What Am I Doing?

Today I was sitting on my couch channel surfing, and one station had on Good Will Hunting. While watching it Will said something that I worry about when doing my job. It seems like sometimes I'm just given a job and I do it, but I never really know the impact of what's being done.

Will Hunting's response to the question: "Why not work for the NSA?"

Why shouldn't I work for the NSA? That's a tough one. But I'll take a shot. Say I'm working at the NSA, and somebody puts a code on my desk, something no one else can break. Maybe I take a shot at it and maybe I break it. And I'm real happy with myself, 'cuz I did my job well. But maybe that code was the location of some rebel army in North Africa or the Middle East, and once they have that location, they bomb the village where the rebels are hiding. Fifteen hundred people that I never met, never had no problem with, get killed. Now the politicians are saying, "Oh, send in the marines to secure the area", 'cuz they don't give a shit. It won't be their kid over there, getting shot. Just like it wasn't them when their number got called, 'cuz they were pulling a tour in the National Guard. It'll be some kid from Southie over there taking shrapnel in the ass. He comes back to find that the plant he used to work at got exported to the country he just got back from. And the guy who put the shrapnel in his ass got his old job, 'cuz he'll work for fifteen cents a day and no bathroom breaks. Meanwhile he realizes the only reason he was over there in the first place was so that we could install a government that would sell us oil at a good price. And of course the oil companies used the little skirmish over there to scare up domestic oil prices. A cute little ancillary benefit for them but it ain't helping my buddy at two-fifty a gallon. They're taking their sweet time bringing the oil back, of course, maybe even took the liberty of hiring an alcoholic skipper who likes to drink martinis and fuckin' play slalom with the icebergs, it ain't too long till he hits one, spills the oil and kills all the sea life in the North Atlantic. So now my buddy's out of work. He can't afford to drive, so he's walking to the fuckin' job interviews, which sucks because the shrapnel in his ass is giving him chronic hemorrhoids. And meanwhile he's starving 'cuz every time he tries to get a bite to eat the only blue plate special they're serving is North Atlantic scrod with Quaker State. So what did I think? I'm holding out for something better. I figure: fuck it, while I'm at it why not just shoot my buddy, take his job, give it to his sworn enemy, hike up gas prices, bomb a village, club a baby seal, hit the hash pipe and join the National Guard? I could be elected President.

Another thing I like about what he said is how it almost seems prophetic towards a lot of what is going on in the world right now. Keep in mind that this movie was made in 1997, so it preceded George W. Bush, predated the Gulf War II (or whatever this war will be officially called one day), and as of this coming summer he's got the gas prices almost dead on.

Aside:I also know I do a lot of good for people that are in other industries that help people. It's just sometimes I just try to fix things, and most of the time I don't know who I'm helping or why. I worry because if you break something down small enough then people will never see what they're doing as wrong.

Okay, on to lighter topics

MOVIES!
So I'm really excited about the movies coming out this summer (and Harry Potter 6 on July 16), so here are a couple of trailers to what I think will be my favorites:

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The greatest movie trailer ever! If you haven't read this book yet, you should. It's the most random piece of writing ever, I love Douglas Adams.

Kingdom of Heaven
Knights in shining armor, beautiful princesses, battling with 'S-words'... As a kid I always wished I could grow up in this period, felt displaced in today's world. Knights and castles rock!

Speaking of being a kid, my favorite books are about to become a series of movies! Keep your fun hat on, cause this December it's coming to theatres.
The Chronicles of Narnia

Quiz Extravaganza!

It took me all day at work and lots of changing tabs in my browser (so that I looked busy while at work) to bring you today's Quiz Extravaganza!

Your Linguistic Profile:

65% General American English

20% Dixie

15% Yankee

0% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Somebody with way too much time on their hands made this really cool Baby Name Wizard. Just enter in any name and it will tell you how popular that name is in any given year. Matthew just so happens to be the 3rd most popular name in the 80s, go me!





take the WHAT INTENTIONAL TORT ARE YOU test.

and go to mewing.net. because law school made laura do this.

Your Inner European is Irish!

Sprited and boisterous! You drink everyone under the table.

(While I might be able to, I wouldn't.)

Who's Your Inner European?

You Will Die at Age 82

82 Congratulations! You take good care of yourself. You're poised to live a long, healthy life.

What Age Will You Die?

You Are 23 Years Old

23 Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

Your Seduction Style: The Natural

You don't really try to seduce people... it just seems to happen. Fun loving and free spirited, you bring out the inner child in people. You are spontaneous, sincere, and unpretentious - a hard combo to find! People drop their guard around you, and find themselves falling fast.

What Is Your Seduction Style?

In 1981 (the year you were born)

Ronald Reagan becomes president of the US Minutes after Ronald Reagan becomes president, Iran releases 52 American hostages that had been held captive for 444 days President Reagan is shot in the chest by would be assassin John Hinkley Space shuttle Columbia, the world's first reusable spacecraft, is sent into space A suspended walkway in the Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel collapses, killing 113 A female former lover files a "palimony" suit against tennis star Billie Jean King President Reagan appoints Sandra Day O'Connor to be the first woman on the Supreme Court The Pac-Man video game is introduced in the US Alicia Keys, Elijah Wood, Kelly Rowland, Anna Kournikova, and Britney Spears are born Los Angeles Dodgers win the World Series Oakland Raiders win Superbowl XV New York Islanders win the Stanley Cup Raiders of the Lost Ark is the top grossing film "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes spends the most time at the top of the US charts MTV debuts on cable television, playing music videos 24 hours a day Gimme a Break premieres

What Happened the Year You Were Born?

Does Europe Hate Us?

I just got done watching the best piece of journalism that I think I've ever seen. Too often in the media all we get is an inundation of the headlines that have no meaning behind them. Michael Jackson, the price of gasoline, the latest health news, what the weather going to be like, what the latest diet fad is, a new study says this, a new study says that... The list just goes on and on, but the list is pointless (reminds me of Ecclesiastes).

The reason the headlines are pointless is because they are completely void of WHY anything happens. When was the last time a news channel really attempted to not just tell you what happened, but WHY it happened? Let's take gasoline as an example. I've heard a ton of headlines this week stating, "Gas is at a new all-time high!" Big deal, cause first of all, it's not. When you look at anything concerning money it should ALWAYS account for inflation. If you don't, then you're just lying to yourself. Once you figure that in, then you see that gas IS expensive, but in reality it's still almost a dollar cheaper than it was in 1981. But that doesn't fully explain WHY gas is more expensive. Why won't the news look at the WHYs. Just in case you are wondering, there is a large set of WHYs and here are a few.

Increased unity among OPEC nations allows them to set prices at will.

The US dollar has literally tanked because we cannot control our spending as a nation, as such people are less willing to loan us money. If the dollar was stable, then gas would cost (guess-timate) about 30% less, so say it's $2.10 now, if the dollar were stronger then it would be $1.47.

Environmental groups have prevented any new refineries from being built for decades. Even if we could get more fuel in, it would still have a bottleneck; therefore, prices would continue to remain high.

These are but a few of the WHYs, but why don't you hear about them? Because despite the increase in 'journalism' over the past two decades there is just superficial journalistic duplicity. Just think of how many idiot reporters are camped out in front of Michael Jackson's court building? All that's really needed is a small handful of reporters, but instead people are wasting energy and effort on something that's already being done better by somebody else. WHY is it that I still don’t know what ever really happened in Darfur or have any more information about how people in Indonesia are recovering after the tsunami?

All of this comes back to my yearning for journalists to tell me WHY things are happening. And today I was shocked at what I saw. Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas L. Friedman took an honest look at WHY Europeans seem to hate America. Some of his conclusions were pretty interesting.

The large Muslim population of Europe gets its news from worse sources than we do.

Europe hopes that the US doesn't win in Iraq so that they can prove they were right.

The EU has basically declared economic war on the US by establishing bans on US goods because they are not 'eco-friendly', even though such studies show no real conclusive proof of such claims.

That the EU has saved tons of money by not paying for defence because the US has provided security and allowed them to spend that money on social programs instead

How European values are much more family oriented than the US's views and how they view social welfare as a more positive thing than we do.

All of this comes down to the EU has extremely different views of what's important. He didn't really offer any answers, and frankly, there aren't any. But what was nice is Friedman really asked WHY. WHY people feel the way they do. WHY our economies are on a collision course with eachother. WHY Europeans fear our religious tendencies. WHY

It's sad that the viewing audiences typically don't even care about the principle reasons behind what is going on in the world around them. It's like saying you're a Christian and not knowing WHY Jesus had to die. Or looking at your life and not thinking about WHY you are getting up, WHY you are working, WHY you want to earn money for certain things, and WHY you consider other things to be of utmost importance to who you are.

Now my only question is, WHY is this the first program like this I've seen?

My New Toy

Any of you that know me know that I love driving. Probably one of my favorite things period. Well, this past week I finally got something I've been wanting for a long time. A new motorcycle!



When I got my last bike I knew that it'd be temporary. I think the comment that my best friends little brother said sums it up best, "He looks like a monkey humping a football." So yeah, the old bike was a little too small.

So how did I pick the new bike? Well, as any girl going out to get a prom dress can tell you, you gotta start with the shoes. In my case I bought a newer, quieter, non-facemask-flying-open-randomly-on-the-highway helmet (Shoei TZ-R) on Monday. That helmet just so happened to match this bike in the dealership perfectly. And it's all history from there.

Actually, for those wondering if I'm going to start working for Surprise by Design, I'm not. The thing is I've wanted this particular bike for a long time now because it's just the best all around bike for a guy my size. So I saw this bike, I knew they were trying to clear it out of the store, I wanted a new one anyways, and I now have a perfectly matching helmet. I decided I wanted the thing on last Tuesday, and after a lot of wheeling and dealing on Friday I made the local motorcycle dealer really sad about how much they earned and I got my new favorite toy.

So if you think I'm a little MIA lately, you're right. I'm probably out and about tearing up the roads on my new toy. My 2004 Honda Interceptor (VFR800). Man oh man, do I love the roads around Austin. I would also like to thank State Farm for insuring me for less than the $4000 per year that Progressive wanted, and I would like to thank Woods Fun Center for setting up quotas that made them want to make no profit on this bike.

Now all I have to do is get a matching jacket and gloves, maybe some pretty shoes... I should stop.

Lewd, Crude, and Mostly Rude

I don't know what it is about people that makes them think that being crude is funny. Seriously, I went to this place tonight with my Bible study group for "Fun Monday", and it was just ridiculous how lewd the owner of this place was. Basically we went to a place for sushi and karaoke and what ensued was just a guy on the mic that said anything disgusting that came to his mind, kept trying to grope anything female that came near him, and treated the guests like they were objects.

Saddest part was that some of them seemed to really enjoy being objectified. Frankly though, I just don't see why some people choose to be so rude. Can't you see that those people are individuals too, that they want to be able to walk to the restroom without having you smack their butt.

On the bright side, the sushi was good and the karaoke was awful as it should be.

Sick Reflections

Well, the reflections aren't sick; but, due to some sickness, I've had time for reflections. Not really anything deep, just a chance to peruse the old wanderings of my thoughts. As such this weekend I reread my journal from my EuroTrip and decided to pull a few excerpts from that journal (or 'Man-Diary').

Appendix 9: Things I will miss [from our trip]

Singing songs with Chris

Never knowing where I will be next

Building that people put time into

Meeting strangers on trains

Seeing something new around every corner

Latin Women

Hard Bread and creamy honey

Unique Gargoyles

My host families and Lippstadt friends

Attitudes towards alcohol

Smart Cars

People with ridiculous fashion statements

Eurohawks and Euromullets

Doner Kebab

Speaking German

Playing in Castles

Old People who are still LIVING

Ridiculous numbers of stairs

Gelato and Magnum ice cream

Staying in strangers' houses

Concerning the ties one feels towards their homeland
Why is it that peope feel so connected to the land [which] they were born in? There are very few people on the earth who would actually want to trade passports with somebody else. Is it the land itselfe? Possibly. Surely it's not the politics? Nobody is ever truly happy with the political decisions of their state. I want to say it's the people, but even that can't be true because we really can only know a small commune; therefore we do not have a bond with the entire country. Perhaps it is rather a never-fully-existent concept of what our country is? A group of people united around a common vision, despite different ideas [of how] to get there. It has to be beyond the tangible, we must love something in our hearts that we can never fully understand. That is how so many people can unite under one flag and share the same pride. Live the same dream.

Written after watching people show how proud they were of their team during the Olympic Games.


Life Goals

Work a Dude Ranch

Bungee Jump

Run a Marathon

Climb a +14k foot mountain

See the Pyramids at Giza

Make a Pilgrimage

Travel somewhere 500+ miles away by bike or hike

Omitted

Omitted

Drive on a race track

Fly

Lead a Bible Study

See every continent

Go bow hunting

Learn to surf

Speak more than 3 languages

Whitewater raft

...to be added to as new ideas arrive

Realization towards end of trip
I AM just a tourist. This whole life is but a trip that I'm taking. I'm not going to get home until this life is over. So I need to keep living my life with an open eye, desire to learn more about the locals I meet, and treat every place I am in as my mission field. Because I am only passing thru, this whole life is but one amazing vacation!

Today I saw the sun shining. The rain had just made everything sparkle. And I could smell bluebonnets and myrtle. It made me happy.

Farewell

Today I found out that an old climbing buddy of mine died in an avalanche. It's weird because he was a lover of outdoors and that's what ultimately led to his death. The funny thing is that out of all of us that used to go climbing I would say he was the most cautious of all, least likely to take a risk...and now, the only one to pass on because of the risks being stacked against him.

He was definitely a good guy. Sometimes a little quirky, but he had a great heart and yearned to be a better person and longed to become someone who more closely followed God with each day.

Who John was
Map of what happened
Some details
Even more details

State of Fear

Recently I read a book that produced a rather significant impact upon the way I think and upon the way that I accept what is handed to me and declared as truth. If you haven't read the book, then I suggest you start with this lecture by Michael Crichton to get an idea of the main issues mentioned in the book.

Essentially what happens during the book is Michael Crichton makes a rather weak plot to investigate what is a very important issue. The main focus of the book is a look at our current world and how there are many people preaching doomsday stuff about how the world is going to end unless we reduce our 'greenhouse gas' emissions. In fact, any kid could probably tell you that they have heard of global warming, but the truth of the matter is that this 'truth' we are told each day is suspect at its base.

A couple of points that he makes are really insightful. For example with the global warming thing, we all know (or think we know) that it's caused by CO2, and that the in a few hundred years unless we change things then the ice caps are going to melt and the Empire State Building will one day become Empire Island. But where does that knowledge come from? Well, it came from what we heard on TV. Well, where did that knowledge come from? It came from a report from the government (or somebody else's government). Well, what did the study actually say? And this is where the crux of everything lies. Because even though we claim to know what's going on, we really don't. Crichton points to many different references that show that the ice in Antarctica is actually thickening, that there has been relatively no shift in temperature if you look at data from the last 100+ years, and that there is a decent chance that even if global warming did occur it would help us by increasing crop yields and preventing the need for as much heating oil. The fact is that all of this information on future events is due to models that were created with a bias towards a particular persons ideas of what would happen and his or her own interpretations of the results. Such a system where that is allowed can never produce meaningful results. And frankly models that are unproven cannot be accepted to predict the future, period.

But the point of the book isn't to debunk global warming, that's only the outer crust of what he is getting at. The problem is deep. Our society is fed information without people checking facts. Scientists are producing literature that is filled with personal biases. And what I consider to be the key point Politicians, Media, and Lawyers are doing their best to maintain a State of Fear in society so that they can retain as much power as possible.

And in that last bit is what I find most interesting. Some interesting points are made regarding the use of emphatic words such as "disaster" and "catastrophe" have greatly increased since fall of the Berlin Wall. People are best maintained when they are in a state such that they feel like they need protection.

Politicians want to keep this state because it means citizens are more likely to relinquish the power that a Republic designates to them. Think of all the things that have happened recently, the Iraq War, Terrorism, even Gay Marraige.

Media needs to create a state of panic within society to boost its own aims. What makes people more likely to stay tuned into what they say? Something disastrous, something deadly important. The serial killer that you wouldn't spend nights worrying about if that thought wasn't placed there, the chance of El Nino destroying this year's food supply, killer bees, the list goes on... Frankly most of this stuff shouldn't matter. But we are consumed by our own need to fear something and to have somebody there to protect us.

Lawyers are the last in the chain of Fear Mongers. Hot Coffee, Tobacco, Fast Food. All of these are things that in themselves may not be the best things in the world, but they have been blown out of proportion so that a few people can keep getting more power and money. Lawyers make at least 30% profit on anything they touch, so if they can create a state of fear and make us think that we need to protect ourselves by punishing others then they can reap 3/10 of the profit, without fail. Tobacco is a personal pet peeve. While it is obviously bad, the suit opened wide the door to a barrage of frivolous suits brought on by a public that is increasingly fearful of things that it could protect itself from anyways.
________________________________________

The book proved to not just be an interesting book but an eye-opener to the world around me. What are the facts that I take for granted everyday? Does what I'm being told matters really matter at all? Should I maintain a State of Fear in my own life? The fact is that the things I really should fear are the things I would never expect, the things that will blindside me in the middle of an afternoon while I'm in the office, the things that will slam into the side of the WTC.

Additionally I decided to do a little research about this book and see if Crichton was giving me the facts straight. And from what I can tell he did. Granted he too had some bias, but overall the book makes some excellent points about the world around us in a plot that keeps one entertained such as to help us understand what is really going on. Definitely recommend the work. Skim the first half, but pay attention to the end because there are some very good points that he makes.

Bottom Line
Regardless of what you are doing do not blindly accept what you are told day in and day out to be the truth. Research. Learn. Think. Be humble enough to admit that if something goes against what you expected that you could be wrong.
_____________________________________

Fact Check
What others say about the information in State of Fear.
To try to make sure you have plenty of your own information, check out the following relevant links. You will probably gather that the topic of environmentalism is very heated and passion is often the driving force behind both sides. I just wish we could accept an honest dialog from both sides.

Scientist's Review of State of Fear
Not as Glowing Review

The Petition Project means to show that there are a large number of scientists who disagree with the findings of environmentalists.
Opposing View

Is there an active campaign to smear those against mainstream?
Who is this guy?

Concept that environmentalists trying to "save people" is actually killing more
Greenpeace co-founder Patrick Moore says “the environmental movement has lost its objectivity, morality and humanity.”

Other things to consider:
If asbestos had been used the World Trade Center might not have fallen. Being enviro-friendly may have actually killed thousands
And it's counter argument
________________________________________

Excerpts
"Don't you understand? False fears are a plague, a modern plague!"
~Professor Norman Hoffman (p. 448)

"Social control is best managed through fear."
~Professor Norman Hoffman (p. 454)

"Once again, there can be no action without harm."
~John Kenner explaining how banning DDT has killed millions (p. 488)

If you don't feel like getting the book, then I beg of you to at least go to the bookstore and read pages 445-460.

What a truly awesome weekend!

Each of these events is a story in itself, but I have to get all of this out:

1. Bought my first pair of big kid cowboy boots
2. Got my 2nd belt in Karate
3. Went to an Aggie Baseball game
4. Ate at Freebirds
5. Saved a deer's life by getting it unstuck from a tree
6. Got 2nd place for guys 20-24 in my 1st 5k run
7. Got to see my sister Sharon for the first time in 2 years
8. Cleaned the apartment a bit
9. Got to talk to mis padres
10. Reestablished contact with a good friend

Weekends like this don't come very often, thanks God!