Sometimes I look at a photo of two good looking people and say to myself, “damn, there goes two good looking people.”

Had no idea Derek Reese was dating the girl from Transformers, who is friends with giant killer robots.

…I’m going to bring this up.

I find it awfully gimmicky that the Republican National Committee brought in a black man to be their chairman, and then had an Indian guy give the Republican response after Obama’s address this week.

I feel like they are saying, “see, we have young and cool minorities, too!”

There’s nothing wrong with trying to update your image, but doing it for the sake of doing it seems, well… gimmicky.  Michael Steele and Bobby Jindal very well might be the best men for the jobs (except… did you see Bobby Jindal’s speech?) but it feels forced to me, and his “my bad” apology on behalf of the last 8 years was reminiscent of Obama’s willingness to say “I screwed up, I made a mistake.”  Granted, Obama doesn’t hold a patent on apologies, but why apologize now, and why you?  Who the hell are you?

As if “my bad” makes it all okay.

“Tonight, we tell America that Republican values, conservative values, are right for America,” Michael Steele said, admitting that the party has made some mistakes. “Tonight, we tell America: we know the past, we know we did wrong. My bad. But we go forward in appreciation of the values that brought us to this point.”

Obama won because he was charismatic, knew how to work a crowd, and connected with average Americans.  The majority of us believed in his message.  And while there is no doubt that a lot of people did vote for him simply because he was black, even if he wasn’t, he still would have won.  Because he wasn’t a gimmick, he came to the stage naturally at the right time.

Thoughts?

Click to make bigger.

There’s some kind of big round-up of some huge assisted suicide ring, or something.  I didn’t read the whole story because I get upset that “busting an assisted suicide ring” is dramatized as if it was as bad as a child prostitution ring.

My question is, why is assisted suicide bad?

This is not a smart ass comment or a rhetorical question (I hesitate to use that phrase because I’m not 100% sure I know what ‘rhetorical’ means).  I think I know how I feel about it but would like to hear other opinions.

Ben Linus is the new Felix Gaeta.  Death by firing squad sounds about right.  I’d love to see Ben up to one of his weasely little schemes, only to have the camera pan around to reveal Colonel Tigh in all his eye-patchy glory holding a sidearm to the back of his head.  Oh, I’m getting my TV shows mixed up.  Make that Widmore.  I hope Widmore has a gun to Ben’s head soon.  With an eye-patch on.

But seriously, Ben – not cool, bro.  Gently talking a grief-stricken, depressed and hopeless man out of killing himself, only to rope his neck and kill him yourself minutes later just isn’t a fair thing to do.

Though you have to wonder just why he did it.  It keeps getting pointed out that Ben is doing things originally meant for Locke, like turning the big wheel at the bottom of the island, and now killing Locke himself instead of just letting Locke hang himself.  But I think perhaps it had something to do with getting information… after all, Ben strangled Locke immediately after he told him about Eloise Hawking.  I think Ben, the manipulator, just needed information.  But I also think he needed Locke dead.

Also, and maybe this is clear to everyone but me – but I got kind of choked up when Locke stepped into the noose he made, because I was thinking that he was thinking, “this will get them all together.”  In other words, everything came together for him at that moment… he found out why he had to kill himself, because it was the only way to get the Oceanic 6 together and it would put into motion the events that would get them all back to the island.  But you can never be 100% sure about anything, and to not even get to see if it’ll happen (cuz you’re dead) would require an extraordinary amount of faith.  In that sense, Locke became fully realized yesterday night, and damn if that wasn’t a powerful scene.

And how strange for Locke, to get killed and then wake up back on the island.  Locke, of course, has no recollection of anything that happened after he died.  So to him, he struggled against Ben, felt the life leave his body, and then woke up on the beach of the island he loved so much.  I couldn’t stop thinking about how the island really was his heaven throughout the whole episode.

But here again, the logistics of everything bother me.  Locke died.  His body is a normal body.  For it to be preserved that long, it would have to have been embalmed, which means his blood was drained from his body and all the icky stuff that happens when you die, happened to him.  So how exactly did his body become reanimated when it got to the island?  He looks too healthy to just be an undead corpse walking around.

I would have been happier if Locke found his own body (like Starbuck!).  We’d be left with the mystery of just who Locke is, and whether or not he was a manifestation of the island, or even the smoke monster.  Instead, we have to accept that somehow he really was resurrected.  But I suppose if 85% of people in real life can accept a similar story of resurrection as historical truth, I can believe it in a TV show.  I just wish it had more of a science(-fiction) explanation instead of just “faith.”  It’s possible this will all be explained in a way that I can take seriously, but I somehow doubt it.

And kudos to the whole cast for great acting.  Locke’s suicide attempt was 100% believable, and I love how you can identify what time period they are in based on Jack’s mood and behavior.  Matthew Fox and Terry O’Quinn deserve something for that, or at least more than a mention by me on my Thingy.

Toilet paper has to go, too.

“Future generations are going to look at the way we make toilet paper as one of the greatest excesses of our age.  Making toilet paper from virgin wood is a lot worse than driving Hummers in terms of global warming pollution.”  Making toilet paper has a significant impact because of chemicals used in pulp manufacture and cutting down forests.

I’ve been wondering lately why there isn’t more of a concern about the amount of toilet paper people use.  It’s no different than throwing away few sheets of brand new printer paper every time.  The problem is, unlike a Hummer, there are little alternatives.  I can’t wipe with a Shamwow.

What needs to happen is we need to use all the recycled paper and turn it into toilet paper.  The problem is, in our society, this would not go over well and it would cost $20 a roll.

Earlier this week Quizno’s launched their “Million Sub Giveaway” promotion, where the first million people to sign up got a coupon for a free sub.  I got mine, and went to Quizno’s the next day for lunch.  All I got was a sub—no pop, no chips.  I handed the coupon to the cashier, who looked like an abnormally depressed manager, who said “thank you, have a nice day.”  It felt strange not paying.

I looked around and almost everyone in the store had a coupon.  The promotion worked, sort of — it got me in the store but not spending any more money on the cheap stuff that they mark up a lot.  I briefly considered feeling bad for not spending any money, especially when restauraunts like this are struggling so bad, but I assumed that the Quizno’s Corpotation would reimburse the cost to the local franchise owner.

Today, I read an article that says most franchises are boycotting the coupon, because the Quizno’s Corporation is not reimbursing the cost, and most franchise owners tried to get them to stop the promotion in the first place.  In other words, the coupon I used cost the abnormally depressed looking manager himself $3.99.

If I had known Quizno’s was such a shady company I would not have used it.  Lesson learned.

****

Jeers to Quizno’s, CHEERS to Netflix, who is actually doing what I feel a business should be doing… innovating and changing their business model to adapt to the current times.  Unlike the auto makers who pull their pockets out and shurg their shoulders and ask us to give them money without giving us anything in return, and unlike the countless other businesses closing their doors and pointing fingers, Netflix has consistantly shown their ability to adapt and grow.

A few years ago I was a Netflix subscriber and switched to Blockbuster Online when Blockbuster started offering free in-store exchangs.  I was not the only one… lots of other customers switched over, and everyone was saying Netflix was done.  There was NO WAY Netflix could compete with another business that would take in your mailed DVDs and give you an additional free one when you waited for your next to arrive in the mail, all at no additional cost.

At that point, Netflix changed it’s model.  Instead of focusing on New Releases, they’d snatch up Independant Films.  Then, they introduced the ability to stream an unlimited amount of movies online.

I went back to Netflix and have been with them ever since.  Now, they are starting to offer a “streaming only” plan, where DVDs in the mail aren’t part of the deal—living up to the name “Netflix.”

Meanwhile, Blockbuster hemmorages money, closes stores, and charges almost $6 for a rental.

Yesterday wasn’t Matt Giraud’s best performance, but it was better than most of the others.

I liked #5 (Allison?) best.  I think for sure she’ll go through, and I think Matt will too but it will be close… he won’t be the #1 male vote getter like he probably could have been.  That’ll go to the guy who sang Man in the Mirror, or the last guy who sang.

Anyway we sent in close to or over 500 votes yesterday, cumulatively.  I wish American Idol would release the voting records to see how much of a difference we made, but they don’t, because it’s rigged.

Katy and I are very fortunate and I am thankful that we are able to afford things such as cars, apartments, and a few luxuries, even with the economy in the pooper.  But I always try to be mindful of money, and try to recognize other people’s situations—like in poor “third world” countries, where some people have to get by with less than a dollar a day.

The first time I heard that, I thought, “well, that’s not too hard, I can probably do that.”  If I stay in and eat packaged foods and keep to myself, I can certainly go a whole day without spending money.  The problem is, well… I was stupid.  That’s a stupid thing to say.  I’m spending money just sitting here, and likely so are you.

Anyway I thought it would be fun to see how much money I actually spend in an average day.  You should do the same, it gives you a nice idea of what you are doing and what you could be doing and how much better off you probably are than you think.

6:00 – Alarm goes off.  Brush my teeth.  Use probably 1/100^th of the toothpaste.  At $3 a tube, that’s $0.03 worth of toothpaste.

6:05 – I’m using water as I brush my teeth and use the toilet.  And get a drink, and…  I’ll just take my average monthly water bill and divide it by 30 days to get my average daily water cost, which is $1.10.

6:10 – Breakfast, a bowl of Raisin Bran.  I can get 6 bowls per box, so that means one bowl is about $0.50.  I use about a cup and a half of milk.  That’s $0.10.  Before my glass of juice –  $0.70 – I’ve already spent over a dollar today and I’ve only been up for ten minutes.

6:20 – In my car, on the way to exercise and work.  Listening to Satellite Radio.  My subscription rates are all out of whack, but a normal person would be spending $0.43 a day to listen to Satellite Radio so I’ll go with that.

6:30 – Driven eight miles to work.  My car gets approximately 30mpg, and if gas is around $1.80, that means I spent $0.48.

6:35 – Scan my workout pass.  I paid $50 for 6 months, so that’s $0.27 per day.

6:40 – Begin workout while drinking a bottle of water from home, $0.24.

7:30 – Get in the shower.  I’m not going to count spending other people’s money, such as the soap and water I use in the shower.  I assume that’s part of the $0.27 I pay everyday to use the facility (what a deal, when you look at it like that).

7:50 – Toiletries (deodorant, hair gel, aftershave):  $0.15.

7:55 – Fresh fruit snack from home as I walk to my office (replenish those carbs, sucka!):  $2.50.  (Holy shit, fruit is expensive).

10:00 – Buy a Diet Soda-POP from the machine.  $1.25.

12:00 – Lunch.  Assuming I don’t eat out, a frozen lunch from home.  On average $1.75.

3:00 – Snack.  Usually yogurt or olives.  $1.00.  Another Diet Soda-POP, $1.25.

5:00 – Ride home, $0.48 in gas again.  Come to think of it – I make a monthly payment on the car.  Per day this equates to $10.14.

6:00 – Home.  Damn, electricity too.  Even when no one’s home, the refrigerator is running and we do like to keep it above freezing for Sophia.  So that’s, on average, $3.34 a day.

7:00 – Sophia has to eat.  Her food is kind of expensive.  Per day, about $1.66.  Her water was already included in the daily water estimate.

7:30 – Katy and I eat.  I’m just going to take the average grocery bill for dinner foods and divide it, here.  About $8.

8:00 – I’m on the internet.  Katy’s watching TV.  Cable/internet bill, per day, is about $3.35.  (Used to be more, but we just called and downgraded).

9:00 – I just realized we’re paying for a place to stay.  $23 a day.

10:00 – Read a book.  I buy, on average, maybe one book a week.  On the safe side, one book every two weeks.  If divided, that’s maybe $0.70 a day.  This is an estimate.

11:00 – Materials used at bedtime have already been included in the day’s expenses… water, etc.

I guess that’s about it.

Let’s add it up!  $62.42.  So, there I have it.

An average day for me costs $62.42.

So even if I do not physically hand over any money on any given day, there are still people out there who spend less than that.  So that’s why I thank whoever, and feel guilty for saying things like “I don’t make enough money.”

This stuff gets me all hot and bothered.

Excerpt:

“Researchers at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland constructed a computer model to create a synthetic galaxy with billions of stars and planets. They then studied how life evolved under various conditions in this virtual world, using a supercomputer to crunch the results.

In a paper published recently in the International Journal of Astrobiology, the researchers concluded that based on what they saw, at least 361 intelligent civilizations have emerged in the Milky Way since its creation, and as many as 38,000 may have formed.”

I get really excited when I hear about stuff like this.  I wonder, way back when our pre-historic ancestors were doing their thing, if they ever stood at a coastline and wondered if there were any other pieces of land out there that had life like them?  I imagine, if they did, it was probably pretty exciting and scary to think about.  Now we travel the globe regularly.

Granted, this is a “best-guess,” but that guess is based on things and probabilities we’ve witnessed with our own two eyes, so it’s a pretty good guess.

But 361 intelligent civilizations is nothing, really, when you consider how huge the Milky Way galaxy is.

What I really like about the article is it serves to remind us why no aliens have turned up yet.  We have been here less than a blink of an eye in terms of how long the Universe has existed.  The chances that any other civilization evolved at the exact same time and are at the same stage in development as us are statistically improbable.  So maybe humans really are alone in the universe, at least… currently.

Rule One: Don’t Give Money To Assholes

The guy from YouAreDumb.net explains what caused this mess.

“…they did this by selling the same pieces of paper back and forth to each other, making a profit each time, until trillions and trillions of dollars of fake money got mixed in with all the real money. Then the people who actually had real money stopped sending it in to pay for their houses. Since then, the entire financial crisis has consisted of the people with fake money trying to turn it into real money so that they don’t end up with no money. Most of the real money is coming from the government.”

Soooo…electing Barack Obama was an act of cowardice?
Lots of links today, sorry.  I’ve been wanting to write something about the new Attorney General’s comments a week or two ago about us being a “nation of cowards” when it comes to matters of race.  But my favsie Peter David is, of course, more articulate than I could be.

Working in an office where a primary means of communication is email, I see lots of people using lots of different grammar styles.

One thing that gets on my nerves is people who don’t do a line break when signing their names after a message… and sometimes, don’t use a line break at all so the entire email is one long paragraph.

Hi Adam, Let me know when a good time is for you to come and help me with Outlook.  Thanks Carl

In this example, he knows my name is Adam so I know he didn’t mean “Thanks, Carl,” but that’s how it comes across—that, or a third person is in his head thanking himself for writing the email.

I think the problem in situations like these is that people hear themselves in their head and have no sense of how other people may read their words, since in most cases Carl* is not behind me reading the email how he intended.

That’s why good grammar is important.

Here’s another less likely and overly exaggerated example:

Hi Adam you have my permissions to launch the nukes, thanks Carl.

So, in my interpretation, I’m hitting the launch buttons.  But in Carl’s head, he may have thought he CC’d another Carl and is actually saying, “Adam, you have my permission code to launch the nukes?!?  Thanks, Carl, for bringing this problem to my attention.”

Anyway.

That’s my nit picky item of the day.

* = ficticious name, ficticious email, but based on “Actual Events.”  Except the nuke thing.

Cheaters, Inc.
Opponents of gay marriage like to argue that it’ll destory the “sanctity of marriage.” What about stuff like this?  Let’s start a crusade against things that actually ruin other people’s lives.