You’re at the circus, Disneyland, the zoo, or or the fair. Suddenly your child spots his or her latest “must have” item. The finger points, the hopeful look appears in the eyes, and the words “I want it!” are uttered. What happens next can be an opportunity or a nightmare depending on how it plays out.

I suggest that when a child waaaants something, ask them if they want to buy it with their allowance (they do have an allowance, right?). If they don’t want to spend their money on it, then they have to trade something for it. Ask them which item at home will they part with in exchange for the shiny new thing. Obviously, the thing they have to give away needs to be something fairly equitable. No giving away furniture, sensible clothing, etc.—something else that was a shiny new impulse purchase is best. If the new thing is a big ticket item, the thing they give up needs to be important to the child, too. This helps them learn to value what they have and also understand that everything has a cost.

My parents also had several other good tricks up their sleeves.

For example, depending on the venue, sometimes we would go shopping at a discount store before some events and buy useful things like binoculars, hats (for sunny places), or non-melting pocket-sized snacks. Then we would take those with us. We could skip right past most of the expensive merchandise for sale since we already had everything we needed.

Instead of spur-of-the-moment snacks (popcorn, churros, sodas in plastic cups), we would plan our meals along with our activities. That helped us avoid hunger pangs and cravings. We usually included at least one snack item “splurge” (cotton candy or a funnel cake were popular since we couldn’t get those at home).

Instead of wasting money on disposable items (silly hats you never wear anywhere else, balloons, etc.), my parents would suggest that I purchase something collectible like a postcard, map, button, figurine, or something functional like a ceramic mug, t-shirt, or sweatshirt. I ended up with several very nice collections by the time I was in my teens, and the clothing I bought was not too zany to wear to school or to play.

I also collected sugar packages—many restaurants have custom imprinted ones in the dispensers on the table. Back home, I cut the packages open carefully with scissors, poured out the sugar into the sugar canister, attached a stamp hinge (used in stamp collecting), and attached the package to a scrapbook page. It made a neat memento and was free with the meal. When I got older, I switched to collecting stamps and business cards instead.

While I was young, my parents helped me with arranging and displaying my collections. It was quality family time, and the experience became far more valuable than the items cost. The great thing about any type of collectible is that you can look back at an item years later and remember the highlights of the entire trip. With candy or other disposables, there’s nothing left.

My parents usually had me wait to buy something until we were leaving. First, it taught me that patience leads to rewards (something you need to comprehend later in life when investing your money). Second, I often found other things along the way that I liked even better than the first thing I saw. If I’d spent my (or my parents’) money on the first thing I wanted, I’d have been sorry for it later.

I remember sometimes at the end of the day at Disneyland, we would have to rush from one corner of the park to another just to get back to the gift shop that had the item I wanted. The frantic rush to score the item made it all the more cherished in the long run. I never tossed aside my new acquisition the next day, because it had become something special to me. It was a carefully considered decision, and I had earned it while working together with my parents.

I look back on a lot of the things my parents did, and I wonder how they got so smart.

——
This blog entry is a response to Ellen S’ post on Momlogic titled, “Mommy, I Waaaaaaant It!“.

• I'm @ Good Morning Sacramento's free 3D IMAX viewing of Alice in Wonderland #
• Just watched #aliceinwonderland in IMAX 3D. Excellent movie and acting; good story. Fantastic in 3-D! Thanks @tvmarksallen for the invite. #

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Summary: The only workable solution I see is to institute a small, across-the-board spending cut on all agencies, all departments, all programs, and all spending areas in the State. Anything short of that would be ineffective, discriminatory, and leave the State in worse shape than it is now.

If deemed impossible due to Constitutional constraints, consider my feedback on several budget suggestions that have been made. Some seem sensible if handled properly. Others are clearly only going to make things worse for the State.

–
On the news, I hear the legislature and the governor talking about cutting education, state workers, law enforcement, state parks, and health coverage. While several of those are the largest portion of the budget, there are many parts of the budget that are never mentioned (at least I never hear about them). Areas like transportation, perks to legislators and their aides (why can’t they use a basic Chevy, Ford, Chrysler, or Toyota standard or compact car instead of an expensive Cadillac or other luxury car?), and the justice department (mostly in perks and salaries, excluding law enforcement officers, who are already stretched too thin). I’m sure there are many other areas.

I know that various propositions of the past have tied the government’s hands by not allowing them to cut spending in some of those areas. And propositions (notably Prop 13) have also limited tax increases as an option.

However, it would seem that in a time such as this, that the legislature could (and should) draft legislation that allows them to make fair, across-the-board cuts of some small amount (one-half of one percent, one percent, two percent, whatever it takes to exactly balance the predicted budget needs). While this might lower some protected programs below prescribed levels, by being an equal, across-the-board cut, common sense would seem to indicate that such a cut shouldn’t be a problem.

For instance… The entire State Parks budget is around $70M according to the LA Times simulator. Earlier the governor had proposed eliminating that $70M in spending (and thus removing an additional $164.5M in revenue from the General Fund in taxes earned off of parks visitors within the parks and the surrounding cities and counties, for a net LOSS of $94.5M instead of any savings). That’s nearly a 100% cut to that program, which would essentially kill the entire program.

If, instead, an across-the-board cut of 1% were made to all programs, agencies, and employees, then the parks would only lose $7M (and the State General Fund would lose only $16.45 in lost, related revenues). Sure, some parks would have to go dormant, but not the entire system.

Similarly, if the $250M Healthy Families program were to be eliminated, those families would immediately become a drain on other parts of the State (it’s always less expensive to be proactive in illness prevention than pay for treatment once someone becomes ill). But, if only $25M were cut from the program, some people would probably lose coverage and treatments, but not everyone.

If transportation were to lose 1%, some projects might have to be deferred. This would be an inconvenience, but people wouldn’t die or be deprived of their independence like they will if funding for in-home health care is eliminated. (And adding new carpool lanes should be the first thing to be deferred since they seem to be a waste of money since they are under utilized, are unsafe because of the differential in speeds between the neighboring lanes, and do nothing to eliminate the pollution caused by all the cars stuck in the slower lanes.)

If the justice department and other agencies of the government that normally ride out budget slumps without fear were to lose 1% of their funding, they would probably trim a lot of pork fat that has been accumulating and that taxpayers have been paying over the years.

The only way I can see such a plan working is to make the cuts 100% equitable and completely across-the-board. If anyone–any part of the State government–is exempted, then there is probably a case for a lawsuit. Probably many expensive ones. But, if the entire State goes on a budget spending diet of a tiny percentage–just enough to close the gap–then there is no favoritism. There is no discrimination. There is no bickering. Yes, there’s a bit of pain, but it’s shared by all proportionally. It helps to make California healthy again, and it does it without raising ANY taxes or eliminating ANY programs.

–
Other proposals mentioned that I am in favor of for helping to close the budget gap:

• Oil severance
• Modest increases in gasoline, alcohol, and tobacco taxes.
• Elimination of Prop 13 limitations, at least on commercial property
• Early release of prisoners into a rehabilitation program (I believe Kansas and one other state have highly successful working models that have saved those states a lot of money AND lowered the number of parolees who circulate back into the prison system–a double win!)
• Increasing spending on fraud prevention to save millions.
• Eliminate bilingual education programs that waste money. There are “newcomers” programs for Mexican immigrants that have highly compensated specialist teachers, aides, and other program staff that have classes of 8-10 children, yet the cost for the single classroom is likely higher than an entire classroom of 25-30 children supervised by a single, overworked and underpaid teacher. The students stay in that special program for at least a year, and seem to make very little progress. Students who speak languages other than Spanish, thus are not eligible for the program, seem to adapt just fine in normal classrooms, often learning English faster through a total immersion program.
• Make English the official language of the State. The cost savings (and environmental savings) of not having to print everything in both English and Spanish should be considerable.
• Add no-fault provisos to medical care and related legislation that requires insurance companies and practitioners to drop their rates once expensive malpractice lawsuits are eliminated; a fund could

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It is sad that so much of the fighting, intolerance, and hatred of “the other” seems to align itself along the lines of, and even within, organized religions. Jesus, Mohamed, and nearly every other religious leader taught their followers that we are supposed to love and care for our fellow brothers and sisters. Instead, we use their words and the words of the great religious texts to revile others and separate us from them. I suppose it could all be attributed back to “original sin”, and take the easy way out by assuming that there is nothing that man can do about it because of that act. Personally, I think that is a defeatist mentality. Instead, we have to work hard to overcome hatred, intolerance, bigotry, and mistrust—first within our hearts, then within our religious organizations and countries, and then with those outside our comfort zones.

A favorite line of mine from Men In Black is, “A person is smart. People are stupid.” A paraphrase of another saying I like is, “Why hate a group of people, when there are so many reasons to dislike them on an individual basis?” Sure, it’s rather a negative thought, but it points out that there are likely many reasons to like a person, too. I can’t remember who, but someone told about their adventure visiting Iran during the Bush era. They feared the worst before their trip… Would they be treated badly just because they were American? Would they be persecuted? Would they be injured or harmed? While in Iran, they did hear some negative comments about America, but generally they were treated very well. There may have been some resentment toward America as a concept, but that was never passed on to the visitors. The individual was likable for so many reasons, that there were no reasons to let any dislike of the group (America) influence them.

Think about someone or something you dislike. Is it because you truly dislike that person, place, or thing? Or is it because you don’t like what or who that object is associated with? Take Brussels sprouts (please, take them!). If you dislike them, is it because they are a green vegetable, and you dislike green veggies as a rule? Or is it a more specific dislike? In the U.S., people are having to reevaluate their opinions of Cuba. After decades of our government painting Cuba as a terrible Communist dictatorship, we are now told that they have improved and we should start being friendly with them again. But has Cuba really changed, or has the U.S. government finally come to realize what most of the rest of the world did long ago… Cuba may have some problems, but it’s got a lot of good points, too!

We spend too much time worrying about the bad in others, and far too little time finding the good in them. I personally try to find something positive to say about someone every day when I am talking with them. Many times I will get involved in my work and forget to do so, but it’s a good challenge to try. Sure, it’s easy to come up with something positive about the people you like, but try it with someone in your work who finds ways to annoy you practically every day. I promise that if you start looking for the good in other people, you will find it in nearly everyone. And once you do, you will discover that people are generally good, even if they have annoying habits, don’t look like a supermodel, or don’t share your religious or political convictions.

Do you want a real challenge? The next time a telemarketer calls or a religious follower knocks on your door, don’t slam the receiver down or slam the door in their face. Instead, be clear that you are quite happy without purchasing a new thingamabob or visiting a new church, and then try to engage them in an actual conversation. The weather is usually a good starting place. First, you will find that the other person is tremendously surprised at your actions. Second, if they don’t hang up on you or leave when they learn you aren’t interested, you will probably discover a person who is very committed—they would have to be to do what they do. If you continue the conversation a bit, you might find out why. Look for the good in the other person, and you may find that they are not just an annoying anonymous voice or face, but someone not so different from you. You may find their task of disturbing you to be annoying, but the person doing the task often is nice if you get to know them a bit.

Why on earth would you want to do that little exercise? Well, besides the thrill of excitement you might get from running your own little psychology experiment on someone otherwise interrupting your day, it helps you learn to look at people and situations in new ways. Instead of automatically seeing the bad in a situation or a person, you start to see the potential, at least, for good. Take that experience beyond daily interruptions, and apply it to other areas of your life. Your life will become more fulfilling and happier. It can be the start of a life-changing experience.

I am trying again to get my blog to cross-post automatically to my LiveJournal, Blogger, and Xanga accounts. Here’s hoping that everything goes smoothly.

In test #1, Blogger came though almost instantly. I think LiveJournal didn’t work because I hadn’t added my Webserver to the authorized mailers list. Hopefully LJ will work now that I’ve done that. I’m not sure why Xanga didn’t work. I’m using the Croissanga plugin, which is supposed to work, but no joy on the first test. I tweaked a few settings, and here we go again!

Blogger worked perfectly the second time. LJ and Xanga still gave me no joy. I’m not sure why they aren’t working, but at least Blogger is working now. That’s an improvement.

The Smithsonian Network had a documentary On Demand about world-class British hang glider Judy Leden who wanted to fly with the Andean condors in Patagonia in Argentina. If you get a chance to watch it, I recommend it. (I’ve included a link to a related book by Judy Leden available from Amazon.) The show was light on science, but had beautiful scenery and a little human interest drama (broken bones, crash landings, etc.). It greatly increased my respect for those beautiful birds.

Probably like most people, I thought condors were just large vultures with large wingspans. They are, but they are also quite beautiful and graceful birds while flying. Their young are pretty unattractive, but after they grow up and take flight, they are some of the most amazing gliders in the animal kingdom.

Some interesting facts: the females have red eyes and the males have brown eyes; they create mental “maps” of their surroundings that cover hundreds of square miles, locations of thermals, and seasonal variations; they mate for life, are devoted parents (though absent for long periods each day while searching for food), and are quite social.

Keeping with the theme of this post, here is a YouTube video of a music group I love, NAZCA, performing a song titled Flying Condor:

Amazon has other books, DVDs, and digital music related to or inspired by condors.

Judson Laipply is back with a follow-up to his earlier hit, The Evloution of Dance 2. Reviews on YouTube are generally positive (4.5 stars), but written comments frequently state that this version is not as good, funny, etc. I agree a bit, but I think it’s more that modern dance and dance music is not quite as enjoyable to watch as the stuff from earlier decades. Face it, it’s more fun to actually dance at a nightclub than to sit around watching most of the people dancing there. Right? So why blame Judson for less interesting dancing when he’s just showing us how boring we have become on the dance floor. It’s time to innovate again! It’s time for young dancers to invent the next Jive, Hustle, or Mashed Potato. Er… maybe not that one.

Here’s Judson in EOD2 on YouTube:

You can also go to EOD2.com for more information or a complete list of songs featured in the video. The video’s sponsor lets you upload your photo and dance alongside Judson.

After watching the Billy Graham TV special today, I considered donating to their ministry. Before doing so, I had to be sure that it was truly a Christian organization–one that believes as Christ taught, that all are accepted and welcomed under God’s love. I wrote this letter after searching their site and finding disturbing statements…

Your organization’s alignment with the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA) signifies that you do not truly love your neighbors, because you support segregation and discrimination between God’s children.

The Bible was written in a time when slavery, polygyny, and other archaic ideas were not only accepted, but endorsed within the Bible. There was no healthy, loving example of love between two men or two women. Homosexual acts discussed within the Bible are clearly more to do with rape than with love.

Additionally, the “abomination” of homosexuality was not to do with marriage, but with society’s view of propriety. In Biblical times, it was acceptable for a man to breed with a woman, servant, even a close female family member, or basically anyone of lower status than the man. In those times, homosexuality was viewed as an abominable change in that status quo… two men, of equal status, one of whom deliberately chooses to lower himself to the level of a woman (i.e., to become property of another man) defied all social norms and conventions of the time.

Another issue that influences the prejudicial prohibitions against homosexual relationships is the two most commonly cited stories involving homosexual sex (i.e. rape) are actually more to do with the Jewish concept of hospitality. In each case, a visitor was accepted into the home, and the guest was threatened with rape (not a consensual relationship between loving partners). In those times, it would be an abomination to allow harm come to a guest in your house. So rather than allow that to happen, virgin daughters (i.e. property) were offered for rape in exchange for not harming the guest. While I understand the values of the time, to me such action is unconscionable, yet those are the same passages used by religious conservatives as the ideal by which to judge gay marriage as wrong.

There are so many other passages in the Bible that set a clear example for permitting gay marriage, even though they do not address the matter directly.

The best example comes from Christ’s own life. In all cases, he welcomed the outcast, the sinner, and the foreigners. He not only welcomed them, he used them as examples within his teachings as the very best models of how people should behave. We are told to love one another; there were no exemptions or limitations on that.

There are so many things from the Bible that we recognize as outdated, even unethical today (genocide against non-believers, stoning, many of the purity laws, slavery, and many other atrocities), that they are ignored completely and preached against in churches throughout the world. Yet, right alongside those same passages, there are a few similar statements about male rape, and those are held by many to be inviolate and still applicable in a modern society that is nothing like the one from which they originate.

Compare the commonly accepted matter of divorce, which Christ specifically forbade and which much of the Bible clearly states is wrong, with loving homosexual relationships (of which there is perhaps one or two total passages in the New Testament and zero in the Old Testament). There is no logical reason for such disparity in attitudes, except for bigotry and a general uncomfortableness by heterosexuals with the concept of homosexuality.

It is up to each religious organization to determine for itself whom it will allow to marry or not. That is a right I defend. However, no church has the right to tell two people in love that they should not be able to get married in a civil ceremony or by a religious organization that does not hold those same opinions. Separation of church and state is a fundamental part of the U.S. Constitution, and I will defend it staunchly, too. Moreover, I will defend the right of people in loving relationships to decide for themselves if they should marry or not.

Because of your outdated, divisive, and homophobic stand on this issue, in defiance of Christ’s own example and the other examples throughout the Bible, I have chosen not to make any donations to your organization. Additionally, I will recommend the same to everyone I know.

Justice, tolerance, and Christ’s love will eventually prevail, but it is a shame that your organization has chosen to oppose that which is right in Christ’s eyes. While I respect and value the work you do helping people around the world, I cannot support an organization that encourages discrimination and codifying revocation of fundamental human civil rights into our nation’s most important legal document.

May God bless you with the wisdom to see more clearly and to align yourself with Christ’s vision of love and acceptance. Amen.

I sent the following letter to my state legislators urging them to vote in favor of SR 7 and AR 5 to overturn Proposition 8 because the measure should have been reviewed by the legislature and only gone before voters if approved by a two-thirds vote in both houses.

Please support Leno’s Senate Resolution 7 and Ammiano’s Assembly Resolution 5 that will help to protect the basic human and civil rights of one minority from being eliminated by a slim majority.

Such elimination is never acceptable regardless of the minority or majority involved, as it is important that all people are fairly represented under the law. Equal protections of a minority group is a fundamental and founding principle of our Constitution.

By eliminating the fundamental right to marry from same-sex couples, Proposition 8 takes away equal protections of a minority group, which violates one of the fundamental and founding principles of our Constitution.

This type of change without the required two-thirds vote of the Legislature is unprecedented.  It’s critical in our system of checks and balances that the Legislature weigh in on such fundamental revisions to the Constitution.

This is not a question of “protecting marriage” or even of the acceptability of gay and lesbian “lifestyles”. This is a matter of equal protection under law. Regardless of your political, religious, or ethical ideologies, as representatives, you swore to uphold the Constitution, and that is exactly what you are being asked to do now.
Thank you for your support on this important matter.

Follow this link to Equality California’s Action Center to send your own thoughts to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger; Lt. Governor John Garamendi; Atty. General Edmund Gerry Brown; Secretary Debra Bowen; Controller John Chiang; Treasurer Bill Lockyer; Assemblymembers Roger Niello, Noreen Evans, Dave Jones, Alberto Torrico, Ira Ruskin, Joe Coto, Michael N. Villines, Juan Arambula, Sam Blakeslee, Pedro Nava, Audra Strickland, Karen Bass, Hector De La Torre, Ted W. Lieu, Charles M. Calderon, Bill Emmerson, Van T. Tran, Chuck De Vore, Lori Saldana, Felipe Fuentes, Warren Furutani, Ted Gaines, Jared Huffman, Fiona Ma, Sandré R. Swanson, Cathleen Galgiani, Jim Beall, Tom Berryhill, Anna M. Caballero, Jean Fuller, Cameron Smyth, Julia Brownley, Mike Feuer, Paul Krekorian, Anthony J. Portantino, Kevin DeLeón, Mike Davis, Mike Eng, Curren D. Price, Tony Mendoza, Edward P. Hernandez, Anthony Adams, Wilmer Amina Carter, Paul Cook, Kevin Jeffries, Jim Silva, Jose Solorio, Michael D. Duvall, Martin Garrick, Joel Anderson, and Mary Salas; and Senators Tom Harman, Dave Cox, Patricia A. Wiggins, Sam Aanestad, Darrell Steinberg, Leland Y. Yee, Ellen M. Corbett, Joe Simitian, Jeff Denham, Elaine K. Alquist, Dave Cogdill, Abel Maldonado, Dean Florez, George Runner, Roy Ashburn, Alex Padilla, Gilbert Cedillo, Gloria Romero, Alan S. Lowenthal, Jenny Oropeza, Ronald S. Calderon, Robert Dutton, Gloria Negrete McLeod, Lou Correa, Dennis Hollingsworth, Mark Wyland, Christine Kehoe, and Denise M. Ducheny.

An important video for everyone in California to watch before voting on November 4th, 2008.

I Am a Constitution Voter

• I believe that no one — including the President — is above the law.
• I oppose all forms of torture, and I support both closing the Guantánamo Bay prison and ending indefinite detention.
• I oppose warrantless spying.
• I believe that government officials, no matter how high-ranking, should be held accountable for breaking the law and violating the Constitution.
• I believe that the Constitution protects every person’s rights equally — no matter what they believe, how they live, where or if they worship, and whom they love.
• I reject the notion that we have to tolerate violations of our most fundamental rights in the name of fighting terrorism.
• I am deeply committed to the Constitution and expect our country’s leaders to share and act on that commitment — every day, without fail.

If we betray our fundamental laws and suppress our hard won rights, then we are not fighting terrorist… we are losing the most cherished pieces of our nation and helping terrorists win under the guise of protection.

I would rather face the harsh grimness of another 9/11 than sink into the freedom-nulling protection of a post-1984 dystopian society. That may shock some people who read it, but which is worse? To lose a few hundred more people in the fight to remain free Americans, or lose the entire American way of life for everyone?

Our forefathers understood that it was better to die for our freedom than to give it away for in the name of safety. We mustn’t allow their vision of America to to die in comfortable apathy. It is possible both to be safe and free.

In the upcoming elections, ask yourself: Who will act with energy and conviction to restore our lost liberties? Who will put their foot down to end torture? Who will hold accountable those who condoned illegal activities?

I think these are critical issues this election season. That’s why I just pledged that “I’m a Constitution Voter.”

Join me and let candidates know you want immediate action to restore our fundamental freedoms. Declare yourself a Constitution Voter today:
http://action.aclu.org/bumper_sticker

• Heading back to Visalia tonight. #

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• At the Microsoft 2008 launch event in Sacramento. Excellent info so far. Want to try it all out right now! #
• Server 2008 is something to get excited about. Visual Studio 2008 looks good too. #

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Find the NASA channel or Science Channel in your local listings for live updates on the landing of the Phoenix Lander, on its way to touchdown on Mars right now!

More info:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/main/index.html
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/blogs/index.html
http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/index.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_(spacecraft)

Update #1: Confirmation was received at approximately 7:53pm Eastern (4:53pm Pacific) that the Phoenix touched down, apparently successfully, about 15 minutes prior. The delay in reporting is due to the length of time it takes for a signal traveling at the speed of light to reach Earth from Mars. Congratulations ASU, NASA, JPL, and everyone else involved. You folks make me truly proud! Well done.

Update #2: The lander’s parachute deployed approximately 8 seconds later than expected, resulting in the lander coming to rest 18-22km down range from where expected, but still close to the nominal landing site. In a press conference at 9:00pm PDT, this feat was compared with a golf game in which a person hits a golf ball from Washington D.C. and making a hole-in-one in Australia, when both the golfer and the hole are moving at different speeds. Quite an accomplishment.

While much of the media wanted quick assumptions and early predictions, it will actually take a few days before Phoenix will be sending back much “interesting” information. For the next few days, the investigation team will be monitoring the functions of the lander. They will be especially monitoring how the batteries perform, how quickly and completely the solar arrays recharge the batteries, and how much of the energy the heaters use at night to keep everything from freezing up. Once they figure out the energy requirements to keep everything running, they will be able to determine how much energy is available for running their experiments. So far, everything is looking quite good, and there might even be a slight surplus of energy. This could result in slightly more experiments being able to be completed than originally planned. After the original 90 Sols (Martian days), if the lander is still performing well, the mission may be extended an additional 60 Sols. That decision, however, mostly depends on weather and other conditions outside the control of the scientists.

So what can we expect over the next several days? More pictures for one. By tomorrow, we should receive more photos coming back, probably looking in the opposite direction from the photos above. They will probably attempt to save bandwidth and skip taking color photos, instead focusing on expanding the total viewing area to around 120°. Color photos are much larger, and there is only a limited transmission window each day in which they can send and receive information. The robotic arm and other systems are also being deployed, and once the scientists have assessed the status and located interesting surface features, they will being using the tools in the lander to start taking readings. That should lead to many interesting discoveries, though it may take months or even years before all the data can be fully processed and understood.

Will the Phoenix scientists find proof of past or current life on Mars? It is impossible to guess. The thing that is important to remember is that “life on Mars” does not mean “little green men” or anything even as advanced as a snail (though such evidence would be awesome). Evidence of life could simply mean that certain amino acids or other organic compounds could be found trapped in the ice. Anything ranging from the simple building blocks of life to full-blown fossils would all be fascinating and increase our knowledge of our Solar system and the Universe. It would also make a strong case for those of us who believe that life in some form probably is fairly common in the Universe—even if sentient (intelligent and self-aware) life is not. I can’t wait to see what else comes out of this.

• Just got back from the late showing of Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. I have to say that it was BETTER than the book! Great job. #

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• @suttree : What is Pigeon-bloggin’? #
• @audaciousgloop – Supposedly ( http://tinyurl.com/3tf7j7 ) Twitter can auto-follow, but you have to contact Twitter devs to set it up. #
• @audaciousgloop – You’re welcome. I know it wasn’t much detail, but maybe it’ll help set you on the right course? How have you been? #
• @audaciousgloop – Just curious. Is cold-flu season in NZ still Nov-Mar (like N. Hemisphere) or reversed like astronomical seasons? #
• @audaciousgloop – Anyway, glad you are feeling better. #
• @audaciousgloop – So basically the flu bug goes south for the summer. Always thought it kind of died out, not migrated. Interesting. Thanks. #
• @suttree – Interesting pigeon use! Thanks for the info. #

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My latest class assignment is to read the words of the song, “It’s Your Duty to Be Beautiful” popularized by Annie Lennox in the 1990s. We are then to discuss if we agree or disagree with the statement:

“Only the beautiful and thin are valued and loved. The non-skinny or non-pretty woman does not fit in and will face discrimination, stereotypes, and fewer social relationships. The pressure to achieve the ‘ideal’ is so strong we do not question the implications behind teaching young women how to be perfect and loved.”

It’s Your Duty to Be Beautiful

Keep young and beautiful. It’s your duty to be beautiful.
Keep young and beautiful, If you want to be loved.
Don’t fail to do your stuff With a little powder and a puff.
Keep young and beautiful, If you want to be loved.

It you’re wise, exercise all the fat off. Take if off over here, over there.
When you’re seen anywhere with your hat off, Wear a Marcelled wave in your hair.
Take care of all those charms, And you’ll always be in someone’s arms.
Keep young and beautiful, If you want to be loved.

—Al Dubin and Harry Warren, Keep Young and Beautiful [Recorded by Annie Lennox], on Dive [CD], New York: RCA, 1992.

As much as I would love to say that the song is totally wrong, I can’t. For some people (not me) skinny, perfectly made up, ultra enhanced and mostly unrealistic beauty IS the epitome of beauty. To those people, this song is an accurate portrayal of beauty and the challenges needed to meet it.

That being said, I tend to buck convention, and what is inside is far more important than the exterior. Whether the person is skinny, obese, or anywhere in between… has a unibrow or perfectly plucked and curved eyebrows… a beauty spot or a hairy mole… what the person does, how they live their life, how they treat the lowest of their fellow man is far more important — and beautiful to me.

I would much rather marry someone who is overweight and happy than one who is the picture of perfection and miserable trying to stay that way.

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• @spif: Saw your Hassel-free video for Soocial. Similar to Plaxo (also easy). Problem with Plaxo is duplicates. How do you deal with dupes? #
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• Correction: It appears to be the MyBlogLog Widget that is cluttering my blog’s root directory, not WP 2.5. Good to know. #

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