Taoist in Training

Thoughts on #GamerGate

2014-10-26T03:59:00.000-04:00

There is a huge shitstorm occurring on the internet right now regarding women in video games and the integrity of gaming journalism.

Im not going to explain it here, since there are other places to read about it, and if you're still reading then you probably already know the details.

There are two general sides of this "debate".

The anti-gamergaters see #gamergate as a misogynist movement keep women out of video games.
Where as pro-gamergaters see it as a consumer movement against a media establishment that is grossly out of touch with gamers.

The problem here is that people are seeing this as a black and white issue, i.e. if you support #gamergate, you are a misogynist and support the harassment of women. And that all Pro-gamergaters are misogynists.

Case in point:

#Gamergate is not an organized movement with a consensus on its goals. It's kind of like Anonymous.

It is filled with many different people with different views on the issue.

It is absurd to say that all pro-gamergaters are pro-harassment misogynists. You just cannot generalize people like that.

It is my opinion that #gamergate spawned as a consumer movement about the disconnect between the gaming community and those who write about it. But it has since morphed into an outlet for misogynists to express their hatred and frustration with women and feminism in the video game industry. This created a snowball effect, and now it seems like every misogynist out there is using the #gamergate hashtag as a symbol of their anger, even among non-gamers.

The original gamergaters must be incredibly frustrated at this point. The co-opting of their hashtag by misogynists has effectively drowned out their core message to the point where they can no longer be taken seriously due to the systematic harassment of women online by women hating gamergaters.

Anti-gamergaters need to understand that a hashtag is not a movement, and that it does not accurately label and define the diverse opinions among the people who use it, and that not everyone who is pro-gamergate condones the harassment of women online.

Likewise, pro-gamergaters need to acknowledge that there is a serious issue of misogyny among the gaming community that threatens the legitimacy and the integrity of the gamer movement.

Video games are all about artistic freedom, and journalism is all about the freedom of the press.

If you don't like a video game that portrays certain pro-feminism or anti-feminism ideas, no one is forcing you to play it.

If you don't like the way a gaming news site is covering games, don't read it. There are plenty of other options.

This is just a culture war. Nothing will stop developers from producing "sexist" or "feminist" games. Money talks. Regardless of how much a bunch of social justice warriors complain, certain types of games will continue to be made as long as people buy them.

Yet, I sympathize with the movement. Video games are supposed to be an escape from reality, where real world taboos (and often physics) do not apply. A place where you can do whatever you want and not have to worry about the consequences (even if it includes beating up and robbing virtual prostitutes). The last thing I want is social commentary about women's position in society creeping into my medium for escape from society and reality. This is where the whole narrative of "feminists are ruining video games" comes from. But like I said, if you don't want to deal with it, don't buy the game. And even if you agree that games are not the place for social commentary, that in-and-of itself most certainly does not make you a sexist/racist/misogynist etc.

The argument that misogyny in video games proliferates real world sexism is just as weak as the argument that violence in video games proliferates real world violence.

So yes, I sympathize with #gamergate's core [original] goals. But I condemn the despicable behavior that it has spawned.

And yet, by tumblr's twisted logic, Im still a misogynist because I refuse to judge an entire movement by the actions of hateful, vocal faction that has co opted the voice of the movement.

All German's are Nazi's

All Muslims are terrorists

All gamergaters are misogynists

Do you see a trend here?

Can't we just put this aside and sit back and murder some locust?

Comment Policy Update

2014-09-11T02:32:00.000-04:00

I am sick and tired of solicitors in the comments sections.

I am thrilled whenever someone comments on my obscure, crappy blog, but I hate it when I am always disappointed to find that its from a solicitor for web services or at worst, penis enlargement pills.

I tried the Captcha, I tried to restrict comments to registered users, yet the crap still flows in.

Let me make it clear. This blog is something I do more or less for fun in my free time to express myself.

I am not interested in making money off it (as if I could), and I do not care how unprofessional it looks or reads.

You have nothing to gain by lying to me by saying something along the lines of "Great content! We can help you improve it!"

Stop it. I'm not interested. I never will be interested, and I can't afford it anyway.

So for now on, all comments will be subject to approval before being posted. This way, if I ever look back on my old posts, I only see the comments from people and not other crap. This also improves your experience as well, since you won't have to scroll through the solicitative comments.

I will also help me filter out inflammatory, non-solicitative comments. It's one thing if you want to challenge my opinion, it's another to resort to pointless name calling. Please refer to Graham's Hierarchy of Disagreement, and aim higher:

I may be inconsistant at the rate at which I approve comments, but I'll get to them. Dealing with the volume (or lack there of) of legit comments obviously shouldn't be an issue :P

It's Time for Hong Kong's Declaration of Independence

2014-09-01T06:57:00.001-04:00

Here in America we have a motto: "Live Free, or Die"

Many people across the world have embraced this motto, fighting to be free or die trying.
Historically in France, in America, in Finland, in Haiti, in Korea, in Ethiopia, in East Timor, in Sri Lanka, the list goes on.
And today, in Tibet, in Kurdistan, in Palestine, in Western Sahara and elsewhere.

Today it seems, the battle is in Hong Kong.

The small former British colony is one of the few places in China where its people are entitled to basic civil rights; free speech, free assembly, and a free press among others. Taiwan did not have these rights until the 1990's and the Mainland (where the vast majority of Chinese live) never had these rights.

The next logical step is to expand these rights to make Hong Kong a full electoral democracy. (Which currently it mostly isn't)

Unfortunately, Beijing seems to want to push things in the opposite direction.

The Beijing announced that Hong Kong would be allowed to choose it's own chief executive in 2017, but that Beijing has the right to hand pick the candidates.

The people of Hong Kong were not fooled.

Pro-democracy MP's of the LegCo and democracy activists blasted the announcement and staged protests.

Hong Kong democracy activists are now calling for mass civil disobedience to protest the move.

Beijing has accused pro-democracy activists of "colluding with foreign forces to cause trouble for the government". How ironic.

These statements are effectively a declaration of war on democracy and self determination in Hong Kong. And Hong Konger's should take it as such.

A Permanent Solution

When it was announced that Hong Kong would be returned to China come July 1, 1997. The people of Hong Kong panicked, and with good reason.

They begged the British government to grant them full British Citizenship, so they would have a place to escape incase of a crackdown on rights by China. Britain refused, and gave them the relatively useless title of "British National (Overseas)" as consolation.

The current events are not the first time China has squandered democracy in Hong Kong.

As an effort to secure Hong Kong's right to a democratic future, the last British governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, instituted electoral reforms which would make Hong Kong a full democracy upon Britain's departure.

Given China's distain for democracy, Beijing unilaterally dismantled the reforms.

Although Hong Kong was part of China before the British took over in during the Opium Wars. During the elapsed time from 1841 to 1997, Hong Kong has transformed on a dramatically different path from the Mainland. The populations are both Chinese and follow Chinese customs, but they have become completely different societies with very different values. So much so that true "reunification" may never be socially viable (the same goes for Taiwan), and most certainly does not seem to be in Hong Konger's interests.

These developments, the territory's history, as well as the rights and desires of the Hong Kong people only point to one permanent solution.

Independence.

An independent, free republic of Hong Kong will guarantee Hong Konger's right to self determination and to choose their own leaders and determine their own future, rather than let a authoritarian regime with different values and interests determine Hong Kong's path.

Yes, China will spout shit about Chinese nationalism and dedication to "the motherland". But nationalism does not trump the right to self determination and basic civil rights. The world has changed.
Nationalist, anti-colonialist rhetoric doesn't cut it anymore, especially when the mother state is much worse than the colonizer ever was.

The fact that a given country has controlled a given territory in the past does not entitle it to control the given territory today.

This is true everywhere in the world. In the case of Taiwan, Tibet, the Senkaku's, the Liancourt rocks and elsewhere.

These days the news of separatism is focused on Scotland and Catalonia, but in these areas they are motivated by [relatively] petty political issues and pure nationalism.

They should feel so lucky, as they already live in free electoral democracies. The people of Hong Kong and many other areas however, do not.

If the people of Hong Kong want to be free from Beijing's discontent for their civil rights and freedoms, then no risk is too great.

It is impossible to predict how Beijing would react to a declaration of independence, but the worst case scenario is arguably no worse than how Hong Kong will end up if it continues down it's current path.

Do not debate me on the viability of this proposition. I am well aware of the seemingly insurmountable odds, but refer back to my original point.

Live Free or Die

This is Hong Kong's defining moment. They cannot wait until 2047.
The people of Hong Kong must decide, to forever remain under Beijing's oligarchic rule, or to be Free.

自由生活或死亡

My Top 10 Favorite National Anthems

2014-08-29T22:14:00.000-04:00

Most countries and wannabe countries have a national song or anthem crafted to inspire patriotism and nationalism in their people. Many of them are highly effective in doing so, but that doesn't mean they're all great. Here are what I think are the worlds best national anthems.

Ive included audio embeds courtesy of a Hungarian fellow who has a small site dedicated to national anthems, complete with lyrics and audio recordings. Definitely worth a visit
-> http://users.atw.hu/szbszig/

NOTE: If the HTML5 audio embeds are not working, Ive added links to the music file.

10) Majulah Singapura - Singapore

Link to play

For a country like Singapore, inspiring nationalism among it's multicultural population was critically important for keeping the country together in it's early years. It's anthem, Majulah Singapura (Meaning "Onward Singapore") is sung in Malay and stresses the importance of unity in the country's success.

Lyrics

9) The Star-Spangled Banner - United States

Link to play

What!? Not putting the SSB first!? Are you some kind of communist!?
Frankly, after having it shoved down my throat for most of my life Ive gotten kind of sick of hearing it. It's still a good anthem though. I wonder if most foreigners agree.
The lyrics draw heavily from the imagery of the revolutionary war.
The song America the Beautiful, provides better imagery of the country itself in my opinion.

Lyrics

8) Ålänningens sång- Åland

Link to play

For the geopolitically inept out there, Åland isn't really a country, it's basically an archipelago of Sweden which is under the sovereignty of Finland for some bizarre historical reason which Ive never bothered to research. Look into it yourself if you must.

Anyway, the territory's anthem is Ålänningens sång (Meaning "Song of Åland" or literally "Åland's Song"). Sung in Swedish, it is definitely one of the most tranquil anthem's Ive ever heard, fitting the island's motto "The Islands of Peace". To the non-Swedish speaker, it sounds like a lullaby. Wouldn't mind falling asleep to it!

Lyrics

7) Amar Sonar Bangla - Bangladesh

Link to play

It seems like an unusual country to make it onto this kind of list, but it's simply an anthem you just have to hear.
The thing I admire most about Bangladesh's Anthem is that it is completely ethnic, as opposed to European style anthems adopted by most post-colonial states.
The name means "My Golden Bengal", and is of course sung in Bengali.

Lyrics

6) Amhrán na bhFiann (The Soldiers Song) - Ireland

Link to play

Ireland's anthem is incredibly underrated compared to that of it's neighbor and colonizer.
Although the country isn't well known for it's military history (First it was the Viking's colony, then a British colony, and is now a neutral country), as the title suggests, it is mostly in praise of the armed forces (or perhaps the IRA?)

It's melody sounds more like a pub song rather than an anthem. It's upbeat and cheerful tune makes it highly appealing to me.
There is also an Irish version of the song, which you can also listen to.

Lyrics

5) Lofsöngur - Iceland

Link to play

Lofsöngur, the anthem of Iceland, is literally (both in the meaning of it's title and it's composition) a Hymn.

It's melody and lyrics reckon back to when the country was a viking colony. Cold and isolated in the middle of the Atlantic, where God was seen as a source of light in an otherwise dark country.
This sort of makes the music both dark and beautiful in a strange way.
It's sung in Icelandic, which is very similar to Old Norse. The Island's isolation has left the language unchanged for over 1000 years.

Lyrics

4) Gosudarstvenny Gimn Rossiyskoy Federatsii - Russia/Soviet Union

Link to play

The melody of the anthem of Russia is mostly unchanged from that of the anthem of the Soviet Union, and is thus one of the most recognizable and iconic anthems in the world.
It would make any communist proud!

Lyrics

3) God Save the Queen - United Kingdom

Link to play

Monarchist much?
It's much more of a royal hymn rather than a national anthem, but it's spectacular nonetheless.
Of course, it becomes God Save the King when the British monarch is male.

Lyrics

2) Deutschlandlied - Germany

Link to play

Might be biased in this list, but it's my list.
Nationalism is sort of taboo in Germany since some people ruined it. But
Deutschlandlied still inspires pride, as it should.
The song is actually quite old, the more nationalist first and second stanza's were removed after World War II, but the sprit of the song remains in tact.

Lyrics

And last but not least:

1) La Marseillaise - France

La Marseillaise the anthem of anthems. Nothing else even comes close.
It's lyrics and melody combine to create a song of spirit and triumph which is unrivaled.
The song was the driving marching tune of the French Revolution, specifically the march of French volunteers from Marseille to Paris to battle the First Coalition.

Lyrics

Honourable Mentions

Hino Nacional Brasileiro - Brazil

Link to play

Brazil's anthem is more European sounding than Latin American sounding, and it outwardly spouts Romanticism rather than just plain nationalism, which is what adds to it's appeal.

Lyrics

O' Canada - Canada

Link to play

One of the plainer songs on this list. It seems as if they tried to mix elements of God Save the Queen and the Star Spangled Banner. The song reflects the country it represents. Not overly impressive but not bad in any way.
There is also a French version.

Lyrics

Mongol ulsyn törijn duulal - Mongolia

Link to play

It's not the most flattering recording, but I still very much like the song itself. True to the nomadic lifestyle of Mongolia, it feels more like a song of self reflection rather than a nationalist hymn.

Lyrics

Zdravljica - Slovenia

Link to play

I really did not expect this from relatively unknown country like Slovenia (not to be confused with Slovakia).
It sounds kind of like a Christmas carol, alluding to it's cheerful melody.
The song is based on a poem called Zdravljica (meaning "A Toast"). So I guess you could call it's English name "A Toast to Slovenia!"
How festive!

Lyrics (Google Translate)

Maamme - Finland

Link to play

You'll have get passed the strangeness of the Finnish language to appreciate this one. The Swedish version sounds a bit different. Maamme means "Our Land" ("Vårt land" in Swedish).

Lyrics

Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm - Estonia

Link to play

Estonian is somewhat similar to Finnish, yet Estonia's anthem definitely sounds more hymn like.
The song was actually derived from the same poem as the Finnish national anthem, so they sound vaguely similar.
"Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm" translates to "My Fatherland, My Happiness and Joy"

Lyrics

On Corporate Taxes, sometimes you have to Concede the Battle to win the War

2014-08-25T09:37:00.000-04:00

Like most left leaning individuals, it pisses me off that corporations pay less taxes than individuals. I have always thought that it was absurdly unfair that a legal entity which makes money off of peoples labor pays less taxes than the laborers themselves.

Lower tax rates for corporations than individuals is the reality in practically every country. Bizarrely enough, the US corporate tax rate is the highest among developed countries, despite our neoliberal approach to economics.

The problem with having a high corporate tax rate is that it provides a disincentive for a corporation to incorporate here. Why pay 35% in the US when I can pay 12% in Ireland?

This has led to a race-to-the-bottom sort of situation where countries compete for corporate clients by offering very low tax rates. The result is tax havens which amount to nothing more than a corporate mailbox in the Cayman Islands. And since taxes usually only apply to profits made in the incorporating country, you effectively have companies in the US paying zero taxes to the US government, despite operating mostly or solely within the US.

Tightening tax loopholes and passing anti-inversion laws are tools governments have to fight offshoring. While it is arguable that they can win the battle over taxes, it often doesn't seem worth the effort, leading to a constant game of legal cat and mouse.

Because of these circumstances, some have proposed a solution that would prevent corporations from fleeing without sacrificing tax revenue. Although fairness may have to be sacrificed.

Simply reduce the corporate tax rate to a "reasonable" amount and make up the tax losses by implementing a more progressive income tax.

Under this scheme, corporations would be taxed less, but the individuals who benefit from corporate profits (Executives, stockholders etc) would pay more. You effectively shift the tax burden from the corporation itself to the corporation's owners.

True, a corporation's owners and shareholders could renounce their citizenship and resettle in a country with a lower income tax, but this would be more burdensome since it would affect those people directly rather than just the companies they own. It is a step only the greediest individuals would be willing to take.

Unlike a legal corporation which is a single entity. The persons who control a corporation are comprised of many individuals, hundreds, or even thousands if you include shareholders. It is unlikely a large proportion of them would forego their US citizenship as a way to dodge taxes, and even if they were willing to, it could be prevented by requiring a minimum percentage of a US corporation to be owned by US citizens. Unlike high corporate tax rates, many countries have citizen ownership provisions.

In a perfect world, there would be no tax havens, and nowhere for corporations to run to hide their money. But until that happens, we can at least reorganize our tax system to be more fair and not as easy to evade.

Trip Report: Air Berlin HAM-DUS-JFK

2014-08-13T23:42:00.002-04:00

After a year of procrastinating and almost forgetting about it, Im finally posting my return TR on my Air Berlin trip to Germany. Here goes nothing.

Leg 1

Airline: Air Berlin (AB)
Routing: HAM-DUS
Flight Number:
Aircraft: Boeing 737-700
Aircraft Reg: D-AHXF
Estimated Flight Time:
Travel Class: Economy
Seat:

Hamburg has a pretty nice, medium sized airport. Although we had to drive there from 2 hours away.

After checking in we spot our first sign of American civilization. A McDonalds, where we headed to get our first American style breakfast in over 2 weeks.

HAM is without a doubt one of the best plane spotting airports I have ever been to, with a convenient spotting platform overlooking the gates, giving me some great shots.

Note the Lufthansa 707 parked in the background

As opposed to DUS which has concourses, HAM's airside terminal is one large pier, which made it much more navigable. Once again, our flight was scheduled to depart from a hard stand rather than a gate. After a short bus ride onto the tarmac we boarded our plane to DUS. Along the way I got some more good shots from the Tarmac.

The Finnair Flight we could have been on

The Lufthansa A321 retro jet was a pleasant surprise!

Up close and Personal

On Board

About an hour later we landed back in Dusseldorf, waiting for our flight back across the Atlantic.

Leg 2

Airline: Air Berlin (AB)
Routing: DUS-JFK
Flight Number:
Aircraft: Airbus A330-200
Aircraft Reg:
Estimated Flight Time: 8 hours
Travel Class: Economy
Seat:

We got some half decent pizza for lunch before boarding.

There was a small delay because one travel party didn't have their visa's in order, and we were ultimately forced to leave without them.

Compared to JFK, we took off in no time, and set out back to the US.

The return flight was mostly the same as before. This time for dinner I got the pasta, which was much better than the chicken in hindsight.

A few hours later, we have an uneventful landing at a rainy JFK. Of course, it took us 40 minutes to get to the gate.

That concludes this trip report. Overall, Air Berlin is fairly average as far as international airlines go. If the price is right, they're a good choice for a casual vacation to Europe. But if you prefer a more high end experience then go with Lufthansa, but for a family vacation to Germany they are more than satisfactory.

Service: 3/5
Cabin: 3.5/5
Price: 4/5
Food: 3/5
Efficiency: 4/5
Overall: 3.8/5

Trip Report: Air Berlin JFK-DUS-MUC

2014-08-13T23:40:00.000-04:00

As part of my trip to Germany I am happy to produce my very first trip report!

For those who don't know, a trip report is a common practice by airline enthusiasts who document and review every aspect of their flight for both the enjoyment of the aviation community and as advice for anyone who is flying the same airline in the near future.

I sort of did one for my trip to Iceland 2 years ago, but this one will be proper and have much more detail. So lets get to it!

This is a two leg flight. First I will fly over the Atlantic to Dusseldorf where I will have an hour and a half stopover before continuing on a flight to my final destination in Munich.

Map by the Great Circle Mapper

Leg 1

Airline: Air Berlin (AB)
Routing: JFK-DUS
Flight Number: AB7451
Aircraft: Airbus A330-200
Aircraft Reg: D-ABXB
Estimated Flight Time: 8 hours
Travel Class: Economy
Seat: 31K

First a little background:

When flying to Germany, one would think the natural choice to fly would be Lufthansa. However, being the summer travel season, it was prohibitively expensive.

When I heard that Norwegian Air Shuttle was starting long haul service to New York with brand new Boeing 787's almost pissed myself with excitement at the prospect of getting to fly the 787. I was hoping that they would be offering some cheap introductory fares. However, while there were some good deals to Oslo and Stockholm, connecting fares to Germany were still expensive and the timing of the flight schedules did not fit our needs. So unfortunately, Norwegian and the 787 were off the table.

So we searched around for something else. I wanted to fly Finnair, which was the cheapest option and it has an excellent on board product. Unfortunately it involved an 8 hour layover in Helsinki, which I wouldn't mind at all, in fact I would enjoy it. However, I was traveling with the family and they were just not up to it. So we settled on the next best option, Air Berlin.

Air Berlin is the second largest airline in Germany and one of the largest in Europe. They grew significantly when they acquired German leisure carrier LTU in 2007. In doing so they acquired Airbus A320 and A330 aircraft and gained access to the long-haul market. For most of its history, Air Berlin was a low-cost and leisure carrier. However they are beginning to transition to what I call the "Aer Lingus Model", that is full service on long haul flights, no-frills/low-cost on Europe flights. In doing so, they installed new lower density seating on their Airbus A330's, along with a full service business class with flat-bed seats. They also installed a new AVOD in flight entertainment system. (There was no IFE on any flights up until a few months ago, lucky me!)

Now on to the actual report:

We arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport's Terminal 8, colloquially called "the American Terminal" as it is where all of American Airlines flights operate out of at JFK, as well as Air Berlin and some other oneworld partners.

It was the early afternoon on a Friday, and the terminal was relatively empty and uncrowded. It had been a long time since I'd been to terminal 8. I have fond memories of flying out of it to California back in the late 90's and early 2000's. Though since then it has changed dramatically. The check in area was in a huge building with a high ceiling, and there was a wonderful mural of the New York city skyline along the wall.

The check-in line was long, but quick and security wasn't too much of a hassle, even though it was the first time Ive had the privilege of being irradiated by the TSA's [unnecessary] body scanners. We had some time to kill so we got lunch at the food court, and I had the best Chinese food. In my remaining time I took the opportunity to go plane spotting and snapped some good photos.

You can see the rest of them here.

Then we headed to our gate. Gate 3, at the very end of the first concourse. There was almost nobody around. I was surprised to see so little activity. For some reason, the waiting area at the very end of the concourse didn't look like it got renovated for some reason, but we wouldn't be there for long.

On the way we got to see a beautiful 3D printed sculpture by Charles Fazzino.

Despite my love of flying, this will actually be my first time on a wide-body in over 10 years! The last time I flew one was in the early 2000's on an American Airlines 767. This will also be only my second time on an Airbus aircraft and my first on the A330. (Last time was an A320 on JetBlue a few years ago)

Our plane, ready to board

Settled onboard I got to get my first look at the new hard product. It was fairly basic, but the seat was comfortable, the legroom was decent, and there was AVOD.

Panasonic eXlite AVOD IFE system with USB port for charging.

Being an overnight flight, we were given a amenity kit, featuring socks, an eye mask, a toothbrush other things I forget :P

After boarding and watching creepy in-flight safety video, we pushed back and stood in line to bear JFK's notoriously long taxi times. There must have been like ten planes in front of us waiting to take off. Luckily they turned on the IFE for us while we waited.

About an hour or two into the flight it was dinnertime. We had a choice of chicken or pasta. I settled for the chicken and here's what I got:

The main course with a side of cole slaw, a roll, a slice of laughing cow cheese and some red velvet cake. And of course the chicken:

It doesn't taste as bad as it looks. It's about what you would expect of airline food. But the food quality is no reason to pick on airlines. They are not flying restaurants. Their job is get you from point A to point B in a tidy fashion, not feed you. The fact that they're willing to give you food at all is just a courtesy you should be thankful for.

After dinner, the lights were dimmed and most people went to sleep. However I find it impossible to sleep in an Economy class seat, so I stayed up and enjoyed the IFE. The selection was quite small but of high quality, including the Lord of the Rings trilogy, James Bond: Skyfall, Cloud Atlas among others. I don't go to the movies often, so it was a good opportunity for me to check out the latest blockbusters.

About an hour or two before landing, the lights went on and breakfast was served.

It included a muffin, a roll, yogurt and a peculiar selection of cold cuts including a slice of salami, ham, a pickle and cheese.

It was an unusual breakfast, but I enjoyed it.

At last, we were on approach to Dusseldorf. This was the longest flight I have ever been on, and it wasn't unbearable. If it went longer then 10 hours then I may have started to get ancy.

Dusseldorf and the Rhine River at dawn

At long last we landed in Germany, to a nearly empty terminal at DUS. The terminal was clean, tidy, new and just gleamed of German efficiency. I didn't take any pictures of the terminal, but Im sure Google can satisfy you if you're interested.

After going through an extremely short passport check line we went to the gate of our connecting flight to Munich. We had an hour to kill, and Dusseldorf Airport is good for Aviation geeks. They have an observation deck and even an airport tour, Unfortunately, we had time for neither, so I just took some photos airside.

When it was time to depart, there was no gate space availible, so we had to take a bus to the plane on a hardstand on the other side of the airport, but it was a fun ride I guess.

Leg 2

Airline: Air Berlin (AB)
Routing: DUS-MUC
Flight Number: AB6025
Aircraft: Boeing 737-700
Aircraft Reg:
Estimated Flight Time: 1 hour, 6 minutes
Travel Class: Economy
Seat:

Now onward for a short hop to Munich!

After a short bus ride we arrived at our plane. A good ol' 737.

The plane was quite full, but comfortable enough for the short ride. We even got a little snack.

Quite good actually!

In no time at all, we landed in Munich, which was also quite empty. In no time we picked up our bags and headed for the train.

Neo-Ludditism

2014-08-13T23:00:00.000-04:00

We've all heard for a long time now about how the robots are coming for our jobs. The above video by the great CGP Grey explains that as automation becomes more sophisticated, even jobs long thought to be safe from automation are under threat.

There is reason to panic, yet at the same time, take comfort in that mass automation will be self defeating.

The Self Defeating Nature of Mass Automation

For employers, automation is an attractive idea. Cut costs and raise efficiency at the same time? Seems like a no brainer. What they fail to realize is that mass automation is self defeating.

To make money, someone has to consume the goods and services produced by the robots. To consume those goods, consumers need money. But when everything is automated, there are no jobs in which to make money. The result is that the lack of consumers cause demand to tank, bankrupting the very employers hoping to profit off of automation.

Replacing the entire workforce with robots is self defeating. If no one is employed, no one will be able to afford to purchase goods made by the robots.

Most people are too short sighted to realize this, so they embrace automation blindly, at the expense of the working class.

The Non-economic Consequences of Automation induced Mass Unemployment

With mass unemployment comes major social problems. Needless to say that mass unemployment caused by excessive automation will eventually cause an emergence of Neo-Ludditism. Literally, a Rage Against the Machines. This could result in anything from protests to industrial sabotage to other forms of violence.

With no jobs in which to earn an income, people my be forced to steal to survive.

Dehumanization

What disturbs me the most about the automation trend is the aspect if dehumanization. The loss of work to robots results in the loss of the opportunity for people to socialize and share in the creation of something. Sure it may be convenient to get your coffee from a machine, but you lose the ability to interact with another person. The barista who knows your name by heart as you come in for your morning coffee everyday. Such experiences will disappear with mass automation.

In the video above, CGP Grey also shows how robots are able to replicate creative works as "robot artists".

It doesn't matter how you frame it. A work created by a robot, being a poem, a painting, a song or a drawing, is not a creative work of art. You cannot have art without humanity. To me, a work of art created by a robot is not art at all, and should be considered worthless.

It is at this point were robots are beginning to replicate our humanity, not just our labor. This is a line that should not be crossed. Anyone who embraces such an idea has given up their humanity.

What to do about it

None of this should be considered an inevitability. It will only happen if we let it.

These new forms of automation should be strictly regulated, and some should be banned entirely.

Employment is more important than efficiency, but most people are too short sighted to realize this.

Innovation is not progress if it costs millions of people their livelihood.

To help those unemployed by machines, a universal basic income should be established. Every person would annually receive a given amount of money by the government unconditionally.

To pay for it, employers who use automation should be taxed extra to pay for those whom they have put out of work. This would also make automation less competitive against human labor.

In the end, I am not concerned in the long run. The efforts of mass automation and the resulting social problems will backfire tremendously. You cannot have a society with a 90% unemployment rate and still have social stability and a viable economy.

Instead of going through such turmoil, we need to have the intuition to look past our short sightedness and implement regulations and reforms to ensure that mass automation does not create mass unemployment.

Of course, people will overlook this simply to make a quick buck in the short term while destroying the entire economy in the long term.

This post was written by something irreplaceable. A Human being.

The Return of the Blogger

2014-08-13T14:48:00.001-04:00

Hello empty room full of followers.

After getting tired of blogging for a while, being bored out of my mind this summer has made me decide to jump back into blogging. Hopefully I'll be sticking around.

Regards,
Kevin

The War on Thanksgiving

2013-11-28T13:29:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving is in a sense, under attack. From both sides.

I already showed in my previous post how retailers are denying workers a right to a traditional family gathering just so they can serve more mindless consumers. But another attack on Thanksgiving comes from a different direction. The left.

Some ultra liberals condemn Thanksgiving as a "celebration of Native American genocide". This view is completely ignorant to History.

By using the word "genocide" they imply that European settlers sought to deliberately exterminate the native peoples of the America's (similar to how Hitler wanted to exterminate the peoples of Eastern Europe for German settlement). This however is not true. The vast majority of Native American's (over 90%) were killed by old world diseases brought by European's which they had no immunity to. The Europeans had no concept of germs or disease agents at the time. It was purely coincidental.

Indeed, the first settlers felt lucky to be alive, the last thing on their mind was trying to find a way to exterminate the natives who helped them survive the first winter in the first place.

The first Thanksgiving was celebration and a giving of thanks towards God that the settlers were able to find dry land and survive the journey across the atlantic. It was more or less a traditional harvest feast which stemmed from European tradition.

Thanksgiving was never really about the Native American's (let alone their supposed genocide), it was about what exactly the name implies, giving thanks.

Its what Thanksgiving should continue to be about, being thankful for all the things one has. It doesn't matter if you're Christian or Atheist, European or Native American, giving thanks is something we can all share in.

So stop trying to co-opt the holiday to serve your political agenda, and embrace it for what it really celebrates.

If you want to learn more about the myths and facts about the history of Thanksgiving, here are some links:

Six lies about the settlement of the Americas
Thanksgiving History
More Thanksgiving History
Myths and Realities of Thanksgiving

Black Thursday

2013-11-28T12:06:00.000-05:00

In the rush to appeal to consumers who want to grab excellent deals on crap they don't need, some stores this year have actually decided to open on Thanksgiving Day, rather than early morning on Black Friday as with tradition.

To me, this further exemplifies the decline of our moral values, as well as our obsession with mindless consumerism and the lack of workers rights within our country. Thanksgiving was one of few holidays that hasn't been commercialized (unless you count a spike in turkey sales), and now the elites just want to turn it into another shopping day (like those disgusting "Veterans Day sales").

Some will point out that this decision was ultimately determined by consumer demand, which is partially true, but you have to consider the position of the people who aren't the consumers, the workers. Now instead of being able to spend Thanksgiving Day with their families, retail workers will be forced to spend the day working long hours at poverty wages. Since the United States has no legally guaranteed vacation days for workers (unlike every other developed country), they have no choice but to work on a day traditionally meant for family gatherings or else get fired. Indeed, the United States has very few laws which protect workers, who can often be fired for just about any reason.

However, the states of Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Maine have laws which prohibit retailers from opening on Thanksgiving Day, something workers have to be thankful for.

So instead of being a mindless consumer this Thanksgiving, stay home instead, and send a message to companies who hate their workers, which include:

Lovesickness

2013-11-05T02:02:00.000-05:00

In my first years of High School, I went through a time of social rejection. In which no one wanted to be my friend or interact with me despite my desire to have friends. I was extremely depressed and feared I would be left alone in my corner of sadness forever.

Ive passed that phase and resolved it, however I feel as if the same feeling is coming back again. But this time it is not the lack of friends, but the lack of a significant other.

It is not because I don't have a girlfriend right now, it is because I have never had one, ever. Not in Middle School, not in High School, not in my 3 years of college, not ever.

You have no idea how alienating it is to watch your friends and acquaintances of (both sexes) get girlfriends and boyfriends and sometimes even watch them break up with those same people. While I on the other hand have never had such an experience, positive or negative. The feeling, of being loved, of having someone care about you like no one else does. It's one I long for yet feels so hopelessly out of reach.

I have had girls I liked and a crush at one point, but trying to form a relationship with them was either implausible or impractical, or they were already taken, or I couldn't bring myself to approach them, or I ended up being rejected by them.

Although there have been a handful of girls Ive liked, there were only 3 in my life that Ive felt connected to on a deep level.

Science says it only takes 1/5 of a second to fall in love. That is, even before you've gotten to know the person. This has only happened to me 3 times in my life.

The first was my first crush, which ended up going nowhere and I eventually became disinterested. You can read more about that here

The second was a friend I met in High School. She friendzoned me but I still hold hope she may change in the future.

And the third prompted me to write this post.

See, earlier this year a met a nice girl online. Even better it turned out she was going to visit a friend in Canada and go to the US in the summer, New York in particular. So we set out to meet each other in the city. I was so excited that I was going to get to meet and spend time with this girl. Ever since we first started talking Ive had this unusually warm feeling toward her. I soon became hopeful that we would enjoy each others company, and that just maybe, a relationship would develop.

But thats not what happened. She was bringing her friend with her into the states and the city (which I did not mind) but at the last minute she said she would skip NYC in order to visit her friends family near DC, and that they would only be in NYC to change buses. And later what do I find? Facebook, pictures of her and her friend all over New York City, Chinatown, Times Square, etc. More than what could be done during a bus stop layover.

I felt lied to, like she didn't really want to meet me and just made an excuse.

And then just today I found out that she has a boyfriend, the friend she spent time with in NYC instead of me.

To be fair, I don't know if they were boyfriend and girlfriend at the time when they were visiting New York City. Yet I still feel hurt that she's taken. I could have forgiven her about ditching me in New York City (whatever the real reason was for doing so), thats a side issue. But someone I thought I had a connection with was taken from me before I ever had the chance to meet her.

I have not felt this bad since when I found out my first crush had a boyfriend, and although I don't feel as bad as I did that time (Ive matured) I still feel hurt. As if my hopes have been crushed.

Id understand if some people say Im overreacting,
but perhaps this feeling is a sign of growing desperation on my part.

Maybe the fact that Ive been deprived of romantic companionship my entire life so far is causing feelings of loneliness and attachment to intensify.

And the worst part is, there isn't much I can do about it beyond what I am already doing. (Except getting a mail order bride, but it will be a long time before I get that desperate, considering my age and sense of self respect)

Loss of Supply

2013-10-05T05:34:00.000-04:00

In light of the recent government shutdown, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to argue yet another reason that our Presidential system of government is flawed, and how a proper Parliamentary democracy can prevent or lessen the severity of the many political problems we encounter.

The recent shutdown was all about Obamacare (which went into effect anyway). Despite being passed by Congress in 2010, surviving a Supreme Court challenge, and 40 some odd futile attempts to repeal it, Republicans still want to do anything possible to put a stop to it, even if it means shutting down the government. So, the GOP is now refusing to pass funding for the government until the Democrats "compromise" (i.e. repeal the Affordable Care Act). It's the ultimate filibuster.

Don't get me wrong, I am not necessarily a "fan" of Obamacare. I personally think that it is a band-aid on major national problem that can only be truly solved with a single payer National Healthcare System (but thats a topic for another post).

The fact that the GOP is willing to shutdown the government over a bill that has already been passed is a testament to how asspained they are over it. Though their opposition to it has nothing to do with whether it will be good or bad for the country. No, it is because they know people will like it and it will be Obama's legacy. They tried to prevent him from winning in 2008, they failed. They tried to make him a one term President, they failed. Now all they can do is try to tarnish his legacy, which the ACA is part of. I cannot think anyone who is more of a sore loser.

Back on the topic at hand, the fact that any party can hold the nation hostage by withholding government funding is asinine and shows how flawed our system is.

There is however, an alternative.

In a Parliamentary Democracy, budget crisis' such as this do not happen.

If Parliament is unable or unwilling to pass government funding, a Loss of Supply occurs.

A loss of supply is a loss of confidence in government, indicating that it must be dissolved.

In most countries, in the event of a loss of supply, Parliament is dissolved and an emergency election is held. A new coalition is elected and the funding bill is passed, and the Prime Minister is usually replaced.

This is exactly what happened to Australia in 1975

In short, if a government fails to fund the government in a Parliamentary system, every member of Parliament would risk losing their jobs. Because of this, Australia has not had a loss of supply since.

If the US were a Parliamentary Democracy, there would be an emergency election, and the people responsible for holding the government hostage would be voted out of office, all before the risk of a government shutdown would surface (unfortunately in the US this is pointless due to all of the Gerrymandering).

But no, instead we are forced to watch Congress engage in petty politics while our federal government falters and people suffer, with little to no incentive to come to their senses.

On the Road to Germany

2013-07-11T16:48:00.000-04:00

Though Iceland was spectacular, this years grand adventure will be to Deutschland!

This trip wasn't my idea like last time, but my mom's. She was born there, and I still have family there whom Ive never met before. With my brother going away to college and my relatives aging, we thought this would be a good time to visit and explore my heritage (which has been hard since I live on an island stuffed with Italians).

I have been to Germany when I was an infant, but I remember nothing. So this summer we're going to take the opportunity to explore the country.

These pretty much sum it up:

We will arrive in Munich (which along with Berlin, is the biggest tourist city in Germany) where we will spend four days. On the day we arrive we will likely be exhausted from jet lag, but will give us a chance to explore the city before crashing.

On the second day we will take a day trip out of the city to visit Linderhof Palace and Neuschwanstein Castle.

(image)

On the third day we will once again have some free time to explore the city. Finally, on the fourth day we will take another day trip to Salzburg, Austria.

(image)

We will then take a scenic train ride to Frankfurt, where we will board a cruise which will take us on a scenic tour of the famous Rhine River.

The next day we will board the train again and head for Bremen. Where we will await pick-up by our German relatives, who reside in the village of Reessum. It's a small farm village where my grandmother grew up. It should give a taste of the old life. We will have five days to spend in Northern Germany, we will be sure to visit Bremen and Hamburg, but we're not sure what we'll do the rest of the time yet. I wanted to go to Denmark and visit the beaches of the North Sea, and hopefully Copenhagen. But unfortunately it doesn't look like that will make the itinerary.

The trip will be 2 weeks total. Given how boring my summer has been so far, this will be a welcome getaway.

First Day on the Job

2013-05-14T21:22:00.001-04:00

So today was day one of my new job. It actually wasn't too bad, but it wasn't the most pleasant either.

I punched in and went off to the deli and introduced myself. There were a lot of customers being helped at the time, so no one was free to train me right away. But they showed me where the meats were, how to slice them and how to weigh them.

Basically it goes like this; you take the customers order, you find the meat, unwrap it, slice it the way the customer wants, guesstimate the weight, weigh it to make sure, punch in the product number so it can print the label, wrap it up, stick the label on it, and give it to the customer. Then you got to take the meat back and rewrap it. Rinse and repeat.

The work isn't hard, just tedious.

Even after just one day I pretty much got the hang of it. The hardest part is finding and identifying the meats, as they are not always clearly labeled, so I kept having to ask the veterans if I had the right meat. The last thing I want to do is screw up a customers order.

Since it was my first day they gave me a 4 hour shift, but typical shifts are 6 hours.

I was hoping that time would fly by if I was kept busy, but unfortunately the opposite happened. I felt like I was there forever. Hopefully, it'll get better over time. It wasn't too tiring, but my feet certainly started to hurt towards the end.

They handed me my work schedule for when they needed me. I ended up getting more hours than I expected. Sure I get more money, but Im not entirely sure if I can handle it. We'll see.

One of my friends also works in a deli at another supermarket. He hates it, he says customers are always nasty. Plus his shifts are 9 hours!

I haven't encountered a bad customer yet. But I know Im bound to encounter one sooner or later.

The pay is $8/hour. I have yet to find out how much taxes will get taken out of that. But I get paid weekly.

I personally think $8/hour is too little. I think $10 or $11/hour is more appropriate for my particular job, but I'm in no postion to complain. My personal expenses are minimal. I can't say the same for the millons of low wage workers struggling to feed their families. Once you've been in their working boots, you begin to understand their plight, and how low American wages really are.

First Job

2013-05-11T18:56:00.000-04:00

It's usually an American tradition for a teenager to get a summer job as a right of passage for growing up, at least thats how the baby boomers see it. But no sir! Not in this economy!

I became of working age right when the recession hit in 2008. Job opportunities simply did not exist, even for adults, let alone teenagers. As such, I never had the chance to work in my teen years. This also puts me at a disadvantage. You need experience to get a job, but you need a job to gain experience. Unless you're a teenager, having no experience makes you look lazy, despite the economic climate you were living in.

It seems there are no entry level positions anymore. If you want a job in a warehouse that pays minimum wage, you need a PhD in box lifting with 20 years experience.

I actually was quite surprised when they called up and asked for an interview.

For almost a year Ive been trying to find work, but hardly anyone was hiring, and those who were hiring usually wanted someone with "experience" even for measly, low skilled jobs. It seems employers just aren't willing to take a risk anymore. Not only that, but most companies want you to apply online, where you take a stupid personality test, and then your resume is sent off to some massive database where it probably just gets lost and never reaches the place you're applying to! What ever happened to on site applications? Do they really have to dehumanize the mere process of applying for a job?

It frustrated me because all of my friends had jobs, but I just couldn't snag one!

In the meantime, I did some various volunteer work. I also did some off the books favors for a local business, but it didn't really amount to anything. Thats another story.

After never hearing from anyone I applied to, I began to feel like it was pointless, when suddenly the phone rang from the supermarket and asked me for an interview, and the rest is history.

Today, at the age of 20, I finally got my first real paying job!

Working the deli part time at a local supermarket for $8/hr. Not the best, but I'll take it.
I start next week. I just hope Im not overwhelmed, as this is my first formal job. Im not entirely sure what to expect.

Lets hope this goes well.

First Flight

2013-03-23T15:15:00.000-04:00

Watch in 720p on fullscreen

It has always been my dream to fly a plane and on March 9th 2013, I got the chance. As a birthday present, my parents gave the chance to fly.

We contacted Mid Island Flight School, which offers the public the chance to go up in a plane with an instructor and actually fly it! No experience necessary!

So we went to the airport where we were greeted by the instructor. I was handed a headset and we set out.

I was brought to a Cessna 172R, a small plane which is very popular among recreational pilots.

I was given a basic introduction to the controls, though the instructor was pleasantly surprised to find out that I knew what everything did, even though Ive never set foot inside a cockpit before. We revved up the engine and began taxiing. He told me where to go and I was given the job of taxiing to the runway. You have to use the rudder to steer the airplane while taxiing, which is quite sloppy, and it doesn't turn very sharp. Commercial airliners have their front wheel hooked up to the control column, so it's much easier for them.

We approached Runway 33L and he asked if I wanted to do the takeoff, and I gladly accepted (I was unable to film it for the video above). I pulled back the throttle and once I gained enough speed, I pulled back on the control column and like magic, we soared into the air.

When it comes down to it, flying a plane turned out to be incredibly easy (at least for a small Cessna). Not once did I feel I did not have control, and the instructor seemed comfortable with just letting me be. It just goes to show how safe flying actually is.

We went east along the south shore and then back west along the north shore. There is a lot that you can see from the air, though the landscape was barren because we were in the middle of winter.

After almost an hour and a half of flying, we set down on Runway 33L. I let the instructor do the landing because it tends to be the most difficult part of flying, and so that I could enjoy it more.

We taxied back to the terminal and the flight was complete, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Cockpit Guide

2013-03-16T17:08:00.000-04:00

As a pilot in training, its probably a good idea that I familiarize myself with the controls of an aircraft.

Probably at least once when you boarded a plane you may have taken a glance in the cockpit. Immediately you see a huge array of buttons, knobs, screens and lights. To most people it is remarkable as to how pilots can read and control all of these things. To a pilot however, it is just another day on the job.

A cockpit is not as complicated as it first appears. All of those buttons, knobs and indicators serve a purpose, and many are used much more often than others. A cockpit can be broken down into several instruments. So here I present to you a breakdown of what they are and what they do.

Disclaimer: This is for info purposes only. Please do not attempt to fly a plane using this blog post.

There are two basic types of cockpits, traditional cockpits and glass cockpits. Traditional cockpits used since the birth of aviation rely on analog instruments, and are usually found on small recreational aircraft, as well as older planes of all types. Glass cockpits are much more fancy and have a lot more features. In glass cockpits, almost all of the instruments are digital and many things are computerized. This greatly reduces the workload of the pilots and are essential on large aircraft. Almost all modern airliners, business jets, and military aircraft use glass cockpits. Even small Cessna's have them as an option.

This first example is that of an analog cockpit on a Cessna 172:
The instruments will not look the same on every aircraft, they have different styles depending on the manufacturer

1) Airspeed indicator

Simple enough, tells you how fast you are flying. The skies have no speed limit, but aircraft do. Go too slow, and you stall out, go too fast, and your aircraft will get torn apart.

2) Attitude indicator

Not a mood indicator. Attitude is aviation jargon for your aircraft's position relative to the horizon. It essentially tells you if you're flying parallel to the earth's surface (which is technically impossible since the earth is round).

3) Altimeter

Indicates your altitude. Like a clock, the little hand indicates thousands of feet, while the big hand indicates hundreds of feet. In the photo above, the aircraft is at 500 feet (the apparent elevation of the airport where it is parked).

4) Turn coordinator

Tells you how hard you're turning.

5) Heading indicator

Tells you what direction you're 'heading'. Ive mentioned it before in my runway post. There is an adjustable orange tab around its circumference that allows you make sure you're traveling in your desired direction.

6) Vertical airspeed indicator

Tells how quickly you're descending or ascending.

7) Course deviation indicator

Tells you how off course you are from your designated flight path. Remaining too far off course can possibly cause you to get lost or [in a worst case scenario] result in a mid air collision. When the needle's align into a cross, you're on course.

8) Radio equipment

Communicates with air traffic control and navigation beacons. I haven't learned too much about radio procedures yet.

9) Magnetic compass

Standard navigation tool since the middle ages!

10) Yoke (Control column)

Sort of the equivalent of a steering wheel (but it doesn't actually steer, thats what the petals are for). Pulling the yoke back makes the plane pull up and fly upwards. Pushing it forward makes the plane dive and fly downwards. Turning it left or right controls the roll of the aircraft.

11) Ignition

Just like your old Cadillac!

12) Electric control switches

Turns the aircraft's electrical power on and off.

13) Auxiliary switches

Controls various things such as the external lights.

14) Petals

Controls the steering or yaw of the aircraft. Pushing the left petal makes the plane turn left, pushing the right petal makes it turn right.

15) Trim tab controls

Trim tabs on an aircraft

The closest aircraft equivalent to cruse control, though it has nothing to do with speed. It basically puts the elevators (or ailerons or even the rudder) into a fixed position so you don't have to keep pressure in the yoke to constantly adjust your pitch (attitude).

16) Throttle

Unlike a car, the gas on an aircraft is not something that needs constant adjusting (at least while in the air). Pushing the knob in makes the plane go faster, pulling it out makes it decelerate.

17) Air-Fuel mixture knob

Adjusts the air-fuel mixture.

18) Annunciator panel

This the equivalent to the part of the car dashboard where the 'check engine' light appears. However if you're engine's failing on a single engine Cessna, you're in serious trouble. Basically its where all the warning lights appear if there is a problem (oil pressure, low fuel, etc)

Now for the glass cockpit. Electronic flight instruments are much more complex so I will break them down a little further.

1) Primary Flight Display (PFD)

This is THE most essential component of the glass cockpit. It combines the altimeter, the heading indicator, the airspeed indicator, the vertical airspeed indicator, the compass, the attitude indicator and turn coordinator onto a single screen.

2) Navigation Display

A digital navigation instrument that serves as a map, course deviation indicator, and most importantly, the collision avoidance system.

3) Yoke (Control column)

4) Petals

5) Flight Management System/Flight Computer

The central computer that automates many essential flight systems. Modern aircraft could not fly the way they do without one. Its made the life of pilots a heck of a lot easier, while simultaneously putting thousands of flight engineers and navigators out of work.

6) Trim tab controls

7) Throttle

Levers, (one for each engine) which control the amount of thrust and consequently the speed of the aircraft. Similar to the throttle knob on the Cessna. They are almost always moved together, except during taxiing or in the case of engine failure in flight.

8) Flaps control

Controls the flaps which are used during takeoff and landing (you may notice them if you have a window seat by the wing). They increase lift and drag, allowing the plane to fly at a lower speed without stalling, reducing the amount of runway needed.

9) Auxiliary Display

An optional display, usually used to display airport maps and charts.

10) Engine Indicator and Crew Alerting System (EICAS)

This is the primary safety instrument onboard the plane. It monitors all of the planes systems as well as the performance of the engines. If something goes wrong, the pilots will be alerted via this display as well as the Annunciator.

11) Cup holders

Always essential. Gotta put that coffee somewhere.

12) Mode Control Panel (Autopilot)

Allows the pilots to engage and disengage the autopilot, as well as give it settings for speed, altitude etc.

An older autopilot system

13) Cabin Controls

Drops the oxygen masks, controls the lights, the toilets, among other things (just below it is the compass).

And thats the basics of the cockpit, though there are many more specifics one can get into. To learn more about glass cockpits and how they are used, check out this link.

Why "rouge" is bad news for the Canadian Traveler

2013-02-17T15:21:00.002-05:00

Air Canada is constantly recognized as the best airline in North America, and with good reason. It is the only full service carrier I know of that offer AVOD inflight entertainment at every seat, as well as AC power ports for gadgets, not just on its widebodies, but on its narrowbodies as well, all the way down to their CRJ-700s.

However, in pursuit of higher profits, AC is throwing their distinction out the window (at least on their short haul flights). As the Design Air showed, Air Canada is launching a new low cost subsidiary called Air Canada "rouge". Although they're presenting their new "rouge" product as something fresh hoping people will think New = Good, which is not necessarily the case. Here are a couple of reasons why rogue is bad news for the Canadian traveler:

Wages

In order to cut costs, Air Canada employees who will work for rouge will be paid lower wages than their mainline counterparts, despite doing more or less the same work.

Fares

Any reduction in fares will be quite marginal, especially in comparison to what flyers are losing in amenities. Lower fares means less profits, so any difference in fares will be minimal. The only thing that will bring down fares is fierce competition, which is extremely lacking in the Canadian airline industry. Air Canada's only real competitor in the domestic market is WestJet, and even so, Air Canada still dominates the market.

Also, the ability to earn Aeroplan points will be limited on rouge flights.

Service

Like most low-cost carriers, amenities that were once free will now cost extra. Instead of AVOD, rouge will offer passengers the ability stream media over inflight wi-fi (for a fee of course) instead. AC says this will save the cost of installing PTV's, which is odd considering most of the fleet being transferred to rogue already has PTV's installed.

Comfort

Business class will be eliminated, and replaced with "rogue Premium" which is basically a Premium Economy (in other words a downgrade). In addition, more seats will be squeezed onto each plane (142 as opposed to the current 120), reducing your legroom to a tight 29" pitch, as opposed to the more standard 32" pitch on their mainline planes.

But the cost cutting doesn't stop there, Air Canada recently ordered 5 additional Boeing 777's for expanding their international routes. Their current fleet of 18 777's has an excellent cabin, flat bed seats in a herringbone layout in business class, and a spacious 3-3-3 layout in economy. But thats going to change, Air Canada's new 777's will have a truly sardine pack configuration of 458 seats as opposed the current 349 seats. Only Air France packs more seats in their 777's.

This means if you're lucky enough to fly on these new 777's, you get the cozy rouge seating experience for the same cost as a mainline ticket! The good news is, Air Canada has no plans to reconfigure their 18 older 777's to this squished layout.

So, want to avoid flying rouge and stick with the Air Canada you know and love? You can. All of Air Canada's 767's and A319's will eventually be transferred to rouge, but the rest of the fleet will remain the same (Including their A320's, A321's, A330's, 777's, the Embraer's and the regional aircraft). Also, rouge will focus exclusively on leisure routes (the Caribbean and Southern Europe), so normal Air Canada service will remain on all others.

So don't get too excited about Air Canada rouge, because its not really a new venture, just more cost cutting disguised as a marketing campaign.

The Story of Alice

2013-02-14T20:06:00.000-05:00

Another Forever Alone Day Special

In my Senior year of High School I met a Freshmen girl named Alice. One day I was stopping by my old teachers classroom after school and she was there asking for help on her history homework on Ancient China. Being a near expert on the subject, I volunteered to help her the next day during lunch.

I thought we really clicked, we talked a lot about things other than schoolwork. She was always working her butt off trying to do her best at school. She would get extremely frustrated and angry with herself if she didn't get an A on her assignments, even though I kept telling her it wasn't the end of the world. She always put schoolwork first and didn't have much time for friends, except luckily for me, during her lunch period.

Even though I kept telling her what an excellent girl she was, she was always convinced she was bad friend, a lousy student and an irresponsible person.

At the end of the year, I decided to ask her to my senior prom and she said yes. I really hoped to enjoy myself since I wouldn't get to see her often after I graduated.

Still, after I left high school, I tried to keep in touch and tried to do different things with her (when she wasn't busy studying that is). It was good in the beginning, we did stuff on a regular basis. But soon she began to decline more and more. She was pessimistic. She said I should go on to forget about her and try to make new friends in college because when she graduated she would go away to college and we wouldn't see each other again. I tried to tell her that thats not how friendships are supposed to be.

I chatted with her once in a while on Facebook, but apparently, she couldn't take it anymore. Recently, she dropped a bombshell on me. She said that as much as she tried, she never found a real connection with me as she did with her other friends or I did with her (I actually noticed this for a while, she always behaved differently when talking to her other friends than when she talked to me). Even though she realized this long ago, she said she stayed my friend out of guilt and pity, she said she knew I didn't have many friends and she didn't want me to be lonely, so she stayed my friend anyway. She felt guilty for lying to me and only being my friend out of pity, and eventually, she couldn't take it anymore, so she told me the truth, how she really felt.

She said that although she knew I was a good guy, she felt alienated by me. That there was no connection of true friendship. But what really hit me was when she said that I tend to "give off the wrong impression" which is a typical trait of people with Aspergers Syndrome, but she also added that Ive been called "creepy" or "weird" by other girls.

She also said she regrets becoming my friend in the first place and putting me through this revelation. Though Im not really that hurt, but still hurt that I was losing (what I still think was) such a good friend. She said though, that I should feel free to ask her for advice if I ever needed it.

I should feel betrayed, angry and lied too, but I just can't stay mad at her for it. The fact that she decided to stay my friend even though she really didn't want to shows that she cared for me and my feelings, which is something very few people do.

It was a shame, because I thought she was such a great friend, and for a while, I thought I was falling in love with her.

But as it is said, "God givith and God taketh away"

New Semester, New Chapter

2013-01-23T03:27:00.000-05:00

Today I start my 2nd semester of my Sophomore year. I am just about at the halfway point in my college career. But this semester starts a whole new chapter.

I have finished my core requirements and now I must focus on my major; a B.A. in History with Secondary Education Certification.

The History is the easy part, it is an incredibly easy subject for me. The hard part is the Secondary Education certification, which might as well be a major in its own right.

It requires I take courses in:

Adolescent Psychology
Adolescent Literacy
General teaching
Fundamentals of Education
Education Methods
Two speech classes
A Foreign Language

and last but not least

A year of supervised teaching

On top of that I have to write a Thesis for the History degree (though I tend to be good at writing papers)

So yeah, things are only going to get tougher here on out.

The Secondary Education certification is critical for me. Not only will it allow me to teach at the High School level (mainly as a back-up career), but I will give me important skills and experience for my immediate post-college goal, to teach English in Taiwan. Although you don't need such an education to get an English teaching job, it will give me a strong advantage over other applicants and should land me a good job in a good school.

So here's what I have going for me this Semester:

HIS-100 Western Civilization
SOC-100 Introduction to Sociology
EDU-121 Teaching Adolescents
ECO-120 Macroeconomics
POL-104 State and Local Government

Notice those are all 100 level courses. The reason being that I only took core required courses for the past 3 semesters. Now that those are out of the way, Im beginning to start my major from the ground up. Hopefully 100 level courses will mean this semester will be relatively stress free. Still, things will only get harder here on out.

Yep

Now heres the fun part, all EDU courses require that I observe a teacher in the classroom at a public school for 2 hours a week, the whole semester.

Initially I was nervous about this requirement, but then again all I have to do is observe. Im not required to take notes or actually help the teacher. Im free to learn in my own way. In addition, I plan on observing at my old High School which I graduated from only two years ago, so I'll surely see some familiar faces.

People say students studying for liberal arts degrees have it easy. While it's probably not as tough as a STEM major, I can tell you that for students who take their education seriously, it is no cakewalk. Ive got two more years to push through, but I know it will be worth it in the end.

RAGE Review

2013-01-20T03:19:00.001-05:00

I was really on the fence when deciding whether or not to get this game, but Im glad I did. It was well worth $15.

RAGE was probably one of the most overlooked games of 2011. It combines first person shooting, adventure, driving and RPG elements quite well.

Plot line: Its the Apocalypse. Thats really all you need to know, but heres the backstory:

In 2029, a giant asteroid is heading towards earth. The worlds governments commission dozens of "Arks" to be buried beneath the earth so that their passengers may rebuild civilization after the asteroid strikes.

You are an unnamed "Ark Survivor" who is awoken 106 years later to a dramatically different world. The world is literally a wasteland, covered in dirt, shrubs, wreckage and scrap metal, and has plunged into anarchy. The decedents of those who managed to survive the asteroid strike are spread out across the planet in small settlements. Meanwhile a powerful, tyrannical faction known as "The Authority" holds ultimate power over the small settlements of the wasteland. In addition, the rest of the wasteland is now covered with mutants and bandits.

The story sounds a lot more interesting than how it actually plays out in the game. Its actually almost a fantasy of mine. Living through the end of the world, then trying to survive as you rebuild.

You start off as a wandering mercenary but eventually join up with the resistance to fight the authority and restore order to the world. In the meantime you partake and dozens of missions big and small to get by. These missions usually involve raiding a hideout to retrieve an important item, killing everything in your path along the way.

Driving is a big part of RAGE. It is often needed to travel large distances between areas. There are also various jumps that you are challenged to go over.

In addition there are also 4 mini games and various races to take part in.

Exploring and collecting is also a big part of RAGE. You can find junk to sell or search for ingredients used to craft useful items like health boosts, turrets and sentries, razor boomerangs and special ammo.

As far as the basic gameplay goes it plays like your average shooter, though you can also set up turrets and sentries and you can throw razor boomerangs at your enemies. Your health regenerates slowly thanks to nanobots in your bloodstream. In addition you have "lives" in a sense. If you die, a defibrillator in your chest that is magically able to heal bullet wounds activates, where you play a small mini game that, if successful, brings you back to life. But this defibrillator can only be used once within a certain time period during which it must recharge. When you die for good, you better hope you've saved, because autosave checkpoints are rare.

The graphics are excellent, especially if you look at the sky. If you just sit there and stare at the scenery for a minute, you will soon feel quite immersed into the desolate world. As you crawl through abandoned cities and industrial plants you will soon feel like an urban explorer. It is also quite gory (decapitation is a common cause of death).

The wasteland isn't particularly large, but the game has a lot of content and is very detailed. It is probably for this reason that the game is spread out over 3 discs (2 for the campaign, 1 for multiplayer). In fact, uncompressed the game build is said to be over 1 terabyte in size.

It's not Skyrim big, but between side quests and races RAGE will keep you busy for quite a while, making it a great value.

Although satisfying, you almost feel like RAGE should be deeper and have more to offer. Still, if you like shooting and adventure, RAGE is the game for you.

★★★★☆

How to use Dropbox to host Blogger photos

2013-01-15T14:07:00.000-05:00

Some time ago I discovered that whenever you upload a photo to blogger to put on your blog, it gets stored in Google's Picasa web albums. The problem is that web Picasa web albums has maximum free storage amount of 1 GB. When you run out, you either have to pay for more, delete stuff to make room, or stop using photos.

But, you can also use Dropbox to host your blog photos as well. Dropbox gives you 2 GB of storage free, for a total of 3 GB of photo storage for your blog, which should be plenty.

To use Dropbox for blogger photos, first you have to upload the photos you want to use to your Dropbox.

Then, in your file browser, right-click and select "Share Link" on the drop menu. Alternatively, click the "Share Link" button next to the photo on the Dropbox website.

Next, right-click the "Download" button in the corner and select "Copy Link" or "Copy Link Address".

Then, on blogger, press the "Insert Image"button and then go to the tab that says "From a URL".

There should be a ?dl=1 at the end of the URL, like this:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8vml7x66l9w0oh8/db2.png?dl=1

Simply paste in the URL address you copied from Dropbox and vuala! Dropbox is hosting your blog photos!

My Dream Tour of Asia

2013-01-12T18:09:00.000-05:00

Most college students want to backpack Europe, I want to backpack Asia.

Ive always had a dream to tour around east asia. All I need is money, and an itinerary
(mostly money).

Thanks to Interpals, I have made an assortment of friends in Asia, and I hope that they will be able to guide me.

Depending on how much money I can put together, I might be able to do different cities in different combinations.

I ultimately want to see:

Tokyo
Kyoto
Taiwan
Seoul
Beijing
East China
Guangzhou
Hong Kong
Vietnam
Thailand
Malaysia
Singapore
Bhutan

Doing those all in one trip is a pipe dream, but hopefully I can see them all in my lifetime.

If I end up dying of a terminal illness and the make-a-wish foundation gave me a wish, this would be it.

Purple routes are optional

Fly to Seoul, then to Tokyo, take the train to Kyoto, fly to Beijing, take the train down the coast, make stops in Fujian and Shanghai, stop in Guangzhou, cross the boarder into Hong Kong, fly to Taiwan, fly to Vietnam, fly to Bangkok, fly to Kuala Lumpur, fly to Singapore, fly to Bhutan (these of course can be done in any order if the price is right)

Sound simple enough? Sounds expensive enough. Although it is my reasoning that the most expensive part of such a trip would be airfare. Food, lodging, and even the train would be cheap in comparison.

Id thought Id break up these destinations into several trips to save time, effort and money. That is three different tours; North Asia, South China, and Southeast Asia.

Based on my current situation, I hope I can do one of the following within the foreseeable future.

The South China Tour

Fly to Shanghai, take the train down the coast to Guangzhou, stopping in Fujian on the way. Cross the boarder to Hong Kong, fly to Taiwan, fly home.

The North Asia Tour

Fly to Seoul, fly to Tokyo, take the train to Kyoto, fly to Beijing, fly home

The problem with the two tours above being separate is that I would have to go to China twice, which means two expensive visa's (you need a new one each time you cross the border into Mainland China (no reentry)). Technically I could do mainland China all in one shot, arriving in Beijing rather than Shanghai in the "South China Tour". But this would make the "North Asia Tour" much shorter, (and you want to make the most of a transpacific plane ticket :P) to compensate, I could take off Taiwan from the "South China Tour" and add it to the "North Asia Tour". What you get is this.

The North Asia Tour II

Fly to Seoul, fly to Tokyo, take the train to Kyoto, fly to Taiwan, fly home

The East China Tour

Fly to Beijing, take the train down the coast to Guangzhou, stopping in Shanghai and Fujian, cross the border into Hong Kong, fly home

This one actually involves the least amount of flying, and therefore may end up being the cheapest (sans the stupid visa)

Finally, there is;

The Southeast Asia Tour

Fly to Hong Kong (if I want, otherwise just make a connection at the airport :P), fly to Vietnam, fly to Bangkok, fly to Kuala Lumpur, fly to Singapore, fly to Bhutan, fly home

This would probably be the most expensive tour. I would need two visas (for Vietnam and Bhutan) and need to make several flights (because the geography of the region isn't train friendly). So Im not holding my breath, neither am I particularly eager. Id rather do the other two tours first.

Asia is full of wonder for those who understand its beauty and appreciate it's culture. I hope one day I can experience it myself first hand.

The Boeing 757, an irreplaceable plane?

2013-01-12T15:10:00.000-05:00

The 757 is probably one of the most niche airliners ever built. Its a narrow-body with the performance of a wide-body but while keeping all of the benefits of a narrow-body.

It was designed to replace the highly popular 727 but with much greater efficiency and more suitability for "hot and high" airports, where high temperatures and/or altitude make it more difficult for planes to take off, requiring longer runways and/or lighter planes.

It seats around 200 passengers and has a range of over 4000 nautical miles, which places its capacity and performance squarely between the Boeing 737 and 767. Airbus, the other major airplane maker, has no direct equivalent to the 757.

For most of its production, it sold quite well. Just over 1000 aircraft were produced. It was (and still is) particularly popular among US airlines. American airlines, Delta Airlines, and United airlines each still operate over 100 of them. The 757 is perfectly suited for longer routes that don't warrant the capacity of a wide-body, such as transcontinental flights, flights to Hawaii, and thinner, off season transatlantic routes.

But some airlines that use the 757 for these special routes are running into a problem. As their 757's age and retire, the aircraft has no direct replacement. This means that they will have to either abandon these routes or use newer aircraft that are as similar as possible. Boeing did not consider it worth the effort to make a replacement, since the market for 757 like aircraft has dwindled with the changing economics of the airline industry. But Delta, American, and United seem to love their 757's, and they could certainly make use of a new model.

So what will they do? Lets take a look at some possible future replacements for the 757.

The Boeing 737-900ER and the 737-9 MAX

The 737-900ER appears to be Delta's choice for a 757 replacement. However, it falls short of the 757 in that it carries fewer passengers (~180 in a single class configuration as opposed to ~200 on the 757-200) and doesn't have nearly the range of the 757 (3200nm as opposed to 4100nm on the 757). Still, it will be able to do many of Delta's current 757 routes perfectly fine (minus a slight loss in capacity) sans transatlantic routes. It fits Boeings argument that a 757 replacement isn't necessary because the 737 can do most of its current routes.

The 737-9 MAX is still in development, but will be more efficient than the 737-900ER, and it will have a slight boost in range to 3600nm. The 737-9 MAX will be United Airlines chosen replacement for their 757's.

The Airbus A321 and A321neo

The Airbus A321 is the Boeing 737-900ER's equivalent, but is slightly larger. It carries more passengers at a slight expense of some range. Like the 757, it can carry 200 passengers in a single class configuration. However, its range is significantly reduced to only 3000nm. The A321neo is still in development but is expected to have increased performance over the current model.

American Airlines has ordered the A321 to replace its domestic 757's and its 767-200ER's for its transcontinental routes.

I wonder if I would have been wise for Airbus to make an 'A322'. A larger version of the A321 with much longer range to effectively take the 757's place, and steal the market away from Boeing.

The Boeing 767-200ER

The 767 is the next step up from the 757 in Boeing's lineup. But even the smallest model (the 767-200ER) is way overkill for the routes the 757 was intended for. It can carry 250 passengers in a single class configuration and has a range of over 6300nm. Putting it on 757 routes would result in unsold seats and wasted fuel. Still, back in the day, American Airlines was the go-to airline for transcontinental flying, and held on to most of the market. To fit the demand, they use the 767-200ER on their New York to LA and San Francisco flights instead of the 757 or other aircraft. They fly it in a low density, 3-class configuration with 160 seats. The additional size of the wide-bodied 767 allowed them to fit more Business and First class seats, which are big moneymakers on transcontinental routes. This makes up for the reduced capacity.

Still for most airlines, a 767-200ER would not be very efficient for most 757 routes, especially considering the 200ER is no longer produced.

The Tupolev Tu-204

Okay, it looks like a 757, but is it one? It's arguably the 757's knockoff Russian brother. But just like we were in the cold war, the American one is better. The Tu-204 has several variants. The first downside is that all except one require a flight engineer (a 3 person cockpit), so thats an extra crew member on the airline's pay-roll. Like the 757 it can fit 200 passengers, but it won't take them very far, only 2600nm. There is a longer range variant that will take you 3600nm, but only with 160 passengers in a single class configuration.

Conclusion? The 737-9 MAX and the A321neo are the closest airlines will get to a 757 replacement, but they should be able to cope with them just fine. If you use your 757's for the passenger capacity, order the A321neo, if range is a bigger priority, order the 737-9 MAX. In the end these two aircraft will cover over 90% of the 757's current routes. The other 10%? Sorry but those markets are to small to justify their own aircraft, and airlines should realize this.