Revolution Against the State Bring On the Commies!

Resource Managment Letter to Senator

2009-05-18T20:16:00.001-07:00

The Honorable Barbara Boxer
112 Hart Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator:
First I want to say thank you for reading this letter. My name is Enrique Leon, a 17 year old Senior attending High Tech High International in San Diego. I am what most of peers like to call a “tech” guru. I have a wealth of knowledge in Computer Science, Computer Hardware Design, and a bit in Software Design. By being the school's designated troubleshooter in any computer related problems, I know how important basic access to these is. Our school relies heavily on technology but it is somewhat appalling that some of my peers go home without the same access at home. What I am referring to is the availability of broadband in certain areas. It is something that I feel should be addressed if the United States is to pull ahead to become the most technologically friendly county in the world. If you wish to continue this topic with me my email is enriquesleon@gmail.com and my home address is 434 Arroyo Seco Dr. 92114 San Diego, California. For now though, I will list my arguments in support of this issue that believe needs to be addressed.
As very evident in this age of technology, the ability to communicate with every corner of the globe in a fraction of a second has become a large asset. It has made the research and development process faster in ways that were once thought impossible. However, the access to broadband Internet while now widespread in urban areas, is very rare in most rural locals. They do have access to the Internet, however the people living in these areas must cope with the dated dial-up modem or the unreliable and expensive satellite connection. Now I believe it is appalling that we let Internet Service Providers abandon our fellow Americans on the basis that it is too expensive and not profitable. My belief is that that access to information should be universal and open. Studies have proven that access to the Internet increase productivity and income. Why is it that we can't guarantee this wonderful marvel to everyone? What is halting progress in the ISP market is the anti-competitive and anti-consumer changes that the industry is beginning to employ. Currently in my area, you are usually forced to stick with only one provider. That provider can charge what ever they want and enforce any anti-consumer policy they want because they can. For example, my current provider is Cox. They have average speeds and average service, but they deliberately try to control how the consumer uses their service. They have the power to set priorities on which information will come in the fastest. If they want, they send it to a crawling speed and believe me, they have done it before. We have no other choice of providers. We want change in how networks should be managed and a lager choice in providers. We have the technology to make progress, but these companies are making it difficult for us to choose.
Back to my main point, there have been many advances in Wi-fi technology and it has gotten to the point to where is has become easy to maintain and setup in a large scale. My idea to get the United States more involved with adventurous tech companies and devise a plan to try to ensure basic broadband connections to the public through use of Wi-Fi access points set up to have Municipal Area Networks. I believe this is integral to the success of future generations of Americans as we will undoubtedly become more reliant on such types of networks. This idea has already been tested in certain cities and I think I can confidently say that they have been outstanding successes. The city of Mountain View, California is great example of how successful these joint operations between Government and the Private Sector are. If we can expand this to the places that need this the most, there is no telling what we can accomplish. To end this letter, I want to thank you for taking the time for reading this and I hope you will see form where I am coming from.

With best regards,
Enrique Leon

Bread Beating

2009-05-18T08:25:00.000-07:00

In this project, we had to perform various acts which society might find to be "deviant" in public. We had a bit of trouble coming up with an act to due until it popped into my head to just beat another group with loaves of bread. Lulz were had and stare were given the results speak for themselves.

Short Story

2009-04-24T08:29:00.001-07:00

Enrique Leon
March 25 2009
Elika Dadsetan
Group D

Going Down the Rabbit Hole

My world is different from yours. Sure we can all be in the same place at the same time, but we can still be in a very different world you see? You look at you ceiling fan and think to your self “Wow! that is a nice ceiling fan...” I look at a ceiling fan and I see a never ending cyclone that paints the universe in my mind. Seems like a bit of an exaggeration buts its not. You'll eat your Saturday morning steak and eggs breakfast next week and just taste 'ol steak and eggs. I'll enjoy every explosion of flavor with every bite and have a meal fit for kings. We can live through the same life you know? But you'll never see things the way I do.

I'm a pioneer. I search for new far off lands in the name of me, myself, and I. I explore these uncharted lands to find something. I'm never really sure what it is what I'm looking for, but I know I'm either really really close or really really far. It all looks the same either way. I don't know where I'm going and frankly I don't care, I'm having a hell time doing it. So I guess I'll get to the point. Life is boring. It's dull, repetitive, no fun what so ever. It's just like a cookie cutter, we're all expected to live some Disney channel fantasy life and you know, I'm not like everyone is. While everyone is off making themselves “worthwhile” I'm out here exploring the galaxy. I believe that there is more out that our meager senses aren't up to the task of figuring out. I'm tired of living the lie, the same lie that everyone else is living. I'm the master of my reality and you know, I have this sort of mother like intuition to foster my reality until it matures into something worthwhile, something that was a part of me and that has taken a life of its own.

I guess I'll start with how it began right? Well then, lets begin. I had what one might call an ordinary life. A life littered with frustration, worries, fears, and doubt. Beautiful ain't it? Well anyways, like any “ordinary person, I had my fair share of um, lets say personal conflicts shall we? I just wasn't content with my “ordinary” life. I lost my job, my sweet Josephine, myself. I wasn't new to “frowned upon substances” and I know a good amount of people have dabbled in the goods themselves. So back to it I guess. I had nothing to do. I was bored tired; I was in need to something else to present itself to me. I felt like I had already extinguished any opportunity of success in this world and of course as you would think, thats not any good ain't it? I started drinking again, wasting time, not being a productive member of society but like that makes any difference right? I spent my days in front of the tele, nachos in hand, just staring into the nothingness which poured out of that screen. “Fifty Percent Off! Only Tomorrow! Increase Your Size, Your Confidence, Her Pleasure!” The same shit just came drooling out of the tele and you know what, I was fine with it. I accepted that this is what humanity has become, a decaying carcass of a magnificent creature being devoured by the maggots of commercialism.

This bloated mass cannot be saved you or me, its been dead for 50 years and you know what? I'm fine with that. I was fine with it then and you see that is why I choose to abandon this world. There's no point, to this, to yours, or anybody else's world. It all just gets bought out, bought out exploited, then thrown in the dumpster to be scavenged by the wild birds of culture. You probably look at me and think “Why so serious?” Hah! Why so much in denial I answer! People need to take this world for what its worth and you know? I don't think its worth a flying fuck. I'm a fucking panic bomb baby! And I'm about to go. Well look at me now. I off rambling on about nothing and you're still here listening to all this bullshit... Fine, I guess I better get to the reason were having this, “encounter”.

Well, as I told you before, my life was going nowhere. I had lost all interest in this world. Nothing appealed to me now and you know it sucks when you figure out that there is nothing out there any more, that all other options of finding something to give you hope for the tomorrow are extinguished. So what did I do? I made my own options. I said fuck this world, I'm gonna do my own shit. It's funny how I came to this conclusion I mean, I thought any sort of creative thought had been completely brutalized out of me when my sweet Josephine left. So yeah, on one of my many stays with friends and friends of friends of friends, I found my portal to my own world. I found myself and no one else cause you know, I don't want to share my world anymore. I don't want it exploited and raped by the hands of others. I wanted to find myself to be at peace with myself and assure myself that there is still someone on there or better yet, in here that can guide me back home.

My voyage into the inner bowels of the wretched and diseased which is my mind happened on Sunday, wait I think it was a Thursday, I don't think It matters really what day of the week it happened. Anyways, I was at um... I think his name was Tyler, yeah thats him! I met though a friend of friend, so he was like a 3rd degree friend I don't give a rat's ass about. So anyways, I'm just relaxing there, having a beer, some laughs, just talking you know. He starts talking about his crazy drug stories from when he was a young bachelor, the guy is is 28 mind you, but then he goes on about acid. He just goes on and on and on and on.... and on about this stuff. It began to intrigue me. This is what I had been looking for. This is what had been missing from me. This is what would finally allow me to find some else and thrive in a new environment.

So apparently this guy knew one of the few people who actually makes this stuff and fate have it, it had been given an opportunity to actually how they make this stuff. We finish chatting on the couch and head to the car and he's still going on and on about this but you know what? I wanted to listen. This is what was going to help me become complete. So we finally pull to this sketchy ass building in the middle of nowhere. The place smelled of chemicals I had probably never even heard of before and I could see jugs of unknown liquids just lying around, probably fermenting or something. So the guy knocks on the door and out comes this skinny pale looking nerd in a lab. I knew shit was going down know. They bring me in and we start talking. Apparently these guys are really super smart at what they do I mean they have degree's in bio chem and such. So then they guy start going off on how he makes it but I don't listen. I just hear this goes into that, I leave that out in light for a day, then distill this, pretty everything went in one ear and came out the other.

The dude then starts talking about how great its suppose to be ya know? By know, I have already grown a interest in it so I said what the heck. He takes me in the back room, dims the lights, sets up some pillows and the he go back in the lab and pulls out this giant sheet of paper. I all like wtf man? I aint never seen shit like this! He tells me that he soaks the paper in lsd to make it easier to transport and distribute which makes sense, I guess. He gives one and tells me to take it easy that a dab will do. Fuck that, I swallowed the dam thing. I didn't feel anything at first, just anxious to see what was going to happen you known. So I'm sitting there, you know? Waiting for it to hit and then I finally start to feel it. I began to feel disconnected from this world as if someone was unplugging and all presence of me in this world was slowly vanishing into some unknown abyss of the mind. I felt liberated I mean my mind felt like it was able to do anything and after a while it did. I began to notice things. Movement slowed down and I could see the remnants of anything, it was watching the past and present unfold at the same time. Sound became visual, taste became amplified tenfold, and pretty much anything that shouldn't happen was happening. It finally came to the point where my mind was in complete mercy to the substance. It was after a while when things really started to get interesting and when I started too excited, for once... So yeah, things started to get weird. See there were these plants the guy had in the room for aesthetics I guess but the weirdest shit started happening. I witnessed life, death and rebirth in a span of 5 minutes all from this little plant. In a way, it was telling the story of my life, yours, and everyone else's. We’re born, we play, we grow, we fuck, we love, we hate, we suffer, we tire, we die, we rot, and we disappear. That’s it. There’s nothing more to it. There’s no happy ending, no cake, or party. We just die and rot, and then everyone just forgets about us. We are not special; we are not a\the beautiful butterflies that we were told we were. You and me, we all the same; the same chain of hydrocarbons and polypeptides. This why I choose my own form of existence; I’m bored of this one. Hmm... I guess I'm still rambling.

Well it was after this I realized something. Why is that we choose to live this life given to us by the same people who wish to control it? I don't mean the government or the church, I mean you; yes you, the people of this world. I'm done with. I don't choose life, I don't choose death, I choose me and nothing else. I choose to be my own master and not a slave to culture. Culture is what brought me here. Culture killed any hope of me finding anything else in this world. I'm fine with it though, I've found something else to keep me company as I journey into the depths of my world in order to find what it is that I am looking for. It weird I guess, though I be fine. I don't know about you though, you're still stuck here with this job, just watching me going on and on about shit happened years ago. I only do this to listen to myself since I find it hard sometimes to do in the comfort of my own world. The noise this city makes when it's awake is horrendous. I guess this session is just about done then. I guess I'll see you never. Goodnight and good luck.

Internet Availability

2008-11-30T19:28:00.000-08:00

What is the Resource in Question?

The resource that I am going to be focusing on is information availability. I have done something of the similar subject before but this is something different and is the product of a different problem than with my project of before. This is more about rural towns and third-world countries not having access to even the most basic of communications such as telephone and internet. In this new age of technology, it is vital to have communications with every part of the globe to work in a more efficient manner.

What Sources Will you be Using?

http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/tutorials/article.php/3412391

http://www.cable-modem.net/cable_service/service_availability.html

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/ISP-Lobbying-Group-What-Rural-Broadband-Problem-92407

What is the end product?

I am planning on creating either a discussion board or some sort of portal to spread awareness about the limited availability of broadband in rural America and third world countries. By this method we can gather information and find solutions to these problems.

What is the history behind this problem?

Broadband has hardly ever been available in rural areas in America or in poor third world countries. The reason clearly because there isn’t a centered mass to efficiently service those areas in a profitable way. ISP’s have given up and have left these people to use painfully slow 56k modems or unreliable and expensive satellite transmissions. ISP’s have given up on implement new methods in these areas even though the technology is there.

What is my solution?

My proposed solution is to gather enough information to build up a database that shows how behind we as a country into supplying the nation with enough bandwidth for the years to come and how deprived rural parts are. What this country needs is a major revamp of the current network and implement new technologies to connect every single building through broadband networking. With the digital transition coming, there will be a new method of supplying broadband to thousands. This free channels to be auctioned off can be used to supply broadband through radio signals and both economical and efficient. The only things stopping this are the Television Lobbyists which can easily dealt with cold hard facts.

Timeline?

Information shouldn’t be to hard to gather

Id say about 1-2 weeks

What would be more time consuming would be the website.

I’ d wager anywhere between 2-4 weeks depending on quality and time allocated a daty

Political Platform

2008-11-06T19:39:00.000-08:00

The Awesome Party
by the the people, for teh lulz

We are the Awesome Party. Everything we do is awesome. We guarantee every one the right to be awesome. We are strongly against other people being more awesome that some else and we believe no one should be more awesome that the other. We don't like that the more awesome people exploit the less awesome people even though the less awesome people are the ones who made them so awesome.

There is a awesome specter haunting the United States. The specter of Awesome and it has become apparent that these two things are now widely known.
1. Awesome is now a power
2. The power recognizes the Awesome to be a power

Our goal is guarantee awesomeness to everyone. No person shall be without awesome because "all your awesome are belong to us." We shall spread all awesome to everyone so no one will become "an hero".

Register for Any Party?

2008-11-06T19:12:00.000-08:00

I would not register for any party if i were to vote right now. I believe the party system is flawed and is slow and inefficient system. I like being an independent as I don't want to dedicate myself to just one party. This loyalty just blinds us to fresh new ideas. The only thing i think the party system leads to is partisan bickering which is why the bailout didn't pass the first time.

/rant

Government Everyday Life

2008-11-06T18:55:00.000-08:00

1. Public Transport
2. Highways
3. Schools
4. Sec 8
5. Welfare
6. Public Offices
7. Parks

What Make an American?

2008-11-06T18:21:00.000-08:00

It takes nothing special to be an American. All it takes is the wish to take part in a community which is changing the world piece by at an unprecedented rate. There are people here i this country who take for granted what they have. There are millions who would gladly take their spots and would benefit this country more than these bums who parade the streets. To be American is to be the backbone of society that is totally dependent upon the common worker.

Gun Control PSA

2008-10-27T20:35:00.001-07:00

for teh lulz

Mind Map (makes my mind mad)

2008-10-21T22:24:00.000-07:00

Green Party

2008-10-09T08:18:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Green Party
In our Government class, students were to take a quiz and based on our results we were to include the history of the party, name, animal symbol, slogans, site for the convention, an issues platform, famous party candidate/individual, and a three-minute (3-5 minutes) opening speech for our party's convention.
Logo/symbol of Green Party
History
The Green Party is a political party which was first established in Tasmania in 1972. Organization in the United States began in 1984, inspired by the success of the German Green party. In 2007, it became the third modern party with a Federal Elections Commission-recognized Congressional Campaign Committee. The Green Committees of Correspondence were the first Green political organization in the United States, forming in 1984 and eventually becoming known as the Greens/Green Party USA. This organization still exists. The first candidates to run on the Green Party ticket in the United States were Wes Hare (NC), Joel Schechter (CT), and Richard Wolff (CT), who ran for local offices in 1985. Official ballot access was not achieved, however, until Jim Sykes' run for governor in Alaska in 1990.
Idealogy
The Green Party of the United States emphasizes environmentalism, non-hierarchical participatory democracy, social justice, respect for diversity, peace and nonviolence. Their "Ten Key Values," which are described as non-authoritative guiding principles, are as follows:Grassroots democracySocial justice and equal opportunityEcological wisdomNon-violenceDecentralizationCommunity-based economics and economic justiceFeminism and gender equityRespect for diversityPersonal and global responsibilityFuture focus and sustainability
Famous Party Candidates
In the year 2000, the ASGP nominated Ralph Nader and Winona LaDuke for president and vice-president again. This time, the pair were on 44 state ballots and received 2,883,105 votes, or 2.7% of all votes cast. Nader's strong showing in several states solidified the changes in the Green Party from an "anti-party party" to an organization primarily dedicated to electoral campaigns. In particular, that was the widespread understanding of thousands of recruits to the party, as it went through an unprecedented rate of growth.
Site for the National Convention
The 2008 Green National Convention took place on July 10-14, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois at the Palmer House Hilton and Symphony Center. This served as both the venue for the Presidential Nominating Convention and the Annual Meeting of the Green Party of the United States.
Slogans
"Under Republicans, Man exploits Man. Under Democrats, it's just the opposite." - Earl Gray"The Green Party is the party for the 21st Century""In a nutshell: Ecology and Community!"
Political Platforms
War on Terrorism
The use of Homeland Defense monies to spy on citizens exercising First Amendment rights is particularly onerous, as are "sneak and peek" provisions of the U.S.A.P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act that allows surveillance of libraries, readers, the Internet, and computer users. Basic rights ensuring individual privacy are under attack. The U.S. government's use of high tech tools, including intrusive monitoring, data mining and analysis to identify and disrupt citizen activists, should be seen as an attack on fundamental rights of an engaged, active citizenry.The Green Party calls on Congress and the courts to reign in constitutional and civil liberties abuses that have become prevalent in the Bush administration and the John Ashcroft Justice Department
Healthcare
Medicare, which provides health care for over 40 million Americans, is at risk. We would vigorously pursue savings and cuts from abundant waste and fraud, eliminate unnecessary services that benefit providers more than patients, and rein in pharmaceutical industry price-gouging. National measures to reduce work hours, promote cyber-commuting for work, and increased vacation time for workers will significantly improve the public's health. We advocate access for all, irrelevant of income, to stress management training such as meditation techniques, yoga, tai chi, qigong, and biofeedback. improving the quality of our nation's food supply and our personal eating habits will lessen the strain on our health care system. We advocate subsidies for organic foods, as well as removing sugar/caffeine snacks from schools. This could save our nation as much as $700 to $850 billion of the $1 trillion annual health costs. We support the teaching of holistic health approaches and, as appropriate, the use of complementary and alternative therapies such as herbal medicines, homeopathy, acupuncture, and other healing approaches.
Education
Educational funding formulas at the state level need to be adjusted as needed to avoid gross inequalities between districts and schools. Educational grants should provide balance to ensure equal educational access for minority, deprived, special needs, and exceptional children. In higher education, federal college scholarship aid should be increased and offered to any qualified student. It is time to stop disinvesting in education, and start placing it at the top of our social and economic agenda. We oppose vouchers, or any scheme that will transfer money out of the public school system. That course only leads to a separate and unequal educational system. We also oppose charter schools or the administration of public schools by private, for-profit entities. We advocate state funding for day care that includes school children under the age of ten when after-school programs are not available. Classroom teachers at the elementary and high school levels should be given professional status and salaries comparable to related professions requiring advanced education, training and responsibility. We support tuition-free post secondary (collegiate and vocational) public education. Until tuition-free schooling is available to all, student loans should be available to all students attending college, and should be repayable as a proportion of future earnings rather than at a fixed rate. The Leave No Child Behind Act must be repealed, especially the section that gives the military access to student records.
Environmental Justice
Devoting greater efforts to full enforcement and prosecution of environmental crimes. Funding environmental crime units for district attorneys in counties with significant pollution problems.Imposing a moratorium on siting new toxic chemical or waste facilities in those counties with the highest percentage exposure to hazardous substances. Not forcing workers to choose between a hazardous job or no job at all. Preventing communities, especially low-income or minority communities, from being coerced by governmental agencies or corporations into siting hazardous materials, or accepting environmentally hazardous practices in order to create jobs.
Abortion - Reproductive Rights
Women's right to control their bodies is non-negotiable. It is essential that the option of a safe, legal abortion remains available. The "morning- after" pill must be affordable and easily accessible without a prescription, together with a government-sponsored public relations campaign to educate women about this form of contraception. Clinics must be accessible and must offer advice on contraception and the means for contraception; consultation about abortion and the performance of abortions, and; abortion regardless of age or marital status. We endorse women's right to use contraception and, when they choose, to have an abortion. This right cannot be limited to women's age or marital status. Contraception and abortion must be included in all health insurance policies in the U.S., and any state government must be able to legally offer these services free of charge to women at the poverty level. Public health agencies operating abroad should be allowed to offer family planning, contraception, and abortion in all countries that ask for those services. We oppose our government's habit of cutting family planning funds when those funds go to agencies in foreign countries that give out contraceptive devices, offer advice on abortion, and perform abortions.
LGBT
The Green Party affirms the rights of all individuals to freely choose intimate partners, regardless of their sex, gender, or sexual orientation. We support the recognition of equal rights of persons gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender to housing, jobs, civil marriage, medical benefits, child custody, and in all areas of life provided to all other citizens. We support legislation against all forms of hate crimes, including those directed against people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, transgender, and intersex.Immigration
Preferential quotas based on race, class, and ideology should be abandoned for immigration policies that promote fairness, non-discrimination and family reunification.The Green Party calls for permanent border passes to all citizens of Mexico and Canada whose identity can be traced and verified. Work permits for citizens of Mexico and Canada must be easily obtainable, thereby decriminalizing the act of gainful employment. This action would help eliminate exploitation of undocumented persons by criminals engaged in human contraband (coyotes) and unethical employers. It would also help ensure that taxes will be paid in each corresponding nation per its laws. These measures will also help temporary residents from Mexico and Canada to secure driving privileges and liability insurance. Labor laws must be adjusted to take into account seasonal foreign workers. Employers must provide full rights to wages and health benefits to immigrant workers who make voluntary contributions to pension plans and pay Social Security taxes. We advocate an end to employer sanctions, which have been shown to hurt not only undocumented workers but also U.S.-born workers (especially those of color). A fair and equitable legalization program will provide equal access to working people of all nationalities, not tied to a specific employer or guest worker program. Programs involving temporary worker status must include the option of permanent residency for immigrants already in the U.S. and protection of migrant worker savings. Greens oppose "English-only" legislation. We would advocate legislation to ensure that federal funds marked for communities to provide ESL (english as second language) training, and health and social support services to immigrants actually go to them. When funds are spent in other areas, immigrants are being deprived of benefits that they earn as productive workers in their communities.

Quiz

2008-10-07T14:04:00.000-07:00

1. Liberal
2.South-You are a Southerner-an egalitarian-which means that you advocate an increased role for the government in the economic realm. You are more or less pleased the government's role in the personal realm.
3. Green Party
4. Reaction: Not Suprised except for the Green Party answers .

PSA

2008-09-30T19:53:00.000-07:00

PSa response

2008-09-23T19:13:00.000-07:00

This is a response to the following PSA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYzr9d-Thec

What I really liked about this PSA is that it addresses the roots of the right to vote and alludes to when colonist didn't have a say in their government. This form make the viewer look at voting as something they must do in order give thanks fir having this right which many people in the world do not have. I believe using this method, you can convince more people to go out and vote by triggering guilt in their conscious. It was a real short video so I cant really go much more into it than that.

Journal Update September 18 2008

2008-09-18T19:37:00.000-07:00

If I were 18 would I go out and vote?

I would gladly vote in any elections if the people running have any sense of reason. If I like how the race is going I will put my time into going to nearest booth and casting my ballot for the candidate or the proposition of my choice. It all depends on the situations and how motivated I am to give me enough inititative to get up and vote

Music History

2008-06-12T20:56:00.000-07:00

Hardcore Punk

The beginnings of hardcore punk can be traced back to the first punk movement or the 70's which started in the UK. These were mostly bands made up of the poor working class which gave there music a more broken down and simplistic feel. By the late 70's punk had moved to the US but the first wave was dieing down. Bands that were influenced by the style, culture, and attitude but not necessarily the music began appearing in the southern California scene. You had bands like Middle Class and Black Flag that brought a more aggressive faster playing style with politically charged lyrics. This music would soon spread to the east and soon their version of punk would appear. Eastcoast is faster, more aggressive, and just more insane. One of the most notable bands, Bad Brains exploded on to the scene and become one of the most if not the most influential band in that era. You also had bands like Minor Threat who lyrics dealt more with social issues rather than political. The punk would soon spread to nearly all the continental US. However by the late 80's the scene was almost dead and the golden years were lost. Now there only a few bands that still maintain the DIY attitude of the past and there is new wave of those who want to ressurect the golden years which is where we are now.

Curent Events for May 23 2008

2008-05-22T22:00:00.000-07:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24760487/
Microsoft to pay people to use search engine

Microsoft is now implementing a plan that will give cash rebates to those who use their search engine to online shopping. most would think that is a result of the failure to buy out yahoo last month. It is obvious that Microsoft is wanting to attract more user to its search engine as it usage rate is dropping slow but steadily while Google's is rising. It is unclear as to why it chose this method, but Microsoft is sticking to their guns and going on with this.

As a shopper you might see something from this but to the regular user, you wont be seeing any cash soon. I believe this will fail, epically....

Vocab 17

2008-05-21T22:51:00.000-07:00

interminable
intuit
laboriously
proximity
reticence
senescent
shroud
situation

Being or seeming to be without an end; endless
"This road seems interminable"

To be intuitively aware of
"I can't hit that seagull with a rock cause it is too intuit."

in a laborious manner
"I work my fingers laboriously on my keyboard"

The state, quality, sense, or fact of being near or next; closeness
"The proximity of the end of high school is daunting"

The state or quality of being reluctant
"My reticence keeps me from trying news thing"

Growing old
"I hate when hardware gets senescent"

A cloth used to wrap a body for burial; a winding sheet.
"There is much controversy about the shroud of Turin"

Position or status with regard to conditions and circumstances.
"I hate it when i get into bad situations"

2008-05-21T08:25:00.000-07:00

Click Here for the Article

Classes too High Tech?

Some people believe that it is unessesary to teach the youngins how to type on a keyboard, to learn a word processor or even how to navigate the internet. These people are stuck in the past and don't believe or refuse to see how much computer technology is becoming a part of our society. These non believers think that the earth will still function the same way it has for the past few thousands years, on man power. The future is computers. These machines will run our daily lives giving us the opportunity to focus on more important fields of work and research. In order to reach this state our population has to be technologically educated to live in this new world. They will have to know the inner workings of a computer. Think of it this way, the entire world run o automobiles so it has become necessary to learn how to do basic maintenance of these vehicles like refueling or changing a tire. With computer, it will be exactly the same just instead of tires and, oil, gas you RAM, harddrives, and CPU's.
The problem now is that I believe not enough money is going into educating the future generations on more than basic computer skills. I believe in the future everyone will have to know how to code in HTML, how to troubleshoot, and how to network mass amounts of systems together. We are arriving at a new age of computers and communications and if we are not prepared, then surely we fail here. It is time for change. Let us not live in ways of past and lets us proper in a new advanced world that many great things will surely come from.

TED respsonse

2008-05-11T19:06:00.000-07:00

This is the modern era. Being the modern era we have advanced our technology and absorbed a lot of the worlds capital. It's not a surprise that we have world hunger. Everyone thinks that if we just shove money at a problem it will go away as that has always worked well in the past. Probably the most frustrating thing to see is how poorly spent the money is. What instead of buying them facilities or wells or maybe some machinery, they buy them the most temporary thing, food. What these people need is for the world to help them not to baby them. In a weird sort of way, we have caused their situation. We absorb all the industry in those nations and leave none for the people. What Africa needs is industry and a working economy. Their needs to be money circulating through the common person not such the oil tycoons and warlords. Bono, this is the wrong way to go. Go make another Grammy winning album and shut up.

----------------
Now playing: Nirvana - Turnaround [John Peel Session]
via FoxyTunes

Proposal for Non-Profit

2008-05-08T08:58:00.001-07:00

We are all doing different thing for YAR (Youth Agaisnt Restrcitions). I have the list on the bottom showing who is responsible for each part of this organization. I am responsible for fro covering restrictions on software and movies. I am going to dicuss the legality, the reason, and the solutions to this subject and explain why the United States has done a shoddy job of monitoring this opic.

2008-05-07T20:15:00.000-07:00

acquiesce: To consent or comply passively or without protest

amorous: Indicative of love or sexual desire

aroma: A quality that can be perceived by the olfactory sense

awkward: Not graceful; ungainly.

consummate: To bring to completion or fruition; conclude

conversely: Reversed, as in position, order, or action; contrary.

deleterious: Having a harmful effect; injurious

delirium: Delirium is a state of mental confusion that develops quickly and usually fluctuates in intensity.

ecstasy: altered states of consciousness or trancelike

enamored: Affected with intense romantic attraction

futile: Having no useful result.

incantation: Ritual recitation of verbal charms or spells to produce a magic effect.

inevitability: Impossible to avoid or prevent.

infatuation: A foolish, unreasoning, or extravagant passion or attraction
It took a while to find the right picture but i finally found it. I remembered an episode of south park when chef falls in love with a succubus which fitted perfectly. Chef acquiesced to the the succubus every wish and went into ecstasy like state for the remainder of the episode. Of course Chef had amorous desires for the succubus but never had the chance to consummate his love for the succubus because the boys made an incantation to which was deleterious to the succubus to stop her which was inevitable. Chef's infatuation with the succubus sent his into a delirium. In the end chef was no longer enamored with the succubus so conversely, the succubus's goal was futile.

America on Trial

2008-05-07T19:48:00.001-07:00

We are the Youth Against Restrictions who focus on our freedoms of internet rights.

Michael: Music Downloading/Copyright Laws
Enrique: Movies/Games/Software downloading
Thomas: Freedom of Speech/First Amendment
Ellis: Censorship/ Commerce laws

Book Report

2008-04-26T18:49:00.000-07:00

Vonnegut, Kurt. Cat's Cradle. New York, New York
Dell Publishing, 1963

Reason, Type, Setting: I guess I'll start of with how I chose this book. It's really not grand except that I wanted more from this author. I had already read Slaughter-House Five and i really enjoyed Kurt Vonnegut's style of story telling and humor. As with all his books, this book contains a great dell amount of black humor which he manages to combine with his views on human life. This book also keeps the sci-fi direction that SH 5 had which I enjoyed so thats another plus.

Plot: The plot isn't really important. It's a really dull plot when you look at in a simplified form. Basically the narrator Jonah/John tells about his plan to writ a book about the day th bomb on Hiroshima was dropped and about it's deceased fictional creator Felix Hoenikker. In reality, the main character play no importance. None of the character except Felix Hoenikker who is really hub of the wheel, the center of story. Jonah retells his journey of collecting information for his book and his discovery of Ice-9, an apocalyptic form of water that can destroy the world. He becomes fascinated with Ice-9. He begin to learn about Felix's family and their history while researching for his book. He later end up in a small island in the Caribbean inhabited by pitiful looking locals. Lets just say after a series of unfortunate events, the entire world is destroyed by Ice-9 and Jonah become devout follower of an unorthodox religious movement.

Character: It is really hard to choose a character here because it is very hard to have a liking to them. I don't think that Vonnegut intended to give much care to the characters or to want readers to like a specific character. What really makes this book gold is there conversation and the wit in them. So if I were to go by wit, it would choose choose the narrator, Jonah. you follow Jonah throughout the entire length of the book and you experience what he does. He goes through many unusual conversations and awkward circumstances and to see how he handles them is amazing. Even so, I found it hard to have a liking to any of the character. It was the dialog that I loved.

Evaluation: Bar none, this was one of the best book I have read. I really enjoy his style of writing and how he combines his social views with his comical black humor. This books really evaluates the use of technology and weakness of humans to use it or gain. You can look out the window and see examples outside. The way book ended suited it perfectly. In fact Jonah tells you the ending right from the start so theres no surprise. When you read this books, you don't want a happy ending. It just doesn't feel right.

Trivia: Kurt Vonnegut has written many books and I do plan to read the rest of them very soon.
There is nothing else more to say but poo-tee-weet?

Demonoid Back!

2008-04-16T20:11:00.000-07:00

Don't have an actual link but I have the front page notice from the site.

"Welcome back!

Since a few months ago, Deimos, the site administrator, lacks the necessary time to take care of the website, because of personal matters he's been needing to attend to. For this reason, he has decided to leave the site staff.

Before leaving, he assigned a new site administrator from among his friends to take care of the site. The old moderator team will continue helping with the site, unchanged. We will try to keep running everything just as it always has been.

The trackers and website seem to be working properly, and should any issues arise, they will be taken care of as soon as possible. The site might be going on and offline over the next days as we work out any problems.

Welcome back, and enjoy your stay!

- Umlauf
Demonoid Site admin"
---------------------------------------------------
So last year the popular torrent tracker, Demonoid got shutdown by the CRIAA because of the way its user used he site to share music and other digital music. There have been many heated debates over the legality of bittorrent trackers and Demonoid was just another casualty in the war on piracy. The shutdown of Demonoid came shortly after the shutdown of the famed Oink. It is unsure what will happen to Demonoid in the long run but I know I'm happy.

Vocab 13

2008-04-16T18:27:00.000-07:00

Vocab 13

Revere: to regard with respect tinged with awe; venerate:
I revere any person able to overclock past 4.5ghz

Vertigo: dizzying sensation of tilting within stable surroundings or of being in tilting or spinning surroundings.
The news of demonoid coming back sent me into a vertigo

Punitive: serving for, concerned with, or inflicting punishment: punitive laws; punitive action.
Hopefully someday the RIAA well be met with punitive action
Slander: a malicious, false, and defamatory statement or report
The report on Oink made by the BBC was a very slander one
RIP Oink....

Squander: to spend or use (money, time, etc.) extravagantly or wastefully (often fol. by away).
I'm scared I might squander all my money on newegg

song thing assign

2008-04-07T12:05:00.000-07:00

Deny everything

ok for this song, I think it was written about a corrupt legal system that we have here. No one knows why it is that way it just is. Just look at all the lyrics and you’ll understand. Basically all you can do is deny everything

Prison song

This is any obvious protest against the incarceration system here in America. It true about what the lyrics say. This prison system is overflowing and worthless

Pull my string

This song is an attack on the music industry and how it treats its clients and consumers. They basically see the artist as puppets and pull their strings to the money out of the consumer. There a various line some not suitable to be listed here

Downer

This song is an attack on society on a whole. Kurt Cobain is pointing out the imperfection and the blindness of the then society. He mocks the various way how people have treated them selves in that time period

In my eyes

This is one of various straight edge songs by minor threat. This song basically outlines the excuses people make when stupid shit. Ian then responds to the excuses with various lines.

Bulls on parade
This song is a protest to the various arms industries, which push for war so they fulfill their capitalist needs. The government ignores what the people really needs and just arms itself until it throws up.

Current Events Arpil 3 2008

2008-04-03T21:58:00.000-07:00

http://hardware.slashdot.org/hardware/08/04/01/1710221.shtml

Well for some reason Apple has really taken a beating over at slashdot. Current their is a scandal involving Apple advertising their new imac 20'' screens as 8-bit color when in fact they are 6-bit with an 8-bit imitation mode. If you do the math which I don't understand, the 2-bit difference totals up into a 98% difference in quality. Know maybe average users might not be able to the difference, but for those who use the imac for its devloping power, they will be dissapoined. Obviously, Mac Fails.....

Book Report

2008-03-29T18:10:00.000-07:00

Guevara, Ernesto "Che". Guerrilla Warfare. Nebraska, University of Nebraska

Reason, Type, Setting:
- I choose this book because it's badass and I want have the same badassness as Che. Plus if I ever get fed up with this Country, I'll know how to start and maintain my own guerrilla army.
-This book is more of a manual than anything else. If gives you the the procedures in which to maintain a guerrilla army and how to maintain a good situation.
-Well this book dosen't have a setting. You choose where you want to play out this book. It's your choice.
Plot?:
-Well like I said, this is really more of a manual. It starts off with an introduction to Guerrilla Warfare and explain its effectiveness. It tells you how to realize a favorable situation and how to back down from an unfavorable one. Then it goes into the necessary parts of a guerrilla band, how to maintain an army, and how to carry out attacks. Then it goes it goes into fighting the actual war itself. The last few chapters are just examples in different countries.
Character:
Well the only "character" is Che. Throughout the entire book, he explain all the procedures in great detail and even provides some drawing to better explain some things. He further demonstrates the things in question by giving accounts when he used it in combat.
Evaluation:
I personally loved this book. I spent hours going over all the procedures and applying them to "other countries". I really thought about all the planning that went into this type of warfare and how fragile it can be if you don't take care of it. If you are a person interested in guerrilla warfare then this is the book for you.
All the advice of this book can frighteningly be applied to current situation and many of the things that we mentioned in this book are actually happening right now in certain countries.
Author, Context, and Trivia:
-"che" has written several books, to many to list. I know a lot about this author and again to much to list.
-And yes, I plan to read more need moar!!!!!

What do your hear?

2008-03-27T20:19:00.000-07:00

When I close my eyes just force out everything else,I hear many things...

:10
Wow what the hell am I doing?

:30
Sleep seems nice...

1:00
zzzz......

1:15
Wow... What the hell are they doing over the front office. (Very loud chatter at the front desk. Very Annoying)

1:45
My ears start ring "Wow, it feels like I got hit with a flashbang at long a. I better find some cover. Lawls"

2:00 "oh god there still going at it" (Same chatter at front desk)

2:30
Same ol' same ol'

2:45
aw something new "Peps from class arrive and disturb my silence. I didn;t bother to figure out who."

What is Art? Do tell...

2008-03-26T20:01:00.000-07:00

Art is anything you want it to be. _@" there we have art. What a beautiful snail. Wait :P, haha lawls look at the smiley. There are no restriction to art. There are no boundaries which are set which prevent you from creating your masterpiece. (Unless you live in a fascist society which is totally ok ...Lawls). Art is simple really. It is the way the mind communicates to the outside world through processing previous experiences received through stimuli. hearing, touch, smell, sight, and taste, the five sense. All of these can be used to create art. Art is anything that excites the senses.

Vocab 7

2008-03-25T19:06:00.000-07:00

Scuttlebutt- Originally a term used to define a drinking fountain aboard a water vessel; slang for gossip.
I don't I need an explanation for this picture eh?

Emulate-to try to equal or excel
O M G. i installed Vmplayer to emulate Ubuntu in a windows enviroment

Hubris-excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance.
The creator's of family guy hubris was so much that it prevented them from realizing ow shitty their show was
Precursor-a person or thing that precedes
system shock is the precursor to Bioshock
Volatile-tending or threatening to break out into open violence
Bawls, pizza, and excessive gaming becomes a volatile mix after 10 hours

Current Events 7

2008-03-22T21:40:00.000-07:00

http://slashdot.org/articles/08/03/22/1536250.shtml

Apple forcing Safari 3.1 to all iTunes users though software update

Apple again is begging to look like Microsoft from the early days. Remember the whole browser war between Internet Explorer and Netscape? It seems that Apple is pulling off almost the exact same stunt as Microsoft. As you know, Apple has a firm grip on the personal mp3 player with their iPods. By default, in order to use your iPod, one must install iTunes which comes bundled with Quicktime. Millions of people own iPods and millions more use iTunes. The sets the perfect scenario for Apple to barge into the web browser market. Upon installing iTunes, another piece of software, Apple Software Update, get installed to. This program searches for any update to any Apple software you may have and then asks to download and install. When Apple Software begins to update iTunes, , it prompts to either install Safari with iTunes or quit the installation. This almost the exact same thing that Microsoft pulled off with internet Explorer when they include it with the installation of Windows or when you buy a computer with Windows pre-installed.

Current Events 6

2008-03-22T16:16:00.000-07:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23640490/

Well Apple has certainly begun to listen to the community for once. They have finally begun to realize that it is the community that make these new high-tech gadgets worth buying. With this lesson learned, Apple release firmware version 2.0 for the iPhone and iPodtouch. This new firmware adds the ability to download third-party applications for the device instead of settling for the preloaded apple application. This solves the need of having to hack the firmware to install user-created content. The only catch with Apple's new firmware is that it decides what get put up for download and that it's not free. Apple receives a 40 percent cut from software sales while using the previous hacking methods, the software was free. Also with Apple regulating the software, they can reject any software that can compete with it's own itunes. This means that the possibility of seeing other music oriented apps is gone
I believe Apple should have realized this ages ago. They no longer seems like the hip, down to earth developers they were back in the 80's and 90's. They starting to seems like Microsoft but even they're are starting to wise up. Developers need to understand the importance of user -created content and how much it affects the value and quality of their products. Although it's unlikely that we'll see any open-source products coming out just for amateur developers we can hope for more of products with an invitation to create.

vocab 6 holy crap way late

2008-03-21T14:23:00.000-07:00

i was forced to do this. i guarantee i wont get any credit for this or any other things i should have turned in a while ago.

embezzle-to appropriate fraudulently to one's own use, as money or property entrusted to one's care.

I was embezzled so many time in runescape. They promised me full Zammy Rune Armour!!

Obsolete-no longer in general use; fallen into disuse
Apple purposely make their products so they become obsolete the next next. Hurray for planned obsolescence. Obviate- to anticipate and prevent or eliminate (difficulties, disadvantages, etc.) by effective measures; render unnecessary: to obviate the risk of serious injury.
We manage to obviate ny further conflict by having a nice drink.
Paucity- smallness of quantity; scarcity; scantiness: a country with a paucity of resources.
There is a paucity of good internet service providers. I blame you Cox.
Taut- Tense; without slack
having taut power cables in a computer case can be problematic for the mother board as it can produce strain on the inputs and potentially damage them.

Book Report Documentary

2008-03-07T18:35:00.000-08:00

Vonnegut, Kurt Slaughterhouse Five, New York, New York, Dell, 1969

Reason for getting book: I heard a lot about this book. I was very intrigued by the title and i read about in Wikipedia
Type: This book can be fitted into the sci-fi or into the regular fiction. It hard to imagine a World War 2 book being so imaginary and creative.
Setting: everywhere. one one page you can be in Germany and the next in an alien planet full of tralfamadorians
Evaluation: I absolutely loved this book. The satire and perfect story-telling makes this book one of my favorites.

Plot:This book is non-linear. The was this book works is that the main character, Billy Pilgrim becomes "unstuck in time" so it makes telling the plot a little difficult. To start off, Billy is sent to war but he becomes captured by the Germans. He then experiences a time:skip
Character: Pretty much the entire book book is based on the main character Billy Pilgrim. Kurt Vonnegut dosen't go off topic with other characters, he strictly sticks with Billy.

Vocab 5

2008-02-20T19:06:00.000-08:00

Lucidity- easily comprehensible
Some of Bush's speeches are hardly lucid, so why bother?

Conciliatory: Tending to Conciliate
Yoh Asakura has to use conciliatory comments in order to gain the trust of Tao Ren (picture)
Countermand: To revoke ; annul ; stop
If only the scientist at Black Mesa would have countermanded the experiment, then their wouldn't be a resonance
Acumen: Keen Insight; Shrewdness
Dr. Issac Kleiner has a great deal of acumen
Insurrection: Rebellion against authority
Gordon lead the insurrection against the combine

HD DVD player or Honestly Done Dvd Player

2008-02-19T20:33:00.000-08:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23243647/

Well it seems that the bloody battle between formats is now coming to a close. And I though tings were just getting started. Toshiba, the leading promoter of HD DVD is pulling the plug on it format after many retailer and Studio retract their commitment to the format opting to favor Blu-Ray.
Well now a problem arise. It is estimated that around 1 million consumers have purchased an HD DVD player meaning that their investment was obsolete. Toshiba will continue to support their models but will cease production. Blu-Ray is now the clear victor in this race

Vocab 3

2008-02-06T20:21:00.000-08:00

Disseminate-to scatter or spread widely

If you shoot to fast, the bullets will disseminate.

Eloquence-the practice or art of using language with fluency and aptness.

The gman's eloquence can sometimes be terrifying.

Austere- severe in manner or appearance

The gman has always been an austere character. you don't want to piss him off.

Baleful- full of menacing or malign purposes

Dr. Breen seems nice, but he's actually one of the most baleful people out there

Bigot- a person who is utterly intolerant of any different creed

dude reagan equals bigot. he hated commies....

Current Event Feb 5 2008

2008-02-04T15:59:00.000-08:00

Yahoo! is getting the money end of the stick and it ain't exactly colored green. ;P

Yahooooooooooooooooooooo! who could forget that commercial? Remember back in the late 90's when we got all of our information on that "user-friendly" webpage. But then guess what? A little Stanford based website came along with title 10 to the power of 100 zeros. Their website was so bare bones that even a blind monkey can navigate through it. Soon, Google took the internet by storm. Now those once fruitful dot-coms are plummeting.
Microsoft is now realizing the threat Google is posing and are now putting their efforts into getting a bigger market share in online essential software that Google is offering. Microsoft has recently placed a $44.6 million dollar bid on Yahoo! in order to get a bigger market share. Microsoft's current service, MSN is lacking in the service in which Google shines.Thus this buyout is crucial for MS.

Apple getting slammed

2008-01-29T22:18:00.000-08:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22887583/

So basically the world is ending as Apple is getting the money they deserve. According to the recently pulled data, about 20% to 25% of iPhones are "unlocked".The unlocked iphones have been hacked in order to work on other cellular service networks, thus getting past the ATT exclussivity of the iPhone. Now theres a problem. ATT isn't getting their service fee's and Apple isn't getting their cut of the money ATT makes off servicing the iPhone.
Now Apple can do two things, either implement more "security" locks and brick all unlocked iPhones, or release the iPhone to other providers. Either way it's bad. If you brick all unlocked iPhones, then people who were counting on buying the iPhone and unlocking them wont be able to do so with the new locks thus Apple will lose customers. On the the other hand, if Apple release the iPhone to other companies, then they wont get the cut they get from ATT.

either way....

Apple is overrated

EPIC FAIL.....

Vocab 2

2008-01-28T20:55:00.000-08:00

Equivocate
to use ambiguous or unclear expressions, usually to avoid commitment or in order to mislead; prevaricate or hedge: When asked directly for his position on disarmament, the candidate only equivocated.

Eradicate
to remove or destroy utterly; extirpate
knowing how eradicate is good sometimes

Erode
to eat into or away; destroy by slow consumption or disintegration
If you use the computer too much you can erode your keyboard

Erratic
deviating from the usual or proper course in conduct or opinion
GLaDoS was behaving very erratic during her final hours

Escalate
to increase in intensity, magnitude
if you play higher on the fret board, the pitch escalates

Euthanasia
Also called mercy killing, the act of putting to death painlessly or allowing to die, as by withholding extreme medical measures, a person or animal suffering from an incurable, esp. a painful, disease or condition.
I had put my companion cube through euthanasia.

Response to "Why we Fight"

2008-01-23T21:40:00.000-08:00

In this documentary, the main point was questioning the reasons that politicians choose to declare war or begins armed conflicts with other nations. Though this documentary did find a special place in my heart pretty much all the information given I knew. I didn't get my information CNN or NBC, I just knew. It was "truthiness" in a way. My distrust in the government leads me to think logically when types of conflicts arise and I begin to see the real reasons. You just have to imagine what a corporations would do in order to secure interest in other nations. This government is run by Presidents or Senators, it's run by the Giant Corporations which leech off society. They have gone out off control and if this continues any further, it will lead to the collapse of the Unites States. This doc cleary shows one of the main reason of why I despise capitalism so much. You end up with a money hungry corporate empire.

So how did these conflicts arise? Our imperialistic interference with the stability of different regions led us to this point. If we had adopted a more Neutral foreign policy, I am sure that things would have turned out better. If the Corporations hadn't brought about the fall of the Soviet Union, things would be more balanced. Thats another things this world needs balance. There is not a single thing on this planet that can oppose the United States. It's like Yin and Yang, you need balance. With the Soviet Union, you had balance, the United States knew that if they slipped up, it would mean the end for the United States. Now that the Soviet Union is gone, the United States can does as it please until it strangles it self to death.

Vocab Week 1(again)....

2008-01-23T18:07:00.000-08:00

Formidable

The AWP is a terrifying and formidable opponent, especially when armed with tiny deagles.

Saying that Master Chief is the most badass video character is a complete fallacy. The Weighted Companion Cube takes the cake. (Even though it was a lie).

Gordon Freeman is the Guru of kickassness.
He can destroy the xen home world
with a crowbar

The United States was always in a state of trepidation during the cold war.

Gene Frenkle aspires to be the greatest cowbell player he can,

Thomsons Violin

2008-01-12T18:59:00.000-08:00

http://elika-hthi.blogspot.com/2007/12/eprompt-thomsons-violin.html

So what would you do if you were chained to a person you don't even know for 9 months of your life. What if this persons life depended on your cooperation. It is your decision to wither save this person life or walk away and let them die.
For starters read the prompt first, you'll get a better understanding of this topic. If you put all the pieces together you should come to the conclusion that this prompt is about abortion and thats were my first problem with is. If you want to argue about something you shouldn't have to encode in some weird story because all that does is lead to tangents that lead the discussion to nowhere.
Second, you can't compare being chained to a man for a better part of a year to being pregnant. It's not the same. Sure you can "You don't know how it feels to be pregnant Enrique..." well yeah... but do you know what it feels to be chained to a person for 9 months? No one does, therefore we can't use this situation for comparison.
My views on abortion are simple, It's to confusing to give a verdict yet. Everyday people argue and argue we make this whole thing so confusing. One says this thing and the other counters with that. It annoying!
Until we fix everything thing here in America dealing with childbirth (adoption, insurance, single mother aid, legal abandonments, sex education) we shouldn't be arguing about abortion yet.

Barder Writing

2008-01-12T16:35:00.000-08:00

http://elika-hthi.blogspot.com/2007/12/barder-and-flying-turban-creative.html

It's been years since I took that voyage with my friend Barder. It was 1967 and we were playing in the forest outside my granma's house. It was cold outside so my granpapa called me into his room to give me something to wear. He told "I used to wear this turban all the to keep me warm when I was little.Now run along now!" I ran out with Barder out into the woods. We played for a while then I lay down to rest. I saw Barder eating some mushrooms. i though I'd join in. I took a handful and gobbled them down. I felt fine, for a while. Things started to look weird to me. Color changed, shapes warped, it was amazing. Suddenly Barder spoke to me. He told me were going for a ride. I said "ok..." All of a sudden my turban began to illuminate. I got on Barder and we flew to a magical paradise of dreams and wonder....

Curent Event January 8 2008

2008-01-08T21:35:00.000-08:00

Tech Toys Too Much of a Hassle?

http://redtape.msnbc.com/2008/01/ces-but-will-th.html#posts

We live in a very sophisticated world and things that have once been to cumbersome or impractical are now easy to use gadgets that you can find any day from GPS to All-in-one smart phones. Developers have packaged all of these wonderful features which they advertise to you non-stop every hour of they day, but when you open the pack and actually use the product, you get a full-blown case of buyer's remorse. Either you need to purchase more equipment(services), The product is to complicated to learn, or it is incompatible with your current setup. This presents a problem to the electronics industry. They lose billions of dollars in sale from people just not being able to use their toy like the dream it should be. And all of this could have been avoided with more market testing and research.
As The article article from the link above briefly stated, The Electronics Research Group at Accenture have been discussing about way from preventing such losses. Various ideas have come such as smaller manuals, easy to use navigation, and hassle-free customer support. Although this is nothing revolutionary, these features have been lacking in many of today's products.
Most of the people's returned products which end up in the reduced price bin run perfectly fine. It's just that the consumer got frustrated and wasn't able to use their product. This industry is losing money in unnecessary return because of lazy software development and research. A good example of an easy to se product though it pains me to say it is the Apple iMac. Even though I regret the decision, these computer are pretty easy to use. Their startup manual is all but a couple of pages stapled together and the Operating system is as simple.
Developers need to find way to make their products easier to use who aren't tech-savvy as their are the one who are going to buy these products. Most enthusiast get the good stuff XD.
okay so it 10:00 pm, I have a head-ache, im tired so im going to end it here....pce

Book Report

2008-01-08T21:00:00.000-08:00

Book Report

Orwell George, Ninety Eighty-Four

Signet Classics, 1950

Reason: I chose this book mainly I wanted to see of Orwell’s peculiar views about socialism. Once I read Animal Farm, I needed more. I had been meaning to read for a long time now, and I finally just got the chance.

Plot:

So basically the world as we know it after World War II doesn’t exist. Instead of the countries like England, France and such, we have massive Nations each ruled by different parties. For example, there is Oceania, Eurasia, and East Asia. These nations have been at constant war with each other but also with selves. In the nation of Oceania, the ruling party is trying to control everything it can. From the news, food rations, history, even language. In the beginning of the book, the ruling party is trying to establish a new language in which one can’t express freely. The ultimate goal is to have language with technically on one word.

The book starts off with Winston, the main character living out his normal life as a member of the party. He is constantly watched by telescreens which are mounted on various walls everywhere he goes. He begins to resent the party its leader “Big Brother” and begins to write down his hate in a diary he obtained. Such writing is forbidden in the party and when caught he would be faced with death.

He eagerly wants to find a way to oppose the party but is also worried about his.

He begins to believe that a fellow party member O’Brien also shares the same thought as he does. After a series of events, he is invited to O’Brien’s residence. Winston believes he will finally be able join the resistance. Through various twists in the plot, Winston gets captured by the thought police. His eagerness to oppose Big Brother led to his arrest.

Character: Winston

Winston is the main character of the novel and the one who goes through the most change. Throughout the novel, he questions the Party and realizes it faults and begins to write out his ideas. This act alone is punishable by death. His physique is said to be very thin and frail.

Evaluation: I really liked this. I have always been interested in Orwell’s works ever since I read Animal Farm. And this book did not let me down. It gives the reader an idea of life under a totalitarian rule.

Obviously, this book can be compared to other governments of the past and present. On of the most obvious references in Stalin’s rule in the U.S.S.R. Orwell even models the image of Big Brother to the likeness of Stalin.

Though I did not agree with everything this book claimed or what the main character did, it was entertaining and it made my week,

Author: Orwell has written various other woks besides 1984. I’ve only read Animal Farm, but I hope to read more of his works.

FBI project

2007-12-19T19:32:00.000-08:00

OB pic Opression

2007-12-19T18:06:00.000-08:00

I took about 4 pictures in Ocean Beach. Picture taking isn't really my thing or will it. I just went out hunting for things that I see regularly in my neighborhood.
One of the things that caught my eye in OB were the alleys. You could find all sorts of things in the alleys. For instance right off the bat when I got out of the van and started searching for a shot, I saw this rag just lying there dirty and abandoned. Obviously this must be a shitty neighborhood is have crap lying around and homeless defecating on the streets (poor kang :s )

MOPA writing

2007-12-19T17:32:00.000-08:00

Museum of Photographic Arts Writing
Untitled #86
Simen Johan

It's been several weeks since that day. I can't believe I've managed this long without my bro.
He told me he was going of to fight some bad guys in the desert. I don't know where it is, or who he's fighting, all I know is that he was excited. When he left, I was sad.
I got a shot today. They told told me it was so I wouldn't get sick from the bad guys inside me. Maybe there someone inside me who brother also went to fight the bad guys.
I stole my sister doll and stuck in a hole. She hit on the head the day before.
When I came back, some bugs were crawling all over it!
I had to fight these bad guys like my bro was doing. I got a stick a started fighting them. But then I felt sad. Because out there was the little bro like me who just lost his big brother because he had to fight the bad guy. And that bad guy was me

Current Event

2007-12-09T20:26:00.000-08:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22135752/

So basically the famed 100$ laptop per child program (now 188$. I guess we can call it the 188$ laptop per child program) is about a serious mod. Microsoft has been investing time and money to be able to install windows xp on these small hand powered laptops. Only problem is, there not enough space. It going to take some serious compression and removal of unnecessary programs and processes in order for it to fit on the gig flash memory. This attempt to make xp run on these computers is sort of defeating the purpose of this program though. For starters, these laptops are running fine on Linux which is open source. Windows Xp is going to cost money which will further up the already climbing price of these computers. Linux is barebones and only has the necessary components to function as a usable tool for children while Xp is full of extras and nonessential add ons which make it a nuisance and a security risk. So it's a mystery why Microsoft would try to do this if it's going to slow down the project. And they better not be thinking that they're going to make any money off this.

Vocab 13

2007-12-04T19:02:00.000-08:00

Vehement:

characterized by rancor or anger; violent
Nightmare's personality had always been characterized as vehement. He is passionate about slaughtering thousands of people to feed SoulEdge and complete it. Nothing gets his way, at least whole.

Zealous:

marked by active interest and enthusiasm
I used Santana's photo because when you see him play you can always tell how he is locked into the moment. You see how he loves performing and how he puts his total concentration on playing.

Adverse: Being or acting in a contrary direction.

I used the terrorist model from cs. There so determined to blow up those darn bomb sites. Maybe if the Counter-Terrorists didn't label them so efficiently.

Factoid: something fictitious or unsubstantiated that is presented as fact, devised esp. to gain publicity and accepted because of constant repetition.

I used Jack Thompson's image for this definition. He basically accuses video games being as always being the catalysts in school shootings without any real investigation. He present theories and ideas which he claims are true and spreads them across the media anytime he can.

current event dec 4

2007-12-03T22:37:00.001-08:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22066948/page/2/
to big to display on tiny blogg

Current Event: Cheap Comps for everybody

2007-11-26T21:33:00.000-08:00

from
msnbc
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21671283/
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The One Laptop Per Child Program, which hopes to spread sub-$200 computers to schoolchildren in developing countries, has reached a milestone with the start of mass production.

The nonprofit spinoff from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said assembly lines for its "XO" laptops were fired up Tuesday at a Chinese factory run by manufacturer Quanta Computer Inc. That means children should begin getting the green-and-white computers this month.

One Laptop Per Child did not specify how many computers will be made or how many orders it has received from international buyers. The program's founder, Nicholas Negroponte, said in September that Quanta would build about 250,000 XOs this year, ramping to 1 million a month in 2008.

Negroponte originally expected mass production of several million XOs to have begun by now. But he scaled back that goal after encountering reluctance from potential buyers.

The computers were dreamed up as $100 laptops but for now cost $188, and buyers are expected to let children keep the computers and tinker with them at home.

The initial recipients will be children in Uruguay, Peru and Mongolia. Also, beginning Monday, people in North America will be able to buy one for themselves and donate the other to a child overseas through http://www.laptopgiving.org.

Even with mass production beginning later than expected, One Laptop Per Child can claim success on several fronts.

The small yet rugged XOs require low power and can be recharged by hand, have a screen that can be read in full sunlight and boast a user interface designed specially for children. And the impending emergence of the XOs awakened other companies to the potential of a low-cost educational market, greatly expanding the choices that international buyers now have.

Vocab week 11

2007-11-07T18:54:00.001-08:00

Loquacious:

talking or tending to talk much or freely; talkative; chattering; babbling; garrulous
Turbo tongue talk way to loquaciously

Metamorphosis:

any complete change in appearance, character, circumstances, etc.
I made this picture to show the metamorphosis of grunge

Nihilism:total rejection of established laws and institutions.

I made this pic to poke fun at the conquest of texan regions by settlers . Disregarded rules set by mexican government.

Obsequious:

obedient; dutiful.
I have an Obsequious dog

Oligarchy:

a form of government in which all power is vested in a few persons or in a dominant class or clique; government by the few
Some countries can turn into a over powering oligarchy.

Quotidian

Casual; common. Like kenny dieing all the time.

Reparation:

the making of amends for wrong or injury done
We should make reparations with mexico for taking texas.

Tempestuous:

Violent like
I would call Darnell tempestuous sometimes

Tautology

an instance of such repetition.
I dunno...... i guess it sort of explains its self

Supercilious

haughtily disdainful or contemptuous, as a person or a facial expression.
I don't get this one

Fatuous:

foolish or inane
Wow that clown is acting pretty fatuous

Apathy

absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement.
I can say i have a lot of apathy.

Huck Finn Reflect

2007-10-29T13:30:00.000-07:00

Literature is channel for artists who wish to express their thoughts on society by using words as a medium. The author combines these words in a complex cryptic way in order to deliver a message to the people. It’s important to know that even though these words came from the writer, they don’t belong to the writer; they are merely the ideas from the personas created by the writer. Mark Twain was able to create a parallel universe in which his characters existed and put them against the society of his time and write it down to express what he saw in life.

At first when one reads Huckleberry Finn, one can to reach the conclusion that Mark Twain might possibly have a prejudice against African-Americans of his time. Supporters of this theory back this up by the repeated use of derogatory comments about African-Americans and the repeated portrayal of them as being ignorant and uneducated by his characters. Those who claim that Mark Twain may have some prejudice ignore the fact he never ever in his books say “I Mark Twain am a racist.” It is the characters who have their own personalities who have prejudices. What people need to understand is that Mark Twain doesn’t exist in his books, in order to understand what is going on in the book, one need to understand that the book is being told a child and not Twain himself.

The entire book is told though the eyes of Huckleberry Finn. All the thoughts, ideas, and morals are those of Huck which are inspired by the experiences of Mark Twain. Huck has the innocence of a child and as such does not comprehend the events around as well as the adults in the book. Huck views the world as how the adults tell him to. Being a child though, Huck can’t see race like the adults. He just see’s everybody as people and if somebody needs helps he gives it to them no matter what they are.

Mark Twain’s view differs from that of his characters. Though one cannot know exactly what his views are one can infer from his works that he wrote. Twain uses his books to illustrate he world he lived and to demonstrate the flaws of his society. Mark Twain is more able to distinguish good and evil than Huck. He knows that what is going is wrong and so he writes about social unjust through the eyes of a child. It is impossible to encompass all of Twain’s thoughts into one character so it is impossible to say that all Huck’s thoughts and morals are of Mark Twain.

Mark Twain’s lived in confusing world and he decided to describe it in his works.

One could argue that his characters voice is his but reality they are made up from the mind of Mark Twain. Huck Finn only exists in his books. The entire dialog is that of Huck and not Twains. It crucial to draw the line between Narrator and Author, just because some one wrote doesn’t mean that’s it is their entire views and ideas of life.

Vocab 9

2007-10-28T17:11:00.000-07:00

Accord:

To be in agreement or harmony.
We reached and accord over the argument

Bias:

a particular tendency or inclination, esp. one that prevents unprejudiced consideration of a question; prejudice. "Pic chosen because it shows how each group has bias towards their opinion."

Incognito

With the real identity concealed.
I had to live incognito to lie low.

Deduct:

to take away, as from a sum or amount
I had to deduct $100 from my savings.

Paradigm:

One that serves as a pattern or model.
"Doom set the model for First-Person shooters and started a revolution in the genre"

Plagarize:

to take and use ideas. "Pong was plagiarized version of an earlier game called table tennis."

Objectivity:

judgment based on observable phenomena and uninfluenced by emotions or personal prejudices.
"That man has an obvious objectivity over this incident."

Precipitous:

Done with very great haste and without due deliberation
"That marriage was done very precipitously"

Recapitulate:

to review by a brief summary
"We had to recapitulate last weeks presentation"

Reciprocate:

To give in order to receive
"I had reciprocate to get my belongings back."

Empathy:

Identification with and understanding of another's situation
"I had empathy for the family who had their homes destroyed"

Words I Learned This Week

2007-10-16T18:52:00.002-07:00

Flourish: To grow luxuriantly, To Thrive

I went outside to check on the crops and I was amazed on how they flourished over the weekend

Guerrilla: Member of a Guerrilla War group. Uses Hit and run tactics against the enemy.

I choose this picture because it was the first hing that popped into my head when I saw Guerilla(Guerilla doesn't matter, both are okay.).

Che fought with many guerrillas in the Cuban Revolution.

Renegade: A person who desert a party for a another cause.

We had a renegade on our CS team. He killed us all and then switched teams. We pwned him though.

Repose: The act of resting or the state of being at rest

After a long hike, I had a repose to regain my strength

Stereotype:A simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group.

People have a common stereotype that all Mexicans eat beans.
Why Speedy? Look at him. Tell me you don't think he's Mexican.

Symbiosis: A relationship between two people in which each person is dependent upon and receives reinforcement, whether beneficial or detrimental, from the other.

A Mother and child and symbiotic to each other. The mother depends on the child for psychological support and the child for survival support.

Tariff: An official list or table showing the duties or customs imposed by a government on imports or exports.

England had plenty control of what came in and out of the American colonies. Thus imposing a tariff.

Tempo: Characteristic rate, rhythm, or pattern of work or activity

Each song has its structures which follows a tempo

Tranquility: State of calmness

It was very tranquil after the bloody battle. Everyone just wanted to go home.

Tumult: A noisy commotion, uproar.

There was a tumult in the stadium after the goal.

Tundra: Treeless areas on the Arctic region

A great amount of Canada is covered by tundra.

unanimous: Complete Agreement.

The jury must be unanimous in order to reach a verdict.

Metal head gone postal

2007-10-15T20:17:00.000-07:00

New York City, a land of no hope, no values, no KFC’s without rats in the fryer. It’s a city of nightmares. It’s a city where fewer handshakes are given out than inappropriate hand gestures. This is no place for 14 year old Carlos Cobain Hendrix. It’s just too much.

The bums are a fighting, the bullets are whizzing, and the beds are a rocking. It’s typical morning for young Carlos. Its 5:30, he crawls out of bed and steps over his 10 brothers and sisters on the way to the john. He walks around he opens the door and hits his toe on the toilet. “Ah feces!” he yells out. Well the normal process of emptying ones bowels and bladder goes on but the toilet plugs. “Oh well…” he says, “Moms will fix it. But we don’t have a plunger. Heh…..” He notices it’s the 13^th. “Oh snaps!! I’ve got to go to the store!!” He runs by the counter and snatches 50 dollars off the counter. He gets to the subway with all his focus on getting to the store. You could really see the focus on his face. He finally arrives. “O M G!” he cried, “Its actually today!” He goes to the counter noticing a small line. He buys his product and returns home.

“First thing is first. I must prepare” he grabs a bunch of caprisun and prepares for the adventure of his life. He begins to use his product and then he immediately notices and machete on the table. “Oh sweet!” he proclaims .He immediately picks it up and slays everyone in the house. “Wow, this is awesome!!” he squeals. The boy continues his carnage in his neighborhood. Just then, a particular something catches his eye in a local gun store. To his amazement, a MG 42 machine gun is on display ammo and all. A smile appears on his face. The mayhem continues.

It’s late afternoon, Carlos has wiped out a good portion of Manhattan and is now continuing onto central park. Just then, the SWAT helicopter appears. “Put down gun now!” they command. Carlos quickly guns them down. Just then, the big guns appear. Armadas of tanks appear out of nowhere. In of matter of minutes though, they are all slaughtered, it just not enough. Then from out the most unlikely hero arrives. William Hun arrives and challenges him to a one on one match. All of a sudden an aura encircles Hun and the battle commence. They fight for three whole days straight but Hun comes out victorious. Then from no where and big come out and says “You Died lolzer Noob!!”

Carlos was really just playing Postal 2. Don’t worry his family is alright, but he did manage to “accidentally” silence Jack Thompson in later life.