Today at work:

The power went out for an hour.

I sold 64 dollars worth of product.

and... I accidentally hip checked the mantle that is leaned up against the back wall of the non functional fireplace. The entire thing, and the contents that were atop it toppled over, knocking me (mostly my head) into the antique display case. The flying knight statues and skull goblets flew into the back glass of the case, smashing to bits two of the plate glass doors.

I need war.

8am to 4pm Doctor Who marathon on Sci-Fi.I'm in geek-gurl heaven.

Dear lord I want to bang the 9th Doctor something fierce.

(reposted here from my livejournal)

I debated for a day as to if I should post up the "Aimée is an idiot" story, and opted to let you all laugh at my Chaplin-like ways. Last week I was out of work for 2 days with an inner ear infection. I've been treating it with homeopathic remedies and the like since, however, Tuesday evening while carrying laundry down to the basement I had a dizzy spell and took a header down the stairs, knocking myself unconscious, and woke up at the crack of noon on the basement floor with my laundry decorating the stairs, concrete floor, and me.

I have a mild concussion but I'm fine.

 

I fixate on little things. I let them bother or fascinate me depending on my mood. I memorize the little facets of a movie or a person that I like. A lot of the time, with people, it's in the hands. Something in my brain measures a person by their hands, associates their personality through not only the way they gesture, but by the shape that nature made at birth and how the environment has changed things to suit that person's life. It's May, and once again the pendulum has swung back to thinking about my brother.

A friend of mine and I were talking about death, more specifically, the death of a character on this TV show that we both like. I mentioned that it was hard for me to really cry over a TV show death, they never make it how it really is; its all melodrama and miracles. Sure the heartstrings are pulled and you feel sad, but it's brief. That feeling only lasts for the length of the program, perhaps a short while afterward while you balance your checkbook or chat with your friend in the forum. It's heartrending, but it's far from bona fide.

My friend then shared something with me that was rather surprising. She made mention that the only TV show that ever made her cry was an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer called "The Body". So like an idiot, I found it online and watched it and she was right. It was pretty accurate; still TV, but closer than most things get. I think the biggest part that made it 'real' was the lack of music. That's the part I remember most; the awkward silence that everyone had around me.

So I'll agree. Watching this episode of (dare I repeat it) Buffy the Vampire Slayer was like reliving my brother's death all over again. - When I got the phone call I went into the bathroom, vomited, and then drove the 45 minutes my mother's to drop off Connor (my son) before moving onward to the hospital to go look at his body. - Worst part was I couldn't tell my son that Andy (my brother) was dead until much later. So instead I just drove.

I know it hit home for me when I had to let both my mother and Andy's fiancé Julie cry on my shoulder while we listened to the coroner explain where the damage was, and what they worked on to try and get him back. - Worse was me gesturing wide accidentally tapping Andy's hand, feeling it cold and stiff from rigor mortis, actually turning to apologize to him, and then apologizing and feeling stupid for talking to a body. I think my exact quote was:

"I can't believe I just apologized to my brother for smacking his corpse."

But yea, it came down to his hands for me. When I saw his hands I knew/accepted that the foreign thing in the table was my brother, and that  he was dead. The corpse didn't look like him, but I don't know anyone with hands like my brother.

I know that I am a Joss Whedon fan (in regards to Firefly), so I might be a bit biased, but I was really impressed with this particular episode, and really not a "Buffy" fan.

I'm just now waking up after this crazy dream about my grandfather's best friend Kate selling me pirated computer software for 300 dollars. At the time it didn't dawn on me that Kate doesn't own a computer, and is the most PC illiterate person I know, she's really old school. In addition she was about 60 instead of her age now which is about 80 and practically glowing with beauty. - I've always thought that Kate was a stunning woman.

I was swimming in a pool with this weird person holding onto me around my back in a bear hug who then fell asleep in the process. The song "Juliet" was playing in the background. I didn't realize it while I was swimming, but I was at an SCA get together and I was preparing to leave for Pennsic War. Kate gives me a camp ready bedroom set, period tent, various fun things: chess board, chairs, table, etc... and... AND a complete turkey dinner. (All of these items are set up and have to get broken down for transport) The turkey transformed from meat to wood, and the jigsaw puzzle of wooden pieces kept falling apart as I tried to reconstruct it.

Later, while I was loading a lamp into my truck, I hear a crash and discover that the bed's mattress has collapsed on my friend Drew, who was oddly enough, dressed in pajamas and that Drew's ex fiancé is outside packing the backgammon/chess board and candles  for me. Also, as we put things in the tent (naturally before loading the truck, because in dreamland this made sense) the candles remained lit.

Nothing was being put away the right way. Things that should have been cheap were expensive (the illegal programs) and nothing was getting packed in a way that made sense. Yes I was pissed off, disoriented and still a the same time optimistic. Then I hear this alarm clock going "beep beep" then swiftly speeding up almost so it was a solid sound like "BEEPBEEPBEEP" and I said to Drew:
"Wow your alarm clock is annoying as fuck. Almost like its saying getupgetupgetup"
Then I woke up. My alarm WASN'T going off, I had shut it off about an hour earlier.

My interpretation:

...It's a big bag of weird in my head.

ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew

I just drank spoiled milk. It was so horrible!

I feel like my mouth was raped

Serves me right for drinking directly from the carton like a guy

"Custom is the source of our strongest and most believed proofs. It persuades the mind without its thinking about the matter. It is custom that makes so many men Christians… Turks, etc." Blaise Pascal

We've come to accept what our ancestors tell us is the truth, because its how we've passed down what is science, so naturally the same holds true with religion. Our hard science is believed to be fact when it's told to us by an elder, until proven different by other hard science. This differs with religion because there is no hard science to back up a person's faith. A person can only assume one brand of belief after exhausting a variety of methods. Charles Sanders Pierce wrote in his essay The Fixation of Belief, that this broke down into four methods: The method of tenacity, the method of authority, the method of intuition and lastly the method of science. He claimed that the last of these was the best to use when being confronted with a philosophical question because it uses sound reasoning and observation, similar to hard sciences, to settle an answer. Considering that the scientific process is tedious, and in the case of organized religion impossible to exercise, the customs of our ancestors is easier to fall back upon.

"Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using his intelligence; he is just using his memory." Leonardo da Vinci

Pierce's method of tenacity argues that humans judge something to be true simply because they believe in it. No tangible proof needs to exist, since it has been passed down from elder to youth. Its accepted because of the wisdom that comes from experience. In the case of philosophy, basing an argument on the previous actions of an authority only exercises the memory, it doesn't appeal to innovative thought. 

3. Can you cite a recent controversy regarding a scientific or technical matter in which a value judgement was fundamentally involved?

The scientific breakthrough of Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) has been proven to increase milk production as much as 10-15%. But there are some who argue that although rBGH has its benefits and has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, that it also has a dangerous side. On one hand the production of dairy has increased, but on the other, the side effects to the cattle have caused some to argue in favour of the bovine's wellbeing, and the wellbeing of the humans consuming the genetically engineered products. Until it can be proven without doubt that the side-effects of this growth hormone are negligible, the ethical choice of what to do in regards to the health issues of the injected cattle verses the needs of consumers will not be settled.

"One of the gross deficiencies of science is that it has not yet been defined what sets man apart from other animals." René Dubos

Since science must "explain away" what it cannot prove through measure and fact; to claim that man is more important than animal is unfeasible. One might assume that because the mother hen pecks at our hand that she is defending her young, but since the inner thoughts of an animal are impossible to read; the hard truth may be different. Darwin might argue that that man is different than animal due to the ability for complex thought and scientific development. But this, in my opinion, isn't valid. Man's only measuring stick for this theory, is based upon his own accomplishments. In this light, one could say that the western world is "smarter" than the eastern because it has made so many of life's technological breakthroughs. I beg to argue that the eastern cultures simply lacked the tools and materials that were necessary.

2nd paper also scored an A with the notation: "Very Well Written" circled at the bottom.
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