Jul/090
Lost Videos At Comic-Con 2009
I came across these videos on the Lostpedia blog. Very interesting. Let me know what you think. Is this suggesting something that the producer’s said wouldn’t happen?
Jul/090
Whatever You Say Officer
The recent news of Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Sgt. James Crowley reminded of a similar incident that happened to me:
A year and a half ago, after an ice storm that caused power outages for a about a week, on a Saturday morning my wife accidentally set off our burglar alarm. I was waiting on the alarm company to call and ask if everything was alright. The phone rang and before I could answer it, it stopped. I assumed that my wife answered the phone upstairs. When she came down stairs, I asked if the alarm company had called and she said no just a telemarketer so she answered and immediately hung up. When I looked at the caller ID it was indeed the alarm company. This meant that they were sending the police. This has happened a couple of times before so I put some shorts on and played Super Mario Galaxy with the kids as I waited for them to show up. Meanwhile, as was our Saturday morning custom, my wife left to get McDonald’s pancakes. About five minutes after she left I hear “This is police!” coming from the kitchen. Then I saw two policeman with guns drawn approaching me in the living room from the kitchen. They asked me who I was, asked me to show identification and told me that they were responding the alarm. They told me when they arrived they noticed that the garage door was open and because of the recent power outages houses in my neighborhood were being burglarized, so they came in. As they were leaving, I told them that I was glad that they didn’t shoot me.
I could have “kept it real” like Professor Gates. I was in my own house, minding my own business. But I probably would have been arrested or even worse, shot in front of my kids. Being a black American, I have the inclination that some law enforcement treat minorities wrongly. After all, when it comes down to it, you are dealing with an individual. And face it some people are racist but not all and not even most. Whenever a policeman asks me to do something, I do it (within reason). If they are going to act crazy, I am going let them go down and not give them any reason arrest me or beat me down.
Jul/090
My Fitness Assessment
I read an article in Men’s Health Magazine about how to assess your fitness. Here is the link to the article. It gives 10 metrics to use to assess how fit you are as a man. Being someone that loves challenges and also a person that could stand to be in better shape I plan assess myself. Here is a summary of the challenges with my initial thoughts about how I will do:
- Bench 1.5 times you body weight
This one will be tough because I have never been able to bench very well. I will be lucky to bench my weight. - Run 1.5 miles in 10 minutes
This will be tough but I think that I will be able to do this one no problem. - Touch the rim
If you know me then you know that this not going to happen. - Leg press 2.25 times your weight
This should be pretty easy. - Swim 700 yards in 12 minutes
This will be something that I am sure that I will not be able to attain. - Do 40 push ups
This one should be pretty easy. - Measure up (hip to belly measurement)
Uh oh! - Run 300 yards in less than a minute
No problem. I used to run the 400m in high school and I still have some speed left in my legs. - Touch your toes
No problem. - Toss basketball 75 feet – kneeling
I think this one is going to be tougher that it sounds.
I plan on performing these activities in the next couple of weeks. As I perform them I will post the results.
Jul/090
21 – 11 – 29
Desmond Hatchett has a smirk on his face as he talks to reporters about his prolific brood.
Recently, I read an article about Desmond Hatchett. Hatchett is an upstanding citizen (http://tinyurl.com/kow4jh). He is aged 29. He has 21 kids with 11 different women. You heard me right. When interviewed about how in the world this could be he said that
It just happened.
Let’s analyze that quote: “It just happened”. In my world, having unprotected sex with 11 different women doesn’t just happen. Having kids that I do not support doesn’t just happen. Boasting that I had four kids by different women in the same year doesn’t just happen.
What makes this story even worse than the facts is the reality that this happens all around us all of the time. There are Desmonds running around having babies all over the place. Desmonds not being men enough to take responsibility for their actions. It is so easy to beat up on Desmond because he deserves it. But what about the young women that allowed Desmond to do his thang? If they would have been “ladies” and waited until marriage Desmond could not put up the numbers that he has so far.
This situation. This epidemic is a sad commentary on the state of the family, dignity and respect in America. In my opinion, until we get this corrected, we as a society are going to go nowhere fast. We all need to take a stand and teach our sons and daughters to respect themselves and do things the right way. If not we are going to end up with my more Desmond Hatchett’s.
Jul/090
Just Doing My Job Ma’am
Jason Oglesbee rescuing a woman from the Iowa River.
Jason Oglesbee. That is the name of the heroic construction worker that saved the life of a boater that went over a dam on the Iowa River (http://tinyurl.com/nfuyhb). The story is right out of a Hollywood movie. Jason strapped his self to a crane by a chain and was lowered into the torrent and plucked the boater from their peril. That is awesome stuff, but the thing that sticks in my mind is his selflessness. After Jason saved the damsel in distress, he reluctantly answered a couple of questions before going back to work. The reason this story is so compelling to me is the fact that Jason was just doing his job as a decent human being helping another in danger. He didn’t want any fanfare or glory. I think if more people demonstrated the humility of Jason this world would be a much better place.
Now Reading
Planned books:
- The Richest Man In Babylon by George S. Clason
- Blue Ocean Strategy by Kim W. Chan
- The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich (Library Edition) by Timothy Ferriss
- Prince Caspian (The Chronicles of Narnia) by Unknown
Current books:
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![Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything [FREAKONOMICS]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Cz7mSihbL._SL160_.jpg)
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything [FREAKONOMICS] by Steven D.(Author) ; Dubner, Stephen J.(Author) Levitt
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Building a Contagious Church by Mark Mittelberg
Jan/100
He’s A Chicken I Tell Ya
In the early nineties there was a cartoon called Animaniacs. In addition to showing the antics of the title characters there were many skits that featured the minor characters of the show. There was a skit that recently jumped into my mind the other day. The skit was called Chicken Boo.
In the Chicken Boo skit the main character was a man-sized rooster that would poorly disguise himself as a human and attempt to perform human feats of grandeur. When Chicken Boo was introduced he was recognized as whatever he was posing to be by the supporting characters of the show; either Santa Claus, Davy Crocket (Davy Omelette) or secret agent James Boo. Not only was he recognized he was lauded as being very talented or skilled by the supporting characters in the skit.
What made this very humorous was the fact that he really wasn’t anthropomorphic or human-like at all. Other than the fact that he was human sized, he was just a chicken. He had no hands and could not talk. He looked and behaved as a chicken and even answered questions with clucks. Regardless, in each episode, all the local characters sung his praises except one naysayer who exclaimed “He’s a chicken, I tell you! A chicken!” This only voice of reason was often ignored or greeted with harsh words from the other characters.
In the end of the skit, Chicken Boo would attempt to perform the great feat that he was known for and lose his disguise. Only then would the rest of the characters recognize that he was a chicken and then run him out of town.
What caused me to think about this is the fact that sometimes people want to believe in something so much that it hinders their ability to reason. When presented with an objective analytical view of the situation, people who want to believe that Chicken Boo is a famous general will believe that he is a famous general. In addition they find the voice of reason to obnoxious and rude. In 2010, when appropriate, I want to be more like the naysayer and less like the delusional.