Irresponsibility

I received this forward in my inbox recently:

Please navigate to this website to sign the online petition asking Congress to (merely) open "exploration of proven energy reserves".

The exact quote of the request is:
"We, therefore, the undersigned citizens of the United States, petition the U.S. Congress to act immediately to lower gasoline prices by authorizing the exploration of proven energy reserves to reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources from unstable countries."

This was the personal addendum to the forwarded request. I have removed all of the personal details.

My personal back story.
When I first arrived with my family in [somewhere] in April of 2000, the price of regular unleaded gasoline was $1.35.
I was followed into the 'Jiffy' gas station...by [a] photographer. The following morning [in the newspaper], my photo appeared on B1, during an unusual downturn in local gas prices, 10% lower than they were in [somewhere else] one day before.

At the time I knew gas prices were only destined to rise higher, who could have guessed that the prices would be just below $4.00 per gallon a mere 8 years later!!

We found that that environmental concerns (dire predictions of irreparable harm) were not only addressed with the drilling of Prudhoe Bay and the Alyeska Pipeline, but ultimately grew the migrating Caribou herds. Deafening silence could be their only response.

Plans to drill in the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve (A.N.W.A.R.) have much-enhanced plans to protect animal, vegetation and scenic wilderness resources over and far beyond those that succeeded beyond wildest estimations when the Alyeska Pipeline was completed in 1977. [For more firsthand facts, visit: http://www.alyeska-pipe.com/Default.asp]

Please consider a rational scientific approach to your own personal search for Truth in this matter. Do not become entangled in your genuine desire to do something good for the environment, while our worst enemies only celebrate our apparent paralysis, while reaping in vast wealth that serves only to fund our demise.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion even if I disagree with it, but I feel it's disingenuous to say that my opinion is "entangled" in my own "genuine desire to do something good for the environment", thereby automatically implying that my own opinions count for nothing because they are they somehow cannot be separated from my emotions, which by the way, is a purely feminine quality and one not fit for real men. This a good debate tactic, one that states it's opinion and simultaneously discredits the opposite while implying that I may be some kind of sissy-man, but it doesn't get us to any forward-thinking solutions or even compromises. Also, the evidence that I am being provided to make the informed decision that I would need to make in order to sign such a petition is questionable. I would be hard-pressed to believe everything that I read at the website that is owned by the company that runs the Alyeska Pipeline.

In the long run, there is more to think about with this issue than the construction of a pipeline, it's environmental impact, and our wallets. There is also the very real problem of carbon emissions and global warming. As far as I'm concerned, anyone in the professional scientific community who disagrees that the issue is real is either a corporate shill or has been bought by the current administration. Our previous method of fossil fuel dependency is no longer valid. We must move forward. We have the technology NOW to abandon fossil fuels and improve the prospects of our future family's lives, but it will take the efforts of the whole world to step in and do something about it. In the U.S., it will take the government's eliminating the safe legal havens for the oil companies. With the condition of the market, why are they still seeing record profits? We had an electric car on the roads a decade ago, the EV-1, but it was quickly and mysteriously squashed. If we want to talk about signing petitions, how about the U.S. catching up with the rest of the world and signing the Kyoto Protocol. We cannot be so arrogant as to think that we can decide the fate of the entire planet unilaterally. We are not the rootenest tootenest cowpokes on the block.

If I haven't made it abundantly clear, I will not be signing any petitions for what I think is an irresponsible and short-sighted Band-Aid solution.

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Now playing: Printed Circuit (remixed by Fingernail) - Goggles (Fingernail Remix)
via FoxyTunes

Burgers, Beer, and Baby

I am proud of us, Amy and I. I'm proud of ourselves for overcoming our own fears this weekend. We're making progress and gaining confidence every week. We went out on a personal limb and took Nick out twice this weekend to friends' gatherings for the Memorial Day. Saturday evening, we went over to Curtis and Tara's for some barbecue, burgers, and beer. Both Nick and his parents did pretty well. He got seriously fussy a couple of times but we were able to put him into the front carrier and have him settle down there. Then, Sunday, we were invited to Claudiu and Autumn's for lunch and games. Nick spent some good awake time with us and napped on their bed when he got tired.

We also tried something new with the car seat. We removed the little head support thing we'd been using since he was a newborn since he really doesn't need it anymore. He got fussy only once during one of the travel sessions and didn't have any meltdowns at all. The litmus test for the removal of the head support will be the stroller when I get a chance later this week.

Oh, and Nick's doing well too.

Are You Fussier than a 3-Month-Old?

I think there might be about eleven children between most of the regular readers of my ramblings here. It is to you that I pose the following questions. When your kids were infants, was there something that they had to do that they absolutely did not enjoy doing? How did you get them to do it, reasonably speaking of course?

My query is specifically related to the fact that Nicholas will absolutely not sit in his car seat without screaming. Not crying, not fussing, screaming. It wouldn't even be too bad if we didn't have to use the car seat when we take him for walks in the stroller. I had grand plans of taking him for a walk every nice day while I've been off. I rolled that back to once a week because he starts screaming the moment I put him in the seat until the moment I take him out. Just today, I did an experiment to see how long he could keep it up. Turns out he can go at least half an hour. We walked for 40 minutes and he screamed and cried for most of it. At one point he had fallen asleep for a few blocks but woke up when a motorcycle drove past. As soon as I pulled him out of the seat, he was fine.

I can't be sure yet but I'm guessing that Nick just wants to be carried. That's fine sometimes, but nobody can carry him all the time. I couldn't even if I wanted to do it.

I'm just beside myself about this. I want to take him out in public. I want be mobile with this baby. Both Amy and I do. But we don't and aren't for this very reason. We don't go anywhere with him unless we absolutely have to. When I'm by myself, I get the "bad dad" glances enough to know that it isn't just my imagination and I'm sure Amy has experienced the "bad mom" glances or whatever else you might call them.

If you have any experience with this specific kind of problem, I'd love to hear how you handled it. Remember, Nick is three months old so toddler resolutions and dealing are beyond him at this point. Thanks in advance.

UPDATE 5/22/08: I took him out again today. I tried a different time of the day when it was a little cooler. He didn't cry nearly as much today and fell asleep for the majority of the walk. We even went on the long hour walk path and he slept most of the way. He did start crying and screaming when we first started out though. I'd love to see him be content and awake at some point. Since he's able to sleep in the seat, I don't think it's a comfort issue. We have the straps adjusted for him. I think maybe I will try walking him around without the straps once to see if they might be a culprit. Process of elimination. Thanks all for your suggestions and I'll see if I can keep up with some progress reports now and again just to keep a written record of it (not to bore you all to death).

They're Not The World

An old parody by Culturcide that's a little melodramatic, but otherwise something that's still worth thinking about.