Flip-flopping.

Cheney in 1992:

"And the question in my mind is how many additional American casualties is Saddam (Hussein) worth? And the answer is not that damned many. So, I think we got it right, both when we decided to expel him from Kuwait, but also when the president made the decision that we'd achieved our objectives and we were not going to go get bogged down in the problems of trying to take over and govern Iraq."

Bush-Cheney flip-flops cost America in blood

If the right can call Kerry a flip-flopper, then so can the left.

Just for the record - I don't see anything necessarily wrong with flip-flopping. That's what logical people do. When presented with a better piece of information it is OK to change your mind. I'm just getting sick of the right relentlessly bashing on Kerry and others for flip-flopping when they've done it on multiple occasions.

If only you could rate some songs with 6 stars.

I love this song. It had the perfect tempo for me to keep in-step with the music, on my walk to the bus stop after work today.

(Alright)
I am the new
For reasons I can never explain
I speak the truth
I put an end to all your pain
I want guilt, I want to drag you right through your past
I'm on a roll
And I'm moving way too fast

(Alright)
Aren't we always looking over our shoulders
Aren't we always drawing guns from our holsters

I'm at the start to check every hour of the day
I stand well above
And mould you with my clay
Out of the depth, every soul can pay a fee
Those who are kept
I'm gonna set you free

(Alright)
Aren't we always looking over our shoulders
Aren't we always drawing guns from our holsters

I'll shed light
Tear apart all you believe
One of us
Grateful for all you receive
Make it up, do you find it hard to contain
Pray in God, can you hold it all inside your brain

(Alright)
Aren't you always getting scared of the future
Aren't you always thinking someone will shoot you
Aren't we always looking over our shoulders
Aren't we always drawing guns from our holsters

Shoulder Holster, by Morcheeba

Cars

Many years ago, probably when i was 13 or 14, my dad told me cars are one of the biggest wastes of money I'd ever have to endure. How right he was. But oh how I love having a car.

Needless to say, the Jetta needed some exhaust work... yet again (3rd muffler replacement in 5 years). The rear muffler hanger weld rotted out and broke, leaving a hole in the muffler. Quite annoying. The guys that put the new muffler on didn't do a great job. In the process, they loosened a heat shield on the engine. They fixed that. But a new rattle/buzz has started.

When the exhaust is cold, there's a rattle/buzz that seems to be coming from directly below the rear seat. Could either be more loose heat shielding, or could be that the exhaust doesn't have enough clearance. I'm not a mechanic, so I don't know. Once the car's warm, the rattle goes away. While it's cold, the rattle occurs during acceleration/deceleration (hitting the resonance frequency of the exhaust). I can also hear the rattle during bumps. But again, only when the exhaust is cold.

It seems so hard to find a good mechanic. Argh.