Saturday, December 27, 2008

Yay for reading

My family is a bunch of readers.  Nothing extra-special about that, but it does allay a niggling little fear in the back of my mind.  I wanted my kids to read.  It's more about opening their horizons beyond our little pocket of Oregonian suburbia than it is about being brainiacs.  Which is cool, too, but...this is far cooler.

Last year for Christmas, someone bought Aria a set of Ramona Quimby books.  It wasn't all of them, though, something the publishers made very clear on each book cover.  So we walked into Powell's City of Books last night (just Aria and me), and looked up at the category board in the main entrance.  I squatted down next to her.  "Look up," I said.  "Where do you think we should go?"  "The Rose room!"  "Why?"  "It says 'Children'!"  "So which way do we go?"  "Hmmm...that way!"

So we walked around, found Dr Seuss and some other stuff.  Eventually we found the Beverly Cleary stuff, and Aria found the rest of the Ramona books.  She nodded at her Dr Seuss book and a princess picture book she had picked up for her little sister, and said, "I don't really want to buy these.  What do I do with them?"  "We put them back."  So that's what we did.  

After we had found my books on Islam, she insisted we head back to the Rose room.  "Why?" I asked.  "I saw Twilight there, and I know mom would love it."  So we went down and found it.  And then we walked 4 blocks through the 4 inches of remaining snow (does that make it like 16 inches for 1 block?  Better story...) and drove home.  

Before she went to bed, she'd read 14 pages.  This morning she read another dozen or so.  She's a reader.  By her own will, and without pushes from us.  A little prompting?  Sure.  But we haven't had to push her.  Her world is opening up.  I'm so glad.  Even if it's opening up to 1950s suburbia.  It's the first crack in the door to the wide-open world of literature.

Friday, December 26, 2008

Adventures in Islam, Part 1

Other religions have always interested me.  I bought copies of the sacred writings of Hinduism, Islam, Baha'i-ism and attended church with my friends of different Christian sects while in high school.  I served a mission for my church in Japan, overwhelmingly Buddhist and Shinto with a smattering of Soka-gakkai.  As an undergrad, I took an underwhelming course in comparative religion as a sophomore, but dropped out of college the next term.  

I didn't take it much further than that.  I had lived abroad in a very different cultural landscape and found that people had much the same values and aspirations as I had.  I got it.  Not a big deal; those different world views didn't affect me much.  

Eventually, I became a very autonomous supervisor at work.  I had more than a dozen highly trained and very professional engineers working in my department.  One of them is a devout Muslim.  My entire crew (I think) knows I'm a Mormon.  I don't preach to them, but I don't gamble or go drinking with them or swear, so at least they know I'm a little on the prudish side (what do you call that?  Prudish sounds so pejorative, but it's a little more visceral than "behavioral conservative".)

This man and I have become friends as well as coworkers.  I'll call him Mike.  It's not very Islamic-sounding, but that's kinda the point.  Mike and I began to ask each other questions about our families and religious observances, because that's something that's as common to us as talking football is with other men.  So we've built a close relationship.  We trust each other, and have high regard for each other as men of faith and family.

As I looked around for music for The Morning Stars to sing, I found some traditional spirituals, ordered some Estonian folk music, and wondered if I could get some Muslim religious music.  So I discovered Nasheed (Nashid), Muslim holy music.  And I asked Mike about it.  He was working a short week one week, and I didn't get any mail from him for a full day or so, and he apologized and said his family was celebrating the Eid.  So I looked that up.  

It piqued my curiosity.  Islam seems to be a very cradle-to-grave, morning-until-night, holistic worldview.  It doesn't seem to be squeamish about the necessities of living.  Killing an animal to eat requires understanding that you are taking a life.  Meat doesn't come from styrofoam packages.  It comes from living animals that in other times might have been a beloved pet.  Doing what God says to do is really important, as when you fly your aging father halfway around the world to perform the Hajj.  A life centered on God is the only way to live.  That doesn't mean you can't watch YouTube.  But it means that you're careful to maintain your focus toward the divine.

At least that's the way I see it today.  I have great and growing respect for Islam.  So tonight, when Aria and I went to Powell's to use some of her Christmas gift card, I picked up an introductory text to Islam and a translation of the Koran.  This is where the adventure really begins.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Movie Review: Australia

Disclaimer: I'm an actor and a playwrite, so I'm a bit snobby about production values.

I saw Australia with my wife last night.  It's the best movie I've seen in a while - one of those that you see, think about, and then ruminate on.  

Plot: It's 1939.  Lady Sarah Ashley is a British duchess in need of money.  Her husband is in Australia taking care of their ranch, Faraway Downs.  She wants him to sell it, but he won't.  She is convinced he's having an affair, and goes to Australia to sell the ranch and reclaim her husband.  She arrives to find her husband dead and the ranch in total disarray.  She joins forces with a local cattle herder (Drover, played by Hugh Jackman) and a mixed-race boy (Nullah) to save the ranch. Baz Luhrman (Moulin Rouge) who also co-wrote the script adeptly mixes historical realities about whites' poor treatment of Aboroginals and the Japanese invasion of Darwin in WWII with a story about love, family, greed, and revenge.  The movie is called an epic because it simply is.

Acting: A fine cast.  Hugh Jackman (X-Men and especially The Illusionist) is very human in this movie.  Luhrman lets him play with everything - from macho "Let's save the cattle!" to his friendship with an Aborigine, to mourning Sarah's death.  A great job.

Nicole Kidman (The Translator, Batman, Moulin Rouge) plays Lady Sarah Ashley.  After watching this movie, I don't understand the hoopla over her Botox.  I couldn't tell.  She has a hilarious stint (some critics didn't like it) as the fish-out-of-water royalty in the Outback to star twith, becomes a partner in saving the ranch, and finally as a passionate advocate for righting wrongs.  It's a wide range, and she pulls it off very well.  

Nullah (I don't think I've seen the kid before, and don't know his name) is also excellent.  During the course of the movie, his father abandons him, his mother dies, he is sent to a missionary island, thinks Sarah dies, is captured by police, and sees some of his friends die, too.  He plays happy realy well.  He never gets to grief, but the kid's maybe 10.  He does every other emotion really well, and serves as the story's narrator for quite a bit.

The villain doesn't get as much face time as maybe he should.  He's evil incarnate, and that's too bad.  He never gets real depth.  

Filming: shot on location in the Outback, the film is a paean to Australian history, culture, and nature.  The color often looks like a colorized B&W film - everything is vibrant.  The camera shots pan huge vistas, and dramatic camera angles (the cattle stampede along a cliff for one) are par for the course.  This movie is meant to be theatrical in the heightened-emotions sense of the word.  It's a beautiful movie to watch just for the artistry of the screen-as-canvas.

Writing: excellent script.  Could have used some more villain development, and some more time on Nullah and his mother's relationship.  Nullah went from having a broken home to being an orphan in about 10 minutes of movie time, and we didn't see him develop as much as we should have.  The racial tension is often palpable - the segregated bars, the poor treatment whites who are friends with black get, the mixed-race children being torn from their parents.  You feel it.  This racial tension is given more of the villain role than the guy who plays the villain is.  

Recommendation: If you are an adult, see it.  There's a little swearing, but it's not bad (the F-bomb comes out once, but if there's a tasteful way to use the word, this was it).  There's a sex scene that I closed my eyes for, so you'd have to ask Katrina about it.  It's a PG-13 movie, though.  I plan to buy it, and show it to my kids when they're in 8th or 9th grade.  Powerful movie with great social themes and excellent production values.  It's a winner on my list.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

My wife loves me

"How do you know?"  

Because I saw what she was going to get me for Christmas.  And it arrived this morning.  And it's awesome.

A month or so ago, I went in to the office at home and as I stepped over the baby gate, she told me I couldn't look at her screen.  She closed the tab she was on.  Then she went out.  And I was unable to resist.  I looked up her history and saw the biggest, baddest tool box on earth.  Stainless steel, 400lbs, casters, full-length ball bearing slides, the works.  

This is the woman who, 9 (!) years ago gave me a Craftsman saw and drill for our first married Christmas.  

The thing that makes this a special gift for me is that true gift giving has to be about the receiver, and not the giver.  This tool box, while providing some ancilary goodness for her, is all for me.  It replaces a portable tool box she got for me 8 years ago (!) when we were apartment-dwellers.  It will allow me to stop complaining that other members of my wonderful family take tools and do not return them.  It will allow our tool bench (old kitchen cupboards) to become something other than a garage version of the Exxon Valdez.  It recognizes my handiness; it is plumes for my manliness; something shiny that isn't a decoration.  

I hope what I've planned for Katrina is as cool for her.  


Friday, December 5, 2008

Back to Politics: What Obama's Cabinet says about him

There are few things more telling about a President than his cabinet.  A cabinet likely reflects a president's vision for what he wants to achieve and also for how he wants to get there.  

What does Obama's cabinet say about him, his vision, and his desired pathway?

About Him
Let's dispense with the "Team of Rivals" thing now.  I've read too many references to it lately.  It's bogus.  For Obama to have a Lincoln-style team of rivals, he'd have to have McCain in there somewhere, Lieberman, and probably Sarah Palin, too.  He didn't do that.  

He did the prudent thing.  That says something about his caution.  He got a bunch of people with experience who happen to be well-respected and very intelligent.  No extremists as far as the eye can see.  

He did the confident thing.  There are people in his cabinet (notably Clinton) who have had disagreements with Obama in quite strident terms.  He's not afraid of strong people or smart people, or hard-working people.  He's brought them all in.

He also did the political thing.  Race was a factor in this contest.  Turns out to have been a net-zero effect in the vote.  But it did mean that white Americans were willing to trust people who did not look like them in prominent national roles.  Credit where credit is due: Clinton had a groundbreakingly diverse cabinet.  Bush's was even more racially diverse.  Obama takes that precedent one step further.  

I belong to a lay church.  We often say, when asked to serve in a certain capacity, that "Whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies."  That's the euphemistic way of saying that you may not have a clue how to keep 144 kids aged 18 months to 12 years old occupied and happy for 2 hours every Sunday, but if you're asked to do it, you'll figure it out.  Obama hasn't taken that much liberty with his cabinet members, but he has taken the notion that there are many individuals who are fully qualified to do any given job.  This is likely influenced by his own resume.  If there are a bunch of people qualified to be the Ambassador to the UN, then you can pick any of them for a good pick for job function.  Then you look at the image of your cabinet to America and to the world.  Who looks the best for the job?  The old white male statesman?  Or the younger black female who has taken a principled stand about some really difficult problems?  Both have pros and cons, and Obama can make the call to extend America's increasingly diverse population makeup into his cabinet.  

That says that he's a good politician.  It also says that he understands the values of legacy.  Simply put: your forebears have a greater influence on whether you attain greatness or not than you would like to believe.  By putting a more racially, culturally, and sexually diverse team in his cabinet, Obama is sowing the seeds for the rest of America's groups to catch up with its powerful white plurality.  White men will be judged henceforth not on the color of their skin, but on the content of their character.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

The Finest Christmas Tree Experience Ever

For some reason or another, through our 10 Christmases as a married couple, we've always purchased a Christmas tree from a lot or not purchased one at all.  We've gone to timeshares with family several times, so we're not total humbugs.  

This year, we did not have an infant (too cold to go out), I was not in school (no time), and I really wanted to cut our own tree.  So Katrina looked around and found a web site that features a bunch of local tree farms.  She looked over several in our area and settled on Christmas Mountain.  I left work early, and we were out the door about 3:30, kids, camera and coats all loaded up.  The farm is up in the hills where I do a lot of cycling, so I took us on a little roundabout path.  

The road to get there is lined with signs until you make the final turn onto Dixie Mountain Road.  We arrived at the farm just after 4.  Aria woke up and asked if she could stay in the car.  She 
was too tired.  That didn't fly.  We all got out and headed over to the tent.  

The farm is cool.  Yeah, it was Dec 3 and 1000' higher than we live at.  But it's a good setup.  The parking lot is large, level, and gravelled.  There is a large tent where you can huddle if it's raining.  There's hot water and packets for making hot chocolate and cider.  There's coffee.  The drinks are free.  There's also candy for sale, and some chairs set up around a portable fire pit with a fire going.  (The tent I rave about is not in the picture - it's off to the right)




After we confirmed that we were looking for a tree, the owner of the place (I'll call him Troy) started up a tractor with a huge covered wagon on it.  It looks like it would hold 30 people, maybe more in a pinch.  We had the wagon all to ourselves, and started up the road.  Troy kept looking back at us as he drove, and when we found a good-looking spot, he stopped the tractor, told us to grab a saw, cut our tree, and then put it by the side of the road with a tag on it, and took off.  We had 100 acres of Christmas trees to ourselves.  
This was fun.  We wandered through the trees, mostly Noble Firs, and saw some good looking candidates.  The trees are really healthy, well-shaped, and full.  The branches are long; it seems like longer than a tree you'd get at Home Depot.  They're just beautiful.  We picked a tree, marked it by putting a large dead branch on it, and walked around some more.  We decided in the end that we really liked that one, and I took our the more-than-adequate saw that Troy provided and cut it down.  Doing my part to increase Global Warming.  

Katrina and I hauled it to the road (just a few feet, really), and I stuck a tag on it.  Then we took a walk up the road.  As we passed a ridge, I saw the prettiest view of St Helen's my eyes have ever beheld.  Rainier was visible in the fog, and if you walked another 100 feet, Adams was visible, too.  As my kids hit the same spot past the ridge that I did, they each gasped.  "Wow!"  said my 8 year-old.  10 seconds later, "Wow!" said my 6 year-old.  My kids will easily say "wow" when they see something big, but rarely do so when it's just something pretty.  This was cool.


After the light had left the mountains, we heard the tractor coming around.  We waited for him to come by, got on the wagon, and chatted as he took as back to the tent.  Troy is a 3rd generation tree farmer.  His family has been doing this for 40 years.  He's a really engaging, friendly guy who seems to take great joy in his job.  And it is his full-time job.  These 100 acres provide a livelihood for him and his family.  We later learned that this is only his second year selling trees to the public; he's been a wholesaler before.  The sky looked like it was on fire as we talked.  Unbelievable.

When we got back to the tent, Katrina and 3 of the kids got some hot chocolate and sat down by the fire.  Christian and I headed up the hill for a kid tree.  We ended up with a 5' Noble Fir and carried it back down the hill.  In the mean time, 
our 7' Noble had been picked up from the road, carried back to the tent area, and was being bailed.  After I got my hot chocolate, the guys who had bailed it asked if they could put it on my car.  I let them.  

We hung out for a little longer, chatting with one of Troy's friends who used to work on the farm with his father, bought a little tree stand, and headed home.  By the time we left, too-tired Aria was smiling hugely.  "Can we do this again next year?" I asked.  "Yes!"

What's cool about Christmas Mountain:
Really really really nice people
Great trees
Reasonable price
Unbeatable, unbelievable, incredible, wonderful views
Free wagon ride, saw use, bailing, hauling, hot chocolate, coffee, cider, a tent for rainy weather and a fire for clear weather.  Did I mention all those things are free???
Beautiful drive
They take Visa and Mastercard
They charged us for a full foot less than the trees' actual length.  We got a 7' for 6' price, and a 5' for 4' price.  I don't know if that's normal practice, but it sure seemed like good customer service to me.

What's not so cool:
It's a little out of the way - right on the ridge of the hills between Hwy 30 and Hwy 26, where Skyline meets Dixie Mountain road.  Given the experience they offer, it was well worth a little drive.  

I'm 34 today. Happy Life to Me.

Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes.

No, Manny, not ready for AARP.  I do remember when the VIC-20 came out, and the Walkman, too.  I watched The Muppet Show, Buck Rogers, The A Team, The Cosby Show, Blue Thunder, Battlestar Galactica and The Great Space Coaster before they were in reruns.  The Brady Bunch, Star Trek, and Speed Racer were on network TV.  

34 is a good age for me.  This year has been my single greatest year for personal growth since I was 16.  Lots on introspection and gut checks going on, and I'm a much better guy for being compelled to go through that.  

My life would not be complete with my birthday partner, Katrina (she's 29 today!!!!  Ha!!!!).  She puts the light in my attic, chases the bats from my belfry, puts new sidewalk down when the sidewalk ends, regularly beats me at board games, kindly allows me to beat her at Scramble from time to time, puts the spice in my girl and the fruit in my cake.  She's incredible and awesome and a whole bunch of really complimentary words that haven't been invented in English, but should be.

Thanks for your friendship, and for taking the time out of your days to wish me well.  It really does mean something to me.  

Monday, December 1, 2008

Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing

When I went back to school in 2004 to finish my BS, the first class I took introduced me to a theory of team formation and dynamics that was just 4 words long:

The Morning Stars are in this process.  Thankfully, we've known each other for several years and have shared connections at church.  Our forming period was the most difficult, as we didn't know what we were capable of, or if the group would even come together.  We had some absences early on, and weren't really sure if the other members were committed.  Around rehearsal #3, this pretty much vanished.  Everyone expressed how much fun they were having in the group, and apologized to the other members for forgetting or being late.  No animosity, but we weren't sure how much to trust each other and didn't know our roles until we settled in a bit.

At that point, the group was formed.  We had an ongoing concern in business parlance, and could take our performance opportunities as a real possibility.  During the next few weeks, we dealt with the reality that some arrangements call for a different vocal assignment.  I was always flat on one piece, and another member wasn't quite in tune either.  We switched parts, and found that it worked much better that way.  Frankly, we didn't do much storming.  Nobody got mad, we figured out a way to make the thing work.  Even this early, we were having fun.

Norming is where we've been for a few weeks now.  Everyone shows up on time, ready to sing, taking ownership of trying new things.  If one of us doesn't have a part, he fixes it.  That may require stopping the group and running a few measures a few times.  It may require singing a few more verses to figure it out.  As a result, we now have about half an hour of performance-ready music.  We've worked on another half an hour worth, and sung through a bunch of stuff that we're not going to use.  We've also put time and thought into our next forays into arranging and composing for the next 6 months.  

Are we to the performing stage?  I think we're very very close.  As we get better, rehearsals have become less chattery and more music-focused, and that's brought us into a different realm.  Last night, we spent about half an hour finishing our 15-minute program for this coming Saturday.  Then we spent an hour playing around - working on a piece that grabbed our fancy, changing the ending to an upcoming piece, reading through a new piece and deciding we didn't like it, hitting some favorite hymns along the way.  Many choirs have problems with chattiness where people will say funny things to avoid fixing a difficult spot, lengthening the time it takes to fix it.  The Morning Stars don't do that any more.  We attack problem spots in the most efficient way we can, and our chatty breaks tend to be short, funy, and focused.  There's lots of levity and smiles, and there's also serious rehearsing.  Will we ever be the King's Singers?  Nope.  Is that okay?  Yep.  We are, as envisioned, a group of guys that love to sing.  Performance opportunities will come  if the music is ready, and we'll do that.  But performance is incidental - the love of music is what drives us, and drives us together.

It's a good place to be.  

Monday, November 24, 2008

The Morning Stars have a gig!

Sorry to get redundant in this blog, but I gotta say - Sunday nights are simply euphoric.  

Last night, we decided to adopt a name for ourselves.   We're the Morning Stars.  It's a reference both to D&C 128:23 and Job 38:7. 

And I found out the times for our first gig.  We're singing for the Bethany Ward Christmas Celebration on December 6th.  This is a big event.  Santa and crafts start at 5:45.  Dinner is served at 6:30.  The music starts at 7:30.  The whole shindig is free, and there is no suggested donation (or a box to put one in if you wanted to).  

The party is always packed to say the least.  Dinner last year was 800, I think.  It's usually pretty basic - ham, potatoes, rolls, salad, and water.  But it's all tasty, and the place is full of kids.  Our playlist is as follows:
Good King Wenceslas
Jingle Bells
Deck The Hall (maybe)
O Holy Night
What Child is This?

We've got a ton of stuff in the till right now - we spent most of our last rehearsal playing with new things, including a song from "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and some patriotic pieces that the MoTab did recently.  It is something far north of fun to be able to open a hymnal, pick any song, and get gorgeous 4-part a capell-iciousness out of it.  I don't think I'll ever tire of it.

We'll probably sing another time in December, and then a brief hiatus of performing, while we work up some Valentine's day stuff and a sacred piece or 2 to have ready on a moment's notice.  It's cool to all be in the same ward, so we can take advantage of spontaneous opportunities like that.  

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

I Love Making Music

5 weeks ago, 3 friends from church agreed to join me in a men's a capella group.  We don't have a name yet, but we're making music.

My happiest times in life are either when I'm with my family or creating something.  Legos, writing, drama, and music are my creative loves.  What I love about music is that it's never done being created.  You create the music anew each time you sing it, if you're doing it right.  If you have stopped creating music, then all you have is notes.  When you finish a song, you should be ready to high-5 somebody, pray, or cry.  It should take you to those places.  It's a participatory sport. 

I am very blessed to have friends who feel the same way.  We sing because we love to sing.  We figure that the performance opportunities will come if we have music to offer.  The hour and a half that we sing each week is the highlight of my week.  We create, we joke, we bond.  And we make music.  

We're looking for another 2 men to join us - any takers?

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Veterans

I was reading a comment from a friend's Facebook page today which juxtaposed the high percentage of Americans who feel the country is on the wrong track with the fabulous realities of living in America.  By implication, if Americans are upset about the way the country is headed, they are ungrateful for the safety, security, and wellness they enjoy.

I'm one of those Americans who, until last Tuesday, was unhappy with the direction America was headed.  I am profoundly grateful for the things we take for granted (as does the rest of the developed world): safety, freedom of movement, freedom of speech, and infrastructure that delivers water, electricity, and even broadband to almost everyone.  

I was unhappy with the direction our country was heading because I saw us squandering the opportunity to use these blessings in the best way.  Darfur.  Rwanda.  Burma.  Pakistan.  The uninsured.  Iraq.  The hungry.  The tired.  There are so many ways we could use our good reputation and resources, and instead both are squandered on petty political gamesmanship and personal revenge.  We saw our liberties erode as any citizen could be considered an enemy combatant and denied habeas corpus or a free and fair trial by a jury of his peers.

I was unhappy that the country I loved had diminished its standing in the world, and was wasting the lives of its citizens to promote an agenda that would only lead to more war.

Thank God for an all-volunteer armed forces, filled with good women and men who want to serve our country.  I am thankful for their services, and hope that as a citizen I can be worthy of their sacrifice.  And I hope our nation values their service and heroism enough to only put them in harm's way when it is truly justified.


Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Here's to 4 years...

...of a President who actually cares about us.

That was my toast to Obama as my family raised our glasses of sparkling cider to toast his victory tonight. 

I hadn't put together my hopes in as essential a form until that moment.  I have never felt that Bush actually cared about me.  But Obama does.  He's been in my shoes, finding a way to pay for his own college, paying student loans, working a job while living in a small apartment.  Watching him with voters, he looks natural, like he does care and understand.  Watching him with his family, and how comfortable he and Michelle are together makes me all warm and fuzzy.  

This is a guy who loves his family, and is not used-car-salesman empathetic (like Bill Clinton was).  

I'm so thankful that I live in America.  Here's to hoping Dems can govern well.

Calling NM for Obama

RealClearPolitics has NM as a Lean Obama state.  

So far, 192,000 people have voted.  That's 73% of the total vote in 2004.  The voter split? 52/32 for Obama.  Even if voter turnout doubled vs 2004, McCain would have to pull out a 20% win in Tuesday voting to pull this one out.  Not gonna happen.

In the 2 states I've looked at (and I'm ignoring the RCP Solid Obama and McCain states), the polls are inaccurate, but in the opposite way that most pollsters have predicted: they underestimated Obama's vote total.  One anecdote from Salon this morning said the voters were much younger and less white than is normal.  Maybe the phantom youth vote is actually here.  If so, all those polls that use land lines (and not cell phones) have badly underestimated the effect of these mobile voters.

Yee-haw!  2 for 2.

North Carolina going to Obama


Take it out of the toss-up column, guys.  40% of NC voters already voted in early voting.  Dems outvoted Reps 2:1.  Which means that McCain has to win today by a huge margin.  Here are a few scenarios I worked up based on CNN's reported tally of Dems and Reps who voted early.  This is not a vote count, but a voter count.  Voters registered with a particular party tend to vote over 90% of the time with their party.  I'm going to assume that the mutual effect cancels out.

All counts are in millions.  North Carolina has 6.2 million registered voters and no ability to register and vote on the same day.  I'm assuming a 5 million vote turnout, which is extremely high.  Any lower-turnout scenario has McCain much further behind.  Notice that to eek out a 50% + 1 win, McCain needs to essentially reverse the results of the early voting today, and win by 20%.

This one is done, folks.  The good people of North Carolina have already turned in the first "tossup" state to Obama.  

Some good early results

Some sites I'm looking at to start off the day:

With the assumption that approximately 93% of registered party voters (registered Dems or Reps) vote with their candidate, early voting shows a large advantage for the Dems.  Early voting is usually more white and older than the demographics show this year.  

North Carolina shows a huge advantage for voting Dems.  There is also a huge registered voter advtange for Dems in NC.

According to the Rachel Maddow show on Air America last night, 300,000 more Dems than Reps had voted early in Florida as well.  

The George Mason site highlights that Dems out voted Reps in early voting by roughly 50% to 30% in many states.  A quick perusal did not show that Reps had outvoted Dems in any state in early voting.  The remaining 20% of voters are not registered to a party.  Some other data points to a trend for these independents to break for Obama as well.

Update:
A not-so-quick perusal showed that Reps did lead Dems in early voting in 2 states: Nebraska and Wyoming.  In both cases, Reps lead by 2:1.  Congrats Mac: you got 2!

Monday, November 3, 2008

The Election Tomorrow: Tired Yet?

I expect a strong Obama victory.  By that, I mean that 1 state will not determine the outcome of the presidential election, as it has for most of my voting life.  

Otherwise, strong pickups in both the House and Senate look very promising.  

Despite my constant attention to the race, and how exciting it has been, I'm tired.  I'm excited now for it all to be over.  How is the media coverage going to change?  What will the new issues be?  Are we really going to have a clear exit strategy from Iraq?  What kind of tax plan will the congress pass?  Will the Dems be able to bring enough Reps over to regularly defeat filibusters?  Will we actually see a change in health care? 

For me, the largest question is this: will the overheated, over-partisan rhetoric calm down in an Obama administration?  Will Reps be able to stop calling Dems traitors, socialists, and un-American?  Will Dems be able to stop looking backward and pointing fingers?

That's it for now - more tomorrow.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Position Paper: Gay Marriage

I am not against gay marriage.  And I don't care if it's called marriage or civil union or something else.  I'll call it gay marriage here because most of the people I know call it that.

Religious basis
The Old Testament calls out any sexual activity outside of marriage as worthy of stoning.  So is disobedience to parents, blasphemy, and sabbath-breaking.  So the OT is not a good compass to guide us in punishments for certain behaviors.  Whether something is considered "good or not", maybe.  What to do about it?  Not so much.

The New Testament does not have anything to say about homosexuality.  Maybe those parts were taken out over time, maybe the subject was such a given at the time that it was ignored.  Maybe it's not worth special mention.  Sexual sin does get a few mentions.  In what I think is the best example of what do about sexual sin, Jesus simply told the woman to "go and sin no more".  So it is not clear from the Bible that homosexual activity is any worse than heterosexual activity.
  
The Book of Mormon has nothing to say on the subject of homosexuality, either.  Nor does the Doctrine and Covenants as far as I know.  So there is little classical scripture to base such opinions on.  There is a fundamental document, though, called "The Articles of Faith" that lays out the basic tenets of Mormonism.  Joseph Smith wrote these 13 short paragraphs to explain what Mormons believe.  Here's the 11th:

"We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may."

The decision to marry or not and whether and what kind of sexual activity to engage in is a moral matter for individuals to decide.  If the church a person belongs to, or doesn't belong to, accepts gay marriage, then that's part of their belief system, and it's not my right to abridge that freedom of conscience.  I may not agree with their decision, but I don't have the right to stop them from making it.  Much like those I love who listen to country music.  Same thing ;)

Social Basis
With the moral/religious conundrum resolved, the next question is: what is best for society as a whole?  Is gay marriage good or bad for society?  If bad, how bad?  Is it bad enough to put other issues on hold?  Or is it worthy enough of focus to devote time and money to seeing it stopped?

As a father of little kids, my first thoughts on societal changes are always about how they may play out 20-30 years from now.  That's my first societal lens.

The single largest determinant for adult poverty and adult incercaration is growing up in a home without 2 parents.  A different study calls out the fact that homosexual couples were just as good at rearing children in that sense as heterosexual couples were.  So the single most important key for reducing incarceration (and most likely crime as well) is to encourage 2-parent families.  

One can always argue that some homosexual couples will be bad parents.  Certainly.  One can just as surely argue that there are heterosexual couples who will be bad parents.  Most of us know some of them.  Other data show that kids who grow up in "turbulent" households, where 2 people may be there, but who those people are changes, fare no better than kids in single-parent homes.

So - what is the bigger problem?  The 46 out of 1000 unmarried women who give birth each year?  Or homosexuals getting married?  My answer is obvious: I'd much rather be a child born to a single mother and adopted by a loving homosexual couple than live with the more probable negative outcome that growing up under a single parent brings.

I know that this part of the argument may infuriate single parents.  Single parents have a spectacularly hard decades-long task.  Holding down a job that pays the bills and raising kids at the same time is a tremendously difficult balancing act.  It is such a difficult balancing act that many single parents can't succeed at it.  The odds are stacked against them.

It's a Matter of Time
I'm no constitutional scholar.  Given that various state Supreme Courts have ruled that their state constitutions prohibit barring homosexual marriages, it seems just a matter of time before the Supreme Court rules the same way.  Either that, or our current conservative Supreme Court will hand the matter down to the states to decide. 

In such an event, states will battle back and forth on the issue for years.  Eventually, the Supremes will have to deal with it to settle it.  They had to step in to deal with segregation, sexual harassment, and equal pay for equal work.  The matter of "I got married in California, but Montana won't recognize it" is really a federal issue and should be decided at that level.  Whether the message is "Any marriage recognized in any state in the union must be recognized by any state in the union" or whether it gets more explicit than that is not very important in my view.  

Possible Negative Outcomes
I don't think there will be many that are measurable.  Most people already know openly gay people.  Many of us know homosexual people in a committed, long-term relationship.  There are a few such couples at my kids' elementary school.  

Whether the law says it or not, Heather may have 2 mommies.  Are my kids supposed to think Heather is bad because of that?  That she's weird, or not worthy of friendship?  If the school curriculum includes discussion of divorced parents, single parents, parents who are dating, then there is no logically consistent argument to exclude discussion of homosexual couples as well.  

The Truly Conservative Hypocrisy-free Argument
If people are truly concerned about the spread of immoral acts and seek to enshrine those values in law, they must start with the most prevalent immoral acts.  The next ballot initiative should not start with a small minority, but should instead provide penalties in law for non-married sex between heterosexuals.  Ignoring this particular thing turns a blind eye to those people we all know who are not married but are sexually active, every bit as guilty in a Biblical sense as any homosexual.

Wasn't there something in the Bible about a mote and beam?  Somewhere?

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Olympus Stylus 850 SW review

When I'm out cycling and hiking, I like to take lots of pictures.  I cycle almost every weekday.  In Oregon, that means I've got water to deal with quite often.  I had looked for waterproof camera cases for point and shoot digital cameras, but was not impressed.  I wanted a camera that was fundamentally waterproof.  Since we'd broken 2 point-and-shoot cameras in 2 years through droppage, I wanted it to be tough, too.
As I looked for cameras, I came upon the Olympus Stylus SW series.  The SW stands for shockproof/waterproof.  I was a little skeptical at first.  Then I stopped into a camera store and asked about it.  The salesman reach behind him and slapped the camera from the back, where it fell 4 feet into the concrete floor.  He says he does that every day for 3 months before one of them breaks.  They always get a replacement for free.  The unique thing about this camera is that the lens doesn't pop out of the body.  The outermost piece of glass is fixed; it's the lenses inside the camera body that move to focus.
So that was impressive.  It seemed to take decent pictures in the store, and the salesman was sold on it.  I went home, read some reviews, figured I'd want the 8MP version and not the 10MP, and looked for pricing.  
I found a great package price at BestBuy.  For $340 I got the 850 SW, a 2GB card, an extra battery, and a flotation strap.  I found out later it wasn't such a good deal - the battery priced at Best Buy is $40.  I found it online for $12.  So the package was actually not a good deal at all.   But hey - I got it at one stop in 15 minutes, and I was done.
I ended up with the orange one.  I wanted a camera that wasn't silver or black, and this one comes in cool metallic colors.  The package required that it be the orange one, which was cool for me.  The flotation strap matches.

I took the camera first on a 2-day backpacking trip in the Oregon Cascades.  That's the trip to Marion Lake from last month.  On the trip, I tested it at night, underwater, portrait, landscape, vibration reduction, video, and full-auto.  I've also used it cycling around the Portland area.  This is what I found:
Battery life: amazing.  These teeny tiny batteries last longer than the huge battery packs my Nikon 4300 required.  I got about 150 pictures per battery.  With 2 batteries, that gave me lots of picture-taking power for 2 days in the woods.  I even got some video.
Power save mode: this setting is adjustable, but the default is great for me.  The screen turns itself off after about 15 seconds of non-use.  Because the lenses are all inside the camera body, there is no need for the lens to retract.
Auto shut-off: if the camera goes into power save mode and sits for a while (I don't know how long, but it seems like 5 minutes or so) the shutter closes and the camera turns off.  This is super cool.
Lens cover: the lens cover is integrated into the camera body.  It's a simple mechanism - 1 piece of metal that slides over the lens glass.  None of this dual-action stuff or external lens cover stuff.  Integrated and reliable.
Reboot from power save: push either the power or shutter buttons, and about half a second later, you're ready to go.
Reboot from shut off: push the power button, and it's about a second until the camera is ready to shoot.  Fastest boot time I've ever seen.
Autofocus: the camera has a built-in AF algorithm that finds the "best" place to focus.  A green square shows up in the view finder to tell you where it focused.  This can be cool.  Last week, I was shooting some leaves turning colors, and the dang thing wouldn't focus where I wanted it to.  Those shots didn't turn out.  I could go in to the menu and turn off this feature, but for the most part I like it.
Shutter lag: The single most annoying thing about digital cameras is the lag between pushing the shutter button and the picture being taken.  This keeps getting better.  This camera is very good.  It's not digital SLR-type, but lag is barely noticeable.  I'm very happy with it.  As a measure of comparison, it's a little better than the $600 Panasonic camera we got in 2007.

Okay, now for what I consider the "Why do you really like this camera?" stuff.

Picture quality
Overall quality is pretty good, although it suffers from the unconventional lens design.  At least, I think that's the cause.  I have not noticed any chromatic aberration, astigmatism, or distortion.  That means that the lenses are machined and polished really well.  There's a little flare (when something really bright in the shot produces extra pale circles in a straight line), but I honestly like a little flare in some really sunny shots.  I've taken a fair amount of shots in full, bright sunshine, and usually I notice no flare in the final product.  I have seen it in a few though, and it always looked good.
Sharpness is also pretty good.  The pixels seem to be pretty clear.  In-focus shots are good enough for full-screen viewing with no discernable pixelation.  
The camera performs as advertised in extreme situations.  I took it swimming in Lake Marion.  I let my 6 year-old son take pictures with out around our campsite while I was swimming.  The underwater shots look pretty good for being in kinda murky water.  If you intend to use this camera like I do, it's a very good idea to have a lens cleaning tool with you.  Having some lake muck on the cover glass is going to mess up your pictures for the rest of the day if you don't.  When you submerse the camera and bring it up out of the water, the lens clears right up.  It has a coating on it, and the coating seems to be hydrophobic, which means that water tends to bead up and roll off it instead of spreading out into a film.  
ISO sensitivity is the camera's Achilles heel.  If you force the flash off, expect to get some fuzzy pictures.  The auto mode requires flash a lot of the time.  I didn't have good luck with the digital stabilization, either.  So this camera, more than most, works much better in portrait-type flash situations and in bright sunlight.  Overcast outdoors is a crapshoot.  My impression of night shots isn't very good, either, but I haven't used it with a tripod, so that's likely a premature judgment.  
The waterproofness is pretty cool.  There's a waterproof port for the data cable.  It's proprietary, even though it looks very close to a USB mini-B.  The waterproof cover for the battery and xD memory card is really secure.  It has a switch with a positive lock on it.  It's easy to open, easy to close, and from what I can tell completely waterproof.
The coolest single thing about this camera for me is that the instruction manual very clearly states that if the lens gets dirty, you should put it under running water and turn it on and off repeatedly. 

Overall verdict: picture quality is good, though not excellent.  For an adventurer or outdoorsman, though, you can't beat it.  It's small, inexpensive, and will allow you to get the pictures snowboarding, waterskiing, cycling, hiking, or boating that you were always afraid to get with your less-tough camera.  It was a great buy for me - no regrets.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Some Sobering News

We got a call last night from a close friend of our family.  She had gone in for a check up, and her mammogram came out positive.  Fortunately, they caught it early.  She does regular self checks, but neither she nor her doctor found it during the exam.  It was the mammogram that caught it.
After a short surgery and radiation treatment, she'll be back in action.  The prognosis is very good.

So, a reminder and a request: get your physicals and take them seriously.  And remember our friend in your prayers.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Time for Music!

Wahoo!! 
Wahoo!!!
Wahoo!!!!

Okay.  Got that out of my system.  I started a men's singing group this week.  We met at my house last night for our first rehearsal.  It was small - just 4 of us.  But we got all 4 parts, and were able to sing a capella in 4 parts, which was pretty cool.
I've wanted to start a group like this for years, but the timing just wasn't right.  Either the kids were too little, or I was in school, or work was too busy.   But the timing is right now.  
We sang through a few songs, learned a new one, and had a good time.  A really good time.  We ran half an hour over our rehearsal time, but that was fine, it seemed.  We decided to work on What Child is This?, O Holy Night, and The Carol of the Russian Children for starters.  We'll reserve some time to try new things each week.  
It sounds like a blast to me.  We're not great with blend yet, we don't all agree on some points of diction, and we still miss a lot of notes.  But that's where you start, not where you end.  I'm so thankful to have the chance to make music - last night was a dream come true for me.  Good people, good music, and a group that is about the love of music more than it is about getting something ready for performance.  
Love it.  Can't get enough of it.  It's a good day to be me.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

De-bate De-brief

I watched an hour of MSNBC last night after the debate, but haven't done any reading on reactions yet.  Here is my take on my predictions from yesterday:

1) The economy.  Obama did not take this home like I would have liked to see.  It is clear that Joe the Plumber would get a tax break, even if he buys the business.  Obama didn't come out and say that, he said everything but that and relied on viewers to put it together.  

2) William Ayers.  Again, not as strong as I would have liked to see.  On the one hand, he wasn't defensive (good) and on the other he wasn't offensive (good).  But he did not send back some mud to McCain.  In hindsight, I think this infuriated McCain, because I bet he had some good comebacks for Keating ready to go.  "Dang, I wasted all that time again!"  Listing the members of the charity board was masterful.  

3) Campaign tatics.  This was a very good exchange.  I cringed when Obama said all McCain's ads have been negative.  It's true for the past 2 weeks, but not for the past few months.  Otherwise, I loved it.  For Obama to say "terrorist" and "kill him" was just chilling.  He tacitly stated that there are people who support John McCain who want to kill the first African-American candidate for President.  John McCain's reply: the people that come to my rallies are the most patriotic people in America.  Huh???  You just defended this stuff?  For McCain to then get defensive and say that people at Obama rallies say mean things, too was fair.  But he had not one example.

4) I was 100% right on this one.  McCain was visibly angry and frustrated.  He kept interrupting both the moderator and Obama, which just looked rude and unpolished.  He would attack, Obama would successfully repel the attack, and I could almost see him going, "Okay, where's my next zinger?  Ooh, he won't be able to do take that one!"  This is not the guy who could go in negotiations with any group and get something done.  In the Senate, they all have to hang together.  It's a captive negotiating group - Senators have to talk to each other.  The world is not such a stage.  Picture McCain in a group of other national leaders, interrupting and rolling his eyes, and you quickly understand that this guy is not the guy who can get anything done with other world leaders.  They are free to disengage from people who are condescending and mean-spirited.

5) I didn't give Fox viewers enough credit.  Even they gave Obama a significant margin of victory.  I was right on other polls: Obama 2:1.  

Given the McCain we saw last night, I don't think he has a chance.  First, he doesn't have a consistent strategy except for attack.  And attacks show over and over that they don't work any more.  Obama is a clean enough politician that there just isn't much dirt on him.  For McCain, who is just as dirty, to keep attacking looks hypocritical.  Because it is.  People are sick of Bill Ayers.  They don't care.  People want to understand the economy and what to do about it. 
In marketing, one key thing you must do to be successful is differentiate your product.  McCain has an economic differentiator, but it's not one that will get him votes: another tax cut for the rich.  He's playing to the Republican base now.  They were going to vote for him anyway.  Obama knows he can't get them.  So Obama doesn't even address things that only the Conservative base will care about.  He addresses things that people in the middle and people on the left can talk about.  He's a big-tent guy.  McCain, as he recognizes that he's losing more and more of those middle voters, is increasingly a small-tent guy.
Pundits like to talk about swing voters.  That's the 10-15% whose vote is completely up for grabs.  Obama has taken most of the swing voters, and is encroaching on those who voted reliably Republican in the past but are willing to listen to other ideas.  That's how he's winning across America.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Debate Expectations

I've already predicted an Obama win for tonight's debate.  Here is a little outline of what I expect to see:

1) The economy.  McCain's plan resembles Obama's plan an awful lot.  Except that he wants to give a capital gains tax cut, which is paid 66% by people who make over $1M per year.  These are not millionaires.  They make a million every year.  Expect Obama to drive that home in a bunch of different ways.

2) William Ayers.  McCain pretty much promised to bring up William Ayers in an interview on the radio yesterday.  Expect Obama to counter with either a "We all know people who have made mistakes and made up for them.  30 years of exceptional cummunity service earns a little forgiveness, does it not?" or a "The Bill Ayers I knew and worked with was busy helping improve Chicago's schools.  The Charles Keating you knew and worked with was busy greasing the hands of Senators like you."  I expect a little of both.  Obama was pretty direct in the 2nd debate and I don't think he'll be shy in this one, either.

3) Campaign tactics.  Many people of all political stripes have denounced McCain's recent tactics that have stoked hate.  It is unclear how much of that is McCain and how much is his campaign staff.  Nevertheless, expect some talk about divisiveness from Obama.  A riff on "Who is the real Barak Obama?" could easily come forth, and it would be devastating to McCain if Obama delivers it in his regular conversational, non-adversarial tone.  

4) McCain will be desperate, and although I don't expect him to melt down, I expect Obama will be the cooler hand.  McCain will make same rash mistakes (as bad as "that one"), and viewers will see Obama, once again, acting Presidential.

5) Fox News viewers will agree overwhelmingly by 70%-30% margin or so that McCain won.  The whole rest of the world will give it 60%-40% to Obama.

Countdown is on - 3 hours and 38 minutes until it starts.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

How Often Do You Replace Your Toilet?

A few months ago, we caught our little ones in the master bathroom.  And we saw some things in the toilet that don't belong there.  We cleaned it out as best we could and hoped.  In vain.
Sometimes we could get a good flush.  Most of the time, no such luck.  I put off looking into it because we were still in the middle of figuring out Japan, and getting ready for our big road trip.  Yesterday, I took the gloves (and the toilet) off.  
This is the 3rd time I've had to do such a thing in 4.5 years.  The first was when our older son flushed a shoe down the kids' toilet.  I tried everything I knew to get it out, but no luck.  New 17 golf ball toilet.  The next time, our youngest was playing in the master toilet and put something down.  My dad and I removed the toilet, took it outside, poured gasoline in it and lit it.  The lego burned and shrunk enough to come out.  I cleaned the toilet, reinstalled it, and we were back in business.
This time, I did it solo.  I'd had practice.  I took the toilet bowl out to the yard, put the gas in, and lit it.  It burned.  Quite well.  And then I heard it crack.  And crack again.  And then a large chunk of the bowl fell off.  Hmmmm....  So fire is not a tried-and-true method.  But nothing else had worked, anyway, so I was probably going to have to get a new toilet.  
Wanting some vindication, I took a large paving stone and broke the trapway open.  The culprit?  A gum stimulator that we had recieved from the dentist for free.  It was metal.  Burning no so useful.
So now we have a new toilet.  This one is a Kohler, and so far it's quite nice.  I'm hoping this is our last toilet purchase.  I really didn't think they were consumables.  

The Frenzy, the Hue and Cry

Politics has been crazy this last week.  The Rep ticket is tanking and spewing ugly stuff everywhere.  The Dems have been mostly quiet.  Pollls look very strange, with Dems winning 2:1 on an electoral vote count.  Pundits are talking about an 8-seat Dem pickup in the Senate, which is absolutely unheard of.  
Should I be shouting "Hosanna!"?  Not sure.  I am certainly glad that it is likely we'll actually get our health care up to the standard of the rest of the industrialized world.  I'm certainly glad that we'll finish the war in Iraq, and concentrate on Al Quaeda instead.  I'm certainly glad that there will likely be improved tax policy for most of America.  
But our national political life is larger than that.  It includes things like truth, common sense, transparency, and courtesy.  And that is whithering under the hot Republican lights of this election.
I'll give just to for-instances.  I'm very good friends with 2 very intelligent conservative women with whom I discuss politics from time to time.  From one, I received a note about a special that Sean Hannity is going to run tonight about Obama.  Sean Hannity is no source of truth, common sense, or courtesy.  From the other, I received an email where she notes that she hopes Obama is no longer a Muslim.  Obama was never a Muslim - his mother sent him to a Muslim school when he was a kid because it was the best school in the neighborhood.  She also made him go to Catholic church for Easter and Christmas, and they celebrated Jewish holidays, too.  
I love both of these women.  Both have been very kind to me.  Both are very smart.  Both have still been tricked by the lies and distortions coming from the political right.  Judging from news reports of McCain supporters yelling "Terrorist!" this week at rallies, references to William Ayers in every stump speech, and this new Hannity piece, it won't stop any time soon.  Our civil discourse is disrupted.
Obama has made a concerted effort to run a high ground campaign.  The Rep ticket is just as vulnerable on guilt-by-association as he is.  But he's not running on that.  He's running on the issues.  Obama and his advisors and campaign staff are not trying to maximize McCain's connections to Keating, Hagee, or his lobbyist-heavy campaign staff.  Nor do they point out Palin's husband's DUI, pregnant daughter, witchcraft-hunting pastor or failed record in Wasilla.  
I can only hope that after the emotions of the election have worn off (maybe early January) and we're all used to the idea that the next 4 years are going to be very different from the last 28 years, we'll see both sides and their surrogates come to common sense.  We must work to build together, not tear down.  The contest for our nation's future can not be won by one side destroying the other.  If an election is won that way, the winner loses its honor.  The other only loses the election.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Presidential Debate #2

Day before debate #1.  Storyline: Foreign Policy is McCain's Strong Suit.  Obama under pressure.
Result: Obama wins.
Day before debate #2.  Storyline: Town Hall is McCain Strong Suit.  Can Obama fake it 'til he makes it?
Result: Obama wins.
Day before debate #3.  Storyline: Domestic Policy is Obama's Strong Suit.  Can McCain fake it 'til he makes it?
Result: Obama wins.

So debate #3 is a prediction, but does anybody have doubts any more?  I noticed a couple things.  I'll leave out specific policy positions for the most part, because I don't think the debate was won or lost on those.     

First, Obama answered questions more directly overall than McCain did.       
Second, McCain was able to connect with the Navy Chief better than Obama, but Obama connected with the others in the room better.  I wish Obama was less afraid of military personnel.  Any genuinely grateful American can give a hearfelt thank you and handshake to those who have served in the military.  Not that Obama is not, but this is one area in which he can use improvement.     
Third, Obama came across as Presidential and calm.  McCain, while he didn't look out of place, clearly looked like the scrappy new guy trying to make a name for himself.  Does that make Obama look like an insider instead of the agent of change?  Not sure.  Obama is sure comfortable in this role by now.     
Fourth, Obama can explain things in very real terms.  His description of how the credit crunch hurts taxpayers was the single best explanation I've heard or read.  This in-touch-ness is something we haven't had for a very long time.  I get a sense that Obama has had to make a household budget and knows what it's like to get the used car you can afford instead of the new car you want.
Fifth, I am upset with McCain's use of "that one".  Was it intentionally racist?  I don't think so.  But it was definitely derisive/dismissive, and McCain might have been more likely to say something like that to a person of color.  Even if it wasn't racist, it was still intended to belittle Obama.  That wasn't presdiential; it was petty.

Obama won in my mind.  I think his biggest gap is the "Who is this guy and can I trust him?" gap.  This debate is going to get more people comfortable with him, calm the butterflies, and solidify votes for those leaning-but-still-unsure.  McCain needs a game-changer.  Aside from (God forbid) a terrorist attack, there ain't one in the offing.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Rat Poison Jakers

 Do those three words fit together easily and comfortably in your brain?  Not mine, either.     
Today we had a rather large scare while visiting with Grandma and Grandpa.  We were playing Canasta, and the kids were all together watching TV and playing with Legos.  Our 3 year-old came over to us adults and told on her brother: "Jakers made a big mess with soap."     

Usually, we don't bother with this kind of thing.  But I thought it might be liquid soap, and that would be unpleasant, so I went over to check it out.  And Jakers had a lot of rat poison spilled on the floor.  There was also some in the pantry (whence it came).  We had no idea if he had eaten any, or how much if he had.  I swiped his mouth, but didn't find annything, and I didn't see any color, either.       

So we abandoned the game, and Katrina and I drove out to McKenzie-Willamette hospital in Springfield.  The ER took us straight back after they'd gotten his name, hooked up his little foot to a heartbeat monitor, and called poison control.  We had brought the box of DCon with us.     

The result?  After getting a dose of charcoal ready for him, filling us with images of how the vomited charcoal would be everywhere, but toerhwise being very helpful, the doctor told us that in rat poison cases, poison control doesn't recommend doing anything.  Turns out the failure mode the poison brings out is a vitamin K blocker.  So your body stops making clotting factors.  When that happens, the poisoned creature bruises easily and bleeds to death.       

So the hospital sent us home after taking our home phone number and giving it to poison control.  If we notice bleeding when brushing his teeth, then he'll get a vitamin K supplement.  In any case, nothing to worry about, just something to monitor.      

We got back in the car and said a prayer of thanks that we were going home with our little boy.  This day could have been so much worse.  It turned into a good lesson on child safety (grandma and granpa won't have that stuff where little fingers can reach it any more) and thankfulness to God for his mercy and kindness to us.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

The Veep Debate

Obviously, I think Biden won.  He was gracious, informed, informative, and overall, he's right on the issues.  Time after time, he corrected Palin (note no response to his charge that the "vote against" standard she used was "bogus") and Palin had to tactily concede the point.  You may also have noticed that Palin was ignorant of the tragic accident that robbed Biden of his first wife and infant daughter.  Even after he mentioned it (noting that Palin was the sexist here, not Biden), she did not acknowledge it.  Callous would be a good word.  

That said, Palin acquitted herself much better than I thought she would.  She gave the same mini-speech many times, but didn't go off the deep end like her Couric interviews did.  

Tactically, it is clear that the Palin/McCain ticket wants to say "we are different than Bush".  It is also very clear that they can not articulate one way that their administration would be different/better than the Bush's.  

The biggest thing on the foreign policy front is a semantic difference that I think is important: Palin uses "Fight" and Biden uses "Work".  This is key.  Palin talked about a passion for foreign policy.  McCain can only talk about all the preconditions Iran would have to meet before diplomacy can even start.  Iran is not going to kowtow to the US.  If we engage with Iran, we have a chance at some headway.  Not engaging = path to war. 

Last time I checked, war was not good.  Choosing a path that leads only to war is not good either; it's also stupid.  We did that with Iraq, see?  It wasn't really helpful.

I would have voted for McCain in 2000.  I was on the straight talk express.  But he's not the same guy any more.  And he has nothing substantive to offer.  Compare Obama's energy plan and McCain's.  One is unrealistic (McCain's plan has a ridiculous call for 45 new nuclear powers plants and no plan to make that happen) and the other has specifics where possible (require all vehicles to have flex fuel capability) and a plan to figure out the right specifics (new nuke plants require figuring out waste disposal first).  

Sorry, that was rambling.  I'm excited to get my ballot - I'll be voting early and often this season.

Him Who is Mighty to Save

Once a month, Mormons fast for 24 hours and give the proceeds saved to the poor.  This usually happens on the first Sunday of the month, and it's called Fast Sunday.  The meeting that day is not a group of speakers like most meetings.  We sing a hymn, take care of church business, take the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, and then the meeting is opened to the congregation.  Anyone who feels directed by the Holy Spirit is encouraged to go up to the podium, and tell about their experiences with faith.  

Today was such a Sunday.  I felt before I left for church this morning that I should bear testimony, but didn't feel the need so strongly in the meeting.  But I do feel the need to do so here.  

Over the last 6 months, I've had a very good opportunity to understand how the Atonement affects me personally.  I understand now that the Atonement is the answer to all of my problems, if not all of my questions.  There's a difference there I only recently understood.  Many of my questions will be practical, tactical things: how do I write this performance review?  When and how much is appropriate to teach my children about sex?  Should I stay with my current employer, or look elsewhere?  

My problems are usually more metaphysical: I feel depressed.  I feel like I haven't done right by someone else.  I feel that I haven't put as much action into things I care about as I should.  I feel pain because someone I love is going through a tough time.  I have a habit I need to break.  What I understand by the Atonement is that God loves me.  And everyone reading this.  And everyone who doesn't read it.  That's first.  Secondly, when Jesus suffered in the Garden and felt everything a human can feel, he gained understanding of exactly where I am.  That real-ization has changed my life.  When I am faced with a situation that seems too great for me to bear, I can turn it over to Jesus, and know that He will deal with it for me.

Does that sound kooky to humanists?  I really don't care.  I know for a fact that it works.  When I can't concentrate because my brain won't slow down, I have a little prayer time, and I'm back on track.  When I hit writer's block, the same thing.  Just knowing that God can take the weight off my mind allows me to be free, and to be more of the person I thought I was but found it hard to be.  

He who is mighty to save has certainly helped me.  The Atonement means everything to me.  If only I'd understood it sooner.

Hiking Marion Lake

What a weekend!  Christian and I met up with 2 guys from work to backpack into Marion Lake in the Jefferson Wilderness area this weekend.  What a beautiful place.  We had a better-than-fabulous time.  If you're a backpacker and haven't been there, go.  If you're not and are thinking about getting started, go.  You can't miss.
Getting there
Directions are simple.  Take I-5 to Salem, and get on Hwy
 22 East.
Follow Hwy 22 through some delightful small towns to just past milepost 66.
Turn left on Marion Creek Rd, follow it 4 miles to the trailhead.

The hike
2.5 miles, of mostly slight uphill grade.  Total climb is 600', none of it steep.  The trail is very well kept.  You don't see any of the burned area on the hike in.  The 
forest is quiet in late September, with just the sound of the sunlight streaming through the treetop canopy.  There are a few streams
 on the way in, none very large until Lake Ann.  Marion Lake is just 0.3 mile past Lake Ann if you turn left at the fork.  If you 
tu
rn right, it's over a mile to the first camp site.  

Staying
The camp sites around the lake are huge, and there are a fair amount of them.  There's a large one right when you get to the lake, another 0.25 mile toward Minto Pass, another half a mile further on, and I would guess a few more that I didn't see.  They're mostly group sites, with enough room for a dozen tents, and all o
f them are right on the water.  There's an equestrian camp if you head toward Marion Peak.  The camp is about 60' down a bank, but the trail is pretty good.

Adventures and views
Once you pick a camp site, you can head out on day hikes.  You can get to the areas that burned in the 2
003 B&B fire within a couple miles either toward Marion Peak or Minto Pass.  The regrowing forest is alive in a way that the mature forest is not.  It reminds me of my 2 year-old son; so fresh.  Everything is beautiful there.  Three Finger Jack dominates the Lake scene from the camp sites.  If you climb a bit, Mt Jefferson comes into view. 
















Impact
I've never been much of a Boy Scout.  I was a First Class, but got too busy with teen stuff to care about it much after I turned 14.  But the 3 camping experiences I had as a kid were great.  Between 1991 and this year, though, I'd only been backpacking once, in 2001.  It was fabulous, and lit the fire for me.  After I finished school this year, I resolved to go camping with Buddy.  We've gone twice this year, and it's been wonderful.  It's by far the best way to get me away from my computer.  So I'm hoping to go several times in 2009, and even hopefully a snow camp next winter.  I love the outdoors!  I'm so glad to live in Oregon.  There is not any more beautiful place on earth!

Monday, September 22, 2008

My Son is a Wimp. Yay!

We got a call from the Principal today. It's our first. Our oldest is in 3rd grade, and never has been within 100 feet of trouble. Christian has been in first grade for 2 weeks and 3 days, and we got the call. He was involved in an altercation at school today. A girl bent his finger back in the classroom after losing a math game, and it really hurt him.

He has a large array of things to do in retaliation, like everyone does. Angry words, hit her back, walk away, taunt her. But he didn't take the aggressive actions he could have. He teared up, and that was it. His teacher saw what happened and took care of the girl.

Katrina called me to say how proud she was. I'm a little torn. I've always felt a little shame that I didn't stand up for myself more when I was a kid. At the same time, we have taught our kids pretty relentlessly that physical retaliation is not appropriate in any circumstance. And Christian has no fighting skills - we haven't taught him how to fight.

In the end, I know it takes stronger character to not retaliate than it does to fight back. So I'm proud of him, too. He's a very good kid. Even though we have issues with him fighting with his siblings sometimes, he always recognizes when he's wrong. So, at 6, he's learned an awful lot about himself, dealing with others, and reactions to a difficult situation.

He's a sensitive kid. As a child, I cried a lot. Other kids called me a crybaby. It didn't help me that I knew even then that they were right. As I've gotten older, I've learned to control it a bit. I'll never be a stoic. I have wished that I learned how to control that better when I was younger. I wonder if he'll cry when other kids call him the equivalent of "Tom cat"? Or when he comes in second in the spelling bee? Or loses once in a math contest? Spilling a bit too much of my past here....

So I hope he can learn to think about his reaction before he does it. I no longer cry when someone says something negative to me. It's hard for me to speak to people in authority for some reason. My boss is fine, his boss is fine, but dealing with management above that level in a 1:1 context is hard for me. Likewise, when speaking to groups about things that are really important to me (like giving retaliation and harassment training to my team at work or speaking in church) often makes me tear up.

Maybe that's why one of my favorite country songs will always remain "The Coward of the County".

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

"Those who say religion has nothing to do with politics...

...do not know what religion is."

Last night I daydreamed a TV-movie speech that will never be delivered.  Here's the screenplay.  I've added links where appropriate.  My church is filled with wonderful people.  Most of them are conservatives, with a smattering of Libertarians and a handful of liberals out of the 300+ that come to meeting each week.  Sometimes it seems like there's just not an ideological space for us liberals there.

(A hundred people or so are gathered in the main hall of a church.  It doesn't have windows, but is well lit from the ceiling.  The people are seated in pews, lightly sprinkled throughout the room.  Teacher is standing in the front of the pews, facing the class.  There's a blackboard on wheels, and the word 'Idolatry' scrawled across it.  Katrina is seated about 2/3 back, house left.  Class member #2's hand is raised.)

Class member #1: You know, hearing the way that Democrats talk about Joe Biden, it's like they're worshipping him.  Like he's an idol.
(Katrina raises her hand)
Teacher: (pointing at Class member #2) Yes?
Class member #2: I was going to say the same thing.
(Teacher glances at Katrina)
Teacher: I'm going to cut off this discussion right here.
Katrina: (stands up) I'm sorry, but I need to say something.  (Looks around at other class members) Why do you come here?  Why are you here instead of some other church?  Or waterskiing?  Or working?  I come here to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of my own conscience.  I don't recall there being a requirement to be a Republican (one by one, people start to look at the floor) to be here.  I will gladly cast a vote for Obama and Biden this fall, and I'm a liberal, and I'm sick of sitting here in church and feeling like I'm the enemy.  I've heard liberals called enemies here, heard all sorts of wacky things said about Democrats, and I won't sit silently any more.  If we agree to a truce, and we can leave politics at the chapel door, that's fine.  But if politics intrudes on our worship and learning here, then I will speak.  I've just heard 2 people say that Democrats are treating Biden like an idol.  I have heard you speak of Sarah Palin like she's the best possible person to have in the White House, that she's perfect.  Are you blind to the hypocrisy?  You talk about Obama being for abortion.  He's not.  He thinks that's a decision between the woman, God, and whomever she counsels with.  Obama's position on abortion matches the church's more closely than Palin's does.  But you can't see it!  The Republican culture of life has killed a hundred thousand people in Iraq and 4000 Americans!  Can you not see that?  Do you realize that when we are asked to live the United Order again that we'll have universal healthcare?  And taxes will be close to 100%?  You see poor people getting poorer and rich people getting richer.  You see the economic disruption that's messing with all of us in one way or another.  There are too many abortions in America.  I love you guys.  I do.  We see the same problems, and seek the same ends.  (one by one, most heads come up and look at her)  It's just our means that differ.  But that doesn't mean that you are wrong or that I am wrong.  Can we be friends and sisters and brothers?  And leave enmity outside.  And work together for the common good.   God loves all of us the same.  Can we love each other that way, too?  (sits)
Teacher: Okay then.  I don't know what to say.  What do you all want to do?  Leave it at the door?  Or are you willing to have a 2-way discussion?
Class member #3: She's right.  Let's leave it at the door.  I'll do it.
Class member #1: Katrina, I'm sorry.  I'll leave it at the door, too.
Teacher: Any opposed? (no response) Done.  Thanks.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Palin...experience matters

...but positions matter more.

So the theme from McCain that Obama is unqualified is obviously out the door.  Sarah Palin does not even cross the (admittedly audacious) threshhold that Obama set for experience.  Palin's actions in office and worldview are, however, deeply troubling.  
First, I'll get a caveat out of the way: most of my friends at church are Palin supporters.  
I depart from orthodoxy here to talk some about Palin.  Generally I don't like to do ad hominem, but the Republicans have made this an election about narrative and personality, not issues.  Thus, the person becomes the issue.  Really, we don't know much about Palin and where she stands on the issues.

Conundrum #1: Palin literally believes the Bible to be true, to the extent that she believes that dinosaurs and people walked the earth at the same time.  I believe the Bible to be the word of God, but also recognize that God speaks to people according to our understanding (2 Nephi 31:3).  Thus, the scriptures are a way that God teaches us, but the Bible was given to an ancient people so they could understand it.  Whether Palin believes the earth was created 6,000 years ago or 3 billion years ago is not relevant to me.  If Palin believes she should bring on a nuclear war to usher in the rapture is VERY relevant to me.  I disagree with the theology of the Rapture (it's not in the Bible), but I disagree more with the idea that someone would use their religious views to do things that will cause real people to die.

Conundrum #2: Palin has no idea about international relations.  She told Charlie Gibson that Georgia should be part of NATO.  When he questioned her about the implication of a Russian attack on Georgia, she replied that sanctions would be good.  NATO article 5 states that an attack upon any NATO member is an attack upon all NATO members.  Palin's statement can be back-stepped to reason that if Russia attacked the US, she would be for sanctions.  She would never admit to this position, of course, but her statements mean that either she doesn't understand our NATO obligations or she isn't really into defending America.  I surmise the former to be more likely.

Conundrum #3: Palin does not have faith in science.  There is a large swath of America that shares her beliefs in creationism.  There is a large swath who share her belief that climate change is not anthropogenic (I'm not convinced either.  See here.)  Those are fine - she doesn't have to believe the same things I do.  But I do require that my elected officials allow me to believe what I choose to believe (see here and #11 here) and take action according to the best knowledge we have.  Knowledge trumps faith - real faith will find a way to reconcile with knowledge; blind faith denies knowledge a place.  The Catholic church was able to do this with Galileo after a long time (from 1633 to 1992).  We don't have that kind of time any longer, because our decisions have such swift consequences.

Conundrum #4: Palin's beliefs on abortion are rather extreme.  I am personally pro-life.  I also believe that such a difficult and life-altering decision belongs to the mother and people she consults.  Those people may include a religious leader, the father, the mother's parents, and God.  It is not my decision to make for her.  Nor is it Sarah Palin's.  Most people (even most liberals) believe that there are too many abortions in the US.  So we should do what we can do reduce abortions (see page 50). 

Conundrum #5: She's inconsistent.  The Bridge to Nowhere claim has been debunked time and again.  She was not a McCain supporter until he offered her the job as VP.  She said that she was not someone who thought that people had anything to do with climate change, then she claimed the opposite (there are semantics involved).  So where does Palin actually stand on anything?  We really don't know.  And someone I don't know is someone I can not trust with the Presidency.  The stakes are too great.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Camping with Christian


During the summer, Christian and I have had a few opportunities to hike together.  On our road trip, we hiked the side of one of Mt Adams' foothills, a ski slope in Park City, Utah, and Multnomah Falls.  He's done well every time.  Christian is not a great athlete (yet), but this is no surprise given his parentage.  But he is pretty tough for a 6 year-old.  
So when I called my best friend Sean and proposed a camping trip with the boys, I had a hike in mind.  I didn't know which one, but I wanted to hike an
d camp in the middle of nowhere.  Sean proposed the Molalla River Recreation Corridor, and that's where we went on Friday.  I took off from work at 3, and at 4 we were in the car heading to Sean's house.  We packed the gear into Sean's van, and took off.  3 boys 8, 6, and 5, and 2 dads who had never camped with just their kids before.  
We wandered around a bit first trying to find the right spot to park the car and hike a mile into camp.  
That 
effort failed.  
So we
 settled on a spot on the side of the road that was an actual camp site and started to settle in.  
The boys went to the river and threw so
me rocks.  I started boiling water for mac and cheese.  Sean got the water for boiling hot dogs ready.  Dinner was yummy.  We had a great camp fire, roasted marshmallows, and talked until late at night.
And you know that most fun part of the trip?  Getting to know Sean's kids.  They're great kids - fun, smart, nice, energetic, happy.  Eric helped me put up my tent, Djeryd and I had discussions about Star Wars and books he was reading, and he had questions, questions, questions.  I love to answer questions.  When Eric called me Unc
le Tom I felt pretty special.
Christian and I had lots of fun, but he spent lots of time exploring on his own - he'd rather figure something out than ask a question.  Making some new friends in the woods was wonderful.  Sean and I got some time to talk, too.  We hadn't had a slow opportunity like that in years - more than 10 years.  Far too long.
In the morning, we packed up camp, and started up the trail to Table Rock.  It's 4.5 miles one way.  We got 3 miles in and with 1 knee acting up and a kid getting tired, prudence was the greater part of valor.  We decided to turn around.  2 of the kids walked the whole way.  The littlest guy was carried off and on for about 2 miles coming home.  
The views were great, the trail was nice, and the forest out there is so quiet and calm.  So much more of the world was that way until we got engines and power lines and roads.  I love the woods, and will return often, I think.
We're going somewhere again in 2 weeks - hopefully it will be just as fun.  And you'll see a post.