People are hurting.  I've got far too many contacts here which are in dire economic straights - no job or overdue mortgage or on strike.  Smart people.  Skilled people.  Productive, civically-minded, culturally-active people with unique talents to offer.  I'm glad things are as stable for me as they are as they could be a lot worse.  And it's not just a few.  Maybe it's a group that is predisposed to unrest.. but it's still disturbing to spend time with a group where 60% or more are worried about a $5 entrance fee for a charity event.  Things need to change.

Phlargo Speaks.  I know everyone is waiting with baited breath for the next installment to this thrilling insight into my twisted mind.  I just want you all to know - I have not been idle!  I have been planning a number of different episodes but have been fighting with my own philosophy.  You see, I 'm a person who believes that every position should be malleable - that no stance should be held beyond reproach and one problem with defining a philosophy assumes a final, unassailable version.  The problem is not with the evolution of the actual philosophy, but with making sure that the framework I establish in my Phlargo Speaks episodes are able to encompass and adapt to the constant evaluation process implicit in my philosphy.  Maybe that doesn't make sense - let me try to say it another way: Defining a philosophy necessarily creates a set of bounds - I am working to seek bounds that don't conflict with my core messages and are still sufficiently insightful.

Job Search.  Definitely things happening here.  I had a nice two-part interview with a good downtown Tacoma firm last week as well as a meeting with the Department of Assigned Counsel (think public defender's office) and I have a meeting with the Attorney General's office next week.  Doesn't mean I'm bringin' in the bacon, but it does mean there is activity... which is far better than the absence thereof.

Oh, and a I got a reject letter yesterday from a firm I haven't contacted since August.  At least they apologized for the delay ;-)

Phlargo Votes.  I sent out my voter pamphlet with my carefully decided choices last week.  I spent a lot of time to make sure that I read about every measure and each candidate and it felt good to be civically active.  Yawn.  I think you can spend your whole life looking for candidates or measures, but in the end, it is our personal and grouping choices which really make our lives.  Sure, they're all important people and they do important things, but our day to day choices are infinitely more important than any ballot.  Such is the effect of the democracy - our elected officials are such a broad average of the populace, true change is an optimistic fantasy, at best.  Maybe this deserves more detail, but I don't feel like expounding on it further.  Figure it out yourself for once!

Generally a little tired of this current cycle (not voting or election cycle, which I'm also tired of).  I do my best to keep up with my good activities, but I find my motivation waning.  I have such wonderful discipline most of the time, but I'm finding that it's corroding at the edges with the random nature of my life.  I'm not as diligent about studying right now; which is not to say I'm not learning right now, it just means I'm not doing as much language work as I think I should be.  I'm also not spending as much time on other things I think I should be doing.. yet I don't feel like I really want to do them either.  I should be cooking more.  I should be eating better.  I should be outside more.  I should spend more time with people.  I should be working more.   I should wake up early and take a shower and get up.  I should catch up on all the wonderful movies/games/anime/tv shows/jdrama I have.  I should listen to more music.  I should take more pictures.  I'm just not doing it.  And I don't know if I feel bad about it - just unsatisfied.  I'm so tired of being not-busy, I'm making myself more not-busy.

Even though I'm functionally unemployed and practically unencumbered by social interaction, I find that I don't have enough time to get done what I need to get done and it's kinda disappointing.  It's not that I couldn't do the other things.. it's that the number and variety of background items has creeped up on me and are occupying my day.  The more time my life is less structured, the more I get involved with listening to the radio or playing casual computer games (playing 'real' computer games would be far more efficient and productive!)

Phlargo Drives, n. 1.  A new segment providing updates on the vehicular woes of the dilapidated 1996 Audi A4 I currently endure.  2. An experimental digital storage medium that employs the crystalline structure of chocolate.  3. An unusual medical condition resembling traditional hives, only different.

My power steering pump has officially died.  Twenty years ago, this would have not been a problem as steering systems were designed to bestow mechanical advantage on the steering wheel in the absence of power assistance.  Not so with a mid-90s "entry-level luxury sports sedan" - the gears controlling the rack and pinion are probably the size of a quarter.  I have to literally put all my strength into turning the wheel.  It's somewhat better at >10 mph, but it's still almost impossible to make a turn without two hands and a grunt.  It's pretty funny, really.  I was driving two people to a concert last night and I actually offered them both the opportunity to try and rotate the steering wheel and they couldn't do it at all.  At least I'm pretty strong.  Parallel parking is beyond out of the question.  Parking in a parking space is a 20 second event that typically results in sweat beads.  At least I can laugh about it :)  Oh yeah, my front windows don't open - so when it's wet in the morning (read: every morning) and I have to drive, I can't wipe the windows off, so I'm completely blind out the sides (unless I remembered to wipe it off beforehand).  Perhaps the most entertaining bit about all this is that I see this as an improvement - without a valid power steering pump, I don't need to add power steering fluid every time I drive the car!!  That means the reservoir just stays empty and my car does stain any surface it rests on for more than 2 seconds.  It's embarrassing - the street in front of our apartment complex is completely stained on both sides of the street from my environmental hazard of a vehicle.  I'm still laughing, at least.

I get a lot of magazines.

My apartment is freezing - there's no heating yet.  We have ceiling radiating heat connected to a boiler but I have no thermostat or control options, so it's just chilly in here.  An examination of my digital thermometer indicates that it's currently 66.4 degrees in here.  Got a nice dinner planned for the evening with sweet potatoes, rice, broccoli, and sirloin steak which should warm me up a bit.  Maybe I should make some coffee or hot chocolate to instill a little heat for the time being. 

I'm happier than I sound - I promise.  Hot chocolate has taken the day - coming right up!  To the victors go the spoils.

I hope you're all enjoying your weekend.  Good times!

I know it's unusual for me to report the news here.. but I saw this and couldn't help but share.

Gamespot Link to Article

Is nothing sacred?  I don't want to hear about presidential candidates in the real world while enjoying my fantasy worlds, thank you.  If Gorlac the Imperial is running for a second term in Watsonville, Warthog Nebula, that's one thing.. but I don't need to be told about the Washington gubernatorial campaign while matching blue tiles to save the whales or dispatching terrorists with a Gauss rifle.

My first substantive podcast starts to explore the limitations of our lives and what we can do to not only get around them, but to embrace a finite life and a limited existence. 

Ep. 2 - Limitations 1

In addition, I've posted a mini-album of some pretty pictures I took last week when I happened upon a really cool little pond while doing some legal investigative fieldwork.  Please forgive the chromatic abboration and purple fringing that resulted from using full telephoto zoom.  I knew I was gonna get it, but sadly there's no way around it with my current hardware.

Something new.  I've decided to append my exposure to the world with a new podcast.  It's called Phlargo Speaks.  It won't replace my webpage and really won't have anything to do with my daily life.  It's a place where I'll talk about my philosophy.  Listen to the introduction by clicking on the link to get a better idea of what it's about.  I'll post here when I create a new podcast entry, but many of you may not even care as it won't be as refined or thought out as this will continue to be.

Phlargo Speaks - Ep. 1 - An Introduction