Shooting Lasers

Kitten, who is my 16 year old cat, was shooting lasers at me yesterday. She let me know this by purring very loudly while my back was turned. My attention to her lately has been a little less than enthusiastic as I have been studying non-stop for mid-term this or that. Yesterday was no different, I just was doing it longer. So Ya-Ya, my 13 year old daughter decided to put Kitten on a small table in front of the patio door with the curtain open, so that she could enjoy looking outside for birds or just at scenery. She apparently became bored with this activity and decided to get my attention by purring. Quite loudly. I turned around to look at her, and she is glaring right at me! And the way the light was coming in the window at the time reflected off of her eyes like lasers coming straight at me. The purr was simply a seduction!

Mid-Terms

Mid-term is officially over. Stress is reduced, but not gone. How did I do?? Some of my grades have come back and they are way better than I thought!! Woo hoo! Still waiting for others.

It is so hard to not want an A in every class! It's an expectation I set for myself when I saw that I could do it. Then it was the bar that was set. I have become wildly disappointed when my grades slip. Even though I'm doing my best. After all, isn't that what's important? I study hard and I try hard. I work harder at school than I do anywhere else because the achievement is so rewarding. I love it when I walk in and take a test and know the answers. Even then, I will look at all of the questions a second time and make sure that I have chosen the best answer. Looking at the questions again are key.

The elusive A. The elite of the elite. In the end, it doesn't matter all that much. Everyone I talk to about their GPA says: No one in an interview has ever asked me what my GPA was. It's mostly for grad students. So why does it feel so important?? The only one I am competing with is me. Perhaps it is a tool I use by which to measure myself against the person I used to be. In high school. 25 years ago. Now really, who am I trying to measure up to? This person has grown and and has learned the hard way that hard work pays off. When you put in the time, you will get your just rewards. That other person was bored with the education system and simply wanted to spend time with friends, hang out and just generally do nothing. Really, I'm glad I'm not her anymore.

Any yet, there are only 8 more weeks of school!!

Update: the results are in, so far, I am averaging a high B for this semester!! It can still be an A!

Fall

It's fall. I love fall. The weather is perfect. Cool in the mornings and evenings and so freaking fantastic during the day, it makes my soul sing. It makes me HaPpY! I could spend all my time outside during fall.

I really like the trees in fall. I do remember them. In Texas, not so much in the way of beautiful colors, we have 2 seasons and the trees have 4 phases. Naked. (Of course we all start out this way.) Bright green in Spring. (When Spring comes, that will be my favorite season, btw.) Dark green all summer and then brown. Brown is coming soon. But, there are plenty of the dry crispy leaves already on the ground and accumulating at the curb. Sadly, I have no trees of my own. So I must simply enjoy everyone else's trees. As I was walking up my sidewalk one evening last week I could smell these brown , crispy leaves. They have a smell you know. Someone should put that smell in a candle fragrance. Autumn Leaves. Paired with Pumpkin Spice. And Apple. Anyway...

Across the country, various stages of fall are going on as we speak. The east coast through the Midwest is enjoying the beautiful fall foliage now. Vibrant yellows, golds and reds. The colors of fall no doubt. In Colorado, I believe they are finished with this colorful display as I saw on the news the other night that it had snowed. Not only that, one resort was making snow in an effort to start the season early. Does that mean that people will be whooshing down the slopes in costume for Halloween? Freddy Kruger and Cat woma, hmmm.... I would rather spend my fall season in the pumpkin patch.

Speaking of pumpkins, they're everywhere! I love it! The perky bright orange little bobs on mailbox pillars and doorsteps. In front yards and adorning stairs. In the doctors offices and other businesses. So fun and round and bright.

The downside to fall? Pollen and dust. This is the first year that my contacts have become nearly unbearable. It must be allergens in the air. I seriously want to scratch my eyes out, but I've been told by my close friend that it is so not worth it, so I refrain. Glasses when I can't take it.

The other thing seen everywhere are mums. White, yellow, burgundy. Big, round full fall flowers. They are in competition with Homecoming and Fall Fests. It is definitely fall.

Twisted...

Wow! Did you feel that? Wait, it's easy to miss. It's that strange, uncomfortable feeling that's hard to put your finger on. It's like, hmmm, something is not right. How did this happen? What's up here? Ohhhhhhh. That was someone having their way with me and not asking me! I get it! That is definitely the feeling of being manipulated.

Really. Isn't it easier just to ask? So much more "up front" don't you think?

Colleague Commentary - Sweet Texas Constitution Re-Write

I couldn’t agree more to Sweet Texas’ comments regarding our constitution. Frankly, it’s a mess and it deserves better, as do the citizens of Texas. Past attempts to re-write the constitution have been a sham due to hidden agendas and lack of organization. Why is it so hard to focus on the job at hand?

All that’s being asked for is a constitution that makes sense and is presentable; one that can be amended as necessary and that serves our citizens with ease and grace.

I would be curious to know what methods Sweet Texas would propose to inform the citizens of Texas of the condition of our constitution. This is a large endeavor that could potentially cost a lot of money. Perhaps just our blogs – sent to other bloggers – could get the word out.

Sweet Texas has an organized blog space with several intelligent postings on it. She puts a lot of thought into her work and caring and sensitive to the world around us.

Commuter Rail

Recently the Austin American-Statesman published a lengthy article on the Commuter Rail that is due to open in less than one year. The article primarily focused on the budgetary issues as well as timeliness. In all, the article is well written and very informative. My commentary is focused on the actions of our local government.

The commuter rail was originally proposed in 2000 with a $1.9 billion budget. The voters declined to pass this project. So, in 2004, a new proposal hit the table with a $90 million price tag. This was passed by the voters and we are well on our way to move many people in our great community and surrounding communities. The Commuter rail will run from Leander, through Cedar Park into downtown Austin.

As I read more and more of the article, I was amazed at the many oversights in the budget. Several items not planned for include park-and-ride lots, shuttle busses, consulting fees, and fencing along the rail line for pedestrian safety. Commuter rail is not new, how did we miss so many key points to consider for our budget? Why does it seem as though we must constantly reinvent the wheel?

Capital Metro has defended allocating these costs to other budgets, like freight train use and bus line use, however the argument here is that these costs should be shared and not swept under carpet as though it would have been that departments’ budgetary responsibility anyway.

We have gotten really good at excusing poor judgment and skewing reality. Why is this level of professionalism acceptable? We need to raise the bar on the expectations of the people that run our government!

If you are interested in reading the article for yourself, click on the following link:

http://www.statesman.com/search/content/news/stories/local/11/25/1125railcost.html

Rural Teen Drivers at Risk Commentary

Wesley made some really valid points regarding student drivers and rural roads. He also confirmed that this is a problem when he admitted that he had done practically everything the article outlined that young student drivers do: drive with too many people in a vehicle, underage drinking, speeding and loud music all after dark. A couple of things he didn’t include but has a large part in these incidents is cell phone use and text messaging while driving and drug use, speeding and street racing. The article quoted a student that admits to texting short messages while driving, but waits until a stopping point to text longer messages. Cell phones are such a huge part of our society especially among teens and yet parents forget or don’t enforce rules of the road regarding cell phones. Teen drinking and driving is also a very dangerous activity, not to mention illegal. Most teens simply think they won’t get caught.

Not all rural roadways are curvy and bumpy however, some are long and straight, allowing to driver to speed more than they should. It can lead young drivers to come up on cars unexpected corners too fast.

I agree that more lighting and street signs could be used, but what about increased education in the driver’s education classes or high school about the dangers of drinking and driving and cell phone use? The article talks about an increased advertising campaign to improve awareness, I think that many different venues can be used to achieve this. Parents also need to be very involved with knowing where their children are and making sure that they obey the laws and teach them consequences for not following the rules.

Unfortunately, this will probably always be a problem on some level because young adults will always feel invincible, challenge rules and just take things too far.

Wesley did a nice job of relating his personal experience into the facts of the story, but was weak in coming up with suggestions for solving this epidemic.

Proposition 15

On the ballot this November 6^th is Proposition 15, a proposal to allocate $3 billion from the General Fund to Cancer Research here in Texas. Of course it’s been strongly backed by our own Lance Armstrong, 7 time Tour de France winner and cancer survivor.

This really could be a great thing for Texas. The plan is to establish the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. They would research causes and cures of all forms of cancer in humans and develop therapies, protocols and medications for the purpose of curing cancer. The sheer number of peoples lives this could effect is phenomenal, not just in Texas, but nationally and beyond. Our good will could be the difference between life and death.

The money for this is a 10 year proposal of $300 million annually, $3 billion total with no indication that there would be a proposed tax increase, now or in the future. The money is already available in the General Fund, but there is a consideration to sell bonds to be used for this project instead.

So why spend our tax dollars on this? It’s a good thing! Think of all the things we spend our tax dollars on ($10,000 a month for rent sound familiar?) Yes, there are lots of other worthy causes, but we have to start somewhere and this is the proposal that came to the table. I wish we could spend more on education and healthcare, but this is a really awesome place to begin.

Perry Endorses Giuliani for President

Governor Perry announced his endorsement of Rudolph Giuliani today in Washington. First, I guess that some people may look to a state governor for his choice of a presidential candidate if they are unsure themselves of whom to choose. I personally find this a more than a little humorous. Second, is this a requirement of the job, to let the public know who your presidential candidate choice is? This is a hard job. Third, more governors may follow suit, so keep your eyes peeled.

So Perry says that he has considered all of the candidates and has decided on Giuliani. But its concerning to me that we have a Texas candidate on the Presidential trail and it doesn’t appear that he makes the grade. Why is that? When I compared 3 issues they discussed – Abortion, Immigration and Right to Bear Arms, Ron Paul’s views were in line with Perry’s – issue for issue! So how can Perry in good conscience endorse a candidate who doesn’t share his same views and simply say that good people can disagree?

Finally, the whole issue of whether Perry would consider running VP on the ticket with Giuliani or with any other Republican Presidential candidate. What better way to draw attention to yourself while making an endorsement for Giuliani? Is it possible; has Perry become so accomplished that he should be VP? Many, including myself, say no. But the main reason Perry wasn’t interested in running is because he just moved and he’s not interested in moving again. Must be the sweet new digs our tax dollars are paying for.

There is obviously so much more to this than is being said. Do your own research and make your own choice.

For the complete article click the link below:

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/region/legislature/stories/10/17/1017perry.html

Governor’s Mansion gets renovations. Governor Perry is temporarily relocating.

We’ve all been reading about this for sometime. First, the announcement came that the Governor’s Mansion is slated to receive $10 million in repairs. Wow. That’s mind boggling. Most people can’t begin to wrap their brains around that amount of money. That aside, what have we been doing to maintain the Governor’s Mansion? The last time renovations were done was back in the 1979 during the Bill Clements term. He lived in a condo downtown for $1500 a month. So we’ve waited more than 30 years to take care of the asbestos and plumbing, wouldn’t repairs done more frequently be a little less costly? Okay really. If the Mansion has been needing repairs that get put off year after year for budgetary issues, how did we come up with the money this year? If some problems only get worse over time, didn’t waiting simply cost more money? If we had not waited to make these repairs, would it have been possible for the Perry’s to stay at the mansion while the repairs were being completed? Sure, it might be a little less convenient, but if the Governor is at the capital everyday working and Mrs. Perry is out doing her philanthropy, it is really that inconvenient?

So now, let’s talk about the digs that have been selected for temporary housing. They found a lovely house that is outside of Austin proper. I guess that there’s nothing within the city limits that would fit the bill. Anyway, they can still pick up their mail everyday at the Mansion, since again, he’ll be right down the street at the capital, so technically they don’t have to change addresses. The temporary residence is a gated 6,386 square foot house on more than 3 acres of land with a guesthouse, a game room and a heated pool – winter’s coming you know. Honestly, $10,000 a month is hard to justify. We could just buy the property and ditch the Mansion, saving the taxpayers $8 million. Of course an amendment would be in order with regards to residency for our Governor.

Here’s a couple of links if you would like more information about these two issues.

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/region/legislature/stories/09/28/0928house.html

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/5171104.html

Proposed Fare Increase on Capital Metro

Capital Metro held a public hearing on Monday, September 17, 2007 in regard to a proposed fare increase. Capital Metro staff compiled surveys over a one month period of time on buses, at stops and through public meetings that largely supported the proposed fare increase which would effectively double most fares, and in some cases increase them even more. At this meeting however, it was a different story. This small crowd agreed that the proposed fare increase needs to be reconsidered or forgotten.

While it is very possible that Cap. Metro is overdue for a fare increase; it is hard to justify doubling the fares and risk losing riders from such a sharp increase. The proposed increase is supposed to amount to a mere $5 million extra a year. But, due to the loss of riders that won’t be able to afford the new fares, they will need to find new riders with deeper pockets and they are going to attract them with fancy signs, which will cost almost $2 million.

Capital Metro is also complaining that its operating costs will exceed its revenue soon, and that the proposed increase will be necessary to keep it operating. The fares only cover about 10% of the operating costs; the proposed increase will bring it to 20%. Problem is, last time I went to my boss and asked for a raise, I didn’t get double. My guess is, not many of the riders could expect a 100% increase in their income either, and so why should Capital Metro? Are new signs really a part of an annual operating budget?

On Thursday, the board pulled back the proposed fare increase, citing the need to consider low income riders.

This is a very interesting issue to keep up with because we all pay for Capital Metro through our taxes and it provides a tremendous service to all aspects of our community: low income, students, downtown commuters and the disabled to mention a few.

See both articles through the links below.

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/09/18/0918capmetro.html

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/09/21/0921capmetro.html