joyfulchristian

I'll just be up on my roof waiting

... because it must be that time.

I'm now teaching my third class for University of Phoenix.  I just finished grading my first set of papers where everyone actually wrote the paper they were supposed to be writing.  At first I was shocked that so many people disregard the instructions and grading rubrics. (Yes, I actually give them a chart that says you'll get so many points for doing A, so many for B, etc. and people IGNORE this information.)

Now I'm shocked when they pay attention.  I got jaded fast.

Says who

I always enjoy reading Joe Carter's Yak Shaving Razor posts.  You never know what you'll find out there. Today's post, though, reminded me of a pet peeve.

#599 Writer's Tips -- Activate your verbs. Strong verbs create action, save words, and reveal the players.

For as long as I can remember, the language police's (I'm not including Joe in that. He just happened to catch my eye) obsession with avoiding passive verbs has driven me crazy.  Look, I understand that using too many passive verbs make it sound like the action just happens, rather than being the direct result of the players involved, but to see many people's reactions you'd think that using any passive verbs at all is a horrible sin.

Look, we have passive verbs for a reason. Sometimes they best express the author's thoughts and that's perfectly OK.

I think so Brain

... but if Salmonella and I got married, what would the children look like.¹

So I've been laid up since Tuesday morning with what the doc claims is food poisoning. I don't know about that since my wife and daughter ate the exact same thing and didn't get sick. (Besides, it was the chicken fajita strips that come pre-cooked and I definitely heated them up properly, but who knows.)  I have absolutely no idea what's going on in the world.  Tuesday evening the doc gave me a shot that made me sleep all day Wednesday and that I'm still sore from.  Today, I didn't go to work, but through the miracles of remote access web servers was able to put in an 11 hour day to help me get back on track.

What's to come the next couple of days? Probably more 11 hour days! Woo-hoo!

Hope you're work's going better. Have a good day y'all! (Scroll down. You'll find the post immediately. Sorry, I couldn't find the link on the new site.

 

¹Don't ask. If you don't get the reference, you probably don't want to know.  It's an Animaniacs thing and you wouldn't understand.

I first heard about this

... on Fox News, but they foolishly didn't link to the website.  It seems that an Alaskan cop invented caffeinated lip balm.  He sells it online, and even has a FAQ:

Was Spazzstick tested on animals?

No, Spazzstick has never been tested on animals.  The only animals in the area are Arctic Fox, Caribou, and Polar Bears.  We can't catch the Foxes, and putting lip balm on a Caribou is no picnic, so we don't even try.  No one was willing to get close enough to a polar bear to put lip balm on it.

Except for Dwayne.  He once tried to put lip balm on a Polar Bear.  He said the Polar Bear looked like he had chapped lips.  He also thought the Polar Bear wanted to be his friend.

We miss him.  Not real smart, Dwayne, but he loved to hug stuff.  Like Polar Bears.

Enjoy.

I beg to differ

So I was watching Craig Ferguson on DVR from Friday and he mentioned Cop Rock.  That prompted me to relive old memories by looking up the horrible show on IMDB.  I came across this comment:

I liked this show and never did understand why people thought it was stupid for people to be breaking into songs,  you never hear that used against other musicals!

I personally have this complaint about most musicals. In fact, the only musicals I can ever remember liking were the Sound of Music (in which it actually made sense for people to be breaking into choreographed numbers all the time) and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, which is just stinking hilarious.

On balance though, this is what bugs me about musicals. Well ... not specifically that people break in to song.  Lots of people do that.  But most people do not spontaneously break in to rehearsed song and dance numbers. 

It drives me bonkers!

Good for him

When celebrities screw up, they tend to obfuscate and try to scatter the blame.  It's somewhat refreshing, therefore, to see Mel Gibson take all the blame for the actions leading to and after his arrest:

Gibson also apologized for what he said were "despicable" statements he made to the deputies who arrested him early Friday on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.

"I acted like a person completely out of control when I was arrested," he said in a statement issued by his publicist. "I disgraced myself and my family with my behavior and for that I am truly sorry. I have battled with the disease of alcoholism for all of my adult life and profoundly regret my horrific relapse."

[...]

Gibson also apologized Saturday for what he called "my belligerent behavior" when he was taken into custody.

"The arresting officer was just doing his job and I feel fortunate that I was apprehended before I caused injury to any other person," he said, adding he "said things that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable."

Of course, only Gibson and God know if he's severe sincere.  Still, I'm glad to see a celebrity stepping up and accepting the blame. (Edited for content based on sk's helpful comment.)

This is strange

I had a friend who worked in the automotive section at a Wal-Mart a few years ago.  He told me that they were fanatical about making, forcing really, people take two unpaid 15 minute breaks and one paid 30 minute break a day.  They went so far as threatening to fire people who didn't take all their break time. 

I'm having a hard time squaring that with this:

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Lawyers representing about 116,000 former and current Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) employees in California told a jury Monday that the world's largest retailer systematically and illegally denied workers lunch breaks.

The suit in Alameda County Superior Court is among about 40 cases nationwide alleging workplace violations against Wal-Mart, and the first to go to trial. Wal-Mart, which earned $10 billion last year, settled a lawsuit in Colorado for $50 million that contains similar allegations to California's class action. The company also is accused of paying men more than women in a federal lawsuit pending in San Francisco federal court.

I don't know.  Maybe they do things differently in California.

Random stuff

Why is it that they can develop a medication for my dogs that can repel mosquitos, ticks, and fleas for a whole month with one application, but stuff for humans only lasts a few hours?

Why is it that my 10 pound dog is much harder to bathe than my 80 pound dog?

My cousin's oldest child just turned forteen! Yikes!  Where did the time go?

Ouch!

Wow:

A VICTORIAN man conducted 30,000 volts of static electricity in his jacket today but walked away without a scratch.

Frank Clewer, from Dennington in the south-west of the state, left a trail of burned carpet and molten plastic through the nearby city of Warrnambool.

Authorities later tested his polar-fleece jacket using a device that measures static electricity, and said the dial initially went off the scale before settling on a figure greater than 30,000 volts.

Read the whole thing. You may be swearing off fleece jackets. (Yeah, I know this is a total freak thing, but still ...)

To be expected I guess

As I've been looking through accounting and tax related sites for Katrina information the last few days I've come across many supposedly straight news pieces that were, in reality, thinly veiled attempts to convince people that Katrina makes other tax cuts impossible.  I know bias in the media, even in specialized fields, is to be expected. It's still disappointing though.

They said what?

(Bumped to the top.)
I haven't had much to say lately, but Hurricane Katrina has inspired me.  Well, to be more accurate, the incredibly stupid things people are saying about the storm inspired me.  To post a list of stupid things that people are saying.  If you've got any, send em in or post em.

Haley Barbour caused the Hurricane to hit his state.  RFK, Jr.

As Hurricane Katrina dismantles Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, it’s worth recalling the central role that Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour played in derailing the Kyoto Protocol and kiboshing President Bush’s iron-clad campaign promise to regulate CO2.

[...]

Now we are all learning what it’s like to reap the whirlwind of fossil fuel dependence which Barbour and his cronies have encouraged. Our destructive addiction has given us a catastrophic war in the Middle East and--now--Katrina is giving our nation a glimpse of the climate chaos we are bequeathing our children.

In 1998, Republican icon Pat Robertson warned that hurricanes were likely to hit communities that offended God. Perhaps it was Barbour’s memo that caused Katrina, at the last moment, to spare New Orleans and save its worst flailings for the Mississippi coast.

I'd like to believe that was done with tongue-in-cheek, but I really don't think it was.  If this wasn't satircal, it's a good nominee to win the Jerry Falwell Blame-the-Victim award.

Katrina is proof that the U.S. needs to act quickly to reduce greenhouse gasses.  Various newspapers across Germany.

That appears to be the gist of several of the articles mentioned in that link.

Bloggers who write about the hurricane are just trying to up their hit-count so they can get more advertising.  Shane Coffey

Most legitimate news organizations have a right to post a story about the incoming hurricane, because that's what they, they report the news. Blogs should not change their focus just to make a buck or two. But those bloggers out there writing just to increase their visitors just to get people to click on their google ads is pathetic to say the least.

These people are the scum of the earth and are by essence scraping the bottom of the barrel. To me anyone making money off the heart-ache and suffering of others are pathetic and need to be locked away for a vey long time.

Yes, he actually implies (heavily) that bloggers have no right to blog about the storm.  (He ignores the fact that it's just as easy for "legitimate" news organizations to use natural disasters to make money.)

Global warming caused the hurricane and, well, just about anything else you can think of.  Ross Gelbspan.(Via Best of the Web)

The hurricane that struck Louisiana yesterday was nicknamed Katrina by the     National Weather Service. Its real name is global warming.

When the year began with a two-foot snowfall in Los Angeles, the cause was     global warming.

When 124-mile-an-hour winds shut down nuclear plants in Scandinavia and cut     power to hundreds of thousands of people in Ireland and the United Kingdom,     the driver was global warming.

Katrina is our punishment from God for supporting the Israelis pullout from Gaza.  Bridget Magee.

A resident of Louisiana who chose to stay at home rather than evacuate in the face of advancing Hurricane Katrina believes her country is being dealt with by God because of the major role it played in the expulsion of Jews from their homes in Gaza and northern Samaria. Bridgett Magee told the Jerusalem Newswire Sunday evening that she saw the giant hurricane "as a direct 'coming back on us' [for] what we did to Israel: a home for a home."

[...]

Magee sees the coming catastrophe as something the God of Israel will allow in judgment upon the United States for its central role in the expulsion of 10,000 Jews from their homes in the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria.

Umm ... If that's so, wouldn't it make more sense for some horrible disaster to be striking the Israelis who supported the pullout?

The resulting gasoline problems will basically destroy our way of life (and that's apparently a good thing). James Kunstler.

It seems possible to me that we will be seeing gas station lines all over America within the week.” In another area of his website, Kunstler writes: "We are entering a period of economic hardship and declining incomes...The suburbs as are going to tank spectacularly. We are going to see an unprecedented loss of equity value and, of course, basic usefulness. We are going to see an amazing distress sale of properties, with few buyers. We're going to see a fight over the table scraps of the 20th century.

I'll help the flood victims, even if they are dirty, rotten, war-supporting  Republicans!  Linda Milazzo.

Update: It's all Bush's fault! Kathy Flake.

Except, I'm not blaming Bush for staying away while New Orleans drowns. I'd like him to stay as far away as possible, in the same way I'd like a firestarter to stay away from the embers of my charred home.

If you would like to join in the blame game, please leave a comment. Anybody able to connect him with a missing white girl gets extra points.

Update again: Sean Penn gets in on the act:

The US government was accused of "criminal negligence" as hopes of finding survivors faded and the death toll from Hurricane Katrina continued to rise.

 

Holidaymakers returning to the UK spoke of the scale of the misery while one said leering police officers demanded young women flash their breasts in return for help.

 

Oscar-winning Hollywood actor Sean Penn, who has been assisting rescue efforts in New Orleans, said the US government did not "seem to be inclined to help".

 

"We were pulling drowning people out of the water, it's the ultimate distress and human suffering ... dead bodies," he told GMTV.

 

Penn said he had spent nine hours on Monday searching the water for people and during all that time he saw just three boats carrying US officials.

 

"There are people that are dying right now and I mean babies and old people and everybody in between - they're dying. There are people dying and (the US government are) not putting the boats in the water, I think that's criminal negligence. I don't think anybody ever anticipated the criminal negligence of the Bush administration in this situation."

Nobody tell Sean about this stuff.  Oh, and don't mention this either.  Note that he accuses the Bush administration of "criminal negligence" on the grounds that he only saw three boats.  Because, of course, if Sean doesn't see it, it ain't happening.  Maybe the personal photographer was blocking his view.

Another Update: Capitalism did it! World Socialist Web Site

The devastation in Louisiana and Mississippi in the wake of Hurricane Katrina will forever change the way broad masses of American working people look upon their government and society. The shock of the storm and the subsequent inundation of New Orleans have exposed the rottenness of the existing social order. It was not only the levees that failed, but the social and political institutions on which millions of people rely.

It is now being reported that as many as ten thousand human beings, fellow citizens, or even more, may have perished during the past week. They are dead because of the incompetence, negligence, and indifference of the government. They are dead because the United States is a country in which millions of people live in or on the brink of poverty. They are dead because this is a capitalistic society where the accumulation of vast personal wealth for a small percentage of the population is deemed more important than the welfare of the people as a whole.

Yeah, and socialism has such a great track record!  The accuse the US government of killing people with incompetence and indifference.  Even if I grant that it was true, incompetence and indifference on the part of government is hardly a capitalistic monopoly.  And even if it was, I'd rather my government kill me by ignoring me than killing me intentionally.  Socialist governments seem to have a problem with that.

Random notes

Just so you know, when a parent dies, taking every document they have in their house to the accountant in a box and saying, "Everything you need should be in there," is a REALLY expensive way to get their final income tax and estate tax returns filed.

My boss got an e-mail from his daughter-in-law last night.  It asked if he had a good time at the hotel.  He wrote back that she probably meant to send that to someone else.  There's a good reason not to alphabetize your e-mail addresses by last name if I ever heard one.  Oops!

Yesterday was my birthday.  I got lots of cool stuff.  My sweet wife got me books on WWII and the Civil War along with the DVD for Galaxy Quest. (My VHS has just about had it.)

Next year a whole slew of vehicles will come along with tax credits.  Most of these are alternative energy vehicles (in whole, or in part) and the credits are supposed to help offset the increased costs.  The ACEEE has published estimates of what the credits for various vehicles will be.  (These are estimates only. The IRS has not released its numbers yet.)  Check out the Prius.  It gets 60 MPG and the expected tax credit is over $3,000.  It's ugly as dirt, but still ...

Can someone please tell me ...

... why it seems that everywhere I turn the last week or so, someone on the internet is talking about the Rolling Stones?  Drudge can't shut up about them.  Google News is constantly highlighting stories about them.

I don't know if I'm the only one, but I don't care what the Rolling Stones are doing.  I don't care if they're bashing Bush. (Seriously, lots of other  celebs are doing this too.   It's not like it's news.)  I don't care if they claim that their Bush Bashing song isn't really bashing Bush.  I don't care if they sing it a lot. I don't care if they're selling out or they've still got awesome dance moves.

I do not care if they're on a bus.
I do not care if they're singing to us.
I do not care if they're in school.
I do not care if they buy a power tool.

Sorry, channeling Dr. Suess apparently.  Anyway, I think I've gotten my point across.

(BTW, I just found out that the TypePad spell checker doesn't know the word "internet".  How's that for irony?)

I doubt that

I saw this headline that said," Intuit Aims to Solve Accountants’ Most Critical Needs."  The article goes on to talk about this new Quicbooks support system Intuit is setting up.  Well, let me just say that when it comes to Quickbooks, that's NOT my most critical need.

My most critical need is a version of Quicbooks that doesn't let my clients delete entries, arbitrarily change entries, or make entries to prior years.  They're apparently not doing anything about that.

I had a thought

I was e-mailing back and forth with Sarah.  She was telling me about all the bloggers who were going to be at the wedding.  (You know, the one with him.)  I joked that it was going to be more like a wedding and blogger convention.

After a while, I got to thinking, "Hmm . . . maybe they'll have wi-fi at the wedding!"

A while later I thought, "If they do, I could live-blog it!"

Things that make you go hmm

There are people who are always asking for my help on their computer, but then routinely ignore everything I say.  Why is that?

This is disturbing on so many levels

I'm speechless:

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Her ebony hair perfectly parted and saucer-like eyes perpetually staring, the life-size Betty Boop statue became a local landmark on the city's Shore Drive. But Sunday morning, a patron discovered the $1,600 figure a block away from its home in front of Cool & Eclectic Furniture and Fashion — without its head.

Six days later, the head remained missing.

Oh my.

Have you ever wondered ...

... what it would feel like to fall out of your attic, through the ceiling, and into your garage?

Well, my wife can now answer that.  It hurts.  A lot.

Fortunately, she's going to be OK, but she'll be bruised and sore for a while.  As you can imagine, yesterday was not a lot of fun for us, but it'll be OK.

Woo-hoo!

It's now less than 24 hours until my wedding!  Yay! 

Between the wedding, packing, and moving I probably won't be blogging much for the next week.  Have fun ya'll!^*

^*  Just kidding Sarah, I know it's really "y'all!"

Now that would be cool

While in D.C. last week I thought of something that my Dish Network DVR is missing.  I wish I could log onto their website and add new timers to my DVR online.  Now that would be cool.

Interesting

So I was just sitting here thinking, "Woah! Five days from right now I'll be married!"

That was followed by, "Hey, aren't I supposed to be more nervous than this?"  I mean yeah, there have been moments that hit me like bricks (Like adding Nicki and her daughter Larissa to my medical insurance), but I've not found myself freaking out or anything.

I'm going to take this as a good thing.

I get so sick of this stuff

Russell Crowe's wife says there's no excuse for his phone-throwing tantrum. No, really, she does:

Russell Crowe’s wife said today there was no excuse for his telephone-throwing tantrum that left a New York hotel clerk with facial cuts last week.

On the one hand, I'm glad to finally see a celebrity do something like this and have his family willing to publicly say he was wrong.  On the other hand, I am so sick of hearing about this whole thing.

What Crowe did was wrong not to mention, probably, criminal.  He should be punished.  However, there is no reason I can think of to keep telling me about this.  Leave it alone already!

What if?

Marvel Comics used to have (may still for all I know) a series by that name.  The basic gist is that they would take some of their most common stories (frequently involving the origins of a particular character) and tweak it, some times in a very small way.  The point was to show how a very small difference could drastically change events.

I was thinking about this while watching the History Channel.  They were discussing the destruction of Archimides's works were destroyed with the loss of the Great Library in Alexandria.  It raised the obvious question, "What if the Great Library had survived?"  When you realize all the items we KNOW were lost, to say nothing of those treasures we have no clue about, it becomes a really staggering question.

Why is it

... that radical leftists think stripping nude makes a powerful statement for their causes? Here we go again:

The organisers of World Naked Bike Ride 2005 said protests were expected in a number of countries, including Canada, the US, Ireland, Italy, Latvia and Israel.

In London, crowds gathered as 100 cyclists left Hyde Park Corner.

Most of the riders had stripped naked for the 10km ride past Piccadilly Circus, Big Ben, Covent Garden, Oxford St and the US Embassy.

Some bikes carried banners reading "Oil is not a bare necessity but a crude obsession" and "Support the trade justice movement".

Actually, I've come to the conclusion that they just like being naked and figure this is a way to kill two birds with one stone.  Except, of course, that many of them would cringe at the thought of killing a bird.

Here's a hint

To all you people puting banner ads on websites, here's a hint.  Banner ads with annoying noises that I can't shut off don't make me want to buy your products; they make me want to find your server and blow it up.  At least briefly.

Insomnia

It's not all it's cracked up to be.

Oh please no!

I just saw a new ad that disturbs me.  I had thought that this stupid UPN show about Kevin and Britney was a special.  Is this ... actually ... a ... *choke*... series?

Here come the conspiracy theories

When  Oliver Stone's idiotic movie about the Kennedy Assasination came out, someone, I believe it was Johnny Carson as "the Great Karnak" but I could be wrong, joked that John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald were the only people Oliver Stone didn't think were involved in the Kennedy Assasination.  I wonder who will discover was really to blame for this?

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone was arrested for investigation of drug possession and driving while intoxicated, police said Saturday.

Stone, 58, was arrested Friday night at a police checkpoint on Sunset Boulevard after showing signs of alcohol intoxication, police Sgt. John Edmundson said.

A search of his Mercedes turned up drugs, Edmundson said. He did not specify what kind.

D'oh!

Making a list

... but too tired to check it twice.

It's an unfortunate truth that dogs don't live forever.  My dogs are still in good health, but they are getting up there.   That combined with the fact that I'm about to have a six year-old in the house  has made me think about what the perfect dog would be.  The dog would be:

1. At least 60 pounds, (see number 12)
2. Calm in the car,
3. Willing to sit some place besides my lap while I'm driving,
4. Comfortable in and out of the house,
5. Not prone to bladder control problems,
6. In need of little grooming,
7. Not prone to excessive shedding,
8. Easy to train,
9. Attentive and alert,
10. Patient with other pets,
11. Patient, playful, and gentle with children, and last but certainly not least,
12. If anyone tried to hurt or kidnap said children, would rip said attacker's throat out without a second thought.

Did I miss anything?

Oh, Please!

I was just on a bulletin board where I saw a guy claim that the new Battlestar Gallactica series is some kind of allegory to modern day America.  It's just a TV show.  Get a life!

In other news, I've still got strep and that's still a really miserable way to spend your time.

Not only was it a stupid remark

... but it  appeared to be a total non sequiter:

The  House Majority Leader plans a letter of protest later this afternoon, congressional sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT.

Wednesday night's episode centered on the murder of a judge.

"Maybe we should put out and APB for somebody in a Tom DeLay T-Shirt," declares a character during the drama.

I was watching the show which, frankly, got very confusing in points, even for a show that tends to be a tad strange anyway.  The line in question didn't appear to have anything whatsoever to do with the flow conversation.  There was nothing whatsoever that tied the motives of the killers to any particular political movement.  It was very strange indeed.

That being said, I fail to see how what a letter of protest would accomplish other than to let people know the Congressman was ticked off.  I think we already knew that.

I've long said

... that one of the very few absolutes at my wedding is that the bride must actually be present.  For that reason I guess I'll have to second this motion.

This seems like an incredibly bad idea

A developer wants to build a 110 story condo building in Miami.  A few points:

1. This building would have close to the same number of floors as the Twin Towers at the World trade center.
2. During a catastrophe a large number of people were unable to evacuate those buildings prior to it's collapse.
3. I'm guessing that, by far, the major occupants of condos in Miami are retired.
4. Retired people tend to be older and, therefore, slower.

All this makes this thing seem like a death trap waiting to happen.  While it's true that construction techniques have improved since the Twin Towers went up, the sheer height of the thing would still be extremely dangerous.

Well, I, for one, know

The principal of this school said she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.  I on the other hand know exactly what I did: Both!

Here's your sign

So a guy walks in to a CPA office at 8:30 PM on April the 14th to talk about his taxes.  He says, "So is this the time of year you stay after hours a lot?"

Yes. This just happened.

Argh.

I found myself wondering

I just found myself thinking, "Why is it that so much that I find pleasure in seems to be tinged with some pain?"  Then it occurred to me that maybe I was thinking about it wrong; maybe the question is, "Why is it that so much that I find painful also comes with a good deal of joy?"

Something's been bothering me

This week I've just been covered up at work.  I didn't leave the office until 9 on Monday and Tuesday wasn't much better.  That hasn't left much time for blogging.  I feel good if I get to talk to the fiancee for 45 minutes or so and get 6-7 hours of sleep.

However, something was bothering me today.  Over the past year I've had several people who have come into my life for a few months, made a significant impact, and then moved on.  Now with all of them I've told myself that I just wasn't going to let the friendship drop.  I'd keep in touch often.  I'd make sure that we'd have plenty of time to catch up now and then.

Right ... Tell me another one self.

The same pattern develops. For a while, you're talking every day or two.  Then it's once or twice a week.  Then it's once or twice a month.  Before you know it, you can't even remember when you talked to them last.

The worst part is that at the same time I'm lamenting not staying in touch, I also know that I'm not going to do anything about it.  Even if that twinge of guilt causes me to pick up the phone, that phone call doesn't change.  Even if it does change things for a couple of weeks, I know I'll backslide again.

This is not a new phenomenon for me.  It's happened before, but I don't generally have quite so many opportunities to observe it in a short time span.  I doubt I'm the only one who experiences it.  In fact, I know I'm not.  Those friends who I keep forgetting to call don't call me much any more either.  We've moved on and made other friends. 

Sure, there are some people who will be life-long friends and you'll stay in touch with no matter what.  That's not the rule though.  There was a couple that used to live here that I spent tons of time with.   He and I had similar interests in recreational activities and his wife and I had similar backgrounds.  I had plenty to do with him and plenty to talk about with her.  They moved away a couple of years ago.  At first, I talked to them very often.  However, when I got engaged I realized I hadn't talked to them in 6 months.  When I called to tell them the good news, I found that they'd moved and forgotten to tell me.

I think pretty much everyone has had this happen to them.  I'm also pretty sure that most people regret it when it happens. 

All of this makes me wonder, do we each have some magic number of close friends beyond which we can't seem to expand?  Do we all reach a point where to add one friend means losing touch with someone else?

I have no idea what the answer is and I don't plan to spend any time looking for the answer.  It's just been on my mind.

So I'm watching Smallville

... and it occurs to me that Jonathan Kent spends an awful lot of time at the hospital.

I liked this

My aunt sent me one of those inspirational e-mails that tend to get forwarded all over the place.  This one talked about how the little things that annoy you when they go wrong  may turn out to be God's way of protecting you from things you can't imagine.  I didn't find it any more inspiring or encouraging than any of the others. (They mostly seem insepid to me, but that's another story.)  I did however like the bit at the end:

Pass this on to someone else, if you'd like.

There is NO LUCK attached.

If you delete this, it's okay:

God's Love Is Not Dependent On

E-Mail !!  

(that's the cool part)

Amen.

Random weirdness

Several years ago two of our clients who had owned a corporation together parted ways on less than friendly terms.  When that happened, they decided to close the company out together.  While the company was winding down its operations, the client who functioned as president changed the legal name of the company to Done Dealing, Inc.   

My boss asked him where that name came from.  He said, "I'm done dealing with him."

We still do business with both clients.  We just do our best not to  mention one in front of the other.

Because I'm here

*** Warning! Warning! Danger Will Robinson! Accounting lingo ahead! *** 

I realize that I'm pretty strange, but this one is pretty odd even for me.  I was just sitting at my desk working and I thought, "If I ever wrote a story (book/tv/movie/whatever) that had street thugs extorting "protection" money from store owners, I'd probably have one of the store owners issue the thug a 1099.

Sad. Just sad.

So I was passing a elementary school yesterday and noticed that the marquis read, "Elementry school program tonight."  On occasion, I positively weep for the future.

More Babylon 5 stuff

Sakai: Ambassodor! Ambassodor G'Kar!

G'Kar: Ah, Ms. Sakai, I'm pleased to see that you returned safely from your expedition.

Sakai: Yes, thanks to you.  Just one question, Why?

G'Kar: Why not?

Sakai: It's not an answer.

G'Kar: Oh, yes, it is.  It's simply not an answer you like or the answer you expected.  There's a difference.  Narns, humans, Centauri, we all do what we  for the same reason ... because it seemed like a good idea at the time.

This is how I think

*** Warning! Warning! Danger Will Robinson! Accounting lingo ahead! ***

So I was reading the settlement terms between Esquire and WFB when I found this:

1. Payments by Hearst. Within 15 days of the execution of this Settlement Agreement by Mr. Buckley, Hearst will pay the sum of $55,000 to Mr. Buckley's counsel, Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, and will pay the sum of $10,000 to Mr. Buckley.

My first thought was, "Buckley's going to pay more in taxes than he's getting from the settlement."

I won't bore you with the details of why this is so, but trust me, it's messy.

I have an announcement

I have lost my mind.

That is all.

Metaphysical observation

As concepts go, I could do without time and distance. Especially distance. Oh, how I loathe it.

The Incredibles

... are just that.

I had the chance to catch The Incredibles over the holiday. This is the perfect movie for families. It's clean and has wonderful super-heroes to entertain the kids. On the other hand, it has a marvelous and original plot that will appeal to adults. If you haven't seen this movie, don't rob yourself one more day; see it as soon as possible.

Just a thought

There's an ad I've seen a few times. What it's for doesn't matter, but something about it struck me wrong. They identify their spokesman by displaying his name on the screen followed by the phrase "trusted former news anchor."

It seems to me that if you have to tell your audience both who your spokesman is and that he is to be trusted, that you might, just maybe, have made a bad choice.

Just saying.

Brotherly love

At then end of Shanghai Knights Chon Wang tells Roy O'Bannon that if he really loves Chon's sister, then he wouldn't stand in Roy's way.  However, he warns, ""If you break her heart, I'll break your legs."

I find this interesting.  I have one surviving sister who is a few years younger than me.  So far she hasn't had any guys that were serious enough for me to feel the urge to say something like this. 

(At least I assume she hasn't.  A few guys in a row were dumped because they had one annoying trait.  I assume that if she was really serious about a guy she'd try to work him out with him, or learn to live with it. [In a few cases I know she never even told her that whatever it was bothered her.]  If I really care for a girl little annoyances don't tend to bother me so much.  In fact,  sometimes I suddenly find them to be cute and endearing traits. )

However, I have very little doubt that if a guy she really cared for were to break her heart that I'd have a very strong desire to explain my feelings on the matter with a baseball bat.  I wouldn't, of course, and I'd feel horrible and spend a lot of time in prayer just for the thought.  I'm pretty sure that the feeling would be pretty strong. 

For those of you who aren't an older brother with younger sisters it's hard to describe just how deeply seeded the need to protect them is.  It can override any number of other concerns.

The death of the older of my younger sisters was an accident, but it was one that could have been prevented.  For years I was haunted by the feeling that it was my fault.  I kept thinking, "She was my little sister; I should have been able to protect her."  That I wasn't able to protect her because I failed to identify the problems seemed like a gross betrayal.  Why was I even here if I couldn't protect my little sister?  I didn't have an answer.

Eventually, I learned to let that go. (For the most part.)  I've come to accept that not only am I not omniscient (Isn't that a cool word?) and it's senseless to try hold myself to that standard.

However that experience has taught me just how strongly that need to protect my remaining sister burns inside me. 

One of the things I find interesting is that my sister is not the only girl I know capable of inspiring me to quote Jackie Chan to a guy she was serious about.  I have a tendency to have very good female friends whose company and conversation I thoroughly enjoyed.  (There's a pretty high correlation of this group with the group who are able to discern my mood from a two line e-mail about the weather after knowing me a month.)  I have occasionally found that when one of these  girls find someone they care about that I have a very strong urge to tell him to expect the condition of his body is contingent on the condition of her heart. (I have not, however, actually done this; that accounts for the fact that these girls are still my friends.)

Thinking about this has revealed two sides of myself that bear further thought.  I've known some guys who refer to their closest friends, those they feel a special bond with, who will refer to this friend as their brother.  I actually have a friend from high school who occasionally calls me his brother.

I've never understood this way of thinking.  I've never had a friend who I thought of as a brother.  To me, the title of friend is much more important than the title of friend.  It's true that one of they most powerful and instinctive love of family is one of the most powerful forces in most people's lives.  However, for me, the title of friend is one to be highly regarded and represents a powerful, though different, type of love as well.  After all, I was born into my family; I chose my friends.

However, my realization that there are girls to whom I am not related to at all that could spark a desire inflict pain on all who hurt her has led me to realize something I'd never realized before; while there are no men who trigger emotional reactions similar to those I have with my family, there are a few women that I've come to think of, in some ways at least, as sisters.

This was quite a shock to me when I first realized it.  In retrospect though, it would seem to explain a lot.

The other side of this coin is not nearly so pleasant.  While the love and concern involved here are, I think, quite good things, the fact that I might feel the desire to inflict bodily harm, no matter what the reason, on someone is very disturbing.  While I've never acted on such feelings, and doubt that I ever wood, the fact that those feelings exist is some what disturbing.

Anger, in and of itself, is not a bad thing.  In fact, when channeled properly, anger can be very productive.  Christ himself was angry when he drove the money changers from the temple.  But He didn't lash out wildly.  Instead He focused that anger to fix the problem.

The key here is to, "Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil."  Unfortunately, that's much easier to say than to do.  We tend to let our anger get out of control.  That is very dangerous.  Anger, if not kept in check, can spiral out of control.

It's now time for my obligatory Star Wars reference.  In The Phantom Menace Yoda tells Anakin, "Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."  The fact that these words were uttered by a 3 foot tall frogling carrying a laser sword does not make them any less true.  Anger can be productive, but it can also destroy you and those around you.  For this reason, the knowledge that I am capable of such anger, no matter the justification, is a cause of great concern to me.

(Hmm. It's been a while since I pounded out one of these late-Friday-nite-been-thinking-way-too-hard posts.)

There are worse things in the world

... than an order of nachos with so much beef on them that you can barely see the chips and cheese.  Yay El Vaquero. (That was lunch. Haven't been hungry since.)