They did it

I have to admit that I didn't expect this. I'm glad to see it. I wonder if Holder will clam up and take the bullet or sing.

			The House of Representatives voted to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in criminal contempt for refusing to turn over documents tied to the Fast and Furious gun-running sting. The 255-67 vote marked the first time in American history that the head of the Justice Department has been held in contempt by Congress. Almost every House Republican backed the measure, along with nearly 20 Democrats. House members are also expected to pass a civil contempt measure later in the day.
CNN Headline news email

Even during Watergate, this level of lying and deceit did not take place. The president has already declared Executive Privilege to prevent the documents in question from making their way before the eyes of Congress. If this president were a republican there would be on the hour updates and breaking in to TV shows to keep the public up to date on the protests calling for impeachment.

			The House of Representatives passed a civil contempt measure against Attorney General Eric Holder for his refusal to turn over documents tied to the Fast and Furious gun-running sting. The House earlier approved a criminal contempt measure. The civil measure passed in a sharply polarized 258-95 vote. A large number of Democrats -- including members of the Congressional Black Caucus and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi -- walked off the House floor in protest and refused to participate in the criminal contempt vote. Speaking in New Orleans, Holder dismissed the House action as "the regrettable culmination of what became a misguided -- and politically motivated -- investigation during an election year."
CNN Headline news email

Why is it that only representatives who have interests in the president are the ones protesting the charges that might bring him down? I wonder why. I don't wonder at all. I know why. They are loosing. They have put everything on this president. His right arm has done something pretty damned horrible and the president, even if not drug directly in to this, will be marked by it.

All I hear all day is about Obama win in the court. I don't think I've heard a word about Gun Walker or Fast and Furious or whatever they are calling it this week. Some are calling it an act of war against Mexico.

Lunch conversation

Yes, I'm broke, and went out to eat lunch today. It had to happen.

• Kids
• We didn't talk much about work. It was kind of nice.
• Electrical outlets
• Hot stove tops
• Induction stove tops
• Video games and the money spent on video games
• Retirement issues
• Travel issues
• Tankless hot water heaters
• Baldness and who had the more Picard kind of hair. This started because someone had a "number 1" hair.
• The heat

Can you tell we were a bunch of guys?

Notes:

Heard on "Jonny Dollar" an old radio show from the fifties I believe. From memory "Expense item number 1, $4.10 for a tank full of gas."

Had a good old afternoon rain this ... afternoon. There was lightning and thunder and wind and plenty of rain. We need the rain.

Notes:

It is ridiculously hot outside. My parents are off to some place in East Texas to find a 100lb anvil. The same kind that hits Wile E. Coyote every three minutes in cartoons. I may be in the air conditioning, but I envy them this day.

Need to check out Bards and sages some time soon. It looks like they publish some cool stories.

More paint

Field	Data
Title	More paint
Description	Helped a friend move and got some more painting done. * Pprevious video on painting http://youtu.be/uU8zvgbK3qY * Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/zhsy00001 * Blog http://plastickelly.blogspot.com * YouTube RSS http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/users/zhsy00001/uploads
Tags	paint painting moving TV friend toshiba camera "Canon Elph 300" Houston Texas Kdenlive
Link	Link

Notes:

Just closed my AT&T land line account. I had been with them for 16 years. I will soon consider dropping the land line all together. We don't need it for the alarm any more.

Started raining just in time for lunch today. I setup the video camera just in case there was something worth capturing. Couple dark clouds rumbled by.

One of the podcasts I listen to has a guy who does a bunch of stuff for the production. His name comes up and they constantly say "not the trombonist, the other one." when they say his name. Apparently if you google his name some other guy who is a pro trombonist pops up before him in the search results.

Someone brought in a trey of peach cobbler to work today. I didn't notice it.

Frigging Windows registry

>

Field	Data
Title	Frigging Windows Registry
Description	Anecdote about the Microsoft Windows Registry. * Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/zhsy00001 * Blog http://plastickelly.blogspot.com * YouTube RSS http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/users/zhsy00001/uploads
Tags	frigging windows registry errors corruption excel printers anecdote rant "Canon Elph 300" Kdenlive Houston Texas
Link	Link

Sick yesterday

I was sick yesterday. Stayed home from work.

Symptoms

• Feverish
• Stomach cramps
• Out of breath
• Sweating
• Tired
• Swollen glands in my neck

Nat had to go to a job yesterday. By the time she got ready to go, I noticed the garage door was hitting something. She noticed some scratches on the bracket that hold the spindle that the door rides on. It was moving past the set of shelves right next to the door. She had to go and asked me very nicely to wait until they got back before I did anything. I'm a man dammit. I cannot do something like wait for a women to show up to help me move a loaded set of metal shelves, in the heat, when I have a fever. Come on!

I had to pull out all the crap against the wall. This took an hour. Then I had to find some way of yanking the shelf about six inches across the floor. The edges of the shelves are metal and basically too sharp to grip. I don't have gloves that will help here. I tried using a piece of wood, but the shelves are too close to the wall for that to work. I found one of those crank tie down straps. I don't remember where it came from. I hooked it though the shelf mounts on the vertical bits of the shelves and just pulled. It kind of worked.

It turns out the shelves were not the only thing making the door thump as it opens and closes. Fantastic.

At this point, I ran out of fever fueled aggression. I went in and passed out leaving the garage in massive disarray. A couple hours later, Nat came home and appropriately flipped out at the state of the garage. I ended up putting some stuff in the garage. Some more stuff will vanish some time this week because of a friend moving.

After a bit, I went out and ran a few things up the ladder, moved a few things over. Nat was able to park in the garage. This is important for a couple reasons. It may make it more difficult for someone to ell when we are home. It keeps the car from being so much a target for vandalism or thieves.

I don't think that going out in the heat and musty garage and doing the work helped me in even a small way get over my illness. In fact, I bet it hurt my healing process. Still, that's what happened. And I didn't video any of it.

As of last night, I felt like crap. I was sure I would have to visit the doctor this morning. However, when I woke up, I felt much better. A real night sleep helped. I had slept most of the day Monday, garage adventures discounted. This made it a bit difficult for me to get to bed last night. Work went pretty well. I could tell I was not up to snuff. Still had a sore stomach, though not as bad. Still had the glands trying to do laps around my neck. Still, not too bad.

Notes:

Actually used VIM on windows this morning. No one was around to be impressed. =[

This whole VIM thing. I'm not sure if I like VIM or if I'm making myself like VIM. I'm not sure I care one way or the other.

I subconsciously stuck the finger, my pinky, in my ear to scratch. That is no big deal except I had a band aid on that finger. It was like someone else sticking a finger in my ear when I wasn't expecting it. I jumped. I only wish I had a video of myself doing this.

Do you know how many old stories there are about supernatural stuff happening in dark rooms? It seems like every five minutes you have some ghost of future self sending messages this way. What will the "other side" do with digital photography.

We had some rain clouds came in from the south today before lunch. That is pretty rare. Those clouds typically only come in after lunch. Typically after 15:00. The rain was really intense for about ten minutes. Then past. Then, another round came by. That just isn't our patter for this time of year

Ann Wilson of Heart is 62.

One of the people at work was complaining that they had let her friend use their computer to book a flight. The advertisers will not relent trying to advertise to her about vacation deals, hotels, and yes, flights. She was talking about it because there was an NPR story about this very thing up yesterday afternoon. It is driving her up the wall. I don't really notice ads. I wonder if this happened to me if I would even notice.

Someone mentioned an article titled "Can anyone be a successful president?" I think so, as long as we don't higher a politician to do the job.

Ka-boom! Good to hear some thunder again. I wonder how my parent's dog is doing. She is nuts about thunder.

Painting

I painted something. I haven't painted anything since I was a lad. I should say that I tired to paint things. I mostly made a mess and moved on.i This project worked out pretty well so far. It still smells like paint and probably will for a year or so.

My father made this riser for me. He suggested painting it. It is about time that I did so. I need to paint the front door. No, not bright red, though the thought crossed my mind. They work great. They, one at home and one at work, are starting to show some ware. Thus, a coat of paint to protect them.

Why bright monkey ass red? Why not?

Field	Data
Title	Painting
Description	Let the jokes about a blind man painting begin! I must say that I really enjoyed this little project. Just might do it again in the near future on the other riser from work. I already have the can of red paint just calling my name. * http://www.rustoleum.com/ * Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/zhsy00001 * Blog http://plastickelly.blogspot.com * YouTube RSS http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/users/zhsy00001/uploads
Tags	paint painting red garage dynamite spray paint father's day project Houston Texas "Canon Elph 300" Kdenlive
Link	Link

VIM vlog - rant

Field	Data
Title	VIM vlog - rant
Description	This is a bit of a rant from me about the VIM editor. This is NOT a how to video. * Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/zhsy00001 * Blog http://plastickelly.blogspot.com * YouTube RSS http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/users/zhsy00001/uploads
Tags	Linux Windows VIM VI GVIM text editor command prompt CMD PowerShell "Canon Elph 300" Houston Texas Kdenlive
Link	Link

The cat vlog

Field	Data
Title	The cat vlog (and a wreck drive by)
Description	The cat came along for a ride. If you remember the last vlog, he doesn't like exiting the house very often. Feel special. * Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/zhsy00001 * Blog http://plastickelly.blogspot.com * YouTube RSS http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/users/zhsy00001/uploads
Tags	cat cats vlog car trip drive by wreck gaudy bug-eye sunglasses fit-over sunglasses Houston Texas Kdenlive "Canon Elph 300"
Link	Link

From the Well, duh category

Egypt's military rulers claim to be in control of government after top court rules it has dissolved parliament.

CNN Headline news email alert

So, the guys with the guns are making the rules. Thank you Capitan No Shit. I've tried to pay attention to what is going on int he Middle East and north Africa. I cannot keep up. People in Egypt have been giving interviews saying they want the right wing Muslim parties because they will bring stability of some kind. Even if they do not allow dancing and music and such, things will get better. People don't talk much about what happens ten years down the road of living like this. People won't live under this style of governance for long after having had a taste of western living.

Notes:

We are incapable of learning everything. We are capable of trying.

I can't get Fedora 16 to automatically source my .bashrc file on login. I don't get it. It works on other versions.

What shall we do with one port on one server? How many meetings will it take to decide this port's fate? What slides and security will guard this port? What shall we tell the internet?

Peter Lorre Was a bug-eyed actor who did a bunch of movies. He is remembered more for horror stories. I listened to a radio show where he played a Russian murderer. He had a distinct Austrian accent. He screwed up his lines.

Still sticking with VIM for the time being.

Obscurographer: My kid who can say all the proper words trying to explain something, yet not get her message across all while using maximum effort to either confuse me or actually make sense. I haven't figure out which yet.

Dead sign and laundry

Field	Data
Title	Dead sign
Description	OK, it is kind of dying. It is still good, right? * Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/zhsy00001 * Blog http://plastickelly.blogspot.com * YouTube RSS http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/users/zhsy00001/uploads
Tags	Metro bus stop sign fender bender broken car bits laundry pod cat garage "Canon Elph 300" Houston Texas Kdenlive Westhimer
Link	Link

Notes

May 6th 1975. I was six years old.

I have an Android phone. I have nothing against Apple. I just think they are over priced for what you get. I don't get the rivalry. It pretty much boils down to money for me. My phone and service are far cheaper with my crappy Android than with an lush, fancy, iPhone.

People in Ireland feel they have handed away their independence, fought for by their elders. The legacy is gone. They are riled and displeased at the number of people who have no touch or connection to Ireland telling them how to live their lives. This day has been coming. People in Europe ran up the bill and now others are being asked to pay for it.

Still trying out gvim on Windows. I'm not yet fed up with it. The spell checker in gvim on Linux blows so I don't use it much. There is a much different spell checker on Windows that is usable. Also, gvim comes with vim so you can use vim on the command line in Windows. Very nice. Typically, I burn through text editors very quickly. They all piss me off. There are plenty of opportunities for this one to do the same. You have to manually add the spelling folder on Ubuntu to get the local dictionary to show up. There is an endless number of details one must be aware of to make this software work.

A Singapore airlines dumped all their in flight entertainment stuff and just rents out iPads for entertainment. Hawaii Airlines does something similar, but it is a proprietary device.

I have just been sleepy all day. I don't get what is wrong with me. I'm pretty sure I slept OK. I've been able to do my job well today. Not sure what the issues is with my ability to just keep going.

Fast and Furious, also known as Gun Walker lead to the death of agent Brian Terry. Some shit might go down.

Bill, Elle's grandfather, told me a bunch last night about military aviation and how pay grades work in the military. Apparently, grade six and up are VIP. They get parades if they turn up at bases. He elaborated on a couple "hurry up and wait" kind of stories from his and Ted's experience.

Sometime last week I was informed there was a Father's Day donut thing Wednesday at Elle's school. Yesterday afternoon Elle was talking about school and friends. The subject of Father's day came up and she said it was "Friday". Bill, corrected her that it was Sunday. Nothing more was said. This morning, Wednesday morning, I was late to work accepting a ride from Nat and being informed that the muffin thing (not donuts) was scheduled on Friday. My reaction was "Muffins!?"

Wow, Europe is flipping the collective shit. The financial news places are asking "How do we kick Greece out of the Euro?" and "Will Spain and Greece kill the Euro?" It is highly scary. Someone from Egypt was complaining what kinds of things they thought would happen if Europe "collapses". The word caused some hiccups in the room of people sitting in Europe asking the questions. Everyone seems to be screaming for more free money to get things going. The trouble is, when you look at the numbers, the free money does as much harm as good.

One of the ivy league schools is putting up online classes for just about anyone who wanted to attend for free no less. They didn't expect tens of thousands of people to sign up to the first couple of classes. The guy speaking in the interview said he was surprised with the response. This is good for the university and for the people. The university gets a bunch of people to try out a couple of their classes and get a feel for the place. Maybe, they will send their kids there or go there themselves one day.

I always thought that VI was the cut down version of VIM. It is the other way round. VIM stands for VI(iMproved). Learn something every day.

The rest of the world might just get the next generation of cable type TV distribution. The U. S. and Europe will not get it because existing industry lobbyists wining about intellectual property. The honest truth is that no one can compete with them as long as they make the technology that competitors would use illegal before anyone implements it.

It took me half an hour to figure out a printer was simply not going to work with USB on a particular Win 7 box. I ended up having to hook it up on the network and hook it up that way. The driver and Windows 7 both said they wanted to talk to each other over the USB cord, but it was not going to happen.

>

Lunch conversation

Went down stairs and got Sweet and Sower Chicken from the deli in our building. It wasn't very good, but there was a tone of it. I think I'll pass on a repeat.

• Tall people in Japan. A couple people in our office are tall and have been to Japan.
• Towers and observation points on high points of land
• Designing in AutoCAD and other programs, and the age of such programs
• Complaining about phones and phone companies

There were dozens of other topics touched upon. I just didn't retain any of them. Therefor, they are not worth mentioning. I tell myself this to prevent the testing of my sanity. At least I have always been this absent minded. It is not a new symptom.

Phonetic Alphabet

Here we go again. One more shot at the phonetic alphabet.

alpha
bravo
Charlie
delta
echo
foxtrot
golf
hotel
India
Juliette
kilo
Lima
Mike
November
Oscar
papa
Quebec
Romeo
Sierra
tango
uniform
Victor
whisky
X-ray
Yankee
Zulu

Well, that is the first time I went all the way through the phonetic alphabet without having to look up a single letter. Now, I need practice until they come to me without thinking, without effort.

I also hand wrote them out this morning. I think that will help for some reason. Any time you run though it in your head, it helps I bet.

Brain slipping

Want to write something down. Want to make a mark. Nothing comes to mind. Was this ever easy?

Feeling desperate. Shouldn't the words come on their own?

Was there ever a time when my mind found it easy to create? Have I always been the same damn drone not creative dullard?

Is it a sign of getting older that I do not create much of anything any more.

Is this important? Is there a reason I need to be creative?

Notes:

Doctors used to give wounded soldiers a sip of water to find out if they could still swallow. If not, they were put at lower priority.

Politics is priority. When I upgrade equipment at work, the first thing out of everyone's mouth before approval is "Who needs what and why?" This is politics. Prioritizing needs and wants, also known as resource management, is politics. I have to attach a face to each piece of equipment to prevent my numbers from being shaved. I've heard this sort of thing happens in the military. I suppose it happens everywhere.

Had lunch with the wife and second wife. It is a running joke between us and a friend. (don't freak mom).

I've seen "Double Jeopardy". It apparently was a better movie than I remember because it comes up over and over on film reviews and "Good old movies" kinds of podcasts all the time.

It turns out that dyslexia has a lot to do with the kerning (spacing) between letters and words.

TMI warning! I ate a bunch of cold slaw this weekend. I'm tootin' like a 73 Pinto.

Brisket

Field	Data
Title	Brisket
Description	Family Saturday involving great food, fun and good times. * Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/zhsy00001 * Blog http://plastickelly.blogspot.com * YouTube RSS http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/users/zhsy00001/uploads
Tags	brisket smoker meat family fun kids hula hoop pocket knives barbecue "Canon Elph 300" Houston Texas Kdenlive
Link	Link

Spaghetti

Little jumpy on the editing, but good.

Lancaster over London

Beautiful bird. Big windows. A city that goes on for miles to fly over. What a day.

Pushups

Field	Data
Title	Pushups
Description	I need to get in a better shape. * Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/zhsy00001 * Blog http://plastickelly.blogspot.com * YouTube RSS http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/users/zhsy00001/uploads
Tags	pushups dream exorcise "get in shape" complaining blog vlogging garage "Canon Elph 300" Houston Texas Kdenlive
Link	Link

Phonetic

One more try from memory.

Letter	Word	Did I remember it?
A	Alpha	yes
B	Bravo	yes
C	Charlie	yes
D	Delta	yes
E	Echo	no
F	Foxtrot	yes
G	Golf	yes
H	Hotel	yes
I	India	no
J	Juliette	yes
K	Kilo	yes
L	Lima	yes
M	Mike	no
N	November	no
O	Oscar	no
P	Papa	yes
Q	Quebec	yes
R	Romeo	no
S	Sierra	no
T	Tango	no
U	Uniform	yes
V	Victor	no
W	Whisky	no
X	X-ray	yes
Z	Zulu	yes

Some come and go. How did I miss Whisky? I hadn't had my coffee yet I suppose. Still need the practice.

Notes:

I really want to live in Lake Woebegone for a couple years. I Tweeted something about retirement a couple days ago and it has been sticking in my head. Not sure I'll get the opportunity. It would be awesome.

I really hate it when someone asks if they can barrow my parent's stuff. I have to say no before it gets to my parents. Friend of ours is moving this weekend.

The family will have some brisket this weekend. I can't wait. We are also going to help a friend move. I hate that. There have been times I have needed help moving and could not find anyone who would do so. I was really stuck. I just had to make it work. I've had friends who would have killed themselves trying to help me move. I've had friends who just wouldn't.

Had some Whole Foods jalapeno corn bread this afternoon. It was both sweet and spicy. It was fantastic.

I spend a far too huge chunk of my time hooking up people's printers. You would think that after four decades, someone would have figured out how to plug in a printer and it, you know, work. They say they have done this. The problem is software funny enough. Most of the printer drivers just don't exist in a way that an operating system can connect to the internet and download them without having already installed special software beforehand.

Humidity and a car wreck

Field	Data
Title	Houston humidity and a car wreck aftermath
Description	It is that time of year again. It is Houston and everything has a sheen of water dripping off it from the humidity. Oh, and we saw the aftermath of a pretty nasty fender bender one the way home. * Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/zhsy00001 * Blog http://plastickelly.blogspot.com * YouTube RSS http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/users/zhsy00001/uploads
Tags	humidity water weather hot steamy AC airconditioning bus metro transit Houston Texas Canon Elph 300 Kdenlive
Link	Link

You will never see this sort of thing again

The guy doing the coment on this video is right. We have become a pusified world. Never again will you have someone do this sort of live entertainment.

Amazing landing

If there is some kind of award for not screwing up under pressure, these pilots should get it.

Phonetic Alphabet

This is me testing my knowledge of the US Army Phonetic Alphabet.

Letter	Name	Did I remember it?
A	Alpha	yes
B	Bravo	no
C	Charlie	yes
D	Delta	yes
E	Echo	No
F	Foxtrot	yes
G	Golf	Yes
H	Hotel	yes
I	India	no
J	Juliette	no
K	Kilo	yes
L	Lima	yes
M	Mike	no (I went by Mike for years and it does't help)
N	November	no
O	Oscar	no
P	Papa	yes
Q	Quebec	y
R	Romeo	no
S	Sierra	No
T	Tango	yes
U	Uniform	no, I got it wrong
V	Victor	no, but almost
W	Whiskey	yes
X	X-ray	yes
Y	Yankee	no
Z	Zulu	yes

Eleven out of twenty six is shit. I'll work on it. I'll also work on the spelling. I got may wrong that way too. Even copying over does't work.