Pet Peeves

You know what bugs me? Stores with narrow, cramped aisles that are difficult for wheelchairs to navigate. When I take my mother shopping, I typically push her around in a wheelchair. It is more than a little annoying trying to squeeze between displays only to knock things down or to have to go around a few aisles because we just can't get through. I know space is often at a premium and that the number of people in wheelchairs is a very small percentage of the average store's customer base, but still. How about some consideration for people in wheelchairs. Is that too much to ask?

Weekly Music Video

This is from one of my favorite film scores of all time. After hearing this, I started checking out other stuff from this band and I fell in love.

Tangerine Dream - "Loved by the Sun" from the movie Legend



On an interesting note, the lyrics in this song were written and sung by Jon Anderson, lead singer of Yes. Tangerine Dream was not aware that this was going to happen.

Weekly Secret

PostSecret

It's Good to Be a Geek

You might get invited to conferences put on by the Department of Homeland Security to discuss future possibilities.

Whack Jobs

The GOP is going to have a hard time regaining power if it continues to embrace the crazies.

WHEREAS, we believe our economic woes are consequences of our greater national moral crisis; and

WHEREAS, this nation has become a world leader in promoting abortion, pornography, same sex marriage, sex trafficking, divorce, illegitimate births, child abuse, and many other forms of debauchery; and

WHEREAS, alarmed that the Government of the United States of America is forsaking the rich Christian heritage upon which this nation was built; and

WHEREAS, grieved that the Office of the president of these United States has refused to uphold the long held tradition of past presidents in giving recognition to our National Day of Prayer; and

WHEREAS, deeply disturbed that the Office of the president of these United States disregards the biblical admonitions to live clean and pure lives by proclaiming an entire month to an immoral behavior;

Isn't it supposed to be Democrats that make things easy for the other party?

The View from Space

A space-eye view of a volcanic eruption.



Awesome.

h/t: Sullivan

Dude! Obama is Totally a Terrorist!

I'm glad that conspiracy theories never die. They are so entertaining.

I do hope that the author of the linked piece never reads Foucault's Pendulum, though. It might drive him over the edge.

Catering to the Wannabe-Adulterer Crowd

I had never heard of this site - AshleyMadison.com - until I read about it on Time. It is a website for married persons who want to cheat on their spouse. Yes, you read that right.

Two-timing politicians, take note: Cheating has never been easier. AshleyMadison.com, a personals site designed to facilitate extra-marital affairs, now boasts slick iPhone and Blackberry versions that help married horndogs find like-minded cheaters within minutes. The new tools are aimed at tech-savvy adulterers wary of leaving tracks on work or home computers. Because the apps are loaded up from phones' browsers, they leave no electronic trail that suspicious spouses can trace.

What can you even say to something like this? The article quotes people who use the site as complaining about lack of intimacy or compliments. Well, then why aren't we setting up a website to help couples deal with these issues? Because that's a lot harder, that's why. Our society is engineered to take the easy way out every damn time, not realizing that the easy way out is typically a short-term answer. The hard way will require more effort up front, but will pay off in the long term. That's not the way we our brains work, though. We are wired for the hear and now, the quick payoff. That doesn't mean we should give up; it means we just have to work a little harder.

My favorite quote in the piece, however, was this telling bit.

And for that, Biderman offers no apologies. "Humans aren't meant to be monogamous," he says. So would this free-thinking CEO mind if his own wife used his site? "I would be devastated," he says.

Right. "Hey, if other people want to do it? No big deal. My wife? Oh, my God, what?!"

The "humans aren't meant to be monogamous" line gets thrown out a lot and I don't get it. Well, I mean I do. Some people don't want to be monogamous and they are looking for a justification. There are lots of things humans have an inclination to do that we don't condone. How many times have you felt like physically throttling someone who made you mad? This is a feeling people regularly have; it is a deeply rooted feeling natural to humans. Does this mean we allow people to use violence willy-nilly to solve their problems? Not that I know of.

The whole point of civilization is to overcome our primal urges, to rise above ourselves and be better than our base egos. The excuse of "that's just how we're made" is ridiculous and anyone who uses it should be punched in the face.

What?

Weekly Music Video

R.I.P. Michael Joseph Jackson, August 25, 1958 - June 25, 2009

"Smooth Criminal"


"Beat It"


"Thriller"

Michael Jackson - Thriller sélectionné dans Musique et Clips

"Billie Jean"

Michael Jackson - New Music - More Music Videos

Weekly Secret

PostSecret

NPR and the T-Word

Glenn Greenwald, a new addition to my blogroll, has been one of the best voices online in regards to the torture issue. Here he is, slamming NPR hard for its decision to not call "torture" torture.

Here’s the nub of the matter – the crux of journalistic decay in America. Who cares if NPR is "seen" as siding with the White House or its critics? How it is perceived -- and who it angers -- should have nothing to do with how it reports. Its reporting should be guided by the truth, by verifiable facts, and by the objective meaning of words [notably, NPR's excuse -- "the Right will get angry at us if we call it 'torture'" -- is identical to The Washington Post's excuse for why they stopped calling Dan Froomkin a reporter (it angers the Right); it's amazing how much The Liberal Media makes editorial decisions based on a desire to please the Right].

Also, note that Shepard explicitly admits that, with its language choice, NPR has opted to be "seen siding with the White House and the language that some U.S. officials, particularly in the Bush administration, prefer." That, too, is an odd choice for a supposedly Liberal Media outlet. And note her snide and revealing assumption -- conventional wisdom among the establishment media -- that the only people who want these tactics to be called "torture" are those "who are particularly and visibly still angry at the previous administration" (or, as David Ignatius put it, "liberal score-settlers"). It doesn’t seem to occur to her that something other than base vindictiveness – such as a desire to maintain the universal taboo against torture, or allegiance to accuracy in language – might motivate those who want NPR to call torture "torture," rather than prettify it with banality-of-evil euphemisms invented by the very people who perpetrated it.

This is one of the things that has really baffled me over the past few years. Why are media outlets so afraid of what the message machine on the Right says? I think one of the reasons people so dislike the mainstream news media is that they always seem to be pandering. They don't want to lose access to politicians, so they don't want to ask tough questions. They don't want to make people on the Right mad, so they change what they write.

It's the media's job to investigate and report facts. That might make people mad. That's all right, though, 'cause it means the media is doing its job. The inability to call a spade a spade is positively Orwellian.

Blogs to Check Out

I just updated my blogroll on the right. Some of them I passionately disagree with, but I always find them worthwhile to read. Check 'em out.

Thoughts on Blogging and a Milestone

I noticed that I recently surpassed 1000 posts here on this ol' blog. It's hard to believe that it's that high. I launched this ship on May 4, 2007. Over two years ago. That's almost harder to fathom than 1000+ posts. Being a writer at heart, I have to say that I have really enjoyed the journey so far and look forward to continuing it for the foreseeable future. Blogging has given me an outlet for my thoughts, helped me explore my thinking, learn more about myself, and learn more about the world.

One thing I've learned is that blogging is hard. Well, perhaps less hard than time consuming at least for me. If I'm writing anything more than a sentence with a link, I want to feel at least a modicum of familiarity with the topic. Typically that means a lot of reading, not just stuff online, but books and magazines and journals. It means spending time thinking about things and not just spouting off an off-the-cuff emotional response. Not that I've always achieved this, of course, but it is what I aim for.

Which is part of the reason my posting has been so light lately. For a number of reasons, my personal life has been quite hectic and I have not been able to devote the time to my blog that I would like. If anyone wants to pay me to blog, however, so I could quit my regular job, I would not say 'no.' Anyway, I'm going to try to be more disciplined and post more regularly. I know I've said that before, so I'm not going to make any promises. If you are at all interested in anything I have to say around here, please leave comments on my posts and thanks for hanging with me on my adventure to boldly go...somewhere.

The Captain's Utility Belt

Now that I have one more thing on my belt, I started thinking about all of the stuff I regularly carry on my belt or in my pocket.

• Cell phone


• Pager


• Gerber multi-tool


• Insulin pump


• Pocket knife

And when I'm at work, add:

• Flashlight


• Two-way radio

Oh, and I always have my wallet and keys on me. Not quite Batman level, yet, but I'm getting there.

Becoming a Cyborg

Well, I had my insulin pump put on this morning. So far it's seems to be working all right, but it's definitely going to take some getting used to. I'm still very conscious of its presence and I keep worrying that I'm going to pull the tubing out or accidentally push the wrong button. Changing clothes after work was interesting. I could have suspended it for two minutes while I did so, but I decided to leave it on to see how that was. I set the pump down on my dresser, but then had to be careful not to accidentally step too far back. Maybe next time, I'll just disconnect it. We'll see.

Tonight should be interesting as I'll have to learn how to get comfortable sleeping with the thing. Tomorrow, I get to disconnect it for my shower and reconnect it afterward. In fact, since this thing is my new constant companion, I'll have to learn how to do everything with it. Damn thing will be closer than my shadow.

Still, I'm sure that I will eventually come to really love it.

Type 1 Diabetes and Life Expectancy

It's probably because I have type 1 diabetes myself, but the fact that Sonia Sotomayor having it has been raised as a concern irks me. By all accounts she manages her condition quite well. Even if she has a life seven to ten years shorter than average, she is only 54 and should put in a lot of decent years on the bench. This is not even close to being a valid reason to question her ability to serve on the Supreme Court. Of course, other attacks on her have been much worse.

Weekly Music Video

This goofy song always makes me smile.

Todd Rundgren - "Bang on the Drum All Day"

Weekly Secret

PostSecret

Comic Book Economics

Admit it. You've been sitting around thinking to yourself, "I wish their was some serious discussion about the economics of comic book worlds." Well, your wish has come true. Ecocomics has you covered. Highlights include:

Tragically, most mutants use their powers to either save the world or terrorize it. At least this is the popular depiction in Marvel Comics. Imagine what Magneto could do if he worked in construction. For one thing, all of those New York City public works project would have their completion dates moved up from 2018 to roughly five minutes from now. But instead, he spends his time sinking Russian submarines and making asteroid bases to live in. For the love of God, the man has the power to build himself a high-tech home in space. He could repair the Hubbell telescope with no trouble whatsoever.

And:

Regardless, someone in the Canadian government was still there to provide funding for Weapon X, whatever its intended purpose may have been. And I'm sure they had to receive progress reports such as: "We created a supersoldier with a healing ability and an indestructible skeleton. And he was really cool. But then he killed all of the scientists and the guards... and he's living in the woods now. So... we need more money."

And:

Norman Osborn started as a weapons and chemical designer. But like all wealthy industrialists do in the comic book world, he decided profit margins weren't enough. And as such he began riding around on a bat-shaped glider in a green and purple outfit and started throwing pumpkin bombs. It truly boggles my mind when i consider the amount of research and development that must have gone into the creation of pumpkin-shaped explosives. Some poor R&D guy had to sit in front of his computer screen, working on plastic explosive casings while dealing with Norman standing over his shoulder and shouting, "No, it needs to be MORE ORANGE!"

It simply boggles the mind that an industrialist who had made millions designing lucrative compounds, weapons, and technology would then perform an engineering about-face and decide that the best means of long distance transportation would be a halloween-themed glider that uses foot-grips to secure the rider. That's right, Norman Osborn expects a commando to be secured to a glider flying 800 miles an hour by the same technology that keeps boots connected to skis. Not to mention the fact that Norman Osborn decides that he is the best person to use this new technology. A company of hundreds spends millions of dollars to create a new series of weapons only to have the company CEO steal it all and fly around new york wearing a Halloween costume. In this economic downturn, it seems truly tragic for a company to nearly go bankrupt because their fourth-quarter profits were spent "trying to kill Spider-Man."

Check it out and be enlightened.

Obama Vetoes Mutant Registration Act

Good news for muties everywhere.