Savage

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:30:02 GMT

There's something really satisfying about taking my giant mars plastic eraser to a sheet of engineering bond that has an hour's worth of homework scribbling on it. I don't know why that is; it's like the thrill you get from building a building with your own hands that you've stressed about and worked so hard on, and then just taking a sledge hammer or a stick of dynamite and blowing it to hell. Maybe it's some sort of weird masochistic thing - I'm taking pleasure in demolishing something that has taken up so much of my time and become a focus of my life of late. I guess it could be that I'm excited to start over on it now that I've refined my thoughts.

Last night was great!

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:59:20 GMT

Alright, so yesterday morning, I had to open at the station, Cuz my idiot managers fired more than half my department. Didn't get to go out on saturday, had to wake up way early on sunday, sufficient to say I was not pleased.

I get home and Sonya and I have a nap together. After that we decide we want to dine in tonight, and that we want to do pasta alfredo from scratch with steamed zuccini and veggies, so we go to Sprouts and Trader Joe's to buy groceries. We end up getting bottles of great wine (Gato Negro, a Chilean wine, if anyone is interested). Get home, commence cooking. I fire up Frank Sinatra on my laptop, and pour us some wine. Sonya decides to sautee the zuccini and squash in garlic and olive oil instead of steaming. I make what was possibly the best alfredo of my young life. During all this, we are dancing in my kitchen to Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald.

Food's done. Pour more wine, set the table real nice, light some candles and turn off all the lights. We end up eating and talking until the wee hours of the morning.

So, yeah, last night was pretty win.

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:26:22 GMT

Alright! Sonya has given me some words, so I will join in the meme-ness too.

Reply to this meme by yelling "Words!" and I will give you words that remind me of you. Then post them in LJ and explain what they mean to you. (no they don't have to be long written essays!)

-Indy!
I'm a total whore for pulp action films and the heroes who star in them. My favorite of all time is, natuarally, Indiana Jones! He's simply the coolest archaeologist ever. C'MON people! He beats up nazis to reclaim important historical artifacts! And he does it all with the most awesome hat. I'm hoping to take an Indy cosplay to Expo this year, tho of course I can't really match the sheer badassitude of Whip-wielding Harrison Ford and his rugged, chiseled jawline! XD

-avatar
I don't know what it is about this show, but for some reason I just love it! I think I must have looked into it halfway through it's second season, and immediately I had to have it. I went out and bought all of the episodes as they came out on DVD (didn't have nickelodeon at the time, sho :3). I'm supposed to be a mature adult, not into kids cartoons!
Anyway, I recently found out that Mr. M. Night "What-A-Twist" Shyamalan was directing the live action movie adaptation of the series, and this kinda irked me. I was further irked when I found out the controversy over the retarded casting decisions that they've made - the characters are all clearly ethnic, and yet the actors are... well, not well suited, IMHO, and it is seriously suspect. Suffice it to say that's two counts against the movie, so I prolly will never see it. ;.;

-steampunk
Probably my favorite genre of all time! If the Victorian/Edwardian periods and the science fiction genre got funky, Steampunk would be the offspring! It's got Airships! It's got steam trains! It's got wierd science and sky pirates! It takes the 'steam' part from the spirit of technology and discovery - scientific, anthropological and social - that was pervasive during that period of history. The 'punk' comes from a somewhat dystopian bend that the genre acquired. Even the most lighthearted bits of the Steampunk genre contain darker elements of social tension. A great portion of Europe's masses toiled in abject poverty, while the elite played power games and enjoyed lives of leisure and comfort. A still larger portion of the global population lived under the jackboot of empire! Socialism, anarchism, ludditism, populism - all of these fall within the 'punk' part of steampunk. It's an age of adventure and struggle!

-chem
I'm a chemical engineering major at the university of Arizona. Hopefully I will be a chemical engineering graduate before too long. XD
I chose chemical engineering because I have something of a knack for chemistry. I may struggle a bit with math and physics, but chem seems to be right up my alley (not to say that it's easy, but I manage). I had considered going into straight up chemistry, but it does. Not. PAY. So engineering was kind of a natural progression. When I do graduate I want to move out to the coast and get a neat and cushy job where I can exercise my creativity and live the Life of Riley. Hopefully I can have all of that fun and adventure with a certain special someone. ^_-

-Sinatra
Many of the people who know me will agree: I was born in the wrong decade. I don't know what it is, but the sensibilities of the early 20th century appeal to me. One of my favorite parts of that sensibility is Old Blue Eyes. Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, they're all great, but they don't compare to the Chairman of the Board. I love to listen to Sinatra while drinking a dry gin martini. I will sing his songs (and sing those songs he didn't write in his style) whenever I can let my mind wander. I even catch myself doing it at work, at school, of course in the shower. It's wonderful stuff.

AND.... DONE! :3

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:21:11 GMT

So I'm poking around on the internets this morning, when I stumble across the teaser/trailer for the Avatar: the Last Airbender movie.

For those of you who don't know I love the Avatar series. I have them all. Yes that makes me a huge dork.

Anyway, so I'm watching it and it looked neat enough. Then I noticed who was writing, producing and directing it.

M Night Shyamalan.

....
.....
.......
Well, nutbunnies.

Mr. M. Night "What-A-Twist" Shyamalan is directing and writing the avatar movie. He has more or less complete creative control.

I am not overly optimistic about this. I'll admit that some of Shyamalan's works have been visually very stunning, but it seems to me that the man has trouble taking some of his serious works seriously, what with his thinly-veiled metaphors (The aliens were actually jesus and the baseball bat was a freudian representation of etc. lolol). What's he going to do with this one? We'll have to find out. I'm still gonna go see it, but...

Thu, 28 May 2009 21:14:28 GMT

BRAVO!

Wed, 20 May 2009 18:01:46 GMT

This morning I was shaving, when I noticed something: my arms are different color. My left arm is more tanned than my right arm.

I'm a freak! ;.;

Wed, 20 May 2009 02:11:41 GMT

Thought this was funny. And sooooo true.

Sat, 16 May 2009 16:28:13 GMT

I did it. Passed 202 with a 'B' and 203 with a 'C'.

SOOOOOOOOOO MUCH RELIEF, I CAN'T BEGIN TO TELL YOU!

Also, like I said earlier, those lucky kisses are DYNAMITE! ^.-

Thu, 14 May 2009 20:17:25 GMT

Finally done with the last final! I hope I did well.

Also, making baklava and martinis. YAY

Tue, 12 May 2009 21:02:47 GMT

Hokay, zo!

I'm moving out. I'm done with the north side, it irritates me, and I dun wanna deal with it anymore.

Originally the plan was to move out at the end of summer with my friend Mike, but that didn't work out. Now, I'm sitting here loathing my situation and strongly considering just making an exit, even before going to Anime expo this summer. I have monies saved, and can get a job down at the university - even if it's not something I enjoy, it will be better than what I've got now. Maybe I can work at the library, or get set up in a research position.

I need to find a place. I'm strongly considering looking for room-mates down in town, though I would dearly love to move into my own private one bedroom. Alas, that can get expensive, and might impede my going on any trips this winter (gonna try to go visit Japan; another thing I'm done with is being a goddamn homebody! >.<) Another thing is location. As much as I would dearly love getting a loft in the downtown area, things are pretty pricey. No matter what, I am going to find something within walking distance of the U of A, but being on congress or broadway down by fifth would be so nice! I could walk to the downtown, or over to 4th avenue!

Sat, 18 Apr 2009 03:54:09 GMT

I've been working on some fiction in what little free time I have. It's kind of nice to be able to make something; Takes my mind off of the stress of school. Anywho, I'll post it here behind a cut. Please feel free to offer any criticism, as I'm trying to work on my technique.

The door had been smashed inward, taking part of the door jamb with it. A few scraps of the old wood hung haphazardly off the hinges. The doorway itself was shattered where part of the roof overhang had collapsed into it. It wouldn’t have mattered to Savage if it had been closed and locked, but the sight spoke volumes about what had transpired here.
That was that for finding survivors.
He paused for a minute as he tested the air with a great deep ‘whuff’ and then listened. The air inside smelled of cigarettes and old sweat; another smell, more subtle, was the smell of brimstone. Anyone else would not have noticed it at all, but Savage’s nose picked it up easily. Indeed, it was one of the smells he had been warily expecting for days. Alas, the other smell he had hoped to find - the smell of life - was gone. The world around him was silent save for the occasional cawing of a hungry crow and the whistle of wind. London was officially a ghost town.
Savage grimaced as he pulled the wreckage clear of the doorway. He stepped inside the darkened edifice and readjusted his denim jacket.
The room was filled with murky light that spilled in through the door way and filtered through the dust. None of the lights were on – not surprising, considering London’s power grid had been down for two days. The television that had once hung over the bar now lay broken in the corner, and there was a hole in the wall where the mount had once been. The bar itself was alright except for at one end where something huge must have careened into it, smashing a section of the old oak countertop into smithereens. Across the ruined section lay pools of what appeared to be dried tar, save that it stank of brimstone and astringent instead of petroleum. Other than that, the scene was familiar to Savage, exactly the same as it had been when he was here not quite a month ago.
Savage walked slowly toward the bar, his boots making a hollow thudding sound that reverberated off of the wooden walls. He stooped to pick up an intact bar stool and set it gingerly before the un-shattered portion of the bar before easing down on it. A moment passed as he slouched forward on the bar, his elbows resting on the stained oak, taking in the smells and the memories. He’d paid off his bar tab by bouncing here. He’d danced with women, played pool with friends, and drank more than his fare share of the swill that Tom used to pass him over the bar.
For a moment, Savage wasn’t sitting in a derelict building. He was walking in to his old haunt. As he passed their table, Pat, Duncan and Murray, still dressed in their grease-stained denim coveralls and worn steel toed boots raised glasses with a raucous ‘hallo’. Savage grinned and stopped to talk about nothing in particular; How was the shop doing, how’s the wife. A moment later the men at the table broke out in hearty laughter, and Savage turned with a wave and headed toward the bar. The air smelled sweetly of hand-rolled cigarettes and the clink of glasses made sweet music to Savage’s ears. In the corner an aged jukebox belted out a song by the Guess Who. “So, what’ll it be, John?” asked Tom, the barkeeper, as he towel-dried a glass mug.
Savage stood alone in the bar. The melodious sound of clinking glass and the old classic rock tunes were replaced by the howling of the wind. Savage walked back over to the bar and leaned over. There, on the other side, right where he knew it would be, was a green glass bottle. The label said that it was whiskey, named it single malt aged 20 years in an oak barrel.
“What the heck is a bottle of that stuff doin’ in a dive like this?” Savage asked Tom.
“You calling my bar a dive?” replied Tom as he raised his voice in mock anger. “My supplier sent it to me by mistake. Since it’s such a nice bottle, I never called back up to alert them to the mistake.” Tom smiled a conspiratorial grin before turning around. “Lynda, go lock up the doors.”
Lynda was a skinny girl, 19 years old with too many freckles. Savage seemed to recall Tom saying she was family, though if there was any resemblance Savage never saw it. They even smelled different. She always smelled like tea and old books, and always dressed in the same faded blue overalls and red kerchief. Savage smiled and nodded at her and she turned and hurriedly rushed off, key ring jingling in her hands.
“You scare her, you know that?” said Tom in a low tone. Savage grimaced.
“So, you ever plannin’ on crackin’ that baby open?”
Tom paused for a minute with a thoughtful look on his face and the bottle in his hands. Then he twisted the cork loose from the bottle and poured two glasses. He slid one to Savage and lifted the other in his hand.
“What’s the occasion?” asked Savage. Tom merely shrugged.
“Seems like the thing to do.”
Savage reached behind the bar and pulled two glasses off the rack. He pulled the cork from the top of the bottle and poured one measure of the amber liquid into each.
He’d searched for Tom and Lynda, and the other patrons Savage had known from his year in the machine shop; first he’d looked amongst the survivors huddled in the shelters at the Rockefeller Towers, then amongst the dead. Finally, he’d gone out into the city and sought them.
He hadn’t managed to find one.
Finally, Savage had come here, hoping maybe that the bar’s heavy doors and the shotgun that Tom kept under the bar had helped him and Lynda hold out.
Savage raised one of the glasses silently and sipped. He relished the fire that washed down his throat, followed by the sweet barley and molasses taste that followed. The world around him warmed again, and for a moment there was light again. There was laughter all around and Peter, a welder at the machine shop where Savage had worked was dancing on top of the bar. His face was red and his words slurred heavily as he belted out a drunken rendition of the Doors’ “Light My Fire”, all while cavorting and dancing up and down. Even Tom dropped his usual reserve and guffawed. Peter twirled another step and put his foot down on a coaster. He slipped and tumbled off the bar. Thankfully everyone was either laughing too hard or too deep in their cups to notice Savage catch Peter, who was nicknamed ‘Peterbuilt’ because of his massive size, by the belt with one hand and gingerly lower him to the floor. Peter laughed and gave Savage a sheepish grin. “Thanks John.”
“Don’t mention it, man,” Savage replied laughing. He lifted his mug to his face and took another deep swallow of beer.
A soft sound, like grains of sand falling through a sieve, broke Savage away from his reverie. Derrik had known where to look. Savage had told him. A minute later, the young man poked his head cautiously through the doorway.
“In here,” croaked Savage as he took another sip from his glass.
The boy walked in to the bar. He stood quietly and took in the carnage.
“Felt like doing a little redecorating?” Derrik asked, his face stretching in a wry grin.
“Was like that when I got here, I swear.” Savage managed a dry chuckle.
Derrik leaned against a post and watched Savage leaning against the bar. “This place was special for you, wasn’t it?” Derrik Finally asked.
Another long moment passed in silence. After a long time, Savage replied in a gruff tone. “It’s just a place. You all set to go?”
Derrik nodded. “I took care of everything I need. You got the stuff packed?”
“Everything we’ll need for a long trip. Truck’s all gassed up ‘n waiting outside. Let’s get going.”
Derrik nodded, turned, and walked out. Savage lingered only a moment longer, staring at the whiskey bottle and half-full glass on the bar. His face locked in a grimace of deep concentration. With a slow deliberate sweep of his arm Savage knocked the bottle over. It clattered against the aged wood and rolled to a stop at the bar’s edge. Savage watched as the sweet amber-colored alcohol spilled from the mouth of the bottle. It sparkled in the diffuse light before spreading like a bloodstain over the dusty floor.
Savage turned and left his bar.

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 21:15:12 GMT

So my grandpa came off the dialysis machine today. Turns out that the doctor in Boise is a helluva lot smarter than that new doctor that he was going to see - took him off of the new heart medication he's been taking, and his kidneys improved. They also started giving him diuretics to relieve the water retention. Doctor says he's gonna be fine and can go back home in a couple of days, after they observe him.

I knew he was gonna pull through. Gramps is one tough old son of a gun.

R.I.P. the Casbah

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 20:50:00 GMT

So it's for certain now: the Casbah teahouse, open 18 years on 4th avenue, has closed its doors.

I ran into Sarah on the U of A mall today. I asked her about the notice that I'd seen on the website, and she clarified for me. What happened was that the fire marshall apparently decided to drop in on the Casbah for some reason. When he spotted the tasteful and fun turkish decor, the low tables and the sculpture, he was not pleased, the prick. He gave the owner (a wonderful and friendly lady who has been a good hostess to me and my friends many a time) notice that if she didn't get things into shape, he'd fine her.

Well, the Casbah has not been doing so well to begin with, and the owner was kind of itching to retire and go back on the road (she does a traveling tent show every year - I'm going to have to go see), so she just decided to let the place close.

I don't know where my friends and I are going to go for tea from now on; historic 4th avenue has suffered a blow. What's next: are they going to close antigone books too?

As to Sarah and the girls, they've made no plans to relocate their performance. For now she says she'll still be doing private showings; I hope that she decides to move somewhere else soon.

Casbah, you will be missed.

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:27:15 GMT

So I got my fluid dynamics test back today - I still scored 5 points below the avg, but compared to what I thought I was going to get (I thought I beefed that test soooo hard) it's good; There's definitely room for improvement, but I can still recover. Doubt the same will be said of my thermo midterm.
Went to the Matsuri festival with college friends on saturday. It was soooo much fun; I took some pictures, ate a delicious pork bun and some beef sukiyaki, and got to hang around all day with cute girls in yukata. All in all a good weekend, and definitely something I needed.
I wish I could say things were going so well at work. Seems my manager discovered that I'm employed under the 'old' contract (the one that doesn't shaft employees as far as pay and benefits goes), and that I get time and a half on sundays. Therefore, I'm not allowed to work sundays anymore. As a result of this, my hours have to decrease (I can't get an eight hour on saturday and I'm not sacrificing my gpa for a s$%*#y job at a grocery!), and so my weekly stipend is going to be cut by more than HALF. What's more, they now want me to come in and discuss my 'annual employee performance review' . I've been there for four years, and this is news to me. I have half a mind to walk in there, sock that little pissant manager in the throat, and give my notice. Gods, I hate that job soooo much. Still, it's not bad as an entry-level position goes; I just need to get a better job.

So I went to the movies the other day....

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 04:49:27 GMT

So I was in a mood, couldn't concentrate on my homework, and needed some time to think. I say to myself, "Where can I go to let my mind turn off for a few hours?"

So I ended up seeing Underworld: Rise of the Lycans.

Now allow me to preface this by saying that I have greatly enjoyed the series' previous two titles; The first one was interesting as well as invigorating (werewolves kickin' the crap out of vampires - always entertaining), and even the second was a film I didn't regret seeing it once. This is not the case with the newest film. In spite of me having a tremendous man-crush on Michael Sheen (the actor who plays Lucian), even his performance could not save the film. The plot was nothing more than a collection of re-hashed tropes. There seemed to be the foundation for interesting political dialogue between Victor and his vassals/minions, but the producers directors and writers chose to forsake this in favor of an insipid love story that quite frankly did not do credit to Michael Sheen and Bill Nighy's considerable acting talents. I am normally pretty steadfast when sitting through a movie (hell, I've seen Van Hellsing twice!), but this film honestly made me consider walking out. I'd give it thumbs down, and a hearty pistol whipping.

PS: I got a new laptop! Her name is Nene-II! ^_^

PPS: Happy Belated B-day Sony! Didja get my LJ message?

MOOOOOOON!

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 16:20:16 GMT

#039; In which Indecency is suggested - Wondermark

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 01:59:04 GMT

It's coming to the Loft!

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 05:37:56 GMT

The loft is going to be screening Repo: the Genetic Opera for one week starting January the 9th! HELLS YES!

http://www.loftcinema.com/node/717

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 16:27:47 GMT

Mmmmmm... Thanksgiving dinner... I am still full! Plus there are leftovers to be eaten.

Got my work cut out for me.

Good god, I've done it! I've created my ideal aperitif.

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 06:51:29 GMT

I was sitting at my desk, talking to sony and thinking about strategies for Risk (the milton Bradley board game). I had on hand a bit of dry Italian vermouth and was enjoying a nip to relax me after a busy day. Then I remembered the bottle of triple sec.

So here's the recipe:
3 parts dry vermouth
1 part triple sec
stir, garnish with lemon zest or peel, and serve neat and up.

I just need a name for this beautiful concoction.

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 17:49:31 GMT

Alright, folks, I've been reading the news again, and it's irking me something fierce, so I think I'm going to post another rant.

So this morning, I decide to log onto my BBS and to see what the community is buzzing about today. Scanning through /r9k/, I notice a little gem of a thread concerning the presidential candidates' views on net neutrality (which is a big issue, IMHO). For those of you who aren't familiar, the net neutrality issue centers around whether or not ISPs have the right to charge content providers (those websites, BBS, and search engines that we all use) for "preferential download/upload rates. In other words, the ISPs are claiming that they not only have every right to charge consumers for internet access (a subject I discussed in an earlier journal entry) but that they also have the right to charge content providers to allow their sites to be seen at a reasonable speed. They're trying to double dip on their business. Surely no reasonable human being would think that, in a nation where broadband access is a government-created monopoly situation, such a thing would be prudent and legal. Correct?

Apparently not. John McCain, republican presidential candidate, seems to think that it is the right of these companies to charge what they want, when they want, and that the free market will sort it all out. Verbatim: “When you control the pipe you should be able to get profit from your investment.” (From the D5 news site).

Now let's get back to reality here for a moment people. As a staunch supporter of fair market capitalism I agree whole-heartedly that free-market competition is the best way to set prices and to preserve competition... EXCEPT WITH REGARDS TO TELECOMMUNICATIONS.

We are not currently in a position such that we can just say, 'hey, let's cut 'em loose and let the free-market sort 'em all out'. We simply are not. Perhaps it is because of the bungling of previous congresses and previous incarnations of the FCC, but our broadband situation is SEVERELY fucked up. These very ISPs that old man McCain wants to give free-reign over the market have benefited from government-created monopolies. Billions of dollars of federal money have gone, in the form of subsidy and tax incentives, to try to get our telecomm industry to clean up its act and provide state-of-the-art service to the bulk of this nation's internet subscribers, and so far they have reneged on every promise they have ever made! We want to give these people freedom to decide how the internet is viewed!?

So you might be thinking, 'Ah, but Eamon, if the free market is allowed to decide, won't consumers turn to smaller community ISPs with roots in the community that wish to lay fiber optic lines and provide good service for reasonable prices? wont these companies end up screwing themselves and ushering in a new period where citizen-run small municipal corporations run the show?'

I would say, 'by golly, sir, you're right,' except that it only works that way in theory. In practice, we've already seen the way this goes down. Many of you might remember a town called Lafayette, Louisiana. This little town (somebody bless 'em) got tired of having their pants pulled down by local telephony provider, bell south, and local broadband provider, cox. They were tired of being charged prices that can only be called gouging for unreliable and sub-par services. So little Lafayette hatched a plan. They founded a public telecommunications utility called LUS, with the mission to provide...
FIBER OPTIC BROADBAND ACCESS TO EVERY PERSON, BUSINESS, ETC. IN LAFAYETTE.
We're talking a service that blew the local ISP and telephone provider's service out of the water: Faster access speeds, no network shutouts or bandwidth restrictions, affordability, and so forth. They paid for it with a municipal bond issuing, and had a business plan that would've paid for itself AND provided the municipal government with revenue, such that they could decrease taxes. What a marvelous plan! Why didn't we hear more about it, you ask? Why haven't we seen more grass-roots movements like this spring up?

Because LUS, while not failing, has yet to succeed. It has been years since they began work, they've bought everything they need to do it, but they have yet to provide a single customer with service. WHY IS THIS?!

They've not been able to do anything because those dirty rat-fucking shit ticks Bell South and Cox sued them for being non-competitive, and got local legislators to pass a 'Fair Competition Act'. Installing a fiber optic network would have made Bell South's and Cox's copper-based network obsolete and thus guaranteed LUS a natural monopoly (which they wouldn't have exploited, because they are a public corporation and not concerned with profit margin). So they blocked it because the services they offered were not competitive.

I personally think that LUS's model is a good idea, but needs work. Were I to found a utility in Oro Valley, I would opt to create a public utility that is privately owned by the citizens - in addition to a bond offering at a reasonable interest rate, I would also offer private stock to the citizens, to give them a stake in the running of their company (for the record, private stock cannot be traded on the open market. Thus citizens could only buy from and sell to the utility.)

That having been said, all this will come to pass eventually. Right now, there is too much big money invested in the telecommunications market to even hope that there will be fair competition. Without net neutrality, American consumers who wish to access the web will be bent over the barrel. John McCain's libertarian idea is at best naivety and at worst probably the onset of senility (or shameless corruption rearing its ugly head). Fair competition will not succeed because the government is too involved with big business to let it happen.

In case you all are interested in learning more, I'll list the websites I've found.
F2C: The Politics of Open Fiber
Open or closed - that is the question
Lafayette Pro Fiber!
If anyone disagrees, I would love to hear your opinions.

Finished with Avatar

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 09:33:37 GMT

It's two thirty in the morning. I just got done watching the last episodes of Avatar: the Last Airbender.

I didn't buy the dvd when it came out, on account of being busy. I figured, "hey, it'll still be there later. I'll just catch up when I've got time."

I'm wiser now.

OMG SQEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG

TOTALLY WORTH IT.

On a downer note, it's over. I was really hoping that there would be more story after the defeat of the Fire Lord.

...I guess that's where fan fiction comes in. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

Thu, 15 May 2008 20:19:27 GMT

Ding Dang Dong, the forces of reason and basic human decency triumph again! This time in california where, after a long enough damned time, the State Supreme court overturned with a vote of 4 to 3 a ridiculous statute banning same sex couples from seeking marriage liscenses.

I suppose that the right wingers everywhere in our government are going to be whining about "activist judges once again interfering, overstepping their brief". In particular, I was struck by the opinion of one of the dissenting justices of the California Supreme court, the honorable Marvin Baxter, who said of the state supreme court:
"It simply does not have the right to erase, then recast, the age-old definition of marriage, as virtually all societies have understood it, in order to satisfy its own contemporary notions of equality and justice."

It strikes me as very odd that Judge Baxter's opinion of this situation can be considered to be a representative sample for the opinions of this country; odd because his opinion is, to put it bluntly, wrongheaded and silly. It can be said that in many occasions the supreme court has violated the spirit in which it has been created, by showing bias in their cases or ruling in favor of private interest over the public welfare; However, by no means do I believe that, in cases such as this, the supreme courts of our land are acting beyond their brief. Quite the opposite is true: This ruling in this case is exactly WHY the supreme court was created in the first place. It is the duty of the Supreme court to step in and strike down legislation and statute that impede the right of the individual to self-determination. Considerations such as the religious basis for marriage are personal and spiritual affairs and, as such, have no place in the administration of a country.

We are a secular society, with laws that at once protect individuals' rights to religious freedom and keep individuals' personal religious beliefs from infringing on the rights of others. The religious right realizes this, and is working as hard as they can to spin the whole affair to make the Supreme court seem an overbearing organization bent on the destruction of the US government.

tl;dr Evangelists are now worth 50 points each. Go to work.

Tue, 13 May 2008 15:57:09 GMT

It is my humble opinion that the continued refusal of the European Union to address the sky high value of the euro is going to really hurt the EU in the coming years.

Even now with the euro taking hits vs the value of the dollar and the pound sterling, the euro is the highest valued currency in the world. Note that I didn't say the most valuable; indeed, it isn't. While the euro may boast a favorable exchange rate on the currency markets of the world, a favorable exchange rate that is allowing Europe an economic boom during a very period of very poor economic performance worldwide, the honeymoon can't last. In fact, if the EU doesn't move to regulate their monetary policy, they're going to experience the biggest bust since the European monarchies of old were forced to declare bankruptcy.

Allow me to explain my position.

In order for a nation (defined here as a body of individuals residing in a defined territory who come together to legislate mutually-binding law and policy) to maintain its standard of living and wealth, you must have some sort of net inflow of cash. The European union DOES currently possess this; there is a trade (a very lopsided trade, but a trade nonetheless) with the United states, in which they buy our raw materials and agricultural products, and we buy their finished goods. It's not good, but it is there. The problem is this: the imbalanced trade practices that have been perpetrated by this diseased whore of an administration for the last 8 years have severely weakened the United States' purchasing power. Consumers have almost no savings and are spending tremendous amounts of credit; this has led to a housing bubble that has cost both private citizens and lenders tremendously. The US middle class has come under fire because US trade and economic policy favors undercutting US labor by turning to slave labor to fulfill production needs, then shipping the finished goods back to us. Worse yet, the Federal government actually seeks to encourage such behavior by providing tax incentives for manufacturers to outsource their production.

To sum it up: the US currency is screwed. Put on your rain gear, sports fans, 'cause the next 4 years are going to be a real storm, as the democratic government will have to spend a lot of time trying to clean up the messes provided by the George Bush gov't, while simultaneously having to tiptoe around to keep our economy out of a possible depression (an epic recession at very least). All this does not bode well at all for our European friends, whose currency is 63.3% guaranteed by Europe's dollar reserves (that is US dollar reserves).

Even with a highly skilled labor force and mechanization of the assembly process, the high 'value' of the euro stands to maim European manufacturing capability. When the dollar goes, or the US finally gets around to re-evaluating our trade priorities, the whole world will have an 'oh shit' moment - and yes, it is going to happen. It has to happen, or we hit depression, and then it happens anyway. Be it in the form of a value-added tariff, or quotas on certain foreign goods, the trade imbalance is in its death throes. Without this trade imbalance, the EU will find itself without a buyer for its finished goods; who else can afford them but us? Worse yet, the member nations of the EU are already dealing with high unemployment rates. Furthermore, the value of the euro stands to hinder the economic development of those nations who either are EU members or are seeking to become EU members, who do not have developed, mature production economies. Ireland is already dealing with an economic slump that follows its largest period of growth.

It might mean short-term inflation; it might mean a hyper-deflationary cycle; if done too hastily, it could even trigger a recession. However, unless the EU decides to lower the value of its currency, it faces a epression. No ifs, ands, or buts, it's just that simple. In the long term, they need to start injecting more currency into the world markets. They should do it moderately, so as not to cause a shock to their economies, but it must be done. They have to start selling more treasury securities and raise their treasury's benchmark interest rate. Perhaps a domestic agricultural subsidy is in order. They also need to deal with the unemployment rate in their country; they need to curtail their immigration.

and that's all I have to say about that.

ADDENDUM:
After reading the articles and thinking on it for a few days, I've come to a conclusion: the EU model works just great, provided a certain set of criteria are observed. In order for the Euro to maintain its current market value and still allow the EU's economy to maintain its solvency, the following must be true:

1) the EU must maintain a strong technological and scientific research base. If they center themselves on more of a service and tech economy basis, the model becomes far more feasable. They must be at the head of a huge number of research efforts, both public and private. Research fields of note: Pharmaceuticals, Optical technologies, IT and Computer Technologies, Pharmaceuticals (referenced twice because of its importance to their power), Materials Sciences, and robotics.

2) they must force more healthy trade relationships with their partners, such that no outside economy is allowed to perpetuate an absolute advantage. The EU's trade partners must be made to observe Europe's relative advantages in certain markets (such as production of high-end computer components, solar panels, or certain material components such as ceramics). They can do this through value-added tarrifs on certain goods (to increase competition between foreign and domestic goods), outright quotas, improvement in mechanized assembly technologies, etc.

3) the EU must minimize its dependence upon foreign resource production, IE petrol. If the EU ever became as oil-dependent as the United States, the jig would be up. However, rather than allowing themselves to be shackled to the Arab or Russian oil teat (as we silly american pigdogs have) they turn to alternatives - electrically powered vehicles, renewable energy sources, biofuels, nuclear power, etc.

4) The EU must build and then maintain the world's largest banking hegemony. This is already damn close to happening, given the dickery in the US credit markets. Many economists nowadays are talking about London as the financial capital of the world, rather than New York. Even as banks such as RBS take huge losses, the overall european financial structure remains stronger, having been built up through their private sector's prudence and fiscal self-reliance rather than allowing their banks to be convinced (and rightfully so, since it is in fact the case that ) the US Federal reserve will come to their aid regardless of their folly (see my little ditty on the credit market cock up, or better yet, read Bloomberg and Paul Krugman's NY Times Column). In spite of the instability in the global credit market, European investment banks still maintain a great amount of solvency and fiscal leverage. They do not have the endemic problems with off-balance-sheet lending.

If they do this, they will be able to effectively maintain their economic security without having to devalue their currency to trade with their partners. A big part of all of this is telling China to go sit and rotate, a thing I'm told Germany is already doing! BULLY TO YOU GERMANY! BULLY TO YOU! Even so, all of this hinges on the US being able to rein in dickery and corruption in their own financial markets; Even a powerful banking center will have problems if the world's second largest credit market suddenly goes code blue (as we have right now). As such, the EU, UN and NATO member nations should be playing hardball with the US government, demanding that they revise economic policy and rules or face economic reprocussions.

Cheers,
the Hooligan.

fun with SCIENCE!!!!!!!

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 23:16:51 GMT

So, in June of this year, construction of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) that is being built near Geneva will be completed, and the beams will be engaged (with actual collisions being performed some two months thereafter). This is an event of monumental importance in scientific history. If successful, the LHC will allow us to observe the heretofore theoretical particle known as the Higgs bosen; By observing this, we could be able to identify "missing links" in the Standard Model of physics, and would help us understand how fundamental particulates gain mass, and possibly help us derive a unifying theory which unites the electromagnetic force, the strong nuclear force, and the weak nuclear force.

That being said, there are some who are decidedly less than happy that the LHC is being fired up. A small community of persons has actually attempted to raise suit to stop the engaging of the LHC and its counterpart, the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider.
Their reason: it is theoretically possible (however unlikely) that the LHC could generate one or more kinds of phenomena that would destroy the world.
One member of this community, Walter L. Wagner (a physicist) cites a possibility, however small, that the LHC could create either a micro black hole (the properties of which are only theoretical) or Strange matter (which could possibly set off an uncontrollable fusion reaction that would consume all matter on this planet and turn the earth into a very small star).

Now, I am not a member of this group; I personally am greatly looking forward to the development of a Unified theory that would help us better understand the Universe. However, I AM an individual that believes in contingency planning.

So here's the plan: Just in case Dr. Wagner is right, we all gather before the engaging of the LHC and have a good old fashioned end-of-the-world orgy. I'll supply the drinks and venue!

Anyone game?