Reality Me

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  • The Past Clings Forever to the Future

    The Past cannot be undone
    And will always haunt The Future
    We extol ourselves,
    “Learn from the past”
    While brooding with regret
    Frustrated, lacking the ability to forget
    The desire to move forward; hampered
    By our bygone action which shackles us
    Immobilized
    Frozen
    Unable to escape its grip
    The Past is one with us
    No separating from it
    No forgetting
    Perpetually haunted by its ghosts
    When at last, you have forgiven yourself
    And believe yourself to have moved on
    The Past latches on like a Tigress
    Pouncing upon Her prey
    Not even Death provides absolution
    For you take The Past to your grave
    And worse
    Leave some for those left behind.

    The simple solution to keeping The Past at bay
    Be inhuman
    Never make a mistake.

  • To remove any doubt, WMDs evidence was a lie

    In case there is still any doubt, Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi has admitted to lying about Iraqs weapons of mass destruction. As I read this and watch the video, as an American citizen I feel heavy in my chest; despite my protests at the time, I feel guilty.

    The defector who convinced the White House that Iraq had a secret biological weapons programme has admitted for the first time that he lied about his story, then watched in shock as it was used to justify the war.

    [Source, guardian.co.uk , Defector admits to WMD lies that triggered Iraq war]

    You should watch the video.

  • Happy Valentine’s Day!

    I placed the ladder from the 2nd floor to a ledge above the downstairs landing effectively giving the staircase a ceiling with a narrow opening for travel from downstairs to upstairs.

    What I said, "Watch out for your head!"
    What I heard: *bonk!*

    That’ll be one more trip to Godiva today.

  • It works the same in any country.

    Image source http://i.imgur.com/6v7tR.jpg

    Naturally the common people don’t want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country. –Hermann Goering

    [Source, ThinkExisting.com, Hermann Goering quotes]

    Did he really say it? According to Snopes, yes.

  • 60 Minutes Wikileaks Statement Does Not Match Data

    60 Minutes Vanity Fair Poll asks: "What do you think of the activities of WikiLeaks?" and from the answers concludes:

    Only 9 percent of Americans think that WikiLeaks is a good thing. Twenty three percent think that it is destructive but legal and 22 percent think it is treasonous. But despite being prominently in the news for weeks for leaking classified documents from The State Department, and worse, for an organization that depends on notoriety to ply its trade, 42 percent of Americans aren’t sure what WikiLeaks is. [Source, CBSNews.com, 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll: February Edition]

    I’m not sure how their polls work but this statement was published on January 30 for a February poll. At the time I took in, the numbers were entirely contrary to the picture and paragraph they reported with 81% saying wikileaks is a good thing, 9% destructive but legal, 9% treasonous, and only 2% not sure what wikileaks is. Perhaps they sampled their poll early in the results. I view this as some of the manipulative reporting that misleads the average news consumer. Think of the number of people who don’t click the vote button to see the real results. If CBSNews wanted the numbers to remain static, they should have closed to the poll.

  • Return to the Fellinis

    After spending 5 days between Washington, DC and New York City, waking up in Knoxville feels a lot like falling asleep at a big circus and waking up in a sideshow carnival.

    Yes, we the freaks; we are the oddities.

  • Blip!

    Costco is on the radar again…

  • Florida produces a winning 2012 presidential candidate

    Ryan Lipner wants to be president of the United States but he is only 27 and the Constitution requires a candidate to be 35 years old or older. Is he qualified?

    Lipner is known for his obsession with Hallmark stores as a teen and for opening branches without the company’s permission, leading him "to grand theft, bankruptcy, imprisonment, and possibly insanity — all before his 18th birthday," according to a 2001 New Times story.

    [Source, Broward Palm Beach NewTimes]

    He at least sounds qualified for Congress.

  • Deep Thoughts

    Ultimately, it’s about understanding.

  • Fearing Men – Bad for society

    Thank you Lenore Skenazy!

    We think we’re protecting our kids by treating all men as potential predators. But that’s not a society that’s safe. Just sick. [Source, Wall Street Journal, Eek! A Male!]

    I have suffered this myself. See, I’m that creepy stalker guy.

    I dropped by the high school band practice to give my daughter some money since she decided to stay from practice to the game instead of coming home. My wife and 3 other children were in the van as I approached the field. The girls on the flag team became concerned because “a creepy stalker guy” was approaching the field. Their response was an immediate jump to the negative.

    How strong was the impact of this experience with my daughter? Two days ago I offered to drop by during band camp to offer support to the team and my daughter begged me to stay away. She reminded me specifically that I am “that creepy stalker guy.” Wow. Gee. Thank you society for the hollow feeling you have put in my chest, destroying bonding opportunities between my daughter and me, and embarrassing my daughter in front of her peers.

    How can we be raising happy children to become happy adults when we are teaching them to focus only on the negative…and a negative that is highly unlikely?

    [Source, Reality Me, I am the creepy stalker guy]

    Imagine the hysteria that I could have created by trying to take a picture of my daughter practicing. Perhaps I would have ended up in jail.

    Our attitudes toward males around children drive men away from the early education system where they are greatly needed. A segue: Our children need more hugs. A child who has fallen on the playground should be picked up and comforted by an adult (male or female) and often that comfort comes in the form of a hug. Touch is important but our society now fears it so much that I think we are turning into a parody of the movie Demolition Man. I implore the teachers of my children to hug them if they need it.

    I could easily quote all of Lenore Skenazy’s article but let’s end with this. As you jump to the negative giving in to media driven fearful hysteria, think hard about this incident:

    In England in 2006, BBC News reported the story of a bricklayer who spotted a toddler at the side of the road. As he later testified at a hearing, he didn’t stop to help for fear he’d be accused of trying to abduct her. You know: A man driving around with a little girl in his car? She ended up at a pond and drowned. [Source, Wall Street Journal, Eek! A Male!]

    See also: Every possible form of interaction between an adult and a child is perceived as yet another opportunity for child abuse.

  • The Next Weekend Project – Bathroom

    When I bought my house, my father said, "Congratulations, you now have something to do every weekend for the rest of your life." And so it began. Although the clubhouse still requires a roof, floor, windows and a door, timing has prompted us to begin the upstairs bathroom remodel. More than a decade ago, I started the downstairs bathroom remodel and it remains in limbo. If this goes poorly, my family will be living in a hotel.

  • Knoxville’s First Racetrack Still Exists

    Knoxville is so full of interesting secrets and amazing history. Today I had the pleasure of driving on Knoxville’s first racetrack. The story was explained to me that after the civil war, an ex-slave [Cal Johnson] was awarded the gruesome contract to collect and bury the dead Union soldiers. That ex-slave became a millionaire and with his fortune created the first thoroughbred racetrack in Knoxville, TN. The field in the center of the racetrack is also known as being the location of the first airplane landing in Knoxville. This racetrack exists today and later this week, I will upload a video of a drive around the track.

    Knoxville’s First Racetrack Still Exists

    On an unrelated note, I learned that the animosity between South Knoxville and Downtown Knoxville is rooted in history even if today’s Knoxvillians do not know why they detest each other. Apparently when the Great Depression hit, many Appalachians left their mountain homes seeking prosperity elsewhere. Naturally, many found the "big city" of Knoxville. Blue blood Knoxvillians did not appreciate the influx of foreigners to their fair city and took a dislike to the Appalachians. While the blue blood Knoxvillians primarily resided to the north of the river, the Appalachians took residence to the south of the river known today as South Knoxville. The Appalachian influence in South Knoxville is the reason for South Knoxville’s uniqueness and eccentricities.

    n.b. None of this has been fact checked and was conveyed as an oral history.

    tl;dr: Knoxville’s first horse race track still exists and was also the location of the first airplane to land in Knoxville.

  • The sun rose 48 hours early in Greenland and, yes Virginia, there is global warming

    For a month and a half, there’s absolutely no Sun in Greenland because of Earth’s angle in relation to our home star. People there eagerly await for January 13, when the Sun rises again, every year. Except this one. This year, the Sun rose 48 hours ahead of its projected date. … [Source, Gizmodo]

    Read more

  • 18 hours of ice

    So in the past 18 hours:

    • My wife couldn’t get off our street due to ice
    • Our friend managed to get onto our cove returning our son 11pmish but couldn’t get out
    • My neighbor had to use 4 wheel drive to escape the ice
    • The postman slid into a neighbor’s yard
    • My father-in-law had difficulty leaving the street
    • My 17 year old daughter slid her car into our retaining wall and had to climb out the passenger side
    • My 17 year old daughter took our van to pick the 5 year old up from school

    Waiting with bated breath to hear that the 5 year old makes it home safely and that the van survives.

    Oh, and btw, secondary roads in Knoxville are still precarious. This is why schools get canceled.

  • Groceries and the Snopocalypse

    I get a giggle out of Knoxville’s typical overreaction to bad weather. We use a gallon of milk every day or two so I’m often buying milk regardless of weather. When the forecast is doom and gloom the milk and bread shelves are barren. Coincidentally, our pantry ran empty in sync with a predicted 2-5 inches of snow so Cathy and I joined in the madness at the grocery. After spending $150 on essentials and a few day’s meals, we arrived home to hungry children only to realize we hadn’t purchased anything for a quick meal for that night!

    So, after getting the droopy, "we’re hungry" eyes from the children last night, I got the same thing from the dogs this morning. Apparently in our effort to feed the humans, we failed to notice the dogs were scrapping bottom in their food supply too. So, now to brave the snow covered roads before tonight’s ice storm comes to get to the pet store for dog chow and a rat (hungry snake too).

    Tl;dr: On Sunday, we bought meals for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and neglected to bring home dinner for that night and failed to buy dog food.