My Thoughts on BP

I've got a couple of things on my mind with respect to BP and the oil catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico.

First, before I get too serious here, check out Mr. Borowitz column here. HILARIOUS!!

Second... Not sure exactly how to order the rest of these, hence making the whole first, second... thing, suddenly redundant.

Perhaps I'll begin with my conclusions and opinions over the incident.

It would appear that this event is a direct result from a failure of both BP's management and the government agency responsible for oversight. I stand ready to be corrected here, but my understanding is that BP decided that the chance of something going wrong with the Deep Horizon drill site was not worth the safety precautions they should have taken. And the regulatory folks went along with that. And now they're both playing the blame game.

Priority one is getting the hole plugged, followed closely by trying to clean up the mess created by it. And then we can play the blame game, except in this case... There is plenty of blame to go around. BP ultimately were the ones responsible for this, and so they should bear the entire cost of cleaning it up. End of story there, you guys did this, you guys pay for this.

The regulatory agency... They job was to represent all of us, and ensure that BP took the necessary precautions to protect the environment while they were drilling. You had the responsibility as our representatives, and you blew it. You no longer have the faith of the American people, and as such, you should no longer have jobs. In addition to that, there needs to be a full investigation to ensure that there was no bribery or any other corruption that caused your complete shirking of your responsibilities, and if any is found... You need to be sentenced to the full extent of the law.

Moving on... While the blame game is going on, the President has stepped up, and taken the responsibility to get the problem fixed. I for one am grateful to have the first president with a set of balls in this century. Thank you Sir, and good luck.

In relation to that, last week, I heard a promo last week for the Sean Hannity show which had Mr. Hannity bitching about how in response to the disaster, the Obama administration are going to be punishing the American People for it. I'm not sure exactly how he came to this conclusion, but from the various soundbites, it seemed like it was a mix of government money being used for the cleanups, stricter environmental regulations and a temporary ban on deep sea drilling.

The next day, the promo had changed a little, Mr. Hannity was bitching about how if we make BP pay for all of this, we'll make the bankrupt and then who's going to pay for all of this? So is he suggesting that the government pay for the clean up now, to avoid affecting BP's bottom line?

I thought that perhaps he had changed his tune, but less than 12 hours later, I heard the first promo again... WTF?!?

OK, so for all you free market, capitalist loving folks, perhaps you can help me understand...

You want a free market, and you want no government control of private enterprize... Right?

Unfortunately ineffective government regulation allowed BP to screw the pooch on this one, and end up screwing the rest of us, and the environment. I'm going to make the assumption that their lack of contingency plan in the case of failure was based purely on financial costs. So the pursuit of increased profits, and minimized government intervention, or in this case ineffective government intervention seem to be the key elements of allowing this to happen.

Hindsight is always better, so perhaps we should focus on what to do now...

Free Market system... BP gets to bear the costs - Right? Except Hannity is whining about them having the bear the costs and worried that they might go bankrupt. I was late filing my business taxes this year (By 3 days), and got slapped with a fine of a little over 2000%. My bad, and I'm paying the price. I just wish I was too big to fail like all the banks, and apparently BP.

And as for the restrictions on further deep sea drilling... Until we make sure we're not going to have this same thing happen again, doesn't that just make sense?

Of course I should have expected the promo by Hannity on this particular radio station... It's not my choice to listen to it, but one of their long running promo's talks has the following quote... "Have you noticed how since Obama took over, nothing works in this country?".

People are you THAT STUPID?!?! Mr. Obama has only been in office a little more that 2 years, and things got fouled up long before he was in office. I'm not even going to say that Bush is 100% to blame, but he was just another incompetent moron in a long line of morons who've gotten us to where were are now...

WHAT WE NEED IS CHANGE! And on that note, stay tuned for another rant on things the way I see them later this week... I've been watching a series on the History Channel.

Faith and Discretion

I found this quote by a dude who went by the name of James E. Talmage. He was actually kind of a big shot in the LDS Church, back in his day...

"...faith is not blind submission, passive obedience, with no effort at thought or reason. Faith, if worthy of its name, rests upon truth; and truth is the foundation of science"

That's the kind of faith I could get into!

In other news... Had kind of a cool experience last night... Wondering how best to share it...

Significant Alcohol

First off, and completely unrelated to this post... Thanks to those who have checked out the new blogging grounds. I'm still having issues with the blogroll, leading me to believe that perhaps I need to write a plugin myself to make it act the way I want it to!

CONGRATS TO GERLI! Who was the first non-Viagra peddling person to comment on the new blog. E! you win the prize, which at this point is simply an "I owe you one!".

And with that, back to the topic at hand...

My body metabolizes certain substances really well. If I go to the dentist, I'll usually have them shoot me up with twice as my Lidocaine as people normally use, and even then, I'm usually coming out of it by the end of the procedure, and all the numbness has gone by the time my next appointment has been scheduled and I'm heading out the door to my car. I seem to blow through painkilling medication pretty quickly as well, which makes it perhaps a little unfair that I called Eminem a pussy for getting high of Vicodin...

Anyway with that in mind, I think I could probably be a pretty competitive drinker, although I've never actually tried. Related to that though, is the concern, that if I start drinking, it could get out of control pretty quickly. I have one of those personalities - the go hard or go home ones, hence the reason I was able to get from plump couch potato to IronMan finisher in about 3 years, and am now eagerly searching for my next adrenaline rush - as soon as I complete my 4 year suspension from super long races, at the request of the smokin' hot Mrs. Koda.

Anyway, the aforementioned Mrs Koda has voiced her concerns about me heading down the drinking road as well, and after being subjected to a few minutes of the Bachelorette last night, I can understand her concerns. If I may take a wee detour here...

Mrs Koda does tend to like the cheesy reality shows like The Bachelorette, and generally watches them, while I'm out training. I try not to get on her too much about it, because it's an escape for her, and far be it from me to judge a woman who handles 5 kids while I'm at work... She's nothing short of amazing! But back to cheesy reality shows...

It seems to me that the whole show is either watching a bunch of six pack toting, self absorbed men, drink and gossip like a bunch of old Church ladies, or it's watching them try and weasel their way into the stars pants, but then throw it all away by coming across as whiny little bitches. I could go on, but that's not the point of this post. Anyway, seeing this bunch of attention seeking dicks - and the one guy who just needs to come out already... I definitely wouldn't want the pursuit of the delights of alcohol, turning me into anything like that - although if I could get my six pack back as a result....

Anyway... So I've been thinking about alcohol and that kind of thing lately, and reflecting back about significant moments in my life which involved the substance.

When I was about 9 or 10, my parents took us out to what I recall was a fairly nice restaurant. Shortly after being seated, the waitress brought out 3 small shot glasses of a dark liquid. My parents were each served one, and the remaining one was put in front of me. It turns out it was Sherry, and intended to serve as an Aperitif (Did I get that right) of sorts. It was sent back the next time she came by, but I was pretty impressed at being treated like an adult, especially in front of my 3 or 4 younger siblings!

Fast forward to my late teen years...

As mentioned in my previous post, there were some significant alcohol related experiences in 1994. Specifically, the Bailey's Fudge incident, the Kahlua soaked dessert and then the brain cell shot made of Bailey's and Archers Peach Schnapps. There was also the Brandy Snap incident of December that year, which I haven't really mentioned before, but after standing for my beliefs and refusing to indulge in this party treat, much to the mirth and friendly mental jabs from all my friends, I was to learn a few days later, that aside from the name, it didn't even really have anything to do with alcohol... DOH!!

So if I had to list significant alcoholic beverages in my past, the would be...

Sherry
Bailey's Cream Liquor
Archers Peach Schnapps
Kahlua

I'd like to add one more to that list...

Amarula Cream

It's made from the fruit of the Marula tree in Africa. And since I am African...

Anyway, that about wraps up today's post. I'm not sure what all of this means, but it's been on my mind!

Speaking of the Marula tree...

Have you ever seen the movie... The Gods must be Crazy?

The guys who wrote that, did another movie prior, which I believe was called Beautiful People. Here's my favorite clip from the movie, which combines all the best parts of this post...

NEW BLOG!!!

Hey Folks,

Let's try something new... With the exception of 2 links on my blogroll - my apologies to Travel Vixen and Morgan Mouse, but for some reason the blogroll widget pukes when I add your urls - It's good to go.

So, I'm gonna redirect urbankoda.com to the new site, as soon as I post this, and if all goes well for the next week or two, I'll just switch over to that permanently. Try it again a little later, if you end up back here!

Don't worry - all the content and comments from here are over there already!

My First Real Girlfriend

This may seem like an odd topic, but it's necessary in order to provide background for my next post...

My entry into the dating world was an interesting one, not unlike a new baby bird trying to learn how to fly and ending up in a ball of disheveled feathers and dust at the base of a tree.

No-one ever told me how to date, none of my friends really dated, and so it was up to me to figure things out on my own.

The first girl I was kind of hooked up with came about by mistake. We were good friends. Helped each other out with home work, worked on group assignment together, traded letters and that kind of thing. Since I had recently turned 16 - approved dating age for good little Mormon boys, I thought that perhaps a date might be fun... So I sent her a letter and made a comment about us needing to go and see a movie together sometime. I should add that this was during the last week of summer break or something... My intent was just a fun evening out and then to see how things went from there.

I'm not sure how or why, by somehow I arrived at school the next week and the class was buzzing with the talk that me and AB were a couple... She was sick the first few days, and I remember thinking... Oh well - I guess that's how you ask a girl out.

It was an interesting romance, she being far more into it than I. She was adamant that her boobs were off limits, which was fine with me... I had no idea how you could even approach the subject of touching intimate area's of a member of the opposite sex without having an ice breaker like marriage to start the conversation. I did grab a boob once, but it was a complete mistake on my part - although I don't think she believed me.

Three months later, I called it off - on the phone, like a true coward, and things kind of went south from there... In addition to not learning how to date girls, I'd also never learned that it was OK to disagree and remain friends. For me, it was a scorched earth policy all the way.

The next opportunity came 6 months later. It was the sister of my best friend. I asked his permission, and then launched what I hoped would be a budding romance with what I felt was the key phrase in getting a girl to go steady with you...

"So, you wanna go and see a movie sometime?"

AV assented, and despite apparently liking me to, we went on the worst date in the history of the world. I think we said 10 words to each other through the entire thing. I did offer to pay for her milkshake, which she declined, and then we went and saw Best of the Best II.

Nothing ever happened with her after that... Which was kind of a bummer.

Then we move to New Zealand. I was almost 18, had left the old shy me behind, and was determined to do it right!

The first day of school, BM caught my eye. Cute smile, not too bad of a body and long straight blonde hair!! It took a couple of months, but after a school trip together, and lots of walking home together chatting, I finally plucked up the nerve to ask her out.

I should probably add that I was still a good little Mormon boy at this time, and I'd heard rumor that she was kind of a 'fun' girl. Perhaps if I had been a really good Mormon boy, I would have picked someone else, but at the same time... The forbidden waters seemed to hold some kind of allure!

I walked her home one day, and as she let me out the back door of her house, to cut through the woods to my street, I finally plucked up the courage and spat it out...

"So, do you wanna go out with me?"

Awkward silence, and then the next thing I knew she was on me, and sticking her tongue down my throat.... OOOOOOOH YEAH!!!

It turns out that she'd had a huge crush on a South African Exchange student the prior school year, and I'd taken his place in a couple of things, including her attention!

It was awesome!!! I think we were together about 3 or 4 months before she dumped me. The last month did kinda suck, but I'll get to that in a sec.

Her sister lived in downtown Wellington, and one Saturday we headed into town to visit her. We stopped at a candy shop on the way, and she purchased a couple of blocks of Baileys Cream fudge... Oh MY GOODNESS - BEST FUDGE EVER!!!

Anyway - I found out later what Baileys was, and I'll get to that in a sec too.

About a month into the relationship, we were at her house one evening, all alone, and she brought up a rather 'fun' activity we could engage in. Here's the sucky part... I knew she was into that kind of fun, and it was part of what attracted me to her, but then it was offered, and I turned into a blabbering idiot... Ummmmmm...

Anyway we didn't and things kind of went south from there. There were some interesting things which happened between us though, which I'll share another time, they're related to telepathy and that kind of thing - pretty cool stuff, but back to the last month.

Two important things at this juncture...

1. She was a pretty heavy drinker before I met her, which was interesting because with my Mormony background, one drink equals person becomes raging alcoholic and is lost forever.

2. When things started to head South, we were less than a month away from the Senior Formal. Senior Prom, but for Kiwi's.

Somehow in my mind, I thought that prom might be the spark that brought our relationship back on track, because, traditionally after prom - it's a good time for more fun!!

Anyway prom came, and she didn't really want much to do with me, we went together, ended up at the same after party together, but the chemistry was gone. I ended up walking home at 2 or 3 in the morning feeling pretty depressed and disillusioned with life.

The next day, a whole group of us seniors flew down to Christchurch for a Geography field trip. It was a great trip, and ended up being the 4th or 5th year in a row that I was away from home on my birthday. She took good care of me though, got me a CD I really wanted, and then organized a surprise party for me at a local bar. I was turned 18, but as far as the bar was concerned, it was my 21st birthday, so my "21" year old friends could drink and what not.

The party was nice, until dessert arrived. All my school mates had chipped in some money and gotten me dessert. It was Ice-cream swimming in a sea of Kahlua... It was probably fine, but me, being good little Mormon boy wouldn't touch it. I also refused Brandy Snaps at a party a few months later - IDIOT!!

My friends were mostly understanding, especially those who helped themselves, but BM was pretty pissed... She brought up that I was fine eating the Baileys fudge, and how was this anything different... Wait... what?!? Baileys fudge was made with an alcoholic beverage.... ARGHH!

We ended up at the bar, and BM ordered a brain cell. It was the coolest shot I've ever seen. Archers Peach Schnapps, into which the bartender placed Bailey's Cream with a twirly string to the bottom of the glass, and then two bulbs up the top. Into the bulbs he then dripped raspberry cordial, and then end result was a drink which looked just like a brain suspended in the schnapps. BM drank is slowly, and then ordered another shot of straight schnapps. I was feeling really crappy by this point, and as she finished it, she placed her finger in the glass, picked up a few drops of the pale orange liquid, and then placed it in my mouth.

I don't really remember how it tasted, but I remember just feeling numb and feeling that if I didn't do something I'd lose her forever - My soul mate!!! Sometime later, my good friend Kimmy got me out on the street and talked some sense into me. There I was a blubbering idiot - "If I have to start drinking to keep her, I guess I just have to", and she fortunately managed to convince me that if that's what I had to do, it wasn't worth it. I suspect she knew things were over anyway.

The rest of the trip was miserable. Most of the kids flew home, and I ended up with my own room at the YMCA... BM wouldn't even step foot in it, and spent the last two nights, out drinking with her friend. They'd come back in the wee hours of the morning, laughing about the guys they'd been drinking with, and then she'd suck up to me and beg me to wake her up the morning so she could make it to some activity her, and the friend had planned, but which I couldn't afford.

A week later, after we got back home, BM dumped me... She was pretty viscous about it too, telling me that she'd been trying to get me to break it up for a month or two, but that I was too stupid to take a hint.

It sucked and it hurt, and it took a long time to get over, but there were valuable lessons learned about life and love.

And there you have the story of my first real girlfriend.

Sex with a Tree

I had sex with a tree on Monday.

Don't worry, it's nothing disgusting, at least, I don't think it is...

I was mowing the lawn, and on the south side of our house is a pine tree which stands perhaps 12 feet tall. I don't think it was planted very well, since the trunk comes out of the ground at an angle, and it's in an awkward spot. Mrs Koda and I have discussed removing the tree in question, moving the fence towards the street by about 20 feet and putting a playground for the kiddies in it's place, but that requires financial commitments which we are not able to make at this point.

Anyway, so we have the pine tree, and there I am mowing the lawn. The branches are low, necessitating much maneuvering and what not to get around them. As I pushed to mower under one of the lower limbs, it set the limbs above it shaking, and from the buds on the ends of each of the lesser branches, at the end of those limbs, was emitted a cloud of pollen.

Pollen is how these trees fertilize each other, and thus grow seed from which to produce the next generation of trees, and here I was covered in the pollen of our pine tree.

So, in a manner of speaking, the tree attempted sex with me. Not just normal sex, but gay sex, since we're both apparently male. I should be flattered, but I don't think the tree cares.

Of course putting it all into perspective, I'm rather glad to be a human, since I think we get far more enjoyment from sex.

And on that subject, Mrs. Koda urged me last night to inform my readers that it would appear my MoJo has returned. Since I'm still on the antibiotics, we can rule those out, which only leaves the pain meds, or my original assertion that perhaps it was simply lack of use...

Just Like a Ghost

I had a great weekend, thanks for asking!!

As I arose this morning, well rested, and optimistic for a new week, I came up with 4 or 5 blog posts I want to write, most of which I think will probably end up on this blog. Titles will likely include (And I'm putting these down, so I remember them!)

Sex with a Tree
My First Real Girlfriend
Significant Alcohol

However with all those great ideas, I now find myself at work. I do enjoy my job, but unfortunately with a job comes the responsibility to actually work for my pay check and not spent time writing down my thoughts and impressions on life.

So... Until I find the time to write those, let me share instead the following song. It's a mash-up by Norwegian Recycling, and includes Ghost by Billie the Vision and the Dancers, and bits of the song I was awoken to this morning... I think it's called Just Like a Dream.

I find it very relaxing, and the pictures included in the video by whomever put this together aren't too bad either, although right now I'm in the mood for white beaches, deep blue sea and palm trees!

Enjoy!

Lists and Free Previews

Hey folks, I got tagged on my other blog, and just put together a list of my 10 favorite things. It may be a little sappy, but I had a good time writing it. It's refreshing to sit and take stock of where you are in life.

You can read it here.

Also, I'm not yet done, but if you want to take a peek at the new look of "The Urban Koda", check it out here. There is still much to do, and recommendations about colors, layout and features will be very much appreciated.

For those of you in the midst of a long weekend... Have great one!

Questions

First of all... Did I cross a line with my post yesterday?

There we were, Mrs Koda and I, both hammering away on laptops, and I turned to her and showed her the post, just prior to publishing. It's something we were joking about for most of yesterday. We tend to do that a lot... Anyway, she read it, gave me the look and kind of snickered. I said something like, "Dare me to publish it?" To which she gave me a slightly different look, with which I clicked the mouse!

So anyway, I could fill a rather large book about with interesting observations about sexuality and the Mormon culture... And actually some friends of mine put together a really interesting podcast on the subject a couple of weeks ago.

Speaking of podcasts... I listened to another one of theirs yesterday, the topic of which was a national media celebrity, who happens to be Mormon and things surrounding those two aspects of his life. I thought about posting more about it, since they did ask some very interesting things, like wondering if the leaders of the LDS Church might be placed in an precarious position if this person continues with the stuff he's been saying about receiving messages from God and what not.

If you don't know who I mean, then it's probably safe to say that you likely don't care. And if you do know who it is, I suspect you really don't care either.

I'm starting not to care as well, although I did find the interview did validate a lot of my thoughts and suspicions about the man. I've seen his effect on people around me, but I'm not sure the effect is entirely his fault, it seems more that some of his outrageous ideas have simply found fertile ground on which to sprout, and if it wasn't his garbage, they'd probably latch onto something else... Kind of sad really.

Question number 2 was whether anyone actually cared or wanted to hear about it, but the more I think about it, I'm not sure I even want to waste my time with him anyway.

Awkward Topics

One of the coolest things about having a blog is being able to make new online friends, second to that is the ability to share your innermost feelings and emotions, and not facing the anxiety you might if you did it in person, or to people you know.

The problem comes when you mix those two things, and you end up with good friends who read your blog...

For those who know me personally, my apologies...

It would appear that my MoJo has gone. Mrs Koda blames the anti-biotics, whereas I'm holding to the theory that it's simply lack of use, and not as a result of lack of trying on my part... I guess we'll know for sure in the next week or two.

I've been had by Eminem

Folks, if you follow my other blog, you'll know that this weekend was all about a mega tooth-ache. I got some Lortab and anti-biotics on Saturday, and when they still weren't helping on Sunday, I doubled them up, and then added 800mg of Ibuprofen for good measure. Which eventually did the trick.

Monday I saw the dentist, and yesterday I went to the Endodontist for a root canal. It was tooth #3, which means it was the 2nd one from the back on the top right hand side. Apparently my wisdom tooth, had it been present would have taken the #1 slot.

Anyway, I'll share my experiences with Lidocaine another time, but basically, despite a second very thorough numbing session by the endodontist, it came un-numb shortly before he finished up. I could have asked him to numb it again, but I'm not a fan of the un-numbing process, so I dealt with a little pain.

He got done - and if I may add... Ladies, if you're looking for an Endodontist in Utah, this guy is young, good looking and kind of a stud - plus he treats his staff really well, which always scores point in my book.

Anyway, he gets done, and it was feeling uncomfortable. He asked if I needed drugs, and when I said yes, he asked about my reactions to Lortab and that kind of thing. I told him that generally Lortab doesn't affect me much and that I usually have to take 2 before it kicks in. He then offered to write me a prescription for Vicodin.

Vicodin... Eminem sings about Vicodin a lot. I hear it's pretty good.

I'll share my experience getting it filled later - since it's a very long and painful tale about Walmart - but a little over an hour later, I arrived home, took the prescribed 800mg of Ibuprofen (It cuts down swelling) and then lay around for a couple of hours in agony. It had finally eased up by 8pm, and so I headed off to the gym and had a very nice weight session, which has been about 6 months in coming.

This morning I awoke and while feeling a little stiff from the weights, the rest of me felt fine. I went downstairs, and decided I probably wouldn't need the Vicodin, so I put it up, away from kiddy's. It was then that I noticed the writing on the bottle.

I didn't actually use Lortab over the weekend, it was actually the generic equivalent... Hydrocodone with Acetaminophen. And there were some 5's and a 500 too I think.

I looked at the Vicodin bottle. It was a generic substitution... And it turns out that it's the same stuff as Lortab...

So if it's the same stuff as Lortab, and Lortab doesn't affect me much, I'm thinking either Eminem is just a big pussy, or perhaps I'm just not doing it right.

Not that I condone the usage of narcotics for recreational purposes, or the mixing of narcotics to get a better buzz.

The Libertarian Test

It seems to me that being a Libertarian is fast becoming the new fad...

Here are a couple of things to know if you truly want to be a Libertarian.

1. War is bad! The only time it is justifiable, is when your country is being actively attacked. And in that case, the war should be purely defensive. Preemptive strikes, even if you can conjure up phony evidence is not a reason to wage war.

The war in Iraq is one of those wars, and to be fair... so is the war in Afghanistan. Sure, you can argue that the Afghan war is retaliation for 9/11, but 9/11 would likely not have happened, had the US not been sticking it's nose into politics in the Middle East.

True Libertarians would be against funding Israel, messing with other countries governments and waging wars on foreign soil. End of story.

2. Human rights. I am an immigrant to this country, and as such I speak funny. If I were to go down to Arizona, technically I could be asked to provide law enforcement with my papers. But that won't happen to me, and do you know why? Because I'm white and I look just like every other US citizen out there.

I have a friend who is part Mexican and who was born here in the US. She speaks like an American, works her ass off, pays taxes and all of that. And yet, if she goes down to Arizona, she might be asked to provide her papers. That is a violation of her rights as a US citizen.

The new Arizona law is distinctly anti-Libertarian.

So, if you want to call yourself a Libertarian, and jump on the hot new trend that is, being a Libertarian, please think long and hard about whether you actually are a Libertarian, or simply just a racist with a bad attitude, and a predisposition to being an asshole.

What's in a name?

I used to go to school with a girl whose last name was Hussein - hey, that rhymes!

Anyway, she was a real sweet girl, who I believed had family ties back to Pakistan, or a similar middle eastern country.

When I first met her, I'll admit that I felt the urge to crack a couple of Saddam type jokes, but as I got to know her, those just didn't seem appropriate.

Anyway, so this morning one of my conservative facebook friends posts a question. Apparently a group of Democrats are trying to lobby to keep President Obama's middle name from appearing in text books, while a group of Republican's are trying to keep it in.

My response - and I don't usually comment on the status updates of friends with whom I disagree, what that it should be left in.

The other comments were all from the right wing folks, and ranged from "Keep the name, remove the man" to "Why worry, unless you aren't living up to your heritage?"

There also seemed to be a few folks asking... It's just a name?!? Why not keep it in.

Like I said, my thoughts are... Keep it in.

The problem is see though, is that the president's middle name has been abused by right wing nuts, who have been using it to insinuate that by having a name which is shared by a brutal dictator, somehow the president is guilty by association. Kind of like after the brutal murder of a kid in Utah last week by a guy with the last name of Sloop, we were now to round up anyone with that last name as child killers - It's just ridiculous.

Ultimately I think both sides need a swift kick to the head. Trying to link the President to a dictator, purely because they share a name is childish and petty, but unfortunately that seems to be the right wing response to losing an election. Childish and petty.

Trying to remove the name from textbooks, is an overreaction on the part of the Dems too. It's his name, I'm sure it has significance to him... Hiding history is never a good thing. Yes the opposition are being a bunch of whiny 2 year olds about it, but that's their problem, not yours!

Can't we all just grow up, and start treating each other like adults?

It's Draw Mohammed Day!!

And my offering to the cause, confirming to all that I cannot draw!

The Authority

If you've read His Dark Material trilogy, the title may mean something more to you.

And along with that, here's a great quote by G. Massey - an Egyptologist...

They must find it difficult,
those who have taken authority as truth,
rather than truth as authority.

It's Magic!!!!

Sometimes I just feel like "The Bad Guy" with stuff I post online...

Patriotism

I read an excellent posting on the Tea Party movement by another blogger last week, and I can definitely respect the motives behind the movement. The thing is, I don't think most of the tea-baggers actually get those motives. I think they're motivated by something else...

I see all the signs saying... Dissent is the ultimate form of Patriotism!

Which I happen to agree with, but these were the same people who were calling people who protested the Iraq war traitors...

Anyway, in that light, and in light of other events in my life, a quote by a Founding Father...



Thanks to TJ for cluing me into the remainder of the quote, which makes it even better...

"...because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear."

Blood of Jesus Oil

I'm about to start a serious week of posts about religion on another blog, and the short version there is that it's time for the gloves to come off.

However to keep me grounded, I'd like to start a week of fun and amusement on this blog. In fact I think I'm going to try and seek out the most disturbing and unusual humor I can - because... Well, that's just the kind of thing I like.

Let us begin this week with a video of a prank phone call to the prophet Woody Martin who promotes his own brand of Blood of Jesus Oil. And if you're anything like me, you're probably already giggling about his first name... Tee hee hee!!!

Karma?

"It's like [Republicans] treat the country like a sleazy used car salesman: 'Hey, I gotta tell you, this is a beautiful country. Runs like a dream. We have kept it totally tuned for eight years. It's cherry. You're not gonna have a problem with it at all. Oh, you'll take it? It's YOUR piece of sh*t now!'" - Jon Stewart

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Release the Kagan
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

As an outsider to the Republican Party, it's interesting to see what's going on. I think a lot of the membership to that party are upset, and I think their leadership (if one can call them that) are trying to capitalize on that discontent, for their own little agendas, but I think it's going to come back to bite them in the butt, and in fact it might be coming back already.

A prominent Utah Republican got nailed earlier this week, and while I know nothing of who did this, and don't condone the behavior, I have a strong suspicion that it will turn out to be some pissed off conservative, Glenn Beck fan and Tea Party demonstrator. You can read the story here.

The way I see it, people are justifiably upset with how the country is being run, but the problems aren't Republican or Democrat problems, they're politician problems. What I find amusing is that some politicians are trying to make out that the problem lies with the other parties politicians, but as they point those problems out, there is a good chance that people will start looking at them and see the same things. It's kind of like the anti-gay, homophobic preacher man who gets caught with his gay lover... Tragic in a way, but ironically hilarious for those of us with disturbed minds.

Of course it might work though too... The reason we have a politician problem is that people don't care and don't take the time to inform themselves, and so the ignorant masses rally around the scoundrels with the shiny badges, or who their puppet masters tell them to rally around, and the cycle continues.

Society

There are a couple of blogs I frequent, where the authors use song lyrics to help convey their feelings. I've done this in the past, specifically back in my teenage years, where music was a huge part of my life. I've been listening to this song for a month or so now, courtesy of another blogging buddy who posted the link to it.

It's from the soundtrack to a movie - Into the Wild, which I haven't seen yet, but I think I need to.

It was written by Jerry Hannan, and performed by Eddie Vedder.

SOCIETY

Oh, it's a mystery to me
We have a greed with which we have agreed
And you think you have to want more than you need
Until you have it all you won't be free

Society, you're a crazy breed
Hope you're not lonely without me...

When you want more than you have
You think you need...
And when you think more than you want
Your thoughts begin to bleed
I think I need to find a bigger place
Because when you have more than you think
You need more space

Society, you're a crazy breed
Hope you're not lonely without me...
Society, crazy indeed
Hope you're not lonely without me...

There's those thinking, more-or-less, less is more
But if less is more, how you keeping score?
Means for every point you make, your level drops
Kinda like you're starting from the top
You can't do that...

Society, you're a crazy breed
Hope you're not lonely without me...
Society, crazy indeed
Hope you're not lonely without me...

Society, have mercy on me
Hope you're not angry if I disagree...
Society, crazy indeed
Hope you're not lonely without me...

Don't worry, I'm going to be skulking off into the woods to pursue a life as a hermit anytime soon, but I do feel the need to simplify and try and escape the consumer based furor that is the US economy.

Driving at Night and Reflections

I love being out at night, but I'm not sure exactly why... Everything just seems so peaceful and tranquil, and during the summer, it's the time of the day when it's nice and cool too.

I was listening to a song on YouTube this morning, and it took me back to a time almost 2 decades ago, when I would drive home from work late at night. It didn't happen often, since usually I worked the morning shift, and I would bike into work, but occasionally I worked late and I would take my dads care.

I had the Pearl Jam, Vitology tape, and as I left work, I'd put it in. Before I even drove, I'd queue it up to play nothing man, and then I'd turn it off. Leaving work, there were two traffic circles, and then the road dropped down to follow a winding river. The speed limit was probably a little high for a narrow winding road like that, but all that meant was that I could enjoy the drive without breaking the law.

As I would start down the road, I'd open the windows, turn on the stereo and crank it up. It's an interesting feeling, merging speed with the solitude of night, and then haunting sound of Eddie's voice.

The Book of Beck

Folks, I'm not above admitting when there is someone out there with superior intellect and/or comedic abilities, and this past week, one of those amazing souls left a priceless comment on another post of mine. I hope she doesn't mind my reposting it here for all to see.

1 And it came to pass, that Glen Beck did admonish the nation for their evil desires for healthcare.
2 And some hearkened unto his words and they did follow him. And they were called Republicans. Now behold, their skin was white and fair.
3 But the Democrats being a loathsome people followed a man with darkened skin.
4 And it came to pass that Glen Beck did say that: Inasmuch as you have followed me, ye shall be blessed with contention and war.

CoGBoMS

Folks, there's a new religion on the block!!

The Church of
GLENN BECK
of Misguided Souls

Looking for a religion that not only supports your belief that Obama and anything related to him is pure evil, but includes divine revelation on how to defeat him?

Well, folks, step right up!

God has spoken to a prophet in our day, and his name is Glenn Beck. Due to the nature of the evilness overtaking our nation, you can attend services via radio or TV any day of the week, and for your tithing, either subscribe to his newsletter, buy his products, or endorse his sponsors.

General Conferences are currently touring the nation, but require membership to block from their minds any involvement of the Bush or Reagan Administrations in racking up the national debt, as well as GW's involvement in the Bank Bailouts, and pin the entire deficit on Mr. Barack Obama. Signs including the swastika or hammer and sickle will ensure your calling and election is made sure, and if you can get yourself on TV yelling about how Mr. Obama is trying to kill your grandma, you get bonus points from the big guy up stairs.



As an aside, if you happen to already be a member of the CoGBoMS, I'd appreciate you sharing what exactly this plan is, since I just can't bring myself to listen to a raging lunatic for more than a few seconds at a time....

Of course there's always a chance Mr. Beck was just trying to be funny, since he is merely an entertainer...

What if the whole tea party thing, and all of Mr. Beck's rants for the past couple of years, were simply some crazy joke that he's taken too far... Wouldn't it be absolutely hilarious if he came out and said as much... And if it happened to turn out that Sarah Palin was simply in league with him. Oh my goodness... I'm going to have a grin on my face the rest of the day.

Fighter for the Greater Good

Mr. John Cleese on Extremism...

Something Positive...

You know with all the gloom and doom going on right now... Idiot Teabaggers with hypocritical signs, people opposing regulation of the financial industry, which industry screwed us all over because they got regulated, and religious fanatics everywhere claiming that recent earthquakes are the result of women dressing sensually and the gays trying to form stable families, there is a beam of light which gives me hope...

I don't watch Dancing with the Stars, but I get regular updates from Mrs Koda as to the state of things on the show. Last night while putting in a couple of miles on my bike trainer, my sweet wife had the results show on, and Kate got kicked off.

America, in that moment, I realized that there are still thinking and reasonable people out there.

I know this is one of those rants which Kate will probably get all bent out of shape about, but lets be honest here, she has no talent, other than being a first class bitch. It's not about her kids either, if she values them, it's only because their existence has allowed her to achieve her apparent goal of full blown media whore. She was a pretty crappy wife too, and while I wouldn't defend Jon's actions in recent years of being those of a mature adult, having watched how she treated him on camera, I think we can all understand.

So long Kate, and while I hope the door doesn't hit you too hard on the ass, I do it it slams securely and locks so that you can't get back in the spotlight for your next 2 minutes of fame... No doubt... "For my children...."

Duelling Quotes

Two friends of mine on Facebook, both posted quotes as their status updates this morning. They don't know each other as far as I know, but I thought the timing was interesting...

Person A

When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power.
Ezra Taft Benson

Person B

I'm completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death.
George Carlin

I think you all know which one got the 'Like' from me.

And I suspect it would likely be easy for all of you to guess who is militantly against gay marriage, and who spent Saturday cleaning up trash from around a local park...

Render Unto Ceasar

I heard a statistic several years ago, that Republicans in general were happier than Democrats... I'd like to see what that study finds now.

In a related story, a couple of surveys discussed on the radio this morning seemed to indicate that between 18% and 24% of the US population self identify as Tea Baggers. Of that group, most are white married men with above average income and education. These results seem to fly in the face of some of the media footage I've seen of their events, but perhaps it's more just an indication of the diverse nature of this movement.

Anyway, I could continue with a long opinion spewing piece about these folks which may be partly true and may be partly false as well. But dammit, this is supposed to be a place where I can share stuff which amuses me, and to be completely honest, these people are starting to make me nervous. The surveys discussed earlier, also indicated that the main emotion being felt by the baggy folks is anger. I worry that this anger and irrational behavior will reach a point where it spills over into violence, and will put my family at risk... But again, this isn't the place.

SO......

Please enjoy this hilarious live blogging report from a gentleman in Boston. It's moderately funny if you ready it from the top, but I had a hard time holding the laughter in, when I read it from the bottom up.

Check it out here.

Strange and Flattering

Instead of my usual lunch time run yesterday, I went for a short walk. It turns out that I wasn't the only one with that idea. I returned to the office after several strange and unusual encounters while out in the sun.

The pinnacle seemed to be a young man in different clothing who came stroll up the hill towards me towards the end of my walk. By different clothing, I just mean, not the usual fashion, but he was well dressed none-the-less.

As he passed me, I noticed he was talking on his cell, and as I got closer to him, he paused and seemed to be waiting for me to pass... Fair enough, thinks I, as I would likely have done the same.

I passed him and continued on my way, only to hear him start chatting again... Except the chatting was right behind me... Turns out that as I had passed, he'd turned as well, and was heading down the hill, about 10 feet back, and there he stayed for the next 5 minutes.

Now, I'm not usually one to eavesdrop - Well, maybe I am - I'm a curious guy, but I didn't really have the option in this case, since he was so close and talking so loud.

I don't recall the entire conversation, but it involved a girl and a prom dress and some photographs, and then comes the twist... It sounded like he asked if he could try the prom dress on... And he'd dressed up as a girl before, and apparently many occasions, and usually he wore make up, but not this time. But apparently the dress looked fabulous, and as soon as he got the photo's, he was going to post them on facebook and send them to his friend.

I was a little freaked out at first... The area I was walking isn't known for it's safety, but I figured I would stand a good chance if it came down to him vs. me. The fear dissipated after a while, and was replaced with just a simple fascination on my part.

By and by, he finished his conversation. Told his friend that he loved him, and the next thing I knew, he was gone...

Interestingly enough, there were no places to turn off, and so I can only assume he turned and continued on his way up the hill.

And with that assumption, I have to wonder why he would choose to follow me down the hill...

Is my ass that appealing to young men?!? I wouldn't have thought so, but if it is, I guess I should be flattered.

Mistaken Identity

Courtesy of someone I follow on Twitter...

"Obama is not a brown-skinned anti-war socialist who gives away free healthcare. You’re thinking of Jesus."

John Fugelsang

I have no idea who John is, but... ROTFLMAO John!!!

All Comments Welcome!

I found this gem, courtesy of Chino Blanco, over on Main Street Plaza.

I have a number of thoughts about it, but I'm interested on hearing yours.



There are a few clues in the video, as to the source behind it.

And by way of comedy... I think I shall dedicate this embedment of the video to Morgan Mouse and Travel Vixen.

Screwing It, and Screwing it well

Edited to Add: This was supposed to be a humorous post about the culture in which I live, but I realize having let it stew for a couple of days that my humor was inappropriate and misplaced. I'm not an anti-semite, and generally I'm not really even an anti-Mormon. So, the title has been changed, and I'm going to edit a few things in the body of the post to make it less offensive as well.


On the off chance that I have any Jewish readers... Please accept my apologies if this is offensive, it is not meant to be. For my Mormon readers, I would apologize, but things are what they are. I'm going to make a generalization based on my experience. It may not apply in all cases, but the vast majority of my experiences prove this to be the case.

OK, with all that stuff out of the way...

I was reminded this morning why I generally avoid doing business with Mormons.

The term "to jew" someone appears to have originate in the middle ages when Jews often worked as money lenders. It is a slang term which means to cheat or swindle someone. I hadn't actually heard the term until I moved to Utah, although to be completely honest, I did hear my fair share of Jewish jokes as a kid. The fact that I learned about it in Utah, add a level of irony to my tale.

My experience with actual descendants of the Tribe of Judah has been minimal at best, so I can't comment on the accuracy of the term in respect to them, although from that minimal experience, I can't claim a single incident where a "jewing" has been attempted.

Mormons claim membership, either by birth or adoption to the tribe of Joseph, which technically makes them Israelites, but not Jews. However, even with that claimed ancestry, I think I can state authoritatively that no-one can "jew you" quite like a Mormon.

Seriously, they'll beat you up on price, and then when you deliver, it's never quite good enough for them. But, you'll try and make it right for them, and that's when they start really taking advantage of you, especially if they think they can get something for free.

And then the worst part is, that after they've bent you over, and shoved the pole up your butt as far as they can, and then another inch more, they'll act like they've done you a huge favor. Aren't you grateful for my business, especially since we're fellow children of God?

Perhaps it would be more accurate to simply tell you that I'm in the process of being "Mormoned" It's not significant enough of business that I'm pissed or anything. Actually truth be told, its a small enough deal that I'm actually having a little fun with them right now.

Oh, the blessings of living in "Zion"

Tiger and Tigger and Voyeurs, Oh My!

First of all, and this has nothing to do with the post...

Congrats to frequent blog visitor, commenter and cat-lover Ms. Morgan Mouse on becoming the proud parent of young Tigger.


America, if I might ask a question... Why does anyone still care about Tiger Woods and his infidelity?!?

I'm at the gym last night, watching the news while grinding away on the bike, and the lead story is Mr. Woods down at the Masters. Was it about his golf game? Not really, it was about his fan's perception of how much he's improved since his little confessional.

"It's like he's a different person", said one.

I'm not sure how that's news, but then they cut to one of the sluts he was banging.

"I don't believe him", says she, "I look at him, and all I see if a big fat liar."

Honey, with all due respect, and quite honestly, I don't think any is due...

You hopped into bed with a married man. A man you knew was married, but for some reason, the thought of you getting done by Tiger Woods overcame your now obvious sense of morality. So you did that, and now you're passing judgment on him being a liar?!?!

In other news, and somewhat related. John Remy of the Mind on Fire blog, directed me to this picture comparing the front pages of CNN and Al Jazeera yesterday...

The United States holds in it's history some pretty cool philosophies about freedom and individual responsibility, but I think by and large the populace doesn't really care. Should we be surprised when those nations on whom we impose our foreign policy are offended by it?

What He Said....

On the positive side of things which happened this weekend, was the meeting up with an old friend from many, many years ago. He like me still projects a rather heavy South African accent when he talks, but having live in Canada, lo these many years, he'll also add an "eh" or two on the end of his sentences, just to keep it interesting.

It was an interesting meeting, given that in 18 years, we've had almost no contact with each other or mutual friends. Not having had contact, minimizes points of reference between us, and so naturally conversation was a little jumpy to begin with.

At one point in the conversation though, the topic turned to health-care, mostly due to a personal experience I had some years ago. Without my prompting, he declared that the Canadian Health-care system is one of the things he's most grateful for. He said that at times, it might take a little longer to get in and see the doctor, but it wasn't that bad, and when you do get in to see him (or her) you don't have to worry about what the diagnosis is, and how you're going to pay for it, since it's covered.

He's just your average working guy, trying to provide for a family and improve his life, and so I thought this observation of his very interesting, and a far cry from the appalling state of health-care as portrayed by the media who oppose health care reform.

On that topic too, I also found this rather inciteful commentary on the tea-bagging movement by another blogger. He's using a fan of the sarcastic and comedic post, one of my favorite being his recent application as a sniper in an Idaho militia, but this one came across as quite serious and well thought out.

Jesus' General

Extremes

I need to get back on the blogging train, as I've been slacking in both blogging and blog reading duties.

By way of update... I ran my first 50k race last week. I got done almost 2 hours before I thought I would. It was a great experience, almost spiritual in a way. At one point, I wanted to take a picture (I live tweeted the experience) and tweet it with the simple caption of OMG!! But I was worried that people might think I was in trouble and not simply in total awe at the wonder of the planet on which we live.

Busy week, but it culminated in getting together with a childhood friend. We haven't seen each other since we were 15 and we've had interesting experiences since. I was a great reunion - THANK YOU FACEBOOK! And I was left with a few vivid impressions, which I may blog about later this week.

So that meeting happened yesterday evening. I just found out though, that at the same time, another friend of mine was involved in an incident. Without sharing too many details, after experiencing some marital problems, he opted yesterday to leave this life. In the process of taking his life, he destroyed his families home, as well as the home next door. Thankfully police were able to get his wife, 5 kids and 2 bishops out of the home prior to the explosions. I found out about this an hour ago, and I'm still reeling from the shock. I'm not going to blame his death and the destruction involved on anyone but himself. But with that said, I think religion had a huge role to play in contributing to his mental state which ultimately led to his untimely demise.

It's been an awesome weekend, but just recently it too a morbid turn.

Bustin' Out

One of the reasons I started this blog, was as an outlet where I wouldn't offend anyone I had to work or worship with.

Today, it's going to function fulfill that purpose perfectly!

Things I wish I could say at work, but I don't want to lose my job over:

"Socialized Healthcare!?!? OMG, what's next socialized education... No wait... socialized emergency services... No wait... socialized postal system..."

"You know how you felt when our troops started the invasion of Iraq? Similar feeling!"

I just read through the bill as well...

Here's the funny thing though. I don't think people know what the bill is about, and I don't think they know what socialism truly is either. This is the problem when you get your news from a right wing nut-job, who wants nothing more than for the United States to be run as a Christian Theocracy (That's my theory at least!)

I say this, because no-one who argues about this is willing to admit that there isn't problem with the health-care system. Once we agree on that, I generally ask them how they would fix it. What's funny is usually their suggestions involve elimination of pre-existing conditions and life-time maximums on benefits and then some way for people to be able to buy insurance if they aren't offered through their job or if they're self employed. They also want it to be State controlled and they don't want an evil public option, or to have to pay for abortions.

From what I've read about the bill, that is exactly what got passed by the House of Congress last night. The problem is that for too long, Glenn Beck and his minions of mindless robots have been tossing around the buzz words of Socialism, Nazism, Communism and "Worst President in History", and so no-one can actually see this.

Think about it

While I would still like to read the particulars, the Health Care Reform bill passed last night. I heard it announced at work this morning, that we're (The US) officially a socialist nation.

I've been mildly amused the last few months though, watching people who appear to have switched sides.

Almost a decade ago, a US President used an act of terror to justify the invasion of a nation which was not involved. He and his administration twisted the facts in intelligence reports, and a whole nation of 'Conservatives' got all bent out of shape because left wing, extremist liberals were criticizing a sitting president in a time of war.

I still remember listening to Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck all become unglued because of this awful rash of protests by democrats.

What's funny is that the complainers have become the complainees. I can't comment on the comparative size of the protests, since I live in the midst of Republican central, but it seems to be more raucous, and obnoxious than the anti-war protests ever were.

I'd like to do a little comparison though...

During the Iraqi War, the US dropped 11 BLU-82B Daisy Cutter bombs. They also developed a new bomb called the MOAB which is significantly, but it doesn't look like they've chosen to use that one just yet. This was just one of the weapons used by the US.

Anyway, the Daisy Cutter is a huge bomb, and was originally designed to clear tree and vegetation instantly in Vietnam. It is produced at a cost to the US Tax Payer of $27,318. It has a lethal radius of 100-300 meters.

In comparison, the cost of an MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) vaccination is $18.30, according to the CDC.

So, for the cost of a split second explosion with enough to power to kill everyone within an area larger than a square kilometer, we could vaccinate 1,492 people.

Just something to think about...

2 and a half Mikes

I'm a big fan of Two and a Half Men. And as I've watched it recently, I've started to notice parallels with my life.

• I think if most people who knew me had to pick a character who most closely resembled me, I think I would be Alan Harper - Except currently I'm not paying alimony.


• I think if I wanted to pick the character I most would like to be, that person would be Charlie Harper - But without the binge drinking, although there might be some.


• At one point I had an Evelyn Harper in my life - Except without all the sexual encounters


• And I think it can reasonably said that one of my offspring is a Jake Harper.

Koda Breweries

I've been experimenting was various brewed concoctions. Of course, since I was raised Mormon, I haven't been experimenting with actual beer, at least not yet, but I've been having fun, none-the-less.

The whole idea started when my brother brought over a bottle of home made ginger beer. It sat on the fridge for a couple of days and was promptly forgotten. Fortunately for all involve, I remembered 5 or 6 days later, at which point, the bottle was hard as a rock. I relieved the pressure gradually and poured the wonderful liguid over a glass of ice... Mmmmmmm.

It was gone within a day and most of that was consuption my me, since the Koda kids, and the Mrs, weren't to wild about the yeasty smell.

I got the urge to make some more, and in the process of researching, found this site.

The first test was a 2 liter bottle of root beer, and was mixed as per the instructions on the site. I used warn water, which may have sped up the fermentation process. After 3 days the bottle was rock hard, and I felt it best that we begin consumption.

All the kids tried a little, but none had more than a few sips.

My personal impression... There was a definite yeast taste, but it wasn't ver strong. The rootbeer itself was a little lacking in flavor, and it seemed to lack a certain amount of body. I suspect that my use of inferior root beer extract and a sugar content which was likely lower than A&W use are the main culprit.

I just finished mixing up batch number 2. This time I used cold water, a little less yeast and a cup and a quarter of sugar. I also added a half tablespoon on vanilla essense to see how that affects the taste. I'm looking for smooth and creamy.

Hopefully I should have a report for you in 4-5 days.

Balance

I'm a little baffled...

A defect in a handful of Toyota vehicles results in millions of cars being recalled and the CEO of the company hauled before Congress for hearings. I thought he appeared very humble and definitely seemed to regret what had happened and promised to fix the problems.

A little bit of an over reaction by the political rabble in Washington, but whatever...

For years, priests all over the world have been sexually abusing young boys. We're not talking about a handful of car accidents, but hundreds, possibly thousands of lives ruined by dirty old men, claiming to speak for God.

So far, not a word has been said by Congress. As for the leaders of this Church, I think Mark Morford sums it up better than I could...

Decades of sexual, emotional, physical abuse of children by priests? Our bad. Here, have a letter.

Details here

Something Completely Different

I spoke a little in my last post about where this blog originated from... The catalyst that actually got it started was a gentleman by the name of Matt, who at the time, went by the name of The Mediocre Gatsby.

I used to work with his wife, and one day, she announced to a group of us, that he wanted her to advertise his blog. I don't know if I checked it right away, but when I did, I was instantly hooked. He has a very unique style and some of his humor takes a while to sink in, but when it does, it's pure genius.

He's an artist too, and right now, he's having a sale on his art. You can view it here.

I'm finding myself partial to a piece at the end which he has entitled, "Here to Stay". I don't know why, but it just speaks to me. I'm thinking I may have to chat with the Mrs about possibly investing in a piece.

Anyway, I'd recommend checking out his art, and if you want to see more of his humor, check out the links to the right for My Religious Blog and the Genius Archive.

Post 400 - For The People

This is my 400th post since starting this blog some three years ago. A lot has changed in that time.

When I began, I would have categorized myself as an extremely devout Mormon from a religious stand-point, and as a extreme right-wing Conservative from a political perspective. My plan was to blog about relationships and how they affect our lives and philosophical idea's I had whilst discussing the world with friends and colleagues.

As time went by, and as I delved deeper into my core beliefs and thoughts, I found that I started to stray from the Conservative path. I have become more and more liberal in my political beliefs and I think if I had to categorize myself now, it would be as a Libertarian Socialist (Say that three times fast!!). In addition those changes, my thoughts on religion have changed to. From a devout Mormon, employed by the Corporation of the Presiding Bishopric of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints, I started to question the motives behind the organization, and so began my departure from Mormonism. Technically, I'm still somewhat active, and to the average member nothing has changed, but inward, I left some time ago.

At this time I'm still struggling to put it all into perspective. While I feel anger at having been lied to for some many years, I also recognize that I wouldn't have met my sweet wife without the Churches influence, and that a great deal of who I am is because of that affiliation. I think I'm probably more of an Atheist now, more than anything else, but I suspect this is a path which still has a long way to go for me.

It's been an interesting 3 years and I'm sure the future still have plenty in store for me. While I have tried over the past year to keep this blog a little lighter than my other blog, occasionally I'll feel the urge to post something of a political and/or religious matter. Recently many of these posts have concerned the need to reform in some of our political systems, specifically health-care, and I felt the occasion of my 400th post would be a good time to delve into the underlying reasons for my support of such reform.

A recent discussion I had on this topic ended with a rather snarky comment by the other party that if their intent on following the founding fathers was offensive to me, it was simply unfortunate.

I'd like to start if I may, prior to the founding fathers, with what came before:

A religious organization is in many ways, similar to a commercial organization. While the product may be of a less tangible nature, typically the reason for forming the organization is the acquisition of capital from those who would follow the ideas and products of the organization.

If we consider England, the Church of England was the prevailing organization and enjoyed definite monopoly on religious thought amongst the populous. With the leader of the organization also serving as the leader of the country, anyone who was not a part of the organization was at a distinct disadvantage, and in some cases would be subject to punishment or death.

The founders of the United States appear to have been an interesting group. Many of the early settlers it appears where of the Puritan variety, seeking a place where they could practice their own religion, outside the control of the Church of England, and impose it on all in their community. There was another group though as well. Men who were generally of a secular disposition and who where great thinkers. It is from this group that many of the founding fathers seem to have been assembled.

When the Declaration of Independence was drafted, it held within it one of my favorite phrases of all time.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness... Three ideals that speak to all people everywhere. When I think of the American dream, these are the things I think of. But I think in recent times, these ideals are in danger of being lost, and not because of Socialism, Marxism, Gun Control or anything like that. It is something which holds each of us as slaves, and ironically uses those slaves to defend it, and justify it's existence.

But let's take a little detour on the way to discussing this. In recent years, Mrs. Koda has remarked often that she would like to see a return to a simpler time, and specifically when we discuss the education of our children, she really likes the idea of the one room school house, where a small group of children of all ages would gather, and a teacher selected by the immediate community would teach each child at their own pace and according to their own abilities. While I have no doubt that our modern system offers many advantages over that approach, when I see my kids struggling with concepts and at other times, consumed with what amounts only to be busy work, I can definitely see the appeal.

It's made me think about the way things used to be, and I picture a small community, much as would have existed in the early days of the United States. I don't have the worlds greatest imagination, but I suspect the scene depicted in the "Little House on the Prairie" series to be a pretty accurate depiction.

I see a small community where everyone played an important part in keeping it running. You have the guy who runs the mill and might employ a few other gentleman in helping complete the work. The blacksmith, the school teacher, and the doctor. While each person no doubt pursued their talents, together they formed a community with shared talents and a common purpose. To support each other and help the community grow.

Let's look at the doctor for a second though, since I want to tie this into Health Care...

You have one doctor who is generally fairly well versed in medicine and does a great job taking care of everyone in town.

Let's say however, that he learns that the doctor in the next town over similar training but has a certain knack for setting bones and performing surgery, and let's say that our doctor has developed an affinity for treating skin conditions. These two doctors might form an agreement where they will spend perhaps one day a week in the others doctors town and help take care of things in which they have specialized. The doctors still get paid the same, but the benefit to the community is increased because you have a cooperative type arrangement between two people with different talents.

Take a few jumps up from that, and perhaps you could include a business which has invented an X-ray machine, or a bone scanner. You have another company which invents artificial limbs, and as the community grows, you have a cooperative which can now provide far better treatment for a variety of ailments and provides a huge increase in benefit to the local communities.

Jumping back to the original town however. I suspect that the single doctor probably wasn't insanely wealthy. As part of the community, he did his work, and they did theirs. Perhaps in exchange for caring for a young child with a broken leg, he might receive a portion of meat and/or vegetables, or some new furniture for his house. I suspect that everyone in town had fairly equitable income and all live a fairly similar standard of living.

Something has happened though, as this picture has grown. As men have formed cooperatives, they've also learned they can start to charge more for their specialist services. And in addition to charging more, a hierarchy has formed where somehow it seemed necessary that those at the top received a greater portion of the income.

There are definite benefits to have cooperative agreements setup between people of similar talents. We get the ability to accomplish more, and more innovation and improvement occurs, but there is a down side. Somewhere along the way, wages got out of wack.

A guy who spends all his time out in the hot sun, digging holes has been determined to not be as valuable to society as a lawyer who can speak well and win arguments. And as time moves on, that separation between the perceived value of both occupations only increases.

Now I know there are other factors involved here, like training and time dedicated to schooling, but from a time when a community all helped one another for mutual survival, it seems like now we have been formed into corporations where those on top take more than their fair share, at the expense of those in lesser valued professions or even those lower in the hierarchy.

Just as England was take over by a corporation, specifically the Church of England, so the United States has been taken over by corporations. The idea of the individual has been lost, and as evidenced by the recent ruling by the Supreme Court that corporations should be considered as independent entities, we're getting dangerously close to where they were.

Back to the topic at hand though... At one time, health care was within reach of all citizens within the US. It wasn't too expensive and it was light years short of what we have now, but the growth of that industry has far exceeded that of other industries. The health care industry has gotten to be great, because of the contributions of individuals, and because of the individuals they service.

It seems to me that each American has played a part in helping that industry and others grow, and as such, we have claim to it's services.

This country was founded on the principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and isn't a part of that being able to have access to quality medical care?

The US Government was formed to be Of the People, For the People and By the People. It was never intended to Of Corporations, For Corporations and By Corporations. In fact I think it fairly obvious that the Declaration of Independence was designed to escape those sorts of things.

I'm afraid my thoughts are probably a little disjointed about about to tie this all together, but let me try....

In the situation where a few have determined that their work is worth more than that of the rest of us, there needs to be a mediator that brings things back together again, and that is why we have a government, to represent to needs of all.

The free market works really well, when you consider electronics and consumer goods, but Health Care isn't a consumer good. It's a service which is based on need, not on want, and therefore the free market simply can't work on it. In many ways, it suffers from the same problem which those who face discrimination based on race or gender suffer. Those who need it the most generally did not make the choice to need it.

I've heard the argument that if health care is freely available to all, that it will get over-used, but such is the problem with thinking from a free market perspective. People want to be well, and while I am sure there are a few hypochondriacs who would abuse such as system, but I for one am not looking forward to my next prostate exam or round of chemotherapy. But should the time come that I need it, I would appreciate it being there, and having access to it at a reasonable price.

Q & A

I think there is much to be debated when it comes to health care reform. Obviously the currently system in the US has some major problems and needs to be fixed, and obviously there are a variety of idea's on how to do that.

I'm of the opinion that the solution is likely to encompass a wide range of smaller solutions which will benefit all parties involved. If changes only benefit the recipients of health care, then the doctors get screwed, if it's all doctors and insurance profits, then the patients will suffer.

The question I was going to pose to you was... How can you respond to someone on FaceBook though, who mixes into the debate phrases such as "Worst President in History" and "If we socialize medicine it will destroy innovation and all the world will suffer."

I tried to be civil. I tried to be nice. I even told the originator of those comments that some of his other ideas had a great deal of merit, because I thought they did.

But there comes a point, when there really is only one way to deal with people who are convinced the guy who was democratically elected is an evil tyrant, trying to destroy the world and nothing he will suggest will ever be a good idea.

Remove from Friends

Incidentally, this is the same individual who took offense to my status update about wishing the world could treat people of a homosexual persuasion as normal human beings and not as people who needed to be changed or fixed.

That one was funny because he disagreed with me in such a way as to make my point. But alas I should have dropped him way back then. I guess this latest bout was the universe finally making it's point.

As a complete aside... Today's number is 8 - Read more about it here.

So you missed the Olympics...

Nevermind! You can catch up here with a quick 60 recap!

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

1,115

It's the number of the day here.

While fortunately my story dealing with this subject isn't quite as bleak as Leslie's, it does involve me missing a shot at the lifestyle all the opponents of this legislation claim they're trying to save.

Irksome

I'm working on a pretty big (and no doubt insanely boring) post about the state of the US economy.

While I do that though... Has anyone else in Utah noticed this...

Our illustrious governor, Mr. Gary Herbert, former realtor and college drop out, is a man revered by the conservative types because of his uber-conservativeness. He's big on telling the federal government to butt out of the states business and maintaining local control.

But now, he's on TV promoting the Earned Income Tax Credit. The EIC is a federal program which helps offset payroll taxes for US Citizens with lower incomes. It's a credit, not a deduction, so if you qualify for it, by having minimal income and having paid minimal if any taxes, you can still get a sizable refund. It's saved my family's bacon in years past, and I really appreciated it at the time.

However, looking at the program... It's a federal program, so is not controlled by the state. It's also a form of socialism and redistribution of wealth.

So aside from the fact that people who receive the EIN in Utah, will likely spend it in Utah, thus resulting in more revenue for state government, it flies in the face of everything which the governor and his supporters claim to believe in.

I don't know about you, but I get a little sick of people preaching one thing, and then doing another.

My Gay Boyfriend

I'm a pretty big fan of Garfunkel & Oats, the duo of Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci. They're pretty damn funny, but I think the biggest part of my fanship is that I think Riki is freaking hot!

After watching their new video however, I'm wondering if I could use whatever it was that inspired the rumors that came out while I was doing my two year stint as a Mormon missionary, that I was gay - not that there's anything wrong with that - to my advantage. Of course I have no idea what it was, so I may well be stuck...

Well that and the fact that I'm happily married and wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize that...

TV Awards

In the TV awards for Monday night, March 1st, we have:

Jon Stewart - For his role of host on The Daily Show. Seems like the Olympic break did him the world of good. He was on fire last night.

Neil Tyson Degrasse - For his role of guest on The Daily Show. Quite possibly the best example we have on earth of a man who is both a genius and hilarious. I'm recording his show on Pluto tonight too!

And finally, while I'm not admitting to watching anything...

Jake - For his role in an undisclosed show - Quite possibly the biggest moron alive. Mrs. Koda maintains he was thinking with his penis, and I just think he's an idiot...

But again, no admission of actually watching the show from me!

Edited to Add
In an comment on FaceBook... SimplySarah pointed out that the other option for Jake was a Yes-girl. Not having watched too much of this season - or at least not being willing to admit that I did, I can't comment on that statement with any great authority, but I can definitely see it as a possibility.

I always wanted to marry a yes-girl, but unfortunately (or fortunately) Mrs. Koda is not of that persuasion. Our first couple of years of marriage where a huge disappointment for me in that respect, because she wouldn't do what I said. However, looking back, I wouldn't have it any other way.

That Damn Mr. Murphy

So I went trail running on Friday. I've got a 50k race coming up in 4 weeks and then the IronMan in about 8. I've been trying to work on my form and running injury free, and I must say that I considered the run Friday to be a phenomenal success in both areas. I ended up running 22 miles (although to be completely honest, there was some walking mixed in there, but that's why I like trail running), and I actually still felt pretty good when I was done.

I grabbed some lunch and then took the kiddo's to the pool for a great afternoon.

As a complete side note at this point... Why do women choose to buy and wear white swimsuits? I'm not saying I mind as much as I probably should, but at first I was thinking... Don't they know?!? And then the thought occurred to me that they probably did.

Back on track though... Saturday, still feeling good, we took the kids down to the park. There was supposed to be a snow storm, but the weather guy got it wrong again (Although no complaints this time!).

We walked the perimeter a few times and then I played Frisbee with the little guys. We finished it off with some soccer type game, which didn't really have a point, but those seem to be them best.

Somewhere during the soccer though, I think I tweaked my calf a little. I don't think it's serious, more likely just a cramp, but I got to thinking...

I ran over 20 miles with no problems what-so-ever, and then I tweak my legs screwing around at the park with the kids?!?!

On a related note... I ran into a herd of bison midway through the run. The main group on the trail seemed to be a group of bulls, and the herd in the distance behind them included a number of brand new calves. I ended up doing the cross country thing to get around them.

Quotable Quotes

Found a couple of good quotes this week...

"Motivation without education is dangerous. If you motivate an idiot, all you have is a motivated idiot."
Emerson (Courtesy of Mr. Chris Guillebeau)

About a month ago, I read something about The Lizard Brain. It suggested that humans have this part of our psyche that is so risk-averse, so focused on survival, it will actively work to prevent you from doing something you think is risky - even something you really want to do, like starting a business or writing a novel or doing something creative.
From here.

Kind of two different thoughts but kind of related...

Santa Monica

Hey, I've got a question... No need to read anything into it at this point, I'm just curious.

Santa Monica is located in Southern California, just west of Beverly Hills, right on the Pacific Ocean. If one worked in Santa Monica, what cities would be good to consider as a good place to raise a family. ie. Not insanely wealthy, not a ghetto, just a nice good middle class neighborhood.

And if that question makes you feel geographically discriminated against...

Same question, but substitute either:

Palo Alto, up by San Francisco

or

Vancouver, British Columbia

Tea Party?

I have two big issues with the Tea Party movement.

Now I know I learned about American History while still living in a foreign country, but having experienced the education system in the US first hand, that may necessarily be a bad thing.

From what I understand, the primary drive behind the whole Boston Tea Party incident was as a protest for taxation, without representation. The British government had decided to levy a tax on the American colonies, a decision in which the colonies had no part and as an act of protest, large quantities of tea where thrown into the Boston harbor. There is a little more to the story which I was previously unaware of, but if you're interested, Wikipedia has a great article on it here.

The tea party folks don't really have the same problem. Their group were formed as a response to the Stimulus bill enacted in early 2009. It wasn't really taxation without representation, they just seem to be upset that their elected representatives made a bad decision. Well kind of...

My first issue, is that the first stimulus package was handed out to various banks and Wall Street firms in 2008. At that time the leader of this country was one George Bush, a republican from Texas, who enjoyed the support of people like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh in his various presidential campaigns. It wasn't until the second stimulus package was passed, now under the brand new Democratic President that people got really upset and started a protest movement.

What struck me as odd was that, while there was some dissent resulted from the first bill, it wasn't until the second that the protesters broke out their signs and mobilized. The only difference was the party affiliation of the guy in the white house at the time. Either they missed the boat, or they're merely pawns in a game between political opportunists, but heaven help anyone who might suggest that!

The second issue I have is with those people conducting these protests and organizing them. You may recall that about 8 years ago, the same George Bush heard the voice of God telling him to invade Iraq. People exercised their right to freedom of speech and peaceful protest and held rally's against the war. I was a Glenn Beck fan at the time, and I distinctly remember him talking about how much these people hated America, because they were criticizing the decisions of a sitting president. He also made comments to the effect that it was all the losers of society, those that weren't making a contribution, but living off the proverbial governmental teet, who had the time to attend these protests.

Funny thing is... 8 years later, all of a sudden, the same anti-protesting Glenn Beck, is now one of the de-facto leaders of a movement, whose sole activity seems to be forming protests. And who is it that attends these protests? Apparently now, the protest lines are lined manned by good hardworking Americans, who love their country and their freedom - and apparently have an amazing supply of annual leave built up, in order to attend these protests!

I fully support the rights of people to assemble in protest to the actions of their government. What I find myself exceedingly annoyed with a blatant hypocrisy, that which appears to be one of the founding tenets of the Tea Party Movement.