He Rides, He Rants, He Reads

Writer's Block: Conversion Rate

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:49:23 GMT

Writer's Block

Have you ever considered converting to another religion? <input ... >

I've not only considered it, I've done it. As noted elsewhere in this LJ (which I haven't updated in far too long), I was raised in a mainstream Protestant Christian denomination, underwent baptism, served as a church organist for several years, joined Young Life in high school. etc.

Then I went off to college, and started seriously questioning a lot of the ideas I'd been raised with, the religious ones among them. And it turns out that I had some serious problems with the Christian worldview. After several years of self-examination, research, reflection, and investigation of what for me turned out to be spiritual dead-ends, I wound up Heathen. This does not mean that I've stopped the process of questioning - as several folks on my f-list can attest, I'll still point out issues, absurdities, and contradictions even if they're ones I profess... :D

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:59:13 GMT

Some years ago, a friend of mine serving in the military sent me a copy of Skippy's List - aka "The 213 things that Skippy is no longer allowed to do in the U.S. Army". The list is hysterical, and I've long treasured #87 - "If the thought of something makes me giggle for longer than 15 seconds, I am to assume that I am not allowed to do it." Skippy now sells this one on a T-Shirt - I may have to order one next time I need to buy a T-shirt...

Well, turns out that Skippy now has a full-on blog/website, and one of the occasional features is a List from some other profession. I've got several friends who are or were in the medical field, so I suggest popping over to the entry for the ER Admitting List...

So Far, So Good

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:51:18 GMT

Well, we got a Yule Tree this year. Our senior cats have seen this phenomenon before, but Neil was pretty young - and the three new kitties have never had a water bowl with such an over-the-top garnish before. Last year, between socializing the kittens and having the garage be a complete disaster, we never got around to digging out the Yule decorations, and just lived vicariously through other people's light shows.

This year, however, we made it to an IKEA just before the holidays, and laid in a supply of star-shaped LED lights and Swedish woven straw ornaments. And people wondered why we packed such large suitcases for the BlizzCon trip...

At this point, the tree has been up since Sunday with no major incidents. The light strings on the lower branches have been knocked loose a couple of times, but the tree remains upright. We're refilling the stand regularly to minimize the risk to any cat who insists on drinking from it (we'd have to use epoxy or a welding torch to put together something truly cat-proof), and we haven't hung any of the other ornaments yet - so we'll see what happens once everything is in place. We've got plastic ornaments that do a very good job of looking like glass balls, and we'll keep the straw to the upper levels of the tree - but the kittens are amazing climbers, so we'll see if that works at all or if we just need to treat ornaments less as family keepsakes and heirlooms and more as seasonal items that can be discarded when too obviously gnawed on... One handy thing about ornaments made out of grass - they're renewable :)

Civics Quiz

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:59:25 GMT

I've seen the news item floating around, and I've seen in mentioned in a couple of LJs, but here's a link to the Intercollegiate Studies Institute's Civics Quiz.

This is the one that the original 2500 randomly selected respondents scored an average of 49% on, and elected officials scored 44% on.

For the record, I scored 93% without ever having taken basic economics. I'm not sure whether to be insufferably smug, or scared.

Not Dead Yet

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:56:06 GMT

... I've just been terribly distracted lately. A broken metatarsal bone will do that, as will ruminating about the political fallout from the latest election, dealing with my own incipient flakiness, dealing with the flakiness of others, playing an online MMO, and dealing with some internal conflict and general ennui and lassitude.

The odd part is, I haven't felt like writing about much of this stuff, even under lock and key. It's just been kinda swirling around, waiting for something to spark the urge to pound on a keyboard for a while. And what was the straw that finally broke this particular camel's back?

A story in the Colorado Independent about the annual Christmas Boycott that Focus on the Family's flack engage in. Sigh. Of all the stupid things...

But sometimes it's much easier to focus on a stupid little thing than it is to deal with what's really bothering me, and this is a perfect example, since it's a symptom of the same condition on a grander scale. Certain sects of Christianity love to play the victim card and pontificate about how they're being 'persecuted' for their beliefs (just like the Martyrs! Except, of course, that nobody actually gets crucified or thrown to lions, or even fired from a job, although they know this guy whose brother's uncle's second cousin once removed...). And this is the stupid little thing that has gotten under my skin already, even though it's not even Thanksgiving yet. The so-called "War on Christmas" is a classic red herring, designed to play up the victim angle and allow wealthy suburban Christians to feel a little frisson of combativeness over something utterly trivial. And conversely, it allows those of us on the other end of the stick to feel much the same thing. In a season that is allegedly about family, community, rebirth, the promise of life returning (or Life Eternal, if you're Christian), we've got a lovely little border war over social niceties that leaves everyone feeling just a little more smug and self-righteous than they did before, when simply being polite would have left everyone feeling much better.

I have no objection to Christians wishing each other a Merry Christmas. I have no objection to secular folks using the phrase, either. I likewise have no problem with holiday wishes that specifically mention Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, Ramadan, Agnostica, or Wintereenmas. What I do have a problem with is people demanding that their specific festival be recognized above all others. For those who work with the public, a generic "Happy Holidays" is the safest route when wishing a complete stranger well. It's classic Utilitarianism - the greatest good for the greatest number of people is the proper ethical path to take, and proffering an inoffensive holiday greeting to every random stranger is a safer bet than trying to guess who's Christian, who's Pagan, who's a video gamer, a Seinfeld fan, or a Muslim, and tailoring one's response (and taking the chance of getting it wrong).

Most minority religions recognize that few people in the mainstream recognize their particular festivals, and don't expect to be greeted with a hearty "Blessed Solstice" or "Glad Yule" whenever they go shopping (well, maybe the latter at IKEA).Similarly, most of us recognize that the bulk of the U.S. is culturally Christian (leaving aside the question of actual belief), and most people grow up saying "Merry Christmas". Depending on the circumstance, I'm likely to simply reply with the same greeting, or if I'm feeling more open about things, I'll reply with something Heathen-specific in reply (in a sort of "since you've offered me the blessings of your God, I'll reciprocate by offering you the blessings of mine...). But I'm not about to demand that the greeters at Wal-Mart recognize the historical significance of Yule, and greet all of their culturally diverse customer base with a greeting that's only significant to a tiny fraction of the populace.

What we're seeing here is a microcosm of a much larger perceived "war" on cultural hegemony. The majority is starting to realize that it's only holding on to its majority status by a narrow margin anymore, and those margins shift at an alarming rate. We see it with the national debate over immigration (both legal and non), with language arts educaion (immersion? ESL?), with science education, with population demographics (gentrification? Sinister plot to disenfranchise? Reconquista? Yuppification/Stepfordization?), and so on and so forth. I don't have answers for any of these questions (except to point out that I remain an unrepentant pluralist with muliculturalist leanings) (damn pinkos...), but I do know that I appreciate the effort made by some companies to be a little more inclusive at the holiday season.

Especially since they're still using decorations that have symbolic meaning in my particular minority religion, even if they don't realize it.

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 04:28:18 GMT

McCain's delivering his concession speech as I type. And I'm breathing a sigh of relief. As an independent voter, I've been on the receiving end of a remarkable amount of propaganda on both sides of national, state, and local races - and now, it's finally over. The Republican campaign materials that i got were remarkable for the amount of FUD used to try and sway me. While there were certain bits of propaganda from the other side that did the same thing, the overall tone of the Democratic material that I got was one of hope and promise (even when it was a little light on details).

Here's hoping that the campaign managers 4 years from now learn from this, and decide to take the ethical high road when shaping their propaganda efforts - peddling fear didn't work this time around, so maybe we can get a high road campaign on both sides next time around. Instead of character assassination, maybe we'll get some discussion about the issues.

And maybe we'll get the government we were all hoping for this time around.

BlizzCon 2008, Day 2

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 05:32:49 GMT

So today didn't start out all that well...

On our way to breakfast, we got rear-ended just before we turned into the restaurant's parking lot, and instead of sitting down to a nice early breakfast before heading back over to BlizzCon, we wound up exchanging insurance information with a woman in town from Iowa. Turns out she'd dropped off other members of her family at the Con and was on her way elsewhere when she decided to accelerate inappropriately while reading a map and smacked into our rented Buick. Fortunately, there was only a little cosmetic damage to our car, and no injuries - but her mini-van will be a little more expensive to fix (the front hood is noticeably off-kilter). We called the rental agency's roadside assistance number with the basics, and they told us to get a police report, so we called the local cops. A unit eventually rolled up, and when the officers got out of their car, one of them recognized the BlizzCon badges we had on, and told us that if we were Horde, he couldn't talk to us...

Honestly, that made our day.

He also told us that Anaheim PD did not file reports for non-injury traffic incidents, so we called the details in to the rental agency, parked and went in and had our (slightly delayed) breakfast, after which we headed back to the Con. By this time, the doors were long since open, so no lines to stand in getting in. We sat in on a couple of panels, got some more hands-on gameplay time with all three of the demo products, and then settled in for the closing ceremonies, whicn included comedy by Patton Oswalt (the voice of Remy from Ratatouille), a performance by Blizzard's own house metal band, Level 89 Elite Tauren Chieftain, and a live performance by the symphonic ensemble "Video Games Live" - which included guest appearances by several well known session musicians and talents who were involved in creating the music for Blizzard products over the years. I'll be honest - I had no idea that David Arkenstone had composed the tavern music in World of Warcraft, so tonight's concert was a bonus, as his band sat in for a symphonic medley and then performed the tavern music live! The final piece was "Lament of the Highborne", which is evidently becoming a Blizzcon staple - it was performed last year, and at this year's World Wide Invitational. All in all, a very cool evening to wind down two days of gaming fun and nerdy goodness...

BlizzCon 2008, Day 1

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:37:58 GMT

So - this morning, we got up and thought maybe we'd see if the Starbucks in the hotel lobby had anything edible for breakfast...

No such luck. 300 other Geeks had already had the same idea, and the line was halfway across the lobby. We turned around, hopped in the rental car (a ginormous Buick Lacrosse) and grabbed a quick bite at Jack In the Box. Once we got back and ate, I sent a quick note to my co-workers about some of the items that were being advertised for sale in the BlizzCon catalogue, promising to check back around lunchtime to see what they had to say. Shouldn't have worried about it, actually - we headed over about an hour early, figuring that there would be a line, and sure enough - the line went all the way around the Convention Center, into the Arena, back out and around the Arena, down the block and around the corner. People kept walking by and doing double-takes when they realized that they'd reached a corner, not the end of the line. A couple of locals got in line behind us, and we spent some time chatting about game play, the number of people in anime t-shirts, and the GameStop truck advertising "Wrath of the LIch King" pre-orders that kept driving by...

The guys clued us in about the store - they have a tendency to sell out of popular items fairly quickly unless you get there first thing, so we decided to head for the one in the specific convention hall where the opening ceremonies were scheduled, which turned out to be a good plan. We were about halfway through the line when the opening ceremonies started, which means we'd been standing in line outside for about an hour and 10 minutes, then standing in line inside the convention hall for another hour... and it was yet another hour before we got to the counter to place our order for t-shirts, miscellaneous tchotchkes, and calendars... After all of that, it was a positive relief to go sit down snack on an apple and some granola bars, and listen to the World of Warcraft class abilities update panel. After that, we wandered across into the second of the three halls, pausing to check out several vendor booths (including one where the cast of "The Guild" were signing pictures and selling DVDs!). We signed up for a demonstration of the upcoming collectible miniatures version of WOW, and I picked up an advance copy of the starter kit, plus one for one of my co-workers. Unfortunately, they're limiting purchases - but the official release should be announced any day.

After that, we sat in on the StarCraft II gameplay panel, which has me completely sold on picking up a copy once it ships. They're going to be releasing it as a trilogy of games, actually, in order to do each of the factions justice. I'm also convinced that this is a step toward a "Wordl of StatCraft" type MMORPG: No confirmation of that from Blizzard, of course, but it sure looks like a step in that direction to me. We grabbed some dinner, and came back in time to get some gameplay on both StarCraft II (so far, what was demoed is an updated version of Starcraft with better graphics) and Wrath of the Lich King (we ran around as Gnome Death Knights just to irritate people... :D). Meanwhile, the costume contest was being broadcast on the big screens, along with the dance contests, the /silly (joke telling) contests, and the singing contests. Becky got some good shots of several costume contest entrants, who were posing afterwards. The winner was an industrial designer who had not only done a good Dranei costume, but had also put together a mechanical Riding Turtle mount (operated by a joystick concealed in the saddle). The host was totally blown away by this, and convinced the winner to let him mount up and give it a shot....

Tomorrow's agenda includes getting some play time with Diablo III, which had lines out the wazoo all day, as well as some more panels and the closing ceremonies, which include a couple of musical performances. Along with another probable hour in line in the morning - but this time, I'm bringing along my Nintendo DS...

Nerdgasm

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 05:07:29 GMT

So we made it safely to Anaheim...

For those didn't already know, my wife and I play WoW, the 800-lb gorilla of massively multiplayer online role-playing games. WOW's publisher, Bizzard, is putting on their yearly convention this weekend, and we got tickets. We're now safely ensconsed in a nearby hotel with our goody bags, which include all manner of fun Blizzard-related merchandise, from an inflatable "spell effect" ball surrounding a dwarf paladin, a Blizzcon edition security authentication token (which I was planning to buy anyway), a starter deck for the WOW collectible card game, a tagboard Undead halloween mask, a Diablo III stress ball, a drink cozy and bottle opener from the Pandaren Brewmasters, some hand sanitzer (good for people using the public gaming terminals), Starcraft II wristbands (to avoid carpal tunnel, i guess... ), a pen and a blank book, a tin of Diablo III "sin-a-mints'... and much, much more.

So tomorrow, we'll head over for the opening ceremonies, several panels on various games, open play of several upcoming Blizzard titles, and socializing with other WOW geeks. We stood in line for an hour and a half today to get to the registration table (not bad, considering that 13,000 tickets were sold), and I saw dozens of different nerd-oriented t-shirts advertising WOW factions, miscellaneous video game jokes, obscure bands and anime series, and one small child with his hair dyed green and styled to look like an in-game gnome... It's also interesting to note that gamers tend to be either whippet-thin or stereotypically obese...

Should be an interesting weekend. More Later...

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:47:14 GMT

So it looks like we'll be heading up to Estes Park this Saturday for the Longs Peak Scottish/Irish festival. My usual MO is to head for the Clan Tent to check in with the Buchanans, then check the schedule to figure out what looks interesting next...

I usually suggest to the local Heathens that anyone else who is going look around the baseball fields for me - I'm kind of hard to miss at 6'2", long blonde hair, big red beard, wearing a kilt, but for some reason I tend to blend in a little more in this crowd... :)

For those not familiar with the Buchanan "Target" tartan, here's a small sample:

Not quite as eyebending as some of the tartans out there, but I think I'll still go with a basic black shirt - nothing else in my wardrobe has a prayer of coordinating.

Weekend Update

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:08:32 GMT

The Punk Rocks show at Red Rocks turned out to be a mixed bag. Unfortunately, Keith Morris of the Circle Jerks had a medical emergency last week and so the band that I most wanted to see wasn't there after all - it's kinda hard for vocalists to do their thing when they've been puking their throats raw just prior to slipping into a diabetic coma and spending a week in a Norwegian hospital.

On the plus side, the first two acts put on a really good show, even if the audience wasn't quite awake yet. Local skatepunk band Frontside Five ripped through their set, putting out a remarkable amount of energy. I'm going to have to watch for local performances - with a proper pit and a smaller venue, they'll be a lot of fun. Street Dogs (from Boston) also put on a good show, and by that point enough people in the audience were awake enough to stand up and react to the music, even getting a circle pit going on the Red Rocks seating (not an easy feat).

Bouncing Souls got a good reaction from the audience, but I didn't find their pacing all that great, and I'm honestly not a big fan of their particular take on Celtic pop-punk. I'd rather listen to Flogging Molly, actually. Or the Dropkick Murphys (whose original lead singer is fronting Street Dogs, as a matter of fact).

The Circle Jerks would have done a half-hour set at this point, had Keith Morris been able to do more than sit up and croak. Sigh. Maybe next time.

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones definitely were the highlight of the evening as far as I was concerned - high energy, tight arrangements, and lots of plaid suits. Unfortunately, they ran into one of the weird things about the local punk scene when they unfurled a large pro-Obama banner at the end of their set - there are a surprising number of conservative punks locally (near as I can tell, they're mostly the sort who would have been listening to Springsteen back in the day, but ever since Blink 152, Sum 41 and the other meathead 90's pop-punk bands made fratboys comfortable with punk, they've been inserting their bermuda-shorts-clad posteriors into what used to be a working-class left-of-center political scene. And of course, one of them pegged a half-full bottle of water at the Bosstones and hit their lead guitarist in the neck right as they ended their set.

On behalf of the aging West Coast socialist punks transplanted into the Denver Scene, I'd like to apologize to The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. And I hope the dick who threw that bottle got the shit beaten out of him later.

NOFX closed the concert, but the shine was off at that point. Not having seen them before, I'm not sure if their attitude was at all soured by the bottle-throwing or if they're normally this caustic to their audiences, but they had a good time not doing the usual "wow, you're such a great audience" bullshit that every other band does to get the locals fired up.

All in all, it was kind of a roller coaster. I didn't get as much of a workout as I did at the last Circle Jerks concert at the Ogden (where I sweated through two shirts), but my knees are still pretty sore from jumping up and down on concrete (note to self - next time, wear the damn high-tops instead of the sturdy boots), and my neck is stiff from headbanging. Not a bad evening, really.

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:02:30 GMT

Viked from boars_heart,

Rules of the game:
- Choose a singer/band/group
- Answer using ONLY titles of songs by that singer/band/group

I choose :

Ramones

1. Are you male or female?
"Now I Wanna Be A Good Boy"

2. Describe yourself.
"Outsider"

3. What do people feel when they're around you?
"Too Tough To Die"

4. How would you describe your previous relationship?
"Glad To See You Go"

5. Describe your current relationship.
"She’s The One"

6. Where would you want to be now?
"Here Today, Gone Tomorrow"

7. How do you feel about love?
"Listen To My Heart"

8. What's your life like?
"I Just Want To Have Something To Do"

9. What would you ask for if you had only one wish?
"I Wanna Be Well"

10. Say something wise.
"Every Time I Eat Vegetables It Makes Me Think Of You"

Got 4th Amendment?

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 21:18:37 GMT

Engadget's take, and one from The Register.

So if we abandon the very liberties that underpin the "American Way of Life" that we're supposedly trying to impose on the terrorists who are, in turn, trying to destroy it (whether out of fundamentalist fervor or sheer jealousy - take your pick), then who really wins here? Hmmmmm?

I apologize in advance to all of my fellow travelers - since I travel with a laptop, PDA, and cell phone, I've got a lot of data available for the DHS folks to copy off and sort through, so if you're stuck behind me when it's my turn to get checked out, sorry.. Though what they're going to do with my cached data from WOW is beyond me...

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:44:44 GMT

Yesterday's post was, in part, a function of trying to keep from falling off the wagon - i.e., no caffeine to assist with structure or editing. I'm doing better this morning. I hope.

Anyway, it did get me thinking back to how I came to appreciate punk rock - after all, I was a complete musical geek growing up.

I studied classical piano from 3rd grade on, and my practice time was the time that most other kids were spending watching cartoons or listening to the radio. My parents' record collection consisted largely of Broadway cast albums and crooners that made Bing Crosby seem hip and relevant by comparison. I had some Disney soundtracks, but in my early days I was just as happy rolling them down the hallway as listening to them. We watched "The Lawrence Welk Show" religiously. :Nuff said?

I remember going shopping for some sheet music one time in downtown Seattle - the clerk who was helping us seemed a little baffled by a kid my age who exhibited no interest whatsoever in a book of Beatles sheet music, preferring the musical genius of John Philip Sousa. It's kind of like growing up in any other situation that seems really weird in retrospect - it was normal for me, as I had nothing to compare it to. None of my other friends in school were all that musical (which tells you how much I socialized with the other band geeks in junior high).

My first inkling that there was something else out there came when my grandmother sent me a transistor radio for my birthday. This was sometime in the late 70's, so what I was hearing on "American Top 40" with Kasey Kasem was not exactly a highlight of American pop culture, musically speaking. Disco was entering its death throes, and the Eagles were insanely popular - I never did figure that one out. I wound up latching onto Supertramp as a favorite band, in no small part because they had piano parts in their arrangements. Some of their songs express things that I was feeling at the time - alienation, issues with parents, the disconnect between what I was being told and how the world actually appeared to function, etc. - but their style was definitely laid-back pop. There was angst in the lyrics, but they were always more whiny than angry.

The moment of revelation came sometime in high school, when I heard "Psychotherapy" by the Ramones for the first time. The opening sirens, crunching power chords, and snarling vocals hit a nerve. I had no idea what I was hearing at the time - it was playing on some local radio station, and it's the only time I've ever heard "Psychotherapy" on the radio. During my freshman year in college, I finally got my hands on a copy of "Subterranean Jungle", which was the album from which "Psychotherapy" came, and that was it - I was hooked. 18 years of being carefully taught to pay close attention to what other people thought of me, to make sure that people liked me (to the point of pathology), 2 years of what was probably clinical depression, admonitions to cut my hair and watch my complexion and keep an eye on my weight - it all boiled over to a soundtrack populated with the Ramones, Circle Jerks, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Dead Boys, Clash, GenX, and Iggy Pop.

Ticket Purchased - with a side essay...

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:20:15 GMT

Some people look at me and see certain things. Being judged by appearances has always been a hot-button topic for me, and I've been known to play with people's tendency to do this by deliberately choosing to appear in a particular way. Last weekend, for example, I got my suit out of mothballs for a friend's wedding (I'm told I clean up nice...) as opposed to wearing my formal kilt - I don't have a jacket that goes with the formal outfit, or a formal shirt that doesn't clash badly with Buchanan plaid (and trust me - outside of black or white, you've gotta be spot on with color choice!).

People who don't know me very well are often surprised at my taste in music. I took piano lessons for years, added clarinet and bass clarinet in school, and tacked on organ lessons as well when my childhood church's organist retired. I've still got a deep appreciation for baroque and classical music (not as fond of the Romantic era), and certain modern pieces that use the older forms. This startles some folks. Others are totally freaked out when they discover my love of late 70's and early 80's hardcore punk - at least until they see me in a leather jacket.

With that said, I've finally ordered my ticket for the upcoming "Punk Rocks" show at Red Rocks - NOFX, the Mighty Mighty BossTones, Bouncing Souls, Circle Jerks, Street Dogs, and Frontside Five. I'm also seriously considering getting a ticket for the upcoming Motorhead/Misfits show at the Fillmore.

It's nice to have the cash and the time to finally get to see some of the bands I 'discovered' in college. I'm still bummed about never having seen the Ramones live, though.

George Carlin, R.I.P. (guess why this one's flagged?)

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:08:39 GMT

Well, Shit.

Also piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits.

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 22:20:03 GMT

So - I survived Elephant Rock.

The route follows a traditional loop around the area along local highways, with plenty of rest/aid stops and copious police support. The initial climb is a killer:

In other words, the first 5 miles are all straight up hill. And that nice flat part between miles 10-15? We had a 10-20 MPH headwind. Also on the flat stretch from about miles 16-22... After the rest/aid stop at that point, the route turns west, so the wind was from the side during the rolling climbs. There was another rest/aid stop at mile 30, at which point a short climb got us to the descent phase (wheeeeeee!), during which I hit a maximum speed of 49.8 mph, according to my bike computer. That little, brutal spike from miles 42-45 is Tomah road, which is pure evil. All told, there's about 1900 feet of elevation gain over the route - it only feels like most of it's along Tomah...

Ride time was about 4 1/2 hours, and I was exhausted by the time it was over. I paused along the roadside several times on the Tomah road climb just to let my legs recover and to gain the energy necessary to keep going. I stayed fed and hydrated, and my sunscreen mostly didn't sweat off (just a couple of spots I should have touched up, but I don't think they'll even peel later), so I'm counting it as a victory.

Last time I did Elephant Rock, I was totally unprepared for the climbing and didn't ride again for a couple of months. This time around, I started commuting again 2 days later (Monday was a massage appointment, which I desperately needed!). We're also looking at doing some additional distance rides later in the season (B is looking at the 32 mile routes - I'll decide how I'm feeling closer in).

Tue, 27 May 2008 18:04:20 GMT

Boy, I've really been slacking off on writing lately... Been busy with cabling and administrative project, plus rebuilding our Windows Update server, which decided to stop reading data from its hard drive the day we were supposed to apply the latest updates... Perfect timing.

Just found out that the Circle Jerks are coming back to Denver in August, as part of a show that also includes NOFX, the MIghty Mighty Bosstones, Bouncing Souls, Street Dogs, and Frontside Five (never heard of the last two, actually). So looks like I'll be seeing plenty of live music this summer - friends of ours picked up tickets to Beausoleil and Buckwheat Zyedeco at the Botanic Gardens, so there's that going on, too.

Finally getting somewhere with the bicycling training rides - between mechanical problems and a nasty cold earlier in the season, I hadn't managed more than 35 miles on any one ride so far this year, which isn't really adequate prep for a 50-mile ride - but I did make it all the way from my front door down to Hudson Gardens, which is a 40 mile round trip. All flat, so it's still not great prep for Elephant Rock, but I've gotten in some hill workouts earlier in the season, so I should be okay. There's a sag wagon if worst comes to worst...

And the sign up goodie bag had notices about several other organized rides this summer, so we should have riding goals for July and September... May not make it all the way up to a century ride this year, but should be able to do at least a couple of half-centuries and maybe a metric.

Disting/Plow Charming

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:57:38 GMT

It's not entirely surprising, given my own decidedly non-agricultural background, but one of the things that has been difficult for me in Heathenry has been really understanding the seasonal cycle of things. I do computer work for a living, and exist in a world of fluorescent lighting in windowless rooms for at least 8 hours a day, then come home to LCD screens, curtains closed to keep the HOA from spying on my home life, with a xeriscaped back yard to provide as little maintenance as possible so that I can focus on reading and playing on my computer at home...

But this spring, I'm finally really feeling it. There's a definite shift happening, and even though I'm still feeling sluggish and torpid, I'm not happy about it, and feel like I should be doing something to get the sludge cleared out of the pipes on a more regular basis. We're actually noticing plant growth (which we've been mostly ignoring for the last couple of years), and feeling an urge to do something about that, as well...

So tonight, as part of our regular weekly religious observations, we'll be digging out our pruning shears and putting them in front of the Disir altar as a reminder.

And this weekend, we'll be doing bicycle maintenance as well...

Multiculturalism, Pluralism, and the limits thereof...

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 21:09:20 GMT

So - don't get me wrong. My arguments in favor of treating Muslims as individuals and not simply stereotyping them all as fundamentalist radicals shouldn't be taken as anything but my own bias and reaction against lumping entire populations into quick and easy pigeonholes. It doesn't work very well when we try to do it to Heathens and Asatruar - why should it work better when dealing with Jews, Muslims, Mormons, Christians, or the Chinese?

On the other hand, my own biases in favor of multiculturalism and pluralism have limits. autobeast posted a link this morning that ties right into where I'd planned to go with this line of pontification: Archbishop backs sharia law for British Muslims

This is not the only European example of bending a little too far, IMHO. A German judge recently ruled that a domestic abuse case he was hearing was entirely permissible conduct under Shari'a law (the news item was from March 2007, so direct links to news feeds have long since disappeared - Google "German judge rules Koran" and you'll find plenty of reaction from other bloggers).

The more conservative voices out there are trumpeting this as the zenith of multicultural dipstickery and a legal system run amok, and I have to admit that they've got a point, much as it galls me to do so. This is the sort of thing that has European social conservatives up in arms, and leads to stuff like the Freyja Aswynn posting that got so much blog time among the Heathens last week. There's a very real sense of fear out there that the foreigners are 'taking over' - and while I don't share that fear myself, I see where it's coming from.

Thing is, one judge's opinion (even in Germany) isn't the final say - and neither is the opinion of the Archbishop of Canturbury. Whenever two (or more) cultures come into contact, there is a period of adjustment - and these are symptoms of that adjustment, not signs of the End Times. Legal bodies have already denounced the Archbishop's pronouncement, and the Central Council of Muslims in Germany is on record denouncing the German legal decision (see? Moderate Islam - right there in print and on the record). If you'll pardon the descent into academic language for a minute, it's the Hegelian dialectic in action. You have a Thesis (Western Law), an Antithesis (Shari'a Islamic Law), and they're butting up against each other on the way to a new Synthesis. This doesn't mean that everyone will be subject to Shari'a in the future, or that Western Law is going to ignore Muslim social mores and religious sensibilities in its traditional paternalistic style (which is the very real fear on the other side of the coin) - most likely, IMHO, there will be some recognition that within traditional communities, Shari'a will continue to be the local standard <i>right up to the point that civil authorities outside the community are called in to get involved in a dispute</i>., at which point the local standards will have to accommodate civil standards. That, in a nutshell, is how pluralism is supposed to work in theory (like, f'r instance, States' Rights in a Federal Republic, or National Law vs. International Law). It's a gross oversimplification, but that's the basic theory as I understand it.

And that's why I'm fairly confident that, in the long run, we'll figure out the Theses, Antitheses, and Syntheses in our own country as well. We've done it before (in some cases far more successfully than others - ask Vine Deloria), and I think we'll do it again. .

Head/Desk

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 17:48:34 GMT

For those of you that haven't heard yet, Freya Aswynn posted an entry on her blog that's being seen as an anti-Islamic screed - and for good reason. I found the link from lwood's LJ (as did several others on my FList) - if you're curious, I can do the HTML-fu necessary to add a link here as well, but having read the first few paragraphs, it's all pretty standard xenophobia and nothing that I actually want to drive traffic to...

After pondering a bit over the weekend, I'm realizing that part of my own negative reaction stems from something that's not quite hypocrisy in the classical sense, but more a realization that people just aren't thinking things through to the same degree that I try to (yes, I flatter myself from time to time - don't we all?)

I've seen similar sentiments expressed in other online journals - some belonging to people on my FList, even - and I sometimes take the time to point out that not all believers in Islam follow the fundamentalist variants that are so popular these days. I sometimes hear back the questions "Well, where are all these moderates?" and "Why aren't they getting press?"

Cast your mind back a few months, to the infamous Fox News piece on Asatru. Remember that one? The one that did include a few snippets of opinion from Troth members and other so-called "Universalist" heathens, but then ran slavering for the far right lunatic fringe and prison population? Moderation doesn't generate headlines, blog traffic, or ad sales - you need sensationalism to do that, and focusing on a bunch of boring, middle-to-lower-class white folks who get along with their neighbors isn't what Fox News wanted to portray. They wanted a jucier story about Neo-Nazis and prison thugs who embrace a religion that caters to their baser instincts, so that's what they wrote. The moderates (and even liberals) among the Heathens just weren't newsworthy...

Guess what? Those are the same people depicting all of Islam as a bunch of terrorist thugs. Shoe kinda pinches a little when it's on the other foot, does it not?

For the record - I'm not a big fan of Islam. I studied Middle Eastern History as part of my bachelor's program, and there's little in the religion that appeals to me. Islam's history is problematic - but then, so is Judaism's history and Christianity's, for that matter. I'm not even entirely comfortable with the early days of modern Heathenry, when it comes right down to that. Every religion has its negatives, and Islam's got some serious "too big for its britches" issues in certain communities, IMHO - more on that later - but tagging everyone who espouses every sub-variant of a religion as being the same as every practitioner of a particular subset is the sloppiest of sloppy thinking. It's like blaming the Unitarians for Operation Rescue. We bitch about it when it happens to us - so why do we then turn around and do the same damn thing? Hm?

For the 2 or 3 of you that haven't seen this elsewhere already...

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 23:23:40 GMT

...It's the Huckabee Meme!

"[Some of my opponents] do not want to change the Constitution, but I believe it's a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God, and that's what we need to do is to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than try to change God's standards."
— Mike Huckabee, campaigning in Michigan.

Right - because theocracy has worked so well historically. It's almost enough to get me to register as a Republican just so I can vote against him in the primaries.

I've been keeping an eye on the Christian Right since the Reagan administration, and this bozo is the Great White Hope for them (so to speak). Bush is seen as a cynical sellout, who sold himself as a God-fearing, Pro-Life, Anti-Gay candidate - and then pretty much ignored Christian Right issues in favor of an ill-advised military adventure, surfacing to promote the Defense of Marriage Act briefly, then getting back to squandering the GDP. Most of the other Republican candidates seem to be viewed with equal measures of suspicion, Giuliani for not being enough of a fascist and Romney for being the wrong sort of right-wing religious wackjob.

Look, we've already had too many presidents lately who cultivated an affable, personable air - Bush II, Clinton, Bush I (though he wasn't that good at it), Reagan, Carter. It's to the point of making me nostalgic for the Nixon administration - and never thought that would happen. Can we just please elect someone who appears to have some functioning brain cells for once this century?

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 23:05:44 GMT

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself."

-- F. NIetzsche

Some days, he just nails it... I've posted here and elsewhere about my own experiences growing up, and my distrust of group-think and collective identity, and this pretty much says what I've been thinking all these years.

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 04:17:48 GMT

Chaturanga Dandasana hurts 24-48 hours later.

And Ustrasana isn't much better, if your shoulders are tight.

(in other words, I'm back to Sunday morning yoga classes - it's good for me).

More Memeage...

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 22:07:12 GMT

This one's making the rounds - I swiped my copy from walkyrja...

Privilege Meme

Bold the ones that are true for you.

The list is based on an exercise developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. The exercise developers ask that if you participate in this blog game, you acknowledge their copyright.

Father went to college.

Dad had to drop out partway through for a stint in the Army in order to cover costs (he’s the only person that I know of who actually asked the draft board to move his number up…), but he came back after a tour of duty in Panama and got his B.A.

Father finished college.

See above. He then went on and got an M.A.

Mother went to college.

When I found out that Mom went out of state for her college education, I started wondering why I got a ration about wanting to go more than a couple of hours away for mine…

Mother finished college.

Degree in Christian Education (not sure if that was a 2-year or 4-year degree program)

Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor.

One of my great-aunts actually got her J.D. and became a lawyer. This would have been sometime in the 1930’s…

Was the same or higher socieoeconomic class as your high school teachers.

Yes. My father was a high-school teacher, so I was pretty much precisely of the same socioeconomic class as my own teachers.

Had more than 50 books in your childhood home .

Oh, yeah. Mom’s psych textbooks, Dad’s French Lit (some in translation), World Book Encyclopedia, the Childcraft Library, and a couple of Doubleday Book Club subscriptions had our front room looking like a library from day one.

Had more than 500 books in your childhood home.

I don’t think we got quite to this point, unless you count my comic books. And I didn’t get most of those until I went to college anyway…

Were read children's books by a parent.

This is how my parents figured out that I’d learned to read on my own – I started following along as they read, and they initially thought that I’d memorized the words. So they tried it with a book from the library and guess what? I was, in fact, reading at 3 years old.

Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18.

My kindergarten teacher recommended music lessons for me, as I seemed fascinated by the piano in the classroom. My parents bought a piano when I was in 1^st or 2^nd grade, and I started lessons in 3^rd grade. When our church organist decided to retire, my church signed me up for organ lessons when I was in Jr. High school, and I served as the organist through high school and into my college years.

Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18.

See above. I also took band classes as soon as they were offered (clarinet from 4^th grade on, switched to bass clarinet in high school).

The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively.

I have long hair, a beard, and habitually wear a leather jacket. The people who look like me in the media are usually bounty hunters, motorcycle club members, or tattoo artists. The people who talk like me, on the other hand, are usually portrayed positively (unless you factor in my remaining liberal ideals…)

Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18.

Nope. And shouldn’t have had the one I got at 26, either…

Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs.

My grandmother gave me a lump sum that covered a couple of years, and my parents covered most of the rest. I worked several jobs during those years for pocket money, and once I moved out of the dorms was covering my own room and board (and most of my books by the final year).

Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs.

Most, but not all.

Went to a private high school.

Went to summer camp.

I went to day camp a few times in elementary school, but I don’t think that’s quite what’s being asked here. I also worked at a Boy Scout Reservation during my college years, but that’s not quite it, either…

Had a private tutor before you turned 18.

Family vacations involved staying at hotels.

Most of our family vacations involved visiting relatives, and we camped out for most of them. We did take one road trip that involved a lot of stays in motels, since the rates weren’t that much higher than campground fees as it turned out… I didn’t stay in a hotel until after I got married.

Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18.

I used some of my own paper route money to supplement my parental supply of clothing starting after I started getting social pressure to wear certain brands – my parents had a clothing budget, so if I wanted a more expensive pair of jeans than the budget would cover, I had to cover the difference.

Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them.

My grandmother made some noises about handing down one of her cars, but nothing ever came of it. I bought my own bicycles, too, since I was making money with the paper route.

There was original art in your house when you were a child.

Dad taught commercial art, so he had a few of his own fine art pieces around the house. I specifically remember a ceramic bust of Charles DeGaulle…

Had a phone in your room before you turned 18.

Never wanted one, actually. Who the hell would I have been calling?

You and your family lived in a single family house.
Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home.

I actually developed a bias against renters during my paper route years, as it was assumed in my family that anyone who rented rather than owning was either fiscally irresponsible or some sort of transient…

You had your own room as a child.

It wasn’t big, but it was mine and it had a door…

Participated in an SAT/ACT prep course.

Had your own TV in your room in High School.

Nope. Didn’t even have cable outside of a couple of free trial periods.

Owned a mutual fund or IRA in High School or College.

This was as much a tax dodge by my grandmother as anything else – but she did turn over a mutual fund that she started in my name that I managed to keep from cashing out until after college was over.

Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16.

My first airplane flight didn’t happen until after I was 21.

Went on a cruise with your family(grandparents).

I’ve never actually been on a cruise.

Went on more than one cruise with your family.

Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up.

We had a membership at the Pacific Science Center during part of my childhood – I specifically remember one summer when they did a Science Fiction film festival, with a weekly Buck Rogers serial as the opening feature . “The Incredible Shrinking Man” scared the crap out of me, and I put a mark on the wall to be certain that I wasn’t shrinking myself. Said mark is somewhere around my current chest level…

You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family.

I wasn’t really aware of the heating bill specifically, but I did get to watch Mom going over the food budget, clipping coupons, and shopping at three different local stores to get the best deals. Dad also set up a sliding door system that isolated the kitchen area, which we then heated with food prep plus a space heater, so that we didn’t need to hang out in our bedrooms or the living room, which were all pretty chilly.