Oh my god, if you haven't seen this yet, it's beyond awesome. BEYOND.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Surprised Kitty
I know I'm late to this one, since it's got a good 3.5 million views already, but still. Super freaking cute. =D
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Senators Side with Halliburton instead of Rape Victims
This will likely infuriate you. But yeah, a whole bunch of senators sided with gang-rape and Halliburton. If the Rapture's incoming, Jesus is gonna fuckin bitch-slap these assholes so hard!!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The current financial crisis: explained
If you don't really understand why we're in a recession and exactly how it happend, this podcast of NPR's This American Life will explain it. It is absolutely worth listening to; very entertaining and easy to understand.
Basically there are a lot of fucking stupid and greedy idiots out there. Matt, I don't see how your thesis that pay=value could possibly stand up to this counter-evidence.
Basically there are a lot of fucking stupid and greedy idiots out there. Matt, I don't see how your thesis that pay=value could possibly stand up to this counter-evidence.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Friday, October 09, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Frank Schaeffer on Rachel Maddow
Hmmm. I definitely agree with this guy, but I'm a little concerned his message is lost amidst the "they're crazy" language. Though really, many of them are. And I can sympathize with his virulence; when you grow up amidst all that there's always a part of you that still believes it's right (or rather, fears that you're wrong that it's wrong), and the virulence against it helps to drown out that voice... =/
Friday, September 25, 2009
Over 9000 licks
This is so totally random.... a reference to an apparently obscure anime meme... but hey, it folds in early 80s Tootsie Pop animation, so it won me over. =P
Kyl: I Don't Need Maternity Care In My Health Insurance - Stabenow: Your Mom Probably Did!
Oh no she di'int!!! Senator Stabenow drops a "your mom" joke on Senator Kyl.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
World of Warcraft Paladin Caramelldansen
. . . Umm. This just makes me happy. In case you're wondering, that's an anime Blood Elf Paladin in full T2. >.>
Monday, September 07, 2009
Thoughts on the Current Healthcare Debacle
So I'm super annoyed by the current total failure that is Obama's healthcare reform. And I say it's a failure because it's unclear what he specifically wants, and because he's let the Repubs control the conversation with idiocy like death panels and other BS. The country is losing faith in Obama, and is moving towards rejecting reform. Which is bat-shit crazy because our system is broken and costs are ballooning out of control. Of course, Repubs have no solution; they just want to make Obama look bad. For me, healthcare is one of those topics that can't be fucked around with (like the environment) because of the potential consequences to our way of life here in the good ol' US of A. Ballooning costs make our industry non-competive, and more and more people die or suffer needlessly because their healthcare is rationed (nah, you don't REALLY need that MRI, even though your doctor says you do!) or sub-par.
On this topic, Repubs are totally off the deep end. I dunno how you fight that kind of crazy, either. There's something about being on tv that lends them some level of legitimacy... why would they be allowed to say these things (death panels, Obama is a commie/socialist/nazi/etc) if they weren't true? But of course, there's nothing stopping them. It's so maddening. In my mind, the only thing that can stop them is a well-loved and charismatic leader calling them out. But Obama doesn't do that, and so he's weakened over time by the barrage of lies and the crazy machine continues.
Industry should be 100% behind reform. We're the only industrialized nation that makes our businesses cover their employees' health. Which is awful, because a company like Google whose workforce is young and fit will have low costs, while a company like GM whose workforce is older and less fit, will have huuuuge costs. And so GM is non-competitive with its foreign counterparts (for other reasons beyond healthcare obviously, but healthcare's a big part of it) because it has to bake so many more costs into its pricing. And in the US, there's a ton of overhead in administering insurance plans through employers, which makes hiring and firing people even harder to do, and thus makes us less nimble in response to economic trends. So industry would be WAY better off on the whole if the gov't took the burden of healthcare away from them. Industry would be more competitive, more nimble, and workers would be much more mobile and able to switch jobs without fear of losing coverage. It's win-win here... why isn't industry backing reform whole hog?
I've had friends argue that they don't want to pay for other peoples' healthcare through a public option; it already costs us too much. But the problem is that we *already* pay for people without healthcare. Emergency rooms are essentially publicly funded, and are used as primary healthcare by 10s of millions of Americans. And they don't go there until the tumor is so big they can't walk straight. And of course by then it costs 10-100x more to treat them than if we'd caught it right away. This is the argument that Obama needs to make: mandatory socialized medicine is CHEAPER for everyone than our current system. It's the fiscally conservative approach! And amazingly it's also the socially just one. It's win-win, again!
And there are all these idiotic arguments out there about how inefficient and costly a gov't option would be. (Note that those arguments are made by the same people that say that private insurers would be unable to compete against a gov't plan. Ummm, which is it? Is the gov't a bureaucratic mess? Or is it a killer competitor? It can't be both, assholes!) Except that the overhead on gov't-run healthcare (Medicare) is like 4%. The overhead on private insurance is like 30%. Medicare is literally some 7x more efficient than private insurance (something like that; I sense a mathfail on my part there). All that extra overhead that we pay private insurers just lines their pockets with gold. So you're wasting a ton of money now on unnecessary salaries and bonuses that in a gov't system DO NOT exist. And we know they don't exist because there is ALREADY a huge gov't-run public option!! Except, you know, get your god-damn gov't hands off my Medicare. O.o
I actually don't understand why Obama doesn't just make his healthcare proposal this: we're expanding Medicare to cover anyone who wants it. There, done. Then the discussion becomes one of cost and implementation, rather than whether Medicare is good or not. Because Repubs can't touch Medicare or they'll alienate half of their allies. Medicare is popular, successful, and cheap. So Obama, just expand it to any American who wants it, and mandate that every American be covered, and let's move the fuck on.
On this topic, Repubs are totally off the deep end. I dunno how you fight that kind of crazy, either. There's something about being on tv that lends them some level of legitimacy... why would they be allowed to say these things (death panels, Obama is a commie/socialist/nazi/etc) if they weren't true? But of course, there's nothing stopping them. It's so maddening. In my mind, the only thing that can stop them is a well-loved and charismatic leader calling them out. But Obama doesn't do that, and so he's weakened over time by the barrage of lies and the crazy machine continues.
Industry should be 100% behind reform. We're the only industrialized nation that makes our businesses cover their employees' health. Which is awful, because a company like Google whose workforce is young and fit will have low costs, while a company like GM whose workforce is older and less fit, will have huuuuge costs. And so GM is non-competitive with its foreign counterparts (for other reasons beyond healthcare obviously, but healthcare's a big part of it) because it has to bake so many more costs into its pricing. And in the US, there's a ton of overhead in administering insurance plans through employers, which makes hiring and firing people even harder to do, and thus makes us less nimble in response to economic trends. So industry would be WAY better off on the whole if the gov't took the burden of healthcare away from them. Industry would be more competitive, more nimble, and workers would be much more mobile and able to switch jobs without fear of losing coverage. It's win-win here... why isn't industry backing reform whole hog?
I've had friends argue that they don't want to pay for other peoples' healthcare through a public option; it already costs us too much. But the problem is that we *already* pay for people without healthcare. Emergency rooms are essentially publicly funded, and are used as primary healthcare by 10s of millions of Americans. And they don't go there until the tumor is so big they can't walk straight. And of course by then it costs 10-100x more to treat them than if we'd caught it right away. This is the argument that Obama needs to make: mandatory socialized medicine is CHEAPER for everyone than our current system. It's the fiscally conservative approach! And amazingly it's also the socially just one. It's win-win, again!
And there are all these idiotic arguments out there about how inefficient and costly a gov't option would be. (Note that those arguments are made by the same people that say that private insurers would be unable to compete against a gov't plan. Ummm, which is it? Is the gov't a bureaucratic mess? Or is it a killer competitor? It can't be both, assholes!) Except that the overhead on gov't-run healthcare (Medicare) is like 4%. The overhead on private insurance is like 30%. Medicare is literally some 7x more efficient than private insurance (something like that; I sense a mathfail on my part there). All that extra overhead that we pay private insurers just lines their pockets with gold. So you're wasting a ton of money now on unnecessary salaries and bonuses that in a gov't system DO NOT exist. And we know they don't exist because there is ALREADY a huge gov't-run public option!! Except, you know, get your god-damn gov't hands off my Medicare. O.o
I actually don't understand why Obama doesn't just make his healthcare proposal this: we're expanding Medicare to cover anyone who wants it. There, done. Then the discussion becomes one of cost and implementation, rather than whether Medicare is good or not. Because Repubs can't touch Medicare or they'll alienate half of their allies. Medicare is popular, successful, and cheap. So Obama, just expand it to any American who wants it, and mandate that every American be covered, and let's move the fuck on.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Little hamster falling asleep
Holy shit! Check out the size of its balls!!! It uses them as a pillow!!!!
My dogs reaction to a fart
omg, i'm hysterical with laughter.... the dog looks so disgusted...... just minding its own business when all of a sudden BAM...
Study Says Marijuana's not a Gateway Drug
OK, so this is old news, but still, seriously. Could we please revise our national drug policy to pull marijuana from its classification as a Schedule I drug (along with meth, and higher than morphine and opium)? It might free up some space in California's 3x overcrowded prisons, and save the nation some money on idiotic incarcerations (both the cost of prison and the social cost of lost labor and fucked-up lives).
Marijuana's Not a Gateway Drug
Marijuana's Not a Gateway Drug
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Friday, August 07, 2009
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Animaniacs - The Great Wakkorotti - The Master and His Music
omg, I love the Animaniacs. i need to find more clips from the show....
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Zero Punctuation: Halo 3 Review on The Escapist
omg, totally. Halo 3's gameplay is inconsistent and the storyline is incomprehensible. Contrast with Mass Effect which has consistent and relatively challenging play, and an absolutely beautiful storyline, incredibly detailed game world, and fantastic voice acting.
The Darkness Demo (Fullyramblomatic review)
I do believe this was the first Zero Punctuation review created. Ever since, Ben Yahtzee has been cranking these out weekly at the online magazine The Escapist. Absolutely hilarious eviscerations - er, reviews - of popular video games. =D
Storm Large 8 MILES WIDE music video
Oh my vagina is 8 miles wide. Absolutely everyone can come inside...! Vigantic!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Easy registration with overseas embassies!
Wow, this is hot. You know how you're supposed to register with the US Embassy at your overseas destination when you travel abroad? Except you never do because who knows how to do that, and besides you're only there for a few weeks anyways and what could possible go wrong?
Well. As it turns out, the US State Dept has a super easy way to register online! You actually create an account with a profile, and then update it with your trip info! It's super easy... I just did the whole thing for my time here in Spain in like 5 minutes (did I mention I'm in Spain for the summer? no? well, more on that later then... maybe). Totally easy, and next time I travel I can set up all the info in advance and be confident that the embassy knows where I am in case for some reason it needs to extract me. =P
http://travelregistration.state.gov
Enjoy!!
Well. As it turns out, the US State Dept has a super easy way to register online! You actually create an account with a profile, and then update it with your trip info! It's super easy... I just did the whole thing for my time here in Spain in like 5 minutes (did I mention I'm in Spain for the summer? no? well, more on that later then... maybe). Totally easy, and next time I travel I can set up all the info in advance and be confident that the embassy knows where I am in case for some reason it needs to extract me. =P
http://travelregistration.state.gov
Enjoy!!
Friday, July 10, 2009
CHELSEA LATELY 10-3-08 ROUNDTABLE Part1
I really like Chelsea Handler... I read her book "Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea", and it was pretty hilarious. Her show's great, too...
And I'd be remiss if I didn't say how hot (and hilarious) Josh Wolf is. >.>
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Drill Baby Drill EP. 2: Reap The World Wind
Hahahaha this is kinda hilarious. Mark Sanford is kinda crazy. =P
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
A Little Drama
Oh.... man. This had me in tears. It's a short film from the movie True Love, which is itself a collection of short films that I watched tonight on Netflix.
Overall, True Love was way more depressing than it was romantic, but this short hit me hard, probably because it resonates with me so strongly. Starting in high school (and continuing to this day), I was the kid on the outskirts, watching the guys I crushed on from afar, but never believing love would happen to me. The AV boy gets a single look from the star, and he's overwhelmed, tears streaming down his cheeks... he pockets the playbill so he'll always have a connection to that magical night, and then...
I wasn't expecting to be moved so much by this, but it really hit me out of the blue. I'm sure the music had a lot to do with it, but yeah, I majorly identify with the AV boy. Wow.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Why Microsoft Sucks #2349: Xbox ID - gone!
So I get this e-mail from Xbox telling me that my credit card on file isn't working. (They were trying to charge me for my next year's Gold subscription for Xbox Live, which I probably don't need anyways since my Xbox is in storage and I'm homeless and jobless.)
So I tried logging into my Xbox account online to update the credit card. (Again, probably shouldn't have been doing that.) As it turns out, none of my passwords worked, and because my Xbox account name was my Accenture e-mail address, there's no way I can ask them to e-mail me a new password. Clearly, my only option is calling them.
So I call the Philippines, which is apparently where Xbox support is housed. I talk to a very nice man who reads through the standard script ("may I call you by your first name?" "gosh, I understand your problem and I'm so sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you." OMG JUST GET TO THE POINT.) This nice man then puts me on hold for 15 minutes to get someone from technical support.
I talk to a new nice man in technical support, who also goes through the standard, three-times-as-long-as-it-needs-to-be script. After talking for a while about how I can access my account, he tells me he needs to get his supervisor.
So we're now like 25 minutes into this escapade, and I talk to nice man #3. It takes about 10 minutes, but by the end of it the story is thus:
I asked Nice Man #3 if Microsoft was planning to revisit this idiotic policy of deleting an account that hasn't been touched in 4 months. I mean seriously, 4 months?! Four!!! That's like, summer. What if I decide not to turn on my tv or Xbox for a couple months because I want to be outside? I guess that means I'm dead to Microsoft, eh?
Anyways, Nice Man #3 told me that they may be looking at that policy again. But I'm not holding my breath. I just chalk this up to very bad policy design on Microsoft's part. I wish there was someone I could go rail at for a few minutes about this. Stupid faceless corporate world. Blahs.
So I tried logging into my Xbox account online to update the credit card. (Again, probably shouldn't have been doing that.) As it turns out, none of my passwords worked, and because my Xbox account name was my Accenture e-mail address, there's no way I can ask them to e-mail me a new password. Clearly, my only option is calling them.
So I call the Philippines, which is apparently where Xbox support is housed. I talk to a very nice man who reads through the standard script ("may I call you by your first name?" "gosh, I understand your problem and I'm so sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you." OMG JUST GET TO THE POINT.) This nice man then puts me on hold for 15 minutes to get someone from technical support.
I talk to a new nice man in technical support, who also goes through the standard, three-times-as-long-as-it-needs-to-be script. After talking for a while about how I can access my account, he tells me he needs to get his supervisor.
So we're now like 25 minutes into this escapade, and I talk to nice man #3. It takes about 10 minutes, but by the end of it the story is thus:
- A while back, Xbox moved away from validating accounts by asking for credit card information, and decided instead to use Windows Live IDs. (I consider Windows Live IDs to be Microsofts failed attempt to be "cool", by theoretically allowing you to access all things Microsoft through a single e-mail address. It works for Google, but for some reason seems to me to be an utter failure for Microsoft.)
- My Accenture e-mail address was converted into a Windows Live ID. I'm pretty sure it conflicted and/or was merged with my MSN chat ID by the same name.
- If you don't log into your Windows Live ID in a 4-month period, they delete it. No warnings, no questions. Just BAM it's gone.
- I didn't log into my Windows Live ID because, hey, why would I? To check my Xbox account credit card? God knows why else I would. Maybe logging into my Xbox would count, but it's been in storage for a few months now, and I wasn't playing it for a while anyways...
- So my Xbox account was deleted.
- Nice Man #3 told me that they miiiiight be able to recover it. But it'd be 3-5 business days before they'll know. And it's entirely possible my account is just plain gone.
I asked Nice Man #3 if Microsoft was planning to revisit this idiotic policy of deleting an account that hasn't been touched in 4 months. I mean seriously, 4 months?! Four!!! That's like, summer. What if I decide not to turn on my tv or Xbox for a couple months because I want to be outside? I guess that means I'm dead to Microsoft, eh?
Anyways, Nice Man #3 told me that they may be looking at that policy again. But I'm not holding my breath. I just chalk this up to very bad policy design on Microsoft's part. I wish there was someone I could go rail at for a few minutes about this. Stupid faceless corporate world. Blahs.
Photos from Obama's First 100 Days
This is a pretty awesome compilation of photos from Obama's first 100 days. I think my favorites are 16, 18, 30, and 34. =)
Photos from Obama's first 100 days.
Enjoy!
Photos from Obama's first 100 days.
Enjoy!
Monday, May 04, 2009
Bad news from the dentist!
Well I went to the dentist today, and she found another cavity. :( This one was small, and in between 2 tight teeth, so it's entirely my fault for not flossing regularly. Damn it all!
I'm also homeless again on Wednesday, and as of now have nowhere to go. Isn't that lovely? One of my friends who I was hoping would let me stay at his place got back to me a week after I asked if I could stay there to tell me I can't. So now I have 2 days to find another option. Luckily I have a few, but still, I'm irritated he didn't get back to me more quickly. It's not like I was asking to borrow $20 or something. I need a freaking roof over my head till the end of May when school's out. ugh.
I'm also homeless again on Wednesday, and as of now have nowhere to go. Isn't that lovely? One of my friends who I was hoping would let me stay at his place got back to me a week after I asked if I could stay there to tell me I can't. So now I have 2 days to find another option. Luckily I have a few, but still, I'm irritated he didn't get back to me more quickly. It's not like I was asking to borrow $20 or something. I need a freaking roof over my head till the end of May when school's out. ugh.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
PO Box is an apparently insufficient address
One of the big problems I'm facing now is that I don't have a physical address. I've been staying with friends, and moving myself from week to week to minimize the burden I place on any one person. For a few weeks I was overseas traveling, and for the last few weeks I've been in a temporary sublet with a nice couple in the Castro. But there's no constant physical address through all of that... certainly nothing that would make sense to update every other week with the literally 50+ businesses that want to send me mail.
So I got a PO Box. Seems like a good solution, right? The PO Box will be constant regardless of where I'm actually sleeping at night. And most businesses are fine with the PO Box; they just want to reach me through mail, and they don't care how they do it.
But it turns out that there are some folks that are too good for a PO Box. For example, Customs and Immigration (more on that in another post). And banks. My main bank (E*Trade) refused to let me update my address to the PO Box without adding a physical address, as well. I was like, dude, I don't have one! So I called their customer service to talk to them about it. The woman I talked to was very helpful, but basically ended up gaming the system. She forced in my PO Box and marked the system to send all mail there, but then left my old address in as my physical address.
So she got it to work... but it's a total lie. I don't live at 255 King St anymore. Which makes me wonder what the point of requiring a physical address is to start with. Initially I suspected it was a way to fight against money laundering or other illicit financial activities. Or to establish residency in a state so that they know whose banking laws I'm governed by?
But clearly the system is super easy to beat... To get the PO Box, I needed a valid credit card and a physical address. So I used a friend's address for my CC, and gave that same address to the Post Office. Once I had the PO Box, I updated my CC's address with the PO Box. I then updated my address to a PO Box everywhere else, including through my convo with E*trade. The end result being that everyone now has my PO Box, except the post office, which effectively has a fake address.
So if they were trying to force me to establish residency in a state, or track me for purposes of fighting crime, they've totally failed. And I say, fuck 'em. I don't have a home, so I don't have a physical address. I'm not going to make one up or ask my friends or family to pretend I'm living with them. A PO Box should be sufficient.
Though this has made me realize what a bitch true homelessness must be... how do you get bank accounts and cellphones and driver's licenses and everything else if you don't have an actual address?!?!
So I got a PO Box. Seems like a good solution, right? The PO Box will be constant regardless of where I'm actually sleeping at night. And most businesses are fine with the PO Box; they just want to reach me through mail, and they don't care how they do it.
But it turns out that there are some folks that are too good for a PO Box. For example, Customs and Immigration (more on that in another post). And banks. My main bank (E*Trade) refused to let me update my address to the PO Box without adding a physical address, as well. I was like, dude, I don't have one! So I called their customer service to talk to them about it. The woman I talked to was very helpful, but basically ended up gaming the system. She forced in my PO Box and marked the system to send all mail there, but then left my old address in as my physical address.
So she got it to work... but it's a total lie. I don't live at 255 King St anymore. Which makes me wonder what the point of requiring a physical address is to start with. Initially I suspected it was a way to fight against money laundering or other illicit financial activities. Or to establish residency in a state so that they know whose banking laws I'm governed by?
But clearly the system is super easy to beat... To get the PO Box, I needed a valid credit card and a physical address. So I used a friend's address for my CC, and gave that same address to the Post Office. Once I had the PO Box, I updated my CC's address with the PO Box. I then updated my address to a PO Box everywhere else, including through my convo with E*trade. The end result being that everyone now has my PO Box, except the post office, which effectively has a fake address.
So if they were trying to force me to establish residency in a state, or track me for purposes of fighting crime, they've totally failed. And I say, fuck 'em. I don't have a home, so I don't have a physical address. I'm not going to make one up or ask my friends or family to pretend I'm living with them. A PO Box should be sufficient.
Though this has made me realize what a bitch true homelessness must be... how do you get bank accounts and cellphones and driver's licenses and everything else if you don't have an actual address?!?!
The Saga of a Homeless Man
I haven't been blogging much lately, which is just plain silly since I'm now both jobless and homeless, and thus clearly have plenty of time to do so. And I have so much to blog about!!!
In the last month since being let go from Accenture, I've been getting a taste of what it's like to be homeless. Not in the sense that I'm out on the street, but rather in that transition period that I expect people go through when they're staying with friends and family and trying everything in their power to keep themselves OFF the street. And battling incessantly with banks, health insurance, credit card companies, and everyone else who wants a piece of you and isn't interested in giving you any leeway.
I get the sense that this experience will be pretty compelling to read, and that it will certainly resonate with people who have found themselves in similar circumstances. Though I will add that I am by no means directly threatened with bankruptcy or true on-the-street homelessness. I'm pretty lucky that I have a strong social network as well as robust finances... and of course I'm quite employable, even if I'm choosing not to work right now. Still, this has been eye-opening for me, and I'm sure y'all will enjoy it, too. ;)
In the last month since being let go from Accenture, I've been getting a taste of what it's like to be homeless. Not in the sense that I'm out on the street, but rather in that transition period that I expect people go through when they're staying with friends and family and trying everything in their power to keep themselves OFF the street. And battling incessantly with banks, health insurance, credit card companies, and everyone else who wants a piece of you and isn't interested in giving you any leeway.
I get the sense that this experience will be pretty compelling to read, and that it will certainly resonate with people who have found themselves in similar circumstances. Though I will add that I am by no means directly threatened with bankruptcy or true on-the-street homelessness. I'm pretty lucky that I have a strong social network as well as robust finances... and of course I'm quite employable, even if I'm choosing not to work right now. Still, this has been eye-opening for me, and I'm sure y'all will enjoy it, too. ;)
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Play With Your Balls!
This commercial is a little weird, but the footballer is hot, and the tagline at the very end is hilarious, esp with a British woman saying it. =P
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
awesome new Eminem video
OK, aside from the pornstar from "Nailin' Palin", the Star Trek references in this video are just too awesome for me. I mean, my god, Eminem duels with Bat'leth!!!!!!!
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Iowa Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage
Wow. Iowa is now officially more progressive than Illinois and California. QQ.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/04/03/ST2009040303761.html?sid=ST2009040303761
Still, this is really awesome news. I'm so happy for my people in Iowa, and really all of us nationwide and globally, as this act by Iowa only helps strengthen the national (and global) movement for equality in marriage rights. =)
Yay!!!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/04/03/ST2009040303761.html?sid=ST2009040303761
Still, this is really awesome news. I'm so happy for my people in Iowa, and really all of us nationwide and globally, as this act by Iowa only helps strengthen the national (and global) movement for equality in marriage rights. =)
Yay!!!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Obama's view of Afghanistan is Wrong
This is a really interesting opinion piece on why Obama's "domino theory" of Afghanistan is wrong. It basically draws parallel to the theories on communism in southeast asia, which always seemed overly simplistic (and even naive). So now I'm all skeptical of the money we're spending in Afghanistan on fighting the "Taliban" and "al-Qaida".
Blahs.
Blahs.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
New company OnLive to stream next-gen games over the web
This is pretty interesting... A company called OnLive is looking to stream PS3/Xbox360 games online, so that users pay a subscription rather than buy a console. The upfront console costs are a big barrier for game sales (that's the main reason I won my $100 of cheese from Stefan), so if you can remove the need for the hardware, then I suspect you allow millions more people to participate.
Of course, you need a minimum level of bandwidth and latency to make this work, but at 1.5 Mbps the requirements aren't so bad. I'll have to see this to believe it, but if it turns out that it works as advertised, I'll be dropping my Gamefly subscription and scratching the PS3 off my I'll-probably-buy-it-someday list.
Of course, you need a minimum level of bandwidth and latency to make this work, but at 1.5 Mbps the requirements aren't so bad. I'll have to see this to believe it, but if it turns out that it works as advertised, I'll be dropping my Gamefly subscription and scratching the PS3 off my I'll-probably-buy-it-someday list.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
You know you play too much WoW if...
This is from an older post from the WoW site WoW Insider, but it amuses me. The longer list is pretty hilarious, but there were the ones that I either identified with or at least made me guffaw (PUGing iit when you can't find friends... bwah hahahahahah)...
"So here goes, you might play too much WoW if:
...words like gank, pwn, and aggro have made it into your regular vocabulary.
... you find yourself hitting your push-to-talk key to the person next to you, on the phone, or any other place that's not Vent.
... you think of gifts for your friends and family as rep turn-ins, and you're hoping for epic lootz under the Christmas tree.
... you secretly wish that playing the stock market was as easy as the auction house.
... when none of your friends want to do something IRL, you seriously consider PUGging it."
"So here goes, you might play too much WoW if:
...words like gank, pwn, and aggro have made it into your regular vocabulary.
... you find yourself hitting your push-to-talk key to the person next to you, on the phone, or any other place that's not Vent.
... you think of gifts for your friends and family as rep turn-ins, and you're hoping for epic lootz under the Christmas tree.
... you secretly wish that playing the stock market was as easy as the auction house.
... when none of your friends want to do something IRL, you seriously consider PUGging it."
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Monday, March 02, 2009
Scott Bateman does Hardball
I dunno if you've seen Scott Bateman's work, but it's pretty funny. You can see more on his site, but this should whet your appetite. I do love me some snarky commentary. ;)
Jordan's Queen Noor - so awesome
Here's a video of Jordan's Queen Noor... born and raised in the US, she's quite beloved in her country and abroad. I can really see why in listening to her speak. She's beautiful and articulate, and clearly very intelligent and principled. Awesome.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Obama's EPA sues Kansas power company
This is awesome. Apparently a company in Kansas has made major upgrades to its coal plant without also installing the latest pollution control technologies. That's against the law. So the Obama EPA is suing them to correct this.
What the EPA is asking for the following:
Read more on salon.com's HTWW here.
What the EPA is asking for the following:
- Westar Energy has "to install and operate appropriate air pollution control technology in
order to substantially reduce sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and
particulate matter emissions from the Jeffrey Energy Center." - "... civil penalties up to the maximum amount authorized by law..."
- "... actions by the energy provider to mitigate the adverse effects alleged to have been caused by the violations..." Which would basically mean paying for carbon offsets of the pollution they shouldn't have been generating over the last decade.
Read more on salon.com's HTWW here.
Friday, February 06, 2009
World Of Warcraft: Dancing
This video is awesome... it's a montage of actual in-game character dances matched to their originators... Travolta, MC Hammer, Michael Jackson, etc. Some of them are scary accurate...!!
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Tom Daschle the Scumbag
Wow. Sometimes I'm really shocked by the level of overt corruption there is in our government. Tom Daschle is a great example of it... read this article by salon.com's Glenn Greenwald for the case against Daschle. I had no idea how twisted the power corridors of Washington can run. But this really lays it out.
At one point in the article Glenn quotes Matt Taibbi of the Rolling Stone, who says "When Obama picked Tom Daschle to be the HHS Secretary, I nearly shit my pants. In Washington there are whores and there are whores, and then there is Tom Daschle. Tom Daschle would suck off a corpse for a cheeseburger."
Now THAT'S good investigative journalism. Even *I* wouldn't suck off a corpse for a cheeseburger. And I love cheeseburgers.
Anyways, the point is that as part of Daschle's vetting for his nomination as HHS Secretary, he had to submit a full financial disclosure. That disclosure revealed "for the first time exactly how, without becoming a registered lobbyist, he made millions of dollars giving public speeches and private counsel to insurers, hospitals, realtors, farmers, energy firms and telecommunications companies with complex regulatory and legislative interests in Washington."
And of course that's incredibly embarrassing for Obama, who's trying to clean up Washington, not perpetuate its sleazy corruption.
And the hilarious bit is that despite all the cash Daschle's been raking in, he forgot to pay taxes on his limousine. As Joan Walsh on salon put it, "It must have been so bewildering to Daschle, as if the government had
decided to tax the air we breathe, or the love of our families! My
limousine? My God, who knew?"
So as all of this is coming out, Daschle's made the right call and asked for his nomination to be withdrawn. From what I read in the 2 linked articles, that was totally the right move. Read the details if you like... Greenwald's piece (as always) is a methodical, well-researched argument. Joan's is more of an opinion piece, but much easier to read.
Whichever one you read, you'll be reminded of just how fucked up our government is, and how much work there is ahead of all of us to clean it up.
At one point in the article Glenn quotes Matt Taibbi of the Rolling Stone, who says "When Obama picked Tom Daschle to be the HHS Secretary, I nearly shit my pants. In Washington there are whores and there are whores, and then there is Tom Daschle. Tom Daschle would suck off a corpse for a cheeseburger."
Now THAT'S good investigative journalism. Even *I* wouldn't suck off a corpse for a cheeseburger. And I love cheeseburgers.
Anyways, the point is that as part of Daschle's vetting for his nomination as HHS Secretary, he had to submit a full financial disclosure. That disclosure revealed "for the first time exactly how, without becoming a registered lobbyist, he made millions of dollars giving public speeches and private counsel to insurers, hospitals, realtors, farmers, energy firms and telecommunications companies with complex regulatory and legislative interests in Washington."
And of course that's incredibly embarrassing for Obama, who's trying to clean up Washington, not perpetuate its sleazy corruption.
And the hilarious bit is that despite all the cash Daschle's been raking in, he forgot to pay taxes on his limousine. As Joan Walsh on salon put it, "It must have been so bewildering to Daschle, as if the government had
decided to tax the air we breathe, or the love of our families! My
limousine? My God, who knew?"
So as all of this is coming out, Daschle's made the right call and asked for his nomination to be withdrawn. From what I read in the 2 linked articles, that was totally the right move. Read the details if you like... Greenwald's piece (as always) is a methodical, well-researched argument. Joan's is more of an opinion piece, but much easier to read.
Whichever one you read, you'll be reminded of just how fucked up our government is, and how much work there is ahead of all of us to clean it up.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Zombiefest
So for those of you know me, you'll appreciate how insane this is.
This morning I was on a 4:55am train from SF to San Jose. I had to, because I had a 7am meeting with our CTO this morning. Of course, it was 10am his time in Boston. Oy vey.
The good news is that it seems to have gone well. I went to sleep around 1am... but I'm remarkably perky. Maybe it's all the adrenaline.
But omg, I haven't gotten up at 4:30 am in... years. That's usually when I'm going to sleep.... >.<
This morning I was on a 4:55am train from SF to San Jose. I had to, because I had a 7am meeting with our CTO this morning. Of course, it was 10am his time in Boston. Oy vey.
The good news is that it seems to have gone well. I went to sleep around 1am... but I'm remarkably perky. Maybe it's all the adrenaline.
But omg, I haven't gotten up at 4:30 am in... years. That's usually when I'm going to sleep.... >.<
Monday, January 19, 2009
Therapy Night: "Running a Racket"
I've really been meaning to blog about this for a while now... I'd like to make it a weekly feature to review my night in therapy and discuss what sort of crazy revelations came of it. The point isn't to air my dirty laundry, and/or provide a show for those of you voyeurs who love a good train wreck... tho of course both of those may end up happening. =P But really, it's more about giving you some deeper insight into my life, and maybe even help a few of you with similar problems to my own. Hell, it could be free therapy!
Anyways. I've been seeing a therapist since last April, ostensibly to help me deal with my various gay-related issues. But I spent most of 2008's sessions working on issues of commitment, which were really hounding me at work and school. (And by commitment I mean managing the ones I make to other people, vs traditional relationship commitment.) That thread sort of culminated in December, when my friend Tiffany and I decided to start an Integrity Journal and work through all of our host of unmet commitments. That's been proceeding apace, although Tiffany completely beat me in December with her awesome flurry of work over the holidays. Though I did actually clean out my bedroom at my parents' house to make room for my sister and brother-in-law... painful, but a very good thing to have gotten done.
But back to tonight. I went in to my therapist after a rather long weekend of school. I was at the new student orientation on Weds, where I met quite a few eligible young bachelors. For most of last week I was 3 kinds of excited about the guys, fantasizing about falling madly in love with one of them and duo-saving the world with our selfless acts of sustainability. By Saturday night I was completely depressed by the truth that they're almost all certainly straight, and I'm still alone and 32 and will never meet a man I want to date more than 3 weeks.
And then I was perusing the Facebook profiles of the few gay friends/acquaintances I have here in SF, when I discovered that apparently they all know each other. Amazingly, guys that in my mind were totally disconnected with one another are all friends, and have likely been hanging out together for years. And that put an even bigger hurt on me as I realized that they've all been socializing together for years, and I've never been invited out with them.
So I went into therapy angry and bitter and depressed. I was triggered by all the things I wrote above... I feel like I'm on the outside in the cold dark, looking in through a window at a beautiful holiday event where everyone is warm and cozy and laughing together. And I can't find the door to get in there... I know it's probably just around the corner, but I'm too scared to go looking for it. So instead I'm left out, suffering, and waiting for someone to rescue me.
So I shared allllll of this with my therapist. And boy, did he lay into me. He told me that I'm running a racket, just like a mobster with a laundry shop who's running shady deals in the back. From the front, it looks great, respectable, normal. But in the back it's a dangerous mess. I come off all friendly and charming and whatnot.... but the truth is that I'm angry and bitter and scared. OK, so maybe that's a little dramatic. But it's not too far from reality.
I've been hiding. I've known for years what I need to do... I need to make gay friends, spend time with them, get introduced to their friends, get involved in gay charities, go out in the Castro, etc etc etc. But I don't. My life is comfortable, I know my friends, I can get along really well in the straight world. But the gay world is scary and unknown, and I'm too chicken-shit to just sack up and immerse myself in it. And as long as I continue to hide, I'll continue to be alone. I don't have to face my fears, but as a result I'm in some ways terribly unhappy.
Every time I go out, I'm surrounded by straight men and women. That's fine, in some ways. But the problem is that my chances of meeting a man to date are nearly 0%. Instead, I look around the room at all these guys and think, wow, how awesome would it be if that one over there was gay? And that's the closest I ever get to the game of meeting someone, flirting, taking that colossal risk of asking them out... etc. The closest I ever get to dating is to look at someone and think, "what if..."
So.
Clearly I need to make some changes. I know what they are, and I have some first steps. But it's so fucking intimidating. I don't know that I have the courage to do it. And I have so many good excuses why I won't.... my job makes me travel, I'm in school, I'm a student rep, I'm buying a house, I want to see my friends, I'm not hot enough, etc etc etc.
I asked my therapist to tell me what to do. Instead, he made me tell him. So I gave him 3 things. I've got one done, and the other 2 are in progress. I'll have to keep chipping away at this with him, every week, I guess. He's been pushing me to join the SF Gay Softball League. He says it's zero pressure, lots of fun, and the guys are all friendly. I don't know if I will... I mean, I'm out of town for work so much, and I'm in school, and I'm buying a house... (see how easy that is?)
Right now I'm feeling... I dunno. Numb, maybe? I really don't want to deal with this... I want the perfect guy to be handed to me on a silver platter. But that won't happen. I'll need to put in the work, and deal with the rejection. And I have to put in the TIME. That's one of the biggest things. I'll have to spend a lot of time on this.
Intellectually, I know it's worth it. But that doesn't make it any easier.
Anyways. I've been seeing a therapist since last April, ostensibly to help me deal with my various gay-related issues. But I spent most of 2008's sessions working on issues of commitment, which were really hounding me at work and school. (And by commitment I mean managing the ones I make to other people, vs traditional relationship commitment.) That thread sort of culminated in December, when my friend Tiffany and I decided to start an Integrity Journal and work through all of our host of unmet commitments. That's been proceeding apace, although Tiffany completely beat me in December with her awesome flurry of work over the holidays. Though I did actually clean out my bedroom at my parents' house to make room for my sister and brother-in-law... painful, but a very good thing to have gotten done.
But back to tonight. I went in to my therapist after a rather long weekend of school. I was at the new student orientation on Weds, where I met quite a few eligible young bachelors. For most of last week I was 3 kinds of excited about the guys, fantasizing about falling madly in love with one of them and duo-saving the world with our selfless acts of sustainability. By Saturday night I was completely depressed by the truth that they're almost all certainly straight, and I'm still alone and 32 and will never meet a man I want to date more than 3 weeks.
And then I was perusing the Facebook profiles of the few gay friends/acquaintances I have here in SF, when I discovered that apparently they all know each other. Amazingly, guys that in my mind were totally disconnected with one another are all friends, and have likely been hanging out together for years. And that put an even bigger hurt on me as I realized that they've all been socializing together for years, and I've never been invited out with them.
So I went into therapy angry and bitter and depressed. I was triggered by all the things I wrote above... I feel like I'm on the outside in the cold dark, looking in through a window at a beautiful holiday event where everyone is warm and cozy and laughing together. And I can't find the door to get in there... I know it's probably just around the corner, but I'm too scared to go looking for it. So instead I'm left out, suffering, and waiting for someone to rescue me.
So I shared allllll of this with my therapist. And boy, did he lay into me. He told me that I'm running a racket, just like a mobster with a laundry shop who's running shady deals in the back. From the front, it looks great, respectable, normal. But in the back it's a dangerous mess. I come off all friendly and charming and whatnot.... but the truth is that I'm angry and bitter and scared. OK, so maybe that's a little dramatic. But it's not too far from reality.
I've been hiding. I've known for years what I need to do... I need to make gay friends, spend time with them, get introduced to their friends, get involved in gay charities, go out in the Castro, etc etc etc. But I don't. My life is comfortable, I know my friends, I can get along really well in the straight world. But the gay world is scary and unknown, and I'm too chicken-shit to just sack up and immerse myself in it. And as long as I continue to hide, I'll continue to be alone. I don't have to face my fears, but as a result I'm in some ways terribly unhappy.
Every time I go out, I'm surrounded by straight men and women. That's fine, in some ways. But the problem is that my chances of meeting a man to date are nearly 0%. Instead, I look around the room at all these guys and think, wow, how awesome would it be if that one over there was gay? And that's the closest I ever get to the game of meeting someone, flirting, taking that colossal risk of asking them out... etc. The closest I ever get to dating is to look at someone and think, "what if..."
So.
Clearly I need to make some changes. I know what they are, and I have some first steps. But it's so fucking intimidating. I don't know that I have the courage to do it. And I have so many good excuses why I won't.... my job makes me travel, I'm in school, I'm a student rep, I'm buying a house, I want to see my friends, I'm not hot enough, etc etc etc.
I asked my therapist to tell me what to do. Instead, he made me tell him. So I gave him 3 things. I've got one done, and the other 2 are in progress. I'll have to keep chipping away at this with him, every week, I guess. He's been pushing me to join the SF Gay Softball League. He says it's zero pressure, lots of fun, and the guys are all friendly. I don't know if I will... I mean, I'm out of town for work so much, and I'm in school, and I'm buying a house... (see how easy that is?)
Right now I'm feeling... I dunno. Numb, maybe? I really don't want to deal with this... I want the perfect guy to be handed to me on a silver platter. But that won't happen. I'll need to put in the work, and deal with the rejection. And I have to put in the TIME. That's one of the biggest things. I'll have to spend a lot of time on this.
Intellectually, I know it's worth it. But that doesn't make it any easier.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Stargate AOT: Adria vs Morgan LeFay
So I finally saw Stargate: The Ark of Truth. Stargate ended after 10 seasons... it was one of my favorite shows of all time, and I was really sad to see it go. But they've continued the franchise in direct-to-DVD movies, which have been making them a lot of money.
Ark of Truth was the first (there's at least one other), and they're likely to continue making them for years to come. This scene was at the end... and it was gooood. It probably means nothing to you without any of the context of the series and film, but it's one of those "oh, shit, we're fucked" moments, when a hero shows up and saves the day. I love scenes like this, especially in scifi, where the stakes are typically so high (entire planets hanging in the balance, for example).
But I do think there's some pure aesthetic value to this video... the effects are pretty incredible, esp when viewed in HD. Check out those continuous flames covering Adria... every scene in the movie with her had her covered in those, as she walked around the room and conversed... it was really amazing to see. I'm so impressed with the special effects team that work on the Stargate projects...!!
The Lament of Captain Placeholder
This is so great... another awesome machinama, but this one has original music! And the guy's voice and performance are really good... I'm loving it.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
The Craft of War: Blind
So this is my new favorite machinima. It's a World of Warcraft creation by an independent artist going by the name of percula. Watch it... it's really amazingly done, with very catchy music.
What's machinima? Well, click that link above to read up about it on wikipedia. But it's basically the hijacking of computer game animation to create an original work of art. In this case, the animation artist uses models and art from World of Warcraft, but creates his own animations from WoW's animation infrastructure. A really popular example of machinima is the South Park episode, "Make Love, Not Warcraft," in which the boys become addicted to World of Warcraft, and half the episode consists of them running around talking with each other in-game in the form of their WoW characters.
If you'd like some backstory on "The Craft of War: Blind," here's a quick overview. The main character is a blood elf, and she's part of the Horde, one of the two primary political factions in the Warcraft universe. The city she's in is Stormwind, the capital of the humans, and a member of the other political faction: the Alliance. The Horde and the Alliance aren't exactly in open war, but there is constant skirmishing going on between the two sides all over the planet.
The main character has infiltrated Stormwind, and seems to have a target in mind: the woman with the staff. Her name is Lady Katrana Prestor, part of Stormwind's nobility. Except that she's actually an evil black dragon named Onyxia, disguised as a human with the intent of undermining the Alliance from within. There's a very long and involved quest chain in World of Warcraft that leads you to unveil her true identity, and eventually track her back to her lair and slay her.
This particular machinima takes place before her unveiling, while she's still firmly entrenched in Stormwind's political elite. Both Horde and Alliance have very strong reasons to kill Onyxia, because of her very nasty manipulation of the two powers in the war-torn world of Azeroth.
I have to say my favorite part of this machinima is when Lady Prestor raises her finger to her lips and says, "shhhhh." Too awesome. When you see it in context, you'll understand. Keep in mind the name of the piece, "Blind"... it's thematic in quite a few ways.
Anyways, this is a superb example of both animation and storytelling, and I'm really looking forward to more work from this artist! Go, percula!
The Craft of War: BLIND from percula on Vimeo.
What's machinima? Well, click that link above to read up about it on wikipedia. But it's basically the hijacking of computer game animation to create an original work of art. In this case, the animation artist uses models and art from World of Warcraft, but creates his own animations from WoW's animation infrastructure. A really popular example of machinima is the South Park episode, "Make Love, Not Warcraft," in which the boys become addicted to World of Warcraft, and half the episode consists of them running around talking with each other in-game in the form of their WoW characters.
If you'd like some backstory on "The Craft of War: Blind," here's a quick overview. The main character is a blood elf, and she's part of the Horde, one of the two primary political factions in the Warcraft universe. The city she's in is Stormwind, the capital of the humans, and a member of the other political faction: the Alliance. The Horde and the Alliance aren't exactly in open war, but there is constant skirmishing going on between the two sides all over the planet.
The main character has infiltrated Stormwind, and seems to have a target in mind: the woman with the staff. Her name is Lady Katrana Prestor, part of Stormwind's nobility. Except that she's actually an evil black dragon named Onyxia, disguised as a human with the intent of undermining the Alliance from within. There's a very long and involved quest chain in World of Warcraft that leads you to unveil her true identity, and eventually track her back to her lair and slay her.
This particular machinima takes place before her unveiling, while she's still firmly entrenched in Stormwind's political elite. Both Horde and Alliance have very strong reasons to kill Onyxia, because of her very nasty manipulation of the two powers in the war-torn world of Azeroth.
I have to say my favorite part of this machinima is when Lady Prestor raises her finger to her lips and says, "shhhhh." Too awesome. When you see it in context, you'll understand. Keep in mind the name of the piece, "Blind"... it's thematic in quite a few ways.
Anyways, this is a superb example of both animation and storytelling, and I'm really looking forward to more work from this artist! Go, percula!
The Craft of War: BLIND from percula on Vimeo.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
