stuff about stuff

Matt Hart just recently posted a link to this site about consumerism. Be sure to watch The Story of Stuff when you get a chance.
Unfortunately, our country doesn't have a good track record when it comes to consuming less. Our capitalistic society has glorified consumerism because of our collective love of the almighty dollar and it's coming around to bite us in the butt.
It reminds me of this:

Big Box Mart | Funny Jokes at JibJab

Much of Western culture takes the path of less resistance or the path of perceived greatest pleasure. This is evident in our rising obesity epidemic, the constant commercials for more luxurious cars, and the current market conditions in the housing/mortgage sector. People get in over their head because they're convinced that they NEED more luxury or more space. Why do we allow this to go on?
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for progress and technological advancement, but it has to be SUSTAINABLE progress. Newer and better gets shoved at us so fast now that we don't have time to fully utilize and appreciate what we currently have. When is the last time you repaired a hole in a pair of socks or mended something on your clothes? We've become so accustomed to everything being disposable because the price of consumables is low enough we don't give it a second thought. This also speaks to our lack of discipline. We seek the quickest or easiest way to achieve what we think we want. Instant gratification is rarely productive in the long run.
Have you noticed that the quality of most things has dropped substantially in the last 20 years? Computers/parts/peripherals, etc, don't last as long. Cars aren't driven as long as they used to be. Phone and/or cable service gets changed every few months now because we can save money by switching to something else, or because the service sucks. How many of you would rather go get another new printer or just buy new ink cartridges which cost almost as much?
Why don't we wake up and see that our love of money (corporate greed/ personal wealth and perceived status) is what is driving this? We need to start shifting our values to more substantial ones which will HAVE to start with taking our focus off of ourselves.

First time away

alright, once again, the obligatory baby updates (pics and vid) can be found HERE! (http://ben-reeves.blogspot.com/)
Saturday night/Sunday morning I got in from Brian's wedding in Atlanta. We had a good time and it was a beautiful wedding and another eligible bachelor is off the market. I'm glad I was able to be a part of it.










































While there, Allison sent me pictures of Isabella from her phone every morning. That really made me miss them both even more. It was strange for me. I'm used to being self sufficient while on the road and this time, although I was glad to be spending time with Brian, I really missed holding my little girl. Maybe that means I'll be a good daddy.

getting more handy

I got a good report from my hand surgeon on my follow up visit the other day. Going in, I was prepared for a scolding. My last visit to him, he gave me a prescription for a splint for the thumb and more physical therapy. I never went to it or got the splint, but I did stretching and exercises on my own for the hand. The Dr didn't scold me and was sufficiently impressed with my progress. I'm still hoping to get full range of motion back to all fingers soon, but it's not happening soon enough for me.