Musings, Part A

- Ever notice how on TV when there’s a company that deals with new/wacky/cutting edge/sorta out there science it’s always ____ Dynamic? On Eureka its Global Dynamic, shortened to GD. On Fringe its Massive Dynamic. And now on Better Off Ted its Veridian Dynamic. Is the Dynamic supposed to indicate the company’s cool and forward thinking? And since on Fringe the company’s kinda mysterious and murky, does the blank fill in of Massive indicate its imposing or something?

- I’ve come to think that if you belong or identify with a group you should be embarrassed by at least one thing the group does or advocates. No group or community is perfect and there are things that should just be slightly offensive to the sensibilities. Mine? This: Vatican Official Criticizes US Bishops on Abortion In case you were wondering, I’m on the pro-choice side of the debate. I want control over myself and my life and while I completely agree abortion is being used as a kind of birth control by many, there’s a certain quality of life argument that can be made for both the mother and the child and women deserve the right to not be forced back to back alley practices of old. Safe, legal, and rare. And if you’re going for the “it’s a life” argument, go the Catholic route and do life in everything. You can’t be pro-life in one area without being pro-life in all, like many Republican Catholics are, at least those who support the death penalty. I can more easily live with being a bad Catholic in regards to the pro-choice/pro-life debate than being a bad liberal, strange as that might sound. I’m against the death penalty though so this whole bit just now might be the pot calling the kettle black. Whatever. I accept my own dichotomies and force anyone, besides myself, to follow them. I am large, I contain multitudes as the poet wrote.

- Along the same lines, the condom thing is equally annoying. When the time comes, I intend on using birth control. I’m not sure I care that it goes against the Bible. As that one speech in The West Wing points out, we do a lot of things these days that are forbidden in the Bible. Everyone decries the presence of condoms in schools or birth control being used it seems at any age but if proper Christian fundamentals were really being followed, protection wouldn’t be an issue as no one would be having sex before being married. The whole abstinence thing, remember that bit? The same thing is happening around the world. I still remember a discussion in my Religion, Politics and Civil Rights class (amusing enough held over the dinner hours and all topics you shouldn’t discuss over dinner in polite company, as the maxim goes) {Professor Peach, rest in peace and I’m hoping you’re having a fun time in whatever afterlife you wound up in…do Buddhists ascribe to an afterlife? Probably should have paid more attention during that lecture…} about strict non-use of birth control or protection in the Philippines because they were Catholic and yet there was this huge problem of families living on maybe two yards square worth of space with about eight people. And plenty of unwed mothers with several children. What happened to the first rule of abstinence? The world is doing just fine on being peopled (it isn’t a must as Benedict once said) and we’re multiplying just fine. Perhaps now we can turn more fully to quality of life not quantity? I’m not advocating for restrictions on births like the Chinese have (or had?) just planning, I guess. Which is why I think groups like this are insane: Quiverfull Movement .

- I’m reading a lot more news since I got a job. It’s a slow week and my supervisor is out on leave so I’m basically in a holding pattern until someone needs help with something. Washington Post.com, NY Times.com, NPR.org, Newsweek.com you are my friends. I just wish I could justify staying up for the Daily Show. Ah well, Hulu.com you’re a lifesaver in that respect. And the show’s website which is one of the best network-cally run ones around. Comedy Central, in my opinion, has no equal when it comes to ease of access to video clips or full videos. Then again, I’ve only used it for the Daily Show and the Colbert Report, other shows could be different. Still, the player is one of the best. I’m looking at you, ABC, because your player still has a tendency to hate me which is why I have to watch your stuff live. *shakes fist* That and because it’s hard to find your stuff elsewhere, unlike Fox and NBC. And CBS? If you haven’t put The Mentalist back up on your site, do so immediately.

- Pearls Before Swine, I love you. I love your sometimes dark humor, I love the adorableness of Pig, the cynicism of Rat, the unfailing failure of Larry, your little Viking people that read Cosmo, your animation of inanimate objects, the homicidal tendencies of the sea anemone, the guard duck who really just wants a little war, Mr. Snuffles, the summer romance of Larry’s son and the girl zebra next door, your fairly regular breaking of the “fourth wall” as it is on TV by characters going to berate the cartoonist, the list goes on. I love you even more now that I’ve found your cartoonist has a blog: the Official Pearls Before Swine Blog . Added to that joy is the news that you have plush toys. I see a Pig in my future. Maybe even a Rat.

- During the election I was sick of hearing about it. I was sick of hearing about it back in January 2003 when I was in London and they were already talking about it. Now, I’m sick of hearing about the economy. I know, I know I should be more concerned as a now responsible adult but really, I’m just not.

- A really annoying song to get stuck in your head is “Camptown Races”, especially when it’s only the first verse.

- It’s probably pretty nerdy to be thrilled to be wandering around the building of a Federal department. The Department of Agriculture is huge though. Seven wings in the larger building (South), six floors and a basement in each, at least 3 elevators per wing too. And there’s a sub-basement that’s a promenade. It has two gift shops, a post office, a credit union, a gym, a smoothie place, and a pretty nice cafeteria in it. And it’s an older building too so there’s wooden doors and signs for stuff. It’s like being part of history, in a very political science nerd kind of way. But right now? I really don’t care. The cafeteria has vanilla coke, ergo I am set. Oh, and men still wear bow ties. I had a sighting today.

- I’m reading the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, aka ARRA, aka the Recovery Act. There are more zero’s in this thing than I’ve seen in a long time. It’s also 407 pages long, granted it’s a Congressional bill so it’s all centered with quite wide margins but still, long. Also, there’s a space in the word government between the n and the m on one page in the 40s. Not sure they meant for that to happen.

- It really sucks when both of your pendant watches’ batteries die in the same week. Even more so when your favorite/normal one dies while you’re in transit on your first day of work. At least I have a nice wristwatch, even if I hate wearing them. I’m too used to my necklace watch. And I don’t really have time to go hunt down a watch shop to get the batteries replaced. And the one wasn’t supposed to be able to die, you were just supposed to wind it. Grr.

- It’s really annoying when you’ve pretty much thought that caffeine didn’t really effect you all that much and it’s partially confirmed when after downing a bottle of Coke you still fight to keep your eyes open. Not fair. And I’m not about to take up coffee. Force of will it is then. Just in case, I’ll keep up with the chocolate and Coke. Who knows? It may have been an off day.

- Not all chicken salad is created equal. The best is with chunks of chicken instead of looking like whiter tuna salad. Booeymongers, I salute you.

- Why is that when I have no page limits I tend towards verbose? Case in point, this entry.