Fred Phelps Is An Evil Thing

I try to keep political banter as far from my blog as possible, but sometimes it's hard to keep a tight lip. Although the Virginia Tech shootings are tragic and it's terrible to hear such bad news, some things taking place and being said in the aftermath are absolutely ridiculous.

Obviously a lot of people are jumping on the issue of gun control, video game violence, poor decision making, just to get the list started. The real problem is that people are fearful that there is a simple answer to this. People want a complex problem to blame someone or something for a simple answer. In other words, most people find it hard to believe that the simple answer is some people are just plain crazy.

I play violent video games, I own guns, but the factor that keeps me from going out on a rampage is the fact that I have a logical thought process and I am not insane.

Ok, so enough of talk about blame, it's time to get into some topics that have lit my fuse!

You'll notice I titled Fred Phelps as an 'Evil Thing' and not a human, because it's important to make an accurate statement. Fred Phelps is the leader of the cult (yes, it's a cult) known as the Westboro Baptist Church - you know, the cult that goes around protesting at soldiers funerals. According to www.godhatesamerica.com, they are planning to protest at the funerals of the Virginia Tech students. I'm not a person who uses the 'hate' word lightly when it comes to other humans, but since Fred Phelps isn't a human I can honestly say that I hate him and what he stands for. There, I said it. That feels better.

A lighter topic, but one that still makes me very unhappy is the ruling made on Monday to increase royalties for internet radio. The real problem is the costs are not slightly increasing, they are increasing as much as 1200%. Yes, you saw that right. The problem is deep rooted and there is a lot to this, specifically the DRM & DMCA (Digital Rights Management & Digital Millennium Copyright Act). Groups such as the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America), and others, sue 13 year old girls, 80 year old ladies, college students, and more, to try to hold on to old practices which are no longer logical. Instead of updating to new practices the music and movie industry would rather keep consumers in the dark ages and use scare tactics to influence people. A popular saying is 'Don't bite the hand that feeds you.'

Enough with the ugly politics, I want the sunshine. No, literally, I want the sunshine, where is it? The high today is 45 and rain/snow mix. That will make a cold evening for Ultimate! The good news is Laura and I have recovered from our weekend bike ride and we are starting to resume normal sitting positions!

For the coming weekend there has been talk of going camping. I'm not sure how appealing that sounds with the highs only reaching the mid 50's and the overnight lows around 30. I think I would rather wait a few more weeks and camp when I can sleep comfortably and enjoy some hiking as well.

I am ready for some camping though. After our trip into Yellowstone last summer I spotted camping gear that I thought might come in handy. We used my brother's tent in Yellowstone - that tent weighed about 8-10 pounds and was designed for car camping. The new tent I picked up at Wal-Mart on clearance last fall. It's designed for hiking and should fit on my pack much better than the large dome tent did - not to mention the new tent weighs in just over 5 pounds. The difference of 3-5 pounds doesn't seem like much, but when you have to lug that along for 50 or more miles you would be amazed. Just some quick math: If you take a 5 foot stride during a hike on flat ground then you take about 1000 steps per mile. Lets figure I save 3 pounds of weight with the lighter tent - that's 3 pounds per step or 3,000 pounds less weight to support for every mile. Therefore, over 50 miles I save 50,000 pounds, or 25 tons. Yeah, it adds up doesn't it!

The pictures of the flowers are from our flower bed in front of the house. I am surprised the overnight freezes haven't killed any of them. They all seem to rebound quickly and look good by the afternoon. We have quite the mix of flowers, but they all look nice and they are a great way to practice taking some photos. I especially like getting in close and taking pictures of the details on the flowers that I would usually ignore. Just like the picture of the maple tree in front of the house. The buds are opening up and soon we will have some nice trees to shade the yard during the hot afternoons. It won't be long and I will be mowing and enjoying the shade each time I pass underneath the trees with the mower. With the rains this week, I suspect the grass will get a boost and be ready for the mower by next weekend.

Tonight will be another cold game of Ultimate and I suspect it to be a muddy mess too. I'll be sure to get some pictures and show off my mess! Until again

-=Nolan=-