Wow. What A Win!

From CNS News:

The bill to increase the federal debt limit that has been put before Congress today would increase that limit by up to $2.4 trillion, which would be the largest increase in the debt limit in U.S. history by a margin of half a trillion dollars, according to records published by the Government Accountability Office and the Congressional Research Service.

Up until now, the largest increase in the debt limit was the $1.9 trillion increase passed by Congress and signed by President Obama on Feb. 12, 2010. That law increased the debt limit from $12.394 trillion to $14.294 trillion.

So not only did we just increase the debt limit, we did it by a whole lot. Boehner not only gave Obama and the Democrats exactly what they wanted, he did it by a record margin. Wow, sounds like a clear victory to me.

Can we please have an election, already? There seem to be more clowns that need to be swept out of office.

Why Am I A Terrorist?

Why am I unreasonable - nay, a terrorist - for wanting my government to live within its means? And by "live within its means," I mean don't spend more than it takes in?

This entire debt limit debate is ridiculous. It treats the symptom with a procedural gimmicks but completely ignores the cause - out of control government spending. The government has an obligation and a duty to be diligent with and respectful of the taxpayer money that we send, unwillingly, to Washington. They spend like drunken sailors and then only want more and more and more.

And for all you liberals out there whose favorite refrain in all this is that Congress approved X number of debt limit increases under Bush, let me tell you this: there was a lot of outcry about Bush's spending from conservatives during his term, as well. This isn't a new issue.

We have a problem in that Congress treats all money that comes in as its own and falls all over themselves to spend it, many times multiple times over through accounting gimmicks. What we need is to force Congress to do something they obviously won't do themselves: have some discipline. We need an amendment to the Constitution that requires Congress to balance the budget every year. And we need representatives (and Presidents) who aren't afraid to tell people no. Why must budgets increase every year? Our household budgets certainly haven't, especially in the past few years. So why do government agencies feel entitled to more money than they got the year before and then bitch and moan if they are limited to only a three percent increase?

We need to put a hard stop to all unnecessary government spending, and we need a very narrow definition of what is necessary. The National Parks Service paying to cut down trees in Yosemite isn't necessary - it's a luxury. New post office buildings aren't a necessity - they are a luxury, especially for an agency that is bleeding money. We need to shelve any and all plans on building Biden's bullet train. People are getting around just fine now without it. And we need to put a hard stop on all legislation that will force massive government-imposed overhauls of appliances and light bulbs and fuel economy regulations and such until we as a country can afford to do so. Those kind of projects are not for rainy days, they're for when we're doing well and have expendable incomes in the first place. We must stop government extravagance (read: waste) at every level.

I think it would be good for everyone - difficult, but good - if every single government agency had to trim its budget by 15 percent. Make do without. Sacrifice. Maybe don't get new computers this year or send its members to a conference. Or maybe they make do in that 15-year old building for a few more years before they build a new one. After all, we're in a recession. Why not recede the government budgets, also? When the country is down, it's not the time for new spending - it's time for belt tightening and doing without. The majority of Americans are doing it in their personal budgets, and its time that the government - especially Congress and the White House - do it, too. The example needs to flow from the top down. And by the top, I mean Congress and the President, Vice President, etc. Democrat and Republican.

And while we're at it, let's get a reign on foreign aid while we're struggling. I have no problem with it resuming when we're back on our feet, but now, when we have no money, is not the time to be handing out money. If we were any other country, it would be the other way around - we'd have our collective hand out. But to my knowledge, we haven't done that yet.

If we don't take some hard actions, we're doomed as a country. We need responsibility, accountability and discipline. And we need it now, not in accounting gimmicks and reductions in spending over 10 years.

Veer

Last week I was approved as a Veer stock photo contributor. I've been an iStockphoto contributor for several years now and a Fotolia contributor for several months, but this is a big step in the direction I want to go: having my stock photos listed on several stock sites. In fact, I'm planning on transitioning my best and more artistic stuff to Veer in the near future because the royalties seem to be a lot better.

So if you're in the market for stock photos, be sure to give Veer a look.

What's the Deal?

From Grassfire.com:

Obama and Boehner struck a debt ceiling deal yesterday.
House and Senate votes are imminent TODAY.

...

--The "dollar-for-dollar" spending cuts are not real.
Obama gets $900 billion in debt ceiling increase NOW in
exchange for $1 trillion in spending cuts OVER TEN YEARS.
As we know, future "cuts" in government spending are not
cuts at all.

--The real causes of runaway government spending are not
addressed. Entitlements are left untouched. Baseline
budgeting (which guarantees ever-rising government
spending) is intact.

--The risk of a downgrade in our credit rating has not
been addressed because runaway spending has not been
addressed!

--The Obama Stimulus levels of spending are now permanently
entrenched in future government spending models.

--The debt only rises in a never-ending upward trajectory.
The $900 billion raise in the debt ceiling will not even
last one year. An additional $1.2 trillion in additional
debt will be "triggered" to carry the nation through
the election.

--There are allegedly NO tax increases but that is smoke
and mirrors because the CBO is projecting that the Bush
tax cuts will not be extended. If the Bush cuts are NOT
extended, that amounts to a huge tax increase. If the Bush
tax cuts ARE extended, the CBO projections fall apart and
other tax increases will be mandated by the trigger mechanism
in this bill.

--Finally... the LEFT is coming away from this debate with
one of their key goals accomplished: demonizing the Tea
Party. According to Politico on Friday, the Tea Party has
moved from "hostage takers" to "full-blown terrorists" who
are "craven to inflict massive harm on innocent victims to
achieve their political goals."

How to Walk Like Superman

From JustAddFather:

Stand tall. Take your first step, head erect, eyes open, watchful; your body resilient, fluid, ready. Take another, and another. The breeze unfurls the cape at your back. You can feel it flapping and waving, a banner you carry for the world to see. There are, perhaps, walls in your way. You walk through them without fear or tension, as if they are nothing. Your rhythm is constant, unhurried, even joyful. You are Superman, after all.

One more thing, I almost forgot. Someone is walking behind you. This is very important. A few yards back, a little boy is watching you. He’s seven, or eight, or nine. He wants to be just like you.

He follows in your footsteps, the whole way.

And remember that he's watching every step, every breath, hanging on every word... whether you realize it or not. Superman is larger than life, and to him (and to her), you are, too.

Cave Men

For my birthday earlier this year, Kristi and the kids gave me a great present - a Wild Cave Tour at Inner Space Caverns. Last summer we were there taking the regular walking tour when all of a sudden, this guy popped his head up out of a little hole a few feet from the trail. He was wearing a helmet with a light on it, and as he climbed out of the hole we could see that he was absolutely covered in mud and dirt. I was intrigued, so I asked our tour guide about him, and she told us the he was on the Wild Cave tour. I knew then that I had to do that.

So my birthday present this year was a Wild Cave Tour with any two friends I wanted to take with me. I knew right away who I wanted to take, but unfortunately neither Chuck Norris nor Ronald Reagan were available (the latter for obvious reasons), so I elected instead to take my brother, Adam, and my future brother-in-law, Johnny. You remember Adam and Johnny, right? So for their birthdays, we gave them each a ticket to the tour.

It took us awhile to coordinate our schedules and nail down a weekend to go, but we finally landed on July 30 as the date. Adam and Johnny were supposed to spend the night Friday night and we would leave for Austin early Saturday morning. We got a bit of a letdown on Friday, however, when Johnny called to say he wasn't feeling well and wouldn't be coming. I'll admit - I was bummed. It's nothing against Adam, but I really envisioned the three of us going together, and it just wouldn't be the same without Johnny. So when I got a text from Johnny that he was feeling better and was on his way, I breathed a big sigh of relief.

Johnny, Adam and I pulled out of Brenham at 8:30 and headed toward Austin. I enjoyed the ride there as we all talked and Adam shared information about the apartment he just got in Bryan for his upcoming semester at Blinn College. Johnny and I swapped horrible roommate stories. Although we had some very similar roommates, Johnny won because his story involved maggots and a puking dog. I just can't compete with that.

We pulled up to Inner Space Cavern right at 10:00, exactly on time. We joined the group that had already assembled for the tour and we all picked out a helmet, knee and elbow pads. Our guides, Billy and Brad ran through some basic instructions and some safety information. Then we headed down into the cave.

As a group, we decided that we wanted a more advanced route, so we started with an entrance called "Head First Hole," in which you literally had to squeeze through a tiny hole head first. It was a great way to start and set the expectations for the rest of the trip. It was exhilarating! Getting through that first hole reassured us that we could, in fact, do this. I think Adam was a little nervous about caving, but he warmed up quickly and was a good sport - he did all of the advanced "optional" stuff with me and Johnny that some of the guys on the tour opted out of.

The tour was amazing, and the quickest four hours I've had in a long, long time. I didn't take a camera down with me, but I wish I had (and I probably will if I do it again) because the sights down there are amazing. The tour was challenging. We spent most of the time crawling on our hands and knees and there were many times when we had to "Spider-man crawl" to get through some really tight tunnels. Anyone who is the slightest bit claustrophobic would have a tough time because there were some holes where you literally felt stuck and just had to keep wriggling until you maneuvered your way through.

On the tour, as we were crawling along, I started hearing ripping noises. Then I looked down and realized that I had ripped a huge hole in the crotch of my jeans. I felt sorry for the guy climbing and crawling behind me, which was usually Adam. But that's okay - early on the tour he stopped and apologized for not wearing a belt and that I might see his boxers.

We had a great day, and as we emerged from the cave the people on the walking tour and in the gift shop had a 50/50 reaction mix of "wow, that looks cool" and "wow, you guys are nuts!" Because seeing people climb up out of the hole we emerged from was how I found out about the tour, I was glad that a tour group got to see us emerge, too. It was fun to see their faces.

Johnny suggested a place called the Hangtown Grill for lunch, so we headed there after a quick outdoor shower and change of clothes. Then we headed home, tired but happy.

Thanks again to Kristi and the kids for giving me the tour for my birthday present and for giving me the opportunity to invite Adam and Johnny. And thanks to Adam and Johnny for going. I'm glad each of them went because it wouldn't have been as good without either of them. I'm looking forward to doing a lot more stuff with both of these guys. Up next with Adam: a weekend road trip, and with Johnny: Big Bend!

Before:


After:

Ladies Need Not Apply

Unfriended

Here's what's wrong with all the "I'm cleaning out my Facebook friends list, so if I don't hear from you, then you'll be unfriended" type posts I've been seeing a lot on Facebook:

A lot of people don't check Facebook every minute of every day. In fact, some people go days or weeks (and sometimes months) between Facbook sessions. Those people won't see your ultimatum in time and will just get the "unfriended" boot. And then, one day, they will realize that they haven't been seeing your posts lately and look you up, only to find that they've been unfriended. There are not many ways to hurt someone quicker than finding out that you're no longer someone's friend. It feels like you've been cut out of their life, culled.

I've been unfriended a couple of times by a couple of people I thought were my friends. I'll be honest - it hurt. A lot. And it turns out that one of them unfriended everyone from work. It's not that they didn't want to be Facebook friends with me, it's just that they cut everyone in a particular category out with the intention of adding them back in later one at a time. It was a shotgun approach to weed out a couple of bad "friends." But imagine my shock when a friend - both on Facebook and off - said in a passive aggressive way "you don't have value to me anymore, at least not enough to be a friend on Facebook." And that's the only conclusion I could reach because I wasn't given any notice of what this person's true intentions were. It was just one day - gone.

And here's the thing: Facebook is the perfect place to have casual friends. In fact, it's what it was built for. It's a great place to passively keep up with an acquaintance or someone you met at a conference or a long-ago friend from high school or someone at work who works on the other side of the building who you know from running into them in the break room. Facebook doesn't require an active connection.

So feel free to clean out your friends list. But PLEASE just go through and weed out the random contacts and people you really only intend to never hear from or speak to again. If someone is - or has ever been - a real-life friend, then leave them on. It's not hurting anything or anyone (unless it's a college friend who's gone freaking nuts and is just really annoying). But please try to think of the real-world equivalent of your Facebook "un-friend."

In the real world, if you told someone that you didn't want to be their friend, it's a pretty hurtful thing. You would never do it casually. So don't do it on Facebook, either.

Photo of the day

Federalism in Education Made Simple

Chasing Cane

This past weekend I had a great experience that I'd like to share. First - the back story...

Last year, a friend from college, Roy S. Ford, self-produced a short film called "Chasing Cane: At What Cost." It was the first of a four-part series of short films, and it actually won some awards on the film festival circuit.

A few months ago, Roy announced on Facebook that he was preparing to shoot parts three and four of the story. Directing is something I want to do eventually on a more serious level. I've directed commercials and television segments and even some short films with the kids for fun, but I want eventually to work on some HD projects, some short films and some longer films. So I e-mailed Roy and asked him if it would be okay if I came out to the shoot to watch him work. He graciously agreed, and even said I could bring my camera along to shoot some behind the scenes shots. He said he would be shooting on a DSLR camera, so I was particularly interested in seeing his setup and what he did. The shoot was broken up into four days - I missed the first two day because I was at a conference in Chicago, but I would be able to make the last two days of shooting.

On Saturday morning, I drove out to the Woodlands for day three of the shoot. He would be shooting scenes from both parts three and four of the films. Everything was very professional. He had plenty of lights - even though he only used a couple. He had a boom mic and an operator, a makeup artist and a detailed shot sheet. He was using real actors - not just friends or relatives or people he pulled off the street. And the best part of the day was that I got to meet some really, really nice people. Everyone was great!

So throughout the day, I clicked away during rehearsals and in between shots (I didn't want to bust a shot with the clicking sounds of my shutter). And I even got to jump in and work with the crew on lighting and as a grip. I did some camera work on a couple of scenes that Roy was in because he was shooting with a Canon 60D, which is the very camera model that I use at work and shot all the footage for an internal documentary with.

On Sunday, the shoot continued with some exterior scenes and a couple of really emotional scenes inside a house. The actors did such a great job, and it was very moving to watch them work and get into their characters. And when it was all done at about 10:30 Sunday night, it was a wrap on Chasing Cane. I'll post again here when there are more details on when more of the series will be released.

I had a really fun, really interesting and (most importantly) really educational couple of days. I genuinely enjoyed watching Roy work and direct with a very gentle style, but yet with a very forceful vision.

These are some of my favorite shots that I took on the shoot. You can see the entire set on Flickr here.

Photo of the Day

Focus, please.