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The last three days I have put so much food in myself at dinner that I have been sick each instance. Self-control will have to begin in earnest tonight.
And speaking of tonight, Deborah should be rejoining the 'werkz crew later this evening. Hopefully she's accumulated some stories from her european adventures. In honor of her return, we're going to be having an actual party on the 14th. Come one, come all! If you're a regular and you didn't get the e-mail be sure to harass me. No, really. It's been so long since I've had people over (those were cookouts, remember? they were not parties) that some e-mail information may have lapsed.
Okay. Back to work. My stomach still hurts.
I say kyu-pon. Many say ku-pon. The word in question is spelled "coupon". The dictionary says both pronounciations are valid. This page sort of agrees, but sides with ku-pon. Most sites imply that the "more educated" favor ku-pon. Fincher confirmed that the word (which is french) sounds more like ku-pon in its original state. Go figure. It's like Nevada I guess.
This issue of the "White House Trail Mix" is absurd. Let's roll the tape:
On the surface, it might seem politically wise to manage a convention free of unpleasant dispute and devoid of any agenda that might disturb independent-minded voters.
But it is unimaginable to think that the Bush campaign team will let Democrats get away with this. Those at the Republican convention, beginning late this month in New York, now have an easy task to perform. Bush’s faithful only need to tell the nation what Democrats really stand for on the wedge issues.
Democrats did little to protect themselves at their convention. Instead of formally adopting politically palatable views, they simply dodged debate.
If Kerry wants to run on a more moderate platform, he should have shown the leadership to prod his party to the right. Instead he chose to pacify Democratic interest groups and bypass the tough choices.
Politically palatable views? I mean, even I, as a liberal hawk, think that if we knew then what we know now about Iraq, we never would've invaded. So I have to admit I was wrong. Mr. Crawford is evidently smoking crack and still believes the invasion was justified based on faulty evidence. Gay marriage? Should party activists actually try to deny people visitation rights in hospitals? I think that civil unions are a better solution (because the state shouldn't be involved with religion) but does that make me a crazy person?
Read the whole thing, then complain to CQ. Oh, wait...some people already did:
CORRECTION
A column in Friday's edition of CQ Today at the Conventions, called "White House Trail Mix" and written by CQ special contributor Craig Crawford, should have been identified as a work of opinion. Also, the article incorrectly stated that "activist Democrats" at the convention were opposed to gun control.
Funny. The article actually doesn't label the gun control thing incorrectly. But the article itself is a giant lie.
Yep, they lie. Not much of a shocking cartoon, but funny anyway.
Friday night was enjoyable. I visited Marrakesh, a Moroccan theme-park-like restaurant where there are 7 courses not including a belly-dancer break. The food was so-so...and the drinks were expensive. The beef course was by far the best, but unfortunately was consumed within thirty seconds. The chicken course ran a distant second, with the others ending up far behind. My biggest beef with the deal was that the restaurant, where we racked up almost a $500 tab, didn't accept credit cards. I mean, come on, guys, welcome to the 21st century. The other major negative was that the restaurant was full of white tourists. If you're hitting the Hard Rock Cafe near Ford's theater, this clientele is to be expected. But next to the convention center just off New York Avenue? I was surprise to say the least.
Thankfully, the company kept during the evening more than made up for the lack of credit and excessive tourists. (The sight of an old white man shaking his butt next to the belly dancer continues to replay through my diseased brain) And when it ended, alas too shortly, we retired to the always-packed waterfront. A few brisk beverages later, Jill called to meet up. I met her halfway and we exited Georgetwon by way of P St, passing the subtle 7-11 on our way out. Needing a quick bite, we dropped in (though filled with my marrakesh meal, I was thirsty) and Jill informed me she'd never had a spicy bite.
To remedy this obvious oversight on her stomach's part, I purchased one and handed it to her to cover in condiments while I paid the cashier. A second later I heard a strange noise. Backing up from the counter, I walked a few paces towards Jill and discovered that she had experienced a major mustard malfunction: bright yellow goop covered the right side of her pants. Looking like a pair of painters, I said adieu to the store and we vanished into the night.
Saturday dawned bright and hot. I caught the MLS game with Jill. Despite being surrounded by dorky white people and preppy white people, we managed to have a good time watching the East side scoring three impressive goals in the victory. I need to see DC United more. We left shortly thereafter. Enjoyed the sun. A movie later. Not so much craziness. Sunday was going well, until Leto kidnapped me. (Very Bourne-ish, actually...) Later, Brad, Jill and I got lost looking for late-night shopping in the boondocks of NoVA. And now I'm here in my office!
Scary stuff. But the craziness wasn't just limited to members of the fourth estate.
Actually, I think Atrios' explanation may make more sense. Which is even better!
I didn't see it last night. Instead I watched the grainy realplayer version, half at home this morning and the rest at work during lunch. The only negative I could tell about the speech was that Kerry kept rushing through his applause lines instead of letting people clap. Since he did this to please the networks, I think he has a great excuse. And the message and delivery were perfect.
I don't mean to sound repetitive, but I've been saying for awhile that the Democrats are going to win in November, because the election hinges not upon Kerry, or even Bush, but upon external forces neither campaign can control. Barring the capture of UBL, I think the GOP loses. Why? Because the economy isn't picking up steam fast enough, Bush will never dig himself out of the job hole, and because of his consistent credibility gap.
The GOP says we're going to turn the corner. They may not like the fact that John Kerry is behind it.
I am nearing the end of one of those days throughout which I worked at a fevered pace and have little to show for it at the end. Lots of talking, little doing. Lots of doing, but nothing to show for it. The good news is that I acquired CA car insurance and our car passed its smog test (Go California for protecting our lungs with smog fees!) So, now our NY insurer can stop phone stalking us. Funny thing is, he thinks he's suspicious of us because we live in Virginia, when in fact we snuck off to California.
Tomorrow, I will get a CA driver's license. Exciting -- I still have my chubby-cheeked VA profile picture from when I was 16. Of course, I hardly ever get carded anymore, because I need botox. And we will get CA plates. The caddy's relocation will be complete.
Also today, I had an immense lunch of bbq ribs and all the trimmings. As those of you who know me know, I do not eat immense lunches. I am a soup or salad girl, maybe some pasta. I eat immense dinners, even though it's worse for me. Large amounts of food put me into a stupor and that state of mind is best pursued in the evening. So, needless to say, my afternoon was less productive than it might otherwise have been. As Ed would say, though, it was incredibly tasty.
I'm thrilled with the new digs, Ed. I have no idea if anything in my world has changed, but I am eager to find out and certain that the payoff will be grand.
Oh, in response to Ed's post earlier...I've always wondered. Are you allowed to chew gum or eat a mint in the Metro? I have done these things, but always have striven to be stealthy about it.
Okay, after some work, I think I've finally knocked down some of the tough coding needed to open the site up to a greater audience. In a few minutes I'll be sending out an e-mail to a few people located on the nicknames page who I think could help contribute an article or two to the overall site. And so I present point release 1.5 of the 'werkz web site. Most may not see a difference, but trust me, the changes in back are akin to suddenly placing advertising on the main page. (Something I will never do...)
The reason for the alteration?
Well, to put it simply, I think the site could use a few more viewpoints than just mine. Brad and Helena occasionally chip in, but the bulk is still done by me. Needless to say, it would be nice to see some more content on the site covering a wider range of topics. The best part of being an American is being able to rebel against the easily idiotic notion that purity is preferable. We are a nation of mongrels, of mixed blood heritage, of blue eyes and black hair and brown skin and red noses who pay to lose their identity. In that context, having a larger number of voices voice in is a good thing.
While I'm at it, the new staff page is nowhere near complete. Now that I've added in plenty of backend goodness, I'll be working on updating that section to reflect the people who get the golden tickets more properly. And I still want to throw in comments on the articles, but only for registered users...but in order to do that, I had to allow other users to be created, hence the order.
It all makes sense, in an edward sort of way.
To answer your two next questions: no, I don't know when I will invite you onboard. And no, I don't know when the new features/look will be finished. The trip is the fun part, remember?
I love the Metro. This is one reason why. Look, we have a zero-tolerance policy. If the cop had nailed her before she entered the turnstiles, I would've said he went too far. But she ignored his warning, and walked through the turnstiles. I saw some well-dressed guy a week or two ago on a station platform with an open bottle of soda. I thought about raising a fuss but then realized that the next metro employee or officer would get him without my help. And I realized further that any transit system which takes its roles seriously is a good one.
This isn't to say that the laundry list of bad ideas (two-car trains, the lack of smartrip cards) in the final paragraph is invalid. Metro has and does continue to make mistakes. But most mistakes of that nature stem from a lack of resources. Unlike other transit systems, Metro can't get any money from the local government to subsidize operating expenses. So it has to raise fees and cut corners to do what is needed. The cleanest run system in the country can only hang its hat on order and discipline, not on extravagance. And that's says a great deal about the hard-working men and women who keep Metro running.
Last night I hopped on the Link and used my SmarTrip card. Saved me $.25 total. But the experience was priceless. I may have to start riding other buses if they all (as others have told me) take SmarTrip. Welcome to the future, WMATA style. It's may be crowded, but it is very bright.
I finished the incredibly large project...so I'm now free to actually make up all the work that I missed over the past week. I'll try to start posting some more here as well, but I can't do that until I finish the coding changes which will, in all likelihood, have a huge effect on the site itself. Which is why this entry is going into the brand spanking new "coding" subsection of the "news" section...
I'm posting this as Helena...using her new login. I think it's going to work. We'll see...
A long day at work. Doing some coding right now...
Brad and Helena...you can't log back in to the admin side yet...still working out some bugs.
The new features should be cool, but it could take up to a week for me to get them working. Combined with the fact that my work (during the day) is super-busy...well, let's just say posting will be light this week.