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Catfood Salsa
Sep. 6th, 2005 04:10 amIndiana's setting up a refugee center in the Centennial Dormitories at the State Fair Grounds. That's kind of eerie, because that's where I entered the Fair a couple weeks ago when I went, was through the Centennial gate, and through the dorm commons. It was all cheerful at the time, filled mainly with rambunctious teenagers, and decorated in that goofy 'summer camp' sort of way that fair dorms always end up. I'm sure it's a lot less happy place now.
Ohio seems to have done nothing so far, which is distressing. I'd certainly volunteer to work at a shelter, and it's not like we're poorer than Indiana (fur the Eurofurs, Ohio is a populous and wealthy state, much moreso than Indiana - Indiana's not hurting, but Ohio has deep reserves). I should try to figure out who my state representatives are, and bitch.
Now that I reflect on it, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee, which are all taking lots of refugees (although not even a patch on Texas, of course) are all states that depend on the Mississippi river for commerce, much as they did during the Civil War. Ohio's economic interests (apart from Cincinnati, which culturally and economically might as well be part of Indiana) are linked more to the east coast, specifically New York City, much as they were during the war. New York is Ohio's outlet to the sea, and New Orleans is Indiana's (although the St. Lawrence Seaway has diminished that some for both). It'd be interesting to see relative levels of donations and aid for 9/11 and the current disaster from these various states.
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PayPal fucked up, and cost the refugees $30K in donations. Read the whole sorry story at Something Awful.
*****
I was overhearing a discussion of likely presidential candidates for 2008 earlier. To my mild surprise, a couple of cow-orkers opined that they thought Condoleezza Rice was the most likely Republican choice. I've been coming to that conclusion myself. I'd rather have Dick 'The Big Dick' Cheney, but I'm not sure he's electable. I could cheerfully vote for Rice, though. She would make our enemies sad :)
*****
My leatherman tool smells like stale fryer oil. I haven't a clue why.
*****
Steve Forbes made an interesting comment today to the effect that oil prices are by and large driven by hedge fund investing, and that he expects the bubble to burst by next summer, with prices dropping to around $30 or so. My personal belief had been that it was largely Chinese demand that was driving prices, together with the US filling our strategic reserve. I've also been halfway of the belief these past couple years that Bush was using the reserve to take the slack out of the market so as to keep prices deliberately high as well, in order to slow Chinese economic growth. While I'd generally trust Forbes' judgement more than my own in such matters, this takes a serious revision of my worldview to believe.
I'm touched at all of the countries who've chipped in to release part of their oil and fuel reserves to help alleviate the disaster here. Even Iran has given us aid. The wingnuts of the Right, of course, have spent the past week whining about how nobody ever helps us when we're hurt. I've yet to hear any acknowledgment from them about this. Entertainingly, the wingnuts of the Left are unhappy about us asking for oil, but not for 'humanitarian' aid. Apparently in their view the cost of oil doesn't have an effect on human living standards. It's nice that the extremists of both camps can sort of agree on something, in a roundabout way, for once.
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austin_dern will probably appreciate this. Charles Schulz's grave and memorial bench, from a funerary art group I belong to.
*****
This is curious. Four recent anomalous animal reports near London all form a straight line.
*****
A couple weeks ago I ordered a pair of "Luno the Flying Horse" tapes. They were in my mail today. I'm guessing they got here Saturday. Anyway, I'll soon see if they stand up to my memories. It's always kind of daunting to go back and watch a childhood favourite after a long lapse. There's a profound danger of disappointment.
Still, I think Luno will hold up. I'm not expecting a masterpiece, but just a friendly, quiet sort of plot-driven cartoon about a Horse, without all the badly-animated slapstick violence that seemed such a feature of the era.
*****
Kofi Annan admits that the Iraqi oil money scandal has left the UN less than "entirely covered in glory". In other news, Katrina's effects on New Orleans were not entirely beneficial.
*****
An outbreak of dumbassery in Alaska. If it's a four inch iron ball, and it weighs eight pounds, it's hollow. If you've got a hollow cannon ball, what are they likely to have put inside of it? I'm bemused by some people's thought processes.
Ohio seems to have done nothing so far, which is distressing. I'd certainly volunteer to work at a shelter, and it's not like we're poorer than Indiana (fur the Eurofurs, Ohio is a populous and wealthy state, much moreso than Indiana - Indiana's not hurting, but Ohio has deep reserves). I should try to figure out who my state representatives are, and bitch.
Now that I reflect on it, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee, which are all taking lots of refugees (although not even a patch on Texas, of course) are all states that depend on the Mississippi river for commerce, much as they did during the Civil War. Ohio's economic interests (apart from Cincinnati, which culturally and economically might as well be part of Indiana) are linked more to the east coast, specifically New York City, much as they were during the war. New York is Ohio's outlet to the sea, and New Orleans is Indiana's (although the St. Lawrence Seaway has diminished that some for both). It'd be interesting to see relative levels of donations and aid for 9/11 and the current disaster from these various states.
*****
PayPal fucked up, and cost the refugees $30K in donations. Read the whole sorry story at Something Awful.
*****
I was overhearing a discussion of likely presidential candidates for 2008 earlier. To my mild surprise, a couple of cow-orkers opined that they thought Condoleezza Rice was the most likely Republican choice. I've been coming to that conclusion myself. I'd rather have Dick 'The Big Dick' Cheney, but I'm not sure he's electable. I could cheerfully vote for Rice, though. She would make our enemies sad :)
*****
My leatherman tool smells like stale fryer oil. I haven't a clue why.
*****
Steve Forbes made an interesting comment today to the effect that oil prices are by and large driven by hedge fund investing, and that he expects the bubble to burst by next summer, with prices dropping to around $30 or so. My personal belief had been that it was largely Chinese demand that was driving prices, together with the US filling our strategic reserve. I've also been halfway of the belief these past couple years that Bush was using the reserve to take the slack out of the market so as to keep prices deliberately high as well, in order to slow Chinese economic growth. While I'd generally trust Forbes' judgement more than my own in such matters, this takes a serious revision of my worldview to believe.
I'm touched at all of the countries who've chipped in to release part of their oil and fuel reserves to help alleviate the disaster here. Even Iran has given us aid. The wingnuts of the Right, of course, have spent the past week whining about how nobody ever helps us when we're hurt. I've yet to hear any acknowledgment from them about this. Entertainingly, the wingnuts of the Left are unhappy about us asking for oil, but not for 'humanitarian' aid. Apparently in their view the cost of oil doesn't have an effect on human living standards. It's nice that the extremists of both camps can sort of agree on something, in a roundabout way, for once.
*****
austin_dern will probably appreciate this. Charles Schulz's grave and memorial bench, from a funerary art group I belong to.*****
This is curious. Four recent anomalous animal reports near London all form a straight line.
*****
A couple weeks ago I ordered a pair of "Luno the Flying Horse" tapes. They were in my mail today. I'm guessing they got here Saturday. Anyway, I'll soon see if they stand up to my memories. It's always kind of daunting to go back and watch a childhood favourite after a long lapse. There's a profound danger of disappointment.
Still, I think Luno will hold up. I'm not expecting a masterpiece, but just a friendly, quiet sort of plot-driven cartoon about a Horse, without all the badly-animated slapstick violence that seemed such a feature of the era.
*****
Kofi Annan admits that the Iraqi oil money scandal has left the UN less than "entirely covered in glory". In other news, Katrina's effects on New Orleans were not entirely beneficial.
*****
An outbreak of dumbassery in Alaska. If it's a four inch iron ball, and it weighs eight pounds, it's hollow. If you've got a hollow cannon ball, what are they likely to have put inside of it? I'm bemused by some people's thought processes.
