Telling it like it is

Patrick and Stefania left this morning heading off for the rest of their hols, starting at Twin Falls. It was great to see him again - been about 4 years since we last spent any time together. We spent the day yesterday at Park City where we had some lunch, and Patrick and I went on the zip-line and the toboggan (alpine slide). I'm really glad he managed to re-arrange their holiday plans to take us into account, by starting here and working their way down to Las Vegas.

It sounds odd, but at 35 I think I might be becoming old-fashioned. I read a report today that stated that 9% of job applicants tested positive for amphetamines, 15.8% tested positive for cocaine, and over half test positive for marijuana. So is it me? Do I not get it? Or are there really so many people with such low self-esteem out there that they feel the need to use drugs to fit in?

We finished pouring the second set of three foundations for the deck tonight. All 6 are done and ready to go.

El Busho's camp was quick to criticise the Philippines for pulling out of Iraq today. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said (paraphrased). "Countries that appease terrorists will inevitably be attacked by terrorists" . Odd. Was America appeasing terrorists when 9/11 happened? Boucher implies that terrorism only happens to weak countries with bad anti-terror policies. So does that make America weak, with bad anti-terror policies, or does that mean he doesn't know what he's talking about ? Whichever way you look at it, the terrorists won in America. They forced the introduction of the Patriot Act, an act so sweeping in its powers that it has taken certain liberties and freedoms away from everyone who lives here. A clearcut case of terrorism affecting government policy.

Micro$oft announced today that it is going to pay out billions of dollars in dividends as one-time payments of $3 per share, to every shareholder. The rich get richer. The whole problem with privatisation is that the companies become run for the benefit of the shareholders. I'm sure part of the reason that Winblows is so terrible and so full of holes and bugs is that it's always rushed. Bugger making secure, easy-to-use software. We've got to make sure the shareholders get their dividends. Business driven by greed. I wonder how many MS shareholders who will benefit from this windfall will "forget" to mention it on their tax returns?

A car bomb has gone off outside a Tennessee hotel this morning, killing one person. It only took ABC news 4 sentences to get to the word 'terrorism'. Idiots. Not everything is terrorism you jerks!

We got the first three foundations for the deck poured last night. Turns out Paula can mix concrete better than me, so she did most of the mixing and I did the pouring, setting and hosing. Checked them this morning and all appears well. The J-bolts didn't sink into the concrete overnight so I guess that's A Good Thing.

Well they might as well be. They're voting on a constitutional amendment to ban flag burning. Given that burning a flag is considered to be expressing yourself in a supposedly free country, then making it illegal is tantamount to outlawing free speech.

Great quote: "The same people who think the moon landing was a hoax are the ones who think Bush is a good president." Just for those unscientific idiots and rednecks who still believe (for whatever reason) that the moon landings were a hoax, hop over to Moon Base Clavius and, if you can read, enjoy the scientific debunking of all your beliefs. Possibly the best post ever, appeared on Fark today. Here it is in its entirety, from poster cannibolic . PS. His profile reads I had the highest SAT in my high school while being a starter on our champion football team. I then went to the top scientific college in the US. This is truly priceless. I can't figure out if he's trolling, or truly believes what he's typing. How can it NOT be a hoax? 1) Science: Let's start with physics There's no air in space, so obviously there's nothing for the rockets to push against. We can put satellites into orbit by "lobbing" them up, but not with

Sheesh! It just goes on and on doesn't it? El Busho today accused Iran of harboring suspected al Qaeda members and developing nuclear weapons. Whilst CIA chief John McLaughlin said: "We have no evidence that there is some sort of official connection between Iran and 9/11." El Busho turned around and said: "As to direct connections to September 11, we're digging into the facts to determine if there was one." . Much in the style that El Busho wanted to invade Iraq to settle a family spat, despite there being no need to, it seems he's going to go against his advisors again and march into Iran now. Isn't there supposed to be a senate, or house, or constitutional thing that prevents this sort of bezerking in the White House? Lets not also forget that CNN continue to try to associate Iran with Iraq by falsely calling Iranians Iranis ......

Today's

Well I managed to get all 6 foundation holes for the deck dug by the end of the night last night. Apart from tearing a chunk of my hand out with a flying nail, it all went pretty well. The last hole was full of roots from the old tree but our neighbour's sharpened shovel saw to that. Next step : mixing and pouring concrete for the first time.... I guess blogger read my plea about the editting page - it's gone back to the normal non-html style. Thanks !