The Moon Gets the Axe

For the first time in my life, I find myself actually left in wonder after asking myself the question, "Did we really go to the moon back in '69"

I've always been a full blooded patriot in this matter. In my mind, there was no way we didn't go, hop around, play the front 9, then come skipping back. I mean come on, there were all of those photos, and, and, and.... Rocks!

As a kid growing up, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Alrdin were my heroes. I had so many childhood fantasies of strapping in to my space plane and blasting off to the moon like it was nothing. As a kid I dreamed that by the time I was an adult, space travel to the moon would be commonplace. I mean by then, the Air Force would really be more of a Space Force and I could be a space fighter pilot. I even wrote stories about it in 4th grade. It was so awesome, I turned it in 3 weeks late and the teacher still gave me a 100/100, even though before turning it in she said due to lateness, the best i could do was a 60. I was a believer. So where's the newfound skepticism fit in? Obama's new budget proposal.

With the new plan, Obama is cutting funds for the Constellation program, which is the program NASA is currently running to land a man on the moon by 2020. The reasoning behind the budget cut is that this apparent program is behind schedule, and overbudget. However, overall funding for NASA operations will be increasing for the next 5 years.

Wait,... what? Let me say that again. We're cutting the man to the moon program because it costs too much money. Then we're going to turn around and give NASA even more money. When looking at this critically, I have to really wonder what the beans behind all this is.

The Constellation program had some pretty lofty goals. Among others, it would help determine the possibility of a moon colony. And there have been a lot of advancements Earth-side recently to prove that this may actually be a viable option.

Constellation is taking a lot of what we used in the 60's and rebuilding it with modern computers and materials, but the basc overall approach would be the same. When I started adding things up, one question immediately came to mind. How in the hell are we so far behind budget, and especially behind schedule on something we accomplished 50 years ago with technology that is now outdated even in consumer markets.

On top of that, with the possible ramifications of the Constellation program, how could we take money away from it, but increase funds to other NASA programs. I immediately had to ask the question, what are we afraid of? I started to wonder if the program wasn't getting the axe simply because we didn't go before. Which would also explain why we're so far behind schedule and over budget... because we didn't actually build it the first time.

So as it stands now, I'm not swung that we didn't go. I still believe that we were there. But I feel a little hurt that our return trip is getting a lethal dose of The Man. I still believe, but I think the door has been opened, and I'm going to wonder about any new information that will come to light in the future.

No more moving with Mapquest

My state will be putting into effect a new law that prohibits drivers from using data services on their electronic devices while driving their vehicle. This includes texting, surfing the web, and just about everything else you use your iPhone for. It looks like this will also apply to built in navigation systems. (We now are going back to pulling over to look at the map, kinda defeats the purpose right?) In addition, when in a construction or school zone, you can't even be on the phone unless it's in hands free mode.

Despite the cynicism above, I'm really a fan of this law. But I have to wonder, will people abide by it? I just finished reading a story on CNN about jurors who can't stop tweeting, googling, or facebooking during trials. One juror even sent a friend request to a witness during deliberations, causing a mistrial. Another part of the article mentioned a burglar who was captured in Pennsylvania because he stopped to check his facebook page at the home, leaving a trail for the fuzz to follow.

If people abide by this new law, I'm sure it will save someone's life, but will making it illegal really stop people from doing what is by now habitual, and on top of that, how are the cops going to spot the abusers? I know when I text while driving, i'm very surreptitious about it. (Aside from the weaving, red light running, and rear-ending of course.) And today's youth is even better. Many of them barely glance at their devices while firing back a text message. I have to wonder what measures can be taken to monitor or enforce this new law, and if it could potentially spiral out of hand.

In our town, the cops are very aggressive at pulling over motorists for very little reason, to check for drunken drivers. (during shool, we have nearly 40,000 college students in a town of 100,000 people.) On one occasion, i called the cops on my party happy neighbors on a tuesday night (like 3:30am), and decided to go grab a quick snack at Denny's while waiting for the cops to clean up the mess. When the cops get a call about a party, they'll have a few officers break it up, while a few others poach the roads leading out of the neighborhood or complex for drunken and driving partygoers. On this particular night, i got pulled over on the way back home by the very same police department I was calling to protect my sanity. The cop claimed my license plate light was out, wrote me a warning, then let me go. (As it turns out, my license plate light was working fine.) I've been pulled over in similar situations in our town 7 times in the last 2 years. Twice this has resulted in a moving violation I did not actually commit, and had to fight in court to reprieve... unsucesfully on one occasion.

While I applaud the intentions of this new law, I wonder if it is one that will be abused by some members of law enforcement. I'm guessing we'll see a rise in tickets in our area due to the younger population, and as always in a college town with more tickets being issued due to "college students" breaking this law, the likelihood that car insurance rates will go up in this zip code is a very realistic possibility. I have to wonder if there is anything we can do about the real problem, without causing more problems.

Those Damn Elevator People

So here I sit, on the verge of collapse due to lack of sleep and overdoses of Full Throttle, and it occurs to me a good way to stay awake for a few more minutes might be to share my caffeinated glimpses of brilliance with you. Enjoy.

These days, things get on my nerves. People get under my skin. I... get annoyed. I never used to. Oh the naivete... when i could wander blissfully through the day without caring about the circumstances around me. I wish I had that back. But on the flip side, I now feel like I've empowered myself, because I now complain at will when something bothers me. And you can't stop me. First amendment bitch. Read it. (I haven't)

I figured I'd share some of the things that really get to me lately. Maybe you can share with me after you've read this, and we'll all feel a little better.

One of today's biggest annoyances are elevators. Not only are they a deathtrap waiting to happen, but people make it worse when they use them improperly. I'm talking specifically about the douchebag who enters on the second floor and rides up to the 3rd, then gets off. You my freind, are a jerk. Some people have several floors to travel, and here you are, not 30 feet from an escalator, making some claustrophobic dude spend an extra 20-30 seconds in a suspended steel death trap.

Unless you're legitimately disabled, you don't have any business in an elevator if you're going up or down just one floor. If it's a tall building, you better be going more than 2.

With the winter season brings an annoyance we're all familiar with. 4 wheel drive. I recently took a trip to a friends in "stupid to drive in" weather, that was made all the more dangerous by a lady with a huge suburban with 4 whell drive. It was windy, poor visibilty, and heavy snow, and I was driving on a state 2 lane highway, probably 5 mph faster than i should have been, about 60 feet behind another guy going the same speed, and this lady in her GMC felt we were too slow.

Sure, maybe you can obtain a higher speed than us lonely family car people. But your tailgating me while driving on 2 inches of snow is endagering not only you, but myself. If i lose control, ur gonna hit me right in the back, cuz you can't stop.

Worse yet, this woman then passed both of us, probably doing 55, on a bridge, endangering the lives of everyone in all 3 vehicles. I can't explain the anger i feel over this person taking chances with my life. I pray for everyone who behaves in this manner with a 4 wheel drive vehicle to end up in a ditch. That's a lesson that needs to be learned the hard way, and enough people don't learn it soon enough to save the lives of others.

Hangs head in shame

This weekend was a real adventure for me. That's because I needed a new phone. I'm not sure how much fun your local verizon wireless store is, but ours is right up there with the dentist and the DMV. It's busy, the salespeople talk so much it confuses even the veteran cellphone users, and you have to be in line at 5am just to make sure to get served.

My trip tought me a just how much my world has changed in the last 3 months. You see, in those last three months, my mother has gotten on facebook, bought a Blackberry, and learned how to text. I should be excited about these, but you can't imagine the burden of getting a text from your mother at 9am on a Saturday morning that reads... "But what about mommy?!" While she's mastered the art and language of texting, it seems she still has a thing or two to learn about the mannerisms that go along with it. (Like no texting me before noon on the weekends.)

So back to the store. After shopping and listening to a convoluted tale of cost and lines and features from the salesman, my dad and i finally decide to take advantage of the BOGO Blackberry offer. We had to activate a new line to get it, since I wasn't yet eligible for an upgrade, and as a result, grandma now has a cell phone too. (I'm sure you'll get to hear more on that later.) As we're sitting there in the store setting everything up on the newly activated phones, the salesman tells my mom, "make sure to give these guys lessons on Blackberry's." I couldn't be more mortified.

The woman who still calls me every week for some simple computer problem, and only entered the internet social world 3 months ago, is now teaching me on how to use my smartphone. Just what have I turned into? It couldn't be that bad... could it? Oh yes. It could be.

As Dad and I sat there getting our emails set up, mom calls her sister to warn her that grandma can now call her for free. A few minutes into the conversation, my ears perk up when I hear mom start talking about custody. I'm puzzled, because all of my cousins are out of high school, so custody shouldn't be in any conversation. Then they start talking about adoption. Now I'm really confused, because last I heard, all of my cousins were, in fact, my cousins by blood. It got even wierder, because I realized that Dad is the one who suggested adoption. Without hearing anything more than I was.

I'm really worried now. My mom usually fills me in on all the Jerry Springer in our family, and this sounds like a ringer, but it's coming out of left field. I start butting in. "Who's being adopted?", "What's going on?" "Am I your real son?"

Dad looks at me, and replies. "It's Farmville."

What. The. Heck. I rack my brain. I've seen a fleeting reference to an application on Facebook called Farmville. I can't believe it. They're talking about Facebook. In a way that I don't understand. Dad, who only got on Facebook 2 weeks ago, and is still only capable of typing with his index fingers, (at an impressive rate though,) is more fluent in Facebook than I am. I'm ashamed to call myself part of Generation Y. I feel like the parent. I need to retire. I can't handle more changes like this...