Friday's Feast!

Appetizer: How many times per day do you usually laugh?

I solemnly vow to laugh at three impossible things each day before breakfast. We are all responsible for our own attitudes; and no one will make us happy like we, ourselves, can. As a Christian, I follow the Buddhist belief that Jesus was called "the laughing prophet" -- can't you just hear him peal with laughter when the apostles forbid the children to come to him?

Soup: What do your sunglasses look like?

Like John Lennon's. My alternate pair are a pair of Wayfarers like the Blues Brothers wore. Hard to go wrong with the classics.

Salad: You win a free trip to anywhere on your continent, but you have to travel by train. Where do you go?

Past the Grand Canyon; the Utah badlands; the painted deserts. Alternates would be the Black hulls of South Dakota or the Trans-Canadian railway. Gimmme them wide-open spaces.

Main Course: Name one thing you consider a great quality about living in your town/city.

The history. The Fiesta celebrating the Battle of San Jacinto for Texas independence in 1826. The 600-year-old Missions dotting the South Side. The Alamo itself. The World's Fair grounds. The multiple military bases (my own father trained at Lackland AFB, and I went to training at Fort Sam Houston.) It's overwhelming sometimes, this city called San Antonio.

Dessert: If the sky could be another color, what color do you think would look best?

Pink, oddly enough. The delicate pinks of an early spring morning are wonderful, dotted with wispy tufts of clouds.

But then again, there's a lot to be said for Chartreuse.

~~JD~~

Friday's Feast!

Appetizer: What is your favorite beverage?

I don't drink much soda any more with my diabetes; but there is a LOT to be said for a nice, warm Dr. Pepper. Good for what ails you, as we say in Texas. The beverage I drink most frequently is Tea. The caffeine in tea is moderated by the tannic acid which smooths out the caffeine spikes; lasts longer and makes you less jittery.

If I'm really feeling luxurious, there is nothing in the world to compare to a Chai Tea Latte from Starbucks -- the pinnacle of beverage evolution for the planet.

Soup: Name 3 things that are on your computer desk at home or work.

I don't have a computer desk. We switched to laptops two years ago. I have it perched on my knees right now in the living room scanning the news channels for information. That makes me my own computer desk, so to speak; so three things on me would be shoes, socks and underwear, Thank God!

Sorry; no webcam.

Salad: On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how honest do you think you are?

9.7 It's too hard to keep track of your lies, really. I'd be a Ten, but there are still little children in the world; and there's that whole Santa Claus/Easter Bunny thing to consider.

Main Course: If you could change the name of one city in the world, what would you rename it and why?

Istanbul Turkey. I'd rename it "Constantinople" again -- much prettier and historical name.

Dessert: What stresses you out? What calms you down?
Very little stresses me out, actually. Mostly, it's just people. Relaxation is where you find it. There's a beautiful little passage in "The Last Samurai" where Ken Wantanabe and Tom Cruise's characters are discussing beauty and perfection. I'm watching the sunrise creep into the treetops of the oak saplings here, and that seems perfect to me right now.

"They are all . . . perfect."

~~JD~~

The Move Continues, Part I

I should mention, though, that I'm fifty years old this year (!!!), and I'm really getting too old for this crap.

Day one of the move consisted of (a) Julian begging off for Finals this week, (b)Ariane delayed for the first week of Nursing Classes, leaving (c) tired old Daddy Cat alone humping several hundred pounds of accumulated books and furniture up and down a flight of stairs each way.

Peachy!

My lumbar areas and right knee are singing a song of pain to me right now. They've been singing the same song since Monday; it's starting to get monotonous.

However, the bulk of the move is completed. We rented a truck Tuesday and did the major hauling then. Today is loading (and unloading; and re-loading; and unloading; and re-re-loading . . . ) the cars ad infinitum, whilst cleaning out the old apartment. Ariane and I are both clean freaks. We've never left any place we've left in less than spotless.

Good thing we both have station wagons, eh? There is indeed, method to our madness.

Funny Story of the Move: we've saved a bit of money and we're buying quite a bit of new furniture. We realized when we were thinking about getting the house that most of our stuff was Sauder furniture from Wal-Mart; which while it looks pretty, moves poorly and isn't much to show for twenty years of marriage. We found a LOT of furniture stores having sales, including Pier One, World Market, and Bombay Furniture (which is going out of business and has really maximized our buying power when everything is 70% off!

When we went to pick up our living room stuff Tuesday at World Market, this little (and I mean little -- 5'6", maybe 120 pounds) cute blonde clerk walked over with me to get our tables, which are all topped with slate. Slate is very durable, very pretty, and damned heavy -- each one of these tables must weight 150 pounds easy. I asked the clerk if she wanted to get us a dolly.

She smiled one of those sideways smiles country folks do. "Dolly? We don't need no dolly. I'M your dolly today." With that she slung the two biggest tables under her arms and strode to the door, as I struggled to slide the smallest one along the floor.

When Ariane saw how heavy these things were, she almost had a stroke thinking of our little "dolly" just hefting them like they were styrofoam. "She was great to help you with these!"

"Great, hell!" I said. "I'm bringing Julian here tonight, I'm introducing them, and I'm going to get them married! I want this Supergirl in my Gene pool! I want my grandkids to be able to carry grandpa to bed!"


Ariane found this amusing in the extreme. I was being serious!

The ugly part of the move; Internet connectivity will be severely limited until Time-Warner gets here a week from Saturday. Eep!

~~JD~~

The Move Is ON!

The lease is signed. The truck is reserved for Tuesday. The new furniture is ready to be picked up. The piles of empty boxes in the Living Room are becoming piles of full boxes in the Dining Room.

And Julian is highly annoyed. All is well with the world.

Don't expect to hear much from me until we've finished and the Internet is on. This coming weekend, probably.

~~JD~~

Friday's Feast!

Appetizer: What is your middle name? Would you change any of your names if you could? If so, what would you like to be called?

My middle name is David, who was "The man after God's own heart." My first name is John, "The disciple Jesus loved." My last name is Long, which means "that which endures." That means my name is "The disciple Jesus loved; a man after God's own heart, who endures." So, no, I don't think I'd change any of my names.

That being said, I'd like to be called Pedro. "Just don't call me late for dinner."





Soup: If you were a fashion designer, which fabrics, colors, and styles would you probably use the most?

If I were a fashion designer, I'd use Black Holes and Interstellar Gas in all my designs, because if I WAS a fashion designer, the entire universe would have shifted on it's axis and be spiraling down towards destruction.

Salad: What is your least favorite chore, and why?

Dis-impacting the cat. She just won't stay still; and my finger's too big to really be effective.

Main Course: What is something that really frightens you, and can you trace it back to an event in your life?

It used to be death, but then I died once, so I got over that. I really can't think of anything right now.

Dessert: Where are you sitting right now? Name 3 things you can see at this moment.

You want me to tell you what I'm wearing too?

The living room. The laptop's on my lap; the kitten's at my feet; and Fred Thompson's on the television. (I wish he'd get down off the television; he's gonna hurt himself if he falls.)

Oh; and a strawberry daiquiri in my hand; but you guessed that from my answers, right?

~~JD~~

Eagle Pass City Manager Admits Resume Lying; Blames Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy -- Eagle Pass Officials Baffled

You know, I give Northwest Indiana a lot of hell for the small-town politics, liberal judges, and general tendencies to let Pedophiles off the hook frequently in these pages. In large part that's because I'm from Northwest Indiana, and grew up watching the small-town politics. A large number of the people I post about I've met personally and know quite well.

So it's easy to detect the aroma of bull excrement wafting through the news even 1,254 miles away.

South Texas, not so much. I may live here, but I haven't quite learned to sift through the B.S. yet. It's got to be a pretty heavy aroma to be detectable -- like what's wafting in from the lovely little border town of Eagle Pass.

Today's installment from the San Antonio Express-News is the third part of a series of how "Doctor" Glen Starnes lied on his resume and purchased fake degrees to be hired as the City Manager of Eagle Pass. The city Council could care less -- and validates his fraud by offering him the job full-time.

Tells you a LOT about Eagle Pass Texas, doesn't it?

Eagle Pass City Manager Admits Lying
1/09/2008 11:04 PM CST; John MacCormack, Express-News

Faced with clear evidence that its probationary city manager lied repeatedly on his impressive resume, the Eagle Pass City Council shrugged and took a step toward offering Glen Starnes the permanent job.

The decision came after an impassioned 15-minute address Tuesday by Starnes to the council reciting his six months of accomplishments in Eagle Pass and denouncing his critics, including the San Antonio Express-News. "The worst thing they could find on me is that I lied on one part of my resume," said Starnes, who blamed the "old political machine" for his troubles. "If they want to get rid of me, those bad people who are driving these accusations are going to have to keep fighting, because I'm here to stay," said Starnes, who was enthusiastically applauded by the meeting audience and praised by council members after his speech.

The council then voted unanimously to set a special meeting for Tuesday, when it will consider hiring Starnes permanently for the $85,000-a-year job. In the same motion by Councilwoman Maribel Flores, the council ordered a halt to an ongoing probe of charges that Starnes fabricated his job history and educational credentials. Calls made Wednesday to Mayor Chad Foster and council members Joe Sifuentes, Ramsey English Cantu and Flores seeking comment on the council's actions were not returned.

Starnes, however, was quick to tell the Express-News to back off. "I'm putting you on notice that you stop contacting anyone who works with me in trying to tarnish my image. It's none of your business," he said by phone.

Despite Starnes' claim that he merely "fluffed" his resume, an Express-News investigation revealed it to be a work of fiction that includes misspellings and incorrect names. Contrary to his claims, Starnes never worked as an assistant city manager in Converse or as an aide to former U.S. Rep. Jack Fields in Houston, nor did he earn three degrees from the University of Maryland.

And even though council members apparently decided Starnes is worth keeping, some Eagle Pass citizens and former city officials are puzzled and distressed. "He admitted to lying and the council wasn't concerned about that? If I was the mayor and I had someone who lied to me on his resume to get the job, there would be consequences," said former Mayor Joaquin Rodriguez, who led the city from 2002 to 2004. "This is speculation on my part, but he's telling the council he's uncovering wrongdoing and he's going to clean it up."

In a letter sent to Foster and council members before this week's meeting, property owner Jessica Fuentes demanded Starnes' resignation. "The very fact that Mr. Starnes lied to get his job should cause outrage from you and the City Council," she wrote. "His lack of honesty and integrity in obtaining a highly trusted position calls into question his values and yours as a leader."

While Starnes has admitted only to lying about working in Converse, other evidence gathered Wednesday refuted his other claims. Jim Finley, the longtime manager of U.S. Rep. Fields' office in Houston, confirmed that Starnes never worked there, much less for a decade, from 1992 to 2002 as he claimed on his resume. "He may have come in and volunteered a time or two, but I did all the hiring and firing in that office and I don't remember anyone named Glen Starnes," Finley said. "I think the obvious giveaway is that 1996 was (Fields') last year" in office.

Regarding his claim to three degrees from the University of Maryland at Rockville, Starnes amended it in a Tuesday e-mail, saying he acquired them instead from "Rochville University." That online organization sells various degrees, including doctorates in a variety of prestigious disciplines for $599. It promises "no studies, no attendance, no waiting, and no examinations." Instead, degrees are awarded based on "work/life experience." Rochville University is listed on the Web site of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board as being among the many suspect institutions "whose degrees are illegal to use in Texas." The board also notes that it is a misdemeanor in Texas to use a "fraudulent or substandard degree" to gain employment or a position of authority in government.

A source in Eagle Pass with knowledge of the city probe launched last month confirmed that Starnes showed "transcripts" from Rochville University to the City Council to defend his resume claims. But according to a much different resume posted by Starnes on an employment Web site, his recent jobs have been in financial services, including for American Express, Chase Manhattan and MassMutual Financial. This resume does not mention a recent stint by Starnes as a financial services agent for New York Life in San Antonio that apparently did not end well.

"I'm very limited on what I can say," said Dave Odom, the managing partner of the New York Life office. "Officially, by company rules, all I can say is he worked here as an agent for less than a year and resigned in February 2006," he said.

Fortunately, I'm not nearly as limited as to what I can say. This guy doesn't just make Eagle Pass LOOK like idiots; if they keep him, they are, truly, Idiots Indeed.

I wonder if Eagle Pass allows recall elections?

~~JD~~

We're Moving . . . .

Just to make things interesting; like we didn't have enough to do right about now.

When we were trying to buy the house last month, there was a point (about December 8th) where we had to give 30 days notice on the apartment or risk paying for an additional month. So we gave 30 days notice to be out by January 8th.

Then the financing fell through on the house. (Just as an aside, I noticed watching the "Flip This House" marathon on TLC last night that 4 out of 5 of their house flippers had also had their deals fall through in the last six months due to financing problems. Seems to be a trend.)

So we have to get out of the apartment; fortunately we can stay until the last week of the month. We have applications in at two other complexes and should hear back from them tomorrow or Tuesday. This is ultimately a GOOD thing. We had gotten pretty tired of the complex we're living in for several reasons:

Construction. We were given very little notice of the impending construction, and the duration of the construction means I missed several days of work at Nursefinders because I was unable to sleep during the day for the construction noise.

Trash and Debris. The laborers frequently left their personal garbage from snacks and meals, as well as construction debris and tools, in the walkways and parking areas of the complex, making it look very trashy for an two months.

Landscaping and Parking. The bushes and ground cover of the complex, which have suffered from the recent drought, took a real beating from the construction. Several of the landscaping timbers were dislodged and broken by the power equipment used by the laborers. This same equipment also rutted and potholed the parking lot in several places; increasing the trashy look to the complex.

Maintenance. During the summer we reported three problems with the apartment at different times: a poorly heating oven, a noisy and wobbly ceiling fan, and a leaky facet in one of the bathrooms. While the oven was finally fixed (we have had problems with this oven for almost our entire stay here), the ceiling fan and the broken faucet are still broken several months later. These were reported to the previous office staff several times prior to their departure, and when our son attempted to report them again to the new office staff, they were very rude to him and suggested he "have your parents call us."

"Private Balconies and Patios" As advertised on their website, the original wood balcony rails provided a great deal of privacy. More importantly to us, it provided a barrier to keep our cats from escaping. Since these have been replaced by the thin, skimpy wrought iron railings, not only have we lost any semblance of privacy on the patio, but our cat has escaped several times.

Swimming Pool. The pool was closed (apparently for cleaning; the water was green and littered with debris) from late August until early October; nearly two months. Today as I write this the pool continues to have a great deal of debris in it.

"Pet Friendly" While the signs on the fences advertise this, and the website says "WE LOVE PETS!," the Office door recently had a sign posted that requested pets be left outside the office because of staff that had "allergies." The previous office staff not only welcomed pets; they kept treats for the animals in their desks and loved to pet and scratch the dogs that came into the office.

Security Gate. One of the primary reasons we moved to San Antonio (and specifically chose Cape Cod apartments) is that we have had problems with a stalker who has threatened my wife and I several times; to the point that we have had a restraining order against this person. The Security Gate was a prime feature of our security. The gate was just fixed last month after seven months standing open.

So if I'm gone for a day or two, it means the lease has been approved and the computer is packed in a box somewhere I can't find.

We should be all moved by this time next week if all goes well. Whether the internet is turned on or not is another matter. I'll try to give you some warning when we start to move.

Maybe.

~~JD~~

Friday's Feast!

Appetizer: When was the last time you received a surprise in the mail, and what was it?

My income tax check was pretty good last year.

Soup: If you could have a summer and/or winter home, where would you want it to be?

St. John, The U.S. Virgin Islands -- year round 80 degrees, and no income tax.

Salad: Pick one: pineapple, orange, banana, apple, cherry.

I actually have half a pineapple in my lunch bag right now -- what's that tell you?

Main Course: Describe the nicest piece of clothing that you own.

I just bought new underwear last week, and they're nice and soft. Other than that, I don't notice my clothes much.

Dessert: If you could forget one whole day from your life, which day would you choose to wipe from your memory?

Why would you do that? Can not much be learned from both the bad, as well as the good?

~~JD~~

Red Sky at Night; Sailor's Delight

Wil Wheaton at his blog HERE posted this picture; a very fitting way to end 2007 (or, better yet, begin 2008.)

Happy New Year. Prepare for great things.

~~JD~~