more post-electoral ramblings

Someone recently remarked that they were going to contact the DNC and find out what they can do to make sure we get the White House back in 2008. I've had a different thought: seriously considering contacting the Other Side and finding out what we can do to get a *sane* Republican on the ballot. That way, even if "we" lose, it's not such a disaster for everyone.

I mean, here's the thing. I already know there are a lot of Democrats who held their noses and voted for Kerry because he's not Bush. Question: How many Republicans held their noses and voted for George Bush because he's not Kerry?

It's possible that the real problem is not the Republicans taking things away from the Democrats, but the Bush dynasty and their cronies taking things away from legitimate Republicans. Maybe it's time to see if we can take THAT back.

update: I actually couldn't remember who the Republicans fielded for President in 1996; I had to go look it up on the Web. (Was it really Bob Dole?)

update 2: Perhaps I should clarify what I mean by the word "sane". Or maybe I'll just sit back and watch the amusing comments come in...

Dead hard drive? What dead hard drive?

So I finally got un-lame (and un-brain-dead) enough to hook the two Macs together, and pull all of the even remotely interesting-looking files off the creaky old iBook and onto the PowerBook. Yay me.

Shortly *after* I got all the files off - apparently successfully, which is good - the PowerBook complains that there are problems with the network drives and they're going to be unmounted. Fine, think I, I was kind of in the middle of unmounting them anyway so I could move the PB back to the table (rather than continuing to scorch my actual lap with it). I close both 'Books to put them to sleep so I can go get some job hunting done.

Shortly after this, I hear the DiBook making that tell-tale hard drive clicking noise... you know, the noise it's been making since Day One of the 30-gig hard drive. The noise whose source no disk repair program known to man has ever been able to find, much less fix. Okay, that's weird, I told you to go to sleep, little laptop... open the lid, peer at the screen, shrug and close the lid again. Repeat.

Repeat again, only this time (a) I've lost patience and have decided to shut it down instead of sleeping it, and (b) now it moans that there are problems with 2 of the 3 volumes. After much irritated clicking on my part, it eventually shuts both up and down.

Interesting timing, no? Probably not a coincidence - this is the most exercise that hard drive has had in a long time, maybe ever, and it's always been a bit dodgy. I am glad (not to mention astonished) that it let me get my data off first. Might try booting it up into X later (no problems reported on that drive, who knows why) and see what's going on; or I may just give the machine a decent burial...

well, she gets MY sympathy

World's cleverest woman can't find a job

life is definitely weird

The quests continue, unfulfilled. Still no job, still no unsweetened dried coconut. I have acquired a kick-ass iced coffee, however.

Going around in shirt-sleeves in November, on the other hand, is definitely a bonus. Hmm, I wonder what bizarre warm-climate thing I should do to celebrate my birthday...