Back from visiting my side of the family in Flalala. After two days of Biblical rain, I was able to get out fishing with my father and the boys, including my twenty-something cousin and even my seventy-something aunt. We managed to catch a dozen or so, but we threw back half as they were too small. Also took the boys to the Loggerhead Marinelife sanctuary, the Busch Wildlife Sanctuary, and the Miami MetroZoo. All of these places had one thing in common - their necessity due to humans. The Metrozoo had over 40 endangered species, and the sanctuaries get 90% of their "patients" due to fishing nets, gunshots and/or cars. Fortunately/unfortunately, the Biblical rain traveled up the coast and turned into Biblical snow, keeping us in Florida an extra day and a half. At least my wife got to enjoy a house without testosterone for a while. While the younger two were in the car sleeping, I had "the talk" with eldest. I gave him several rules - never talk about your sex life (true or made up) with your friends, be open with us about underage drug and alcohol use and abuse among your friends, and always wear a condom. Boy was that weird, but I think he can handle it.
With the downtime, I was able to finish my second Freakonomics book, Super Freakonomics. Obviously it's a book, but I do find the concept intriguing. It does make you think about things. One component is the issue of climate change. If human nature is any indication, we're not going to stop any potential climate change with altruistic behavior anytime soon. Bringing colder ocean water to the surface where hurricanes form might mitigate major storms. Will the oceans be the answer be the answer to climate change overall? I'm not sure, but on the plane home, the Discovery Channel was showing an episode about colder water being pumped to the surface to increase phytoplankton, absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen. Will pumping huge amounts of cold water to the surface be a good thing or have unintended consequences? Once again, the question is priority of spending. Should we spend $6billion/year on NASA and less than 10% of that budget on our oceans? I still think we'll need our oceans much sooner than we'll need a space station.
In North Carolina, an atheistic councilman refused to take an oath of office by swearing on the Bible. Apparently, the constitution in North Carolina, as well as several other states, offer opportunities for religious conservatives to try and oust him, although the US Supreme Count in 1961 barred states from requiring religious beliefs to serve in office. The fact that he built his own house with solar panels and rainwater collectors isn't enough. Doesn't Mother Nature count as almighty?
It's been four full months since my shoulder surgery and it still hurts too much to sleep without painkillers.
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