Posted inCurrent affairs

Dear Barack, all is forgiven…

President Obama and I have made up. Evidence is shown in our VISA balance, which became $100 larger a few minutes ago. I'd vowed "no more Obama for America" donations -- especially after the first presidential debate, when, after a brief honeymoon period during which I thought Obama did fine, the horror of his listless performance hit home. After watching tonight's debate, though, I'm a happy progressive again. Win or lose (and I'm betting "win"), Obama has gotten back to being a tough fighter. That's all I wanted: to see him go toe to toe with Romney rather than cower…
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Posted inEntertainment

Surprise! “The Happy Movie” made me happy.

Thank you, Salem Progressive Film Series, for showing "The Happy Movie" last Thursday. I enjoy going to your showings at the Grand Theatre, but usually they're a bit of a downer. After all, economic inequality, pollution, environmental degradation, and other socially significant subjects aren't exactly smile-inducers. But happiness is. I hugely enjoyed learning about what contributes to happiness from experts in psychology, and also seeing happy people in action.  Here's some themes from the movie that I remember.  Flow. Yeah, flowing with life is the way to go. There was quite a bit of talk about flow, losing yourself in…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Obama, I’m trying to be positive about you, but…

This blog post almost was going to be about Joe Biden's strong debate performance last night, where he smiled, smirked, and that's malarky'd in a "give 'em hell" manner that raised my progressive spirits.  I was all set to discuss some analyses of Paul Ryan's dissembling, a.k.a. lying, the most obvious of which was his resolute reluctance to provide any details at all about the Romney-Ryan plan to cut tax rates 20% across the board without increasing the deficit or the middle class tax burden. This magic is supposed to happen by limiting certain deductions and other tax expenditures. Bizarrely,…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Laughing at Obama’s debate performance is better than crying

Thanks to a fellow Tai Chi student who didn't take Obama's groan-inducing performance (if you're a progressive) at the first 2012 presidential debate as seriously as I did, today I learned about a Taiwanese animation that takes a humorous view of the Romney-Obama bout. Have a look. And a read of the subtitles, unless your Chinese is a lot better than mine.   It was healing to smile my way out of the pain I've been feeling as, day by day, Obama's re-election chances take another downward tilt on Five Thirty Eight. He's down to 68%, a big drop from the…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Romney erases Obama’s convention bounce. I need a mood elevator.

Oh, great. Not! Just what I didn't want to read at the end of an otherwise splendid sunny warm rainless Oregon day. Nate Silver's overview of where the presidential race stands. Following another day of strong polling on Tuesday, Mitt Romney advanced into the best position in the FiveThirtyEight forecast since the party conventions.  ...The forecast model is not quite ready to jump on board with the notion that the race has become a literal toss-up; Mr. Romney will need to maintain his bounce for a few more days, or extend it into high-quality polls of swing states, before we…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Post-debate Democratic fundraising emails are irritating

On the slight chance that this blog rant will be read by a social media Democratic campaign fundraiser, here's some tips for you from a progressive who is getting irritated at your current tactics. My wife and I already have given quite a bit of money to Obama for America, the Congressional Democratic campaign committees, and some individual candidates like Elizabeth Warren. Plus, we've donated in support of Oregon Dems. We're more inclined to give when we feel that campaigns are doing the best they can, with energy and enthusiasm, to defeat Republican efforts to return us to the not-good-old…
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Posted inPhilosophy Skateboarding

When I’m 64… longboard-inspired thoughts on living life crazily

I don't need an excuse to get all philosophical. It comes naturally to me. But armed with a strong cup of coffee, a warm dry Oregon early evening, and a memory of a pleasant afternoon spent longboarding at Salem's wonderful Minto Brown Island Park, I feel especially inspired to muse about what life means to me on my 64th-birthday eve.  The Beatles released "When I'm 64" in 1967. I was a college freshman. Loved the song. Hated the idea of being 64. The lyrics seemed depressingly fantastical back in those youthful days.  When I get older losing my hair,Many years…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

This progressive feels fine about Obama’s debate performance

After I finished watching a recording of the first Obama-Romney debate last night, I said to my wife (who saw it live at a friend's house), "I think Obama did fine." Then I watched the MSNBC commentary. Almost universally the liberal commentators, along with the conservative ones, said Obama's debate performance was a disaster. After listening to them for a while, I started to change my mind about how well he did. But with the light of a new day, and further pondering of what went on during the debate, I'm back to feeling good about Obama. Yes, he wasn't…
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Posted inSkateboarding

Senior citizen skateboarder with his new Haka Moko longboard

Here I am, timer-photo'd with my iPhone propped against my backpack, standing in the shadows on a sunny October Oregon day, on the Minto Brown Park trail which runs along the Willamette River (in the background) near Salem. I like the looks of my new longboard, Kahuna Creations Haka Moko 47". Since my birthday is approaching -- I'll be a freaking ancient 64 -- I felt entirely justified in getting myself a present to give to myself, my only problem being that I now need to forget what I've done so I can surprise myself on my actual birthday.  Where's…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Science

“New Scientist” says Obama will win. I love science.

Ah, I love science. Especially when it supports my political leanings.  This week's issue of New Scientist (September 29, 2012) has an opinion piece by Jim Giles, a consultant for the magazine. It's title and subtitle: No contest. Don't believe the US presidential opinion polls. Barring a political earthquake, Barack Obama will be re-elected at a canter, says Jim Giles. Hey, makes sense to me. Here's some excerpts: FROM tabloids and broadsheets to left-leaning blogs and conservative talk shows, the US media has been united on one point in recent months: the presidential election is too tight to call.  ...But…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Entertainment

Tell DirecTV how you feel about not getting Pac-12 games

Five weeks ago I started telling DirecTV that I wanted them to offer the Pac-12 Network now. I've emailed customer service. I've had the Pac-12 channel finder notify DirecTV that I want to see every Oregon and Oregon State football game this season, not just the ones on channels (like ESPN) DirecTV does offer. Four weeks ago I blogged about how DirecTV's excuses for shutting its subscribers out of the Pac-12 Network were annoying.  They're much more annoying now. Last Saturday I missed the Oregon State-Arizona game, which, when I read about it in the freaking newspaper the next day,…
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Posted inDogs

Serena and I slow-mo in Portland’s Strut Your Mutt

Two Mutt Struts in a row! Serena and I rule! We got last. Again. Perfect. Last month our twelve and a half year old Shepherd/Lab mix and me succeeded in our plan to bring up the rear in Salem's WillaMutt Strut. Yesterday, without even trying, we seemingly achieved the same result in Portland's Strut Your Mutt. Laurel, my wife, signed us up because we adopted our younger dog, Zu Zu, from the Family Dogs New Life Shelter up Portland way, and she wanted to be part of the shelter's fund-raising team. Here's Laurel with old dog and young dog soon…
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Posted inHome life

A guy backed into my Mini Cooper today…

So, this afternoon I pull out of the Lifesource Natural Foods parking lot here in Salem, carrot juice ready to be consumed as a healthy mini-lunch, and find myself behind a guy in a car who's also trying to turn onto Commercial Street. He pulls forward, seemingly having spotted a break in the traffic. I drive forward a bit also, figuring that if he's going to turn onto Commercial, perhaps it'll be possible for me to get onto the street, after he does. But after pulling forward, he stops, having changed his mind about turning. No problem, I think. I stop…
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Posted inSkateboarding

My old guy longboard land paddling is going great

At the risk of sounding like a Viagra ad... The Big Stick has changed my life! No, not that Big Stick. This Big Stick -- the Kahuna Big Stick, an adjustable pole for pushing a longboard skateboard without having to put a foot down. I'm really enjoying it. Went to Salem's Riverfront Park yesterday. Did about three miles in forty minutes or so. That includes some walking when an uphill section seemed like too damn much work, and also when a downhill section seemed too damn scary. The reactions of other skateboarders have been interesting. Not surprisingly, so far I…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

More Republican reality-denying. Now, its polls.

The Republican Party has a problem with reality: it denies it. I'm not saying that all Republicans do this. But G.O.P. leaders sure do, along with a much higher percentage of Republicans than Democrats. Evolution and global warming are prime examples of G.O.P. head-in-the-sand'ness. Now political polls can be added to the reality-denying list.  Nearly every national poll shows President Obama leading Mitt Romney. Gallup, Ipsos and Bloomberg all have the president up by six points. The RAND Corporation puts Mr. Obama up by seven and a half. Only Rasmussen has Mr. Romney up nationally among likely voters, by two points. Swing…
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Posted inHome life

When a man goes to the dermatologist

A few days ago I went to the dermatologist for a six-month checkup on some benign skin growths that had been frozen off. Here's how the conversation went after the physician's assistant (PA) who had done the cryotherapy walked into the exam room. PA: Hey, good to see you again. How are the growths looking that we froze off last time? ME: I don't know. I try not to look at myself very closely. When I'm in the bathroom, I stand as far back from the mirror as I can, and then I blur my eyes when I have to…
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Posted inFamily

Married Kama Sutra: loading the dishwasher

Some The New Yorker cartoonists, Simon Rich and Farley Katz, must have been spying on my wife and me. This is exactly what happens almost every time I load the dishwasher.  Caption (for those who don't click the image to enlarge): When the man is loading the dishwasher, and the woman must come over, because he is loading it wrong, it is called the "dishwasher position." Great two-page spread, Simon and Farley. Humor like this and intelligent articles are why I've been a long time The New Yorker subscriber (and the lack thereof are why I recently cancelled my Newsweek…
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Posted inHome life Web/Tech

Yes, the new Apple Maps sucks. It led me astray.

I'm glad I still have Navigon on my iPhone 5, because I can't trust Apple Maps after what happened yesterday.  I've been playing around with Apple Maps since I got my new iPhone last Friday. Some reviewers have called it the worst Apple product ever. Don't know if I'd go that far, since when it works, Apple Maps handles turn by turn directions well. But when it doesn't... you're not going to get to where you want to go. Fortunately, I knew where Silver Falls Dermatology is in south Salem. I had a 1:45 pm appointment for a check-up and…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Election seems to be slipping away from Romney

As of today... Gallup says Obama's job approval is 51% positive, 43% negative. Gallup says Obama is favored over Romney among registered voters by 50% to 44%. Five Thirty Eight says Obama has an 82% chance of winning the presidency, Romney 18%. Obama doesn't have a lock on the election. Romney could make a comeback. It's just increasingly difficult to see what could markedly change in Romney's favor between now and November. The debates? Good luck with that, Romney and Ryan. Obama and Biden are much more likely to extend their lead after the first few debates, in my decidedly optimistic progressive…
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Posted inSustainability

Killing fewer cougars means less livestock losses. Surprising but true.

There goes another cougar management myth, the mistaken notion that the more cougars are killed, the fewer livestock are lost, and fewer encounters between cougars and humans occur.  A study conducted by Washington State University's Large Carnivore Conservation Lab brought some welcome facts to counter the often-hysterical kill them! cries from fearful ranchers and homeowners (who frequently mistake a large kitty cat for a cougar). Here's some quotes from a press release about the study. Overharvest of cougars can increase negative encounters between the predator and humans, livestock and game, according to a 13-year Washington State University research project. Based on this,…
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