Thursday

Hello again, hello. I am coming to you today from the chair in the living room. I am driving to work today so I thought I would get something out rather then skipping it entirely.

I tried to watch the Daily Show last night. I noticed it was on and thought I usually enjoy that so I will watch it again. But I am not sure what happened. There were parts that I found humorous but overall it really seemed to be lacking for me. There was a section of the show where Jon Stewart was talking about the first speaking engagement of our last President Bush. Now I am well aware of the idea that President Bush as a public speaker does lend itself to some humor but in this case the Daily Show seemed almost mean about it. I think what bothered me is that I like things to be a little clever. I am not above mocking someone or something and I often find that kind of humor pretty funny. But, this seemed pretty mean spirited. Which, while they are a comedy show, seemed out of line from a show that has largely risen above the pettiness that seems to have infested the other political shows like Olbermann and Beck.

The new just showed President Obama at Dover Air force Base he was there to honor some of the latest soldiers that were killed in Afghanistan I believe. It was interesting to me because they showed him saluting as a coffin was carried past. Now I believe that in the years prior to Vietnam they used to show the coffins of dead military personal on the news as sort of a tribute to there efforts on behalf of the country. But, I think, correct me if I am wrong that the amount of military killed and the anger the Vietnam was generating caused the presidential administration at the time to move to stop the practice. I wonder if we should go back to showing the service men and woman come home. I think that it is to easy to forget that we have people dying on foreign soil and in a America whose military is composed of volunteers it really seems easy to forget that the people who are being killed are more then just statistics.

They just mentioned on the news that the United Nations General Assembly voted against the U. S. embargo of Cuba. This is not a surprise the vote was 187-3 with only Israel and Palau supporting the U. S., I find this interesting because this is the 18th year in a row that they have condemned it. My problem with the embargo is that if we were being consistent about how we were treating communist countries we would be embargoing China instead of Cuba. I submit that China by far is a bigger threat to us. I will grant you that Castro is not a nice man and he is not deserving of our friendship but it just makes no logical sense for us to treat China differently then Cuba. Wait let me note that it makes economic sense because Cuba does not have millions of dollars of our debt and American companies doing business there.

That's all I got folks, have a good day.

Journalistic Integrity?

Good morning friends, I have mentioned before that I have been listening to three types of radio on my way to work and coming home each day. These are basically conservative, moderate, and liberal though to be fair NPR does lean more to the liberal but I like that there stories tend to be a little deeper and thoughtful and not so full of the propaganda that either side likes to throw around.

That being said the lady on the liberal station that is on after work was going on and on last night about Rush Limbaugh and several passages that he had read from what he thought was President Obamas thesis from Columbia. Here is the passage,

" ... the Constitution allows for many things, but what it does not allow is the most revealing. The so-called Founders did not allow for economic freedom. While political freedom is supposedly a cornerstone of the document, the distribution of wealth is not even mentioned. While many believed that the new Constitution gave them liberty, it instead fitted them with the shackles of hypocrisy."

Now Limbaugh read this passage on the air and then went on a rant about Obama and the damage that he is doing to America. It was not that his rant was any different then other rants but word soon came down that the quote was actually not real. That it in fact was completely made up. It was taken from a blog called Jumping in Pools.

Well it seems that this is a blog that does mainly satire. I looked it over and really was unimpressed with the level of humor or even cleverness in it. But that is a story for another day. But, why I bring this up is because this whole so called thesis was completely made up by them. Once Limbaugh found out this was his response

"So, I can say, "I don't care if these quotes are made up," "I know Obama thinks it."

Now, while it may very well be true that this is what Obama thinks. I think the bigger issue here is integrity. Should not a news show actually do research and verify what they put on the air. I know there are people who feel that what is on liberal radio or conservative radio is all truth all the time. So I wonder should he not apologize rather then just attack. I understand being embarrassed when egg hits your face. It has happened to me before. But I do not claim to be a journalist. I am not held to any kind of standard. I can write and often have about whatever garbage I want to write about. But even then if I knowingly say something that I am wrong about I will do all I can to correct it.

It seems to me that Mr Limbaugh is doing just the opposite of this. I could be mistaken and if I am please let me know. But do it gently please. I am very sensitive. I promise to print a full retraction if that is the case.

Terrific Tuesday!!!

I got nothing today. Last night was one of those nights were you feel like you never really fell asleep. I woke up at 4:30 and my first thought was what is going on. I should still be asleep. So I rolled over and then the alarm went off and now I am sitting on the train but havinb a hard time keeping the old peepers open.

I was going to write about the French going after Scientology but I am just to tired for that. I will see you tomorrow.

Monday

It is Monday morning and I wasted a good part of my morning writing time trying to come up with a clever title for today. As you can see. I was unable to come up with one. I like to write and I am well aware that some days I do better then others. But it kills me sometimes to try to come up with a title each day. I tried initially to title each post related to riding on the train but I eventually gave up on that. I just had to hard of a time coming up with something new so I am now just throwing up the days of the week. I know it is pretty clever.

I had a nice weekend at the coast. It was basically just one night but it was nice to get away and the people I was with are super good people. I have known them all for years and I usually have a great time with them and this weekend was no different. I played some craps at the casino and basically broke exactly even. So that was fun as well. I would have liked to win some money but I am willing to break even that is better then losing.

I just realized that next Sunday is Daylight Savings Time. I believe that it is Fall Back. So we lose an hour. I have a question for people in that regard. What is the point anymore of Daylight Savings? I understood that we needed it to some degree in the days of old when it came to farmers and people wanting to get their work done during the daylight hours. But, what is the point now? We have electric light bulbs and we are able to work when it is dark. Stores are open later and it seems to me tat we do not need it. Why not just leave the time the way it is? Does anyone have an answer for me?

I wanted to thank those of you who answered my time travel question last week. I thought all of you answers were very interesting. It seems like a fair amount of the fiction I read involves time travel of some sort. I wonder why people find the idea so fascinating? I like the idea of people going back in time and bringing their modern ideas and equipment with them. To me that is more interesting then people coming forward in time and being unprepared for what the future has for them. I also like the idea of being able to go back in time and change what is happening in the future with a new idea or new political plans. Not that things are going to always be better but that things would change and I wonder if some of the newer political ideas would work or if things would be pretty much just the same.

In political news it seems that some people are concerned about something coming up in Stockholm and that President Obama may be giving away America. That at least is what Lord Brockton is saying. He appears to be popping up all over the internets. I have not done deep research into it but it seems like people are making a mountain out of a molehill to me. I just do not think that, as I have mentioned before, in a 4 to 8 year span President Obama is going to really be able to fundamentally change America. The latest whispers I have heard is that this is a first step to a one world government. I really hope people are mistaken but then my cynical side kicks in and I think well we already have a one world government it is one controlled by the corporations, I would like to be wrong about that as well. But I feel like that is closer to the truth then anything else is.

On that happy note I will leave you as we are going to be pulling into the station. So I ask you please, explain the point or need of Daylight Savings Time in modern day and your thoughts on what is going on in Stockholm. (One paragraph Van) :) I will talk you you later.

Friday

Well it is Friday and we have made it through the week. I am looking forward to the weekend. A good friend of mine is turning 40 and I will be joining him and his family at the coast. Which is what I did last week as well. This is going to be an interesting year in that most of my friends are turning 40 and I will be doing the same. I think I have heard that 40 is the new 30 so I should be fine. Maybe I will get myself a new tattoo or a convertible. I actually doubt I will do either of those things but you never know I guess.

I do not have much to comment on today. The car ride was a little but unfun with the rain and the other cars driving like it wasn't raining. The radio was not very interesting this morning either. There was some talk about the Portland Beavers and the Portland Timbers and the trouble with finding a stadium for the Beavers to move to and how Beaverton is split in terms of wanting it or not wanting it. I am excited about the idea of the Timbers becoming a Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise but I could really care less about minor league baseball. I like sports and I like baseball but the Portland Beavers as a whole have never been very interesting to me.

While the idea of MLS coming to Portland excites me quite a bit. I know there are some mouth breathers out there who do not like soccer. So for them I say. Nuts to you and bite my tongue at them. I think the bottom line with soccer is either you get it or you do not. If you do not get it then there is no way to make someone get it. That being said all the cool kids love soccer!!

Thursday

Well first off I want to say thank you to the two readers who took the time to answer my question about going back in time. Both Joel and Travis highlighted some historical events that I did not even think of so that was pretty neat. I just wish more of you would have responded.

Well on my daily quest for radio diversity I heard some interesting things. On the liberal station they talked to one of the candidates for the upcoming Oregon Gubernatorial election a man whose name completely escapes me right now. Which does not bode well for him. In a state like Oregon with an ex-Governor running again as well as the founder of Soloflex and the former Secretary of State name recognition is going to be huge and the name of a former business man for Hewlett Packard with no previous government experience is not one that people know. I just heard his name no less then 10 minutes ago and I am totally drawing a blank. I can remember the other candidates names but I am going to opt to not name them for fairness sake.

On the conservative side of the dial they talked about the recent federal governments plan to not go after medical marijuana users. I thought that was fascinating for several reasons. Lets see, leaving aside the moral issues of the drug as well as the differing positions as to whether or not it should be legalised and taxes. I think it all comes down to states rights or Federalism. In Oregon voters have voted to legalize marijuana for medical use. That is our right as a state. Now my personal choices aside and in this case I am in favor of medical marijuana. The key for me is that the state decided not the federal government.

I realize that my position may not be consistent in that I am in favor of the federal government controlling some things. But, I feel that way primarily because the states control so little that any step toward letting a state decide is a good one. I understand that there are most likely bigger issues at stake then letting a state decide to allow the use of medical marijuana or not and it isn't that the federal government is saying that marijuana is legalized but it means that they are not going to be spending resources on pursuing sick and terminal people who just want a little bit of relief.

That is all I have this morning on a foggy Thursday. I hope everyone has a good day. I will talk to you tomorrow.

Wednesday

Good morning folks. I am sorry that I missed you yesterday. I ended up driving myself to work because I had to pick up papers from the elections office. I am sure you believe me when I say that I would have rather ridden the train. It is not that the drive was bad. It actually went very smoothly but I like being able to write for you folks and I am not able to do that and drive at the same time.

I mentioned before that I like to listen to basically three different radio stations as I drive to the train station. One is National Public Radio (NPR), the other is Portlands progressive station whose numbers I am unable to remember and the third is Portlands conservative station that play Lars Larson and Rush Limbaugh and the like. So I was attempting to do just that as I was driving but it was a rough trip. NPR was and is doing there fund raising drive. It isn't that I dislike the fund raising because I understand the need for it but it is the fact that it seems to go on and on. So I switched over to the liberal station but that seemed to be all commercials. The funny thing is that both of those stations seemed to be playing the same commercials. Which surprised me. I would think the marketing would lend itself to a different audience but I guess I was mistaken.

So I switched to the conservative station and they were talking about what they would like to be able to see or record if they could go back in time with a camera. I found that the most interesting. They talked about going back and seeing dinosaurs and seeing if it was really a comet that wiped them out. A caller mentioned being in the Oval Office and seeing how much advance notice we really had about Pearl Harbor. I found that an interesting idea. Some one mentioned spending a day with Jesus and his disciples or with DaVinci or perhaps Mozart as they were creating something. There was another caller who wanted to find out who had grounded the planes on 9/11 but the announcers rightfully brushed that person off because it would not have been beneficial to get derailed into that discussion.

But, what I found most interesting was the person who mentioned returning to the moon and taking some new pictures with a color camera in high definition. I thought wow that would be pretty neat to see those pictures as opposed to the grainy black and white footage that we have now. But all that being said I am hoping for some interaction from my readers. So here we go. I would like you to list the 5 times or places that you would like to go back to and either take part in or just watch as a fly on the wall. They can be in any order of preference but just try for 5 please. To get us started here are mine.

1. The signing of the Declaration of Independence.
2. The joining of the transcontinental railroad.
3. Hitler in his bunker at the end. ( Just to see if he was crazy or not)
4. Do anything with Ben Franklin
5. The first Super Bowl win for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Those are mine folks for better or for worse. Please tell me yours.

Monday, Monday

Good morning everyone, to this foggy Monday. At least it is foggy where I am in Wilsonville sitting on the train waiting for us to leave the station. I hope you all had a fine weekend and got some relaxation in.

I was down at the Oregon coast in a small town called Pacific City with some friend for a 40th birthday. The funny thing is I will also be down at the beach for the same thing this coming weekend. That should be fun. It will be a time of board games and relaxation so I am looking forward to it.

There was not much to listen to on the radio this morning. The Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) station that I listen to some mornings is in the middle of a fund drive so that was out though they did talk a little bit about Iran and the Uranium enrichment and a plan to send some of the Uranium to Russia and France for enrichment and then have it returned to be used in medical isotopes. I think that is an interesting idea. One that I hope Iran can agree to. But one never knows how these diplomatic things will pan out and the suicide bomber attack on the Iranian Royal Guard from a Pakistani really just complicates things right now.

I also listen to a conservative station in the morning but I did not manage to make it over there today. I did make it to the AM 620 station which bills itself as Portlands only progressive radio station. Which is funny to me because when I first heard that said I thought it was "aggressive" radio and really that is pretty true. Today they were discussing a new business venture in Seattle, Washington that sells deeds for different circles in Hell. These deeds people can buy as a gift and give them to others in a framed certificate. It is a funny idea and one that will probably make the creator of this plan a nice sum of money. But what struck me as odd was that the first thing the broadcaster did was wonder what circle Glenn Beck would be in. Now I am no fan of Glenn Beck, I have complained about him in the past and I know that broadcasters talk to their core audience and I am definitely not the core audience of either conservative radio or progressive radio. But, it just seemed a mean spirited attack to say that Glenn Beck would be on the crying circle of Hell. I am all for going after a man for his politics. But, I see no reason to mock anyone because they get emotional when they are discussing an issue that is important to them.

It may be that I take this a little closer to home because anyone who knows me, also, knows that I am a crier. But, I do not think that my getting emotional takes away from the validity or importance of something I am trying to say. Now I realize some of my readers may feel that Glenn Beck is just putting on a show and that may very well be true. But, if he is crying for a show I think it is hurting more then helping him.

That being said I do not like Glenn Beck and I think he is hurting the country overall with his antics. I have to be fair and note that he began his anti big government run during the Bush administration but he seems to have really hit his stride with the Tea Party and the 9-12 movement stuff. If you as me he is gearing himself up to run for some sort of office on a back to the Constitution platform. One of limited government and fiscal responsibility. I hope I am wrong but I also hope I am right so that I can tell people see Glenn Beck is just like all the rest of us. He is looking for himself and wanting to rise to power. So we shall see what happens but I feel like it is something that I want to keep an eye on.

Thursday

Hey folks. No blog today I drove myself into work. Have a meeting after work. I hope everyone is well and I can spill my wisdom all over your brains tomorrow!

Wednesday

Sorry about the lack of an update yesterday. I was feeling a little under the weather and I did not make it to work. I am feeling better today and I hope you all are well.

Lots of interesting goings on this week so far. This morning on the radio they talked about a move to tax soda-pop I believe a penny an ounce per serving. The reasoning they were using were the same as the reasons for the different tobacco taxes. Health reasons. Now I believe that I have had this conversation before when it comes to taxing tobacco. I do not smoke. Well, lets be clear I do not smoke cigarettes but I do have a pipe and I smoke that now and then usually a nice vanilla black Cavendish that smells oh so nice. But that isn't the point. The point is that I understand why there is a desire to tax tobacco and a large reason is the idea of second hand smoke and that a person who does not smoke can still get lung cancer. But soda-pop is different. I can go to a store and not have someone blow soda-pop into my face. I am not going to get cancer from drinking soda-pop and if my friend drinks it next to me I am not going to have to taste it against my desires.

I think we are all well aware that America has a obesity problem. But, where do we stop once we began to tax soda? Do we tax candy? Do we tax potato chips? Where do we separate the line from looking out and preventing known disease causing agents and from just controlling people so that they are unable to eat how they like? I realize that my questions are just opening up a can of worms. But I wonder is there an answer or should what one eats or drinks be a totally personal choice that other people should mind their own business about?

That being said I shall continue to sip my coffee that I am horribly addicted to and the government can have when they pry it from my cold dead fingers!!

From the Living Room...........

Hello folks! Well thanks to the WES and Trimet my train is not running due to maintenance I should say that my normal train at 7:49 is not running. Which leaves me to either catch the 7:19 or the later train which runs at 8:21 which would make me late to the office. Now we all know how important it is to me to get to work on time so that I can continue to make the world safe for Democracy!!

All that being said, it means that I am writting this in my living room because I am going to be driving myself up to the office today. I hope I am back on track tomorrow. haha Nice one Lance, back on track. I am so funny. I do not have much else to report. I hope you all had a good weekend and remember to take a deep breath now and then and walk away from the internet and the politics and the stresses about the future of America and the world as we know it. Just take a moment to live in the now and not worry about the future.

Gentlemans Folly

Hey everybody. I must confess that I have a bit of a plan in mind as I sat down to write on the train this morning. But, I realized that I do not write very well with a plan in mind. At least I do not think I do. There may be a few of you out there who feel like I never write very well and to those I say psshaw!! I shall do as I like. Good day to you sir! I said good day!

Back to the point. I tend to do everything from the seat of my pants. When I have had to give speeches I would often write down my speech and then promptly leave it in my pants pocket as I would then just talk about what ever popped into my head. I am not sure if that was the best way to give speeches but I always did well in class. It worked for me.

I heard on the radio this morning that President Obama received the Nobel price for Peace yesterday. I am not sure what to make of that. I think it is to soon in his administration to give such an award. Now, some of you that think the award in and of itself is silly are going to say it doesn't matter when he received it because recognition from an international agency is a waste of time. Others, are going to say that this is a great thing and that the USA is finally moving toward a time of unilateral diplomacy rather then might making right. All the politics of the issue aside I am thinking it is too soon for such an award. I mean lets wait and see for a year or two to even see if the policies that he has implemented are even effective.

I am not going to go deep into the pro Nuke/No Nuke argument but I am not even sure that a completley nuclear free world is the safest world possible. I may have to explore that thought later.

Foggy

Just a short note to let my 3 to 7 readers know that my head is feeling a little foggy this morning and I do not foresee any writing going on. I hope everyone has a good day.

A Czar To Far, One Czar To Many

I was listening to the radio this morning and they were talking about a Congressional hearing concerning the advisors or, "CZARs" if you are Glenn Beck, that President Obama has hired. It was an interesting listen. Both Bush Sr and Jr hired multiple czars and I imagine that many of the presidents before them did as well. So I am not sure if this is a new argument or just one that I am paying more attention to.

It seems like the biggest complaint from critics of the system is that these people are unelected. That they are chosen by the President and that there is no accountability. But I wonder if that is people getting to worked up over basically a non issue. I can understand being concerned with the appointment process of the Surpreme Court. They make laws that affect the entire country. Now while it is true that these Czars advise the President and in doing that they may have some effect in the policies of the country I just do not think it is the same thing.

I think it would be good for the President to have several advisors coming from different areas on an issue so that he could hear multiple sides of said issue. If a decsion is made that is made by the President. The Czar can not and does not make policy. In affect anything or anyone the President listens to on any given day on any given subject is an advisor or sorts. These Czars are in a position of having the Presidents ear. That is true. But they can't direct troops, they can't make laws, they can't enforce anything.

To be worked up about this when there are so many other issues going on right now makes no sense to me.

That is my two cents. I woke up late today. I was moving part of last night into a little house near where I was living before. It isn't ideal but nothing about this whole situation is ideal. Things may change in a few weeks or months but for now this is the best plan for both cost and piece of mind. I hope that living alone I can reach some sort of mental clarity and begin to figure out what is going on. I do not have high hopes of that but you never know stranger things have happened. But, for now I have a bed in the house and my TV and entertainment center and my XBOX and my laptop. That is it short of a few clothes. I feel like the house has some potential not that I am an interior decorator but once I get some furniture in that will make a difference.

That is it for today. I hope you are well. I leave you in the capable hands of the Snuggler

The Beans of Java

Good morning readers, I hope everyone had a nice weekend and you were all able to be either productive or relaxed or perhaps a bit of both. It looks to be another pretty day today. This time of year is one of my favorites. I love the cold and sometimes foggy mornings and the clear sunny days. I like being able to wear a pair of shorts and a jacket. I wish that the valley was like this all year. I do not mind the rain. But there is just something about this type of weather that I really like.

The brightness of the sun coming through the window makes it hard to see my screen this morning. It always makes me laugh when I see the ads on TV for laptops or internet service and someone is outside in a park just computing away. I realize things might work differently for other people but I can hardly see me screen outdoors let alone type on it. I have been interested lately in buying one of those mini laptops. They look like the perfect thing for blogging on the train. They are light and easily portable. We will see what happens. I need to type on one for awhile and see if I am actually able to do that since I have such big hands.

More geese flying along the tracks this morning. What an amazing site that always is to me. The way that they fly in formation and sail along looking so effortless. It is always fascinating to me as well when I watch them from inside the train or a car or the house how silent they look. I intellectually know that there is noise going on and that they are honking and their wings are flapping but when seen from the inside of the train car they appear to be sailing silently through the air, Almost magnificent creatures, using the wind to soar on.

Some of the leaves have started to turn color and I am enjoying watching the change of season as well. I am looking forward to some snow I just hope I can get to Wilsonville when that happens. Several bikes on the train this morning it is going to be interesting to see how long they are going to ride for. If they are riding when the weather gets rainy the train car will turn to a sauna with the steam from the wet clothes. That should be some fun riding.

Sorry for nothing exciting to report today. I did not hear anything that really got me going this morning. I will chat with you tommorow I am sure.

Driving

I am driving today so no blog post. I apologize for any inconvenience.

Cosmopolis

Today on the way to the train I was listening to NPR and they talked to a women who had worked in a lumber mill in the Washington coastal town of Cosmopolis. I found the name of the town fascinating. I have no idea how it was named or even how the town was founded. I did a quick Google search and found the Wikipedia entry that I linked but other then that I did not not find anything. I fully intend to do a deeper search later.

I also heard today that President Obama was in Copenhagen to find out if Chicago was going to get the 2016 Olympics and my first thought was..........big deal. *shrug* When I was a kid I remember being very excited about the 1984 Olympics in L A. But since then I have not really cared. I am not sure if that is a sign of me growing older or of the world changing and the impact of the Olympics meaning less and less. I know a lot of my earlier interest in the Olympics and sports in general is due to my mother. Often my friends would and still do tease me about my knowledge of figure skating as well as professional bowling and tennis. In fact I think I know or knew anyway more about figure skating then most hetrosexual males have any right to. :) In my parents house growing up if there was a figure skating event on the television my mother and I watched it. Since I moved out on my own I have not watched figure skating. I do not think I miss it but thinking about it does bring up some fond memories of my youth.

As per usual my section of the train car seems to be empty this morning. I do not know why. Perhaps it is the growling sounds I make as I type this and when I write a sentance that I like I let out with a "WOOP! WOOP!" people do not seem to apriecate that. Well it is their loss if they do not understand my genius. I realize few do. But one day like Nesse rising to the top of the Loch my genius will surface and the world will tremble in fear!!! "WOOT! WOOT!"

Why are people staring at me? Oh! There I go again spraying my genius around the train car.

WOW! The train is going through some fog and there are some geese flying along next to us through the trees. That is pretty cool. It was a nice image to see on a Friday morning. I actually dug the winter hat out today and plopped it on the head. I am also wearing a jacket thing so it must be a little bit chilly today.

Well I hope everyone has a good weekend and I will see you all on Monday.

And Now Back To Our ..............

Good morning everyone. I hope you enjoyed the brief interlude into the adventures of L. Andrew C, gentlemen philosopher and adventurer. I hope to be able to continue his adventures at a later date. So any feedback as to interest or enjoyment or even if you felt it was a waste of time please feel free to comment.

I hope that the absurdity of the writing was a nice break for people from all the stress in the news with the health care debate and Iran playing around with nukes and General Macrystal (sp?) calling for more troops in Afghanistan. I really am truly glad to be back on the train and able to blog again. While last week was a good one and beneficial in terms of getting work done and for the future of VOTE Oregon (Protecting the Electorate since 2009), as well as a shorter commute. I really missed the time I have on the train to sit and write and share my thoughts with my readers.

I know some of you read this everyday and I am thankful for that. Those of you who read me every few days I am thankful for that as well. I just had some thoughts about last week. I would say that I was in the minority in the room. Not in terms of race or religion but in terms of politics. You see this was a predominately conservative group of people. The room demographics seemed to break down like this. The majority of volunteers being both Seniors and Republicans. Then there was one or two, at most, senior Democrats followed by some middle-aged Republicans and then some younger college age Republicans. Now where does that leave me? Well I am an registered Oregon Independent Party member. So I found most of the discussions pretty interesting.

But I want to step away from the political positions of the people and just take a look at the people in the room. What we had was a very diverse group of people who took the time to volunteer in this effort. There were ex-military men, School teachers, farmers, housewives, small business folks as well as college students. What tied all of these people together was their belief in the Oregon System. In Oregon the referendum system is often the only way that the minority can be heard in Government. Some would argue that the system is to messy and results in laws that are not needed and often wasteful.

I would counter that the nature of Democracy is such that it is messy and sometimes wasteful but to me that is the beauty of it as well. We live in a country and state that lives and sometimes thrives under a system that allows for consistent periodic change. I like that. I like that eight years ago for many liberals America was being destroyed before their very eyes. Then the two terms of President Bush ended and now President Obama is in charge and for many conservatives America is being destroyed before their eyes.

Now I am not saying that there are not problems in today's government. Because we all know that there are. But what I am saying is that, for me at least, there is always hope. Because change is always coming around the bend. I look at the makeup of Congress today and remember that several years ago it looked entirely different and after a certain amount of time people grew fed up with it. The grew tired of the actions of Congress and they voted them out. Sure, the pundits on TV said it was a new mandate. I think it was a mandate but it was a mandate for new people and hopefully new behavior in office. Now today's Congress seems to have missed the message and people seem to be getting fed up again. I think soon there will be another change coming. I hope this change wakes some politicians up and makes them realize that this isn't about party politics but about ethical behavior and a responsibility to make America a better nation.

Because for the citizens of this land the only real option for us is to continue to vote out the politicians we do not agree with and vote in those we hope will do a better job. So just remember people when it seems darkest, when it seems like the future of our country is at stake, when it feels like you have no voice. there is change coming. There is change built into the system and by believing in the change and allowing for it to work we can make America a better place. So just hang in there folks.

Thus Spake.........

Oh! I see you survived the onslaught my friend. Why are you cowering under a seat? Whats that you say? You slipped whilst jumping from seat back to seat back emulating my fighting style. How very brave of you to attempt such a maneuver. Your sure you did not swoon like the ladies you were supposed to be guarding. Now, now, no reason to be angered. As you can see we are ok. The train is moving along nicely and the brigands are dealt with. Pardon? Oh that, dripping from my blade? Why the blood of a brigand of course. I trust you did not think I was going to greet them with a hug and perhaps a polite political discussion about the error of their ways. I would never do such a thing. In fact the first one to attempt to board was spit upon my blade. In fact I recall as I ran him through I heard a low pitched wailing from behind me back amongst the women. You are sure that was not you...........

Well never mind we are safe and the problem has been dealt with. Oh the blood coming from my shoulder? That is just a flesh wound. Nothing to be concerned with. Come now, show me how you jumped from seat to seat fighting off the brigands. Oh, now do not be shy. I long to see such a performance. I understand your hesitation it is often hard to reenact something that never happened. Oh it did happen! I see. Were there, perhaps, any witnesses to your feats of daring do? Hmmmm, I see, there were not.

Oh! Perish the thought, I would never call a gentleman such as yourself a liar. Why I hesitate to even utter the word. What do you mean, I just uttered the word? Well, of course, I did but that was just as a example. I warn you sir you do not want to bandy words about with one such as myself.......I will leave you to think on that. Good Day Sir!!


That being said L. Andrew C turned flinging his cape with a flourish and strode away. Several women swooned as he strode past but he paid them no mind. His mind was occupied with other things today.

I am glad to be back on the train.

Sorry

I just want to apologize for the lack of updates. It is not that I do not want to write. Because I do but the work we are doing right now is taking place entirely off of the computer and is also as I mentioned before off of the train line as well. But, I promise I will return to touch bases a little bit like I am doing now and that on Monday I fully intend to return with a new installment of the serial I have been working. I know it is a bit different then my usual stuff and I hope you are enjoying it. I also hope some of the new readers I seem to have picked up thanks to CT are enjoying it as well.

A Word From Our Sponsors

Due to the nature of the work this week. There may be some blogging but there going to be no train riding. So things should get back to normal next week as the train rides began again.

Fogbanks? How do I make a deposit?

Welcome my friend. I see you have decided once again to join me. I am glad you are here. Despite your obvious physical inadequacies, for you see it is foggy today and within the fog lies all manner of beastie. I know you think me crazy when I tell you this but it is true. There are the remains of unwary passengers up and down this rail line to give truth to my tale.

For you see with the fog comes a lowering of visibility and the engineer must then slow the speed of the train to compensate for that. It is all very simple and one that most true gentlemen would have learned in school so I apologize if the logic of this escapes you. Now where was I? Oh yes, with the train moving slower this allow all manner of ruffian both human and animal to make an attempt at what they see as a rolling buffet. A rolling buffet that will allow them to satiate themselves upon the blood of the weak and the innocent! That is where you and I come in my friend. For as we both know I am neither weak nor innocent! Ho, Ho, you blush and I hesitate to tell you more but just know this that were I to tell the tales the ribaldry within would cause yon maidens ears to redden and her breath to quicken but that is a story best told at another time.

Back to the matters at hand. We must needs look most alert as the train goes into a corner. This is where matters are likely to come to a head. I will charge you with standing watch of the elderly and the feminine whilst I repel any and all attempted boarders. Oh! I know you believe yourself capable but I do not need you gumming up the works believe me. I am an old hand at such events and am looking forward to the attempt. You would be best suited amongst the petticoats and the lace as when the screaming starts the lower pitch of your voice will make it easier for me to hear you and assist.

Do not be ashamed by your screaming. Many men greater then you have been left screaming when faced with the ruffians that assault this train. Many men greater then you have been left bleeding on the floor as their ability to protect themselves was lost when the violence began. So fear not. I shall be at your side and protect your virtue. The train will not stop so we must just keep the hosts at bay and we shall be through and safe in no time. Wait!! Did you hear that? To your post man, for it has begun...........................................

"Of Tea and Strumpets"

Oh I see you have decided to return and join me in a trip up the rails. North to........NO! Not north to Alaska. Why in the world would one want to go to such a state. You may as well move to darkest Africa. I have heard it tell that in Alaska they have mosquitoes that will carry off a small child. The men there sport enormous beards that go down to the middle of their chest or further and are infested with all manner of rodents. Why I met one fellow that had an angry squirrel in his beard. It was absolutely horrifying I can tell you.

So where were we? Oh yes! Welcome back to the train. I hope this trip is less stressful for you. I see you have brought along a stout walking stick. That is good to see. If needs be the stick will double quite nicely as a thwacking club. Not that I think we will need one. Never fear on that account my friend. I am well versed in all manner of manly arts and I fear no man or beast. If any foul fiends were to try to board the train I would have at them with a vengeance. You would be better off hiding under a seat perhaps. You do not seem muscular and I can tell by the way that you move about that you are all kinds of clumsy.

Now, now no reason to get your feelings hurt. One must be practical when it comes to ones own protection. Oh leaving again so soon? I understand. Have a safe and pleasant day sir and I hope we meet again.

"Leaves are Falling, Come Down is Calling"

I realize that yesterdays post was pretty dark and if you were or are a first time reader thanks to my friend Christopher linking me from Word Around The Net I just want to let you know that I am not usually so dark. I mean there are times where the music I listen to and the movies I like would lend one to think that I operate in some sort of gothic fog but those rumors are untrue. Well mostly untrue. I do like a good crushed velvet jacket preferably black or dark red and I would wear some dark eye shadow if I could get away with it.

I am after all riding the train and as I have noted before riding the train is what gentlemen do. I would also wear either a nice powdered wig or a hat. It would depend of course upon the season and perhaps what ever festive event that I had been invited to attend. If the weather was dry I would be with out my top coat but I would have my cane and my hat as I entered the train car. But in times of inclement weather I would need my splendid top coat and I would need my manservant to follow me with my umbrella. A gentlemen does not carry his own umbrella oh no. Indeed carrying your own umbrella would get you banished to the luggage car on my train.

Gentleman only please in my cabin. Perhaps you would like a nice glass of sherry or port to sip as we glide almost magically along the rails. What's that you say? This is your first time aboard the train. Well, then by all means take a seat and gaze out the windows as we roll along. No need to fear bandits on this route sir as the Kings men have long cleared the tracks of any obstacles that may have lain in our path. Besides, I have my trusty sword cane and flint lock to defend us. What do you mean you have no weapon? Why a true gentleman always travels armed. What would you if we happened upon a ruffian or perhaps a young damsel in distress? One must be prepared for all events. One never knows the obstacles that life may throw in their path. Oh do not look downcast sir! I did not mean to shame you. I only mean for you to be educated upon the path of a gentleman. Oh you must leave the train? Fare thee well, I shall see you anon.

Thus ends today's adventures in the mind of the gentleman philosopher L. Andrew C. He will return tomorrow with more tales of adventure and ribaldry upon the tracks of Oregon.

"Let The Grey Geese Fly"

It is a dark and dreary day today. Which right now fits my mood perfectly. I am not angry. I am more sad then anything else. It is not something I can write about right now and those of you who know me in meat space I will let you know what is going on soon enough.

The world is never constant people and things change on a regular basis. When you look at things at their atomic level things are slowly decaying on a regular basis. So even though I would like to think that I can rise above such things the sad truth is that I can not. That none of us can. That as much as we like to think we have a modicum of control in our lives it just isn't true. There are forces at work that are much bigger then we are and those forces move and cause action and reaction that we are unable to stop or even slow down.

I am going to stop now before this spirals down into the darkest depths of Mordor. Because believe me I can go there.

A Civil Discourse

I listened to the Presidents speech last night about health care reform. It was interesting to me in several ways. I do not think anyone would argue that something needs to change in terms of health care in America. It seems like the argument starts when you begin to discuss how to pay for it and who it covers. In fact during the Presidents speech what caused the most stir was when he said that his plan would not cover illegal immigrants.

That surprised me. Not because people disagreed though the vocal nature of the disagreement did. I thought South Carolina Rep Joe Wilson was out of line when he yelled out "You Lie". I understand being upset and disagreeing but his response did not seem appropriate for the location of the speech. Had it been a formal debate I would have expected it more. I would have expected more of a response when the President said that the people who had talked about the existence of death panels were liars.

The response or lack of response by the Republicans surprised me. I really thougt they would jump on him for calling people liars to there face. I wonder if Sara Palin was still Governor of Alaska if there would have been any response because there just wasn't. Also and I have not seen it attacked much so far today but I am sure that it will happen as the day goes on. I was surprised when President Obama said that his plan would not add one dime to the deficit. I mean come on. Not one dime! That is really not even a plausible position.

Lets at least be logical about the cost of this purposed plan. As far as I am concerned the cost does not bother me. I think we are wasting a large amount of money within the defense industry and if we juggle some of it around then the health plan could happen with out it bankrupting America. But to say that it will not add a dime to the deficit is just plain bad math. I hope the numbers shake out better as more discussion happens on the issue but I will be surprised if this plan doesn't end up costing us qute a large amount of money.

I would love to have a discussion about this issue. the pros and the cons, the nuts and bolts of why and why not it would be a good idea. But, what I am not interested in is having an argument about it. So please if you read this silly little blog of mine. It doesn't matter to me if you are pro or con on the issue but lets talk about it. Lets see where we differ and why we differ. Lets see how big the differences are and if we can reach some common ground on it. But, lets discuss it. I do not want to shout and sto stomp my feet. I want to have a conversation. I am willing to be wrong. So please share with me your thougts on the issue of Health Care reform in America.

Between The Rails

Good morning gentle readers I hope you are looking forward to yet another installment of my adventures on the transit rail system of Northwest Oregon. It was a cloudy drive up today without the low lying fog that I enjoyed so much yesterday. But I did see a couple of interesting things on the way up. The first thing that I noticed was a hot air balloon floating through the sky. What I find interesting about the hot air balloons as a whole is that from the ground they seem to drift along so silently. But when they release gas to inflate the balloon and to keep it aloft it is really quite a noisy process.

The other thing I noticed was a semi truck with an open trailer full of chickens. That is correct, you heard me. The trailer was full of cages of chickens and they were white chickens. That was a surprise let me tell you. I know it makes sense for them to be transported that way but I do not know if I have ever seen a full chicken transport before.

hmmmm, lets see in legal news we had a hate crime at the house this week as our black button quail Onyx appears to have killed our white button quail Milky. Needless to say the wife and I were saddened by Milkys passing. We are still not sure what caused the violence we think overcrowding may be an issue in the cage. But, we have not had problems like this before. But when we saw Onyx go after another bird we caught her and put her in isolation. So we are trying to figure out what the correct response should be. I am thinking we have have her make little tiny license plates.

But, on to my observations about todays passengers. The couple with the Christmas dog are not here and they have been replaced by what apears to be a young business woman. She reminds me of the Cake song about "short skirt and a long jacket". I wish I could remember the name of the song. But, she is wearing a brown skirt and a matching brown jacket and appears to be headed to the office. A bit furthur down the car is a young hispanic fellow wearing a Southpole sweatshirt and baggy pants. He is bald and has his labret pierced (the space below the lower lip and above the chin). He is bald and if it was not for the peircing he would look like your sterotypical latino gang banger. I have no real way to tell aside from his clothing. The rest of the train appears to have the usual people. There is a blonde lady with short hair that the last two trips has had to literally run for the bus when the train stops. I do not think she has been successful in catching her bus. I think she asked the conducter to go faster today.

The car is pretty quite today. The passengers seem content to sit and look outside the window or close their eyes. It is very green outside and that is nice to see and there is a chill in the air. But the temprature in the train car is comfortable for me. Which probably means that it is cold for others. It will be interesting to see the leaves change color as we move into the fall. I need to start taking some pictures to document the changes.

In political news the Surpreme Court is hearing a case today a campaign finance and freedom of speach. It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out because depending on their ruling it could undo, I believe, two decades worth of campaign finance law including the, much hated by conservatives, McCain-Feingold act. Right now the issue is a 90 minute film that a conservative group wanted to put out during the last Presidential primarys attacking Hillary Clinton. The problem with the film was not the content but it was how the film was funded. Had the film been funded by a PAC, political action committee, it would have been fine but it was funded by general funds funds from a union and that is illegal under the present set up. But as long as corporations are thought of as individuals there seems to be a hook to challenge the ruling.

I personally think that there should be limits to how much anyone can give to a candidate. It matters not to me if they are an individual or a group. I think limiting the amount of money serves to level the playing field and take some of the strength away from the incumbent who may have greater access to funding because of the connections that they have made while in office.

Well that is it for today. I hope you have a good one.

Misty Morning Hop

As I left Salem this morning the sun was beginning to shine and there was a low lying fog that was ribboning through the trees. It was a really lovely morning. One that I like to think of as Lord of the Rings weather. That was a nice start to the day but as I moved further and further up I-5 the ribbons of fog became an overall grey. But I can see the blue sky trying to peek through and shine on us,

I am sitting in the train car listening to the couple that is sitting across from me talking about different things. But, what is drawing my attention to them is that they have a small Jack Russell terrier with them in a red Christmas sweater. I am not sure what to make of it. The dog is not barking but he is not a work dog for sure. I do not even know what train policy is on animals. On the MAX dogs must be carried in a carrier. But it appears that the WES has a different policy. It isn't that I dislike dogs but I feel that dogs should be like children, kept on a leash. Though I have to admit that this dog is better behaved then most of the children I have ridden with on the train.

This looks to be an interesting week at work as we are moving into the final stretch on this particular petition drive. While there is no way to predict the future I am pretty confident that we have enough signatures to get this measure to the ballot. It is going to be interesting for me to watch what goes on concerning this tax issue as we move toward the time for voting. I think that the propaganda thrown around by both sides is going to be very interesting. I can hardly wait I hope that this takes some of the thunder away from the health care debate at least in Oregon.

No Train

Since it is Labor Day today the WES train is not running. So I will not be posting today. I am driving myself to Portland like a commoner. Oh the shame.

Back on the Track!

Hey folks. I am sorry that I have not been writing much lately. The job I am working is moving closer to a finish date and I have been a little busier then I have in the past. So I have been reading on the train rather then writing about my adventures.

I just noticed a strange thing today. Two guys in a truck with a covered canopy drove into the Wilsonville Transit Center parting lot and pulled a bicycle out of the back of it. I watched one walk away while the other climbed on the bike and rode off in the same direction. Hmm, I thought they must be heading for the train. But they just came back minus the bicycle and drove off in the truck. I must admit to being confused by this. I can only assume that they were dropping the bike of for someone but it would have not occured to me at first look. Now that I think about it I recall seeing the same truck in the past I am going to have to pay more attention to it to see if it is dropping off the same bike or what is going on.

I know it probably gets old me continuing to trumpet the horn of public transit. But, I am going to do it anyway, in the last month or so as I have ridden the train and taken the MAX in Portland I really have say that I enjoy it. I enjoy the peace of mind it brings me. I enjoy that it allows me to have a relativly short drive to the station. I like that it allows me to follow my own personal thoughts on how much driving I am doing and lets me take my car off of the freeway.

I just hope that Woodburn and Salem are seeing what good the WES is doing and are beginning to realize that it would benefit both of those communities to look toward a rail system of some sort. A rail system that at the very least would connect the WES to Woodburn and Salem for transit purposes. That being said I want to lay out my idea for Salem to make the downtown a more viable place for shopping and for people to live. Because right now the downtown core of Salem is dying a slow death and putting in overpriced Condos is not solving the problem.

This is the plan. North of Salem is Keizer Station a shopping center that is really an eyesore as far as I am concerned but imagine if there was a train or trolley running from the station and down River Road into downtown. There used to be street cars in Salem. I say we bring them back. What if we took a 6 block square or bigger around downtown and made it car free. Only trolleys and people walking perhaps a few of those ricshaw things. We could bypass around the downtown using Front St on one side and something else on the East. But in one fell swoop downtone becomes a place where people go to walk and to shop to sit outside in the summer and eat and have coffee. Because right now it is a place that people sail through. I am sure there are obstacles to my idea but I really think that this could make Salem a more liveable place for all of us.

Please tell me your thoughts. I would love to hear them.

Integrity matters?

This morning on the way to work all of the conversation on the radio was of Ted Kennedy and of his death from brain cancer at age 77. Now I know that we live in a world of cynicism and a world where people really feel like nothing is off limits to poke fun at. It made me wonder if someones death makes them off limits because in the half hour long drive I only heard one mention of Chappaquiddick.

It isn't that I feel like one incident from 40 some years ago transcends all the good that a person has done. It just highlights the double standard in America. Had there been any other driver, other then say a Rockefeller or another rich person, that driver would have spent some time in jail for manslaughter at least. But, in the case of Ted Kennedy he experienced none of that. This to me shows, much like what happened in the OJ trial,what being rich allows you to get away with in America.

Now, do not get me wrong I am not advocating punishing the rich. Though it does bother me when the children of the rich are allowed to live a life with out the consequences that the rest of us face on a dauly basis. I do not begrudge their parents wealth because often they worked hard by either stealing it, crime is hard work, or just by doing working like regular folks to gain their wealth.

I just realized that I am rambling a bit and I do not realize where I am going to go. I think I was intending to talk about term limits in Congress and how Kennedy had been in office since 1962. I know there are flaws with term limits and people say that we lose a lot of experience with the turnover that happens. But, I wonder if that is such a bad thing when some of these politicians are in office for so long.

I think that there are politicians on both sides of the aisle who are there to make themselves rich not there to do what is best for the country. I think that even limiting the terms to 10 years would make a big difference. But, until then it is going to be left to the voters to vote people out of office and people like Kennedy and Biden and some Republicans whose names escape me I do not see that happening anytime soon.

Well I guess it is time for me to ramble on. I apologize for the scattershot nature of todays writing.

Runaway Train

"Runaway train, never goin back" Bonus points if anyone can tell me what line that song is from.

I am just sitting in the station waiting for the train to move. The sky is cloudy today and there was some drizzle this morning. As I looked outside before I left the house I thought should I grab an umbrella? Then I thought ah I have a rain coat in the trunk. I am an Oregonian I do not need a stinking umbrella. Well I made it to the train and the raincoat is still in the trunk. I am also wearing shorts.

I find it interesting how the body and people react to weather. Most of the time in my case I never think twice about a rain coat or an umbrella. I just never need them. Or, I should say that I might need them I just never take them. In fact the only thing I might do is to wear pants on an extremely cold day. But, I mean really cold like Oregon ice storm cold. If it was left up to me I would wear shorts all year round. But, those of you who know me know that due to my freakishly short legs and my long torso the shorts I wear go down below my knees. So with shoes and socks on there is a only a small expanse of shin exposed.

Oh how naughty my bare skin out there for the world to see! Sometimes on the train I will cross my legs and my exposed shin will wink at the lady commuters. I know they like it. Sure, they avert their eyes and coyly giggle. But, then they smile and fan themselves with their fancy fans. I can tell what they are thinking. Look at that saucy young lad, daring to expose his shin to the world! Oh to have such freedom in my life!!

It is true! I encourage all to join me in the freedom that I find exposing my shins to the air. You will not regret it I promise you. Stop being a slave to the pant. Instead bare you legs free them from the confines of the fascist trouser. Society be damned!! I will rise up the desires of the Secret Society of Pants!! Oh yes they exist!! I will rise above their desires. I will bare my legs and risk all and in so doing I will win all!!

So, stand with me!! Stand tall men and raise those pant legs!! We will all be the better for it!!

Gun Control is Using Both Hands??

I had an interesting debate yesterday with a gentleman about guns. Not whether or not guns were needed or not needed. But, whether it was appropriate to carry guns to a political townhall meeting.. Undrstand me. I am not anti gun. My wife and I own three guns, one shotgun, and two pistols. So I o wn guns I have fired guns and I understand why people enjoy guns.

I totally understand that people were will within their rights to bring their guns. New Hampshire is an open carry state and it is perfectly legal to carry a gun exposed on your person. I also believe Arizona is as well. But for me the question is what were the reasons behind the gun show. Were they carried as an example of the freedoms that (arguably) the constitution gives us? Was it an example of states rights vs federal control? Or was it just a form of non verbal intimidation?

The person I was debating with was contending that upwards of thirty shots a night are fired in places like New York and St Louis and other major cities. Because of that it is appropriate for people to walk around armed. I do not have that much of a problem with that my problem is the need to carry a gun to a political event. Even more so an event that the President of the United States is at. I am not sure that I would have brought my gun even if I was well within my rights to do so. I am not saying I would forbid someone to bring theirs I just think that it was a poor choice,

I think it was done more out of an attempt to intimidate then to have or cause a reasonable conversation about the health care issue. Thoughts? Lets talk about it. But, please leave your guns with the bartender. I am at the table by the piano player.

Flo"Train"tion Device

It was an interesting drive this morning. Normally I drive along listening to NPR and trying to not get forced off the road by the cars around me. But, today I decided to listen to KNRK as I was driving. They do a morning show that is mostly music and that works for me. It does not consist of Skippy the Incontinent Boy and Dr Heckle. Which works for me.

But, it was odd today I almost found my self just kind of sailing along in the car. Almost stuck in a bubble of calm. Stuck is not the right word because I did not mind being there. I was just there. A car would come up on me to fast and I would hit my blinker and move over. There would be a merging lane and I would hit my blinker and move back to let that person in. About halfway through the drive a motorcycle cop came cruising up to the left of me and I did not even realize he was there until he was almost past me.

It wasn't that I was unaware of the things going on around me because in my car the road noise make you aware of things around you. But, it was like my brain or psyche was processing the things that I should be aware of and disregarding the things that did not matter. All that seemed to matter was the trip itself and the music that was playing. Though, the only song I can remember them playing was a Beck song and I can not even remember the name of it.

It was almost a zen like sense of calm or emptiness within me that is odd for me because anyone who knows me will tell you that I am always thinking of something. Lately what has been on my mind is the Health Care debate and the incredible (to me) anger that people are showing at the town hall meetings. Now, I am not here to defend the idea of Government run health care. That is not the point I am trying to make.

I am just shocked at how people are treating each other. I guess I shouldn't be surprised by it. People are mean and often dehumanize each other so that they can feel free to pick on them. Though the person doing the picking would of course deny that they are dehumanizing the other one. I think what blows my mind is that people on both sides of this issue and numerous other issues both want what (they believe) is the best for the country. But, we get so caught up in the emotion of the issue and begin to throw around heavily weighted words like Socialism, Communism, and Nazism that we lose touch of peoples basic humanity.

hmmm, I did not intend to climb upon the soap box. This blog took an odd turn today but I doubt that is a surprise to those who read me regularly since I tend to touch on many subjects that in no way relate to each other. Maybe that is what my subconscious was doing on the drive. It was processing what was bothering me about the behaviors of fellow Americans at these town hall meetings.

My way, or the highway! What if I choose neither? What if I choose not to choose? Have I still made a choice? Do I have to choose? Must I pick a hill and stand upon it live or die? Must I fight to the death for my ideals, the ideals that are really just a construct of my upbringing and society around me. phewwww

International Train Trip

I heard something interesting on the radio this morning as I was driving to the train station in Wilsonville. It seems that Amtrak has added another train up the I-5 to Vancouver BC. I am pretty excited about this. One reason is that I would like to take a trip on the train to Vancouver but the other is that the Winter Olympics are in 2010. I am hoping that my wife and I can make it to just one thing up there.

I remember as a child in the early 80's when the Olympics were in Los Angles and running around that summer wth my brother and two friend reenacting the events. The torch actually came through Salem and one of my friends who was the Boy and Girls Club boy of the year actually got to carry the torch for a short distance. I rode my bike along with him for awhile. In the days of pre 9-11 security was pretty lax.

I rarely dwell on the past. It has happened it is over and we are living in the present. Sure there are things to remember and it is good to know why things were done the way they were. But, it is nice at times to think back about those summers and the bike rides and the crawdad hunts.

I think I led a pretty idealic life style spending a fair amount of time alone reading and riding my bike to the library to devour the latest book. I still read a fair amount to this day. I had been reading beyond my grade level for several years and I really begin to love fiction and Sci-fi and Fantasy. Along with that I also really enjoyed Louis La'mour westerns. I have read and reread many of his books over the years my favorite being the Sackett Chronciles. I just really enjoy those books.

Which is another reason for me to enjoy the train. In the mornings I blog and share my thought with my glorius five readers and thank you for your support by the way. But in the afternoon on my way home I read. I really like the time of just reading and not having to worry about traffic or anything else. The chair is comfortable and the temp is nice. I just hope it continues for awhile.

Today is a first I have been writing steadliy all the way into Tualitin. This is the first time I have ever done that. There are less people in Tualitin today. I think only three people got on. Last night on the was home there were about 60 people on the train. So that was kind of neat. It really seems like the ridership is picking up. I am hoping I can ride it during the winter time.

Trainspotting

The weather talk has already begun. It is supposed to be in the high 90's today. Since I have been riding the train and the air conditioning has been fixed in my car I do not worry to much about the weather. I am able to relax and feel the cold air blow upon and that is really all I need.

Today there is a new person sitting in one of the regulars seats. He is youngish probably early twenties or late teens. He is wearing mustard color cargo shorts with a pair of white adidas and a black black zip up top. What I am finding amusing is that I do not know him. I have never seen him before and I probably will never see him again. But, he has a Boston Redsox hat on and I want to punch him in the face for wearing it.

Is that so wrong? Should I be so upset about someones choice of clothing? He may not even be a baseball fan. If he were wearing a Yankees hat I would not be as upset. In fact it isn't the team that bothers me. I think it is the people in Boston. The strange thing is that I have never met anyone from Boston. My only impression of them is from movies and televison and I really liked "Cheers". That was set in Boston wasn't it? Oh! Maybe it is due to "Good Will Hunting"?

I hated that movie. The sad thing is I like Matt Damon but I dislike Ben Affleck. Again for no reason. But since I feel that way and nothing that I do is irrational in fact I do everything based on logic and reason. There must be good valid reason for my dislike of Boston I have just not discovered it.

I mean those who know me know that I am a calm and rational person not controlled by my emotion. In fact I control my emotion. I am truly a being of logic and reason. I am Spock like in my rigid self control

I am like a leaf on the wind.
Watch how I fly.

I still think people from Boston and the city of Boston are dumb!! How bout them apples!!

All TerRAIN Vehicle

Bear with me gentle readers because I am feeling pretty foggy today. It was a pretty mild weekend I played some games with good friends on Friday night and worked on Saturday and part of Sunday. I also managed to find some time in there to read and to play a little X-box. But I probably should have slept more. I went to bed last night around 10 pm but that seems to have not been enough sleep.

While the drive up was uneventful it was not without its little annoyances that is for sure. My first annoyance was the grey 15 seat passenger van that blew by me doing about 75. It is will within there rights to go 75 but all I could see in my mind was the van tipping over and sliding into a ditch. The next annoyance came just after the rest area before Wilsonville as a lady decided that she needed to drive 50 in a 65 and the traffic begun to stack up around her because she was in the middle lane. These two events and a few minor ones all make me realize how much I enjoy riding the train.

I am sitting her typing this and listening to the hum of the rails. The low murmur of the passengers around me serve to as almost a hypnotic device. A sonar sleep machine. I feel the calm sweep over me as I look at the countryside. The evergreens all green the rolling brown hills dotted here and there with houses and powerlines. There are different industries that we pass and we roll along. I am unable to describe them because I am not sure what they do. Nevertheless I do find them interesting.

There are ponds that we pass and some almost swampy areas. All in all it makes for a relaxing morning. Our first stop is Tualatin and more of the regulars get on. But, there is a twist today because a new girl is sitting in one the regulars normal seats. I am looking forward to the regulars double take as they enter the train. It will be interesting to see if they stutter step or if they smoothly move to a new seat. Here we go...............Oh will the regulars are not here!! I hate when I am surprised. But that is the way it goes sometimes.

Maybe tomorrow there will be some excitement. I can only hope.

Two Tracks.
Multiple Stops.
Various Destinations.
Forward we roll. Ever onward.

sTRAINing to be heard!!

Good morning again my loyal readers. It is my Friday and I am glad to be on the train to be moving away from yesterdays topic. It is a very pretty morning. The sun is shining and the sky is blue there are some white puffy clouds in the sky and I am looking forward to seeing some ducks and other wildlife as I travel along.

I had lunch yesterday, as gentlemen do, with a good friend from high school days. Actually farther back then that as this particular friend and I have known each other since grade school. It was nice to see him and to talk a little bit about what we both are doing now. It is nice to sit and converse like adults with people. It is nice to be able to share ideas in a civil manner and even if you disagree to be able to disagree like adults,

That seems to be getting lost in America. It seems like more and more as I look at people like Keith Olberman and Glenn Beck and Rachel Maddow and Bill O'rReilly, that it is about abusing and poking fun at the other person and not about the sharing of ideas. I wonder at times what the founding fathers would have thought if they were trying to put things together now but they had to contend with these people having daily colummns in the papers of the day.

I know that Ben Franklin wrote letters under a psuedonym. Maybe, he was an early blogger of his day. I just wish we could move back to a time or maybe forward to a time where we can communicate in such a way that we can reach a common ground with people. Where we can use our humanity to join us together. Oh well. Now where is my bong?

Crazy

I need to take a step back today from chronicling the adventures of a gentleman on a train and mention something that is starting to drive me a little crazy.

That is the whole idea that President Obama was/is somehow not a natural born American citizen. This idea that he is actually Kenyan with a fake birth certificate just blows my mind. I am all for a good conspiracy theory. There are several websites that I go to that I really enjoy who speculate about conspiracy's all of the time.

But this one seems so far out side of the realm of even possible truth. I am amazed that people are even considering it in the slightest. This is just one quote that I feel really hits the nail on the head for me.
"In any event, even if you were of a mind to indulge the Kenyan-birth fantasy, stop, count to ten, and think: Hillary Clinton. Is there any chance on God’s green earth that, if Obama were not qualified to be president, the Clinton machine would have failed to get that information out?"
-Andrew McCarthy (Thanks to Word Around The Net)

To me that makes sense I also can not imagine that the McCain/Palin machine would have allowed this to pass under the radar. I know people are upset about President Obama and worried that he is turning us into a socialist nation. But in reality we are going to be nothing like Sweden or any other socialist nation. Government in America has grown bigger and bigger under each successive president since Roosevelt and Obama is doing what each president has done before him. Either conservative or liberal. It is fine to be upset. It is fine to protest and to Tea Bag and to write letters. But to indulge in the type of conspiricy fantasy that the birthers are doing is just silly. I think it demeans the Presidincy as well as the people doing the contemplating. It just makes them look foolish.

John Col"Trane"

The sky is grey this morning. I like it. I am able to see my computer screen better. Is that sad? Should I be mourning the loss of the Sun today? I am sure the Sun will return and it will most likely return later this morning. I can see some blue sky peaking out over the horizon to the east so I am sure it will make an appearance.

I like a cold morning. I like a cold grey morning actually with a slight breeze. To me this says morning, this says that the weather cooled down last night and is starting fresh. I absolutly hate waking up to the same tempreture as it was when i went to bed. There is nothing refreshing about that to me. I would sleep with the window open year round if I could. I should say all winter if I could. In the summer I would rather have the air conditioning running.

Two winters ago I was in Vancouver B.C. for a model united nations conference. The conference itself was particularly uneventful other then the fact that we were there in Jan and that there was still snow on the ground in Vancouver. I was sharing the room with two fellas and I requested to sleep in front of the sliding glass door. Well sure that was fine with them.

But, the joke was on them. I slid open the door and slept blissfully in the freezing breeze that blew through the door. At one point I woke up and looked over at the fellow in the next bed. He was sleeping in a full sweatsuit with his hood tied up around his head. Haha It was one of the best sleeps I had ever had.

I love the cold.

Train?

Well I had a bit of a surprise this morning as I showed up for the train. There were some mechanical problems and every third train was a bus. I decided to just wait for the train after that because I had no desire to sit in a bus on I-5 and highway 217. I am glad that work is flexible about arrival time.

I drove down to Eugene last night for my meeting for work. The more I actually drive through Eugene as opposed to sailing past it on the freeway. I realize it is a pretty little town. It seems to be spaced out nicely and there are some cool stores that Salem doesn't have. But boy is it a crappy drive down there. Long, and straight and slow. Traffic wasn't horrible but it is just blah.

Not much to talk about today. Just the typical case of the Mondays. HaHa! I love "Office Space"

ConsTrained

Ahhh I am back on the train. I had to drive yesterday because I had some running around to do after work and I really missed the train. I missed being able to relax as well as being able to write for a little bit. So, I am glad to be back sitting on the train and blogging about my feelings.

Today is going to be a little different. It is cloudy outside and they have the lights on in the train. They may have had them on before but it was so sunny I didn't really notice. I am noticing today. It is bright in here. The heat also seems to be on which is new as well. The lights and the heat and the wireless all just add credence to my opinion that only ladies and gentleman ride the train.

How and why would anyone other then a gentleman or a lady choose to relax in such splendor. In fact the only way to make this be a more gentlemanly experience would be for there to be a domed smoking car. Or perhaps a car with a rooftop deck so that we could shoot buffalo as we sailed down the tracks. Ahh the fading pleasures of a more civilized time.

I can picture my self standing atop the train car sipping my scotch and soda and smoking my pipe as my man servant loads my springfield. "Thank you Chesterfield." I say as I take my weapon of choice from him and brace myself for the shot. I sway slightly feeling the motion of the car and take that into account as one must when shooting from atop a train car. There is a slight pressure on my shoulder as I tighten my grip and begun to squeaze the trigger *snick* the springfield bucks as the bufallo in my sights falls. "Ah, another falls before me." With a grin I hand Chesterfield my rifle and head down to the dining car as the other gentleman around me congratulate me on my amazing shot. "It was nothing."

That my friends that is how a gentleman lives.

"Tea stRAINed"

I mentioned yesterday that I have been drinking green tea with lemon. Do not get me wrong. I still love coffee. The smell of the beans in the grocery store is enough to give me goosebumps. But, the heat wave last week made it impossible for me to have coffee in the mornings. It was just to hot. So I moved to a instant green tea with lemon that I could drink cold.

I have found in very refreshing. I now start the day with a cup of black tea and then continue with green tea for the rest of the day. I do not know if there are any health benefits other then the antioxidants that the hated Tea lobby insists are contained with in. All I know is that I enjoy the taste and so far I haven't had the head aches that I used to have when I tried to get off of coffee. Now I know that there is caffeine in tea it is just far less then in coffee. So hopefully this monkey will soon be off of my back.

Maybe I can trade the addiction in for one of apples or grapes. Why is it that I am not dependent upon somthing healthy for me? Though since I started this job I have been eating one or two apples a day. I am enjoying that. I feel healthier but that may be just because I am not sitting at home in front of the x-box but out moving around.

The windows clear
Fields brown and burned
Sun gives life and takes it as well.

Res"Train"ed

Well it is Monday morning and a good morning to mt faithful readers. I believe there may be as many as three of you who read this regularly. I hope that I am able to keep you interested for a little while each day as I ramble on about what ever seems interesting to me at the time.

Traffic was odd today as I cruised up the I-5. It was busy as usual but people seemed to be more aggressive then normal. Now I am not sure perhaps I was feeling less aggressive today and therefore I was just noticing it more then usual. I do not think I have made a change in my driving style other then that I move over, if possible, when I see that a policemen has pulled someone over. Today there was a motorcycle policemen who had a pickup pulled over. Not a pleasant way to start the day to be sure.

But I made it safely to my destination and now I sit and wait. Soon the train will begin to move and I will be carried gracefully to my destination as a gentlemen should be. No fuss and no muss. Just rolling along the tracks like in my carriage. Now some of you may ask what make you a gentleman Lance? Well, isn't it obvious ? I ride the train to work therefor I am a gentleman. Why, a mere common man could no more sail along the rails as he could fly in the air in some great winged metallic beast. Mere common man are forced to move along rubber wheels surrounded by a cage made of metal as others of their ilk sail all around them. Not for me I tell you!

I will continue to roll along the rails as benefits one such as myself. Sipping my iced green tea and lemon and reflecting upon life and the loftier pursuits.

Re"Train"

It is nice here inside the train car. The air conditioning is working and the sky is blue outside. I know people say that nature is meant to be enjoyed out of doors but as far as I am concerned I would rather be in a air conditioned car or house looking out at it when it is this hot. On this trip I usually see some deer out and a few other animals. There is a surprising amount of empty land between Wilsonville and Tualatin. But when the heat is like this it seems like the deer are even hiding.

I love the countryside in Oregon especially in this part of Oregon. I love that the trees are green and there seems to be always running water some place. On the train trip I pass by a couple of water features and when I get to final Beaverton stop there is another water area that always has dicks swimming in it. I usually stop on the bridge and look at them.

So far I am the only one on the train. I like it, the quite is nice and relaxing. I am sure that the usual crew will begin to show up and the murmur of conversation will begin. The hum of conversation along with the rhythmic noises of the train is almost soothing as we roll along. Sure there some annoyances here and there but most of the time I really enjoy it.

Power Train Warrenty

Hot today. It seems almost silly to complain about the weather. It's not like I can control it. Maybe that is human nature to complain about things that we have no control over. Why is it so important for humans to feel in control? Is it a horrible thing to just accept that some things are beyond our level of authority?

I used to and still do now and then get fired up about politics and about the perceived slights that the big G government was doing to me. At some point I realized that it wasn't beneficial for me to invest so much energy in being angry about things that I had no control over. It is the same with riding that train each morning. The one thing that I have any control over is my drive to Wilsonville. Other then that I am at the mercy of the train company. I just have to trust that the train will leave when advertised and will get me to the stop I need to get to.

What I find interesting is that I have no worries about the train doing just that. Though I am hearing that yesterday one of the trains just stopped on the tracks. haha. That is what I get for putting my faith in man made devices, CURSES!!

"Train" in Vain

It is Monday on what is supposed to be the hottest day of the year. I am thankful that the air conditioning seems to be working in the train. There are some new faces this morning. A youngish Hispanic gentleman in a blue pinstripe suit. He is wearing matching blue and black striped socks. I wish I had a camera to show you. I am finding it almost impossible to describe. It isn't that he looks bad it is just pretty wild.

The doors have closed and off we go with a toot toot from the horn. It is funny but the noise brings a smile to my face. I wonder if I am feeling like a kid again I do not think I was fascinated with trains or anything but this whole trip is something that I enjoy. The conversation around me is bouncing from the heat to who had the tightest shorts in highschool in the 70's the boys basketball team or the girls volleyball team.

Oooh a switch to the idea of socks and sandals and whether or not Birkenstocks are worth the money. The lady that I talk to usually is now giving the train man her cell phone so he can call her if the train is delayed. There is some concern it seems about if the heat will make the switches stick.

Today is the beginning of the campaign and circulaters should hit the streets by Tuesday. I am looking forward to seeing this process and I hope that we are successful in getting this to the voters. It is interesting for me in that I understand the cost and the stress that special elections like this cost. I think this process is what makes Oregon special. We were the first state to choose this method and I think it works for us. Only time will tell if this is going to translate into a career for me but I hope that it does.

"Training" Day

I sit on/in the train facing south as I wait for us to move. I like the train. I like the peace of mind it brings me as I roll along. I am able to relax. I do not need to think about traffic or worry about what is going on around me. The conductor walks past. He seems like a nice fellow and I have chatted with him a few times. The usual lady sits diagonally across from me. She always has a notepad that she writes in as we travel. Perhaps she is blogging in an old fashioned manner.

There is a smattering of small talk around me. It is all the usual "Hot today, cold today". In some ways this is almost comforting to me. It is a sign that the world rolls on. That despite my frustration with politics or world events. That in my world things continue to move forward. The train keeps rolling and people keep being people.

A man in jeans shorts and sandals enters the train. He looks to be a computer guy of some sort. I have no idea really but that is my thought. He has the ubiquitous coffee travel mug as nearly 75% of all travelers do. Myself included to be honest though mine is left in the car today.

I will make coffee when I get to the office. Then my day will begin. It seems though that while I enjoy work what I enjoy most is the train. I will ride home in the afternoon with a new set of faces to look at and wonder about. I look forward to it.

On-Line and on the train

As I write this I am sitting in the train car in Wilsonville. I have been riding the train from Wilsonville to Beaverton everyday for work since last Monday. I really have started to enjoy the process. It takes me about a half an hour to get to Beaverton transit center and then I catch a MAX train to the office which is one stop away. The train also has wireless which is just amazing for me to think a bout.

I do not have really a case or a point to make about mass transit vs cars or anything like that. It is just that for me it is saving me a little bit of money and allowing me to relax and not be stressed out by highway 217. I just wish the train would end up going all the way down to Salem one day. If you live in Salem and commute to Portland daily I would encourage you to check the train out. It is a nice trip.

North Korean Nukes!!

Well, well, well like the world isn't an interesting enough place right now with the all of the chaos happening in Iran. In typical fashion up pops North Korea like the proverbial jack in the box to shout "Hey look at me!!"

It is amazing to me that China lets North Korea continue to act as if they have no control over them. I wonder if North Korea really does not care what the rest of the world thinks about them. They seem unconcerned about the latest round of UN sanctions. But, that is not really a surprise to me because if the US does not choose to enforce those sanctions then there are really no teeth to them.

That is where the dilemma because if the US decides to intercept the North Korean ship that may or may not be carrying weapons. North Korea has said that they will retaliate in a nuclear fashion. This blows my mind that the threat of nuclear activity is still being used. I grew up during the Cold War and that was always a distant threat and it seemed to loom over most everything in one form of another. I remember the whole concept of "Mutually Assured Destruction" being a matter of some stress to me as a youngster.

But with North Korea this is not mutually assured this would be them firing one missile or bomb and the US wiping the floor with them. I wonder do they not even grasp that concept. Maybe I am just being silly and to even worry about this happening is pointless. I agree that it is pointless to some degree since I am unable to control this one way or the other. But, that is not the point. I am just amazed that this is going on. I knew that someone would test the new president. I just did not anticipate it being this kind of a test.

I wonder what the end result of this is going to be. Does anyone out there have any thoughts?

Iranian Unrest!!

I have been reading with interest the different new stories that are coming out of Iran since the election. I find it interesting because my initial thought upon hearing that an election was coming up in Iran was to dismiss the validity of the election. Not dismiss it because of all the unrest that seems to be happening post election but dismiss it out of hand. I figured that there would be 100% voter turnout and Ahmadinejad would win by a resounding margin.

Well it turns out I was mistaken, or as Gomer Pyle would say "Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!" I always figured on a corrupt election but this was way beyond the usual nature of the corruption. It seems like Iranians actually voted and actually believed that their votes counted for something. I am not sure what to make of this. On the one hand it is pretty cool and peoples votes should count for something. But it makes me wonder about all of the previous elections in Iran. Where they fruadulent or not? Because I do not recall these massive protestes following the other elections. If they did happen please inform me.

It also seems that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for an investigation into accusations of ballot fraud in Friday's elections. Which just makes my head spin. Because while I always knew that there was a Supreme Leader in Iran it always seems like Ahmadinejed does and says whatever he wants. I had always assumed that he was just doing and saying what he was told and that he had basicall been appointed by the Iranian Supreme Leader but I guess I was wrong.

I have no idea what the end result will be of all of this but I have to say that I am finding it interesting to watch develop.

Graduation Day!

I am graduating today. I am not sure how I feel about it. I know that there are people who are proud of me. I know that a few years ago I felt like I would never finish college and I did not feel like I needed to. I had a job that let me cruise along at the lowest level of effort and still get paid. I did not need to think I could just exist. But, then I met HER and everything changed.

It was not enough to cruise along at the lowest level of effort. It became more important to get the degree done and to move forward in life. To move forward to that next level. The funny thing is I am not fully sure of what that next level is. I am glad to be done with school, the bachelors part of it, anyway. But I wonder what is next. Should I go to graduate school? Should I start trying to network and to hustle so that I can find a job that allows me to put my degree to use. Not that a Political Science degree is the most useful degree out there. But, I really enjoyed my studies and found the degree path to be most useful for me.

I like Politics, History, and Philosophy, and Political Science at times touched on all of those subjects and I loved it.

Just some random thoughts from my brain today as I get ready to go walk with 600 + other graduates. I am nervous as to what the future brings but I hope that I am able to move to that next level.