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Hippo, Birdy, Two Ewes. - 4 July 2007
Jul. 5th, 2007 03:24 amSo, yeah., spent my birthday in Chicago, watching my little brother march in the Lions International Parade. I think that’s the first one that I’ve actually watched, and so it was fun to see it from the other side of the coin. Plus, it’s hard to miss little brother in the band, as he tends to stand up and play up, so he can be pretty easy to spot. I have just recently returned, to a host of good wishes. Which is nice to see. On Friday, I will be attending Video Games Live! At the Max M. Fisher Theater in Detroit, so if anyone’s in the area and would like to say hello, or is going to the concert and would like to meet there, let me know. We’ll have a ball, and there will be things to do there before the concert, according to the website.
You may, at your leisure, imagine the part here where I get moody about having a birthday on a major holiday, and thus being relatively assured that people will not be around to help you celebrate it, and even worse, places to celebrate it in are few and far between when it comes to business. Ah, well. Will simply have to get in the habit of either early or late celebration, so that people are actually here to do so. And I feel like I’m going to have to have a big bash when I get employed, so that I can hold the “Out of College/Got A Job, Finally” party before moving away.
Being gone for a day or two increases the link load, but you’ll find it an acceptable burden, no doubt. I will do my best to categorize for you so that you may skip paragraphs that you do not want or have no interest in.
On that note, considering it was the American Independence Day, and that we are supposed to honor the spirit behind that which caused several men to risk their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor, we start with an account of the first Victoria Cross awarded since World War II for a soldier who carried his injured comrade seventy meters to safety will bullets zipping all around him.
Regarding the current Iraq situation, liberals are apparently actively working to sabotage military victories by taking away the will to fight, according to a book recently published by a Retired Air Force Colonel. I do not particularly like the accusation that those with differing opinions are “aiding and abetting” the enemy or evoking language of treason and using it to describe the opposition.
While liberal-bashing continues to be popular, things like an Iran-Venezuela alliance working to reduce the influence and power of a government they find imperialistic, would seem to be more important, I would think. Or that while Mr. Bush is unhesitant in ensuring I. Lewis Libby serves no jail time, which is one more piece of proof to the Kung-Fu Monkey that the Cheney Administration's shamelessness is an exploit in the American system, Mr. Bush is rather indifferent to those spending many years in jail on small drug charges. After all, if 2.5 years is too much for a man convicted of perjury, his sentences for those on lesser charges must be smaller, right?
That does not appear to be the case, however, with many still ignorant of HIV and the means which it can be spread or risk of catching reduced, probably thanks to obstruction in teaching actual sexual education in schools worldwide. Beyond that, Alan Sears continues to insist that JHVH must be recognized as an integral part of the nation's history, because so many people related to it invoked him or followed him. Actually, the commentary regards an academic who mailed the entire text of George Washington’s Thanksgiving speech, unedited, uncommentated, and was met with hostility because his colleagues saw a possible proselytization intent, even without any sermonizing attached. Mr. Sears insinuates that those colleagues intend to write JHVH out of history or our government entirely, and this is somehow wrong. Additionally, a gentleman denied the bar in Massachusettes because he did not answer a question regarding the state's permission of civil unions between homosexuals has sued that his constitutional rights were denied. In his words, he was being forced to “affirmatively accept, support and promote homosexual marriage and homosexual parenting” because of the question. Well, he could say that he would challenge the law on certain grounds, and give his reasoning, and so long as it was solidly based in good law and precedent, he probably would have received points for it and passed the bar. I doubt, somehow, that there is an expectation that a lawyer must agree with all of the laws and precedents to be permitted to practice. Understanding of them and the ability to argue them effectively would be sufficient to practice law, I would think. That question might be there because the lawyer may very well be asked to take on quite a few cases that involve that precedent or statute, for whichever side of the argument he comes down on.
Mr. Putin gave the Bush Administration another alternative plan to building the East-European missile shield, offering to let the U.S. build a radar in southern Russia. Mr. Bush rebuffed the plan, insisting on missiles in Poland and radar in the Czech Republic. I do not think Mr. Bush trusts that Mr. Putin will permit continued access to radar in Russia if push should come to shove in the region.
Caught on the no-fly list because of your name? Change it, advises airlines. Because, you know, it would be too much effort to actually distinguish between people, even when a potential blacklisting for life is at stake.
To help curb the losing of identity cards, a public school in the UK is going to use fingerprint biometrics as identitiy confirmation. They assure parents that the record cannot be used for police evidence and doesn’t infringe on liberties. Many of those who were interviewed noted a significant lack of information or consultation of the populace around to see if they supported or at least accepted the idea. I can see the uses of such a program, but it would have been nice to at least give a heads-up to the parents around, and to let them at least voice objections.
As what very well may be the capstone to this entire political and/or religious section, the guiding principle of modern marketing - don’t sell the product at all, sell the attributes that you want people to associate with the product. Which applies pretty well to politics and religion in varying degrees at various times.
Going elsewhere, then, the existence of the Someone Else’s Problem field is woefully confirmed again as several shoppers step over a dying woman, take pictures with their phones, but fail to provide any aid to her.
There is some good news in all of this - a kidnapped reporter has been released after 114 days of captivity.
The fun part for tonight, after all that heavy stuff, are that the British Isles are going to get bath ducks on their shores soon, from a package of ducks that have been traveling the world for the last fifteen years or so, providing useful data to those tracking ocean movements, and being cute at the same time.
For those running some form of a Microsoft operating system, or those who have in the past, PC World will let you smile at the attempts to provide good and useful features that failed (and continue to fail) spectacularly with the 20 worst Windows features of all time.
In relation to imbibing beers and other alcohols, the state of Tennessee now requires I.D., regardles of how old you look, to buy beer, which is a fairly sensible policy, even if it’s obvious that the person buying is well over the drinking age. Something of more cheer to those who do drink in the United States is that absinthe will be legal in the country again, after a century's absence. So no longer will one have to sneak past customs to partake of the little green fairy.
I’d like to get my hands on the actual study that the following link describes. Lots of middle school-aged boys and many girls play violent video games, the article claims. The study, however, seems to think that any M-rated game is a violent one. While that’s probably not wholly inaccurate, I do wish they’d tighten the language on that. There are probably several games that would qualify as “violent” that are not M-rated, and probably a few M-rated games that aren’t violent. This study does prove my point, though, that caps on M-rated games are not necessarily effective methods of keeping “underage” kids from playing them, as several other channels still exist. Mind you, they’re still looking for the solution that keeps the games out of homes or the hands of the young children, which I think is a lost cause. Especially since a lot of these kids are playing those games to manage emotions that might otherwise be managed on other people. Better thing to look at, in my opinion, would be investigating why they’re managing emotions on the games, and to see if those situations can be resolved, or at the very least, confirming that these kids are actually intelligent and can tell the difference between fantasy and reality, which I would say almost all can. While some people may consider them “murder simulators”, we note that when kids start shooting up their school and the like, there are some pretty significant issues at stake that boiled over. The video games may very well have been keeping them in check for some part. Thus, I’d like to see exactly what they’re aiming and concluding out of this study, to see whether they’re actually trying to do good, or they’re just parroting what’s already been said and not providing much for progress.
Last for tonight, though, is science possibly catching up to Shakespeare - "If these shadows have offended, think but this, and all is mended - that you did but slumber here, while these shadows did appear.". Possibly, a drug is in development that would disrupt the memory pathways of the brain and prevent someone from remembering something traumatic. Which could mean forgetting about that abusive ex... or being forced to forget about certain things that would be inconvenient for the ruling class. Technology flings us into the future, often with catapaults that have imprecise aiming mechanisms. It’s our job to make sure that we correct ourselves in flight to land where we want to.
Anyway, bedtime now. Sleep is a good thing, now that we’re safely beyond anyone possibly setting off fireworks, even after arriving home from a beer and explosives party.
You may, at your leisure, imagine the part here where I get moody about having a birthday on a major holiday, and thus being relatively assured that people will not be around to help you celebrate it, and even worse, places to celebrate it in are few and far between when it comes to business. Ah, well. Will simply have to get in the habit of either early or late celebration, so that people are actually here to do so. And I feel like I’m going to have to have a big bash when I get employed, so that I can hold the “Out of College/Got A Job, Finally” party before moving away.
Being gone for a day or two increases the link load, but you’ll find it an acceptable burden, no doubt. I will do my best to categorize for you so that you may skip paragraphs that you do not want or have no interest in.
On that note, considering it was the American Independence Day, and that we are supposed to honor the spirit behind that which caused several men to risk their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor, we start with an account of the first Victoria Cross awarded since World War II for a soldier who carried his injured comrade seventy meters to safety will bullets zipping all around him.
Regarding the current Iraq situation, liberals are apparently actively working to sabotage military victories by taking away the will to fight, according to a book recently published by a Retired Air Force Colonel. I do not particularly like the accusation that those with differing opinions are “aiding and abetting” the enemy or evoking language of treason and using it to describe the opposition.
While liberal-bashing continues to be popular, things like an Iran-Venezuela alliance working to reduce the influence and power of a government they find imperialistic, would seem to be more important, I would think. Or that while Mr. Bush is unhesitant in ensuring I. Lewis Libby serves no jail time, which is one more piece of proof to the Kung-Fu Monkey that the Cheney Administration's shamelessness is an exploit in the American system, Mr. Bush is rather indifferent to those spending many years in jail on small drug charges. After all, if 2.5 years is too much for a man convicted of perjury, his sentences for those on lesser charges must be smaller, right?
That does not appear to be the case, however, with many still ignorant of HIV and the means which it can be spread or risk of catching reduced, probably thanks to obstruction in teaching actual sexual education in schools worldwide. Beyond that, Alan Sears continues to insist that JHVH must be recognized as an integral part of the nation's history, because so many people related to it invoked him or followed him. Actually, the commentary regards an academic who mailed the entire text of George Washington’s Thanksgiving speech, unedited, uncommentated, and was met with hostility because his colleagues saw a possible proselytization intent, even without any sermonizing attached. Mr. Sears insinuates that those colleagues intend to write JHVH out of history or our government entirely, and this is somehow wrong. Additionally, a gentleman denied the bar in Massachusettes because he did not answer a question regarding the state's permission of civil unions between homosexuals has sued that his constitutional rights were denied. In his words, he was being forced to “affirmatively accept, support and promote homosexual marriage and homosexual parenting” because of the question. Well, he could say that he would challenge the law on certain grounds, and give his reasoning, and so long as it was solidly based in good law and precedent, he probably would have received points for it and passed the bar. I doubt, somehow, that there is an expectation that a lawyer must agree with all of the laws and precedents to be permitted to practice. Understanding of them and the ability to argue them effectively would be sufficient to practice law, I would think. That question might be there because the lawyer may very well be asked to take on quite a few cases that involve that precedent or statute, for whichever side of the argument he comes down on.
Mr. Putin gave the Bush Administration another alternative plan to building the East-European missile shield, offering to let the U.S. build a radar in southern Russia. Mr. Bush rebuffed the plan, insisting on missiles in Poland and radar in the Czech Republic. I do not think Mr. Bush trusts that Mr. Putin will permit continued access to radar in Russia if push should come to shove in the region.
Caught on the no-fly list because of your name? Change it, advises airlines. Because, you know, it would be too much effort to actually distinguish between people, even when a potential blacklisting for life is at stake.
To help curb the losing of identity cards, a public school in the UK is going to use fingerprint biometrics as identitiy confirmation. They assure parents that the record cannot be used for police evidence and doesn’t infringe on liberties. Many of those who were interviewed noted a significant lack of information or consultation of the populace around to see if they supported or at least accepted the idea. I can see the uses of such a program, but it would have been nice to at least give a heads-up to the parents around, and to let them at least voice objections.
As what very well may be the capstone to this entire political and/or religious section, the guiding principle of modern marketing - don’t sell the product at all, sell the attributes that you want people to associate with the product. Which applies pretty well to politics and religion in varying degrees at various times.
Going elsewhere, then, the existence of the Someone Else’s Problem field is woefully confirmed again as several shoppers step over a dying woman, take pictures with their phones, but fail to provide any aid to her.
There is some good news in all of this - a kidnapped reporter has been released after 114 days of captivity.
The fun part for tonight, after all that heavy stuff, are that the British Isles are going to get bath ducks on their shores soon, from a package of ducks that have been traveling the world for the last fifteen years or so, providing useful data to those tracking ocean movements, and being cute at the same time.
For those running some form of a Microsoft operating system, or those who have in the past, PC World will let you smile at the attempts to provide good and useful features that failed (and continue to fail) spectacularly with the 20 worst Windows features of all time.
In relation to imbibing beers and other alcohols, the state of Tennessee now requires I.D., regardles of how old you look, to buy beer, which is a fairly sensible policy, even if it’s obvious that the person buying is well over the drinking age. Something of more cheer to those who do drink in the United States is that absinthe will be legal in the country again, after a century's absence. So no longer will one have to sneak past customs to partake of the little green fairy.
I’d like to get my hands on the actual study that the following link describes. Lots of middle school-aged boys and many girls play violent video games, the article claims. The study, however, seems to think that any M-rated game is a violent one. While that’s probably not wholly inaccurate, I do wish they’d tighten the language on that. There are probably several games that would qualify as “violent” that are not M-rated, and probably a few M-rated games that aren’t violent. This study does prove my point, though, that caps on M-rated games are not necessarily effective methods of keeping “underage” kids from playing them, as several other channels still exist. Mind you, they’re still looking for the solution that keeps the games out of homes or the hands of the young children, which I think is a lost cause. Especially since a lot of these kids are playing those games to manage emotions that might otherwise be managed on other people. Better thing to look at, in my opinion, would be investigating why they’re managing emotions on the games, and to see if those situations can be resolved, or at the very least, confirming that these kids are actually intelligent and can tell the difference between fantasy and reality, which I would say almost all can. While some people may consider them “murder simulators”, we note that when kids start shooting up their school and the like, there are some pretty significant issues at stake that boiled over. The video games may very well have been keeping them in check for some part. Thus, I’d like to see exactly what they’re aiming and concluding out of this study, to see whether they’re actually trying to do good, or they’re just parroting what’s already been said and not providing much for progress.
Last for tonight, though, is science possibly catching up to Shakespeare - "If these shadows have offended, think but this, and all is mended - that you did but slumber here, while these shadows did appear.". Possibly, a drug is in development that would disrupt the memory pathways of the brain and prevent someone from remembering something traumatic. Which could mean forgetting about that abusive ex... or being forced to forget about certain things that would be inconvenient for the ruling class. Technology flings us into the future, often with catapaults that have imprecise aiming mechanisms. It’s our job to make sure that we correct ourselves in flight to land where we want to.
Anyway, bedtime now. Sleep is a good thing, now that we’re safely beyond anyone possibly setting off fireworks, even after arriving home from a beer and explosives party.
