Monday
This started as a proverbial “day.”

  • The alarm went off at 08:45. This was expected. This was even ‘good.’
  • I rolled over and turned off said alarm. This was ‘not good.’
  • The next thing that I knew, it was 11:05. Definitely ‘not good;’ I am scheduled to be at work at noon. Add to this the following factors:
    • I had to shower.
    • I had to shave.
    • I had to get dressed; we may not have uniforms at our facility, but they will not let us come to work au naturel.
    • I had to fix coffee. This was mainly for the safety and welfare of those around me.
    • I had to fix my lunch; not a big problem since I had prepared part of it the night before.
    • I had to have all of this done in twenty-five (25) minutes.
  • I was done in :28. I was amazed. Shocked. Stunned, even. But I was ready. And left on-time.

I found out some news about a friend of mine that served as a background irritant for the better portion of the day. It wasn’t something that this person had done; it was something, both unfair and unnecessary, that was done to them.

I went to the gym for the first time in FAR too long tonight. Partly because I was feeling guilty about having put it off for so long and partly to work off some of the aforementioned irritation. It’s been so long that I am basically starting over. *sigh*

And speaking of the gym, I was delayed from going to the gym by an hour. Well… that isn’t entirely accurate. I wasn’t delayed; I stayed at home for an hour before going. Why? They were showing the first (half of the first) episode of The Sisko Show. I don’t think that I have seen that since it first aired in 1993. So, of course, I couldn’t just leave! No comments from the Peanut Gallery about “Why not just set your VCR to record it?” It was odd to see the characters as we were first introduced to them rather than as the way that they appeared at the end of the series. But it was good. I had pretty much forgotten that then-Commander Sisko came just shy of telling off Captain Picard. (Note: Picard had been captured by the Borg ‘three years’ prior to this meeting and became ‘Locutus.’ He led the Borg on a campaign that resulted in quite a bit of death and destruction in the Federation before he was rescued and returned to duty; one of the casualties was Sisko’s wife Jennifer. Let’s just say that the good Commander held a grudge… even though Picard was not responsible for his actions.)

I even managed to eke out a little EverCrack EverQuest time.

NPR/PRI Links
Talk of the Nation – Greed
Fresh Air – Michael Feinstein Interview
The World – Mayan Religions Report
The World – South African Initiation Report

It’s winter in South Africa right now, a season when boys who are old enough march into the bush for their coming of age ceremonies. Traditionally, they spent time with their elders who would pass on their wisdom. That used to mean teaching the teenagers how to survive in the wild. Today, though, the practice has turned into a business. Initiation schools have taken the place of the elders. And not all the adults running them have the boys’ best interests at heart. From Johannesburg, Franz Kruger has our story.

I am not (typically) one to speak ill of cultural or social mores, but I’ll make an exception in this case. When I listened to the story of the ‘coming of age’ rites (above), I was appalled by one thing in particular: At one of the schools, six (6) boys died because of abuse and neglect. When they interviewed the owner of this school, her response was basically: “The teachers are making me look bad and are sullying my name.” There did not seem to be even a faint trace of remorse over the deaths of the boys. She was more worried about her reputation than trying to make sure that these atrocities did not occur again nor apologizing to the boys’ families. I am not alone in this opinion – I asked Julia about it and she wholeheartedly concurred.

I think that I have made my opinions about child abuse fairly well known in previous posts. Rather than get on the soapbox about it (again), suffice if to say that I have a very low (read: “no”) tolerance for it. I found this woman’s response and reaction to the situation abhorrent and unconscionable.

Peace.