Fuck 2009.

Dear God. I hope 2010 is better than 2009. I, along with a lot of other people had a pretty miserable year. I lost a job, along with my identity, self respect and professionalism; and did not find work for 4 months. I took a job which was soul crushing and shitty. I was professionally marginalized and meagerly compensated for pouring a lot of myself into the organization. I was slightly relieved to get laid off, except for the impending doom feeling. I had some medical issues, and I am still trying to get back on the right track.

I am not sure if everyone reading this can empathize, but I know a few can. 2009 was a shit roller coaster, and I think we are all hoping for a new beginning in 2010. Happy New Year.

Theres a storm brewing.

Yeah, thats right. I did something that fit right in my wheel house. No one was surprised. On Saturday, my buddy and I brewed some beer. We like to drink expensive, craft brewed beer, so we took the next step and made our own. Hopefully it comes out well. We went to a place that provided equipment and guidance. WE bought our ticket and took the ride. Right now, we are waiting for it to ferment, so we can go bottle it. My buddy and I chose a Belgian type triple ale, for a few reasons. The first being its relatively high alcohol content. Thats right, the shit will get you drunk. It has twice the octane on traditional american lagers and pilsners like Budweiser or or Coors. Second, it tastes pretty good. It does not taste like Old Dirty Homeless Guy Shoe Ale. Not too hoppy, and not too bitter. It will taste like beer, not like shattered dreams. The experience was pretty good, with the exception of my brewing partner letting the kettle boil over. The brewmasters at the spot were very helpful, and they offer a huge variety of recipes. So, if you are ever wanting to go brew some really awesome beer, get your ass to Gallaghers, Where U Brew. http://www.whereubrew.com/

Suck it Trebek.

Its been too long

Hey there folks. I am sorry I have not posted in a while. I can't use the excuse of being busy, because I lost my job. One business day after I was eligible for benefits. Funny how that works. It almost seems like they might have planned that layoff for a specific period of time. Huh. Three days later I received the invitation to the company Christmas party. Somehow I doubt I will be attending that one. Nice they could do that before the holidays. I do not want any of that pesky disposable income getting in the way of Christmas shopping. It just complicates decisions. Its really the thought that counts.

Now that I have my petty bitching out of the way, I have a serious issue to discuss. Recent tragedies make my horseshit pale in comparison. It has been a week since the execution of four Lakewood Police officers in a coffee shop. The perpetrator has been subsequently killed by a Seattle Police officer.

All of this could have been avoided, had the legal system done its job. Mr. Clemons was serving a 108 year sentence for a series of violent crimes, and Mike Huckabee granted him clemency on his sentence, pretty much because he "found god" and he planned on leaving the state, because he had "job prospects" and family in Washington. Had he stuck with his original crimes of robbery, assault and child rape, Arkansas' plan to get him out of their hair would have been just peachy. He was wanted in Arkansas for another string of crimes on top of the 108 year sentence that was forgiven; but when he was inevitably arrested in Washington for child rape and some other nonsense, Arkansas chose not to extradite. Imagine that. They did not want another low life within their borders. They decided to dump this asshole on Washington. That is about where Mike Huckabee's and Arkansas' responsibility ends. Now that Mr. Clemons was in Washington, a judge allowed him to post bail. Apparently this judge did not read, or did not place any credence in the extensive dossier of legal kerfluffles that Mr. Clemons found himself entangled in. Now, in addition to the failure of this judge, a bondsman posted a bond for Mr. Clemons. The bondsman took a gamble, and now will have egg on his face, if he keeps his business. All of this could have been avoided, had the state of Arkansas not given Mr. Clemons a premature release. If that failed, there were two other stops in place, the judge, and the bondsman. If either of these jokers had done their homework, none of this would have happened. If the judge had looked at the case file for this career criminal, accused of sexually abusing a 12 year old girl in the state of Washington (among other things), and wanted on 8 warrants in Arkansas, and shown some JUDGEMENT, and some judicial common sense by denying bail to this degenerate, 9 kids in Lakewood would still have their parents tonight. This horrible tragedy is an example of a complete and utter failure of the system. Arkansas completely abrogated responsibility for one of its citizens, and a judge glossed over the detailed history of an inveterate criminal. Now four officers who served their community honorably are dead. WE have plenty of laws on the books to prevent this sort of crime from occurring, however, laws are useless if they are not enforced by diligent members of society.

Team Levi

Well, here it goes. I was wrong. The Palins are not helping the Johnstons. In fact, the opposite seems to be true. We have a real barn burner going here. Sarah Vs. Levi. That's whats hot in the streets right now. Levi got himself all churched up and is hitting the circuit. Bringing the fucking pain. He will be throwing some heat towards the Palins and eliminating her chance of running for president. I am surprised there have not been any publicized death threats coming from her legion of slack jawed, as swipe followers.

All kidding aside, this dude is what that shit heel clan fears most. He is the light of day peeping under their rock. He has inside information. Furthermore, he is too dumb to be afraid. He posed nude for Playgirl magazine. His wiener will be public domain. Doubtful he will inspire as much perverted fantasies as a shirtless Taylor Lautner, but he might pick up a stalker or two. (From middle aged gay rodeo enthusiasts as much as teenage girls breaking into their mom's secret porn caches.)

Anyhow, this cat is Sarah's worst nightmare. The camera loves him, most people know he is dumb, but he does not say enough to totally confirm it (short answers would have saved Sarah a lot of grief) so he gets a pass on a lot, plus his intentions are all noble, according to the mainstream media. He just wants to see his kid.

One thing that concerns me is the fact that we have not heard anything of real note from Todd Palin. I mean, this kid knocked up the guy's daughter and gave his wife the media equivalent of a Cleveland Steamer. A real Alaska Man would go into his bedroom closet, get his AR-15 and baseball bat, or maybe his slug gun, drink a pint of Wild Turkey, and go kill the offender. This lack of significant response is kind of suspect, and it leads me to believe that Levi might die in a "Hunting Accident" or be crippled "Snowboarding".

I am sounding the trumpet. For everyone who has a real stake in this, take up the cause! Michael Moore, lend Levi your house guard. Barbara Streisand, get on the phone with the Mossad. Oprah, get your force field machine out of your Favorite Things hangar. Protect Levi.

Washington State: Government Inaction

Here we go again. Another Washington institution shipped out to a flyover state. Boeing was more than happy to send its second production line for the 787 Dreamliner to South Carolina rather than Everett, Washington, which has a long history of building planes. Allegedly, Sen. Patty Murray (D) tried to keep the line in Washington, but her bid was largely ignored. The State of South Carolina put together an attractive incentive package, which included bonds for construction as well as 3rd World style labor pools.

On one hand, I believe that Boeing had its heart set on saying goodbye to the Union Machinists, but I find it hard to believe that the government of Washington tried to hard to keep that plant in the Evergreen State. After the half-assedness of the Save Our Sonics effort, I do think that state and local politicians punted the hell out of this one.

The people who would argue that the savings get passed down to the consumer are completely full of shit. I challenge someone to find airline ticket savings as a result of Boeing's new commitment to Scab Labor. So, it really boils down to corporate greed and a pliable workforce. I have a feeling that the fine people of South Carolina will be so happy to have jobs that the thought of a Machinist Strike will never enter their brains.

The state of South Carolina is also in for a rude surprise. Boeing will use them for all they are worth, and when the labor pool organizes or demands better pay and benefits, Boeing will pack up and ship the plant somewhere else, and South Carolina will be like a trophy wife on the shit end of a pre-nup.

In summary, I think South Carolina made the right moves for South Carolina, bringing in some jobs for their people, and a lot of the country is just thankful that the plant is not in China. For now.

Remember everyone, real jets are made in Washington.

Big Sack of Awesome.

This guy did something awful in a former life. Then he totally redeemed himself, but the gods dicked up the paperwork a little bit. Not enough to fuck him, but enough to give him the short end of the stick in the looking normal department.

Now, I have a pretty strong hypothesis about this cat. From the looks of inspecting his work and seeing his website, he is fairly computer literate. Second; I think he also has a fair amount of disposable income (owning multiple utilikilts is not cheap!). Finally, I get the impression that he came to party. Every photo he is in looks like he is having an awesome time.

The summary of all of this, is that he is the Ayatollah of Nerds. He goes to every convention, role-playing, star wars, comic book, or S&M. (We all know nerds have totally pwned the bondage scene.) He takes pictures of nude and scantily clad women for a living. I am fairly convinced that if you needed to borrow a cup of awesome you could swing by his house. He probably has a 50lb. sack in his pantry. I get the impression that his phone probably has faster internet than 91.8% of the households in America. He just seems dialed in to all of the fun. I imagine that if you went out to dinner with him, he would take you to some hole in the wall that no one knows about, and it turns out to be the best sushi restaurant in the city. He would also act like it was no big deal that you just ate the best unagi hand roll ever made.

I also have another hypothesis. He was not born this awesome. The simple fact is, he has probably been short and portly since he was around 11 years old. He probably got hassled a fair amount, but one day vowed to be so rad that porn stars and Lemmy Kilmister wanted to be his friend on Facebook. Anyhow, check out his blog, you will be impressed by his body of work.

http://photognome.livejournal.com/

Usually I do not do this...

Usually, I do not do this, but I want to give a big shout-out to the Thorp Mall, in Thorp, Washington. Right off of Interstate 90, before you get back into the Cascades to wander back into Pugetropolis, is the scenic town of Thorp. If you are not paying attention, you will miss it, and it will be your loss. The large, barn-like structure houses a fruit stand on HGH. They have seasonal fruit and vegetables from local growers, as well as a selection of wines from local vineyards. I was thoroughly impressed. If you are driving over the mountains, do yourself a favor and stop there.

I think this is also a good indicator of the way Eastern Washington is going. They are getting their shit together. The viticulture is flourishing, and that brings a lot of folks in to experience what the place has to offer. What gives it another star is the wine country is located in a very productive agricultural area. This gives the place access to the freshest meat and produce, thereby producing truly awesome local pairings. Enjoy!