Where Chester Lives

There is no unnatural sound...except the clink and rattle of the human-powered machine connected to the trail and the hum and crunch of rubber meeting soft soil, leaves, and the occasional fallen branch or half-exposed granite boulder.  The trees whistle as they pass, bowing slightly in acknowledgement, welcoming a young spirit into their very old enclave.  Birds start from their hiding, only to circle and fly back.  Slightly annoyed at the interruption, they chirp their defiance.  The connection that is sought is there.  This...this exploration into the natural, this commune with creation...this is mountain biking.

There are days when nothing works and there are days when everything works.  Lungs and legs toiling in tandem to crest the next hill.  Body weight centered and adjusted for that flat-to-drop transition.  No thought required as the eye sees every turn, rise, drop, rock, and root: the mind anticipates action and shifts the body and bike to adjust and meld.  It's called Flow, but it's more than that.   The word is too simple to describe the feeling and absence of feeling.  It is Perfection.  The mind sits outside of itself, hilarious and giddy, noticing every small thing, taking note of all that interests itself, full of the knowledge of Flow, and not allowing anything to interrupt.  It's not enough to say that the cares that were present an hour ago slip away...it's more like they stop existing for this moment, packing up and moving out to make room for the suffusion of Perfect.

Mountain biking isn't the only way to reach this state.  There is always an opportunity, when body and soul are alone with the natural world.  This is a solitary thing...but it does not require solitude.  It can be found in the presence of friends and like-minded humanity.  In all cases, it is something to be sought...and when found, the moment cherished.

For we are human, and Perfection is fleeting.

My brother says that all the time. I don't know why it's the title, except that I keep hearing him say that in the back of my head. So there.

So...no posts in a week or so. You'd think I didn't care about my intrepid readers at all.

This week has been one of those weeks. You know the kind. There is no accounting for the time spent, but it did pass, and with some haste. You feel like you've been extremely busy, but you can't point to anything that you accomplished. There was a hectic pace to everything, but you aren't sure why. One of those weeks.

So, today I had these grand plans to join a group mountain bike ride at Annadel State Park. I spent yesterday evening tuning up my bike, cleaning out my camelbak, ensuring I had spare tubes, tools, and chain bits...the whole pre-ride drill. I was fairly nervous about the ride, for two reasons: 1) I have never ridden with this group before. My group rides have always consisted of small groups of friends...this was going to be with a group of people I didn't know. So, I wasn't sure how I would be, you know? Like, am I going to bonk in the first five minutes? Is my derailleur hanger going to break at the farthest point from the parking area? Will I have the technical skills and stamina to stay with the group? I didn't want to be the boat anchor...the guy everyone is waiting on. I am sure, if that had happened, that the group I was riding with would have been gracious and kind...that's just how mountain biking is. That didn't stop the little bit of nerves that I had, though. And 2) I had never ridden at Annadel, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I had checked all of my favorite mountain bike sites for trail info...but that's never the same as riding it.

Notice how I said "had?" Turns out, my stomach had other ideas. I spent the greater part of a night either on, or in close proximity to, the throne. I woke up at 3:30 a.m., and after countless trips to the head, decided I should probably take some Immodium AD. No dice. So, I felt like I had a real bug. I finally fell back to sleep at ~6, only to be woken up by my alarm so I could call the guy I was supposed to carpool with and tell him I wasn't going to make it. I then kinda-sorta slept until 9. When I got up, I went downstairs and parked in front of the North Carolina-Arizona game, in a zombie state of mind. My food today consisted of gatorade, one slice of dry toast, and a banana. I took a nap this afternoon for a few hours...when the dogs weren't driving me insane. I got up and had a little bit of dinner. I feel some better, but not much. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

I probably shouldn't be in front of the computer (it's making my headache worse), but I can't help it. I am bored. I'm not very good when I'm sick. I whine alot, and generally act very cranky. I know, I know. Some of you may think that's my general state of being...trust me, I'm worse when I'm sick. I tried reading earlier (a new author that I bought on a whim), but it's terrible writing. It's like if Danielle Steele, Robert Jordan, and David Eddings somehow were melded into one giant, bad Super-Author. Only worse.

Okay, that's all for now. I have reached my pain threshold...time to go stare blankly into space.

So, I got an email from a friend who actually reads my blog (I'm shocked, I tell you. SHOCKED). Anywho, he asked if I was one of those guys who thinks that America is run by big corporations.

The short answer is.................no.

But if you wanted the short answer you would stop reading, wouldn't you?

I think the "running of America" is alot more complicated than that. I think that there are factors that I don't know about, and many factors that I know about, but am not cognisant (that's a great word!) of their weight. In other words, I could be completely wrong, and I am most definitely not 100% right .

But being wrong has never stopped me from having an opinion. And yes, I do have one of those...

I think there is one group of people that have more to do with the laws that are passed and with how things happen in this country than any other, and it isn't the voting public. It is lobbyists.

Lobbyists, from my viewpoint, can be split into three major groups of representation, and they are: 1 - Big Corporations/Conglomerates, 2 - Labor Unions, and 3 - Special Interest Groups.

So, do I think big stinking corporations run the country? No...but I DO think that their lobbyists have been influencing congressional votes and lawmaking in their favor for many years. The DMCA is the perfect example of just such a law. Current copyright law favors the big guy, not the innovator. The patent system is, dare I say, flawed. And it favors the big fish, not the little one. I could go on, but those are the really glaring examples.

And you cannot convince me that unions are the working individual's voice. They are not. I KNOW that this is a gross generalization...and I think that Walmart workers would have a better wage and benefits package if they were unionized. I am not discounting the good that unions have accomplished...but when I see a union spend incredible amounts of money, money that they extract via the required dues, on agendas that benefit the union structure and not the workers themselves, it makes me a little bit ill. I don't think the Teamsters had that in mind when they began. Or the teachers' union. Or the nurses' union.

And special interest groups are just that: dedicated to their specialized interest. It doesn't matter which side of the red/blue debate you are on, there are just as many aarp lobbyists as there are civil rights lobbyists. Again, I am not against equality for all...I wouldn't be much of a Christian if I were. I am also not against helping our nation's elderly, or our nation's poor, or the equal workplace rights that belong to every person...I could go on, but that's pointless. There is no doubt in my mind that, for every cause, there equals a group of people in an office in Washington that is getting paid to further that cause.

And every cause has it's fair share of idiots. Like the knuckleheads who want to stop spending money on the Iraq war now, regardless of how that might impact the currently assigned troops. See? That's just not thinking clearly...I don't think the US should continue to oversee a civil war, but I do think that every available nickel be spent wisely in protecting the people over there stuck in a bad job, in a no-win situation, just trying to make it until tomorrow.

So, what's the answer? Again, I could be completely wrong on all of this...and in fifteen years, I may look back at this and call myself a fool. I'm not sure of the answer. I would like to see a government that works to promote public interest, not corporate interest. I would like to see unions that spend their money actively seeking to make better workplaces and enforcing fair labor practices, not focused on some political agenda that has no bearing on that worker's ability to earn a fair wage. I would like to see the good guys win, and the bad guys go down. I would like to see mutual respect, and people exercise their ability to listen.

Not everyone is going to agree with me, and I'm not going to agree with everyone. But I am going to be nice to you, regardless of how you feel about me. And I am going to stand firm on those things that are at my core. There is some kind of fallacy out there that has said, "You cannot be uncompromising in your beliefs and be caring at the same time."

If you believe that, then you never read the story of the woman at the well.

Before I begin, I need to wave to Anne. Hi Anne! *waves*

Okay, that's out of the way...

This article sparked a conversation this week with a close friend of mine. It is a conversation we have had before, but I might as well make it public. Well, sort of public anyway. In the faint, misty hopes that someone will actually have a COMMENT.

So, I sent him the above link (you really need to read the article first), and here is his response:

• I am honest so I buy my copyrighted material. Once I buy a song or movie, I want to be able to watch it on whatever device I want. The current “piracy prevention” practices prevent this (except if I buy a CD I can rip it to whatever form I want, which is why I still buy CD’s). In my case with movies “piracy prevention” hurts me (the honest guy).
• When I was younger I would borrow albums all the time. If I liked them, I would buy them and transfer them to tape because that is how I could get the best sound and make it portable. Plus there was some “cool” factor associated with owning the album (a
  real store bought item). Though there were some albums that I would copy and never buy. I suppose it is the same way today, the high quality rips are hard to find on torrent sites (I don’t know I have never really tried looking). So I might see myself using the torrent sites to download songs to see if I like them, but then purchase a higher quality copy if I want to keep it. I dunno though what if I wasn’t into the high quality music? I bet it is cool now for kids (especially ones with out strong ethics) to get as much music for free as you can. That can’t be a good thing for the industry. Bottom line is, I think there is a problem with free music and movies being available. However, the current tactics are not working.
• Another problem is that the content industry is not owning up to the fact that the delivery method is changed. They used to sell content AND media (album art, CD’s, Video Tapes). The media was (effective) in some ways to help to deter piracy. Who wanted the movie taped off of TV, if you liked the movie you bought the tape (better quality and packaging). However, media is gone. The content companies sell ONLY content
  now. Unfortunately that content is easily distributed, cheaply stored, and easy for everyone to get. A first in the history of the world. This problem has never been faced before. Think about a gallon bucket of wall board mud. It costs $8 or so at Home Depot. I’d bet that 70% or more of the cost of that mud is tied up in delivery and handling costs (since it is really heavy). You are paying for the gas and space on the truck it took to get it to you, not for the value of the mud.
• The solution? I dunno. Piracy is bad. It hurts the industry. However, the current prevention tactics are not working and are hurting the good guy. The question is: If the content industry opens the doors (removes all piracy prevention) would there be enough “honest” people still buying content to support the industry? People say the way to test this is to drop the prices and take off all piracy protection. I hope someone tries this. Another solution is to only release the content in controlled environments (only show movies on film at theaters). I doubt this would generate enough income.
• I also wish there was a way to “upgrade” my content to better quality without paying full price. I own movie “A” on VCR tape. I want DVD quality. So instead of buying a DVD, I buy an “upgrade” at a lower cost than a full DVD. Yea right on this ever happening, but if they could build that feature into their new distribution model, I think people would be much quicker to embrace a new format and would be much more willing to spend a bit more money. If you could do this digitally all the better, no waste of packaging (other than some old HDDs). Again, good luck on this ever happening.

It is a mess. However, for now, I will keep buying my CDs and waffling on when to start buying my next collection of movies on HD DVD or BLU RAY and in the mean time still buy DVDs. Sigh.

Wow. That was a wordy response. Here was my reply.

All very true…but there is one other point that, I believe, the author missed.

The weavers and button-makers were allowed to get away with this because of the system of government in which they existed. They were members of guilds that wielded a lot of political power and wealth, wealth that the monarchy required in order to fund its agendas/lifestyle. In short, an imperialistic monarchy that benefited the privileged few.

I think the RIAA and MPAA get away with this for the VERY SAME REASON. America is not a democracy…it is barely a republic. We have elected officials, sure, but those guys do the same things that the last guys did…everyone has their pet projects that they want funded, and their campaigns to think about, and they get there money from corporate conglomerates. our nation isn’t about individual freedoms anymore…it’s about the imposition of government will on ourselves and
others. and our government benefits the privileged few. those few being the corporations and the wealthy that pay to keep the status quo alive.

I’m not being anarchist, or socialist. I would like to see a return to the original American
dream…the dream that benefits the individual, and the innovator. And massive corporations are forced to produce a product that is in their customer’s best interest, or they die because someone else has invented a better mousetrap.

To sum up: Piracy is bad, regardless of who owns the content or how much the artist makes or doesn't make from the sell of that content. I do not agree with DRM or the current methods employed to control content, but that doesn't give me the right to steal it. I used to use that philosophical argument to justify downloading music on a pretty large scale. I don't do that anymore. For the price of a CD, you can download unlimited songs from napster.com, or rhapsody.com, or emusic.com...you get the picture. it isn't lossless audio, but it suits my purposes just fine...with the exception of allowing me the portability between devices that I require. There are also labels out there that don't buy into the RIAA mafia, like magnatune.com. You have to be willing to listen to something that isn't "popular," but I stopped caring about popularity a LONG TIME AGO.

I'm just waiting for someone to make a better button...A button that I can use in the way I deem fit for my expenditure.