Specialization is for Insects

The girls are back in school this week. I am jumping for joy.

Liz and I enjoyed our newfound freedom today by going to see a matinee of The Bourne Ultimatum today. Overall, a very good movie. But it left me with several questions.

1. When did the matinee start costing $7 per adult?!?
2. How come $7 at the concession stand only gives you 2 small sodas? Shouldn’t there be a cheeseburger included for that price?
3. Why would the director spend countless hours and dollars coordinating spectacular chase and fight sequences, and then give the camera to a guy who is too close to the action and can’t seem to hold the camera steady? (Maybe he spent too much going to the matinee and couldn’t afford to get a steady-cam.)
4. Have I always been this cheap? Or is this a recent trend?

Despite the excessive cost, and the excessive camera shake, I’m really glad we got to see this movie before it comes out on DVD. Cause I love watching a good movie in a dark theater.

My uncle Dave pointed out a blog about people who go into bookstores and move books about “intelligent design” out the science section and into the religion section.

These guys need a more constructive hobby.

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Recently a Ford Fusion, totally modified to run on hydrogen, went over 200 mph at a test track in Utah. The Chicago Tribune had a very short blurb about it in today’s paper, so I checked it out on the web. The best description seems to be here.

I think this is both really cool, and somewhat discouraging. It’s really cool that there are groups working on this sort of technology. But when you look at the details, it’s discouraging to realize how far hydrogen powered cars still need to come before they are a viable alternative to gasoline powered cars.

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I recently had an interesting discussion with my brother Andy about email and spam. I think there would definitely be a market for a spam free replacement for email. Andy indicated that he thinks we are stuck with the current email system and that the answer is spam filtering.

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We’re on vacation in Missouri. This is a good thing, cause I’ve had a rough month. Between my fire-engine wreck last month and a host of smaller mistakes, including irritating our new chief, I’d have to say this is a low point in my firefighting career.

Upon reflection, I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t sleep enough, and I don’t exercise enough. I think if I fix these two problems, things will go better. The last two nights, I’ve been able to sleep 9 or 10 hours a night, and I’m starting to feel better and more alert. And I’ve been able to get by with less caffeine.

Exercise is still lacking. It’s tough to exercise on vacation. But I get to try to keep the kids in line, so thats something.

When we get back home I’m going to start sleeping more and exercising more. The girls will be starting school in a week, so they will have to go to bed earlier, which means I will be able to go to bed earlier. My goal is to be in bed by 10PM every night.

Then I can get up at 5AM and go speed-walking around the neighborhood for 30 minutes or so. Maybe not the greatest exercise plan in the world, but it’s a start.

And if I get more sleep and exercise, I’m hoping everything else will improve.

I am not a big Hillary Clinton fan, but I have to applaud her for taking a bold stand against demagoguery at the YearlyKos Presidential Leadership Forum yesterday. (Watch the exchange on YouTube)

John Edwards makes the demagogic claim that Americans are disenchanted and cynical about American politics because of lobbyists, and he proposes fixing this by pledging not to accept money from lobbyists. Clinton correctly sees this as absurd.

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I took the girls to see The Simpsons Movie this afternoon. At the opening of the movie, Homer Simpson tells us all that we are all suckers for paying to watch something we could see on TV for free. I couldn’t help thinking of the armchair philosophy that something is only funny to the degree that it is true. And Homer Simpson calling me a sucker for paying to see this movie was damn funny.

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