The Year in Review

I'll give 2008 this; it wasn't boring.

There will be no lasting impact from my leg surgery (*knock on wood*) but since it has marred the last three months of '08, its the first to get a comment. I'm taking my crutches into the new year with me and hoping they won't be a big part of 2009. I'm grateful my doctors were able to take care of things so quickly, and glad I had the surgery (not like I had any choice) but I truly had no idea recovery would affect my life this much or for this long.

I also became a home owner in 2008, . The dust is just beginning to settle on that one financially. I was able to make some home improvements in the first half of the year, leading up to the housewarming party in July, though not much else has been done in the second half of the year. I'm looking forward to digging my heels in (sans crutches) and doing more around here in the new year.

I was reunited with the UK this year, and got to experience oft-discussed locations with B for the first time. Being there with B was almost surreal. And I already miss it. And with the accumulation of more American Express Rewards points, I'll be back again someday.

The impact of the Presidential election cannot be understated. I was euphoric on the night of November 4. The emotional release from the end of the abusive relationship with Bush's administration was powerful. There's so much possibility with the election of Obama, but the passage of Prop 8 was hugely disappointing. (We still don't know if that's going to hold up.) I'm going to try to hold onto my hope as long as possible.

The biggest changes this year revolved around my family (which is a surprise to say after saying for so many years that my family will never change.) It was a rough start. We lost Grandma at the end of February, and that's all I have to say about that. My uncle found out he had cancer about a month later, and he continues to battle it as the year closes. And that's all I have to say about that, too.

But news wasn't all bad. In April, I gained a sister-in-law and three nieces. And in August, the fourth niece arrived (named in part for Grandma.) I'm still figuring out this whole ming (aunt) thing, which I imagine will be even harder to do since I'm not present. But I suppose that will give me something else to do in '09.

I have to say ...

I rather like the office when few others are in it.

I'm as busy as ever, but appreciate the quiet where I can get it.

Happy Holidays

(Thought this cartoon was appropriate.)

I am done with the carts.

Nevermind that I hate going anywhere to buy anything because of the crutches. The motorized carts were fun maybe the first two times. Now they are just annoying.

I had to go to the store today and 1) had the crap scared out of me and 2) realized that people weren't as helpful as I'd been thinking they were.

Those carts do not have brakes, so they tend to roll. This is particularly problematic when you are going out into the parking lot to your car. I kept creeping out into traffic in the slow-ass cart, scared that I was going to get hit by a car as I headed to my vehicle to unload my purchases. And then, as it continued to rain and I was heading back to the store to drop the cart off, the cart wouldn't go back up onto the sidewalk. I tried 4 different times, with the cart rolling backwards every time, backwards into traffic, as people walked past me. Finally, I said to someone as they passed, "Do you think you can help push this thing from behind?" And finally, someone did.

It freaked me out for a bit. But I was laughing about it 5 minutes later, hoping someone caught it on video.

Not to be outdone by their football counterparts ...

... the OSU men's basketball team is off to a 9-0 start.

Go Bucks, indeed.

Good. Someone said it.

The perception that Ohio State is good enough to compete in the Big Ten but not necessarily on the national stage is bothersome to some fans, enough that they overlook Tressel's positives. He is 7-1 against Michigan. The Buckeyes have won or shared four straight Big Ten titles, and they are the only Big Ten team to win a national title in the Bowl Championship Series. Tressel also is urging more and more players to graduate, and the team grade-point average is hovering at the 3.0 level.

If you're going to an ugly sweater party ...

Goodwill has an entire rack devoted entirely to ugly holiday clothing.

I'm just sayin' ...

Oh, the weather outside is frightful ...

Viva (the effects of global warming in) Las Vegas

Some kudos to John Walsh

They announced today that the case of the murder of Adam Walsh is now closed. I thought for a moment that I really hoped this offered a chance for the Walsh family to exhale a bit. But more than that, I thought about how much respect I had to give to John Walsh.

He really took a horrible situation and made something powerful from it, helping kick into gear a more effective system for tracking and finding missing children. It's a tragedy that he lost his young son, but because of the steps he took after he did, a lot of other parents have been reunited with their own missing kids.

I don't remember a world without America's Most Wanted, or a world without children's faces on the side of milk cartons or on fliers posted in public places. And while you may take that as a comment on the sad state of the world, I mean it as a compliment to the increased awareness that attempts to nip crime in the bud. His efforts were a model for other families in similar circumstances, including those who got the Amber Alert passed into law.

To him and others who try to make something good and useful from the worst conceivable situations, I tip my hat.

Dickipedia

Seriously. Dickipedia.

My mom (and yours) made the cut.

Same goes for Santa which surprised me since (SPOILER ALERT) he may or may not be real. But then again, I may have only been told he didn't exist so they wouldn't have to tell me about his DUI and racist remarks.

So far the site's been a real time suck, as most good sites are. Enjoy.

"This is a goodbye kiss, you dog."

An Iraqi journalist threw a shoe at Still-President Bush.

*sigh* Remember the good old days, when we were greeted as liberators?

I think my favorite bit of the article is when they tell us, "CNN notes that this is considered an insult among Muslims." Yeah, as opposed to the entirely complimentary nature associated with striking someone with a shoe in most Western religions.

Auto bailout

I've started drafts about the auto industry bailout several times over the last month and never really completed anything. No matter how much I've read, I never felt like I had the time to learn enough to comment intelligently about the issue. But the longer the debate goes on, the more I find myself still wanting to say something.

Let's be real - the government started this. Once you show that you will bail out one business that's mis-managed itself, it's only a matter of time before the others who did the same ask "what about me?" As any teacher knows, you cannot permit one student to do something without the rest of the class demanding the same treatment.

The various financial organization bailouts came first and furiously, and without a lot of questions or accountability. With the last bailout, there were multiple reports that the amount ($700B+) was just plucked out of the air. There were other accounts that they weren't sure who exactly was getting the money. And there were no indications that those people using the money were going to make any changes to ensure that this didn't happen again.

"Dear Wall Street,
Here's hundreds of billions of dollars. Do what you will.
Love, Us."

(I sincerely hope there was even a shred of accountability that I somehow missed. And I hope that their hasty decisions and mismanagement of those millions are somehow not going to leave us completely effed in the a.)

If I were the failing auto industry watching all that, I'd be fairly nonplussed about why the government wouldn't be willing to hand over just a smidgen of what they had handed to others without a thought. Except that the government all of sudden became diligent about asking questions about that bailout. (Which, to me, seemed kind of like a show, but that's a whole other issue.)

So really, I see two issues here. First, the American auto industry has performed badly for years, creating crappy product and not changing with the times. And when a business doesn't adapt, it doesn't survive. (Hell, even Blockbuster seems to have figured that out.) I am fuzzy on the economic terms of my prerequisite economics classes, but I believe that's the essence of the free market. I don't mean that as a big 'eff you' to the auto industry employees. It's just the nature of business. Ask any of the thousands of people working during the dotcom era in the Bay Area.

When I was diligently researching a new vehicle in early 2006, it took me all of about a minute to rule out the American companies and really settle my search on Toyota and Honda. The vehicles of those companies were safer, more affordable, and much more fuel/energy efficient. And ultimately, that's how I came to be paired with P.J. Jazzhands, my lovely 2007 Honda Fit. (Yay.)

Second, while the government should have taken this amount of time of consideration when bailing out the financial institutions, I am glad they seem to actually be, you know, governing now. They need to use this to set a newer, better example for how to proceed with a bailout. If they are giving the money, they need to have some real parameters on how that money will be spent. They can and should demand that changes be made to the business, specifically relating to a commitment to alternative fuels and transportation improvements. Really, this bailout could be a great thing to getting our country on the right environmental track. And it would keep thousands of folks employed in the process.

V Mac is now a MAster

She's a MAster blogger and recapper, of course. But now it's, like, official.

OSU Band to play inauguration parade

After all, they are TBDBITL (The Best Damn Band in the Land).

OSU is going to the Fiesta bowl

And with that, once again, my co-workers will be able to see me pace around the 4th floor break room like a madman since our bowl game airs on a Monday at 5:00p.

Human Rights Campaign Buyer's Guide

"With the economy as it is, the need to ensure that every dollar spent counts has never been more important. This year hundreds of businesses have earned the right to call you a customer with the commitment they have made to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Buying for Equality guide will help you easily support companies that support equality for LGBT Americans.

Ratings in Buying for Equality are based on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's annual report card, the Corporate Equality Index. A record 260 businesses scored 100 percent on this year's report, which is a significant increase from the 195 businesses that earned a perfect score last year. From enhanced domestic partner benefits to transgender inclusion in non-discrimination policies, we are seeing a revolution in the American workplace."

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If you are interested, you can view/download the guide here.

World AIDS Day

Here are some statistics and resources from the SFAF.