Happy Birthday, Ladypoetess!

Rumor has it that it's ladypoetess's birthday today.

Happy Birthday! Conga-rats to you!

Wishing you good health, wealth and laughter in the year to come. (And a better job soon!)

To be blunt, Venture Capitalists --

This is not a good time for you to be buying up apartment complexes and dumping 1 million dollars per complex into them to "beautify them." Occupancy is already at 96% here -- in theory. I know my lovely complex is scrambling right now because a horde of people gave their 60 day notice when I did.

We gave notice because we can't afford to live here anymore. In my case, it's the apartment or the health insurance that has to go, so I am struggling to hang onto my insurance for a couple more months. We will be adding to the congestion on the highways, living further out in an attempt to live close to a market where there are jobs.

The jobs are not paying enough to cover the rent increases (the average rent increase in Austin in 2011 was 8.1 percent. I'm sure that fit in just fine with your 33% health insurance increase, 25% electricity increase, and proportionate water & trash pickup increase. And no pay raise.)

Then there's the cost of gasoline. Enough said.

No wonder so many friends are taking in renters. Privacy may be a thing of the past for the blue and dwindling middle class.

This Maryland group will continue to buy up properties. Since desperate, hopeful people are moving here and can't get loans to buy houses, they'll keep taking the apartments. But those of us still recovering from whatever the recession dealt us are Not Amused.

Monday AM Inside Internet Joke --

Seen at Woot!'s Apocalyptic tee shirt sale:

Don’t wear this shirt: if you work for Google. They’ll redesign it to make it “sleek” and “new” and “irritating to use.”

Favorite Cryptic Piece of Paper on Desk --

"...it's like a Russian nesting doll of intellectual theft!"

-- Stephen Colbert (I think about The Huffington Post)

As Humans Become Aware of "El Gordo"

RT @NewsHour Giant Galaxy Cluster, Blue Stars and Cosmic Explosions http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2012/01/giant-galaxy-cluster-blue-stars-and-space-clouds.html

As We Enter the Political Season

Let's remember that of course we're going to disagree -- it's a tenet of democracy. The fermentation of ideas, expressed with enthusiasm -- that's us at our best.

But it's how we resolve our differences that makes up who and what we are.

As Professor Robert Reich pointed out, it took a couple of comedians to bring that point home.

Obama and his Critics, both Liberal and Conservative

Repeating something I posted over at Facebook --

Here's a Newsweek magazine article worth reading -- about President Obama and what he's been doing the past three years. I knew about a lot of this, but I have not seen it laid out so simply and cleanly, by a conservative who voted for Obama and then screamed about presidential actions for the first two years.

Turns out Obama has been playing the long game -- and has done or started almost everything he promised. He just hasn't done it as a liberal crusader, because that's not who he is. He's an adult, acting with generous, capable adult calm. That's why I voted for him. We need an adult at the helm.

From Newsweek magazine, reprinted on the author's blog. Not the New York Times. Not Fox News. So it's safe to go read it, whichever side of the political wars you claim.

Go on. I double dare you! {grin}