I made a post on a message board recently about ECU’s new head coach, and that he is the first black head football coach at a D1 school in NC. This is a point of pride for me, even if I am not the typical affirmative action proponent.

I was crucified for bringing this up! I was asked why I had to make a post about it. I was told that “this” (i.e. bringing up past wrongs) is what keeps America from moving forward in race relations. I was asked why it mattered what color the coach is.

I could see the issue if I claimed that Coach McNeill got the job simply because he is black. What I said, however, was “Lost in all the coverage is the fact that McNeill is ECU’s 1st black HC!” (actual post title). I see nothing wrong with this.

I also see no reason why we can’t talk about race relations, good and bad, in this country. It boggles my mind that something that consumes so much of our national conscience is so hard to discuss openly. Ladies and gentlemen, like it or not, white people have historically repressed and discriminated against minorities. Minorities, like it or not, there are just as many opportunities available to you today as there are for white people, and the blame for failure no longer rests on whites. We all need to get over ourselves and start to talk about this. If we do not we are all doomed to repeat every indiscretion.

A webcam in Szentgotthárd, Hungary captured this curious bird looking into the camera. The webcam is set to shoot only one frame in every minute, so what are the chances?

Courtesy of citynoise.org <http://citynoise.org/article/9510/by/>

I have a dilemma: should I withhold my feelings on the internet to spare the feelings of close friends/family the same as I do in real life?

Mainly my issues arises when I want to talk politics or religion. I don’t make public my beliefs to certain people because they do not agree with me; and honestly I don’t feel as if it will do them any good to know such things.

But should I feel free to speak my mind on the interwebs? I link to this blog not only from my website, but also from my other online presences (Facebook, my family site, etc.), and those from whom I withhold information in my real life can easily see it in my cyber-life. If I am interested in shielding them do I have an obligation to do so in all realms?

OR – is this blog a sounding board for my ideas, thoughts and feelings?

I had another philosophical conversation on Facebook last night.

Well, I thought it was philosophical. Others thought it was blasphemous. Whatever.

I cannot figure out why it is okay for folks who believe in a god to question my disbelief, but it is not okay for me to question their belief. I don’t push my disbelief on anyone, and I readily defend it when asked. However, when I try to have an intelligent conversation about religion and its effects – good and bad – on the world, the response I get invariably goes the “I will pray for you” route.

NO! I don’t need your prayers. I need you to come at this with an open mind. If you cannot do that then stop engaging me in conversation.

I make a conscience effort to respect everyone’s beliefs no matter how arcane or wrong I think they are. I expect the same in return. Don’t tell me you are sorry that I don’t have the same “relationship” with god that you have. I had a relationship with god once, and I found that relationship wanting. What I want from you is a intelligent discourse.

Epic Win FTW » Just Seems More Efficient.

I haven’t mentioned yet that my wife is pregnant with our first child.

I also haven’t mentioned that I am extremely wishy-washy.

I want to be everything, but I rarely have the discipline to achieve any goal I set for myself. It is amazing that I made it through college.

Since graduation I have had 3 jobs in 2 industries, and about a million schemes about how to get out of the job/industry in which I am currently employed. There is nothing wrong with the job. I actually really enjoy what I do. I have employment ADD, I think. I cannot get too comfortable somewhere before I begin to get the itch to leave.

This is where the “We’re PREGNANT!!!!!” part comes in. A friend once told me she thought I’d settle out of my flighty stage once I have a child (another told me that I want to be a hot air balloon pilot so I can fly around and do a million different jobs, but that another therapy session). Her idea was that, once I have something to focus my energies on – something for which I am responsible – I will chill out a little and stop worrying about change-for-changes-sake (is that supposed to be hyphenated?).

She was right. As soon as I knew Lauren was expecting it seemed as if my urge to find something new – be that a job, hobby, whatever – went away.

I find this interesting. What is it about a child that is not yet born that makes me feel so settled, like I finally have a purpose?

An acquaintance of mine had a baby last night (well, actually at 4 am!). I know that she was in labor as soon as it happened. She didn’t call me or send me a text message; I just happened to see it on Facebook.

I haven’t seen this acquaintance for more than 10 years, and I would never have known about the pregnancy if not for Facebook. I knew when a cousin got married, even though I haven’t seen him since my great-grandfather’s funeral in 1991. I know things about the lives of people with whom I have had no substantive contact in more than a decade, and it’s all because of Facebook.

Facebook has become a vital communications link for me. I check it in the morning…at lunch…before I go to bed. In fact, I checked it so often that, when I upgraded my cell phone, I got a BlackBerry so that I could have Facebook Mobile (along with email; I’m addicted to email!). Facebook is the new telephone – but BETTER!

This got me to thinking about the importance of this new media, and whether the “relationships” we have over social media are actually real. Would I have anything to talk about with these folks if I was in a coffee shop with them? Does the fact that we are connected to each other through Facebook make us “friends” or mere acquaintances??? Is my relationship with my Facebook friends more humanly (word?) meaningful than my in-person interactions with people that I don’t really care for in person???

Hmmm…………

The Darwin Awards are perennially one of the highlights of my January. The lengths to which people go to “cleanse”  the human gene pool is staggering. There has been no better example than this years winner:

[Two Belgian bank robbers]…used so much explosive to get their hands on the [banks] money that they destroyed the whole bank building.

When police arrived at the scene, they found one of them with severe head injuries, and rushed him to hospital where he died shortly after arrival.

Investigators initially assumed that his accomplice had managed a getaway, but the second one’s body was excavated from the debris twelve hours later.

For those of you who think this may be a gross indignity, consider this – the fewer of these dopes there are in the world, the less likely you are to get killed accidentally!

Ananova – Darwin Award winners revealed.