High Voltage in DC

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I read that the Chevy Volt is drawing fire from Washington.  Is there anything that won’t stir up the hornets in DC these days?   So now there’s talk that the investigation into the car’s lithium batteries was politcally affected – that the government waited too long to open an investigation into the potential for the batteries to catch fire (“Chevy Volt caught in Washington’s crossfire”).

Congressman Jordan (R-OH) is the one who apparently made these comments.  I don’t attribute this next comment to Mr. Jordan personally, but coming from the party of less government regulation and intrusion, isn’t this backwards?  Even Rep Jordan has a fairly consistent record of voting against government intervention (“Political Guide”).  Shouldn’t folks be allowed to fend for themselves like when he voted against the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009.

This makes me wonder what the motivation is here. Is it about election year politics and that the State of the Union speech included comments about GM and clean energy?  That would be a shame.  Is it worth trashing an American product to get at political opponents, goals, or ideology?  Who knows. Maybe I’m interpreting this all wrong. (I don’t think so).

What I’m sure of though is that this is going to be a long year.  I wonder how long it will take before most people tune out of all the BS.  I’m already muting the political commercials.

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DC Black Eye

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I thought it was from the political turbulence in Washington, D.C.  Mr. Kerry, hope you heal quickly.

On the flip side of this, I also wanted to comment on the moment where Obama hugged Rep Giffords.  It was a touching moment, and although she resigned today, I was glad to see that she made it to the SOTU session.  It’s a reminder that there is great resilience and humanity in DC sometimes.  If not rarely.

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Review: Pillowsonic Speaker

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I have trouble sleeping most nights.  Actually, the problem for me is falling asleep.  Once I’m out, as long as my cat doesn’t try to throw up on my head, I’m out like a light.  But what I find is that instead of falling asleep quickly I lay in bed with my mind going 100mph.  I think about work and everything else I need to do, and then I worry that I won’t remember to do it.

One thing that I did was to start a task list.  If I can’t sleep because I’m tasking, I just put everything into my iPhone so that I know I’ll remember it the next day.  That helps a little.  But I also found that listening to something as I fall asleep helps me focus my attention somewhere.  I’ve found the Science Channel can do wonders in this regard.  Nine times out of ten I fall asleep within 10 minutes.  Problem is I can’t use the TV if someone else next to me is trying to fall asleep.

I tried using headphones and actually used this method for quite awhile.  But two things stink.  First is that sometimes you wake up lying on an earbud and that hurts.  Second is sometimes you wake up wrapped in earbuds and that seems unsafe.  So I went looking for an alternative and found a pillow speaker called the Pillowsonic.

I found it at Amazon for about $15. (I think it’s $18 now)  I figured it would probably be so cheap I wouldn’t be able to hear it or it would just suck.  But worth a try to not get strangled by my earbuds, right?  Turns out it works pretty well!  You put it under your pillow, and you can actually hear it through your pillow.  But it also muffles it enough that no one else can really hear it.  I end up turning the volume on my iPhone to about 2/3 to 3/4 full but I imagine that’s because it’s not a powered speaker.  Even through the pillow though, the voices are clear enough to be understood.  When I’ve listened to music it has been just about perfect.

I read some reviews that this pillow speaker may not last long – a few folks reviewed it saying it lasted for awhile then stopped working for some reason.  Quality seems fine to me so far, and for $15 it’s not the worst thing to have to replace.  If you like to listen to music or anything else as you fall asleep, I would recommend this product.

No disclosure needed: I bought this product myself, and do not receive compensation in any way, shape, or form for reviewing it.

State of the Union – non-compromising

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A few minutes ago I finished watching the President’s State of the Union speech.  I could probably go into some political thing here, but I don’t feel like it.  All I will say is that I wish things could somehow be so simple – write a bill and send it to the president.  This Congress will never let that happen.

I think my frustration lies with Washington in general, just as the President said.  The parties are locked in a destructive struggle that truly benefits no one.  It makes them both look bad. It makes America look bad.  It makes things worse for the people who sent them there.  I wish it didn’t have to be that way.

I wonder if it’s the lost art of compromise.  It seems to have been misplaced somewhere, and the problem is they have to compromise to find it.  I know that my political wishes may not happen completely if there is compromise, but I know that nothing will happen without it.  And nothing is pretty much what we see coming out of Washington day after day.  Perhaps this is why congress is less popular than BP during the oil spill or Hugo Chavez (Cillizza).

Some say it is a weakness to compromise.  But I think it takes strength, courage, and wisdom to find places where compromise can be reached.  And no matter what I won’t deviate from that point of view.

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Highway Etiquette

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Having spent much of the summer traveling and just gotten home from a trip across the state, I thought I might share some of my favorite driving pet peeves.

  •  When someone is passing you in the left lane, don’t speed up.  You may notice at the moment you have slowed down for some reason (like you’re eating a burger or checking your email), but suddenly speeding up means the person on your left is now stuck there in the left lane.
  • Building on the last one – pick a speed.  Use cruise control if you can.  Doing 70mph one minute and 55mph the next means you appear to not be paying attention.
  • Don’t ever pass someone on the side of the road.
  • Let people into traffic.  When highway traffic slows down and merges into one lane, let at least one person in.  Being one car length ahead really won’t get you there any faster.
  • Likewise if you need to merge into traffic, don’t be a dumbass and pass everyone to get in at the front.
  • Stay calm – don’t get mad.  People do dumb things when they’re mad, especially when we can anonymize the people around us.  The person who just cut you off might be a very nice person who just had a momentary lapse.  Don’t get yourself and others killed over something dumb.

There is a lovely guide at the National Motorists Association that gives a few more ideas on how to be a good highway driver.  Really, it’s not just about my pet peeves or highway etiquette.  It’s about being responsible and caring about the people around you.  Dumb mistakes could cost lives.

Should you come out?

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One of the most basic questions I’ve been asked about coming out is whether or not someone should come out in the first place.  Should I come out to my 80 year old mother?  Should I come out to my conservative friends?  Should I come out at work?  I think that being out is far better than living in the closet, but the timing is an individual choice that has to be yours.

Some would say that the answer is always yes – come out as soon as you know yourself.  The viewpoint here is that telling the truth will set you free.  Being true to yourself does take less energy than lying (or omitting) part of yourself.  And there’s also less anxiety about being found out as well.  But I think this answer doesn’t take certain complexities into account.

The first thing to consider is whether or not it’s safe to come out in your situation.  For instance if your workplace is very homophobic and your personal safety might be a problem I would hesitate to tell someone to come out.  If there is a high likelihood that you could lose your home, income, or necessities then that is certainly something to consider. Sure the cause is bettered when people come out, but not when it means sacrificing something that will injure you physically, mentally, or emotionally.

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Air Force Museum

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I might have walked 10 miles inside that building!  The Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is huge consisting of 3 aircraft hangers and several other buildings attached.  We didn’t even make it to the other buildings that you can take bus to get to, but we certainly saw enough to fill an afternoon.

I can imagine that one could spend an entire day there, if not more.  The place is filled with planes from every era that can fill you with wonder to dread.  Some of the first planes in the exhibit are the very early ones as one might expect.  Looking at some you might question how they made it off the ground, but it’s amazing to think that in the grand scheme of things we were barely off the ground only a few generations ago.  Later in the museum are planes that fought in wars including ones that carried nuclear warheads to Japan.  Obviously the warheads are replicas, but there is still a sobering feeling looking at these devices that caused so much destruction.

The thing that I liked and wished I had more time to enjoy was the history that was documented there.  It wasn’t just about the planes, but also about the events that they took part in and history that they helped define.  Truly one could spend hours just looking at the history exhibits alone.  There are artifacts and explanations everywhere and anyone who enjoys learning about history would certainly enjoy it.

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Dayton Vape Meet

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Just got back from the Dayton Vape Meet which was sponsored by the guys at Vaporcast. This is the second one I’ve been to, and it’s always a good time. Got to meet some cool people, hang out with others that I don’t see often, and have good pizza and beer at Boston’s. Also got to try to good, if not interestingly named, juices like Smurph Piss and Safe Sex on the Beach. Both were delicious.

I think one of the best things about going to these meets is getting to connect with other vapers. Back at home I don’t really know anyone else who vapes, so hanging out with other people who do is good. I usually learns few things and sometimes I have the honor of helping other people with the little I know. We met two newer vapers tonight who were very nice. I wish when I first started vaping I could have gone to a meet like this one. I probably could have spared myself some dumb mistakes and nasty juices.

Thanks again to the guys at Vaporcast for putting on the meet. Jack, Scott, and Adam – you guys are the best.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

A long day…

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Today was one of those days where everything I did seemed to have something go wrong at the very end.  And it was a long one.

It all started at 2:30am when I got up shortly after my cat threw up.  That was a delightful way to start the morning.  The work day started at 4am with a bi-monthly inventory-like task that usually takes a few hours.  Today it took 9 hours because it was 7 times bigger than usual.  And at the end of that was a confusing audit that about made my head spin.  After all that and loading up a truck I find there’s no Bill of Lading.  Whoops!  Had to fix that.  And when I went to staple them together the stapler ran out of staples.

On the way home after my 13 hour day the snow made the drive home twice as long.  Then my windshield washer on the driver’s side froze up.  And then the wiper started going bad and where on the windshield?  Right in front of me.

Just one of those days.  Tomorrow is another day, and it will be better.