Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Sadness

Tomorrow morning I leave for a trip to Berkeley. This morning I learned that Dona Spring died Sunday night. Dona was my city council member, co-green party member and my neighbor.

posted by Drew @ 8:03 AM | link to this post

Monday, July 14, 2008

She's Done

posted by Drew @ 9:23 AM | link to this post

Too Much Coffee This Morning

I'm heading to Berkeley this Wednesday. I'll take a civil service exam on Saturday. I'll fly back to JAX/St. Augustine on Tuesday.

The landlord sent an email yesterday that said that the deal for someone else to move in the house with a lease/purchase option is on. Our move-out date is 8/31.

R and I will be trying to figure out the timing of things. If I get a Berkeley job offer, how soon will it come and when will I start? We may shift into moving across country gear pretty quickly. How will we move the "kidney cat" and dog across country? Will we take both cars? If not, will we ditch the newer one with car payments or ditch the older higher mileage one? Will we move most of our stuff or try to sell off as much as we can and buy thrift store stuff when we get there? Will we be able to find an affordable living situation that will allow our critters and provide some fenced outside space for the dog? Will Rachel be able to find meaningful work that pays something? If we move across country will either of our families come and visit us?

If there is no Berkeley job offer will that fact be known soon enough for us to reconsider the Gainesville offer and options there?

Will I ever get a full night's sleep again?

posted by Drew @ 8:51 AM | link to this post

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Mother of the Moment

This is some video from this morning of a female loggerhead sea turtle that came up on the beach couple of hours earlier, found a good spot high on a dune, dug a nest, laid a bunch of eggs, then carefully buried the nest and headed back to the Atlantic. This video is of the last few yards of her trip back to the water.

posted by Drew @ 8:45 PM | link to this post

Quote of the Moment

"It is only by making them live in hell, that we'll get drivers to renounce their cars."
--- Yves Contassot, former Paris Deputy Mayor for the Environment

posted by Drew @ 8:02 AM | link to this post

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Death of a Mother Turtle

I don't have all the information, but here's what I believe has happened this morning/overnight. A loggerhead sea turtle came ashore on the GTMNERR beaches and laid a nest. As she was returning to the ocean after covering the nest, she got into a hole that had been dug in the beach by people and couldn't get out. She died in the hole and was found this morning by the Sea Turtle Patrol.

There's speculation that she was weak after laying her eggs and there is some evidence of a recent propeller strike on her carapace that may also have had some impact on her. Anyway, it's likely that they'll do a necropsy on her and see what they discover.

posted by Drew @ 11:47 AM | link to this post

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Berkeleyishness

I received a letter yesterday indicating that the HR Department at the City of Berkeley determined that I meet the minimum qualifications for a position for which I've applied. Actually, I think I've applied to be on a list of eligible candidates from which candidates for vacant positions will be selected for interviewing. I was invited to take a three-hour, written exam on July 19th. I purchased my airline ticket as soon as I got home. I think it came out to something a little over $400.

I've been worried that the HR department might not even determine that I meet the minimum qualifications. So,it was a big relief to get word that the review had been accomplished and I was still in the game and that I got the notice in time to schedule a relatively cheap ticket back and forth. I think I'll have enough miles by the time this trip is done to do the next trip on frequent flyer miles. I'm not sure how many trips back and forth it will take to get hired.

Now I've got to do a little preparing for an exam that no one can tell me anything about. It purports to involve statistics, accounting, budgeting, analytical skills and writing skills all in a multiple choice format.

I think the odds of r and I moving back to the Bay Area just increased substantially. I still have to do well enough in the rest of the process to be offered the job.

posted by Drew @ 8:39 AM | link to this post

Homishness

Just before I left work yesterday afternoon, I got a call from my landlord indicating that he believes that the deal for the lease/sale of the house has fallen through. I think this increases the likelihood that we'll only have to move one time in the coming months. If they can put the deal back together, it will likely be with a 9/1 date or later.

From what he described to me, it sounds like the couple is trying to buy the house, fix it up using resources available to them and sell it for a profit without actually having to buy the house. Which made me feel a little less good about the folks "buying" the house. It's funny how I get this emotional attachment to this place. I want it to be appreciated by it's occupants.

posted by Drew @ 8:34 AM | link to this post

Monday, July 07, 2008

If You're Goin' Through Hell, Keep on Going

If your going through hell
Keep on going, don't slow down
If you're scared don't show it
You might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there

Yeah, If you're going through hell
Keep on moving, face that fire
Walk right through it
You might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there

posted by Drew @ 8:37 PM | link to this post

Quote of the Moment

"The $1.2 billion the World Bank says will solve the food crisis in Africa is a $1.2 billion subsidy to the chemical industry. Countries are made dependent on chemical fertilizers when their prices have tripled in the last year due to rising oil prices. I say to governments: spend a quarter of that on organic farming and you've solved your problems."
--- Vandana Shiva, an Indian physics professor and Organic Consumers Association Advisory board Member, speaking in Italy in response to the the U.N. food summit in Rome last month, where the World Bank pledged $1.2 billion in grants to help with the food crisis, most of which is earmarked for chemical fertilizers, pesticides and genetically modified (GM) crops.

posted by Drew @ 4:03 PM | link to this post

Thursday, July 03, 2008

Speaking of Things Falling from the Sky

It is one of those times of the year when lots of things fall from the sky around my soon to be former home. The neighbor across the street is a self-proclaimed pyromaniac and worshipper of fireworks. Last night we were treated to a mini-show before dark. I'm sure they just got back from buying their fireworks out of state somewhere and had to light a few. The dog, who is struggling a bit with arthritis these days, hid under the bed all night. The cat, who is slowly wasting with chronic renal failure (CRF) and "mega colon," was distressed by the fireworks and frustrated by her lack of access to good hiding places. (We try to keep her where her frequent vomiting and urinating do minimal damage to our soon to be former home.)

posted by Drew @ 3:56 PM | link to this post

Another Squirrel Falls from the Sky

Yesterday morning around ten 'til seven, I was standing out in front of my soon to be former home, when I heard a loud bang. I was looking right in the direction of the noise and saw something fall to the ground in several pieces on the other side of my neighbors yard near a utility pole. I walked over to see if the transformer had blown or caught on fire. The transformer looked fine. I looked at the ground to see what had fallen and saw a piece of a branch and a little squirrel looking very stiff and very dead. Shortly after we moved to the house I witnessed another squirrel fall from the sky.

posted by Drew @ 3:49 PM | link to this post

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Soon to be Homeless

The landlord called this evening. He has decided to accept a lease/purchase option deal on the house. So, we get to move by either 9/1/08 or 8/15/08.

posted by Drew @ 9:11 PM | link to this post

Monday, June 30, 2008

Declining

I formally declined a job in Gainesville today. It was job that I was very much interested in. In the end it came down to not having enough confidence in the labor market there to be able to offer r a job that she could find palatable. The job wanted didn't pay enough to support both of us. r's current job and my possible job were too far away from each other.

I'm still hoping that Berkeley options may work out, but I'm increasingly skeptical that the HR Department will even qualify me for the job. It sounds like they've been pretty tough in recent years.

In the course of doing some analysis of Gainesville and Berkeley possibilities, I did one interesting bit of math. I'm vest in the State of Florida Career Service System. I have ten years of creditable service. If I went to work for the State of Florida again and managed to get into "higher paying" positions for which I'm well qualified and worked 15 years, I'd qualify for retirement pay of about $1400/month. If I return to the City of Berkeley and work one more year, bringing my total to 5 years, I'll vest and be eligible for about $1000/mo. when I retire. If I go to Berkeley and retire after investing the same 15 years I could invest in Florida, I could expect retirement income of about $4000/month.

I feel very frustrated right now and not very happy.

posted by Drew @ 9:00 AM | link to this post

Monday, June 23, 2008

NOMO Beatdown

This morning I witnessed what appeared to be a beatdown by two Northern Mockingbirds on another one. I stepped out of the car and had to duck as three birds came flying at my head. There was a huge commotion as the three birds fell to the ground on the other side of the car. When I looked over one bird had another bird's neck in his beak and a third bird was standing on the wing of the one being held by the neck. In another moment, all of them flew away. It's not the first time I've witnessed a beatdown in a minute market parking lot. But it was the first one that I've witnessed between birds.

posted by Drew @ 12:38 PM | link to this post

Friday, June 13, 2008

Voting Republican?

I'm Voting Republican

posted by Drew @ 4:43 PM | link to this post

Monday, June 09, 2008

Quote of the Moment

Nationwide, Americans are now spending about 4 percent of their take-home income on gasoline. By contrast, in some counties in the Mississippi Delta, that figure has surpassed 13 percent.
---from today's New York Times

posted by Drew @ 12:44 PM | link to this post

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Grandmother for Peace is Dying

posted by Drew @ 3:25 PM | link to this post

Monday, May 26, 2008

Quote of the Moment

I am embarrassed at not having noticed that the bamboo is growing in our own yard. It is not that I haven't noticed it growing there, it is just that I hadn't noticed enough to give it meaning. I remember it fuzzily, low and green without any detail. It makes me wonder how much of life goes by me that way.
--- John Francis, Planetwalker

posted by Drew @ 7:14 PM | link to this post

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Sunny Side Up?

WARNING! Contains graphic film footage of sentient beings in battery cages at an egg "farm."

posted by Drew @ 12:46 PM | link to this post

Quote of the Moment

"to decide is to kill off all possibilities but one. A good innovational thinker is always exploring the many other possibilities.”
---Dawna Markova

posted by Drew @ 7:16 AM | link to this post

Friday, May 02, 2008

Chopped Liver

I'm not even going to get into the borderline-evil concept that people in relationships have veto power over their partners' friends. This is just R-O-N-G Rong, stupidly and evilly wrong, in all but the most extreme circumstances. ("My partner is making friends with the man who tried to murder me." Okay, you have veto power. Everyone else, shut up. Your partner is a free agent, with the right to make their own damn friends independent of you.)
Greta Cristina in What Are Bisexuals? Chopped Liver?

posted by Drew @ 12:22 PM | link to this post

Carrie Underwood

Yesterday, I was shocked to learn that "jesus take the wheel" woman is a vegetarian.

posted by Drew @ 8:47 AM | link to this post

News Alert of the Moment

News Alert from Human Rights Council of North Central Florida

Local PAC formed to gather petitions for ballot measure to repeal and prohibit Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Gainesville's antidiscrimination code

Gainesville, Florida (May 1, 2008) -- A political action committee today announced it is targeting Gainesville to put a charter amendment on the March 2009 ballot to repeal and prohibit the city's antidiscrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Former state legislative candidate Cain Davis, who is chair of the newly-formed political committee called Citizens for Good Public Policy, announced at a press conference in front of City Hall that the PAC is formed solely for the purpose of removing gender identity and sexual orientation from the city of Gainesville's antidiscrimination code. Cain Davis was an outspoken opponent of the city's gender identity ordinance, which was passed by the Gainesville City Commission on January 28.

Davis and a representative from the Christian Pastors Association of North Central Florida repeatedly made the claims that Gainesville's gender identity ordinance would permit men to enter women's bathrooms to harm women and children. Other speakers such as Cheryl Carter, who described herself as a mother, pastor and wife, said that the gender identity ordinance could possibly open the door for sexual predators in women's bathrooms.

The PAC is required to gather 5,581 signed petitions from Gainesville voters by July 29 for the Supervisor of Elections to validate and certify. Once certified, the charter amendment would most likely appear on the city election day ballot on March 24, 2009. A simple majority of Gainesville voters would be required for the charter amendment to pass and become law.

At today's press conference, the head of both Florida's Christian Coalition (former state Rep. Dennis Baxley of Ocala) and the Florida Family Association (David Caton) spoke in favor of the charter amendment.

Dennis Baxley of the Christian Coalition congratulated those gathered (about 50 people) and thanked them for "taking your community back," adding "Enough is enough!" Baxley said Gainesville's current ordinance is "an abuse of power" and is about "special rights for special people". (As a state representative in 2005, Baxley gained notoriety for sponsoring a bill that would sanction university professors from "spreading liberalism" in college classrooms.) Florida Family Association Executive Director David Caton said that the gender identity ordinance is really about "gender neutralizing" and a "stepping stone to secular progressivism". David Caton was active in the early 1990s during much of the anti-gay ballot measures targeting passage of sexual orientation antidiscrimination ordinances in Florida.

City Commissioner Craig Lowe, who was instrumental in passage of the gender identity ordinance, spoke to news media after the press conference. Commissioner Lowe said the charter amendment is designed to foment unfounded fears and divisions in our community for the purposes of political expediency. Lowe added that outside groups such as the Christian Coalition of Florida and the Florida Family Association should not be dictating to Gainesville residents what they should or should not have in their antidiscrimination laws.

"Passage of this charter amendment would be a huge step backwards for human rights in Gainesville, and would set a terrible precedent for the rest of Florida and the nation," said Bob Karp of the Human Rights Council of North Central Florida. "If passed, this charter amendment would once again make it perfectly legal for a gay, lesbian or transgender person to be discriminated against at the workplace, when obtaining housing, or using any public accommodation."

For more information please contact the Human Rights Council of North Central Florida at 352-372-5192 or email at hrcncf@gmail.com.

Human Rights Council of North Central Florida
PO Box 2112
Gainesville, FL 32602

posted by Drew @ 8:41 AM | link to this post

Around $60 Billion

Two news stories caught my eye this morning - one in the St. Augustine Record and one in the New York Times. It amuses me that the "lean" budget proposed by the Mayor of New York City is almost as much as the "lean" budget passed by the legislature of the the State of Florida.

posted by Drew @ 8:27 AM | link to this post

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Quote of the Moment

Saturday was the Sea Turtle Homecoming Festival. Contrary to the news report below she did not have cuts all over her back. Apparently she was coming ashore attempting to nest after suffering what would prove to be fatal injuries to her head/face/brain.

6-foot leatherback turtle killed

From Staff Reports
Publication Date: 04/27/08

A leatherback turtle died Saturday after being mangled by a boat propeller, according to officials with St. Johns County.

A beachgoer found the turtle while at Surfside Park in Vilano Beach. It came ashore and made circles as though it was about to nest but was found on its way out to the ocean.

The turtle had sustained slashes all over its body, and its face was cut off.

"We orginially thought someone had mutilated it," said Tara Dodson, habitat conservation coordinator for St. Johns County.

The six-foot-long turtle died not long after it was found.

http://staugustine.com/stories/042708/news_txt01_063.shtml

posted by Drew @ 8:54 AM | link to this post

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Wanna See My Glorious Johnson: Or How Crazy Black Republicans Wanna Save My White, Southern Manhood

Ohhhhh! It's such a very, very, very long story! Fortunately, Folio weakly doesn't appear to available online, so I can't really show it to you.

posted by Drew @ 9:00 AM | link to this post

Friday, April 25, 2008

Not So Wimpy Today

I'm not sure if it's all the coffee I've ingested this morning or the consequence of a reasonably good night's sleep, but I seem to be in a better mood today than I've been in the last couple of days.

posted by Drew @ 7:01 AM | link to this post

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Dreams

I watched Dreamgirls last night. (I know, I'm sorry Bill. I should have seen it sooner.) I liked it. I thought there were a number of really good performances. (None of which do I feel like naming or articulating today.)

posted by Drew @ 7:54 AM | link to this post

Drewsday, Ruesday, Tuesday (from an unsent email)

Today is Tuesday. I don't have much reason to think anything significant will happen today. I doubt my job situation will change. I doubt that the AC repair dude will show up today and fix it a day early. I doubt that anyone that I haven't heard from in a while will contact me. The ground doves that were nested in the palm tree outside my door at work are no longer there, the baby either eaten or fledged, so they won't entertain me. Tomorrow r will fly away to visit her folks and I will hope for the day to be as uneventful as today will likely be.

posted by Drew @ 7:49 AM | link to this post