Sasha's commentary for February 6, 2014: The Short Month

Since tonight is the night the Sochi Olympics open, I thought I'd take some time to make note of a couple of things going on currently in regards to the games...and I'll need to fix this!



With that said, here are some things I've found on the web:

Thinkprogress.org has a wonderful article on how the Northeast could cut carbon pollution by 75%. I was surprised to find that the Northeast already has a significant level of clean energy, as I thought we still had a boatload of dirty plants. This might prove an incentive for the New York State DOT in considerations of building a high speed rail line here in the state. Electrified track might be the way to go, but then again, an electrified right of way doesn't benefit smaller communities.

Supposedly, Russian wedding photos are weird. As a proud Russian-American, I can attest to the fact that Russians are an unusual bunch. Wonderful people, just an unusual bunch, but I say that with affection.

Apparently, Kim Jong-un is a fan of the Mac. I don't think that's what Steve Jobs had in mind as his user base: dictators of isolationist nations. How badly does the North Korean dictator love Macs? The North Korean government is working on a MacOS look-alike.

With both sarcasm and concern in my tone, the Republican Party still is lacking in knowledge of history. That bothers me, but then again, we have a governor in New York who says things that might be condescending to particular groups. On the other hand, unlike the GOP, we teach high school students the horrors of the Holocaust in New York

The Republican National Committee today excitedly announced the launch of a new startup lab to bring techies and creatives together, Silicon Valley-style, to get Republicans elected. Oh, and they named it for a Nazi gun, a type of ammo, and a philosophy that puts war before peace.

Only the Republicans, only the Republicans. The Para Bellum Labs? Doesn't have a good ring to it either. Then again, Gawker is a left-wing site, so it's a partial overreaction.

There are a thousand reasons why I want to date a girl who travels. The most obvious reason is that I enjoy exploring the world also. I enjoyed reading the article, but the article had a feel of snobbishness. It's also a strongly written article, and I mean that it's short and to the point. It makes unemployed individuals feel unworthy of affection.

Here's another one of those "old fashioned dating tip" articles. I thought the term "going steady" was for high schoolers. I thought the twenty-something used "We're an item" or "We're involved." Some of these are really obvious: asking permission for something should be a given.

And finally, I'm glad my generation is doing whatever it takes to be less car dependent. It's obvious that the government has a lot to why we're an automotive-centric nation. I wish every small community in the United States could have bus or train or light rail access.