Harry's Ruminations

I went to college with a guy, M, who was homeschooled and had nearly perfect elocution.  Bizarrely perfect, in fact, since he came from Winchester, Kentucky.  To be precise M didn't have elocution, he had diction--his voice was distinctive and every word was measured.  He also spoke, as Peter Egan would say, as though he was holding a pencil clenched in his back teeth. One day he was describing the next course in his Business degree.  I swore he said, "Mmmmkro". Being the insufferable know-it-all that I was/am, I knew it had to be 'macroeconomics' or 'microeconomics'.  I probed on, "Uh...M, did you mean 'Macro' or 'Micro'".  He repeated, this time with more urgency, "MMMM-kro".  He might've shoved a schwa sound in there; I don't know.  In any case, I still couldn't discern his target economics class. This went on for some minutes, with increasing levels of M's consternation and increasing emphasis f...

I've been a Dave Ramsey follower for 9 years now.  Granted, I've never made it past baby step 3 because I'm a selfish spendthrift, but I've kept my debt load admirably low throughout that period.  We've pretty much saved-up for everything we bought in that time, aside from our Honda Odyssey, and I swore with that one that I'd let that sick, in-debt feeling stay with me so I'd never make that mistake again. Okay, that lasted right until Grace was born. Grace is my (hopefully) last daughter, born October last year.  Whitney and I rediscovered sleepless nights and random pain from sacking an infant and her jetsam around.  We also discovered that the mattress she brought with her to the marriage was on its last legs, mainly because I didn't put a third slat beneath the middle of the box spring.  That pillow-top beauty was sagging like my 401k back in 2008. So, a new mattress & box spring was in order.  We set a budget.  We shopped.  Then, we...

What do cars and electronics have in common? Pornography improves the breed.   More generally, both benefit from something that captures the imagination and drives obsessive behavior and improvements to the delivery medium.  For electronics, this was VHS, DVDs, HDtv, internet, streaming video, etc.  For cars, this was racing. Where did most of the technology we use today come from?  Rear-view mirrors, synchromesh transmissions, fuel injection, electronic engine controls, high compression/high rpm operation, turbochargers, ABS, traction control, stability control, all derived from the singular, "Racing improves the breed." So, where are the significant electric racing series?  To my understanding, there are none.  A 24 Hours of Daytona, contested by electric-only cars would be a supreme test of current technology. "I just ran out on the banking at 150 mph.  Crap, my batteries are totally depleted."  I guarantee you, regenerative braking wou...

The best feature of a Toyota Camry XV20 ?  External temperature gauge. Yes, the car's practically perfect, in that annoying Mary Poppins way, but I love clicking that button on the dash and seeing the outside air temperature.

I deactivated my Facebook account today.  Here are the reasons: It's overwhelming.  The avalanche of minutiae from my fellow human beings was too much to process.     It's irresistible.  I'd find myself checking it each morning at 5am, each night before going to bed, and during lunch each day, in lieu of actual human relationships up to and including my own wife and kids.   You Social Network--er, Facebook-- guys have done your job.  You've invented crack for the mind. It's way too easy to be a voyeur.  The visual and emotional pornography available on Facebook far surpasses any romance novel or soap opera.  Seriously, you can watch people hook up, argue, and witness their marriages dissolve in slow-motion.  It's real-life, emblazoned and sanitized behind an online profile.  For myself, that kind of drama drains me.  Which leads me to... It dissolves actual relationships.  Sure, IRC, chat rooms, AOL, an...

Joey and I went to TRON: Legacy 3D last night.  On the way home, he posed the following question: "Hey Harold, so what if when I was a freshman in high school, I met some girl who had hair just like Quorra , and who looked just like Quorra, and who had a TRON outfit like Quorra?"  My reply: "Turn and run the other way as fast as you can." Yes, Olivia Wilde steals every scene she's in. Oh, and the 3D wasn't worth the extra $$$.  Tron in 2D on an appropriate screen is still a beautiful film, the minimalist counterpart to the sensory overload of Cameron's Avatar . Sometimes, gravity is not your friend. Ouch. I welcome our new Verizon overlords . I love the motorcycle shots in TRON (those in the real world, on the Ducati), but I think I'd like something more comfortable in real life.

Each year I get to watch my boy appear and disappear in a 24 hour period.  I hate that. It's amazing how rewarding it can be to put something together with your kids.  This year, I got to put together a playschool dollhouse, a K'Nex Twisted Coaster, and an er...um....something to do with mechanized hamsters that need exercise.   A toy is evil if and only if it requires batteries. I find Michael Bay's Transformer's movie mesmerizing in that "If its on, I have to watch it" way I usually reserve for Airplane!, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and The Ten Commandents. Bad news is worse at Christmas somehow.  It's like you're in the foxhole, getting shelled, and the guy next to you farts.  Nothing to do but smell it. The Mattress sales industry should be regulated tighter than casinos.  Casinos at least offer comps. If you're on the hook to feed your buddy's dog while he's on vacation, wear comfortable footwear.  Said dog may be off her chain...