Manipulation of the color coded alerts

Here's some not too surprising news: in his new book Tom Ridge says that the color coded terrorist alerts are basically a farce.

He was ordered, or asked, to raise them prior to the 2004 election, which may have just scared enough people to vote for Bush a second time. We'll never know, but I think it is time we dropped the threat advisory level. It has always been yellow or orange, I doubt that it was ever planned for it to go lower.

In Defense of Mackey: Whole Foods and Healthcare

There are many calls on the left to boycott Whole Foods over this op-ed by CEO John Mackey.

The argument is that Whole Foods is a very liberal store with liberal customers, and the CEO himself needs to have a liberal viewpoint to cater to them. I disagree with this stance.

Whole Foods does a lot of good, whether it is by providing its non-union employees with better than union benefits or promoting the "buy local" movement. It should not matter what the owner of the store's views are, especially since the alternative shopping choices are so bleak.

In any case, while I support President Obama's healthcare initiatives, Mackey does offer some good points that we should keep in mind. He actually lists 8 points, but these are the ones that I feel should be part of any healthcare reform:

1. Remove obstacles to HSAs. I have one, you probably should too. It is simply the best plan available for most people.
2. Allow individuals to write off the cost of health insurance premiums.
3. Tort reform. Doctors are sued way too much, for way too much

New Bike

I bought a new bike last week.

After several long days of searching online, I narrowed my choice down to a two models that I wanted to test ride, the Trek 7.2 FX and the Specialized Crosstrail. Unfortunately, the base (cheap) Crosstrail was sold out everywhere, but the Trek was available in many stores.

I was going to buy it at Spokes, Etc. in Vienna, but they would not accept my American Express card, which is all I had with me. They also rubbed me the wrong way trying to negotiate the purchase, only offering me 5% off. The total price would have been around $475.

So I did some more searching online that night and found that The Bike Lane in Reston had the bike for a closeout price of $399. I called them up and it was ready the next day. Of course, like most bike shops they tried to charge me $25 for a kickstand, water bottle, and cage; had them delete all of those items. I installed a cage/bottle on my own, and have no need for a kickstand.

One nice thing they offer is lifetime adjustments, I'll probably be taking it in for its first in 1-2 weeks, since the cables are stretching out.

So far have rode the bike about 50 miles; am extremely happy with it.

I've ridden the bike

Review: Mighty Men Moving

I recently moved from Centreville, VA to Fairfax, VA. A move of only 6 miles, but I had enough stuff (and 2 flights of stairs) that I enlisted the help of a moving service: Mighty Men Moving.

I requested a quote online, and Emmanuel, the owner, responded within several hours. He said that to move my stuff from a third fl, one bedroom apartment to a ground floor condo would take 3.5 - 4 hrs, including 1 hour of travel time. I didn't think they could get it done that quickly, and also told him I worried about my sleeper sofa, which is extremely heavy.

He responded that 3 guys would be best, and the cost would be $130 per hour, which includes the 3 guys and truck. I replied that this was fine.

The day before, Emmanuel called me to confirm that the movers would arrive at 8:30.

The day of the move, they showed up at 8:20. Moving got going quickly, with the foreman directing the other two guys, telling them what to take, how to handle it, etc.

All of my furniture was meticulously wrapped, and the sofa made it down OK (though there was a lot of grunting!).

Total time to take all of my possessions out of the 1 bedroom apt was about 1 hour 45 min. We drove to the new place, and total time to unload was about 1 hour and 15 min. Total time charged was 4 hours with the travel time, for a total of $520 (tip not included).

Two days after the move, Emmanuel called me to ask if an item found in the truck was mine. It is in a toolbox, so the movers probably thought it was theirs. I told him it was mine, and he delivered it to my doorstep within 1 hour.

These guys do a really good job, I highly recommend them for any move. I did not have any large items other than the sofa, but it appears they specialize in moving things such as pianos that may require a hoist.

The next time I move locally, I would definitely use them again.

Dog days 2009

Not going on in the world lately.  Healthcare is moving forward and will hopefully pass despite what the tabloidal Foxnews will try to do.

 I've recently moved to an even more uppity area of Ffx county and now that I'm settled in there should be more posts in the coming days.

Sotomayor Confirmed

We now officially have Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first latina on the bench. From what I've read of her record, I completely approve of this, and look forward to seeing her take on the upcoming decisions.

Bill Clinton the Hero

Bill Clinton did some quick negotiations, traveled to North Korea, and has aided in the release of 2 US journalists. The key to this negotiation was to ask for a pardon, instead of throwing out the verdict. By showing "respect" to the N. Korean legal system, the DPRK was placated enough to allow the release.

In the end, who cares if they admitted guilt, it is better than 12 years of hard labor in North Korea.

The first desert storm casualty

The remains of the first US serviceman to die in operation Desert Storm were identified today, ending an 18 year search. It is good that the family has some closure after what must have been an awful experience.

I want to keep my HSA

I completely support President Obama's efforts to fix healthcare. We need to overhaul our system so people aren't left bankrupt or without coverage.

However, one thing that does disturb me about the plan being floated through congress is that it may lead to my HSA being discontinued, which is a nice cheap plan that let's me set aside money in an HSA (like a 401k for medical services). If I get hurt, I could be on the hook for up to $6,000 a year, but I only pay $10 a month for coverage for 2. My employer gives me $1,000 a year into my HSA, and I choose to put in another $2500 a year. I've had the plan for almost a year and am very pleased.

Cash for clunkers too successful

The cash for clunkers program is so successful that the government may have exhausted its money within hours. The program could be put on hold within days.

I have always thought this is a horrible program, since the emissions and costs from driving a "clunker" are probably less than what is required to produce a new, efficient vehicle (those Li-Ion batteries in the hybrids are not grown on trees).

India reaches out to Pakistan

Most American press focuses on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as one of the largest ongoing semi-conflicts. We tend to forget that there are somewhat active hostilities between two nuclear nations: India and Pakistan. Here is an interesting article on how Indian Prime Minister Singh is attempting to reach out to the Pakistani government.

We should all keep in mind that India is the world's largest democracy in a region that is endemic with totalitarian and/or military regimes. Peace on that subcontinent would be a good thing, and lead to increased world security.

Housing Search Redux

Several months ago, my wife and I decided to buy a house, thinking the market was just right. Between an $8k government subsidy, a large supply of houses, and very low interest rates, it was a fucking trifecta of reasons to own a house.

In the end, we are renting a bigger condo.

The reasons are many, but let this part of my tale give you an idea. The townhouse in Sully Station, VA that we put an offer on sold for over $400,000 in 2005. The person who owned it lost it in June 2008. Since then it was vacant, owned by IndyMac, who went bankrupt. The house was not even on the market until early this year, around March.

It was originally listed at $289,000 and appeared to be in great condition. We offered 280 and lost it. It came back on the market a week later, and dropped to 276. We again offered 280 and got it with 4% towards closing costs.

What followed was several months of working with our realtor, their realtor (Greendot, who I recommend avoiding any deal with), and their asset manager. To make a long story short, a water leak was discovered pre-inspection, and someone, and it is not clear who, fucked up so badly that the house became a haven for mold, mildew, and probably other pathogens.

We walked away, got our deposit back, and the house was dropped in list price to around $225k. So, much to my surprise today, the house closed for 282k, with NO SELLER SUBSIDY.

They say a sucker is born every minute. I think in the real estate industry, it happens more often than that.

Backing down

We're turning off our anti-Cuban propoganda. How long til the US made wall comes down and I can vacation in Havana?

Michael Vick Reinstated in NFL

Michael Vick is back in the NFL, two years after going to jail for running a dog fighting ring.

But he can't play in games until October.  Why?  If you are going to let a guy back after 2 years in jail, him losing $100M, why not just let him back in?  I really don't see the point of waiting longer.

He will be able to play in preseason games if anyone signs him.  Peter King thinks it will be the Pats.  I'm not so sure.

Gates's arrest follows disturbing trend in policing

The arrest of Professor Gates's was wrong on many levels, without even getting into racial matters. Many who are both black and white agree, and here is an excellent summary.

I am very disturbed at the increasing zeal in which LEO's conduct their business. Whether it is Fairfax County police killing someone for being an unarmed bookie because they had itchy trigger fingers, or the dozens of instances in which family dogs are killed, I am pissed at seeing these assholes act like they are marching into battle in Baghdad.

The police are around to protect us, to serve as an intake to the courts. They are not here to wage war against some unseen criminal element. In the case of Professor Gates, the police assumed he was guilty, because there had been reports of a break in.

What really doomed him was when he questioned their authority, even after allegedly giving them his ID. Is it now a crime to yell at a police officer? Heaven forbid, you hurt their image of godliness. I for one do not have much respect for their authority, because I question why another human should have authority to tell me what to do based on their employer. And they can even tell me what to do when they are off the clock!

Why do we continue to promote this reckless behavior? We as a society need to put limits on police power, and professor Gates was doing just that, by standing up for himself.