VAVOVEVA

Why Does Congress Hate Literate Children?

2009-08-04T12:14:00.005-05:00

I know I've mentioned this before, but I don't think it can be said too many times how stupid the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act is. The name of the Act is great. Who would oppose "consumer product safety"? Who would oppose making sure that products are safe for children? Unfortunately, this law is destroying small businesses who make safe toys for children but who can't afford the required (idiotic) testing. It also has rendered all pre-1985 children's books essentially unsellable. Don't donate your old children's books as they will most likely end up in a landfill. Given who stupid all of this is, why isn't Congress fixing it?

Update: Overlawyered has a lot more on the CPSIA.

Technorati: Bad People, Children, Law

Ethics and Atheism

2009-07-24T19:00:00.003-05:00

So I've been thinking about atheists and morality/ethics. I can't come up with a reason for an atheist (one who is all but convinced that there is no supernatural world, higher law, god or gods, etc...) to be a "good person." I know that many atheists are good people but what, other than personal preference, is their reason for doing good things when they could easily get away with doing bad things? I know that there are plenty of social and legal incentives to behave when you are in public or otherwise being watched by other people. But what about those times when you have an opportunity to do a bad thing and benefit from it and there is absolutely no chance that you will be caught? Why should an atheist do the "right" thing?

Again, I know that many atheists are good people and do do the right things. I'm not arguing that they don't. I'm looking for the philosophical or logical justification for it, though.

Religious people have a number of motivations: fear of punishment by god or gods, fear of corrupting their immortal soul, fear of bad karma, etc...

Technorati: Ethics, Religion

Looks Who's Talking!

2009-07-09T11:18:00.002-05:00

I find this kind of depressing, but then the average person isn't all that smart and half the people are dumber than average, so I can't say I'm shocked to see who is in the top. I've been trying to read the Huffington Post but it makes my brain hurt. I expect partisanship and some of the articles are interesting but some are just plain stupid. Not surprisingly, the more partisan, the more stupid. I am encouraged to see that Markos Moulitsas isn't ranked very high. Megan McArdle is ranked much higher, which is a good thing.

Technorati: Blogs, Media

Breakfast of Losers

2009-06-25T21:42:00.000-05:00

So here's a bachelor living tip. I hate making breakfast and I am barely functional in the morning. However, I want to have a healthy breakfast to make my day go better. So here's what I do:

First, pre-mix some stuff that goes well with eggs. I use grated cheese, olives, and bacon pieces. I mix up a bunch in a bowl and store it in the refrigerator.

In the morning, crack three eggs into a bowl and add some of the mix. Microwave for three minutes or so, stirring once towards the end.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Eat delicious eggs in a bowl.

Technorati: Food

The Puffington Host

2009-06-24T19:28:00.001-05:00

In an effort to avoid living in an echo chamber and to counter the natural tendency to seek out sources of information that confirm biases, I've actively started reading the Huffington Post and the Daily Kos. Wow... I think I'm stupider, now. Not that either is 100% stupid, but there is a lot of it there. I probably should moderate my statement, but after reading today's front page stories on the Huffington Post, I'm not feeling moderate.

Apparently, you if you can't practice what you preach, you should preach what you practice. Based on the reaction to Governer Sanford's affair, Republicans should now all give up any moral ideals and fully support gay marriage. What? That's got to be one of the dumbest things EVER. Human beings are imperfect. This does not mean that we are not capable of seeing what should be or a better way. But imperfect humans often fail to achieve their ideals. That doesn't mean one should just give up and preach whatever one happens to be doing.

Just to be clear, I think Governer Sanford is a schmuck and his trip was incredibly irresponsible and juvenile. Even if he weren't Governer, it would have been an incredibly selfish and stupid thing to do. But the fact that he so spectacularly failed to live up to any ideals is not a reason to abandon them. Now maybe Republicans should support gay marriage. But if so, the fact that some idiot Governer had an affair and then went on an international nookie run while neglecting his job is not why.

Reading the "Green" section just makes me sad. There are lots of articles about how green technology will somehow help the economy and create wealth even though it needs subsidies because it's more expensive and less efficient. Here's a free tip: if something requires a government subsidy (direct payment, tax break, etc...) then it's NOT efficient. It maybe desireable for other reasons but economic benefits aren't one of tehm.

Okay, now it's time to delve into the Daily Kos...

Technorati: Economics, Energy, Environmentalism, Government, Politics

Justice, Obama Style

2009-06-16T23:17:00.000-05:00

It's been an interesting Presidency from a civil rights standpoint under Obama. His Justice department has been politically driven in ways that President Bush never even tried. They dropped a case they'd basically won against Black Panthers intimidating white voters. They defended the Defense of Marriage Act, unnecessarily and in ways that go far beyond anything President Bush tried. He's fired an Inspector General, in violation of the proper procedure, who was investigating misuse of funds by one of his big supporters and Mayor of Sacramento.

So apparently corruption and voter intimidation are okay while gay marriage is not. I'm so glad Obama was elected President. He sure has ushered in a new era of transparency and is undoing all of the bad things that happened under President Bush.

Technorati: Marriage, Obama, Politics

Letterman is Sorry

2009-06-16T18:31:00.000-05:00

And he apologized, too. I used to enjoy Letterman. But apparently he's lost his mind. His joke about Sarah Palin's 14-year-old daughter was completely inappropriate and not very funny. Making about her eighteen-year-old daughter isn't much better. His apology, especially given its timing, seems very self-serving and more of an attempt to placate critics than an expression of sincere regret. He probably does feel bad about making the joke about the younger daughter but I wonder if he really sees how inappropriate the joke was regardless of which daughter it was about.

Technorati: Fail

Obama on Justice

2009-05-04T13:45:00.002-05:00

Does Obama even know what the Supreme Court does? It is the ultimate court of appeals and typically makes rulings on whether something is Constitutional or not. It does not hear cases for the first time, it only hears them after a series of lower courts have heard them. It does not rule on the merits of the case, it rules on whether the law was correctly applied, the correct procedures were followed, and/or whether the applicable law is Constitutional. Empathy is not relevant. Knowledge and understanding of the law is relevant.

Sadly, Obama is out of step with the American people, though not surprisingly he's in accord with the Democratic Party. Most people believe that the Supreme Court should rule based on the Constitution. But only a few Democrats believe this.

Obama has clearly stated that he believes that the Supreme Court should not just interpret the law but it should make new law and it should act to make changes and that the Constitution is flawed. Of course, we have a mechanism for changing the Constitution through amendments, but Obama apparently believes the Courts should bypass that (probably since the people can't be trusted to get things right).

(One some of the links in the previous paragraph, the comments are more interesting than the original post)

Technorati: Law, Obama, Constitution, Courts

The True Story of the Atomic Bombs

2009-05-03T19:39:00.002-05:00

Bill Whittle gives a very good explanation of why it was necessary to drop two atomic bombs on Japan to end World War II.

Technorati: World War II

I do not agree with Obama on...

2009-05-03T14:15:00.003-05:00

These are the ways in which I disagree with President Obama

That we should feel guilty for dropping nuclear bombs on Japan: Dropping the bombs was a horrific act, as are most of the things that happen during a war. At the time, those who were leading the country believed that dropping the bomb was the only way to save millions of American and Japanese lives. Oh, and The two cities were NOT civilian targets. They were home to factories and shipyards and no bombs in WWII were precision guided. Any bombing of military targets involved a lot of collateral damage.
That the President (or Congress) should take over businesses or interfere directly with the details of how businesses are run: Right now, the President is pressuring Chrysler bond holders to accept a terrible deal. He is particularly pressuring banks that accepted TARP money (not always voluntarily). This "deal" that he has concocted flies in the face of established bankruptcy law and threatens the stability of our lending system. If lenders know that the government may intervene and move politically favored creditors up in line in violation of normal bankruptcy law, then they will be reluctant to lend (or will lend only at much higher rates). The government is supposed to establish and enforce the rules, not throw them out the window in favor of banana republic-style crony looting of companies.
That the United States should give up any of its sovereignty to international institutions: The President is appointing people to his staff who believe in transnationalism and that international law should supersede U.S. law. He has even said that he might cooperate with Spanish courts if they wish to try U.S. government officials for Spanish crimes. The biggest problem with this is that the international community is overwhelmingly made up of dictatorships and tyrannies and there is no overall authority that can reign them in. So if we follow international law and they don't, we can't do anything except appeal to toothless international institutions. Also, there is no formal process for making international law. As of now, it consists of treaties (not all signed by all countries) and conventions, many of which violate the Constitution in some form or another.
That our clandestine services should be open for all to see: The CIA and our special forces are supposed to operate in secret. They can not function if everyone is watching them. By necessity, spying on other countries breaks their laws. Obama seems intent on destroying the morale and effectiveness of our clandestine intelligence services by throwing them to the wolves. I fully expect that the CIA will sometimes do things that I am uncomfortable with. I do not like it nor do I want them to go crazy. But I also do not want to shine a spotlight on them and reveal all that they are doing and have done. If the CIA needs to clean house, appoint a group of outsiders (from whatever branches) and do it quietly. Do not do it in the media or in a public court room.
That the government should run the financial system: We have a name for government run financial systems. It's socialism. And it does not work. The government needs to quickly get banks, financial institutions, auto makers, etc... back to being privately run. It should be making rules and enforcing them, NOT trying to run companies. No matter what the intentions of the Fed or the Treasury were, Congress has realized that it can meddle in these government controlled institutions for political purposes and will destroy them.
That he is doing a good job as President: Apparently, HE thinks he is, but he is leading the people by lying to them about everything. Even little things, like his speech on torture. Churchill's forces DID torture and commit other acts that would be considered war crimes. Green jobs and investments in green technology WILL NOT save money in the long run. They may be better for the planet (another debate entirely) but they will cost more. Cap and trade carbon credits will increase the cost of energy for everyone, especially the poor. Government run healthcare will NOT give us better health care for less money. It may give us better healthcare for more money or less healthcare for less money. Or it may give us worse healthccare for more money.

It's kind of depressing to watch the country being ruined in so many ways and precedents being set that will be difficult to unset. The Republicans aren't much help as they are still trying to figure out what to do. Between the religious right, the moderates, and the Ron Paul Libertarians, they are tearing themselves apart. Maybe the tea party movement will transform into a political party that believes in small government, personal liberty, and U.S. sovereignty. I can only dream.

Technorati: Economics, Politics, Obama

Who Is the Party of Nasty?

2009-05-02T01:37:00.002-05:00

Wow... just wow. The pro-gay-marriage crowd really come across looking like assholes in this interview. Perez Hilton was bad enough with his idiotic attacks but at least he was just some blogger. Now Olbermann, who shows himself to be a classless asshole, and some twit trade crude insults about Carrie Prejean, Miss California. She gave an honest answer to a question, expressing an opinion held by a majority of this country, a majority of California, and President Obama. And now the Left are showing their true colors in their attacks on her. And not only that, they think that they look good and she looks bad. I suspect that the more people who see this video, the less popular these fools will be.

Technorati: Bad People

Walking the Walk

2009-04-22T12:03:00.004-05:00

Mat Redsell has dedicated himself to living a fully sustainable lifestyle. Of course, he's cheating by making use of equipment built by the current, industrial society, but he doesn't have much choice in that. His effort is pretty impressive and he is learning a lot. His conclusion is that a totally sustainable lifestyle must necessarily be more austere and less wealthy than our current, petroleum based lifestyle.

Of course, his justification is seriously flawed. He states, correctly, that oil and coal are finite resources and will run out someday. His mistake, though, is to assume that the end of oil and coal means an end to our energy-rich lifestyle. Other sources of energy are out there, from fission and fusion to satellite based solar to things we may not even know of, yet. As existing energy supplies begin to run out, the costs will go up. This will spur innovation and lead to the development of replacements.

In fifty years, I expect my kids will be flying to work or living in orbit or something similar and his will be looking up from their family garden as they harvest tomatoes or from the creek where they are beating their laundry against rocks...

Technorati: Environmentalism

Kudos: Shell Station

2009-04-16T12:19:00.001-05:00

There is a Shell station on the corner of FM 1960 and Paradise Valley Dr. just west of Champions Forest. I dropped by yesterday morning to get some gas. As usual, I pulled up to the self-service pump and got out to pump my gas. Two guys who worked there came over and said they weren't busy so one of them washed my windows while the other checked my tire pressure and inflated them for me. They don't always do this, but I've stopped for gas there a number of times and more than once, somoene has come out and helped me in some way. So if you are on FM 1960 and need gas, stop buy and give these guys some business.

Technorati: Good People

Tea Party Derangement Syndrom

2009-04-16T12:11:00.003-05:00

I'm beginning to think the Left is just deranged. They can't just disagree with something, they have to demonize it and ridicule it. The Huffandpuffington Post has "extensive coverage" of the Tax Day Tea Parties. They can't conceive of the idea that many millions of people are against high government spending, intrusive nanny-statism, and high taxes. So they mock and ridicule and project.

I read a lot of conservative web sites. Many of them are critical of the Republican Party as well as the Democratic Party (though not as often). These sites generally discuss the issues. When I check out mainstream Liberal web sites like Huffington Post or Daily Kos, I see a lot of vitriol and derangement and emoting and demonizing of enemies and not a lot of discussion of ideas.

Technorati: Economics, Politics, Tax

Bill Whittle's message to the rich

2009-04-09T12:53:00.003-05:00

Bill Whittle has an inspirational style that really cuts to the heart of an issue and then illustrates very clearly. His message to the rich is right on target and he brings home the message with a personal anecdote. Read it now.

Technorati: Economics

Bow? What bow?

2009-04-09T12:50:00.002-05:00

IMAO has conclusive proof that President Obama did not bow to the King of Saudi Arabia. Check out the in depth analysis.

Technorati: Obama

Rock Band 2

2009-04-09T11:29:00.002-05:00

Speaking of Rock Band 2, I thought that music games sounded incredibly stupid when I first heard of them. I still find myself feeling kind of silly playing the fake guitar. But I have found Rock Band 2 to be a lot of fun. I'm not sure why, but there's something enjoyable about playing the fake guitar to music I like. It's kind of a zen relaxation thing. It's like a variation of dancing, though with expensive electronic equipment. I have become quite a good fake guitar player on Medium (which only uses four fret buttons). For some reason, when I try Hard with the fifth fret button, I suddenly turn into a spastic chimpanzee trying to play a guitar with a rock. Maybe I'm too old or something. My nephew scoffed at my lack of skill. I'm not as good at the fake drums and unfortunately for me, the singing is NOT fake. I still can't carry a tune, though the feedback the game gives helps me get close. Apparently, I have a pretty big range, though, as I will wander all up and down the octaves trying to match the pitch. The game will give you credit for matching the note in any octave. Though it apparently has a low limit that I can sing below.

Rock Band 2 lets you create your band members and then buy them clothes. I made my band all female as I figured I'd rather watch women than men jump around on stage. Unfortunately, I was right. So I find myself watching my band while notes whiz by and the fans start booing. ADD + flashing lights + hot digital women = wait, what was I doing? I either need to make a band of fat dudes or hope they come out with some DLC frumpy dresses that I can buy.

Technorati: XBOX 360

Resident Evil 5

2009-04-09T11:28:00.003-05:00

So I bought Resident Evil 5 for the XBOX 360 the other day and thought it'd be fun to kill some zombies. It would have been except that whoever designed the controls for this game was clearly insane. The XBOX 360 controller has two triggers, two buttons above the triggers (bumpers), four buttons under your right thumb, a D-pad (with eight possible buttons), two thumbsticks (each of which can be pushed for another button) and a "back" button. With all of these possibilities, someone decided that to shoot your gun or swing your knife, you should have to push two buttons at the same time. There are four possible control layouts for the game but all four of them require you to push two buttons to attack. This in a game where the primary activity is attacking zombies. With just about every other game, when you pull the right trigger, you attack. Not the right trigger plus another button. In Resident Evil 5, if you pull the right trigger, you whip your head around and stare at your partner (who is pretty hot, to be fair). I played right up until the first combat which I spent plaintively glancing at my partner (for help, I guess) as I frantically pulled the right trigger while trying to remember what other button I needed to also push to attack. After dying, I decided to go back to Rock Band 2.

Note: I'll add pictures and links later.

Technorati: XBOX 360

Gay Marriage in Iowa

2009-04-03T10:46:00.004-05:00

The Iowa Supreme Court just ruled that a gay marriage ban is unconstitional under the Iowa state Constitution's equal protection requirement. I'm not familiar with the Iowa state Constitution so I'm not going to argue the legal issue but I would like to address some comments in the article. One of the plaintiff's attorneys is quoted as saying that this represents the mainstreaming of gay marriage. Unfortunately, that is not the case. What it represents is the court overruling a popular law. Gay marriage is still opposed by a majority of Americans. Racism and sexism were made illegal by laws passed by the legislature and then supported by the courts. What we are seeing with gay marriage is that it is being made illegal by the legislatures and then overruled by the courts. To me, this is not the best way to handle the mainstreaming of gay marriage. I suspect that by using the court system to overrule the legislatures, gay marriage supporters are alienating people rather than gaining support. Until proponents of gay marriage began using the courts to "legalize" gay marriage, there were no laws banning gay marriage. By making an end run around the legislators, gay marriage supporters have provoked a backlash resulting in the passing of laws banning gay marriage.

This seems to be an increasing pattern, where a group believes that something is unfair and rather than campaigning for law changes, they use the court system to change the law. The courts have encouraged this by "legislating" from the bench, stretching and bending the Constitution beyond what it was meant to do. It is much better if changes are made through the people and the legislators.

And for the record, my own view on the issue is that the government should get out of the marriage business and sanction a civil union/domestic partnership between any two people for the purpose of maintaining a household. The details would have to be worked out, but such a system might even have several different levels (a light version for those who share a residence and a strong version for those who wish to raise children together, for example). This contract would be open to any two people, even siblings are parents and children. It would not imply a sexual or romantic relationship. Then churches and other religious organizations could "marry" whoever they want to or don't want to, just like they can baptize, ordain, or otherwise perform religious ceremonies on whoever they want or don't want.

I believe this would satisfy both sides as gay couples would have the same rights as straight couples and the religious sacrement of marriage would no longer be subject to government regulation. But my proposal is logical and actually addresses the problems and thus would never actually be implemented.

Technorati: Courts, Marriage, Religion

Kirin II

2009-03-23T11:37:00.003-05:00

If you like sushi but are on a budget or in a hurry, try Kirin II. It is a buffet restaurant with some traditional Chinese buffet items as well as Japanese items (including a number of varieties of sushi). I've never ordered off the menu, but the buffet is pretty good. Buffet sushi is usually pretty bad, but Kirin II's sushi is pretty good (though freshly made would still be better). The lunch buffet is only about $15 while dinner is more expensive (but I believe it has more seafood).

The only disadvantage of Kirin II is that it is located at FM 1960 and 249, so it's a bit of a drive for people in town. But I'm always happy to meet people there for lunch!

Check their hours as they are closed from about 3 to 5 in the afternoon.

Technorati: Food, Houston

Energy "Reform"

2009-03-23T11:26:00.003-05:00

President Obama says that he is for energy reform and wants to move the US towards energy independence. But he plans on doing this by funding research into new, "green" energy sources. His actions indicate that he really wants to move the US towards "green" energy... not energy independence. If he really wanted to move the US to a reliance primarily on domestic sources of energy, he would be pushing to build nuclear power plants and opening more areas for oil drilling. There is no feasible "green" or "renewable" replacement for oil. Wind and solar and other energy sources can certainly supplement the burning of hydrocarbons but they will not replace it. We are stuck with coal, gas, and oil as our primary energy sources for a while. Given that we will be burning hydrocarbons, to be energy independent, we should burn domestic hydrocarbons and not foreign hydrocarbons. This would reduce our dependence on foreign countries for a vital resource, reduce the amount of money available to foreign governments who are actively opposing us and actively supporting terrorism, and would increase the amount of money spent in the US economy.

Current oil and gas exporation is taking place primarily offshore. The US only allows drilling in the Western half of the Gulf of Mexico. The Eastern half of the Gulf of Mexico and the coastal waters off of the East and West coasts are both entirely off-limits to drilling for oil and gas. This is insane. There are known reserves off of the California coast and most likely unknown reserves off both coasts and the rest of the Gulf. Right now, we are consuming massive quantities of hydrocarbons bought on a market that includes suppliers such as Venezuela, Iran, and Russia.

As far as "green" energy goes, I am in favor of expanding our use of more environmentally friendly energy sources but we can't put our head in the sand and pretend like we are anywhere close to replacing the burning of hydrocarbons.

Technorati: Drilling, Energy, Environmentalism, Oil,

Obama (pbuh) gaffes...

2009-03-20T11:16:00.003-05:00

Okay, so Obama makes a "Special Olympics" joke about his bowling... blah blah blah... no big deal. It was an honest mistake and no big deal (though part of a pattern of saying dumb things). My favorite part of this article is at the very end, though:

Despite making fun of his score, the president appears to be getting better the more he visits the White House lanes, which President Truman installed in 1947. During a campaign photo op a year ago at a bowling alley in Altoona, Pa., he rolled only a 37 in seven frames. The clip of the disastrous game was replayed on late night television shows such as Leno’s — one of Obama’s few campaign gaffes.

Ha! ha! ha! ha! I can think of some off the top of my head, like the 57 state one. I've seen plenty of others. The truth is it was one of his few campaign gaffes that was actually discussed by the media. I guess they thought that being bad at bowling would make him more accessible or more human. His other gaffes all got ignored by the fawning media.

But seriously... being bad at bowling isn't even a campaign gaffe. Nobody is good at everything and nobody expects the President to be good at all games and sports... another reason why this was mentioned. It's like they're saying, "Look! Even his gaffes weren't really gaffes! He's SOOOO cool." This reporter probably writes "Obama" with a big heart for the "O".

Technorati: Media, Obama

Obama doesn't have enough to do?

2009-03-19T12:38:00.003-05:00

Um, but seriously, doesn't he have have enough to worry about? Is this really Obama's NCAA bracket picks? I guess it's a good thing he hasn't let the economy or national security distract him from what's really important...

Technorati: Obama

Thieves in charge of the treasury...

2009-03-19T12:09:00.006-05:00

So Congress is going to steal money from people who earned it in good faith. The bonuses paid to AIG employees were retention bonuses specifically promised to employees to get them to stay with the firm and help unwind the companies finances to reduce exposure. These people had lots of reasons to quit so bonuses were offered to get them to stay. They stayed and did the work, likely saving taxpayers billions of dollars. But Congress, always ready to jump on someone else at the whim of the polls, is going to take away those bonuses. I guess they don't want us to pay attention to where the rest of the trillions of money they are spending is going or to the fact that many of these Congresscritters (including Obama) received significant contributions from AIG (and many of the other companies being bailed out).

Technorati: Bad People, Economics, Congress

SyFy? Really?

2009-03-19T11:50:00.003-05:00

Apparently, the SciFi channel is planning on cutting all ties to "Science Fiction" with its name change to "SyFy". Some marketing gurus decided that they would appeal to more people by ditching any association with loser nerds who like science fiction. Um... okay. So I guess they'll transition to all paranormal, psuedoscience, and horror and get away from some of the really good shows they've cancelled. Maybe somebody else can fill the niche for a channel that shows science fiction...

Technorati: Media

It's the little things...

2009-03-18T12:11:00.005-05:00

...that shouldn't distract us from the big things. Like the $80 BILLION dollars we gave AIG or the hundreds of billions in the stimulus package and the trillions in the new budget and the trillions in new deficit and debt we are creating with the spending orgy currently going on in Congress. Don't forget, Congress got raises this year... no doubt deserved for the wonderful job they are doing. But let's spend all of our time discussing 0.2% of the money given to AIG that was paid out in bonuses that had been agreed to in signed contracts before the bailout was paid. If AIG had gone bankrupt, the bankruptcy court could have altered compensation agreements. But no, we gave them "bailout" money and put AIG in a new position with no real legal precedent.

But all of that aside, spending so much energy focused on such a small part of the AIG bailout is foolish with so many other really important things to be dealing with. Someone in Congress needs to show some leadership and explain the situation and then state that they will not waste any more time worrying about it when we have billions of dollars to worry about and an entire economy to save.

Technorati: Economics, Politics

Obama hates the military

2009-03-18T12:06:00.004-05:00

Apparently, President Obama hates the military and in the midst of spraying money over most of the country has found one group that deserves less money: wounded veterans. His plan to make them use private insurance to pay for treatment of health conditions resulting in their military service has got to be one of the most idiotic ideas ever. Aside from the fact that the plan is evil, has Obama decided that he doesn't care what anybody thinks of him? Politically, this seems pretty stupid.

Technorati: Obama

Gun Rights & the ADA

2009-03-02T11:20:00.001-06:00

A very strong argument for gun rights that is often not made is how they can allow for the physically disabled to defend themselves. The linked article is by Kurt Hofmann, a paraplegic who could not realistically defend himself from a physical assault by a healthy person without some sort of weapon. A small, concealable firearm is his best option for self-defense when he is out and about. This argument is really just an extension of the argument that guns are the great equalizer, giving anyone the means to defend himself from attack by anyone else. No matter who you are, there will be someone (or some group) who can defeat you in unarmed combat. Even if you win a fight against an attacker, you are likely to be injured.

As an aside, the argument that there will be an arms race between muggers/burglars and potential victims can be answered by pointing out that criminals often already have guns. And our laws are MUCH more strict on criminals who commit murder or use a gun to commit a crime. Guns will deter casual criminals or opportunists while truly dedicated criminals will probably not be deterred but will also probably avoid victims with guns. In the US, for example, burglars avoid houses where people are present. In the UK, this is not as true.

As another aside, Oleg Volk is a stunning photographer who takes unconventional, yet striking photographs. He does portraits as well as photographs with a message. (Some galleries have artistic nudity.)

Technorati: Guns, Crime, Law,

The Beauty of SCIENCE!

2009-03-02T11:06:00.001-06:00

I love this quote from Richard Feynman:

Poets say science takes away from the beauty of the stars — mere globs of gas atoms. Nothing is "mere". I too can see the stars on a desert night, and feel them. But do I see less or more? The vastness of the heavens stretches my imagination — stuck on this carousel my little eye can catch one-million-year-old light. A vast pattern — of which I am a part... What is the pattern or the meaning or the why? It does not do harm to the mystery to know a little more about it. For far more marvelous is the truth than any artists of the past imagined it. Why do the poets of the present not speak of it? What men are poets who can speak of Jupiter if he were a man, but if he is an immense spinning sphere of methane and ammonia must be silent?

I think of this when someone tells me that learning the truth of something spoils the magic. When I tell my children about the world and how things work, I tell them the truth (in an age appropriate manner) and encourage them to see the wonder in how things really are rather than make up fairy stories. Even seemingly boring questions, like "Where does the rain come from?" or "Why does the moon change shape?" can have fascinating answers.

Technorati: Science, Quotes

Follow Freeman!

2009-02-26T18:29:00.001-06:00

Wow... President Obama is going to appoint Charles "Chas" Freeman Jr. to Chairman of the National Intelligence Council, the organization that produces National Intelligence Estimates. This guy has been bought and paid for by Saudi Arabia who is our ally but not exactly our friend. Apparently the powerful Jewish lobby has failed to control the President. I guess we'll be throwing Israel under the bus and cozying up to Iran and China.

Technorati: Obama, War on Terror

Cutting Health Care Costs

2009-02-26T12:14:00.002-06:00

It's true that letting old people die will cut health care costs. And that's just what will likely start happening as medical care becomes more and more government controlled. The current health bill puts a financial incentive on hospitals to NOT readmit patients. So they will either keep them in the hospital longer, which leaves them vulnerable to disease, or release them and drag their feet on readmitting them, in which case they may not receive the care they need. Oh, I suppose they could stop giving "poor care" as the experts have decided that hospital readmissions are a sign of.

This will be a very costly demonstration of the fact that you get what you pay for (and not what you don't pay for).

Technorati: Health Care, Obama

Abuse: It's Always Bush

2009-02-26T10:51:00.002-06:00

When allegations of prisoner abuse at Guantanamo were made, the media portrayed it as systematic abuse directed from above. Now that allegations are being made that prisoner abuse is worse under President Obama, it is being portrayed as NOT being systematic abuse directed from above and is, in fact, being used to prove that Guantanamo should be closed even faster.

I am quite sure that prisoners are abused at Guantanamo. I'm also quite sure that most of them are bad people who pose a threat to the US (and not just because they were driven to that by the evil of the US). Some are probably innocent. I am also sure that members of Al Qaeda allege abuse as a tactic to garner sympathy and take advantage of our cultural abhorrence of torture. They are taught to use our own legal protections against us. And we can't stop them without destroying that system. I also suspect that these same Al Qaeda prisoners know that under President Obama, they are likely to get a more sympathetic ear for their allegations. So even if there is an increase in abuse, it will be hard to know how much of it is real and how much of it is a tactic.

A part of me kind of hopes that some of these guys are transferred to maximum security prisons in the US. They will most likely find that US prisons (much to our shame) are far worse than Guantanamo.

Technorati: War on Terror

Abortion as moral imperative?

2009-02-25T12:17:00.004-06:00

While some of us are struggling with the morality of abortion and the concept of when life begins and what that means, some people have moved past all that are now arguing that NOT having an abortion is immoral. This is in the UK, but how long until environmentalists in the US make the same argument? I've already heard the argument that not aborting a baby with Down's Syndrome is immoral.

Technorati: Abortion, Environmentalism, UK

The Crooked Talk Express

2009-02-24T12:43:00.001-06:00

Ha! Obama's press secretary is totally unprepared for anything but softball questions. When asked if Obama would oppose the 9,000+ earmarks in the current omnibus spending bill, he stammers and attempts to evade the question. Who is willing to bet that Obama will stand firm on his "No Earmark" policy? I bet he'll stand as firm as his "No Lobbyists", "No Rendition", and other such policies...

Technorati: Politics, Obama

The Budgetary Circular Firing Squad

2009-02-24T10:47:00.004-06:00

Okay, I'm a little confused, here. We just passed a huge stimulus bill that contained lots of spending and tax cuts to prime the economy. This was an emergency and was rushed through in order to save the country from certain DOOOOOOM! Now Obama is saying that he's going to reduce the deficit and cut spending in the Federal budget. Um... won't that counteract the effects of the stimulus bill? If we increase Federal spending and then immediately decrease Federal spending, what was the point?

Obama has stated that he wants to end the "casual dishonesty" in how the Federal government accounts for spending. While I would love to see that happen, I am eagerly waiting to hear how he's going to handle the fact that Social Security is a huge unfunded liability. The money that we pay into Social Security is spent by the Federal government and replaced with IOUs. It's one thing to take your money and put it into an investment or a bank. It's another to spend it yourself and then give yourself an IOU. The only way to pay out future Social Security obligations is to collect future taxes. If Obama really manages to address the issue of dishonest government accounting and brings sanity to Federal budgeting without wrecking the economy, I will be impressed.

He has also stated that he wants to reduce health care spending. Unfortunately, the only way to really do this is to reduce consumption. I know that he's said that he'll make health care spending more efficient, but that's just not going to happen. Even if he somehow managed to reduce waste in health care spending, all of the proposed improvements in health care include increased spending on preventative care. But more spending on preventative care actually increases health care costs. It also improves health and life expectancies. So I'm all for it, but it won't reduce costs. So I'm not sure how that's going to fit into his whole "reduce health care costs and the deficit" thing...

Of course, all of this assumes he can control Pelosi, Reid, and the Congressional Democrats...

Technorati: Economics, Government, Politics, Obama,

I guess dissent is no longer patriotic

2009-02-19T18:39:00.001-06:00

While it's bad that the Oklahoma Police confiscated the "Abort Obama" sign that a local man had on his truck, at least they made it right in the end and acknowledged that they shouldn't have taken the sign. The scary part is that after that, the Secret Service showed up at his house and "asked" to walk through and interview him. Apparently having an anti-Obama sign is now grounds for suspicion? While Bush was President, it was apparently patriotic to dissent (hate America) and to carry signs portraying him being killed. Not anymore, I guess...

Technorati: Politics, Police

Congress parodies itself again

2009-02-19T18:13:00.001-06:00

First they criticize the Big Three automakers for spending too much and over promising on their pension benefits (what? Budget deficit? Social Security?). Now they pass a huge spending bill committing almost a trillion dollars without actually reading it. Now what could possibly go wrong with that?

Technorati: Economics, Government

Post-Racial?

2009-02-19T12:19:00.004-06:00

Okay, so I see where this guy is coming from with his concerns for the Resident Evil 5 trailer and I can understand why people might be offended. BUT... how can we ever achieve a post-racial society if every action is analyzed for racist overtones? At one point, N'Gai Croal even grants that there may have been no racist intent:

This imagery has a history. It has a history and you can’t pretend otherwise. That imagery still has a history that has to be engaged, that has to be understood. If you’re going to tread, if you’re going to engage imagery that has that potential, the onus is on the creator to be aware of that because there will be repercussions in the marketplace.

The problem is that there will always be a history. History doesn't go away. If we must always remain aware of the history and engage it, then we will always be thinking in terms of race and we will never eradicate racism. You can't be "post-racial" and always thinking about race. The same goes for other -isms... it's not healthy for everyone to be evaluating everything they do or say in terms of who it might offend. We should, instead, be trying to understand other people for who they are not what they might be offended by.

I'm always bemused when I'm talking to someone about some politician or famous person and they caution me that that person is some minority or other protected group and that I should be careful. Often, I have no idea what they are talking about. I don't keep track of who is what and don't really care to. I'm more interested in what they do or say than where their ancestors are from or who they worship or have sex with and I don't want to have to keep scorecards of everyone's victim status.

Technorati: Racism, Media, Gaming

Pulling up the ladder

2009-02-19T12:04:00.004-06:00

Dr. Helen says it all. Billionaires who suddenly convert to a socialist-liberal agenda are just pissing on the rest of us. They made their money and now they want to assuage their guilt or keep their position or something. So they start advocating taxes and big social programs.

Check it out.

Technorati: Bad People, Economics

The Best Bill Ever

2009-02-18T19:44:00.001-06:00

This is the best bill ever. I hope it passes and goes to Congress and makes a difference. I know it won't, but I'll entertain the fantasy for a little while. I've always thought it was pretty sleazy how the Federal Government used taxes taken from citizens of the various States to extort the States to do things that the Federal Government can not require, thus evading the protections of the Constitution.

The full text of the bill here:

By: Creighton H.C.R. No. 50

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads as follows: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people"; and

WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that specifically granted by the Constitution of the United States and no more; and

WHEREAS, The scope of power defined by the Tenth Amendment means that the federal government was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states; and

WHEREAS, Today, in 2009, the states are demonstrably treated as agents of the federal government; and

WHEREAS, Many federal laws are directly in violation of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and

WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment assures that we, the people of the United States of America and each sovereign state in the Union of States, now have, and have always had, rights the federal
government may not usurp; and

WHEREAS, Section 4, Article IV, of the Constitution says, "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government," and the Ninth Amendment states that "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people"; and

WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court has ruled in New
York v. United States, 112 S. Ct. 2408 (1992), that congress may not
simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the
states; and

WHEREAS, A number of proposals from previous administrations and some now pending from the present administration and from congress may further violate the Constitution of the United States;
now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas hereby claim sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That this serve as notice and demand to the federal government, as our agent, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That all compulsory federal legislation that directs states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties or sanctions or that requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding be prohibited or repealed; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.

H/T The Corner

Technorati: Government, Constitution

The Stimulus Signing

2009-02-18T19:14:00.001-06:00

More lies by Obama... before he was elected, he promised to read through the budget line-by-line. While technically, the stimulus bill isn't "the budget" it sure spends a LOT of money. From the time it was URGENTLY OMG HAIR ON FIRE passed on Friday until he eventually got around to signing it on Tuesday in a carefully calculated politically partisan fashion, he did not have time to skim the 1,000+ page bill much less really read it carefully. But that's okay, nobody in Congress read it, either.

Didn't he also promise to make bills available for five days before signing them? And make government more transparent and accountable?

Technorati: Government, Obama, Politics, Tax,

Friend or Foe?

2009-02-18T18:51:00.001-06:00

Well, thank you to the TimesOnline for writing an expose about a secret CIA operation at an airfield in Pakistan. So what is the point of this article other than to jeopardize ongoing anti-terrorist operations on a very important strategic and politically sensitive border? I realize that Senator Feinstein already blew it by revealing the secret but did the TimesOnline need to give a lot more detail? Apparently, they've been investigating for a while... why don't they investigate the terrorists with as much rigor?

Technorati: Government, Media, UK, War on Terror

Obama's NAFTA Promises

2009-02-18T18:39:00.002-06:00

Once again, Obama is completely abandoning a campaign promise. I wonder if anyone is keeping score on how many significant campaign promises he has completely abandoned. It's only been a few weeks, but I'm not sure he's kept any of his promises and he's flagrantly broken many of them.

During the campaign, he was stridently anti-NAFTA, condemning it as a bad treaty and saying that he would renegotiate parts of it. Now, though, he's saying that he won't do anything to disturb NAFTA and our trade with Canada.

Personally, I'm glad that he broke this promise, but can the guy tell the truth about anything? Can we believe anything he says? And he got elected President on a platform of lies and deceptions. Would he be President if he'd been even a little bit honest about his intentions?

Technorati: Obama, Politics, Trade

More fallout from the CPSI

2009-02-18T18:18:00.001-06:00

Wow... more problems with the so-called Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008. Motorcycles and ATVs will be illegal. I wonder about bicycles? Do they have alloys made with lead? If so, then they are all illegal. Apparently books published before 1985 may have lead in the inks, as well. Even though they have never caused a problem it will be illegal to sell them. And the deferred testing requirement is no help as selling a product that turns out to contain illegal amounts of lead or phthalates is still a crime and still punishable if found. So expect to see landfills full of pre-1985 children's books, bicycles, backpacks, clothes with zippers, etc... and expect thrift stores to shut their doors and major manufacturers to reduce the number and variety of products they sell.

What a stupid, stupid law.

Technorati: Law

Durban II: Islam Strikes Back

2009-02-17T18:26:00.001-06:00

So once again, Obama's public statements are not backed up by his actions. His representatives to the Durban II conference appear to be willing to go along with the general idea behind the Durban Declaration and not change the direction, though how they expected to do that when the whole thing is being run by delegates from Libya, Iran, and Cuba. Hopefully Congress will refuse to ratify anything Obama submits from this farce of an anti-racism convention.

Technorati: Government, Racism, UN

When did Motherhood become a curse?

2009-02-17T18:03:00.001-06:00

It's a backwards and upside down world when a poor, single woman has octuplets, bringing her total to 14, and is defended by anyone and a healthy, married 22 year-old woman with plenty of money is blasted for having a single child. I understand that single mothers and other non-traditional families exist and that people should not be punished for their situations. But when did having an adult having a child in a traditional family become a bad thing?

Technorati: Marriage, Family

Amateur Hour

2009-02-17T12:06:00.004-06:00

It's really sad watching the Obama administration bungle through running the country. He's managed to break most of his campaign promises, both in specific and in intent, in a very short time. His administration is not transparent, not holding itself to a higher ethical standard, and not practicing any kind of bipartisanship. He's appointed tax cheats and lobbyists to senior cabinet positions. Instead of encouraging people in the midst of an economic crisis, he's been using rhetoric of doom and gloom to drum up votes for the massive and unprecedented spending bill that is not supported by most economists and most citizens. The only people really happy about the bill are Democratic Congressmen who get to fund all their pet programs (and the recipients of this money). On foreign affairs and national security, his team has insulted the previous administration and talked about starting a new way. All this does is undermine our existing relationships with other countries. By dismissing the previous administration, the Obama team has given every country in the world an excuse to abandon any agreements made in the last eight years. He's also shown that he's willing to deal with our enemies. He's giving legitimacy to the Israel hate-fest that is Durban. Iran is crowing that the US is finally going to give in to Iranian demands. On the other hand, his administration is reserving the right to used "enhanced interrogation" and rendition and will close Gitmo "eventually."

It's sad but I see a very good chance that our economy will stagger along under the burden of the "stimulus" bill and we will suffer for decades under the massively increased spending. I believe that there is a very good chance that we will see more national security failures and we will see our allies back off and our enemies emboldened. I hope I'm wrong but I fear that I am not.

Technorati: Politics, Government

The Internet is Serious Business

2008-12-02T11:22:00.005-06:00

This post on Groklaw describes the chilling results of the Lori Drew case. Lori Drew was cruel and vicious and possibly contributed to Megan Meier's suicide. But she wasn't convicted of that. She was convicted only of violating MySpace's terms of service. According to the case, that is a federal offense, a felony punishable by up to one year in prison or $100,000 in fines.

Think about this... violating the terms of service for a web site is a felony punishable by time in a federal prison or up to $100,000 in fines. Note that you do not have to be violating the terms of service for a malicious purpose. Now go back and read the terms of service for every web site you use and make sure you are not violating any of them. Now go back and check them tomorrow to make sure they haven't changed.

What Lori did was despicable... but if this case stands, the prosecutors have turned the Internet into a tool to put anyone in prison. I'm seriously considering going out and deleting accounts I don't use often and removing anything controversial I've every posted on the Internet.

Technorati: Bad People, Big Brother, Computer, Law

Storm Justice!

2008-12-02T11:14:00.003-06:00

Some sleazy law firm is advertising that they will help you receive more "storm justice" from your insurance company. Apparently, your insurance company is not paying you for damages in accordance with a policy you purchased, they are, in fact, giving you Justice. And if they don't pay you enough (whatever that means), they are denying you Justice. Of course, the law firm probably will end up getting all of the additional "storm justice" that you receive from their efforts.

Technorati: Bad People, Law

Gay Marriage

2008-11-11T10:25:00.005-06:00

So here is how to solve the gay marriage debate.

The problem: Gay people want the same rights as straight people to marry and to share all of the legal protections that come with it. Many religious people object to allowing gay people to get married as marriage is an important and holy sacrament and in many churches being gay is considered a sin.

The solution: Separation of church and state. The government should stop marrying people as marriage is a religious institution. Instead, the government should offer a domestic partnership arrangement that allows any two people to form a household. This would be similar to marriage but not exactly the same and would carry no assumption of a romantic or sexual relationship. It might even have a couple of different options for exactly how linked the couple wish to be (just financial, financial and medical power of attorney, etc...). In most cases, ending the domestic partnership would be a simple matter of both parties agreeing to end it and dividing up any common assets. If the couple are also both parents of a child, then the welfare of the child(ren) would require some continued relationship (child support or whatever).

Churches and other religious organizations would be free to marry whoever they wanted. They could choose to only allow opposite gendered people with the same hair color to get married or marry any two mammals. But this religious ceremony would carry with it no legal consequences and would not be recognized by the government.

This would give gays the exact same rights as straight people while also allowing for other sorts of partnerships (elderly siblings, two single parents who want to pool their resources, a parent and child pooling resources, etc...). It would also get the government out of the "marriage" business allowing churches to make their own determination of who they would marry or not marry. I think that many religious people would no longer object if the government stopped sanctioning "marriage" and instead offered a non-religious contract.

For multiple spouses or group marriages, I would suggest just using current partnership/corporate law and letting the group form a partnership of some kind. Allowing more than two to form a domestic partnership might allow for abuses by people wanting to start a company and avoid corporate taxes or some other aspect of corporate law.

Technorati: Marriage, Government, Religion

Drill, Baby, Drill!

2008-10-03T09:12:00.005-05:00

I believe that we should be more aggressively drilling for oil in the United States. We currently only really drill for new oil in the Western half of the Gulf of Mexico. We know there is oil under the Eastern half of the Gulf of Mexico, and off both the East and West coasts. We also know that there is more oil in Alaska and other parts of the country. Our current energy policy is to produce a very small amount of our own capacity and buy the rest of our oil and natural gas from other countries, many of which are hostile to us. This seems pretty crazy to me for a couple of reasons.

We are developing alternate, cleaner energy sources. This is a good thing and over time they will begin to replace oil. Renewable sources like solar, wind, and water power are never going to replace burning hydrocarbons as a source of energy, but they can supplement it and help reduce pollution. They can also be used in remote locations to reduce transmission costs, like the solar panels that power remote street lights and the like. Nuclear (either fission or fusion) is the most likely source of energy that could truly replace the burning of hydrocarbons. Fission is very safe and efficient and could be used right now to a large degree if it weren't for excessive government regulation and rampant NIMBY-ism. Fusion, which we will eventually get figured out, will be even safer and more efficient.

Until then, though, we are stuck with burning hydrocarbons. Rather than allow other countries to exploit their oil and gas resources while we sit on ours until they become much less important, we should be producing our own and selling it while it's necessary. This would reduce our dependency on foreign oil and gas, reduce the amount of our money that is flowing overseas, and increase the number of jobs in the United States.

As far as ANWR goes, the proposed drilling area is only a small portion of the northern part of ANWR and is a fairly desolate area. It's not a pristine, beautiful wilderness area teaming with wildlife. It's a flat, featureless, frozen hell. And modern drilling is much cleaner than it used to be. I'll discuss more on that later. If you google around, you can find pictures of both the Southern portion of ANWR, where the beautiful scenery is, and the Northern portion, where the proposed drilling sites are located.

Basically, the world is going to be using oil and gas for decades, at least. Billions of barrels of oil will be produced and consumed. We can and should increase the amount of energy we get from clean sources and reduce our consumption of oil. But we will not be able to eliminate it. The question we have to ask ourselves is do we want to be buying those barrels of oil from Venezuela and Iran and Russia or from California, Florida, and Alaska? Where do we want our money to go?

Steven Den Beste wrote a series of articles exploring the energy question and gives a fairly exhaustive explanation of the sheer scale of the problem and why we will be burning hydrocarbons for a while.

By the way, even if we were to find a magical source of energy that would produce all that we need, we would still need oil for plastics, lubricants, pharmaceuticals, and other products.

Technorati: Oil, Energy, Drilling, ANWR

Playing Movies and Music on your XBOX 360

2008-10-01T11:25:00.005-05:00

If you have movies or music on your PC and you want to play them on your XBOX 360, check out this article from Microsoft. I haven't tried it, yet, but if it works, then I'll be able to watch all those stupid viral videos in big, flat screen glory with sound pumped through my stereo. More importantly, I'll be able to play my digital music collection through my stereo instead of through my computer speakers.

Apparently, I'm already getting senile. I read about this first on Nelson's blog and then forgot where I'd seen it.

Technorati: Computer, Media. XBOX 360

The UK: Police State Chronicles

2008-09-30T01:01:00.005-05:00

The UK is really going down hill. This is just an example of the sort of insanity going on there. I'm sure glad that they have the old-men-with-sticks threat under control. I'd hate for an old man to get away with his cane and do some serious damage to someone. I guess they were worried he might be able to use his cane to fend off a mugger or something.

Technorati: Fail, About. UK

The Eyes of Taxes Are Upon You

2008-09-30T00:53:00.006-05:00

I see where this is going. Pretty soon, people will be disguising or hiding their additions. Then assessors will demand inspections to verify what might be hidden. Then laws will be passed making it illegal to hide additions. Then people will get clever and made hard to see additions that are not obviously hidden... It's not like it hasn't happened before with radar guns, radar detectors, and radar detector detectors. Only now we'll be waging a surveillance war on private property instead of public roads.

Technorati: Big Brother, Tax

It's Our Trade

2008-09-27T21:14:00.005-05:00

Cuba blames the US for making their post-Hurricane recovery more difficult. While I don't agree with the trade embargo with Cuba, I don't have much sympathy for those who complain that we are hurting them. It's out trade and we can trade with whoever we want to. I'd feel worse if they hadn't tried to help Russia locate nuclear missiles on our doorstep. While that was a long time ago, Cuba is still communist and still pretty anti-US. So I think we should drop the embargo for practical reasons (it hasn't done any good and might help to drop it), it's really our business and they have no "right" to trade with the US.

Technorati: Cuba, Trade

The name...

2008-09-22T12:10:00.004-05:00

Almost forgot... the name is an old high school nickname. With a name like "Bolie," I didn't have a lot of nicknames that stuck. But I had a coach who called me "the Boll Weevil," which was distorted over time into VAVOVEVA. A fellow student, who I will not name, painted the name on one of our science desks with whiteout. When they renovated the science room, I recall seeing that desk in the back of a pickup truck with "VAVOVEVA" in huge white letters driving down the road.

I chose it for this blog because it's unique. At least, I hoped it was... I'm happy I didn't have to sign up as VAVOVEVA137.

Technorati: About

Who am I?

2008-09-22T10:18:00.002-05:00

When I find a new blog, I always want to know about the blogger. So here is my brief introduction:

My name is Bolie Calvin Williams IV. Yes, that's my real name. I was born and raised in Houston, Texas and still live here. I currently work as a mechanical engineer for the Hydril division of GE Oil and Gas. This blog is in no way affiliated with my current employer, any past employer, any organization I belong to, or any other living person.

I have a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a B.A. in Economics, both from Rice University. At Rice, I was a member of Wiess College, back when it was in the old, Motel 6-style building. I have a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. I spent a year and a half there, working as a research assistant at the Center for Electromechanics. Well, technically, I worked for the Center for Energy Studies, a small center researching novel ways to further research into fusion power. Unfortunately, the CES was not part of the mainstream fusion research community and was eventually shut down. The directory, also my advisor, had some really good ideas that were never really explored because they went against the standard fusion research paradigm.

I worked for a few years in the IT industry before realizing that I hated being overworked and underappreciated. I was never able to make much forward progress as I was constantly fixing things and dealing with irate users who were completely unable to function unless they had access to their email RIGHT NOW!!! Taking advantage of all that time I spent in college learning engineering, I took a job at Cameron Controls designing control systems for subsea BOP (Wow, that Wikipedia page needs some work) control systems. I now work for one of Cameron's main competitors, Hydril, doing the same thing. Hydril's product is, of course, better than Cameron's (that is purely my biased opinion and is not based on any objective measure and is not intended as an endorsement of any particular product - if you're about to drop millioms of dollars on a BOP stack and/or control system, don't take advice from a blog).

I am recently divorced and have joint custody of my two wonderful children. They live with their mother, but spend alternate weekends with me. I'm still recovering from the divorce and am finding that there are a lot of things you acquire over the years that take time to replace when you start over. The kids are taking the divorce pretty well and I'm much happier, now.

When I am not working or playing with my children, I'm doing one of the following:

Surfing - I read a number of political blogs, humor blogs, and random web sites.
Reading - I mostly read sci-fi/fantasy books, but I've also been reading thrillers, literary fiction, and some non-fiction.
Gaming - I play role-playing games and computer games (and other types of games, as well). I enjoy games of all types.
Social Networking - I've recently discovered Facebook and Twitter and other social network sites. I initially thought they were silly, but I'm finding that I enjoy connecting with old friends and making new friends through these sites.

While I'm not planning on talking about politics much, I tend to be politically conservative and tend to agree with Republicans more than Democrats. I'm very cynical, though, and don't have a lot of faith in any politicians. As far as I can tell, both parties are full of hypocrites and power-hungry mercenaries who will sell their vote for influence and/or money. I'm sure there are some principled politicians, but I'm not sure how to identify them. I usually end up voting for the lesser of two evils. I took some of the quizzes at YourMorals.org and found that my answers usually were similar to those of people who identified themselves as "Conservatives" but were sometimes more similar to those who identified themselves as "Liberal" and in other cases were wildly different from both groups.

Technorati: About