Easter in Austin

The office closed for Good Friday so I traveled down to the In-laws, aka, Mom and Dad's for the holiday.

Friday we met with the New York Designer and his wife in Austin and had lunch at a local TexMex haunt.

We then drove down to south of town to spend the night (camped out in our new tent!) with E and his wife and new baby. After some yummy Carnetas and beer with smores for desert, we hung out around an open fire talking about life and where it's brought us...

Later today I'll head home while Zelda heads south to complete her work in San Antonio.

My project at the office is on hold while the client secures a new hotel partner.
Fingers crossed, hopefully that will happen by this Thursday.

The office is sending some of us to Kansas City for Revit tutorial. With the slow down in the current project, I might have the opportunity to be one of those guys. The IT guy put me on the short list.
***
I have been bumping up against my limitations at the office.
My previous offices have been small, and I have been in charge interns.
The young lady I am working with now, has worked through school, is very competitive, and we bump heads.

I realize I need to check in on her work several times a day, and I must make the time to do this.
I haven't.

We also work on TEAMs. I have worked on teams before, but it wasn't in the same Cheerleader, GO TEAM! sense of TEAM. I'd say the last office worked better together than maybe this one.
Anyway. I am the slacker on the project as I do not stay till midnight, nor do I work on weekends

I need to rethink this if I want to keep my job during a down turn...
Ultimately, Zelda and I want to get our Cash Flow to a point where we do not have to work to pay our bills.

But in the mean time, I'm nervous...

War on Terror

I know I am just a dumb common man,

a citizen if you will,

but if it looks like a duck,

walks like a duck,

smells like a duck...

it's a Duck.

This "Protect the Citizens through unwarranted wire tapping" is Bull.

Below is the response I received from my Senator, (Republican)


Thank you for contacting me regarding the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. I welcome your thoughts and comments on this issue.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978 provides the basic framework for the use of electronic surveillance in the context of foreign intelligence gathering. Over time, FISA has been amended to expand intelligence gathering to physical searches and access to certain business records. Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the USA PATRIOT Act made significant changes to some FISA provisions in order to aid in the capture of suspected terrorists.

On August 5, 2007, the President signed the Protect America Act of 2007 into law. The Protect America Act updated FISA to close a critical gap relating to the surveillance of suspected terrorists and to address limitations on surveillance created by a 2007 FISA Court. The Protect America Act was a temporary measure that expired on February 16, 2008 after one 15-day extension. After months of careful analysis, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence reported S. 2248, a comprehensive bill reforming FISA and extending critical collection authorities for a period of six years. The bill includes important safeguards to protect privacy and civil liberties, including procedures to prevent the dissemination of information about U.S. citizens that has been collected incidentally during certain surveillance activities.

S. 2248 contains a number of other provisions, including an extension of liability protection to electronic service providers that may have cooperated with the federal government after 9/11. Many of these firms face class action lawsuits in which the government may assert its privilege in order to protect sources and methods of intelligence collection. This privilege limits the ability of the companies to provide evidence to defend their alleged conduct. I recognize that some oppose the liability protection, but I joined 67 of my Senate colleagues in supporting the Senate Intelligence Committee bill because I believe that it is untenable to allow the lawsuits to proceed at the same time that we limit the ability of the defendants to produce evidence critical to their cases. The potential liability awards that might result could be catastrophic, negatively affecting the broader economy and signaling to these companies, and to other private entities that we may need to rely upon in the War on Terror, that their cooperation carries major risks. On a bi-partisan basis, the Senate passed S. 2248 with the liability protection provisions. The Senate now awaits action by the House.

Please know that I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to safeguard the security of our nation while upholding our personal privacy rights and civil liberties.

I appreciate hearing from you, and I hope that you will not hesitate to keep in touch on any issue of concern to you.

Sincerely,
Kay Bailey Hutchison
United States Senator

Innocent people need the Right to Sue to protect their privacy.
Get the warrant,
do the tap.

It's the Constitution.

Protect it damn it!

This last weekend Zelda and I visited the Oklahoma City Federal Building Memorial.

It was very moving.
168 people died doing their job.

The bomber was a sick man, a stupid man.
But get the Warrant First.

Don't take the Freedoms away of ALL of us because of the Evil People.

Our national security...politics...

The following is the response I received from my Senator regarding the National Animal Identification Act...


Thank you for contacting me regarding the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). I welcome your thoughts and comments on this issue.

Animal health officials have used an identification system to help trace animals since the 1940s when an extensive program was developed to identify cattle vaccinated for brucellosis. As a result of its initial success, there are several animal identification programs in place but no uniform nationwide identification system for rapid tracing of animals should a disease outbreak occur.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is working with state governments to develop a practical program that will provide the results necessary to maintain a healthy animal population. The goal of the NAIS is to be able to identify all animals that have had contact with a foreign or domestic animal disease of concern within 48 hours of discovery. Currently, participation in the NAIS is voluntary. This gives livestock producers the opportunity to obtain experience with the program and provide invaluable feedback. You may submit your comments and concerns directly to USDA through its website at animalidcomments@aphis.usda.gov. The Texas Animal Health Commission has approved proposed regulations for Texas' animal identification program. For more information on the state's proposal, please visit http://www.tahc.state.tx.us.

The quality of food in the U.S. is the highest in the world, and Congress must consider viable alternatives to food safety that are effective and not unnecessarily burdensome or costly to producers or consumers. To this end, I believe NAIS should be a voluntary program. I will continue to work with Texas farmers and ranchers as Congress considers legislation pertaining to the NAIS.

I appreciate hearing from you and hope you will not hesitate to keep in touch on any issue of concern to you.

Sincerely,
Kay Bailey Hutchison
United States Senator

While I appreciate her extensive response to my letter, I disagree with the policies we have in place...
The contaminated foods are from Mass processing and feed lots, not individual ranchers and farmers...

"The quality of food in the U.S. is the highest in the world, and Congress must consider viable alternatives to food safety that are effective and not unnecessarily burdensome or costly to producers or consumers."

I strongly disagree with this last statement. The quality of the food offered here in the US is on par with saying McDonalds makes the Best Hambuger in the World. It's cheap, it's fast, and watered down to the common denominator...

I do not know how more regulation is less expensive than no regulation...

At least I have let her know how I feel on the mater...