Wasting My Degree?

It is really interesting whenever I enter into a conversation with someone about the goals and roads that I am walking towards/on. I have had a few people wonder aloud whether I am wasting my degree by not applying it to an occupation somehow right out of college. Of course what they mean is wasting it in the sense that it will not be making me any extra money in itself.

Where I disagree is in the notion that I will not be using it. Sure the piece of paper will have little effect on my career (at least in my short-sighted view from here), however I have obtained absolutely priceless knowledge of the human mind and interpersonal interactions.

I had an extremely entertaining conversation with a friend tonight about a realization I had. I was talking about my insatiable appetite for new music. I find on average two new artists to listen to every week. Not full albums or anything like that, simply single songs or perhaps a couple. What I am doing is finding a hook into the artist, something that will bring me back when I have more time or the right mood, and at that point I can dive deeper into their full sound.

So I was thinking about this fact that I am constantly seeking new experiences in music: quickly assessing my initial interest and either diving in or moving on. The really intriguing realization that I had was that I am veeeeery similar in my interactions with people. I am constantly meeting new people - I say hi to most unfamiliar faces. I can say with certainty that I meet at least two new people every week (I met five last night, three on Friday night, I'm way over that estimate it would seem).

I love to meet new people - and in some weird way I treat them similarly to my music library. People that grab my attention immediately I dive right into. Some don't grab me in quite that way and so I move on for the time being, until time or mood strikes me to investigate further. Much like my musical taste, I love to meet people of all backgrounds and places. There is nothing like being surprised at my liking of something I did not anticipate to enjoy at all.

This friend that I was conversing with agreed that her relationship with music is also very analogous to her relationships with people, and we agreed that most people must be this way (from our very limited and egocentric survey, ha)

Of course there are those people, just as songs, that I keep for a very long time indeed. There are songs that I have loved and listen to and still love as much as I did the first time I heard them. There are other songs that I have loved and grown out of. There are songs I have never heard and may never hear. That is the beautiful picture for me to explore, everyday that I live. How awesome is God.

In case you are wondering about the new (to me) artists this week, I'll list three I was really happy with and plan to explore further, as well as my favorite songs by them:

Menomena
-Oahu (I Am the Fun Blame Monster!)
-The Pelican (Friend and Foe)
-Wet and Rusting (Friend and Foe)

Beirut
-My Night with the Prostitute From Marseille (March of the Zapotec & Realpeople - Holland)
-Venice (March of the Zapotec & Realpeople - Holland)
-No Dice (March of the Zapotec & Realpeople - Holland)

J. Tillman
-Steel On Steel (Vacilando Territory Blues)
-Firstborn (Vacilando Territory Blues)
-No Occasion (Vacilando Territory Blues)



I had a bunch more artists I could have put down, this week was definitely fruitful in that respect. There will be more to come in the future for sure ;)

Some Sentiments

I feel like one of the guys that crewed the boat in The Perfect Storm. My life has changed in some major ways recently and the result is a certain choppiness to it all. At the same time I am looking ahead to the calm of what it will be when it is over. God has been showing me purpose and direction that has given me a determination and a peace that really transcends words. Though I am assailed, I shall not falter.

I am graduating from Eastern University with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology this May of 2009. I've been growing quite nostalgic at the thought of leaving. It has been an incredible experience as a whole. God continually points out events and happenings in my life that could only take place because I followed through with the decision to go to Eastern, which I felt God was telling me in a very real way to do.

Living with my grandparents has taught me so much about growing and maturing in a healthy way. I praise God for their love- they have cared for me when others have not. Being a part of my church and some of the ministries they run has been so good to learn from. The jobs that I have had, working in a cafeteria, working with the elderly, working with autistic children, and even landscaping; each has taught me more than I could have ever expected about teamwork and leadership and confrontation/conflict resolution. I am truly blessed to have had so many awesome experiences in such a short time.

I have slowed things down this semester- only school and work for me now. I decided that I wanted to be focused on what God has in store for me in the next stage of my life. I am in a strange time because my life is coming to a close in one stage, and in another I am being born afresh. Here I run a race of transition, one in which it is difficult to know what pace I should be setting for myself. I am truly excited for all that God has for me in the coming years!

Madness in the Senate

I am truly blown away by the antics of the people we put in charge of our country. By now Blagojevich's name is pretty well known, the Illinois Governor charged with being an idiot in broad daylight. That is how I would define it, though it is much graver than that. In reality he was attempting to sell President-Elect Obama's nearly vacant seat to the highest bidder, saying:

"I've got this thing, and it's ****ing golden. And I'm just not giving it up for ****ing nothing. I'm not going to do it, and I can always use it; I can parachute me there"

I'm not going to point out the obvious and say that this guy shouldn't be in office. Everyone knows that. A federal prosecution team is currently putting their case together, which the court will begin hearing on the projected 7th of April, this 2009. Originally they were to try Blagojevich starting on the 7th of January and felt the need for an extension, hopefully because they plan to nail this guy to the wall.

All pending presupposition as to the outcome of Blagojevich's hearing aside, this is only the back-story for the latest events. For some unknown (and a string of other colorful adjectives) reason, Blagojevich is still acting as Governor with virtual impunity. Our representatives in Illinois did nothing to hold him to task presently, such as seeking impeachment. In my wildest of dreams I hope that it is only because they assumed that Blagojevich would be too busy defending himself in court to do anything of real consequence, and completely neglected to be in communication with the prosecution team as to their plan of action - appearing to be caught with their pants down when realizing that Blagojevich is suffering no consequences at least until the time that they do finally bring a statement of impeachment against him.

Alas, it is already too late. The monster has reared its grotesque head. In another incredible twist to the Blagojevich story, Blagojevich used his unchallenged and currently valid authority to appoint Roland Burris to the vacant Senate seat. When Mr. Burris attempted to claim the seat, he was confronted and told that his credentials were not in order, and that he would not be able to proceed to the floor. He was turned away by his own party because of the glaringly obvious reason that he was appointed by a man who clearly has no respect for positions of governing power.

The problem is that in typical political fashion, it is too little too late. Roland Burris was denied on the grounds that the Secretary of State of Illinois, Jesse White, has not certified the appointment. This is merely a stall tactic however, and when Mr. Burris lodges a formal complaint in court he will certainly be motioned into the seat. Hopefully he has the character that Blagojevich lacks. Meanwhile Illinois congressmen are finally getting into gear in dropping a statement of impeachment on Blagojevich's desk.

In other Senate news, there is a huge debate as to who the newly elected Minnesota Senator is: Al Franken or Norm Coleman. The problem stems from an original count that placed Norm Coleman as the winner by 215 votes, which was then reversed to a win by Al Franken of 225 votes. With such a drastic change it seems there is a need for further investigation - both Franken and Coleman need to have respect for the position by ensuring that the correct result is sought carefully and thoroughly.

Do not be discouraged - it is important for us as citizens to know that we hold the power to change this country. When we believe that the politicians know better than we do, and that we should let them do what they feel is best, we relinquish our constitutional rights as human beings.

What can we do? We can email these people until their servers crash. Get on this website (that I am now posting for the third time, it is infinitely useful):

Congress - http://www.webslingerz.com/jhoffman/congress-email.html

and tell your representatives that they need to do something. If you aren't from Illinois, email your representatives and tell them to pressure the guys in Illinois to step up. If you are from Illinois, pressure your represenatives to drag Blagojevich into impeachment hearings. Email your representatives, tell them that they need to insist on the importance of truth in the Minnesota Senatorial Election over uncomplicated transition. Yes it is a hassle. Then again, not many things valuable are easily attained.


References:

Blagojevich Indictment:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-blagojevich6-2009jan06,0,7972612.story

Blagojevich Transcript:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/us/politics/09text-illinois.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2

Roland Burris Turned Away:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-010609-burris-senate-jan07,0,684314.story

Franken Vs. Coleman:
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2009/01/06/franken_wins_minn_seat_but_lawsuit_likely/

DJ Earworm is a genius

Here is a classic example of something awesome that should be shared.

http://djearworm.com/no-more-gas.htm

If you are into music in the least bit you need to check this out - it is absolutely amazing! Not only is this guy an absolute wizard with these mash-ups, he's actually intelligent and insightful! Below the song and video mash-ups of 'No More Gas' he posts this:


"…Lately in pop music there’s been this growing undercurrent of dysfunction and desperation.

Leona Lewis talks about love in terms of flesh wounds, Akon sings of girls being dangerous, Danity Kane complains of being damaged, Ne-Yo is unable to control himself, Rihanna is going crazy.

Meanwhile a burning hunger for more cries out: The Pussycat Dolls, Britney, and Lupe Fiasco all desire fame, attention, recognition, and they encourage the listener to feel the same way. All this, mixed in with Madonna’s pre-apocalyptic pop song plus Estelle and Kanye’s transatlantic lovefest, starts to paint a picture of where our culture is today, overwhelmed by our own raging appetites, even as we run out of what we need.

And you can dance to it!"


If you can't appreciate this guy for his music, you have to hand it to him for his understanding of our culture.

Rights and Privileges

Right (definition 1) - in accordance with what is good, proper, or just

Privilege (definition 1) - a right, immunity, or benefit enjoyed only by a person beyond the advantages of most

Below is a link to the full constitution, marked at the Amendments:

http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Amends

As citizens of the United States, we are given great rights. We have the right to free speech, the right to bear arms, the right to resist search and seizure (barring probable cause), and on it goes.

We also have a great many privileges - perhaps we are over-privileged. Individual car ownership is a good example. Driving is a wonderful and enjoyable thing for most people, granting autonomy and control to the individual. However, owning a car is not a right. It is a privilege. Here is where I think in the United States, we have lost sight of that line.

In the definitions provided above, it is clear that a right is in accordance with what is good, proper, or just. Ownership of a car may or may not fall into that category, depending on how one argues. I don't think that an argument of owning a car as being 'just' would be very compelling though. A privilege is defined as a right, immunity, or benefit enjoyed only by a person beyond the advantages of most. This is where we have become blind to the world. In my opinion, we who live in the United States have come to believe that something such as owning a car is a right. This is because a privilege is a right enjoyed only by an overwhelming minority, and owning a car is not just enjoyed by the minority in the United States. No, in fact most people in the United States are able to own a car, or multiple cars. So to own a car is not enjoying a right beyond the advantages of most is it?

That is true - until you start to actually look at the idea of rights and privileges in a global perspective. Suddenly the picture changes entirely. Not only can we quickly realize that owning a car is beyond the advantages of most, we realize that also is the ownership of a computer, television sets, land area per person, and large houses (Sourced from NationMaster - actual websources below)

It is quite clear that we enjoy 'rights' beyond the advantages of most. I'm not writing this to make people feel guilty for owning these things - I would be a hypocrite. I'm just trying to put it into perspective. We don't deserve these things, we are blessed with these things. So we should remember that. I am tired of hearing stories about people like Stephanie Muir and her crusade against Facebook (Facebook Won't Budge) over them taking down her breastfeeding pictures. Facebook is not a right, it is a privilege. When you sign up for it, you agree to the Terms of Use, in which is stated:

".....you agree not to use the Service or the Site to: upload, post, transmit, share, store or otherwise make available content that, in the sole judgment of Company, is objectionable or which restricts or inhibits any other person from using or enjoying the Site, or which may expose Company or its users to any harm or liability of any type."

Don't confuse the issue here - I'm not saying whether breast feeding pictures are offensive or not. All I am saying is that she needs to accept the fact that Facebook can do whatever they want as far as their policies are concerned. She thinks that they are being unfair - I think they run the site according to user responses. People were complaining about the breast feeding pictures and she needs to understand that.



Here are some reference links for anyone who gets heated enough to question my radical claims of American wealth or anything else I put in here. If you spot anything questionable let me know and I'll look it up.

The U.S. Constitution (this deserves to be posted on every website) -
http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html

House sizes in the U.S. -
http://fortworthology.com/2008/10/20/square-feet-per-person/

NationMaster Information (I actually went through the labor of finding each stat individually for the readers benefit...treasure those links)

Global comparisons:

Televisions per capita - U.S. #3
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/med_tel_percap-media-televisions-per-capita

Computers per capita - U.S. #4
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/med_per_com_percap-media-personal-computers-per-capita

Cell Phones per capita - U.S. #4
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/med_tel_mob_cel-media-telephones-mobile-cellular_percap

Land Area per person - U.S. #54
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/geo_are_lan_percap-geography-area-land-per-capita

Motor Vehicles per capita - U.S. #1
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/tra_mot_veh-transportation-motor-vehicles


Lastly, the article from the New York Times that inspired me to begin with:
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/02/breastfeeding-facebook-photos/?ref=technology

Update on: So Let's Walk the Walk?

I emailed Senator Arlen Specter about the auto bailout earlier this week- I hadn't gotten a reply until tonight and so I thought it was perhaps a loss. I've not often been this happy to be proven wrong. Here was his reply:

"Dear Mr. Linton:

Thank you for contacting my office concerning economic aid to the auto industry. I appreciate your views on this matter.

In November 2008, executives of the "Big Three" automakers - General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler - told Congress that the economic downturn and the credit crunch were threatening their survival, and that federal aid would be required to help them weather the storm. Legislation to extend $14 billion in emergency bridge loans was approved by the House of Representatives (H.R.7321), but was met with mixed reaction in the Senate where members sought to include more stringent concessions from the automakers, bondholders, and the United Auto Workers union so that the taxpayer would have a better chance of seeing the loans repaid.

On December 11, 2008, after extensive closed-door negotiations, an agreement on concessions was not reached among the stakeholders and the Senate then failed to cut off debate on a motion to proceed to consideration of the House measure by a vote of 52-35 - short of the necessary 60 votes. Along with nine other members of the minority party, I voted in favor of the procedural motion so that the Senate could continue to deliberate and perhaps come to agreement.

I am not in favor of throwing good money after bad. As a matter of public policy, I am opposed to bailouts. In our free enterprise system, the market, not the government, should determine winners and losers. However, there is an exception when the potential consequences of failing to provide federal economic aid could produce a devastating effect on the economy. In this case, I was prepared to consider economic aid because of consequences to the economy if the Big Three failed. I agreed with the bill's opponents that the proposed legislation drafted by the White House and Congressional Democrats was unsatisfactory but thought it might be sufficiently improved with amendments to get the necessary votes if we had kept trying.

In the absence of a legislative solution from Congress, the White House announced on December 19, 2008, that $17.4 billion in emergency loans would be made available to General Motors and Chrysler, with assistance conditioned on the companies undertaking reorganization plans to show that they can return to profitability. Specifically, the companies will be required to reduce their debt obligations by two-thirds and to reach an agreement with the United Auto Workers union to cut wages and benefits so they are competitive with those of employees of foreign-based automakers working in the United States. To gain access to the emergency loans, the companies must also agree to various taxpayer protections, including limits on executive compensation and the elimination of their private corporate jets. If, by March 30, 2009, the two companies are unable to meet these conditions, the loans would need to be repaid, ahead of all other creditors.

Again, thank you for writing. The concerns of my constituents are of great importance to me, and I rely on you and other Pennsylvanians to inform me of your views. Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact my office or visit my website at http://specter.senate.gov.

Sincerely,

Arlen Specter"

I know, it isn't results per se. It is a response though, and he is telling me what HE is doing about MY concerns. This is how these guys are held accountable.

Why I hate TV

Animal planet airs some of the most ridiculous garbage I have seen put on TV. Their new show 'Whale Wars' ranks alongside what I deem the top five least intelligent shows - hanging right in there with (insert lame celebrity) of Love, The Hills, Real Housewives of (insert relevant location), and The O'Reilly Factor.

The premise of the show is that a group of activists on the Steve Irwin 'Sea Shepherd' are doing their part to stop 'illegal whaling'. In reality, however, these activists are engaging ships that are INTERNATIONALLY approved to be whaling. Albeit for scientific reasons, the harvesting is not disallowed. In fact, whaling is not 'illegal' in any country per se. The official stance is that they (countries in the International Whaling Committee or IWC) have put whaling under moratorium until they can find the most efficient way to whale without decreasing the population to extinction.

Following is an excerpt from http://www.iwcoffice.org/commission/iwcmain.htm the IWC website, which states its purposes clearly:

"Whales, like any other animal population, have a natural capacity for increase and a natural rate of mortality. A stock remains more or less in equilibrium at its initial level because these two factors balance one another. If the number of whales in a stock is reduced then recruitment increases, possibly as a result of greater food availability, by higher pregnancy rates, earlier maturation, increased survival rates or a combination of these factors.

In 1975, a new management policy for whales was adopted by the IWC based on these characteristics. This was designed to bring all stocks to the levels providing the greatest long-term harvests, by setting catch limits for individual stocks below their sustainable yields.

However, because of uncertainties in the scientific analyses (in part due to the difficulty in obtaining the complex data required) and therefore the precise status of the various whale stocks, the IWC decided at its meeting in 1982 that there should be a pause (the ‘moratorium’) in commercial whaling on all whale stocks from 1985/86.

A Revised Management Procedure (RMP) has been developed subsequently, which the Commission accepted and endorsed in 1994 but has yet to implement. This balances the somewhat conflicting requirements to ensure that the risk to individual stocks is not seriously increased, while allowing the highest continuing yield. It is an important step in the development of wildlife resource management in that it takes into account the inevitable scientific uncertainty and requires only relatively simple to obtain information (knowledge of population size, past and present catches, and stock identity)." (bold added)

Now I could be wrong in thinking that these guys are just a bunch of fanatics wishing they could have the conviction to be martyred for something important- but then they are the ones blatantly lying to the public about their actions by saying that Japanese whalers are performing illegal activities. What sickens me is that the crew of the Steve Irwin have taken the name of a decent man and absolutely smeared it, by taking irresponsible, childish, and dangerous actions that is comparable to terrorism.

Following are some clips from Sea Shepherd activities.

Sea Shepherd getting crew members onto a whaling ship:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxk56ZEQSoE&feature=related

Same crew members handed over to Australian authorities:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD1YfSMBxWo&feature=related

Sea Shepherd collecting longlines:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEjOBEEWcT0&feature=related

Whale Wars advertisement:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxZ9o84AgqU

One quick note - in the video collecting longlines he says that longlining is highly illegal. He is wrong- in the Galapagos there is no law against longlining.

I personally don't have an investment in whaling or not whaling. I do think that Animal Planet is glorifying childish harrassment and overlooking all the legal facts, which is disgusting. I don't care what the issue is, to portray it in an absolutely false light as if it is true and righteous and good is a travesty and completely lacking of integrity.

Now no matter which side you stand on you should go get educated, and get your opinion out there to whoever matters.

To encourage or disparage Animal Planet for airing Whale Wars, check out their forums:
http://community.discovery.com/eve/forums/a/frm/f/6701997099

To email policy makers and representatives about actually changing the legality of this or not, once again I direct you to:
http://www.webslingerz.com/jhoffman/congress-email.html (that's a good one to bookmark)