Peddle Power! October 1, 2008
Posted by changenickel in Bicycle, commute, exercise, green, savings, work.3 comments
This Summer I hung up the keys to my car and put my bus pass in the back of my wallet. I started out with a simple goal which was to ride my bike to work in an effort to get in shape. Though I didn’t gain any additional weight, I didn’t lose any either. :( But shortly after I started riding I thought it would be a good idea to track my commuting pattern with a calendar. Below are the vital statistics I from this Summer’s endeavors.
- Tracked dates from May 5th thru September 30th.
- Bicycled to work 69 times
- Round trip mileage 19
- Total miles to and from work 1311
- Took Public Transportation to work 18 times
- Drove to work 6 times
- Saved $276 by riding my bike to work this Summer instead of taking public transportation
Though I may not have lost 20 pounds, I did keep some green in my pocket while being very green! I still plan to ride to work when the weather is good but for the most part I will probably be taking the bus more now that it is getting colder.
Fascism Is On The March.. Literally! September 26, 2008
Posted by changenickel in Scary shit, fascism, martial law, military.add a comment
Not to scare the bejebus out of everyone (actually it should!) but apparently the administration is about to violate yet another long standing law. The administration will be bringing back a unit from Iraq to do patrols in the United States!! Many view this as a clear violation of the Posse Comitatus Act. Just wrap your head around the thought of the US military patrolling US cities. It stinks of martial law at best and a police state at worst. With the looming financial crisis and this latest move by the administration I can honestly say that I’m a feared!! Can someone hold me?
By The Numbers September 24, 2008
Posted by changenickel in Economy, Politics, money.add a comment
Congress is still debating whether to give the Fed $700 billion today. Trying to get your head around a million can be daunting but trying to get your head around a billion is almost impossible unless you break it down to something more simple. Let’s see….
1. Here it is with all the donuts! $700,000,000,000
2. How about scientific notation: $7×10^11
3. 700 billion is 7 times the number of stars in our Milky Way galaxy!
3. If they distributed it to every man woman and child in the United States we would each get $2333.33.
5. Conversely, if this whole thing goes south we end up owing that amount!!
No matter how you slice it, it’s a lot of frickin’ money!
All The King’s Horses… September 23, 2008
Posted by changenickel in Congress, Politics, banking, disaster, financial.7 comments
I’m currently listening to Paulson and Bernanke testify in front of the Congressional banking committee right now. Congress is going to push through patch work legislation in a matter of days that should take months of deliberation and refining.
What is happening right now on the Hill is a classic definition of Disaster Capitalism. The current proposal in front of Congress is to authorize the Fed to receive over $700 billion to deal with the current banking crisis. This proposal has little to no oversight and little assistance for the everyday person. More importantly, this legislation if passed will give the Executive branch an unprecedented amount of financial power. Congress would in effect be relinquishing their own power and duty to the American people over our money and oversight of its use. It will be Congress’ fault if they relinquish even more power to the Executive branch. This is unheard of in the history of the Republic.
If the current financial crisis scares people the response from Congress should terrify everyone. This could prove to be the worst response to a crisis ever.
Devil in a Blue Dress September 12, 2008
Posted by changenickel in Election, Politics.Tags: crazy bitch, Election, Politicis, Republican, Sarah Palin
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I’ve been intently watching what has been going on with the phenomenon that is Sarah Palin. She is, without a doubt a superstar in the Republican party. She has done what McCain, Romney, or Guiliani could never do. She has appealed to the religious right. Good for them! Bad for the rest of us. It is my opinion as a rational human being that this is a dangerous woman! She is against abortions for women in cases of rape or incest. She wanted to ban books when she was the mayor of Wasilla. She has used the office of the governor in a vindictive and retributive manner toward her former brother-in-law to try and have him fired. But those are the minor highlights. No, this woman is dangerous because I do not believe she clearly separates church and state. Believe me when I say I could care less about her religious affiliations. But she has given some insight to this when addressing her church and stating, “Our national leaders are sending U.S. soldiers on a task that is from God.”
But the icing on this shit cake was last night during an interview with Charles Gibson when she basically said that if Georgia and Ukraine were NATO countries the US would have to go to war with Russia if they were invaded. Granted, that as a member of a NATO aligned country you do get a few perks but what she fails to understand is the history of the current conflict between the regions in Georgia that want to break away, our role in the support of Georgia with regard to those regions and let’s not forget Mama Bear Russia and her own motivations! War with Russia?! Has this bitch lost her updew?!? Her bellicose language regarding such a sensitive subject has sealed the coffin regarding her judgment. It is poor and would get us all killed. This woman can not become the VP to Grandpa McCain. The man has one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peal!
Go Bears! September 8, 2008
Posted by changenickel in Football, bears.add a comment
Last night was the official start of football season for me with the Bears facing off against the Colts. Holy crap!!! They actualy won?!? Even though I’m a big Bears fan, I wasn’t holding my breathe on them winning that game! And Orton didn’t do too bad. At least he is pretty consistant. Unfortunately, with football season there is massive beer drinking! I’m feeling the pain today. 
Convention Closure September 5, 2008
Posted by changenickel in Election, Politics.Tags: convention, Election, Politics, RNC
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Finally! The conventions are over. No more bloviating (OK, maybe a little less bloviating). No more Greecian columns. No more out of control delegates (They need to stop serving booze at those things!). No more lies. Scratch that last part. Lies come with the territory! One note: I did watch last night’s RNC and was actually educated about Cindy McCain’s volunteer work. I was very impressed. She has moved up a notch in my book from the drug addicted, husband stealing, Steppford wife I had previously viewed her as!
The next couple of months promise to be chock full of new accusations and dredged up old ones. The attack machines are all powered up and ready to stike! It promises to be a bloody election. But have no doubt, it will be history making regardless of who wins the ultimate prize!! And who wouldn’t want to be President of a country like ours?? Depressed economy, falling dollar, dropping unemployment, healthcare crisis, bogged down in two wars. Yup, sign me up!!!!
Christmas In September September 3, 2008
Posted by changenickel in Election, Politics.Tags: Election, McCain, Palin, Politics, Sarah
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I actually caught some of the RNC last night and watched Foghorn Leghorn AKA Fred Thompson snorting on about Sarah Palin the Republican VP pick. The conservative right was eating it up at the convention. Basically the place was going ape shit. Apparently progressives are running around scared according to Thompson! Um… I don’t think so! We are laughing in our tea (or coffee.)! From investigations to teen pregnancy Sarah Palin has turned into an Advent Calendar. Every day you open a window and there is another little surprise! Tonight she will address the convention. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. In the meantime, I can only wonder what today’s calendar will hold!
My 2 Cents on the Convention August 31, 2008
Posted by changenickel in Observations.add a comment
In case you were not aware I have been watching the Democratic convention with more attention than I watched the Olympics. Yes, I know most of it is staged but you know I’m a political geek (along with other types of geekiness!). I had been watching the convention on PBS but realized that I was missing 1/2 the convention because the damn pundits were yacking during some interesting speeches and performances!! So I put my tech geekiness to work and hooked up the old laptop to my TV and got a direct feed without bullshit interruptions of the convention in high definition! It was great. I thought there were some excellent speeches all week including Hillary Clinton’s. Her speech was great. Awesome to see Teddy. I had a tear in my eye when he said he would be there in January. The man is a legend. And if Kerry and Gore had the kind of passion they showed this week maybe we would not have had to suffer through the past 8 year nightmare! But Obama delivered as I knew he would. It was almost like watching a symphony. He did exactly what was needed and took the fight back to the McCain camp. The one thing he said that hit home for me was when he said “…we all put our country first.” No one should sit back while their patriotism is being attacked. As a Veteran I find it highly offensive for anyone to attack another American’s patriotism. If we thought the primaries were something the next couple of months will make the primaries look like a love in!
Go Barack Go! August 28, 2008
Posted by changenickel in Observations.add a comment
Yesterday was another historic day in the Democratic party as they officially nominated Barack Obama for president. Today will be a momentous event when Barack Obama accepts the nomination of his party to be President of the United States. Today is also the 45th anniversary of Dr. King’s famous speech at the march on Washington. I have been glued to the TV all week watching the DNC week long infomercial. I know it is all a big show but I still enjoy seeing and hearing the speakers address the party loyals and tonight promises to be a real treat.
Just another step to the White House. Go Barack, go!
