FYI... in case you've been sitting back and wondering whether to spend $500 on that new HD-DVD player or $500 on a PS3/Blu-Ray... wonder no more. The format war that's been raging for the last few years around the next generation of DVDs has ended. Toshiba's HD-DVD is giving up, conceding victory to Sony's Blu-Ray.
A full story can be found on zdnet here: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9584_22-6230960.html.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Damn taxes
So I did my taxes yesterday... I know I know, you're wondering where the real Graeme is and what I've done with him, since I never do anything ahead of the last possible minute, and it's still 2 months before taxes are due so what the hell is going on... but I did them. Get over it.
If it's any consolation, I haven't actually filed them just yet... I don't like the results so I want to go back over them in a couple days, but not until I've donated money to charity, and saved some drowning puppies, and pulled 40 nuns from a burning schoolbus. I figure a lightning-fast karma arms race might serve to re-align the tax stars and get those amounts I owe down to a more reasonable level.
So yeah... I paid $10k in tuition out of pocket for Presidio last year (ok, I actually took out an unsubsidized Stafford loan, but that's still effectively out of my pockets), but none of it is deductible. I can't take the Lifetime Learning credit of $2k/year, either. Instead, I owe a net of $1k to the US and Cali, mostly because of ESPP sales. Though I made those sales at a profit, so really I still came out on top. But you forget you have to pay taxes on that stuff a year later, and lord knows I never set aside the amount in anticipation of having to do so... so it's a surprise, even though it shouldn't be. Blah.
But I think the reality of it all is that I do well for myself, and I can afford to pay my taxes AND pay for tuition. And I'm still able to sock some away for my future family, and to help take care of my parents and sister and cousins et al, if needed... so... thank you engineering undergrad and University of Illinois for getting me where I am today. Oh, and the public school system. =P
So in the end, I'm not going to complain. The US needs the money more than I do... sorta... minus the war in Iraq.
If it's any consolation, I haven't actually filed them just yet... I don't like the results so I want to go back over them in a couple days, but not until I've donated money to charity, and saved some drowning puppies, and pulled 40 nuns from a burning schoolbus. I figure a lightning-fast karma arms race might serve to re-align the tax stars and get those amounts I owe down to a more reasonable level.
So yeah... I paid $10k in tuition out of pocket for Presidio last year (ok, I actually took out an unsubsidized Stafford loan, but that's still effectively out of my pockets), but none of it is deductible. I can't take the Lifetime Learning credit of $2k/year, either. Instead, I owe a net of $1k to the US and Cali, mostly because of ESPP sales. Though I made those sales at a profit, so really I still came out on top. But you forget you have to pay taxes on that stuff a year later, and lord knows I never set aside the amount in anticipation of having to do so... so it's a surprise, even though it shouldn't be. Blah.
But I think the reality of it all is that I do well for myself, and I can afford to pay my taxes AND pay for tuition. And I'm still able to sock some away for my future family, and to help take care of my parents and sister and cousins et al, if needed... so... thank you engineering undergrad and University of Illinois for getting me where I am today. Oh, and the public school system. =P
So in the end, I'm not going to complain. The US needs the money more than I do... sorta... minus the war in Iraq.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
The moral relativism of Sustainability
OK, the following is a post I made in my school forums for my Operations class. It was written in response to an article written by John Ehrenfeld in Vol 44, No 2 of the October 2000 publication of American Behavioral Scientist, called "Industrial Ecology: Paradigm Shift or Normal Science?," from which I've also drawn the inserted Figure 1 (which I will pull if requested by the author or his agents). The reason I like my post is because of the moral relativism argument I make about the current sustainability movement. Now, to be fair, I'm a full-fledged member of said movement and I absolutely advocate freezing the world at its current state (or even rewinding a couple decades). But my points are still valid... I've just made peace with the selfishness of my choices. ;)
So from here on out is my post...
I want to focus on the two components of the article that really impacted me. The first was the 4 graphs he used to illustrate fundamental behaviors of complex systems. I thought this was absolutely fascinating. I respond well to formulas and graphs, because they methodically illustrate a point that can otherwise be difficult to explain. Ehrenfeld uses those 4 graphs to explain how fundamental characteristics of a system can drive the exact same starting conditions into 4 wildly different results. And when you use those graphs to model our macroeconomic system, it becomes clear how critical it is that our economy be properly constrained to avoid a catastrophic crash (akin to his point on extinction).
He talked about how the system has to have signals that can be recognized quickly enough by a control system that can react quickly enough. If the signals are too slow or are unclear, or the control system is too slow to react, then the system will crash out. And this is exactly what we at Presidio fear is happening. We can see that signals aren't clear enough to drive unanimous action by society. And even if they were, our control systems (governments, corporate boards, NGOs) are too slow, too divided, or too powerless to react quickly. And on top of that, there are enough people who believe our macroeconomic model fundamentally looks more like any of the other 3. So most of us here at Presidio might look at all of this and think, oh great, we're screwed. And screwed we may be, but hey, at least we've got a great way to represent it all graphically.
The other neat part of the article was Ehrenfeld's discussion of what he saw as a radical paradigm shift, which he eventually suggests is embodied by industrial ecology. It's not the idea itself that industrial ecology is the new paradigm that I found intriguing. No, instead I was drawn in by this discussion of the very definition of sustainability. He makes it clear that sustainability isn't a technological or economic state of being, but actually a moral choice made by the agglomeration of moral actors in society (e.g. all of us). Some people may react with a "well, duh." But I'm not latching onto the superficial definition of morality here. He's talking about something far deeper than making a moral choice to not drive a car, or to eat vegan, or to never brush your teeth again so as to avoid wasting plastics and toothpaste.
No, he's stating that we are making a moral choice about the kind of world we want to persist indefinitely. Ultimately, as the only self-aware beings on the planet with the ability to effect massive global change, we can choose the state in which we want the world to exist, and then we can freeze it there indefinitely. When we talk about sustainability today, we talk about preserving the world as it stands, with its polar bears and spotted owls and temperate Europe and unflooded coastal zones. But that's a moral choice. We've already vastly impacted this planet; why would we choose to freeze it as it is now? Why not try to rewind to a pre-industrial America and freeze that? Or fast-forward to a Europe covered in glaciers and freeze that? Or ride it out for 500 more years and then freeze whatever post-apocalyptic wasteland exists at that point?
The point is that we're making a moral choice to freeze things where they are today. Is it the right choice? To us it seems like it is. But Native Americans, buffalo, and North American elms and chestnuts might disagree. They'd likely all prefer a world frozen at year 1400 development. And people who own property at 50 ft above sea level might really prefer we wait until the ice caps melt before we freeze things. And on top of all that, there are people who won't want to freeze at all, because it's too hard, or because they just don't care if the world as it exists persists indefinitely, because they place no moral value on future generations, or assume that those future people will adapt and live just fine with whatever they've got (just as we have!!).
So all of us trying to push for a freeze should be aware of exactly what it is we're doing: we're making a very selfish moral choice. Our decision to sustain our current world is not an absolute in the realm of morality. It is highly relative. It's relative to our personal preferences, our personal histories, our personal biases. We don't want to roll back North America to the year 1400 because we live here and don't want to leave. But we do want to freeze the world as it is now because we like Florida and our coastal cities, and we like polar bears and spotted owls and forests and a de-iced Europe. But the cold hard truth is that there's nothing inherently more valuable about any of the things we like than there is about the unspoiled Great Plains or the un-touched Great Northeastern Forest.
So think about that. Get comfortable with your selfishness. And then go out and save the world that you know and love, and say goodbye and that you're terribly sorry to all of the infinite other possible worlds whose existence you're denying. For all you know, they're better than the one you're choosing. ;)
So from here on out is my post...
I want to focus on the two components of the article that really impacted me. The first was the 4 graphs he used to illustrate fundamental behaviors of complex systems. I thought this was absolutely fascinating. I respond well to formulas and graphs, because they methodically illustrate a point that can otherwise be difficult to explain. Ehrenfeld uses those 4 graphs to explain how fundamental characteristics of a system can drive the exact same starting conditions into 4 wildly different results. And when you use those graphs to model our macroeconomic system, it becomes clear how critical it is that our economy be properly constrained to avoid a catastrophic crash (akin to his point on extinction).
He talked about how the system has to have signals that can be recognized quickly enough by a control system that can react quickly enough. If the signals are too slow or are unclear, or the control system is too slow to react, then the system will crash out. And this is exactly what we at Presidio fear is happening. We can see that signals aren't clear enough to drive unanimous action by society. And even if they were, our control systems (governments, corporate boards, NGOs) are too slow, too divided, or too powerless to react quickly. And on top of that, there are enough people who believe our macroeconomic model fundamentally looks more like any of the other 3. So most of us here at Presidio might look at all of this and think, oh great, we're screwed. And screwed we may be, but hey, at least we've got a great way to represent it all graphically.
The other neat part of the article was Ehrenfeld's discussion of what he saw as a radical paradigm shift, which he eventually suggests is embodied by industrial ecology. It's not the idea itself that industrial ecology is the new paradigm that I found intriguing. No, instead I was drawn in by this discussion of the very definition of sustainability. He makes it clear that sustainability isn't a technological or economic state of being, but actually a moral choice made by the agglomeration of moral actors in society (e.g. all of us). Some people may react with a "well, duh." But I'm not latching onto the superficial definition of morality here. He's talking about something far deeper than making a moral choice to not drive a car, or to eat vegan, or to never brush your teeth again so as to avoid wasting plastics and toothpaste.
No, he's stating that we are making a moral choice about the kind of world we want to persist indefinitely. Ultimately, as the only self-aware beings on the planet with the ability to effect massive global change, we can choose the state in which we want the world to exist, and then we can freeze it there indefinitely. When we talk about sustainability today, we talk about preserving the world as it stands, with its polar bears and spotted owls and temperate Europe and unflooded coastal zones. But that's a moral choice. We've already vastly impacted this planet; why would we choose to freeze it as it is now? Why not try to rewind to a pre-industrial America and freeze that? Or fast-forward to a Europe covered in glaciers and freeze that? Or ride it out for 500 more years and then freeze whatever post-apocalyptic wasteland exists at that point?
The point is that we're making a moral choice to freeze things where they are today. Is it the right choice? To us it seems like it is. But Native Americans, buffalo, and North American elms and chestnuts might disagree. They'd likely all prefer a world frozen at year 1400 development. And people who own property at 50 ft above sea level might really prefer we wait until the ice caps melt before we freeze things. And on top of all that, there are people who won't want to freeze at all, because it's too hard, or because they just don't care if the world as it exists persists indefinitely, because they place no moral value on future generations, or assume that those future people will adapt and live just fine with whatever they've got (just as we have!!).
So all of us trying to push for a freeze should be aware of exactly what it is we're doing: we're making a very selfish moral choice. Our decision to sustain our current world is not an absolute in the realm of morality. It is highly relative. It's relative to our personal preferences, our personal histories, our personal biases. We don't want to roll back North America to the year 1400 because we live here and don't want to leave. But we do want to freeze the world as it is now because we like Florida and our coastal cities, and we like polar bears and spotted owls and forests and a de-iced Europe. But the cold hard truth is that there's nothing inherently more valuable about any of the things we like than there is about the unspoiled Great Plains or the un-touched Great Northeastern Forest.
So think about that. Get comfortable with your selfishness. And then go out and save the world that you know and love, and say goodbye and that you're terribly sorry to all of the infinite other possible worlds whose existence you're denying. For all you know, they're better than the one you're choosing. ;)
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Cute Overload
I'm not sure why I haven't been sharing these before... CuteOverload.com has some of the cutest freaking animal pictures I've ever seen. So prepare yourself... you're about to get blasted with cuteness. Though... the ones I find cute might be a departure from your own cuteness standards. =D
First off, though... I want to share the following pic. This thing has been cracking my shit up all week... I've even got it as my desktop image right now. Everyone I've shown it to has at least feigned laughter, so I ask that you have the courtesy to do the same (well, the CIO guy didn't... but he seemed pretty humorless and pissy in general so fuck him).
Here are some additional pics... first up, a rat drinking some two-buck chuck. I love rats!!!
Next, a bird and a kitteh making friends. awwww.
Next, some deer trying to convince a cat to let them into the house and out of the snow.
And last, both for me (cause I love squirrels) and for Gretch (cause she hates them), here's a squirrel havin some Mr. Pibb at some guy's desk at work. =D
First off, though... I want to share the following pic. This thing has been cracking my shit up all week... I've even got it as my desktop image right now. Everyone I've shown it to has at least feigned laughter, so I ask that you have the courtesy to do the same (well, the CIO guy didn't... but he seemed pretty humorless and pissy in general so fuck him).
Here are some additional pics... first up, a rat drinking some two-buck chuck. I love rats!!!
Next, a bird and a kitteh making friends. awwww.
Next, some deer trying to convince a cat to let them into the house and out of the snow.
And last, both for me (cause I love squirrels) and for Gretch (cause she hates them), here's a squirrel havin some Mr. Pibb at some guy's desk at work. =D
Monday, February 11, 2008
Writer's Strike Ends!
Ahhhh... this is such good news for tv lovers (like me!). I was getting so freaking sick of reality shows being the only new fare on the tube.
The Writer's Strike is over!! According to the AFL-CIO: "Television and movie writers ended a three-month strike with a new agreement that addresses their key demands: They get paid fairly for their work distributed over the Internet and other new media. The contract also prevents rollbacks to pensions and health care benfits. Michael Winship, president of the Writers Guild of America, East, and Patric Verrone, president of the Writers Guild of America, West, attribute the strike’s success to the writers’ “physical resolve, determination and perseverance.”"
That's awesome. In most strikes I'm apt to side with the workers, because they're the ones actually doing the work, and meeting their demands usually means little to the bottom line of the parent company in the long run. That's not always true (airlines are a good example), but even in such counter-cases the parent company likely needs to make peace with the fact that it has a labor-intensive cost base and it has to pay fairly if it wants to continue delivering quality services. And some businesses just aren't going to have high margins, by their nature.
But entertainment is not one of those counter-cases. Entertainment has huge margins (as well as colossal failures), and it's just asinine that the major production houses didn't want to share their non-traditional revenue sources with the very people who drive their business. Writers are the heart of it all, and they deserve to share in the massive wealth pulled down by the actors and management. And it looks like that's what they're getting, which is fantastic.
So... yay for the writers! I'm happy 30 Rock and Medium and Eureka and BSG and everything else I love to watch will be coming back. I know it'll be a little while before new eps are ready, but me and my tivo will be waiting, Hollywood! So get on it!!!
The Writer's Strike is over!! According to the AFL-CIO: "Television and movie writers ended a three-month strike with a new agreement that addresses their key demands: They get paid fairly for their work distributed over the Internet and other new media. The contract also prevents rollbacks to pensions and health care benfits. Michael Winship, president of the Writers Guild of America, East, and Patric Verrone, president of the Writers Guild of America, West, attribute the strike’s success to the writers’ “physical resolve, determination and perseverance.”"
That's awesome. In most strikes I'm apt to side with the workers, because they're the ones actually doing the work, and meeting their demands usually means little to the bottom line of the parent company in the long run. That's not always true (airlines are a good example), but even in such counter-cases the parent company likely needs to make peace with the fact that it has a labor-intensive cost base and it has to pay fairly if it wants to continue delivering quality services. And some businesses just aren't going to have high margins, by their nature.
But entertainment is not one of those counter-cases. Entertainment has huge margins (as well as colossal failures), and it's just asinine that the major production houses didn't want to share their non-traditional revenue sources with the very people who drive their business. Writers are the heart of it all, and they deserve to share in the massive wealth pulled down by the actors and management. And it looks like that's what they're getting, which is fantastic.
So... yay for the writers! I'm happy 30 Rock and Medium and Eureka and BSG and everything else I love to watch will be coming back. I know it'll be a little while before new eps are ready, but me and my tivo will be waiting, Hollywood! So get on it!!!
Slacker!!
So I've totally been slacking on this blog thing, eh. And there's been so much to talk about!!! The primaries alone... oy vey, so much crap I could dish. And my personal life... I may have met my future husband, for one (no big whoop, right)... and I've got the plague again... and work and school and life in general... sheesh.
Anyways... I'm gonna try to get back to it... there may be a bit of a flood this week as I push through the backlog of interesting shite to share... but hang in there and I'll work my way back to what's apparently the norm of like a post every couple days. =D
Anyways... I'm gonna try to get back to it... there may be a bit of a flood this week as I push through the backlog of interesting shite to share... but hang in there and I'll work my way back to what's apparently the norm of like a post every couple days. =D
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Homosexuality is Illegal in Cameroon
Not that this is entirely surprising (depressingly), but homosexuality is illegal in many parts of the world, and is even in places punishable by death. I just got this notice from Amnesty International related to 11 men detained in Cameroon for the heinous crime of being gay (insert eyeroll here). Please take a minute to 1) join Amnesty International, and 2) respond to this particular notice to help free these men. It's ridiculous that people even care about sexual orientation, but in places where it's illegal, GLBT people desperately need the support of outsiders whenever they can get it.
"Eleven men were arrested and detained in Cameroon between 19th July and
1st September 2007 because they were suspected of engaging in acts of
homosexuality. Sexual relations between two people of the same sex are
illegal in Cameroon. The 11 men were arrested in the cities of Douala
and Yaoundé where they remain in custody. Amnesty International
considers the detainees to be prisoners of conscience, detained solely
on account of their presumed sexual orientation, and is calling for
their immediate and unconditional release as well as for the
decriminalization of homosexuality in Cameroon."
"Eleven men were arrested and detained in Cameroon between 19th July and
1st September 2007 because they were suspected of engaging in acts of
homosexuality. Sexual relations between two people of the same sex are
illegal in Cameroon. The 11 men were arrested in the cities of Douala
and Yaoundé where they remain in custody. Amnesty International
considers the detainees to be prisoners of conscience, detained solely
on account of their presumed sexual orientation, and is calling for
their immediate and unconditional release as well as for the
decriminalization of homosexuality in Cameroon."
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Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
State of the Union tonight!
Oh my lord... tonight is Bush's last State of the Union address. 6pm PST, 9pm EST. I can't believe I forgot that this was coming up... normally I'd try to host a little party of people to play a drinking game while he's talking. So if anyone wants to come over tonight, I'll provide the booze.
If you can't come by, feel free to play along at home. http://www.drinkinggame.us/. That link has a fantastic drinking game that'll probably have you dead 20 minutes into the speech. =D
I'll pop back on after the speech and pass my eternal judgment upon it.
If you can't come by, feel free to play along at home. http://www.drinkinggame.us/. That link has a fantastic drinking game that'll probably have you dead 20 minutes into the speech. =D
I'll pop back on after the speech and pass my eternal judgment upon it.
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Saturday, January 19, 2008
Eagle Eyes McGee
Over xmas/NY, when I was back in Wheaton, I got my annual eyeball check-up. They're doing great... good intraocular pressure, no additional deterioration in my lens' ability to focus... and it turns out I have superpower vision.
No, I can't see through walls or fire lasers at the tires of annoying drivers on the interstate (how great would that be). But my eyes do correct down to almost 20/5, which according to my optomitrist no human is supposed to be able to achieve.
20/20 is considered "perfect vision"... it's the ability to read 20 pt font at 20 feet. 20/100 (the ability to read 100 pt font at 20 feet) or worse is legally blind (for purposes of driving especially). Without my contacts, I'm like 20/200. With them, I'm between 20/5 and 20/10, meaning I can read like 7 pt font at 20 feet. At that level I can discern particles of dust and dirt on things that most other people can't, which my doc warned me can really drive some people crazy. I can read that ticker on the bottom of a tv news channel from across a crowded bar. I can see those nasty, crater-like pores on your face that you really need to see a dermatologist about. And I can see right through your bullshit when you tell me that you like me but you're just not ready for a relationship right now. Hahaha.
Anyways, I think it's neat that I've got supervision. It makes up for my crappy sense of smell.
No, I can't see through walls or fire lasers at the tires of annoying drivers on the interstate (how great would that be). But my eyes do correct down to almost 20/5, which according to my optomitrist no human is supposed to be able to achieve.
20/20 is considered "perfect vision"... it's the ability to read 20 pt font at 20 feet. 20/100 (the ability to read 100 pt font at 20 feet) or worse is legally blind (for purposes of driving especially). Without my contacts, I'm like 20/200. With them, I'm between 20/5 and 20/10, meaning I can read like 7 pt font at 20 feet. At that level I can discern particles of dust and dirt on things that most other people can't, which my doc warned me can really drive some people crazy. I can read that ticker on the bottom of a tv news channel from across a crowded bar. I can see those nasty, crater-like pores on your face that you really need to see a dermatologist about. And I can see right through your bullshit when you tell me that you like me but you're just not ready for a relationship right now. Hahaha.
Anyways, I think it's neat that I've got supervision. It makes up for my crappy sense of smell.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
I just wanna use your love
OK, so I'm in Miami for work... staying in the Marriott in South Beach, with a balcony overlooking the ocean beach... it's pretty sweet. We went to dinner last night at a steakhouse called The Forge, which is a super-fancy place with delicious food, riddled with hookers. Er, not that the food's riddled with hookers... the steakhouse is... anyways.
I had their specialty steak, which in 2005 won Wine Spectator's Best Steak in America. Also had some french fries with white truffle oil, some asparagus, some really good crab, and a number of other random deliciousnesses. Ohhhh, a Belgian chocolate souffle, too. Yummers. All told the bill for the 5 of us must have been like $400 or more... thank you daddy Accenture! Though we've earned it from the hours we've been working. =D
Anyways. They had an ADDJ playing some random mix in the restaurant, since apparently around midnight it begins a slow morph into a club. The music was great, though I swear it's almost identical to music I've heard at Slide in SF... perhaps both DJs bought some 3rd DJ's CD and were just faking spinning while they were up in their booth.... reminds me of that weird time in Santa Cruz when that DJ was "spinning" these tunes from the 1940s... I think he had an iPod on and was grooving to something else entirely. Anyways.
The point of all of this was to provide a pre-ramble to this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ9jPyZtl2E. Man... Love that song.
I had their specialty steak, which in 2005 won Wine Spectator's Best Steak in America. Also had some french fries with white truffle oil, some asparagus, some really good crab, and a number of other random deliciousnesses. Ohhhh, a Belgian chocolate souffle, too. Yummers. All told the bill for the 5 of us must have been like $400 or more... thank you daddy Accenture! Though we've earned it from the hours we've been working. =D
Anyways. They had an ADDJ playing some random mix in the restaurant, since apparently around midnight it begins a slow morph into a club. The music was great, though I swear it's almost identical to music I've heard at Slide in SF... perhaps both DJs bought some 3rd DJ's CD and were just faking spinning while they were up in their booth.... reminds me of that weird time in Santa Cruz when that DJ was "spinning" these tunes from the 1940s... I think he had an iPod on and was grooving to something else entirely. Anyways.
The point of all of this was to provide a pre-ramble to this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ9jPyZtl2E. Man... Love that song.
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I bristle at this claim...
A Playboy poll claims Republicans have sex more often than Dems... though I take heart that it seems their sex is more boring. Per salon.com's War Room:
"In a poll that will appear in Playboy Friday, Luntz says that more
Republicans than Democrats have sex at least once a week. Fifty-five percent of
Republicans but only 43 percent of Democrats report hooking up at least weekly.
On the other hand, 67 percent of Democrats but only 51 percent of Republican say
they've watched porn with their partners.
"In a poll that will appear in Playboy Friday, Luntz says that more
Republicans than Democrats have sex at least once a week. Fifty-five percent of
Republicans but only 43 percent of Democrats report hooking up at least weekly.
On the other hand, 67 percent of Democrats but only 51 percent of Republican say
they've watched porn with their partners.
Do Republicans and Democrats see eye-to-eye on anything sexual? Yes.
Twenty-three percent of Republicans and 24 percent of Democrats say they'd
probably have a one-night stand with a president if they found that person
physically and sexually attractive.
Which presidents fit that bill? Luntz's respondents overwhelmingly picked
Bill Clinton as the sexiest president of the past 40 years, with Ronald Reagan a
very distant second. The least sexy president? Richard Nixon, with Clinton
second."
Boooooooo.... ok, Dems.... let's get out there and up our percentages!!
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Tuesday, December 11, 2007
If You're a Republican...
This doesn't apply to Big A's brand of smart Republicanism. It's more a send-up of the idiot GOP that evolved in the 70s/80s and has recently begun to (FINALLY) flare out. But it's a great call-out of how hypocritical and/or inconsistent the party platform has become. Not that the Dems are perfect, of course.
IF YOU'RE A REPUBLICAN YOU NEED
TO BELIEVE:
1. Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals
and Hillary
Clinton.
2. Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy
when Bush's Daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with
him, and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden"
diversion.
3. Trade with Cuba is wrong because
the country is Communist, but trade with China and Vietnam
is vital to a spirit of international harmony.
4. The United States should get out
of the United Nations, and our highest national
priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iran.
5. A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own
body, but multinational drug corporations can make decisions affecting all
mankind without regulation.
6. The best way to improve military morale is to praise the
troops in speeches, while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.
7. If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't
have sex.
8. A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our longtime
allies, then demand their cooperation and money.
9. Providing health care to all
Iraqis is sound policy, but providing health care to all Americans is
socialism. HMO's and insurance companies have the best interests of the public
at heart.
10. Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk
science, but creationism should be taught in schools.
11. A president lying about an extramarital affair is an
impeachable offense, but a president lying to enlist support for a war in which
thousands die is solid defense policy.
12. Government should limit itself to the powers named in
the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the
Internet.
13. The public has a right to know
about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's driving
record is none of our business.
14. Being a drug addict is a moral
failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an
illness and you need our prayers for your recovery.
15. Supporting "Executive
Privilege" for every Republican ever born, who will be born or who might
be born (in perpetuity.)
16. What Bill Clinton did in
the 1960's is of vital national interest, but what Bush did in the '80's is
irrelevant.
17. Support for hunters who shoot
their friends and blame them for wearing orange vests similar to those worn by
the quail.
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Wheel of Time to continue
A few months ago I posted that one my my favorite authors, Robert Jordan, had passed away. He died of a rare blood disease called amyloidosis. He was in the process of writing the 12th and final book in his Wheel of Time series, called A Memory of Light.
Well, I just read on dragonmount.com that his wife and editor, Harriet Popham Rigney, has chosen an author to complete RJ's book. Brandon Sanderson is the man. I haven't read any of his novels, but I suppose now I should. RJ had completed his story arc long ago, but the actual execution of the outline was incomplete. So I expect that although the writing style may slightly differ, the content will remain true to RJ's vision.
I'm really glad that Harriet is keeping her hand in the final book... the bummer is that it won't be released until Fall 2009. But that should be plenty of time for Harriet and Brandon to align the book to RJ's vision and standards!
Yay!
Well, I just read on dragonmount.com that his wife and editor, Harriet Popham Rigney, has chosen an author to complete RJ's book. Brandon Sanderson is the man. I haven't read any of his novels, but I suppose now I should. RJ had completed his story arc long ago, but the actual execution of the outline was incomplete. So I expect that although the writing style may slightly differ, the content will remain true to RJ's vision.
I'm really glad that Harriet is keeping her hand in the final book... the bummer is that it won't be released until Fall 2009. But that should be plenty of time for Harriet and Brandon to align the book to RJ's vision and standards!
Yay!
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Monday, December 10, 2007
RIP Mme. Irey
I was incredibly saddened to learn that my high school French teacher, Mme Irey, passed away in September of this year from a form of brain cancer. In the last decade I've spent a fair amount of time in Europe, and every trip to France I've been able to showcase my relative fluency in French, thanks to the incredible teaching skills of Mme Irey. I'd been intending to track her down and re-connect, and only recently found out that she'd passed away. I had never thought that time would be a factor... she went to high school with my mom in Wheaton, so I assumed she had decades left. I think the lesson here is that you shouldn't wait to reconnect with people who mean a lot to you... do it now.
As odd as it seems, I was able to find a lot of information on Mme using Facebook. I've actually been reconnecting with all sorts of people on there, people I first met nearly 20 years ago. It's been pretty incredible. But there's a Facebook group praying for Mme's health... check it out and pay your respects, if you knew her.
The following is the post I put on that page... I guess it's a sort of farewell/tribute to Mme. It's nothing special... but she meant a lot to me so I want to share this on here, as well.
============================================
Oh Madame... for years I'd been planning to track you down and tell you
all the great stories of my travels in France, and how even after all
these years I was able to speak fluently, thanks to 3 years with you. I
thought of you every time I did it... whether I was arguing with a
conductor on a train in Lyon, or chatting it up with a random hotel
owner in Marseilles. I'm so so so sorry that you've left us... we'll
all miss you terribly.
Je suis sur que vous etes dans une
meilleure place, madame. Il faut que tout de nous y allions,
eventuellement. [mon dieu! le subjonctif!!]
I'd play one more
game of Taxi, Taxi in your honor... if only I could remember the rules.
=P I always looked forward to French... We had so much fun coming up
with totally random names... with our trip to France (il faut penser au
group!!!!)... with Robert et Mireille... so many awesome memories.
A bien tot, madame... vous nous manquez pour toujours.
L'ombre de la Dreche Invisible ('94)
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