Author's posts

“Young” GOP meltdown

http://www.thedailybeast.com/b…

Meghan McCain

http://www.thedailybeast.com/b…

I think she could be talked into joining the Dem’s

Here Bushie, Bushie, Bushie

An Open Letter to MSNBC

Dear MSNBC,

First of all, let me thank you for having the journalistic integrity to allow Keith Olbermann to speak out about the abuses of the Cheney/Bush Whitehouse.  I had been completely disillusioned by the “news” reporting which basically parroted any and all Whitehouse press releases at that time and the only place that I had been able to get any real news was PBS.  Now, I watch your channel almost everyday.

I’m Back. What’s New Everyone?

I’ve been gone for awhile now because of financial constraints and I’m now I’m back in Dharmaland.

I see some old friends and some new names here and want to use this essay to say hello and as a request for input about happenings I may have missed by having to rely on TV for political news and analysis.

Obama WON!!–and has disappointed me already by continuing Bush/Cheney’s campaign of secrecy and obfuscation.  I know he has an awful lot on his plate just now, but I would be a lot happier if Barack would make an effort to make good on some promises he made during the campaign about transparency and rights for all.

It’s good to see you all and I hope to learn a lot while I’m here (as much as possible before I have to turn the DSL off again).

Micro Gravity

I like to mute the soundtrack and play some tunes while I watch this.


via videosift.com

If I knew how, I’d put a cool soundtrack over this.  

There’s more stuff below.

Obama shows how he really feels about HRC

During Barack Obama’s Comments on the April 16 ABC Debates, when he first mentions Hillary Clinton, he scratches his face with—That Finger!

Obama Finger

Stolen from ABC News.com

This may already be all over the “news” today, but I don’t watch, so I though I’d share this with you.

 

Manic Depression is a Frustrating Mess

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I am Manic Depressive, but on the bright side (ha ha), I am only Hypo-manic Depressive (Bipolar type II,  more on the Bipolar v. Manic Depressive naming debate later).  This means that, although I am still periodically afflicted by crushing depressions (Boo!), I don’t have to go through full blown manic episodes (Yeah!).  During one of these episodes a person might find themselves in any situation ranging from tearing their clothes off and running down the street yelling “I am God”, to getting tazered while blockading themselves in an airport lounge with chairs because they feel lost and alone.  

Instead I get to have Hypo-manic episodes in which I have exuberance, energy and concentration.  During a Hypo-manic episode I can multi-task like a son of a gun.  I also sometimes drive myself deeply into debt.  My decision making at work and otherwise is not affected, but in my personal life–especially financial decisions–I’m not all together.  One time I bought two guitars and a banjo, within a span of two weeks, at a time when I could barely pay the rent (I don’t even play the banjo!).  So, while Hypo-mania is easier to live with than full blown Manic Depression it is still a frustrating mess, to say the least.

Happy Winter Solstice Everyone

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Throughout history people have celebrated the time of the Winter Solstice.  The days are getting longer and the Sun has returned.  

Mormons: A Family Story

My father’s family are Mormons.  In the mid-eighteen hundreds they gave everything they owned to the church that Joseph Smith founded.  My paternal ancestors came from Sweden and England and most pulled handcarts from Independence, Missouri to the Great Salt Lake.  The church couldn’t afford oxen and wagons for everyone so this is what they pulled.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Over trails like this.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Datamining 4.1: Education

Whew, that was one hell of a ride, but it seems to be over now.  Time for some Datamining.  This time Education.

There seem to be  several people who, like me, are self-educated.  I wanted to put in a category for that, but couldn’t figure out how to do it.  Even a PhD has some education derived from personal reading and analysis, so I’ll just go for Formal Education here.

People have also shown interest in the earning power of DDists.  This is harder because earning power can, and frequently does, change drastically.  I wanted to place two polls here, but don’t see a way to do it.  Next time.

Non-civility draws uncivil people

Wow, this is not good.  

I’ve seen people who I think were friends arguing over little stuff.  I’ve seen people running around leaving Wrong!s everywhere they go, without explaining their disagreement with the poster.  I’ve seen too much uncivil behavior and people who do great work threatening to leave Docudharma.  And a lot of the people thinking of leaving are the people we need most–the civil ones who are able to have a spirited discussion without tipping over the edge of grudge-match.

I think buhdy is wrong.  Arguing: Yea!  Fighting: Boo!

I know this is just semantics, but I think of fighting as arguing and causing bad feelings without actual content.  Yes, we have to avoid the “echo-chamber” effect of everyone having the same opinions and just patting each other on the back all day; being uncivil is not the way to avoid this.

Space Filler: You

Just to kill some time before going to work (7 day weeks gets real old, real fast) where the word “you” comes from.

In the 1600’s the letter “y” was a abbreviation for the sound “th”.  We’ve all seen the sign saying, “Ye Olde Tavern.”  Ye is pronounced The.  In reading the writings of Newton you see him use this extensively.  He wrote, “…ye and yat“, for the and that.

Now we come to my theory–I’ve never seen this anywhere else–but, I’m sure that some historian has said this before.  In writing “thou” in the olden days they would write you.  This was adopted and adapted by the general populace as “you”.  The change in pronunciation was from the profound influence of the French language on English.  

And that is why, to this day, many groups will not use the word “you”.  It’s not really true English.

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