Mea Culpa

Mea Culpa, Mea MAXIMA Culpa...

I know that I was making fun of the Europeans about the "heat-wave" stuff... And I've since found myself suffering the "heat-wave" here in Minneapolis... So...

Sorry.

Today is meant to be the hottest day in 10 years in the Twin Cities. The humidity is meant to be ABOVE tropical... And as one of the meteorologists in the Cities said... It's hotter here than in Baghdad.

That's hot.

That's fucking miserable and soul destroying.

From the Beeb 42°C:



Now, the Beeb seems to think it's going to get hotter here than WE do... Most forecasts are calling for around 38°C (101°F). But you know... I'm not going to quibble with the temps... Anything over 30°C is downright uncomfortable.

I went looking for a "kiddie-pool" for the puppy. He's half Newfie, and heat isn't friendly to a dog from Canada. However... They've all been sold out. I went to 17 different stores yesterday. Gah. I tried to make a "make-shift" sort of pool using a tarp and a low-point in the back garden. It didn't really work. So... I'm stuck today with hosing him down occasionally. Poor little darling.

Fiona and I will just have to suffer thorough. However, this heat is meant to break late tonight and into tomorrow with highs forcasted at 30°C (according to our guys) and after upper 30°C's all weekend... It's going to be lovely.

Okay... Just a couple of linky-doodles today...

Funny Flash animation:
Core Values Training

And 'cause I'm constantly taken to task for my varied and occasional lapses from "American English" to "British English" and back again in this blog, I found a fun resource for my readers:
English to American Dictionary

And 'cause America has a few "quirks" in it's legal system, and they tend to be funny:
Strange Laws

Okie-dokie folks... I'm off to try to "beat the heat" so, wish me luck.

-- T

Quick observation...

I was looking at my "cluster maps" thinggy... (In the side bar on the right, down towards the bottom) or you can click here, and save yourself some scrolling.

Anyhoo... They use dot-sizes to "depict" how many visits to this blog from specific places.

I find it interesting that although the internet is "world wide" blah, blah, blah... I still have the "most" viewers from my "home-town" in Minneapolis, and my "other" home-stomping grounds of the London area.

Just thought that was interesting.

Smiles,
T

The world is a less wonderful place...

Fantasy writer Gemmell dies at 57 from the BBC.

I discovered David Gemmell when I was in my "first" undergraduate course in Montana.

As an avid reader of Fantasy, I was excited to find a "new" author to read. Mr. Gemmell's stories were exciting, with characters bold and real.

Mr. Gemmell... Thank you for sharing your gift with us. I have enjoyed your stories over and over again.

Good bye, sir.

-- T

Just a bit of news...

Hi readers.

Well, yesterday My Lady received her "official greencard" in the post.

No, it's not actually "green," it's sort of a beige-coloured card, I suppose it has "green-ish tinge" to it, but it's not really green.

However, we're both chuffed.

Second piece of news...

I'm not going to get my hopes up, but... I've just applied for a position at a college to the south of the Cities (about 45 mins by car) that I'm "moderately" hopeful about. You see, a friend of mine told me about the job before it was even posted. And then she talked to the job's "people" and they don't seem to upset with the idea of "perhaps" me finding a place there...

Lot's of maybe's, supposes, and perhapses, yes... But I was just talking to folks two weeks ago, who were doing the typical, "I can't understand why he can't get a job" thing...

Well... I can't get one, 'cause I'm either over-qualified for most positions. Or desperately UNDER-qualified for them. For THIS possible job... I'm actually uniquely qualified for it... It's right up my alley. Tee hee...

Anyway, my answer to those people who are in shock over me having issues finding a job, is that, well... Frankly...

The economy is crap. And every job I've actually had in the past has been found through "networking" of some sort.

I've been "attempting" to network (yes... Matt and Anna, I honestly HAVE been trying) However... I suddenly realised when I returned to the U.S. that I had left most of my "networking type contacts" back in Britain. That's right... Except for a "few" academics over on this side of the pond, I'm pretty much just floatin' in the breeze.

Well... My friend, at that little college (University, Brits) has "networked" for me.

I have an application entered for the job before the job is actually "posted" and I'm hoping that in my zeal... I'll have a chance...

Well... That's it for today...

I hope everyone in Canterbury is enjoying your weather... It's actually PAINFUL to look at the readings... It's heading up to 39°C here, I think... And the humidity?!?!? Gah!

-- T

Jesus-cluney Frog... Get...

OVER it...

You know... Just reading all the news reports from Europe about their "heat wave" and how people are dying again in France, etc... BBC News Link.

And the fact that temps are reaching to 95°F in some places...

Oh... Really??? Wow. And how London is suffering a heatwave of 89°F!!!

Saints and minister's defend us!

Criminey!

Here's a screen capture of MY weather in Minnesota:



From: My Cast.

I mean... No offense meant, my kind European friends... But...

It's a heckuva more miserable here. And no... I don't have air-conditioning. It's horrible in my house, thank you very much.

Jeez.

People.

Get a cold drink, fill up the bathtub with cool water, turn on the radio, get a book... And sit it out. That's what I'm doing.

Smiles,
T

Nifty to the max...

Right, so... Surfing around on the BBC News web site and I found this rather wonderful new "thing" that they're trying:

BBC News Podcasts

It's amazing. As an ex-ex-pat person, like myself... One of the things that I miss most desperately from my "former home" is the BBC. Now, I know... "There's BBC America" and other less helpful advice.

Yes. I know that there is BBC America. However, when one can not afford cable/pay t.v., then one is up the crick wi'out a paddle.

Anyhoo... Many of you know that My Lady has a wonderful "Contemporary Art Podcast" that she hosts, called: Motif Radio that I also help to co-produce thanks mainly to her own largesse... Her podcast is what got me into the exploration of other podcasts.

Well... Thanks to the popularity of this "new media," mainstream media, like the BEEB, is finally getting onto the bandwagon.

Final plug to make today... Is iTunes. That's right... For both Mac and PC... There is no-better program on the market for usability and functionality than iTunes. Click on the link iTunes and get it right now! You see... iTunes will allow you to "subscribe" to podcasts... Meaning that if you have iTunes "running" it will automatically download the most recent "podcast" episode that you "subscribe" to every day/week/month/year, or whatever.

It's really easy.

Seriously.

Again... iTunes works for BOTH PC and Mac... So there's no excuses here...

Get it. Get Podcasted! Do it now.

The king has spoken...

-- T

After the concert...

Hi readers... Well, My Lady and I return from a wonderful evening in Downtown Minneapolis, at First Ave, seeing Beth Orton.

The concert was really fun. And Beth sang very well, after the first few songs. She didn't warm up, obviously, and for the first two songs, I was actually a bit worried that Beth Orton was going to turn into one of those "recording artists" that really shouldn't be heard outside of the CD in your stereo... You know, the singer that needs a heckuva lot a post-production... Luckily... Beth's voice warmed up, and she proceeded to give the audience a wonderful show. She brought a full band with her, and the lead-guitarist/back-up vocalist guy was perhaps the most gifted kid I've seen! I'm not kidding... I LOVE Beth, but there were times I found myself looking and listening to her guitarist. That's never happened before. Anyway... Beth, of course, has a new album, of which I have only heard a bit. (Being poor, I have not yet purchased it) And she spent most of the evening singing songs that I didn't actually know. That did not detract from my enjoyment, as the music on her new album, judging from her performance, proves to be a wonderful collection. Beth, also of course, spent a bit of time singing a few of her "oldies" to assuage her fan-base. Her acoustic version of "Central Reservation" was beautiful, sung after her band had left the stage to allow her the "intimacy" of her audience. Her final two songs (2nd encore) were also wonderful, spiritually moving renditions. Fiona and I were rapt (as were most of the audience) as she concluded this amazing evening. All in all... I have to give this concert a B+ and consider myself lucky that My Lady decided to treat me, by buying us tickets to a singer whom I have followed basically since her back-up days to the Chemical Bros.

Unfortunately... This is where the evening turned to poo.

I've complained about this issue before. However... Last night, was the FIRST night that I saw this problem actually effect my enjoyment of the evening.

What is this issue?

The Minneapolis Smoking Ban (MSB).

I, like MANY other folk living in the Twin Cities have had to get used to the fact that my formerly "smoky" clubs and bars have become "non-smoking" and frankly rather stinky. Yes... Stinky. The cigarette smoke did a lot to cover up the fact that certain venues are old, and reek of body-odour, spilled and rotting food and alcohol. However... The up-shot of the MSB has been that you go home AFTER the club, and you don't reek of smoke. Frankly... The "other" odours do not tend to stick to you unlike the miasma of cigarette smoke. So... Fine. The MSB is a good thing that way.

As a smoker... I don't really like the smoking ban. However, I understand the health-reasons, and although I don't buy most of them... I'll let it go, and join with the rest of my little "smoking society" and step out the front/back door to have a smoke. This is something that I can deal with, and have very little issues dealing with, as long as it isn't winter. In winter... The MSB truly sucks. Moving onward...

Although I'm sure there are health benefits to the MSB... And surely the Health Insurance companies that bought and paid for the politicians that banned smoking in Minneapolis and elsewhere are happy... I discovered an effect that I don't think the general population realises...

What is this effect?

Well... It the one that the owners and staff of Bars and Clubs had mentioned before the ban went into effect in an effort to resist this MSB...

Money.

That's right... You see... The bloody politicians and "insurance money-lenders" kept saying that if you "Cut out smoking... Non-smokers will come back out, and you will not lose any money over the long term..." Blah, blah FUCKING blah....

You know what... What all the bar-owners and most of us smoking customers already KNEW was that this is complete bullshit.

I'll just stick with what I've observed, okay... Just to be fair here... Only what I have observed.

When restaurants were still "Do you want smoking, or non?" every time you walked into the place... I'd sit in smoking... And observe the non-smoking section. See... Smokers stick around a bit. We have a few fags before the meal... Get some coffee, and stick around a bit AFTER the meal smoking. Well... Non-smoking basically was an assembly-line of feeding... Get 'em in, get 'em fed, and get 'em the fuck out. Restaurants, who's entire profit is based on getting as many tables filled and moved on, and RE-filled were the basis that the "politicians" used as an example of "how the smoking ban will work" without realising the difference between a place for people to EAT and a place for people to socialise and DRINK.

See... Bars don't work as restaurants do... The purpose of a bar is to give a person a place to sit or stand, and BUY ALCOHOL AND CONSUME SAID ALCOHOL IN AS GREAT AN AMOUNT AS POSSIBLE.

You see... You don't buy "a beer" and then leave... Allowing another person to come in and sit at your former place and buy "a beer" and then leave allowing for another person to come in and...

You get the point.

No... If you're a bar owner you want people to come in, stay in, and drink in for as long as possible. That's your profit.

That's why the smoking ban is hurting the bar and club business... Here again is my own observation from last night...

We arrived at the club... early. Still all of the tables that were still open were "reserved" so... We sat on a "half-wall" thing that is next to the dance-floor and frankly were only about five metres from Beth... But I digress... Anyhoo... We're sitting there, ordering beers, going out occasionally to smoke a butt... And all is fine.

The opener goes on. (Good band called um... Shite, can't remember.) Anyhoo... They go on, get off... We have a few more brews... Beth comes on... Plays for a good amount of time (we're getting beer thought due to a great waitress) and eventually Beth finishes.

I say to My Lady... Let's go out and have a fag, and we'll stick around for a few more beers...

You see... In the "older days" one would stay for the AFTER band party and have a few more drinks...

Oh... BUT NO... My Lady and I go out the front door... And the bouncer says "thanks for coming" and I say... "You're welcome, but we're just having a smoke, we'll be back." and he in turn says... "No you're not, we're closed now."

"We're closed now."

"We're CLOSED NOW?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?"

What the?

It's barely 11:00pm... (Bars in Minneapolis are allowed to be open till 1:00am)

First Ave ALWAYS used to have a pretty fun scene AFTER a band had finished...

I used to LOVE sitting there at the bar watching the dancing and occasionally joining in if a particularly good song came on... But...

"We're closed now!"

To say that I was shocked and appalled can only be an understatement. A severe one, at that...

Well... There's other bars. Glueks... Closed. Kieran's Closed. All the pubs in the area...

CLOSED at 11:00 P-fucking-M on a Monday... CLOSED.

For readers from a different place... Imagine your pubs/bars closing two hours before they're meant to.

In Britain... You're out at the pub, and at 9:00pm the bar staff rings last orders...

That's what it was like.

I mean... What the?

Kieran's has "pub hours" on the doors.... It's meant to be open till 1:00am Monday through Thursday and 2:00am on Fri and Sat. That's the posted hours...

But they were closed and shuttered at 11:00pm.

That's fucking sad.

The entire Downtown Area was closing up shop.

Now... I haven't been here for a while... And My Lady and I are only NOW just starting to get back into our social lives here... But...

That just shocked me.

I'm pissed off.

And it's all Due to the fucking smoking ban!!!

Without smokers "sticking around" and drinking... The bars and clubs now close...

It's a very frightening effect of this so-called "health" crap.

Gah.

Folks... Non-smokers are a scourge to all social-life and enjoyment. And they're making sure that we do NOT enjoy our lives anymore and that we become like them... Robots and drones to a sad/boring/shite life.

To hell with all of you politicians with your pockets lined by insurance companies... To hell with all of the rest of you health-nazis too.

-- Tuckmac

I like beating "main-stream" news...

In yesterday's post... I talked about how Microsoft just "ain't gonna" threaten Apple's iPod.

Today... Two more links about this... First the BBC news "talking" about the new Mp3 Player:

Microsoft's Zune

Then the "Wired" article about why it's gonna suck.

Microsoft IPod 'Killer' Is Doomed

I mean, seriously... If you read the "Wired" article, it explains it better than I would, so I'll just let it go there.

Finishing up my job today... That's right, I've been making photos of an exhibition for an artist's show that's being held in Minneapolis. I finished making the photos last week, but today I get to go to my "professional" little company, and get the stuff developed. I'm hoping it doesn't suck too badly. The artist wanted me to make 4X5 transparency's. It's been three years since I used FILM, I think it's been closer to SIX years since I actually took out my old view-camera, and tried to make large-format stuff... So, we'll see.

My Lady's been killing herself this weekend at her café job in a "department" store at the Mall of America. She enjoys the work, believe it or not... Likes the people, and has fun making fun of the customers... However... She did a double on Saturday working 11 hours... Worked a full eight yesterday... And today is working six hours (due to her having to leave early for...)

BETH ORTON TONIGHT!!!! AT FIRST AVE... Yayayayayyayayayay!

All right... I'm off.

Hope you all have a great Monday.

-- Tuckmac

Just doing some quick links this Sunday...

Hi there folks. I'm not really in the mood to write a big long blog today, however, as some news-items caught my attention... I thought I'd throw them up here for my kind, gentle readers:

• Dangerous Art. Two Killed as Artwork 'Lifts off' Hmm... I wonder if the artist filled out a proper 'Heath and Safety Report' before installing his work.
• Microsoft proves to be no worry to Apple, once again. Sorry... I know that I'm a bit biased, but... Really... Everyone is trying to jump on the Apple iTunes/iPod revolution, and some companies are actually beginning to compete (sort of) with Apple. One company that I just don't see being a "threat" is Microsoft. I mean... This is the company that continuously makes more and more confusing products for it's users, and they can not, will not be able to compete with Apple in this particular market. Apple is easy. Microsoft isn't. End of freaking list. Microsoft has the entire world at it's feet in the computing world. I'm not arguing with that... But the reason that Apple and it's iPod are so bloody popular, is that it's so bloody easy, even a typical "person" who doesn't really grasp e-mail, can use the darn thing. Microsoft... Muahahahaha! Yeah... Whatever.
• America's Worst Cars The article is actually rather balanced... They show their results, and the methodology of HOW they achieved their results... Frankly... I just say: "Every American Car Sucks" and let it go at that. Both My Lady and I agree, that if we're ever rich enough... This is what we're getting: The Volkswagen Golf (Rabbit) and a Vespa. We figure we can "share" a car and a scooter, and also deal with America's "rising gasoline prices" in an economical way.

Okay... That's it for today, folks... Thanks for visiting.

Smiles,
T

Edit - 2:33pm Sunday
Sorry... Just found a great "letter" to the American People that I think is rather juicy. From the Daily Kos, What did you expect, America? It's a good "letter" to the Yanks, if I do say so myself. And I do.

Cheers!
T

Saturdays are for surfing.

Saw a couple of funny images today...

Here's one:

Bushie the cook.

Here's another one:

And we've all probably seen this already... But:

Bush Groping Merkel

I mean, honestly. Not that I can link to it on the blog, since the NY Times started charging money for links, but... Maureen Dowd wrote a great peice comparing Bush to a frat-boy who's never grown up. Frankly... It's a bit apt a description. Man.

Once again, to all my readers outside the U.S... I'm sorry. But there's 49% of my fellow Yanks that DIDN'T vote for the budgie in office... So... Please keep that in mind. We're not ALL stupid over here.

That's it for today I think... May have more later. Not sure.

Anyhoo... Smiles,
Tuckmac

KEWL.

You know... I've always hated the way certain bloggers/web-heads spell "kewl" online. I mean... Okay, "lol" for "Laugh out loud" makes sense. It shortens the phrase to a quickly typed three-letter sequence. However... Explain to me the whole "kewl" thing. Please, explain... It's the same number of letters, so you're not saving any time typing the damn thing... And it looks so stupid. It's sort of screaming, "Hey, I'm a moron that can't spell!"

Och weel...

After yesterday's long post, today is a short one...

My Lady and I were bought a prezzie... We were both complaining about how we both had really nice computers, but no hard-drive space... And so my mother, in her ultimate amazing wisdom... Bought us this:

La Cie 500 Gig hard drive.

Ain't she wonderful?

My own laptop's range is only 60 gigs... And before we got the external hard drive... I was down to only 4 gigs of space! Now... I have 22 gigs of free space on my drive... Muahahahahaha....

That's the problem of being an artist. Especially a "digital" artist, such as My Lady and myself. I have thousands of photos that I make every year... She works in Video and Sound work... Do you have any idea of how much space that takes up??? Gah!

So... Now we're both freed up a bit, and much better for it.

I hope everyone's well... We're in a pretty good mood today.

Smiles,
Tuckmac

I love a day off...

And I also HATE them.

My Lady and I spent most of the day yesterday "recovering" from the emotional roller-coaster that was Tuesday's "INS Interview." That's not to say that by 3:30pm, we weren't ready to kill ourselves. Boredom comes quickly to us. I don't know why.

Anyhoo... I didn't blog yesterday, and I apologise for that. It would have been a great day to do so, however... My Lady and I were transferring HUGE files from my computer to her's, over our wireless network, and... Let me just say, that although we have the "super ultra-fast 802.11g wireless 'Airport Extreme'" that's five times faster than the normal "WinTel" 802.11b standard... 12 gigs of information STILL takes a VERY long time to transfer over the network. And... If we messed about on the internet, then the bloody thing slowed down EVEN MORE, so... We refrained from using the web, and thus the "day off" became even MORE boring.

Och weel.

Once more, I want to thank those of you who have been SO supportive of both Fiona and myself over the past nine months of "Immigration Nightmares." It's been a really bizarre and crazy time. So... Thank you everyone for your patience and love and support. Okay... Here's we go...

Blogging. Hmm... Read and article on the BBC today: Numbers cut through blogging hype The article goes off about the different types of Bloggers, and just what exactly people are blogging about. Lately, friends like N8 and others have also commented on their "blogging" habits.

You see, there're tonnes of people that blog. And many of said people, blog for different reasons. Here's my take on some of the various reasons for blogging:

• Cheese Sandwiching - (my favourite term for it) or in actuality... The Diary. See... People write stuff about their lives. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this. Heck... My blog is about 50-60% "cheese sandwich" most of the time. That's why the title of this scree contains the words... "The Life and Times."
• Hobbyists - They're the ones that like something, like... Knitting. And then they somehow find enough crap to talk about to actually have an entry every day/week/month. Now... No offence against "knitting" but... Um... Besides "knit one, pearl two" what really is there to talk about? I digress.
• Blatent Campaigning - This is where a guy or gal gets to being political. Now... I'm not talking about folk like myself that ascribe to NO party, but more "ideals" contained therein... No... I'm talking about Joe Senator, that writes a "blog" about his work for the people of Minnewisconilliyork, and his tireless efforts for justice. Of course, these blogs are actually maintained by some unpaid intern at their office... But again, I digress.
• The 'Journalists.' Now... Some of these sites are great, and I read them daily for news... However, you have to know that there's a reason that they report what they report... I'm thinking of blogs like Minnesota Democrats Exposed where the guy digs up as MUCH dirt against the 'other party' as he can. In defence of this type of blog (yeah, I'm defending him, even as a bleeding-heart Liberal) if the Dems weren't so bloody SHITE, then there wouldn't be anything for him to report. But again, I digress... Great site that I do like... Cursor.org
• Linky Blogs - This is either a site with tonnes of links about, well... Usually anything. I do these occasionally... You troll around the internet for things that you the blogger find interesting, and then provide links to your readers. There's all sorts of categories for this... There's the "news" link folk, the "hobby" link folk, the "weird" link folk et al... They tend to be quite fun, really, if you find the right one.
• Commentary blogs - I mean this. It's funny... People continually get confused about the difference in "Editorials" and in "Commentary" in newspapers, and because they're confused about this in print they've carried their confusion online. Kind, gentle readers, lend me your ear (eyes) and try to get this... Newspapers have three different sections of information... 1) News. This is the stuff of reporters. They get in their car/truck/airplane and go to where events are happening... And then they report what they see/hear. That's what a reporter does. Okay? Many blogs out there "say" that they're reporters/journalists... And frankly, they're not. They collect news created by actual reporters, and then the blogger "reports" the same news again. This is not reporting. Okay? It's just not. It's blatant plagiarism. 2) Now... If you see an article you like, and you link to the bloody thing, and then make your own comments upon said article... You are doing a "commentary." You know... That stuff in the back of the front-page with editorials, letters and commentary... Same thing. This is something that I do... I find a news source, link to it... And then comment on it. That's perfectly okay to do. And it's really really good. Getting one's opinion online can be quite fun. Plus, you're spreading around information, and that is a good thing. Anyhoo... 3) Finally, there are editorials. The editorial department is separate from the "news-gathering" department in newspapers... Editorials are the "news paper's voice" when it comes to issues... Please realise that if the newspaper in question is of a "Liberal Slant" then the editorial department will lean "Liberal" and vice versa with the Conservatives... In the States.... We have the New York Times which leans Liberal, and the Washington Post which leans Conservative. In the Twin Cities (where my abode is found) the StarTribune leans Liberal and the St. Paul Pioneer Press definitely leans Conservative. This is true in Britain, as well, as the The Guardian tends Liberal whilst the The Times leans Conservative... But anyhoo... What the heck was I saying, oh yeah... The editorials lean towards what the "newspaper" itself, leans towards. News is news. Commentary is commentary. And Editorials are silly.
• There are tonnes more, but I'm tired of typing

Readers, gentle folk... Blogging is a really wonderful way to communicate with others. I tend to blog for lots of reasons... I "Cheese Sandwich" for my friends that are scattered around the world, because they're honestly interested in what I'm doing. I "comment" on the news. I do this, 'cause in general I do a LOT of yelling at the newspaper in the morning, and it helps me to calm down. I also "Link" to weird crap, 'cause I like to show my readers a "good time" or at least try to make the attempt.

There are many reasons for blogging... And whatever you blog about, or which ever blogs you frequent... Just enjoy the fact that this new way of disseminating information is here, and don't get too bloody-well uptight about it.

Tah!

-- Tuckmac.

Guess what?!?!?!?!?!

Well... Beyond ALL our expectations...

Fiona has received her Provisional Green-Card. That's right... She's ALL legal now. Six months before even our professional immigration attorney thought we'd get our interview... We had our interview, and My Lady has her "green-card!"

Our lawyer had told us that generally, the "easier" the interview, the "longer" the time it'll be before the application would be approved. He said that the more 'evil' the interviewer/interview, the faster it is to get approval.

We had a really 'easy' interview.

So... I was thinking, "crap."

However... Although it was 'easy' as interviews go... Our wonderful interviewer approved the application ON THE SPOT, and even gave Fi the "stamp" in her passport!

We're "married" and "legal" and Fi doesn't have to leave the country!

Both of us want to thank ALL of you that have been SO supportive to us, both over here and in Britain, and beyond. You've all been wonderful... Thank you, thank you... Thank you!

We're going to have a "Green-Card Party" as soon as the "actual" piece of plastic comes in the post... So... Stay tuned!

We love you all!

-- Tuckmac

Okay... It's been a while.

I am sorry... But my life is a bit complicated at the moment.

You see... My Lady and I have our Marriage Visa Immigration interview tomorrow(Tuesday) at 10:30am(CDT) (your time -6 hrs, friends that are Brits...)

SO...

We're not able to keep up on things at the moment.

Obviously... We'll let you know how it goes tomorrow. Wish us luck.

Please.

Bye for now...

-- Tuckmac

Just a quick link I found, today...

On the "Best of Craigslist" site.

Okay... You all know I'm a bleeding heart liberal.

Well... I'm not the only one.

Top Five Myths about America DEBUNKED

Enjoy...

Smiles and Kittens...

Tuckmac

Um... Yeah.

So... Like the last time I wrote, I did a nice little "linky" blog.

Today, it's all about the "cheese sandwich" sorts of things.

Okay... What's up in Tuckmac's life?

My Lady is working all the time, and since I'm still avidly persuing a career, I'm at home. What does that mean, you ask? It means I'm a "house-husband."

I hate to admit this, but I've always sort of WANTED to be a "house-husband." Oh, don't get me wrong, I can't bloody well wait till I get a job, and actually start helping to support our non-existent lifestyle. However, there's something really satisfying about waking up with My Lady, making sure she gets off to work okay, and then spending the rest of the day (when I'm not filling out applications, or sending C.V.'s all over the place) doing chores. You know... Watering the plants, occasionally mowing the lawn... Doing the dishes, planning dinner, cleaning the bathroom, sweeping, dusting... Etc.

Strange huh?

I'm not sure if I'd enjoy this job as much if I were a parent. You see... My Lady and I are waiting for quite a few years for that to happen. We want our lives to at least "sort of" settle down before we start popping out the bairns... However, at the moment... Without the encumbrances of children... Being a house-husband is actually okay.

Anyhoo... I've spent tonnes of time job-searching, and again... If anyone from the Twin Cities is reading this blog.... I'm really great at lots of stuff, so get in touch with me!

But beyond that, I'm pretty boring. Well... My Lady is on her way home soon, and I had better prepare a lunch for her. You know how they get when you don't feed 'em, right?

Smiles and Kittens...
Tuckmac

Heck, I haven't done this for a while:

Linky Day today...

First... Took the "Chavmum.co.uk" "Are you Posh" test... Muahahahahaha...



I'm only 40% Posh... I can live with that.

For all the fans of ONE of the best "Dr. Whos" out there... Tom Baker Sings Man... I miss him.

For something that truly bugs me about my fellow Yanks... Here's a great site for you all to start "getting" it... You know... British Humour, my cynicism... Etc...Sarcasm Society

Speaking of sarcasm... Students For Orwellian Society is a great little site to peruse.

Ha.

Anyhoo...

Since I tend to be rather evil at times, with friends and foes alike... I thought I'd throw up this cute little linkie-poo...

Flattery Generator. Just pretend that it's ME saying those things, 'K?

I'm off... Ciao!

-- T

Well, it's July 4th.

A day that the American's celebrate their "independence" from the British Empire.

I suppose I should say something particularly patriotic, filled with vitriol against the evil forces of chaos and terror that are screaming for the blood of innocent Americans.

But I won't. I don't really DO that sort of shite. If you want that sort of thing, I'd go look up Rush Limbaugh or Ann Coulter... I'm a peace-loving liberal.

I've watched my country become more and more spooky, and Orwellian since the current administration got into power.

So... I can't find the needed ingredients for my patriotism to come to the fore.

Instead, I'll use today to pray for my land... To hope that on the day that we celebrate the birth of our wonderful country, we also sit back and reflect on just what the United States of America is SUPPOSED to be about. To concentrate and meditate on the wonders of our home, the freedoms that we have, the life-style that we receive, the lives that we are able to live due to our birthplace.

I use today to praise what my country is meant to be, rather than what it has become. I use today to pray and hope that someday, it will again be the amazing place that stood up to the most powerful Empire in the world, and said: "NO. No more are we your subjects!" And showed the world that the people were not only ABLE to govern themselves, but were also rather bloody good at it.

I love my country. And I hope it get's well soon.

-- Tuckmac

Hmm.... Well...

Isn't THAT interesting???

Spy Agency Sought U.S. Call Records Before 9/11, Lawyers Say Link from City Pages Blotter.

Okay... So... Seven months before 9/11... The NSA tried to get phone records from AT&T. Seven months before!!!

Anyone else tired of the current American Administration, and their blatent lying, deceit and out and out hijacking of the American Government?

I am.

Really... Really... Tired of it. I say it again... Fascism. Nazism... Bush. All in the same bloody sentence.

-- T

Maths can be good.

Okay, most of you "regular readers" know that I'm an artist. And I have characteristics (or clichés) that are endemic to many OTHER artists.

My brain tends to wander quite often... I find myself daydreaming, or planning out a composition of a scene that is unfolding right before my eyes, all whilst my friend is discussing the latest fresh produce at the farmer's market.

I lean towards the left-y side of politics...

I consider myself to be an observer of humanity...

I hate maths.

You know... The basic "artist creed" sorts of stuff.

Anyhoo... Back to this "maths hatred"

(By the way, fellow Yanks... Brit's use the term "maths" as opposed to our Yankie "math" usage... Due to the fact that the word is a shortening of "mathematics" which has an "s" on the end... Therefore, I tend to agree with them now, even though many fellow Yanks think I'm crazy when I talk about my "Maths grade" back in school.... But I digress)

Maths as a subject or study is/are evil. I hate 'em. I can add, I can subtract, multiply and divide. But.... When you start throwing letter's or weird symbols into it... I just get confused. I remember my first "equation" back in 7th grade (I was about 12 years old)...

2a=8

The teacher tried to explain that you had to "solve" for "a". Of course, even in my own hatred of maths, I still know that a = 4.

However... When the teacher asked me what I thought the equation's answer was, I said:

"Two-ahhhh-eight."

I kid you not.

I never really moved beyond that... Seriously... I look at an equation, and I try to "read" the bloody thing like it were a sentence.

2a+4b/34q=8G

Isn't mathematical... No... To me, it's: "two-aaahhh-forb-three-fork, eight-geee."

Obviously, I then 'translate' it back into maths, but the FIRST THING in my mind is the above "sentence."

Okay, I'm weird.

Anyway, although I HATE maths, and am generally confused by them, I sometimes have to LOVE the idea of mathematics and statistics, and other fun applied science...

Human Family Tree: Shallow Roots is a brilliant article that explains how our "ancestry" is much closer and more intertwined than we thought. Basically, we can ALL trace a common ancestor by only going back a few years before the bible started.

When you think about it... All the Jews have Arab ancestry, and vice-versa... All us westerners have similar ancestral ties to a Yurk-maker in Uzbekistan.

How fricking cool is that? Not only that... How SAD is it that we continue to kill each other daily. Folks... We're all related, now let's just let the continued family squabble go, and make peace.

Well, it's an idea anyway...

-- Tuckmac