September 29, 2005
More Than One Entendre
Typhoon Longwang is building to a head and appears ready to batter Okinawa, but, with luck, Longwang will lose steam and prematurely dump its load before reaching the big “O”. Rain forecasters are expecting a full 10″, and have advised people to take precautions and remember to wear their rubbers to avoid being drenched by Longwang.
September 28, 2005
Serenity Now!
I just bought my tickets. I’m going with friends from work to the Arclight, the greatest movie theater ever, on Friday night.
w00t!
September 25, 2005
A Sailing We Did Go
Took the boat out for the first time last weekend (was going to again this weekend, but I caught a cold, so Mike and Nick went out instead), and it was great.
We remembered to bring the spars, but we forgot a few lines.
We remembered extra rope, but we forgot to bring a knife.
But, the worst was
We remembered the beer, but we forgot the bottle opener.
September 12, 2005
Acknowledgements
And, now that I’ve sobered up, I should add that I couldn’t have finished the boat without all the help from people I received.
In no particular order, thanks to
Galen, for giving me the boat in the first place
Dad, for buying it all those years ago and showing me how not to put the sails on backwards and stuff
Mom, for temporary storage
Nick, for countless hours spent sanding, painting, and taking the sails apart, and for the hours that he has promised to spend putting them back together
Phil, for countless hours spent sanding, painting, and putting his fingers near the path of my hammer. Luckily, my thumb was the only casualty
Jason and Mike, for countably many hours spent sanding and painting
Jess, for, like, an hour spent sanding and stripping (paint).
The fine gentleman at the boating store who asks me what I’m working on every time I go in, even though I’m in there, on average, 5 times a week.
Sasha, for tirelessly protecting me from the menace of whichever piece of the boat I’m currently holding.
Rich, for being a jerk and making me finish it this weekend (nothing like a 14 hour day to really move a project along)
My front neighbors, for very sincere-sounding offers to help, and for comisserating with me over Rich being a jerk.
September 11, 2005
Boat!
I was going to post all this stuff about the process of fixing the boat, the various steps that were made, but then I went over to my front neighbors to have a beer in celebration of its completion and, a few hours later, it took me about ten minutes to compose this sentence.
So you are left with only before and after pictures. Let us hope that I can handle <img> tags in my martini induced state.
Before
After.
(Edit: Yeah, sure. That’s an awesome layout.)
September 8, 2005
The Will of the People
You may have heard about the recent passage of a bill supporting same sex marriage by the California legislature. It looks now like it’s not going to become law, but it’s made me think a lot about how democracy ought to work when confronted with an important issue.
It’s no secret that I consider the anti-gay marriage position to be absurdly injust. Read Loving v. Virginia as analogous. Those on the wrong side of history always cling to tradition without reason.
But in the case of AB 849, things are more complicated.
Just five years ago, 61% of the voters of California approved Proposition 22, which added the following language to the California Family Code
308.5. Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.
The really interesting thing about this addition, legally, is that it’s added to the section describing the validity of marriages performed in other states. So, if AB 849 were passed, it might end up that California would recognize same sex marriages performed within its borders, but not those performed elsewhere. The end result of such an incongruity is far from certain, but it involves the Full Faith and Credit clause of the US Constitution, the Federal Defense of Marriage Act, and the California constitutional rules about the legislature not overriding initiatives.
But none of that matters right now; Arnie won’t sign it. He says that he won’t sign it because it clearly counteracts the will of the people, as shown by Prop 22. I can respect an elected offical not just punting responsibility for constitutional lawmaking to the courts, but I think he won’t sign it because he’s pandering to bigots. So he’s lost my vote. A lot can change in five years, especially on as visible an issue as this. Are we really sure what the will of the people is, anymore?
September 6, 2005
There’s a Story There
From craigslist
Wanted: motorcycle. Will trade: platinum/diamond engagement ring
Ian Ferrel 