Common sense certainly seems to be a rare thing anymore.    Several years ago, I came up with the following:

Schlegel’s theorem on the conservation of Common Sense:

There exists in the world a constant quantity of “common sense”.  As the population of the world increases, so must the individual distribution of common sense therefore decrease.

I’ve been watching this “common sense constant” for some time now, and I think this theorem goes a long way towards explaining why people as a whole don’t seem to have any sense at all.   I certainly have yet to see anything that would lead me to suspect any inaccuracy.   Recent events certainly solidify this theorem even more.

It should also be obvious that the distribution of common sense is not even.  Some people seemingly get more than their “fair” share, while others seem to not have a bit of sense at all.

So… the next time you find yourself astounded at people’s lack of sense, just remember, they can’t help it.    It won’t make their actions any less bizarre, but at least you might have an idea why.

If George W. Bush had been the first President to need a teleprompter   installed to be able to get through a press conference, would you have  laughed and said this is more proof of how he inept he is on his own and  is really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes?

If George W. Bush had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to take Laura Bush to a play in NYC, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had reduced your retirement plan’s holdings of GM stock by 90% and given the unions a majority stake in GM, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky?

If George W. Bush had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had visited Austria and made reference to the non-existent “Austrian language,” would you have brushed it off as a minor slip?

If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current in their income
taxes, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had been so Spanish illiterate as to refer to “Cinco de Cuatro” in front of the Mexican ambassador when it was
the 5th of May (Cinco de Mayo), and continued to flub it when he tried again, would you have winced in embarrassment?

If George W. Bush had mis-spelled the word “advice” would you have hammered him for it for years like Dan Quayle and potatoe as proof of what a dunce he is?

If George W.. Bush had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on Earth Day, would you have concluded he’s a hypocrite?

If George W. Bush’s administration had okayed Air Force One flying low over millions of people followed by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing widespread panic, would you have wondered whether they actually get what happened on 9-11?

If George W. Bush had failed to send relief aid to flood victims throughout the Midwest with more people killed or made homeless than in New Orleans , would you want it made into a major ongoing political issue with claims of racism and incompetence?

If George W. Bush had created the position of 32 Czars who report directly to him, bypassing the House and Senate on much of what is happening in America, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so, would you have approved?

If George W Bush had proposed to double the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had then proposed to double the debt again within 10 years, would you have approved?

So, tell me again, what is it about Obama that makes him so brilliant and impressive? Can’t think of anything? Don’t worry. He’s done all this in 5 months — so you’ll have three years and seven months to come up with an answer.

– Received via email

I finally got around to making the first jump.   What an exhilarating experience!   I’ll keep this short and let the video speak for itself though.

Can’t wait to jump again!

I’ve been doing a bunch of sailing over the last year on a handful of different boats.  Sailing is a great stress reliever, and a couple hours out on the water makes all outside problems just melt away.   Well… brief philosophical is best in my book, so on to the point.

The owner of one of the boats I sail on, Yesterdaze, sent over the following image.

In case the text is not clear, it reads, “Sailing is not a matter of life or death….    it’s more important than that.”

I’ve found this sentiment to be very common among sailors, and especially among the racers out there.  Well, to be honest, I suppose the quote could just as easily be adapted to most things for different people.   Sailing is certainly very high up on my list though.

There is also a great plaque on the companionway bulkhead on Yesterdaze.   It reads  “Sailing is like being a child again: Wide eyes, Big smile, and a soggy bottom.”

Here’s wishing everyone fair winds and smooth water!   Sail safe!

I came across an incredible video the other day. I love the attention to detail in this office war – and the use of typical office items to provide the ‘special effects’. Take a look at the video embedded after the break.

Well… It seems that I’ve really dropped the ball again.   I promise myself I’m going to do more writing, and then I get too busy with other stuff and let the writing drop off again.   Since its been several months since I last wrote anything, I suppose now is as good a time as any to get back to it though.

I’m finding many things to fill time.   Generally there isn’t much challenge to filling time I suppose.  I end up with far too many things to fill my time with.   Until the last couple months, my big filler has been sailing.   Lately I’ve been too busy with other activities to even make it out sailing, and I’ve really been missing the water too.

There truely is nothing like sailing.   It can be a lot of hard work, but the work is immediately rewarded as well.  It is also very relaxing to get away from all the noise of life, even if it is only just for a relatively short period of time.  I’ve been doing a lot of sailboat racing, in addition to just getting out on the water and cruising around.

I have also been doing a lot of thinking about my personal priorities and goals lately.   I have finally started to get busy on the remodeling work that needs to be done to my house.   It will certainly not be a quick process, but at least its finally in motion.   I suppose it really just required finding some real motivation to start working on the project.  My motivation is kids.   No – I’m not having any kids right now – nor am I getting married any time soon.   I have always had a desire to have kids though, and that longing has not dimished with time.  I am currently working through the process of becomming a foster parent, which is where I’m finding my motivation to get my house put together.

I’ve got a lot of work to do on the house before I’m ready to get too deep into the process of becomming a foster parent, but with a bit of effort, I may be close in about a year.

While it would be silly to promise regular updates through the process of updating my house and everything, given my history at consistently writing, I will make an effort to post regular updates.

Till next time…

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It seems like I just can’t get away from traveling for the job anymore.  On the whole, its not a bad thing, but there are certainly moments.  I suppose the worst part is planning the social aspect of things.  It is very difficult to plan activities when I can’t be sure if I’ll be home or not at any given point.  Of course, even when I know I’ll be home, the time I have to get things done at home is very limited.

I suppose its appropriate that I’m finishing writing this entry while on an airplane.  I apologize for any typos I may miss correcting – there is a fair bit of turbulence right now due to all the storms in the area.  I did start writing this a week ago while in Albuquerque, NM, but I guess distractions got the better of me.  Ah well, better late then never.

Its always interesting to see people’s reactions to delayed flights.  Its always frustrating, of course, but different people handle that frustration in different ways.  Some people are impatient and blame the airline for things beyond their control.  Some people just kick back and relax and make the best of it.  Generally delays only really bother me if I have a particularly long drive on the other end of the flight.  In this case, I’ve still got another 30 minute drive once we land, but thats not too horrible – especially compared to some of the other trips I’ve had in the past.

Airline travel has changed some, but it really is more the same than it is different.  There is still the same hurry up and wait aspect.  Endless lines, and everything else.  Security lines do seem to be moving faster for the most part, but sometimes security gets a little odd and inconsistent with the things that are allowed through.  A cheap screwdriver is allowed one place since the body of the tool is under 7 inches, but is not allowed at another airport because the whole thing is over 7 inches.  It might be interesting to see the research that said that a 6″ tool is “safe”, but a 7″ tool is a dangerous weapon.  I know there has to be a line somewhere, but without a consistent line, travel becomes more difficult than it needs to be.

Happy travels everyone!

Despite loving technology of all sorts, I have been hesitant to join the whole social networking game. I have even been skeptical of the blogging concept. When the social networking websites started showing up all those years ago, I had really just written them off as a passing fad, like so many other things have been.  Obviously that hasn’t been the case.  Social networking sites like digg.com and del.icio.us are quite popular, along with several others.  Far be it from me to counter the masses anymore.  I’ve started playing with digg and del.icio.us now, and I have an account on technorati to keep track of the blog’s statistics.  I can see the attraction to the social networking concept, even though I’m sure I have yet to see the full benefit.  If you haven’t joined any of these sites, I can actually encourage it now.  If you’re already a member, please feel free to add me to your network.

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Originally uploaded by av8or
Of all things to collect, how about those AOL cds. Well… I guess we all have to have our hobbies, right?

Well… its been some time since I really worked on my website, so… here goes. I’m working on setting things up with this new format that you see now, and plan to update things much more frequently, although not everything will be relevant to anything particularly interesting. Hopefully at least some people will find it interesting at least some of the time…