Moving

I've decided to move. You can find me here.

Protesting the Protesters?

A story on CNN.com today notes that "activists have a reputation for being early adopters of technology" and they use new communications methods "to disseminate information, connect with each other and gather en masse." From the article:

". . . Internet technologies -- particularly mobile technologies -- have made it dramatically easier to organize groups of people in protest -- and far harder for police to know where to target their defensive efforts.

"[Protesters] have made it impossible for the defenders to adopt a cut-off-the-head-and-the-body-will-die strategy," he told CNN. "[Technology] has made the idea of a frontline of protests almost completely amorphous."

So the police are crying because they can't figure out who is the leader or organizer of a particular protest? Don't we have the right to assemble peaceably in order to protest actions we find disagreeable? As long as the protesters don't begin to act out violently, it seems that the police don't really have any need to know who organized the protest. This complaint seems to me to be the government lamenting the fact that more and more people are dissatisfied with what our elected officials are getting away with and allowing their friends to get away with. These elected officials seem to be afraid that the people will remember that the government is supposed to be “by the people and for the people” and that when the government oversteps its bounds, “it is [the people’s] right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government.” The elected officials and police would like nothing better than to quell any opposition before it begins, and that’s why they’re lamenting technology that allows people to rapidly spread news and ideas.

The CNN article notes that the invention of the printing press “made broad dissemination of information possible” and was adopted by early civil and religious libertarians to help spread their messages. Maybe our political leaders would like to go back to the days before the printing press when the people learned the news of their government’s actions too late to do anything about it.

Nothing to see here

Just as I was getting ready to head home from work yesterday afternoon, I got the text message that advised the campus community of a gunman in one of the buildings on campus, two buildings away from where I happened to be. Because I didn't hear any sirens, I figured it was safe to go on out to my truck and leave, and it was. Outside my building, there was no evidence of any emergency except for the police officer who used his motorcycle to block the road leading to the KUC building. This officer wasn't allowing any vehicles through to that area, but pedestrians still lingered on the sidewalk past the barrier, where they stood and chatted and watched the KUC building as if they were watching the scene of a car accident. I'd be willing to bet that mothers at home who have signed up to receive the text alerts were much more alarmed by the situation than we here on campus were.

I No Longer Trust the Weatherman

This morning, based upon the weather information on the news, I cancelled my afternoon classes. According to the weather forecasters, we were to experience freezing rain and sleet which would change to snow, and this would last most of the morning, giving us about two inches of snow. Furthermore, the temperatures would fall throughout the day. One could assume, listening to this information, that we would have snow/ice on the ground, and that this snow would last at least until tomorrow, based upon the promise of low temperatures.

No more than thirty minutes after I cancelled classes, it stopped snowing, and the snow that was beginning to stick onto surfaces began to melt away. Right now, I am looking out my window and can see the shadow of my house because now the sun is starting to shine.

Today, the weather forecasters look at several computer models and pick what they think is the most likely one, but I think that the weather people did a much better job years ago before they began to rely on computers. I think that the old folklore that people used to rely on (example: number of fogs in August equals number of snows in winter) are more accurate than most of the computer models.

Next time, I won't cancel class until I can't get out the driveway.

Nothing to say except that I like dates

I haven't blogged much in a while because I just don't feel like writing about anything. I don't want to write a complaint about the government because I've already said it all before. I'm not feeling creative, so no creative writing. I'm reading things, but nothing I really want to blog about. So that doesn't leave much except for what I ate today.

Actually, that's something pretty good. Last week I ordered some fresh jumbo Medjool dates from Dateland, Arizona, and they arrived today. Take my word for it--they are delicious! If you want to stop eating processed sugary sweets, get yourself some really good dates. They'll make you forget about candy!