Tracking unemployment and Freedom and Free Will, oh my!

I have some randomly assorted tidbits for your perusal today.

Perhaps you've heard, but there's a bit of concern about unemployment in America these days. So the brilliant guy over at Political Math came up with this graphic that tracks unemployment since 1979. HERE. Wow.

An perhaps you've also heard that, well, there was an important vote in the House this past weekend, and there's a large percentage of the population who isn't very crazy about it. I'm one of those, and I offer up a couple of well-written essays for your perusal.

The first comes from Doctor Zero, called What Freedom Demands:

Freedom is not a gift. It is not given to you by the government, in a precise dosage that can be adjusted to match a politician’s diagnosis of what ails the body politic. Your forefathers won an impossible Revolution against an invincible foe to declare the self-evident truth that your rights descend from your Creator.

The second is from Bill Whittle who writes "Eject, Eject, Eject" on Pajamas Media, titled Free Will and Destiny...

But it seems to me that they have ... done nothing less than awoken from its long and deep slumbers the American Giant, who in attempting to sit upright discovers the Lilliputian threads that have been staked into the ground with finishing nails and who looks around, blinking and disoriented, fatter and softer and much, much poorer than he was when he last opened his eyes back in 1941, but possessed now as then with a terrible anger and capable still of mighty exertions.

I didn't post this to get into arguments with folks, so please no flames. I posted this because it's something I feel very strongly about. I think we've been openly mislead by what's in the bill, and that terrifies me.

My final offering is House Minority Leader John Boehner's speech to Congress just before the vote.

We have failed to listen to America. And we have failed to reflect the will of our constituents. And when we fail to reflect that will – we fail ourselves and we fail our country.

What we need is an open, honest, transparent Congress. What we need is a bi-partisan Congress working for the people. That's not what we have now. But that's what America needs, if she is to stay "the land of the free and the home of the brave".

It's not a train, I hope....

This semester has been a tough one. Not only has it been a cold, brutal winter (Really. It's been the fifth coldest winter in recorded history in these here parts!) but it remains a very uncertain time in our house. We're not sure where we're going, or what we're going to do, or even if we're going to plant a garden this spring. (I did get some free trees from the Alabama Forestry Service giveaway, however, so baby river birches and redbuds are growing happily in the yard, and I've got two tiny Japanese maples getting strong in their pots. But I digress...)

Anyway, there may be light at the end of the tunnel. (At least, if it doesn't turn out to be the Atlanta-to-New Orleans AmTrack barreling through...) I'm taking next week off of work, and that should renew my spirits a bit, and give me a chance for some rest and relaxation. I ordered the newly-released DVDs of my Most Favorite TV Show Ever last week,which I will happily indulge in while the philosopher labors to catch up on grading. To make it even better, the *reason* he's trying to catch up is that we're going on a mini-vacation at the end of the week. We're going to Atlanta, staying at a bed and breakfast near Candler Park, and catching King Lear at the American Shakespeare Tavern. We're also hoping to indulge in a great meal at one of the local tapas restaurants - our favorite kind of "fun" dinner!

Oh, and did I mention that it might be a celebration trip, too? I have an interview next Monday as well. ::grin:: Yup. I emailed my packet on Wednesday morning of last week, and by Wednesday afternoon they'd called and set me up for an on-campus interview. I'm not sure what will happen, but I've been praying for God to open a door and make clear a path... and this feels a bit like God's giant wiffle bat at work, getting my attention. I'm listening, God. I'm listening!

My Cat is Trying to Kill Me

But then again, I wonder if she's trying to kill me, or I'm just picking up the evil vibes she's sending the philosopher. In that case, then I'm probably perfectly safe.

But you never know.....

Snow and Hiking

No, not at the same time. Two weekends ago, we had snow. This past weekend, it was almost 70 degrees and warm enough for a hike. That's life in the deep south - if you don't like the weather, just wait until tomorrow!

SNOW

We did get a dusting of some snow several weeks ago, but this most recent storm was a little more serious about sticking to the ground.


The day after the snow, the sun came up over the house and I snapped the first pic through the living room window. It was beautiful, but I commented to the philosopher that I was SO READY for spring. (This global warming stuff really stinks, huh?)

SUN

Then this weekend was absolutely glorious - truly an answer to prayers! Highs in the 60s, beautiful blue sky and sunshine. AAAAAHHHhhhhhh.

We decided to head off to the Pinhoti trail once more, this time driving north to the Burns Trailhead and hiking south towards the Choccolocco Watershed and the Choccolocco WMA. We heard a couple of hunters (but since deer season ended in January, we had to wonder what they were shooting at), and met several other couples out on the trail enjoying the day.


The philosopher is standing at the edge of "20 Foot Creek" in the first shot - posing diligently while I tried to get a good picture. The middle photo is Choccolocco Watershed, taken from the dam looking back east. The final one is also at the watershed (taken from the far right corner of the lake if you're looking at the middle pic). The wind was perfectly still, allowing me to get a decent shot of the sky and trees reflecting in the water.

All in all it was a fabulous journey! Many of the plants - especially the oak leaf hydrangeas and the dogwoods - were starting to bud out, and we saw a few stray flowers growing through the leaf debris. So take heart, my friends. Spring is coming!

A True Southerner Knows....

I received this via email almost a decade ago. But I think it contains enough good Southern wisdom to repeat it here. If you're a Southerner, feel free to laugh out loud. If you're a northerner, well then.... bless your heart! ::GRIN::

(And abject apologies for "all caps" - it just wasn't worth it to retype!)

1.) ONLY A TRUE SOUTHERNER KNOWS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A HISSIE FIT AND A CONNIPTION, AND THAT YOU DON'T "HAVE" THEM, -- YOU "PITCH" THEM.

2.) ONLY A TRUE SOUTHERNER KNOWS HOW MANY FISH, COLLARD GREENS,TURNIP GREENS, PEAS, BEANS, ETC. MAKE UP "A MESS."

3.) ONLY A TRUE SOUTHERNER CAN SHOW OR POINT OUT TO YOU THE GENERAL DIRECTION OF "YONDER."

4.) ONLY A TRUE SOUTHERNER KNOWS EXACTLY HOW LONG "DIRECTLY" IS - AS IN:"GOING TO TOWN, BE BACK DIRECTLY."

5.) ALL TRUE SOUTHERNERS, EVEN BABIES, KNOW THAT "GIMME SOME SUGAR" IS NOT A REQUEST FOR THE WHITE, GRANULAR SWEET SUBSTANCE THAT SITS IN A PRETTY LITTLE BOWL ON THE MIDDLE OF THE TABLE.

6.) ALL TRUE SOUTHERNERS KNOW EXACTLY WHEN "BY AND BY" IS. THEY MIGHT NOT USE THE TERM, BUT THEY KNOW THE CONCEPT WELL.

7.) ONLY A TRUE SOUTHERNER KNOWS INSTINCTIVELY THAT THE BEST GESTURE OF SOLACE FOR A NEIGHBOR WHO'S GOT TROUBLE IS A PLATE OF HOT FRIED CHICKEN AND A BIG BOWL OF COLD POTATO SALAD. (IF THE NEIGHBOR'S TROUBLE IS A REAL CRISIS, THEY ALSO KNOW TO ADD A LARGE BANANA PUDDIN'!)

8.) ONLY TRUE SOUTHERNERS GROW UP KNOWING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN "RIGHT NEAR" AND "A RIGHT FAR PIECE." THEY ALSO KNOW THAT "JUST DOWN THE ROAD" CAN BE 1 MILE OR 20.

9.) ONLY A TRUE SOUTHERNER BOTH KNOWS AND UNDERSTANDS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A REDNECK, A GOOD OL' BOY, AND PO' WHITE TRASH.

10.) NO TRUE SOUTHERNER WOULD EVER ASSUME THAT THE CAR WITH THE FLASHING TURN SIGNAL IS ACTUALLY GOING TO MAKE A TURN.

11.) A TRUE SOUTHERNER KNOWS THAT "FIXIN'" CAN BE USED AS A NOUN, A VERB, OR AN ADVERB.

12.) ONLY A TRUE SOUTHERNER KNOWS THAT THE TERM "BOOGER" CAN BE A RESIDENT OF THE NOSE, A DESCRIPTIVE, AS IN "THAT OL' BOOGER," A FIRST NAME OR SOMETHING THAT JUMPS OUT AT YOU IN THE DARK AND SCARES YOU SENSELESS.

13.) ONLY TRUE SOUTHERNERS MAKE FRIENDS WHILE STANDING IN LINES. WE DON'T DO "QUEUES", WE DO "LINES," AND WHEN WE'RE "IN LINE," WE TALK TO EVERYBODY!

14.) PUT 100 TRUE SOUTHERNERS IN A ROOM AND HALF OF THEM WILL DISCOVER THEY'RE RELATED, EVEN IF ONLY BY MARRIAGE.

15.) TRUE SOUTHERNERS NEVER REFER TO ONE PERSON AS "Y'ALL."

16.) TRUE SOUTHERNERS KNOW GRITS COME FROM CORN AND HOW TO EAT THEM.

17.) EVERY TRUE SOUTHERNER KNOWS TOMATOES WITH EGGS, BACON, GRITS, AND COFFEE ARE PERFECTLY WONDERFUL; THAT REDEYE GRAVY IS ALSO A BREAKFAST FOOD; AND THAT FRIED GREEN TOMATOES ARE NOT A BREAKFAST FOOD.

18.) WHEN YOU HEAR SOMEONE SAY, "WELL, I CAUGHT MYSELF LOOKIN' .. ," YOU KNOW YOU ARE IN THE PRESENCE OF A GENUINE SOUTHERNER!

19.) ONLY TRUE SOUTHERNERS SAY "SWEET TEA" AND "SWEET MILK." SWEET TEA INDICATES THE NEED FOR SUGAR AND LOTS OF IT - WE DO NOT LIKE OUR TEA UNSWEETENED. "SWEET MILK" MEANS YOU DON'T WANT BUTTERMILK.

20.) A TRUE SOUTHERNER KNOWS THAT IF YOU ARE WITH A COUPLE OF FRIENDS YOU,YOU COULD BE WITH 2 OR 10. THE NUMBER DOESN'T MATTER.

21.) AND A TRUE SOUTHERNER KNOWS YOU DON'T SCREAM OBSCENITIES AT LITTLE OLD LADIES WHO DRIVE 30 MPH ON THE FREEWAY. YOU JUST SAY, "BLESS HER HEART" AND GO YOUR OWN WAY.

Am I a Luddite?

This may turn out to be a deep, cranky post. Or not.

I just attended a webinar. (I hate that word.) It was an overview of a presentation at a library conference I couldn't attend, so I suppose I should be glad I could get the content at all. I just wish they'd come up with a better word!

Anyway, it was called Tech Trends 2010... about new and emerging technologies and how libraries can tap into them. There was a lot of talk about iPhone apps, and smart phone apps, and mobile apps, and .... well. Apps. There were phrases like "augmented reality" and "you can annotate the physical world, virtually" and "you can log in to the place where you are." And of course there was talk about ebooks and ereaders and twitter and hulu and netflix and ... yeah.

I was one of about 50 folks participating. We were logged into GoToMeeting with a mike and a headset, watching powerpoint presentations and listening to the speakers and making comments and asking questions in a chat box. All good. Without this technology, I never would've gotten this content.

All four speakers automatically assumed that we all had smart phones, and spent hours a day with our eyes glued to the tiny little screen. They talked about being in the mall and having the ability to look up where the nearest libraries are and search their catalogs and see if they have a book. They talked about this application called Foursquare, where you tell your friends in Foursquare when you go somewhere with your iPhone. And win badges (which I suppose you look at and say, "I have this badge now!"). I think I agree with another participant - sounds like something a stalker would use! There's this other thing where you can take real photographs and add digital content (like a real picture of Abbey Road with a digital pic of the Beatles walking across it).

Here's where they lost me. How do these bits of technology actually improve my life? If I want to go to a library and check out a book, I'll go to the library. And I really don't want my "friends" to know that I've just gone into Piggly Wiggly. If I want to jump rope, I'll get a jumprope and, well, jump rope. I don't need a Wii to do that. I have a nice cell phone where I can call people and talk to them. I think it even has an alarm clock. But if I want to go online, I have a computer at home for that. Someone said recently that cell phone developers are all 20-year-olds. They must be, because they definitely don't take my 40-year-old eyes into account! Sorry.... that almost devolved into a rant. ::ahem::

But since I'm on a roll, I don't get Twitter, either. Though I do have a blog (obviously). Does that mean I just like stuff that gives me more than 140 characters to say what I want to say? And I have some other social media connections, like Facebook , and LibraryThing, and my newest favorite Delicious. But they all serve a practical purpose. I've reconnected with several good friends lost long ago on Facebook (though I draw the line at apps and games). I used LibraryThing to catalog our entire book collection (complete with call numbers). And I use Delicious to create a moveable, usable, portable list of bookmarks so I can log in and use it on any computer. So I embrace technology, at least the stuff that seems sensible and reasonable and practical and, well.... useful.

I spend ten or more hours a day in front of a computer at work. I don't one strapped to my hip the rest of my waking life. I want to be able to unplug on the weekends, and in the evening. So does this schizophrenic attitude towards technology and web 2.0 make me a Luddite?

Notes to Self:

Things to do this spring...



H/T to The Joneses