Traditional Media Fails. Again.

Diebold admitted yesterday that their software makes it very easy to delete ballots. Apparently this is something they have been aware of for years. Oh, and it's not Diebold anymore, it's Premier Election Solutions - I'm sure that's a PR move. You can read the Wired story by clicking above - no point in me rehashing the details.

I don't care what your political affiliation is, this is not good news. It's horrible news. For everyone.

And the other horrible news is that without online media, like Wired and blogs, apparently this could have gone unreported. At least that's how it seems to me. I did a quick search and found no indication that any traditional media has bothered to report the story.

Headline News is telling me right now what the weather is in Fargo. It's not that I don't care about snow melting in Fargo, but the fact that our entire democratic process has been in the hands of people who knew their software was flawed, would seem worthy of at least a crawl while I hear about rain in Rochester. The closest I can come is DC will be sunny on Friday, and that's the host's mother's birthday. This followed by a report on American Idol.

I am so disgusted with my former profession. I swear, when I was working as a journalist, this would never have passed muster. I don't think I ever did a single story about a celebrity, unless it was someone we had interviewed. I mean, I can just watch American Idol. I don't need a report on it.

A free press is essential to a free nation - I'm sure of that. But our traditional free press is lacking these days. Very lacking. When I don't see a story about something this major I know things are very bad.

I guess they'll eventually read the blogs and catch on something is happening and do a story about it, pretending it's hot news then. But it's not. While they were reporting on Adam and Anoop, the news that our voting system is in danger became old news. Disgusting.
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Happy St. Patrick's Day

Greg, Sharon and I went to Roy's for lunch today. Of course, we always love Roy's - and Anne was in the spirit as you can see from the shamrocks she was wearing on her head - but we knew Anne and Ryan would appreciate Greg's holiday ensemble. Naturally, The Lope was decked out too.

Roy's is always delicious, and today we were there early so I was able to have the beef cut just the way I love it. Ryan takes such good care of me.

Vegetarians, look away...



Hope you're having a great St. Patrick's Day!

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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more. Friend me on facebook.com. Follow me at twitter.com. All text and photos on this website are copyright Patsy Terrell, unless otherwise noted. None are to be used without permission. Thank you.

Geographic Therapy

If you've read here for any amount of time, you know my love of what I dub "geographic therapy," meaning that when you need to figure something out it's ideal to go away to do it.

I'm feeling a major need for some geographic therapy. This whole little deal about preparing to die - just in case - leaves me with a deep need to process it all. Unfortunately, the world doesn't like to even acknowledge such things, much less allow one enough quiet time to process it.

Tickets to Europe are getting cheap - as low as $200 to some places from NY, about $400-$500 from cities near me. But, the exchange rate for the dollar sucks. It's about 1.29 to a Euro. It has been worse, but that's not nearly as nice as when it was roughly equal. It would be even better if we could have the dollar actually worth more. That, of course, seems like an impossible pipe dream at this point.

I could so use a nice get away - an opportunity to go somewhere different and soak up some atmosphere. Walking the streets of Paris in the early morning, gathering fresh pastry and exchanging pleasantries with workers (as much as my limited French allows), would do me so much good. Standing in the Vatican museums, looking at timeless art, would feed my soul right now. A little jaunt into the developing world would get my blood circulating. An opportunity just to sit at a cafe, surrounded by language I don't understand, almost anywhere, would give me a little peace. Why? I don't know why. It just does.

But, alas, there are medical bills arriving every day... and still the same amount of money coming in, which doesn't stretch far enough even to cover them, much less a trip abroad, or even around the corner. Perhaps the dawn will bring me a miracle - I seem to be seeking a lot of those lately - that makes it all possible.

For now I'll head to bed and just dream of such things... nitey night.
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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more. Friend me on facebook.com. Follow me at twitter.com. All text and photos on this website are copyright Patsy Terrell, unless otherwise noted. None are to be used without permission. Thank you.

Happiness and People In Our Lives

Social scientists say that 70-85% of our happiness comes from our association with other people. (Depends on the scientist you listen to where the percentage falls.) These are the people we choose to spend time with - that doesn't include your children (unless they're grown), but it does include your spouse.

When things are not going well, the people in your life help you through the rough times. When you're happy, it's magnified when you share it with other people.

We know that the five people you choose to spend time with have more impact on your life than any other single factor. That's not just for happiness, but general attitude about dozens of things, how you'll react to situations, how you manage money, etc. etc. etc. It really is like your Mama said when she was telling you that wasn't a good crowd to be hanging around with.

So, armed with this knowledge, I've been thinking about why I'm not as happy as I should be these days. I should be ecstatic every day - literally floating on clouds - thrilled with my good health and good news. I'm not unhappy by any means, but I'm not ecstatic.

Tonight it occurred to me that my social life largely relies on me to organize and instigate it, with noteable exceptions, and I haven't felt up to that recently. So, I've been missing a lot of my normal interaction. I've been hesitant to make any plans until I see how I'll feel at any given moment, and I haven't been planning for any gatherings at my home. So, in many ways, my social life has ground to a halt the last 2 1/2 months. I haven't felt up to creating the opportunity for much planned socializing and part of it is the anticipation. It's a loss. But, it's something I'm going to have to make it through a little while longer.

Quote of the Day

A man only learns in two ways, one by reading, and the other by association with smarter people.
                                                                             - Will Rogers

Pi Day

It's pi day - you know, 3.14. This is the first year the US Congress has recognized the day I believe.

We celebrated with a visit to Cooky's in Golden City, Missouri. They make dozens of kinds of pie every day. And it's yummy stuff.



I have to confess I went for the standard pecan today. They asked if I wanted ice cream with it and although I've never had it that way I said yes. They warmed the pie and brought a dish of ice cream with it and I gotta say it was a good combo.

Greg and his mom had something called Carribean Pumpkin pie made with coconut milk instead of evaporated milk. They both gave it good reviews. Mia, Greg's girlfriend, had a pie that mimiced Reese's Pieces. She gave it the stamp of approval - so much so that Miss Joy bought a piece to take to LV when we left.

The bonus at Cooky's is that pie is cheap. A piece, with tax, is less than $2. Beat that deal. It can't be done, I tell you.

Greg and I were talking about pi day earlier this week, but it had slipped our minds today until we were headed back to Joplin after eating pie. Obviously, it was in the back of our minds somewhere because we knew we needed to eat pie today. We just knew it. I love math and I love pie... it's the perfect day.

On the way back to Joplin the four of us stopped by for some Superman Ice Cream at SuperTam Ice Cream in Carterville. Here's Greg showing off the official Superman Ice Cream's distinctive colors.

Biophilia

I've been reading lately about E.O. Wilson's theory of biophilia. In a nutshell what he's saying in the 1978 book is that humans are attracted to nature because we feel an emotional affinity for other living organisms - on a primal level. He says it's an instinctual experience. 

It's this attraction that gives us a peaceful feeling when we're in nature. And, on the opposite end, it's why we're afraid of snakes, even though for most of us the chance we're going to be bitten by a snake is very slim. (My own experience notwithstanding!)

Wilson's theory says it's in our genes to find being in nature a peaceful experience.

I think there's something to this. Being surrounded by nature, witnessing a beautiful sunrise, or seeing a flower come up stirs most of us in some way. It's hard to not be affected by a starry night or a cuddly kitten. Studies have even shown that people recover better after surgery if they can see nature from their hospital windows.

I've had reason recently to be looking back through old blog entries. It's astonishing how many of them have something nature related in them. There are photos of gorgeous autumn days, snow on holly berries, sunflowers waving in the wind and tulips poking their heads up. I know one of the ways to calm myself when I need it is to head into nature.

You would think that Wilson, who has won two Pulitzer Prizes, as well as a long list of other prestigious awards, would have his theories accepted pretty readily. But, alas, some disagree with him on the concept of biophilia. Apparently they don't know this little tidbit I ran across recently - more people visit zoos every year than attend all sporting events combined.
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