Heatwave '07

As of yesterday, the Charlotte area has had 31 consecutive days of high temperatures of no less than 90 degrees. The records for this area is 33 days. Needless to say this has been oppressive, and I'm very thankful that we have "level billing" with Duke Energy. Now we can begin saving for the year-end additional payment we will no doubt have. What's funny about this is that the streak appears to be ending today or tomorrow, and I'm almost disappointed. I figure if you're this close to setting a record, you want to get it even if it is oppressive and felt like it would never end. Besides, 25 years from now when I'm talking to my grandchildren, I want to be able to tell them how "bad" it was back then. I'll probably forget we had air conditioning by then too.

Profiling a college student

OK, I will be the first to claim that I refuse to "judge a book by it's cover." I will however admit to taking weight in initial assessments of people. It's actually kind of fun. You assess someone's personality, and then if you get to know them later you assess how well you assessed. (note to self: look up synonyms for"assess"). Much of this I do from a distance through revealing things such as bumper stickers, vanity plates and apparel.

So, this morning, I'm walking in to the office and I see a young lady with a handbag that says, "I 'Heart' Me." So a few things I'd love to find out about this person. Did she buy this herself? Did an ex-boyfriend give it to her? I'm guessing probably her parents. Or, if she bought it for herself, does she really believe it? Honestly, I think she does from an external perspective, and maybe to her detriment. Internally, she might struggle with the exact same thing. Why would people who love themselves, need to let others know that they do? Does this statement attract or repel others. For me, it would repel.

Or, as someone else said to me, perhaps it just means she vacationed in Maine and picked this up at a gift shop. Anyhow, the process of learning about people is fascinating to me.

Things you could cope with never doing again

Well, I suppose after turning 40, with your mortality in site, you come up with a few things you'd be ok with never experiencing again. Right now the number one thing I would be willing to never do again is to go to a Wal-Mart...especially on the weekend! how about you? Do you have any?

The other side of the conflict

The other day, I posted concerns I have regarding the conflict in Iraq and how we often minimize the loss of civilian life. Well, in somewhat of a contrast to this, Peggy Noonan writes today in the Wall Street Journal about our troops and how they are appreciated for their sacrifice and service around the world. If you haven't read Noonan before, I would encourage you to check out this column.

I was like, "No Way!"

Ok, so I'm like walking across campus this morning and there's like this young lady, who's like 19 years old walking behind me and like talking into her cell phone. So I'm like listening to her conversation, and she's like talking like this:

..."and he's like, 'like what are you doing after class?' and I'm like, 'I don't know, like, what are you doing?' and then he's like, 'Like, I like your friend Stacy, and like was wondering if like you and her would like, like to go to a club?...' I like couldn't believe it! So like, whatever, I'm like, 'you can like ask Stacy, yourself! I like have to go to the dorm and like study for like my Public Speaking class.'"

Death Toll in Iraq

I will give the benefit of the doubt to our nation on the actual numbers here, but is anyone else bothered by this? About a year ago, researchers at Johns Hopkins university estimated the Iraqi death toll at an astounding 655,000! The argument our government had was that this was not credible and that the number is more like 30,000.

Is that all? Well then, fight away! There's no reason to let a small number like 30,000 stop us. Now I realize that we can't just leave now and peace would magically appear. And I respect and appreciate the efforts of our military. I just have to wonder how the public would have felt about going to war had we known the cost would be this high. I suspect our leaders knew how much damage this would cause and essentially decided that it was worth it. In our nation we (and the press) tend to focus on our own deaths. Currently we are coming up on 4000 deaths of our servicemen and women. We see this as "The ultimate price" and I don't dispute it. But we have to add in the 30,000+ civilians who didn't ask for this war when really considering the value of this conflict. I'm no longer convinced we made the right decision.

For what I suspect is the most accurate civilian death toll, you may wish to visit a web site called Iraq Body Count

An ideal way to spend an evening

Well, to my vast number of readers out there, I wanted to ask both of you a question:

What is an ideal way to end your day/begin your weekend? When you've come home from work/school and tomorrow is Saturday, what is the perfect start to the weekend? You may have more than one answer, but my answer is something along the lines of an "al fresco" cafe along the lines of what you might see in Europe, drinking a coffee and spending time with family or friends. It would include hours of talking about things that really matter as well as a few laughs. Oh, and the temperatures would be in the 70s with low humidity.

Garage Sales

So I go to a garage sale this morning. Not a thing I typically do, but on occasion, if the moon is full and the elephants are running, I like going. Today, it was just one I saw advertised in our community. They mentioned Beatles CDs and I thought it might be a perfect place for me to pick up some. I only have two Beatles CDs and I would love to have them all. I was specifically looking for Sgt. Pepper's, but he was only selling this in a "Box Set" for $100. Too rich for my blood. The guy had a ton of stuff, and this was after he sold most of it in Michigan at the sale they had before they moved down here. Any how, I picked up "1" for $2 and "Live at the BBC" for another $2. I also scored me Tracy Chapman's "New Beginnings" ($1) and "Pure 80's" CD ($1) What a take! All for 6 bucks!

I overheard a statement about the CDs while I was there. Something along the lines of, "I sold all my CDs too. No need to keep them once you load them on to your iPod." Oddly, I go to garage sales because if I hear a CD I like I want to be able to download it in good conscience.

Hey Doc! I demand a Refund!!

So my son on Friday was very brave when he got his Chicken Pox booster from his doctor. Didn't cry or anything. But I have to ask that now that it's Tuesday and he has a full blown case of the Chicken Pox: Can I have my money back? It's the least they can do. People have gotten tons of money for burning themselves on hot coffee and I'm not even going to sue!

For those who are superstitious...

I've never understood the whole "Friday the 13th" thing. I mean, I think 13 is sort of assumed to be the "unlucky number" but I don't get the Friday part? We tend to thank "goodness" or our deity for any Friday that comes our way, (which incidentally, happens about once every 7 days). In the world of perceived "good" and "bad," "Friday the 13th" is a contradiction. The Friday would cancel out the 13th.

However the day we typically curse is Monday. Unless you're on vacation or it's a national holiday, we're not big fans of Monday. Couple our disdain for Monday and the doom associated with that dreaded number 13, and I feel compelled to wish those who are superstitious, a safe and uneventful "Monday the 13th."

MLB Hall of Fame

In case you didn't think it was possible, I'm from Cincinnati and do NOT believe Pete Rose should be put in the Hall of Fame. As a matter of fact, I just wish the story would go away. Major League Baseball has a consistency issue on who they put in, but in the grand scheme, I would rather them "err" on the side of keeping those who have integrity issues out rather than putting them in. BUT, if you're gonna put them in, you need to start with Shoeless Joe Jackson and not Pete Rose.

Pair o' Dime Props: Duke Energy!!

Well, for those who happen upon this blog who reside elsewhere, we are now in the middle of what I call "Carolina Winter." One of the reasons my family decided to move here has to do with the term "Nor'easter". Having 20+ inches of snow fall in your area 1-6 times a winter doesn't do much for Cabin fever. All you tend to do is sit inside and watch bird feeders. Well it seems in this area it happens six months later in the year and you tend to sit inside and watch the Weather Channel....and wait. I never thought I would be relieved to see a forecast saying "High in the low 90s." This is my third summer here but it is undoubtedly the hottest.

So to my friends at Duke energy I say, "Keep it Up." Most of my house is under 80 degrees thanks to your service.

*******This Just in...*******

Barry Bonds* has set the all time career home run record for a chemically enhanced Major League Baseball player. Congratulations to Barry and the Balco family!

Knowledge = Responsibility

I have come to realize lately that knowledge often requires great responsibility. Subsequently it can induce higher levels of stress. Perhaps this isn't always true. Historic knowledge probably doesn't induce stress in and of itself, but historic knowledge to the point where we need to share it so that we do not repeat it might. So maybe it's knowledge of impending events that require responsibility. Anyhow, sometimes we're extremely eager to know what will happen in certain areas of our lives, but I don't know if we really know what we're desiring.

Isn't it Ironic?

This sentence is from a cover letter I received this week:

"As far as writing skills are concerned I have published some original and genuine works in Electrical Engineering journals, which as u know stipulate a very high standard of writing and technical skills."

Kid perspectives

Bedtime last night:

"It's fair that dads are the leaders because ladies get to go first."