More Guitar + Political Debate

In yet another extremely amazing installment of my vlog!

PS: The camera angle on this video is really bad and makes me look like a fat ass. Next time, I’m going to shoot everything from above!

I Love Geeky Boys

I looked over my AIM buddy list just now and realized that more than 2/3 of the people on my list are geeky boys. This led me to one inescapable conclusion: I really love geeky boys.

It comes as no shock. In 4th grade, my big crush was Micah Brodsky. He wrote his own OS that year and I couldn’t resist calling him “Micah-soft.” He found it very annoying, which made me think he was even cuter.

Then there was Harry Kim. That’s right, the ensign from Star Trek: Voyager who was always getting himself killed and somehow resurrected. A bigger geek you could not find in all the Delta Quadrant. I wanted to jump his bones.

And just look at the guy I’m marrying. Andy is a geek among geeks. Not only does he know how to do computer/math/science stuff, but he makes his living teaching teenagers all about it. He has a geek laugh, wears glasses, loves Star Trek almost as much as I do and has has conversations with his friends in computer code. He may be good at sports, but there’s no rule in the geek code that says you can’t be, just as long as you memorize statistics from every sport you follow, which he does.

I’m not alone in my love for geeks. Maryam Scoble knows what I’m talking about.

So I’m here, I’m out, I’m proud. I love geeky boys. Geek lovers of the world, raise your hands!

Hugo Chavez Scares Me

If you think that President George W. Bush’s signing statements, eavesdropping programs and other expansions of presidential power are disturbing, wait until you read about Hugo Chavez’s expansion of powers in Venezuela. The Venezuelan legislature has basically rolled over and given Chavez 18 months of radically expanded powers to enact sweeping government reforms by decree.

That’s putting a lot of power in the hands of one egomaniacal man. Anyone who has the unmitigated gall to get up and call a fellow world leader, “the Devil” from the podium of the United Nations should be treated with skepticism in his home country, not given broad powers to take the country back to the darkest days of communism.

I hope that the Venezuelan people’s idealism is less misplaced than I fear it is…

Al Gore May Be Full of Hot Air, Singlehandedly Causing Global Warming

I supported Gore in the 2000 election, and I still think he’d be a pretty good President. But after reading this article about Gore’s refusal to listen to opposing viewpoints (subscription only, download PDF here) and his Michael Moore-ish embellishment of the facts, I’m a little less convinced that his perspective on Global Warming is the right one.

I think, it’s possible that we may need to think about taking a more moderate tack towards global warming…

GDP and Income Equality, Anyone See a Trend?

My boss sent me this really interesting chart that details the relationship between Gross Domestic Product per Capita and the GINI Coefficient of a country. The GINI is a pretty effective measure of income inequality.

It’s a pretty commonly known fact that poor countries have GINI’s that can run the gamut from very equal to very unequal, but wealthy countries tend to have GINI’s under .40.

What really struck me was, the United States stood alone as not only the wealthiest country, but also one of the better ones in terms of income distribution. Every country with a higher GINI underperformed us significantly. I think this just confirms that the United States kicks all kinds of ass. Also, if you ever travel to a third-world country, you’ll notice that our homeless people live better than the average person in some of the world’s poorer nations.

My Sister is Turning Into a “Fuzzy European Liberal”

My sister Suzy has a new blog. It’s pretty cool. In it, she blogs about what she is learning in her semester abroad. She also writes that, after living in Britain, America’s public health care and education systems are pathetic compared to Britain’s, and claims its the responsibility of the government to take care of people. Awww.

Now, I’m a very liberal guy. I think we should legalize everything from prostitution to pot to polygamy, and leave Iraq tomorrow (bye-bye). But what REALLY irks me is what sister calls “soft” liberals (and what I call fuzzy liberals), who rag on America, because we have problems that other countries have solved.

America is the greatest country ever. Sorry we don’t have universal free health care, but the US is huge. It’s a lot easier to have free health care when your country is the size of Rhode Island and full of 19-generation white wealthy bankers and chocolate makers (screw you Switzerland). Take a look at China, India, and Russia’s social welfare programs and compare them to ours.

And please don’t rag on America’s public education in comparison to other countries, because it’s better than any other countries. Our scores may not be the best, but we turn out inventors who churn out more patents than all our Europe combined. The iPod, computer, GOOGLE, the Wright Brothers; when it comes to inventions, discoveries, and patents, America is far and away the best. What’s the last thing Europe invented or discovered. Oh, that’s right, America. And since then we’ve been kicking their ass.

Millions of Uninsured Could Qualify and Don’t Know It

With so much being said recently about universal health care in the U.S. I find it really interesting to learn that resources that already exist for this purpose aren’t being used. Apparently, there are a lot of government programs out there to help low-income folks get themselves insured. The problem is that most people don’t know about the programs, or are daunted by mega-paperwork and delayed by miles of red tape.

This is the problem with government-sponsored health care in a country as vast as ours. Nothing can be done efficiently, and the result is that the poor are left without coverage. It’s not because the people and the government have no will to help them. It’s because of the sheer scale of the problem and the government’s powerlessness to change anything.

One potential solution in order to maximize adoption of existing programs is to install software that helps people to navigate the paperwork on public library computers statewide (and offer it for free download). The program would work the way that TurboTax does for your IRS forms. You answer a series of simple Yes/No questions and the program prints out your insurance application forms.

As for outreach, I’m not sure that’s the government’s responsibility. But perhaps an incentivized Word of Mouth marketing campaign would work best. Anytime that someone who is enrolled in any of the programs gets a friend to sign up, they get a reward ($5, entered in a raffle for a trip to Mexico, etc.). More to the point, any time anyone brings their kid to the doctor and doesn’t have insurance, the hospital officials should be required to talk to them about the state-run health insurance programs and encourage them to find out if they qualify.

Ultimately, some responsibility does rest with the uninsured. They need to take personal responsibility for asking about state health insurance programs and finding out if they qualify. I understand that many of them are working long hours, raising kids, and trying to survive. But it’s not the government’s responsibility to come and knock on their doors and let them know about health insurance programs.

Before we start talking about universalizing health care in this country, let’s examine what can be done to make existing programs work better.

New Medicinal Marijuana May Help People Lose Weight

Britain’s GW Pharmaceuticals Plc is beginning human experimental trials later this year on a fat-loss drug derived from Cannabis. The company, which grows Marijuana indoors in a secret location in England, has also found Cannabis derivatives to be effective in treating multiple schlerosis and continues to look for other potential cures and treatments from the plant.

My personal suggestions for other experimental treatments for Cannabis:
1) Glaucoma
2) Back Pain
3) Nausea
4) Boredom

The Best of Bonnie

Here is an iMix I put together showcasing some of my favorite Bonnie Raitt songs…

Angel from Montgomery

A long overdue vlog entry in which I showcase my two day-old guitar skills…

The Free Hugs Campaign

I know the content here has been primarily YouTube stuff the past few days. We promise we’ll get back to scintillating political commentary soon enough. Sometimes you just have to take a break for a few days so that you don’t go totally insane…

Anyway, this video is really heartwarming and it’s already been dugg, so hopefully this one will blow up.

UPDATE: Apparently, it has already blown up…

Thanks to Mark for the video.

I Can’t Wait To See The New Titanic Movie!! OMG!

Once You Go Mac You Never Go Back

Iraq Gets Somehow Worse, It’s Time To Leave Today

A Sunni girls school in Baghdad was attacked by mortars today, killing 5 girls.

Yesterday, 7 US Soldiers were killed in Iraq, raising the total to 3,079. Sunni insurgent bombers struck a predominately Shiite marketplace.

President Bush, completely ignoring the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group and anyone with half a brain, accused Syria and Iran of supporting terrorists and insurgents in Iraq and threatened to detain or kill Iranians in Iraq. Quick memo to the President, Al-Qaeda and Sunni insurgencents HATE Iran.

Iraq gets worse everyday, and after four years over there, the President still does not appear to understand the culture. For example, Al Qaeda actually views the Shiites in Iran as worse than Americans because they corrupt true Islam. The Democats are no better, since the Democratic Head of the House Intelligence Committee thought Al Qaeda was Shiite.

Our leaders don’t get it, and as a result nothing we do is helping the situation. At this point, Iraq would be no better or worse in a decade if we left in ten years or today. So lets leave today, and save our money and troops.

“Congratulations again on your admission to the University.” Or not.

The University of North Carolina accidentally sent out 2,700 emails to students telling them they had been accepted to the university. There was just one problem. None of the students had actually been accepted.

The emails were supposed to ask the students for mid-year grades. The students will not actually find out if they were accepted or not until March. The university quickly sent out follow-up emails explaining and apologizing for the mistake.

Given the schools low acceptance rate, only about one-fifth of those emailed are expected to actually be accepted this spring.

Jim Webb For VP

Right now everyone seems obsessed with the Democratic Presidential race, now that Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and a host of others have joined the race. It seems only logical to take this one step further and speculate on potential running mates.

Were either Hillary or Barack to win the nomination, the most logical choice for a running mate would be Senator Jim Webb. This white, Southern, anti-war tough guy is the perfect fit for a black or female candidate viewed as potential “soft” on terror.

He also plays to the middle very well since he used to be a Republican and switched to Democrat because of his disgust from President Bush. And if you saw or read his response to Bush’s State of the Union, you could see that this rising star is EXACTLY the type of candidate that the Democrats need to take the middle.

Quick Update on Life

Andy and I are both starting to feel better. Thanks to everyone who sent us love and e-mails and such!

Today, my buddy Rye took me guitar shopping. I bought an Ibanez Artwood acoustic guitar with the proceeds from my electric keyboard. I even talked the sales guy down $100 from the original asking price!

This afternoon, I sat around strumming chords and was able to pick out the beginning of Eric Church’s “Sinners Like Me.”

We’re just about to head out the door to see a movie and have a drink with my boss, his wife Vicky, my coworker Kim and a friend of hers.

Not too bad for a day’s work.

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