Linkage Update

I've added a bunch of other links in addition to the economic ones. There's Pro Football Talk, the source of NFL news and rumors. There's IO9, a relatively new science fiction-oriented (in all it's glories - books, movies, tv, comics) blog from the Gawker group of blogs. 

There's 538, a blog that uses all the polls - seriously, all of them - as the input to a predictive model. It's from the good folks behind Baseball Prospectus, and they bring that level of wonkery and that level of accuracy to the political realm. (Note - they are one of the very few who predicted, before the season began, that Tampa Bay would make the playoffs.) Mudflats, a progressive Alaska blog (wonder why that's there?) has been added. (In all seriousness, I would totally move to Alaska.) Finally, Balloon Juice, the blog of former Republican/still conservative/Obama supporter John Cole is back again. 

Give em all a try!

Money Money Money Money

Here are links to a couple of great NPR pieces on the economic crisis. The first is The Giant Pool Of Money. The second is Another Frightening Show About The Economy. Both are absolutely essential to understanding where we are and how we got there. I've also tossed a group of Economics links out there, including Calculated Risk, Paul Krugman's blog, and Brad DeLong's blog. Calculated Risk has a long, long list of economics related links. 

Great Ad

This is a great ad - the best I've seen all season. The cool thing is, it's privately made by an Obama supporter and not by anyone associated with the campaign. (Hat tip to TPM.)

Air Travel Thoughts

Good Things

Midway is a great airport. I've never been delayed at Midway, and indeed have almost always taken off and arrived early. The boarding pass check and security are set up perfectly to allow everyone to get through the process in a short amount of time. Parking - close parking - is plentiful and remarkably easy to navigate.

Southwest is a great airline. I love, love, love Southwest. I love that every leg is priced separately - I can purchase two one-way tickets and a round-trip ticket on Southwest out of Midway for cheaper than one one-way ticket out of Cedar Rapids. I love that there are no baggage fees unless you are checking more than two bags or bringing something over 75 pounds. I love the new method of boarding that rewards you for checking in early. I love how they stress customer service while allowing their employees to bring their own individuality to their jobs. Case in point: The flight back from Philly had the roughest landing I've ever had. You know how you always bounce slightly when you first touch down? We bounced three times, throwing you out of your seat (thank God for seatbelts) then rushed down the runway far faster than you should. When we finally came to a stop, the attendant came on and went "Wheee! That was fun!" The guy next to me muttered "That wasn't fun", and I agreed, but I liked how the attendant handled it.

Bad Things

That guy next to me? Huge. HUGE. Took up his seat, half of mine, and half of the guy on the other side. Now, I know I'm not a small man. But still. I was pressed against the window for the entire two hours of the flight. Thank God for books.

Carry-on people. You know, folks, if you have to stand there, pounding on your bag, moving it back and forth and to all different angles to try to get it into the overhead compartment, well maybe - maybe - YOU SHOULD JUST CHECK THE DAMN THING!!! As I was boarding for the flight back, there was a woman who had the whole line stopped because she was trying to get a bag that was literally - I'm not exaggerating, because she was right in front of me - six inches wider than overhead compartment. Don't get me wrong - it's not that the bag would normally be six inches wider, it's just that she had it so jammed filled with stuff that it got that way. Eventually she saw the line forming, pulled the bag down and ducked into the row so people could get past. She might have been the worst offender, but she wasn't the only offender.

You Might Want To Avoid This One

It's late - almost 1:30, and I've been up for over 20 hours. I started the day in a hotel a few miles south of Midway airport, went to Philadelphia and back, and then returned to Iowa. My spiritual journey was much harder, much longer. I started the day once again a father with two sons (having picked up Andrew at Midway last night) and end the day as a father with no sons. That's not entirely true I guess; I have sons, they are just 1,000 miles away from me.

That's why I'm not in bed yet, tired as I am. I know as soon as I shut the last lights off and lie down, it's all going to come crashing in on me. There were moments of tears throughout the afternoon after I left E, but I was able to fight them off. I know I won't now. I'll just have to accept them, accept that my life is no longer as bright as it was and won't be again for sometime, but I'm not ready for that yet.

There is an unfairness about it to me. It's unfair that there are parents who don't love their children, who don't want their children, who would be happy to be in my position. It's unfair that, at least to me, the bulk of the responsibility for our family, my family, being in this position lies elsewhere, but the bulk of the pain lies with me.

But the dogs are here, and though they sense my sadness, and though they know that E is not here, they will do what they can to keep me happy. I can devote my spare time more to myself, if not all to myself, and my expenses are cut drastically. These things don't add up to what I lost, but they will have to do.

Why Yes

I'm ec-fucking-static that the candidate I supported in the caucuses was carrying on an extra-marital affair (are there really any other kinds of affairs?) while campaigning for the Presidency.

Idiot.

So

I wonder how many Obama supporters who thought McCain would be a viable option if Hilary won the nomination still feel that way? I also wonder if McCain will ever put forward a reason for voting for him that isn't, for all intents and purposes, "I'm not Obama"?

It's Sad

That my first reaction to the headline "Hawkeye Recruit Arrested" was "Whew - least it wasn't another football player.

Professor Offers A's for T's

Film at eleven, story at the Iowa City Press Citizen.

According to complaints from the University of Iowa Department of Public Safety, there were four incidents. On May 8, a female student said she and Miller met. The student said Miller told her she wasn’t doing well in regards to her overall grade. The student said Miller said she “would have to do something for him” and Miller grabbed and sucked on her breast.

Miller later sent the student an e-mail congratulating her on getting an “A+” and offering to meet next week to discuss assistance for getting into law school.

There were two complaints from May 12. One complaint by a female student said she and Miller met to address her grade, with the student asking Miller if her grade would be fine pending taking the final. The student said Miller told her that wouldn’t be good enough and asked her to take off her top. The student did not do so and left his office.

The second complaint by a female student said she met with Miller to discuss grades. The student said Miller told her he would give her an “A” if she let him fondle her breasts. Miller did so and asked to lick them. Miller later sent the student an e-mail asking to meet with her again and that “A lasting memory of a lovely Monet cannot be formed in 20 seconds.”

The final complaint from May 13 was from a female student who met with Miller in his office. The student said Miller repeatedly asked her to take off her shirt and tried to negotiate by giving her an “A” in the class. The student said Miller told her that “girls in New Orleans do it all the time just for beads and that her grade was on the line.”

I don't want to downplay the severity of this story - it's a complete violation of the professor-student relationship, and, if true, should result in nothing less than a dismissal from the University. Further, I find it hard to believe that there have only been four incidents over time - I wonder if the investigation is getting in contact with all the females on his class lists for the past few years. They certainly should be, if they aren't. But the line "A lasting memory of a lovely Monet cannot be formed in 20 seconds" strides so wonderfully above the nexus of sleaze and cheese that I will not soon forget it.

My Friend Flickr

Added a virtual ton of photos to the Flickr account, most taken at our visit to the Iowa Children's Museum yesterday afternoon. E had a blast, though it was somewhat bittersweet for me; it's the last time I'll take him for awhile. We'll miss the Halloween party, which he has been to every year but one since he was born. My world changes on Wednesday, and not for the better. Oh well. You do what you do.

Anyway, here is a taste of the photos. It took a lot of attempts to get a photo with the balls just leaving the track, and by the time I finally got the shot, E was a little miffed that I wouldn't let him go play on other exhibits. But it worked, and I think it looks cool.

You Tube Fun - 80s Female Edition

Go-Gos



Bangles



Katrina and the Waves



Toni Basil

Paul Simon Was Wrong

Not everything looks worse in black and white.



(For those who don't get the reference, watch the video, listen to the video, and look at the new blog template.)

So of course they switch up the song lyrics in that one. Here's the original song put to a bunch of images.



And just because

True Car Conversations Two and Three

A little bit of background. Ethan takes a backpack with some toys in it whenever we get in the car. As much as he likes talking with me on our daily drives (30 miles to work, 30 miles home again), he also likes playing with his action figures. He talks as he plays, carrying on conversations between the toys.

So we're driving along, and from the back seat I hear

Ethan: You're trapped, Count Dooku. Drop your light saber!

Me: Cool - you caught Count Dooku.

Ethan: (Pause, then exasperatedly) I'm trying to play here.

Me: Sorry.

Some more background. The word hell has creeped into Ethan's vocabulary. I know that this is more than partly my fault as a parent. Not that I use the word around him, but I allow him to watch movies, play PS2 games, and watch tv shows that use the word. We've spoken about it, and I've tried to tell him how some words are good words, some words are bad words, some words are fine to use when you're older, and some words are fine to use when no one can hear you use them. He gets the basic concept - he's an incredibly smart boy - but sometimes things like the following happen.

Ethan: (Playing in the back seat, while acting out a battle between action figures.) What the hell?

Me: Dude!

Ethan: ... Sorry.



Side Note One: I use the word dude way too much for someone in his late 40s.

Side Note Two: There is something incredibly inherently funny about a five-year old saying "What the hell?"

Side Note Three: Side Note trademarked by Side Notes.

Customer Service At Its Finest

On the last full day Drew was here, Thursday June 12th, I went out to McDonald's at the outlet mall to get breakfast. Now, this isn't the best staffed McDonald's you can find - it's incredibly busy, and the local staffing options are the elderly and high schoolers. Still, it wasn't a busy morning, so I didn't double-check the sack after getting the food, opting instead to just drive home.

Of course, this means I didn't get the complete order. Fortunately, the food for the boys was there, but mine wasn't. So I drove back out, went inside, and asked for the food I wasn't given. They had realized I hadn't gotten my food, so I didn't have to prove it. As the clerk was putting together my order, she asked the manager on duty if she could give me a complimentary meal card.

The manager said no.

The clerk stared at her, then asked again. "This guy had to come back to get food we didn't give him. Can't we get him a meal card?"

The manager said no. "But I'll go get a coupon for a sandwich." And with that, she walked to the back.

Now, I hadn't gone in there with the intention of getting something to recompense me for my troubles. I just wanted my breakfast. And if no one had said anything, I would have walked in and out without comment. But the fact that the manager vocally didn't want to give me anything, then had to be talked into giving me a sandwich, was, well, kind of insulting. I worked in restaurants for almost fifteen years, over five of those in management. If you feel your actions have negatively impacted the customer to the point you think you should comp the customer something, you comp them something at least of equal value to what they ordered.

I waited for the manager to come back, ready to tell her that her offer of a sandwich was insulting, but before I could get that far she said "Here's a meal coupon." So I took it, glanced at it, thanked her, and went home.

I took the coupon to work, thinking I would use it for lunch some time. I had seen a date on it, but didn't look closely enough to see what the expiration date. I figured it was good for at least a month, if not a year. I had looked closely enough to see it was good at any O'Brien's McDonald's, the franchisee in the Iowa City area.

Jump forward a couple of weeks. McDonald's is sounding good for lunch, so I pick up the coupon and get ready to go. For the first time since I got it, I look at the date.

06/12/08

Remember the date I mentioned above, the date this happened? Thursday, June 12th? June 12th, 2008? In other words, 06/12/08?

I checked the date on the coupon again, thinking that couldn't possibly be right.

06/12/08

They gave me a coupon that expired that day.

I looked it over, thinking that had to be a mistake. Thinking there must be something on the coupon saying "Valid for 30/60/365 days after the date on this card."

But no.

The expiration date was that day. THAT DAY!

Customer service at its finest.

An Eventful Week Part II

The first sign that there might be trouble came Thursday afternoon, when reports started circulating that the Iowa Department of Transportation planned on closing I-80 at the Atalissa and Tipton exits Friday night at 7:00 pm. At that point I realized I would probably need to be moving out Friday afternoon instead of Saturday morning. Still, I could leave home as late as 5:00 in the afternoon and still clear those exits by 7:00 pm. My mother suggested that I take the boys right then and go down and stay with an aunt and uncle on the east side of the closure. I briefly considered it, but decided to wait.

I woke up Friday morning to discover that the DOT had closed I-80 earlier than expected. Indeed, they jumped the closure from Friday evening to late Thursday. I started looking at maps, trying to figure out how to go east. It seemed pretty simple. Head up to Cedar Rapids, then take Highway 30 east to Tipton, then back south to I-80. I needed to make arrangements to board the dogs, and started making calls. By the time I found a place to board them, not only was Highway 30 closed, but pretty much every bridge and road north of I-80 that went east was closed. On top of that, I-380 in Cedar Rapids was one-lane only, and there was talk that both I-380 and Highway 965 were about to be closed between I-80 and Cedar Rapids. My only option to the north was heading west, then heading north to Highway 20, then east to Dubuque, then south to I-80, then on to Chicago. Not a very attractive path.

So I started looking south. Highway 92 was already closed going east, but that still left Highway 6 and Highway 22. I got the boys dressed, then set off for Victor where I was boarding the dogs. By the time I got home, less than an hour later, Highway 6 was closed. Highway 22 was still open, though. If that closed, my only option would be driving down to Mt. Pleasant, taking Highway 34 across the river at Burlington and over to Galesburg, and then taking I-70 up to I-80.

We set off about 2:00. Before we leave I double-check to make sure Highway 22 is still open. It is. By the time we reach Highway 22, about 40 minutes later, it’s closed. We set off for Mt. Pleasant, hoping Highway 34 is still open. It is, and the rest of the trip is uneventful, except of course for hitting I-55 into Chicago right about 6:00 p.m., just when traffic starts to go back into the city. It took about an hour to travel the 30-some miles between I-80 and the Harlem exit, and then another 30 minutes or so to get to the hotel.

The next day was busy – turn in the first rental car, get a new rental car, escort Drew to his flight, go to the BMW dealership and take care of things with the old car, then drive back home following the same route. We dropped the rental off at Budget, got a lift home from a friend (thanks Brian!), then settled in and watched flood coverage.

So that was my week. It cost me a car, it cost me over a $1,000 out of pocket (rental car, hotel, gas, diagnosis of car problems, towing fee), and I still consider myself fortunate compared to the many, many people in the area who lost a lot more. A friend, someone I’ve worked with for close to a decade, owns a house in one of the worst-affected areas of Iowa City. I spent an afternoon helping him clean-up - tearing out carpet, tearing down drywall, hauling out trash. It was horrible to see the damage caused by the flood up close. And he was one of the lucky ones. He was about four rows of houses away from the river, and though he is looking at tens of thousands of dollars worth of damages, he could conceivably rebuild if he needs to do so. There are many others in far worse shape. I got to leave it behind at the end of the day, but those affected can never leave it behind. It’s always with them.

Someone Needs To Work On Their Sales Technique

From the Gazette

CORALVILLE — A Louisiana woman allegedly offered to perform a sex act on a man for $40 then struck him when he refused, according to police reports.

Dinora Santa Maria Wilson, 41, of Kenner, La., was charged with prostitution, an aggravated misdemeanor. She was taken to the Johnson County Jail and is held on a $5,000 cash bond. She faces up to two years in prison.

Wilson allegedly knocked on the man's door around 12:30 a.m. Saturday at the Motel 6, 810 First Ave., and offered to perform a sex act. When the man refused, Wilson allegedly said, "What are you, gay?" In the midst of an altercation, Wilson then struck the man in the face. Wilson appeared intoxicated, according to police reports.

Call me crazy, but if a drunk stranger knocks on my motel door at 12:30 in the morning, I don't open the door. I'm funny like that.

True Car Conversations

Ethan: When I grow up, I want to be a doctor.

Me: That's a good career. You have to work hard at it, and go to school, but you are smart enough that if you want to be a doctor you can do it.

Ethan: I also want to be Spider-Man when I grow up.

Me: (Pause) That one's a bit tougher.

Odds and Ends

I've opened a Flickr account. I've set it to private, but I'm willing to invite anyone who visits here who wants an invite. Drop me an email if interested. In the meantime, enjoy this photo of my friend Ethan and me.

An Eventful Week Part I

All okay here on the flood front, in case anyone is wondering. I did have a rather eventful week the week the flooding hit the area, but it wasn't related to the weather. Let's just put it like this - I now have a new old car. A 2005, which is the closest I've been to the current model year since 1998, when the late, lamented Saturn was three years old.

Andrew came out for a week starting June 6th. It was between the end of school in Delaware and going to his father's in Oregon. He flew into Midway in Chicago on Southwest. Flying in and out of Midway is cheaper, even with the money spent on travel, than flying out of Cedar Rapids. So I drove in to Midway that Friday morning. The trip started without incident, but I got a speeding ticket shortly after entering Illinois. But from there to Midway things went well.

However, as I parked in the lowest level of the parking garage at Midway (that's where short-term parking is) it seemed like the engine was running hot. I popped the hood, and saw light coming out of the engine area. This is not how it is supposed to be.

I got out of the car, opening the hood fully, and spied the fire. Yes, fire. It was small - maybe the size of two fists, and it didn't seem like anything was on fire; rather that something had hit the engine block and started on fire - but as any mechanic will tell you, any fire on the engine block is a bad fire. I leaned in, blowing, finally putting the fire out. And yes, I realize this was probably not the smartest thing I've ever done.

I went to get Drew, and called my mechanic in Iowa while waiting for Drew's flight to arrive. My mechanic confirmed my impressions that a: I should not attempt to drive the car, and b: the cost of transporting the car to Iowa to get it looked at would be prohibitive. I got Drew, then called Lesa. She got the numbers for some car repair shops and dealerships in the Chicago area, finally settling on the BMW dealership in Orland Park. They recommended a towing service. I called both, making arrangements to have the car towed and subsequently diagnosed. I then went to secure a rental car.

I got a car at Budget in Midway. This was not without complications; they told me there was no Budget drop off in Iowa City, which I knew for a fact wasn't true, because I've gotten vehicles from them before. In fact, it was my satisfaction with the service at Budget in Iowa City that made me go to the Budget counter in the first place. Nonetheless, for some reason, it was not in the system. My only choice was to get a car I could drop off in Des Moines or get a car to bring back to Midway. Since I would need to get back to Midway the following weekend so Drew could fly out to Oregon, I decided to go that route. Besides, at that point I was still hoping I would have a BMW to drive home on the return trip.

Meanwhile, we needed to wait for the tow truck to arrive before we went to pick up the rental. When the tow truck finally got there, he couldn't get into the parking garage. As a result, I needed to drive my car out of the parking garage to where the tow truck was parked by the departure drop offs. I wasn't particularly thrilled to be driving a car that had previously been on fire, but it worked out. The driver got the car hooked up, I paid the $200 towing charge, and Drew and I went to get the rental car.

We got to the Budget lot and found out they had given our car to someone else because we hadn't gotten there right away. This despite the fact that I had told the person at the rental counter that we wouldn't be going right over to get the car. We ended up waiting another hour there til they had a car for us. It was a Cadillac, though. A very nice car. I was assured that there wouldn't be any extra charge, and we were off. We got back home around 11:00, about five hours later than I had hoped to return when I set off that morning.

I'll leave out the fun aspects of Drew being here. Suffice it to say, it was great that he was able to be here for a week.

Even if Ethan was sick for three days of that week.

Anyway, on Tuesday I get the call from BMW of Orland Park. There's $4,000 worth of repairs, and that's just fixing the stuff the fire damaged. Finding what exactly caused the fire, and how to repair that, would be more. And that doesn't even touch the $1,000 in repairs the car needed before I drove to Chicago. (Nothing that was urgent, but things that needed to be taken care of in the next year or so.)

The car cost me $6,000.

Needless to say, it didn't seem to make much sense to drop $4,000 plus into it. The repair agent I spoke to, after I said not to fix it, told me that if I had said to fix it, he was prepared to try to talk me out of it.

But that left me needing a car. I went out to the local Ford dealer. As much as I loved the BMWs, I wasn't prepared to get another car that was more than a decade old, which was the only way I could get another BMW. I found a nice Mercury Sable wagon that had been traded in just the previous week. 2005, low mileage, decent miles per gallon. The price was okay too. I got a quote, then went to the bank. Fortunately, the bank was willing to write a new loan high enough to pay off the previous loan and get the new used car. So that was taken care of.

I still needed to dispose of the old car. I got that taken care of by donating it to charity. They would go to the dealer, pick it up, tow it away, and auction it, all at no cost to me. That's two headaches down.

The final headache was getting the rental car and Drew back to Midway, then getting a new rental that I could drop off in Iowa City. I stopped in the Budget location in Iowa City, and was assured that, no matter what I was told in Midway, I could drop off a car there. They said I might have to rent the car to be dropped off at Des Moines, but even if I did, I could drop it off in Iowa City.

So that just left getting Drew back to Midway. Unfortunately, his father booked Drew's flight at 9:15 in the morning. That meant we would have to get up at 3:00 am to make sure we got to Midway on time. Inconvenient, but possible.

Until Mother Nature intervened.

Signs

Sign posted on the outside of the Metrodome, spied on Saturday 06/28/08:

The Minnesota Twins Baseball Club Bans Guns In These Premises

I realize there is probably a legal reason they need to post this, but I really hope there aren't a lot of people walking up, seeing this, and then turning to their spouse to say

"Damnit! Honey, give me the keys and my ticket. I've got to go back and put my assault rifle in the trunk. I'll catch up to you."