Toyota and Pearl Harbor?

Today I saw a bumper sticker which caught my attention. It went something like this:

TOYOTA
brought to you by the same
nice people who gave you
PEARL HARBOR

Naturally, as a proud Toyota-owner, my initial reaction was negative. But then I considered this point more.

Japan bombed a very important military target, which had strategic importance and wasn't in a location where too many civilians would be caught in the crossfire. And what'd we do? Nuked two of their largest, most heavily populated cities. Wake up, people. Just because the US Government did something doesn't mean it's perfect.

This is not to, in any way, trivialize the horror of Pearl Harbor. As with any time lots of people die, it's tragic and it'd be best if it didn't happen at all. But I don't think Pearl Harbor is the thing we should complain about. If the bumper sticker mentioned the inhumane treatment of US P.O.W.s, I'd go with that. Torture and etc. makes me sick. But anyhow.

I'm taking pretty much all of next week off so I can spend time with relatives who I see twice a year, and just relax in general. I can't wait - it'll be the first time I haven't had 40+ hours of commitments in a week since this time last year. However, I'm having difficulties with reminding myself that it's OK to take vacation time - I have 2 weeks and 4 days to use up this year, and I haven't used more than one day prior to next week. So, remind me that I'll survive.

iPhone will come out on Friday (which is tomorrow as of now...). While I'm not getting one, it looks like an excellent product, and I can't wait to see how well it does. I hate AT&T, though, for making it so absurdly expensive. (The minimum plan is $60/month) As a radio story just reminded me, AT&T will be making significantly more money from the iPhone than Apple will. Maybe when the iPhone is available through other providers, it'll become more affordable. Some day.

Growing Up

I was eating breakfast this morning, and Michelle and some Bullocks and Lofresos were leaving to go to a concert type thing... and it hit me. Not only do my friends and I have jobs, but now all of our younger siblings have jobs, and are driving all over the place. Somehow, though, it doesn't seem nearly as weird as it was when the first group of kids (myself included) were driving and working all of a sudden. Maybe it's an oldest-kid thing... but somehow, I think I'm still kind of in denial regarding the whole thing. Maybe I'm 19, but Michelle should still be 14, as far as my internal clock is concerned. And my parents still seem 40.

Time flies. Next time I look up, Michelle will be in college and Sarah will be driving.

Jobs + Gates = ?

So, at a digital/electronics conference recently, both Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were asked to talk a bit about their own contributions to computing, the other's contributions, and where they think things will be in a few years. Interesting stuff, if you happen to follow this kind of thing.
Click here to read the whole thing. (You can also just search for it on iTunes - it's on as a podcast or vodcast)



I do have to admit that I can identify with Bill Gates much better than I can with Jobs. Although I love macs, possibly to a fault, (POSSIBLY), Gates is so much more the "geek" of the industry. In the afforementioned discussion, he talks about how he looks at things and thinks about the mechanics behind them, while Jobs just knows how humans think and what they want. I still don't particularly agree with Microsoft's business ethic, though. So.

Sociology

I need to stop thinking about people. When I do, this is what happens:

One of the things that most bugs me about society is the fact that we are so much a society; that is to say, I think people have an unnecessarily strong need to associate with other people. By this I don't mean that people shouldn't want to be around other people. That's a necessary part of life. It is instead the way people act around other people that gets on my nerves. The "crowd mentality"... the "Oh look, everyone else is clapping, I think I will too"... the "You do things like this because that's how people do it." Grrrr.

This manifests itself all over the place. Expressions... manners... customs... traditions. Are these all stupid? Nah. But, here's one that simply drives me up the wall: applause.

We clap at any performance, whether we like it or not. And then we clap for every sentence that comes out of the president's mouth, and I know that plenty of people don't like any of that. Why do we clap? Think about it. I couldn't figure it out. It's not because we appreciate what we've just seen. It's not to make people feel "nice". Is it because everyone else does it? Well, so why does everyone else do it? Because they assume the performers/speakers expect it? Why do the performers/speakers expect it? I'm guessing it's because "everyone else does it". GAAAH! It's circular logic! There IS no good reason. And why clapping, anyway? Oh look! I am beating my own hands, therefore I must appreciate you! Grrrr.

Expressions: Things such as "beating around the bush" or "touch base" or "hit two birds with one stone". Some of them actually make sense, most of them don't. But, everyone is expected to know what they mean. In many cases, saying what you actually mean is easier, shorter, or simpler than substituting it with some expression. Why do people use expressions? Do they have some kind of emotional significance? Does it imply superiority somehow?

And then there are traditions... things we do every year just because we think it appropriate. Why do we have Mother's day, for example? Many people would probably come up with something like "because we like to appreciate all the work that mothers do". No, Mother's Day is the creation of a card company that saw an opportunity for revenue and jumped on it. But all you have to do is attach nice, fluffy emotionalism, and people will jump on board out of perceived obligation. Oh, how sheeplike we are. No, I'm not saying we shouldn't celebrate mothers. For all they do, they deserve something. But limiting it to a single day per year doesn't do them justice. But, why bother doing anything about it during the rest of the year? We might as well just wait for mother's day! No, traditions have taken the spontaneity out of life, I think. Surprises are far too surprising these days.

So, essentially, what am I saying... I suppose I'm just thinking that people ought to think for themselves a little more than they do... in as many words.