Katie sent me a Flat Stanley, so I took him for a ride today. We went to see the Space Needle, Mt. Si in North Bend and to Snoqualmie Falls, all in western Washington State. Flat Stanley even helped me pump some gas! I wasn't going to go for a ride but thanks to Katie and her friend Flat Stanley, I got a good ride in today. Thanks Kats!

thumbs up. What does it mean?

This is what I see when I go to work in the morning in North Seattle. Not too pretty after getting used to the eastside. The cigarette butts from yesterday's entry were found in a city setting. Cities are cities.

For all of that gratitude yesterday, I could have had a better day today. I'm kind of underwhelmed. People, please pick up your cigarette butts from the landscaping, or better yet don't throw them down there or quit smoking all together. And I had a highly unpleasant and upsetting experience today. I hit a kitty. God that sucked. It didn't have a collar so I arranged for an animal hospital in Redmond to dispose of the remains. It was black and came jetting out in front of me, I think being chased by another cat. Like I said, not a good day. Hey Tracy, I thought you said things would be looking up?

Well the long run is over. I go to work tomorrow. Now I get to find out what a 520 commute is really like. I am going to cut grass and trim shrubbery. I have not worked for a long time. I have to say that I've enjoyed myself. I am grateful not to be in Florida any longer. I am grateful to now be in Washington state. I am grateful for the time I was given to accompany my mother and to visit with the family. I am grateful for the whole time and I am grateful to be (somewhat of) a different person than the one who left Florida so long ago. I am grateful to find out what a good little dog Tara could be. Who would have thought? I am also grateful for the assistance I recieved from my dear friend Tracy. I've learned that I don't have to live like a college student any longer. What a concept. I am also grateful for the people I will be meeting here in the future. Thank you.

Echoing Ellen Goodman's lack of affinity with the political left, this piece points out why the "nation's antiwar left remains clueless."

Here is a war news weblog I found very up to date. I just heard this stuff on tv.

I went to downtown Seattle today to take a look at the war protest going on there. The protest didn't have a permit to march, only one that allowed them to gather, so the police did their best to keep them on the sidewalk and out of the street. I guess it turned ugly after I left.Traffic was stopped on 1st Ave. on the first day of the Iraq war and they weren't going to let that happen again.

ha ha ha ha ha

We can pray.

Day one of the invasion starts. Debka.com provides a map This is probably the best place for early news.

Dave drove through Great Barrington, Massachusetts on his trip from California to Boston. I used to deliver beer on this and many other streets in the Berkshires and central and western Massachusetts.

Dave says think!

There were 6400 peace vigils in 129 countries this past Sunday the 16th. Here are some pictures.

It looks as though we (well Bush and his regime anyways) will be at war soon. I was in a car with Michaela somewhere in New Jersey or New York for the beginning of the last one with Poppy Bush. Michaela cried when we heard on the radio about the opening salvos in the air war. She sort of apologized or explained herself by saying that it effected her because it is a big step. I can barely remember the tv reports of the Vietnam war and maybe the body count that was reported every night. That war lasted for 10 years. This is a whole different scenario but the impact in anxiety from the media coverage is the same on this side of the screen, I believe. It is interesting that the Pentagon has made arrangements for "embedded" reporters within US units for this war. I don't think that Michaela had a war on tv for her, other than maybe Grenada and Panama. I wonder what she is thinking and feeling now?

Here is a link to a war weblog. The Seattle Times will be covering the war in a weblog format also. And not that anyone cares, but MSNBC is "gague(ing) the global debate on Iraq" here. Here is a "no war blog" and here is an army family journal with links to more military blogs. The Guardian has a special weblog report on Iraq. It seems that a lot of Americans are reading foreign new on Iraq because, as Paul Krugman wrote, the "(U.S. TV news) seems to be reporting about a different planet than the one covered by foreign media". The folks at Debka say that in their reporting on the mideast, they say that "We Start Where The Media Stop". ...There, I'm sure there are many more links. Read away.

ABC13.com: Brawl erupts after song played at rodeo

"...the only thing we DO KNOW is that there's a lot going on that we DON'T KNOW."

Check this out.

And this look back to after the inauguration: "The insanity is over," Bush said. "After a long, dark night of peace and stability, the sun is finally rising again over America. We look forward to a bright new dawn not seen since the glory days of my dad."

I want to ride my bike.

Get Fuzzy is getting some attention.

My horoscope looks good for today. I hope you all have a great day too. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): "Your kind of day! People seek your company, want to wine and dine you. Conversations sparkle with wit and wisdom; you are no slouch at relating 'remarkable stories'."

Joe is back in town. The moving company screwed them over, just as I had read about moving complaints in the paper yesterday. Massachusetts has plenty of snow, and this has taxed the yankee patience. The carpet guys came back yesterday. They sprayed some stuff on the back of the carpet which smells like glue and some deodorant on the top of the carpet which smells like vinegar. I hope that it works. I sent a resume out to a lanscaping company Monday and I'll fax a follow-up letter to them today. Not to belittle that line of work but I guess that my years of cooking and my degree in political science leave me with few options in this woeful job environment. We have rain through Thursday yet it should be relatively warm - 50 degrees. To me there is a big difference between lower 40's and the lower 50's. I guess it is the relative Seattle difference. People here would freak out if any snow accumulated on the ground, so lower 30's or even 20's is rare.

"oderint dum metuant"

World of Ends "What the Internet Is and How to Stop Mistaking It for Something Else."

Gray Matter - Bush's incomprehension of foreign viewpoints. By William Saletan "Again and again, Bush was asked to explain why other nations didn't see things his way. Again and again, he changed the subject to himself and his supporters."

Here is the "The Pentagon's New Map"

Roger Ebert on the Pledge of Allegiance.

Stranger than fiction.

Check out the strip for Thursday at Baby Blues.

Somebody swiped my running clothes at the laundromat, I got a parking ticket in the city today and the job expo was a bust. And the ionizer fallout is giving me a headache. It will get better, won't it? Thinking about motorcycles or sex make me feel better. Must be some sort of trigger in the brain...

12 miles yesterday. Woo hoo. I have only a mild pain in my right knee. Nothing too bad I think. I take a few days off in-between, walking and hiking. It helps that the average temp here is in the mid 40's. Florida was too hot. I have to evacuate my apartment for the day because the carpet guy is going to ionize the apartment and hopefully get rid of the dank must in here. There is a employment expo tomorrow at Safeco Field in downtown Seattle. Joe and Tracy go home that day. Wish me luck in the search. Today while I'm out of the apartment, I'll get my laundry done, drink coffee read and maybe I'll walk. Y'all have a great day. Peace peace peace.