Forward Biased (Current Events)

Jumping right in...

You might as well know that everything I need to know in life, I learned from flying. 

I learned accountability, for example.  Aviation as practiced by hobbyists such as myself is a largely self-regulated environment.  No government official greets me at my hangar to inspect my pilots license or to examine the airplane to ensure it has been maintained according to federal standards.  No one in the control tower has any idea whether or not I've had my required biannual flight review, or whether my FAA Medical Certificate is current.  Other than vanishingly rare ramp inspections, the only real way to get caught is to screw up somehow and get put under the FAA microscope.  Yet, being almost completely self-regulated, the aviation community in general is very dedicated to following the rules.  Why do you suppose that is?

Well, my theory is this exemplary level of self discipline comes primarily from one thing that is unavoidable in aviation, yet is sadly and potentially tragically absent in our general populace: accountability.  The price of failure in aviation can be death, so pilots are well served by understanding the magnitude of personal decisions they make, and the consequences they will personally suffer as a result of poor planning or decision making.  Most pilots also understand that just about every FAA regulation was written as someone's epitaph, so they tend to respect the rules.

I'll bring up other examples of things flying has taught me later, but for now I want to say a little bit more about accountability, and why it bodes ill for our Nation that it has been almost universally removed from our lives.  Mostly I'm concerned by the lack of accountability in our government, but society itself is exhibiting disturbing tendencies as well.  And in some cases, say Teddy Kennedy or Robert Byrd, there's even a significant overlap.  Can you find two more prominent examples of absolutely shameless people never being held responsible for their crimes or past behavior, and even more surprisingly, have been re-elected repeatedly to leadership positions?

There are innumerable stories being covered in the blogosphere that are concerned with things directly related to the lack of accountability in our government:

• Pork/earmarks - Legislators are actually rewarded for feeding as deeply at the trough as possible.  I'm working to buy a bike path somewhere in Nebraska, more than likely.
• Media leaks of classified information - how can this not be illegal?  How can this possibly be tolerated?  Well, why not?  Pinch Sulzberger will not be held accountable when a nuke goes off or a bridge gets blown up.  No, it gets even better for Pinch: he gets to moan and bewail to poor performance of the Bush administration that let this happen.  We'd get another expensive commission  populated by some of the very people that allowed 9/11 to happen in the first place,  but no one in the Fourth Estate will be held accountable.
• Social Security reform - what in the hell do they care?  The pain won't be felt until long after they have retired, living well on their federal retirement plan while the rest of us find out that decades of "contributions" are no longer there for us.

The list goes on and on.  I continue to be both frustrated and frightened by the infantile behavior of our leaders legislators and media, and our failure as a society to hold them accountable to any appreciable degree.  They've learned that they can transfer their accountability to future generations, mortgaging our future for their short-term desires, and no one will ever extract recompense from them for their willful negligence.

That doesn't happen in aviation, which may be one of the things I love the most about it.

"State of the weblog" address

Alright.  Back on 21 Jan I said that I haven't quit blogging, in spite of the appearance that I had, and that I would try to keep from going for so long again without posting.  Then, after posting daily for every bit of six days, I lapsed yet again for about two weeks.

First of all, I deeply appreciate the fact that many of you are faithfully visiting every day just to see if I've posted anything, a fact that is amazing to me.  Thanks much.  And a few of you have been emailing and asking me what was up, something that I also appreciate.

I also seem to remember mentioning somewhere that it's pretty obvious that I need a back-up mechanism for those occasions when I can't keep up with things here, so I did ask several people whether they would consider taking a position as co-blogger.  In addition, a few others came right out and volunteered.  After several people said that, yes, they would indeed like to do so, only then did I discover that Typepad would let me add only two additional authors to this blog (leave it to me to overlook something like that until it's too late), which leaves me in the awkward position of now having to choose two people to add now and ask everyone else to wait until I make the transition to Movable Type, at which time I can presumably have as many co-authors as I like.  I'm going to make my short term decision of two co-authors based, not on who I think will be the best (how can I know that?) but rather on who I think would probably add the most diversity of style and topic matter while keeping within the general character of what Forward Biased has become (and what I would like it to be), posting policies, that sort of thing.  I'll announce who those folks are shortly, after having determined whether they still want to do this.

In addition, having a few co-authors will benefit this site in more ways than merely taking up the slack when I slack off.  I want FB to become a better place than it is, and I think adding a few co-bloggers is one good way to do that.

Now, as to why I've had difficulty lately posting regularly, it's in large part because this blog has accomplished one of the major goals I had in mind when I began it, namely, to help me round out my life, sharpen my mind (no smart remarks from the back, now), and add back some of the diversity that normal, healthy people have in their daily routines.  For reasons of poor health, my life had become a terribly dull, predictably plodding routine prior to June of 2005, and my hope was that blogging would help me to break out of that rut.

Indeed, the last five or six weeks have seen me not only become more responsible and regular in my daily life, but my daily activities have become much more diversified, and I've gone back to doing some of the things I used to love to do years ago.  While this is exactly what I wanted to happen, it had the ironic side effect (in the short term) of causing me to not be able to blog as often, at least until I built up my stamina and ability to stay busy all day without getting worn out.

Also, I had let my failure to keep up with things here become a worry to me to the point that I was feeling obligated to try to blog, something that almost always results in poor posting.  And as I recall, almost all bloggers who have either retired or seriously considered retiring did so for one primary reason:  that blogging had become more of a "duty" than a pleasure.  Realizing that I was beginning to view blogging as an obligation was  quite a shock, and I realized that this was NOT what I wanted to happen.  Even if I become quite busy doing other things, I have no intention of letting this blog fall by the wayside.  I enjoy it too much, and in a small way, I'm also kind of proud of what small accomplishment I've made here.  The blogosphere is a huge place, and for someone unknown like me to come along and make a small but non-trivial impact is something that brings me no small amount of satisfaction.  I have no intention of throwing all that away after only eight months or so.

So look for a few changes to occur here in the next week or so, mainly the addition of a couple of new writers, and then, as soon as I can make it happen, FB will get a whole new look when I move over to Movable Type and the MuNu community.

Thanks again, everyone!

Ahem...

No, I haven't quit.  It just seems that way.

"Real life" has taken its toll on me the last several weeks, and I've been in a kind of "posting funk" as well. I sit down and try to write something and nothing comes out right.  I have plenty to say, but I can't seem to say it like I want to, so I don't post it, and I just get frustrated.

Anyway, I'm sorry for the recent dearth of posts, and I deeply appreciate all the folks who have kept visiting anyway.  My traffic has dropped to abut half of what it was—but it's pretty amazing to me that there has been any traffic at all, so to everyone who has kept coming just in case I have posted something, thanks!

In particular, I appreciate the people who have written to ask how I was and what happened, such as Rob and Steel.  That meant a lot, folks.

Anyway, on with the show!

Wrapping up A.D. 2005

I'd like to start off the new year by, firstly, ending the old one.  (Just thought it'd be courteous to let y'all know why you now have to get used to writing "2006" and all.  It's me.)

No, seriously—it's very important to me to sort of celebrate Thanksgiving all over again tonight.  In many ways 2005 is, or was, a year in which so many things happened for which I am extremely grateful that I cannot possibly enumerate them all, much less express adequate gratitude.  But, without becoming overly sentimental or schmaltzy, I have to acknowledge a few things, most of which "things" are actually people.

I have been consistently amazed by the events that have occurred since last June when, in a burst of insanity, I decided that the blogosphere needed could survive the addition of my voice to the hundreds of thousands already clamoring for attention.  As I mentioned ten days ago, I still remember seeing my Sitemeter turn over the 100^th visit, then the 1000^th, and then, incredibly (drum roll, please)...the 10,000^th (which turned out to be Phoenix).  While acknowledging that Forward Biased is but a very small part of a very large blogosphere, I am still amazed that that "very small part" grew as quickly as it did.  And every possible way by which that growth can be measured boils down to one essential thing: people, and that means you.  So thank you, each one of you, whoever you are, for reading, and especially for returning and reading again.  The fact that you have deemed this little weblog to be worth your time, time and again, in spite of inconsistent posting frequency and questionable quality, keeps Your Humble Host™ amazed, inspired, encouraged, and, well, Humbled as well.

I especially thank those who have become my online "family," frequent commenters such as First Known Regular Reader™ Rob, 10,000th visitor Phoenix, established bloggers such as Steel Turman, colorful characters like Imp, and, on occasion, even Big Guys like Bill Quick.  I'm fortunate indeed to be able to count bloggers such as Individ, DaveG, CERDIP, and Mike Hendrix as friends, and to have someone like Bill Quick as a reader.

A special "thank you" goes to Paul Hsieh of GeekPress, whom I consider my "blogfather" of sorts, as it was his help and friendship that most directly inspired me to take the plunge into blogging myself.

People like Eric Cowperthwaite of Eric's Grumbles Before the Grave have been of tremendous help to me behind the scenes when, newbie that I am, I didn't know how to do this or that, and who also introduced me to the Life, Liberty and Property Community and Munuviana.

Many thanks go to Pixy Misa for founding the MuNu community, and to all Munivians for so warmly and enthusiastically welcoming me into their ranks.  Pixy, if you read this, please forgive me for not having yet set up the new blog you so generously have provided for me as for each Munuvian, but my one ironclad resolution for the new year is to make time to do that very thing.  Please don't mistake my not having done so as meaning that I'm ungrateful for what you've done—it means only that I've been unable thus far to keep this blog going, keep up with life in general, plus learn Movable Type and develop my new site.  I will certainly do so quickly soon, and am infinitely thankful for your giving me the opportunity in the first place.

I also owe thanks to whomever nominated me for the 2005 Weblog Awards, and for all the readers and other bloggers whose linkage qualified me as a finalist.  I still can hardly believe that happened, and, as always, I owe it to those regular readers who have honored me with their loyal, repeated visits.

I'm also grateful indeed that some aspects of my health have improved or become more stable over the past year.  I consider myself more fortunate than many to have skilled doctors whom I both like and trust, and whose treatments have been effective in many ways.  Not so many years ago the causes of my problems were undiagnosed and elusive, frustrating both me and those entrusted with my health care.

I'm very grateful that, in spite of having married before I grew up, Jeni and I have "beaten the odds" and remained married for over 29 years (30 years this April).  Yes, we still love each other very much, and are committed to keeping our vows to remain faithful for better and for worse, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live.

I'm grateful that, in spite of the many reasons I have for being discouraged and depressed, that I can look at life with optimism and enthusiasm (well, most of the time  ;o)  ).

It's very late now, I'm very sleepy, and I'm going to have to wrap this up in spite of the fact that tomorrow morning I'll think of several people and/or things that I should have included here.  But, again, the one thing I want most to emphasize is that I'm grateful that you, whoever you are, are reading this.

It is my continual goal to make it worth your while to keep doing so.

I sincerely wish you and yours a very happy and prosperous new year!

Merry Christmas

This is the Christmas Story.

Well, the most familiar one, anyway.

Now, to be clear about something:  it matters not whether you are personally religious, or whether you believe this story is true.  We celebrate Christmas, and this is what Christmas is all about—and if that offends you somehow, get over it.

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David.)

To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

And so it was, that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will toward men.

(Luke 2:1-14)

Everyone have a Merry Christmas!

It only hurts when I laugh...or breathe

Glenn Reynolds asks if we bloggers are a sickly lot, and links to this story by Dr. Helen. 

I think she's onto something.

Winston Churchill once said, "85% of the world's work is done by people who don't feel very well." Perhaps this saying applies to bloggers. Is it my imagination or do a lot of bloggers seem to be people who don't feel very well? Every time I read a blog now, it seems like an illness has taken over the writer to the point where they're at a hospital or doctor's office. Heck, even sex-blogger justonebite is having medical problems. I hope she gets well soon--I really like her blog--although maybe illness will keep her blogging even more than usual. I know that feeling sick keeps me at the computer for extended periods--mainly as a way to distract myself from my body.

...I used to do a lot of mental evaluations for people getting Social Security Disability. When I was healthy (prior to my heart attack), I could not relate very well to the clients who came in with their various illnesses, it seemed foreign to me--from the allergies, chemical sensitivites and fibromyalgia to the heart problems, cancer and strokes. However, once I had a heart attack, I understood the vulnerabilities that people suffered. What I could not understand was giving up the essence of who one was in terms of their working life to receive a social security check.

Which brings me back to blogging. There is something refreshing about the ability to post one's thoughts and tout one's wares (such as documentary films, books etc.) over the internet while barely being able to hold a fork to one's mouth before rushing to the bathroom to throw up from some stomach bug you picked up from your kid's school a few days before. I wonder how many other bloggers are out there posting on a regular basis and keeping the world amused because it is one of the few outlets that requires little physical exertion? I could be wrong but it seems to me that if one is vibrant with good health and stamina, they would be out snowboading, skiing or just enjoying the outdoors. I know I would. Anyone else out there blog to distract yourself from feeling bad--whether physical or mental? It would be nice to know I had some company.

I think she hits several good points.  Nothing annoys me more than people—including doctors—who, because of their own excellent health, cannot empathize with those who don't have quite such excellent health, and think most of us are pretty much just lazy malingerers.

Second in line, though, are people who constantly complain, whether it's about their health, their marriage, or whatever, which is why I rarely blog about how I feel.  It's just that, when I feel badly or tired enough, I don't blog much.

And I got a good laugh from one of the comments:

This post gives me a whole new set of ideas for blog names: Shut-InPundit, The Valid Invalid, Suicide Watch, BarelyAbletoType, BypassPundit, ArthriticPundit, ClingingtoLife, ReasonToLive. DepressedPundit.

"The Valid Invalid."  Heh.  No, I'm hardly that badly off yet!

A tiny little milestone

Please forgive this post, as it's pretty much all about me.  Mostly.  Except to the extent that it's about, well, you.

At about 12:45 PM Eastern Time today, Forward Biased received its 10,000^th site visit.  Checking my refers, I can't tell where it came from, but it's still quite a milestone.  (Sitemeter ignores all visits from my own computer.)

I have no idea who you were, Mr./Mrs./Ms. 10,000, but I tip my hat to you.  I remember when I got my 100^th visit, and my 1000^th.  I knew I'd get 10,000 before the end of the year, but it's still a very cool thing to happen.

On the other hand, having been offline for a week has killed my daily averages, but that's to be expected.  No worries.

Thanks to all of you, not just the 10,000^th.  You are why I write!

UPDATE:  Turns out it was Phoenix!

Hard to believe, isn't it?

Well, folks, it's now official.  I'm a finalist in the 2005 Weblog Awards, and I'm almost at a loss for words.

Almost.  But, hey, you know me.

I was quite honored to be nominated as Best New Blog, but (as I expected) I didn't make the finalist cut—I've voted for Respectful Insolence in that category.  (Michael Yon is probably a finalist in another category—I'll find out later this evening.)

In the Ecosystem-based category Best of the Top 1751-2500 Blogs (based on standings as of last 18 Nov), though, amazingly enough, I was chosen as a finalist, and I can hardly describe what it's like.  Even if I don't win, this is quite an honor and an experience for a newbie, D-list blogger like me.  There are an awful lot of blogs better than mine that didn't make finalist in any category, you know.  My cup of gratitude runneth over, for sure.

Even though I'm about to do what I never thought I would do, namely "bleg" for votes, I don't plan to make a big deal of this.  I'll give you the details you need to know, then leave it up to you as to whether I win.  After all, I really don't want to win under false pretenses.  If I tried to organize votes en masse and thereby won over blogs that actually had more support, my "victory" would be pretty much meaningless.  I therefore want to win only if there are actually more people out there who want me to.

Ok.  Here's the deal.  Everyone can vote once in each category every 24 hours, so if you don't vote 11 times for your favorite blog in each category (once per day from the 5^th through the 15^th of December), he/she may be outvoted by others who were more diligent.  (See the FAQ.)  You have to have Flash installed in order to vote.

Do not attempt to cheat in any way.  Some very sophisticated security measures are in place (clearing your browser's cookies will have no effect at all), and if you cheat your votes will be removed and you will be banned from the site.  Vote only once every 24 hours in each category—but, please, do vote every 24 hours.  If you make a mistake and try to vote twice in less than a 24-hour period, that's not cheating, that's just a mistake, and you'll simply be told that you've already voted and have to wait just a bit longer.

That's pretty much it.  You can go here, or just click the logo at the top of the left sidebar to vote for me, and go here to see all categories.

Many thanks to you all, especially to whomever nominated Forward Biased in the first place!

UPDATE:  Michael Yon is a finalist in "Best Media/Journalist Blog," and a vote for him carries the added value of also being a vote against the execrable, estimable James Wolcott.  At the moment, Michael has a good lead.

Happy Thanksgiving, all

I won't have a whole lot to say today, probably, but I do want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving.

My friend Steel Turman also posted today, but , having been warned not to make a "typical" Turkey Day post, he made a list of things that he despises or resents.  And it's a pretty good list, too.  Fortunately, getting it off his chest seems to have made him a bit more grateful.

For sure, I have plenty to be grateful for.  I see three different doctors on a regular basis, and they're all top-notch.  In addition, they don't treat me in a timid, temerous manner, being constantly afraid of this or that government agency, but they treat me aggressively and skillfully enough to, you know, actually help.  After all, that's sort of why we go to doctors and spend that kind of money in the first place, isn't it?

Jeni is busy in the kitchen preparing tonight's dinner, and I've been helping off and on (usually I'm just in the way).  I'm very grateful to still have her after nearly 30 years (next April), especially since we were still only kids when we got married.  I have three great kids of my own now, and none of them are drug addicts or anything like that.   

In addition, as if that weren't enough, I have a terrific new "family" here, a way to express myself publicly (well, sort of), and have managed to carve out a small place of my own in this huge "blogosphere" without being totally invisible.  That's an accomplishment in itself, I think.

I could go on, but I won't bore you with a lot of personal details.  But it would be easy to keep going.

So, heck yeah, I'm grateful.  But then I'm grateful every day, not just the last Thursday in November.  I sure have reason enough to be.

Carnival of Liberty XVIII

This weeks' Carnival of Liberty is being hosted by Stephen Littau over at Fearless Philosophy for Free Minds, and as always is a collection of varied and interesting essays. 

The CoL is sponsored by the Life, Liberty and Property Community of TTLB's ecosystem, but you don't have to be a member to contribute, or even to host the carnival, if you so desire.  Glenn Reynolds usually links to the CoL (if he gets around to it), so it can be a real traffic-bringer to the host.

Stephen's wife Aimee rants about Halloween and political correctness in Sorry Kids, Halloween is Evil.  Holly Aho of Soldiers' Angel lets us in on what happens when Child Protective Services takes away the children of innocent parents.  And Batya of Shilo Musings doesn't understand all the goings-on at Saddam's trial.

Among other mysteries, why does he deserve a trial?...The big mean dictator gets a chance to defend himself, and as all dictators/megalomaniacs he loves the spotlight, and now he has his chance. What chance did the little people have?

None of this makes any sense to me.

There's lots more, of course, including bird flu, the state of the housing market, and at least three entries on the Constitution and the Fair Construction Amendment—one of which is by Your Humble Host™.

Finally, let me apologize for being so far behind the curve on posting about current events.  There's lots I have to say about things, such as the outcry over Air Force Academy Coach Fisher DeBerry's comments and the new SCOTUS nominee, but without going into details or being too badly introspective, I've had some really bad days lately, and that makes thinking straight difficult, not to mention writing coherently.  I'll try to be better about that.

See y'all 'round the net.