Coffee is for the Weak!

I like to start my morning with a shower - I try to make it the first thing I do after I wake up. It's kind of a nice way to start the day and it really does help me get my eyes open if I'm tired (that can happen when you don't always get enough sleep). Anyway, about a week ago I tried a new technique to heighten my morning alertness. Near the end of my routine, I'll change the water temperature to, well, very cold (I know Jason, it's important to use the word very sparingly. That's my first time). Not surprisingly, it works wonders. It's a funny way to artificially kick start the body by initiating some kind of panic reflex. I try to leave it running for about 10 seconds before I switch back to warm to get warm again.

Well, this morning I found an even better method. Instead of just 10 seconds of cold in the shower, try waking up in a house with no central heating and a fire that went out hours ago at about, oh, 6 in the morning with an inside temperature of maybe 35-40 degrees.

Then walk a half mile to a neighbors house in even cold temperatures without proper warmth-enhancing attire.

Finally, bring some wood up and take the 10 minutes to really get a fire started. I wanted to want to go to sleep, but I just couldn't make myself want to anymore. I was awake.

PS: Pictures courtesy of Matt's Christmas gift to me. Wow! A fire!

Confidence and Ignorance

Ever notice how confidence and ignorance are so often paired? It's almost like a scale when it comes to some topics: the more confident you are, the less you know about it. The adage is true: the more you know, the more you realize you don't know. Logical deduction allows me to, uh, deduce that the less you don't realize you don't know, the less you know (It's pretty much a direct inverse relationship).

The reason I bring this up is a friend recently mentioned that I seem really confident in my world view and personal aspirations. At first, I took this as a compliment to my strong values, but now I'm wondering if maybe it was a subtle insult that I wasn't supposed to catch. I have to admit...that would be pretty funny!

Flying Away

So, I'm at the airport. They have a little desk for me with a power outlet and free wireless internet while I wait a little while for boarding to begin. A nice woman, unusually alert and awake for such an early hour (4:30) checked me in (even though I went through self check-in) just because "it's so much faster than that machine"...and it was fast.

The shops and restaurants are closed, dark behind all the bright and attractive marketing. Some have metal gates pulled down, protecting them from curious airport patrons in the same situation as I. In others the Holiday specials tempt potential buyers, out of reach for those of us who have chosen to fly before the rest of humanity begins their collective day.

I think I'll enjoy my quiet flight into Phoenix, just like I'll enjoy my time there. Boarding has started, I suppose I should go find out.

Iraq Study Group Report

Iraq Study Group Report

The report detailing the "situation" in Iraq and the 79 recommendations for President Bush. I can't read it now so no thoughts on it yet, but maybe soon.

I don't like Parties

Yep, you read right. I don't like parties. I don't understand why we have them. What is the purpose? Are parties really beneficial for our country?

Political parties, of course. I don't want to critique the democratic party, the republican party, independents...at least not specifically. Instead, I want to question the usefulness of the entire party system.

I have an honest question...Why are political parties useful? Theoretically, a political party creates an ideology and a set of goals. Theoretically, a candidate from a party has a very similar set of goals and a similar ideology. Of course, in practice this isn't the case - the ties can be loose at best. This is the primary benefit (for voters) that I see in the party system.

Of course, they are very useful for politicians. If you choose one of the "big two" you are able to gain access to all the resources of that party - for example, presidential campaign financing.

On the other hand, the two party system we have here in the United States has a number of problems. The two are in a constant battle to one-up the other. Elections are often less about stating an agenda for political change than they are about making sure you look better than "the other guy". You can't tell much about a politician's agenda from his party - for example, in California we have Arnold Schwartzenegger as governor, a republican who seems to have much more in common with the democratic party...part of the reason why he has been reelected in a heavily blue (democratic) state.

Maybe a reader can shed some light for me, maybe I'm missing some of the benefits to the party system. I haven't fully discussed the perceived downsides to what I'm starting to view as a defunct system (ease of corruption, partisan voting, teeter-totter election schedule, more) but I think it's possible there are things I don't understand. Lecture me :)