Time to Turn Away Some Readers

I try to keep out of the business of pissing people off these days, but stumbled upon this interesting post on the Letters of Note Blog. This particular link was by Teller of the well-known Penn and Teller duo via Twitter.

Like Teller, I’ve often been told that Einstein was a religious person. I simply accepted that, as it was not a claim that I considered important enough to validate. In my mind, his religious convictions were not relevant to his scientific works. He would have been far too logical to let one interfere with the other.

I suppose the salient point here is that one shouldn’t accept hearsay as gospel. That’s a reminder for me, and a lesson for my two year-old. Feel free to interpret it as you deem appropriate!

Letters of Note: The word God is the product of human weakness.

N.B. Due to time constraints, I cannot validate the authenticity of the letter referenced below, but trust that the site’s owner has done the appropriate research to verify the contents. I also applaud him for the time and effort that he put in to the site.

Gettin' By at the Grocery Store

On our most recent trip to the grocery store, I was reminded that most of my frustrations in public places stem from peoples’ inability to conceive of a world that exists outside of their own bubble. If you’ve managed to step outside of your bubble and are reading this blog, here are some guidelines to help make the grocery store a more pleasant experience for everyone, because no one wants to be there.

1. Leave your cell phones at home. Nothing makes you more oblivious to others than being engrossed in a phone conversation that you don’t need to have. When you’re oblivious to others, you’re perceived as rude. Perception is reality.
2. No milling about. It only puts you in the middle of the paths of others who know what they need, and want to get the hell in and out as quickly as possible. Move your ass along.
3. If you insist on living in the 20th century and writing a check for your purchase, stop insisting. Get a debit card and quit holding up the lines.
4. Inspecting your receipt should be saved until after you’ve cleared the line. There’s no need to hold up the line while you try to figure out if your teenage cashier overcharged you by fifty-seven cents. They won’t care if they did. I was a teenage cashier once; trust me.
5. Be nice to your cashier. They’ve probably had a longer day than you have. Give ’em a break.

That’s all I’ve got. Be nice, be considerate, and keep moving. Good things will befall you.

'Tis the Season

Wal-Mart worker dies in rush; two killed at toy store – CNN.com.

When my fellow citizens are trampled by a mob seeking material goods at discounted prices, my blood boils, and I’m ashamed of our country.

How self-centered have we become that we would be willing to put our own needs so far above those of others, that we would let them die in the pursuit of our own pursuits?

Politicians talk about the erosion of morality in our country, but they refer to the superficial “wedge” issues while forgoing true issues of morality, including respect for the dignity and life of your fellow humans. Perhaps America would listen if the blowhards in Washington and throughout the country would stop talking about denying rights to gay couples as an affront to the American family, and start talking about the responsibility we all have to take care of one another.

I’m not a politician, nor am I anyone of great significance; however, I’d like to challenge the American people. A toy or any material good is temporary and only worth its price; family, friends and life are without price, and are timeless. Remember that the next time you rush to the store to buy your loved one a gift. I’d bet they’d rather you come back with your integrity and life, than a gift that will eventually serve no purpose.

The Week in Review

I spent a good chunk of this week in bed, sick from some virus that’s making its rounds. The only material I could think to write about was political in nature, and I don’t want to contaminate this blog with too many political posts. (Go Obama!)

Cooper’s new day care has been great. The big outdoor play area has been great for him, and he seems to be much happier coming home in the afternoons. The downside is that by about 6 pm, he’s worn out and cranky from all the day’s activities, and he lets us know about it. Is it bad that we get a kick out of his little toddler fits, which involve rolling around on the floor and throwing everything that happens to be in his way?

Last night, Kandis and I got the night off from parenting, and we took advantage of it. Kandis’ friends from high school are in a metal band, so we headed to downtown Austin to watch them play at the Red Eyed Fly. I expected to be sore from all the head-banging last night, but I am — thankfully — not. Parking was difficult to find, so a nice drunk man pointed us to an available spot. We paid him five dollars for the security of knowing that our car would be watched over by him and his group of twenty friends. The car was just as we left it when we returned, and he talked me into tipping him another two bucks when we got back to the car. I gave him a little bit of a hard time about it, but obliged. It was a pretty cheap night out anyway, so what was another two bucks? The crazy thing is, I’d use his services again.

Cooper, these are the things we do when you’re not looking.

New York Times Obama Endorsement

Editorial – Barack Obama – Editorial Board – Endorsement – NYTimes.com.

The New York Times (NYT) has endorsed a Democratic candidate in every election since 1960, so their endorsement of Sen. Obama in 2008 isn’t much of a surprise. I have avoided reading, or listening to, presidential endorsements in what has probably been a futile effort to avoid further clouding of my judgment. The comparison and contrast was interesting, and laid a clear case for the endorsement. Many of the endorsement’s arguments are the same ones that I — and most other Obama supporters — have made the choice to vote for him in this election.

Also, on a related note, here’s an example of a dishonest tactic by Republicans in Pennsylvania to sway voters to vote Republican in 2008.

Rocky Horror

Tonight, I watched “Rocky Horror Picture Show” for the very first time, in preparation for part one of Kandis’ birthday next weekend. Next Saturday night, we will be attending a live showing of this film along with a group of friends. After seeing the movie tonight, I’m now looking forward to next weekend instead of dreading it. There will be plenty of room for fun (after a few beers, of course).