[Insert Catchy Title Here]

10 years later

2011-09-11T10:34:00.000-04:00

Ten years ago, my world was turned upside down.

September 11, 2001 was the Pearl Harbor for my generation. A generation that had grown up never knowing a real war. Oh sure, we'd seen pictures of Desert Storm, but that was just a minor thing, and far away. The Cold War was something that old people still cared about. I was six years old when the Berlin Wall came down. These things didn't affect us, unless you knew someone who was personally involved. To us, wars were things that were talked about in history books, or played out on movie screens, or experienced through video games.

On that fateful September morning, however, we found ourselves faced with the same situation that had faced Americans almost sixty years before, a horrific attack on our homeland. None of us were prepared for such a thing. How could we be?

In the days that followed, I had high hopes for our country. For the entire decade before, all I'd seen in American politics was just a steady trend towards ever more bitter partisan bickering. The two parties playing dueling filibusters, the government shutting down, the Republicans impeaching Clinton because he got frisky with an intern, and the Democrats showing every sign that they would do the same thing if they got power. All the while, the tone kept getting steadily worse. The idea of a respectful compromise became anathema, as faith and politics became intertwined. The party that wanted to keep the Government out of business wanted to regulate what a woman could do with their body, or whether two people who happened to have the same gender could have the same rights as a man and a woman. The party that wanted to expand freedoms and safety nets for the poor and the elderly fought to protect people who broke the law every day, simply by being here. And neither side would back down.

In the days after September 11th, I found myself hopeful that this horrible attack would serve as a wake-up call to politicians, and the people in general, that we shouldn't be fighting amongst ourselves like this. That, even in some of our darkest days, when there were deep divisions between the parties, people could still remain civil to one another. I had high hopes.

Those hopes were crushed, slowly and systematically, as the recriminations began within weeks, and people began to use 9/11 as a club to beat down all opposition. It died when Rudy Giuliani ran for president on a campaign based on how many times he could say 9/11 in a given sentence. And its grave was plowed over when the Democrats managed to get majorities in both houses of Congress, and proved that they were no better than the Republicans. And now things are so bad that I find myself nostalgic for the relative civility of the impeachment debacle and the government shutdown of the 1990s.

I had hope. Now I have the sickening realization that it will take something radical to break the cycle of partisan bickering that has put a stranglehold on our country. I no longer believe this is a problem that can be solved the way our current system works, where it is an all or nothing, and compromise is the equivalent of toxic waste.

I am forced to one simple, horrible conclusion. Without radical changes, our country is doomed to a slow death. What form must those changes take? There are many ways it could work, but, in my view, the best would be to rewrite Article I of the Constitution completely. Throw Congress out, literally, and change it to being a Parliamentary system, where third parties will have a chance to flourish, and everyone won't be stuck in the horrible zero sum game that has crippled us for the last twenty years. Every other major democracy in the world has this system, and it works well for them. There may be ideological differences in England, or Israel, or even Russia, but you don't see the government threatening to come to a halt every few weeks like you do here.

Without major changes, I think we will all be hoping the world ends in 2012.

Symptoms and Causes

2011-06-06T08:02:00.000-04:00

Georgia is the most recent state to pass legislation aimed at fighting illegal immigration's effects within their borders. There's been a lot of crying and gnashing of teeth from civil rights groups and people who simply like the cheap labor that illegals provide, but their arguments all ignore the underlying fact that the people who came here illegally are, by law, criminals. You can spout "no one is illegal" or whatever catchy slogan you like, but the fact is that there are legal means of coming into this country, and if you enter another way, you're an illegal alien.

That being said, I must say that while I support the basic ideas behind the recent laws, I don't think this is the right way to go about solving the problem. The reason why is simple. Illegal immigration is a symptom. You don't solve anything by treating symptoms. The only way to solve the problem is to find a cure for the cause.

In this case, the cause is not people who come across the border illegally looking for work. The cause is EMPLOYERS who break the law and provide opportunities for these illegals. The argument is always that no Americans will do the kind of work the illegals do. The truth is they won't do those jobs at the cut rate pay and conditions that employers can get by with when dealing with illegals. If everyone's on a level playing field, you'll find legal workers for those jobs.

So what would I do? First, I would expand legal guest worker programs. Nothing wrong with having migrant workers come in and do a temporary job such as picking fruit, and then moving on when the season's over. I'd even be agreeable to allowing immigrants to serve in the military, and be granted citizenship after a six year tour. (There's actually precedent for that, when the Irish were coming over.)

But the main thing I would do is crack down on the people who employ illegals, drastically stepping up enforcement and penalties to the employers. To start with, the penalty for employing illegals would be a fine of $1 Million, loss of your business license, and forfeiture of the property involved. And then your name, face, and biographical information would be put in a database of known employers of illegals that would be distributed to every police department and licensing bureau in the United States. The intent is nothing more or less than to ruin every employer of illegal immigrants in the United States.

If this sounds draconian and harsh, that is because it is, and is meant to be. The simple fact is that half-measures won't solve the problem. This isn't something you can take a couple aspirin for and call in the morning. For a problem this entrenched, you need major chemotherapy.

formspring.me

2011-05-30T09:07:00.001-04:00

Ask me anything http://formspring.me/Mirikon

Don't fall for this crap.

2011-05-27T14:37:00.000-04:00

In my continuing effort to educate people on how to spot spam when they see it, here's a little gem that hit my inbox today.

from beng@uni.edu
reply-to bengsengk@live.co.uk
to beng@uni.edu
date Thu, May 26, 2011 at 6:09 PM
subject Read and get back!!
mailed-by uni.edu

I am Mr. KOH Beng Seng Independent Non-executive Director Chairman of Bank of China Ltd, Hong Kong.

An Iraqi named Abrahem Hussein Raheem,a business man made a numbered fixed deposit of Sixty Five Million Five Hundred Thousand United State Dollars only in my branch.

He died during a bomb blast in Iraq,After further investigation it was also discovered that Abrahem Hussein Raheem did not declare any next of kin in his official papers including the paper work of his bank deposit. And he also confided in me the last time he was at my office that no one except me knew of his deposit in my bank. So, Sixty Five Million Five Hundred Thousand United State Dollars is still lying in my bank and no one will ever come forward to claim it. I am sorry to have used this media to contact with you as i have to use this email for personal security reasons as adviced by my lawyer, so kindly send your response to my personal email below.

I am ready to share 50/50 with you if interested in this deal, kindly note that i have contacted you with a paid domain for security reasons so i need you to copy this email: khobengseng@yahoo.com.hk of mine and send me your complete details if interested.

Your earliest reply will be appreciated as i state my email again for your perusal khobengseng@yahoo.com.hk

Yours Truly,
Mr. Koh Beng Seng,
Independent Non-Executive Director
Chairman of the Risk Committee, Hong Kong.
Email: khobengseng@yahoo.com.hk

Lots of warning signs here. First, note all the different email addresses. You have one that it came from, one that a reply goes to, and another one where they want you to send replies to! This is a classic sign that something is not on the up and up.

Second, do you really think some bank manager in Hong Kong looking over an account for a guy who died in Iraq is going to contact some random person through the internet to help them?

Third, the act he's talking about is illegal. What makes you think anyone discussing such things over the internet is legit?

Fourth, the guy being a bank manager is a nice touch. People think 'bank managers have money already, so they really wouldn't try to screw me'. Except look at the message again. He's trying to rip off several million dollars! Even if you take him at face value, what makes you think he won't rip you off too?

Finally, anyone who deposits $65,500,000 in an account, anywhere in the world, is not going to be able to do so without someone knowing about it. Governments on the lookout for organized crime outfits tend to keep watch on any large deposits. In many places, banks are required to report when someone deposits a sum greater than a certain amount.

In short, if you fell for this load of dung, you deserved to get taken. But to make you feel better, I've got this bridge I'd like to sell you in Brooklyn...

Reflections and closure

2011-05-05T16:43:00.000-04:00

Has it really been almost ten years?

Every so often, you have these quintessential events, burned into the psyche of a people so deeply that everyone not only remembers the event, but that event changes who we are. Pearl Harbor was one. JFK's assassination was another. For my generation, the generation of kids who were still in school on 9/11/2001, the events of that day have shaped our lives.

There are kids in high school today who were only in kindergarten when the planes hit the towers. The majority of their lives have been colored by this event. I was older, in high school at the time, and so I was old enough to appreciate the change that came over the country on that day.

Without trying to sound too poetic, that day is like a scar upon my soul. Even ten years later, I can never think on that day without tears welling up, as I remember the emotions of that day. The disbelief at what I was seeing, the growing realization turning to horror and fear, feeding a righteous anger. I may disagree with many of the things Bush did during his term, but I have always given him credit for his restraint in those first few days. Knowing how my emotions were running in those first few days, my reaction to seeing the tapes of bin Laden congratulating his men on how well the attack went would have been to turn all of Afghanistan into a nuclear wasteland, slagging down the entire Tora Bora mountains into rubble that would glow in the dark.

What my generation lost that day was more than towers or lives. We lost our innocence. As a generation, we were forced to realize that the world was a dark, terrible place, that would hurt you if it could. Oh sure, we knew about the lesser dangers close to home, the bullying, muggings, and crime we saw on the TV from day to day. But nothing like the unreasoning hatred that could cause someone to do something like this.

The attacks on the Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983 happened a month before I was born. It was something out of the history books for me. I was eleven when the federal building in Oklahoma City was bombed in 1995. I saw the reports, was fascinated by the sight of a building with a big hole in it, and then turned the channel to watch cartoons. The bombing of the Cole in 2000 I remember, but that was a small thing, very remote. It was 'over there'.

What happened on September 11, 2001 was not 'over there'. It was immediate, it was here. And as a generation, we were forced to deal with that horrible discovery that the world was not a nice place, that it would kill you if it could, and that death could come in an instant from the skies above.

Now that Osama bin Laden is dead, I find myself once again praising a president for his restraint. I would not have given bin Laden a respectful burial at sea. I would have had him shipped back to the US, tied him to the back of a Harley, and drug his corpse through the streets of New York, before planting his severed head on a pike on the White House lawn.

bin Laden's death will not erase the scars from a decade ago, but I find myself with a sense of closure. The monster responsible for all those deaths has been slain. It won't bring the people back, but no more will be killed because of him. I feel as though a weight that had been hanging from me for so long that I didn't even realize it was there had suddenly been lifted.

bin Laden is dead, but threats still remain. Still, the death of this one viper gives me hope that we can root out the rest of them. It has been a long time since I had that kind of hope.

The Limits of Power

2011-03-18T14:31:00.000-04:00

Much has been said in recent weeks about how the United States should have gone in sooner and imposed a no-fly zone over Libya, or send arms to the protesters, or other such interventions. For the most part, these people are reacting out of the emotion of the moment, without regards to consequence or precedent.

If we are a nation of laws, and expect other nations to abide by international law, then we cannot simply disregard international law, or its processes, without becoming a rogue state ourselves.

A moral stand is a good thing. However, people have committed horrible atrocities in the name of morality, when they are unchecked by respect for the law or other limiting institutions. Emotion is a powerful thing, but when you let it control your decisions as a nation, you become a bully, getting your way because you can beat up all the other kids on the block.

It is the fact that we knowingly and willingly limit our power and our ability to respond to situations by bowing to the strictures and conventions of international law that separates us from madmen and tyrants like Kadhafi.

If you could ask Barack Obama one question what would it be?

2011-02-14T17:08:00.001-05:00

Can I have a job?

Ask me anything

Uhhh I made 200 today with this site www.bit.ly/dGTka2?702885816 did you know about it?

2011-02-14T15:49:00.001-05:00

This, my friends, is what you call a scam. Anyone who falls for this deserves to be taken.

Ask me anything

On the Evils of Pelor

2011-01-24T10:00:00.001-05:00

I found this on the Wizards of the Coast forums, and thought I would share with you. The original post can be found here: http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19558798/Pelor,_the_Burning_Hate

On the evil of Pelor

Pelor is commonly thought to be the near embodiment of Neutral Good. As a sun god, he is thought to be the enemy of the undead and the author of life through his gifts. He is also a god of Strength, for he advocates that the weak must be protected by those capable.

However, recent revelations have given rise to a sect of thought (some label it an outright heresy) that Pelor may not be what he claims to be. A passage in the Book of Exalted Deeds states that Pelor refused to send his paladin a sunfly swarm to destroy a vampire that had murdered his family, while the paladin was out doing Pelor’s work. In the same section, a CG god named Kord visited a plague upon his worshipper who was defeated on the battlefield. Speculations abound as to why Pelor refused his faithful paladin and range from defending the god (Pelor couldn’t allow himself to stoop to the mortal’s level of hate) to accusing the god (Pelor wanted to see his paladin suffer). No concrete answer could be found, but for those who thought it was a poor choice on Pelor’s part, it led to a path of horrific discovery after discovery.

Further investigation revealed (in the Epic Level Handbook) that the Lord High Priest of Pelor denounced her deity and the faith. It also said that the secret texts of a prominent religion, recently discovered, call into question the church’s real goal, its actual origin and the agenda of its god.

From there we turn to the Player's Handbook.

Jozan, the archetypical cleric of the Burning Hate is shown using symbol of pain, a 5th level cleric spell with the evil descriptor (PH 291). The SRD and PHB have two things to say about this:

First, a cleric can’t cast spells of an alignment opposed to his own or his deity’s (if he has one). Spells associated with particular alignments are indicated by the chaos, evil, good, and law descriptors in their spell descriptions.

Second, a cleric’s alignment must be within one step of his deity’s (that is, it may be one step away on either the lawful-chaotic axis or the good-evil axis, but not both). A cleric may not be neutral unless his deity’s alignment is also neutral.

This means that Jozan can not be good-aligned, since he can casts evil spells. Nor Pelor can be , because he can grant evil aligned spells, that can only come from a non-good deity. So, Pelor can not be good-aligned.

Also, Jozan has been seen steping on the face of his allies to rise higher, rather than store his shield and mace (PH 68 ). That is not the act of a good-aligned being and shows quite a level of paranoia and mistrust against his allies.

Moving on from there to the Complete Scoundrel, we find the path of the malconvoker introduced. This path requires a non-evil alignment and deals in the summoning of demons. A quote from the iconic malconvoker: “Take him my slaves! Drag his soul back to your dark masters!” - Argyll Te’Shea, servant of Pelor and malconvoker. The summoning of demons has always been one of the most vile acts. Page 8 of the Book of Vile Darkness states that Consorting with Fiends is evil. The statement “Allowing a fiend to exist, let alone summoning one or helping one is clearly evil”. More minor sections deal with ‘casting evil spells’ and ‘damning or harming souls’, both of which are clearly present within the Pelor-sponsored malconvoker. One could very well suspect this path to be nothing more than a thinly disguised trap for the unwary and their souls.

Also introduced into the Complete Scoundrel is the grey guard, which some may note “hey, that’s just a slightly lighter version of the blackguard!” Indeed. Another step into the Lower Planes, this one is aimed at paladins rather than wizards and clerics. While I have not been able to tie the grey guard directly to Pelor as of yet, it seems that the taint caused by his masquerade is growing to touch even the sincere good aligned gods.

Looking at the relics that Pelor sponsors shows another side of this dark story. The dawnstar, if sundered or broken, deals massive damage to all other creatures (aside from the wielder) within a 30 foot radius. Clearly, this power was inserted with no thought given to the cost for the wielder’s allies. The original dawnstars were given to 4 solars who rescued one of Pelor’s paladins from Baator (Known as Perdition in some texts). A question arises then: what exactly was the paladin doing in Hell? If he had died and went to Hell, that suggests some oddity concerning his faith and alignment. If he ended in Hell due to his own dealings with the devils (which are endorsed by the Church of Pelor, don’t forget), then it seems that Pelor was flouting the Pact Primeval, an ancient law enacted before Pelor’s time. It seems that there are only a few possible answers. One, Pelor is truly of Hell, and his worshipper ended there because of his faith. Two, the paladin ended up in Hell of his own actions and Pelor gave no thought to the stability of the cosmos in order to bring him back. (Probably out of fear for what information torture would bring to the paladin’s tongue.) Three, Pelor sponsors LE paladins, known as paladins of tyranny (in a complete twisting of the term paladin) because he is a vile god of evil.

The Inquisitor Bracers are another magic item sponsored by Pelor. These bracers justify the use of force on innocent people in order to sort them out from undead. You can’t use the power of the bracers with a touch attack (to see if the positive energy perhaps burns the undead). You must swing your weapon with all force at the target, and hope that the positive energy undoes any mistake you might make. What a sick idea. A paladin on a different world once had a similar idea for dealing with undead. His name was Prince Arthas. Of Warcraft III fame.

Pelor’s final relic is a sun shard, which is fairly simple, it fires searing light at two targets. This isn’t damning in and of itself, but consider that while other good gods (Elonna and Yondalla for example) offered relics that aided mortals, Pelor’s are all intended to destroy. This is of course, not a huge point against Pelor, but when added onto the mountain of evidence, seems to be just one more confirmation.

One adventuring group, headed by a tough talking thug named Dyson, followed the path against Pelor when they discovered something amiss within his church. Connections were drawn between Pelor and Baal. That story can be told by Dyson himself or his dungeon master Feanor. It should be noted however, that they began following this path of discovery prior to the release of the Book of Exalted Deeds. They were the first to see the truth and were shunned for it at the time. Those of us who have had our eyes opened to the light of the Burning Hate owe them a debt of gratitude.

Another adventuring group, this one composed of angels, were betrayed by their god into the hands of Lixer, a Prince of Hell. They were broken, one by one. One was twisted into a demon, one lost faith in the path of the Celestial Compact, one was blasted from existence and the last was petrified and stands still in the Court of a Lord of Hell. The god was not named, but he was a god of the sun. Again, this story predates the release of the Book of Exalted Deeds.

One final member of Dicefreaks has added information. Alratan was the first Freak to bring up evil uses for positive energy and good uses for negative energy. While his study does not accuse Pelor of anything (or indeed, deal with Pelor at all), it does point to an alternate path of positive energy, with which Pelor is definitely associated. (Positive energy, not the alternate path) This is important because many dubious (and some slack jawed) people have pointed towards Pelor’s association with the sun and positive energy as proof of his inherent goodness.

It must be noted that nothing is proven. Pelor still sits in Elysium. No good aligned gods have moved against him, nor have they chilled alliances with the Sun God. It may be this is a smear campaign engineered by fiends, or simply the overactive imaginations of mortals. However, the above presented are facts, not fiction. Draw your own conclusions, but think twice before you choose the True Believer feat in Pelor’s name. Below are my own conclusions drawn from the evidence.

Pelor is a Neutral (lawful tendancies) Evil god of Sun and Strength.
Pelor is a god of skin cancer, sun burns, thirst and burning agony.
Pelor hates undead as they cannot properly suffer in the same way as mortals.
Pelor’s divine realm is on Elysium
Pelor has deceived the good gods and mortals for so long that he has grown complacent in his position. The recent revelations are not purposeful, they are accidents caused by the god being sloppy.
Pelor has many connections with Hell through both Bel and Belial and previously through Zariel.
Pelor may have engineered the Great Fall of Eblis, Triel and the others.
It is unknown if the devils, yugoloths or demons are aware that Pelor is evil. Presumably they are ignorant.

The above is intended to make clear the position of those people who claim Pelor is evil. It is not intended as a slur on those who seek to worship Pelor as a benign deity nor as concrete proof of his evil. The investigation into his misconduct is currently ongoing and no final judgement should be passed at this juncture.

On the meaning of records

2011-01-18T17:18:00.000-05:00

So the Atlanta Falcons, after a 13-3 season, are out of the playoffs, having been beat like a red-headed stepchild by Green Bay, leaving some people to ask if they were really as good as a 13-3 record would say. To them, I have only one thing to say: sit down and quit your bitching.

Seriously, every team has their ups and downs. Even the best team, at the height of their game, will stumble. Records and stats are things that only matter outside the game. When you are on that field, no one on the opposing side cares what your record is. They are focused on doing their job, as you are focused on doing yours. If Football was really so simple as comparing who had the best record, then why would you even bother to play the game? Just compare stat sheets in the booth, have the coaches shake hands, and then go home.

Football, like other sports, excites us because, on any given Sunday, anything can happen. Because even though you go in expectations based on your team's record, and the other team's record, you still have that thrill that anything could happen. That is why they play the game, and why we watch.

So yes, the Falcons really were as good as their 13-3 record said. But on any given Sunday, anything can happen.

Game Review: Golden Sun - Dark Dawn

2010-12-27T10:37:00.000-05:00

Sony VAIO EB37FX BJ 2.53GHz Core i5 15.5" Notebook $899 w/ Free Shipping
Panasonic 42" TC-P42C2 Plasma 720p HDTV $499.95 from PC Connection Express

I'll admit that this is one game that snuck up on me. I loved the original Golden Sun games for the Gameboy Advance, but I thought the series had died, since there hadn't been even a rumor of a new game that I'd heard of in years. Then suddenly, I walk into my local Gamestop, and there are displays for preorders for a new Golden Sun!

Fast forward to now, and I've just finished my first playthrough of the game. And it was everything I'd hoped it would be, and more. Fans of the original games will find the core mechanics virtually the same. Newbies to the game will find helpful tutorials early on, but really the controls are easy enough that anyone familiar with turn-based RPGs like the original Final Fantasy games should be able to figure them out with ease.

As in the earlier Golden Sun games, the name of the game is Djinn hunting, and finding the more powerful summons. Some of them are easy to find (more than one Djinn literally comes up to your party and asks to join) but some take creativity to reach, solving puzzles. And some are scattered around the world map, as random encounters. Likewise, you have to hunt for most of the powerful summons. My only suggestion is to follow every path, and see where it goes.

The story takes place 30 years after the events of Golden Sun - The Lost Age. The return of Alchemy to the world has issued in new challenges, but the credit (and blame) for saving the world is given to the legendary Warriors of Vale (the PCs from the first two games). Isaac and Garet live in a cabin overlooking the remains of Mt. Aleph, and the ruins of Sol Sanctum, but when the soarwing they need to cross the volcanic wastes between the cabin and the sanctum is destroyed, they send their children, who have inherited their Adept powers, to get a Roc's Feather that is needed to repair it. And thus the kids are launched into their own adventure, which soon becomes a quest to save the world, just as their parents did thirty years ago.

One thing that is different from the original games is that your Psynergy Points (PP) will renew themselves over time as you're walking around. To me, this made the game much easier through large stretches of the game, as I would simply use Psynergy to heal my characters as I went around leveling up and getting the gold I needed for the best equipment. Items like vials and herbs seemed largely pointless, until you hit a Boss encounter and the healer went down.

Speaking of boss encounters, there are several of them in this game, and for the most part they are challenging, though not impossible encounters, especially if you've leveled up enough first. The final Boss, of course, is another matter entirely, as he has an insane number of hit points, does massive damage to one or more of the party members four times every turn, and is largely unaffected by anything other than djinn summons. Fortunately, when he beats you (yes, I said WHEN, not IF), you revive a little ways away, and can trek back to try again.

Golden Sun - Dark Dawn is a solid, enjoyable RPG, and I recommend it for anyone who is a fan of the genre. In addition to providing dozens of hours of entertainment searching for the djinn and summons, while progressing the detailed and intriguing storyline, Dark Dawn is one of the games that definitely falls into the 'workplace friendly' category. By which I mean that you can be playing it at work, and set it down in an instant, even in the middle of combat, and you can rest assured that you won't get destroyed while you actually do your work.

I rate it a 4 out of 5.

The Head of Vecna

2010-11-19T12:38:00.000-05:00

Those of you who are gamers will get a laugh at this. Those of you who aren't, will still get a laugh, even if you don't understand everything.

http://www.blindpanic.com/humor/vecna.htm

Just goes to show that players can be their own worst enemies...

The 'Israelification' of airports: High security, little bother - thestar.com

2010-11-18T12:13:00.000-05:00

The 'Israelification' of airports: High security, little bother - thestar.com

This is an interesting article that was passed to me by my brother in law. Definitely worth a read.

Strengths and Weaknesses

2010-11-14T11:49:00.000-05:00

For those of you who know, I'm a gamer, but it is often hard to find a game in real life, so I do some Play-by-Post games online, at a great site called Roleplay Online. Now, one of the best things about the site is that there is an open forum in one section, where the community can chat about anything and everything (subject to certain guidelines, of course, since the site is open to all ages).

Over the past week, there's been an interesting discussion going on about some of the differences between the two major political parties, and I thought I'd share my thoughts on the issue. Yes, gamers can talk about serious issues. Try not to let it throw you. We'll be back to arguing about which edition of D&D is better in a sec.

I'd like to think of myself as a neutral observer, since I'm not a part of either party, but that would be a half-truth. While I see myself as a stubborn independent, I will freely admit that I tend to vote one way more than others. I'll explain that more later.

To paraphrase a poster in the forum I mentioned, Democrats and Republicans act the way they do because they act more like a Democracy and a Republic than the other. Let me explain.

In a true democracy, everyone has a say, and it can be something akin to mob rule. While this certainly hurts when it comes to actually getting things done, it does act as a very effective limiter on some of the more radical elements of the group, as they have to first sway the more moderate types.

In a republic, people choose leaders, and then those leaders run the show until their term of office is over, with everyone else toeing the line, unless something major happens. This makes things much easier in terms of getting things done, but there isn't much to stop the crazies from running things how they like it if they get the leadership.

Yes, I know this is a very broad-based analogy, but in broad strokes, it does fit. Look at how things have been going. Democrats act like a herd of cats, going this way and that, which makes them ineffective at governing, but does keep the far left from doing anything too crazy. Republicans walk lock-step with one another, repeating the same crappy sound bites, like some kind of Borg collective.

I've said before that I'm an independent mainly because both parties piss me off about different things. Frankly, I believe government does have a role to play in helping people. And don't give me that crap about private companies or charities filling that role. The reason we have things like Social Security is because private companies and charities WERE NOT filling that role, and the federal government was the only one with the resources to step in and fill it.

But I also believe that we should balance the budget (allowing for emergencies, of course), and that the balancing act shouldn't come from tax increases alone. Yes, I know that sounds like crazy-talk, considering my last paragraph, but it is true. I think that the government should find a way to get into the black, and start paying down the debt.

Unfortunately, the only way you're going to do that is to do a series of things that are political suicide.

First, you have to stop giving tax cuts at the drop of a hat. In fact, you need to take some of them away, and close a lot of loopholes. Yes, that means effectively raising taxes on most everyone, especially the rich. This will especially rankle Republicans, who seem to answer every question with "tax cuts", but that's the simple truth. We need to take in more than we pay out in order to reduce our debt, and eventually pay it off. For all the talk of fiscal responsibility that we heard in the 90s, most Republicans seem to have forgotten this simple fact.

Second, we have to reduce spending. In some cases, this means cuts. In others, it means restructuring programs so that we can eliminate red tape, and make things actually work like they are supposed to. This will piss off Democrats, who answer every question with "I've got an app for that". But it is an undeniable fact that there are many programs which do not work, and have not worked for years.

So what would I do to balance the budget? Well first off I would close all tax loopholes and remove all tax credits for ten years. Yes, it will SUCK to pay more taxes, but there is not going to be any painless way out of this. The only thing we can do is spread the pain as evenly as possible.

Second, I would decriminalize many illegal drugs. Anyone who thinks our drug policy is working is either certifiably insane, or they've been living under a rock for the last thirty years. People are already using drugs. They have been for years, and they are going to keep using drugs. Best way to deal with it is to make it legal so we can tax it and regulate it. Not only would we save a ton of money that we currently spend prosecuting and jailing users, but it would also cut the legs out from under organized crime outfits who have been getting rich for years off the drug trade.

Third, I would go line by line through every department of every federal agency, and eliminate as much of the bureaucracy as possible. Streamline agencies, and remove red tape, so that people can actually do their jobs without filling out eight different forms in triplicate, which then need to be filed with however many different departments... Lot of waste there.

Fourth, I would cut the pay of Congress and the President to no more than $100K a year, including leadership positions. Not only would it save a great deal of money, but it would also help to discourage people from becoming career politicians. Afterall, $100K is a lot of money, more than some people make in five years, much less one.

Of course, this drastic course of action would never happen, because it would require politicians to actually do what is best for the country as a whole, rather than what is best for them, or even what their constituents want. Because this would be political suicide, requiring actual courage and fortitude, it is easy to see why this won't happen while the career politicians are in power.

Job Search Update

2010-11-09T14:36:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, the only thing that is worse than not having a job is having one that not only doesn't pay well enough, but also has hours so unpredictably spaced that you can't get a second job because you have no fraking clue what your schedule will be one week to the next.

Such is the position I now find myself in.

So after literally carpet-bombing the surrounding area with applications, I finally managed to get a part time job at a gas station. Yeah, that ain't cutting it at ALL.

So here I am, looking for more work, different work, anything really.

The problem is that, while I enjoy the gas station (it isn't exactly difficult work) the hours are too unpredictable. If it was a set schedule, I could at least find a second part time job to supplement those hours. So now I'm basically looking for something full time, and hoping the bill collectors don't come after me until I find something that works.

Personally, I would like to get a job in one of the local game shops, or a bookstore. Something where I actually know a thing or two about the product being sold. A video game store would be pretty much ideal.

Scam Alert

2010-10-16T13:50:00.000-04:00

As some of you might know, when I get emails that are obviously scams, I like to share them, so that some other poor schmuck doesn't fall prey to these things.

New Release! Medal of Honor for PS3, Xbox & PC only $59.99 available 10/19 at Kmart.com

from Mackey Kathi
reply-to Mackey Kathi
to info@notice.com
date Sat, Oct 16, 2010 at 10:40 AM
subject Hello
mailed-by uwm.edu
hide details 10:40 AM (2 hours ago)

Partner,
I write to you as a matter of utmost urgency in respect of abusiness transaction which I trust will be of interest to you.It pertains certain accounts which in the wake of the september11 attacks were "MARKED" by the Counter-terrorism unit of the FBI,these accounts are belonging to key arab businessmen and influentialplayers in the mid-east,these accounts have been a subject of investigation and has since been cleared by the FBI and I have been entrusted with the duty of returning these account to the rightful owners but unfortunately a lot of these people are no where to be found.My proposal is for you to be the sole beneficiary of these funds which is running into $126,000,000 USD. This partnership is to be on 50%-50% basis.Get back to me immediately on this Email (rog206@usa.com) if you are interested.
Sincerely,
Mackey Kathi.

OK, first off, anyone who falls for this piece of crap deserves to be taken. Seriously, does anyone really expect someone to just be sending out $126 MILLION dollars without any kind of auditing looking over their shoulders?

Second, note that the email the thing came from is different from the email replies go to. This is usually the first sign that something is up.

Third, notice that the address the email was sent to is not my email. This means it was sent to a listserv, which sent it to who knows how many people in the address book.

The sad thing is that these kinds of schemes actually work on some people.

Don't be one of them.

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Because I'm a geek.

2010-10-16T03:40:00.002-04:00

Yeah, this really came off Google Maps.

View Larger Map

Medal of Honor

2010-10-06T14:27:00.000-04:00

Today the President of the United States honored a hero.

On January 25, 2008, Staff Sergeant Robert James Miller (3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group, US Army) and his squad of 24 US and Afghan soldiers were clearing out an insurgent base in Kunar Province, when they were ambushed by over one hundred and fifty Taliban fighters. Miller ordered his men to fall back, while he charged the enemy, drawing their fire, and was killed. For his sacrifice, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, becoming the 3,471st member of the armed forces to earn the award since its creation in 1861.

Honor him, for few are so worthy of walking in the fields of Elysium.

Freedom of Speech

2010-10-05T13:29:00.001-04:00

A lot is said about the freedom of speech. Personally, I'm a big fan of it. Unlike others, I recognize that there is a dark side to freedom of speech. Freedom of speech must be applied to all, or it has meaning for none. Unfortunately, that means that it also protects idiots like the Phelps klan out in Kansas. Oh, you know them, they're the church that goes around protesting at funerals of soldiers, because they believe their deaths are a punishment from god because the US tolerates homosexuality, or some crap like that. I'm sorry, I know I should be more objective, but I have this allergic reaction to raving lunatics that makes me want to pretend they're zombies and go Left 4 Dead on them.

Which actually brings me to my point.

I think pretty much everyone agrees that these people are well deserving of a beat down. Freedom of Speech does not mean freedom from consequence. The father who sued the Phelps klan and won is one way of dishing out some consequence to them, but I think most of us would like a more... aggressive type of consequence to happen to them.

Unfortunately, these tools are just going to keep spouting their hate speech until someone takes a bat upside their head. So the next time these idiots are out and about, why don't we all get together, and beat the everloving crap out of these assholes? Anyone asks, we all just say Marilyn Manson made us do it. It worked at Columbine, right?

What, you don't like me encouraging people to commit acts of violence against douchebags filled with hate? But this is freedom of speech, isn't it?

Ok, so maybe that was out of line. But don't tell me you all weren't thinking the exact same thing. So how about something a little more legal? Fred Phelps, the leader of the Phelps klan, who lives in Topeka, Kansas, does not have an unlisted phone number. His home phone number is listed as (785)267-3615. His son, Fred Phelps Jr., who is also a member of the 'church', lives at 3600 SW Holly Ln., Topeka, KS 66604-2553, and his phone number is (785)272-4135. Link to the search I did below.
http://www.whitepages.com/search/Replay?lower=1&search_id=73051330149262216472

Go exercise some freedom of speech.

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The Job Search

2010-10-02T10:47:00.000-04:00

It is the most difficult, time consuming, and humiliating thing that people are allowed to do to one another in public without breaking public decency laws.

I'm talking, of course, about job hunting.

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Think about it. The frantic scurrying from one business to the next, bearing resumes and filling out the same information over and over again, having to explain everything time and time again, using up all that time and energy. And for what? For the hope that, if the person doing the hiring happens to like how you spun your work experience, you can get an interview.

Which brings us to the humiliating part.

If you're like me, when you get called for the interview, you're excited, because you actually have a chance at a job. Then you remember that the interview process is not unlike choosing a class president in high school. There's some speaking involved, but it boils down to looks and popularity, especially with anything where you'll be dealing with the public.

And, if you're like me, you'll start remembering how you never did get picked for any of those things. And then you start getting nervous, and trying to figure out what to do to make the best impression so you can get the job. Should I go with shirt and tie? Is that too formal? Would a polo shirt and jeans be too informal? What about colors, would green or blue be better? Black? Maybe white? Then you remember that the interview is still four days off.

Day of the interview comes up, and you get dressed, and head to the location. Do you show up half an hour early, or does that seem desperate? What about fifteen minutes? Should you come in right on time? Or what about five minutes early?

Then the interview itself. How much do I say so that I highlight my experience, without bragging or sounding like I'm exaggerating? How do I gloss over my shortcomings without sending up red flags? Should I be honest, or more tactful? Should I ask questions, or would that make me look uncooperative? But does not asking questions make me look uninterested? Should I lean back in the chair, and look relaxed, or does that make me look unconcerned? Should I lean forward, or does that make me look too eager? Sit up straight, or does that make me look nervous?

And then, when the interview is over, they thank you, and send you off, so you can wait a week or more for the results.

Why, oh why must it be this difficult?

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Elves, Dragons, and Electric Guitars

2010-09-24T17:28:00.000-04:00

I have to say that, given a choice, I don't listen to any American music any more. Not that I have anything against America. I love it here. But I simply can't stand Country, Pop reminds me of all the most idiotic parts of high school, and I outgrew my rap phase years ago. With a few exceptions, the best music I've heard recently is from European groups like Rhapsody of Fire or Blind Guardian or Nightwish. I crave something more than the basic country line of "My dog died, My Wife left me, and My truck broke down", or the incessant teen pop that is everywhere, or rappers telling me how great life is when you deal drugs and shoot people. I just don't need any of that stuff.

What I want is something to take me out of my own life, and into something better, more exciting, more epic. Which is why groups like Rhapsody of Fire appeal to me. For those of you unfamiliar with Rhapsody of Fire (pretty much all of you, I'd guess), take one part Metallica, back when they were good, one part orchestra, and season with a liberal dose of Lord of the Rings. Stir well, and in short order you have AWESOMENESS!

Seriously, though. Most music coming from America these days is either depressing, enraged, or inane. A Rhapsody of Fire album is more than just a collection of singles made for radio, it is a story, bridging multiple albums, where you can set them up in order on your iPod and just run through the albums in order, and hear the story weaving around you, sweeping you up along with it. You just don't get that from boy bands and slutty pop princesses. You don't find that in the drek that you find in Nashville. You'll never witness that on a gangsta rap album.

When I'm needing music, I can think of little better than to hear tales of elves and dragons, to the melody of an electric guitar.

FML

2010-09-12T00:18:00.004-04:00

Sometimes I take a step back, and wonder if I am sane. Then the voices tell me that asking the question proves I'm not insane.

I guess it comes from playing roleplaying games, and how I create my characters. I never simply run through the book and put together a character with some interesting stats. That would work for a simple hack and slash game, but I'm looking for more in a RPG. I dive down, getting inside the character's head, and getting a feel for the complexities of their way of thinking.

But the simple truth is that you can't get into someone's head without them getting into yours.

At times, I'm simply going along with my day, and I find that, without warning, I've slipped into thinking like one of my characters, seeing the world through their eyes, approaching problems as they would, even though there is no such thing as magic in the world, and I definitely don't have a sword at my side. And then I catch myself, and shake away the thoughts, and return to being me.

It is times like that which make me think, why not? Why couldn't I be more than the shy guy in the corner, too oblivious and too scared to make any kind of move on someone he likes without a computer screen in between? Why couldn't I let go the man I was, and become the dashing rogue, the cunning warrior, the witty poet? Why not just burst into song, and sing for a time that existed only in a fantasy game?

And yet, I am trapped in this flabby form, prisoner of my own insecurities. I long to set aside that form, and become the legend I created, a man who has no fear, a man who can act in the face of adversity, and flirt with the lady even as he trades blows and banter with the villain.

But I cannot do that. I cling to sanity, and refuse to offer myself to the blessed oblivion of the imagined. I am a prisoner in a high tower, the windows all unbarred. I could escape if I just slipped out the window, but I know I cannot, because the fall would destroy me. And so I sit at the window, and lust for those things that I know I will never see, the things I could never be, the things that I may never know. I sit there, and it brings me both pleasure and pain, for though looking through the window brings an ache to my heart, if it was shut, I would go mad, trapped with not even a glimmer of hope to sustain me.

The world is a wonderful place, if you're the attractive, the popular, the wealthy, the fearless. But I am just an overweight man, shy, broke, and all too aware of my own failings to be fearless. There are things I would like from this world, but they are closed to me. Soon I'll be twenty-seven, working at a desk, and never even been on a date, to say nothing of anything else. Hell, the only time a girl pays any attention to me is when I go to a strip club. This world is not meant for people like me.

Or maybe I am not meant for this world? Maybe these characters I create are all simply echoes of past lives, rattling down the hallways of time, and my malcontent festers for the fact that I compare my life to theirs, and see myself wanting.

I wonder if simply ending it all will release me from this cycle of hell, and return me to that cavalcade of voices so that I might begin again, in a form more suited, and be who I was meant to be.

To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.

Hamlet, Act III, Scene 1

And yet, I find myself restrained, fearing that undiscovered country. And I cling desperately to my window, not daring to cast myself out it, but unable to turn away from it. And the pain continues. And I see the entirety of my existence boiling down to a single phrase: FML.

A Mosque at Ground Zero?

2010-08-17T00:02:00.003-04:00

I've tried to avoid commenting on the proposed mosque near the former World Trade Center site. I thought that, surely, people would get their heads out of their collective asses, and see the light.

They haven't.

For all conservative nutjobs talk about the greatness of America, they have an annoying tendency to ignore some truths about America when it doesn't suit their dogmatic point of view. Our nation was founded with the idea of religious freedom in mind. An idea that people, regardless of their creed, should be able to practice their religion freely, and not fear the government's intrusion into that practice, so long as they themselves did not break any laws.

The terrorists that attacked us almost nine years ago to the day did so for many reasons. But one of the most common threads you hear the conservatives talk about is that they attacked us because they hate our freedoms. And there is some truth to that. They want to terrorize us, and use fear and hatred to get us to change our ways.

But the freedom to practice your religion, whatever it is, without prejudice is one of those freedoms.

And it isn't like the Islamic group in question doesn't already have a presence in Manhattan. In fact, they are not making a new congregation. THERE IS ALREADY A MOSQUE NOT TWO BLOCKS FROM THE PROPOSED SITE!

Take a walk around Ground Zero. You know what you'll find? Strip clubs, adult video stores, fast food joints, and the like. Real 'hallowed ground' stuff, right?

Some of the families of victims of 9/11 say that moving an existing mosque two blocks closer to Ground Zero is offensive, that it is some banner of victory to the terrorists who attacked us.

I say they are wrong. It is the people who oppose the mosque that are the offensive ones. It is they that are the banner of victory for the terrorists. For if we change who we are in the face of fear and hatred of what happened, haven't the terrorists truly won? We can win every battle overseas, and not have a single attack on our soil, but if we give up who we are, then we have lost. If we do that, then we vindicate the monsters who attacked us. If we do that, we piss on the memories of the people who died that day. If we do that, we are the testament to our failures as a people.

Freedoms are tricky things. If you say you love a freedom, any freedom, then you have to love that freedom even in times you might disagree with it. Would you oppose a Christian church going up there? Or a Jewish synagogue? Or a Hindu temple? Or a Wiccan shrine? If you love the freedoms this country was founded on, and you say No to even a single one of those questions, then you should not oppose the Islamic mosque going there.

It is a simple thing, to sell out someone else's freedoms when you don't like them. But karma is a bitch, and eventually it will come around to be your turn again. How you act now may determine how others act towards you in the future.

Tell the world that we truly are the land of the free, where a man is judged not by his race, his gender, or his creed, but by the acts he himself does. Because if we look at the terrorists, who have said for years that we are the enemies of all Islam, and we paint all Muslims with the same brush, then we are only proving the terrorists right, vindicating their claims that a jihad is warranted against us. But if we put aside our fear for resolve, or hate for understanding, and allow the mosque to be built, then we show the world that the terrorists were WRONG! We will show them that they may destroy our buildings, and they may take our lives, but they will never change who we truly are, that they will never take our freedoms.

Will you stand for what is right, despite your own bias, your own misgivings, your own fear, your own hate? Will you stand for the freedoms you love? Or will you give in to the terrorists, and allow them to steal our very soul?

Who will stand with me?

Scam Alert

2010-07-25T01:19:00.003-04:00

This arrived in my inbox today. Seriously, who falls for this crap?

From:	Katlijn Malfliet
Reply to:	Katlijn Malfliet
To:	b
Date:	Jul 25, 2010 12:14 AM
Subject:	My Funds Management Interest

Here writes Lady Shirley, suffering from cancerous ailment. When my late husband was alive he

deposited 7 Million Pounds with a bank in UK. Recently my doctor told me I have limited days. I

want you to use this gift to fund the less-privilege, contact my personal email:

shirobinson3@att.net for details. Thank you Katlijn Malfliet on behalf of Shirley Robinson

The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Spoilers)

2010-07-21T23:09:00.004-04:00

This post may contain spoilers.

As a treat for my mom's birthday (Saturday) the family went to see Disney's new Sorcerer's Apprentice movie. I'll just start off by saying that while I enjoyed it, it certainly isn't for everyone.

First off, manage your expectations. It is a Disney movie based off a Disney short film featuring Mickey Mouse. Do not go in expecting a bunch of gore, or sex, or even foul language. There isn't any. This movie is designed to be kid friendly.

Second, if you aren't a kid, or a geek, you probably won't like this movie. There are a lot of subtle moments that would only appeal to children or geeks who know what the references were. If you don't appreciate a good "These aren't the droids you're looking for," joke, then go watch another episode of American Idol, and forget about this movie.

Third, and most important, DO NOT TAKE THIS MOVIE SERIOUSLY! It is supposed to be a bit silly at times. No, it doesn't do stupid humor like Will Farrel movies, and no, it isn't sarcastic humor like an episode of the Daily Show. It is just good fun silliness, with a bunch of geeky references.

All right, for those of you who are still here, I'll just come out and say that this movie is 100% good, clean fun. I loved it! If you remember the short from Fantasia, with the enchanted mops, you're going to absolutely love when they recreate that scene. THEY EVEN HAVE THE MUSIC WITH IT! I literally died for a moment there.

Also, the explanation for how magic worked was awesome, as it lent the movie a bit of much needed plausibility. The idea that if you were able to use 100% of your brain you'd have strange powers is not new. I've seen similar ideas in other sci-fi movies and shows, most recently in Eureka, where a man's ability to use his entire brain gave him telekinetic and telepathic powers. Seeing the quasi-science method for explaining how magic works was very satisfying to my inner geek.

The magic battles are fun, especially when the heroes beat their foes through cleverness and strategy rather than through overwhelming power. At the end, when the Apprentice is fighting Morgana, he lays a trap for her, drawing her into the center of a jury-rigged Tesla coil, which allows him to destroy her.

Overall, I found it to be a fun movie that you could take the whole family to see, so long as you don't go in expecting Lord of the Rings. If you enjoyed the old Godzilla movies, you'll probably enjoy the Sorcerer's Apprentice.