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If the scummiest of white people are "white trash," what do you call the hispanic version? And don't say "hispanic" because I've heard that one. For now, I'll just call them my neighbors.

I'm not sure how we ended up in this neighborhood. I mean, ultimately, I know how it happened. The realtor showed us the house, we saw the potential, didn't see the problems and made an offer. But I'd like to believe we were guided here, because we prayed for a house and so many things pointed to this one.

But I'm not sure what we're doing here. If it was to teach us a lesson in tolerance, the plan is backfiring horribly. If anything, I think I become more racist or generally thinking more and more poorly of poor people and hispanic people. Yes, we live in an impoverished neighborhood. Houses on this block are only selling for half a million.

This week, my neighbors are using the excuse of indepdendence day as a reason to break the law. Of course, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office is useless USELESS U-S-E-L-E-S-S!!! I swear, the next time I call them and they say they're going to send someone out, I'm going to ask them to tell me what day it will be on so that I can write it on my calendar. The only saving grace is that apparently Duarte finally banned fireworks in its entire city so there isn't a fireworks stand four blocks from here in the Target parking lot this year. So there have been far less fireworks than last year, but still, it's pretty frustrating.

My dog has barely eaten in days, the firecrackers seem to scare her. And these are the big suckers. One of these goes off and you can feel it. Car alarms begin to sound. Really insane.

The last time I called them to report the firecrackers, they actually called me back. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office could not find our street. She said the map was old, but this house was built in 1948. (For that matter, why does the LASO have old maps?)

I'm going to call 1-800-A-DEPUTY and ask if I can become a deputy and just be assigned to this street. Because no one else is patrolling it now.

Heh

An autoresponse received today

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Speech is only free if no one complains

WorldNetDaily -- A man pens anti-homosexuality articles for small conservative websites -- from his own home and on his own time -- and finds himself fired for it. While he did not include his employer's name in his bio, one website added that he works for Allstate. According to the article, a pro-gay organization (which receives money from Allstate) complained to Allstate and the man was fired. Then Allstate protested his unemployment claim with the state, but the state found in favor of the former employee. He's now suing Allstate for discrimination.

In future news...

Google takes over the world. But for now, we'll just have to settle for the truly amazing Google Earth which is either an ironic or foretelling name. Sorry, no Mac yet.

Good Morning, Mr. Phelps

I never saw the original TV show, just the 1980's one and, of course, the movies. But in the TV show, the beginning -- if I remember correctly?? -- started with the exchange of a mini-DVD in a remote location, before it was viewed on a tiny little hand-held DVD player and self-destructed. And then he would go back to his awesome penthouse with his gigantic big screen TV where he would brief the team. The team briefing always included stuff you saw on the little DVD. So why not (a) courier or FedEx the DVD directly to the penthouse and (b) watch it with the team on the big screen? Seems like it would leave out a step and be a more secure delivery chain. Or, barring that, stop wasting time shooting, editing, producing and burning a DVD and just do a remote secure video link like they did on Knight Rider?

Anyhow, all this from me trying to figure out how to title this morning's post. I am very sleepy. We went to bed too late last night and I did not get up this morning and walk the dog. I am having my slimfast now for breakfast.

Conservation is a dirty word

This is a great article on what we might expect when oil output peaks, or when we run out of oil. This is my favorite quote:

American consumer/voters first need to stop blaming “greedy” oil companies, OPEC, environmentalists, China, gasoline retailers, fanciful conspiracy theories about suppressed oil production, etc.

End of life as we know it

NASA's going to shoot a missle-like probe at a comet on July 4. Then all the little aliens will come out and kill us all.

New Diet Week: All Bets Off

I've been doing poorly since Rachel's birthday. I did good that week until it was time for cake. Then I enjoyed leftover cake and ice cream for some time to come. Friday was an incredibly low point, however. Every possible thing that was supposed to be off-limits? I had. Everything. I'd like to blame a challenging/stressful lunch-time meeting at which there was cookies, or the birthday celebration for June staff people that afternoon. But I have no one to blame but myself.

I'm not gigantic like the guy in the link above who's lost half his body weight, but I'm also not going to be like this guy who takes pictures of what he eats.

But I gotta do more.

I walked the dog for 20 minutes this morning and am working on a cappuccino delight slimfast right now.

War!

MSNBC.COM -- Grizzly bear kills two Americans in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. So the bear was killed and we're gonna take his oil.

Hey, John

Solicit a hooker, get your picture on a website. They say it's only for 30 days, but you know it'll get into Google Images and be there forever. heh heh heh. Looking at these guys, I guess it's no wonder they have to pay for sex. These are some ugly dudes. I like how Aaron tries to stare down the camera and how Ernesto looks like he's about to hurl.

Game Over

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up...

House OKs flag desecration amendment

MSNBC.com - Eventually it will be illegal to even talk about when it was legal to burn flags. This is what's wrong with the government. Stupid rules like this. A flag is supposed to just be a representation of what makes America America. And burning it is supposed to be part of what makes America America.. the ability to dissent. This ruling is horrible news.

Makes me want to burn a flag in protest... while I still can.

I think I'll make a flag with an insignia for congress and then burn that.

Goes without saying?

Star Wars Star Stank.

What a week

I kick ass.

despite diet shmiet sadness and shame

New Diet Week...Oy

As in vey. I knew Rachel's birthday would mean blowing the diet for the weekend, but it got blown before the weekend and it hasn't yet recovered. Weight-wise, it hasn't been the death knell, but it has the potential to be problematic. My dad, down visiting didn't resist the urge to pat my stomach, but when I protested, did say that he could see that I had lost weight. So it must be muscle mass from the still unfinished path project. Who knows when I'll be able to work on that again.

We've had cake, we have ice cream we forgot put out at the party, and we took meals to two families who just had new babies and have left-over brownies. I'm in a world of hurt. And I have to drive by myself to work today, so I know there's a stop at Starbucks in my future.

I've even lost track of what's ok, I think. Last week was cookies, so this week must be doughnuts. No cake, ice cream or cookies. Starting... nowish. Sort of.

Boring

Isn't it weird how little variety there is in the vehicle color? I can actually see more detail now that I've uploaded it than I could on the original tiny little picture, but it's just weird to me how everything except the taxi is a very staid and muted color.

What's the point?

I've always thought it was my purpose in life to effect change.

When The Matrix came out, I totally got the whole thing about most people accepting the world as it was presented to them. I wouldn't say I'm Neo, but I always felt like we didn't know everything that was going on.

From my belief in God, unseen, to my belief in some government conspiracies, to how each one of us gets up each day and puts on an act, I've always felt like I wasn't seeing the world exactly as it was, but some version that had been created and prepared for me.

But I'm wondering lately if it really isn't my purpose in life. Sometimes lately, I've started feeling like my purpose in life is to sit down and shut up. I could continue to see what was messed up, continue to know the best answer for solving it, but that it was not my place to try to fix it, that I should just accept the mediocre, the broken and the less-than-optimal, just as the rest of the world accepts it, often blindly missing the fact that things could be better.

It's very unsatisfying.

New Diet Week

Wow, this week has just flown by. I guess it's harder to get a post in when I'm spending my lunch and comp. time doing contract work and there's no laptop at home anymore. I did move the desktop to where it is more accessible, but even then, it's been so busy at home that all my time has been spent working on the path or other chores.

Cheating was kept to a minimum last week, I'm pretty proud of myself.

The track record on dog walking was pretty crummy last week and I think the dog is feeling somewhat depressed by that. I feel guilty. I just haven't been getting enough good sleep to where I can wake up and go walking.

I don't know when the last time I weighed myself was, but last night I weighed myself and was still at the same new low from the time before that. So I'm encouraged by that.

This week I can eat cookies. Fortunately, cookies haven't been that available to me lately.

Oops, they did it again.

NEWS.COM -- UPS helps Citibank lose computer tapes containing backup information for 3.9 million current and former customers. You get a whole 90 days of credit monitoring. Cheapskates.

Don't forget

Man concerned that people are forgetting about 9/11 pays to have the Trade Center and Pentagon victims' names painted on his truck. The only thing that puzzles me is why it says "Have you forgotten..." instead of "Have you forgotten?"