Catching Up

Sorry for the MIA. We discovered on Friday that we've been reported for commercial spamming to our ISP, and spent a great deal of time securing our wifi system from the ghost computer that appears to have hijacked our open connection. Note to anyone with an unsecured wifi connection: just because you have a radius of about 15 feet doesn't mean they still won't find a way in.

Because of our technical difficulties, I didn't have a chance to post about what a surprisingly good time I had at Drinking Liberally on Thursday. Green Party Senate candidate Michael Cavlan was able to schedule us in between campaigning and working a night shift as an RN, and despite the obvious bias that I came to the meeting with, I found him level-headed, rational, and (gulp) agreeable. Once again I find myself frustrated in the schisming that forces the DFL to lose people to the Green Party or the progressive wing of the IP.

I think the largest issue we all had to face was the obvious Nader anger that still inhabits some of us to this day. The Antagonostic (yes, I've dubbed you, now live with it) managed to hit most of the Greens who came in with a rehash of 2000, and I have to admit, I fell into the fray to when Cavlan explained that the biggest difference between the Greens and the Dems was that the Greens would have continued to fight in Florida, where as Gore walked away. To which I tried to point out that had Nader and Buchanan not been on the ballot in the first place, it would not have been close enough to be an issue.

Yet all of this was good natured bickering, rather than a knock-down drag out (yes, Antagonostic included), no more ill-willed than the go arounds with the Crazy Uke that Spotty hits(although to be fair, the Crazy Uke is by far more well-spoken than in the Spotty version). A little good natured ribbing, some jokes about vote swaps, and even a few fireworks at the end (literal, not metaphorical) made for an excellent night.

As for the weekend, besides tech support I got to enjoy a wonderful dinner with two of my favorite ladies, A shockingly good bottle of Black Currant Wine*, and this morning a leisurely coffee and homemade quiche thanks to the loveliest man in the world.

*Black Currant Wine brought to me via ILC from Forestedge Winery, home of the Rhubarb Wine. Unlike the Rhubarb Wine, the Black Currant actually has too much smell. However, like the Rhubarb Wine, drink the first glass before you make a judgment. My first reaction was that it had too much flavor, mostly because I was doing that snooty sniff and swirl thing they teach you. This bottle had the flavor of almost a liquid jam, and Smartie actually suggested at one point we add a little water to dilute it, but I said no. Nebraska reds have the consistency on flavor of fruit juice, where as this was actually a full thick wine. Once you got adjusted, the wine no longer seemed overbearing, and instead ended up more like a very sweet syrah. However, one thing that I really loved about this bottle was that for the first time in a very long time I was able to drink more than one glass and not get a headache, as reds tend to hit me like a migraine in a glass. I realized I really miss red wines.