I can't take this long distance relationship any more. Fridge, you're coming to my room!

Yeah, this is a departure from the normal lighthearted pic usually located in this spot, but this car is just too beautiful not to appear at the top of this otherwise lame post. That's a '63 Buick Riviera on Craigslist in San Diego. They guy is asking $17k for it and if I had the spare change...! The 60's were a high point in U.S. car design (think the Impalas, Chryslers, etc.). The late 50's and very early 60's featured tons of chrome and ever bigger fins. By '63 the fins were gone, chrome was more proportionate, and lines were smoothing out. This one has no rust, a gorgeous red leather interior, and a distinctive sloping dash.
Be still, my heart.

People who are born, live, and die in the same state may think we're a fairly homogenous nation. Nope. And AZ is proof of just how distinctive each of the 50 can be.
(If you live in CA all you have to do is drive from one end of the state to the other, which is almost like driving into a different country.)
AZ has a wild west culture dominated by fiercely conservative people who love their guns and don't want govt. telling them what to do. We're one of only two states with no - zero, nil, zilch - laws restricting cell phone use while driving. Want to text while driving 75 mph (legally) on I-10? No problem! Want to wear your gun into Denny's? No permit required!And if your firearm of choice is an AK-47, wear it proudly.
Yep, this is the state that gave us Barry Goldwater, a governor wagging her finger in the President's face on the tarmac, and an anti-immigrant bill that made it all the way to the Supreme Court to be gutted.

But every once in awhile the state legislature, never hesitant to think outside the box, exercises some good common sense, something not so common in most state houses. They're voting on a bill today that would withhold the name of any LEO involved in an officer involved shooting for 30 days unless that officer is charged with a felony or gives permission for his/her name to be released.

Those opposed to the bill, including the ACLU (to no one's surprise) say that the power to potentially take a life is the epitome of the state's authority (agreed) and requires the greatest level of accountability, not the opacity of anonymity.

Keeping the officer's name out of the press for 30 days will not compromise accountability; it only protects him/her from vigilante justice. The officer will be subject to the same internal review procedure and/or be investigated by an outside agency. Every department I've ever heard of puts the officer on paid leave, or at least administrative duty until all the facts are gathered.

Of the several things we learned from the Darren Wilson/Michael Brown incident is how badly people can behave when an injustice - real or perceived - comes in a confrontation with law enforcement. Withholding the officer's name for 30 days seems like a prudent thing to do, giving time for an investigation to issue at least a preliminary report without the added pressure of the officer's name becoming a byword in the community.

I hope they pass the bill.

BTW, the AZ legislature recently passed a bill requiring H.S. seniors to pass a very basic civics test, one much easier than that required for someone seeking citizenship. Several other states are looking at that law as a template for similar legislation.

The Presbyterian Church USA has just dropped the words "man and woman" in describing the state of marriage, thus removing their final barrier to full inclusiveness. They already permitted gay pastors and gay weddings if the local congregation approved. This latest action removes any hint of a traditional heterosexual view of marriage from their church documents.
Anybody remember the Angela Davis move by that church.

A couple of nights ago I posted a pic of the rose garden. All but one are floribunda but the one grandiflora is starting strong. This is the first I've cut off that bush because it didn't do well last year. None of them did. So I redesigned the watering system, ripping out the drip system and going to bubblers that flood the bed, and that seems to have done the trick. These are very fragrant and have this part of the house smelling wonderfully.

I had coffee this morning with Sherwood, a snow bird in town for a couple of months with his wife Maureen. They now live in Seattle but we met when they were my dorm parents. Fun to touch base and catch up.

I used washers as spacers, three per stud, and now the rear wheels turn freely. This is a perfectly OK temporary fix until I can get it to AZ Differential and get the correct length axles.

I got the right front fender on, sort of. One of the attachment points doesn't line up and, I suspect, never has. There's evidence somebody tried to fix the problem using a cutoff saw. Fortunately, they gave up before doing real damage ("Henry, you sure you want to do that?") and it looks like they just left that point of the fender unbolted. Tomorrow I'll work on what I think is a more appropriate fix by enlarging the hole the bolt goes through so it lines up with the captive nut.

My gym workout this afternoon included jumping rope. It took me forEVer to get good enough to do 100 without a fail. I come home and CBS news has this as their closing segment.
I'd love to see them in person.