Kaulapi World

Had a vivid dream that I only now realized was actually either part of, or was its own recurring one.  Different parts of it seem to blend in parts or themes of other dreams.  The first part is that I’m on my way home late at night, walking through the streets of some college town after a big event where there is the sense of social unrest.

Being a college town there is a chance that it is due to college students partying too much like Halloween in Madison, or after a big sports game like in other college towns.  There is a notable police presence on the streets and for good reason I’m trying to avoid it.  As I walk the blocks, I find it harder and harder to walk, at some point I reach down and am grabbing the cracks in the sidewalk just to pull myself forward.  Every other street or so I hear the police rounding up people, and tear gas is starting to fire around.  I find a way through a side street to my house and go in through a basement entrance.

The way the entrance is designed is a series of tightly fit gates, and I have to slide my way between them to get inside.  When I see these gates, I realize that I have been here before, and know how to get in, but its been so long that I went this way I have to try it a couple of times before going in. Once I squeeze in, I reach up and pull the light switch that is a dangling string.

Once inside there is a tiny basement apartment, most notable is that there 3 TVs in the room, one large big screen, a smaller, portable one on a rolling cart, and a much smaller one on the floor.  The one on the rolling cart has a bunch of wires and attachments to it, including a custom made antenna and battery pack to run when the power is off. I get a sense that I have been here in another dream, and that I had actually been working on something here with the TVs for some purpose.

Checking the other parts of the basement, I find the bedroom and to my surprise, the little guy is snoozing in a pile of blankets.  He notices that I am home and he wakes up to see what I am up to.  We start tinkering with the antenna and try to get the portable TV working.  The last detail that I recall before waking up is that attached to the antenna is a converter box for receiving digital broadcasts which I can’t seem to get working.  I notice that on the box itself is a written disclaimer that some of the material and information from these broadcast are unregulated, and therefore are potentially illegal.

Trying out a new WordPress app on my phone to see how it might help with more regular posts than I have been making lately due to just being extremely busy with work and life in general.  If it works out well then it might come in handy during my daily commute, if anything  posting a few thoughts seems to be a little more productive than playing angry birds. 

Already noticing one glitch, after a few lines of text I can’t see what I’m writing in real time.  When I start a new paragraph it seems to correct itself.  Oh well, let’s see how this one turns out. 

Been a busy month or so both in the real life and the dream department.  Seems like whenever the conscious wold gets hectic, my mind is still working even when its officially on downtime.  Could be partly due to the fact that I’ve been working on a short range of sleep for the past few weeks, roughly 4 hours a night, which actually puts me on the earlier side in the evenings, and waking up at least a few hours before I normally head into work.

Last few nights especially have been vivid and lucid.  What strikes me about these is that they have a more emotional element, a few involve talking to people I have not connected with in several years to the point that when I woke up I wanted to track them down in real life.  In others I seem to be going on rather treacherous journeys, like in a boat overloaded to the point of it flooding, and I was the sole crew tasked with a cup to bail the water out.  Another one involved eating something that left an extremely foul taste in my mouth that continued when I woke up.  Another one had me walking through room after room of a mansion built along the shore looking for an exit.

A common theme in these all have been the feeling like there has been some kind of shift in consciousness in a form of heightened awareness or something, but what exactly I don’t know, only that there is something coming around the corner that I need to be ready for.

Another close game, another loss by the Pats.  Another way 2012 is seeming a lot like 2008.  Hopefully this is just in the football realm.  This has been an interesting season for me as far as football.  Both Wisconsin and New England got to the big game after great seasons, only to come up short at the end.

With the Pats, it was a pretty dominant season with a lot of promise, a lot of records broken, largely with the help of a bruising tight end and a more balanced team than the last super bowl run.  Unfortunately it was a similar outcome as the last visit, against the same Giants.

With the Badgers, it was a crazy year, inaugural big ten championship against a tough MSU team that won the regular season match-up on a Hail Mary pass, which was also followed by another game lost on another Hail Mary by Ohio State, and just 1 second away from attempting a Hail Mary against an explosive Oregon  team in the Rose Bowl.  With QB Wilson, the Badgers had what I’ve noticed for a long time that they needed, a mobile QB that can throw accurately to give another element to the power running game.

Don’t know why it sticks out in my mind, but this was a season in which both of my team’s QBs gave up safeties on intentional grounding calls in the end zone in big games.  Crazy season, just wish the last remaining seconds of both games came out slightly differently.  Looking forward to next year already.

Not even a few days into the new year, the first primary/caucus of the presidential 2012 election.  Lots of observations from the Iowa Caucuses, the main headline is that yet another frontrunner in the Republican primaries has emerged, that in Santorum who just lost to the assumed frontrunner Romney by a total of 8 votes.  A lesser story is that it was a Ron Paul clocking in at 21%.  With the remaining candidates further back at in the lower teens and single digits.  Given all the talk about how unelectable Ron Paul is, the fact that he came a statistical tie for the top 3 speaks volumes for the how out of touch the major media outlets are to what the average person may be thinking in this day and age.

Another little twist on the Iowa caucus results. Regardless of the outcomes of total votes, if a candidate gets at least 10% of the total vote, they get at least 2 delegates for the convention. In other words, if the 2012 primary result in a brokered convention, there is no difference between 13% and 10% (2 delegates each for 4th and 5th) and 25%, 25% and 21% (7 delegates each for 1st, 2nd, 3rd).

Looking forward to New Hampshire which is already assumed to be Romney territory from the beginning, Ron Paul comes in a distinct second place, and Santorum is way off in the single digits.  At some point all of this talk of electability or lack thereof should get ridiculous if the people keep electing him and awarding him delegates.

With a few days left in 2011 it seems right to write a quick post to sum up a huge year personally. My son is quickly approaching the 2 year mark, and has progressed all of the milestones without a hitch. Work for both me and Hana have had the expected bumps, bit have been decent so far. The parents came for a short but sweet visit, been a blast so far.

Financially, I’ve made a few risky trades that have paid off so far. Especially on the fast week, one move i made that i had second thoughts on ended up being a good one afterall. Been an interesting year, for sure. Looking forward to what 2012 will bring.

Thought I’d kill some time uploading a post. As the title suggests its a little after one and I am sitting in the Amtrak waiting area of union station waiting for the 3:15am train to New York. I’m scheduled to meet with some attorneys for work, the trip was initially supposed to be a 2 day gig, but ended up being a one day affair. Given my alternate work schedule it was a little tricky to free up some time to make the trip up the night before, so this why I’m most likely the most overdressed person in the station right now.

A little surprised how crowded the station is at this hour. Only wish there was a cafe or something open where I could hang out. The Amtrak announcement TV has already gone through a few cycles already. Mostly security notices and the usual, I’m glad I was able to arrange travel by train vs flying. Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I flew. Maybe the last work trip?

Things have been very busy lately, work, watching the little guy grow up. He’s saying a few words, in cadence like full sentences, although its still in baby talk for now. Latest on the budget front is another threat of a shutdown looming this Friday. I’ve gotten so sick and tired of worrying about it that I try not to talk too much of it, but obviously ts on the mind.

The Senate just voted yesterday to approve a measure that would open the door to the indefinite detention of US citizens.  Given the historical track record of the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII under the grounds of military necessity, I am more than ashamed that this type of legislation could get this level of support in the current representative democratic system.

Anyone who has been paying attention to the extent by which civil liberties have been outright abolished or at the very least eroded through years of attrition would be alarmed at the potential prospects of this legislation.  Some of the worst policies are created by a people driven by fear.  I hope the president has enough sense to veto this bill.

Odd and vivid dream, this time I’ve had several versions of it before realizing that it was a recurring one.   I’m in the attic of a large cathedral or temple, trying to get to an enormous chandelier fixture attached to the roof of the large hall, several 100 feet above the ground.  The fixture is so large that I can climb down it without it moving very much.  I reach the edge of the fixture easily, and then make my way to the underbelly where there is a short ledge that I can look at the rest of the temple below.  It is hard to get there, but I do it, slowly making progress. It isn’t clear why I’m trying to get there in the first place.  For the most part I’m mostly focused on getting there first.

Once I get to the ledge, there is a moment of panic that I’m stuck on the fixture, as I can’t go back the way I’ve come down.  The height of the hall suddenly becomes apparent to me, I glance up at the numerous cables attaching the fixture to the ceiling, and then have horrible images in my head about cables breaking and the whole thing crashing down to the floor.

This is where it gets weird, or at least more significant in my mind.  Suddenly I realize I am not alone, I’ve brought Hana and the little guy on the ledge and suddenly the urgency of finding a way back off the ledge becomes more dire.  We can’t stay here forever.  I close my eyes and envision the cables extending, lowering the fixture safely to the floor.  I also try to will the floor up just enough for us to step off it, and after several tries it actually moves almost to the point that it works.  Stuck again, I realize reading a manuscript that detailed the fixture has several rooms like a house, and the way to get back up is to go through the fixture, not around it the way I had originally climbed down it.

Of all the candidates for president in 2012, the one I’m the most intrigued by is the congressman from TX, Ron Paul.  Following his breakout in the 2008 election cycle for the republican nomination served as an awakening of sorts for me, partly giving some substance to some of the economic and personal leanings that I’ve had for years, but more affirming my growing understanding that the 2-party system serves more to limit the quality of political debate and really serves to maintain the status quo.  The fact is that very few people actually fit neatly in the buckets of either party, the only way someone is a hardcore Dem or Repub is if they lack the intellectual curiosity to really consider and debate the issues.  I kind of liken it to being a sports fan, some people are loyal to their teams on the basis of living in a city, or going to a particular college, and they stick with them no matter how much the team might change, coaching, or style or quality of  play.  The problem is that while this is fine for sports, its a horrible method for electing candidates to office.  I remain very much a political independent, although I have my own leanings towards one party or the other, depending on the issues.

Just like the 2008 cycle, the constant mantra from all the main stream media outlets is that he is unelectable.  I find this very suspicious as to what exactly is electable nowadays anyway?  More importantly, shouldn’t the voters themselves decide what ideas and policies they would like to see in an elected official as opposed to the corporate media? BI had a good short post about the seemingly need to pander to electorate out there, telling them that everything will be fine if they just vote for him, that we can all just keep on buying overpriced homes, keep artificially propping up markets, and keep maintaining an empire overseas with no consequence.  This type of pandering also applies to the media when it comes to candidates running for office.

One of the ways the media discounts Paul’s support is to hold internet polls following the debates and then when he ends up winning them, they put an asterisk next to his name, citing that there were irregularities in the polling to make them unofficial or unscientific, sometimes they fail to mention him at all, skipping to the next candidate as the front runner.  Apparently one effort to suppress Ron Paul’s support in internet polls went a little too far, and now the commentary has had his amazon book list and facebook page overridden by pro-Paul posts and videos. One of the messages is very clear, if he is supposedly so “unelectable” then why the obvious efforts to censor and downplay him?  I’ve come to realize that often when it comes to official media and statistics, you have to consider the alternative message often behind the story, sometimes it is brutally obvious, as ZH offers, it is because he is very electable and is very much a threat.

In a year where there is even more talk of a 3rd party run which would shake things up a lot, I think folks should pay attention to Ron Paul.  Talking to pretty hard core Dem the other day he seemed pretty confident that a 3rd party run by Ron Paul would mean an automatic re-election for Obama, being that not too many Dems have much in common with libertarian thinking.  I can’t help but wonder if this person is too quick to judgment on this one, I’m pretty sure quite a few would seriously consider him as 3rd party candidate if they were to actually sit down and listen to what he has to say.