Randomness

~On Sunday, I went to have dinner with my parents at their house. My mother made turkey. It was only a turkey breast, which looked rather miserly. It was like the recession version of turkey. Granted, it was only the three of us for dinner. Nevertheless, I don't want to see the depression version of turkey any time soon.

~I have got to get to bed earlier than 11p if I intend to get up at 5a...and not be a total crab to absolutely everyone I meet with throughout each day.

~I am tired of people trying to legislate change of heart. I'm sorry. That doesn't work. Quit bringing bills to the committees I cover and saying that, although what you're trying to ban is unethical and/or potentially already illegal based on some other law or something, adding this new law will deter people from doing what is morally wrong (or already illegal, whatever you think is right for people to do, etc.). You think that because you make it a law that everyone will just stop doing whatever the activity is because you think it's wrong, perverse? That people will all of a sudden become moral, upright citizens? There will always be someone breaking the law, no matter how much you think that one more law will change that and they'll all of a sudden do what you want them to do.

~On that note about legislation, the Legislature is not in the business of enforcement. The Legislature creates the laws that are then enforced by other people. If the "other people" - i.e., sheriffs, prosecutors, judges - are not enforcing a law that's already in existence, what makes you think that adding another law that says the same thing, just in a different way, is going to magically make them enforce the provision? It didn't work the first time, so I think your "solution" to the problem is going about it in the wrong way.

~Also, you cannot legislate all harm away from every single person. Accidents and bad things happen, and no matter how many law books we create trying to prevent them (apparently the number of volumes of MN Statutes has doubled in the last couple decades), accidents and bad things will still happen to people. (See? Crabby. Point listed above.)

~See this bill, for an example of something that drives me nuts for many, many reasons.

~I really enjoy the U of M tanks, and we're back in action there this winter. Saturday afternoon we had our first session, and even though I had a couple new blisters, it's all good. Yes, there is open water in the state of MN right now; it just happens to be indoors in a rowing tank.

~I love many things about the Winter Carnival. I have decided, however, that I really don't like walking in the Torchlight Parade. It's not so bad in and of itself, and I was there with the boat club on Saturday evening, but it brings so many campaigning flashbacks to mind that the overall feeling is Not Good. But at least we got to carry oars and a boat decked out with twinkle lights, and the weather was downright warm (yay! for actually getting a January thaw - on the last possible day, of course), though a tad windy.

~I didn't actually say it out loud, but when I read "$11,200" in an article earlier today, my mind pronounced it like "eleventy-two hundred." (Also, see lack of sleep, point listed above.)