my observations on everything right and wrong with the world - starting with myself.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
stupid suicidal maniacs.
So yesterday, a suicidal dude decided to drive his SUV onto a railroad intersection hoping to kill himself, but at the last minute, decided to back out and walked out of the vehicle. unfortunately, a train hit his SUV, which caused the train to derail, hit a stationary train, and then, hit another moving train.
In the end, 11 people are dead, 200+ are injured...but guess what, the suicidal SUV driver is still alive.
Now, the State wants to give him the death sentence. what's the worst sentence you could possibly give to someone who's prepared to die?
idiots. DON'T give the guy what he wants. keep him alive.
the way I see it...if you're prepared to die and you have no qualm with risking other people's lives, then you have basically given up your civil liberties and human rights.
so, whatever happened to human experimentation or involuntary organ donation?
not that I approve of what the Nazis did during WWII, but seriously, it costs a lot to kill a criminal...but scientific research costs even more...and there's a long waiting list for organs.
why not combine the two for the benefit of society?
it sounds cruel and unusual, but it isn't. The Ancient Greeks and Spartans believed in the 'eye for an eye' mantra.
you know what's cruel and unusual? basing a criminal's sentence on the opinions of the twelve most ignorant people in a courtroom.
we're so politically sensitive when it comes to basic human rights nowadays...we're so afraid of hurting other people...solely for the reason that nobody wants to be liable for anything, and if something does happen, someone just has to be blamed.
idiots.
So yesterday, a suicidal dude decided to drive his SUV onto a railroad intersection hoping to kill himself, but at the last minute, decided to back out and walked out of the vehicle. unfortunately, a train hit his SUV, which caused the train to derail, hit a stationary train, and then, hit another moving train.
In the end, 11 people are dead, 200+ are injured...but guess what, the suicidal SUV driver is still alive.
Now, the State wants to give him the death sentence. what's the worst sentence you could possibly give to someone who's prepared to die?
idiots. DON'T give the guy what he wants. keep him alive.
the way I see it...if you're prepared to die and you have no qualm with risking other people's lives, then you have basically given up your civil liberties and human rights.
so, whatever happened to human experimentation or involuntary organ donation?
not that I approve of what the Nazis did during WWII, but seriously, it costs a lot to kill a criminal...but scientific research costs even more...and there's a long waiting list for organs.
why not combine the two for the benefit of society?
it sounds cruel and unusual, but it isn't. The Ancient Greeks and Spartans believed in the 'eye for an eye' mantra.
you know what's cruel and unusual? basing a criminal's sentence on the opinions of the twelve most ignorant people in a courtroom.
we're so politically sensitive when it comes to basic human rights nowadays...we're so afraid of hurting other people...solely for the reason that nobody wants to be liable for anything, and if something does happen, someone just has to be blamed.
idiots.
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
The Academy Awards are stupid. there. I said it.
I mean, how valid is an award if you nominate yourself for it? not only that, you have to be a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in order to be eligible for an award...so a great film could be made, but completely ineligible because its producers or directors are not union members.
unions are stupid too, but that's another rant for another post.
The Academy Awards is just another popularity contest. I mean...if you really think about it, anything you vote for is just another popularity contest too, be it the president, the best hamburger, the best car...and when was the last time any of us really cared about popularity?
high school. yep. high school.
it's been ten years since I graduated from high school...and in all honesty, I didn't care about being popular then and I sure as hell don't care about being popular now.
here's another thing to think about - think of the dumbest person you know, and chances are that half of the American population is dumber than that guy. SO, you have to look at that popular vote and realize that half the people that voted for it probably just learned how to walk upright.
it's sad to think that so many people care about popularity.
here's another rant...do you remember when MTV actually played music videos? I remember back in the 80's...the only non-video portion of MTV would be the news at the end of every hour and anything with Colin Quinn (Remote Control) and Pauly Shore.
now, MTV caters to a specific crowd who cares about popularity - prepubescent white girls.
...and I don't know about you, I'd like to think that my musical tastes are more complex than those of a 12 year old from Westlake Village.
speaking of popularity and how it's driving the industry, did you know that the majority of electronics development and production in Japan also cater towards prepubescent girls? that's right...japanese schoolgirls are such a tremendous consumer, that without them, innovations in portability and user-friendliness would be nonexistent.
anyway. the Academy Awards are stupid.
I mean, how valid is an award if you nominate yourself for it? not only that, you have to be a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in order to be eligible for an award...so a great film could be made, but completely ineligible because its producers or directors are not union members.
unions are stupid too, but that's another rant for another post.
The Academy Awards is just another popularity contest. I mean...if you really think about it, anything you vote for is just another popularity contest too, be it the president, the best hamburger, the best car...and when was the last time any of us really cared about popularity?
high school. yep. high school.
it's been ten years since I graduated from high school...and in all honesty, I didn't care about being popular then and I sure as hell don't care about being popular now.
here's another thing to think about - think of the dumbest person you know, and chances are that half of the American population is dumber than that guy. SO, you have to look at that popular vote and realize that half the people that voted for it probably just learned how to walk upright.
it's sad to think that so many people care about popularity.
here's another rant...do you remember when MTV actually played music videos? I remember back in the 80's...the only non-video portion of MTV would be the news at the end of every hour and anything with Colin Quinn (Remote Control) and Pauly Shore.
now, MTV caters to a specific crowd who cares about popularity - prepubescent white girls.
...and I don't know about you, I'd like to think that my musical tastes are more complex than those of a 12 year old from Westlake Village.
speaking of popularity and how it's driving the industry, did you know that the majority of electronics development and production in Japan also cater towards prepubescent girls? that's right...japanese schoolgirls are such a tremendous consumer, that without them, innovations in portability and user-friendliness would be nonexistent.
anyway. the Academy Awards are stupid.
Sunday, January 16, 2005
I just realized that my blog title really doesn't make much sense.
"analog thoughts in a binary world"
WTF?!?!
obviously, I wasn't thinking clearly...since that brainfart of a title makes whoever reads it just a little bit dumber.
I mean...I wanted to get the point across that the world is becoming more and more technology-dependent, but in the midst of it, I'm still doing my own thing. of course, plenty of irony was injected into it since my first post on this blog was about the CCNA.
and in all honesty, we are becoming so dependent on technology that keeping up with new technology is being marketed as essential to survival.
it really isn't.
I know a lot of people that buy new gadgets or upgrade their stuff just for the sake of getting something new or for the sake of getting whatever is best...when what they really need is just to be happy with what they have and learn to use what they have to its maximum potential.
my rule for upgrading is this: when I depend on something on a daily basis, I upgrade whenever economically possible.
I bought my home desktop computer as a cheap refurbished unit from ubid.com in 1998. it still runs just fine and it accomplishes everything we need it to accomplish. granted, I've installed numerous upgrades to it over the years (new video cards...more memory, new hard drive...), but it's still the same slow compaq presario running with a refurbished NEC monitor with "GEMSTAR" burned-in on the display.
now that I've got tons of USB devices and we've got a lot of DV tape waiting to be edited and burned on DVD, I think it's time to upgrade to a new computer, since my trusty compaq won't do everything I need it to do anymore.
I think that's a reasonable excuse. shannon doesn't think so though, so we'll have to wait.
lately, I've been itching to buy a portable media device, since I'm stuck at work all day listening to the same CD over and over again. sure, I can bring my CD's, but then, I'd risk losing them and scratching them up...and I've got pretty eclectic tastes in music, so I'd be switching CD's all the time.
iPods are too trendy. I've never been a trendy person. I don't even fit in with the majority of people who are anti-trendy. small mp3 players are VERY LIMITED and besides, I wouldn't be able to take them to work because most of them have voice recorders.
so, I won an auction on ubid for a Sony Hi-MD minidisc player. it was cheap, it's what I ne(want)ed (there's a bit of 'want' hidden in the 'need'), and for the dork inside me - Hi-MD's can be used as a USB storage device.
whatever. back to researching Hi-MD and googling for reviews on the Sennheiser headphones I just ordered.
"analog thoughts in a binary world"
WTF?!?!
obviously, I wasn't thinking clearly...since that brainfart of a title makes whoever reads it just a little bit dumber.
I mean...I wanted to get the point across that the world is becoming more and more technology-dependent, but in the midst of it, I'm still doing my own thing. of course, plenty of irony was injected into it since my first post on this blog was about the CCNA.
and in all honesty, we are becoming so dependent on technology that keeping up with new technology is being marketed as essential to survival.
it really isn't.
I know a lot of people that buy new gadgets or upgrade their stuff just for the sake of getting something new or for the sake of getting whatever is best...when what they really need is just to be happy with what they have and learn to use what they have to its maximum potential.
my rule for upgrading is this: when I depend on something on a daily basis, I upgrade whenever economically possible.
I bought my home desktop computer as a cheap refurbished unit from ubid.com in 1998. it still runs just fine and it accomplishes everything we need it to accomplish. granted, I've installed numerous upgrades to it over the years (new video cards...more memory, new hard drive...), but it's still the same slow compaq presario running with a refurbished NEC monitor with "GEMSTAR" burned-in on the display.
now that I've got tons of USB devices and we've got a lot of DV tape waiting to be edited and burned on DVD, I think it's time to upgrade to a new computer, since my trusty compaq won't do everything I need it to do anymore.
I think that's a reasonable excuse. shannon doesn't think so though, so we'll have to wait.
lately, I've been itching to buy a portable media device, since I'm stuck at work all day listening to the same CD over and over again. sure, I can bring my CD's, but then, I'd risk losing them and scratching them up...and I've got pretty eclectic tastes in music, so I'd be switching CD's all the time.
iPods are too trendy. I've never been a trendy person. I don't even fit in with the majority of people who are anti-trendy. small mp3 players are VERY LIMITED and besides, I wouldn't be able to take them to work because most of them have voice recorders.
so, I won an auction on ubid for a Sony Hi-MD minidisc player. it was cheap, it's what I ne(want)ed (there's a bit of 'want' hidden in the 'need'), and for the dork inside me - Hi-MD's can be used as a USB storage device.
whatever. back to researching Hi-MD and googling for reviews on the Sennheiser headphones I just ordered.
Saturday, January 15, 2005
so my new nextdoor neighbors have moved in...and they're totally 909'ers.
if you don't know what a 909'er is, it's basically a stereotype of people who live in Riverside/San Bernardino, and beyond. sadly, most of the time, it's validated.
here are the typical characteristics of a 909'er:
-has a vast collection of commemorative Dale Earnhardt memorabilia
-has or had a mullet
-drives a pickup truck...with a lift kit...with dual exhaust
-the pickup truck either has a SLANTED 3 sticker, flames, or a "in memory of" sticker
-are unusually loud...
-do very unusual things...like in the case of my new neighbors, move in to a new townhouse starting at 10 o'clock at NIGHT.
yep. all of the above are validated by my new neighbors. being the grumpy crotchety old man that I've become, I'm probably going to make them move, as I did with two other families who were neighbors.
and don't think I'm racist or have prejudice...I hate all lousy neighbors equally. I mean, one neighbor (who moved away) had a daughter who insisted on leaving their trash out on the driveway...and another neighbor (who moved away) had a son who sang loud lovesongs to himself at 3 AM.
actually, I'm sure their moving wasn't my fault, but I was probably the salt in the wound.
but who knows? for all the judgement I've already done, my neighbors might actually be cool, composed, quiet, and neighborly. but for now, I think I reserve the right to make assumptions.
only time will tell...but as soon as I hear Billy Ray Cyrus being played uberloud, Irvine's 'finest' will receive a phone call with a quickness.
if you don't know what a 909'er is, it's basically a stereotype of people who live in Riverside/San Bernardino, and beyond. sadly, most of the time, it's validated.
here are the typical characteristics of a 909'er:
-has a vast collection of commemorative Dale Earnhardt memorabilia
-has or had a mullet
-drives a pickup truck...with a lift kit...with dual exhaust
-the pickup truck either has a SLANTED 3 sticker, flames, or a "in memory of" sticker
-are unusually loud...
-do very unusual things...like in the case of my new neighbors, move in to a new townhouse starting at 10 o'clock at NIGHT.
yep. all of the above are validated by my new neighbors. being the grumpy crotchety old man that I've become, I'm probably going to make them move, as I did with two other families who were neighbors.
and don't think I'm racist or have prejudice...I hate all lousy neighbors equally. I mean, one neighbor (who moved away) had a daughter who insisted on leaving their trash out on the driveway...and another neighbor (who moved away) had a son who sang loud lovesongs to himself at 3 AM.
actually, I'm sure their moving wasn't my fault, but I was probably the salt in the wound.
but who knows? for all the judgement I've already done, my neighbors might actually be cool, composed, quiet, and neighborly. but for now, I think I reserve the right to make assumptions.
only time will tell...but as soon as I hear Billy Ray Cyrus being played uberloud, Irvine's 'finest' will receive a phone call with a quickness.
Friday, January 14, 2005
since stupid 'websense' won't allow me to access my livejournal through work, I've decided to start editing my blogger.com blog instead. I mean, sure, I'm supposed to be 'working', but there's really not much to be working on...we're not scheduled to deliver anything until 2007 and my task to work on IPv6 has been put on hold.
so, what have I been doing? I've been working on my Employee Performance Development Process (EPDP) and I've been doing plenty of google searches.
I like to run google searches on random things...people, family members, old classmates, myself. some recent google searches have taught me the following:
-one of our friends from college went to jail for a welfare scam
-MANY of my old classmates in Texas are married and are teachers
-I'm the only person who decided to put 'flip' and 'mack' together and use the combined word as my alias.
it's pretty funny...a google search for 'flipmack' shows all the forums I've visited, and if you look at google groups, it shows all the messages I've posted in the different newsgroups.
so, what have I been doing? I've been working on my Employee Performance Development Process (EPDP) and I've been doing plenty of google searches.
I like to run google searches on random things...people, family members, old classmates, myself. some recent google searches have taught me the following:
-one of our friends from college went to jail for a welfare scam
-MANY of my old classmates in Texas are married and are teachers
-I'm the only person who decided to put 'flip' and 'mack' together and use the combined word as my alias.
it's pretty funny...a google search for 'flipmack' shows all the forums I've visited, and if you look at google groups, it shows all the messages I've posted in the different newsgroups.
