Starting a family and a business at the same time

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I’m writing on a subway train heading home to Brooklyn from a meeting in the Upper West Side. I never blog anymore… I miss it. I’m anxious to get back into it because it kept me in touch in ways I’m not right now.

In the last year and a half I’ve been splitting my attention, energy, and efforts in two ways: this startup business, and our first pregnancy and birth: Nicolas "Nico" Oliva.

I’m happy to say that both the family and the business are doing great. Of course, you can never devote as much time as you would like to either, but I feel great about the time I spend with my wife and son, and I feel like whereIstand has gotten to where so much happens without me that I can turn my attention to different parts of the business without worrying so much about things not getting done.

Well.. to some extent, anyway. We’re a startup and as such we can never move quickly enough on things to be satisfied.

This is something of an "I’m back" entry. It’s not the first one I’ve written, so you can spank me later if I don’t stick to it.

Google takes a step backwards

Here’s an odd bit that some PR guy just got a pat on the back for placing in the NY Times.

If you give this some thought, you may agree that it’s basically an admission by Google that their main “ranking” algorithm sucks.

Why isn’t “Google”Google’s “Wikipedia rival”?

But Google asserts that the Web’s development so far has neglected the importance of the bylined author.

Does the word, “blog” mean anything to you?

OK… blog entries aren’t exactly “articles”… usually.

Google wants the knols to develop into a deep repository of knowledge, covering topics such as geography, history and entertainment.

… because Google itself is not a good place to go and search for “geography”? I suppose if you try that you’llĀ  get sent to… About.com…then Wikipedia.

Hmm… maybe it’s a step forward after all… if Google’s strategy is to compete head to head with all of the sites that are most returned in their own search results?

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been a long time

A long time in more ways than one.

If you’ve been to whereistand.com before, you’ll notice some very significant changes. We didn’t accomplish everything we set out to have done by this time, but we did accomplish some of the things we didn’t. (Yes, that makes sense… read it again.)

Well, we have a lot of plans for the site and we have a structure now that lets us get there. Some of the pieces are still being put in place, so we appreciate your patience while we’re getting there. Even though the site has a new look, we’re going to revise that again.

There’s a lot of interesting stuff you weren’t able to see before like… who would have thought that George W. Bush and I agree a whopping 20%!

We hope you’ll use the new bookmark functionality. We added a page called “my whereistand.com” to show you what’s new on the people and issues that interest you, i.e., those that you have bookmarked. We don’t really like the name of that page, so if you have some suggestions for what to call it….

Many thanks to the people that have helped to get here…and particularly to those that are still helping. I haven’t blogged regularly in a long time and I expect to start back up. I plan to stick to just a few things… technology, Cuba, complaining about religion “outside the bedroom”, and politics.

Perhaps… I’ll go for the real glory and try to find evidence on Barack Obama and marijuana?

The underwhelming insignificance of talking to yourself

Case #1: Man talks to himself as he walks down the street (and is not "wearing" a mobile phone)….

Verdict: Crazy.

Excuse me… insane. Lonely, perhaps?

Case #2: Man talks to himself as he kneels in front of a porcelain figurine….

Verdict: Communicating telepathically with the almighty being that created and watches over the universe, and can one day tell you not just how many sparrows fell to the ground, but how they died, and their last thoughts as well.

To me the underwhelming insignificance of prayer is evidenced by the number of people that ask their spouse’s doctors,

Doctor… regarding my spouse’s condition… What is the mortality rate for Catholics?

I enjoy reading about how people deal with the parts of reality that are still mysterious to man. I’m amazed by the sheer fantasy evidenced in drivel such as this. I know he means to be profound, and I know that his faith is so strong that it will withstand grease stains that Tide can’t get out… not to mention my worst onslaught of reality.

I just think it’s such a waste of time. People could be spending their prayer time talking to the crazy people on the streets… many of them could use somebody to talk with….

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Faith is “unjustified belief”; Atheists have justifications for their beliefs

It does not take "faith" to believe in the absence of something, it takes healthy skepticism.

How much faith do you have to have to not believe that a Great Cosmic Cat runs the universe? Not much, actually. Religion seeks to overturn the burden that goes with making a statement of fact.

Religious people and their apologists confuse "faith" with confidence and skepticism. To make a claim of existence, you require a burden of proof. There is no burden to prove non-existence… because requiring somebody to prove a negative is unfair play. It is the positive statements of fact that have to be proven.

I am quite confident that (1) there is absolutely no way to prove statements of faith - they are "statements of faith" because they are unproveable, (2) most religions posit that they bear no burden of proof because the alternative is insurmountable, (3) all quacks and seers (the other bogus pursuits of man) put forward the same exact claims, (4) science is very, very, clearly constantly claiming more and more knowledge of reality and each step of the way reducing the unknowns that "faiths" claim to explain.

It doesn’t take "faith" to follow the relentless march of science as it destroys the remnants of the inventions that opportunistic man has created to oppress his fellows.

Atheists are not religious. When man only believes that those beliefs which are justified can form the basis of their actions the world will not be of a particular religion; it will be of none.

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Advancing Technology: Say, “Hello” to my little blog….

"Welcome back, Nick!"

Gee, thanks! It’s great to be back. Of course, I haven’t really been gone, just slacking. 

I’m jumping on the technologee pages and working on getting some issues up here. I think I’m going to kick off with something about that little thing you probably haven’t heard about yet called an "eye phone". I’m not really sure what’s up with that, but I intend to get to the bottom of it pretty damned quickly!

I’m also going to focus on a major public service initiative. It seems that some guy somewhere with some unidentified [as of yet] mutation in some gene managed to do something or other that resulted in a great big new Luddite movement. We mean to dedicate our lives to this… or at least a couple of blog entries.

So, wherever you may be right now, and whatever you may be doing. Stop everything! Put on your headphones, eyephones, earplugs, noseclips, and mouthguards and just hang on tightly - I’ll be back.

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Family Values? Depends on the definition of “family”

The Fidel Death Watch goes on for my people in captivity and my people in exile. But… who cares?

What I really want to know is how many days are left until Bush is gone and the stink of his administration and the abuses of his party are gone with him.

Why am I angry about this today? I’ve been waiting three years to be able to return to Cuba to visit my family. The Family Values President and his party tripled the number of years that have to pass before Cubans can return to Cuba. I knew this already, of course.

What I didn’t know (and just learned) is that I’m actually completely excluded from traveling to Cuba at all. I only have an aunt an uncle and cousins there. And these are no longer considered close enough relations to justify what used to be the greatest country in the world permitting one of its citizens to go home.

What kind of family values are these?

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Is America Founded on Christianity? (updated)

While I believe his approach is too strident to actually win over any converts, Richard Dawkins is a brilliant and resourceful genius in the effort to defend civilization against religion:

As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion,-as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen,-and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.

This is from a treaty that was drafted in 1796 under George Washington, signed in 1797 by John Adams, and ratified unanimously by the US Senate.

Meanwhile, here’s Conservative icon, Barry Goldwater (again from Dawkins):

On religious issues there can be little or no compromise. There is no position on which people are so immovable as their religious beliefs. There is no more powerful ally one can claim in a debate than Jesus Christ, or God, or Allah, or whatever one calls this supreme being. But like any powerful weapon, the use of God’s name on one’s behalf should be used sparingly. The religious factions that are growing throughout our land are not using their religious clout with wisdom. They are trying to force government leaders into following their position 100 percent. If you disagree with these religious groups on a particular moral issue, they complain, they threaten you with a loss of money or votes or both.

I’m frankly sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me as a citizen that if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in "A," "B," "C" and "D." Just who do they think they are? And from where do they presume to claim the right to dictate their moral beliefs to me?

And I am even more angry as a legislator who must endure the threats of every religious group who thinks it has some God-granted right to control my vote on every roll call in the Senate. I am warning them today: I will fight them every step of the way if they try to dictate their moral convictions to all Americans in the name of "conservatism."

Those who forget history… are often religious….

[updates to my response to Adam]

1. I meant, "with impunity"

2. You error if you pretend to quote John Adams in your defense.

Your quote of Adams says that he’s a religious person. But he’s clearly not talking about our government, but upon the principles of the men that achieved independence. It is clear, as he is quoted on that page I linked, that he separates the act from the principles on which it was achieved… like the boat being separate from the boat-builder.

What’s interesting about your quote is that, on the face of it alone, he says that the principles of liberty are as unalterable as human nature - pretty absolute; but that the principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable… as the existence and attributes of God.

Hell, even I can agree to that! There ain’t no such thing as God and the principles of Christianity are just exactly that eternal and immutable…

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Candidate Clinton!

Hillary’s hat is in the ring… Let the games begin!

She’s managed to mirror Republicans in their initial support for Iraq and their subsequent rejection of it….

She’s in the mainstream with Democrats on most issues….

But… I thought Americans, as a people, were too bigoted to ignore Lieberman’s religion, and I think Americans, as a people, are too bigoted to ignore Hillary’s sex and Obama’s race.

I’d love to be proven wrong, though… I’d be happy with either of these two bringing decency and respect back to the White House….

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when all you know is frustration

I’m in my mid-30’s and I have waited (mostly patiently) most of those years to read a headline not unlike this one from today’s Washington Post:

Well… not exactly. What I’m really holding out for is a headline that reads:

U.S. President Signs Leave-Cuba-Alone Act
I’m optimistic about a change in Cuba that will restore a degree of civility to a long suffering people. Keeping generations of family members separate is something Americans like to blame on North Koreans, but any way you look at it, it’s not Cuba that keeps me from visiting (or sending money to) my relatives.

No, it’s the freedom-loving Cuban-American lobby that "managed" America into this isolation, and it’s the freedom-loving George Bush that heavily tightened the restrictions on family members’ rights.

If my aunt was in a U.S. prison I could probably go visit her more frequently than once every three years.

There’s another headline I’d like to see - and know I never will:

Castro Dies!
Cuban-American Leaders Admit Defeat and Bequeath Future Policy-Making to Others
There’s just no reasonable basis on which to claim victory if Castro dies of natural causes. When you make a list of the possible outcomes that could have occurred from the policy of the embargo, Castro dying of natural causes at the age of 80 must be on the Total Failure side of the board.

But the dunces will fill the streets of Miami in victory parades. And if the U.S. has it’s way and imposes its will on the sovereign people of Cuba, I’ll join ‘em in the streets chanting… for what it’s worth:

The Tyrant is dead! Long live the King!

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