I haven't updated lately, even though there have been some things that I've wanted to comment on. I had a great commentary planned on the outcome of the election, then as usual I got sidetracked. I may still post it though if I get around to finishing it, since even two weeks later, it's still relevant. So, some quick updates.
NaNoWriMo is not going quite how I had hoped. If you check my word count, you'll notice that I'm way behind. I've gotten some other stuff out of the way now, so I'm hoping to plow into that and get it going again. I still have hopes that, even at this late date, I can still make it to fifty thousand words. We'll see how that goes. As things get finished, other things tend to start creeping in. I've definitely chosen a very difficult subject and style for the novel, which may have been a bad choice for something that I'm supposed to write so quickly, but I need to remind myself that editing will occur after it's done, and a lot of refinement will occur.
The fires in L.A. might be affecting me a bit. I'm no where near any danger zones, but I can smell a tinge of soot in the air, and it's affecting my sinuses. Either that or I'm coming down with a cold, and given the way I've been feeling, that's quite possible. I haven't been feeling all that well the last couple of days, and it is turning into cold season, although it's been unusually warm recently. It better not be the flu, otherwise I got that flu shot for nothing.
Anyway, regular updates and hopefully a more professional style will resume soon. In the meantime, please follow the image link to Child's Play that I have placed on the side of the page (and in this post). It's very worthwhile charity set up a few years ago by the guys at Penny Arcade to provide toys and games for children's hospitals around the holidays. Details are available on the page.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
In Defense of the Undecided Voter
Unfortunately, this post could have been a little timelier. This really should have gone out a couple of weeks ago rather than the day of the election, but it’s a little late for that now. I’ve been spending a lot of time watch the news lately. And a lot of television overall. As you’ve probably seen, there is a lot of derision shoveled onto the undecided voter, those who are pressured to pick between the two major parties, for the most part, although it extends to those who simply haven’t made up their minds regardless. Even independent blog that I read have mentioned how they flat out despise people who haven’t made up their minds.
An interesting story on CNN last week involved Dr. Sanjay Gupta discussing what is physically going on in the brain of the undecided voter. For many of those who remain undecided, there is a larger threshold for gathering evidence before a decision is made. Eventually, a tipping point is reached and a decision gets made.
Now, imagine a situation where evidence seems to get poured into the brain. However, very little of this information actually addresses real issues or problem and intended more to market and tug at heart string rather than to truly inform the voters. In addition, assume that much this information is immediately contradicted, or demonstrated to be flat out false.
Think of the brain like a pitcher of water, but currently empty. You pour water into the pitcher a cup at a time. This is the information used to make a decision. Eventually, the pitcher will be full and needs to be poured out, signifying a decision being made. However, start putting water in that pitcher a cup at a time, but for every cup you pour in, you put an empty cup in the pitcher and take six ounces out. It take a lot longer to fill up this pitcher.
Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best analogy, but you should get the idea. When most of what keeps going out over the wire is gaffes, attacks, or things that are easily proven false or immediately contradicted, it’s difficult to glean the real information on which to base a truly informed decision. There’s a lot of mocking of the undecided voter, especially at this late date, complaining that the major party candidates couldn’t be more different, so make up your damn minds already. What’s interesting is how most of the ones I've seen and read who decided on their candidate early also seem to be more interested in party politics, and have demonstrated that they will simply vote along party line, more interested in keeping the infighting going on than actually addressing the issues. While people claim that independent and undecided voters are low information voters (sometimes being flat out called stupid), is it possible that the undecided voter remains undecided because they want to ensure they make an informed decision with real information? As such, is the undecided voter really the more responsible voter? When the major parties seem to more interested in attacking each other and provide contradictory and veiled information on their proposed policies, or are proposing policies that the president can’t pass and is actually the responsibility of Congress like tax laws, is really the undecided voter who sees through this and recognizes the truth?
An interesting story on CNN last week involved Dr. Sanjay Gupta discussing what is physically going on in the brain of the undecided voter. For many of those who remain undecided, there is a larger threshold for gathering evidence before a decision is made. Eventually, a tipping point is reached and a decision gets made.
Now, imagine a situation where evidence seems to get poured into the brain. However, very little of this information actually addresses real issues or problem and intended more to market and tug at heart string rather than to truly inform the voters. In addition, assume that much this information is immediately contradicted, or demonstrated to be flat out false.
Think of the brain like a pitcher of water, but currently empty. You pour water into the pitcher a cup at a time. This is the information used to make a decision. Eventually, the pitcher will be full and needs to be poured out, signifying a decision being made. However, start putting water in that pitcher a cup at a time, but for every cup you pour in, you put an empty cup in the pitcher and take six ounces out. It take a lot longer to fill up this pitcher.
Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best analogy, but you should get the idea. When most of what keeps going out over the wire is gaffes, attacks, or things that are easily proven false or immediately contradicted, it’s difficult to glean the real information on which to base a truly informed decision. There’s a lot of mocking of the undecided voter, especially at this late date, complaining that the major party candidates couldn’t be more different, so make up your damn minds already. What’s interesting is how most of the ones I've seen and read who decided on their candidate early also seem to be more interested in party politics, and have demonstrated that they will simply vote along party line, more interested in keeping the infighting going on than actually addressing the issues. While people claim that independent and undecided voters are low information voters (sometimes being flat out called stupid), is it possible that the undecided voter remains undecided because they want to ensure they make an informed decision with real information? As such, is the undecided voter really the more responsible voter? When the major parties seem to more interested in attacking each other and provide contradictory and veiled information on their proposed policies, or are proposing policies that the president can’t pass and is actually the responsibility of Congress like tax laws, is really the undecided voter who sees through this and recognizes the truth?
Monday, November 3, 2008
NaNoWriMo: The Adventure Begins
November 1 has come and gone, and the National Novel Writing Month competition has begun. I have nowhere near the preparation that I wanted to be ready before I began, but it's too late now, and I've started writing. I'm still on the first chapter, and I'm already seeing areas that I'm going to have to go back and fix later. But I feel that the main concept of this novel is solid enough and important enough to warrant the work that I intend to put into it. I'm also finding where some of the weaknesses are that are slowing me down (like stopping writing a scene or chapter in the middle, then going back knowing where I want to take but it would involve some editing, which during November is a no-no).
I'm also aware that the word counter on this site is only working sporadically, and it keeps appearing and disappearing. This is actually an issue with the NaNoWriMo servers, and was expected by their team. Unfortunately, there are so many people taking part that the server is having some issues under the load of all the people participating that it's running slower than a slug up a hill of salt (and probably sizzling about as much by now).
I have one more politically based post which I'm working on that I will put up tomorrow, something that I feel is important to get out there before election day. It would have been better to have published the article a while ago, but I didn't get the basic concept for it until less than a week ago, and I've had other stuff I've had to work on at the same time. In the meantime, I want to add to the politics that for those who vote, Starbucks is offering a free cup of coffee, Ben & Jerry's is offering a free ice cream, and Krispy Kreme is offering a free donut. If nothing else, vote and get free stuff. I'll probably be using the coffee to give me the writing edge.
I'm also aware that the word counter on this site is only working sporadically, and it keeps appearing and disappearing. This is actually an issue with the NaNoWriMo servers, and was expected by their team. Unfortunately, there are so many people taking part that the server is having some issues under the load of all the people participating that it's running slower than a slug up a hill of salt (and probably sizzling about as much by now).
I have one more politically based post which I'm working on that I will put up tomorrow, something that I feel is important to get out there before election day. It would have been better to have published the article a while ago, but I didn't get the basic concept for it until less than a week ago, and I've had other stuff I've had to work on at the same time. In the meantime, I want to add to the politics that for those who vote, Starbucks is offering a free cup of coffee, Ben & Jerry's is offering a free ice cream, and Krispy Kreme is offering a free donut. If nothing else, vote and get free stuff. I'll probably be using the coffee to give me the writing edge.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Reality Check: Is McCain Really the Same as Bush? Where Does Obama Fit Into This?
“Senator Obama, I am not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago.”
This was the quip that John McCain made during the third and final presidential debate between the two major party candidates in response to the charges that he is the same as the current President. There’s something interesting to be noted in all this, though. We hear a lot about McCain supporting Bush’s policies ninety percent of the time. But is he really the same? Yes and no. McCain isn’t quite the maverick that he’s been trumped up to be. He has been known to cross party lines on issues like abortion and on spending, at least in the past. He had developed a reputation for being one of the more thrifty politicians that, and while supporting rather exorbitant defense budgets, had attempted to provide the American people with the best defense they could get for their money. He's a maverick in the sense that he has opposed the neocon movement of the Republican Party to irresponsibly increase spending. However, it is true that he has voted with his party most of the time. Lately, he’s gone with his party a lot more, and has done a lot of pandering to the right-wing base, which has been disappointing. Whether he would return to the old McCain after elected is unknown.
But this is not the observation that needs to be made. There’s something that’s been troubling me about this whole thing. Let’s take a trip down memory lane, back to the year 2000 and the presidential campaigns of Al Gore and George W. Bush. Most people remember the ballot problem in Florida that year as the highlight of the election process, and the part that will live in infamy for generations. Few people seem to remember the campaigns that were run before the actual election. Particularly, look at Bush’s election campaign from that year. He ran on a platform of supporting bipartisanship, reaching across the aisle, getting rid of divisive exchanges and hyper partisanship, and reforming the way Washington does business. He also promised to get Americans back to work and encourage companies to stop shipping jobs overseas (remember that at this time, we had what could be considered a mini-recession, being led in large part by the tech bubble bursting). Is all of this starting to sound familiar? It should. We’ve been hearing the same talking points in the election campaign this year…from Obama! The similarities between the two campaigns are actually quite disconcerting, especially when you realize how the Bush presidency has turned out. It also reminds me a lot of the Clinton campaign in ’92, when a very tight leash was kept on Clinton and Gore, and a permanent campaign was instigated, focusing on keeping up in the polls on a daily basis through attacks, constant polling, and observing “who won the day” on the news, a system which was carried forward by the Bush presidency and creating an emphasis on short-term victories over long-term goals.
So, is McCain the same as Bush and will continue his policies? At this point in time, I would have to say “yes,” but interestingly enough, I would have to say the same thing about Obama. Giving him the benefit of the doubt and assuming that he really wants to change things, I don’t think that he’ll be able to undo the policies and the damage that the Bush presidency has wrought. But both the McCain and Obama campaigns are showing very disturbing similarities to past campaigns that continued into the presidencies of their respective candidates that led to more divisiveness and hyper partisanship than before, and this trend is likely not going to end any time soon.
This was the quip that John McCain made during the third and final presidential debate between the two major party candidates in response to the charges that he is the same as the current President. There’s something interesting to be noted in all this, though. We hear a lot about McCain supporting Bush’s policies ninety percent of the time. But is he really the same? Yes and no. McCain isn’t quite the maverick that he’s been trumped up to be. He has been known to cross party lines on issues like abortion and on spending, at least in the past. He had developed a reputation for being one of the more thrifty politicians that, and while supporting rather exorbitant defense budgets, had attempted to provide the American people with the best defense they could get for their money. He's a maverick in the sense that he has opposed the neocon movement of the Republican Party to irresponsibly increase spending. However, it is true that he has voted with his party most of the time. Lately, he’s gone with his party a lot more, and has done a lot of pandering to the right-wing base, which has been disappointing. Whether he would return to the old McCain after elected is unknown.
But this is not the observation that needs to be made. There’s something that’s been troubling me about this whole thing. Let’s take a trip down memory lane, back to the year 2000 and the presidential campaigns of Al Gore and George W. Bush. Most people remember the ballot problem in Florida that year as the highlight of the election process, and the part that will live in infamy for generations. Few people seem to remember the campaigns that were run before the actual election. Particularly, look at Bush’s election campaign from that year. He ran on a platform of supporting bipartisanship, reaching across the aisle, getting rid of divisive exchanges and hyper partisanship, and reforming the way Washington does business. He also promised to get Americans back to work and encourage companies to stop shipping jobs overseas (remember that at this time, we had what could be considered a mini-recession, being led in large part by the tech bubble bursting). Is all of this starting to sound familiar? It should. We’ve been hearing the same talking points in the election campaign this year…from Obama! The similarities between the two campaigns are actually quite disconcerting, especially when you realize how the Bush presidency has turned out. It also reminds me a lot of the Clinton campaign in ’92, when a very tight leash was kept on Clinton and Gore, and a permanent campaign was instigated, focusing on keeping up in the polls on a daily basis through attacks, constant polling, and observing “who won the day” on the news, a system which was carried forward by the Bush presidency and creating an emphasis on short-term victories over long-term goals.
So, is McCain the same as Bush and will continue his policies? At this point in time, I would have to say “yes,” but interestingly enough, I would have to say the same thing about Obama. Giving him the benefit of the doubt and assuming that he really wants to change things, I don’t think that he’ll be able to undo the policies and the damage that the Bush presidency has wrought. But both the McCain and Obama campaigns are showing very disturbing similarities to past campaigns that continued into the presidencies of their respective candidates that led to more divisiveness and hyper partisanship than before, and this trend is likely not going to end any time soon.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Nader Vs. Baldwin; FIGHT!
As promised, here is a link to the interview with Cynthia McKinney that was held in lieu of the actual debate since she was the only one to commit.
There apparently was a third party debate, held about a week ago, and was on CSPAN-2. I didn't hear anything about it and was fortunate enough to stumble upon it. I've had the news on pretty consistently as of late, so...well, yeah. Take it for what it is. The debate was only between two of the third party candidates, in this case Ralph Nader (Independent in most states, but on the Peace and Freedom Party ticket in California and Illinois) and Chuck Baldwin (Constitution Party) who has received Ron Paul's endorsement. Thank you, YouTube!
Also, on Sunday November 2, FreeAndEqual.org will host the vice presidential debate for the third parties at 6 PM Pacific time. The participants scheduled are Darrell Castle (Constitution Party), Matt Gonzalez (Independent, and Nader's running mate), and Wayne Allyn Root (Libertarian Party). It seems to be little late in the game for them to be holding a debate, but at least they are holding one.
It's kind of interesting that they are doing this. YouTube wasn't around back in 2004, and while internet video technology was around, it wasn't in the state it was in, or very user-friendly or accessible. These kind of internet debates are probably the best chance there is of actually getting a third party voice heard. A good example being the Nader vs. Baldwin debate posted above. Four years ago, if you missed it, were probably SOL. Could it change the landscape? Probably not this year, but if enough word gets out, there could be a more significant impact in another four years. Watch the videos and you decide! And get the word out!
There apparently was a third party debate, held about a week ago, and was on CSPAN-2. I didn't hear anything about it and was fortunate enough to stumble upon it. I've had the news on pretty consistently as of late, so...well, yeah. Take it for what it is. The debate was only between two of the third party candidates, in this case Ralph Nader (Independent in most states, but on the Peace and Freedom Party ticket in California and Illinois) and Chuck Baldwin (Constitution Party) who has received Ron Paul's endorsement. Thank you, YouTube!
Also, on Sunday November 2, FreeAndEqual.org will host the vice presidential debate for the third parties at 6 PM Pacific time. The participants scheduled are Darrell Castle (Constitution Party), Matt Gonzalez (Independent, and Nader's running mate), and Wayne Allyn Root (Libertarian Party). It seems to be little late in the game for them to be holding a debate, but at least they are holding one.
It's kind of interesting that they are doing this. YouTube wasn't around back in 2004, and while internet video technology was around, it wasn't in the state it was in, or very user-friendly or accessible. These kind of internet debates are probably the best chance there is of actually getting a third party voice heard. A good example being the Nader vs. Baldwin debate posted above. Four years ago, if you missed it, were probably SOL. Could it change the landscape? Probably not this year, but if enough word gets out, there could be a more significant impact in another four years. Watch the videos and you decide! And get the word out!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
NaNoWriMo, The Prep part 4
So much to do still, and little time left. Along with a continuing job hunt, I've still got a lot of prep work to do for NaNoWriMo. I'm not sure how much I'll get done today, though. For some reason, I keep feeling like I'm nodding off, even after drinking an entire pot of coffee. In fact, I'm writing most of this post with my eyes closed and practically on autopilot, so I wouldn't be surprised if this isn't up to my usual standards of linguistic excellence. Okay, maybe more like linguistic anal retentiveness. I'll get this prep work done, I just need to get myself to focus a little more. Unfortunately, I don't know that I'm much of a state to focus right now. I better not be getting sick because now would be a really bad time.
And for almost two hours, there's been a gas-powered leaf blower going somewhere outside my apartment, making it really hard to concentrate. The guy keeps powering it up and down and walking back and forth making the noise very irregular so that it won't simply slip into the background.
And for almost two hours, there's been a gas-powered leaf blower going somewhere outside my apartment, making it really hard to concentrate. The guy keeps powering it up and down and walking back and forth making the noise very irregular so that it won't simply slip into the background.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Fourth Debate Canceled, NaNoWriMo Still On
The fourth debate, as I wrote about in my last post, was apparently canceled. The only person who committed to being present was Cynthia McKinney, presidential candidate for the Green Party. Apparently, the other invitees were unable to schedule this debate in (I get the impression that there might have been short notice), so instead there was a live web interview with Cynthia McKinney. While interesting, it was also a little disappointing. ThirdPartyTicket.com is going to continue to try to get the other third party candidates to schedule a debate before the election, but with only two weeks left, I wouldn't hold my breath. BreakTheMatrix is apparently working on posting a recording of the interview, so if it comes up soon, I'll try to post a link. Please note that I'm not endorsing Cynthia McKinney or the Green Party, but I think it's interesting to hear another point of view.
With less than two weeks left before November and the start of NaNoWriMo, I'm a little disappointed with my progress on the prep work for it. I need to step up my game and really focus on it, otherwise I'm going to write myself into a corner like I did last year. I have been taking a break from my recent binge on political books and have been reading No Plot, No Problem by Chris Baty, designed as the actual manual for NaNoWriMo. It's interesting how a lot of things he says in there to increase productivity seem so obvious, but I pay attention to my own habits, I realize how often I DON"T do them. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People had the same effect. I wonder what really stop me, or people in general, for doing the kind of things that really need to be done. Food for thought, now give me desert.
With less than two weeks left before November and the start of NaNoWriMo, I'm a little disappointed with my progress on the prep work for it. I need to step up my game and really focus on it, otherwise I'm going to write myself into a corner like I did last year. I have been taking a break from my recent binge on political books and have been reading No Plot, No Problem by Chris Baty, designed as the actual manual for NaNoWriMo. It's interesting how a lot of things he says in there to increase productivity seem so obvious, but I pay attention to my own habits, I realize how often I DON"T do them. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People had the same effect. I wonder what really stop me, or people in general, for doing the kind of things that really need to be done. Food for thought, now give me desert.
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