Anti-Choice

WARNING: The link below takes you to a site with very graphic images which you may find disturbing.

I was invited to a protest of an "anti-choice" group on campus over Facebook and I commented that it's not very nice to call the group anti-choice (do they call you "anti-life," etc). It turns out that the group calls themselves the "Anti-Choice Movement at FSU." They have a link on their fb page that takes you to this website which sells graphic pictures of aborted fetuses, presumably for protests/demonstrations.

While I am all for providing material to help make educated decisions, I can't help but think that the aborted fetuses used for these pictures have been mutilated by the same group. The mutilation really adds to the macabre nature of the photos, even if an intact fetus is an unpleasant sight.

I guess outlawing abortion may lead to a marginal reduction in the number of abortions, but what the anti-choice/pro-life side of the debate forgets is: if you eliminate legal channels for abortion, it's just going to be done in less regulated and sterile conditions. The life of the mother will be put at risk (which you should be against if you are "pro-life") as well due not only to shoddy procedures but also infections and aftermath. Another alternative to not having an abortion is to throw the baby in a dumpster or completely neglect it after birth. The economist will remind you that good intentions do not guarantee good outcomes. And speaking of economists, it may be interesting for these people to read Chapter 4 of Freakonomics.

White v. Hispanic Dancing

Have you ever noticed that white people can dance without moving their feet and hispanic people can dance without moving their upper bodies? I've seen it happen.

Terracycle

Today I bought a package of cookies with the Terracycle logo on the package. The packaging doesn't tell me much about what exactly that is, so I'm in the process of exploring http://www.terracycle.net/. It looks like they use "trash" as a raw material in the manufacture of new goods. Seems like a neat idea.

Apparently, people sign up to collect particular types of garbage and they drop it off at specified locations or ship it somewhere. I don't know how great of an idea this is, but I guess they're going great if they're making profit...and they must be profiting when they can afford to dole out $1.6M to charity.

They have a website called DwellSmart where you can purchase some of the products they've made out of upcycled trash.

Jessica's Wedding

I went to Orlando last weekend for Jessica's wedding. We've been friends since we were 5 years old and she chose me to be her best man. Or man of honor. AKA Bridesman. Not really a well established name for my role. I like "bride's best man." Anyhow...

I got there on Friday and got to spend some with the happy couple and meet the groom's parents & brother. The groom's dad doesn't speak English and the mom & brother are better in spanish, so I got to practice. His family was very nice. While it's not very convenient to have to translate for the in-laws, it might keep intrafamiliar tensions down a little. Of course, I think that Jessica has a nice family as well. Speaking of whom, it was nice to see all of them. It was also nice to see some of Jessica's friends whom I've missed seeing for a little while too.

Watching Jessica get married was a little weird when that idea is still so far away for me. We learned to drive together and graduated/went to college at the same time, we started seriously dating people about the same time. I guess this means that I could do it too some day.

Make Your Own Double Layer Socks

Have you seen double layer socks on the market? They are purported to be blister resistant or even blister proof. The idea is that the inner layer conforms to your foot and the outer layer moves with the shoe's movements and the two layers rub against themselves thereby not rubbing against your skin and causing irritation. This example shows that they can be kind of expensive.

A few years ago, I came up with a way to create your own double layer socks. You just put one sock on and then don another on top of it. You can customize the properties of your own double layer sock by changing up the types of socks you use for your inner and outer layer. One of my favorite combinations is to put a good wicking SockGuy style sock underneath a padded Thorlo style sock.

Try this out and let me know what you think.

Pick #227

Night Ranger - "Sing Me Away"

Being Nice Doesn't Always Pay...

...but it does pay to be nice within a group of nice people.