The Stuff, she is interesting.

[silveradept]

So I went and gave blood today, which was good, and then refereed many games of water polo - I want to say about seven or so. Three was evaluation being done this week, too, so I get hit by having taken both shifts. Plus the one I have on Wednesday, so I'm only going ot get more of it. Yarg. But I made significant spending money tonight - maybe by the end of the seasons I'll be able to finance most of my trips. Enough about my story, though - there's plenty else to be interested in.

Like Marines with post-traumatic stress disorder coming back from Iraq. It's a strain on the sanity, it sounds like. The worst part about it is that we're too entrenched at the moment to get out without serious collapse, but the longer we stay, the more time, lives, and money is wasted. As M. Kane Jeeves points out, it looks like the State of the Union is still in the draft stages.

The illegal spying operation hasn't missed a trick, either - vegans are suspected terrorists now. There's also a cute bit about how the confirmation vote got moved without telling anyone to try and forestall a filibuster, and then this wonderful bit - how do you stop someone investigating you? Offer him a place on the federal bench. Bribe? Bah. If tapping domestic citizens isn't a flagrant violation of the law, then one teeny tiny convienent appointment won't be, either. It's just... surreal. Reality has been usurped, and it looks like all the people who could start the Katamari of Dissent rolling are perfectly happy to stay in fantasyland until the gates close.

Beyond politics, there's an interesting opinion piece here that recommends the reduction of the drinking age - so that parents will be more involved in the learning stages of their child's drinking life. Good thought, isn't it? Parents actually being involved with their kids? Madness. *half-snarl* People who have kept with my journal know where that particular rant path leads, and it's not worth trodding it again.

Oh, yeah, and one of my lightbulbs burnt out on me. So today was a good day for me to please everybody else. And save some lives, too.

Comments

[sulcharae.livejournal.com]

I've actually believed for a long while that the drinking age should be lowered to 16, and the driving age to 18. That way, A: a kid can be better watched to develop mature drinking attitudes by their parents, and B: they can get all the excess out of their systems before they get behind the wheel.
dunno, makes sense to me. but if it makes sense....

[silveradept]

I like the idea of lowering the drinking age because it would give parents the option to get involved. I just don't think there will be too many who will take their kids up on the offer. Raising the driving age to eighteen may not help curb the drinking and driving problem, although it could. (You very well could get fought tooth and nail on that from parents who don't want to have to cart their kids around until they're eighteen.)

[sulcharae.livejournal.com]

the vast amount of kids are in school up until they're 18. Buses are a happy thing.

[greenhornline.livejournal.com]

Busses are the devil and I wasn't 18 until my freshman year of college. I live in a little hick town and if both of my parents worked I would have had no way to get a summer job to even be able to pay for college... i don't feel 18 as a driving age is going to help much, just cause more aggravation. Although lowering the drinking age would be I think.. I've always been under the opinion that if you are old enough to die for your country you might as well be able to drink on your way out.

[sulcharae.livejournal.com]

Perhaps if buses were more necessary, they'd be better and more widespread.
even in your case, i think it'd be worth it.
but i agree with you as far as being able to drink if you're able to be sent off to die.

[silveradept]

In a place like where I grew up, the residential zones are pretty well-removed from the commercial sector of the town - to go where many of the jobs are is at least a thirty-minute drive in either direction. There are very few bus routes, I suspect, that will go that far. So either you find a job in town (pretty difficult, because there aren't really enough people in the town to warrant most people hiring on extra hands) or go without until you can drive. If you're not lucky enough to have parents who will help you pay for things like college, you're in a heap of trouble.

Lots of agreement about lowering the drinking age, though, for that particular reason - if you can be shipped off to die, you should be able to choose the manner of your demise.

[silveradept]

Possibly. School buses can be extensions of all the problems of the schoolyard, including bullying, taunting, and other fun behaviors. That's certainly not a happy thing for the people on the receiving end.

[shadesfox.livejournal.com]

I think the problem with lowering the drinking age like you propose is the assumption that parents will be involved with their kids. There seems to be a grand lack of that.

Though on the subject of wiretapping, what the NSA is doing is rather facinating from a tech point of view. Even the NSA doesn't have the equipment to actually listen to all the phone calls they tap. Rather, they create a social network of people you contact. This network is analyzed for strange patterns, mostly in the the connections out side of the clique a person tends to form.

And if you ever want to be really freaked out I'll tell you what the Secret Service will do to your computer to hack your passwords ;p

[silveradept]

In order: No argument here, makes sense, and no thanks, I prefer to believe that the government by and large respects the rule of law and privacy, even though there's more and more evidence over the years that it doesn't and never did.

[sharpsight.livejournal.com]

N) *wonders*

[tinchen.livejournal.com]

I wanted to donate blood the other day, too. But then I slept too long and didn't get there in time. I went donating blood more often, when I was still in Hamm, but somewhen they didn't want it anymore, not enough iron, so they said I need it myself ^^
But I guess it should be better now... I have to check for their dates.

[silveradept]

Good, good. Iron always seems to be more of a problem for women than for men. At least one of my sisters likes to take iron pills before she goes to donate when she can.

[greenhornline.livejournal.com]

you want trying to please people... here's how abou t2 hours of my life went yesterday... Went to Pat's room (Pat is Graham's suitmate so he techinically has his own little peanut shell to share with Don) played Zork on Pat's computer with headphones on and only talked when some one came in and asked me questions. I still managed to send Graham into a rage about it. He didn't even know I was there until someone came in and asked me something.. like half a hour after he got in. I saw him come in and just kept doing my thing. Here's the real people pleasing part of me day. Apperently My voice sends Graham to an uncomfortable place and he would really appreciate if I wasn't there when he was suppose to be there or if I *fucking* left when he got there (yes he really did use the F-bomb.. ) SO recap... I'm in PAT's room, on PAT's computer with headphones on and Graham doesn't even know I exsist for 30 minutes... I'm not really sure how much more people pleasing I could be for Graham at that point. ( I mean honestly I was basically invisible to him) yet he still managed to make everyone else's life a living hell and still hates me. Isn't it fun? MM good to know I'm such a stellar people pleaser =D ( Oo and good news.. No one in the guys room that was there thought Graham had any reason to be pissy at me for being on Pat's computer. it was nice to know)

And I'm spent. Later dude

[silveradept]

Give the boy his space, then. If it involves hanging him out the window while you're in the room until you leave, that works for me, too.

[greenhornline.livejournal.com]

I love You dude You rock my socks.. And I freakin gave him a damn month worth of space.. and I wasn't really in his space.

[silveradept]

Honestly, "his space" is confined to his segment of the room if you're here seeing all the other people. You're not going to go there, so you're not in his space. It may be painful for him to see you, but he's going to have to deal with it. Like I said, if this involves hanging him outside the window for the whole time you're here, then so be it.

[shenalia.livejournal.com]

Gasp, parents actually being involved in their children's lives? Heaven forbid.

(And what's the deal with people thinking that lowering the legal age for anything will affect how parents react to their children? Parents who ignore their kids are going to ignore them anyway.)

[silveradept]

Especially if they start good and early at ignoring their kids - it'll be an old habit by the time they get to these ages anyway.

[shenalia.livejournal.com]

Eeyep. ¬_¬