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age discrimination

Huck*abee is not the only candidate making ridiculous promises. As far as I can tell all of the candidates are doing it. However, Huckabee inspires in me a special kind of fear. He's that unique candidate that I disagree with on just about anything that all the candidates don't agree on. I can't imagine that I'd vote Rep*ublican, but of that group, Fred Thomp*son and Huck*abee scare me the most. I can find things to like about McC*ain and Rom*ney (though I can also find things to strongly dislike.)

We have a minimum age for presidency - 40 years old. Shouldn't there be a maximum age too? It's well-known that mental faculties decline with age. An article I read recently claimed that this decline begins in the 20s. Whether that's true or not, they certainly decline in the 70s. I think 67 should be the maximum age a first-term candidate could run for office, and 71 a second-term candidate. Alternatively, 71 could be the maximum age to run for any term, and some candidates would only be eligible for one term. (This would, of course, make them rather undesirable.) I think I'm being quite generous here - 75 is very old to be president.

8:33 a.m. - Dec. 18, 2007

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9 things I learned about buying a piano

Buying a used piano was an interesting experience. I'd actually wanted a piano for years, but I hadn't bought one because of the cost. Anyway, through this process I learned a few things.

1.) Craig's list is a great place to look for a piano. There are a lot of people out there who have pianos their children played or that they planned to play themself and just never got around to.

2.) You should definitely have the piano moved professionally. Don't even think about calling up 2 or 3 strong friends. It's not worth it. You'll probably damage the piano and possibly your back. Having my piano moved across town by piano movers cost $190 + tip.

3.) When choosing a used piano, go look at several before making a choice. I ended up picking the last piano I looked at, and I almost didn't go see it because I'd liked some earlier pianos. I recommend looking at 3 or 4.

4.) When trying out the piano, play every key individually. Listen to each one. Make sure they damp properly and that there's no clicks. Then play all the keys again, one at a time, with the damper pedal down. Most old pianos will have at least one messed up key.

5.) Are the edges of the keys chipped? If keys are severely chipped, especially near the center, you'll probably have to replace them before you can play because the chipped keys will hurt your fingers.

6.) The sounding board is very important. Make sure it's not cracked.

7.) Avoid clavinova or spinet pianos. These are the short ones which don't extend high in front of the keyboard.

8.) The full piano size is 55 inches. I went for this version. The next size smaller is 45 inches and is called a studio piano. I'd hesitate to get one smaller than that.

9.) I was lucky to get a piano for $300, but you can almost definitely get one (around here) in excellent condition for $500 - 600 + moving costs. That's a lot less than you'll spend for a high quality electronic piano. (Unless you're rich, a new real piano is probably out of the question.) Unless you move a lot or live in a very inaccessible apartment or have very thin walls (and want the volume control of electronic), you're better off with a real piano.

10.)How out of tune is the piano and when was it last tuned? If it's extremely out of tune but was tuned in the last few years, this may indicate the piano doesn't "hold a tune" well.

8:59 a.m. - Dec. 17, 2007

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new piano

The newest addition to my household.

12:24 p.m. - Dec. 15, 2007

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kyoto part two

Fascinating. I think it is entirely unsurprising that China and India rise to the forefront. An excellent point is made by "undeveloped" nations that the developed world created this problem and now are expecting undeveloped nations to help fix it. They are correct about this, are they not? But they must help fix it, because they have the population and potential to create catastrophe. I have always thought there was too much emphasis on the US and Kyoto (though I also think we should have signed it) and that some of the objections of the US regarding developed nations were extremely relevant.

I wonder what really went down with that vote.

10:22 a.m. - Dec. 15, 2007

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payday loans

The "payday" loan business is just sick. I don't know how anyone could work at such a place and look at themselves in the mirror.

Gotta love this quote: '"If you want to see what an unregulated market economy looks like," said Rokakis, "come to Ohio." There are now more payday lending shops in the state than McDonalds, Burger Kings and Wendy's restaurants combined, he noted.'

1:16 p.m. - Dec. 14, 2007

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home again

My trip home was smooth sailing. The planes were half empty, and I got a seat near the front in both cases. The only hitch occurred when I discovered I'd lost my parking ticket, a first for me. When I headed to the exit to plead my case, I discovered they take nightly inventory and actually knew when I'd arrived based on my license plate! It was amazing. I was very impressed.

Right now, I am so, so tired.

10:14 p.m. - Dec. 13, 2007