Just a thought =>
Of the things on Bush Jr.'s new lame-duck Christmas list is to do something about terrorist insurance, namely to impose some sort of price caps due to skyrocketing prices post 9/11. If he believed in markets as much as he says he does, he would realize that the current price is based on insurance companies realising that there is a much greater risk of damage and death due to terrorist attack than previously thought, and that maybe the way to lower these rates would be to craft US foriegn policy so that its actions would provoke less hostility towards us from other nations and nationalities around the world. Governmental interferance in markets, it seems, is only undesirable when it's not your idea.
jkb at 11:01 PM

Election night Grumblings =>
If I hear one more time that low voter turn-outs in this country are the result of "voter apathy", I swear I'm going to take a hostage. No, Virginia, it is not indifference or laziness or ignorance that has resulted in less than half of us showing up at the polls to worship at the alter of representative democracy and to give homage the memory of those brave souls who died so that we may enjoy the blessings of freedom, yada yada yada... It's more like the attitude of a condemned prisoner who is given the choice of what chemicals will be used to kill him. Reading the label to determine which poison will have the least unpleasant side-effects somehow loses it's attention-focussing effects when the results will be identical. Give me something to vote for and I'll show up with bells on. [Editor's note: Actually, I do vote, even in the primaries, if only because the polling station is just a few blocks down the street, and to vote no on all those farkakteh ballot measures.]

Seriously folks, a "none of the above" or "vote against" option on the ballot is just the ticket to help keep a few of the same lame-assed lifers from parking their trough-fed asses permanently in a legislative seat with little or no opposition. One could theoretically run unopposed and still lose, if the voters decided they've had enough of the clown. If I'm at a store and they don't have what I want, I still have the right to walk out without buying a thing. Sure, my district may temporarily be without representation in congress, but that would be a far better situation than being forced to choose between Satan and Kali to look after my interests (yeah right!) in the meantime.

Better still, make the whole thing a lottery. You'd save months of mind-numbing attack ads, with all that ominous background music, out-of-context quotes and unflattering slow motion video, and probably wouldn't be a lot worse for the ware. Not only would you eliminate all the self-rightious hand-ringing over campaign financing, as well as dreary hours of election night coverage, but you could probably make a little money on the side through ticket sales. All you need is a game show host with a lovely sequined clad assistant, plus a deep-voiced announcer, and you're done: "Tell us Rod, who's going to be the next representative from the 6th congressional district" "Well Chad, it's... Kevin Jones of Springfield, come on down!"

Just don't tell me about other country's high participation rates or that if I don't vote I'm committing some grave sin against society. I'm sure that voter turnout last go 'round in Iraq or North Korea was high enough to make some ivory tower sociologist twit cream his or her pants, but the right not to make a choice is every bit as important and sacred as the right to make one. At least this one's in the can, and not a moment too soon.
jkb at 11:47 PM

Wow. I want to write about 562 (more or less) different subjects right now, including:

• Soundproffing construction for music rooms


• What to do about the insanity of the Middle East and how we're basically fucked regardless of what we do or don't do at this point
  
• Overhauling my LAN/installing XP and OSX
  
• Wondering why I'm getting so much porn spam lately (along with penis enlargement and Viagra spam--must be related somehow ;)
  
• What kind of Legos I'm getting, I mean my son is getting, for Christmas, along with whether I'll get a $200 Playstation 2 or a $49 Playstation 1 and a DVD player
  
• Who I'm [not] voting for tomorrow, OR: why a fool and your money are soon partners
  
• The fun and challenge of playing in more than one band
  
• What kind of schools my daughter is looking at for college and why annual mean temperature is of great concern
  
• Being self-employed and wanting to get fired (kinda, not really)
  
• How the time shift is causing my symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder
  
• Why I'm bummed out that in my brief blogging experience I have yet to write anything worthy of Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, Ambose Bierce or H. L. Menkin
  
• etc, etc, etc...
  

Unfortunately it's much too late and I've got to get some sleep. Peace out.

jkb at 12:58 AM

Reggie has a few choice words to say (way!), in her own inimitable style.
jkb at 12:18 AM

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About me and this site =>
My name is John Bordage. I grew up in Maine, went to college in Boston, then moved to San Diego county, where I live with my wife, two kids, a cat, a roommate and his dog. I divide my attention between my family, my steady day-job as a carpenter, my freelance work as a tech consultant, playing drums in two bands, and staring at a computer screen for amusement and edification.

This site was developed using Dreamweaver 3, though the code was mostly writen by hand or cut-and-pasted from other examples. Work was done on both a Celron PC and a Mac G4, depending on which one my daughter was using at the moment.

Disclaimer =>
All opinions writen by me on this site are mine alone, and not those of my employer, my clients, my family, my bands, my mother, my pets, or any other person or entity that is not me. In fact, some of the opinions stated within are not even mine (sometimes I just like to say crap to see what it sounds like).

If you are easily offended, ill humored or just plain ignorant should avoid this whole affair, as I will probably say something to offend just about anyone at least once, unless of course you like to be annoyed, in which case read all you like, see what the fuck I care. Asshole.