Random Babbleing

Drop out of the college

2006-03-15T01:04:00.000-05:00

This is probably some of the best political news I have read in a while. Well, I guess its not really news but more a suggestion. The electoral college never made much sense to me in high school civics class. It made even less sense when in the first election I could vote in. It would be great to see politicians make a move foward and finally change the election system. Though with how lobbying reform has turned out I doubt much if anything will happen anytime soon.

Paradox of our Time

2006-03-02T17:13:00.000-05:00

This was recently sent to me from one of my friends. It seemed appropriately related to my last post, so enjoy:

'Paradox Of Our Time' by: Dr. Bob Moorehead

The essay
appeared under the title "The Paradox of Our Age" in Words Aptly
Spoken, Dr. Moorehead's 1995 collection of prayers, homilies, and
monologues used in his sermons and radio broadcasts:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but
shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend
more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses
and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more
degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more
experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too
little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too
tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have
multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much,
love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a
living, but not a life.

We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to
the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new
neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done
larger things, but not better things. We've cleaned up the air, but
polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We
write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've
learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more
information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less
and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small
character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days
of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes.
These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality,
one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from
cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the
showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology
can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to
share this insight, or to just hit delete.

Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not
going to be around forever. Remember, say a kind word to someone who
looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up
and leave your side. Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to
you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and
it doesn't cost a cent. Remember, to say, "I love you" to your partner
and your loved ones, but most of all, mean it. A kiss and an embrace
will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you. Remember to hold
hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there
again.

Give time to love, give time to speak, and give time to share the
precious thoughts in your mind. Life is not measured by the number of
breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Philosophy and Life - on a happy note

2006-02-28T16:13:00.000-05:00

I recently received this story in an email from a friend, enjoy:
MAYONNAISE JAR and 2 CUPS OF COFFEE

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - God, family, children, health, friends, and favorite passions -- things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car.

The sand is everything else -- the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

So...Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

Play With your children. Take time to get medical checkups.

Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.

"Take care of the golf balls first-- the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Please share this with someone you care about.

my song, closer to the end

2006-02-20T18:08:00.000-05:00

a song that i am writing, taking a long time with it and slowly very

slowly the lyrics are coming together. I want it to suggest a feeling
of lossing ones mind:

and I've forgotten how to think my way through my problems

And now this pain it wont end, your cure is my disease

my hypocrite is ripping apart my soul, wont let me go

I just want this to change as my thoughts decay

and I feel it failing now
ive bought these lies
held them close, just want out
try find the lost parts of me

and it seems i only suffer when i dream

betrayed, these angels, they only claw at me

and all my efforts wasted Ive lost myself

and ive forgotten how to think my way through my problems

and i feel it failing now
ive bought these lies
held them close, just want out
still cant hide this disease

What is the Value of Algebra

2006-02-17T12:21:00.000-05:00

The Washington Post should be ashamed of itself. On Thursday February 16 they allowed a man named Richard Cohen to tell America that it is ok to be ignorant. I find it sad that we would allow someone to tell America's youth that it is ok to never learn basic algebra. That same advice is little different then telling the youth of America to never go to college. Without basic algebra, geometry, and intermediate algebra are a neccessary requirment for entrence to most if not all colleges and universities.

It just seems sad to me that we would allow anybody to say its ok to be narrow minded and ignorant of anything, science or humanities.

Poetry

2006-01-09T19:10:00.000-05:00

I think I will also publish poetry and potential lyrics here for comments and opinions:
is the beginning of a song I am working on the first verse probably, dont quite know what I am going to do for the chorus yet:

and i've forgotten how to think my way through my problems.
and no this pain wont end, your cure is my disease.
my hypocrite is ripping apart my soul, (wont let me go).
i just want this to change, as my thoughts decay.

Changing Winds

2006-01-09T18:46:00.000-05:00

So it seems that the winds have changed for me. For about 2 1/2 months I was 'trying' out to be lead singer for a band. Just yesterday the final decision came down that they want to try to find somebody with a more experiance. This leaves me a bit frustrated because they did not give me any indication that this was going to be the outcome. Quite the contrary they made me feel as if things were going well, we were just starting to write music together and everything seemed to be going well. I guess to my fortune the rythm guitarist, also the main song writer for the band, still wants to work together with me. Though I know this will be little more then just jamming together every now and then. I doubt very much if anything will come of it. So the winds have changed and it now seems that my course is to continue with school finish my BA and go to grad school. But this is now the tricky and somewhat scarey part. Where do I go? Feels like the end of my junior year of high school all over again. Only this time I doubt I will be preaccepted into some grad school and have it paid for, thus making my choice simple - follow the money, in undergrad education the name of the school isnt so much as important as it is for grad school. This time will be different, now I actually have to fill out applications and make a decision. Now I generally dont have a problem with dealing with this type of stuff. Making decisions arent too bad. But this one seems different, more difficult. Everybody lives in their own little world, from the moment they are born. And it seems that the process of growing up and maturing, of becoming an adult, is the expansion of our own private world. First and formost it expands to include our parents which are like the life giving trees, we love them but at the same time we attack them and use them to move further on, for progress. Next our world expands to include our friends, which to me seem more like passing comets then anything else - most definitly not the sturdy moutains I wish they were. They are beautiful often but sometimes dangerous seeming to endanger our existance. Eventually we let one of the comets get too close and we become entangled with them, we orbit each other - enthralled in the beauty of the other. Now this can end in two ways - good and bad. This presence of the other could through your world off kelter, destroy your orbit, disrupt and destroy your world. Or if we are lucky we find a perfect balance and orbit each other dancing forever. Just note the second ending is preferable. While all of this is going on our world is ever expanding to include the rest of society. This is the part that is making trouble for me. Ever since I was young, really young, 8 or 9 I have taken responsibility for holding up and keeping together my world and I have brashfully barrelled forward expanding my borders as fast as I could to see as much of the world as possible. However, it seems that my world is becoming too heavy and I find it impossible to turn around and shrink my world back to a managable size. I am 20 now and will be 21 going into grad school and still do not have the confindence to make that step. I dont want to, not yet at least. But my world has been set in motion and I can not stop it, I do not feel I can even slow it down now. I have not quite lost sight of what I want, my goal. However, it has become harder to focus on. It seems that I have come to a thick forest with many paths and I have lost my map so I know not which one to take. I want someone to tell me what to do but at the same time I feel I would refuse to listen, desiring to find the path on my own.

The Beginning

2005-12-22T23:35:00.000-05:00

So this is the start of something that I am sure will eventually die off for me but I figured, join the ban wagon it will be fun. Anyway, I havn't figured out what I will be talking about but for the poor unfortinate soul that happens to wander into this blog, God help you. But anyway, I will be back when I actually have something to babble about.