Mama's House

Today Sen. McConnell offered several Unanimous Consent requests to lift the ban on deep-sea exploration. Democrats objected.

But it got worse!

He asked if Democrats would allow increased deep-sea exploration if the price of gas reached a national average of $4.50. Democrats objected.

He asked if Democrats would allow increased deep-sea exploration if the price of gas reached a national average of $5.00. Democrats objected.

He asked if Democrats would allow increased deep-sea exploration if the price of gas reached a national average of $7.50. Democrats objected.

He asked if Democrats would allow increased deep-sea exploration if the price of gas reached a national average of $10.00. Democrats objected.

The designated objector was Sen. Salazar of Colorado, for those who are interested.

Here's the video:

Wow, wow, wow! First heard about the trade on the car radio... immediately had to check the internet to see who they gave up hoping Matt Kemp was not part of the deal. A little sad to see Laroche go because I think he's got a bright future ahead of himself and the Dodgers are going to be in the market for a 3rd baseman after the season, but what a return!

Colletti has pulled off the coup of his GMing career, a trade for a future Hall of Fame slugger that immediately, and perhaps irrevocably, changes the look and feel of the heretofore gutless National League West. With Ramirez in Tinsletown, the Dodgers go from contenders to favorites, from clueless to clued-in. The kicker: It cost them next to nothing to get there.

Ramirez to L.A. is all upside for the Dodgers. Even if Manny reverts to being the Bad Manny... all the Dodgers have to do is bench the guy. Or release him. They're not paying him a dime. (The Red Sox, in their haste to wash their hands of Bad Manny, are picking up the $7 million remaining on his 2008 salary.)

With Ramirez in the lineup, the Dodgers don't have to worry about handing out playing time to Andruw Jones or Juan Pierre, two of Colletti's more expensive and most noticeable flops. With Ramirez clobbering home runs, even in spacious Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers -- 15th in the 16-team NL in homers -- now have a legitimate bat to go with emerging sluggers Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier and still-capable veteran second baseman Jeff Kent.

Austin just informed me that he's considering - not seriously, just giving it a little bit of thought - moving into a loft in the NoHo Arts District. From our little chat it seems that walkability at night and a young neighborhood is important to him. Anyway, our little chat brought back to mind a couple of interesting and useful sites for anyone considering a move into a different neighborhood. And they are,

Walk Score:
Walk Score helps people find walkable places to live. Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc. Walk Score measures how easy it is to live a car-lite lifestyle—not how pretty the area is for walking.

And,

ZIPskinny:
This site was created as a Web development "hobby" project using Census 2000 data obtained from the Census website.

The site provides an interesting "first glance" at a ZIP Code area, but it should only be seen as that -- a first glance. It is not a substitute for the more thorough research you should do prior to making decisions about relocating to or conducting business in a particular location.

pics from the greatest weekend in San Diego, CA

grouped by category, not necessarily in chronological order... had to let my inner nerd out, first time at Comic-Con and it was awesome!

Comi-Con pt 1 (Hotel & Gaslamp)

Comic-Con pt 2 (Exhibition Hall)

Comic-Con pt 3 (More Exhibition Hall)

... and what you really wanted to see
Comic-Con pt 4 (Costumed Characters)

Hardly worth mentioning. See the difference it made for yourself.

Before the earthquake,


After the earthquake,


If you tilt your head ever so slightly when viewing one of the above pics but not the other, you may notice the slight tilt the earthquake caused.

I am happy to report that no bobbleheads were hurt this time around.

UPDATED: Now bigger and better.

Keep in mind this was taken after we completed the winless season.

And two, more sillier pics.



It's enough to make one wonder how much more happier we could have possibly been had we actually won a game.

I loved it. I was so ready to play the contrarian (although I suppose if I wanted to do that I shouldn't have gone and seen the movie in the first place) and absolutely pan all the hype, but it won me over. This movie is so good on so many levels that it needs to win multiple Oscars.

Of course, what struck me hardest about this film and makes me continue to think about it is that it is absolutely a film about the war against terrorism. There are thinly veiled references to torture of detainees, wiretapping, subverting the judicial process, and the public outcry against the war. Heck, The Joker is explicitly referred to as a terrorist probably just to make things clear to those unwilling to look past the veil.

Anyway, what I want to know is, did any of my cousins see the film through the same prism I did? If so, did it change your views or did it reinforce your views on how we should fight terrorism? Also, did your political bias (assuming you have one) make you hate the movie or make you love it?

I'm a little confused here, which day is the Fonacier Family Reunion 2008 on? I have it marked on the Family Calendar as it being on August 9. But after a talk with Melanie, I became confused as to whether or not I got the date right. So please clarify.