Three short words… They have a power that is almost unimaginable until one hears them from someone that is important… …or when one doesn’t hear them. Hearing them can inspire, can heal, can ease the pain that is life. Not hearing them can hurt, can destroy, can cause the loss of will to overcome the pain that is life. Yet some cannot say them without prompting, even if they have the feeling in their heart, apparently unknowing in the damage done by positive feelings left unsaid. Just...

I work in downtown Austin, almost dead center in the city, in a building on the corner of 6th Street and Congress Avenue. When I leave work, I drive by that corner. Today, there was a very interesting tableau that definitely shows where the slogan “Keep Austin Weird” came from. On the corner, standing on an upturned bucket, was what I gathered to be a performance artist, dressed in black, with a hood, black fabric covering his face, long sleeves, and gloves. None of his skin was visible,...

Cross-posted between Random Fate and The Moderate Voice. Embed code directly from the Dilbert web site. Technorati : Dilbert, economy, humor Del.icio.us : Dilbert, economy, humor Zooomr : Dilbert, economy, humor Flickr : Dilbert, economy, humor

…how can we justify laughing at all? This is funny and wistfully sad simultaneously, but you have to admit, Adam West has handled his situation with respect to fame/infamy, camp, pop culture, and fads as well as anyone could, with self-deprecating humor and class. Batman’s garage sale… Cross-posted to Random Fate. Technorati : Batman, humor, pop culture Del.icio.us : Batman, humor, pop culture Zooomr : Batman, humor, pop culture Flickr : Batman, humor, pop culture

I ran across this when I was reading a post at Balloon Juice the other day (I can’t find the original post, so I linked to a Geek Cool kind of post), and I think it’s very good: The artist has a MySpace page which you should visit if you want to find where to download the song. I may not have focused enough on the video to really understand what it’s about. I think I can extract some meaning, but I may not be catching it entirely since I didn’t focus on it. The point is,...

The piracy situation off the coast of Somalia is not as straightfoward as many think it is. There are origins to the piracy beyond simple greed for easy money. These origins do not excuse the actions of the pirates, but we cannot resolve the situation without an understanding of how it arose. This is not some simple-minded action movie with a obvious solution through the use of massive force. — Cross-posted to Random Fate.

…President Obama restated, reaffirmed, and re-swore the Oath of Office today, showing far more regard for both the letter and the spirit of our Constitution than his predecessor did, you know, the one who appointed the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who flubbed the Oath in the first place, along with ignoring needs for search warrants before wiretapping or habeas corpus requirements before throwing American citizens in prisons where Presidentially-approved torture was perpetrated. Am I...

My previous very brief comment at my personal weblog, Random Fate, was regarding the contrast between President Obama (at that time the President-elect) and former President Bush (at that time the President: Obama confronts fear and defies it, in contrast to President George W. Bush, who appears to embrace fear. Just a thought. When reviewing Obama’s inagural address, note the statements I have emphasized below: My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful...

I recently left my job of 12 years at Freescale Semiconductor (née Motorola Semiconductor Products Sector) and started with a new company, essentially out of the semiconductor industry and into the realm of making money by licensing intellectual property. It has been a big change that was motivated in no small part by the precipitous decline of the semiconductor industry in the United States. Recently, John Cole at Balloon Juice has asked in regards to the Big Three automakers in the United...

Since there is more to life than politics and other “real” news, some may be interested in reading why I’m “A bit bummed about the new Star Trek movie“.

For many years I looked at the Roman Catholic Church, in the modern era despite the efforts of Pope John Paul II, as remarkably open-minded and receptive to ideas that were not necessarily compatible with the orthodoxy pronounced by the central authority. Part of this view was influenced by the first college I attended, Christian Brothers College, now Christian Brothers University, in Memphis, Tennessee, a school run by the Christian Brothers monastic order. In other words, the Church recognized...

Repeatedly, we proclaim that we are tired of the tactics of attack; we say we want civil discourse. Yet those who play to the extreme get rewarded with listeners and ditto-heads. So, who is responsible, those who throw the grenades, or those who cheer the explosions? Read “Can civility make a comeback?” and consider. — Cross-posted to Random Fate.

… especially when CEO bonuses are still being paid in the millions, this definition is more apropos than ever. “Criminal: A person with predatory instincts who has not sufficient capital to form a corporation.”    -Howard Scott

… but we still have more to overcome. There have been many political cartoons, blog posts, news columns, and other statements saying that we have proved that the American Dream has been realized, that anyone can become President of the United States after the victory of Barack Obama, a man of mixed race. Yes, anyone can become President unless they are: gay (see Proposition 8 in California) Muslim (see the campaign tactics from the Republicans in the recent election) atheist (see the tactics...

What mad universe do we live in when satire becomes prescience?

I’ve had problems getting motivated to post lately, not entirely due to exhaustion arising from my busy personal life. There is an emotional drain on me from reading several weblogs whose authors once made rational arguments for their political views that have degenerated into throwing rocks at “the other side”. Sadly, “the other side” is just as interested as they are in throwing rocks. So both sides are busily pointing out the offenses of those they disagree with...

The HIV virus that causes AIDS was first thought to have emerged in the 1930s, but recent research indicates that the virus may be even older: Scientists trace AIDS virus origin to 100 years ago NEW YORK (AP) — The AIDS virus has been circulating among people for about 100 years, decades longer than scientists had thought, a new study suggests. Genetic analysis pushes the estimated origin of HIV back to between 1884 and 1924, with a more focused estimate at 1908. Previously, scientists had...

This is the first in a planned series of posts on energy policy, arguably one of the most critical, long-term problems facing not only the United States but the world, and an issue that is already being discussed in the current electoral campaigns. Fundamentals – The nature of energy What do we mean when we talk about energy? Most people think of oil, and when they think of oil they think of gasoline prices. Some of the more broad-minded think also of electricity, natural gas, and coal. ...

There is something rather unusual about our national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner“. We only sing part of it, and the last words of the part we commonly sing are a question: Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave? It makes sense in the context of why it was written by Francis Scott Key, but most national anthems are solely about literally singing the praises of the country. Think about the question asked, though,...

A relatively brief but compelling prediction of the predilections of the current generation of members of our armed forces by Ray Kimball can be found at The Huffington Post. — Cross-posted at Random Fate.

The word “nigger” is bleeped out in television broadcasts (at least it was in a clip shown on a cable news show I saw the other day). The word “bitch” is used routinely in television shows now, often as a laugh line. Not meaning to pull a Ferraro, but does this reflect something about our culture that we refuse to face honestly? — Cross-posted to Random Fate.

It’s a sick world when this is a headline:    Severed fingers raise hope for abductees

During the Hillary Clinton rally in Austin on Monday night, the photographers were on the stage right before she entered the arena. One was getting a crowd shot, and he was captured in the act:

“I belong to no organized party. I am a Democrat.”    -Will Rogers That disorganization was certainly evident tonight in my precinct Democratic Party caucus. The photo above shows the most organized part of the evening, when people filed into the combination cafeteria/gym. There were questions about party rules regarding whether voters had to remain after signing in for their preferred candidate, and the Obama volunteers were loudly insisting their supporters remain...

Austin, TX – Texas, a whole other country, that’s a slogan used to promote tourism a few years back, and there is more truth to it than most people realize. I live in Austin, which although it is the capital of the state does not really reflect the culture of the state as a whole. The main campus of the University of Texas is located in Austin, and both the students and the professors have a huge impact on the character of the city. Austin is much more liberal than the rest of the state, but...