"I don't have anything to say. I appreciate your interest. I just have nothing to say right now." -- from the father of the Tennessee woman who has confessed to shooting her pastor husband.
Can't imagine many more horrible situations for a parent to find himself in.
22 March 2006
war casualties
from Glenn
I've had the feeling that by and large our casualties have been relatively light in the WOT (war on terror), and I suspected they weren't too much higher than the numbers in peace time.
That's not to discount any of them. Every single death is a tragedy for a lot of people, and I regret every one. Nevertheless, the aggregate numbers are interesting and really impressive considering the type of war we're fighting.
Being a soldier (airman, marine, etc) is a dangerous profession even in times of peace, and naturally more so when actively engaging an enemy. If anything it's a credit to the training and leadership of our forces that we haven't lost more people.
I've had the feeling that by and large our casualties have been relatively light in the WOT (war on terror), and I suspected they weren't too much higher than the numbers in peace time.
That's not to discount any of them. Every single death is a tragedy for a lot of people, and I regret every one. Nevertheless, the aggregate numbers are interesting and really impressive considering the type of war we're fighting.
Being a soldier (airman, marine, etc) is a dangerous profession even in times of peace, and naturally more so when actively engaging an enemy. If anything it's a credit to the training and leadership of our forces that we haven't lost more people.
21 March 2006
Steer clear of Mississippi
The Cory Maye incident appears not to have been too unusual. Sounds like the Pearl River Basin Narcotics Task Force possibly should be on the other side of the bars.
20 March 2006
kids
My youngest child is six. It seems that she grows older by the moment. I find myself holding her on my lap, my head to her head, eyes closed as I try to fix that moment, to burn it into my memory forever. There are only a limited number of those moments available to us and they are the most precious commodity in the world.
G and I were talking about one of my old girlfriends who has no children, and I remarked that she was never terribly maternal. "I can't imagine," was G's comment. And I had to agree. I can't imagine my life without my kids. I guess that's not strictly true. There's nothing wrong with my imagination. What I really mean is that when I imagine my life without my kids it seems so empty, so desperately empty.
What would I do? I'd obviously have more time for myself. I could go to movies, plays, and concerts. I could go out to eat. I could travel more and it would be more relaxing. And I'd be able to afford to do those things since I wouldn't have kids hoovering up every scant penny that I hadn't yet earned.
I wonder if I would be more liberal. Would I hate George W. Bush? Would I think Islamic terrorists were moral equals of US troops fighting to create a democratic Iraq? I know that opinion doesn't break that cleanly on the demographic fault line between those with kids and those without. But ... still. It makes me wonder if there's more than a casual correlation between the declining birth rates in Europe and their rabid hatred for our President and anything he does.
It's hard to be completely selfish when you are a parent - and I'd say impossible when you are a good parent.* You have to be concerned with something other than yourself. You have to make sacrifices of time and money and attention. And you become concerned with the future in a more concrete way than previously. I think you begin to be less concerned with small endangered animals and more concerned with small human animals and the kind of world they will live in.
Life is more complicated than I'm drawing it here. But I think it's an interesting thought experiment.
Oh, one interesting tidbit - the old GF has lived in Europe since she graduated from college.
* Yes, obviously, I consider myself a good parent. I guess we'll see how good in 20 years or so.
G and I were talking about one of my old girlfriends who has no children, and I remarked that she was never terribly maternal. "I can't imagine," was G's comment. And I had to agree. I can't imagine my life without my kids. I guess that's not strictly true. There's nothing wrong with my imagination. What I really mean is that when I imagine my life without my kids it seems so empty, so desperately empty.
What would I do? I'd obviously have more time for myself. I could go to movies, plays, and concerts. I could go out to eat. I could travel more and it would be more relaxing. And I'd be able to afford to do those things since I wouldn't have kids hoovering up every scant penny that I hadn't yet earned.
I wonder if I would be more liberal. Would I hate George W. Bush? Would I think Islamic terrorists were moral equals of US troops fighting to create a democratic Iraq? I know that opinion doesn't break that cleanly on the demographic fault line between those with kids and those without. But ... still. It makes me wonder if there's more than a casual correlation between the declining birth rates in Europe and their rabid hatred for our President and anything he does.
It's hard to be completely selfish when you are a parent - and I'd say impossible when you are a good parent.* You have to be concerned with something other than yourself. You have to make sacrifices of time and money and attention. And you become concerned with the future in a more concrete way than previously. I think you begin to be less concerned with small endangered animals and more concerned with small human animals and the kind of world they will live in.
Life is more complicated than I'm drawing it here. But I think it's an interesting thought experiment.
Oh, one interesting tidbit - the old GF has lived in Europe since she graduated from college.
* Yes, obviously, I consider myself a good parent. I guess we'll see how good in 20 years or so.
18 March 2006
math
This was interesting. I've been regretting for a while that I didn't suck it up and learn more math in college (the first time). Hindsight being what it is, though, it's hard for me to be too upset about it. If I had been a more dedicated student - and less a dedicated hedonist - I'd have gotten that Math\Comp Sci degree instead of the English degree. I would likely have gotten a job in Atlanta instead of moving back to Tennessee and meeting my wife-to-be working in a restaurant.
So, being thoroughly happy with my life, it's hard for me to have much regret for anything I didn't do that might have put me on a different path to today.
Still, I've always had it in the back of my mind that if I found myself financially secure I'd go back to school and learn all the math I skipped back in the day.
So, being thoroughly happy with my life, it's hard for me to have much regret for anything I didn't do that might have put me on a different path to today.
Still, I've always had it in the back of my mind that if I found myself financially secure I'd go back to school and learn all the math I skipped back in the day.
09 March 2006
Extremely cool game
I don't know who Will Wright is, but here's an hour long presentation by him of the new game he's working on. The presentation is very entertaining and the game looks VERY cool. If you don't want to watch the whole thing, fast forward to the bits where he shows the game.
update:
I guess that video is almost a year old. Game's not out yet and apparently has not firm release date, but I saw one projection on Gamespot that it would be coming out Q3 of 2006.
I'm not a gamer - at all. But this looks really, really cool. I'm a little afraid of it.
update:
I guess that video is almost a year old. Game's not out yet and apparently has not firm release date, but I saw one projection on Gamespot that it would be coming out Q3 of 2006.
I'm not a gamer - at all. But this looks really, really cool. I'm a little afraid of it.
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