Stay tuned?

Wow, the first post since September. The last thing I wanted to do with this thing is become one of those people who post for a week, then disappear for years. And yet, I can't help but think whether keeping a journal on Facebook or something is a better idea - more accessible to all my friends, less accessible to my enemies, etc. Either way, I guess I should make a decision. Eventually.

If anybody still visits, a small update - I'm doing fine, snowboarding a bit, climbing a bit, lazing about a lot. I like you, let's stay in touch. Oh crap, I just realized that there is nothing on this page for directly getting in touch with me. I'll have to work on that...

Are you a urine drinker?

I had something of a revelation recently.  When reading or listening to political debates, I'm sometimes amazed by how neither side is the least bit interested in understanding the other.  And until now, it's been difficult for me to get into that mindset.  The mindset that my opponent's arguments are worthless by default, and I shouldn't even try to take them seriously.  I just didn't understand having such a unilateral prejudice.

But now, through a little semantic substitution, I think I finally got a handle on how to debate like a true political nut.  Want to know the secret?  Just substitute the other person's cause/grievance/argument with drinking urine, and carry on from there.

Let's try some examples.

Withdrawing From an Unjustified War in Iraq
We can't go on like this in Iraq!  We must convince President Bush to drink urine and order the troops to do the same!  All of the other developed countries drink urine - we are the only ones who have not signed the urine-drinking protocol!  Does this administration not care about drinking urine in unity with the rest of the civilized world?

Creationism in Public Schools
Listen, we're not saying that we're going to replace the science curriculum, we just want to represent both sides of the story for a more comprehensive education!  We just want to give children a fair chance to learn about urine drinking and how it complements science.  We want children to make an educated decision about whether to believe the Big Bang and Evolution (they are just theories you know!), or to drink urine.

Evolution in Public Schools
This is ludicrous - they have no right coming into a public school and disrupting a working, pragmatic urine drinking curriculum!  Urine drinking has been under close scrutiny by the urine drinker community, and though it does not provide all the answers to life, it at least helps children to make sound judgements based on urinary analysis and the diuretic method.

Gay Marriage
Who do those urine drinkers think they are, thinking they can get married just like everybody else!?  Now I don't care how much urine they drink in the privacy of their homes.  But once they start taking to the streets and drinking urine right in front of my kids, then they cross the line.  Besides, urine drinking is just voluntary, something they do for fun!  They can stop drinking urine and get married to normal people if they want to.  But no, they want to have their pee and drink it too.

 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you don't respect others, you shouldn't hope to achieve productive debate, and are doomed to splashing around in piss.

April Showers - low heat and pressure

So, yeah, lots has been going on.
The new condo is slowly becoming livable. We painted the living room, and one of the bedrooms. Yesterday I filled up one bookcase. I found a book that someone had given to me a long time ago and that I had never opened: How To Hit The Ground Running In Your New Job. Wow. What an eye-opener. According to the book, here are things you're not supposed to do, which I have done

• Do not date within the company


• Do not listen to your music without headphones


• Do not discuss salary


• Do not drink alcohol at lunch

It also suggests things that you should be doing. These are sometimes ridiculously obvious, and and yet others are just bizarre. I have noticed several places where the book stresses the importance of when to place the napkin on your lap at a meal. Like, the timing. When is the right time? I mean really, how do you expect to succeed in your job if you don't follow the correct napkin/lap schedule? Are you going to run to the table and place it on your lap as soon as you walk into the restaurant? Are you going to wait until everybody sits down, and then place each person's napkin on their respective lap? Are there extra points for keeping the napkin on the table until you drop some food, then grabbing it, sweeping up the debris in mid-air, and then placing it in your lap? Is it bad form to place it in your lap after molding it into a lumpy protrusion? The book does not actually tell you when to do the napkin manipulations, but it urges the reader to find out, or else get fired.

So much for my literary pursuits. In recreation news - this past weekend some climate anomaly caused lots of snow to dump at Steven's Pass, and I went boarding on both days. Now I'm sore in all sorts of interesting places. Like my triceps. What? From snowboarding? I don't know, maybe I got tired picking myself up after all the wipeouts.

Photos!
Sean was auditioning for a band, and wanted some pictures taken for his submission. He came by the condo and we shot stuff for an hour or so. My favorite is pictured below. People have also been liking my photo of frosty leaves, so here they are.

click for biggy-size!

I've been thinking about taking my photography to the next level. Specifically, I see myself renting a studio, finding models willing to trade their time for prints, getting more lighting gear, and then just shoot shoot shoot. Really, I'm surprised that I haven't gotten bored with this hobby yet - I just want more and more.

Another reason to be in England

I have lots to write, but no time to write it. In the meantime, let's take the time to learn about a real-life superhero: Angle Grinder Man. Operating in London and Kent, this helpful chap will answer citizens' calls for help and come quick with a large saw to cut the clamp off their car.

He even has a (somewhat dated) blog!