I was driving in to work this morning and listening to Laura Ingraham. It was a "Best of..." show, talk radio's term for "re-run". I don't listen to her show often, mostly because while I like her, sometimes she can get a bit shrill with her viewpoints. She can become very aggressive needlessly, especially on family-related issues. Many might argue this is a common failing of conservative talk show hosts, and in some cases they're right. But I digress.
In this segment she was discussing this gentleman, originally reported on the Today Show back in early October. Laura referred to him as "Vasectomy Boy" rather than by his name, Toby Byrum. Now, I've had a lot of reproduction-related posts lately, because I think we're starting to see a huge backlash from people on the Left who are actively waging war against traditional families and even child-bearing in general. We've seen a lot of stories lately that exemplify the Left's war on the human future. Abortion activism. Radical feminism, in which women rebel against "society's imposed gender roles and refuse to become mothers." "Gay rights" activism and promotion of the gay lifestyle (remember, gays can't have kids the normal way...they have to borrow from others, and most seem to not want children, anyway). Recently we've seen Greenies who don't want kids because they believe it's bad for the planet. As if this weren't laughable enough, they further want to tax the rest of us who DO want to have children. Does anyone see a pattern here?
Look at the picture, watch the video, listen to the guy talk, read his bio, look at the way he dresses, observe his mannerisms. He's a "web consultant" (read that: "governed by creativity and emotion"). He's from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, known as a liberal outpost primarily because of both the artists and writers who go there and the celebrities and "enlightened wealthy" who have taken up residence there over the past couple of decades, similarly to Aspen and Telluride. He's 28, "leads an active life, enjoys the outdoors and hopes to get married some day." He's an obvious metrosexual, who simply chose to live in Jackson Hole rather than a loft in LoDo. I'd bet good money that he's a Democrat, probably a far-left one, and regularly insults folks like myself as "uneducated" or "idiotic". At the risk of stereotyping, I've met thousands like him during my IT career here in Denver. He could be a carbon copy of about 4/5 of the men I've met who would describe themselves as a "web consultant" and 1/2 of the men I've met who do IT work of any kind.
I would use the Left's "scientific foundation" against them and say that where this really leads is to extinction...for them. Liberals who struggle so hard against "traditional families" and so do not reproduce themselves, will die out. Isn't that what Darwin said? Traits of a species that are worthy of being retained will remain in the gene pool, right? So I say let the Liberals refuse to breed. To borrow the line from King Edward I in Braveheart: "If we can't get them out, we'll breed them out."
But then this analysis struck me as a bit...heavy-handed. During the holiday season it's good to step back and take a look at things in a different way, a gentler way. (I admit I can be pretty cold and judgmental at times with the things others do, and that's not always a good thing.) While it might be true that such anti-breeding sentiment could lead to a much lower level of liberal thinkers (and so much the better for conservatives), that really isn't what it's about. If the American Way truly is "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness", I think that differing interpretation of happiness is what all this is about. I also think we get far too bogged down sometimes in the details of what we believe happiness should be.
I had to think really hard about this. I like that this guy is at least honest about what he's done; he doesn't want the responsibility of children of his own. He is honest about his selfishness, that he's doing this because it's what he wants. He's essentially admitting that kids cramp his style, or he's too lazy and/or too irresponsible and/or too thoughtless to have his own kids, or that he can't/won't be able to raise them right. He's not doing this because he had a bad childhood or because he's gay or for any other "extenuating" factor; he's just doing what he thinks will make him happy. He's also honest with others. He reveals his choice as early as possible in any relationship so that nothing proceeds from false pretenses. He counsels that the choice he's made isn't for everyone. I can't disagree; the choice to have or not to have children is one of those ultimate, life-altering choices that everyone must face. I can respect his choice, for all of these things.
I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum. I have 4 children right now that I am responsible for. Three of them are my own flesh and blood and one is my step-son through my marriage to Heidi. I have an active role in raising them all. Donovan's dad lives in Illinois and has for over a year; I'm his primary father figure now. He jokingly calls me "O.D." for "Other Dad". This is a LOT of responsibility for anyone to take on. I work two jobs, help out my dad and his business as a third "job", and I serve on the Board of Directors at the boys' school. This is even more responsibility. I don't get much opportunity to enjoy the outdoors, like Mr. Byrum gets. I don't have the opportunity for an active life, outside of the activity I get with the boys. And like My Byrum's situation is his choice, this is my choice. In fact, Heidi and I are strongly considering trying for another baby, just one more before we call it quits for good. Heidi would really like one more kid, because she loves children so much, and I know she'd like to see if we can get a girl this time. This would add that much more work and responsibility but also joy to our lives.
Most importantly, like Mr. Byrum, I live my life this way because it is my choice.
These thoughts led to an epiphany for me...I am happy with this choice. I wouldn't keep making my choices this way if it didn't make me happy. My life can be and has been incredibly difficult (long-time readers have seen this). I don't recommend this to the faint of heart or the irresolute. I'm not exactly Superman myself; I make mistakes constantly. I sometimes don't act with the strength, faith, patience, leadership, and character that I should. I don't always do the best thing or lead in the right direction. But I'm learning to accept all of that. And I'm still happy. Sure, I'd like things to be a little simpler. I wish I didn't have to work the extra teaching job, and unfortunately, there's no end in sight for that. I wish I could spend more time with the kids. I wish I could devote more time to helping with their activities, just like my parents always did with me and my sister. I wish I could provide for them properly...not lavishly or greedily or wantonly, but with some flexibility. I wish I could provide the sense of family I got growing up, with all of my grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins close by. I sometimes wonder if I'm the right man for this job, frankly, because I can be lazy, selfish, and thoughtless at times. I don't always think about the family first. We struggle financially sometimes. We struggle emotionally sometimes, because of the baggage we still have to deal with from our respective divorces and the effects that has on the kids.
But even with all of this, I realize that I am truly blessed, and that I am happy with the choices I have made. My family makes me happy. Sometimes...a lot of the time...I forget that. I'm not better than Mr. Byrum, and I won't pass judgment on his choice. He's at least honest enough to admit he's not up to the challenge, and his choice makes him happy. My choice makes me happy. In an odd way, I needed to hear Mr. Byrum's story, and especially at this time of year, as I look over the last year and the previous years and reflect. I have a good life. I'm about to start another year that will no doubt be difficult and have a lot of adversity to overcome. It will have its trials and tribulations. But it will have its victories and special moments, too. I am happy with my choice and the family I have been blessed with as a result. I am happy.
Thanks for reading along.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Sunday, December 23, 2007
I love Christmas, but...
If I have to hear another cockamamie lyrics version of "Carol of the Bells", I'm going to go on a shooting rampage. I'm kidding, of course, but every year we get treated to that song too much as it is. That's not one of my faves, anyway, and so to have it crammed down my throat so many ridiculous ways just makes it worse.
So here's one for you, in honor of the spirit of the season: the horrible ad-ified "Carol of the Bells" or those Zales commercials with that piano music over and over? Discuss.
So here's one for you, in honor of the spirit of the season: the horrible ad-ified "Carol of the Bells" or those Zales commercials with that piano music over and over? Discuss.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
The Realm of Ultimate Geekdom
Once upon a time, there were humans. Humans wanted to build things, and so some humans became scientists to find out how things worked. Later, some humans became engineers to figure out how to use what the scientists found out to put new, cool things together for the (supposed) betterment of mankind. For the better part of human history, scientists and engineers did their own thing in the background of life. They were the glue that held humanity's creation together but they were largely invisible. The things they discovered, knew, and built made lots of people afraid, and this drove them further underground. They developed their own language and their own set of ethics and their own interests and their own values. They saw the world very differently than other humans. But they were invisible and underground, and so for most of human history, no one really knew much about them, except that they learned and built cool things for the (supposed) betterment of mankind.
Unfortunately, because the scientists and engineers focused so much on learning and building and not on the people who they were learning and building for, they were usually pretty socially inept. Other humans didn't mind, though, because those scientists and engineers kept cranking out stuff like the wheel, the pulley, the Pyramids, the Parthenon, the Taj Mahal, the steam engine, the internal combustion engine, the car, and the airplane.
Then, the scientists and engineers built computers. And they wanted to connect computers, so those scientists and engineers built networks, and later, the Internet. This connected lots of scientists and engineers together and they traded jokes and expanded their language and their ethics and interests and values. They merged and built more. Then, some pseudo-scientist and wannabe-engineer humans saw what the real scientists and engineers were doing with computers and with the Internet, and they wanted some o' dat. And so the scientists and engineers started letting these other humans connect. They began to slowly, grudgingly let these non-scientists and non-engineers into their world.
Over time, more and more people bought computers and connected to the Internet, even if they didn't know jack squat about what that actually meant or how it actually happened. But they began to see what the scientists and engineers were and what they were doing. Like computer networking. And sci-fi. And video games...lots and lots of video games. And it was good. It opened something new, something amazing and powerful.
It opened the Realm of Ultimate Geekdom.
To this day, scientists and engineers speak a language that is largely unintelligible to other humans; in fact, the languages and dialects can even be unintelligible between certain groups of scientists and engineers, so specialized have they become. And the whole socially-inept thing still holds pretty well, for many of these amazing people. Today, these people are generically known as "geeks".
I am a geek. I have parts of my psyche that will never move beyond their geekiness. But this isn't just about me. I would argue that nearly everyone, and particularly nearly every male, has a little geek somewhere in them. Can your father-in-law fully describe from memory how to rebuild a carburetor? He's a car geek. Your brother who recites the stats for every player on the 1960 New York Yankees for the entire season? He's a sports geek. How about your friend who can construct a solid-oak cabinet with one arm tied behind his back and only a coat hanger and a rock for tools? He's a carpentry geek. You say your sister can recite the basic tenets of Keynesian economics while standing on her head? She's got some economics geek in her. Geeks are everywhere.
So what does this mean to you? Well, in honor of my geekiness, I'm going to post some links to some of the most hilarious geek material. A lot of this will be technology-oriented, as that is my particular area of geekiness, and it also seems to provide the most and best geek material. Some of these things will amaze you. Some will disgust you. Some will take you down Memory Lane, and others will make you cringe in fear and pain. But I hope you enjoy all of these.
1. ThinkGeek -- This is the ultimate site for all things geek. This site contains, hands-down, the best overall selection of toys and gifts for just about any geek. In fact, there are some of them that even I don't get. Even within the realm of geekdom, there are varying kinds of geeks of every stripe.
2. For your viewing pleasure, two of the greatest geek news sites: Slashdot and Digg. It's a constant war. And of course, in grand geek tradition, there is a "holy war" between Slashdotters and Diggers. If you can stand the out-and-out political garbage you have to deal with constantly (which is, in fact, what drove me away from both sites), these are great for all geek-oriented news content.
3. Speaking of holy wars, every geek must devote himself to at least one serious technical holy war. Here are just a few from my world:
4. Should the holy war you're fighting require more than just words, there are always better weapons to choose from. Now THAT is some power.
5. Geeks also have a tendency to not just use the technology that someone else has developed, but also to use "mods" to enhance that technology (i.e., make it do something it wasn't intended to do, but can do quite well, for the user's benefit). Here's an example of a geek's thought process in this regard: "I just bought this Wii, and the games are awesome! But...something's missing...I wonder if it could...RUN MY ENTIRE HOUSE?!?!?!" Watch this video for the answer to that question. (Remember, this stuff takes A LOT of work to build, and this guy's doing it for fun.) As soon as a new technology comes out, geeks starting messing with it. People started hacking Tivos (which run Linux) almost immediately after they came out. And of course, there are people who spend ALL of their time finding ways to break other peoples' software, for fun and profit. All in a day's play for a geek.
6. Geeks need downtime, too. There are games. There is pizza and beer (the staples of the standard geek diet...in this way geeks aren't too different from your standard male unit). For humor, there are Dilbert, User Friendly, and of course, the BOFH (Bastard Operator from Hell). If you like your entertainment more high-brow and challenging, there is always sci-fi...like Star Wars, The Matrix, Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, Doctor Who, and of course, Star Trek. Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Carl Sagan, Robert Heinlein, and William Gibson are just a few of the writing giants of the genre.
7. As mentioned above, games are a critically important part of life for the hardcore geek. You know how every time a new game console is released, there are people who stand out in line overnight to get the first one? We have a name for those people: geeks.
Those are just a few good ones. I'll put more up as time goes on, but this is a good introduction, for those of you who aren't geeks, of what being a geek is all about. Enjoy! Thanks for reading along.
Unfortunately, because the scientists and engineers focused so much on learning and building and not on the people who they were learning and building for, they were usually pretty socially inept. Other humans didn't mind, though, because those scientists and engineers kept cranking out stuff like the wheel, the pulley, the Pyramids, the Parthenon, the Taj Mahal, the steam engine, the internal combustion engine, the car, and the airplane.
Then, the scientists and engineers built computers. And they wanted to connect computers, so those scientists and engineers built networks, and later, the Internet. This connected lots of scientists and engineers together and they traded jokes and expanded their language and their ethics and interests and values. They merged and built more. Then, some pseudo-scientist and wannabe-engineer humans saw what the real scientists and engineers were doing with computers and with the Internet, and they wanted some o' dat. And so the scientists and engineers started letting these other humans connect. They began to slowly, grudgingly let these non-scientists and non-engineers into their world.
Over time, more and more people bought computers and connected to the Internet, even if they didn't know jack squat about what that actually meant or how it actually happened. But they began to see what the scientists and engineers were and what they were doing. Like computer networking. And sci-fi. And video games...lots and lots of video games. And it was good. It opened something new, something amazing and powerful.
It opened the Realm of Ultimate Geekdom.
To this day, scientists and engineers speak a language that is largely unintelligible to other humans; in fact, the languages and dialects can even be unintelligible between certain groups of scientists and engineers, so specialized have they become. And the whole socially-inept thing still holds pretty well, for many of these amazing people. Today, these people are generically known as "geeks".
I am a geek. I have parts of my psyche that will never move beyond their geekiness. But this isn't just about me. I would argue that nearly everyone, and particularly nearly every male, has a little geek somewhere in them. Can your father-in-law fully describe from memory how to rebuild a carburetor? He's a car geek. Your brother who recites the stats for every player on the 1960 New York Yankees for the entire season? He's a sports geek. How about your friend who can construct a solid-oak cabinet with one arm tied behind his back and only a coat hanger and a rock for tools? He's a carpentry geek. You say your sister can recite the basic tenets of Keynesian economics while standing on her head? She's got some economics geek in her. Geeks are everywhere.
So what does this mean to you? Well, in honor of my geekiness, I'm going to post some links to some of the most hilarious geek material. A lot of this will be technology-oriented, as that is my particular area of geekiness, and it also seems to provide the most and best geek material. Some of these things will amaze you. Some will disgust you. Some will take you down Memory Lane, and others will make you cringe in fear and pain. But I hope you enjoy all of these.
1. ThinkGeek -- This is the ultimate site for all things geek. This site contains, hands-down, the best overall selection of toys and gifts for just about any geek. In fact, there are some of them that even I don't get. Even within the realm of geekdom, there are varying kinds of geeks of every stripe.
2. For your viewing pleasure, two of the greatest geek news sites: Slashdot and Digg. It's a constant war. And of course, in grand geek tradition, there is a "holy war" between Slashdotters and Diggers. If you can stand the out-and-out political garbage you have to deal with constantly (which is, in fact, what drove me away from both sites), these are great for all geek-oriented news content.
3. Speaking of holy wars, every geek must devote himself to at least one serious technical holy war. Here are just a few from my world:
- Windows vs. UNIX/Linux vs. Mac
- Internet Explorer vs. Firefox (vs. Opera)
- Intel vs. AMD
- Open source vs. COTS ("Commercial Off-The-Shelf")
- Playstation vs. Xbox vs. Gamecube
- Admins vs. coders
- Client-server vs. mainframe
- Net Neutrality
- Online privacy
4. Should the holy war you're fighting require more than just words, there are always better weapons to choose from. Now THAT is some power.
5. Geeks also have a tendency to not just use the technology that someone else has developed, but also to use "mods" to enhance that technology (i.e., make it do something it wasn't intended to do, but can do quite well, for the user's benefit). Here's an example of a geek's thought process in this regard: "I just bought this Wii, and the games are awesome! But...something's missing...I wonder if it could...RUN MY ENTIRE HOUSE?!?!?!" Watch this video for the answer to that question. (Remember, this stuff takes A LOT of work to build, and this guy's doing it for fun.) As soon as a new technology comes out, geeks starting messing with it. People started hacking Tivos (which run Linux) almost immediately after they came out. And of course, there are people who spend ALL of their time finding ways to break other peoples' software, for fun and profit. All in a day's play for a geek.
6. Geeks need downtime, too. There are games. There is pizza and beer (the staples of the standard geek diet...in this way geeks aren't too different from your standard male unit). For humor, there are Dilbert, User Friendly, and of course, the BOFH (Bastard Operator from Hell). If you like your entertainment more high-brow and challenging, there is always sci-fi...like Star Wars, The Matrix, Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, Doctor Who, and of course, Star Trek. Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Carl Sagan, Robert Heinlein, and William Gibson are just a few of the writing giants of the genre.
7. As mentioned above, games are a critically important part of life for the hardcore geek. You know how every time a new game console is released, there are people who stand out in line overnight to get the first one? We have a name for those people: geeks.
Those are just a few good ones. I'll put more up as time goes on, but this is a good introduction, for those of you who aren't geeks, of what being a geek is all about. Enjoy! Thanks for reading along.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Bravo!
Love and Logic in action:
Dad Sells 'Guitar Hero III' on eBay After Catching Son Smoking Pot
This is the essence of Love and Logic. Punishment must be tangible, must be a real loss to the child, and must be instructive. I applaud this man's principled stand; I just hope he backs up the punishment with lots of empathy, as L&L teaches. That will really drive home the point of love, since L&L doesn't work without it. To all you parents perhaps struggling with discipline, especially with a tween or a teen, I highly recommend Love and Logic, so check it out at the link above. It's a BIG change in mindset, but it makes sense, it doesn't involve any physical punishment (if you object to that), and it actually gets results.
It also helps when you take away an item like this that also gets you over $9,000 when you sell it on eBay. Merry Christmas!!
Dad Sells 'Guitar Hero III' on eBay After Catching Son Smoking Pot
This is the essence of Love and Logic. Punishment must be tangible, must be a real loss to the child, and must be instructive. I applaud this man's principled stand; I just hope he backs up the punishment with lots of empathy, as L&L teaches. That will really drive home the point of love, since L&L doesn't work without it. To all you parents perhaps struggling with discipline, especially with a tween or a teen, I highly recommend Love and Logic, so check it out at the link above. It's a BIG change in mindset, but it makes sense, it doesn't involve any physical punishment (if you object to that), and it actually gets results.
It also helps when you take away an item like this that also gets you over $9,000 when you sell it on eBay. Merry Christmas!!
Owen is Growin'
Homer: "'Best in the West'...that rhymes!"
So Owen is coming along quite nicely, thank you...he's well over 20 pounds now, he can pick up his little Cheerios or puffs or crunchies and eat them all on his own. Here, Grandpa holds the puffs so he can eat them.
He plays really well by himself; he moves toys around, picks them up, puts them down, throws them...you know the routine, just like we all do with our own toys. He also takes out his pacifier on his own, and throws it around. He waves, almost on command. He talks up a storm as he tries out just about everything with his voice, including various volumes. Remember the scene from the first Austin Powers movie, where Austin has just been thawed out, and he says, "I'm having trouble controlling THE VOLUME OF MY VOICE!!!" Yes, that's Owen. He's not quite sure how these cool noises come out of his mouth, and he's not quite sure what to do with those noises. All he knows is we all make noises come out of our mouth and he can do the same thing, quite loudly. And so he does.
And the biggest new development: crawling. He is crawling quite well now, though not completely on hands and knees. His legs are very strong and he can stand and support his own weight very well (though we still have to hold him up for balance or put him at the edge of a table where he can hold himself steady). But he hasn't yet figured out how to coordinate those powerful legs with the arms while he crawls, so his crawl is a bit more military-style. He just drags his little legs along behind, sort of moving them to help propel himself around, but not really up on them like a traditional crawl. He scoots around very efficiently this way, though...he crawled all the way from the living room through the dining room and into the kitchen the other night, Heidi reported.
And speaking of Heidi, he has inherited his mom's sense of humor:
Oh, and he loves to fly. That one he gets from me.
He also got to talk to Santa for the first time. BIG moment there.
So that's our little guy. Hope you enjoyed the pics. We'll have more coming soon, I'm sure. I'm also planning on posting some video of Owen doing a little crawling. Thanks for reading along.
So Owen is coming along quite nicely, thank you...he's well over 20 pounds now, he can pick up his little Cheerios or puffs or crunchies and eat them all on his own. Here, Grandpa holds the puffs so he can eat them.
He plays really well by himself; he moves toys around, picks them up, puts them down, throws them...you know the routine, just like we all do with our own toys. He also takes out his pacifier on his own, and throws it around. He waves, almost on command. He talks up a storm as he tries out just about everything with his voice, including various volumes. Remember the scene from the first Austin Powers movie, where Austin has just been thawed out, and he says, "I'm having trouble controlling THE VOLUME OF MY VOICE!!!" Yes, that's Owen. He's not quite sure how these cool noises come out of his mouth, and he's not quite sure what to do with those noises. All he knows is we all make noises come out of our mouth and he can do the same thing, quite loudly. And so he does.
And the biggest new development: crawling. He is crawling quite well now, though not completely on hands and knees. His legs are very strong and he can stand and support his own weight very well (though we still have to hold him up for balance or put him at the edge of a table where he can hold himself steady). But he hasn't yet figured out how to coordinate those powerful legs with the arms while he crawls, so his crawl is a bit more military-style. He just drags his little legs along behind, sort of moving them to help propel himself around, but not really up on them like a traditional crawl. He scoots around very efficiently this way, though...he crawled all the way from the living room through the dining room and into the kitchen the other night, Heidi reported.
And speaking of Heidi, he has inherited his mom's sense of humor:
Oh, and he loves to fly. That one he gets from me.
He also got to talk to Santa for the first time. BIG moment there.
So that's our little guy. Hope you enjoyed the pics. We'll have more coming soon, I'm sure. I'm also planning on posting some video of Owen doing a little crawling. Thanks for reading along.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Okie Relief
Please remember all those folks down in Oklahoma today who are still without power. Estimates are at around 634,000 homes still without power, which is estimated to be 1.5 million people total. Based on an estimated population of 3.6 million, that means nearly 42% of Oklahoma's citizens are still without power.
Please pray for them today, pray that everyone stays safe, and pray for the crews out in the ice and the cold to fix those lines and get power restored.
Please pray for them today, pray that everyone stays safe, and pray for the crews out in the ice and the cold to fix those lines and get power restored.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
There's Parts I Like and Parts I Don't Like
So the Hollywood writers are trying to get the writers of reality shows covered under the terms of the new contract. "Reality" TV has writers? "Yes, I'm a writer for a reality TV show." That's about like saying you're Arnold Schwarzenegger's fitness trainer or Meryl Streep's acting coach.
The misery of it:
Midwest Ice Storm Causes Blackouts, Traffic Deaths
I love Oklahoma...I love just about everything about Oklahoma...even, to a very limited degree, the ice storms. The wonderful thing about Oklahoma's ice storms is that they're brief and relatively rare. Colorado might brag about its here-today-gone-tomorrow snowstorms (if bragging were somehow required), but they're still much more plentiful than Oklahoma's storms, and we Okies actually know how to handle such things: we shut everything down. EVERYTHING. Snow and ice are obviously a sign from God that it's time for a nice day off for everyone, and we listen to His word. I still remember with great fondness every snow day I got while growing up in Oklahoma...you get to sit inside and watch TV, or maybe go out and try your hand in your frozen backyard, trying not to kill yourself by slipping and sliding everywhere. It's a pity that Coloradans haven't learned that lesson yet, where it takes at least a solid, unrelenting foot of snow or more for the local school superintendents and business leaders to maybe think twice about forcing their kids and their workers to risk their lives. (Besides, if the snow were really as infrequent, as short-lived, and as not-so-bad as you seem to pretend, why do you continue to budget so much for plows and sand trucks every year? Isn't that just wasted tax dollars? I KNEW Referendum C was a big rip-off...)
But on a more serious note, our prayers go out to all my Okie brothers and sisters today. Stay safe and warm today (and possibly tomorrow), as God intended.
I've been thinking about this recent topic we've seen with global warming, namely that people are bad for the planet. I can't wait until some defense attorney takes it to heart and tries to get his serial killer client off of multiple murder charges by saying, "But Your Honor, he was simply trying to do his part to stop global warming!"
The Ben Folds version of the Dr. Dre's "B*tches Ain't Sh*t," or the Ricky Skaggs/Bruce Hornsby version of Rick James' "Super Freak?" Discuss.
Heidi and I were discussing our respective home states this evening while preparing for bed, particularly as it pertains to the pronunciation of Olathe (that's "Oh-LAY-thee" to you non-Kansans):
H: "At least I finally get to correct YOU, after all those times you corrected me with those crazy Oklahoma names like Chick-a-say."
C: [deftly ignoring the trap so cleverly laid by my wife] "So you must be really conflicted...where do you consider yourself a native? Are you a native Kansan because you were born there, or are you a native Coloradan because you were raised here? Or do you do some weird dual-citizenship thing?"
H: [blank stare]
Thanks for reading along.
The misery of it:
Midwest Ice Storm Causes Blackouts, Traffic Deaths
I love Oklahoma...I love just about everything about Oklahoma...even, to a very limited degree, the ice storms. The wonderful thing about Oklahoma's ice storms is that they're brief and relatively rare. Colorado might brag about its here-today-gone-tomorrow snowstorms (if bragging were somehow required), but they're still much more plentiful than Oklahoma's storms, and we Okies actually know how to handle such things: we shut everything down. EVERYTHING. Snow and ice are obviously a sign from God that it's time for a nice day off for everyone, and we listen to His word. I still remember with great fondness every snow day I got while growing up in Oklahoma...you get to sit inside and watch TV, or maybe go out and try your hand in your frozen backyard, trying not to kill yourself by slipping and sliding everywhere. It's a pity that Coloradans haven't learned that lesson yet, where it takes at least a solid, unrelenting foot of snow or more for the local school superintendents and business leaders to maybe think twice about forcing their kids and their workers to risk their lives. (Besides, if the snow were really as infrequent, as short-lived, and as not-so-bad as you seem to pretend, why do you continue to budget so much for plows and sand trucks every year? Isn't that just wasted tax dollars? I KNEW Referendum C was a big rip-off...)
But on a more serious note, our prayers go out to all my Okie brothers and sisters today. Stay safe and warm today (and possibly tomorrow), as God intended.
I've been thinking about this recent topic we've seen with global warming, namely that people are bad for the planet. I can't wait until some defense attorney takes it to heart and tries to get his serial killer client off of multiple murder charges by saying, "But Your Honor, he was simply trying to do his part to stop global warming!"
The Ben Folds version of the Dr. Dre's "B*tches Ain't Sh*t," or the Ricky Skaggs/Bruce Hornsby version of Rick James' "Super Freak?" Discuss.
Heidi and I were discussing our respective home states this evening while preparing for bed, particularly as it pertains to the pronunciation of Olathe (that's "Oh-LAY-thee" to you non-Kansans):
H: "At least I finally get to correct YOU, after all those times you corrected me with those crazy Oklahoma names like Chick-a-say."
C: [deftly ignoring the trap so cleverly laid by my wife] "So you must be really conflicted...where do you consider yourself a native? Are you a native Kansan because you were born there, or are you a native Coloradan because you were raised here? Or do you do some weird dual-citizenship thing?"
H: [blank stare]
Thanks for reading along.
Monday, December 10, 2007
More from the Global Warming Hucksters...
You'd think these folks would at least consider the implications of their ideas before they broadcast them to the world.
Baby tax needed to save planet, claims expert
First, the idea of this is ludicrous to begin with, as I've pointed out before. Why do vacuous academics continue to crank out such schlock? Second, he's an "expert," all right...he's an associate professor of obstetrics! In other words, he's a baby doc!! So he is NOT an expert in climatology, meteorology, or any other discipline in which he'd be reasonably trusted to express an opinion on the subject of global warming and its causes (and I love how the reporter underscores the "expertness" but not the discipline...shoddy reporting at best). Even better, though: he's cutting into his own livelihood by encouraging folks NOT to have children! Now THAT is dedication to The Cause, boys and girls.
SAVE THE PLANET!! KILL YOURSELF (AND YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY) IMMEDIATELY!!!!
Baby tax needed to save planet, claims expert
First, the idea of this is ludicrous to begin with, as I've pointed out before. Why do vacuous academics continue to crank out such schlock? Second, he's an "expert," all right...he's an associate professor of obstetrics! In other words, he's a baby doc!! So he is NOT an expert in climatology, meteorology, or any other discipline in which he'd be reasonably trusted to express an opinion on the subject of global warming and its causes (and I love how the reporter underscores the "expertness" but not the discipline...shoddy reporting at best). Even better, though: he's cutting into his own livelihood by encouraging folks NOT to have children! Now THAT is dedication to The Cause, boys and girls.
SAVE THE PLANET!! KILL YOURSELF (AND YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY) IMMEDIATELY!!!!
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Welcome, BlogOklahoma folks!
As you can see from my sidebar, I recently was added to the ring over at BlogOklahoma. That's a great site for finding Oklahoma-related blogs. Some are serious, some wacky, some highly entertaining, some deeply frightening, but they're all Okies like me (well, most of them), so go check it out. Or just click the nav links over on the sidebar logo, and take a chance on what you find.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
An Old-Fashioned Butt Whoopin'
Last night the college football world was treated to one, as OU finished off a cocky Missouri team 38-17. Missouri showed a lot of fight, and they have some talented players, but they got kicked by OU's wonderful play on both lines, dominating performances by Sam Bradford and Curtis Lofton (when do these guys not excel? When they're hurt??), and wonderful game plans from the coaching staff. Missouri managed to hang with OU for a half, then OU kicked in the afterburners to leave the Tigers in the rear-view mirror for good, outscoring Mizzou 24-3 in the second half. In fact, Missouri had only 8 yards of total offense in the fourth quarter and only one touchdown for the entire game. Only one team has managed to hold Missouri to less than 30 points, and that team is OU. (They would've held them below that total in both games, except for that garbage touchdown with 12 seconds left in the game.)
I would say I was happy to see this, after listening to Missouri's trash-talk all week about how they let the first game with OU "slip away" and how they gave OU no credit whatsoever for winning the first game. I'm also happy because it lets OU and Bob Stoops reach another milestone, namely to be the first big 12 team to repeat as conference champs. Yes, you heard right; no team (Nebraska, Texas, Kansas State, NO ONE) has won the Big 12 Championship twice in a row since the league was founded 12 years ago. I'm happy because it gets OU back into the BCS and keeps momentum going for next year, when we should make another strong run for the national championship.
I will say that the Missouri fans have been classy so far, at least that I've seen, and that's also refreshing. Good for them. It's good to see Missouri finally get over that hump a little bit after all the late-season collapses of the past few years.
And so, on to the BCS! This year, we'll make it big and we'll make a big statement for everyone to see. Hopefully it's not another lose-lose situation like last year was.
Thanks for reading along.
I would say I was happy to see this, after listening to Missouri's trash-talk all week about how they let the first game with OU "slip away" and how they gave OU no credit whatsoever for winning the first game. I'm also happy because it lets OU and Bob Stoops reach another milestone, namely to be the first big 12 team to repeat as conference champs. Yes, you heard right; no team (Nebraska, Texas, Kansas State, NO ONE) has won the Big 12 Championship twice in a row since the league was founded 12 years ago. I'm happy because it gets OU back into the BCS and keeps momentum going for next year, when we should make another strong run for the national championship.
I will say that the Missouri fans have been classy so far, at least that I've seen, and that's also refreshing. Good for them. It's good to see Missouri finally get over that hump a little bit after all the late-season collapses of the past few years.
And so, on to the BCS! This year, we'll make it big and we'll make a big statement for everyone to see. Hopefully it's not another lose-lose situation like last year was.
Thanks for reading along.
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