I stumbled on an amazing poem today. I am really envious of how powerful this poem is and I hope my own poetry is even occasionally as powerful as this.
Here, read it for yourself: The Sum of His Parts
Very good stuff!
Who Polices the Police?
February 1, 2009 
1 Comment
The Florida Highway Patrol arrested a man for violently resisting arrest last night when he was pulled over on I-4 near SeaWorld in Orlando. Seems pretty straightforward, right? Wrong.
Read the story here and see if you can read between the lines.
If you missed the barely touched on point in the story let me elucidate:
The man was pulled over for speeding. By the cop he was behind on I-4. That means that the cop was speeding as well. Obviously the cop was not en route to somewhere he needed to be in order to “Serve and protect” us – because he had time to pull over the man who was following him.
Just as obvious – the man was an idiot for resisting the officer. When the cop pulled him over he should have just smiled, accepted his ticket, and fought the ticket in court. He would have lost – just because a cop is speeding does not give him the right to speed. The man let his righteous indignation get the best of him.
But the man’s ire is one I can relate to. All too often I see cops turn on their lights to speed through an intersection, only to turn them off again when they get to the other side. I see cops double parked. I watch them perform illegal turns. I watch them speeding every day. They tailgate just to intimidate people and make them so nervous they commit a traffic infraction.
Of all the agencies in Central Florida I have found the Florida Highway Patrol to be the best of breed. They are the most polite, the most professional. Orlando Police Department is the worst; their cops are a bunch of power-crazed assholes with no respect for the law or anyone else.
FHP pulled the man over last night. He tried to say he had done nothing wrong, but that was a lie – he was speeding and, supposedly, tailgating the cop. The man should have just accepted his ticket.
Anyone who knows me knows I have a serious issue with authority – cops in particular. There are ways to assert your rights during a traffic stop, though, that will not lead to mace or tasers – and I know every one of them and use them. During a traffic stop, I urge everyone to assert their rights and not let the cops overstep their bounds.
As for cops who speed or break traffic laws – all we can do is take pictures, video, and confront the agencies. Since OPD is a a big ole boy’s club, nothing will happen – they’re a bunch of assholes who have too much power and too little accountability. As for FHP – they are pretty strict in their officer conduct and they will take action to curb dangerous and illegal activity – even if it is one of their own.
There’s a Fungus Among Us!
January 30, 2009 0 Comments
One of the side effects of not having a functional salivary gland is that you tend to get fungal infections in the mouth easily. Thrush.
Yes, I have thrush.
My tongue looks very similar to what you see above. Kinda gross to look at, huh? Well, you should feel it. It feels like grass is growing on my tongue.
What it boils down to is all of us have the fungus that causes thrush in our mouths but it never had a chance to thrive because our salivary system flushes it out before it can take root. I don’t have that luxury.
I have slowed down my daily rinses with baking soda and salt water as my throat starts to feel a little better – and that was a mistake. Apparently I need to keep it up as long as I have salivary issues. The baking soda and salt prevent thrush from thriving. So, I’m back to that nasty rinse.
My doctor prescribed some anti-fungal medicine, so I can expect this to clear up in a day or two. Until then, I have a fuzzy mouth.
Ugh.
Acts of Sedition
January 29, 2009 1 Comment
For many years, I had a great friend by the name of Chaz Stevens. We met when I lived in South Florida, hit it off on many levels, and stayed friends and professional colleagues for over a decade. His personality is 180 degrees from mine. Where I am reserved, he is flamboyant. Where I am cautious he is reckless. I always envied him that.
Man – we had the best debates and late-night arguments over love, philosophy, life, mathematics, science – you name it. We both thought we were smarter than the other and, sometimes, we were right. Of course, the arrogant sunofabitch infuriated me 90% of the time, but I loved it and the feeling was mutual (I think).
Anyway – right when I was going through my divorce he approached me to help him with a professional project. I was a mess at the time and not even close to being in my right mind – but I accepted the contract and a few thousand dollars to get started from the client.
And then I fucked it up beyond all recognition. I couldn’t get my act together. I was unfocused, unmotivated, and apathetic. Like I said, I was an emotional wreck and should never have taken the contract. To top it off, I was forced to spend the contract seed money just to make ends meet as I reeled under the financial impact of the divorce.
So, when I tried to back out of the contact of course the client wanted the money back and I couldn’t pay. I set up a payment plan and paid it back – but this situation irrevocably killed my friendship with Chaz. He had recommended me in good faith and not only had I failed, but it appeared that I was shady as well. It tarnished Chaz’s reputation and put him in a really awkward position.
It got ugly between us. And we went our separate ways. But I regret losing my friend; it truly was my fault and was avoidable if I could have just gotten my act together. I lost my very best friend, T.J., in 1997 to a madman with a shotgun and ever since I have learned to value my friendships highly.
Losing Chaz hurt like hell as well (not as bad as a murdered friend – but bad enough). It hurt especially because I knew where the fault lay. With me.
I know I blogged about responsible friendships last week. But the truth is that I have been on both sides of this – I have been the responsible friend and I have been the fucked-up mess that ruins a friendship. I’m definitely not holier-than-thou on this topic. Life is messy in general – but losing a friend is one of the hardest and messiest things a person can experience.
Anyway – I was thinking about Chaz tonight and did a little Google search. It seems that he has been HIGHLY influential in local politics down south – to the point of exposing rampant corruption and ineptitude in his hometown of Deerfield Beach. His efforts have forever changed the face of politics down there.
Even though we’re not friends anymore – I am proud of and happy for him. He was always talking about getting involved in politics when I knew him – and it seems he did so with a gusto. It’s also a testament to the power of a blogger – for much of his mischief is stirred up via his blog.
Anyway, check this out:
Miami Herald: Deerfield Beach arrests fuel political debate
New Times: Gadfly Chaz Stevens brought down a couple Deerfield Beach politicians
Way to go Chaz – give em hell!
What Happy Couples Argue About
January 28, 2009 1 Comment
Carey and I are blissfully happy as we live our life, plan a marriage, and just love each other and our family. Still, every couple has their disagreements and Carey and I are no exception. In our time together we’ve never had a fight, we’ve never raised our voices to each other, and we’ve certainly never gone to bed angry.
But we have had a tense moment or two. And they are invariably over silly things. I suppose a happy couple find the silly things imminently more entertaining to argue over than the non-silly things.
Take yesterday, for example. Carey and I had an argument that lasted like two hours. It wasn’t tense. We laughed even as we argued, but we were both definitely irritated at one another. What were we arguing about? This:
Yes. We argued over a video game.
Let me give you some background. When you first play the game, you create a town. That town is the town all players on that Wii console live and play in. Our town is called “Sparksty.”
That means that if I log in as my character (named “Dude”) and pick up items lying around town, those items are not available for Carey’s character (named “Princess”) when she logs in.
So we play every day and new items appear every day. When we play, we’re always together. Since only one person can play at a time, we watch each other play.
So now you have the background. Let me detail out the argument (edited for brevity):
Carey: (watching Ron play) – oooh, what’s that item you just picked up our of the recycle bin?
Ron: (looking) – it’s a “Classic Desk.”
Carey: (excited) Can I have it? My house is decorated with the “Classic” collection and I need that desk.
Ron: I could sell it for 2,500 Bells (dollars), but of course. Since you need it I’ll drop it in the mail for you. When you log in next it will be there for you.
Carey: Thanks, honey. I love you!
Ron: Love you too (his character writes a letter to Carey’s and sends the desk in the mail)
~~time passes and the above scene repeats itself 3-4 times in the span of a week~~
Ron: (watching Carey play) – OMG – that’s a SURFBOARD! I want that. Don’t buy it please, honey. I’ll go get it when I log in. That will look great in my house.
Carey: pppfffft. I want it. It’s mine. (she takes the surfboard and puts it in her house)
~~time passes and the above scene repeats itself with another item~~
Ron: You know that’s pretty mean.
Carey: What do you mean?
Ron: I wanted that. I asked you for it.
Carey: But you get to play every day while I work!
Ron: But I don’t. You get annoyed if I take all the good things. I really want that, please give it to me.
Carey: You’re kidding me, right?
Ron: No. Every time I ask you to give me something you refuse, but I give you things you ask for all the time.
Carey: This is ridiculous.
Ron: Yeah – it’s just a game, but I think I just won’t play any more. Because I am annoyed.
Carey: You’re not going to play anymore?
Ron: It’s not worth it – I don’t want to go back and forth like this and you’re very competitive.
Carey: I am competitive.
Ron: I know – and you have no problems asking me for stuff but you won’t give me anything.
Carey: OMG – I can’t believe we’re arguing over this. Are you seriously upset?
Ron: A little. It’s frustrating when we don’t play by the same rules.
Carey: Just don’t give me things if I ask for them – if you want them.
Ron: But I would always give them to you. I know you wouldn’t ask unless you REALLY wanted it. You wouldn’t ask for just anything – only for what’s important to you.
Carey: You’re being over sensitive.
Ron: And you’re being callous and insensitive.
Carey: You are such a girl sometimes.
Ron: …
Carey: Ok snookums; I’ll give you something when you ask for it. Just don’t spend it all in one place.
Ron: Thank you. ~~whispers~~ meanie-head
Carey: and MY character is named “Princess?” sheesh.
Ron: I’ll out-quip you one day!
Carey: Don’t count on it sweetie. Now be a dear and get me a drink.
Ron: OK.
This, people, is what happy couples argue about. The entire argument was tongue-in-cheek, but we WERE annoyed at each other.
CitiGroup Execs Try to Screw Taxpayers
January 27, 2009 2 Comments
I don’t really have words for how disgusted I am at this. CitiGroup, after receiving $45 billion in taxpayer money for their bailout, has decided to buy a $50 million dollar French jet to ferry corporate executives to and fro.
Never mind that they already have a fleet of corporate jets. Never mind that the jet is French, so they’re not even pumping money back into the struggling American economy.
Read this article by the New York Post. The article gets it right when they call this despicable. This is why, people, we need oversight on how the bailout money is spent. Superfluous purchases like this are a gross violation of the spirit of the bailout and the executives who approve this kind of waste should be brought up on charges.
The good news is that the White House got news of this travesty and called CitiGroup to the carpet. The White House said the purchase was “unacceptable” and CitiGroup decided to forgo the purchase of the plane. Read the CNN article on it.
When are these rich executives going to start behaving responsibly? They won’t unless we watchdog them. We need more oversight of these bailout funds. Period. We caught them this time? But how much of this irresponsible behavior are we not seeing because we have no oversight?
What is a friend?
January 25, 2009 4 Comments
According to the dictionary, a friend is “a person you know well and regard with affection and trust.”
I think that it’s significant that the definition includes two parameters, affection and trust.
All too often we have affection for people we cannot trust and want to think of them as friends. You can love someone and have zero trust in them and their ability to do what they say, follow through, etc. So you call this person your “friend” and because you have such strong affection for them you continually extend the hand of trust – only to have it consistently and regularly smacked and bruised.
You do this over and over again – because affection is a powerful emotion – until one day you realize, “I’m never getting any reciprocation. I can’t trust this person.” At that moment, you realize that this person is no friend to you – at least not at this point. Your have two options:
- Ignore this epiphany, keep calling this person your friend, and continue to get hurt as your trust is abused.
- You reset your expectations, step back, and realize that this is not a friend to you at all.
The hardest part is when you allow “extenuating circumstance” to validate this person’s behavior. “He had a hard childhood.” “He’s seeing a therapist.” Eventually you make excuses for his behavior and even assume some of the burden of the problem, “I know how he is – I have to accept him for who he is.”
Wrong. You don’t. If someone is going to call you “friend” there is a certain minimum expectation. Friends can, and will, hurt each other. They will fight. They will argue. They will disagree. They may even disappear for years at a time.
There’s also one other thing that all friends do: they TRY.
When you continually try to keep a friendship alive and the other person rebuffs you over and over again – it’s time to stop being a friend. It’s like an abusive relationship – familiarity and fear of the unknown keeps you tied to an unhealthy situation.
Until the day you decide you don’t have to take it any more. Then, you just reset your expectations. You say to yourself, “this person isn’t a friend of mine.” And you move on – you find a friend that will try – that you can trust. If you’re like me, you don’t do it silently – you tell your “friend” that you’re moving on and you tell them exactly why you are doing so. You tell them that life is too short for false friends and that you’re going to find a true friend and stop wasting your time with him.
And they’re out there.
The problem is – you’re so incredibly sad when you do this. You hope against hope that this, final, gesture will open his eyes and that he will step up and start being the friend you always hoped he would be.
Neith: The Legendary Moon of Venus
January 24, 2009 0 Comments
I few years ago I learned that early astronomers, using small telescopes, had discovered what they thought was a moon orbiting Venus. More than one astronomer discovered this moon and documented – only to have it later disappear.
What was going on? Was this some new astronomical phenomenon? A moon that could pop in and out of existence?
No – it was merely a case of mistaken identity. It was later surmised that these astronomers were confusing background stars for a moon. Their apparently close proximity in the field of view of the telescope fooled them into thinking they were seeing a moon.
This idea intrigued me. A lot. So I added it to my list of “neat facts for a possible story.” All writers have some kind of scrapbook of ideas – this one went into mine.
I never did anything with the idea – until last week. My good friend Teri at IrrationalCat, with whom I have been writing for years, wanted to have a back-and-forth Flash Fiction story with me.
This kind of Flash Fiction is fun. Each writer write 200-500 words, a “chapter”, and sends it back to the other to continue. You’re not supposed to flesh out every detail – the goal is to keep the story moving. As such, it is usually bereft of a lot of description. Think of it as building a skeleton of a story, in it’s entirety, before you go back and add the flesh.
So, without futher adieu , I present to you, for your reading enjoyment:
Neith, The Legendary Moon of Venus
by Ron Sparks and Teri Eaton
by Ron Sparks and Teri Eaton
New chapters will be added as we write them. Please read and comment. Your ideas might get incorporated into a future chapter!
Kudos to Outbrain.com
January 23, 2009 6 Comments
My good friend Tomomi over at Jazz’s Journal turned me on to the “star rating” system you see at the bottom of every post now. It allows you, the reader, to rate every post. Additionally, this feature will recommend entries that you may find interesting as well.
This widget was developed by a company called Outbrain. They offer it for free to all bloggers. You don’t even have to register, although it helps if you do.
When I first installed it the widget, it didn’t work because I use a custom template. The Outbrain widget uses JavaScript and CSS to send AJAX calls back to the Outbrain server for rating storage and retrieval. Nothing earth-shattering, but the widget didn’t work with my site template.
So I emailed Outbrain and asked for help.
Within a day, Kate from Outbrain had analyzed my site and modified their widget for me. They customized it to work on my site.
Unfortunately the customization didn’t work with IE 7. It worked with Firefox, though. When I realized that IE users weren’t seeing the widget, I emailed Kate back and explained the situation to her.
Within 30 minutes it was fixed.
People – I am so impressed with this company. They get it. They give away a great product for free. They offer superior service – for free. How do they make their money?
I haven’t spent any time studying their business model – but they have impressed me so much that I would willingly and gladly purchase additional services from them. Of course, the statistical data they gather from my site and other sites is invaluable. Those gestalt figures are worth a fortune in and of themselves. Also, I can imagine “weighted” recommendation for preferred vendors coming down the pipe one day.
Bottom line, folks, Outbrain has earned a fan. I urge you to use their service if you blog.
Recent Changes to this Blog
January 22, 2009 1 Comment
I’ve overhauled this blog, as you may have noticed. Allow me to take a moment to detail out the new features and changes so you can take advantage of them:
Features
- Star Ratings on Blog Posts
At the bottom of each post is a 5-star rating. I encourage you to use this feature. The more ratings you enter, the better my content will be. Also, this widget will actively SUGGEST entries for you to read when a critical mass of ratings is received. So – USE IT. Please. - Thumb This Up
If you are a member of StumbleUpon and like my posts, click this button on the posts you like. I want exposure and StumbleUpon is one of the best ways to get it. You need to thumb me up, though, so I can get indexed! - Digg This
Like StumbleUpon, Digg relies on you. If you like a post and are a member of Digg, please Digg It. It helps me.
Design Changes
- Top Navigation
You will now see 4 tabs on the top of your screen. Home, Pictures, Poetry, and Fiction. These are quick links – use em. Read the poetry and fiction, look at the pictures. - Categories
Every post I create has a category associated with it. For instance, “weirdness” is a category. If you find you like my weirdness posts, you can view them all from here. - Archive
This is a change. It used to expand out to show you all the psosts month by month, but I couldn’t get it to work right with this new look and feel. So it’s actually less functional than it used to be. No one used it though. Categories are much more useful.
As always, I hope you enjoy my blog. Please comment on the posts!
Ron Sparks
The Binary Biker 