thisisdocrivs

Sunday, October 30, 2005

This is the ceiling in the Ohio Theater. I can't get over how ornate that place is.
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The White Stripes, September 10, 2005. The Ohio Theater, Columbus, Ohio.
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This is me, waiting for Meg and Jack, like a stalker.
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Monday, August 08, 2005

David Koch & His Project, Crepuscular Raise, Inc.

Hello all who might come upon this blog about David Koch and his project, Crepuscular Raise, Inc.

I don't know how much I can say about thisweb site that I was referred to by a friend of mine. The web site is the home page for an organization called Crepuscular Raise, Inc., which describes a mission of "Inspiring and empowering the people who are a part of the problem to become their own solution."

Maybe some of you surfing this blog will find something good from this site.

What would reduce recidivism in, especially, young offenders?

OPTIONS...

EMOTIONAL SUPPORT

OPPORTUNITY FOR GOOD HOUSING AND FOOD

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY

CAREER OPPORTUNITY

A GOOD, HONEST, SECOND CHANCE

The word "crepuscular", as defined in The American Heritage College Dictionary, 4th Edition, means "Of or like twilight; dim." As a zoological term, "crepuscular" is defined as "Becoming active at twilight or before sunrise, as do bats and certain insects and birds." Perhaps the author of the book Slaying the Dragon - The Journey From the Dungeon to the Ivory Tower meant for the name of his organization to recall a catalyst for turning the dim twilight into the day -- for taking talented and bright-eyed people who seem to be in a dim situation and helping them to fulfill their dreams and re-enter the world like a phoenix rising.

Friday, August 05, 2005

That crazy W

My wife sent me a link to this article on World Net Daily. Apparently W is at it again, using his MANDATE FROM GOD to encourage lawmakers to bring the so-called "theory" of "INTELLIGENT DESIGN" into the science classes of American schools.

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

Is this to make the dogmatists seem like legitimate scientists? I wonder if young students would be able to discern the difference between a scientific theory and a religious dogma? Maybe it would be a good thing?

Probably not.

Appealing to a supernatural cause for the effect: complexity of life is just that -- an appeal!

There are many parts of life that we don't understand. There are many parts of life that we may never understand. Does that legitimately justify us to conclude that THERE MUST BE SOMETHING HIGHER MAKING THIS COMPLEXITY!!!! ???

I don't think so.

What do you think?

Thursday, May 19, 2005

Community Supported Agriculture

If you don't know what a CSA is...

In case you have never heard of community-supported agriculture...

Here is an article which explains, in my opinion (as is most everything on this blog page), a very good idea.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-05-11-farm-share_x.htm

--
"Only YOU can prevent forest fires." -- Sum Dum Bear

The new Food Pyramid!!!! Yay!

Yes, Big Brother has rethought up a new food pyramid to tell us what we should be eating more of and what we should be eating less of.

https://www.healthforums.com/myuhc/1,,article~11582,00.html

--
"Only YOU can prevent forest fires." -- Sum Dum Bear

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Anyone ever tell you not to boil water in the microwave?

CDRH Consumer Information - Risk of Burns from Eruptions of Hot Water Overheated in Microwave Ovens

Political correctness vs. Newspeak

Several months ago, a "google alert" I set, using the phrase, "George Orwell", turned up this article about political correctness gone awry. The freedom to use language to differentiate between descriptions of people and blah sort of generic terms was something that George wrote a lot about. I took a course on the topic of Orwell and Orwellianisms in our society, and during that time period (many moons ago) I read many writings by old George, including his essays on the corruption of the English language. George, as I recall, criticized many sloppy habits of speech and writing, which he believed were contributing to the dumbing down of language itself. What would George say about Homeland Security? What would he say about the mainstream media coverage about current happenings in Iraq?

Anyway, I don't have much time to rant at the moment. I'll leave you with the article. Comment, if you'd like.

Free speech protects against extremism - Opinion - www.theage.com.au

Early Theories of Evolution: Darwin and Natural Selection

Of interest to anyone who has ever been asked the question, "So... You think we came from monkeys??"

Here is a very basic history/bio of Charles Darwin and how the theory of Natural Selection came about. It seems even easy enough for kids to
understand.

...came from monkeys? pffffffffttt

Early Theories of Evolution: Darwin and Natural Selection

Sunday, May 15, 2005

Thank you for the comment

Well, I see that if you post something like a riddle or an invitation for a hunt or search or ask for assistance on a website, that someone will respond. Thank you for the article about John Portmann's book about "Schadenfreude". I appreciated that, and did find it interesting that someone wrote a book about enjoying the misfortunes of others. It seems to me that many writers have included that kind of behavioral characteristic in characters in their novels and screenplays, but few people I know claim to know the word for it. It's a good word. Although there are a hundred books on my "to read" list I do believe that I'd enjoy reading about Schadenfreude. Anyway, that's it for tonight.

--
"Only YOU can prevent forest fires." -- Sum Dum Bear

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Alternative Adventure Travel

Trekking in England and gapyear.com

There looks to be an interesting site for those wanting to find ways to spend your "gap year" doing something fun, educational, and inspirational. Here is an article about "trekking" in England:

Articles & Features :: Adventures in your own back yard

Friday, May 06, 2005

Epicaricacy

Apparently, and this is a new discovery for me... really... there are people out there who take pleasure in watching other people fail, lose, and experience suffering, loss, and misfortune. These types of people... hmmm.... I suppose that they are masters of inner contentment. They are truly happy inside. They must be happy, for why else would they smile and laugh upon hearing of the unfortunate circumstances of their "enemies"?

Anyway... I tried to find a word or several words to describe the act of expressing pleasure in another's shortcomings and misfortunes, and this word, "epicaricacy" is the only one I could find on the web.

Epicaricacy: Information From Answers.com

If anyone is reading this and knows of a word to express this, then I would greatly appreciate it if you could send me the word in a comment to my email.

Thanks.

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Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Don's trains
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Last Sunday, Igool and I went to Chillicothe to celebrate Easter at some friends' house. We went for a walk, and on our way back a neighbor stopped us. His name is Don. His wife's name is Betty. Don told me he is 83, I think. The two of them were very kind and friendly. Don invited the four of us in to look at his train sets in his basement. They pulled by us in a 2000-something yellow VW bug. Here are some photos I took, with Don's permission. He built most, if not all, of the constructions. Most of them are cardboard. The trains are "O Scale", whatever that means.
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Sunday, May 01, 2005

Uh....
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We looked something up in the dictionary at Ryan's request, but I can't recall what it was or why.
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These are some photos of Ryan when he came to our house to tell us about his trip to the pizza convention in NYC last winter. We chatted for awhile in the kitchen, drinking wine, while Ryan downed bottles of Sam Adams.
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