fun with language

Bush tells troops Iraq no longer 'hopeless'

So... if Iraq is no longer hopeless, does that imply that it once WAS hopeless?

And, if it once was "hopeless"... well, whence the hope today?
I mean - "hopeless" means, what... "without hope".
If 'twas once without hope, and now there is some... well, did it just materialize? (sort of like Fred Hoyle's model of the universe - matter being created eternally...)

If there's now hope, doesn't that mean that it has NEVER been "hopeless"???

Yeah - I'm just having fun with words.

Stop the madness!

the guts of a campaign: $$$!

I find myself needing to justify all the time I'm putting into "database update" for the NM1 Congressional campaign.
Here goes!

There are ~12,000 records in the donor database I've been maintaining.

Each of these represents a potential "mailing".
At $0.42/letter, this is $5K for a single mailing.
Now... to be honest, no single mailing is directed to all 12K potential donors... but still, mailings of 2K are not rare.
Each piece of returned mail is a hard $0.42!

Much of the maintenance does not involve fixing incorrect addresses. Rather, it involves "presenting the candidate": no address abbreviations (e.g., "Rd" for "Road"; "Ave" for "Avenue"); appropriately and accurately identifying the gender/status of the addressee ("Mr.", "Ms.", "Mrs.", "Dr."). Getting these details right reflects positively on The Candidate. Messing 'em up reflects poorly on The Candidate. I'm unable to monetize the effect of this attention to detail... but my bosses consider it significant.

Recall, $0.42 spent has the potential to pull in real $$$ - even just a $5.00 contribution represents a 1000% ROI! If the chance of generating a donation is increased even slightly by having the correct information, well-presented - well, it's worth it!

This, sadly, is how I now justify my existence!

Sing a song!

another pointless personal post

As loyal readers will know, I formally retired in June.
Loyal readers will also know that much of my time is now devoted to volunteer work for the Dem candidate in NM's 1st Congressional District (Martin Heinrich if you're a little interested; Contribute to Martin Heinrich via ActBlue if you're a lot interested!)

And the rest of my time?

Tonight was the first music rehearsal for Albuquerque Little Theater's upcoming production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
I'm cast as "Erroneous" - the Buster Keaton role in the 1966 film.

[bragging:] I was invited to audition for the show.

I started singing in 1995, age 42. I put together the only "career development plan" I have ever successfully followed, with the career goal of singing a minor lead in a Gilbert & Sullivan production. I attained my goal in 2001, singing Dick Deadeye in a production of H.M.S. Pinafore. I retired from singing and from the stage.

It didn't take.

I've since "retired" from singing and the stage at least two more times.

It's never taken.

Eventually, choral music brings me back.
[Challenging on at least 3 levels: intellectually, to read the music; physically, to produce the sound; emotionally - well, it just sounds so wonderful when done right!]

My past 4 roles have been "invited": to sing the very minor role of Count Ceprano in OSW's 2006 production of Verdi's Rigoletto; to play Lt. Schrank in MTS's 2007 production of West Side Story; to sing in the chorus of OSW's 2008 Tosca; and now, to play the minor character Erroneous in ALT's Forum. [... with Schrank and Erroneous I seem to be developing a reputation as a character actor!]

This'll be my ALT debut - a factor contributing to my willingness to audition.

Sing a song!

p.s. For those who may want to follow this path...
My "career development plan" included taking voice/singing lessons, taking acting lessons, taking dance lessons, and auditioning for just about any show that came along. I was happy to be cast in 2-3 shows/year. I auditioned for many more. A reason for my repetitive "retirements": a hobby that requires rejection ~70% of the time has its limitations... I get rejected in real life! - why seek it?
Now? It's sort of fun to be invited to show up!
[note: I'm not a great singer, and I'm a much better singer than actor!... but I am reliable: I try to practice my "craft" diligently... Lt. Schrank was my hardest part to date: I simply ain't a hard-boiled NY police lieutenant!]

things that make you go, "hmmm..."

Okay - I like to think of myself as an educated, literate, more-or-less well-read, informed citizen... but still...

How did Amazon tag me for the following recommendation:

Save 34% at Amazon.com on "Teach Yourself Estonian Complete Course (Book + 2CDs) (Ty: Complete Courses)" by Mare Kitsnik

???
I don't get that many recommendations from Amazon, and most of them are more-or-less on-target. "Teach Yourself Estonian"??? No clue.

Completely pointless trivia from high school:
The gang I hung out with in high school were... well, sort of nerdy (sorry, TedTheCat!): chess club, bridge/chess/Risk on Friday nights.
Many of us participated in the Tulsa Public Library's "Book Discussion Club."
At one corner of the stacks in the main library was prominently displayed a book on Serbo-Croatian. I'm not sure that any of us ever in fact took this book off the shelf, but the title was prominent as we wended our way to the room in which the "Book Discussion Club" was meeting. It became something of a joke. "Russell Sype": Serbo-Croation for "piglike in appearance." [substitute names as required for the occasion.]

Is Amazon reading my psychic past?

Sing a song!

"Hairless, gap-toothed, baby-eating Ogre"

I retired in June.
I've been "working" as volunteer on local Congressional campaign.

Folks ask me, "Should I vote for him?"
My answer: "YES!"

... then I hedge.
The Candidate could be a hairless, gap-toothed ogre with halitosis, and I'd still be volunteering on the campaign! Just so's the Candidate is NOT a Republican!

This is pretty much my political theory for the time-being: any Major Party Candidate who is NOT a Republican gets my vote!

Occasionally I surprise my fellow volunteers, when the conversation turns to Democratic politics.

"I'm not a Democrat."

This simple statement is enough to drop jaws in this crowd.

I am registered as New Mexico's equivalent of Independent, which is, "Decline to State" - or some such (the registration is listed as "DTS"). If the Dems continue in their ways, I'll likely vote 3rd party in 2010!

Stop the madness!

on the campaign trail

I took a break from "physical presence at the campaign" today.

Not to worry: I put in 3-4 hrs of database work at home.

Thursday & Friday I spent many hrs physically present at the campaign - stuffing envelopes. This is in fact a long, somewhat amusing story that I'll not tell.

On the bright side: conversation with co-workers during these mass-mailings is quite fun! Depending on the exact make-up of the group - both in numbers and in personalities represented - the conversations range from fairly insipid chatter to heartfelt political convictions to serious personal revelations. All in all, a fun time!

There are a number of distinct physical tasks involved in mailings: folding the fliers, stuffing the envelopes, attaching stick-on addresses, sealing the envelopes. Strange as it may sound, each of these requires a specific talent. I'm pretty good at stuffing... but not so good at sealing... and it really does require fingernails to be good at attaching addresses!

Have a nice day.

more "on the campaign trail"

Today I was physically present at campaign headquarters, helping with a mailing (a delightful relief from database work!).

Most daytime volunteers are retired - working folks have to, well... work! Retirees have grand-kids, and kids that welcome the opportunity to turn grand-kids over to grandparents... the implication is that volunteers are not rarely accompanied by grand-kids - usually younger grand-kids (the teens don't really want to hang out with grandma & grandpa!).

As it turns out, the grand-kids are productive workers: they can fold flyers & stuff envelopes as well as the rest of us, and are somewhat less distracted by the idle conversation.

I commented on this today.

The response? "Were you here last week?" Turns out one of the grand-kids - an 8-yr-old - was a computer whiz, and helped the office get networked. The professional computer fellow was asking the 8-yr-old for technical advice on best ways to set up & manage the network!

Sing a song!