tattoo
bars
[info]plato_451
 Here is my latest bit of ink....

forgotten Mardi Gras pic
bars
[info]plato_451
I realized after reading an earlier post that I never shared what my Mardi Gras costume was. Well, here it is:




my new career arc
fractal
[info]plato_451
Since my readership is so incredibly massive I'll explain why I haven't been posting. I'm now in Annapolis, MD working for a restaurant. Pusser's Caribbean Grille at the Annapolis Marriott. It's right on the water and it's crazy busy. That cute little red head in the earlier pics got me out of NOLA, hence the name change of this site, and up here to Annapolis. It's a really nice place to live, I really thought I would like it to begin with.

still around
circle
[info]plato_451
I'm still here, I will be posting again soon...

last weekend
storm
[info]plato_451



Most fun I've had in quite a while.



snow in NOLA
circle
[info]plato_451
Can't believe it's actually snowing here. 2nd time in 17 years that I've lived here. The last time it snowed was in '04. Then the next year we got Katrina. What's gonna happen in '09?
I think that '09 is going to be a wonderful year full of travel and adventure. Probably a lot of dancing too. Met someone that could actually keep up on the dance floor. My goal is to go on several cool trips. I would really like to go somewhere in Central America, maybe Belize. That was a plan before the storm. The Caribbean would be cool too. Haven't been snorkeling in a while. I would also like to go back to New Mexico and hang out. Odd numbered years have always been good ones for me.

really cool stuff
bars
[info]plato_451
dirtycoast.com/home.php




season has begun in NOLA
bars
[info]plato_451
By all accounts this year's Halloween was a huge success. This city was positively jumping this weekend. On top of a costume event on a Friday night, we also had the opening of Prospect.1. The largest contemporary art exhibit in the history of the U.S. 81 artists, 30+ countries represented, about 30 exhibit spaces, all here in NOLA. I went and got my pass yesterday, they are free. The quarter was pretty crazy even yesterday. It will stay like this til Thanksgiving and then the lull til Christmas. Then it's Carnival season. Got to start working on my costume soon. Thinking about a dragonfly. Or maybe the flying pig.





Ah, Halloween
bars
[info]plato_451


I will be costuming tonight for Halloween. Won't be out late though. Workin a double tomorrow.


yeah, been a while, but I saw something shiny
circle
[info]plato_451
Back at the machine. Crazy couple of months I just went through. Thought I would drown my sorrows. As it turns out my sorrows seem to be able to swim quite well. Denial. Back to getting what I really want. Found a shiny object back in September and figured it would be fun. More like a disaster in reality. Shame. It was really pretty and shiny and fun and loud and obnoxious and bitchy and manipulative and an alcoholic and quite often had to be drunk just to go to work. Yeah, just what I needed. What is it with that? I was warned but I still did it. I said I didn't want to date a bar star and what did I do? Straight into the abyss. I was allowing myself to be with someone that was constantly putting me down. Negative attention is what I think I was drawn to. I was thinking that before I met her I was just going to be comfortably single for a while. Not go out much, save some money, maybe even buy some new furniture for the apartment. Then she came in. Of all the gin joints in the world, she had to come in to mine. Like I said, I was warned. Well now I have my opportunity to start that process again. Won't be seeing her again. Not going to do that to myself anymore.

End of the year...
bars
[info]plato_451
Yeah, still here. Merry Christmas.

lazy rainy day
circle
[info]plato_451
Been thinking about Colorado lately. Love the mountains and the weather. I've been considering the fact that I never get to do outdoors types of things much anymore. Kinda sad. I personally love to get out in the wilds. Don't have to worry about getting mugged when your camping out at 11700 feet above sea level. I highly recommend it. In fact I'm putting up a picture of Lake Catherine above the Santa Fe ski basin. It's actually up and over to the Pecos River side of the range. It's a very strenuous hike and in July it was very cool at night. Having 2 dogs and a good tent made all the difference.

I


It was a hell of hike to get there. I'd say it was a good 6 hrs from the trailhead. I came up from the ski basin but you can use the Windsor trailhead from the Pecos side. I've hiked a good portion of Windsor but missed a turn and ended up somewhere out there in the wilderness,  not an issue though when you camp next to  stream and have a hand pump water filter. At the time, July 05, there were some wild fires nearby and you could see the smoke. It truly is a beautiful place.

up to date
fractal
[info]plato_451
Wow. No posts since June. Lots to catch up on. Iraq is breaking our military and I will restate my original conspiracy theory now. We were drawn into that mess to weaken our country militarily and it's working. Surely Bin Laden figured that we would come over there to retaliate for Sept. 11th. I'm not sure he could've anticipated us going into Iraq. But the Muslims we are dealing with have been fighting for several thousand years so to sweat us out for 4 or 5 yrs to wear us down doesn't seem that odd. I still think we will see a major attack against our country. I really don't worry that AQ will establish themselves in Iraq as they did in Afghanistan. I think Iran will handle that. Those in power in the Middle East sure do give the impression that they are all a little unstable, as to just how much is hard to say. I guess it comes down to me suspecting that we are some how going to get hammered in Iraq, probably in the next 12 to 18 months. Even if we begin drawing down our troop levels in the next 6 months.
Tags:

Jefferson and the $90 large in the freezer...
storm
[info]plato_451
From nola.com:

Jefferson faces a maximum of 235 years in prison if convicted on charges of racketeering, fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice, an allegation stemming from what investigators say was the congressman's attempt to hide a potentially incriminating document when the FBI raided his New Orleans home in August 2005. He is the first member of Congress to be indicted under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act which was designed to prevent bribery of officials in other nations.

Just sit back and boil some crawfish, this is gonna be fun.

3rd party run for the Whitehouse
bars
[info]plato_451
After reading a good post over at americablog, I started thinking about the viability of a 3rd party bid for the Whitehouse next year. I really can't think of too many good ideas for candidates but I may just check into it. Either way, the growing frustration over the condition of this country, specifically Iraq, could significantly change the landscape of the election cylcle. I don't know, who out there is responsible but moderate? That's really the only criteria I have.
Tags:

you should be smarter, 100 words to know
bars
[info]plato_451
Here's the list:

abjure
abrogate
abstemious
acumen
antebellum
auspicious
belie
bellicose
bowdlerize
chicanery
chromosome
churlish
circumlocution
circumnavigate
deciduous
deleterious
diffident
enervate
enfranchise
epiphany
equinox
euro
evanescent
expurgate
facetious
fatuous
feckless
fiduciary
filibuster
gamete
gauche
gerrymander
hegemony
hemoglobin
homogeneous
hubris
hypotenuse
impeach
incognito
incontrovertible
inculcate
infrastructure
interpolate
irony
jejune
kinetic
kowtow
laissez faire
lexicon
loquacious


lugubrious
metamorphosis
mitosis
moiety
nanotechnology
nihilism
nomenclature
nonsectarian
notarize
obsequious
oligarchy
omnipotent
orthography
oxidize
parabola
paradigm
parameter
pecuniary
photosynthesis
plagiarize
plasma
polymer
precipitous
quasar
quotidian
recapitulate
reciprocal
reparation
respiration
sanguine
soliloquy
subjugate
suffragist
supercilious
tautology
taxonomy
tectonic
tempestuous
thermodynamics
totalitarian
unctuous
usurp
vacuous
vehement
vortex
winnow
wrought
xenophobe
yeoman
ziggurat

osama yo mamma bin hidin
bars
[info]plato_451
So if the terrorist formerly known as public enemy number 1 and al-qa'ida suit Bu$hco needs then we can chat. But if a reporter from a news station other than the fox noise channel asks a serious question the darkside doesn't have to answer?

Tags:

big $ oil and cheap plastic crap
bars
[info]plato_451
If you think that high gas prices at the pump and other energy costs are the result of the crap in the Middle East then you would be sadly mistaken. This is a direct result of Bu$hco and his big oil buddies. From USA Today where they discuss Exxon:

• Net income up 75% to $9.92 billion. That is the most a U.S. company has earned from operations in a three-month period and greater than the annual gross domestic product of entire nations including Cameroon and Zimbabwe.

• Revenue up 32% to $100.7 billion. That is greater than the annual GDP of all but just 38 of the world's economies.


Hard to believe it isn't considered criminal what they're doing. Oh, that would be Wal-mart, from The RawStory:

Wal-Mart, the nation's largest employer and the world's biggest retailer, is regularly paying itself rent and using the transaction to decrease the taxes it pays to state governments, according to a report in this morning's Wall Street Journal.[...]The result of the circuitous transaction: Wal-Mart could effectively turn rental payments to itself into state level tax-deductions in most of the states where the payments have been made. Under typical circumstances, rent paid to a third-party landlord also would reduce taxable income. But that would ordinarily be cash out the door, like most other tax-deductible expenses. Here, the majority of the tax-deductible rental payments came straight back to Wal-Mart.

Well they are being sued and investigated for this. We'll see.

Mardi Gras 2007
fractal
[info]plato_451
18 days and counting down. From the krewe:

A Carnival Proclamation
From
Your Captain & Once and Future King, D.R.
Regarding Mardi Gras Day February 20th 2007 in the Gregorian Calendar,
The 10th Anniversary of The Krewe of WooHoo!
All Hail King Joe Fontana and Her Serene Majesty, Queen Kattai Barrow, Our Current Monarchs, and all Royalty Past and Present.
Greetings To The Little Krewe That Could!
Oh, That I could be with you on this 12th Night and share the love, joy, and general mayhem and woohooness.
Soon, I will return, and take my Queen and former spouse on a random perambulation through the Bywater, and The Quarters, scattering colored streamers, flowers and bubbles, and leaving only beauty and peace in our wake (and some empty champagne bottles.)
Our theme this year, decreed by our most benevolent Captain, Laura is
Masquerade By The Mississippi
Please gather your friends and family and join us in our masked and costumed annual celebration of rebirth and rejuvenation.
Until then, continue to follow King Joe and Queen Kattai, and help your captains plan and prepare for the Greatest Carnival Experience, ever.


Details and schedules are forthcoming from your Captains, Juli and Laura. Please pay your dues, help with the rebuilding of the float, gather beads and doubloons, champagne, beverages, fine foods and imbibements.
I know the theme is Masquerade by the Mississippi, and masks are very important this year, and I am hoping that the males of our species will join me in costuming as Bacchus- a Sea of Gods in Purple Robes accompanied by the most beautiful women in the world in their fine attire.
I have purchased a new confetti launcher, and am hoping someone can repair our old launchers. We need new tires for the float, tons of confetti, and a new bubble machine. I am having trouble landing an accordion player, and seek your help finding a musician, band or sound system.





Hear Ye, hear ye – It was Ten years ago this Mardi Gras that the Krewe of Woo Hoo was born out of the Love and Respect that D.R. and Laura have for friendship, family and festivity. To commemorate this auspicious occasion and in the true spirit of our Krewe, this year we will have the pleasure of serving under the Royal Reign of those who gave us the gift of the Krewe to begin with – His Royal Highness D.R. and Her Royal Majesty Laura.
The Krewe of Woo Hoo Is pleased to announce that the Theme for Mardi Gras 2007 is “Masquerade by the River”. Captain Laura applauds your efforts and thanks all of you for last years’ attention to detail in fashioning your drinking vessels, and requests that you continue to hold dear this level of excellence.
This years’ loose theme comes with the stipulation that you be masked. The Mask is a true representation of the spirit of Carnavale – it renders the wearer anonymous in the physical and free in the psyche.
The Krewe of Woo Hoo finds it necessary in light of outstanding expenses due to last year’s extensive replacement costs to enact a one time only increase in annual membership dues. The Krewe dues for 2007 will be 75.00 per person, and 50.00 for first time participants. These dues will help to replenish our overextended coffers, replace necessary items and defray the costs of our libations and merry feasting. If you have questions regarding the annual dues, please contact insouciance66@yahoo.com – Please remit ASAP so that we may begin acquiring the items necessary to continue in our expected fabulous tradition :) If you plan on submitting your dues in person, we request that they be sealed in an envelope and include the names of the sponsored members.
Please respond to the Krewe Proclamation as soon as possible to let us know if we can expect your presence on this, the most jubilant, personal and important of our celebrations – the 10th Anniversary of the Krewe of Woo Hoo. To RSVP for the Krewe of Woo Hoo, please contact Laura Roe at lauracroe@msn.com or Juli Silver Green at insouciance66@yahoo.com
“Things are seldom what they seem; Skim milk would masquerade as cream.”
~ Captain Laura Roe
and The Captain’s  Royal Right Hand – Juli Silver Green


1997    The Wedding Laura & DR
1998    Baby Steps Robin & Daniel
1999    Bacchus’ Dream Carolyn & Stephen
2000    Flora & Fauna Laura & DR
2001    Mother Nature’s Children Laura & DR
2002    The Queen’s Jewels Stacey & Jim
2003    Gods & Goddesses Mama & Joey
2004     Under The Sea     Jackie & Ranger Rick
2005     Signs of The Zodiac    Juli & Sean
2006     Fairy Tales Kattai & Joe
2007    Masquerade By The River Laura & DR

it's not really if you're paranoid, it's are you paranoid enough
bars
[info]plato_451
Great post over at Kos by anna:

"It seems to me that the evidence provided by Klein indicates that the hardware for TIA did indeed get funded and deployed.  And Ohm's statement in Stanford indicates that the federal government is sweeping up all sorts of communications, including email, voice traffic, voice over IP, ftp, and http (web browsing). This is exactly what the Narus device is intended to do: sweep everything up like a vacuum cleaner.  And the idea of "sweep first, filter later" does not provide for the appropriate protections guaranteed by the 4th Amendment.[...]Let me be clear: data mining and surveillance are good things in some cases.  But since we have the technology to zero in on suspected surveillance targets, I see no reason to capture and store the data on regular, everyday, non-suspect internet users.  And seeing as this program is being controlled at the behest of the Bush Administration - who've already shown a great disregard for the US Constitution - I strongly suspect that the program is being abused. Unless Congress is willing to exercise some oversight in this case, we may have to wait for the next Mark Klein to step forward before we know the full extent of the damage.


Definitely worth the read. Some interesting links in the article as well.

Home