Isn’t Life Strange?

This blog, at least in its current form, can now officially be considered an endangered, uh… website.

After gritting it out for three years with Go Daddy, I’ve determined that their web hosting service has too many performance issues to be considered reliable. I am exploring new options. One option would be to move this site to another host - I own the domain until 2012 (you know, when the world is going to end). The other option is to get a fresh start, and I think that appeals to me more than the other option.

Either way, there won’t be much more to read here.

I know it is now considered blasphemy to call any Democrat, especially President Obama, a liar, but I just can’t let this one go. I’ll seek absolution later, if I must.

It seems President Obama was a little less than truthful when in his speech last week to a joint session of Congress, he told a story about an Illinois man who died of an unreported gallstone after his health insurance company stopped covering him. But, as today’s Wall Street Journal notes, this is far from the truth:

In fact, the man, Otto S. Raddatz, didn’t die because the insurance company rescinded his coverage once he became ill, an act known as recission. The efforts of his sister and the office of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan got Mr. Raddatz’s policy reinstated within three weeks of his April 2005 rescission and secured a life-extending stem-cell transplant for him. Mr. Raddatz died this year, nearly four years after the insurance showdown.

Facts are indeed stubborn things.

It is not surprising that those around the President are responding to criticism by saying he got the “essence of the story correct,” or by passing blame to the media from which the administration apparently received this information. Given the apparent urgency on the part of the political left to pass the health care bill, and the growing opposition to it, it is not a surprise to me that politicians are once again resorting to saying anything to convince people that the world will fall apart unless they get their way.

You can argue about the dropped coverage, Mr. President, but do not misrepresent the facts.

I posted the following quote to my Facebook page yesterday:

“In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”
- George Orwell

A friend responded with the question, “But Jeff, what is truth?”

This got me thinking about an appropriate response, and I wrote what I thought was an honest, detailed answer to her query. I should have known her question was only asked tongue-in-cheek, but still, I am pleased with my response to the question.

Here’s my latest status update:

“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”
- John Adams, Second President of the United States

And while I am using the words of other men, here’s another good one:

“The life of a nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous.”
- Frederick Douglass

The big news over the past couple of days is focused on the unraveling of the health care bill, the ACORN scandals throughout the country, and the statement by former President Jimmy Carter that opposition to President Obama’s policies is due to racism in our nation. (Honestly - Who didn’t see that one coming?)

I have some more honest questions:

• Is the left actually going to resort to pinning their own failures on anything but themselves?
• Having an overwhelming majority in the House and Senate, why is it so important to President Obama and the Democrats to have bi-partisan support for their legislation?
• Can we agree that ACORN is involved in shady, illegal activities?
• If we can agree that ACORN is involved in shady, illegal activities, should we not seek answers about why the President of the United States is so strongly associated with them?
• Do you believe our government and its agents are being truthful and honest with the American people about their plans for our future?

History is replete with examples of nations and empires that collapsed from under the weight of their own corruption. Our nation was founded with checks and balances to guard against corruption, but it is clear that those safeguards long ago were compromised. They were compromised by men who had “only the best intentions” for the people. They told us that surrendering a little more personal liberty would be better for the collective whole. Over time, the power of the people has been transferred little by little, into the hands of a bloated, expansive government that continues to promise that they will take care of us, that they will protect us, that they are only making those decisions because it is better for everyone.

One final question for today: Will their work ever be finished?

I believe it was Winston Churchill who said the following

“Those who fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.

Wake up America. Hold your elected representatives accountable. Your nation is falling apart.

I’m sure you’ve all had the opportunity to learn about the outburst by South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson during President Obama’s address to a joint session of Congress last week.

The outburst certainly was a violation of the normal rules of conduct and decorum, written or unwritten. Wilson’s interruption was inappropriate. I believe it is important to note that this is not the United Kingdom, where such interruptions are common and even considered normal.

President Obama indeed deserved an apology for Wilson’s interruption, and Wilson was right to quickly give the President that apology.

But I have some honest questions that I believe are not being addressed by the political left or their mainstream media enablers.

• Was Wilson’s challenge technically wrong, or was it simply a politically motivated outburst?
• If Wilson’s outburst was so outrageous and wrong, why then are none of the media outlets researching the statement in the President’s address that inspired it?
• Would it not be helpful to the American people if we had the facts about the President’s address, especially facts related to the statements he was making just before Wilson interrupted?
• Can it be racist to challenge something we know is untrue?
• Since Wilson has been officially censured by the House for supposedly breaking a House rule for calling the President a liar, will the House now act to censure those who repeatedly broke that same rule for calling President Bush a liar?
• How is it possible to be racist by opposing the contents of any piece of legislation?

I wouldn’t be surprised if millions of Americans are asking the very same questions right now.

I’m not holding my breath as I wait for honest answers.

I’ve always had a mixed reaction to the comedy of Chris Rock. Some of his material is hilariously funny, but at times I believe he tends to go over the top.

All good comedy comes from real-life observation, and clearly, Chris Rock is an observant student. Here’s a video from his show that hits the mark quite well.

LANGUAGE WARNING… You may wish to clear the little ones from the room before watching this one.

Don’t worry about the dialogue in the video. It’s not important.

One of my favorite songs by Jethro Tull… This appears to have been from a performance in 1977.

You know, I’m not much a fan of the American Civil Liberties Union, as I believe they too often cherry-pick their causes to fit an agenda that seems counter-intuitive to their name.

However I believe in giving credit when it is well deserved, and under the categories of “even a broken clock is right twice a day,” and “ya gotta see this,” I’d like to pass along the following link. http://www.aclu.org/pizza/.

Click and watch the video on the page. It’s satire, but like all good satire, it’s based on reality.

A never-ending project of mine is an iTunes playlist that I have named “Gems”. I’ve decided to publish the content of that list here for those who may be curious.

Click on the “Music” tab above for the list.

It’s difficult to comprehend the size one trillion dollars.

Take a look here for a mind-blowing visual representation.

For the past eight years I’ve been visiting one particular website for a good variety of political news and commentary. It’s a Conservative political discussion forum and the users there post news articles, or links to news stories, and engage in sometimes interesting discussions over the topics of the day. Because these stories are linked to sources throughout the world, it makes it easy to learn about news stories I would otherwise miss.

I won’t link to or mention the name of that particular website, partially because I am trying to break my addiction to the site, and mostly because I don’t want to be associated with a certain percentage of the obsessive whackjobs over there. Recent developments have given me no other option but to conclude that many of the people who regularly post there are just as loony as those they ridicule on the left - not that the loons on the left don’t deserve the ridicule. I’m just now starting to realize that maybe the left doesn’t hold an exclusive right to conspiracy theory nutjobbery and stupidity in action from behind the keyboard.

The development I mentioned above centers around the insane question regarding President Obama’s birth certificate. Indeed there have been questions in the past about whether Obama was actually born in the United States, and if he has actually produced the documentation to prove so. When this story broke during the campaign, and a “Certificate of Live Birth” was distributed throughout the Internet, I was interested enough to consider the notion that there may have been something odd about it.

But here we are, six months into the Obama presidency, and people simply won’t shut up about it.

Wading through the discussion threads over there is becoming an exercise like finding the proverbial needle in the haystack. People have posted article after article of birther nonsense, taken from questionable sources and every nutjob blog on the Internet. No one can produce one shred of evidence that Obama was born anywhere but in Hawaii, and there is absolutely nothing that can convince them that circumstantial evidence will not and can not change that fact.

The trouble with conspiracy theorists is that they don’t realize the simple act of saying something doesn’t make it true. Saying the same lie a hundred times doesn’t make it a fact. Getting loud and angry without having proof to support your claim only makes you look sad and unstable.

I’m a fan of coffee. Having a fresh cup of tasty coffee is probably my most favorite simple pleasure in life.

That’s why I decided to invest in a Keurig coffee brewer about six months ago. Sure, it’s an expensive way to have coffee, but I will say that the coffee tastes very good and the no-mess nature of the machine makes it absolutely perfect for me.

I recently returned home from a two-week trip and was alarmed to find that my brewer wasn’t working properly. The first thought that entered my mind is that I spent a lot of money on junk that was not designed to last. The investment suddenly didn’t seem worth the cost. The brewer still *sort of* works, but it is clear that it is failing.

I thought perhaps the problem would go away if I descaled the thing, so I went through that process yesterday. Both vinegar and water flowed easily through the brewer. But as soon as I put a K-Cup (Keurig’s pre-filled dry coffee cups) into the device and pressed the brew button, the problem resurfaced.

So I called Keurig this morning and the best possible thing happened. I was very clear about the problem and answered a couple of questions the customer service agent asked me. Just minutes later, she was filling out an order to send me a brand new replacement for my defective unit. I didn’t have to produce a receipt - I assume they got the approximate purchase date from the serial number. In a couple of days I’ll be receiving my replacement brewer and sending them the old one.

All customer service should be like this. When a company stands behind its product, honors guarantees of performance, and makes the replacement process simple, we should not be surprised. But today I was.

I just wanted to give Keurig a pat on the back for their professional, courteous service today. I’m now an even bigger fan of their company and their products.

I found out this morning on the radio that Gordon Waller, half of the Peter and Gordon duo, passed away a few days ago. I got to see these guys when I visited Epcot in the Spring of 2007. While they lost their polished edge years ago, they were still a joy to watch.

Rest in peace, Mr. Waller.

Here’s a video of a recent performance of their biggest hit, “World Without Love”.

And here’s an older recording of their famous cover of Buddy Holly’s “True Love Ways”.

I’m not going to make comparisons about Presidential first-pitch performances, but the video below tells the story of President Bush’s 2001 Game 3 World Series first pitch.

After everything that has transpired since then, everything that has been said in the media, all the accusations made, all the politics and the spin, the moment speaks for itself.

The unity of the American people shortly after the terrible attacks of September 11 was something that seems unimaginable today. We’re so divided, bitter and angry.

To think that this Texas Republican who was utterly despised and ridiculed by the media and Hollywood, could be at the center of such a show of unity in New York City, seems like fantasy today.

If America is going to survive, we have got to find a common purpose, and stop trying to tear each other apart.

I just love the iPhone. Sure, there are other smartphones that can essentially do many of the same tasks, like email, web browsing, playing audio or video files, or interacting with Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, but the iPhone is the current king when it comes to providing users with unique and useful applications for just about anything.

For example, imagine yourself at Walt Disney World. You’ve just finished visiting the ghouls and ghosts of the Haunted Mansion and are trying to decide where to go next. One of your big goals for the day is to ride Space Mountain, which is all the way on the other side of the park, but there are other attractions you might like to see too. It would be a real bummer to walk all the way over to Tomorrowland to find that Space Mountain had an 80-minute wait. Let’s face it - The last thing you want to do at Disney World is spend your time standing in line or walking across the park only to encounter an unforeseen problem.

Disney helps park visitors by posting wait times for all major attractions on signs throughout the park. Each attraction has its own sign, but there are billboards at the entrances to each park that list them all in one place. But those signs are only helpful as long as you can see them.

Thanks to some clever folks, there are a few apps available that can help make your decision a bit easier. I downloaded a free one called “WDW Wait Times” (clever, huh?) that has a nice, simple interface.

This app relies on users to submit the latest wait times. I’ve been watching it over the past few days and it appears that times are regularly updated, at least for the most frequently visited attractions . While I have no idea whether or not those times are entirely accurate, I plan on trying it myself the next time I visit.

This app was designed by VersaEdge Software, the same folks that gave us WDW Dining, a very handy app that lists every restaurant at Walt Disney World, including full menus and other important information.