Yesterday's thought-provoking throne reading included an article “Bad Apples and Bad Barrels” in the August issue of Scientific American (http://www.sciamdigital.com/index.cfm?fa=Products.ViewIssuePreview&ARTICLEID_CHAR=9D358953-2B35-221B-680170E01BE33D6E&sc=I100322) by one of my favorite commentators, Michael Shermer (http://www.skeptic.com/). In it he discusses situations such as the guards at Abu Gharaib who had been model soldiers, citizens, family men, etc., before. The situation controlled their actions and judgement. The CIA was the bad apple which started the rotting. An experiment in the psychology department at Stanford in which students who were all “good guys” were assigned roles as guards or prisoners. The guards evolved to be cruel and sadistic. The barrel changed good apples into bad ones without there being a bad one to start it off.

This started thoughts about people I have known or heard of. Like a fine, friendly, considerate teacher and family man who becomes an upper level administrator and does the Jekyll-Hyde thing. How many times does becoming a “boss” make a monster out of a nice guy? And kids and their friends and environment! Lots of everyday situations.

The Michael Vick thing is still in the news today. He skipped out on an interview with a major radio inteviewer this morning. It seems that finding Jesus does not include this. Local folks speak out about what a fine young man he was. His father in an interview said he was so considerate, he took all his “homeys” to Atlanta with him. Perhaps there is a hint there. Did he take his “bad barrel” with him? Or was he the bad apple to begin with?

But, there must also be a bad seed factor. Both of the Vicks turned out to have some major flaws. Not everyone falls to the “bad barrel” situation. And then, the bottom line, if you or I had been thrown into a “bad barrel” situation, would we have succumbed? I would like to say that at this point in my life, I would not. I did not climb past being a department head. Did not wish to be, nor would I have been a good headmaster or assistant headmaster. Afraid I am not a team player. But suppose that back in my thirties, it had happened. Would I have become a “team player”? I was in the Navy right after graduation from the Naval Academy. Very gung-ho but did what I thought was right rather than what the captain wanted. Not good, not good. Rationalising? Still do not think I ever could have been an Abu Gahraib guard or a cruel guard in the Stanford experiment.

How about you?

Found something really neat. It is called Badger Balm (www.badgerbalm.com). There is this crud that appears on my hand when the weather gets hot and muggy. A little itch and some flaking. The skin cancer doctor says it is something like athlete's foot or crotch itch (Athlete's hand? Gardener's hand perhaps perhaps, but certainly not athlete's hand.) Well, went to a car parts place, Advance Auto, with my son and a display of Badger Balm was sitting next to the register. I looked at the ingredients and it sounded sort of interesting. Mentioned it in passing to my son and he surprised me with a can as we were leaving. The ingredients are extra virgin olive oil, beeswax, castor oil, and aloe. Simple stuff. Most of all, however, it works. And it is not messy, stays pretty solid and does not make the hand greasy. Lasts through lots of hand washing. Try it, you'll like it.

It is always odd where the muse (for blogging) strikes one (strike one). A really good environment seems to be sitting on the toilet. Perhaps it is that cleaning out one system, cleans out the brain, too. Perhaps it is the peace and quiet of letting systems settle down. Could be the reading material – I like to keep up with things in Scientific American and National Geographic there. Fluff reading like Harry Potter and The Lincoln Lawyer gets done in my recliner under the good light with nice opera music playing. Anyway, the muse likes it on the throne.

A thought that ran through my brain there yesterday was a continuation of some news stories and blog entries from a month or so ago. A famous somebody (thought it was Jewel but could not find anything via Google) said we should only use one sheet.

A blog I read fairly regulary (did not take the time to search that far back to get a reference and there are a bunch I read regularly) had a good way to do it with one sheet. In a sentence or two (or three), you fold one sheet corner to corner to make a triangle. Fold it again and tear off and save a little bit from the corner that would be in the middle. Unfold. Stick your finger through the hole you made in the middle. Do the wiping. Throw the paper into the toilet. Wash your finger and use the little piece you saved to clean under your fingernail. Flush. Not that I endorse this method of saving our forests, nor have I tried it, but it shows imagination. Twisted imagination but that is the best kind. Someone was off his medication when he thought it up. A good hint, do not take your medication.

Anyway, we have tried a number of different brands and types of toilet paper. Softness is a factor. Cost is definitely a determinant. The main determinant however is Young's Modulus, the relationship of stress to strain. This relates to some extent to the single-double ply issue. But some of the double plies fail more than singles. And then how many sheets do you use? In other words, how many trees are being sacrificed to one's buttock cleanliness. How many sheets and which brand keeps tree killing to a minimum before Young's Modulus of cellulosic matrix fails, causing the operator to violate itself and foul its mechanism?

Who among you has the answer?

The news yesterday and today, especially here in the Tidewater area, is full of the Michael Vick dog fighting story. It brought, of course, some cogitation.

Vick is obviously a fine figure of a man. Wealthy, in excellent shape, very capable at his chosen profession. Is that the definiton of a “man”? Perhaps I am rationalizing. I am not an athlete, certainly not wealthy (retired private school science teacher), was good at my profession but nothing like Vick's capability.

In my formative years, the role model that I remember is the man in the white hat. A dusty West Texas street. Two men face each other. The one in the white hat, the good guy with God on his side, had certain rules. He did not slap leather first (like the U.S. did in Iraq). Earned every penny he had through good honest work. He did not lie nor cheat nor steal nor tolerate those that do (the Honor Code). Did not allow abuse of any critters – the handicaped helper at the corral, the drunk at the saloon, the filthy cur sleeping by the porch, the uncooperative mule, the bronco refusing to be ridden, the squatter down by the creek.

A lot of the news anecdotes paint Michael as a pretty decent guy. Do not know that much about them but he seems better than his brother, Marcus (Google Marcus Vick). But then, Michael lied to the Falcons and the NFL. And the things he and his buddies did to those dogs. That does not fit into my definiton of a real man.

How much do these things weigh in the balance against his accomplishments? There is the possibility that Vick will go to jail and his football career has gotten a real setback. The endorsements have probably gone forever. The news this morning said that number 7 jerseys that used to sell like hotcakes are now being used as bedding and rags at the Atlanta animal shelter (how is that for justice?) It does seem that God is not on Michael Vick's side.

It always bothers me to see all of the examples of racism that pop up in 2007 America. A couple caught my attention recently.

The five year old son of a black (Is that the politically correct indentifier? Why do we have to be so careful?) good friend mentioned the accomplishments of George Washington Carver. I asked about George Washington but he had never heard of him. He knew of Martin Luther King but not Abraham Lincoln. There was not a chance to discuss it but it has been in my thoughts. They had obviously been going over famous black men. All well and good. I learned about famous Virginians (transplanted here) and Pennsylvanians (grew up there). But we did Washington, Lincoln, etc. first. Their accomplishments and place in our history are so very great. Carver and King are also famous and accomplished and all kids need to learn about them. But Washington is the Father of Our Country and did so many great things that affect our everyday existence and kids should learn about him first. Likewise, the greatest contributor to emancipation of African-Americans is Lincoln.

Now, is this racism? A little iffy.There is certainly nothing wrong with learning about your heritage or your selection of people who are admirable. Christians should admire good Christian heroes. And Virginians admirable Virginians (and there are so many of those.). Etc. But there should be some priorities, too. First things first. We are all in this together. And choosing one race to eliminate others is ...... well ..... racism. And selecting because of race rather than accomplishment is .....? The basic racist mindset that is taught to our next generation, blatant or hidden, can not bode us well.

One news event that was definitely blatant was the reaction of some black ministers to the Vick dog fighting story. Maybe it is because the local Hampton Roads news has had considerable detail about the story and that Vick's involvement is a baseball bat to the forehead. And the story is really horrible. To these ministers, it is not Vick's guilt or innocence, it is about his race. To make it even worse, those ministers are using racism to forward their own financial and political interests. From one side of their mouths comes accusations of others racism while from the other side comes statements like this.

We are all tribal creatures. See my previous entry. And there is that basic animal reaction that “my tribe is better than yours!”. And that is very much a good thing for us human beans. As is sex, accumulating wealth, etc. But we need to use our cerebral abilities to control these instincts. Our strength is our ability to use our God-given fantastic brains and our God-given honed-over-millions-of-years animal drives. And we need our tribe to be global. Times are rough and we need all of us to work together.