My Blog

My Endorsements

Tedster — Fri, 30 May 2008 00:20:21 GMT

My Endorsements I decided this election to write a summery of why I voted or endorsed positions on the ballot. I am doing so because I am frequently asked for advise, and on the fly, I often have a harder time explaining, which I will blame on my ADHD. But on paper, it should be more coherent. I will start with the state primaries, primarily because it applies to everybody in California. I am voting No on 98. It is pretty well known by now that it will end rent control for all tenants who are signing a new lease. But it’s even worse than that. This proposition, which so happens to be backed by the very same group that has backed prop 13 of the 1970’s, would eliminate all local controls of land use. Prop 13 had already taken away much of the local control, by forcing local government to get most of their funding from the state and federal government. 98 will also take away protections that are given to mobile home dwellers who already tend to have fewer protections as it is. 98 will eliminate the 60 days required before forcing out tenants. Lastly, say good-bye to low-income housing, as city’s can no longer make sure that new housing includes low-income housing. The good news is that it appears that 98 will loose, but I wouldn’t stay home because of that. Yes on 99. In the event that 98 passes, all that I wrote about 98 will be a mute point if 99 pass. If 99 passes and 98 don’t, it will still end passing property acquired for eminent domain from being passed to private hands. Next would be San Francisco city measures. Yes on A. A big problem is retention of good teachers, and there is a high turnover rate in the SF public schools. Low salaries often means good teachers leave for higher paying jobs, while teachers that tend to not be as good stay. Often people who can’t afford private schools do have an unfair disadvantage, Prop A will levy and annual $198 parcel tax and it will be adjusted for inflation. Yes on B. At first I didn’t like the looks of this, because it would reduce health benefits, but it was negotiated with the unions so that city workers will be able to get other benefits. The primary purpose of B is to cut cost. Oddly, the only people I noticed that are against this law are Republicans. No on C. This is one of those laws that look great and I was originally thinking of voting for it. C asks if people committed a crime involving “Moral Turpitude” against the city loose their benefits. But it turns out that it includes misdemeanors. Quoting from the San Francisco Bay Guardian, “The US State Department considers "bastardy," "lewdness," "mailing an obscene letter" and "desertion from the armed forces," among other things, to be crimes of moral turpitude.” It is poorly written, and it needs to go back to the drawing board. Yes on D. Prop D would make it a policy for the city to reflect diversity on city boards. It should be noted that it is an advisory measure, so any of the usually exaggeration that says this will discriminate against whites is bullshit. Yes on E. As it stands now, it requires a 2/3’s majority of the Board of Sups to a simple majority to challenge an appointment to the PUC. San Francisco is one of the few strong mayor governments in the west coast, and it often makes the mayor too strong when he or she is in cahoots with special interest, as it often is with most mayors in San Francisco. This will make it harder for the mayor, any mayor, who happens to be cozy with PG&E from being too ambitious. Yes on F no on G. F will make it such that it will force Lennar, which is making a land grab with measure G to make sure that affordable housing really does go for affordable housing for the Bayview Hunters Point. Measure G, especially without F, will cause many residents of Bayview Hunters Point to be forced out, in a city that even now, is experiencing huge increases in rent. G will have very little clean up as it claims to. It will build luxury high rise condos, and as stated, will displace the poor. No on H. I am basing this on both the Bay Guardian and the Green Party. But the logic against it does make sense. It is one of many deceptive measures that doesn’t discuss. It prohibits contractors from donating to the Board of Supes, but the person who really does not negotiations is the mayor, who is unaffected by this measure. This will also have to go back to the drawing board, as the consequences will turn out not to have the desired effect that most people voting for it would hope to expect. Now onto elected officials. Nancy Pelosi has always been full of disappointments for San Francisco progressives, and often people who get a representative elected as speaker often find their representative hardly represents them, as has been the case for Pelosi. Pelosi has continually voted for war appropriations and as Speaker and said impeachment is “off the table.” This alone is enough for me to be against her. If she really wanted to make sure that the war is over, all she would need to do is make sure no appropriation get to the floor of the house. Now people might say that if she didn’t do that she could loose the speakership and somebody else would get it, but that concession means that we no longer have a representative. Many people do argue that it is late in the game for impeachment; something that is only assuming that the only goal is to kick out GWB when it is just a few months away. But that is beside the point. Impeachments like any other trial, are not just to determine guilt, they also reveal lots of information that often isn’t learned if say nobody doesn’t bother with a trial. It would have revealed much of the damage that Bush and his loyal assholes have created. Fox News would be force to talk about this and even with their grand distortions, won’t be able to conceal everything. But the real reason I think that Pelosi doesn’t want impeachment is that she and most of the Democrats were just as guilty with the same motivations that would enable an invasion. San Francisco has a very weak Republican Party, so the logic of a spoiler candidate coming from the left is useless. So my endorsement on the Democratic Ballot, is to go for Shirley Golub is running making sure that Pelosi is forced to spend money in her own district, that would have gone to another war mongering candidate. And I didn’t have time to review the Green Party nor the Peace and Freedom Partis but the don’t seem to have cometing candidates. I would vote for the candidates just to make sure that they get a spot on the November ballot. For State Senate, I had a hard time deciding, but it goes to Leno. Instead of me writing, I think this article does a pretty good explaination: http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/Bay_Guardian_Backs_Leno_Landlords_Move_to_Joe_Nation_5628.html For Superior Judge 12 I am going for Sandoval, because Mellon is an appointee form a Republican Governor. I should point out that the green party is endorsing either Sandoval or Mallen.

Fun facts about Chevron

Tedster — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 02:45:32 GMT

This I copied but did not edit, from a pdf. Chevron Basics World Corporate Headquarters: 6001 Bollinger Canyon Road, San  Ramon, CA. Chevron is the 2 nd largest American oil company, the 4th largest company in the United States and the 7th largest company in the world. Chevron owns 7.8 billion barrels of oil reserves and produces oil across the globe. Chevron’s 2007 profits = $18.7 billion—almost $2 billion more than  2006, and the highest ever in the company’s more than 130-year history. David J. O’Reilly, Chairman and CEO, received $8.8 million in total  compensation in 2006, over the last 5 years he’s received almost $40 million. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice served on Chevron’s Board of  Directors from 1991-2001 and chaired its Public Policy Committee. A Chevron supertanker was named in her honor, the SS Condoleezza Rice. George W. Bush is Chevron’s number two all-time recipient of  campaign contributions, after former Republican Congressman Richard Pombo. Star Oil Works founded in California in 1876, purchased by Standard  Oil in 1906 and became Standard Oil of California. In 1984, pur-chased Gulf Oil and became Chevron. Merged with Texaco in 2001 and bought Unocal in 2005. Chevron In Iraq Chevron has a long and highly profitable history with Iraq—one it wants to see significantly expanded. Chevron funded and worked aggressively to elect the Bush administration to office in 2000, the members of which had made their military ambitions for Iraq fully transparent well before taking office. Chevron has played a clear role working to ensure that the invasion of Iraq yields the greatest possible access to and control over Iraq’s oil. It has supported the Bush administration’s attempts to force the Iraqi government to pass a new national Iraq Oil Law which would transform Iraq’s oil industry from a nationalized model—all but closed to U.S. oil companies—into a privatized model, with at least two-thirds of Iraq’s oil open to foreign company control. Chevron has not hesitated to cash in on the war and has certainly not lobbied to end it. Chevron began marketing Iraqi oil under contracts with the regime of Saddam Hussein and continues marketing Iraqi oil today. Chevron recently paid $30 million to settle charges that it had paid illegal kickbacks to the Hussein regime to win contracts during the 1990s sanctions period. After a brief interlude during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Chevron was one of the first companies to begin marketing Iraqi oil. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Chevron has been refining oil from Iraq at the Richmond refinery since the war began and continues to do so today. In the lead-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Chevron representatives took part in the Cheney Energy Task Force meetings that included the close investigation of Iraq’s oil fields and oil productive capacity. In the summer of 2003, Chevron was one of six oil companies to found a special project at the International Tax and Investment Centre resulting in the ITIC’s report, “Petroleum in Iraq’s Future.” The report recommended all-but fully privatizing Iraq’s oil industry and opening it to foreign oil companies, a model fully embraced in the Iraq Oil Law. In October 2003, Chevron Vice President Norm Szydlowski was assigned by the Bush administration to be a formal liaison on the ground in Iraq between the U.S. occupation government of Iraq and the Iraqi Oil Ministry. Chevron continued to work its connections by sponsoring conferences, such as “Iraq Procurement 2004—Meet the Buyers,” at which Iraqi ministers met with corporate executives in Amman, Jordan, to “further their business relations...” Chevron has been flying Iraqi oil engineers to the United States free of charge for four-week training courses since early 2004. Most recently, Chevron has teamed-up with Total to bid on Iraq’s fourth largest oil field, the Majnoon field. Chevron hopes to produce oil in the field under the terms of the Iraq Oil Law. It has continued regular negotiations with FACTSHEET CHEVRON: WAR, WARMING, TOXICS AND HUMAN RIGHTS “Iraq possesses huge reserves of oil and gas—reserves I’d love Chevron to have access to.” —Kenneth T. Derr, CEO of Chevron, 1998 “Although the final decision for inviting foreign investment ultimately rests with a representative Iraqi government, I believe in due course the invitation will come.” —Peter J. Robertson, Chevron vice chairman, September 2003 “Of course it’s about oil, we can’t really deny that.” —General John Abizaid, retired head U.S. Central Command and military operations in Iraq, on the Iraq War, 2007 graphic: Eric Drooker, drooker.com Iraq’s leading government officials in pursuit of the best contract deals possible, while the Bush administration pressures the Iraqis to pass the Iraq Oil Law. Chevron in Richmond Richmond, just 17 miles from San Francisco, has a population of about 100,000 people, the vast majority of whom are low-income people of color. 17,000 live within just 3 miles of the Chevron refinery, including in two public housing projects. Built in 1902, the Chevron Richmond Refinery is one of the oldest and largest refineries operating in the U.S. To refine its capacity of 87.6 million barrels of crude oil per year—240,000 barrels a day—the refinery releases about 3.8 billion pounds of climate-poisoning, smog-forming and toxic air and water pollutants each year. The EPA reported almost 300 pollutant spills from the Richmond refinery from 2001 to 2003 alone. These are highly toxic, often cancerous, chemicals spilling directly into residential communities. The EPA lists the refinery in “significant noncompliance” for air pollution standards and toxic flaring is a regular occurrence. Deadly accidents are a far too common occurrence, including massive explosions and fires. Richmond’s cancer and child-asthma rates exceed area, state and national averages. Rather than clean-up its Richmond refinery, Chevron is seeking to retool the refining so it can process heavier grades of crude oil that require more heat and pressure and result in more pollution. The “dirty crude” will increase dangerous emissions from the refinery by an estimated 800 tons a year, according to the project’s draft environmental report, while increasing gasoline production by at most a mere 6%. It is most likely that the new dirtier crude will come from Chevron’s production in the Alberta tar sands. Chevron in Alberta Chevron is a leading producer in the Alberta tar sands. “Tar sand” is thick, black, tar-filled sand consisting of a mixture of 85% sand, clay, and silt; 5% water; and 10% crude bitumen. To get crude out of the tar, tar sand production generates almost 3 times more global warming pollution than does conventional oil production. This is because it takes 4 tons of earth, as many as 5 barrels of water, and enough natural gas to heat a home for 1-5 days to create just one barrel of oil from the tar sands. The crude itself is heavier in sulphur and other toxins that must be “broken off” and released into the air and water through the refining process. In its 2006 Annual Report, Chevron announced that it would spend an additional $2 billion to expand its tar sands production. Chevron In Nigeria Chevron has operated in Nigeria since the 1960s and today extracts some half a million barrels of oil per day. Chevron has been charged with gross human rights abuses associated with its oil production activities. The case is based on two incidents: the shooting of peaceful protestors at Chevron’s Parabe offshore platform and the destruction of two villages by soldiers in Chevron helicopters and boats. In the most recent ruling in the case in 2007, a U.S. District Court Judge found evidence that Chevron’s personnel “were directly involved in the attacks;” that Chevron transported and paid the Nigerian government’s security forces to these attacks, knowing that they were “prone to use excessive force,” concluding that the evidence would allow a jury to find not only that Chevron knew the attacks would happen and assisted in them, but also that Chevron actually agreed to the military’s plan. A jury trial is expected in 2008. Chevron In Ecuador Chevron has been charged in a $6 billion lawsuit in which five indigenous groups and 80 Ecuadorian communities are demanding recompense for the destruction of their homes, health, environment, and livelihoods. The lawsuit argues that indigenous communities were removed from their land to make way for Texaco’s oil facilities, as were more than one million hectares of ancient rainforest. Rather than install the standard environmental controls of the time, Texaco is charged with dumping 18.5 billion gallons of toxic waste directly into the rainforest—a spill roughly 30 times larger than the amount spilled in the Exxon Valdez disaster. The result is an exploding health crisis among the region’s indigenous and farmer communities, including shockingly high incidences cancer. The case is currently at trial in Ecuador. Chevron In Burma Chevron is one of the largest foreign investors in Burma and is the only remaining major U.S. corporation with a significant presence there. In 2005, Chevron bought Unocal just weeks after the latter settled a lawsuit accusing it of assisting the Burmese military junta in the torture, murder and rape of villagers during construction of a pipeline. Direct Action to Stop the War (is back!) takedirectaction@riseup.net (510) 984-2566 actagainstwar.net

FIGHT TO STOP THE WAR

Tedster — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 06:09:49 GMT

Saturday, March 15 NONVIOLENT DIRECT ACTION, MARCH & COMMUNITY RALLY 11amÂ Rally at Judge G. Carroll Park W. Cutting Blvd & S. Garrard Blvd, Point Richmong 1pmÂ March & Nonviolent Direct Action at Chevron Refinery 841 Chevron Way, Richmond (Shuttle buses from RICHMOND BART)CHEVRON RICHMOND REFINERY Cosponsored by Communities for a Better Environment, Richmond Progressive Alliance, Green Action, Richmond greens, Community Health Initiative, Amazon Watch and West County Toxics Coalition. ---- Wednesday, March 19 MASS NONVIOLENT DIRECT ACTIONS FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE IRAQ WAR: DOWNTOWN SAN FRANCISCO beginning at 7:30 am : Action throughout the SF Financial District. Gathering point: Market and Sansome ---- Direct Action to Stop the War (is back!) takedirectaction@riseup.net (510)984-2566 www.actagainstwar.net

Look at what I have

Tedster — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 01:24:52 GMT

Does the FBI hate our freedom (of the press)?

Tedster — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 22:10:19 GMT

“This subpoena is not for the videotape. The subpeona is for my testimony. The government has been pretty clear in communicating that basically they want me to out the anarchists.” — Josh Wolf April 2007 Does the FBI hate our freedom (of the press)? Blogger protecting his sources still in federal prison after eight months By Caroline Casper Twenty-four-year-old Josh Wolf has served more prison time for refusing a court order than any other journalist in US history. A video blogger and freelance journalist in San Francisco, Wolf was jailed by a federal district court on Aug. 1, 2006 for refusing to reveal the identities of those he recorded on videotape during an anti-G8 protest in San Francisco in 2005. In the course of the protest, masked demonstrators burned a San Francisco police car and gravely wounded an SFPD officer. Although our attempts to meet with Wolf in person at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California were denied, we got to speak with him on the phone for 15 minutes.   Do you consider yourself a political prisoner?  I do. We have a constitution that guarantees a free and independent press, and I’m being forced to act as an investigative agent for the government. I refused, and they sent me to jail. This is, in a sense, low-grade torture so I’ll give the government what it wants.   Your lawyer, Martin Garbus, says that the Joint Terrorism Task Force was the body that issued your grand jury subpoena. He says that he thinks your imprisonment is really an attempt by the federal government to get at people who are critical of the Bush administration.   That’s been my belief for a long time. It shouldn’t be a federal incident and, at this point, they’ve held me in custody for close to eight months now. It really indicates that this is much more politically motivated. They are trying to force me to identify some of my [journalistic] contacts who are anarchists, who attend protests and who are opposed to the current status of the government.   At this point is it possible to get yourself out of jail? Could you just turn in the tape and set yourself free?  Yes, but the important thing to realize is that this subpoena is not for the videotape. The subpeona is for my testimony. The government has been pretty clear in communicating that basically they want me to out the anarchists. These are contacts that I’ve made over several years and they want me to identify them so they can be called into the grand jury and face the same decision that I was forced to make — identify personal associates or face incarceration. It’s a McCarthy-like system happening behind closed doors.  How angry are you?  I have believed for a long time that the government is engaging in a non-humanistic manner and that we have a system that is really bordering on fascism. The freedoms that are promised to us by the Bill of Rights are no longer true. This is a wake-up call. Our rights are being taken away and we have to stand up and do something about it.  What gives you hope?  There’s been mass progress in terms of a unanimous resolution passed urging the federal government and the state of California for a federal shield law [a shield law protects journalists from being forced to disclose confidential information in legal proceedings] and lawmakers have opened that possibility up to people, such as myself, who do not work for major news media. We should all be protected under a federal shield law.   How are you being treated?  Everything is fine. We only get 300 minutes of phone time, so I’ve been working on trying to get in-person media access, writing appeals. I get along with the guys here and I see myself as an embedded reporter inside the prison industrial complex.   What do you plan to do when you get out?  First, I’m going to get some food that I can order from a menu, drink a beer, go to concerts and finish some interviews that aren’t limited to 15 minutes. Then I plan to get back to work on building some projects surrounding corporate and government media control.   What do you want to say to the people?  Anytime there’s an injustice it’s an opportunity to stand up. Everytime we voice that something needs to change, despite the risk involved, it makes it harder for those in charge to continue the injustices. One person standing up becomes 16 people standing up and eventually you create a critical mass where the entire population has become contentious of the situation and stops it before it becomes a catastrophe.  For more information, visit joshwolf.net.  Caroline Casper is a San Francisco-based writer. http://commongroundmag.com/2007/04/joshwolf0704.html

Get that camera

Tedster — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 04:49:21 GMT

http://mirror.video.blip.tv/FluxRostrum-nothinToSeeHereFullScreen527.mov

OK, another list of stupid questions for people to answer.

Tedster — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 05:33:33 GMT

1. Can you cook? 2. What was your dream growing up? 3. What talent do you wish you had? 4. Favorite place? 5. Favorite vegetable? 6. What was the last book you read? 7. What zodiac sign are u? 8. Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? 9. Worst habit? 10. Do we know each other off line? 11. What is your favorite sport? 12. Negative or Optimistic attitude? 13. What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me? 14. Worst thing to ever happen to you? 15. Tell me one weird fact about you: 16. Do u have any pets? 17. Do u know how to do the macerana? 18. What time is it where u are now? 19. Do you think clowns are cute or scary? 20. If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be??? 21. Would you be my crime partner or my conscience? 22. What color eyes do you have? 23. Ever been arrested? 24. What is your favorite drink? 25. If you won $10,000 dollars today, what would you do with it? 26. What kind of bubble gum do you prefer to chew? 27. What 's your favorite place to hang at? 28. Do you believe in ghosts? 29. Favorite thing to do in your spare time? 30. Do you swear a lot? 31. Biggest pet peeve? 32. In one word, how would you describe yourself? 33. Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?

Another stupid question list.

Tedster — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 07:31:12 GMT

1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought? Am I related to Uncle Fester? 2. How much cash do you have on you? None. 3. What's a word that rhymes with "DOOR?"? Snore 4. Favorite planet? Clare 5. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone? Sam, my boy frind from his home number. 6. What is your favorite ring tone on your phone? Any one that doesn't clue which phone company I use. 7. What shirt are you wearing? A black shirt which is layered over a grey shirt. 8. Do you "label" yourself? Hmm, I guess i do. 9. Name the brand of your shoes you're currently wearing? Vegitarian Shoes (yes that is what they are called) 10. Bright or Dark Room Dark 11.How did you GET your current position? Well, lets see, I was sitting on the bed, and then all the sudden I decided to lay on my side. 12What does your watch look like? It has 12 numbers and a big hand and a little hand. 13. What were you doing at midnight last night? Well if I wasn't pleasuring myself, I was probably sleeping. 14. What did your last text message you received on your cell say? Probably something like "Yay!" but I don't often use it. 15. Where is your nearest 7-11? 18th street probably near Sanchez 16. What's a word that you say a lot? alot. 17. Who told you he/she loved you last? Sam 18. Last furry thing you touched? A grey tabby in my neigborhood. 19. How many drugs have you done in the last three days? Seven, mostly prescribed. 20. How many rolls of film do you need developed? None 21. Favorite age you have been so far? They've always been a mixed bag, but I would say 28. 22. Your worst enemy? My big mouth. 23. What is your current desktop picture? basic blue. 24. What was the last thing you said to someone? That panda is adorable! 25. If you had to choose between a million bucks or to be able to fly what would it be? Money only last so long, but it would get me out of debt. 26. Do you like someone? Yes 27. The last song you listened to? Can't remember 28. What time of day were you born? 7:04 am 29. What's your favorite number? don't have one. 30. Where did you live in 1987? In a crappy hotel. 31. Are you jealous of anyone? Not at the moment. 32. Is anyone jealous of you? Oh, I wish. 33. Where were you when 9/11 happened? Waking up listening to the radio at around 6am PST. 34. What do you do when vending machines steal your money? shake it then give up. 35. Do you consider yourself kind? Sort of. 36. If you had to get a tattoo, where would it be? Depends on the tatoo, but most likely on my arm. 37. If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be? spanish 38. Would you move for the person you loved? I would consider it. 39. Are you touchy feely? I'm receptive, but otherwise, no. 40. What's your life motto? Don't have one. 41. Name three things that you have on you at all times? Underwear, pants, and socks. 42. What's your favorite town/city? For travelling, New York. 43. What was the last thing you paid for with cash? A candy bar. 44. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it? Josh Wolfe, who is a brave person standing up for everybody else. 45. Can you change the oil on a car? No. 46. Your first love: what is the last thing you heard about him/her? He moved to the Netherlands. 47. How far back do you know about your ancestry? To the best of my knowletge it is my great great grandfather who moved to San Francisco in 1852. 48. The last time you dressed fancy, what did you wear and why did you dress fancy? Well, I don't know if you would call it fancy, but it was for a job interview. 49. Does anything hurt on your body right now? My left leg. My muscles get sore easily due to atrophy that developed from when I broke my leg on labor day. 50. Have you been burned by love? Yes.

Fuck, I might as well do this too.

Tedster — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 02:35:47 GMT

1. What is your occupation? Copy Operator and Transcript inspector. 2. What color are your socks right now? White 3. What are you listening to right now? My noisy neigbors talking 4. What was the last thing that you ate? spagetti. 5. Do (can) you drive a shift? No. 6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? translucent. 7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My boyfriend. 8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Stole it. but I would say yes. 9. How old are you today? 43, just like any other day. 10. Favorite drink? carbinatied water 11. What is your favorite sport to watch? Baseball. 12. Have you ever dyed your hair?no 13. Pets? cockroaches. 14. Favorite food? almonds 15. What was the last movie you watched and did you like it? Salt of the Earth. Is OK. It's pretty old. 16. Favorite month? October and April are pretty close. 17. What do you do to vent anger? Walk 18. What was your favorite toy as a child? Tanka truck 19. What is your favorite, fall or spring? fall 20. Hugs or kisses? Hugs, but kissing with the right person. 21. Cherries or Blueberries? Blueberries 22. Do you want your friends to email you back? Not so sure, I am not e-maling this. 23. Who is most likely to respond? Somebody who is not in my kitchen. 24. Who is least likely to respond? Somebody who isn't going to read this. 25. Living arrangements? By myself in a studio apartment that was remodeled by cheap landlord that charges high rents. 26. When was the last time you cried? Don't remember. but it was probably at a movie 27. What is on the floor of your closet? crap 28. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to? Not emailing. 29. What did you do last night? Sleep. 30. Favorite smells? Napalm in the morning. 31. What inspires you? When I get emotional about something. Can't put my finger on it. 32. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? I am a vegetarian, but I used to like cheeseburgers. 33. Favorite dog breed: Labadors. 34. Number of keys on your key ring? 13 35. How many years at your current job? 1/4 of a year. 36. Favorite day of the week? Saturdays WHERE IS THIRTY-SEVEN???? It's after thirty six and before thirty eight. 38. What states have you lived in? California. A genuine native. 39. Favorite holidays? Any holiday that doesn't call for a major production. 40. Ever driven a Motorcycle or heavy machinery? Motorcycle 41. Favorite vacation spot? New York City. 42. Where would you like to go that you haven't been to before? Italy, France.

Ouch

Tedster — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 04:09:10 GMT

OK, so I have been pretty negligent about this blog. Perhaps I should mention what has happened in the last few months. I can't answer too much about what happened in the summer, accept that I got a job, photo-copying at a court reporting service, in August, which I have to say I don't have much enthusiasm for. Then on Labor Day, I participated in bicycle fund raising to help raise money for the IWW and a bicycle messengers organization, were we would bicycle through various parts of San Francisco. It started out fun all right. Of course most people were nearly half my age, and bicycled for a living, so most people went full speed ahead; fine, there were still a few people that I was with, went and saw many points of interest such as were a former IWW office was, a place were Dashell Hammet lived, (incidentally, I lived in another building he reportedly once lived at) and then after stopping at Bound Together Books, we were on our way to a place that was near Lake Merced to a spot a camp used to be. We elected to go by way of Golden Gate Park on a place closed to traffic, were everybody else was at least 1000 feet ahead of me and then I plowed into a bicyclist and in the process hurt my leg. The person who I ran into tried to help me, but I felt that it wasn’t bad enough and I would be OK after about ten minutes. He left me on my own, but not without concern. After a few minutes, I realized that I still couldn’t walk, and I called Sam, who was alarmed at what happened, and came right over on his bike. After insisting that he calls an ambulance, I agreed, after resigning to the idea that this wasn't just a wound that will be over. The ambulance arrived and the paramedics looked at it and thought it was sprained and took me to Kaiser. The doctors looked at it, and took a few x-rays; what they found was a vertical crack in the tibia, and the tibia plateau was crushed. I will have to be off work for a while, and I will need surgery. The idea of having surgery didn’t bother me so much, but even though the job was not what I wanted to have when I grew up, it did was a sinking feeling that having a job for two weeks and suddenly be away didn’t sit well for me. Plus, being off work, for so long meant that my disability was not going to pay as well as it might have if I worked all along. Of course it didn’t take long for me not to be so worried about that because that night at Sam’s house, I was screaming with pain. Two days later, I had the surgery, where they drilled two screws in my leg and pushed the plateau back into shape. After two weeks, I went back to my apartment, but couldn’t do much, except to watch the cottage cheese sealing that the previous landlord put up. For nearly a month, except to move from one apartment to the next, I rarely saw the outside. The drugs that I had to kill the pain also kept me from doing anything interesting, and my boss called a few times to see if there was anyway for me to work. I now have been back to work for a month now, but because of my leg, I have been doing desk work instead. I still rely on crutches, but at least I can occasionally walk without them but I am still not free from them after nine weeks. I will finally have physical therapy tomorrow.

A word about me.

Tedster — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 03:42:20 GMT

Please leave a one-word comment that you think best describes me -- it can only be one word long. Then copy and paste this in your journal so that I may leave a word about you.

My Interview

Tedster — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 22:22:15 GMT

I just got interviewed, now if one want's to be interview just let me know. > Okay -- here ya go!!! > > > THE GUIDELINES: > 1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me. > " > 2. I will respond by asking you five questions. > I get to pick the questions. > 3. You will update your blog with the answers to > the questions. > 4. You will include this explanation and an > offer to interview someone else in the same post. > 5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, > you will ask them five questions. > > --- > > 1. If you were going to write the 'great > american novel', what would you write about? > Hmm, that for me is a tough one. I think I would write about somebody who has personal struggles and how much shit people give him. That person is somebody who, on the outside seems like a looser who neglects himself, and and is at fault for everything that happens to him, but in reality, he realizes that he is somebody who has lived in a world were he isn't privy to the social skills that everybody else has. > > 2. If you could travel to a faraway galaxy, and > report back all of the wondrous things you see, > would you do it -- even though the trip is one > way? No, I just don't think that it would be worth it. Maybe I would do it if I was already a condemed person. > > 3. Do you believe in ghosts? No. I don't believe in ghost supernatural or any other form of spirits. > > 4. If you could have any super human power you > wanted, what would you choose? Why? Well, I could say that I would make any attractive man, feel amorus when he's around, than that would be something. Why ask why:-) What I often fantisize about it stopping time. I sometimes feel like there is not enough time, and I would like to have a secret day, which would enable me to complete anything, plus I could use that power to things that are un imaginable. > > 5. Can you change the world? One person cannot change the world. But one should not act like the world is not changable. I am trying to change my goals in my life so that I can affect as much change as possible. By next Monday, the US will collapse and everybody will no longer have to be responsable for things they don't care about, all because of me. > > > > Tedster wrote: > > > Pleeeeeeeeeeeeze :-) >

Current thoughts

Tedster — Mon, 12 Dec 2005 05:50:37 GMT

I just recently got a full time job which I report to tomorrow. But what does it all mean. I am happy to have a source of income, but at the same time, life is now coming back to a stand still. The last few months, I used to reflect on what I would like to do with my life. I no longer think that I should be working just to pay the bills, and I don't have the great anticipation of racking in the dough. The Bush administration has made me think about how fucked up this country is. I have accepted capitalism in the past, although I personally never thought of it as a good system. Now I think it is an awful system, and since we live in a culture that does rarely understands other systems, it is probably never going to change by any substantial level. And when things improve, they are only for a relatively short period of time. I started to digress when I was first typing this, but to get on track, I wanted know how to change the world and what changes are need to change it. I had to deal with my own lack of knowledge of how the world would change. I wanted to learn about Marxism and anarchy and there differences. These are not exactly theories that one can learn by just reading a few passages in a book. So I, for a while anyway, wanted to start some place for people to go to so that they can learn, on there own, a about different theories. I thought a library that also functioned as a cafe, was a good way to do this. The way I thought about doing this was to start a workers cooperative. This would do two things for me, get me involved in a cooperative movement, while I don't have to have the entire financial and brainpower burden, that a regular business would have. If I turned out to be incapable to do this, I could at least get it up to speed so that other people may continue it. The major roadblocks for me is that I still have tons to learn. I don't know much about cafe's, I still need to have some of the functioning knowledge of some of the theories of radical politics, and I am not very familiar with the day to day dealings of a cooperatives. Other issues were at hand for me. I quit my job with Blue and Gold Fleet, so I wasn't going to get unemployment. I did get a job with Clean Water Action, but it is a job that, on top of being just part time, was also a job that required a quota that was hard to meet. It also demonstrated the financial problems of politics. My new job, which I start tomorrow, as a facilities assistant, isn't going to be what I want to do when I grow up. But I hope that I can decide what my next step will be. I do need to march on in order to keep my sanity.

Fate of being there

Tedster — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 07:18:41 GMT

I was on my way to a political meeting when I was waiting for a bus when two people, who I found out later were just leaving a medical pot club, sat at at the bench. One of them was a man in his mid sixties, the other guy, about 15 years younger who I could tell didn't know each other well, but obviously just met. The younger person noticed that something was wrong with the older guy, and it was clear to me that he was looking for a phone to call 911. I offered my phone, we called and it was clear that the younger person needed to tend to the older person which at this point was obvious to me that he was having a heart-attack who didn't feel comfortable sitting down so he walked down hill. We quickly made him sit down, but he got up again. The fire department came first which is not to uncommon in san francisco, and they checked him out and clearly he had to get checked. As soon as we had done all we could do we walked to the bus stop and the bus arrived.

I Quit!!!

Tedster — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 02:07:41 GMT

A couple of weeks ago I just gave two weeks notice at my job, which I had for about nine years; tomorrow is my last day. To top that off, I have no job lined up. I really got tired of this job. But reality is setting in.

Rare blog entry

Tedster — Fri, 10 Jun 2005 00:12:43 GMT

I've blown another day. I decided to call in sick because I am tired of shit at work but what do I do with it? Nothing. I planed to get a blood test, screw it. I planned to call a couple of people, not into it. Decided to go to a cafe to read a book, it closed. But I think I must try to do is look for a job. But I sometimes just feel like it is going to take me nowhere.

Yet another empty blog.

Tedster — Sat, 23 Apr 2005 03:27:17 GMT

Blog, what blog, I have nothing to blog about.