Running hot and cold

For my readers in the South, you’re not gonna like this, but I have to report: I’m cold.

I’m wearing a sweatshirt in my house. It’s August. I have to bundle my baby up to take him out. (And I’m not a bundler.)

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I note that Metro Davidson’s [Nashville] school buses do not have AC. I had two thoughts:

Thought One:
Ha – those kids need to suck it up. Try commuting on the Underground when we do get a hot August. It’s hotter than EU regulations allow – if you’re transporting animals – no regulations exist for maximum allowable temps for transporting London commuters. It’s crowded. And there’s the underlying current of concern over the continued smooth running of the line. This concern is ready to tip over into panic at any moment – since the Tube trains have a tendency to stall in any weather that isn’t dry and with temps hovering between 45 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. And there’s not much worse than being stuck for upwards of an hour, stood with your face in your neighbour’s armpit, sweating, straining to understand the driver’s announcements. (Unless, of course, this happened in the Summer of ‘05 when we weren’t just worried about trains stalling.)

And the smell… best not to mention the smell.

But, I admit, this is not a charitable thought. And the children…won’t somebody (me?) please think of the children? I mean what would I do if Cletus were faced with such conditions? Knowing me – I’d probably tell him tales of commuting on the London Underground.

Thought Two:
At a cost of $15,000 a bus, I’m not sure Metro should be retrofitting air conditioning. They really only need the AC a few weeks a year. As the bus fleet is replaced, perhaps they could invest in a little cooling.

But I also note that Metro schools are open only half days this week because of the heat. (Here’s Nashville News 2 film on that) – although there is a positive note:

Brunch will be served at all schools.

How civilised.

You know what. It’s the South, it’s August, it’s hot. Yes, I know it’s not usually that hot – not like it has been this year – but it’s usually pretty darn hot. In August, kids should be at the pool, not sweating in school.

So why not roll back the start of the academic year? I don’t really understand how it crept so far forward anyway. (Was it to match up with the semester schedule of the state Universities?) To be fair, the Mayor said a later start would be considered. I think Tennessee parents should push for it.

Cuba libre

A Nashville blogger (and kick ass funny one at that) may be getting the nod to head to Iraq.

Apparently, he’s read the travel brochures and isn’t keen:

My biggest question is why do we keep invading crap holes?

We’ve got nice tropical paradise with a dictator, just 90 miles south of Key West. I could swim on to the beach with a pistol in one hand and a mojito in the other.

For some reason, I just can’t shake the Daniel Craig as Bond image from my head. I assume that he has both the pistol and the mojito just under the water protected by a zip-lock baggie and an Aladdin thermos respectively.

And the other thought I have – and at the risk of sounding like a paleo-con, invading crap holes instead of tropical locales is just one more area where Bush diverges from the Reagan legacy.

And finally, I hope it ain’t so, but if it is so – Short and Fat – I wish you luck and full requisitions of the appropriate body and vehicle armor.

Bidness advisory service

I’ve see the stuff going around about Mothership BBQ. I haven’t had a chance to eat there yet. But I’d really like to try it.

Hang in there, man. Most new businesses have some cash flow issues in their first year. It’s tough. I know you’re looking for some investors and I hope that’s going well. But have you thought about perhaps diversifying a little bit?

Here’s one business model you may have overlooked:

Lawrenceburg, TN ‘96 or ‘97 – I’ve been scanning in old photos!

Designer jeans

When I was being educated at the expense of Metro Nashville taxpayers it was the early 80s. Designer jeans were all the rage. I didn’t have any.

Now maybe my parents could have afforded some designer jeans, but I was given to believe – that we were suffering financial difficulties as a family. And I guess we were. I was young, in sixth grade, and I took this on myself. I did want the designer jeans. But I didn’t want to ask for them. Even though I was being bullied for my lack of “proper attire”. Like seriously bullied – like during outdoor play periods kids took time out of what they might have been doing to ask me questions – pointed, unpleasant questions – about my wardrobe. Or lack thereof.

So I borrowed my mom’s one pair of Gloria Vanderbilt jeans and her New Balance branded shoes – yes, I still remember them. Of course, they didn’t really fit very well – me being pre-teen and her not. And I wore them pretty much every day. I’m not sure my mom knew this because she left for work early and middle school started late. And now the kids had something else to pick on me for – wearing pretty much the same thing to school every day.

Now fortunately, I changed schools the following year, and this designer bullying wasn’t part of the culture. But I still remember it.

And so – Metro schools has passed a “Standard School Attire” rule – a kind of quasi uniform rule. And most folks don’t seem to think it’s such a hot shot idea. But I do.

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On the bright side, ever since then I’ve absolutely hated anything with designer labels on the outside, especially anything that had big or overt branding on it. I’m sure this has saved me a lot of money over the years.