My Shed and the Ugly Side of DIY

You'll notice that at some point someone realized that the roof was rotting and instead of repairing it they built a new roof ON TOP of the old one.

And they also used the wrong kind of shingles.

I like fixing stuff myself if I can, but there is no excuse for this. You have to know your limits.

I'm currently working with several local contractors to get my house in better condition. Thankfully, they all have good sense of humors.

Beard, week 2

Beard (week 2) I've been bearding all week; it kind of sucks.

Some men stop shaving and the beard comes in fairly even - neck to nose. And if they have darker hair the 5 o'clock shadow helps even out the coloring.

My hair is light colored and straight so I never actually get that 5 o'clock shadow. This is nice because it means I can go a few days without shaving.

However, if I actually want a beard I must pass through several beard phases specific to men with lighter colored hair:
  • freshly shaved
  • 5 oclock shadow
  • stubble
  • homeless or hipster?
  • amish
  • ?????


Without the darker mustache it's almost impossible to pass through the amish phase into whatever beard glories lie beyond.

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Osama bin Laden is Dead and I Don't Feel So Good Myself

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There can be relief found in the knowledge that Osama bin Laden will no longer be able to lead al Qaeda in attacks on America. And it is comforting to know the time, energy and lives spent searching for the past 10 years was not a waste.

Bin Laden's death serves the vague ideas we have about justice and provides a narrative bookend to 9/11 that is satisfying. Many Americans have been afforded no other way of understanding what we have been doing "over there".

So why am I skeptical of the whole thing?

I've been thinking about it all morning. Am I a cynic or a liberal who doesn't understand the sacrifices of others? I certain don't think of myself as that. Maybe I have issues with the collective confidence everyone seems to be feeling.

Undoubtedly Bin Laden was a murderer; however; when Bush declared the attacks on September 11th an act of war Bin Laden became a warrior. This was exactly what his organization wanted. They were no longer political criminals; they were elevated to religious warriors.

This is perfectly exemplified by the way US Armed Forces took the body after he was killed in order to prevent a memorial or shrine. Our hope now will be that he does not become a martyr. Or since his body is missing maybe there will be talk of his second coming - Americans are not the only ones with narratives.

As for al Qaeda, there is most likely another figurehead plotting in the wings, certainly there are other radical Muslims who do not fear death.

But perhaps this fear is America's largest asset. After all, it is what drives us to pour money into the defense and intelligence industries. Personally I pray for diplomacy but count on the military industrial complex. I'm not proud of this as it is of course a symbol of my lack of faith.

Returning to the nation's collective sigh, I personally have not felt these emotions but it's hard to deny the outpouring in the US today. Especially as seen on Facebook and Twitter. Sadly the response is not all that different than last week when that one guy got kicked off of American Idol; tomorrow is a new day and there will be new FB statuses. We can only hope they're not 10 years in the making.

I have to conclude with an apology to the late Lewis Grizzard. My father was a fan so his cleverly titled books were scattered around the house while I was growing up.