Vote For Andy!

Hey everyone, my blog friend Andy Nulman has a manifesto proposal over at ChangeThis, and he needs your vote. It looks like a pretty cool manifesto idea (it's based on his upcoming book), so surf on over there and give him a click so he gets the invitation to write the thing.

You might recall I did an early version of The Simplicity Cycle for ChangeThis in April 2006. I wasn't thinking about doing it as a book at that time, so I sort of missed the opportunity to use the manifesto to plug my book. Andy is doing it the right way.

So, please give him a vote, if you're so inclined.

Truth In Advertising?

I seem to be surrounded by humor these days. First the wet Out of Order sign, now this. There I was, parked at a stoplight, when this big van pulls up alongside me, bearing the company logo you see above. 

Dare to dream, fella's...

I Got The Power!

Thanks to the tail end of Hurricane Ike, we just wrapped up 48 hours with no electricity - whew, what a relief to have lights on again!

And as exhausting, frustrating and uncomfortable as it was, I have to say it was actually a positive experience overall. Sure, once the power went out, a large number of household chores went from easy to virtually impossible (laundry, anyone?). But, we got to spend some time with our neighbor He has a generator and let us plug in our fridge, and we have a grill so we cooked burgers and had dinner together. That was really fun. And I think we all developed a whole new appreciation for things like warm showers and overhead lights (not to mention email). For about an hour after my first shower in 2 days, I kept thinking "Wow, I feel clean. How nice that is."

We lost several large limbs from a couple trees and spent a good chunk of a day sawing & hauling (thus the "exhausting" part), but we actually got off pretty easy. No damage to the house, minimal food loss (thanks to the neighbor), and no water shortages. Plus, the weather was a friendly 60-65 for most of the time. And a couple kids with a pickup truck and a trailer came by and offered to haul away the tree limbs the same day. Not bad!

(and if you're wondering how I managed to do the previous days' blog posts... I cheated and had them all set up to post at 7am each day...)

Politics Part 3: Energy

This one is actually pretty easy for me - I think I agree with the Dem's on energy.

I am pretty sure that if we put our minds to it, we could figure out a sustainable way to produce enough energy for all our needs, without unduly harming the environment (either through drilling, spilling, digging, mining or pollution). And the issue for me isn't simply Global Warming - whether or not our air pollution makes the planet warmer, it's still can't be good to throw tons and tons of sulphur, CO2 and other chemicals into the air we breath. So yeah, without getting into the Global Warming debate, let me just say I'd like to see us pollute less than we do. 

And surely there's a way to produce energy that is less destructive than stripmining for coal.

Which brings me to nuclear energy. I've mentioned before that I think nuclear power is a bad idea, because it's an incomplete idea. We honestly don't have a good plan for effectively dealing with nuclear waste.

So I cringe when I hear "Drill Baby Drill" or proposals for more nuclear power plants. Really, let's just stop doing that stuff, and put some serious resources into solar, wind, geothermal, tidal and the like. My initial, limited forays into researching those topics seems to indicate there's a lot of potential still untapped, a lot of efficiencies to be had.

The question now is how important this issue is, compared to the others...

Really?

I was walking down a hallway and came across this water fountain. The sign clearly says "OUT OF ORDER," but the paper is soaked. How does that make sense? 

Anyway, the incongruity made me laugh, so naturally I whipped out my ever-present marvel of modern photography, my beloved fuzzy camera phone, to take this shot.

And no, I did not explain myself to the guy who walked past and laughed, because frankly I'm not sure if he was laughing at me or at the wet sign. Plus, I out ranked him.

Countdown To Race Day

This morning's 10 mile run went pretty well - my pace was good, despite the fact that it was 70 degrees and foggy (i.e. humid). I got tired right around the 7 mile mark... that's about the half-way point of a half-marathon, so it'll be interesting to see how much of a boost I get from the crowds on race day.

But I only have two training runs left before the big race. Hard to believe it's almost here!

Political Issues 2: Life and Death

I almost don't want to write this post, the whole "life" issue has become so insane, but it is an important issue and I trust my readers, so here I go...

I think life is sacred. I don't use the phrase "pro-life" to describe myself, because that means something completely different than what I'm talking about (and completely different than what the words "pro" and "life" themselves mean). But I will say that I am firmly in favor of living and allowing the people around me to also live. Maybe that makes me a Libertarian?

I think life is sacred, so yes, I think abortion should not be a legal option except to save the life of the mother. I'd love to see Roe -v- Wade overturned. But I also think the death penalty should not be a legal option, and I'd love to see 100% of the death penalty sentences commuted. And it may be a failure of imagination on my part, but I don't understand how anyone can oppose abortion and support the death penalty (or vice versa). There seems to be a consistency issue there.

Now, I understand the argument that if abortion were outlawed, women would risk their lives in illegal, "back-alley" procedures, so we're actually supporting their lives by keeping abortion legal. I also understand the argument that the death penalty deters crime, so we support life by killing prisoners. I just don't buy either of those arguments (tho I hardly have the space or time or inclination to attempt to refute either in this blog post)... and in both cases, I'd say society has a moral obligation to provide alternatives, care, support, education and assistance. Even for convicted murderers - not because they deserve it, but because it's better for society to behave that way. Let me go further - I think society has a moral obligation to disallow this kind of killing.

On the topic of life, I also think gun control laws should be rather stricter than they are, because guns really do kill people, despite what the NRA says, which lines up with the Democratic position. I'm not a pacifist - it is indeed sometimes necessary to fight. But I think war is, generally speaking, a really bad idea, however terribly necessary it is at times, which lines up with John McCain's expressed views. 

So, does that make me a Republican or a Democrat? Does either party offer a platform consistent with this view?

There's only so much I can cover in a single blog post - and obviously this is a huge issue. But hopefully I've expressed at least something meaningful about my opinions, at least at the macro level. And still, I'm not much closer to deciding how to vote...

Political Issues Part 1: National Defense

As advertised, here's the first in a (short) series of explorations on political issues. I'm hoping this will help me figure out who to vote for... but I realize it might end up just confusing things even more.

I think Teddy Roosevelt got it right when he appropriated the old saying "Speak softly and carry a big stick." I believe a strong military is a good deterrent against aggressors. I also think the best weapon is one that never has to be used (and I think Sun Tzu would agree). Roosevelt was criticized in his day for being overly bellicose - but it turns out, not only were there no American military guns fired in anger during his presidency, but he went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize. I miss Teddy. I'd totally vote for him.

Having said all that, I also think the DoD spends way too much money on technology development. In fact, that's one of the central points behind my current Master's Degree thesis. So I don't equate big budgets with military capabilities. We can be very strong - overwhelmingly strong - without spending so much money. Which party will be more open to the idea of spending less money on building weapons? 

I also think a strong military is only a deterrent against a certain type of aggressor. The past 7 years have shown our main opponents these days aren't particularly impressed or deterred by our tanks, bombers and battleships. So, there's that. Which candidate best understands the immediate & near-term threats? Who has a good guess on the mid-term threats? I contend nobody knows anything at all about long-term threats (and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise).

Ultimately, I suspect there are two ways to prevent hostilities (and that is the point, right?). One is to be so doggone strong that nobody dare attack. The other is to be so well loved and respected that nobody wants to. Of course, both situations are impossible, but we should probably get as close to both as possible. Which candidate will make America both strong and loved?

I wonder what the world will think if we elect a guy with a military background to be our president. What message does that send? Would that demonstrate a deterrent strength? Or a provocative aggression? Both? Similarly, if we elect Obama, will the world love us more? Or will they perceive a softening of our armor and resolve? And would that be good or bad?

Hmmm... this isn't really helping me yet, is it?

Politics & Issues

Hi, my name is Dan and I'm an undecided voter.

It's not because I'm apathetic or uninformed. I actually watched most of the coverage of both conventions. I think the only major speech I skipped was Biden's, 'cause I was just too doggone tired that night. I'm undecided because, rather than being a loyal party member, I tend to vote based on issues, and thus I agree (and disagree) with both parties on some points.

Right now, I haven't decided which side I agree with more, or which one I think will be best for the country as a whole. So, I figured I'd write about where I stand on various issues, and see if I can figure out which party is closest to my point of view.

So, in the coming days, I'll post some thoughts about things like defense, the economy, energy, education, etc (and other things that start with e). I'm sure Mark and Rhet will help point out things I overlook or misunderstand, and many of you will help clarify the candidates' various positions. Hopefully, by the time the dust settles I'll have an idea of which candidate should get my support.

It'll be an interesting experiment.