December 2007 archive

Summer showers under the water tank are the Best   The big old fashioned shower head has been there so long the holes get clogged  up. The few minutes poking the old protractor point to clear them is well worth it.  Hot and sweaty washes right away under the gentle shower.  The 55 gallon drum that serves as the hot water heater is on a separate line.  In summer the  afternoon sun heats the water in the overhead enough to be comfortable. The water heater comes in handy for early morning and late night.

Hard to beat showering under the tank on a late July night under the panorama of West Texas country stars, a warm breeze to air dry and a friendly companion.  Ahh

With the increase in temp and later fall weather, a November shower is becoming  less an adventure. A good terry cloth robe to wear back to the house allows me to put off winter bathing for a few weeks.

 The wind out here is what chills.  

When that same wind is howling at  30 degrees, it is time to get the big luffa and take some lessons from the Japanese.  I think that’s where the dry brushing came from.  

Two gallons of water heated on the stove, a large tub to stand in, a gallon plastic pitcher, electric heater or coals from the stove ( on a non flammable surface), and lots of rugs or such as this can make a mess

(A bathtub with a shower curtain is lots less mess.  Water heaters though,send inordinate amounts of water down the drain before any hot water comes out.  Upstairs showers with downstairs water heaters are teeth grinding.)

Strip everything if you are warm enough.  If not, start at the bottom.  By the time you brush your feet and legs vigorously you will begin to be warmer and taking off your shirt won’t be so bad.  Always brush toward your heart.  Across your shoulders ,up the belly.  With luck, that same friendly companion will help with the back.  When throughly raw and glowing, prepare your first gallon of water to pour over yourself.  If you are warm enough, now is the time to shampoo you’re hair.  Washing your hair in the sink after the bath with your robe on might be more comfortable.  

One gallon wets you down.  Now soap up, something good smelling, then wet down again.  One more if you washed your hair or just want the luxury of feeling the warm water running down your back.  Lovely.  

Two gallons cooled works into 4-5 gallons.  A luxurious bath by lots of standards.  Depending  on the length of your hair, this can be cut way down.  Just depends on what you have available.  The so-called whore’s bath will get you through without offending anyone. Grateful that has not been the case for me, yet.

If we as a species are divine in any sense of the word,it is our ability to do the best we cn with what we’ve got to work with.  The last 7 years challenges that viewpoint.  

Some news and open thread.

1. The New York Times reports House prices fall for 10th straight month. “The decline in home prices accelerated and spread to more regions of the country in October… Prices fell 6.1 percent from October 2006 in 20 large metropolitan areas, according to Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller indexes, compared with a 4.9 percent decline in September. All but three of the 20 regions saw real estate values fall, and even the three places – Seattle, Portland, Ore., and Charlotte, N.C. – where prices were up from a year ago saw prices fall from a month earlier. The quickening decline in home prices could hurt the broader economy by leading to more foreclosures as homeowners have more difficulty refinancing mortgages and by sapping consumer spending as Americans feel less wealthy. But economists also noted that a faster descent from boom-era prices would allow the housing market to right itself sooner by removing vacant homes from the market.”

2. According to the Los Angeles Times, Students seek to build memorial to Bruce Lee. Courtney Ioane and “20 other University of Washington students have collected more than 1,000 signatures — including from nearly all members of the men’s and women’s basketball teams — as part of the effort to build a monument to Lee. She said the statue would help represent the campus’ diversity, something that is absent in the school’s collection of public art. Nearly all of the several dozen statues and busts on the sprawling 700-acre campus are of white men, including the school’s namesake, George Washington. Of the school’s 28,570 undergraduates, more than 35% are minorities… Lee was born in San Francisco and grew up in Hong Kong… [and] is buried in Seattle.”

3. Reuters reports that Iran to get missile system from Russia. According to Iran’s defense minister, Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, “Russia has agreed to sell an S-300 anti-aircraft missile system to Iran”. The S-300 missiles are “longer-ranging” than the previous missile system Russia sold Iran. According to the AP, “The S-300 anti-aircraft missile defense system is capable of shooting down aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missile warheads at ranges of over 90 miles and at altitudes of about 90,000 feet. Russian military officials boast that its capabilities outstrip the U.S. Patriot missile system.”

4. McClatchy reports on how Christmas in Baghdad was observed in the story, The ghosts of Christmas past. ” Yousif Akhsho Youmara, who owns an auto-body repair shop in Baghdad, remembers the glorious Christmases of his youth, when family members would stay the night and Muslim and Christian guests would drop by for days. ‘Life used to be more cheerful. Not like now,’ he recalled. Still, Christmas this year was better than it was last year, when Youmara was too frightened to decorate or attend church services… Violence is way down from last Christmas. But there’s hardly a sense of joy. Too many people are missing.”

I lack optimism while writing this because those who are willing to let Bush skate free for his war crimes and treason are legion and they are well-funded.

I’m very glad to see rjones2818’s frequent updates on Kucinich’s campaign. If not for Kucinich, we’d be deprived of even a glimmer of hope for justice in a very dark period of time.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/…

I’ve re-formatted the list of Kucinich position statements from rjones’ diary above. I want to make it as convenient as possible for people who won’t support Kucinich to know exactly what it is they’re not supporting.

Kucinich_12-pt_Plan.pdf 21KB Nov 27 2007 10:48:15 AM

Kucinich_Affirmative_Action.pdf 30KB Nov 26 2007 11:09:02 PM

Kucinich_African_American_Issues.pdf 38KB Nov 26 2007 11:09:05 PM

Kucinich_AIDS.pdf 31KB Nov 26 2007 11:09:07 PM

Kucinich_Aid_to_Africa.pdf 30KB Nov 26 2007 11:09:04 PM

Kucinich_Animal_Rights.pdf 31KB Nov 26 2007 11:09:09 PM

Kucinich_Anti-Ballistic_Missile_Treaty.pdf 35KB Nov 26 2007 11:09:12 PM

Kucinich_Arab_Americans.pdf 41KB Nov 26 2007 11:09:14 PM

Kucinich_Campaign_Finance.pdf 32KB Nov 26 2007 11:09:17 PM

Kucinich_Campaign_Reform_and_IRV.pdf 37KB Nov 26 2007 11:09:17 PM

Kucinich_Childrens_Issues.pdf 37KB Nov 26 2007 11:09:23 PM

Kucinich_Civil_Liberties.pdf 30KB Nov 26 2007 11:09:23 PM

Kucinich_Clean_Air.pdf 38KB Nov 26 2007 11:09:26 PM

Kucinich_Clean_Water.pdf 37KB Nov 26 2007 11:09:29 PM

Kucinich_Complementary_and_Alternative_M… 30KB Nov 26 2007 11:09:29 PM

Kucinich_Corporate_Power.pdf 39KB Nov 27 2007 10:48:04 AM

Kucinich_Crime.pdf 31KB Nov 26 2007 11:09:32 PM

Kucinich_Cuban_Embargo.pdf 30KB Nov 27 2007 10:48:11 AM

Kucinich_DC Statehood.pdf 35KB Nov 26 2007 11:09:36 PM

Kucinich_Death_Penalty.pdf 31KB Nov 26 2007 11:09:35 PM

Kucinich_Department_of_Peace.pdf 33KB Nov 26 2007 11:09:39 PM

Kucinich_Depleted_Uranium.pdf 36KB Nov 26 2007 11:09:43 PM

Kucinich_Disability_Rights.pdf 31KB Nov 26 2007 11:09:46 PM

Kucinich_Domestic_Violence.pdf 38KB Nov 26 2007 11:09:48 PM

Kucinich_Drug_War.pdf 33KB Nov 26 2007 11:09:52 PM

Kucinich_Economic_Justice.pdf 31KB Nov 26 2007 11:09:51 PM

Kucinich_Education.pdf 36KB Nov 26 2007 11:09:58 PM

Kucinich_Electronic_Voting.pdf 37KB Nov 26 2007 11:09:56 PM

Kucinich_Electronic_Waste.pdf 35KB Nov 26 2007 11:10:00 PM

Kucinich_Energy.pdf 31KB Nov 26 2007 11:10:04 PM

Kucinich_Environment.pdf 33KB Nov 26 2007 11:10:03 PM

Kucinich_Farm_Policy.pdf 33KB Nov 26 2007 11:10:06 PM

Kucinich_Forests_and_Logging_on_Public_L… 37KB Nov 26 2007 11:10:07 PM

Kucinich_Genetically_Engineered_Food.pdf 31KB Nov 26 2007 11:10:10 PM

Kucinich_Gun_Laws.pdf 31KB Nov 26 2007 11:10:12 PM

Kucinich_H-1B_and_L-1_Visas.pdf 30KB Nov 26 2007 11:10:19 PM

Kucinich_Haiti.pdf 30KB Nov 26 2007 11:10:16 PM

Kucinich_Hemp.pdf 37KB Nov 26 2007 11:10:20 PM

Kucinich_Housing.pdf 31KB Nov 26 2007 11:10:23 PM

Kucinich_Immigrants_Rights.pdf 37KB Nov 26 2007 11:10:25 PM

Kucinich_International_Cooperation.pdf 38KB Nov 26 2007 11:10:26 PM

Kucinich_Irish-Americans.pdf 30KB Nov 26 2007 11:10:29 PM

Kucinich_Jobs_Programs_Infrastructure.pdf 36KB Nov 26 2007 11:10:31 PM

Kucinich_Korea.pdf 31KB Nov 26 2007 11:10:36 PM

Kucinich_LGBTQ_Rights.pdf 33KB Nov 26 2007 11:10:40 PM

Kucinich_Mad_Cow_Disease.pdf 35KB Nov 26 2007 11:10:42 PM

Kucinich_Mandatory_Minimum_Sentences.pdf 30KB Nov 26 2007 11:10:45 PM

Kucinich_Manufacturing.pdf 30KB Nov 26 2007 11:10:45 PM

Kucinich_Marijuana_Decriminalization.pdf 39KB Nov 26 2007 11:10:49 PM

Kucinich_Media_Reform.pdf 31KB Nov 26 2007 11:10:48 PM

Kucinich_Medical_Marijuana.pdf 33KB Nov 26 2007 11:10:52 PM

Kucinich_Medicare_Bill.pdf 33KB Nov 26 2007 11:10:54 PM

Kucinich_Mental_Health.pdf 31KB Nov 26 2007 11:10:56 PM

Kucinich_Middle_East.pdf 33KB Nov 26 2007 11:10:58 PM

Kucinich_Military_Budget.pdf 32KB Nov 26 2007 11:11:00 PM

Kucinich_Minimum_Wage.pdf 30KB Nov 26 2007 11:11:05 PM

Kucinich_National_Security.pdf 32KB Nov 26 2007 11:11:10 PM

Kucinich_Native Americans.pdf 39KB Nov 26 2007 11:11:33 PM

Kucinich_Nuclear_Safety.pdf 35KB Nov 26 2007 11:11:15 PM

Kucinich_Nuclear_Weapons.pdf 32KB Nov 26 2007 11:11:18 PM

Kucinich_Open_Debates.pdf 30KB Nov 26 2007 11:11:17 PM

Kucinich_Organic_Farming.pdf 40KB Nov 26 2007 11:11:20 PM

Kucinich_Outsourcing_Jobs.pdf 32KB Nov 26 2007 11:11:23 PM

Kucinich_Patriot_Act.pdf 31KB Nov 26 2007 11:11:24 PM

Kucinich_Poverty.pdf 35KB Nov 26 2007 11:11:28 PM

Kucinich_Predatory_Lending.pdf 31KB Nov 26 2007 11:11:27 PM

Kucinich_Prescription_Drugs.pdf 34KB Nov 26 2007 11:11:31 PM

Kucinich_Public_Services.pdf 30KB Nov 26 2007 11:11:34 PM

Kucinich_Racial_Discrimination.pdf 31KB Nov 26 2007 11:11:35 PM

Kucinich_Reproductive Rights.pdf 30KB Nov 26 2007 11:11:40 PM

Kucinich_Seniors.pdf 39KB Nov 26 2007 11:11:41 PM

Kucinich_Small_Business_Growth.pdf 33KB Nov 26 2007 11:11:45 PM

Kucinich_Social_Security.pdf 36KB Nov 26 2007 11:11:44 PM

Kucinich_Sweat Shops.pdf 32KB Nov 26 2007 11:11:48 PM

Kucinich_Taxes.pdf 34KB Nov 26 2007 11:11:48 PM

Kucinich_Terrorism.pdf 30KB Nov 26 2007 11:11:50 PM

Kucinich_The_Arts.pdf 30KB Nov 26 2007 11:11:53 PM

Kucinich_The_Draft.pdf 32KB Nov 26 2007 11:11:53 PM

Kucinich_Torture.pdf 32KB Nov 26 2007 11:11:56 PM

Kucinich_Trade.pdf 32KB Nov 26 2007 11:11:56 PM

Kucinich_Universal_Health_Care.pdf 37KB Nov 26 2007 11:11:58 PM

Kucinich_Veterans.pdf 33KB Nov 26 2007 11:12:00 PM

Kucinich_Voting_Rights.pdf 35KB Nov 26 2007 11:12:05 PM

Kucinich_Vouchers.pdf 30KB Nov 26 2007 11:12:04 PM

Kucinich_Water_Human_Right.pdf 29KB Nov 26 2007 11:12:07 PM

Kucinich_Weapons_Non-Proliferation.pdf 34KB Nov 26 2007 11:12:12 PM

Kucinich_Workers_Rights.pdf 37KB Nov 26 2007 11:12:19 PM

Kucinich_World_Hunger.pdf 30KB Nov 26 2007 11:12:15 PM

Progressive Democrats for American know it!  Democracy for America konws it!  The Readers of The Nation know it!  Dennis Kucinich is the candidate that represents their views, and each have voted for Dennis over the other Democratic Candidates!

because of a situation that has been weighing heavliy on my mind. Bear with me for not feeling up to posting an upbeat post-Christmas diary.

For I am heartsick over the news of what happened in New Orleans a week ago, Thursday. I won’t extensively go into what happened because this has already been excellently done in  NOLA: Stun Guns Used As Bulldozers Stand Ready and This Is A National Issue.

However, I will go into several other aspects of what happened, which are deeper, more complex, and more personal than what the mainstream media did in their brief reports and soundbites.

Okay, so yesterday was Christmas and much merriment was had by all. Except, as the media were determined to remind us, by Palestinian Christians suffering persecution by Muslim extremists. While the persecution certainly exists, it is plainly a sideshow to the Israeli occupation, which not only persecutes but kills Palestinians of all religious persuasions. It’s perfectly egalitarian in that sense: men, women, children, Muslims, Christians – no Palestinian is safe. But that story doesn’t fit with the “evil Muslims taking away Christmas” or the “war on terra” memes, and has therefore been marginalised.

In any event, ’tis the season to be jolly, so let’s look at the bright side: this will all be over within a year, as agreed upon at Annapolis. Both sides will work tirelessly and sincerely to achieve a final settlement. The Palestinian Authority will make real attempts to crack down on militant groups while Israel will freeze all settlement construction and dismantle all outposts, and will in no way attempt to use the structure of the roadmap to delay and obfuscate progress, as it has done in the past. Good, now that’s sorte – huh?:

Checking various boards I saw a familiar link about MIT students documenting the effectiveness of hats made from tin foil.

http://people.csail.mit.edu/ra…

The link ponders the question, does a hat made of tin foil shield or amplify the radio signals secret government agencies use to track and or control citizens.  Not exactly mainstream popular theory but let’s look at some other technology which has come into public view.  

I think it’s more entertaining in the sci-fi genre than 24 and Faux network.