Laws or Theories...

So I've been hearing about a lot about the evils of raising taxes on the rich and how that will only cause more problems for us. Then I hear that Warren Buffet supports Obama, and it caused me to pause for a moment. In the world of science, there is a very serious and distinct difference between theories and laws. A theory is a generally accepted idea that hasn't been proven "beyond a doubt" to be true. Such as: the Theory of Evolution, the Theory of Relativity and the law of gravity. So the question I have then is this: The republicans speak as though the idea of taxing the rich is a damning move, as though it is a foregone conclusion that their will be negative ramifications. Is this opinion based on any economic law? Or is it just such a heavily espoused theory that people have come to believe it a law?

If you know fill me in. I'd like to know.

The idea of "The Win"

I've been thinking about this for a while. One of the major debate points of the last two debates has been the topic of Iraq vs Afghanistan. Obama wants to pull out of Iraq and focus on Afghanistan. McCain wants to "focus" on both. One of McCain's primary arguments for not pulling out of Iraq is the concept of letting the troops stay there till they win.

Till they win.

What does that mean? To me it seems like the definition of the win, has been a moving target. I've heard arguments ranging from stopping the proliferation of WMD's to establishing democracy. So what exactly is our goal there? When do we know we've won? When there aren't any terrorist bombings? When the Iraqi security forces are "ready"? When Democracy is secure? Is anyone else confused by the vagueness? I can understand the troops desire to "win" If ever there was a greater collection of hyper-competitive individuals I can't think of it. But if we don't give them a clear definition of win, can they win?

If they can't "win" will they ever feel closure? I doubt it.

I have this theory about PTSD. Why did we never hear about PTSD before Vietnam? It might be because of the generation thing, but I think it's because the vets believed in what they were doing. Vietnam, and Iraq are both wars where the soldiers are there without clearly understanding why. In fact, I would be interested in seeing the numbers on PTSD cases coming out of Afghanistan, where I believe the soldiers really went in with a clear definition of "the win," and Iraq. I'd be willing to bet that there are far fewer coming out of Afghanistan.

That being said, and after a lot of internal debates and conflict I've decided I support the idea of pulling out of Iraq based on the lack of the clear definition of the win, as well as the fact that we are the aggressors in this war and it is clearly an "un-holy" war.

Half Truths

Last night the Vice Presidential nominees had their first and only debate. I don't care to discuss the whole issue of win or lose but rather the tactics that I noticed being employed. (Warning: I will be using examples of the republicans, that's mostly because I know more about the Democrats and could catch the subtle nuanced barbs of the republicans, but I don't doubt the Democrats were doing the same)

The most disturbing tactic I noticed was that of telling a half truth in order to smear the other candidate. Example? How about both McCain and Palin trying to cast Obama in an anti-soldier light because he voted against a funding bill for the troops. That's what they say. He voted against a funding bill for the troops that had NO time line for withdrawal. So yes he did vote against a funding bill, but not because he doesn't support the troops. By their own logic then McCain is guilty of being anti-soldier because he voted against a funding bill for the troops that did contain a time line.

What is the point of this tactic? Do politicians think they can get away with making that accusation with their opponent right there to defend themselves? Is it even worth it if you're integrity is going to be challenged right there on the spot? I don't get it, it's a bad move at anytime because one has to compromise one's integrity to employee it. But it's just plain dumb to do it in a debate setting. If you're going to do it, do it in a stump speech where you're opponent can't react to it and take the heat out of the accusation.

Summary: Half truths frustrate me for the lack of simple honesty, and poorly used half truths frustrate me for the simple lack of thought behind them.

Things I Love and Hate

Over the last week, I've spent more than my fair share in a car. A drive down to Las Vegas and two days later a drive to Boise. All of this time in a car has given me plenty of opportunity to contemplate on the traveling experience. I've come to the conclusion that I love cruise control and hate cars that don't have it. In fact, not having cruise control should be illegal. We rented a car to go down to Vegas and I made the mistake of renting a car without cruise control. I felt like a total spaz going up and down hills. Not being able to stick to my desired speed was frustrating to say the least and more than once I was afraid I was going to get nabbed by a cop on my way down a hill.

After watching the presidential debate and listening to Palin's interview with Katie Couric (I doubt i spelled her name right. I thought I'd include a few interesting clips. SNL did another great skit last night, and Katie included a clip on what Kissinger said about preconditions on talks with Iran. Take a look. It appears as though McCain and Palin are denying his comments even when they're documented on TV. I don't get it.

Accountability - Debt, Taxes, Bailouts and Abortion?

I think this post belongs after my previous post of books that have changed my life. Why? Because I'm going to be talking about something that I feel very strongly about as a result of these books.

Accountability. (Thanks Michael for helping my focus my thoughts for this post)

Before I launch into my comments though, I'd like to address the idea of Big Government. This has been a buzz word since the founding of our nation. Recently it has become a source of crucification for the Democrats. No doubt because of their propensity for wanting to implement social programs. I can agree that not all social programs need to be government sponsored, but even at the height of their power, the Republicans have never abolished the programs that the Democrats have implemented, and in fact have added a few of their own. (No Child Left Behind etc.) The argument of big government is a political smoke screen, lets ignore that debate from here on out.

Now for a discussion on accountability:

Debt

A number jumped out at me as part of the recent flurry of coverage on the govt. bailout. Our debt limit has been raised to $11.3 some odd Trillion. In my mind, excessive debt, and I think we can qualify this as such, is a perfect example of avoiding accountability. Somewhere, somehow we have accrued almost $10 Trillion in debt as a nation already. That debt represents spending that was done without the money to pay for it with the idea that somewhere down the line, someone else will deal with it. They'll actually pay for whatever we thought was so important. Why couldn't we pay for it? If it was that important, could we not as a nation have figured out how to pay for it? I may be over simplifying here and if anyone knows of a thorough analysis of how we got here I'd love to know about it. But to me, it seems like a serious case of instant gratification, and the desire to make the problem someone else's.

Taxes

Which leads to my next comment. I've heard quite a few arguments against the democrats that their social programs will result in higher taxes for us all. You know what? If higher taxes means we're actually assuming responsibility for our spending habits I'm all for it. I would love to see a bill passed that made it illegal for the govt to spend anymore than it received in the form of taxes. Then our society might not look to the govt to provide so many services. Maybe we might start to see pressure on the government agencies to trim the dead wood. (One thing I've learned in my time in the military is that as it stands, government jobs tend to attract, and retain, the under achievers.) If everyone started to realize that pretty much everything has a cost, we might start to realize that maybe we can do without. Also, and I realize this is pie in the sky thinking, maybe the lesson might sink into peoples personal lives and we'd stop seeing a negative spending average in this country.

Bailouts

I don't have much to say about the issue of Bailouts only to say I hope our government takes this as an opportunity to review how things are done and hopefully introduce some checks and balances into the system. Also, if it can be proved that any individuals were knowingly defrauding people or otherwise encouraging this bubble for their own personal gain, I hope they are held accountable for their actions to the tune of removing from them every penny of income they received as a result of their actions.

Abortion

Since declaring my support for Obama, I have received numerous questions (some polite, some not) about my views on Obama's stance on Abortion. My stance is that of the LDS church, abortion is only considerable in the case of Rape, Incest, or where the mother's life is at risk. That being said, if abortion were to be made illegal across the board, women who fall into either of those three categories would not have it as an option. So what about a law that only allows it under those circumstances? I'd be all for it. Do I think it will happen? Not at all.

Why not? Because I believe abortion is not the primary issue. At the root of the problem is our societies propensity for avoiding accountability. Young girls and boys that can't seem to find it in themselves to keep their pants up around one another, or even use protection, are trying to avoid the consequences of their decision. Women who view the child as an inconvenience are avoiding the consequence of a decision they made. This argument might sound callous but I really have never heard of another reason for which a woman might want to have an abortion. The argument of not being in a good enough financial situation, or not being married to the man is after the fact. The reality is that there was a choice made to engage in sex. Sex is the path to reproduction. I think at some level everyone knows that. Sometimes protections fail it's true, but if a man and a woman have sex, they should understand that pregnancy is possible. They chose to make that gamble.

So what about Obama? I disagree with him. What about the democrats and abortion? I disagree with most democrats. I have hope though. While listening to the DNC coverage I heard a piece on a growing faction of democrats that are espousing the idea of Abortion Reductions. These people believe that fundamentally abortion is not a good thing, but there are cases when it should be considered. As part of their program they are encouraging better and more thorough education plans (I know, another social program) to make up for the obvious failings of parents in teaching their children about accountability. I'm ok with this latter group.

Books That Will Change Your Life

The purpose of this post is to put in writing my strong affection for these books that have had such a significant impact on my life. I've titled it as Books That Will Change Your Life because they have changed my life, my outlook on life, and my fundamental way of thinking. I've put together a collage of images of each book cover and the rest of the post will treat each book individually, where I first encountered them, and how they affected me. I am writing this post as a means of sharing with you what I consider to be the most influential (non-scriptural) books in my life.

Alive In Christ by Robert Millet:
This book was given to me to read while on my mission by my mission president. In essence, Robert Millet discusses the process of becoming converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Most of his chapters are framed in the form of personal experiences and questions. He truly helped me consider my own personal conversion, as well as my commitment to the church.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand:
I picked this book up on a whim. For some reason I felt the need to expand my exposure to books that were acclaimed as "Classics." My first attempt at reading it ended after trudging through the first 70 pages. I was incredibly depressed by the dreary world painted by the author and didn't really want to continue reading it. A few months later, I had a conversation with a friend and he had nothing but positive things to say about it, which got me curious enough to pick it up again. Warning: This is not a light read, and you have to really commit to it.
After everything was said and done, this book really emphasized for me the importance of working for your own keep. It also really highlighted for me the conflict between charitable giving and a welfare society. There is also a very interesting dissertation on why money is not the root of all evil. If you're looking for a book to make you consider the socio-economic issues this is it.

The Anatomy of Peace by the Arbinger Institute:
I read this book after having read Leadership and Self Deception, also written by the Arbinger Institute. I was introduced to this book on accident through a leadership lecture and it hit me like a brick to the head. This book focuses personal perceptions and interpersonal interactions. I can't do the subject matter justice my self, so all I can really say is that I firmly believe everyone in the world should read this book. If we could all live by the concepts therein, the world would be a better place.

The Peacegiver by James Ferrell:
This book was given to Amber and I as a wedding present. We put it on a book shelf and it sat there for 6 months before a friend of ours recommended the book. Turns out James Ferrell is the managing director of the Arbinger Institute. He's taken the lessons of The Anatomy of Peace and wrapped them in the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Again, read it.

The Travelers Gift by Andy Andrews:
This book was recommended by Justus and Tara, and again this is another one of those "self help" books that helps focus your mind on simple concepts that are worth considering. The book is well written and very engaging.

Essays on Approaching Zion by Hugh Nibbley:
I was recently introduced to this book by my father, Larry. I have never actually picked the book up, (Audio book) but Hugh does a great job in questioning everyday activities and events and makes you think about your own relationship to God and others. It's similar in fashion to Alive in Christ, but where Millet uses every day events to illustrate his points, Nibbley couches everything he has to say in "academic-speak." Amber listened to part of it with me and she was put off by his over use of big words. Regardless, he makes some good points and makes you think about things that you might consider to be "conventional wisdom."

None of these books are what I would consider a one time read, in fact, I would recommend reading them numerous times as they all have multiple layers in them for digesting.

Yoga - Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

For those of you unfamiliar with the term Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, don't worry about it. It will all become clear in the body of this text.

Tonight, Amber and I went to the gym to participate in an hour long Yoga class. Amber has been to Yoga classes before, and enjoyed them so I figured this was something we could do together. To be clear, I have never participated in a yoga class. The closest I've come was a stretching and flexibility class at BYU a few years back. Great class by the way, towards the end of the class I was able to place both palms on the floor with my legs totally straight. Tonights class had nothing in common with that class.

I expected a relaxing 60 minutes of stretching and relaxing. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, I now hate the phrase "Down Dog Position," I suppose it was a surreptitious begining when we started in a position that made me want to puke, and prevented me from drawing more than half a breath... (Even worse the instructor started talking about these big relaxing breaths I was supposed to be able to take) Within 10 minutes I was breathing heavy. By 20 I was sweating. After 30 minutes sweat was pouring off my face and my shirt was completely soaked through. In short, it was nothing like I expected, and was in fact a real kick in the shorts.

As I sit down to write about this experience my muscles ache, I can't seem to drink enough water, and I just finished satiating an intense craving for a salad. How can stretching have had such an intense effect on my body?

On the flip side, after our Yoga class, Amber and I ran into Ryan Shuppe of Ryan Shuppe and the Rubber Band. Apparently he has a membership at the same gym and when I said hi to him and used his name he came over and talked to us for a while. Nice guy.

Go try it.

Transparency - Shransparency?

For the last eight years, I would have to say that my biggest complaint about G.W., (besides the fact that he's a total dunce and listening to him speak publicly depresses me every time,) has to be that he and his underlings continually exhibit a total lack of transparency. I first became aware of this situation soon after I returned from my mission. I read an article on how some watchdog group was trying to get a hold of the records of a meeting held by Dick Cheney to determine the Bush's "energy policies" Dick invited individuals from all the major oil producers, and a few other industries, and outright denied anyone that had even environmental leanings entrance to the meeting. Three years later, those same environmentalists were trying to get access to the records of that meeting with very little success.

Since that time, new blurbs are constantly popping up regarding some new piece of information that someone is taking the Bush administration to court about. Trying to get what should otherwise be a matter of public record released from the dark confines of the white house. It seems to me that in order to find out what color tie G.W. wore last month you would need a court order.

That being said please refer to article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/us/politics/14palin.html#

After reading the Anne Kilkenny letter, I was disturbed. After reading this latest article, I'm terrified.

In fairness, I recognize that there are lots of scuzzy democrats that do the same thing, and I'm not trying to make this post about Republicans or Democrats. This is an issue of G.W. Bush being a shady character, and Gov. Palin apparently following right along in his footsteps.

I read somewhere, and don't ask for the source cause I can't remember and I'm paraphrasing anyways.

"Men treat others differently when they are not being watched by others. If they know their is no one to witness their actions often times they believe they can get away with that which they should not do."

I firmly believe that, and for anyone to get my vote, their has to be a commitment to absolute transparency in so far as it does not interfere with security and risk the lives of others. Environmental issues do not include security risks to my mind.

On a lighter note, i've also included a link to an SNL skit this last week with individuals portraying Hillary and Sarah. Very Funny.

Disturbing

Today was governer's day. As such, I, as part of the Utah Air National Guard, had to participate in a Governors Day parade, in which the governor inspected us for readiness. This was the 5th and last such event I have to participate in as this is my last year in the Utah Air National Guard. I find no small amount of irony in such an event, cause honestly, what does a politician know about troop readiness? Quick answer: Nothing.

Regardless, I go, it's not exactly thrilling, but it's better than other drill days where I just have to sit there.

Upon returning home, I finished up the data entry project I've been assigned as part of the Utah County Democrats volunteer group. They've been performing lots of surveys to find out the minds of the utah county-ites, and as part of that survey they ask the participants to rate the issues according to priority. So far, I've entered in over 130 surveys, and a disturbing trend (the reason for this post) has begun to emerge.

Overwhelmingly, somewhere around 80% or more, participants have put the environment at the tail end of their priorities. It appears as though they just don't care. I don't get it. I'm not exactly what you would call a tree hugger. In fact when I hear about some of the outrageous bills being passed in tree-hugger states like California, Oregon and Washington, I marvel at the insanity.

On the other hand, the apparent total disregard for the environment here is also mind boggling. Maybe its the fact that most people believe the end of the world is eminent. Maybe they miss-understand the word steward to be a euphemism for rapacious plunderer. I don't know. Either way, here in Utah, no one appears to care about the environment.

Part Two, the Shocking Revelation

So, for those of you that read yesterday's blog, I purposefully left it a cliff hanger. 90% because I was exhausted, 10% because I wanted to consider my words before launching them into the intermatron.

Picking up from yesterday:

As I walked back to my car, I was thinking about everything that was said and debating with myself about the motivations of Mr. Pickens. Honestly, I still don't know what to think about him. But my internal debate led me to stumble across a thought that I must admit was a skewering. Since May of 2003, I've been advocating moving away from fossil fuels. (I know because that is when I decided to go into Chemical Engineering and why) Yet in 5 years, in spite of having learned a lot more about the issue, I personally have not done anything about it in my life. I've had to buy three cars in the last year, and have I bought a fuel efficient vehicle? Not really. Have I been energy conscious and turned out all the lights when they aren't needed? Not really. Have I done anything to really advance a "green" cause since then? Not really.

Mr. Pickens, my hat is off to you. You might have made your billions from oil, but at least you're using that money now, for something worthwhile. Me, I'll be making changes in my life. In fact, as I drove home last night, I followed the advice of my sister Millie, and slowed down to 65 MPH. It's a silly thing to be proud of but my mileage was better, and interestingly enough, the driving experience was a lot less stressful.

So that's it. That was my revelation. For change to be effected, we don't necessarily need some great leader to move the nation all at once. I must act now, to the greatest extent possible and encourage others to do the same.

What can you do?

Pickens in a nut shell

You're not a Hypocrite Mr T. Boone Pickens; I am

This post is a product of the thoughts and impressions I had while attending a "Town Hall Meeting" for T. Boone Pickens in Salt Lake City Utah on September 11, 2008. (If you don't know who Mr. Pickens is, please watch the video I've posted on this blog, it pretty much covers the same information he went over) Before I launch into the meat of the subject matter I have to make two observations that are completely off topic.

1. I hate going out in public by myself! It makes me incredibly uncomfortable, I feel vulnerable, and all in all I don't like it.
2. Curse the man that designed the seats that link together to form an un-breakable chain of torture. I am not a large man, in fact if clothing store demographics are any indicator I'm pretty much average. Those things mistakenly identified as chairs are two small for the average male! I had half a cheek on another chair throughout the entire presentation, and was painfully aware of the obscene proximity of my neighbors.

To the matter at hand:

As I prepared myself to go to the Pickens Plan Party, a horrible thought occurred to me. Mr. Pickens is a billionaire. Literally. He didn't get super rich by being a chump, and generally guys that amass that kind of money just keep on rolling like its a bad habit or something. What if Mr. Pickens is only pretending to be altruistic, and using this "Grass roots movement" to further his latest investments and money making strategies....

That thought gave me pause as I walked to the convention center.

Upon arriving, my fears started to take on form. Individuals were prowling the corridors and sidewalks handing out fliers that implied Pickens was pushing his ideas because he's the owner of one of the major natural gas distributors in the nation and he's making a killing on it. He's actually trying to buy Questar gas as well, and if he does this handout predicts we'll see the price of natural gas quadruple over night.

"Great," I thought "I've fallen for another mans get richer schemes." And inspite of a moderately strong desire to leave then and there, I sat down to give it a fair listen. Things started to look up after that.

It began with a lovely elderly couple sitting down in front of me wearing matching pro-Obama t-shirts. That lead to an equally lovely conversation about whether or not Palin was going to be McCains white night and save the campaign. That died down, and the waiting began. The show was 15 minutes late in getting started, further retarded by Gov. Huntsmans pompous posturings. Mr Pickens got right to the meat of the situation, and the stats (I know what they say about statistics but bear with me here) are scary:

1. In the 1970's the US oil production peaked at roughly 10 Million barrels/day.
2. Currently we only produce 5 Million barrels/day of the 85 Million barrels/day worldwide.
   
3. The US accounts for 25% of world oil consumption, 4% of the population, and only 3% of the reserves.
4. 67% of our oil is being imported right now, to the tune of $700 Billion being paid annually by Americans to foreigners.
5. 5 years ago, OPEC countries earned roughly $250 Billion from oil sales. This year they're on track to earn $1 Trillion dollars from oil sales.

Those numbers are not pretty. And in the face of those frightening statistics, T. Boone pointed out that we (as a nation) made our bed and now we have to lie there. I thought that was a remarkable reminder of accountability. He also made the very appropriate comment that this is a problem we can not drill our way out of. I like that phrase.

Long story short, his goal is to use wind power to replace the energy from the natural gas power plants. Then take the natural gas and use it in automobiles to cut our foreign oil consumption by 38%.

After everything was said and done, I still wasn't sure about Mr. Pickens. He's either a shrewd business man thats using public sentiment and frenzy to his advantage, or he's such a firm believer in his own cause that he's sinking billions of dollars into making it happen. Either way, his ideas still have merit of their own, and while it's not perfect, it's a heck of a lot better than no plan at all.

So why am I a hypocrite? The answer will come in tomorrow's post. I'm exhausted and am going to bed.

Now for something provacative....

A "locura" has grown in my mind over the last 2 - 3 months. It came to a head on August 28, 2008. Since then I've thrown caution to the wind and joined the Democrats. For those of you that didn't see it, August 28 was Obama's acceptance speech at the DNC. After listening to all the politic-ing proceeding the DNC, I was pretty sure I was going to vote for Mr. Obama. After listening to his acceptance speech, not only was I sure I was going to vote for him, I wanted to get involved in the process.

Background:
I've ALWAYS been registered as independent. I chaffed at the idea of having to "vote the party" and never really felt like either party represented my beliefs even 80% of the time. After having very lengthy conversations with my good friend Skiffington, (yah, his real name is Skiffington) I realized I don't always have to agree with a party to belong to the party. Also, I've come to the conclusion that as a part of the system, I can possibly have more of an effect than an outsider. Like it or not, we have a two party system.

So now I'm volunteering for the Utah County Democrats. Yah!

I don't know what roads my entrance to politics will lead me down, I don't know if I'll always stay a Democrat (i'm sure my father hopes so), but for now, I'm an Obama man all the way. Especially after McCain picked Sara Baracuda. (please reference Anne Kilkenny letter)

Reasons for Obama?

1. Get us the heck out of Iraq. I've gone back and forth on this one, but after talking with close friends that are serving in Iraq, I want them to come home. It was an unholy war to begin with.
2. Energy - Obama did not originally support off shore drilling to begin, and has only conceded to get past the R's. Exxon and Haliburton are crooks. I'm pretty sure Dick Cheney has formed a pact with the devil. (not really but that shows you how high my esteem is for the man.)
   
3. Obama thinks George Bush is a dunce. I'm glad someone is willing to call it like it is.
4. Obama doesn't use scare tactics like the R's are so famous for.

That's it. Again, these are my perceptions and opinions. Please don't turn my blog into your personal crusade to save my soul. I already have Skip to do that politically speaking.

Time Shares - Live and Learn

This post is a result of a commercial I saw last Saturday, that piqued my interest.

Last August, my wife and I got stopped at a movie theater by an elderly lady with an offer. Spin the wheel, maybe win a prize. Sign up for 50 minute presentation and get a free 3 day cruise to Mexico. We spun, we lost. We signed up, for the presentation and got our 3 day cruise.

For those of you that haven't found themselves in such a scenario, it's a lead in to getting sold on a Timeshare. This particular company was Worldmark by Whynham. Turns out they sell a point based time share. Points that can be redeemed at any of 50 resorts. Long story short, we buckled. 3 hours after the 50 minute presentation was done we walked out of there with a new mortgage and a time share.

Here's the rub, we've used the time share. Spent a great week in Mexico. Gave a sister in law a two night stay at a resort as part of her honeymoon. I don't regret purchasing it. I do however regret the price I paid for it. Turns out there is a glut of private sellers trying to unload their timeshares online. I found a few different websites that serve as timeshare brokers for private sellers. The site i spent most time on was www.timesharesonly.com. Turns out if we had purchased a our timeshare from a private party, for the same price we could have bought 4x more points.

Moral of the story? Two fold:

1. Don't fall for the whole "buy now or you don't get the sweet deal" push.
2. If you're going to buy a time share, buy it from a private party and get more bang for your buck.

Why "Square Peg in a Round World"?

I created this blog for the purposes of ranting, raving, pontificating, reflecting and commenting on my life, major events, and my reactions to them. As such, I've attempted to provide a title that cuts to the very heart of my life up to this point. I don't fit in very will. Not that I'm anti-social, or that I'm a social reject. Rather, I just have never seemed to meet all the requirements of any social group for total acceptance. I've been a fringe member of most cliques.

That being said, I'm OK with my role in life. Mark Twain has been credited with coining the phrase: "When you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform." I feel like in some ways I've lived that way my whole life. Perhaps it is the Reynolds contrariness, but playing Devil's advocate has always been something that I enjoy greatly, and not just because I like causing trouble. (Although that plays a part) I just find that anytime I hear someone categorically pronounce something and act as though their edict were the final word on the matter, I get an itch.

So maybe I'm not necessarily a square peg in a round world, maybe I'm a dodecahedron that likes to think he's a square. Either way, I chose the name to imply that some of my postings will seem to come out of no-where or be down right bizarre. Some might contradict what I've already said; I reserve the right to change my mind as I go through life.

Hopefully this will be a long term project, in fact I'd like to think I can keep this going for the rest of my life and use it as a journal someday, so that my decedents can look back on my life and say: "Wow, what an incredibly odd man he was, so that's where I get it."