pages.
There is a Santa, and he likes me.
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