Check out this interesting website, Noindoctrination.org - A Non Profit Organization Promoting Open Inquiry in Academia. I heard the woman who started this website interviewed on Pete Wilson's radio show on KGO.

I'm glad I went to a small private college, because most of the university controversies seems to go on at public schools. My college didn't even have a "D" grade for most of the time while I was there, which meant if you received a grade below a C in a class, the class was dropped off your transcript. How cool was that. There was also, as I remember, a balance of liberal and conservative professors and we were taught to think for ourselves. If there was indoctrination, I wasn't aware of it. In my high school though, there was major indoctrination in the political liberal viewpoint. But I grew up to be somewhat a political conservative. so maybe indoctrination doesn't really work in the long run but is just the issue du jour.

Talk about a weird ending to one damned good football game yesterday, the 49ers unbelievable and miraculous comeback in the 49er/NY Giants playoff game. The NFL is saying that the 49ers should have been called for pass interference; NFL: Officials missed pass interference call in Giants-49ers. I'm with Mariucci when he said "Bummer".

But you know what' s going to happen. The NY Giants and their fans will jaw this issue for years on end. Well, the Oakland Raiders got robbed last year. Maybe it's an NFL playoff tradition; questionable officiating.

I decided I need to start going to the gym again, because that monthly membership gets taken out of my checking account every month whether I go or not and I hate to waste money. I haven't been to the gym in months! I'm bad.

I got on the exercise bike, and did the five minute fit test and my result was "excellent". Then I did the bike cardio program for 30 minutes, and lifted weights for an hour, and now I'm sore as heck. I like lifting weights. I'm a product of Title IX in public schools and I played sports in my youth, so I've been weightlifting since I was 13 years old. That's a long time. And when you build muscles you've got to keep doing it for the rest of your life, otherwise you get all saggy. It's kind of a nasty cycle I think, so it's good thing I enjoy it.

I like how when you want to build up your arms, it's so easy to get definition. Legs are the hardest to train, because you're on on your feet all day so you've really got to do a lot of repetition just to work them. But I must have worked them this afternoon, because my legs are really sore. I did all the machines, and there's two for every leg part, and did 3 sets of 10-12 reps.

Then I came home in time to watch the ending of the Colts/Jets game, and highlights of the Jets whacking the Colts. What a blowout! The NY Jets are hot! Watch out! The NY Jets might be superbowl bound. Then I watched Atlanta beat the Packers, and got chilled from looking at the snow flurries.

I'm not getting a good feeling about the 49er/NY Giants game tomorrow. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the home team wins, but NY Giants look hot as well. I'm hoping that Cleveland beats the Steelers, so the NY Jets will have come to Oakland to play the Raiders. That will be a fun game, and it would worth it to get tix to see that matchup.

Skip Bayless from the Mercury News said on the Jim Rome radio show "The Jungle", he was the guest host on Thursday and Friday, that if 49ers win then Mariucci is out. SFGate had a similar article. To tell you the truth, I've never been a big Mariucci fan. I don't know, but he's like too touchy feely for my taste. During a 49er/Raider game a few years ago, Mariucci was on the sidelines holding hands with the players and watching a field goal attempt. What's up with the hand holding? I don't know. I watched the scene thinking "that is so not football".

Bayless also said Mariucci has no killer instinct, and that if Mariucci is out Mike Holmgren is in, because he'll be able to get out of his Seattle contract. Holmgren still owns that bar in the Marina, which I've been to a few times. It's a nice place, but the crowd when I was there was older with everyone in their 50's and 60's and country club types. I was told the guy who owns Morton & Basset Spices hangs out in the bar, and was even there during one of my visits.

Mike Holmgren and the 49ers. Interesting combo. What about Jerry Jones and Bill Parcells? Bayless predicts that with Parcells, the Cowboys will be superbowl contenders in 3-4 years. I remember being at a 49er game and the crowd cheering when it was announced Dallas had lost a game. Someone on the show even predicted Troy Aikman coming back out of retirement to play with Parcells for one year. Gotta love your NFL football, so much drama!

I came across this factoid in the comment section of a financial website that I have bookmarked; one to two hundred thousand dollars lost by fifty million households since January 14, 2000.

Is this true? If it is, it's unbelievable because that's a ton of people. The commentator also mentioned that many retired people who were heavily invested in the stock market suffered serious losses, as well as those retirees from companies whose stocks have gone to nothing like Lucent, ATT, and Bethlehem Steel.

I was lucky. I got out of market before 2000, while the market was still high, and transferred everything to money market accounts. I knew the markets were going to correct, and it was just a matter of time. Some of my best friends thought I was totally crazy to get out of the market, and blamed my fascination with conspiracy theories on looniness. My critics have lost a ton of money, some are bitter, some are worried, and some are scared. This was their retirement money, after all.

And looney me? I didn't lose money, I made money actually. Not a lot, but at least I have no losses. I take no pleasure in being right. I don't want to tell people I told you so, and why the heck didn't you listen to me, although I'm tempted. It's cruel to be sanctimonious with people who have suffered financial losses. I feel for my friends.

What scares me is the effect these financial losses will mean for the country. If people have lost money, this means corporations which are also heavily invested in the stock market, have lost money too. This means pension funds and mutual funds have taken deep losses as well.

And it all trickles down, trickles up, trickles everywhere. All the states are experiencing budgetary woes, which means a cutback in social services at the state level. The government cut taxes, but now they could sure use that tax money for the war on terrorism and upcoming war with Iraq. If they have to make cuts, the government will cut social services.

Where is the safety net that many people might be needing soon? I had images of blood on the streets in January 2000 right before the markets started diving. Those images have come back, but this time I don't think it's financial bleeding I'm seeing.