Saturday, June 2, 2007
USA! USA! USA!
Well, the Japanese may make better cars than us. They may dominate the video-game market. And don't even get me started on their ability to sell a halfway-decent piece of fish at the grocery store. But, god bless us, we've finally gotten our hot-dog eating championship back!
Friday, June 1, 2007
Just Say No To Potentially Fatal Erectile Dysfunction Treatments
This sounds wonderful...inject yourself with the venom of a particular black widow species! You will either die, or suffer painful, prolonged, involuntary erections, after which you will have superhuman virility!
Where do I sign up?
Where do I sign up?
But Matthew Is Still My Hero
Horrible vocal displays aside, Matt went on a damn fine run of blogging this week. I kept setting aside posts of his to link to, but I have officially become overwhelmed. Instead, you should just go to his blog and read the week's entries. Mostly top-notch stuff.
Plus he's a good New York Jewish boy. My mom would be proud.
Plus he's a good New York Jewish boy. My mom would be proud.
Friends Don't Let Friends Karaoke
This is enough to ruin an otherwise fantastic Friday afternoon. How am I supposed to respect two of my favorite bloggers after such a display? Dear lord, anytime it takes a good 40 seconds to figure out what song they're supposed to be singing, it's bad times. Bad times.
Nerd For President
Faithful Reader LT points me towards an editorial in the Washington Post calling on the election of more nerds to the highest office in the land.
I'm not entirely convinced. I suspect that it goes without saying that the current administration has been a fair bit too far to the anti-intellectual side for my taste. Probably from watching too many 'aliens invade' movies from the 50's, where the pointy-headed Poindexters in their lab coats were too busy explaining how advanced civilizations would of course be peaceful in their intentions!
So yes, I certainly want a president who is familiar with the basic concepts of the scientific method, maintains a healthy skeptical attitude and wants to hear evidence from every side of an argument before making his decisions. And yes, it would sure be nice to have an administration whose understanding of international relations had progressed slightly beyond the schoolyard system of 'act tough, talk tough, and if things aren't working out, just keep punching harder.' Heck, I wouldn't mind someone who even knew what 'game theory' was, even if he or she couldn't write a grad-level thesis on it.
But there's a lot more to being President than knowing things. One of the major jobs of the office is to provide leadership, and that means understanding people, being able to talk to them, and project both empathy and strength, in equal measure. If the people don't have faith in their leader, that affects the national 'morale', which can have real-world consequences.
This was Bill Clinton's most brilliant feature; although he was nearly as much of a wonk as Jimmy Carter, you never would have caught him telling people the solution to high heating oil prices was to 'put on a sweater.'
Additionally, it is simply not possible for the President to know the most about everything. You need someone smart enough to understand the basic facts of all that various and sundry issues the President has to deal with, but you don't really want a Captain Janeway, always rushing off to singlehandedly solve the most vexing issues, and who seems to know more about everything on the ship than even the crew members who specialize in that subject. Since such a person doesn't exist, you need someone who is aware of their own limits, and knows how to listen to their advisors.
So while you won't find me arguing against the idea that the next (and, for that matter, every) President ought to be significantly more intellectually curious and generally involved than the nap-taking, brush-clearing dolt we have now, I think their are traits that are more important than pure brains in our leaders. If I didn't think that way, I'd be voting for Kucinich, almost certainly the smartest, and absolutely the most honest, Dem in the bunch. But the world just isn't quite ready to follow a 5-foot-7-inch tall vegan pacifist hobbit into the 21st century. It may be a flaw in humanity that we aren't, but it is the case, so we had better get used to it.
I'm not entirely convinced. I suspect that it goes without saying that the current administration has been a fair bit too far to the anti-intellectual side for my taste. Probably from watching too many 'aliens invade' movies from the 50's, where the pointy-headed Poindexters in their lab coats were too busy explaining how advanced civilizations would of course be peaceful in their intentions!
So yes, I certainly want a president who is familiar with the basic concepts of the scientific method, maintains a healthy skeptical attitude and wants to hear evidence from every side of an argument before making his decisions. And yes, it would sure be nice to have an administration whose understanding of international relations had progressed slightly beyond the schoolyard system of 'act tough, talk tough, and if things aren't working out, just keep punching harder.' Heck, I wouldn't mind someone who even knew what 'game theory' was, even if he or she couldn't write a grad-level thesis on it.
But there's a lot more to being President than knowing things. One of the major jobs of the office is to provide leadership, and that means understanding people, being able to talk to them, and project both empathy and strength, in equal measure. If the people don't have faith in their leader, that affects the national 'morale', which can have real-world consequences.
This was Bill Clinton's most brilliant feature; although he was nearly as much of a wonk as Jimmy Carter, you never would have caught him telling people the solution to high heating oil prices was to 'put on a sweater.'
Additionally, it is simply not possible for the President to know the most about everything. You need someone smart enough to understand the basic facts of all that various and sundry issues the President has to deal with, but you don't really want a Captain Janeway, always rushing off to singlehandedly solve the most vexing issues, and who seems to know more about everything on the ship than even the crew members who specialize in that subject. Since such a person doesn't exist, you need someone who is aware of their own limits, and knows how to listen to their advisors.
So while you won't find me arguing against the idea that the next (and, for that matter, every) President ought to be significantly more intellectually curious and generally involved than the nap-taking, brush-clearing dolt we have now, I think their are traits that are more important than pure brains in our leaders. If I didn't think that way, I'd be voting for Kucinich, almost certainly the smartest, and absolutely the most honest, Dem in the bunch. But the world just isn't quite ready to follow a 5-foot-7-inch tall vegan pacifist hobbit into the 21st century. It may be a flaw in humanity that we aren't, but it is the case, so we had better get used to it.
You Know What They Say About A Guy With A Big Cornea
Commenter pepperedjane suggests LASIK as a potential salve for my upset soul regarding the general shittiness of my eyesight. Unfortunately, while I have nearly average-thickness corneas, to fix eyes of my prescription (about -8.5 diopters in each eye, for those keeping count) I need somewhat thicker-than-average.
I might look into getting the Phakic intraocular lenses at some point in the future, after they've been around for a few years. But, for the moment, it's glasses and contacts (although not at the same time) for me!
I might look into getting the Phakic intraocular lenses at some point in the future, after they've been around for a few years. But, for the moment, it's glasses and contacts (although not at the same time) for me!
An Open Letter To My Mother
Dearest Mom,
I love you, and thank you for all that you have given me in life. I am fortunate to have had your eclectic personality, and your passion for helping people, instilled in me.
But come on. Couldn't you have kept the weak-ass, no good, bats-make-fun-of-my-vision eyes to yourself?
Love,
David
I love you, and thank you for all that you have given me in life. I am fortunate to have had your eclectic personality, and your passion for helping people, instilled in me.
But come on. Couldn't you have kept the weak-ass, no good, bats-make-fun-of-my-vision eyes to yourself?
Love,
David
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