Zimbrick Honda is stupid

I am taking my car in for its 60,000 mile maintenance next week. They will pay for me to get a cab ride home, but they won't provide any way for me to get back to my car. Since we only have one car and everybody I know works during the day, how exactly am I supposed to get my car back. I'll have to look into taking the bus. First Texas Honda will give you a ride and pick you up. Stupid Zimbrick. They make shitty commercials too.

I am not a homicidal psychopath

I have learned that the best way to flag cyclists down at night when one doesn't have a voice is most certainly not to turn into a parking lot, shine the headlights on them, honk, and then wave wildly as they ride by. It only seems to make the cyclists go faster.

I've accomplished something today. By that I mean that I have handed pieces of paper to ladies at desks who kindly accept them and then send me on my way in a stupor.

I addressed materials intended for the PUC to the LBB instead. Oops.

I'm searching city jobs.

A home of our own

I believe I accomplished finding an apartment today. I cheated and just went to the place where we lived before moving to Wisconsin. They will have a first floor apartment available when we want to move. It will be a bit of a change from our nearly perfect apartment. The bedroom will be much bigger with a huge walk-in closet. We will have one less bedroom though, so I'm not sure what we do with all of the crap in the study. The living room will be considerably smaller. Our current living room is, perhaps, the perfect apartment living room. It is huge, has big windows, and hardwood floors. The new one will be much smaller and have smaller windows. The kitchen will be slightly smaller, but it will have a dishwasher which Mrs. LaBlog covets. It will also have a new fridge and a new oven. We won't have the really nice basement, because there really aren't basements in central Texas. Something about limestone. We'll rent a storage space for our extra stuff. I think the plan is to get a 9 month lease starting July 1 and then buying a house sometime at the end of that lease.

I still don't have much of a voice, but I've used this sickening stuff called Singer's Saving Grace which seems to be helping with the pain. Hopefully it will be better tomorrow. I need to give out resumes and cover letters and I need to be able to answer questions. Hopefully someone asks some questions.

Word offered me some shifts if I need them. He's so kind.

I wish that Mrs. LaBlog were riding the train to Chicago with me. I miss her.

It's magic

In the past several hours, I have managed to lose my voice. This is a bit of a problem because a large part of my reason for currently being in Austin is to talk to prospective employers. I hope to have a voice tomorrow. Work for me, Benadryl.

A hideous human being?

I don't like Joe Lieberman, but I think people like Atrios like hyperbole a little bit too much. A hideous human being? I doubt it. A bad senator? Yeah, that's certainly true. There are times when Atrios is a decent read, but for the most part he comes off as Dennis Miller style jackass. If only there were more bloggers like Yglesias and Drum out there.

Off to Texas

I'm leaving on my long journey to Austin in about 9 hours. I'm not sure how much I'll post over the next week. I'll probably post some, but it all depends on my mood.

Be good.

Jamie Aulik has no weaknesses

I've noticed that several people have found this sight through google searches for "Jamie Aulik" and "Jamie Aulik's weaknesses." I'm here to say that I don't think he has any. The complaints that I've seen are that he won't take a position on several issues. I'd like to address some of those complaints.

If Jamie refused to take a position on the gay marriage ban, then good for him. The gay marriage ban is an attempt by the State's Republicans to distract the public from the fact that Wisconsin is facing serious fiscal problems that the party in charge doesn't want to address. Where's medicare reform? Where's fixing school finance? Where's municipal aid? Where are real issues? The simple truth is that Wisconsin's Republican Party is a particularly nefarious bunch. They somehow manage to get a reputation outside of the state for being moderate. I guess that happens when the state has an ill-earned reputation as a progressive state. But the state Republicans are no different than Republicans elsewhere. I've seen Texas Republicans, Arkansas Republicans and Florida Republicans, and those in this state are just as out-of-touch as those in the south.

Jamie says that Ethanol subsidies need further study. I sat in the same room as him and heard a group of well-trained policy analysts present an analysis of some ethanol subsidy programs. They found net social benefits, but urged that further study is necessary. I didn't find their results showing net benefits convincing, but I do think that their conclusion regarding further study is right on.

Some have been critical of Jamie's statements against the Taxpayer Protection Act. Again, he was right on. The TPA is an acknowledgement by the Republican Party that they are unable to restrain spending, that they are unable to stand up to special interests. The most reprehensible thing about the TPA is that it is a statement by those advocating it that they have no respect for the wishes of Wisconsin voters. Fiscal decisions are incredibly complex. The average citizen doesn't have the time or training to review each decision. Instead, they vote for policy makers who do have the time and training to make those decisions. If the voters don't like the results of those decisions, they get to vote the policy makers out. TPA effectively reduces the ability of voters to act on their preferences. Further, the voters of Manitowac should be particularly upset with the potential impacts of TPA. It would further reduce funding for the Shared Revenue program. Manitowac has had larger cuts in aid than most municipalities in Wisconsin has a result of current changes to the aidable revenues component of Shared Revenue. Reducing the pot of money available for municipal aid will place a particularly harsh burden on the residents of municipalities like Manitowac.

I'm sure there are reasons to vote for someone other than Jamie, but his refusal to comment on political distractions, his desire for further study of a complex issue, or his opposition to a policy that will have devestating fiscal impacts, are not good reasons. Perhaps voters in that part of the state want a conservative state senator who is beholden to special interests and hostile to the interests of normal people. If that's the case, then Jamie probably isn't the right guy for you. I think most people would agree that they want a good man with a record of serving his country who has the analytical skills to fully understand the issues facing the state.

the Joggers at Emo's

I think I want to go see the Joggers at Emo's with Pretty Girls Make Graves and Giant Drag. I think it's the 25th, but I'm not sure. If anybody wants to go, let me know.

Where's the climax

I graduated from graduate school yesterday. The ceremony was surprisingly nice. The speakers were surprisingly good. It went surprisingly quickly. My nephew was surprisingly loud.

It really was a decent ceremony as far as graduation go. The facutly speaker used a handful of our statements of purpose from our applications in her speech. For me, it was reassuring to hear my own words about why it is I want to go into public service. I have been frustrated with my course of study at times, but my purpose from December of 2003 is still my purpose in May of 2006. That's something that I need to keep in mind.

I didn't get to go to the graduation reception yesterday. I got word that my family had to leave early on Sunday, so I made the decision to spend time with the little kids instead. I don't think that they could have handled the champagne reception. We went to Tex Tubb's Taco Palace and had Tex-Mex and Lone Star. It was nice. I didn't make it out last night either. After watching the Spurs get robbed I didn't have the energy to do anything. Seriously, Dirk sprains his ankle and stumbles into Tim Duncan so they call a foul on Duncan which fouls him out with a minute left. This follows Duncan get a foul for standing straight up and having Dirk jump backwards into him. There were similar calls against Bowen and Manu that were clearly bad calls. I'm saying this as a fan who gets pissed off when other fans blame losses on the refs, but bad calls clearly pub the Mavs in a position to win the game. I still think Spurs in 7 and then the Clippers or Suns will be lucky to get a tired Spurs team and will take the Spurs to 7 games, but the Spurs and the Pistons will play for the Championship again.

I need a wrangler

I graduate later today which means I've got people in town. That means I've got a five year old and an almost 2 year old, not to mention to 60 year olds, two 50 somethings, a 30 year old and my hot young thing wife. That's a lot of free-spirit types wandering around fairly aimlessly. They make me tired. Mostly the 5 year old makes me tired. If I have any willing wranglers out there, let me know.

A cautionary tale

Male college students, graduate and undergraduate alike, heed my advice. Do not shave during finals. Never shave during finals. Follow this rule: do not shave between the last class meeting before an exam or major assignment is due and the day that the the academic assessment is either due or to take place. Your knowledge is stored in your whiskers. If you are confused, simply rub your whiskers and the knowledge will begin to flow. It is a proven fact. If you do not follow this advice there will be consequences.

This year, for the first year since I began going to college, I shaved between a class meeting and a paper's due date. I had to do it. I had a meeting with the Wisconsin Secretary of Revenue. I could not go into that meeting with two-days stubble. That would have been rude. So I shaved. The following day (Saturday) I began to feel strange. When writing my paper, no words would come. It was like all of the knowledge had vanished from my being. Then, I began to feel ill. I had a headache, dizziness, fever, nausea. It was not pretty. On Sunday I accomplished nothing. The paper was due by 5 on Monday. Panic combined with the illness for some intense discomfort. On Monday, nothing was working. What I had written was horrible. I frantically tried to call and email my professor. Finally, one hour before the paper was due, he sent me an email with a 19 hour extension. I thanked him. The rest of the night I was in too much pain to work. The following day I woke up unable to sit down for more than a few minutes at a time. The pain and dizziness was intense. The professor added 5 hours to my extension. When it was over I had written the worst paper of my graduate school career. I was sick and disappointed. This is all true.

Had I not shaved, the whiskers would have protected me from illness and preserved my knowledge of exchange rate policy. But I did shave. I cavalierly eliminated all traces of understanding of the undervaluation of the Renmibi from my face. It was a mistake. I have to live with that, but the rest of you don't. Hear my message and heed my call. Do not shave during the crucial moments. It could just save your life.

Touche, WIscoinsin. Touche.

As if to give me one more slap in the face, the weather here has turned horrible. Wisconsin wants me to pay for all of my smack talking. Normally that would be fine, but my family is coming to town and they don't deserve this. Yesterday it was in the upper 30's and raining with winds up to 50 miles per hour. Right now it is in the upper 30's and raining with a wind chill in the 20's. Tomorrow it is supposed to get all the way into the upper 40's with wind and rain. Unless I missed something, it is May. Isn't it?

Slightly Torn

In approximatly 33 hours, I will have my in-laws, my parents, my sister, my niece, and my nephew all in town for my graduation. I'm excited to have all of them, but I'm particularly excited about my niece and nephew. My feelings are slightly mixed though. They didn't know that they wanted to take an almost 2 year old on a 12 hour car trip, but his dad refused to keep him for the weekend. He's got a date or some bullshit. I hope, for everybody's sake, that he realizes how fortunate he is to have ex-in-laws who go out of there way to be nice to him and keep him involved in the family. That's not the most common thing in the world. He should do things, like take care of his son, if he's needed. It's pretty simple. So, I'm a little torn. I feel bad that my sister and mom are upset about this, but I'm really happy to see the kid. He's almost named after me. He's like a little Bobby LaBlog.

Kudos

To all of you who have finished school, I say Kudos. I have not yet finished school. By noon I will be done. I have one paper and one strange critique thing. I have the same partner for both projects. Rest assured, she is quite able. My lone fear is that she has more drive left at this point than I do. I don't have a whole lot of caring about this stuff left in me. I literally made myself sick over it. I'm a bit better now, so that's good. Now I only have to answer two questions and write a non-lit review. You see, there is no literature. The shame of it.

Low Body Temperature Bias

People don't seem to realize that 98.6 degrees is the average core temperature and there is variation around that mean. I wouldn't expect much variation because the human body is fairly well honed machine, but there is some variation. If I were to have a temperature of 98.6, that would be a fairly significant fever. My normal temperature is 97.1, so having an average temperature would be 1.5 degrees above my norm and the equivalent of 100.1 in the average person. I bring this up now because my temperature has been 98.6 for the past few days while I've been sick. Mrs. LaBlog encourages me to check my temperature regularly if I am not feeling well. She is my wife, which means I do as I'm told. This always bugged me when I was in elementary school and they had a stupid rule that you had to have a fever to go home. I think it had to be a temperature of something like 99.6 which for me is fairly significant. I never got to go home when I was sick. If I go to see a doctor when I'm sick they always ask me if I have chills. It's stupid.

This may be the most pointless post that I have ever written.

PG Tips

To any tea drinkers out there for whom loose tea isn't always convenient, PG Tips teabags are really good. The bags are shaped as a pyrammid which they contend allows the hot water to circulate more through the leaves thus creating a cup of tea that tastes more like loose tea in a pot. Maybe that's the case. I don't really know. I do know that his tea is better than Bigelow or Twinings teabags. And of course, when I say tea, I mean black tea.

Goodness

Erin convinced me to start watching Veronica Mars at the beginning of this season. It's a really good show. The Season 2 finale tonight was really fucking intense though. Damn.

Health, or lack thereof

The way I've felt the past several days is what I had in mind when I talked to the Associate Director of my school last year about leaving the program. Those who know me from my undergraduate days may remember the strange illness that magically appeared and the exhaustion and random pain that went along with that. That's about how I feel these days. I don't like it one bit. Maybe it will magically disappear later in the day. That would be excellent. I had to ask for my first ever extension yesterday because my body wouldn't allow me to be in any position other than horizontal. It's hard to be thoughtful, or to even type, in that situation. Of course, my extension gives me until noon today. I'm feeling progressively worse, which isn't a good sign. I'm just going to have to turn something in that I can't be proud of and hope for the best. I'm a second year domestic policy student in a first year international policy class, maybe I can hope for some sypathy. I graduate on Saturday, theoretically.

Health, or lack thereof

The way I've felt the past several days is what I had in mind when I talked to the Associate Director of my school last year about leaving the program. Those who know me from my undergraduate days may remember the strange illness that magically appeared and the exhaustion and random pain that went along with that. That's about how I feel these days. I don't like it one bit. Maybe it will magically disappear later in the day. That would be excellent. I had to ask for my first ever extension yesterday because my body wouldn't allow me to be in any position other than horizontal. It's hard to be thoughtful, or to even type, in that situation. Of course, my extension gives me until noon today. I'm feeling progressively worse, which isn't a good sign. I'm just going to have to turn something in that I can't be proud of and hope for the best. I'm a second year domestic policy student in a first year international policy class, maybe I can hope for some sypathy. I graduate on Saturday, theoretically.

Quick Question

How many Rolaids have you taken in a single 24 hour period? I'm not sure how many I've had, but I know it's more than ten. If you know me, then you know that's saying something. Today is one of those horrible, no good, very bad days, that you hear so much about in children's literature.

Johnny Cash - Here's Johnny Cash

I'm supposed to be working on a paper about exchange rates right now, and I suppose I am, but I'd rather be sleeping. It's 8 pm on a Saturday and I just want to be asleep. That's what graduate school has done to me. This thing is due by 5 on Monday, so I need to get more done. Stupid exchange rates. I don't care if the RMB appreciates. It's not likely to have much effect on the US, so why do we care?

Another one done

I've now presented my report to the Secretary of Revenue. It was much less stressful than I had anticipated.

I have a paper due on Monday. There is a book that I need in order to write this paper. No bookstores in Madison have it. No libraries in Madison have it. My procrastination has screwed me on this one. This is well justified procrastination. I was working 70-80 hours a week on that damn report. That didn't leave me with much time for doing other schoolwork, or for finding a job. Speaking of jobs, the Secretary asked me to apply for a job. He didn't ask me personally. He asked the four of us. I really need a job. It seems like I shouldn't be the only person in my group who doesn't have a job, or at least a decent prospect. Oh well.

Unbelievable

How could voters in the State of Texas think that Kobe Bryant would be better to take the last shot than Robert Horry? Horry has won World Championships for both the Rockets and Spurs with game-winning shots. I can't believe that San Antonians and Houstonians have memories that short.

End of an Era

I went to my last class meeting as a graduate student today. That feels nice. I still have a presentation, two papers, and a take home final type thing, but no more classes.

I notified my landlord that I will not be renewing my lease, thus giving me assured housing through the end of July. We hope to move sooner than that.

I rode in an Impreza today. It was a slick car. This was the hatchback version.

Caesar and I thought that we would need to do some work between now and turning in our paper next Thursday, but the professor seems to think otherwise. Rest assured, we will still do some work to make our product of high quality. She's a gunner and I've got too much pride to turn in something that's not that great, particularly if it's a team project.

I pledged a campaign donation yesterday with the only request being that the State of Wisconsin declare January 4th to be Vince Young Day. I think it's a good idea. Go to the Jamie Aulik for State Senate link and give him some money. He's a good guy and I feel like I had some influence on him deciding to run, in that I told him to run when he wasn't considering it and now he's a candidate. He's a really solid guy, the kind of person that should be in office. He's a veteran of the current Iraq war. He's a sportsman. Most importantly, he's getting his Masters in Public Affairs next weekend, so he understands the complexities and nuance of policy analysis and policy making.

Good Stuff

I really want Mrs. LaBlog to get a Honda Fit. We both want our second car to be a hatchback, but we were lamenting that Honda doesn't make a decent hatchback, except now they do. The Fit is small, yet spacious. The engine isn't quite as strong as the one in our Civic, but those V-Tech engines have plenty pep for highway driving.

We got a wedding invitation today. It's a formal wedding in mid-June in San Antonio. I can't say that I'm excited about that. Hopefully we'll be living down there by then. If not, then I'll get to ride a train twice in one summer. I guess it would actually be four times in one summer. And yes, my fear of flying is absolutely rational.

I liked the Titans anyway, but the drafting of Vince Young may make them my favorite team. I make no secret that I was hoping for the Broncos to trade up to draft him, but that clearly didn't happen. I'm happy with how the Titans drafted. Buffalo on the other hand, is a joke. They drafted a second or third round safety with the eighth pick and then a third or fourth round defensive tackle later in the first round. Marv Levy had a good coaching career, but he has no business as a general manager. He never made the personnel decisions when he was coaching and now we know why.

There are very few jobs in Austin right now. I hope to get one of them. There has to be some benefit to being a good student at a respected program.