Monday, November 5, 2012

The little cat pervert

Truth to tell, I was a little bit creaky getting out of bed this morning. Maybe I should have stretched more after my run. It wasn't just my legs, my core and hip flexors were talking to me as well. I'd really worked them during the swim on Saturday, and as I headed into the pool this morning they were telling me in no uncertain terms that the flip turns would be a little slower today.

And so they were. I had a whole 50 m lane to myself, and I did a relaxed 30 minute swim. The flip turns were just like some people like eggs, over easy. Which in fact was going to be the title of this blog, till after the bike ride this evening.

Today was so nice out. This is much more like what fall is. Sunny, and just cool enough for a light jacket. I ran into a former coworker and we chatted a bit as I finished my lunch time walk. It was nice enough to run after work, and tomorrow is supposed to rain or snow. But I don't like running two days in a row, and I had been looking forward to a nice spin session.

Which I did. 90 minutes, mostly over 90 rpm, and some of it over 100, mostly in a fairly easy gear, but some in a gear to produce nearly 300 watts for a short time at a high rpm. Felt good.

So there I was, lying on my back with my feet in the air, reading my iPad. I'm feeling something odd, and I suddenly realize Celina is right there, with her nose buried in my armpit. Not just sniffing as she walked past. Nose right in there and trying to get under my shirt. This wasn't the sweatiest ride ever, but I wasn't exactly dry either.

I don't mind getting a good sweat on, and sweaty girls can be hawt, but I'm a little worried about Celina. Cats have a very sensitive sense of smell, and I can't imagine why she's doing that. Hmmm, maybe she thinks some small prey creatures are living up in there.

I can't wait for the US election to be over. Enough of it has spilled over into Canadian news that I'm sick of it. I can see where people are disappointed in Obama, after such a promising start, but the alternative! Look at the alternative. A party that supports nutters who believe that women's bodies have a mechanism to prevent pregnancy from rape, and that slavery was a good thing for the slaves, isn't fit to run anything.

An election proper lasts less than two months. That is more than long enough for the electorate to get a good grip on the current batch of lies produced by the candidates, and decide which of them they prefer. Then the elected politicians can go back to their usual job of hiding what they are doing, lying when asked about it, and generally enriching themselves and their corporate masters. The rest of us can get on with whatever we were doing.

The American system of taking nearly a year is, well, stupid on a number of fronts. For a first term president, the poor sod already has one of the hardest jobs in the world and now has to do it, and campaign for a year to be allowed to keep it. One could easily argue that the American public is getting poor value during that 4th year. How much attention can he really be paying to it?

The cost is obscene, and allowing the so-called Super-PACs to inject so much money is just wrong. Corporations are not people, and should not be given the same rights.

Why should Iowa get first crack at the candidates? Maybe there is an excellent candidate for the entire country, excepting Iowa, but because they're first he is forced out. Where's the justice in that? If there is going to be a primary system, then everybody should have it all at the same time.

I've never seen the presidential ballot, but I understand the president is actually chosen by the Electoral College. Fair enough if that's what the rules are. So why allow a popular vote at all if the results could be contrary to the Electoral College? After all, only a very few Canadians get to vote for the Prime Minister, or not.

6 comments:

  1. Hah. My cat Blues steals my used sweaty socks. Shoves her face into them, rolls over them. It's always disconcerting.

    And I am so done with the election. I live in a state where I can vote early, so I did, but I'm still getting calls at 9PM, and strange knocks on the door. Just shut up already!

    And the electoral college isn't COMPLETELY ridiculous... There is an evening of clout in the current system. People at some point objected to just having a "popular" vote because it weighted urban areas over rural areas. We are not a democracy, but more of some version of a republic, which is not the same thing at all.

    I live in a swing state, meaning there was a lot a lot a lot of money spent here for our nine little electoral votes. They are not split up according to popular vote, but they all go one way or another, which is where it differs from an actual popular vote, especially in a close race.


    More important to me was a ballot measure to ban the use of SuperPACs in local elections in order to "prevent corruption or the appearance of corruption due to outside influence." Unfortunately, similar ballot measures have been overturned in other states due to "freedom of speech" claims, but this one is worded in such a way that implies the money can be used, just not anonymously. So I was excited for that little measure, but really didn't care about the rest.

    Mostly, though, I have a bit of election fatigue. It isn't like the populace wants to see this crap for a year and a half before an election, but how do you stop it?

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  2. I think there is something about human sweat for some cats. I had one that did socks. I think I made his year when I left my hockey bag unzipped just enough for him to dive in and pull out those full length socks.


    So does your state swing both ways? The whole thing of ballot initiatives is strange to me, since they are as rare as hen's teeth in Canada. Prop 13 in California was the first step in starting the destruction of California as a viable economic entity.

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  3. Yes, Colorado is a swingin' state.


    Colorado allows open firearm carry (you only need a permit to conceal it), but it is also now legal to purchase marijuana for recreational purposes if you're over 21. Still could be prosecuted at the federal level, so it doesn't gain a lot... I think Colorado may have a slight personality disorder, but people let her get away with it because she's pretty. :)


    Mostly, I'm glad that the ads are now OVER.

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  4. Kitty digs your pits, man. Just make sure you don't feel any lumps in there.


    I was utterly shocked at how close Romney actually got last night. And I love how Colbert and Jon Stewart helped to show how ludicrous SuperPACs are, and how they can still so easily be controlled and manipulated under the guise of anonymity. The system is effed.

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  5. I didn't see the Colbert and Stewart thing, and will try to find it. You're being polite about the system!

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  6. They did a whole series of episodes where Jon takes over Stephen's SuperPAC and they "don't" talk about what Stephen would want him to do with the money. In one episode, they both call the lawyer together while on a cell phone. It illustrates just how involved the candidate can still be.


    In the end, I think he raised an obscene amount of money with his efforts. I'm still not sure where it will go, though he did offer Donald Trump $1mil if he'd let Colbert put his balls in Trump's mouth. No word of a lie. In retaliation to Trump's ridiculous offer to Obama over the college transcript/$5 million to charity hogwash.

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