Up at 4:20 AM after getting to sleep after 10 PM. When I woke up, I was in no mood to go to the gym, but I ate breakfast, got ready, and headed into the office. By the time I got to the office, my mood was better and I went to the gym.

25 minutes of cardio today, abbreviated mainly because I became famished while on the elliptical. Even though I ate breakfast, I was still hungry and the feeling was growing more intense with each step. So I made it to 25 minutes and called it quits. When I got back to the office, I had my "second" breakfast (toasted peanut butter and banana sandwich). I feel much better.

You'd think the big news this morning would have been that Obama won North Carolina and nearly split Indiana, all of which was good news for Obama (it would have been better if he had decisively won both, of course). But no. The top story this morning (while I was at the gym) was the fact that northern Virgina area experienced a whopping 1.5 magnitude earthquake.

You didn't read that wrong: 1.5.

For those of us who lived in Southern California, a 1.5 magnitude earthquake making top story in the news would be the equivalent of a 1.5 cm snow storm making top-story of the news in Boston in the middle of winter. Of course, this isn't Socal, but still, a 1.5 earthquake is what happens when a truck passed by on the street.

I may be biased here. I lived through numerous quakes, including the deadly Northridge quake in 1994--in fact, my family lived in Northridge at the time, and had to relocate for a few months while damage to our house was repaired. It got to the point, eventually, where I didn't even get out of bed for anything less than a 5.0 magnitude earthquake, mostly because I am a heavy sleeper and I simply slept through them.

I'm donating blood this morning. The Red Cross is here at my office taking donations and I signed up a while back. I have a 9:30 appointment. This will be my second time donating. The first time, my blood type was identified as O positive and since then, I get at least 1 call a week from the Red Cross, asking me to donate blood. This, despite the fact that you can only donate once every 45 days or so. If ever the term "vampire" applied...

Am I the only one fed up by with the media's handling of Obama's "elitist" comments?

Maureen Dowd's annoying editorial in today's New York Times is just another example of this. The media is complaining that Obama's comments were elitist. But "elitist" seems to me to be a media buzzword for "educated", as if being educated and intelligent was a bad thing. I find it ironic that the media is doing this. These are the very people who dumb down our news broadcasts, our newspapers, and our magazines. Furthermore, they take his quote out of context, providing the sound-bite and leaving out the important part leading up to the quote.

It is terribly depressing to me that we live in a culture of mediocrity. The bare minimum always seems to be good enough. The path of least resistance has become as American as apple pie. I think our founding fathers would be outraged and stricken by this opprobrious behavior we've fallen into. Anyone who stands out in a crowd of mediocrity and blah is liable to be called "elitist".

When F.D.R.was President, it was called leadership.

If the trend continues, we won't have to worry about global warming, dwindling fuel reserves, or anything else. Long before any of that is a problem, we'll have reverted back into a bunch of drooling idiots. And anyone who stands out in that crowd is liable to be called "hope".

Funny how that works.

I don't follow the news too closely anymore because it is too depressing and I'd prefer to simply deny it. That said, I do check the headlines a couple of times a day so that I am not completely out of the loop, and I have been following what's been going on with the Olympic torch and the related protests.

While I am sympathetic to the notion of global bonding, brotherhood and sisterhood, in the interest of sportsmanship, I've got to take the position that the U.S. should boycott the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, like other nations have threatened to do. In my mind, I don't see how one can encourage good sportsmanship and brotherhood, when the hosting nation is notorious for its human rights violations. I'm not saying that all nations should be like the United States (we are far too flawed a nation for me to suggest that), but surely there is a set of humane standards that we can all agree on--indeed that we have to agree on if we seek to become a truly global community. Setting all nationalism aside, as a humanist, I think we owe it to people all over the world to demonstrate that there exists a set of basic human rights and violation of these rights won't be tolerated.

Via SF Signal, President and CEO of Reading Is Fundamental, Carol H. Rasco has issued a press release regarding President Bush's elimination of funding for the Reading Is Fundamental Historic Distribution Program. In part, she says:

President Bush's proposed budget calling for the elimination of Reading Is Fundamental's (RIF) Inexpensive Book Distribution program would be devastating to the 4.6 million children and their families who receive free books and reading encouragement from RIF programs at nearly 20,000 locations throughout the U.S.

I donate money to RIF out of every paycheck. It's a good, sound program and why on earth anyone would cut funding for it is beyond comprehension. But then again, "against stupidity, the very gods themselves contend in vain." With this President in office, I can only wonder how the gods have maintained their sanity.

I voted last night in the Maryland primary. I left work a little early in order to avoid the long lines they were warning about. As it turns out, there was no line when I got to my polling place, at just before 4 PM. In fact, it took me 2 minutes to vote, and that includes the time from when I set foot in the building, to when I left.

I voted for Obama, who ended up sweeping the "Potomac" states.

Interestingly enough, it started icing (raining ice, for you West Coasters) at about the time I voted. I thought nothing of it, as I was a quarter of a mile from home. But as it turns out, it made traffic a nightmare. So much so that the Powers That Be decided to keep the Maryland polls open until 9:30 PM so that people stuck in traffic could vote.

This morning, when I left for work, it was still icing pretty badly, but it was very early (4:55 AM) and there was no one on the roads so I made it to the metro station in one piece. Listening to people here in the office, I'm so glad I take the train. I nicely avoid all of the horror stories.

Although it's Super Tuesday just about everyone today, not so for Maryland. Our primary is next week and I got my notice in the mail today. A week won't change my mind, and neither will the results of what happens today. I'm voting for Mitt Romney all the way.

Just kidding!

Seriously though, since Edwards dropped out of the race, the decision has become an easy one for me. I've leaned toward Obama for quite a while, and it was only after seeing Edwards in some of the debates that I started to waffle again. (I voted for Edwards in the last Presidential primary.) With Edwards out, I'm fully committed to Obama. I just donated money to the campaign and I'm sticking with Obama throughout.

I was up at 4:20 AM but I still couldn't get myself into the gym. I was into the office at 5:40 and proceeded to work until 4 PM when I headed home. Made a lot of good progress on my other big database project, now that I'm able to commit more time to it. Kelly called me at work today--she's never done that before; usually we just email or text. But it was a pleasant surprise to hear her voice in the middle of the day. I'll be seeing her tomorrow.

It was warm here today--near 70 degrees, which is unusual for this time of the year, but not unwelcome.

Currently 34 pages through The Life of Greece and I'm really enjoying it. Oddly enough, according to my reading list and diary, I read this book 8 years ago, way back in January 2000; but I have only the vaguest memories of reading it. When I read it now, it's like it's all brand new.

It's been a long day and I've got to get back into a good sleep routine if I am going to make it back to the gym. I'm hitting the shower and then it's off to bed.

Via kevnyc, Glassbooth is a site that asks you questions about issues and then matches you to the candidate for President you are most in-line with. For me the top three were:

1. Mike Gravel (89% similarity)
2. Dennis Kucinich (88% similarity)
3. John Edwards (85% similarity)

Of these three, Edwards is really the only one who has a chance of winning, no matter how remote. In fact, in looking at the breakdown, Edwards and I see eye-to-eye on everything except the Patriot Act. And even there, we only disagree in details.

I'm still supporting Obama at this point, but if I had to list my top 3, it would be:

1. Obama
2. Edwards
3. Clinton

I've grown to hate network TV news broadcasts and hate news reported in newspapers almost equally as much. It all focuses on depressing topics. We could do better.

But today, finally, some good news!

I've been half-paying attention to the various presidential campaigns warming up around the nation, and already I'm sick of most of them. It's more than a year before the next presidential election. We should be focusing on issues for NOW not for 18 months from now. And yet, as always, politicians will spend the next year demonstrating why they are better than the next candidate, while avoiding saying anything of substance. It seems to get worse each time around, and frankly, I'm getting fed up with it.

But how to change?

Term limits. The usual argument against term limits is that is keeps good politicians from being re-elected and doing more good. On the other hand, bad politicians do get re-elected and continue doing more bad. Lately, it seems to me that the number of bad politicians (both ethically, as well as just bad at their job) far out-numbers the good politicians. Therefore, term limits might keep a handful of good politicians from being re-elected, but it will definitely keep the bad ones out. If I ruled the universe, I would impose a 1 term limit on every political office, with perhaps the exception of federally appointed judges, and even there I'm on the fence.

Lobbying. The usual argument for lobbying rests with free speech, a kind of put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is level of support for what you believe in. In reality, it's nothing more than legalized bribery, and anyone who says it isn't is probably get paid to say that. If I ruled the universe, I would allow lobbying of politicians to continue much the same way it does now (for I am a big believer in free-speech), with one minor hitch: All lobby firms would be required to be charitable institutions, and all lobbyists would have to donate their time to their cause. They would not be allowed to make money from lobbying. They can still choose to do it, and express themselves as they may. But the firms cannot make a profit and they cannot pay their staff. It has to become a hobby of love, rather than a big business.

Campaigning. Ugh! Let me just skip the preamble and say that if I ruled the universe, I would ban all campaigning prior to three months before the election a Presidential election, or 1/16th of the total term for the position, whatever is smallest. Outside that window, it would be illegal to campaign and those politicians who chose to do it anyway would be barred from the ballot. Still, there is the gray area of free-speech. So, when I person was elected to a position, they would sign an agreement, upon taking the oath, not to campaign outside the set window. If they chose not to sign the agreement, fine, but then they don't get the job. It's still their choice.

Debates. These days, they are a waste of time, and our forefathers, to say nothing of the Greeks and Romans would scorn us for what we today call a debate. Nothing of substance ever happens in a debate. You never see a politician concede a point or change his or her mind. If I ruled the universe, I would do away with debates as a waste of time, until such a time that politicians could keep an open mind and argue points rationally.

Common knowledge. We have too much of the "let them eat cake" syndrome in our politicians these days. They are too disconnected from the reality of every day life. If I ruled the universe, all politicians would have to publicly demonstrate some basic knowledge, like the price of a gallon of milk, or the cost of a typical doctors' appointment. It would be a "pop" quiz, taking place at the discretion of the news media, and the timing could differ for each politician. You don't have to know the information, but it would look pretty bad if you didn't.

I guess we're all lucky I don't rule the universe.

I came across this quote by Francis Fukuyama yesterday. As one who always votes the straight Democratic ticket, knowing that behavior to be somewhat irrational, it left me feeling rather abashed:

Political debate has become a spectator sport in which people root for their team and cheer when it scores points, without asking whether they chose the right side. Instead of trying to defend sharply polarized positions..., it would be far better if people could actually take aboard new information and think about ow their earlier commitments, honestly undertaken, actually jibe with reality--even if this does on occasion require changing your mind.

From "Why Shouldn't I Change My Mind?" Los Angeles Times, April 9, 2006.

And so there was email yesterday from an uncle who is attempting to organize a family reunion sometime next year or in 2009. I have never been to a family reunion, in the traditional sense anyway, and the notion sounds interesting to me. It was originally proposed to be in California. But already, there seems to be a branch of the family demanding it be held in Las Vegas. Black sheep, all of them. (And by "them", I also mean me.) The details are pretty sketchy at this point, more information gathering than anything else, but it sounds like it could be interesting.

One question: what is it exactly that people do at family reunions? Are there formalities to attend to? Are speeches given? Are family trees planted and watered? I honestly don't know.

No that's not a typo, but a clever pun.

I'm just back from voting in my very local mayoral and ward council election. After a brief phone meeting that required my attention at 5 PM, I walked over the municipal center of Riverdale, Maryland to exercise my franchise. I've been reading while I walk more and more, as my supply of time becomes more limited. Naturally, I pay 80% of my attention to reading and only about 20% to walking (the "Parade-oh" problem; another terrible pun which only one or two IT people might get). I was therefore startled out of my reverie, when someone approached me vaguely and said, "Hi, Jamie, thanks for coming out."

It was David Lingua, who is running for re-election as my ward councilman. I was rather taken aback. About a week ago, David came to my door to ask for my vote. Since I agreed with what he was doing, I told him that I would come out and vote for him. I had intended to do this and I did vote for him, as well as our mayor Vernon Archer, who ran unopposed, which is a shame to the democratic process, but whatever. I must say that I was severely impressed by the fact that Mr. Lingua remembered my name from that one meeting. I can't remember someone's name after 10 tries!

I am back from voting now and am about to settle down to read more of the outstanding Breakfast in the Ruins just as soon as I have some dinner. Having voted, you can say that I have officially exorcised my franchise!

Walking home from the metro station this evening, I thought of an interesting question. I don't know the answer to the question, but perhaps someone does. My question is:

In this day and age, is it a practical possibility that a middle class person, making the average income for a family in the U.S. run for and win the presidency?

The best figure I could find for average family income in the United States is about $70,000 per year. I ask this question because to me it seems nearly impossible. Everyone who runs for president either comes from wealth or has substantial self-made wealth. But they also seem very disconnected from reality. They don't know the cost of a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk. Besides, it seems that you need lots of money even to run a campaign. In much the way that real estate in some parts of the country are out of the reach of people who reside in those areas, I wonder if there is a practical minimum income that would give someone a fair chance at winning the presidency. It would be an interesting study I think, in part because it would narrow the types of professions one could have. Doctors might make enough money (Howard Dean); lawyers make enough (Bill Clinton); businessmen make enough (the Georges' Bush); actors make enough (Ronald Reagan). But could, say, a stevedore make it? Could teacher? Or an administrative assistant?

Given my knowledge of presidential history, the last president to come from nothing and to run for president while still having very little was Abraham Lincoln. Subsequent to Lincoln, a case may be made for Ulysses S. Grant. But that was then. If they were alive today, I'm not sure they would have made it. I think that the dream that anyone can be president is just that: a dream; and the first hurdle that must be overcome is having the money to do it.

I'm just curious what that income threshold is.

You may have heard that the Commonwealth of Virginia passes a resolution apologizing for its role in slavery. I must say that I am surprised and I applaud the Viringia legislature for this.

I work in Virigina and live in Maryland and that is by design. People around here have asked me why I don't move to Virigina and I reply by saying that I could never live in Virginia. Usually they press and ask why. And I answer honestly. Virginia was the capital of the South and led the rebellion during the Civil War. I have ideological problems with that. While I don't blame Virginians for this, I choose not to live there. I don't want to pay taxes to a state that led the South during one of our countries darkest times.

I get incredulous stares. "You're kidding, right?" they ask.

But I'm not.

"Forgive and forget," they say.

This hurts because I am a big believer in forgiving and forgetting. But I simply know too much history and feel too strongly about this to simply forget about it. It's easier said than done. It's a matter of principle and I find that people have a hard time grasping this, so I prefer to not even have to explain.

But I think that Virginia's recent apology is a step in the right direction. I don't know if I could ever live here, but I commend the state's leaders on this brave move.

Slept in until about 9:30 but it was pretty rough from 5 AM on. I woke up at 5 AM feeling a bit queasy and fairly certain that I was going to get sick, but it turns out that I didn't. I managed to get some fitful sleep until about 9:30 and when I finally got up, I felt much better. In fact, I headed up to IHOP at once and had a big breakfast.

I've spent much of the early afternoon reading and I finished up The Winds of Change and Other Stories. I'm about to start reading the first non-fiction of the year (and the first I've read in a while now), Neil DeGrasse Tyson's, Death By Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries.

The mail came a little while ago and in it was the Riverdale Park Town Crier, our monthly, small town newsletter. This lists things like what ordinances were passed, what new things are being planned for the town, etc. I noted that the Mayor and Council members receive raises beginning in July. The Mayor's stipend goes from $400/month to $900/month. If a 125% raise sounds like a lot to you, you should check out what the council members are getting: from $200/month to $600/month, or a 200% raise!

Those of you who have visited me here know that I live close to railroad tracks, with freight trains rumbling through, blowing their horns at all hours of the day and night. In the 4-1/2 years that I have been here, I have gotten used to this and can tune out these noises, but it would be nice if they could go away all together. I noted this item of interest in the most recent Town Crier:

Railroad crossing improvements: We are working on making this crossing safe enough to be declared a Quiet Zone, in which case, the train horns would be silenced! (Except for emergencies).

This is the one and only reason I voted for the current Mayor. While I haven't personally seen any progress toward making the intersection in question a Quiet Zone, I suppose it's encouraging to know that it hasn't been entirely forgotten.

I'm heading to the gym in a little while for an arm & shoulder workout, my first workout since Tuesday. I've got to get back in the saddle and stop the recent slacking.

Meanwhile, I plan on doing some more reading this afternoon, and then getting some more writing done this evening.

This, courtesy of the ever vigilent YouTube. Check it out.

I was thinking about elections earlier and that led me to think about ethics (something which always seems to come up when discussing politics). It made me think in turn about a quote I once read on ethics and ethical behavior. I couldn't remember the quote word for word, but I did some digging and here is what I came up with:

"Ethical people often choose to do less than the maximally allowable, and more than the minimally acceptable."

I like it because of it's simple parallelism. It is particularly useful in looking at "what the law allows". People and politicians often justify their behavior by saying that "it's legal". The false assumption is that if something is legal, it is ipso facto ethical. Jury duty is a good example. I know a lot of people who complain about jury duty and try to arrange so that they have t serve the absolute minimally acceptable amount of time. But jury duty is a civic responsibility and it seems to me it is a good opportunity to go beyond the minimally acceptable. (I have performed jury duty 3 times and served on a jury once. For some reason, I have never been called to jury duty in Maryland.)

The real test of our ethics is whether we are willing to do the right thing even when it is not in our self-interest. Do you tell the clerk at the grocery store when you have been under-charged, even though it is not in your self-interest? Do you report all of your tips on your income taxes, even though you could probably get away without reporting them?

As the election approaches, it is a good time to look at our own ethical behavior before we start criticizing the ethical behavior of our representatives. After all, if we can't be ethical, how can we expect our representatives to be when they are merely a reflection of ourselves?

I get about one email a day from the Democratic party, asking for a donation. They all say things like, "Your donation could be the difference between victory and defeat", blah, blah, blah. Often they come from John Kerry, who is about as exciting as Johnny Cash's version of "Ring Of Fire" (what I always imagined a singing zombie would sound like); occasionally, they come from other Big Wigs in the Democratic party. Some, like Howard Dean, I've heard of. Most I haven't. All requests have, without exception, gone into the trash.

Until now.

The other day I received another request, but this time it came from Barack Obama. If the Democratic party has a savior on the horizon, he is it. I've been impressed by his speeches, his youth, his policies. He appears to have life and voice and what has otherwise been a crowd of lifeless windbags. Also, when we played his softball team two summers ago, he showed up to the game to cheer on the Ohio Illinois team. (We beat Ohio Illinois, but I was impressed because of all of the Senate teams we play, he was the only Senator to show up to a game.)

And so, because Barack Obama asked (or atleast allowed his name to be on the message) and because I currently believe he is the one real shining light in the Democratic party, I am considering making a contribution.

To be continued...

Okay, so this whole Mark Foley thing.

This is me coming out of my self-induced political coma of the past three years to see that things aren't any better and aren't going to get there any time soon. I made a promise to myself to avoid political rants because there no longer of any value. For one thing, no one listens. And when they do listen, they are no interested. Also, the art of real debate has likely been irretrievably lost. No one can admit to changing their minds on issues, etc., etc., blah, blah, blah. I promise to re-induce coma after this minor diatribe, so bear with me.

( Begin rant )

It's been nice talking politics with y'all but the water is much warmer back over here in my political coma. Everything is so peaceful and it's just so much easier to ignore the issues. If our leaders can do it, well, shucks, so can I. Maybe I'll check in again in a decade or so and see if things have improved. Good night and good luck.

Just a bunch of miscellaneous stuff before I head off to the gym:

I had it in my head this morning that today was the last day of summer and that tomorrow was the autumnal equinox (I think I've got the right terms this time, mabfan). But when I checked, I found out that the autumnal equinox actually begins on September 23 this year. In fact, I don't think it ever falls on the 21st. (It occasionally "falls" on the 22nd.) I don't know what I was thinking. But hey! Two more days of summer!

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I went to bed early last night, right after House was over. I checked the Yankee's score and then went to bed. While I was asleep, AJ apparently called something like 4 times. He left two messages. The first was rather funny becuase it was completely incoherent. It sounded like laughter. I thought I heard Denisse in the background. Who knows what was going on. The second time he managed to leave a more coherent message.

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I'm just about halfway through The Demon-Haunted World and I am really enjoying it. I remember very little of it from the first time I read it ten years ago, which is a bit disturbing. With a book that good, I should have remembered more. Much of the book thus far has been spent on a detailed analysis of reports of alien abductions, which Sagan then proceeds to debunk in a calm and rational manner. It's a fascinating subject, actually, but I'll save for another time my thoughts on the matter.

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I got email from the Democratic party today asking for a donation. This isn't unusual since I am a Democrat and I've donated money in the past. I've mentioned before, however, how these campaigns use fear more and more as a tactic to obtain votes, and whether Democrat, Republican, or Whig, I dispise these tactics. This time, it wasn't the fear part that annoyed me. This time, they were asking for money specifically for television ad campaigns. "It is their single biggest expense," the message read. That filled me with confidence. I'd donate money for them to have the courage to withhold their lame ads from TV. But I can't see giving them money for ads that I hate to watch anyway, even if they are my party.

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Finally, congratulations go out to Lisa on her recent office upgrade, and accompanying promotion to go along with it.