Post 9/11.....06

Booming voices from the kitchen had driven me from my comfortable bed Monday morning. The volume on my kitchen stereo/alarm clock was up to high. As I navigated my way to the kitchen to kill the sound, the announcer of Morning Edition said that "this morning's Diane Rehm show" was soliciting listeners to call in to express how 9/11 had effected them besides politically...fitting since I had been thinking about it for quite a bit this year. Although I could think of personal changes, my mind kept crawling back to politics. From today's shitball fight in congress about the president's address, I couldn't think of anything else but the big bang theory and how it relates to our now divided life in America and how we got here.

Sins of Our Fathers
This year has been one of education, not only within my field, but looking at modern history. I've long thought about how we inherit the problems that our previous generation created. In war it seems to be the most apparent. The world's grandparents passed on the invention of atomic weapons starting an arms race between the U.S. and Russia. Through the generational handover, our fathers entered Vietnam through the policy of containment of communism. As we were born, the pictures of the fall of Saigon fresh in the national psyche, the new policy was that of "The enemy of my enemy is my ally." Our policy was to support anyone fighting against communist forces. When the fall of the iron curtain came about, we had already muddied our hands in supporting Mujahideen in Afghanistan, supporting Saddam's rise to power and supplying him with dual use biological agents in his war against Iran, sold weapons to our enemy to aid the Contras in Nicaragua, and began to protect American interests (oil) in the Persian Gulf. Terrorism is by no means something whose roots began growing in the past 10 years and 10 years is essentially how far back the media looks (even if that far) for investigative purposes. It is our generations inheritance. No seven hundred 100-megaton ICBMs flying our way for mutually assured destruction, just some crazy people hell bent on killing anyone via any means.

Oh Wikipedia...
I've turned into a wiki addict, I've come to know it's shortcomings, but I definitely see its value in communicating general facts (especially cited ones). I started with Israel, mainly because I knew very little about it except that many participants in middle east strife reference it, regardless of conflict, and that we've supported her throughout the course of her history. This search kind of had a snowball effect. Granted, wikipedia isn't exactly fact but it's a beginning of inquiry...something every free person should partake in.

Interesting reading on our "global war on extrema-islamo-fasci-terrorism."
U.S. Had Key Role in Iraq Buildup (interesting timing of article and lack of consequence)
Operation Desert Storm (why the overnight 180 on Iraq?)
Osama Bin Laden (interesting role in the 80's and early 90's)
Mujahideen (in particular the group in Afganistan fighting the Soviets)
Taliban (we thought THEY were the voice of moderation?)
Dick Cheney (interesting timing of having his first daughter)
Donald Rumsfield (what kind of envoy during the early 80's?)
Iran
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Mohammad Khatami
Gaurdian Council (of Iran)

Granted, I read all these in one sitting so my outlook seemed to creep downward pretty quickly.

Our Broken Society
In tatters lay our once great unity. The Clinton administration and the caustic 2000 election had divided a nation but for a brief time, we came together to help each other in grief and support, no matter the color of our state, the amount of money we had in the bank, or the way we swung. It all seems rather Tibetan in that once a being is conceived, thus begins its demise. Instead of sewing together tighter, our leaders have sought to divide us. Why? Because the more all of us focus on how much we disagree with each other, the more those in power can dominate the headlines and change the subject away from their own ineptitude. The two parties need each other to demonize, to feign effecacy over the other, and somewhere to lay the blame. Ideas don't flourish; each side panders to their extreme to bolster their support, and by support I mean...

AMERICAN CASHITO....DOLLARINES...NO CHECKS!
Not only is this one of the most polarized of elections, it's also the richest: To date, $934 million has been contributed to races all over the nation. Business is BOOMING. What does all that money do? For the candidates: pre-election dollars for all those wonderfully nasty campaigns that become post-election dollars for the candidate's interests or their party's political slush fund. Here is Virginia's (which from what I gather, seems to be the norm among states):

Amounts received by a candidate or his campaign committee as contributions that are in excess of the amount necessary to defray his campaign expenditures may be disposed of only by one or any combination of the following: (i) transferring the excess for use in a succeeding election or to retire the deficit in a preceding election; (ii) returning the excess to a contributor in an amount not to exceed the contributor's original contribution; (iii) donating the excess to any organization described in § 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code; (iv) contributing the excess to one or more candidates or to any political committee that has filed a statement of organization pursuant to this chapter; (v) contributing the excess to any political party committee; and (vi) defraying any ordinary, nonreimbursed expense related to his elective office. It shall be unlawful for any person to convert any contributed moneys, securities, or like intangible personal property to his personal use.

Webb v Allen 2008 for Pres baby! (Better get a bucket, I'm gonna throw up)

Lobby, not Liberty, and Justice For All
For the constituents: Waters down what the individual has to say and minimalizes their role in a democratic society. In order to be heard and avoid those rubber stamped standard Congressional Replies, we must go through 3rd parties: The ACLU, The NRA, etc. etc. We may only feel strongly about one topic they are lobbying for, but as a participant you are guilty by association on all other topics. Ahh, the wonder of social generalizations. ALL of our leaders* can't find shit in a chili cookoff portapotty so taking one from Maggie's dad's playbook:

Dear Congress,



Fuck you.



Sincerely,
James P.

P.S. Strongly worded letter to follow.
C.C. Executive Branch

*More on the Do-Nothingest Congress later.

Words to Think About - 7/21/06

Name the politician who, in an address July 2, stated:

"Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. It requires that their proposals be subject to argument, and amenable to reason." Principles must be "accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all."Now, this is going to be difficult for some who believe in the inerrancy" of sacred scripture. "But in a pluralistic democracy, we have no choice. Politics depends on our ability to persuade each other of common aims based on a common reality. . . . At some fundamental level, religion does not allow for compromise. It's the art of the impossible. If God has spoken, then followers are expected to live up to God's edicts, regardless of the consequences. To base one's life on such uncompromising commitments may be sublime; to base our policymaking on such commitments would be a dangerous thing."

Was it:
a) Nancy Pelosi
b) Rick Santorum
c) Barack Obama
d) John McCain

She's dead.....DEAD....AHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!! - 7/20/06

I KILLED HER
That's right, she (the Prelude)is without a doubt, dead. No persistant vegetative state, no hospice, no d...ownstairs dusting, ....she's done. Dead. Pushin up the daisys (albeit oily daisys...ok ok Burnt Oily daisys). I must say she put up a good fight.

WHAT HAPPEN?
CEO Jayson and I were headed out to Seneca Rocks, West Virginiiiiieeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to get some totally sweet trad climbing in with our brand spankin new camelots. For some spectacularly brilliant reason, I offered to drive. We made it down I66 and I81 but after a 15 or so miles out on route 55, something didn't feel so good, and it wasn't the McDonald's hashbrowns mixing with the previous night's Taco Bell Burrito Bucket. No no. We were heading up a moderate hill when I noticed a loss of get up and go from the engine. I mumbled something resembling a curse word, laid off the gas, depressed it again, and just short of nothin. I listened to the car as we crested the hill and it sounded exactly like a go-cart engine. We pulled over and smelled something burning and that something definitely wasn't a clutch (thanks for the lesson in that one Waan!). Nothing out of the ordinary: No steam, No leaks no torn belts, nothin. So we thought it would be in our (ok my best) interest to get the car as close to home as possible and stop along the way and see if we can get a quick diag from a local mechanic. We stopped in Cityvillechestertonfield, VA (@ the intersecting of 55 and 81). The mechanic there advised us that it was in fact a misfiring cylinder and that driving on it a whole lot wasn't "a jolly good idea" (because that's how they talk in Cityvillechestertonfield). Jayse and I made it back to his place and jumped in his Tahoe because as we both agreed, not climbing was not an option and headed to Great Falls for the day.

PROGNOSIS: NEGATIVE
The earliest I could get the car to be looked at by Honda near my place was Tuesday. You can't see me but I'm totally patting myself on the back for moving forward with my Bike To Work campaign before this happened. Honda didn't get a chance to look at it until 3:30...I received the call at 4.

Honda: Hello, may I speak to James?
Chief: That's me, what's the damage?
Honda: Well, sir...I don't know how to put this.
Chief: Give it me straight doc.
Honda: Have you been driving particularly hard recently?
Chief: Hmmm....No actually! I've been babying her since her last breakdown.
Honda: Well, you see...it looks like you need a new *long pause* motor.
Chief: Awesome! She's dead! That bitch has been nothing but trouble these past 7 years. She *is* dead right?
Honda: Yea. On a compression test, where the normal pressure is 150, none of your cylinders passed. One was 122, Two was 127, Four was 125, and Three wasn't compressing at all.
Chief: I'm looking at having to buy a new car or get this one repaired. How much would you fucksticks charge for this?
Honda: I can only estimate here: $800 for a new motor, $400-$500 for misc parts--
Chief: That's not too bad---
Honda: ...and about $2000 worth of labor

OH WTF
Well after the whole MR2 fiasco (entirely different story) and a bunch of other factors, I have come to loathe the idea of getting a car. Mr. 2 showed me that the so-called curse on my prelude wasn't so much a curse on the car as it was a curse on me, conveniently timed around December of every year. Secondly, is it me or are drivers in this area getting dumber...oh wait, they are. So anything I get is ultimately going to be destroyed by most likely my curse, myself, or a Maryland driver. Also, my biggest gripe with the MR2 was that I never had an opportunity to drive it like it should. Aside from driving habits, curses, and gas prices, the biggest reason I hate the idea of a new car is a new car payment. Debt is really my archnemisis; I fucking hate it and I carry none of it. If I can't afford to have something now, I shouldn't have it now (with the exception of equity and education).

So now I am again, sans auto, and again borrowing a car...this time from Maggie. Hopefully she hasn't read last year's post from when I borrowed the Porsche. I'm torn between getting a supermondo econobox (Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, Nissan Versa) or getting a Mazda3 which now that everyone owns one, would be hilarious. So much for the promise I made to myself "No 4 door cars until your 35."

The Calm Before The Storm - 7/20/06

Hopkins should be interesting this year. This fall, I'm taking Intermediate Dynamics:

Course topics include kinematics and dynamics of systems of particles and of rigid bodies, applications of the conservation equations, orbital motion, vibration theory, Lagrangian mechanics, gyroscopic motion, and Hamilton’s principle. The course is oriented toward a balance between classical theory and practical problem solving. Matlab is introduced and used as a computational and plotting tool throughout the course.

Dynamics was a class that was a total sophmore engineering weed out course. The Engineering Science and Mechanics department had a weekly tutor session with this TA who essentially explained out the assigned homework short of giving us the final answer. I started attending this session 3 weeks into it and after the first exams were handed back to all the sections, it grew from about 10 of us to about 30. By the end of the semester, it was about 50. Needless to say, I'm not looking forward to this one but it will serve as a good refresher.

Spring, I am super siced about. First we've got Kinematics and Dynamics of Robots:

This course introduces the basic concepts and tools used to analyze the kinematics and dynamics of robot manipulators. Topics include kinematic representations and transformations, positional and differential kinematics, singularity and workspace analysis, inverse and forward dynamics techniques, and trajectory planning and control.

Finally some actual robotics classes. Next is one not on my radar until this past month - Orthopedic Biomechanics:

This course is an introduction to the field of orthopedic biomechanics for the engineer. The course will cover the structure and function of the musculoskeletal system, including detailed discussions on the material properties of bone, ligament, tendon, cartilage, and muscle. Other topics of discussion will include viscoelasticity, bone remodeling, and injury mechanisms. Journal articles from the biomechanics literature will be used to explore current areas of active research.

I think it will totally help me in my whole Haptic Systems/Human Interface slant to my masters. It would also help me in what I'm thinking is my next masters: Physical Therapy. Hopefully by spring time, my mind will be adjusted enough to night classes that I can handle both. Classes start September 6th.

*Cracks Knuckles Over Keyboard*

It's high time I knock a little dust off this blog. Prepare yourself, for I have no mercy for you.