I wanted to take a moment and state my views and thoughts regarding the results of the 2008 election. These thoughts reflect some of my personal ideology, which I have not fully elaborated on in this blog, but I feel the need to make this public now rather than wait, as knowing myself, I may not have the courage to say them later.
The election was yesterday and Barack Obama is the President-elect. I voted for him, but today I found myself depressed. Someone asked me who I thought would win this election a couple of months ago, and I remember my response clearly because I thought it odd the oracular nature of it. I said: "The wrong person will win for the wrong reason."
I didn't like either major party candidate for the Presidency. Neither really appealed to me because both seemed focused on maintaining the system we currently live under. And by maintaining it, I mean they talked of fixing it to get it going again. In my opinion, I think our system does not project well into the future because it is linear and self-destructive, and that it will eventually devour itself unless fundamental changes are made in how we view our world. Neither candidate focused on this fact.
The primary issue for me, in deciding between the two candidates, was how I perceived each candidates' roles in furthering the massive social injustices propagated by the Bush Presidency. I don't know if Barack Obama or John McCain would be able to rise above the simple and terrible path that is the abuse of the Presidential office, however, there are people behind both candidates that will fill major roles within this government that I can guess about. In my opinion, the Republican party is used to a certain course of action, and even if John McCain may have been able to limit his abuses, I don't believe the people working under him would be able to stop themselves from acting, carte blanche, in a way I would approve. I have no idea if a Democratic government will be able to act better, but at least there is a slim chance that they may behave, and that is something I couldn't grant the Republicans. That is the reason I voted for Barack Obama.
However, that is not the reason I believe many Americans voted for him. I watched and read polling information that stated a vast majority of Americans who did vote for Barack, voted with the economy as their deciding factor. We've had a recent downturn in a lot of economic areas, in particular the stock and housing markets, and this forced people into questioning who they wanted to be their President. The stock market has been flailing for a short time. The housing market has been poor for longer. There maybe other reasons people think the economy is going bad, but I think most of them are fairly selfish reasons (not that this is necessarily a bad thing, self-preservation it a fundamental drive in life), but I'll be honest, it pisses me off. How fickle are the American people that one-year of troubled times affects them so? If things got really bad, how would they respond?
If people were really concerned about the economy, they would stop being irresponsible with the energy they put into it. To make an analogy, imagine a net stretched across a canyon, and people are living on it and have no choice in whether they can leave it. The only thing saving them from a fall is the net, but there is some perceived value in damaging the net. So the people cut parts out of it, they rip holes, and they complain when people fall through because the net wasn't there to protect them. They simply fail to see that their own greed will be their downfall - literally in this analogy - and if they don't learn to properly respect the net, the whole thing will violently fall apart, destroying everyone.
I would call this net our economy, our social institutions, our way of life, and our planet. Sure there may be some perceived value in debt, imbalanced opportunity, entertainment, and squandering natural resources, but I believe these acts are like cutting the net. Maybe one act on its own doesn't hurt, but the accumulation of years of cutting will eventually destroy the system we live on.
The problems of debt should be obvious, but there is a lot more to it that I will get into at another time.
Imbalanced opportunity hurts everyone because for every person that succeeds, there is another person who will require support. That leads to a question of how this support is handled and I would present the most two obvious solutions I can think of: a callous response or a caring response. The callous response says that individuals must pick themselves up and keep trying, and for maybe one in a hundred, or one in a thousand, or one in a million this will work, but for the rest this will fail. And in failing will create an even bigger burden for those who succeed, or even a more callous response. For a caring response, it is far more likely that there are more people needing support than those who don't, some people will abuse the system, and the overall cost would be even greater than if everyone had the same opportunities. However, continual support could eventually lead to a point where the growth will outweigh the costs, and freedom is truly achieved.
Entertainment is the bane of our society. It blinds us to the reality of the world we live in, disguising disgusting practices in ignorance. The education system is falling apart as more and more Americans obediently follow a path that is completely obscured to them, and these facts lead to the perceived value in self-destruction. The damage may already be too great to recover from because once people stop caring, it may be impossible to get them going again. The entertainment industry encourages and reinforces this mock-slavery of ignorance, and uncontrolled support of it could be just as damaging as anything we do to our planet.
Which brings us to Earth; the place all humans call home. A place we pollute, poison, abuse, and mindlessly sacrifice in the name of profit and perpetual "growth". Our economy is driven by how much damage we do, and the worse we are, the more profitable it is. The economy may be in a bad shape, but if the economy is "fixed" in a way to reinforce current standards, the planet will be in a much worse position than it is today.
The biggest net we have is this planet, and it must be the one we protect the most fervently. What is the straw that broke the camels back? The last one, obviously, but it wouldn't have if there weren't thousands of precursors. Similarly, what is the act that will destroy the planet? The last one, obviously, but it won't happen if there aren't thousands of precursors.
Perhaps Barack Obama will be a restrained and just President, but something tells me he won't take the hard step and truly save our country from its own self-inflicted demise. But then again, neither candidate promised that. Yes, I am happy Obama won, but because it could be a step away from the fascist patterns embodied in the Bush Presidency. These patterns have been preluded by at least a century of American Presidents, both Republican and Democrat, and I will need to see something dramatically different before I believe Obama will change the path we are on.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
What ever happened in Washington?
Another delay in posting... This time the delay was due to the new picture in the title. I've been obsessing with creating that picture over the last couple of days. It is still a work in progress, but some of the things I want to do are going to take some time.
As for Washington, I stopped in the city of Spokane to look around. I went to the local mall and drove around the campus.
I noticed a number of political signs for some Republican politician telling the locals to "Not let Seattle steal this election." I assume he meant that the voters should vote for him instead of some Seattle democrat, but it just seemed like a lot of bullshit to me. We hear that kind of stuff here too; it is small-minded Republicans playing on the insecurities of small town people. I find that kind of campaigning repulsive.
I also noticed the same posters missing that statement further west, in the more central part of the state. There are more things I'd like to say about him, but I guess I'll hold off on that as I don't know the full story.
I passed over the Columbia River, and it was a truly incredible sight. Some of the large lakes in Wyoming are smaller than it is wide. And it goes for miles. I got to see more of it on my return trip, and I was impressed with the number of dams I saw. That made it a little less impressive, to me, because that made the river seem like a long extended reservoir. Knowing that all the water is simply being stored isn't as cool as would be if all that water was flowing freely to the ocean.
I stayed in Yakima, Washington, with a friend and the next day we traveled to see Mt. Rainier. It was a short hour or so jaunt into the mountains just to see it, but I was glad I did. I even managed to forget to take my camera, so alas, I have no pictures. Here is the wikipedia page on Mt. Rainier: Mt. Rainier. The last picture on that page was a place we drove by, so there is at least some view of what I saw.
After Mt. Rainier and a lunch, I continued on to Oregon, to the city of Portland...
As for Washington, I stopped in the city of Spokane to look around. I went to the local mall and drove around the campus.
I noticed a number of political signs for some Republican politician telling the locals to "Not let Seattle steal this election." I assume he meant that the voters should vote for him instead of some Seattle democrat, but it just seemed like a lot of bullshit to me. We hear that kind of stuff here too; it is small-minded Republicans playing on the insecurities of small town people. I find that kind of campaigning repulsive.
I also noticed the same posters missing that statement further west, in the more central part of the state. There are more things I'd like to say about him, but I guess I'll hold off on that as I don't know the full story.
I passed over the Columbia River, and it was a truly incredible sight. Some of the large lakes in Wyoming are smaller than it is wide. And it goes for miles. I got to see more of it on my return trip, and I was impressed with the number of dams I saw. That made it a little less impressive, to me, because that made the river seem like a long extended reservoir. Knowing that all the water is simply being stored isn't as cool as would be if all that water was flowing freely to the ocean.
I stayed in Yakima, Washington, with a friend and the next day we traveled to see Mt. Rainier. It was a short hour or so jaunt into the mountains just to see it, but I was glad I did. I even managed to forget to take my camera, so alas, I have no pictures. Here is the wikipedia page on Mt. Rainier: Mt. Rainier. The last picture on that page was a place we drove by, so there is at least some view of what I saw.
After Mt. Rainier and a lunch, I continued on to Oregon, to the city of Portland...
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Northern Idaho Along the I-90 Corridor
As I mentioned in my post on my Fit First Impressions, I didn't really get to see much of Northern Idaho as it was night time and rainy. The mountains were fun to drive though.
Here is a small video of a car dealership in Kellogg that I drove past. It was a refreshing change to the monotony that modern life seems to always be offering (and the highway I was on).
I stayed in Coeur d'Alene that night, and I slept hard after a long day driving. The next day I made a quick stop at Lake Coeur d'Alene and was very impressed. It looked far too cold at the moment for a swim, but I imagine it is absolutely gorgeous in the summer. It looked like an excellent place to take a small company and their families for a corporate vacation. Maybe someday I'll get to do that, who knows? Unfortunately, the pictures I have were mostly for another panoramic picture, but Autostitch didn't like the ones I took, and they look pretty lame as individual pictures, so I am not going to post them. Here one that is alright on its own, taken from a pier:
It is a resort hotel that resides on the water front. It looked pretty posh.
On to Washington I went...
(Note: I think that is all I've got for the night. I'll try to wrap up the trip details over the next couple of days; there are more things I want to tell.)
Here is a small video of a car dealership in Kellogg that I drove past. It was a refreshing change to the monotony that modern life seems to always be offering (and the highway I was on).
I stayed in Coeur d'Alene that night, and I slept hard after a long day driving. The next day I made a quick stop at Lake Coeur d'Alene and was very impressed. It looked far too cold at the moment for a swim, but I imagine it is absolutely gorgeous in the summer. It looked like an excellent place to take a small company and their families for a corporate vacation. Maybe someday I'll get to do that, who knows? Unfortunately, the pictures I have were mostly for another panoramic picture, but Autostitch didn't like the ones I took, and they look pretty lame as individual pictures, so I am not going to post them. Here one that is alright on its own, taken from a pier:
It is a resort hotel that resides on the water front. It looked pretty posh.On to Washington I went...
(Note: I think that is all I've got for the night. I'll try to wrap up the trip details over the next couple of days; there are more things I want to tell.)
Billings and Butte, Montana
The drive to Billings was fairly unremarkable, with brief pit stops in Sheridan, Wyoming, and the closed museum detailing the story of Custer's Last Stand.
Something I learned about Montana that I had not know before is that there are lots of casinos. What goes on in these casinos, I don't know, but I would guess that they are mostly slot and video poker machines, based on the one I went into. I blew $2 when I was in Billings, which seemed worth it while I drank a beer. That was the extent of my gambling adventures on this trip.
I was really impressed with Billings; the city appears to have grown well. The buildings in down town seem appropriate: they are big, but not too big. They are new, but not too new. They are well spaced, and it all appears very controlled and well organized. The university is nearby, and the residential areas are spread out, but don't have the modern urban sprawl feel that is so common today. It was refreshing. (The sprawl was there, but it at least didn't dominate the city like it has in Colorado.) Here is a panoramic picture of Billings from one of the buttes surrounding the city. I made it using the AutoStitch tool.
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I stopped briefly in Bozeman, to see the university, but I didn't stay long before getting back on the road. The drive to Butte was windy, but I got this nice picture out of my window:
The city of Butte was a strange one, especially in contrast to Billings. The downtown area is built on the side of a mountain, and since it boomed in the early part of this century (before the depression, I would guess), the buildings are: 1) huge, and 2) old-looking. It seemed out-of-place to me. There are all these large buildings, and it looked like there was barely anyone around. This could have been because it was a Sunday afternoon / evening, but it left me with a strange impression, and I left town sans pictures.
I didn't really stop anywhere else in Montana, I just passed on through the rest on my way to Idaho...
Something I learned about Montana that I had not know before is that there are lots of casinos. What goes on in these casinos, I don't know, but I would guess that they are mostly slot and video poker machines, based on the one I went into. I blew $2 when I was in Billings, which seemed worth it while I drank a beer. That was the extent of my gambling adventures on this trip.
I was really impressed with Billings; the city appears to have grown well. The buildings in down town seem appropriate: they are big, but not too big. They are new, but not too new. They are well spaced, and it all appears very controlled and well organized. The university is nearby, and the residential areas are spread out, but don't have the modern urban sprawl feel that is so common today. It was refreshing. (The sprawl was there, but it at least didn't dominate the city like it has in Colorado.) Here is a panoramic picture of Billings from one of the buttes surrounding the city. I made it using the AutoStitch tool.
.jpg)
I stopped briefly in Bozeman, to see the university, but I didn't stay long before getting back on the road. The drive to Butte was windy, but I got this nice picture out of my window:
The city of Butte was a strange one, especially in contrast to Billings. The downtown area is built on the side of a mountain, and since it boomed in the early part of this century (before the depression, I would guess), the buildings are: 1) huge, and 2) old-looking. It seemed out-of-place to me. There are all these large buildings, and it looked like there was barely anyone around. This could have been because it was a Sunday afternoon / evening, but it left me with a strange impression, and I left town sans pictures. I didn't really stop anywhere else in Montana, I just passed on through the rest on my way to Idaho...
Trip to Portland Summary
I am going to try to write up individual posts for important segments of my trip, some may be longer than others, but I can feel that my energy is beginning to wane, so we'll see how far this goes. Plus, I am hoping to get a phone call tonight, so that may interrupt this process as well. However, I wanted to give a brief overview of the trip to shed some light on where and when things happened.
Starting on Saturday, September 20th, I began my trip to Portland, Oregon. I headed to Billings, Montana, where I stayed for the first night. On day two, I headed west, stopping in Butte, Montana, for lunch / dinner before ending the night in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Day three had a visit to Spokane, Washington, and ended in Yakima, Washington. Day four started with a trip to see Mt. Rainier, and then continued on to Portland, Oregon. In Portland, I stayed at the McMenamin's Edgefield, and visited Mt. Hood Community College and the Chinese Shao-Lin Center in Portland. On day five I drove across most of Oregon and Idaho, staying in Pocatello, Idaho. Day six was a visit to Jackson, Wyoming, and the return trip to Cheyenne.
I created this picture based on an interstate map, found on the wikicommons, approximately detailing my trip.
Starting on Saturday, September 20th, I began my trip to Portland, Oregon. I headed to Billings, Montana, where I stayed for the first night. On day two, I headed west, stopping in Butte, Montana, for lunch / dinner before ending the night in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Day three had a visit to Spokane, Washington, and ended in Yakima, Washington. Day four started with a trip to see Mt. Rainier, and then continued on to Portland, Oregon. In Portland, I stayed at the McMenamin's Edgefield, and visited Mt. Hood Community College and the Chinese Shao-Lin Center in Portland. On day five I drove across most of Oregon and Idaho, staying in Pocatello, Idaho. Day six was a visit to Jackson, Wyoming, and the return trip to Cheyenne.
I created this picture based on an interstate map, found on the wikicommons, approximately detailing my trip.
Fit First Impressions
As I mentioned in a prior post, I just got back from a week-long trip out and back from Portland, Oregon. I drove my new Fit, covering odometer miles from roughly 215 to 3155. As I spent so much time in my new car, I got a number of good first impressions that I'd like to share.
The driving capabilities of the car are excellent. One of the neat features that comes with an automatic Sport edition is the paddle-shifters positioned on the driver's wheel. As an automatic, there isn't much need to shift, but there are definitely times when a quick shift down is much easier than pushing harder on the gas. For example, mountain driving.
On day two of my trip, I was passing through the mountains in western Montana and eastern Idaho; it was night time and raining. I got into a good groove driving, and at one point looked down and noticed that I was driving almost 90 miles per hour. Realizing how unsafe this situation could be, I decided to reel myself in and drive at a lower speed. However, I did want to comment that the car handled superbly.
I found the ipod connection nifty, and useful in keeping me entertained on the road. I was glad to have it. The only problem I encountered was when the ipod went on the fritz for a day or two when I was in Portland, which was alright because I probably wouldn't have used it there anyway. The ipod was in some sort of locked up state, and I guessed that connecting it to a computer might have solved the problem. Since I did not have a computer to hook it up to, I decided to let the battery drain itself dead in hopes that that would give me the hard reset I thought it needed. Two days later, the ipod started working, just in time for my return trip.
To the right is a picture of what the Honda manuals call the "Fuel Efficiency Gauge", however I have decided that I will call it the "Mpgometer". This 'o-meter' is pronounced in one of two ways: em-pee-gee-o-meter (distinctly sounding each syllable), or empagometer (with a quick run through each syllable). My personal disdain for the widespread use of the acronym "MPG" and the cultural meanings behind it, means I use the second far more commonly, but the first is fun if I am in a nerdy mood. This neat little gauge is always present on the dash board, and good at telling me that I am being fuel efficient when braking and going down hill, and fuel inefficient when I am accelerating and driving up hill.
As part of this feature, the car automatically calculates fuel efficiency based on miles traveled and fuel used (I would guess). However, I got the impression that the car was not as fuel efficient as it was purporting to be. I didn't know exactly what it was at first, but I had taken one final trip with my Civic around the state of Wyoming at the end of August, and it appeared, to my memory, that I had gotten better gas mileage on that trip than I was getting on this one. After some investigation, this was probably true, but more because of the nature of the driving I was doing. That trip was on small state highways with fair conditions driven at an average slower speed, while this trip was mostly on faster Interstate highways, with occasional bad conditions.
To add to that, I tracked the mileage and fuel fairly accurately for the entire trip and compared the car's reported miles per gallon to a calculated miles per gallon. The results showed a large degree in variability in the car's reported fuel efficiency in comparison to the calculated fuel efficiency. Below are some of the details of where I got gas, the mileage, and the amount refueled at each stop.
There may be some inaccuracy as a result of "topping off the gas tank" not accounting for all fuel used in the previous trip, but I doubt the net error from this is large enough to account for the discrepancies.
There are some interesting things I learned from this calculation. Notice that the calculated MPG is generally lower than the car's calculated MPG. This fits the impression I got early on in my trip: I wasn't getting as good of a gas mileage as the car said I was. On top of that, this mileage wasn't even as good as what I had got with my '98 Civic. But also notice the milage at Rawlins, WY. This was on the last part of my drive on slower state highways, with fair conditions; which is similar to what my prior trip had been. This is the one case where calculated MPG was higher than the car's calculated MPG, and it was even better than the Civic.
According to EPA estimates, the Honda Fit Sport automatic gets 27 miles per gallon in the city and 33 miles per gallon on the highway. While the car's automatic fuel efficiency calculation may be a little wonky, the car's actual fuel efficiency fell well within expected norms. So I can't complain too much, I just have to take the car's fuel efficiency calculation with a grain of salt.
I have two more quick impressions I'd like to give to wrap this up. The car seems to be a bug executioner, as I had bug guts completely covering the front end of my car by the end of the journey (though most got there in Montana). I noticed a number of times pulling in for gas that my car would be the only one profusely covered in striking splatter patterns.
Finally, I haven't quite figured out the most comfortable way to sit for long drives. The two places for my left arm rest are a little too high and a little too low for optimal driving. There is an arm rest for the right arm, which is nice, but it tends to favor a relaxed, one-hand driving style with the left hand at 4:30 on the wheel. The shape of the steering wheel is different than in my Civic, and I found both of my wrists were tired by the end of the journey. I was playing around with the seat position towards the end of the trip, and it helped a bit. I guess I'll just have to see how I adjust - I drove the Civic for ten years, it wouldn't be surprising if it took some time.
The driving capabilities of the car are excellent. One of the neat features that comes with an automatic Sport edition is the paddle-shifters positioned on the driver's wheel. As an automatic, there isn't much need to shift, but there are definitely times when a quick shift down is much easier than pushing harder on the gas. For example, mountain driving.
On day two of my trip, I was passing through the mountains in western Montana and eastern Idaho; it was night time and raining. I got into a good groove driving, and at one point looked down and noticed that I was driving almost 90 miles per hour. Realizing how unsafe this situation could be, I decided to reel myself in and drive at a lower speed. However, I did want to comment that the car handled superbly.
I found the ipod connection nifty, and useful in keeping me entertained on the road. I was glad to have it. The only problem I encountered was when the ipod went on the fritz for a day or two when I was in Portland, which was alright because I probably wouldn't have used it there anyway. The ipod was in some sort of locked up state, and I guessed that connecting it to a computer might have solved the problem. Since I did not have a computer to hook it up to, I decided to let the battery drain itself dead in hopes that that would give me the hard reset I thought it needed. Two days later, the ipod started working, just in time for my return trip.
To the right is a picture of what the Honda manuals call the "Fuel Efficiency Gauge", however I have decided that I will call it the "Mpgometer". This 'o-meter' is pronounced in one of two ways: em-pee-gee-o-meter (distinctly sounding each syllable), or empagometer (with a quick run through each syllable). My personal disdain for the widespread use of the acronym "MPG" and the cultural meanings behind it, means I use the second far more commonly, but the first is fun if I am in a nerdy mood. This neat little gauge is always present on the dash board, and good at telling me that I am being fuel efficient when braking and going down hill, and fuel inefficient when I am accelerating and driving up hill. As part of this feature, the car automatically calculates fuel efficiency based on miles traveled and fuel used (I would guess). However, I got the impression that the car was not as fuel efficient as it was purporting to be. I didn't know exactly what it was at first, but I had taken one final trip with my Civic around the state of Wyoming at the end of August, and it appeared, to my memory, that I had gotten better gas mileage on that trip than I was getting on this one. After some investigation, this was probably true, but more because of the nature of the driving I was doing. That trip was on small state highways with fair conditions driven at an average slower speed, while this trip was mostly on faster Interstate highways, with occasional bad conditions.
To add to that, I tracked the mileage and fuel fairly accurately for the entire trip and compared the car's reported miles per gallon to a calculated miles per gallon. The results showed a large degree in variability in the car's reported fuel efficiency in comparison to the calculated fuel efficiency. Below are some of the details of where I got gas, the mileage, and the amount refueled at each stop.
| Location | Miles Traveled | Gallons of Fuel | Car Calculated MPG | Calculated MPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheyenne, WY | 0 | 0 | - | - |
| Sheridan, WY | 316.3 | 8.943 | 37.5 | 35.37 |
| Billings, MT | 140.4 | 5.120 | 36.0 | 27.42 |
| Butte, MT | 278.1 | 8.663 | 32.5 | 32.10 |
| Coeur d'Alend, ID | 287.7 | 9.144 | 36.1 | 31.46 |
| Yakima, WA | 261.2 | 9.037 | 31.8 | 28.90 |
| Sandy, OR | 294.7 | 8.699 | 38.5 | 33.88 |
| Pendelton, OR | 315.7 | 9.461 | 38.9 | 33.37 |
| Wendell, ID | 325.9 | 9.270 | 37.5 | 35.16 |
| Pocatello, ID | 139.6 | 5.069 | 33.7 | 27.54 |
| Jackson, WY | 136.5 | 4.390 | 39.4 | 31.09 |
| Rawlins, WY | 282.1 | 7.032 | 39.6 | 40.12 |
There may be some inaccuracy as a result of "topping off the gas tank" not accounting for all fuel used in the previous trip, but I doubt the net error from this is large enough to account for the discrepancies.
There are some interesting things I learned from this calculation. Notice that the calculated MPG is generally lower than the car's calculated MPG. This fits the impression I got early on in my trip: I wasn't getting as good of a gas mileage as the car said I was. On top of that, this mileage wasn't even as good as what I had got with my '98 Civic. But also notice the milage at Rawlins, WY. This was on the last part of my drive on slower state highways, with fair conditions; which is similar to what my prior trip had been. This is the one case where calculated MPG was higher than the car's calculated MPG, and it was even better than the Civic.
According to EPA estimates, the Honda Fit Sport automatic gets 27 miles per gallon in the city and 33 miles per gallon on the highway. While the car's automatic fuel efficiency calculation may be a little wonky, the car's actual fuel efficiency fell well within expected norms. So I can't complain too much, I just have to take the car's fuel efficiency calculation with a grain of salt.
I have two more quick impressions I'd like to give to wrap this up. The car seems to be a bug executioner, as I had bug guts completely covering the front end of my car by the end of the journey (though most got there in Montana). I noticed a number of times pulling in for gas that my car would be the only one profusely covered in striking splatter patterns.
Finally, I haven't quite figured out the most comfortable way to sit for long drives. The two places for my left arm rest are a little too high and a little too low for optimal driving. There is an arm rest for the right arm, which is nice, but it tends to favor a relaxed, one-hand driving style with the left hand at 4:30 on the wheel. The shape of the steering wheel is different than in my Civic, and I found both of my wrists were tired by the end of the journey. I was playing around with the seat position towards the end of the trip, and it helped a bit. I guess I'll just have to see how I adjust - I drove the Civic for ten years, it wouldn't be surprising if it took some time.
My Brand New 2009 Honda Fit Sport
"We only have one future, and it will be made of our dreams." -- Soichiro Honda
This post is a couple weeks in coming, but I was slow in getting the pictures. Now that I have them, here is the full story:
When I was getting ready to head off to college for the first time, my parents generously bought me a Silver 1998 Honda Civic. I loved that car greatly. There were many experiences I had in the car that will live with me for the rest of my life.
My best friend and roommate in college, Joe, also had Silver 1998 Honda Civic, but his was a grade higher. We used to have the best times driving in tandem. One particularly fond memory is of the two of us e-brake turning, sequentially, to park in front of our apartment. Good times...
At some point, either near the end of my time in college, or in the following years, Joe told me about the Honda Fit coming to America. It had been the Honda low-end Civic replacement that had been in circulation in (at least) Japan for the last couple of years. Ever since then, I've had my eye on them.
I debated between the Fit and a Honda Hybrid for a number of years as the eventual replacement for my Civic; but eventually I decided the Fit was a better fit for me - for a number of reasons. Towards the end of August, I decided it was time to act, so I began an adventure through Cheyenne and Northern Colorado to find one. Unfortunately, I happened to decide at precisely the moment that no 2008 Fits could be found, and the 2009's were still a couple of weeks away. So I waited...
Fast forward a little bit to September 6th, 2008: I had not heard back from the dealers in Colorado, so after a little investigating, I found out that the '09's were not yet in stock and that the only one available soon would be a base model. Which would have been fine, but I was looking for the Sport model, primarily for the Cruise Control feature.
On a whim, I decided to try the local Honda dealer, Tyrrell-Doyle (note: I had a bad experience with this dealer in the past, and was not particularly looking to do business with them), and to my surprise, not only did Tyrrell-Doyle have a 2009 Honda Fit Sport, they had three. I came to the dealer immediately, to test drive one, to see if it was everything I had imagined.
I was in love at first sight, and everything I saw seemed to be screaming that this was my car. For instance, an inspection of the engine revealed a praying mantis hiding under the hood. To be very clear what this meant to me, I have been very interested in praying mantises for a number of years, but I had not seen one in the wild since perhaps my childhood, if ever. They are very rare here because the climate does not favor them, however, for some reason, there was one in my car. The number of symbols is astounding.
After a test drive, I decided to purchase the car, and after some negotiating, worked the price to $18,181. I like the number for its palindromic appeal, however I later realized that the perfect price was $18,081. The reason for this is that there are a vast number of nines involved with this car. For example, the car lot number assigned to this vehicle by the dealer was "90009". It is a 2009 vehicle, and I bought it in September, the ninth month. 18081 / 9 = 2009. Alas, I realized this perfection too late; I guess I will have to try harder for a numerically perfect car the next time I buy one. Still, I got pretty close...
This post is a couple weeks in coming, but I was slow in getting the pictures. Now that I have them, here is the full story:
When I was getting ready to head off to college for the first time, my parents generously bought me a Silver 1998 Honda Civic. I loved that car greatly. There were many experiences I had in the car that will live with me for the rest of my life.
My best friend and roommate in college, Joe, also had Silver 1998 Honda Civic, but his was a grade higher. We used to have the best times driving in tandem. One particularly fond memory is of the two of us e-brake turning, sequentially, to park in front of our apartment. Good times...
At some point, either near the end of my time in college, or in the following years, Joe told me about the Honda Fit coming to America. It had been the Honda low-end Civic replacement that had been in circulation in (at least) Japan for the last couple of years. Ever since then, I've had my eye on them.
I debated between the Fit and a Honda Hybrid for a number of years as the eventual replacement for my Civic; but eventually I decided the Fit was a better fit for me - for a number of reasons. Towards the end of August, I decided it was time to act, so I began an adventure through Cheyenne and Northern Colorado to find one. Unfortunately, I happened to decide at precisely the moment that no 2008 Fits could be found, and the 2009's were still a couple of weeks away. So I waited...
Fast forward a little bit to September 6th, 2008: I had not heard back from the dealers in Colorado, so after a little investigating, I found out that the '09's were not yet in stock and that the only one available soon would be a base model. Which would have been fine, but I was looking for the Sport model, primarily for the Cruise Control feature.
On a whim, I decided to try the local Honda dealer, Tyrrell-Doyle (note: I had a bad experience with this dealer in the past, and was not particularly looking to do business with them), and to my surprise, not only did Tyrrell-Doyle have a 2009 Honda Fit Sport, they had three. I came to the dealer immediately, to test drive one, to see if it was everything I had imagined.
I was in love at first sight, and everything I saw seemed to be screaming that this was my car. For instance, an inspection of the engine revealed a praying mantis hiding under the hood. To be very clear what this meant to me, I have been very interested in praying mantises for a number of years, but I had not seen one in the wild since perhaps my childhood, if ever. They are very rare here because the climate does not favor them, however, for some reason, there was one in my car. The number of symbols is astounding.
After a test drive, I decided to purchase the car, and after some negotiating, worked the price to $18,181. I like the number for its palindromic appeal, however I later realized that the perfect price was $18,081. The reason for this is that there are a vast number of nines involved with this car. For example, the car lot number assigned to this vehicle by the dealer was "90009". It is a 2009 vehicle, and I bought it in September, the ninth month. 18081 / 9 = 2009. Alas, I realized this perfection too late; I guess I will have to try harder for a numerically perfect car the next time I buy one. Still, I got pretty close...
Saturday, September 27, 2008
I'm back
Sorry for the lack of new posts recently. I went through a small period where I wasn't really sure how to say what was on my mind, and on top of that, I was preparing for the trip I just took.
I just got back after driving through most of the night (it is now 4:04 AM) so once I post this, I am going to promptly go sleep most of the day away. However, tomorrow I am going to clean up my car, take some pictures, and begin creating entries of my experiences on the trip. There were a lot: from the people and places I saw, to the supernatural, and the beginnings of where I go from here. I hope you enjoy!
I just got back after driving through most of the night (it is now 4:04 AM) so once I post this, I am going to promptly go sleep most of the day away. However, tomorrow I am going to clean up my car, take some pictures, and begin creating entries of my experiences on the trip. There were a lot: from the people and places I saw, to the supernatural, and the beginnings of where I go from here. I hope you enjoy!
Friday, September 12, 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
What are my qualifications?
I mentioned some of this in the post titled "Who Am I?", but I feel the need to expand on that.
I earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics in 2002 from the University of Wyoming. There was no specific focus in Math, it was just a general Math degree.
In 2004, I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Wyoming, but the majority of my classwork was completed in the years 1998 - 2002. Technically I had a philosophical focus in Mathematics, but realistically it was primarily in the Philosophy of Science.
Lately though, my primary focus has been in the area of Metaphysics and Epistemology, i.e., trying to explain the notion of existence prior to experience. Part of the reason this blog exists came out of this search.
I have been employed in the health insurance industry for the last five years. I would say that I've lived a "normal" American life in this period, if you call having a job, buying a house, and getting both married and divorced normal, however I doubt my experience has been anything like what most people would call normal.
And as an afterthought for a more full disclosure: I had a 4.0 grade point average in high school, (people said, "YOU got a 4.0 GPA?") and I didn't miss a single day of junior high school.
I earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics in 2002 from the University of Wyoming. There was no specific focus in Math, it was just a general Math degree.
In 2004, I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Wyoming, but the majority of my classwork was completed in the years 1998 - 2002. Technically I had a philosophical focus in Mathematics, but realistically it was primarily in the Philosophy of Science.
Lately though, my primary focus has been in the area of Metaphysics and Epistemology, i.e., trying to explain the notion of existence prior to experience. Part of the reason this blog exists came out of this search.
I have been employed in the health insurance industry for the last five years. I would say that I've lived a "normal" American life in this period, if you call having a job, buying a house, and getting both married and divorced normal, however I doubt my experience has been anything like what most people would call normal.
And as an afterthought for a more full disclosure: I had a 4.0 grade point average in high school, (people said, "YOU got a 4.0 GPA?") and I didn't miss a single day of junior high school.
What religion am I?
If you forced me into saying a specific category, I'd say none, but if you allowed me a little more freedom, I could give a better answer. That answer would be that I believe more or less in the overall Buddhist structure, with a Taoist zeal for balance and tendency towards chaos. Throw in some Pre-Socratic and Socratic ideologies and its pretty close, but I wouldn't call it a religion, it is more just what I think than anything.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Who am I?
My name is Clayton Osterman, and I currently live in Cheyenne, Wyoming. I have decided to change my life, and am currently beginning the process of leaving my currently employment and returning to school.
What school you ask? That's a good question, I don't know for sure, but I have a couple in mind.
What kind of school? Business, definitely. Although I am unsure as to what level I want to go to. An MBA program would be an obvious choice, but it isn't the most appealing to me for a number of reasons: price (in both time and money), timing, and overexposure being the major three. The local community college here has exactly the type of program I am looking for: a quick and dirty introduction to entrepreneurship.
I like it for a number of reasons, but primarily because it is exposure to the necessary components I will need to run a business, but isn't so focused that it also conforms me into a specific role. I'm an intelligent guy, and I have two bachelors degrees in Mathematics and Philosophy from the University of Wyoming. While it may not be the best institution on the planet, it is still pretty good.
I happen to believe that an institution isn't really the source of value, but an institution can be a conduit for value already present. For example, for all the teaching that takes place in this world, it helps to have good teachers, but it is always the student who must learn: without the student, there is no learning. I've had a lot of experiences my almost 29 years on this planet, and I've finally decided on a path, and that path starts with business.
If you like what you read, please leave comments. If you don't like what you read, please leave comments. Criticism is always welcome, but I reserve the right to not go in certain directions as I see fit. I have no idea how this will go, but I have to be aware of my boundaries, hence the disclaimer.
Thanks again for reading my blog, I hope you enjoy!
What school you ask? That's a good question, I don't know for sure, but I have a couple in mind.
What kind of school? Business, definitely. Although I am unsure as to what level I want to go to. An MBA program would be an obvious choice, but it isn't the most appealing to me for a number of reasons: price (in both time and money), timing, and overexposure being the major three. The local community college here has exactly the type of program I am looking for: a quick and dirty introduction to entrepreneurship.
I like it for a number of reasons, but primarily because it is exposure to the necessary components I will need to run a business, but isn't so focused that it also conforms me into a specific role. I'm an intelligent guy, and I have two bachelors degrees in Mathematics and Philosophy from the University of Wyoming. While it may not be the best institution on the planet, it is still pretty good.
I happen to believe that an institution isn't really the source of value, but an institution can be a conduit for value already present. For example, for all the teaching that takes place in this world, it helps to have good teachers, but it is always the student who must learn: without the student, there is no learning. I've had a lot of experiences my almost 29 years on this planet, and I've finally decided on a path, and that path starts with business.
If you like what you read, please leave comments. If you don't like what you read, please leave comments. Criticism is always welcome, but I reserve the right to not go in certain directions as I see fit. I have no idea how this will go, but I have to be aware of my boundaries, hence the disclaimer.
Thanks again for reading my blog, I hope you enjoy!
Focault and Chomsky
I'm not really sure what a blog is supposed to be, but I've read in the Blogger introduction that a blog is a good place to keep things, like where one is at. I just watched this, and I at least thought it was interesting, so, I'll blog it I guess. Gotta start somewhere I guess.
A good friend recommended this: Part 1 and Part 2 .
My first introduction to Chomsky was through a .mp3 of Chomsky's speech on Linguistics at the University of New Hampshire at Durham, published by Radio Free Maine. I'd acquired it from a friend who had acquired it from who knows where, but I didn't listen to it for probably 3 years or so after getting it. One day I listened to it, and I found he presented a very interesting picture of language.
I listened to it again over the course of the last couple of days, and something out of it came up in a conversation I had - with the same good friend who had suggested the links above. Particularly, Chomsky said (and I'm interpreting) that a dictionaries don't really contain actual knowledge, it only contains clues, i.e., this information is already in our heads; the dictionaries just have enough clues to help us figure out what we already know.
I got to thinking about that, and came to the realization that this is a very Socratic notion of language. To Socrates, there were the Forms, which people knew, but forgot at birth. The process of learning was not of experience, but remembering what was already known - which is exactly what I believe Chomsky is saying.
I've since listened to more of Chomsky, but that might be a conversation for a later time...
As for Focault, I don't know too much about him. The good friend who recommended the debate above, has mentioned him before. I've looked him up, but I haven't had a chance to read any of his work yet. I tried to find it at the local library, but the Philosophy section there almost made me cry, and I wasn't quite ready to purchase a book of his yet.
My first impressions weren't too favorable, though, but then again, they are just first impressions. He seemed a little caught up in the very thing Chomsky was talking about in the video. I believe Chomsky was talking about progress within the means of what we have, while Focault was talking about fixing what we have before progressing. I don't know if I'm right on that or not, the video was a little hard for me to follow.
Also, Focault's excitement at possibly catching Chomsky in a logic trap seemed a little petty to me.
By the way, it was in a conversation with that same friend that I decided to create a blog, so here it is, and here I blog.
Hope you enjoy!
A good friend recommended this: Part 1 and Part 2 .
My first introduction to Chomsky was through a .mp3 of Chomsky's speech on Linguistics at the University of New Hampshire at Durham, published by Radio Free Maine. I'd acquired it from a friend who had acquired it from who knows where, but I didn't listen to it for probably 3 years or so after getting it. One day I listened to it, and I found he presented a very interesting picture of language.
I listened to it again over the course of the last couple of days, and something out of it came up in a conversation I had - with the same good friend who had suggested the links above. Particularly, Chomsky said (and I'm interpreting) that a dictionaries don't really contain actual knowledge, it only contains clues, i.e., this information is already in our heads; the dictionaries just have enough clues to help us figure out what we already know.
I got to thinking about that, and came to the realization that this is a very Socratic notion of language. To Socrates, there were the Forms, which people knew, but forgot at birth. The process of learning was not of experience, but remembering what was already known - which is exactly what I believe Chomsky is saying.
I've since listened to more of Chomsky, but that might be a conversation for a later time...
As for Focault, I don't know too much about him. The good friend who recommended the debate above, has mentioned him before. I've looked him up, but I haven't had a chance to read any of his work yet. I tried to find it at the local library, but the Philosophy section there almost made me cry, and I wasn't quite ready to purchase a book of his yet.
My first impressions weren't too favorable, though, but then again, they are just first impressions. He seemed a little caught up in the very thing Chomsky was talking about in the video. I believe Chomsky was talking about progress within the means of what we have, while Focault was talking about fixing what we have before progressing. I don't know if I'm right on that or not, the video was a little hard for me to follow.
Also, Focault's excitement at possibly catching Chomsky in a logic trap seemed a little petty to me.
By the way, it was in a conversation with that same friend that I decided to create a blog, so here it is, and here I blog.
Hope you enjoy!
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