Nicholsclan.com

Things Not to Do in Church

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 12:32:00 +0000

Was Jesus the Cop or the Indian??

Dramatic to the End

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:09:00 +0000

It's hard for those us us who are something less than clinically deranged to appreciate the sort of determination and will it takes to cut you own head off with a chainsaw. When I first spied this headline I thought it would tell of some sort of freakish accident. Given that I had recently taught my son to use a chainsaw, I thought perhaps this would provide a good case-in-point lesson. After all, his pre-sawing education included lots of overly graphic explanations of how your limbs are very much softer than wood and therefore the use of the tool warranted extreme caution.

The reality that this was a suicide is frankly a little hard to grasp.

Desperate David Phyall, 50, plugged the electric chainsaw into the mains and attached a timer to the socket.

He then wrapped sellotape around the machine's trigger to secure it in the 'on' position and tied the handle of the saw to a table leg to hold it steady.

Mr Phyall rested the saw on his neck and waited for the timer to go off.

The Black and Decker chainsaw sliced through his neck in an instant but kept going for a further 15 minutes.

Just... ewwww. What state of mind leaves you resting calmly on a saw rigged to a timer you know is going to go off? And did he really think he needed 15 minutes of sawing to get through his neck? Apparently the guy was trying to make a statement, and I think it's fair to bet that no one will soon forget his deed. But damn!

Personally, I could not bring myself to such an end. If for no other reason than the colossal mess it would make.

Stupid Tax

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:47:00 +0000

I received a nasty-gram yesterday from the County Treasury Department. In it was a reprint of my school tax bill, the return of the check I had used to attempt to pay my school tax bill, and a form with a couple of check boxes explaining why they couldn't accept my payment. Apparently, their reasons were two-fold. First, my payment was late, and second, it was for the wrong amount. Although the only reason the amount was wrong is that I hadn't tacked on the "interest charges" for being late, mostly because I thought the damn payment was on time.

My first reaction was to dive for the file folder with the bill in it. After all, I knew I had paid on time, and dammit, someone was gonna get a piece of my mind. Although, as it turns out, I read the due date wrong and did actually send the payment late. The trouble was, I had a fair bit of worked up rage at this point. Rage which was intended for some hapless clerk at the county office. Rage which was now only rightfully directed back at myself. And that just wasn't right.

If I've learned one thing from eight years of the Bush administration, it's that no matter how bad things get, it is not your fault. It was with this in mind that I studied the bill closely. The date I erroneously thought was the due date was in large bold type in several places on the bill. Meanwhile, the actual due-by date was in a small non-emphasized font in a non-obvious place on the paper. Clearly I was being intentionally misled by government forces. This was all some sort of conspiracy to get me to pay late so they could charge me a ridiculously outsized late fee. In fact, in looking at the form they sent, it warned me that if my tax payment was not postmarked within two days, that an additional penalty would be imposed. Ahhh, it was beginning to make sense now. You see, if they had cashed my initial check and just billed me for the penalty, then there would not be nearly so big a threat hanging over my head. After all, my unpaid bill would have been closer to $100. But because they refused my initial check, they could ding me for not paying any taxes at all. The bastards!

By this point I was in full rationalization mode. This was no longer just about me. For the sake of my kids I needed to show that this was not some sort of genetically inheritable behavior. I had been set up to fail. This was all a scheme by County Executive Maggie Brooks to balance the county budget by duping innocent tax payers into late payments so they could collect extra fees. Yes... yes... it was gelling in my mind.

However, by the light of day, it would appear that the reality was simply that my mind was turning to Jello, which is not quite the same thing. I screwed up. And I also owe Kim an apology. For years I've teased her about her habit of just paying bills when they show up rather than when they are due. However, every cumulative quarter I've earned in interest by holding on to my money for an extra 20 days here and there was just completely eaten by the stupid tax I just paid. Maybe she's on to something.

Asymptotic Beer

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:18:00 +0000

Okay, a nerd joke for today. If you get it, you probably have a nerd gene in you somewhere. If you think it's funny, you probably still have a pocket protector stashed away somewhere.

An infinite number of mathematicians walk into a bar. The first one orders a beer. The second orders half a beer. The third, a quarter of a beer. The bartender says "You're all idiots", and pours two beers.

Bigger Is Better, Right?

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:59:00 +0000

A few weeks ago I discovered that the version of an application I use for work was not behaving well on my new Vista machine. Checking it out, I quickly discovered that the version I had was not Vista-compatible. I filled out the appropriate request form to get the upgrade I required and within a few days the request had been approved. So far, so good, and pretty normal for the way things go around here.

What usually happens next is that either a technician tunnels into your machine and does the installation, or the software is made available to you on the network for you to do the install yourself. So I was more than a little surprised when I was told that our internal IT Warehouse would be shipping me a CD. This seemed pretty inefficient, but I wasn't in a rush for the program, so I just opted to wait patiently.

A little over 2 weeks later I entered my office to find a rather sizable package awaiting me. This was a box measuring a full 2 cubic feet in volume. Let me save you some math. This box would hold just over 200 CDs in normal plastic jewel cases.

I scratched my head a bit, but figured that maybe they had shipped a retail package in its box. Whatever. I proceeded to open the box. The first thing I encountered was a padded envelope. You know, the sort typically used to mail CDs. I set it aside for a moment, curious what else lay in the treasure chest. After digging out 2 cubic feet of packing material I discovered that in fact, the entire box contained nothing more than the mailing envelope and lots and lots of wadded paper.

Shaking my head in dismay, I was suddenly struck with the enormous carbon footprint my innocent request for a piece of downloadable software had incurred. I swore right then and there to never tell Al Gore. But after all, I'd gotten the software, right? So who was I to complain? It was then that I turned to pick up the mailing envelope and peek inside... only to discover it was empty. They had shipped me a huge box containing an empty envelope.

As of this writing, someone is traveling to my office to recover the enormous box and begin an investigation on why it's so profoundly empty. So not only did we pay to ship this box of empty promises across the city, we are now paying to ship it back. I suppose I can look forward to another honkin' box in my office in a couple of weeks. Hopefully this one will at least contain the CD somewhere within its vast innards.

We're all hoping Obama can fix the economy, but he can't fix this sort of institutionalized stupid.

Some ask, "Why not?"

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 13:28:00 +0000

...which may be creative of them and all, but it still leaves the rest of us scratching our... let's go with "heads"... and asking, "Why?" Apparently, Johnny Henry of Laurel, Mississippi is one such why-notter. He asked, "Why shouldn't a toilet seat vibrate?"

Now this is most often the sort of question asked after way too much beer. What follows is that you and your buddies spend the time until last call planning to create the next iPod-like craze with your Shaky Shimmy Sitter (say that three times fast, I dare you). It might even involve a few hasty sketches on bar napkins. And will likely involve several market research studies, mostly involving waitresses who listen patiently and smile because they know that groups of hammered guys are bad at math and often leave inadvertently large tips.

This is all harmless fun. You will eventually go home, forgetting to take the bar napkins. You will wake up with a vague notion of excitement on your face which your significant other will want an explanation for. You will try mightily to explain why vibrating toilet seats will revolutionize the way she pees, but by the light of day this sounds way more ridiculous than you remember from the previous night. Satisfied that while she might be in love with a moron, at least you're a faithful moron, she will roll her eyes and walk from the room. That should be the end of it.

But amazingly, Mr. Henry got this harebrained idea sober, and actually brought it to fruition. He was so proud of this notion he took it to an Inventor's Conference , where astonishingly, no one bought it from him. There's no mention of his wife in the article. One suspects she's currently in the hospital having her eyes surgically unrolled from her head. Or perhaps she's in hiding. Or maybe she's even fictional... or inflatable. But I'll bet she vibrates.

Should Snail Mail be Snail-ier??

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 12:15:00 +0000

Here's a thought. Every day a little white truck cruises through my neighborhood and stuffs my mailbox full of catalogs I don't order from, flyers I don't read, credit card offers I don't need, and coupons I don't use. Every day I meander to the street, thumb through the pile checking to see if one of the handful of actually useful things I receive via mail every month are in there, and drop the rest into the shredder or recycle bin.

Minimally, this is a waste of my time. But there are days where the walk to the mailbox passes for all the exercise I get, so maybe that's not a bad thing in the end. However, taken in the context of global warming and increased dependence on foreign oil, is it really a good use of fossil fuels to power this truck through my neighborhood daily? Honestly, I'd be fine if the mail were delivered every other day, or even once a week. Maybe they could use a special truck for priority mail which runs more like the UPS truck and comes when needed, but most of the crap I get would not be substantively less valuable if I had to wait several days in order to recycle it.

Now that I think of it, the garbage/recycle truck comes through my neighborhood once a week already. Maybe the Postal Service could contract with the village to deliver the weekly crap mail as it picks up the recycling. In fact, if they delivered the junk mail seconds before picking up the recycling, they could leave it in the recycle bin, which they would empty several seconds later into the same truck delivering the crap. But wait! Why waste that fuel? Why not deliver the junk mail directly to the recycling plant and cut out the delivery and pick-up trucks altogether? That would be cool.

Yet I suspect that the marketing geniuses that define their worth to their employers by telling them that there's value in loading up my recycle bin would object to cutting out the middle man in this insidious dance. So maybe the real opportunity here would be to short circuit this process even further and simply recycling the marketing folks.

Mmmmm, Soylent Green. Yum.

Blog Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 12:12:00 +0000

There have been a few cosmetic changes to the blog of late. You may have also noticed a new picture viewer at the top of the right column. I was getting bored with having the same ones there all the time. Maybe I'll even change them now and again.

You'll also notice some new permanent links under the comments policy. The old Tim's Time essays are there as this is now the main page of the whole Nicholsclan.com site. So everything there is, you can get to from here. It seemed to make sense as it's about the only new content I bother to create anymore. There are also links to Kim's blog and Tyler's website.

Tyler has recently put his site up using techniques he's been learning at school. It uses HTML, Flash, and CSS, and was all hand built by him. He's taking Java now, so maybe we'll see some more coolness soon. The content itself is also pretty creative if you're into Zoids or Star Wars. There are several original ship designs (including drawings), characters, and other goodies. Check it out.

If anybody notices any uglies I introduced or things that don't work in certain browsers, please let me know. Also, I think the image viewer is pretty tight and shouldn't cause performance problems, but if you think it's a pig, let me know that as well.

Does Religion Make You Nice?

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:17:00 +0000

Here is an interesting read from Paul Bloom, a professor of psychology at Yale University. It poses the question of whether being religious correlates with being nice, or conversely, does being an atheist make you mean? The results are one of those things that seem pretty obvious in retrospect. The correlation is not really about religiosity, but about degrees of connectedness to social groups. People who feel connected tend to be nicer than those who feel isolated. Well duh. The serial killer is always the silent loner.

Another interesting observation which can be extrapolated from this study is that the idea of God watching you, or paying for your sins in the afterlife would seem to not be nearly the motivating factor that the judgment of your social group is. This would explain why people who belong to fringe religious groups (e.g. Islamic Terrorists) are capable of being evil when motivated by their peers. It also explains why so many people who are model Christians on Sunday morning are capable of being complete PITAs when they think no one they care about is looking.

What's not clear from this study is how you really quantify or define that social connection. I would speculate that it doesn't relate to the size of the group or number of groups to which you belong, or your activity level within any of these groups. Rather it is the level to which your ego is tied up in the group. If the group is part of your identity. If belonging to the group and being accepted by the group defines a portion of your self worth. If the group is part of your raison d'etre. Then, it will regulate your behavior. Otherwise, the group is just padding your r�sum�. I would also contend that the "group" could be a single individual if the ego bond is strong enough. For some, being a model parent, partner, or friend may be sufficiently binding to moderate your behavior and make you be nice.

All of which I guess means that the old adage, "No man is an island" should be updated to say, "No nice man is an island."

Another Prop 8 Perspective

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 12:43:00 +0000

I attempted a few days ago to make my own case for the lunacy and inhumanity of California's passing of Proposition 8, which took away the right of marriage from gay couples. However, Keith Olbermann makes an eloquent and impassioned case against Prop 8 that makes my feeble efforts seem pale. Regardless of your political or religious views, regardless of your views of Keith's show Countdown, this has to touch you.

The Futility of Spam

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:49:00 +0000

I've often pondered how a sufficient number of people could be so stupid as to make spam email profitable. And let's face it, if it wasn't making money, it would dry up overnight. So someone is sending these goobers cash. Well, it appears that I dramatically underestimated how few stupid people are required. Bottom line, we're doomed.

UC Berkley and San Diego scientists have studied the actual reply rate of spam. It turns out that only about 1 in 12m people actually purchase something solicited by spam. This sounds innocuous, but given that billions of spam messages are being generated, the responses are able to reap the spammers about $7k/day in income, even at the low response rate. Hell, for $7,000 a day I should think about launching my own spam business. Maybe I could bag up lawn clippings and sell them as an herbal libido enhancer.

The cruel reality is that for spam to go away, we need to get the idiocy rate down well under 1 in 150 million people. Like I said, we're doomed. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to a Nigerian Prince who requires my help.

The Not So Secret Service

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:29:00 +0000

The Secret Service has a long tradition of nicknaming its charges. It does beg the question of how the names are determined. Do the people get a choice? Is there a vote? Is there some guy who's job it is to name all the folks? It makes you wonder. Further, while it makes sense to release these names after the fact, it would seem that it kind of defeats the purpose of the code names if they are published while still in use. Presumably the bad guys don't subscribe to the Chicago Tribune? But still, I thought the list was interesting. Some of the more interesting monikers:

Barack Obama: Renegade (I guess "Maverick" was already taken?)

Michelle Obama: Renaissance

Malia Obama: Radiance

Sasha Obama: Rosebud

Joe Biden: Celtic (Because "pasty white guy" was too many syllables)

Jill Biden: Capri

George W. Bush: Tumbler (Seems more appropriate for Gerald Ford)

Yeah, What HeSaid

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 14:21:00 +0000

Read Nicholas Kristof's Obama and the War on Brains. Let's hope he's right. Key quote:

Barack Obama�s election is a milestone in more than his pigmentation. The second most remarkable thing about his election is that American voters have just picked a president who is an open, out-of-the-closet, practicing intellectual.

Maybe, just maybe, the result will be a step away from the anti-intellectualism that has long been a strain in American life.

Sarah on a Spit

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 13:15:00 +0000

One of the more interesting aftermaths of the election has been the well spring of vitriol directed toward Sarah Palin from the ranks of her own party. While it's nothing short of damned amusing, it does make you wonder why it's all going on. While one or two rogue sources of these sorts of accusations could be dismissed as sour grapes from staffers with nothing left to lose, there are too many accusers emerging for this to be considered anything less than a coordinated attack against Palin. On the one hand, it's possible that these accusations of almost unconscionable ignorance are all true. Which basically means that the GOP engineered an orchestra of lies and cover-ups to keep the truth from the voters during the campaign. On the other hand, perhaps these are all fabrications. But that would mean that these same people are lying now, rather than then. Either way, Sarah's accusers are basically saying they are liars. This seems an unwise strategy from a party that just took a thumping and badly needs to restore the trust of its members. There has to be a larger objective here. Something more important to them in the short term.

It seems to me that this is likely the initial volley in what will emerge as a battle for control of the GOP. I think the GOP recognizes that it has lost control of Joe the Plumber, and it needs that back. You see, for the last three decades the GOP has been perfecting a strategy whereby every election cycle it dons its blue collar, picks up its hunting rifle and bible, and heads off on the campaign trail. It spews rhetoric which resonates with the "[insert name] the [insert occupation]" crowd, who tend to respond because they've basically been ignoring politics since the last election cycle. And once the GOP folks are safely ensconced in office, the electorate goes back into the hibernation of its work-a-day world and fails to recognize that the people they elected are enacting policy which is crushing the very life they are struggling to lead.

This year, in an effort to rally the base, the GOP anointed Sarah Palin. She was enormously appealing to the very people who's loyalty they desperately needed to win. From that perspective, the move was a huge success. The only trouble was, Palin was not in on the joke. She wasn't just playing the role for the crowd, she actually was a God fearing hockey mom and moose hunter. Unwittingly, the GOP had crowned the queen of their base without first assuring her allegiance to their greater agenda.

Today, the GOP finds that the base they are courting, the base they need in order to reemerge in 2010, is beholden to their new queen. The traditional power behind the party has discovered that it has propped up a puppet that it no longer controls, and she is stealing their show. They want it back. And the tactic to reacquire the hive is to first destroy their queen.

The trouble is, I'm not sure their approach is working. Those of us who already believed Palin was not remotely qualified to lead the country are only getting confirmation of our reasons for doubting her. But her fierce supporters are only viewing this as additional unwarranted assassination attempts against their leader. Remember, these people are the ones for whom a leader is someone most like themselves. And frankly, most of the so-called base also could not explain the Bush Doctrine, name the countries in NAFTA, or find Turkmenistan on a map. Palin's alleged ignorance is only further evidence to the GOP base that she is just like them, and therefore qualified to lead.

The GOP Pandora has opened the box. Ironically, the only thing remaining inside is hope. Good luck with that.

Prop 8 and the Politics of Fear

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 12:28:00 +0000

Amidst the progressive thrill of Tuesday's election of the first African-American to the office of President, California voted to amend its constitution through Prop. 8 to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Several other states have enacted similar laws or constitutional clauses, but that this could happen in the typically liberal minded state of California was particularly surprising. On the positive side, I have long argued that these sorts of issues should be decided via legislative process rather than from the judicial bench. To that end, well done California. But on the flip, one has to wonder if there are or should be limits to what the majority can impose on any given minority group.

As a country, we have come a long way in the last century with regard to eliminating discrimination based on genetic, cultural, or religious differences. Let's face it, if Prop. 8 has instead defined marriage as the union of two people of the same race, thereby outlawing interracial marriage, there would have been riots in the streets. The same would have been true if the proposed law prohibited Jews from marrying Christians, or even citizens from marrying illegal aliens. Note that the issue here cannot even be said to be about nature vs. nurture. Whether homosexuality is genetic or a considered choice doesn't even play in here. While you are genetically Black, I don't think you can make a rational argument that you are born Catholic. So we have already ruled that discrimination based on some differences within the control of the individual is illegal.

The other interesting aspect of Prop. 8's adoption is that it's not remotely clear to me what the harm in gay marriage is. Who gets hurt if gays marry? What are they protecting society from? Arguments that the proposition is somehow protecting the sanctity of marriage are laughable. This is a state that basically invented no-fault divorce. Arguments that marriage should be about having children and raising a family are equally silly. Infertile people are allowed to marry. Post-menopausal women can still walk down the isle (I hope). And there's always the "tradition of marriage" argument. This is maybe the silliest of all when you consider that until very recently in western culture, marriage was essentially a legal arrangement in which women were pretty much property acquired for the purpose of bearing kids. Demosthenes, the orator, explained it as: "We have prostitutes for our pleasure, concubines for our health, and wives to bear us lawful offspring." I'm guessing that "traditional marriage" isn't really what most people are after.

So what drove the adoption of Prop. 8? Fear. The religious fundamentalists pushing the proposition argued that without Prop. 8, public school children would be indoctrinated into accepting gay marriage against their parents' wishes. Ah yes, it's all about protecting the children. People can't seriously think that knowing that gay marriage is an option will somehow draw more children into becoming gay, can they? Wouldn't this be like arguing that teaching kids about drugs will more likely make them users? And for cryin' in yer beer, let's not teach 'em about evolution or we'll be butt deep in atheist biology majors.

Just for giggles, substitute a different minority and a different institution for gay marriage and see if this makes sense. For example, "Public school children would be indoctrinated into accepting women's voting rights against their parents' wishes." Um, yeah... so?

I firmly believe that one day history will look back on these laws with the same incredulity with which we now view laws allowing slavery or enforcing racial segregation. Seriously, with all the challenges we face as a nation, as as a culture, and as a people, the idea that this even makes the radar is sickening. Homosexuality is a threat about as menacing as Lima beans. It's not a taste everyone loves, and no amount of marketing will change that. However, that doesn't mean it should be illegal to grow them or sell them, and they won't turn the broccoli to Lima beans just because they are co-located in the produce isle.

Kids in the Blender

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 12:49:00 +0000

It's sometimes tempting to fantasize about taking the best genetic bits of each kid and building one uber-child. It would certainly be cheaper to to send just the one to college. But I watch enough sci-fi to know these things usually result in some hideous mutated creature that takes its revenge on the parents and the surrounding village. So, in deference to my neighbors' well-being, I've opted to just morph their school pictures up.

Virtual Water

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:10:00 +0000

Here's something to ponder since the political panic is behind us for a bit. What's your Water IQ? We hear a lot about water conservation lately, and how water is likely to become more scarce and valuable in some parts of the world in years to come. We are urged to take quick showers rather than long baths, wear our clothes an extra time between washings, don't water the lawn or wash the car in the driveway, and turn off the water while we brush our teeth.

However, a new perspective offered over at Waterfootprint.org is beginning to make me think that my teeth brushing habits are almost irrelevant. These guys are considering all the water that goes into producing things. The water to grow the beans that get ground for you coffee. The water to grow the grain that feeds the pigs, in addition to the water used directly to raise the pigs, in addition to the water used to grow the trees that are burned to smoke the pig, all to get you bacon for breakfast.

In this light, a banana requires 27 gallons to produce. A cup of coffee needs 38 gallons. Consider that 53 gallons of water are required for every egg. And a pound of beef uses a whopping 1,857 gallons. This view also applies to non-consumable goods as well. A cotton shirt uses 713 gallons, while a leather handbag needs the equivalent of half the volume of a typical backyard swimming pool.

So yes, water conservation does involve hollering into the bathroom as your rapidly wrinkling teen enters the second half hour of their shower. But in reality you're probably throwing more virtual water away in leftovers and food scraps than you are flushing down the drain.

It's enough to make you want a beer. Yet a glass of beer requires 28 gallons of water to produce, and I'm not sure I'm that thirsty.

Sanity Prevails

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:16:00 +0000

An historic evening last night, as Barack Obama was elected by a substantial majority to become the next President, and the first African-American President of the US. This is a day your kids will tell their grandchildren about. And kudos to McCain for giving a concession speech in which he asked his followers to join in supporting the new President for the good of the country. I only hope that we can put this divisive campaign behind us now, and work collectively on the change we all seem to want, and the change our country so desperately needs.

Still, the drama isn't done. Alaska convicted felon and Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska is in a dead heat for reelection. Should he win, he could still be forced to resign, which would give Palin the opportunity to appoint his replacement. Personally, I find it unlikely that genie is going back in the bottle. I'll be surprised if she's content to return to being the unknown governor of Alaska.

At the state level, not so much sanity prevailed as almost all of the legislative incumbents were returned to their positions within the most dysfunctional state government in the union. We should be so proud. I think the blind spot here is that most everyone likes their guy, but assumes it's all the other guys that are the problem. But I assure you, your guy and my guy are all part of the problem. So NY is not going to get better anytime soon.

All in all, a promising election. Yet the real work is still before us. Rhetoric alone won't fix our economy, schools, infrastructure, budget problems, global reputation, or resolve the terrorism threat. That will involve hard work and sacrifice on all our parts. I only hope that we now have leaders with the courage and credibility to ask us all to step up.

Because 14 Hours of CNN Will Melt Your Brain

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:40:00 +0000

It's a bit early to call the races just yet, but the live map below should bring us all real-time results.

Super Dad

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:27:00 +0000

Admittedly, this is maybe the cheesiest promotion Kodak has ever done, but given the stock price lately, they need all the promotion they can get. And advance apologies to my father, who will likely never allow a second picture of him to be taken, much less accessed by me. So without further ado (because there's plenty of deep ado once you click the link), I give you:

Super Dad

The Power of Doubt

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 13:37:00 +0000

Sunday is often a day to celebrate faith, but on this Sunday, I want to ask you to instead celebrate at least a measured amount of doubt. Bruce Gorton writes in The Times, a South African newspaper, about how faith has gotten us into so much trouble over the years.
Key quote:

It is as William Butler Yeats said in his oft-quoted poem: �The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.�

This is not because the best are weak. This is because in terms of the people you want to know, the people who don�t go around flying planes into buildings, it isn�t faith that fuels their good, it is doubt. Doubt that they are right, doubt that they are always good, doubt that makes them stop and consider things from another point of view.

The dubious, the doubtful, the people who do not know what they know but, rather, think there is a good likelihood for something, these are the people who take us forward.

Now he says in the article, and I want to emphasize, that this is not an attempt to position atheists against the religious. Although I think that he fails to make that point very strongly. Rather, the issue is simply about the implications of people who have faith so strong it occludes any doubt. To me, this does not preclude theists by any means. There are ample numbers of theists who have doubts about their goodness, who wonder what God's message really means, and who spend much time agonizing over what is right. I would not say these people lack for faith, but it is mixed in with enough doubt to make them rational and capable of learning. I do think doubt is a prerequisite for learning.

On the flip, someone full of nothing but doubt would be dysfunctional in their own right. At some point in any decision process comes some element which is best described as a leap of faith. Even science, where data and rationality are paramount, progress often happens because someone took a small leap of faith.

As with most things, the danger lies at the extremes. I think we'd all agree that someone so full of doubt they couldn't act without absolute proof would be pretty useless and pitiable. But somehow, in many pockets of society, we've gone so far as to admire a person who is so full of faith that they think they are right regardless of evidence to the contrary. These people are pretty much incapable of learning, because any reality contradicting their faith-based position is ridiculed or ignored. And while it is true that these faith extremists are highly likely to also be religious, I don't take that to mean that religion is a gateway to this extreme. Just that those extremists are naturally drawn to religion.

Looking backwards not so very far, we elected one of these faith extremists as President, for cryin' in yer beer�twice. Perhaps we can make more rational choices of leaders going forward. But I have my doubts. I'd like my leaders to have doubts too. I don't want them to have all the answers going into the job, or think that there won't be a learning curve for them when they get there. I'd like them to demonstrate that they are broadly knowledgable, thoughtful, and capable of learning. A talented leader is one who recognizes that he or she has all the responsibilities, but they cannot possibly have all the answers, or even make correct decisions 100% of the time.

So maybe, just maybe... be a little cautious of the guy who says he already knows how to win wars, catch bin Laden, solve our dependency on foreign oil, and fix the economy. And certainly be wary of his running mate who never blinked�and probably never will.

Lot of Smearin' Left to Do

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 11:08:00 +0000

This political parody is an original creation. Hopefully the good news is that you'll find it fun. The bad news is that I have to seek a thousand pardons for any damage to your speakers, ears, or musical sensibilities once you've listened. Enjoy! Please?

Baby's Got (a real) Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 03:49:00 +0000

A while back I reported that Kim had started her own blog. Well she was having such a good time that she got herself a big-girl blog tonight. No more MySpace stuff. At this rate she'll be a webmaster in no time.

Find her new blog and all future posts of hers here.

Beauty's Bias

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:16:00 +0000

Just in case there was any doubt about Kim's allegiance for the upcoming election, she has a message for the guy standing behind her.

(click the play button!)

Song for Sarah

noreply@blogger.com (Tim) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 01:35:00 +0000

Emergency! Emergency!

Stop whatever you are doing and watch this. No, no... wait. Go get a Kleenex first, and maybe a fresh Depends if your prone to a little leakage whilst you laugh. Then click.

Nicholsclan.com

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Baby's Got (a real) Blog

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Beauty's Bias

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Song for Sarah

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