Urban Runner

Too Big to Fail Screws America Again!!

Now this is total bullshit! JP Morgan loses $2 billion and they are going to make it right by accepting the resignation of a 55 yoa executive. Oh, and that executive is planned to get $15.5 million compensation for 2011... Wall Street Journal article And that is just one year, she has been "working" there (and being well compensated) for over 30 years. With one caveat for her, that is like the decision process of one of the 99% deciding to take 2 days of vacation. It is insignificant in the compensation package picture! Of course the one caveat is the ego hickey the sociopath will take with such a public resignation. I'm sure she'll feel bad all the way to her retirement mansion in the Cayman Islands... These bastards need to be headed to a federal penitentiary not a retirement villa! And one sacrificial lamb/scapegoat is not enough!!! The top heads and the "too big to fail" banks/investment companies themselves need to go now!! Wake up Teabagger suckers, do you understand yet how screwed you and the rest of the 99% are getting??

Koch TeaParty fails as the Occupy Movement Takes Center Stage

    As the power of information and the internet flex their muscles; the Koch's TeaParty has dropped in influence and the Occupy Movement has instead taken center stage. This is not surprising, seeing that the TeaParty was powered by ignorance and hate whose archenemy is information and education. Which incidentally, explains in large part the motivation behind the TeaParty's attack on public education.
    Of course, JFK's quote becomes more and more significant as these protests grow and should be headed: "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." There appears to be a recognition by the 1% that these protests are growing and are quickly gaining traction among the majority of Americans. This is likely the reason behind the increasingly irrational and violent responses by American police agencies in response to the protests. We have seen this play out in China (Tiananmen Square), Iran (2009 Election Protest), Egypt (Tahrir Square), and currently Syria.
    The Occupy Movement has thus far been driven by non-violent protest with some civil disobedience. This seems to be the best strategy for the time being as the movement's popularity continues to rise bringing with it even more vocal and visible support. However, the lack of violence (on the part of the protesters) could change. An overwhelmingly violent act on the part of the 1% could trip the trigger to a shift to a more insurgent response and even move towards revolution. A look to history, including the use of violence against protesters and ones own citizens, is imperative. For example, the response to acts such as the Boston Massacre of March 5, 1770, would be instructional for police administrators and those that are directing their actions.

TeaParty Failures

    Got a few ridiculous comments after I posted about the TeaParty. Some of them were especially pathetic. One overwhelming similarity was that many of the these commenters preferred to hide behind a bogus username and made up e-mail address. I have now changed the settings to require a log in to comment. Not foolproof, but it may reduce the cowardly anonymous comments. Even those that did identify themselves only did so in a limited manner and never with a photo or further identifiers. Overall, the negative comments pretty much were what one would have expected from the Teabagger crowd - shrill screamers, cowardly, and ill informed on the issues. The same sort of trash led to some of those fools trying to re-write history on WikiPedia to fit Sarah Palin's bizarre rendition of Paul Revere's ride.
    A few of the personal attacks were particularly pathetic. A dork from Ferndale, Michigan plans on shooting me from "over 1200 yards away". Of course he's such a coward that even in his imaginary world he doesn't think it would be wise for him to get closer. Reynoldsburg, Ohio and Provo, Utah were poorly represented as well. Maybe some saner voices from these locations can redeem their towns.

The TeaParty Explained

Avtomat Kalashnikova SBR

    On a final note for the day, a picture of the latest addition to our armory. Its an Arsenal SLR-107CR that has been legally converted and registered as a SBR. It is chambered for the 7.62x39 round which sometimes is noted as "turning cover into concealment since 1947." This is part of what is going to contribute to making our homestead a difficult target for right-wing religious extremists such as the TeaParty nut cases. They will be none too happy when times get tough and they realize how badly they have been duped by the Koch brothers and the rest of the Plutocracy leaving them with nothing and starving. This rifle will contribute to the multi layered defense of our sustainable green homestead.

Best Pubs in the Austin Area

    One of the great things about the Austin area is the abundance of great pubs. I've mentioned some of these before in previous posts. In Austin our favorite pub is the Crown & Anchor. Its located just north of UT and is always our first stop during our Austin Pub Crawl Hikes. They have great prices, good food, and of course a great beer selection. We also usually hit the Dog & Duck which also offers a great beer selection and probably the best pub grub anywhere. Another great neighborhood pub that we enjoy is the Draught House. They offer a selection of their own craft brews along with the obligatory great selection of beer. Along with these super pubs in one of America's greatest cities (best in Texas) you get the added benefit of Austin's health conscious smoking ban inside public buildings.
    When we're outside of Austin, but still in the general area, the Taproom in San Marcos also has a great beer selection and a super selection of well priced grub. The only down side here is that they do allow smoking after 3 pm and Texas State students are heavy smokers.

CT Rabbit Pavilion

    We have broken ground on a major new feature for our homestead. I'm in the process of constructing a 20' x 25' covered pavilion directly in front of he house.

Pavilion: Free-standing structure sited a short distance from a main residence, whose architecture makes it an object of pleasure. Large or small, there is usually a connection with relaxation and pleasure in its intended use.

Nilda and I are very excited about this new addition. It will be a great place to socialize and visit with our friends. As the front yard is quite large and significantly set back from the street, the pavilion will form the centerpiece of this semi-private space. It will perform the function of a large traditional front porch. We intend the front yard area to be our entertaining space while the back yard will remain our private utility space where we can garden and keep the ducks and chickens.

Back in the Running Groove

    After too long of a break I have returned to my regular running routine.  For now my primary focus is a return to running condition and increasing my miles. I'm doing a regular 6 mile run which I'm pleased with. Its hard to do much more distance than that in our general neighborhood area and still be entertained. My main training method has been using the LSD (Long Slow Distance) technique. I guess that by using this method I'm really showing my age. This training method was quite popular during the 1970's.
    Eventually, I plan on returning to running organized runs in the 5 and 10k distances. We shall have to see if I can reach my stretch goal of a return to my once standard sub-40 minute 10k races. Anyhow, life is good and running is great!

Proud to be everything the right wing fears

  Now here's a mighty fine bumper sticker, and so very true!

I Remember