Tag Archives: separation of church and state

GWAR, Cooper and Price, Looking Back on Scandal, History, and A Few Other Things

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This entry is part 100 of 100 in the series Today's Tidbits

This, so the little numbers tell me, is the 100th entry I’ve made in this particular experimental Facebook Feed series.

I was going to say something interesting about it… but it’s been another long day at the office and my brain is kind of fried. I’m also kind of unimpressed with my own performance in these little blurbs I crank out roughly four days a week to accompany the link to FB posts. (Heck, I’ve been disappointed with the lack of interaction I’ve been able to put into even those lately.)

Going into this, it was just a way to force myself to get words flowing out of my fingers again. It’s only been moderately successful. I guess that means I just have to keep trying.

So I will.

Here’s the feed…

Unintended Consequences Strike Again, Entertainment Both Classic and New, A Bit of Cute, and a Return to Space

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This entry is part 98 of 100 in the series Today's Tidbits

The big news today (for me, at least) was the announcement of the U.S. return to manned space missions.

NASA will once again be shooting humans into orbit (with some help form Boeing and SpaceX)!

Now, that’s not quite the manned exploration mission style I’d prefer to see… but it’s better than nothing.

I’d love for us to set foot on the moon again. To build something permanent there and then use it as a jumping off point for Mars and beyond.

Don’t get me wrong, I totally dig what all the rovers and satellites and probes are doing. Heck, most of them are performing well beyond expectations and gathering great images and data. It’s pretty exciting from a pure science perspective.

But it’s not the same as an intrepid adventurer risking life and limb to go there (wherever “there” may be) just because they can.

Again, that’s not to take away from the utter bravery it takes to step up and sit on top of what’s effectively a giant bomb (that you’re hoping projects all that force in the right direction)… but the whole up and down trip really pales in comparison to that months-long journey to a brand new planet. Or the homesteader heartiness required to set up shop on the moon, setting the groundwork for the entire next chapter of space exploration–a chapter that doesn’t even really start on Earth.

We’ll get there, eventually, I guess.

But I’l really like to see it in my lifetime.

Anyway… here’s the feed.

Epic Rap Battles, Culture War, Yet More Problematic Politics, Some Interesting Decor, and the Requisite Number of Cat Posts

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This entry is part 55 of 100 in the series Today's Tidbits

My sleeping and eating schedule this weekend was even more off from what most would consider “typical” than normal.

But, that’s what I get for going out to an 80s mega dance party on Friday, partying with rock stars on Saturday, and spending most of Sunday recovering and trying (failing!) to get back on a more useful schedule.

I really don’t know how you people who drink do it.

Lots going on in the news today… and some other interesting and problematic revelations over the weekend. It’s all in today’s feed (which stretches back to Friday).

Innovation Squashed, Bigotry from the Bench, Hacking Hackers, Science Rap, and Work-life Balance

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This entry is part 53 of 100 in the series Today's Tidbits

As I mention frequently (perhaps too frequently), my own natural flow doesn’t fit exceptionally well with the standard 40-hour work week setup.

I’ve also said for years that we’ve become victims of our technology instead of masters of it.

Instead of allowing our advancing technology to give us modest gains in both free time and productivity, we’ve instead gone whole-hog for productivity at all costs. Creating a culture of utter consumption and quest for profit above all else.

This is unhealthy. It leads to people being continually unsatisfied–as they are regularly manipulated by advertising and cultural pressure to have more, to consume more, and to be conspicuous as hell about it. It’s devoured our culture and contributes stress beyond belief to our lives.

How I think it should have gone? Technology should have, at least in part, freed up more time for everyone to explore the things that interest them. Yes, progress would have been slower, but it also would have been deeper. And, I think, the modern world wouldn’t seem so shallow, trite, and cold as it often does.

We’d have more patience with each other (since competition and one-ups-manship wouldn’t be quite so big a part of our lives). We’d enjoy ourselves more (because we’d actually have time to).

Anyway, those are shorthand thoughts. The article in today’s stream (which I know I’ve posted before in years past, since it’s from 2010) says it all better (and if you click through to the comments, there’s another article there that goes even deeper).

Enjoy what free time you have and don’t let the machine grind you too much on your way through…

https://www.facebook.com/kierduros/activity/10152121073215981