O' the day - 10.29.07

I type the date and realize the year is almost over . . . .

The more I see the debate on the "planet in peril" idea foisted by the Democratic left, the more I'm thinking this just might be another Sputnik scare. Not that I think humanity hasn't left an indelible, mostly harmful footprint on the earth; rather, the idea that unless we all forgo oil, electricity, food, and water, the planet will implode in the next year or two seems a bit alarmist. Granted, Democrats currently hold political power in the U.S. and have won many proponents abroad, so global warming as a critical issue has won huge press; an Oscar and Nobel certainly don't hurt the cause. However, to assume that the planet is teetering on the brink of extinction because I drive my gas-fueled car to work every day, as is shouted daily in the papers and online, makes one facet of the whole overly important. We should work with the earth, not against it, but there are limits to what we should force ourselves into doing just to produce one carbon credit.

O' the day - 10.22.07

Yet another reminder this morning of our too-short mortality -- after speaking with one of my co-workers in Utah last week, who's dying quickly of bone cancer, I learned today that my boss had a severe stroke over the weekend, to the point that yesterday, he wasn't expected to live. He's all of 52 short years old, a number that seems younger and younger the older and older I get. Life goes by O so quickly.

O' the day - 10.17.07

I think my Libertarian leanings are showing -- I'm all for helping out the little person, but when that person makes bad decisions, I'm not necessarily for bailing them out. I know I've blogged previously on the sub-prime market issue, but the story I heard this morning renewed my commitment to my earlier stance.

Apparently the government is pondering whether to give bankruptcy judges the ability to change the terms of a mortgage, in an effort to help people remain in their homes, whether they can actually afford to pay for them or not. This would entail dismissing some of the money owed, lowering the interest rate, and changing payment terms. Obviously, the mortgage industry is fighting this one; I'm actually on their side, at least nominally. The cold, harsh truth is that no, not everyone can afford a home of their own. If you don't have the money to pay the mortgage, maintenance, repairs, etc. as well as your other bills, you don't need to buy a home. Home ownership is a long-term commitment that shouldn't be entered lightly, and I have an issue with a judge making things easier on people who made poor financial decisions. I've been at the point of declaring bankruptcy, and worked my way out of it without having to resort to that last-ditch solution. I've bought two houses on my own and have been able to pay every penny. I have a problem with those who aren't willing to work as hard for the same things I've busted my butt for in life.

O' the day - 10.16.07

Dwelling too much today on the negative (I guess that's what comes when you're in pain) - I need a kick in the pants, a turn of the head, an attitude adjustment big time. Life is so far beyond what we feel in the here and now; it's amazing, though, how much pain in the here and now can affect our entire life, nuts and bolts and everything in between.

O' the day - 10.12.07

Happy fourth anniversary, honey - I love you more now than four years ago, and twice as much as eight and a half years ago. Always and forever . . . .

O' the day - 10.11.07

Happy birthday (late), David - we miss you.

"Distorted reality's now a necessity to be free" - words from Elliott Smith that ring parallel to his life and death. Drugs aside, I truly understand the words he wrote, and can find many similarities between his soul and mine. Life so short, and took the way out easier for himself, but saddened for the rest of us.

O' the day - 10.08.07

Happy Columbus Day! (to those of you who celebrate such things)

Al Sharpton just gripes my soul. It's not that I don't have a level of sympathy with some of the causes he heads up, but isn't the fundamental idea of racism one that assumes certain facts about a group of individuals, based solely on race? It seems that if you are black, in Sharpton's eyes you can do no wrong, regardless of the truth of the issue. Murderous thug who happened to be apprehended by white cops? Raise the flag of self-righteousness and bigotry! Create voter fraud and embezzlement of government funds? They must be persecuted unfairly, since they are people of color. (And yes, I believe we are all people of color; the ethnic background determines the degree. Take that for a shades-of-grey answer.) Whether or not it creates instant martyrdom, I believe the world would be better off without such hatemongers; in the south, where we have striven so hard to reach beyond the world of our ancestry, such reminders of the differences between me and you only serve to keep us firmly chained to those ancient ghosts of divisiveness and tension.

O' the day - 10.04.07

Nice piece this morning on art in the 18th century, especially that pertaining to the American Revolution -- it ties in nicely with the Gabaldon I've been reading. The interviewee made the point that the tableaux-like pictures we generally see of 1776 usually show the pose-captured images of a valiant American force overcoming the tyrannical British in a highly stylized fashion, but that paintings from that era exist which show the reality of life on the battlefield, complete with anguish and chaos and mud. Picturing the historical figures of Jefferson, Washington, and Hancock with real lives and wants and warts instead of the chivalrous larger-than-life characters we so often envision is a nice distraction, and reminds you that the greatest changes in the world come about from the smallest ideas of a few men.