Last night, I made too much pasta. At the time, this seemed a good idea. I was about to go to the store and figured I’d just use all of my materials (pasta, cheese, sauce, meat) and while at the store, I’d buy some tupperware in which to keep the leftovers. When I finished dinner (I wanted to eat before going, as shopping on an empty stomach is dangerous) I decided to digest my food and re-arrange my room. By the time I finished that, I’d added a couch (loveseat) to my main room, gotten a new desk chair, replaced my coffee table, and had 3/4 of a large pot of cold pasta without anywhere to store it effectively. I put the whole pot inside a plastic shopping bag and slid it in the fridge. I’ve now had pasta for the last three meals. The sun just set in Doha, and I am listening to Four Tet (one of the weirdest bands around) and polishing off a 1.5L of water. Stay hydrated, y’all. I think Shakespeare wrote that, or maybe Keats. Anyway, the end of my week means the beginning of a dump, so here’s what I’ve got.
1. Last week, I mentioned how isolated I am from the US political scene. That said, I think it’s my patriotic duty to stay moderately informed about the elections, despite already having my mind mostly made up. However, since I like the internet and internet polls, I find this website, which allows us to track which candidate we “most agree” with regarding the major issues on the campaign trail. I’ve taken the quiz twice, and surprisingly found different questions each time, resulting in different results. It takes about ten minutes to complete and don’t neglect the scale option on the side where you can measure how much an issue matters to you.
http://www.isidewith.com/presidential-election-quiz?from=80357903
2. Steffes, you’ve inspired me to look more into space. Here you are. Last week, I was speaking with Emily and she asked me if I had the opportunity to to go the Moon, would I go there? I decided no. Frankly, it doesn’t interest me. I’d rather go to Cuba. But I am glad that there are people out there who are really stoked about moon colonies (Newt) or space travel. I think it’s good to have diversity in the world. I think space is important, it’s just not important to me. Therefore, a story about a rover we (US) launched into space in the 70s only sort of makes me say, “whoa cool.” I guess the rover, or ship, or whatever is about to exit our solar system. It’s loaded up with an A-track machine, and a golden record with music and sounds of our planet. Cool stuff space. Good work astronauts.
http://www.npr.org/2012/09/05/160609488/after-35-years-voyager-nears-edge-of-solar-system
3. Never having seen any of the Matrix films (never in full. Bits and pieces on TV over the years), maybe I am not the guy to write a short blurb about the Wachowskis, and their career as film-writers/creators. On the other hand, I already talked about this movie, and linked a trailer to it a few weeks past, so it’s only fitting. Cloud Atlas is going to be ambitious undertaking. This is a profile, granted to the author by the reclusive Wachowski family, about the creation of the film and a mini-bio of the two involved. I bet this story (a long read) is confusing for people who haven’t read Cloud Atlas, but it will give you an opportunity to learn about what promises to be a film people are talking about. So if you’re the type who likes to say, “I read a piece about that film a few months back in the New Yorker,” then this is your opportunity.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/09/10/120910fa_fact_hemon?currentPage=all
4. During this years Olympics, (and also I bet the Paralympics, which I haven’t seen any of due to my location out of the country) there was a lot of coverage about Oscar Pistorious. The man with bladed legs. I thought it was a treat to see him running with some of the world’s fastest, but others out there, we’ll call them purists, objected. “It’s one step away from robots competing.” “Where do you draw the line between man and machine?” “What if he had robotic arms and could hurl a fastball 120mph, would they let him play baseball?” I don’t have to answer those questions, because I am just a fan of things, but DARPA just made things a whole lot more interesting. DARPA is a RnD firm based in Boston that just created Robotic Cheetahs that can run (and sustain) 28mph which may be used in military exercises in the next few years. In theory, this cheetah could complete a marathon in under an hour.
http://mashable.com/2012/09/05/robot-faster-usain-bolt/
5. “Opinions are like assholes; everyone’s got one but no one really wants to hear about someone else’s.” I just made that quote up. I think the basis of it is a real thing, that people always attribute to “an uncle” or “old teacher of mine.” You can now attribute it to “this crappy blogger I used to read” if you choose. Anyway, here is an opinion from a doctor about Obamacare. This doctor is an internist, which means he’s unpaid and probably trying to get college credit or something. Spoiler alert: he hates Obamacare. It’ll make him do more work, and less quality work. More numbers, more forms, more computers, less time to be effective, but more expectations that you will be. (side note: teachers have been dealing with this sort of pressure for years, so I don’t really feel bad for him.) Nonetheless, an interesting opinion from a man who apparently served in Congress, and has done open heart surgery. (Double Threat! + potential role model for Fire5auce)
http://theweek.com/bullpen/column/232510/what-my-doctor-thinks-of-obamacare
6. Apologies for anyone who wants to look at pictures from “the edge of the world” but don’t want to click on a link that will also feature photos of Ice T’s wife Coco in a bikini with a lot of her butt showing. I did my best to find a more SFW link for this, but failed. There used to be kid I knew ( he still exists, but haven’t talked to him since he went to Arizona back in June, so no one knows if he’s still around) who made a good argument about the world being flat. Told me about the flat earth society and how they aren’t sure about this “Globe” idea. Anyway, these photos are taken from spots some might consider the edge of the world, as though the world were flat and you could fall off. If you aren’t in to photos of the edge of the world, the page also offers a link to “Guess the celebrity rack.” So it’s really got everything for everyone.
http://coedmagazine.com/2012/09/01/23-amazing-photos-taken-at-the-edge-of-the-world/
7. The last two days I’ve had to deal with some news that I won’t call “bad” as much as it’s unfortunate for me. I’d rank it up there with times I lost a Monopoly game, or when the Patriots lost the Super Bowl (the losses to the Giants. The one to the Bears I wasn’t alive for, and the one to the Packers was a formative good memory for me). Anyway, whenever I am in a funk, or bad mood, I like to think of Parks and Recreation. This show is absolutely delightful and it turns out that today a 17m clip with bloopers and outtakes appeared on the internet! Coming home, before I ate more pasta, I watched this clip and almost immediately felt better about things. It contains Season 4 spoilers, but it’s worth watching in its entirety. Hilarity ensues. There are a few inappropriate jokes, and swearing, but c’est la vie, non?
http://www.uproxx.com/tv/2012/09/parks-and-recreation-gag-reel/
I am supposed to be downstairs to meet some people for dinner in a few moments, so I must take of my sweatpants and put on real pants. It’s the weekend, though I have to work Saturday, and a full day of school plus some on Sunday. We start regular schedules next week, so who knows what the posts will look like? Not me. It’s a wait and see sort of situation. Enjoy the first weekend of full football programming, read and click some links, and eat some bacon for me. Take care,
Sam
Going Missing for Awhile 
Check your e-mail for a comment, Sammo
Sam, I like your opinions “proverb? ” BTW, I thought you were already fluent in Arabic. Uncle Bob.
Fluent might be over stating things by a factor of a thousand. I speak a bit of it. I’m working on it.