Ramblings of an Anonymous Coward

Take A Stand On...

this meme has been going around, so i figure what the hell...

Take A Stand On:

Abortion?
i'm very much pro-choice; however, with that said i think a woman should be informed (perhaps even professionally counselled) on all of the alternatives in advance. lets just say i'd like to be certain she is making an informed decision. a tangential area which doesn't seem to get addressed is with respect to the rights of the father who is also impacted (legally and otherwise) and tends to have little say in the matter.

Death Penalty?
given sufficient evidence, an adequate defense, and an appropriate crime, i'm for it. but when done, lets not draw it out with endless appeals that were clearly meant to delay the sentence.

Prostitution?
i'm all for getting it off the street corners, but if a woman (or man) wants to do that, so be it -- legalize and regulate it like any business with similar risks.

Alcohol?
we're too uptight here in the states. sure, there needs to be a reasonable age, but lets not go nuts. just set appropriate punishments for crimes that are alchol related.

Marijuana?
frankly, i consider this much like alcohol though i'd probably put a much higher minimum age on it. legalize, tax, and regulate it. and of course, punish [harshly] those that commit crimes because of it.

Other drugs?
depends on the drug.

Gay Marriage?
i don't think marriage has anything to do with the sex of the people wanting to enter into it. if two people want to commit themselves to each other, they should attain the same legal rights and standings regardless.

Illegal immigrants?
by saying they are illegal makes me against it. i have no problem with people coming here to try and achieve the proverbial american dream. with that said, i would also expect them to be working towards citizenship and that social programs would be limited until that was achieved. i am against people entering the country just to get the perks.

Smoking?
bad habit. i don't, haven't, and never will. i do realize that far too many people (my parents included) got hooked and have difficulty quitting. that's sad. i guess it boils down to -- go ahead until it affects me.

Drunk driving?
i'm willing to accept that people make mistakes. assuming there are no deaths/injuries where heavy punishment should be doled out right away, a first offense should carry a large fine, community service, and loss of driver's license for no less that 6 months. second time the license is gone for good. driving is a priviledge not a right.

Cloning?
depends what you are cloning and what the goals are. i believe there are some very good reasons to conduct research in the area, but can come up with lots of bad reasons too. lets just say -- regulate it. there is too much potential good to outlaw it.

Racism?
i have no respect for anyone that judges someone based soley on their race -- or religion or sex for that matter. at the same time, i have an equal amount of trouble when people use these as excuses for not getting what they want.

Premarital sex?
in an ideal world, i'd say "definitely". this is not an ideal world. as long as both parties are mature enough to engage in sex -- meaning are able to handle it emotionally -- and take all appropriate measures to avoid disease and unwanted pregnancy and are doing it to please both themselves and their partner.... why not. maturity is the key. as we all know, marriage is no insurance of maturity, commitment, love, or any other things that are important factors in giving of one's self.

Religion?
if it takes religion to make you a good person, i support you in taking part so long as you don't assume it takes religion (specifically yours) for me to live my life well. it doesn't take the fear of a god to remind me to try and do my best to be a good person. now don't get me wrong, i think the work (community service and alike) that many churches do is wonderful. i whole-heartedly support their efforts. it's a shame it takes the bond varied religious beliefs to rally communities in that way.

The war in Iraq?
i'm suspect of the reasoning that led us into it, but if we are to remain, lets take care of business and get the troops back home. and to some degree i'd rather see a lot of the money that is funding that effort be put into taking care of the people that are here.

Bush?
one of the great things about being an american is that i can say i do not like our president. that i believe he has made decisions that have not always been in the best interests of the country (as a whole). he is our president, so i support him the best i can. i wish we had a better alternative. i'm not convinced that kerry would be any better. maybe we can clone ronald regan! :-)

Downloading music?
illegal downloading? bad. i do think artists deserve to be compensated for their work. at the same time, i think it's reasonable that i can have access to music to hear it (in full) and decide whether i want to have a copy for myself. i think iTunes and their ilk are a good step forward. you can argue their prices and the security they impose -- 99 cents is not unreasonable for a song, though i'd like to see album prices be lower. i disagree with DRM on the tunes. if i bought it i should be able to put it on my computer, iPod, whatever.

The legal drinking age?
i dunno, 14 maybe. lets not make it so damn taboo which just draws kids to it. lets face it, sneaking out and getting drunk has more to do with being rebellious and doing what "adults" do than it does with anything else. punish thoses that aren't responsible and be done with it.

Porn?
not sure what they are asking, but... as far as making it. if the people are mature enough to consent, let 'em pose naked or do whatever it is they want.

with respect to viewing it... i think it's a maturity issue again. as long as it doesn't affect others, i don't see the harm.

Suicide?
if a person is of sound mind and decides to take their own life, i don't see a point in calling it a crime. for example, i am accepting of physician assisted suicide specifically in the case of terminally ill patients. doctors should not be punished for helping someone avoid the agony of slow/painful death.

I'll Break A Mirror Too

so a few minutes ago anw im's me with...

anw: You have just been DEATHWISHED! Tonight at midnight your true love will realize they like you. something good will happen to you at 1:00-4:00 pm tommorow, it could be anywere. Get ready for the biggest shock in your life. if you break this chain u will be cursed with realtionship problems for the next 10yrs. Send this to 15people in 15 min

i've left the typos in for added amusement. this is so funny on so many different levels that it... well, isn't all that funny at all.

Party In the Dungeon

while living in europe, i really took to the idea of having a castle -- living in one up on the mountainside, scenic views, and away from mainstream life. now i'm no grizzly adams by any stretch, so the comforts of the modern world would be a requirement for sure. enter castle magic. take a peek at their castles for sale for good color pictures. i could so live there!

Gee Forced

with 500 out of the way, i strangely feel better about posting some of my more regular drivel. i've saved up some pretty good links, if i do say so myself. and have also gone back to doing word association. it's comforting.

links to share

• mp3 book helper is the best mp3 file/tag editor i've gotten my hands on. and it's free! way too many features to describe here, but let me say that it has saved me days/weeks of time organizing my mp3s.
  
• brought to you by the aclu -- ordering pizza big brother patriot act style. [funny]
  
• speaking of funny, here's an mp3 you've gotta listen to -- blondeStar i think of it as jessica simpson goes driving.
  
• typoGenerator: just try it.
  typoGenerator is a random generator for 'typoPosters'. a typoPoster is a poster, created from images and letters/text that doesn´t have any sense, just to look good.
  
• wastepaper basket basketball -- shoot and score. takes a while to get the hang of and is an excellent display of flash programming skills with some artistic elements.
  
• castlevania is another game in flash, this one is what i'd call old school.
  
• zen flesh, zen bones -- zen and the art of motorcycle repair -- now zen on the web. you know what to do grasshopper.
  
• rejection hotline. i'll admit, i called one of the local numbers to hear what it would say. amusing!
  
• iPod links.
  
• julia grey is back.

word association, week 77

1. Sleep:: less
2. Stats:: lies, damn lies, and
3. Portfolio:: web
4. Lipton:: ice tea with lemon
5. Telly:: savalas
6. Immigrate:: move
7. Viable:: solution
8. Serene:: quiet
9. Mountain:: dream
10. Natalie:: merchant

Buried Alive Inside Myself

write, edit. revise, erase. scribble, scribble, scrawl. aside from the simple fact that my parents decided to fuck one night, why am i here? is there really any point to it all? i was asked the other night if i felt better, am i happier to which the best and most honest answer i could give was "better than before". i question this word -- happiness -- and wonder what it is often. do i really want to be happy or is that just because it is expected of people? did i have it? did i lose it? will i find it? would i know i found it? does it matter?

what fills the void left by light
for my darkness is always there
chewing at the chains anchoring me

screams can not be heard
through my deafening silence
i'm buried alive inside myself

so lost... inside
i wish i could get out
but i don't think i ever will

it's not what you think. it's not what it seems.
i must be dreaming. it's only in my mind.
things all made sense at the time

we all live... we all die
that does not begin to justify
me... it's all about me

Nearing A Point

i just noticed that i'm nearing post number 500. good grief! i feel like i need to make it a good one. i've thought of making it a last one, but i don't seem myself holding to that. but who knows. anyway, this isn't it, so i can bore you with links i've found and some random rambling:

• yet another IQ test. i tend to score between 135-150, i was 148 on this one. whatever.
  
• i read the other day about a company making a bottle cap into a tri-pod and selling them for as low as $9.99. of course this being the net and all, someone posted instructions for making your own for less than $2.00.
  
• lets make a deal, yes the monty hall problem lives on. give it a try. you know you wanna.
  
• if you're ever looking for free wireless in the san francisco bay area, and you've got an iPod with you, a project from Bay Area Wireless called wiPod has you covered. it's a listing of all known free points in the region, sorted by city and location, and can be viewed on any iPod (screenshot, direct download).
  swiped directly from metafilter
  

and speaking of iPods, the battery in mine sucks eggs! not only does it not last 8 hours, after recharging it immediately drops to about 75%. leaving it off, the battery drains on it's own. wtf?!? so i think i'm going to have to exchange it for a new one. i'm tempted to wait to see if i can exchange it for a new one that uses the click wheel rather than the row of four buttons. and once i can get all my mp3's tagged properly, i have a utility so i can post what's on my iPod in html. why? because i can. no other reason.

the last movie i watched was the manhattan project -- a movie i bought for myself as a treat. still as good as it ever was. what i'd really like to get on dvd is over the edge. i remember watching that movie as a kid and would love to see it again. sadly, i haven't found it on dvd anywhere. maybe i'll get the vhs some day and convert it.

i also watched the entire first season of six feet under. this is yet another one of those excellent hbo series. i must say that i really liked watching it on dvd. i could watch one, two, three episodes -- whatever. i watched at my own pace. no waiting for next week. the characters in this series are well cast and quite endearing. i will definitely watch season two, or at least start to. i'm told it jumps the shark in the 3rd season, so we'll see how long i stick with it.

Outsider?

Take the What High School Stereotype Are You? quiz.

Muted

words and half-thoughts continue to attack, leaving me with an increased need to write -- to tap fingers across these keys. to release them back into the wild where they belong. to get them out of my head. off of my hands. trouble is, when you let thoughts go others see them. they try and understand them. they disect them looking for meaning. how does it apply?

sometimes words are just words and it doesn't matter what the author is thinking when they are written. it matters what you are thinking after they are read. those thoughts need not be the same. it's far more interesting that way and one more reason life is less so.

Word Association, Week 76

surpise.... word association again.

1. Nostalgia:: memories
2. Irreplaceable:: unique
3. Odd:: ball
4. James Spader:: alan shore
5. Flamboyant:: attention seeking
6. Intense:: feelings
7. Simple:: ton
8. Septic:: tank
9. Ton:: of bricks
10. Turkey:: baster

Pirates of the Monterey

thursday afternoon was spent aboard the 70' yacht, chardonnay ii. when i was told we'd be going out on a boat for wine and cheese i was fully expecting one of those "cruise around the bay" type boats, not a sail boat that was planning to hit 18 knots. a pleasant surprise! i took a some pictures while on the high seas.    enjoy! chalk-white man of the deep blue sea for in life, death shall be respect care joy belief washed away, replaced by grief man sits, alone in a crowd floating on a dark black cloud crying laughing frowning smiles close to home, far in miles deep blue man of the chalk-white sea for in death, life shall be poem originally posted: May 27, 2004

One Hit Wonders

over at mcsweeneys, he lists what are the logical follow-up songs to some of the one hit wonders. some are quite amusing, but i think he missed a few...

• 100 Luftballoons
• we've found a cure for those contaminated feelings
• yeah, ok, we took it, but we won't take it again
• ice, ice, mocha cappuccino latte with a twist, baby
• mickey ain't so fine any more
• not too shy anymore, thanks tony robbins
• rapper's delight 2: this is a test
• somebody's nobody's watching me except big brother

Searching for Bobby Fischer

no, not the movie which is actually an excellent story about josh waitzkin. no, no... it appears the real bobby has been found and is being deported to the united states.

i have always admired fischer's skill at chess and frankly think the charges brought against him are stupid, but given a number of the things he has said over the years i honestly don't feel sorry for him for the trouble he finds himself in now.

Meandering Meme

i was introduced to genuine's blog some months ago and while i don't have it in my bloglines, i peek in ever now and again. i mean really, the guy likes writing haiku, so how could i not. anyway, he recently reviewed a few blogs and suggested others do the same. why not? here are some i've found interesting at some point or another.

stories i shouldn't tell
it is sub-titled "confessions, rants, and essays of a man with something to hide". we all have things we hide don't we? the author, fullnoodlefrontity, seems to be battling quite a few issues and readers get a front-row seat as his thoughts get spattered into posts.

she's a flight risk
what i found most interesting about this blog is that i still can't decide if the story that is being weaved is true (real) or not. maybe i'm just not so bright afterall. definitely seems like a made for tv type of story.

my secret life as a former prostitute
i think the blog title, which didn't have former in it when i first saw it pretty much sums things up. my initial reaction was disbelief how anyone could really do that, but laura is quite articulate and after reading enough posts it almost sounds .... uh.... reasonable. meaning that there is no reason someone shouldn't try it. i think we can all agree that lifestyle wouldn't be for everyone and in fact would be difficult for the average person to handle.

blog maverick
the web log of mark cuban. you know, the billionaire owner of the dallas mavericks. he complains about the officials here too, amongst other things. it's quite interesting at times. about all i have to say now is ... mark, you made billions but damn it, mishigas only has one "a" in it! heh.

secondhand suicide
there hasn't been a post in a long time, but worth the read for those that have never seen it before. in a nutshell, this woman saw her husband kill himself (gun to the head) right in front of her. she writes about her experiences dealing with the emotional trauma of the event and all the things afterwards which most would not even think about.

Was It Worth It Kurt?

i've written, erased, revised, and restarted this post several times. fact of the matter is that you have left your daughter, francis, behind with a woman destroying herself and there is unfortunately nothing you can do about it now. that sucks!

Escaped Words, But Just A Few

thoughts still scamper about in my head. they are disjoined and could best be described as completely incomplete. it is finally quiet. the last word i heard was giggled -- "yeah" -- as they rolled over to go to sleep. and then it hit me as i walked up the stairs. reflecting back upon a conversation the night before and while one can argue whether it was a year ago exactly or not, but keeping the same time frame for it really is close enough.

i find myself sleeping alone tonight, one year later.

why is it that the road's to recovery and self-destruction share so much ground and are merely seperated by a dashed line? maybe it's just me.

But realize that all the talk of the outdated institution of marriage...of the evolutionary misstep of monogamy...of the irrefutability of sexual attraction...is all just cocktail talk. If you don't have a partner that you love intensely enough to make all that talk irrelevant, that's your real problem.

wishing things away is not effective.

i got a newsletter from my doctor today. in one of the articles it asked the question -- "when is the last time you can remember that you felt happy/at peace/joyful and were looking forward to the future?"

strange.

i'm sleepy now and will leave you with what i call my unfinished silly sleep poem...

now i lay me down to sleep
i hope i'll hear not a peep
if i die before i wake
musta been the pills i take
or the drink, i sipped a few
know my last thoughts of you

i'd have endured the rocks and waves
my last breath i'd have even gave
to be taken by your sea
and let your heart stay with me
...

good night.

JABOL: Just A Bunch Of Links

just some links and what not...

• don't let go of your mouse. [flash]
  
• amusing conversation at only connect via brain crayons.
  
• via ernie ... you wonder what this guy's parents think about the piano lessons now. [wmv]
  
• wtf: what the font will help you figure out what font it is you are looking at.
  
• i was looking for this the other day -- button maker.
  
• stolen from jamie... Secret Worlds: The Universe Within: a cute Java-based powers-of-ten animation, from quarks to 10 million light years. start in a galaxy far far away and work your way to an oak tree in florida, then closer and closer and closer ...
  
• if you looked before and didn't like it... bloglines got a facelift and is looking much nicer. there are new features too!
  
• while i never ended up working there and friends that did have long since left, i do keep some fond memories of cmu. recently they have introduced their Open Learning Initiative pushing online instruction even further along.
  
• i may need to duck after saying this, but my life without me was a pretty good albeit sad movie. 3 out of 5 stars in my book. no haiku review for this one though.
  
• via jeremy via craigslist -- do not shave your ass hairs.
  

Mind's Eye

shhh. secretly, i like to look at pictures. i get lots of mental images in my head at times, and sadly enough i don't have the artistic skill to get them out to share. every so often i do, but it's rare. i do like seeing pictures other people take. via one of the feeds in my bloglines i came across something called found photos which is apparently a collection of pictures/images which were publically available over p2p networks. many i suspect weren't intended for public consumption. while i didn't gather them, i still feel a little bit like a peeping ac. if you are wanting serious pictures, i'd recommend checking out the photographical stylings of heather champ who takes pictures here in the bay area. otherwise, you might just want to run over to photoblogs.org and poke around; however, beware, if you like photos like i do, you may end up spending a lot of time surfing these sites. don't even get me started on digital art... now if it's words you prefer, give anacrusis a look. it's self described as "fiction for the attention-deprived", so it doesn't quite match up to the 1,000 words a picture gives, but it's almost as fast.

dv-dvd

having watched a lot of movies over the past year, i've hit runs of good and bad flicks. recently i've had a pretty good run. i suppose that offsets a rather bad month and i should be happy about it.

ok, first some bad flicks to avoid -- club dread was dreadful. it was supposed to be funny. they missed. morvern callar kinda appeared out of nowhere when i was looking for movies so in the name of going with a maybe i'm supposed to watch this, i rented it. i guess i was supposed to be bored that night. lastly, cat in the hat... the book was better!

in the "it was ok" category -- honey (reminded me of flashdance), cooler (yet another casino movie), perfect score (trying to be the breakfast club?)

bad santa was pretty funny. it had amusing characters as well as a rather compelling little kid that santa eventually cares about. definitely worth a rental! secret window was another good johnny depp film. a good story, fine acting, but the ending was so-so. still worth watching. cold mountain was long, but with nicole kidman playing a lead role, that keeps it easy on the eyes. it was one of those stories that provides a different perspective on a well known time period (civil war). did i tell you it was long? next was along came polly. now generally i don't care for ben stiller a whole lot, but this movie had enough cute moments to make it worth the rental. it just barely made it into my thumbs up category though, so viewer beware.

much to my surprise, the butterfly effect with none other than ashton kutcher turned out to be an excellent film. given a good sale price (e.g. $9.99), i'd probably even buy it. i mean really, a film that has chaos theory at it's core, gotta love it! "i just thought you should know..." definitely see this movie!

oh yes, some haiku review too...

COLD MOUNTAIN it was her request inman risks all to return just to die for her

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT chaos theory rules if i change the past for you happiness changes

Telemarketers

so a telemarketer from MCI just called. he starts by saying "i know this probably isn't a good time, but...". if he knew it wasn't a good time, why the fuck did he call? and then expect me to do business with them? ha! i don't think so.

Blog Senses

i've spent countless hours on the phone today and frankly i'm so thrilled that i've got a few hours where i'm not going to have to hear a human voice. now the ones prattling along in my head are another matter.

sound
sequency lets you take their sound samples and generate your own music. kinda neat, but it would be really nice if there was an obvious way to save and keep it. it's not like it'll make asv's best albums of the 90s or anything becase 1) it's already 2004, and 2) she has impeccable musical taste. and i say that despite her grohl over cobain position.

touch
heh. i just had to link to nerdrotica after seeing it on jeremy's linkblog.

smell
the now infamous corpse flower is beginning to bloom at the university of connnecticut. supposedly it gives off quite the odor.

sight
seems a lot of these "biker" shows are getting popular. here in california it has become more common to see orange county chopper or west coast chopper stickers and tee's around. well, maybe we'll begin to see some west coast bloggers floating around soon. if they'd put the logo on the back and a small one on the front pocket area, i'd so get one of the bright yellow ones.

Funny Stuff

Rock, Paper, Saddam
so i laughed. i so laughed. i laughed so. laughed, so i ... linked it.

Keep Your Jesus Off My Penis
yes. eric schwartz, you may be going to hell and we can laugh about it when you get here. here is his rather funny quicktime movie .

Jesus saved my vagina?
metafilter is still looking for that product. don't hold your breath fellas.

Fourth Of July Gift

well... it seems that dear X is back. so with soundgarden's tune entitled 4th of July now playing in my radio blog, i'll give it another whirl with a short letter. this month's topic is gifts.

Dear X,

here we are on another independence day with yet another opportunity to ponder the founding of this country and the principles upon which our very nation was founded. just thinking about it, a tremendous gift was given to each and every one of us on that day. on that day we the people codified the principles of this country we love.

we've been given the gifts of unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. we have fought, died, and lived in securing those rights -- our freedom. as i sit here with so many things to remember, this fact i must try and remember most. i'm alive and i am free.

Say It Ain't So Batman

ok, here's the deal. take a look at this picture before reading any further.

now hopefully you didn't cheat.

notice anything strange about it? if not, take another look. i'll wait.

take a close look at catwoman. hmmmmmmmm. ms. rice, is that you? hey wait, those other guys look pretty familiar too!

this was a pretty darn good photoshop job!

I Have Just Got To Say

1. to the idiot that has been blasting music by madonna periodically through the day. would you fucking quit it before i actually leave the house and have to shove that radio up your ass.
   
   
2. i failed to save the reference; however, i came across an interesting blog post on soul identities. yeah, yeah, i know -- but hey, it's notable because i actually fall into the mature category. well partially anyway.
   
   
3. a software engineer from utah is kicking ass on jeopardy. at last check, he was up to $737,760 and had won 22 straight times. yet another opportunity to shout -- go nerds!.
   
   
4. metafilter pointed out an article about permanent makeup (don't ask), so i followed the link (no really, don't ask). let me just say this -- the picture that is on that page (presuming they don't change it in the interim) isn't really going to encourage anyone to go with your services is it? i mean really! if i woke up every morning to see that... i'd put a gun in my fucking mouth and get off 3 rounds before i hit the floor. thought number 2-4 : dear. headlights. floor it!
   
   
5. there is no 5. that is all.

Passing Of Time

we each have paths to follow and destiny to fulfill... occassionally these paths meet and you idle for a fragment of time with them. they are occasions to glow and then like before, you move back towards being upright and continue your journey.

so in passing some time today, i took some quizzes...

• 20 Questions to being a Better Person
  so i rated a 60.4 which responded with.. Did I go to high school with you? I think I did. It's OK to be a jerk, as long as you're a funny jerk. Just remember that the difference between a jackass and an asshole is a jackass doesn't know what he's doing. Be the very best asshole you can be, my friend. .
  
  
• 20 Questions to a Better Personality
  oh my! i'm an SECF -- Sober Emotional Constructive Follower. This makes you a hippie. You are passionate about your causes and steadfast in your commitments. Once you've made up your mind, no one can convince you otherwise. Your politics are left-leaning, and your lifestyle choices decidedly temperate and chaste.
  
  You do tremendous work when focused, but usually you operate somewhat distracted. You blow hot and cold, and while you normally endeavor on the side of goodness and truth, you have a massive mean streak which is not to be taken lightly. You don't get mad, you get even. Please don't get even with this web site.

that website needn't worry, the personality result made me literally laugh out loud. a guy i used to work with would have loved to have seen these results. when i'd fly out there (monthly) for business he'd always introduce me as "one of those tree-hugging hippie from california". it was quite amusing. of course as i stood there with long pony tailed hair, sandles, and in shorts it only strengthened his claim.

Happy Canada Day

no, i'm not canadian though i do say "eh?" a lot. even more when i'm visiting the northlands or am speaking with someone who is canadian. well, that or when i'm playing hockey. learn more about this holiday and how canada got it's name.

and no, it really doesn't have anything to do with guys sitting around a campfire thinking CND would be fine and eventually suggesting it as... how about C eh?   N eh?   D eh? and going with that.