Patriot (n) one who fervently asserts the belief that one’s government is incapable of error, disregarding all previous experience and evidence to the contrary, whilst paying any and all taxes levied upon oneself and refusing to consider the possibility that one’s government is growing out of control

I just heard yesterday about the new NSA data center in Utah.  And now that I typed that sentence, I suppose the NSA’s digital file on me just grew slightly.  This monstrosity (here’s a link) literally serves no other purpose than to beef up the NSA’s ability to monitor, examine, and store digital information.  And it’s expensive.   Costing between $2 and $4 billion to construct and furnish, and another $20,000,000 per year to operate, it literally creates a few dozen jobs, mostly maintenance and security.  Regardless of one’s view on government, I think it is fair to assert that the government will make use of the tools we give it, and if we give them bigger, shinier, tools, they will make use of them to greater effect.

If these dudes were already trampling our constitutional rights without this immensely powerful surveillance tool, then are we really expected to believe that their infringements will not increase in scope now?  Oh yeah, and isn’t our country running a frighteningly large deficit right now?  Seems like maybe we should balance the budget before building multi-billion dollar oppression factories.

Apparently Utah was chosen in part because of the “patriotism” of Utahans.  God help me if the NSA ever approvingly describes me as patriotic. 

Those left behind

Humans behave strangely when we encounter suicide.  First, we claim that suicide is never necessary, that whatever ails a suicidal person can be remedied without the taking of one's life.  While this is certainly true in many (perhaps most) cases, there must certainly be hypothetical situations where suicide is the best solution.  I think that the concrete position of "never necessary" has been adopted as a mechanism to cause a suicidal person to reconsider their desire to die, but it seems that it is also commonly accepted by non-suicidal persons.  This social position likely causes the suicidal individual to feel further marginalized, as they are told that "normal" people never consider suicide to be acceptable, while their own feelings dictate that it is in fact a practical solution to their problems.

Second, after a suicide has taken place, the victim(?)'s friends and family feel devastated with sorrow, and perhaps some amount of shame (likely due to the implication that their deceased loved one was abnormal for committing suicide).  This is then followed by guilt, as the friends and family blame themselves for not noticing the signs and signals, and for not being able to prevent the suicide.  These emotions are understandable, but I think that they miss a very important point.  Specifically, the perspective of the suicidal person.  Now I am making generalizations here, but let's consider the common thought processes that lead to suicide.  From the perspective of the suicidal person, we have pain that won't heal, problems that cannot be solved, feelings of worthlessness that drive guilt and regret, and a lack of satisfaction with life in general.  We are instructed that a suicidal person often transitions from intense unhappiness to a state of contentment once they have formulated a suicide plan which they intend to carry out.  This indicates that these carefully planned suicides (as opposed to spur-of-the-moment, unplanned suicides) represent, through the eyes of the suicidal person, a solution to their suffering.  I would imagine that for the persons who truly wish to die, (rather than the "cry for help" halfhearted attempts) the final moments of life are marked by a feeling of peacefulness.

Now unless you believe in an afterlife in which a person is punished for taking their own life, this seems like it would be a relief for a loved one, to know that whatever torments that drove the person to suicide are now at an end.  I would hate to lose a loved one to suicide, but that is ultimately a selfish desire, if the alternative is a miserable and unhappy existence for the suicidal person.  Now I am absolutely not stating that suicide is a good solution, or that a suicidal person can not or should not be treated.  I am only pointing out that after the fact, once a loved one has taken their life, our grief should be tempered with the knowledge that our loved one's suffering is ended.

One more note on the bizarre (in my opinion) stance we take on suicide.  If, as a society, we believe that the desire to end one's existence is somehow faulty, that it is a symptom of a problem with the brain, then an understanding of natural selection would lead us to the conclusion that every suicide brings our species closer to purging suicidal behavior from our genes.  Now I know how that sounds, but I will not abstain from following a line of reasoning just because it might hurt some people's feelings.  If suicide is really such a tragedy, then we should try to prevent it by treating the causes.  Maybe treat one another as valuable individuals, unique in all the universe and through all time, past and future.  Love your neighbor as yourself, or something to that effect.  Oh yeah, and if you drink and drive, or text and drive, or facebook and drive, then you have no ground to stand on when discussing the value of life, death, or eternity.

Note: This has been on my mind recently because two childhood friends of mine took their lives in the last few years.

Spend less time grinding coffee and more time staring at facebook

I am not a coffee snob.  Perhaps I would be if I weren’t so poor, but as it stands I cannot afford to even try the expensive brands, much less develop a taste for them.  That being said, I suppose I could be called a traditionalist, or perhaps a purist.  This is because I drink coffee without sugar or cream or flavoring syrups.  I’m not too crazy about the preflavored coffees either, but we’ll get to my reasoning behind that a bit later.  Before I get off topic, though, I would like to recount a recent experience which roused me to write this post.

I went to the grocery store in order to purchase some whole bean coffee.  I was very disappointed at the selection available.  I think there was literally one brand of whole bean coffee, and it was only available in the one pound size.  I prefer larger bags of coffee because I drink it frequently and don't like purchasing it frequently.  I also like to try different roasts and brands, so selection is nice.  Anyway, I was deeply disappointed and bothered that in a country that drinks so much coffee (22.1 gallons per capita in 2000) there is so little appreciation for tradition.

So why do I buy whole bean coffee?  Two reasons: One, because I don’t want any foreign objects ground up in my coffee (i.e. insects); and Two, because I prefer to grind it immediately before use.  Why?  Two reasons: One, I was instructed by a coffee documentary that fresh-ground coffee is superior in flavor to non-fresh-ground; and Two, because I like to tailor the coarseness of the grind to my mood and method of brew (as a French Press requires coarser grounds than a paper filter).  So I only buy whole bean coffee, and in my experience flavored coffees are only available as pre-ground, hence my abstinence.  Unfortunately it is becoming more and more difficult to find selection in whole bean coffees.  I thought it was getting ridiculous a couple of years ago when the pre-ground coffees occupied 90 percent of the coffee shelf real estate at the grocery store, but with the recent surge in popularity of the Keurig-style coffee makers the situation has become absurd.  The coffee aisle now is dominated by single-serving cartridges, with the ground coffees taking up the remaining space, and only one or two options for whole bean.  Except of course for the bulk dispensers, but in my experience these can be even more expensive than the fad brands like Starbuck’s and Peet’s.

Now I can’t speak to the flavor of the cartridge coffees, as I haven’t tried them, but if they are real coffee at all (as opposed to instant coffee) then at the very least they are not fresh-ground.  What they certainly are is expensive.  The machines are expensive and the cartridges are expensive.  Probably not too great for the environment either, but that’s beside the point.  What really bothers me about the cartridge trend is that people are eliminating a valuable ritual from their lives, all in the name of convenience.  If you care enough about coffee to spend hundreds of dollars on a Keurig-style machine and buy the expensive cartridges, then can’t you take 90 seconds or so out of your morning to grind some beans and pour them into a filter?  Some researchers believe that performing rituals like this allows us to appreciate or enjoy everyday activities more.

I wish there was a larger selection of whole bean coffee at the grocery store.