Harley was sitting in her favorite spot this morning and suddenly became very interested in something across the room. I didn't see a fly or spider, so I wondered what had caught her attention. Before I could investigate, she jumped up and ran over to the TV where she began to intently examine the kitty that was there. She wasn't seeing cats on TV, as the television was off, but her own reflection.
As she peered into the television and occasionally pawed at the "other kitty," I started to think about animals, cats, and their "sense of selves." The "sense of self" has many levels, and the one that I was thinking about was an animal's ability to recognize him/herself, most frequently, in the mirror. Scientists believe that some animals, like chimps, are capable of self recognition. Yet, most scientists claim that animals like cats and dogs, while capable of feeling primary emotions, don't have a sense of self recognition. Whether or not I believe that, I am not sure.
Once we had a dog who always growled at herself in the mirror, but by contrast, my cats stopped being interested in the "other kitties" in the mirror long ago. Is it because they recognize themselves, have accepted the "cat" in the mirror as part of our family, or is it just because since the reflected cat is not a threat they find it inconsequential and ignore it? Maybe I am biased and see human qualities in my cats that really aren't there, but I would like to believe it is because they recognize themselves.
Of course, that brings me back to Harley and the TV. She never gives her reflection a second glance in the full-length mirror in the bedroom, so if she recognizes herself, why did she paw at her TV reflection? It was the first time I have ever noticed her doing that. Was she actually aware that it was her reflection and was just pawing at it to entertain herself? I'd like to think so!
29 August 2004
27 August 2004
Blast from the Past
This morning, I was greeted by something very odd in my email inbox.
Out of the blue, I got an email from this dude that I hung out with twelve years ago! It was a good thing that I was sitting down, because if I hadn't been I probably would have fallen down!
Turns out, he still hangs out with the same people we did then and, coincidentally, my cousin married one of those dudes. I guess that is how he got my email address. I will confess that I did go out on a date or two with him, but it never developed into anything more than friendship.
When I was getting ready to go to college, I pretty much severed ties with those people. I think the last time I saw him was about ten years ago when he was dating a (fair-weather) friend of mine. I wish I was still in touch with her, because I would love to rub her nose in the fact that after all this time he dropped ME (not her!) an email! ha ha ha ha...
He was always a pretty pessimistic person, so the email mostly detailed how horribly his life has turned out, but he did say congratulations on my marriage.
I think I will be nice and reply to him, but damn! What am I going to say after ten years? So much has happened to me in that time, he might recognize me on sight, but otherwise I doubt he would recognize the person I have become.
Out of the blue, I got an email from this dude that I hung out with twelve years ago! It was a good thing that I was sitting down, because if I hadn't been I probably would have fallen down!
Turns out, he still hangs out with the same people we did then and, coincidentally, my cousin married one of those dudes. I guess that is how he got my email address. I will confess that I did go out on a date or two with him, but it never developed into anything more than friendship.
When I was getting ready to go to college, I pretty much severed ties with those people. I think the last time I saw him was about ten years ago when he was dating a (fair-weather) friend of mine. I wish I was still in touch with her, because I would love to rub her nose in the fact that after all this time he dropped ME (not her!) an email! ha ha ha ha...
He was always a pretty pessimistic person, so the email mostly detailed how horribly his life has turned out, but he did say congratulations on my marriage.
I think I will be nice and reply to him, but damn! What am I going to say after ten years? So much has happened to me in that time, he might recognize me on sight, but otherwise I doubt he would recognize the person I have become.
26 August 2004
Joke of the Day
At a recent computer expo, Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon"
In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating: If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:
In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating: If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:
- For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.
- Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.
- Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You could have to pull over to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and then reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.
- Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.
- Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five percent of the roads.
- The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single "This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation" warning light.
- Before deploying, the airbag system would ask, "Are you sure?"
- Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.
- Every time a new car was introduced, car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again, because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.
- You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn off the engine.
25 August 2004
A Year in Provence
I have decided that even though I don't write the best book reviews in the world, I would like to share on a more regular basis what I have been reading lately. So, here goes...
First published in 1991, A Year in Provence is Peter Mayle's witty look at life in a small Provencal village from an outsider's point of view. It is divided into twelve chapters, each chronicling one month of the year and mainly follows the saga of the narrator's adjustment to life in Provence and the remodeling of his antique stone house; from the burst pipes in January to the Sunday before Christmas when a smartly planned party for the workers and their wives by the narrator's wife finally encourages all of the workers to finish their year-long efforts. There are plenty of stereotypical amusing French villagers thrown in and extraordinary details of the enjoyable cuisine to top off this book candy.
As someone who has been living abroad for the past two and a half years, I particularly enjoyed this book. I found it extremely entertaining and even though French culture and German culture are different in many ways, I could identify the way in which the narrator learned to take the good and bad things about the Provencal lifestyle in stride.
It is a quick, easy, and fun read and I would highly recommend it.
First published in 1991, A Year in Provence is Peter Mayle's witty look at life in a small Provencal village from an outsider's point of view. It is divided into twelve chapters, each chronicling one month of the year and mainly follows the saga of the narrator's adjustment to life in Provence and the remodeling of his antique stone house; from the burst pipes in January to the Sunday before Christmas when a smartly planned party for the workers and their wives by the narrator's wife finally encourages all of the workers to finish their year-long efforts. There are plenty of stereotypical amusing French villagers thrown in and extraordinary details of the enjoyable cuisine to top off this book candy.
As someone who has been living abroad for the past two and a half years, I particularly enjoyed this book. I found it extremely entertaining and even though French culture and German culture are different in many ways, I could identify the way in which the narrator learned to take the good and bad things about the Provencal lifestyle in stride.
It is a quick, easy, and fun read and I would highly recommend it.
George W. Bush Resume
Please consider this when casting your vote in November:
RESUME
GEORGE W. BUSH
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20520
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:
Law Enforcement:
I was arrested in Kennebunkport, Maine, in 1976 for driving under the influence of alcohol. I pled guilty, paid a fine, and had my driver's license suspended for 30 days. My Texas driving record has been "lost" and is not available.
Military:
I joined the Texas Air National Guard and went AWOL. I refused to take a drug test or answer any questions about my drug use. By joining the Texas Air National Guard, I was able to avoid combat duty in Vietnam.
College:
I graduated from Yale University with a low C average.
I was a cheerleader.
PAST WORK EXPERIENCE:
I ran for U.S. Congress and lost. I began my career in the oil business in Midland, Texas, in 1975. I bought an oil company, but couldn't find any oil in Texas. The company went bankrupt shortly after I sold all my stock. I bought the Texas Rangers baseball team in a sweetheart deal that took land using taxpayer money. With the help of my father and our friends in the oil industry (including Enron CEO Ken Lay), I was elected governor of Texas.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS GOVERNOR OF TEXAS:
- I changed Texas pollution laws to favor power and oil companies, making Texas the most polluted state in the Union. During my tenure, Houston replaced Los Angeles as the most smog-ridden city in America.
- I cut taxes and bankrupted the Texas treasury to the tune of billions in borrowed money.
- I set the record for the most executions by any governor in American history.
- With the help of my brother, the governor of Florida, and my father's ppointments to the Supreme Court, I became President after losing by over 500,000 votes.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS PRESIDENT:
- I am the first President in U.S. history to enter office with a criminal record.
- I invaded and occupied two countries at a continuing cost of over one billion dollars per week.
- I spent the U.S. surplus and effectively bankrupted the U.S. Treasury.
- I shattered the record for the largest annual deficit in U.S. history.
- I set an economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in any 12-month period.
- I set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12-month period.
- I set the all-time record for the biggest drop in the history of the U.S. stock market. In my first year in office, over 2 million Americans lost their jobs and that trend continues every month.
- I'm proud that the members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in U.S. history. My "poorest millionaire," Condoleeza Rice, has a Chevron oil tanker named after her.
- I set the record for most campaign fund-raising trips by a U.S. President.
- I am the all-time U.S. and world record-holder for receiving the most corporate campaign donations.
- My largest lifetime campaign contributor, and one of my best friends, Kenneth Lay, presided over the largest corporate bankruptcy fraud in U.S. History: Enron.
- My political party used Enron private jets and corporate attorneys to ensure my success with the U.S. Supreme Court during my election decision.
- I have protected my friends at Enron and Halliburton against investigation or prosecution. More time and money was spent investigating the Monica Lewinsky affair than has been spent investigating one of the biggest corporate rip-offs in history.
- I presided over the biggest energy crisis in U.S. history and refused to intervene when corruption involving the oil industry was revealed.
- I presided over the highest gasoline prices in U.S. history.
- I changed the U.S. policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts.
- I appointed more convicted criminals to administration than any President in U.S. history.
- I created the Ministry of Homeland Security, the largest bureaucracy in the history of the United States government.
- I've broken more international treaties than any President in U.S. history.
- I am the first President in U.S. history to have the United Nations remove the U.S. from the Human Rights Commission.
- I withdrew the U.S. from the World Court of Law.
- I refused to allow inspector's access to U.S. "prisoners of war" detainees, and have refused to abide by the Geneva Convention.
- I am the first President in history to refuse United Nations election inspectors (during the 2002 U.S. elections).
- I set the record for fewest numbers of press conferences of any President since the advent of television.
- I set the all-time record for most days on vacation in any one-year period. After taking off the entire month of August 2001, I presided over the worst security failure in U.S. history.
- I garnered the most sympathy ever for the U.S. after the World Trade Center attacks and less than a year later made the U.S. the most hated country in the world---the largest failure of diplomacy in world history.
- I have set the all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously protest me in public venues (15 million people), shattering the record for protests against any person in the history of mankind.
- I am the first President in U.S. history to order an unprovoked, preemptive attack and the military occupation of a sovereign nation. I did so against the will of the United Nations, the majority of U.S. citizens, and the world community.
- I have cut health care benefits for war veterans and support a cut in duty benefits for active duty troops and their families in wartime.
- In my State of the Union Address, I lied about our reasons for attacking Iraq and then blamed the lies on our British friends.
- I am the first President in history to have a majority of Europeans (71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and security.
- I am supporting development of a nuclear "Tactical Bunker Buster," a WMD.
- I have so far failed to fulfill my pledge to bring Osama Bin Laden to justice.
RECORDS AND REFERENCES:
- All records of my tenure as governor of Texas are now in my father's library, sealed and unavailable for public view.
- All records of SEC investigations into my insider trading and my bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.
- All records or minutes from meetings that I, or my Vice-President, attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public review.
RESUME
GEORGE W. BUSH
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20520
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:
Law Enforcement:
I was arrested in Kennebunkport, Maine, in 1976 for driving under the influence of alcohol. I pled guilty, paid a fine, and had my driver's license suspended for 30 days. My Texas driving record has been "lost" and is not available.
Military:
I joined the Texas Air National Guard and went AWOL. I refused to take a drug test or answer any questions about my drug use. By joining the Texas Air National Guard, I was able to avoid combat duty in Vietnam.
College:
I graduated from Yale University with a low C average.
I was a cheerleader.
PAST WORK EXPERIENCE:
I ran for U.S. Congress and lost. I began my career in the oil business in Midland, Texas, in 1975. I bought an oil company, but couldn't find any oil in Texas. The company went bankrupt shortly after I sold all my stock. I bought the Texas Rangers baseball team in a sweetheart deal that took land using taxpayer money. With the help of my father and our friends in the oil industry (including Enron CEO Ken Lay), I was elected governor of Texas.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS GOVERNOR OF TEXAS:
- I changed Texas pollution laws to favor power and oil companies, making Texas the most polluted state in the Union. During my tenure, Houston replaced Los Angeles as the most smog-ridden city in America.
- I cut taxes and bankrupted the Texas treasury to the tune of billions in borrowed money.
- I set the record for the most executions by any governor in American history.
- With the help of my brother, the governor of Florida, and my father's ppointments to the Supreme Court, I became President after losing by over 500,000 votes.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS PRESIDENT:
- I am the first President in U.S. history to enter office with a criminal record.
- I invaded and occupied two countries at a continuing cost of over one billion dollars per week.
- I spent the U.S. surplus and effectively bankrupted the U.S. Treasury.
- I shattered the record for the largest annual deficit in U.S. history.
- I set an economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in any 12-month period.
- I set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12-month period.
- I set the all-time record for the biggest drop in the history of the U.S. stock market. In my first year in office, over 2 million Americans lost their jobs and that trend continues every month.
- I'm proud that the members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in U.S. history. My "poorest millionaire," Condoleeza Rice, has a Chevron oil tanker named after her.
- I set the record for most campaign fund-raising trips by a U.S. President.
- I am the all-time U.S. and world record-holder for receiving the most corporate campaign donations.
- My largest lifetime campaign contributor, and one of my best friends, Kenneth Lay, presided over the largest corporate bankruptcy fraud in U.S. History: Enron.
- My political party used Enron private jets and corporate attorneys to ensure my success with the U.S. Supreme Court during my election decision.
- I have protected my friends at Enron and Halliburton against investigation or prosecution. More time and money was spent investigating the Monica Lewinsky affair than has been spent investigating one of the biggest corporate rip-offs in history.
- I presided over the biggest energy crisis in U.S. history and refused to intervene when corruption involving the oil industry was revealed.
- I presided over the highest gasoline prices in U.S. history.
- I changed the U.S. policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts.
- I appointed more convicted criminals to administration than any President in U.S. history.
- I created the Ministry of Homeland Security, the largest bureaucracy in the history of the United States government.
- I've broken more international treaties than any President in U.S. history.
- I am the first President in U.S. history to have the United Nations remove the U.S. from the Human Rights Commission.
- I withdrew the U.S. from the World Court of Law.
- I refused to allow inspector's access to U.S. "prisoners of war" detainees, and have refused to abide by the Geneva Convention.
- I am the first President in history to refuse United Nations election inspectors (during the 2002 U.S. elections).
- I set the record for fewest numbers of press conferences of any President since the advent of television.
- I set the all-time record for most days on vacation in any one-year period. After taking off the entire month of August 2001, I presided over the worst security failure in U.S. history.
- I garnered the most sympathy ever for the U.S. after the World Trade Center attacks and less than a year later made the U.S. the most hated country in the world---the largest failure of diplomacy in world history.
- I have set the all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously protest me in public venues (15 million people), shattering the record for protests against any person in the history of mankind.
- I am the first President in U.S. history to order an unprovoked, preemptive attack and the military occupation of a sovereign nation. I did so against the will of the United Nations, the majority of U.S. citizens, and the world community.
- I have cut health care benefits for war veterans and support a cut in duty benefits for active duty troops and their families in wartime.
- In my State of the Union Address, I lied about our reasons for attacking Iraq and then blamed the lies on our British friends.
- I am the first President in history to have a majority of Europeans (71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and security.
- I am supporting development of a nuclear "Tactical Bunker Buster," a WMD.
- I have so far failed to fulfill my pledge to bring Osama Bin Laden to justice.
RECORDS AND REFERENCES:
- All records of my tenure as governor of Texas are now in my father's library, sealed and unavailable for public view.
- All records of SEC investigations into my insider trading and my bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.
- All records or minutes from meetings that I, or my Vice-President, attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public review.
23 August 2004
Little Red Mustang
I used to drive a 1982 Red Ford Mustang. She wasn't particularly fast for a Mustang and had worn-out seats, faded-red interior, a leaky transmission, and until I replaced it, a real shitty radio. But she was a Mustang, she was red, and she was mine.
I drove the hell out of that car in the 2 ½ years that I had her. When I owned her, I lived 30 miles from school and 30 miles from work... in opposite directions. I went to school everyday and to work three times a week. I put almost 500 miles on that car and about 3 tanks of gas (at $7.00 a pop) in her a week. The gas gage was broken, so I never knew if I was filling her up or not, but I was paranoid about getting stranded in the barren Iowa cornfields between school and home or work and home. (These were the days before every three year old had his own cell phone.)
But I was young and right out of college. I had two good jobs, excellent credit, and was saving money. I got tired of worrying about the amount of gas in my tank and having to dump a quart of transmission fluid in her every week to ten days. So, I came to a life-altering decision: Should I take the money I had saved and get the transmission fixed and drive her for another 2-5 years or should I take the money and use it to put a down-payment on a bright, shiny, new car?
You guessed it. I decided to go with the bright, shiny, new car. So, I took some pictures of my Mustang, removed the stereo, and folded the seat covers up and put them away. I kept telling myself, "She's only a car," as they gave me $500 credit towards my new car and took her away.
In my worst nightmares she never got another chance. She went straight to the scrap-heap and was crushed into a cube no bigger than my fist. In my far-flung hopes, they fixed her transmission and she served another kid until he or she got the new car itch.
A year later, my bright, shiny, new car had been in a wreck and was totaled. A year and a half later, my 2nd bright, shiny, new car had been repossessed and I was driving a four door 1980 Chevy Malibu with the stereo and memories of my Mustang in it. And now every time I see a Mustang, new or old, driving down the street I silently curse myself because I really wish I had fixed the damn transmission in my little red Mustang and kept on driving her.
* * * * *
Now Playing: "Cover of the Rolling Stone" by Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show
I drove the hell out of that car in the 2 ½ years that I had her. When I owned her, I lived 30 miles from school and 30 miles from work... in opposite directions. I went to school everyday and to work three times a week. I put almost 500 miles on that car and about 3 tanks of gas (at $7.00 a pop) in her a week. The gas gage was broken, so I never knew if I was filling her up or not, but I was paranoid about getting stranded in the barren Iowa cornfields between school and home or work and home. (These were the days before every three year old had his own cell phone.)
But I was young and right out of college. I had two good jobs, excellent credit, and was saving money. I got tired of worrying about the amount of gas in my tank and having to dump a quart of transmission fluid in her every week to ten days. So, I came to a life-altering decision: Should I take the money I had saved and get the transmission fixed and drive her for another 2-5 years or should I take the money and use it to put a down-payment on a bright, shiny, new car?
You guessed it. I decided to go with the bright, shiny, new car. So, I took some pictures of my Mustang, removed the stereo, and folded the seat covers up and put them away. I kept telling myself, "She's only a car," as they gave me $500 credit towards my new car and took her away.
In my worst nightmares she never got another chance. She went straight to the scrap-heap and was crushed into a cube no bigger than my fist. In my far-flung hopes, they fixed her transmission and she served another kid until he or she got the new car itch.
A year later, my bright, shiny, new car had been in a wreck and was totaled. A year and a half later, my 2nd bright, shiny, new car had been repossessed and I was driving a four door 1980 Chevy Malibu with the stereo and memories of my Mustang in it. And now every time I see a Mustang, new or old, driving down the street I silently curse myself because I really wish I had fixed the damn transmission in my little red Mustang and kept on driving her.
photo by blondelibrarian
* * * * *
Now Playing: "Cover of the Rolling Stone" by Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show
21 August 2004
Zucchini Pancakes
One of the vegtables that I like is zucchini. I really like stuffed zucchini, fried zucchini, zucchini bread, zucchini cookies, and I have even been known to eat zucchini cassorole.
The summer between my sophomore and junior year of college, I lived in a house with 3 other girls. One of them was Korean and loved to cook. At the time not only did I not like to cook, but I wasn't all that interested in food or cooking techniques. Anyway, the girl in our house that cooked made these very delicious zucchini/squash pancake things that summer. And I loved them. All throughout August when the summer zucchini and squash were at their best she brought fresh zucchini and squash home from the farmer's market and made those pancake things for us. I never asked for the recipe or how to make them, and within weeks after that summer was over we lost contact and I never saw her again.
Since then I have bought many a zucchini and tried many a recipe that I thought were similar, but have never been able to figure out exactly how she made them and with what. It is such a bummer!
If anyone has any idea how to make Korean Zucchini/Squash Pancakes, would they please let me know? You would be doing me (and my stomach) a huge favor!
* * * * *
Now Playing: "Son of a Preacher Man" - Dusty Springfield
The summer between my sophomore and junior year of college, I lived in a house with 3 other girls. One of them was Korean and loved to cook. At the time not only did I not like to cook, but I wasn't all that interested in food or cooking techniques. Anyway, the girl in our house that cooked made these very delicious zucchini/squash pancake things that summer. And I loved them. All throughout August when the summer zucchini and squash were at their best she brought fresh zucchini and squash home from the farmer's market and made those pancake things for us. I never asked for the recipe or how to make them, and within weeks after that summer was over we lost contact and I never saw her again.
Since then I have bought many a zucchini and tried many a recipe that I thought were similar, but have never been able to figure out exactly how she made them and with what. It is such a bummer!
If anyone has any idea how to make Korean Zucchini/Squash Pancakes, would they please let me know? You would be doing me (and my stomach) a huge favor!
* * * * *
Now Playing: "Son of a Preacher Man" - Dusty Springfield
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