bailout?

so it looks like our economy is teetering on the edge of the crapper. but if we've learned much of anything at all from history, we should know by now that there are things that we can do now to prevent a recurrence of the great depression.
it may not be a popular thing to say, but i support this $700 billion bailout-thingy that they're kicking around in washington. not as a 'here's a crapload of money, just let us know how you use it' blank check, but definitely with regulations and oversight and an attempt to fix the systems that got us into this mess.
and even though he can say some pretty kooky things sometimes, i believe that moby's rant on this subject pretty much sums up what i've been thinking.

ok, financial markets and bailout.
this might not make me very popular, but although i don't like it, i support the $700,000,000,000.00 bailout.
why?
because it will prop up our banks and investment houses long enough for real reform to implemented and it will keep the u.s and global economy from sliding into depression.
if more banks and investment houses fail you'll see a severe recession and possibly a depression.
and this effects everyone.
the reason that people start businesses and create jobs is because they have access to capital.
the reason that people buy houses or renovate houses is because they have access to capital.
if people close businesses or stop buying or renovating houses they will stop creating jobs.
people will be fired.
unemployment will skyrocket.
retirement accounts will dry up.
more mortgages will be foreclosed on.
and the world will head towards severe recession or depression.
this bailout isn't bailing out fat-cats on wall street, it's protecting local businesses in iowa and kansas and sacramento.
it's protecting shakey mortgages in idaho and florida.
it's protecting retirement accounts in alaska and maine.
it's protecting your job.
it's protecting your neighbors job.
wall st screwed up. seriously. the collusion between the different financial service providers has been disgraceful and dangerous.
and securitizing high-risk mortgages was, in hindsight, a disastrous idea.
wall street screwed up.
but to let the banks and investment houses fail and to let the dow and the nasdaq (and the ftseand the dax and nikkei, etc) plummet is to create a crisis that will effect every person onthe planet (the global depression of the 20's and 30's, resulting from protectionist trade practices, caused world war 2, for example).
the republicans (and some democrats) in the house of representatives (most of whom know nothing about global markets and finances) have made a huge mistake in not supporting the bailout.
to be clear, no one likes the bailout, and no one is happy at the thought of having to use taxpayers money to buy up crummy securities.
but it's a necessary evil, and to let the banks and investment houses continue to fail would have deleterious consequences that people can't even begin to imagine.
again, not just for bankers and brokers, but for you and your friends and your grandparents and your children.
the markets do not exist in a bubble, and to pretend that they do is to exhibit a dangerous lack of understanding of how the global economy actually works.
if the gop in the house don't pass the bailout they won't be punishing wall street, they'll be punishing you and your friends and your family.
moby

photos

i went to intellicolor yesterday and picked up my prints from my last two 120 rolls. i took this one last march. the rest are hanging out on flickr.

my life

i'll learn someday...

Dennys opened his eyes as the wind dropped, was silent. He raised his face to the stars, and their light fell against his cheeks like dew. They chimed at him softly. Do not seek to comprehend. All shall be well. Wait. Patience. Wait. You do not always have to do something. Wait.

Madeleine L'Engle - Many Waters

superpowers

3-D mail

not many people utilize the united states postal service anymore. but who doesn't love getting something fun in the mail?
my friend alissa and i try to send each other as much for-reals mail as we can. and i always get excited when something comes from her.
i received an extra-fun package from her on wednesday.
it contained...


two of my favorite candy bars in the whole world, purchased in canada. a poster from one of my favorite bands, of montreal. a sticker from this year's portland zine symposium. a polaroid from a coconut records album. a drawing alissa did of my cat newton. the latest clutch/invincible summer split zine. (i'm super-excited about this) one of alissa's gocco prints of a pregnant octopus riding a bicyle. the outside of the package has her grandmother's persimmon cookie recipe. (can't wait to try that one out.) and a circa 2000 photo of me with orange hair in front of the chicago museum of contemporary art.

equal parts random, delightful and delicious.
it pretty much made my day.

pastry tour

i spent some time this evening putting together some of the cities that will potentially be on my european pastry tour. as you can tell by the map, there are a few too many.
the next step is to research the regional cuisine of each of these cities and bring it down to a manageable number.

any thoughts or recommendations?

(yes, i am super type-A and color-coordinated the markers by country. red for germany, purple for austria, yellow for switzerland, blue for belgium and the netherlands, and green for france. i admit it. i'm a nerd.)


View Larger Map

(edit: i've whittled it down to the 22 cities pictured above, but at the rate of 1 city a day, not counting travel days, this would take 3 weeks. hmmmm. i may have to just limit this to france...)

reasons

i think i may have finally pinpointed why i despise summer so much.
yes, it is hot, but heat in itself isn't really enough to despise an entire season.

it is because the heat keeps me from the activities i enjoy most.

my garage art studio is like a sauna, therefore no art.
turning the oven on makes the kitchen waaaay too hot, therefore no baking.
working in the garden in 100 degree weather makes me feel like i'm going to die, therefore no gardening.
it just feels wrong to be knitting when it is hot outside, so very little knitting.

i am left with very little to satisfy my need to create. and summer drags on for months.
so by september i am extremely restless and anxious to really dig in and make something, even though i know the heat will last for at least another month.

in the meantime all i seem to have the energy for is watching movies and drinking beer.
on tonight's agenda...watching idiocracy and drinking a newcastle.
ahhhhhhhh

roommate

we have a new roommate...

who necessitates me keeping a baby gate on my bedroom door.
our kids don't play together very well.
everyone come by and say hi to newton. she'll be waiting for you.

pharmaceuticals

i usually get looks of pity when i tell people that i get my medical coverage from Kaiser. i can completely understand where these looks come from, but i've been going there my entire life, thus i know nothing different. sure, they sometimes leave you feeling like banging your head against the wall would be more productive, but you learn how to work their quirky system.

one of the benefits of being covered by Kaiser (under my current employer's coverage, at least) is that all immunizations are free and the copay on prescriptions is about $15 for a 3 month supply of whatever cures your ills.

this morning i went over to the medical offices to get the last in the series of Hepatitis A and B shots which i started before my Mexico adventure. in and out in 10 minutes, and not a penny spent. while i was there i decided to look at the pharmacy and see if i could get my new favorite drug at a better price than at the local Walgreens. i usually drop almost $30 a month to keep my allergies at bay. i figured, hey, i can get prescription drugs cheap here, maybe i can get an OTC medication for cheap too. turns out i was wrong.

this is how i discovered a pharmaceutical conspiracy. you think i would have learned this while working at a pharmaceutical company...

it had been at the back of my mind that zyrtec had gone from prescription to OTC much quicker than normal. now i know why. insurance providers (like mine) can lose a lot of money by giving out a 3 month supply of pills for a flat $15 copay. so they petition the pharmaceutical companies and FDA to move them to OTC quickly so they can up the price, since most insurance companies don't cover OTC products. so a product that would have cost me $5 a month now costs 6 times as much only because i now no longer have to go through my doctor to get it. is the convenience really worth it? i'm thinking no.

so i think i'm kind of screwed until zyrtec-d goes off patent....in 2016.