Die Karotten

New Blog: Media Kook

2009-04-13T19:56:00.001-07:00

Well, the time has come for me to start a professional, niche' blog. I'm calling it Media Kook and it will focus on Internet video and television as well as all things pertaining to the development of new media. Check it out. Who knows, I may even leave blogspot.

Media Kook: mediakook.blogspot.com

My Night at the Streamys

2009-03-29T00:09:00.000-07:00

First, if I know the audience who reads this blog, you're asking yourself, "What are the Streamys?" Well after tonight you're going to know.

It started off like this: I'm in bed about to go to sleep when I check my twitter friend feed.
A little bit of news, a word or two from @patricknorton, a bite from @wilw. Then there was @wmmarc aka Marc Salisbury.

He says, "Need an assistant for tomorrow from noon to late. No $$ but access to Streamys & After Party. You'll meet a lot of cool people!"

And for some reason beyond myself, I write him back saying asking what "said assistant" needs to do. After a little talking, Marc gives a young 23-year-old journalism student a shot. I didn't know what the Streamy's were but I study up.As it turns out, this was one heck of an opportunity.

The Streamys are an awards show (this was the first annual) for those involved in new media. Think of it as the Academy Awards or the Emmys but for people like you and I hosted by people like you and I, with the interviews of the actors and actressed done by people like you and I.

One good example of this is Felicia Day's The Guild. The pitch for the show would go like this: let's do a tv show about people that are really into MMORPGs (World of Warcraft). Look them up. They are a hilarious group of independent content creators who turn out some really unique and entertaining stuff.

Back to the story. So after taking a risk taking on a guy like me who he doesn't know, Marc picks me up and we head to do a photoshoot (where I got to meet @Sunnygault). I'm having a great time. Marc even buys me In-N-Out (i.e. fast-food ambrosia). Later we finally head off to the Streamy's and it turns out some pretty big names don't have such big heads. Some actors you may know who do these webshows are Lisa Kudrow (she does a show called Web Therapy) or Neil Patrick Harris (actor in the Whedon clan's Doctor Horrible's Sing-a-long blog). The place is pretty packed.

A few (thousand) photos later (@wmmarc I'm guessing will post them on his Flickr stream), we head into the Wadsworth for the ceremonies. Talk about funny.

My favorite part was either when Kudrow was up on stage ad-libbing her lines or when Felicia Day gave her acceptance speech for The Guild (an aside: they stole the night for the awards). Day really laid into traditional media and rightly gave credit where credit was due, to normal people who had an idea (one of Streamy's steps to success btw) and ran with it.

And that is what the Streamy's is folks. It is a bunch of people who got around the system with creative ideas and took the initiative to go for what they wanted to do: make entertaining content.

Two shout-outs:
One to Efren of TechZulu. The guy is intelligent and knows his field.

Second, a big shout out to Marc Salsbury because without him, I wouldn't have been able to have such a fantastic evening or met so many people in the industry I dream of (and find myself already) working Marc, for those that don't know, is chronicling the history new media through photography, and he is good at it. His reputation stands on its own. If you want to know more, give his stuff a look over. If you're in this industry and you have ideas, he'll make you look good.

UPDATE: Did a little grammer check.
UPDATE 2: Tech Zulu has the award winners and a written snippet of Felicia Day's speech can be found at NewTeeVee

Book almost released

2008-12-11T20:05:00.001-08:00

Hey all,

Soon I will be self-publishing through Lulu.com a little book. It will be a collection of my short stories from this semester.

The title: A Little Fiction.

Here is a little graphic of the cover., front and back.

If you are interested in an early copy, let me know.

Look for it soon.

312 Final. My Country ‘tis of Who?: The Extended Version

2008-12-11T14:36:00.001-08:00

This is an essay that I wrote for an English class. None of the following statements are necessarily the views of the writer. Some are just simply thoughts put forward for discussion.

Constructive comments are welcome.

All rights are reserved. No publishing, reproducing, altering, or distributing any portion of this without the author's permission.

My Country, 'tis of who?: The Extended Version

The United States of America was founded on the principles of equality and liberty. These principals have guided this country into a period in history where gender and racial prejudices have disintegrated to the point where anyone from any race or gender can become leader of this country. However, despite these advances, this country has not achieved its goal of a "more perfect union," rather it shows signs that it is becoming less perfect every day. Due to the erosion of individual liberties, an increase a dramatic increase in surveillance, and an ever –widening disparity between two classes, the United States of America is devolving from a nation of freedom into a nation of fear, threatening to tear apart the country socially and economically; The United States' of America isn't becoming a dystopia, it is a dystopia.

Like a dystopic novel, the United States' increase in surveillance puts fear into the hearts of its people. For example, in novel 1984, the government of Oceania uses the pervasive television screen to spy on people. This is no different from the modern day security officer, overlooking the constant influx of surveillance footage and reporting anything suspicious. In fact, this is Jeremy Bentham's Panopticon personified (Foucalt "Panopticism"). However, unlike the Panopticon, the modern day surveillance system is ripe for abuse. Whereas Foucalt's panopticism describes a perfect system where everyone, including the jailer, is under surveillance, those in charge of modern day surveillance are left to their own discretion. Oversight is done through visits, not through constant viewing of actions. As such, the utopia envisioned by Foucalt where the jailers are equal to the imprisoned is never realized. Instead, the United States' continues that path toward a dystopia by giving power to some and none to others. The citizen and his or her liberties are at the mercy of the police system.

Similar to a dystopia, American citizens have in the last eight years lost several liberties, specifically, the right to a public trial by jury. Similar to 1984, where the government can detain and torture a citizen of Oceania, the United States' government can now knock on a citizen's door and detain that citizen for an indefinite amount of time, all under the guise of the citizen being a possible "terrorist." This is done, allegedly, to protect the people of the United States', fulfilling that important part of the Constitution's Preamble which charges the government with insuring "domestic tranquility" and "providing for the common defense." There is no doubt that the government must protect its citizens, but the line between the terrorist and the advocate is too blurred to allow this to be the definition that permits a violation of the constitutional right to a public trial by a jury.

Some might argue that the United States' is simply doing what is necessary to protect the country until the threat of terrorism has passed. These people would argue that the powers granted to the government are temporary, and are a necessary means to achieve a necessary end, the safety of the citizens it is charged with protecting. However, there is no indicator that the government will ever abdicate their new powers. Instead, it embraces them and does so without apology. This causes one to pause, and wonder, is power the goal of the government?

This goal of power is dystopic for several reasons. For example, in
the movie 1984, there is a scene where the main character Winston is being tortured by the character O'Brian. O'Brian tells Winston that real power is to make someone believe that two equals five. Similarly, the goal of the American government appears to be the gaining of power to make its citizens into worker bees and robots who go about their daily life, working and buying. Similar to Marx's Communist Manifesto (though this author is no supporter of communism), the United States' government seems to care less for its peoples' happiness (unless their unhappiness undermines the governments own power), but is more concerned with keeping its citizens on the train of consumerism, stopping at every shopping center and convenience store to spend their hard earned wages. This dystopic vision is the opposite of a utopia, where class systems have been abolished, but is more similar to the concept that citizens are a means of production, both the production of capital and of goods. Similar to Altusser's scheme of production and reproduction in his essay, "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatus's," the United States' requires the production and reproduction of their citizen's consumer action.

This goes hand-in-hand with the government's desire to keep peace through surveillance because, in order to assure frequent consumer spending (as opposed to theft of goods), more surveillance must be employed. More surveillance equals more power to the state. The state then uses that power to keep its citizens under control. If a citizen is abnormal in his or her behavior, the government technically has the right to detain the citizen. Hence, it can be seen here that the government and spending are united. Also, a result of this symbiotic relationship, anyone who goes against this system becomes part of a separate class of citizen, even in the eyes of other citizens. For example, just as the outer party is separate from the inner party in 1984, so also are frequent, traditional consumers and property owners separated from those who are not. One only needs to look at the disparity between the homeless and home owners to see the difference. The homeless citizen is more often the victim of discrimination by the police apparatus, whereas a clean-cut citizen in a suit is looked upon with admiration. Despite this visual disparity and the alleged class distinctions, the police apparatus can be no more assured that the suited citizen is anymore or any less a danger to the local citizenry than the homeless. The dystopic vision of America continues. Similarly, the suited citizen is often wary of the homeless citizen because of the homeless citizen's appearance, that is, the quality of his clothes are less and his rituals for cleanliness are different (but perceived as less). Besides the obvious class distinctions, there is an even deeper dystopic relation between the homeless citizen, the suited citizen, and the American government.

The United States' of America fails to make use of the homeless person's productive and reproductive potential. For example, the homeless person, at best, is given a little aid and is often ignored by the government and its well-off citizens. This leaves the homeless citizenry, a major source of production, out of the labor force. One might argue that this is because the capitalist environment does not necessitate the homeless citizen's employment and would only cause an overproduction in goods. However, this neglects the homeless citizen's ability to become a productive citizen in his or her own right; the homeless citizen, once he or she has obtained enough capital, becomes a consumer. Others might argue that the American government's small attempts at making the homeless productive are part of the dystopic problem. This group says that homelessness is a necessary part of any capitalistic system. In other words, in order to have functional capitalism, logic necessitates that there must be a bottom. Unfortunately, this definition correlates homeless with unemployed. A person can be unemployed and still have shelter; however, a person who is homeless is still by definition homeless. The fact is, the American government, due to its lack of support of the homeless, and many citizens for their lack of concern for the homeless, are fine neglecting them because of their lower economic status. Even allowing for the necessity of the homeless in a capitalist system, this only strengthens the argument that the United State's as a bearer of capitalism is a dystopic environment. Similar to Foucault's description of binaries, where there is the branding of those in society as mad or sane, dangerous or harmless, so also does modern American society brand the homeless. There is still a great disparity between classes. There are those who have property, and those who do not, those who have money, and those who do not, those who have jobs, and those who do not. Focault says that ths is a "constant division between the normal and the abnormal" (199). Some might argue that ridding the world of the homeless would lead to a more utopic environment. However, this would only bring about the perception of a healed problem. The idea of binaries would remain; it would simply be the next lower class which would be subject to derogation and neglect. Furthermore, the neglect of a human being is a sign of a dystopic environment and the elimination of a lower class through neglect only provides proof of America as a dystopia. Unfortunately, this solution only highlights America's dystopic problems with class distinctions.

Even the United States' educational system resembles a dystopia. Foucault agrees with this assertion, saying, that schools "must not simply train docile children; it must also make it possible to supervise the parents…" Here, admittedly, Foucault is referring to religious schools where it is necessary for the school to produce children with a certain amount of piety and morality. Often, American religious schools start from the ground up, beginning with clothing. Similar to dystopic novels, children in a religious school sometimes must wear a uniform. As is often the case with dystopias, these uniforms are meant to serve as a method of discipline and allegedly functions to prevent violence. As a method of discipline, even before the students arrive at the school they are already forced to enter into a certain mindset, unifying and conforming to the school's agenda. Some might say that as this is a religious school and thus not part of the American public school system, the link between educational dystopias and America is invalid. However, the American government does provide at least some support in the form of vouchers and thus has ties to the religious educational system. Second, the argument was never about specifically the American government, but about the United States' of America as a whole. Third, the public school system itself has many of the same symptoms (many public schools do use uniforms) , some even more apparent than a religious school.

Foucault's conception of discipline is prominent in public school. For example, the simple conception of the school bell prepares children for American dystopic life. After the bell, an observer would see droves of children forming up in single file lines. This is very similar to the droves of mindless drones who head off to do government work in dystopic fiction. Year after year in public school, the school bell persists. As a child, the concept of time and deadlines is almost non-existent. However, as exposure to this bell continues, from kindergarten through twelfth grade, students begin to conform their lives to rigid schedules determined by the bell. The bell is symbolic for the rules present in a dystopic society. It says, metaphorically, "You have thirty minutes to eat lunch then back to work" or "Now you may go home, but remember, the bell rings at 7:45 tomorrow." This reinforcing of rules is a discipline and a real world example of Foucault's Panopticism. Other examples abound. One could go on and on about how the pledge and patriotic songs are similar to a dystopic brainwashing.

In dystopian literature, the lower class often suffers from a lack of accurate, historical knowledge, due to revisionist history in its dystopic culture. The United States' is no different. American public schools influence a young citizen's knowledge of history. For several hours a day, a person sits in front of another, allegedly wiser and more educated individual and is expected to swallow that information whole. The concept of a class of people who have the information imposing facts on those who do not have the facts is evidence of dystopic America. For example, if the history teacher teaches revisionist history such as the nobility of Thomas Jefferson while omitting his life as a slave owner, the student, not knowing any better, believes the teacher. Similarly, in 1984, the citizens were also taught revisionist history. Some might say that America's teaching is wholly different than 1984, as America is self-correcting through free speech and the allowance and provision in schools for students to disagree. However, what is at issue isn't the allowance of disagreement, rather it is that students are often not informed enough to disagree. How many students truly know their history from multiple perspectives? Instead, America is filled with students who only know that America has a "glorious" past with that little thing called slavery tucked somewhere in the middle. This perspective of the United States' is dystopic as well.

Often in dystopic literature, the citizens of the oppressive government love the government and stand beside its principles regardless of its actions. Once again, in 1984 the people love their government and swallow the history given to them. In the movie Equilibrium, the situation is the same. The totalitarian government says that it is the rest of the world filled with hate and that the state's way is the more civilized way. Some might disagree with this assessment, saying that today's America is clearly one in which the government is under terrible scrutiny, that the people's distrust of government is proof that America is not a dystopia. On the contrary, America is a dystopia. Despite its supposed distrust for the government, the most that happens when a citizen is illegally arrested and locked up for months on end is a loud media circus which is played in the background at work. No large amounts of citizens take up picket signs, protesting at the disgusting abuse of freedom. Instead, citizens cling to the old maxim, "America is still the best nation on the planet."

Despite their apparent love and ability to customize, Americans live in a dystopic society. Similar to both the novel and the movie 1984, citizens are under almost constant surveillance and fear a departure from the norm. These fears have been realized through the arrest and detaining of several citizens outside of constitutional boundaries. Also, American citizens are broken up into two classes, the haves and the have-nots, those with property and those without. Citizens then become the means of production and reproduction of consumer activity. As a result, equality and liberty have become bywords, slogans for first the government, second, the home owners and frequent consumers, and third, those who hope to become home owners and frequent consumers.

Works Cited

1984. Dir. Michael Radford. Perfs: John Hurt, Richard Burton.Atlantic Releasing

Corporation. 1984

Altusser, Louise. "Ideology and the Ideological State Apparatuses." 1970.

Equilibrium. Dir. Kurt Wimmer. Christian Bale. Dimension Films. 2002.

Foucalt, Michael. Discipline and Punish. The Birth of the Prison. "Panopticism." 195-

228. 2^nd ed. New York: New York. Vintage Books. 1995.

Marx, Karl. The Communist Manifesto. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1988.

Orwell, George. 1984. New York: New York. New American Library. 1961.

The United States Constitution.

<http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.preamble.html>

All rights are reserved. No publishing, reproducing, altering, or distributing any portion of this without the author's permission.

312; Class; Video; Thesis

2008-11-18T11:08:00.000-08:00

This is a video which is being posted for English 312. It is in response to an assignment where each student must post a video and a thesis with that video.

Secular humanists preach that humanity has morally improved over its existence, yet humans are flawed. Humanity's basic, yet morally corrupt instinct to kill still thrives. From the Communist Manifesto to 1984, violence and power even dominates literature. Due to its portrayal of the negative aspects of the human condition, that humanity eventually result to violence to solve its problems, the five minutes which best capture that condition occur when Wyatt Earp, Virgil Earp, Morgan Earp, and Doc Holiday, face off against outlaws at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone.

312 Response Paper; My Country, A Dystopia

2008-11-05T14:37:00.001-08:00

This is an essay that I wrote for an English class. Constructive comments are welcome.

All rights are reserved. No publishing, reproducing, altering, or distributing any portion of this without the author's permission.

My Country, 'tis of who?

Despite their apparent love and ability to customize, Americans live in a dystopic society. Similar to both the novel and the movie 1984, citizens are under almost constant surveillance and fear a departure from the norm. These fears have been realized through the arrest and detaining of several citizen outside of constitutional boundaries. Also, American citizens are broken up into two classes, the haves and the have-nots, those with property and those without. Citizens then become the means of production and reproduction of consumer activity. As a result, equality and liberty have become bywords, slogans for first the government, second, the home owners and frequent consumers, and third, those who hope to become home owners and frequent consumers.

Works Cited

1984. Dir. Michael Radford. Perfs: John Hurt, Richard Burton.Atlantic Releasing

Corporation. 1984

Altusser, Louise. "Ideology and the Ideological State Apparatuses." 1970.

Foucalt, Michael. Discipline and Punish. The Birth of the Prison. "Panopticism." 195-

228. 2^nd ed. New York: New York. Vintage Books. 1995.

Marx, Karl. The Communist Manifesto. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1988.

Orwell, George. 1984. New York: New York. New American Library. 1961.

The United States Constitution.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.preamble.html

All rights are reserved. No publishing, reproducing, altering, or distributing any portion of this without the author's permission.

E312: Fahrenheit 451 Group Contribution

2008-10-30T08:45:00.000-07:00

For our Fahrenheit 451 group I contributed several elements to our presentation, much of it behind the scenes.

First, I facilitated a group meeting where we set the first set of deadlines. Second, I later sset out specific deadlines for the group to meet including when to read the book, select the article, and watch the movie.

Third, I set up a group message board using Proboards.com so that the group might have more fluid, consistent communication. On the message boards, I made several posts regarding possible articles for the group discussion as well as several points of interest in the book.

Fourth, as the rest of the group, I formulated several questions to present to the class in order that the discussion might remain natural and flowing. Those questions included:

1. What are some examples of separate classes in this society?
2. How does Beaty try to manipulate the main character?
3. What value do the citizens of Fahrenheit 451 place on knowledge?

Finally, during the actual presentation, I facilitated the discussion by attempting to draw in the rear, often unspoken part of the class, as well as help the group transition from theme to theme.

As for what I have learned as part of the group: I learned that the symbolism is the book is more prominent that previously thought e.g. the Phoenix. Also, I learned that there are several themes present in the novel. The first is that happiness, a main theme in Fahrenheit 451, also proves to be the main focus for its citizens. Second, that knowledge is harmful to that happiness.

Untitled poem

2008-10-18T13:37:00.001-07:00

Unexpected, not rejected,
Out of the corner of my eye,
Emotions recollected,
Surprise, not demise,
Bold and apparent,
That God heard my cry.

Pickin' up the beat.

Fast, swift, all of a sudden,
Think, much'n not sleeping much and
In a good way, stopped, but moving,
Doing
Hollar'in and Hoo'in,
New plans are screwin', that is workin'n holdin',
In a good way
Hopefully to stay.

Slowin' down the beat.

Slow down the beat.
Or Pick it up
It doesn't matter
With all that wonderful laughter
And the other line and a heart a pitter-patter.
It's all more than alright. More than alright.
And in sight. The Light and the light.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Dancing with Ghosts; Rough Draft

2008-10-17T19:41:00.001-07:00

This is a short story that I wrote for an English class. It is still in the draft phase. Constructive comments are welcome.

All rights are reserved. No publishing, reproducing, altering, or distributing any portion of this without the author's permission.

Dancing with Ghosts

His name was George Green and his daughter was a ghost, or so she kept telling him. "Daddy! Look at me! I'm flying!" said Katrina.

She was dressed in a white, semi-transparent robe and wore her white leotard underneath. The robe was her mother's.

Cute, 8-year-olds are so cute, thought George.

"Yes honey. I see that. And a beautiful ghost you are!" said George.

It was a year ago today, and Katrina's lively personality spoke volumes of the half that was her mom. Things were never the same since her mother Tina, his wife, died. He was just now coming to grips with that night. After all, it was all his fault. It was going to just be him at the play.

That night, they had all gone to see Faustus at the Geoffrey Theater. Tina argued that at 7, Katrina was too young to see such a gruesome tale. A man being torn apart by devils was too much for a child.

"She probably won't even understand it," Tina said.

George argued back.

"It is important for our daughter to be cultured. I want her to get a real education. The garbage that public schools are spewing out these hardly even counts as teaching," said George.

"Well, not everyone can go to a private, preppy school like you did George," said Tina.

"That is exactly my point Tina. Faustus is a classic, a wonderful play that will teach our young Katrina what good entertainment is all about, not like this anime crap," said George.

"Fine George. She'll probably be scared out of her wits and won't go to bed for days, but if this is what you want then she can go, but I'm coming too."

They got in the car and went to the play. It was a beautiful production. Perfect lighting. Wonderful acting. The final act of the evening was a tragedy.

While on their way home, some Coca-Cola truck driver dropped a cassette tape onto the passenger floor. One grab, one swerve, wrong lane, one life gone.

Oh how he missed Tina!

"Daddy! Were you even watching me?!"

George snapped back from his thoughts. Katrina stood in front of him, her brown eyes cross squinted in anger.

"Wha-, Wha' was that honey? Do it again. Sorry, daddy was distracted."

"I was trying to show you how I was dancing with mommy. See?" She smiled and her feet moved.

He looked at her. She held her left hand high. Her feet moved forward, then backward. One, two,three. One,two,three. One,two,three. The white robe flew through the air and Katrina was a blur. It looked so natural. He wondered how his daughter had dealt with Tina's death so remarkably.

The first few weeks were difficult. Lots of crying. A body in the grave and no one but dad was home. Just dad. Then, one morning, Katrina was all smiles. She told him how she had a dream the night before that mommy was in heaven, but sometimes God allowed her to visit Katrina.

Dreams, kids live on dreams, he thought at the time. Now he knew it. Katrina was alive but he was still dead. Katrina was dancing and he was standing still.

His daughter looked over at him, all smiles and twirls, and then came to a sudden halt.

"Daddy. Why are you crying?"

George quickly rubbed his wet eyes with his right hand, but the tears wouldn't stop flowing. George sank to his feet for the thousandth time in a year. He promised himself he would never let Katrina see him like this, but he couldn't take it anymore. Sometimes, the right combination of scenes and sights opens up the heart. He could only cry.

The smile on Katrina's face disappeared. She ran over to her father, her barefoot feet pitter-pattering on the wood floor. She put her arms around him.

"Daddy, are you crying because of mommy?"

Mommy. More tears.

"But daddy, mommy is right here!" said Katrina, pointing to the empty space on her right.

Katrina and her wild imagination. Reality check! But her couldn't tell her that. She was too happy.

"Daddy. Come on. Just try to dance with her and you'll see. Mommy isn't dead!"

He almost blew up at her, at this beautiful 8-year-old daughter of his, but her brown eyes stopped him. They looked just like hers. He decided to take his daughter's advice.

He wiped the final tears from his eyes and stood up. He looked down at his daughter. She was smiling again. He held his left arm high, then did his best to bring his right arm in a curve behind the imaginary character.

"No daddy, you're doing it wrong. Bring the right hand a little higher. Didn't they teach you anything at your school?" said Katrina.

He did as she said, then Katrina began to clap the beat. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three.

George tired of this exercise, but Katrina was enjoying it.

"Lose yourself in the music daddy. Look into mom's eyes."

He imagined those eyes, right in front of him, her pink-lipped smile curved with joy. And there she was. He was dancing with his Tina.

He heard laughter and looked over his shoulder at his daughter.

"Daddy, you're smiling!"

All rights are reserved. No publishing, reproducing, altering, or distributing any portion of this without the author's permission.

I See You:Rough Draft

2008-10-11T21:08:00.001-07:00

This is a short story that I wrote for an English class. It is still in the draft phase (isn't everything?). Constructive comments are welcome.

All rights are reserved. No publishing, reproducing, altering, or distributing any portion of this without the author's permission.

He wanted to go to sleep. Pushing 7 A.M. he had just finished a long night already and now some other bozo-on-the-run was going to keep him up. Not that he wasn't glad perform his duty. He loved performing his duty.

Black monitors filled every inch of the white wall space in the room. Each monitor showed a live, first person feed from each Op Sec team member. They were in their usual attire: black pants, navy-blue trench coat. Both hid body armor underneath. An armored helmet hid their faces. He envied them, but they weren't his job; the center monitor was. Satellite Imaging.

"Move in with Satcom 4, David. Nice and easy.," said Thomas, the operations leader. He was big, burly, black man with a bald head. What he lacked in hair he more than made up with in brains; the guy was a genius. In this room it was just Thomas and David.

The perfect pair of Governmentals, thought David.

Outside, it was dry and sunny, the perfect day to go looking for free-speech pond scum. David pressed a few buttons on the computer, and the tiny black dot on the center monitor grew into a human face. The disease up-close-and personal, just like he liked it.

Live from Capital City, thought David. You're on Candid Camera. I see you Bozo.

David watched the man on the monitor. I see youThey always looked like that, didn't they? All the makings of their kind. Bold, feeling entitled. Any moment now, he would be surrounded by a dozen navy-blue, coat wearing, badge brandishing officers from Op Sec. Then, bang. He had it coming.

As a child, David had learned two important things: there were two kinds of people, the good guys and the bad guys. This guy was definitely a bad guy. He saw the news reports.

"Five minutes until intercept boys and girls, just hold tight. Gotta bring 'im nice and quiet. We don't want this one to go kablooey," said Thomas.

David smiled. He knew that with Thomas in charge, there was no way of this op going bad. The smell of strawberry Pop Tarts brought back a memory of the previous ops leader. He was a softy who allowed the enemy to get away. Even when he caught them, he still only arrested them. Arrest? Who does that anymore? The man was a rusty cog. About this time last year the Navy-Coats got him too.. David was glad when they removed that old gear and brought in Thomas. Thomas was a man who would do the right thing.

The Constitution was clear, swift justice was important, thought David. A speedy trial by a jury of your peers, right out there on the street where they catch 'em.

"Alright David, I want you to start the recording now. They're going to need this for the news tonight. A nice little clip to let the people know that we're serving them," said Thomas.

David's thin fingers tapped the buttons marked RECORD and ENTER. A red light flashed on.

He suspected that tonight's broadcast was going to draw a record number of viewers. This was their leader after all. He couldn't wait to get home and watch it himself. David was still smiling. Thanks God he was a part of it all.

God, a funny expression, best to be careful with that thought.

As for God, David thought the idea of him was repulsive. So many senseless deaths in the name of God. Bombings. Murders. Good thing the government stepped in and put a stop to that business. He loved the government.

Five years from now, I'll probably be running the show, thought David. Why not? I've been faithful.

"Two minutes to intercept. Check your gear. Remember, make it clean and fast. No ugly scene." said Thomas into his headset.

The headset wrapped around Thomas's head like a crown, thought David. Someday, I will wear that crown.

On the monitors, David watched the Op Sec team members pull clips out of their guns before shoving them back in.

Something didn't look right about the ammunition, thought David.

David looked at his center monitor. Yup, the Bozo was still clueless. He was about to meet up with a plain clothes officer, someone who had been undercover in the Liberty underground for three years. This was David's favorite part, the part where the bad guy got nailed. A bullet in the head. Yum. David licked his lips. He loved his job. Sleep? What was he thinking?

The man on the center monitor shook hands with the officer.

Here it comes, thought David.

"One minute to intercept. Move the vans," said Thomas.

It was like a wonderful opera. Each member had a part to play in the capture of this Liberty leader. Oboes and clarinets, trumpets and trombones. Drivers and gunners, David and Thomas.

David watched the monitors as several vans, some black, some white, moved in from directions opposite the man on the center monitor.

One word.

"Go," said Thomas.

A flurry of activity. The man was on the ground, hands tied to his legs.

He looked like a helpless baby, thought David.

Several of the officers removed their helmets and read the man his rights. Then, ten of the officers moved to the man's left. One stood directly in front of the man. The final at the rear.

It was a trial. This was how they did things. It was so much more efficient than the old days. No more clogged prisons taking taxpayer money, no more corruption in the justice system. 10 officers were the jury, 1 the judge, one the baliff and executioner. No more scummy lawyers. The accused was left to their own defense. This wouldn't take long.

David watched the center monitor. The man was shouting something about rights and life or some nonsense. The judge looked at the jury. Zero. Not guilty. Ten hands went up. Guilty.

The executioner brought up a pistol in front of the man's head.

"Cut the feed now," said Thomas, but David was too mesmerized by the sight. He loved this part.

"David, I said cut the feed now."

Thomas walked over and depressed the RECORD button, but never made it to the ESCAPE key. The center monitor showed it all.

David kept waiting for the gun to fire, but it never fired. Instead, the Op Sec team member holstered his sidearm, untied the man, and helped him to his feet.

For the first time, David spoke to Thomas.

"Thomas, what just happened? Why wasn't that man executed. He was supposed to be executed," said David.

Thomas looked at David. David's eyes were wide, like a confused child.

"The man is being set free because he stands for something much more than you or I. He stands for what this country used to be before it lost its way."

"Lost its way? But, Thomas, the country is wonderful!" said David.

"It was, and it will be again someday. I'm sorry you had to see that," said Thomas.

David looked back at the monitor. The man was gone. The Op Sec team was gone. David glanced at the other monitors. White snow. Their cameras had been disconnected. When had that happened?

David looked back at Thomas holding a black gun. Bang.

All rights are reserved. No publishing, reproducing, altering, or distributing any portion of this without the author's permission.

Response to a webCT post on clockwork orange

2008-10-09T12:14:00.000-07:00

The following is a response for a class. It is a discussion strucutred around the film, Clockwork Orange:

>I know that sounds a bit crazy>but if the police and society in general did everything they could and>actually prevented gang activity, what purpose would they serve?

First, what purpose would police serve if they weren't striving to maintain order and eliminate chaos? A police force which stops at only doing things halfway because they are afraid of job security is a pointless police force. Also, if the police force did actually eliminate crime and chaos, that doesn't mean that the newly attained status wouldn't need to be maintained. No, the police would still have a job, at least until people are morally perfect and all life goes like clockwork (no pun intended). As for the movie doing a better job at rehabilitating criminals today, really? The character in the film is no more rehabbed than when he went in. He still dreams of psychotic deaths. Heck, the man identifies with the roman who beat Christ because he likes the idea of death and torture! No, the film's prison system is as much a disaster as our own.

Previous Post: X [name redacted]writes:>Watching Clockwork Orange today in class made me think about the world>in which the story takes place. It's obviously set in England and some>may say that the world is unidentifiable with our own. "Our society is>not like that, it's not THAT crazy". But it is. Let me first address>what's going on in the movie. The film seems to draw a fine line>between the total chaos we see at the beginning of the film where Alex>and his comrades ravage the town and do what they want and in the latter>part of the film we see complete order and institutionalization (which>you'll see later in the film). It almost seems as though the society>portrayed in the film intends for the gangs to act the way they do. >They serve a purpose (the gangs) and create a purpose for the>authorities, which is to uphold order. I know that sounds a bit crazy>but if the police and society in general did everything they could and>actually prevented gang activity, what purpose would they serve? That's>where contemporary society comes into play. How many times have we>heard about gang related activity on the news and how the authorities>know who the gang is, where they hang out, what they're business is, and>then nothing is done until after all the blood is spilled. Sometimes>it's subtle and sometimes it's blatantly obvious that they want us to>kill each other just so they can pick up the pieces and say they're>"heros". Where the film differs from real life however is they're>attempt to rehabilitate Alex. Today's prison system fails miserably to>even attempt to rehabilitate our convicted felons. We either keep them>in jail or promptly send them back out onto the street to keep the cycle>going. It's organized chaos.

We Are Watching You -Starbucks

2008-09-24T12:49:00.001-07:00

The following is an ethnography and analysis of a local Starbucks. It was done in response to a homework assignment. The location of the Starbucks was omitted for my own reasons.

We Are Watching You, Signed Starbucks

The following observations were made at the Starbucks on [redacted] and

[redacted]. With regard to the clerks: their uniforms were nearly identical in color and

style. Each clerk wore a black hat with a Starbucks logo, a black, collared shirt, and a

green apron. Females usually wore their hair in pony-tales while the males had short,

shaved hair. Above and behind the cash registers were black security globes which have

hide in themselves security cameras. The cash registers themselves record each

transaction. Customers line up single file in front of the register to purchase their choice

item of consumption then proceed to an area to pick up various condiments. The clerks

appear to make several errors in making the drinks, making the drink "on the house."

They charge the customer and make the drinks in a robotic fashion, delivering standard

lines to customers such as, "Hi, what can we get you today?"

In Starbucks, the clerks represent the lower (but not lowest) class in a

dystopian society. First, they are under constant observation by the black security globes

(not just for the customers, one can assume that the globes also watch the clerks to

make sure that nothing is stolen). Second, as previously stated, each transaction is

recorded on the register, making sure that it balances out at the end of the day. These

two surveillance measures are similar to the Bentham's Panopticon, that because they

are under constant surveillance, the clerks will (presumably) both perform within

expectations (maybe even exceed them to gain a reward) and act honestly (for fear of

the possibility of being caught in an illicit or illegal act). Foucault would love this as it is a

fulfillment of his writing, that the Panopticon has expanded its aims beyond the

punishment of prisons into daily life. Third, the clerks conform in their appearance both in

the clothing and the hairstyles that they wear. This trait is common in dystopic novels,

certainly 1984, where the outer-party members must wear blue jump suits. Fourth, they

perform their tasks with robotic (though imperfect) efficiency: Take the order, blend the

drink, and call out the name of the customer. The same is with the labor section in

dystopic literature where efficiency for the party/government (in this case the Starbucks

corporation) is key. Lastly, they make the drinks for the customers and give the drink

away for free if an error is made. The customers that come into Starbucks represent the

typical dystopic superior (the Inner party in 1984, the gorillas in Planet of the Apes, and

the high government officials in movies like Equilibrium). They get to wear different

clothing, act in an independent manner, and are served by the lower, inferior class (the

Starbucks' employees).

Eugenics Could Result in the Lessening of Humanity

2008-09-24T12:47:00.001-07:00

The following was taken from a bulletin board comment on Eugenics. My response has been updated since then, most of the differences were the correction of typos. The name of the poster has been deleted to protect their identity.

>For once i am the first to write something here. *sinister laugh*. i was wanting to put

out

>the question about Modern Eugenics. i am certainly not agreeing that what was done in

>the past with eugenics was the right thing to do or that it was in any way founded on

>scientific concrete, but i am very curious to know what other people think of making an

>improvement on the gene pool of humans. for instance, first thing that will have to be

>done is doing away with known genetic diseases that could be passed down to a non

>effected offspring but could still be prevalent in the next generation. this is a very

>realistic thing to accomplish and it would make a whole lot of people happier since they

>are not effected by the disease and that their guardians do not need to have special

>care for them. if we can thin out (humanely of course) the herd through selecting

>healthier attributes or traits of people then over time more and more people will have

>better healthier lives and not be burned with diseases that they have no control over.

>What does any one else think about the creating of a healthier society by naturally

>selecting healthier traits. i know everyone is going to say Hitler tried that, but we wont

try

>killing millions of people but rather have the best of their genome be expressed

I see several problems with utilizing eugenics, especially with the utilitarian way proposed

here. Disease is horrible. No doubt. But how do we avoid becoming the type of society

portrayed in the movie Gattaca? Following this path would lead to two different

classes of people: the genetically augmented/grown and the naturally born. I realize that

this is a slippery slope, but what would keep conflict between the two classes from

erupting in a sort of war?

Second, and this is going to probably going to start a few fires, but aren't there good

things that are gained from death, disease, and pain? Technologically, the amount we

have discovered today is due to research in the past. Solving once and for all those

problems would stifle innovation. Also, certain problem solving skills come

about from dealing with disease. One could say that we are utilizing those problem

solving skills through eugenics, but aren't we also in the end stifling their evolution?

Third, coping skills come through dealing with these problems. By taking a shortcut

through the use of eugenics, we will be eliminating an important stage in their

development.

Fourth, random occurrences also help develop those coping mechanisms. If we eliminate

random occurrence from our development, we become nothing but a predictable machine,

albeit flesh and bone instead of wires. Somehow, this seems to degrade our humanity,

and in this case, the end of disease does not justify the means we use to get there.

That brings me to my final point:

Who are we to determine how humanity ends up? We can barely look past our noses.

Do you want to trust eugenics with our future?

The Star Trek Generation: It is about time. Multi-touch desks for school=LCARS

2008-09-17T18:35:00.001-07:00

via The Guardian UK:

"...The interactive multi-touch desks look and act like a large version of an Apple iPhone...

'The new desk can be both a screen and a keyboard. It can act like a multi-touch whiteboard and several students can use it at once,' said Dr Liz Burd, who led the university's Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) group that developed them."

http://www.guardianfeeds.co.uk/c/288/f/7511/s/1e802c9/l/0L0Sguardian0O0Ceducation0C20A0A80Csep0C170Citforschools0Belearning0Dgusrc0Frss0Gfeed0Ftechnologyfull/story01.htm

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Response to Howe and Rorty; 312; 1984

2008-09-16T13:02:00.001-07:00

The Readings:

Howe. "1984--Utopia Reversed"

http://marxists.anu.edu.au/history/etol/writers/howe/1950/11/1984.htm

"The Last Intellectual in Europe: Orwell on Cruelty"
http://books.google.com/books?id=vpTxxYR7hPcC&pg=PA169&lpg=PA169&dq=Rorty's+%
22The+Last+Intellectual+in+Europe:+Orwell+on+Cruelty%
22&source=web&ots=mxGnRu8LCD&sig=w0YbKKxm55_24ms1wfN4ZqiPZdg&hl=en&sa=X
&oi=book_result&resnum=5&ct=result

What I find interesting about Howe, is that most of his "inaccuracies" about Orwell's "novel" are simply conclusions that were reached based on studying history.

"No ruling class, at least within Western society, has yet been able to dispense with ideology..."

"[In 1984, the proletariat was] "so helpless and demoralized that the state need no longer fear them. Now we have no right to say that this never could happen, but we must also observe that it has not yet happened."

An appeal to past events is not adequate support for what may happen in the future. However, this is exactly what Howe does.

I wonder how many could have envisioned a world where not one, but two world wars would be fought back to back? I realize that Howe leaves room for the possibility of Orwell's future, but that he would call it an inaccuracy seems to be the wrong word, and in a discussion and a book where words themselves are up for debate, this seemed worthy of mention.

On Rorty:

"If we take care of freedom, truth can take care of itself. If we are ironic enough about

our final vocabularies, and curious enough about everyone else's, we do not have to

worry about whether we are in direct contact with moral reality, or whether we are

blinded by ideology, or whether we are being weakly 'relativistic'" (176-77).

I am going to play devil's advocate on this one.

The first line is laughable. To take care of freedom first assumes that freedom is an important moral reality, the most important as it is first to be considered, without first qualifying it as such with Truth (Truth with a capital T is necessary, because in this sense we are talking about an absolute truth). What Rorty is saying is that by the very nature of freedom, the truth, moral and otherwise, will come about as a course of nature. We live in a society where free speech is not only allowed but (at least by the public) exhorted, yet how much closer to the truth is each individual, or the whole social organism, because of the allowed freedom? I am not extolling totalitarianism or downplaying the importance of free speech to find that truth, I am just trying to point out the logical inconsistencies by Rorty.

"Orwell helps us see that it just happened that rule in Europe passed into the hands of

people who pitied the humiliated and dreamed of human equality, and that it may just

happen that the world will wind up being ruled by people who lack any such sentiments

or ideas" (184-85)."

I don't think Orwell helps us see that the world may end up being ruled by a kind-hearted people who want nothing for themselves, at least by humanity's design. The opposite is true. Orwell tells us that even with the best of intention, eventually those who have a desire for power and to rule for power's end will rise to the top of society. Such people tend to flaunt solutions to economic and social problems, and often only deliver a twisted version of the promise. This isn't to say that a benevolent ruler cannot come to power, merely that benevolent rulers are more rare than malevolent rulers, and that it seems only a matter of time (because of this statistic) before the latter rises and either seizes or inherits that powerful position.

Freewrite poem

2008-09-13T13:35:00.000-07:00

Whatever pain is around the
Corner,
Whatever joy is around the
Bend,
I will praise my
Father
My Healer, My Friend.

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Class 308. Second Short Story. Rough Draft

2008-09-07T21:13:00.001-07:00

Hey all. This is my SECOND piece of prose due in my English 308 class. Give it a read. Let me know what you think

Updated 9/8/08 at 6:43 AM

It was boring. So boring. For some reason, some high-and-mighty official deemed this rectangular room with walls painted white fit to be called a classroom. I, Mike, was the creative type. Give me a black-bristled paint brush or a green coloring pencil and I could turn this room into something brilliant. Instead, reading, writing, and arithmetic were the order for the day, every day. If the teacher, Ms. Birch, could have had half a brain, the right side, then maybe I would have listened more.

Instead, the tall, thin teacher with black rimmed glasses wouldn't stop droning on about how some culture (because that was the word the book used) eight thousand years ago, give or take a millennium, slaughtered another culture. Not that this was a boring topic, you see, it was just that I had my eyes set on someone special, someone who made going to school worthwhile.

Her name was Katie. Katie was smart and beautiful. Whenever the teacher posed a particularly peculiar question to the class, Katie's hand was always the first to shoot straight up. Often, she would stroke her long, black hair, look at me with her emerald-green, cat-like eyes, and smile. When she smiled, I soared. I was in love. So what if I was only thirteen years old?

"Class, please open your textbooks to page 140. Get with a partner and work on the exercises on that page," said Ms. Birch. "Katie, would you please help out Mike with this exercise?"

This was my lucky day, or so I thought.

Katie slid out of her chair, picked up her heavy history book, and walked toward me. My heart pounded hard, trying to escape my chest and meld with hers. Any second now I would have the girl of my dreams sitting next to me, talking to me, reading with me. Katie approached my table, showed me a smile with snowy white teeth and luscious lips, and sent me straight to heaven.

"May I sit here?" said Katie, pointing to the chair on my right.

Her words, like an angelic melody, landed softly on my beating heart.

Sit here? I thought. Of course you can sit here! I would never deny an angel!

Unfortunately, my carefully crafted words spilled out of my mouth in a garbled waterfall of nonsense, their syllables in shambles as they hit the rocks of my immovable tongue.

Still, she smiled. Oh, what a smile! Then, like a graceful doe, she walked around the desk and folded her legs beneath its table.

"Okay Mike, open your book to the page," she said, pointing to my still unopened book. "Page 140, just like Ms. Birch told us to."

Katie took my book from the table, opened it to the page, and pointed to a paragraph that wanted us to write a summary of the chapter's "key terms." Key terms were boring and writing with a pencil was particularly frustrating, but Katie made the experience exhilarating.

"Mike, take the pencil like we practiced and write out the definitions. Here, it's easy, watch me."

Then, I had an idea. I would show her my true feelings. The people in the movies mom and dad watched always did that.

I grasped the pencil that that was laying on the right side of my desk, opened the wide-ruled notebook, and began to scratch out in long, thick carbon markings what my mouth never seemed to be able to say. I checked to make sure Katie wasn't watching. Sure enough, her head was facing some guy in the corner of the room twirling a small, plastic football. I wrote my heart onto the paper.

The letter read, "Katie, I wanted to tell you that I love you. Since the beginning of the school year, I have not been able to stop thinking about you. When you look at me, my heart stops. When you smile, it starts again. Please be my girlfriend. Love, Mike."

I looked at the paper. Not all of the letters came out but the message was clear. Now it was time for the finishing touch, the
pièces de résistance, the drawing.

I took out a thin, red, colored pencil and began with several light, curved strokes. Then, I switched out the red for a deep, forest-green, and connected a few leaves to my red outline. It was almost done. I colored in the rose with an even deeper red, which was labeled, "ruby red," and finished the drawing. It was just like the movies.

I looked up from the picture and my eyes met Katie's.

"What is that Mike? Is that for me?"

I shook my head, dumbfounded, my face a brighter shade of red than that picture.

Katie took the paper and studied it. Light as it was, I was impressed that something so thin could contain all of my hopes and ambitions.

Katie turned to me, smiled wide, and said with her angelic voice, "Mike, that is so sweet. I love how you wrote your letters and the picture is absolutely beautiful. It's just that you're not exactly my type and I don't think that my boyfriend Tim would like it very much if I was your girlfriend."

I didn't understand. I told her my heart, like in the movies, and while the rose I drew her wasn't as real as on those films, it was real enough. I thought I had done it all right.

She was always so kind to me, helping me when I didn't understand math, smiling at me when I couldn't speak, helping me when I couldn't write.

She gave me back the razor-thin paper. It nearly tore in half as I took it from her. So this was what hell felt like.

All rights are reserved. No publishing, reproducing, altering, or distributing any portion of this without the author's permission.

On The Burrito Prayer Movement

2008-09-06T20:03:00.000-07:00

Read this from Randy Bohlender's blog. Convicting. Inspiring. All of the above.

http://rbohlender.blogspot.com/2008/09/burrito-prayer-movement.html

308 Class assignment #1;Prose; Rough Draft

2008-08-30T21:02:00.001-07:00

Hey all. This is my First piece of prose due in my English 308 class. Give it a read. Let me know what you think.

STUMPS

Bob Dylan's "Masters of War" played over the stereo speakers as a hand reached into a red and white box, and pulled out a thin cylinder of tobacco, nicotine, and God-knows-what-else. One stick went in the mouth, and the shorter, used one into the chrome, metal ashtray. The ashtray was nearly full. A light briefly lit a bearded face before being extinguished.

Thick cigarette smoke hung in the air over Jim as he removed the tiny, fine-threaded screws from the well-built computer chassis. As they turned counter-clockwise, the light screws fell into a pan below the chassis.

Clang! Clang Clang! Cling!

A single screw hit the smooth, cement floor.

Jim hated it when that happened. Two stumps for legs made what would normally be a simple inconvenience into an exercise in patience. When he was 19, Jim was drafted into the military to go fight in Vietnam. The stumps were a constant reminder of a day of unimaginable pain. Jim's best friend, Steve, a tall, raven-haired man, swift on his feet but not much for thinking, took a turn without looking and stepped on the wrong square foot of brush. The cost of the misstep was one landmine, one friend, and two legs, thanks to the shrapnel left behind.

Jim lifted himself up, his red and black, plaid, collared shirt rubbing up against the cushioning of a dirt-gray chair. Toned muscles and thick veins peaked through an opening in his left sleeve. One push and he was on the ground.

Jim picked up the screw and called his 16-year-old apprentice, Mark.

"Hey buddy! Can you give me a hand here?" said Jim, his deep voice echoing in the garage and down the hall of the building labeled, "Computer Technicians Repair Service."

He could have been a singer, his mother said once in the year following his tour in 'Nam, but the war had made him tough and hard, and a singer needed a soft heart to sing.

A black-haired teenager wearing a tight, white t-shirt, and blue jeans casually walked in the room. At 5'5", he was a short kid, but even a short kid was a giant next to a man with stumps for legs.

"Sure Jim. What's up?" said Mark.

Jim handed mark the screw.

"Get the electric drill, the one with the magnetic tip, and take apart the rest of this computer. We have to put in a new motherboard and get it back to Desert Industrial by tomorrow," said Jim.

Jim turned his back to Mark and grabbed the rubber pads he strapped to the stumps whenever he needed to walk, though he was pretty sure it looked more like waddling than walking.

"The motherboard?" said Mark. "It's almost the end of the day. I don't think that I can get this done by closing time."

"Mark, another day, another hour, another dollar, and that's how the big bucks are made," said Jim. They were the words he told Mark every time the kid complained, honest complaint or not.

Mark sighed, grabbed the electric drill, and sat in the chair.

Jim walked away, smiling as he headed out of the garage and down the hall to his office. He liked this kid.

The door to his office stood before Jim, a tall wooden door like old Edinburgh; it was Edinburgh with a doorknob. The 'Nam vet turned the knob, pushed the door open, and pulled himself into a brown, leather office chair. He put out his cigarette in a cup of dirty water that he kept beside a black, flatscreen computer monitor. His wife hated it when he smoked in the house.

Jim sat, and then slid back into the comfortable, leather chair.

Billing could wait, thought Jim. Just a few minutes of naptime and then he would go back to business.

One hour passed.

Crash! Bam!

Jim's eyes flung open, pupils dilated by the bright, orange sun. He heard a cry.

Quickly, Jim jumped from his Jeep to the ground, rushing toward the noise. Panic settled on Jim, his heart jumping in and out of his chest. The cry came again, bouncing off the straight line of teak trees ahead. Jim ran through down the line into thick smoke, the ground covered in black from blast craters left by flesh-ripping explosives. A tall, dark-haired man in army fatigues was screaming in pain. It was Steve! Steve was in pain! Jim rushed over to his friend and saw a bleeding hand. He looked into his friends eyes, expecting to see their light, crystalline blue, but instead they were a dark, mossy green!

The scene faded and the trees disappeared. Jim stood with two stumps on a cement floor, thick sweat stuck to his red and black plaid shirt, his eyes fastened on Mark.

"Jim? Are you okay? Sorry I startled you man. I accidentally cut myself with the screwdriver and knocked over the ash tray. I know you told me to use the electric drill but…"

The rest of Mark's sentence was a lost to Jim. His eyes were wide. What happened? Where was Steve?

All rights are reserved. No publishing, reproducing, altering, or distributing any portion of this without the author's permission.

Freewrite [very] short story

2008-08-19T00:20:00.001-07:00

Note: A reminder, the Freewrites are written with little revision and are simply words being put down with ideas that pop into my head. Enjoy!

Tap, tap, tap.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

Simon looked down at his keyboard.

Backspace.

"If only I could come up with an original story," thought Simon.

Tap, tap, tap

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap,tap

He got it.

It goes like this:

The winds blew softly on her soft skin as Layla sat on the springy, green grass under a warm sun. However, where most people enjoyed a nice day in nature, Layla could not care less. After all, the wind did what she told it to. It always did. So did the grass. And the trees. And the sun.

Layla stood up, bored with it all and walked down toward the path ahead, or rather the path that would be ahead. All it took was a push here, and shove there, and the path was made. The dirt just did what it was told. So boring! So unresponsive to what she felt in her heart.

Layla thought a jog might clear up her mind, maybe help her think of how to solve this longing. Oh how she longed for companionship, for love.

She did have her two friends. They have always been here too and could also do what she could. They all felt the same.

She spoke to them during her jog. It's a telepathy thing. Being one with each other and all. She needed them. They had an idea.

They appeared next to her, jogging and keeping pace. It's a teleportation thing.

They would create a new place, a place whose inhabitants would choose to do what they asked, instead of mechanically responding. A piece of cake? Not so much.

The three talked. It would be risky. The outcome was certain. At some point, the inhabitants would rebel and not do as asked. And when that happened, their newfound rebellious nature would carry them to destroy each other, where they lived, and worst of all, themselves. What to do, what to do?

One of them would have to go to that place and become one of them. Piece of cake? Not so much.

Layla looked up and saw Simon writing the story and told him how it would go.

Layla, and by this course of action the two friends (as they are one), would go to the rebellious world that would choose a destructive fate, and save any who would choose them by giving them new bodies and new natures, and later bring them to a new place, recreated as their bodies and natures were.

The cost of this transformation? Layla would have to die, and all three of them would experience it, dying themselves. It was simply the way things worked. Like gravity. A life to save life, but for the ones that would choose, it was worth the cost. Afterall, it was all about love. What she felt in her heart. What would feel in their hearts. Fulfilling each other. Yeah. That'd be worth it. Do it. Get it over with. Pain for eternity so that there would be even more love for eternity. Go for it.

So she did. And then She came back. The story is a bit different in reality, but that's the gist of it. I'm sure you've heard of Jesus.

Notes: I'm not a big fan of allegories. They tend to sacrifice story for a message, but when I started this freewrite it all kinda came together, and the message is one that is worth telling. I hope the story illustrates the point well. Anyhow, thanks God!

Freewrite poem

2008-08-11T19:33:00.001-07:00

Darkness comes before the light.

We stumble,

We fall,

Because we cannot see.

Hitting walls.

Pushed by the unseen.

We walk. We run.

Light triumphs over darkness,

Blinds the eyes,

And causes them to see.

Sometimes the worst pains are felt before our vision is restored.

Sharp, quick.

Forces us to look away for a moment.

Then we see that we are surrounded

By Loving Arms

And Scarred Hands

And Comfort.

-SL

Freewrites are coming again

2008-08-07T22:44:00.001-07:00

That's right! For all 3 of you who already my previous (and poorly written) freewrites, be excited! I am beginning freewrites again and am very excited to see where it all goes. Once again, not looking to type out anything groundbreaking here, just some interesting narrative, or poetry, or whatever the heck I want or am lead to write. So … enjoy! And prepare for more REAL (read: not link-based) blog entries.

I have gotta get a new font

2008-07-26T21:58:00.001-07:00

So, I am back to posting my blog again. It was a nice break. I think I am actually going to try and go for substance, not just links to the Really-Cool-And-Interesting.

In other news: I finally bought Microsoft Office 2007 (and am blogging from it). What can I say? Dell offered me a good deal and I bit. And what do I have to say about it? STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT THE RIBBON! I like the ribbon. In my mind, it makes more logical sense. Also, to all of the Open Office proponents out there that talk of it having "Office-like" functionality, what are you smoking? No offense to the open-source community. I have been a big proponent of it for a long time, and competition is great for the industry. Heck, you can't beat FREE. BUT, I have been using Open Office for five years and it is no MS Office. Not by a long shot. It is slow, the menus are unintuitive, and it has a lot of trouble translating into Office docs without messing up the formatting.

Still, can't beat free. OO got me through many college years and saved me a pretty penny, but c'mon. Please please please, give me a new UI, make it easier to use! C'mon open source community! Microsoft may have more money than the Rich family, You can do better, because you have one thing Microsoft doesn't have (at least as much of), zeal.

Why DRM is bad, again. Yahoo! Music Store screws customers

2008-07-25T09:50:00.000-07:00

Yahoo plans on shutting down its servers which authorize DRM purchases.

via Engadget

http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/345708039/

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June 26, 1974: Supermarket Scanner Rings Up Historic Pack of Gum

2008-06-26T09:06:00.001-07:00

"Some readers may be unable to remember when grocery clerks had to put price stickers on nearly every item in the store. And retail cashiers had to read a price tag by eye and key in the price by hand. But that's the way things were. The process was not only laborious, but it left the store manager with no idea of how much of each of thousands of different products had been sold and how much remained in stock."

Sounds like the place where I work now, except my boss is so l33t that she does know, mostly, what is in stock and not in stock. Go Team ADH!

Quote from Wired.com
http://feeds.wired.com/~r/wired/science/discoveries/~3/320220716/dayintech_0626

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Wolverine, amphibian style. "Frog species sprout claws on demand"

2008-06-24T15:25:00.001-07:00

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - At least 11 species of African frogs carry a built-in concealed weapon -- they can sprout claws on demand to fight off attackers, U.S. researchers reported on Monday."

Apparently, the claws break through the skin of the frog, ala our favorite X-Man.

http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/scienceNews/~3/318779502/idUSN2328658020080624

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My book of choice this summer is...

2008-06-19T21:58:00.000-07:00

Merciless by Robin Parrish. If you haven't read his past novels, then why are you reading this? Go buy them!

Anyhow, his upcoming book Merciless is due out July 1 (I think) and I cannot wait. So please, if you are going to buy any book, any trilogy this summer, make it the Dominion Trilogy.

If you enjoy the TV Show Heroes or are a super hero fan AT ALL, see what I am raving about.

What are they about? The setup is about a mild mannered Nothing of a man who is "Shifted" into the body of a rich athlete who happens to have some hidden power of earth-shattering proportions ... literally. He isn't the only one. Others havep powers too, such as an ability to remember EVERYTHING. Also interesting is a new take on super-speed. A character in the novel has super-speed but can only use it in short bursts.

Anyhow, check it out. 4.5 stars on Amazon. You won't be disappointed.

Rapture site sends unbelievers their last chance ... via email

2008-06-15T21:56:00.000-07:00

LOL. 'Sounds like an episode of LOST. I wonder if any of the employees have The Numbers as their log-in pasword.

"...The website, which is based in Massachusetts, is run by a small team of Christians who must log on every day to indicate that the rapture has not yet taken place. If enough of them fail to log in, however, the system assumes that the second coming is nigh and sends out messages from all its subscribers..."

http://www.guardianfeeds.co.uk/c/288/f/7511/s/14137ad/story01.htm

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Renfue Poster

2008-06-12T17:51:00.000-07:00

This is just an ad I put together for RENFUE this week. It is pretty simple. Because there was not a high-res band picture to go with it, I opted for a simple black and white, informative but promotional flyer. Hardly any effects. Mostly all font work and organization.

I tried to remain as true as possible to many of the bands' fonts. It was put together on short notice using Adobe InDesign without any available graphics or much discussion about what was wanted out of the flyer. One of the main fonts used was Adobe Castion Pro.

Regardless, not my best design. Check out my other designs for more eye-catching material.

Related: The band Renfue rocks. Look for an upcoming interview with them soon.

It's Just Some Random Guy

2008-06-08T20:36:00.000-07:00

So I guess I am a bit late to the party, but this guy's video's are fantastic.

Here is the gist of it:

A guy makes comedic movies with super hero action figures. Very, very, very funny. Please check them out. Nearly every one of the vids has a 5/5 stars. So far, I think they are all 5/5 myself. In some of the vids are references to movies like The Usual Suspects or tv shows like Lost. Even the Mac/PC commericials. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/user/ItsJustSomeRandomGuy

Story of the good samaritan: "Video shows bystanders ignoring hit-and-run victim"-AP

2008-06-05T14:26:00.001-07:00

Read this recently in my AP RSS feed. It reminds me of all the people that passed the wounded, robbed traveler in the story of The Good Samaritan [Luke 10:30-37]

.....

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- A 78-year-old man is tossed like a rag doll by a hit-and-run driver and lies motionless on a busy city street as car after car goes by. Pedestrians gawk but do nothing. One driver stops briefly but then pulls back into traffic. A man on a scooter slowly circles the victim before zipping away....

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IGNORED_HIT_AND_RUN?SITE=CAVEN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

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Finally, LOST makes some sense.

2008-05-30T19:53:00.001-07:00

This is a Popular Mechanics explanation of the science and mechanics of the island in Lost and how it may have the ability to bend space-time around it. Very good, very convincing.

Check it out.
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Is the Internet a 'Critical Infrastructure'? Timothy Lee @ Tech Dirt says No.

2008-05-28T08:25:00.001-07:00

http://techdirt.com/articles/20080522/1905471205.shtml

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Feeding My Friends

2008-05-23T13:56:00.001-07:00

Well, I've done it again. For what seems the millionth time I have joined yet another Web 2.0 service. The difference: This one is useful.

Most that know me know that I am an early adopter (except for blogs of course). If there is an open beta, I'm there. But lately, I have had 2.0 fatigue.
Then I REALLY got into twitter. 'Even got a friend of mine into twitter (I'm the evangelist type). Then Twitter started going down this last week. Finally I heeded some geek advice: I tried FriendFeed, basically an Aggragator for all of my (and my friends') 2.0 apps.

Now, I have read blogs talking about Friend Feed this and FF that, but I guess it is just one of those things you have to try for yourself. Heck, I liked it so much I embedded it on my blog. Just scroll down.

-Simon
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Travis L. Cook, Renfu music vid released.

2008-05-19T22:09:00.000-07:00

Talk about timing. Only a day and already the soon-to-be-famous friend of mine has completed another vid, this time a music video featuring the band Renfu. His best yet? Check it out for yourself on his You Tube profile or Renfu's.

Travis L. Cook. An Up-and-Coming Director

2008-05-18T15:11:00.000-07:00

A dark comedy done by The Vicarious Company. Its director Travis L. Cook, a friend of mine, is a very promising director. Pretty good stuff here. Also, check out "The Cereal Killer."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OSUfTj3pRs

Otterpops vs. Fla-Vor-Ice

2008-05-15T12:18:00.000-07:00

It is summer...finally...
Over the last few summers, one snack has triumphed over all as my fave. The infamous Otter-Pop.
In the market, I have seen a competitor: Fla-Vor-Ice. I wondered...which was better?

Check out this website to find out and make sure to read to the end for a great punchline.

http://www.redyak.com/rants/OVF/OvF.htm

What my blog has become; Dark circles under the eyes: What causes them? - MayoClinic.com

2008-05-15T01:34:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that I have relgated this blog to becoming another Lifehacking website. More than anything, it seems to have become a place where I post random stuff.
'Guess it is fitting with the subheading of this page.

Never one to disappoint, I noticed in the mirror dark circles under my eyes. Rather than look up the wives tale explanation with its home remedy of vegetables or peanut butter (you get the idea), I searched for a real explanation. Here is what I found.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/dark-circles-under-eyes/AN00423
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Quiz candidates on science

2008-05-14T20:15:00.000-07:00

According to Science Debate 2008, 85% of Americans want a presidential debate "on how science can be used to tackle America's major challenges. The poll found no difference between Democrats and Republicans on this question." Very interesting, and I whole-heartedly agree. But there is a problem.

Now, I do not claim to be the all-knowing science guru. I do not claim to have a complete grasp on all of the basic scientific concepts (I blame public school and my lack of drive in high school), but I have been playing catchup. I regularly read up on science and the latest discoveries (thank God for Viigo and RSS feeds). However, I am not running for President of the United States (yet).

My point: I am pretty sure that the presidential candidates lack the scientific knowledge to have such a debate. My guess is that they'll do what candidates do in any political debate: cater to the popular voice of the times. What do you think? Do the candidates have the scientific knowledge to govern this nation in a scientifically positive way?

News Item of the Day: Taco Bell's new menu goes for a cheap fill

2008-05-14T18:13:00.001-07:00

I have never, ever, been a fan of taco bell, except of those tasty cinnamon twists. The meat always seemed a different second-class nasty that just didn't taste very good. But with food that only costs 79-99 cents and new menu items? I'm in. Check out the news item below.

http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/UsatodaycomMoney-TopStories/~3/289828922/2008-05-13-taco-bell-value-menu_N.htm

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Link of the Day:How Gas Prices Work

2008-05-14T17:35:00.001-07:00

Saying gas prices have gone up recently is an understatement. I think the whole issue could use detailed facts. Below is an excerpt and a link to How Stuff Works , yknow, things like gas prices.

-------
Gasoline is the bloodline that keeps America moving, but tracking gas prices can feel like a roller coaster ride.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HowstuffworksAutostuffDailyRssFeed/~3/288670958/gas-price.htm

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Some water melon picking tips!

2008-05-14T13:00:00.001-07:00

http://www.englishforums.com/English/DarkGreenBomb/cmxcc/post.htm
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How to turn flat feet into arched feet

2008-05-07T12:59:00.000-07:00

The following is from Wes's Hearts Ablaze Blog. Wes teaches at ihop and is one of the people that helps lead there.

"We've been contending for a massive breakthrough of the power of God here at IHOP-KC for decades. At different times we've seen a few healings. This past week I personally witnessed one creative miracle and one healing right in front of my eyes! One young man has had pain in his feet b/c he was born with flat feet. On Tuesday morning during our One Thing Internship Chapel he said he felt heat on the bottom of his feet. He took his shoes off and BAM!!!! He had two arched feet! I saw them with my own eyes. Not just a little either I'm talking two normal well-arched feet. He's 20 years old that's 20 years of flat feet and in a second God arched his feet. That was the creative miracle. The next young man had recently dislocated his shoulder playing volleyball. We asked Noah (the guy who just had his feet arched) to pray for this shoulder. He did along with others and the guy felt the presence of God come on him. He felt that his shoulder was healed. He took off his sling and had full range of motion with no pain! Praise God! Thank you Jesus. May a healing revival sweep across this land! If your sick in your body take a second right now and ask the Lord Jesus to heal that particular part of your body. He's willing and able to heal us. Be healed.Wes"

http://www.heartsablaze.net/wes/?p=73

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Wall Street Journal: Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

2008-05-07T10:11:00.001-07:00

"Oil futures shoot up to nearly $123 a barrel after a Wall Street prediction of much higher prices."
<p><a href="http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/~a/wp-dyn/rss/linkset/2005/03/24/LI2005032400102_xml?a=BhOJe4"><img src="http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/~a/wp-dyn/rss/linkset/2005/03/24/LI2005032400102_xml?i=BhOJe4" border="0"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/~r/wp-dyn/rss/linkset/2005/03/24/LI2005032400102_xml/~4/284848247" height="1" width="1"/>

http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/~r/wp-dyn/rss/linkset/2005/03/24/LI2005032400102_xml/~3/284848247/AR2008050600498.html

I have an idea: Why don't they predict lower prices so that prices will be lower?
I love the idea that people are buying oil at higher prices on the fear that prices will be higher.

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Compare how these stories are framed...

2008-05-05T13:12:00.001-07:00

The difference in how the same facts are covered by different media owners....

"NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil futures surged to a new record over $120 a barrel Monday as supply threats emerged overseas and the dollar weakened against the euro. Retail gas prices, meanwhile, fell more than a cent over the weekend, offering further evidence that prices may have peaked for the year...."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OIL_PRICES?SITE=VAWAY&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

AND now... CNN

"Americans are already paying through the nose for gasoline, and they think it's only going to get worse."

http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_topstories/~3/284088200/index.htm

Two articles based on the same facts with completely different takes.
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Microsoft Gives Vista Backdoor Keys To The Police

2008-04-29T15:56:00.001-07:00

Read this article from Tech Dirt. Surprise surprise, Microsoft has their own backdoor into Vista.

http://techdirt.com/articles/20080429/095514977.shtml

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What makes a nerd anyhow?

2008-04-04T14:12:00.000-07:00

In my previous post I made a statement that many so-called geeks or nerds out there were not geeks or nerds but simply posers.

Now, of course this is all in jest and good humor, but I want to continue this line of thought for fun's sake.

Perhaps what is happening is that everyone is discovering their inner nerd like Revenge of the Nerds (though less campy). Or perhaps there are a few different kinds of nerds. What we really need is a solid definition of what defines a geek and a nerd.

Tell me how I fit in:

I like Star Trek, enough to be entertained by ship layouts and schematics online.

I like computers, even repairing them when I don't have to. I stay up to date with many trends and technologies. I am addicted to my blackberry's rss reader. However, I abhor working with Linux.

I have seen most episodes of Stargate, enough to quote while I am watching it. The same goes for BTTF.

I think learning trivia is fun. Stuff like what makes paint white or speculating on wormholes.

Yknow, on second thought@l it isn't that people are posing as geeks or nerds, it is that the very idea, the terms, have lost their meaning. It is simply a cultural revolution. The words nerd or geek used to apply to those involved in the niche, but now we have come to live in a society where everyone is in a niche.

Whether it is anime or startrek, glasses or contacts, it simply has ceased to matter.

In the end, the words nerd and geek have ceased to be, like it or not.

SL
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Being a nerd

2008-04-04T11:27:00.001-07:00

Behold! The glory days of my kind have arrived.

We nerds now have a large portion of the wealth in the world, occupying many seats of political and economic power.

We control the computer systems that the world uses for everyday activity. Computer systems that once got kids beat up on the playground.

Who does the swirly now?

Fortunately, I wasn't around during those dark times. Still, as I watch and hear about the news talking about how being a geeky nerd is now trendy, I can't help but ask, "Who the heck are they talking to?"

I doubt that wearing a Star Trek Voyager t shirt will give me a positive glance from anyone but my nerd brethren.

Still, when shows like Lost and Heroes (which I don't like for other reasons) gain so much popular fair, I once again must ask Who are those nerds?

Not me, that's who. Those nerds dress and talk like the rest. Sell outs.

Strong words? Yup, but hey, back in the day that's what we (they) had.
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Just a little request

2008-04-02T10:42:00.000-07:00

Ok, so usually I am not the panhandling type...wait, yes I am!

So here it goes: If you find yourself not using those lovely pepsi caps or cups that contain 10-digit codes underneath, toss that code over here and I will give it a good home.

In return, you may download and use this super-realistic, high resolution photograph of me while wondering what I will solicit for next. Thanks!

Women's right to write...Here

2008-03-11T17:23:00.001-07:00

Recently, I have become aware that a startling number of women lack voices in the wave of new media as well as mainstream media.

To counter that, as this is new media and we are all about doing things a bit different than our mainstream cousins, I want to put out a call for women to write on here. Voice your opinion. Talk about the issues you want to talk about. Just email me at simonsbb@tmo.blackberry.com and let me know.

my favorite comic of all time...

2008-03-11T00:35:00.000-07:00

It describes me oohh so well

Lion King, the True Story

2008-03-10T09:52:00.000-07:00

'Ever done much thinking about the Lion King? I have been reading a bit about it, and while the following is more a joke than anything else, check it out:
Disney's telling of the Lion King story is, like most Disney representations, a lie! That's right. Here's the true story.
Mufasa was really a dictator, oppressing everyone in his kingdom for some ideal called "the circle of life." Think about it, he eats his subjects (the antelope) and has his son terrorizing his most valued advisor. I am prett sure that the antelope were just bowing out of fear. Afterall, in this kingdom they are on borrowed time.
So then comes along Scar, here to set the nations most oppressard subjects, the hyenas, free from what is basically a violent ghetto. And what does Disney do? Makes him into the bad guy.
To be continued...
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Eddie James Rocks: It's Official

2008-02-28T19:30:00.001-08:00

Just wanted to share that with you all.

C'mon, it was a joke! Mike Huckabee on SNL

2008-02-24T17:01:00.000-08:00

Undoubtedly most have read or heard about the AP stories that have been criticizing presidential candidate Mike Huckabee for staying on the stage of SNL too long.

The story stated that, "Even though Mike Huckabee is still battling for the Republican presidential nomination despite long odds, he said Saturday he won't "overstay his welcome. Then he did precisely that, lingering on the 'Weekend Update' set of 'Saturday Night Live' despite repeated cues to leave the stage."

I'm glad the media is watching and covering his campaign, except for one problem, their reporting sucks (that's the layman's term for it right?) When one watches the skit, it looked from this bloggers perspective that this was part of the gag.

For those that have not seen the Huckabee SNL skit, here it is. Let me know what you think. You can be my first comment.

The whole thing reminds me of that U.S. Rep. Wexler who joked on the Colbert report that he liked cocaine and prostitutes. Not that I support either, but the press lifted the joke from the Colbert Report and made it into a serious headline. Sensationalist reporting. It makes money, but it doesn't make for very good truth.

Back to Huckabee. If McCain doesn't get the 1,191 delegates that he needs, that means the whole nomination goes to convention. And that means that regardless of the votes, Huckabee still has a chance to pick up steam and rally the nomination at the convention. Hey, it sounds impossible, but just like ole' Huck, I too believe in miracles.

Google says IP address not personal data?

2008-02-23T09:46:00.000-08:00

Tech news Blog Ars Technica reported that Google is arguing in Europe that IP addresses, the number an internet service provider (in general) gives to a line of service, is not personal data.

Google's argues that because an IP address identifies a machine or a series of machines and not a specific person, it therefore can only be considered POTENTIAL personal data, not actual personsl data. (http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080222-google-no-black-and-white-regulation-of-ip-addresses.html)

What?! That is like saying that a telephone number identifies only a telephone, not a person, or a house address only identifies a house. This simply is not true because when a person dials a number or send a letter, they are sending tos person. Similarly, when data is sent to an IP address, it is for the end-user not a computer.

Their logic is further flawed. To assume that an IP is just symbolic of a machine is to assume that the machine is the one automously sending and receiving information. Autonomous why? Because Google is trying to cut out the human in the process, leaving only the machine to be identified. Ludicrous.

A person signed up for the service and that person is the one that is financially liable, at least here in the states. That alone is enough reason to consider an IP personal data.

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A TRULY Romantic comic

2008-02-20T21:19:00.000-08:00

So so funny....

[Update] It's funny how often a simple comic can have such a variety of interpretations, and when I posted this comic yesterday, I never thought of it being, how shall I say, bad.

When I checked up on my blog today, I reread the comic and it occurred to me that this comic is almost sexist, no? Look at it and tell me what you think.

ABC News: Autism Breakthrough

2008-02-20T21:06:00.001-08:00

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=4311223&page=1

Read it. My words won't do it justice, but the long and the short of it is that using a computer to type her words, an autistic girl was able to express her feelings and thoughts and what it is like to be autistic.

Like I said, just read the article.

Comodo Firewall: Free, Reliable. AND Functional?! Yup.

2008-02-20T20:34:00.000-08:00

So, most of you reading this probably haven't heard of the best free firewall out there, Comodo Firewall.

For the readers that don't know, a firewall protects your computer by blocking incoming connections and outgoing connections that may be harmful.

Why is it the best? Well, it has a ton of options, an effective malware scanner, and a user-friendly user interface. Oh yeah, and PC Magazine likes it too. Best of all? It's free. Yes I know, I already said it and I will say it again. it's FREE. So why aren't you downloading it yet?

HD DVD owners, I am sooo sorry...

2008-02-15T20:42:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I know. It's been a while since I have written. What can I say? I'm too lazy to sit down and write 300 words for the one or two people that read this article. Most of them can call me and talk. Anyhow, to those two, I am back...for the moment.

But only because I feel SO SO SO sorry for all of the HD DVD owners out there. Why the Blu(ray) face?

When Walmart and Netflix say they won't stock your beloved format anymore, the the format... well...loses most of the major studios...let's just say that format-paradise (Formatadise) is not too far away.

You fought long. You fought hard. But hey, all good (earthly) things have to come to an end at some time. 8-Tracks, VHS tapes, legal music, and now the HD DVD.

Now if you'll excuse me, I am going to go think long and hard about all the evil things I said about Sony and the PS3, because right now, that system is sounding pretty good.

Peace out. 'Til next time I feel it's convenient,

-Me

It was God's Idea

2007-12-17T21:29:00.000-08:00

I just read something profound on the Jesus Culture Myspace Blog. It goes like this:

Revival in America is God's idea. Salvation is God's idea. Healing is God's idea. Crippled people walking. Missing limbs returning. The blind seeing. Foggy minds clear. Broken hearts whole.

For so long ,we have viewed God as someone who can;t wait to punish America when He really can't wait to pour out Hid love on her, when He really loves this nation and the people in it. As the blog put it, when we would pray with this outlook, we would feel like we were twisting God's arm to bring revival and healing and salvation.

This just isn't the case. The Truth is that God is in a good mood. And He wants you to be in a good mood too. So Rejoice, and be EXCEEDINGLY glad, for great is your reward in heaven ..."- Matthew 5:12

With that outlook we can really pray that God wants to do something and will do something. Pretty cool huh?

What do we deserve?

2007-12-11T21:30:00.000-08:00

Y'know, many Christians, myself included, have thought some pretty rotten things about themselves. Mostly, self-hatred.

I like what Kris Vallotton says in his book The Supernatural Ways of Royalty: Discovering Your Rights and Privileges of Being a Son or Daughter of God.

He has a lot to say on the subject, namely that as those who have accepted Jesus, we are now royalty and ought not to hate ourselves but rather to love ourselves and who God made us to be. It's about seeing ourselves in a different light.

Instead of saying "I am such a horrible person with a rotten evil heart," begin to live like the Prince or Princess that God made you to be.

'Cause man, we got it made.

For those that aren't saved, ask God who he is and what He is all about. You might be surprised at the answer. How about a call to royalty? To be a son or a daughter of the Most High of the Universe?

And that's all I have to say tonight. Sleep well. Rest. Peace.

Gerstmann-Gate

2007-12-06T11:48:00.000-08:00

Here is an article written by a friend of mine on the Gerstmann-Gate scandal. It is a very well written piece on how a lack of journalistic integrity hurts a publication's bottom line.

Bad, Bad Boy
A story recently has caused much uproar throughout the video-game community. Gamespot, one of the largest video-game review websites, recently fired its editorial director Jeff Gerstmann under suspicious circumstances. Gamespot claims no wrongdoing, but Gerstmann was handed his pink slip shortly after giving a negative review to a game called “Kane & Lynch: Dead Men,” which is published by, Eidos, one of Gamespot's advertisers. In addition, the video review was removed from the site, and the text portion of the review has undergone several changes since its original post. Many in the video-game community think that the timing of Gamespot's actions is too coincidental, and that its refusal to comment on the issue in the days following the break of the scandal damns them further.(Joystiq)In order to gain the public's trust and increase revenue, journalistic publications must strive for honesty and integrity in their work despite the temptation of advertising dollars.

Although the facts of the case don't lead to a definitive answer, the kernel of the Gamespot-Gerstmann story reintroduces the topic of journalistic integrity into the minds of the gaming public. Supposing the allegations are true, is it a sound business move to fire a writer for giving a bad review to a sponsor? The simple answer is that it is not. The cons outweigh the pros definitively on a completely rational basis. The obvious benefit to this behavior is that being sponsor-friendly leads to higher ad revenues; but all is not well in Fist-full-of-dollars-land. Firstly, this is bad journalism, and it causes deep-cutting effects that undermine the quality of the publication. Instead of honest reviews that feel personal, the reader will be left with cookie-cutter turnouts that are more advertisement than editorial. And this in turn is bad for business, even if nobody finds out.

Most people don't like to be deceived. When a publisher deceives its reader-base, it undermines the very public that it serves. This stigmatizes the publisher and defames its brand-name.

Sponsors pay a lot of money for their ads to be shown by a publisher; the more people see the ads, the more potential buyers they will have for their product. So it makes sense then that a company would not want to sponsor a publication that essentially tells its readers not to buy that product. It also makes sense that if the publisher puts pressure on its writers to endorse its sponsor's products, then they stand to make a lot of money in ad revenue. But there is much more at play here than ad revenue. Once this course of action is decided upon, it leads down an unbeneficial path. Essentially, the benefit only continues as long as the public is unaware of this relationship. If readers find out that the publisher of their favorite reviews is being paid for giving good reviews, then it is not in their best interest to continue reading the publication: it has ceased its utility, because they are essentially getting the same information from the reviews as from the company itself. The surprising thing is, people don't have to explicitly find out about this relationship in order for it to affect their choice of reading material.

Bad journalism begets bad journalism. Once the publisher makes it clear that they will fire writers if they don't tow the company line, the quality of the reviews begins to diminish. The writing staff begins to fear standing on its integrity, because that could get someone fired. If continued firings or pressure is used, the reviewers will no longer be able to tell what their bosses expect; they will take fewer risks; they will take less interest in their assignments; the overall quality of the writing will decrease. Even if that series of events does not occur, if readers figure out that the reviews don't agree with their own sensibilities, they will stop trusting the reviews and eventually stop reading them.

Readers don't want to read reviews they can't trust, so they will naturally move to more reliable sources. Readership slowly drops as more readers catch wise. This makes the advertisers nervous; ads are definitely not going to be effective if nobody ever sees them. The demand for ad-space drops and the ad revenue with it. The publishing company is now making less money, and they have two options: fire some writers, or pay writers less money. In either case the effect is the same, the quality of the writing gets worse; either the workload increases and there is less time to do a decent job, or the staff has less motivation to produce high-quality writing.

If you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas; advertisers have heard this saying too. They know it is bad for business to be associated with a disreputable company. And that is exactly what lies do to whomever is caught telling them, make them disreputable. Most people are unlikely to buy a product if they think that the company selling it cannot be trusted, and this makes companies very careful about whom they do business with. This effectively can cause a major loss of ad revenue for the hypothetical review website that gets caught in this scenario. Whether or not the website has a loss in readership, the advertisers may decide to withdraw their sponsorship in order to distance themselves from the scandal. It is very easy to see what a negative impact this can have on the publisher's bottom-line.
The scenario is admittedly hypothetical, and the publisher could potentially reverse the process at any point. However, it is a road that leads only one direction; if a publisher consistently does not make journalistic integrity a priority, then it will eventually lead to the publication's financial ruin.

It all comes down to trust. If people trust a website or a publication, the publication will see it's readership increase and revenue streams grow. When a publication betrays the public trust, it becomes useless.

Recently, Gamespot issued a statement saying that Gerstmann was fired only after an internal review. The company denies any wrong-doings or that Gerstmann was fired because of the scathing review. Still, since the story broke, Gamespot's web traffic has significantly declined.(Alexa) Pandering to the advertisers costs money. It's that simple.

Glicker Returns, Gaming Steve is back!

2007-12-05T22:27:00.000-08:00

So, for those that don't know and even for those who don't care, Gaming Steve has returned. To commemorate his return, I designed a fan-made magazine cover. Read: This is in no way whatsoever authorized, approved, recommended by, endorsed by, or has anything to do with Gaming Steve aka Stephen Glicker. It's just something I made because I love to design and I enjoyed listening to his podcast for the first time in months.

The two major graphics used in it do not belong to me. The headshot of Steve is from his website, www.gamingsteve.com, and does not belong to me. If requested, it will be taken down. Likewise, the image of Mario used is from Nintendo, straight and simple. Once again, just ask and it will be removed.

So, without further adieu, here is my magazine cover for Gaming Steve. It took between 2-3 hours to find the pictures, decide on the design, and layout the page. I used LongIsland for the Masthead, Trajan Pro for the headlines, and Existential for the subhead. There ya go. Enjoy!

So now I am a graphic designer

2007-11-29T15:51:00.000-08:00

Did you know that? Guess what, it's true.

Here is a sample of my work. It is a simple business card with some important info blotted out (it is still in the draft stages).

Just a suggestion:

2007-11-29T00:27:00.000-08:00

Watch the GOP democratic debates on YouTube. They are excellent. The questions are really pointed and attempt to force the GOP candidates into a specific Yes or No answer.
So, whether you are democrat, republican, or a jedi, I strongly suggest that you watch these debates ... oh, and vote Simon in 2032. I'm already preparing the signs . . .

You are worth more than a mountain of diamonds

2007-11-27T10:08:00.001-08:00

Did you know that you are worth more than a mountain of diamonds? have you taken time to fully comprehend what it is that you are worth? So check this out, 'cause I am gonna tell you:

We have more value than everything on this planet.
One person is worth more than the universe.
A mountain of perfect diamonds couldn't buy us.
How do we know this? Jesus died for us. he was the price, and he is worth more than the everything. We are worth the price of God.
He said that we are worth Him coming to earth as frail flesh.
Worth having hunger and weakness.
Worth the worst heart wrenching pain, loving those who don't love you back.
Worth being separated from His Father (however that worked).
Worth being abandoned by his best friends.
Worth being lashed to near death with sharp whips.
Worth bleeding from His pours from stress.
Worth being tempted in the desert and the Garden of Gethsemane
Worth fasting 40 days in that desert.
Worth a plucked beard.
Worth having His clothes stolen.
Worth being humiliated by a public which had adored him just a week earlier. A public that called for his death.
We are worth the agony of His waiting for us.

How cool is that?! Get excited! That is a lot of worth!

'Been Thinkin

2007-11-23T20:52:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I know ... dangerous.

So here's the deal. I am gonna make this blog short and sweet. A one-liner. Ready for it? Here it is:

God Likes You =)

Freewrite #4 Jack Fletcher Series pt.4

2007-11-16T21:56:00.000-08:00

IMPORTANT: If you have not read both Freewrites #1,2, and 3, go back and read them first. The order of the freewrites is the by DATE PUBLISHED. They are not in chronological order.

Freewrite #4

Today

The clouds started to part. It had stopped raining. White moonlight shined through, reflecting off of the wet, oily street.

Jack ran down the street., not sure of where he was going. He only knew that must not go with that man, John Fischer, whom he had spoken with almost 3 minutes ago.

Something about the man's voice didn't sit right with Jack.

And what about the man he had punched? He seemed familiar, though Jack didn't know why.

Jack didn't even know if his name really was Jack. It was just a name on a wristband. Jack Fletcher, #431.

The sun would be up in a few hours. He had to get out of sight. A near barefoot man wearing all white would stand out like a sore thumb here.

Speaking of which, where was “here” exactly?

A car could be heard in the distance, gaining on Jack.It was the doctor.

Jack ran hard. The black Honda's headlights were 300 yards away, and gaining. It would only be a couple of seconds now.

Shots rang out. Jack dove to the ground, , not knowing whether this would be a leap towards heaven or a fall to hell. He expected the latter.

Bullets whizzed by on his left and right. The headlights went out.

The bullets stopped.

Jack heard a car reverse and head in the opposite direction. It was the Honda!

Jack had survived!

Jack stood up, white clothes stained black by the wet asphalt. His socks had several new holes in them and his feet had developed a few blisters. Still, he lived! And the car was gone which meant Jack could relax for a moment.

Then Jack remembered what had just happened, why the car had left.

That's when several men emerged from the two alleys ahead where the bullets had flown from.

They closed in on Jack.

Freewrite #3

2007-11-15T18:43:00.000-08:00

IMPORTANT: If you have not read both Freewrites #1 and #2, go back and read them first. The order of the freewrites is the by DATE PUBLISHED. They are not in chronological order.

Freewrite #3

Two Weeks Ago

Three men wearing white coats stood outside the room.

The second of the three men held a clipboard.

The third clenched a black and white BIC pen.

The first held nothing.

“When did he come out of it?” said Number One.

“We're not quite sure. He seems to have no recollection of where he is or who he is.” said the second, eyes squinting behind thick, broad rimmed black glasses. He stared at his clipboard.

“The polygraph says he is telling the truth.”

“We figured that there would be memory loss. The question was never 'if,' but 'how much?' Now we know.” said the third, shrugging.

“Still,” said Number One. “We can't be too careful. We have to make sure that this worked or it'll be our heads. Put Thompson in his room. See if he can get anything first. If that doesn't work, schedule a breakout.”

“A breakout? Are you sure? We don't know what kind of condition he is in, what kind of damage he can do.” said the second.

“It's the only way we will know.” said Number One.

A Note about the Freewrites

2007-11-15T17:27:00.000-08:00

So, here's the deal:
I write these with the first word or image that pops into my head and go from there. There isn't a story board or much of a general outline. I have a couple ideas about what I want to write, but when I say a couple of ideas, I mean a COUPLE (maybe a Few) of ideas.
Anyhow, I can't tell you exactly where the story is going because, honestly, I don't even know.

My brief disclaimer: Any characters that appear in this story have no relation to anyone in the real world. Names that actually happen to exist in the real world are simply coincidence.

So with that, let 'er roll.

Freewrite #2

2007-11-14T21:36:00.000-08:00

IMPORTANT: READ FREEWRITE #1 BEFORE READING #2. THEY ARE IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER.

Freewrite #2

The injured man stopped crying and started to stand up.

"Here, let me help you." said Jack, with an outstretched arm, holding the baseball cap in his other hand.

The man spat on the hand. "Crazy lunatic. I Never should have listened to him. " Then the man walked off, opposite the way he had come, as if nothing had happened...

Listened to who?

A phone lying under a covered sidewalk rang. Sounds of Vivaldi's Four Seasons filled the atmosphere, underscoring the rainy weather.

Where did the phone come from?

It must have been that guy's. Strange that it landed on the sidewalk instead of the asphalt.

Jack picked up the phone.

“Who is this?” asked Jack.

“Hello Jack” answered a deep, calm voice. “How have you been? 'Things feeling a bit out of place? That's because they are Jack. Things change with time."

“Time? What do you mean? What are you talking about?” Jack responded.

“Oh? You don't remember? Jack, you've been a patient at the ward for three years. Please, come back and we will sort this all out.” said the voice.

“Ward? I don't remember any ward. Who are you?” said Jack.

“My name is John Fischer. I'm your doctor. And by the look of things you could use my help. You pack quite a punch!” said John, tone and pitch raised.

“I see. You are my doctor, and I am the simple patient who has lost his memory? That's pretty convenient. I will say, you have me on the memory bit. I can't remember a thing. But answer me this ... ” Jack said looking sideways at a black Honda across the street. A man with short, brown hair sat inside on a cellphone.

Jack looked forward.

“What kind of doctor stalks his patient?”

“The kind who cares.” said John, deeper again.

Jack glanced at the car once more. Something was different. Sitting in the passenger seat was a man in a brown fedora. It was him!

“Don't run Jack.” said John

“Run? Why would I run? You're just a doctor, right?” said Jack.

Jack ran.

Freewrite #1

2007-11-12T21:54:00.000-08:00

Freewrite #1

Splash! Splash!

Splash Splash!

It was raining. And it was windy. And those were puddles. Puddles make noise. And he didn't want to make noise.

For man-on-the-run Jack Fletcher, this fit right in with his day. It wasn't bad enough that he was being hunted by some deranged killer. A man with blood on his hands. Quite literally.

It had been almost fifteen minutes, just past midnight, since the would-be assassin with the brown fedora had cornered him in a dark alley behind Jim's Pizza and Eatery.

Why was he chasing him? What had he done now?

This day made no sense. Neither did the white jumpsuit he was wearing or the fact that he was only wearing white socks.

Why can't I remember anything, thought Jack.

Pulling a memory over two weeks old from his brain was like wrestling a pit-bull from a raw, sirloin steak.

Forget it. 'Can't worry about that now. Stay focused Jack and we'll see if we can't keep you alive another day.

Jack rounded a blind corner. A perfect place to get the upper-hand.

Wait for it Jack. Wait for it.

Splash! Splash!

Here he comes. One more second.

A rounded head wearing a brown fedora peaked its head out of the corner.

Slam!

Knuckled flesh struck a glass jaw. A left hook connected with the man's nose. The fedora went flying.

The man hit the ground. Out cold. But that didn't stop the blood from gushing out of the assassin's broken nose.

Jack followed the blood as it mixed with rainwater and flowed downhill, across the street.

Jack stood, bewildered.

Did I just do that?

The man's eyelids cracked open. His mouth followed close behind.

“Ahhhhhh!” screamed the man. Though whether it was a cry of pain or a cry of anger, Jack didn't know.

Tears began to flow down the man's face. His wails grew louder.

No, thought Jack, this is definitely not the sound of anger This man is in pain! Well, serves him right for trying to kill me.

Jack kneeled down to get a closer look at the man who could have been his end. Who would dare try to kill him? Who had the guts? Didn't this guy know who he was?

I wish he did. At least then I might be able to get some answers.

Jack stood still for a second and looked at the man directly in the eyes, and recoiled.

This isn't him! This isn't the same person!

Jack looked over at where the fedora had landed, except it wasn't a fedora. It was a New York Yankees baseball cap.

What is going on? thought Jack.

SKYNET Delayed! End of the world pushed back.

2007-11-09T19:24:00.000-08:00

November 7,2027

A soft light glows in the night sky. It circles around the earth in the same pattern that it has for the last three years. Calm. Normal. Not like the earth beneath it. On earth, metallic androids known as " Terminators" have taken over.

It turns out crazy kid and his mom were telling the truth.
Whooda thunk it?
Let's go back a decade or two.

November 7, 2007

In case you all missed it, the UK has delayed the launch of their 3.6 billion pound (the currency, not the weight) military Skynet 5B satellite.
5B was to join its sister satellite, the 5A, which was launched last March.

The satellite system is "designed to give British commanders access to more information, much faster," reported the BBC.

"The spacecraft's[5B] Ariane rocket has developed an electronic problem in one of its solid fuel boosters and will be rolled back to an inspection shed."

Electronic problem? Maybe Judgement Day isn't too far afterall.

The truth is that Skynet has been around for quite sometime. The 60's actually. In any case, I am sure that I one of millions that are making this joke.

Did you know that...?

2007-11-03T18:01:00.001-07:00

Did you know that the man with $1 in his bank account and Jesus is more financially stable than the one who has $1 billion and is alone?

See, the man who has Jesus is promised that Jesus will take care of him, while the one without Jesus has no such promise.

So, when that financial crash comes, and it will, the man who had $1 billion will find that in the end he had nothing and was grabbing the wind, while the Christian who trusts in God for his provision will find himself still fed.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Writing about murder- Journaling about journalism

2007-10-31T17:47:00.000-07:00

I promised in a twitter message that I would write about my experience on covering my first murder trial.

====Disclaimer====
As this is a journal of my experience, not a news article, you will be reading some of my opinion.
Once again, I am not a lawyer, a judge, or on the jury. This is a story coming from an up-and-coming journalist who is LEARNING. Thus, this article despite my best efforts, may contain an error or two. Treat this like Wikipedia, not the L.A. Times.
Got it? Good.
===============

The night before:
I was in class, stressing out about what I should do for my court article. It had to be on a criminal trial. The teacher was excellent at giving several tips including who I could rely on for information (read: not the court reporter, clerk, or judge. Who is left?) regarding the background of a specific case.

NOTE: I didn't have a clue what I was going to report on last night. So I asked God to help me out.

Morning and Afternoon.

When I went into the court house, everything worked out PERFECTLY. While going through the metal detector, I asked an Sheriff's department officer if he knew of interesting cases today. He said that there was going to be something going on in A-5 at 11. A CLUE!
So I went to A-5 around 10-1030. The judge was hearing several cases.
I approached the baliff's in the room and asked for more information, which they provided.
I also was able to talk to one of the detectives in charge of the investigation. He was also a witness.
I obtained contact info from both the prosecutor and the defense to obtain a statement later.
It really was like a puzzle. Getting one whispered clue about where I should be at such and such a time or who I should talk to to get specific information.
So, some tips for my fellow freelancers and beginning journalists:

Things I have learned last night and today:
1. Baliffs are your best source for background info.
2. Be careful of how loud you ask certain questions and be aware of your surroundings as you don't know who might me behind you e.g. the defendants family.
3. Remember, ANYTHING said in a courtroom is public and can be legally written about. Use your own discretion.
4. Be Bold. Don't be intimidated. Some people won't like you. Some people will. Please the people is not your job, telling the truth as accurately as possible is.
5. Nevertheless, be sensitive. Having had family in prison for crimes, I can tell you it is important to remember what your words will do to the families left in their wake.

Well that, is about it. 'Til next time

Untitled by the Moment

2007-10-24T18:28:00.000-07:00

"Untitled by the moment" Jacob Nahin

Have you ever felt like running away?

A roller coaster, life, what a trite analogy

but fitting.

Time to start the next stanza,

next thing on the list,

pass the shovel please.

Performance based culture

It sucks

the life out I mean

Life, life, life

running around and 'round and 'round

the merry goes around

or does it?

Penny-less people

and pockets full of cash

both are alike:

eyes look at the ground

Smiles, smiles

tears,tears

these are a few of my favorite things

minus the tears

except when they help

I'm Rich!

2007-10-20T22:21:00.000-07:00

Ok, Picture This:

A large diamond. A wall, forget that, a Truck Load, naw, too small, a 60,000 sq. ft HOUSE full of the latest and greatest in fashion and technology designed by the best in the biz. And that is just the start.

A beautiful wife (or husband), just the beginning. A person who is fully and completely all that you have, do, or could ever hope for in a lifetime mate. I mean, this person has it all. Personality, physical-ity (my own word?), Godly, good mom (or dad), the perfect balance to who you are. Yeah. Cool.

Not enough. Now you have the best children. Not always obedient (cause where is the fun in that?), but definitely the best. They run, jump, swim, and play.

Now, maybe the house isn't your style. Maybe you want quaint, small. Maybe you want to be single for life. Maybe you don't want kids
Whatever life looks like in your dreams, wherever your highest imaginations take you, go there for a moment.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Come on back.
The point:
The one who has all of that, and just that, is still a pauper compared to a Christian. Guys, Jesus, this Jesus whom we love so much, He is REAL. I mean REAL REAL, like more real than the bed you are sitting on or the chair you are sitting in, more real than school, more real than the disasters and the blessings of this life. He is real, and He is coming back. Now that IS cool. Man, I love Him.

No cause for love

2007-10-14T12:24:00.001-07:00

A couple of days ago, I had a revelation, definitely God inspired.

Love does not have a cause.
More specifically, God's love doesn't have a cause.

Think about it. He has always existed as has His nature. Therefore, Love, a part of His nature, is eternal.

Cool. So what? What this means is that I never caused or did anything for Him to to make Him love me, He just does. Wow. And because I didn't do anything to get Him to love me and desire me in the first place, I can't do anything to make Him stop. Cool.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Walls and Posters and the existence of Something or Someone beyond us.

2007-10-05T22:34:00.000-07:00

I'm sure that you have been in a room with a blank wall. I mean totally bare. Not a poster, picture, award, plague, drape, curtain ... you get my point. Just white primer.

Well if you have then there may have been something at the back of your head that asked, "Why isn't there something on this wall?"

At least with me it did. And that led me to this line of questioning:

What is it in us that longs for there to be something to take up that blank space?
Why is it there?
How did it come to be there?
Who or What put it there?
When did it happen?

Why do we desire to create? To design?

OK- So good news can be hard to come by...

2007-09-20T01:03:00.001-07:00

...on the Internet. 'Turns out that most legitimate news organizations stick with the term "if it bleeds it leads." That sucks. Who wants to read about death and tragedy all of the time? Apparently a lot of people. I find myself sucked into the paper on a daily basis. I can't even tell ya how many RSS feeds I have.

So, I am going to type some of my own good news and I encourage you to do the same. It helps.

I successfully replaced my second sprinkler valve, 2 days after installing a valve stem in my shower. Both were very edifying with how much I have learned (by God's grace of course) over my 4.5 years at the hardware store.

Second, the IHOP Prayer Room webstream video finally works without crashing IE in Windows Vista! THANK YOU GOD!

Third, and this is of UBER impotance to me, I got to hang out with a pretty cool group of individuals from a new church I started going to recently .Very cool, very loving, very motivated people with a heart for God that I love and adore. Thank yuo God for bringing me to this church! I actually DESIRE to go to church. I don't dread it. I love it. Cool. Here is a shout out to all of yas.

Lastly, though I could go on and on, I am SOO blessed to tell you that my hand(s) are almost back to full, painless strength. Praise you God. I can't even put it into proper words how happy I am about this.

For those that don't know, I was diagnosed with tendonitis, and ended up with it in both hands. For a computer junkie and journalist, this was a real blow to me.Glory to God for healing me and thanks to all of you who prayed for me!

One more thing, if you are saved, Do Not Fear (Joel 2:21), Do Not Fear (22), BE Strong and Courageous (Deuteronomy 31:6), BE Strong and Courageous (Joshua 1:9). Perfect love casts out ALL fear (1 John 1:18), Perfect love casts out ALL fear (1 John 1:18)

iPhone, iPod Touch, Now the Bod-Fi

2007-09-05T18:37:00.000-07:00

=

Hopefully that headline has enough buzz words to land me a hit or two.

For those that aren't in touch with the latest and greatest gadgets, Apple just announced an iPod that can do everything that the iPhone can, minus the phone, and for $100 -200 less. Furthermore, Apple has dropped the price of the actual iPhone $200 for their 8gb model, and will be phasing out the 4gb model.

I would provide links. Instead, just go to Engadget.

So, this must really irk those that bought the iPhone on release. 200 dollars less. The good news:you stil have your iPhone and it still does more than the iPod Touch. As for the 200 bucks, that is unfortunately the price of this premium.

On another note:

These days you need a CAT 5 cable running from your veins to keep in touch with all the gadgeting going on. Kinda sucks. Kinda rocks.

Come to think of it, I am a bit outdated. Cat 5 is sooooo 20th century. Instead, why not have wi-fi built directly into the body and a chip with Safari attached to our retinas? I call it Bod-Fi. You heard it here first folks.

Now, lets take a look at that Hit Counter...

Blogging About Nothing to Blog About

2007-09-01T20:18:00.000-07:00

Something to blog about. My kingdom for an idea.
And nothing springs to mind.

Here I sit, cruising over the headlines of at least 100 RSS headlines, with nothing that is worthy of note. Horrible.

Sure, there is plenty going on in the world, just nothing worth writing a blog about. Now that is news because those who know me know that I love to talk... alot.

It think I need a focus for my writing. That seems to be what all of the popular blogs advise and do.
I just am having trouble picking. Almost everything out there interests me to some degree. Maybe I should start two blogs like ShawnBlanc.

Naw, I should at least hit 101 total hits before I do that. (I currently have over 90 including my own.)

Something Positive

2007-08-08T22:13:00.000-07:00

It's a good idea to say positive things, especially about the goodness of God. Even more so when one is not feeling so good.

So, without further adeu...

Good thing #1: I am able to clearly get IHOP's Audio webcast. Very thankful for this. I find that whenever I am at a prayer/intimacy slump in my relationship with God, He loves to use this cast to bring me back. w00t [wow loot for the non-geeks out there] indeed!

Good thing #2: God has given me a check in my spirit about going to the beach, and confirmed it with not one but two other people sp far. Guess I won't be going. I am so glad that He talks to me. I mean, He doesn't have to y'know. He CHOOSES to... that's just cool and more.

Good thing # 3 (because things have to come in threes): I got to work with Bob today. Y'know I love this guy. What a good heart. The man is a true blessing to me. And Travis. Gosh, I love this guy! Not saved, he truly puts saved people to shame in so many areas, especially his generosity. Like randomly buying me a red Gatorade. Tasty.
And Caleb. Evertime this former co-worker / best friend of mine/ awesome brother of God enters the store, it changes the ENTIRE atmosphere. he carries the presence of God with him wherever he goes.

Good thing #4 (because three is not enough): The lyrics, "Holy,Holy,Holy Open up our eyes to see," straight from the IHOP webcast about 45 seconds ago.

and the thank yous go on and on: Shawn blanc's many many blogs such as The Fight Spot, Randy Bohlender from stuff i think, Jackson Bohlender because the dude is just hilarious and downright honest, Trevor for being a good bud and carrying me through some difficult fires, and so on!

So thank you God for all of them and this.: My hands are working. AMEN AMEN AMEN! w00t! w00t! w00t! Thank you God Amen! Amen! Amen!

People are ready. Its harvest time!

2007-07-25T13:09:00.000-07:00

So, here I am, in line at the campus bookstore...boring boring right? Wrong!
I was on my way to the bookstore and I saw a girl in long sleeves. In the summer.
Then I saw another girl, clutching a paper in her hand,crying, and I realized something (or should I say that God opened my eyes): this campus is ripe for the harvest. These people want to be saved. They want God!
God wants broken people folks. Those that know they can't do it on there own. Here they are God. Use me...I'll keep ya posted.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Oops

2007-06-24T16:52:00.000-07:00

Y'know,
several days--weeks-- millenia--scratch that last one-- have passed since my last posting. Oops.

The last post I made was (and still is) horrible. It's one big complaint! And not a righteous one.

To sum it up:
I whined that my hand was hurting. Mostly wondering why God hadn't healed it yet.
And then at the end I blamed it on you guys-gals. Not cool. I am sorry. Very sorry.

And to God. I am VERY SORRY. You Lord want rejoicers, not complainers.
So I am sorry. To You Lord, and to those that read/have read my blog.

God bless you all,

In Him and most definitely for Him (and in love with Him!),

Enough is enough

2007-06-08T19:50:00.000-07:00

I am tired of powerless Christianity. As I write to you, I type angry, angry that I am still writing one-handed (mostly) when my God is far above everything, full of love and dying to show it.

Y'see, in the Old Testament Abraham was likened to God as His Friend. God listened to Abraham, even when Abraham talked to God in a way that would have had me watching out for lightning bolts. Why? They had a bond, a promise to each other, unbreakable by ANYTHING.
I have that too.

Where am I going with this?

In Acts, everywhere the disciples went, people saw God working, inside and out. Today, people in other counties get healed on the spot. Rarely here.

Imagine for a second: You're on a university campus. There is a paralyzed, mentally disabled boy in a wheel chair. Drool leaks out of the right side of his mouth because that part of his brain has been damaged since birth. Why is he here? Who knows? but you are moved with compassion, the good kind, and you walk over to him and in Jesus name touch him. His head looks up, and he closes mouth. Then, he walks. What if?

I need Him in a way that I never have before. I am desperate for Jesus. I am desperate to know Him in all ways. I am desperate to see broken people walk and broken hearts whole. Guys, we need Him in this way.
No more programs. No more studies of the Word without THE WORD. Just Jesus. Its the Kingdom of God guys. Romans 14 stuff. His love for me, mine for Him. No more, no less. I laugh at anything else.
Please.
Get mad.
Get restless.
And pour out your hearts to Him.
Not later. Now.
Now. Now. Now.
Stop reading this blog
Get up Now and Pray.
I want to write with my left hand again. Soon.

Rules for Changing a Faucet or Toilet Supply Line

2007-06-03T22:42:00.000-07:00

Working at a local hardware store teaches one a thing or two: in this case three:

Rule #1. Set aside a minimum of 1-2 hours for the job. This will leave room for any unforeseen circumstances, such as having a valve that has over 20 yrs of corrosion, or that the valve is of the older, aluminum tubing style...in which case it too will need to be replaced. This leads us to Rule #2

Rule #2. Make sure to turn off the valve before unscrewing anything. This may sound obvious...but its not. This is a pressurized line.

Rule #3. It ain't always easy.
Y'see, supply lines come in many threads and many sizes. Pipe thread (known as FIP) and Compression thread (Comp. or C) are the main ones.
In my experience, 1/2FIP x 1/2FIP is the most common supply line for a Delta faucet.

Simon

Man spends 19 yrs in a coma. People have cell phones.

2007-06-03T17:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Reuters announced that after having spent 19 yrs. in an accident induced coma, Jan Grzebski is awake.
This guy's wife took care of him, changing his position EVERY HOUR OF EVERY DAY. That is dedication folks.

That got me to thinkin', if a fallen human has that kind of dedication to her spouse, how much more does my perfect God have toward me? Amazing.

A lot has happened in these past 19 yrs:

-The cellular phone rose to popularity, becoming smaller than Smart's Shoephone. Speaking of which, I still want one of those, even though my phone is a 10th of the weight with 10 times as many functions.

- Computers are everywhere.

- Manufacturers now compress fruit into tear-able candies.

Happy Repeat Day!

2007-06-03T00:10:00.001-07:00

That's right folks. Another Repeat Day is upon us. "What is Repeat Day," you might ask? Why, its just the most annoying holiday ever. Right next to National Yo-Yo Day.

Here is to another Repeat Day.
Here is to another...ah gosh, I can't do it. Bah humbug to Repeat Day.

I'm more of a National Chocolate Ice Cream Day kind a' guy anyway.

JFK Bomb plot foiled...no one cares

2007-06-02T20:02:00.000-07:00

TVs shined and radios roared as news stations pumped the American public with yet another world-about-to-end story. At least that's the angle I gathered from my 2 minutes in front of the brainless box.
Not to undermine the severity of the situation, but it turned out that the JFK Airport "bomb plot" was foiled by The FBI while still in the planning stages. This just propagates fear and ticks me off.
I, personally, am still baffled as to why cable news exists. My former journalism mentor said that 90% of all questions can be answered with one word: Money. Someone somewhere along the line said that math is the universal language.
Advertising=Money. Eight ball, corner pocket.

Advice: Take a break from the TV, at least the news. You'll find yourself more happy and less stressed. Instead, read something wholesome and encouraging.

Thumper riding a rocket

2007-06-02T18:33:00.000-07:00

Today at work, my boss's daughter told me that their old WWII jeep had a toon on it...of that lovable rabbit Thumper riding a rocket.
This got me thinking. This picture, this logo represented the person or persons driving it. Risk takers. Maybe men who fired rockets. I don't know. But I wonder...
If I had a logo, what would it be?
I honestly don't know.
In the Greek, Logos means word or The Word.
I am going to pull that out of context and have it mean the sum total of who a person is to be. A logo ought to represent where one is going, a goal.
I don't know what mine looks like, and that's ok. God does. I'm hoping that one day it will look like Jesus did carrying his cross.
He's my hero.

How about you?

People and Computers

2007-06-01T23:35:00.000-07:00

God gives different gifts to different people.
God has given me the ability to write. And he has revealed to me the deep mysteries of the computer universe.

I understand that many people out there still don't know their monitors from their keyboards. I respect that. I mean, I can't crochet.
I can hardly spell the word.

But when I ran into this cartoon, I chuckled.

TTYL All,

Simon Limerick

Klorel, A Goa'uld and a High School Graduate

2007-06-01T23:20:00.000-07:00

Klorel is the name of a very dead slug that was a bad guy on that sci-fi hit, Stargate SG-1.
It is also the AIM name of a guy I know who is graduating high school.
Yippe-yay.
Welcome to at least four more years of schooling buddy. From one prison to the next.

Anyhow, he said I need more posts for him to plug my blog.

Spread the word Klorel. or I will sic my dog on you.

Note to all: Fresh Carrots from Deutschland have arrived.

If you want to be Spiderman... here are the rules:

2007-06-01T22:57:00.000-07:00

So, I was sitting down in my journalism class. I'd 'just seen Spiderman 3. That web-swinging blockbuster hit the pavement. Splat. And made money. Anyhow, now there is an opening.

Here are some requirements to consider before applying for the job:

By Simon Limerick

You may have superpowers, but you will never be normal again.

You can never settle down.

You will always feel the responsibility to help people

People you know and love may meet unfortunate ends.

Just because you have spider powers doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want. Like your uncle said, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Every girl you ever date will be kidnapped by your arch nemesis.

Your list of enemies will grow exponentially with every bad guy you take down. The job will never be finished, only delayed.

In the end, the people you are trying to save may hate you for it.

Likewise, they may also love you for it. It’s a love-hate relationship.

You won’t get a dime for risking your neck day-after-day. Heroism is its own reward.

On second thought, you will get a reward. More bad guys. See Rule 7.

When your costume gets ripped, you have to sew it. When you get punched, you have to treat it. ‘Can’t let just anyone know who you are now can you?

Your costume must have colors, bright reds and eye-catching blues. Camouflage would make life too easy.

You can spin webs, but don’t let the city catch you doing it. That’s abandonment of personal property and littering.

You are a vigilante and vigilantism is illegal. Don’t be surprised if the cop you pushed out of harms way slaps the cuffs on your wrists.

You can’t break those cuffs. If you do, that’s illegal... and you’re the good guy. See where this is going?

If you jump into a burning building and save a woman, but leave her dog behind, the newspaper WILL call you a dog killer.

If you come across a black costume that regenerates itself, you absolutely, positively, MUST wear it, simply because its better for combat. See Rules 12 and 13.

However, if you wear it you will go from loveable nerd to arrogant jerk faster than a speeding bullet. Which brings us to the next rule.

You are not bullet proof. That’s some other guy. You do have spider-sense though so if bullets happen to fly your way move, think fast.

Remember what we were saying about bad guys? Yeah… every couple of years a really,really big one is going to come (we’ll call them supervillains). He or she could have anything, from oddly shaped explosives to big mechanical arms.Weird? Yes, but this is the life you have chosen.

The supervillain will probably be mentally unstable, psychotic, and prone to going off on long monologues about why you are the real bad guy. To top it all off, he will probably find out your secret identity and attempt to kill the ones you love. See Rule 6

Good news! You don’t have to wear glasses!

Bad news. You can’t go to a normal doctor. Why? If they decide to take your blood, they’ll notice that it isn’t entirely human…then the secret’s out.
To top it all off, as Spiderman, you don't have a steady job. Enjoy.