Drive-By Thinking.

independence day.

I found something to ponder:

"It is often asseted that the world has made a great deal of progress since 1776, that we have had new thoughts and new experiences which have given us a great advance over the people of that day, and that we may therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern. But that reasoning cannot be applied to this great charter. If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was not equality, no right of the individual, no rule of the people."

-- Calvin Coolidge

"The Inspiration of the Declaration of Independence"

July 5, 1926

Mr. Coolidge was right. The problem is, we've elected people who wish to lead us backward, in so many ways.

"But is the spirit of the people an infallible, a permanent reliance? Is it government? Is this the kind of protection we receive in return for the rights we give up? Besides, the spirit of the times may alter, will alter. Our rulers will be come corrupt, our people careless. A single zealot may commence persecutor, and better men be his victims. It can never be too often repeated, that the time for fixing every essential right on a legal basis is while our rulers are honest, and ourselves united."

--Thomas Jefferson

Notes on Virginia, 1782

One wonders how prophetic Mr. Jefferson was. I'd say he was pretty spot on. And that we're a little late.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizings its power in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.

--Declaration of Independence, 1776

Don't forget that. We give THEM the power, not the other way around.

Happy Independence Day, y'all. Enjoy it while you've got it.

file under "said it better than i could."

Kind of sums up my recent personal experience in procuring a safety net of my own. Fortunately, the Commonwealth of Virginia isn't yet as in-yer-face about this stuff. They're freely letting me keep my high deductible. At least I can afford it. So far. YMMV.

um, yeah.

So what are you planning for the weekend? HSH and I will be hitting the ballpark and doing the whole-hog American weekend: baseball, hotdogs, bouncy houses and traffic jams. Hizzoner has to work, so no trips, vacations, weekends, or anything else that costs money that we don't have anyway.

Oh, and I'll be frogging Terra. Yeah. Gauge issues coupled with -- I think -- a mildly faulty pattern. In any case, I'm not going to keep fighting with it. Pinned together, it fits my 9-year old niece quite well and were I a more benevolent auntie, I'd finish it and give it to her. But I'm not. I'm selfish and I want a damn sweater that fits ME.

I did, however, teach her to purl. (Heh.) This is good practice as I will be attempting to teach other people Magic Loop in a few weeks. And then walking over to the Mexican restaurant across the shopping center for a flight of tequila shooters in a vain attempt to regain my sanity. Remind me to charge my cell phone so I can call Hizzoner to come get me. I should probably buy some minutes, too….

Started another pair of Hedgerow socks, this time for Hizzoner in some Cascade Heritage. I dig this yarn. Smooth, even, nice solid colors, and 400+ yards for relatively little money. He approves. Socks -- now that I can make fit. Methinks I need to stick with socks. Methinks I need to raid the stash and perhaps… just perhaps… make some of it available for sale. I'm thinking all the worsted. It ain't working for me… maybe it'll work for y'all.

Stay posted for more details.

the world can stop now

…I finished something.

see? pale legs. sunburn fades and that's what I get.

Details:

Pattern: Angee, from Sock Innovation by Cookie A.

Yarn: sKNITches Kettle Drum in "Muddy Waters." 60% merino/30% bamboo/10% nylon. I've used it before, in my niece's Christmas scarf. This was a shipment from last year's Loopy Ewe sock club, ironically enough matched with another Cookie pattern. Which I still have, but haven't knitted yet. Nice yarn. I know I said in that same post that I wouldn't generally knit socks with a bamboo blend yarn again, but this one feels substantially different than the other. 

Needles: Addi Turbo US 1. Magic loop, of course.

Notes: I adored knitting this pattern. No, it wasn't a easy-to-memorize pattern. Show me a 24-row repeat that is. On the other hand, once you finished the repeat, you actually had made progress. It was easy to execute. And the "drunken rib" look makes for a pretty, stretchy sock.

I probably could have knit another few rows of heel flap. No big deal. Look how the pattern flows effortlessly into the heel and gusset.

Mistakes: Yeah, well… You can look at the gusset there and see where I effed up. No big deal.

Something else you can't see right above, but probably can figure out in the first photo: I totally left out a section. Seriously. I have a definite right and left sock. The pattern doesn't call for that. As I finished up the leg of sock two, I double checked the length against the first sock. "Dang," I said, "it's a lot shorter than the first one." And then I looked back at the book to see where I might have screwed up. I left out the set-up rows. You're supposed to do the ribbing chart, and then the twelve set-up rows that start the pattern off, and then the leg chart. 

*facepalm*

No WAY was I ripping back the whole leg for twelve rows. I just finished the leg with another repeat of the first twelve rows of the leg chart, and figured out where the logical starting row would be on the foot chart. Et voila -- a finished sock. Mirroring the other. I think Cookie would approve.

I fully intend to knit this pattern again. Maybe with fewer screwups next time!

if you honestly think

…that the government running the health care system in this country is such a hot damn idea, then for the love of everything good and holy,

read this link.

Yeah, I know it's a right-leaning opinion site. The article it's quoting isn't. Read the commentary following it. And then try -- just honestly try -- to convince me that it's still such a great idea.

I dare you.

riddle me this:

How did I manage to go from pinkEYE to pinkFACE?

admittedly taken after trying to mask the damage with makeup. we are not amused.

No, it's not that difficult a question if you remember my beach-going history and couple that with the decided lack of melatonin that drifted into my genetic soup.

And see? Managed to get my legs really good, too. The fronts, at least.

and I am wearing pants. actually, a skirt. 'cause that doesn't hurt as much.

It's going to totally suck tonight because I'm a stomach sleeper. Who managed to burn holy hell out of her legs. Hot damn but I'm brilliant.

i suppose it wouldn't do to lecture you on the evils of forgetting the sunscreen.

I suppose it would be considered beside the point at this juncture. And besides, I DID remember the sunscreen. HSH isn't burnt because of it.

and you…

And I couldn't reach the middle of my back, either. So sleeping at all is going to be dicey. Look, my legs NEVER tan. Never even color. Why should I worry about them burning? All right, don't answer that question.

so you finally went to the beach?

Oh yeah. Nice day for it. Hot and humid but getting knocked over by a few waves takes care of that. I had promised HSH, you know.

i know. did she enjoy herself?

Immensely. We got there later than I would have liked (9:30) and grabbed one of the last spots on the tide line. Planted our beach chairs and then immediately hit the water. Between the heat (it started out almost entirely clear) and HSH's minute attention span we were cycling back and forth in about 10 minute intervals. She kept trying to go in by herself and after awhile, I let her.

you what?

Just dipping the toes. Nothing over the knees. The tide was going out and so long as she stayed in that zone the rip currents weren't an issue. Even though there was some wicked crosscurrents in those waves. Offshore low pressure system and an approaching front made for some kicked up water action. Anyway, HSH made some friends with a set of twins and the three of them played "jump the wave" quite contentedly under the eyes of both myself and the twins' mom. Dad had fallen asleep on the beach. (I hope he's not as scorched as I am.)

so it all went off without incident.

Oh, no. Waves + smallish people = knockdowns. Most of the time it was just losing footing and the girls got right back up. But HSH got knockdown good by a wave and went under before I could get to her. 

i TOLD you that wasn't a good idea.

No no no… she popped right back up. Freaked her the frack out, for sure, but she got to standing up by the time I had sprinted over to her.

did it register on the richter scale?

Bugger off. She was scared -- and told me so -- but the girls and I reassured her that all was fine and that she should jump right back in. So the four of us played in the surf for another half hour. And then had lunch at Sonic.

no wonder you're scorched.

At least we had fun. Now to relax a bit.

swallowtail ramen noodles. alpaca flavor.

This is with the main section charts finished, all ready to start the border charts. Sure doesn't look like a whole hell of a lot right now! I've been working on this how long? I just don't want to eff it up by working on it when I'm not able to concentrate. I'm weighing that against whether or not I will have time to really sit and concentrate on anything before HSH graduates again….

Um… ouch. Fabric hurts. Going to find lotion and a way to sleep without anything touching me. Right.

ptooey.

Random blogginess. 

I apologize for having gone silent. Facebook peeps might understand better, as I have been pretty much under the weather for the last week, fighting a summer head cold that has morphed itself into pinkeye and what felt for a while like tonsilitis (fortunately just a false alarm). In short, when I've been conscious, I've been to busy catching up with real life to play here in the virtual playpen and haven't been able to do more than a status alert. I'm sorry, because you are a loyal bunch and totally deserve better than that.

So I'm going to play Headline-O-Rama. More fun than shootin' fish in a barrel. Or something like that.

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First, you can't beat this headline from Hot Air. No, I'll just let y'all pull up the link and appreciate the juxtaposition without ruining the surprise. I'll wait….

Because there are certainly domestic issues more pressing than sticking our noses into another Middle Eastern debacle. N'est c'est pas? (BTW: No, Saintseester, I'm not changing my mind about what I said earlier.)

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This thrown in for flavor: I was talking to the neighbor kids tonight shortly after the ice cream truck made a pass through the 'hood (I ignore, as I have perfectly good ice cream in the house. Yes, I am a mean mommy.). Apparently, there is promise among today's youth: they were lamenting the fact that the driver of said truck doesn't speak English. "Yeah," said a likely lad of about 10, "You got a little kid trying to ask for something, and all the guy says is '¿Qué? ¿Qué?' Dude. Hire someone who, like, speaks English."

I love my neighbors. I really do. They have great kids. I may borrow them. Okay, I'm kidding about that last bit.

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From La Republique Français, this stunner.

So the official line from Paris is "Dang, y'all -- this is a fashionable country and you're ruining our street cred." Or however that translates. I don't speak French. I figure it all boils down to another world leader totally avoiding the important bits of assimilation.

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Nothing amusing about this. Hope everybody's peeps are safe and accounted for.

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And to think: I'm the Photoshop proficient graphic artist that's unemployed. At least I never let this stuff leave my desk.

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The funniest bit here was, "The first lady wasn't concerned." Oh really? Methinks there's more of a story in that!

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This isn't a headline, but I thought it worth sharing. Makes fast food actually appetizing, our Bakerella does. I so want to try this….

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Oh, and why freelancing sucks. In a nifty package.

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Aaaaand that's all she wrote. I'd share some knitting pics if there was anything worth taking a picture of. I'll sum it all up by saying that: I've got one kid's shirt that's a full size too big and will wait to be modeled: DONE. One long-sleeved hoodie sweater in wool: in progress but temporarily on hold due to weather. One cotton tank top: taking for-bloody-ever after having been ripped out several times -- and perhaps once more for good measure. Three pairs of socks: One at 80% complete, one at 75%, and one still chugging along at 15% because it gets frustrating after a few rows and much easier (and fulfilling) to work on one of the other two pairs. Oh, and throw in one shawl that's stuck in the second chart because I haven't had the presence of mind to concentrate on it. You really can't blame me for not wanting to show pictures yet. 

Next in queue: a kid's cardi, two three pairs of socks and a couple of alligators for good measure. We'll see how long it takes to get to it.

time to start digging holes in the backyard.

Oh wait… that's why I have a dog….

The latest tripe from The Anointed One's lips has my backside chapped. How else can I feel when I'm thrown opening paragraphs like this:

"If only someone in government had been looking out for consumers, the subprime mortgage mess might never have happened."

If only, indeed.

If only Fannie Mae had been properly structured and supervised, the subprime mortgage mess might never have happened.

If only mortgage lenders hadn't been forced by legislation to extend credit to those unworthy of same, the subprime mortgage mess might never have happened.

If only the likes of Barney Frank had kept to the Constitutional confines of a federal-level legislature and not dabbling in the financial markets, the subprime mortgage mess might never have happened.

But nooooooo… that, mere mortal, has nothing to do with what's happening today. The crisis occurred ONLY because there was no Consumer Protection Tsar appointed by His Holiness Himself -- THAT's why we're teetering on financial collapse. Enough of you civilian fools meddling about!

The proposal from the Anointed Administration of a Consumer Protection Agency, endowed with "unprecedented powers," is the latest attempt to consolidate every little piece of power possible under the aegis of the federal goverment. The likes of Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) is part of the push behind this. Yeah, that's the same Chris Dodd who had a hand in the Fannie Mae debacle. The irony kills me.

"The agency would have the power to make rules for the industry and to enforce them. "

Well, hell. I wonder why the founding fathers didn't think of this. Oh, that's right -- they didn't WANT government interference in private industry. They saw it as the totalitarianistic grab that it is. They read and accepted the theories posited by their contemporary and paved the way forward to allow capitalism to grow the young nation into one of the largest players on the international economic scene. They already knew what happened with over-regulation of all matters monetary.

"This is essential, for this crisis was not just the result of decisions made by the mightiest of financial firms; it was also the result of decisions made by ordinary Americans to open credit cards, take out home loans and take on other financial obligations," the Anointed One said.

See, this is the point I've been trying to drive home since before the damn election. In the eyes of the TOTUS and his myrmidons, one thing is crystal clear: 

You aren't smart enough to think for yourself. 

You must be guided in all matters. 

You must be protected from yourself.

And the Government is just the entity to protect you. You know, because it handles things so well. So smoothly. With so little red tape.

Let me make my point 100% clear. The Federal Government does not exist to handle every little piece of your life. It exists to handle the bare bones infrastructure of governance, lest society slide into anarchy. It provides the basic operational platform. You, as a human being, have an intellect and the free will to make your own decisions regarding your life, provided that you operate within the structure -- laws and ordinances that are designed to keep order. 

If you eff it up, it's your own fault. If you got yourself into it, then you need to get yourself out of it. If you signed a $300,000 mortgage thinking you could play the market until it was time to refinance, even though you only make enough for a $150,000 house, it's your own fault. If you hold a Visa, a Mastercard, an AmEx, a Discover, a Carte Blanche, three gas cards and four department store cards, each with a balance, then it's your own fault. If you mortgage your house three times over for frivolous reasons, it's not the government's damn responsibility to save you from yourself.

But no… no, the Intellectuals Inside the Beltway are going to CHANGE all that. Because they know better than you do how to live your life.

Analysts within the banking industry are already alarmed by this legislation.

"Such an agency would not have the same view that already-existing banking regulators have. Those regulators already know how to balance bank safety and soundness with products for consumers. A new agency without regard to safety and soundness could come up with burdensome regulations that would make it too expensive for banks to offer otherwise beneficial services to consumers."

Boy. If that doesn't want to make you hide your money in Mason jars in the backyard, I don't know what is. Get digging, Freckles. There's a pork chop in it for you.

i had to pass this one along.

Experiences like this make me really fear for society. But then again, it's also a good way to find out where NOT to shop. Check out the Rambling Rants.