Random Thoughts, Notes, & Incidents

Yes, it has been a busy few weeks since I posted last. We're going through another round of budgeting woes at work, one quarter into the fiscal year. Fun!

But, we have had a chance to help out victims of the latest hurricanes, even out here in San Jose, CA. We've been able to put our usual procedures and such aside to take in, at no cost to them, several individuals made homeless by flooding in the Gulf.

Yesterday we took in an older gentleman from Florida. After the storms hit, he went up to New York to find his estranged daughter. He wandered her old neighborhood asking after her for days, but nobody knew where to find her. He then boarded a bus for San Jose, where he had lived years earlier, and showed up at our door.

These are the moments that remind us of why we're in the business we're in; providing shelter to the homeless. When so much of my job is given over to bureaucracy and spreadsheets, it's good when I actually get to work with a client for a few moments, and be reminded that what I do is worthwhile.

On another front, what's been keeping me busy is the big secret project that I'll be unveiling in another few days. Basically, I've been setting up a small business to do on the side for a little extra income. Stay tuned for the big announcement.

Meanwhile, on the National Front, the administration has begun a game of blaming the messenger. In a twist on the old search for WMDs, they claim that the accounts of crime, death, and abuse in the Gulf were greatly exaggerated without any proof. How this is somehow supposed to excuse their lack of movement on this disaster for several days, I don't know.

Need proof yourself? Read "Power crews diverted" and learn how Dick Cheney's office had emergency crews leave hospitals without power in order to help out the oil companies first.