Of course, George W Bush is also in town. What a dick. McCain and Palin lucked out since Bush was scheduled to speak up in St. Paul at the RNC. So there’s little chance of McCain and Bush hugging each other again and it showing up on in a new Obama ad.

There is a great weight on my deliberation to wash my car today. On one side, it is dirty. Why do I keep buying black cars? There is a 0% chance of rain this week in the forecast. However, I know that as soon as I get my car washed, Gustav could restrengthen, change direction and head right this way. This would mean the Texans may come to Austin for shelter. Wonder if they’ll get the cots out for them?

Flickr has been pretty famous for “as it happens” photos showing up on the interwebs. So I went and typed in Gustav into the search box and this came up.

…write a post about the possibility of a transit strike. Just when I sign up for the pre-tax bus pass at work, the drivers/mechanics and the bus authority can’t come to terms on a new contract. They voted to strike last week. Now both sides say that doesn’t mean they will strike. CapMetro has a contingency plan to cover core routes but neither of the buses I take are core. Well, I just thank god that George Bush solved the energy problem and gas is cheap so I can drive. And now with Ford offering 45% of their F-150 pickup trucks I can go to work without a care in the world!

…write a post about TV. My cable bill is $170 a month. About $50 of that is internet. About $95 is is TV. The rest is taxes and fees and surcharges and a bunch of crap. I only watch about [adult swim], Comedy Central, HBO and Showtime. I used to like the History Channel but lately they don’t show history programs. Instead every time I flip past the channel in glorious HD, there is “Ice Road Truckers”. This is a show about these guys that drive across frozen lakes in Canada. There’s drama (the ice might melt, they might crash) but there is no history. There are plenty of shows not about history. I saw a show about french fries the other day. Yes, they did manage to shoehorn in some history (Thomas Jefferson introduced it to the US) and the machines used to take a field full of potatoes and make them into fries is interesting, but it isn’t history. I have the same gripe with the Travel Channel. They used to have great shows about exotic places covered by Lonely Planet and Rough Guides. But now, it is “America’s Best Hamburgers” and shows about Las Vegas casinos. This switch happened right after 9/11 where they decided that Americans weren’t going anywhere so they changed the format to talk about hamburgers and roller coasters. I don’t know when the History Channel lost its way, but in light of the administration and McCain’s recent “countries in the 21st century don’t invaded other countries” remark, perhaps the suits at History Channel think Americans don’t care about history either. Maybe the problem isn’t the TV programming. Maybe it is me.

…write about iPhones and shit. The iPhone 3G is getting a lot of flack the press for its problems getting on 3G networks. For the most part, the mobile carriers are pointing at Apple. This is nothing new, whenever I had problems with my cellphone’s reception the first thing the person at T-Mobile would do is try and blame my handset which I would buy from Europe since T-Mobile’s US handset selection sucks ass. 3G works mostly for me. Except I do think I’m running into capacity problems from time to time. In the mornings on the bus I get 3G with 5 bars for most of the route. In the much more crowded and awake afternoon commute, I will get fewer bars or switchover to EDGE. Since it is the same phone attempting to connect to the same tower at the different times, I don’t think it is the phone, ATT. A cellphone tower can only handle a finite amount of calls/data. So when I’m downloading pr0n on the bus, that means someone else can’t use its slot on that tower. This isn’t an iPhone specific problem, except iPhones exacerbate the problem because they are so damn awesome and people tend to use them more than other phones. On the old cellphone networks only 56 calls could take place simultaneously. I think you can get a few hundred now, but in areas with lots of 3G phones that could be pretty easy to fill up. Especially since iPhones and other data hungry phones are always downloading something. The 3G coverage maps only show it there’s a tower somewhere not how much capacity is available. Carriers first seem to build out the coverage area, then the density. And this is why I think many people who are in Manhattan or Chicago or San Francisco are having troubles. Sure, there’s coverage, but there are a lot of people trying to use the same tower at the same time. You just need to go back to the online forums to last year and see people with every brand of smartphone whining about 3G coverage to see this isn’t an iPhone issue. iPhone has the halo of the cult of Apple about it so it gets more press. People don’t stand in line overnight to get the Motorola Q phone or Samsung Blackjack. So when thousands of of people in a city block get a new phone on without new enough new capacity, people are not going to get the new signal. Only until the carrier builds out more capacity (which they are more likely to do than add smaller cities and suburbs) will this problem go away. When I was in Europe with my Sony Ericsson 3G phone in 2007 it would switch between the 3G and GPRS (slower than EDGE) networks sometimes. People forget the 3G network in the US is pretty young. You just have to remember back a few years to the dropped calls on the old cellphone networks. Until the carriers started building out capacity people whined about no coverage and dropped calls. Maybe the History Channel can do a show about that.

I don’t think Apple is blameless here. From what I’ve read, the 3G chipset isn’t the best on the market and Apple doesn’t have the years’ experience in engineering like Nokia has in this area. But you can have the best radio in the world and if there’s no room on the tower, you’re not going to get through.

I still find it pretty fucking amazing I can go nearly anywhere in the world and I can make and receive calls on a device the only weighs a few grams and fits in my pocket. It is fun to get a call from a friend asking to go out to see a movie only to say, “sounds great, but I’m in Paris…and it is 4AM here… and this call is costing me $2 a minute.”

I believe I can see the future
Cause I repeat the same routine
I think I used to have a purpose
But then again
That might have been a dream
I think I used to have a voice
Now I never make a sound
I just do what I’ve been told
I really don’t want them to come around

Of course, I am a creature of habit. I like the morning tacos blancos con chorizo y queso en una tortilla trigo from Tacodeli. I like then to walk the twenty feet to Sodade for my coffee and Topo Chico (and if I’m feeling crazy a blueberry muffin). But there’s a huge difference in a routine you like to do and one you have to do. Although I do different things at the office, they involve having to put up with difficult people asking for things they know I don’t have and Microsoft Fucking Office. I constantly remind myself that I have a pretty good job. I could be busting my ass digging ditches for $5 a day. But I see the pointy headed bosses making the same mistakes and I see every day is exactly the same.

Who gives a fuck about an Oxford comma? I certainly don’t. Vampire Weekend has a catchy sound. I feel like I’m in Wes Anderson film every time one of their songs comes on the radio. I expect to see Gwyneth Paltrow or Bill Murray or Owen Wilson to show up. They never do.

Perhaps it was my journalism instructors’ almost religious observance of the AP style guide that made me feel the Oxford Comma is a waste of pixels. I’m not as militant against the Oxford Comma as I am against the use of an apostrophe for pluralizing acronyms. I cringe when I see people talking about getting a bunch of new DVD’s, CD’s and PC’s. The apostrophe should be used like it is with regular words, to connote possession (or as a contraction if you must). Yes, I’m talking to you New York Times. And don’t get me started about the Grocer’s Apostrophe.

Siriusly. I’m having to adjust to not having XM in my car and instead I’m having to learn to love Sirius. I really like the stations Ethel, Fred and Lucy on XM. Sirius has something similar but that just isn’t the same. The “Left of Center” channel is great and so is “Alt Nation” and “1st Wave” takes me back. My biggest gripe against these stations — and Sirius in general — is that the DJs step all over the beginning of songs just like the over the air radio. STOP DOING THAT! There are two non-family comedy channels on Sirius and they both suck compared to the XM channel 150. One of them is called “Blue Collar Radio” which features nothing but Larry The Cable Guy and that you might be a redneck guy. 24/7! The “Raw Dog” main comedy channel is “hosted” by the biggest douchebag in the world after Dane Cook. Jim Bruer was funny for about 5 minutes. But all the damn time? Sonny Fox’s interview are awesome. Jim Bruer’s interviews are just stupid and get in the way of the comedy bits.

Of course Sirius and XM merged and they have grand plans for bringing the channels together. Except, the satelites and radios are not compatible with each other. So the promises they made to the FCC about a la cart channel selections and having more selection was bullshit for 100% of the current radios in use. In two years there will be radios in new cars that will be able to connect to both satellites. In the short term, I’m guessing part of the “efficiencies” and “synergies” of the merger will mean they will get rid of the duplicates. And since Sirius’ name is first, I’m guessing XM customers will just have to learn to live with the Sirius way of life like I am. And by getting rid of some of that overlap, they’ll be able to simulcast Stern and Opie & Anthony on both. You’ll be able to get Martha Stewart and Oprah. In other words, I’ll the channels I don’t care about.

Georgia on my mind. The US has the balls to say that Russia is using too much force in response to the situation in Georgia. If Montana shot down a US plane and wanted to join Canada, do you think the US wouldn’t do the same thing? Yes, the Russians are using too much force but the US lost its right to moral high ground long ago. I hope the loss of life is kept to a minimum (BBC is reporting there’s a ceasefire so that’s good).

Some may be shocked that John Edwards was cheating on his cancer-stricken wife. It doesn’t surprise me much. Even the nontypical politicians are typical politicians. The only thing that did surprise me was in his mea culpa interview he said he didn’t love the harlot he was fucking. Does that supposed to make it OK?

There are 85 days left until the Election. Although the popular vote doesn’t matter, it seems that Obama has lost whatever lead he may have had. With the red states staying red and the blue states staying blue it comes down to fuckup states like Ohio and Florida again. I have a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that McCain will win by an even narrower margin than Bush did. And McCain may lead us to look back fondly at the good old days of $5 gas and the dollar being worth 60 euro cents that Bush gave us. Even though Obama is the better candidate, America will probably elect McCain.

I want Obama to win. Although more of a traditional politician than his original “change” campaign indicated, he’d still turn this country around. Where I live, Obama will win in a landslide. Just like Kerry and Gore did. But I live in a state that will go McCain. I do feel that in a lot of places a lot of people are just a little too racist to vote for Obama. And the Republican machine that Karl Rove perfected will capitalize on that.

I really hope I’m wrong. I would love to wake up on November 5th knowing that after all the votes are in Obama won.

At least hostilities have ceased in the the cat wars. I need to thank Jimmy Carter for his hours of help in negotiating a settlement that both cats can live with.

Although I should not be taking sides in this conflict, it is hard not to be on Peanut’s side. Although 363 days of the year she uses her large size and attitude to get to the food bowl and pillow on the bed, Doodlebug is literally keeping Peanut from leaving my bedroom. Which means if Peanut needs to hit the litter box or get something to eat she has to fight to cross the border. I acted as a peacekeeper to scoot Doodlebug into the bathroom while Peanut took care of business.

As I’ve said before, this happens about once a year and usually a day later things are back to normal. This is lasting all weekend. I had originally planned to get out of town this weekend so I could have missed the whole thing (or possibly it wouldn’t have happened). I can’t wait for peace to return to my apartment. These cats have known each other 10 years. It isn’t like a brought a new kitten into the house (although that may bring them together as allies against a new animal… but it is bad enough a dude has two cats, three cats would be just sad).

Yesterday started so well. I woke up and found both cats sleeping on the pillow next to mine. I thought that was odd at the time but heralded the new peace and prosperity in the apartment. But last night I was watching TV and Peanut was crashed on the sofa. She rolls over and stretches but doesn’t realize that she’s too close the edge and starts to fall off. She panics and grabs the sofa for support but gets the blanket I keep on the sofa for fur control instead and keeps falling. More panic and she hits the ground and is twisting and freaking out and somehow gets into the shelf on my cocktail table and keeps twisting around and panicking. Doodlebug sees this and rather than just sit back and allow Peanut to relax she seizes the opportunity to attack Peanut. Oh shit all hell breaks loose. Hissing and loud yowling and hitting and scratching. They weren’t play fighting. So I yell at them to stop which of course did nothing. They take the fight to my bedroom and I stay in the living room to let them cool off. But they don’t. I hear more loud yowls and fighting. I get in their and Peanut is under a table and Doodlebug has her tail and back all puffy. I get Doodlebug out of my bedroom and close the door so the cats can cool off. It is far from an ideal situation. Peanut will want to eat and visit the litter box. Doodlebug hates closed doors and while complain loudly to open it.

When I was ready to sleep I opened the door. Doodlebug was staying just out of the bedroom and the cats were locked into a staring contest with each other. If Peanut wanted to leave she would need to confront Doodlebug. Just before I drifted off to sleep they were still in this standoff position. Since cats sleep all the time, staying awake to make sure the other one doesn’t attack made them cranky. Later I’m awakened by a fight breaking out. Although I don’t think the cats are going to kill each other, I am worried about becoming collateral damage. I’ve been scratched when the fight comes to my bed. Worst way to wake up ever. So I separate the cats. Peanut stays in the bedroom and Doodlebug is on the other side of the door. And for the next six hours Doodlebug yowls every few seconds. My neighbors must be thrilled. She would stop for a few minutes and I’d drift off to sleep. But then she’d start again and wake me up. I tried to figure out what I could do. If I locked her in the bathroom or laundry room she’d just yell louder and since those rooms face my neighbors’ walls they’d be pissed and bang on the walls. I can’t throw her outside since she’s never been out there, hasn’t had her shots updated lately, and doesn’t have a collar. I thought of going to a hotel (the thought still sounds good). I thought of throwing both cats into a sack and have them work as a team to get out before I threw them in the river.

Even though it is almost noon I feel like I’ve had no sleep. I showered and went to Tacodeli and Sodade and so right now the cats are either fighting or sleeping. I’m exhausted but don’t want to waste the daylight hours sleeping. I want to look at new apartments as my new landlord is pressuring me into signing a new lease (I’ve gone 3 years going month to month) and I don’t want to sign a lease to live in a place far from work and downtown with 10 year old carpet and mid 1990s style.

Yesterday I took the express bus downtown to check out some apartments that have recently gone up. First I went to Amli Downtown which is on 2nd Street and Lavaca in the hip and happening 2nd Street District. These are “soft lofts” which mean the ceilings are partially finished (drywall hides the AC ducts and wiring in parts, other parts are naked cement). The floors are stained concrete. The building takes up a city block and in the middle there’s a pool area. The units they have available in my timeframe would be on the 6th or 7th floor and have a view outward. I wouldn’t be able to see the Capitol but just the “urbanness” or the banks and other tall buildings. The places were about $1500 for 900 sq ft which is a lot more than I’m paying now. Oh, and I’d have to pay for parking which is on special now for $75/mth. What blew my mind was I would need to pay $100 deposit for each cat and an obscene $400 EACH as a ‘pet fee’. According to the rules I could have a 99 pound dog and it would cost less than my two little cats that would have a hard time ruining concrete floors. So between the fees for the cats and ‘administration fees’ and other bullshit it would cost about $2000 to move in. All so I could walk down to the shops downstairs and not drive as far (reverse commute) to work or take the bus in 15minutes.

I went a block away to the newer Amli in 2nd Street about a block away. This building is brand new and also called “soft lofts” which actually I found a little harder than the other places. They don’t have a lot of places left but they did have a 626sq place on the 19th (penthouse) floor for “just” $1949 a month. It does have a killer view of Town Lake, Auditorium Shores etc and there probably isn’t a better place to watch the fireworks. But it was tiny! It reminded me more of my dorm room than an apartment. The floor is plain concrete, there’s exposed concrete on the ceilings. The windows are floor to ceiling. But damn it is tiny. For $1700 I’d have a place on a lower floor with a view of the city and although still tiny, was had a few more square feet in the living room and bedroom. It would have the same cat fees and move in costs. But I’d have a concierge where I could drop off my dry cleaning and he could gas up my car and other things “urban apartment” concierges do. The pool is on the 5th floor and has a nice view of the lake. They must hire models to hang out at the pool as the women were just wow. However, the rooms (it is hard to call them apartments because I’ve stayed in larger hotel rooms) are just meh and would go for $400/mth in a shitty neighborhood.

I could see doing the Downtown property. It would be way more than I’m spending in rent now and way more than I want to spend. I want to look at a few more places. The problem is the new places downtown are high end (and they are building more higher end places). Too rich for my blood. And you should see the condos going up. What recession and housing crash. The Austonian is almost sold out and it is at least a year from being done. The 360 has a 200 person waiting list! (the paper had a story about a couple that lived in the Arboretum area — sort of my neighborhood, about 9 miles from downtown– that bought a small place for $400K in that building to have a place to stay in on the weekends. In Austin you can get a really nice cottage on a lake for that… granted far from downtown on Lake Travis or beyond, the “cottages” on Lake Austin are multimillion dollar mansions).

I had the thought of seeing what is going on in East Austin (an area where in Austin’s redneck past where the ‘Negro District’ and ‘Mexicans’ were forced to live but now is being gentrified). There’s some stuff going up near the new rail line so I could get downtown quick and avoid driving everywhere.

There’s also the South Congress district — once the home of hookers and dope dealers and the Austinites that made ‘keep Austin Weird’ a way of life — has a bunch of high end places going it, forcing the funky people out. Rich white people moving in for the SoCo lifestyle forcing the middle class and poor white people somewhere else.

If we’re not careful Austin will be unrecognizable from what made it special in the first place.