I do not pretend to understand the ins and outs of global politics. I've spent time in Palestine/Israel, however you refer to it. It's a volatile region. I've visited Egypt also. There are a lot of poor people there. The fact that demonstrations there are going on and have not degenerated into absolute carnage is impressive. There are a lot of people there that are entitled to be very angry.
Suffice it to say, important things are afoot. I understand the necessity of my government to show restraint. However, it's a little embarassing. As it should be? With diplomatic cables leaked, it's obvious that diplomacy is a little more like a soap opera than anything else. The Bush administration ran around cramming Western Style democracy down people's throats. I'm not sure invading countries to spread democracy is the right approach. I'm also not sure waiting to see if the protestors will be successful before we support them is the most prudent action either.
In the end it's weighing short-term stability against long term stability. Or maybe it's not. It's easy to use an ally with a terrible human rights record and throw them under the bus when it becomes convenient or necessary. The real difficulty is building a relationship with a country with different intersts and goals than yours, and having to stick it out, because they are not easilly dismissed because of inconvenient aspects of their national character.
I pray for stability in the region however. As easy as it is to cheer revolution; instability in the Middle East, or anywhere for that matter breeds violence. As the saying goes, You've gotta break a couple eggs . . . You can make omelets now with egg whites, from a carton. Oh that countries could evolve as fast as kitchens.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
On Smugness
My wife and I spend a lot of our idle time laughing at those around us. I feel bad about it sometimes. But usually, people are doing really dumb stuff, and deserve it. I'm not sure that we can do anything about it, or that we want to, but this is my confession of sorts.
I laugh a lot at the expense of people who don't appreciate luck. I tend to think that luck has about 75% influence on what happens to all of us. So people that muse about how much better off they'd be if they were left to their own devices, without some intrusive government, or family, or other entity holding them back absolutely crack me up. Seriously, I love things like roads and bridges, and unemployment insurance, and food stamps. When my luck runs out, I'll use 'em
I do things that are absolutely ridiculous, I know, sometimes I know when I'm doing them, but I cannot help myself. So, I will self deprecate, before I ridicule others.
I do the following:
Have a beard
Have a leather jacket that I do not use exclusively for riding my motorcycle
Have a motorcycle
I whistle musical scales
Don't eat meat, unless you're serving bacon wrapped bacon
Buy organic products that come in boxes
Listen to NPR
Once read a book about Oak. . . Yes the wood
Swear at my child, not near her, at her. . .and not always under my breath
Have a sailboat . . .made of plywood
Listen to Country music
Love Ace of Base
Think I'm hilarious when I'm drunk
Have a blog
Other people entertain me by doing the following:
Wearing white sunglasses (particularly straight dudes)
Listening to Indie Rock
Comparing baby milestones
Insisting that Gay people are somehow "other" than themselves
Insisting that the government does nothing that helps them
Insisting that the government is the one thing standing between them and utter success
Littering
Failing to recycle
Thinking they are hilarious when they are drunk
Not moving over while driving past cyclists
Not working
Spending more money than they have
Not knowing how much money that have
Scratching their balls. My balls itch too, I just have the decency not to scratch them in public.
Wearing skinny jeans inappropriately.
Wearing anything that reveals a muffin top.
Being condescending a-holes.
OK, so this has been cathartic, though I'm not sure I'd say useful, or valuable in any way. The other people list is longer. I guess that's an indication that I have farther to go before I reach enlightenment. Or maybe enlightenment is being able to say that someone is ridiculous and not feel bad about it. I'll get back to you.
I laugh a lot at the expense of people who don't appreciate luck. I tend to think that luck has about 75% influence on what happens to all of us. So people that muse about how much better off they'd be if they were left to their own devices, without some intrusive government, or family, or other entity holding them back absolutely crack me up. Seriously, I love things like roads and bridges, and unemployment insurance, and food stamps. When my luck runs out, I'll use 'em
I do things that are absolutely ridiculous, I know, sometimes I know when I'm doing them, but I cannot help myself. So, I will self deprecate, before I ridicule others.
I do the following:
Have a beard
Have a leather jacket that I do not use exclusively for riding my motorcycle
Have a motorcycle
I whistle musical scales
Don't eat meat, unless you're serving bacon wrapped bacon
Buy organic products that come in boxes
Listen to NPR
Once read a book about Oak. . . Yes the wood
Swear at my child, not near her, at her. . .and not always under my breath
Have a sailboat . . .made of plywood
Listen to Country music
Love Ace of Base
Think I'm hilarious when I'm drunk
Have a blog
Other people entertain me by doing the following:
Wearing white sunglasses (particularly straight dudes)
Listening to Indie Rock
Comparing baby milestones
Insisting that Gay people are somehow "other" than themselves
Insisting that the government does nothing that helps them
Insisting that the government is the one thing standing between them and utter success
Littering
Failing to recycle
Thinking they are hilarious when they are drunk
Not moving over while driving past cyclists
Not working
Spending more money than they have
Not knowing how much money that have
Scratching their balls. My balls itch too, I just have the decency not to scratch them in public.
Wearing skinny jeans inappropriately.
Wearing anything that reveals a muffin top.
Being condescending a-holes.
OK, so this has been cathartic, though I'm not sure I'd say useful, or valuable in any way. The other people list is longer. I guess that's an indication that I have farther to go before I reach enlightenment. Or maybe enlightenment is being able to say that someone is ridiculous and not feel bad about it. I'll get back to you.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Rockfish
The following post may be fictional, though it is written in the first person, say for dramatic effect. Also, no real or fictional characters' identities will be revealed. I'm still researching some legality issues.
I may or may not have gone fishing for striped bass this weekend, and this may or may not be what happened when I did or didn't go fishing.
We left late, it didn't seem necessary to push it. The ramps were crowded, the fish had been thick for about two weeks. Rock fish aren't the easiest fish to catch. Not like Tuna, for example, which are essentially a swimming mouth. But, the fish were so plentiful, everybody was catching them.
So, after an hour long steam out of Oregon Inlet North up the coast we arrived at an undisclosed location off of Kill Devil Hills. It was however, not a secret. We were sharing this stretch of water with no less than one hundred thirty small boats, and two commercial boats dragging trawls. It was, in a word, ridiculous.
In spite of what we will call "pressure on the stock," people were still hooking fish. We were not.
However, our attention was drawn to an area of activity, and as we focused our efforts there we notice some rock fish that appeared to be dead, floating on the surface. They were not dead--well not quite. They were dying, some bleeding from the gills, some with disfigured fins, some just looked stunned. We pulled a couple out of the water for a closer look. They were bycatch. They'd been discarded by one of the commercial boats in the area.
Now I don't mind fishing. It can be fun. However, I prefer catching, and what I really prefer is eating. As a sort-of-mostly-vegetarian, I love fish, and I eat a lot of it, because I cannot find any health or moral concerns in eating fish harvested with a hook and line. So, when I saw several semi-live fish that looked exactly like what we were expending quite a bit of effort and fuel to catch, I said to myself, "get that fish!". I had to play it cool however, my companions really enjoyed the art of angling, and the method mattered to them as much as the meat.
Upon inspection, we determined that the floaters were alive, and encounters with trawlers notwithstanding, healthy. As we pulled in and measured the second fish, we simultaneously hooked two fish. We lost one, and reeled in the other. It was right at the twenty eight inch limit, so we threw him back, not too much worse for wear, I might add.
After that, we didn't hook anymore fish for a while. And a trawler cruised right through the middle of the entire fleet. Just as he cleared the crowd, he pulled up his trawl, and proceeded to dump maybe one hundred dead or dying rock fish over his stern. And so my buddies and I were at a moral crossroads. Well, they were. I'd moved onto figuring out how I was going to cook the fish I was definitely not too proud to take second hand.
And so the fiasco began. We caught our limit, in a manner of speaking. Beautiful, powerful, majestic yummy fish, cast aside by stupid fisheries regulations. We proceeded to pick the largest fish we could find, filled our fish box, and enjoyed the rest of the day. We even hooked another fish, reeled it in, removed the hook, patted it on the ass and sent it home to get bigger for next year. That is of course unless it's murdered by some trawler.
The bottom line however, form the perspective of the hippie eater (me), or the conscientious anglers (my friends), is that this is more than sad. It is a shame. Certainly we are all part of the equation.
So, with brevity and nuance, I conclude. Commercial fishing is a way of life, fine. From the research I've read, sport fishing is not putting undue pressure on stocks. The problem is in the commercial method, and the regulations. Trawl nets are efficient alright. Efficiently destroying habitat and fish stocks. And for what, greasy bait fish for pet and livestock feed, and god knows what else food scientists can sneak it into.
Fishing, commercial or otherwise, may need to be done exclusively with hook and line, and I'm not talking about long line. Let the boat drag as many hooks as her crew sees fit to untangle from stern and outriggers. That would drive the cost of wild caught fish sky high. Fine. So be it. You want cheap fish, farm it. Get a fishing license. What about the animal feed. Cows do not naturally, and should not eat fish, or corn for that matter. They also shouldn't eat the ground up brains of other cattle, but that's a whole other issue. Cows eat grass. If that makes their meat unpalatable or expensive so be it. We've convinced ourselves that we are owed the luxury of cheap meat. The habit is not only killing us--heart disease--but destroying our environment.
I'm not so naive to think that I have all of the answers, and I'm not sure what the answer is. I do know though, that fisheries regulations that create a situation like the one I may or may not have participated in this past weekend, are bad regulations. Of that I am convinced.
I may or may not have gone fishing for striped bass this weekend, and this may or may not be what happened when I did or didn't go fishing.
We left late, it didn't seem necessary to push it. The ramps were crowded, the fish had been thick for about two weeks. Rock fish aren't the easiest fish to catch. Not like Tuna, for example, which are essentially a swimming mouth. But, the fish were so plentiful, everybody was catching them.
So, after an hour long steam out of Oregon Inlet North up the coast we arrived at an undisclosed location off of Kill Devil Hills. It was however, not a secret. We were sharing this stretch of water with no less than one hundred thirty small boats, and two commercial boats dragging trawls. It was, in a word, ridiculous.
In spite of what we will call "pressure on the stock," people were still hooking fish. We were not.
However, our attention was drawn to an area of activity, and as we focused our efforts there we notice some rock fish that appeared to be dead, floating on the surface. They were not dead--well not quite. They were dying, some bleeding from the gills, some with disfigured fins, some just looked stunned. We pulled a couple out of the water for a closer look. They were bycatch. They'd been discarded by one of the commercial boats in the area.
Now I don't mind fishing. It can be fun. However, I prefer catching, and what I really prefer is eating. As a sort-of-mostly-vegetarian, I love fish, and I eat a lot of it, because I cannot find any health or moral concerns in eating fish harvested with a hook and line. So, when I saw several semi-live fish that looked exactly like what we were expending quite a bit of effort and fuel to catch, I said to myself, "get that fish!". I had to play it cool however, my companions really enjoyed the art of angling, and the method mattered to them as much as the meat.
Upon inspection, we determined that the floaters were alive, and encounters with trawlers notwithstanding, healthy. As we pulled in and measured the second fish, we simultaneously hooked two fish. We lost one, and reeled in the other. It was right at the twenty eight inch limit, so we threw him back, not too much worse for wear, I might add.
After that, we didn't hook anymore fish for a while. And a trawler cruised right through the middle of the entire fleet. Just as he cleared the crowd, he pulled up his trawl, and proceeded to dump maybe one hundred dead or dying rock fish over his stern. And so my buddies and I were at a moral crossroads. Well, they were. I'd moved onto figuring out how I was going to cook the fish I was definitely not too proud to take second hand.
And so the fiasco began. We caught our limit, in a manner of speaking. Beautiful, powerful, majestic yummy fish, cast aside by stupid fisheries regulations. We proceeded to pick the largest fish we could find, filled our fish box, and enjoyed the rest of the day. We even hooked another fish, reeled it in, removed the hook, patted it on the ass and sent it home to get bigger for next year. That is of course unless it's murdered by some trawler.
The bottom line however, form the perspective of the hippie eater (me), or the conscientious anglers (my friends), is that this is more than sad. It is a shame. Certainly we are all part of the equation.
So, with brevity and nuance, I conclude. Commercial fishing is a way of life, fine. From the research I've read, sport fishing is not putting undue pressure on stocks. The problem is in the commercial method, and the regulations. Trawl nets are efficient alright. Efficiently destroying habitat and fish stocks. And for what, greasy bait fish for pet and livestock feed, and god knows what else food scientists can sneak it into.
Fishing, commercial or otherwise, may need to be done exclusively with hook and line, and I'm not talking about long line. Let the boat drag as many hooks as her crew sees fit to untangle from stern and outriggers. That would drive the cost of wild caught fish sky high. Fine. So be it. You want cheap fish, farm it. Get a fishing license. What about the animal feed. Cows do not naturally, and should not eat fish, or corn for that matter. They also shouldn't eat the ground up brains of other cattle, but that's a whole other issue. Cows eat grass. If that makes their meat unpalatable or expensive so be it. We've convinced ourselves that we are owed the luxury of cheap meat. The habit is not only killing us--heart disease--but destroying our environment.
I'm not so naive to think that I have all of the answers, and I'm not sure what the answer is. I do know though, that fisheries regulations that create a situation like the one I may or may not have participated in this past weekend, are bad regulations. Of that I am convinced.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
He Doesn't Even Know if He's Making any Money
In the constructin industry, and I imagine many others, the statement that someone doesn't know if they are making money is a substantial insult. The implication is that, the job or the business is too complex for the individuals understanding, and therefore, because of his or her mental simplicity, they couldn't even tell you if they were in the money, or in the red.
My job is to know where my company is, and I would hope that this would translate into my private life, but it doesn't. I'm trying to design and build a house for my family, and I couldn't tell you where I am right now. It's not that it's costing me money. We've not spent too much yet. It's that I've taken a gamble with time. A friend and myself are trying to produce the drawings using CAD. My buddy uses CAD everyday to design water systems and site plans, and I design structures everyday, but can't use CAD. So, we figured we'd join forces and save some time for me in the long run. The thinking is that drawing in CAD is not faster than drawing on paper, but that revisions are much faster.
The problem is the learnign curve, the variables. I've already made so many changes that I'd have gone broke buying eraser pencils. And the tedium of 3D conventions on a one dimensional screen are mounting. And right now, I can say I feel for the framer in over his head trying to make a job pay and not knowing if it will.
I know these drawings will look top notch. I know we will get them done, and I know altering them will be immensely easier than hand drawn revisions. But I can't tell you if in the end I'll break even on the time equation. And though I know my buddy and I will survive this, it might have been better to use up my friend credits on some issue of greater gravity.
So, we'll keep working. Will we come out ahead? Only time will tell. Even then, it would take a pretty creative accountant to evaluate whether it was the most efficient course of action or not.
One thing is for sure, and I'll take this into account the next time I'm observiong someone else that isn't sure what's up or down, ther is no other option than to press on. And because of that, the result will be the same, regardless of the method. And because of that, this could happen again, and these questions will persist.
I guess in construction that's why everyone wants a fixed price rather than a cheaper price. Very Few are willing to share the risk. "Mark it up if you've gotta, but give me a price." In many ways, I'm selling certainty, it really has little to do with product or price.
My job is to know where my company is, and I would hope that this would translate into my private life, but it doesn't. I'm trying to design and build a house for my family, and I couldn't tell you where I am right now. It's not that it's costing me money. We've not spent too much yet. It's that I've taken a gamble with time. A friend and myself are trying to produce the drawings using CAD. My buddy uses CAD everyday to design water systems and site plans, and I design structures everyday, but can't use CAD. So, we figured we'd join forces and save some time for me in the long run. The thinking is that drawing in CAD is not faster than drawing on paper, but that revisions are much faster.
The problem is the learnign curve, the variables. I've already made so many changes that I'd have gone broke buying eraser pencils. And the tedium of 3D conventions on a one dimensional screen are mounting. And right now, I can say I feel for the framer in over his head trying to make a job pay and not knowing if it will.
I know these drawings will look top notch. I know we will get them done, and I know altering them will be immensely easier than hand drawn revisions. But I can't tell you if in the end I'll break even on the time equation. And though I know my buddy and I will survive this, it might have been better to use up my friend credits on some issue of greater gravity.
So, we'll keep working. Will we come out ahead? Only time will tell. Even then, it would take a pretty creative accountant to evaluate whether it was the most efficient course of action or not.
One thing is for sure, and I'll take this into account the next time I'm observiong someone else that isn't sure what's up or down, ther is no other option than to press on. And because of that, the result will be the same, regardless of the method. And because of that, this could happen again, and these questions will persist.
I guess in construction that's why everyone wants a fixed price rather than a cheaper price. Very Few are willing to share the risk. "Mark it up if you've gotta, but give me a price." In many ways, I'm selling certainty, it really has little to do with product or price.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)