I’ve been thinking a good bit about the nature of reality. Specifically, the notion that we create our reality through consciousness. I was thus occupied when I noticed the sky above the beach here in Destin seemed just a little too perfect.

I’ve been thinking a good bit about the nature of reality. Specifically, the notion that we create our reality through consciousness. I was thus occupied when I noticed the sky above the beach here in Destin seemed just a little too perfect.

“No communication technology has ever disappeared, but instead becomes increasingly less important as the technological horizon widens.” –Arthur C. Clarke

“Defending gold medalists Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh gave (President Bush) some (volleyball) pointers. Then after a good play, in the tradition of female volleyballers, Misty May-Treanor turned, bent over slightly and offered her bikinied rear-end for the 43rd president to slap. “Mr. President,” she said, “want to?” — From LA Times Top of the Ticket blog
Here is the obligatory yes-I-went-down-to-the-beach photo.

That’s a lot of windshield time for smays.com. But the company was good (Barb) and the distance still within my 1,000 mile drive-rather-than-fly range. Did I mention how much I hate the hassle of flying. You know what? I can’t wait for the current batch of American carriers to go belly-up. Sooner that happens, the sooner we’ll see alternatives. I’m serious as a depressurized cabin. But hey, I’m on vacation. Happy thoughts only.
The Miltenberger Clan has gathered here in beautiful Destin for a week of sun and fun. The nearby Starbucks (sorry, Taisir) has free wifi and I have some good books I’ve been stockpiling. Gotta run, it’s time for my post-drive bottom massage.

Destin-bound for the semi-annual (bi-annual?) Miltenberger Family Reunion. The clan will be descending on Amberjack Landing this weekend. I’m not a beach kinda guy (see Dudley Moore in “10”) but I love getting together with Barb’s family. Blogging will be sparse unless I can find a place with a cooler AND wifi.

If you want to glimpse the future, spend time with those that will live there. Back from a weekend with my brother and his family. The kids are 18, 16 and 12. They’re back in the states for 6 months to help Ryan get settled in college.
Uncle Steve was a big hit with his belated graduation present, but after giving Ryan his new iPod Touch, he was a little distracted the rest of the weekend. I also miss a lot of birthdays so we did a little catch-up with the other two. They opted for PSP’s (Play Station Portables).
The family is international with friends all over the world. But the kids do not use email to keep in touch (“Uncle Steve, please!”). The primary comm tools are SMS (texting) and Facebook. I had read that but it was interesting to hear it straight from the teenage horse’s mouth.
I’ve had a Facebook page for a while but never use it. If I want to keep in touch with my nephews and niece, that has to change.
Oh, and those PSP’s? Wifi ready so when they’re not gaming (or while they are), they can keep in touch with friends.
PS: On Saturday we stopped by the local Apple store. Packed. An iPhone class was underway and there were more gray heads than mohawks.
30 years ago, my brother, his wife and I toured Oklahoma and southern Missouri with a small circus. Our trampoline act was the headliner. This weekend we discovered we still had the moves and the magic.
“A lot of the discontent with traditional journalism is because too many reporters have forgotten that the highest calling of journalists is to ferret out the truth, consequences be damned. Unfortunately, this is a concept that has fallen out of favor with too many journalists, who are obsessed with a false view of “balance” and “objectivity” and have become addicted not to the tireless pursuit of truth, but to the tireless promotion of the misguided notion that every story has two sides. And that the truth is supposed to be found somewhere in the middle. But not every story has two sides and the truth is often found on one side or the other. The earth is not flat. Evolution is a fact. Global warming is a fact. And there are definitely not two sides to the proposition that Iraq is our generation’s greatest foreign policy disaster. It is. Period.”
–Full interview with Arianna Huffington at Poynter Online