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Saturday, February 6th, 2010
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10:53 am - Snowtopia!
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Just a little update on the progress of the storm :)
Hope all my local friends are staying warm and safe. For you all outside the area, try not to be too jealous.
This is in the back yard, sheltered from the wind, and partially sheltered by a tree.</td>
17 inches at 9AM
( more behind the cut )
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| Friday, February 5th, 2010
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10:58 pm - The great winter storm of 2010
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| Thursday, February 4th, 2010
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5:40 pm - Snowpocalypse! Redux
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Schools are already closed tomorrow. People have been talking about making disaster plans since monday. Events are being canceled. Why? Because it might snow tomorrow.
Okay, I admit, the meteorological experts are indicating that it will be pretty extreme, but still... seems a bit premature to me.
( on another note )
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| Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
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5:45 pm - What Happened?
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| Monday, February 1st, 2010
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3:47 pm - Nature or Nurture
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In the end, the question I'm about to ask is completely unimportant, but it seems to occupy a lot of thought on the part of both people who believe in tolerance and in people who believe that there's a problem to be solved.
You may have guessed that I am referring to the question of homosexuality (and, perhaps, for the broader GLBT community). I am curious whether you favor one side or the other, and if so which... and why? In the end, I suspect (based on what I what I know of current research, my own life experience, and just gut feel) that it isn't 100% genetics nor 100% early life experiences and incidents, but rather a complex interaction between the two.
The thing that made me consider this today is the following: I have a friend who I've known for over 20 years and who is about my age who just came out to me today. Married, a child, but apparently realized that there was something missing. (aside: my friend and my friend's spouse have dealt with it quite amicably and well, as far as I can tell. they've been working through a divorce for many months, and nothing that's been said leads me to believe that there is any bitterness or animosity)
Interestingly (to me, at least) this friend has a sibling (also a friend of mine - we all grew up in the same neighborhood, church, etc...) who is also gay. For convenience, I am going to number them based on family position -- this makes the first person mentioned Friend # 1, as Friend #1 is the oldest sibling. Friend #1 and I are contemporaries. The second sibling I mentioned will become Friend #4, as this friend is the youngest. Friend #4 and I had the relationship of young adult to adolescent when Friend #4 was in the church youth group and I was an 'adult' volunteer. The other two are Friend #2 and Friend #3 for convenience. Friend #2 and I went to the same college, and ran into each other from time to time. Friend #3 isn't really a friend in the classic sense -- we probably knew of each other's existence, but I never had much contact with Friend #3; however, labeling convenience and laziness dictates this moniker.
Friend #2 and #3 are both straight, as far as I know at this time. Interestingly, though, I suspect that if one had asked us growing up, we'd have identified Friend #3 as the most likely to be gay based on such superficial criteria as physical appearance, professional choices, etc... Friend #1? I don't think it ever crossed my mind. Friend #4 seemed like there was always something simmering below the surface, but I knew this person mostly as an adolescent, so all bets are off. I can say I was not the slightest bit surprised when I first found out.
Anyway... 4 siblings, same parents, same household situation, same schools, same wider network of friends, etc... 2 definitely gay, 2 putatively straight (after all, Friends #2 and #3 are still younger than Friend #1 was acknowledged to self and others...) However, Friend #4 has been openly gay for over 10 but less than 20 years, I think.
Anyway -- to the question: Based solely on this story (or what little of it I've told) -- Stronger case for nature or nurture? Do you think this speaks more strongly of a genetic predisposition or of an environmental factor?
Things to consider: Parents were pretty strictly religious (Friend #1's first 'rebellion' was converting to Judaism). All siblings are same gender. I don't know what else might be interesting to know.
Thoughts? Obviously, BTW, from a scientific standpoint, there is nothing to be learned from this -- too small a sample, no controls, etc...
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| Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
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4:28 pm - The man with one red shoe...
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So yesterday, as I was walking from my workplace to my car, I realized I was wearing two different shoes. Two completely different shoes. One black, one a dark maroon-ish color. both loafer-ish, but distinctly different styles.
I know how I did it -- Some of my shoes were 'backwards' so that when I went to put on the left shoe, it was on the right-hand side of the pair... possibly both pairs were messed up. And they were next to each other. And I got dressed in low light. And I was in a hurry.
Okay, I'm not exactly a fashion plate, but this is not my usual wardrobe malfunction. I did it once before, though -- this summer. I was wearing two different sneakers, but both were blue and white, and similar enough that it didn't jump out at anyone.
Not one person mentioned my faux pas yesterday. Was everyone being nice and not bringing it to my attention because they didn't want to embarrass me? Does no one notice my feet? (seems likely enough - I spend most of the day sitting at a 'desk')
Anyway, I just wanted people to know -- I didn't do it on purpose, and I didn't even notice it.
The worst part? I had to go somewhere else immediately after work, so I was very self conscious for the rest of the evening. No one there mentioned it either. Of course, as demonstrated by the below picture, taken in December on a family outing, people are used to seeing the ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) cptjohnc family dressed strangely.
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| Monday, January 11th, 2010
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5:06 pm - Down, but far from out.
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I got on a scale this morning, for reasons which mystify even me. But I suppose I had to know.
Shock of shocks -- I am almost 10 pounds lighter than I was the last time I weighed myself in early November. I think I'll get my triglycerides rechecked on Friday.
Let's hear it for lower carbs, higher fiber and lower sugar. And trust me, you can often hear it.
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| Tuesday, January 5th, 2010
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6:12 pm - 2010; a year of living dangerously?
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I leave tomorrow on my annual 5 day 'silent' retreat. Not sure what I'm looking forward to most from it this year.
I am so happy to see the end of 2009. I hope it will go down in my book of life as my worst year ever. Pretty please?
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| Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
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4:28 pm - Christmas Shopping
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So, like many people around the nation, this year's Christmas will be a bit thin at the CPTJohnC house. We are, however, trying to keep it a little bit festive and interesting. I had a tiny windfall this week, which allowed me to get a couple of things off of my kids' wishlists:
For angel:
For Mike (or a variation on this theme):
Still working on the rest :)
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| Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
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10:35 pm - Softening the blow...
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| Friday, November 13th, 2009
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5:54 pm - It's official
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| Friday, October 30th, 2009
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5:25 pm - I hate...
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that I'm still at work because of a communications issue which created an emergency that ONLY I could fix....
that I am not being paid what I'm worth
that I don't get federal benefits.
that I'm better at the big picture stuff than my 'boss' and better at the work than my subordinates.
that I'm the most 'generally knowledgable' person here...
Despite all this, you should go here and give. Give Give Give!
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| Thursday, October 29th, 2009
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11:12 am - Give!
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| Friday, October 9th, 2009
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10:20 pm - even though I should have more to say...
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I think I'll stop with this:
current music: johann sebastian bach: Toccata and fugue in D Minor
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| Friday, October 2nd, 2009
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3:40 pm - Random stuff... from a random head
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Okay -0- working backward:
Today: I really wanted to see more enforcement of HOV violators: particularly against luxury car owners who seem to think that the rules don't apply to them.
yesterday: saw a man in a coat and scarf. The scarf was wrapped around his neck. Twice. C'mon, dude-- it isn't close to cold yet. I was wearing a short sleeved shirt and light weight slacks at the time.
Wednesday: Argh! The tufte people are back. And, worse, I have no google access today. Last day of the fiscal year, and I'm forced to work. Who thought that was a good idea?
Tuesday: Ugh! My parking lot is overrun for some one day course with a guy named Edward Tufte. He seems good at what he does, but it added over 10 minutes of time for me getting in to the garage!
Monday: My cousin recently inquired about our great-grandparents as she is interested in applying for Italian citizenship. It has been fun getting some background. Need to capture this info before mom dies!
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| Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
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4:33 pm - Freedom
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Driving home yesterday evening I heard what might be either the scariest or funniest thing I've heard in a long time -- an official from the current administration -- chairman of the FCC if I caught it correctly -- who was speaking about 'keeping the internet free through government regulation'
Check me here -- does anyone know of a government regulatory program of any sort which enhances individual/personal freedom, particularly in the context of something like the internet? Particularly given that the internet is a true world market, and the only way to 'regulate' overseas content is through service bans. Where is the freedom here?
The justification for this 'freedom enhancing regulation' was to level the playing field between corporate giants and small companies. According to him, a corporation with more money can (gasp) pay for faster servers, faster response times (I understood him to be speaking about bandwidth, though he never said it -- perhaps I can pay to have a 'choke' put on my competitors?) and better placement on search engines. Anyone care to think about whether regulation is likely to truly have a positive impact on this 'problem'? Or remove the benefit that comes with having more money? Gee-- maybe we should regulate advertising on the superbowl to give equal access to all companies, regardless of ability to pay -- I'm sure that will enhance the freedom of the market place, right? Last time I checked, regulated industries had the highest cost of entry, the greatest degree of barriers to entry and/or 'natural' competition and the lowest level of innovation, generally (note- I don't mean R&D or product improvement, but true business innovation - -new ways to approach old problems).
Am I missing something here?
On a completely different and highly insensitive note: is it possibly to get botox injections in one's butt? If so, I think I saw a victim of butt-botox overdose yesterday...
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| Wednesday, September 16th, 2009
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2:15 pm - Love. Hate.
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I wants.
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So yesterday on I-66 outside the beltway, traffic was particularly slow. I assumed it was just the usual traffic volume right up until I got close to the Exit for the beltway. Lo and behold, there was a state trooper on the shoulder looking for HOV violators in the left (HOV) lane! Amazingly, as soon as I passed him, the traffic in my HOV lane sped up dramatically, as all the violators had to get out of the lane.
This morning, the cops were stopping folks at one or another exit, and again it caused some slow down (because you could see them from the main lanes). I know that enforcement is the only way that the HOV lanes don't get abused, and abuse leads to excessive slow downs. But I have to admit that I would love a way of enforcing without causing the law abiding traffic more consternation.
I also want lane splitting to be legal for motorcycles.
Oh, and I want a bike.
And I want someone to pay me for sitting around and doing little work.
I don't ask for much. But I sure do want it.
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| Friday, September 11th, 2009
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11:15 pm - Renaissance Festival, Redux
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For those of you who want a little better taste of the festival, here are some highlights:
This should make you want to attend for yourself, because I can promise that I only included the worst moments from the festival.
This isn't enough? The long version is posted on Facebook.
current music: Rondellus; Sabbatum
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| Wednesday, September 9th, 2009
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6:08 pm - Seen around town, or something...
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A sumo 'bobblehead' -- just what everyone needs on their dashboard, right?
Tents just seem odd in the middle of an urban environment. This was/is in the Pentagon City/ Crystal City area.
123333. And pay no attention to the speedometer -- I'm sure I was sitting still.
Okay -- people do things to personalize cars. I get it. I even admire many. But from what I could see, this was just plain UGLY!</td>
Okay -- I'm not big on jumping on the 'Obama is a socialist' bandwagon. I think he's a pretty smart guy, trying to do a very hard job at a very hard time. I think he does believe in big government and broad social programs which are, by their very nature, in the business of redistributing property. But I do NOT believe that every such program is socialist in nature.
But I have to admit, the rhetoric of my friends (IRL) who are supporting the full measure of health reform definitely sounds like a socialist ideology. Trying to convince me that having federal healthcare reform by pointing to social security, medicare or the VA is not likely to convince me: These are historically ill run, and often cited as near bankruptcy. Equally unconvincing is directing my attention to federal education spending, federal highway spending or other federal spending on local infrastructure is hardly convincing for me: This is just the federal government returning MY money to MY community (while taking a huge chunk for its own bureaucracy and distributing it according to the power interests of the day, rather than according to genuine need or efficient national operation.
Let's be clear: You are welcome to submit any facet of your life to the government if you so choose -- but the concern here is just that -- what about those who don't choose? I fully expect to lose that choice, just like I have no choice about paying in to social security (from which I fully anticipate I'll receive no benefit) or Medicare (ditto) or the fact that my taxes go to pay for a large measure of services of which I choose not to partake.
Could I send my kids to public school? Sure. But I choose not to because I believe my kids will be better served by private education (and with the exception of TJ in Fairfax County, I do not believe there is a public HS performing as well as my daughters' private school). I do NOT get a refund or rebate on my taxes for the amount the government IS NOT SPENDING to educate my children. Nor will I get a refund or rebate if I pay for private health insurance, while tax dollars are funding a 'public option' (if it happens).
So yes, perhaps I do see this debate in capitalist versus socialist terms, but with one major caveat: The health market is NOT a true free market system now, and as such, the 'free market' isn't operating. The economic policy underpinning most health insurance leads to completely irrational economic incentives. This, I think, is why our health care system is failing so many Americans.
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| Monday, September 7th, 2009
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1:50 pm - Renaissance Festival, Crownsville MD
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