Don't Be A Pussy

Brandie & I had a beautiful weekend in Carmel celebrating our 1-year anniversary. Friday we put our name in for lunch at Dametra Cafe. Another couple ("Lara", photo right) put their name in after us. Without going into detail.. they knew we were ahead of them, but when a table cleared she asked the waitress "Can we have this table?" as she started to sit down. I said "Actually, I'll take this table" and the waitress checked our names. As they passed I said "Yeah, you could see we were before you.". They were led back to a jammed corner table, and the waitress gave me soup on the house.

We've all faced those situations where some stranger cuts in line, steals your parking spot, or otherwise violates what you consider to be social etiquette. In each circumstance, we are faced with a choice:

1. Defend civility
   or
   
2. Be a pussy

I firmly believe that unless there is risk of physical harm, it is one's moral imperative to confront/reciprocate against douchebaggery. I'll admit... I've erred on the side of danger in the past. I confronted some guys I thought were dumping a car in my neighborhood one night (later to find out they lived around the corner). My actions will definitely err on the side of caution now that I'll have a child. Still, in 95% of cases, I believe there is no excuse for playing the pussy card, whether it be "creating a scene", "embarrassing your friends", or "being outnumbered". Deep down inside a douchebag KNOWS they are being a douchebag and will withdraw in discomfort as you stand up to them for what's right. Other than getting your ass beat by a cracked-out gangbanger... there is no excuse for avoiding your responsibility to demand civility from those around you. To do otherwise is cowardice, plain and simple - and I shame anyone who fails to do so.

Here are some simple guidelines I recommend one follows when combating douchebaggery:

• Don't jump to conclusions. There ARE cases when it's more about brainlessness than cheating. E.g. that moron who humps the Starbucks barista stand immediately after ordering... ignoring the people standing around waiting before him. Then he grabs your drink and gets his stupidness all over it! Don't get me wrong - this is still being a douchebag. It's just slightly less of a douchebag than someone who steals your drink.... so don't yell quite as loud.
  
• An eye for an eye. Don't ever key someone's car because they stole your parking spot. That's an arm and leg for an eye. Once a dude arrogantly stole my parking spot in Arden Fair Mall. I returned the favor by filling a cup with a sticky-sugar concoction and dumping it over his car. His cleaning effort was roughly equivalent to my effort put out by the entire ordeal.
  
• Shame & embarrassment are your friends. If someone cuts in line, chances are you are not the only one who noticed. However, you may be the only non-pussy in line. If you confront the person, everyone else will send you psychic high-fives. Perhaps you may even inspire others to not be pussies.
  
• Google Karma. If at all possible, get photos and full names of douchebags when you encounter them. Post them on your Facebook/blog. You never know... someone they know might see it, or find them on a Google name search!

A few more examples...

One of Brandie's friends had a birthday party at BJ's in Folsom last year. The place was packed and some party of 6 lied saying they were our reservation of 10 for "Mike". There was no mistake... only one reservation existed for "Mike". I could not believe everyone in our party just wanted to let it go. It bothered me so much I asked where they were sitting, went over to their table and chided them for stealing our reservation. They sat there mostly speechless.

Another time... on a pub crawl, we stopped for eats at Brew It Up (in the bar section mind you). Some guy came over and asked one of my friends to 'keep it down". He wasn't being overly loud. I told the guy to "fuck off", then yelled at him after he went back to his table "Fuck off" and flipped him off. Okay, not my wittiest moment... but I think he got the point.

Douchebags aren't just encountered at restuarants, finding parking spots, or waiting in line. I once had a boss at work who was playing favorites. I confronted him, asking for equal promotion. After getting the run-around, I opened an HR case on him requesting civil service procedures be followed with objective criteria for promotions. After they tested us, I got the promotion... and have perceived a higher level of respect since (that boss is long gone).

The list could go on....

Don't be a pussy. Don't be that person that retaliates inward with resentment, only later to think "Yeah, I should have said THAT." You must defend the principles of civility. To do anything less is to not respect yourself. First, have your own principles. Second, stand up for them. We all have the responsibility to make this world a better place. Don't let in the drivers who fail to signal. Tell people who talk too loud on their cell phones to be quiet. Follow people who don't pick up their dog poop home, and shit on their front porch. I guarantee you will feel your angst transform into self-respect.

Why public health care is stupid.

I just don't think people understand this health care issue. Radical reform is being pushed so hard so fast by the left, that no one has even had time to educate the public on the facts. I watched Michael Moore's "Sicko" a few years ago, and I have to admit I found it a compelling case for socialized health care. He painted a picture of greedy private health care providers robbing dying Americans VS. a social program serving the "public good". Only recently when health care reform has taken the spotlight have I taken the time to research & examine this issue. Apparently, "Sicko" was an extremely biased and rosy picture of socialized health care... showing the Cuban hospital rooms for the 'elite', instead of the actual barbaric care most people get.

I'd sum up the arguments of public health care advocates as:

• Greedy insurance/pharma companies rip off Americans
• Health care is a "right"
• Countries with socialized health care have better care than us

All of the above are false. The real results of a public plan will be:

• Health care quality will decrease
• Our tax burden will increase
• Private providers will be put out of business by taxpayer-supported govt. competition

I will attempt to explain why below...



GOVERNMENT SPENDING
Everyone supporting reform points out that health care inflation has risen four times the rate of other services in the past few decades. Why? Let's look at a few facts:

• Health care costs are rising in both US and Canada, so we can't blame the free-market for this inflation.
• Our government spends the most per-capita on health care of any country in the world *
• Medical procedures not covered by third-parties (e.g. lasik, plastic surgery) have not suffered this inflation *
• Of those "greedy" insurers that rake in obscene profits, the ones that do Medicare/Medicaid reap the most profit? *
• Even Obama & his experts have admitted that Medicare/Medicaid spending are primarily responsible for health care inflation *
  

See how you feel about Medicare & Medicaid after watching this? These programs should be drastically cut back, if not replaced with private health saving accounts. The goal of state politicians is to pull federal money into the state... they are not concerned with accountability. A public plan only worsens the existing problems.

GOVERNMENT REGULATION
Spending is only part of the puzzle. Is it any wonder that big insurance & big pharma are reinvesting their profits as the largest lobbying force in Washington? The health industry is the most heavily regulated. Bills and regulations are crafted by these companies under a guise of protecting patients, yet they squash competition and consumer choice with things like Patient Bill of Rights. What are ways consumer choice & competition could drop health care costs?

• What if you could find a good doctor & sign a non-liability form with them.... so, he/she wouldn't have to purchase expensive liability insurance which is passed onto you? Not allowed!
• What if nurse practitioners could setup clinics for basic care, where you could go for cheap treatment of basic problems? Not allowed!
• What if there were less controls on the types of arrangements you could enter with health providers, and less restrictions on who could practice medicine? Not allowed!
• The costs of health regulation outweigh their benefits by two to one, meaning that the total burden of health regulation in the United States, as of 2002, was $169.1 billion annually, or an average of $1,500 per family
• reference for above
  

We all know that government operated entities do a lousy job. Does anyone really think that something this complicated or this complicated can work?

LITIGATION COSTS
Tort reform would make a great blog post, but a few facts related to health care:

• Litigation costs are 10 times higher in the US. E.g. maternity suits are common and juries are very sympathetic to dead babies, regardless of fault. *
  
• Since 1975, medical malpractice costs have risen four times as fast as general price inflation and twice as fast as medical price inflation. *
  

HEALTH CARE AS A RIGHT
For those who think public health care will provide quality... don't watch Sicko, just ask a real Canadian. Profit & competition breeds innovation. Bureaucracy & regulation just breed deadweight loss. The populist mob reads the headlines & want a sirloin steak at McDonald's prices. I guess they don't care if they have to take other people's money or reduce doctors pay to get that.... they just don't understand the consequences. What if we didn't have innovation in health care in recent past? We'd still be bleeding out with leeches. Any American has better health care provided by $5 spent at aisle #4 of Rite-Aid than King Henry VIII had! So is health care a right, or a responsibility? Does every American deserve the best medical advancements and technology available? Then there will be no more advancements.

A public plan WILL compete with private, and ultimately hurt them and their quality. What would happen if the public plan led to a public monopoly? Now, your life choices become a burden on society & the state. Let's outlaw smoking, drinking, french fries, require motorcycle helmets. Oops, guess we're already part-way there. Say we had a 100% effective cure for cancer... except it cost $500,000 per person. In a public health care system, who would get that & who would decide who gets it? What if it cost $100... or what if it cost $100 million? I'd rather have a bureaucrat I CHOOSE, rather than one assigned to me which I have no choice but to pay.

10 Most Annoying Radio Hits of My Life

I'm sure there were some really stupid songs before I was born... even as I was a tot growing up (e.g. "Barracuda" by Heart). However, these are the songs that scarred me & made my brain shrink. I couldn't escape them on the radio/MTV during their hay day.

I still hate them... yet for some masochistic reason I listen to them and laugh whenever they come on (especially if Brandie is in the car... then I proclaim "it's my favorite song of all time" & sing along). These songs are either digustingly cheerful, or moronically simple lyrically/melodically. I still wonder why they were played so often... was it a conspiracy of some kind, or does the general populace really have standards so low? We may never know. Here's the list:

1. I'll Be There For You (Theme from Friends),The Rembrandts
2. New Low, Middle Class Rut
3. Womanizer, Britney Spears
4. I Go Blind, Hootie and the Blowfish
5. Spaceman, The Killers
6. I Can't Dance, Genesis
7. Never Gonna Give You Up, Rick Astley (My opinion must be shared... hence the "rickroll")
8. Dancing on the Ceiling, Lionel Richie
9. Remedy, Jason Mraz
10. Too Legit, MC Hammer

Oh... of course there are more than ten, and I'm sure there will be many more to come in my life.

Open Government

One of the things I liked about Obama during his campaign were his promises for transparency, accountability, and "open government". What a refreshing change from Bush's closed, secretive, and non-inclusive adminstration. Unfortunately, Obama has not stuck to his word - whether it be classified documents or lobbying. I guess it's still "business as usual"... even when our congresswoman Matsui calls the White House to get IG Walpin fired so Mayor Kevin Johnson gets Sacramento's share of stimulus money. Later today, I'm going to join some locals to show support for H.R. 1207 "Audit the Federal Reserve" for Sunshine Day. This bill has been stuck in committee regardless of it's large number of co-sponsors, yet Obama is pressuring congress to rush his 1000 page health care reform bill to a vote without time for analysis, discussion or even reading it! There are so many examples of government without oversight: GSE's like Fannie & Freddie, the Federal Reserve, Obama's unelected "czars".

As they say "sunshine is the best disinfectant", and if government eventually opens up all it's information and data for us to reliably expose what they're doing... that'd be excellent. Until then, there are some terrific websites out there for this purpose:

• opencongress.org & govtrack.us
  These sites let you follow representatives, bills, and even vote 'aye' or 'nay' on them. I used them to create an RSS feed tracking all my local representatives votes (Boxer, Feinstein, Matsui, Herger, Lungren, Thompson, McClintock) which I follow in my Google Reader.
  Personally, I like opencongress best. This site provides tools, such as one which lets you compare representatives by voting similarity... great for doing a Ron Paul litmus test!
  
• sunlightlabs.com & sunlightfoundation.com --> opensecrets.org & maplight.org
  Sunlight Labs & Sunlight Foundation aggregate information on lobbying and campaign money, organizing and publishing it for use by sites like OpenSecrets and MapLight.
  The picture painted by these sites are very telling. For example, you see how Doris Matsui is almost entirely funded by unions and lawyers outside her district. You can also see that lobbying money influence been exploding in Washington, and that health industry is one of the biggest spenders. Hmmm... and the healthcare industry is messed up because it's unregulated? I think not. It's one of the most heavily regulated, funded, and meddled industries that exist. Reduce government programs and regulations, and costs will drop radically. (Ah, but healthcare reform... that is another blog post)
  

Intelligender doesn't work.

So Brandie is 17 1/2 weeks pregnant.. nearly halfway along.

First - a product review of Intelligender. To be a good netizen consumer, I hereby submit to the Google Index that this product doesn't work. Brandie and I tried it out of curiousity. It says it is "urine analysis with a proprietary mix of chemicals reacting with hormones to determine the gender of your baby" (sounds kinda pseudo-science eh?) Our doctor said two other parents tried it and it was wrong in both cases. When we tried it, the pee turned to a murky mix that at our best guess seemed like the boy color. The result is probably more due to what you ate for dinner than the gender of the baby.

Today, we found out we will be having a girl! Finding out what my first child will be is exciting... if not a bit scary. I grew up with one brother, so raising a girl will be new territory. At least I've gotten to watch my brother go first...

Now that we know... the name games can begin. I have some very straightforward criteria for naming my child:

1. The name must be a classic, american, & timeless (e.g. no trendy names to be common in the Class of 2028 fraternities & sororities - like Kip or Heather of '92)
2. The full name must evoke proper consonance & rhythm when spoken (e.g. sixth sick sheikh = bad; crack apple jack = good)
3. Last but not least, the name must be rooted in a story and meaning (e.g. an ancestor or inspiring person)
   

When we didn't know boy/girl.. some of the boy names I liked were Andrew, Anderson (my mother's maiden), or some heroic, liberty rooted names like Clint, Wyatt, Jackson, Freeman, Jefferson, or Henry.

Now that we know it's a girl... there is one name that stands out for me: Sophie Ann Vincent (Brande prefers 'Sophia'). Ann is Brandie's mother's middle name (and part of Anderson). Sophie is a beautiful name... and inspired by Sophie Scholl - a brave girl who died at Nazi hands when she was captured pamphleteering against them. The name means "wisdom". We'll see.. it's still early & we may be inspired by a different name idea. Whatever her name will be, I'm looking forward to meet my baby girl!

---

UPDATE 9/9/2009:

According to the Social Security website, Sophia is in the top 10 popular baby names right now (#3 in California). That breaks my rule #1 on not being a "Heather/Jennifer/Amy" of the future. After going back to the drawing board, I must say we've agreed to the perfect name... I love it more than Sophia. It's classic, timeless, and deeply meaningful to me. It took some convincing with Brandie, but I conceded she'll have final name on the next baby. To be announced when she's born....

Free speech & the Internet

The news media loves showing how "hip" they are these days by constantly talking about Twitter. It's kind of funny actually, because we almost don't need the news anymore since you can track current events and memes in the blogosphere and twittersphere. Yesterday Michael Jackson died, and within minutes the tag "#michaeljackson" was at the top of the website's Rising Trends list.

The Internet changes the world in a lot of ways. It really is revolutionary if you think about it. I would compare the Internet to a technological catalyst such as the printing press. Gutenburg invented the printing press in 1445, allowing the collective knowledge of humanity to be spread throughout the masses. The Dark Ages was a time known for repression by religious dogma and despotic rulers. Literacy took Europe out of the "Dark Ages" into the "Renaissance" (roughly the 14th - 17th centuries) where culture, science and philosophy expanded. Martin Luther sparked the protestant revolution by nailing his printed 95 Theses to the doors of churches in 1517. Our founding fathers were inspired by the printed pages of thinkers before them like John Locke and Thomas Paine, who supported inalienable rights and representative government.

The Internet multiplies the spread of ideas. We may be on the cusp of a second renaissance, which will be fueled by 1) unlimited access to information by all, and 2) "crowd-sourcing" becoming the new efficient standard for growth of ideas. Youth in Internet cafes around the world now have Google and Wikipedia, which can provide a better education than most U.S. public schools. Interest groups organize and communicate instantly. Ideas aren't merely filtered by a news network of talking heads, instead they spread virally across blogs, tweets, and Facebook networks. Sure, there is a lot of crap to sort through... like inane blabber about reality TV - but that's just muck in the sea of diverse ideas. The Internet's potential resides in it's unfettered openness.

Now, here's the scary part. The Internet is a new phenomenon, which makes it a prime target for bureaucrats and statesmen who are eager to control it. The FCC already has it's regulatory tentacles wrapped around traditional media - censoring what can be said when & how. Thus far, the Internet is the wild west... pretty much anything goes. Americans may not be surprised when oppressive government in China filters internet use, but most people don't realize so-called 'free states' in Europe are also creeping this direction... just look at France and Germany. Politicians will of course use a premise such as "child pornography" or "homeland security" to justify these intrusions, but what most non-techie people don't understand is that ISP filtering gives government a censor button for the entire Internet (a dangerous level of power).

We may not have to worry here in the USA right? We all trust our government implicitly to not violate this power. Well, history should always be a gentle reminder to cozy Americans that eventually... the State and the People tend to disagree. Let's check out a few current examples where the Internet is already becoming a game-changer:

First, there's this guy, Rodrigo Rosenburg. He was assassinated by the Guatemalan President.... he just had someone post-humously post his testimony on YouTube. This incident triggered huge protests in Guatemala. Someone was even arrested for Twittering.



Also in the news this month, huge protests in Iran over election fraud. SMS (text message) networks mysteriously shut down during the election, perhaps a way for the State to squash any attempts at flash mob rebellion. Yet, they couldn't be quieted with alternatives like Twitter and YouTube available. The world gets an inside look at Iran's oppression, which must make the regime quite uncomfortable.



These examples demonstrate the Internet empowering the People. This is why it's critical that we protect it's openness, and prevent any kind of ISP filtering or censorship. This month in South Carolina, the Governor skipped town to visit his Argentinian mistress, while the Attorney General attacked Craigslist for it's sexy ads. Should we allow these people to control our choices? I've come across observations that the Internet is highly libertarian - perhaps because more intelligent people comprehend the economic and moral value of liberty, and also recognize that the Internet is a means to fight for liberty.

Time Travel Movies

Ok, I watched this weird time travel movie tonight on the Roku, called Truecrimes. It got me thinking about how many different flavors of time-travel movies are out there. Time-travel movies are cool, because they must make philosophical assumptions about fate, paradox, and even plural realities.

A great line from a South Park episode:

[at the time portal. News vans, reporters and scientists, one in a space suit, gather around and marvel at the portal] Aaron, I'm standing at the time border which scientists say follow Terminator rules. That is, it's one way only and you can't go back. This is in contrast, say, to Back To The Future rules, where back and forth is possible, and of course, Timerider rules, which are just plain silly. Anyway, it appears that the man from the future is here to stay.

First off, I have to say... I don't believe time-travel is possible. Nothing surpasses the cosmic speed limit, c. Worm holes and space-time curvature are wild exaggerations that help describe a theory, but there's no reason to believe it's possible to tear space-time. Still, it's a fun conversation topic for the logical and philisophical implications.


Back to the Future has a memorable scene (oddly one of my wife's favorites) where Marty McFly literally fades transparent as his parents almost don't hook up. Even if the effects were cheesy, it shows the writers relied on a single linear timeline. Apparently, even if Marty from Timeline-A travels back and prevents his own birth thereby erasing Timeline-A, the new Timeline-B would still become a new permanent timeline. A bit of a paradox, but hey it comes with the territory and those were a fun series of movies!


The Terminator movies got a bit more into destiny, and a lot more into paradox. SkyNET and the machines travelled back to kill Sarah Connor, who would give birth to the leader against the machines, John Connor. The trippy part was: John Connor sent Kyle Reese back to save his mom, and Kyle Reese has sex with John's mom becoming John's biological father. So, one must assume... some timeline must have originally caused Kyle Reese to go back and hook up with Sarah Connor for John to have ever existed. Either that, or Sarah Connor had some serious machine-ass-kicking genes... and she birthed a John Connor by another man in an original timeline who led the fight against machines.

Now, there's a whole category of time-travel stories that are pretty ridiculous - the "go back and fix it" premise. Superman: The Movie has one at the end where Superman flies around the Earth (presumeably > c) to save Lois. Star Trek IV has one where they go back to get a humpback whale because a whale-song-loving-alien is threatening Earth. It's amusing that they fly around the Sun (presumeably > c) to travel backwards, then conveniently do the same thing to return to the future. It's all worth it to hear Spock cuss though. I wouldn't call Groundhog Day a time-travel flick... it's more of a deja vu scenario.
Time Cop is probably the worst time-travel movie ever. Not only are the characters going back and interacting with their past selves without altering their memories or the timeline. They switch to 'Back to the Future' rules when the past-villain gets a cut, and the scar appears on the future-villain's face. Then they change the rules again at the end of the movie after Jean-Claude Van Damme's character prevents his past-wife's death. He returns to the future to find he has children with his wife he has no recollection of. If there's one thing that makes a bad time-travel movie, it's inconsistency of applying the rules.

There are so many great time-travel flicks. I haven't even talked about Time Bandits, 12 Monkeys, Butterfly Effect. Then there's more bad ones like Bill & Ted. (How come the 80's were such a big decade for these films though?) The movie I watched tonight, Truecrimes, is worthwhile for anyone who likes time-travel flicks. It had a bit of chicken-egg dilemma in it, but taught the same important lesson as most time-travel movies: Just don't mess with time-travel, it ain't worth the trouble it will cause!