Saturday's on this blog will likely be aimed at catching up on all the small thoughts that occur to me through the week that aren't necessarily big enough for their own post.  That means that I'll have to keep better track during the week because my brain's RAM is very limited and stuff is ejected almost as quickly as it enters.

Speaking of catch-all though, there is a law in Nevada that allows the police to cite parents whose child is "is leading, or from any cause is in danger of leading, an idle, dissolute, lewd, or immoral life."  What are the legal definitions of all those adjectives?  There aren't any.  What ever the cop wants, I guess.  

"I'm sorry but your kid plays too much X-Box and is in danger of leading an idle life.  Sign here.  Press hard, 4 copies."

Speaking of idle life, I sat in on some Junior High classes this week as part of an assignment for one of my classes.  If I had any doubts about teaching at that level, I don't know.  I'm going to have to be a college instructor.  I think I'd get bored teaching kids (and really, much of the time is just telling them to be quiet).

Part of the class, they were covering Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat.  Most of that time had to be spent on vocabulary.  This I completely understand.  Every time I read Poe, I have dictionary.com open because the dude had some words.  I think if I was ever to teach at this level, I would assign vocab homework the night before in preparation but it seemed that half the class time was spent in supervising what I would have considered homework. 

I would rather teach at the college level where, #1 the students have volunteered to be there and where you can assign the mundane as homework so that class time can be used for delving deeper into a subject.  I'd rather talk about the symbolism of Poe than what the word "conspicuous" means, obviously. 

I haven't exercised for a couple of weeks to create more time for either homework early in the morning or sleep if the homework went late into the night.  Monday, Tia and I are going to start exercising together because if I go too long without exercising, I tend to get cranky.  Homework may be enough of a distraction to keep that from happening but why risk it. 

We probably won't do much during Thanksgiving week because we'll be off playing.  I took the week off from work.  Unfortunately, there is no break for college so I'm going to be doing everything possible to work ahead next week.  I'll take books and Tia's laptop with us but I can't help but think that it would be kind of nice to actually have a break.

We are planning on going out for a nice celebration dinner on December 15th, the last day of the semester.  Get a sitter and just go sit for a couple of hours and relax.  Planning something similar for my birthday.  We're meeting some friends for lunch (where I have scheduled about 2 hours of time) so that I can just stop for a bit.  Then we're going to go see the Trans Siberian Orchestra. 

Thinking about these two days keeps me going.

What do you think about trying the terrorists in New York?

Taxes are going to have to go up but how does the president do that without ruining the election later in the year for his fellow Dems?

The story on the Ft. Hood shooting has already changed.  Knew it would.  The original was so phony that there would have to be some refining.  We'll never know what really happened.  You think the NSA is watching the blogs of those involved to see if they are breaking their orders of secrecy?

It's been a while since I've said it but I love the Internet.  It has changed the world and brought to light (or at least, highlighted the suspicious and outrageous) so much that we would have never know if we relied on the CNN/MSNBC propaganda machine.  There are still bills being introduced to curb the 'net but I don't talk about them much because I don't think much will change.

If you think Prohibition was a failure, what do you think would happen with a War on the Internet?  How do you stop bootleggers that can deliver their product wirelessly?  You might have gotten some people behind a ban on alcohol by saying that it's "of the devil" or "hurts society" but I don't think that you'll get that kind of support for a ban on information.  And how do you stop information without making it look like you're afraid that people might find out the truth?  We've seen over and over that one of the best ways to draw attention to what you're doing wrong is to try and suppress the truth from coming out.  It's a no-win situation for our government.  Try to suppress it and lose or let the information flow and fight it with spin that is losing credibility.

The FHA is making housing loans to people that won't be able to pay the mortgages because selling houses slows down the decline of house prices.  So much of the current government game is obviously about stalling.  These new loans will fail, of course (some with a DTI of 65% - good gawd), and the slide will continue.  When the FHA fails, it will require bailout money just like everyone else.

I saw BB King last night.  Terry Clark tonight.  I've posted new pics on my Facebook page.  I'll try to get more of them up before the end of the year.

And that, I believe, sums up my week.  What's going on with you?

***

Remember, I'm going to be funding my return to college by being an affiliate of BeachBody.com products so please visit the site and make a purchase, no matter how small.  Insanity has been released so go check it out.

Feel free to "friend" me on Facebook 

Speaking of feeling the abuse, do you remember how Obama said that when His great health plan went through, families would save $2,500 a year on their health care spending?  Chuck that one on the heaping pile of broken promises, eh?

But that's not what this post is about.  I only mention that because yesterday's post reminded me of it and because of the new law that went into effect in January that stated that every 10,000 words printed, Obama's name has to be mentioned.  Now that I have fulfilled that requirement, let me move on to the actual post.

So,

I had an appointment yesterday.  If you've friended me on Facebook, you know how whiny (I prefer to call it acting "presidential" since the Faux news accusations) I have been about this semester.  If you haven't friended me on Facebook, shame on you!  There is a cap on how many friends you can have, you know?  Don't miss your chance.

Anyway, one of the things that I have been complaining about is that after reading for 6 or 8 hours, the words really start to get blurry (ya think?).  When I have tried to do fine detail on my art work (tell me again why I'm in art), there are times when I absolutely cannot see what I'm doing.  I'm guessing.  You should see some of my exacto-knife work (or in my hands, my not-so-exacto-knife).  You should see it because at the time I was doing the cutting, I couldn't see it.  Even if I sketched what I was going to cut, when I got down to the cutting, I was going on strict intuition.  Good thing it's ART 100 and not an appendectomy.

"Let's open 'er up.  Nurse, scalpel.  Alrighty."

"Doctor, that's her thigh."

"Wha'?"

Today, I went in to see an eye doctor.  Now, I was pretty sure that it was just fatigue but:

1.  I wanted to make sure.
2.  I can't stop what I'm doing for another 4.5 weeks so I wanted to see what could be done.

Here's what I found out. 

I am ever so slightly far-sighted.  Not enough to actually *need* glasses.  What this does do though is that over long periods of time while reading, the eye muscles just completely fatigue out.  This is why things go blurry, I get tired, and I get a headache.  He said that those three red flags were my body's way of telling me to stop it.  Sometimes I do.  Sometimes I press on.  Sometimes I take a break and come back.  I am going to slow down after this semester but for right now, I am locked in.  I have to finish what I started.

He gave me two choices:

1.  Stop what I'm doing (see #2 above).
2.  Get some reading glasses to throw on when the fatigue sets in to keep things in focus.

That means that next Tuesday, I will be the proud owner of my first pair of glasses.  I hope they make me look more English-professor-ey.  Of course, no one will actually see them but also, of course, I'll end up getting a picture with me wearing them because I'm an idiot blogger and that's what we do. 

"Here check out this pic of something totally super secret.  How cool is that?"

At least it's not something that will get me arrested.  How many arrests have been made because of idiots posting their crimes on MySpace and YouTube?  Smacktards.

I was trying on different frames and I swear the doctor says to me, "What style of glasses do you like?"  He caught himself before I could come up with some kind of "Here's your sign," wittiness.  "Uh, you probably don't know since you've never worn glasses before."  All that college paid off for him. 

My wife was absolutely no help at all.  It was virgin territory for all of us.  No matter what pair I tried on, she said that I looked like my brother (who has worn glasses for his entire life).  I ended up going with some fairly simple, black-framed jobs that happened to go nicely with the black shirt that I was wearing.  Now, I suppose, every time I'm planning on reading for great lengths of time, I'm going to have to wear a black shirt so that I keep the accessories matching.  Black goes with anything, doesn't it?  I think I'm safe.  Besides, who's going to see me (except everyone that reads this blog or checks my Facebook photos)?

I'll get the extra IQ points while pondering my college assignment questions by putting one of the earpieces in my mouth while looking very ponderous.  That's got to help, doesn't it? 

"You got answer #3 wrong."

"Really?  That's weird.  I was doing the whole glasses-pondering thing while composing the answer in my head.  Must have lost the thought when I put the glasses back on so that I could type it up."

I'll end up being that guy that reads for hours through blurry eyes because I can't find my damn glasses because they're on top of my head.  Where in the hell did I put them?  The doctor did try to get me to buy a pair of indestructible glasses in case I fell asleep while reading.  I don't know that I've ever done that but thanks for understanding what it's like.  Bonus, they were $20 cheaper than going with basic black.  Fashion won out over utility though.  You know how it is. 

I'll have to do one more art project without the glasses.  After that unfortunately, I won't be able to blame my poor vision for the crap that I turn out.  Or can I keep doing that for 10 months anyway (you know, being presidential some more).  Of course, it would have been really nice to have made this move about 11 weeks ago.  Might have saved some money on Tylenol.

4.5 weeks left.  4.5 weeks left.  I'm clicking my heels together as well, to add to the magic power of the mantra.  Tomorrow, I will change the mantra to the number of days left.  Watch for it on Facebook.  You have friended me on Facebook by now, right?

***

Remember, I'm going to be funding my return to college by being an affiliate of BeachBody.com products so please visit the site and make a purchase, no matter how small.  Insanity has been released so go check it out.

Feel free to "friend" me on Facebook 

So,

I touched on this at the end of yesterday's post but I want to do at least one dedicated post that is centered on this subject.

When I start at Utah State University, I am going to have to get a student loan.  At this point, I don't see any way around this.  Those of you that read the original Success Warrior blog from 2006 no how much I really don't want to go this route.  Tia and I have talked about this for hours and just don't see any other way for the moment.

That's why most of my posts end with the blurb about BeachBody.  I thought about straight out begging (hell, dignity schmignity) but this way works out better.  The people that are helping me out are getting something of value in return.  Great value, in my opinion.  I have used many of the DVDs, supplements, and equipment and have loved them all.

Here's a quick rundown of two of my favorite DVD programs and one that I'm going to get next spring:

P90X.  The mother of effective workouts.  I have been around when people wonder out loud if P90X works.  Yes.  Yes, it does.  This is an intense full body blast over 90 days.  You have to come at this one with a kick-ass attitude or it'll be your ass that's kicked.  It's circuit training to the extreme plus cardio plus yoga plus stretching for a program that will have you shedding fat and building muscle from the first day.  It comes with a food guide that is broken into three phases to go with each phase of the workout part of the program.  If you're not afraid of a little bit of pain (okay, maybe A LOT the first couple of weeks), this program is for you.  In fact, that's what got me to try the dang thing.  They pretty much double-dog dare you to go for it by saying that most people can't.  Oh no you din't!  As soon as I read that, I ordered it and now I recommend it to anyone that wants maximum results and isn't afraid to go all out to get those results.

I also have P90X+ and I get a new DVD each month from the One-on-One with Tony Horton program.  My workouts will never get stale, ever.

We got Turbo Jam for Tia and she loves it and so do I.  It's got a bunch of cardio workouts in it and they vary in length so that you can always find one that fits your time schedule.  Ours came with the weighted gloves and I use those most of the time when I do these workouts.  You're going to be doing a bunch of punching and kicking and sweating.  Everyone in the program is just having a great time and the energy is infectious. 

Chalene has also come out with some other programs, one that uses weights.  We haven't tried that one but I'm sure that it's just a matter of time before we own it.

Turbo Jam is great if you're trying to get a bit of sweat going but from the looks of the next one, that's where you go if you're serious about sweating.

Insanity looks crazy (uh, you know, hence the name).  It's all body weight moves done at varying intensities so that you're getting some high intensity interval training, and it does look intense.  I can't wait to give it a try.

It's going to have to wait until I get some other things worked out in my schedule but then I'm totally going to give this one a try.  It comes at you with the same kind of "I'll bet you're too big of a wuss to even try" attitude.  I can't turn that down.  I may end up puking but I'm going to prove that I can at least try.

All the BeachBody DVDs are great quality.  They have a sliding timer at the bottom so you can see how much time is left, they also show you how much time is left per exercise, and they show you what the next exercise is going to be.  I love the timer bar at the bottom of the screen and I miss it when we do a DVD that isn't BeachBody. 

All the videos are filmed in one take (probably because there is no energy left for "do-overs").  They make some mistakes and they just keep on going.  The mistakes aren't so bad that they bring the quality of the program down.  To me, it shows that the people on the screen are real.  Sometimes they try lifting more weight than they can and they have to go switch to something lighter.  They towel off in the middle, get drinks of water, and essentially, it's like you have dropped in on a class.  The DVDs also have options so that you can turn off the talking and just have the music or you can turn off the music.  With the Turbo Jam DVDs, there is a setting to jam up the music in relation to the talking.  That's what I usually do.  Once you know the moves, you don't need to listen to the banter but I still like them to talk me through the moves.

Bottom line, I've tried a lot of workout DVDs and these are my faves and they just keep coming out with more.

Two more points that I want to make on this subject.  BeachBody has an affiliate program (obviously, can you say "college tuition" or at least enough to cover books?) and they are a high quality company.  Anyone looking to make a few extra dollars (and who isn't these days?) is invited to join the affiliate program.  You get a discount on the products for yourself so you'll be healthier and you get to promote health and fitness.  It's a worthy cause.

Especially as we get closer to passing the Health Insurance bill.  When that goes through, health insurance premiums are going to go up, coverage is going to go down, and the overall health care system is going to get worse.  In fact, today my wife got a letter from her insurance company and two of those three things just happened (and the bill hasn't even passed yet).  Her premium was raised and the deductible was doubled.  In the old days, raising your deductible lowered your rates.  Those days are gone.  More cost, less coverage, worse care.  It's not just coming, it's here.  It is going to be even more vital that people take care of themselves and by being part of the BeachBody program, you can help spread the word with products that really do work.

So, again, thank you to everyone that has already been helping me.  It means so much to me, it really does.  I truly appreciate you all.  For those of you interested in the products or the affiliate program, visit my site and click on the sections that interest you.  I didn't cover all the DVD programs and didn't cover the supplements or equipment so feel free to browse around.  I'll quickly mention that their door-frame pull-up bar is the best one that I have ever used and it's the fourth one that I've owned.  So, visit the site, look around, and always, feel free to ask me any questions.

So,

My life is in a larger state of flux than usual and yesterday I made a move in an attempt to anticipate where I may be heading.  I met with a counselor from Utah State University, the school where I started college about 25 years ago.  I came home and applied for re-admission. 

I'm going to be changing schools, changing majors, and changing pace.

A correction in course, for me.

It looks as if we may be moving back to Utah within the next year.  At least, it seems that way right now.  I'm not going to go into all of those details as of yet but just say that I have a strong belief that it's going to happen. 

My current schooling was based on my current situation and short term goals and those have to be chucked now in favor of new ones. 

First, I have to slow down my school pace markedly.  This semester has been an incredible learning experience for me.  I've learned about my limits, how poorly the US school system functions, how much my son craves time with me, and what I'm going to have to just deal with.  In order to take on the role of full-time student, I have had to cut down on *every* other area of my life.  Every.  There is no part that hasn't been affected.  Trying to keep it all up was actually starting to make me feel physically ill.  That's when I started cutting things.  The number of weeks left in the semester has become a mantra in our house.

I'll only be taking 6 credits per semester until we get moved to where ever we are going and then I'll bump it up to 9 credits and that's where it's going to stay.  I wanted to get my degree as quickly as possible but the costs were too high so I'm going to ease back and just be content that I'm moving forward.

I'm also going to be setting my sights on teaching at the college level.  That was always the goal but I was going to start in the high school level because the local (local meaning 120 miles away from here) college had a program for secondary elementary and the credits are 1/3rd the cost of the University and there is a high school here but no college.  I wasn't sure how long we would be here and becoming a college instructor where there is no college didn't seem to make sense.  Moving into Utah now removes the need for the detour into the high school. 

It does mean that I've taken a couple of classes that I don't need but such is life.  Maybe they'll count for something in the long run.

I'm going to keep going in English.  I have always loved words and I love studying them.  I'm sure that I would give off the same passion as a teacher.  That is one thing that I have learned from my education classes and from interviewing several principals.  Knowledge is obviously essential to teaching but passion is what makes a great teacher. 

I am hoping to finish out this semester in strong fashion.  My work is starting to struggle because I'm getting burned out.  Tonight I have to write up some kind of Marxist critique for some aspect of Sinclair Lewis's Main Street.  I managed to finish reading the book today and the assignment is due by midnight.

That will be one benefit to cutting my class load in half.  Maybe I can put more effort into my work.  As it is now, it feels like I'm swimming as hard as I can upstream at the edge of the waterfall.  I never seem to get ahead and I know that no matter how tired I get, if I stop paddling with all my might, I'm going over the edge.  Writers talk about different drafts for their work.  Right now, I have one draft.  What ever I manage to get on paper before the deadline is the final draft.  There is no rough draft, no refining, no reworking of ideas.  I feel good as long as I beat the deadline. 

I want to thank everyone that has been purchasing BeachBody products from my site.  Next semester, I may be cutting back on classes but tuition is going up by 3X for each credit.  Every little bit helps and I am incredibly grateful to all of you.  If you come across anyone looking for quality exercise DVDs, supplements, or equipment, please send them my way.  Thank you.

***

Remember, I'm going to be funding my return to college by being an affiliate of BeachBody.com products so please visit the site and make a purchase, no matter how small.  Insanity has been released so go check it out.

Feel free to "friend" me on Facebook 

Yes, I know that this is a Battlestar Galactica pic.  Battlestar definitely has V beat in the "hotness" category.

So,

My brain burned out last night and I had to quit reading about Neoclassicism and Modernism and stop trying to figure out what Planar Recession was because I was filled to the top for the night.  What better way to stop thinking, than to watch TV (although that's not actually true in my case but it's thinking without pressure or consequence and that *is* important).

We have "V" on the DVR so we decided to give it shot. 

Our first impression.  Meh . . .

Like my movie "reviews", no one that is serious about TV should put any weight into what I write about TV either since I watch so little of it.  Who has time?  Who would want to anyway?  I try to catch the Mentalist each week just because it's so light-hearted, it's a nice break from homework.  I've watched a couple of episodes from Flash Forward.  I can't decide if I'm interested in it or not so it's been a couple of weeks since I've seen one.

Anyway, V.

My first impression is that if the infamous SNL skit didn't announce it, episode 1 of V has.  Obama's honeymoon time is at an end.  I was incredibly surprised by how not-subtle they were about it too.  "You're talking about Universal Health Care." 

Then there was the shout-out for Faux news.  "You will not portray us in a bad light" or you will never get to interview me ever again. 

My second impression was that they moved it all ahead far too quickly, too mechanically, and without suspense.  I think they could have played out the first half of the season with innuendos and having the FBI agent and priest investigating but finding no solid proof.  Instead, it was wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am and we know that the V's are evil.  Sure, we knew that from the start but they could have built some intrigue into it and lead us along for a while.  Built up how much people fell for the V's bullshit lines while non-believers tried to find the truth.

Instead, we're into it and the resistance has already begun.

Speaking of which, Tia was all over the sleeper cell thing. 

"You know, since they look like humans, they've probably been on earth for a long time and have people all over the planet already in key positions."

Currrect! she was on that call.  See, we do think while we watch the "mindless" TV.

I never judge a series on the first episode because the actors have to grow into their characters so I'll probably watch a couple more episodes to see if they make it interesting and see if any of the characters grow on me. 

Did any of you see it?  What did you think?

***

Remember, I'm going to be funding my return to college by being an affiliate of BeachBody.com products so please visit the site and make a purchase, no matter how small.  Insanity has been released so go check it out.

Feel free to "friend" me on Facebook 
 

So,

I had to laugh last night as I was writing about Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven.   I had to write up some kind of analysis of one of the works that I had read in the past couple of weeks and I chose this one.  I chose it because it's one of the most famous poems in history and when I read it in high school and then read it again last week, I just really didn't get it. 

Now, let me be upfront and say that poetry is not my thing.  Let me also say that I read so much in a day now that my mind starts to just fog up toward the end of the day.  So do my eyes.  The words get physically blurry toward the end of the day.  I'm going to go in to have my eyes checked.  I told my dad that I was going in because after reading for 8 hours, things get blurry.  His diagnosis (he's an English major and not a doctor) is that eyes weren't meant to read for 8 hours straight.  He may be onto something.  My caveman ancestors probably didn't run into this problem.  Then again, my cavemen ancestors weren't trying to jam in a novel and several short stories into two days of reading.  My caveman ancestors were probably smarter than to get themselves into this situation and probably went to college right out of high school when the demands of life were much less.

Speaking of high school and getting back to the point, my point of view is many times at odds with many of my classmates.  I was reading Raven analyses online last night to try and get an idea of what I should write and I just kept shaking my head.  I couldn't disagree with the physical set up (all that ABABBBB stuff) but I didn't agree with all the symbolism.

"How's it going?" Tia asked as I headed to the kitchen for a drink.

"You know, it's harder when you don't agree with everyone else," I answered.

We chuckled, I got my drink, and came back to write.  Sadly, with my schedule, my rough draft is what gets turned in.  I had Tia read over it for grammar mistakes (she found a couple) and then I submitted it.  Tonight, I can think of some things that would have been worded better but the deadline for the assignment was noon and I was at work.

For those of you that are in the least bit curious, my whole take on the story is that there was no raven.  That, in itself, was a symbol for the melancholy in the narrator's mind.  All the analyses that I read took the raven to be a literal raven.  'Course I could be wrong but then I can't be wrong because we have to write what the poem says to *us* and then support that viewpoint with quotes from the text.  It should come out okay.  My last analysis earned a 95 out of 100.

As part of a lab for one of my classes, I have to follow a high school English teacher around for a day.  I'll be doing that this Thursday (you know, because I have lots of time for this kind of thing).  We emailed each other today and got it all set. 

Guess what we'll be teaching?  Edgar Allen Poe's The Black Cat.  Interesting.  In the last week, amongst my other reading, I have read Annabel Lee, The Raven, and The Fall of the House of Usher.  Guess I'll be doing a little bit more reading on Poe before moving on to Civil War era writers.

Tonight, I have to right about 37 different topics that have to do with teaching and how case law has shaped all these different areas.  I can tell you that this paper is going to be incredibly short-winded tonight because I also have to read about Modernism in art, then I have to figure out what Planar Recession is and why that's important to Modernism, and then I have to write up a lengthy critique my own art work submission and that of another student.  I just found out that the art work that I thought I had to do tonight isn't actually due tonight and I'm breathing a huge sigh of relief because I think I'd turn back into the picked-on step-sister sooner than I'd finish all this work, which all has to be done before midnight.

And, with that, I'm going to dive back into case law for teachers.

***

Remember, I'm going to be funding my return to college by being an affiliate of BeachBody.com products so please visit the site and make a purchase, no matter how small.  Insanity has been released so go check it out.

Feel free to "friend" me on Facebook 

It's been a long time since I've done a disclaimer for this blog so I think it's time for a new one.  Most of the disclaimers in the past have been of the "Do not try this at home" variety.  I have tried various diets, supplements, and exercise programs that I was willing to inflict on myself but not willing to encourage others to do.  Some of my exercise routines in the past have pushed the limits (and crossed them at time) of over-training.  Just what is possible?  My theory is that you never quite know until you go too far.

Today's disclaimer is about the actual content of this blog (and I'm not talking about Mark's pictures) and falls very much in line with Emerson's thoughts about being an Experimenter.

This blog is about me exploring ideas and using the written word as a way to sort through my thoughts.  I have found that I am able to get a much clearer picture for myself if I write things out and I have found that if I blog, I will actually *write* daily.  It's a combination deal. 

That means that you are getting a glimpse into the maundering of my inner dialog.  There are times when I'm sure that it will be crystal clear and then there will be times when I seem to get no where.  My drafts folder is also full of posts that even I said, "Good gawd, you are too ugly to see the light of day."  Either I made no sense or, when I was done, not even I believed what I had written.  That's saying something considering some of the posts that I have put out into the world.

I'm also going to admit right up front that when you try to post every single day with a schedule like mine, there are going to be times when I am completely talking out of my ass.  Sometimes I realize it and shrug and sometimes I probably hit "post" wrongly thinking that I've done okay. 

I point all this out for the sole fact that it will serve as a seatbelt and headrest to try and keep you from getting whiplash when I post the exact opposite thing the next day.  This blog is likely to contain very few conclusions because my blog is a constantly evolving being. 

This is something to keep in mind for people who choose to comment here.  I love comments.  I love seeing what people think.  I, of course, love to hear that my words resonated in some way with what you're experiencing.  I also enjoy seeing other perspectives.  If you post something in a harsh tone hoping to start an argument or in an effort to prove your case based on sheer intensity, you're probably just going to get questions in response so I can try to see why you believe what you do in relation to what I have posted.  I count myself blessed in my blogging experience because I have tended in the past to attract intelligent commenters that are able to explain their view and then agree to disagree. 

I have one more, probably long-winded, thought on the content of this blog and the inconsistency contained herein.  I am going to be working on practicing "my voice" and that may have the effect of inserting weirdness into the words.  Over the years, there have been three recurring comments that I have gotten on my writing from readers and instructors and I am going to see about working those elements into my blog on some kind of regular basis.

1.  "You are good at explaining things." 

There are probably a couple of factors that contribute to this.  The first is that my mind just naturally simplifies things.  I have been accused on this blog of over-simplifying.  Probably true.  It's how I'm wired.  It's why I have given up any dreams of writing non-fiction.  My brain takes out all the interesting twists and turns.  It looks at A.  It looks at B.  It connects them as directly as possible.  Non-fiction writing looks at A and B and connects them by throwing in D, Z, M, C (ooh so close), back out to Q for one final shake-up and then back to B.  Meanwhile, I'm going, "Look, here's A, here's B, BAM!  Let's move on."

Writing police reports for 12 years also probably plays a big role here.  The job requires that you write in clear sentences, with a strong active voice, that describes objects and actions so that lawyers can see them two years later.  One of the things that I first liked about blogging was that I wasn't confined to the report-style of writing but part of it still bleeds through, I'm sure.

This part, I don't think I'll have to work on too much in my blog.  Not everything is explained as clearly as I would like at times and some of that is due to time constraints.  I'll read a post a few days later and thoughts will pop into my head about how I could have said something better or differently so that it made more sense.  I just don't consider blogging in any way to be a final draft.  Connect A to B, Bam!, move on.

2.  "You're funny."

Not lately.

This I would really like to inject back into my blogging.  One thing I have noticed is that when I write about personal experiences, my weird view of the world just comes out naturally and is funny.  When I write about most current events and politics, the funniness disappears.  I have lived with the dichotomy while constantly thinking about how to correct it. 

One thought that I had was to let Sarcasm out of its cage.  It's always there pacing back and forth as I read about the world.  It growls and reaches out a paw, here and there, trying to grab onto passerbys.  It may be time to let Sarcasm out of the cage, at least as a test to see how well it does on the loose.  I put Sarcasm in a cage to protect readers, so as to not offend, and in turn protect myself from the snarky comments that may be used to poke at Sarcasm in defense.  I don't think that I can find "my" voice if I keep an inherent part of "me" locked in a cage.

As to the other funny experiences, the trick will be in having some kind of *experience* first.  My life right now consists of work and school and very little else.  The experiences that I have in my work life, I don't write about because "what happens in Wendover, stays in Wendover" and as a policy, we don't discuss it.  The experiences I have in my school life are either boring or involve fellow students that may happen across my blog, so I don't want to be poking fun at them.  I have very little in the way of actual experience.  All my experience is vicariously done through reading.  Hopefully, when this semester is over, I'll actually go out and *do* things.

3.  "You write dialog well."

This one is just a mystery to me.  I've never studied or thought about the writing of dialog.  I'll let you in on the secret.  I'm simply taking dictation.  I just write down what the voices in my head are saying.  I eavesdrop on their conversation and write it down.  That's it.  Dialog takes no effort.  Listen.  Write.

Since people appreciate it though, I should include it more in my blog.  I have found that it works really well when I combine it with the humor aspect.  I can read something and hear the fictitious conversation that just comes out funny. 

So, that's what you can expect out of this blog, at least for a while.  I have to include the caveat that I have very little control over the ADD (Look!  Something shiny!) and things may change rather abruptly as they have many times in the past but for now, I'm serious about exploring my own writing style more deeply while exploring the topics of my world.  My blog and my life are an experiment, never meant to harm anyone and not to be taken too seriously by my readers (or myself).

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First, I want to make it clear that this is truly a tragedy and nothing in this post is meant to take away from it.  This post is directed at what is being released as information and my thoughts as I read this article.  I won't cover the entire article but bits and pieces.

"The motive for the shooting wasn't clear, but someone who used to work with Hasan said he had expressed some anger about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Retired Col. Terry Lee told Fox Newssaid Hasan had hoped President Barack Obama would pull troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq and got into frequent arguments with others in the military who supported the wars."

This obviously doesn't justify killing the people you work with but it brings up two points, one that I've made before and one that is dying a slow death in my "drafts" file.

The last poll that I read about said that 60% of the American people are against the wars.  You would think that after passing the 51% mark in a Democracy, something would be done.  You would be right.  In an oligarchy however, 51% or 60% or 90% doesn't matter.  All that matters is the opinion of 535 people sitting in a big white dome who makes MILLIONS each year by selling off their votes.  We can keep voting Democrats into office because they *say* they are against the war, but don't expect any wars or occupations to end until the Empire collapses under its own weight. 

As I pointed out, when the illusion of Democracy fades, violence will increase.  The bad part about this violence (aside from the fact that it's violent, of course - bad enough already) is that it's not going to be aimed at the people who caused it.  People aren't going to storm Congress or the White House or Goldman Sachs.  They are going to loot their local TV store.  The are going to ransack the corner grocery store.  They are going to burn their neighbor's cars.  They are going to go to work and shoot their fellow employees.

"Cone acknowledged that it was 'counterintuitive' that a single shooter could hit so many people, but he said the massacre occurred in close quarters.'"

"'With ricochet fire, he was able to injure that number of people,' Cone said."

If by "counterintuitive," you mean "complete and utter bullshit" then yeah.  Ricochet fire?  What?  Was this guy an extra in the film Wanted?

This psychiatrist was a good enough shot that with a couple of handguns, he hit 40 people or so, never had to reload or anything, bounced the bullets around so that he could injure 2 or more people per bullet, and then did the Matrix limbo to avoid incoming rounds.

Bullets don't ricochet like the movies but people raised on TV might believe this garbage.  I've actually had classes on bullet trajectories and learned what can and can't be done, in case I found myself in need of some kind of Hollywood shot to save my life.

I don't know what happened and I already know that I will never be told what really happened.  After the military spin goes through the corporate spin, it's highly unlikely that it will even remotely resemble the truth.  In fact, if it's going to be statements like this, it won't even remotely resemble reality.  This is why conspiracy theories are so popular.  People try to find the truth in all the spin and come out with some completely bizarre creation and cling to it with all their might.  They desperately want the truth and where they don't get it, they make it up based on the weird information that is released.

"He said authorities were investigating whether Hasan's weapons were properly registered with the military."

And later,

"I was confused and just shocked," said Spc. Jerry Richard, 27, who works at the center but was not on duty during the shooting. "Overseas you are ready for it. But here you can't even defend yourself."

It's not because people oppose the war, it's not that they missed all the warning signs that this guy gave off, nope, it's because he *might* have used an unregistered gun to attack the helpless military personnel who apparently "can't even defend" themselves unless they are on foreign soil - in America, they have to be shot while calling 911 and hoping and praying that the their government saviors arrive before they die.  I'm not mocking Richard.  I'm sure that he was confused and shocked.  I know that just being in the military doesn't mean that you are combat-oriented.  Including this comment was something that the AP chose to do for a reason.  Make the story more scary maybe?  It could be you next?  If the *military* is helpless in America against unregistered guns, then so are you.

Why does the statement that he might or might not have or maybe or could possibly or has the outside chance that the lunatic might have used an unregistered gun even make it into the article?  There's nothing reported in this.  If it was registered, no one is going to come back and say so.  If it wasn't, well, then, let's get crackin' on some gun control dammit! so that we can keep our military safe from terrorists using unregistered guns.  And the rest of America too.

The whole thing is tragic, the incident especially, but also to some extent the reporting.  We are a country that is ruled by violence and lies and that is going to have repercussions.  I do not promote or condone the use of violence in retaliation and my condolences go out to all the families that are affected by this attack.  It's an incredibly sad event.  Sadder still is that there will probably be more.