Recently in Observations Category

I seem to have missed the International Infinity Day.  It was August 8 - what was I doing that day?  I think I was likely suffering at the hands of infinity at work that particular Friday.

Apparently there is an organization that is at the heart of this holiday - the Infinity Society.  An interesting question I found in their FAQs about thinking about infinity and how would that not cause mental illness of some sort?  I'm sure there are a multitude of things that happen in our world that if you think about them long enough, you will indeed become unstable.

So why think about infinity?  I would think it pointless, as our lives are finite and we need to be present in the moment as well as look towards what we can do now to positively affect the future.  But from the documentary on the IS website, they suggest that thinking in terms of the finite puts limitations on what we perceive, and opening up our thoughts to be all-encompassing also opens us up to new possibilities and a more accurate perception of reality.

Take a moment and think about the infinite possibilities...

(source: Infinity Society)

Today I was watching some of the Wimbledon tennis and it took me back to when I was a kid.  No, I never actually attended Wimbledon, but I remember when my sister and I used to watch - and make fun of the players.  The thing that we would laugh hysterically at was when they would grunt.  I seem to remember Martina Navrantilova grunting with each stroke.  WHHHAAGHHH!! 

Today I was watching the matches between Nadal and Federer.  That Nadal gives quite a grunt almost every time - almost sounds like a very primal grunt.  If you closed your eyes and listened to the match, it might even sound like kinky sex.  But I digress....

So my sister and I were playing Bocce with our family, and for awhile weren't doing so well.  So we decided to grunt like the tennis players.  Surprisingly, we started to do quite well.  Maybe there is something to it...

Interestingly, there appears to be a "gruntometer" in tennis now.  Maria Sharapova apparently is the loudest grunter at 101 decibels.  (Lane, 2005)   Hell that could cause hearing damage - G. Carol Audio reports that hearing loss can occur at sustained 90-95 dB. (gcaudio.com)



Maybe we should all grunt in order to try harder.  Give it a try the nexy time you play a sport.  Even if you don't do better, people will know you're trying.  Heck, try it at work.  Can't get that photocopier to work?  Give us a good ol' grunt and at least your peers will know that you're the one for the job.

(sources: BBC News - Why do women tennis stars grunt?; Decibel (Loudness) Comparison Chart)

I was reading about the gay marriages taking place in California, and how some people in the wedding industry are conflicted about the whole thing.  Some people believe it's wrong so they make the choice to not participate.  Others believe it's wrong, but choose to benefit from it anyway.  Take Eric Nelson, a photographer and minister, for instance.

"Nelson has already booked a same-sex wedding in July, but his religious beliefs and his business sense took him in two directions.

So he'll only be taking the photos. He will not officiate gay weddings, which he said conflict with his Christian beliefs."

He also likens gay couples to people who are on drugs or involved in crime.

"The ... photographer-minister said he would likewise turn down officiating weddings for heterosexual couples who he knew were involved in drugs or crime."

So in effect, to complete the analogy, he would then take pictures for a couple who was on drugs or involved in crime. 

So these are the values the high and mighty want us to aspire to?  Object to it all you want especially if it's amoral, but make money off of it if you can.  No wonder our country is so messed up right now...

(source: LA Times - Gay weddings are not quite a piece of cake)

Did you get a sticker after you voted?  You know, everyone wears those "I voted" stickers all day long.  I wonder if there's a reason for them, like do they encourage other people to vote?  Or is it as elementary school as it seems?  Here you go little kid.  Here's a sticker for voting!  I bet there's people who vote just so they can get the sticker.

President Bush has said, "The best way to deal with this enemy is to defeat them overseas so we don't have to face them here at home..."  While I don't agree with this logic in its current implementation, I certainly hope no one tries to attack us here at home - especially not in the air.  Apparently our air defenses are stretched a bit thin at this point due to the fact that our F15s have been grounded, and "the F-16, is in high demand for Iraq operations." (MSNBC.com)  So for awhile the Canadians were neighborly enough to watch over Alaska for us.  And the California Air National Guard is watching the entire West Coast.  Perhaps we should have gotten more of those F22s up and going, because we've never been attacked via air before...

While the rhetoric about defeating folks abroad resounds with many, I think being able to protect our own country would be a high priority.  The fact that it seems to be compromised is disconcerting.

(sources: Grounded F-15s have U.S. searching for cover; Spread of Democracy Will Yield Peace, Bush Says)

I saw this today in the lid of one of those plastic containers... I know there's lawsuits out there from pharmaceuticals to nose hair trimmers. But do we really have to tell parents not to put their child into a plastic container?

   New words start somewhere, right? Like when people started saying something was "rad" way back in the day, someone had to start that. And now if someone says it, although I might think they're stuck back in time, I would understand. Like, "that car is rad, dude!" I'm not sure how that came to be though - radial? Was there something circular that was cool?
   What else was there? Let's see... well, of course there's, "that's so gay" which I'm not entirely fond of. Oh yeah, "phat." I guess that means cool. Tight as in "that new car is tight."
   But this new one - sick. This one really threw me off. I saw it first in the forums describing someone's car. Someone had posted a picture of their modded car, and the response was "that's sick!" How rude, I thought. But come to find out that is a complement. And how did this one come to be? Someone was sick, yet cool at the same time? Wish I could pull that off.. Oh well.
   Apparently, sick is the new cool.

In the midst of an important election, it's good to know we still have our priorities...

(source: CNN.com)

   I think I almost caused some road rage today.
   I was in a turn lane to get onto the highway, listening to Rachael Maddow, minding my own business. A car with 3 guys in it pulled up next to me and one of them shouted and pointed. I had no idea what he said and yelled, "What?" Then the light changed and I drove off. In my rearview mirror I could see them trying to get over into the turn lane, and it occurred to me that the guy must have asked if he could get over in front of me. Oh well.. he got on the highway. No big deal, right?
   Well, about a mile up the highway he pulls up next to me, honks his horn, and gives me the finger. I just stared at him for a moment, and then just started laughing. The guy looked ridiculous, and honestly, making the effort to catch up and get my attention just struck me as pathetic. As I laughed, he grew more angry shaking his wirey finger at me. It was bad, but the angrier he got, the more stupid he looked, and the more I laughed. Then he moved on about a car length in front of me and just hung there for a bit. For a moment I thought he might swerve at me or something, but it was my exit and goodbye.. Just bizarre.