Thanksgiving in Georgia!

Of course, probably most of our Thanksgivings will be in Georgia from here on out, but everyone else is saying it [LINK] [LINK]. Jill and Gavin and Anne and Kim and Jenny and I were all invited over for a feast and time-spending and things like that. It was great fun! I'm not posting any pictures here because they're elsewhere and I didn't take any good ones.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone else!

I feel sick (again)

Actually, I felt sick yesterday. And the day before.

I think it was food poisoning from the ribbon candy I bought Kim (and which, fortunately, she did not eat). I didn't know candy could make you so sick. I was the sickest I can ever remember being, complete with the headaches, the sweats, the shakes, the no-sleepies, and the coming out both ends at once. Yikes!

The moral of the story is: don't buy the ribbon candy from Cracker Barrel, except as an anonymous gift for your most hated enemy!

Walk the Line

Just a little bit before I heard about this movie, I started listening to Johnny Cash. I brought a large MP3 collection away from Vans with me (before we went our seperate ways, we all pooled our libraries (this has actually led to me buying CD's I wouldn't've otherwise - take that RIAA! Yeah, take that extra money I just gave you!)), and for the last year and a half I've been filtering through it, picking out the stuff I want to keep and deleting a lot of the rest. I've been culling out whole artists at a time, and Johnny would have suffered a similar fate, but I decided to give his greatest hits a listen first. And, guess what - they were great hits.

So I was excited for the movie. It had a buzz, and it looked good. Like the Spiderman movies and the Hulk movie, I was interested in the characters, but didn't have an attachment to the details of their backstory.

From that perspective, the movie was great. Both Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon portrayed interesting, vital people with a good story, and their singing voices, while not too much like their real counterparts, fit their characters very well and were perfect in the movie.

Because it's biographical, the story arc isn't really too pronounced, but that's the territory that comes with the genre.

I would definitely recommend it.

I feel sick

...So I'm staying home today.

I know what you're going to say: You think it's because I've been working so much lately. Well, there is a difference between working much and working hard, and it's been more of the former than the latter. The hard work is in that same period of time when I'd have to be there anyway. Kim's convinced that I'm tired instead of sick, but I'm convinced otherwise. I've still been getting a reasonable amount of sleep - an average of 7 hours a night - to the detriment of hobbies, TV watching, home improvement, and Kim time. Plus, I've been sick for a week already and this is just the first day I thought I could get away with taking off, beside a weekend. Beside, I need to get well before Thanksgiving.

A new plan (addendum)

Since I'm working longer hours (45 hours in four days this week so far), and I'm not taking lunches, I've decided I should start taking smoke breaks like everyone else does. It's a great opportunity just to stretch, get some outside air, and pull the headset out of my ear for a few moments. I really like kicking around in the leaves and the grass for 10 minutes or so and not worrying about how many people are waiting in line to talk to us (our phone queue has been rather heavy lately - more than we can possibly handle).

I'm not too keen on picking up cigarettes or taking a cigar smelling heavy of smoke the rest of the day, but I do have that terrific pipe I picked up in Savannah, and boy is that just the thing! I'm going to make a point of not making a habit of it, but 10 minutes of holding a pipe in your hand and looking at the sky can really center a fellow.

Flight! (update)

So I went flying on Saturday! Wood bought me a flight for my birthday like Dave, and I've been very slack in organizing it, but I scheduled it and went!

And I had a terrific time.

I did quite a bit of the actual flying, including taking off and turns and even a power-off stall, but I had the most fun watching out the window. I took a few pictures, which I'll stick into this blog in short order, but mostly I watched out the window and just enjoyed the view. I think the pilot trainer was a little bit confused about why I wasn't more interested in the flying itself (since technically this was the first hour in the 40 hours of training necessary for a pilot's license), but he let me do a lot of looking, especially as we ran into traffic coming back in to land.

Look forward to pictures soon!

Update (10-NOV-2005): Pictures!


Brian Armstrong, the trainer, took a picture of us in flight. Once the plane is level, you don't need to do to much to keep it that way, so it's okay that neither of us are hanging onto the yoke.


There are so many nice views from above!


I had the hardest time finding Mom and Wood's house because I kept looking for a hill. But from 3500 feet, a 30ft hill doesn't show up too much. Their house is in the upper saddle of the "K" formed by the road (just about in the center of the shot).


Here's a better, closer view.

Our house is much too close to Dobbins Air Reserve base for a 1st timer pilot to fly near.


Here's Lake Allatoona, just behind Mom and Wood's subdivision.


I caught this shot as we were heading back toward the airport.


Mom and Wood waited on the ground for me during the flight. She took a lot of pictures, which you can see at her blog.

Hah! I snuck in two other pictures that have nothing to do with the flight!


This rose tree took a heavy whacking by me after it knocked over our old fence, but it's already coming back, even this late in the year! It's the exact same kind of rose tree we had in the back yard at the Gard House, in case you were wondering.


The leaves were just beginning to turn in our little forest last weekend. Over this last week, they've really started to change into their autumn costumes, so I'll have to take a new picture soon!

Philosophy: The Purpose of Law

I argue with my friend at work about politics. We do it frequently, probably too frequently. Usually we end up finding some happy common ground and forgetting the details that led to the argument; sometimes we end up going in two very different directions. Last Friday was one of the latter times.

We were discussing Lawrence v. Texas the Supreme Court case which either made sodomy a right in Texas and the US, or determined that the morality of the majority was not sufficient due process of law to abridge the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuits of happiness. It depends on who you were asking.

I think of conversations like knots - not the kind you tie, but the kind you find in your drawer and wonder how they got there. I figure if the knot can happen naturally, it should need to be untied, so much as just loosened until the lines fall apart. Conversations are usually like that - somewhere there is some accidental friction, and the right wiggling and loosening can expose the friction and the whole thing will shake free. This time, loosening and shaking only brought us to the one central, intractable knot.

It was the end of our conversation, and it went essentially like this:

Friend: "The courts are not designed to legislate. They're designed to judge cases against existing law. If the majority of people in Texas think sodomy should be illegal, that's their right. If someone wants sodomy to be legal, they have to get the majority of people to agree."

Me: "The courts weren't legislating. They were doing their job by judging this law against the Constitution, particularly Amendment 14, and they found that the moral judgement of the majority does not constitute due process."

Friend: "The Purpose of law is for the majority to impose their morality or whatever they think is right."

Me: "The purpose of law is to protect people. The Use of law may be to impose morality, but the Purpose is to protect people.

Friend: "So you think!"

Me: "So I know!"


So. Then I felt like I should put my money where my mouth was.. or something. But how to determine the purpose of law - what source would be credible, sufficiently universal, and authoritative? I thought about going back through the history of law from Hammurabi, Draco, Plato, etc. up through the European origins of the United States, but that's a lot of work, and I'm not sure that anything not specifically American would be considered authoritative. A man with more gumption might have read some American law history, or at least the Articles of the Confederation, but I only read the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. And really, the best answer I found was at the very beginning of the Constitution:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America

The Constitution, in a very real and literal sense, is the Rule of Law. It is the rule that defines law in America. And the mission statement is in the preamble. The purpose of Law is as follows:

1. To form a more perfect Union
This almost sounds like a hint at the rule of the moral majority - I could see how someone might try to work something out there - but I think this very clearly refers the preponderance of regulations directing relations between the states; the Union refers to the union of the states, not the Unity of individuals. (Moral imposition=0, Protection=0)

2. To establish Justice
This is very clear, unless the definition of "Justice" is under debate. I believe it to mean that wrongs are righted or punished, as appropriate, in a fair and ordered manner. Justice is about protection, both from wrong-doers by establishing preventative measures, and for those accused of wrong-doing by ensuring they will be treated fairly. (Moral imposition=0, Protection=1)

3. To insure domestic Tranquility
Like establishing Justice, I think this refers to protecting the individual and society from troublemakers. However, I think this is suffiently vague to allow for a variety of readings, so I'm giving a half-point to each. (Moral imposition=0.5, Protection=1.5)

4. To provide for the common defence
This line clearly refers to the Militia and armed forces, and while it does deal with protection, does not apply here. (Moral imposition=0.5, Protection=1.5)

5. To promote the general Welfare
While I believe this line refers in particular to economic Welfare, it is sufficently vague to allow for a reading that might support Moral imposition. I'm giving a half point to that side, but I scoff at the graspingness of who takes it. (Moral imposition=1, Protection=1.5)

6. To secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity
I do not think this line could be more clear. We are not establishing the Blessings of Morality, Piety, Purity, Godliness, or Public Assent, but Liberty. To follow the train of thought running throughout this document, the Declaration of Independence, etc., this is Personal Liberty, in particular - the right to choose one's own destiny. While this is not Pro-Protection, it is clearly Anti-Moral-Imposition, and I think I'm being generous by striking only the very weak half-point from point 5. (Moral imposition=0.5, Protection=1.5)

This leaves us with a very strong point for the purpose of American law being protection, and a couple of weak half-points that waver in either direction. There was one point solidly against Moral Imposition, and none agains protection.

This is hardly scientific, and possibly not even well thought-out since I'm typing while watching "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Repor(t)", but I'm satisfied now that I know what I know.

Shopgirl

Kim and I watched Shopgirl this weekend - it was our compromise since I didn't want to watch In Her Shoes. It was a good movie, but just that. It put me in a mood and made me think, but I don't think it was a movie I really need to see again, and I don't think it will produce any Oscars.

I have a suspicion that having read the book first would let me into a hidden subtletext of inner dialogue and remembered description that are only hinted at in the movie, but since I haven't read the book, and likely won't, I likely won't know for sure.

We came back home and watched Star Wars, Episode III, for which I was going to wait until Christmas, but the price and desire were too tightly aligned during a Target trip. I still really like it. Really! I'll watch it again on.

A new plan

As you can see, I'm missing writing night again. Oh well. I'm not abandoning it yet - that's not the new plan. I just won't beat myself up about it if it doesn't happen.

The new plan is one of financial responsibility and a little bit of a trial for myself. I'm allowed as much overtime as I'm willing to take at work, and while I usually end up with 5 or 6 hours by the end of the week, I'm thinking about taking more - a lot more. Kim already puts in 50-60 hours a week at work, and that's just because her job needs it - she doesn't get paid any more. I've never had to work two jobs or long hours, and during college I pretty much slacked, racking up debt so I could coast while in school. I've since felt like I took it too easy - it's one of those minor regrets like not serving in the Armed Forces or volunteering in some other way. Anyway, this is the perfect time to catch up financially and do a little nose-grinding so I have it under my belt and know I can do it - I don't have to manage a second job, and since all the hours are overtime, the pay is actually really good.

My plan is to work every hour the office is open - 8am to 8pm every day, and through lunch. Of course it sounds crazy, but I reckon most of the people reading this have put in whacko hours like that and know they can hang if they have to. I don't have to, but I want to. I'm hoping to pay off two credit cards in under six months, and possibly save enough to pay for a significant chunk of the wedding, so it won't go back on the credit cards.

It's not a long-term plan, but if I can stick to it for 6-9 months and keep up the quality of my work through the long hours, I'm hoping the extra exposure will also lead to some kind of promotion (maybe they'll promote me more just to keep me from taking the extra overtime!)

I've already approved it with my boss (he's figured out I'm crazy), and I think it works out well because it helps them not have to hire extra staff, which they may have to otherwise.

Anyway, we'll see how it goes. To paraphrase the Dread Pirate Roberts, I'll most likely give up on the idea tomorrow.

Halloweeny

Halloween was the first real holiday Kim got to decorate for. I'm a little bit stingy, so we started off small, but we'll work up over the next few years. (The brown patch in the front is the newly-leveled spot that used to be the garden box out front.)


Since we're kind of tucked away in our neighborhood, we wanted to make sure people knew there was candy to be had here!


And that they found their way to the right door.


Not that it was too hard to miss.


My Jack-o-Lantern:


Kim's:


Kim convinced me to try on the silly Halloween hat. It was very flattering.

More of Jenny

This last weekend Jenny and I went for a walk in the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield, which is quite the popular dog-walking place. I think she's been lonely or homesick lately, but the prospect of getting in the car brightened her right up.


The park is really big - not quite El Dorado-sized, but in that direction. I've only been there twice now, but it's one of my favorite places, and it's practically in our backyard!


Jenny is a trailblazer, as long as we're going downhill.


She liked to take breaks going uphill, though.


When we got back, I put Jenny in the backyard for a few hours by herself.


She really doesn't like to be back there without someone else, but I'm trying to get her used to it so she can be outside during the day, like she was at the Gardhouse. For now, she's reasonably comfortable exploring as long as someone else is out there with her.


Here's what the fence looks like, by the way, or at least a portion of it!