Incursio

No matter how many glimmers of hope you might find, no matter how many bright minds are found, no matter how many nobel prizes we give out, no matter what we do - Humans are doomed. I have always held just a little bit of pessimism about Humankind's ability to survive long-term. Especially this last 200 years we have seemed to paint ourselves into a corner again and again. It is especially hard for me to think this way because I have a child which I dearly love, and it pains me so that the world that I leave behind will be one which will not be worth passing on. Oh sure, you may say that I am just down. You may say that I am just feeling the Holiday blues, or that I am ignoring all the good things... the doors shattered, and the shrieking mob surged through in a blind rush for holiday bargains. Sure, we have done some amazing things. Sure there have been wonderful people who are amazing, and sometimes we might see glimmers of hope here and there. Glimmers of hope? Or...

I find it funny that people drive to the gym. People get in their cars and drive to the gym so they can walk or run on a treadmill, or ride on a stationary bicycle.

The Oregonian (newspaper) has decided that it cannot endorse the assisted suicide initiative that Washington voters will be deciding on this November ( WA Initiative 1000 ). Despite the fact Oregon's law has been successful: Ten years' experience with Oregon's one-of-a-kind Death With Dignity Act has shown that our deepest concerns were unfounded. Safeguards built into the law appear to be working. On the plus side, the law has not created a tidal wave of assisted suicide since its enactment in 1997. Only 341 patients, 86 percent of them with terminal cancer, have died under its provisions. More than a third of those who have obtained lethal prescriptions never used them. Despite the fact that Oregon's law has been popular: It's also true that the law is popular, twice winning voter approval, and that vigorous public debate over it has led to much-improved end-of-life care in Oregon. The state is recognized today as the national leader in providing access...

On Thursday night this last week, I had to drive into Tigard and Beaverton (two cities on Portland's west side) during the night time. I was amazed to see that a major construction project on Oleson Rd. was running during the night! Oleson Rd. is a very valuable connector in the hilly southwest part of the metro area. It has been undergoing a redesign and repaving project for what seems like forever. But it runs almost 100% through residential neighborhoods. There is almost zero non-residential property actually on Oleson. But Sunday through Thursday nights, they are working through the nights on the road. With bright lights and loud equipment. Many, probably hundreds, of homes are within mere feet of the road construction. As they widened the road, the yards of these homes shrunk considerably. Lots of the homes are now within one dog-leash of the new sidewalks. And there are significantly more homes in close proximity. So apparently those communities would rather no...

This morning I was walking by Starbucks in Portland on MLK next to the Burgerville and the Convention Center. I decided I would like a Tazo and a pastry, so I stopped. The parking lot was completely empty, but the line in the "drive" through had at least 5 cars in it. As I walked through the empty parking lot to the door, I looked at the shiny new white Chevy Tahoe SUV - the last in line. I went inside, decided I wanted one of their breakfast sandwiches instead of a pastry. They had to prepare it in their toaster thingy so it took a couple minutes. I paid, waited for the sandwich. They called my name, I took my sandwich and tea, and walked out the front door. The lady in the white Tahoe was not even up to the ordering microphone yet. If $4.50 gas won't encourage a person in a 14mpg vehicle to turn off the engine and walk inside - then there is not much we can do to get people to change their habits. I see this all the time walking downtown. A person will gu...

This goes out to the nice homely lady waiting for and riding bus 58 out of downtown Portland recently. Just because you CAN have personal discussions on the cell phone, doesn't mean you SHOULD. We, the fellow passengers, have no real interest in your personal afairs. For example - despite what the other person on the end of the line might want to know, we certainly do not need to know that you are suffering your worst cramps in recent memory. While I can sympathize with you, and I am sure many of our co-passengers can empathize with you - it is really none of our business. But even if we were to feel some sort of tugging at our heart strings for your unfortunate suffering I feel fairly confident in pointing out that we really have no interest in the fact that you recently had vaginal discharge, which was determined to be caused by an infection which was treated by antibiotics and as such you are now feeling much better. I am happy that your problem which would possibly ...

I overheard a conversation in Beaverton today where someone was having to pick up a package at the FedEx depot in Portland, "somewhere by the Convention Center" (actually on Swan Island). They were (seriously) complaining that they had to go back home to get their gun in order to drive into Portland. Oh My God.

So we are in Benihana enjoying a special lunch with the family. And the couple that we "shared" the hibachi grill / table with spent most of the meal on the phone or texting. They made several calls each, and then "excused" themselves by saying that today was their daughter's second birthday, and they were planning the party. Hey, A$$HOLES: It is not my fault you are crappy parents and didn't plan until the last minute. Don't ruin my $20 lunch by blabbering (loudly) on the phone the whole time, please. And to top it off, each one drank two beers and a goodly amount of saki. And they drove off in separate vehicles. Drunken birthday planners who are rushed and in a hurry! Glad I wasn't driving / biking / or walking around Beaverton this afternoon...

At a large company in downtown Portland, we worked hard to have facilities put in recycle bins. I had no idea that there was so much involved but finally we get them. Nice! So today I go to take a few bottles and cans, and the "trash only" bin has lots of bottles and cans in with the trash, and the "bottles and cans" bin has lots of trash in with the bottles and cans. Damn it people, it is three bins. Clearly labeled. How f'ing hard is this? Are my standards for humanity too high?

I normally would not just post a link to another blog - but this one is worthy. It has been "featured" if you will on some much bigger blogs than mine, such as Neil Gaiman and BoingBoing. But this is for my loyal reader... The What I Killed Today blog is strangely moving, very sad, and almost surreal.

Seriously. People are stupid. Today leaving work, I was maybe three or four steps in front of a woman. We were going through one of those foyers where there are two sets of doors to pass through, placed possibly 10 feet apart or so. Going through the first set, I held the door for the lady, and she walked up to the already opened door that I was holding and she pushed the handicapped "automatic door" button. Then at the next set of doors, I again held the door for her and she again hit the power door button. What the hell? And what is with the drivers who get pissed off when you are walking through a crosswalk - like you delayed them 13 seconds or so. They floor it and accelerate at top speed for 41.7 feet where they need to stop at the next light. Great use of fuel there buck-o! And I am sure it is really good for your car too genius. Seriously - with downtown Portland's blocks being less than 200 feet there is NEVER any reason to try and accelerate hard -...

There is a certain workplace in downtown Portland that anyone who is familiar with it will instantly know what I am talking about. It is a large workplace, and at the entrances there is a revolving door between two regular doors. There are large signs on the regular doors that say "Please Use Revolving Door". This is because a revolving door does not let in heat or cold the same way a regular door does. When you open a regular door there is a large breeze of air that comes through, and it is very inefficient from a heating or cooling standpoint. A revolving door in contrast, is never really "open". At any point in time two if it's "arms" will be in contact with the walls, allowing it to maintain a "seal". Well I think a very interesting study in human nature is these doors. Fully 50% of the people I observe walk through the doors with the big signs on them saying "Please Use Revolving Door". If I had the time I would si...

Last night, in Downtown Portland of all places, someone felt the need to destroy one of my Bill Richardson for President stickers. Sure, I don't expect everyone to agree with me politically. Fair enough. But what on earth could make you so mad about Bill Richardson? Are you mad because he is a "dark horse" candidate? Are you mad because most people have not even heard of him? Maybe the person who ripped apart the sticker was from New Mexico and had some personal reason. In any event I thought it was a strange thing... Now if It had been a Hillary or W sticker I could at least understand the animosity. To each their own I guess. Just try and keep your mitts off my car.

After Tuesday's meeting about the proposed change to Interstate Ave, it seems like the default argument is to label anyone who opposes renaming Interstate to Cesar Chavez - is simply a racist. They call us racist because they know it will win their argument. We can't come back from that.

I came across this post on Green Options blog: " 10 Survival Tips & Tactics for Eating Veg in a Non-Veg World " I take issue with a few of their "tips".

The first definition of stupider is "Slow to learn or understand; obtuse." I think that there would be good cause to add to it "See American". Today, while passing through the security checkpoint at Portland International (PDX) I witnessed the TSA personnel sending people to the back of the line for not taking off their flip-flops. They shouted endlessly about removing liquids, regardless of size. And they generally treat every one of us like we were infants incapable of understanding simple instructions. But perhaps they might be on to something.

Two minor gripes. First - I have been noticing a lot of people writing comments or articles lately that end in the question "no?". It is as if we have had a sudden influx of people wanting to sound "international" or something, like they are ESL when most likely they are from Illinois. So many things are now written like this: "It seems like a pretty good idea to get out of Iraq, no?" No? Yes? Wait, I am confused. Is it a good idea or not? Are you answering your own question? What the hell are you trying to say? And my second nit: Don't people get the fact that the more extreme you are in your leanings - the more damage you usually do to your "cause"?

Today, while visiting the " Mall of America " in Bloomington, Minnesota (Minneapolis / St. Paul metro) a late teens / early twenties woman walked by. She was dressed slightly punk. Something that you might find just about anywhere in Portland. She had some black clothing on, some funky shoes with heels, a little bit of spiky jewelry, darkish eye make-up and had half her hair dyed green. Nothing really extreme. No visible piercing, no hard core tattoos, nothing that even really looked odd. A girl, maybe around 6 or 7 years old, asked her mom: "Mom, why is she dressed like that?" and her mom replied "Oh, she must be in costume for the Harry Potter thing they have tonight." Now, as a thirty something - I would look pretty silly if I suddenly went punk or goth. But by all reasoning, had I grown up in Portland - that is probably how I would have been. Most of the places I like best in Portland - *I* look out of place as the boring-ish guy in a T-s...

An interesting** paradox came to my mind while I was at the dentist. And no, I was not on any laughing gas. Although I do hate how as the shots wear off my nose tickled like I needed to sneeze... But dentist visits make for another entry. The religious Christian folks who advocate teaching "Intelligent Design" in our children's science curriculum usually use a certain angle. It is usually pointed out that "Intelligent Design" and "Evolution" are both theories and therefore can be taught side by side as theory. All-right, leaving aside the rebuttal that "Intelligent Design" is a moral, historical, allegorical, and theological "theory" and therefore doesn't belong in a SCIENCE curriculum, there is a glaring issue with their "teach them side by side" position. Creationists like to push the concept that we should teach both theories side by side, and let the kids make their own intelligent decisions about which ...

If you have ever crate trained a pet dog, you will have found that dogs will do everything within their power to not shit where they sleep. A dog will hold it until their face turns blue. Unless of course they are already blue, then they will just get a darker shade. And if you (and the dog) have had the misfortune of getting stuck a little to long, and the dog HAS had to go in their crate, the minute the poor canine makes eye contact with you - you know it. The dog will feel as though they have betrayed the universe by pooping in the crate. Well, humans are assholes. We could learn a thing or two from our dogs. We only have one earth. Only one. No "fall back" or "plan B" exists despite what you may see in the Star Trek movies or read in the Cristopher Stasheff or Orson Scott Card novels. I imagine that some day some poor wasted species - a distant relative to the Human - who has had to survive underground or in bubbles without being able to breathe ...