The past week or so at the day job has been ridiculous. Huge deadlines on a huge project that’s really too huge for the timeline it was scheduled for.
Of course, it does look like we’ll be close enough.
It also looks like it’s driving me utterly mad with stress.
So, the feed is a bit… odd. Because that’s how my brain is working (when my brain is working).
I’ll let you see for yourself.
Here’s the feed…
Bunches of things in the feed.
A fantastic little article about Betty White and how she dyes.
The sad news that Joan Rivers won’t be dying any more… or getting any more plastic surgery… or telling any more snarky jokes.
I was in a totally metal mood this morning, so there’s a selection of tunes to rock out to. Some are more metal than others.
Some memories of making a movie and the celebration of my grandparents’ anniversary fill in the “Throwback Thursday” meme spot in today’s feed.
And then there’s the news out of New York State about how free speech is being beaten on with some campaign “reforms” that have been put in place temporarily (unless people fight to get them repealed before the end of this month… because then they become permanent… which strikes me as kind of a dirty trick). That’s not a good thing at all.
We’ve got a new War on Terror starting up as both the President and VP have said we’re going to go after this ISIS group like nobody’s business now that they’ve beheaded two reporters. Can’t say I’m happy about any of that.
And, finally, there’s the competition-killing laws that are on the books in 20 states (with more on the way) that forbid municipalities from creating public broadband networks. We all know I’m of the opinion that Internet connectivity should be treated like a public utility… so, obviously, I’ve got issues with this revelation. (Though it’s not a surprise… I’ve been following the cable business for nearly two decades now, on and off… they’ve done–and will likely do–worse.)
Anyway, here’s the full feed. I should’ve been asleep an hour ago…
The week continues to be… odd.
The rapid oscillation between lull and panic at the day job just kind of left my head spinning. I’d been hoping to make a bit of progress on some other projects, but one just refused to die quietly. I’m sure it will resurface again soon enough… likely right when I need to be doing something else.
That lead to the continued trend of just zoning out when I got home.
So now I’m not at all where I want to be on any number of non-day-job things (including clearing out my lingering TV episode queue from Hulu and other places). Doing nothing ceased to be actually relaxing when it became the only thing I could manage to do.
And, based on the news reports coming through various feeds, it looks like things are heating up again between Israel and the Gaza Strip area. That’s unpleasant, to say the least. Especially when, a few thousand miles away, a civilian plane seems to have been shot down by Russian-backed rebels in Ukraine.
I really don’t want any more large scale wars for a little while (at least). We still haven’t finished pulling all the way out of the last bunch of messes in Europe, the Middle East, and elsewhere that we were involved in.
Anyway, there’s some good news and fun stuff in the feed, too… but.. well.. yeah…
The two big bits of news that were bouncing around today were the Supreme Court’s decision in the case for Hobby Lobby regarding whether it should have to pay for insurance plans that cover contraception and the recently released documents that show just how messed up the U.S. relationship with “freelance security” firm Blackwater was.
Both of these stories point toward different, yet similar, machinations that go on when powerful ideologies get involved and sensibility takes a back seat to making a point.
In the Hobby Lobby case, it seems the only reason they’ve suddenly started to care about what insurance their employees have is because they’re against the healthcare reform act that was passed. They’re needling their way into nooks and crannies that were left open in the law as part of the eviscerating “negotiations” that had to take place in order to get it moved through congress.
In the Blackwater case, it’s about a company given far too much power in a war zone and how that power was abused. Many Blackwater employees and management staff seem to have thought that they were above the law… and, it seems, some of them may have been right.
Both of these are playing games with the lives of people outside of the debate–Hobby Lobby’s employees (who are just trying to make a living and stay healthy) and the U.S. and Iraqi people who were harassed, threatened, and in some cases murdered by Blackwater.
Now, undoubtedly, the Blackwater situation was a lot more immediately serious, but the Supreme Court decision on the Hobby Lobby case opens up a more insidious can of worms. With Blackwater, you had a bunch of hooligan with guns doing as they please. Worst case scenario there is they end up on the other side of the list for the U.S. military–as targets instead of assistants. Pretty cut and dried when you really get down to it. The Supreme Court decision, though, seems to open the door to all sorts of denials of service based on an amorphously defined religious preference and privilege. That’s the sort of thing that can quietly accrue bits of case law here and there for months or years before there’s someone with enough time and resources to challenge it… and in that time, it can touch thousands, if not tens of thousands of lives.
It’s going to be interesting (and, I’m suspecting, unpleasant) to watch both of these situations play out now that they’ve come to light and are on the table for discussion.
Not much of an intro today. It was a low-key weekend (after the out-way-too-late game night, at least) and a busy Monday.
It’s going to be hot and humid the rest of the week. Can’t say I care much for that combination. Hopefully, the A/C unit can handle it.
Anyway, on with the catch-up feed…