Conspiracy Theory...

I was thinking about this last night... we treat 'conspiracy theory' as if all conspiracies are made up by nutcases. But we know some real conspiracies have happened, some recently while some in the distant past. The level of respectability seems to be directly related to the known facts about the cases in question.

For instance, Holocaust deniers are completely wacko. The evidence that it happened is strong. We have photos, eyewitness testimony, documents and physical evidence in the form of existing building and survivors. To deny that the Holocaust happened is the mark of somebody who hasn't got much stuff inside their skull. People who claim it was completely made up are just short of being completely insane, and the vast majority of the world is in agreement that those such conspiracy theorists are either nutso or so consumed by a certain type of hate that the truth doesn't matter at all to them.

But another common conspiracy theory doesn't provoke such a strong reaction. The JFK assassination has a number of different theories surrounding it, but it's relatively respectable to wonder about that. The reason, in my opinion, is because those theorists usually don't deny reality to make their case. Instead of saying, "it never happened" they say, "it looked like it happened this way, but really happened this other way". As a result, they aren't seen as so completely off their rockers as people who deny the Holocaust.

They are both conspiracy theories, but one is more acceptable on multiple levels than the other.

Moving on to modern conspiracies... we've got Birthers and Truthers.

The people who deny Obama's nationality are in the same league as the first group above. There is plenty of evidence to indicate the President was born in the United States, but they ignore the newspaper's birth announcement and the birth certificate released by Hawaii and the nationality of his mother, because, again, they have a certain type of hate that isn't satisfied by reality.

The 9/11 Truthers are another kettle of beans altogether. They don't deny it happened, but argue that planes hitting a skyscraper couldn't take it down. To most of the public, who saw videos of the planes and saw the reaction of the people in New York, it's simply obvious that plane + building = boom. But the Truthers argue the planes, even with their heavy loads of fuel, couldn't have done that type of damage. While most people find Truthers' beliefs a little odd, they've gained some supporters through apparently well-reasoned videos and calm spokespeople... although most of their efforts fall apart quickly when experts start to point out mistakes in logic.

Then there are other types of Truthers... the Sandy Hook Truthers make me boil with rage. Not because of their beliefs, which I consider simply delusional, but because of their actions. The fact that they are harassing the grieving families and denying that the children ever existed is enough to make me want the Truthers tossed in jail. If they left the families alone I wouldn't have such an issue with them, but those Truthers are trying to prove something false that the vast majority of the population knows is true. In order for their reality to exist, first responders, school teachers, government and media would all have to be colluding in such a way that is impossible. And, once again, the reason behind the Truthers' beliefs is a certain type of hate, this one drive by extremist radio hosts and "news" channels, claiming that people are going to take away gun rights. It doesn't matter and most people in favor of gun rights don't want to take away all guns: the nutcases start believing in this vile type of nonsense because they've been taught to hate... thus proving that they are, in fact, the kind of people who shouldn't own guns. Ironically.

Do I have a point? I'm not sure.

Sometimes conspiracies happen. We know about the Business Plot, attempts to kill Hitler, the Gunpowder Plot and Watergate. Conspiracies aren't generally secret for long, because people talk, people make mistakes and the truth is usually lurking around a corner and not impossible to find. Many, maybe even most, conspiracies fail because people are not perfect and most conspiracies rely on people being way better at hiding things than they really are.

But when we talk about "conspiracy theorists", the ones we actively dislike - the ones that people find themselves disgusted with - are the ones who deny existing proof due to some sort of agenda. Simply having a conspiracy theory isn't necessarily bad... it's when that theory supports a preconceived notion in such a way that denies reality that other people start to think about throwing the theorist in a loony bin.

Does this mean we should close our eyes and stop up our ears when a conspiracy theorist starts talking? No... I'll listen to or read about their theories, but I'll also be looking for signs that they are ignoring facts and aiming to support a particular pet belief. And then I'll treat them, and their theory, with exactly as much respect as deserved.

Tuesday morning

I'm actually doing ok this morning... Time seems tight, mostly because my home laptop takes forever to do anything, so I have stopped messing with the net on it most of the time. That makes it hard to write blogs, because this app on the iPad is a tiny bit crappy.

Anyway... hubby-Eric and I are doing well at the moment. He's had a longterm sub job, which means a higher paycheck. Nice. 

Not much else I can report while typing with a stylus, so I will try to update more later.

Evening Thoughts

Where to start?

Let's start with the cat, since that'll bore everyone to death. Inkwell has learned to sit when I'm preparing his food dish. He recognizes that if he's sitting, he'll get the food faster. Inkwell has also found a new spot to sit. I used to have a garbage can next to my chair under the table. I moved it to the other side of the table. Now Inkwell sits where the garbage used to be. And sometimes bites my arm. Just because.

Yesterday I had two events to cover in the schools. One was an afternoon assembly at a local elementary school, the other was a couple of basketball games at the high school. The afternoon assembly featured The Reptile Man, who brought a number of reptiles (who'da thunkit?) to the school. The first animal he brought out was a snapping turtle that was large and actually somewhat terrifying. He also brought out a blue-tongued skink, then the snakes. The kids ooh'ed and ahh'ed at each new animal, sometimes squealing.

He asked for a volunteer, and a young lady put her hand up without thinking it through. She very shortly after had a boa constrictor wrapped around her. She was terrified. The curious snake put its head in her face to "taste" her and she looked absolutely petrified. When the Reptile Man explained how to untangle yourself from a snake and asked her to take the snake's tail while he held the head, she kept squeaking every time she touched the tail and it moved. Eventually they got the snake off her and she bolted back to the stands.

About seven volunteers got to hold a large python. They were very impressed. Then there was the alligator, Lucy.

Lucy came last. As the Reptile Man brought her out, she started to pee profusely all over the gym floor. This, of course, got the children laughing uproariously. He said Lucy would go to sleep on the count of three... that didn't quite work, but he explained it as "alligators aren't good at counting." At the end of the program, he allowed every single child in that gym to pet Lucy, if they wanted. Some didn't want, but most did. I got lots of good pictures. And, after the children left and I was chatting with the Reptile Man with a teacher, Lucy let loose another stream of pee... fortunately it hit the teacher and not me.

Later I went to a couple of basketball games at the local high school. I was warned ahead of time that one of the players on the girl's team was about to break the school record for most points scored over the course of her high school career. My boss wasn't sure how many she needed to score, but told me to get her picture. So I focused on her every single time she got the ball in the first half. Which was often. The "problem" is that this particular team is really selfless... if they think someone else is in a better spot to score, they will dish the ball to that person rather than take a bad shot. And so the scoring was really spread out among the various players. Just before the half, the player scored 10 points and very nearly scored another time. I saw how every administrator and the refs tensed up when she did and realized her next bucket was the one.

As the third quarter started, I was totally focused on the player. I ignored every other player, thus I got a picture of the shot where she passed the record (10 had tied it). As soon as she made the shot, the refs called a time out and she was presented with the game ball. I jumped out onto the court and got some pictures of her crying. Later I also got a picture of her holding the game ball... after the game and after she'd had time to fix her makeup.

The boys game following was a letdown, but I didn't stay for long. I got my photos and left.

Today was a bit more tame, including a meeting tonight. Overall, I'm just exhausted now. I'm going to go to bed real soon.

Morning Thoughts

Last night was a debacle.

I had two meetings scheduled. The first, at 5:30, was the public works subcommittee meeting. This is a city council subcommittee, which means three council members (Jim, Dean and Craig) are on the committee. In addition, city staff from the public works department comes to present and answer questions. In this case, the public works folks were Jackie and Shane, the director.

I was running a little late, having relaxed a little too well after my regular workday, and ended up racing into the meeting room about a minute after the meeting should have started. To my surprise, the only people there were Jackie and Shane. After registering that I couldn't be late to a meeting of people that weren't there, I asked the usual reporter question of "wha...?" and was told that Dean was on vacation, but neither Jim nor Craig had given any indication they would miss the meeting.

Well, I pulled up my trusty iPad Mini and got Jim's phone number, since he's the mayor. However, being a reporter and not staff, I wasn't sure if I should be calling him. Shane, with a sigh, took over and made the call. Shane's phone was loud enough that both Jackie and I heard both sides of the conversation clearly. Jim had not put the meeting on his schedule... maybe he didn't get the e-mail, maybe he forgot... but he hadn't realized it was happening. Also, Jim had gotten calls from a couple of other council members, the council meeting might be sparsely attended.

So Jackie gleefully went home and Shane and I chatted about various projects, off the record. Then when I spotted Councilman Jason heading into the council chambers, I suggested we move to that room (we were in a conference room in the Law & Justice Center). Shane and I walked over and settled into our usual spots, chatted with Jason a bit... and people started arriving. First came the regulars, Larry and Don, who attend virtually every council meeting as citizens. Then some staff members, the city clerk, the city manager... Craig came in and I asked him why he'd missed the public works meeting. He also hadn't realized there was a meeting. In fact, he was certain the meeting was scheduled for the next council meeting night, two weeks away.

The Mayor came in (in our city, the mayor is just a councilman elected as the mayor by the other council members) and announced that it was possible there would not be a quorum. He'd heard from Deputy Mayor Theresa and Councilman Spencer, both called in sick. Dean was already known to be out of town. That's three of the seven missing for sure. Jim said Francisco would be late, if he showed, due to a parent/teacher conference. That's four of the seven missing... no quorum so no action could be taken.

So the three councilmen, Jason, Craig and Mayor Jim, sat in the council chairs until 6:30 p.m. when Jim called the meeting to order... then immediately adjourned it for lack of a quorum.

I spent an hour at the police station for no reason. Except to have a fun story to blog about this morning.

I immediately sent emails to the editor so he'd know what happened before the day started. Then I headed home for a relaxing evening. It was a very strange evening. A total debacle.

Afternoon Thoughts

It's lunchtime, and I'm at home having consumed a little meal and fed the cat.

Tough morning at work, dealing with strange emotional issues. And I have lots of things to work on that aren't getting done... such is life.

My computer is now taking between 3 and 20 minutes to load any website. It's really frustrating, especially since I've gone over it with as many anti-virus and malware scanners as I can find, and nothing seems to actually be wrong with it. It's just an old enough computer that I guess I just need a new one. It's served me well, but I wish I could get through my websites and feeds and it didn't take 20 minutes to load a link to share on my blog.

Anyway. Back to work.

Morning Thoughts

Inkwell loves his catgrass so much that he put it on his Amazon.com wishlist.

Doctor Who fans rejoice! In addition to the awesome Doctor Who: Legacy game, there's going to be a Doctor Who LEGO set! Leisure time has never been better for Who fans!

I would write more, but my computer is taking a half hour to complete each task I give it, so I'll try to write again later. Perhaps tomorrow.

Morning Thoughts

So Inkwell is so addicted to catgrass that he'll actually go into the bathroom, which he's scared of because it's where he gets his showers. He will sit at the door of the bathroom and look at me hopefully, meow... then he'll go in and get on the counter, waiting for me to bring the catgrass down for him to nom on.

The catgrass "lives" in the windowsill of the bathroom because that's the one window in the house that gets the best light and is difficult for Inkwell to reach. He seems inclined to try to jump up to it, but I keep filling the bathtub, which is right under the window. He gets pretty spooked by the water.

Ok, random Doctor Who picture:

So, is this photoshopped, or what?

Another view of vaccinations: Roald Dahl's story.

I would write more, but my computer is being incredibly slow, so I'll just post this and get to work.

Evening Thoughts

I'm a bit upset about the Seahawks' loss, but it's not as bad as I feared it would be. Yeah, I think the pass attempt was the wrong call, but 24 hours later I think I get why they did it (to mix up the plays) and I'm just more impressed by the Patriots' defense on that play. I still think the 'Hawks should have tried one more running play, but... hindsight is 20/20.

One thing I've noticed. After the Seahawks' first Super Bowl loss I was angry and bitter due to the crappy referees and the general cheating by the league and the Steelers. Despite the notion that the Patriots cheat, the game itself was clean and exciting, and I really don't feel any bitterness at all. I will never be a Patriots fan, but I don't hate them like I still despise the Steelers (and I will continue to hate the Steelers until every member of that Super Bowl cheating team is gone from the league. *ahem*).

I'll go ahead and rant a little next, after the cut, about vaccinations and the lack thereof...

Afternoon Thoughts

It was a long week.

Not a lot to report on, really. I haven't been reading my RSS feed, so I don't have any good links. Looking forward to the NFL game tomorrow... I have absolutely no idea who will win. The teams seem fairly evenly matched to me, but I'm no expert. I keep going back and forth on whether or not the Squishy Ball Scandal has any meaning in the scheme of things. The NFL is such a messed up organization, I can't really bring myself to care about the nonsense that has little to do with the actual game. I do think Jon Stewart's comments on The Daily Show about the fines that Lynch has gotten being more than corporations are fined for destroying the environment is spot on.

This morning I heard a *thump* at the sliding glass door. When I pulled the curtain aside I say a small, terrified pit bull looking at a larger long-haired dog. The pit bull cowered against the window while the bigger dog looked up at me and trotted around the corner of the house and away. I tried to shoo them both away, but the pit was so terrified he just huddled there. Inkwell came racing down the stairs to see what was going on and started making a variety of growls. The little pit just stayed on the porch. Eventually the bigger dog came back and the little pit peed on the porch in terror. I went ahead and called the cops. Both dogs had collars, so I presume they both got loose from their respective homes.

Inkwell has been agitated since the event, checking to make sure no new animals are in our yard every few minutes, and curling up on my lap as often as he can push the computer off. Like right now.

Otherwise, life is pretty boring.

Morning Thoughts

And boom, there goes my streak again. Apparently I have enough time to read books but not enough time (or willpower) to post to my blog. Ah well.

It's been a frustrating week, work-wise. I have been up and down, but never quite on the right footing. My assignments are getting done, barely. After the long meeting on Monday I just feel off. Last night I was taking pictures of wrestling, but the meet started an hour later than originally scheduled... and I had to rush off and go to a school board meeting before the meet was over. Ug.

Cupcakes at the school board meeting... I tweeted a photo of one. Celebrating how great the school board is. Admittedly, it's apparently a great school board, but that gets mentioned a little too often, I think. On the other hand... cupcakes!

Another long day ahead today. First I need to go write about the school board meeting, then I need to head off to get photos at a cheerleading camp. Then tonight, basketball photos. I must remember to put my camera's batteries on the charger when I get to work.

Not much to report on the home front. Inkwell has been needy lately, which makes me worry that he might be sick. But he seems energetic enough. I'm keeping an eye on him to see if he shows any signs of a problem.

Ah well, I'm off to work early. See you in the funny pages.

Morning Thoughts

So, I took a nap when I got home yesterday only to have a cat on my face about 6 p.m. letting me know that he needed his dinner. The nap helped, however... I feel much better today.

This is probably the best way ever to announce a snow closure:

And, grumpy Laura says: people who don't vaccinate their children because of stupid, non-scientific reasons should not be allowed to put those disease-carriers in school. This dad agrees, as his son cannot be vaccinated for genuine medical reasons and the 7 percent exception rate at his local school puts his child in terrible danger. Parents who are unreasonably fearful of vaccines due to Googling anti-vax sites should not be allowed to put children of intelligent parents who actually understand science in danger.

Not sure I'm cool with stooping to their level, but a gay lawmaker is sick of the hypocrisy and has threatened to out fellow lawmakers' affairs to point out that they don't actually sanctify marriage as much as they claim.

Evening Thoughts, again

No links today. I'm too tired to cut and paste.

Another mostly calm day at work. Nothing major to report on reporting on.

It's brutally cold outside. Like climbing into a cold bath every time you go out the door. It's the wind that's making it hard. It stayed around 20F today, which isn't that bad... but the wind cuts through you.

Watched a little more Campion tonight. Maybe I'll watch some tomorrow, too. Who knows. I'm still trying to get through comic books and magazines I've been neglecting. Drinking herbal tea and reading is a good way to pass the time.

Well, this is why I haven't been writing. Not much to say. I'll sign off, and maybe I'll finish the year with a blog entry tomorrow. Adios.

Evening Thoughts

First up, a link: Breaking Cat News Christmas Special: Part Eight (conclusion). If you missed it, start here and just keep clicking next to read the whole thing. That final panel... I think some dust got in my eye again.

It wasn't really a long day at work today. Work is kind of loose right now due to the holiday. It's not easy to get stuff to fill pages when school is out, none of the service groups are meeting and all the school board and city council meetings are done for the year. Even the school sports are sparse. I managed to get all my writing for tomorrow AND Wednesday done this morning, even a column.

My dentist just retired. I offered to go to his retirement party for a co-worker who had been assigned to take a standalone photo at it, just to make sure I wouldn't get lazy and not attend. It was fun. And good food, too. But I really need some serious protein soon. My body is starting to get over-sugared.

Not a lot else to report from here. I've been watching Campion on Amazon Prime and enjoying it. Also catching up on comic books. Having few/no evening meetings means much more time.

We expected to get snow yesterday, but instead it rained a little and maybe flurried a tiny bit this morning, then bright sunshine this afternoon. Right now there's a nasty cold wind blowing that makes it feel considerably colder outside than it really is. No idea if the snow will materialize or not. The weather prediction seems to be changing every three hours.

Inkwell spotted the neighbor cat in the yard today. It was chowing down on a bird, and I think Inkwell was extremely jealous. So I pulled out Inkwell's harness and put it on him, then took him out into the freezing cold wind. The neighbor cat took off immediately and Inkwell attempted to get back inside immediately. I picked Inkwell up and checked out what the cat was eating... euw. Then a car came up the street and Inkwell nearly clawed my shirt off trying to get away from it. I quickly got him back inside. He's a true scaredy-cat.

I didn't put many Christmas decorations up, but what got put up is still there. I need to find a 3-way bulb for a lamp before I take down the tree. I wanted to get an LED bulb, but I haven't been able to find one I thought was worth the price, based on reviews.

Ok, need to figure out what's for dinner. Hopefully, I will write again tomorrow.

Christmas Eve Morning

I wish I had more prepared to post, but I'm somewhat empty at the moment.

Last night Eric and I attended the company Christmas party at the local bowling alley. I participated, even though I haven't bowled in more than 20 years. It was only the second time ever I've bowled. I got a strike, two spares, and a lot of gutterballs. I scored a pathetic 85, but it's better than my first attempt, if I recall correctly.

I also got two awards from the company. The first was for best celebration after a strike. The second was for worst form. Eh, it evens out.

Well, I'm going to be late for work regardless of what I do, so I'd better head out now. I've got a photo to get before hitting the office.

One last link: I wish Eric and I could afford a full set of these. There's so much Doctor Who merchandise now it's impossible to keep up.

Monday...

...and I'm back to work again. I did some work last night as well, headed off to a church service. I hope the photos come out.

Apparently I've neglected the blog again. I want to write something every day for myself, but I keep getting caught up in what I have to do and forgetting to do what I want to do.

I have been saving some links...

• The Parable of the Polygons is a playable post that helps people to visualize diversity.
• I haven't kept you up to date on the Breaking Cat News Christmas Special... Here's Part Four, Part Five and Part Six, in which the story really gets exciting. Who's a good boy?!
• And, if you enjoyed that, you probably ought not to read Wonder Noir by Ursula Vernon. You've been warned. Wicked for a different sort of fairy tale.
• Headlines are more important than you may have thought.

Ok, not much more to say this morning, and I do need to get to work. I'm enjoying the Seahawks season-end run, but as a true-blue Seattle fan I keep expecting something to go horribly wrong. Part of me still thinks the Superbowl win was a dream.