Friday fragments

This week the street crew came back to add top soil onto the transition areas from our yard to the street, sprinkled grass seed, and laid a mesh of hay over top. It appeared the street reconstruction project was done! But, no. During the inspector's walk-thru (walk-on?), some of my neighbors complained about the uneven road surface that causes a huge puddle to form in the middle of the street. The inspector agreed the street was not graded correctly to force water to run to the drain, and said it would be fixed. So they will come back and remove the top layer of asphalt, regrade, and repave the affected area. It feels like the street reconstruction project that just won't end.

Former Miss CA, Carrie Prejean, lost her crown and title this week. Reports indicate that she was dethroned for breach of contract, since she failed to keep some appearances. Ha ha; serves her right.

A new report by the Williams Institute suggests New England might attract a new, young, “creative class” - thanks to marriage equality in every state but Rhode Island. This article says that Gay couples who are part of the “creative class” (highly educated professionals, artists, and entrepreneurs) were 2.5 times more likely to move to Massachusetts in the three years following MA's approval of same-sex marriage. So New England may become the Berkeley of the East coast.

Some people think that those of us who talk about stopping 'hate' only do so because we are members of a hated group. But every kind of 'hate' is bad for ALL of us, as is made clear by this tragedy on Wed. An 88-year-old gunman with a violent and anti-Semitic past opened fire with a rifle inside the crowded Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC, killing a security guard before being shot himself by other officers.

This hilarious video gives proponents of 'traditional marriage' something to think about!

Spouse's 1st week on Weight Watchers gave his confidence a big boost: he lost 10 lbs in 1 week. Now, this is not the 1st time he's had a dramatic, 1st week weight loss. For Spouse its not about starting a diet, its about sticking to it. He's done very well this 2nd week though, which is quite encouraging to both of us. While not exactly 'counting the points' like Spouse, I am also eating less quantity and lower fat/calorie foods.

Today I learned from the builder that the delay in getting the permits was because the regular permit guy was out on vacation and the back-up permit guy was out with pneumonia! However, permits were secured today, and work begins Mon morning!

Crush du Jour: Charlie Schlatter