Lessons of Hardship

We had our power shut off yesterday. Due to several circumstances that I will not get into here, the bill didn't get paid and sure enough, some guy came out to cut us off. It sucked and there was some mild panic immediately after the fact but then the problem solver instinct took over and it went from mild panic to consideration of how to survive this episode. Heather began to explore options and figure out how to get the power back on. This means dealing with people and being humble, something that I'm terrible at so she took on that job. I began to consider the more physical aspects of our dilema. I went to the store and got charcoal for the BBQ grill and checked my camping supplies to make sure that we had gas for the camp grill. I picked up some supplies and made sure that we had light to see via candles and flashlights and a means to eat. Later on, after we were all home, we cooked out on the back deck while Erin played with some other kids in the park next door. After the poatoes and the meat was cooked, we ate upstairs by candle light and spent the evening reading and playing together. It was actually quite a pleasant evening.

Two things that I came away with from this experience. First, having the power shut off is much less of a problem than having the water shut off, which we have experienced before. More then this though was the change in life and activity that happened once the TV was turned off. Heather and I spent the evening talking and reading. Erin played with other neighborhood kids and got plenty of air and exercise. It felt that we were closer and healthier without the interference of technology. For us this consists of the TV and the internet. Now, I wont besmirch the internet, I still think it's the best thing to happen to the human race, intellectualism and free speech since, well... since philosophy. TV on the other hand I'm not so impressed by. Heather and I decided last night that we'd keep the TV off until after dinner from now on. I hope we can stick to that.

The Desire to Kill

I just got done watching the video where former president Clinton was involved in his combative interview with the fox reporter and it seems now that there is an argument between the left and right camps about who has done what in their attempts to kill Bin Laden. This, to me, is a symptom of the problem, not just with politics in this country but the nation's prevelent mindset. Politicians in today's America are deeply concerned about killing terrorists but there is no move that I'm aware of to make peace. If it were just the politicians it could be understood to a certain degree but the rank and file American seems to want to kill those whom they disagree with. When the Dixie Chicks came out against the war they recieved death threats. Some people really wanted them dead. Anti-racists want their opposite number, neo-nazis to be destroyed. White supremicists want jews wiped out. Jews want arabs and "nazis" killed. There are rap songs too numerous to mention that glorify killing, especially white people. None of these groups has any inclination to engage in dialogue and make peace. There are groups outside of the US who have the same problem. A good example are the Muslims who want anyone who "blasphemes" Islam killed.
On the other side of the coin, you don't generally hear about Europeans or Canadians wanting anyone dead. In Europe, the worst you will hear is that some want the immigrants to go home. When the Muslims started attacking Denmark and her interests, there was no violent retaliation from Denmark. You never hear of China or Japan wanting to kill anyone. China may have it's issues with Taiwan but they don't want to wipe out the entire population of that country. Venezuela certainly has it's issues with the US at this time but they're not advocating killing Americans (of course, to be fair, we're not advocating killing Venezuelans either).
I suggest that there is a level of maturity that goes with being able to disagree with people, sometimes strongly, without wanting to kill them. There are many people in developing countries that have not reached that maturity but, it seems to me, that's what comes with "developing" status. So, my question is, what's our excuse?

On Hold

I kind of feel like my entire life is on hold at the moment. I simply cannot answer any of the most pressing questions that I have presented to me right now because I'm awaiting information from another source. Am I going to be employed or unemployed? Living here or somewhere else? what should I be doing right now? I don't know the answers to any of it because I'm on hold. This just sucks. Grrrrr!

Not much of a post I know but I'm having writers block again. More likely my "hold" status has me uninspired.

On a lighter note, happy anniversary to my wife and I. Yep, seven years of marriage and she hasn't killed me yet. Although she's come close on a few occasions....

I'll write more when I'm off hold.

Life Status Change

I'm not real. I'm just a stress induced halucination. So, when you're completely stressed out of your mind, I'll be there.



Especially if you're hot.

Life Lately

I've been watching Humphrey Bogart movies recently. Namely The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca. Casablanca I've seen a few times before, the first time coming quickly on the heels of the first time I'd seen When Harry Met Sally with an old college girlfriend several years back. Anyway, the point of this is that if you want to see true badass in the classic sense, this is it. Humphrey Bogart is the classic American badass. Anyone else you can think of is a big pansy in comparison.

I flew to New York recently. Did the whole trip, there and back, in one day. Nobody should have to go through airport security more than once a day. I hesitate to say what for. I don't want to jinx this. Do I dare say anythig at all? I guess it's too late for that. All I'll say is...... Syracuse. I'll post more when I know more.

Die Ubermädchen is not feeling well. We were supposed to go to the aquarium today but she's simply not up to it although, to hear her tell it, if we go that will make her feel much better. We eventually went to the bookstore to get out of the house for a short but and she barely survived that. She's supposed to go watch a horse show tomorrow. We'll see how she is tomorrow morning.

What a Day

It's been a day. I've had worse but this one hasn't been fun. Mostly it's just been a series of little annoyances. It starts with the whole 9/11 anniversary. It's all over the place. You can't get away from it. Annoyance number one. I get my daughter off to the bus and I'm off to get my coffee. I have errands to run so I'm not able to stop in to Caribou for my hour or so of writing, coffee and peace. Instead I have to go to Starbucks where they're out of the stuff they need to make my coffee. Annoyance number two. I order an alternative. The woman making my coffee is weeping all over the place. She's having a bad day. I assure her that the coffee issue is no big deal. No, that's not it, she lost three of her friends during 9/11 and is just having a "bad day". Call me heartless but didn't we all? (FYI - I lived in the DC area during that time. My wife nearly lost her boss, I nearly lost my wife and a coworker at the time lost the entire household that lived next to him). Just keep your tears outta my coffee lady. Annoyance number three. The coffee I ordered sucked. Annoyance number four. I go to the VW dealership because my new Jetta has an issue. They can't see me until friday. Annoyance number five. Later, I try to get my printers shared through my wireless network so I can use them from my laptop. No dice. Annoyance number six. My wife annoys me via events that will go undiscussed and we get into a minor pissing match. Luckily, minor pissing matches are as far as we ever go but I still wound up in the front yard smoking and trying to calm down. I'm looking forward to bed.

In regards to 9/11, something should probably be said about it. I can't do any better than this guy so I'll leave you with this piece written by Ron Gunzburger from politics1.com that I ran across this morning.

"A bit of editorializing on this fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. I have some questions for you to ponder. Has Osama Bin Laden been captured yet? Are the Taliban and their war lord allies in Afghanistan again resurgent? Does the US-backed, Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai effectively control anything outside the Kabul region? Is Iraq more stable and less of a threat to western interests now versus five years ago? Is Iran closer to being a nuclear threat now versus five years ago? Are US relations, in general, with foreign nations better or worse than five years ago? As Americans, have our civil liberties been incrementally reduced over the past five years? So ... is all of this the new definition of "we're winning" the War on Terrorism?"

The Great American Novel

Somewhere in my twisted little mind, I've decided that it would be a good use of my time to write a book. Well, I wouldn't call it a book. More like a "writing" at this point as I'm not sure where it's going or where I'd even like it to go. I have decided a few things in relation to it though. Primarily, I'm just going to sit down and write and let the "writing" have a life of it's own. When I get enough together then maybe I'll start separating out chapters and doing some editing but for right now it's just writing for it's own sake. Secondly, I'm writing about what I know and what I know best is me. Seems like kind of a funny thing for average joe guy to be writing what is essentially his memoirs but it appears at this time that is indeed what I'm doing. It could be argued that I'm not really serious about this and it's just something to do as I sit at Caribou Coffee and sip a tall foo-foo coffee every morning but, well, call it what you will. Maybe I'm on the road to fame as the next great literary mind of my time and maybe it's all just mental masturbation. At any rate, here's a blurb written just today. Tell me what you think:

"The adults would split up with the women in the kitchen gossiping and cleaning and the men sitting in the living room and watching the game. Later on I was old enough to partake in this ritual. The men would get comfortable, kicking up their feet, and watch whatever game was on. Each of us would have a glass of wine or beer or some other drink in hand. In very short order, one at a time, we’d all fall asleep and start snoring. Most of us would spill the drink we had. An hour after dinner the living room was full of snoring Italian men with wet laps. In today’s enlightened era it may seem barbaric that the women were cleaning while the men drank and watched TV but I really believe that the women spent their time in the kitchen snickering at their respective spouses and believing that they had the better end of the deal."

RIP Crocodile Hunter

As I have no doubt you are already aware, Steve Irwin AKA the Crocodile Hunter is dead due to a freak accident involving a stingray off the coast of Australia.



While I was never a huge fan or anything and, quite honestly, I poked fun at him as much as the next guy, he was a man of honor who selflessly did for others. He educated the masses about wildlife and ecology and spent millions of his own money buying up land for wildlife refuges and the like. As a husband and a father of a young child, I am saddened for his family. I can only imagine what they're going through tonight. This man has been on my mind all day and I find his passing to be a real tragedy. Rest In Peace, Steve.