CowPuppy Ranch

Perfect day

2008-11-16T22:56:00.000-08:00

Why is it that the best dates aren't real dates? Yesterday was absolutely amazing. A warm, sunny day. I picked up a friend mid afternoon and we drove Myrtle topless over to Santa Cruz. Bought paint for my kitchen and fondled the magnificent materials at Greenspace. We went to the light house to walk the beach and watch the sunset.

Regardless of having the Internets in our pockets, we drove aimlessly around Santa Cruz looking for a restaurant I went to a couple months ago. We never did find it. Instead we landed at the Seabright Brewery and ran into my former manager and his wife, so I figured it must be a good place, since they live there. I'd go back for the oatmeal stout.

After dinner, we drove back to the south bay thinking it was late, but it wasn't. So we went to Palo Alto. While strolling the street looking for a good bar, we walked by the Stanford Theatre and saw that they are playing Humphrey Bogart movies this season. We missed Casablanca, but watched Beat the Devil. I didn't realize that in 1953 it was okay to have a movie that showed a woman cheating on her husband. That really surprised me.

After the movie, we looked for a wine bar. We had tried to go to Vino Locale, but it closes early. I'd been to The Wine Room the night before for Boston Boy's birthday and decided that it was good enough for two nights in a row. Had some good Argentinean wine while sitting on the couch in front of the fire. A perfect ending to a perfect day.

I haven't had a good I Can't Believe It's Not A Date story in a while!

Kitchen Remodeling

2008-11-16T22:48:00.000-08:00

Still working on my kitchen. Last week, Lemur Girl and Curling Boy came to the rescue, but I only had enough paint for about three hours of work. Today, I put in a few more hours. I have paint all over me, but my cabinets are now primed. I still don't think I'm going to get it done before Meme gets here on Thursday though. =(

KFJ's Birthday

2008-11-16T22:16:00.000-08:00

KFJ had his third birthday party on Saturday. Email me for the username and password.

I was glad to get to spend some quality time with the Joneses and the Sullys.

Redwood City

2008-11-14T21:25:00.000-08:00

Hanging out in Courthouse Square on a beautiful November evening.

It is just a knee.

2008-11-13T23:48:00.000-08:00

FMBs and skirts signify the beginning of fall. In a discussion last night, a friend said it was hard to work with all these women who are walking around in their boots and skirts. We wondered what it is about a knee and an inch of thigh that gets the guys all worked up after a summer of shorts.

So today, I wore a white button-up shirt under a short-sleeved brown wool sweater, pink corduroy skirt, and brown knee high boots.

Tonight, I was out to dinner with a friend when the tattooed guy next to us insisted that my friend move to the seat next to me because the view is so much better. I told Tattoo that it is just a knee. He said it is so much more than just a knee. And a few other bits of flattery. Then his two voluptuous women took him away.

So what is it about a knee that make guys go wild?

Boating accident

2008-11-09T17:19:00.000-08:00

My high school english teacher, Mr Brown, and another man tragically died today when their boat sank in Bowerbank, ME. Two other men survived by swimming to shore.

I feel like I should say something else here, but I have no words. I'm sorry if I have failed you, Mr. Brown, but I'm still stunned by the news.

Happy birthday, R!

2008-11-06T18:20:00.000-08:00

Looking through my photos, I forgot to mention we all went out to Xahn
in Mountain View on Saturday night for R's b'day.

Happy Birthday!

K v United States

2008-11-06T08:14:00.000-08:00

Anyone know any good pro-bono civil rights lawyers?

I want to abolish marriage as a pre-requisite for determining benefits, rights, and privileges. Doing so is unfair to all unmarried couples, homosexual couples, and individuals. By offering any benefits to a married couple, the United States Government is pushing ideology onto its citizens. I know a number of couples who are against the religious/spiritual concept of marriage but were forced to become legally married in order to reap the benefits afforded only to heterosexual married couples. The United States Government is suppressing the rights and privileges of all who don't believe in marriage or are unable to marry due to given constraints on marriage. As an individual, I do not have the right to sponsor someone for immigration, or pass on my Social Security pension (which won't be there by the time I get to it anyways), or to transfer property tax free to another individual. I believe that this is a civil rights issue.

From Wikipedia:

According to the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), there are over a thousand federal laws that treat married people differently from single people. It should be noted that these rights and responsibilities apply only to male-female married couples, as the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) defines marriage as between a man and a woman and thus bars same-sex couples from receiving any federal recognition of same sex marriage or conveyance of marriage benefits to same sex couples through federal marriage law.

Prior to the enactment of DOMA, the General Accounting Office (as the GAO was then called) identified 1,049 [1] federal statutory provisions in which benefits, rights, and privileges are contingent on marital status or in which marital status is a factor. An update was published in 2004 by the GAO covering the period between September 21, 1996 (when DOMA was signed into law) and December 31, 2003. The update identified 120 new statutory provisions involving marital status, and 31 statutory provisions involving marital status repealed or amended in such a way as to eliminate marital status as a factor. This yields a total of 1,138 [2] provisions in which marital status is a factor in determining benefits, rights, and privileges.

The statement from Wikipedia is slightly misleading in that not all of these provisions benefit both spouses, all married couples, or are actually benefits. But the fact is that there are at least some benefits to being married.

Why can't everyone in the country choose one other person, regardless of sex, race, creed, or sexual orientation, to be their beneficiary? Everyone should be allowed to sponsor one individual for immigration. You can choose to exercise that right or not, but why is that right not afforded to me?

I should be able to choose one individual to receive my remaining Social Security benefits. Meine Schwester has always been there for me, maybe I'd like to support her after I'm gone. Or maybe I want to give my benefits away to a homeless shelter. Why do only married people get to support someone else?

And why can married couples transfer property tax-free. Why can't I choose one person to whom I can transfer property without paying taxes. Why can't a couple who don't believe in marriage do so?

Speaking of property, when I bought my condo, I had to check a box for Single, Never Married Female. This is the most sexist, offensive thing I have ever encountered and I'm appalled that it is still required. Why should it matter if I am a single, never married female? If you want that checkbox, then there should be another one for single, never married male. However, I want to thank all the women who came before me that made this the most offensive thing I've seen. They must have endured a lot more than that!

And speaking of women's rights, we should abolish filing joint taxes. I feel like this is a leftover from when men were the bread winners and women stayed home barefoot and pregnant. (BTW, I'm not against people choosing to stay home and raise their kids. I am against the days when women didn't have the choice to do so.) Every individual should file taxes. Don't simplify it for heterosexual married couples if you won't simplify it for all people who live under the same roof.

To sum it up, I just want to know one thing. Why should the United States Government penalize me because I can't find a man to love me?

Marriage rights

2008-11-05T12:02:00.000-08:00

Now I'm curious. What rights do married people have? Maybe we should even the playing field and take them away. Make married people file separate taxes. Make them get their own health care. Don't allow spouses access to my employer provided gym. Of course, I'm lucky because my employer extends many benefits to significant others, but not all employers do.

Why should married people get benefits that I as a single girl can't enjoy. Why should I be penalized because I'm afraid of commitment?

A toast

2008-11-05T08:49:00.001-08:00

To the people who voted Yes on 8--May all your children grow up to love someone of a different race or creed, or of the same sexual orientation so that their children will grow up in a world with less bigotry than the one I live in today.

It is hard enough to find true love, but you people are trying to make it harder. No, I'm not a lesbian, I haven't even experimented except for that one girl I made out with in a bar in vegas, but that doesn't count. I just don't want to restrict my options. I'm looking for love. Doesn't matter what religion, color, shape, age, or even sex. And when I find true love, I want to have the right to marry. Because marriage isn't about fucking (if it were, married people wouldn't complain about their lack of sex life). Marriage is about love and commitment. And I don't think that gender plays a role in that.

Dear Comcast

2008-11-05T07:34:00.001-08:00

Your DVR sucks.

I was at a friend's house for an election party. We were watching CNN. There was a countdown to the west coast polls closing. Excitement was in the air. Great anticipation was building for the announcement that history was being made. We were counting down as if it were the New Years Eve ball in Times Square.

15...14...13...12...11...10...

...click.

Your knockoff DVR flashed a window as it changed channels without asking permission. By the time we switched back to CNN, the announcement had been made and we were watching crouds cheering.

We missed history.

You are lucky it was just a reporter that we probably missed. If we had missed a line like the ones from landing on the moon, Kennedy being shot, or part of the I Have a Dream speech, I would have found your headquarters and requested an audience with your CEO so he could personally reenact what I had missed when the DVR changed channels.

Considering how much people pay monthly for your service can you not afford to hire a decent programmer?

Please fix this bug asap.

Sincerely,
K, proud owner of a Tivo and an HD antenna

Update: Before I could even get to work, I received a lovely email from someone in Comcast's customer operations. I won't reprint the email because I hate it when people do that. But I can tell you that I am impressed with their quick response and interest in resolving the problem. And with their politeness considering the inflammatory nature of my post (Mostly written for humor sake and to hone my writing skills. You have no idea how hard it is to write something that I think is engaging enough that you, the reader, will read in its entirety instead of just skimming. Or how the first 140 characters are now the most important of every post. But I digress). I was actually planning on writing a much more polite email to Comcast's customer service to let them know about the bug, but they beat me to it.

On a side note, I just want to explain that the reason I don't have Comcast is because I am cheap and never home. I didn't see the sense in paying for channels I didn't have the time to watch. I get enough content over the air with my antenna for free. It had nothing to do with Comcast's service or support.

But I do think they could use a little more polish on their DVR software. I do much prefer Tivo. But then again, you all know I have pretty high standards when it comes to software. ;-)

I voted

2008-11-04T08:33:00.001-08:00

Have you?

Perl and I just walked to our voting place. I dropped off the mail-in ballot that I filled out in the comfort of my bed this morning.

Please vote today. It is an important part of democracy.

Sparkles Wins!!!

2008-11-02T08:44:00.000-08:00

Okay, he didn't win but he came in around 1:33 which is great! Said he saw the most amazing rainbows while crossing the golden gate bridge. Worth every foot fall!

US Half

2008-11-02T08:10:00.000-08:00

Found the Waterfront Bakery to wait at while my brother runs a half marathon. I was supposed to run the 10k but decided that was a bad idea so soon after my back problems. I'm a wimp.

Cute little bakery. I was looking for Starbucks but am glad I didn't find it. Was empty when I came in. Filled up now.

Thank goodness for the time change last night. Quarter to five came way too early.

Halloween costume

2008-10-31T19:12:00.000-07:00

My costume isn't quite as risqué as I would have had you believe. I just couldn't wear it to work because the skirt is just a bit too short and I would have had to button my shirt. ;-)

Halloween - and we fight!

2008-10-31T13:45:00.000-07:00

A little battle in the parking lot between R-zilla and me.

Sorry, My costume is NSFW so I did all black with the FMBs. The other costume comes out tonight.

False gods

2008-10-29T23:30:00.000-07:00

From Prayer Needed for Global Economies, a guest bio on Cindy Jacobs. This supposedly happened today. Seriously people, get a grip!

“We are going to intercede at the site of the statue of the bull on Wall Street to ask God to begin a shift from the bull and bear markets to what we feel will be the 'Lion’s Market,' or God’s control over the economic systems,” she said. “While we do not have the full revelation of all this will entail, we do know that without intercession, economies will crumble.”

Ah, the irony. Oh, the ignorance. Maybe she doesn't read the bible? Specifically Exodus 32.

4And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

Blah blah blah God brings his wrath upon the people blah blah blah something about false gods.

Pharyngula makes a good point—Where's Charlton Heston when you need him?

Photo from Wonkette.

Duarte's Pumpkin Carving Contest

2008-10-29T23:05:00.001-07:00

Every year, the artists at Duarte carve up some crazy pumpkins. Trust me, it is worth clicking the link. Make sure to vote for your favorite!

Dog bite

2008-10-29T21:23:00.000-07:00

I guess I never explained exactly what happened. So here is the continued story of my battle with Karma.

I spent Saturday morning manipulating the minds of middle school girls. I performed the opening and closing acts for a technology day to get them excited about engineering. I started by asking the kids what they thought an engineer looks like. Then I showed the worst photos I could find of my male engineering friends to prove a point. The kids laughed. And then I showed the best photos of the female engineers I know to prove that not all engineers are dorky boys. The day went well.

In the afternoon, I took Perl for a walk. We passed another dog who snapped at Perl. The owner tried to calm her dog and I tried to make nice by petting her dog. But then the evil dog snapped at Perl again, but missed and got my arm. I was shocked, so after it happened I just walked away. I didn't ask whether the dog had its shots. And I didn't ask for the woman's information. I just went home and licked my wounds.

I thought about going to the urgent care clinic, but I needed a nap before the halloween party. So I slept and ignored the bite. Then dressed as a Catholic school girl and went to the party. No, there are no photos. And it is debatable as to whether the costume earned or cost me karma points. Best costume yet. Found the skirt months ago at The Gap along with grey thigh-high stockings. A crisp white shirt buttoned half way and grey silk tie loosely tied. Four-inch spiked heels in black. Pig tails wrapped in ribbon. And lots of colorful makeup. I decided it wasn't appropriate for my dentist's Halloween party. The costume will have a reprise this Friday evening in the city.

Sunday, I ignored everything I could until late afternoon when I finally went to the urgent care clinic. I found a new one and like it much better than the one I went to when I threw out my back the week before. To see a doctor I had to file a report with Animal Services. I realized that I'm a horrible witness who can't remember details. I learned that there hasn't been a reported case of rabies in a domestic pet for about 50 years. And for all of this, I earned a DTaP shot to keep me from getting Diphtheria, Tetanus, or Pertussis. So no worries about me passing on Whooping Cough anytime soon. I couldn't decide what hurt worse, the dog bite or the aftermath of the shot.

To commemorate the weekend, a coworker wrote me a Burma Shave poem.

Dog bit me
In the hand
Treat it? No—
I'd rather sand.
Burma Shave

Rainbow

2008-10-29T07:44:00.000-07:00

I've got some really pretty colors on my wrist right now where the dog (not Perl) bit me.

Do you see?

2008-10-28T13:03:00.000-07:00

If you aren't already laughing, then visit Bread and Honey for close-up shots.

Busticated dream catcher

2008-10-28T07:32:00.000-07:00

Just for comparison, yesterday's dream that stressed me out and woke me up was…

I'm in charge of a tour group of a hundred people. Mostly old folks, but there is a young contingent who made cakes for dinner, but didn't care about making sure everyone could get a piece, just their friends. So I was frantically trying to cut up the chocolate cakes and distribute them fairly while they were all grabbing huge chunks for themselves.

We don't have tour buses, just people filling cars. But I haven't given everyone directions to where we are going. We are supposed to be touring the school that I worked at in CT. And staying at this hotel that doesn't exist in real life. I'm trying to find a photo copier so that I can write up and distribute directions. I'm carrying a bottle of wine through town with my friend, H, who still teaches at the school. We realize that we are closer to the school than we are to my car, so we decide to just finish walking to school, although we are considering just sitting on the side of the road and drinking the wine.

I am so frustrated with how poorly this tour is going. All the old people are stuck at the hotel while all the young people are out partying. Everyone seems happy except for me.

Goldilocks

2008-10-28T07:14:00.001-07:00

My dreams are fucked up. This is the latest one.

I'm in a strange town with my dog. I'm really tired. Then I'm at this house. I'm in love with the husband, but he doesn't know. He and his wife are in the kitchen, the kids running around the house. I've managed to sneak into the guest bedroom. I think I can just take a little nap and no one will notice. A nap turns into sleeping all night. He has left on a trip and I am trying to get out before the wife finds me. We have never met before and this doesn't seem like the right time. I'm in the kitchen changing into clean clothes from the dryer. Seems I washed my clothes while I was there. She can hear me and is looking for me and finally finds me back in the guest room as I'm putting on two different colored socks. She pulls out the matches from the drawer and puts two and two together. I don't understand how she has my other socks. This is the first time I've been in the house. I've never slept with her husband. Doesn't matter, she thinks it has happened at least twice and she is pissed. I'm trying to find my dog and get out of the house before she kills me. I don't want to call him. I don't want to tell him what I did. It is embarrassing, but I have to get to him before she does. Maybe it is better if he genuinely doesn't know I was there. He has left voice mail on my sister's cell. Seems he wants her to take care of his son's pet turtle while they go on vacation. I doubt they will be going on vacation anymore. I doubt he will ever speak to me again. I've ruined everything.

Before you all start speculating about who these people are, let me assure you that this morning's dream was not based on real people. Even I was played by someone else because yesterday I'd made a comment to someone that I was looking to hire a new lead actress to play me because I'm sucking at life. And I'd watched tivo-ed Desperate Housewives immediately before going to bed. So stop trying to figure out who he is.

My pets really do tell time

2008-10-26T09:48:00.000-07:00

Now it is a proven fact. The same thing happened last year. The only difference is that my pets wake me at 7:30 now instead of 8:30. I wonder when that happened.

I woke this morning at 7:30 to walk the dog. Nothing abnormal there. Except when I looked at my phone it read 8:30. WTF?! After half an hour, it dawned on me that a few years ago, this would have signaled the end of Daylight Savings Time. And the alarm clock I have from Brookstone has the daylight savings algorithm hardcoded into it. This was handy until the government changed when Daylight Savings Time begins and ends.

But that means it has now been proven that my pets wake me up based on the time they see on the clock, not where the sun is in the sky. I am convinced that they can read time.

Tan lines

2008-10-23T23:05:00.000-07:00

Just putting together a presentation for Saturday and I ran across this photo on Coding Horror.