Itchy lips

Tonight I relented and trimmed the mustache. I had hoped to hold out until Christmas day and technically I made a promise not to trim the beard and didn't mention the mustache... Hmm. With justifications like that I should consider politics.

Anyhow, it had reached a point where it was hanging over my lips so far that it was tough to eat. Imagine every bite of food getting caught in the web hanging down from your top lip.

*****

Today I realized that I set myself up for two weeks of hell. I'm giving end of semester quizzes and finals. For two classes I broke their finals into two parts - all of which means more grading.

How can I possibly enjoy temperatures in the 70's when I have work to do? It was funny to be sitting outside for dinner tonight and seeing a guy with a parka two benches over.

Kill the good and hope for perfect in another 20 years

As snow is falling across Washington the left of my party has gone into a frenzy in opposing healthcare reform. It's 99% the same bill that they had a month ago and it was good then but now it's bad.

Why? Joe Lieberman pissed them off. A couple of weeks ago a sweetener was added that would allow 55-64 year olds to buy into Medicare. It's a great idea that Joe supported even in September of this year. When Joe saw how excited that made the liberals who shunned him in reelection in 2006 he said he would filibuster unless it was taken out.

Again, the Senate bill is virtually the same as it was a month ago. The only difference now is that Lieberman (and to a lesser extent Ben Nelson of Nebraska) has made liberal groups mad.

The result? They've lost their minds. Killing reform now means it is dead. Not just a little dead, but completely dead. No pulse. No reform for decades, dead. If we couldn't make it work with 60 senators there's no way we're ever going to make this work because Republicans will never be willing to negotiate in good faith. (Our very own Chuck Grassley who once championed CHIP - which is government run healthcare for poor families - has now done a 180 and opposes government subsidies for private insurance.)

The good liberals in the senate know it is now or never and they are ignoring nutwings on their left. I hope they keep their resolve. This bill is far from perfect but it is worth passing.

Christmas Choir

The Inter-Continental is the hotel where the score is food poisoning 2, Steve 0. I risked a third meal... hoping that they'd have everything extraordinarily clean for serving several hundred guests.

The event was a Christmas Choir that was fantastic. Having a large group sing Christmas carols was fun and their versions of Rudolph and Sleigh Ride were the best I've heard.

As I looked around the room, the song "Dreaming of a white Christmas" took on new meaning. Since I've moved to this country I've never seen so many white westerners in one place.

Here's Ann and I in the lobby.

Avatar

It's probably worth checking out the world's most expensive movie ever made. Avatar is certainly not the best movie ever made but it was an amazing (and long) ride. Only go to this movie if you can watch it in 3D. On a normal screen I think the movie would wear thin long before it's over. In 3D, however, it is stunning. I hope this is a new trend in movies.

Free whisky with every haircut

Is there a law against this?

Probably, but I don't think there should be.

Time gets it right

Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke has been named Time magazine's person of the year.

Bernanke probably should have won the award last year. In normal times he would have, but there's something about the country electing its first black president that overshadowed the guy who kept us out of Depression 2.0.

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: Appointing Bernanke is the single, best decision of the Bush presidency. As bad as our current situation is there are soooo many ways it could be worse. Rather than being an object of ridicule (as he seems to be in the senate where he is up for reconfirmation) he should be the subject of praise and adulation.

In September 2008 - when the world's credit markets went into a sudden freeze - I don't think many Americans appreciate how that could have been the end of the world as we knew it. Europe faltered in its reaction. Only the US Federal Reserve and, shockingly, Paulsen as Bush's Treasury Secretary responded quick enough to avert a catastrophe.

It's easy to think anyone in their position would have done the same... but again, look to Europe. With the same information they chose not to act until much later. Also, he ignored many on the Fed's governing board who made recommendations that would have made things worse.

All Hail Ben Bernanke!

Or something like that.

Flooding & the Al Ain rapids

Getting to work was difficult on Monday. An overnight rain turned my local bridge-less wadi into raging river.

This picture was taken in the afternoon after the water had subsided.

By Al Ain standards this is a river. 363 days a year this is a dry creek bed. I asked locals if it ever has more water than this and the answer was no... so check out the elaborate stone/concrete river banks... it looks like they were planning for a real river. These stone/concrete river banks are all over the city. Dozens of miles worth.

At one point the wadi narrowed into a rapids. (I cropped this photo to look more impressive than it really was. In reality these "rapids" are maybe six inches.)

Although I didn't try to venture through the wadi on Monday morning, I did have to drive through two spots of high water. The casualty? I lost 3 hubcaps.

Banished!

A couple of weeks ago Ann and I went to lunch on the women's campus. We decided to try a restaurant in the IT building. There was one small problem:

I have a penis.

This is a picture of me looking through the glass window of the restaurant that does not allow males. Ann ordered my food and brought it out to me.

Here's where I ate lunch.

Birth certificate humor

Although this has upset some on my side of the aisle, I think they need a better sense of humor.

Thought for the day

John McCain should be absolutely ashamed of his Vice Presidential pick... almost as ashamed as Al Gore should be of his.

(Joe "keep moving the goal-posts" Lieberman announced he would oppose Medicare buy-in for those 55-64. Just 3 months ago he supported it.)

Only on Fox

A stitch in time saves nine

Abu Dhabi announced today that it will fork over another $10 billion to Dubai. If this had been done a month ago it could have stopped the flight of foreign investment. Today I read an interesting parallel to the US: Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were technically not backed by the US government, but had the US allowed them to default the result would have been catastrophic. The same appears to be true for Dubai. The difference is that the US stepped in early and Abu Dhabi waited until after Dubai announced it would default.

Now the expensive stitching may be too late to close the gaping hole.

Quote of the day - Liberal Professor

A conservative friend saw this picture and said....

"The beard definitely cements your “liberal professor” persona – I’d keep it."

I am not doing anything until Christmas day. I'd like to see how much it grows out. If it does I'd like to play Santa next year and I'll start growing it earlier. (Also, keep on the look out for a good Santa suit.)

To the Liberal professor comment I'd tell Matt that Judge Bork is a conservative as it gets and he has one.

Weekend remainders - the prankster edition

A best man promised to be good until the wedding and he was. He never promised to be good after the wedding so he hooked up the couple's bed to Twitter and now it sends off an alarm every time they have sex. Go to the bottom of this link and read up.

The Yes Men have pranked my beloved Coca-Cola.

Prince Charles must be hoping this is a prank: The Queen is setting up William to be a shadow King.

Sadly this is not a prank: A 98 year old woman was upset her 100 year old roommate was taking up so much room that she killed her.

From the "I wish this was a prank" category: CBS is canceling As The World Turns. I grew up on this soap opera. I'm going to miss Oakdale. Oh well, the show was never the same since they got rid of the real Lilly...

I'll end with a prediction: I'll bet in a year ABC is wishing that putting Stephanopolous on Good Morning America was a prank. I think he's gonna tank like Gumbel did when he left the morning format.

Reality or Fantasy?

In a conversation the other night a friend remarked, "Fantasy is often reality upside down."

That made me think of a tattoo one of my former students had. James was nice enough to send me a picture:

Reality may be a bit hard to read, but then reality is often a bit hard... now read it upside down:

Lake Al Ain

This is very near where I live. I've never seen a lake in this country.

Many people came out to see Lake Al Ain. It's obviously a rare event.

The wet roads make for fun play for the Shabab. This truck kept doing donuts and delighting the audience standing on the bank of the wadi.

("Shabab" technically means "young" but I've only heard it used in reference to young guys. "Wadi" means "river." There are no rivers in this country and what you see in this picture is a bridgeless wadi. It's like a dry creek bed that they put a road through. Amazingly they also constructed huge river banks like you see the audience standing on. These are all over the city. Considering it never rains enough to actually fill a wadi I'm not sure why these were built.)

Party planning

I am an Abstract Sequential. What that means is that I'm one of those people who analyzes everything because somehow it has to make sense in my world.

When it comes to parties I'd much rather throw a party than go to one... by a factor of ten. As an Abstract Sequential I'm always monitoring my party to see what works and what doesn't work and why. Tonight's party has left me with a lot to ponder.

For example, I did not expect to have the majority of the people standing in the hallway. Yes, that's where the food and liquor was, but it was odd to have 30 people standing in the hallway area while chairs and couches were unoccupied in my front room.

I also don't understand the need (requirement?) to bring something to a party. Several friends asked what they could bring and I assured them as best I could that there was more than enough here already. Of course, they still brought something. So I ended up with wine and food beyond anything I could ever consume.

I was lamenting this fact with a friend on Facebook tonight when he suggested that for future parties I say, "Food and beverages will be provided. There will be a donation box if you'd like to help cover the expenses."

Good idea?

Christmas party

It's 1AM and the guests have left. The party was a success. When you have enough alcohol and appetizers it's hard not to have a successful party. It probably says a lot about this city that several guests said, "This is the largest party I've been to..."

There were 40 people.

That's a good sized party but hardly a record-breaking bash in most places.

The picture above is the first time I've seen myself in the beard and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I'm not shaving or trimming until at least Christmas. I'd like to see what it looks like by then.

One thing is certain: When I grew a beard 20 years ago it didn't have all that gray. If I had started growing it earlier I could have played Santa Clause. Then again, if I asked my guests to sit on my lap that probably would have killed the party.

At the very least it would have been a very different kind of party.

When extroverts marry

Tonight I attended a dinner party of 10. In the group was a wonderfully colorful extroverted married couple. During the three hour gathering the conversation rarely strayed from their topics of discussion. The party was great, but at many times I wondered what the more introverted guests were thinking.

As an extrovert, I know I can dominate conversation even when I don't mean to. Tonight this couple took control and ruled throughout. For me was interesting to sit back and watch and know that even though it's not me, it could have been me.

RIP Public Option

Huffington Post has an article on the death of the public option.

If the current compromise bill passes it will be better than anything I've been expecting... which is why I'm expecting something to trip it up. It's got cost containment, a Medicare buy-in, expanded Medicaid, and guarantee of coverage without pre-existing conditions. Could it be better? Sure, but this is light years better than our current system.

It's great for the country and it's good for me. Under the current system I could not return to the US without another job lined up. I have far too many pre-existing conditions and would have no prayer of getting private insurance. If this bill passes I will be able to return to the US on my own terms and you have no idea how wonderful that would feel.