Time is Flying

It's been more than a month since I last posted which made me realize that I've become a little bit too obsessed with finishing my shed project.

Sometimes my penchant for obsession is a useful thing (like when I'm training for a black belt), but this summer I kind of feel that I've let my (supposedly) little building project overtake my life. Just about every weekend has been spent on some aspect of the build, which while fun, has been a little excessive. But major construction is now finished, and I'll be putting up shelves and moving stuff into the shed on the Labour Day weekend, so hopefully I'll feel less compelled to do work when I should be relaxing or playing or writing. It's really too bad when the crazy gene kicks in.

So, some thoughts I've had over the last month:

I love the internet. This may sound obvious as who would start a blog unless they loved the internet, but here's why. The internet allows me to become aware of interesting people, events and ideas both by getting reports about these things (from a really wide variety of sources) and by getting the unfiltered version of some of them.

Case in point: In July the US District Court for Northern California threw out the state's referendum mandating the bar on same sex marriages. This was widely reported online through mainstream media, blogs, forums, videos but most importantly through access to Judge Walker's written judgement. If you haven't read this yet - DO SO. It is, as one analyst said, the best summer reading you will find anywhere.

The ruling is historic, and is written in a way to make it almost bulletproof. It will be appealed and some say will likely be heard by the US Supreme Court. But what is beautiful and astounding about it is the manner in which Judge Walker, with cold-hearted precision and logic, demolishes all arguments against same sex marriage (and in so doing, shines a much needed light on the issue of discimination on the basis of sexual orientation). This is the Brown v. Board of Education ruling for our time, and I think, will be studied by law students for years to come.

I think I'll write more about this later, but why I think it's important, is because I feel that rule of law is the most fundamental aspect of my belief in freedom and liberty. It is the fact that people who have had discrimination and prejudice thrown at them have recourse before the courts that is the true defining characteristic of our democracy -- and for a poli sci geek like me, this was heaven.

Oh, it is also time to start training again. 5:30 am runs here we go...