Advent Table Time Plans

Time flies and guess what, It's almost Advent! I'm not big into holiday skipping so I feel a bit bad for Thanksgiving but while I'm singing any carols yet, I do have to at least plan for Advent now in order to make it happen. This year isn't too different from the previous few in terms of our family plans, but I do have new school plans!

 We aren't doing a full "Christmas school" month. Lucy has three more weeks of AO Year 1 to finish which, along with 3-4 light exam days, should put us right on time to finish, have a few days to clean and cook for Christmas and then a full 12 days of real Christmas celebrating. But I am going to do a seasonal Table Time (aka Morning Basket, Morning Time, Circle Time, whatever you call it). The best part about changing up Table Time is that I can fit a lot of seasonal stuff in without actually adding anything to my schedule. Because December really isn't the time to try an add things in, at least for me and it seems like we are already adding in two days of speech a week. Yikes!

Composer Study/Devotional - Cindy Rollins' Messiah Guide and Handel's Messiah. I'm doing this because I've wanted to for myself, the kids just have to (get to?) tag along. I'm pretty excited about it. Spotify has the album she uses but I'm going to try and get the cd from the library as well so I can infuse our car trips with the whole production.

Bible Memory - For the last few years we've memorized and reviewed a large chunk of Luke 2. This year we will review that but our main passage will be Isaiah 9:6-7.

Hymn/Folk songs - The division between Hymns and Folk songs when it comes to Christmas Carols is a bit blurred. I am working on keeping Christmas songs preserved for Christmas, so I made up a big Advent list on Spotify for general listening and out of that chose the Advent Hymn O Come O Come Emmanual as our "hymn." The Holly and the Ivy will be our "folk song." That might just an excuse to sneak a bit of Bing Crosby into my life earlier than the 25th. Don't tell the Advent police.

I'm also hoping to print out several copies of the lyrics as well as the ones we've learned the last few years and have the kids decorate them or add picture narrations if their is a more involved story. My goal is to over the years compile them into a couple of Christmas Carol books.

Poem Memory - I just read a few selection for the kids today and we all agree on The Christmas Hearth Rhyme from Gyo's Fujikawa's A Child's book of poems which just happens to be a part of the Google Books preview for that book. Earlier this year, at a completely non-seasonally appropriate time of year, we memorized Christina Rossetti's My Gift which would be another good selection. (And did any of you watchers of The Crown notice that poem/song on the show? In Episode 2, I believe)

Picture Study - We are a bit behind with Mary Cassatt because Tea time is the one thing we just don't get done when the kids are sick. If Lucy's not feeling good, we just do a couple readings on the couch. If Jonah is, we do school without him. But nobody wants to miss out on Tea Time so I can't do it unless everyone is feeling good (me included!) which means we've missed 3 weeks. And I really like Cassatt so I don't want to rush through her. So I won't have time for a full set of Christmas pictures but I'll probably pull out one or two of our Christmas prints from the last two years for our exam week.

Art/Handicrafts - As things end and our time outdoors starts to shortens, I anticipate a bit more time for art and handicrafts. I can't share too much because these pictures and projects will be ending up as presents for people who read this blog but I do have ideas and I just love that seasonal pulling in as winter comes that allows for more of this.

I was going to stop this post at the school stuff but there isn't too much more so I'll keep going.

We'll do our regular advent wreath at night and adding hay to the manger so its ready for Baby Jesus on Christmas. I have the whole set of Jotham's Journey books and I thought about starting them this year but I think I'll wait one more year. They can be intense. We'll stick with the reading through the Jesus Storybook bible. We've moved to a slightly more advanced Children's storybook bible for our evening this past year and it was good for Lucy but Jonah doesn't follow as well so I'm thinking he especially will like going back to this one.

We also do at least one new Christmas picture book a night. I think I'm actually almost to the point where I don't need that many from the library to have enough to last until Christmas! But that doesn't mean I'll stop buying new ones. Oh no.

I like to wait to buy our tree a bit but we've had issues with there being a limited supply or being close to the cut-off for when they are returned but I heard a suggestion somewhere of buying your tree and putting lights on but waiting for ornaments until closer to Christmas. That sounds appealing, especially as I don't want to spend weeks defending it from Norah. We also put out decorations slowly, as we add pieces to our nativity set.

As I said, I'm going to try this year to limit our Christmas songs early on in the season so once exams are over, we will do a bunch of baking and instead of our advent wreath and devotionals, we'll have a cookies and milk treat and sing hymns after our bible time. I might even hold back a few presents to open over the course of the 12 days to spread out the chaos.

Ah, the thing about planning for Advent and Christmas is that it always weighs on me, like ahh! I have to get stuff ready! It's coming too fast! But then when I actually put my plan down on paper (or screen), I feel so ready for it. Advent, a breath of fresh calm air. But first, Thanksgiving! I didn't forget you, I promise!

Why we have a 1st Amendment

I am rather perturbed by the event depicted in this Quickmeme:



Here is a news report of what happened, but Glenn Reynolds has a better description:

By sending — literally — brownshirted enforcers to engage in — literally — a midnight knock at the door of a man for the non-crime of embarrassing the President of the United States and his administration, President Obama violated that oath. You can try to pretty this up (It’s just about possible probation violations! Sure.), or make excuses or draw distinctions, but that’s what’s happened. It is a betrayal of his duties as President, and a disgrace.

I wouldn't go so far as to say this (the hauling into the police station of the man who supposedly made the "Innocence of Muslims" film) happened in response to embarrassment of the President, but it was indeed "deputies assisting the federal probation department" who carried this out. In other words, it was the feds.

The probation violation excuse is indeed a fig leaf to explain what is an act of intimidation and warning to other provocateurs. It dilutes the impact of statements like that of SecState Clinton, who said, "...we do not stop individual citizens from expressing their views no matter how distasteful they may be." How does it look when this happens two days after Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi  "asked Obama to 'to put an end to such behavior?'" We are told that the protesters don't understand that, in America, government doesn't control speech, and thus that when they see this video, they assume the US government authorized it. Well, what does it tell those people when they see this photo? Eugene Volokh makes a point to this effect.

It is easy to say, in this case, "Oh, this video is stupid, he shouldn't have made it." But it takes a lot less than this to set off riots. Recall the reaction to the Danish Muhammed cartoons a few years back. Or this: "Since Mubarak's fall, several churches have been attacked by mobs, stoked in part by hard-line Islamic clerics warning that Christians were trying to convert Muslim women or trying to take over the country." Attempting to find a line that we can stay behind, speech-wise, to prevent such outrage in the Middle East would amount to slowly painting ourselves into a corner of silence.

On a related note, we are told that the causation of the current conflagrations is: video posted to Youtube --> video translated to Arabic --> riots. That assumes that this video just organically went viral, like a Rebecca Black song or something, but that is unlikely. It is certain that this video was promoted widely by those who are eager to incite riots. We know it appeared on an Egyptian TV station, which would have exposed many people to it for the first time.

Here is the video that is said to have set everything off (note: I haven't watched it). I applaud Google for refusing the White House's request (ahem) to consider taking it down from Youtube in this country (they have restricted access to it in some countries)

Nice Lunchbox You've Got There

MacKenzie just wrote tangentially about the North Carolina government lunchbox inspection story, and I had a Facebook discussion on the topic, but I'm going to expound upon it here, in order to make some further points. As an introduction, here's what happened:

RAEFORD — A preschooler at West Hoke Elementary School ate three chicken nuggets for lunch Jan. 30 because the school told her the lunch her mother packed was not nutritious.  

The girl’s turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, potato chips, and apple juice did not meet U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines, according to the interpretation of the person who was inspecting all lunch boxes in the More at Four classroom that day. 

I remarked on Facebook that if anyone thinks there is nowhere to cut government, here's a prime candidate. I think the idea that government is now inspecting lunches is the latest, greatest example of government overreach in this country. The response by supporters of this idea will be that some kids get really poor lunches, and we have to help those kids out. That idea prompts several responses.

The first of these is that you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. You can give kids all the healthy food you want, but that doesn't mean they will eat it (never mind that the lunch in question in this article was what most people would consider perfectly acceptable). Schools in LA found out that, no, kids would not eat quinoa salad. Instead, they bought junk food off the "black market." If kids don't eat their government-approved lunches, do you force them? I don't think that will work.

Second is the question of where this ends. After we start inspecting everyone's lunches, what's next? The kids who are bringing unhealthy lunches to school are quite possibly not brushing their teeth as often as they should. Will we have inspectors looking in kid's mouths after they look in their lunchboxes? Will the government hand out toothbrushes with their chicken nuggets?

Third is the impact of government policy on Americans' eating habits. The lunch police are motivated by the growing (literally!) obesity problem in this country. But why has this come about? I think someone could probably write a good journal article on the effects of various government food policies on our diets. The example that jumps out at me is high fructose corn syrup, which exists because sugar tariffs have driven up US prices well above the world market price, prompting food manufacturers to find alternatives. A lot of people claim that US farm policy, which promotes growing grains, makes bad food cheap and attractive. Food stamps and school lunches are two other programs worth examining in this regard. Maybe this is one of the countless examples (e.g. the housing crisis) of government trying to create solutions to a problem it has created (while refusing to admit that it is culpable).

Fourth is the application of government programs, supposedly intended to help the poor, to everyone. Why do rich senior citizens have to use Medicare? Why do rich women have to receive free contraceptives? Why is there a consistent push to shove every kid into pre-kindergarten? And in this case, why must everyone's lunch be inspected? I suspect that it is not out of a desire to help everyone, but instead out of a desire for government to control more and more of our economy and our lives, because we can't take care of ourselves. This has to stop, not only for budgetary reasons, but for reasons of freedom and self-reliance, characteristics our country needs to remain successful, but that are slowly melting away.

There's a little food for thought for you, that the lunch inspector will surely disapprove of.

Insert that "Law & Order" Sound Here

As a conservative, I'm generally a law and order type of guy. I like to see rioters get hit with water cannons and nightsticks, for example. Like many people, I tend to give police and prosecutors the benefit of the doubt when it comes to most criminal cases. And I think the OJ Simpson jurors were morons.

However, I have read a number of items in recent months that have given me pause. Coyote Blog, one of my faves, has a number of posts on police abuse. In addition, I just read John Grisham's 2006 non-fiction account of lazy, incompetent police and prosecutors in a small town (by regular folks' standards, at least - to me, 16,000 people is a lot) who railroaded four innocent men. And then there's the case of the West Memphis Three. While I am loath to support something that is a rock star cause celebre, this looks like a conviction based on thin evidence, coercive interrogation and an unreliable "witnesses" angling for a plea bargain, much like Grisham describes in his story. Of course, none of this would fly if juries didn't convict in such cases, but I wouldn't want to place my fate in the hands of most juries. (I think we should have some sort of quasi-professional jury system, in which qualified people serve for a year or two as a full-time juror, but that's another topic.)

I think it comes down to this: just like there are incompetent, corrupt, and/or lazy people in any walk of life, such people exist in the police and prosecutorial ranks. Add to this the fact that police and prosecutors are government employees, and that many prosecutors are politicians, the likelihood of these attributes being found in some segment of these professions increases.

Therefore, we need to be vigilant in our civil rights (particularly the 4th and 5th Amendments) and attentive and critical if we find ourselves on juries. For one thing, if you find yourself in a police interview, get a dang lawyer. This video, on why you should never talk to the police (I assume he refers merely to situations where one is a potential suspect, not a witness), is worth watching.

On a lighter note, this Chris Rock video describes how not to get beaten by police (warning: bad language).

Driving Soundtrack

MacKenzie's been manning the book review department of this blog, but I will be filling in for her today.

My reading interests usually tend toward non-fiction, often of the historical kind. But I started listening to audio books when going on long drives. Music puts me to sleep when I drive, so I need something engaging to listen to. I'd listen to talk radio, but you can't always be sure something good will be on (unless, of course, it's Rush Limbaugh time) or that reception will be adequate. So I turned to audio books. I prefer lighter fare when I drive, something more engrossing and easier to follow (since I can't easily go back and re-read something). I first listened to a couple of John Grisham books, but I exhausted the library's limited supply of Grisham books on CD (they had some books-on-tape options, but, like many people, I don't have a car cassette player).

While skimming the library shelves prior to one trip, I found the book One Shot by Lee Child. This was my introduction to the Jack Reacher series, of which there are 15 books, the first of which was published in 1997. Reacher is a former military police investigator who now wanders the country by bus or hitchhiking and invariably ends up, sometimes accidentally, in the middle of a situation where his investigative and butt-kicking skills come in handy.

I have now finished my 3rd Reacher novel. I joined the party late, as I have read the 9th (One Shot), 11th (Bad Luck and Trouble), and 15th (and latest) offerings (Worth Dying For) in the series. As far as I can tell,  there's not much carryover between books. Each one can stand alone. In fact, there are some aspects of Jack Reacher that only appear in individual books. Examples include his skill with numbers and doing calculations in his head, his money issues (or lack thereof), and his penchant for traveling very light (usually carrying just a toothbrush). In researching this post, I learned that Worth Dying For is apparently a continuation of the previous book, which I have not read, and I had no idea until now.

I like the descriptive detail of the books. Whether describing the landscape of Nebraska, how you can kill someone by punching them in the chest at a certain precise phase of the heartbeat, or the cross-country travels of a truck full of contraband, Child (and the audio narrators) bring the subject to life in a way that is not always necessary to the story but is interesting and enriching nonetheless.

Jack Reacher is not one to leave it to the justice system to sort out guilt and punishment. Often, he is involved in a case because law enforcement, through corruption or lack of skill, is not doing its job. Reacher, through a thorough investigation assisted by his knowledge of human nature and top-notch interviewing skills, figures out who is guilty and how they should be punished. He then delivers the punishment clinically, without a pause or regret. As opposed to Jack Bauer of 24 fame, who was a pretty brutal guy who, in the end, deferred to the authority of the President, Reacher defers to nobody. Whereas Bauer was clearly tortured emotionally over the things he had to do, Reacher apparently feels no such remorse. Of course, Bauer had to hurt a lot of innocent people, something Reacher hasn't had to do in the books I have read. What Bauer and Reacher have in common is that they both know how to cause pain and how to debilitate a foe, and they do it regularly.

The Reacher books (again, as far as I know) end in a meticulous, elaborate assault on the bad guy's compound, in which Reacher is assisted by locals he meets on the case. Reacher is always the underdog and always outmanned, but his victories are complete and guaranteed, almost like a movie plot. Worth Dying For even includes a James Bond/Austin Powers-like ridiculously elaborate, foolish plan to off the good guy that inevitably fails and allows the hero to live another day. In fact, Paramount is apparently working on a production of One Shot.

For me, these novels serve their purpose well. They are enthralling driving fare that entertains me and keeps me alert. I plan to continue to check them out of the library as audio books on future trips. But I don't plan to start reading them the old fashioned way. I think I'll stick to nonfiction.

Playing Pollyanna

Whew, a lot has happened since I last posted (those cloth diaper posts were scheduled). Craig's parents came last weekend to visit us and meet Lucy. We had a great time and sometime in the future when life is less crazy, I'll tell you about it and post some pictures. But on Monday they left to drive back to North Dakota, taking me and Lucy to my parents on the way.

I was really nervous about taking a 5 hr long drive with Lucy but she did great. She slept 2.5 hrs, ate while we got gas and took a snack break then slept another 2.5 hrs. That afternoon she did was overwhelmed and did nothing but fuss and eat to make up for it but that was okay. Better to be crying in my arms that in a car seat.

But as soon as we got to my parents, my dad came home with good news. The second opinion doctor they had been talking to had received my mom's files and said that surgery might be an option but she had to see my mom in Texas at 8:30 the next morning. Since my mom is still recovering from the last brain surgery, she can't fly which means they need to leave ASAP on a 12 hr drive to the hospital. Throwing things in a suitcase, they took off just a few hours after I got there. It wasn't exactly what we had planned and I was hoping to spend more time with my mom but I'm really glad that this is happening. If the surgery is possible, her prognosis is much better.

But I gotta tell ya, the last few days have been hard. Taking care of a newborn is tiring. Taking care of a newborn by yourself is exhausting. Taking care of a newborn by yourself while house/cat/dog-sitting and trying to help your 16-year old brother manage intense emotions (you know, the ones he won't talk about because he is a 16 year old boy) while trying to process through those same emotions yourself is pretty much brutal. I've wanted to chuck a shoe at our stupid cat that is used to being fed at 4:30am but overall, I'm glad it worked out this way. If I had known this was going to happen, I probably would have stayed home, but I'm glad I'm here to be with my little brother. This has been hard on me and I can't even imagine him trying to be here by himself. Plus, it's nice for me to have him around too. He is one of two other people who are going through the same thing I am.

And Lucy and I are managing. I've gotten food on the table and laundry done every day which is a miracle (I just heated up food our nice friends and neighbors have brought but still!) and I figured out that Lucy will sleep longer in her vibrating bouncy seat if I cover her legs with my old stinky clothes instead of a nice clean receiving blanket. This enabled me to take my first shower since Monday and now to write this post.

Of course, that couldn't be everything right? So last night Craig called to tell me he was in a car accident. He is fine but the car - not so much. I haven't heard the final result but in the opinion of the police man and the tow truck driver, it was not going to make it. I'm naturally an optimistic person but even I struggled to find the good in this. Yet I prevailed. For one, Craig is okay. He might be sore today but he'll survive. Secondly, Lucy and I weren't there. I start to hyperventilate even thinking about her being in the car. Third, we had been going back and forth about buying a new car anyway and I guess this just made up our mind for us.

So I think I've done pretty good so far trying to replicate Pollyanna's philosophy in my life. But if God wants to hold off on giving me any more opportunities to find something to be glad about for just a little while, I'd be okay with that too.

Foreign Affairs Friday: How Will North Korea Land?

I agree with this analysis (which is a few years old) of the potential future of North Korea:

Andrei Lankov, senior lecturer at the Australian National University, writes: "in the long run the system appears doomed. Sooner or later the gradual disintegration of the police and security apparatus, increasing access to unauthorized information along with manifold social changes will bring it down, probably, in a chain of dramatic, even cataclysmic events."

There is hope is many circles that North Korea can have a "soft landing," in which it gradually reforms and improves, similar to how China has, while remaining a separate nation. Only then would talk of Korean unification occur. East Germany collapsed peacefully but suddenly in 1989, and the large gap between incomes of East vs. West Germans created much expense for, and resentment in, the latter to bring the former up to modern standards. But the gap between the two Germanys is much smaller than that between the two Koreas. While South Korea is one of the world's most advanced, prosperous nations, North Korea is one of the poorest and most backwards.

However, this is not what North Koreans think. Due to the extreme lengths Kim Jong-Il and his regime go to to suppress information (phones are rare, TVs and radios only tune to government channels, etc.), North Koreans think they're doing OK, and their southern brothers are the poor ones.

This is what creates the problem. If North Korea were to open up and reform its economy, as China has done, interactions with foreigners would increase, and North Koreans would learn more and more information about the outside world and how backwards their country is. This could lead to violent revolt or massive emigration. It is unlikely North Koreans would accept their current situation for long if they knew how bad it really was. Therefore, the regime there cannot follow the Chinese path to prosperity. China has created some danger for its regime with its gradual opening, but the danger to the Jong-Il regime is much higher. That's why they have to engage in illegal activities and nuclear blackmail to bring in revenue in lieu of economic growth.

The US, South Korea, and China will have to prepare for the day when a "hard landing" occurs. Major issues will be large numbers of refugees, unguarded nuclear material, rash North Korean military action, major humanitarian needs, and potential for US-China conflict as the two countries' militaries potentially come into close proximity while trying to stabilize a collapsed North Korea. While we can all hope for a better day for the people of North Korea, getting there will not be easy.

Lock Him Up

This black Harvard professor, Henry Gates, who was arrested the other day at his home, is an absolute ass. He was trying to get into his house, but had to force the door open because it was stuck. A suspicious neighbor called the police, who showed up to check on things. Gates, instead of being glad that the police were responding to a potential burglary, goes off on a tirade, getting himself arrested. Now, of course, he claims racial profiling.

What gets me is the way CNN covered this. They gave two options: either there was a misunderstanding, or there was racism. They didn't stop to think maybe this guy deserved to be arrested. CNN, like the Washington Post did in the attached article, repeatedly insists this guy is "renowned." CNN suggested that the neighbor who called police and the cops themselves should have recognized this guy on sight and left him alone. I am pretty knowledgeable about current events, and I've never heard of this guy before. If he's like most ethnic studies "scholars," I'm sure he's a quack. He probably saw the cop approaching and knew he could get some headlines by getting himself arrested. That's probably why he's "renowned;" he knows how to play the media.

I'm glad to see the cop in this situation is standing his ground. I hope his superiors don't hang him out to dry.

It's a fun campus, really it is.

The Beaver arrived on Friday. After spending the 4th of July at my aunt and uncles, we headed home. I wanted to show him around campus and when I emailed the Hospitality department, they said that there weren't any official tours this Sunday but they would be open from 12-4. So we ate a quick lunch and headed out so could get there in time. Except when they said the visitors center would be open from 12-4, I guess they meant every other weekend. On this weekend, the one I asked about, it was closed for the holiday weekend.

Oh, well. I know the campus fairly well, having spent more of my life living here than pretty much anywhere else in the world, so I just made it up as I went. We walked all around, seeing Sul Ross, Sbisa, the Rec, Kyle Field, Rudder Tower, the Century tree, Fish Pond, G. Rollie White, some dorms and the Bonfire Memorial. It only took about an hour and a half which was long enough because we were both hot and I was beginning to get sunburned. It would have been nicer to go in the evening but remember, we hurried so we could make it to the visitors center. I still think he enjoyed it but I tried to get across the fact that normally, there are actually people here. But it is a Sunday afternoon on a holiday weekend in the summer so the only people we saw were a couple of campus police men giving us funny looks.

Afterwards, I was going to take him out to eat at the Dixie Chicken but we didn't feel like a big meal (we'll try to get to it later this week) so I thought frozen custard from Shakes would be fun. It probably would have been except Shakes is also closed on Sunday. Geez, you would think I was back in Utah. In theory I like it when places are closed on Sunday but it is less than pleasant when you don't remember that and drive all the way down University to not have ice cream. We ended up at Dairy Queen. It's not the coolest place in College Station to show him, but you can't really beat two dipped ice cream cones for $3.

Craig to the rescue!

Last night I was out at hg having a lovely time chatting with the other wives, you know, "fellowshipping." But at 9:30 when we started wrapping up and I go to leave, I realize I can't find my keys. I take everything out of my purse, but still couldn't find them. Looked around their kitchen, still couldn't find them. Hmm, maybe I just left them in the car. Except the car was locked and it was dark. So I look around the kitchen more and try not to panic. One of the husbands gets me a flashlight and I go out to the car again. There they are, in the ignition of my locked car.

Now to be honest, I didn't handle it very well. I even said a bad word. (Okay, I know most of you don't think "suck" is a bad word, but it has been ingrained in my head as a bad word since I was little so to me it's bad, and I said it anyway last night).

But it had been having a rough couple of days and this was about to be the straw that broke the camel's back. The house was about 20 minutes outside of town and even if I got a ride back to my apartment, I couldn't get in to get the extra car key because the only key to the apartment was locked inside my car. That left two options: call AAA and wait for them to come unlock the car or have another one of the husbands, a police officer, attempt to break into our car. He said he could do it if he had the tools but as he didn't, he would be willing to try using a coat hanger. I choose option three: call Craig.

Now I knew he was too far away at the moment to actually do anything about it but I didn't really think either of my options sounded like it would get me home before 11pm and I was about to just sit down and cry on the floor (did I mentioned it had been a bad couple of days?) and I was hoping he would have an idea or at least prevent the crying.

No sooner than I had said "Craig, I locked the keys in the car" did he reply "Well, did you check the back window?" Of course, how could I forget the back window! Our car windows are by far the most annoying part of our vehicle (remember this?). Well, all except one is fixed now. But that one not only refuses to roll up and down when it is supposed to, but it randomly falls down. I say randomly but it isn't really. It happens - when it is snowing, when it is raining, and when I am driving alone on a dark road and can't possible stop to lift it up again. But last night, I was grateful. In less than 30 seconds, I was able to push it down, unlock the car, and retrieve my keys. Crisis averted. Sometimes having a quick thinking husband and a crappy car can be a useful combination.

PS ~ Now that I have told you the secret to breaking into our car, please don't come and steal it. You probably wouldn't want it if you had it.

My Bus Commute by the Numbers

In a week of bus trips, here's what I've experienced:

• Crazy people: 2
• Crazy people that prompted me to call police: 1
• Women with more kids than they could handle: 3
  
• Number of kids under age 6 one woman had: 5
• Rainstorms I narrowly avoided having to walk through: 3
• Missed buses: 0 (so far)
• Rides offered by old male passersby: 1 (I declined)
• Percentage of my transit costs the government will pick up: 100
• Books completed: 1
  
• Asian men with poor English skills trying to make complicated trips: 1 (I tried to help)
• Time it would take to drive to work: 7 minutes
• Time it takes on bus: 35 minutes
  

Yet Another Example of Government Waste

Is it really necessary for city governments to hire consultants to find employees for them? For example, my city spent $25,000 to get help finding a police chief. It seems like there would be a lot of interest in that type of job, and applicants would be plentiful. Then, put a committee of cops, citizens, and a couple of city council members together to evaluate the applicants. But no, they had to hire a consultant. And what did that get them? A chief that is leaving after one year. But it's OK; the city will get a 50% discount on the search for their next chief.

24, Season 7: 4-5 AM

We're getting down to the end here, with three hours left. Which will happen first: the bioweapon will be released, the bioweapon will be obtained by the authorities, or Jack will die from his bio-illness?

-The bogeyman of racial profiling was raised in this episode, with Janice asserting her new role as the FBI's ACLU liaison and protesting the move. Jack responded that the search they were doing (for local Muslims) was based on a tip. This is similar to the Oneonta case decided by the 2nd Circuit Court in 2001; it basically said that profiling is allowable when based on a tip. In that case, an elderly woman said a black man was her attacker, so that's who the police looked for. Makes sense to me.

-I thought that our framed terrorist-to-be (FTTB - I don't recall his name) made a bad move when the cops knocked on the door. Tony told him to make them go away, and FTTB did so by saying the noise that was reported was just friends having an argument. I think he could have easily gotten away with pointing at Tony through the door and mouthing "In here." But he was meek, unlike his brother, who later had the werewithal in a moment of chaos to smash a mirror and use a shard of glass as a weapon. Maybe the brother spent some time in an Afghani training camp?

-On the way to the FTTB's apartment, the imam told Jack "it's never too late to turn to God." Is Jack going to become Muslim?!

-To Hodges: when you go into witness protection, you have to get rid of everything. You kept that picture of your family, and look what happened.

Unwarranted Apology

A Muslim family that was ordered off an AirTran Airways flight on New Year's Day received an apology and refund on Friday from the airline, which said its decision to bar the passengers was necessary.

Then why apologize!?!? If this action was necessary, then AirTran did nothing wrong. They should give no apology and no money.

Atif Irfan said in an interview with CNN that federal authorities removed him, seven family members and a friend from the flight after passengers overheard members of the group talking about the safest place to sit on the plane. He said they were being careful to avoid any "buzzwords" like "bomb" that would trigger a security alert.

The group was flying out of Reagan Washington National Airport and was headed for a religious retreat (!) in Florida when other passengers apparently overheard the conversation and reported it to authorities.

It is interesting that the articles I read about this tell the side of the story told by the evictees, but not the side given by other passengers. I suspect that there is a fair amount of divergence between the stories. Here's evidence on AirTran's side:

An earlier AirTran statement said the airline complied with all Transportation Security Administration and Homeland Security directives and had no discretion in the case.

And also this:

But he said the pilot was influenced not only by the complaints from passengers but by the actions of two federal air marshals on board, who had learned of the incident and reported it to airport police.

It wasn't just some hick racist passengers who made complaints; air marshals concurred. These factors considered, the need for apologies and refunds is clearly absent.

Of course, cries of discrimination from terrorist-group affiliated CAIR soon erupted:

"We believe this disturbing incident would never have occurred had the Muslim passengers removed from the plane not been perceived by other travelers and airline personnel as members of the Islamic faith," the group said in its complaint.

(Considering recent events, I think a Muslim-based sensitivity on airplanes is completely reasonable.)

Such cries are common in situations like this. Terrorists and their allies (not to say that those in this particular group necessarily were) are quick to use the media and our political correctness to their advantage. Recall the incident in Minneapolis not long ago. A lawsuit is likely in this case, too, I suspect. Despite such antics, we must remain vigilant.

Emergency Practice

I participated in this active shooter exercise Thursday. I died. The point of the activity was to train local law enforcement and EMTs on how to react to a situation like that at Virginia Tech. Due to the fact that I was in pretty bad shape, according to the card around my neck, it took a long time for the police, rubber guns in hand, to pick me up off the floor. They took care of all the less-injured people first. I was kind of surprised it took so long. I was also surprised that they felt the need to handcuff and keep an eye on the "shooter" (some mannequin), even though he shot himself in the scenario. But I guess you have to be sure.

Presidential Commencement

On Tuesday I secured a ticket to attend today's A&M graduation ceremony, at which President George W. Bush spoke. This morning, I debated for 10 minutes or so whether I wanted to stand in line and wait for 2.5 hours for a 30-minute speech that I could watch on TV. I decided that I would go.

I expected to spend a lot of time waiting outside the arena to get in, but I arrived early and there was no such line. Instead, I waited in my seat for 2 hours for the program to begin. I brought a newspaper with me, so it wasn't too bad.

During the speech, Bush touched on some Aggie traditions:

I'll say this for A&M -- you've got some mighty fine traditions. Back in my day, I think I would have enjoyed dunking my ring. I would have loved to have taken Laura to "midnight yell." I especially like the traditions around Reveille. Anytime she barks during a class lecture, everyone in the room is dismissed. I wish she had been there for some of those press conferences.

He also alluded briefly to his waning presidency:

When you leave this campus, you will be well prepared for any endeavor you choose. To those of you who have jobs lined up, I -- congratulations. To those not exactly sure what comes next -- I know how you feel.

He also spoke of coming back to Texas:

This is also my last commencement address as President. And it is fitting that it takes place here in Texas, where I have been so blessed over the years. I was raised here by wonderful parents, surrounded by brothers and sisters whose love still sustains me. And Texas is where I went to a backyard barbeque and met a beautiful teacher named Laura Welch. Texas is where our girls were born and our lifelong friends live. And next month, when our time in Washington is done, Texas is where we're coming home.

After listing some examples of courage and service that he has witnessed over the last 8 years, he ended with some advice:

• Listen to your mother.
• Develop a set of principles to live by.
• Be on the lookout for role models.

On that last point, Bush gave a touching tribute to his dad. In all, the speech was in many ways your typical graduation talk, with a presidential touch. It was a worthwhile experience.

I should also note my fast escape from the area after the speech. Normally, after any big event, traffic is a problem, especially when the police shut down certain routes. Well, I planned ahead. I selected a parking lot diagonally across the street from the arena, thus avoiding having to wait at the main pedestrian-crossing intersection. I parked facing out of my spot, to avoid having to back up. And I parked near the far lot exit, which took me away from campus on a side road. I was quite pleased with myself as I drove away.

Busted

As MacKenzie mentioned below, we have been doing a little housesitting. Along with taking care of the dog, our other duty is to keep the 18-year-old, Roberto (names have been changed), out of trouble. Well, at least keep him from causing any trouble in the house. Elsewhere, he's on his own.

Things went pretty well our first 3 days at the house. We didn't see Roberto much. He had a couple friends over once, but they left shortly after we arrived (we think he's been avoiding us). On Saturday night, we were sitting in the living room with the house to ourselves. Since things were calm, we decided to go to Borders at about 9 pm. We enjoy this activity because we like books, and, if you don't buy anything, it doesn't cost anything.

We were there for about two hours, then we headed back to the house, after a trip through the Burger King drive-thru to get a shake. When we arrived back at the house, there were two cars parked in front, and the basement lights were on. Roberto must have some visitors, we thought.

As we entered the house, someone in the basement called out, "Hello?" I replied, to which the person in the basement said, "Roberto?" I said no. He then said, "I'll be up in a second." At this point, we heard the unmistakable clank-clank of empty aluminum cans. MacKenzie and I gave each other a knowing look, and I headed downstairs to investigate.

When I got downstairs, there was one teenage boy I did not know, and there was a light on in the bathroom. He said, "Are you the guy who's taking care of the dogs?" I said that I was. He said, "Oh, we're just here watching the dog." I looked around, and did not see the dog. Then, another strange teenage boy emerged from the bathroom. As he opened the door, I saw a case of Miller High Life ("The Champagne of Beers") on the counter. As this kid sat down, I asked them were Roberto was. They said they didn't know, and boy #1 tried to call him. As he did this, I asked them, "So, are you guys still drinking?" Boy #2 said, "I'm sober." After a second of contemplation, I went to the bathroom to confiscate the beer. As I did this, I said hello to boy #3, who was hiding behind the bathroom door. Without another word, I took the beer and went upstairs to show MacKenzie my booty. Note that Roberto was nowhere to be found.

After a moment, the three boys came upstairs, and boys 2 and 3 left. In hindsight, I probably should have not let them drive away, or at least should have administered field sobriety tests. But I was kind of flustered by this unexpected development. Boy #1 told me that Roberto wasn't answering his phone. I told him not to worry about it, that we'd find him. He said, "If you see him, tell him Guy called." (Kids, if you get caught drinking, you shouldn't be volunteering your name.) Guy then left, too.

At this point, all I knew was that there were a few empty cans in the case I seized. I decided to go downstairs and look around, and I found more empty cans, and an empty 200 ml bottle of Everclear, in the bathroom shower. Along with the bottle, there were 12 cans consumed out of the 30-pack. This was done by 3-5 boys. At some point, I learned that Roberto had supposedly left with Kareem 30 minutes earlier. I don't know if that is true. I still haven't actually seen Roberto since this whole thing happened. I'm not even sure he was aware of this little soirée. The house was unlocked, so the kids could have just let themselves in. But his mother has been informed, so it's out of my hands.

In hindsight, there are a couple of things I would have done differently:

• Tried to get a straight answer to where Roberto was, and how this whole party had started.
• As mentioned above, not let them drive away without determining their fitness to drive. They could have defied me and left, but these kids had that deer-in-the-headlights busted look, so I think they would have listened to me. Plus, I'm intimidating.
  

Some might say I should have called the police or their parents, but I don't think I'd go that far. Since I have no idea who these kids are, getting the necessary information would have been difficult. Plus, our job was merely to watch the house. Roberto's mom knows what happened, so if she wishes to pursue things, she can. If it were my house, and my kids' friends, then things would be different.

So I'm just sitting here now, enjoying a free beer and telling you this story. How would you have handled this situation?

It Beats Eating Dog

The US has recently been trying to get South Korea to open up to US beef imports. However, the South Koreans are kind of nutso about beef:

Protests this past weekend were the largest and most violent. As more than 40,000 people gathered in front of Seoul City Hall on Saturday night, police used water cannons to stop them from marching on the president's office. More than 220 people were arrested.

I only protest about beef when MacKenzie refuses to let me eat it. The South Koreans' protests are based on bizarre mistruths:

Rumors spread on the Internet that school lunch programs would be a dumping ground for cheap and potentially deadly American beef. Lee's government tried and largely failed to knock down the rumors and assorted alarmist media reports, one of which claimed Koreans were more genetically vulnerable to mad cow disease than Americans.
...
Cha Yoon-min, 13, attended the protest with his mother, a lawyer in Seoul. "I am afraid of American beef," he said. "I could study hard in school. I could get a good job and then I could eat beef and just die."

My sister is actually over there now, and she's blogging about her experiences. For firsthand eyewitness accounts of the beef controversy now taking place, read this and this. She has plenty of other interesting insights, too, like how South Korea is not a good place to be when you are a nerd.

Liquor Police in Action

Not only do Utah politicians and government officials (generally of the GOP variety) prefer not to drink, not understand alcohol, and legislatively restrict it, but they also vindictively go after bars and private clubs, often using entrapment to find reason to give them citations:

State undercover liquor-control agents made lewd propositions to a waitress, then waved a $5 bill at a boisterous woman in a Clearfield club, daring her to expose herself in what they later explained were tactics to fit in with the crowd.

At an American Fork restaurant, agents badgered a waiter into bringing them a round of beers, then ticketed the eatery for serving alcohol without a required meal.

And in a Salt Lake City pub, three agents ordered shots, two purposefully left the table, then they cited the server for delivering too many drinks.

Agents also apparently do a lot of this, to create open container violations:

In April, the Tooele bowling alley Star Lanes was fined $800 after agents left with drinks in their hands.

It is no wonder why Utah drinkers and bar owners feel persecuted, and these actions can't help but create animosity towards the government and the majority religion here.

Window-Related Weather Woes

This is what my car window looks like today:


The towel is there to cover the window that is stuck open (these are power windows, of course).

The window was originally stuck open only a couple of inches. We opened it a crack for some reason, and it didn't go back up. This is in addition to our rear passenger window, which drops down a couple of inches every few days, requiring us to manually lift it back up. We are unable to do so with this window. When it was open a couple of inches, it wasn't soooo bad, in terms of noise, cold, and snow. But when MacKenzie took the car to Jiffy Lube to get a safety inspection, so that we could renew our 4-months-expired registration (oops!), some fool there opened up the window to its current level, where it stays. Of course, in one of the cruel coincidences that so often mark life, it has snowed approximately 15 inches in the two days since the Jiffy Lube incident. Hence the towel, which also serves as an anti-theft device (although I assume that any thief would prefer to steal a car with functioning windows). Here's what our parking lot looked like this morning:

Having taken in our car to get an estimate of the cost of fixing the broken rear window, I've learned that the window motor is the likely culprit, and that replacing it costs upwards of $300. It's not worth that much to fix the rear window, but the front window is another story. How will I get my Big Macs or give my license and registration to police officers without a functioning driver's side window? Since it's the weekend, though, and I figured it would be a few days before I would be able to get it fixed, I thought I'd try to take the door panel off and see if I could somehow get the window into a closed position. I was also hoping that maybe there was an octopus in the door, or some other obvious, easily fixable problem. That was not the case.

First, I took the window switch unit off. Here's what it looks like, and here's the backside, in case you're interested:


After taking the inside panel off, which required me to buy a new socket for my wrench, I was still unable to get the window to move. But I figure that there's no reason to fully fasten the panel back on, or replace the switch unit, if the mechanic is just going to take them off again. So I didn't. Hopefully I can get this fixed soon. Of course, it' s not supposed to stop snowing anytime soon. You can blame my car for that.