Booya! According to Popular Science, we have the top technological city in the country. I have always loved Minneapolis...
http://www.popsci.com/popsci/generaltech/article/0,20967,1027536,00.html
Monday, February 28, 2005
I was searching for Eldorado... I got Mexico City.
So the weekend is over now, and we can all look forward to the upcoming one. This past one was pretty good, even if it was fairly uneventful. First and foremost I actually got some sleep for once. That was definately something I really needed. Aliens of the Deep was fantastic. That area of science has always facinated me, and I had never seen a 3D movie before either. Great experience. Then on Sunday I finally figured out how to live my life (or at least the next four years) the Patch Adams way. Now that dude had it together. While it has been my goal/philosophy for the last several weeks to see eight fingers instead of four, I didn't know exactly how to make it work in my life. Well I busted out the ol' foresight, did some planning ahead, and now am ready. Disregard to responsibility, here I come! I am greatly looking forward to this week and the "adventuring" it will contain.
*Correction, it's not so much of a disregard of responsibility, but more of a disregard to all the crap that we think we have to do but don't really. Who really needs to live in the "real world" anyway. We all can just look beyond the four...
Let's hope this doesn't end up to be Mexico City.
*Correction, it's not so much of a disregard of responsibility, but more of a disregard to all the crap that we think we have to do but don't really. Who really needs to live in the "real world" anyway. We all can just look beyond the four...
Let's hope this doesn't end up to be Mexico City.
Friday, February 25, 2005
HERE COMES THE WEEKEND!!!!
So I when I woke up today I just somehow knew that it was going to be an absolutely friggin great day. I left for school early this morning because I hadn't done my homework yet so I was going to try to quick finish it in the commons before class. And whataya know? Before I sat down to do my work I ran into someone from that class and he said it was cancelled. SWEET!!!! DUDE!!!! SWEET!!!! And since that's my only class today, the weekend is here BEOTCH! If I had a fifth with me I would be SO downing it right now.
Anyway... Weekend should be fun. Gonna try to get a hold of Jason. Haven't seen him in about 3 years. That should be fun. Saturday is Aliens of the Deep at the IMAX - in 3D. That seems like the kind of thing that if you went and saw while blazed out of you mind you might just crap your pants. I say we do another Cheapo run in conjunction. It's not really too far out of the way.
Chicks that rock out to Weezer while riding in your car are awesome.
And I want to become a pizza delivery man.
Anyway... Weekend should be fun. Gonna try to get a hold of Jason. Haven't seen him in about 3 years. That should be fun. Saturday is Aliens of the Deep at the IMAX - in 3D. That seems like the kind of thing that if you went and saw while blazed out of you mind you might just crap your pants. I say we do another Cheapo run in conjunction. It's not really too far out of the way.
Chicks that rock out to Weezer while riding in your car are awesome.
And I want to become a pizza delivery man.
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Addendum
I was going to write this on the bottom of my previous post, but I wanted everybody to see it, and I though if I just added it on nobody would notice.
On the way home from classes today I couldn't stop thinking about the cuts that Bush was proposing. I wanted to know just how much it would cost everybody to keep every single one of those programs. I didn't have any hard facts so I had to make two assumptions: there are about 300 million people in America, and about half of them are taxpayers. So if all 150 million people paid the exact amount we could keep every single one of those government services for $58.67 per person.
Now I don't know what some of those programs are, or if they are any good, but in my short life I have personally known a lot of people who's lives have been made better because of at least one of them. I don't know where these politicians come up with the idea that we would rather sacrifice the overall good of society for a measly 50 bucks a year. It's nice that some people don't need any help, but there are a lot of people less fortunate than others, and it's about time as American we think about the public good. I thought one of our founding principles was a base quality of life. I seem to remember something somewhere saying that every American deserves life, liberty, and the chance to pursue happiness.
On the way home from classes today I couldn't stop thinking about the cuts that Bush was proposing. I wanted to know just how much it would cost everybody to keep every single one of those programs. I didn't have any hard facts so I had to make two assumptions: there are about 300 million people in America, and about half of them are taxpayers. So if all 150 million people paid the exact amount we could keep every single one of those government services for $58.67 per person.
Now I don't know what some of those programs are, or if they are any good, but in my short life I have personally known a lot of people who's lives have been made better because of at least one of them. I don't know where these politicians come up with the idea that we would rather sacrifice the overall good of society for a measly 50 bucks a year. It's nice that some people don't need any help, but there are a lot of people less fortunate than others, and it's about time as American we think about the public good. I thought one of our founding principles was a base quality of life. I seem to remember something somewhere saying that every American deserves life, liberty, and the chance to pursue happiness.
Now that's a new low
I don't have much new to say, so I'll revert to something that happened this weekend. On Sunday night as I was watching Star Trek Enterprise I thought I recognized one of the actors. Sure enough, after a closer examination it was confirmed. Carlton's father from Fresh Prince of Bel Air is now moonlighting as a Klingon in Star Trek. And you know what, he was the exact same type of character on both shows. That dude cannot act.
I was hoping that Carlton himself would be one of the minions, but I guess he's too short.
On another note, I found this list of the programs Bush wants to cut. I personally couldn't believe some of the ones he wants to terminate. Scroll through the list and I am sure you will see several that have effected either you personally or others you have known. All these cuts just so we can keep the richest 5% from paying higher taxes... It doesn't seem right to me.
I was hoping that Carlton himself would be one of the minions, but I guess he's too short.
On another note, I found this list of the programs Bush wants to cut. I personally couldn't believe some of the ones he wants to terminate. Scroll through the list and I am sure you will see several that have effected either you personally or others you have known. All these cuts just so we can keep the richest 5% from paying higher taxes... It doesn't seem right to me.
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Not my fault!
Hey folks, check this out! I guess after all these years of just thinking some people are lazy they've actually proven that it's not their fault. Well, kind of.
I guess Forrest Gump and I must share genes because until recently I had always been able to run forever.
I guess Forrest Gump and I must share genes because until recently I had always been able to run forever.
Monday, February 21, 2005
KABOOM!
I played my first complete Rise of Nations game today, and all I have to say is, "Damn!" My patriotic side told me to check out the Americans, and after I looked at them I decided they weren't too bad. Then once the game started I was only too pleased when I found my opponent to be none other than Vladimir Lenin and his legions of Red Russia. This was going to be the cold war all over again. Sweet.
The computer beat me off the start, but after the second age I caught up and never looked back. Russia seemed to expand a lot more than the Dutch did during my partial game yesterday, and their "Power of the Motherland" was really powerful. But I was researching a lot faster than them, and so I decided to just to pull my troops back until I REALLY had that edge over them. Fast forward 20 more minutes of tedious tech-tree-climbing and I was ready to go.
3...2...1... blastoff. Six pretty nukes headed off for the six different cities. That was one pretty sight. I waited until the blinding flashes subsided, then I took all my armies I had positioned for defense and advanced them. It was over pretty fast. What a great game.
Next time I'm going to pause it before targeting the cities so when I resume they all launch simultaneously. That will be SO cool.
The computer beat me off the start, but after the second age I caught up and never looked back. Russia seemed to expand a lot more than the Dutch did during my partial game yesterday, and their "Power of the Motherland" was really powerful. But I was researching a lot faster than them, and so I decided to just to pull my troops back until I REALLY had that edge over them. Fast forward 20 more minutes of tedious tech-tree-climbing and I was ready to go.
3...2...1... blastoff. Six pretty nukes headed off for the six different cities. That was one pretty sight. I waited until the blinding flashes subsided, then I took all my armies I had positioned for defense and advanced them. It was over pretty fast. What a great game.
Next time I'm going to pause it before targeting the cities so when I resume they all launch simultaneously. That will be SO cool.
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Oops, my bad...
I messed around with Rise of Nations a little bit today, and the more I played it the more I began to enjoy it. It's a great game. I mean, they took all the great aspects of Civ III, and put them in a fast paced AoE style game. It's just wonderful. About half way through the game the map started to get pretty heavily populated and I started to notice my machine wasn't working very well. Since I was having trouble last night too I decided to close out and finally get to the bottom of the problem. Well, I checked my hard drive and I only had about 4 gigs left... So fine, you guys were right. It was my machine. My bad...
Friday, February 18, 2005
This one's for you.
For all of you out there doing the daily grind (I think maybe 3 of my readers...) this one's for you. Happy Friday.
And apparently, according to the third comment, miniture horses are the way to go...
And apparently, according to the third comment, miniture horses are the way to go...
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Hold this thread as I walk a-way...
George Lucas, I f***ing hate you. How can you string me along for 90 hours, and then make getting the girl impossible?
Ok, so here's how it went... When I started KOTOR I chose to be a scout. I knew there was going to be a lot of close combat, so I didn't want to be a scoundrel. But I also wanted some of specialty skills that the soldier class didn't have. A scout was right in the middle, so bingo, I picked it. And in the beginning I put a lot of points into persuade because I knew how valuable it would be. But of course that took a TON of experience points bacause it is a scoundrel class skill, so the second I got force persuade I abandoned it.
Everything was going well. I was completing all the quests easily and doing well with my crew side quests. We saved Carth's son, helped missions brother, liberated the wookies, and Bastila had confessed her love, but said we had to abandon it until the mission was over. And I'm cool with that; all will come in good time. Well all of a sudden she's yanked out from under me, and when I try to rescue her I find she has been turned. I stay true to the light side knowing that George will give me a chance to turn her back and not only save the galaxy, but get the girl too. And when that chance comes, what do I find? I have to persuade her to come back, and I don't have enough points to do it. SHIT! I load, try again, nope. Go on the internet, find the strategy, implement. Failure... DAMMIT!!! And here's where I get kicked right square in the nuts without ever seeing it come. Since I wasn't having much trouble I saved over my previous saves so I wouldn't use much disk space. So I can't just go back a couple of levels, put the points into persuasion, and do it again. I have to play the entire f#*!ing game again to get the outcome I wanted!
So I kick Malak's ass. I make him my be-otch. Spank him like a little... Smoke him like a $2 cigar... It doesn't matter. Who cares that you save the galaxy if you still go home alone afterwards?
And had you asked me 24 hours ago if I was getting KOTOR II, I would have said a very enthusiastic "YES!" Not anymore buddy. Oh sure, I might play it in a couple months once the bitterness wears off from this first one, but there is no way in hell I'm buying it. F*** you George, I'm not giving you any more of my money. Free version, here I come.
Oh, and 10 points to the first person who can tell me what the title is from.
Ok, so here's how it went... When I started KOTOR I chose to be a scout. I knew there was going to be a lot of close combat, so I didn't want to be a scoundrel. But I also wanted some of specialty skills that the soldier class didn't have. A scout was right in the middle, so bingo, I picked it. And in the beginning I put a lot of points into persuade because I knew how valuable it would be. But of course that took a TON of experience points bacause it is a scoundrel class skill, so the second I got force persuade I abandoned it.
Everything was going well. I was completing all the quests easily and doing well with my crew side quests. We saved Carth's son, helped missions brother, liberated the wookies, and Bastila had confessed her love, but said we had to abandon it until the mission was over. And I'm cool with that; all will come in good time. Well all of a sudden she's yanked out from under me, and when I try to rescue her I find she has been turned. I stay true to the light side knowing that George will give me a chance to turn her back and not only save the galaxy, but get the girl too. And when that chance comes, what do I find? I have to persuade her to come back, and I don't have enough points to do it. SHIT! I load, try again, nope. Go on the internet, find the strategy, implement. Failure... DAMMIT!!! And here's where I get kicked right square in the nuts without ever seeing it come. Since I wasn't having much trouble I saved over my previous saves so I wouldn't use much disk space. So I can't just go back a couple of levels, put the points into persuasion, and do it again. I have to play the entire f#*!ing game again to get the outcome I wanted!
So I kick Malak's ass. I make him my be-otch. Spank him like a little... Smoke him like a $2 cigar... It doesn't matter. Who cares that you save the galaxy if you still go home alone afterwards?
And had you asked me 24 hours ago if I was getting KOTOR II, I would have said a very enthusiastic "YES!" Not anymore buddy. Oh sure, I might play it in a couple months once the bitterness wears off from this first one, but there is no way in hell I'm buying it. F*** you George, I'm not giving you any more of my money. Free version, here I come.
Oh, and 10 points to the first person who can tell me what the title is from.
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
You have much to learn, my young padawan...
Alas, I am new at this, and so it appears I have much to learn. It would seem that either nobody except tj reads this, or that people don't want to comment after reading a long entry... Since I would prefer that it weren't the former, I must conclude that half-way through reading the longer entries people must say just screw it and go to another site. I will try to be more concise.
On another note, I have almost finally beaten knights of the old republic. Malak, I am gonna whoop yo' ass. Spank you like a little....
Do not fear homework, I am finally coming. Soon, very soon.
On another note, I have almost finally beaten knights of the old republic. Malak, I am gonna whoop yo' ass. Spank you like a little....
Do not fear homework, I am finally coming. Soon, very soon.
Monday, February 14, 2005
Hitz, Babes, and the DoJ
Well, I was going to write about this weekend, but I see that it was already covered by my associates. So I guess I won't bore you with the details.
I looked into Hitz though, and found that I could get it on Xbox. My hopes of getting a Hitz 2005 game were dashed however. The last release of that series was NHL Hitz Pro in September of 03. Pro is also supposed to be good, but it contains several twists. While 2003 only has two penalties, fighting and hitting the goalie, Pro has all the laws of the NHL. There are also 5 players per team instead of 3, and when combined with a revamped AI, defense really becomes an issue.
While I was browsing the different console gaming sites I was absolutely bombarded by ads for Champions: Return to Arms. I would like to congratulate their marketing people for the excellent ads. They all featured side shots of this gorgeous babe that would slowly pan from her main ass-ets up her nicely toned body to her other area of interest. As you can see, I couldn't help but check it out after that. Well done folks. And Ms. Beautiful... call me.
If you have a spare moment this evening check out the History Channel's special on Valentine's Day. It looks quite interesting.
The Political Front:
The Department of Justice's first ever released guideline for the treatment of sexual assault victims has recently come to the forefront of many political conversations. This document was released to law enforcement agencies and healthcare providers with the purpose of giving an exact step by step outline for collection of evidence and a standard for the healthcare of these unfortunate victims. The problem is that it completely omits any suggestion for the potential use of emergency contraception. While it doesn't outright discourage its use, the complete omission speaks loud enough. This concerns many activists as it comes on the eve of the Food and Drug Administration's scheduled reconsideration whether to make it easier to get emergency contraception. A year ago, the FDA rejected non-prescription sales of Plan B, an emergency contraceptive. The ruling delighted conservative groups who had lobbied the Bush administration, but went against the FDA's own staff, advisory panels and major medical societies. You can find the news article which I quoted from here.
Cokie Roberts also analyzes the 2006 budget (minus the cost of the war, social security privatization, Medicare reforms, etc, etc) for us on NPR's Morning edition and we also can hear a breakdown of our 81 billion tax dollars at work overseas.
On a final note, for those intellectually inclined readers, you are less likely to commit suicide according to this study. So much for the insanity of genius.
I looked into Hitz though, and found that I could get it on Xbox. My hopes of getting a Hitz 2005 game were dashed however. The last release of that series was NHL Hitz Pro in September of 03. Pro is also supposed to be good, but it contains several twists. While 2003 only has two penalties, fighting and hitting the goalie, Pro has all the laws of the NHL. There are also 5 players per team instead of 3, and when combined with a revamped AI, defense really becomes an issue.
While I was browsing the different console gaming sites I was absolutely bombarded by ads for Champions: Return to Arms. I would like to congratulate their marketing people for the excellent ads. They all featured side shots of this gorgeous babe that would slowly pan from her main ass-ets up her nicely toned body to her other area of interest. As you can see, I couldn't help but check it out after that. Well done folks. And Ms. Beautiful... call me.
If you have a spare moment this evening check out the History Channel's special on Valentine's Day. It looks quite interesting.
The Political Front:
The Department of Justice's first ever released guideline for the treatment of sexual assault victims has recently come to the forefront of many political conversations. This document was released to law enforcement agencies and healthcare providers with the purpose of giving an exact step by step outline for collection of evidence and a standard for the healthcare of these unfortunate victims. The problem is that it completely omits any suggestion for the potential use of emergency contraception. While it doesn't outright discourage its use, the complete omission speaks loud enough. This concerns many activists as it comes on the eve of the Food and Drug Administration's scheduled reconsideration whether to make it easier to get emergency contraception. A year ago, the FDA rejected non-prescription sales of Plan B, an emergency contraceptive. The ruling delighted conservative groups who had lobbied the Bush administration, but went against the FDA's own staff, advisory panels and major medical societies. You can find the news article which I quoted from here.
Cokie Roberts also analyzes the 2006 budget (minus the cost of the war, social security privatization, Medicare reforms, etc, etc) for us on NPR's Morning edition and we also can hear a breakdown of our 81 billion tax dollars at work overseas.
On a final note, for those intellectually inclined readers, you are less likely to commit suicide according to this study. So much for the insanity of genius.
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Happy New Year
Happy Chinese New Year everybody!
Here is a great example why everybody should lock their doors... I'm not 100% convinced it was actually an accident.
And this is definately the "wow" of the week.
Hmph... Bush's budget proposal. I'm not sure cuts to some of these public health programs listed is a good idea, but I guess we have to fund the war machine somehow.
Here is a great example why everybody should lock their doors... I'm not 100% convinced it was actually an accident.
And this is definately the "wow" of the week.
Hmph... Bush's budget proposal. I'm not sure cuts to some of these public health programs listed is a good idea, but I guess we have to fund the war machine somehow.
George Lucas, I almost forgive you.
Well the weekend has come and gone and it was a blur. One long blur of constant KOTOR that is. Well, except for Saturday night.
Saturday. The relatives were in town from Denver so we did a little late lunch/early dinner kind of thing at "The Three Crows" in lovely downtown Delano. You from the area might remember the building as the former Common Grounds, which the lord apparently did not provide for... The new owners are old family friends and the food was tasty. I would recommend this place to anyone looking for a nice quite little place to enjoy lunch. Afterwards I picked up TJ and we took off for Cheapo and Best Buy. Uptown was even more hectic than usual for a Saturday night so it took a while to get anywhere, but I got some awesome CD's so it was worth it. Best Buy was not the best buy, so we left empty handed. Then we headed to Josh's for pizza and a movie.
Now last week I found this, and I decided that we should do it. So around Wednesday I made the necessary arrangements to make sure we had a kitchen 'reserved' and a TV afterwards to watch a movie... Josh said he could host. So knowing full well how that can go sometimes TJ and I called Josh while on the way to Cheapo to make sure we were still on. We were assured that it was all good. We called twice again and every time the message was the same. Sounds great, but you'll need to stop at a store to get some stuff. Cool, we can do that. So after Best Buy we headed to the store and once there gave Josh a final call to get the exact list of what we needed. Well, it turns out they had eaten about two hours ago and so they were no longer interested. It's a good thing that TJ was on the phone because had it been me I would have said some regrettable things. I was really f***ing pissed and so we decided to just get a cheap gut-bomb at Taco Bell. It was cheap, and it was a bomb. We still went to Josh's to watch Underworld though, and with their stellar surround sound and TV I had almost decided to forgive him. Then he started ranting on (like I'm doing now) about how pathetic it was that they just put Kate Beckinsale in there for eye candy and that the movie was mediocre at best. Whatever... I guess I'll have to go see Underworld: Evolution by myself.
I didn't watch the Super Bowl. It was a conscious choice. Besides, 16 hours of KOTOR was much more enjoyable. I wish I had a light saber...
Pizza, next weekend, TJ's house. Who wants to come? We could maybe rent Mario Tennis from Coburn’s. I could bring my Xbox. We have options.
Saturday. The relatives were in town from Denver so we did a little late lunch/early dinner kind of thing at "The Three Crows" in lovely downtown Delano. You from the area might remember the building as the former Common Grounds, which the lord apparently did not provide for... The new owners are old family friends and the food was tasty. I would recommend this place to anyone looking for a nice quite little place to enjoy lunch. Afterwards I picked up TJ and we took off for Cheapo and Best Buy. Uptown was even more hectic than usual for a Saturday night so it took a while to get anywhere, but I got some awesome CD's so it was worth it. Best Buy was not the best buy, so we left empty handed. Then we headed to Josh's for pizza and a movie.
Now last week I found this, and I decided that we should do it. So around Wednesday I made the necessary arrangements to make sure we had a kitchen 'reserved' and a TV afterwards to watch a movie... Josh said he could host. So knowing full well how that can go sometimes TJ and I called Josh while on the way to Cheapo to make sure we were still on. We were assured that it was all good. We called twice again and every time the message was the same. Sounds great, but you'll need to stop at a store to get some stuff. Cool, we can do that. So after Best Buy we headed to the store and once there gave Josh a final call to get the exact list of what we needed. Well, it turns out they had eaten about two hours ago and so they were no longer interested. It's a good thing that TJ was on the phone because had it been me I would have said some regrettable things. I was really f***ing pissed and so we decided to just get a cheap gut-bomb at Taco Bell. It was cheap, and it was a bomb. We still went to Josh's to watch Underworld though, and with their stellar surround sound and TV I had almost decided to forgive him. Then he started ranting on (like I'm doing now) about how pathetic it was that they just put Kate Beckinsale in there for eye candy and that the movie was mediocre at best. Whatever... I guess I'll have to go see Underworld: Evolution by myself.
I didn't watch the Super Bowl. It was a conscious choice. Besides, 16 hours of KOTOR was much more enjoyable. I wish I had a light saber...
Pizza, next weekend, TJ's house. Who wants to come? We could maybe rent Mario Tennis from Coburn’s. I could bring my Xbox. We have options.
Friday, February 04, 2005
There is a God, and he drives a white truck.
Friday is my favorite day. Not only is it Friday, and thus the end of the week, but also the only day of the week where I'm done with classes by 10:00. So after English every Friday I have but one thought in my head: get home, and get back to sleep. But today I remembered there was an important package coming for me that I would have to sign for. And I absolutely knew that the moment I laid down to sleep the truck would come and I wouldn't wake up. So I ended up spending the next agonizing 6 hours trying as hard as I could to keep my eyes open. Finally around 4 pm the choruses of heaven sprang forth heralding the arrival of the ubiquitous white FedEx truck. I was elated. I had purchased a new monitor from newegg and now here it was! And more importantly, I could finally go to sleep. And the funny/odd part about it all? The deliveryman looked like Jesus. Serious. The man had long brown hair, a slim face, and a neatly trimmed beard.
The plan for tomorrow: Go to Best Buy and then continue on to a thrift shop or two and possibly even Cheapo. Then off to Josh's house to make pizza and watch Underworld or maybe The Salton Sea if I can find it. Should be fun.
The plan for tomorrow: Go to Best Buy and then continue on to a thrift shop or two and possibly even Cheapo. Then off to Josh's house to make pizza and watch Underworld or maybe The Salton Sea if I can find it. Should be fun.
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Hello World!
Post one... This is quite an opportunity here folks. I'm not quite sure what to write. With this post I will give my blog a direction, but what if it doesn't end up being what I want? It is kind of like looking out the window at a new fallen snow. It's so beautiful you wish you were a child again so you could don your boots and snow pants and run outside to absorb it all. Just by longingly gazing outside you can almost smell the air's wonderful crisp fragrance, feel the cold tingle on your face, and cringe from the wet butt accompanied by making a snow angel and laying in it just a little while too long. But if you were to do that it wouldn't be the same. It would be like building a nice little cabin in that beautiful mountain landscape of the New England autumn that is beautiful simply because there are no signs of humanity. By appreciating it you would destroy the ideal. And even now I have a wonderful image of this blog's future in my mind, but in order to bring this dream to fruition I will have to tarnish this fantasy by trying to make it a reality. Subsequently this will never be the work of art I envision, but rather one shortfall followed by another. Even so, I will go on, and I hope you may find this journal entertaining, and at times, maybe even informative.
Estimated life span: 4 months.
Estimated life span: 4 months.
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