And Now, For Something Completely Different

I've been on a streak with the political and religious stuff so I figured I'd shift gears back to the third leg in my posting stool and talk about me again.

I think, as a human as most of us are, that we react to how other people react to us. No matter how much you may deny it, a certain part of your personality and self-worth is going to be defined in this way. The amount of that self-worth will vary greatly between person and during your lifetime.

For example, it wasn't too many years ago that I derived a great part of my self-worth from how I felt people related to me. And it was even less time ago that critisim of any sort really cut to the bone (like a matter of months on that one). That isn't to say that critisim still doesn't hurt or that if everyone suddenly turned their back on me I wouldn't be crushed, it just means that I have an easier time now taking it stride and not letting if affect my self-worth.

To put it another way, you can't control what a person says or does to you but you can control your reaction to it. If someone says something hurtful, whether purposely hateful or supposedly constructive, you can either internalize that and start doubting yourself and your motives...or you can really be in touch with who you are and let it slide off your back or take it for the constructive critisim that it is. I certainly picked the first option quite a bit in the past and still do from time to time, but I am falling on the second option more and more.

What are your experiences with this?

Jimmy Carter - The Man

See, if we only listened to Jimmy back in the day...

The Media, The Primaries and Sexism

So by now everyone should know how much I loathe the media, primarily the TV gas bags and blow hards. Last night was AWESOME in-so-much that it was egg on their collective faces. I would love to see that happen more often. Maybe get these dipshits to talk about the canditates based on their issues and now their 'tears'. Jesus.

Anyway, here in Lou Dobbs saying pretty much the same thing. Although his claiming independence is shit, but whatever.

And because my bitching at Mathews went over so well last time, here he is again proving my point. Oh, and this. I like how she totally brushes him off at the end and he is all red faced. Good lovin.

Speaking of sexism, here is an article I lined to in the Iowa thread that talks about it. And here is the famous back rub to the Germany Chancelor by the Frat-Boy-In-Chief back at the G8 summit. What an embarassement that guy is.

So do I think sexism has something to do with the HRC compagin, whether for it or against, you damn well bet I do. I think the evidence is clear.

It'll be a REAL interesting 11 months.

The HRC 'Upset' In NH

Bullshit.

Clinton won in NH because she has been aiming at it for the past year. She had much more of a network there than anyone else and she has been working the state longer than anyone. To think that the tears or whatever is what pulled her ahead of Obama is silly. It only became an 'upset' because our all-knowing press corp made it one, not because of reality.

God I hate the press.

I will add that I love how wrong the press got this one. They were already writing HRC off and I find that funny. Almost as funny as Huck, but not quite. They fancy themselves king makers and that is just wrong.

NH and South Carolina

Since I rocked with my Clinton win prediction in NH I figure I'll toss some out for South Carolina. Michigan doesn't really count because it really isn't a contest.

South Carolina is interesting. The primary system as it is today was put in place in the 60's. I'm not totally sure on the exact dates but I believe during the Goldwater revolution in the Republican party and the rise of the 'southern strategy' during Reagan and the exodus of the Dixiecrats from the Democratic party, South Carolina was envisioned as a fire wall from any non-establishment canaditate in the Republican party (how do you like that run-on sentence). A recent example of this strategy in work was the 2000 election when Bush beat McCain in SC and then on to win the nomination. Bush was the establishment canaditate and SC did exactly what it was meant to do, it weeded out the garbage. Of course, the famous 'McCain fathered a black son' push poll helped.

So, it is with a fair amount of glee and irony that SC, the firewall to protect the establishment, may very well propel Huckabee towards the nomination against the establishments wishes. So funny. You can't write this stuff.

On the Dem side, this one is tough. Edwards is very strong in SC and he could make a strong showing. I'm betting he pulls in second if he decides to make a stand there, although I'm betting he makes his stand on Feb 5th. It'll be a fight for 1st but I bet Obama wins with Hillary in 3rd...basically a repeat of Iowa just closer.

In summary, on the Repub side Huck, McCain then Romney. On the Dem side Obama, Edwards, Clinton.

"Freedom of Religion not Freedom from Religion"

I saw this quote and it doesn't sit well with me. Why wouldn't a freedom of religion also include a freedom from religion? This quote, to me, implies that as long as you worship something that is ok, but if you don't worship anything that isn't accepted.

Why The Hate, Part Two

So after writing my first post about this and kinda exploring where I was coming from I've had some time to think about it and chat about it with some others. In doing so a couple of events I had forgotten about came up and some further thoughts, so I thought a follow-up would be a good thing.

I was actually kinda surprised of the conclusion I finally ended up with...although it totally makes sense. The whole 'preying on the weak' thing really gets under my skin and that is what I feel keeps happening. A better way to describe the 'weak' however, and to tie it into stuff I have been saying for a while, is that the people must vunerable and whom tend to be targetted simply lack perspective. They don't have anything to compare what is being told to them against. Therefore, why wouldn't it make sense? As far as they know, it is what everyone does, right? While is more true for the younger people I think someone in a confused state (like High School) can fall into this as well.

Ok, so they experience I had forgotten about was with Young Life. This is, on the surface, a pretty cool organization. They get a bunch of High School kids together and go do stuff with them. It is very social and a good way to hang out and get to know people. However, just like the guy at the High School with his flyers I feel they misrepresent themselves to you at the start. Maybe not everyone but in my case I thought it was just a social organization, I didn't realize the purpose was to bring people together to experience Christ or whatever. That didn't start happening until later and it really just turned me off from them.

Anyway, to wrap all this up. Religion serves a good purpose when it is up-front and personal. When it prays on those that lack perspective and have nothing to compare it against, or hides what the true goals are, that is when it crosses a line and I think does a dis-service.

LOST!

So let me tell you about one of the many reasons I really like LOST!.

I was watching TV about 15 minutes ago and saw a commerical for Oceanic Airlines. If you are a follower of LOST! you may recall that Oceanic Airlines is the airline that crashed on the island in LOST!. The commerical had a website URL at the end: www.flyoceanicair.com. Now even if you have never seen LOST! click on it and watch the video to the end. It's good stuff.

This isn't the first time they have done this. Two summer's ago it was an entire online mystery spread out all over the Internet through secret pages and clues embedded in some sponsers like Jeep. Last summer was something a bit similiar but required more cooperation from fans to work out. In both cases (and this one too) it adds back story and answers some questions (such as what those numbers mean).

Apparently this one just started. The first episode is what I stumbled on 15 minutes ago. The next one comes out in 18 hours.

Yay LOST!

Why The Hate

So Bunny brought up a question and it is one I've heard before. Did someone in my past shove religion down my throat so hard that it scarred me and thus sent me on this crusade to rant against it so much. Ok, maybe not that starkly but you get the idea.

The answer in a nutshell is I can't point to one or two events that soured me. My views evolved over time and they continue to evolve. Who knows if I will be on the same lines I am now in 10 years, I doubt it. That is part of the fun, though.

Anyway, time to explore. I'm just more or less going to write down what I think influenced me and see what pops out.

My parents took my brother and I to First Christain Church in Hagerstown somewhat regularly. We would also go to Bible School over the summer's for a few years and did the one hour class after the main ceramony each Sunday as well. There would be times I would skip going or feign sickness, but I did that with school as well. I certainly wasn't against religion or anything at that age, it was all that I knew and I just assumed everyone went through it. I was just soooooooo bored in the ceramonies.

Time passed and we started going less and less and then just on special occasions, which was fine with me. I discovered some of my friends didn't go regularly and I remember a particular episode of a that TV show with the rich family taking in the two black kids regarding switching of to Judaism that started my first thoughts that not everyone was Christian. Looking back that was a bit of a shock to me.

Believe it or not, and I am somewhat ashamed to admit this now, I was a Rush fan for a bit and read two of his books. Some of what he said made sense to me and fit with some of the lessons I learned through church. Leslie can vouch that I refused to have sex for quite a while, for example. And I had other much more socially conservative values through High School. However, I was anything but a practicing Christian although I was very confused for a while. I recall an someone coming to the High School and passing out flyers that there would be a conference in the auditorium after school to talk about self-confidence and such. It turned out to an evangelical Christain talking about God and offering everyone to come down and be saved. At the time I actually went through it and became 'saved'. Now I look at that very differently.

Never during this time was I political in any real way, certainly not progressive like I am now. I hated Clinton during the 1992 election and was not happy when he was elected. I liked Reagan and Bush, etc. However, as I look back at all this now I can honestly say these views came from listening to other people and not really looking at what was going on nor by challenging my views. They were just adopted from others I assumed knew more and had my best interests at heart.

So when did it change? I have written about when my politics changed and I guess to a degree my views on religion started to then as well. My politics changed, and this happened pretty starkly, when I was in California working for Postal Innovations for 5 weeks. All I had was the job, so no social life. I remember every morning it would be all OJ all the time, and I remember being absolutely disgusted with it. That is what clued me in to how silly the mainstream media became and I started to not trust it as more. Then the Whitewater/Lewinsky witch hunt started and that is what pushed me left in a big way very fast. You want to talk about a fishing expedition that is example A of one.

That is when the I started to realize that the religious right had really gotten into power and was faith as a basis for law and not logic. That is probably the point I started to really examine motives and such. However, I was still not really pissed about stuff yet.

In steps the 2000 election and all the crap that has happened in the past 7 years. The Terri Shavio case puts what I rant against into perspective better than anything I could ever say. That entire episode shows just how powerfull faith has become in a place where faith is more of an obstacle than not. You can't argue with people about faith by its very nature. You have the Brownbeck's and Santorum's of the world pushing faith as the basis of law and that is clearly outlawed in the constitution.

In addition, you have a pretty underhanded way some people go about preying on people. That guy in High School is a prime example of it and it does bother me a lot. There was nothing about religion in the flyer and that type of person preys on people at age when they are confused and are looking for something with more meaning. The 'Jesus Camp' people are even scarier because they are preying on kids that don't even know what the heck is going on.

I guess what really bothers me, and what really fuels me, is that I was in a position that these people were in and looking back more people did try to prey on my insecurities and almost were successfull. I just happen to be lazy enough not to follow up on stuff that I let it slide and never went anywhere with it. As I said before, religion is deeply personal and I believe should be discovered by yourself. When it is 'passed down' or, worse, indoctrinated based on your insecurities or confusion or doubts it crosses a line and becomes dangerous. And this is true for any religion, hell for anything really.

Oh, one other point. Back when I really started becoming poltical I talked with a guy who was solidly in the religious right corner, nice guy though. Anyway, this was at a time when Bush was nominiating Ashcroft as the AG. I let this guy actually convince me that because Ashcroft was so devotely religious he could be trusted and would be a good choice. God what a dumbass I was. That was more or less the final nail in the coffin for me and believing that just because you were devotely religious you would be trustworthy in office.

In summary, I guess it is the preying on the weak that I get the most upset about because I was one of the weak for quite some time and I was preyed upon. That's why I keep saying that when people have well-thought out views and know why they believe what they believe, I have no problem with that. But when a person just spouts what they heard the last gasbag on TV say or whatever, I get kinda bent out of shape. I feel like they are being taken advantage of and so I challenge the heck out them.

Hurray for self discovery. Thanks for the question, Jesse.

Die, Spam, Die

Ha ha! Take that evil doer!

Marriage, Progressive Tax Codes and State Rights

Figured I would answer Joe's comments to the 'I Am Progressive' post in a new post since it would be more fun that way.

Regarding marriage, he brings up a good point. Basically he is saying (if I understand correctly) that marriage, being conducted by churchs and the like, is a religious institution and as such, the special benefits married couples received is a violation of church and state. I actually agree with this arguement. Ideally the government should be in the business of civil unions and the churches the marriage bit. That way, you take the entire 'marriage is the union of a man and a woman' out of the equation of whether or not you receive government tax breaks and the like and just leave it to the churchs to work that out. When people get hitched, they go down to the City Hall, get it notorized or whatever as a civil union, then do whatever religious or pagan or whatever ceremony they want to do as far as marriage goes and yer all done. To me that makes a lot more sense then what you have now.

Regarding the progressive tax code question. A progressive tax code is what we have now in which you are taxed at a higher rate the more you make. This is different than a regressive or flat tax where everyone is taxed at the same rate or you levy a heavier sales tax to make-up the short fall. The theory is 10% of someone's income for someone making $20,000 is a lot more to them than 10% of someone making $200,000 in terms of standard of living, etc. This is something I agree with.

Finally, state's rights. I believe Joe's question boils down to stronger state's rights equals more division between the states and within the country as a whole. While there is a certain amount of truth to this, I believe states are in a better position to identify the needs of their population and to react to those needs faster and more effeciently than the federal government. Additionally, the needs of your California's and New York's are very different thatn the needs of your Kansas's and Texas's, so the 'one size fits all' of the Feds doesn't always make sense. With that said, I also believe the Federal government has a strong role to play. I'm just not sure where the line is. What I do know is that it is too far on the fed side now.

Iowa

So Obama wins big, Edwards is second and HRC is third. Not a bad turn out. Obama wins that big because Richardson played king maker and asked that his caucus members vote for Obama, otherwise those results may have turned out the same but it would have been A LOT closer.

Unfortunately, I fear Obama's victory may be short lived. The HRC machine was never really banking on Iowa and has always focused on NH first. That kinda sucks because I would prefer an Obama presidency over a HRC one and an Edwards over both. Hopefully some miracle happens but there it is.

On the other side of the fence you have Huck trashing everyone else. Mitt came in second but pretty weakly. I think that was more or less predicted. What is interesting on that side is how well Paul and McCain did and how lousy Rudy did. Although Rudy is betting on Florida and bigger states so he more or less didn't campaign in Iowa or NH, so I guess that isn't that much of a surprise. But Paul and Thompson tied for 4th and McCain is 3rd, not bad. NH will be really interesting.

Go Huck!

I bet you never saw me saying that coming!

It's awesome. It is almost as good as a Ron Paul victory. Why? Because it is TOTALLY screwing the Republican elites that have been using the religious right to do their bidding but screwing them in the end. Bush was never more than a token but Huck is the real thing and it has the power players of the right flipping out.

Check this out for some insight. Here is the money line that more or less sums it up:

But Huckabee, despite an inept last week of campaigning, has forced the Republican party to face the Wal-Mart shoppers that they have long taken advantage of. He’s here. He’s Gomer. And he’s not going away.

So funny.

Go Huck!

Religious Clarification

Meant to do this a week or so ago.

Over a very enjoyable discussion with some friends before x-mas it was expressed to me that I tend to generalize in my rants about religion. I believe that as far as this blog goes that view is probably correct. When I discuss religion with people in person I tend to lay out the following clarification and I don't believe I ever did the same here.

Most people of the religious type, and I mean the vast majority, I have absolutely no issue with and, in fact, am jealous of to some degree. I believe religion is deeply personal and can provide a person with a certain comfort that I just don't have in my life.

When I rant about religion I am mostly ranting against those that try to push religion down my throat. Those people that mix religion and politics or who are just as busy brainwashing the young of America as those they rail against are in Islam or whatever (see Jesus Camp, for a great example of this). I believe that kind of religion is extremist and that is what I rant against, not the everyday average believer with whom I have no problem.

So while my language can be interpreted sometimes as being generalist, I do not mean it to and I hope this post clarifies that.

I Am Progressive

I believe in the separation of Church and State.
I believe in the power of the individual voter.
I believe that, when run effectively, social programs are a vital part of a thriving society.
I believe that the free market needs some regulation, although perhaps not as much as it currently has.
I believe in stronger state's rights.
I believe in labor unions.
I believe in evolution.
I believe that marriage doesn't have to be between a man and a woman.
I believe in a woman's right to choose and that stem cells are not babies.
I believe in government transparency.
I believe in three separate but equal branches of government, not in a unitary executive.
I believe there is too much special interest money in government.
I believe the War on Terror is not a war but should be a police action, as it is in the rest of the world.
I believe in a progressive tax code and the estate tax.
I believe that a strong middle class is the key to a strong economy and that ours is shrinking.
I believe that politics in Washington are very partisan and combative but that is a sign of strong democracy.
I believe the Federal government does have a lot of waste and can be run more effciently, but a certain amount of red tape is desireable.
I believe in some common sense gun control measures but am undecided where to draw the line.
I believe universal healthcare is not socializim and that our society could benefit greatly from it.
I believe that a strong, questioning press corps is vital for a successful democracy and that ours is anything but strong and questioning.
That is what being a progressive means to me.

Iraq

Yes, another one. However, I'm going to endeavor to keep away from the snark and just lay down some general history here.

Long before Iraq was Iraq, there were the Shia and Sunni tribes, or Islam denominations. The differences between the two are religious and have been for a very long time. There is no love lost between the two.

Before WWI the two tribes were at something of an uneasy peace. I believe they existed within the vast Ottoman Empire so there wasn't a lot of competition for resources and the like. I'm not totally sure on this, they may have been beating on each other then as well but it was an internal matter within the Empire.

Anyway...after WWI, the Ottoman Empire was split up into the Middle East as it is now. The borders were drawm up by the western powers and were mostly drawn around oil supplies. The peoples culture was not taken into account (see Israel and Palestine for another example). This is when it all started to go to hell.

Artifical borders were placed around the Sunni and Shia and they were made to inhabit the same land. It is like taking blood rivals and sticking them in a cage match.

Iraq went through a variety of attempted monarchs and other puppet governments of Britain before the Brits gave up and a dictatorship was born. The dictators were able to keep the Sunni's and Shia's from tearing each other apart through some pretty nasty means and by regulating one tribe to second class citizens.

In steps Saddam. Saddam was a Sunni. The Sunni sect is the majority in Iraq and is indeed the largest denomination of Islam. Saddam brutally repressed the Shia minority for years.

Then we step in and kill Saddam. This is where it starts to get messy and ironic. By killing Saddam and attempting to force a democratic government in Iraq, we take the Sunnis out of power and put the Shia minority in power. This happened because the Sunnis did not believe the elections were fair and boycotted them, thus assuring themselves a minority in the new government despite being the majority of the population. Without someone to brutally enforce order the Shia and Sunnis start to shoot at each other. The Shia minority wanted revenge for being stepped on al those years and the Sunni, well who knows. I guess they didn't like being shot out or being kicked out-of-power.

Here is where the irony comes in. The Shia are more-or-less in power in Iraq. Iran is supposedly the next immenient threat. Guess what most of Iran's population is and their entire government? You guessed it, Shia. You see despite Saddam's faults, and there were many, his Sunni Iraq was a counter-balance to Shia Iran. With the Shia now in power in Iraq, and the Shia in control in Iran, and Sunni's running the show in most of the rest of the Middle East...it seems a pretty sure thing that once we leave Iraq there will be a Iran/Iraq alliance of some sort.

That is the pickle we have gotten ourselves in. The deal was done as soon as we invaded. The only thing staying in Iraq does at this point is delay the inevitable and just gets our people killed. There is no way to leave without all hell breaking loose but that was a given the moment we envaded. It is not a justification for staying there.

Dread Then Not

So for the past few months I had this unsettling feeling of dread regarding 2008. I don't know why. It bothered me for a while, even though I tried not to focus on it.

Last week, it went *poof*. It is no longer there. Now I feel excited about 2008.

The changed happened about the same time I decided to stop letting my life continue on its little downward spiral. I have just been going through the motions for sometime now. Heck, not even all the motions. My house is a wreck, bills were piling up, etc. So one day last week I finally got tired of it. I sat down, made a budget that will put me in the black by the end of January (don't expect anything expensive for x-mas this year), made appointments with my shrink, psychologist and a medical doctor (haven't seen one in years) for a general checkup. And I started cleaning the house last night.

This is a general cycle for me but this time it went deeper than usual. That bothers me but at least I feel like I'm on the up swing finally.

Yay me.

Gitmo!

So I was coming into work today and I was listening to CSPAN Radio because they sometimes have some testy stuff that is interesting to me. Today they were listening to the testimony Mark Denbeaux, a professor at Seton Hall. What he and some of his students did was to take the official DoD files on all of the Gitmo detainees and analyze them. Their premise was to take whatever the files said as fact and try to categorize what the population at Gitmo actually looks like. The findings were surprising, to say the least.

There are two statements that are put out into the public discourse that are taken as fact regarding Gitmo. First, that the majority of the population in Gitmo were captured on the battlefield firing at US Troops. Second, that 30 prisoners that have been released have rejoined the fight on the battlefield. The study speaks to the first point, the second he addressed in his testimony.

Regarding the first point - and remember, this is all from the official DoD files - only 5% of the detainees were captured by US Forces. 55% of the total were found not to have committed any hostile acts against US or coalition forces. He testified that only 21 of the combatants were captured on the battlefield. Of those 21, only 1 was actually engaged in a hostile act against US Forces.

Pretty remarkable.

Regarding the second point, 15 of the 30 released cannot be located. Of the 15 that they know of, 3 made a documentary in London which somehow equates to returning to the fight. 7 are in a refugee camp which somehow equates to returning to the fight.

Seems the message and justifications for Gitmo may just be a little misleading.

Here is the report. The testimony should be available at Congresses website sometime later this week. It was in the Judiciary Committee.

Product Lifecycle

This more or less accurately describes the product lifecycle.

Religious Hirearchy

Ok, this one is funny, not serious. The Buddas are what crack me up.

Chris Mathews

To expand on my post yesterday, specifically about Mathews, check out this series of posts for an eye-opening look into this well respected 'journalist'.

You know, challenge your assumptions and stuff.

Politcal Media (and HRC!) Rant

I admit I am torn about HRC. Well the right tries to paint her as a socialist I have yet to see an argument that gets even close to making that case once you look at what she actually said. I do believe that the level of neurotic obsession with Bill and Hillary will make it hard to ever get any sort of respectable reporting out of the media, however...and I don't know that that will be helpful.

Just look at all the bullshit stories about her hairstyle, clothing, cleavage and her laugh and the continued obsession with her marriage. When do we get the adolescent coverage of Rudy's multiple marriages? Or Fred's? Don't hold your breath.

Some of these pundits, even 'respectable' ones like Mathews or Russert, just have this fascination with the Clintons that just doesn't make sense. It is like an addiction and they can't let go. And don't even get me started on Fox 'News'.

Maybe if the media could stop being gossip mongers and actually do real journalism we could start to really get to know the candidates positions, not just what the anchors think about their hair. When the hell did news anchor's go to shit anyway? I have a theory that it was when they started to become stars. Bastards.

Don't construe this post with my support for HRC, as I said at the top I am torn. I would much rather see Edwards as candidate but if it turns out to be HRC as the candidate I'll be behind her versus any of the crazies the Republicans have as possibilities. Honest-to-god, they are trying to out-torture and out-manly each other. It's sad. Rudy can't say two sentences without making something up and he's the front-runner!

Can we maybe get some real coverage on these people's actual policies? I know it doesn't make as exciting television as Hillary's cleavage or Edwards' haircuts but it is a bit more important, I think.

Watch Atlanta Run Out of Water

You can all join in the fun! Just scroll down to the table here and watch the resevoir level slowly drop. Wee!

Hmm..maybe more prayer will fix the problem?

Overhyped Threats

A hostile country led by anti-American ideologues appears close to developing its first nuclear weapon and, as a U.S. election approaches, the president and his advisers debate a pre-emptive military strike. Newspaper columnists demand action to stop the nuclear peril.

Iran? Nope:

The country was China, the year was 1963 and the president was Lyndon Baines Johnson.

However, the same is happening with Iran. Can we get some perspective here? Why are people listening to the same idiots that over-hyped the Iraq threat and are once again beating the drums? Here is the article.

At the risk of pissing of Shana again, can we elect some adults this time?

Mitral Valve Prolapse

Have I written about this before? Well, even if I have, some of this is new.

I was diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse in the mid 1990's after waking up several nights in a row thinking I was having a heart attack. MVP is pretty benign and most people that have it don't even know it. I just happened to show symptoms for it, which mimic that of a heart attack in some ways, so that's nice. My particular level of it is very responsive to lifestyle changes. Basically, as long as I eat somewhat regularly, get sleep and stay mostly away from coffee and the like I don't have any symptoms.

So I was looking into again today for certain reasons and I came across this study that says most cases of MVP have been misdiagnosed. Where they originally thought upwards of 35% of the population has it they discovered that number is closer to 2.7%. And, even better, the association with stroke or heart attack, particularly in those under 45, doesn't hold up. Basically they refined the diagnosis process and are able to achieve more accurate results.

I had an echocardiogram done to diagnose mine originally. The article I linked to has a number to call for a referral to a cardiologist affiliated with this study to be re-evaluated. I'm thinking maybe I should do it?

Suitcase Nukes

On noes! If we don't bomb Iran, day give da terrorists a suitcase nuke! Oh noes!

Or maybe not.

Why The Writers Strike

UNIVERSAL: Well, in a Nutshell...
"Every day after picketing, I come home and work on my long, elegant essay articulating why we're on strike. It's meant for the general public and attempts to summarize the issues. But today, I overheard something that took care of my essay in one fell swoop.

Guy (into cell phone): The writers are on strike out here.

[PAUSE]

Guy (into cell phone): Because the corporations are dicks.

I don't need to finish my essay. Instead, I can rest up for picketing tomorrow.
-Irving Belateche

From here.

Myers-Briggs Personality Test

I meant to post this a while back with the left brain/right brain stuff. This is the famous Myers-Briggs test that gives you your four letter personality code.

Take it here. Ignore their descriptions and go here for a much more in-depth description. Select your type and start reading. At the bottom there are career and relationship descriptions as well.

When you take the test go with your first impulse when you read the question. If you analyze it you may change the result. Also, the degree to which you are a particular type can change depending on your mood, etc but you will almost always be the same type or close to it. For example, I just retook the test and ended up as an ESFP, when I took it two weeks ago I was ENFP. However, both times degree I was a N or an S was very low (16% N the first time and 1% S this time) so I straddle that particular type. The other three are pretty strong and don't change much, although I was introverted when I was younger.

Anyway, here is my type:


ENFP
Extraverted Intuitive Feeling Perceiving
Strength of the preferences %
33 12 50 67


Last week:
ESFP
Extraverted Sensing Feeling Perceiving
Strength of the preferences %
E S F P
56 1 100 56

NOTE: ENFP is my usual type. I don't know what was going on when I came up ESFP, particulary that 100% Feeling thing. The ENFP numbers are about what I usually come up as.

What is yours and does the description match how you perceive yourself?

Phone Calls

I hate them. Never been a fan of them. Its something about talking to a disembodied voice that makes it hard for me. I pick up _alot_ from visual clues when talking that helps me process what they say in the proper context of what they actually mean...you know, mood, attitude, gut feeling...that sorta thing. But on a phone, I just can't do it. It makes me feel...self conscious.

So I prefer email or face-to-face. Mostly email when it comes to business because I can think out my reply (you know, let the emotion go) and have a record of it.

Outside of business relationships I prefer face-to-face because that is when my personality really comes through. It is hard to make sarcasm work in email.

Byzantine Process

Just what is a "byzantine process" anyway? Wasn't Byzantine an empire? How can an empire be a process?

As far as I can tell it is a process that excludes newcomers. I guess that makes some degree of sense.

Anyone have a better definition?

Post Secret

What an incredibly awesome idea! Gives me chills just reading it.

Income Tax and that Top 1%

So I've always been torn by the arguement that 'the top 1% pay the majority of taxes' and the arguement for a flat tax. I came across this article that fills in the what is left out.

Federal income tax alone for 2005 brought in 45% of the federal governments income (2.143 billion). It is true that the top 1% (average salary $1.6 mil/year) paid about 40% of the federal income tax part of the pie. However, what is often left out of that arguement is payroll taxes, which is where the middle class gets fucked and the rich don't. Payroll taxes (Social security and the like) are capped one you hit $94,200/year in salary. Anything above that isn't taxed. Social Security taxes made up 37% of the entire federal income in 2005. 37%. That's 37% coming from the first $94,200/year of salary. Do you make more than that?

So to put it another way, for someone earning exactly $94,200 their effective tax rate is 6.2% for payroll taxes. For the average 1%er at $1.6mil/year, their effective tax rate is around 0.36%! Wow, no wonder they leave out payroll taxes when making that arguement.

A lot of the 'raise your taxes' stuff is talking about raising that cap on payroll taxes and making it an actual progressive tax. When the right rolls out the 'they will raise your taxes' boogyman, if you are in the middle class making under or around $94,200 you won't see a dime more taken out. If anything, alot of the plans circulated by the left lower taxes on the middle-class. Stop voting against your best interestes and research this stuff.

Challenge your assumptions.

Daylight Savings

Despite popular beliefe, daylight savings time has nothing to do with farmers.

This is a pretty good run down on the history.

In fact, farmers generally oppose daylight saving time.

I was surprised to see that.

Challenge your assumptions.

OMG OMG OMG OMG

Bruce Campbell, of Evil Dead, Bubba Ho-Tep and anything-Sam-Rami-has-ever-directed-fame, has a new movie coming out called My Name is Bruce.  The plot sounds awesome if you are fan of Evil Dead (or know anything about it):

The plot revolves around Campbell, playing himself, who, after being harassed and mistaken by fans to be a character much like Ash from the Evil Dead series of horror films, is abducted from his trailer park home to fight against Guan Di, a Chinese war deity.

This is so up my alley.  I can't wait!

A Question

Simple question for you: How big of a threat do you believe terrorism is to your way of life?

Geek Quotes

Love it

Read the comments of that thread. Lots of good stuff in there.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off To Work I Go

On Wednesday, the 17th I rejoin the grind in an office.  I have taken a Software Developer position at Tiber Creek Consulting in Tyson's Corner.  As far as an office job goes, they are about as flexible as it is going to get.  They are focused on project deadlines and not face-time in the office, so the schedule is flexible.  I get 21 days of vacation up-front (15 days + 9 holidays) and they have the rest of the benefit package including a health care package that doesn't draw from my paycheck.  And they do quarterly reviews, usually with a bonus on each one and profit sharing at the end-of-the-year.  Oh, and tuition reimbursement.

The interview was brutal and kicked my ass, so I'm somewhat surprised they even offered me a position.  I guess it was just force of personality alone.  Apparently I showed 'great potential'.

Hopefully I can get into the architecture-side of stuff where I am best and not just be a code monkey, where I'll be miserable.

Wee.

The Horrors of "Socialized" Healthcare

So one of the arguments I keep hearing against a universal healthcare system is along the lines of "Think of all the red tape we would have. " etc etc.  I think one of the main parts that this argument misses is that we already have a ton of red tape.  The insurance companies are in the business of minimizing how much they have to pay out, so you have to jump through a ton of hoops to get them to pay you while you pay them. 

This is a good example of what the difference between a 'socialized' healthcare system (Britain's) treats a wounded vet versus the privatized healthcare system we have here.  Here is a good quote (from a version of the post that is no longer online, unfortunately) that puts the incentives into place:

The government wants to minimize the amount it pays out in benefits. This causes it to give you crap when you ask it for money for an injury incurred on its behalf. The private insurance industry wants to minimize the amount it pays out in benefits. This causes it to give you crap when you ask it for money for an injury you incurred while you were giving them money.

If the purpose of the system were to  take care of people's health, though, perhaps there would be a bias in favor of... actually providing healthcare, instead of denying it.

Check it out.  It's a good piece and offers some perspective.

Right Brain vs Left Brain

So Shana and I just took this test: http://www.web-us.com/brain/braindominance.htm to further determine our left/right brain scores.  There are 18 questions.  Shana answer 4 right brian and 14 left brain, making her decidedly left brainy.  I answered 16 right and 2 left, making me decidedly right brain.

Does that mean we are a good match? :)

Take the test!

Wet Dreams

Been looking for this for the longest time.  The video isn't important, it's the song lyrics you should listen too.  This is one of the songs we used to listen to while flying around the back roads of Washington county.

Good times.

Shifting Ideology

In the late 80's, early 90's I was probably more conservative than liberal.  I'm ashamed of this but I actually read Rush and related a bit.  That was back when the Republican party hadn't gone insane yet.  It wasn't until the witch hunt of a blow job that I started to shift to the left to where the adults live. 

So it was very interesting to me to read this post by a once staunch conservative on why he left the party.  I have to say I couldn't agree more.  I will never be a social conservative but I do believe in a smaller government and some other economically conservative ideals.  However, until the GOP kicks out the crazy fear mongers (and Rudy is by far the worst right now of the contenders) I too will be willing to pay more in taxes in the short term than see the country continue to go down the tubes.

Seriously.  Is the threat of paying a little more in taxes really enough of a reason to turn your back on sanity?

US State Renamed for Countries with Similar GDP

This is a cool map.

Ha Ha

Star Trek Meets Monty Python

Monty Python Job Interview

And It All Comes Crashing Down

So for months now I've been just able to make ends meet.  My full-time job hasn't been paying me a full-time salary since I came back on early in the year.  That is ok, I knew that going in.  The idea was I would work full-time for my contractor pay until they are funded then I would be retroactively paid the difference.  The problem is, they still haven't been funded.

So I've been working a second contract to make the ends meet.  This contract has been pretty good to me but it doesn't always pay timely.  As a result, I've been late with some payments due to cash flow issues.  The money was coming, I just didn't have it on time. 

Over time I ended up in a situation where I had missed a couple of mortgage payments and had to make an arrangement with them to spread the two I missed out of six months.  As long as I paid the new mortgage amount on time I'd be ok but if I missed or was late with even one payment the agreement would be voided and the past payments would be due in full immediately.

Can you see where this is going?

All would be find as long as I could invoice my second contract on time and they could pay me before the 15th each month.  I spoke with them and expressed the critical nature of this and they were on board.

So imagine my surprise to find out today that they can't fund anymore work for at least 30 days, including the already outstanding invoice that I am counting on to pay October's bill.  Practically, what this means is I can't even do any work until November which means I probably wouldn't get another paycheck from them until December.

Now I'm screwed.  Without that income there is no way I'm making ends meet.  Not even close.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do about it. 

Boo.

How Is This Socialism

Ok you libertarians, how does this,  this, or this= socialism?  Below is a brief summary of what most of them all have in common:

"...plan includes an individual mandate to ensure universal coverage, offers all Americans access to the same menu of regulated private insurance options that members of Congress use, creates a new public insurer based off of Medicare that anyone can buy into, bars the insurance companies from price discriminating based on preexisting conditions, and uses refundable tax credits to limit the percentage of a family's income that health costs can consume ..."

Admittedly I don't know much about the details yet but it sure seems to me that the aim of the Edwards, and now HRC plans, is to make private insurance available on-top of universal health plan for those that can't afford the premiums we pay now.  That seems like a good way to get around some of the arguments (the delays in treatment) that are made when talking about the universal health care the rest of the modern world has. 

Maybe I'm totally naive and this is the evil socialism.  Educate me, please.

Oh, and regarding that oft-repeated quote that proves HRC is a socialist: "We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."... Here is the context in which that quote and others attributed to her have been made.  Stupid context, always getting in the way of a perfectly good slam.

One note here, HRC is my least favorite candidate on the Democratic side.  I think she'll be divisive no matter what she does and that isn't really the best thing right now.  However, I also believe more crap has been flung at her than any of the other candidates to date and a lot of it is misleading or not true, as the above paragraph illustrates.  Not that this doesn't happen to all candidates, but her in particular. 

"Free and responsible government by popular consent just can't exist without an informed public." --Bill Moyers

Mail Call

Here is the mail that I picked up, on the Jeep for perspective.  It is just over two weeks worth. 

Here is the mail sorted.  On the right we have the mail I actually want/need.  On the left is the shit.  Can you believe that?  I knew a lot of crap came in the mail but I didn't realize it was that stupid.

Yet another reason to put a stupid person on the flag.  Do we really need that much crap coming to the mailboxes?  I hardly even look at any of it.

Wicked Hands

For the first 30 seconds or so this is crap, then it becomes awesome.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=K2cYWfq--Nw

The American Flag

I was camping last weekend on Assateague Island and this one woman came down from Toronto just to camp with us because, in her words, "No one else was camping that weekend".  She was interesting, very outdoorsy.  Had some interesting conversations with her.

In any case, in one of my random questions that just popped out of my mouth I asked her why there was a big ass maple leaf on the Canadian flag.  I figured there would be some cool story behind it.  Nope.  It's because they have a lot of maple trees. 

So that got me to thinking.  What the American flag needs is a picture of a stupid person on it, because we have a TON of stupid people. 

Here is an example, as if you need any.  I read a post from one of Shana's friends about these two couples in a Buick or something getting it on.  The guy in the back didn't want to knock his woman up but he didn't have a condom, so he asked his buddy up front if he could use his.  Used.  He turned it inside out because it would be too yucky otherwise, and they continued on their way.  Well, the chick is pregnant and the father is that other dude. 

That, my friends, is the poster boy for the American flag.

Oblivious Dumbass

I would like everyone to meet Shana.  On September 2nd at the Brassballs Saloon in Ocean City, MD we decided to date.  We would have been dating earlier but I was too much of an oblivious dumbass to do anything about it.  But now things are very good. :)

And speaking of being a dumbass, I haven't bothered to get to mail from my mailbox since I returned from Colorado.  I just went out there to pick it up and low-and-behold there was just a single note that the Post Office has decided that my mailbox is vacant and returned everything to sender.  That'll be fun sorting out.

Dumbassery.  Ugh.

MoveOn Ad and the General's Testimony

This guy almost always sums up what I'm feeling about political issues nice and bluntly. 

Who fucking cares indeed.

You Won't Believe Your Eyes

Jerry Andrus died today.  He was famous for his optical illusions.  Check this page out to see some videos of his illusions.  The last one in particular, with the box, is wicked.

Kids Are Funny

Here is a story Darin related to me about his two oldest kids.  Their house is basically my home away from home.  I have my own cabinet. :)

Anyway, here you go:

Caden has been driving his yellow truck around in the basement announcing “Look at me… I’m Ryan driving my Jeep!”  followed by driving sounds I won’t try to mimic in text form.  Shay thinks it’s funny and they “drove” around the basement that way for hours yesterday.  Shay asked Caden/Ryan if they can drive to your house and Caden proceeded to drive into the cubby hole.

Aww.  I live in a cubby hole. :)

Movie Reviews!

Quick movie reviews of movies I saw while in Colorado.  You all know I rarely meet a movie I don't like...this more or less reflects that.  I guess I just know what I like. :)

Live Free or Die Hard: I liked it.  Personally I think it is my favorite of the series.

The Simpsons: It was funny, but I was somewhat disappointed with it.  Too much hype I think.  Plus the ads gave away a lot of the funniest moments.  Maggie's first word was great though.

Transformers: Loved it!  Just that they had Optimus Primes voice right made the movie for me.

Hot Rod: Holy crap this movie is awesome.  I laughed so hard I was crying.  I haven't done that since Tommy Boy.  This'll probably be similar to Napoleon Dynamite in that it had a very poor showing in the theaters but will have a strong cult following. 

 

Next up, Superbad!

Pictures!!

 Here are some pictures.  I'll comment as we go.

Caught this place on my way out of Boulder on my first visit there.  Thought it was a funny name for a restaurant:

The front range between Boulder and Denver:

A horse I once owned not liking the heat.  This is Symphony:

And here is Dillon, the other horse:

Here is a local dog in front of a shop in Nederland.  These small mountain towns and, to a lesser extent, Boulder and Denver have this plague of dogs laying on sidewalks so they can be tripped over.  I honestly thought this one was dead at first.  Turns out, he has regular visitors each day that bring him treats and such.  He is owned by the shop owner:

A covered bridge for walking over a stream.  This is in Nederland still:

Here is the stream it is over (taken from the bridge):

The big-ass German place in Nederland, The Black Forest:

A real penny arcade!  A lot of these games were $0.01 and $0.05.  In fact, a dime was too much.  And the change machine would change a quarter!  I don't know why but I am totally fascinated by this:

A soccer game for $0.01:

A $0.01 peep show!  This machine was awesome, wish I had thought about taking a picture of the machine itself.  I think I do have one but it's crappy so you can't tell what you are looking at.  In any case, you put your face in this set of goggle things and drop in a penny.  For about 2 seconds this scene is presented to you.  Its pretty weird...totally not what I expected:

For $0.05 you can watch a monkey clap its cymbals:

The town the penny arcade was in, Monitoue (is that right Chrissy?) is known for it's natural mineral springs.  They made these fountains that are always running throughout the town where you can snag some water.  Here is one:

And here is a t-shirt.  Probably need to edit this one a bit to make it out.  Maybe some day:

In Colorado Springs, on the way to Pike's Peak, you can find the North Pole!

Some cool place I had lunch at in Evergreen outside of Denver.  They have this awesome bar that people have been carving stuff into for years.  Unfortunately, those pictures didn't come out. :(

And finally, a preview of my next picture post:

Ren Faire - Opening Day

My favorite time of the year has rolled around again.  Football and the Ren Faire.  It stinks the scheduling conflicts sometimes but good times!  Soon I'll be hanging out at Darin and Becky's on Monday nights cooking and eating while watching MNF.  On the weekends I'll hit a college game or the faire...maybe this year I can score pro tickets.

In any case, check out my goofy ass between two beautiful chicks.  Erica is in the front and Shana is in the back.  Check out my white arms!  Wow, that's really pretty disturbing.

Oh, and good god was it hot.  100+ degrees the Jeep said before we arrived.  Humid as heck.  Felt like a sauna most of the day.  Totally sweated through my silk shirt (yea, silk...good call on my part).  Luckily nothing a lot of wine and mead couldn't handle.

On the way home we drove through this amazingly violent storm.  It was quite awesome. 

The Aviator

Is Howard Hughes a weird role model to aspire to? 

I just watched that movie again and it is totally one of my favorites.  The man had such a wild life.  I like to think sometimes that I've been through some of what he had just on a much smaller scale.

I need to pick-up a biography I think.  I listened to 'The Hoax' on the back across the country, that was very interesting and just made me more interested.

Oh, btw, got the medicine thing straightened out on Saturday morning so all is good on that front.

Brain Zaps

So I mentioned in my rant a few posts down that I'm having trouble getting my Cymbalta prescription refilled so I've been off it for a couple of days so far.  I had a lot of trouble explaining what the withdrawal symptoms are like, I always have had trouble describing them.  Well, good ol' Wikipedia to the rescue!

They are called brain zaps or brain jolts and if you have been around me the last couple of days (particularly this evening) and I seemed a little distant it was mostly because of these stupid things.  In any case, there is no evidence that these 'zaps' cause any sort of damage or anything so that's good.  Additionally, I don't have them as bad as it seems some people get them.  But the description for what they are like is probably as close as you can get without experiencing them yourself.  It really is hard to pin down what it's like.

I've had some fricken weird dreams and its obvious the whole anxiety thing is creeping back, so that's nice.  But it proves to me the meds do work and work very well.  So all in all it's a good reminder.  I'm so putting some away for a rainy day when I get it refilled.

Wee!

Duct Tape

Ah, the power of duct tape.  That's some talent there.

 

Poor duck. :(

Virtue Terrorists

Wow, just wow.

Does anyone actually believe there is a person or a group of persons that are huddled around a table in a back room somewhere directing popular culture so that it can "[rape] virgin teenage America on the sidewalk"?  Seriously?

What am I talking about?  This.  Here are some juicy quotes:

"Kids are hurting," he said. And of those who he feels inflict these moral wounds, Luce said, "We call them terrorists, virtue terrorists, that are destroying our kids."

"They're raping virgin teenage America on the sidewalk, and everybody's walking by and acting like everything's OK. And it's just not OK."

This one in particular bothers me:

"We're fighting for those who don't know they have a voice, that are being manipulated by our pop culture indulging in things that, really, they're not mature enough to be thinking about yet," Luce told CNN.

The bold part is the part that bothers me.  Culture, regardless of if it is the current pop culture or whatever Ron Luce deems it to be, has a great influence on people.  However, to suggest that pop culture is some sort of guided attack on young people whom aren't mature enough to think on their own is disingenuous.  If they aren't mature enough to make these decisions then wouldn't surrounding them with things like BattleCry and Acquire the Fire be just as manipulative?  Even more so since it is a directed attempt at influence where pop culture is more a collection of what happens to be popular.

Am I wrong here?  Is pop culture some directed attempt at 'raping virgin teenage America on the sidewalk'?  And if it is what is the end goal here?  So all the "America haters" can bring the country down into sin and depravity?

Yea, I didn't think so.

Stream of Consciousness

This is a stream of consciousness.  I don't expect it to make sense to many people if anyone.  You may read it if you wish and take from it what you can, but it's mostly for me because I'm in a particular mood.  I have no idea what I'll latch onto and where it'll go.  Should be educational to say the least.

I sit in a very comfortable chair and a friends house where I am currently house/dog sitting and will spend my evening.  Outside it is a light mist which is something I really enjoy walking around end.  It is the kind of night and the kind of mood that, if I smoked, I'd be outside sitting on the door step watching the mist while smoking.  Instead, I am inside writing this.

I have had four hours of sleep out of the last 36 hours and have just returned from dinner with some close friends at Bonefish in which no small amount of Coppola Cab Sauv was consumed.  As a result I have a bit of a buzz that is contributing to my openness.  Normally I would keep some of what I feel is close to the surface now close to my chest.  The lack of sleep, liquid 'courage', and the fact that I didn't know I was out of refills on my meds and now have been a day without are all contributing.

Speaking of meds, I take something I don't even remember the name of right now.  It works on the serotonin levels in the brain to help with anxiety.  A while back I was diagnosed with Agoraphobia which in my case mostly translated to a generalized anxiety but in extreme cases results in people literally being afraid from leaving their house.  I've never been anywhere near that level and the place I was a few years ago when I started my journey feels like forever ago.  The anxiety feels so far away.  The 'Black Eyed Peas' did a song called Anxiety way back in the day that describes what I felt I went through pretty well, particularly the chorus.  Here are the lyrics.

Lexapro!  That's what I take.  The withdrawal from it is very weird.  I'm not sure I know how to describe it.  I've gone for several days without before and I'm only 24 hours into this, so I think this mood is more the lack of sleep and alcohol pushing me along.  Writing this feels therapeutic.  I'm sure the psychologist I used to see would approve.  When you fall off to sleep and your are on the edge of sleep if you have ever felt those involuntary muscle spasms - particularly around your eyes, scalp and into your hands - those are kind of what the withdrawal feels like.  Whenever I move my eyes more than a bit I feel them lance through my arms and scalp.  They don't hurt.  It's not like what I would imagine lightning or electric shocks to feel like.  Its much different then that.  And I don't convulse like you do as you drift off to sleep.  It is very hard to describe.  Hopefully the Lexapro will be refilled tomorrow or I can talk them into a one week sample or something.  This is just much more annoying than anything else.

"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" is coming back soon.  Very funny show.  Here are some of the Mac vs PC spoof commercials they are running to advertise it that I think are quick funny.  Pervert Clown.  That one is for a few specific people, you know who you are.  And holy crap is Danny DeVito short.  Post Coital.  My Favorite.  At least currently.  And finally, what it is like arguing with conservatives: Perfectly Symmetrical.

I used to be afraid of flying.  Actually, before I was afraid of it I loved it.  I learned to walk on an airplane flying to California.  I loved it so much I wanted to learn how to fly an airplane in college.  For one of my birthday's my mother purchased a 90 minute introductory flight for me at the local airport in Hagerstown.  I sat on that thing for a while and then one nice fall or spring day I decided to do it.  I drove out to the airport and did the class room part which was pretty brief.  My instructor and I walked out to the runway and approached the airplane.  I remember him saying "We usually do not take people up when it's this windy out but it's a nice day and you and I are here so what the heck.".  And it was fricken windy.  The first sign that I should have backed out was when he was looking in the back of the seats for the barf bags that weren't there.  We climbed into the plane and he let me taxi and take off.  The first couple of minutes where incredible until we reached an altitude where the wind picked up.  Feeling the tail shift violently from the left to the right and vice-versa  wasn't too bad.  Even the sudden drops were bearable.  But the sudden drops and then the sudden rises were killing me.  I had a white knuckle grip on the wheel and the throttle and ended up having to have him take me back and land early.  I never did throw up but I was certainly green.  I thought I had weathered it alright but it wasn't long after that I developed a fear of flying.  It wasn't until watching "The Aviator" and seeing Leonardo Di Caprio's portrayal of Howard Hughes' fascination with flight was I able to reacquaint myself with my own fascination.  Now I feel much better about it and have been on a few trips.

At dinner tonight a friend of mine made a few comments that made me feel like I was a dear in headlights.  I don't know that she noticed but I sure did.  In small group social situations and with people I am familiar with I am pretty extroverted.  However, I keep some things very close and and when things are put out there that pierce to the heart of things it really shakes me.  As much as I get along with people that see to the core like that and appreciate the honesty it forces in myself sometimes it is REALLY uncomfortable.  Control is just an illusion I suppose and I dislike being stripped of that particular illusion, even if it is healthy.

Wow I'm totally loosing my buzz now.  I think I'm going to stop this 'heart-to-heart' and publish it while I'm still willing to do so and the hell with the results. 

Enjoy!

Home

I am home. Almost 6000 miles.

That'll do, Jeep. That'll do.

Wagons East

Besides being a mildly funny John Candy movie (and his last :( ) I am currently doing just this. I am in the middle of fricken Kansas right now and expect to be home late Thursday night/early Friday morning. No hotels this time...just me and my Jeep.

Yee haw little doggies!

Special Thanks

Butch Dewey would like to offer a special thanks to his Colorado Springs friends. To Willow (forgot her last name) for the BBQ, the Wii and her company. And to Mittens Roundhill (think that's right) for offering a place to stay, the XBox and his company as well.

Weirdest Shit Ever

So i'm up at Cliff Palace getting ready to take an hour walking tour of this old dwelling built into a cliff but before I do I decide it would be prudent to make a deposit. I find the bathroom facility that turns out to be an overhyped outhouse (inside pictured above).

So there is a sign that says 'Please keep the lid shut to help with ventilation and odor' and I think 'how nice!'. So I open the lid, drop my drawers and sit my naked white butt down on the lid.

Now, there is a myth they busted on Mythbusters that talks about someone flushing an airplane toilet and the suction keeping the person stuck on the toliet. That immediately went through my mind as I realized that the ventilation the sign was speaking of wasn't in the room I was in but actually from beneath in the big hole containg the motherload of crap. The next effect was a suction effect that pulled air down the toilet from around my butt and croch that wasn't all together unpleasant but very VERY weird.

Update

Lots of stuff to write about, just a lack of time and motivation.

I'm on my final week before I head east on Tuesday. Yesterday I drove from Black Hawk to Cortez, in the southwest corner of Colorado. The drive heading into Ouray all the way to Durango was breathtaking. I'll hopefully post pics eventually.

I splurged on a suite with a jacuzzi last night that I was never able to use because of work issues, so that was nice.

Today i'm doing Mesa Verde and then on to a hotel in Alamosa. Tomorrow is the Great Sand Dunes and hopefully the Royal Gorge Bridge in Canon City. Friday is the drive up Pike's Peak and then Buckskin Joe Frontier Town. Saturday is hanging in Colorado Springs. Then back up to Denver for a Scottish Festival and a play in the evening back in Central City. Monday is a rest day then the drive home starting Tuesday.

Its the third week and, as usual, i'm starting to feel like heading back.

Colorado springs - First Visit

I hopped on down to Colorado Springs yesterday for the day. First I met up with Chrissy and we went to the Garden of the Gods.

The Garden of the Gods is a sorta foresty area with a bunch of really tall and severe rock formations. At the top of one is a rock formation called the Kissing Camels whom I have named Adam and Steve in recongnition of Dobson's Focus on the Family.

Afterards we headed to a little town called, and I spell this wrong for now, Minatou, which is famous for it's natural mineral water springs. Throughout the town are fountains in which you can drink the mineral water. We even saw the dedication of a new fountain and had free cookies!

Dinner was next after picking up Robert. We went to a little Italian place and talked about TV and such. Chrissy obviously was hit on the head quite soundly when younger because we discovered she does not like Scrubs. Being hit on the head is the only possible reason.

After dinner I took everyone home and headed back myself.

Thanks Chrissy and Robert!

Taking It Easy

I have decided to take it easy today and take in a movie. The closest theater is about 45 minutes away in Evergreen.

I am in a bar in dowtown Evergreen called The Little Beer that used to be a church and a drugstore. Cool litlle place. After lunch i'm off to see The Transformers then back to Central City.

Colorado Springs

Today I believe I am heading to Colorado Springs to hang out with Chrissy. My intention is still to spend a few days down there but today is just a day trip I think. Will have to see how it all shakes out.

Boulder Part 2

So yesterday we went and poked around Nederland for a while. Hit the various shops and such. A big ass storm blew through and soaked part of the Jeep, that was quite awesome.

We had dinner at the Black Forrest which is fricken huge. Had a Russian Egg for a starter and the Sauerbraten for dinner. Mmmmm.

After dinner we headed down to Boulder to experience the Pearl Street Mall's night life. Walked up and down the 6 blocks and noticed a bunch of homeless kids. So that was interesting. Also walked past the 'Happiness Revolution' which was a group of six or so hippie kids that asked if we could spare a smile. Pretty funny.

Had some drinks on the rooftop of a bar and ate Yam Chips and Guacamole. Mmmmm.

Then went home and went to bed. Yay!

Umm...Wow

Well, so much for the news being Fair and Balanced.

Fricken Work

So work raised it's ugly head and demanded that I address it. I had to drive into town to a small coffee shop because the Library is closed on Sunday and Monday. So there is where I sit, working.

Boo! :(

However, once this is done I think today will be spent in Nederland checking out all the hippie art and stuff and then dinner at this big ass German restaurant called the Black Forrest. The Black Forrest has a special place in my heart because we played a radio show there when I was in Europe the first time and the director popped a solo on me. Bastard.

Nederland!

Today we went into Denver. It was mostly a very frustrating experience because it was mostly last second. I have learned that last second planning (or lack thereof) and big cities do not go together. Also, once again, I discovered that me and no food do not got together.

So we went home and took a nap. Then we went to Nederland!

Now, Nederland is a town in the moutanins tucked away in a valleyish area on the way to Boulder. This place has hippie written all over it. Grest town! Lots of neat little shops and restaurants. And four bars!

Here is my thinking on the name Nederland. Either they meant it to be Neverland, but were too high to spell it right. Or, and I think this is most likely, it is named after my heor in Three Amigos...Ned Nederlander. Therefore, it should obvious that someone should open bar/restaurant called Ned's in which a talking turtle serenades the patrons. How cool would that be?

Muesums

Is DC the only place where Muesums are free?

Boulder

Above is the Pearl Street Mall. It's an open air mall that spans several blocks. Lots of shops and restaurants and free entertainment.

In some areas of Boulder peds can press a crosswalk button that's turns on these flashing lights that indicate that the traffic should stop. Found that out the hard way. :)

Black Hawk and Central City

The closest town to where I am staying is Black Hawk - a gambling town. Central city is right next to it, like a mile away. They both have town halls and police forces.

The way Blawk Hawk was described to me I had thought it to be some poor little crappy town with one casino and a gas station. Wrong. Its like Vegas in the Rockies. Big ass Casinos with all the trimmings.

Central City also has a bunch of Casinos but has little shops and such as well. And, the biggest surprise of all, and Opera house...a pretty famous one at that apprently. Been in business for 75 years. If I knew anything about opera, I was told, I would have been impressed by the level of superstars they have there. Apparently one sat next to me at the Face Bar. Ah the face bar, that's a different story.

To give you an idea, think of the old west meets a smaller scale Vegas. Black Hawk would be the strip and Central City would be the old part of Vegas...Eldin Street I think? The two cities are REALLÝ cool.

Btw, isn't Central City the name of a town in a video game? Policy Academy comes to mind.

On The Way To Boulder

I decided to head to Boulder today. It's about 35 miles away but the road is uber windy and the speed limit is about 40. Plus, it is raining, which I enjoy but not everyone does.

On the way I saw the place pictured above and it looked like it was really hopping, so I decided to stop for lunch.

I am now sitting at a table inside waiting for my breakfast eggs and chili thing. Across the road is a dude that does trail rides that I think i'm going to check out.

The place is busy as heck so I sat at the tiny bar they have while waiting for a seat. I'm drinking a rather hoppy but refreshing beer as well. The people are nice and sociable which has more or less been typical up here in the hinterlands of Colorado.

On to boulder!

East vs West

Traveling west by car is more plesant than traveling east. For one thing, everytime you hit a new state the miles count down to the state line. This way you know how far you have to go.

The timezone changes work in your favor heading west as well, giving an extra hour here or there of driving.

As boring geographically as the midwestern states can be, they have awesome speed limits. You can cover a good bit of ground with a 75 mph speed limit.

One of the annoying things, however, are the radio stations in western Iowa and Nebraska. The three Cs are mostly all that is available out there (Classics, Country and Christian). So if that's your cup of tea you are golden.

All in all the drive west was pretty fun and quick.

Public Service Announcement

Two things:

1) I have discovered how to update my blog via email.
2) because of number 1, expect a lot of short entries about random stuff. These are mostly for me so in a year or so when I have totally forgotten everything I can go back and look.

Wait, who am I kidding. It'll be in September I need to go back to remember.

The Big Open Sky

Evertime I drive across the middle of the US...your Iowas, Nebraskas and Kansasies...I have an apiphany. I decided to write it down this time so I can stop having it.

There really is something to the "big open sky" that comes up in songs and such about the midwest. The sky is fricken huge. There are not any trees or structures to block your sight and it really is impressive. I don't know that I could ever live in one of those states but seeing that sky like that is something I would never tire of.

Car, I Name Thee...

...Bug Catcher!

"Nothing beats clown sex."

Stop laughing. (You know who you are.)

Butch Dewey

Any one know who that is? Pop quiz!

Anyway, I meant to post this a few days ago but didn't, so now I will. Some interesting quotes from my Breaux trip. I'll let you all try to figure out what they are in reference to. I apologize if I hurt anyone's delicate sensiabilities.

"No, that isn't too juicy."
"It's like sliding a hotdog now a hallway."

Oh, and the next quote deserves a post all on it's own. :)

Denver

I arrived in Denver last night about 4 ish east coast time.  I decided to push through all the way.  Dang that was a long day.  20 hours, 1200 miles and one nap, but I'm basically here.  Just a 30 minute drive up the mountain and I'm there.   Let the fun begin.

Oh, before I forget.  I was listening to the radio and that song about becoming a rock star by Nickleback came on.  The Dobson 'Focus on the Family' influence is apparent because they were bleeping out all kinds of stuff, like the word drug.  Oh, but Playboy was ok.  Weird. 

Onward!

Riding Along in My Automobile

So I'm heading to Colorado.  By car.  Yes, once again I have decided to drive across country all by my lonesome.  It has been a couple of years and I was starting to feel an itch to just go.  So that's what I did. 

I'm currently writing from a truck stop with Wi Fi (the Flying J, they are all over the country and all have Wi-Fi) in Des Moines, IA.  I left my house yesterday in my car around 5:30 pm and stopped west of Cleveland, OH for the night.  I've gone a total of 1000 miles with 700 more to go.  My thinking right now is to try and make it to Colorado by tomorrow morning before my friend goes to work so I can sleep in a real bed.  That'll be nice.

I've learned a couple of things I thought I would share on my trip so far:

1. There is a town in Iowa called 'What Cheer'.  Two thoughts come to mind on how this town's name a came to be.  Either someone was hard of hearing OR, more likely, it is just a really depressing place to live.
2. Having the back open in the Jeep when it is raining is not good for the stuff in the back of the Jeep.
3. The trip between Cleveland and really until you hit Iowa has some awesome rock channels.
4. Sirius antenna's do not work under the top of a Jeep.  Boo Sirius.
5. Jeep's do NOT do a good job of keeping bugs from whacking the windshield.  Must be that less than aerodynamic shape.  Eww.

This trip is totally open-ended.  I expect to be back the week after August 10th but who knows.  Once I get to my first destination I'm just going to do whatever feels right at the time.  I have an entire army of people looking after the beast so I know he is taken care of (thanks!!). 

Anyway, that's it from Des Moines.  It is time to hit the road again and take a bite out of that 700 miles.

BTW, here is a link to my route: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=Ashburn,+VA&daddr=Black+Hawk,+CO&sll=40.40378,-91.32766&sspn=32.587941,48.867188&ie=UTF8&ll=40.380028,-91.494141&spn=32.587941,48.867188&z=4&om=1

Yay Monkeys!

"Sixty eight percent of Republicans don't believe in evolution. On the other hand, only five percent of monkeys believe in Republicans."
---Stephen Colbert

Ha Ha!

Scrubs

Love that show!  It is so funny how some of the plotlines in that show parallel my romantic life.  Actually, its usually funny...sometimes it stinks.

The Day The Internet Crashed

Oh Nooooo!!  Oh the humanity!!!

Ultimate Energy Drink

Mmmmmm...energy.

This Is Spinal Tap!

I don't think the audience got it.  Good stuff.

Well Said

Keith Olbermann talking about the Scooter commutation. 

Air Car!

Sweet

Ha Ha

Skywalkers in Korea Cross Han Solo

Now THAT's a headline.

Unbreakable

Just finished watching that movie again. LOVE the ending of it.

'Now that we know who you are, I know who I am'

Good lovin.

Why I Hate the Media

Bill Moyers is a good journalist, a journalist of the old mold that wasn't worried about how they looked or how famous they were like the punks that anchor your daily news broadcasts now. Last night PBS aired a documentary called 'Buying the War' about how our political media didn't do their job in the run-up to the Iraq war. It is very very good.

In essence, at some point during the 80's our media stopped being skeptical of government. Rather than verifing what a source tells them they just repeat it and then when it turns out the source was using them for propoganda purposes they protect the source rather than burn them. The stories around Lynch and Tillman and the hearings on the the Hill this week show how evident this is.

Disgusting.

So THAT is what Democracy Is

I love the writing of this guy. There is a pompous blowhard that is particularly irritating on the right-side of the blogsphere and this post does an excellent job of trashing something he wrote. At the same time it does a wonderful job of explaining a view of government I agree with.

FWIW.

Politics of Fear

Rudy needs a new play book: This crap doesn't fly anymore.

Honestly, this fear mongering might have gotten Bush elected a second time but does anyone really believe this crap anymore?

He says:

He added: “The Democrats do not understand the full nature and scope of the terrorist war against us.”

then goes on to say:

Giuliani said terrorists “hate us and not because of anything bad we have done; it has nothing to do with Israel and Palestine. They hate us for the freedoms we have and the freedoms we want to share with the world.”

Yea right. They hate us for a freedom. I can't believe I'm seeing this crap again from a presidential candidate.

What a dork.

Sources of Morality

I've had this conversation with some people and I think I posted about it a few times. Basically where does morality come from? Is it always based in religion or something else? Is our basis of law based in religion? Etc.

Well, I was poking around and came across a transcript of a debate between a well known atheist and a well known pastor. Some really good questions are presented from both sides and it is really a fascinating conversation.

In any case, regarding the topic of this post, I'm going to link to page 4 of the transcript where they are talking about morality and it's source. Check it out and, if you are really bored, read the whole thing! :)

Page Four

Eeek!

Here is an article about the sorry state the mortgage industry is in and how much it is going to SUCK in the coming years. The value of my house has already dropped a fair amount, unfortunately. :(

Teaser:

Now they are also a major reason the subprime mortgage market is melting down, why 1.5 million Americans may lose their homes to foreclosure and why hundreds of thousands of homes could be dumped on an already glutted market. They also represent a huge cloud hanging over Wall Street investment houses, which packaged and sold these mortgages to investors around the world.

Try Not To Snarf Your Drink

:)