Category Archives: General Posts

Sports, relationships, parenting, literature, education, and more. If it catches my interest that day, I’ll write about it.

General Posts

Tuesday Afternoon Ramblings

October 26, 2010 D.A. Adams Leave a comment

Here’s an update on the farm. I’m researching and learning about aeroponics and will begin construction on my first prototype of an aeroponic unit this weekend. It’s gonna be a lot of work, a lot of trial and error, and a lot of learning, but it will also be an amazing opportunity to move forward on the farm. Pre-constructed units cost thousands of dollars, and we simply don’t have that kind of money starting out. Therefore, I get to relive the Erector Set days of my childhood and build my own concoction.

I’m not sure I can put into words how excited I am about rolling up my sleeves and building something. Once upon a time, I thought I was going to be a design engineer, and I spent many years in drafting and industrial arts to learn the basics. Then, I realized that my math skills were not strong enough to be an engineer, and I gravitated to writing as an outlet for my creative drive. When I started clearing the land last spring, I reconnected with that part of myself, and now I’m chomping at the bit, so to speak, to get on this project. I’ll probably even stop at Home Depot on the way home to window shop.

On a more specific note, we’re setting ourselves a tangible goal of nineteen months for having the farm fully operational. It will take a tremendous amount of work to get there, but I’m so desperate for a change in my career that I’m willing to put in the time to make it happen. Nineteen months means three more full semesters and one more summer session of teaching. Then, hopefully, I can retire from education and focus on the farm and my books. When that day arrives, I will be one of the happiest people on the planet, in addition to already being the luckiest.

One day next week, I’ll post an update on how the prototype is coming. That’s all for now.

www.thirdaxe.com

General Posts

Monday Morning Ramblings

October 25, 2010 D.A. Adams Leave a comment

I’ve been thinking about the $75,000 fine imposed on James Harrison for his hits on two Browns receivers a week ago. Now, I’m all for player safety, and I agree that helmet to helmet shots need to be phased out of the game. Of all people, I understand the long-term effects of a severe concussion. However, I have a problem with the hypocrisy of fining Harrison for his hits and not holding other people accountable as well.

For instance, the offensive coordinator designed a pass route that brought his 190 lb. receiver into the zone of the 260 lb. defensive MVP who is known for his unreal strength (I think he benches nearly 600 lbs.) and nasty disposition. Instead of penalizing Harrison for doing what he’s been trained to do, which is deliver punishment to offensive players who enter his territory, why doesn’t the NFL fine the coordinator for putting his player in harm’s way? Maybe the offense should design pass routes that keep their receivers matched up with defensive backs.

Also, the quarterback who threw the pass should have seen Harrison lurking in that zone. Maybe if his throw had been more accurate, the receiver would’ve had more of an opportunity to protect himself. Shouldn’t the one who threw the bad pass be just as accountable as the one who delivered the blow? If QBs had to pay fines for nearly getting their WRs killed, maybe they would be a little more careful where they put the ball.

My point is this: Football is a brutal sport. Everyone who has ever played the game is aware, or should be, that on any given play, their body could be maimed forever. Defensive guys are by nature a mean-spirited and nasty lot. We enjoy hearing the groans of pain when we smash into an offensive player’s body. That’s what they get for thinking they could get by us. No amount of legislation or enforcement can remove the instinct to inflict pain. For at least 32 years, season after season, the NFL has tilted the rules in favor of the offenses, trying to make more exciting games with more points and more passing. At some point, the league needs to accept that as long as football is a contact sport with pads, there will be serious injuries, including blows to the head.

I’m not saying that helmet to helmet blows should be legal or that players shouldn’t be fined for cheap shots. What I’m saying is that the offense needs to be just as accountable for these hits as the defense. If offensive coordinators and QBs shared in the blame for putting their receivers into prone positions, the defensive guys would have fewer opportunities to deliver these blows, but I guarantee that in the hypocrisy that is the NFL League Office, there will be no attempt to rein in the offensive side of the ball.

www.thirdaxe.com

General Posts

Wednesday Morning Ramblings

October 20, 2010 D.A. Adams Leave a comment

I found this poster yesterday that pretty well sums up how I feel politically. This current toxicity of partisanship between the extremes of each party is disgusting:

To me, people who knock on doors to tell other people how to live their live are the epitome of arrogance, and that goes for both the religious nuts and the liberal do-gooders. In this current atmosphere, instead of having a real national debate on reforming a broken healthcare system, we got “Death Panels” and “ObamaCare.” That irrational fear-mongering did nothing, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, to fix the problem. Instead of having a real national debate on controlling our porous borders, we got “Human Rights” and “Racial Profiling.” Again, nothing has gotten done, and our border is sitting there wide open for anyone to scurry across.

Here’s a memo for the I’m-Right-And-You’re-Wrong extremists on both sides of the aisle: While you hold your breath and stomp your feet as your debate strategy, the rest of the world is passing us by. Our economy still might be the largest in the world, but our education and healthcare systems aren’t even in the top ten anymore. We have REAL problems that need to be fixed, and the only way to get anything done is to stop these “Who’s the bigger asshole?” contests, swallow a little pride, admit you don’t have the only answer for everything, LISTEN to what the other side has to say, and come to a workable compromise that moves legislation and policy forward.

I’ll admit that I’m guilty of poking fun and pointing out stupidity more against conservatives than liberals, but that’s because I live in a highly conservative region that, while the intentions may be good, is stuck about sixty years in the past, holding on to Cold War paranoia and believing their religion is the only one on the planet. If I were in a more liberal region, I guarantee, my brand of criticism would be aimed the other way.

Maybe we need to collapse as a nation and suffer through some real hard times for a couple of generations just to learn a little humility. Perhaps that would be the best medicine for the extremists to cure their arrogance. Maybe then, instead of debating about hot-button, emotionally-charged, mostly irrelevant to day-to-day life issues, we could focus on rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure and regaining our place as the world’s leader. I hope not. I hope there enough people like me who are sick enough of the extremism to save this country before it’s too late. If you are like me, turn off Fox News, turn off Keith Olberman, stop listening to the extremists who refuse to listen, and vote moderate.