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October 31, 2008
Next Presidential Debate MUST Include Dance Segment
Two points:
- McCain sure can dance for an old guy
- McCain sure can dance for a white guy
Posted by pgutwin at 1:46 PM | Comments (0)
Out of the Mouths of Babes
Egad! What are they teaching out kids in school? First it was teaching the kids about the risks of smoking and alcohol use. Now they're teaching kids about civic responsibility and voting! What next, teaching the kids about morals and transcendent values?
Possibly, if we select a leader who demonstrates those values in his words and actions.
Posted by pgutwin at 9:16 AM | Comments (0)
October 29, 2008
October Snow
We don't usually get snow in October, but it happens occasionally and did for sure last night. It's a bit strange to see snow on the ground and leaves still on the trees. Not quite natural. But we expect October to be a sloppy weather month, only slightly better than November which can be extremely dreary. I'm just hoping the election comes soon so we can all get back to just surviving.
Posted by pgutwin at 8:13 AM | Comments (0)
October 23, 2008
Walking Home
I have no idea how practical this is, but it's wonderfully weird.
Posted by pgutwin at 8:12 AM | Comments (0)
October 15, 2008
More Talent in His Pinky...
Kids - go ahead - try this at home:
Posted by pgutwin at 5:24 PM | Comments (0)
Strong Medicine
The first federal Food and Drugs Act was passed in the summer of 1905 after Collier's published a scathing series of articles by Hopkins Adams regarding the fake clinics and nostrums some doctors were peddling. The quacks who developed these so-called "cures" prayed on the fears and aspirations of their patients, and offered them unrealistic quick-fix solutions to very difficult problems.
This situation is not very different than we currently see today. I think it's clear that the victims are the same, although the class now includes not just US citizens, but everyone in the industrialized world, if not the entire world. I think the perpetrators are those in the banking and finance industries. However, I believe that only a fraction of the modern-day perpetrators understood the true impact of what they were doing and were really trying to take advantage of anyone. I think the vast majority of people in the financial industry are honest, decent people just doing what they were taught was a "good thing".
And just like in 1905, we're in desperate need of regulation to protect people. However, I think the challenges for today are two-fold:
- Establishing a set of laws and rules to prevent the kind of business and investment problems we've seen over the last few years.
- Setting such rules and laws across national boundaries.
We've got our hands full - it's going to be an interesting time to live through.
Posted by pgutwin at 8:01 AM | Comments (0)
October 6, 2008
Swinging into November 2nd
The movie on the plane today was "Swing Vote". I'm not a particular fan of Kevin Costner, but this move is pretty good, but more to the point, very timely. (Of course the release just before the election was no accident, but the sub-text could not have been imagined when the movie was produced.)
There are all the ah-sucks moments you would expect from this kind of movie, but there is one more point that sneaks under the radar: As a nation, we can be better than we are, do better than we are doing. However, to do that we need to invest in our country in ways more profound than just go shopping and buying a house that can't be afforded.
Check it out.
Posted by pgutwin at 7:47 PM | Comments (0)
October 3, 2008
If a Tree Falls In the Woods...
The old Buddhist questions comes to mind: If a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it, does it make a sound? Rephrased, if an event occurs and no one attends to it, does it exist?
The NY Times seems to be begging the question with this very interesting tool that allows you to watch video footage of the debate along side of the transcript of the debate. It's really interesting to use, but my question is - Does it make any difference? The words were already spoken. I think their energy is gone. To endlessly parse and analyze them seems counter productive.
Posted by pgutwin at 6:28 PM | Comments (0)
Hier war der Bär los
I think jumping over the counter was bad manners.
Posted by pgutwin at 1:53 PM | Comments (0)
October 2, 2008
"...but I am no longer a child."
Posted by pgutwin at 10:16 AM | Comments (0)