Secrets of the City

Quick! Someone invent teleportation between now and then. Getting to work is going to be so gd frustrating.

I’ve been given permission to work from home the whole week, but I really want to go in on Tuesday to see the clusterfuck, or as State Officials are saying, “business as usual”.

You’ll miss the beverage stands.

I have been thinking of taking the who RNC off. I need some time off anyhow.

Er, that’s “whole” RNC, not “Ho RNC”

I considered telecommuting, but the thought of wrestling with those oldie laptops trying to use FileNet and the internet at the same time makes my head throb.

I only have a laptop, so it really would be business as usual with me working from home.

Oh, no, there’s going to A Lot of People in St. Paul!!!

People here deal with snowstorms in the winter and an event like this is treated like a hurricane is coming through town.

Do like the nice folks at MNDot tell you to do in just about any situation.

Allow yourself extra time and increase your following distances.

Do I have to be happy about it? Gawd I hope not. I am inconvenienced since my office lies within their security zone and they took my parking lot a full month before the convention. This is worse than three stupid skating championships with a couple of wild games heaped on top.

lunch, do you know where the security zone is exactly?

It would be helpful if they mark on the maps where the busses will actually stop. Colorful lines only tell half the story.

It’s a two stage zone, with the outer ring banning all vehicles, even bicycles. It’s 35E by 10th by St. Peter by Shepard rd and Chestnut. The inner ring is where you need the frisk, making me wonder how I will approach work.

I think it would be kind of interesting to see all this play out in St. Paul up close. If you’re employed there, your bosses are going to cut you some slack. If you’re late, you have excuses.

It will be kind of a carnival atmosphere the whole week. Who knows what you’ll see. Where’s the sense of anticipation. All I see is people pissin’ like a bunch of old grannies about it.

And it’s street scene. How often does that happen in St. Paul?

Yeah, I think it will be both exciting and a pain. But at least I live outside the security zone.

I heard they can block off all streets within a 4 mile radius within 2 minutes, or something.

Someone invent teleportation between now and then

Wouldn’t that be a time machine?

Allow yourself extra time and increase your following distances.

Where does this “extra time” come from?

All I see is people pissin’ like a bunch of old grannies about it.

Says the guy who complains about everything.

Wouldn’t that be a time machine?

No, I meant teleportation needs to be invented at some point between now and then. I don’t want to travel through time, I just don’t want to drive up Minnesota St at 7:30am during that week. Though, if that were possible, I guess I could travel to the Monday following the convention.

Yeah, I was just bustin’ your chops over ambiguous sentence structure. But it reminds one I said, “I wish I had a teleportation device,” to my coworker/carpooler as we walked to the car, and she said, “why, so you could teleport to the car?” Heh. I found that pretty funny. Marshall McLuhan would have loved it.

Hey, Mister Brightside, lets take a little walk back to a simpler time when the Rat didn’t hesitate to Accentuate the Negative.

Went for a run along the river today and saw the remnants of last night’s celebration. The park along West River Parkway was covered with litter, abandoned barbecue grills and tablecloths. On Stone Arch Bridge what looked like a new American flag was stuffed in a garbage can. People sleeping everywhere.

What a depressing scene.
»» Submitted by »»» Rat at 4:30 PM on July 5

That was depressing: to see a new American flag stuffed in a pile of festering garbage.

There’s history unfolding in the backyard and people are complaining because they might have to walk a couple blocks. Bumper to bumper traffic? — man, who has ever seen that?

I saw the Democratic Convention in Atlanta in ‘88. It was just exciting to be in the same city.

Whatever thrill there is, it’ll be gone when you see John McCain stuffed in a pile of festering garbage.

According to a friend who works at Traveler’s, they were highly encouraged to take vacation time and those who dare go into the office should be prepared for the chance that they’d be locked in for their own security, maybe even over night.

“Locked in for their own security” by who? Doesn’t sound entirely legal to me.

Don’t confuse me more a McCain voter, Kurtis.

But that’s a pretty disturbing picture you paint.

You have that much hate?

*for a McCain voter.

should be prepared for the chance that they’d be locked in for their own security, maybe even over night.

That’s a story you could tell for the rest of your life.

You have that much hate?

Well I didn’t say I’d be the one to do it. FTR, I was making fun of you, not McCain.

That’s a story you could tell for the rest of your life.

Nope, doesn’t seem worth it.

maybe even over night.

Really. Hm.

It’s not ‘68 and Chicago. It’ll be fine.

I was planning to bus to the Daily Show, but now I’m not so sure. I don’t know where the Daily Show is in relation to the security zone. Can someone less clueless tell me how to get there? Crap, maybe I’ll just take a cab.

Whatever thrill there is, it’ll be gone when you see John McCain stuffed in a pile of festering garbage.

I’d be thrilled to pay money to see that.

I’m with Rat on this one. It’ll be fun to see what happens/plays out/goes down in good old Saint Paul. I’m doing my non-partisan civic duty by volunteering in the areas of finer logistics arrnagement and I can’t wait to see what sorta show my sleepy mid-sized city can put on.

And looks like the #74 will get me close enough.

I’d be thrilled to pay money to see that.

Tough crowd.

The Daily Show is well outside the security zone. It is on Cedar, where a lot of buses will be traveling and where the protesters will be marching. I would take the bus. A taxi won’t get you there faster and will be much more expensive.

I am looking forward to this circus. It’s sort like a natural disaster, pretty cool to watch even if it is messing stuff up.

*sort of like

Alas, I am too late to put in my two bits.

The bus isn’t going to be so bad, but I’m still happy it won’t interfere with my bike route, other than adding some traffic.

One of my good friends works at the EX and is actually going to be working 3 of the four nights of the RNC. He said that the Secret Service is basically running the show for everything. I’m sure the stories will be fantastic.