"We had to share tennis courts with other families."

This video from the onion is hilarious. Try watching it and imagining that it is not a joke. How would you feel? Enraged? Astonished? Depressed?

As Bryan Caplan points out, this video is probably not unlike what the debate over poverty in the United States must look like to a citizen of the "developing world." I know that people who live in poverty in the U.S. don't compare themselves to impoverished Haitians; they compare themselves to their wealthy compatriots. Still, it makes you think.

I scheduled my first MRI for tomorrow morning...

and look what is on the front-page of Boing Boing!

MRI machines going berserk

Now Mark Warner is running for Senate....

University of Illinois

Went out to the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champagne. So work has me looking into the college market and the college consumers....hence the trip to see the Fighting Illin. I would have to say the build up to the game was much more entertaining then the game itself. It has been awhile since I have been to see a game at a big school. All the major ones out here are Big 10 school and have some serious support.

I was amazed at the amount of capitol that is dropped to create the spectacle that is college football. I guess football in general needs a lot of sideline people to keep it going. It seemed every 2 minutes the refs were stopping the action. Every now and then something would happen and everyone would cheer.

I got bored and left at half time.

One thing for sure is that it is not just about the game for all those fans.
Definitely a religion for them.

re: Ron Paul For President

original post

It is refreshing to hear Ron Paul’s alternative ideas; just as it refreshing to hear Gravel’s and Kucinich’s. But what makes decisions about whom to support so difficult, especially those candidates with many alternative ideas, is the monumental task of educating one’s self about the candidate and the specifics of his platform…

After seeing a couple of youtube clips Ron Paul seems pretty interesting (despite having to listen to American Pie), but then I run up against, or rather into, the many gaps in my understanding about some of his major planks. Here are only a few of my questions: How exactly would the dismantling of the IRS and current tax system be orchestrated? Is it a good thing, ultimately? How would the dismantling of the FED be orchestrated? Is a central bank, or at least one set up like the FED a horrible thing? What do I know about it? Is commodity-backed currency a good thing? How small do I think government should be? Do I think the FDA should be axed as well as the DHS? What do I think about his stance on immigration? Abortion? etc, etc.

Ron Paul’s ideas are very alternative and therefore require an extraordinary amount of research and education to even begin to analyze them with even a shred of confidence.

It is nice to hear that you and Anthony are educating yourselves about Ron Paul. I look forward to learning about him from folks like y’all who I know and trust…

National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing.

Via mlovitt

I saw my first NASCAR race at the NEXTEL Rock & Roll Richmond 400 this Saturday. We arrived plenty early for some tail-gating, but somehow failed to get things set-up in time to cook up the hot-links and bratwurst we had brought along…

A ticketing snafu meant that we ended up in slightly different seats then planned. We found our spot just above turn 2 and joined 110,000 people in pledging the Pledge of Allegiance. Then, a prayer for the safety of the drivers was prayed. Then, the National Anthem was sung. Finally, a C-130 cargo plan went “streaking” over the stadium. Oh, and also a couple of dudes parachuted down to the track.

The race started around 7, and 4 hours later it was over. Yes, I watched cars go around in circles for 4 hours. I would say that the first 40 laps and the last 40 laps (of 400) were the most interesting. The first 40 laps were great because it is undeniably awesome when the cars start up (it is so loud that most folks have ear-plugs) and start blazing around the tracks at 120 m.p.h. It is truly fantastic to see the brakes spark as the cars come into a turn. It was super thrilling to witness a bump and spinout as millimeter jockeying goes awry…

The last 40 laps were great because one could focus on an all-out battle between crowd-favorite Dale Earhardt Jr. and eventual second place finisher Tony Stewart. The two swapped 2nd and 3rd place a half-a-dozen times and before something on Earhardt’s car blew out…

I also have to be truthful and say that the last 40 laps were great because it meant that race was finally, finally coming to an end.

After the race, rather than wait the 2 1/2 hours it took cars to start moving out of the parking lot, we set up the chairs and grilled up the sausages in a grill our tail-gating neighbors had left behind.

All in all it was a fascinating, exhausting experience.

Ron Paul for President

Ron Paul is an interesting alternative to the lies and corporate interests of the mainstream candidates. He's the only one who I've heard speak so far who actually seems honest and independent in his thinking (big stress on thinking, it's rare). Check out this video on Youtube and decide for yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWfIhFhelm8

Anthony and I would be very interested in hearing about ways to help support him and get his message out... Let us know if any of you are doing any campaigning for him or if you know of any other way to help out. I'm subscribing to his weekly e-mails from his website and just trying to find out more about him for now. Hillary and Obama aren't going to make any major changes, and I think what we need right now is someone who thinks outside the current system.