the DronesClub	the smackdown	Fierce Creatures	Little Blenheim	Barmy in Wonderland	the dernier cri

The unpleasant, acrid smell of burnt poetry.
Young Men in Spats, 1936

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April 30, 2009

This is me. Beset by foam beasts, apparently.

And WTF? Someone ran across my car today. Who runs across cars? At least wipe your feet!

6:12 p.m. - I am exhausted today. Utterly beat. I feel like I haven't slept a wink. Probably have sleep apnea or something, and I had the devil of a time focusing on my work today. Took another 15 catnap when I got home just so I can stay awake until bedtime.

Today is finally a beautiful day outside - not a cloud in the sky, not a bit humid, not a drop of rain to be seen. I imagine that will last for about 15 minutes before the clouds roll in.

Meanwhile, Jennifer is working late today. . . .

6:28 p.m. - Just as I typed the above sentence, she came in setting the dog off on their excited, barking spazzfest. Grrrr. I hate that. These beasts are untrainable - or at least, they are on my meager salary. When I win the lottery, I'm hiring a dog whisperer to train the monsters. At any rate, Jennifer is having a hot dog for dinner and I'm about to get reacquainted with an old friend called television. She had quite an adventure today, but you'll have to read her Facebook page for details.

 

April 29, 2009

Zembo Shrine plate, Harrisburg, PA, circa 1910s

Shenango China Shriners plate, circa 1926

7:34 p.m. - For my birthday, Jennifer gave me a book of American maps, from the 17th century to present. I could go from page to page, saying "want it," "need it," "got it," "want it." It's a dangerous thing, because I want 'em all, and sooner or later I'll have 'em all. Julie gave me a plate from Tom's Antiques. It's from Zembo Shrine in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and dates from between 1910 and 1920. I've admired it every time I'm at Tom's and now it looks great next to my other Shrine plate.

We grilled pork chops and asparagus this evening for dinner! Yum! Then we sat on the porch for a while, watching the world pass. It is still chilly outside and wet, but fortunately, Pat mowed before the lawn became as thick as an Amazon rain forest. . . And now, we're chilling upstairs, getting ready for Lost.

 

April 28, 2009

6:36 p.m. - Excellent Ethics Forum! Dr. Rush Kidder's presentation on Moral Courage was extraordinary. He is a heckuva speaker, who presents (to use his own literature) in a straight-forward way, using real life examples. By and large, we tend to think of ethics as "out there," not a day-to-day occurrence. Kidder showed us that issues of right versus right are a common occurrence and presented the forum with tools to analyze these situations to come to an ethical conclusion. This morning, we spent a few hours formulating a plan to consider to brand the Scottish Rite as an institute of ethical thinking.

Ethics Forum at the Scottish Rite

One strand of his talk was about how laws rush in to fill a lapse in ethics (people litter, and the law corrects their behavior through punishment). I see a certain truth in this - the Pendleton Act tried to clean up corrupt civil service in 1883 because of a lapse in ethical behavior, or laws to regulate bakers (Lochner v NY) to cover a lapse in public safety. But I'm not certain I agreed with his stand since many laws (which also express some public need/want) enact ethical considerations regardless of a majority will. Most people could care less about outlawing bribery to foreign public officials, but we did it anyway in the 1960s or 1970s. Most people could care less about "green" architecture, but they legislate it anyway because it's the right law for the times. Yes, I realize that the latter example is not a question of ethics, but I'm using it anyway.

I don't see legislation as filling an ethical vacuum, whereas Kidder seemed to see the law that way. Perhaps a law to prohibit public littering may be just that. But Kidder called for a return to responsibility rather than legislation. I agree, but I don't see that it's possible except in some glittering utopia. To continue the example, a section of the public demands "green buildings." I don't want to pay $9,500/sq ft to rent it just to have the perfectly green building that is powered off a single drop of dew. So the law finds the midpoint between what is right and what is expedient, rather than law serving as the Angry Enforcer between one set of ethical values and another. I asked him to elaborate on his view of government's role in legislating ethics, but I am not certain I either agreed or fully understood his answer.

Dr. Kidder also spoke of our current ethical void (Madoff, AIG) etc. as a new phenomenon, as if the 19th century was a land of Jeffersonian yeoman, growing gumdrops on their lollipop farms, and everyone skipping around the village square being ethical and responsible. Had there been time, I could quote him examples of lapses in ethics from about 1605 to the present. Look at George Washington who went from not lying about the cherry tree to buying veteran continentals for penny on the dollars to redeem them at full value when he was President, or selling the government the fetid swampland that was later the nation's capital. Look at the Credit Mobilier or the Panic of 1873 or Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Fricke, and American Steel. You could go on forever.

Side note, gleaned from the belated fruit of an expensive classical education: Amitai Etzioni writes that "collectivities" are more consequential in forming the choices of individuals than the individuals themselves. If that's the case, isn't legislation by a community of community representatives (ie, Congress) the best way of making those ethical choices?

April 26, 2009

Once again, Gryffindor finds himself in another humiliating photo.

7:51 p.m. - Still nothing to report on a quiet Sunday evening. I am not ready for the weekend to end.

4:11 p.m. - Took another Spring Sunday nap, and I have no idea how long I was asleep. Might have been 20 minutes. Might have been an hour. The puppies are fast asleep upstairs, and Arabella is snoring like a banshee.

2:04 p.m. - Time to update the ol' website, for the first time since last Monday. I'm trying to think what I've done. There was the Spectacular Affair of the One Thumbed Russian and the Mystery at Cherbourg Abbey. I might even tell you about The Case of the Three Gentlemen, but none of that would interest you. So scraping the chaff from the wheat, I am free to inform you that it has been a reasonably quiet week.

The Joy Committee TP'd my office.

My birthday was Friday. Please let it pass with reverent quiet. Some of my co-workers did the office equivalent of TP'ing my office - they let loose dozens of balloons, sticky notes, and ribbons all over creation. Took me half an hour to get rid of the ribbons and sticky notes, and the rest of the day dealing with those balloons as they ran out of helium and floated down!

I worked at the Scottish Rite Scotch tasting that evening, a wonderful event and one of my favorites each year. Of course, I believe in taste-testing the fare, lest I inadvertently serve some kind of swill. I can't honestly recall what we served other than the Longmorn (aka lawnmower), which was definitely above par. There was an organic Scotch (whatever that means), which was like paint thinner with a bit of flavoring and food color. I was much better behaved this year than in previous years. Toward the latter end of the evening, we sat out on the patio along 20th Street, and I smoked a really good briar with some of the fellows. The weather was warm, slightly breezy - in short, perfect. Just the kind of evening to sit outside, sipping good Scotch and enjoying something good to smoke.

We walked around the Old Market and enjoyed nice Spring weather.

An evening like that takes a huge toll on a young fellow like me, being out of practice as I am at debauchery and licentious living. I wound up sleeping in until 8:30. Jennifer went to work and came home around 10:30 or so. I ran a few errands and picked up lunch, and we watched Caprica in the afternoon, which is the prequel movie to Battlestar Gallactica. I read the review, and lo and behold, the movie/mini-series was just like the review. Pretty damn predictable, but fun to watch nonetheless, and I'll watch it again when it officially airs in 2010. After a long and well-earned nap, we went out to Famous Dave's in the Old Market. Remind me to never do that again! I was so full, I could have died. But it was tasty. We walked around the Old Market afterwards and enjoyed cool Spring weather, and then went back to Julie's house to watch a true, classic American film, King Ralph. I brought Arabella over to her house and she had fun running around, exploring, and getting into everything. Julie had carrot cake - mmmmmm! - and I put another nail in the coffin with a big slice. I think we got home around 11:00 or so.

Today is dreary, overcast, rainy, and gloomy. Jennifer isn't feeling too hot today, so she's remaining horizontally casual. I've been puttering around, tackling a bit of laundry and straightening. I even managed to finish the Scottish Rite Master Craftsman program, after a long hiatus. I spent a while sitting outside watching the rain and smoking a pipe, and then I picked up lunch. Jennifer is still lying down, and I am going to leap up - at any moment - and do something today.

April 20, 2009

7:13 a.m. - I think that the contractors have reached the finish line in terms of what they are doing on the outside projects today. Sadly, no more progress until maybe this time next year when we've done a bit more saving. Check out how far they've come on my home projects page here.

April 19, 2009

An excellent brunch this morning

9:30 p.m. - A very pleasant Sunday. We had brunch with Mark and Grant, and of course we feasted like royalty! We were so stuffed, we could have passed out! We walked down to the Brandeis house to admire the progress. That house will be amazing when they are done. They are currently putting an elevator in now. We walked back to their house and sat for another hour chatting. Great food, and great people! My kind of morning!

Afterward, we went to the 3:00 showing of Gone With the Wind at Filmstreams. I saw it in the student media center in college, and bits and pieces on TV since. It was fun to see the movie on the big screen, in spite of the 3.5 hour running time.

All in all, it was a great day!

The KSA breakfast crew

10:02 a.m. - What a long Saturday! Yesterday was the Scottish Rite reunion, where we induct new members of the Scottish Rite through beautiful, elaborate plays that teach symbolic lessons about Masonry. I was up at 4:00 a.m., and at the Scottish Rite at 5:00 to start cooking breakfast. In someone's wisdom, they left us waffle batter with the idea that we'd hand-make some 250 waffles for the class and the stage, light, sound, and degree crews. Error. The batter had the consistency of water, so each waffle came out looking like a string of amino acids strung together. They weren't horrible, but not wonderful either. And they were a pain in the ass to make, made a huge mess, and gave me ample room to cause mischief for the poor fellow stuck making them. It's amazing he didn't strangle me with my own intestinal tract. Let us never again make or speak of waffles.

I did my usual roles in two of the degrees - I am horrible at memorization, so I have to use note cards, which comes in handy when someone flubs their line and I have to ad lib something to correct the mistake.

Clarence Walrath is the 3rd person in the second row, to the right of the man in the clerical collar.

On the plus side, I found a new picture of Clarence Walrath, the man I credit with being the first owner of my house in the 1890s. I found a picture of the 1911 Scottish Rite class, when Clarence was an officer of the Scottish Rite. That was pretty exciting!

It was a long day - and thoroughly exhausting - but I love catching up with friends, meeting people, talking about Masonry, and hanging out. I picked up a random Scottish Rite journal from the 1890s, and I found on completely random pages mention of prominent early Omahans, including Champion Chase, Gould and Charles Dietz and Mayor Frank Moores.

I got home around 3:30 or so, and on-again, off-again napped until Jennifer got home at about 5:30. Neither of us felt like cooking, so I wound up picking up gyros from Greek Islands. We had a quiet evening - after a 12 hour day at the Scottish Rite and Jennifer having worked all day, we were both pooped.

Today we're off to a brunch in 45 minutes and Jennifer has expressed interest in seeing Gone With the Wind at Filmstreams this afternoon.

April 17, 2009

8:11 p.m. - Jennifer worked late, so I picked up tacos from Taco Bell for dinner. Living the dream!

She learned that to import a show and display car, it must be 30 years, so looks like we're definitely not looking at a Nissan Figaro until 2021, at the earliest. Whew! Dodged a bullet on that one. More time to save for my mini-'57 Shrine car!

She's gone for a walk with a neighbor, and I'm puttering around getting ready for the Scottish Rite reunion tomorrow.

1:01 p.m. - Greek Island burger. Yeah! A juicy burger, topped with a few slices of gyro meat, covered in melted feta cheese. I can feel my arteries tightening up - but it was worth every bite. And oh yes, a fresh, hot spanokopita on the side. And now, I shall fall asleep, to be gently awakened at 4:00.

Jennifer has fallen in love with this car, after having seen the Sarah Jane Adventures on SciFi

7:41 a.m. - I was informed by my wife this morning that she had made enquiries and has learned how to legally import a 1991 Nissan Figaro to the United States. Apparently, you simply have to declare it a "show or display car," or somesuch designation, and keep it under 8,000 miles per year. I'm sure there are a host of import fees associated with bringing in a "show or display" car to the US, as well. And then this car would have to have special protection from the elements, right? I told her she could have her 1991 Nissan Figaro. . . right after I have my mini-'57 Chevy car for the Shrine parades. Jennifer suggested I escrow a few bucks each month toward her Figaro. Fine, says I. By that reckoning, we should be able to afford it in 2021. 

Meanwhile. . . I woke up at about 2:30 a.m., and of course could not get back to sleep. I finally woke up at about 6:15, having slept through my alarm for a quarter-hour. Tonight I need to go to bed early so I can be at the Scottish Rite at 5:00 a.m. to begin making breakfast! 

April 15, 2009

9:24 p.m. - Now that was an episode of Lost tonight! Wow!

Grilled burgers outdoors. . . heaven!

8:23 p.m. - Up at 5:45 this morning, and off to a meeting at the Scottish Rite by 7:00 for the Ethics Form. I can't believe that it will be upon us in 2 short weeks. I've been working on it for 6 months, though it is the culmination of 2 years worth of work for some members committee. There is much we could have done better or different, but on the whole, we've done good work and this program will be fantastic.

This looks wonderful. I can't wait until we can do the whole house!

I got home today and got cracking on grilling burgers. Mmmm. . . they were quite good, if I do say so myself. I used a mixture of secret hobo spices, which make all the difference. Jennifer made fresh cole slaw and creamed spinach. Nom nom nom! We ate outside, and enjoyed great weather while the dogs ran around, begging for scraps. Julie came by - eventually - and we made her a plate. Sadly, there will be no more grilling until next week. I've got a meeting for the Friends of RiteCare Committee tomorrow after work, followed by a brief presentation at Dancing With the Senior Stars. Friday I'm going to bed early because the Scottish Rite reunion is all day Saturday, and I'll need to be there by 5:00 a.m.  And on Sunday, we're going to Mark's party, which is a benefit for something or another, followed by Gone With the Wind at Filmstreams sometime afterward. And the Scottish Rite business meeting is on Monday. Sheesh!

Mario and Jaime put in a yeoman's day of work. They replaced the section of the exterior where the bay window was with fresh cedar. Turns out that whoever removed the window way back when used about the same wainscoting as was used in the decorative trim above and below the windows, so Mario simply replaced the bad wood with the wainscoting. Once painted, no one will ever know the difference! I tell you, the man is a craftsman! The house is going to look fantastic, and I utterly hate to stop. I wish we could continue on and do the whole side!

April 14, 2009

100 year old Scottish Rite ribbon

8:36 p.m. - Mario is a genius. He rebuilt one of the scrollwork pieces of trim the other day, and you really can't tell that it isn't original. He's been working on the side of the house, which needs lots and lots and lots of caulk. The wood is in surprisingly good condition, and he's only replaced a minimal amount. Everyone is amazed at how solid the cedar is after 119 years. This picture shows the work he's done on the decorative woodwork under the window. Look at the rain lip they built!

After they wrapped up this evening, Jennifer made fried okra (yum!) and cole slaw, and I grilled porkchops marinated in balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Excellent! Tomorrow I'm grilling burgers. I forgot how much I enjoy the grilling season.

Just found on eBay, this 1910s era ribbon from the Scottish Rite. Cool find! There is one more style of Scottish Rite ribbon I want to find, which is a pewter relief of the building designed as the pin.

April 13, 2009

8:58 p.m. - Mind numbingly long day. Jennifer and I sat on the porch for a brief while, until we got chilly. Then we went across the street to say hello to Julie. I can't wait to go to sleep.

April 12, 2009

9:37 p.m. - Why do the constables in Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance feel the need to mince about in a grossly effeminate manner? That's not how it was written, dammit! What would Rutland Barrington have done? It kind of works if the Sergeant of Police is a baritone, but otherwise it just doesn't work. The closest to perfection is this Australian performance. They went off-book quite a bit, but it works.

9:32 p.m. - Now I'm just playing online, listening to Tom Lehrer songs on YouTube, interspersed with the odd Gilbert and Sullivan opera. Bo-ring!

8:13 p.m. - Watched last Wednesday's Better Off Ted on DVR. I was laughing my ass off - woke Jennifer up with my peals of raucous laughter, and now she's bitter. But in my defense, it was very funny. Still piddling away the end of my weekend.

6:58 p.m. - My computer keeps crashing because (I suspect) of that PHP script for allowing comments. I'm removing it. It takes this 5 year old antique computer 24 minutes to reboot each time it crashes!

6:00 p.m. - Well kids, Easter has been a quiet day. Jennifer was up at the crack of dawn and off for yet another long day at the Garden. I didn't do a damn thing today. Took short cat naps. Watched television. Played online. Took more naps. Took the dogs for a short walk. Nothing productive has been accomplished today.

I spent a bit of time trying to integrate a script onto my blogs webpage that allows readers to comment. So far, its not working. Frustrating!

April 11, 2009

I am sine voce.

9:13 p.m. - A commercial for Burger King featuring 1980s icon Sir Mix-a-Lot and Sponge Bob Square Pants. This is the most perplexing thing I have ever seen. I have no comment on this. You've got to admire some marketing genius who decided to put chocolate and peanut butter together, and then married the hip hop genius of Sir Mix a Lot and the general crapitude of Spongebob.

7:34 p.m. - How could my Saturday be over, and my weekends 2/3rd finished? Where did it all go! I went to my KSA meeting this morning and then spent the afternoon tidying up around the house. Jaime worked outside caulking the shingles and priming.

Marcus, Amanda, and Veronica came over around 2:30ish, which was a treat. Veronica just turned 3 and she's huge! And absolutely adorable! When did she get that big? She pointed to the globe and said, "That's the Earth." And Marcus taught her to use her Jedi powers and fight with an invisible light saber, which ranks among one of the best baby tricks I've seen. I enjoyed their visit, and loaded Miss Veronica up with tons of candy for the ride home.

Afterward, I bought a propane tank and inaugurated the 2009 grilling season by grilling a few burgers, making sweet potato French fries, and asparagus. Jennifer and I are stuffed! She had a long day at the Garden with the Easter Egg hunt and is beat, so she hit the bath and will probably be in bed by 8:00 in order to do it all over again tomorrow. I'll stay at home and continue de-cluttering the house.

April 10, 2009

Gryffindor loves riding with his head out the window.

8:31 p.m. - I picked up Jennifer from the Garden at 4:30 and brought Gryffindor with me. He loved riding in the car like a big dog. Poor little guy got so excited when he saw Jennifer that he kept leaping back and forth from the front seat to the back seat. She let him ride iwth his head out the window all the way home. He loves that!

Jennifer and I had our weekly "date night," which involves going to our favorite nasty Chinese buffet. Bleh. We stopped at the Family Dollar, and then looked in on the comic book store. I got my Alan Moore fix and Jennifer chatted with the Comic Book Guy. My kind of evening!

Meanwhile, the fellows made progress repairing the rotting wood outside, caulking, and priming. I really hate to cover it up with primer. Keep checking for more pictures here.

3:56 p.m. - I've enjoyed a quiet day off, and I haven't been productive at all. Why aren't there more days like this. Non weekend days off like this are few and far between, and while I probably ought to be doing heavy house projects, I've chosen to remain largely horizontally casual. I got up at 7:30 this morning and plunged into my errands:  took Jennifer to work, got a much needed haircut, dropped my pocketwatch off at Hostetter's for a repair quote, picked up a new fire extinguisher for the kitchen (how responsible of me!) and a tap for the bathroom bathtub at Lowe's, and then stopped at the grocery store.

Jennifer wanted some Easter chocolate and has expressed concern at the quantity and quality of the chocolate I had provided. I have allayed her fear with lots and lots and lots of chocolate. More than any normal human could eat. We'll be giving it to neighborhood children for weeks to come. I snuck a Reese's peanut butter chocolate egg and I'm completely filled up on chocolate!!

I've spent the afternoon doing a few projects, took an early afternoon nap, vegged out and watched television (Doctor Who marathon on SciFi - yeah!)

Meanwhile, Mario and Jaime are making major progress on the house outside. They pulled off the siding yesterday and exposed all the original clapboards and shingles. We knew - or expected - they were under there. They've been covered up for at least 50 or 60 years, and they are in amazing condition. A few pieces are rotten, and Mario is replacing the wood and caulking the rest, but so much of the wood is perfectly solid. This morning, Mario showed me some extremely rotten wood inside the walls that he's replaced. Right now, they are caulking and priming the wood. I sure hate to cover it up again, but until we're ready to paint it, this is the best we can do. I sure hate to wait to finish this project; now that we see what's waiting for us, I want to borrow the rest of the money to finish the whole house! Fiscal responsibility sucks.

A few years ago, I put up a picture of Tim peeking under the shingles to see what was under it. I finally updated that page with pictures of the shingles. Click here to see Mario's work.

April 8, 2009

Victor pulled some tar paper off and we were so excited to see what was under!

8:02 p.m. - Busy day. I've been hankering for tilapia for a few days, and Jennifer lightly fried up a couple of filets for dinner with fresh-made cole slaw. Yum!

We were just settling down when Victor came by to talk about the house updates. Yikes! Remember when I said this was going to be a BIG project? Well, it's going to be a BIG project, about twice my original estimate. We've already spent the last of the insurance settlement fixing the exterior. In the last week, Mario has completely repaired rebuilt the third floor windows on the east side, caulked and repaired the third floor window on the south side, caulked and repaired windows. Problem is, they'll have to take off more siding to repair more wood. And there's a lot of wood to repair! They don't sell caulk in 100 gallon drums, do they? Victor pulled off a couple of strips of tar paper on the pantry walls - and Tim immediately popped out of the window to watch (just like Pearl from 227) - and I immediately caught mesothelioma from the asbestos dust - and saw that most of the cedar was in good shape. Who'd've thunk that 60 year old cedar could be in reasonably good condition. Except around the windows and around the foundation, it was as solid as the day they installed it. A few pieces will have to be repaired or replaced. We may use hardie board in lieu of cedar. We told Mario to fix anything that needs to be repaired along the way, as well, so he'll rebuild the back porch columns, and who knows what else. And we'll have to have lip moulding installed on the sections they fix.

So having written Victor a giant check for services rendered, we settled in for the weekly ritual of Lost. Jennifer made popcorn, and didn't share. Waaah.

April 7, 2009

10:28 p.m. - I ate Jennifer's onions from her salad at dinner. Mistake. Error. Horrible indigestion at present.

9:12 p.m. - Precious! Arabella spent the last half hour going feral on her squeaky ball, chasing it around the room, flinging it in the air, and bounding after it to bring it to submission. After a while, the ball got away from her and landed in the drink. That pretty much did her in, and she flopped down and fell asleep. She's snoring right now. Perhaps you had to be there. But take my word for it, it was a-dorable. She really has the sweetest disposition of any dog ever. Even children could learn a lesson from her sweet personality.

Nothing of interest to report from the Big O. Preliminary election results show a runoff between Daub and Suttle. That is heartening because Daub will wipe the matt with Suttle, and then make him cry like a baby girl. Daub is clearly the best man for the job, and if Jimbo had any fortitude, he'd resign from the race and make certain ol' Hal had a clean sweep in the May election. As for District 3, preliminary election results indicate widespread voter fraud and irregularities. I am displeased, and I plan to have Jimmy Carter oversee the elections. Or at least demand a re-count.

This will look even better when the siding comes off This is my snobbish John Latenser shot. 7:12 p.m. - Interesting morning - I went to the Business Ethical Alliance forum to hear a panel discussion about restoring trust in business. It was a really interesting discussion, but I wonder how big business will really restore trust when it is so seriously damaged? The problem to me is that regulation boils down to self-reporting, and when you have to ask a business if they are following ethical best practices, of course they are going to say yes! So we're back to square one for determining whether you can trust a company. At any rate, it was a very remarkable discussion.

I stopped at the polls on my way home. I really hate going into that nasty Housing Authority building. A polling place should encourage democracy. It should be open, not a locked building. It shouldn't smell like tinkle. And you shouldn't leave feeling like you need a hepatitis shot. On the other hand, I was proud to vote for the District 3 City Council candidate who represents my generation (well, my brother's generation), who isn't part of the Old Boy, Old Lawyer brigade. She'll represent neighborhoods, not corporate interests.

The fellows were working on the third floor when I got home, and they had to replace the entire window frame. Yikes! This big project is probably going to wind up becoming a BIG project! Jennifer got home at about 7:30, toiling late. But she brought salad, so it was okay.

April 6, 2009

Percy tries to get some ham.

6:24 p.m. - Today was a productive day, but a long one. After getting home and dealing with hyper-active dogs who've had no outlet for their energy, taking trash out to the curb, I am utterly exhausted. I've got to go to Florence Lodge tonight for the business meeting, which I look forward to not in the slightest. Left to my druthers, I'd slide into the ol' pyjamas, get horizontally casual, and climb into the 18th century with a good book. Instead, tonight will be a long, pointless 2 1/2 hour meeting without any semblance of an agenda.

Julie brought Jennifer leftover ham from last night, and the dogs about mauled one another to get at it. She's having ham and eggs for dinner, and I'm not up for anything. It's going to be a long evening.

7:18 a.m. - I was going to write how adorable when the dogs come in from outside, how they bound up the stairs full of energy to play. Gryffindor, of course, wants to go back to bed with Mommy. Percy just wants to be petted, and Arabella grabs her squeaky ball and starts to play with it with the boundless energy of a young puppy. I was going to say that. Then Arabella got so carried away with play that she flung the ball up, which landed - splat! - in the water bowl, splashing a huge tsunami of doggie water all over the floor, necessitating my gingerly getting down amongst it to wipe up this small lake, while wearing my freshly pressed shirt and slacks. This incident seems to have slaked her natural curiosity, and she's now carefully picking her way through the carnage, sniffing at the remains. So much for my 15 minute head start on the day. . .  Off to work . . . 

April 5, 2009

10:17 p.m. - Quiet afternoon, as promised. We both continued to do light house cleaning projects. Jennifer and I both did some laundry. She made lunch for tomorrow, and I walked around dusting, sweeping, picking up the endless odds and ends. At 6:30, we went to Julie's house for a great dinner with salad, sweet potatoes, and ham. I'm not a big fan of ham, and I could go a long, long, long while without craving ham, but every once in a while I like it. This was a home cooked, honey glazed ham, and was good. John and Tim stopped by after dinner, and we talked for a while until about 9:00, when we all went home.

1:57 p.m. - Still snowing. After a leisurely breakfast of bacon and omelettes, we watched an episode of Firefly, and then went to Collector's Choice to peer at the estate sale. I found a reasonably inexpensive 1905 Dueber pocketwatch. Everything works except for the mechanism where you can set the time. I've had fun researching the watch while Jennifer watches another episode of Firefly. I could get used to Sundays like this.

Click on each picture to see it full size

Snow in Nebraska. Who'd've thunk it?

9:12 a.m. - It's snowing! In April! It isn't unheard of to get snow in April, but it is not common either. We usually get rain - lots of it - between now and May. Yesterday, in fact, was a rainy day, though we had a few minutes of hail, not much bigger than pretzel salt, pinging down all over the yard. I sat outside yesterday, smoked a pipe, and read for about 20 minutes.

But today we've got genuine, bona fide snow. According to weather.com, we've got gusts of 30 mph winds, 33° temperature (feels like 20°), and 1-3" of accumulation, with scattered snow showers continuing into tomorrow . And then it begins warming up again to Spring-like temperatures by Tuesday and Wednesday. Go figure. Life in Nebraska, right? Today is a day to hole up in the ol' sod cabin. [Looking at this picture, I don't like it. It shows Casa de Evans, warts and all. Until the siding is off and the shingles and clapboards are repaired, and the house gets a coat of Victorian colors, I am going to loathe looking at pictures of it. One day, I'll go back through my website and edit out all the old pictures and put in only new pictures.]

Jennifer is watching TV in bed, and I'm going to start hunting breakfast. No plans for today.

Me and old Bertie Pike. You should have seen him putting his patented 19th century moves on the ladies at the wedding.

April 4, 2009

1:26 p.m. - Quiet Saturday at Chez Evans. It's the kind that on Monday you look back upon and wonder where the hell the weekend went, and why you didn't get any of it. I was up at 7:30 and was out running errands by 8:30 - dry cleaners, hardware store. Today is a day for house projects, and I've been vacuuming, doing laundry, picking up the detritus that seems to settle everywhere, and dusting. Jennifer made low carb chicken quesadillas for lunch, which were excellent, and now she's picking up clothes in the bedroom. I'm wandering around the house picking up odds and ends, carting stuff to the basement, and generally tidying the house. I'm not certain either of us is making any progress. Jennifer will head to work at 2:30 or 3:00 for a few hours, and I'll help host a wedding rental at the Scottish Rite. Fascinating, right?

April 3, 2009

8:48 p.m. - Quiet Friday evening at Casa de Evans. Jennifer brought home crab cakes from the Garden and made cole slaw for dinner. Nom nom nom! Delicious! Nothing of interest to report on a post-Battlestar Gallactica evening. She's straightening up in the bedroom, and I'm reading Wikipedia entries about the Great Fire of 1666. We are the most boring people ever.

9:00 a.m. - Sweet! Carl Orff's Carmina Burana is playing on one of my favorite classical music internet radio station King FM. This just adds a cool element of drama and horror to my day. I expect a half-crazed, escaped circus gorilla to come bursting out of nowhere, brandishing a dagger or something. Or perhaps a murderous sailor whom I ran over last summer and whose body I dumped down a well in order to conceal the evidence. . .  The song ended. Now it's Svendsen's Norwegian Artists' Carnival. That kind of ends the anticipation of imminent doom. Back to the grind. . . 

April 2, 2009

10:12 p.m. - <RANT> A friend of mine left me with an interesting thought: why do we call it giving people "credit" rather than "debt?" Here, buy this 242 inch hdplasmalcdflatscreenblueraytv on credit. The astronauts can peer from space into your living room and see the big game on that sucker. Buying it on "credit" sounds so light and fluffy, you can't help but strap the thing to your Escalade and take it home before the big game. Never mind the $100 "minimum" payment each month for the next 4 years. Then, CNN has the utter temerity to say that poor Sally Sparrow is "saddled" with debt and forced to move back to her parents basement.

Ecce liber! - Behold the liberal, who points out that poor Sally Sparrow may have been saddled with debt due to an unforeseen medical emergency or a car repair that sets her back and starts the boulder rolling downhill. It can happen to anyone. Very true, says I. But I'm not talking about the person who is "saddled" with debt because of an expensive medical bill or car repair. For them, my heart bleeds. There but for the grace of God go I. I am thinking of the debtor who has raked up $23,000 in debt due to having the best car, the largest TV, and the iPod that holds mankinds' collected musical heritage as well as every clip of Family Guy ever made.

Time for the news to stop looking at the recession's victims, but look at them as economic war criminals. The banks didn't fail because of the housing crisis. The housing crisis failed because of investors who bought too much house on too little income. True, the banks should not have made the loan or lent out the extraordinary balances on credit cards, but that's like blaming McDonalds for selling hot, greasy French fries. It's what they do. Blame the person who eats the fries or spends the credit.

Pride and Prejudice - the comic

 The point is, and follow me closely, I still have nothing but contempt for these people and bailing them out is sheer folly. Perhaps we need to change the nomenclature of economics and start talking how we buy things on debt. Adds should read: 36 months, interest free debt - today, at the Furniture Mart! Once you get Joe Sweatsock to realize that he's bartering his future, perhaps he won't be as quick to rack up $25,000 in debt. Then again, maybe not. </RANT>

Meanwhile. . . Jennifer and I went out this evening for a while, had a nice dinner, and looked in on Legend Comics. Jennifer picked up Pride and Prejudice the comic. The cover is written like a copy of Cosmopolitan magazine: Bingleys Brings Bling to Britain or How to Cure Your Boy Crazy Sisters. I'm not certain I can stifle a groan this big! It is nice not to have anything of importance to do, and to be able to just go out because we feel like it.

Of course, having trashed the profligate people whose lives are lived in sybaritic luxury, I'm obligated to point out that this was our budgeted date night. Tomorrow, we cook the chicken in the fridge and amuse our selves at home. This weekend, too. A comfortable amount is set aside for us each month to enjoy what we want to do, and having done it, the belt is tightened and we continue the monklike existence we have hitherto enjoyed.

7:55 a.m. - "Jupiter's Great Red Spot is Shrinking" blares a CNN article this morning. Didn't I see this in the Stanley Kubrick movie 2010? I reckon this means Jupiter's going to explode, and we'll have a second sun in the sky. C'mon Cosmos, if you're going to do something new, do something original. Been there, done that.

April 1, 2009 

10:01 p.m. - I am glad to be home, to have kicked off my shoes, and to relax. Jennifer made a simple, tasty tuna fish sammich for me, which was just what the doctor ordered. We watched Lost, and I've been playing on the computer for a while. I'm not particularly looking forward to tomorrow, except that it brings me a step closer to Friday, which is the harbinger of the weekend. Two days off will be nice, but I desperately need a vacation for about a week or two, holed up in a hotel, watching bad television, reading, and not going out except to answer the door for room service.

Meanwhile. . . I took a short video of Gryffindor leaping over the baby gate and put it on YouTube for the public amusement, instruction, and edification. Enjoy.

Bernie Madoff's yacht "Bull." Being a criminal mastermind is hard work. I wouldn't know what to do with all the swag.

1:23 p.m. - The news reported that federal marshals seized disgraced investor Bernie Madoff's yacht, worth about $800,000. This is why I would not make a great embezzler - I'm no good at spending my ill-gotten gains. Don't get me wrong, there would be a nice flat screen, high-definition TV in my house, the kind God would have at his house if he wanted to kick back and watch Ren and Stimpy. And there would be maps in my house, Ortelius and Mercator projections hanging in every nook and cranny. My furniture would be comfortable, made from that squishy leather that is comfortable on the femurs. I'd even dress like one of those annoying British bankers and wear a natty bowtie that costs $2 to make in China, but retails for about $140. But all that would equal the smallest percentage of my stolen loot. What would I do with the rest? I'd still drive a rusty 1994 Toyota (maybe upgraded to a 2006 Camry). I'd still clip coupons and shop at Bakers on double-coupon day. I'd still wear my sneakers well beyond their legitimate expiration date. My work shoes would beg for a shine. But you'd never catch me wearing a diamond studded watch or having an $800k yacht or staying at a $1,000 night hotel. What would I do with that?

12:35 p.m. - Interesting article on CNN about "the 7 Rules of Financial Security," which poses the theory that these ideas represent the newest thinking about preparing for an easeful retirement. I'm looking at them, thinking that they are fairly obvious rules which anyone with a level head should have already realized.

Here are the most salient Rules:

• Risk - it's not about the ups and downs, but really about leveling the field. How much risk you can take is about how much you can afford to lose and still meet basic goals. 
  

• Cash - It's not about having a 6 to 8 month safety net. If you need a cash infusion in 2 years, and you've used the safety net, you're up shit creek. But if you look down the road at major purchases coming - car, tuition, etc - and save accordingly, you have a reserve fund for the short term exigencies as well as the longer-term ones. I find it remarkable that Americans' saving has gone to zilch in the last decade. I realize that most people - to an extent, myself included - live paycheck to paycheck, but to not build saving into their monthly expenses is insane! 
  

• Debt - Borrow cautiously. Worry about how much debt you can handle as much as how much debt the other guy is handling. So a loan for a new kitchen is fine while my income is big, but if my company has too much debt and dumps me to save money, I'm up shit creek. Therefore, the lesson is to borrow conservatively, making certain debt is manageable in the worst of situations. (I won't even get started on the fallacy of the Obama administration's bailout for those with obscene credit card debt. As President Coolidge said about forgiving Allied war debt payments, "They hired the money, didn't they?"
  

• Housing - Your house won't make you rich. Anyone who buys a house as a long-term investment vehicle is a fool. Their value goes up and down, and the recent housing burst is absolute proof that what goes up goes down. If you're buying a house, buy it because you want to live in it, renovate it because you do live in it, and then live in it because that's where your stuff is. I've never calculated the "value" of my house because it's where my stuff is, not because it's value has increased. When I sell it in the year 2055, then I'll count my gains. Until then, it's a comfortable storage vessel for my maps, my socks, my DVDs and books, and my wife's china. 
  

• Retirement - "Ever since Uncle Sam set 65 as the age you could retire and collect full Social Security benefits (it's 66 or 67 for boomers today), workers have been trying to beat that bogey by quitting early." Retirement goals are great, but I won't retire until those goals are met. If I can retire at age 62 with enough to keep me in Scotch and tobacco until Judgement Day, fine. If I have to toil in the fields until 69 to retire with what I need, so be it. 

None of these rules works by itself. They work in tandem with one another. That said, there is not one thing in this list that should come as a surprise to a reasonable investor my age. Then again, perhaps it should surprise me. I pondered for a bit while writing this about a dozen friends of mine, ranging from modest income and savings to great income and savings, from simple living to grandiose lifestyles, no kids to 3 mouths to feed, from minimal debt to exorbitant debt. It's quite a mix of age groups and lifestyles. I only hope the "ants" won't wind up subsidizing the wasted life of the "grasshoppers," who enter retirement age in essential penury.