Baggy Pants. Baggy, baggy pants.

On Monday, I was driving through a neighborhood far from my own on the way to visit a machine shop deep in an industrial complex.  On the side walk I spotted a kid (18?, 20?) literally holding his pants up. 

There was a belt through the belt loops, yet he was shuffling along at a quick pace holding his pants up with one hand.

The belt was totally below his ass and one leg of the boxers was on top of the pants.  So, I then noticed it was actually a group of these guys (baggy pants guys), possibly 6 or 9, walking/jogging quickly through a parking lot.  The guy with the baggiest pants was as the back of the pack.  Around the corner were two guys scrapping.  Seriously, one guy was beating the shit out of the other one. It was pretty one-sided. One of the crowd stepped in and started trying to break it up.

I'm not opposed to getting involved, but I was a lone guy wearing business casual in a place I really did not fit in, so I drove on.

The image and feelings of helplessness are sticking with me.  I was afraid.

Anyway, from this, I think I figured something out. It occurred to me that the guys with the baggiest pants must be the least likely to commit crimes.  Why?

You can't run if you have to hold your pants up.

To carry this a step further (a step too far?), I decided that the baggy pants look is all about looking like something you're not.  I'm not sure what that something is.  A part of me wonders if pants too big are meant to look like you've lost weight from a crack binge, yet are so tough that you still have all the functions intact?  The comedy is, I know that just because you look tough, you know that you can't run fast enough to get away, so you're probably not doing anything bad.
:)

I AM A NAME, not a number....

When I was in Junior High School (middle school for many of you) I had a friend that was learning the art of Tattoo. I thought it would be so cool to get a barcode tattooed on my arm. You know, like my Social Security Number or something... so uh... 1984, right? Well, fortunately, I realized how crazy an Idea that was before I ever did it and, now, knowing what I've learned about the Holocaust, I'm even more thankful I didn't know how to generate a bar code in 1984...

So anyway.... Today I saw a post about trolling on a message board and some strange series of switches and gears in my head turned and I suddenly wondered, "Why do people choose to be identified by numbers in usernames for email and messageboards and the like?"

Really. Why be John687? You would choose to be known as just one of 100s of Johns? Why not John_the_Number as something at least a little more identifying?

I know, silly questions and there are plenty of good answers and reasons, but it is a little weird to me.

"Bush kills the Hubble"

Golly. I know it's popular to hate the President and really popular to hate Bush Jr., but to blame him for killing the Hubble seems a little short sighted. I was reading on a general message board how people believed that if it weren't for Bush invading IRAQ we wouldn't be in the position of needing to decommission the Hubble Telescope.

For anyone that isn't familiar with the Hubble project, I recommend viewing some images and news stories at: http://www.space.com/hubble/

It was brought to my attention that at least a few people out there believe Bush is "flip-flopping" after pushing for advances in space exploration last year and then cutting hubble from the budget this year and suggesting the cuts are necessary because of spending in IRAQ.

Whether or not the cuts are "necessary" is irrelevant. The people in charge of the program and the guys at good ol' John Hopkins believe that the danger involved in attempting to repair a project that was FUBAR from the start outweighs the cost of attempts, whether the money is available or not.

According to an international team led by Johns Hopkins University astronomers, the best answer may lie not in a robot-led or manned repair mission, but through the launch of a brand new, free-flying telescope called the "Hubble Origins Probe."

I could blame the Bush administration for my decision to not add a second level to my house, but the reality is that it's a bad investment that wouldn't see beneficial returns and therefore the money is being earmarked for a new house. That's a decision I make whether or not cash is available budget-wise. That's the decision being made by NASA in regards to the Hubble.

The Hubble was problematic (if memory serves) before it was complete, covered up, disclosed, repaired (WAY over budget) and launched even though the repairs didn't fix the problems and the project is still plagued with problems. The money and danger involved with additional repair missions would be better spent on a replacement telescope.

How can this be a problem with Bush? I see it as sign of some intelligent thought from the Bush administration. Following the recommendations of the people who know best is usually a good plan. Much better than telling the "experts" what to say.

Hopkins recommendation news: http://sse.jpl.nasa.gov/news/display.cfm?News_ID=10380

Community? Misery loves company? What?

I've been talking about blogs to everyone today, since I started this yesterday. Why do we (people in general) do this? Is it that we want ... what's the word? ... approval? no... justification? no... confirmation... something from others to make us feel that what we are doing is good. I think it's human nature to want to fit in with others and we look far and wide to avoid buyers remorse.

SuperBowl Sunday

This has got to be one of the most over-hyped, over-sensationalized and over-rated events of the year. One of... I do think it surpasses even American Xmas as the the most commercialized day of the year. Not in terms of actual money, but in terms of blatant, overt commercialism without even really trying to hide behind some religious or nationalistic motive. Some people watch the Super Bowl just for the commercials. Wow! I got a ReplayTV device for the equal and opposite reason - so I don't have to watch commercials....