Bowling, Museum and Aquarium
September 6, 2008
It’s been a busy few days including a trip to the bowling alley on Thursday afternoon, a rather disappointing trip to the Tampa Museum of Art this morning followed by a short tour of the aquarium.
To be honest I was utterly disappointed by TMA, but considering they’re in a temporary building while their new one gets built, I will cut them some slack for now. The aquarium was cut short by our middle son feeling terrible (he’s been sick for a few days, picking up a cold/flu from his older brother.)
Other than that we’ve just been keeping an eye on this and the “cone of uncertainty.”
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Scoopd.com Launches!
September 2, 2008
I’m very excited to announce that we just launched Scoopd.com. Tom and I are stoked about creating an encyclopedia of everyday knowledge that we as individuals acquire through everyday living. What are you an expert at? Post a Scoopd video - we’d love to hear your expertise. Have a great day!
Give advice. Be an expert. Tell it like it is.
What’s Your Take on Palin?
August 30, 2008
I’d love to hear your opinion on McCain’s VP pick. Will she attract Hillary supporters? Do you want her to be Commander in Chief should McCain croak? On a purely strategic level, I think it is one of the only things McCain could have done to delay defeat. In my opinion, if he would have picked some also-ran (say Romney or Pawlenty) I think the air would have gone completely out of his campaigns’ sails and he would have been dead in the water. Keep in mind we haven’t had TV since May, so I could be way off with this estimation. But it appears that the novelty of Palin has at least reenergized his effort for the time being. Thoughts? What are you hearing in your circles of influence (friends, family, etc)?
Yearbook Yourself
August 30, 2008
My friend Ian posted this on his blog and I thought it was funny. You upload a picture of yourself and then you can scan through different years to see what you look like. Not every year turns out that great but some are pretty funny. I’ve upload three. You can check it out at www.yearbookyourself.com.
YouTube Comments Make Me ROTFL
August 29, 2008
One of my favorite web past times is reading user submitted comments on YouTube videos. If you’ve never tried it you should. It is the source of many uproarious laughs in our household. Maybe I’m too easily amused?
My Sister’s Got Skills
August 29, 2008
One thing I remember about my older sister was that she was always making bracelets. In addition to the designs she’d come up with for slap bracelets (haha) she seemed to be churning out an endless supply of friendship bracelets as well. So I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that she’s got quite the eye for jewelry design today. You can check out her style here if you like. Good job sis!
The Plight of Yale’s School of Art and Architecture
August 28, 2008
Lot’s of criticism, a nasty fire and finally a recent renovation are all part of this buildings history. Interesting read via the NY Times.
Conventions Remind Me Of High School
August 28, 2008
Watching segments of the DNC this week (and I’m sure the RNC next week) remind me of being in my high school gym listening to the popular jocks, cheerleaders and cool kids tell you why we should vote for them as homecoming king or queen or student body president. Not sure if this was true at your high school, but at mine, all of the speeches were filled with lame rhetoric, empty promises and in reality the contest often went in favor of whoever pulled the most ridiculous stunt. I remember one guy partially derobing to flaunt his newly roided, teenage muscles and yet another dressing in a mini-skirt, high heels, wig and makeup. He was careful to point out that he painstakingly shaved his ENTIRE body, which brought uproarious laughter, cheers and a standing ovation.
Simply put, it was a popularity contest.
And sadly, that is exactly what our election cycles have become. Popularity contests.
Is that really what democracy is about? Are we really that shallow and stupid that we’ll vote for whomever makes the most promises or pulls the biggest stunts? Don’t we understand that all those promises cost money? Can’t we see that many of the promises are mutually exclusive? You can’t increase spending and decrease revenue (i.e. taxes) at the same time. I don’t care what the spending is for (war, healthcare, infrastructure, alternative energy development, education or the slew of other things our political jocks, cheerleaders and cool kids are promising) or where the cuts come from. If the first exceeds the result of the second we are screwed. The equation just doesn’t work.
And even if we weren’t dealing with deficits and fuzzy economics I fear we would still make our decisions based upon popularity, or as pundits in media like to call it, “electability.”
Ron Paul didn’t have “electability”, not because of his principles, but because he is a scrawny, 74-year old geezer with a high pitched voice, unconventional charisma and quirky mannerisms. Howard Dean lost his with a simple, visceral scream.
For the last 18 months the Clintons, Biden and a dozen other candidates insisted that Obama didn’t have it. We were assured of this. But now, miraculously, he does. It must be the Denver altitude. (I don’t endorse the plug for the RNC at the end of that video - I just couldn’t find another one that had the clips.)
McInsane, errrr, McBush, errrr, McCain hasn’t announced his running mate yet, but if he follows in the Dems footsteps, rest assured his pick will reek of the same historical contradictions, dichotomies and scitophrenia that the Dems have displayed.
With both parties we are witnessing opportunism at it’s worse. Malleability at it’s grandest. And who’s to blame? Us. You and me. Each and every individual American citizen who has allowed themselves to be duped by sparkly lights, loud music, silly stunts and, above all the feeling of acceptance.
But, hey? It worked in high school so why not utilize the same tactics now? Let’s face it, we live in a Survivor generation, where alliances in all areas of life aren’t based on principles, but on expediency. Afterall, who cares about reality when you can rest in the fleeting acceptance of your peers?
Best Government Web Site I’ve Seen
August 26, 2008
I rode BART back in 2003 (?) when my wife’s cousin and I were heading to San Francisco to watch Barry Bonds try to hit #600 (or was it #660?). We scalped tickets from some crazy homeless guy and then 5 innings in two guys who were hammered asked us to trade seats so they could be closer to two girls directly behind us. Long story short, we ended up about eight rows up from third base. A highlight was clamoring for position in the right field foyer during the last two innings hoping to catch the fabled ball. Like the Daniel Day Lewis flick, there definitely would have been blood if he would have knocked one out there - too many people, too much alcohol and too many gold diggers hoping to auction a piece of baseball history. As it turned out all we did was watch Mr. Bonds and his huge head go 1 for 3 with 2 strikeouts. Thanks for nothing.
Where was I? Oh, yes, for a “dot gov” domain, BART’s site is beautifully done. Props to whoever made the decision to create really good site for a public service offering. Any other government sites you like? I feel like putting together a gallery if there are enough out there. Let me know…