Chicago Schools Spend $67,000 on cappuccino machines

As an addendum to yesterdays posting on home schooling…I submit the following evidence about the gross mismanagement and corruption that is endemic to public schools in the United States, and why all parents should have the fundamental right to remove their children from such a system should they deem it necessary. We as a country can expect any institution with no stake in its own success (i.e. no intrincit benefit in performing well)  and that opposes all objective measurements of that success to succumb to these sorts of problems. A parent who chooses to send their child to private school (with the help of a voucher) or who chooses to educate their children at home not only has a fundamental right to do so but likely has a moral obligation as such (especially if they live in Chicago). The teachers unions and their school boards regularly fight with one another but they both use the same underhanded scare tactics to coerce parents into voting in overrides on their property taxes so that raises can be given. If a teacher wants a raise they should earn the raise as a qualified individual and the value of a teachers services should be set on the open market. I imagine that the true value of a qualified teacher would reach far beyond what many are paid now. The unfortunate side effect of our educational system is that we are still without means of discerning good from bad. In deed, unless a teacher is accused and found guilty of gross physical misconduct with a student or total disregard of job requirements…they will not be fired. We have created a breeding ground for mediocrity in perhaps the most noble of professions. A move towards privatizing education and true freedom of choice in that education is absolutely essential for the preservation of a free society. Our public schools know for certain that they will always receive a bailout no matter how bad things get. In deed, in my own home state, the brand new newton north highschool is going to receive more than $45,000,000 in state aid to complete the project. So now the rest of the states tax payers will be forced to subsidize this absurdly mismanaged project…to what benefit? A private institution would never receive such aid (unless of course they also made oversized and overpriced cars). We have removed all incentive to perform to standards, to innovate in the way education is delivered and to provide a product worthy of the money that is so often thrown its direction. Its time for a change in the way we think about education in this country. Patrick OUT!!!

 

 

Time: California court declares homeschooling illegal

 

So this article is a little old but I can only read the news from so many sources and stay informed. I would encourage you to read the story but the gist of it is as follows. A Los Angeles district court has declared that all children taught in the state of California must be taught by licensed teachers and thus homeschooling is no longer legal (unless the parents happens to be a licensed teacher). The case is now on its way to the state supreme court on appeal where it will hopefully be overturned. It is absolutely un-American in my mind to say that the children of a family should be forced into school against the wishes of a parent. I certainly agree that all children should receive a quality education, with the tacit understanding that the source might not be a public school. It sets a horrible precedent for the government of any state to decree that state sponsored indoctrination (don’t forget, some states still teach intelligent design) must be followed. In relation to state educational supremacy, the following quote:

Hitler said on 1 May 1937:

"The youth of today is ever the people of tomorrow. For this reason we have set before ourselves the task of inoculating our youth with the spirit of this community of the people at a very early age, at an age when human beings are still unperverted and therefore unspoiled.

The first sentence in the official instructors manual for high schools reads:

"The German school is a part of the National Socialist Educational order. It is its obligation to form the national socialistic personality in cooperation with the other educational powers of the nation, but by its distinctive educational means”

Source

I think we could pretty easily substitute California for German and this would still look just about right. The school system and the state has no vested interest in the success of a child, their only interest is in self-preservation. A parent has an inherent (or should have) interest in the success of their children. The state of California is trying to rob the parents and children of that state of a fundamental right to choose and they should be ashamed. A free society is no place for such absurd claims as the courts of California has made and the citizens of that state (whether sending their children to public education or otherwise) should stand up and resist this on moral and ethical grounds.

Patrick OUT!!!

 

What I’m listening too: Ennio Morriconne

 

A Happy Note

 

So I’ve now been informed by two regular readers of this site that my posts have been too depressing recently. This is not on purpose. I’m not depressed in the slightest, rather I think its more a reflection of what I find interesting and furthermore what I think a reader might find interesting. At this point, a blog is not really a reflection of anything and everything that comes through my head in a day. While my posts tend to be pretty scattered in their topics that is really because I only write when I think something deserves to be read. It’s a bit akin to people who talk constantly without saying much of anything as if silence is something to be avoided. I have always taken the approach of trying only to speak when I have something to say. This is not to gloss over the fact that a lot of my posts are little more than frivolous dribble and ramblings…irregardless of that idea, I usually find them either interesting, funny, topical, or in rare instances insightful on a personal sense. I typically don’t share much in the way of personal news and I guess when I do it comes across as depressing…which I suppose might be cause for concern but I don’t think so. The other posts that might be depressing are those in which I’m critical of someone or something. Of course, the individuals and organizations which I criticize tend to be large, powerful, and famous or more likely infamous. These groups don’t really need any pats on the back from little old me or from any readers and so I tend to focus on the critical. This is definitely, unlike my other posts, a distinct reflection on me and my nature. I’m not usually a down individual or prone to “glumness” but I am very critical. I tend to think of it as a positive character trait (though others may not) and respect it quite a bit when I find it in others. So as we move into the new year, you can expect more of whats already been given; a cultural critique as best I can muster. Patrick OUT!!!

 

Also for 2009…A new section in each post, what I’m listening too:

This week: Nina Simone

A better team

So I’ve talked a little bit about this before in that the highlight of my midweek is trivia on Wednesday. A bunch of friends play at a restaurant/pub in Cambridge on a team. The make-up of the team changes from week to week as does our performance. We have a more or less core group of people that go (thankfully they are the people that provide most of the answers) and then a large number of people who make cameo appearances. Being that I’m way too competitive…especially with things like this, and because I’ve played on a good number of trivia teams (many through college and then quite a few since then); I think I finally have a grasp on what makes a team successful or not. I’m going to make my guidelines based on a fairly standard format of 4-6 person teams with limited time to answer and no outside resources (i.e. no iPhones blackberries etc…though I think some people cheat at our particular event). Trivia nights all focus around particular categories and a successful  team has keen understanding of those categories. A team full of people who know “trivia” is paradoxically a bad idea. Instead, you need a division of labor approach where individuals have particular expertise. A great team would have the following key strengths in particular players

 

1.       Pop culture phenom – This is the person that watches too much TV and isn’t too particular to one type of TV. The guy who sits at home watching shark week on the discovery channel all the time isn’t much good here in comparison to the guy who tivos all the prime time dramas and sit-coms from all the major networks. The guy who secretly sits through ryan seacrest’s top40 and reads People magazine like it’s the New York Times. They will be responsible for TV, Music, and Celebrity identification questions. If they can name all the members of the brat pack and the rat pack…you might be set.

2.       The News Junkie – That person who has too much free time and fills it with newspapers, newsweek, time, the economist, and watches CNN headline news. If someone on your team can name members of the council on foreign relations and can name all the member states of the EU…that’s your guy. This person needs to stay up to date on current events. They are actually very similar to the pop culture expert just with different priorities.

3.       The Historian – What was the “bulge” in the battle of the bulge? If know the answer to that…then you might be the historian. A trivia team needs some diversity here too. Being that there is 4000 years of human civilization to cover, questions can never be too specific but the range of possibilities is very high. A history major in college is a good choice, a guy with a PhD in antebellum architecture is not. Both historical but only one is going to get you any place at trivia.

4.       A scientist – Someone to tell the team why degrees Kelvin and degrees Celsius are different. The scientist suffers like all the other categories from being too specific in many cases. While being a scientist myself…I might fit into this category, in reality its probably not my best. The problem stems from being too focused. You need the guy that reads popular science as a hobby and not fungal molecular physiology as a career.

5.       The Sports Nut- the most straightforward but also the most elusive team member. Finding that right mix of sports fan who can not only rattle off baseball stats but can figure out whats going on in a rugby scrum. A knowledge of history is also key here too…players on great teams, recent MVPs and hall of fame inductees are crucial. ESPN watchers are a good start but a student of the game(s) is what’s required.

6.       The Sweeper – The person that picks up the slack with truly useless knowledge. Things that no one should be expected to know are common knowledge to this player. He rattles off that a group of barracudas is called a battery like he just saw it yesterday. This players knowledge is a combination of inspiring and disturbing.

 

If only my regular teams could have these people all the time. For those of you out there reading…we need a sports nut.

Patrick OUT!!!

The Good Old Days

Reading about the controversy surrounding Barack Obama’s choice of the Rev. Rick Warren to lead the invocation at his inauguration, I am struck once again and solidified in my opinion that the United States has an urgent need to address the place of religion in politics. I am quite aware that I am in a minority here in my beliefs…actually more of a minority than I had originally known. A recent study done by the University of Minnesota showed that atheists are perhaps the least trusted or approved of group in the United States. They share a lower standing amongst the majority opinion than Muslims, African-Americans, and homosexuals. I guess that revolution of cultural tolerance hasn’t quite gone far enough. Now, I’m not in the business of telling people what to believe…I have no interest in converting people but I do have an interest in the sanctity of the grand ideals the country was founded on. The text books often cite stories of the pilgrims and their escape from religious intolerance which is all well and good but more important are the people who came those many years later to found a country with a government free of religion. I know the religious right will often claim that our constitution and our founding fathers were a religious bunch who sought to establish a free Christian nation where everyone could practice their faith. That might have been a consequence of their politics but the point originally was to not so much free the people from religious persecution as it was to free the government of religious influence. Read that first amendment again…the same one that protects my rights to rant here also prohibits the government from favoring one religion over another or over non-religion and this purpose has been specifically upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States. Furthermore, our founding fathers who put in place the most brilliant framework for a country in the history of the world were most likely deists if not outright atheists. Why then, almost 250 years later, are we returning to a state where religion has such sway. A place where the only acceptable form of intolerance is that towards non-believers. I’m going to avoid the temptation to list the ills of religious belief and religious intolerance in a society because any cursory inspection of history and role of religion in it will back up my requests for cautioned skepticism. I think that the Obama administration should think carefully about their integration of religion into the Whitehouse. We are leaving behind 8 years of an administration that in my mind has had two great foibles beyond the scope of reason. The first, of course, is sending 3000 young men and women to their deaths in a far off country with an at best nebulous goal in mind and the second is that outrageous integration of religious doctrine into the policy making machinations of the world’s most powerful government. Believe what you want to believe but in the new year a healthy amount of skepticism and a return to the good old days of the founding fathers would do us well. Patrick OUT!!!

A Good Fit

So as I move forward into the new year I am being consistently bombarded both within my own mind and by others to find things that are a good fit. I need a next step in my career that will be a good fit for me. Someplace where I can grow and learn and also feel like I make a contribution to the greater good (don't I sound idealistic now). I also want someplace where I can have fun and do things that are exciting and new. I'm, of course, also looking for new people and more specifically a new person in my life that might be a good fit. I'm not going to list of a profile but let me just say that news of Giselle Bundchen's engagement to Tom Brady was very disheartening...i mean that guys kind of a bum...he hasn't worked in 16 weeks. I guess it just wasn't meant to be...too tall I suppose for me anyways. Which brings me to my last and most attainable goal...clothing that is a good fit. Being a man of less than average verticality but also with less than average circumfrence can make clothing difficult. I know that everyone thinks that nothing good comes in their size when they go look for clothes but I think my problem is a bit different. With men's clothing,to say nothing of women's sizing that is such a rediculously enigmatic thing to me that i'm often left beyond confused in my attempts to understand how a woman's sized can be reduced to a single number that has little if any relationship to any actual dimension...things should be made to measure so it should, in theory, be easy to find suitable shirts and slacks that fit well. Unfortunately, those sizes are all well and good for necks, sleeves, wastes, and inseams but there are crucial other factors that rarely swing in my favor. Most shirts, while fitting fine around the neck and resting nicely along my wrists, have enough extra material in them to supply a team for the Americas Cup. I could never figure out why they did this until I bought a shirt in China (not just made in china, actually marketed to chinese people). It fits great...i can only surmise that it must be due to my exceptional averageness in China. I wasn't the short skinny guy there, rather I was the perfectly proportioned and actually a bit tall gweilo<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gweilo>. Thus the problem lies in the demographics in america that says that a guy my height should be stocky...ugh, the american obesity crisis hits home. Well I'm off to have a donut...it should make my shirts fit better someday. Patrick OUT!!!

New Years

The last day of the year. I suppose it would be cliché of my to list new years resolutions here because who really cares about the promises I will most likely break within the first two weeks. Instead, I’m going to list the promises I made last year and let you know how I did.

1.       Read more

I guess I did this one…though not in the way I had hoped. I had imagined that I would be able to read a lot more about all the subjects I’m interested in. Instead, I read a lot more for work. Still good, its already given me a leg up in a few areas but I do wish I had taken more time to read myself.

2.       Say YES

This is more in the realm of that new Jim  Carey movie. I wanted to loosen up a bit and take things less seriously than I was prone to before. I’m not sure of my progress in this department but I think I’m definitely feeling more comfortable with where I am in life and looking forward to the future more than I have in quite a while. I’m also feeling quite a bit more liberated than I have in a while and free to pursue this particular goal well into 2009. I suppose the bitterness that followed the events of the fall are starting to slowly fade into optimism and excitement into seeing whats next both in relationships and of course in my career. For the first time in years, it seems that options abound and that my path is in no way laid out and contrary to my typical modus operandi…it feels good to have it that way.

3.       Work Out

This has been really just about as successful as I get. I’m going to pat myself on the back here and say…I’ve been pretty good about this. I’ve been getting consistently stronger, building a body closer to what I’ve wanted for some time and feeling ever so pleased with how its all worked out. In general, I think that I live a pretty healthy lifestyle. I’ve managed to eat well all year and maintained a constant weight while dropping body fat in the process. Less beer, less desserts and more activity have made me feel better than ever. I even ran a 5k for the first time and didn’t die (really my only hope…aside from beating my younger sister). Still some work to do in this department but given the limited efforts I’ve put into it my returns have been great.

4.       Be more patient

Ok…this one didn’t work out so well. My students can definitely vouch for this here. I’m still a bit to driven for everyones tastes and I have trouble turning it down even when appropriate. I want to push them hard and make them keep up. I suppose, I justify it to myself in that I’m helping them but in reality…I’m just judgemental and disappointed a lot of the time. I take it all a little personally sometimes and it really doesn’t work out. Maybe 2009 will be more relaxed but I’m pretty sure it will be the opposite. Hopefully, a few hardnosed students will follow that can take the bullshit that I throw out.

5.       Take more time to volunteer

I pretty much didn’t do this. I feel bad about it. It was my only resolution that didn’t focus on me and it was the one where I really didn’t accomplish it. I was hoping to add in some habitat for humanity work days and maybe something else to boot. I have my regular commitments that I kept up with fairly well but, I didn’t add anything for the year. I guess, I can renew this one and try and do it again.  

 

Cheers! Patrick OUT!!!

Watch yourself

 

Scientists Warn Christmas lights harm the planet

 

In light of my recent posts on the placing of Christmas lights, I would just like to say that not all scientists are TOTAL IDIOTS. There is something to be said for tempering one’s views for purely rhetorical purpose. As science struggles with the modern ethics of humanity, (i.e. stem cells, animal testing, cloning etc), we get these idiots who decide that now is the time to make an essentially political statement that is just unnecessary. I am all for preserving the environment and all, I think it’s a nice idea and something that people should take seriously. However, I also believe that PEOPLE and their HAPPINESS are far more important. If having Christmas lights out for a month a year makes people happy then they should do it. If they feel bad about the energy they are using (note: this is not wasting energy because this does serve a valid purpose…it makes me feel good) then they should unplug a couple of lights for the rest of the year or go camping for a week in the summer and live in the woods without any power at all, whatever makes them happy. But to threaten Christmas light users with the dire predictions of global warming is irresponsible science of the highest caliber. It is the fundamental flaw of science and academics in that we forget that with all the grand ideals of advancing society on an intellectual level, that society is just a collection of individuals who desire not much more than to be happy and that even in a twisted far off way, the goal of science and the intellectual advancement is really the satisfaction and preservation of humanity. Ideas and intelligence garnered through rational inquiry are a gift to society for the purpose of universal fulfillment. These people should remember that science does not exist in a vacuum. Merry Christmas. Patrick OUT!!!

Sometimes I wonder

 

So I get into the lab this morning and my advisor (boss) comes in a bit after me all in a huff. An experimental bioreactor (fermentor) has not been functioning properly and she is going crazy. I ask what went wrong, assuming it was a leak of some sort or an equipment malfunction…she wispers, “I’m not sure but I think its sabotage.” To which I reply, “Are you friggin nuts…that is the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever heard.” Ok, so I didn’t say that but I was thinking it. I chose to be more tactful and reply, “Oh bother…thats bloody awful (in my best English accent).” Ok, so I didn’t really say that, or anything for that matter, in favor of looking at her in stunned silence trying to hide my aching disbelief. I’m not sure at what point in a scientists career they choose to disregard logic but apparently she has reached it. Furthermore, she said this has happened before…RIIIGGGHHTTT. My goodness, I hope I never reach that point. I mean seriously, we work in a fairly secure building (card access all around), who is going to come into a random lab and a random room and mess with a particular knob MULTIPLE TIMES? The answer…no one. Because no one cares about this bioreactor nor should they. The only lesson I learn from this is that when my experiments don’t work now, instead of blaming myself for lack of ingenuity or insight…its going to be sabotage by malicious lab gnomes. Little gremlins hiding my Pasteur pipets and spitting in all my beakers after I wash them. Perhaps santa’s elves are secretly coming in and switching my regular sodium acetate with folger’s potassium acetate chrystals to see if I notice.   I bet that’s it…I could have been in the running for a nobel prize right now if it weren’t for those little imps screwing things up all the time. Remember, “Its not paranoia if they really are out to get you.” Patrick OUT!!!

The Spirit of Christmas

So I was cleaning out my bedroom the other day and of course I found all the things I didn’t know were missing until I started to clean up. Most notable was about $50 in already rolled change from who knows when (which of course will stay in that state unused for some time) and a pile of gift certificates and gift cards from birthdays and Christmases past. I wonder if I have already reached the stage of life where I don’t really have wants. I can remember being a kid and having wants for things…wants that were so strong they certainly felt like needs. Those things gradually became less and less and as I could begin to afford my own “wants” I  didn’t want anywhere near as much. Now, I accumulate acquisitive power in the form of gift cards that I don’t use because I can never decide what I might want or need. Sure, I buy books every so often and read them once or twice. I buy clothes too…but pretty much only when they have moved from being a want to being a need in the most literal sense. The internet has essentially negated my need for both music and movies. I don’t really play games anywhere near as much as I used to and I have only limited hobbies. I do like camping but I’ve reached a point there where unless I decide I’m going to summit everest or thru-hike the AT…I don’t need anything further unless something happens to break. I guess that means I’m the kind of person who that whole “ a donation has been made in your name to [insert name of favorite charity here]” kind of a gift is really pretty good. I think a small part of it is that I’m pretty particular about the things I spend money on. I buy very little for myself without research of some sort or another though I really don’t like shopping and I hate the feeling of buyer’s remorse. This means that I don’t buy things at all frivously and so a gift often feels foreign because its someone elses interpretation of what I might want but the silly thing is that I want so very little that most gifts would never match up. That makes receiving gifts always a bit unsatisfying and I worry that even the donation gift could leave me feeling the same way. Person A says “I didn’t know what to give you so we made a donation to the ASPCA.” I say “Oh that’s great…they do good work.” In my head I think, “Wow, helping animals is nice but we have people that need help too…a donation to Catholic charities would have been better because they have lower overhead and do a good job of helping people.” I suppose its all in the spirit of giving and I shouldn’t be so particular and I don’t want to totally withdraw from Christmas gift giving (though that would honestly suit me just fine). I do enjoy giving gifts when I have the means to but I run into the same problems…I insist on placing the same restrictive rules onto gifts given as I would place on items purchased for myself or items received as a gift. Carefully thought out to provide maximum benefit…trivial presents always seem worse to me than none at all. I know some of you are saying, “it’s the thought that counts.” I totally get that mentality…I just can’t do it. In my twisted Christmas world, I need it to work out both ways. I need the gift to match the thought…something that sends a message. Because even gift giving isn’t altruistic in its entirety…we as people do derive some joy out of making others happy and a crappy gift doesn’t allow me to reap that particular reward. I don’t wanted feigned happiness…I want the real thing and that’s tough to do. So with that said…my Christmas list is pretty empty this year. In case you are really desperate to get me something, I’m a big fan of the following charities and non-profits, a gift to them will make them happy, me happy, and you happy

 

Habitat for Humanity

Boston Foundation

Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust

CARE

Doctors Without Borders

Catholic Charties USA

 

Happy chrismahanukwanzaa! Patrick OUT!!!

 

Love Gone Bad

Love Gone Bad

 

So you need to read the story above for this to make any sense…and look at the pictures. When I first read the story, I thought the world had turned upside down. 35 year old man, refuses sex with 19 year old girlfriend who responds by stabbing him in the face. What??? Then I saw the pictures and I understood entirely. If that woman came to me looking for some action, I might just pull a Lorena Bobbitt on myself. Furthermore, what that woman could possibly see in that guy…I will never know? I don’t think this is a calista flockhart- Harrison ford kind of thing going on here. It did raise a question though, is it hard to clean blood out of the carpet in a double-wide. Patrick OUT!!!

 

Behind my Back

So it came to my attention recently in conversations with my advisor (read: boss) at work that her and other faculty friends of her’s (other people on my committee) talk about my personal life behind my back. Perhaps I’m over reacting a bit but I don’t think that’s really appropriate. Sure its probably my fault for divulging information to one of them but even so, isn’t it an unspoken rule that such conversations remain to some degree privelaged. The incident in question was in regards to the dissolution of the relationship between myself and a long-time girlfriend. One faculty member who was passingly familiar with my relationship status asked how things were going. Not wanting to be rude I gave her the unfortunate breakdown and she has now told another faculty member possibly more than that. Don’t these people have hobbies they could be attending to…better science to be coming up with. No, instead they concern themselves with my personal life and see it fit to bring up sore subjects at work. I have friends for a reason and I have a boss for a reason…they really don’t need to be the same person. If they were to be the same person…that’s really my choice. Also, if you’re going to talk behind my back don’t say things to me that make it totally clear that you have done so. Gossip all you like but keep it out of my earshot. Done. Patrick OUT!!!

Thanksgiving

So this is a delayed post because I’ve been really busy lately. Thanksgiving has passed…my favorite holiday of them all. I ended up spending it in Maryland with my family and my brother-in-law’s family. It was good to see my sister again (it had been quite a while) and to spend time with the two families together. I longed a little for my own families version of thanksgiving…though this was pretty similar…I guess most peoples would be pretty similar but I am such a creature of habit that even small perturbations can screw with my head a little. On thanksgiving morning, I ran a 5k for the first time…actually I had run that distance twice before the actual day but it was the first time competitively. I was a tad bit slower than I had hoped but I’m going to chalk that up to morning tiredness and cold air to start. I must admit though that I felt pretty good afterwards…I’m not sure if it was the endorphins released by the running or the cold cheap beer that found its way in to my hands within about 10 minutes of finishing…could have also been the second (or third or fourth) beer that did it. Either way, thanksgiving started out great. All in all, the rest of the day was pretty low key…just as I would like it. I did have to bite my tongue and sit on my hands a bit as dinner was being made. I can be a bit of a “back seat” chef at times and I was doing my best to not be critical of anything. On Friday we all went and saw the new James Bond movie (which I had already seen but was actually better the second time). Pretty enjoyable all in all…we then came home and ate some more and then a bit more. We had turkey croquettes made from the previous days leftovers which were really quite phenomenal and have inspired me to someday but a deep fryer if for no other purpose than making turkey croquettes and possibly deep fried oreos (which are truly about as delicious as they sound gross). After all the eating was finished I was pleased to also see that I had not gained more than a pound. I’m not sure where those calories went but I am glad they didn’t find their way someplace unpleasant. Bring on Christmas…and lights. Patrick OUT!!!

Why the internet was invented.

http://bacontoday.com/

Nuf said

Patrick OUT!!!

Tree Lighting

So I was involved in a conversation on campus yesterday about the prospect of having “holiday lighting” in various trees for the holiday season. People of some authority for such things decided, in my presence, that they would not be putting forward any recommendation on the matter for fear of offending certain groups with the potentially religious symbolism of lights. WHAT?!?! I know this topic has been done before but seriously. Having lights on trees in December is to Christmas as a large bunny with chocolate eggs is to The Passion. In short, its not religious at all. And besides that, why do people continually have a right to not be offended by such things. I don’t believe in god so much anymore…ok really not at all but I do believe in things that look nice…like little lights in snow covered trees. Not once have I looked at such a tree (even one’s with angels at the top and present underneath) and reconsidered my faith or lack there of. By all rights, the Christmas tree was a tradition of Germanic pagans that was co-opted by Christians for their own far out symbolic purposes. Even so, if you are jewish muslim, bahai, hindu, buddhist, sihk, Zoroastrian, Rastafarian, or even if you believe in the church of the flying spaghetti monster like me…there would never be anything even slightly offensive about little lights hung in a tree on a cold dark winter night. I suppose it all boils down to me being the atheist that says merry Christmas…and happy hannukah, and all the rest of it because these holidays are no longer religious for most of us. They are a chance to exercise our credit cards and more importantly be with family and friends (because we need an excuse to do these things now). Lights in trees is a celebration of just that…a time of year when a good portion of the population should be just a little bit happier despite the bitter cold and bad fruit cake making the rounds. I for one am offended that there will not be lights in trees on campus…why don’t they respect my rights…is it because of all the faiths, mine is the only one that definitely doesn’t have a god on its side??? Patrick OUT!!!

Trivial Matters

So last night I went to my weekly trivia night in Cambridge. That Wednesday night has become the highlight of my week. Typically a Wednesday goes something like this…I get to work and think, “wow, I have not gotten a lot done this week.” And then I remember that on Friday I have my usual meeting with my advisors where I get to justify my existence through the presentation of data. (Astute readers will rightly surmise that I have actually gotten things done this week…hence the blog entry on a Thursday at work.) But anyways, Wednesday is usually that day where I put nose to the grindstone and try to churn something out that looks good enough to pass as science. The whole day, I’m really thinking about going to trivia in the evening. Something about it just really appeals to me…always has I suppose. Its like being on a trimmed down version of jeopardy with people that aren’t quite as smart (gives me a real shot at winning) and furthermore the addition of alcohol (also gives me a real shot at winning…assuming the drink is in someone else’s hand). Of course, my overly competitive spirit kicks in mightily but unlike other things even a losing night was still a night spent with friends so it is never really all bad. Lastly, the questions give me a mental excuse to spend my time on things less worldly…I’m not watching football and drinking beer…I’m doing research for next week. Watching reruns of mash…there might be a question about trapper john this week and I need to be prepared. Of course they never have any questions about the genetic engineering of neutraceuticals or the oxidative elicitation of secondary metabolites (my research topics for those not paying attention) so I probably shouldn’t waste my time with those things Thursday – Tuesday…of course they have never had a question on blogging either, Patrick OUT!!!

X-Mass Time is Here Again

So, I guess its appropriate that with the election of the Obamessiah, that one of my usual classic rock stations is already playing Christmas music. This is totally unnecessary. Why on earth would we want to listen to this musical dribble before even thanksgiving has reared its turkey laden head. Unfortunately, the station is one of my car radio presets and so now as I’m switching through stations on the way to and from work I am continually accosted by the sounds of jingle bell rock. Don’t get me wrong, I liked that song…when I was 6. Now, I have heard it at the very least (in bits and pieces) no fewer than 5 times over the last week. Add in some Johnny mathis and a little “You’re a mean one…Mr. Grinch” and I’m about ready to pull out of all holiday celebrations in general. I don’t want to come across as a holiday miser who is bent on destroying a joyous time for everyone else but it just seems that we should give each season its due. I don’t understand why we should devote 2 months of music to Christmas, a full 1/6^th of the musical year. What if we had other holidays treated like this. How about 2 months of monster mash and giant purple people eater…or 2 months of lee greenwood and god bless the USA around every july 4^th. Actually I take that back, we already have that on most country stations for 12 months a year. But seriously, the bunny hop for two months in april doesn’t sound too appealing but we can get away with frosty the snowman until the cows come home. I want holiday equality. Much like my definitions for equality in society, it means that we can all be equally miserable…thus a moratorium on Christmas carols more than 2 weeks from said holiday is in order. Two weeks is sufficient to get ramped up into the holiday spirit and toasted for all the holiday parties where said songs will be played on a loop as if we couldn’t get enough of them already. Ba Humbug and a happy new year. Patrick OUT!!!

Election Day

So its finally election day in America. After almost 2 years of posturing, campaigning, fundraising, debating and ass kissing, it comes down to what is looking like a major blow-out. I voted this morning…actually I didn’t vote…or maybe I did. I didn’t vote for president. I really wanted to…I even feel a little guilty about not filling in a circle. I just could not in good conscience vote for any of them. I really have an extraordinary apathy towards the whole thing. I don’t believe that the world would end regardless of which one of them wins but I also don’t think that either of them is going to be particularly strong. I will criticize whoever is in office without mercy and because but now I can never honestly say… “don’t blame me I voted for the other one (not barack obama here)”. I was truly more interested in our ballot questions in Massachusetts particularly the state income tax (which I voted to keep…though it doesn’t really matter and I kind of wish it was gone but only if they promised not to raise taxes elsewhere) and the decriminalization of marijuana. That one seems to be pretty much common sense…what kind of a country puts someone in jail for getting a little high but calls it a domestic disturbance when a drunk man or woman beats their spouse. Alcohol and Marijuana are the same in my book, similar dangers to over-use and similar though limited benefits. The difference is that one is illegal and the other is advertised more than any other product (except maybe politicians). Its time the state take a hard look at itself and end the prohibition era teetotalers control  on our existence. And don’t give me that “gateway drug” stuff either. A study by the RAND corporation (no hippy bullshiters here) found no causal link or gateway phenomenon to link marijuana use with increased incidence in the use of heroin or cocaine. I’ve also heard that the 1 ounce limit is too high. Well that may be a lot for some people and maybe even enough to consider selling it but we need to have a law that applies to everyone and that one ounce might not get  Tommy Chong or Snoopp Dogg through a summer afternoon. Plus, think of the economic benefit to vending machine suppliers and 24hr convenience store owners…lets vote pot in for them. Patrick OUT!!!

Douche OFF!

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

-Patrick Out!!!

Present

Can't lose: Obama backs Rays, Phillies

 

So it seems Barack, once again, just can’t make up his mind. He has no endorsed both the Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays…both present in swing states. This is the sports equivalent of voting “present” rather than taking a stand on the issue. While this is clearly not as bad as Rudy Giuliani endorsing both the red sox and the Yankees…its right up there. I that politicians should not answer questions of sports support any further. They should reply to all queries with, “I’m too busy saving the world to watch sports…but I hear the Yankees suck (and for the first time in quite a number of years…this statement was both emotionally AND factually true)”. In stead, they take a wishy washy stance on team support to try and appeal to everyone…no good. In America, we have teams we love and teams we hate and there is no getting around that. As a New Englander, its my job to hate the Yankees, the lakers, the colts (and jets) and the canadiens…I think I do it well. On a local level, a politician should be the biggest sports fan around…it shows he/she’s folksy and down to earth. On a national level, a politician needs to be beyond that. They need to be beyond that entirely and either take a firm stance against a universally hated team or not say anything at all. For Obama, a good choice in this matter unfortunately would probably be to voice disgust for the patriots…a team/coach not very well liked in the rest of the country. I can hear Rush Limbaugh though, “Obama hates the patriots…un-American, terrorist loving, liberal whiner??? You decide!” I guess that might be a bad move. You can always go after peyton manning…who really likes that guy and his hyper over exposed ad man persona...playing for a team without a winning record with a younger brother who is quickly proving to be a better QB than the old guy. I will do my part and not “vote present” and say…I hate the RAYS!!! If I ever run for office this might come back to haunt me but I just think it’s the right thing to do. Patrick OUT!!!

 

Spoiled Rotten

So as I was driving home yesterday listening to the red sox get beaten like a rented mule…I was honestly thinking to myself, what if they don’t win the world series? What if the patriots don’t win the superbowl? What if the Celtics can’t repeat their championship? Then I remembered…oh yea, then we would be like sports fans in every other city that just hope for that once or twice in a lifetime occurrence where their cities team will win the championship in maybe ONE sport. How quickly I was able to forget about the 86 years (granted I only experienced 21 years) of red sox misery and Ruthian curses. Or the days when the patriots looked like the JV squad of a high school in Alaska…days when people were embarrassed to say they were going to Foxboro on a Sunday. Now, we have championship banners everywhere, pat’s fans pay the highest prices in the league to see their team and have sold out every game since 1994, the red sox have more than 470 consecutive sell-outs at home (streak started in 2003) more than any other team EVER. Even the Celtics, who were actually respectable when I was a kid managed to channel former glory and win a title. All that being said…I’m still a bit disappointed this year in how things are turning out, I guess making the play-offs just isn’t enough anymore. There’s always next year, Patrick OUT!!!

Dirty Politics

I know I said I was done with the campaign but it has once again reeled me back in. I’ll admit that I watched the last debate, of course I’ve already decided to vote for Bob Barr but that’s besides the point. I was hoping that there would be some glimmer of hope from either side…ya know, some idea that the country couldn’t do without. I was sadly disappointed, from Obama we get more of the same, no game changer…no finishing move…no nothing. From McCain, an announcement that his administration would direct the treasury to buy up bad mortgages and renegotiate (i.e replacing ARMs with fixed rates) at a net cost to John Q. Public. So let me get this straight…the “conservative” candidate wants to take more of my money to bail out people who got themselves into irresponsible mortgages? Right. I’ve pretty much given up on the economy at this point and just thank my stars that I wasn’t planning on retiring any time soon and don’t have any of my personal wealth tied up in home values. On an entirely different front, news that ACORN has been fraudulently registering voters. Apparently dirty politics extends beyond the big bad republican party to a left-wing get out the vote group. Listening to the radio someone commented that just because the registrations were fraudulent doesn’t mean that votes will be cast because dead people can’t come out and vote but since these same groups also oppose the usage of ID checks at polling stations…I could go vote as a dead person. Actually, in casting a vote for Bob Barr…I am voting as a dead person. What a downer that is. My favorite thing about ACORN is their public platform of supporting the “living-wage” increases and the applying for exemption in California from having to pay their own workers minimum wage. Apparently, if their employees made minimum wage then they wouldn’t be able to empathize with the poor people they serve. Right. So what do we learn from all this…ACORN employees break the law and are apparently really stupid to be working for this organization in the first place. Well, I’m off to go register my great grand-parents to vote…they may not have been citizens and they may not still be alive but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t vote Barr in 2008 if they could…let their voices be heard. Si se puede! Si se puede! Patrick OUT!!!

Apocalypto

No, not a movie review. Something far worse than a Mel Gibson production is on tap for the US. The mortgage and banking crisis has come upon us and the world is at stake. The questions become…what can be done and who is to blame. I suppose, maybe who is to blame is a bit vindictive on my part rather the question is how can we avoid this happening in the future. So we will address that first…in my opinion (as an amateur economist with no formal training whatsoever…except for one semester of college), the problem stems back to a fundamental shift in the secondary mortgage market way back in 1999 when the Clinton administration in its infinite wisdom pushed fannie mae and Freddie mac to take on more of the sub-prime mortgage market to make for more affordable housing for low-income families. Now don’t get me wrong…as someone of suitably low-income, I have at least a basic understanding of paying bills and wanting things that you can’t afford. I would love to own a home…but I know that I can’t afford that right now. Unfortunately, the democrats in this country don’t see the logic of capitalism in the sub-prime market. The fundamental idea is that these people were getting high interest rates to compensate for the highly increased risk that they would default on their loans and the underlying financial instrument would become drastically undervalued. The value being lost not only in the process of foreclosure (very costly for banks, loss of payments and interest, insurance etc.) but also in the absolute loss of value that occurs when a property is foreclosed upon (vandalism, surrounding property value decline, and increased crime). So we had a system where banks, rightly decided it was best to avoid giving loans to people who could likely not pay them back. But the government stepped in with a social engineering approach and said, we need to give money to people and allow for banks to make bad investments with implicit assurance that the government will bail them out. Well, as the Rev. Jeremiah Wright said…”America’s chickens are coming home to roost.” Now, I don’t mean to put this squarely on the shoulders of the Clinton administration, because on the other side of things are greedy investors who look only to profits and corporate success in the short term. Thus we have a perfect storm of interests coming together in a massive collision. They turned wall street into the LHC of finance. We have on the left, social engineering without mind for reality, and on the right short sighted greed also without mind for reality. Push them together and wait 10 years and we get a massive explosion of long standing financial powerhouses. Now the super sensitive detectors, (i.e. the public) have become aware of the fragile underlying particles…sub-prime mortgages. Unfortunately, unlike the elusive Higgs-Boson this will be staring us in the face for quite some time. With all these people worried about a black hole emerging from CERN, after watching the aftermath of this collision I now wonder if maybe they’re right. Patrick OUT!!!

 

NY Time 2003

NY TIMES 1999

LHC/CERN

Rev. Wright

A Long Couple Days

So it has come to pass after three years of work on a variety of topics that my thesis might not bear the fruit that we thought it would. This of course has been on my mind for some time and as such, I needed a back-up of sorts. In this line of thought, I endeavored to find a topic that was both useful and suitably interesting to warrant more of my time. Without getting into too much science, approximately 11-12 months ago I found a topic and approached my supervisors only to be told to put it on hold and work on my own things. Of course this was disappointing and I kept on with my old work all the while reminding them of the work that could be done. Just recently, the work that I had proposed the year prior was actually completed…by another group…who is publishing their work. Wouldn’t ya know…their results were just as I predicted they might be. Ugh, so the weekend was spent mostly being disappointed with the Patriots and racking my brain for scientific ideas that might constitute a suitable plan B that would allow me to earn a PhD without another 4 years of work thrown in on top. A meeting this morning did a little to get me on the right track but I still find myself frustrated at being scooped on account of the ineptitude of those above me. I suppose its par for the course sometimes but its really just not right. All in all, a rough couple of days over the past week that have truly tried my patience. Of course now, I have a lot of work to do in my attempt to right the good ship PhD. What I really need now is a muffin top. Mmmmm Patrick OUT!!!

Free Food

So for all the shit that we put up with in the life limbo we call grad school...we certainly do get a fair amount of free food. Granted its all left over food from department or company meetings but I'll take what I can get. Its not every job in the world where you get to feel brilliant on occasion and work with equipment that costs more than some peoples homes and then you get to scrounge for food like a homeless person all in the same day. I am at a particular advantage in the scoring of free food. Our lab lays nicely neighboring the most often used conference room in the building and thus the opportunity for superior surveillance. Someone always knows when food is being brought in and how many people there are to eat it...thus we get a good lay of the land. Today was breakfast, a bagel and cream cheese and a few muffin tops. I grabbed a corn muffin top and was thoroughly impressed...for WPI food, this was pretty damn good. It got me thinking, if muffin tops are so good then we do we even bother with regular old muffins. For those of you not in with the pre-noon pastry patter, a muffin top is exactly as it sounds...its all the goodness of the carefully caramelized conspicuously crisp muffin top without that boring cake like bottom portion to ruin it all. The tend to be pretty wide and flat and very delicious. Truly they are a superior gastronomic goody. So back again to why we even bother with the regular muffins in the first place...the only thing I can think of is tradition and a whole lot of regular muffin pans lying around. Imagine the stock piles of aluminum muffin pans that would result if everyone discovered these little luxuries. People would be giving away used muffin pans like grandma's fruitcake at Christmas. Of course even a muffin top pan has a little bit of a base sticking out beneath the sumptuously sweet snack above...if only we could rid ourselves of that bit o' boringness. Imagine, a muffin pancake combination that was the shape of a pancake but baked like a muffin...does such a thing exist...i don't know. If it doesn't I've just invented it and this post serves as proof of my intellectual claim to it from here on out. Off to work on a recipe...or maybe just get another bagel before the vultures arrive. Patrick OUT!!!

Alliteration count: 13

So maybe its not all bad

So its been a while since I last posted. I'm sure you'll understand that I had to recover mentally from the loss of Tom Brady for the season. It was is if all my hopes for a redeeming season with a super bowl victory to top off a flawless season were dashed in an instant of torn tendon. Then...the unthinkable...trusting Matt Cassell with guiding the team. While I wasn't ready to throw in the towel on the season quite yet...Cassel certainly did not inspire much confidence. What little I saw of him during the preseason made me wonder why they bothered keeping him around. Looking back I still wonder what was going on there. Was that bill belichek screwing up or was it genius? I guess there is a part of me that wants to continue the idolization of the great football genius. Perhaps he was just trying out all the plays he wasn't sure would work...maybe he didn't want to give his secrets away during games that don't count...maybe he wanted to instill a sense of humilty in a team that won 18 games in a row last year. I don't know...maybe he just played too many bench players and they didn't try very hard. I guess I really don't care because now Mr. Cassell seems to be working out OK. I guess its hard to really suck when you've got the kind of supporting cast that he does...including for the first time since correy dillon left that we've had a real running game. Certainly the game seemed quite a bit more balanced this sunday than we have grown accustomed to watching the brady era. Its better though...I think that now games will be interesting to watch...we will need a more complete game. Everything is in play now and no singular football savior is going to come from behind with a masterfully orchestrated two minute drill. 2-0 isn't a bad way to start...i just hope that this is the real deal and that we aren't destined to return to preseason form under the young one's guidance. Patrick OUT!!!

Conventions I'm Through with You

Its official, I have had my fill of political conventions and the media circus that surrounds them. I guess you could say that my political love affair with the presidential election has now ended. I am removing its number from my cell phone, ending my Facebook friendship, and erasing its birthday from my calendar. Of course, I know that in a few months after all the commotion has died down and the vote gets closer that the 527s will woo me back and I will rekindle this relationship that has done me nothing but harm and sapped valuable productivity from my daily life. So for now, we are done. I can't take anymore of the incessant nagging for votes, the hate speech and the yelling. All the while, there is this sinking feeling that these political parties are cheating on me. Now I know, I haven't always been loyal either but I just dont feel special anymore. I want to be loved for who I am and not forced into the mold of a perfect republican or democrat, one demographic or another. I think we just need some time apart, maybe I will vote green or libertarian this go around. Ralph Nader might be my rebound relationship. I need a couple of one-night stands with the communist party or the "Guns and Dope" party. Something to get my mind off where this relationship has gone. I know its been a long road and I stuck it through with clinton and now bush but I'm not sure I can take anymore without a little more respect coming the other way. So to you 2008 election I say, "Its time to go our separate ways...

So I'll be gone 'til November
Said I'll be gone 'til November, I'll be gone 'til November
Yo, tell my girl, yo, I'll be gone 'til November
January, February, March, April, May
I see you cryin', but girl, I can't stay
I'll be gone 'til November, I'll be gone 'til November"

-Wyclef

Patrick OUT!!!

Palin-drama

So John McCain finally picked a running mate and I couldn't be happier. Why? Because of the sheer novelty and intrinsic comedic value that both candidates are supplying. Obama says, "We need change, no more old school politics" and then picks an old senate warhorse whose was elected to the senate when nixon was in office and obama was twelve. Then McCain who says, "Obama doesn't have enough experience to be president" goes ahead and picks the 2 year governor of Alaska whose only other experience was being mayor of a town of 6200 people. There are high school principals that hold more sway than that. Ummm...don't these two listen to themselves. I understand that its supposed to bring them votes, Barack was having trouble with white males and McCain is having trouble with women (well actually I guess not seeing as how he married that fox Cindy and her inherited millions). But all that not withstanding doesn't it at all mater that today was McCains 72nd birthday and that a VP pick for him is all that more important. If not because, Palin would be a "heart-beat away" from the presidency but also because if he wins he would almost certainly only serve one term which would make his VP the presumptive nominee next time around. Ummm...let me get this straight...career path...hockey mom, PTA member, small town mayor, small state governor, vice-president??? If that was reasonable then every cashier at wal-mart is only 4 years removed from executive VP in charge of cheap stuff. Let the craziness that will be the republican convention begin assuming they can let go of their guns and bibles long enough to organize themselves (Thanks Barack). Patrick OUT!!!

Bubba Speaks

So the CNC (the Clinton National Convention) has been underway now for 3 days with the biggest night of all tonight when we finally get to hear from barack. Up to now, we have had two nights of clintons and one night with Michelle. Michelle, I thought, gave a speech which was heavy on niceties and light on content. She came across as both affable, kind hearted, and also as a strong woman with a deep devotion to the dreams of her husband. This of course was in stark contract to my own image of her as a gun toting terrorist as depicted on the cover of the new yorker some weeks back...sometimes I can just be so impressionable as a member of the "unwashed masses". Next of course was Hillary who valiantly decided to put party before self and proclaim support for Obama both in her speech and also in putting forward the motion to proclaim Obama the nominee without vote. I know that people will see this as a mighty act of political heroism and sacrifice. Personally, I see it a bit differently. Hillary fought hard to gain the nomination (and in my opinion should have gotten the nomination) and now has acquiesced to the will of her party. She clearly still believes that she would have been better for the country than her recently crowned senate colleague. This being understood, she should have stood up for that ideal and made her voice heard. Make sure the country knew and her party knew that when Barack's lack of experience, nebulous social directives, and naïveté fueled foreign policy come back to bite us all in the ass...we might just wonder what Hillary would have done. In stead, she plays the good party loyalist and does what's expected...moving ever more in lockstep. Ugh! That being said...she had a couple of good lines in her speech that allowed her to lighten up her normally harsh and robotic tone. "Sisterhood of the traveling pant suits"...absolutely classic self-aware and self-deprecating humor. Bill followed last night with a speech of his own about "foreign policy." He, of course, got a long standing ovation for his work as president. Why though, would they choose him to speak on foreign policy? If his presidency was good for anything it was his domestic policy that I will freely admit helped bring about a wide degree of prosperity. His foreign policy on the other hand...ignored: the world trade center bombings, embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya, the attack on the USS Cole, and lastly the Khobar towers bombing...all of which were warning signs of what was the come eventually in the form of 4 hijacked airliners on one fateful September morning just a few years later. Furthermore, he was a strong believer in the presence of weapons of mass destruction inside Iraq...referencing on more than one occasion nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons programs in connection with saddam husssein. Barack was against the war in the first place and has been a harsh critic of its motivations (mainly the former which were never found...except for the chemical weapons and the already found biological weapons materials in the form of anthrax, botulism toxin, and small pox...buts thats something for another post). Back to Clinton, who also twiddled his thumbs waiting for UN and NATO approval while 12,000 Albanians were killed and 800,000 forced to flee their homes due to a system of ethnic cleansing instituted by Slobodan Milosevic. In stead, we signed accords and watched as our "diplomatic approach" went up in the flames of thousands of Kosovo homes. But hey...at least the Europeans liked him. I guess that's why they picked Bubba to speak. Just like Barack...his policy is short sighted and reliant on multi-lateralism to a fault...I can't wait. Tonight we get to see the big O himself. Standing amidst faux-greek columns in a massive stadium. Again, this makes perfect sense...the republicans attack him for being a rock-star like, vacuous celebrity talking head. The democrats response...bring in rock stars, move it to a stadium, and erect and elaborate show around one man...good move. Patrick OUT!!!

Let the Conventions Begin

So the olympics are over. USA Basketball "redeemed" themselves well enough and will be taking home another gold medal this year, though not without a valiant effort on the part of the spanish. Now of course, we can return to the world of nightly political news and roundtable discussions of political rhetoric instead of Michael Phelps' records. Of course, coming up this week is the Democratic National Convention in Denver. I have been wondering what Obama and Biden might have new to say at this point in the race. I am also interested to see what becomes of all the hillary clinton supporters (a sizable portion of whom still say they will not vote for Obama). If I were Obama, my first order of business would be to thank my supporters (i.e. the media). Without them, he would be just another first term US senator with limited governmental experience and a slew of questionable acquintences. I also wonder if Obama's brother is going to make it there this year. I know some news groups found him living in a hut in kenya. Apparently he is a semi-militant muslim extremist, nicknamed Roy. Well one things for sure...i'm not trusting anyone named Roy any more. I'll add that to my list of terrorist names like Osama and Hussein. I could be wrong but I think that this relationship could be even worse than Clinton's(Bill this time) cocaine dealing half-brother, Roger. Come to think of it, I guess I'll add that to my list of bad seed names. Osamas, Husseins, Roys and Rogers of the world...I've got my eye on you. Anyways, something tell me that neither Roger or Roy were invited to this years convention...though I could be wrong and I hope I am because isn't family what the DNC is all about in the first place. Who would let politics get in the way of that? I'm also looking forward to hearing senatory biden speak so we can play the first round of my new internet game show, "Where have I heard this speech before?" The game is simple really, contestents will try to nail down the true source of Biden's speech from here on out. Options will include: talking points memos, meet the press appearances, previous speechs, and last but clearly not least...someone else's speech. I'm thinking about having life lines to the effect of Wikipedia and Google searches, and perhaps the proceedings from the british parliament. Bonus points for catching biden actively plagiarising. Of course in a week, we'll have our dose of the republicans which will likely inspire similar ire for your reading pleasure. Patrick OUT!!!

Roger Clinton

Roy Obama

Biden Plagiarism

Something light

So with all the political upheavel goings on in regard to the presidential election, russian invasion forces, and energy costs being turned upside down I am going to summarilly disregard these things...even put aside my scathing attacks on Joe Biden who I destest more than any other senator and talk about something a bit lighter. We are nearing the end of week two at the olympics and the redeem team has been in top form. They looked a little weaker in their last game against argentina (which I couldn't watch live but saw later in the day). Still though, they win by close to 20 points and showed strength down the stretch with key performances by bench players. They advance tonight to the gold medal game against spain who looked like amateurs against them the last time they met. Spain led by Juan Carlor Navarro, and Pau Gassol has some seasoned NBA players and some top tier European talent but they show no signs of being able to stack up against the "redeem team." On a side note, I hate that name. I know its a play off of the 1992 "Dream team." But still, we don't need redeeming. We had a little slide 4 years ago because USA basketball forgot that playing defense helps in winning games and that team work is not just 5 guys on the court at once. Even still, the United States has one 12 gold medals in 15 attempts with an additional silver and 2 bronze medals. They boycotted the 1980 olympics so we didn't medal there but they have gotten a medal in every olympics they participated in. The US is to basketball what the Chinese are to Table Tennis. One loss, does not make us ripe for redemption. I guess what it does do is make the US realize that they should take more seriously the high expectations that we have here for them to be the best in the world. Its a shame that we don't take the international game more seriously. I understand that there are big NBA contracts out there that get in the way of all that but every so often we need to remind the world that there is no need for redemption here. More so that every win over the US in a major competition should be considered an upset victory. So tomorrow morning (2:00 am for those interested) I hope that we utterly destroy the spanish national team and put to rest the naysayers who say that the US can't play the international game. Furthermore, I think that the US viewing public should make just as big a deal about the FIBA world championships as we do about the Olympics and make sure that we send our best every four years there too so we never have to hear about the redeem team again. As a side note, Spain is the defending FIBA world champion(we came in third, no Kobe, Kidd, Boozer,Prince, or Redd)...time to make them look silly. Patrick OUT!!!

Sweet Gig

"From the time Barack Obama was sworn in as a United States Senator, to the time he announced he was forming a Presidential exploratory committee, he logged 143 days of experience in the Senate. That's how many days the Senate was actually in session and working. After 143 days of work experience, Obama believed he was ready to be Commander In Chief, Leader of the Free World, and fill the shoes of Abraham Lincoln, FDR, JFK and Ronald Reagan. 143 DAYS. I keep leftovers in my refrigerator longer than that."

-Cindy McCain

Well dear Cindy has a point here. But lets not also forget that this took place over the course of just more than 2 years. That comes out to just more than 1 day in session/ week. Wow! How do they do it. I mean seriously, between raking in kickbacks and ripping off the taxpayer with "campaign trips" I'm surpried they have time for that 1 day/ week. I know that some of you are saying, "Oh patrick don't be so hard on them...they have committee meetings to go to that counts for something." If you said that to yourself turn on C-span and watch a committee meeting. Actually, watch anything on C-span. More often than not you will see either an empty room or a media circus that is supposed to be a committee meeting. Otherwise, you will see an empty floor of thje house with one person speaking. For some reason, every time I turn on C-SPAN (it happens more than you might think) its Rep. Dennis Kucinich speaking. The guy may be a nutball but he certainly does put the time in to get his voice hear by...NO ONE. Furthermore if you think that our erudite representatives and senators are actually spending their time drafting legislation, researching the facts, or anything else that might benefit the country then you have never met a "congressional aide." These are the workhorses of congress running all around trying to get signatures and draft important legislation while their "do-nothing" bosses live the high life. Now, our congress has set a new record for the lowest amount of legislation passed in the last 20 years. To put that into historical perspective, the so called "do nothing" 80th congress that Truman railed about worked almost 100 days more than our current congress. Its a sad thing to know that we put our faith in such a small group of people who claim to be devoted to public service who can do so little and have little more concern than being re-elected and scoring political points.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121910897089651793.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

So what do I advise we do about all this. Well when election day rolls around...vote for the new guy. "When in doubt vote incumbents out." I was channeling Johnny Cochran right there. Patrick OUT!!!

ABBA?!?!?!?!

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/08/vote_for_change_or_er_for_the.html

So the UK's guardian newspaper (perhaps my favorite overseas source for news and a touch of gossip) recently asked the US presidential candidates to list their top 10 favorite songs. Normally, I would glance at such a list and then move on from the silly concept having gained nothing. BUT... McCain listed ABBA amongst his favorite song artists...TWICE! Thats a full on 20%! If you let me list my 500 favorite songs, ABBA wouldn't make the cut. Even when I'm all alone with nobody watching me, Dancing Queen still sucks. Obama might have reverened wright and (terrorist) fist bumps but now McCain has his own sweedish pop Willie Horton which seriously calls into question his judgement. I really hope that McCain pulls a Sister Souljah moment on ABBA and that he takes time at the convention to "denounce and repudiate" them. I just can't wrap my head around how a millitary man who spent years in a hanoi prison being tortured and beaten by the north vietnamese can come back and list Dancing Queen as his #1 song. I mean seriously, I would take "The Chicken Dance" over this. I think it might also be a sign that he has officially given up on the "black vote" and apparently the "not deaf vote" as well. For comparison...my top 10 favorites (as I can think of them this moment) are below

1. Cocaine - Eric Clapton / J.J. Cale
2. Caroline in My Mind- James Taylor
3. Got my Mojo Working - Muddy Waters
4. The Weight - Grateful Dead (and many others)
5. Fools' Moon - Government Mule
6. Georgia on my Mind- Ray Charles
7. Aint No Sunshine- Bill Withers (Buddy Guy Cover)
8. Woodstock - Crosby Stills Nash and Young
9. At Last - Etta James
10a. House of the Rising Sun - The Animals (and many others)
10b.Amazing Grace - Blind Boys of Alabama

The tenth spot is shared because they share the same melody and so I can't really pick one over the other. Also I realize that the list includes no classical offerings. Perhaps I will make another list in the future of my classical and operatic faves for when the mood is right. Patrick OUT!!!

Diatribe and Dribble

So the conservatives (read: evangelicals) in this country are all crazy about this religion forum that McCain and Obama participated in over the weekend. I watched most of it and was largely unimpressed by either one. Actually, I wasn't just unimpressed by the candidates I was surprised that this pseudo political dribble even made it on air. Supposedly it was going to be a milestone in the campaign were both candidates try to sway the religious vote to their side. Obama went first with the pastor asking series of questions in particular subject areas interspersed with light hearted comments after the candidates answers. He really should have just shut up and let the candidates answer. It was like he was talking to a child trying to work their way through a math problem..."good job their little guy, you're almost there...don't give up." Either that or he was letting his congregation know when an answer had met his approval so they knew what to think without having to specifically decide for themselves. Obama was also asked to define what "rich" was. He said anyone making more than $250,000 per annum. Seems reasonable to me but what about his repealing tax cuts for the rich...is that only people who make more than that level. Or is he repealing tax cuts for the middle class the way his plan would suggest? Hmmm....a contradiction? He also quoted bible verse which beyond my usual aversion to such things from political candidates made me throw up in my mouth a little bit. I know why he was doing it but there is only so much pandering I can take in one sitting. Unfortunately, Mr. McCain is also skilled in such things and he was up next. He was also pretty dull and less than inspiring, though I could have guessed that was coming. He made a special point of mentioning his 25+ year pro-life record and that his would be a "pro-life presidency". Ummm...OK. While I disagree with that particular stance for more than a few reasons I can perfectly understand why it is so very important to other people with their own particular world views. But I started to wonder...why is it that the media always talks about the democratic party taking the black vote for granted and they don't talk about the republicans doing the same thing for the evangelicals. Instead, the evangelicals are the party "base." Why is it that the minority vote in this country isn't also the democratic party "base." Or even the notion that republicans totally pander to the evangelicals in this country and make it a one issue contest over abortion. I know its a big issue to a lot of very prominent and very religious people but surely they must also care about other things beyond abortion and gun rights. I was thinking about adding in the hastening of rapture through the rebuilding of the temple but I'm still not sure I believe that as a motive for the christian right. Besides the point, what it comes down to is that both political parties have sunken to the lowest common denominator and no longer try to persuade the middle of the road "swing votes" instead they try to "get out the vote." That is, they want to energize the people who already agree with them (because its easier than thinking) to get out there and just vote. How I long for a political debate in this country where parties and candidates spar over the issues with data and dialog rather than diatribe and dribble. I wish that november was next month so I could get my vote out of the way and then begin to recover from the depression that will inevitable accompany it. Patrick OUT!!!

Olympic Fever

I LOVE THE OLYMPICS. Just had to get that out there. I mean seriously, perhaps the best invention ever. Perhaps only following democracy and modern rational thought...hmmm, a greek connection. Wow, I should have been an ancient greek...i bet thats what I would have gotten on my aptitude test in high school (if we had to take those things). I wouldn't want to be a modern greek though...at least not today, the US destroyed their basketball hopes in a mere 40 minutes. Back to the olympics, I was trying to put together why I like them so much. I think its because way deep down I am an overly proud american supremacist that really believes that we have something special here not easily found in the rest of the world. Of course, the olympics and the ubiquitous medal tables only serve to confirm that notion. Of course, my Americo-supremicist ideologies are not at all based on athletic prowess but sometimes its nice to just kick ass and take names. For all the shit we get from the rest of the world, every four years we can take a few weeks to shove it back down their throats with an F-U from the U-S-A. Ok, maybe that goes a little far but after watching the Men's 4x100 freestyle relay and their outstanding performance against the french...I have never been more proud of the US athletics. The novelty of having the french team say they were going to destroy the US was just beyond words. It was like they were playing into the worst french stereotypes meanwhile, the americans come from behind to snatch away victory in spectacular fashion. It was like watching a pro-US movie on the big screen but it was real. I mean this was the "Independence Day" of olympic sports and Michael Phelps was Will Smith, but in this one...the French couldn't blow up the white house. Gymnastics is another story of course, the US men were pretty much out of gold medal contention from the start...the women were a different story. After watching some of the competition it was clear that the US-CHINA battle was going to be tough. At the same time, it seemed that the two teams were getting along really well on the side lines. I wondered what they did in their off time. I bet the US team was listening to music, watching movies, just relaxing. The chinese team...maybe getting their training wheels off their bikes. Taking their baby teeth and hiding it under their pillow at night, or maybe being read a bed time story by the coach. Hmmm, 16 years old? Each one or combined? I guess it doesn't matter now, Silver medals are nothing to be scoffed at and I guess we'll never know the truth but it certainly seemed a little strange. Tonight, Phelps goes for #5...should be good. Patrick OUT!!!

Paris for President

www.funnyordie.com<http://www.funnyordie.com>

You should all check out the link above and look for the paris hilton campaign video. Actually, its a response to, "that white haired dude" (John McCain) who used paris hilton in one of his ads against Barack Obama. All in all, I would say that this was the most effective satire of the campaign yet. Its a shame that it took Paris hilton to top the likes of letterman, leno, colbert, stewart, and even THE NEW YORKER. In brief, Paris declares her candidacy and threatens to "Paint the white house pink" if she is elected. She also gives an outline of a soundly reasoned energy policy...no, I'm not kidding. Signing off with, "see you at the debates bitches." If I were in charge that would be how all presidential candidates signed off from political ads. Of course, the other sad thing is that if she were to go to the debates she would already be doing better than some political candidates. Namely Obama, who, by and large, refuses to take questions from audiences whenever possible. This is in stark contrast to McCains townhall meetings where hours go by until all questions are exhausted. I wonder if the obama campaign is worried about the potential of dirtying the image of powerful public speaker. Apparently, Paris Hilton isn't worried about such things...OK, we all know that Paris really doesn't care what any of the "poor (making under 500,000/year)" people think. If she did, then she might be more like Obama and keep her mouth shut. Of course, then we might not have ever had the video above. With that, Paris for President '08. I figure if I'm going to throw my vote away in a state that doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of electing a politician I believe in...I might as well throw it as far away as possible. Patrick OUT!!!

Back

So after more than two months, 16 flights, more miles than I can count and having slept in 6 different cities. I am finally home, more or less for good. The flight back from Memphis was thankfully uneventful and I was just so pleased to be back at home for what should be a good long time. I suppose I don't mind the travel so much...though airplanes and security lines can be rather tedious, its more the feeling of always being in transit or just slightly out of place. Never really established in that particular locale and knowing that it could be better elsewhere. Of course all the places I visited (save a few) would be great places to live its just that I wasn't living there I was only visiting and of course that comes with some problems of its own. But now, solid ground beneath me for some time, I feel even more appreciative of the place I am and where I came from. I'm not going to get all AMERICA is GREAT on you all because lots of the places I visited were in the US and I wouldn't want to live there either. I guess it just speaks to the fact that we are all very much a product of the place we grew up and that may be hard to change. It may be different if you live elsewhere (i.e you make your home someplace else) but I'm not really at that point yet and so i can't really say. It may also just be me or a product of the sheer amount of moving around I've done over the past 9 weeks...but of course I have no other frame of reference than my own. For now, this is the only place I want to be and if I never step foot in logan airport again...I wouldn't shed a tear. Patrick OUT!!!

Obamessiah

So I saw this article today and I was kind of disappointed because this joker took my idea for a blog post. You can read it for yourself and I will try and not do too much recap

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/gerard_baker/article4392846.ece

So, I'm writing a book..."Obama Goes to Europe!" Think fievels american tail in reverse and with throngs of germans in the streets. It is really a bit silly...200,000 germans came out to see our presidential candidate. Or let me put it this way...200,000 germans came out to see the junior senator from the state of illinois. Do either of those make sense??? Furthermore, besides the photo-op...why did he go? THESE PEOPLE CAN"T VOTE. Furthermore, while Obama may already envision himself as President...he will never be president of the world (thats what Bill Clinton wants...remember his "run" for secretary general). His speech was pretty much devoid of any real content and sort of sounded like a self-parody. It was so over the top with optimism and unity, I almost threw up in my mouth watching it last night on C-Span. Really, there was nothing controversial about it...that is fundamentally the problem...the only things worth discussing are those in which opinions differ. So, are we to vote for obama because Europeans like him? Are we to suppose that Europeans really do know whats best for us and want that? That they will be able to act entirely devoid of self-interest? When a country elects a president they should do so entirely in their own self-interest (not necessarily on an individual level but on a national level), and yet our candidates campaign outside our borders. Again...WHY? It seems to me that the risk he runs is the media catching up to the fact that this was his FIRST visit to europe as an elected official. So, we have John McCain who has been multiple times to Europe and spends time in the good ol' US of A thinking about our issues and apparently eating german sausage with lindsay graham (seriously, thats where he was yesterday).The final nail in the coffin was watching McNeil Lehrer News Hour on PBS. They wanted a European perspective on Obamania. The commentators in both France and Germany both essentially said that Obama was a symbol that it was ok to believe in the american dream again. Ummm...why did they need Obama for that. Nothing says american dream like being abandoned by your father, raised in foreign countries and becoming a corporate lawyer. I think not. The american dream is in the family that struggles for years to own their own home and eventually succeeds because the country allows it. The american dream is in China town where imigrants form a pocket of another country while at the same time being american in every sense of the word. The american dream is the huddled masses, and the suburban family not the lawyers and CEOS and certainly not the government...those things are all working very hard against the american dream...republicans and democrats both do it. The only difference is that one knows their doing it and the other has convinced itself its not. But who am I to tell the French anything of that. Do the french have a dream...is it the disenfranchisement and exploitation of foreigners pushing them to the point of riots and violence in the capitals streets. I'm glad they have something to believe in here in the US, because they aren't going to find it within their own borders. Patrick OUT!!!

So I made fried chicken last night which was pretty good. Only my second attempt and I think it came out OK. Chicken was moist and done all the way though and the crust was crispy and not too heavy despite frying in Crisco (I think my ateries are screaming today). I also butchered my own chicken (I butchered it here...not to be confused with slaughtering it...not quite southern enough for that) which made the meal cheap as all hell. Unfortunately, when I was thinking about making it I mentioned it to Pam who said, "Oh, I've got a lot of spices at the house you could use if you want them." So I didn't buy anything extra at the store which is good because they are expensive. I'm not sure what Pam makes all the time but her spices were litterally, Salt (a good start), cloves (both ground and whole), cardamon, ginger, all spice, and chili powder. THATS IT. If you were going to keep 6 spices in a cabinet...would cardamon make your list, and seriously, how often could you possibly use cloves? Wouldn't PEPPER be a good start? Maybe even paprika? Garlic Powder? Basil, Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary???? Of course, none of those things showed up in the cabinet. Ugh, it came out ok despite the complete lack of spices. Pam also tried to give me instructions on cooking and her little hints and tips that I quickly discounted because she doesn't know what she's talking about. After all was said and done she tried a piece (which I truthfully didn't want to spare) and said it was quite good..."of course", I thought. She then suggested that I could work for the colonel...I'm not sure if thats a good thing or not to hear from your boss...is it a harbinger of an upcoming termination??? Probably not...but still. She did make some corn and an avocado and cucumber salad which were both OK...actually the corn was really good locally grown and very sweet. The salad on the other hand could have been so fresh and light except that she drowned an already greasy avocado in about 20x too much oil and vinegar dressing. The best part, is that the house still (as of this morning) smelled like fried chicken. I was tempted to eat some for breakfast but decided against it and had a much more health responsible granola bar and yogurt instead. I'm hoping the oats and nuts will expunge some of the grease that is surely coating my entire interior right now. Delicious though, I wouldn't have my heart attack any other way. Patrick OUT!!!