Turnip Season
10.24.2003
Friday 5
No Friday Five this week so I'm doing a remedial from October 3.
1. What vehicle do you drive?
1995 Ford Ranger Extended Cab
2. How long have you had it?
Since 1995, but my wife drove it primarily until about a year ago when we got her a Toyota Matrix.
3. What is the coolest feature on your vehicle?
RedHat sticker on the back window.
4. What is the most annoying thing about your vehicle?
Where my wife chiseled around the door after an ice storm.
5. If money were no object, what vehicle would you be driving right now?
Probably a Honda Element or Toyota Prius. I think Mini Coopers are cool,too.
You can talk to me
10.23.2003
This is a crime against the state
This is the meaning of life.
I'm sitting here struggling with setting up my new linux box to run on the wireless network. Thanks to some help from people at KCLUG, I've found the proper drivers and I'm working at getting them to work on this other box as I type this on my notebook. I should go run or walk my dogs but I just feel like I'm so close I hate to give up now.
You can talk to me
10.20.2003
'Nother Well Considered Rant
Kenny asked me the other day if I'd heard of the espresso tax in Seattle which I honestly didn't remember hearing about before.
I said, "Does it include lattes, too?"
"No," he continued, humorlessly, "It's on all coffee drinks and its to pay for preschool for early childhood education in the inner city."
"I'm against it, then, " I responded, "sounds like a bad idea. Why should coffee drinkers be taxed specially?"
"It's just a dime, " he said.
"Still a bad idea, simple economics tells you if you increase the price, you reduce sales."
His gorge arose as he told me that, or asked me, "You have to agree that early childhood education for innercity kids is important."
Important, yes. Essential, no. I know it takes a village and all that and I believe it. I just resent having to take responsibility for someone else's kids just because I want a cup of coffee. It appears that they tax specific items in Seattle for other areas but what the hey. I'm not sure I'm in favor of those either.
I haven't been demonstrated that this is a necessity or that it'll be properly used by the city. I've seen the Kansas City Missouri school district. I was taxed 1% of my salary for awhile until the runaway judge was corralled. Billions went to pay for improvements in facilities that have not resulted in better integrated schools, higher achievements, better graduation rates. Fencing teams, olympic size swimming pools, all kinds of stuff that was nice for the schools but hardly essential or perhaps even necessary. Nothing like spending someone else's money, my dad says.
So, I'm cynical,too. Not one dime from me for your ideas until you can demonstrate something worthwhile.
You can talk to me
