_________(Blank)

President Reagan INCREASED taxes

2011-03-26T15:42:00.002-07:00

As it turns out Ronald Reagan- the conservative community's demi-god, actually increased taxes on GE by over 30%. Crazy- huh?

As it has evolved, the company has used, and in some cases pioneered, aggressive strategies to lower its tax bill. In the mid-1980s, President Ronald Reagan overhauled the tax system after learning that G.E. — a company for which he had once worked as a commercial pitchman — was among dozens of corporations that had used accounting gamesmanship to avoid paying any taxes.

“I didn’t realize things had gotten that far out of line,” Mr. Reagan told the Treasury secretary, Donald T. Regan, according to Mr. Regan’s 1988 memoir. The president supported a change that closed loopholes and required G.E. to pay a far higher effective rate, up to 32.5 percent.
-NY Times

Voicemail

2011-02-27T19:54:00.001-07:00

I don't do voicemail. I just don't. It takes effort and texts are easier. I'm lazy, not going to lie. In fact- I get angry when people leave voicemails. Unless they're super funny. Also- I had a whole laundry list of reasons why voice mail sucks but I didn't write it down last night so now all I've got is that I'm lazy. Believe me, though- I have valid reasons. Voicemail sucks. True story.

Why bother wasting it on bread?

2011-02-27T19:43:00.003-07:00

see more Funny Graphs

Narwhals

2011-02-27T19:43:00.001-07:00

Privacy and the Modern World

2010-11-18T07:12:00.002-07:00

"The police department is hitting a fly with a sledgehammer," said Steven Banks, attorney in chief of the city's Legal Aid Society. "There's been an extensive legislative debate in New York state in which the legislature only permits the police department to collect DNA evidence in certain kinds of cases. So it's incumbent upon the police department not to find a whole new technology and then forge ahead without any legislative authority."
CNN.com

A fly with a sledgehammer? Hardly. And Iris scans are not DNA samples. I've collected Iris scans, other than being a pain because you have to make sure you are the right distance away from their face, it's just a picture of their face with measurements applied to the information in the image.

Governments and corporations intend to use facial recognition software to track the public and to eliminate privacy, he said, noting that automatically identifying people in public in the U.S., when they are not suspected of a crime, could be a violation of constitutional rights.
CNN.com

So what they're saying here is that looking at people in public and knowing who they are is somehow not only illegal but in violation of constitutional rights. I mean, I understand that a computer is more efficient than an individual, but ultimately: it's the same thing. I mean, this isn't even something that I can't do myself like DNA evidence and iris scans, this is just letting the computer do something that anyone can do for themselves.

"Once the incident happened, we were able to immediately notify the 128 flights in the air, as well as airports on the ground domestically, internationally, our law enforcement partners, other allies, institute immediate safe procedures to make sure that this could not happen on other flights and that people were watching out for it on other flights, even as we focused on what went wrong prior to this one," Napolitano added Monday.

...The Transportation Security Administration invoked a "one hour rule" after the thwarted attack, which prohibited passengers on international U.S.-bound flights from leaving their seats during the last hour of a flight, sources said.
-2009.12.28 Air Travel Security Under Review, CNN.com

I'm just not sure what to make of this one. I mean- 'a one hour rule'? Come on- what was this guy's intent? he wanted to detonate in the air and kill everyone on board. And he wasn't successful- the ONLY part of the security system that worked was the onboard, passengers taking it into their own hands. We won't see the long term hijackings that we saw in the seventies and eighties because of 9/11. Americans on aircraft won't allow themselves to be used like they were that day. Flight 93 and the response to the Christmas day bomber was evidence of that. Prior to 9/11 people had no idea that they would use the planes as missiles. Now they do. So anything that we're doing should focus on preventing the long lines in airports to avoid presenting a good target to any would be terrorists. The reason we've built up this ridiculous security apparatus for the air travel industry is because of the repercussions of the long term hijackings of the seventies and eighties. Since that's not going to happen anymore, we need to focus our efforts elsewhere. The reason that aircraft presented such a good target was their isolation and their ability to control a large number of passengers with limited manpower. That advantage has gone away and aircraft now present just as good a target as any other group of people.

One passenger on same plane as AbdulMutallab told CNN's "Larry King Live" that the security checks at Schiphol were not as stringent as those she is used to in the United States.

"We walked through and did not have to take our shoes off," said Wisconsin native Richelle Keepman. "Also, my mother had a water bottle in her bag that she'd completely forgotten about. And it went right through and we didn't realize it until we were on the plane."
2009.12.30 Dutch use full body scans, CNN.com

And this is why stupid policies, like forcing us to take off our shoes, will not go away. Because once it takes force, you can't be the one to do away with it because when something unrelated happens you get reamed out for not doing whatever ridiculousness your predecessor came up with. So there's that. I'll leave you with a link to something about Isreal's take on airport security Isrealification of Airports

Love canada

2010-09-26T07:51:00.001-07:00

Love Canada. True story. They have huge bear heads on their buildings.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.9

Saw that one movie

2010-09-17T23:42:00.002-07:00

Yup. It was a movie. And I saw it. It wasn't great, but it was entertaining. Thought provoking? Some might say. It made me think- but there's very little that doesn't make me think. What sort of thoughts? I'm not sure. In this case, about movie making and the relationship between actions and character. It's a movie about bank robbers and the drama surrounding that lifestyle. I feel like Boston is the new Philadelphia. I refer you to The Departed, Mystic River and the Fighter. The second set of movies really just includes the Rocky movies and Philadelphia (Tom Hanks and Denzel). So me saying Boston is the new Philadelphia is really just me saying, 'I have weird thoughts about movies'.
So what did I think about while watching this movie? First- about movies. This movie is basically a far-fetched action movie masquerading as a heist film with an oddly hollow romantic aspect. I remember reading about how romantic movies in the last ten years have failed to develop relationships. There's no real reason why the romantic leads are together, it just sort of happens because they're the romantic leads in a movie and everyone knows that they're going to be romantic together. I should probably watch some older movies in the 'golden age' of romantic movies. I should give a shout out to A. Molina and Lark for putting on Gone With The Wind, but I didn't actually watch it. I mostly just thought about how that would fit into my plan to assess the difference between 'golden age' romance and modern romance vis a vis the relationship between movie romance and real romance. So- props for watching good old Scarlett and Rhett and reminding me of the 'dearth of fleshed out romances in modern cinema'. Can't remember who wrote about that, but I do remember it bothered me. So anyways. The Town. What should I say about it? I feel like there's some expectation that we all should have something substantive and amazing to say about everything. I'm not sure where it comes from, but it's the source of all these people taking notes in church that they'll never read and all these self important blogs(including this one) and the cluttered book stores full of eight million books about nothing or how to do eight million things in a hundred different ways. I was listening to NPR's Fresh Air today, and that Supreme Court Justice who was on Larry King Live was talking about his book. I remember one of the blurbs from Larry King- 'More Americans know the names of the three stooges than three supreme court justices.' You think? The three stooges' names haven't ever changed and there are only three of them. At my last count(wikipedia's last count) Elena Kagan is justice number 112. What are you trying to prove by saying that more Americans know the names of the three stooges (there's actually four, Wikipedia just told me)? It's obvious and completely irrelevant. Nevertheless, there it is on the scroll at the bottom of the screen for us all to ooh and ahh about. It'd ridiculous.

Ridiculous. 2 Years ahead of my time and what does it get me?

2010-09-17T23:23:00.002-07:00

I just had to share this video. My favorite part has to be the bicycles. One of the rappers is pressing one towards the end. It really just confuses me, to be honest. I fully expected some hipsters to start playing bike polo or something, but it never happened. Oh well.

An Interesting Life:

2010-09-03T00:22:00.002-07:00

Having passed through the gateway into the second quarter of my life (albeit two years ago) I take the time to review the last quarter of a century as seen through my eyes. Mind you, this introspective piece is actually inspired by a recent comment to the effect that I am an awful story teller. While this is a title that has plagued me for most of my life- I had not heard it for quite some time. The shock which this reintroduction of old themes presented caused me to question the origin of my particular brand of storytelling, which some might call lame but that I refer to as awesome. I've narrowed it down to three possibilities. One- I've led a drab, dull life full of fake stories. I went to war, only it was a fake war. I went on a 'blind date' only it was a fake date. I do 'extreme' sports only I'm not quite on 'the level'. I got hypothermia only it was just 'moderate' and not severe. I've got scars, but they're from lame things like holding onto a hog for castration, close encounters with house cats, and an unfortunate trip to Deer Valley. I'm not necessarily complaining, I'm just offering it up as a possible explanation for my paltry story telling ability: I simply don't have any good stories. This explanation doesn't really satisfy, however. The second possibility is that I just have an awful, quirky memory and I can't remember the right details to remain relevant to my story telling audience. The third option is that I'm just oblivious and I don't remember the details because I never processed them in the first place. I'm just naturally slow and so the fast paced events that should be a good story go unnoticed, whereas the lame, slow events get recycled over and over again.
At any rate, I needed to write something down and see if anyone has something to say about it. It being either my life or my story telling ability. My head's spinning, there's been a lot going on lately. Just trying to wrap my head around it and drive on.

Childhood. Awesome. Let's go throw rocks at trains.

2010-04-03T13:10:00.003-07:00

Mac and Charlie are like the best parts about being a kid. Complete cluelessness about the way the real world works and complete focus on AWESOMENESS. They're pretty much homosexual- which is pretty wierd. But not enough to not make me laugh all the time completely out loud at pretty much everything they say. This post basically has no purpose in life, it's just a random smattering of words. Just like everything else on the internet...

I got distracted

2009-09-11T05:53:00.003-07:00

Never fear, children, the future is here and part two is coming. In the meantime, look at this:

Also, go to this website. If that isn't enough to keep you entertained for HOURS, go to this website and look at cakes like this one:

Take a good look, the future is now PART 1

2009-09-02T17:04:00.004-07:00

Up until a few months ago I hadn't had actual broadband for about two years. Before that I did most of my surfing on BYU's network and as my fellow cougars will attest, it's overly restricted. What that boils down to is that even though I consider myself pretty up on technology and an 'early adopter' in all actuality I've been living in a hole. Upon leaving my hole I discovered that we are in the future, ladies and gentlemen. Granted, maybe my sudden realization that we are in the future is pedestrian and infantile and the rest of the world realized that the future already arrived years ago and no one yelled it down my hole. Regardless of who's the chicken and who's the egg- we are indeed in the future, boys and girls.
Exhibit one:
Look at this Robot-dog. Of particular interest: 0:36 and 1:26 wherein the dog gets kicked and recovers; slips on the ice and recovers. This is more than I can say for many humans.

Exhibit two:
This is another robot. The thing about this robot is that it can navigate for itself. The video clip is a little lame, as it was apparently grabbed off a tv show but the crucial dialogue happens at 4:40.

Exhibit three:
This is the last robot, I'm about ninety percent sure about that. Anyways, this robot is super quick and can catch things and it's ridiculous. At this point you might be thinking 'yeah, but we've had robotic arms for like... forty+ years. And you'd be right, but i don't care; this robot is definitely from the future.

Exhibit four:
The recent years of warfare have led to a rapidly increasing market for prosthetic limbs. Dean Kamen(inventor of the Segway) recently started down that road and his very impressive result is the Luke Arm(named after Luke Skywalker)

Part two will address the interweb, the origins of the 'future' and possibly some 'advice' about how to deal with the future. And by advice I mean discussion of the implications of adapting to the future life without abandoning traditional cultural values. Ready, go.

"Augmented Reality"

2009-09-02T16:06:00.001-07:00

Now all we need is a translucent screen technology and we'll be all set to completely insulate ourselves from the world while successfully pretending that we aren't.

Watching television

2009-08-28T21:51:00.002-07:00

So I started watching this TV show tonight about these people pretending it's the post-apacolyptic world. I've determined that they are completely ridiculous in their prioritizing and their concept of what is necessary to survive. And I'm chastised when I realize that I am horrible at that as well only in a pre-apocalyptic world. So there you have it. I was going to list all the reasons they were being ridiculous but instead I'm going to reassess my priorities and go to sleep.

More on TATS cause they're aweSUM

2009-08-27T13:51:00.001-07:00

Awesome Let's get sum INK dun.

2009-08-26T16:54:00.001-07:00

nataliedee.com

Innummerate, mmkay?

2009-08-19T16:05:00.001-07:00

superpoop.com

Eye-Fi

2009-08-18T18:13:00.002-07:00

Ok, so remember when they came out with a memory card that is Wireless compatible? Yeah. Crazy, huh? That thing is tiny and somehow it acts as an antenna and does it all. Wirelessly and automatically. Screw Harry Potter- this is all magickal stuff, I tell you what.

Funny Movies and adopting eighties bands.

2009-08-16T11:37:00.002-07:00

So first Big Daddy

adopted Styx.

Then Role Models

adopted Kiss.

And then I Love You, Man

adopted Rush.

Moral of the story is that all three movies are AWESOME. Scale of one to ten- no lie.

Oh Boy, Dinosaurs.

2009-08-12T11:48:00.001-07:00

new camera

2009-08-11T20:25:00.002-07:00

I want this. Any thoughts?

crows

2009-08-07T14:23:00.000-07:00

Imagine, if you will, that crows are portents of impending evil. Their presence is a sure sign that something awful is going to happen to you or someone you care about. Would you rather see the crow or be blithely unaware until the actual tragedy befalls you?

Comix

2009-08-06T23:52:00.002-07:00

Check out this comic here. Is for fun.

That fake Discover Card ad post

2009-08-05T19:05:00.002-07:00

Moving the Escort: smoke from Lucy's clutch
Moving the Lincoln: Psycho wasp attack
Moving the F150: Psycho thorn bush
Getting rid of all the junkers? Priceless.

Adventuring is AWESOME!!

2009-07-30T14:55:00.002-07:00

XTreme with an ArmX.

2009-07-23T12:18:00.003-07:00

Oh yeah- burritos are the new superfood, didn't ya know?

All these leaves were hanging out inside my car....

This is what happens when someone writes 'arms crossed Xtreme' and I'm trying to drive.

Gard got it right.

This one's better but a little too cholo for my own good.

AWESOME CINEMATOGRAPHY!

2009-07-19T11:05:00.002-07:00

Yeah, I made this on my MACBOOK. Ready, go. I'm not that HARDCORE at mountainbiking or CREATIVE at moviemaking, so you'll forgive me. Ok- ready, it's awesometime.

Cell phone Hole

2009-07-15T20:38:00.000-07:00

This is the state of my birth. Notice all the white places. Ready go.

Phoenix IS ESTREME.

2009-07-13T18:24:00.001-07:00

This is another 'version' of the other Phoenix vid I posted earlier. This one is also awesome. Ready, go.

Why I love slash hate climbers

2009-07-09T21:47:00.002-07:00

What your harness says about you

Yeah, as awful as that is, I love making fun of people for stupid things like this. There I said it. Your 'props' really do say a lot about you- especially so in a gear intensive thing such as climbinating. Anyways, there's probably curse wurds and such in that link, so klik on it at your own risk. Mkay.

Also, I have adjustable leg loops. So there you go. Embrace the suck.

Yes!

2009-07-09T12:14:00.002-07:00

Yes! If only I could find out how to order them. But they do in fact exist! My sister is SO good at the interweb.

I couldn't resist.

2009-07-08T21:09:00.000-07:00

I don't care if it's not St Patty's.

Lighted USB cables

2009-07-07T21:21:00.004-07:00

I want some USB cables that light up. The only ones I can find have light up ends. But I want legit light up cables that light up the whole length. Like electric glowsticks is what I'm saying. Ready, go. Anybody know of any?

I'm on a Batman Kick

2009-07-04T21:22:00.003-07:00

I've probably watched both the Nolan Batman movies today and I'm considering starting the original quartet now. So here's this little trailer that I think is pretty cool. I can't decide if it's been edited or if it's legit. Either way, it's awesomes. As is Christopher Nolan.

Decades

2009-07-04T20:11:00.002-07:00

Here's a list of things that go with each decade in my mind. As in- these are the things that only happened in each of these decades, regardless of actual dates, according to my head(also this list is super lame and cliche and worthless and yada yada- don't judge me):
Fifties:
Nukular bombs, Leave it to Beaver, Woodies, the Beach Boys

Sixties:
Air Force, Cafe Racers, Mods, HELP

Seventies:
Jogging, Vietnam, GLAM Rock, Cocaine

Eighties:
High School, The Navy, Truckers, Idaho

Nineties:
Hansen, the Olympics, neon colors, monster trucks

Once Again- this list is totally retarded. Also- Don't judge me.

Independence Day

2009-07-04T19:16:00.000-07:00

Here it is. Ready go. It's independence day!!!

One more and then I'm done.

2009-07-04T01:14:00.000-07:00

I love having fast interwebs.

Visual Representation or 'It's 4 in the morning and I'm still awake'

2009-07-04T01:10:00.002-07:00

I made a little graphical representation of my future home:

Forgot one thing

2009-07-04T01:06:00.002-07:00

I also want to carry these:

So that I can do this:

Because it is this:

(Hardcore coolness- rabbit)

School Bus-inated! Eat delicious meats!

2009-07-03T23:52:00.004-07:00

I'm buying a bus. Maybe I'll buy it from The School Bus Buyin' Place. They look like they've got some pretty sweet deals. True story. And once I've purchased my school bus I'm then either gonna do this:

so that I can then do this:

with Lucy:

Or I'm gonna do something like this:

So that I can then do this:

with Lucy:

And then I'll be able to do this:

Or I'll load up these:

so that I can do this:

or these:

and these:

So that I can do this:

And it'll be like this:

and this:

and this:

All rolled into one:

But most importantly it'll be like this:

Or in other words: Total Hardcore Awesomeness Intense

Speaking of Awesome Phoenix vids...

2009-06-30T19:27:00.002-07:00

Phoenix - 1901 (Official Music Video) - More amazing videos are a click away

This is awesome slash if this is anything like what their live stuff is like- 'yes, please'

2009-06-25T13:43:00.002-07:00

Spotted this on Hannah's blog. Needed to put it up because it's AWESOME.

The Interweb

2009-06-20T18:39:00.002-07:00

So at my house- the interweb is SUPER slow (like- dialup slow). I finally broke down and bought Barnes and Noble's interweb and it's actually like normal. Like, youtube, and any sort of multimedia isn't too painful to actually click on, as it is at home. So it turns out that the interweb isn't getting slower as I used to think- I'm just moving to progressively worse places. Or something. I suppose I could draw some sort of conclusion like 'you never know what you had until it's gone' or some other neat and tidy maxim. But really- I'm just happy that the interweb still exists outside of Alabamy.

On how I make things more complicated than they really are.

2009-06-14T22:57:00.004-07:00

So- after I'm done here at Fort Benning, I'll be PCSing(moving) to Fort Drum, in Watertown, NY. I was going to be all high speed and make a map in Photoshop, but I got about as far as getting the google map into Photoshop before I realized it's way too much work. Only apparently the Googlers have done the work for me:

View Larger Map
So, I have to drive there, obviously. Otherwise my car would be stuck down here. But the obvious way to get from Georgia, which is in the deep south for those who don't know, and New York, in the Northeast, is to drive roughly straight North for about a thousand miles. But in my mind the best way to accomplish the move is to drive WEST to Phoenix to see John and Jill and their little one, NORTH to Salt Lake to see everyone there, and then more NORTH to Jackson Hole to see B-Rad. Once I get to Jackson, I'm far enough north that I might as well go into Canada, right? So once I'm done doing whatever it is one does in Canada(which for me mostly consists of wandering aimlessly people/building watching) then I'll drive SOUTH to Watertown. Makes sense, right?

View Larger Map

D-Day

2009-06-06T21:00:00.002-07:00

My last post focused on Shane McConkey, who is one of my heroes. I would be remiss if I didn't recognize the veterans who were recognized today, the anniversary of D-Day, for the sacrifices they made 65 years ago. I recognize and respect the sacrifices that they make to allow me to live the life I choose to lead as much as I respect what Doug Coombs, Shane McConkey and others have given in showing me what living can be like. I firmly believe that living free is only worthwhile if you LIVE. I don't always live up to it- but I make the effort and I'm trying to be better. I don't generally like the soul bearing types of posts, and with this post I'm really trying to say- go and do and experience and make the sacrifices that those veterans 65 years ago worthwhile. I know it's a little separated: Big mountain skiing and D-Day veterans, but as we all know- my mind makes some crazy connections so you should just run with it.

Back in the Habit, k?

2009-06-06T19:27:00.004-07:00

So for some reason I've been watching a lot of movies about skiing, such as Out Cold (which is good even though it's about snowboarding), Shred (which is awful), and I don't remember what else. But I think it all started when I found out that Shane McConkey had passed in a Ski BASE jumping accident. While some people might think- 'serves him right, jumping off cliffs, throwing caution to the wind' (A British person is saying that in my mind). I have a lot of respect for him. He died doing something he loved doing. I'd much rather go jumping off a cliff than getting hit by a bus on the way to work. I watched Push again last night and the McConkey section ends with him talking about the six season ending injuries in the last ten years and that he'd be willing to suffer six more in the next ten years. 'There's nothing better than sliding down snow and flying through the air'. At the funeral, "the kids all had a look on their face like Superman had just died." And that's the way I feel. Superman died. Rest in Peace, Superman- I'll remember you and your example of living life.

Look at this with them lookin' balls!

2009-01-27T20:43:00.002-07:00

This thing is cool!

I like the idea of blogs

2009-01-23T14:18:00.002-07:00

I like the idea of blogs. It's just that my interweb capabilities right now are suffering. As in, I hate the interweb and I definitely hate the interweb in East Alabama. But I do like Be Kind Rewind. Also, Burn Notice. That's a tv show. In case you're wondering why this post is the worst post in the history of ever- this post's sole purpose in existence is to proclaim that, despite the horrible trial that it is to use the interweb here in east 'Bama, I am still here and will post more things here in the near futures.

The Worst Thing Ever

2008-10-28T18:22:00.006-07:00

Turns out when you have to sit in an empty building overnight with a computer and one sleeping person- you get real bored. And then you google 'the worst thing ever'. This is the first image that comes up. I don't know why it's the worst thing ever, or what it exactly is- other than that it has the shape of a teddybear. Upon closer inspection it appears to be made out of insulation. Just like the creepy rooms in the attic full of insulation, discarded whiteboards and broken flourescent light bulbs.

Next installment will address what I mean when asked "How's Army?" and I reply- 'Well it's Army...' Also, hopefully will link to my new blog 'Things I've learned in Army'. Maybe we'll get it off the ground or something.

On Furniture

2008-10-19T20:16:00.002-07:00

Yeah, so I don't like furniture. I mean- don't get me wrong, I like using furniture. I just don't like the idea of owning furniture. It's so... adult. It reeks of the establishment and the Man. I can't stand it. And yet it's so comfortable to have furniture. For that matter, a place to keep the furniture and use it. In other words, a house. I can't even fathom owning a house. It seems so responsible. You might say- aren't you an infantry lieutenant who will soon be responsible for 40 men and millions of dollars in equipment, not to mention responsible for guarding our national interests? What's owning a table that's worth 200 dollars really matter? On the surface there's no question that being responsible for other people's lives is infinitely more than owning some amount of property. It's not that I fear responsibility. It's the implications of owning furniture. Of settling down and playing nice and buying into the American Dream. Buying a table that you intend to keep, or owning the bed I'm laying down on is merely the first step in the path towards hell. I mean towards selling out.

I can't decide if it's better to be a sell out or to be an idealist who is unattached from reality. Ultimately this sort of internal conversation about the merits of selling out probably has very little meaning for most of you. I relished being homeless last year. Not that the experience itself was all that fun. It's really not all that fun. This is mostly attributed to the lack of planning or preparation on my part. It's not the experience's fault that I didn't choose a 24 hour storage unit. I digress. The point here is to, assess the merits of selling out versus not selling out. And is it really selling out? I probably could just bring the table with me to my next PCS and then throw it away and buy a new one. By throw it away I mean give it away(obviously). That's the solution, I think. Buy all new furniture every time you move. Ultimately my goal is to move into a rv of some sort. At this point in this discussion, I need to open the floor to discussion because I'm rambling and digressing further and further from the point of departure. The central tenet is that I believe that furniture is a step on the path towards selling out. Anything else in this post is subject to change. Also- sorry that it's so wordy. I'm trying to put more pictures in now that I have a new computer. Ok, then.

Looking at pictures

2008-08-17T18:43:00.003-07:00

I can't decide what to think about looking at pictures of my former life as a ski bum or pictures of other people doing the same. It makes me ask questions like 'Why am I in Georgia? It makes your sweat smell like urine slash there's a lot more of it to go around, you can't see any mountains, and it's not Utah. Or British Columbia. Or Alaska. Or any number of places which I would choose to spend my time. So yeah. Sorry if the sweat comment was too much information, I just really don't understand it. If anyone knows of a solution- don't be afraid to share. At any rate, I've spent a good part of the weekend 1)trying to figure out how to salvage together some method of putting pictures on the interweb so that all of my fans back home can see what my new life here in Georgia looks like. 2) Looking at all my fans' pictures to see what their life looks like in wherever it is that they are. Since I love lists(they're so easy to read and aesthetically pleasing), here's a list of things that have changed in my life:

Whereas my hair used to feel too long when it was... 4 inches long? it now feels too long when it's 3/8 of an inch long.
Whereas I used to lament having to wake up before noon, now if I get to sleep past 6 it's a good day
Whereas I used to spend most of my waking hours angsting over what such and such a girl thought about me, now I don't meet girls. At all. I've become celibate and didn't even realize it. At least when I went on a mission I knew it was coming
Whereas I used to avoid wearing shoes at all costs, I now wear 8 inch high boots all day long, everyday. It's killing me.
Whereas I used to pour over the latest Patagonia catalog, now I browse the US Cav store, Commando's and Ranjer Joe's for the latest tactical gear and camouflage, and satellite telephone antennas.
Whereas I used to lament the a)pathetic driving abilities of Utah drivers and b)the horrible traffic patterns in Provo; now I wish I could a)drive a car and b)deal with the horrible traffic patterns in Provo.

Now, I don't want you to get the impression that I hate my life and yada yada. I just wish I was in Utah doing whatever I want to do whenever I want to do it. I liked that. I like being here, too. Ultimately, I like being here more when I don't look at pictures or think about being home with the people I love and doing the things I love. Nevertheless, those experiences make me who I am, and I don't dare to forget them. I'm rambling. And this is basically a continuation of my last post. Don't think this is a rant about how my life sucks and woe is me. On the contrary. It's merely a commentary on pictures and memories and their effect on me. On the one side, it depresses me that I'm not there still and that I'm a freaking 'adult' doing 'adult' things and attempting to live my crazy beliefs that even I don't understand 100% of the time. Simultaneously, it makes me happy to remember all the good times I've had with friends and family and I wouldn't trade them for the world. Moral of the story- thanks for all the aforementioned good times and hopefully we'll be able to make some more memories here before too much time goes by and we turn into old people.

Pictures coming soon- I found the charging cable for my camera tonight after I threatened it with purchasing a replacement.

So I guess I'm in Army

2008-08-15T19:40:00.003-07:00

The problem with doing things because you believe in them and not because they're what you want to do is that you don't really want to do them. While that might seem to be an obvious statement- it took me some thought to really come to grips with it. Ultimately- I believe that anyone can like anything- not necessarily anything but among those things which people enjoy. So while I make fun of people who... well, pretty much anyone who isn't my friend. I can nevertheless understand how extenuating circumstances could influence you to subscribe to... buck hunter or something like that. It just takes a little more work for certain people to like some things whereas other things come naturally. These things come naturally to me:

Musick of the Ugly People variety, see also 'indie'
Skiing
Mountain Biking
Dogs
Climbing
Camping in the summertime
Movies, see also 'Cristopher Nolan'
Girls
Chacos
Mohawks
Utah
Electronic musick
iPods, see also 'greatest invention of modern times
Good books, see also 'easy to read not necessarily good'
sleeping
Concerts
Backpacking ON TRAILS and IN THE MOUNTAINS

Not so easy for me to like are the following:

Army life
Georgia
Camping in the winter
Waking up early in the morning to backpack 2.5 miles one way and turn around and backpack back to where you started. On the road.
Killing
Country musick
Running
Anything involving Realtree
UFC
Marching around and singing songs

I'm not sure where I was going with this list thing. I just like making lists. What I'm really trying to get at is that there is a set of things which are both easy for me to like and I also feel are acceptable- I don't make fun of people who like those things. Whereas there are other things that I like that I honestly make fun of other people for liking. Moral of the story is, I suppose, that Georgia is not Utah. By any stretch of the imagination. Further, Fort Benning is unique. Army is unique. And while I hope that my core(which I wouldn't make fun of) stays pure and true you can't avoid changing and adapting to your surroundings. It is inevitable. I am a different person than I was in April when I left my friends and family to live my beliefs. I haven't figured out what all this pursuit will require of me. At the very least, 3 years. I haven't yet determined whether my beliefs support turning this into a career or not. If I had my druthers, I'd be done and back to skiing, and biking all the time in three years. But, if I had my druthers, I'd be back in Utah now. So. Yeah. Sorry that this is so rambly and wierd, I just felt like I should write something about the philosophical dilemmas slash self introspection I've been experiencing. So anyways. Hopefully I'll post more. I just hate my computer situation right now and that means that I don't like sitting in front of it. So anyways. Hope this isn't too wordy. No pictures of Army due to the aforementioned computer situation.

Readers

2008-02-03T04:12:00.000-07:00

I posted last night and it occurred to me that I might not have any readers left after my long absence(not that I really had that much of a readership before). Then it occurred to me that I could write a post asking for comments to let me know if you want to read about my thoughts about things. Sometimes I think that I've got an original outlook on life that should be shared with the general public. This appears to be one of those times. If you agree with me then post something. Doesn't even have to be more than a word. Just something to let me know that you appreciate reading my words. If anyone is wondering what I'm listening to, I'm in the process of downloading We, The Numbers by Maritime. I'm pretty excited about it to be honest.

Changes

2008-02-01T03:03:00.000-07:00

I'm lying in an actual bed. It's the first time that I can say that in six months. The last time I was in an actual bed was August 15. I've lasted six months without a home. Granted, my survival is largely due to my friends' generous hospitality in allowing me to stay at their homes. Mostly just one set of friends. Having finally found a place to stay, I couldn't be happier. I just determined that I'm related to one of my roommates(very distantly related, mind you).
So I was going to ramble on about the 'homeless experiment'. But I won't. Nobody really wants to read about me angsting over values and ideals. So I won't put you through it. There's no point. What I will say is that- plans are never certain. Two weeks ago, I thought that everything was going alright. I had a steady job, some sort of quasi-girlfriend, a plan for the next five years, and Gordon was still prophet. Now, I'm not homeless anymore, I've got a job that doesn't pay me everyday and ends the middle of April, I'm quite single again, and my plan is increasingly less attractive. As much as you might think that you have things figured out, you don't. It's how we deal with that uncertainty that defines us. OR something like that, I suppose.

Tim Hortons

2007-03-07T21:24:00.000-07:00

Tim Hortons franchise stores are plentiful in Canadian cities and towns. The chain has expanded aggressively across most regions of Canada. As of January 2007, there were 2,710 outlets in Canada, 336 outlets in the United States and one outlet just outside Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Wikipedia

Afghanistan? Whose idea was that?

Robot serves tea just the way Japanese like it - CNN.com

2007-03-05T15:03:00.000-07:00

'A human being may be faster, but you'd have to say 'Thank you,'' said University of Tokyo professor Tomomasa Sato. 'That's the best part about a robot. You don't have to feel bad about asking it to do things.'"CNN.com

Wow. At first I thought that this was ridiculous, but then I remembered that I'm much more willing to do things online, rather than deal with people. I tell myself that it's because my schedule is so off-kilter with the rest of society's- but is that a good excuse? I do like going to local shops to do my shopping- but so frequently I know more about what they sell than the salespeople do that it's an eercise in futility. Anyways... Something to think about I suppose.

My Comments to the Office of IT regarding Youtube

2007-01-25T13:17:00.000-07:00

Youtube is a responsible provider of video content which censors itself and attempts to ensure that inappropriate material is excluded from circulation on its website. Further, there is a significant amount of academically relevant video contained on Youtube's servers, such as political debates, speeches, clips from films which are significant in the cultural development of modern society, etc. It is for these reasons that I find the block on Youtube an egregious offense and request that it be lifted.

The Phrase that Pays

2007-01-13T21:23:00.000-07:00

1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. Press forward for each question.
3. Use the song title as the answer to the question.

What does next year have in store for me?
Different Names for the Same Thing- Death Cab for Cutie

What does your love life look like?
Roots Radicals- Rancid

What do I say when life gets hard?
A Certain Shade of Green- Incubus

What do I think of when I get up in the morning?
Jungle Love- Steve Miller Band

What song will I dance to at my wedding?
In the Waiting Line- Zero 7

What do you want as a career?
Kissing the Lipless- The Shins

Your favorite saying?
Anything You Want- Spoon

Favorite place?
Do You Remember- Jack Johnson

What do you think of your parents?
Doubting Thomas- Nickel Creek

Where would you go on a first date?
3685- The Spill Canvas

Drug of choice?
Sincerely, Me- Better than Ezra

Describe yourself.
Stay Lonely- In Transition

What is the thing I like doing most?
Pictures of Success- Rilo Kiley

The song that best describes the president?
London Calling- The Clash

What is my state of mind like at the moment?
Lonely for Her- Jack's Mannequin

How will I die?
The Infinite Pet- Spoon

The song that will be played at your funeral?
Grazed Knees- Snow Patrol

The song you'll put as the subject?
- The Academy Is...

Wasting Time

2006-12-09T20:22:00.000-07:00

I have the wonderful ability to waste, five minutes or more at a go, time. I do this in the most marvelous ways possible:

Staring at the buttons on my keyboard and wondering what they do.

Reading the posters on the walls of the LRC.

Looking at the windows and wondering if they close the blinds during the day or just at night.

Looking at the cubbyholes with TVs and thinking of the many different possible uses for them- none of which make any sense.

Texting people one word messages.

Staring at my wallet and contemplating how long the leather is going to last.

Writing this list.

Marvelling over the awesomeness of the LRC headphones and their ability to ensconse me in a delightful techno music bubble.

Wondering why the ventilation system in the LRC is so inadequate and coming up with possible solutions. This line of reasoning inevitably led to the question: Why isn't there a fan in my room for when I sleep. I love fans. They are pretty much amazing.

Calling the cable company because our cable is out.

Visiting the wee hole.

That is all for now.

Contraceptives

2006-12-01T00:22:00.000-07:00

What if the pro-life forces, instead of focusing so much resources on making abortions illegal, put their considerable might behind attempts to make contraceptives more effective and more available and educating more people about their uses? I know that they would say that that is encouraging fornication, but really- wouldn't it be a better use of their resources? Wouldn't it decrease the number of abortions?

I just don't know how to respond

2006-11-27T13:32:00.000-07:00

A homeowners' association in southwestern Colorado has threatened to fine a resident $25 a day until she removes a Christmas wreath with a peace sign that some say is an anti-Iraq war protest or a symbol of Satan.

Some residents who have complained have children serving in Iraq, said Bob Kearns, president of the Loma Linda Homeowners Association in Pagosa Springs.

He said some residents believed the wreath was a symbol of Satan. Three or four residents complained, he said.
-CNN.com

It's a peace sign... It's in Christmas carols. And I would think that if your child was in Iraq, you would want peace. I know that I would want peace if my children were off fighting.

Insulation

2006-11-24T17:24:00.000-07:00

So, I'm sitting here, contemplative, at the end of an entirely unproductive day sacrificed to productivity, watching Cinderella Man and supposedly writing a paper on my computer. And in this movie- the most they have to insulate them from the real world is the radio. As I have two layers of insulation between me and the real world, I ask myself- is my life any better for the insulation or should I abandon it all and go for a much simpler life? I struggle to comprehend the intricacies of the improvement but I think that my life is indeed better. Any thoughts?

Death From Above 1979 and Asstd. Things.

2006-11-17T01:36:00.000-07:00

How amazing is this band? Sometimes I really wonder about my taste in music(this is one of those times). But seriously. I can't get over how much I love this band. I dont' even have any of their albums or anything- I rely on Pandora. But soon- I hope to make a visit to Gray Whale and buy one of their precious albums. Gray Whale is another one of my favorite things. Here's a list of some of those favorite things:

Graywhale

Decade

Push

Snow

Stranger than Fiction

The Prestige

Climbing

Yoga

Tape Bracelets

Beulah- She's my car

Winter Fun Fest 2007- Are you ready?

My hair

The cords I got from Billy that were once his uncle's.

Yeah. How 'bout them apples? That's what's up. This is a note for all of your viewing/reading pleasure.

To the Democrats:

2006-11-08T00:58:00.000-07:00

Please, don't mess up. Please don't betray my trust. It's been a long twelve years. Please make it even longer for the Republicans. I can't express the relief that comes with this election. A load has been lifted from my shoulders, only to be replaced with this sense of impending doom. So please don't mess up. We're counting on you.

_blank is the color of my feelIng.

2006-11-03T02:49:00.000-07:00

There are not two sides
See things from many places
Then you will see one

That wasn't supposed to start as a haIku. I was just writIng things down. My mind is restless - but my homework is stIll not done. I can't stand politIcal theorists whose thought processes aren't as developed as much as mine. Not to sound pretentious- that statement was quIte the opposite. MIne are not developed. They are infantIle and stuck in the selfish thoughts of adolescence. Which is why it is so painful for me to read the article I'm readIng right now.

My Friend

2006-10-26T15:40:00.000-07:00

I was attempting to find out if Billy Turbo has a Myspace presence. Since I'm on campus, I can't search in Myspace. So I thought I'd check on the band members' facebook profiles to see if they had a link to their Myspace profile. No such luck- BUT! I decided after I searched for one of them on facebook that it would be cool to search for my own name and see if anything turned up. Apparently- there is another person with my same name who goes to Bowling Green. So I sent him a message that says 'hey, we have the same name, that is neat'. Then I added him as a friend. We'll see if he wants to be friends.

V8= Funk

2006-10-13T08:24:00.000-07:00

So basically, I thought that this juice would be a good addition to my breakfast repertoire. But that impression only lasted as long as the juice stayed in the bottle. Once it came out- it was all downhill from there. It's not that bad going down, but then once it's down, it tastes like funk. I am still deciding what kind of funk exactly it is, but no luck just yet. I think that maybe it's feet funk. Not entirely sure- but the point of this is- stay away from this vile substance.

Tiger Wrestling

2006-10-01T21:08:00.000-07:00

"The year 1969 produced a bumper crop of stunts for Homecoming, including a wrestling tiger and ostrich races."

If there were events like that... I'd be at all the Homecoming events. True Story. I mean seriously, it's a tiger and some guy's wrestling it. I feel incredibly dumb having just wrote the same thing a second time in the hope that it would be more descriptive, but really- what more can you say about a tiger wrestling match in Brigham Square? It's a tiger wrestling match. Wow.

Republicans At It Again

2006-09-29T15:08:00.000-07:00

Six-term Republican Rep. Mark Foley of Florida resigned from the U.S. Congress on Friday following reports he sent sexually inappropriate e-mails to underage congressional interns.
Foley, chairman of the House caucus on missing and exploited children, said he would resign immediately after ABC News reported he sent messages to current and former congressional pages with repeated references to sexual organs and acts.
Foley was the author of the key sexual predator provisions of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, which Bush signed in July
-Reuters.com

This is what I don't like about the Republican Party. They pretend to be all moral and represent Christian values in the political arena, and then their elected officials come out with this sort of stuff all the time.

Full of...

2006-09-28T15:57:00.000-07:00

It was intended to showcase U.S. rebuilding efforts in Iraq, but instead Baghdad's new police academy was declared a health hazard by U.S. inspectors who found human waste dripping from the ceilings.

...Inspectors looked at 14 other projects Parsons was involved with in Iraq and found that 13 of those also did not meet standards. The only one that did was stopped because of cost over-runs.

-Reuters.com

The Bush administration bears certain resemblances to this building...

The DNC

2006-09-25T22:06:00.000-07:00

Republicans have won two elections since 9/11 by instilling fear in people, and they're trying to do it again this year.

But it's not going to work. The Bush policies have failed. Iraq is sliding into civil war. Iran and North Korea are more dangerous than they were five and a half years ago. And the Taliban resurgence poses new threats in Afghanistan.

As President Clinton said on Fox News that we have a government "that thinks Afghanistan is only one-seventh as important as Iraq."

People have had enough. This administration cannot be trusted with our security.

Democrats are going to reclaim American leadership with a tough, smart plan to transform failed policies in Iraq, the Middle East and around the world.

We will increase the size of Special Forces to destroy Osama Bin Laden and terrorist networks like al Qaeda. We will implement the bipartisan 9/11 Commission proposal to secure America's borders and ports and screen every container. And we will fully man, train, and equip our National Guard and our police, firefighters and other first responders.
-DNC

This would be why I support the Democratic Party. And you should too.

Phraseology

2006-08-30T15:14:00.000-07:00

So- I keep catching people using my phrases. Aka- Things I Say All The Time. Things such as 'true story', 'slash','somethingsomething', etc. The thing is- I can't remember if I started saying them on my own or because somebody else did. So a lot of the time I think that I'm infecting the Provo population with my awesome phraseology, when in reality we all might be infected by someone else. So yeah.

World BiCycle Relief

2006-08-23T13:14:00.000-07:00

So. Yeah. I'm all about riding bikes around the place. Like, today I rode my bike from home to work. That used to be a rather ridiculously short distance but now it's like... a twenty minute bike ride. So I'm pretty proud of myself. Granted- I got to work like... almost two hours late, but that's nothing new. So Yeah. There's that. Now I'm tired.

Googled My Name.

2006-06-20T21:21:00.000-07:00

And here's what I found:

A link from an old friend to a picture I put up of my old house.
Apparently I was arrested for substance abuse and 'frequenting a place where controlled substances are..." in Oregon...
And then I am the warden of the Idaho Corrrectional Facility
I'm also an alumni of Jacksonville State University where I am the costume shop manager
I also own a Skate shop in Canada.
I'm also a Farmer involved in a class action lawsuit about genetically altered crops in Missouri.
I'm also a blues musician .

That's about all the me's I have time to google. Crazy. I thought I had a unique name but apparently I'm not quite as unique as I might have thought. Woe is me.

Bad News Bears

2006-05-12T21:28:00.000-07:00

Yeah- this movie is not really worth watching. It's just sad. Not sad in the Mystic River sense but just sad in the 'People Suck' category. Like it's hard to watch because the people in it are such pricks. Yeah. True story. I'm pretty sure that I don't understand how I'm still here at the end of this movie. Such pricks that the coach just hit his son.

Mr. T

2006-05-09T20:58:00.000-07:00

Mr. T's Fashion Show

My friend sent this to me and then later on that day, I saw Mr. T wearing a suit in a commercial on TV. Wierd man, wierd.

Pictures from the Cross Country Trip type thing.

2006-05-05T14:49:00.000-07:00

I look really mean in this picture. But I'm not mean. I swear.

This is a dog. Formerly belonging to my roommates and I. Now belonging to my roommate's family.

Still the same dog. Looking like a dog. True story.

Music and Movies that are out there and stuff.

2006-04-27T02:27:00.000-07:00

The John Butler Trio
Oh, Australia. Thank you for producing this wonderful music. It is a delight and wonderfully treat-like. As in I love it. Cause it is just amazing, basically.

Yeah- I laughed a lot. Don't know if everybody else thought it was funny. I heard a lot of pity laughs in the theater. Being as how I saw it in Provo, not too terribly surprised to see that.

Man dies when large hole opens in home

2006-04-24T10:23:00.000-07:00

The victim was awake and on the ground floor about 9:30 p.m. Friday when the concrete foundation near the kitchen gave way, sending him plunging into to the ground, Erwin said. -CNN.com
Something out of a bad B-movie. Must be a government conspiracy.

Aversive Racism Rears Its Ugly Head

2006-04-20T12:06:00.000-07:00

White people - especially intelligent and educated white people - calmly describing their fellow American citizens as niggers is too often portrayed as a thing of the past. Or of ignorant red necks. That all ended in the 1960s, the official version goes. Martin Luther King and JFK put a stop to it. The truth is far different. Things have changed hugely since the 1960s but that period of time is not yet history.

For the really scary thing about Lizzie talking about 'niggers' was not that she had those opinions. It was that she clearly was unaware voicing them would be shocking. It was a useful reminder of how close some 'history' really is. There are people alive today who have been involved in lynching black Americans or those working for their civil rights.

-The Guardian

Good to see someone recognizing it. The British view is interesting and a little different than mine. But it brings up a good point. Racism has changed since the civil rights movement of the 1960s but it is still there. We cannot claim that we are not racist- if we do that we are misleading ourselves. The best we can do is claim that we are trying to not be racist. Indeed.

Marrying Chacos

2006-04-17T23:24:00.000-07:00

From the FAQ section of the Chaco website:

"I am getting married and love my Chaco Sandals. Do you make white sandals?
We do make white webbed wedding sandals by special order. The price is $125 plus $7 shipping and handling. You will need to supply white, tubular, � inch, nylon or polyester webbing. It takes 3 yards of webbing to make a pair. Check at fabric stores, climbing shops and outdoor supply stores. We can also make other custom sandals with webbing you provide or with our webbing.
-Wedding Chacos

CNN.com - Decorated conscientious objector buried with honors - Apr 4, 2006

2006-04-04T16:46:00.000-07:00

Medal of Honor Society records show he(Desmond T. Doss Sr.) was among 3,442 recipients of the nation's highest military honor.
While under fire on the island of Okinawa, Doss carried 75 wounded soldiers to the edge of a 400-foot cliff and lowered them to safety, according to his citation.
During a later attack, he was seriously wounded in the legs by a grenade. According to the citation, as he was being carried to safety, he saw a more critically injured man and crawled off his stretcher, directing the medics to help the other man.
'He wanted to serve. He just didn't want to kill anybody,' said a veteran who attended the service, Fred Headrick, 85. 'Most all of [Medal of Honor recipients] received their medal for killing someone. He received his by saving lives.'
-CNN.com

Survey Deal Bop

2006-03-30T17:34:00.000-07:00

I skifed this from Hannah- I'm all about reading into the music that I'm listening to. So there's that.

Instructions: Put your mp3 player or iTunes on shuffle mode. Ask yourself the question in bold. The song that pops up is the answer. Give it a try.

How does the world see me?
"Hard to Expain" the Strokes. Well I like to think that I'm complex, so that's a good answer

Will I have a happy life?
"I Am" Moving Units. Debatable- but maybe I'm just not realizing that I am.

What do my friends really think of me?
"Different but the Same" Ben Kweller. I'm different than everybody but still substantially normal?

What do strangers I meet think of me?
"Perfect Disguise" Modest Mouse. If they only knew what it was hiding...

How can I be happy?
"Gigantic" Pixies. I got this off of a snowboarding movie, so maybe I'm supposed to be at Snowbird? Or maybe I just need to be gigantic although I'm not sure how that happens.

What should I do with my life?
"Wonder" Natalie Merchant. Be a philosopher? My brain hurts just reading that.

Will I ever have children?
"Miss Delaney" Jack's Mannequin. 'It's biblical how f&*%ed my sleep can be
But she won't sleep with me'. So I'm guessing that's a 'not so much'?

What is some good advice for me?
"Goodbye My Lover" James Blunt.

'It may be over but it won't stop there,
I am here for you if you'd only care.
You touched my heart you touched my soul.
You changed my life and all my goals.

There's a couple ways I could take this.

How will I be remembered?
"Everything Will Be Alright" The Killers. In spite of the fact that I mess everything up?

What is my signature dancing song?
"The Love Below(Intro)" Outkast. Not actually a song... Just like I don't actually dance.

What do I think my current theme song is?
"When You're Around" Motion City Soundtrack. More like 'I can't f*&%ing stand it when you're NOT around'. But they didn't ask me.

What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
"I'm Really Hot" Missy Elliot. Well I am hot, so that makes sense.

What song will play at my funeral?
"One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces" by Ben Folds Five. Apparently they will get confused and bury a dwarf in my place. He'll be mad, but he could have a worse fate. At least there will be a lot of sad people at my funeral. It'd be sad to have a funeral like unto Scrooge's.

What type of women do I like?
"Back to Me" Nine Days. Yeah. Come back to me.

What is my day going to be like?
"Nebula" Incubus. Cloudy?

The President

2006-03-23T22:56:00.000-07:00

I was wondering about stuff today. And it occurred to me that the president should tell the families of the soldiers killed personally of their loss. It shouldn't be that hard- there aren't that many. Maybe he does already, but if he doesn't- then he should. It's his decision that sent them in harm's way. It would mean a lot to me and I think it would mean a lot to a lot of people. It would show that he really does take the war seriously. Anyways- that's what I think. So there.

The News-Review - Frontpage

2006-03-16T12:25:00.000-07:00

A Dutch multicultural group is organizing a soccer tournament between gays and Muslims, hoping to counter what a study published on Thursday said was a rising tide of fear among gays.

Muslim-gay tension is the theme of the soccer tournament organized by the Institute of Multicultural Development, to be held next week.

An organizer of the group, Suzanne Ijsselmuiden, said she hoped the competition will 'help ease these tensions so that people can openly talk about homosexuality.'
-The News-Review - Frontpage

India, Police Said

2006-03-07T09:30:00.000-07:00

Those police. They're dang clever- they even know which country the story took place in. Good thing we've got them.

CNN.com - Text messaging�boom leads to digit damage - Feb 22, 2006

2006-02-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

Last March Scottish factory worker Craig Crosbie was crowned the world's fastest texter after he took just 48 seconds to type out the 160-character message: 'The razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human.'
-CNN.com

Wow. I love Texting but I hate Texting.

Bodies burned in open after Nigeria riots kill 138

2006-02-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

Christian youths burned the corpses of Muslims on Thursday on the streets of Onitsha in southeastern Nigeria, the city worst hit by religious riots that have killed at least 138 people across the country in five days.
Christian mobs, seeking revenge for the killings of Christians in the north, attacked Muslims with cutlasses, destroyed their houses and torched mosques in two days of violence in Onitsha, where at least 85 people have died.
'We are very happy that this thing is happening so that the north will learn their lesson,' said Anthony Umai, a motorcycle taxi rider, standing close to where Christian youths had piled up the corpses of 10 Muslims and were burning them.
-Reuters.com

Something Something what is the world coming to.... Something Something else Christians don't live the true principles given to them just as much as Moslems don't live those true principles given to them.

Historian Pleads Guilty in Holocaust Trial

2006-02-20T09:38:00.000-07:00

Irving, 67, has been in custody since his November arrest on charges stemming from two speeches he gave in Austria in 1989 in which he was accused of denying the Nazis' extermination of 6 million Jews. He has contended that most of those who died at concentration camps such as Auschwitz succumbed to diseases such as typhus rather than execution.
A verdict was expected later Monday, with a conviction almost certain because of Irving's guilty plea. He faces up to 10 years in prison under the 1992 law, which applies to 'whoever denies, grossly plays down, approves or tries to excuse the National Socialist genocide or other National Socialist crimes against humanity in a print publication, in broadcast or other media.'

Associated Press

I don't really know what to make of this. I mean- I think the guy's an idiot who got caught being an idiot but at the same time- that law is a blatant abridgement of freedom of speech. However, it being a blatant abridgement, its existence flies in the face of those who are defending the publication of the blasphemous cartoons(which I haven't seen). I don't know. Does anyone have some insight for my troubled mind?

Rice Is Seeking Millions to Prod Changes in Iran

2006-02-16T08:32:00.000-07:00

The scope of the administration's effort goes beyond the numbers. Until now, the United States has been cautious about supporting dissident groups, fearful that Iranians may view these efforts as an echo of past American meddling in Iran's affairs. Though no one uses the words "regime change" to describe the ultimate American goal, that term has been used by conservatives in Congress who have in the last few years pressed for aid to Iranian dissidents.
-New York Times

Well yeah- we're dumping 85 Million dollars into dissident groups and then we expect them to forget our overthrowing their government? How does that one work?

Salt Lake

2006-02-16T01:28:00.000-07:00

Here's a magazine article that I've been meaning to scan since....August? Yeah. So here it is. By the way- on the day I bought said magazine, I was mountainbiking the trail in the picture. Because I'm just that cool.

CNN.com - Kiss of life makes Boo Boo the chicken better - Feb 8, 2006

2006-02-08T14:37:00.000-07:00

"Marian Morris said she hadn't had any practice with CPR in years, but she was interested to see if she 'still had it.'
'I breathed into its beak, and its dadgum eyes popped open,' Morris said. 'I breathed into its beak again, and its eyes popped open again. I said, 'I think this chicken's alive now. Keep it warm.'

CNN.com

Wow. An almost lifeless chicken and the word 'dadgum' all in one article.

CNN.com - Kiss of life makes Boo Boo the chicken better - Feb 8, 2006

2006-02-08T14:36:00.000-07:00

"Marian Morris said she hadn't had any practice with CPR in years, but she was interested to see if she 'still had it.'
'I breathed into its beak, and its dadgum eyes popped open,' Morris said. 'I breathed into its beak again, and its eyes popped open again. I said, 'I think this chicken's alive now. Keep it warm.'
CNN.com

Wow. An almost lifeless chicken and the word 'dadgum' all in one article.

CNN.com - Mine deaths spur call for 'stand-down' - Feb 1, 2006

2006-02-01T19:16:00.000-07:00

Two miners died at two Boone County, West Virginia, mines Wednesday, including one man who was driving a bulldozer that struck a gas line and burst into flames, a federal spokesman said.
The bulldozer fatality occurred about 2:30 p.m. south of Charleston at the Elk Run's Black Castle strip mine in Drawdy, said Dirk Fillpot of the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration.
CNN.com

In the Tipping Point- by Malcolm Gladwell, the author discusses the tendency of suicides to come in packs- epidemic style. You see the same tendencies in auto accidents. Single car accidents come in packs. Interesting- and wierd.

BBC's Jesus sings Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now

2006-01-26T10:02:00.000-07:00

The BBC plans to mark the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ this Easter with an hour-long live procession through the streets of Manchester featuring pop stars from The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays and featuring songs by The Smiths and New Order.
The climax of the event sees Jesus sing the Smiths classic song Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now as he is being flayed by Roman soldiers. He will then come face-to-face with his Roman prosecutor Pontius Pilate with the two of them singing a duet of the Oasis hit Wonderwall and its chorus:

"I said maybe
You're gonna be the one who saves me?
And after all
You're my wonderwall."

The broadcaster, which plans to show the event live on BBC3 on Good Friday, insisted the event was inspired by "the way Bach and other composers fused music and the Passion story".

-MediaGuardian.co.uk

An Application of the Smiths that, well- never really occurred to me. Or anyone else on this side of the pond.

The Best Movie In The History of Ever

2006-01-22T00:47:00.000-07:00

New York Doll is quite possibly the best movie ever made. As in- you should all go see it. It was just a wonderful piece of filmmaking. The sort of film that just speaks to you on a level that you can't even explain. I just sat there during the last scene in this euphoric state of bliss. I'm still in it. I just can't get over it. Call me wierd- but I loved this movie.

Library of Congress Photo Collection

2005-12-13T17:01:00.000-07:00

So I happened upon this collection of color photos from the depression. They're entrancing. Honestly. There's so much detail that I'm not used to seeing in old photographs. And the color just brings life to the era. In the same way that black and white photos bring out details of the world today that you don't typically notice, color pictures of the past bring out details I never knew about.

fifth floor of the Lib

2005-12-05T16:55:00.000-07:00

Why are all my t-shirts apparently made for short fat people with thick necks? And all of my undershirts for taller people with skinnier necks? SO frustrating. Honestly- I think I need tailored shirts or maybe I should just wear them once and buy new shirts like every week and give the old ones to charity or something. It's seriously so annoying. But oh well. I'm writing this paper thing and it's not getting much longer so I really should get back to that. Seriously.

CNN.com - U.S. given 'more F's than A's' on terror preparation - Dec 5, 2005

2005-12-05T12:30:00.000-07:00

Specifically, the panel gave the government an 'F' on homeland security spending for cities most at risk, on improving radio communication for emergency agencies and on airline passenger prescreening. They awarded only one A -- actually an A-minus -- for the administration's efforts to curb terrorist financing.
-CNN.com

While I wouldn't want to be the one who said 'Yeah, our homeland security efforts are great' and then have to eat my words when something blows up and lots of people die- there is a lot of evidence that our efforts really aren't up to par. The response to Katrina was evidence of that. Here's a National Planning Scenario drafted in 2004 which outlines the exact problems which would be faced in the aftermath to Katrina. And yet we didn't do much to offset the results of these problems. A lot has been done and I recognize that the administration has taken the initiative to get it done but there is still more to be done and their partisan attitude isn't helping get it done.

Things from today. Today being the Second of December

2005-12-02T15:39:00.000-07:00

"In the next two weeks, we will publish the National Preparedness Guidance. The Guidance will include detailed instructions on how communities can use the Goal and a description of how the Goal will generally be used in the future to allocate Federal preparedness assistance."- From a DHS document

My new favorite word: Prophylaxis. What an awesome combination of crazy letters. What does it mean? Prevention of or protective treatment for disease. -Dictionary.com