Archive for April, 2009
Filed under: Hmmm
Its somewhat funny, I was just talking to a friend of mine yesterday about drivers and it comes up again. It is such a large part of a lot of our lives that it just makes sense to complain about it. I have a couple of things to complain about here, so yes, this is a rant. A light rant, though. So, don’t worry, it will be over soon.
Driving across the bridge the other day I just about rear ended some idiot in front of me, and almost gave myself whiplash again. There was an accident on the other side of the bridge and, for unexplainable reasons, idiots must slow down when passing an accident that is across a divider and several feet of water. Yeah, didn’t make sense to me either. The guy dropped by about 10 mph. I was really annoyed. I didn’t have to slam on my breaks, but it is good that I actually pay attention to what is around me when I drive instead of staring at accidents across the way that have nothing to do with me. Honestly, anymore if I see an accident on the other side of the road I start to prepare myself because I know, with certainty, that somebody is going to slow down drastically, swerve or do something else that indicates a lack of driving intelligence. What was really sad about the whole thing was that he wasn’t the only one that slowed down a lot, most people around him did too, including drivers in the other lanes.
I think you really have to be careful, especially with what they are saying about many people choosing to drive without insurance now. I don’t think I would do that, just not worth the trouble. Some of these drivers should be taking out double or triple the regular insurance, just based on how they drive. Ok. I am done with my rant. Thanks for listening.
Tags: bad drivers, driving, insurance, rubbernecking
Filed under: Hmmm
I have been deep in the books the last couple of days. Pretty much not much fun! Homework is not always as fun as people say it is. I’ve been up since about 5 am this morning and I am about bushed. My mind has slipped into neutral and gotten stuck there. That’s ok, I will be alright as soon as I pass out.
Tomorrow, luckily and hopefully, will be a much better. It should, at least be more relaxing, give me time to actually get my thoughts in order. No, you’re right, that probably won’t take all that long.
I’ve been sitting at a computer pretty much all day today keeping myself preoccupied with homework and trying to figure problems out. I am quite ready to kick the problems out now, screw trying to figure them out. I think I need a break, short one, just a few hours for a bit of sleep. I think I’ve had about seven hours in the last few days. I probably need to catch up on some of it.
Have to get ready for tomorrow before I can do that, though. I wonder how many people actually set things up for their next day the night before. I don’t always do it but I do find that it tends to make the day go easier, of course if I don’t sleep and end up passing out the day should go by pretty quick too.
I was trying to think of what would be good to write about tomorrow. I saw a couple of interesting articles today in passing, well, interesting headlines anyway. I didn’t actually have a chance to read the articles. Hmm, that sounds like a good idea too, take some time and catch up on other reading. For right now though, I am going to go catch up on my sleep.
Tags: homework, long day, sleepy, tired
Filed under: Hmmm
Today was kind of relaxing. Beautiful day, lazy day. I really should have gotten out somewhere today, but it is the first weekend in a while I have had some peace and quiet. Although, yesterday doesn’t count because of the party, but today was fairly relaxing. Other than the homework, which probably explains why I didn’t go out today. I was very tempted though, the day was just that nice!
I got to sleep late this morning and then I had to make breakfast, but it was worth the trouble. Sat down with it and a cup of coffee and enjoyed the sun shining in. I almost think Spring could be here, after more than seven months of cold. It would be great but not going to bet on it yet. It has been nice a few times already only to hail and snow the next day. Go to bed nice and comfortable and wake up freezing and wondering where all the warmth went. Really looking forward to full Spring!
Did the homework stuff today but wasn’t really into it. I took a look at a few things online and even flipped through the available stations for a bit in procrastination. I finally broke down and did it, though. Under protestation. Don’t really have anybody to protest to but myself, so I did, a lot. However, the procrastination worked for a while because while it kept me from doing any homework for a bit it also kept me from going out. I think I got the worst part of the deal there.
Just kind of a lazy day, which is what I still feel. No, not like a day, just lazy. I am actually thinking about taking a nap, or maybe I will actually go to bed early. Naw, probably not.
Tags: homework, lazy, lazy day, procrastination, relaxing
Filed under: Uncategorized
Games are great fun. I prefer pc games to console games; I don’t even own a console. I hope that doesn’t offend anybody! Not that it matters much, but pc games just have more of the type I like. I am big on role playing games and am becoming more interested in adventure, strategy and simulation games. Back a few years when I was thinking about picking up a console there weren’t many with good choices in the role playing genre. I haven’t checked recently to see if that has changed.
I spent some time looking through the available games sites for new and old rpg’s that I could pick up. I am really interested in the downloadable ones because that is much easier. D2D and steam seem fairly convenient but they don’t have all the ones I am interested in. They do have a few but their selection isn’t as large as I would wish. Hopefully they will continue to grow their database of games. The older ones are cheaper and you know they already have almost all of the needed patches for them. It makes playing them much easier than when they were first released.
There are a couple of role playing games I like but I would really like to see a mixture of games molded into great role playing games. Take the openness of Oblivion with the character interaction of Baldur’s Gate II or Neverwinter Night’s II and the riding and fighting capabilities of Mount & Blade, plus the fun of Sid Meier’s Pirates and you would have a great game! The best part of any game for me, what I am looking for comes down to three things really. If a game has open exploration, great character building and character interaction I am extremely happy with it. I love building my character. I think I often spend more time doing that then actually playing the game.
Tags: classics, games, pc, role playing games, rpg
Filed under: Hmmm
It seems like the idea for internet metering has been around for a while, but is now being re-considered. I really don’t think I like that idea, though it does make sense. The basic idea is that you get charged on how much bandwidth you use, how many bytes you take when you sit online. However, if you use Utube a lot or watch HULU then it could cause you some issues. The way many of the companies are trying to move most media online, like the movies, could also come to a screeching halt. The ISP’s or internet service providers are saying that this is a better option because they don’t have the money to change to a fiber network where the bandwidth usage wouldn’t make a big difference.
Your internet enjoyment depends on your speed, if you have dial up it probably wouldn’t matter to you much. Really the only problem I would have with it depends on how greedy they got. If they just used some common sense and say, dropped the starting rate then increased depending on usage from there, it would be fine. Since we all pay the same amount and they want to switch to usage then the base amount should be a lot lower then what it is now. A lot lower.
I am still not sure about it though. To be honest I would really rather they go to fiber or find something else, maybe just make a mandatory cut off line that if you are going over then you have to move up to the next category of service. That is probably the same thing, but it really is in the public’s perception. What would be really good is for one company, one ISP, to try it and when they do for all of us to switch to somebody else. I think they would get the idea fairly quickly. I am just not sure about the idea. I can see good and bad.
Tags: downloads, greed, Internet, metering, speed, uploads
Filed under: Hmmm
Came across an article today on addiction, and a pill for it. My first reaction was very negative. I really don’t think that giving people drugs to control themselves is in anyway a good idea. It tends to make for new addictions. I am not sure about this one, but I am sure there are side effects. Things like limbs dropping off and losing all interest in the opposite sex. I just made those up but they are probably not far from the truth.
The idea is good, kind of. I still have a lot of reservations about drugs for anything. There are so many things that could go wrong with them, and to be honest I am not sure that they are really needed. Drugs often tend to be used as a crutch and a usually just replace the problem they are supposed to be helping with.
You may think I am an armchair addict, preaching without understanding but I have broken a few of my own addictions. I broke them without the use of other drugs as a substitute. I am an ex smoker and an ex drinker. There are a few addictions I haven’t given up, things like coffee, sex and tea. I have no plans to do so, but I am sure that if I chose to I would be able to. Don’t believe me? I’ve done it before. I smoked three packs a day when I finally decided to quit smoking and I was a heavy drinker when I left that arena. Do I miss it? Yes, sometimes but that doesn’t mean I have to follow through with the action I am missing.
I can understand that some might have real troubles controlling themselves, and I can sympathize with having help to change, but pills to stop also means you could start anytime and try anything then just take a pill. No will power or self control required. I just don’t think that is a good idea.
Tags: Addiction, cure, drinking, pills, prescription, smoking
Filed under: Hmmm
The pirates are at it again, actually they have never stopped. They have also been doing it for a while now. They have upped the attacks a lot since the American Captain was rescued, successfully. I still have little sympathy for them. It would be like me robbing you and then complaining when you hit me and took your stuff back. Slightly demented on their part, I think.
I have the same general opinion of pirates as others do, at least I think I do. However, what most of us think of pirates are actually privateers; those swashbuckling heroes from the movies. The daring rogue, forced to the fringes of civilization, fighting the good fight against violent oppressors or enemy countries. To be honest, while I will complain about the Somali pirates whining of their treatment I have to admit that it sounded like they were fairly closely related to the romantic image of the Pirate. Supposedly they never harmed their captives before, other than one unexplained accident. The reports have them treating their prisoners well, so I guess in a way they were following the same romantic image, they just didn’t take it to the logical conclusion. When you act against others with force then they will most likely return the favor.
Pirates are interesting in the historical sense but they are not as romantic and daring as they often appear in various literature. Real pirates tend to be rougher and much less likeable then the current image of the ones who have faded into history. The new version of the pirate is most likely the same as the old. We just need to differentiate the pirate from the privateer and the historical pirate from the reality of the pirate, because both often terrorized the innocent.
Tags: disney, pirates, privateer, sid, somali
Filed under: Hmmm
The holiday was yesterday. Easter is kind of fun, it really isn’t as religious as it started out to be. It is a bit like Christmas, the holiday has changed to be more family, kid, oriented. If you are just an adult by yourself there really isn’t much to it, especially if you are not a diehard religious nut.
Having the holiday in Sunday doesn’t help much either, you can’t get a paid holiday since it already falls on the weekend. You also don’t just get Monday or Friday off to make up for it. It kind of takes all the fun out of the holiday, at least for me it does.
It’s not that I am against the holiday, I think it is great fun for kids and gives parents an excuse to spend some good time with them, which I would bet a lot of kids need and a lot of parents need to do. Then of course there is the bunny rabbit aspect of Easter, I am not really sure how bunnies that lay eggs came to be such a large part of the holiday. I am sure it makes sense on some level somewhere. I do like rabbits, and eggs but not sure if I would like rabbit eggs. I do miss the candy and the fun of hunting Easter eggs, so I guess I kind of miss the holiday itself.
I still think that a holiday that gives us a day off with pay is a better holiday, but then I am sure many people would claim that I am completely missing the whole point to the holiday. It is not what the holiday can give you that you are supposed to be celebrating but what the holiday represents, however business and dollars make the holiday much more about what you get then what you are actually doing.
Tags: bunny, Easter, eggs, fasting, hunt
Filed under: Uncategorized
Good news! The captain who was being held prisoner by the Somali pirates is safe now. He was rescued by the US Navy when negotiations apparently seemed to be deteriorating. I am not sure on the whole story but rumor has it he may have jumped overboard again and when he did the captain of the Navy ship doing the negotiating took action. The end result is three dead pirates, one pirate prisoner and the captain safe again.
Reading the article I guess the pirates in the area were upset and threatening retaliation. I found that to be slightly offensive. What kind of arrogant (insert swear word here) are these guys? They said that the US is now their number one enemy, well good, in this case. They act like they have a right to hold people hostage and terrorize the shipping lanes, the only right they truly have after acts like that is the right to a speedy end and a (you knew I was going to say it didn’t you?) long walk of a short plank. I can’t seriously imagine what is going on in their heads to be threatening the ships and people with more violence. Sadly it might be good because if they do that then whatever country’s ships they attack will have the moral right to send them to Davy Jones’ locker. I hope that at that point no country would complain if it becomes one warning shot and then shoot to kill area where the pirates are attacking. If we are thinking in piratical terms and ideas then maybe some country will offer a bounty of several doubloons for the head of a pirate, that would probably put a stop to a lot of the issue.
It really needs to be done, because these pirates need to be shown that their chosen profession is now very risky and if they pick up a gun they are also opening the possibility of being shot, hung, beaten and quartered. It was just really amazing to me that the pirates were complaining about how they were treated, as if they were the victims in this. They brought it upon themselves.
Tags: captain, free, navy, pirates, somali
Filed under: Hmmm
It’s really interesting, the level of privacy people will accept. It is a bit like the frog in the water, boil it slow and it won’t know it is being boiled. It is truly the same for people. Privacy is something that many people value but if it is taken away slowly most won’t notice as long as they aren’t personally bothered. I have seen a few things pop up here and there about the amount of CCTV cameras in place in different parts of the world, especially in Britain. They have a huge cctv system there, supposedly the most in the world. I kind of wonder if that is true, maybe they are just more obvious about it.
In a way I think it could be a good thing because there are a lot of benefits to having things recorded. Of course, you always have the downside; the absolute possibility of abuse of the system that can occur if things are not kept under control. Think about one person being able to influence your life in innumerable ways, then consider if that person has no morals and disdains ethics. That is where a surveillance society becomes very scary. It can of course get even scarier. I saw the movie Eagle Eye, and while it was entertaining it was also fairly scary because I could see how it could happen with things all being so connected. We just have to watch out and keep laws on the books that protect those with less power. The best thing for that is really not a law but the media.
The good part of a surveillance society is what we ourselves can use. They have vehicle tracking in many countries, as well as laptop and desktop tracking. You can also have cameras in your home and a video system all set up to record anyone who goes in there. A closed system is better; otherwise others might be able to spy on you with your own system. If it is closed then you can have your own spy cameras set up and your own spy software in effect. There are really all sorts of things that you can do with the technology, as long as we can keep our political systems in check and our lives relatively uninterrupted.
Tags: cameras, cctv, life, privacy, Surveillance
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