I've moved

It would seem that a live space suits my needs at this time. Please feel free to follow the attached link to the new site until I have the domain redirect taken care of.

http://mattymil.spaces.live.com

Power

We have no idea,
The power of our words,
In aggregate,
To elevate or destroy,
Our fellow man.

Louis

Puppy Curling

Don’t ask, just try it

http://www.freeaddictinggames.com/popup/754.html

Enslaved

... for by whatever anyone is made inferior or worse or is overcome, to that person or thing he is enslaved

2 Peter 2:19 (AMP)

I Like Rice.

Potential running mates that should be OFF Condoleezza's '08 list: anyone named Crispies, Pudding, In, or Aroni.

-From nationaljournal.com

Who?

Wait, so "Boehner" is not "DeLay"?: "Boehner brings new name, style to office."

From the NationalJunal.com

Cellulosic Ethanol

Just a quick note, cellulosic ethanol seems to be a viable alternative fuel until one looks at what is necessary to produce it in terms of energy. It seems that it requires an equal amount if not more energy than the final product will yield. In the end ramping up cellulosic ethanol production to a level that will be able to serve even a small portion of this nations needs will require more fossil fuels. And once production has attained to this level, it cannot sustain itself with its own product.

m

Oil

It was reported in the wall street journal today that Exxon had posted another large profit for the fourth quarter of '05 to the tune of approximately 10 Billion dollars. Additionally it was reported that these earnings were an improvement from Q4 of the year prior despite the fact that the oil giant produced one percent less for the most recent results.

Obviously there has been and will continue to be great political pressure placed on the companies that have posted such banner earnings both from the general public and the government. As to the argument of who is right, what is excessive, and the public responsibility in matters such as these I will not endeavor at this time. What I will touch on briefly is this. The proposed senate solution, as reported in the above referenced article, to these enlarged profits is to increase the tax burden on the oil companies. This will do nothing but fill the pockets of the government with the already stretched funds of the consumer. I base this upon a simple lesson that many of us learned (and appear to have forgotten) in Macroeconomics 101. The tax burden that is placed on the consumer is directly proportional to the inelasticity of the demand. The market for energy is at this point very inelastic. Therefore the government can tax the suppliers all they want and the majority of the deadweight loss will be passed to the side of the consumer.

The quickest though possibly the most difficult way to resolve our fossil fuel dilemmas is to allow the market to correct itself. Let the oil companies operate as they have and they will soon find that they have driven, (by virtue of excessive price) the consumer away from the wares they are peddling and into the open arms of the dealers selling the next generation of energy resources.

sesquipedalian

It is what it means

Simplify

I  need to simplify my life. I must end the multitasking of various clusters of my daily activities, and begin living life in one slow, meticulous, and deliberate step after another. And if life becomes too harried and I find myself slipping into the deluge of compound task completion I will muster up all of my courage and stop! At this point I will pick the next appropriate task and complete it as before.

Cookies

The spirit of giving.

I heard this damn Oak Ridge Boys song the other day; it’s about Christmas cookies and how much the Oak Ridge Boys love them, and they were performing it on TV at 5:00 in the morning.

Apparently, any music I hear at 5:00 in the morning sticks in my head for a long time. Especially the part of the song when the bass-voiced Oak Ridge Boy says, “Oh yeah,” and “Mmhmm,” after the chorus.

My holiday gift to you is not posting an mp3 of the song here on this page to ambush you, thereby lodging it in your head, too. Just a little bit of seasonal generosity, and you’re welcome.

The truth is that I couldn’t find a copy of the song for free and there’s no way I’m paying good money for an Oak Ridge Boys song about cookies. Or, really, an Oak Ridge Boys song about anything or, for that matter, probably any song about cookies by anyone except Cookie Monster. So it turns out that I’m both seasonally ungenerous and cheap. And also a cookie song snob.

Bah. Humbug.

onepotmeal > It's all true, mostly..

Tiny

I would tell you the exact number of tiny humans who have been living under my floorboards undetected until today—building tiny buildings and driving tiny cars, even founding a tiny university with a tiny pond and an supertiny scale model of the campus in the tiny visitors’ center—but I don’t think you would believe me because it’s a very big number.

onepotmeal > It's all true, mostly..

Choice

It occurred to me recently that our only true unfettered liberty is our freedom to choose. Our “God given” liberties pale in comparison to this one shining example of pure an unadulterated freedom.

Moderate

For every one moderate entity, there are at least two polar entities holding it in place.

Radio

Excellent NPR radio program.

http://www.thislife.org

Tmesis

tmesis \TMEE-sis\, noun:

   In  grammar  and  rhetoric,  the  separation of the parts of a compound  word,  now  generally  done for humorous effect; for   example, "what place soever" instead of "whatsoever place," or   "abso-bloody-lutely."

Occupation

My six year old indicated today that after long contemplation he has decided to change career paths from an FBI agent to Santa Claus. I instructed him to submit his resume to the UN office of philanthropy, and holiday cheer christmas division….

Blue Steel

Photography Provided by Devin S. Elmore. Thanks Devin.

Kitsch

After viewing a movie yesterday evening that didn’t have a “happy” ending, my wife stated, “I didn’t care for that movie”. I responded “it was probably because it didn’t have a pat, kitschy, ending” that provided closure for all involved. The conversation that ensued as a result of this exchange grew rather intense and didn’t close with a happy ending either.

Later, as I considered this exchange, it occurred to me that Danielle’s response is not uncommon, particularly in the main stream culture of America. For some reason, we have come to place a high value on successful causutums and have cast off the unsuccessful and difficult outcomes as mere detritus having no value or use. It is possible that this is a result of our being conditioned by much of the media that we are exposed to on a regular basis. I am sure there are other reasons as well but the discovery of those is for another discussion.

I would argue though, that while it is not wrong to expect all of our endeavours to turn out successfully, and that it is a basic requirement for their success, we should not overlook the import of adverse outcomes, and difficult circumstances. In fact we should look forward to them if at all possible. I can attest, that had it not been for the difficult circumstances in my own life, I would not be as valuable to my peers, my family and anyone else in my “marketplace” as I am. Most likely anyone who reads this could attest to the same thing, that the adverse times in their lives sharpened and honed them,  and even knocked off the excess useless material that was holding them down from their full potential.

To take a broader perspective, consider if you will, the free market system. The new technology, and innovative strategies that are produced by it are a result of there being an inequity or inefficiency that catalyzed these advances. In other words, circumstances became uncomfortable enough that it drove someone to seek out a solution to a problem. It is very plain by this example that the struggles of individuals or groups more times than not results in improvement.