Keep the Rubber Side Down

My motorcycle has been sold.

This was a major step. I was torn between taking my precious 2006 1100cc Honda Shadow Spirit with me to Las Vegas or not. I'd have loved to have it out there, but I don't want to go through the hassle of putting it on a trailer and hauling it. I have this vision of rolling in there with virtually no possessions and a big enough bankroll to make me less vulnerable to drastic swings. I'd not ridden it much in the 3 or 4 years that I had it (2180 miles), but I can't help but think that I'd have ridden it more in the Vegas environment.

The gentleman that bought it was smallish. His feet didn't quite reach the ground, but he's in his mid-fifties and my political leanings require everyone to be responsible for themselves, sooooo, sure Stan, I'll sell it to you. When he came over to get it, he seemed concerned about not having a helmet to ride back with. I offered to ride it over to his house and I think he was a little offended. I failed to explain that it was because he didn't have a helmet and I did, which ultimately would mean I was questioning his riding skills. Sorry Stan. Didn't mean it that way. Take care of her and keep the rubber side down.

Well, good-bye my sweet sweet motorcycle. Perhaps I'll buy one of your brothers in Vegas.

My CHECK!

Well, I had a slab leak in my house back in July2008. Part of the carpet was ruined and the insurance company decided to replace all of the carpet that was contiguous with the area that was affected. This is a WHOLE lotta carpet. I've been taking my time replacing it because I knew I wanted to sell the house and I wanted the new carpet exposed to my dog as little as possible prior to the sell. Plus, it'll smell good for prospective buyers. I finally told my insurance company to just send me the check and I've got a local carpet company ready to go as soon as I sign some paperwork and pay for half. This, like everything that has come before it, feels like it will the the thing that will really start the relocation rolling.

Surely there is more to come.

"Staff Engineer"

There's a guy on staff that's got no college, but has managed to get himself into a position of import. He likes to call himself 'Staff Engineer'. According the IEEE that title should be reserved for people with the following credentials;

• Graduation with an Engineering degree from an ABET/EAC accredited program of engineering (or equivalent*), coupled with sufficient experience in the field in which the term, Engineer, is used; and/or

• Licensure by any jurisdiction as a Professional Engineer.

• A degree from a foreign institution (or the total education when a person holds a graduate degree in engineering but no accredited B.S. in engineering) can be evaluated through a service offered by ABET."

He has none of these.

I don't even use that fuckin title and I have a BS in Manufacturing Engineering Technology. It's like me going thru medical school but never taking the final test then going to work with some dood that calls himself "Doctor" and everyone else just drinks the koolaid and calls him "Dr" too.

These are things that piss me off.

I can't wait to move to Vegas. At least I'll be there in about 24 hours.

Is Mara Liasson secretly pulling for McCain/Palin?

While watching Fox News Sunday w/ Chris Wallace (10/26/2008), I saw this micro-expression on Mara Liasson:

It lasted about as long as a bulb flash. In the above image, she was saying the 'J' in the word "just". The topic was about McCain's campaign falling short. She said, "He could have run a better campaign as a Reform-Republican. He had all of the parts. They just didn't add up to a whole."

She looks really pissed. She's snarling, her eyes are more closed, her eyebrows have pulled together in the classic angry position and her lips have tightened up. I don't know if she's pulling for McCain/Palin or she hates to see a campaign managed so poorly, but she looks mad and/or frustrated.

As a semi-baseline, the image below shows what she looked like a split-second before the snarl. She's saying the "th" in "they". What a difference. Body-language is so fascinating.

Preparing for the Move

I'm in the process of selling-off most of my possessions to move to Las Vegas and try my hand at playing poker for a living. I've eBay'd and Craiglist'd lots of stuff by now. The selling started In May of 2008.

My motorcycle is on Craigslist. Once it's gone, I'll start looking at the poker table, treadmill, computer desk, early American mobile home dining set, garage workbenches, bed, couches and of course, the house.

Ideally, I'd like to get down to a single truckload of things and make the drive from Dallas to Vegas. I'm undecided on whether I want to take my dog with me. He's a good dog, but keeping him wouldn't mesh well with my intent to start shirking more responsibility. He's 1 week from his 49th birthday (in dog years) as of this writing, so he's got some time left. I don't know how desert life will suit him as he's a Hungarian Vizsla and I assume they were bred in a cooler climate than a desert.

I'm a little concerned about life without medical insurance or a stable income. My >700 credit rating should allow me to rent an apartment, but I'm a little worried about whether that will be possible too with no job. Hopefully I can just pay first and last month's rent and that will get me in.