Swine Flu

This swine flu thing is really starting to get on my nerves. Everybody is worried about how this could turn into some big epidemic, and how it could kill thousands of people. The media is over hyping this to death. I think we should take a chill pill and get over this.

People are worried about this flu because it has a little flu from pigs, birds, and humans all wrapped into one. It is airborne, and is possibly lethal, just like the regular flu. The regular flu kills about 30,000 people a year in the United States. This new swine flu, 1 person dead in the U.S. Wow. I’m scared. I have a 1 in 300,000,000 chance of dying because of the swine flu. There is a greater possibility of getting eaten by a shark while looking for shells on the shore of Lake Michigan (not really, but still, you get my point (I hope)). So overall, to say the least, I am not worried.

I would be worried if I lived in a third world country, with no proper vaccine or health care or treatment. If I lived there and the swine flu came along, I would run away. And this is where the media should be focusing their attention, on the terrible conditions in which the people are living who catch the swine flu. This is where the real story is at. I feel sad for people who can’t take care of the simple flu because they don’t have the right treatments while the generous and benevolent United States hoards all of the flu vaccines.

The thing that actually worries me the most, since I don’t live in a third world country, is how the virus mutated so quickly. The virus went to a pig and a bird and is now in a human and it contains parts of the flu from all three. This shows that viruses can evolve and mutate quickly and efficiently. This is where the real problem is at. When the swine flu starts to show resistance to the drugs used to treat it, then there is the possibility of an epidemic. Then I will be scared because it won’t be too far off in the distance when other viruses and bacteria start to develop resistance to the drugs that treat them. I know that it is happening now, but it is happening rather slowly. If this swine flu was to evolve that quickly to resist drugs that were just introduced to it, then I will be worried. But until then, I’m just going to sit back and watch everybody get all worked up over nothing.

100 Days

People have been talking about how Obama has completed 100 days in office. It is a huge deal to the media for some reason. So this is my thought on the whole matter:

People give Bush 8 years to screw over the nation, but they only give Obama 100 days to fix it.

Let's grow up, and let the President do his job and get off his back. We obvioulsy had a lot of patience with Bush, so let's show some maturity and show some patience with Obama

Scary but Funny

I watched an interesting video the other day. Usually YouTube videos are funny, that is the main purpose for YouTube in my opinion. They are meant for entertainment and to get a laugh out of you, not to be informative, or scary for that matter. This video that I watched was the scariest thing that I have seen in a long time, but through all of this, I couldn’t help but laugh at the man.

The name of the video is “Project 912 Glen Beck Tea Party.” Now this may not sound like a scary video, but it truly is. It is not about monsters or aliens or anything of that nature, it is about people. It is about a get together of people who want to express their ideas and feelings. I think that to attend one of these parties, you should have to pass a test to make sure you are not clinically insane.

This video does not start out like anything out-of-the-ordinary. It does not have nay action or anything like that. All it is, is people talking about politics. Politics in itself is a scary thing because many people have bad ideas, and many people have the power to put those bad ideas into affect. What makes this video even scarier is the fact that this guy is being completely serious. He is not joking in any way, and he truly thinks that everything is a conspiracy and he blames the communists. If I was to say this anywhere, at anytime (I’m not saying I even could, I couldn’t keep a straight face this is so ridiculous, and I'm not alone), I would be laughed at.

Scary might be an understatement. He blames communists and he blames mind washing techniques that are brainwashing our children. I’m sorry, but this is ludicrous. Get past the Cold War, move forward from the Stone Age, please learn to live in the present. I can’t stand people who hold true conspiracy theories of the 50’s to find a scapegoat for today. Just because we are going through hard times does not mean that one person is responsible, that one idea was wrong, that one mistake lead to the whole disaster. Learn to accept reality and please, if you have ideas that might even resemble these, do not share them with anybody, you might get laughed at.

Obama and Nukes

I read this blog post by somebody who obviously doesn’t like Obama. These people are ruthless, calling Obama “Hussein” and trying to bash him so his credibility is shot. I’m sorry, but I guess they don’t realize that he is president (so people obviously like him), the only people who read this blog are people that agree on the same points (I stumbled across it looking at Obama’s proposal), and that these people aren’t really breaking any genius barriers. So here was my first reaction to the post and comments that I read:

What the hell are you guys talking about? He’s not saying that we should be the only nation to disarm our nukes; he’s saying that everybody that has nuclear missiles should disarm them. We would not be alone in this; there would be no active nukes in the world. The instant that we disarm our nuclear missiles, we would not be bombarded by others, because there wouldn’t be any. That’s the point of this whole action, to eliminate the threat of a nuclear holocaust. The simple possibility that at any instant multiple nations could start attacking each other with these devastating weapons is terrifying. It’s scary to think that one instant I could be walking my dog, and the next blown off the face of the earth. I’m not saying that this is likely; I’m just saying that to think about this possibility is chilling. And it is becoming an even greater possibility with more nations coming to discover nuclear powers and rockets that will send them to the other side of the world. The words “intercontinental ballistics missiles” seem made up, but in reality, they are becoming more prominent and closer to the point where somebody breaks and actually uses these words not in a speech, but in action.

Sport vs. Non-sport

There is a problem in the world. It is unjust and wrong. People, many of whom do not play sports, consider certain things a sport when it is very clearly not. This is one of the things that bothers me most. I can’t stand it when somebody calls something a sport when it is not. So here is what I believe…

The true definition of sport is “an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.” The first part of this definition I completely agree with, sports require physical skill that not all people have the ability to perform. The second part I also agree with, sports are rather competitive. But the third part I have some problems with, I don’t think that some of the examples given are sports. Let me go into further detail.

My definition of sport is any strenuous, physical activity that takes skill to perform and cannot be preformed well by the common public. This means that you have to be able to use your body, hand-eye coordination, and more to do a physical activity. I’m not sure if this makes complete sense, so here are some examples. NASCAR is not a sport. I do not care how many people think it is. It is glorified driving, and the last time I checked, anybody (even 85 year old grandmas) can drive. Yes, I understand that it takes a toll on the driver’s body, but any goof can do it. Fishing is not a sport. It is an activity. Once again, anybody can go out on a boat and catch a fish. Some people may not have much success, but they can do what this so called “sport” requires it participants to do. But the biggest NOT A SPORT that some people call a sport is cheerleading. Wow. The first time I heard this called a sport I almost fell over laughing, but the person was completely serious. I am not going to say what I really am thinking about this, because it would be offensive to some people (cheerleaders in particular).

So overall, in case you missed it, here is a list of NOT SPORTS that some people consider a sport (I will most likely miss a few, so don’t consider this a complete list):
NASCAR, motocross, fishing, bowling, curling, cheerleading/dancing, darts, chess, hunting, baton twirling (from the Olympics), video games, croquet, and synchronized swimming.

Stem Cell Research

Obama is now letting the government fund all stem cell research. I am for this completely and I think there never should have been a ban in the first place. Stem cell research has so much potential to improve every facet of life; I think it is shame that it was limited.

For starters, I think it’s a no-brainer for why stem cells need to be researched. Human cells that can be grown into any type of cell to replace damaged tissues are in short supply. But if there becomes a new understanding for how they work, then the supply will grow. Ways to cure paralysis and 100% acceptance for organ transplants, I think those are pretty good pros.

I know that stem cell research was not completely illegal, adult stem cells were fine, but the problem lies with embryonic stem cells. When the stem cells from an embryo are taken for research, the embryo dies. This is where many people feel the problem is. Many people consider an embryo a human life and that it is murder to destroy one. I have my own problems with this because I feel life starts at a different point, but I’m not going to stray from stem cell right now.

So hypothetically, let us assume that life does start the second an egg is fertilized. The embryo is a living human being in this situation. Even with this being true, stem cell research should not have been banned. People argue that we are killing humans that have a chance at life. But really, these embryos have no chance. Embryos used for stem cell research are embryos that have been fertilized out side the body, or in vitro fertilization. When in vitro fertilization occurs, multiple eggs are taken from the woman and fertilized all producing a human life. Let’s say that 10 eggs are taken and fertilized, but the woman only wants 3 children. What happens to the 7 other embryos? They get frozen and eventually thrown away. Is this not killing a living person? Is throwing away an embryo acceptable and morally correct? People say that we are taking life when we use stem cells from an embryo, but they don’t mention how that same embryo eventually gets it life taken when it is thrown away. So I don’t understand why it is wrong to research the stem cells of an embryo, even if it kills the embryo. The embryo is going to die anyway, so why not use it to help save other lives instead of just letting it go to waste?

Birthdays

What is the thing about birthdays? Why do we celebrate them? Why do we make them a big deal? To me, birthdays are nothing more than another day in your life, and you should treat them no different. But since today is my birthday, I got to thinking about them, and this is what I came up with: Why do we celebrate birthdays, and why do people fear getting old?

So first, why we celebrate birthdays. I really have no reasonable answer to this question, and if it was up to me, birthdays would not be celebrated. Why do we give people presents on their birthday? Why do we make them a cake? Why I it their day? I don’t have a reasonable answer to any of these questions either. I don’t have an answer because first of all, the person whose birthday it is didn’t do anything. The mother and father wanted you, planned for you, conceived you, and gave birth to you (the last part only pertains to the mother actually). So why do you get all the credit? Shouldn’t we be celebrating our parents on our birthday? Shouldn’t we make it our parent’s day and thank them for all the work that they put into you? It seems like celebrating your birthday is a very selfish thing to do.

And second, why do people fear getting old? It is obviously the most natural thing in everybody’s life- aging. Death is another issue, but getting to the point in your life when you can die naturally is a commonly feared thing. When the years start to pile up, people start to cover up. We see it everyday, woman wearing makeup to hide winkles, and men dying their hair so it doesn’t turn that dreaded gray. But why? I, once again, have no reasonable answer to this question. I might figure it out when I get to that point, but as of right now, it’s a mystery to me. I am going to embrace age. You can’t stop life, so why try and fool yourself.

The Inauguration

Back to Obama, particularly his inauguration. I did not get to see very much of this (damn school!), but I have some thought on what little I did see.

First of all I have to say that Barack is one cool guy. When the chief justice screws up the oath and you don’t let it affect you, especially in front of that many people, you have some nerves of steal. I admire that greatly.

Second, what was with the weekly TV test? After the first sentence of Obama’s speech the screen all of a sudden goes black. Wow, great, our president just got assassinated, was my reaction. But eventually it kicked back in and we got to see the speech. But couldn’t the TV stations have some foresight and delay this test for an hour? Was it really worth interrupting one of the most historic events in our nations history to do some unworthy weekly test? I doubt it.

Lastly I want to talk about the pray that was given by Rev. Dr. Rick Warren before Obama was sworn in. This was the one thing that I had a problem with. When everybody was seated on the platform and Dr. Warren came up and started talking about God and African Americans and other things, I was thrown off. I know that religion plays a big role in these sorts of things, but I feel this was wrong. A small, simple prayer lasting no more than 30 seconds would have been fine, but this 5-minute rant was over-the-top. I don’t agree with all of the things he said, and I do not feel he should have had that kind of time to say all that. I thought this was supposed to be an inauguration, not a prayer service. Church and state should be kept separate, this kind of thing should not happen. It seemed obnoxious and un-American in the sense that it felt like he was telling us what to believe. This prayer put a damper on the morning festivities for me. I was not pleased.

The "Holiday Season"

The “holiday season” is about 3 weeks too long. The first time I saw a Christmas commercial advertising a sale on TV was before Halloween. BEFORE HALLOWEEN!!!!!! That is just wrong. I thought that Christmas was supposed to be a holiday where good values and the birth of Christ were to be celebrated. Not some money making machine. Everything is always about money. We have to suck every cent out of Christmas that we can. We can’t let an old traditional holiday go unscarred.

For me, the “holiday season” should start on Thanksgiving and end a day or two after Christmas. It shouldn’t start before Halloween and end after New Years. That is just ridiculous. Companies are sucking every penny that they can out of this, and ruining a perfectly good holiday. The other thing about extending the time Christmas is acceptable is that radio stations and stores feel the need to play Christmas music. I can only stand so much of Jingle Bells and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I heard reports of Christmas music being played before Thanksgiving, thankfully I wasn’t there, but I’m sure it was torture for the people who were present. My thanks for Thanksgiving- not being a victim of premature Christmas music playing. I think that a human only has a certain capacity to withstand Christmas music, and if stores and radio stations are playing it too long, than by the time Christmas actually arrives, people will be so sick of Christmas music that there will be no joy. I know that, as of December 17, I am already tired of these rudimentary jingles. But I see people still withstanding, I guess some people have a higher threshold with the power to endure Christmas music.

One thing that got on my nerves this “holiday season” was the atheist sign controversy. I’m not 100% informed on this because I do not live in Washington and I was not involved in anyway with this story. But I have my opinions too. I believe that there should have been no controversy at all. None. I do not understand the viewpoint of the people who were opposed to this sign. These people are hypocritical saying that the sign should be taken down. But I don’t see the atheist group complaining about the Christmas tree (they can call it a “Holiday” tree all they want but we all know that it is meant to be a “Christmas” tree) and nativity scene. It just bothers me that the majority religious group can do whatever they want, but the minority religious group has to be quiet and abide by the rules. I know that this is not a well constructed argument right now, but I will come back to this subject in a more thoughtful manor in a later post.

Things That Annoy Me

I know that blogs are supposed to have a few topics that they write about consistently, and I am trying to do that. But I have to break the rules (they are more like guidelines anyway) and make an exception one time. Today, I’m going to write about things that annoy me.

There are many things in a regular day that annoy or irritate me. Some are small things, some are large things, but whatever it may be, they still, unfortunately, exist. Most of these things, other human beings do. I’m not trying to be a downer, pessimist, or old mean guy, but some of the things people do are just downright annoying/stupid.

I am going to start with people who walk very slowly or stand in the middle of hallways. There is a simple solution, mover over to the side. I know it’s a revolutionary idea, but you could be considerate of other people who actually want to get someplace.

One of the major things that annoys me is people who tell me what to think. These people need to go live in a cave somewhere. I will come back to this one later (it has political implications also), but I just need to say, you have your opinions, I have my opinions, and that is perfectly acceptable.

My number one most annoying thing is incompetent drivers. Most of the people that are driving, should NOT be driving. They should either be in a passenger seat, sitting at home, or on a bicycle. They do not know what is going on around them, and sometimes I get the urge to just run into them. This actually happened to me today. I wanted to turn right at a stoplight and I was sitting behind somebody who also happened to be turning right. The light was red and there was nobody coming for a mile. But I’m still sitting there. I sat there until the light turned green. I was actually sitting there until about fifteen seconds after the light turned green because the car in front of me refused to go. I don’t know if they didn’t see the light change or if they just couldn’t find the gas pedal, but I let them know that they were making me wait for nothing. So then this person turns, thankfully it’s a two-lane road that we are turning onto so I can pass them. But no, this person has to turn then basically stop (I think we were only going about 8 mph) in the middle of the road. Wow was I mad. When they finally realized what they were doing, they moved over into a single lane so I could pass them.

Maybe I’m doing something wrong. Maybe I’m not a good person. But those kinds of things just set me off. I try to at least be aware that there are other people living on this planet.

The New Mr. President

I don’t know why I’ve waited this long, but I am going to talk about the new president of the United States of America. Barack Obama along with running mate Joe Biden, beat out the old guy and his Barbie doll.

I have been for Barack since the very beginning. If I was old enough, I would have caucused for him, and I am relieved to see that it is finally over, with him coming out on top. I think he is a good guy, with his morals, ideas, and character in the right place. I respect his opinion, even though I may not agree with it all the time (isn’t that the whole point of your own opinion, to think what you want and not what other people tell you to think?). I think he will do an excellent job in the white house, started to get the economy and debt on the right track, and start to pull the troops out of places they should not have been in the first place. He may not live up to all the expectations set for him, which is fine, at least he wont lie to the people and run the country into the ground like somebody else…

Now, I have said all along that whoever wins will do a far better job then our current president has done. I even felt that John McCain would do better. People said that they feared he would just be an extension of the Bush administration, and I agree somewhat, he is a republican. But I do believe he is smarter and has dealt with issues in a mature manor before, so he wouldn’t have been bad.

When John McCain selected Sara Palin to be his running mate, I thought that wasn’t a bad idea, he was just trying to get the woman vote. But after a couple of weeks, and the vice-presidential debate, I was dumbfounded. First, because they had actually found somebody that would be a WORSE president (if anything happened to John, like, maybe passing of old age) than Bush. She doesn’t speak in complete sentences, talks in a condescending, smug voice, and hasn’t answered a question that was asked directly to her, ever. Second, because of how the campaign tried to build her up. They basically set her up to fail. They tried to tell the American people she was an old, experienced maverick, just like John McCain. I’m sorry, but you don’t go from being the governor of Alaska for a couple of years, to an experienced political leader overnight. That was my biggest fear about this election, Sara Palin. If McCain had won, and something happened to him and Palin took office, I would have moved to Canada. This is my serious face. I’m not joking. Palin in office is more scary then anything ever in the history of the world, even the comet that destroyed all the dinosaurs.