Thoughts
AT&T Home Entertainment sucks
So after I'd committed to my brand new apartment, it was time to start setting up my utilities. My only option in my new apartment complex was AT&T Home Entertainment (aka DISH), which proved to be frustrating.
Risk: Who should pay for it?
America is widely regarded as an increasingly litigious society. We're sue-happy, and lots of people are discovering that the system can be (ab)used to win jackpots. While some consider this trend an unredeemable negative, I view this as a reflection on the desires of the community to shift risk around. This may be stupid and short-sighted, but the market normally can correct for it.
Medical malpractice
A popular complaint among physicians is that America's medical malpractice system is this crushing force, arbitrarily assigning jackpot awards to people whose only harm was not getting better after they saw a doctor. I have a few things to say about that.
Stuck on a deserted island
So I've been watching Lost on DVD. I'm kicking myself for not catching this when it started because I'm hooked. (Though it is nice not having to sit through commercial breaks, or the long break between seasons.) The more I watch, though, the more I start to envy these people.
Renewing License Plates in Missouri
I can't stand it when things are harder than they need to be. Many times, things are hard because someone stupid is making the decisions, or someone lazy is doing the implementation. My plates are up for renewal. I always wait until the last minute to do these types of things.
Evolution vs. Creationism: Not the debate you think it is
The "evolution vs. creationism" debate bugs me. I normally love to discuss things like this and debate the merits of science versus philosophy, but the problem with this debate is that people don't actually understand what it is that's being debated, which makes any educated discussion somewhat difficult.
Babies With Made-to-Order Defects?
Pre-implantation genetic screening is a technique that can be used by concerned parents to screen their potential children for birth defects or diseases that would significantly impact their quality of life. I've commented before about how this type of screening is going to be increasingly necessary as medical advances allow for defective genes to become more prevalent in our gene pool. Couples like Gibson and Cara Reynolds want to take this in the other direction. The Reynolds have dwarfism, a genetic defect that has non-trivial health and social implications. Their chances of having a normal child are 25%, but they would rather use genetic screening to eliminate that possibility, so as to ensure that their children also have the same genetic defect.
Should disabled newborns be euthanized?
They're debating this very topic in Scotland at the moment. While I don't think euthanasia is appropriate here, the real problem does merit some serious discussion.
Bombarded by Politics
I am being bombarded by political ads, telephone calls, visitors and junk mail. It has never been this bad, and I'm getting really fed up with it.
Is religion a bad thing?
I'm an atheist. I was raised a protestant Christian, but my analytical mind quickly quashed that. Going to church nowadays is done out of respect for the family members I visit every year or so. Wired Magazine is doing a piece titled Battle of the New Atheism. The article discusses the "New Atheist" movement, which seems to be united not just in the belief that religion is wrong, but that it is harmful.