I don't usually cover more "serious" topics on my blog, but I thought that this Slate article was actually really interesting, and worthy of pondering. With the current approach to abortion rights in the US, more middle-of-the-road positions get drowned out all the time, such that the situation remains constantly polarized. Until we as a country decide to actually try to compromise and find a middle ground, we won't be able to actually try to bring the situation to any kind of fruition.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Exhausted
I got up early this morning to go hiking. I'm trying to do at least one good hike every quarter, on varous trails around the area. My friend George went with me, and we decided to do the Lewis and Clark Trail out in St. Charles County, which is part of the Katy Trail system throughout the state. The weather was great for it (if the trail itself was too wet in some places), and it included one real good overlook on a bluff over the Missouri River. There were too many mosquitos, though; they were everywhere in the lower areas. And I got us lost just a little bit, but it's not my fault, because the trails were not properly marked. Seriously, there's a good use for some stimulus money, putting up new trail signs. At least one tree we passed had a rusted out sign laying on the ground next to it, which isn't exactly helping, you know?
After at least 5 1/2 miles (it was supposed to be 5 1/4, but we kind of made a little circle about halfway through), both George and I were very happy to hit the parking lot again, none the worse for wear, but quite tired. I immediately came home and passed out on the couch, which is a little surprising, since 5 1/2 miles isn't really all that long. We did go up and down hills quite a bit, so maybe that was it.
After at least 5 1/2 miles (it was supposed to be 5 1/4, but we kind of made a little circle about halfway through), both George and I were very happy to hit the parking lot again, none the worse for wear, but quite tired. I immediately came home and passed out on the couch, which is a little surprising, since 5 1/2 miles isn't really all that long. We did go up and down hills quite a bit, so maybe that was it.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Comic Books
As most people who read this blog know, I collect comic books. While I read G. I. Joe and a bit of Transformers in my childhood, I really got into the scene while I was in undergrad at Missouri State. I blame my Star Wars fandom, because I was knee deep in that scene when Dark Horse released their Dark Empire series, and I couldn't exactly ignore an entire new way of experience the Star Wars universe. That then led to innocent little experiments with other series that looked interesting, like Shadow Empires: Faith Conquers, and Tempus Fugitive, and... it just snowballed from there.
With the looming demise of Geocities, I wanted to find a new place to do comic book stuff online. I know I mentioned this already in a blog post, because an ex-coworker of mine found a link to my blog from my LinkedIn profile, and then wrote me an email to let me know about a website that a friend of his runs, Comic Book Realm. it is a pretty interesting place. You can discuss comic books, and rate comic books, and even better, you can log your entire collection and get pricing estimates. Being the obsessive-compulsive nerd that I am, I couldn't resist that temptation, and I recently did exactly that. And, sure enough, my collection breaks the $10,000 barrier in estimated value (when I include the books I am interested in selling). I gotta upgrade my insurance on those comics (yes, I specifically include my collection in my condo insurance. Why would I not?) There were some strange surprises in that process, though. I have a couple old Whitman comics like Scrooge McDuck and Looney Tunes. Just random issues mind, and they are worth about $15 a pop. Those old Radio Shack Tandy computer comics? $16 a pop. Even that old Robotix one-shot that I was sure nobody would care about was worth $7.
But the big surprise was a G. I. Joe comic, which ties back into my days at Missouri State. Sometime in the mid '90s Marvel cancelled the long-running G. I. Joe series they had published non-stop since 1981. Even though I hadn't picked up a copy in years, I figured I should get the last issue, dropping a good $1.50 to do so at that oddball comic and gaming store just a few blocks south of the east side of campus. Know what it is worth these days? $80. I was floored. Talk about a good investment.
With the looming demise of Geocities, I wanted to find a new place to do comic book stuff online. I know I mentioned this already in a blog post, because an ex-coworker of mine found a link to my blog from my LinkedIn profile, and then wrote me an email to let me know about a website that a friend of his runs, Comic Book Realm. it is a pretty interesting place. You can discuss comic books, and rate comic books, and even better, you can log your entire collection and get pricing estimates. Being the obsessive-compulsive nerd that I am, I couldn't resist that temptation, and I recently did exactly that. And, sure enough, my collection breaks the $10,000 barrier in estimated value (when I include the books I am interested in selling). I gotta upgrade my insurance on those comics (yes, I specifically include my collection in my condo insurance. Why would I not?) There were some strange surprises in that process, though. I have a couple old Whitman comics like Scrooge McDuck and Looney Tunes. Just random issues mind, and they are worth about $15 a pop. Those old Radio Shack Tandy computer comics? $16 a pop. Even that old Robotix one-shot that I was sure nobody would care about was worth $7.
But the big surprise was a G. I. Joe comic, which ties back into my days at Missouri State. Sometime in the mid '90s Marvel cancelled the long-running G. I. Joe series they had published non-stop since 1981. Even though I hadn't picked up a copy in years, I figured I should get the last issue, dropping a good $1.50 to do so at that oddball comic and gaming store just a few blocks south of the east side of campus. Know what it is worth these days? $80. I was floored. Talk about a good investment.
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