Slinging the Mud

According to an article on Yahoo News, candidates in this year's mid-tem congressional elections have spent about $17 million on ads to promote their platforms. They've also spent about $160 million on ads that atack their opponents. As the article puts it, "That's just over $1 of nice for every $10 of nasty."

The message: Don't vote for me, vote against the other guy.

What a joke. And the bigger joke is that a lot of American voters are stupid enough to fall for it. One classic example is right here in the great Red state of Utah. Consider challenger LaVar Christensen's recent radio ad, which is echoed almost word-for-word on his web site:

Political experts are reporting that for the first time in 12 years, Democrats in Washington have a strong chance of winning enough seats in the coming election to take control of Congress.

What will that mean for you, for Utah and for America?

* If we allow it, Democrat[ic] control of Congress will cause us to abandon Iraq’s fragile new democracy and surrender that vital region and everything we have worked for to terrorists.

* It will mean increased dependence on foreign oil, rising gas prices and falling moral standards.

* It will definitely mean higher taxes, including the return of the hated death tax that takes up to 50% of your assets when you die.

* It will also mean endless congressional investigations and spiteful and baseless actions directed against President Bush.

This year, one seat in Congress could make the difference between Republican control…and losing control. That’s why AMERICA NEEDS UTAH.

We can help secure a safe and hopeful future for all Americans. In these uncertain times, AMERICA NEEDS UTAH. America needs a strong Republican leader from Utah’s second district who will not vote to turn Congress over to the Democrats. The incumbent has joined his fellow [D]emocrats in Washington in electing Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco as their leader. But that is not the direction Utah wants to go and it is not the America we want for our children.

Vote for LaVar Christensen, Republican for Congress. Together, we can make the difference.

Grammatical and capitalization errors aside, this message is nuts. Republican control or losing control? Are those really our only two options? Vote for LaVar, or the Democrats take over and America goes to hell in a handbasket?

Fortunately, I don't think the man has any chance of winning...not because Utah voters are smart enough not to fall for the slippery-slope logical fallacy of an argument on which the whole pitch is built, but because he's trying to run in the one area in Utah that consistently elects Democrats to important offices.

I'm a Republican, albeit and moderate and often disgruntled one (and some on the right-hand fringe would undoubtedly call me a RINO). But there's no way I would vote for this man. I can't justify basing a vote on the idea that "If you vote for the other guy, the terrorists will have won". What a load of tripe.

Sure, the other guy is a Democrat. But at least he's not a nut.

Bloggin’ on the Bus

Yes, I'm composing this entry (or the first part of it, anyway) on UTA Route 8, on my way down to Nancy’s office and thence to the chiropractor. And yes, that means what you think it means.

I have a laptop.

It’s a nice one, too. It’s a Hewlett Packard Pavilion dv9000 with a 17” display, full-sized keyboard, wireless and Ethernet connectivity, and a DVD burner. And it was a sweet deal. Nancy found an ad in the paper for laptops at Office Depot starting at $500 for the basic models. The model I was most interested in—this one—was $675 after rebates. So I went in and took a look around. As it turned out, I found a flyer in the store for the same offer, but $100 less. So I applied for financing, and once that was taken care of, I ordered the laptop.

I say ‘ordered’ because they didn't actually have the machines in the store. It was a make-to-order sort of thing: tell the store what upgrades to the base model you want, and they build it to spec and ship it to you. I ended up getting just the base model (the financing wouldn't allow for any more than that) and getting all the paperwork from the store. Then, a few days later, the first half of my shipment showed up. You see, part of the offer was that it included an all-in-one HP F380 printer/scanner/copier. It arrived within five days of my order, and it’s a lot nicer than the Lexmark printer I've been using. It seems to use a lot more ink, though, and those cartridges aren't cheap. So I'm still using the Lexmark for most of my printing.

Anyway, after the promised two week waiting period, I still hadn't received the laptop. So I checked the website Office Depot had given me and it showed that the order was still ‘In Process’. It shipped two days after that—from Shanghai. Three days later, the laptop was in my hot little hands. I've been experimenting with it and getting it set up the way I want it ever since.

A few days later...

The laptop hasn't been the only news on the computer front. I finally got sick of things I wanted not being compatible with Windows 98SE, so I broke down and ordered a Windows XP upgrade from Amazon. It only took about two days to get here, so I spent a couple of hours upgrading that afternoon/evening after school. Again, it took me a while to get things figured out. And I ran into one major roadblock: The computer would no longer connect to the Internet.

Okay, don't panic, I thought. These things happen with upgrades. So I fumbled through XP's system menus, with which I'm still not all that familiar, trying to figure out what I could learn. I did manage to find out that my modem is an Intel Pro/100+, which XP said was working just fine. I talked to my brother-in-law Ben, who knows a lot more about such things than I do by virtue of doing such things for a living. He recommended I download new drivers. No problem, now that I have the laptop. So I did...and nothing happened. So, no longer knowing what I could do, I took the most extreme of measures.

I called Microsoft customer support.

I explained my problem to a helpful young-sounding woman, who opened up a case for me. Then, just as she was getting ready to transfer me to a techie, my cell phone cut out. Carp! I quickly redialed, hoping I wouldn't have to go through the whole thing all over again. Fortunately, and to my moderate surprise, everything was saved and ready to go on their end. The Indian woman (the accent gave it away) transferred me to a tech (also Indian, most likely) who started me through the diagnosis and resolution process.

He had me check the settings and confirm the make and model of the Ethernet card, then had me restart the computer in Safe Mode. And the strangest thing happened: I had unfettered access to the web. We then checked the programs that were installed and found a firewall I had installed under W98SE. So we uninstalled it and restarted the computer normally. Presto, problem solved. And all it took was 45 minutes on the phone.

I have to admit, the Microsoft experience was a lot less painful than I had feared it would be. The CS people and the techie were all quite competent and friendly, and I had minimal difficulty understanding them. Now that XP is installed on my desktop PC, the machine seems to run a lot faster. I've got two fully functional and efficient computers that can communicate with each other. And I no longer have to worry about those pesky compatibility issues.

Until the whole world switches over to Vista....

Late Memes

Part I: Friday's Feast
Friday's Feast for Friday, 27 October 2006

Appetizer Create a new candle scent.
Cinnamon Hot Cocoa - a festive winter treat!

Soup Name one way you show affection to others.
I'm a hugger.

Salad What is your favorite writing instrument?
I like the Zebra Sarasa gel pen. I'm partial to the forest green ink color.

Main Course If you were given $25 to spend anywhere online, from which site would you buy?
Without a doubt, it's got to be Amazon. I spend so much on CDs and DVDs, it's a good thing I don't have any other expensive vices (beer, crack, cigarettes, coffee, etc.).

Dessert Are you dressing up for Halloween? If so, what are you going to be?
No costume this year, I'm afraid. The school I'm teaching at doesn't allow for it, and Nancy will be in school that night. I will be wearing black dockers and an orange polo shirt I inherited from my wife's family, though.

--

Part II: Top Five on Friday
This week's Top 5 on Friday from The Music Memoirs

Top 5 songs that scare you and/or Top 5 musical bands/albums/songs that put you in a Halloween mood
Here are five songs that are roughly seasonally-themed.

» "Home by the Sea / Second Home by the Sea" by Genesis
Just a tip for the would-be burglar: if you're going to break into a house in the dark of night, you might want to pick one that's not haunted....

» "Lamplight Symphony" by Kansas
An old man is frightened, comforted, and ultimately given hope by the apparition of his wife. A ghost story with a twist.

» "Moon Over Bourbon Street" by Sting
The lament of a reluctant vampire: "I must love what I destroy, and destroy the thing I love."

» "Witch Hunt" by Rush
"Quick to judge, quick to anger,
Slow to understand
Ignorance and prejudice
And fear walk hand in hand..."

» "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult
I don't know which is scarier: the fact that this song is about death, or the fact that someone would think the song actually needs more cowbell.

Save the Pumpkins!

This is one of my favorite bits of Halloween humor, inspired by you-know-who. The author is unknown. For more Halloween funnies, follow this link to my Funnies page. -M
--

We at PETP (People for Ethical Treatment of Pumpkins) wish to express our outrage at the inhumane and cruel treatment of our little orange friends at the hand of unethical and barbaric pumpkin hunters!

Once again, with pumpkin season upon us, thousands of so called "humans" will take to the fields in a cruel and evil frenzy to capture and kill one of God's most harmless and beautiful creatures, the pumpkin.

Why must we allow this carnage to continue? Men no longer need to hunt the pumpkin to place food on their tables and feed their families. Must we allow the killing of millions of helpless pumpkins just to fill some caveman need for "sport"?

Oh yes, some hunters do used the poor little lifeless bodies of the pumpkins they ruthlessly kill to make pumpkin pies and pumpkin cookies and pumpkin bread, but such foods can be made from domesticated produce without having to track down and kill our poor wild pumpkins!

But, the vast majority of pumpkin hunters are trophy hunters, who stalk, track down, and kill poor little pumpkins just for a trophy for their porch or a window!

This sickness is only made worse in the way these hunters allow, yes, even encourage, their children (CHILDREN!) to cut, gouge, gash, and carve with knives the sad little gutted dead bodies of their prey. In this way, they both encourage a new generation to take up this hideous "sport" and teach poor little children to disrespect and treat in cruel way our fellow creatures on this planet.

Worse, many schools now take their children on field trips to the habitat of the wild pumpkins. They turn them loose to chase down the little orange creatures and rip them from their families. Furthermore, they carry them back to school where the awful and hideous mutilation of their poor trembling bodies is encouraged by their teachers!

This must stop! Our scientists have known that, like humans, pumpkins mate for life and form loving and caring family units. We at PETP urge you to write your Representative and demand a stop to be put to this yearly slaughter of helpless pumpkins. We urge you to protest at stores which sell both captured pumpkins or the traps, knives, and guns used by those who hunt them. But most of all, we urge you, if you have trapped a pumpkin and he or she is still alive, PLEASE return him or her to wild so he or she may once be reunited with his or her family, to live out their lives as Mother Nature intended, free in the wild!

Blue Midweek Music Thing

This week's Take Me Back Tuesday from The Music Memoirs:

This week, it's all about the blues.
Seemed appropriate, considering the new decor.

Three songs.
1. "Song Sung Blue" by Neil Diamond
2. "Caribbean Blue" by Enya
3. "Backslider Blues" by Jason Boland and the Stragglers

Three artists.
1. The Moody Blues
2. Bleu Edmondson
3. Dr. Sam & The Managed Care Blues Band

Three Albums
1. Flying in a Blue Dream by Joe Satriani
2. Blue Moons and Broken Hearts by Rosanne Cash
3. The Dream of the Blue Turtles by Sting

Ouch!

After reading over this entry, I have to warn potential readers that it's a little gross. Proceed with caution. -M

I have bad teeth. I've pretty much always had bad teeth. I've also been without decent dental insurance for a large part of my adult life. Combined, these two facts have made for some rough situations, one of which came to pass in the last 24 hours or so.

About two and a half years ago I was operating in 'correcting past oversights' mode and having a lot of dental work done. Included were a couple of root canals and extractions of teeth that were already past hope. One of the teeth I lost was the first molar on the bottom of the right side of my mouth. The tooth right behind it had also had problems and ended up being a root canal. The dentist and I had talked about getting a bridge to take care of both teeth, but to fix the immediate problem he filled in that second molar on a temporary basis.

Unfortunately, two things happened at about this time. First, I reached the annual maximum that my insurance company was willing to pay for dental work. Second, the ex initiated divorce proceedings, and since the insurance was through her job (I was going to school at the time), that made the whole issue of the annual maximum moot anyway. So I had the dentist do the minimum necessary to wrap things up, and spent the next two years or so paying off my part of the balance.

Fast forward to last night. I had come home from school, stopping at the grocery store to pick up a few things, including one of those cheap bake-it-yourself pizzas for lunch/dinner. As I was eating, I began to notice a gritty texture I don't normally associate with pizza. To my dismay, I discovered that the molar in question had cracked. I took a quick look in the bathroom mirror and discovered that it had cracked pretty much down the middle, splitting into inner and outer sections.

This was just before 5:00, so I called the dentist's office hoping to talk to someone. Alas, they were already closed for the day. So I left a message describing in some detail the problem I had and asking to come in as soon as possible. Then I made my way carefully through the rest of the evening with softer foods, careful chewing, lots of liquids, and a few ibuprofen tablets.

I awoke this morning knowing that I needed to get to the dentist today without fail. So I called in to the school and arranged to have someone cover my classes for the day. Then I waited for the dentist's office to call. That anticipated/feared call came in just after 9:30. The helpful receptionist said they had an open appointment on Wednesday at 10:00, or the possibility of a cancellation today at 11:30. She asked which I wanted. I said both. So we set a firm appointment for Wednesday morning and she put me on the waiting list for today.

I really wasn't thrilled about waiting another day on this thing, so I got cleaned up and made my way into the office at 11:15. I introduced myself and said I was there in case that 11:30 appointment cancelled. I figured that if I was actually there, I had a better chance of getting in whether there was a cancellation or not. And it worked. One of the dental assistants called me back just before noon and got me into a dental chair—not normally my favorite place to be, but in this case I was thrilled to be there. I had a digital X-ray taken, and I got to show Dr. Coleman my tooth, which was now in three distinct pieces after a brushing mishap. He gave me a lidocaine shot and sent me back to the waiting room until he could clear a slot for me.

That happened at about 12:20, and I was under the drill. There was some question initially as to whether he'd be able to save the tooth or just have to pull it, but after a closer examination he determined that there was enough sound material there to put a crown on it. So the deconstruction process started. He had to trim away a little of the gum (~3 millimeters) on the inside, which ended up not being as painful or as messy as I thought it was going to be. He used a laser to do it. That's right, I was operated on today with a laser. How cool is that? Anyway, he cleared away all the broken stuff and drilled out the existing filling. Then the reconstruction started.

He put in a couple of posts, one titanium and one fiber, to strengthen the roots and serve as anchors for the buildup he was about to do. Then he spent about ten minutes trying to get a band around the stub of the tooth to keep the material he was building up the tooth with in the proper place. It took him three tries, but he eventually was able to get it set. Then he injected the composite material inside the band and around the tooth. He got it filled in and let it cure for about three minutes, after which he started grinding down the excess and shaping it for the temporary crown.

At this point, all the painful stuff was done. He took a casting and made the temporary crown, all the while explaining the physics behind what he was doing. The foundation and the crown were both shaped to direct all the biting forces inward to the solid foundation of the natural tooth. I don't think he talks about such things with most patients, but he knows I have a science degree. Anyway, the temporary crown was soon finished and installed, and I was back to having a solid tooth again. It had only taken about 3½ hours and set me back around $400.

Now the decision is whether to go ahead with the bridge or just put a permanent crown on that tooth and maybe look at an implant somewhere down the line for the other. Given a choice, I think I'd prefer the bridge; so would Dr. Coleman. Unfortunately, the dental coverage we have doesn't kick in until December 1st, and even then there's a one year waiting period for major services like bridges and crowns. So either way, it's going to be an out-of-pocket expense. A crown is about $750. The bridge, which would take care of this tooth, the missing one in front of it, and anchor on the one in front of that, would be about three times that amount. So it looks like the crown is the way I'll be going.

And that's my day, pretty much. If you'll excuse me, I have to go take some more ibuprofen now.

Anniversary

Today is our ½th anniversary. That's right, Nancy and I have been married for six months, as of today. Six incredible months. I can hardly belive it. The time has flown by, and things are fantastic. I'm a very fortunate man to have a wonderful woman like Nancy in my life.

To celebrate, we're spending the evening at an undisclosed location in Park City. We'll be back in town tomorrow in time for church. Until then, we're pretty much incommunicado.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Decimate

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines the word 'decimate' as follows:

1 : to select by lot and kill every tenth man of
2 : to exact a tax of 10 percent from (poor as a decimated Cavalier -- John Dryden)
3 a : to reduce drastically especially in number (cholera decimated the population) b : to cause great destruction or harm to (firebombs decimated the city)

Etymology: Latin decimatus, past participle of decimare, from decimus tenth, from decem ten

The origin of this word is fascinating, if a little barbaric. When a unit of the Roman army proved cowardly, treacherous, or insubordinate, one soldier of every ten was selected and executed as an example to the others. The practice apparently proved quite useful in instilling discipline and enforcing the chain of command.

For some reason, the origin of this word came unbidden to my mind just after my fifth period Algebra I class yesterday.

Hmmm....

Back on the Road Again

Okay, here's the update on the Dreadnought that some of you have been waiting for. It's fixed. I got the car back late Friday afternoon. The shop guy wasn't able to find a new axle, but he was able to find a new one at somewhere other than a dealership, which meant he (and consequently, I) didn't have to pay the dealer's price.

Additionally, they fixed the front seat, which hasn't sat right for quite a while. A couple of bolts and washers and half an hour's labor took care of that problem.

The only other issue I was going to have them look at was the tailgate. The window rolls up and down okay, but one of the two side latches for the gate isn't working. So while the rear window will open, the tailgate itself won't. They didn't have time to get to that and still get me my car back in time for the new work week, which was okay with me. Everything I was really concerned about got done.

The final damage: $758.25, including parts and labor.

For as much better as the Dreadnought is running now, that's a very reasonable price.

Like I Was Just Saying...

In yesterday's entry I was talking about how useful a cell phone can be if you have an aging car. How ironic it was, then, to have my phone ring while I was in the checkout line at the grocery store last night. It was the shop to which I'd taken my car on Wednesday.

My car's been making unusual noises in the lower aft region lately, accompanied by an intermittent vibration that's more pronounced at lower speeds but seems to calm down at higher speeds. A friend of mine who knows more about cars than I do—and who doesn't, by the way?—said these symptoms most likely meant the universal joint was going out. Since I had a couple of days off work, I decided to take the Dreadnought in and have it serviced. I called the shop and told them what was going on, and they said they'd be able to fix it pretty quickly.

Anyway, the call I got at Albertson's last night was the shop owner, who was calling to tell me that the U-joints were fine. The problem was actually a rear axle bearing that had gone bad. As a result, the axle itself was now damaged and needed to be replaced. This changed the nature of the problem from a one-day, $200-$300 job to a two- or three-day, ~$900 job. Ouch.

He said he was going to try to locate an axle at a local salvage yard, which should make the repair both quicker and less expensive. So for now, I'm playing the waiting game. I hate waiting. Still, if I can get the Dreadnought back in good working order, I'll be satisfied. I just hope they get it done today, or I have no idea how I'm getting to work on Monday morning....

My Memes

Part I: Friday's Feast
Friday's Feast, Friday the 13th of October, 2006.

Appetizer Approximately how many hours per week do you spend reading other blogs?
Only about an hour or two. There are half a dozen friends' blogs that I check up on every day or two, but I don't do a lot of blog-surfing.

Soup Your community wants everyone to give one thing to put into a time capsule. What item would you choose to include?
I'd put in my mortarboard. Getting it was a major achievement in my life, and I think it'd show others that if you just keep going, you can do anything you set your mind to.

Salad What is the most interesting tourist attraction you've ever visited?
The Pacific Science Center in Seattle. Yes, I'm a geek.

Main Course If you could give an award to anyone for anything, who would it be and what would the award be titled?
I'd give Nancy the "Gary Larsen Award" for always knowing how to make me laugh.

Dessert What do you think your favorite color reveals about your personality?
Green is a calming and peaceful yet vibrant color. It can either blend in with other colors or stand out on its own. There are many different shades, hues, and tones of green. It is the color of life. What all of that says about my personality, if anything, I'll let the readers decide.

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Part II: Top 5 On Friday
Top Five on Friday from The Music Memoirs:

Top 5 Album Titles

» A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean by Jimmy Buffett

» Tormato by Yes

» Brain Salad Surgery by Emerson Lake & Palmer

» Thick As A Brick by Jethro Tull

» You Can Tune a Piano, But You Can't Tuna Fish by REO Speedwagon

Phoning It In

Dilliwag recently posted his views on cell phones on his blog. It made me think about the fact that I've now been exclusively wireless for just over a year now.

I have to admit, I've really come to appreciate my cell phone this past year. I ultimately bought it just because it was so much better a deal than having a land line. And it's reassuring to know that I have options if/when I have car troubles (and with a 17-year-old Dreadnought, you know it's 'when' rather than 'if'). The free long distance is a nice touch too, with so many of my friends and family members being out of the local calling area. So yeah, it's been nice.

But I still don't entirely like cell phones—mostly because of the way other people use them. Everything dilliwag said rings true with me as well (no pun intended). People talk way too much, way too loudly, and about way too many private things in public. I remember riding a bus one night where a woman on the back row was having this nasty personal conversation at a volume level that was hard to avoid even with headphones. She literally got an ovation when she got off. If I ever become that person, somebody please taser me.

I've had to deal with a lot of cell phone related distractions both as a call center manager and as a teacher. And it irks me a little when I hear a phone ring in a theater or some other such place. But my all-time favorite is when someone's phone rings in church.

It just makes me want to ask: Do you seriously think your conversation is more important than God?

My Two Cents

This isn't a question I've actually been asked lately. But if I were, this is how I'd answer it.

Q: What's your opinion of Intelligent Design?

A: Evolution is the theory currently accepted by the scientific community concerning the origin and development of life. Notice that I did not say "the leading theory" or "the most commonly accepted theory". Evolution is not the most popular theory, not a leader among many alternatives. It is the theory. When serious scientists talk about how life in the universe come to be where it is today, they're talking about evolution. Nothing else.

Having said that, Intelligent Design is an concept with which I agree personally. There are some things that transcend science. But ID is not a scientific theory, and schools shouldn't be teaching it as such. If we teach ID in the same breath as evolution, we're doing both science and spirituality a great disservice.

Worse than that, though, we're doing our students a great disservice. If our kids are to have serious scientific discussions about life on planet earth, they need to be fluent in the language of biological science, a large part of which is evolution. Our kids need to know evolution—whether we personally believe in it or not. To demand less of our children is to sentence them to being dismissed as zealots and frauds for the rest of their lives.

That is all.

More Memes

Part I: Friday's Feast
Friday's Feast, 7 October 2006.

Appetizer Name a song you know by heart.
A song? Not to boast, but I probably know hundreds of songs by heart. I don't even need to use the hymnal in church half the time. But okay, here's a song I know by heart: "It's All About the Pentiums" by Weird Al Yankovic. (Yeah, paying the bills with my mad programming skills, defragging my hard drive for thrills....)

Soup What will you absolutely not do in front of another person?
Sing Wagerian opera. Of course, I won't do that alone, either. Sorry, this is the best I can come up with. I guess I'm more open than I thought I was.

Salad How often do you use mouthwash and what kind do you like?
I don't use mouthwash; just toothpaste and the occasional after brushing fluoride rinse for me, thanks.

Main Course Finish this sentence: I am embarrassed when...
...I lose my cool. It doesn't happen nearly as often as it used to, thank heaven.

Dessert What was the last food you craved?
Last night while we were driving around shopping, I was craving chicken-fried steak. We ended up at Applebee's and I got the chicken-fried chicken, which ended up being what I was really craving after all. Funny how that works.

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Part II: Top 5 On Friday
Top Five on Friday from The Music Memoirs:

Top 5 (or possibly 7) Songs With Days Of The Week In The Title
(I came up with five of the seven from music in my own collection. Not too bad, I think.)

» "Monday Morning Blues" by Breathe
» "Tuesday Afternoon" by The Moody Blues (As if there were really any other....)
» "Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M." by Simon & Garfunkel
» "Thursday" by Jim Croce
» "Friday the 13th" by Royal Crown Revue
» "Livingston Saturday Night" by Jimmy Buffett
» "Sunday Morning Coming Down" by Johnny Cash