5.6 Rocks SF

So last night at like 9:15 or so, an earthquake hit 50 miles SE of San Francisco. It was a 5.6, the strongest one since the 7-something that hit in 1989 and caused such ridiculous damage.

I was at home, standing by the door talking to Kelly, who'd stopped by for like 5 mins to pick up a bathing suit she'd lent to Leah. We were chatting it up, saying goodbye, and all of a sudden things shook a bit, and we looked at each other, and then the shaking kept going, and then it stopped. It lasted like, 5 seconds or so. Everything rattled, just like when a large truck drives by outside your house, but nothing fell over and there was no damage. It was a bit underwhelming, especially for a 5.6, which is actually a pretty big deal...! So I suppose we were lucky. This is now my 3rd or 4th earthquake in the last year (and ever!)... I wonder if that means anything? =D

Story can be found on CNN here: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/30/california.quake/index.html

For Your Convenience...

I'd like to highlight a couple of signs I recently saw. Both employed the phrase "for your convenience," and while one of these signs clearly met this self-imposed criterion, the other most certainly did not.

First, outside of a Wells Fargo I saw a sign that said, "For your convenience, we are now open on Saturdays until 6pm." This is a great example of an action they've taken that is, indeed, for my convenience. No, I never go into a bank (except to use an ATM, and once 3 years ago to get 20s for a trip to Africa). But if I ever had to make a deposit in person, and it was like halfway through the weekend, and I just positively couldn't stand to wait until Monday... this branch would be a totally awesome lifesaver.

Second, in the parking lot of a nearby Safeway I saw a sign that said, "For your convenience, we have installed devices in the shopping carts that ensure that if a shopping cart leaves this lot, the wheels will lock up, an alarm will sound, your baby will be kidnapped by terrorists, and somewhere, somehow, a kitten will be drowned." I'm paraphrasing. But only slightly.

You'll notice that the second example is actually not for my convenience in the least. It's for their convenience. "They" being "The Man." No, this isn't for my convenience at all... instead I'd say it's the rough consumer equivalent of shoving a poleaxe up my ass. Well ok, it's not that bad. But people who mis-use the convenience phraseology have ruined that phrase for the rest of businessdom, and they must pay.

I vow that one day, when I am a democratically-elected politician (or a Party tool of our Communist Chinese Overlords (CCO for short)), I shall tighten regulations around the use of this phrase, to ensure that it is only ever applied to actions taken that were really, truly, for the convenience of the customer. Damn right.

ENDA - how liberal nobility might sink gay rights in the workplace

"Conservatives understand that cultural change is a long, gradual process of small but cumulatively deadly victories. Liberals want it all now. And that's why, in the culture wars, conservatives often win and we often lose. While conservatives spend years, if not decades, trying to convince Americans that certain judges are "activists," that gays "recruit" children, and that Democrats never saw an abortion they didn't like, we often come up with last-minute ideas and expect everyone to vote for them simply because we're right. Conservatives are happy with piecemeal victory, liberals with noble failure. We rarely make the necessary investment in convincing people that we're right because we consider it offensive to have to explain an obvious truth. When it comes time to pass legislation, too many liberals just expect good and virtuous bills to become law by magic, without the years of legwork necessary to secure a majority of the votes in Congress and the majority support of the people. We expect our congressional allies to fall on their swords for us when we've failed to create a culture in which it's safe for politicians to support our agenda and do the right thing. ENDA, introduced for the first time 30 years ago, is an exception to that rule. It took 30 years to get to the point where the Congress and the public are in favor of legislation banning job discrimination against gays. It's only been five months since transgendered people were included in ENDA for the first time."

That was posted in an article written by John Aravosis on salon.com.  Amen, John.  I'm with you.  God bless the Ts out there, but I need legal protection now.  I can't wait 20 years for it.  We need to get the greater US on board with *any* gay rights, so we can start adding in protections not just for Ts in the workplace, but for all of us to marry and adopt.  So let's start smaller than is ideal, so we can get as big as we want sooner that will otherwise happen.  Please...!!!