A recent incident where a local teamsters group complained because an Eagle Scout was trying to organize volunteers to clean up a park got me to thinking. (Firstly, I was ticked because the Teamsters weren't doing the work, and the volunteers who were doing it for free weren't being allowed to. Especially since the County can't afford to pay the ( Read more... )

There really hasn't been any reason for me to write about The Gulf Spill. Until we see "Gas: $5.85 per gallon," it hasn't hit home. When told that the monthly flow was however many Exxon Valdezes, it was all I could do to stifle a schoolboy chuckle and not crack a joke. After three months of "there's still oil out there", I kinda tune it out ( Read more... )

It has come to my attention that seven of the previous seventeen sitting Presidents have attended the Boy Scout Jamboree, and not all of them as written. (Ronald Reagan had polyps surgery before the event, but would have been well in time to travel.) I apologize for any confusion over the issue, and congratulate the Scouts on their achievement. The ( Read more... )

In junior high, each student was to complete a science project each semester. It was an in-depth probing of some area of science (or an animal, each person could use that as a Get Out of Jail Free card once during their tenure at the school) and it was a rather large portion of the final grade. Among my projects were the solar system, probability, ( Read more... )

Having been given my position in the family business, I’m more inclined to give Luke Russert a break, except he doesn’t need it. He isn’t content to be “Luke Russert, son of the late Tim Russert.” Working for MSNBC, he approached Rep. Charles Rangel (D-Bedrock) with some questions about his pending ethics investigations. He asked the Harlem ( Read more... )

 Having been called all sorts of things over the course of my life, it really doesn’t surprise me anymore. Generally it comes when I won’t do or think what someone else wants, and “insensitive” seems to come out more than normal. And after reading this story, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was trotted out again.

Last weekend, at a Lake Sammamish ( Read more... )

On some glorious forgotten Saturday afternoon when positively nothing else was going on, I pointed my cable box at CBC and pulled in a race from the Golden League. As I'm given to understand, the Commonwealth really digs their track and/or field. The Golden League was a series of seven meets held in various cities, and anyone who could win their ( Read more... )

A couple of months ago, my sister was in financial trouble, so I helped her out. I would loan her a few hundred dollars, at zero interest, and with plenty of time to pay it off. I had been in a bad way before, and I didn't want her to have to pay through the nose, or be in trouble with her creditors, plus I had my safety net set up, so I was happy ( Read more... )

Some time ago, I was pointed to the website ideasforseattle.org. Ostensibly, the idea is that a bunch of people come up with ways to improve the Emerald City. I don't think a single one of the ideas was put forth by a normal person. We've got "legalize it," "spend more on light rail," "free wi-fi," "revitalize Pioneer Square," "make Seattle the ( Read more... )

I haven't liked fireworks since I was twelve. I don't usually stay up to watch the various fireworks shows; or go out with people in the neighborhood to light them. As I saw one guy loading up black trash bags filled to bursting with used shells, I couldn't help but ponder how much he had spent on them. When my Mom lived on Lake Union, I went up to ( Read more... )