I am really disturbed by some children's shows. For example: The Wiggles and Boohbah. The Wiggles bother me because those four Aussies are way too happy. OTOH, Boohbah is just frightening.

Well, I got into yet another pissing match with some moderators. I know that making a comment on moderation is considered against the rules, but, when a moderator screws up/or mis-moderates something, sometimes I can't help myself. I lost the pissing match since some of my comments were moderated down. In the end, it's not that big of a deal, but it is kind of annoying.

The problem comes down to this: why would anyone care if a user had good or bad karma? As everyone knows, moderating someone as "Funny" does not improve that person's karma. So, some moderators choose to moderate the Funny comments as "Insightful" or "Interesting" so they can improve the karma of the Poster. The moderators today gave a post an "Interesting" when the Post was making a joke about Girls in Bikinis. I saw "Girls in Bikinis" and "Interesting" together and make a joke about it. And, I was chewed out about how the moderator was just trying to improve someone's Karma.

In short, get over it people! Why are you worried about User X's Karma? Get a life!

Then again, maybe I should get a life, as well, since I'm bitching about this problem on my journal....

I have made a career out of procrastination. I went through high school, undergrad, graduate school and about 10 years in the work force procrastinating each and every step of the way. I would wait until the last minute to write my class papers or study for exams. I have not even started my tasks for work until absolutely required.

For example, last week, I was supposed to work on an internal System Implementation Methodology Project. We are simply creating a method for implementing ERP systems. My company already has two or three older methods and my task is to assist in combining these two or three older methods into a new, unified method. In other words, the project itself is pretty much horseshit. But, it is billable horseshit. So, last week, I was off from my normal traveling assignment. I should have taken 20 or so hours to finish the last bit of this methodology crap. Of course, I spent the entire week goofing off with my family.

This week, I am back at my client in NYC. I told myself that I would do work on this stupid project when I got back to my hotel. So, what have I done for the past two hours? Surfed. Posted stupid jokes to Slashdot. Watched Georgia Tech beat the hell out of Michigan in hoops.

And, this is typical of how I operate in everything. I always wait until the last minute to finish things. I wait until the last minute to file my taxes. To by Christmast Gifts. To submit my travel expenses.

Basically, this entire journal entry is one long attempt NOT to work on the stupid methodology project.

At one point in my life, my procrastination will catch up with me. But, for now, I am 38 years old and I have made it so far. Is there any hope for people like me? Or will I be procrastinating even on the way to my own funeral?

We arrived in Washington D.C. at 7:30am on Saturday, Jan. 18, at the mall. It was amazing to stand there right between the Capitol Building and the huge phallic symbol that is the Washington Monument (which seemed sort of fitting, as it seems to symbolize our dicking with the rest of the world).
Soon, there were lines of horse trailers for the mounted police, and many more cops walking around. The vendors arrived to sell buttons bumper stickers, tee-shirts, and alternative newsletters. They were far outnumbered, however, by the people who were handing out free literature and other miscellany.
We decided to head up towards the front of the growing crowd, looking for a good spot to view the stage. We scored a good location about forty feet from the front just as the speakers began, so we could clearly see, hear and feel everything going on.
It started with Chumbawumba playing two quick and heartfelt protest songs to get everybodys attention. Many speakers came forward, but the ones who were most memorable for me were former Attorney General Ramsey Clark, Jessica Lange, Born on the Fourth of July author Ron Kovic, Rev. (and now-declared presidential candidate) Al Sharpton, and Rev. Jesse Jackson.
Clark garnered much support from the crowd, delineating the impeachment possibilities for (P)resident Bush, and laying out information for everyone on the petition that will soon be available online toward that pursuit. Lange was another standout for me, not only because she gave a big Thank You! to those of us from Northeastern Minnesota who rode the bus for 24 hours to get to D.C., but also because of her earnestnessnot being there to play the fame card, but standing up to oppose the war as a mother to her children. Kovic was not only a great speaker, he was also an important reminder. As he sat in his wheelchair, paralyzed from the chest down, he represented the casualties of war. It might have been another war, but its a past we should never forget. Sharpton and Jackson were two of the most powerful speakers I have ever heard, both eloquent, able to pull at the heartstrings with their words, but in different ways. Sharpton has a loud, proud, in-your-face delivery that no one can ignore, and Jackson is soft-spoken, possessing a manner that pulls from deeper within. His words are almost subliminal in their effecteven if you dont hear them, youll feel them.
By this point, the crowd had swelled as far as the eye could see. Despite the very cold wind, the number of people was actually melting the snow on the ground.
And then the march began. Getting to the front of the march was a futile battle, the throng was so great. The streets in Washington are wide, and there was more than enough room to hold a parade of floats or anything else down them, but the crowd was far too massive. Signs, drums, chants of end the madness, no blood for oil, and Hey Bush, we know you! Your daddy was a killer too!everywhere. People were smiling, dancing and marching down the street, almost like a huge army had invaded Washingtonexcept without weapons and only interested in peace. Crowds were orderly, and incredibly diverse. At what other time could I be walking down the street with a punk drum corps in front of me, the unions behind me, a Jewish group on my left, and a Palestinian group on my right? I saw things that both inspired me and disgusted me. When we walked by the Republican headquarters, there was a group of people on the lower balcony with a Hippies Go Home banner, yelling at us. But in the same building, on the top floors which are rented by Amnesty International, there were banners of support hung from every window.
The official line was that 30,000 people had marched, but from being there I can tell you that the real number was probably closer to 200,000. The march reached its terminus at the Navy yard an hour before everyone was able to filter out of the mall!
Despite the miles-long hike, being cold, hungry, dirty, and more sore than Ive ever been in my life, I could not wipe the smile off my face. It will be weeks before the euphoria wanes. If the opportunity ever arises again for a protest, I will be thereas long as I can believe, and I can move, I will be there.
SUBHEAD: My First March on Washington: Lessons Learned
If it were not for the spirit of protest and the ability to tell the leadership of our country that they are wrong, this land of ours would not be the same. Without it, in fact, our country wouldnt exist in the first place. I have had many people try to discourage me from my beliefs and tell me that I am un-American for wanting to protest. But isnt protesting the most patriotic thing I can do? Theres another multitude who will tell me there is no point to protest anymore, because no one will listen. But isnt that in itself false, because if nobody cared, wouldnt no one have marched?
The only way one can understand the power of protest is to participate. By participating, one can be a part of the process that drives this country. It does not really matter what side of an issue youre onnothing will ever change if all you do is shake your head while watching TV. Telling someone else you disagree with them is a courageous thing to do, and telling millions of people you disagree with them is monumental. One of the most disturbing trends that seems to be a part of the whole anti-war/pro-war argument is that some people are advocating the destruction of property, like anti-war signs. Destroying signsor even worse, public propertywill bring no good end, and whatever message is intended will be lost in the outrage caused by the damage.
If you want to register your discontent, send a letter or email. Tell someone what you believe. Put a sign in your yard, put a bumper sticker on your car, or wear a button. These are the kinds of protest that do not cause pain or damage. These are the kinds of protest that make this country great.
Sometimes our leaders seem to forget who they are working for, and it seems the only way to have a voice is to be rich or a CEO. I would be happier than anything to have somebody prove me wrong on this point, but I dont see it happening. I joined a protest, and it turned out to be far larger than I imagined it would be. Is anyone listening?

This question will probably never be answered. We could have 700 channels of television, and for 364 nights out of the year, all 700 stations would show crap. Then, for one night in the year, you'll find that two GREAT movies are being shown at the same time by different stations.

Tonight? The Godfather and Field of Dreams. Yeah, I know, we have all seen the movies a hundred times. But they are so good, that I could watch them a hundred times more.

Note that comments are enabled. I'm leaving them enabled because I'm curious to see if anyone actually reads my journal. :)

Of course, by leaving comments on, I am opening myself up to flames or trolls, and since this subject is about the 2004 Presidential election, chances are high that I'll get one or two of them. While I will be reading any comment that I happen to get, I doubt that I'll take the time to respond. It would only result in a pissing match and that's a complete waste of everyone's time. I'll probably make errors in this journal entry. Go ahead and point them out. Your pointing them out will not change my mind, but it will help me as I try to find the weak spots in my thinking. Just do me one favor, read my entire post before responding. It's a long post and it may not be the most exciting read. But, hey, I'm letting all of you post on this journal, at least give my writing a bit of respect before you flame me. :)

A couple of more things: I do live in Pennsylvania, a swing state. Back in the late 1980's, early 1990's, I was not the stinking computer consultant that I am today. From about 1989 through 1996, I was a professional political campaigner (always for the democrats). I've done everything from big-dollar fundraiser to Get Out the Vote to Advance work. Of course, being a democrat back then gives me a heavy tendency to support democrats. Unfortunately this year, my party has stuck me with Senator Kerry. I would have preferred someone else (General Clark?), but, hey, you go with what you are given. Also, I did NOT look at any of the "talking point" web sites before writing this journal. I've tried to formulate these thoughts on my own (I do read many columnists, from the both left and right, so I am sure they have some influence on this article). If there is a list of "talking points" that I am mimicking, it is purely unintentional.

Now, onto President Bush.

When I began to think about the reasons why I won't vote for this President, I thought about all of these individual policy reasons:

How does this President reconcile his Tax Cut policy with his budget requests to increase Spending?

How could I support a President that wants to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, instead of increasing gas mileage requirements on automobiles?

Oddly. Despite being a certified liberal, I am actually in favor of NAFTA and other global trading pacts (and yes, I think that statement will probably get me some flames from left-wingers). How can I support a President that increased tariff's on Steel? All that did was increase the cost of Steel on US Consumers. Why would he support huge subsidies to farmers? All that does is raise the costs of other imported goods, since other countries are penalizing us for subsidizing our farm exports.

I'm somewhat of a pacifist. I was personally opposed to Iraq from the beginning. How could I support this President base on his policy in Iraq? Especially after it meant pulling resources away from the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. (Probably asking for flame from the right on that statement).

I am opposed to Mr. Bush on nearly every issue you can think of: I am pro-choice. I am in favor of gay marriage . I am fully opposed to the Patriot Act. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

But, when it came down to it, the policy differences aren't what really drives me crazy about this President (I am sure if you dug through a list of issues, you would find a few in which I agree with the President). I think it boils down to a question of style. Unlike some liberals, I actually think the President, when formulating policy, does listen to a variety of viewpoints in his administration. I think he considers multiple sides of an issue. My problem comes with what happens after Mr. Bush formulates a policy decision.

He rarely shows the tendency to change his mind on a policy. He continues the course, no matter what. Some people may consider that to be a sign of strength. I consider it to be a sign of stubborness. Situations change. When situations change, policies sometime have to change. This President does not seem to even consider that possiblity.

When Mr. Bush first proposed Tax Cuts, there was a budget surplus. His administration talked about puttining the surplus into the pockets of the taxpayers. Then, the economy went into the dumpster. The Administration changed the reason for the policy (tax cuts were needed to stimulate the economy), but they didn't alter the policy. The policy passed. Then, when the economy didn't pick up, the Administration proposed more tax cuts. It didn't matter that we were experiencing budget deficits. What mattered was that tax cuts were the policy. There was no mention of the failed stimulus that occured with the first tax cuts. Instead, the Administration focused on how more tax cuts would be good for the economy (Oh, please don't tell me that the tax cuts resulted in an improving economy. The economy has barely improved today and it has been over a year since the most recent tax cuts passed. Any stimulus from them would have occured by now).

Note that while I don't think the tax cuts are a good policy, what really bothers me is the single-mindedness of the Administration. All they cared about was Tax Cuts.

Now, bear with me and look at Iraq. At first, we were invading Iraq because of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Then, we were invading Iraq because of it's links with terrorists. Now, our reasons for invading Iraq are to free the Iraqi People. Although I have moral issues with changing 220 years of US policy and launching a pre-emptive war, my real problem is that once the policy was decided, the Administration just kept coming up with new reasons for invading the country, even after their original reasons were proven to be incorrect.

My problem is that this Administration's justification for a policy is NOT as important as the policy itself. In other words. Mr. Bush thinks that Tax Cuts are good, then the Administration comes up with as many justifications as they can. It doesn't matter that the situation has changed. That the deficits have been ballooning. All that matters is the policy, Tax Cuts. The same with Iraq. Mr. Bush decided to invade Iraq. The Administration then spends months and months justifying the policy. It doesn't matter that the original reasons for the invasion have been proven false, the Administration keeps coming up with new reasons for the invasion.

I could go on about this President's smear campaigns against Senator Kerry. But, there is no point. Karl Rove is a great campaigner and has shown the tendency to smear Mr. Bush's opponents before, as in what happened to Senator McCain in the 2000 South Carolina Republican primary. However, I don't blame Mr. Bush for launching attacks. I DO blame Mr. Kerry for running a bad campaign (and having some bad luck). In a campaign for the President of the United States, a candidate should expect the opposition to do whatever it takes to win. Senator Kerry was obviously not prepared. Mr. Bush is a great campaigner (he stays ON MESSAGE) and I think Mr. Kerry has "misunderestimated" him. At the time this journal entry was posted (Sept, 2004), there was time for the Senator to rebound. Mr. Kerry is starting to attack on the key issue in this election, Iraq. We'll see if his attacks stick and we'll see what happens after the first debate.

I hope you read the whole journal post. If you care, go ahead and comment.

Trust me, there is nothing that is more boring than spending my work day creating and updating project documentation. Maybe that is why I have so many Slashdot comments over the past few weeks.

I gto a new toy via my brother today, it is a little all-in-one computer terminal, with one pci slot, a 10" panel display, and a pentium 166. Now all I have to do is mount the display in the dash of my Toyota MR2, put the box under the seat, lace in my 30 gig hard drive (it's not being used anywhere else) load up all my mp3's, do some creative use of rca adapters, and modify my shifter knob into a optical mouse, set a keyboard between the seat and the console, rig up a inverter/power supply, install a 802.11 card and POOF, my car has 10 gig of music on demand, never skips, and can war drive. With a little work I could even make it play games!

Well, I have started a new project. I ended my project in the Chicago area and now, I'm located down in the Virginia Beach/Newport News area. You would think, based on the location, that I would be working for a defense industry client. Shockingly enough, there is private industry in this araa of the United States. My client is a pretty big wholesaler.

Consulting is such a wild business sometimes. I left a really screwed up place and now, although these folks have issues, I'm actually enjoying myself. Of course, I have only been here three weeks. All that I've been doing here is generating Visio diagrams and developing documentation templates. That's right, I said templates. I'm not even generating documentation yet. I just have to find examples and maybe change the examples around a bit to fit this client's requirements. What a great gig!

I still miss my kid. Last week, I left the house at 8:30pm Sunday. He started to cry as I walked out the door (the kid is only one year old). It really broke my heart. When I came home around 8pm Thursday night, he had the huge smile and hugged me (he still can't talk).

In June, we had a great vacation on Hilton Head Island, SC. One of our best vacations in a very long time. Although, I doubt we'll go back there any time soon. It is really humid in South Carolina. Too humid. Next year, my wife and I are thinking of coastal Maine. Until the rugrat gets a little older, we're probably going to stay in the United States. However, once he gets to be a teenager, I want to take him overseas.

Anyway, gotta get back to work. I'm typing this as I run searches for types of documents. Once I find an example each document, I save it to my hard drive. Since typing this journal entry takes some time, it's probably better if I just get back to work.

Ah, yes, another couple of weeks, and my family and myself take a nice seven day break on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

A couple of months ago, in my journal, I talked about being kicked off of a project in Minneapolis. It only took me four weeks before my company found me a contract in Chicago. So, I've been commuting to Chicagoland for about 10 weeks or so since that time (unfortunately, the client is deep in the suburbs and NOT in downtown Chicago).

It's been a very busy contract. I have been billing about 45 hours a week AND my company has asked me to put in an additional 5 hours a week on internal crap. Add in the 10 hours I spend on air travel to and from the client a week, and I'm pretty fucking exhausted.

I really miss my wife and son. Even when I'm home, I spend alot of time on the computer, doing work. I do actually look forward to waking up with Connor at 6-ish am on Saturdays and Sundays, just to hang out with the rugrat.

The company gave me a six percent raise in May. Shocked the hell out of me. I was actually looking for other, non-traveling work. Now, I make more money. On one hand, I hate being away from my wife and son. On the other hand, a job in my hometown would probably mean a 20% cut in pay.

Decisions. Now where did I put that magic 8-ball?

I went to a take back the night rally because they wanted us to do a quick performance of some material from one of our recent shows, my god what a nightmare. The stage was 1/3rd the size of the basement I live in. The sound system showed up 1/2 an hour before show time, and I was the only one who knew how to run it. The show we were suppose to do material from is tv14 / R rated, and most of the croud was elementary school aged, ack! We open our segment with 'me and a gun' from Tori Amos, and the jump into 'Ted, just admit it' from Janes Addiction, this was not flying well with the dumb dyke (and I do not use that term lightly) who was MC'ing the thing. Oh well, shit happens. She should have told us that the victims of sexual assault support group was abunch of 7 year olds ahead of time, and if she knew how to arrange anything beyond a buffet table that would be great too. I take this stuff seriously, and I want the people that organize it to take it seriously too, not just pull together some friends and fem-a-nazis to wing it.

Now I have become more trendy while at teh same time becoming even more of a geek... I have started to work with the arts and helping to produce plays and video productions, which is really cool and trendy... But.. At the same time I am doing all of my production on a Linux box, and mostly do the multimedia presentation, video editing, set construction, and other behind the scene stuff.

My client has asked that I be removed from my project. This is the fist time this has happened in six years on the job.

In this career, this type of action is not unusual, I have seen it in nearly every project. And, I am not worried about being laid off. There is plenty of work out there. If this happened 18 months ago, I'd be worried. Today, I should be OK.

What pisses me off is how it happened. I found out that seven days before my last day, the client pulled all of their project team in a room and told them that I'd be removed from the project. Now, thanks to a "little bird", I knew I was being removed from the project, but I decided to stick around and to try to get past a few deadlines before I left. But, I had to act normal. I couldn't tell anyone that I was being removed. I couldn't act like anything was different.

By telling all of their employees a week before I was supposed to be let go, the client made me look like a fucking fool. I can't believe that they would try to make me look like a that. How fucking unprofessional! Fuck them. They are fucking assholes. I hate you (CLIENT NAME). I hope your fucking company rots away.

I feel better now. Hopefully, I'll find a job in a week or two. I could use a week at home with my family. I need a break from travel.

Not that anyone cares...but I do care, and it's my journal.

It is now 12:07am ET on January 30th, 2004. My son is now, officially, six months old. I never understood why people acted like idiots when it came to their children. Now that I have a child, I understand. Having a child is the greatest thing ever.

Tonight, I arrived home from my weekly business trip about 11pm ET (and, yes, travel for a living sucks big time). About 30 minutes after I came home, I was sitting at the computer, surfing the web and drinking a beer. My wife was sleeping in bed. I heard Connor crying (he woke up from his sleep). I ran upstairs and picked him up, so my wife could remain in bed--she spends four days a week alone with him, she needs a break. I brought him back downstairs and continued surfing. Connor just slept on my shoulder while I checked the news of the day.

Just holding my son while he sleeps makes me very, very happy. Yes, it's corny. But, I don't see my son four days a week. I must hold him as much as possible while I am home. Anyway, Happy Birthday, Connor. I love you very much.

My son was born in July, 2003. My wife was pretty amazing during the pregnancy. First (and foremost), I had a designated driver for nine months, which sort of made up for all those times my wife came up to me at various parties and said "Stop drinking, you are driving home tonight." :)

Second of all, not only did she not even touch a glass of wine, she held to a very strict diet and counted, every day, how much protein and vitamins her body was taking in.

The result? Connor weighed 8 lbs. 6 oz. at birth and had a full head of hair. Today, nearly six months later, he is in the 97th percentile for height and 95th percentile for weight.

What makes this amazing to me is that my wife is a vegan. She doesn't eat meat of any kind -- no beef, no chicken, no fish. And, no milk products -- no cheese, no cream sauce, etc. Oh, once every few months, she may have some mayonnaise (mainly in potato salad), but that is very limited.

She's not a *true* vegan. True vegans live in grass huts and don't drink alcohol. We live in a real house (in Pennsylvania) and, when she's not pregnant, my wife loves to have a glass or two of red wine.

I fully credit my wife for being healthy during her pregnancy. Her healthy lifestyle gave me a beautiful and healthy son. But I do miss having a permanent designated driver.