Skydiving, round 2

I turn 30 in March. So I thought we should go skydiving again.

I just made the reservation. Can't wait. I think I just peed my pants a little.

Here's the video from the first time: http://themickel.blogspot.com/2007/10/skydiving-vid_18.html

World's Oldest Person Just Died

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090102/oldest_person_090102/20090102?hub=Health

I saw one of these articles a while back. About a month or two later there was another one. Then maybe a week or so back there was a third.

I can't help but wonder -- is it really newsworthy that the oldest person in the world just died?

I mean, of course the world's oldest person just died. That's what the oldest people in the world tend to do. Once they do there is a new world's oldest person (heretofore referred to as "WOP"). And guess what? He/she is going to die too. Probably pretty soon.

Now don't get me wrong; these peoples' lives are amazing and I enjoy reading about them. But it seems like lazy journalism. A perpetually reoccurring story an editor can plug in every time he needs a filler story.

In the spirit of the WOP articles, here are three other stories they could cover just to mix things up a bit:

1. World's Youngest Person Just Born
2. People Are Eating Food Somewhere
3. After a Brief Absence, The Sun Has Reappeared and Seems to be Traveling in a Westerly Direction

New U2 Single...

For my fellow U2 enthusiasts, I just stumbled across the first released single from No Line On The Horizon, Get on Your Boots.

I am what's known as a 'hyperlink' and if you click on me I will take you to said single.

I'll leave my reaction as a comment on this post, just so I don't taint anyone's expectations going in. I'm interested to see what others think of it.

Jury Duty

This may be weird, but I want to get called up for jury duty.

I'll admit that my understanding of the process is limited. In fact, almost my entire perception of this divine American "right" is based on the Simpson's episode where Homer is selected for jury after Mayor Quimby's nephew's alleged beating of a french waiter (when Homer lengthens the trial out so he can miss work and get free room service at his hotel and wears glasses with eyeballs painted on them so he can sleep until Apu points it out to the judge. What a great episode.), as well as what I've heard from people who have been through it. The latter consists mainly of stories about waiting around for 8 hours, reading books, while the attorneys decide who will give the verdict most free from the unreasonable and restrictive demands of justice. Then doing it all over again the next day.

This appeals to me. Maybe it's curiosity, maybe it's the possibility of participating in thrilling courtroom drama (which, as I'm given to understand from TV and movies, is what I can expect as the norm in our judicial system), or maybe it's the opportunity to stand up during deliberations and impassionedly declare "I'M out of order?! YOU'RE out of order! This WHOLE SYSTEM is out of order!"

Most likely, however, it's just the prospect of being able to read or dink around on my laptop instead of going to work for an entire day.

So what do I have to do to get called up? Why is it the people around me seem to get summoned several times a year but I haven't had so much as a threat of jury duty? The only qualification I've heard is that you have to be a registered voter and vote. Which I am and do. Every 4 years.

In other news, I've been working on my NFL team selection and have narrowed it down to three, one of which was expected while the other two were not. Thanks to those who have provided input. Good suggestions, all of you. I'll announce my team later this week.

(Teaser: one team has a bird as mascot, the other a group of people, and the third a quadrupedal land mammal.)

That is all.

UPDATE: On rereading that teaser I've realized that my hints actually exclude only 2 teams (3 depending on what a "Brown" is). So yeah. Good luck with that.

I need a favorite NFL team

**************** SPORTS POSTING NOTICE ********************

The following post is entirely about sports. If you're not into sports you will find it boring and insubstantial (you may even if you do follow sports). So you'll probably want to stop reading right now. Might I recommend the preceding post entitled "Five Reasons Facebook is Stupid", or this McSweeney's article. Thank you and enjoy your bleak, joyless existence.

********************************************************************************

I'll cut to the chase: I don't have a favorite NFL team. When I was a kid it was the Raiders, but only because 1) I liked their uniforms, and 2) we had this Sports Illustrated video called Crunch Time that had a segment on Howie Long (this was mid-80's, so pre-commercial/broadcasting Howie) and I thought he was cool. I half-heartedly switched to the Saints in high school, mostly because no one else liked them and, again, I thought their uniforms were cool. Finally I had a brief relationship with the Pats, but only because I liked their logo (The Flying Elvis), they started that year 6-0 (this was before any of the Super Bowl rings), and they played in a place called "Foxboro".

Not good reasons for having a favorite team.

After discussing this with a co-worker his eyes lit up and he said, "You're lucky. You haven't had one team since you were a kid, so you get to choose yours." He then added a wistful "I wish I were you..." and began weeping on my desk (he's a Dolphins fan).

I realized he was right -- in the unwritten rules of sports fandom you have to stick with your first team or you are fickle, disloyal, a traitor or a bandwagoner. However, according to the Childhood Stupidity Clause and the Absence of a Local Team Clause (also unwritten*), I now get to choose my team. An amazing opportunity, as I am able to apply my adult intellect to an important, lifelong decision that is typically made when you are a child.

So here's my question: how do I choose?

It's a seemingly simple question, but one that opens into a vista of challenges and questions as difficult to deal with as the Windows Operating System of that name. For instance: players and coaches change, so how do you use that? Same with playing styles, owners, and even cities. Uniforms can be a factor, though a minor one. History and tradition is good, but I gravitate more towards teams that I actually like to watch play (i.e. the Titans/Ravens are about as entertaining as a Pistons/Spurs Final) and this is also subject to change. And, in the end, couldn't you say teams really pick you? So should I be doing this anyway?

See what I mean? A whole frightening vista. I suppose it's all fodder for another post though.

Here's what I do know:

1. I'm already a Cubs fan, so I have no extra emotional will to expend on another beleaguered, hapless team with a long history of losing/choking. Thus, the Lions, Saints, Jets, and probably Cardinals (I'm not sure their current streak erases their vast history of ineptitude) are out.
2. I also have no interest in a team whose owner is clueless/potentially unstable. Thus the Raiders and Cowboys are out.
3. Even disregarding #2, the Cowboys would still be out.
4. So are the Pats, Colts, and even the Cardinals ala the Bandwagoning Rule.

So where do I go from here?

*Actually, I think these are written. I remember the Sports Guy doing an article on something like this. Anybody know where it is?

5 Reasons Facebook is Stupid

I'm thinking this post probably gets me the same level of scorn that my post on cell phones did, but I don't care. A man must hold true to his beliefs. And me...I believe Facebook is stupid.

1. It's slowly replacing blogging, but doesn't offer nearly as much.

Isn't blogging far better? I mean, I can go onto Cheeth or Mister J's blog, get an update on what they're up to, see pictures and read about what is important to them. In addition to providing a small window into their lives, this also allows me to experience a piece of their personality and be reminded why I like that person.

What does Facebook give you? A 2 inch picture, something someone you don't know wrote on their wall, and a bland status update like 'Mindi is sitting on her sofa clipping her toenails'.

It seems like people are blogging less. For instance, look at the blog roll on the right side of the screen. Perhaps down a little too. I'll bet you look at this at any give time and only one person will have posted in the last 3 days. Then there will be three who haven't in over a month.

A year ago it wouldn't have been this way. I blame apathy and Facebook. But mostly Facebook. Because I don't want to pick a fight with apathy.

2. Getting poked, likeness quizzes, pirate kidnappings, vampire blood lust invitations, body slams, 'Which Teletubbie Are You?' requests, Invitations to join the Michael Landon Fan Club, etc.

I don't feel I need to elaborate on this one. Other than to say I generally prefer not getting 'poked', in either a literal or virtual sense.

3. The excitement of finding an old friend, replaced by the dissapointment of realizing you have nothing to say to each other.

When I was first introduced to Facebook and hadn't yet learned how it works, I thought you used it to actually communicate with your friends. So I wrote a few 'How's it going? What are you up to?' e-mails to people I hadn't seen in a long time. I never heard back. I stopped writing them and eventually learned that that is how Facebook is supposed to work: Someone from 7th grade finds you, they add you as a friend, you confirm them and get a small link on the bottom of your page, then you both go about your lives with no further communication but a smug sense of accomplishment on having increased the number of friends you have on Facebook.

So now that I am well versed in Facebook protocol and know better, any message sent to me from an old time friend is met with a condescending shake of the head, the thought, 'They must be new to Facebook', and is promptly ignored.

4. Feeling obligated to write something clever in my status update every time I get on.

My solution to this is to not get on anymore.

5. I'm still not sure what it is.

Really. I don't get the point of it. Most people respond to this with, "It's a way to keep in touch with friends" but I feel this is inaccurate. A more fitting description would be "It's a good way to keep a small rectangular picture of people you used to know on an internet page".

I do have to give Facebook some props, though. For one, there are at least 40 people on there that I never would have found any other way, many that I had forgotten about. It does an exceptional job at helping you find old friends. There have also been some entertaining bouts of friendly banter with old friends initiated by a status update or profile change (though really nothing more than what happens in a blog comment box or on Yahoo Messenger). So there are some good things about it.

However, like a cranky old man stubbornly clinging to his VCR and 8-tracks, I am determined to shun Facebook in favor of blogging.

Gon farnit.

'Blog more' isn't one of my new year's resolutions

Ok, I think that last post helped me break through my posting-aversion barrier; that unseen, impenetrable wall of ennui that seems to form when you haven't written for a while.

Things are going well. Baby #2 is healthy, happy, and almost sleeping through the night already. She's also extremely mellow, feeds well, and cries little. All signs so far point to her being the perfect baby, which I take as a sign that we've reached our zenith as parents and can only go downhill by further procreating.

Christmas break was fun. Part of me is glad to be back at work though. I suppose this is largely due to knowing that the probability of me having to change a diaper at a moment's notice here is minimal. Not gone entirely, mind you, but minimal.

Speaking of work, here is a scan of my most recent meeting notes. You can click on it for the full effect.

I am especially pleased with my tofu Homestar Runner, the Ute logo, and the elder's quorum moment at the bottom. I am also pleased that I have found a productive way to spend meetings.

That's it for now. It's good to be back.

Hey, I wrote on my blog

Check it out. I did. Writing.