What is this 'Iraq war' charge on my bill?

Do you want to be paying for a war that isn't of any benefit to our country? I sure don't. And I certainly don't want our men and women dying for it!

McCain's YouTube Problem Just Became a Nightmare

And the GOP accused John Kerry of waffling. McCain will say ANYTHING to get elected, even if it's not true and even if he said the opposite before!

John McCain: Reformed Maverick

It's sort of sad, really. I used to like McCain, before he sold out to get the GOP nomination. Now he's just another GOP party apparatchik.

Notre Dame Football Primer 2.0

Learn it. Live it. Love it.

Pledge to Stop Using Bottled Water!

Earlier I posted about how much money you can save by not using bottled water. Now, I'm going to ask you to pledge to not use bottled water! You can do so at the New American Dream website... please join those of us who no longer use bottled water, and use refillable bottles with tap water (which is pretty much the same as bottled water, don't let the marketers fool you!).

Joe Biden - Riding the Rails Daily

I have to admit, though I know the name Joseph Biden, I don't know much about him. And I'm trying to improve on that so I know who my choices are in the upcoming election. But watching this video is almost enough to make me ink him in NOW. He's truly among the people. Take a gander:

This says a couple things to me. First, he's taking a form of transportation that has low impact on the environment, and doing it daily. Second, he's taking a form of transportation that puts him in touch with his constituents (and anyone else who wants to listen) daily. He's concerned both about the environment and about being in touch.

Compare this with the impressions of the public that John McCain has, and his talk about the recession we're in being "psychological."

There's really no contest.

Reasons Not to Drill Offshore

There's been a lot of talk in the news lately about opening up our coastlines to offshore drilling for oil, and it absolutely astounds me that people are actually taking this suggestion seriously. I can think of no reason that this is a good idea, and plenty of reasons that the idea should be kicked to the curb:

1. We need to be moving away from the use of oil, period. It's damaging our very livelihood on this planet, as has been indicated by all the research on global warming and its causes, not to mention health risks associated with oil use.

2. Drilling offshore won't produce any oil for ten years, much like drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It won't do a thing to alleviate the fuel issues we're having now.

3. Allowing drilling offshore WILL increase the hold that Big Oil companies have on our public lands, which opens them up to all sorts of other development. Big Oil has enough of a hold on this country as it is, it's time to start reducing that hold.

4. Big Oil already has 68 million acres of leases that they're not even drilling. If they haven't used all the land they've already been given, there's no point in giving them more. Here's a frightening map of that land.

So do what you can to encourage your representatives and senators to quash any idea of giving up our shorelines. It's only what's right!

Olympics Moments

Despite my intentions, I didn't get to see nearly as much of the Olympics this year as I wanted. This was partially due to just being busy, and partially due to NBC's coverage of the Olympics.

First, my favorite moments of the Olympics, in order (and the things I actually saw):

1. The men's 400 freestyle relay, where Jason Lezak overtook France's Alain Bernard after being a body length behind to win the gold. That was easily the best race ever - in any sport.
   
   
2. The men's 100 butterfly, where Michael Phelps ran down Serbia's Milorad Cavic to win by .01 seconds. That showed just how technical swimming and stroke work can win you a race. And it was inspiring, too.
   
   
3. Jonathon Horton's performance in men's gymnastics. Here's a guy who was suddenly called upon to be his team's leader after the Hamm brothers pulled up lame, and he rose to the occasion admirably, having a wonderful performance and keeping his team's mind on the prize.
   
   
4. Alexander Artemov's pommel horse routine in the men's gymnastics team competition. He took some risks with a high-difficulty routine and nailed it, cementing a medal for the men's team. Beautiful work.
   
   
5. Team USA Men's Volleyball winning the gold medal on the final day. This team, whose leadership in coach Hugh McCutcheon was possibly on the rocks due to the tragedy involving his father-in-law in Beijing, rose to beat the world's best on the way to their gold medal. And watching McCutcheon have to step out of the gymnasium for a moment after being gang-hugged by his assistant coaches, and then step back in fully composed to enjoy the ceremony was moving beyond belief.
   
   
6. Team USA's Lebron James and Kobe Bryant watching Michael Phelps win his final gold medal. A lot is said about how the USA Basketball team is nothing but a group of pampered millionaires playing for some glory. Well, this sight proved that wrong for me. Lebron and Kobe were absolutely jubilant in the crowd watching that historic moment, and it showed me that deep inside, we're all just fans, no matter what the sport. And it also showed me the pride they feel for their country.
   
   
7. To continue: Team USA's gutsy win against Spain in the final. This was an actual team, not just a collection of superstars, with the best coach in the country leading them. And the pride they showed to be wearing USA on their jerseys was palpable.
   
   
8. Usain Bolt's double-take at the camera before one of his races. The guy's a character. I got a bit tired of his posturing after the two wins he had, but loved that.
   

I also watched a lot of handball this time. I love watching the sports I don't normally get to see, and that's obviously one of them. I particularly enjoyed the gold medal match between France and Iceland. I was pulling for Iceland, not because I share the typical American's dislike of France but rather because Iceland hadn't won a gold in a summer games...ever, I think they were saying. Still a great game, and with some fantastic athleticism.

I didn't watch some of the stuff this time that I watched last time - I missed almost all the rowing, unfortunately. I love the whitewater kayaking and saw just a little bit of it. I also didn't see any wrestling or judo, two sports I've never done but have ultimate respect for. I watched some of the cycling, but the coverage was so spotty that it was hard to watch after experiencing the Tour de France.

I saw WAY too much gymnastics, diving, and more shots of divers and gymnasts stretching and standing around than I care to talk about (but will anyway). I understand that NBC is trying to increase viewership and that many of the ladies' demographic watch the Olympics for these sports. But I'd really love to see them pay more attention to the variety of sports than the ones that are their cash cows. At least show highlights of great performances, no matter what the sport! And having the constant shots of Shawn Johnson or Laura Wilkinson waiting around for their turn to compete on an event was so annoying. Show the sports, please, not the stories. Let the stories get created by themselves. That's what journalism and especially sports journalism is about.

Stop Drinking Bottled Water, Save Hundreds of Dollars

As is becoming very clear, bottled water is a total rip-off. It's more expensive than gasoline, it creates unnecessary waste, the plastic in the bottles permeates the water inside with phthalates and puts our health at risk, and it's not any safer to drink than normal tap water.

Yet somehow, the bottled water industry has created this impression that it's much better than tap water.

Let's see just how much money you can save per year by avoiding tap water by using the bottled water cost calculator at New American Dream:

Now let me preface this by saying I haven't been drinking bottled water for over a year, so this isn't actually money I'll be saving as I've already kicked the habit. I drink from a 40 ounce stainless steel bottle, at least one bottle full per day. Figuring that into bottled water terms, it's about 913 sixteen-ounce bottles per year.

According to the calculator, I save $1367 per year. Plus I'm not putting anything into landfills or poisoning myself. Plus, I have this impact:

Impact
Total Water Consumed:	143 gallons
Extra Water Required for Production and Purification:	285 gallons
Energy Required for Manufacturing:	92 megajoules
Oil Required to Produce the Plastic Bottle(s):	23 gallons
CO2e to Manufacture Plastic Bottle(s):	171 pounds

I got my bottle at Whole Foods, it's an Enviro Products bottle. It's sturdy and holds plenty of water, so I don't have to refill it all the time (which is good, as I sweat a lot and can put down a sixteen ounce bottle in two swigs most of the time). My wife and son use bottles from Sigg and they both love them. The necks are a bit smaller for Jenn's, which is 1 liter, and Duncan's is .4 liters and has a twist-top that allows him to drink more easily and close it more easily. Plus it's got glow-in-the-dark astronauts on the outside and he loves that. Moira will be getting hers as soon as she's out of sippy-cups.

We got ours at Clintonville Outfitters on High Street - support local business and get yours there!

Why Geography Courses Are Necessary in the USA

I fear for our country.

Dispatch Shows Irresponsibility in Crew/West Ham Fracas Aftermath

It's official - the Dispatch is not interested in improving things at all in the City of Columbus.

In the online version of their article about the fisticuffs being thrown between rival groups of fans during halftime of the Crew/West Ham match yesterday, the Dispatch included a poll with the following title: "Does hooliganism make soccer more interesting to you?"

For those who only know about soccer via the hooligan problem, this may seem to make perfect sense. But as someone who has witnessed hooliganism first hand and seen friends affected by it (including a good friend of mine getting punched in the face because he wouldn't give a Chicago Fire "fan" a banner or scarf with a Crew logo), I can only recall the efforts that I and other US soccer fans have made to keep US soccer hooligan-free.

Let me ask you this: if the Dispatch had run such a poll after Buckeye fans showed just what wonderful fans they are when the Texas Longhorns came to visit several years ago, would the Buckeye Nation have stood for it? Not at all. So why do we stand for it when it's the Crew? They represent Columbus just as much as the Buckeyes; more, in some people's opinion.

Hooligan fans everywhere need to be treated as what they are: terrorists. They should be rounded up and sent to prison camps for causing terror for decent people who just want to attend a sporting event, but instead have to deal with issues of public safety.

And the Dispatch needs to be censured for their exhortation of such behavior.

That's One Short Plunge...

The AP is reporting that oil prices have "plunged" by $10 a barrel! Wow! We're saved! Now oil only costs...

Um... $138.00 a barrel.

I'm sorry, but this is the same stupid snow job that the oil companies have been trying to foist on us for years. Gas is up from around a $1.50 a gallon to over $4.00... but in the meantime, we've seen them raise it up to say... $2.50, then back to $2.25 in a HUGE cut! Then up to $3.00, then back to $2.75...

Folks... there's no price cut going on here. Oil is going up and it's going to stay that way. They oil companies are just waiting till we get used to a certain price level and then they lower it to a level that would previously have gotten us up in arms. It's a big joke and a snow job.

I'm Voting Republican

And the scariest thing is... I actually used to BE a Republican. Guess you get smarter as you get older.

Unless... well... oh, never mind.

What Kind of Fish Are You?

Watch it, I'm armed!


I'm Jamie and
I'm a Swordfish.

I've Been Meme-Tagged...

What can I say, Dale got me.

So here goes.

1. I was in ROTC in college, and was commissioned into the Army as a 2nd Lieutenant of Armor. Then the first Bush conducted the post Gulf-War-Reductions in Force and I was unable to find even a reserve unit, and I spent the majority of my term of service in the Individual Ready Reserve. I was officially discharged in October of 2001. I took advantage of the time and attended both Basic Parachuting School and Armor Officer Basic Course. Good times, good times.

2. I was drafted onto my high school quiz bowl team after a trivia contest in one of my classes caught the attention of the team's captain.

3. I didn't own my first car (actually OWN, that is - not got as a hand-me-down from my parents) until I was out of college. It was a 1987 Mercury Lynx wagon and was possibly the best deal I've ever gotten on a vehicle until my current vehicle - my bike.

4. In fifth grade, I played Winthrop Paroo in our community theater version of The Music Man. Yeah, the Ronnie Howard role. According to my dad in the audience, I was so convincing that one of the old ladies watching the production said that it was too bad I had that awful lisp, otherwise I'd have been a fine singer.

5. When I was 11 or 12, I got two stitches in my face when I ran into a friend's brace while playing football. According to hearsay, he hit me so hard that it pushed his orthodontia schedule forward by six months (he was a bit bucktoothed at the time). I never saw a cent of it.

6. I used to be a lifeguard at Alice's Wonderland in Alma, a waterslide park that has gone under at this point (my brother refers to it as "Alice's Eyesore" now). That was my first real summer job.

7. I took classes after graduating from Notre Dame to try to get a teaching certificate, but got so fed up with living at home that one day I scoured the newspapers for a real job just to get out. I found one as a computer trainer... and that's what led to my current position.