How to Train Your Dragon is a great movie! We took the whole fam, from 5 and up, and everyone loved it. , even, as my little one says, "as much as video games, 100 percent!"
Its really perfect mix between meaning, adventure and production value. The animation is fabulous. There was a particular moment where the boy's hair and profile were so close to real I shook my head a little. And its not really a "photo realistic movie..."
One thing I liked is that this thing is doing well at the box office sans big-named talent. The voice acting was terrific! Good for them!
And no, we eschewed the extra 3-d tax. They really have to be kidding...I'm not going to see everything in 3d.
Great movie...go now!
Sunday, April 04, 2010
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Fec Sports Network Analysts (FSN) Saints vs. Vikings
Our crack team of Fec Sports Network Analysts are on the game!
Fec Sports Network: Cowboys vs. Eagles
Our crack team of Fec Sports Network Analysts are on the game!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
You guys gotta read this. On the East and West coasts parents compete in the blood sport called elite private school admission. Which is okay, unless its about Pre-K!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/18/nyregion/18bigcity.html?_r=1&em
I'm sorry, but these absolutely crazy parents are competing for kids going into Pre-K and kindergarten! What is wrong with people? This is the website... http://www.aristotlecircle.com/.
Check out this quote:
SHES TALKING ABOUT A FIVE YEAR OLD? HOW DOES A BABY BOMB A TEST??!?!?
WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE?
I'm certain this is way more about the parents than it is about the kids. Its sort of like having a really nice car. Its differentiators...its another thing people with insane amounts of money do. Sample conversation:
Rich Jerk #1: Hey, I have a Lexus LS 430
Rich Jerk #2: I have a Lexus SC 430
Rich Jerk #1: I have a 5000 Sq Ft House in the Northhampton
Rich Jerk #2: Northampton, please, that ghetto. I have a 5001 Sq Ft. estate in Martha's Vineyard
Rich Jerk #1: I work 100 Hours a week trading stocks.
Rich Jerk #2: I work 120 hours a week...sleep under my desk
Rich Jerk #1: Oh yeah, I sleep in my Lexus trunk
Rich Jerk #2: I would too if I had your lame car.
[silence....anger simmering on RJ#1]
Rich Jerk #1: My dog has a gold chain and his own house
Rich Jerk #2: My cat has platinum food dish and her own servant. She goes to an elite cat school.
[uncomfortable silence]
Rich Jerk #1: We vacation in the Bahamas every three months...without our kids.
Rich Jerk #2: We own a small island in the Caribbean....no kids are allowed to even look at it.
Rich Jerk #1: I've got one of those cool gold plated toilet seats, and its heated
Rich Jerk #2: My toilet seat is gold,heated, and it vibrates.
[more uncomfortable silence]
Rich Jerk #1: My kids go to a $40,000 preschool in Manhattan
Rich Jerk #2: My kids aren't born yet and they're going to school...we're educating them preconception. Really cuts into the free-time...
[even more uncomfortable silence, followed by gunshots]
I ask you is this any different, being away 50%-100% of your time at your own health's demise, missing your kids first day at school, as the article states, than parents from the projects who are also away much of the time, but for other reasons? It is one thing if one parent has to work, and only the mom or dad can make it..I certainly haven't made it to everything for my kids, but we're careful to try our best to bat at least 80%.
That isn't on these folks' radar from what I'm reading here. Kids are good...at a distance. We demonize those poor people who work 2 jobs and miss their kids events, but they don't have a choice. The elite are too cool to hang with their children.
These are the same people that were so wonderfully smart, so super accomplished, that they drove the world economy into a tailspin that it still hasn't recovered from.
Their hubris is their downfall. They over-estimate their ability to analyze, to solve problems with their brains, money and connections, when the real truth of the matter is that in complex phenomena, such as children, it is better to use empirical processes (discovery) and let things emerge. Growing with the child in an organic, natural and parental way that increases our joy of life, both parent and child, and I'm not paying some guy $450 bucks an hour to tell my little five year old how to study for his test. When these silver-spoon kids turn 40 and you're in a wheel chair, they're going to push you down a flight of stairs because you weren't around. They won't give a hoot about what school you sent them to if you, their parents, were AWOL from their life.
To end, I submit to you as evidence of the insanity, Paris Hilton. All of these are excellent schools.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/18/nyregion/18bigcity.html?_r=1&em
I'm sorry, but these absolutely crazy parents are competing for kids going into Pre-K and kindergarten! What is wrong with people? This is the website... http://www.aristotlecircle.com/.
Check out this quote:
Parent Testimonials
After our son bombed his ERB, we were ready to fold up the tent. Instead we worked with an Aristotle Circle expert who had a great strategy that made all the difference. Our son got in to the school we wanted and we couldn't be happier # - Grateful Mother.
SHES TALKING ABOUT A FIVE YEAR OLD? HOW DOES A BABY BOMB A TEST??!?!?
WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE?
I'm certain this is way more about the parents than it is about the kids. Its sort of like having a really nice car. Its differentiators...its another thing people with insane amounts of money do. Sample conversation:
Rich Jerk #1: Hey, I have a Lexus LS 430
Rich Jerk #2: I have a Lexus SC 430
Rich Jerk #1: I have a 5000 Sq Ft House in the Northhampton
Rich Jerk #2: Northampton, please, that ghetto. I have a 5001 Sq Ft. estate in Martha's Vineyard
Rich Jerk #1: I work 100 Hours a week trading stocks.
Rich Jerk #2: I work 120 hours a week...sleep under my desk
Rich Jerk #1: Oh yeah, I sleep in my Lexus trunk
Rich Jerk #2: I would too if I had your lame car.
[silence....anger simmering on RJ#1]
Rich Jerk #1: My dog has a gold chain and his own house
Rich Jerk #2: My cat has platinum food dish and her own servant. She goes to an elite cat school.
[uncomfortable silence]
Rich Jerk #1: We vacation in the Bahamas every three months...without our kids.
Rich Jerk #2: We own a small island in the Caribbean....no kids are allowed to even look at it.
Rich Jerk #1: I've got one of those cool gold plated toilet seats, and its heated
Rich Jerk #2: My toilet seat is gold,heated, and it vibrates.
[more uncomfortable silence]
Rich Jerk #1: My kids go to a $40,000 preschool in Manhattan
Rich Jerk #2: My kids aren't born yet and they're going to school...we're educating them preconception. Really cuts into the free-time...
[even more uncomfortable silence, followed by gunshots]
I ask you is this any different, being away 50%-100% of your time at your own health's demise, missing your kids first day at school, as the article states, than parents from the projects who are also away much of the time, but for other reasons? It is one thing if one parent has to work, and only the mom or dad can make it..I certainly haven't made it to everything for my kids, but we're careful to try our best to bat at least 80%.
That isn't on these folks' radar from what I'm reading here. Kids are good...at a distance. We demonize those poor people who work 2 jobs and miss their kids events, but they don't have a choice. The elite are too cool to hang with their children.
These are the same people that were so wonderfully smart, so super accomplished, that they drove the world economy into a tailspin that it still hasn't recovered from.
Their hubris is their downfall. They over-estimate their ability to analyze, to solve problems with their brains, money and connections, when the real truth of the matter is that in complex phenomena, such as children, it is better to use empirical processes (discovery) and let things emerge. Growing with the child in an organic, natural and parental way that increases our joy of life, both parent and child, and I'm not paying some guy $450 bucks an hour to tell my little five year old how to study for his test. When these silver-spoon kids turn 40 and you're in a wheel chair, they're going to push you down a flight of stairs because you weren't around. They won't give a hoot about what school you sent them to if you, their parents, were AWOL from their life.
To end, I submit to you as evidence of the insanity, Paris Hilton. All of these are excellent schools.
Hilton moved between several exclusive homes in her youth, including a suite in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan, Beverly Hills, and the Hamptons. As a child she was good friends with Nicole Richie and Kim Kardashian. She attended her freshman year of high school at the Marywood-Palm Valley School in Rancho Mirage, California followed by a short time at Convent of the Sacred Heart (which she attended with Lady GaGa[3]) and the Dwight School in New York for her sophomore and junior years. She was then transferred to the Canterbury Boarding School, in New Milford, Connecticut where she was a member of the ice hockey team.[4] However, in early 1999, she was expelled for violating the school rules.[5] Hilton later earned her GED.[6][7]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_hilton
Monday, August 17, 2009
100 Things Your Kids May Never Know About | GeekDad | Wired.com
A great and funny article about things I think Gen X will be the last to remember....
100 Things Your Kids May Never Know About | GeekDad | Wired.com
100 Things Your Kids May Never Know About | GeekDad | Wired.com
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
So, ready for a ridiculous story of ...
The Evil Vending Machine and the Damsel in Distress
I'm at the coffee machine, and this nice Indian girl walks up and is having some problems with the Evil Vending Machine accepting her dollar. , being The Brave Hero, decide to tell her about one of my tricks. "Put the money", I tell her, "in the Pepsi machine, next to the Evil Vending Machine, get the change out of that one, and then you'll have money for the vending machine". Brilliant. What could go wrong?
In goes dollar. Press button. Out comes nothing.
Gah! I'm costing this poor girl money now.
So I have a $5.00 bill. I say, no problem. I'll put the 5 spot into the Evil Vending Machine, and then buy a Snicker's bar and get change. It didn't at the time occur to me that I should have let her choose, and this little drama would be over.
She doesn't want the Snickers, so then I get change.
Give her a dollar. We're good right?
Wrong.
We chat for a minute about what Java tools they use, and the stupid Evil Vending Machine forgets that she's put money in there.
Another dollar gone. Now we're down two bucks here, and I have a snickers bar I don't want, or need, and this poor lady is still hungry and desperate for this episode in her life to end.
I offer her another dollar, which is these weird little gold dollar coins, and she refuses very politely. Without saying it, we're both agreeing to just walk back to our desks, to end this embarrassing charade.
Unwilling to let it go, I go back 10 minutes later to see if I put a quarter in that Evil Vending Machine if it would return her money. How can a machine forget!?
It ate my quarter.
AGGH!!
The Evil Vending Machine and the Damsel in Distress
I'm at the coffee machine, and this nice Indian girl walks up and is having some problems with the Evil Vending Machine accepting her dollar. , being The Brave Hero, decide to tell her about one of my tricks. "Put the money", I tell her, "in the Pepsi machine, next to the Evil Vending Machine, get the change out of that one, and then you'll have money for the vending machine". Brilliant. What could go wrong?
In goes dollar. Press button. Out comes nothing.
Gah! I'm costing this poor girl money now.
So I have a $5.00 bill. I say, no problem. I'll put the 5 spot into the Evil Vending Machine, and then buy a Snicker's bar and get change. It didn't at the time occur to me that I should have let her choose, and this little drama would be over.
She doesn't want the Snickers, so then I get change.
Give her a dollar. We're good right?
Wrong.
We chat for a minute about what Java tools they use, and the stupid Evil Vending Machine forgets that she's put money in there.
Another dollar gone. Now we're down two bucks here, and I have a snickers bar I don't want, or need, and this poor lady is still hungry and desperate for this episode in her life to end.
I offer her another dollar, which is these weird little gold dollar coins, and she refuses very politely. Without saying it, we're both agreeing to just walk back to our desks, to end this embarrassing charade.
Unwilling to let it go, I go back 10 minutes later to see if I put a quarter in that Evil Vending Machine if it would return her money. How can a machine forget!?
It ate my quarter.
AGGH!!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Heatwave in Seattle Part 2
More of me complaining about heat....enjoy!
(click the link to get to it if you're seeing this via emial).
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Rainless In Seattle
I was going to type up another blog entry, but video seemed more appropriate to share the misery.
Please send ice. NOW!
(BTW, if you watch youtube videos, please ignore the related videos. They are auto populated and I have no control over that content, and most of youtube is garbage. I should find another service... )
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Just because I am no longer part of a big exciting marathon doesn't mean I can get away with not telling people about what's going on here in the Great Northwest. Once June arrives its like Captain Kirk telling Scotty to hit Warp 10. A roller coaster of events, most of them have something to do with either camps or birthdays, and a feeble attempt at rest in between. Understand 66% of our children have birthdays in the summer, plus a few relatives, so it makes for big fun time. I'm saddened that I can't teleport to New York to do this same thing but for now, we've got these little memories to share.
Olympic Mountains
About a week before the crazy time started, we took a short respite in the Olympic Mountains. Its really not far, just 2 or so hours, as far as our Travel Piggy bank would take us. We hit things called the Dungeness Spit , and a surprisingly enjoyable Lavender festival, but I'll save those pics for later.
The Olympics are the "other" mountain range, and with the Cascades form a chain of mountains broken only by the Pacific Ocean. We're at about a 5500' elevation in this one.
Goats
What's the first thing you do when you get to 6000 feet? Climb even higher! So, we hiked a mile up this hill, on an idyllic day. We sat down at the top when we had some visitors. A wonderful family of Mountain goats strolled by. Unfortunately, these goats were used to humans and refused to show the proper respect and cower in fear and run away. Indeed it turned out that these were a family of INSANE RABID ATTACK GOATS.
As we were returning from our hike, I had my innocent 4-year old walking along with me and down the hill here comes the crazed goat family down the hill at high speed, foaming at the mouth, eyes wild. They didnt' get the memo - these paths are for HUMANS...hello!!!
This was the ring leader....so if you see him, call the authorities immediately.
Olympic MountainsAbout a week before the crazy time started, we took a short respite in the Olympic Mountains. Its really not far, just 2 or so hours, as far as our Travel Piggy bank would take us. We hit things called the Dungeness Spit , and a surprisingly enjoyable Lavender festival, but I'll save those pics for later.
The Olympics are the "other" mountain range, and with the Cascades form a chain of mountains broken only by the Pacific Ocean. We're at about a 5500' elevation in this one.
GoatsWhat's the first thing you do when you get to 6000 feet? Climb even higher! So, we hiked a mile up this hill, on an idyllic day. We sat down at the top when we had some visitors. A wonderful family of Mountain goats strolled by. Unfortunately, these goats were used to humans and refused to show the proper respect and cower in fear and run away. Indeed it turned out that these were a family of INSANE RABID ATTACK GOATS.
As we were returning from our hike, I had my innocent 4-year old walking along with me and down the hill here comes the crazed goat family down the hill at high speed, foaming at the mouth, eyes wild. They didnt' get the memo - these paths are for HUMANS...hello!!!
This was the ring leader....so if you see him, call the authorities immediately.
Sure he looks innocent enough (not really), but he and his little brood, a total of six mangy animals, charged at us with wanton disregard. I have the video of me saving Ryan's life. It turns out that Bryce had the right attitude, abject terror, as shown below:
We survived our encounter, narrowly, due to the small brains found in these animals, and their preference for plant life.
Sign me up for the zoo. ;)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Brianna with Crazy Brother
When we got back, one thing led to another and we were at Brianna's Birthday, with Aunt Heidi back from Texas on a visit, and with her brand new baby, we had a true baker's dozen of people.
This image is when we took over a restaurant. After much jockeying, we eventually found a one crazy enough for us to squeeze in - namely, Red Robin, home of the Overpriced Hamburgers.
Here's Brianna getting the Standard Cheer. Of course Bryce has to jump in the picture and make a face. He's been doing that as long as he knew what a camera was.
My first teenager, my middle child is now ten...and Ryan refuses to stop growing.
I guess this is what seizing the day looks like. We'll have some more updates as we get through Bryce's b-day, and I'll lick my finanical wounds as we move into Fall.
I'm just glad we survived that Mountain Goat.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Look out, Limbaugh: Boy, 14, is eyeing your job - TODAY People- msnbc.com
I'm going to have to work my kids a little harder!
Look out, Limbaugh: Boy, 14, is eyeing your job - TODAY People- msnbc.com
Look out, Limbaugh: Boy, 14, is eyeing your job - TODAY People- msnbc.com
Monday, February 16, 2009
Why Facebook Is for Old Fogies - TIME
Facebook is still an anomaly to me, mostly since I worked at Classmates.com and never felt like reaching out and finding people from that part of my life. Yet, this article clears it up a bit. Very funny!
Why Facebook Is for Old Fogies - TIME
Why Facebook Is for Old Fogies - TIME
Friday, February 06, 2009
Its been a while!
1. Want to start a business? Guess who's #1 in the country? (and its not Seattle).
2. Did you see that SUPERBOWL?? Sixburg Steelers! Its fun to note that my childhood obsessions: Star Wars, Star Trek, Transformers, Rush, Lord of the Rings, Video Games, and the Pittsburgh Steelers have all persisted throughout my life, and in many ways are bigger now than they were then. The SuperBowl was really one for the ages. I needed to sit down after that game. I want to know why we couldn't stop the pass. I mean REALLY? Barely got to Warner....I thought he'd be planted into the ground by halftime. Anyway, hats off to the Cardinals....they have my respect.
My Favorite Commercial from the Super Bowl: id you guys see that commercial where the butts fall off? HA! Here it is.
3. Family - Good crunchy stuff here. Brianna's art skills grow stronger daily, and her attitude and spirit has been very pleasant. Bryce's abilities on the basketball court and football field. He is the "big man" on his team, and with that has scored in both games, scoring usually 20-30% of the team's total points. We got a nice family of six moved in next door. Four kids, three boys. Nice for Bryce. Ryan is hysterical. He does yoga - I'll post pictures. Julie and I are running training to run a marathon for The Lymphoma and Leukemia Society. I'll make a separate post for that.
4. School - Very dynamic. Things seem to be flying all over the place. I lose books, forget assignments. Its crazy.
5. Work - That I have work is a good thing. I'm fairly secure, I think, but we're trying to stash everything we can just in case. I think Obama's stimulus will work in the short term, and we may see a big spike in 2010-11. The longer term resulting effects of spending $1 Trillion...that makes me shudder, because if it heads down the second time, there may be no rebound. Could this crisis cause the end of the US? Has an economic crisis ever destroyed a country? Could we fall into such poverty that it destroys the infrastructure of this country with strife? I don't think so. Read this guys book if you don't believe me. He says this century will be the American century.
That's it for now. Happy B'day Chrissy!
-Joe
1. Want to start a business? Guess who's #1 in the country? (and its not Seattle).
2. Did you see that SUPERBOWL?? Sixburg Steelers! Its fun to note that my childhood obsessions: Star Wars, Star Trek, Transformers, Rush, Lord of the Rings, Video Games, and the Pittsburgh Steelers have all persisted throughout my life, and in many ways are bigger now than they were then. The SuperBowl was really one for the ages. I needed to sit down after that game. I want to know why we couldn't stop the pass. I mean REALLY? Barely got to Warner....I thought he'd be planted into the ground by halftime. Anyway, hats off to the Cardinals....they have my respect.
My Favorite Commercial from the Super Bowl: id you guys see that commercial where the butts fall off? HA! Here it is.
3. Family - Good crunchy stuff here. Brianna's art skills grow stronger daily, and her attitude and spirit has been very pleasant. Bryce's abilities on the basketball court and football field. He is the "big man" on his team, and with that has scored in both games, scoring usually 20-30% of the team's total points. We got a nice family of six moved in next door. Four kids, three boys. Nice for Bryce. Ryan is hysterical. He does yoga - I'll post pictures. Julie and I are running training to run a marathon for The Lymphoma and Leukemia Society. I'll make a separate post for that.
4. School - Very dynamic. Things seem to be flying all over the place. I lose books, forget assignments. Its crazy.
5. Work - That I have work is a good thing. I'm fairly secure, I think, but we're trying to stash everything we can just in case. I think Obama's stimulus will work in the short term, and we may see a big spike in 2010-11. The longer term resulting effects of spending $1 Trillion...that makes me shudder, because if it heads down the second time, there may be no rebound. Could this crisis cause the end of the US? Has an economic crisis ever destroyed a country? Could we fall into such poverty that it destroys the infrastructure of this country with strife? I don't think so. Read this guys book if you don't believe me. He says this century will be the American century.
That's it for now. Happy B'day Chrissy!
-Joe
Friday, November 14, 2008
Will the Next Ice Age Be a Very Long One? - Dot Earth Blog - NYTimes.com
Just when you thought global warming was a problem, looks like we're headed towards an ice age!
A new analysis of the dramatic cycles of ice ages and warm intervals over the past million years, published in Nature, concludes that the climatic swings are the gyrations of a system poised to settle into a quasi-permanent colder state — with expanded ice sheets at both poles.
When pressed the scientists say that we have to fight global warming in the short term, but global cooling in the long:
The Nature paper (abstract and citation below) goes on to propose that humans, as long as they have a technologically powerful society, would be likely to avert such a slide into a long big chill by adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. That doesn’t obviate the need to curb such emissions and the prospect of dangerous climate warming in the short run, Dr. Crowley said.
This is why, in my view, we cannot take draconian measures that Al Gore et al want just yet. Measured steps, fact-filled, with measurable results is what is needed.
Will the Next Ice Age Be a Very Long One? - Dot Earth Blog - NYTimes.com
A new analysis of the dramatic cycles of ice ages and warm intervals over the past million years, published in Nature, concludes that the climatic swings are the gyrations of a system poised to settle into a quasi-permanent colder state — with expanded ice sheets at both poles.
When pressed the scientists say that we have to fight global warming in the short term, but global cooling in the long:
The Nature paper (abstract and citation below) goes on to propose that humans, as long as they have a technologically powerful society, would be likely to avert such a slide into a long big chill by adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. That doesn’t obviate the need to curb such emissions and the prospect of dangerous climate warming in the short run, Dr. Crowley said.
This is why, in my view, we cannot take draconian measures that Al Gore et al want just yet. Measured steps, fact-filled, with measurable results is what is needed.
Will the Next Ice Age Be a Very Long One? - Dot Earth Blog - NYTimes.com
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Bush Defends American Capitalism Ahead of G-20 Summit - WSJ.com
An excellent snippet from the Wall Street Journal -- Bush sounding strong to the end!
In the meantime, this weekend's meeting is shaping up as a largely political event, one that's giving some beleaguered figures such as U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown a chance to show themselves as leaders on the world stage. For many, particularly leaders in Europe, it's also a chance to lay the blame for the crisis at the feet of the U.S. -- a charge that Mr. Bush is likely to continue to try to deflect. White House officials have noted for example that European banks showed themselves to be even more vulnerable in the crisis than U.S. banks, although they were supposedly much more tightly regulated.
For his part, the outgoing U.S. president seems to be concerned not only with the U.S. public, but also with people in developing countries who might be put off by the financial chaos that's currently on display.
"Ultimately, the best evidence for free market capitalism is its performance compared to other economic systems," Mr. Bush said Thursday. "Free markets allowed Japan -- an island nation with few natural resources -- to recover from war and grow into the world's second-largest economy. Free markets allowed South Korea to make itself one of the most technologically advanced societies in the world. Free markets turned small areas like Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan into global economic players. And today, the success of the world's largest economies comes from their embrace of free markets.
"Meanwhile, nations that have pursued other models have experienced devastating results. Soviet communism starved millions, bankrupted an empire, and collapsed as decisively as the Berlin Wall. Cuba, once known for its vast fields of cane, is now forced to ration sugar. And while Iran sits atop giant oil reserves, its people cannot put enough gasoline in their cars.
"The record is unmistakable: If you seek economic growth, if you seek opportunity, if you seek social justice and human dignity, the free market system is the way. The triumph of free market capitalism has been proven across time, geography, culture, and faith. And it would a terrible mistake to allow a few months of crisis to undermine 60 years of success."
Mr. Bush is also in New York to address a United Nations conference on religious tolerance and to meet with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
Bush Defends American Capitalism Ahead of G-20 Summit - WSJ.com
Friday, October 31, 2008
That's right Rush Fans, I've done and gone to a Celine Dion concert. And, I have to report, I enjoyed myself. About 8 months ago I feared the worst when I heard that Ms. Dion was canceling her Vegas thing forever. I had promised my wife that experience. Well, when I heard she was touring again, I jumped on the tickets.
The Tacoma Dome is an interesting place to see a concert. The acoustics are okay, but the best part is that you're on a metal bench that stabs you in the back the entire time. :| It is huge though, and as the crowd stamped their feet in the second encore the place sounded like an earthquake.
Interesting that now instead of lighters, they have little pens that people light up. And, no drug use that I could tell....indeed many were older than Julie and I. However, the demographic was wide, and there were plenty of males to make me comfortable.
She did a Queen song...actually two. We Will Rock You and The Show( Third video) . They were fine, but I bet if I was a big queen fan I'd be chagrined by the selection.
So how do these two Canadian musicians compare concert wise?
Rush: Better lasers, no clothes changes, no dancers, much better music
Celine: better clothes, a lot prettier than Rush, lots of clothes changes, better dancers, no lasers
So Rush wins still. See, the dancers are about 2" tall from where we sat, so the music means alot more. I mean, Celine had a small army up there, bald people flying all over the place. It was a circus of flying humanity. Then people would disappear into the floor and come out in a new costume. They had a walking treadmill, like you see at the airports, because these high energy people simply could not get enough laps without it. We were about a 75 yards away and I think sweat beads from the Dion Dancers reached our row.
The neatest tech was the screen, which in the video is high, but it descends, like a big cubicle, so Celine and the bald bunch can have more space to change into or out of clothing. It was also translucent at times, a neat trick. But no lasers? Whats up with that?
It was also fortunate that they had a comedian warm up the crowd since EVERYONE was late due to the woefully inadequate parking at the tacoma dome. Its clear that when 50,000 people want to do something at the same time, there are few if any facilities that can deal with it well. This is why I vote rail everytime it comes up.
What's funny is that she said hello to tacoma, but I'm certain she had no idea where she was really. Is it too much for someone to even mention a landmark of where they're at? "Hey ,I saw the Space Needle...cool guys!? You know, some validation. Seattle, having no sports teams in 100 sq miles, needs a boost guys.
Well, at least she came here.
Friday, October 24, 2008
One last thing, before you consider capitalism completely dead.....
Laissez-faire capitalism has a definite meaning, which is totally ignored, contradicted, and downright defiled by such statements as those quoted above. Laissez-faire capitalism is a politico-economic system based on private ownership of the means of production and in which the powers of the state are limited to the protection of the individual's rights against the initiation of physical force. This protection applies to the initiation of physical force by other private individuals, by foreign governments, and, most importantly, by the individual's own government. This last is accomplished by such means as a written constitution, a system of division of powers and checks and balances, an explicit bill of rights, and eternal vigilance on the part of a citizenry with the right to keep and bear arms. Under laissez-faire capitalism, the state consists essentially just of a police force, law courts, and a national defense establishment, which deter and combat those who initiate the use of physical force. And nothing more.
The utter absurdity of statements claiming that the present political-economic environment of the United States in some sense represents laissez-faire capitalism becomes as glaringly obvious as anything can be when one keeps in mind the extremely limited role of government under laissez-faire and then considers the following facts about the present-day United States:
-
Government spending in the United States currently equals more than forty percent of national income, i.e., the sum of all wages and salaries and profits and interest earned in the country. This is without counting any of the massive off-budget spending such as that on account of the government enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Nor does it count any of the recent spending on assorted "bailouts." What this means is that substantially more than forty dollars of every one hundred dollars of output are appropriated by the government against the will of the individual citizens who produce that output. The money and the goods involved are turned over to the government only because the individual citizens wish to stay out of jail. Their freedom to dispose of their own incomes and output is thus violated on a colossal scale. In contrast, under laissez-faire capitalism, government spending would be on such a modest scale that a mere revenue tariff might be sufficient to support it. The corporate and individual income taxes, inheritance and capital gains taxes, and social security and Medicare taxes would not exist.
-
There are presently fifteen federal cabinet departments, nine of which exist for the very purpose of respectively interfering with housing, transportation, healthcare, education, energy, mining, agriculture, labor, and commerce, and virtually all of which nowadays routinely ride roughshod over one or more important aspects of the economic freedom of the individual. Under laissez-faire capitalism, eleven of the fifteen cabinet departments would cease to exist and only the departments of justice, defense, state, and treasury would remain. Within those departments, moreover, further reductions would be made, such as the abolition of the IRS in the Treasury Department and the Antitrust Division in the Department of Justice.
-
The economic interference of today's cabinet departments is reinforced and amplified by more than one hundred federal agencies and commissions, the most well known of which include, besides the IRS, the FRB and FDIC, the FBI and CIA, the EPA, FDA, SEC, CFTC, NLRB, FTC, FCC, FERC, FEMA, FAA, CAA, INS, OHSA, CPSC, NHTSA, EEOC, BATF, DEA, NIH, and NASA. Under laissez-faire capitalism, all such agencies and commissions would be done away with, with the exception of the FBI, which would be reduced to the legitimate functions of counterespionage and combating crimes against person or property that take place across state lines.
-
To complete this catalog of government interference and its trampling of any vestige of laissez faire, as of the end of 2007, the last full year for which data are available, the Federal Register contained fully seventy-three thousand pages of detailed government regulations. This is an increase of more than ten thousand pages since 1978, the very years during which our system, according to one of The New York Times articles quoted above, has been "tilted in favor of business deregulation and against new rules." Under laissez-faire capitalism, there would be no Federal Register. The activities of the remaining government departments and their subdivisions would be controlled exclusively by duly enacted legislation, not the rule-making of unelected government officials.
-
And, of course, to all of this must be added the further massive apparatus of laws, departments, agencies, and regulations at the state and local level. Under laissez-faire capitalism, these too for the most part would be completely abolished and what remained would reflect the same kind of radical reductions in the size and scope of government activity as those carried out on the federal level.
What this brief account has shown is that the politico-economic system of the United States today is so far removed from laissez-faire capitalism that it is closer to the system of a police state. The ability of the media to ignore all of the massive government interference that exists today and to characterize our present economic system as one of laissez faire and economic freedom marks it as, if not profoundly dishonest, then as nothing less than delusional.
http://mises.org/story/3165
This is why I am voting for McCain, from Charles Krauthammer:
The case for McCain is straightforward. The financial crisis has made us forget, or just blindly deny, how dangerous the world out there is. We have a generations-long struggle with Islamic jihadism. An apocalyptic, soon-to-be-nuclear Iran. A nuclear-armed Pakistan in danger of fragmentation. A rising Russia pushing the limits of revanchism. Plus the sure-to-come Falklands-like surprise popping out of nowhere.
Who do you want answering that phone at 3 a.m.? A man who’s been cramming on these issues for the last year, who’s never had to make an executive decision affecting so much as a city, let alone the world? A foreign-policy novice instinctively inclined to the flabbiest, most vaporous multilateralism (e.g., the Berlin Wall came down because of “a world that stands as one”), and who refers to the most deliberate act of war since Pearl Harbor as “the tragedy of 9/11,” a term more appropriate for a bus accident?
Or do you want a man who is the most prepared, most knowledgeable, most serious foreign-policy thinker in the United States Senate? A man who not only has the best instincts, but has the honor and the courage to, yes, put country first, as when he carried the lonely fight for the surge that turned Iraq from catastrophic defeat into achievable strategic victory?
Full article here.
The case for McCain is straightforward. The financial crisis has made us forget, or just blindly deny, how dangerous the world out there is. We have a generations-long struggle with Islamic jihadism. An apocalyptic, soon-to-be-nuclear Iran. A nuclear-armed Pakistan in danger of fragmentation. A rising Russia pushing the limits of revanchism. Plus the sure-to-come Falklands-like surprise popping out of nowhere.
Who do you want answering that phone at 3 a.m.? A man who’s been cramming on these issues for the last year, who’s never had to make an executive decision affecting so much as a city, let alone the world? A foreign-policy novice instinctively inclined to the flabbiest, most vaporous multilateralism (e.g., the Berlin Wall came down because of “a world that stands as one”), and who refers to the most deliberate act of war since Pearl Harbor as “the tragedy of 9/11,” a term more appropriate for a bus accident?
Or do you want a man who is the most prepared, most knowledgeable, most serious foreign-policy thinker in the United States Senate? A man who not only has the best instincts, but has the honor and the courage to, yes, put country first, as when he carried the lonely fight for the surge that turned Iraq from catastrophic defeat into achievable strategic victory?
Full article here.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
I saw this list a guy wrote about things that he's learned in his life so far....I enjoyed it so much I thought I'd send it out. What would you add? :)
helping other people helps me
having guts always works out for me
thinking life will be better in the future is stupid. i have to live now
starting a charity is surprisingly easy
being not truthful works against me
everything i do always comes back to me
assuming is stifling
drugs feel great in the beginning and become a drag later on
over time i get used to everything and start taking for granted
money does not make me happy
travelling alone is helpful for a new perspective on life
keeping a diary supports personal development
trying to look good limits my life
material luxuries are best enjoyed in small doses
worrying solves nothing
complaining is silly. either act or forget
actually doing the things I set out to do increases my overall level of satisfaction
everybody thinks they are right
low expectations are a good strategy
whatever I want to explore professionally, its best to try it out for myself first
everybody who is honest is interesting
helping other people helps me
having guts always works out for me
thinking life will be better in the future is stupid. i have to live now
starting a charity is surprisingly easy
being not truthful works against me
everything i do always comes back to me
assuming is stifling
drugs feel great in the beginning and become a drag later on
over time i get used to everything and start taking for granted
money does not make me happy
travelling alone is helpful for a new perspective on life
keeping a diary supports personal development
trying to look good limits my life
material luxuries are best enjoyed in small doses
worrying solves nothing
complaining is silly. either act or forget
actually doing the things I set out to do increases my overall level of satisfaction
everybody thinks they are right
low expectations are a good strategy
whatever I want to explore professionally, its best to try it out for myself first
everybody who is honest is interesting
Friday, September 19, 2008
As I've always expected, Video games are GOOD for kids. Humans are social, so games are social too.
Can games make your kid a better citizen?
Study: Game experiences can provide hands-on learning opportunities
By Kristin Kalning
Games editor
updated 8:59 a.m. PT, Tues., Sept. 16, 2008
Parents of video-gaming children, take heart: Your kid is not destined to become an anti-social hermit who lives at home until he’s 35. In fact, a new study shows that all that game time could actually be making him a better citizen.
No, this isn’t a study funded by the video-game association. It’s from the respectable folks at the Pew Internet & American Life Project. And it’s the first, says study co-author Joe Kahne, to track the sorts of things kids do when playing — not just how much time they spend playing. “It’s really valuable to focus heavily on the quality of those experiences,” he says.
Kahne, a professor at Mills College in Oakland, Calif., worked with Pew to conduct this particular survey, which focused specifically on the relationship between gaming and civic experiences among teens. It was part of a larger, $50 million initiative by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation aimed at assessing how digital media is affecting how kids learn, play and participate in civic activities.
If high-school social studies are but a distant memory, a quick refresher: Anything that has to do with engaging in public life qualifies as a civic activity. Reading up on current affairs is one way to be civically involved; so is raising money for a walk-a-thon, or showing up at a protest.
So, how can playing “Madden” or “World of Warcraft” influence your teenager to get psyched about the three branches of government? It’s not as incongruous as it might sound, says Kahne. Game experiences “can be quite valuable from the standpoint of civic and political engagement.”
Americans have been pulling away from civic engagement for decades — Robert Putnam wrote about the phenomenon in his 1995 essay “Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital.” Some academics tie this to increased distractions such as television, the Internet and video games — others, like Putnam, cite our lack of trust in government and the political process. Either way, participating in elections and public discourse has long been considered necessary for a healthy democracy.
Video games can provide hands-on learning opportunities for kids that can be much more meaningful than reading a textbook. For instance, you can play a mayor in “SimCity,” and get a close-up look at what it takes to build and maintain a community. Helping a newbie get his sea legs in a game simulates the real-world experience of volunteering. And playing games online can expose kids to people with worldviews that differ from their own — in positive and negative ways.
Many of the of the 1,102 teenagers polled said they’d encountered hostility, racism and sexism while playing online — stuff that can certainly happen offline too, says Kahne. “Just as some playground experiences are enriching and some are unpleasant for young people, one can imagine that that would be true in the game world.”
The fact is, video games are ubiquitous among today’s generation of kids, for both girls and boys. with girls and boys both. Virtually all of the teenagers polled — 97 percent — report playing games. So it’s important, says study co-author and Pew researcher Amanda Lenhart, for us to understand that games are “sitting at the table with all the rest of the media that children and teenagers are being exposed to.”
One commonly held stereotype paints teenage gamers as solitary, anti-social basement dwellers that can't socialize their way out of a paper bag. But Lenhart says their research ran counter to this notion. For the vast majority of the kids polled, games are a social experience, where they get to interact with their friends. Some kids play with other people in the room, and some play online. But regardless, teenagers view games as something they do with other people, and not just something they do when they’re alone.
It might also surprise you to learn that teenagers aren’t just into violent shoot-em-up games. In fact, 74 percent of the teenagers polled reported that racing games were their favorite, followed closely by puzzle games such as “Bejeweled,” “Tetris” and “Solitaire.” Sports titles such as the “Madden” and “FIFA” series were also cited as favorites.
That’s not to say that first-person shooters such as “Halo” or violent-themed action games such as “Grand Theft Auto” aren’t sought after — they definitely are. But daily gamers are more likely to play a wider range of game genres, according to the Pew study.
The fact that teens are interested in a diverse swath of game types presents an opportunity for parents — and educators, says Kahne. Most kids report learning about social studies through worksheets and classroom activities. But games provide a “whole new and potentially powerful way” to not only teach kids about civic issues, but get them thinking about them, too, he says.
“If we’re careful, we can harness young people’s interest in video games, and use them to connect them to a range of valuable experiences.”
© 2008 MSNBC Interactive
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26726230
Can games make your kid a better citizen?
Study: Game experiences can provide hands-on learning opportunities
By Kristin Kalning
Games editor
updated 8:59 a.m. PT, Tues., Sept. 16, 2008
Parents of video-gaming children, take heart: Your kid is not destined to become an anti-social hermit who lives at home until he’s 35. In fact, a new study shows that all that game time could actually be making him a better citizen.
No, this isn’t a study funded by the video-game association. It’s from the respectable folks at the Pew Internet & American Life Project. And it’s the first, says study co-author Joe Kahne, to track the sorts of things kids do when playing — not just how much time they spend playing. “It’s really valuable to focus heavily on the quality of those experiences,” he says.
Kahne, a professor at Mills College in Oakland, Calif., worked with Pew to conduct this particular survey, which focused specifically on the relationship between gaming and civic experiences among teens. It was part of a larger, $50 million initiative by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation aimed at assessing how digital media is affecting how kids learn, play and participate in civic activities.
If high-school social studies are but a distant memory, a quick refresher: Anything that has to do with engaging in public life qualifies as a civic activity. Reading up on current affairs is one way to be civically involved; so is raising money for a walk-a-thon, or showing up at a protest.
So, how can playing “Madden” or “World of Warcraft” influence your teenager to get psyched about the three branches of government? It’s not as incongruous as it might sound, says Kahne. Game experiences “can be quite valuable from the standpoint of civic and political engagement.”
Americans have been pulling away from civic engagement for decades — Robert Putnam wrote about the phenomenon in his 1995 essay “Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital.” Some academics tie this to increased distractions such as television, the Internet and video games — others, like Putnam, cite our lack of trust in government and the political process. Either way, participating in elections and public discourse has long been considered necessary for a healthy democracy.
Video games can provide hands-on learning opportunities for kids that can be much more meaningful than reading a textbook. For instance, you can play a mayor in “SimCity,” and get a close-up look at what it takes to build and maintain a community. Helping a newbie get his sea legs in a game simulates the real-world experience of volunteering. And playing games online can expose kids to people with worldviews that differ from their own — in positive and negative ways.
Many of the of the 1,102 teenagers polled said they’d encountered hostility, racism and sexism while playing online — stuff that can certainly happen offline too, says Kahne. “Just as some playground experiences are enriching and some are unpleasant for young people, one can imagine that that would be true in the game world.”
The fact is, video games are ubiquitous among today’s generation of kids, for both girls and boys. with girls and boys both. Virtually all of the teenagers polled — 97 percent — report playing games. So it’s important, says study co-author and Pew researcher Amanda Lenhart, for us to understand that games are “sitting at the table with all the rest of the media that children and teenagers are being exposed to.”
One commonly held stereotype paints teenage gamers as solitary, anti-social basement dwellers that can't socialize their way out of a paper bag. But Lenhart says their research ran counter to this notion. For the vast majority of the kids polled, games are a social experience, where they get to interact with their friends. Some kids play with other people in the room, and some play online. But regardless, teenagers view games as something they do with other people, and not just something they do when they’re alone.
It might also surprise you to learn that teenagers aren’t just into violent shoot-em-up games. In fact, 74 percent of the teenagers polled reported that racing games were their favorite, followed closely by puzzle games such as “Bejeweled,” “Tetris” and “Solitaire.” Sports titles such as the “Madden” and “FIFA” series were also cited as favorites.
That’s not to say that first-person shooters such as “Halo” or violent-themed action games such as “Grand Theft Auto” aren’t sought after — they definitely are. But daily gamers are more likely to play a wider range of game genres, according to the Pew study.
The fact that teens are interested in a diverse swath of game types presents an opportunity for parents — and educators, says Kahne. Most kids report learning about social studies through worksheets and classroom activities. But games provide a “whole new and potentially powerful way” to not only teach kids about civic issues, but get them thinking about them, too, he says.
“If we’re careful, we can harness young people’s interest in video games, and use them to connect them to a range of valuable experiences.”
© 2008 MSNBC Interactive
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26726230
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Greetings family and friends! I hope this post finds you all well.
Well, I've had a VERY busy week or so, as has my entire family. While many on the Holcombe side were at Church camp, I was here, at Agile 2008 in Toronto , Canada!
For those who don't know, Agile is a software development methodology that allows practitioners the ability to release business value earlier than other methods. In software its probably the biggest deal going on right now, next to the Cloud thing, and Ruby on Rails, but that's for another post.
Toronto, or as the Chub calls it, Towanto, is a great place. Crazy weather, alot of underground shopping. I saw a few interesting things. The CN Tower, seen here...
From which had this view from about 1100 feet:
Nice! Looks like an airplane, no?
The real appeal of Toronto, though, is that this is the home of my all time favorite rock band, Rush. They still live here, and their music is published here, etc. The airport's three letter code is YYZ, a famous song of theirs. So of course I googled it and found a few places to visit to make my homage....
First -- Massey Hall, where the boyz recorded their first live album, All The Worlds A Stage. This is the album where I heard what Neil Peart could do with a drum kit. Yikes. Eddy Vedder was playing there the night I was there...whatever. Where's Rush!?
Then there was this....
You may ask, what is so interesting about this building? Well, its the parliment of the government, but that's not what was interesting. The astute obvserver will note that this is the building featured in the cover of....
thats right, Moving Pictures....the seminal work featuring Tom Sawyer and the aforementioned instrumental, YYZ.
See, look if you don't believe me.....
Neat, right?! Unfortunately that was the only two things I really got to do regarding Rush....oh, except I did get a couple of cool luggage bag stamps that said YYZ on it.
Enough about Rush, I'm sure. :)
While down in that section of town, I did find a delightful Church, St. Michaels. I enclose a snippet of video, which shows both the fantastic architecture and the wonderful music that a girls choir was by chance practicing at the time. Listen more than watch...I was nervous about recording in a church without permission.
Then, after the conference was done, and my speech there long over, I decided to hit the road and go to Niagra Falls. Woot! Never been, and I went really as a scout to see if my fam would like it. I'd like to report that yes, you ALL would like it. Very fun place. Alot to do in the town, and check out some of these pics....you may have seen them already, but they deserve another look.
So, it was a crazy good trip. It was a great hotel, Sheraton Center ( join the club, u get stuff). The traffic, not so good, but I'm still glad I got a car. Air Canada rocked -- in flight entertainment, and the Flight Attendants were actually nice. Food there was great, the company ( Ryan, a co-worker) was great, and the sessions at the conference were actually better than last year. And that my family was occupied with their own fun at camp made it all the better.
The final shot from CN Tower, with some Rush thrown in....
Well, I've had a VERY busy week or so, as has my entire family. While many on the Holcombe side were at Church camp, I was here, at Agile 2008 in Toronto , Canada!
For those who don't know, Agile is a software development methodology that allows practitioners the ability to release business value earlier than other methods. In software its probably the biggest deal going on right now, next to the Cloud thing, and Ruby on Rails, but that's for another post.
Toronto, or as the Chub calls it, Towanto, is a great place. Crazy weather, alot of underground shopping. I saw a few interesting things. The CN Tower, seen here...
From which had this view from about 1100 feet:
Nice! Looks like an airplane, no?
The real appeal of Toronto, though, is that this is the home of my all time favorite rock band, Rush. They still live here, and their music is published here, etc. The airport's three letter code is YYZ, a famous song of theirs. So of course I googled it and found a few places to visit to make my homage....
First -- Massey Hall, where the boyz recorded their first live album, All The Worlds A Stage. This is the album where I heard what Neil Peart could do with a drum kit. Yikes. Eddy Vedder was playing there the night I was there...whatever. Where's Rush!?
Then there was this....
You may ask, what is so interesting about this building? Well, its the parliment of the government, but that's not what was interesting. The astute obvserver will note that this is the building featured in the cover of....
thats right, Moving Pictures....the seminal work featuring Tom Sawyer and the aforementioned instrumental, YYZ.
See, look if you don't believe me.....
Neat, right?! Unfortunately that was the only two things I really got to do regarding Rush....oh, except I did get a couple of cool luggage bag stamps that said YYZ on it.
Enough about Rush, I'm sure. :)
While down in that section of town, I did find a delightful Church, St. Michaels. I enclose a snippet of video, which shows both the fantastic architecture and the wonderful music that a girls choir was by chance practicing at the time. Listen more than watch...I was nervous about recording in a church without permission.
Then, after the conference was done, and my speech there long over, I decided to hit the road and go to Niagra Falls. Woot! Never been, and I went really as a scout to see if my fam would like it. I'd like to report that yes, you ALL would like it. Very fun place. Alot to do in the town, and check out some of these pics....you may have seen them already, but they deserve another look.
So, it was a crazy good trip. It was a great hotel, Sheraton Center ( join the club, u get stuff). The traffic, not so good, but I'm still glad I got a car. Air Canada rocked -- in flight entertainment, and the Flight Attendants were actually nice. Food there was great, the company ( Ryan, a co-worker) was great, and the sessions at the conference were actually better than last year. And that my family was occupied with their own fun at camp made it all the better.
The final shot from CN Tower, with some Rush thrown in....
"The clouds prepare for battle
In the dark and brooding silence.
Bruised and sullen stormclouds
Have the light of day obscured.
Looming low and ominous
In twilight premature
Thunderheads are rumbling
In a distant overture...
All at once, the clouds are parted.
Light streams down in bright unbroken beams...
Follow men's eyes as they look to the skies. The shifting shafts of shining weave the fabric of their dreams..."
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Going through my videos on my computer is one of my favorite time sinks. This video came to me, and it made me smile:
There's skill there!
Soon a posting from the McChord Airforce show. It was a great time, but don't get me started on the heat. But over 377,000 people went to it this year, apparently breaking all sorts of records.
The crew -- my family and the rest of the extended clan attended this great show. With the sound of F-15 still ringing in our ears, and a patriotic sunburn on our heads and faces, we walked to the buses. The other half of our brood decided to take their vehicle, in the traffic, while us good, green citizenry decided to park our car and use good, liberal-friendly buses. We had a little test then...who would win? Of course with the bus route being prioritized by the government, we should come out ahead. What did we get for our good karmic action?
A sunburn on top of a sunburn. The car-based brood came out ahead, less sunburned, and less chagrined.
The bus system here in Seattle/Tacoma area is suspect as it is, but here we saw government efficiency at its height. When we were leaving, in the heat, we had to wait for a bus. And wait. And wait. There were thousands of people waiting, no one knew if the buses were even going to come. One lady had to be carried away in an ambulance. The airshow schedule was not a secret. Instead of a phalanx of buses waiting, as my experience in a recent Rush concert,we were greeted by three. Three buses. Thousands of people.
This is government in action. Government has no accountability. No profit motive (buses were free). No pressure to act because it wasn't really in their best interests.
It is a microcosm of what you see in any government run institution. These transit people I'm sure are fine people, don't get me wrong. But the system is predicated on a cost-efficiency model, not a profit-model. Therefore the services will not be as adaptive as a system based on market forces. The culture of cost savings vs. profit will mean a degradation of service quality since there is no competitive pressure to improve. The point? Remember this vignette when you vote for that big health care bill the democrats are cooking up. :)
There's skill there!
Soon a posting from the McChord Airforce show. It was a great time, but don't get me started on the heat. But over 377,000 people went to it this year, apparently breaking all sorts of records.
The crew -- my family and the rest of the extended clan attended this great show. With the sound of F-15 still ringing in our ears, and a patriotic sunburn on our heads and faces, we walked to the buses. The other half of our brood decided to take their vehicle, in the traffic, while us good, green citizenry decided to park our car and use good, liberal-friendly buses. We had a little test then...who would win? Of course with the bus route being prioritized by the government, we should come out ahead. What did we get for our good karmic action?
A sunburn on top of a sunburn. The car-based brood came out ahead, less sunburned, and less chagrined.
The bus system here in Seattle/Tacoma area is suspect as it is, but here we saw government efficiency at its height. When we were leaving, in the heat, we had to wait for a bus. And wait. And wait. There were thousands of people waiting, no one knew if the buses were even going to come. One lady had to be carried away in an ambulance. The airshow schedule was not a secret. Instead of a phalanx of buses waiting, as my experience in a recent Rush concert,we were greeted by three. Three buses. Thousands of people.
This is government in action. Government has no accountability. No profit motive (buses were free). No pressure to act because it wasn't really in their best interests.
It is a microcosm of what you see in any government run institution. These transit people I'm sure are fine people, don't get me wrong. But the system is predicated on a cost-efficiency model, not a profit-model. Therefore the services will not be as adaptive as a system based on market forces. The culture of cost savings vs. profit will mean a degradation of service quality since there is no competitive pressure to improve. The point? Remember this vignette when you vote for that big health care bill the democrats are cooking up. :)
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Year #17!
Julie and I enjoyed our 17th anniversary yesterday. 17 years. That's just plain ridiculous! Too fast, and too fun. So what does a couple do for such an august occasion? A cruise? London? Paris? Gold? Diamonds? Lexi?
nope.
A Mt. Si hike! What is Mt. Si? This is Mount Si:
Four miles to the top, but no special equipment needed. I had a wonderful time challenging myself, enjoying the friendly Seattlites, and centering in the pristine quiet of 500 year-old forest. But I have to warn you. If it has been a while since you're climbed for hours at a 30 degree incline over rocks, branches and sticks, and then down, it may cause soreness in various parts of your body. An illustration below shows the area most sore even 24 hours after the event:
Alas, I would post pictures from the top of that glorious rock, but it wasn't meant to be. We ran out of time. Had we started an hour or so earlier we would have pressed on, which probably would have resulted in sick leave. We did have a terrific dinner at Gaston's, a very nice Italian place in North Bend. North Bend, BTW, is the place the show Twin Peaks was partially shot, and we got gas at the very station shown in the Vanishing with Kiefer Sutherland.
I'll be uploading more photos soon. Most of all it was a great time to enjoy hours of conversation with my wonderful wife Julie.
Mt. Everest for the 20th! Are you with me!
Julie and I enjoyed our 17th anniversary yesterday. 17 years. That's just plain ridiculous! Too fast, and too fun. So what does a couple do for such an august occasion? A cruise? London? Paris? Gold? Diamonds? Lexi?
nope.
A Mt. Si hike! What is Mt. Si? This is Mount Si:
Four miles to the top, but no special equipment needed. I had a wonderful time challenging myself, enjoying the friendly Seattlites, and centering in the pristine quiet of 500 year-old forest. But I have to warn you. If it has been a while since you're climbed for hours at a 30 degree incline over rocks, branches and sticks, and then down, it may cause soreness in various parts of your body. An illustration below shows the area most sore even 24 hours after the event:
Alas, I would post pictures from the top of that glorious rock, but it wasn't meant to be. We ran out of time. Had we started an hour or so earlier we would have pressed on, which probably would have resulted in sick leave. We did have a terrific dinner at Gaston's, a very nice Italian place in North Bend. North Bend, BTW, is the place the show Twin Peaks was partially shot, and we got gas at the very station shown in the Vanishing with Kiefer Sutherland.
I'll be uploading more photos soon. Most of all it was a great time to enjoy hours of conversation with my wonderful wife Julie.
Mt. Everest for the 20th! Are you with me!
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Cantate! For the last two seasons, Bryce and Brianna were taking part in a choir called Cantate. Its about 30 homeschoolers of all ages. Its a really nice sound effect having the different ages in one group. The sopranos are very natural, and the baritones are true. We recently sang the national anthem at a AAA baseball game ( Tacoma Rainers.). The kids were nervous, but did terrific. I'll post a video of that ASAP.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Friday, November 24, 2006
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
amidabuddha.org - Daily Meditation: "Your constant utilization of thought to give continuity to your separate self is 'you'. There is nothing there inside you other than that. - U.G. Krishnamurti"
Monday, July 24, 2006
Friday, July 21, 2006
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Monday, June 26, 2006
We've all heard of social software. Now we have antisocial software. Some great quotes on this page!
"Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate."
Nemester: FAQ
"Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate."
Nemester: FAQ
Friday, June 23, 2006
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Monday, June 05, 2006
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Monday, April 24, 2006
Abnormality, Thy Name is Homeschool
by Steve Kellmeyer
For most Americans, homeschooling seems rather odd. Why bother with it? We have had public and private schools with us all of our lives, as have our parents before us and their parents before them from time immemorial. Why not stick with what works? The thought would be touching, if it were historically accurate. It isn’t.
The concept of compulsory schools with mass attendance is a radically new idea to Western civilization, no older than industrialization. Indeed, industrialization arguably could not have taken place without the mass school, and therein lies a tale.
As John Taylor Gatto points out in his impressive work, The Underground History of American Education (http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/underground/index.htm) , America’s schools were not very much used prior to 1870. The reason is simple.
The printing press was invented less than 50 years before America was discovered. The press enabled the Protestant Reformation. Because Protestant Faith argues that Scripture alone is authoritative, Protestants have a strong drive to be literate. The religious wars in Europe also drove many Protestants to find safe haven. The discovery of America was fortuitous in that it gave Protestants, that is, literate men, a place to flee.
As a result, the United States had a uniquely literate population (http://bridegroompress.com/catalog/article_info.php?articles_id=166) . As numerous commentators of the time noted and US Census figures confirm, white men in America were essentially 100% literate prior to 1870. While schools existed, they were not much used. Like children from time immemorial, American children were educated at home and self-educated, not schooled.
The first compulsory school law was passed in Massachusetts in 1852. The second law would not be passed until 1864, in Washington D.C. The great wave of compulsory school laws were passed between 1870, with the last falling into place in 1917.
In 1860, one-third of the 300 high schools in the country were located in Massachusetts, where the school year was twelve weeks long, and only six of those weeks were consecutive. Even by 1890, the school year was only twelve to twenty weeks. Even by 1900, only six percent of American teenagers had graduated high school, only two percent of Americans 18 through 24 were enrolled in a college.
While most Americans had attended an elementary school of some sort prior to 1900, they spent no more than two to three years in it, if that – perhaps forty weeks total. While in school, they were generally not learning to read. They learned that at home.
Instead, they were reading. Fifth grade basal readers included works from William Shakespeare, Henry Thoreau, George Washington, Sir Walter Scott, Mark Twain, Benjamin Franklin, Oliver Wendell Holmes, John Bunyan, Daniel Webster, Samuel Johnson, Lewis Carroll, Thomas Jefferson, Ralph Waldo Emerson.
The late-nineteenth century mass school system was America’s response to two enormous driving changes in American society: industrialization and massive immigration. Waves of Irish and German immigrants broke upon American shores between 1830 and 1860, with another massive wave entering from the Southern Mediterranean and Eastern Europe between 1890 and 1910. These immigrants tended to be poor, illiterate and Catholic.
As I noted in a previous essay (http://bridegroompress.com/catalog/article_info.php?articles_id=151) , the agrarian model of instruction required apprenticeships. For reasons beyond the scope of this article, Protestant American industrialization had to destroy that agrarian apprenticeship system. It did.
First, the states passed child labor laws, throwing young immigrant men and women out of apprenticeships and out of work. Once the streets were flooded with these legally invented delinquents, compulsory school laws were passed, requiring these same young men and women to attend school. These schools were consciously modeled on insane asylums. (http://www.inmotionmagazine.com/pedro31.html) The youth who were to be housed in them were, after all, immigrants, poor illiterate wastrels, often swarthy non-whites (Italians, Greeks and their neighbors can take a bow here), and worst of all, Catholic. They had no rights which a white man was bound to respect.
While compulsory school laws were passed, compulsory attendance was not popular. Armed troops were required to pacify the Massachusetts countryside as nearly eighty percent of the population fought the state government. As late as 1882, thirty years after the state had passed the compulsory attendance law, the militia had to march children to school. (http://anti-politics.net/school/) New York City parents rioted in 1917. The examples could be multiplied. The literacy rate began a steady decline that has reached its nadir today.
The school system is so effective at passing on knowledge and forming young minds that this entire history is lost to most of the Americans who pass through its gates. We no longer remember how or why today’s school system came to be what it is. The modern college student is radically less well-read and radically less moral than the average twelve-year old was in colonial America.
So, yes, homeschooling does seem a little odd to many. It seems unnecessary, not a good fit for most families. And in a certain sense, that assessment is correct. Homeschooling is not a good fit for the modern family, if only because the family has, in modern times, ceased to exist. Family cohesion has been obliterated by the mass school.
Our society requires massive consumption. Needy, ignorant people consume more goods and services than educated, emotionally stable people do. The quickest way to create needy people is to obliterate the family. The quickest way to create ignorant people is to divorce them from their parents. (http://www.sundaytimes.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,7034,12803677%255E950,00.html) The mass school is an excellent exercise in creating a market for your goods, whatever they might be. Unfortunately, what counts as goods for the market does not count as goods for the family.
This essay is based in large part on the soon-to-be-released book Deception: Catholic Education in America" (http://bridegroompress.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=60) and John Taylor Gatto’s "Underground History of American Education." (http://johntaylorgatto.com/underground/index.htm)
About the Writer: Steve Kellmeyer is a nationally recognized author and lecturer who integrates today's headlines with the Catholic Faith. His work is available through http://www.bridegroompress.com. He can be contacted at skellmeyer@bridegroompress.com.
by Steve Kellmeyer
For most Americans, homeschooling seems rather odd. Why bother with it? We have had public and private schools with us all of our lives, as have our parents before us and their parents before them from time immemorial. Why not stick with what works? The thought would be touching, if it were historically accurate. It isn’t.
The concept of compulsory schools with mass attendance is a radically new idea to Western civilization, no older than industrialization. Indeed, industrialization arguably could not have taken place without the mass school, and therein lies a tale.
As John Taylor Gatto points out in his impressive work, The Underground History of American Education (http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/underground/index.htm) , America’s schools were not very much used prior to 1870. The reason is simple.
The printing press was invented less than 50 years before America was discovered. The press enabled the Protestant Reformation. Because Protestant Faith argues that Scripture alone is authoritative, Protestants have a strong drive to be literate. The religious wars in Europe also drove many Protestants to find safe haven. The discovery of America was fortuitous in that it gave Protestants, that is, literate men, a place to flee.
As a result, the United States had a uniquely literate population (http://bridegroompress.com/catalog/article_info.php?articles_id=166) . As numerous commentators of the time noted and US Census figures confirm, white men in America were essentially 100% literate prior to 1870. While schools existed, they were not much used. Like children from time immemorial, American children were educated at home and self-educated, not schooled.
The first compulsory school law was passed in Massachusetts in 1852. The second law would not be passed until 1864, in Washington D.C. The great wave of compulsory school laws were passed between 1870, with the last falling into place in 1917.
In 1860, one-third of the 300 high schools in the country were located in Massachusetts, where the school year was twelve weeks long, and only six of those weeks were consecutive. Even by 1890, the school year was only twelve to twenty weeks. Even by 1900, only six percent of American teenagers had graduated high school, only two percent of Americans 18 through 24 were enrolled in a college.
While most Americans had attended an elementary school of some sort prior to 1900, they spent no more than two to three years in it, if that – perhaps forty weeks total. While in school, they were generally not learning to read. They learned that at home.
Instead, they were reading. Fifth grade basal readers included works from William Shakespeare, Henry Thoreau, George Washington, Sir Walter Scott, Mark Twain, Benjamin Franklin, Oliver Wendell Holmes, John Bunyan, Daniel Webster, Samuel Johnson, Lewis Carroll, Thomas Jefferson, Ralph Waldo Emerson.
The late-nineteenth century mass school system was America’s response to two enormous driving changes in American society: industrialization and massive immigration. Waves of Irish and German immigrants broke upon American shores between 1830 and 1860, with another massive wave entering from the Southern Mediterranean and Eastern Europe between 1890 and 1910. These immigrants tended to be poor, illiterate and Catholic.
As I noted in a previous essay (http://bridegroompress.com/catalog/article_info.php?articles_id=151) , the agrarian model of instruction required apprenticeships. For reasons beyond the scope of this article, Protestant American industrialization had to destroy that agrarian apprenticeship system. It did.
First, the states passed child labor laws, throwing young immigrant men and women out of apprenticeships and out of work. Once the streets were flooded with these legally invented delinquents, compulsory school laws were passed, requiring these same young men and women to attend school. These schools were consciously modeled on insane asylums. (http://www.inmotionmagazine.com/pedro31.html) The youth who were to be housed in them were, after all, immigrants, poor illiterate wastrels, often swarthy non-whites (Italians, Greeks and their neighbors can take a bow here), and worst of all, Catholic. They had no rights which a white man was bound to respect.
While compulsory school laws were passed, compulsory attendance was not popular. Armed troops were required to pacify the Massachusetts countryside as nearly eighty percent of the population fought the state government. As late as 1882, thirty years after the state had passed the compulsory attendance law, the militia had to march children to school. (http://anti-politics.net/school/) New York City parents rioted in 1917. The examples could be multiplied. The literacy rate began a steady decline that has reached its nadir today.
The school system is so effective at passing on knowledge and forming young minds that this entire history is lost to most of the Americans who pass through its gates. We no longer remember how or why today’s school system came to be what it is. The modern college student is radically less well-read and radically less moral than the average twelve-year old was in colonial America.
So, yes, homeschooling does seem a little odd to many. It seems unnecessary, not a good fit for most families. And in a certain sense, that assessment is correct. Homeschooling is not a good fit for the modern family, if only because the family has, in modern times, ceased to exist. Family cohesion has been obliterated by the mass school.
Our society requires massive consumption. Needy, ignorant people consume more goods and services than educated, emotionally stable people do. The quickest way to create needy people is to obliterate the family. The quickest way to create ignorant people is to divorce them from their parents. (http://www.sundaytimes.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,7034,12803677%255E950,00.html) The mass school is an excellent exercise in creating a market for your goods, whatever they might be. Unfortunately, what counts as goods for the market does not count as goods for the family.
This essay is based in large part on the soon-to-be-released book Deception: Catholic Education in America" (http://bridegroompress.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=60) and John Taylor Gatto’s "Underground History of American Education." (http://johntaylorgatto.com/underground/index.htm)
About the Writer: Steve Kellmeyer is a nationally recognized author and lecturer who integrates today's headlines with the Catholic Faith. His work is available through http://www.bridegroompress.com. He can be contacted at skellmeyer@bridegroompress.com.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Web site facilitates alternative education: "Tina Jacobi, who heads a Christian home-schoolers' support group and a Frederick cooperative of home-schoolers, said the service is a blessing to busy home-schooling parents who are always searching for resources and information.
'Home-schooling is kind of hard to get into if you don't know where to go,' Ms. Jacobi said. 'The best part of the Web site is it's one-stop shopping.'
The service is also for business and service providers who may want to reach the home-school community, Ms. Thomas said.
So far the site has gotten more than 2,800 hits. Visitors have requested information on home-school events in April, extracurricular activities, curriculum fairs, curriculum options and support organizations, she said.
She plans monthly updates. May's issue will feature an advice column, a two-week history plan discovering Maryland's humble beginnings, and off-the-beaten path summer camp programs.
Home-schoolers can sign up to be notified by e-mail when the newest issue is available.
More than 1,500 home-schooling families live in the Baltimore-Washington area, and more than 1,500 children go to school at home in Frederick County, Ms. Thomas said.
Ms. Jacobi's support group, Training for Life in Christ Homeschool, is one of a number of organizations listed on the Web site. But Ms. Thomas stresses that the site is for everyone, not just Christian families.
"
'Home-schooling is kind of hard to get into if you don't know where to go,' Ms. Jacobi said. 'The best part of the Web site is it's one-stop shopping.'
The service is also for business and service providers who may want to reach the home-school community, Ms. Thomas said.
So far the site has gotten more than 2,800 hits. Visitors have requested information on home-school events in April, extracurricular activities, curriculum fairs, curriculum options and support organizations, she said.
She plans monthly updates. May's issue will feature an advice column, a two-week history plan discovering Maryland's humble beginnings, and off-the-beaten path summer camp programs.
Home-schoolers can sign up to be notified by e-mail when the newest issue is available.
More than 1,500 home-schooling families live in the Baltimore-Washington area, and more than 1,500 children go to school at home in Frederick County, Ms. Thomas said.
Ms. Jacobi's support group, Training for Life in Christ Homeschool, is one of a number of organizations listed on the Web site. But Ms. Thomas stresses that the site is for everyone, not just Christian families.
"
Monday, April 17, 2006
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Friday, March 03, 2006
ecommerce. This is an option.
Turnkey Web Tools Inc: Turnkey Software & Solutions - Shopping Cart & Live Support Software
Turnkey Web Tools Inc: Turnkey Software & Solutions - Shopping Cart & Live Support Software
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Monday, January 30, 2006
Friday, January 20, 2006
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Monday, January 16, 2006
Sudoku
So this link is to some free sudoku puzzles. Not bad, but lots of ads,some embbedded into the links. weird.
So this link is to some free sudoku puzzles. Not bad, but lots of ads,some embbedded into the links. weird.
Monday, November 28, 2005
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Monday, August 29, 2005
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
How do I get this guy when I google on lucent?
Josh's online web gallery! to contact josh, e-mail josh@curiousjosh.com
Josh's online web gallery! to contact josh, e-mail josh@curiousjosh.com
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Monday, July 18, 2005
Friday, July 08, 2005
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
This is in line with Life 2.0 and other works:
America on the move: Goodbye Beantown, hello Gilbert (Ariz.)
Census Bureau figures being released Thursday show no letup in the migration to the South and West, which are home to all 10 of the fastest-growing cities with at least 100,000 people.
''People like to live in smaller places and a lot of it's propelled by the sharp spike in housing costs in the inner and more attractive cities,'' said William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution in Washington. ''People want to get as much housing as they can for their dollars.'' (ed. note: DUH!!!)
The median price for a single-family home in Gilbert is around $220,000, compared with more than $387,000 in Boston and $641,000 in San Francisco
This is not shaping up to be a good decade for older cities in the United States in contrast to the 90s,'' said Lang. ''This performance probably doesn't rival the 70s, which stand out as the worst decade, but looks to be underperforming even the 80s.''
I'm telling everyone who will listen with high appreciation houses in the Northeast and other places-- the Bubble Cometh. Get out now.
America on the move: Goodbye Beantown, hello Gilbert (Ariz.)
Census Bureau figures being released Thursday show no letup in the migration to the South and West, which are home to all 10 of the fastest-growing cities with at least 100,000 people.
''People like to live in smaller places and a lot of it's propelled by the sharp spike in housing costs in the inner and more attractive cities,'' said William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution in Washington. ''People want to get as much housing as they can for their dollars.'' (ed. note: DUH!!!)
The median price for a single-family home in Gilbert is around $220,000, compared with more than $387,000 in Boston and $641,000 in San Francisco
This is not shaping up to be a good decade for older cities in the United States in contrast to the 90s,'' said Lang. ''This performance probably doesn't rival the 70s, which stand out as the worst decade, but looks to be underperforming even the 80s.''
I'm telling everyone who will listen with high appreciation houses in the Northeast and other places-- the Bubble Cometh. Get out now.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Thursday, May 19, 2005
I thought I put this on here, but the very best loan calculators are here. Fabulous Java based graphs and stuff. Depressing if your not rich though.Get your financial calculator
Its getting ever so busy in the photo-sharing business. This is a nice service. Very light. Very simple.
Welcome to Flickr - Photo Sharing
Welcome to Flickr - Photo Sharing
Welcome to MSN.com: "'The accomplishment of individual and collective purposes in the most fulfilling ways possible will create winning organizations.'
Craig R. Hickman"
Craig R. Hickman"
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Monday, May 16, 2005
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Sorry, but I have to mirror this article since its perfect.
Clifford D. May: Know thy enemy: "The United States is not fighting a war against terror. Terror is an emotional response. Fighting a war against terror makes no more sense than fighting a war against greed or envy.
Are we, however, fighting a war against terrorism? Some analysts make the cogent argument that terrorism is a weapon. Therefore, they say, to declare a “War Against Terrorism” is akin to proclaiming a “War Against Submarines.”
But terrorism – the intentional targeting of civilians for political purposes – is a heinous tactic that can be fought just as people have battled germ warfare, genocide, ethnic cleansing, slavery and piracy. These are all practices which civilized people should not condone.
To argue that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter – as, for example the Reuters news agency does -- is mushy-headed relativism, akin to asserting that there is no difference between killing soldiers on a battlefield and slaughtering men, women and children in gas chambers.
Besides, it should be obvious that people who value freedom and human rights do not intentionally murder other people's children. Even at the lowest points in the American Revolution, George Washington did not consider slitting the throats of the Tories' toddlers.
But it is not terrorism alone that America and its allies are fighting. On a deeper level we are fighting the ideologies that drive and justify terrorism. Among them is nihilism, the doctrine that existing institutions must be razed to the ground so that, afterwards, something new and better can be built atop the rubble. Nihilism is now on exhibit in Iraq, where so-called insurgents are using mass murder and sabotage in an attempt to prevent a decent society from emerging.
We're also fighting totalitarianism, the belief that one group should have the power of absolute rule over all others. Totalitarianism is generally combined with supremacism, the doctrine that some groups are inherently superior to others.
Supremacist totalitarianism comes in a variety of forms. White supremacists believe people with pale skin are better than those with darker complexions. Nazis believe Aryans are entitled to rule the “mongrel” and “inferior” races. Communists would establish a “dictatorship of the proletariat” that grants no rights to “bourgeois exploiters.”
Ba'athism, the ideology adopted by Saddam Hussein in Iraq and the Assad family in Syria, was consciously modeled on both Nazism and Communism. The twist is that Ba'athists award to Arabs the role Nazis reserve for Aryans and Communists reserve for the working class.
Wahhabism, bin Ladenism and other forms of radical Islamism are based on the conviction that Muslims who adhere to a strict, highly politicized and intolerant interpretation of Islam have – literally -- a God-given right to rule the world.
In recent days, a top deputy to Osama bin Laden has been captured, as has a lieutenant to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of al-Qaeda's Iraq operation. A major American offensive appears to have eliminated an important sanctuary of the suicide bombers in western Iraq. Increasingly, such military actions disable dangerous terrorist groups.
But an ideological conflict also must be fought – a war against nihilism, supremacism, totalitarianism, Ba'athism and radical Islamism. Those who subscribe to such belief systems have no compunction about employing terrorism, genocide and other forms of barbarism to wipe out those who, they are convinced, block their path to glory and power.
“Nothing from the 20th Century has come to an end, nothing at all, except the numerals at the top of the calendar and the script in which the revolutionary manifestos are published,” wrote social critic Paul Berman. “This script, which used to be the Gothic letters of German, and later was Cyrillic, and lately has been Farsi and Arabic, and which, in any alphabet, spells out the same apocalyptic explanation for why, in this hour of Armageddon, masses of people should be killed.”
In other words, World War II, the Cold War and what may become known as the Long War of the 21st Century are really the same struggle against the same enemy. He changes his name but his fundamental character remains the same."
Clifford D. May: Know thy enemy: "The United States is not fighting a war against terror. Terror is an emotional response. Fighting a war against terror makes no more sense than fighting a war against greed or envy.
Are we, however, fighting a war against terrorism? Some analysts make the cogent argument that terrorism is a weapon. Therefore, they say, to declare a “War Against Terrorism” is akin to proclaiming a “War Against Submarines.”
But terrorism – the intentional targeting of civilians for political purposes – is a heinous tactic that can be fought just as people have battled germ warfare, genocide, ethnic cleansing, slavery and piracy. These are all practices which civilized people should not condone.
To argue that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter – as, for example the Reuters news agency does -- is mushy-headed relativism, akin to asserting that there is no difference between killing soldiers on a battlefield and slaughtering men, women and children in gas chambers.
Besides, it should be obvious that people who value freedom and human rights do not intentionally murder other people's children. Even at the lowest points in the American Revolution, George Washington did not consider slitting the throats of the Tories' toddlers.
But it is not terrorism alone that America and its allies are fighting. On a deeper level we are fighting the ideologies that drive and justify terrorism. Among them is nihilism, the doctrine that existing institutions must be razed to the ground so that, afterwards, something new and better can be built atop the rubble. Nihilism is now on exhibit in Iraq, where so-called insurgents are using mass murder and sabotage in an attempt to prevent a decent society from emerging.
We're also fighting totalitarianism, the belief that one group should have the power of absolute rule over all others. Totalitarianism is generally combined with supremacism, the doctrine that some groups are inherently superior to others.
Supremacist totalitarianism comes in a variety of forms. White supremacists believe people with pale skin are better than those with darker complexions. Nazis believe Aryans are entitled to rule the “mongrel” and “inferior” races. Communists would establish a “dictatorship of the proletariat” that grants no rights to “bourgeois exploiters.”
Ba'athism, the ideology adopted by Saddam Hussein in Iraq and the Assad family in Syria, was consciously modeled on both Nazism and Communism. The twist is that Ba'athists award to Arabs the role Nazis reserve for Aryans and Communists reserve for the working class.
Wahhabism, bin Ladenism and other forms of radical Islamism are based on the conviction that Muslims who adhere to a strict, highly politicized and intolerant interpretation of Islam have – literally -- a God-given right to rule the world.
In recent days, a top deputy to Osama bin Laden has been captured, as has a lieutenant to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of al-Qaeda's Iraq operation. A major American offensive appears to have eliminated an important sanctuary of the suicide bombers in western Iraq. Increasingly, such military actions disable dangerous terrorist groups.
But an ideological conflict also must be fought – a war against nihilism, supremacism, totalitarianism, Ba'athism and radical Islamism. Those who subscribe to such belief systems have no compunction about employing terrorism, genocide and other forms of barbarism to wipe out those who, they are convinced, block their path to glory and power.
“Nothing from the 20th Century has come to an end, nothing at all, except the numerals at the top of the calendar and the script in which the revolutionary manifestos are published,” wrote social critic Paul Berman. “This script, which used to be the Gothic letters of German, and later was Cyrillic, and lately has been Farsi and Arabic, and which, in any alphabet, spells out the same apocalyptic explanation for why, in this hour of Armageddon, masses of people should be killed.”
In other words, World War II, the Cold War and what may become known as the Long War of the 21st Century are really the same struggle against the same enemy. He changes his name but his fundamental character remains the same."
Friday, May 13, 2005
Thursday, May 12, 2005
This kind fellow in Australia put up a bunch of nice calculators....
Maths Helper - Free maths tools and calculators
Maths Helper - Free maths tools and calculators
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Thursday, May 05, 2005
this guy is advertising himself. may be an interesting guy to know if we ever do this animation thing
Gary Perkovac Animation
Gary Perkovac Animation
These guys fight the Creationists. A dry battle that, but someone has to do it.
National Center for Science Education
National Center for Science Education
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
This guy is an interesting contributor to SeaJug, providing the Tapestry angle mostly.
Konstantin Ignatyev
Konstantin Ignatyev
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Sunday, May 01, 2005
Very cool javascript on this guy's site, and some other nice links.
forgetfoo. - smell the force, luke.
forgetfoo. - smell the force, luke.
Monday, April 25, 2005
Monday, April 18, 2005
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Monday, April 04, 2005
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
YOGA:
Yoga Journal : Poses: "
Practicing Anjali Mudra is an excellent way to induce a meditative state of awareness."
Yoga Journal : Poses: "
Practicing Anjali Mudra is an excellent way to induce a meditative state of awareness."
Monday, March 28, 2005
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Friday, March 11, 2005
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Monday, March 07, 2005
Thursday, February 24, 2005
This is interesting. Any woman that actually likes Howard Stern is interesting to me, if in a train-wreck sort of way.
Wonkette
Wonkette
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Friday, February 18, 2005
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Monday, February 14, 2005
Friday, February 11, 2005
Monday, February 07, 2005
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Monday, January 31, 2005
Sunday, January 30, 2005
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Monday, January 17, 2005
Friday, January 07, 2005
boogle.com - google search engine with quotes: "There are one-story intellects, two-story intellects, and three-story intellects with skylights. All fact collectors with no aim beyond their facts are one-story men. Two-story men compare reason and generalize, using labors of the fact collectors as well as their own. Three-story men idealize, imagine, and predict. Their best illuminations come from above through the skylight.
Oliver Wendell Holmes"
Oliver Wendell Holmes"
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Thursday, December 30, 2004
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Thursday, December 23, 2004
"The most wonderful of all things in life, I believe, is the discovery of another human being with whom one's relationship has a glowing depth, beauty, and joy as the years increase. This inner progressiveness of love between two human beings is a most marvelous thing, it cannot be found by looking for it or by passionately wishing for it. It is a sort of Divine accident. --- Sir Hugh Walpoe"
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Funny, never saw this site before.
The Future of Freedom Foundation
I'm gonna repeat the delcaration here, cuz its sooo cool:
Declaration of Principles
The United States was founded on the principles of individual freedom, free markets, private property, and limited government. As the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution reflect, individuals have the natural and God-given right to live their lives any way they choose, so long as their conduct is peaceful. It is the duty of government to protect, not destroy, these inherent and inalienable rights.
Thus, for well over a century, the American people said "No" to such anti-free-market government policies as income taxation, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, welfare, immigration controls, economic regulations, drug laws, gun control, public schooling, and foreign wars. Despite the tragic exception of slavery, the result was the most prosperous, healthy, literate, and compassionate society in history. Unfortunately, in the 20th century, our country has moved in an opposite direction. Operating through the IRS, DEA, ATF, INS, FDA, FTC , and a multitude of other bureaucracies, our government has waged immoral and destructive wars on our freedom, our property, and our well-being.
It has seduced us into believing that we cannot live without this political paternalism. It has weakened our moral fiber and our sense of self-reliance, self-esteem, voluntary charity, and community. It has damaged our families. It has hurt the poorest people in society. It has turned foreigners into enemies. It has trampled on our Constitution. It has undermined our commitment to the moral foundations of freedom and to the benefits of free markets.
The time has come for us to reevaluate our relationship to our government — to repeal, not reform, these immoral and destructive government programs — to recapture our commitment to the principles of free markets, private property, voluntary charity, and limited government that made our nation great — and to believe in ourselves again. It is time for us once again to lead the world to the highest reaches of freedom in history. It is to this end that The Future of Freedom Foundation is dedicated.
The Future of Freedom Foundation
I'm gonna repeat the delcaration here, cuz its sooo cool:
Declaration of Principles
The United States was founded on the principles of individual freedom, free markets, private property, and limited government. As the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution reflect, individuals have the natural and God-given right to live their lives any way they choose, so long as their conduct is peaceful. It is the duty of government to protect, not destroy, these inherent and inalienable rights.
Thus, for well over a century, the American people said "No" to such anti-free-market government policies as income taxation, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, welfare, immigration controls, economic regulations, drug laws, gun control, public schooling, and foreign wars. Despite the tragic exception of slavery, the result was the most prosperous, healthy, literate, and compassionate society in history. Unfortunately, in the 20th century, our country has moved in an opposite direction. Operating through the IRS, DEA, ATF, INS, FDA, FTC , and a multitude of other bureaucracies, our government has waged immoral and destructive wars on our freedom, our property, and our well-being.
It has seduced us into believing that we cannot live without this political paternalism. It has weakened our moral fiber and our sense of self-reliance, self-esteem, voluntary charity, and community. It has damaged our families. It has hurt the poorest people in society. It has turned foreigners into enemies. It has trampled on our Constitution. It has undermined our commitment to the moral foundations of freedom and to the benefits of free markets.
The time has come for us to reevaluate our relationship to our government — to repeal, not reform, these immoral and destructive government programs — to recapture our commitment to the principles of free markets, private property, voluntary charity, and limited government that made our nation great — and to believe in ourselves again. It is time for us once again to lead the world to the highest reaches of freedom in history. It is to this end that The Future of Freedom Foundation is dedicated.
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Monday, November 15, 2004
"The ideal life is in our blood and never will be still. Sad will be the day for any man when he becomes contented with the thoughts he is thinking and the deeds he is doing -- where there is not forever beating at the doors of his soul some great desire to do something larger, which he knows that he was meant and made to do." -- Phillips Brooks
That is interesting. I know people who are not like this. Many people. Indeed, most. I concentrate on the issue and can think of 2 of 10 men that follow the creed above, and one of them is I.
That is interesting. I know people who are not like this. Many people. Indeed, most. I concentrate on the issue and can think of 2 of 10 men that follow the creed above, and one of them is I.
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