It is the end of Movember and I am thankful. I’m thankful to the people that donated and thankful to be able to shave the ‘stache. Going a whole month without trimming was hard. I don’t know how people with bushy mustaches do it. It was so annoying. I would wake up every single morning wanting to trim it. It was also ugly. No, seriously, I hated it and I’m sure I looked stupid to most people. In fact, it got to the point that when I’d see people I hadn’t seen in a while I’d have to explain why I had the ridiculous mustache so they would know it wasn’t a fashion decision and that I was growing it for the greater good. If you really want to torture yourself you can go back and look at the Movember set on my Flickr page. I did miss taking pictures a few of the days, but there are 22 of the 30 days in the set. I think if I do this again next year, I’ll try a different style, maybe just the old-fashioned used car salesman mustache. We shall see.
I’ve never been pro or anti-gun. I’ve just never had an opinion on it. It is a hot issue, but one I’ve never felt strongly about. I know that getting guns off the streets could mean less crime. I know that most gun crime is committed by guns obtained illegally. I don’t think you need semi-automatic or automatic weapons to hunt deer. I see both sides of the argument and dangle my feet on both sides of the fence. I’ve never wanted a gun but to each their own.
Lately I have been thinking more and more about owning one. Not because I’m afraid of crime or because I want to carry a concealed weapon (that’s legal in Missouri). It really comes down to the amount of nutjobs there are in the world right now. No, I’m not talking Tom Cruise believes aliens dropped frozen souls into volcanoes type of nutjobs. I’m talking about people who are so easily manipulated that they get whipped up into a frenzy even though what they are yelling about makes no sense. I’m talking about allowing people who don’t have the mental capacity to own guns suddenly buying them. Or people who have no problem burning people in effigy.
The point is, there are some crazy people out there and when people who are supposed to be responsible leaders shout fire and brimstone from their pulpit, nothing good can come. Look at the racist, bigoted, nonsensical things that have come about from the tea baggers and the birthers. Look at Glenn Beck, Michele Bachmann, and Michelle Malkin. Look at the hatred in the last campaign from Sarah Palin supporters. It was disgusting. I know owning a gun isn’t going change these nutjobs, but if these people are armed and get in their heads there needs to be a revolution, why shouldn’t I be able to protect myself against these lunatics? The prospect of owning a gun is becoming more and more appealing.
Who says corporate racism is dead? While this tool from the New York Times doesn’t specifically attribute the difference in unemployment rates by race to racism, it is hard to ignore it. It is true that not all groups have felt the effects of the recession equally. Here are a few charts I found quite interesting (click to enlarge).
White College-Educated Males from 25-44
Black College-Educated Males from 25-44
Hispanic College-Educated Males from 25-44
White Men and Women All Ages and Education Levels
Black Men and Women All Ages and Education Levels
Hispanic Men and Women All Ages and Education Levels
I found out about a great little fundraiser called Movember. What is Movember? Movember is an annual, month-long celebration of the mustache, highlighting men’s health issues – specifically prostate and testicular cancer. Starting November 1st participants start growing their ‘staches. I found out about it a day late and I already had facial hair so I had to start a day late by shaving. That’s right. For the first time in at least 8 years I have no facial hair.
So, what is the point? Well, to raise money. The money raised goes to The Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Lance Armstrong Foundation. I’m doing my part by growing an awesome ‘stache, won’t you help out by donating now? You can also go to my donation page or my Daily Booth page every day to see my mustache progress. The first picture of baby-faced shep is up now, complete with nicks and cuts.
I quit working on a regular basis when I got Penny. I felt bad leaving a new dog in my apartment 10 minutes after I got home just so I could go work out. Now that I’ve had Penny for a while and she’s used to being alone in my apartment I’ve decided to pick back up my workout routine.
Finding the motivation to do it really isn’t that difficult, it’s finding the time. Right now, I’m using the simple workout room in my apartment complex and that closes at 9:00pm. I’m not quite ready to sign up for a gym membership, especially since I hate other people watching me. If I ever fell using the equipment I’d never return. I’m not the most coordinated person.
Another issue I face when exercising is how quickly I get bored. I used to listen to podcasts of NPR’s Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, but that has gotten bored. I really wish I could use my Slingbox app on my iPhone to stream TV, but stupid AT&T won’t allow streaming over 3G. I decided to load my iPhone up with a few TV shows to pass the time. Last night I was working out and watched an hour-long show and the time flew by. Of course since it was my first workout in a while I took it easy, but I’m glad I’m finally getting back into the swing of things.