I'm Officially A Crotchety Old Neighbor

The houses are about 20' apart in our neighborhood of cape cod houses built in the early 1950s. I sit at the computer all day looking out the den's window at the side of my neighbor's garage.

Along that side of our house, I have planted hundreds if not thousands of hyacinth and daffodil bulbs. All of which have broken the surface and are currently about 1" tall. I went out on Saturday and scratched up the dirt so they'd have an easier time bursting through and the spring rain will have an easier time seeping down.

I spend a lot of time in this flower bed during the spring and summer doing the weeding, planting new perennials, trimming the shrubs, staking up the peonies, etc.

============

The neighbors have a teenage boy who hangs out with another boy who lives two doors down from me in the other direction. They were on the driveway kicking a soccer ball and using the frame of the garage door as their goal. Kick, kick, bang. Kick, kick, bang. It's one of those things we put up with as part of being a neighbor.

Then the ball rolled over into my garden. No big deal, except when you tromp through without any regard in order to retrieve it. It happens once, I'm perturbed. It happens twice, and I'm getting angry. The third time? Snap!

I fling up the inside window, fling up outside storm window, and thrust my head out the window.

Looking the neighbor boy in the eyes I yell, "If you stomp on my flowers I'm going to stomp on your head."

Yes, you readers know that mild mannered Y|O|Y can get downright mean when fouled in just the right way. I'm a smiling volcano ready to blow at any moment.

I didn't get an apology, rather a statement that the noise was coming from their side. "Ummmm, excuse me, but I'm sitting right here looking out the window and I saw you!"

With that, I slammed down the storm window. I'm surprised it didn't shatter.

And that's the story of me becoming a crotchety old neighbor.

Boycott Jamaica

I'm aware of the atrocities that happen in Jamaica and I would never go there for fear of my life. There is now an official movement to Boycott Jamaica by the GLBT community. Not sure it will help but at least we can steer people to safe and affirming vacation destinations.

(h/t Pam's House Blend)

Face Lift Friday: Barry Manilow (Age 65)

Latest Siena Poll In The NY 20th Congressional Had Democrat Ahead

The Siena Institute has released their latest poll in the race for New York's 20th Congressional district.

In the first poll, Assemblymember Jim Tedisco (R) led businessman Scott Murphy (D) by 25%.

In the second poll, Tedisco led Murphy by 4%.

In the third and current poll, Murphy now leads Tedisco by 4%.

Kirsten Gillibrand (D), who was the former Congresswoman in the district who was elevated to New York's junior U.S. Senator to fill Hillary Clinton's spot, still enjoys a 75% favorable rating in the GOP-heavy district. Murphy is riding her coat tails a bit with her popularity and endorsement.

The other day I mentioned that President Obama endorsed Murphy and sent an email to people in the district. Vice President Biden has just cut a radio commercial that will also be in rotation in the district.

I participated in a conference call about a week ago and learned that TV is cheaper that direct mail in the district so we are seeing the two contenders slug it out on the air.

TV Wednesday On Thursday: LOST

** SPOILER ALERT **

I'm not sure what to make of this week's episode. I didn't think much happened.

• It occurred to me that the Left Behinders have had the opportunity to get out of Dharmaville via the sub for the past three years but chose to stay. I guess that's what they were getting at a couple of episodes back when Juliet agreed to stay for two weeks and never left.

• Sayid the chicken killer is a mess. I love how he spilled the beans under the truth serum but I knew he was going to tell all and they would think it was the medicine talking.

• Talk about screwing up the future...Sayid shooting Ben? Ben will live (see the video above), perhaps saved by Jin waking up and taking him back to the barracks. Maybe Jack will perform surgery and save his life...again.

• Speaking of the Untangled video, when they go to torture Sayid, they threw sugar cubes at him. Isn't that old-school LSD?

• Now about little Ben. The Left Behinders know who he is...so why haven't they taken an interest in trying to shape his life so he doesn't become a sociopath? Why haven't they killed him? Remember that Ben said a couple of seasons ago that Juliet was meant for him? We thought it was as a wife, maybe it was for something else?

• Juliet finally had a chance to talk with Kate about Sawyer. Sawyer reassured Juliet has nothing to worry about — but for how long? I mean, Kate didn't travel 30 years back in time, to an isolated island, and leave Aaron behind only to come up empty handed.

• Who is Ethan's father? I don't think it's Horace.

• There are online rumors that the show is currently shooting a wedding scene that will be included in the finale. It is going to take place on the mainland and be Asian since they are recruiting Asian extras for the scene. Some speculate that Aaron will marry Jin and Sun's baby in the future. Others think we will see Jin and Sun getting married in the past. We still haven't seen Sun's mother so maybe we'll see her father getting married...to Mrs. Hawking! Just an idea.

Well, Losties, did I miss something big? Tell me!

Obama Endorses Murphy For Congress

From HuffPo:

For the first time since his inauguration, President Barack Obama is flexing his electoral muscle, urging supporters to organize and vote for New York Democratic congressional candidate Scott Murphy.

In an email signed by the president and sent to DNC and Organize for America activists in and around the state's 20th congressional district, Obama touts Murphy as having the "kind of experience and background" needed in Washington.

I received the email, but it went to the address I use for dating sites so I'm not quite sure how they got it.

I wondered if the President was going to get involved. I had thought that he might cut a television commercial to complement the one airing from Kirsten Gillibrand.

Hunk-A-Lot Hump Day: Taye Diggs

Wiggy Wednesday: Is It Or Isn't It Edition

For your consideration...

Countdown host Keith Olbermann:


The bald pic is doctored but I couldn't resist including it when I discovered it looking for photos. I think the area front and center is a rug.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner:


I can never see where his hair is actually growing out of his scalp in the front and there always seems to be a ridge around the middle of his hair.

Former NBC Nightly News weekend anchor John Seigenthaler:


Readers, what say you?

NY 20th Congressional: An Early Referendum On Obama?

Our local Congressional election is getting nationwide attention.

After Hillary Clinton took the job as Secretary of State, NY Governor David Paterson elevated my local Congresswoman to fill the open position in the U.S. Senate. Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand was very successful here in what is a largely Republican district. In fact, last November, it was the most expensive Congressional race in the country as they tried to knock her off. They felt she was vulnerable yet she won 2-1.

Now that NY's 20th Congressional is open, we vote next Tuesday for her replacement.

The Democrat Scott Murphy is a businessman who has little if any political experience. His Republican opponent is Jim Tedisco who has served in the Albany legislature for over 20 years.

The national party committees have launched wave after wave of negative television ads.

But, as the dust settles, it appears that this is going to become a referendum on President Obama's economic plans. Each has taken their party line: Murphy says we need the money to create jobs and keep taxes low; Tedisco says it is fiscally irresponsible and he has a better plan.

It is going to be a tight race. Initially, Tedisco led by ~25% points because he had the name recognition. After all the advertising, Murphy has closed the gap to 4%.

Demographically, I'd say our district is a good representation of the nation. Cities, town, and lots of farm land. Mostly white and black, though, with fewer Hispanics and Asians compared to some parts of the country.

I'll keep you posted.

The Tank Feels Empty

Boy, I haven't felt much like blogging. I have some generic posts set up for just such occasions and I didn't even feel like posting them.

I was going to write about how Laura Ingraham was Douche Bag of the Week last week. I was going to find a Bugs Bunny cartoon to post for some fun. I was going to write about the perils of driving in an area teeming with wildlife. I was going to write about the race to replace U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in the NY 20th Congressional (not exciting, but something unique going on here). I've been working on starting a new business but had a sudden loss of confidence and wonder if all the work is worth it.

I think it could be the Lexapro which doesn't seem to make me feel any better. I'm feeling down in the dumps and stressy at the same time. The double-whammy of what it is like to be me.

So, I'm still here. I'm dreading some calls with my work client today. It's one of those situations you know is going to end up a big mess where I, as the messenger, is going to get the blame.

Karate Kid IV

I just realized Ralph Macchio is on Ugly Betty. Am I late to the party in getting this?

TV Wednesday On Thursday: LOST

**SPOILER ALERT**

This week's episode seemed to be a bit of a bridge episode.

• Okay, so we found out that Ben, Frank and Sun are in 2007...and none of them flashed in time. They are with Ceasar and Police Woman in that time frame. This helps with Sun not knowing Jin when she meets him later and marries him but why wasn't she "special enough" to flash with the others?

• So Ben wasn't incapacitated in the crash. Sun solved that problem with a paddle to the head, and admitted that she's liar in the process! Who is Sun? Who is her father? Remember her father knows Widmore? Here's a wild one...is her father Dharma's Peter Chang aka Marvin Candle?

• Dharma is building the Swan station. I expect that we will find out why it was built, if the 108 minutes was functional or a psychological test, etc. Sawyer asked Alpert if he buried jughead the bomb. I thought that was at the bottom of the Swan station but maybe not if the Hostiles buried it but Dharma build the Swan.

• Old Smokey greeted Sun and Pilot on the big island at the submarine dock but didn't bother them. And then Jack's father showed up and told Sun she had a long journey ahead. Is she going back to 1977?

• And, speaking of Ethan in the last post. Baby Ethan survives the purge which means that not all Dharma die.

• Now, where is Faraday?

• The love quadrangle is heating up.

• Hurley is the Chef! I suspect there will be a lot of burgers and fires on the menu!!!

• Baby Ben is tending to Sayid in the jail. He's even a creepy kid. I wonder if adult Ben remembers his interaction with Sayid as a child?

Okay, Losties, now it's your turn. Speak up!

Ed Weaver Is A Nitwit: FINAL

Over the years, I have posted about a local conservative nut in the local newspaper The Record. My posts, which have been increasingly infrequent because I've just been tired of fighting the same old bullshit, have run their course and will now end.

In two recent columns, Ed Weaver has echoed Rush Limbaugh's call for the failure of President Obama.

The following is the email I sent to the paper's publisher informing him of our lack of renewal:

I have received several mailings and a phone message regarding the status of my renewal of The Record. Our family has taken The Record for over 40 years, and it saddens me that we will not be renewing.

As the Publisher, I think you should know the reason. Simply, it is your columnist Ed Weaver. I've held my nose for years regarding his regurgitation of Rush Limbaugh, but his recent declarations that he wants the U.S. President to fail have gone too far. I just cannot bear to think that any money that we give to The Record goes in any way, no matter how small, to pay his salary.

The irony, of course, is that when The Record eventually closes up shop, it will be Mr. Weaver who elbows his way to the front of the unemployment and social security lines to collect his "socialist" checks.

If the President fails, it won't matter if you are a Democrat or a Republican, the taste of dog food is the same.

I'd say that "I hope you fail," but I'm above the negativity that The Record evidently supports. I wish you well, even if we disagree.

With that, we will not be receiving The Record any more.

(Some of you may remember that I also canceled my subscription to The Wall Street Journal when Rupert Murdoch took control.)

Previous "Ed Weaver Is A Nitwit" Posts:
4.14.07 || 4.7.07 || 3.31.07
3.24.07 || 3.17.07 || 3.10.07 || 3.3.07 || 2.17.07 || 2.10.07 || 1.27.07
1.20.07 || 1.13.07 || 1.6.07 || 12.30.06 || 12.23.06 || 12.16.06
12.9.06 || 12.2.06 || 11.25.06 || 11.18.06 || 11.11.06 || 11.4.06
10.28.06 || 10.17.06 || 10.10.06 || 10.3.06 || 9.26.06 || 9.19.06

TV Tuesday On Wednesday: American Idol

Openly gay contestant Adam Lambert left the judges and audience with their mouths agape with his rendition of Johnny Cash's Ring Of Fire. I didn't like it so much when I saw it live, but when I saw the clip over at JMG this morning, it has really grown on me.



If you don't like it the first time through, give it a couple of hours, and come back to it.

Hunk-A-Lot Hump Day: Jay Harrington

I'm looking forward to watching Better Off Ted tonight just to see Jay Harrington. He's everything that is my ideal...dark hair, dark eyes, dark five o'clock shadow, handsome, and skinny.

More About California High Speed Rail

This site discusses intra-CA high-speed rail options. As I said in the previous post, the idea of trains have been around for decades as CalTrans has tried to alleviate traffic congestion and the AQMD has tried to alleviate smog. Probably as long as Disneyland has had the monorail. Folks wonder why Disney could do it in the 1950's but we can do it today.

Californians are willing to put their money where their mouths are...in November of 2008, they passed the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act that read:

“To provide Californians a safe, convenient, affordable, and reliable alternative to driving and high gas prices; to provide good-paying jobs and improve California's economy while reducing air pollution, global warming greenhouse gases, and our dependence on foreign oil, shall $9.95 billion in bonds be issued to establish a clean, efficient high-speed train service linking Southern California, the Sacramento San Joaquin Valley, and the San Francisco Bay Area, with at least 90 percent of bond funds spent for specific projects, with federal and private matching funds required, and all bond funds subject to independent audits?”

The web site doesn't show anything about the Anaheim to Las Vegas route, but has maps, travel info, and simulations of what it would look like taking the train from San Diego to San Francisco.

The OC-LV train is being touted as mag-lev (magnetic levitation) but will probably be steel wheel construction as the French and Japanese implementations. Those are much less expensive to construct.

About That California Train

Part of the earmarks the GOP has been yammering about is high speed rail between "Disneyland and Las Vegas." Faux News has even said it was a line between "Disneyland and a Bunny Ranch."

Since I lived in Orange County and within earshot of Disneyland for decades, I thought I'd write up some facts that folks unfamiliar with the area might not know.

• There have been plans for a high-speed rail line between southern CA and Las Vegas for years.
• The current budget calls for increase rail funding but there is no mention of any rail lines between CA and NV. Although the transportation commission could choose to fund one out of that money.
• The train would not go to "Disneyland" but to the main terminal in Anaheim which is central to Orange County and would connect to existing Amtrak and MetroLink lines. Disneyland happens to be in Anaheim, but interestingly, Anaheim Stadium where the Angels play and Anaheim Pond where the Ducks play are closer to the train terminal. The story of "Disneyland" and "Bunny Ranch" is too juicy even though it is misleading. Hey, that's Faux News!
• There is no "Bunny Ranch" in Las Vegas. Prostitution is illegal in Las Vegas (but legal in other parts of Nevada).

Why not build a freeway instead?
• Freeways can cost between $10-20M per lane mile. It is 265 miles from Anaheim to Las Vegas.
• Congestion on the CA-91, I-10 and I-15 freeways causes 4-5 hour delays of stop and go traffic on Friday and Sunday nights as folks commute from LA to the desert. Honestly, building more freeway lanes would not alleviate the congestion. It is shown that freeway expansions reach their new capacity shortly after opening because all of the folks who avoided the freeway jump on when things are moving again. (They doubled the I-5 from 6 to 12 lanes when I lived in the OC and it took about 2 months for the widened freeway to reach the same gridlock.) The wider freeways handle more cars moving 3 feet at a time. This wouldn't solve the problem, just exacerbate it.

Why not increase the number of flights?
• LAX is currently spending over $2B on capacity expansion, mostly for international traffic. These airports not only handle traffic to Vegas, but intra-CA and international. What costs would be incurred at LAX and McCarran in Vegas to support this?
• Orange County's John Wayne Airport is under flight restrictions to mitigate noise pollution for nearby Newport Beach and Balboa Island. This means they can't just increase air traffic there. You can't take off before 7 a.m. or land after 11 p.m. (I've been on delayed flights out of O'Hare where we were too late and had to land at LAX and bus the rest of the way.) There are only so many slots available, and runs to Vegas would not be as profitable as longer flights so airlines aren't likely to increase capacity unless ticket prices rise...which defeats the purpose of installing a cheap and efficient transportation option.

Why would this rail line be a good idea?
• A reduction in pollution and wasted fuel.
• Could this create a budding U.S. high speed rail industry that has gone to France, Japan, and Germany?
• It could increase tourism in both places. With a convenient way to get to one place from the other, how many foreign tourists would extend their stay if it was fast, convenient, and cheap to do so?

California's population is expected to increase from today's total of 36.5 million to 70 million in 2050. We need to put the infrastructure in place NOW. Even the GOP Governator agrees.

Audit Those AIG Bastards

I'm thinking more about those AIG bonuses. I think the IRS needs to do personal audits on their top 15% salaried employees. After all, if the taxpayers are paying it to them, we need to make sure it is taxed properly. Oh, and send a team in and go back the full seven years. I wonder how many of them we can get behind bars?

Saturday Sh!ts & Giggles: Rindercella

Face Lift Friday: Karl Lagerfeld (Age 75)

TV Wednesday On Thursday: LOST

How disappointing was it that there wasn't a new episode this week? Okay, I found some things in the pop up video version from last week that bear mentioning:

• In the 2000's, pregnant women died in their 2nd trimester. The fact that Juliet delivered that baby at term means the birthin' babies issue hasn't occurred yet as Sawyer suggested. Is it because the women that are left after the purge are Hostiles and they are infertile for some reason. The poison they used with Ben to kill the Dharmas?

• Jin speaks pretty good English in 1977 (and could understand a bit in the 2000's). Remember that adult Charlotte spoke Korean? Did Jin and child Charlotte teach each other?

• If Juliet knew how to turn on the sonic fence, how come she didn't know how to turn it off?

• The biggest thing I noticed...Alpert met Locke in 1954 during a time flash. Locke told him he was born in Tustin, CA in 1956. (BTW, I worked in Tustin for a year in 1985.) Alpert showed up to visit Locke on the day of his birth. Presuming that this is pre-Dharma, and pre-submarine, how did Richard get off the island?

• When and from where do Tom and Ethan show up?

Hunk-A-Lot Hump Day: Jason O'Mara

TV Tuesday On Wednesday: American Idol — "I'm Just Not That Into You"

This season's American Idol hasn't captured me. I was switching between AI and the Knicks vs Milwaukee game last night. Maybe it'll get better as the season goes on.

Observations:

• Paula was super shaky and fidgety last night.
• I don't think the blind guy is all that talented and has been moved along for his disability rather than his ability.
• Lil Rounds is over rated.
• An openly gay guy has a shot at winning it all.

From The "I Just Don't Get It" File: Robin Thicke

Siena Made The NCAA

My alma mater, Siena College, made the NCAA basketball tournament. Go Saints!

TV Monday On Tuesday: Dancing With The Stars

I'm happy that The Bachelor cast off Melissa is on Dancing With The Stars. I'll be rooting for her, as long as she doesn't wind up going head to head with Mark Ballas, and then all bets are off.

No Religion Is The Fastest Growing Religious Category

From an article by AP Religion Write Rachel Zoll:

A wide-ranging study on American religious life found that the Roman Catholic population has been shifting out o of the Northeast to the Southwest, the percentage of Christians in the nation has declined and more people say they have no religion at all.

15% of respondents said they had no religion, an increase from 14.2% in 2001 and 8.2% in 1990, according to the American Religious Identification Survey.

Northern New England surpassed the Pacific Northwest as the least religious region, with Vermont reporting the highest share of those claiming no religion, at 34%. Still, the study found that the numbers of Americans with no religion rose in every state.
"No other religious bloc has kept such a pace in every state," the study's authors said.

[SNIP]

In 2008, Christians comprised 76% of U.S. adults, compared to about 77% in 2001 and about 86% in 1990. Researchers said the dwindling ranks of mainline Protestants, including Methodists, Lutherans and Episcopalians, largely explains the shift. Over the last seven years, mainline Protestants dropped from just over 17% to 12.9% of the population.

More and more people are seeing things my way!

GE Ecomagination

If you've got a web cam, you need to go here to experience the next step in web technology and interaction courtesy of GE. I did it and it works!

Or, you can cheat and watch this video to see what it does.

Saturday Sh!ts & Giggles: Dog Chase

Douche Bag Of The Week: Rush Limbaugh

No comment necessary.

Face Lift Friday: Sophia Loren (Age 74)

TV Wednesday On Thursday: LOST

Nestor Carbonell is a total babe.

Here are random thoughts from last week's pop up video version:

• I do think that Locke, Caesar, and the police chick are at the Hydra. They seem to know each other. Who put them on the Ajira flight? Was Sayid really in custody, or was that part of the ruse? Why is Caesar hiding the map from police chick?

• It was mentioned that one of the outriggers was taken by the Ajira pilot and a woman. That woman must be Sun since he would have known her and known where to go.

• That leaves Sayid as the only one we can't account for in this timeframe. Yet.

Now for this week's episode:

• Again, first things first. We got to see the statue! We got to see the statue! Yes, friends, that four toed foot is no longer a complete mystery. It looked like one of those Egyptian characters you see in hieroglyphics where the head looks kinda like a dog with upright ears wearing a skirt. Will this be the only time we ever get to see this since we are fixed in the current time and no reason to bop back via the wayback machine?

• Bugged-eyed Ben wasn't in this one. That is a blessing and a curse.

• Apparently, the submarine is functional.

• So they've done some accounting for time. The three years that the Oceanic 6 were on the mainland is the three years, from 1974-1977, that the remaining Losties were found and integrated into Dharma.

• But this course correction on time doesn't explain why 4 days to Locke was decades to Widmore. Why must three years equal three years all of a sudden?

• What will happen when, after time, the 1977 Losties come in contact with themselves in the future?

• Sawyer's gang came across the two Hostiles taking issue with the picnic people. The truce calls for them to be buried. Later, Alpert had to retrieve those bodies and take one from Dharma. Do they (the whispering spirits) need physical bodies to inhabit?

• I liked how Sawyer gave Alpert a little bit of "I know more than you do" schtick to win him over.

• Is the coming war that Widmore referred to actually WWII? Could it go back to the hydrogen bomb and who ends up controlling that technology? If the bomb isn't buried, (is that what was in the Swan?), tended to by Desmond, and eventually explode, would nuclear technology have fallen into the wrong (German?) hands?

• We saw Charlotte as a child and that fits the new timeframe.

• Juliet is perhaps my favorite character. I saw her and Sawyer hooking up a while ago with her subtle flirtation and doe-eyed looks. That actress conveys so much with so few lines of dialogue. And she's a take-no-prisoners killing machine. Have gun, will travel!

• What's up with Doctor Juliet turned VW Bus mechanic?

• The sonic fence was setup by Dharma to keep the Hostiles out. But Old Smokey doesn't like it, either.

• I still enjoy Sawyer's funny nicknames and wisecracks. Especially the one about Alpert wearing eyeliner.

• A review on Entertainment Weekly suggested that Alpert is wearing eyeliner just as ancient Egyptians did. Remember how the Swan's timer had hieroglyphics on it? And the Ankh necklace is Egyptian, too.

• At the end, we now have Sawyer, Juliet, Jin, Miles, Faraday, Richard, baby Charlotte, Jack, Kate, and Hurley in 1977. We have to assume that Ben, Locke, Sun, Pilot, Caesar, and Police Chick are all in this time, too, they just haven't all met up yet. Where are Danielle and the rest of the Frenchies? They must not be there yet.

Now, I'm going to go out a limb and postulate on how this is all happening. Do you think this is an aliens from outer space thing? Who could have built the time machine? Is it a worm hole? A time portal? Aren't there theories that the Eqyptians, Incans, and Aztecs were civilizations planted by aliens? Is the coming war with another world?

Speak up, you Losties, and tell me your ideas!

Update: The ankh was the Egyptian hieroglyphic character meaning "eternal life." Also, the beast I mentioned and pictured above is a Set (or Seth) that is the god of the desert, Storms, Darkness, and Chaos in ancient Egyptian mythology.

Update 2: Okay, thinking more about the statue and the alien thing. Remember the statue has four toes. Do the aliens have four toes. Will a big reveal be Richard taking off his shoe and having four toes? Does he never get older because he's an alien? Others on the island grow up and age.

California's Eve Of Justice

Last night, candlelight vigils were held across California on the eve of today's arguments in front of the CA Supreme Court to overturn Proposition 8.

More than 400 members of the gay community and supporters gathered for a candlelight vigil here on the eve of a California Supreme Court hearing on three lawsuits seeking to overturn Proposition 8, the ballot measure to alter the state constitution to reinstate the ban on same-sex marriage that the court threw out last year.

In a standing-room-only Fairview Community Church this evening, same-sex marriage advocates gathered in what organizers dubbed an "Eve of Justice" event in Orange County and across the state, saying they were recommitting themselves to marriage equality and looking to the state's high court to restore gay unions.

Read Vik Jolly complete article at The Orange County Register
(Photo Credit: Kevin Sullivan/The Orange County Register)

Additional coverage:
The Desert Sun
The Los Angeles Times
The Sacramento Bee
San Diego Union-Tribune
San Francisco Chronicle

Bird On A Wire

Click for larger view. You can see similarly composed pics of a female cardinal and female downy woodpecker here.

Hunk-A-Lot Hump Day: Danny Forster

Ring! Ring!

I've complained about my ringing in the ears several times here on the blog.

It has been constant for years and, at first, I attributed it to turning 40.

Then I read an online forum about the drug Paxil where several commenters posted that they experienced ringing in the ears as a side effect. Aha, I thought, that is the answer. Coupled with the fact that as my dosage of Paxil increased, so did the level of the ringing.

I've been off Paxil for a month and the ringing is as loud as ever, where I can hear it over the television. Those commenters said that it took months for the ringing to go away so there is hope.

In the meantime, the doctor has recommended that I go for a professional hearing test to determine if we might be dealing with something else. That way, if there is nerve damage, I can stop chasing my tail regarding side effects.

I'm trying to get an appointment next week. I'll keep you posted.

Hardball

I had a sex dream about Chris Matthews from Hardball last night. Is that wrong?

Rebranding The GOP

Whoever coined the phrase that the Republican Party is now "The Party of 'No'" is brilliant. Every GOP 'no' vote reinforces the negative moniker. Just brilliant!