A couple questions about Obama

First--I am not a political person. I HATE listening to people argue about how this politician is a fool, and anyone who follows them is too. Mainly because someone else will come along and say the same thing right back. Politics has so little to do with goodness and real change these days, I don't find it worth the effort trying to figure out who is being the least dishonest.

Now that that's cleared up, a couple things with what Obama is doing don't make sense to me--enough so that I don't really trust him. Here they are:

1. People complain about how much money his administration is spending. There are different arguments as to why that's okay or why it isn't, but one thing stands out. Obama has seen fit to borrow millions upon millions from the People's Republic of China. China has one of the worst human rights violations records in the WORLD. They are one of the last functioning communist nations on the planet, a governmental system that goes against almost everything our governmental system espouses. Do we REALLY want these people as our creditors? If Barack's plan doesn't work--are these the type of people we want to owe money to? How is that not as scary to everyone that hears it as it is to me?

2. There are loads of arguments for & against universal healthcare. I'm not interested in debating that. But if Obama and his fellow politicians really believe in universal healthcare, why did they include something in the bill saying that they don't have to use it, when the rest of us are required to? Doesn't that sound kinda suspicious? Would you buy a car from someone who refused to ride in it? And those who believe universal healthcare 'levels the playing field' between rich and poor--shouldn't Obama and the other politicians have to play too? Why would they be exempt? Something just doesn't seem right about that, if you ask me.

So do I really want answers to these questions? Probably not. Because those will probably take the form of negativity and name-calling if anyone besides my family and friends read this. But doesn't this stuff make you think? Sure does for me.

How to ruin a beautiful spring day

So today when I got out of church it was beautiful outside. One of those early spring days where you sit near an open door and it just calls to you-- "come outside, run around, play, have some fun!" Even if you're trying to keep the sabbath and all, you at least feel like opening your windows and letting in some fresh, lukewarm air before another rain comes and makes the outdoors all soggy and unappealing again. On my way home I opened my sunroof (and any day where I can open my sunroof is a good day), and a couple of the car windows to enjoy the weather.

In the course of my travels, I got a whiff of something that reminded me why I probably wouldn't bother opening the windows at home. Cigarette smoke. Somewhere up the line of cars waiting at a stoplight was a person so enamored with their bad habit that they assumed everyone behind them would enjoy the vile aroma just as much as they do--so they opened up the car windows and let their personal pollution out for everyone to enjoy.

Now understand this--I know some great people that smoke. Smoking does not automatically make someone a selfish pig--but many smokers seem completely inconsiderate of people around them, so it's a hard habit not to hate. If I suddenly decided never to shower again, waited a month, and then went out on my apartment balcony without a shirt on, turned a big fan on behind me and raised my arms so the smell could spread on the wind, I would be just as considerate as those smokers who, without concern for those around them, light up and start blowing carcinogenic chemicals into the atmosphere. It is a disgusting and dangerous habit--so no matter how important it may be to the smoker, there needs to be a better way to make sure the smoker is the only one enjoying his/her slow-acting personal suicide method.

Do I sound bitter? Yeah, just a bit. Since moving into my apartment a year ago, I've discovered something. Smokers have more legal rights than non-smokers. My complex is very nice---lots of large trees, well kept grounds and facilities, and in a good, safe neighborhood. One thing it does not have (other than assigned parking spaces, which is a ridiculousness I won't even get into), is any rules about smoking outside. And apparently there are some hard core chain smokers in my little neighborhood. During the summer time in California's central valley, it's common (and saves a lot of electricity - that's trendy too, right?) for folks to open all the windows during the cooler evening hours. This helps the home cool down and refreshes the recirculated air your A/C has been pumping all day so you get a little more oxygen content. Sounds good right? Yeah, not so much. Apparently one or several of my neighbors are serious nicotine addicts, because about every 45 minutes, cigarette smoke starts drifting into my apartment. That wonderful, cool fresh air turns into the smell of industrial waste factories and only gets worse the longer I leave my windows open. Not only is this disgusting, it's offensive. Why should I have to put up with someone else's problem? Why should my fresh air and enjoyment of my home, MY personal space, be ruined because of someone's legalized drug addiction?

The defensive types are saying now "Just close your windows then!" "Those people have a right to enjoy their vices!" I've done that. I also tried only opening a window on the other side of my apartment. Guess what? That malodorous substance somehow finds it's way into the other side of my apartment, and my fresh air is polluted again! I was happy to be in an apartment of my own, no roomies to deal with, taking care of my self--and it was infuriating to have to deal with someone else's crap despite the high price I was paying for my peace & quiet. So I called the management office and complained, asking them to take action with this problem. First of all, they ignored me--no return call. So now, more angry, I called again and spoke with a live person, asking that something be done. I was told there is no law/rule against smoking outside, and they couldn't do anything. They told me I could move to another unit, or talk to the neighbors and ask them not to smoke outside. But they could not do anything.

Needless to say, in my natural shyness, I really didn't fancy the idea of canvassing the neighborhood asking people to stop smoking. And I had just moved into my place--so going through all the hassle of moving again because of someone else's stench didn't really appeal either. Before long, fall & winter came on, and since I didn't really want to open my windows by then, their bad habit became less of a concern. Now that Spring is again slipping in among the cold wet days, with the promise of warmth & fresh air, my frustration is returning with it.

So the irony of my discovery is on my mind. Smokers have a 'right' to their bad habit. They have a 'right' to blow out clouds of carcinogenic chemicals with a stench that sticks to clothes, hair, teeth, and just about anything else it touches. And they have a 'right' to pollute the air outside my apartment, forcing me to close my windows. So what about MY rights? Why don't I have a right to enjoy some fresh air without it being polluted by people so addicted to a substance that they have to use it every 45 minutes? Why don't I have a right to NOT be breathing in a chemical compound that has been proven to cause cancer, emphysema, and numerous other diseases? Why are my rights to a pursuit of happiness (including my own good health) less important than the same rights of someone who finds happiness by pursuing a habit that is at the least, gross and smelly, and at worst, deadly? Alanis Morrissette has nothing on this kind of irony.

I would submit the following reasons. First, as Americans, we hold personal freedoms so dear as to consider them almost sacred. We send armed troops around the world trying to protect the personal freedoms of others. And groups in our society who were once treated differently than everyone else because of race, creed or color, now enjoy a much more level playing field (it's still nowhere near perfect, but it is improving) because of the hard work and strife faced by many Americans who saw the need for change. While these are good things, they have a flip side. Where does it stop? At what point do we say "that's enough"? That has proved a problem for us as a society. We have worked so hard to make sure we're "fair" to everyone's demands that we're terrified to ever stand up and say "no." So when it comes down to taking away 'rights' from one group of people to favor another--even for the common good, we hesitate or even ignore the decision so we don't have to do that. That's why legalized drug addicts (smokers) have more rights than someone trying to live a healthy life. Their habit may be disgusting, harmful to them and even harmful to those around us, but gosh, we wouldn't want to be unfair to them. I mean, what if they sued us?

Secondly, money. If America truly has anything resembling a state religion, it is the worship of the almighty dollar. Americans in almost every line of work are taught to value and revere profits above just about all else. The race to be profitable (or ideally, more profitable than the next guy) has risen above all other concerns. And guess what? Half of this country's original economy had it's foundation in tobacco growing! While that may not be as true today, tobacco companies continue to be incredibly wealthy and influential (Guess who owns Kraft foods?). And unfortunately, the kind of people attracted to politics in our society are much more impressed with large sums of money than they are with petitions or phone calls from constituents.

So that's my theory on the matter. Smoking is not only disgusting and smelly, it's highly addictive and deadly. It's damaging to those who smoke, and damaging to those around them. If we were as educated as we claim to be, it wouldn't be part of our society at all. But that will not happen so long as we are afraid to stand up and say "no", and so long as we care more about money than about doing the right thing. So we can expect this, oh...sometime after doomsday?

One more thing (lest you think I only have negative things to say) --I do have to say that the changes to smoking laws in the last 10 years do make me proud to be a Californian. Smoking is banned in most public buildings, restaurants, etc. And many hospitals are becoming completely smoke free. In most cases, smokers are forced to conduct their stinky habit outside, which (while still disgusting for anyone who wants to enjoy the out of doors) is a huge victory for the health and well-being of everyone, smokers included. It is my hope that continued education about the damaging effects of smoking will eventually lead to it's abandonment by the overwhelming majority of the population. Let common sense prevail for a healthier and less stinky tomorrow.

Random musings...

It seems sad to me that I have this silly blog and haven't posted a darn thing in more months than I care to count. Lots of things have been on my mind lately, so here are a few.

Boxee rocks my socks. Do you like watching videos from online sites like hulu, joost, or Youtube? Do you ever miss your fav TV show and go watch it the next day on the network's website? Ever wish you could transfer all that video goodness to your TV so you could watch it on the couch, instead of hunched in front of your computer? This program is for you (granted, that's a small slice of society, most likely, but still).

Boxee is software you can install on your computer that allows you easy access to all the scattered content mentioned above. Wanna watch an episode of Lost? Type it in, and Boxee will find sites that have it, and allow you to play it right there from the program's interface. It also connects to internet radio, Netflix streaming, and lots of other stuff. Best part--FREEEEEE!

So you're saying "but Rob, that doesn't help me unless I can hook up my computer to the TV, and that's just a pain!" Well....true. But not for long! This summer the Boxee company is releasing a set-top box that will do all of the above, just by connecting to your home wireless network. It's starting out a little steep ($199), but still cheaper than building a 2nd PC to hook up to the television. So that's one thing I'm excited about. My HTPC is rockin' Boxee and I'm loving it. :)

Stuff You Missed in History Class has become a minor addiction for me lately too. This is a podcast from the website HowStuffWorks.com, and each episode is dedicated to a different historical event/person/place. Often, they address historical questions, like "Did Betsy Ross really sew the first American flag?" Having a BA in History, I quite enjoy it and it gets me thinking. Even if you're not into history, the website has articles about just about everything--so go get yer' learn on and have some fun. In the meantime I'll be working my way through about 150 back episodes of the podcast (while trying to pretend I can quit my habit any time I want to).

I also finally learned how to set up a dual boot operating system on my laptop--that took about a week of headaches, but it's finally done. 'Nuff said.

And I am loving Pandora Radio. It's a free internet application that works like this: you sign up (free), and to create a personalized "station" for yourself, you put in the name of a band you like. The new station will then start playing songs by that band as well as contemporary bands from that genre. I punched in Information Society the first time I tried it and got a slough of awesome 80's synth-pop. That was on my iPhone. I tried it on my laptop the other night, and was pleasantly surprised to find my stations had been saved to my login account, and popped right up. More classic 80's musical goodness ensued. Good times for me and my modern equivalent of those big silver "boom boxes" the breakdancers used to carry around :D

I've also developed a mild addiction to slickdeals.net and fatwallet.com. I've found so many cool things for super cheap (and even some for free), that I started checking the sites every day. Despite the fact I've probably bought a lot of junk I didn't need to, it's very fun and satisfying to get great deals on stuff you wanted anyway.

So those are a few of the things occupying my brain at the moment. That and the massive brain-imploding wonder that is the final season of LOST...

Anyway, whomever is reading--have a great few months until I feel guilty enough to post on here again.

Why "Going Green" makes me feel green around the gills

Everyone seems to want to "Go Green" these days. All the advertisers have picked up on it--packaging now loudly proclaims this or that product as "Green!" or "Environmentally Friendly!" Big celebrity names are no doubt using it to bolster their own careers, or just to maintain a good public image. Big companies are jumping on the bandwagon too, with requirements that "green" supplies be ordered (which equals more money spent) --in the middle of the biggest economic downturn in my lifetime. Naturally there is some genuine concern for the planet and the environment involved--but also a large dollop of concern about the company's public image. What percentage of the whole does each of those occupy? Being a pessimist, you can guess my thoughts on that. Sitting through training about "Being Green" (unless it's taught by Kermit the Frog) is not my idea of a good (or even truly productive) time.

Is going green really "all that"? Let's put it this way--when I found out CFL bulbs last up to 9 years and use only a fraction of the electricity of incandescents, AND that they're not much more expensive, I was sold. You made a better product that uses existing technology in a more efficient way, AND you made it almost as affordable as the old product? Sounds great!

The only downside? What they don't advertise is that those bulbs can't just be tossed in the garbage when they burn out. They have to be recycled a special way because they contain mercury, a poisionous substance that we can't just throw in a landfill. I'm hoping they have fairly convenient ways to recycle these ticking time-bombs I just bought 9 years from now when they burn out. =P

The annoying part is that most of the "Green" products and technologies are much more expensive than standard products, and some have other serious side-effects, like my poisonous light bulbs. And things like recycling can be great if good, accessible facilities/services are in place for people to use, but enough of a royal pain to make you want to purposely avoid them if not. It's easy for big companies and big celebrities--and even governments--to say "Be green! It's important." But if they don't put their money where their mouths are--i.e. in providing easily accessible, user-friendly recycling services, and reasonably-priced, "green" alternatives to current products that won't require a haz-mat suit to throw away, people aren't going to go for it. I recently moved from house in a smaller city that provided a dedicated recycling bin for residents and picked it up with the weekly garbage. I now live in an apartment complex in a larger city with no recycling bins anywhere in sight. Personally, I'm too lazy to put much of my own hard-earned free time into running all over town with bags of recyclables in tow. So guess what happens?

"Green-ism", like any movement, has good points that are frequently carried to extremes. And "Green" training, "Green" celebrity endorsements, and "Green" advertising on every aisle at the grocery store is plenty extreme enough for me, thanks. To the big shots out there trying to promote this--not a bad idea, but for pete's sakes, shut up and DO something to make it more accessible to the common man. Until you do, don't expect it to ever be truly effective.

Why hurting--oops, I mean dating, sucks.

You know what is worse than finding out the once-love-of-your-life is now married? The irony that she's married to Mr. Wright :P *sigh* (well, that and the surmise that she's no longer active in the church).

Whoever said the universe doesn't have a sense of humor has clearly never met me.

Why does love have to suck so much? Why is dating such a pain? We meet a new person, get to know them and understand them--get a window into their world, so to speak--and then it doesn't work out and we lose that window, and most everything we were starting to see within. That specialness is gone. Yes, friendship is nice and can have some of that specialness--but it's never the same.

I can't complain about lack of dates, since that is going okay for me. Nothing super-fantastic as of yet, but I'm trying.

The whole process of connecting with another person that way--and then losing them when it doesn't work--just strikes me as sad. I know it doesn't always happen that way--but it has often enough with me to be saddening.

So once you've loved someone--and I mean truly loved them, not just dated for a bit or whatever--and then you lose them, does it ever really go away? It sure doesn't seem to for me, but I wonder how others have felt about that.

A poem I was thinking about recently (don't be too impressed, I found it inside the booklet of a Cure CD). Think it kind of applies to my thoughts on the sadness of dating & ending relationships.

We look before and after, And pine for what is not;

Our sincerest laughter With some pain is fraught;

Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought...

-"To a skylark", by Percy Shelley

For any who might have hoped for a clever, verbose posting here, I apologize. This one's scattered and rather disjointed. Just something I was thinking about--and since I happened to also think that I don't post on my blog enough, well here we are.

Latest Book I finished:

Watership Down, by Richard Adams

A book about a group of rabbits that leave their home and travel to a distant hill to start a new colony. Sounds odd (and it is), but cleverly done with some memorable, enjoyable characters & fun adventures. Worth a read. 50 cents from DI (I love bargain books at DI). I was curious to read it because I saw the animated film as a very young child and can only remember being terrified of the vicious "bad guy" rabbits that slashed the good rabbits with their claws. I couldn't get to sleep for a while that night, terrified of violent bunnies coming up my bunk bed to slice & dice me (I was probably 5 or 6 at the time). It's a little violent (not a book for young children), but overall quite enjoyable.

Moving, shaking, and......well, just moving.

I rented my very first apartment (that I've gotten all on my own) tonight. Crazy eh? Now I just have to pack my stuff so I can actually move in. Still some little details to worry about, but the main part is over, which is a huge relief. I can finally have friends over and do movie nights! And show off my cool TV! And leave dirty dishes in the sink whenever I feel like it!

Anyway, the complex is really pretty--big trees, lots of shade, really quiet & a really nice neighborhood. It's not as much closer to work as I wanted, but it's an awesome price for the size (767 sq ft). Check out some pics on their website. And I checked--my balcony is big enough for a hammock stand :D

And now I can also start looking into buying a house without jumping into anything too quickly.

My sis & her hubby & baby are going to move into my old room, so that will be cool too. I'll get to see them and my little nephew on a regular basis. Good times! :)

And this weekend is my family's Easter Brunch at a big park, the following week my sister's family will be here for a visit, and the week after that is a midsingles conference in SoCal. I think it's going to be a good month.

Why Call of Duty 4 rocks--and why nuclear energy is scary

So you don't think I'm totally blowing off the holidays: Merry Christmas! Looking forward to spending some time with family, and especially some time away from work. Now on to the topic at hand.

So I just finished the single player campaign in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. WOW. The intensity, the realism, the graphics--this is an amazing game. I boycotted it when it first came out because my system couldn't run it--and after that just never got into it. (I was also a little disappointed that the series left their WWII roots). But I got it for 1/2 price a couple weeks ago (Black Friday sale), so I've been playing the single player mode. Even within the first few levels, I was amazed. One took place on a cargo ship in the North Atlantic, where you were searching for a stolen nuclear device. By the end of the level, the ship was sinking--and you had to race across catwalks that were literally turning sideways to escape before you went down with her. And that was not the most intense level--really cool stuff. Infinity Ward, who developed this game, really outdid themselves with this one. If you have a computer that can run it--or a game console (like Xbox 360) and you like FPS games--I recommend this one. Do beware however, this is not a kid's game. There is some violence that is more severe than previous games in the series. That did bother me, but I didn't find it bad enough that it stopped me from enjoying it. My favorite level, however, is what brings me to my second topic.

The former town of Pripyat, Ukraine was home to about 50,000 people until the fateful day in 1986 when the soviet nuclear power plant at Chernobyl suffered a meltdown/explosion. I was 11, so I don't remember much about it--just that this big scary thing happened in a country where the government was really mean to the people. I knew it was scary and sad, but not much more than that. In recent months, I happened to learn about Pripyat--where else? Online! With a BA in History, an interest in old things comes naturally to me. Learning about an entire town where people had been forced to evacuate in about 36 hours, leaving almost everything exactly the way it was on that day for the next 20 years, was fascinating to me. A ghost town of the nuclear age, if you will. So I started looking up pictures and reading about it. Talk about creepy--a whole area, where people couldn't go for years without fear of radiation poisoning. Guard posts blocking off roads, warning signs--no, this isn't a movie. It's real. It really happened--a group of people no different than you or me were living their lives in their town (which was only a bit smaller than the town I lived in at the time), and they heard an explosion, and saw a huge plume of smoke in the distance. Shortly thereafter, they were told to evacuate and that they would be gone for 1-2 days at most. After they were safely away--"sorry, you can't ever go back there. Forget about your old family photos, your clothes, anything you left behind. And if you do try and go back, you'll be shot or get sick and die." Can you imagine? It's so hard to fathom. And along with the pictures of a ruined town with stuff strewn in the streets, a public pool now empty and dry with old garbage in the bottom, a rusty ferris wheel towering over it all--it becomes eerie, creepy and morbidly fascinating at the same time.

And while writing this, it occurs to me that there was a small nuclear power plant operating within several miles of my town when I was growing up. I camped near there once as a boy scout. Maybe it shouldn't be quite so hard to fathom? What if it had been my town forced to flee our homes, and not to come back for decades afterwards? I have a vivid imagination, but wow--that's tough to get my head around. Public vote shut the plant down in the late 80's, apparently due to low efficiency and rising costs--but the explosion of a few years before at Chernobyl can't have been far from those people's minds when they made that decision. Say what you will, but I'm sure glad to have been living in a democracy where people could make that choice. Holy cow.

So due to my mildly morbid fascination with Pripyat, my favorite level is one where, on the trail of said nuclear device, your character has to sneak into--guess where? Pripyat, to find an evil dictator in hiding with some nationalist rebels in the abandoned town. The game developers created a detailed map of the town for the the game, and I was looking forward to 'virtually' exploring the town through the game, since I probably won't ever get there in real life (not sure I want to either). The level was so intense however, I didn't get much chance to do so--I was too busy running from crazed nationalists. I did find a more limited version in multiplayer that I was able to explore, though. Pretty cool--and creepy.

To read more about Pripyat, click here.

To see photos, click here.

Some comparison shots (COD4 vs real life) for you (click for full image):