No Killers

If you have paid any attention to the turmoil in Egypt you may be aware of President Hosni Mubarak's efforts to shut down the Internet. He has this right by law, and has had some limited success. Some people have been able to circumvent the government's controls by using foreign numbers or access codes.

Beyond the ability of people to circumvent controls, I am morally opposed to the practice. There is a senate bill that would grant the President some power to shut down internet service in time of emergency. I'm not comfortable with any President having such broad control, especially without knowing what event might be sufficient to take control.

We need much more information on what would apply, but I doubt there is any scenario where suspension of a now-critical service might be justified.

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Tweet Cheap

I thought this was a great article by Dave Kindred. He looks at the recent criticism of Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, which originated on Twitter and which was subsequently promulgated in the traditional sports media.

It is a great critique of the evolution in commentary caused by social media and its impact on lazy reporting. It also highlights the unfortunate lack of discretion on the part of some athletes, and others.

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What I've Learned

I've had some time on my hands, so I thought I would share some of what I've been thinking about.

I've learned that three hour naps in the middle of the afternoon are amazing! I used to know that, so I guess I relearned it. I'm sure I will soon learn that I should not expect that to happen again until my children are much, much older.

I've learned that I need a much better story to explain how I got this sweet cut in between my eyes. Not for people that I actually care about, but for the randomly curious person to whom I do not want to give the whole flu/dehydration spiel. Any ideas? Referee at a cockfight? Unicycle accident?

I've learned that old age must be very frustrating, especially if there is much of this falling involved. At least I was asleep during my fall. I only had to experience the blood pouring from my face after the incident occurred, which I think would be preferable to experiencing my face hit the bathtub LIVE!

I've learned that there is so little good programming on TV. Most of ESPN's hosts are insufferable, with silly affected voices and the inability to ask non-leading questions. All of these old dramas all seem the same. At least rereading old novels is more satisfying than watching old tv shows (Thank you Orson Scott Card).

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Jimmer'd

BYU has a huge game tonight against #4 ranked SDSU. This piece from the WSJ looks at how BYU is a team that other schools love to hate.

I love the mention of Wyoming, which has always seemed to consider BYU a major rival, while we Cougs don't see the Cowpokes as a big deal.

It's a fun little read. Go Cougs!

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Aftermath

Well, my face freaks me out a little when I look in the mirror and I feel pretty lousy. It has been a humbling reminder of my human frailty. I am going to bed, but before I do...

I will not be running for a little bit, but found this article, critical of barefoot running, to be pretty interesting. I remain intrigued by the idea, and not fully convinced by either side.

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I Got Whacked

Saturday night I started to feel a little sick. Mild sore throat and aches mostly, which I attributed to my Friday INTENSE weight lifting and playing in our flag football league game earlier that day. I woke up the next morning feeling pretty lousy, which I now know is the Flu. I stayed home from Church, slept a lot, hoping to feel better in time for a 9 AM appointment in the office.

I woke up at midnight to use the bathroom. On my way from toilet to sink I blacked out, hitting my face on something (bathtub or floor?). I woke up to see blood pouring from my nose and this nice gash on my nose between my eyes.

That is a picture that I snapped in the hospital. Apparently I had a subconscious desire to emulate Harry Potter, but aimed a little low.

Lacy heard me fall and came into the bathroom as I was trying to stand up. I was unresponsive to her questions, but remember thinking that I needed to get cleaned up and go back to sleep. She helped me slump back against the wall, and I sipped some Gatorade while she called my dad. He arrived, took me to the hospital where I had an EKG, CT scan, chest x-ray, blood work and flu swab. The diagnosis? Dehydration due to influenza type A. I thought I was drinking enough fluids, but apparently not. In addition to the face gash I have a small fracture in my nose and nasty neck pain.

17 stitches later (3 internal, 14 external) here is my beautiful face.


I am taking it easy at home, trying to stay away from my wonderful, curious kids and beautiful wife so that they don't get sick. I'm grateful for Lacy and her quick thinking after the initial shock of seeing my blood pooling on the bath rug. I'm grateful for my parents, especially my dad who sat with me in the hospital for four hours and is covering my appointments. I'm thankful to God that nothing more serious occurred.

I learned that you can be dehydrated and still have to pee. I am taking Tamiflu and enjoying the Lortab. Hopefully I will rejoin society later this week.

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Location:Home, then North Florida Regional Medical Center, now Home

Dive Deep

There is a new movie coming out on February 4th, Sanctum. It was inspired in part by an experience that the filmmaker had while diving with Wes Skiles. I've written about Wes before. He passed away in a diving accident last June and was a great guy.


You can read more about the origin of the film and how Wes took Jim Cameron on his first cave dive a few years ago.

The Other Side

I didn't find a video that I felt was sufficiently Awesome for posting today, but I did like this article about the relationship between NFL star Jason Taylor and his agent Gary Wichard.

Wichard was named in an expose about sports agents that was published in Sports Illustrated. The article linked above is a nice counterpoint, giving the other side of Wichard's interactions with players. While it doesn't prove anything about the veracity of the article, it does show there are always more sides to every story.

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Getting His Money's Worth

I love this story. A University of Colorado student decided to pay his tuition in $1 bills, as a protest against rising tuition.

Sure beats getting into fights with the cops.

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Peacemaker

I didn't hear Rush Limbaugh say this, but blogger Ann Althouse did, and I think it is a very compelling quote-

"The 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Winner hosted a dinner for the guy holding the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Winner in prison...and the media does not get the irony of this at all."

I didn't think about it until I saw this. I understand the need of the President to meet with the China's head of state. There are many complicated issues to deal with, but it would be nice to see a little more leadship from him on this issue and others.

Taking Aim

It seems that CNN anchor John King apologized for a guest's use of the term "crosshairs." I would like to target this kind of excessively cautious behavior. At risk of getting into a shooting match with some of my more gun-shy friends, does anyone really think that such talk is to blame for the AZ tragedy?

Rather than continue to beat this dead horse, I'd like to nuke any more discussion of whether trite and overused martial metaphors really do anything more than carpet bomb the English language.

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Dopey?

Sports Illustrated is going to publish a story about a current Grand Jury investigation involving Lance Armstrong. It appears that most of the allegations and evidence against him involve witness testimony. There may be documents but it doesn't seem like any of them has been tied to him conclusively. The fact that the witnesses include Floyd Landis does not strengthen the case. However, as Jose Canseco proved, disliking someone is not proof that they are lying

If the grand jury returns an indictment it only means that they felt there was sufficient probable cause to charge him with a crime. His guilt would not be established or refuted until a trial.

I want him to be innocent, but it would be foolish to ignore the possibility that at least some of these allegations are true.

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No Big Deal

This announcement, that travel restrictions to Cuba are being eased by the Obama administration, is not that big a deal. While it should lead to more interchange of currency and people, it is not a huge shift in relations between the US and Cuba.

The US embargo or Cuba continues in every meaningful sense, but to what end? There is no doubt that we have something to gain economically from lifting the embargo, but it is small relative to our economic relationships with other states. If there was more immediate and significant impact, the embargo would have been lifted long ago.

I favor the removal of the embargo. Engagement with the Castro regime would remove their ability to frame us as the boogeyman, cause of all their troubles. It would allow us to strengthen our influence over a strategically important neighbor, one who is much too chummy with Venezuela and China.

So a few more dollars and people visiting Cuba? No big deal. Remove the embargo and THEN I'll be impressed.

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Awesome Video Saturday CLVII

This video was made by a friend from college. Incidentally, he played the blind "Pretty Bird" kid on Dumb & Dumber. This is a funny idea, and I think it is pretty well executed. Here are the first two episodes.

Keep it Clean

This article is a nice companion to yesterday's post. David Brooks looks at the roots of our societal incivility and makes some good points:

The problem is that over the past 40 years or so we have gone from a culture that reminds people of their own limitations to a culture that encourages people to think highly of themselves. The nation’s founders had a modest but realistic opinion of themselves and of the voters. They erected all sorts of institutional and social restraints to protect Americans from themselves. They admired George Washington because of the way he kept himself in check.
But over the past few decades, people have lost a sense of their own sinfulness. Children are raised amid a chorus of applause. Politics has become less about institutional restraint and more about giving voters whatever they want at that second. Joe DiMaggio didn’t ostentatiously admire his own home runs, but now athletes routinely celebrate themselves as part of the self-branding process.
So, of course, you get narcissists who believe they or members of their party possess direct access to the truth. Of course you get people who prefer monologue to dialogue. Of course you get people who detest politics because it frustrates their ability to get 100 percent of what they want. Of course you get people who gravitate toward the like-minded and loathe their political opponents. They feel no need for balance and correction.

So while I agree that politics was just as ugly and rancorous 100, 500, or 1000 years ago, there WAS a decorum, born of modesty, that is missing in much of what we do today. It would be nice to have some of that back. In the meantime, we have to take it easy.

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Hateful Rhetoric

I want to quote something that I read the other day:

It feels good...That's what you want to do... You want to kill your opponent.

Inflammatory? Yes, yet I don't have a problem with it. Why? It was spoken by BYU guard Jimmer Fredette after he torched the Utah Utes for 47 points.
I love that fire in an athlete...for a team that I like. When I don't like the team, I generally consider such words to be classless and foolhardy. A great example would be New York Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie, who went after Tom Brady. Cromartie is no great example of class, AND he plays on my least favorite team, so naturally anything he does crosses a line.

And this is the crux of the rhetoric issue. We are all rooting for one team or another. We are pleased by their enthusiasm and fire, their swagger, but when the other team does it, we take offense. That's really all that is happening in today's political climate. It's been that way for years, and it is not going to change any time soon, this peaceful interlude notwithstanding

Like Fredette, the vast majority have no interest in the actual death of the opponent in anything other than a figurative sense. We need to get over it.

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Enduring

I thought this was a very moving article about Billy Donovan and two of his former assistants, now SEC coaches in their own right. All three lost children during late stages of pregnancy.

The loss of a child is hard to imagine. I have found the birth of our children to be a deeply moving, spiritual experience. To witness your wife be in such extremity, and to know that there is a very thin line between success and failure is sobering. In two instances, Grant and Pelphrey, their wives were very ill due to complications arising from the loss. Fortunately, both survived, husband and wife buoyed by their faith and good relationships with family and each other.

Some of our friends have been through similar experiences to these families. It is life-altering, and as is mentioned several times in the article, it forces you to reflect on the many wonderful blessings that you do have.

I think the article is worth your time.

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Secret Work

I thought this was an interesting Op-Ed by author Brad Meltzer (writing in the New York Daily News).

He explains how he was contacted by the Department of Homeland Security to participate with other people in theorizing how terrorists might choose to attack the country. Among other things, he is horrified at how easy it would be to do so.

I took a terrorism class while in college, and it was one of my favorites. For an assignment we were asked to look at the vulnerabilities of different routes for transporting VIPs to and from the university. It was fun, but I was left with a similar feeling. It seemed far too easy to figure out how to do terrible things.

Since that time I have often wondered why more terrorists are not successful. Indeed, recent attacks on our country have been notable for the incompetence of the perpetrators. You could attribute some of this to the foolishness of their cause, but to expect them to all be so stupid would be a serious misjudgment.

Meltzer came away from the experience with an appreciation for the other people who contributed their time and expertise to the problem of securing our nation, and explains that this was not the first time that Americans have done so. I'm sure it won't be the last.

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Blame Game

I will start this post with these words from George Will:

It would be merciful if, when tragedies such as Tucson's occur, there were a moratorium on sociology.

Indeed. I felt this way when I started reading news reports, blog posts, and Facebook updates on the Arizona killings. My wife can attest that accuracy and completeness of information is very important to me. I'm not perfect at it, but I will admit when I have acted on incomplete information and try to rectify it. Paul Krugman didn't wait for accurate information when he blamed the incident in Tucson on conservatives. From The Economist-

In a blog item on Saturday, before any significant details about Mr Loughner's motivations had come to light, Paul Krugman wrote: You know that Republicans will yell about the evils of partisanship whenever anyone tries to make a connection between the rhetoric of Beck, Limbaugh, etc. and the violence I fear we’re going to see in the months and years ahead. But violent acts are what happen when you create a climate of hate. And it’s long past time for the GOP’s leaders to take a stand against the hate-mongers.
This struck me as irresponsibly premature, and one might have thought that, given a little more time and information, Mr Krugman would change his tune, or at least turn down the volume. Nope. In today's column on America's alleged "climate of hate", Mr Krugman reports that he's been "expecting something like this atrocity to happen" since 2008, conjures in his fevered imagination a "rising tide of
violence", and spots his hated political foes behind it all:
[I]t’s the saturation of our political discourse—and especially our airwaves—with
eliminationist rhetoric that lies behind the rising tide of violence. Where’s that toxic rhetoric coming from? Let’s not make a false pretense of balance: it’s coming, overwhelmingly, from the right.

A cursory review of the internet and political media can attest that violent imagery and hateful rhetoric come from all sides. Anyone remember this unusual Halloween decoration? Meanwhile no link has been established between the shooter and any right-wing organizations. Interestingly, FoxNews got that story rolling.

Other commentators, such as the New Republic's Jonathan Chait, agree that this shooting does not come from right-wing rage. In yesterday's Wall Street Journal, blogger Glenn Reynolds looked at the implications of playing the blame game:

To be clear, if you're using this event to criticize the "rhetoric" of Mrs. Palin or others with whom you disagree, then you're either: (a) asserting a connection between the "rhetoric" and the shooting, which based on evidence to date would be what we call a vicious lie; or (b) you're not, in which case you're just seizing on a tragedy to try to score unrelated political points, which is contemptible. Which is it?
I understand the desperation that Democrats must feel after taking a historic beating in the midterm elections and seeing the popularity of ObamaCare plummet while voters flee the party in droves. But those who purport to care about the health of our political community demonstrate precious little actual concern for America's political well-being when they seize on any pretext, however flimsy, to call their political opponents accomplices to murder.
Where is the decency in that?

Ross Douthat also wrote a good piece in the New York Times. I'll close with his closing words:

We should remember, too, that there are places where mainstream political movements really are responsible for violence against their rivals. (Last week’s assassination of a Pakistani politician who dared to defend a Christian is a
stark reminder of what that sort of world can look like.) Not so in America:
From the Republican leadership to the Tea Party grass roots, all of Gabrielle
Giffords’s political opponents were united in horror at the weekend’s events.
There is no faction in American politics that actually wants its opponents dead.
That may seem like a small blessing, amid so much tragedy and loss. But it is a blessing worth remembering nonetheless.

A Leader of the Band

Band of Brothers is one of my all-time favorite books. One of the people profiled in it, Dick Winters, passed away last week. He was beloved by the men that he commanded:

When he said 'Let's go,' he was right in the front," Mr. Guarnere, who was called "Wild Bill" by his comrades, said Sunday night from his South Philadelphia home. "He was never in the back. A leader personified."
Another member of the unit living in Philadelphia, Edward Heffron, 87, said thinking about Mr. Winters brought a tear to his eye.
"He was one hell of a guy, one of the greatest soldiers I was ever under," said Mr. Heffron, who had the nickname "Babe" in the company. "He was a wonderful officer, a wonderful leader. He had what you needed, guts and brains. He took care of his men, that's very important."

It is impressive that they continued to respect and honor his memory over 65 years since they served under him. If you have not read the book, I suggest that you pick it up!

Sporting News

Ahead of the big National Championship game scheduled for tomorrow night, here are a few things I read this past week-

• Jason Whitlock interviews NBA Commissioner David Stern. I have a lot of respect for Stern. His interviews are often very good.
• Frank Deford explains why the NCAA makes a mockery of itself, especially with recent rulings the Ohio State players.
• Nike Chairman Phil Knight enjoys a very unique experience as Oregon's most important alum and benefactor. There is very little independence from his will at the school.
• Andy Staples looks at the challenge of playing against Oregon's speedy offense.

Awesome Video Saturday CLVI

This video came out last year, and I thought it was outstanding. I just saw it a while ago on a list of 2010's top viral videos. It shows some extraordinarily precise driving.

Christmas 2010 - Globally

This link will take you to photos compiled by staff at the Boston Globe. They represent photos sent in of Christmas, as celebrated all over the world. There are some beautiful pictures.

Shoot Me Up

The debate over whether certain vaccines are harmful to children owes much of it's life to a study published in a British medical journal. That study has since been retracted, and as has been reported here and elsewhere, An investigation has determined that the study was not only wrong, but manipulated. Moreover, it appears that a key motive was money received by the doctor authoring the study. This money came from a law firm planning to sue vaccine companies.

Now, children are getting seriously I'll with diseases that no one should be getting anymore. Until proven otherwise, decisively, vaccines are welcome in my house.

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The Beauty of the Interweb

You may have seen the video linked in this post from a WSJ blog.

It's a great story, and I hope good things happen for this man.

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A View from San Diego

These are some pictures that my sister-in-law Lillie posted on her blog.

In a few you can see that Isaac looks a little sick, but still as cute as ever. It's good to remember the fun times from this trip.

Christmas morning-


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Location:Home

Reading & Waiting

As a continuation of my weekend's troubles, I am sitting at the shop waiting for our battery to be replaced. I'm trying out this new (for me) app, which I hope is a little easier than using blogger directly on Safari.

I have been a fan of Eric Snider's writing for a long time, and he posted posted a list on his website of some of his favorite columns from 2010.

There are some pretty funny reads on there. This recent edition of Eric's Bad Movies, not included on the list, made me laugh pretty hard at points.

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Location:W Newberry Rd,Gainesville,United States

CFB Post-Mortem

I have a goal to have 300 posts this year. This is number 2.

BYU and Miami finished their seasons in very different ways. After many early stumbles, BYU looked pretty good. One catalyst for that was the firing of Jaime Hill, BYU's defensive coordinator. The other day BYU's offensive coordinator, Robert Anae, resigned in what looks to be an almost complete shake-up of the offensive staff. The Salt Lake Tribune's Gordon Monson explains why this is a good thing for the Cougars. I'm inclined to agree with his analysis, and given the improvement in quarterback Jake Heaps and some of the other good pieces in place, I am excited to see what next season may bring.

Miami's problems continued with an embarrassing loss to old rival Notre Dame. Despite his success keeping his players out of trouble, Randy Shannon couldn't seem to master the duties of a head coach, and the Miami Herald's Manny Navarro looks at that as well as some other challenges awaiting new coach Al Golden. Miami has some talented players, but there is a lot of work to do, and making Stephen Morris the named starter right now would be one good step.

I am hopeful this will be one of those times when a new coach comes in and can make some magic happen. More likely, this is a two year project, making 2012 Golden's year to get it done.

We'll see what happens next August.

A ______ New Year!

Good? Yes. My family is home, safe and sound, mostly healthy and 3/5 asleep.

Prosperous? We'll see. After some of the expenses associated with what I am about to write, that part of the story remains unwritten.

Happy? Eh...

I am going to vent a little bit, in order to exorcise the demons of a hellish day from my system. This will be long.

I have just arrived home from a 2 week trip to California. I have spent the last 29 hours attempting to do so.

We go to California to see Lacy's family twice a year. I love these visits, as I love her family, and this trip included the arrival of a new nephew, born to Lacy's sister Lillie and her husband Ross. We had a great time with Lacy's parents and the rest of her family, but the trip was made difficult by especially persistent Eastern Time Zone sleep patterns from our kids AND the fact that EVERYONE became ill with some kind of cold/flu/sinus bug, with most of us still fighting it off (almost 2 weeks later for me).

I try to make these trips comfortable for our family of 5. I begin tracking airfares 4-6 months ahead of time. I try to make sure we have ideal layovers (around 2 hours- time for bathroom, food, and walking to the connecting gate). We often take early flights, and this time, stayed at the Hyatt located in the airport itself, which made for a very smooth departure, long but smooth flight to L.A., and easy connection to San Diego.

For our trip home I planned for us to fly from San Diego to Atlanta, 3 hour layover, then arrival in Orlando just after midnight on January 1, 2011. It sounded like fun to have our kids, accustomed (by now we thought) to West Coast time, experience the New Year with us, in a plane. It would be a new adventure for everyone. Then we would stay the night at the same airport hotel, wake up for a nice New Year's Day breakfast and then spend some quality time with my family at my sister's house in Orlando.

Nice plan, right? All was well as we packed the night before, strategically having everything we would need for the next two days in a single bag. Easy drive to the S.D. airport. Given how sick Lacy, Isaac, and Millie had been (Joseph and I having improved at this point) we made sure that the kids got some Benadryl and Lacy some cold meds to ward off pressure problems. This worked well for Millie, who zonked out during the flight. Isaac had some troubles on the descent, solved with a bottle, but poor Lacy felt like her head was going to be crushed, a pain, in her words, second only to childbirth. Despite the efforts of a kind and observant flight attendant, as we talked after the flight she was sure that she couldn't get on our next flight. She couldn't hear in one ear and the other had diminished effectiveness. She also continued to have a terrible headache for the next several hours.

We talked to Delta, but they couldn't guarantee the return of our bags, so the plan was to rent a car, drive to Gainesville, and then I would continue to Orlando to pick up our bags and car. At this time Lacy's pain was severe enough that we took a motel room a little south of the airport.

We slept pretty well and then got on the road. We had been driving for a little while when the GPS in the car, and later highway advisory signs, alerted us to an accident that had closed all southbound lanes on the interstate. The recommended avoidance route did not save us from a delay of more than 2 hours.

Finally, back underway, several bathroom and food-related stops later we arrived at our home in Gainesville, in a soon-to-be overdue rental car and with none of our bags. After unloading my family I got back on the road to Orlando. That part of the trip went well, I returned the car, noticing a major snafu with the rate which will have to be dealt with on Monday, and then got our bags, which had arrived in Orlando 20 hours earlier and which were patiently waiting for me in the Delta Baggage office.

Then to find my car, which could not be accessed the way we had left it because of a renovation in the Hyatt's lobby. After a half-mile of wandering, pulling 4 suitcases and a duffle, I made it to my car which...had a dead battery.

One of us had left the dome light on, so I called for assistance at a box in the garage and Juan was dispatched to help, the car started right up and 2 hours later, here I am, writing my first blog post of the year.

I really have very little to complain about. I am home. My family is alive, in their own beds, and we are together. We never lacked for comfortable shelter or a safe, working vehicle. In a time of need I was able to pronounce a blessing on my wife and daughter, which we feel was instrumental in Lacy's recovery and Millie's good night of sleep, absent the cough that had made her so uncomfortable. Joseph and Millie were especially great in dealing with all of the changes to our schedule, and Isaac's constant smile and sweet temperament helped make the drive less onerous than it could have been.

It definitely was an expensive detour, and we did not get to enjoy the New Year as we expected or spend the time we had hoped with my family. But writing this has helped me focus on the important parts of the day and the successes we experienced despite the travails.

Here is a quick rundown of some of the good and bad:

Good:

• Hyatt- They waived the full-rate cancellation fee we would have paid when I explained Lacy's situation.
• Hampton Inn- They had room, and their rooms had comfortable beds...and mouthwash. That last thing was critical, as my toothbrush decided to pass the new year without me.
• Ford Flex- This was the second time I have rented this vehicle. It is smooth, and comfortable, with plenty of nice features and I think the SYNC system is very slick. I spent 9 hours in it today and probably could have driven a few more based on the car's comfort alone.
• KFC in Morrow, GA- Thanks for being open on New Year's Eve.
• Joseph & Millie- They took it all in stride.

Bad

• Avis rate issues- To be dealt with later. I like Avis, but I will need to deal with this.
• Sinus problems- boo sinus problems. Boo.
• McDonalds in Morrow, Ga- I know it was New Year's Eve, but take down the 24 hour drive-through sign if you don't mean it. Tired, hungry 3 and 5 year olds don't like to hear that they will not be getting the Happy Meal I hoped to buy.
• The way that I ate in California, and over the last two days.

So, my vent is over, and I am happy to have done this, if only to weigh the events of the day and see how blessed I am.

Here are some photos from the car ride. Happy New Year!

Isaac enjoying the ride. Thank goodness we packed an extra sleeper. He was very comfortable.
I don't know how many of these seemingly Japanese-made Kleenex packets Lacy used.
Joseph and Millie enjoyed sitting "so high up" in the back, with the DVD player close at hand.
Your humble, and often impatient, narrator. I am wearing my Miami shirt. I wore it on yesterday's flight, hoping to watch some of the bowl game on the inflight TV. And they lost, badly. I should have seen it as an omen.