maven&meddler

While Reno sat, mired in a fogbank today, I finally got up to Mt. Rose for a long anticipated inauguration of the ski season. True to form, I skied so badly that - like every year - I wondered what they heck I was doing up there at my advanced age and infirmity. I go through this every year, as I’ve been since I started skiing in … I don’t know, about Hrrrmhummmph. It was the 70’s.

The good news is that by the end of the season, I’ve worked all these little self confidence issues out and life is truly grand.

It’s starting to feel like I’m back in Salt Lake City, with snow up to my wazoo and fog down here in the valley. All the more reason to drive up into the mountains and get in tune with Mr. Sunshine.

On another note:

I’ve had just about enough of Americans for Stable Quality Care telling me that Harry Reid has solved the problem of healthcare reform for us. The current ads touting Reid as our savior are just a bit over the top.

It looks like we’ll end up with something that’s a far cry from the modern healthcare reform that progressive Dems like myself had hoped for. But having our hopes dashed lately seems to be what we’re going to have to get used to.

It’s a bitter brew to swallow.

It might be better than what we had, but not by a lot. Once all the lobbyists and corporate interests have been satisfied, any real reform has been gutted. I’m starting to believe that reform on any pressing, critical need will have to come from the state and local level where the power of national lobbying money isn’t quite so intrusive.

Maybe. Not in Nevada very soon, however. We rank right up there in bending over to corporate interests and letting the welfare of the citizens go by the wayside.

What will be really interesting is in next years Senatorial race when Dems like self aren’t quick to stand up for Reid, feeling somewhat … what’s the word? Betrayed? Let down on a massive scale?

I can’t wait to see how many of the rural teabaggers have been swayed by the massive ad campaign that Senator Reid has been waging a tad too early.

Now on to the nudity thing.

I should have led with that. Nudity is a sure reader grabber and ought to be in the lead paragraph.

Really, I’ve been watching the Travel Channel show ‘Meet the Natives’. Great show, that goes between being hysterically funny to charmingly endearing to putting the arrows of modern moral and ethical uncertainty right where they belong.

The other night, we caught the episode where the Tanna Islanders encountered a Montana ranching family on their first stop in America. Seeing American cultural values through their eyes is enormously informative, but the drop dead moment was when the Tanna Islanders were leaving Montana and did a traditional dance to thank their guests. They were as close to buck naked as it gets, and watching the faces of the ranch family was entertaining… especially compared to the Manhattan Liberals that next hosted the group.

Montana ranchers: Rigidly polite but desparately wondering where to look without ‘looking’.

Manhattan Liberals: Upper East Side swells joining in to prove that the intellectually superior and oh so well connected can ‘get down’. They looked completely retarded.

Points went to the Montana group for having some dignity.

I highly suggest that you tune in. These people from Tanna may be confused about Tom Navy (we’re not sure who that might be) being a god from America, but they pretty much cut right to the chase on every other issue. We should all have this much of a clue. I just hope they don’t get too disappointed by us and go home in disgust.

According to Wikipedia: 

The island is the centre of the John Frum cargo cult, which worships an American World War II soldier as their god. Yaohnanen is the centre of the Prince Philip movement, which worships Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and prince consort of the United Kingdom.^[2] John Gibson Paton, the famous protestant missionary served here from 1858.

Worshipping Prince Phillip?

And, I thought the Mormons took top honors for confused and delusional. I guess one fantasy is as good as another.

Finally, I’ve gotta tell you that if you’re waffling on getting a new computer and wondering about Windows 7, wait no longer. I’ve been running it for a couple of weeks now, with MS Office 2007 ( which I thought I just didn’t need or want) and it’s just too cool for school.

With the quad four processor and a ton of RAM, it’s so fast, and intuitive. Windows has finally gotten rid of a lot of clicks, making computing fun again. Plus, the 2007 Office suite has so many great new features that are truly useful and enhance productivity that you should consider it.

Had my other computer guy, Mark from ComputerTechs (highly recommended) here this afternoon for some issues on the laptop and the old box that Mr. Maven took over. Mark helped me tweak the new system to an ever finer degree. Wow.

Otherwise, I’m looking a quiet week - away from the office. Maybe more skiing, weather permitting and then driving over to the Bay Area to watch with pride as my step-daughter receives her masters from USF.

Cheers.

maven