Wit, Wisdom, and Whimsy. (your mileage may vary)
April 8, 2010
Personal, Pictures Ben Patrick Johnson, Dennis Depew, Facebook, Lt. Dan Choi, Twitter Leave a comment
Three guys I follow on Twitter or Facebook. Lt. Dan Choi, Ben Patrick Johnson, and Dennis Depew. I haven’t met any of them (yet- who knows!) but they sure are nice to look at… And from following their tweets and comments, they seem like they’re even nice guys!
UPDATE! 4/9/2010 Met Lt. Dan Choi this afternoon! He gave a great talk at UC Merced. He’s a good speaker, if you have the chance, go see him in person. And I was right, he IS a nice person, in person!
April 2, 2010
Personal discipline, sick leave, write up 1 Comment
So two weeks ago Saturday, I’m enjoying a nice dinner at Ted and Mychal’s place in Fresno, when I notice a little “tickle” in my throat. I didn’t pay it much mind, sometimes I just get a little irritation, and it’s gone the next day. When I woke up Sunday, I wasn’t feeling too bad, but the tickle was still there. By Monday, it was clear I had managed to catch something, as I was feeling a bit yucky, and I was feeling some congestion in my chest. I took some cough syrup and later some sinus tablets, and figured I’d be down for a couple of days. Well, it went a bit beyond that, I ended up missing 4 days of work, and getting written up for it!
March 27, 2010
commentary, Gay Hell no you can't, John Boehner, obama, yes we can Leave a comment
A most powerful and moving response to “Hell NO you can’t!”
March 21, 2010
Gay, News closet, James Randi, James Randi comes out as gay, JREF, Randi, skeptic Leave a comment
The website “For Good Reason” hosts a discussion with James Randi, a renowned skeptic and rational thinker, where Mr. Randi comes out as gay. Now 81, Mr. Randi discusses his reasons for remaining in the closet until now, his concerns about how it may affect his work, and how his detractors may use this announcement against him. Check it out at “For Good Reason”.
Mr. Randi’s own site, the James Randi Educational Foundation has the esteemed writer/speaker/skeptic’s own words here.
Cross posted at QueerVisalia.com, QueerFresno,Tulare County Atheists, and The Visalia Times Delta.
March 19, 2010
commentary dandelions, favorite flower, mother nature, plants 1 Comment
Mother Nature. What a gal… You’ve got to give her credit, she’s quite the industrious gardener. Leave a plot of ground unattended for even a short time, and she’ll dive right in and start working. Even our lawns aren’t spared her loving touch. She must not really care for the carefully manicured, smooth expanses that most of us like in front of our homes. It takes no time at all for her to start her ministrations, tossing seeds hither and yon, and upsetting the best laid plans of everyone trying to have a putting green (or at least a fairway) as their yard.
I envision her as a somewhat absent minded (in that carefully crafted, wisdom-of-the-ages style), slightly distracted, but always completely aware of what’s going on. Puttering around in her garden, which is of course the entire planet, cooing sweet nothings to her botanical charges. Look, a butterfly just landed on her outstretched finger. They’re whispering something to each other, but of course we’ll never be privy to what they share. Sometimes she’ll look over at you while she’s in communion with her various creatures, and I swear she’s telling it some funny little story, probably at the human’s expense. She’s not above a little teasing, now and then.
I’ve discovered one thing about her, however. I know what her favorite flower is.
March 18, 2010
Humor, Personal devil worship, Satan, The Devil 5 Comments
“Tulare Devil Worshipers”
That’s the search engine term that landed someone on our Tulare County Atheist’s blog site yesterday. I wrote a blog about it there, you can read it if you are so inclined. If “The Devil” is this guy, where do I sign up??
March 13, 2010
9-1-1, commentary 9-1-1, demonic possession, demons, Jesus saves Leave a comment
One of the things I love about my job is that no matter how long you’ve been there (almost 16 years now for me), you can never say “now I’ve seen everything!” Last week provided another example of just how odd things can get on the other end of the 9-1-1 line. Just what the caller thought WE could do, I’m not sure. If Jesus is your first line of defense, and that fails, can the Sheriff really solve the problem??
It was late night, cold, damp and before payday. Not much was going on, and most of the trouble makers were staying in, or at least staying below everyone’s radar, with the exception of one hell raiser.
We got the call from a frantic family member. They were worried that the exorcism wasn’t going well, and the possessed relative was getting out of control. Grandma, the family demon ‘caster-outer’, was apparently not having her usual success, and the possessed agitated relative was still in full demonic mode. Demonic possession is an ongoing issue for this particular person, according to our caller, and Grandma was usually successful in her casting-out skills, but not this night.
March 13, 2010
commentary Congress, Democrats, Republicans, Will Rogers 1 Comment
2006 – Control of Congress by just short of a “super majority”.
2008 – Control of Congress by a “super majority”, and control of the White House!
2009 – Unable to pass Health Care legislation. Unable to pass much of anything!
Question – Why are you there, and why should we support you in the 2010 mid-term elections?
The Donkey had better get off his ass and do something, before he’s back in minority status!
I’m not a member of any political party. The Republicans can’t stand “my kind”, the Democrats can’t get their act together even when they are in charge, I have no idea what the Independents are all about, and they and the other parties are just fringe actors that don’t amount to much.
What’s a guy to do?
JimmieJoe / KC6YRU 
The Silliest Story Ever Told
April 4, 2010
Jim Reeves commentary Easter, Pharyngula, PZ Myers, resurrection, University of Minnesota Leave a comment
Being a scientist and a rationalist, PZ isn’t shy about stating his opinion on any and all things related to science and superstitions. One of today’s posts (he posts quite often, as the mood strikes, some short pithy comments, other longer commentary. Always a good read, regardless.) is about Easter, and how the story as it’s commonly told really isn’t what it seems. Go check it out, here.
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