A Question No One Is Asking?

Unless you have been in a cave for the past few weeks, you doubtless know about the situation in Iran. Talk of electoral fraud, resulting unrest, protests across the entire country, heavy-handed actions by the party in power (who incidentally "won" the election)...the standard story.

Now, I'm no judge as to whether there actually WAS electoral fraud in the Iranian elections. But given the amount of unrest that we've seen, and the sincerity and (more importantly) longevity of the protests, I would say there's a serious issue that needs to be resolved. I would also say that knowing what I know about Americans and knowing what I know about the Iranian regime, the US generally favors the protestors. But that's beside the point, really.

Here's the question I referenced in my title, which I have seen no one ask at all. (If you see an article where someone has asked this question prior to the date of this post, please forward it to me so that I may credit it properly.) It's the one that, as the Oracle says in The Matrix, is "really going to bake your noodle later on": were the protests in Iran IN ANY WAY catalyzed by the success of democracy in neighboring Iraq? In other words, would the Iranians be behaving the way they are today if the Iraqis weren't succeeding in getting their own country under firm democratic control? Perhaps George W. Bush's concept of "spreading democracy" wasn't so stupid after all...but you might not ever hear anyone else suggest that.

The Ultimate In Crafting

Are you a craftsy type of person? Does your idea of a really good time involve a stack of various brightly-colored cardstocks, a bottle of Aleene's Tacky Glue, felt pieces, yarn, glitter, and stencils?

Well, then THIS IS FOR YOU! Seriously, I'm considering trying it with some lightly-stained balsa wood...though theoretically any material which could be made to the correct shape could be used. It would make a great gift for several folks I know.

Swamped, with Updates

From a quick break at work with a pair of chili dogs (it's $3 lunch day here at work):

- Sorry I haven't posted in a while...that's what happens when you have a busy family and a sick vehicle that you have to repair yourself. It took me a week and a half of nights-and-weekends work to pinpoint the issue (in this case, defective air injection system affecting engine performance), and it will probably take me another few days to finish diagnostic tests and fully resolve the problem. For now, I've Band-Aided it so that it drives without giving me any grief, so I'm not in any big rush.

- I'm back on Facebook (in case you couldn't tell by that badge thing over on the right). I don't know exactly how I feel about it. On general principles, I'm against social networking sites like Facebook. Sure, it allows you to reconnect with people from your past, but A) that isn't always a good/desirable thing, and B) it discourages you from getting out, meeting REAL people, and doing things in the REAL world. This is my third go-around with it, so if I can't stick with it, I am dumping it FOREVER.

Besides, it takes away from blog posting time. I mean, FB does pretty much the same thing a blog does, only with shorter updates/posts and more pretty features. Games, hugs, flair, quizzes...I can't do that on here. (Well, I could, but it would take a lot of work.). The FB page and the blog don't really complement each other very well, either.

Of course, I get to say a lot more on here than I do on the FB page. For example, chatter and status updates on FB are light, light-hearted, and/or humorous. I've made a few more serious comments and observations there, and people don't seem to like that much.

- My life is beginning to firm up a little bit, in terms of its general fabric. For a long while, things kind of were loose and frayed around the edges. Now, though, I'm getting into a groove, finding myself again, and getting things back under some semblence of control. Hobbies, car situation, work, kids. And that's all a very good thing. Sure, there are still lots of uncertainties and things that need resolution, but overall life seems to be settling down a little bit. FINALLY.

- Heidi and I celebrated our 3-year anniversary on Tuesday. WOOHOO!!! I love her so much...she is one of God's greatest gifts to me. I just can't say that enough.

- So we have a couple of Sooners playing in the US Open, which runs this weekend. Anthony Kim is doing well in his first round, sharing the lead at -2. Todd Hamilton is also is the hunt at even par. My fave Phil Mickelson (not a Sooner but still a great golfer) is also at even, so he's right in there, too. I wouldn't mind seeing any of those three guys win, that's for sure. Please remember to keep Phil in your prayers, as he continues to help his wife through treament for breast cancer.

Sorry to all my loyal readers for taking so long to post...hope you aren't mad at me. Thanks for reading along.

You Just Noticed??

I find it amusing how every month or two, someone in the Mainstream Media wakes up and notices this is going on. These people are supposedly much smarter than you and me, so I am greatly confused at how this continues to be some sort of new thing, as though they're just reporting Ben Franklin's discovery of electricity. Even his suppositions on the root cause (third-from-last paragraph) seem as though, somehow, he just can't fathom where this is coming from.

Boy, I sure am glad we've got these folks watching out for us.

A Spoonful of Sugar...

Are you too happy? Do you feel tremendous hope for the American future? Is your mind constantly distracted by the wondrous opportunities you see in the current economic crisis? Do you watch Pollyanna over and over?

Well, I have the perfect tonic for you. Just go to this site.

Now tell me you don't feel better. (And thanks to my work pard Jason for sending that site along.)