Apathy

I don't care about Dancing with the Stars, and I don't care about Bristol Palin. I really don't care about Dancing with the Stars FEATURING Bristol Palin.

We're Still Here

School started this week and I've been somewhat busy with work and other concerns.

Need to find a hunting spot.

My Two Cents' On the "Cordoba Center"

I find it interesting just how much disinformation is out there regarding the Cordoba Center or the absurdly misnamed "Ground Zero Mosque."

First off - it's a former Burlington Coat Factory.
Second - it's a Community Center, more along the lines of a YMCA than anything else - basketball courts, swimming pools, etc., and open to all.
Third - It's less than 300 feet from an already existant Mosque.
Fourth - Muslims are working on the reconstruction in and around the ACTUAL ground zero with no complaints - though are they not doing a disservice to the memory of those killed by the attacks by practicing the religion of those who killed in the name of the same Allah they worship on the selfsame site?
Fifth - No Muslim Americans were involved in the bombing of the WTC. (if you need a link for this, then I really have no time for your opinion)
Sixth - Imam Rauf is arguably as big (or bigger) target of Al Qaeda than the "infidels" because he is not as pious (radical) as AQ.
Seventh - This "controversy" is the product of Fox News and company.
Eighth - Muslims were among those killed on 9-11. Denying one religion the ability to build on private property while not pining for a similar moratorium should other religions plan to build on private property diminishes the religious freedom (one of the things for which we ostensibly stand) and by extension their equal standing as American citizens - the very things that Al Qaeda hates us for.

I support Park 51, because of a couple reasons - first and foremost, it's their right to do so and I support 1st Amendment rights. Second, I think it's a slap in the face to AQ to allow this center to be built - "we respect the rights of all religions so greatly that we're able to accept willingly the construction of a center founded by men and women who subscribe to the same religion as you - we don't hate your way of life, we embrace all comers!" Third - For those who say "we support your right to build, just don't build 'here,'" I ask - what distance is far enough to be "acceptable?" One of my problems with the opposition (and with much Right-Wing rhetoric anymore is that there's never a serious (or in this case *any*) alternative proposed, just "no."

Quite frankly, unless you live in Manhattan near the site, how does this story affect you? Had Fox News and friends not manufactured the controversy in time for the new election cycle, would you have even known about it?

Wednesday - Crossroads

So I turned down a job offer a couple weeks ago, though I'm having second thoughts. The attorney is quite amicable, very knowledgeable, and I'd have full time hours at about $75-100/hour.

My current job allows me a lot of flexibility - I get to work on my own set of hours, I get to work at my own pace, and I get to stay at home - no commute, but I make less money per hour and I work fewer hours.

I'm not sure how I should handle this - maybe I should call the attorney who I'd turned down to see if he might have a spot for me part time a couple days a week, or maybe I should give up on the job I'm doing currently, or maybe I should continue doing what I'm doing, or I should switch jobs altogether and move to the new firm, which would give us the financial means for my wife to leave her job to find a new one if she wanted, closer to home...

Truth to Power

Thank you, Michael Bloomberg For speaking to one of the core tenets of our nation.

Dana Milbank Tackles Glenn Beck

The article starts by talking about an event outside Oakland, where a Glenn Beck listener got it in his mind that he needed to go do some killin' to stop the evil liberals from stealing our country. Dana then goes into greater detail about how this isn't an isolated incident, and that there is a common denominator here - listeners of Glenn Beck's conspiracy theories...

Speaking of Conspiracy Theories, Rubicon starts tonight.

Those Who Don't Study History

Are doomed to repeat it.

Sarah Palin claims her interviews were edited to make her look bad during the 2008 campaign.

Here is the full transcript of the Charles Gibson interview. There are other links to her other interviews there as well. Read them in their entirety and determine what you think.

Then Why is There Still Violence?

Apparently, John McCain knows something that he's not telling the rest of the world. I wish our guys knew that we already won the war in Iraq and that it's a peaceful, stable democracy that is a regional ally like we were told it would become.

What to Say

I've been neglecting the blog. I know this.

I'd like to say that I have a good excuse, like I've been busy with work, but while that's technically true, it's also misleading, as I was out of work for several months, and even now that I am working again, I'm working from home, so I have no commute to speak of to muck things up. In other words, I have more free time, yet I feel like I have less.

The kids are home for summer vacation. I'm glad, because I don't have to pay daycare, and I get to spend the summer with our rugrats. The Boy and the Princess have both started swimming this year, which is good for me, in that I don't have to try to watch 3 separate kids all at once while we go to the pool, but it's bad, because now they constantly want to go to the pool (I don't oppose activity, but I can't always take an hour or two each day to take them in).

The Apple is still somewhat afraid of the water. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the water being deeper than he is tall, but I would like to see him getting a little more active in the pool.

At home, we've gotten accustomed to the dog. Molly is basically a gassier part of our family now. Very sweet dog who just knows that she loves us and we love her. Sometimes the Princess loves her so much it hurts (literally).

As you know, I've yet to get paid, but once the checks start coming in, I should be able to get out of the house from time to time. That will be nice. Sometimes I feel like a shutin.

Productivity

I've got several invoices in now for work, and hopefully it's just a matter of time before the checks start arriving.

I'm doing a reasonable job of getting between 25 and 35 hours in each week, which is better than a lot of their folks do, I guess. While I'd like to get closer to 40 billable hours a week, the kids still require attention, as does the house.

At any rate, if the math is right, I think I'll be making a fair bit more part time than I was making full time at my last job.

What They Said

Apparently, this came from a commenter on Balloon Juice - one of my favorite reads, as he's got a team of snarky, witty writers with him, and quite frankly, I enjoy reading about the antics with his dogs and cat.

The article linked about sums up quite nicely my sentiments about Republicans and Democrats with regards to voting.

How can one express outrage properly for something like this?

I defy anyone to say there's no racism in the Tea Party.

Tea Party Leader Mocks NAACP "Coloreds" In Online Screed

Friday

I should be getting a new set of binders tomorrow. That will be nice, as it will get me some steady work for the next week.

I did not get the job I'd kind of been crossing my fingers for, as the notice stated the position was cancelled.

I don't know what that means, exactly, but it would have been nice to at least get an interview for it.

Going to take the kids to the pool today, since it's summer, and that's what kids do.

Binders Finished

I finished the last of the binders I received for work today. The time to complete these have dropped down significantly over the past couple of weeks as I've started getting the hang of things.

I now have to wait to get 1: new binders on which to work and 2: paid. I'm perhaps a little more concerned about getting 2 right now.

Beyond that, after seeing that my writing style apparently most often resembles David Foster Wallace, I decided to pick up a copy of his opus, Infinite Jest at the library today, while the kiddoes got their first library cards, well, two of them did. The Apple did not, as I"m certain he'd lose it before we got home.

Anyway, after much trial and tribulation, we're home. I'm caught up on work for the moment, and there is relative silence in the Binjo Ditch.

Will speak more soon, I hope. Don't want to give up the blog forever.

Writing Styles

Found this on another blog that I read. Thought it was interesting. I submitted 9 different blog posts of mine and the name that I got most often (it was actually a majority) was:

I write like
David Foster Wallace

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Of course, I don't know who this guy is.

MidMonth Update

I've been doing my new job for somewhere around a month now. I have yet to receive a paycheck, which is stressful in and of itself.

I've also discovered a couple truths about myself:

1. As tempting as it is to want to work from home, it takes a certain mentality to do it. I've been far more productive than I feared I might be, in part because I've done a good job of convincing myself of the need to continue to turn in work.

2. Working while watching children is not a good combo. There is always a distraction. Either the computer or television is too loud, or the kids are fighting, or they're chasing the dog around the house, or it's quiet (which means they're up to something)...

3. Working from home does not get you away from work at home. From my study, I can see the dishes piling up in the sink, I can hear the washing machine and dryer when they stop running, when I go check up on the kids I see the mess in the living room that needs picking up...

4. There's no transition from "home" to "work" back to "home." One of the things I enjoyed about my commute was that it granted me the ability to mentally shift from "Work Mode" to "Home Mode." With work being literally "in the other room," there's no way to separate yourself from it - particularly when you know you just need to do that little bit more...

I don't mind my job. I do title opinions of properties for Oil and Gas leases. It's rather interesting to see the conveyances from one person to another to another and all the hiccups that turn up in the chain of title. Every property has its own little idiosyncracies that need to be handled, which brings me to my next item of concern - 5. There's nobody "here" to get guidance from. So far, the firm has been quite good about answering my questions. I think today was the first time I asked a question where I was told I would be unable to get the answer until tomorrow, but there's a certain comfort zone to having someone who knows what's going on right down the hall to talk to. Maybe that's for the best then, that I have to try to figure it out on my own, but I prefer to get the reinforcement on my idea rather than try to figure this out through guesswork and hoping that I get a response on the phone.

My current plan is to ride this out for a few months and see if maybe after I get up to full salary (about 1 year), maybe start looking for a similar position in an office environment. I think I am better suited for office work than I am for working from home, but I do need the experience.

A Staggering Statistic

Bearing in mind that the US Government fought tooth and nail to deny these detainees even the most basic of civil liberty protection, how can anyone say with a straight face that Guantanamo only hold "the worst of the worst?"

U.S. has now lost 75 percent of Guantanamo habeas cases | McClatchy

Happy 4th

When in the course of human events, and all that.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's day to all you dads out there.

Hunting Plans

While I've started a new job and thus have a bit less free time to worry about, I can say that I have been able to get myself out today to go scope out some hunting spots in the Sam Houston National Forest. The first spot that I'd found a few weeks ago turned out to be perfect. So perfect, in fact, that it's already been claimed by a hunter. The stand is already up with a guy line running across the view that we'd ended up finding.

I'll have to keep heading out to see what turns up, but it was nice to head out and actually see some deer.