Saturday, August 07, 2004
Okay, Is This Freaky, Or What?Since I may get out of town for a couple of days (not to NYC for a change, in case you guys think I'm dissing you yet again—not that I ever intentionally dissed you to begin with; jeez, this parenthetical phrase has become far too long! Where was I? Oh yeah...), I've decided to blog a little bit today.
First of all, I posted a recipé Thursday and sort-of apologized for that, since I thought it was lame; sya commented that it wasn't lame, and that some folks' blogs contain nothing but recipés. Well, yeah, but not my blog!
I recently wrote a whole draft entry about blogs and blogging, but I don't think I'll ever publish it. The gist of it is that I think a blog is whatever its author chooses to make it (thanks, Existential Man!). I was (am) really trying to figure out why people blog—and why they quit blogging. Short answers (guesses both): ego, and unsatisfactory cost/benefit ratio (that is, the time/energy blogging requires becomes less valuable than the rewards blogging brings).
But as for what my blog is, I'd say it's a blog about everything. Everything that happens in my life and goes on inside my head. It fills the role a diary would fill (I'm a lifelong diarist, or at least was until I started this thing), it helps me to improve my writing and research skills, and it gives me some feedback on what other people think of my life and worldview.
Getting back to sya's comment, I guess it bothers me to post a recipé because it's an admission that the foremost thing in my mind right now is food, and I'd rather talk about Ideas. Or, failing that, at least Current Events or the dreaded Politics. Stuff that can be described with capital letters. I guess it's a very "guy" way of thinking, that only things affecting the world-at-large have real significance. Which I know is wrong, so I'll get over it.
Besides, it's dumb. I've written about all kinds of things (everything, right?), including, for god's sake, the music in my head! But usually, I'm thinking about Ideas, Current Events, Politics (et cetera), and usually I'm doing something interesting in my life—right now, I'm looking for work, and cooking tomato sauce. It bothers me that these dull things are the only things happening in my life right now. It bothers me that lately I don't care much about any of the capital letter stuff. But, I am learning to accept these realities, which, I suppose is part of accepting the world as it is.
As for why I didn't just reply to this in comments, I've noticed that my Haloscan comments don't survive but a few months. Look back to December, when I sometimes got 10 or more comments for entries. All gone! When I have more Web space, I'll probably enable Blogger commenting. So please do comment, but realize you're creating a sand painting. Of course, if you think about it, no matter what we do in our lives, we're creating sand paintings, but that's an Idea and I'm not going there!
As to the title of this post, what's "freaky" is the weather. Check out today's numbers for Charlotte. First of all, the average high for this date is 90° F and the average low is 70° F. Note that today's high is way below average. Note also that this morning's low of 50° F shatters the record low of 57° F. Now check out Charlotte's figures for the month of August. Today's low sets a new all-time record low for the whole month. Note also that the average dew point is 66° F, and again, note that today's dew point was off the scale, or to say the least, on the extreme fringe. And that's Charlotte. Here (unfortunately there are no official weather records for Statesville) it got down to 48° F!
In short, it's usually hot and humid now—literally sweltering—but instead it's dry and cool. So cool that the hibiscus in my backyard bloomed today. It usually blooms in late September/early October. Freaky. Not that I'm complaining.
Finally, a shout out to my main man!
Yes, Sage the Wonder Dog turned 10 today! He's not complaining about the cool weather either. He would like to go for a walk, though. So we'll catch you later.
Posted by Me at 21:08 link
Thursday, August 05, 2004
All This Talk About Eating Made Me HungryDepending on your point of view, with this entry I'm either sinking to a new low, or rising to a new pinnacle of greatness. I'm going to give you my fabulous bachelor recipé for tomato sauce. That may not seem like a big deal, but try and it and you'll see.
(This isn't likely to become a recurring feature, as I have only about two other recipés.)28 ounce can concentrated crushed tomatoes*
1/2 TBSP sugar (preferably raw sugar)
1/2 TBSP salt
1 TBSP minced garlic (or about 1 clove fresh)
1 TBSP basil
1 TBSP oregano
1 TBSP cumin
Combine all ingredients in an appropriately-sized microwave-safe container. Stir well. Nuke for 3-5 minutes on high (depending on your micro unit; just be sure to get it super hot). Stir again and serve. Keeps well in fridge. Can be used for pizza, pasta, in place of ketchup—or just about anywhere really. Add some hot sauce and serve with Mexican food. Yum!
*Make sure the only ingredient is tomatoes! If you can get only the kind with salt and other crap, just omit the salt. If you're really ambitious, you can cook down 3-4 pounds of fresh tomatoes until they reach a "crushed" consistency. If you go that route, you'll need to stir almost constantly for at least an hour. Add the ingredients in the order listed and allow each one to mix fully before adding the next. And my hat's off to you if you've got that much time and energy for cooking! I make this about twice a week.
I did this because I want to keep blogging, but I just find I don't have that much to write about lately. Not much is going on in my personal life. Just another hot boring summer in the South. I don't feel much like preaching to the choir about politics, especially since the "choir" reading this blog has now become more of a barbershop quartet (hi guys!).
I've been reading the same book for 3 weeks now and so far I'm finding it only mildly interesting (I'm only 1/3 of the way through it; obviously, I'm reading slowly). I've watched a few movies, but nothing earth-shatteringly good. Last night I watched We Were Soldiers, a good movie which depicts war, and warriors, truthfully. What bothers me most about the events depicted in the movie, is that such wonderful people were sacrificed so needlessly. For what? In defense of our country? Sorry, I don't buy it. The "domino theory" war against communism was almost as hare-brained as the war on terrorism is. Communism is an actual ideology at least, unlike terrorism, but it never threatened this country in any tangible way.
Feh! I don't want to get started on this. I think I'll read a little and then turn in. But maybe a midnight snack first....
Posted by Me at 23:05 link
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
Change is GoodA glance at your title bar will reveal that I have, finally, changed my motto. The previous one, "Knowledge is Good," was not my personal motto, but rather was lifted from Animal House; it was the insipid motto of fictitious Faber College.
I have, though, decided to adopt "Joy in Spite of Everything" as my personal motto. Though not my own invention either, it defines life as I'd like to live it. That's all I've got for you right now. Music In My Head- The Plugz — "Reel Ten"
- Peter Paul & Mary — "If I Had a Hammer"
- Jimmy Luxury — "Cha Cha Cha" (Go remix)
- Paul Simon — "Stranded In A Limousine"
- Dead Milkmen — "Beach Party Vietnam"
Here's to seeing the world for what it really is—and laughing.
Posted by Me at 09:38 link
Sunday, August 01, 2004
Cautiously PessimisticI'd planned to head back up to the New River Trail for some more cycling punishment today. But then I checked the weather forecast. More specifically, I checked the hourly forecast, did some arithmetic, and concluded that no one in their right mind would venture out against odds like that.
If any of you know about weather forecasts and probability, help me out here. I'd really like to know if I'm right or not. For each hour, a probability of precipitation is listed. My assumption is that's the probability of rain falling somewhere in the forecast area during that hour. For example, today the precip. probability listed for 2 pm was 36%. I think that means the probability of rain falling in the forecast area between 2 and 3 pm was 36%.
In fact, the probability of rain for each hour from 2 to 7 pm was 36%. Since the rain, if it fell, was likely to fall in the form of heavy showers, possibly accompanied by lightning, hail and/or high winds, and since I was going to be as far as 25 miles from my car with precious little shelter anywhere, I didn't want to drive the 180 mile round trip (up to the trail and back) if rain was likely.
(If you hated math class, skip the next paragraph.)
If I'm right on that assumption about the probability, then I know how to compute the odds. I remembered from a statistics class years ago that to find a compound probability you multiply the individual probabilities together. But I couldn't just multiply 36% * 36% * 36% * 36% * 36% * 36%, because that would tell me the odds of rain falling during every single hour (a very slim 0.22%). I knew I'd need to use the complement, or the probability of not rain, in this case 64% for each hour. Well, 64% * 64% * 64% * 64% * 64% * 64% * = 6.87%. In other words, if my assumption is correct, the odds of it not raining during my ride were about 7%, so the odds of it raining were about 93%.
So I didn't go. In fact, it rained like a big dog, with lightning, hail and high winds. But I still don't know if I'm right, and I'd like to know.
If the election were held today...
...it wouldn't be too soon. To all of you who say politics is boring—you're right!
I don't spend time talking about politics and taking action because I love politics. Far from it. I don't love politics. I love climbing mountains, biking, walking in the woods with my dogs and my friends—stuff like that. I take an interest in politics because 1) it's my duty as a citizen to participate in the affairs of my city, county, state and country; 2) because many people in this country are in need, and collective political action is one way to help them; and 3) because if I want to continue enjoying the things I love, I have to work to ensure that (among other things) the mountain air stays fit to breathe, the woods don't get destroyed and my friends don't get locked up or deported unjustly. Just so you know.
An example of what I'm talking about
This makes my blood boil: You can see it the neighbourhood where I live on the outskirts of Beijing.
Two years ago it was surrounded by corn fields.
Now it's surrounded by huge new building sites for luxury housing complexes.
Places with names like Grand Hills, Riviera, or, my personal favourite, Yosemite Park.
Here China's new rich can buy a fully packaged American lifestyle, five bedrooms, a real log fire, and of course an extra large garage for the 4X4.
All yours for the bargain sum of $1m, and there are no shortage of takers.
...
We sped past factory after factory, their oversized gates proudly displaying names like Golden Dragon Footwear, or Bright China Leather.
One even had a huge billboard showing Pierce Brosnan, better known as 007, purportedly wearing one of their suits.
Here capitalism is raw and unregulated. The air is acrid. The rivers run black.
...
He [the factory owner] took a sleek red lighter from his pocket and gave it to me.
"In Japan this costs about $25," he told me. "I can make it for $1!"
Mr Feng's secret is his work force. In a large hanger I found 600 of them sitting behind rows of desks assembling lighters.
Most were young women.
"They're better at the fiddly work" Mr Feng told me.
But men or women, they all have one thing in common, they are all migrants from China's countryside.
And they'll all work for virtually nothing. Mr Feng pays his workers about $90 a month.
[full story] Predictably, jobs from the U.S. and from other Western nations are flowing into China like water. An American worker making 10 times what one of these Chinese workers makes still couldn't afford to pay their bills. Even if the American worker is 3 times as productive, having the work done in China still makes economic sense.
Or does it?
Sending huge numbers of jobs to countries with rock-bottom wages and virtually no environmental or worker-protection laws creates a huge downward pressure on wages at home. To compete, American workers will be forced to accept lower wages and rollbacks of hard-won safety and environmental protections. Taken to its logical conclusion, this trend sees a world with the rich continuing to get richer, the poor having no real chance to escape poverty, and our environment wrecked beyond repair. Perhaps worst of all, the middle class would virtually disappear, with the fortunate few escaping upward into extreme wealth—and with the rest forced to settle for wage slavery and quiet desperation.
It's already starting to happen. Millions of hard-working Americans put in 40 hours a week (or more) and still can't afford health insurance. The current administration supports changes in our labor laws which would deny overtime pay for millions of workers who depend on it now. Likewise, they support measures which would exempt energy companies from having to make their power plants pollute less as a condition of expansion. They support the kind of "free trade" which protects large businesses and leaves alarming numbers of working Americans vulnerable to instant obsolescence. And let's not forget their massive tax cut which benefits only the wealthiest, which actually increases the burden on lower-income workers (by causing increases in state and local taxes, as well as increases in health insurance premiums, among other things).
If you don't vote, you're endorsing this brave new world. If you're not politically active, you're enabling it. Please take an interest. It's not fun, true, but the alternative is a whole lot less fun.
When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.
- Edmund Burke
Posted by Me at 22:54 link
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