Monday, October 31, 2016

Happy horses on hay delivery day


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Back for a Week

Still running around, with no real break here. Back from a week in Seattle late Friday night. Up early Saturday for Kendall’s last volleyball tournament.  She played well, though her team was a bit outmatched.

Photo Oct 29, 11 35 15 AM

They lost the first 3 matches, though were competitive in one against Kendall’s teammate from last year. She also had a great block against the sister of a 13’s year teammate. That was impressive since the sister is 6’ 5”. Wish I had a shot of that, but I wasn’t taking pictures then.

Photo Oct 29, 12 07 13 PM

All in all, we’re glad the season is done, and I was happy to see the seniors get a chance to finish the last match.

After that, I came back home, feeding hay for Kendall and trying to get a new feeder done. This was for a friend of Tia’s that’s been wanting one and I’ve been trying to schedule in. I had worked on it last week, but messed up a measurement, so I took it apart and put new boards in.

Photo Oct 29, 5 21 50 PM

Got it partially done, then went out to see Kyle with the family for dinner.

Sunday I was up early again, with a morning private lesson for Kendall. Then back here, more feeder work, and calling it a late night.

Today, work. Back in the office, trying to get caught up and ahead since I leave for Seattle next Sunday. Again.

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Not helping carry the hay


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Chore helper


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Saturday, October 29, 2016

Kill for @kendallaj26


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Warmups


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Friday, October 28, 2016

Surprising the new young lady in charge of SQL Saturdays


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Thursday, October 27, 2016

Sheep selfie


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The extent of my art skills


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The other Steve Jones


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Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Photobombing the sheep


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Monday, October 24, 2016

Got my SQL Clone sheep at #sqlsummit


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Wecome gift. They must have thought I brought @atiehjones or @kendallaj26 with me


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My spot for the next couple hours


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All four waiting on @atiehjones


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Saturday, October 22, 2016

Hunter kitty, down for the afternoon


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Colorado Election–Amendment 69

This is interesting. I had no idea Amendment 69 was coming up, which essentially replaces our current health care system with ColoradoCare.

There’s a ton to read here. While I support some aspects of the ACA (Obamacare), I do think there are problems. I’m not sure Amendment 69 solves them.

First, it allows for more taxes to fund $2billion/year to start looking at this. While I think we should do something to start improving health care and costs, I’m not sure we want this big an experiment. We haven’t necessarily learned enough about how to move forward, and I’d prefer that we aim to see if we can better privatize health care rather than a single payer system.

At least not until we have a national single payer system.

I don’t have a fundamental issue with single payer. My friends in Canada, the UK, Norway, they think it works. Plus, you can always purchase more care if you have more money. That is, I think, a decent way of working. I’d actually prefer to eliminate most insurance and move to direct payments where people make decisions about their care, based on cost and effectiveness.

In practice, I don’t know how that works, but I’d like to see something else.

I also think having different laws in CO than neighboring (or other) states creates a race to the bottom in terms of other states abandoning their efforts and letting people come to Colorado. Not that we couldn’t handle it, but it means we have other issues. We’ve seen this with poverty programs, and I don’t want to encourage it.

I vote no.

Colorado Election–Amendment U

This one is easy for me. Amendment U wants to remove the need to collect money from people using public land where the value of the use is < US$6,000. This is indexed to inflation over time (after 2 years).

Should we exempt people from taxes? The law and order people would say that this isn’t fair. Why should a rancher who gets $5,999 of value from grazing on public land be exempt from taxes.

In a hypothetical sense, they shouldn’t.

In the real world, this is a tiny amount of money in CO. We have about 7,000 possessory interests in CO (a crazy term), that net around $315mm in value. However, tax payments are about $7mm, which is nothing to sneeze at. However, the interests that are less than $6,000 are around 5,100 of these, netting about $125,000 in taxes. A tiny fraction, on average, $24 in taxes.

It cannot cost more to collect taxes than we get. In a practical sense, this doesn’t make any difference to us and it promotes not only efficiency, but also small businesses. This is precisely how I want tax and regulation to work. Less (or none) for small businesses, more for larger ones.

If you want to say this isn’t fair, remember that much of life isn’t fair. This is a fair decision to me based on the small values.

Maybe we can get a Paypal instant xfer of micropayments that make this feasible, but for now, I vote for this. To remove this tax and exempt small businesses.

Colorado Election–Amendment T

I wanted to make a few posts on the Colorado ballot issues, to be sure I’m happy with how I feel. Delaney, Tia, and I discussed all these one night, working our way through the ballot issues.

I’ll tackle these one by one, as I fill out the ballot, to be sure I understand what I think.

Amendment T

This amendment removes verbiage that allows slavery and involuntary servitude. This means removing parts that allow for forced, unpaid labor by convicted criminals.

Easy, right? No more slavery.

It’s not simple. This potentially covers prison work requirements, community service, and work requirements for probation.

That makes me think more.

However, I am for this amendment. It’s largely symbolic in that we do not allow slavery at this time, and other states have the ability to entice work requirements in some cases for prisoners.

I think it’s perfectly reasonable to suspend or lift a sentence if a convicted person agrees to community service or work requirements. In prison, more privileges for those that work, a standard for those that don’t.

Other states do this.

I do not want language that allows slavery or involuntary servitude in our constitution.

Time to work the ballot


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Friday, October 21, 2016

Those that know me will realize why this is disturbing


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Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Tippy for warmonger @kendallaj26


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Monday, October 17, 2016

Character

I was talking with someone about the election and they mentioned that character is very important to them. This is someone that leans conservative in most aspects of their life. They are thoughtful and considerate, and believe in fairness, honesty, and respect.

This person said Mr. Trump was not the person they would want teaching their children.

This person said Mr. Trump was not they person they’d want running an elementary school.

This person said that Mr. Trump was not someone they could work for.

At every level, every situation, this individual said Mr. Trump failed the character test. He just doesn’t propose, present, and display any aspects of admirable character.

That got me thinking a bit. Character is important, but I want someone that will lead, but in leading, is thoughtful and considering. That weighs their opinions and looks beyond themselves. I think Mr. Trump fails those tests for me.

Senator Clinton is certainly an imperfect candidate. She has enough issues that I question whether she would be a great, or even better than average President. However, she would be an adequate one. She is someone I could work for. Not that I’d choose to, but I could. I don’t know I could say that for Mr. Trump.

Mark Cuban noted that people have come back to work for Senator Clinton. She has worked for the betterment of others, and established a world class charity (not all by herself), and donated plenty of money to charitable causes. She has displayed leadership in the past. Mr. Trump fails most of these tests as well, having often not donated money he’s promised and been more of a bully than a leader. If I’m wrong about that, I’ll gladly take an education here. However, I will say that Mr. Trump convinces people to go along, he has some leadership qualities, although I think those are more from shrewdness or slyness than inspiration. I thought that in 1987 after reading his book, and I think it today.

I don’t want this to seem that I endorse or think Senator Clinton is a great candidate or someone I endorse or advocate for. However, she is the best candidate we have in this election, at this time.

Funny, looking back I think Governor Romney was the better choice over both of these two. Didn’t see that coming four years ago.

Sunday, October 16, 2016

I get up; they lay down


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Thursday, October 13, 2016

A Little Drunk

Not me, not this am, but I sound that way.

First, here’s a recording of my from last fall in London. It’s on YouTube, but play it at half speed. Use the settings icon and change the speed to .5. My introductions are around 0:30, which is a good place to start.

I think I’m coherent and understandable.

Now, watch this.

and this.

It’s much funnier.

To be clear, this is funny because of Mr. Trump’s speech pattern, his cadence and volume change abruptly, however, his lack of coherence is very evident.

More on Mr. Trump

As a response to someone that didn’t like my last post, I decided to write this:

Mr. XXX, I apologize if I've offended you. It wasn't so much a bad day as something I've been thinking about for a few days. However, in researching and learning, I am truly stunned that anyone would think Mr. Trump to be above average intelligent or brilliant in any sense of the word.

So I stand by my statement.

Note that I did not say Mr. Trump supporters were idiots. I didn't say that someone voting for him or thinking he's a better candidate or having confidence in him. There are valid reasons people choose to vote for him, and please, vote how you wish.

I also didn’t say he would not be a good leader, as clearly he mobilizes people behind him and has run successful businesses. I will say I think he’s a poor leader for the country, but that is a very subjective opinion.

However, he shows no great ideas or plans. I can backtrack a bit with the fact that some of the positions on his website are ones you may wish, but Mr. Trump seems to show little to no knowledge of them, beyond a cursory overview. Watching a speech from him is an exercise in amazement and frustration because he cannot form a coherent, organized set of thoughts. At least not without a teleprompter.

Note that I'll also say I think President Obama has issues when he goes off script as well. Many of his "gaffes" have been when he deviates from prepared remarks and gets emotional. I think he is an excellent orator when giving a stump speech. However, President Obama displays intelligent and rational thought, whether you agree or not.

Mr. Trump just does not display intelligent organization or expression of his thoughts. I've felt this way for over 30 years. I went to Trump Tower in late high school or early college with a friend. We made it a point to go to the NYSE and Trump Tower (we made many trips), and we bought "The Art of the Deal" in the Tower. I was impressed with Mr. Trump.

As I read the book, I thought less of his intelligence or even his ability to make deals. I thought more of his shrewd nature in cutting deals, and using his money or power to bribe and bully others into getting work done. While some might be that as smart, I think it's profitable business, what many have done, but also a little too far across the moral line for me. I don't think I need to make $10mm when I can make $5mm and have others happier in the project.

It's why I'm not worth $10mm now. Or 5, for that matter.

However, I digress. Over the years. I think Trump has become a successful businessman, but with many failures to go with successes. He is a braggart and an exaggerator. Not crimes by any means, but distasteful to me. He gets deals done, but his success doesn't seem to be calculated or because of intelligence, but rather because he has a power imbalance on his side. Or he "talks" someone into something. He's a great salesman, and an entertaining actor. While I don't like the Apprentice, he did do well on the program. He's a success.

Just not because of intelligence or necessarily foresight. I think his success is because of determinism to push harder than most. However, that fails as often as it succeeds. Overall, Mr. Trump has improved his positions, so we should acknowledge that.

However, acknowledge that he doesn't turn everything to gold. Mr. Trump is a businessman, with lots of endeavors of mixed success. Like most of the people that I know who have run businesses, they rely on luck and salesmanship as much as intelligence or making great choices.

As such, I do not think he’s remotely qualified for President of the United States. I get some chills just typing out the office and thinking Mr. Trump in there. He’s not measured, thoughtful, considerate, or careful. All qualities I think are very important.

I do not endorse Senator Clinton. I will vote for her if I feel the race in CO is close, but I would prefer not to. This would be a “Fuck Trump” vote, not a vote of confidence in Senator Clinton. I do think she will be an adequate President, and perhaps will be able to work with a more mollified (shocked?) GOP Congress. I do hope that we keep a GOP Senate as a Democratic Senate might swing the country too far to the left. As much as I am progressive in some ways, I am conservative in fiscal areas and think we need to be more efficient and judicious in our spending, but also reduce it.

As to your other “your a fucking idiot” items, they have merit. I will not discuss President Clinton here, but I tend to agree with you. However, his actions seem to speak more of affairs than assault in most cases, and after $100mm+ spent, I have given up that he will spend time in prison for past offenses. But perhaps for future ones.

As to Senator Clinton lying, I don’t quite know how to read this. I think she misled the FBI, and perhaps gets by on technicalities. A failure of our legal system, but I don’t find outrage here because the intersection of technology and government is poorly defined. Where is the bill to clean up our digital communications? There is the State of Our Secrets act, aimed at the State Department, but no progress on it, nor any general bill for Congress. Maybe because Congress doesn’t want to be bound by these rules? No rule for White House and other departments? SCOTUS?

I find it hard to be too upset here as if Senator Clinton can force the FBI to bow to her wishes, then what can we do? If she can actually accomplish all the feats attributed to her, then she’s far better prepared to be President than Mr. Trump, perhaps anyone.

Personally, I think that she is in a position of power, like many business and government leaders, and it is incredibly difficult to indict, much less convict them. I would settle for rules that allow a dismissal from government positions with an indictment, but again, we don’t have that. Too often what we feel to be true, or suspect, can’t be proven. I wish I had a solution, but I can’t agree that Senator Clinton should be behind bars for the email issues. We’ll have to disagree here.

I welcome a coherent and cognizant argument as to why Mr. Trump is a good President, or an above average intelligent person.

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Foreign Policy Supports Senator Clinton

This says something. The FP does not ever endorse anyone, but this is a cogent, well written piece that examines the election and the candidates.

I'm sorry, but if you say that Mr. Trump is brilliant, or has great ideas, or has a plan, you're a fucking idiot. He has shown little ability to express a coherent thought, save for the singular "law and order" speech I watched where he read from a teleprompter.

As a public speaker, I shudder to think someone would record my words and cherry pick thed stumbling, bumbling stupid things I have said from time to time. However, I have carry a thought through on a train of thought and express an idea. Mr. Trump cannot seem to get through a sentence without confusing himself or the line of reasoning.

As a public speaker, I shudder to think someone would record my words and cherry pick thed stumbling, bumbling stupid things I have said from time to time. However, I have carry a thought through on a train of thought and express an idea. Mr. Trump cannot seem to get through a sentence without confusing himself or the line of reasoning.

I understand the anger at "the system." I do get the dislike and distrust of Senator Clinton. Personally, I have no good frame of reference to understand her accomplishments versus her scandals or issues. The attacks against her have thrown so much nonsense against the wall that I struggle to separate fact from fiction. However, she is qualified, and will govern near the center. Center right, center left, it will be somewhere in there.

Mr. Trump is a complete wild card, who cannot seem to go through a five minute conversation without outright lying, contradicting himself, or forgetting where he started.

If you cannot support Senator Clinton, that's fine. However, voting for Mr. Trump for that reason is ridiculous. He stands for all of the things most people complain about with regards to Senator Clinton, with much, much less intelligence.

I researched Mr. Trump a bit more, in an attempt to better understand the candidates and their experience. I have endeavored to learn more about the various stances, accusations, and issues. I was spurred to do so after someone posted that Mr. Trump has an IQ of 156.

Mostly because I could not believe that.

What I learned from various sources is that Mr. Trump has never released any school transcripts (despite calling for others to do so, including President Obama). The IQ rumor was a guess from a journalist making a guess based on the fact that Mr. Trump attended the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Like many, I was impressed. A Wharton MBA is an achievement and not easy to attain.

Mr. Trump doesn’t have an MBA.

He didn’t get admitted to Wharton. Np

He started at Fordham and spent two years there. He transferred to U Penn, which is impressive, unless you think he achieved that because of his father rather than his own efforts. I have no idea what is true here. However, multiple sources show he took some courses at Wharton, but graduated from UPenn with an economics degree.

No transcripts or grades have ever been released, but Mr. Trump was not reported on the Deans list or as receiving any academic honors.

That makes sense.

Wharton would no graduate someone with an MBA that cannot form coherent, cogent sentences to argue a point. I have known many individuals that were not educated and spoke plainly, but without the rambling, stumbling, wandering style of Mr. Trump.

I would bet money, and I almost never bet money, that his IQ is nowhere near 156. In fact, I’d be surprised if it were anywhere outside of a standard deviation of average. He has never given a single speech that leads me to believe otherwise.

Vote for whomever you choose, but don’t tell me Mr. Trump has great ideas or has great plans. You’re being sold a bridge, a rather large one from Brooklyn, for which you will never take title.

Talk 2 complete. Done for the day


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New headshot thanks to Flexara Software at #itdevconnections


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First talk of the day. With a slightly creepy title


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Monday, October 10, 2016

Admiring the Airport architecture again


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Sunday, October 9, 2016

Sprinkler blowout day


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I’m Disgusted by Men

Two things I saw today:

The Worst Part of the Trump Tapes

Kelly Oxford Tweet Request

I am sad, disgusted, and maddened. I’ve certainly not always behaved well, but I wouldn’t assault anyone. I wouldn’t force myself on anyone. I don’t even want anyone to ever consider I’d do something like that.

I watched the Trump video from 2005. It wasn’t as bad as I thought ahead of time, which disturbs me. Is it because I wasn’t surprised? Or that the language wasn’t graphic enough? Not sure.

However, two things struck me. First, Billy Bush is a douche-canoe. If he isn’t fired from Access Hollywood, it’s because of his name. He’s should be.

Second, the fact that Trump thinks his position/power/money in life mean that he can assault someone bothers me. I know this is what power does. I’m sure plenty of other men do this, and sadly, women learn to deal and endure this.

I am pissed that I think I need to talk to my daughter about this.

I’ve thought this before. No matter what happens with the election or who wins, America will be fine. However, this is the type of attitude and behavior that makes Trump dangerous and, in my mind, disqualifies him from a public leadership role.

Saturday, October 8, 2016

Eagle Day

Most of the early afternoon I sat with Delaney and went over his Eagle Scout stuff. We go this report done last night, then we worked on finishing a merit badge and starting his application.

As I went through his list of merit badges, noting the dates, I was impressed. That kid has done a lot. He needs 21 to get his Eagle, including 13 required ones. As of now, he was 22 and there are 4 more to finish. I think 3 are really done and just need counselor sign offs. Then we need to work on one more, but he spent part of the afternoon doing his own bit and knocking off a couple requirements.

We’re really close. After worrying he wouldn’t get there, I’m excited by the final push. I think he is as well, but he’s also ready to put this behind him and just life his life his own way.

Back Home Early

Thanks to the hurricane, I managed to get home early. When the event cancelled this past weekend, I quickly took lunch and spent most of the hour on the phone. It took about 40 minutes to get United to cancel my IAD-> MCO flight and MCO->DEN flights and combine them into an IAD->DEN flight on Thur afternoon.

Most of the time was really getting approval because of weather to waive the fees and charges, and credit my account. Thanks to United, I got a 2:30 flight out of IAD.

However, that meant I needed to hustle. The event was downtown at 9th and K, which was about 35 minutes from the airport, but traffic is always a hassle. I had an 11am talk, which I gave, warning people I’d be hustling out. In the morning I packed my bags into the car, and after my presentation, I let the organizers know I was done and headed out.

All went well, and I got to the airport about 1:30, after turning in my car and getting gas. I had about 15 minutes to get a sandwich before they boarded the flight. Not a great flight with a middle seat, but it was sold out, so I’m glad I made it.

Things were looking up. We landed about 15 minutes early, which I appreciated. I got to my car and was driving at 4:35, about 10 minutes after the flight was supposed to land. I managed to race down to Colorado Springs to catch Kendall’s varsity match. Not much of a match, but always a pleasure to see my little girl doing well.

Friday, October 7, 2016

First frost


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Thursday, October 6, 2016

Perfect pass during another win for @kendallaj26


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Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Post today talk drink. Our pre-tomorrow prep drink. Could go either way


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Chinatown, D.C. Looking for toothpaste


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The boys


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Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Another day, another flight


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Monday, October 3, 2016

Tia pulling out for a couple days in Fort Collins


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Senator Clinton–Like or Dislike

OK, not trolling, not being facetious. This is more for conservative than liberal/progressive friends, but honestly answer if you feel like it.

Why do you think Senator Clinton is, or isn't, qualified for the position of POTUS?

I thought about this after a few recent events. I ran across a comment from someone that said that lots of people outside the US support Senator Clinton over Mr. Trump and this person couldn't understand why. It's "funny", was the comment.

The other item has been repeated a few times to myself and other friends. People say they do not trust or like Senator Clinton, but when pressed for specifics, they cannot come up with much other than a general dislike. The email server issue and Benghazi come up at times, but without much detail.

I will say this. I think many people outside the US look at our media and the reporting and they dismiss much of the complaints against Senator Clinton because they may indicate poor judgment but not any sort of disqualification. They also see the rhetoric of Trump, and his inconsistencies, and find him to be less qualified than others.

Stop here unless you have time.

I'll start, and I'll go from negative to positive.

TL;DR It's a mixed bag. I don’t really like Senator Clinton, but I think she will be an adequate POTUS.

I think the email server use as Secretary of State (SoS) makes sense since Senator Clinton had far, far too many outside dealings with The Clinton Foundation and other issues. However, using this system for any government business displays bad judgment. Even if the secure systems have issues, then address that part of the problem. I think rarely is an issue like being unable to send a secure fax or email going to result in a worldwide event that has long lasting repercussions, but I'll admit I could be wrong. I do think Senator Clinton has not addressed this well, at least from the media reporting (might be their issue), and hasn't really displayed much openness.

That leads me to the lawyer in Senator Clinton. I think she is far too much of a lawyer, from not quickly disclosing documents in Whitewater to seeming to be secretive too often, or refusing the speak out on issues and accept blame, make an apology, or produce a conciliatory, open explanation. I'm not saying she isn't truthful, but she does not encourage trust from me.

Benghazi. Grow. The. Fuck. Up. The SoS does not choose when to, or when not to, deploy troops. She does not decide the budget for overseas embassy security. Congress does that. The SoS can allocate that, and some was allocated in Benghazi, but that wasn't designated as an embassy. I don't know if Senator Clinton ordered Secretary Stevens to go, he went on his own, or what, but she's not at fault. That being said, she did apologize.

Whitewater, President Bill Clinton's affairs, TravelGate, Paula Jones, etc. - I haven't seen anything here that makes me disqualify her, but it does seem to be that she is loyal to President Clinton to a fault. She (rumored) has a nasty temper and can be vindictive. I think those are qualities of many of our representatives. Perhaps that's required to run and be successful for any length of time? Certainly doesn't make me like her as a representative or government official.

Foreign Contributions - Everyone may take these to some extend, including the major parties. Not a defense. If you want to be one of the people that inspires me, you can't do this.

Favors for Friends - Again, this looks bad. Recommending people for office when money is involved, even for charity just looks bad to me.

Ties to Wall Street – I think financial engineering, which is really large scale gambling in the banking/investment system, is a problem. I dislike our politicians being close to large banks, but I don’t know how to avoid this. I don’t know how you limit the money influence, unless you just take money out of electrions and even then you’d have to require open Tax returns from candidates for their office terms and years after to try and limit the corruption. I don’t fundamentally have an issue with her speaking for millions of dollars from her point of view. As an investor, I do. I hate having companies I do business with, or work for, paying large amount of money for speeches. I think it’s irresponsible.

The Good

Service to Country – From being picked as a lawyer in the Watergate investigation (She wasn’t fired, you can find multiple sources that show this wasn’t the care, plenty that claim she was without proof. Zeiffman admitted in a few places he would have fired her, but had no authority) to her election as Senator from New York to Secretary of State, she has served the country. Whether I agree with her decisions or not, I admire she has spent time serving when she could have just been a very rich lawyer.

FLOTUS – I think experience is invaluable, and while she didn’t have much power, she spent 8 years in the White House. I’m sure she learned to respect and appreciate the tremendous responsibility the position entails.

The Clinton Foundation – This is a great charity, and whether or not she is highly involved, this impresses me. Along with everything else, she has a group set up to help the world.

Taxes – With a tremendous income, the Clintons have paid a lot in taxes. As they should, but they haven’t shied away from this. I appreciate this.

Speeches – While there is some one-upsmanship at times, or a robotic feel to her speeches, overall I find her to be intelligent and thoughtful.

Sunday, October 2, 2016

Part of my afternoon


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Saturday, October 1, 2016

Early morning jog


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Senator Clinton or Mr. Trump

I saw a post from someone that noted the USA Today editorial board, never having taken sides before, has said Mr. Trump is unqualified. While I’m not surprised, I also mourn the fact that we have journalistic groups coming out to choose, and further divide, the country.

Spot on. Mr. Trump is the worst representative of a modern, civilized country. He's emotional, unprepared, and petty. Like most of us, which is why most of us are not good leaders. He's also dangerous with the likelihood that he would say or do something rash to embroil us in conflict.

Like me. I'd be a poor President because I'd get upset at something and let it drive a reaction.

Senator Clinton is well prepared, though disingenuous, secretive, and less, but still likely to engage in war after some thought. I think she would use troops quicker than President Clinton did. She's a better, albeit, not great, choice.

I made the mistake of reading and responding to a comment. However, the person made me think a bit. They noted that Trump is being dogged and that America loses if Senator Clinton is elected.

I can’t help but think this is a sign that people are angry, and we are a divided country. However, I don’t agree that we lose. America doesn't lose, and frankly, that's a BS argument made by every side that is down in the polls for decade. Every election is the most important, every time the future of the country is at stake. It's ridiculous, short sighted, and just ignorant hype.

America will continue to struggle and prosper.

Senator Clinton does not have a dark history. She has issues, some things you may not like, but the vast majority of rhetoric and supposed fact against her has not been shown to be even remotely factual. I'm sorry, but I've read reports from investigators, not journalists, on most things and none of it is dark. Perhaps distasteful, but not illegal or anything beyond a dislike by those who oppose her.

The best thing for America is that the Presidency and Congress are under separate control from one party. This is not a conservative country. This is not a liberal country. This a country of all our citizens or all our views. Congress and the White House need to work together to move things forward. That has been lost. We need to find that, and I think a Senator Clinton presidency with a GOP Senate, is the best way to do this. I think the House will be very divided, too even to worry much, but I would hope that with four years we can get two sides to begin working a bit.

We will continue to have waste in government, no matter what. That's the nature of anything at scale. Both the GOP and Democrats are at fault, but certainly they can work to reduce some waste. Electing a GOP POTUS and Congress will not eliminate waste. If you think that, you're deluding yourself. What we need is... I don't know. It's a hard problem. Anyone that thinks there are simple solutions to this is not really thinking deeply about the issues.

Traveling Too Much

Usually I get a note in advance of travel that I’ve got an upcoming stay. I appreciate this from Hilton as I’ve forgotten to book a hotel a few times and the lack of a note resonated with me. I also get notes from United about upcoming flights, though usually with an eye towards selling me something. National notifies me, but usually at the last second.

Today I saw a note for my upcoming stay in Orlando. However, I’m not going to Orlando, at least not directly. I fly to Washington DC on Tuesday for two days, then on to Orlando Thursday night.

Travel can get confusing. I’m sure many people think “how can you make a mistake”, but I’ll tell you, here’s my wallet of boarding passes.

Photo Oct 01, 10 18 07 AM

This is since July.

Trust me, it can get confusing to be sure you have a flight, a hotel, and a car booked for all trips. In this case, here’s my itinterary:

  • Tue am - Flight to IAD
  • Tue/Wed night – hotel in DC, I didn’t book this and hope the event company did this correctly.
  • Tue-Thur – car in DC
  • Thur – flight to MCO
  • Thur – hotel in MCO by airport
  • Thur pm – car reservation
  • Fri – new hotel in MCO near event.
  • Sat – hotel near airport since I fly early, and the event is quite a distance from MCO.
  • Sun am – flight home

That’s this week. Monday I turn around to Vegas. Here’s what I have left in 2016, with a few of the flight/hotel/car things to arrage.

  • Vegas (next week)
  • Seattle (late Oct)
  • Seattle (early Nov)
  • Lincoln (Nov)
  • Orlando (Dec)
  • UK(Dec)
  • Vacation (Dec)

Now, I just need to double check all my reservations this week and for late Oct.

My son up at 7:30 to go run. No work, no reason to be up today. Madness


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