Back, mild migration, my first bj

So I left work yesterday afternoon to go pick up Ali from the airport.  On the way I stopped at the house to pick up the girls in the party van.  As we approached Ali, who was standing by the curb both dogs were on the front seat with their heads out the window, it was cute.  Sadie wasted no time getting reacquainted with Ali’s lap on the way home.

It’s hard to believe but my home computer migration is pretty much done already.  Last night I completed it by reinstalling Sharepoint Designer 2007 on the new system. (which is now a free download from Microsoft by the way) It was the smoothest migration I can recall.  Ali was quite impressed with how quiet the new system is.

While Ali was away I drove the Camry Hybrid most of the time.  I rarely get to drive the car normally.  Well I noticed that the front brake pads are starting to squeak, a normal sign that the pads are nearing the end of their life.

I have done a decent amount of automotive maintenance in my lifetime but one thing I never attempted was brake work.  I suppose I deemed the ability to stop a car as something too important to be left in the hands of amateurs.  However that is about to change.  I did some research in what is involved in changing the disc brake pads on the Camry and it doesn’t appear to be difficult at all, basically 2 or 3 bolts hold on the brake calipers.

I hopped on the same website that I bought the Tacoma door lever bezel on and bought a set of long wear pads for $40 plus shipping.  I am anxious to see how my first brake job works out. A successful replacement would equate to at least a $100-$150 savings over what a garage/dealer would charge me.

I lost my fantasy football game this week by 5 points.  The big scapegoats are Desean Jackson and the Ravens defense.  After crushing the Steelers the week before the Ravens D turned into a bunch of pussies this week, only grabbing me a measly 5 points.  Jackson, who I had on my team last year has a very annoying pattern of inconsistency.  He will have a monster game and then basically disappear for a game or two.

So now Obama is making big headlines by proclaiming once again he is targeting the ultra-rich and the loopholes they have enjoyed since the Bush Tax Cuts were implemented in 2002.  To be honest, even though I strongly support the Bush cuts being rolled back yesterday, the statement by Obama rings a bit hollow with me.

When he campaigned in 2008 one of the things he guaranteed was the end of the Bush Tax Cuts. It didn’t happen.  Instead he offered them up as a sacrificial lamb of appeasement to the right in an unappreciated act of bipartisanship.  This pattern of appeasement has been seen repeatedly and repeatedly it has resulted in nothing positive, unless you are one of the corporations enjoying record profit taking.

Trying to trot out this promise with renewed vigor just doesn’t hold water for me.  I am much more impressed by action.  Unfortunately his window to show me any appreciable change closed once the Tea Party loonies got a foothold in congress.