Path to Enlightened Insanity

“It is not your responsibility to finish the work of perfecting the world, but you are not free to desist from it either.” — Rabbi Tarfon, Pirke Avot 2:21

I’ven’t said much to anyone about the murder of innocent people at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, on Sunday.

I’ve actually made some effort to avoid reading the news about it. I first saw a headline about it before I went to bed at the end of Saturday, but I didn’t click on that link at the time. I’ve made a point of removing stories about Orlando when I listen stories on the NPR app.

I’ve read the headlines. I know that the number of people reported dead initially was thirty, then it was fifty, and now it is forty nine. I know that over fifty people were injured. I know it was Latin night at Pulse. I know more than I’d like to know about the man who murdered those innocent people. I know there have been ministers, politicians, and talking heads on TV who have in various ways supported the murder of those innocent people. I know there have been more ministers, politicians, and talking heads who have condemned the murder of those innocent people. I know that I have friends who had friends at Pulse that night. I know that Muslims have been harassed by others because of what happened at Pulse.

I also know that statistically there were more people shot and killed with guns on Sunday who weren’t at Pulse than those who were shot and killed with guns on Sunday who were at Pulse. I know some of those people took their own lives. I know that some of these people were shot by their friends or family members.

I know that this has made some queer people scared and anxious. I know that this has made many queer people angry. I know that this has made many straight people angry. I know that anger in and of itself changes nothing.

I’m reminded of a saying, She who angers you, controls you.^* I experienced this most directly when I watched the Sky Press Preview from June 12. I watched Owen Jones, a gay man, argue passionately and respectfully that this was an attack on LGBT people. I watched the presenter, Mark Longhurst, and the other guest on the show, Julia Hartley-Brewer, argue that these murders were only an attack on human beings, directly downplaying the that LGBT people were targeted. I watched myself fly into a rage and scream “FUCK YOU” at Mark Longhurst. I watched Owen Jones continue to make the case that this was an attack on LGBT people long after I would have flown into an diatrabatic rage, that would only have ended when my voice was gone or I had passed out from lack of oxygen. Even now, two days after I watched that video, I still feel the rage creeping in.

(*This month, I’m using female pronouns when the pronoun is referring to an undetermined individual.)

It is that rage that I avoid. I know that for many rage and anger can be helpful, but I know myself and my mental health triggers. I know getting too invested into something so personal can be a pathway into a depressive episode. I know that it may look to others from the outside that I don’t care about justice, equality, and equity in our world.

I deeply care about justice, equality, and equity in our world. At times, I’ll take public action, like organizing events and discussions around economic inequality. But more often, I’ll do little things. In language, I work to break the association that black is a synonym for wrong and bad, and white is a synonym for good and right. When I run into whitelists and blacklists in computing, I’ll advocate that people use more accurate terminology, such as allow lists and deny lists. I also advocate that the word straight is only used to refer to a line that does not bend and sexual orientation. Straight does not mean right or correct. Yes, these are little things, but these things do affect how people think. This is part of my contribution toward the work of perfecting the world.

I admire those people who can do the big, bold, and dramatic social justice work, but not all of us have the ability or resources to take on this work.

It takes many different actions big and small by many people with different capacities to change the world; just because those around you aren’t on the same path, doesn’t mean they’re lost or that they’re not headed in the same direction that you are.

Purrr. This is Shaun. The other cat that lives in Nick’s apartment.

I just read the blog entry from George, the runt that has plagued my existence since the womb.

I have one thing to say: Finally, I get some peace.

I’ll write again when I feel like it.

A few weeks ago I peeked over at the blog and said to myself, “Holy shit, its been over a year since there has been an entry!” I also haven’t made any entries in 2015, and since I’ve got about 4 minutes left do to do, now is about as good a time as any. (Ah, why didn’t I move this blog to
Pacific time way back when?)

For various reasons (work) I’ve been overly stressed, and I’m almost decompressed from that mess. I’ve recently decided that I’m not as willing as I used to be to shorten my life for my employer’s benefit. You know
that Stress Kills, right?

But lets have something fun instead of moaning and groaning.. So here’s a song!

Joy to the World, the cat is annoyed!
Let all the household know!
He sits upon his high up perch.
Avoid his annoyed stare! Avoid his annoyed stare!
Avoid, avoid his annoyed stare!

He rules the house, with growls and meows!
And makes the humans prove,
their patience and feeding skills
Serve him very well! Serve him very well!
Serve, oh serve him very well!

Serve the cat human food!
No more kibble, oh no, no!
Only tuna and canned food!
Open up the can! Open up the can!
Open, open up the can!

Follow the cat, for he thinks he’s god!
Just do what he commands!
Open the door! Pet him him right now!
Let him sleep on you! Let him sleep on you!
Let him sleep, sleep on you!

Dear FCC Commissioners,

An Open Internet is necessary for the the continued growth of our economy and more importantly for our democracy.

While the Internet to date has been in practice open, we are currently at a critical inflection point where Internet Service Providers, who themselves may also be content providers, are in a position where they can degrade the bandwidth available between independent content providers and those provider’s consumers.

Some content providers are hesitant to enter into situations where they are purchasing access to ISP’s networks. In the short term, this is a logical and appropriate move for content providers. However, in the long term this places content providers at the mercy of ISP’s rate increases, which may or may not be justified by the ISP’s costs.

I ask that the Commission reclassify Internet Service Providers from being Information Providers to being Telecommunication Service Providers. I also ask that the Commission promulgate rules that require that all ISPs provide:
a) connectivity to all active Autonomous Systems (AS) on the internet, such that, during peak times a website will load without timing out.
b) a tariffed, regulated, service that provides direct access to ISP routers that serve a several thousand customers. This service would would at minimum include a port for transmitting TCP/IP traffic to the ISP router as well as appropriate services provided by the ISP’s Network Operations Center. ISP’s should also be allowed to recoup a reasonable profit.
Item A would ensure that all the internet is accessible. Item Part B would allow content providers to provide improved service. By requiring a tariffed service, this ensures that costs in running an ISP are properly allocated, and as such are passed onto customers appropriately.

An Open Internet is critical for the success in may aspects of life of all Americans. I thank the commission for the opportunity to comment on this important issue.

Best Regards,
Nicholas Barnard

I’m a bit new to Yelp and I discovered that my review was limited to 5000 characters, although I had 6600 or so characters of stuff to say. So this is the full review.

This gym is consistently sets expectations then breaks them. I’ve been a member since February 2008 and I’m canceling this month.

When I joined it was Epicenter and the location was at 3rd and Pike. That location was nothing fancy, but it was reasonably expansive, had equipment that worked, and locker rooms that were reasonable. (FYI, what is now the T.J. Maxx was the Epicenter gym.)

I walked in one morning to workout, and I was told that location had been closed, and I could now go to the Allstar Fitness on Olive Way in the Medical Dental Building. I was helpfully handed a map that showed me how to get from the old gym to the new gym.

This change was a mixed bag. There were little things and the crazy narrow steep staircase and having to bring a lock. The old location had tanning beds, but the new one didn’t. (Yes I know its bad for you, but one here and there helps with the Seattle winters.) There were also some improvements. The showers and the lockers were nicer, the actual workout rooms also were nicer, plus the location included free towels. In addition, I eventually gained access to the location in the Municipal Tower, which wasn’t as great, but also had some helpful features and great views.

The gym changed names a few times to Epicenter Executive Fitness, then Seattle Executive Fitness. They also stated that everyone who was a member was a “Founding Member” and their dues would be locked in and they’d have free towel service. Contrary to the owner’s responses to Yelp reviews, my membership has never had an annual fee.

The Medical Dental Building location then became the incredible shrinking gym. It started slowly. A small portion of the workout floor was remodeled off to become a Trudy’s Florist. Then the downstairs lobby was closed and it became a Weight Watchers location. These were little things as far as space goes. A nice space to sit was converted to a Spa of some variety. Then the main workout floor was cut roughly in half. The other half stayed empty for several months, but recently its been remodeled as offices. Finally, the desk downstairs was removed and you had to scan your card at the door. No friendly face to greet you. At this point I looked around for other gyms, but nothing was at a price I was willing to pay.

There were also a few instances of the gym shortening their hours without notice. This started at the Epicenter location on Pike, then continued. The Olive Way location used to be open until 11 pm, but then cut back to closing at 9 pm. The weekend hours used to be until 8 pm, but are now cut back to 6 pm. (Although the website still shows that the location is open until 8pm!)

They’ve also been horrible about communicating when they have shortened hours for holidays. Sometimes they’ve failed to communicate them at all. (On their website, on Twitter, on Facebook, and maybe they post a note at the last minute at the location.) I’ve had a few times when I’ve been aware of their posted holiday hours, only to arrive to a sign on the door that they’ve closed earlier than their posted holiday hours. What is the point of posting hours if you’re not going to follow them? (Yes, holidays probably will be slow, but if you’ve made a commitment to be open, you should be open.) I’ve tweeted at them about this, but I’ve never received a response.

The communication about the new Smith Tower location was poor as well. I saw that they were opening the location and emailed the GM of the new location. He responded, but never informed me of any special membership requirements to this location. I was able to access this location just fine, but then I got a call that starting next month, I wouldn’t have access to it any more. Poor communication.

The final straw for me happened over two days. I work out as much for my mental health as for my physical health. I realized that I needed to get to the gym, and made plans to go at about 6:10 pm on a Sunday. I had checked the website earlier in the day and it stated that they were open until 8pm. I put on my workout clothes and headed out. I went by the Municipal Tower location first, and it was closed. I checked their website on my phone and the Medical Dental Building location showed as being open until 8 pm. I then walked to that location, only to find that it too was closed. I was so pissed that I had gotten over my procrastination only to be denied a workout due to SEF’s lack of proper communication.

The next day I went to the Municipal Tower location only to be greeted by signs that the club is closing on June 30th, 2014, and due to increased theft of towels there was no longer any towel service. Now, I had previously been promised towel service for the life of my membership, so I didn’t bring a towel. I understand that they had an increased towel theft problem, an adult way to deal with the problem would’ve been to be empathetic to the fact that their members might not be aware of this policy. (Something like providing each member a “now you know, but here’s a towel for today.” then cross their name off a member list or provide a towel in exchange for them holding an ID or something like that.) No, instead Seattle Executive Fitness treated their members like middle schoolers, and said “NO TOWELS FOR YOU!” They also posted signs all over the gym reminding folks of this.

Now I wasn’t about to skip my workout, so I went and worked out. Then, I took a shower and discovered how many paper towels it takes to dry myself off. I finally had enough with the signs, and started tearing them down as I walked by. Once I got to the elevator the manager confronted me and asked if my middle school antics were necessary. I told him yes. (I’m slow on good comebacks, I should’ve said, “Well, you’re treating your members like middle schoolers so don’t be surprised when they act like them.”) He then offered to cancel my membership, but not refund the pro-rated remainder of the month. A few words were exchanged, and once the elevator came I got on it to leave. He then asked my last name so he could cancel my membership. Funny how when they’re done with you they’ll cancel your membership, but if you want to be done with them they’ll make you jump though all sorts of hoops.

I’m done with putting up with Seattle Executive Fitness’s constantly changing and broken promises. I’ve found a new gym. LA Fitness has purchased the old Vision Quest location at 2nd and Columbia. Its a very similar price. The physical plant isn’t as great, but its under new owners and they’ve stated they’ll be remodeling the place as they go, keeping all the same space.