Patricio's Blog

Minecraft seed: PatricioINTP

2011-02-24T09:08:00.010-06:00

Normally when I play Minecraft I like mostly flat lands with a few bunches of trees and a mountain here and there. Not these epic and weird looking mountains I often see posted. Not long ago (as of posting this) 1.3 came out with the option to type in your own world seed for world generation. So I picked my usual Internet alias, PatricioINTP. And I got, literally, everything!

Below are pictures of what I have done so far. The first four is from my third base high up in the air. Often I play more to the explorer side, building bases near areas that look promising to mine, with a constant move forward except to build tall stacks of dirt, tree farms, and connect my bases with a wooden road.

This is the view towards the northwest, where I spawned and build my first base. Its location is approx (80.7, 79.6, -148.8) if you are using the PatricioINTP seed value.

To the northeast is desert. You can see a massive dune in the distance.

To the southeast is some snow! Seeing the hole there I am thinking of going there next when I am done with this third base of mine.

Southwest... meh.

This is a little south of my spawn point, showing that across the waters further west is mountainous terrain.

This is about where I spawned and built my first base. Its approx location: (-49.0, 66.6, -28.5)

I like to keep it simple.

A close up of my first tree farm just east of my base on the hill. I like to make a 3x4 grid of trees, 2 squares apart, with a border fence to grow and harvest wood.

A little north of my spawn point/base is a fairly good sized forest. It also seems my world have a lot of ponds slightly underground.

Heading to my second base. I did this after building it.

My second base, picked because this mountain had several openings into the same cave system. After making it, I opt to dig a tunnel west and up till I hit the surface, creating the connection a picture before this one.

The opening just north of my second base. I later exited from another near by hole. Its mazy but I didn't got far down. I may have missed a path or two. I rather have long, simple cave system than one that is small or spews in multiple directions.

My second tree farm. There was a area of flat land west of my second and third base and opt to create an extended tree farm because of it. Plus I really, really need the wood right now.

And finally, my third base plus, on the left, my next cave. It was a fairly good sized hole and twice spiders came out from it during the day wanting to suck my blood, only to get pacified by the sun. So I closed it in and locked it. I plan to explore this one, and when I exhaust or hate it, move to the northeast.

My Inception Theory

2010-07-18T16:27:00.003-05:00

IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN INCEPTION, DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER!

Notice! I am typing this up shortly after seeing Inception and have yet to read and spoilers or hear other people's theories.

LAST CHANCE TO TURN BACK!

… … …

Okay, from the last shot we know that he is still dreaming. I actually suspected this from an earlier scene, mentioned below, but also because his kids seem to not have grown any. Before I went into the theater, I had numerous theories about what the 'twist' is, knowing this is Christopher Nolan we are talking about here.

First, think back when Cobb was looking for a drug that will help them get into deeper levels of dreaming, and introduce the character that would be driving the white van. After that scene, he shows them a number of people who dream most of their day as they can't dream anymore and became, in my view, addicted. We see Cobb strap himself on and...

… we cut to the most important not-to-miss scene, me thinks. Cobb goes into a bathroom and tries his totem, only to be distracted by someone he thinks he sees in the window (his wife?), then Saito shows up. The totem, due to this distraction, falls to the floor. It is my theory that he is still dreaming.

Now it could be all we have seen hasn't happened. Or the only thing that this dream has done to him is to allow him to see his kids again without guilt. But another possibility is this was an entire Inception project for him. And if that is the case, that opens up a whole new can of dream worms. I kinda wondered why the new architect team member was so curious about Cobb's psychological state, down in the basement.

The only other idea that comes to mind is when Cobb tried to get Saito in Limbo, he didn't really woke up then. But I am sticking to the above.

EDIT: I will have to view this movie again, not just to confirm the above, but to see if there was an earlier point where Cobb could have went to sleep and stayed asleep.

EDIT 2: This is done after Cookie Roz comment. I have already seen it twice and now plan to wait for the DVD as it left me with quarter of my brain spewing out of my left ear and another quarter out of the right. The reason is because I was trying too hard. Anyway, STOP READING IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT AT LEAST ONCE!!!

... ... ...

Did you notice when Cobb had his ring and when he did not? For that reason, I doubt my theory now.

Presenting Obama's USSA Anthem

2008-11-05T21:49:00.002-06:00

To liberals and Democrats upset about this video: I voted this year, but not McCain. I just laughed so hard after seeing this I had to put it here in my dumping ground.

From Glenn Beck.

Killing Us Softly 3

2008-04-20T00:03:00.002-05:00

Puzzle Quest Notes

2007-10-27T14:15:00.000-05:00

For those who don't know this fantastic Puzzle/RPG hybrid, here is a couple links.

Main web site

Video Review

After playing both the PC and DS versions, I developed my own strategy for starting out with this game. Note I played the Knight all through the game with the DS, and now playing the Warrior on it and redoing the Knight on the PC version. The Druid and Wizard then is UNTESTED!

The idea is to pour all your leveling skill points into one skill while, at your citadel, buy just enough that (with the freebies you get while questing) you get 8 on all the rest and pour what you can through purchases into another. I created a spreedsheet working all of this out.

First of all, why 8? Each skill, which is associated with one of the puzzle pieces, increases what you get when you match three. But to get another +1 requires increasing amount of points. Level 0 in a skill gives you +3 when you match three, while 1 gives you +4, 8 gives you +5, 20 give you +6, and so forth. For that reason you should buy at your citadel just enough points, along with the free ones you get when questing, 8 in each skill except two (three for Druid and Mage). They are Morale and one (or two) which cost 1 point when you level. The latter, which I call leveling points, should go into one or two of these 1 cost skills, determined by your class. The one you buy from the citadel after getting enough for this value of 8 is Morale, unless you are a Knight. For Knights, Morale is the one you ought to buy with leveling points, and either Green or Yellow for citadel purchases. Here is a summary.

	Knight	Warrior	Druid	Wizard
Leveling Points	Morale	Red	Earth and Air	Fire and Air
Citadel Purchases	Green OR Yellow	Morale	Morale	Morale

If the Warrior would like to split his leveling points with Battle, I suggest bringing Battle up to 83 (+8 when you match 3) and the rest into Red. Do NOT split the Knight's leveling points in this way! Having a freaking high Morale, giving you an insane number of hit points along with spell resistance, is your ultimate goal. Don't lessen it! The reason I recommend for the Knight Green or Yellow is due to two weapons. The Holy Lance gives +1 damage for every 4 Yellow you have, while the Unholy Lance gives +1 damage for every 4 Green you have. Both cost 1800 and require 12 Morale. Get whatever comes first and then start investing in that mana skill.

As I mentioned before, you do get freebie points while questing. There are in order when they should occur:

+3 Morale for choosing Sirian Knightly Order (the rest have +2 bonus)
+2 Morale for Dwarven Heirloom
+4 Cunning for Reassembly
+4 Fire for Trial by Fire
+4 Battle for Trial of Blood
+2 Battle for Skullguard
+2 Water for Baneguard

Besides these you also get +5 Morale for building the statue in your citadel. So to get 8 in your lesser skills without 'wasting' your gold, you should subtract from 8 the bonuses above along with your starting skills. And yes, you will get a negative value for Morale (Battle too for the Warrior). Here is a summary then of what lesser skills for each class you should buy and how many points you need for each... if I did my math right!

Knight:

Earth: 8
Fire: 4
Air: 7
Water: 4
Cunning: 3

Warrior:

Earth: 7
Air: 8
Water: 6
Cunning: 2

Druid:

Fire: 3
Water: 4
Battle: 2
Cunning: 3

Wizard:

Earth: 7
Water: 6
Battle: 1
Cunning: 2

When you begin your game, choose the easy difficulty level with the -25% experience. On the very early stages, gold is more important; at the very late stages, experience till you get to level 50. Follow only the main quest till you finish Helping Hand, in which you help Darkhunter with a Sorcerer's minion. This should make the side quest Stolen Catapult available at Drakenburg. Run this mission at most three times before returning to your citadel. Hopefully by now you have enough gold for the Dungeon and Temple. On your forth run through Stolen Catapult, if you got the Dungeon you can capture it. Consider redoing this quest till you get 900 gold, enough to raise your two skills that start at level 0 by one point each. Around this time you should from from easy to normal difficulty setting. Finish Darkhunter's subplot till he joins you as a companion. From there, I recommend Bartonia's side quest Father and Son (for Erik's Bow) and Imperial Message in either order. The latter will eventually make The Marriage available at Enmouth, ending with Serephine joining you, along with a whopping 2000 gold.

When you get that finish, sweep up the remaining side quests you left behind then return to the main quest till you defeat Dugog and finish the quest Good Tidings. By then you should have brought perhaps some good equipment and a few skill points. I recommend at this point to get (if you haven't already) Forge, Siege Workshop, and Towers so you can capture cities while (with Towers) reduce the chance they will rebel. Although you don't have to, capturing cities allows you to access your citadel in other lands, reducing the need to travel a great distance to improve your skills. If you need more gold for this, go through Stolen Catapult again!

Tocqueville on Centralization

2007-09-29T13:56:00.000-05:00

This is a part of Volume 1, Chapter 5 of Tocqueville's Democracy in America, what some call the greatest book written ever on the USA. Everything in bold and italics is of my doing, and comments by me are in [blue brackets]. Tocqueville's own notes are in [red brackets].

*****

POLITICAL EFFECTS OF DECENTRALIZED THE UNITED STATES.

Necessary distinction between a centralized government and a centralized administration--Administration not centralized in the United States: great centralization of the government--Some bad consequences resulting to the United States from the extremely decentralized administration--Administrative advantages of this order of things--The power that administers is less regular, less enlightened, less learned, but much greater than in Europe--Political advantages of this order of things-- the United States the country makes itself felt everywhere--Support given to the government by the community--Provincial institutions more necessary in proportion as the social condition becomes more democratic--Reason for this.

"CENTRALIZATION" is a word in general and daily use, without any precise meaning being attached to it. Nevertheless, there exist two distinct kinds of centralization, which it is necessary to discriminate with accuracy.

Certain interests are common to all parts of a nation, such as the enactment of its general laws and the maintenance of its foreign relations. Other interests are peculiar to certain parts of the nation, such, for instance, as the business of the several townships. When the power that directs the former or general interests is concentrated in one place or in the same persons, it constitutes a centralized government. To concentrate in like manner in one place the direction of the latter or local interests, constitutes what may be termed a centralized administration.

Upon some points these two kinds of centralization coincide, but by classifying the objects which fall more particularly within the province of each, they may easily be distinguished

It is evident that a centralized government acquires immense power when united to centralized administration. Thus combined, it accustoms men to set their own will habitually and completely aside; to submit, not only for once, or upon one point, but in every respect, and at all times. Not only, therefore, does this union of power subdue them compulsorily, but it affects their ordinary habits; it isolates them and then influences each separately.

These two kinds of centralization assist and attract each other, but they must not be supposed to be inseparable. It is impossible to imagine a more completely centralized government than that which existed in France under Louis XIV; when the same individual was the author and the interpreter of the laws, and the representative of France at home and abroad, he was justified in asserting that he constituted the state. Nevertheless, the administration was much less centralized under Louis XIV than it is at the present day.

In England the centralization of the government is carried to great perfection; the state has the compact vigor of one man, and its will puts immense masses in motion and turns its whole power where it pleases. But England, which has done such great things for the last fifty years, has never centralized its administration. Indeed, I cannot conceive that a nation can live and prosper without a powerful centralization of government. But I am of the opinion that a centralized administration is fit only to enervate the nations in which it exists, by incessantly diminishing their local spirit. Although such an administration can bring together at a given moment, on a given point, all the disposable resources of a people, it injures the renewal of those resources. It may ensure a victory in the hour of strife, but it gradually relaxes the sinews of strength. It may help admirably the transient greatness of a man, but not the durable prosperity of a nation.

Observe that whenever it is said that a state cannot act because it is not centralized, it is the centralization of the government that is spoken of. It is frequently asserted, and I assent to the proposition, that the German Empire has never been able to bring all its powers into action. [Note this was written a century before the Nazis came to power] But the reason is that the state has never been able to enforce obedience to its general laws; the several members of that great body always claimed the right, or found the means, of refusing their co-operation to the representatives of the common authority, even in the affairs that concerned the mass of the people; in other words, there was no centralization of government. The same remark is applicable to the Middle Ages; the cause of all the miseries of feudal society was that the control, not only of administration, but of government, was divided among a thousand hands and broken up in a thousand different ways. The want of a centralized government prevented the nations of Europe from advancing with energy in any straightforward course.

I have shown that in the United States there is no centralized administration and no hierarchy of public functionaries. Local authority has been carried farther than any European nation could endure without great inconvenience, and it has even produced some disadvantageous consequences in America. But in the United States the centralization of the government is perfect; [disadvantageous but perfect... something today's "liberals" can't understand] and it would be easy to prove that the national power is more concentrated there than it has ever been in the old nations of Europe. Not only is there but one legislative body in each state, not only does there exist but one source of political authority, but numerous assemblies in districts or counties have not, in general, been multiplied lest they should be tempted to leave their administrative duties and interfere with the government. In America the legislature of each state is supreme; nothing can impede its authority, neither privileges, nor local immunities, nor personal influence, nor even the empire of reason, since it represents that majority which claims to be the sole organ of reason. Its own determination is therefore the only limit to its action. In juxtaposition with it, and under its immediate control, is the representative of the executive power, whose duty it is to constrain the refractory to submit by superior force. The only symptom of weakness lies in certain details of the action of the government. The American republics have no standing armies to intimidate a discontented minority; but as no minority has as yet been reduced to declare open war, the necessity of an army has not been felt. The state usually employs the officers of the township or the county to deal with the citizens. Thus, for instance, in New England the town assessor fixes the rate of taxes; the town collector receives them; the town treasurer transmits the amount to the public treasury; and the disputes that may arise are brought before the ordinary courts of justice. This method of collecting taxes is slow as well as inconvenient, and it would prove a perpetual hindrance to a government whose pecuniary demands were large. It is desirable that, in whatever materially affects its existence, the government should be served by officers of its own, appointed by itself, removable at its pleasure, and accustomed to rapid methods of proceeding. But it will always be easy for the central government, organized as it is in America, to introduce more energetic and efficacious modes of action according to its wants.

The want of a centralized government will not, then, as has often been asserted, prove the destruction of the republics of the New World; far from the American governments being not sufficiently centralized, I shall prove hereafter that they are too much so. The legislative bodies daily encroach upon the authority of the government, and their tendency, like that of the French Convention, is to appropriate it entirely to themselves. The social power thus centralized is constantly changing hands, because it is subordinate to the power of the people. It often forgets the maxims of wisdom and foresight in the consciousness of its strength. Hence arises its danger. Its vigor, and not its impotence, will probably be the cause of its ultimate destruction.

The system of decentralized administration produces several different effects in America. The Americans seem to me to have overstepped the limits of sound policy in isolating the administration of the government; for order, even in secondary affairs, is a matter of national importance. [The authority that represents the state ought not, I think, to waive the right of inspecting the local administration, even when it does not itself administer. Suppose, for instance, that an agent of the government was stationed at some appointed spot in each county to prosecute the misdemeanors of the town and county officers, would not a more uniform order be the result, without in any way compromising the independence of the township? Nothing of the kind, however, exists in America: there is nothing above the county courts, which have, as it were, only an incidental knowledge of the administrative offenses they ought to repress.] As the state has no administrative functionaries of its own, stationed on different points of its territory, to whom it can give a common impulse, the consequence is that it rarely attempts to issue any general police regulations. The want of these regulations is severely felt and is frequently observed by Europeans. The appearance of disorder which prevails on the surface leads one at first to imagine that society is in a state of anarchy; nor does one perceive one's mistake till one has gone deeper into the subject. Certain undertakings are of importance to the whole state; but they cannot be put in execution, because there is no state administration to direct them. Abandoned to the exertions of the towns or counties, under the care of elected and temporary agents, they lead to no result, or at least to no durable benefit.

The partisans of centralization in Europe are wont to maintain that the government can administer the affairs of each locality better than the citizens can do it for themselves. This may be true when the central power is enlightened and the local authorities are ignorant; when it is alert and they are slow; when it is accustomed to act and they to obey. Indeed, it is evident that this double tendency must augment with the increase of centralization, and that the readiness of the one and the incapacity of the others must become more and more prominent. But I deny that it is so when the people are as enlightened, as awake to their interests, and as accustomed to reflect on them as the Americans are. I am persuaded, on the contrary, that in this case the collective strength of the citizens will always conduce more efficacious to the public welfare than the authority of the government. [Not any more, I'm afraid. I think our America is now his Europe which he mentions earlier in this paragraph. What follows has became too true.] I know it is difficult to point out with certainty the means of arousing a sleeping population and of giving it passions and knowledge which it does not possess; it is, I am well aware, an arduous task to persuade men to busy themselves about their own affairs. It would frequently be easier to interest them in the punctilios of court etiquette than in the repairs of their common dwelling. But whenever a central administration affects completely to supersede the desirous to mislead. However enlightened and skillfull a central power may be, it cannot of itself embrace all the details of the life of a great nation. Such vigilance exceeds the powers of man. And when it attempts unaided to create and set in motion so many complicated springs, it must submit to a very imperfect result or exhaust itself in bootless efforts.

[Behold the pros and cons of totalitarianism] Centralization easily succeeds, indeed, in subjecting the external actions of men to a certain uniformity, which we come at last to love for its own sake, independently of the objects to which it is applied, like those devotees who worship the statue and forget the deity it represents. Centralization imparts without difficulty an admirable regularity to the routine of business; provides skillfully for the details of the social police; represses small disorders and petty misdemeanors; maintains society in a status quo alike secure from improvement and decline; and perpetuates a drowsy regularity in the conduct of affairs which the heads of the administration are wont to call good order and public tranquillity; [China appears to me to present the most perfect instance of that species of well-being which a highly centralized administration may furnish to its subjects. Travelers assure us that the Chinese have tranquillity without happiness, industry without improvement, stability without strength, and public order without public morality. The condition of society there is always tolerable, never excellent. I imagine that when China is opened to European observation, it will be found to contain the most perfect model of a centralized administration that exists in the universe.] in short, it excels in prevention, but not in action. Its force deserts it when society is to be profoundly moved, or accelerated in its course; and if once the co-operation of private citizens is necessary to the furtherance of its measures, the secret of its impotence is disclosed. Even while the centralized power, in its despair, invokes the assistance of the citizens, it says to them: "You shall act just as I please, as much as I please, and in the direction which I please. You are to take charge of the details without aspiring to guide the system; you are to work in darkness; and afterwards you may judge my work by its results." These are not the conditions on which the alliance of the human will is to be obtained; it must be free in its gait and responsible for its acts, or (such is the constitution of man) the citizen had rather remain a passive spectator than a dependent actor in schemes with which he is unacquainted.

It is undeniable that the want of those uniform regulations which control the conduct of every inhabitant of France is not infrequently felt in the United States. Gross instances of social indifference and neglect are to be met with; and from time to time disgraceful blemishes are seen, in complete contrast with the surrounding civilization. Useful undertakings which cannot succeed without perpetual attention and rigorous exactitude are frequently abandoned; for in America, as well as in other countries, the people proceed by sudden impulses and momentary exertions. The European, accustomed to find a functionary always at hand to interfere with all he undertakes, reconciles himself with difficulty to the complex mechanism of the administration of the townships. In general it may be affirmed that the lesser details of the police, which render life easy and comfortable, are neglected in America, but that the essential guarantees of man in society are as strong there as elsewhere. In America the power that conducts the administration is far less regular, less enlightened, and less skillful, but a hundredfold greater than in Europe. In no country in the world do the citizens make such exertions for the common weal. I know of no people who have established schools so numerous and efficacious, places of public worship better suited to the wants of the inhabitants, or roads kept in better repair. Uniformity or permanence of design, the minute arrangement of details, [A writer of talent who, in a comparison of the finances of France with those of the United States, has proved that ingenuity cannot always supply the place of the knowledge of facts, justly reproaches the Americans for the sort of confusion that exists in the accounts of the expenditure in the townships, and after giving the model of a departmental budget in France, he adds "We are indebted to centralization, that admirable invention of a great man, for the order and method which prevail alike in all the municipal budgets, from the largest city to the humblest commune" Whatever may be my admiration of this result, when I see the communes of France, with their excellent system of accounts, plunged into the grossest ignorance of their true interests, and abandoned to so incorrigible an apathy that they seem to vegetate rather than to live; when, on the other hand, I observe the activity, the information, and the spirit of enterprise in those American townships whose budgets are neither methodical nor uniform, I see that society there is always at work I am struck by the spectacle; for, to my mind, the end of a good government is to ensure the welfare of a people, and not merely to establish order in the midst of its misery I am therefore led to suppose that the prosperity of the American townships and the apparent confusion of their finances, the distress of the French communes and the perfection or their budget, may be attributable to the same cause At any rate, I am suspicious of a good that is united with so many evils, and I am not averse to an evil that is compensated by so many benefits.] and the perfection of administrative system must not be sought for in the United States; what we find there is the presence of a power which, if it is somewhat wild, is at least robust, and an existence checkered with accidents, indeed, but full of animation and effort.

Granting, for an instant, that the villages and counties of the United States would be more usefully governed by a central authority which they had never seen than by functionaries taken from among them; admitting, for the sake of argument, that there would be more security in America, and the resources of society would be better employed there, if the whole administration centered in a single arm--still the political advantages which the Americans derive from their decentralized system would induce me to prefer it to the contrary plan. [Wonder if he will still think that in 21st century America.] It profits me but little, after all, that a vigilant authority always protects the tranquillity of my pleasures and constantly averts all dangers from my path, without my care or concern, if this same authority is the absolute master of my liberty and my life, and if it so monopolizes movement and life that when it languishes everything languishes around it, that when it sleeps everything must sleep, and that when it dies the state itself must perish.

[Here is the mindset of men in a totalitarian society...] There are countries in Europe where the native considers himself as a kind of settler, indifferent to the fate of the spot which he inhabits. The greatest changes are effected there without his concurrence, and (unless chance may have apprised him of the event ) without his knowledge; nay, more, the condition of his village, the police of his street, the repairs of the church or the parsonage, do not concern him; for he looks upon all these things as unconnected with himself and as the property of a powerful stranger whom he calls the government. He has only a life interest in these possessions, without the spirit of ownership or any ideas of improvement. This want of interest in his own affairs goes so far that if his own safety or that of his children is at last endangered, instead of trying to avert the peril, he will fold his arms and wait till the whole nation comes to his aid. This man who has so completely sacrificed his own free will does not, more than any other person, love obedience; he cowers, it is true, before the pettiest officer, but he braves the law with the spirit of a conquered foe as soon as its superior force is withdrawn; he perpetually oscillates between servitude and license.

[... and why its bad for the government] When a nation has arrived at this state, it must either change its customs and its laws, or perish; for the source of public virtues is dried up; and though it may contain subjects, it has no citizens. Such communities are a natural prey to foreign conquests; and if they do not wholly disappear from the scene, it is only because they are surrounded by other nations similar or inferior to themselves; it is because they still have an indefinable instinct of patriotism; and an involuntary pride in the name of their country, or a vague reminiscence of its bygone fame, suffices to give them an impulse of self-preservation.

Nor can the prodigious exertions made by certain nations to defend a country in which they had lived, so to speak, as strangers be adduced in favor of such a system; for it will be found that in these cases their main incitement was religion. The permanence, the glory, or the prosperity of the nation had become parts of their faith, and in defending their country, they defended also that Holy City of which they were all citizens. The Turkish tribes have never taken an active share in the conduct of their affairs, but they accomplished stupendous enterprises as long as the victories of the Sultan were triumphs of the Mohammedan faith. In the present age they are in rapid decay because their religion is departing and despotism only remains. Montesquieu, who attributed to absolute power an authority peculiar to itself, did it, as I conceive, an undeserved honor; for despotism, taken by itself, can maintain nothing durable. On close inspection we shall find that religion, and not fear, has ever been the cause of the longlived prosperity of an absolute government. Do what you may, there is no true power among men except in the free union of their will; and patriotism and religion are the only two motives in the world that can long urge all the people towards the same end. [Does this reminds you of this current wars our world is now in?]

Laws cannot rekindle an extinguished faith, but men may be interested by the laws in the fate of their country. It depends upon the laws to awaken and direct the vague impulse of patriotism, which never abandons the human heart; and if it be connected with the thoughts, the passions, and the daily habits of life, it may be consolidated into a durable and rational sentiment. Let it not be said that it is too late to make the experiment; for nations do not grow old as men do, and every fresh generation is a new people ready for the care of the legislator.

It is not the administrative, but the political effects of decentralization that I most admire in America. In the United States the interests of the country are everywhere kept in view; they are an object of solicitude to the people of the whole Union, and every citizen is as warmly attached to them as if they were his own. He takes pride in the glory of his nation; he boasts of its success, to which he conceives himself to have contributed; and he rejoices in the general prosperity by which he profits. The feeling he entertains towards the state is analogous to that which unites him to his family, and it is by a kind of selfishness that he interests himself in the welfare of his country.

To the European, a public officer represents a superior force; to an American, he represents a right. [Minarchy!] In America, then, it may be said that no one renders obedience to man, but to justice and to law. If the opinion that the citizen entertains of himself is exaggerated, it is at least salutary; he unhesitatingly confides in his own powers, which appear to him to be all-sufficient. When a private individual meditates an undertaking, however directly connected it may be with the welfare of society, he never thinks of soliciting the co-operation of the government; but he publishes his plan, offers to execute it, courts the assistance of other individuals, and struggles manfully against all obstacles. Undoubtedly he is often less successful than the state might have been in his position; but in the end the sum of these private undertakings far exceeds all that the government could have done.

As the administrative authority is within the reach of the citizens, whom in some degree it represents, it excites neither their jealousy nor hatred; as its resources are limited, everyone feels that he must not rely solely on its aid. Thus when the administration thinks fit to act within its own limits, it is not abandoned to itself, as in Europe; the duties of private citizens are not supposed to have lapsed because the state has come into action, but everyone is ready, on the contrary, to guide and support it. This action of individuals, joined to that of the public authorities, frequently accomplishes what the most energetic centralized administration would be unable to do. [The United States has a prohibitive tariff. The small number of custom-house officers employed in the United States, and the great extent of the coast, render smuggling very easy, notwithstanding, it is less practiced than elsewhere because everybody endeavors to repress it. In America there is no fire-prevention service, and fires are more frequent than in Europe; but, in general, they are more speedily extinguished, because the surrounding population is prompt to lend assistance.]

[This here strikes at the core of a pure minarchist state, and interestingly enough where guns became a peacemaker turned today into an object of crime. See my appendix II below] It would be easy to adduce several facts in proof of what I advance, but I had rather give only one, with which I am best acquainted. In America the means that the authorities have at their disposal for the discovery of crimes and the arrest of criminals are few. A state police does not exist, and passports are unknown. The criminal police of the United States cannot be compared with that of France; the magistrates and public agents are not numerous; they do not always initiate the measures for arresting the guilty; and the examinations of prisoners are rapid and oral. Yet I believe that in no country does crime more rarely elude punishment. The reason is that everyone conceives himself to be interested in furnishing evidence of the crime and in seizing the delinquent. During my stay in the United States I witnessed the spontaneous formation of committees in a county for the pursuit and prosecution of a man who had committed a great crime. In Europe a criminal is an unhappy man who is struggling for his life against the agents of power, while the people are merely a spectator of the conflict; in America he is looked upon as an enemy of the human race, and the whole of mankind is against him. [I can comment a lot about this one statement and how it relates to European books/movies vs. those of the USA... but I'll leave that to anyone interested.]

I believe that provincial institutions are useful to all nations, but nowhere do they appear to me to be more necessary than among a democratic people. In an aristocracy order can always be maintained in the midst of liberty; and as the rulers have a great deal to lose, order is to them a matter of great interest. In like manner an aristocracy protects the people from the excesses of despotism, because it always possesses an organized power ready to resist a despot. But a democracy without provincial institutions has no security against these evils. How can a populace unaccustomed to freedom in small concerns learn to use it temperately in great affairs? What resistance can be offered to tyranny in a country where each individual is weak and where the citizens are not united by any common interest? Those who dread the license of the mob and those who fear absolute power ought alike to desire the gradual development of provincial liberties.

I am also convinced that democratic nations are most likely to fall beneath the yoke of a centralized administration, for several reasons, among which is the following:

The constant tendency of these nations is to concentrate all the strength of the government in the hands of the only power that directly represents the people; because beyond the people nothing is to be perceived but a mass of equal individuals. But when the same power already has all the attributes of government, it can scarcely refrain from penetrating into the details of the administration, and an opportunity of doing so is sure to present itself in the long run, as was the case in France. In the French Revolution there were two impulses in opposite directions, which must never be confounded; the one was favorable to liberty, the other to despotism. Under the ancient monarchy the king was the sole author of the laws; and below the power of the sovereign certain vestiges of provincial institutions, half destroyed, were still distinguishable. These provincial institutions were incoherent, ill arranged, and frequently absurd; in the hands of the aristocracy they had sometimes been converted into instruments of oppression. The Revolution declared itself the enemy at once of royalty and of provincial institutions; it confounded in indiscriminate hatred all that had preceded it, despotic power and the checks to its abuses; and its tendency was at once to republicanize and to centralize This double character of the French Revolution is a fact which has been adroitly handled by the friends of absolute power. Can they be accused of laboring in the cause of despotism when they are defending that centralized administration which was one of the great innovations of the Revolution? [See Appendix I] In this manner popularity may be united with hostility to the rights of the people, and the secret slave of tyranny may be the professed lover of freedom.

I have visited the two nations in which the system of provincial liberty has been most perfectly established, and I have listened to the opinions of different parties in those countries. In America I met with men who secretly aspired to destroy the democratic institutions of the Union; in England I found others who openly attacked the aristocracy; but I found no one who did not regard provincial independence as a great good. In both countries I heard a thousand different causes assigned for the evils of the state, but the local system was never mentioned among them. I heard citizens attribute the power and prosperity of their country to a multitude of reasons, but they all placed the advantages of local institutions in the foremost rank.

Am I to suppose that when men who are naturally so divided on religious opinions and on political theories agree on one point (and that one which they can best judge, as it is one of which they have daily experience) they are all in error? The only nations which deny the utility of provincial liberties are those which have fewest of them; in other words, only those censure the institution who do not know it.

*****

APPENDIX I

It is incorrect to say that centralization was produced by the French Revolution: the Revolution brought it to perfection, but did not create it. The mania for centralization and government regulation dates from the period when jurists began to take a share in the government, in the time of Philip the Fair; ever since this period they have been on the increase. In the year 1775 M. de Malesherbes, speaking in the name of the Cour des Aides, said to Louis XVI: [See M‚moires pour servir a l'histoire de la France en matiŠre d'impots, Brussels, 1779, p. 654.]

"Every corporation and every community of citizens retained the right of administering its own affairs, a right which not only forms part of the primitive constitution of the kingdom, but has a still higher origin; for it is the right of nature and of reason. Nevertheless, your subjects, Sire, have been deprived of it; and we do not fear to say that, in this respect, your government has fallen into puerile extremes. From the time when powerful ministers made it a political principle to prevent the convocation of a national assembly, one consequence has succeeded another, until the deliberations of the inhabitants of a village are declared null if they have not been authorized by the Intendant. Of course, if the community has an expensive undertaking to carry through, it must remain under the control of the sub-delegate of the Intendant, and, consequently, follow the plan he proposes, employ his favorite workmen, pay them according to his pleasure; and if an action at law is deemed necessary, the Intendant's permission must be obtained. The cause must be pleaded before this first tribunal previous to its being carried into a public court; and if the opinion of the Intendant is opposed to that of the inhabitants, or if their adversary enjoys his favor, the community is deprived of the power of defending its rights. Such are the means, Sire, which have been exerted to extinguish the municipal spirit in France and to stifle, if possible, the opinions of the citizens. The nation may be said to lie under an interdict, and to be in wardship under guardians."

What could be said more to the purpose at the present day, when the Revolution has achieved what are called its victories in centralization?

In 1789 Jefferson wrote from Paris to one of his friends:

"There is no country where the mania for over-governing has taken deeper root than in France, or been the source of greater mischief." ( Letter to Madison, August 28, 1789. )

The fact is that for several centuries the central power of France has done everything it could to extend central administration; it has acknowledged no other limits than its own strength. The central power to which the Revolution gave birth made more rapid advances than any of its predecessors, because it was stronger and wiser than they had been. Louis XVI committed the welfare of the municipal communities to the caprice of an Intendant; Napoleon left them to that of the Minister. The same principle governed both, though its consequences were more or less far-reaching.

*****

APPENDIX II

The reason I like this paragraph and mention gun control is because there is three scenarios, and we, I think, have the worst one. Most Republicans and pro-gun advocates see America like Tocqueville's America, while most Democrats and anti-gun advocates Tocqueville's Europe. When a pro-gun sees his Europe, they see a people who can't take control of their lives and think government can solve anything. An anti-gun sees his America, they see anarchy ("The appearance of disorder which prevails on the surface leads one at first to imagine that society is in a state of anarchy") and people blowing each other up. What is important here in this section is Tocqueville is comparing two different societies. Each has strengths and weaknesses. He is asking the reader, "Which is better for YOU". He freely acknowledge that our old America has its problems, but he prefers it to France and the rest of Europe. His America's system works. His European system works. They are just different for two different mindsets of people.

What doesn't work is present day USA's system! The reason I think is because we got both mindsets smashed together. And for that reason neither works. Pro-gun advocates say, "Look at Switzerland!" Anti-gun advocates say, "Look at Japan!" Thing is, both are better than ours because they committed themselves to one or the other. During Gray Davis governorship is California, the real reason its 'decentralization' of utilities didn't work is because it only went half way. That and people, in general, don't want to suffer a period of setback for something better down the road.

So when you are asked, "Which is better for you?", in reality you ought to be asked, "What is your mindset?" Part of the reason I may seem apathetic on issues isn't because I don't care, but no matter what one does, someone gets screwed or feel screwed. There will always be differences of opinion, always be someone not happy. And for me, my ideal society left before I was born and the only chance it will return if this whole world balkanize to individual city-states.

Now I just wish for a world where people divide and live together not by nationality or geology, but ideology and trash all world bodies.

Calls for Cthulhu on YouTube

2007-09-03T22:28:00.000-05:00

Be sure to check the official site! I am blogging this so its all on one page.

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

Episode 5

Episode 6

Episode 7

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption ~ First Impressions

2007-08-29T11:11:00.000-05:00

WARNING! Contains minor spoilers of the introductory chapters of the game! I got MP3 on its first day out and only got through the first two sections before it really opens up. I got a busy two weeks here so I don't think I'll get much play time with it. Instead then I want to give my first impressions of it since this is the first really BIG game for the Wii.

You begin in your ship with the controls in front and side. Learning how to control your ship is one of MP3's new features, but the game tells you what you must do to do whatever needs to be done. I don't see my Mii bobble-head though, which I saw in a video review. As a lefty who had to play with a right-handed Link (who is traditionally a lefty), I was concerned about the controls. Kid ya not, some of Samus movements with a right-handed remote is done with her left hand, so that isn't much of an issue.

The introduction is in two parts: a Federation ship which your ship enters after waking up and the planet below. After exiting your ship, typical tutorial stuff begins as you make your way to see Admiral Dane. I had some typical control problems. Pressed A instead of B. That is to be expected. The screen was smooth at its default. Z-targeting by default is turned on for the hud display but off for auto-aiming. A trooper does point you to a save point before seeing the admiral which was nice. You start out with morph ball, bombs, Varia suit, Space Jump boots, charge beam, and no missiles. I notice though sometimes charging isn't as effecting as just firing off a number of standard shots. You do have the scan visor, and when activated, you see Samus face and can see her move her eyes as you move the cursor around the screen.

As for the story, there is two. The space pirates has put in a virus into several computers that needs fixing. The other is Dark Samus, aka Metroid Prime, the main villain in the Primes sub series. Its like Mother Brain being the villain for the universe, while Ridley is for Samus. There is three other hunters. One has ice like powers (Rundas), one can change her looks to look like someone else (Gandrayda), and the other is in a big mech (Ghor).

After this, the pirates attack and you see one ship go boom-boom. The admiral orders you to your ship and go planet side, as a major defensive weapon was knocked out. Taking a longer route, you get back to your ship. Nothing too difficult. Save before getting to your ship and face your first boss battle. I got an energy tank and missiles en route and barely made it. In the original Prime, I often loose the first battle just because I need to scan and find out how to beat the boss, getting clobbered at the same time.

Part two is on the surface. You need to get the cannon online, and to do that, you need to get three generators back online also. You get the grapple lasso early here, allowing you to rip off things. No grapple beam yet. Your first target is Conduit A. You get another energy tank and later face off with several waves of pirates. Rundas helps out and tells introduce a new feature, calling your ship. Saving and restocking here, you continue to the conduit and get a third of the power back on. Rundas heads to B to fix that while you go to C. Exit and... you see Ridley, your old pal and friend, fly to C section.

Before entering Conduit C section, Ghor is shown in a battle, which opens the area up. On the way there, you morph to a ball and, ugh, Ridley traps you. Now I thought this was a minor battle like the one in Super Metroid where he gets bored and fly off. Nope! After loosing two-thirds of my available energy, I realized you can escape when his claw moves up.

Save at a station then on to the conduit. Gandrayda takes out a few pirates while disguised as one of them. Solve a morph ball puzzle and you're done. Wait! Boss fight! With... RIDLEY?!? Come on! He is supposed to be the next to last boss fight! You are both falling down and before you hit bottom (yes, its timed) you need to shoot his mouth. Sometimes you get close and need to shoot a hand held bomb thing. Just rapid fire, not charge shot, and you will get him. It ends with Samus sticking her gun arm deep in his throat, firing (I cracked up), and Rundas comes to save your decent.

During all of this, a large rock of phazon came out of a worm hole threatening everything. From here a time limit starts in pure Metroid fashion, minus the timer. Instead you hear "3 minutes remaining" from the computer. I backed tracked because I forgot to save and made it in time. You and the other hunters was about to put it online when Dark Samus shows up, blows everyone up, and Samus barely got the system online.

You wake up a month later. The three hunters left already to do other missions, but nothing was heard from them. The Federation also gave you a phazon module for your suit. How it works is the phazon takes on of your energy tanks when you enter hypermode. Every time you shoot, it eats energy from that tank. When you go out of hypermode, the unspent energy is returned, unless you ate up your entire tank.

From here, you do Rundas mission. I did went to planet side since a third of the station I haven't explored, but its still off limits. I have 2 energy tanks and 5 missles.

We're not on Google Earth anymore, Toto!

2007-08-22T11:07:00.001-05:00

When I was typing an e-mail for one of my e-pals, who just got Google Earth, I discovered they had a MAJOR update. Presenting Google Earth Sky!

I have a couple other planetarium programs for star viewing. Celestia is a full 3D space explorer and Stellarium a more general, full featured one. Both free. Compared to Sky, Sky is by far more beautiful, but still clunky since its so new. For example, I tried to view the moon's position across the sky and, as far as i can tell, you can't actually track it, just view it. My other complaint is when you switch from earth to sky, it loads up the other. So you can't view them both together, making it hard to find the sky's location in relation to earth. You can click on your placemarks to find, for example, the current sky above you or another location. I think then I'll keep my other planetarium programs for the major stuff, like the lunar eclipse that will occur when the Heroes DVD comes out.

Here is another video showing off some of the more pretty pictures.

LINKS

Google Earth Website
Celestia Website
Stellarium Website

So I started using Google Calendar...

2007-08-15T09:15:00.000-05:00

... because I want to get more organized. From August 19th to September 19th I have 18 events. That seems a lot for someone with a boring life! I wonder how it compares with others. Of course more could be added.

Dove Evolution Video

2007-08-12T18:46:00.001-05:00

Heroes Season 1 on YouTube

2007-08-05T20:43:00.000-05:00

Now that Season 1 ended a few months ago, I want to place some of my favorite YouTube vids for that season. SPOILERS!

My favorite summary for the entire season:

Runner up:

Sylar, the brain consuming serial killer, is my favorite character, so I have to include something with him. There are other good ones, but these two have the entire season in mind and most of the others have music that is too hard for my tastes. YouTube isn't prefect. And note Zachary Quinto is going to play Spock in the new Trek film! So if J.J. Abrams, who is involved in that movie and friends with Greg Grunberg, doesn't do a Heroes Origin episode, I WILL be shocked:

Had to dig for one person's top moments in the whole series without it becoming a music video. Though personally I REVERSE the order. The problem with the finale is 1) making your actors work till 3 AM is not a good idea 2) Over hyped 3) It was THE ENDING! The last chapter of Volume One! Okay, that is a good thing considering Lost lost its ending.

And what about this scene?

And I just want to include this mid-season one. But "If Everyone Cared" is WAY overused for this show!

Awards so far includes: People's Choice for best new drama, TV Land's Future Classic, TCA's Outstanding Program of the Year, and listed in Time Magazine's "People Who Mattered".

My Next Zelda Idea

2007-08-04T19:22:00.000-05:00

Now that I played through most of the last Zelda game (Twilight Princess) and Gamecube's Wind Waker, I started thinking about what the next Zelda game should be. Two things got my attention. 1) How does all the games connect? 2) Zelda fanboys up in arms over what Gamespot said about TP not sending the series into any new territory. Like changing into a wolf isn't enough! In fact, while looking for a good source for #1 (which I found here) I first came by this April Fools video which addresses Gamespot concerns.

Before you continue, watch them both. I am going to now propose what I would like to see in the next Zelda game. A game which will wrap everything up that happened before, while still leaving room for a sequel in the next age of Hyrule. It is, in effect, a funnel for the stories, returning it to a single timeline. It also need to address, I think, why Ocarina of Time made it so the Triforce was with Link, Zelda, and Gannondorf from the beginning instead of being found like in the earlier made games. I recall how that pissed off a number of players. Also please note I am bound to forget SOMETHING and I haven't played all the way through Wind Waker, though I have seen how it ends. I also want to mention to the side this upcoming Wii title which could be the most Zelda like game available till the real thing comes out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLPNTZu9XU4

If you are a Zelda fan, keep a close eye on it. It seems to subtract the use of multiple items for pure sword play action while still having puzzling dungeons. Okay, 'nuff intros!

The Legend of Zelda: Lines begins in Timeline B idea from GameTrailers, a long time after Wind Waker. As for Twilight Princess, its alternate world so closely resembles The Dark (formerly Golden) World of A Link to The Past that I place TP sometime after LttP. I'll explain why as I go through this.

The Legend of Zelda, lets say 500 or 1000 years into the future, is forgotten. Enter Ben, a young squire for a high ranking knight in this future Hyrule which I will call Nerule (Neo-Hyrule, or second Hyrule). Nerule is in its pre-industrial revolution and steam power is Nerule's cutting edge technology. The fact I like Steampunk has nothing to do with it! Ben's Knight is on assignment. An archeologist trying to find pre-flood relics - that is relics at and before the events of Wind Waker - discovered some ruins. The archaeologist, the knight, and the player as Ben then begins the game in a small town near these ancient ruins.

General tutorial stuff. Its morning, the knight barks orders to meet him at the ruins, the player does some crappy jobs at the village, the knight checks out Ben's swordplay, etc. etc. The trio enter the ruins, something attacks, and the place around them crashes. The three gets separated and apparently the knight lost his revolver. Yes, revolver, cowboy style. No crummy slingshot, thank you! Ben's find it, blah blah, and face a minor boss. This is an introductory, outdoor dungeon, nothing more. The good knight dies during this, but the archaeologist survives to till the king. Ben is knighted and hints of the king's old bloodline. Line! This includes the tradition of naming all princesses Zelda, which has not been done since Wind Waker and why during this time there was no Link vs. Ganon. It just so happens the queen is pregnant and the king thinks Zelda is a good name. Uh-oh. Zelda is born, and an old legend begins a reawaken. Thus ends the introduction.

Fast forward to act 1 when Zelda is a child. Ben hears again from the archaeologist who is getting too old to continue out into these crazy and dangerous journeys. He stays at the castle while Ben searches for more info about Nerule's past. Ben goes on the first three major dungeons of the game. The first is back at the intro place earlier where more has been uncovered. A 'true' dungeon like temple. After beating the boss and collecting the heart, he enters an award room (done like the 2D games) where he finds bits of the legend. This first one being the location of two other dungeons, one holding information about something called The Triforce, the other on The Three Blessed by the Gods. It also gave the name of the country as Hyrule, not Nerule. It says that to prevent the tragedy of the past, this information must remain secret. Who cares!

The second states the usual Triforce stuff, that it grants all wishes, but it can only manifest when The Three comes together. The third mentions who holds the three parts of the Triforce. The Princess holds Wisdom, the Combat Mage Power, and the Adventurer Courage. Ben learns who the Princess is, the Combat Mage is from a bloodline of Gerudo thieves, and the Adventurer from Hyrule's forest dwellers.

Enter act 2 with Zelda being a young teen. Two events occur at this time. First, Zelda becomes a playable character as she goes through three standard dungeons. Instead of a boss though, she finds a 'familiar spirit' who quizzes her wisdom as a leader. This is played out. Each time she passes, she gains a piece of the Triforce of Wisdom. Her health is the same as Ben's. Since so much time has passed, the Triforce of Wisdom has to be rediscovered. When she gains them, she becomes one of The Three.

Back with Ben, he tries to find Gerudo's bloodline. He does and find them a forgotten people. Their current male is old and is having nightmares. Ben goes through a dungeon and finds the stone statue of Wind Waker's Ganondorf. He brings it to Nerule's castle where they are able to revive him. The current Gerudo male dies and, for the sake of this story, this last adventure Ben gets a disease which prevents him from going further in his quest though well enough to live. Ganondorf is still technically in procession of the Triforce of Power, but VERY weak. During this weak state he can't do much, but this is to his benefit as he finds out everyone is ignorant about what they are doing. After his health begins to recover, like the Ganondorf of Ocarina, he begins to manipulate the king. Since Link has yet to enter the picture and need the third Triforce for its power to grant wishes to be complete, he suggests he can help. The kings allow it but Zelda has a bad feeling about this... much like OoT.

Act 3, Ganondorf is a playable character. WHAT!?! You will see. Because the two relms doesn't play in Wind Waker, I am going to assume Ganon doesn't know about it. He goes out to find Link, where he hears of a courageous boy the same age as Zelda. He went off to save his sister in a forest dungeon. Yeah, he is that courageous! Since Ganondorf still needs him to find the Triforce of Courage, he does the weird thing and helps him. But in the award room, he finds something that shocks him to the core. The Ganon of this timeline discovers the fabled Golden Land of the Three Goddesses that gave birth to Hyrule. It mentions the only place where The Three can bring the Triforce into physical existence is there. He goes into another dungeon and finds a way how to enter the Golden Land. But there discover the other timeline. So the subtitle lines not just mean bloodlines but also timelines.

Act 4, Ganondorf invites Zelda and Ben over to his discovery, but none of them return. The king has nothing to do but to put his faith in this Link. The storyline accelerates. First he collects pieces of his Triforce. Then he goes to where Ganondorf, Zelda, and Ben disappeared.

Act 5. In The Golden Land, aka The Dark World, Ganon bridged the gap between the two timelines by using the world that connects The Golden Land with both Hyrule timelines... The Twilight. He gives the other timeline's Ganon a second chance, hence why I place TP after LttP. A sicker Ben tells this to Link. Link then does the old classic face off, maybe after some additional side missions. After succeeding, Ganon looses his Triforce of Power. Link and Zelda wishes the two timelines into one.

What does that do to the Zelda universe? Guess we have to wait for the sequel! Of course there is problems with this. Namely, how many dungeons. Personally, I rather have more dungeons and less pieces of heart. Also fanboys undoubtedly can find exceptions here and there. Oh, and specifics like what the dungeons are like and new items, especially in the age of steam. Its just an idea, a way to bring all the earlier games together and open the door to new opportunities.

I reserve the right to edit this post in the future! Ideas (including flaws!) welcomed.

MEOWARCHY: Demon Cats

2007-08-04T18:44:00.001-05:00

This Blog Is... Alive! ALIVE!

2007-08-01T23:44:00.000-05:00

Yeah, it has returned from the dead. This past year I got too involved with so many other things and only this month has things started to cool down. It started September 11th with a new job, one which is far better than the crappy ones I had in the past. Then I moved, since mom was out of the house and in a nursing home March of last year. (In fact, this is perhaps one of the reasons I did got my current job) Alas, she finally passed away July. Sure, there was some sadness, but also a lot of relief. I'm now willing to date for, really, the first time ever. I occasionally flirted with the idea but my life kept saying, "Not yet...."

So now I want to revive this poor blog of mine. I know its been missing me. I think I just might finish Gödel, Escher, Bach (aka GEB) finally after who know how many years. The first half is great, but the second half (EGB) is a lot harder. Only because its less fun. I may comment on that. Also want to see if I can find a good filepit that doesn't cost me any moola. Like to find MIDI or MP3s of Bach's music mentioned in GEB.

GEB on Wiki

The only thing I am into right now is this Cloverfield/Slusho movie that is coming out 1-18-08 and Heroes on NBC. But really, there is already plenty of stuff online for that. I might do some vids I found online here. I got DSL now instead of 56K and already getting a list of favorites on YouTube. I don't have cable so I can't comment on the news anymore. So, really, I am open to any suggestions!

Just logged in to Blogger and, lo, there is a glob of new features. *sigh* If anyone finds me negleting this poor blog again, WHACK ME. 'kay?

A PLO member speaks out

2006-08-13T18:17:00.000-05:00

Source

Well, what makes a terrorist become a terrorist? Ever since 9/11 we have heard a lot about terrorism, mostly from analysts, scholars and government officials. But now a man who says he used to be a terrorist is giving us the inside story. He tells his life story in his new book, "Why I Left Jihad."

His name is Walid Shoebat, and he joins me now from Washington.

Walid, I appreciate your time today.

WALID SHOEBAT, AUTHOR, "WHY I LEFT JIHAD": Thank you for having me.

PHILLIPS: Well, I mean, I'm going to ask you the obvious. Why were you involved in terrorism and who recruited you?

SHOEBAT: Well, you have to understand the recruitment doesn't start at recruitment centers, basically. They start from the mosque. You go daily to pray or to the Friday prayers, whether you go to the temple mount, whether you go to the local mosque. And this is not only in the Palestinian areas, this is all throughout the Middle East. It has been going on from the eons of time.

And it is eschatological teaching regarding the destruction of the state of Israel, regarding the destruction of the Jewish people and basically an Islamic country that considers Israel as an Islamic country and once an Islamic foothold was there before in the past, it must never be occupied by a non-Muslim country. The eradication of the Jewish people is top in the eschatological norm, in the schools, in the mosques, in the centers, everywhere you go.

So, from all aspects of life, if you go walk in the streets and see the graffiti around you, things like we knock on the gates of heaven with the skulls of Jews, this is the kind of mentality they have. And I always ask myself the question, what does knocking on the gates of heaven with the skulls of Jews have anything to do with the political desire to establish a state called Palestine?

Palestine has become sort of a psychosis, in a way. This is why we have Hamas now. It's escalated to the point that it's growing its tentacles all throughout the Middle East, Iran. In Pakistan, the majority of Pakistanis want a Islamist state.

PHILLIPS: But when you were a teenager, I mean, you didn't know all this as a teenager. You were, what, 16 when you joined the PLO. Why did you want to join this organization and did you realize that you were about to get involved with a group that was going to kill innocent people?

SHOEBAT: Well, you have to understand, you join at 5 years old. Going to school, we sang the song -- all the schoolchildren sang, (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE) which means "Arabs are beloved, and Jews are dogs."

So, right, even going to a Christian school we learned that Jesus was a Palestinian revolutionist. So from the Biblical perspective and the Koranic perspective, all the religion was used as a base for teaching revolution. This is the dogma that they teach.

So when you go -- by the time I went to high school, that's when we learned the eradication of the Jewish people, when the stones and the trees will cry out, there's a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him. So it's really -- in a nutshell, the problem is a massive, racist ideology that is growing throughout the Middle East and the Muslim world.

PHILLIPS: So, tell me what you did and how active you got. I mean, what was the worst act of terrorism you committed while an active member of the PLO?

SHOEBAT: I planted a bomb in Bank Launi (ph) Israel in Bethlehem, nearly lynched an Israeli soldier, was in every demonstration from the Temple Mount and the streets of our village. Everywhere, you know. The whole community becomes imbued with this way of life. So, stonings and you name it.

I ended up in prison and then I was recruited to do a bomb operation of a bank. My recruiter put 15 explosive charges in Israel, and he was being bailed out by Israeli lawyers. As ironic as it sounds, that's how it was. Israel was a democracy, so it allowed even to get those prisoners out.

And my cousins also got involved in terrorism. They were also released with the U.N. deals and this kind of thing. So you have thousands of terrorists being thrown back into the streets with these U.N. agreements.

PHILLIPS: No, you -- so you remain this active life of terrorism overseas, but you also came to the U.S., and you were part of the Muslim Brotherhood in Chicago.

SHOEBAT: That's right.

PHILLIPS: Tell me how you were able to carry on terrorist activities and how did you do it here in the U.S.?

SHOEBAT: Well, in the U.S., we didn't -- I didn't do any terrorist activities, but the recruitment of the preparation for jihad in America. My recruiter was -- his name is Jamal Sayid (ph). He's a colleague of Abdullah Azzam, the mentor of Osama bin Laden.

Ironically speaking, Jamal Sayid is freed, in a mosque in Bridgeview, Illinois. The IAP started, as a result -- Islamic Association of Palestine. And after that I left that organization. And then after that, there was training. The head of the IAP was caught in training with car -- how to manufacture car bombs and things like that. So it was -- I have clips, homemade videos that if I show your audience, it will come out of Gaza or it will come out of Iran. I mean, this stuff was happening in the heartland of America, all over in Chicago, and DeKalb and Georgia. All over the United States, it was going on in the mosque and it's going on right now.

PHILLIPS: So did 9/11 surprise you?

SHOEBAT: No, as a matter of fact, in 1993, I was -- I started my first mission in 1993, speaking in churches and synagogues. And people didn't want to believe me when I said, they're going to blow up your buildings, these people are interested in decapitating Americans. And this was too much for us to fathom. Nobody was listening. After September 11, I started getting more phone calls.

PHILLIPS: Did you ever feel guilty?

SHOEBAT: Yes, I did. In 19 -- I started studying, basically, the history. You have to understand, in the Arab mentality in the Middle East, from the beginning of Mahmoud Abbas, who is considered secular, all to the way to the fundamentalists, the denial of the Holocaust is the premise of this education.

So, we denied the Holocaust ever exited. So when we're seeing the -- if we see the footage of the Holocaust in the Middle East, we say, well, how did they have such scrawny bodies? What kind of a diet plan were they on? Because the whole thing was an enactment. It wasn't reality. This is an enactment to establish, design a state. In Germany, it's illegal to deny the Holocaust, but yet in the Middle East, denial of the Holocaust is flourishing.

So the moment I started getting a good grip that the Holocaust was a historical reality, I started to understand that evil cloaks itself in nice, fabricated fashions. Evil cloaks itself, just like Nazism does, that it's a good cause. And Israel becomes a vermin. The Jews are vermin.

This is why Nasrallah doesn't apologize for killing Jewish children. He only apologizes when Arab children are dying in Israel, proper (ph) by his rocket launchings. Why is that? Why does Nasrallah apologize for killing all the Arab children? And the answer is very simple. The problem is racism. Racism on a pandemic scale all throughout the Middle East and the Muslim world, all the way to Pakistan, all the way to Indonesia, all the way to the Philippines, all the way in Jordan, all the way in Cairo, all the way in Syria, all the way to the...

PHILLIPS: So, Walid, let me ask you, you had an epiphany. You decided this isn't the way to go about finding peace. You decided to completely step away from any acts of terrorism or any organizations or any association. But when you look at all these groups -- I mean, whether it be Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Iraqi insurgents -- there are so many and it is so strong and it is all across the world, I mean, how do you reach those people? How do you -- how do you even gain the understanding that this is not going to achieve peace, acts of terror? SHOEBAT: We have to understand, terrorism is a cult-like education to convert masses of people to become remorseless killers. And it's like a drug addiction. It feeds on frenzy-like speeches. It galvanizes people in a euphoric fashion, where an Israeli, when he's killed, they come out with the blood and thy carry guts and hearts and kidneys and, you know, parade them in the streets of Ramallah.

This is a drug addiction that is permeating the teenagers of the Middle East. We have to treat it as such. We have to go to the drug pushers, we have to go to the source of the problem. We don't solve the problem by simply destroying Hezbollah only, but we solve the problem by going to the mosques where they're manufacturing of these -- this education is going on. We need to fire the clergy.

We need to understand that this type of Islam that's being taught in the Middle East and being taught in America, as well, is not a religion. Once it goes beyond that boundary, it becomes a government system. It becomes a civil code that wants to establish itself universally throughout the whole world. Once we understand that, we understand to deal with it just as we deal with drugs.

PHILLIPS: Walid Shoebat. The book is "Why I Left Jihad." fascinating perspective, Walid. I appreciate your time today.

SHOEBAT: Thank you for having me.

Israeli Arabs Face Decision

2006-08-13T17:57:00.000-05:00

Residents of Haifa weigh the call by Hezbollah's leader to leave the city. Some are determined to stay, but others have packed up and fled.

By Henry Chu, Times Staff Writer
August 11, 2006

Source

HAIFA, Israel — Nobody tells Avraham Ouda where he can and can't live. Five generations of his family have called this seaside city home, and Ouda has no intention of breaking the chain.

So on Thursday morning, Ouda, 71, puttered around his fruit shop, puffed on a cigarette and poured scorn on an appeal by a fellow Arab. Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah had called on Arabs to flee this city in northern Israel or risk being hit by rockets fired by the Shiite Muslim militia from across the Lebanese border.

"I was born here and my father was born here and my grandfather was born here. My destiny is in Haifa, and if it's my day to go, it's my day to go," Ouda said with a philosophical wave of smoke from his stubby cigarette. "I'm happy to stay."

Dalia Sheety is staying too, but she's not so happy about it. If she could, she would quit her job at a local hospital, bid goodbye to her family's deli where she helps out and move to southern Israel, far away from the Katyusha rockets raining down death and destruction.

"I don't want to die. I'm very young — I have a lot of plans," said Sheety, 35, a radiology technician.

Members of Haifa's small but historic Arab community awoke to a new reality Thursday, a day after Nasrallah urged them to remove themselves from harm's way as fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah stretched into a fifth week.

"To the Arab inhabitants of Haifa, I am very sad, but I'm telling you, please leave your city … because you will relieve us from being hesitant to hit Haifa," he said in a televised address in Lebanon.

Those who ignored the warning expressed fear and defiance. But there were others, unnerved by the threat of a surge in rocket attacks, who packed up and sought shelter with friends and relatives elsewhere.

Although Haifa has not been hit by as large a barrage as towns along the Israeli-Lebanese border, more people have been killed by rocket strikes on this densely populated city — Israel's third-largest — than in any other place. When sirens wail, which happens several times a day, residents disappear into bunkers and "safe rooms," motorists stop their cars in the middle of the street and run for cover, and an eerie silence descends while everyone counts down 90 seconds to see if anything hits.

The last fatal strike was Sunday, when rockets slammed into seven residential locations in the city. The impact killed three people, and a fourth person died of fright. Two of the dead were Israeli Arabs, neighbors linked by marriage who lived in a crowded but charming warren of honey-colored limestone buildings where poets, writers and intellectuals used to hold salons.

Israel's Arab minority has borne a disproportionate number of the country's civilian deaths in the war. Although they make up just 20% of the population, Israeli Arabs account for 41% of those killed, or 17 out of 41 people.

Many live in the north, within range of Hezbollah rockets, in cities such as Haifa and Nazareth or villages such as Deir al Assad, where rocket fire killed two more Israeli Arabs on Thursday: a woman and her 5-year-old son. A second son, even younger, was seriously wounded.

"Hezbollah means 'Party of God.' If he believes he's the party of God, I'd tell him he's mistaken," Diana Hajad, an Arab Christian in Haifa, said of Nasrallah. "God hates killing."

Although Hajad, a fishmonger, feels a stab of fear every time the sirens sound, she shrugged off Nasrallah's warning to Haifa's Arabs in the same dismissive manner in which she wiped her hands on her apron. "He's insulting people's intelligence. He knows that this is a mixed population here."

A city perched high above the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean Sea, Haifa prides itself on being a symbol of peaceful coexistence between Jews and Arabs, beginning decades before Israel achieved statehood in 1948. After the country's founding, many Arabs stayed on in Haifa and became Israeli citizens.

Like their counterparts elsewhere in Israel, those of Arab descent here feel torn whenever violence erupts between their fellow Israelis and their fellow Arabs, whether they are Palestinians, Lebanese or others. But mindful of their minority status in a country where some Jewish residents consider their community a potential fifth column, the Arabs in Haifa have been careful to apportion blame in the present war to both sides, the Israeli government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the Hezbollah leadership.

"I blame both sides for bombing civilians," said shopkeeper Abu Mohammed Osman, 47. "We bombard Lebanon, and they bombard us. We both kill Arabs."

Nasrallah's call to Arabs in Haifa to leave was a piece of "psychological warfare," Osman said, designed to put pressure on Olmert's government to accept a cease-fire or face a flood of internal refugees abandoning northern Israel and moving to the south.

Still, some of Osman's friends panicked after the warning and decided to quit the city, at least temporarily. Sheety, the radiology technician, has sisters who are frantically searching for accommodations elsewhere.

Hajad said that many families on her street had packed up and left. She was getting ready to bundle off her mother and her son Thursday for the day, if not longer, when the siren went off around noon. She quickly pressed her young son against an interior wall of her seafood store until the danger had passed and they could leave.

Then she got ready to go back to work.

"You have to be careful," Hajad said, "but you don't have to run away."

Do NOT press red buttons!

2006-06-18T13:29:00.000-05:00

Here is a bigger version.

The government doesn't like you to defend yourself

2006-05-17T09:44:00.000-05:00

Warding Off An Alligator Might Get You In Trouble

Woman Could Have Been Charged With Hunting Without A License

Reptile Was Attacking Her Golden Retriever

(CBS4/AP) BRADENTON, FL A Bradenton woman got a surprise visit from law enforcement when she tried to defend her dog from an alligator attack. What they charged her with might shock you.

The alligator was only three feet long, but a Bradenton woman says she wasn't taking any chances.

When the reptile came into the lanai of her home Saturday and attacked her golden retriever, Candy Frey went and got her gun.

After Frey and her daughter managed to push the gator out of the lanai through the dog door, she blasted away at it four times.

A neighbor called deputies and a wildlife officer was sent to investigate.

Frey says the alligator barely bled from gunshots to its neck and shoulder. The wildlife officer put it back in the lake.

Frey was given a warning citation for hunting without a license.

Alligators have been blamed for three fatal attacks in the span of a week in other parts of Florida

Source: http://cbs4.com/topstories/local_story_136173119.html

Civ3 in higher education!

2006-03-12T16:04:00.000-06:00

Not Just Child’s Play

“90 AD: A recently built Zulu city fell to my forces today. It was burned to the ground. Pity, it had quite a nice view of the ocean.”
Related stories

That’s a journal entry from the emperor of Japan. The virtual emperor of Japan, anyway.

“130 AD: Persia contacted me today. Apparently, he finally convinced Cleo to introduce us. He seemed annoyed. In exchange for his World Map, I taught him Polytheism.”

These excerpts from the log of a college student playing the Civilization III video game — in which players control a society as it progresses through time — show a few of the reasons that professors are both excited about using “Civ3” in class, and why they might have some reservations.

“You have to balance war and diplomacy, and resources,” says Kimberly Weir, an assistant professor of political science at Northern Kentucky University who had several students keep logs — including the one quoted above — while playing Civ3. In the game, students have to make decisions about such issues as whether to quit tilling the fields and so that they can ambush Alexander the Great. “Students felt they better understood what it takes to balance a country,” Weir adds. She used Civ3 in an upper level diplomacy course, and found it gave students a more visceral sense of the inputs that determine the fate of a nation. At the same time, contrary to the log, there were no Zulu cities to be felled in 90 A.D., and “Cleo” wasn’t available to broker a deal with the Persians.

As much as joystick critics wish it weren’t so, video games, historical inaccuracies and all, are here to stay, and they aren’t just for kids. One survey of 650 freshmen at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that 75 percent of them played video games at least once a month. While commercial video games have flourished, those designed specifically for education, largely because of their low production value compared to consumer games, have had a rough 20 years – beginning with Donkey Kong Jr. Math, the worst selling of the 15 original titles released with the Nintendo Entertainment System. Recent research has suggested that gamers develop better rapid problem solving skills than non-gamers. The United States military has certainly noticed, creating simulation trainers for everything from ground combat to rebuilding an Iraqi city.

But are the Mario Brothers ready to go to college? Probably not, but rather than fighting the tide of game culture, some professors are embracing another type of commercial blockbuster: the historical simulation, and Civilization III is leading the charge. Nobody is quite sure how many college courses use Civilization III, but professors who use the game guessed that there are at least dozens, aside from game studies and technology courses. As the video game generation enters the academy, that number could go way up.

Firaxis Games, the company that has sold millions of copies of Civilization games now has a section on its Web site where teachers are invited to share their classroom experiences with Civ games. That section mentions Kurt D. Squire, an associate professor of educational communications and technology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison in the Educational Communications and Technology Division. Squire has studied middle school kids who played Civ3. He found that some students who were able to spend the hours needed to learn the game began to identify “rules” by which history progressed; rules that apply to such issues as resource allocation, the tradeoff between aggressive military expansion and diplomacy, and technological exchange among societies. Weir, who had college juniors and seniors playing every day for three weeks in a summer course, says some of the game scenarios helped her discuss current events. “I emphasized things like the fact that environmental problems don’t respect national borders,” she says.

Many of the professors who use Civ games in class have faced the argument, however, that simply recognizing that there’s a tradeoff between war and diplomacy does not warrant the hours of game play it takes to get deep into a Civilization game. This spring, Weir will teach Intro to International Politics. Next fall, she will teach the course again, this time using Civ3. The students registering in the fall will not be told beforehand that they will use the game. Weir plans to use exams, perhaps a mix of multiple choice and essays, to compare the classes. That will be the first study of a Civ game in the college classroom with a good control group. For now, evidence of Civ’s effectiveness, or lack there of, is anecdotal.

Some professors, rather than using an approach like Weir’s to teach historical concepts directly, are finding Civ3 useful in other ways. Andrew McMichael, an assistant professor of history at Western Kentucky University thinks that Civ3’s historical inaccuracies can be learning tools, and uses the game to teach freshmen. He pointed out that a player who chooses to control America would never see black slaves working in the fields during the antebellum period. “You can’t [put that in the game] and hope to make money,” McMichael says. He uses such concessions to modern sensibilities to discuss how history is “packaged and sold to the public.” McMichael also notes the four ways to win Civ3: send a spacecraft to Alpha Centauri; be elected secretary general of the United Nations by other countries; dominate culturally; or kick everybody’s tail in combat. “It’s nearly impossible to win diplomatically,” McMichael says. “You’re more inclined toward conquest and utter destruction.”

All of the professors interviewed agreed that the Civ3 gods created a universe in which war goes a long way. The gods, of course, are the game designers who determine the algorithms by which history, in the game, will progress. So in order for the game to accurately portray the inputs that spit out world history, the game designers had “better create a damn complex algorithm,” says Alexander Galloway, an assistant professor of culture and communication at New York University who used Civ3 in a media studies graduate seminar. “The game doesn’t progress the same way [as human history],” Galloway says, noting that a player controlling Russia would essentially have to pick one form of government and stick with it. “I’m sure there are lower level history textbooks that are reductive too.”

Patricia Seed, a history professor at the University of California at Irvine, has used several video games, including Civilization games. Seed says that “the narrative of history is embedded in the game,” and says that Civilization has made her “World History Through Games” course more attractive for science and engineering students. Seed previously taught the course at Rice University, and says she encountered some opposition from colleagues who felt knowledge needs to be painfully acquired, but she says teaching the course has been her “most rewarding experience teaching. There are people who get excited about a topic in history who’ve never been excited about history before.”

She adds that some historical simulations, while excellent for discussing military conflict and considering various possible outcomes, are often not much help “with bigger questions,” like the pros and cons of alliances. Several professors said that Civilization I and II were too warfare-oriented to be useful in class, but that the diplomacy options have been ramped up in the third edition. Seed said that several women told her that they were specifically attracted to Civ3, as opposed to Age of Empires — a more militaristic game — because of the diplomacy options. She said that no clear trend emerged among men who preferred Civ3. The one thing that Civ3 will not teach, Seed said, is chronology. “The Aztecs might end up with the HangingGardens of Babylon, Abraham Lincoln can fight Xerxes,” she said. “If you have students who can’t figure out historical chronology this might not help.”

But with the complex diplomacy of Civ3 are so compelling to gamers that a new university, of sorts, has been born. Apolyton University is an international, online community of Civ3 players dedicated to teaching Civ3 enthusiasts how to improve their skills. Community members create scenarios, a popular feature of the game, that recreate history, and offer them as “courses” to other players. Players can browse the bulletin to find “AU 210: U.N. Peacekeepers,” a scenario that prods players to keep all nations alive; or “AU 102: All we’re sayin’ is give peace a chance,” in which players must control Hippie Sam of the Americans are forbidden from building a military. Squire thinks that, as gen-X and Y’ers graduate, and some head for faculty jobs, a crop of professors who are as adept at creating accurate historical Civ scenarios as are the Apolyton profs could emerge.

For now, Seed agrees with Carl Creasman, a history professor at Valencia Community College, that more and more, students are already digesting history through simulation games, so professors ought to keep abreast of those games. Creasman doesn’t use Civlization, but he uses another historical video game called Europa Universalis II. That game focuses on the European empires from 1492 to 1792, and, Creasman said, has more historical details in that era than any other game. Creasman says that the games absolutely should be supplemented by an instructor, but says he has seen the game engage students in the kind of critical thinking that “monarchs had to do.” He recalls one student who was prompted to choose whether England should become Protestant or not. When Creasman circled the class and came back 15 minutes later, the student was still weighing the pros and cons. “I can’t decide, man,” Creasman says the student told him.

Beyond figuring out what the young’uns are up to these days, professors might actually have something to learn from historical simulations. “I learned that I’m a very conservative player,” says Weir, who has not won Civ3. “I don’t like to see my cities destroyed and taken over.”

Several of the professors who used video games reported waiting lists for their courses, and McMichael says that more men than women began flocking to his class once he began using Civ3. Creasman says that, if professors can find useful ways to incorporate some other wildly popular games into the classroom, like the first person adventure game Halo, which has a lot of shooting and no history, “you’d be the coolest professor in town.” McMichael wasn’t so sure. “I found that for students, homework is homework,” he says. “They bitched about [Civ3] as much as they do about reading.”

— David Epstein

Not sure what to make of Galloway’s reference to Russia

“[A] player controlling Russia would essentially have to pick one form of government and stick with it.”

Um...

I’ve had the Civ3 CD in my laptop almost constantly for the past 2 months. Is Galloway commenting on a restriction within the game, or is that a pedagogical restriction — that is, you’d have to restrict yourself to a single form of government in order to get historical truth out of the game? Given that Russia rather famously didn’t stick with a single form of government, I’m guessing that statement applies to Civ3.

In Civ3, there’s a brief period of chaos after the player initiates a revolution, before the new government regains control, but once the player has researched and discovered a particular form of government, it’s possible to change at will.

A player who’s playing as Catherine the Great of Russia could certainly choose to switch from Despotism to Monarchy and Communism, but the same player might switch to Democracy in the 20thC, or even back to Despotism.

Dennis G. Jerz, Assoc. Professor of English at Seton Hill University

Source: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/11/28/civ

Actual Lines from Resumes

2006-02-23T20:08:00.000-06:00

I am very detail-oreinted.

My intensity and focus are at inordinately high levels, and my ability to complete projects on time is unspeakable.

Thank you for your consideration. Hope to hear from you shorty!

Enclosed is a ruff draft of my resume.

It's best for employers that I not work with people.

Here are my qualifications for you to overlook.

I am a quick leaner, dependable, and motivated.

If this resume doesn't blow your hat off, then please return it in the enclosed envelope.

My fortune cookie said, "Your next interview will result in a job." And I like your company in particular.

You hold in your hands the resume of a truly outstanding candidate!

I saw your ad on the information highway, and I came to a screeching halt.

Insufficient writing skills, thought processes have slowed down some. If I am not one of the best, I will look for another opportunity.

Please disregard the attached resume -- it is terribly out of date.

test my mind and body, since the two are usually inseparable.

Reason for leaving last job: The owner gave new meaning to the word paranoia.

I prefer to elaborate privately.

Previous experience: Self-employed--a fiasco.

Exposure to German for two years, but many words are inappropriate for business.

My experience in horticulture is well-rooted.

Experience: Watered, groomed, and fed the family dog for years.

I am a rabid typist.

Education: College, August 1880 - May 1984.

I have a bachelorette degree in computers.

Excellent memory; strong math aptitude; excellent memory; effective management skills; and very good at math.

Graduated in the top 66% of my class.

Accomplishments: Completed 11 years of high school.

Strengths: Ability to meet deadlines while maintaining composer.

Special skills: Experienced with numerous office machines and can make great lattes.

I worked as a Corporate Lesion.

Special Skills: Speak English.

Served as assistant sore manager.

Reason for leaving last job: Pushed aside so the vice president's girlfriend could steal my job.

Married, eight children. Prefer frequent travel.

Education: B.A. in Loberal Arts.

Objective: To have my skills and ethics challenged on a daily basis

Murphy down to an equation

2006-02-15T22:22:00.000-06:00

Here is the equation:

((U+C+I) x (10-S))/20 x A x 1/(1-sin(F/10))

Or if your rather see it this way:


(U+C+I)(10-S)       A
------------- x ----------
     20        1-sin(F/10)

So what does this mean and how to use it? Here is what each letter means:

U - Urgency
C - Complexity
I - Importance
S - Skill
F - Frequency
A - Aggravation

Each of the above is measured from a scale of 1 to 9 except A which is a constant 0.7; A was found after numerous polling to prove Murphy's Law exists. The closer it is to 10, the more likely Murphy's law will strike. So if you want a percentage, mulitply the result by 10%. Here is the equation in steps.

1) Add the Urgency, Complexity, and Importance together.
2) Take 10 and subtract your Skill.
3) Multiply (1) and (2) together then divide by 20.
4) Take the Frequency score, showing how often you do this, and divide by 10.
5) Find the sine of (4) and subtract that from 1.
6) Take (3) times 0.7 and divide by (5).

Lets use an example: me needing to go to the bathroom in a crowded room.

Urgency: extremely time sensitive, so its a 9.
Complexity: getting through without letting it out? HA! 9.
Importance: well, considering this is all I can think about, 9.
Skill: I am an introvert, for crying out loud. 3.
Frequency: Not too often, thank God! 3.

1) U+C+I = 27
2) 10-S = 7
3) 27 x 7 / 20 = 9.45
4) F/10 = 0.3
5) 1 - sin 0.3 = 0.7044
6) 9.45 x 0.7 / 0.7044 = 9.391

Hmm... very likely I will soil it, eh? 93.9% chance. I ran it through the worst case scenario and come up with approx 39. Out of a scale of 10? Wha?!? Tell me what you think of it and if it can be improved.

Beware The Second Half of March

2006-02-13T18:31:00.000-06:00

=> Tehran is planning a nuclear weapons test before the Iranian New Year on March 20, 2006 says a group opposed to the regime in Tehran.

http://www.upi.com/InternationalIntelligence/view.php?StoryID=20060119-075725-6399r

=> On March 20, 2006, Iran is planning to open an International Oil Bourse (IOB, exchange) for the express purpose of trading oil priced in other currencies, including Euros.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroeuro

How this will effect the USA: http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1137510262.php

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System will cease publication of 'the M3 monetary aggregate March 23.

=> Israeli elections are March 28. In addition, Sharon is rumored to warn Israel's armed forces to prepare for war against Iran late march.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-1920074,00.html

=> US Midterm elections begin late March. A war with Iran won't be bad for the Republicans.

=> The IAEA has a report due for March on Iran.

=> The war in Iraq started March 2003

=> Some are reporting US has plans to invade Iran before Bush's term ends

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10441.htm

Spiral down to war?

2006-02-07T21:29:00.000-06:00

The Danish cartoons, I think, is proof that a far larger traditional, political, and cultural war between Islam and the west is coming. In case you haven't seen them:

http://face-of-muhammed.blogspot.com/

Iran, the most vocal anti-Israel nation, promise to do something similar for the Holocaust.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/FCE073DD-7F1B-4714-95F0-DD1F354F1D9A.htm

Again, I doubt war will break out until Israel pullout is finished.

For those of you who are not familiar with Islam and wondering why, though some are sacrilegious against Islam, the others are too, the Prophet may not be displayed in public places, not to mention caricaturized. As for overreacting, before 9/11 the Middle East was not talk about much as it is now and only now have our two cultures clashing together. We are ignorant of them as they are ignorant of us. When I hear, "What if someone did this with Jesus", I tell them it HAS happened. The movie The Last Temptation of Christ to the recent Book of Daniel which exploded in NBC's face.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060125/tv_nm/leisure_daniel_dc

The only difference is how to use the right way how to use the freedom of speech. Hint: Calling in bomb threats isn't a right. Boycotts are. My opinion, both those Danish and those setting fire to embassies are crazy and immature.

Wiki in the News

2006-01-31T17:53:00.000-06:00

Wikipedia is my favorite website. So when I saw FNC having them on Special Report's Grapevine segment, I exploded. Wiki banned all congress IP addresses from editing its pages.

Wiki's own page of this event

The talk page of Marty Meehan

News articals:

And this here is what started this whole thing.

Who's on E-first?

2006-01-18T17:44:00.000-06:00

This is a modern version of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello sketch, "Who's on First?", involving computers instead of baseball. Here is the origional for those who wasn't born yet.

*COSTELLO CALLS TO BUY A COMPUTER FROM ABBOTT*

ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?

COSTELLO: Thanks. I'm setting up an office in my den and I'm thinking about buying a computer.

ABBOTT: Mac?

COSTELLO: No, the name's Lou.

ABBOTT: Your computer?

COSTELLO: I don't own a computer. I want to buy one.

ABBOTT: Mac?

COSTELLO: I told you, my name's Lou.

ABBOTT: What about Windows?

COSTELLO: Why? Will it get stuffy in here?

ABBOTT: Do you want a computer with Windows?

COSTELLO: I don't know. What will I see when I look at the windows?

ABBOTT: Wallpaper.

COSTELLO: Never mind the windows. I need a computer and software.

ABBOTT: Software for Windows?

COSTELLO: No. On the computer! I need something I can use to write proposals track expenses and run my business. What do you have?

ABBOTT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend anything?

ABBOTT: I just did.

COSTELLO: You just did what?

ABBOTT: Recommend something.

COSTELLO: You recommended something?

ABBOTT: Yes.

COSTELLO: For my office?

ABBOTT: Yes.

COSTELLO: OK, what did you recommend for my office?

ABBOTT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yes, for my office!

ABBOTT: I recommend Office with Windows.

COSTELLO: I already have an office with windows! OK, let's just say I'm sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal. What do I need?

ABBOTT: Word.

COSTELLO: What word?

ABBOTT: Word in Office.

COSTELLO: The only word in office is office.

ABBOTT: The Word in Office for Windows.

COSTELLO: Which word in office for windows?

ABBOTT: The Word you get when you click the blue "W".

COSTELLO: I'm going to click your blue "w" if you don't start with some straight answers. What about finan cial bookkeeping? You have anything I can track my money with?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: That's right. What do you have?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: I need money to track my money?

ABBOTT: It comes bundled with your computer.

COSTELLO: What's bundled with my computer?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: Money comes with my computer?

ABBOTT: Yes. No extra charge.

COSTELLO: I get a bundle of money with my computer? How much?

ABBOTT: One copy.

COSTELLO: Isn't it illegal to copy money?

ABBOTT: Microsoft gave us a license to copy Money.

COSTELLO: They can give you a license to copy money?

ABBOTT: Why not? THEY OWN IT!

(A few days later)

ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?

COSTELLO: How do I turn my computer off?

ABBOTT: Click on "START"......

My take of LWW

2005-12-11T17:20:00.000-06:00

First of all, I usually remember the trailers. Many I do because they are sequals are movies I already know about: Ice Age 2, Pirates of the Caribian sequal, and Pixar's Cars. There was one that wasn't but I don't remember squat what it was. I blame this movie.

While I consider the last LotR movies the most violent PG-13 movie ever, I also consider this film the most violent PG movie ever. First it is a fantasy film and then a family film. Note I didn't say children film. IT IS NOT! Thirdly... its a war film. Yes, you heard me correctly! No, I don't mean the war between Narnia, Harry Potter, and LotR fans!!! In fact, the first scene is a Nazi bombing run in England. As the previews show, there is a major sword & magic battle scene which includes: gryphans 'bombing' the witch's soldiers with large bolders, a Pheonix burning them, and the witch turning several creatures into stone. No blood, no gore. Just numerious instances of animals and beasts hurting and killing others on screen.

The other highly talked about aspect about this film is its Christian symbolism. This is NOT a Christian film. It IS inspired by Christianity. It is enjoyable even if you don't know or ignorant of Christianity, but I do think those familiar with Christianity will get more out of it. The 4 children - a teenage boy and girl and a preteen boy and girl - are called 'sons of Adam' and 'daughters of Eve' in a land where humans are mythical creatures. The Lion Aslan is modled after Jesus Christ. To explain how will be a major spoiler. I will say this though: he is murdered for a reason similar to Christ's motivation to die accoding to Christian beliefs. For those of us we seen a few R rated films, it isn't a problem Kids though... yikes!

Yes, I am saying perhaps too many warnings about the violence found in this film. According to IMDB posters who read the other books, they can't see how they can avoid an R rating with them! (Note: I have not read any of them so I can't say) I give it more of a PG-10. Strange because the first 45 minutes is rated G easy. Some say boring. I don't think so. I like it more than the first act of Fellowship of the Ring.

Other odds and ends: Santa plays a cameo. (!!!) Little too much 'deus ex machina' for my tastes though. Of course some of my favorite stories have main characters being killed off so perhaps I am picky. The music was fantastic and sounds very Celtic-ish. There was clapping when it ends. Speaking of which, stay for just 30 or so seconds through the credits. The theater was crowded so most seen the epilogue. Kinda hints of a sequal without really stating so.

3 ½ / 4 stars

Christmas List

2005-11-11T17:55:00.000-06:00

Subject to Change

As usual, the bulk of my list is books and DVDs. But I am asking for another thing too, which is a shock!

Card table (or a similar table) with a HARD surface. No padding.

What may be considered a 'lap table' and/or a chalkboard.

Okay, now for the usual junk, ordered from most want to least want. The ones with a * is what I want the most. BTW, I've already seen Batman Begins in theaters!!!

Books

* The CSS Anthology - Instead of teaching CSS, it shows common problems and the solution for that problem. The 'cookbook' approach I so much like. $40. (Ouch)

* DSM-IV-TR - the actual thing instead of the lightweight I got now. EXPENSIVE. ~ $65

Machiavelli's The Prince - Cost varies as this is a classic. If you can get his "The Art of War", which has nothing to do with Sun Tzu (and which I already got), all the better. It may be cheaper to get them separately.

DVDs (all in widescreen, NOT fullscreen!)

* Batman Begins
Constatine
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
What Lies Beneath
Star Wars: Episode III
Lost in Translation

So little time....

2005-11-08T18:20:00.000-06:00

I compiled this list when someone said I recently meet said, "I think seemingly there are too many [classics] but that's because people refuse to refine their taste for anything, literature, film, etc." That lead me to compile this ridiculous list of books I have and either haven't finished... or even started! And its not even complete! That will be just way, way, way too long and there is enough dust on my two bookshelves to do that. Ask for a pic... hope still got it. So these are just the ones I want to mention. They do not include anthologies (Lovecraft, Asimov) or major tomes like The Bible and The Koran, which I DO have. Found a lot of misquotes of The Koran. Going to include the genre/subject in parenthesis and those with a '*' I highly recommend.

Started

The Art of Rhetoric (Aristotle)
Calculating God (sci-fi novel for the gnostically inclined)
Competitive Strategy (biz)
Cryptonomican (novel about crypography)
***** DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA *****
Diplomacy (political history by Kissinger)
Dracula (horror classic... chapter 4 GREAT, chapter 5 BORING)
Don Quixote (Spanish classic)
The Elegant Universe (String theory) *
Faith and Freedom (Luther)
Frankenstine (horror classic)
Gödel, Escher, Bach (little of every abstract subject you can think of!) *
The Hero with a Thousand Faces (mythology, The Hero's Journey)
The Hidden Book (short mystery novel set in Transavania)
The Midnight Disease (writing, neurology, psychology disorders) *
Nicomachen Ethics (Aristotle... wonder how this INTP brainiac stayed sane)
A Sideways Look at Time (philosophy, musings)
Sun Tzu's The Art of War (war philosophy)
The Two Americas (politics)
The Urantia Book (don't ask!)

The last two Hitchhiker novels (got all 5 in one book)

Haven't Started

Ethics of Liberty (Libertarian philosophy)
Kama Sutra (whatever your doing, STOP IT! Electronic, require formatting)
Paradise Lost (classic)
Phantom of the Opera (classic)
Tale of Two Cities (classic)

Important FYI

2005-11-03T18:12:00.000-06:00

A few things.

1) Found out Blogger now has a way to prevent automated spammers from spamming our blogs! Check the one before this one, on griddlers. All of that is spammers! Well, the last is me.

2) Started a blog on me currently applying for the Peace Corps. Hopes it will become a lot more over the next 3 or so years. Already edited and installed StatCounter.

3) Started to implement Google's AdSense. Seem to flicker a bit when the page loads though. Hmmm....

4) I missed and totally forgot Martha's Apprentice yesterday. What happened?!? If that obnoxious one got fired, I am going to cry. I want to see him get fired!

Griddlers Strategy Guide

2005-09-25T13:04:00.000-05:00

Griddlers (aka Nonograms) begin with an empty grid with numbers on top (or bottom) and on one side. Your goal is to 'chisel' out a picture in the grid using the numbers as clues. Each number tells you how big a string of filled in squares are needed. Example, having "3,2" as a clue means you are going to need to find 3 consecutive, filled in squares, then at least one square not filled in, then 2 consecutive, filled in squares. Squares not filled in are usually marked with a dot or a small 'x'. Figuring out which squares need to be filled in, and thereby discovering a picture, is what makes Griddlers fun.

Before I get into the strategies themselves, let me show you a counting technique I use. When you are added numbers, add an additional one except for the last number. This reflects the need for a space between each string of filled in squares. For example, "2,3,3" should be added in your head as "3+4+3 = 10". Some may find it easy to simply add a number by one automatically than thinking "2+1+3+1+3". If this confuse you, it will be illustrated in my second strategy.

I order the bits of strategies from simple to most complex. For fill in squares, I use '#'. For squares you know won't be filled in, I use 'x'. For squares where the result is still not known, I use '_'.

**********

ONE: Perfect fit / Empty

This is obvious. If the clue is one number equal to the size of the grid, then fill it all in! Likewise, a clue of 0 means nothing is filled in. X it all out. So on a 10x10...

# # # # # # # # # # 10
x x x x x x x x x x 0

TWO: Perfect fit in parts

Using the counting technique, if it adds up to the grid size, you likewise can fill and x out all squares according to the clue numbers. Using the "2,3,3" in a 10x10 example again, it will look like this.

# # x # # # x # # # 2,3,3

THREE: Overlap fit

If the clue is a single number that is greater than half the size of the grid, you know that you can fill some of the middle squares together. In a 10x10, that will be anything larger than a 6. To illustrate this, assume we have a row with a clue '6' and we fill it out on the left and right.

# # # # # # _ _ _ _ 6
_ _ _ _ # # # # # # 6

As you can see, the middle two are filled in for both cases. So you can safely fill in those squares:

_ _ _ _ # # _ _ _ _ 6

FOUR: Can't fit

If you x out some squares, and the string of unknown squares are smaller than the clue, you can x those out too. For example, consider this.

_ _ _ _ _ _ x _ _ x 5

There is no way that string of 5 can fit between those two x squares. So x them out:

_ _ _ _ _ _ x x x x 5

FIVE: Partial line overlap

Lets combine the last two strategies by continuing using or last example. If you count out 5 from the left and 5 from the right (just left of the left most x), you know that four squares have to be filled in. So:

_ # # # # _ x x x x 5

Again, you can do this when the clue is greater than half of the string of unknown squares. 5 is greater than half of 6 (3), in this case.

SIX: Multiple overlaps

The above clues will be enough to get you through all easy griddlers. Eventually though you need to do this strategy. Hard griddlers will demand this out of you A LOT.

To begin, you need to count off from one side what you know (strategy 3), but with multiple numbers with the counting technique. Start with the largest number clue. Count off to one side till you reach the last square for the large number in question. Note that. Do the same for the other side. If you don't pass that square you noted, you can't use this strategy. If you do, start filling in that noted square plus all the others you can fill while counting.

Lets use "2,4,1" in a 10x10 grid. If you mentally count off 3+4, or 7 from the left....

# # _ # # # # _ _ _ 2,4,1

... and 2+4 from the right (remember! One plus one for the x plus four!)...

_ _ _ _ # # # # _ # 2,4,1

... you will see 3 squares can be filled in.

_ _ _ _ # # # _ _ _ 2,4,1

**********

As you can see, you may need to combine strategies to find squares you can fill in or rule out. Sometimes this just fall into place. Take these examples.

_ _ _ _ _ # _ _ _ _ 2,1

Here you can't do diddly.

_ _ _ _ _ # # _ _ _ 2,1

Now we can do something. We found our string of '2', so place an x on each side of it and, since nothing is to the left of it, x all of squares to the left too.

x x x x x # # x _ _ 2,1

That leaves only 2 unknown squares, one of which is filled in. One more.

_ _ # _ _ _ # _ _ _ 2,1

You can tell that those 3 unknown squares in the middle can't all be filled in; the right filled in square have to be the '1' and the one on the left have to be part of the '2'. Since we got our '1', lets x out the square to the left and right of it, along with all of the squares on the right.

_ _ # _ _ x # x x x 2,1

As for the '2', either the square to the immediate left or the immediate right is filled in, but we don't know which. All the others we can rule out. So it know looks like this.

x _ # _ x x # x x x 2,1

**********

I like to show you two more things before concluding. Note these are far more complex examples. They expand on the sixth strategy.

1) If you have a large number on the end (instead of the middle), use the counting technique and see how far it goes. If it is close enough to the end, you know you can fill in some squares. Take this 15x15 example.

_ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ 7,4

That may not look possible at first glance. But if you count 5+7, you get 12. Since griddlers are often portioned into mini-grids of 5x5, it will be easy to spot what that twelfth square will be.

<= count 5+7=12
_ _ _ # _ | _ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ 7,4

That is within the 7 squares from the left! So you know every square to the left of it, within those 7 left most squares, are filled in.

_ _ _ _ # | # # _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ 7,4

Now let do the same from the left to the right. 8+4 is 12 (again), so the twelfth square is...

count 8+4=12 =>
_ _ _ _ # | # # _ _ _ | _ # _ _ _ 7,4

... which is just barely the fourth square. All other you don't know anything about.

2) For those you don't mind number-crunching instead of counting, here is another thing you can do to improve the sixth strategy. Lets use a 20x20 illustration!

_ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ 7,2,1,4

You CAN count it out like I just shown you. But if your want harder proof than clumsy counting, do this. First, take the grid size, add one, subtract the number of clue numbers, then the number of filled in squares. (Yep, our counting technique is buried in that equation). In our example, the grid size is 20, the number of clue numbers is 4, and the number of filled in squares is 7+2+1+4 or 14.

Grid Size + 1 - Number of Clue Numbers - Number of Filled In Squares

20 + 1 - 4 - 14 = 3.

That number tells you that any clue number greater than that number has something of it that can be filled in. To find out how much, take the clue number and subtract this number you just found; ignore the negative values.

7,2,1,4
7-3,2-3,1-3,4-3
4,-1,-2,1
4,_,_,1

So we can fill in four of the '7' and one of the '4'. Now we got this. Count it out if you like as I shown you and you will see.

_ _ _ # # | # # _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ | _ # _ _ _ 7,2,1,4

**********

Late in a griddler you might go around in circles. With a row clue you finish a row, but that square makes you finish a column, which finish another row, which finish another column, etc. around and around. Or you may mark enough squares off to form areas, and with the clue numbers you got, you know where each consecutive string of squares are in a row or column, but still can't fill any of it in! Remember! NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING! If you have to, fiddle around on a scratch paper on what may be and then make your rulings on what you now know as is. Also look for counterexamples. Say you think these squares should be filled in, but not sure. Can you think of another example? If so, forget it and try something else.

And finally, if you are well beyond stuck and about to go iNsAnE, don't! Here is an online solver you can use.

Have fun!

DVD List

2005-09-25T12:49:00.000-05:00

Here is an alphabetical (I hope!) list of DVDs I have. This isn't all of them. Some are not movies, like one which shows some autopsy cases, so I didn't put them down. Also I know I lost at least one while sorting them into alpha-order. Note that just because I have it, doesn't mean I like it or recommend it. I mark those which I wish I didn't got with a '(-)'. Those that I really do like has a '(+)' with them. Subject to change without notice!

12 Angry Men - Jury drama
1984 - Drama
24: Season One
24: Season Two
28 Days Later - Horror
The 6th Day - Action drama
Abre Los Ojos (Open Your Eyes) - Psychological drama (+)
The Abyss Special Edition - Sci-fi drama
Anger Management - Psychological comedy (-)
The Apostle - Religious drama (+)
The Arrival - Sci-fi drama
Armitage III - Japanese anime
Bells of St. Mary's - Comedy drama oldie
Below - WWII ghost story
Blade Runner - Sci-fi action
Blair Witch Project - Horror
Bourne Identity - Action drama
Brazil - 1984ish comedy (+)
Bruce Almighty - Comedy
Capricorn One - Drama
Casablanca - Classic
Catch Me If You Can - Drama
The Cell - Horror
Children of Dune - Sci-fi
Chinatown - Crime classic
Citizen Kain - Classic
Clue - Comedy mystery
Cold Creek Manor - Drama thriller
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon - Action drama
The Crow - Sci-fi action
The Dark Crystal - Fantasy
Das Boot - War
The Dead Zone - Drama
Deceiver - Psychological crime drama (+)
Doc Hollywood - Comedy drama
Donnie Darko (Director's Cut) - Psychological sci-fi comedy
Dreamcatcher - Sci-fi drama
Dune - Sci-fi (+)
Enigma - Historical drama
Equilibrium - 1984ish action (+)
Falling Down - Psychological action comedy
The Fifth Element - Sci-fi action
Flatliners - Sci-fi drama thriller
Forbidden Planet - Sci-fi classic
Frequency - Sci-fi Drama
Gladiator - Historical action
Glory - War
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly - Western
Gosford Park - Mystery
Gothika - Psychological ghost story
The Green Mile - Drama
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Fantasy
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - Fantasy
Hart's War - Mystery
HellBoy - Action
Hero - Historical action
Hide and Seek - Psychological drama
Hitchhiker Guide to the Galaxy miniseries - Sci-fi comedy
The Horror Express - Hammer classic
How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days - Romantic comedy
Hulk - Action
Ice Age - Pixar-like
The Incredibles - Pixar
Insomnia - Psychological crime drama
In the Mouth of Madness - Lovecraftian (+)
I, Robot - Sci-fi
It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World - Comedy
Ju-On - Japanese horror
The Last Man on Earth - Horror oldie
Last of the Mohicans - Historical drama
Like Water for Chocolate - Romantic Mexican drama
Little Nemo - Pixar
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring - Fantasy
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Fantasy
Luther - Historical religious drama (+)
Manos - MST3K (w/ Santa Conquers the Martians) (-)
Matrix - Sci-fi Action
Matrix Reloaded - Sci-fi Action
Men In Black - Sci-fi comedy
Million Dollar Baby - Drama
Minority Report - Sci-fi Action
Monster's Inc - Pixar (+)
The Mothman Prophecies - Psychological sci-fi drama (+)
Murder by Death - Comedy mystery
Murder on the Orient Express - Poirot classic
Mystic River - Mystery drama
Naked Lunch - Weird sci-fi thingmagig (-)
O Brother Where Art Thou - Historical musical comedy (+)
One Hour Photo - Psychological thriller (+)
Oscar - Comedy (+)
Others - Ghost story
The Passion of The Christ - Historical religious drama
The Patriot - War
Poirot: The ABC Murders - Mystery
Poirot: Death in the Clouds - Mystery
Poirot: Death on the Nile - Mystery
Poirot: Evil Under the Sun - Mystery
Poirot: Five Little Pigs - Mystery (+) <= Best Poirot movie I seen
Poirot: The Hollow - Mystery
Poirot: Lord Edgeware Dies - Mystery
Poirot: Murder in Mesopotamia - Mystery
Poirot: The Murder of Rodger Ackroyd - Mystery (-) <= RUINED my favorite Poitrot novel!
Poirot: The Mysterious Affair at Styles - Mystery
Poirot: One Two Buckle My Shoe - Mystery
Poirot: Peril at End House - Mystery
Poirot: Sad Cypress - Mystery
The Powerpuff Girls: The Movie - Children
Play Misty for Me - Drama thriller
Raising Cain - Psychological thriller
The Recruit - Drama
The Ring - Horror
Ringu - Japanese horror
Rose Red - Stephen King miniseries (+)
Roujin Z - Japanese Anime
Rounders - Poker drama
The Russia House - Cold War drama (+)
Santa Conquers the Martians - MST3K sci-fi comedy
Saving Private Ryan - War
Secret Window - Psychological drama
The Serpent and the Rainbow - Horror drama
Shanghai Nights - Action comedy
Shanghai Noon - Action comedy
Shindler's List - Drama
The Shining - Stephen King miniseries
Shogun - Drama miniseries (+)
Signs - Sci-fi drama
Space Cowboys - Comedy drama
Spider - Psychological drama (+)
Spiderman - Action
Spiderman 2 - Action
The Stand - Stephen King miniseries (+)
Star Wars trilogy (Eps. 4-6) - Sci-fi
Storm of the Century - Stephen King miniseries (+)
Stuart Little - Family
Supernova - Sci-fi
The Thing - Horror (+)
Thirteen Days - Historical Drama
Tomie - Japanese horror
Traffic - Drama Tomie - Japanese horror
Vanilla Sky - Psychological drama
The Village - Drama
What the Deaf Man Heard - Comedy drama (+)
What Women Want - Comedy (+)
When Harry Met Sally - Romantic comedy (+)
Willard - Horror comedy (+)
Unbreakable - Sci-fi drama
The Unsaid - Drama
You've Got Mail - Comedy drama

Jerusalem: Future Capital of the World?

2005-09-17T08:38:00.000-05:00

Since I am so focused on events in Israel and what I believe will become the future WW IV, I checked what Ariel Sharon had to say in the UN.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=89940

Prime Minister Sharon Addresses United Nations

PM Ariel Sharon told the United Nations Thursday night that the Arabs living in the Land of Israel deserve a state, and that Israel is ready for more "painful concessions."

I am not going to quote the entire article, but like to point out a few things he said.

"'We have no desire to rule over the Palestinians, who also desire freedom and who deserve their own state.'" ... then later ... "the separation fence would continue to be built. 'The fence is a lifesaver'" Again, this still seems like segregation to me. Once all things Jewish is removed, there is no problem going all out and annihilating everything inside 'the fence'.

"'"We have no desire to rule over the Palestinians, who also desire freedom and who deserve their own state.'" This is what is making most of the fuss in Israel. And why is it people forget these Palestinians are JORDANIAN?!?

But here is what I am more concerned. What are these "painful concessions."? The building of the wall makes me think of Cold War Germany and the Berlin wall. Since Jerusalem is important to both the Jews and Arabs, I am thinking how it may be changed. Here is the last paragraph of the article.

Sharon has revealed himself to be a complete leftist, and he is not embarrassed of it," MK Rabbi Benny Elon (National Union) said in response to the speech. "He intends to create an independent Arab state in Judea and Samaria, with Jerusalem as its capital.

So, did anybody else mentioned Jerusalem? Yep! Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez!!!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-5282150,00.html

Title: "Chavez Says U.N. to Move to Jerusalem"

Chavez said U.N. headquarters should be moved from New York to international city ``outside the sovereignty of any state,'' and noted that some have suggested Jerusalem.

And on a related note, with my country fixated on Katrina more than anything else, if another major disaster occurs, the U.S. may be too crippled to do much of anything for some time. Was concerned about Ophelia, which is now passing. (Named after the character in Hamlet? Who kills herself by drowning?!?) Still, the possibility of The Big One in California we are still waiting for. In case you need to remember, the FEMA report that came out the day before 9/11...

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/12557587.htm

In 2001, the Federal Emergency Management Agency ranked the most likely and deadly disasters that could befall the United States. The top three were a terrorist attack on New York, an earthquake in San Francisco and a hurricane in New Orleans.

There is one other thing that can economically cripple the US, making other countries stronger. Currency. The dollar is loosing its choice as the default world reserve currency and the euro may replace it. And when it comes to money and traded communities, what else is most important than oil?

http://www.feasta.org/documents/papers/oil1.htm

What I am about to say shouldn't be viewed that I am unpatriotic or anything. In the near future, the US may not be a world player anymore, or at least as much as it has been since the second half of the 20th century. That will be between Europe, Russia, Israel, and China, with the Islamic Middle East nations thrown in the middle for thier battle for top spot. When the time comes... and it will... just hope the US will see the carnage from afar and stay out of it. I certainly won't mind a little break from world politics and see how the rest of the world deal with each other. Then again, according to my faith, I won't be on this planet anymore either, and the world will only have 7 or less years before the start of a new age.

US - World relations

2005-09-15T17:33:00.000-05:00

I always like hearing about how countries outside the USA is viewing us, and how we as a whole view them in return. Found two things. One is this poll that shows how we view other countries as allied. Then there is this that follows.

Euro-Gloaters

Media: Far and wide, but mostly in Europe, the world's media see Katrina's devastation as a sign of America's cultural inferiority and social backwardness. But let's look at the facts.

'The Shaming Of America," reads The Economist's headline. French left-wing daily Le Monde's headlines speak of "fractures" in American society. Spain's and Germany's newspapers take turns gleefully blaming President Bush.

No question, people suffered unnecessarily following Katrina. The federal government and state and local officials deserve their share of the blame. We're all for rational, measured criticism from all quarters.

But many among Europe's media and intellectual classes have used a horrible disaster to score cheap debating points against U.S. culture and its way of life. This strikes us not only as false and misguided, but seriously lacking in insight.

After all, wasn't it just two summers ago that Europe let an estimated 40,000 people die during a heat wave — nearly 15,000 in France alone — in part because many people couldn't be bothered to return from their August vacations on the Riviera to help Grandmere and Grandpere leave their sweltering apartments?

Despite such shocking failures of the "European model," the region's chattering classes babble on about the "fractures" in American society — between black and white, rich and poor. This is particularly galling, given Europe's economic failure in recent years.

OK, you want fractures? Europe's fast-growing Muslim population — now 20 million and growing, unlike the population of the rest of Europe — is spawning a generation of West-hating terror bombers, like the ones who murdered dozens of innocent Londoners on July 7. France, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Spain all share this growing problem.

You want shame? How about Europe ignoring the slaughter of civilians in the Balkans during the 1990s, until the U.S. sent troops and bombers — without U.N. approval, of course — to halt the killing? Or German and French complicity in Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein's odious regime? "Shame" isn't strong enough a word.

Even the fixation of Europeans on what they call America's "endemic" poverty strikes a false note. After all, "poor" is itself a relative term. And in recent years, Europe, with its lumbering welfare state, ridiculous taxation, double-digit unemployment and cumbersome rules, has by U.S. standards become increasingly poor.

That's right. Poor. The image of the well-to-do European, driving a luxury sports car, sipping red wine, working short days and enjoying eight weeks of vacation a year will soon be a thing of the past — if it ever existed in reality. Europe is slipping into genteel poverty.

A study last year by the Swedish think tank Timbro noted this: The EU's 15 main nations, on average, have greater incomes than just four U.S. states. And Americans, on average, consume twice as much in dollar terms than citizens in Europe.

This gap, Timbro noted, isn't narrowing. It's widening.

Europeans have invented a word for the kind of socioeconomic gloating we've seen in recent weeks: "schadenfreude," or joy in the misfortunes of others. Well, here's another word they might want to put into their English-language vocabulary: humility.

Source: Investor's Business Daily

Abuse of Priorities

2005-09-14T17:29:00.000-05:00

Hope the people of Louisiana with FIRE this person when he is up for reelection again.

Congressman removed items from home while on Guard tour

WASHINGTON -- A Louisiana congressman being escorted by National Guard troops removed personal items from his home in flooded New Orleans while military helicopters and emergency workers raced to save thousands of victims stranded on rooftops in public shelters.

Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., said he had planned to check on his house Sept. 2 after traveling with President Bush to survey the damage across the Gulf Coast and accepted the Louisiana National Guard escort only after his staff and Capitol police warned him it was unsafe to travel alone because of looting and lawlessness in the city.

After touring the flood damaged city from the air, and visiting evacuees at the Louisiana Superdome and at the city's Convention Center, Jefferson said he asked his National Guard escorts to drive him to his Uptown neighborhood, several miles from the Superdome.

"I was intending to go to my neighborhood for sure, if I could get there, I didn't know what the condition was," Jefferson said Wednesday. "I was curious to know and everybody in my family was curious to know, what was the condition of our house. Was it underwater? Was it looted?"

While Jefferson was checking out his house, the military truck that brought him there got stuck in the mud and a second truck had to be sent to rescue the congressmen and his National Guard escort, said Maj. Ed Bush, a spokesman for the Louisiana National Guard.

A Coast Guard helicopter rescuing people stranded on rooftops also spotted the group at the congressman's house and sent a rescue swimmer down to investigate. Jefferson said he and the guardsmen tried to wave the helicopter off, but the pilot apparently didn't see him and the swimmer ended up kicking in a door and entering his house through a balcony.

But Cmd. Brendan McPherson, a spokesman for the Coast Guard, said the helicopter pilot responded to a distress signal from the National Guardsmen outside Jefferson's house before lowering the rescue swimmer. At the time, water was waist deep around the house and the guardsmen were standing on the front porch.

"It was clear to them that they were being signaled, as they had been in many other cases when someone was in distress," McPherson said.

An Air National Guardsman who had hitched a ride on the truck carrying Jefferson from the Superdome was rescued at Jefferson's home, McPherson said, but Jefferson declined the Coast Guard offer of help. Three other people also were rescued from the congressman's neighborhood before the helicopter returned to Mobile, Ala., he said.

Jefferson said the visit to his house, first reported Tuesday night by ABC News, would have been over quickly if the truck had not gotten stuck. He said the only things he removed from his house were two suitcases and two laptop computers belonging to his daughters, who were preparing to leave for college and an internship when the storm struck.

Lt. Col. Pete Schneider, another Louisiana Guard spokesman, said Jefferson was the only official who requested a Guard tour of the city via ground transportation.

"Congressman Jefferson wanted to tour his district and was put in a high water vehicle for that purpose," he said.

Schneider declined to comment when asked if the tour had distracted from the Guard's other duties.

"I didn't want to have anybody with me," Jefferson said. "I was perfectly happy just by myself but they thought it was too risky. I regret that there was any need to have anybody there."

Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Source: http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=3850954

On Katrina...

2005-09-12T21:25:00.000-05:00

First of all, I am *sick* of all the finger pointing and blaming. DO WHAT RELIEF YOU CAN *THEN* CHEW EACH OTHER OUT!!! Yesh. Anyway, here is a few things you haven't heard.

1) Here is a computer run simulation of a hurricane hitting New Orleans. I ask again, why not spend 200 million to protect the city instead of billions for relief efforts?

http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=13051

Another thing that concerns me. When the worst part of the storm passed, Louisiana sighed with relief. Then nearly a day later - 21 hours - the levees broke. I wonder if they can examine why then. Yes... thinking sabotage.

2) Scott Stevens is an NBC weatherman collecting data that weather control technology already exists. Here is something he said about Ophelia, and his main website.

http://cyberspaceorbit.com/scottoph.html
http://www.weatherwars.info/

3) And on the same idea, this. What is interesting is that Opehlia has the same name as this project and the newest hurricane!

http://www.whatdoesitmean.com/index819.htm

*****

As a side note, I was trying to find more hardcore evidence to what this conspiracy nuts are saying, using the book I got on how lies becomes news. What you are about to do should blow your freaking mind. I will show that this is legit by asking you to go directly to the Senate website.

http://www.senate.gov/

Now, click Senators, find Senator Hutchison's name and choose it, which takes you to her website, look down toward the left and find the link 'Legislation' under 'LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES', click the first link for 109th Congress (Legislation Sponsored by Senator Hutchison), and do a page search for 'S.517'. As of typing this, it is item #10. Click S.517.

Bill title: "A bill to establish a Weather Modification Operations and Research Board, and for other purposes."

Amazing what isn't reported in the news.

Abre Los Ojos vs. Vanilla Sky

2005-07-10T17:55:00.000-05:00

I brought and then watched both of these movies back-to-back. The first was done by a Chili-born Spanish director; the second the American remake. This is my argument on which is better. If you seen neither film, let me warn you some spoilers follows. If you want to know which I think is best over all, skip to the last paragraph.

Before I being, let me just state a few things to help out on any confusion, on an already confusing movie. There is four major characters. The main one is César/David, his initial girlfriend Nuria/Julie, his best friend Pelayo/Brian, and his girlfriend who César/David quickly developed a crush on, Sofia, played by Penélope Cruz in both films. It also helps to divide the film into four acts. The first one I like to call, this isn't in either film, "The Love Triangle", and it includes everything up to the crash. It shows how Nuria/Julie relationship ended - literally - with César/David when he got too interested in Pelayo/Brian's new girlfriend. The second "Disfigured", as César/David deals with his life after the wreak. The third act, "Surreal", starts when he wakes up with a hangover on the street, Sofia finding him there. The murder scene is the ending of that act and the beginning of the finale, which I just like to call "LE". Since Vanilla Sky (VS) is the remake, I will use it and compare it to Abre Los Ojos (ALO).

First of all, VS is the same film as ALO. No major plot changes, like you sometimes get. You can see the same scenes in both films, with one exception I noted. There was minor differences throughout, which I wll note below. VS is 18 minutes longer, mostly because it added a few things.

Take the first act. Julie had more on screen time than Nuria, though not too much. We also see a lot more of David's business as the leader of a magazine publishing company and the '7 dwarves' he has to work with, unlike César's chain or restaurants. Pointing out David's playboy lifestyle as a weakness is hinted at through frequent use of the word marriage and one common line throughout the film. To quote Brian (ugh, rarely do I see my name used in a movie... not use to it!) in the birthday party, "Just remember, the sweet is never as sweet without the sour, and I know the sour." Finally the drive just before the crash was longer, more exciting, and meaningful. I like those elements. What I didn't like is Sofia seeming to be more infatuated with David unlike ALO. In ALO she says through her actions that he won't mind being friends with César since they share a friend in common, but she is Pelayo's. Since this deals with one of the main themes of this movie, I have to go with ALO on this act by a little. Oh, and Sofia has a dog instead of a cat. Noticed that in both films this is the only scene you see her pet.

In act 2, VS has David's arm injured in addition to is face disfigurement. I like the scene with the surgeons more. "Because for a minute there, I thought we were talking about A F***ING MASK! .... This completely takes care of Halloween. But what about the other 364 days of the year?" Sofia isn't a mime but a dancer. At first this didn't seem to matter till I noticed one scene they just took out. Here is the one scene that don't have a scene in VS. In ALO, César watched her mime until it started to rain, washing her makeup off. She started to put things away and César asks why she won't talk or look at him, placing the blame on the fact he is now disfigured. The scene doesn't end well for either of them. What VS did instead is David following Sofia dressed up so that she can't tell that is him, and just watching her from a distance. In a later scene - they are not connected - he reintroduce himself and ends okay for them both. I prefer the ALO version a lot more, and my vote goes for ALO for this act. Well, there is one other good line for VS, at the end of the bar scenes. In ALO, Pelayo just shows up saying he was looking for him (César) and they leave. VS has Sofia saying, "I'll tell you in another life, when we are both cats.", which amuses David.

"Surreal" is when the movie gets really confusing. People begin to quote David and others, like in ALO. VS adds a mole to Sofia's breast which plays a role in the murder scene. Little, but a nice touch. Also I seem to like Najwa Nimri acting more than Cameron Diaz for Nuria/Julie. Diaz acting was a little too much while Nimri seem more level. When she was reintroduced in this act, Julie was not hit and, though initially disturbed by David's actions, laughed at the end of the scene. Later, when David's best ally in his company (a character who didn't exist in ALO) came to get him out, shown Julie's face bloodied. Also on Nuria/Julie, I like how ALO was more 'sneaky'. Think this is Cameron trying to play mind games with us, like the movie does with David. The French TV announcer of LE was replaced by a British actor who played an official from tech support. The dream sequence in LE's headquarters are much better in ALO since the visuals are fuzzed out like they really are a dream or a memory.

As for the murder scene, again I like Nimri acting compared to Diaz when Nuria/Julie attacked him (what happened to the dog in VS?!?) and how Amenábar is more sneaky with Nuria/Julie reintroduced after a brief period of her back to being Sofia again. As for the murder itself, for whatever reason, I like VS better. More dynamic, played out, and maybe because he covers up Diaz over-smiling face. And was that 'Western Union' being played?!? No one gets murdered when David goes to LE's headquarters. Instead of going to the bathroom saying "This is a nightmare", he notices the one doing the sales pitch quoting him, so he says the exact thing she is saying and pull off his mask there. He then runs out and started screaming for tech support. Very funny. I actually like this act more in VS than in ALO, how it wraps up all the loose ends. The only thing I don't like is that it tells what happened after David is put into ice. This was never revealed in ALO, and it hinted Sofia was the right person for David.

This is perhaps the biggest difference between the two films. In my opinion, ALO's Sofia was meant for Pelayo. The reverse for VS, which shows in the before mentioned scene Brian just giving Sofia a wave during David's memorial service, and she just leaves.

So what is my final verdict? I tend to lean to ALO. Besides for the list of specific reasons I mentioned, Amenábar directing (again, how surprises sneak up on you) and the script did a better job in setting up the puzzle for the viewers to solve while laying down enough clues to do so. Like the LE TV person versus a dog in VS, and the fuzzled memory sequence showing César's original trip there. ALO is also more like what a psychological horror movie should be. It was darker and only became an action film when César lost it in the end. Overall I do like both films, I just prefer ALO by a slim margin.

Female pleasure down to DNA

2005-07-05T07:21:00.000-05:00

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=627022005

Bah! Wonder if they tried a variety of methods! Was her 'love button' ever stimulated? Huh? Heard a number of women complaining about this... well... I too am complaining!

Another link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/3128.html

Also there is this study that says women brains 'shut down' during the big O. (Hey, trying to avoid a dreaded NC-17 rating here!)

This world is messed up

2005-07-03T08:49:00.000-05:00

Fox News did a brief blurb, but I can't find the article online. Some Jews and Palestinians inside the wall were building a playground for their children to play in, although the Jews are threatened with relocation. It seems ironic now that the Palestinians now have Zionists as an ally. I have already mentioned my fear that the two state solution will only increase the chance for war. I have though found two other articles, the first involving children and the second on something which I consider disturbing if true.

Yehuda, a 12-year-old boy living in the Israeli settlement of Ganne Tal in the Gaza Strip, says he resists the evacuation of the Israeli settlements in Gaza scheduled to be carried out later this summer. He says further segregation of Israelis from Palestinians will not hasten the arrival of peace.

Zenia, a 12-year-old Palestinian girl stuck in the Palestinian town of Bethlehem because of checkpoints and a surrounding barrier, expresses similar sentiments. She believes no peace will occur until Palestinians can be free from the confines of the wall. ''We can't communicate with the Israelis, and the Israelis can't communicate with us. They talk about peace, and yet the wall is still there," she says.

Source

Oil and nails were spilled onto the right lane of the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv Highway Wednesday morning in an act that anti-disengagement activists suspect is a provocation by the government.

“We do not put oil and nails on the roads and whomever does such a thing is a provocateur,” said a statement by the "Bayit Leumi" anti-expulsion civil disobedience organization. “Anyone who witnesses or knows of such acts that endanger the public is requested to inform the police. Sharon and the left are looking for pretexts and the smell of 'Champagne' is in the air." Champagne was the code-name of GSS-provocateur Avishai Raviv who carried out acts to delegitimize the right-wing during the first half of the 90's.

Source

My LEGAL (!) MP3 list

2005-06-26T17:48:00.000-05:00

Since I lost all of my MP3s during my GHR (Great Harddrive Reformatting), many of which I downloaded, I had to create a new playlist for RealPlayer. Hate some of the things they did to it. Anyway, this is a work in progress, and I may edit this list later. These are not all of my favorites. Some of my CDs don't work or just don't want to make an MP3 of it. But if any of these interest you, tell me and I may send you a copy. Note that there is lots of 60s and 70s here!

Misc.

These don't belong to any group below.

And When I Die Blood, Sweat, and Tears - The lyrics may sound morbid, but the tune has a happy beat to it! I know squat about this group; can someone tell me why he sounds soooo much like Kenny Rodgers?

Garrot Grouge Might and Magic VIII - Instrumental from a game. It is played in a mountainous region filled with Dragons. 'nuff said.

Honey Goldsboro - The most DEPRESSING love song I ever heard! Since it is so depressing, my Inferior Extroverted Feeling just ate it up. (Yeah, I torture myself)

Never Been To Spain 3 Dog Night - My Spainish e-pal will probably say, "Duh, and I am still waiting". But I WAS born in Arizonia! Doesn't matter though.

Nights in White Satin w/ Lane Lament Moody Blues - This song just blew me away. A man sings about his love with the poem Lane Lament following it. A great instumental accompanies the spoken poem. You don't know how hard it is to get these two together. LONG!

On My Own Les Miserable Musical - WARNING! If you are in love somebody you can't have, this song can leave you emotionally scared for LIFE! (Thinking of one of my e-pals here) But hey, it will capture your feelings perfectly.

Papa Can You Hear Me / A Piece of Sky UNKNOWN! - Well, Micheal Crawford sung it, but I know NOTHING about these two songs which he sings together. I think the first one is mankind in prehistory, the second is mankind in the 20th centrury when we conquird flight and entered space. Papa is God.

What Becomes of the Broken Hearted Supremes - The only problem is what I heard on our oldies station sounds different. Don't you hate it when that happens?

The Association

This is one of my favorite groups. Most are easy listening and many are love songs. I like there later ones, when they were less popular, for some reason.

Along The Way
Barefoot Gentelman
Names Tags Number Labels
Cherish - My favorite love song
Pandora's Golden Heebie Jeebies
Requiem for the Masses

Micheal W. Smith

My favorite single artist. He does everything! Many of his songs though involves Christianity.

As It Is In Heaven - His version of The Lords Prayer
Cry For Love
Everybody Free
Freedom - From his instrumental album by the same name
I Will Carry You
Missing Person

Styx

This is about the hardest music I can stand. I REALLY like the following songs, but most of there songs I don't paticuarly care for since they are harder than what I typically listen to.

Come Sail Away - Beutiful!
Crystal Ball
Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)
The Grand Illusion

Songs I got but haven't recorded to MP3 yet: A few by Simon & Garfunkel, Celtic music, and Don McLean

Songs I want but don't have: 2525, Olde to Billy Joe, They're Comming to Take Me Away

You may also want to see this older post.

Is the Great Mid-East War right around the corner?

2005-06-25T15:27:00.000-05:00

As most of my e-pals know, I have an interest in the possible war that may happen in the middle east involving Israel and its neighbors. It isn't so personal for me like it is with my Jewish and Muslim friends. For me, it is a test to Christian prophecy. Found this:

Israel has reportedly expressed its belief to Washington that Iran and several of its Arab allies are preparing for a full-scale war against the Jewish state, possibly following the expected United States withdrawal from Iraq in 2006.

Unnamed U.S. officials told Middle East Newsline this week that according to Israeli assessments, the departure of most American forces from the region would lead to increased tensions and provide an atmosphere ripe for an escalation of violence.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon "has relayed repeated messages to the administration that Iran and its Arab allies are preparing for war," one official said. Sharon reportedly raised the issue with President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard Cheney during his recent visit to the U.S., telling the Americans that an Iran emboldened with the acquisition of nuclear weapons would seek to form a regional alliance against Israel.

Israeli military intelligence reported earlier in the month that the Lebanese terrorist organization Hizbullah is already planning a major offensive along Israel's northern border, likely at the behest of Tehran.

But Washington has been largely dismissive of Israel's assessments of Iran's nuclear program and, therefore, the presence of any serious threat in the near future.

"Our intelligence community has used in the past an estimate that said that Iran was not likely to acquire a nuclear weapon before the beginning of the next decade," state department spokesman Richard Boucher said on April 13. "That remains the case."

Americans' top priority in the region at this time, officials said, was to ensure Israel's withdrawal from Gaza and northern Samaria and the establishment of a Palestinian Arab state on the Jews' biblical heartland.

The birth of Palestine, the Bush administration continues to insist, would effectively put an end to regional animosity towards Israel.

"If you resolve the Israeli-Palestinian issue, you've resolved the problem with extremism," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said. The Jewish state, however, suffered three full-scale, Arab-initiated wars and countless terrorism attacks during the 19 years prior to taking control of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza in 1967.

Source

The threat - real, imagined, or threaten - of Iran's nuke program isn't new. Israel destroyed one plant in Iraq that she believed was nuclear, and can do the same in Iran. But one of the things that gets me is this: "But Washington has been largely dismissive of Israel's assessments of Iran's nuclear program and, therefore, the presence of any serious threat in the near future." Then what in the heck have we been hearing for these past several months?!?

Then there is this: "The birth of Palestine, the Bush administration continues to insist, would effectively put an end to regional animosity towards Israel." Here is why I support the one state solution. If the Jews and Palestinians are divided in two, what can stop Israel then from just crushing the whole region allocated for them? Likewise, with the Palestinians removed from Israel, what can stop the Arab states from doing the same to Israel? It increased the chance of war, not decrease it! The extermination of the Palestinians are mentioned in the Bible as decendants of Esau. See Obadiah 15-18.

What I really want to know is the chance of an alliance between Russia and Iran. As I mention, my interest has to do with prophecy, and one of them had Magog (Russia) and Persia (Iran) attacking Israel, as the first strike in Armageddon. That isn't a battle, please note, but a full blown campaign. Anyway, the two have already signed a nuclear deal.

Second, Damascus. The problems Syria is having recently with Lebanon may just the beginning. As our Bible says, "Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap." [Isaiah 17:1] Again, Russia is already involved with Syria.

Third, the possibility of the Ark being reviled, which is already underway!, along with the Third Temple

Forth, a road for the Chinese into the Mideast. It is called "The Silk Road". Here is some historical information, and here is more recent information. Note the last line: "China is negotiating with Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan on road construction and planning to build a road linking China with Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Iran."

Now add Malachy's Prophecy - which, granted, is Catholic (I'm not) - and you may understand why I am sooooo into this right now! Typing this all up for easy reverence to see what may come by. Wait and see....

Israelis and Palestinians, take note!

2005-05-20T06:46:00.000-05:00

A winning match

It was one of those supermarket mysteries: Hot dogs came in packages of eight, typically, while hot dog buns only came in packs of six or 12. The reason was that hot dogs, as meat, are sold by the pound, and buns, as bakery products, are sold by the dozen or half dozen. As a result, families were constantly stuck with bunless franks or frankless buns.

Now two fine old Chicago companies -- Vienna Beef and Alpha Baking, home of S. Rosen's buns -- have announced a breakthrough: buns in packages of eight.

Although most improvements on the classic hot dog have fallen by the wayside -- who recalls hot dogs with the condiments inside? -- we predict this will catch on.

Like all changes, it comes with drawbacks: Having a few extra buns came in handy if one burnt while toasting, or if a parent began putting on mustard for a child who suddenly shouts, ''No mustard!'' And running out of buns led to the frank-and-beans gambit, which has its fans as well.

But we think the benefit in a more efficient marrying of hot dog to bun is considerable, reduces waste, and makes this move one of the more significant economic advances of 2005.

In this harshly competitive world, American companies need to be as smart as they can be, and this better use of a valuable resource -- our nation's hot dog buns -- bodes well for the future.

Source: http://www.suntimes.com/output/commentary/cst-edt-edits19.html

Deep Thought

2005-05-04T19:04:00.000-05:00

You have my Polish e-pal to blame for this. She got it from here.

Scientists in Cambridge spent three years calculating one of the fundamental keys to the universe - The Hubble Constant [the velocity at which a typical galaxy is receding from Earth divided by its distance from Earth] that determines the age of the universe. This process mirrored a passage in [Douglas Adams's] cult science fiction novel and radio series ' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' in which an alien race programs a computer called Deep Thought to provide the ultimate answer to understanding life and the universe.

In the novel, seven and a half million years later Deep Thought comes back with the result, 42.

In an extraordinary coincidence when the Cambridge scientists finally calculated the Hubble Constant they found the answer was also 42.

It caused quite a few laughs when we arrived at the figure 42," Dr Keith Grange later recalled, "because we're all great fans of The Hitchhiker's Guide!" (Sadly, estimates of the Hubble Constant now range between 57 and 78 kilometers per second per megaparsec.)

Darwin Pond

2005-05-01T19:45:00.000-05:00

One of the type of games I like is Life Games, where life is simulated on screen. I haven't found my ideal life game yet, but I keep returning to this one, Darwin Pond. The creatures are called swimmers that are, well, swimming in a pool. They can have one or several limbs to swim with, can be of various colors, and do just the two basic behaviors of like: eat and have sex. Oh if our lives can be like that. No don't think this is x-rated! They... well... kiss and whamo, kids are born. But it seems to take a lot out of them and are almost always hungry afterwards. One interesting thing is that one can actually kill another by doing this, 'starving' the other. Each time new life is born, there is chance of genetic mutation. The theory of evolution is very much exploited. Survive or die. You can set up however you like or start out with one of the predefined setups with a large number of random swimmers. The common one has all the food and swimmers in the middle, called The Garden of Eden. Let it run for a few hours and see what happens. You can save it and let it run later, modify the genes, and save specific swimmers.

I recently done this. After a while, there were very little food left and there was mass loss of live. A country of green 1-limbers were on the top-left and on the bottom-right some 1-limbed blues. They grew, the large amount of food growth plummeted, and things evened out. Then the blues started overtaking the greens. There was also migrations as the bulk of swimmers changed locations from time to time. Recently some more variety of colors started to appear, but all still have one limb.

Be sure to read the manual!

Download

Screenshot

My Take on the Hitchhiker Movie

2005-04-30T21:18:00.000-05:00

Before walking in, I knew that every incarnation of Hitchhiker has its differences and even contradictions, and knew some of that which to expect from IMDB and other internet resources devoted to the series and/or Douglas Adams. For example, my awareness that there will be an expanded romantic subplot between Authur Dent and Trillian and how dolphins will play a role in this film could have implementations for potential sequels. In the later novels, Authur has a romantic subplot with a woman who discovers God left a hidden message to his creation, and the dolphins implement a Save the Humans campaign. Hence, no sequel or such of a different tangent, books 3-5 will be impossible. Perhaps do Restaurant at the End of the Universe - book 2 - and leave it at that.

The other thing that need to be understood before seeing this movie, I think, is the difference between fans of Adams and fans of Hitchhiker. I never meet the guy, but know enough about him from other sources to know that he is an agnostic environmentalist who rather just live a carefree life while enjoying planet earth. The captain of the Golgafrincham's B Ark and the leader of the universe perhaps most reflect the man. Fans of Hitchhiker, in comparison, like the story itself, its mix of comedy, most of which is filled with witty dialogue, and sci-fi. The movie is more like Adams and less like typical Hitchhiker. And those hitchies who only like one version of it, "I like the radio series and THAT'S IT", will hate it before they even see it.

I fall in-between, leaning more to the hitchies. I knew much of the witty dialogue will be missing and seen in the trailers some physical humor which got me concerned the most. Slapstick comedy is only funny to a certain point for me. One preview I saw resembled Magrathea in the mini-series showing the characters being slapped on the face by something. That is what I was most afraid of. I suspected they replaced the lines in which Authur expressed fascination on being on an alien world while Ford said, "I rather be in cat litter", with that scene.

Anyway, I walked in the theater with a blue towel over my shoulder. They didn't award me with anything like a Marvin figurine... I want a Marvin figurine... since I had a towel. No one else had a towel either. Talk about a major disappointment. Instead everyone was eating popcorn while waiting for the movie to begin. Someone should write a H2G2 segment on this. Too bad Adams is gone.

Saw several good trailers. Tim Burton tries what he did with The Nightmare Before Christmas again with Johnny Depp, who stars in two of his other movies, with Corpse Bride. Fans of Jumanji will be happy with a psudo-sequal Zathana (misspelled... hey, the theater was dark!) Some movie called Sharkboy and Lavagirl by the creators of Spy Kids (no thanks). The one that attracted me the most is Herbie: Fully Loaded. Then there is Chicken Little. I don't want to see that. Why? THEY TOOK THE TEASER TRAILER OF HITCHHIKER AND USED IT AS THEIR OWN!!!! I hate Disney! The company, not the man.

Okay, the movie. Note that there is some minor spoilers for those who are not familiar with Hitchhiker. Then there is some parts that are *really* spoilerish for those who are! I'll note them so you can skip to the next paragraph if you want to avoid them.

After the opening dolphin sequence I heard so much about, with the traditional opening credits playing (irked about the fact I didn't heard Eagles Journey of the Sorcerer with the title on screen, but maybe...), the pace went into hyperdrive. Yes, the bulldozer scene was compressed, but the purpose was there and the missing dialogue went by without upsetting me. Too busy laughing! And no digital watch. One new thing that was appropriate and speed it up was Ford having a grocery cart full of beer and peanuts and use it to postpone Author's house demolition.

If your a hitchie, you know why beer and peanuts were used, and it wasn't explained in the film. Oh how newbies will miss so much! There is a HUGE number of inside jokes, like with Zaphod nearly called Ford Ix. Another thing is Marvin's voice is higher pitched. I like his new body, but a manic depressed personality should have it lower pitched, I think. Minor, I know. Same can be said about Deep Thought. The radio and miniseries Deep Thought had a DEEP male voice. In the movie, high pitched female.

Some of the changes though were for the better. The Vogons are MUCH better and plays a huge role in the movie. I did like the old "Resistance is useless!" and Vogon poetry. But the new things far out way those two complaints.

In fact, there was one thing missing in the miniseries that was put back in for the movie. The fact Zaphod had to cut his brain in half so he can have two heads! The subplot concerning this, found in the book, is replaced so he has a motivating factor to go to Magrathea. This also served another purpose....

SPOILER ALERT!!!! Skip the next paragraph, if you don't want to know the brand-smacking new second act!

Let me back peddle. They shown Zaphod's opponent briefly during the newscast of the president stealing The Heart of Gold. One of Adams satires deals with people who want power are by there very nature least qualified to have it. Later they came across the home planet of his opponent, and reveals him to be the spiritual leader of a religion that worships the being who is believed to have blown out the entire universe out of his nose. I don't recall this being's name, but hitchies will know what I am talking about. Anyway, their nose-blowing leader takes one of Zaphod's heads as hostage till he delivers something to him. These scenes were freaky for a PG film. That subplot is never settled - and ought to be if there is a sequel - so Zaphod basically have half a brain for the rest of the film. Ford had to put a helmet on with a fruit juice thing on top and used lemon juice on it to help him think better. And I won't tell you what he had to get. Just too huge of a spoiler! If you really want to know, I'll tell you, and why it is so potentially spoilerish if I even hint at it.

Many of the jokes are hard to notice. I barely caught some of the funny dialogue and the sound of petunias is heard crashing off screen. There was another Hitchhiker segment near the end of the credits which everyone missed but me. I caught the original Marvin cameo, but not the original Authur. I also missed the word Belgium - the most profane word in the universe. Another inside joke: why the lengthy sequence following Author and Ford being rescued, where Ford became a penguin, is replaced by the two being a mattress for a few seconds. And if there WAS corndogs in the movie, I sure have missed it. Darn IMDB posters!

I forgot something... ... ... oh, the book's intro! They did it right after Earth was demolished! It was CLASSIC hitchhiker with Journey of the Sorcerer and done wonderfully! Man I felt alone in that theater. Think I was the only one who recognized that tune. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe was mentioned at the end, setting up the sequel. Lets wait and see. 3.5/4

Random Chess Openings

2005-04-10T18:49:00.000-05:00

Warning! The following isn't tested! My greatest problem is not having anyone to play chess with, so.... One of the things I don't like about the game is that it always start the same. In a card game at least every new game seem different. So I decided to develop these rules. All you need is a deck of cards.

Divide them into three piles. The first one will be A-8 of spades, the K and Q of spades, and the 9, 10, and J of spades and clubs, for a total of 16 cards. The other pile is made up of a similar pile, containing the entire suits of hearts and the 9, 10, J of diamonds. All the other cards, the third pile, is unused.

The game begins with no pieces on the board. White uses the red cards, black uses the black ones. Each shuffle their own pile and let their opponent cut them. White then draws his first card. If it is an A-8, he may place a pawn on rank 1. 9 will be a bishop, 10 a rook, J a knight, Q the queen, and K the king. A pawn can move forward 2 squares while on rank 1 only. En passent then can actually be used on a promoting pawn! The drawn card is placed on the third pile. Black does the same.

The one problem I see with this is managing plays on the board with pieces going on the board. If there is 1-2 pieces on the first rank, you MUST draw a card. If there is 6-8 pieces, you MUST move. 3-5, you have a choice to choose whether to move or to draw.

Feedback welcomed!

I thought this was supposed to be a blind date!

2005-04-04T17:25:00.000-05:00

I started out the day doing what I usually do: answering my e-mails. I had a little lag the last two weeks, but I didn't mind since I was in process of changing jobs. So the letters were a welcome, although they all had one thing in common. This blind date. After cleaning my car up, my newest one sent me yet another e-mail, asking if it is okay if she calls me. She lived inside the USA, so I didn't mind and left my number to her; she is a married Wisconsin woman, 30s.

Right after this, I left to scout out where Diana's house (she is the matchmaker) is so I will know where to go when the time comes. Then I went to Wallmart and answered a voicemail from my Wisconsin e-pal. She didn't really seemed to have much to say. Guess she was just curious what was going to happen and to wish me luck.

My plan is to call Erica, my B.D., at 3. Almost all of the movies that are on falls between 4 and 5. That should leave some time to talk. Then I will do what I rather do, just go to a restaurant and actually get to know her and vice versa. I wonder if Erica REALLY does want to see a movie or if it was Diana _____ herself onto Erica. (Can't think of the word. When Person A gives one of his traits to Person B, who in reality doesn't have that trait)

Right now I am leaning towards "Guess Who". Most of the other movies are CRAP, and the only one that isn't is an R-rated film noir film who got a 8 point something rating on IMDB (Sin City), and The Ring 2 has an element that offends me although I really enjoy the original. All of the other movies had 5 point something ratings except Robots which was 6 point something.

It is now 2:35. Bathroom then call then God-knows-what.

***************

Well, I just called her. She said she had to go home to get dressed and will be back at Diana's house at 5. AUGH!!! That means we will miss the ideal time for the movie!

Please say a meal by itself will be all right! Lets see... the next time that movie is on is 7:20. Bah! I'll call Diana at 4:30. I wonder if this is common for two people each going on their first date ever. *hmph* Couldn't set a time when we decided to do this till now since scheduled times change.

***************

Something occurred to me while I am sorting yesterday's laundry I washed. You know the stereotype that women want to make sure they look good while men say, "Who @#$%^&* cares! You look good as you are!" Yep. True! To my e-pals who are both thinkers and women themselves... is this true for you all too?

I wish she had an e-addy.

***************

I called Diana at 4:30 a moment ago just to talk and to get some exchange with her while waiting and guess what? She gave me to Erica. AUGH! KNOCK ME OUT NOW!!! PLEASE!!!!! I thought Erica said she herself was getting her clothes, not someone getting it for her! Here I was hoping to talk just to Diana without Erica listening in. Bah!

(too many explanation points, I know)

[Brian walks around in circles and comes back]

4:50. This is killing me. Erica said she will call at 5. That means I won't see her till, maybe, 5:15. I'm crying now. ... ... ... 4:55... still crying... ... ... Hmm, we can cuddle in the theater but not in a restaurant. Just an observation! ... ... ... Of course I RATHER cuddle while watching a DVD! ... ... ... parents might not allow it though... ... ... 4:59... ... ... FIVE!!!

Can't go online. Wonder if anything is good on TV. Hopefully a good Poirot movie on Biography. I think I'll give her till six. Hey, that is a full hour! Then, if no call, I'll go online and blog this and maybe I'll call/IM my Wisconsin e-pal.

... ... ... 5:10! I just *WUV* being stood up! ... ... ... Just thought of something else. Since Diana doesn't know how I act around women nor know how I pick and choose potential mates, she may not know how easy it is for me to 'cut myself off emotionally' from someone who I decide to be incompatible. Never experienced an actual romantic form of love... ... ... 5:20. I think I am going to leave now to walk in circles again.

***************

SIX! Typing this out while I am dialing online. Yo, Spaniard! I am still in the singles club!

... ... ...

OH CRAP! Blogger isn't working! *sigh* Guess I'll e-mail this and then blog it latter.

***************

ADDENDUM: Just got word from mom on what happened. Erica came by when Diana's family was going to pick her up. She fell asleep! Oh, and she smokes! Oh! And her father pregnanted two different women and married to neither!!!

Can you say run?!?

Wife 1.0 Just Released

2005-04-02T18:55:00.000-06:00

Dear Tech Support,

A long time ago I upgraded from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0 and noticed that the new program began unexpected child processing that took up a lot of new space and valuable resources. No mention of this phenomenon was included in the product brochure.

In addition, Wife 1.0 installs itself into all other programs and launches during system initialization, where it monitors all other system activity. Applications such as Poker Night 10.3, Drunken Boys
Night 2.5 and Saturday Football 5.0 no longer run, crashing the system whenever selected.

I cannot seem to keep Wife 1.0 in the background while attempting to run some of my other favorite applications. I am thinking about going back to Girlfriend 7.0, but the uninstall does not work on this program.

Can you please help me !!!???

Thanks,
A TROUBLED USER

Dear TROUBLED USER,

This is a very common problem, but is mostly due to a primary misconception. Many people upgrade from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0 with the idea that Wife 1.0 is merely a Utilities & Entertainment program. Wife 1.0 is an Operating System and designed by its creator to run everything.

It is unlikely you would be able to purge Wife 1.0 and still convert back to Girlfriend 7.0. Hidden operating files within your system would cause Girlfriend 7.0 to emulate Wife 1.0 so nothing is gained. It is impossible to uninstall, delete, or purge the program files from the system once installed. You cannot go back to Girlfriend 7.0 because Wife 1.0 is not designed to do this.

Some have tried to install Girlfriend 8.0 or Wife 2.0 but end up with more problems than the original system. Look in your manual under "Warnings- Alimony/Child support". We recommend you keep Wife 1.0.

We suggest installing background application program C:\YES DEAR to alleviate software augmentation. We also suggest you read the entire section regarding General Partnership Faults (GPFs). You must assume all responsibility for faults and problems that might occur, regardless of their cause. The best course of action will be to enter the command C:\APOLOGIZE. In any case avoid excessive use of C:\YES DEAR because ultimately you may have to give the APOLOGIZE command before the operating system will return to normal. The system will run smoothly as long as you take the blame for all the GPFs.

Wife 1.0 is a program, but very high-maintenance. Consider buying additional software to improve the performance of Wife 1.0. We recommend Flowers 3.1 and Diamonds 2K. Do not, under any circumstances install Secretary with Short Skirt 3.3. This is not a supported application for Wife 1.0 and is likely to cause irreversible damage to the operating system.

Tech Support

----------

Last year a friend of mine upgraded GirlFriend 1.0 to Wife 1.0 and found that it's a memory hog leaving very little system resources for other applications. He is only now noticing that Wife 1.0 also is spawning child processes which are further consuming valuable resources.

No mention of this particular phenomena was included in the product brochure or the documentation, though other users have informed him that this is to be expected due to the nature of the application. Not only that, Wife 1.0 installs itself such that it is always launched at system initialisation where it can monitor all other system activity. He's finding that some applications such as PokerNight 10.3, BeerBash 2.5, and PubNight 7.0 are no longer able to run in the system at all,
crashing the system when selected even though they always worked fine before.

At installation, Wife 1.0 provides no option as to the installation of undesired Plug-Ins such as MotherInLaw 55.8 and BrotherInLaw Beta Release. Also, system performance seems to diminish with each passing day. Some features he'd like to see in the upcoming Wife 2.0.

- A "Don't remind me again" button
- Minimize button
- An install shield feature that allows Wife 2.0 be installed with the option to uninstall at anytime without the loss of cache and other system resources.
- An option to run the network driver in promiscuous mode which would allow the systems hardware probe feature to be much more useful.

I myself decided to avoid all of the headaches associated with Wife 1.0 by sticking with GirlFriend 2.0. Even here, however, I found many problems. Apparently you cannot install GirlFriend 2.0 on top of GirlFriend 1.0. You must uninstall GirlFriend 1.0 first. Other users say this is a long standing bug which I should have been aware of. Apparently the versions of GirlFriend have conflicts over shared use of the I/O port. You think they would have fixed such a stupid bug by now. To make matters worse, the uninstall program for GirlFriend 1.0 doesn't work very well leaving undesirable traces of the application in the system. Another thing that sucks - all versions of GirlFriend continually pop-up little annoying messages about the advantages of upgrading to Wife 1.0.

BUG WARNING
Wife 1.0 has an undocumented bug. If you try to install Mistress 1.1 before uninstalling Wife 1.0, Wife 1.0 will delete MSMoney files before doing the uninstall itself. Then Mistress 1.1 will refuse to install, claiming insufficient resources.

WORK-AROUNDS
To avoid the above bug, try installing Mistress 1.1 on a different system and never run any file transfer applications such as Laplink 6.0. Also, beware of similar shareware applications that have been known to carry viruses that may affect Wife 1.0. Another solution would be to run Mistress 1.1 via a Usenet provider under an anonymous name. Here again, beware of the viruses which can accidently be downloaded from the Usenet.

----------

Seems like the only solution to Wife 1.0 is to install Divorce 1.0. This is a radical package however it will erradicate Wife 1.0... at least partcially. And you usually get most of your resources back.

Divorce 1.0's installation process will remove Wife 1.0, preparing you to install any of GirlFriend 2.0, Mistress 1.2 (new version!) or Wife 2.0 (if you want). Unfortunately if Wife 1.0 (or any of the other products mentioned) have spawned child processes then things get more complex. Usually the child processes take up less processing power and they surface from time to time, but you're often glad to see them. Unfortunately the child processes tend to remind you of the package from whence they came and sometimes you have to interact with Wife 1.0 or GirlFriend 1.0, but usually these things can be dismissed fairly easily.

As Divorce 1.0 needs to uninstall Wife 1.0 it carries all the caveats that uninstalling Wife 1.0 has. Usually you are left with about 1/2 of the resources you started with before installing Wife 1.0.

If you have already upgraded to Wife 2.0 then you'll need to get Divorce 2.0.

Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0

2005-04-02T18:52:00.000-06:00

Dear Tech Support:

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a slowdown in the performance of the flower and jewelry applications that had operated flawlessly under the Boyfriend 5.0 system.

In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.9, and installed undesirable programs such as NFL 7.4, NBA 3.2 and NHL 4.1.

Conversation 8.0 also no longer runs, and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system.

I've tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail.

What can I do?

Signed,
Desperate

Dear Desperate:

This is a very common problem women complain about, but it is mostly due to a primary misconception. Many people upgrade from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 with no idea that Boyfriend 5.0 is merely an ENTERTAINMENT package.

However, Husband 1.0 is an OPERATING SYSTEM and was designed by its creator to run as few applications as possible. Further, you cannot purge Husband 1.0 and return to Boyfriend 5.0, because Husband 1.0 is not designed to do this.

Hidden operating files within your system would cause Boyfriend 5.0 to emulate Husband 1.0, so nothing is gained. It is impossible to uninstall, delete, or purge the program files from the system, once installed

Any new program files can only be installed once per year, as Husband 1.0 has severely limited memory. Error messages are common, and a normal part of Husband 1.0.

In desperation to play some of their "old time" favorite applications, or to get new applications to work, some women have tried to install Boyfriend 6.0, or Husband 2.0. However, these women end up with more problems than encountered with Husband 1.0. Look in your manual under "Warnings: Divorce/Child Support." You will notice that this program runs very poorly, and comes bundled with HeartBreak 1.3.

I recommend you keep Husband 1.0, and just learn the quirks of this strange and illogical system. Having Husband 1.0 installed myself, I might also suggest you read the entire section regarding General Partnership Faults [GPFs]. This is a wonderful feature of Husband 1.0, secretly installed by the parent company as an integral part of the operating system. Husband 1.0 must assume ALL responsibility for ALL faults and problems, regardless of root cause. To activate this great feature enter the command "C: I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME". Sometimes Tears 6.2 must be run simultaneously while entering the command. Husband 1.0 should then run the applications Apologize 12.3 and Flowers/Chocolates 7.8.

TECH TIP!

Avoid excessive use of this feature. Overuse can create additional and more serious GPFs, and ultimately YOU may have to give a C: I APOLOGIZE command before the system will return to normal operations. Overuse can also cause Husband 1.0 to default to GrumpySilence 2.5, or worse yet, to Beer 6.0. Beer 6.0 is a very bad program that causes Husband 1.0 to create FatBelly files and SnoringLoudly wave files that are very hard to delete. Save yourself some trouble by following this tech tip! Just remember! The system will run smoothly, and take the blame for all GPFs, but because of this fine feature it can only intermittently run all the applications Boyfriend 5.0 ran.

Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot accept new applications quickly. Consider buying additional software to improve performance. I personally recommend HotFood 3.0, Lingerie 5.3 and Patience 10.1. Used in conjunction, these utilities can really help keep Husband 1.0 running smoothly. After several years of use, Husband 1.0 will become familiar and you will find many valuable embedded features such as FixBrokenThings 2.1, Snuggling 4.2 and BestFriend 7.6.

A final word of caution! Do NOT, under any circumstances, install MotherInLaw 1.0. This is not a supported application, and will cause selective shutdown of the operating system. Husband 1.0 will run only Fishing 9.4 and Hunting 5.2 until MotherInLaw 1.0 is uninstalled. I hope these notes have helped. Thank you for choosing to install Husband 1.0 and we here at Tech Support wish you the best of luck in coming years. We trust you will learn to fully enjoy this product!

Now Here This!

2005-03-30T20:56:00.000-06:00

Despite going through a stressful period since I have changed jobs, someone decided to pull a fast one on me by playing matchmaker. Me, a person who never dated before in his life, who never got past the friendship stage, who doesn't mind being 'just friends' and being single... ... ...will now have to go through a BLIND DATE (excuse me as I **SCREAM**) this Sunday. She wants to see a movie but won't say which. Noooooo! PRAYERS WELCOMED!!! Now excuse me as I go and....

***CRASH***

WORLD IDEOLOGIES EXPLAINED BY REFERENCE TO COWS

2005-03-28T19:02:00.000-06:00

FEUDALISM:
You have two cows. Your lord takes some of the milk.

PURE SOCIALISM
You have two cows. The government takes them and puts them in a barn with everyone else's cows. You have to take care of all the cows. The government gives you as much milk as is needed.

BUREAUCRATIC SOCIALISM
The government takes your cows and puts them in a barn with everyone else's cows. The cows are cared for by ex-chicken farmers. You have to take care of the chickens the government took from the chicken farmers. The government gives you as much milk and eggs as the regulations say you should need.

FASCISM
You have two cows. The government takes both, hires you to take care of them, and sells you the milk.

PURE COMMUNISM
You have two cows. Your neighbors help you take care of them, and you all share the milk.

RUSSIAN COMMUNISM
You have two cows. You have to take care of them, but the government takes all the milk. You steal back as much milk as you can and sell it on the black market.

REAL WORLD COMMUNISIM
You share two cows with your neighbors. You and your neighbors bicker about who has the most "ability" and who has the most "need". Meanwhile, no one works, no one gets any milk, and the cows drop dead of starvation.

CAMBODIAN COMMUNISM
You have two cows. The government takes both and shoots you.

DICTATORSHIP
You have two cows. The government takes both and drafts you.

PURE DEMOCRACY
You have two cows. Your neighbors decide who gets the milk.

REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY
You have two cows. Your neighbors pick someone to tell you who gets the milk.

BUREAUCRACY
You have two cows. At first the government regulates what you can feed them and when you can milk them. Then it pays you not to milk them. Then it takes both, shoots one, milks the other and pours the milk down the drain. Then it requires you to fill out forms accounting for the missing cows.

BRITISH DEMOCRACY
You have two cows. You feed them sheeps' brains and they go mad. The government doesn't do anything.

PURE ANARCHY
You have two cows. Either you sell the milk at a fair price or your neighbors try to take the cows and kill you.

ANARCHO-CAPITALISM
You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull.

SURREALISM
You have two giraffes. The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.

OLYMPICS-ISM
You have two cows, one American, one Chinese. With the help of trilling violins and state of the art montage photography, John Tesh narrates the moving tale of how the American cow overcame the agony of growing up in a suburb with (gasp) divorced parents, then mentions in passing that the Chinese cow was beaten every day by a tyrannical farmer and watched its parents butchered before its eyes. The American cow wins the competition, severely spraining an udder in a gritty performance, and gets a multi-million dollar contract to endorse Wheaties. The Chinese cow is led out of the arena and shot by Chinese government officials, though no one ever hears about it. McDonald's buys the meat and serves it hot and fast at its Beijing restaurant.

PURE CAPITALISM
You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull.

CAPITALISM
You don't have any cows. The bank will not lend you money to buy cows, because you don't have any cows to put up as collateral.

AMERICAN CORPORATE CAPITALISM
Both cows are bloated with toxic steroids. They are set out to graze on privatized public parks, release massive amounts of flatulence that destroys the ozone layer, die from excess ultraviolet light, and are processed into meat-like products that look great as a result of clever and unprincipled marketing strategies. When you mortgage your artificially devalued farm at high interest rates in order to buy meat, you consume the poisoned material and develop terminal illnesses because there is no health care plan to treat you. The corporate management uses your purchase price to acquire THEIR meat from cows raised "naturally" on tree-free rain forest land outside of the country where labor and resources are cheap.

CAPITALISM AND FREE ENTERPRISE
You have two cows. Your neighbors also own resources. You sell the milk at a fair price, taking into consideration the cost to raise and take care of your cows and take care of your family, and also add a fair profit so you can expand your operations and buy more cows. Part of your income is used to buy things (to take care of your family) from your neighbors who have done likewise. As your operation grows, you hire some of your neighbor's kids to help you milk the cows, and you pay them so that they can learn how to take care of themselves, learn the benefit of work, and also learn how to operate a business. Meanwhile your neighbors are doing the same thing. The economy grows.

CLINTON's NEW CAPITALISM
You have two cows. You sell one, buy a bull; take out huge loan on the cow, and ignore both the cow and the loan from that point on; then you try to milk the bull, and blame the Japanese for its lack of production.

ENVIORMENTALISM
You have two cows. The government bans you from milking or killing them.

POLITICAL CORRECTNESS
You are associated with (the concept of "ownership" is a symbol of the phallo centric, war mongering, intolerant past) two differently - aged (but no less valuable to society) bovines of non-specified gender.

MILITARIANISM
You have two cows. The government takes both and drafts you.

Totalitarianism
You have two cows. The government takes them and denies they ever existed. Milk is banned.

PERESTROIKA
You have two cows. You have to take care of them, but the Mafia takes all the milk. You steal back as much milk as you can and sell it on the "free" market.

Beirut's Berlin Wall

2005-03-02T11:04:00.000-06:00

By David Ignatius
Wednesday, February 23, 2005; Page A19

BEIRUT -- "Enough!" That's one of the simple slogans you see scrawled on the walls around Rafiq Hariri's grave site here. And it sums up the movement for political change that has suddenly coalesced in Lebanon and is slowly gathering force elsewhere in the Arab world.

"We want the truth." That's another of the Lebanese slogans, painted on a banner hanging from the Martyr's Monument near the mosque where Hariri is buried. It's a revolutionary idea for people who have had to live with lies spun by regimes that were brutally clinging to power. People want the truth about who killed Hariri last week, but on a deeper level they want the truth about why Arab regimes have failed to deliver on their promises of progress and prosperity.

A crowd was still gathered at Hariri's resting place well after midnight early yesterday. Thousands of candles -- many bearing Christian icons, others Muslim designs -- flickered in a semicircle around the grave and melted together into a multicolored patina of wax. Mourners have written angry messages in Arabic on a nearby wall denouncing Syria, whose troops occupy Lebanon and which many Lebanese blame for Hariri's murder. "The Ugly Syrian," says one. "Get Out of Here," says another. For people who have been frightened even to mention Syria's name, it must feel liberating just to write those words.

Over by the Martyr's Monument, Lebanese students have built a little tent city and are vowing to stay until Syria's 15,000 troops withdraw. They talk like characters in "Les Miserables," but their revolutionary bravado is the sort of force that can change history. "We have nothing to lose anymore. We want freedom or death," says Indra Hage, a young Lebanese Christian. "We're going to stay here, even if soldiers attack us," says Hadi Abi Almouna, a Druze Muslim. "Freedom needs sacrifices, and we are ready to give them."

Brave words, in a country where dissent has often meant death. "It is the beginning of a new Arab revolution," argues Samir Franjieh, one of the organizers of the opposition. "It's the first time a whole Arab society is seeking change -- Christians and Muslims, men and women, rich and poor."

The leader of this Lebanese intifada is Walid Jumblatt, the patriarch of the Druze Muslim community and, until recently, a man who accommodated Syria's occupation. But something snapped for Jumblatt last year, when the Syrians overruled the Lebanese constitution and forced the reelection of their front man in Lebanon, President Emile Lahoud. The old slogans about Arab nationalism turned to ashes in Jumblatt's mouth, and he and Hariri openly began to defy Damascus.

I dined Monday night with Jumblatt in his mountain fortress in Moukhtara, southeast of Beirut. He moved there for safety last weekend because of worries that he would be the next target of whoever killed Hariri. We sat under a portrait of Jumblatt's father, Kamal, who was assassinated in 1976 after he opposed the initial entry of Syrian troops into Lebanon. With me was Jamil Mroue, a Lebanese Shiite journalist whose own father was assassinated by Arab radicals in the 1960s. It was an evening when the ghosts of the past mingled with hopes for the future.

Jumblatt dresses like an ex-hippie, in jeans and loafers, but he maintains the exquisite manners of a Lebanese aristocrat. Over the years, I've often heard him denouncing the United States and Israel, but these days, in the aftermath of Hariri's death, he's sounding almost like a neoconservative. He says he's determined to defy the Syrians until their troops leave Lebanon and the Lahoud government is replaced.

"It's strange for me to say it, but this process of change has started because of the American invasion of Iraq," explains Jumblatt. "I was cynical about Iraq. But when I saw the Iraqi people voting three weeks ago, 8 million of them, it was the start of a new Arab world." Jumblatt says this spark of democratic revolt is spreading. "The Syrian people, the Egyptian people, all say that something is changing. The Berlin Wall has fallen. We can see it."

Where will this amazing Lebanese intifada go next? The answer may lie partly with the Shiite militia, Hezbollah, which is probably the most powerful political organization in the country. Hezbollah officials and leaders of the opposition have been trading signals this week about whether they can form a united front. What's clear is that the Lebanese are fed up with the status quo and that Hezbollah -- like all the other parties -- must adjust to change.

The circle of mourners around Hariri's grave was two and three deep when I visited yesterday afternoon. Many people were weeping, more than a week after his death. In every face you could see that same emotion: Enough!

Source

Statcounter.com

2005-02-24T22:11:00.000-06:00

I postponed this since I had bigger things to do. I just added a website counter to my website. I *think* you can see it as a guest with this link.

I set it to not read me as a hit, so there is no way for me, personally, to test it untill I get on another computer or hear from one of my e-pals. So if your reading this now, come on, I need some stats!

(Thanks Brise)

Bush's secret tapes

2005-02-20T06:26:00.000-06:00

Just learned that this friend of Bush, Doug Wead, secretly recorded him at various times during his first presidential run. Here is one article I found on it.

http://www.politicalgateway.com/news/read.html?id=2963

The Patrigia Times 1

2005-02-09T21:43:00.000-06:00

The Patrigia Times 1

On this day, the great and fictional country of Patrigia was born in the Pacific and later moved to North America. During its founding, the UN gave the following description of our country.

UN Category: Inoffensive Centrist Democracy
Civil Rights: Excellent
Economy: Strong
Political Freedoms: Excellent

The Republic of Patrigia is a tiny, socially progressive nation, notable for its burgeoning cat population. Its hard-nosed, hard-working, intelligent population of 5 million have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

The large government is mainly concerned with Religion & Spirituality, although Healthcare and Social Welfare are secondary priorities. The average income tax rate is 19%. A robust private sector is led by the Pizza Delivery, Gambling, and Retail industries.

Crime is a problem. Patrigia's national animal is the cat and its currency is the Lipi.

Also, our great and noble leader, Patricio, will now have to answer an issue every weekday. Thanks to a source only known as 'Deep Nostril', the following memo was leaked.

Today's Issue: Should Democracy be Compulsory?

In response to a slow news week, certain highbrow newspapers have stirred up the debate over voluntary vs compulsory voting.

The Debate

"Compulsory voting makes about as much as sense as having the death penalty for attempted suicide," says civil rights activist Sue-Ann Barry. "You can't force people to be free! You can only give them the choice. Besides, if all those derelicts who can't be bothered to get off their ass once every few years voted, who would they elect? I shudder to think."

"It's not contradictory at all," argues political commentator Clint King. "The fact is, if not everyone votes, the outcome isn't truly representative. Some groups--like elderly gun nuts--vote more often than others. That's why always we always end up with such terrible politicians."

"This raises an interesting issue," says Freddy Johnson, your brother. "And that is: why do we need elections, anyway? Seems to me it would be much simpler if you just decided what was right, and did it. Wouldn't that save everyone a lot of time?"

The Government Position

The government has indicated its intention to follow the recommendations of Option 1.

Rule your own country!

2005-02-09T18:38:00.000-06:00

So one of my e-pals decided to make her own Principality. Not wanting to be left out, I went there and created my own country, The Republic of Patrigia! Don't want to be in the North Pacific though. Thought perhaps I can create our own region... if enough of my e-pals do this... but there is alread several thousand regions! I declaired my nation Libertarian, so I am scared silly of our 19% tax rate! Should be 0%!!! I also had to decided if voting should be compulsory, voluntary, or just say heck with it and don't do it at all. I kept it voluntary.

http://www.nationstates.net

Edit: Just move to North America, for now, and sent a diplomatic letter to that one e-pal.

Two Things

2005-02-01T13:30:00.000-06:00

Oh what I do for my unseen friends. Went out to snail mail several books, made sure I had everything before I left my car (read: don't do this, because...) and when I got back I found my keys still in the ignition. Took me hour and 15 minutes to get back home. What is the walking speed of humans? I wonder how far that was.

Anyway, my real reason for posting is some changes in policy since I got a new website. Because I now have some of my longer posts over there now, and well be uploading more, there will be no more lengthy posts. Just some small thoughts and such along with major life events. My updates on my website will be just on the website, nothing more, with life events being mentioned only if it may effect the website. Geocities had no TOS before signing up, so I don't know what is or isn't allowed. I like to upload a few things but may be against any TOS they have. (Thinking about anything emulator related, even though I won't have any ROMs are such on it)

Going to do some more uploading tonight. Thinking of doing my music and spoilers. If anyone can link me, I'll appreciate it.

IT IS BACK UP!

2005-01-30T20:35:00.000-06:00

It is back up! It is back up! It is back up!

http://www.geocities.com/patriciointp/

Still a lot of work to do. Filenames renamed, links to be fixed, e-addies need to be changed, REVISE MY RESUME!!!... *sigh* I'll do it later. Excuse me while I do this.

*CRASH*

zzzzzzzzzz....

Embarrassed, but still SICK

2005-01-26T21:49:00.000-06:00

Once upon a time... see the time stamp!... Brian received one of those bleeping chain letters form an e-pal of his. It was a petition of outrage against this website: www.bonsaikitten.com That night he contacted the ASPCA to see what is being done. It was only after this that he started looking into it.

Oh the embarrassment!

They were already aware of it.

The guy loves the angry attention he is getting.

It is all an urban hoax.

I am still want to shove that bastard into a itsy-bitsy container! So, as one of those who went into crusade mode and thereby added to the problem, I offer this reference of urban myths.

I am going to pet Sheeba now, with Memories playing in the background now.

GONE!

2005-01-12T18:28:00.000-06:00

My website is in e-Heaven. Been mega-depressed all day. Feel so foul I think I am sprouting feathers! *sigh* At least I got this thingie. ... ... ... Feel so crap that I don't know if I am going to build another one. I fear I might not find a good web host to suit my depression.

The New Eleusis: An Induction Card Game

2004-12-16T22:04:00.000-06:00

Eleusis was invented in 1956 by Robert Abbott of New York, who at the time was an undergraduate at the University of Colorado. He had been studying that sudden insight into the solution of a problem that psychologists sometimes call the "Aha" reaction. Great turning points in science often hinge on these mysterious intuitive leaps. Eleusis turned out to be a fascinating simulation of this facet of science, even though Abbott did not invent it with this in mind.

If 1973, Abbott discussed the game with John Jaworski, a young British mathematician who had been working on a computer version of Eleusis for teaching induction. Then Abbott embarked on a 3-year program to reshape Eleusis, incorporating all the good suggestions he could. The new game is not only more exciting, its metaphorical level has been broadened as well. With the introduction of the roles of Prophet and False Prophet the game now simulates the search of any kind of truth. Here, then, are the rules of New Eleusis.

The Basics

At least 4 players are required. As many as 8 could play, but beyond that the game becomes to chaotic. Two standard decks are used. (Occasionally a third one is required) A full game consists of one or more rounds with a different player dealing each round. The dealer is given such titles as God, Nature, Tao, Brahma, etc.

~ The Secret Rule ~

The Dealer's first task is to make up a 'secret rule'. This is simply a rule that defines what cards can be legally played during a player's turn. In order to do well, players must figure out what the rule is. The sooner the player does this, the higher his score will be. For the dealer to score well, the secret rule must not be too easy nor too hard.

A too simple rule will be "Play a card of a color different than the last color played". A better one will be "Play so that the primes and non-primes alternate". However, this might be to easy for math-minded people and too hard for everyone else. This one will be way too complicated: "Multiply the values of the last 3 cards, divide by 4. If the remainder is 0, play a red card or a card higher than 6. If the remainder is 1, play a black card or a picture card. If it is 2, play an even card or a card with a value lower than 6. If the remainder is 3, play an odd card or a 10." No one can guess that rule and the dealer's score will be low.

Here is three good rules for inexperienced players:

If the last legally played card was odd, play a black card. Otherwise, play a red card.
If the last legally played card was black, play a card of equal or higher value. If red, play one of a lower value.
The card must be of the same suit or same value as the last legal card played.

The secret rule must deal only with the sequence of legally played cards. Of course, advanced players may use rules that refer to the entire pattern of legal and illegal cards on the table, but are much harder to guess. Under no circumstances should the rule be based on external circumstances of the cards, like rules that refer to the sex of the player, if God scratches his ear, etc.

The secret rule must be written down in unambiguous language, on a sheet of paper that is put aside for future confirmation. If desired as an optional rule, the dealer may offer a hint, like "the rule depends on the last two played cards" or "suits are irrelevant".

~ Plays ~

After recording the secret rule, the dealer shuffles the deck and gives each player 14 cards and none for himself. He places a 'starter' card at the extreme left of the playing surface. He then counts clockwise around the circle of players, starting on his left, not including himself, until he reaches the number on the starter card. That player begins the play, which continues clockwise.

A play consists of placing one or more cards on the table. To play a single card the player takes a card from his hand and shows it to everyone. If according to the rule the card is playable, the dealer says "Right". The card is then placed to the right of the starter card, on the 'main line' of correctly played cards extending horizontally to the right.

If the card fails to meet the rule, the dealer says "Wrong". In this case the card is placed directly below the last card played. Vertical columns of incorrect cards are called 'sidelines'. Thus consecutive incorrect plays extend the same sideline downward. If a player displays a wrong card, the dealer give him two more cards as a penalty, thereby increasing his hand.

~ Strings ~

If a player thinks he has discovered the secret rule, he may play a 'string' of 2 - 4 cards at once. To play a string he overlaps the cards slightly to preserve their order and shows them to everyone. If all the cards in the string conform o the rule, the dealer says "Right". Then all the cards are placed on the main line with no overlapping, as if they were correctly placed single cards.

If one or more cards in a string are wrong, the dealer declares the entire string wrong. He does not indicate which cards do not conform the rule. The wrong cards are left overlapping to keep their identity as a string and the entire string goes below the last card played. The player is then dealt twice as many cards as there are in the string.

Players improve their score by getting rid of as many cards as possible, and of course they can do this best if they guess the secret rule. At the start of a round there is little information to go on, and playes are neccessarily random. As the round continues and more and more information is added to the layout, the rule becomes steadily easier to guess.

~ No Plays ~

If a player believes then that he has no card that can be legally played, he may declare "No play". He shows his hand to everyone and if the dealer declares him right, one of two things happens. If he has 4 or less cards, the round ends. If he has 5 or more, ALL of his cards are returned to the deck and is dealt 4 FEWER cards than he had before.

If the player is declared wrong though, the dealer takes one of his correct cards and puts it on the main line. The player keeps the rest of his hand and, as a penalty, is dealt five more cards. So if a player has not figured out the secret rule, he would do better playing a card at random than declaring no play.

The above is good enough for a trial run if your learning this as a group. The rest of the rules are more advanced and explains the prophetic metaphor this game is known for.

Advanced Rules

~ Becoming a Prophet ~

When a player thinks he knows the secret rule, he has the opportunity to prove it and increase his score. He does so by declaring himself a Prophet. The Prophet immediately takes over the dealer's duties, calling plays right or wrong and dealing penalty cards when the others play. He can declare himself a Prophet only if all the following conditions prevail.

He has just played (correctly or incorrectly), and the next player has not played.
There is not already a Prophet.
At least two other players besides himself and the dealer are still in the round.
He has not been a Prophet before in this round.

When a player declares himself a Prophet, he puts a marker on the last card he played. A chess king or queen may be used. The Prophet keeps his hand but plays no more cards unless he is overthrown. The play continues to pass clockwise around the player's circle, skipping the Prophet.

~ Playing the Prophet ~

Each time a player plays a card or string, the Prophet calls the play right or wrong. The dealer then either validates or invalidates the Prophet's statement by saying "Correct" or "Incorrect". If the prophet is correct, the card or string is placed on the layout - on the main line if right or on a sideline if wrong - and the Prophet gives the player whatever penalty cards are required.

If the dealer says "Incorrect", the Prophet is instantly overthrown. He is declared a False Prophet. The dealer removes the False Prophet's marker and gives him five cards to add to his hand. he is not allowed to become a Prophet again during the same round, although other players may do so. The dealer takes over his former duties, completing the play that overthrew the Prophet. If the card is wrong, however, no plenty cards are given to that player.

This exception is meant to encourage players to make unusual plays - even deliberately wrong ones, in hopes to overthrow the Prophet. The religious symbolism is obvious, but as Abbott points out, there is an amusing analogy here with science: "The Prophet is the scientist who publishes. The False Prophet is the scientist who publishes too early." It is the fun of becoming Prophet and of overthrowing a False Prophet that is the most exciting feature of New Eleusis.

~ The Prophet and No Plays ~

This get more complicated, although it seldom happens. You might want to skip this until the need arises. There are four possibilities. If the Prophet and the dealer says...

Right / Correct - The Prophet simply follows the procedure described in the basic rules.
Right / Incorrect - The Prophet is automatically overthrown. The dealer takes over and handles everything as usual, except that the player is not given any penalty cards.
Wrong / Incorrect - In other words, the player is correct. The Prophet is overthrown and the dealer handles the play as usual.
Wrong / Correct - In this case the Prophet picks the one correct card from the player's hand and put it on the main line. If he does this correctly, he deals the player the five penalty cards and the game goes on. It is possible, however, for the prophet to make a mistake at this point and pick an incorrect card.. If so, the Prophet is overthrown. The wrong card goes back into the player's hand and the dealer takes over with the usual procedure, except that the player is not given penalty cards.

~ Finishing the game ~

After 30 cards have been played and there is no Prophet in the game, players are expelled from the round when they make a wrong play, that is, if they play a wrong card or make a wrong declaration of no play. An expelled player is given the usual plenty cards for his final play and then drops out of the round, retaining his hand for scoring. If there is a Prophet, expulsions are delayed until at least 20 cards have been laid down after the Prophet's marker.

Chess pawns are used as markers so that it is obvious when expulsions is possible. As long as there is no Prophet, a white pawn goes on every tenth card placed on the layout. If there is a Prophet, a black pawn is used. When a Prophet is overthrown, his marker and all black pawns are removed.

A round can therefore go in and out of the phase when expulsions are possible. For example, if there are 35 cards on the layout and no Prophet, Smith is expelled when he plays incorrectly. Next Jones plays correctly and declares herself a Prophet. If Brown then plays incorrectly, he is not expelled because 20 cards have not yet been laid down after the Prophet's marker.

A round can end in two ways: when a player runs out of cards or when all players (excluding a Prophet, if there is one) have been expelled.

Scoring

The greatest number of cards held by anyone (including the Prophet) is called the 'high count'. Each player (including the Prophet) subtracts the number of cards in his hand from the high count. The difference is his score. If he has no cards, he gets a bonus of 4 points.

The Prophet, if one exists, get a bonus for himself. The number of mainline cards plus twice the sideline cards that follows his marker is his bonus; that is, a point for every correctly played card and two points for every incorrect card played after he becomes a Prophet.

If there isn't a Prophet, the dealer's score is the highest score of any player. If there is a Prophet, count the number of cards, right and wrong, that precedes the Prophet's marker and double it. If this is smaller than the highest player score, he takes this smaller score instead.

If there is time for another round, a new dealer is chosen. Ideally, every person should be a dealer before the game officially ends. If this can't be done, those who never was a dealer gets a 10-point bonus. A person's ultimate score is the sum of all the rounds plus any 10-point bonus.

~ Example ~

A round has just ended with 5 players. Smith was the dealer. The round ended when Jones got rid of her cards. Brown was the Prophet and ended with 9 cards. Robinson was expelled earlier with 14 cards. Adams had 17 cards at the end of the round. The high count then is 17.

Adams score is 17 - 17 = 0.
Robinson score is 17 - 14 = 3
Jones score is 17 - 0 = 17, plus a 4-point bonus for having no cards, or 21.
Brown score is 17 - 9 = 8. In addition, he had 12 mainline and 11 sideline cards after his marker. That results in a Prophet bonus of 11 x 2 + 12 = 34 points. His final score then is 42.
The highest score is Brown's 42. There is 25 cards before the Prophet marker, or 50 points. The smaller, Brown's 42, is then also the dealer's score.

A Champion of E-pallers!

2004-12-16T20:29:00.000-06:00

One of my newer e-pals notified me of this website.

http://www.ebolamonkeyman.com/index.html

I must warn you it is R rated. However, for those of us involved in this hobby, it is sweeeeet revenge! When this person get an e-mail from Africa that smells like a money laundering or scam, he scams them! Take this one for example, his first counter-victim. After the initial letter, "Ebola Monkey Man" makes outrageous fictional stories for fun and eventually trap him. Won't spoil it for you, although it is quite long. Hope he uses the trick to get them arrested.

Some experience at least....

2004-11-17T23:39:00.000-06:00

Just putting down that I got a job now at Casey's General Store, which I stared on 11/15 (interviews on the 5th and 9th). I asked to be a manager-in-training, but they choose another guy. HOWEVER, they still want me. (In other words, they wanted me and another and he just happen to got the position... probably due to retail experience!) So I am now a lowly clerk with them promising to promote me to assistant manager as soon as an opening occurs.

There is only two positions, cashier and cook, and its best to be trained with both. I had no choice! The first two days was being a cook, which I found to be no sweat. Being a cashier on the other hand... AUGH! I am typing this after my first day and you have to be constantly thinking. Worse, since I don't drink or smoke, I know little about restocking the beer (cook duty) or where the cigarettes are located behind me at the register. This nonsmoker can't believe the variety! ACK! The evening manager is also not very people friendly when it comes to instruction. I hope it doesn't rub off on me when... and if... I get promoted.

Not my type of job, pay isn't so great, but its better than nothing. I am desperate for job experience. Still got my other job just in case this one doesn't work out.

Rubik's Cube #3: Other Stuff

2004-11-08T08:37:00.000-06:00

The solution I shown you in part 2 is what I considered the Standard Solution. I read it when I was a young child from a small booklet, written by James Nourse. Later I made a document similar to these three parts and this is a revision of what I wrote so long ago.

There is another solution which is far more advanced and, in my opinion, less efficient. However it has a lot of mathematical insight. I checked it out of my local library I don't know how many years ago after mastering Nourse's solution. According to my ancient notes, it is called The American Version. I don't know if that is what I call it or what they call it. Guess I should check it back out, yes? Here is one thing it has:

Orientate Option:  L+  B2  L-  F-  B2  F+

         Reverse:  F-  B2  F+  L+  B2  L-

On a solved cube, do the Orientate Option, then move the T face (+, -, or 2), then Reverse. Put the T face back in position. This will orientate two 2 corner cubes without moving any of the other cubes. You can use this in Step 4 if you wish.

Also there is this sequence that is helpful in Step 5 that is easy and interesting.

3 Edges Transfer:  (L- R+)  F2  (L+ R-)  B2

If you use this on a solved cube, you'll notice the FT, FB, and BP edge cubes all move clockwise when viewed from the R face; counter-clockwise when viewed from the L face. Reverse it to move them the other direction. VERY helpful if you misplace an edge cube on the T face!

If you combine that simple move with the American Version's concept of doing a sequence - move - reverse sequence, and you can move edge cubes all over the place! Reverse 3 Edge Transfer to return to your solved cube. Now lets say you want to move the TL, BL, and FR edges. To do this, think how to move those edges to FT, FB, and BP. My solution: B- F+ T- which moves the BL to BP, FR to FB, and TL to FT. (Note: it is useful to write it down and the T and F face colors! Very easy to boo-boo!) Do the 3 Edges Transfer and reverse my solution: T+ F- B+ and the result should be pretty!

Another idea. Do an L2, Step 5 position, make the R face the F face (which you do in Step 5 with the Best pattern), Step 5 Orientate, then a P2 (which reverse your earlier L2). Do this to another person's solved cube - who don't know how to solve it - and run away shrieking in laughter!

The 3 Edges Transfer is also useful when solving the "4th Dimension" edition of the Cube. This has four symbols that has to be orientated correctly to be solved. Heck, that's easy! Make the two faces without the symbols as the T and B faces. To do a half turn, do the 3 Edges Transfer three times. To do a clockwise turn, make it an F+ and B- instead of the F2 and B2; counter-clockwise, use a F- and a B+. This has to be done a total of FIVE times. Not good time wise, but it works.

Have fun!

Rubik's Cube #2: The Solution

2004-11-08T08:20:00.000-06:00

Here is the solution is in 5 steps. If not already, read part 1 first or this won't make any sense! The first step is to do the 4 top edges: TF, TR, TL, and TP. Try to solve it yourself with just knowing the basics and terminology first! The solution then moves downward, 4 cubits at a time. Solve each step in order and do each step several times before going to the next one, unless you just want to solve the cube and display it. Don't memorize it immediately except Step 1 which is considered very easy. When your ready to go to the next step, read it all before doing it with your cube.

STEP 1: Top Edges ~ TF, TR, TL, TP



A.	Find the desired cue that is not correctly positioned

	and move the cube so that it belongs at the TF

	position.  Rotate a face to move the cubit to the B

	face.  Rotate the B face so it is at the BF position.

	If you displaced a correctly positioned	cubit, move

	it back now.  F2.  It is now correctly positioned.



B.	If the desired cubit isn't correctly orientated, do

	the following: F-  T+  L-  T-



This is a verbose way how to solve the top edges!  If you

understand the terminology but don't know the 'why', observe

what you are doing. Do not go to Step 2 until you think the

above is stupid!  For one, figure out how to correctly

position and orientate a cubit at the same time.  This can be

done in 3 moves (4 if you need to put a cubit back in

position).  Think ahead... don't drop the cubit to the B face

if you can position it without doing that.



Master this without referring to this step before continuing!

The steps will get harder and harder, and you should do this

step intuitively.







STEP 2: Top Corners ~ FRT, FLT, TRP, TLP



A.	Find an incorrectly position corner cubit.  If on the

	T face,	move the cube so the corner cube is in the

	FRT position and do the following to move it to the B

	face: R-  B+  R+



B	If on the B face, with the correct position at FRT,

	rotate the B face so the corner cube is at BFR.



C	If the T color is on the B face do this to orientate

	it: R-  B2  R+  B+



D.	If the T color is on the R face: R-  B-  R+

E.	If the T color is on the F face: F-  B+  F+



Start with the corner cubits on the B face with the T color

not on the B face.  That way the others may move to the B

face or get orientated, saving you some moves.  Note there is

no real orientation moves except the third part of this step.

If you have to orientate a correctly orientated cubit, just

use one of the last two moves to move it down and then again

to send it back up.



The top third is now solved!  This step is fairly easy to

memorize and if you just want to brag about one side solved,

go ahead and do this. It will actually make Step 3 easier.

You don't have to do this yet though.  Step 3 is considered

moderately difficult to memorize.







Step 3: Middle Edges ~ FR, FL, RP, LP



            Seq BF: B-  R-  B+  R+  B+  F+  B-  F-

            Seq BR: B+  F+  B-  F-  B-  R-  B+  R+



A.  	Look for an edge cube on the B face that belongs on

	the equator.  With the correct position at FR, rotate

	the B face till the edge cubit is at BF (if the F

	color is on the F face in this position) or BR (if

	the R color is on the R face in this position).  Do

	one of the above sequences, depending on where the

	cubit is.



B  	If there is none on the B face but there is

	incorrectly positioned/orientated cubits on the

	equator, just place it on the FR position and do

	either of the two sequences (skipping the B- or B+ of

	course!) to move it to the B face.



Two thirds done!  Now comes the most difficult two steps!







Step 4:  Bottom Edges ~ BFL, BFR, BRP, BLP



       Switch: R-  B-  R+  F+  B+  F-  R-  B+  R+  B2

    Orientate: R-  B-  R+  B-  R-  B2  R+  B2



A.  	Rotate the B face till you know you have the most

	correctly positioned cubits possible.  Use the switch

	sequence above to switch the BFL and BFR cubits if

	needed.



B.  	Correctly positioned, there is 7 patterns.  The

	'best' two have	only one correctly orientated cubit

	at the BFL position.  Do the orientate sequence once

	or twice to get them all correctly orientated; the

	second one results in the other 'best' pattern.  The

	others will result in one of the 'best' patterns.

	Since I lost Nourse's booklet, I'll leave it up to

	you to figure out which of the remaining 5 should be

	the F face!



Almost there!  Note you can skip the B2 in the above

sequences to save a move.  On the next step, parenthesis are

used to help you better visualize the moves.







Step 5:  Bottom Edges ~ BT, BR, BL, BP



       Position: 	(L- R+)  F+  (L+ R-)  B2

                    (L- R+)  F+  (L+ R-)



      Orientate:	(L- R+)  F+  (L+ R-)  B-  (L- R+)  F-

                    (L+ R-)  B-  (L- R+)  F2  (L+ R-)



A	If there is no correctly positioned cubits, use the

	position sequence to get one correctly positioned.



B	If there is 1 correctly positioned, at BF, use the

	position sequence once or twice to get them all

	positioned.



C	Now there is three patterns if not solved.  1)  All

	cubes not orientated, "Checker".  2)  Two not

	orientated at BF and BP, "H".  3)  Two not orientated

	at BL and BP, "Best".  Doing Orientate then position

	(also with the correct cubit at BF) will make pattern

	#3 with the other two.  With pattern #3, the cube

	will be solved!



That's it!  Note how the position sequence work.  This moves

all but the BF cubits clockwise.  If you need to move it

counter-clockwise, substitute F- for F+ and save yourself

from doing the sequence again.

Rubik's Cube #1: Basics and Terminology

2004-11-08T08:15:00.000-06:00

Quick notice: I copy/pasted these three posts from an HTML document I already made. That looks a whole lot better than these posts (formatting, pictures), so e-mail me if you want it.

The is the first of two parts on how to solve the Rubik's Cube. This part introduces some basic facts you need to know before actually learning to solve it. It is highly recommended to have one with you when going through this!

This solution is based on the work of James Nourse. More info on him and alternate solutions on Part 3.

Basics

Instead of viewing the Cube as a single cube, view it as 26 cubits. 6 are single sided, the ones in the center of each face. These never move. If you have one with white on one side and blue on the other, they will remain on opposite sides. Use these for reference! 12 are edge cubits, having two sides. They are then in between two center cubits. The three sided ones are the 8 corner cubits.

Each edge and corner cubit need to be in a certain position in the cube, the position that shares all the colors as the center cubits. For example, if you have an orange and white edge cubit, it belongs in between the orange and white centers, no where else. A cubit is called correctly positioned if this is true. It is called correctly orientated if the correctly positioned cubit has the colors adjacent to the center colors.

Terminology

Pick your favorite color. Position the cube so that the center with that color is pointing up. This is the top (or T) face. Look at the face in front of you. This is the front (F) face. The faces to the left and right of the F face is the Left (L) and Right (R) face. The face pointing to the floor is the Bottom (B) face. The face pointing away from you is the posterior (P) face and is rarely used. While solving the cube, the T and B faces will remain the same while the rest will change places.

A + is used to symbolize a quarter turn clockwise. So F+ means move the F face one turn clockwise. Likewise a - is used to symbolize a counter-clockwise turn and a 2 to show a full half-turn.

Each cube location and cubit also has their own names. For example, the TF (or FT if you prefer) cube location is between the T and F faces. The TFR corner cube belongs on the common corner to the T, F, and R faces.

Test

To see if you understand the above, note the orientation of the TFR cubit. Do the following:

R+  T2  L+  B+  F-

When done, the corner cubit is now correctly positioned but not correctly orientated. The T face color is now on the R face. The F color is on the T face and the R color is on the F face.

Note: if you did this with an already solved cube, reverse the moves without changing the faces:

F+  B-  L-  T2  R-

Post-election - 2

2004-11-03T10:38:00.000-06:00

THIS JUST IN! KERRY CONCEDED! 10:30 AM USA CENTRAL!

Its over! No 2000! Hallelujah! Blogger is sloooooow! I still want to elope to Antarctica! *yawn*

Seriously, with Daschle gone, this nation is going hard to the right I suspect, for good or ill.

Post-election - 1

2004-11-03T08:04:00.000-06:00

I am typing this with only four and a half hours of sleep and we STILL don't have an official declaration for President, the results unchanged since I went to bed. At least we got Bush up to 269, which means he will be President since Congress is assumed to still be Republican (House count: 212-193-1 Republican with 29 still too close to call... ACK!). According to Real Clear, CNN, ABC, and CBS have *not* declared Ohio for Bush. Bush also has a real nice popular vote count. Lets see... Tom Daschle lost his reelection. Senate is 53-44-1 Republican with 2 still too close to call.

I may post something tonight. I need to send my e-pals some letters.

ELECTION DAY! - 2

2004-11-03T02:15:00.000-06:00

Geared up and ready! Got my scorecard, scratch sheet to make notes, webpage showing our states map, and electoral college map by Real Clear. Hey, this only happens once every four years! This is faaaaar better than some bleeping sports game!!!

Quick reminder: all time is USA Central standard time, which is my time.

6:00 ~ Indiana (11), Georgia (15), and Kentucky (8) for Bush; Vermont (3) for Kerry. No big surprises yet. 34-3 Bush. Virginia and South Carolina too close to call.

6:30 ~ West Virginia (5) goes to Bush. 39-3 Bush. Ohio and North Carolina too close to call.

7:00 ~ Glob of states! Kerry got Connecticut (7), DC (3), Delaware (3), Illinois (21), Maine (3 with 1 tossup), Maryland (10), Massachusetts (12), New Jersey (15). Bush got Oklahoma (7), Tennessee (11), and Alabama (9). 77-66 Kerry. No surprises yet, although New Jersey was considered weak Kerry. Also no state has changed hands. Maine has something that allows one of its four EVs available to the other if a certain condition is meet, but this Illinois resident don't know what the bleep that is.

Later, South Carolina (8) went for Bush. 77-74 Kerry. BTW, if you catch any errors, tell me. I am multitasking! Also, Senate update: 40 Republicans, 34 Democrats, 1 Independent, 25 still to be called. Not surprised my state, Illinois, went to Kerry and now Senate elect Obama, the Democrat. Chicago!

Just before 7:30, North Carolina (15) and Virginia (13) goes to Bush as suspected. 102-77 Bush!

8:00 ~ Another large crop. Bush gained Kansas (6), Nebraska (5), South Dakota (3), Texas (34), Wyoming (3), and North Dakota (3). Kerry: New York (31) and Rhode Island (4). 156-112 Bush.

Things should be slowing down now. There is numerous other states too close to call from 7:00 and 8:00. Louisiana (9) declared at 8:30 for Bush. At 8:45 the Senate stood at 45-38-1. I also checked with NBC and they report Mississippi (6) for Bush, which is what's expected. Fox News did too shortly before the top of the hour.

9:00 ~ Utah (5) goes to Bush. That's all. 176-112 Bush. Note that Bush needs 94, 158 Kerry, and 249 is left. Most of the idle chit-chat is seeing how accurate the exit polls are, which is hugely responsible for the 2000 mess-up.

A little while later Missouri (11) and Arkansas (6) went to Bush. Still no surprises. Still like 2000. Ugh. Interesting side note: FNC, the 'conservative' network, REFUSED to acknowledge a win by a Republican Senatorial win in Kentucky even with 100% of the vote in! I guess they are conservative in counting, not politics! They declared him at 9:30. NBC rather show Obama's speech, being our new Senator. *patooie!* I don't care about Hardball on MSNBC. I thought they will play the same thing. The electoral count is the same at least.

I gotta to use the restroom! ... ... ... Back. NBC declared Arizona (10) for Bush and Pennsylvania (21) for Kerry. Fox reported Pennsylvania shortly later.

10:00 ~ Time to go to bed... NOT! Idaho (4) went to Bush and Washington (11) to Kerry. Current total is 197-144 Bush (207 with Arizona, which FNC declared at 10:20). Now if you think Bush is whipping Kerry, note that so far NO states has changed and California, not declared this early - for this state, its only 8 pm - is very likely to go to Kerry. It has the most at 55 EVs. South Dakota Senate race has only a thousand vote difference, 50-50. Right now the Senate stands at 50-41-1. This is critical because if Bush wins, the Senate is now officially Republican. Of course if it gets 51, it will be if Kerry wins. The House stands at 143-126-1, with 165 to be declared.

Later, FNC gave Montana (3) to Bush, NBC gave California (55) to Kerry. Assuming both are right, we get more realistic numbers: 210-199 Bush. That means Bush needs 60, Kerry 71, and there is 128 left. No states have changed, even now! Lots and lots of talk about Ohio on both stations and the dreaded 169-169. Here is what's left:

Florida - 27 ~ leaning to Bush right now
Ohio - 20 ~ really needed by Kerry
Michigan - 17 *
Minnesota - 10 *
Wisconsin - 10 *
Colorado - 9
Iowa - 7 *
Oregon - 7
New Mexico - 5 *
Nevada - 5
New Hampshire - 4
Hawaii - 4
Alaska - 3

* Gore states Bush needs to win if Kerry takes Ohio. Iowa, Wisconsin, New Mexico is his best bets. Michigan and Minnesota isn't likely to go to him. Taking those 3 will make up the loss.

See why I wuv this a whole lot more than sports!?!?

11:00 ~ 51-42-1 in the Senate, so it will indeed be Republican. The only question is by how much. 6 races are uncalled. For the House, 173-150-1 with 111 still uncalled, so that is still anyone's game although the Republicans got a solid lead.

Fox News keep saying that they rather not declare California or Florida (27) unlike the other stations until they are absolutely sure. NBC has Oregon (7) with Kerry. With the more 'liberal' count, HA!, it is 237-206 Bush, 94 left, Bush needing 33 of that to win. No change! Nooooo-HO change!

Colorado (9) went for Bush at 11:20 or so. Alaska (expected to go to Bush) plus Ohio = 169 for Bush and a tie/win. Otherwise find 20 from the other states and you got a tie/win for Bush and a tie/loss for Kerry. News people are looking for "Can we go home now?" scenario. FNC and NBC has the same EV. The toss-up vote on Maine went to Kerry and New Hampshire goes to Kerry. 246-211 Bush. THIS IS BIG NEWS! OUR FIRST STATE CHANGE! Of course it only a puny 4 EVs. Also Lousianna elected its FIRST Republican! Time, 11:36.

AT 11:40 BUSH GOT OHIO! 3 points for a tie/win, 4+ an instant win... not counting the upcoming court trials of course! Now Kerry needs ALL the states to win! Bush is winning the popular vote also. Checking NBC. Haven't done that. Strange, they usually declare a state before FNC does. Now for my non-US e-pals, let me explain what I mean by a 269 tie/win for Bush. On a tie, 269-269, it will got to the House. It is ASSUMED it will stay Republican, therefore Bush will win. Checking House numbers: 202-183-1, 49 left. Still possible for a Kerry tie/win, but not likely. NBC gave Ohio to Bush sometime before Wednesday.

According to Ohio law, 0.25% difference will be an automatic recount. FNC is looking for all possibilities for a 2000 Florida happening at a 2004 Ohio happening and acting very nervous they just did a 'Florida'. For a Republican station, they are acting pessimistic!

12:00 Midnight ~ Alaska's whopping 3 EVs give a total score of 269-211 Bush. That means the ONLY way Kerry can win now is if 1) he wins ALL the remaining states and 2) take the House. A tone of closer has arrived. The only question now is what states will change hands. Of the states that is left, only Nevada went for Bush, the rest to Gore. That means New Hampshire went from the Republicans to Democrats with perhaps Nevada too, and all the other states the possibility of going from the Democrats to the Republicans.

Another thought. Assuming this holds, there will be no transition period, which is good. If there is a challenge, at least Bush can continue acting 'business as usual' and Kerry can wait, where last time both candidates required a transition period if won. Of course Kerry wouldn't just wait, but challenge Ohio. That is to be suspected. I just hope it won't be like Florida. A nice, calm count please! Bush is wining the popular vote also, thank God. Democrats considered Gore the true president since he won the popular vote by a half of a percent.

By 1:00 Michigan went to Kerry. I am still waiting to see how the South Dakota senate race will end. As 2:00 comes, Hawaii also went to Kerry. Kerry's campaign meanwhile has a wait and see type of attitude. Lets see how close Ohio really is once all of its votes is counted. Edwards did a short speech and that is all we will hear from them till daylight. The media seem to jump from "Bush will become President" to "How can Bush win without Ohio?" I can also tell how fatigued their getting. They are an hour ahead of me.

At 2:00, Brit Hume decided to go to bed. So am I! I am going to blog this, send an e-mail to my e-pals, and then hopefully get some sleep. Like 2000 I went to bed thinking Bush will be President. The current count is 269-242 Bush with 27 left over and it seems Bush will win at least two: New Mexico and Nevada. Wisconsin may go to Kerry and Iowa is dead even.

More tomorrow... I mean today!

ELECTION DAY! - 1

2004-11-02T15:26:00.000-06:00

12:00 ~ I am starting this shortly after 12 noon and already there is several new develpments besides the 15,000 ghost votes in Pennsylvania (see next older post)

Minnesota: move-on.org handing out leaflets within 100 feet from a polling place, illegal
Wisconsin: tiers slashed on Republican vehicles meant to bring people to the polls
Ohio: Lawsuit filled by voter saying she couldn't vote - Sarah White.
Florida: Someone is calling saying your precinct changed

I am going to continue adding junk till who-knows-when. I am planning to record Fox News and MSNBC tonight and compare coverage.

1:00 / 2:00 ~

Pennsylvania: Green party voter BROKE one of the machines and ran away before she was caught.
South Dakota: Senator Dashel filed lawsuit saying Republicans were writing down Native American's licence plates.
Arizona: Bomb threat, polling place moved from a school to a church.
SPACE!: Astronaut voted by e-mail. First time e-vote happened.
Wisconsin: Republican headquarters vandalized overnight

3:00 ~

Things are slowing down, repeating what's above. A few other things. Dish Network customers who have the latest console (not me... *sniff*) can watch 6 news stations at once! Fox News, the 'Republican' news station, had its latest poll predicting a Kerry win! The Laci Peterson trial is going on today (?!) and the Chief Justice hasn't covered from his thyroid surgery apparently.

I am going to take a break! More later!

Quick morning update

2004-11-02T10:53:00.000-06:00

Already in Pennsylvania there is a report that four machines has did 15,000 votes before the polls even open! Also late last night a appeal court reversed a previous ruling. Republican may have observers at polling areas, while Democrats fear they intimidate minority voters.

Here is the current EV count:

Democrat: Kerry 262, Bush 261 (NJ tied)
Republican: Bush 289, Kerry 249
Real Clear: Bush 227, Kerry 203, 108 toss up.

Here is a score card I found.

An Election Nightmare

2004-11-02T08:01:00.000-06:00

I walked in to the building where I voted every time there is an election. It is as I remember, except for one thing. There were two men dressed in a SWAT police style uniform moving around and looking. I tried to keep my eyes off of them and went strait to the person checking registered voters names.

"Brian Ogan", I said. After receiving my ballot - the infamous punch card - I headed to an empty booth, pausing to let the armed officer by. I think he looked at me. Did a quick smile and then scampered inside. I always had to reread the instructions to these darn things. Okay, this side up, got to get the pegs into those two holes, where is the thing you punch the holes with, etc. Flipped it over and I saw the names of all the presidential candidates running. Bush and Kerry was in 36-point size. Everyone else 8-point.

Taking my glasses off, since I am near sighted, I put my nose right up to the ballot looking for Badnarik. Think I found him. Noted the hole number, since their size is consistent at least. I straiten back up and put my glasses back on. Oh gee, I think I got some of my body fluids on it. Oh well. I grab the puncher and raised it high. Well as high as the string it was connected to allowed it. Noting the hole I stabbed it.

And that is when all hell broke loose.

I failed to notice that the platform was supported by rusty legs. It crashed. The booth then toppled over. I just stood there, dumbfounded, holding the puncher in me hand. One of the armed officers pointed his gun at me and yelled, "Put that weapon DOWN!" Everybody then screamed and ducked for cover. I let it go and the other one slammed me to the ground and put on some handcuffs. The first one then looked at the damage and noticed my snot and saliva on the ballot. He got his radio and said, "This is Officer number eighteen thirty-six, we caught a terrorist with a biological WMD. Possible flu virus." He then asked the one holing me if I was sick. He pulled out some dust and pepper from his pocket and hold it to my nose. Everyone else screamed and ran out of the building after I sneezed. "Yep! Bring along some bio-containment personnel."

And so came a number of FBI agents and men in biohazard suits. They put me into a bubble and shipped me to our local airport. Everyone thought my name is 'terrorist'. I got on a plane and was checked for the flu and other contagious viruses while on it. They discovered I didn't had the flu. When asked why I acted to be sick, I told him about the dust and pepper. They all laughed and one of the military doctors stuck a tweezer up my nose, saying, "You pretended to be sick, you spread snot all over the place, and damaged government property. You tried to subvert this election! TERRORIST!" He then pulled the tweezer out, taking several of my nostril hairs along with it.

got off the plane at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Since it was Ramadan, I didn't got my bread and water till late that night. Worse, the speakers kept playing over and over again "I love you, you love me" by the purple dinosaur Barney.

I was about to doze off when two MPs ran in, punched me a few times, and had handcuffs and a blindfold put on me. They then sent me to the interrogation room. First they shown that my plot failed, but the article they gave me didn't said who won. In addition, since I voted for the Libertarian candidate, the current congress and senate rushed through a bill that declared the party a bunch of terrorist-sympathizing anarchists. After all, a tape was just released with Badnarik screaming "ALLAH AKBAR!". So he too was arrested, for the second time in the past few months. They asked me a bunch of questions like, "Who else works in your terrorist cell?", "Where is bin Ladin?", "How can a cat send e-mail?", and "Do you have any Muslim friends?" When the lie detector machine went crazy after saying this, they started pulling nostril hairs until I spoke. Eventually I cracked and said I don't know where they live since they are just e-pals.

"They? THEY?!?"

"Well I just contacted someone last week on Interpals and..."

"Interpals? AHA! A new terrorist website!" The interrogator got on the phone and ordered Interpals to be investigated. They threw me back into my prison cell with Barney continuing his singing. I finally got some sleep.

I woke up in my bed, my alarm going off. "Its Tuesday, November second, and its election day!"

A Hint of What's Coming

2004-11-01T18:03:00.000-06:00

Today I helped my mom vote an absentee ballot this rainy day. We decided to do this since she is in a wheelchair and was the first time I sent her to the Sangamon County Courthouse. Since I had to take her through the employee entrance, the only place a handicap person can go through, the security guard said we can just go on. Yesh, I should have brought in a water gun filled with red paint! The one advantage I got at the cost of signing several papers is a preview of our local ballot. The libertarian party is the ONLY third party group on the ballot. No Nader or anyone else. Of course we can write one in if we want, i.e. Micky Mouse. Oh, and while I was helping my mom vote, WAND, the ABC affiliate channel from neighboring Decatur, caught us on their camera and we were in their news.

The talk on the news of course is if a repeat of 2000 will occur. For the first time in our history, international observers will be involved! I don't know what will happen November 3rd, but we all fear a slew of law suits will follow and I won't be surprised if we won't know who won for at least a week... hopefully not any longer than that. There is also a number of reports of which the TV media promise to practice restraint on saying which state's electoral votes go where.

The other big news item is the bin Ladin tape. At least we know his is indeed alive. The news are zeroing in on a phrase he used which now believes to mean something important, his attempt to effect our election. Any state that gives its electoral votes to Kerry will not be attacked, those that give it to Bush will be. Although I am voting for neither, I guess I should be relived since Illinois is believed to be going to Kerry.

As of tonight, I say who freaking knows. A Democrat puts Kerry at 298, Bush 231 electoral votes. A Republican: Bush 286, Kerry 252. I have been trying to find an alternative and found this one, which leaves the toss up states a toss up: Bush 227, Kerry 207, and Toss Up 104.

Senate races: It is believed the Republicans will pick up a seat and perhaps more. However the Democrats does have a fighting chance in retaking the Senate. My state is going to give a seat to the Democrats. I got the most pathetic race in the nation! Our local Republicans are STUPID! The more interesting elections are in South Dakota (Senate minority leader may loose his seat!) and Louisiana where the Republican has a fighting chance to win the required 50% of the vote and leading by a wide margin, but could loose in a run off.

Finally something lighter. Here is some election omens! Also my request to all of my e-pals to elope with one of them to start a penguin breading career in Antarctica - the most peaceful continent on Earth - still stands.

Searching For A Virtual Pet

2004-10-27T22:28:00.000-05:00

I just spent some time looking for that online to no success. Jaguar is just too much of a sour puss for me. Alas it wasn't that successful, but thankful Neko is still available. It is a virtual pet I had a few years ago and rediscovered. You can't feed or play with it, but its free and a quick download.

1) Go to their website and download Neko 4.0 and the cat sounds.

2) Unzip Neko984.zip into its own folder. I used C:\Neko. Unzip the sounds also. I placed it at C:\Neko\Sounds

3) Start Neko and watch your electronic feline fiend chase... what else?... your mouse cursor. Note that a Neko icon is in your taskbar, which is usually by the desktop clock.

4) By using NekoCFG or by right clicking the Neko icon and choosing settings, you can configure your Neko. I usually have two of them, the second named Neka. Here is my configuration.

Display: 133% scale for 800x600 resolution. Note the 'Always On Top' checkbox in case your e-cat is getting in the way!
Movement: Unchanged
Sound: Neko has sound close but not at 'None'. Neka none. I found 'some' means a lot. You also need to set the 5 cat sounds here!
Independence: I make Neka run around randomly.

5) Finally, you might want to add a shortcut somewhere, i.e. desktop, start menu.

To stop Neko, right click the icon and choose exit. Neither I nor the Neko programmer is responsible for any scratches Neko does to your desktop! He does sharpen his claws when near the edge of the screen. Feline fiend!

THIS IS THE WORST ELECTION YEAR EVER!!!

2004-10-18T13:20:00.000-05:00

If Fahrenheit 9/11 wasn't bad enough, it just got worse. Just found out today of Celsius 41.11, and all I got to say is that I agree with this guy.

The one thing I did like about Zell Miller's speech is that there was a time when politicians put their differences aside for the greater good of a nation. That is no longer the case. Look at the user ratings for this movie.

As of typing this, 51 voted ten, 34 voted one, and 3 others inbetween, an arithmetic mean or 6.4. So how their weighted average comes out to be 2.1 is beyond me, or if they have even seen it. Doesn't matter. As long as this hatred continues to grow, there can only be one result. "A house divided by itself cannot stand." I didn't bother to see F-9/11. I am now open to see it if I can also watch C-41.11 beside it. If I can keep my sanity! I see no difference between the two so far even though they say opposite things.

Here is a debate on the IMDB forums.

The only thing the Republicans and the Democrats had succeeded in doing for this voter is making me want to vote libertarian all the more. And their candidate, Badnarik, was arrested!

>*sigh*< I am sick of politics.

Finally, Spyware distributors gets it!

2004-10-09T10:47:00.000-05:00

Read this. About time!

Multiple fractions?

2004-09-25T10:07:00.000-05:00

The situation of at the Gaza Strip continues to build. I stumbled over this article.

Settler leaders say plebiscite only solution to prevent civil war

"Wake up, we are nearing civil war. A plebiscite is in order", Yesha Concil leaders tell Public Security Minister Ezra.

Uri Glickman

Leaders of the Settlers' Council have once again used the threat of civil war ahead of the expected withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria under the framework of the disengagement plan.

During a meeting with Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra held on Monday, the settlers told him, "Wake up, we are nearing civil war. A plebiscite is in order".

According to Ezra, "The meeting took place following a request of the council and I agreed, and will do so again in the future. We do not want things to get out of hand. We are one nation".

The settlers alerted the minister that the situation is nearing a boiling point, as incitement against Prime Minister Sharon and head of the Disengagement Authority Yonatan Basi is escalating. According to the council leaders, the only solution that would prevent a civil war is a national referendum to be carried out as soon as possible.

Council member Moshe Yogev said, "The king is naked, the prime minister is leading us down the path of civil war. If he is allowed to take a bulldozer and ruin the Torah study center, which was built in [the Gaza settlement of] Atzmona in the memory of my parents, I am allowed to take a bulldozer and head towards the Sycamore Ranch (Sharon's private residence)".

Another senior council member warned of a wave of violence if the idea of a plebiscite would not be implemented. "If the people aren't given the chance to decide, thousands would cut the Gush Katif fences. There would be a massive confrontation that would escalate to violence", he warned.

Council Chairman Bentzi Leiberman tried to cool tensions. "A group of people is sitting here that will not call for violence or lead the nation towards civil war, even if it is raped to do so. But open your eyes, a catastrophe could very well take place", he said.

The reason I am observing the Jewish side of the Gaza pullout is because they elected Sharon for his conservative policies, yet taking the liberal position of moving Gaza settlers out to the Oslo Accords position. There is two possibilities to this I have found.

The Conspiracy Theory (ha-ha): This is a part of a continuing plan from prime ministers Rabin to Sharon, no matter what party he is a member of.

The More Down-To-Earth Theory: Sharon want to physically separate the Jew and Palastinian via the wall...

The Jews will like to add that phrase, "... due to the homicidal suicide bombings" while Arabs/Muslims want to add "... to perform a holocaust". Sharon will be stupid to do so on the latter. To this outside observer, I hope that is just fear and anger speaking. For if it is true, that will actually back up the Conspiracy Theory, since that will lead the whole region into all out war.

Meanwhile I am also keeping an eye out for the third temple which, according to my faith, has to be built before the second coming. Read one article by a Jew taking the Arab position!

The Al-Aqsa Mosque Bombers

The Temple Mount Bombers

Interesting... same article, different headline. There is another stance however. Arafat was quoted in a CNN interview back in 2000, "We Palestinians our first targets is our land -- the land of the holy places". Alas I can't find the transcript of that interview, but there is a few websites with that quote. The point here being that Arafat might purposely bomb Al-Aqsa / Temple Mount to start a regional war that way.

Meanwhile I'll continue praying cooler heads will prevail. But I doubt it. Hey, am I sounding like Frank Herbert, author of the Dune novels and whose son is counting the Dune saga? Plot within plot within plot?

Something Interesting About Our Election

2004-09-20T08:55:00.000-05:00

Two lesser known things that got my attention. First, our electoral college - which makes our voting process so darn interesting... and why Bush won with less votes! - is being challenged by Colorado. They are considering splitting its 9 electoral votes according to its own popular vote. So if one got 44% of the Colorado popular vote, he gets 4 electoral votes and the other 5, where now the latter will get all 9.

I consider this a good thing if and only if this process goes nationwide. Otherwise Colorado will become a glaring exception! 1) It makes Colorado overall weaker and 2) it helps the Democrats. If this was in place in 2000, Gore will be president with a margin of one single electoral vote! Florida wouldn't have mattered. Also, if this was in place in mostly Democrat states like California or my state of Illinois (Chicago), if will help the Republicans.

I don't want to get rid of the electoral college completely (i.e. use only the popular vote), since it gives all states a chance to participate instead of just the most populated ones. Otherwise rural, low populated states wouldn't be considered. Also our large nation has a variety of local cultures and concerns. But at least this makes the electoral votes more in proportion to the popular vote. Going to make the vote tallying harder though!

The second thing is quite sad, but unsurprising. A poll found people are more interested in fall leaves changing than our presidential election, 54 to 48 percent.

Freedomflex Presentation

2004-09-01T18:07:00.000-05:00

I already did this on my Business Blog, and posting it here for those interested in what it is like. It is some notes I took on the Freedomflex presentation I have to do.

Pre-presentation

Walk in, do a little small talk, and start presentation preferably at the dinner table.

Read PS letter out loud, asking the five questions and circling the answers.

Do pre-presentation letter, your time clock. Verify and date.

Presentation

1) The American Dream - review the page, say "Who could put together a program to keep you out of these sad statistics?"

2) Star Page - review this page, starting with AAGE/AAPE, then ISM, and then clockwise, explaining what each do

3) Five Reasons People Fail Financially - review, "Wouldn't you agree these are five challenges we all face?"

4) #1, Financial Procrastination - (Review page) "How many years have you worked so far?" (Rows) "Of those years, which of these figures comes the closest to your average monthly income?" (Cols) "That means you made somewhere in the neighborhood of $_____" (Take out sheet, put in the past earnings) "Those who are financially independent say that a certain percentage should be set aside for our future. Do you know what that is?" (10%, fill in that part) "That means you should be able to write yourself a check for $_____ RIGHT NOW!"

5) #2, A Financial Goal - Review page. Ask for age and yearly income. Write in age and future earnings from chart, yearly income and 10% savings on first line below goals. Write in big numbers 10% of future earnings as financial goal. "If you have that much money by the time you retire?" Check off goals. "My job is to help people like you accumulate money so someday you can live your dreams!"

If I can show you how to set aside a lot less than 10% or _____ a year and come close to, meet, or exceed your financial goal of _____, you would take advantage of the program, right?

6) Where will you be at 65? - "Based on 100 average Americans starting life at age 25, here is what will happen when they reach 65. Silly question: Where would you want to be? Top 5%, right! Serious question: What are you doing to put yourself in the top 5%? People who are financially independent tell us we should have at least 7 different investments." Start on remaining part of the worksheet, from the bottom up. Have the client list each investment and what the projected earnings are. Congrats on what they have done. Ask "Do you have a checking account that earns interest or a plan checking account" and "Do you have a savings account". Qualify questions hidden as normal questions.

7) A Financial Plan - Review

8) Foresight, not hindsight - "That is why it is foresight and not hindsight that creates wealth. We all have hindsight. But it is only the people who can recognize a good opportunity and take advantage of it... and most importantly... stick to it who will ever create wealth. It is sad that many people use the excuse "I want to think about it" as a reason not to take advantage of this opportunity? They use all there time thinking of reasons why they can't take advantage of an opportunity instead of reasons they should. And they find themselves in the back of the line. Wouldn't you agree? For the rest of the presentation, keep an open mind. If you like what we are doing for people, make the decision and get involved. If your mind takes you in a different direction, that's fine too. Just a simple yes or no. That's fair enough, isn't it?

9) Power of Compound Interest - A puts in 2,000 monthly at 21 for ten years and then just let it set to 65. He put in a total of 20,000 and got 315,677 in return. B put in 2,000 monthly at 31 up till age 65. He put in a total of 70,000 and got 295,827 in return. Individual A has 20,000 more and put in 50,000 less!

10) Six Figures of a Sound Plan - Review

11) Eight Ways to Accumulate Wealth - "I would like to demonstrate how time and compounding works using a 30 year old, setting aside 1,000/year, for 10 years, to age 65" Then just review this chart, noting that 4% is guaranteed, 8.14% is our average, and 12 and 15% is not guaranteed since it involves stocks.

Post-presentation

"Lets see how close we can target your financial goal. Tell me, how much per month can you set aside?"

Fill in name, age, assuming, and yearly.

Total Premium Deposits = 10 year cost of living chart total for monthly amount

Find chart with yearly on bottom, matching gender on top.

Completion benefit = Face amount on right.

Total Premium Deposits till age 65 = (65 - Age) x 900

Write 8.14% above Total Premium Deposits

Next three blanks = 8.14% column numbers

Next three blanks = 8.14% column on reverse side

Write 4.0% value next to 5th blank... our guarantee.

Rate of return = 8.14% Benefit factor

Example, John Doe age 25 puts in $75/month, or $900 yearly.

Completion benefit is 72,588 with total premium deposits equal to 36,000 at age 65.

If he discontinue after 10 years, his total premium deposits will be only 14,344. He will have 124,424 at age 65, providing a monthly income of 845. This will provide him a total income of 428,267 over the next 30 years.

If he continues payments till he is 65, he will have 364,796. (146,783 guaranteed) This will provide a monthly income of 2,475 and a total income of 1,255,628 over the next 30 years.

I PASSED!... Now Can I Catch Up On My Reading???

2004-08-24T16:31:00.000-05:00

After frequent prayers and nervous twitches, I passed my Illinois Life Insurance Licensing Exam. *WHEW!* With that done, nothing is stopping me from making a career out of this except myself. There will be a lag from now till when I actually get down-n-dirty as the insurance provider I am working with has to get a copy of the license and issue me an agent number. Meanwhile I am going to take a break. I do though have to do something for our next meeting Monday in Quincy.

As an assignment, I had to buy "Think & Grow Rich" and make out my own personal goal statement. AUGH! Yet another book to read!!! Wizard and Glass is now officially going to collect dust. Started on "Settling Accounts: Returned Engagement" by my favorite author, Turtledove. Raymond Smullyan's "Who Knows?" also came in. It is short, so it should be a quick read. Of the three parts (a general look at the existence/non-existence and quality of God and the possibility of an afterlife, a look at hell, and a look on collective consciousness), I already finished the first part. VERY GOOD, filled with his typical humor, as he defends and attacks all forms of believes as he formulates his own: agnostic, belief in an evolving deity, and belief in an afterlife although we don't know what that is. For those unfamiliar with him, here is one of his writings. Don't read the first few paragraphs and assume what he is trying to say via God. You need to read two-thirds of it at least to get the point he is trying to make. Dune: The Machine Crusade will be after those two.

Already made a blog exclusively for my job to help me stay organized and such. ULTRA-PRIVATE!!! Contains phone numbers, client's names, etc. so this is something I really don't want others to see!!!!!

My New Job

2004-08-19T19:48:00.000-05:00

I just got back home from my initial training. Sunday there was an ad for a walk-in interview to be done Tuesday. Little did I knew that Monday... my 'Saturday'... will be my last. On Tuesday, I attended and found out the company, American Association of Government and Private Personal, give people 10 year life insurance annuinties. It intrigued me enough that I signed on. What I like about walk-in interivews is that you learn a lot from the meeting and find out if your hired that night. Well, I got the call. Sent a quick e-mail to everyone I know online and prepared to make a trip to Quincy.

So far, that is what I don't like about this job. Quincy is a city roughly hour and a half to two hours west. I used to live there once (planning to do a mindwalk using it to do ruined nostalgia... if I ever!) so the trip over there wasn't too much of a problem... but to go back and forth several times?!?!? Thankfully I have relitives in Hannible, Missouri. Just 15 or so minutes away. I hope that future training days will be consecutive so I can do that again.

When I got there, I had only one word to say about my instructor: filthy rich. Besides living in an upscale neighboorhood a couple miles outside of Quincy, he has his own fishing pond. Oh, and ducks and geese, in the DOZENS. There were other people too, no more than 100 so miles away from Quincy (Springfield is a little more than 100), so Quincy is like a central hub for Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois; Quincy borders Missouri and a short drive from Iowa's border, the center of the 'tri-state' area.

The first day we got the basics and the first few steps of how we should operate among ourselves. We are independent empoyees. This person just trains us and we are our own boss. The second day we got a bit more into the opperation before spending the rest of the day on the test I need to take. All states license insurance agents, and I am going to take my test Tuesday and get my licence. That is expensive! Sum it all up, and I have to spend approximently $350 to the state. If I fail the test, I have to spend that portion of it ($106) again. Don't you see why I am a Libertarian?!?!? And that test will really bore you!

But if your interested in how the insurance work, I'll tell you if interested. For now I will just mention the basics. The client will agree to put in a small, managable amount per month, say, $50 - $100. The product, Freedomflex, uses the most option loaded and flexable system to accumulate tax differed money for whatever he or she wishes. It is classified as life insurance, and does work like life insurance, but can be used for little Johny's college fund, retirement, or just a financial vehical to save money. Tax deffered means none of it goes to taxes, although 10% might go to the government if your under 59 and a half. Find out more about that during future training.

Anyway, that is the jest of my trip. My head right now is woozy over the info-cramming and the long trip. I changed my mind on something. I still like to travel when able, but I don't want to do it alone! And none of those ducks wanted to come along either, or get a hug for that matter!

Introduction to Chrono Trigger

2004-08-17T23:07:00.000-05:00

This is an addendum to my intro to ZSNES, since I recommended this game. Fans of role-playing games shouldn't have too much trouble, but those who never played such of a game might, since it is heavy in story compared to most action games, much longer, and requires more commitment. But as RPGs go, Chrono Trigger serves as a reasonable introduction. It isn't as long, the fights not random, and the fights themselves are more animated and involved thanks to how magic and techniques are performed on the screen. I suggest you read this whole thing once before you use it within the game.

That said, start the game. Wait for the clock to stop and wait a short while on this screen to see shots from the game. Press the A button (that is, the key on your keyboard associated with the A button on the SNES controller!) to enter the game select screen. Note: if you don't have any saved games, it might jump you to Battle Mode screen automatically... not sure about this. Anyway, you should now see the Battle Mode screen. Choose 'Wait', since your new at this! You then get a chance to rename Crono, the main character of the game. If you don't want to change it, just press Start twice.

The game itself now officially begins, as you see a community with some sort of celebration going on. The screen blacks out with a bell ringing and someone saying Crono's name. Press the A button to continue the text. After Crono gets out of bed while the cat is leaving the room, you will gain control of Crono. As a RPG, you are Crono in the game. Before going downstairs, let me introduce you to the controls now that we have our first stopping point.

Control Pad: Moves Crono or a menu cursor up, down, left, or right.
A: action button used to do things on screen
B: cancel button in menu selections, dash button when moving Crono around
X: brings up the menu, which I'll explain shortly. Press B to exit.
Select: Shows the map of the world when your outside. Press B to exit
Start: pause and unpause game

The Y button is used when you reach The End of Time! It allows you to exchange characters with those outside of your party, like the Exchange menu screen does.

Okay, now for the menu. You will see 6 icons in a box in the center, each with their own purposes. Select the one you want and press A. When finished, press B to return to this selection window. Here is what they are, from left to right.

Character Screen: Select the character with the up/down buttons to see the character stats. Pressing A will allow you to change weapons and armor.

Item: View, use, and organize your inventory

Tech: Shows what techniques (sometimes called skills) and spells your character knows. After selecting the character and pressing A, you see what it can do. You earn more abilities by gaining Tech points in battle and some techniques can be combined with others to form combinations.

Options: I'll let you fiddle around with this; its mostly self-explanatory. Or just leave it alone.

Exchange: When you have multiple characters, this will allow you to move them around.

Save: Allow you to save at save points or when outside. You can't do it inside!

Side note: remember you can also use ZSNES save states! I suggest having slot 0 for your main one and 2 or 3 others at breaking points for backup.

Okay, move down the stairs. Mom will stop you and say a few words and allowing you to rename Lucca if you wish. Be sure to note what she says! Talk to her again (A button, remember) to get your allowance! Talk to your cat if you wish, and leave.

Your now outside. Press Select if you like to see the map. Don't head toward Leene Square up north yet. All the buildings with green roofs can be entered, and the name of the building is shown on screen. What you want is Mayor's Manor, southwest of your home. Press A to enter.

Talk to EVERYONE here! This is a place for beginners and you'll learn a lot in this place! Besides getting info, you'll also get a few items inside chests. A solder on the top floor will teach you about skills. Be sure to pay attention to him! The first thing he shows you is how Crono's Cyclone attack works, Crono's first technique. Another guy in here tells you that if you press the L and R buttons at the same time during a fight, you'll try to escape.

Exit and check out the other green roof houses if you like. Do not head to Guardia Forest (south of that giant castle) or the bridge south. After wasting time, go to Leene Square. Okay, here is where everyone is celebrating and you can play several mini-games here. There is three main areas. The first main area just skip for now and head north. In this second area, you see a woman in a long white dress. Run into her! Now, talk to her FIRST, and THEN pick up the pendant. Give it back to her. Allow her to walk around with you and she... Marle... will join you. One screen north, the third main area, is where Lucca is building her machine. Two people block the route, so let me take this time to show you how combat works. Exit Leene Square and head to Guardia Forest.

Pause the game and let me go ahead and say a few things. This is where the weakest monsters are, so it shouldn't be a problem. Don't bother taking the northern exit, toward the castle. Just learn how combat works. If a enemy hits you, you loose HP (hit points) and you are unconscious at 0 HP. If everyone has 0 HP, game over. If you fear this would happen (shouldn't... you should have Marle's Aura by then), head to Crono's home, press the A button while facing your bed, and you'll take a snooze. All of your HP and MP (magic points) will be maxed. Sleep does that in RPGs. Now unpause, head north, east, and then south east. You should see three mushroom-like creatures here. (You might want to save via ZSNES save state here!) Touch one and you'll enter a fight!

PAUSE THE GAME!!! Okay, here is how RPG fights work. First you have to wait till one of your characters is ready, like taking turns. That is what the bar next to the MP does... tells you how close the character is to being ready. When you unpause the game, choose 'Att', then one of those monsters. When you finish, you will see how much HP damage you do. Continue doing this till all three of them are gone. After that, the game awards you with experience (gain enough experience and you'll level up, making your stronger and tougher), tech points (which, again, grants you technique skills), and gold. You might also get an item.

Go to the Tech menu. What I want you to do is to get into enough fights till Crono earns his Cyclone technique and Marle earns Aura. Now leave this screen. On the northeast corner of this groove is a shiny spot... a power tab! Use this at any time via the item screen to increase your power stat by one. I tend to save these till I get into a spot I have trouble with and then use them accordingly.

Now find more monsters to fight. If you run out of monsters, leave and come back. When you earn Cyclone for Crono, use it to see how it works. It attacks all enemies near a single enemy you choose. Aura, Marle's first technique, heals HP. Both though uses MP, so if you run out, head to Crono's home. Choose Tech, the technique, and then the target.

When Aura is learned, you will also see you now know Aura Whirl. This is a Dual Tech and requires both Crono and Marle ready. After earning it, go to the Tech screen, press right, and your Dual Techs are listed. Press right again for Triple Techs... techniques requiring three people! What Aura Whirl does is combine Aura and Cyclone into one. Marle casts Aura on Crono and Crono uses Cyclone to 'whirl' it, so everyone in the party gets healed. Be sure to test it out! When both Crono and Marle are ready, 'Tech' becomes 'Comb'. Select Comb, Aura Whirl, and then press A again (to select everyone).

When you earned Cyclone and Aura, and feel comfortable with combat, leave and go to Crono's home to regain lost HP/MP. Now go back to Leene's Square. Despite being gone all that time, Lucca's machine still isn't ready! So waste time / have fun. But behave yourself! If Crono does something naughty (or nice), it well have an effect later in the game! In the first area there is a guy with a white mustache and samurai clothing, Melchoir. Talk to him so I can explain buying and selling. Click buy and you'll see who can use it by the character's animation. If its blue, it is better than what you got. Gray, worse. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING YET! I just want to introduce this screen to you. You'll get a chance to do this later (... in the past... !!!) and you'll get the lode sword for free later. If you move the cursor to a character, you can equip items. Handy to quickly equip and then sell. Oh, and you'll get a chance to be naughty or nice to Marle after shopping.

Okay, go talk to everyone till someone tells you Lucca has set up her machine. To continue the game, head to the third main area, or stay behind and play the games and perhaps perform some naughty or nice actions... one of which will happen right when you are about to enter the third area! Don't forget about save states! Use one for backup just in case!

Be sure to pay attention to what people are saying here. When you are able, talk to Lucca, follow her instructions, watch what happens. Talk to Marle and watch what happens to her instead! After all of that, go to the pendant, pick it up, watch what happens, and get warped from 1000 AD to 600 AD! I just love that music.

And this is where I'll leave you. Get out of the area your in, explore the community in this time, head to the castle via the forest, and continue the game there. Good luck!

The Art of Hacking... to CHEAT!... Part 2

2004-08-12T21:18:00.000-05:00

This is the second part on learning how to cheat via hacking. Part 1 dealt with hexadeciamal numbers, which you MUST understand to continue. I will be using ZSNES and PAR codes as an example. The process though is similar for all hack-and-cheat software. For more info on ZSNES, check out my introduction to it and emulation.

Now that is out of the way, I am going to use Chrono Trigger as an example. You may want to use another, but I can't guarantee results. I tried to find a code for keeping the stars in Yoshi's Island at 30, but failed to find it. However, the process is the same. There is two methods in finding a code: exact value search and comparative search. But before we do that, I have to show you how to input a code you already know. If you already know this, skip the next paragraph.

In ZSNES menu, go to Cheat > Add Code. If your not using Chrono Trigger, search for a PAR code. CT fans, I am going to go ahead and give you one. 7E5E3463 Input that in the 'Enter Code' box and press enter. Now input a description. This is the first character's magic (technique) points, so I inputted "char 1 mp" It then moves up to the box. The address and current value (CV) is listed first. This is what you input with the code. PV stands for previous value, the value it was before the code was used. CV and PV well be used again when searching for memory locations. TGL is toggle: double click a code to turn it on or off. The buttons below are self explanatory: Remove deletes a code, Toggle turns a code on or off, Save saves your codes to a file, Load load it, and Fix modifies the code in case it isn't working. I never had to use it.

Exact Value Searching

For Chrono Trigger, go to anyplace you will have a fight... we will search for the first character's hit points and freeze it at a certain value. (This can also be done with any RPG for that matter) Everyone else, find a value who's numerical value you can see, whether it is money, ammo, time left, or whatever. Again, I can't guarantee you'll find it, I can just show you the process. Those programmers may cleverly hide the data!

Okay Chrono Trigger fans, ready? Note the hit points of the first character, which is most likely to be Crono. Go to Cheat > Search. Since the max HP is 999, we want to look for 2 bytes. Choose dec and exact value search if they aren't selected already. Click start. Enter the HP value and click Search or press enter. ZSNES window will change to tell you how many results came back. I got 41 on my first try. You want only one result, or a very small number so that you can test each one to see which is correct. If you click View, you can see them all. Value is the current value, PValue is the previous value.

Now press 'Esc' till your back in the game and enter a fight. Pause the game. Go ahead and repeat the search. Some of those values might have changed, so lets get rid of them. Unpause and pray some foe takes some HP away. Do another search with the new HP. Repeat the process (whenever the first character's HP is changed or is unchanged after a period of time, do a search) till you get one or a very small number of results which you just can't get rid of. With your one memory address selected (or one to test) on the View window, click add. If you get 0 results, whine, do a small fit, and try again. Sometimes it isn't possible to find a code for what your looking for.

A new window appears. Input 999 (the max HP) and the PAR code equilivent is automatically displayed. Give it a description (like 'Char 1 HP) and click add. It is now part of your cheats. Return to your game and see if it worked. On some games, you have to get hit first (or use your ammo, or whatever) for the value to change.

Comparative Searching

Now that you got the general idea, I am just going to explain this process without an example. I don't find a need for this except for bars and when I want to do something really weird, like jumping without going down.

Choose Cheat > Search, select number of bytes (use 1 byte to start with), dec or hex (hmph, dec!), and comparative search. ZSNES then notes all the values in the game's memory from 7E0000 to 7FFFFF. Now go play the game for a while until 1) the value changes OR 2) a reasonable amount of time has passed and the value hasn't change. Now, instead of asking for the new value, it asks if the value is greater, lesser, equal to, or unequal to (that is '!=', for those who haven't seen such of a thing) to old value. Pick which one, click search, and see how many values is left. Repeat till you got down to one or a small number of values. Click View and Add and input the new cheat as before.

That's it! Because you don't know the actual value, this generally takes longer. You might also want to try this if exact value searching does nothing for you.

The Art of Hacking... to CHEAT!... Part 1

2004-08-12T21:16:00.000-05:00

Saying that makes some people cry foul (cheating) or scream in terror (hacking). For the first group, your cause is just, although finding those codes can be a challenge by itself. Second group, don't worry, unless you *really* hate math! This, the first part of two, introduces hacking in general. The second part will use this here to show you how to actually make your own codes.

The method of cheating on ZSNES, and similar cheating software, is to change a certain memory address location to a certain value. For the SNES, these codes are usually called PAR (Pro-Action Replay) or Game Genie codes, for they are the ones who first came up with the idea. Game Genie has some limitations and modify the code a bit, where PAR codes are considered better and strait forward. If you have a favorite game, go to GameFAQs.com or do a websearch for those PAR codes. It should look something like this:

7E2042FF

Now what in the heck does that mean? The first six digits is the memory location. The last two is the value you want in that location. So you want a value of 'FF' in memory location '7E2042'.

"Wait!", you might say. "How can 'FF' be a value?" This is what stop many from continuing, and why this part deals exclusively on it: hexadecimal numbers. (Oh I can hear the screams now!) Counting in hex is like counting with our number system except it goes up to 16 instead of 10. Counting from 0 to 9 is as usual. But that is when the similarity ends.

10 becomes A
11 becomes B
12 becomes C
13 becomes D
14 becomes E
15 becomes F

After that comes 16, which is '10' in hex. This is why hexadecimal numbers are called '16-base' and our decimal system is called '10-base'. So knowing how to convert from decimal to hex or hex to decimal is important. I just told you how to count in the 'ones place'. The tens place is now the 'sixteens place'. FF, for example, is in decimal 15 x 16 + 15 = 255. Other example, 63 in hex is 6 x 16 + 3 = 99. All digits when hacking are done in twos. So 15 in decimal is 0F in hex: 0 x 16 + 15 = 15. (Note: I will show you a trick with Microsoft Windows' calculator involving calculating the hex in a moment. I just want you to understand how hex work)

Now let reverse the process, taking a decimal to a hexadecimal. This requires division, using the remainder. Taking 255 as our first example, 255/16 = 15 with a 15 remainder. So it is FF, since F = 15. 99: 99/16 = 6 with a 3 remainder, so it is 63. 15: 15/16 = 0 with a 15 reminder, so it is 0F. Simple, no?

The above is the minimal should understand if you want to hack for cheating. Larger numbers gets more complex, as it takes more memory. Numbers 0 - 255 decimal takes one byte, those two digits. 256 (Hex: 100) to 65,535 (Hex: FFFF) takes up two bytes. The third digit from the right has a decimal value of 256 (FF + 1) and the forth is 4096 (FFF + 1). So ABCD, a 2-byte number since it has 4 digits, equals 10 x 4096 + 11 x 256 + 12 x 16 + 13 = 40,960 + 2816 + 192 + 13 = 43,981. For hacking purposes, all you really need to know is that two bytes is 256 - 65,535 in decimal. And again, three digits has a zero in front to make it four. 256 = 0100 in hex.

Overwhelmed? Okay, start Microsoft Windows' calculator. Click View on the menu and choose scientific. On the top left is choices for hex (16-base), dec (10-base), oct (8-base) and bin (2-base). Make sure dec is selected. Input some number and then choose hex. Now it is in hexadecimal! Now input some new number while it is in hex mode. Go ahead an use at least one of the A-F digits. Choose dec and see what you inputted.

Breathing easier now? If you want to use this, and I certainly don't blame you, just remember to put a '0' in front if there is an odd number of hexadecimal digits and that each two digit equals one byte. Also, there is one more thing I have to tell ya.

As I mentioned, PAR codes are made up of two parts: memory location and the value. If the value you want takes up more that one byte, you will have to modify the hex value a little bit. Lets use 03E7 as an example, which is 999 in decimal, a very common number in several games. Lets say you did a search (which will be explained in part 2) and find the memory location is... oh... 7E0FD2. This is again just the location; the hex value has no significance, although many numbers grouped together in the game is also grouped together in its memory locations. Since this is a 2-byte number, it takes up two memory locations: 7E0FD2 and 7E0FD3. The first byte is the 'E7'. The second byte is the '03'. So the code you should use is:

7E0FD2E7
7E0FD303

I mention this because the two bytes are reversed. The 'E7' comes before the '03', not the other way around. If you do, the game will read it not as 03E7 but E703, or 59,139 in decimal! If 999 is the max number, this could cause it to crash (!!!) or roll it over from 999 to 0 again and again tell it reaches 59,139... which I think comes out to be 139.

Introduction to Emulation and ZSNES

2004-08-11T16:31:00.000-05:00

Today gamers have to make a decision: should I play PC games or a certain video game console… or perhaps both? For many it boils down to money. Consoles are cheaper than PCs, but PCs has other usage's and the games usually cheaper. Plus some consoles may go obsolete very fast, like Sega's Dreamcast. Even though older systems, like Super Nintendo all the way down to the classic Atari 2600, can still be used for you old games, frequently they get boxed up and forgotten. But certain people who know how to program computers made a new option: emulation. Emulation is a computer software term: A program that simulates an operating system for software made for that operating system to by run on the operating system you have. For example, ZSNES is a SNES emulator that runs like a Super Nintendo on your PC. This program uses file images of cartage's, known as ROMs. Used together, the game's image is 'fooled' into thinking it is being run on a console system.

Foreign Software => Emulator => PC => User
Nintendo Game => ZSNES => PC => Gamer

This quickly brought up a number of law suits due to piracy. The decision of the courts is the following. If you own the actual game, you may use a ROM image being played through an emulator. It has always been legal to have back-up copies of your software for your own use. However, if you never owned a particular game, the ROM image is classified as shareware. What this means is you may play it up to 24 hours, after which you must delete it. If you play it beyond that point, you are using the image illegally.

Many people do hunt out a legal copy of the game to own, particularly on EBay, even though they will continue playing it via emulator and not on the console system. Many good emulators have additional features that make the gaming experience better than playing it on the console. Plus, many hackers like to make translations of games never released in another part of the world and distribute the translation... but not always with the ROM itself. This enables many people to play games they perhaps never had a chance too. The 24-hour rule still apply, but many either wave it ("I'll delete it when I beat it… they should had released it in the U.S. anyway!") or, if they are more conscious about the law, make a large effort to buy the game in its native language.

When you want to play a game via emulation, you must do three things before you can actually start enjoying it.

Find an emulator
Find a ROM image of the game
Fiddle with the emulator with the game (preference sittings, for example)

After this you may look at any additional features for the emulator and explore what else you can do, like cheating by hacking into the runtime memory, which I will talk about in a latter time. I am going to use ZSNES as an example. A similar process can be done with other console systems.

ZSNES

The first step, find an emulator, may be a simple or hard task. There may not be or incomplete emulators available, or there may be several to choose from. Most are free but some you have to pay for. Finding ROM sights will help in this quest (see below). In the case of Super Nintendo, the most popular is ZSNES.

Go to this website. Here you can download the emulator in DOS, Windows, or Linux, the last I checked. Once you have the emulator, unzip it, and look what you got. You can't actually use it, you need a game first!, but you can examine what it is like. When you unzip it I recommend you create a new folder within your hard drive names 'zsnes', like this:

C:\zsnes

Also, the first time you start it, it will tell you a quick, one-time message.

Super Nintendo ROMs

The next big problem is finding the actual game to play with. Finding a good website that offers a range of ROMs can be a pain. Thankfully SNES games have several. The two I recommend the most is QualityRoms and this Russian site.The first are hosted by ArchNacho and Tortilla Godzilla, two Norwegians. Nerds like give themselves names like that. They review all of their games but are a bit… um… whacked. Also they had to remove many ROMs, but the reviews remain, due to their hosting service policies; the piracy issue. The second has a wide range of games, but no reviews. If you see a removed ROM on AN&TG site, look for it in the other or use a search engine.

Browse around those two sites. Now download any ROM image you think you'll like. If you can't decide, I personally suggest Chrono Trigger, what many consider the best RPG for the SNES. Download your ROM image.

Your First Game

First of all, I recommend putting all your ROMs in a subfolder within the folder your ZSNES is located. Create the folder, name it 'roms', and unzip your game into this new folder. So you directory setup should look something like this:

C:\zsnes
C:\zsnes\roms

Now start ZSNES. Load should already be highlighted, so press enter. Double-click your ROM directory. You might want to choose "SNES Header Name" on the bottom if its available on your ZSNES version. Double-click whatever game you downloaded and the game should start.

Now is a good tome for you to view some ZSNES menu options before actually playing the game. When you are at a good stopping point, press 'Esc' to pause the game and bring up the menu. Go to Config > Input 1 to set your keyboard to SNES controller buttons. Click the box and press the desired key to set. Here is my recommended setup, but feel free to set it up however you like.

- Up, down, left, and right are the arrow keys
- Start is the Enter key
- Select is the Spacebar
- A button is the X key
- B button is the Z key
- X button is the S key
- Y button is the A key
- L button is the W key
- R button is the Q key

I assigned the A, B, X, etc. buttons to be grouped together like that on my keyboard so it would be similar to the layout on the SNES controller.

Also on the Config menu is options, video, and sound, and add-ons. Options have a lot of things a novice shouldn't need to worry about. If curious, check ZSNES documentation. Video changes how the game looks like. I prefer either of the 800x600 resolutions. The sound menu contains some more things a novice shouldn't need to worry about except if they want it on or not and if they want it in stereo. Note that you may have to restart ZSNES to notice any change. Choose add-ons if you downloaded a game that requires the SNES mouse or Super Scope.

The other menu options are more advanced. Check ZSNES documentation if interested. Yes, ZSNES can help you cheat, but I will cover that in the future. The far left arrow shows you the most recent ROMs you played with.

Now get back to your game by pressing 'Esc' again and then press 'F3'. This opens the saved states box. Saved states are moments in the game saved on your hard drive. You can have up to 10 with ZSNES and you select what save state number you want with this box. Press 'Esc' and then 'F2'. You should see "State 0 saved" on the bottom of the screen. Do something, like go someplace else, and press 'F4'. The moment you saved earlier is reloaded. You can still save games like you can if you're playing the game on SNES, but many rather use this since it is more useful and flexible. This can also be done from the File menu.

All keys, F5 on, turns various sound channels off and on. Handy if you are forced to listen to an annoying sound or music. The number keys, 1 to 5, turn different background layers or the sprites, on and off. Pressing 6 turns them all on again. The other number keys do their own thing, which is displayed on the bottom.

There is one optional thing I want to mention, something many are not aware of because it isn't set to anything. One of the menu items is Misc > Game Keys, which displays the above items I just mentioned among others. One is the "Rewind Key", grouped with the "Misc Toggles". I assign this to the Backspace key on my keyboard. Each time you press it, ZSNES backs up to a certain point in the game, sort of like an autosave state. Useful if you do a boo-boo or in a *really* tough area without saving and reloading over and over again your save states, and risk saving something you don't want!

That is all you need to know. Enjoy!

Other Pursuits

How about other console systems? QualityRoms has links for Genesis and NES. You can download the emulator and ROMs on their site. The only other system I am familiar with is Atari 2600. I recommend AtariAge.com. You can download ROMs here. For an emulator, there is StellaX.

As mention before, there are also games never released in the U.S., mostly RPGs. Here is a list of some SNES games never released you can hunt for:

Final Fantasy V
Seiken Densetsu 3
Tales of Phantasia
Dragon Quest V and VI

Finally, I recommend GameFAQs for seeking helpful guides and cheats.

Future Additions

Later, I don't know when, I want to write up how to cheat with ZSNES. I am holding off on this for it takes a lot of explaining and involves knowing how to hack into the game as it is running. This will be its own document and will not be part of this one.

Mindwalk: Just a Picture

2004-08-08T17:24:00.000-05:00

You are in a room alone, waiting for something. You don't have anything and the room has nothing for you to do while you wait. The only thing that catches your attention is a poster with a picture. It is a close up shot of a small number of people, smiling at an angle away from the camera. When and where was this picture taken? Do these people know they are being used for an advertisement? And who are these people? What are they doing now?

Often people pass a picture without giving it a thought. After all the odds of seeing yourself in such of a poster is slim. Yet here is a moment in someone's time... whether important like graduating from college or common like a urban shot of people going here to there... which this person might not know exists, publicized all over the world potentially. Is it a good or bad thing to wonder who this person is? A query on how well the person is doing or an invasion of privacy?

Thanks to the Internet, you can view pictures of all sorts of strangers. Or for that matter, people you know but never seen. They may mean nothing to you, you nothing to them, yet you are seeing part of their lives. For example, look here and ask yourselves those questions. How did I came about this webpage? One of them share my last name. Since Ogans are not common, I automatically wonder who he is. Do you, at times, see a picture of someone and wish they will know you as you know them?

Why is it that sometimes a person is eager to show a picture? "Yeah, I just got some pictures of _____ developed... want to look?" Is it to give a chance to show something good and want to spread it around? At other times, a picture can be harmful. The destruction of a picture that means a lot to you, a captured moment saved for the memories, is lost forever. Or, if it is harmful to you, its destruction is the bringer of liberation. And what if that picture with you in it becomes itself a major news item, like Elian or this picture of the Oklahoma City bombing?

A picture, then, is a personal item for the one in it which isn't private, available to all who happen to see it, whether a person will just passes it by without a care or stop and take a moment to look at it. One day you just happen to see a poster concerning a public event you were in and notice yourself in a picture. Two people walk by, one just gave it a glance, the other slowed down and took the time to view it. What are your thoughts about these people? What if the poster is positive or negative about the event?

Mindwalks

2004-08-05T19:48:00.000-05:00

Mindwalks are, initially at least, a bit hard to explain. It is a form of writing which I like, although it is possible to give a mindwalk to a listening audience. Mindwalking is when an author asks the reader to go on an imaginary trip (hence the name) for the purpose of observing something you can't (or perhaps missed) and/or self-exploration. Some examples could be a trip the author has went, making an account of his experiences, to explain how a certain environment is like, or to set up a scenario for the reader to consider. The author could have the mindwalk written either as though the reader is next to him or alone.

Imagine a moment where you are observing a number of people form a distance. From afar you can't tell who anyone is unless you focus in on one of them, missing out on what everyone else is doing, and the potential stories they might reveal. Look over there, at that small group of people who are moving and talking together. What is the thing that they have in common, that makes them a group? Then there is that woman behind them. She appears to be alone, engrossed in her private thoughts, with a wide smile on her face. Aren't you curious what she is thinking? If these people, once away from this crowd, are able to take you to an experience that they had, wouldn't you want to?

That above paragraph is a short example of a mindwalk. It starts out with a quick explanation of where you are and then tells you what you are sensing. Specifics that isn't needed, like what this crowd of people is, shouldn't be stated. This is to permit a wider potential audience, since not everyone has been, say, in a busy subway/stadium/whatever. The reader will just visualize the crowd however he or she happens to visualize it. It is concrete in style. A more abstract style might ask you to be in an empty room, no doors, windows, or other objects, except one... forcing you to notice things about that object.

One mindwalk I read by someone else had you starting out in a house by a forest at night. Again, the house isn't important. It then goes on with you walking into the forest until no sign of human life is noticeable. This done, your able to sense what you might not have noticed before. What struck my is this observation. While the dark forest has no sign of human life, the dark side of the Earth isn't dark because of human life!

It is important to note the difference between self-refection and forcing the reader to do something in the mindwalk. If you are going to do a mindwalk which is about harming someone, you won't get a lot of readers. Rather, asking questions about a certain person which you hate would probably be more appropriate. It is these questions which should lead to your point, if any... not forcing the reader to think or feel something. Say, "What do you think/feel about _____", not, "Do you feel angry about this?" If you want the reader to think/feel something, carefully write it so it seem to come naturally to him. I though don't recommend this.

Mindwalks then do reveal a lot about the author. The author is asking you, the reader, to partake on something with him or do something which he already done. The author of that dark forest do walk into forests at night frequently. If you are creating a mindwalk, then you want your audience to be curious, desire escapism, or learn/consider something. The biggest award for me to receive is to hear a wide variety of 'results' from my audience.

Considering something is not the same as asking someone to change their beliefs. If this is your goal, I suggest doing a mindwalk with someone who can offer an alternative viewpoint. Mindwalks are not argumentative works, but a chance for someone to notice things he never had before.

I wrote this up because I hope to eventually post a few on occasion. I did one sometime ago which I hope to redo this upcoming week if able. I don't write them often because my life is oh-so-boring. But I am open to suggestions!

Music for Cassette

2004-08-05T17:08:00.000-05:00

Just putting this here so I have it! After sorting though all my CDs which I like, and deciding which one to include on a cassette, I chosen these. For everyone else, here is an idea of what music I like.

Side A

Papa Can You Here Me/A Piece of Sky

Styx
Crystal Ball
Grand Illusion
Fooling Yourself (Angry Young Man)
Come Sail Away

Celtic
Hills of Mist
Ancient Wisdom
Celtic Nights

Side B
American Pie

The Association
Cherish
Pandora's Golden Heebie Jeebies
Barefoot Gentlemen
Along The Way
Names, Tags, Numbers, Labels

Michael W. Smith
Cry for Love
Rince De'
I Will Carry You
Everybody Free

My Interests

2004-08-04T19:27:00.000-05:00

I was asked to list allllll of my interests, besides e-mailling, so here it is in no particular order.

Reading, computer games (including ZSNES), griddlers and other logic problems, music composition, psychology (personality and social psych particularly), music, movies, physics and chemistry, math, programming, web design, how the woman's body work (>*ahem!*<), role playing games, religion, cats, traveling (which I can't do!), and other things I just can't think of!

(This post is subject to change!)

Google's IPO

2004-07-27T17:33:00.000-05:00

As someone who looked into friends turned foes Yahoo and Google while earning my BBA, I have started tracking Google's IPO which, along with Gmail, will result in all out war with Yahoo. This IPO is interesting, not just because the Internet wars has breathed in a new wind, but because Google is doing it differently.

In the dot-com era, IPOs were run as much for the benefit of the Wall Street underwriters as for the companies. Wall Street firms would set a price at which a company would sell shares to the broad investing public and distribute the shares. In practice, underwriters would dole out many shares to favored executives at client companies, or to hedge funds and mutual funds that threw a lot of trading business to the underwriters. By setting the price for dot-com stocks artificially low and by deciding who could get in on the IPO at the artificially low price, underwriters had a license to make their friends and clients rich in a matter of minutes, when frantic individual investors bid up the shares. (Before Eliot Spitzer came along, these conflicts of interest were known in Manhattan as "synergies.") In exchange for suppressing the offering price and thus depriving their client of needed capital, underwriters in most dot-com IPOs typically helped themselves to a fee totaling 7 percent of the offering.

But Google has largely cut out the underwriters. Its IPO is being structured as a Dutch auction. Any investor can submit a bid for as few as five shares. The underwriters will tally all the bids. They'll start at the top—$150, $200, whatever—and work their way down until all the shares are spoken for. That price then becomes the clearing price, which Google intends to use as the IPO price. There's no penalty for bidding high—if the clearing price is $140 and you bid $200 you'll pay $140. Those who bid under the clearing price get nothing.

- Daniel Gross

The other big factroid surrounding the IPO is how much they are asking. While a "typical initial public offering (IPO) will have a price range of, say, $12 to $14" or "if the offering is red-hot... $22 to $24", instead the price range is $108 to $135.

Based on its current share count, that's a valuation range of $29 billion to $36 billion. That's Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) country.

Some pundits say that the high stock price may scare away retail investors. Well, whenever there is a mania, no stock price is too high. After all, in the late 1990s, investors had no mental hang-ups when paying more than $200 per share for stocks such as, well, Yahoo!

A company with a $100-plus stock price is unusual in technology. In fact, it has become much more common to see tech stocks at lower prices. Even marquee tech giants, such as Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) or Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), are in the $20 zone.

- Tom Taulli

How much is that worth really?

For $108, the prospective low end cost of a single Google share, you could buy an IBM (nyse: IBM) laptop battery or a motherboard for your computer. For $135, the upper range of the IPO, you could buy an Adirondack chair or a night at a hotel in Saratoga Springs (where, by the way, you could take another $135 to the racetrack and parlay it).

For $29 billion, you could make whole the world's software industry for their losses from pirated software last year (that number coming from a software trade group, so it may be inflated). You could also pay the cost to the 50 states from unfunded mandates imposed by the federal government. You could also buy, at the latest average price, roughly 152,000 new homes, enough to house (at four people per home) everyone in the city of Boston.

Raising the stakes to $36 billion, you could pay Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT) back for the cost of its special dividend--and have $4 billion in change. Or you could house Baltimore. Or you could pay the entire U.S. foreign aid bill twice (not counting Iraq).

For $2.7 billion, the low end of what Google is looking to generate in its IPO, you could close New Jersey's budget deficit. You could also buy everything exported by Minnesota in the first quarter of this year. Raise the ante to $3.3 billion and you could fund the debt relief for Ethiopia (now covered by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund).

- Dan Ackman

What I found most surprising from Ackman's article is "that Google would, to investors, be worth more than Ford Motor (nyse: F), Vivendi Universal (nyse: V), or Schering-Plough (nyse: SGP), and perhaps as much as Boeing (nyse: BA)."

According to Bambi Francisco, the first 6 months of this year Google had a operating profit of $326 million, with $1.3 billion of sales (25% profitability). Yahoo had only $281 million with 1.59 billion of sales (17.7% profitability). Her article is more number-gritty and explores the industry as a whole, so if interested, check out that link. The current date for the IPO is August 9th. Besides now offering 100 MB free, I wonder how Yahoo will attack back. A new free blog service perhaps?

Right-wing Israelis join hands in protest over Gaza

2004-07-25T18:13:00.000-05:00

By Eric Silver in Jerusalem

26 July 2004

Tens of thousands of right-wing Israelis formed a 55-mile "human chain" from Gaza to Jerusalem yesterday in protest at Ariel Sharon's plan to evacuate 21 Gaza Strip settlements by the end of next year.

Most of those lining the route to the Western Wall in the old city were young religious families, waving Star of David flags and sporting orange caps and T-shirts with the logo of the Gush Katif settlement block.

As I drove away, a few tried to block the main Jaffa Road, but the police gently moved them on. It was a good-natured picnic of a demonstration.

The organisers, who had called for a "forceful, but non-violent struggle" claimed a turnout of 100,000 to 150,000, including foreign Jewish and Christian supporters.

They chartered 800 buses to distribute them along the route. "The expulsion of Jews from Gush Katif would cut a link in Israeli society's spinal cord," read a leaflet.

Hava Lester Elboim, 32, a British immigrant, said: "We believe the government is making a big mistake. The Prime Minister is not acting in the national interest. He wants to go down in history as the man who took Israel out of Gaza. But we have a tiny land. We don't have anywhere else." Reminded that they shared it with three and a half million Arabs, she said: "The Arabs have 22 states. Look at all the space there is in Saudi Arabia. I'm not saying they should all go there. If they want to live here as good citizens, they're welcome to stay."

Aharon Levin, 23, a student, added: "The people of Israel want to hold on to every part of the land of Israel. It's one land, and it's not for sale."

Some of Mr Sharon's Likud party ministers and MPs joined the human chain, as did leading pro-settler rabbis, but the secular majority stayed away.

A poll published in the mass-circulation Ma'ariv newspaper on Friday found 65 per cent of Israelis and 61 per cent of Likud voters in favour of Mr Sharon's evacuation plan. The Likud support had risen 5 per cent in as many weeks.

Israeli soldiers shot dead six Palestinians yesterday, including two commanders of a militant group from President Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, in a gun battle in the West Bank town of Tulkarm. Later an Israeli F-16 warplane fired two missiles at a militant stronghold in Gaza City.

Source

So how is Gmail?

2004-07-23T09:02:00.000-05:00

One reason I decided to get this blog now instead of waiting is because I am the lucky few to get Gmail. The extra space is the biggest plus, but what about the other things? Here is my humble opinion.

As an online service, there is an occasional slight lag when it is loading up (you can't view the HTML code), but very fast and efficient once your in. I have a 56K modem.

When sending test mails back and forth, Yahoo immediately told me when I got new mail. Didn't happen with Gmail. Since it seems to connect to an external database, there is like a maximum 2 minute lag, which is how often it checks for new mail. This can spell bad news if you got a delivery failure notice.

The actual letters themselves are now called 'conservations'. You know how e-mails tend to get longer and longer as the older letters are put on the bottom and newer responses are at the top? Gmail automatically sort this out and put it in separate boxes. I consider this a good thing, but the older ones are at the top!

Instead of folders, there is labels. They can be used as folders, but one letter... excuse me... conservation can have multiple labels. Since a label is more of a search tool than an organization tool, your conservation stays in the inbox. If you want a tidy box, you can archive letters. This removes it from the inbox, but it is still there. By clicking on "All Mail", you can see all the archive mail... and those in the inbox and mail you sent. Yes, Google was thinking more about searching, not organizing. So use those labels! If nothing else, one called 'other', if you want an empty inbox but not wanting to see every single conservation you got! You can also put a star on those conservations you consider important. It acts just like a label.

Bugs? Besides missing features, I only caught one. On I.E., the browser thinks it is loading something on the page when the page is already up! Haven't caught Netscape doing this. Note: The fact that my I.E. is plagued by spyware might be the reason.

As for those missing features, I think this is the main reason it isn't public yet. It is usable, but there is a lot that could be done. For one, how it works with addresses is horrible. It automatically adds a new contact for every new person who contacts you instead of asking if you want to. You also can't open the window and add address to an e-mail that way. (It does have auto complete though) Google is working on this. There is a way though to import an address book from existing ones, like the one I had with Yahoo. Also there is no HTML option and, a bigger pet peeve for me, how long length wise your plaintext letters can be. This is also being worked on. Other things: POP3, automatic msg forwarding, and ability to save as a draft.

I haven't tried attachments yet. I do know it doesn't allow exe files, even zipped.