Guesses At Nothing

1. That people drive more aggressively on Friday than they do on Sunday.


2. That when you see a motorcycle helmet spinning in the road it is never a good thing.


3. That guys on Harleys are cool while guys on crotch rockets are maniacs.


4. That it is possible to hit rush hour in Richmond, Fredericksburg, Washington D.C.,and Baltimore all in the same day.


5. That people in Baltimore don't like it when you cut in line at the toll booth for the tunnel. (It was an accident, I swear).


6. That a woman screaming obscenities can be heard even with the windows up.


7. That it costs you fourteen dollars in tolls to drive from Raleigh, NC to Lansdale, PA.


8. That 301 S is a better ride than I95 S.


9. That Meghann can, in fact, whistle.  I heard her do it.


10. That cars can spontaneously catch on fire. 


11. That the Papa John's delivery guy will stop and run back to get his advertising light when it flies off of his car. 


12. That traveling is fun, but coming home is better.

I had to mention this one.  John Edwards sneezes into his hand, then wipes his nose, then, you guessed it; he starts shaking hands with his adoring fans.

I am writing this because I have nothing to write about.  Inherit paradox aside, I am looking for suggestions for things to write about.  I tend to be too political at times and it is because politics is an easy subject.  But sometimes I don't feel like talking about how Colin Powell spoke out against Guantanamo, or that Joe Lieberman is an asshole.  Not that this stuff isn't important, but honestly, sometimes I am too tired to be outraged. 

So what should I talk about?  Or should I take the hint and just shut up?

That marine I was talking about a week or so ago?  Well, a military panel recommended the he should have a general discharge under honorable conditions.  A move that is just benign enough to not really be all that news worthy and just punitive enough to discourage other ex-military from speaking out against the war.  Kokesh says he will appeal.

After spending my afternoon moving wheelbarrows full of concrete and pouring them into a ditch to make a retaining wall I realized several things. 

1. That I can only move about four wheelbarrows before dehydration sets in and I feel like I am going to pass out.
2. That though it may seem like an easier job, leveling the concrete is just as exhausting.
3. That my uncle is a well designed machine for wheelbarrow pushery.
4. That it is an oddball day when you are a webmaster and you spend your afternoon getting paid for construction work.
   
5. And finally, that maybe there was a reason why the North went through an industrial revolution while the South struggled to keep up.

Think about it.   Modern technology makes manual labor a heck-of-a lot easier than it was during the time of the industrial revolution.  Now we can pave roads and build structures with the help of motorized equipment that will do the heavy lifting so to speak.  Before people had to do it by hand.  People don't work so well when it is ninety-eight degrees at ninety percent humidity.  Production grinds to a standstill.  While the North had mild summers in which to lay railroad tracks and build factories, the South had a scorching summer thats kind of like an Energizer battery; it just keeps going and going and going.   Any sane Southerner would rather sit in the shade with a glass of sweet tea than shovel concrete all day.

Of course it is not that simple.  There are probably hundreds of reasons why the South didn't develop as quickly as the North.  The outdated economic model of the Antebellum South in which a small aristocracy relied on forced labor for agriculture didn't make industrial development all that appealing.   The money was in the soil.  Raw goods like cotton and tobacco could be sold to Europe or the North for massive profits.  Why bother pouring resources into the production of  materials from these goods? 

Well, we all know how that story played out, and I have no problem saying that the South is a wonderful place to live.  Scorching heat aside, work gets done and where I live there is construction happening everywhere.  Construction means that there are people coming to the area.  Northerners are moving down here in droves because there are jobs; a scarcity in Upstate New York where I am from.  In fact, North Carolina and New York State have had the largest trade in citizens of any two states in the union over the last couple of years.  Something like 300,000 moving to NC, and 30,000 moving to New York.  And I'd imagine that some of those 30,000 are New Yorkers that moved here and then back.  Maybe they couldn't handle the heat.

Here is a picture of the tomato plant I mentioned in the last post, and a basil plant that we are growing too.

 

1. Should the tomatoes go out front where they'll get more light.  They will also be more of a target for vandalism and theft,  crazy neighbors.
   


2. Should I have gotten stitches?  I cut my fingertip pretty good.  I broke a bottle in the recycle bin and thought, maybe I should pick that up so the recycle guys won't hurt themselves.  Schmuck.  It is fun to show people my wound since it is on my middle finger. ; )


3. Which am I afraid of having stolen more, things or ideas.  I used to think it was ideas, but I didn't have as many things then. ; )


4. Do I use too many emoticons?  The answer is no, no I do not.  :)


5. Is the dishwasher broken? 
   

These are all fairly mundane.  But I wager it is a good thing that life can be so mundane.  It is not always good to be caught up in the drama.