"Capitalism is the Predatory Stage of Human Evolution"
The NJ governor has proposed that state parking lots be privatized and state workers pay for their parking. I’m afraid this is another of those “red meat” tosses to a rabid base of angry constituents who believe that unions and state workers are the cause of the budget deficit and privatization and lay-offs are the answer. I’m always amazed that the rich can convince the middle class that all their financial woes are caused by the poor. Like that line from The Usual Suspects: The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114814/quotes
I thought the following comment from yesterday in http://www.nj.com/starledger/ sums up nicely the stupidity of such supposed cost saving measures.
Posted by justthefacts March 11, 2010, 10:55PM
Instead of raging against the average state worker who earns $52,000 a year and the college educated teachers who earn an average of $62,000 per year, rage against the Private Sector who Christie's wants to turn the state over to. The Private Sector whose managers earn 277 times what their average worker earns. This is the same Private Sector who rips the State off and the citizens of this state on a daily basis. You want to rage and pick on someone try raging against the private sector instead of state workers and teachers who can't pay their own monthly bills:
Rage against the Utility Companies (PSE&G etc.) who have you over the barrel for ever increasing utility bills that are bankrupting families.
Rage against the Health Insurance Companies whose premiums are out of control and bankrupting this country.
Rage against the oil refiners (Exxon etc) who are ripping you off at the pump and causing plenty of hardship.
Rage against the banks that pick you apart with service charges and almost destroyed the economy of this country.
Rage against the brokerage companies on Wall Street and the slime balls that work for them earning millions in fees and bonuses while getting bailed out by the federal govt.
Rage against the food producers who rip you off at the supermarket.
Why in the world would you want to turn the state over to these rip-off experts? Perhaps because they primarily consist of wealthy Republicans who can profit greatly from privatization. These are the same wealthy individuals Christie is protecting from any income tax increase by shifting the costs of the state onto the backs of the poor and middle class.
Knitting Friday
Yesterday, we went for a really nice short hike at a park in Princeton, NJ. I liked it because I wasn’t wearing hiking shoes but we were able to walk over a mile on a paved path. Which means this can be a spur of the moment hiking area - no need to worry about hiking shoes. Also, the foliage was quite interesting: thick deciduous tree forests, a good sampling of pine and unpaved trails running through them
Then later we stopped at the local branch of our county library and got our library cards renewed (yes, we had let them lapse [they have pin numbers now!] but don’t forget as I’m typing this I can just turn to look at the thousands of books in this room [OK, it’s an addiction] and that’s not counting what I get from Libri Vox and Project Gutenberg on the Internet.) We wanted to renew the cards so we could log on and download audio books. That is, audio recordings of copyrighted books because at the rate I’m going I’ll be though with all the public domain stuff on Libri Vox pretty soon. (No, not really.)
While we were at the library, we looked at their extensive video collection. They must have the entire collection of Masterpiece Theater from PBS. What a treasure trove.
Walking out into the evening sky, I thought: This is the type of stuff which gets the first cut in cost savings. moves. Parks and libraries, who needs such egalitarian luxuries? I wonder if people thinking this even realize how ugly it will be when the whole world turns gray?
And now, on to knitting.
Here’s a picture of my top to bottom knitted shell. It was such an easy knit and is modeled on Mohair Minimalist which can be accessed under Patterns at Ravelry. https://www.ravelry.com/account/login The MM designer modeled her creation off another designer and my shell is a further take off from this.
My Needlework Group wants this shell to be their next mini-lesson.
They: We want to make that.
Me: How about I show you what’s available in needlework on the Internet next time?
They: No, we want to make that.
Me: (sigh)
So I guess I’m teaching this shell next month. Just to be ready, I’ve started a second one in a worsted weight with the same needles and the same number of stitches.
I differed from the MM pattern this way: My cast-on was 80 stitches. I doubled my stitches like the directions but at the bind off area, I worked: Knit 45 stitches for front, bind off 35, Knit 45 stitches for back, bind off 35. Then on the following row, I cast on 20 stitches at each bind off area.
What’s really weird is that these directions work on my original shell using fingering weight and my OTN shell using double knit weight.
My next shell (and yes, there is going to be a third one) will have a K1, P1 ribbing at the neck and not the straight stockinette stitch which causes the rolled collar. While I don’t dislike this look, I want to try a flat look at the collar.
Additionally, I did not allow the bottom hem to roll. (What a place to add extra width!) On the shell pictured, I bound off and then worked one round of single crochet followed by two rounds of extended single crochet. I probably should have added more rounds but I was getting bored. With the OTN, I’m going to drop down at least two needle sizes, US 6, and work a bottom band of seed or garter.
On shells or vest in general: Someone saw the first shell and said with a turned up nose: Oh, that’s so 1970s! Well, I guess it is but it’s also ‘30s and ‘40s and ‘50s - you get the picture. (I think I might even find such a pattern from two centuries ago.) So, I might call it a long-lived pattern. It looks great with a tee under it. In cotton, it’s a summer top. By not binding off the sleeve stitches but putting them on a holder you can go back and work the sleeves into long, short, or elbow length.
Right now, I’m thinking about making a sweater to match the black shell (I have enough yarn.)
Then, it would probably become a “closet set” and only pulled out when I had a fancyish place to go. It would get less wear but it’s not a bad thing to have that party outfit ready; especially since you know how much I hate to shop.
Happy knitting.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114814/quotes
I thought the following comment from yesterday in http://www.nj.com/starledger/ sums up nicely the stupidity of such supposed cost saving measures.
Posted by justthefacts March 11, 2010, 10:55PM
Instead of raging against the average state worker who earns $52,000 a year and the college educated teachers who earn an average of $62,000 per year, rage against the Private Sector who Christie's wants to turn the state over to. The Private Sector whose managers earn 277 times what their average worker earns. This is the same Private Sector who rips the State off and the citizens of this state on a daily basis. You want to rage and pick on someone try raging against the private sector instead of state workers and teachers who can't pay their own monthly bills:
Rage against the Utility Companies (PSE&G etc.) who have you over the barrel for ever increasing utility bills that are bankrupting families.
Rage against the Health Insurance Companies whose premiums are out of control and bankrupting this country.
Rage against the oil refiners (Exxon etc) who are ripping you off at the pump and causing plenty of hardship.
Rage against the banks that pick you apart with service charges and almost destroyed the economy of this country.
Rage against the brokerage companies on Wall Street and the slime balls that work for them earning millions in fees and bonuses while getting bailed out by the federal govt.
Rage against the food producers who rip you off at the supermarket.
Why in the world would you want to turn the state over to these rip-off experts? Perhaps because they primarily consist of wealthy Republicans who can profit greatly from privatization. These are the same wealthy individuals Christie is protecting from any income tax increase by shifting the costs of the state onto the backs of the poor and middle class.
Knitting Friday
Yesterday, we went for a really nice short hike at a park in Princeton, NJ. I liked it because I wasn’t wearing hiking shoes but we were able to walk over a mile on a paved path. Which means this can be a spur of the moment hiking area - no need to worry about hiking shoes. Also, the foliage was quite interesting: thick deciduous tree forests, a good sampling of pine and unpaved trails running through them
Then later we stopped at the local branch of our county library and got our library cards renewed (yes, we had let them lapse [they have pin numbers now!] but don’t forget as I’m typing this I can just turn to look at the thousands of books in this room [OK, it’s an addiction] and that’s not counting what I get from Libri Vox and Project Gutenberg on the Internet.) We wanted to renew the cards so we could log on and download audio books. That is, audio recordings of copyrighted books because at the rate I’m going I’ll be though with all the public domain stuff on Libri Vox pretty soon. (No, not really.)
While we were at the library, we looked at their extensive video collection. They must have the entire collection of Masterpiece Theater from PBS. What a treasure trove.
Walking out into the evening sky, I thought: This is the type of stuff which gets the first cut in cost savings. moves. Parks and libraries, who needs such egalitarian luxuries? I wonder if people thinking this even realize how ugly it will be when the whole world turns gray?
And now, on to knitting.
Here’s a picture of my top to bottom knitted shell. It was such an easy knit and is modeled on Mohair Minimalist which can be accessed under Patterns at Ravelry. https://www.ravelry.com/account/login The MM designer modeled her creation off another designer and my shell is a further take off from this.
My Needlework Group wants this shell to be their next mini-lesson.
They: We want to make that.
Me: How about I show you what’s available in needlework on the Internet next time?
They: No, we want to make that.
Me: (sigh)
So I guess I’m teaching this shell next month. Just to be ready, I’ve started a second one in a worsted weight with the same needles and the same number of stitches.
I differed from the MM pattern this way: My cast-on was 80 stitches. I doubled my stitches like the directions but at the bind off area, I worked: Knit 45 stitches for front, bind off 35, Knit 45 stitches for back, bind off 35. Then on the following row, I cast on 20 stitches at each bind off area.
What’s really weird is that these directions work on my original shell using fingering weight and my OTN shell using double knit weight.
My next shell (and yes, there is going to be a third one) will have a K1, P1 ribbing at the neck and not the straight stockinette stitch which causes the rolled collar. While I don’t dislike this look, I want to try a flat look at the collar.
Additionally, I did not allow the bottom hem to roll. (What a place to add extra width!) On the shell pictured, I bound off and then worked one round of single crochet followed by two rounds of extended single crochet. I probably should have added more rounds but I was getting bored. With the OTN, I’m going to drop down at least two needle sizes, US 6, and work a bottom band of seed or garter.
On shells or vest in general: Someone saw the first shell and said with a turned up nose: Oh, that’s so 1970s! Well, I guess it is but it’s also ‘30s and ‘40s and ‘50s - you get the picture. (I think I might even find such a pattern from two centuries ago.) So, I might call it a long-lived pattern. It looks great with a tee under it. In cotton, it’s a summer top. By not binding off the sleeve stitches but putting them on a holder you can go back and work the sleeves into long, short, or elbow length.
Right now, I’m thinking about making a sweater to match the black shell (I have enough yarn.)
Then, it would probably become a “closet set” and only pulled out when I had a fancyish place to go. It would get less wear but it’s not a bad thing to have that party outfit ready; especially since you know how much I hate to shop.
Happy knitting.
No comments:
Post a Comment