The Captain's Log: 02 March 2008

Saturday, March 8, 2008

The Decider is Down with Torture

Not that this comes as a surprise, but Bush has vetoed the bill that would restrict the CIA to the interrogation techniques outlined in the Army Field Manual. He says it would take away "valuable tools" from the CIA which have "saved lives." Of course, Bush says that his administration does not torture. They're just trying to "protect" Americans. God, this makes me angry. This is America! How can we be having this debate. We need to slough off this culture of fear and say that no matter how bad things may get, we will not sink to the level of those who would seek to do us harm.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Satan iz in ur home steeling ur soul!!1!

Despite being so closely exposed to it because of my ex-wife and reading about it, I am still fascinated at people's capacity to think irrationally (well, in general, but especially...) about Satan. A co-worker brought a bunch of art prints to our department that she was getting rid of. A few of us were looking through them and someone mentions that one is a Van Gogh. A lady who works a few offices down from me says, "Isn't he the one that was involved with Satan?" Everybody else sort of stops and we look at each other wondering what to say. She goes on to say, "That's the feeling I always got from him and I've learned to trust my instincts."

Okay, crazy lady.

Reading Aloud

One of my favorite activities with my daughters is reading to them. A few weeks ago, we finished reading Tarzan of the Apes. They loved it. I did, too, but it's been quite a few years since I've read it. I certainly don't remember noticing the racist undertones of the book which seemed quite obvious to me this time around. It's still a rousing pulp adventure, though.

We're reading Fahrenheit 451 now, another book that I have not read in some time.

Some Pics

Here are some recent pictures of the family.

Shaena's birthday party - Dec.

Jeromy's wife, Debbie, punctuates her point with a spoon while talking to my daughters.

Shaena gets excited over her new cordless mouse while Erica and my mother look on.

Matthew, the newest child for Jeromy and Debbie sitting on my mom's lap.

Shaena using her camera from Christmas to take a picture of her cake.

Last Month

My daughters hamming it up with their cousin, Alexis.

I don't think I've posted a picture of the newest addition to the family. Here is my niece, Brooklynn.

Some outdoor fun. My daughters play with two of their cousins, Alexis and Bryanna, and Elijah, Jeromy's son.

Elijah eyes the slide, unsure whether or not he should take that path.

Erica learned a lesson about combining tinfoil and microwaves.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Going to the Sunshine State

The two-day workshop I am going to for work was finally confirmed, so I booked my flight and hotel today. I'll fly out the morning of the 24th and I'll be back the evening of the 27th. It will be nice (very nice) to get away for a few days, but I'm not anticipating much relaxing. I'm going by myself, so there won't be anyone to hang out with and that is the last week for two of my classes, so I'll probably be frantically trying to get those wrapped up. Still, the Florida warmth will be a welcome break from the Montana chill even if we have had a very mild winter.

The Final Stretch

Speaking of school, with the completion of my IR class last weekend, I am now at 75 credits. After the three I am in now are done, I will have 84. I would like to be able to plow through the rest of my courses by the end of the year so that I could say I did graduate before I turned 30, but between being burned out and not wanting to pile on the classes during the holiday season as I did last year, I am anticipating graduating by this time next year. I can't freakin' wait.

I'm Still Here

I know I said I would be posting more this week in my last vlog entry, but, alas, the best laid plans of mice and men and all that. School has kept me very busy, in fact I'm behind. Part of it is that I am feeling somewhat burned out and struggled to find the motivation to do my assignments. Part of it, though, too, is that I have been running myself ragged. Over the last several days, I've struggled to stay awake after dinner; I find myself nodding off while reading my assigned texts.

So, that's why posting has continued to remain light to non-existent around here. I'm going to try to get caught up by this weekend (*crosses fingers*) so I can be more active around here as well as just relax a little.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

One Down

I turned in my final assignment last night for my International Relations class, a paper analyzing the United States National Security Strategy for 2006 and the Bush Administration's success in carrying out its stated goals. I was pretty harsh. Anyway, I'm glad I have one less class to worry about now. Unfortunately it doesn't mean I get a chance to rest. I'm definitely behind and I have a whole lot of work to do.