Month: November 2008

Christmas pictures…

Ok, so I’ve listened to Amanda for years complain about the fact that as a photographer, she gets really good pictures of everyone else’s family; but we never have good pictures, because I won’t pay for a photographer to take our pictures (because Amanda is a photographer), and she can’t do a good job at all trying to run back and forth from the camera, or even using the remote to push the button – because she can’t see how everyone is lined up and posed.

In my brilliance (?); I suggested that Amanda call another local photographer that she knows to see if he would like to swap photo-sessions at the studio. Sure enough, he and his wife were just discussing the same dilemma, and they thought it was a great idea.

I think it worked out really well – although I didn’t get a chance to see their family photos – Amanda is a really good portrait photographer, so I’m confident that they were able to get some good pictures (as long as her backdrop was able to fit the whole family in to her Christmas backdrop which wasn’t intended for more then 4-5 people at most). And I’m pleased with our pictures – except camera’s rarely are able to capture my good looking side (I could use the ontological argument to prove that it does actually exist outside of my mind.. but what’s the point)…

Anyway, here are the pictures…

 

Gas prices – are they here to stay?

 

If you are anything like me – you have been at least happy that gas prices have gone down – however; I think there is something a bit more sinister that is going on behind the scenes.

When gas prices go up, there is usually some big announcement in the news as to why the gas prices have gone up (some war in some country, some bad weather in some state, some grandmother sneezed in some grocery store, who knows..)… however, it’s interesting how silent the media has been on the gas prices falling – why?

I think it’s because they don’t want to draw to much attention to the fact that gas prices are falling… because, people will think about it, and they’ll realize there is something fishy going on… in fact, I don’t think the price drop is going to last very long.

You see, the fat cats that own the major gas cartel’s realize that their billions of dollars in revenue is also based on the strength of the economy, and they know that the economy is driven by rampant consumerism… When people have to spend so much on “necessities” like gas – they don’t spend money on other areas in the market – the things we want but don’t need – which are really the underpinnings of the financial kingdom.

And so – the cartel has realized that if they continue to squeeze the pockets of consumers over the holiday season, it’s going to mean even worse things for the economy; however, if they lighten the shackles of oil for the holiday shopping season; people will quickly forget how overbearing their gas & heating bills were just a few weeks before, and they will flock to the stores and buy more and spend more (I know I have).

And so, after the holiday season; the cartel is going to find some new reason to bring the oil and gas prices right back up (someone’s kid spilled a glass of milk in a restaurant in Bangor, Maine?)! The question is; how many people will curtail their shopping enough to be able to rebound with the gas and oil prices when they do go back up?

I’m watching them, I know their game, but who else is, who else does…

 

 

The Sun will burn out in the next 4.5 billion years – then what?

 

 

Frank Tipler in his book The Physics of Christianity has a lot to say about this topic. Tipler is writing this book from a standpoint of Science answering all questions, even questions of religion. Tipler believes that within the next couple hundred years humanity is going to discover new forms of energy through baryon annihilation, and that technology governed by Moore’s law and the Bekenstein Bound principle will allow mankind to reproduce (resurrect) life in a digital format, and travel through the stars looking for a new place to live. Through this baryon annihilation Tipler believes that the universe will begin to collapse once again, bringing the universe to its final state of what he refers to as the “Omega Point” (similar to the singularity point that begun the universe). Tipler makes these arguments both from science (unitarity) and philosophy (teleology) and religion (Judeo-Christian).

 

I, myself, am not so convinced of this scientific explanation, as I hold to a little more literal interpretation of the biblical accounts of the end of days. However, that being said, I can’t begin to even speculate what is going to happen within the next 4-5 billion years of human existence during the timeframe that the sun is expected to expand and then burn-out.

 

According to our Astronomy textbook, within the next 3-4 billion years the earth is going to suffer from an extreme greenhouse effect as the sun expands and slowly burns the last of its’ hydrogen fuel. The earth will be left scorched and unable to sustain anymore life.

 

We know from a scientific, philosophical and religious perspective, they all agree in one thing: that life and the universe had a beginning. It seems just as likely, scientifically, that life, at least, will have an end on this earth. As to what the end will be; I take personal comfort in seeing the great levels of intelligence and design that has been put into the universe that speaks to me of a purpose (teleology) of the creation as it exists today – so while I’m going to be dead billions of years before the sun actually burns out and destroys earth – I rest at night, comfortable in the fact that we’re in good hands!

 

Our new President

 

The new president elect of this country looks a bit sinister after he was elected – was there something lurking in the recesses of the shadows – or was he just caught at a bad time. One thing for sure is that things are going to change in this country – I can’t imagine they could get any worse – so perhaps our first African American President will have the opportunity to leave a great legacy! It’s too bad he had to be a democrat though! 😉

 

Before Election:

 

After election:

The sun over the mountains from my backyard…

 

This picture represents a lot of back-breaking hard labor as I’ve been working most of the summer to clear out just this single path. I will widen it in the following years, provided I’m still alive.

 

It provides spectacular views both in the morning and the evening!

 

Who did you vote for?

 
 

I think it’s a bit naive if one was to believe that the man sitting in the seat of President of the United States has such a big impact on what our country does from a law and policy prospective. The majority of the power is and remains in the hands of the upper and lower House; and those individuals are there as a result of the way the people in this country think and vote.

 
 

I personally think it’s foolish how much time and money our country spends on campaigning for presidency – if the citizens in our country could even spend the smallest fraction of effort focusing on some of the things that plague this country, rather than fighting and bickering about which talking head would be better for the country, if we could spend even a fraction of the campaign money on trying to turn this country around – that would be a long stride in where we need to be.

 
 

I was registered as an Independent until Clinton and his little affair (I use the term univocally) – and now I’m registered as a Republican. I am not voting for McCain, not because I want Obama as a president, but because I would like to see a chance to allow change, change that I don’t see happening the way things are currently going and have been going over the last 12 years. 

But, whether you’re a liberal or conservative, republican or democrat, whatever change you’re looking for, no change is going to come about until the people themselves have changed.

 
 

The president doesn’t determine the state of this country – the people do. And we’ve made a huge mess of things.

 

Ideologically, Obama and I just don’t meet eye-to-eye (or anywhere in the vicinity of the face); but I couldn’t vote for another Republican either! I voted for Nader! 🙂

 

I find it very likely that Obama will win the presidency – quello che sarà! Our country has to rebound; it will rebound, with whoever is at the helm.

 

The good thing for democrats is that they can claim it was a Democrat president who did it – the good thing for everyone else, is it will happen either way!

 
 

[This is where I start to discuss Orwellian prophecy; but for the sake of brevity]