Star Trek: Captain James T. Kirk Giving some advice

Yeah, us Trekkies need to "Get a Life!"

Lunch time with the boys

Here we are having a quick lunch, and discussing the NC students that joined us on Thanksgiving day. One was a physicist and the other a chemist, and we learned quite a bit about DNA modeling and electromagnetic properties of polymers...

Fun with Brandy

Here we are--playing with Brandy over Thanksgiving break.

Thanksgiving Lunch '07

Thanksgiving Lunch
Originally uploaded by Henry's_Family_Photos

Here you see the calm before the storm--Jeannie's lunch all nicely arranged before we dig in.

Triangle conguence is easy--That's an SAS relationship!

Brandy
Originally uploaded by Henry's_Family_Photos

Brandy's been helping Matthew with his homework lately, and here you see her taking a break while Matthew does some sample problems.

Working in the yard, I think...

Working in the yard, I think...
Originally uploaded by Henry's_Family_Photos

Hey, I thought we were going to be raking leaves--not attacking your Dad!

Frank Caliendo on Letterman as Bush

I have no clue who this guy is--but he does a great impression of George Bush...

John's '07 Oyster Roast

Here we are, well stuffed and ready to leave the party before it gets dark. Can't wait till next year...

John's '07 Oyster Roast

John's '07 Oyster Roast
Originally uploaded by Henry's_Family_Photos

Here are some photos from this weekend's oyster roast. What fun!!

John's '07 Oyster Roast

John's '07 Oyster Roast

Here are some video's from this weekend's oyster roast...

Allright, I gotta show the "Sunglasses" Horatio one-liners too.

Caruso is the man--CSI Miami opening one-liners

These days, I think I only watch CSI Miami for these opening lines. Come'on Caruso, let's state the obvious O N E M O R E T I M E !

Mom's 85th Birthday Party

Here's a video of us singing Happy Birthday to mom. Or is she singing it to us?

Mom's 85th Birthday Party

New Photoset
Originally uploaded by Henry's_Family_Photos

Mom had her 85th birthday a few weeks ago, and friends from all over the state stopped by and wished her well. Feel free to check out all the photos from the party.

Yeah, it's time for more Chuck Norris jokes...

I don't know why the kids like these Chuck Norris jokes so much, or why I chuckle (pun) along with them when they get on a Chuck Norris roll--these things are about as corny as they can get.

Maybe it's because he must be, like, 75 by now (actually he's 67), and also that I don't think they've ever seen one of his shows. But the legend, it seems, lives on...

• Chuck Norris has already been to Mars; that's why there are no signs of life there
• When the boogeyman goes to sleep, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.
• When Chuck Norris falls in water, Chuck Norris doesn't get wet. Water gets Chuck Norris.
• Chuck Norris destroyed the periodic table, because Chuck Norris only recognizes the element of surprise.
• Guns don't kill people. Chuck Norris kills People.
• There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of animals Chuck Norris allows to live.
• Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.
• There is no chin under Chuck Norris' Beard. There is only another fist.
• Chuck Norris has two speeds. Walk, and Kill.
• The leading causes of death in the United States are: 1. Heart Disease 2. Chuck Norris 3. Cancer
• Chuck Norris once bet NASA he could survive re-entry without a spacesuit. On July 19th, 1999, a naked Chuck Norris re-entered the earth's atmosphere, streaking over 14 states and reaching a temperature of 3000 degrees. An embarrassed NASA publically claimed it was a meteor, and still owes him a beer.
• Time waits for no man. Unless that man is Chuck Norris.
• Chuck Norris doesn't shower, he only takes blood baths.
• In an average living room there are 1,242 objects Chuck Norris could use to kill you, including the room itself.
• The Great Wall of China was originally created to keep Chuck Norris out. It failed miserably.
  

Thanks to these other sites for the fun:
http://www.chucknorrisfacts.com/
http://www.chucknorrisjokes.net/

Unjust is best? Maybe Socrates is wrong.

Here’s a question to ponder. Are you better off being a “bad guy” in this world?

For those of you who know me, I was raised to always be wearing the white hat. I guess I got it from my Dad, who always put others’ needs in front of his own. I guess Mom has the same philosophy—i.e., the “more you give, the more you receive” approach. That was the way our family was, and it’s the way I turned out.

Yeah, ok, I admit that Star Trek reinforced that approach to life as well.

But when you think about it, that approach is actually pretty selfish, isn’t it? Maybe we’re nice and giving to others for the sake of ourselves, intending to make others happy, to befriend us, or to respect us, so that in the end we reap some benefits out of the relationship. Could that be right?

Maybe, maybe not.

Certainly, there is a personal satisfaction you get from helping others, regardless of whether you ever receive reciprocal treatment. I’ve certainly felt it. But maybe, throughout evolution, we’ve been programmed to feel this way, and the real truth is that our personal satisfaction is the result of selfishly feeding our ego.

In reading Plato’s Republic, Socrates takes a stab at refuting Thrasymachus’ premise that man is inherently selfish, or better yet, “unjust” by nature. Conversely, he states "I declare justice is nothing but the advantage of the stronger" Republic 338c. Robbery and violence are normally called "injustice," but when they are practiced wholesale by rulers, they are justice, i.e. the interest of the stronger, ie. the rulers. Thus, when we consider ordinary citizens, "the just man comes off worse than an unjust man everywhere" (343d). Since the rulers do not obey the principles they impose on the citizens, they are in those terms "unjust." So Thrasymachus says, "You will understand it most easily, if you come to the most perfect injustice, which makes the unjust man most happy, and makes those who are wronged and will not be unjust most miserable" (344a).

He continues…”Tyranny is not a matter of minor theft and violence, but of wholesale plunder, sacred and profane, private or public. If you are caught committing such crimes in detail you are punished and disgraced; sacrilege, kidnapping, burglary, fraud, theft are the names we give to such petty forms of wrongdoing. But when a man succeeds in robbing the whole body of citizens and reducing them to slavery, they forget these ugly names and call him happy and fortunate, as do all others who hear of his unmitigated wrongdoing.”

So, according to Thrasymachus, the tyrant is happy and fortunate, precisely because he breaks the rules ("justice") that he imposes on the weak. What the weak call "justice" is really slavery, and no one truly strong would act that way.

In Book I, Socrates attempts to refute Thrasymachus. If the weak, after all, can prevent the strong from taking what they want or can prevent someone from becoming a tyrant, then they are the strong! Thrasymachus is finally quieted. At the beginning of Book II however, Socrates is told by Glaucon and the others that this was all too easy. They argue that anyone would be unjust, given the opportunity. For example, if someone found a ring that made him invisible, he would commit all sorts of selfish and unjust deeds, because he could get away with it. Furthermore, such an evil-doer would be happy as a result. And, everyone believes that injustice leads to happiness, if only one can get away with it.

I won’t go into it all here, but I’m wondering if Socrates actually on the wrong side of this argument. Maybe it is a dog-eat-dog world out there, and maybe we are all in it for ourselves. Of course, there are those I love that I would never harm, but is that an evolutionary trait that better provides for long term security and sustainability of the family, the clan, or the local community? Maybe I’m programmed to selflessly help those I love, and feed my ego with satisfaction from my good deeds?

That’s probably as close to “unjust” as I’ll ever get…

Water, recycling, organic farming, and politically correctness...But don't forget the common sense.

When reading Donna Helen Crisp's article in the N&O today, I couldn't help but think about how many of us are missing the big picture when it comes to conservation. I want to live my life in a health-conscious way, and I certainly support water restriction efforts, yet sometimes I (and others, I'm sure) don't often recognize the required urgency needed to address this matter on a global scale.

Count me in as reminded today, however...

Donna Helen Crisp

RALEIGH - Patiently, I stand behind a woman wearing a green silk blouse, embroidered with small fuchsia flowers. She does not know I am there. Her lovely, lavender paisley scarf drapes her neck, underneath perfectly coiffed blond hair, as she explains her question to the man trying to help her at the local new-age supermarket coffee counter.

Her agenda is fascinating. She needs to know whether the coffee beans are organic, and she wants to know what kind of water the store uses when it makes the coffee. Will she ask about recycled paper in the coffee cups? As I listen to her talk, I think of water. Will this woman at the coffee counter want bottled water, spring water, surely not city water. I imagine her preferring a coffee farmer with a particular astrological sign, or wanting to drink from beans sold by a female coffee grower.

Will this woman think of bird lives she is saving while she sips her coffee? When the sun sets as this day is ending, will she count her delicious, politically correct coffee as a blessing for which she is grateful?

Then I zoom inward, to a time when I had to have water without ice. Later, I specifically wanted water with ice. At another time, I drank only bottled water. Sometimes I required a straw.

I recall a biology professor who reminded the class that we were all "walking lakes" and that was why there were water fountains everywhere. I imagine there are no water fountains in Somalia. Once upon a time I had no awareness of there not being any water.

Now, I think of African women who walk 12 miles each way to fetch water, their hardened, bare feet moving, dutifully, step by step, as they travel along hard, dry, red-brown earth. I cannot leave water running as I brush my teeth, not when I know about these women. I can turn off the water but not my awareness as to how precious and rare and even nonexistent water is in certain parts of the world.

Over 2 billion people exist on less than 13 gallons a day, an amount experts say is the minimum necessary for good quality of life. I recall a neighbor's teenaged grandchild leaving the water running in the kitchen, as she explained, "It's not that expensive!" She didn't get it about water. A lot of people don't get it.

Read More...

new church post

Mean Mr. Mustard

I'm not the most talented guy in the world, and my vocals are far too "sweet" for rock & roll, but I do love the Beatles. So, I'm attempting to record my own version of side 2 of Abbey Road--what I'd consider to be close to the most perfect 20 minutes of rock in existence. I'm also not much of a drummer, but I'm taking lessons (along with guitar) to improve my chances of making this project at least listenable.

Thanks to Apple's GarageBand, it's coming along better than I'd initially hoped.

After you summon the courage, press the play button.



I haven't gotten to "Here Comes the Sun King" yet, but that'll be fun...

ZuckFest.com is coming!

Years ago, I had a recording studio in Greensboro, NC. Fortunately, one of the many perks of having your own studio is that you witness a tremendous amount of talent--mostly from unrecognized and unappreciated musicians. To give these guitarists, keyboardists, vocalists, and drummers a chance to show off their abilities and, most of all, have fun, we started a weekly "Friday Night Jam" where I'd mix and record the sessions. Over time, we realized that some great stuff was happening and some real magic was being made, and that it would be fun to actually perform in front of a real audience (instead of just each other), so we launched what eventually became a recurring series of parties.

Known as "ZuckFests," after our friend and number 1 Beatles fan Alan Zuckerman, the ZuckFest concerts quickly became a yearly celebration that was enjoyed by many of the studio's close friends and family.

Unfortunately, the ZuckFests came to a complete halt when Jeannie and I moved to Raleigh, and it's now been ten years since we had the last one. Well, Steve and I talked the other week about bringing the old crowd together and performing once again. And, of course, our man Alan would have to come. It looks like it's now a done deal, scheduled for around July 27th, and you'll hear more about it at ZuckFest.com later this week.

I just bought the domain, so stay tuned--music, videos, blog posts and more are on the way...

hbh

Tomorrow is Yesterday

I've been trying to catch as many remastered Star Treks as possible, but have yet to see the latest installment--which is one of my favorites. Tomorrow is Yesterday takes the Enterprise Crew back to the 1960s, and features the ship itself fighting to escape Earth's atmosphere and attain orbit.


My favorite image (from TrekMovie.com)

That single image has stirred the lifetime of passion that I have for space exploration. When I was a kid we'd go to the beach almost every weekend for my Dad to work on our beach house, and I remember looking out the car window during the long drives and imagining that I could see this wonderful ship, and that I could be part of this grand exploration.



Lucky for me, the excitement's still there.

hbh

Henry's Life Tip #1

I've been thinking about writing a small book of advice for my kids, although I know they won't care about it in the least--that is, until they reach my age or have kids of their own. If I do ever get rolling on that project here's one that qualifies, and can be officially designated as Henry's Life Tip #1.

"Start each day with an act of kindness, and end it with reflection."

Last weekend was Mother's Day. It only comes once a year, but highlights the need for our family to do more for each other. This year Mitchell did the eggs and bacon, and I brought in the Starbucks blueberry scone and latte. It was fun, but more importantly it was unselfish. I'd like to see more of that out of our little clan--especially on school mornings. It can set the tone for the day.

Also, more often these days I find myself thinking about my father who passed away a couple years ago, of the house I grew up in, of the friends I once had, and the dreams left unfulfilled. Realizing that not all dreams come true isn't a bad thing--it prepares you for adulthood. At the same time, 46 year old dads (ok, me) no longer yearn for lofty world-changing goals. These few moments of reflection, often late in the evening, bring these emotions back into perspective. Yes, these are emotions I'm talking about--a feeling of confidence that you can do big things, and that you can make the world a better place.

I'll probably not reach this hoped-for level of accomplishment in my life, but I'll always appreciate the fact that I wanted to, and that I once felt I could do it. And with no regrets in the least.

hbh

Cool! My zillionth blog begins today. How soon will it end?

That all depends on how good a job Blogger does reflecting these posts in Google Blog Search.

We'll see.

hbh