Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the semi-regularly updated site of nearly all things related to Un.
I am having a really lousy time with technology. At least when it comes to the University of Kansas' e-mail access. Put simply, I hate it. The list of things that have went wrong with technology:
1. I can't send e-mail to the Brief-Brief e-mail address for some reason. The messages keep bouncing back. They're "undeliverable." I tried six times to send one e-mail on both Outlook Exchange and Webmail. Nothing worked at all. Thankfully, the editor saved a copy of the articles I emailed to him.
2. I can't get Outlook Exchange to work properly. Not that it's ever worked properly (actually functioning without lag or error messages or whatever is wrong with Outlook at any give time), but that's a different story. I type in the web address and the page does not exist. Can't find the server. But the nice people working at the library have no problems getting on. Is it just me?
3. Webmail doesn't recognize that I exist. I changed my password (due to the University's new "Secure Password" initiative) yesterday. It should be working by now considering that the webpage said it would take a half-hour. Does not work. Access denied. Over and over again. Last time I checked, 30 minutes and nearly 18 hours is not the same thing. Unless you're in the G. W. Bush administration where everything is relative and redefined. I'm now an "Intruder" and access is now denied for "an hour." That might mean what...a week?
4. I can get e-mail access through the KYou Portal, a website with a bad pun for a name. Ha Ha. KU...K-You? Get it? Not very clever. I wonder how much it cost to come up with that name? Probably less than their new logo which a person with Photoshop could whip up in an hour and for a lot less. I digress.
However, KYou is buggy also. It takes forever to load, gives me error messages, and doesn't recognize commands like "delete mail" or "move mail" if you click on the little icons. Not that the icons are supposed to mean anything and by clicking on them, they're supposed to work. I guess the web designers put them there for decoration. You know, to make the site look pretty.
I had to sign off by clicking on "sign off" (Which functioned correctly the first time unlike the other icons and buttons on the site. I guess they recognized that people want to get off the site and not be trapped there forever, clicking on icons in vain) and logon again just to read three e-mails. Wow, no wonder why KU wants website people so much. They need them to get their webiste running or crawling...
I can only say that I can access my other non-KU e-mail accounts very easily, unlike the KU account. Go figure.
That's all for now.
Friday, February 10, 2006
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Random Website Links
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the semi-regularly updated site devoted to all things related to Un.
It's time for random website links that I found amusing.
A judge tells Congress in a legal opinion to stick the new backruptcy law where the Chapter 7 don't shine. He found the new laws to be anti-consumer and pro-big business, which isn't so surprising. Credit card and other financial services companies had complained for years that their costs were increased by people who ran up debts knowing that they could file for bankruptcy and avoid repayment.
Supporters (credit card companies and financial service companies) say the new law was good since Americans would save money on interest rates. It would stop the "bad customers" from making a mockery of the bankruptcy process. Then again, credit card companies like people who don't pay on time because they make most of their money by charging late fees and high interest to the late-paying customers. Where else can you charge up to 24.99% and get away with it? Oh, payday loans.
Yes, there are people who abuse the bankruptcy process, but they are a small minority of the people who make use of it. Anyways...I digress.
A zinger of a quote from his opinion:
You can read the opinion here:
http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/statesman/metro/020506_bankrupt.pdf
After the "scandal" (which means "event that leads to public uproar that leads to business as usual--lie, cheat, steal") in Washington DC over lobbyists like Abramoff, one might (in a delusional state of mind) think that Congress would clean up their act. Not exactly. It's business as usual because very few people want to lose free trips to exotic locales or a round or two at a premium Scottish golf course. It's not like people are going to vote them out of office.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/3646212.html
Justice Breyer of the Supreme Court says there are no politics involved on the Supreme Court. In theory, that would be the case, but in real life...theory doesn't work the way one would hope. Can anybody say 5 to 4?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060208/ap_on_go_su_co/breyer_chicago
President G. W. Bush didn't pitch the plan of privatizing Social Security. Why bother when you will get tossed into a lake of fire? What you do is downplay everything by proposing "bipartisan proposals" and then slippping his own proposal into the budget. It's that old sleight of hand trick that magicians use: "look at this hand while the other hand does something else...like pull out the hidden rabbit in my sleeve."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11235990/site/newsweek/from/RSS
That's all for now.
It's time for random website links that I found amusing.
A judge tells Congress in a legal opinion to stick the new backruptcy law where the Chapter 7 don't shine. He found the new laws to be anti-consumer and pro-big business, which isn't so surprising. Credit card and other financial services companies had complained for years that their costs were increased by people who ran up debts knowing that they could file for bankruptcy and avoid repayment.
Supporters (credit card companies and financial service companies) say the new law was good since Americans would save money on interest rates. It would stop the "bad customers" from making a mockery of the bankruptcy process. Then again, credit card companies like people who don't pay on time because they make most of their money by charging late fees and high interest to the late-paying customers. Where else can you charge up to 24.99% and get away with it? Oh, payday loans.
Yes, there are people who abuse the bankruptcy process, but they are a small minority of the people who make use of it. Anyways...I digress.
A zinger of a quote from his opinion:
"Apparently, it is not the individual consumers of this country that make the donations to the members of Congress that allow them to be elected and re-elected and re-elected and re-elected."
You can read the opinion here:
http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/statesman/metro/020506_bankrupt.pdf
After the "scandal" (which means "event that leads to public uproar that leads to business as usual--lie, cheat, steal") in Washington DC over lobbyists like Abramoff, one might (in a delusional state of mind) think that Congress would clean up their act. Not exactly. It's business as usual because very few people want to lose free trips to exotic locales or a round or two at a premium Scottish golf course. It's not like people are going to vote them out of office.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/3646212.html
Justice Breyer of the Supreme Court says there are no politics involved on the Supreme Court. In theory, that would be the case, but in real life...theory doesn't work the way one would hope. Can anybody say 5 to 4?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060208/ap_on_go_su_co/breyer_chicago
President G. W. Bush didn't pitch the plan of privatizing Social Security. Why bother when you will get tossed into a lake of fire? What you do is downplay everything by proposing "bipartisan proposals" and then slippping his own proposal into the budget. It's that old sleight of hand trick that magicians use: "look at this hand while the other hand does something else...like pull out the hidden rabbit in my sleeve."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11235990/site/newsweek/from/RSS
That's all for now.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Tell Me Sweet Little Lies...
"Tell me lies
Tell me sweet little lies
(Tell me lies, tell me, tell me lies)"
-Fleetwood Mac, Tell Me Lies
"By the time you swear you're his, shivering and sighing--
And he vows his passion is infinite, undying--
Lady make a note of this:
One of you is lying."
-Dorothy Parker
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the site for all things related to Un or at least stuff that I find interesting. Either one is a valid description of this site for all menaingful intents and purposes. This post is a quasi-return to the semi-philosophical/random thoughts post I had when I first started this blog. Go figure.
Today's post is all about lying, but first, I must preface this with a "little" expository blurb on honesty. My mind works in a strange way, but it makes some sense when everything is written out, or so I hope. One can never be too sure with such things, even when such things are nicely planned out. This might sound like some sort of Dr. Phil-ish post, so please forgive me. Yeah. The opinions expressed in this post are solely the opinions of this blogger and not meant to be taken as actual advice. To begin...the following.
I. Honest Americans
Americans find immense pride in having an honest reputation. For some reason, all of the great leaders in American history were honest. George Washington (according to Parson Weems, a well-known exaggerator of the truth/story teller) was so honest, he could never tell a lie. Hence, the fabricated tale about a little George Washington cutting down a cherry tree. Go figure. The most famous "historical story" about Washington was a lie spread by a liar. OK, not a liar...forget it. Who can forget Abraham Lincoln, our esteemed 16th President? He earned the nickname of "Honest Abe," though his detractors called him "Butcher"(after several nasty Civil War battles like The Wilderness) and "The Great Northern Ape." Then again, nobody wants to be a country whose great leaders were liars, cheaters, and low-down scum. Wait, the founders of the United States were rebels. What's up with that? I digress.
Anyways, today, there seems to be a lack of honest leaders. For example, one can bring up Richard Nixon, or "Tricky Dick." That nickname is wrong on so many levels. "Tricky Dick"? Sounds like something from a porno movie. To add in a little equal-opportunity President bashing, one can also add in Bill Clinton, who had the title of "Slick Willy," another pornographic sounding, yet apt nickname. Monica Lewinsky might call him something else, but that's for another post.
II. The Value of Honesty in Relationships
It sounds so obvious, but it must be said. Honesty plays an important role in the formation of relationships, as well as keeping them stable. Some might disagree and say that deception plays a large role in the formation of relationships, as people stretch the truth when describing themselves and what they do. Or at least lying well enough to get someone naked into their bed. ("Honest, I really love you.") Anyways, as it has been said, honesty in a relationship leads to trust. Logically, if people are honest with eachother, it builds a certain level of trust. Once a certain level of trust has been reached, the relationship will generally stay stable, unless some deep, dark secret rears its ugly head, like that one time in Cancun where you got drunk...you know what I am getting at, I hope. Well, to get to the point, trust is the glue that keeps relationships together. Without trust, things fall apart into a million little pieces. We all know where Mr. Frey went wrong with his "truthful" memoir or lack of truth memoir. It's a lousy metaphor, but it works well enough in this section.
Once a relationship is stable and both sides agreee and other factors fall into place, a serious but casual relationship can evolve into a more serious "till death do us part" type deal. Implicit in the vows of "love, honor, and cherish" is honesty and trust. After all, without the honesty and trust, "till death do us part" might involve a loaded .357 magnum or some other nasty means of death. Which leads to a most strange aspect of relationships: why people lie in relationships.
III. Tell Me Sweet Little Lies
We have all told lies to people. Some people have told more lies than others. If lies were like icing, most people would be able to frost a wedding cake. Not just any ordinary wedding cake(is there such a thing as an "ordinary" wedding cake), but a muli-tiered, extravagant confection replete with many decorations. One that would make any person "ooh" and "aah" at the mere sight of it. Lying is not limited to humans of course. Our closest genetic match, the chimpanzee, is quite adept at deception. It's an evolutionary thing, or so scientists have speculated:
One could argue that we don't per se, love them like those we care about. To use "love" in such a way means to define it in a certain way also. One can "love" their girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband, etc. in one way, but "love" another person in a similar, but different way. This also requires a different definition for "care" between the two classes. One does not have the same emotional and physical attachment with strangers than with those we care for. We could care less about what they think, well most of the times.
For instance, if one gets very drunk in a noisy bar, one might blab about secrets that they have never told anyone. The next morning, one hopes that everyone else was as equally drunk because they recognize what they have done. But while under the stupor of alcohol, one does not really think about what they are saying. In a crowded room, one might say the most shocking things, but since one is in a crowded room, all the conversations blend together. One will, most likely, never see the person again. If one does happen to meet that stranger again, it is highly unlikely anyone will remember anything.
Basically, when things are going down the tubes and when a person is under pressure, the person under pressure will lie. They are willing to lie because it appears to be the only solution to the sticky problem. We lie more to the people we love because we supposedly do not want to hurt them by telling them the truth. A lie that makes them feel better doesn't seem to be bad. Why bother telling them the truth when it could cause serious problems? But there lies the problem.
IV. Truth or Consequences: Conclusion
The main problem with telling a lie is obvious. People can and will find out the truth. Once your "loved one" discovers the deception, even bigger problems happen. The easiest person to deceive is yourself. Once you deceive yourself that telling a lie is the best solution, it becomes easier to tell that lie to the one you love. But "love" is so easy to redefine to suit one's mood.
If one has to resort to lying to keep a relationship together, it's very likely that the relationship really isn't a real relationship but a giant sham based upon deception. Such relationships are not the best ones to be stuck in. Tell the same lie you decieve yourself with to another person and that person will recognize how foolish it seems. Of course, it's easy to say this but hard to put into practice.
The next time you think it's a good time to lie to save a relationship, think hard about that decision. It may sound good, but it may hurt you later. Your "relationship" might be temporarily saved for a while, but once the truth is found out, the resulting breakup might be even worse.
Reference:
Bateson, Gregory (1955). "A Theory of Play and Fantasy." In Psychiatric Research Reports (Vol. 2), pp. 39-51
That's all for now.
Tell me sweet little lies
(Tell me lies, tell me, tell me lies)"
-Fleetwood Mac, Tell Me Lies
"By the time you swear you're his, shivering and sighing--
And he vows his passion is infinite, undying--
Lady make a note of this:
One of you is lying."
-Dorothy Parker
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the site for all things related to Un or at least stuff that I find interesting. Either one is a valid description of this site for all menaingful intents and purposes. This post is a quasi-return to the semi-philosophical/random thoughts post I had when I first started this blog. Go figure.
Today's post is all about lying, but first, I must preface this with a "little" expository blurb on honesty. My mind works in a strange way, but it makes some sense when everything is written out, or so I hope. One can never be too sure with such things, even when such things are nicely planned out. This might sound like some sort of Dr. Phil-ish post, so please forgive me. Yeah. The opinions expressed in this post are solely the opinions of this blogger and not meant to be taken as actual advice. To begin...the following.
I. Honest Americans
Americans find immense pride in having an honest reputation. For some reason, all of the great leaders in American history were honest. George Washington (according to Parson Weems, a well-known exaggerator of the truth/story teller) was so honest, he could never tell a lie. Hence, the fabricated tale about a little George Washington cutting down a cherry tree. Go figure. The most famous "historical story" about Washington was a lie spread by a liar. OK, not a liar...forget it. Who can forget Abraham Lincoln, our esteemed 16th President? He earned the nickname of "Honest Abe," though his detractors called him "Butcher"(after several nasty Civil War battles like The Wilderness) and "The Great Northern Ape." Then again, nobody wants to be a country whose great leaders were liars, cheaters, and low-down scum. Wait, the founders of the United States were rebels. What's up with that? I digress.
Anyways, today, there seems to be a lack of honest leaders. For example, one can bring up Richard Nixon, or "Tricky Dick." That nickname is wrong on so many levels. "Tricky Dick"? Sounds like something from a porno movie. To add in a little equal-opportunity President bashing, one can also add in Bill Clinton, who had the title of "Slick Willy," another pornographic sounding, yet apt nickname. Monica Lewinsky might call him something else, but that's for another post.
II. The Value of Honesty in Relationships
It sounds so obvious, but it must be said. Honesty plays an important role in the formation of relationships, as well as keeping them stable. Some might disagree and say that deception plays a large role in the formation of relationships, as people stretch the truth when describing themselves and what they do. Or at least lying well enough to get someone naked into their bed. ("Honest, I really love you.") Anyways, as it has been said, honesty in a relationship leads to trust. Logically, if people are honest with eachother, it builds a certain level of trust. Once a certain level of trust has been reached, the relationship will generally stay stable, unless some deep, dark secret rears its ugly head, like that one time in Cancun where you got drunk...you know what I am getting at, I hope. Well, to get to the point, trust is the glue that keeps relationships together. Without trust, things fall apart into a million little pieces. We all know where Mr. Frey went wrong with his "truthful" memoir or lack of truth memoir. It's a lousy metaphor, but it works well enough in this section.
Once a relationship is stable and both sides agreee and other factors fall into place, a serious but casual relationship can evolve into a more serious "till death do us part" type deal. Implicit in the vows of "love, honor, and cherish" is honesty and trust. After all, without the honesty and trust, "till death do us part" might involve a loaded .357 magnum or some other nasty means of death. Which leads to a most strange aspect of relationships: why people lie in relationships.
III. Tell Me Sweet Little Lies
We have all told lies to people. Some people have told more lies than others. If lies were like icing, most people would be able to frost a wedding cake. Not just any ordinary wedding cake(is there such a thing as an "ordinary" wedding cake), but a muli-tiered, extravagant confection replete with many decorations. One that would make any person "ooh" and "aah" at the mere sight of it. Lying is not limited to humans of course. Our closest genetic match, the chimpanzee, is quite adept at deception. It's an evolutionary thing, or so scientists have speculated:
Then again, if deception is part of the evolution of communication and if it is, one could argue, hardwired into animals, then why do people tell the truth to perfect strangers like people we meet on the street, let alone shrinks during therapy sessions?"If we speculate about the evolution of communication, it is evident that a very important stage in this evolution occurs when the organism gradually ceases to respond quite 'automatically' to the mood signs of another and becomes able to recognize the sign as a signal: that is, to recognize that the other individual's and its own signals are only signals, which can be trusted, distrusted, falsified, denied, amplified, corrected, and so forth" (Bateson 1955:40).
One could argue that we don't per se, love them like those we care about. To use "love" in such a way means to define it in a certain way also. One can "love" their girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband, etc. in one way, but "love" another person in a similar, but different way. This also requires a different definition for "care" between the two classes. One does not have the same emotional and physical attachment with strangers than with those we care for. We could care less about what they think, well most of the times.
For instance, if one gets very drunk in a noisy bar, one might blab about secrets that they have never told anyone. The next morning, one hopes that everyone else was as equally drunk because they recognize what they have done. But while under the stupor of alcohol, one does not really think about what they are saying. In a crowded room, one might say the most shocking things, but since one is in a crowded room, all the conversations blend together. One will, most likely, never see the person again. If one does happen to meet that stranger again, it is highly unlikely anyone will remember anything.
Basically, when things are going down the tubes and when a person is under pressure, the person under pressure will lie. They are willing to lie because it appears to be the only solution to the sticky problem. We lie more to the people we love because we supposedly do not want to hurt them by telling them the truth. A lie that makes them feel better doesn't seem to be bad. Why bother telling them the truth when it could cause serious problems? But there lies the problem.
IV. Truth or Consequences: Conclusion
The main problem with telling a lie is obvious. People can and will find out the truth. Once your "loved one" discovers the deception, even bigger problems happen. The easiest person to deceive is yourself. Once you deceive yourself that telling a lie is the best solution, it becomes easier to tell that lie to the one you love. But "love" is so easy to redefine to suit one's mood.
If one has to resort to lying to keep a relationship together, it's very likely that the relationship really isn't a real relationship but a giant sham based upon deception. Such relationships are not the best ones to be stuck in. Tell the same lie you decieve yourself with to another person and that person will recognize how foolish it seems. Of course, it's easy to say this but hard to put into practice.
The next time you think it's a good time to lie to save a relationship, think hard about that decision. It may sound good, but it may hurt you later. Your "relationship" might be temporarily saved for a while, but once the truth is found out, the resulting breakup might be even worse.
Reference:
Bateson, Gregory (1955). "A Theory of Play and Fantasy." In Psychiatric Research Reports (Vol. 2), pp. 39-51
That's all for now.
Monday, February 06, 2006
The Bush "Science Initiative"
Greetings and welcome to The Un-Zone, the site for all things related to Un. Well, at least stuff that this blogger finds interesting.
President George W. Bush, in his State of the Union speech, talked about the "American Competitiveness Initiative." One of the goals of this initiative was "giving our nation's children a firm grounding in math and science." Children will learn more math and science courses to make America competitive with other nations that score higher than the US in tests, which normally means nearly everyone else that takes the particular test.
What does that mean for children in the United States when it comes to more rigorous math and science courses? Let's take a look at the facts and see...
One would expect that people in NASA would have a basic grounding in sound science like astronomy, cosmology, etc. But not in the George W. Bush administration. A presidential appointee to NASA had the following background in science: NONE WHAT SO EVER. But he did have the following credentials to his name according to The New York Times:
President George W. Bush, in his State of the Union speech, talked about the "American Competitiveness Initiative." One of the goals of this initiative was "giving our nation's children a firm grounding in math and science." Children will learn more math and science courses to make America competitive with other nations that score higher than the US in tests, which normally means nearly everyone else that takes the particular test.
What does that mean for children in the United States when it comes to more rigorous math and science courses? Let's take a look at the facts and see...
One would expect that people in NASA would have a basic grounding in sound science like astronomy, cosmology, etc. But not in the George W. Bush administration. A presidential appointee to NASA had the following background in science: NONE WHAT SO EVER. But he did have the following credentials to his name according to The New York Times:
Remember Mr. "Blame Everyone" Brown, the head of FEMA, the Federal Emergency Mismanagement Agency? No experience, but he was a good friend of the President. That's enough experience. Take a look at what he has to say about the Big Bang Model, one of the basic things learned in an astronomy course (quoted from The New York Times):intern in the 'war room' of the 2004 Bush-Cheney re-election campaign. A 2003 journalism graduate of Texas A&M, he was also the public-affairs officer who sought more control over Dr. Hansen's public statements.
The Big Bang is "not proven fact; it is opinion," Mr. Deutsch wrote, adding, "It is not NASA's place, nor should it be to make a declaration such as this about the existence of the universe that discounts intelligent design by a creator."
It continued: "This is more than a science issue, it is a religious issue. And I would hate to think that young people would only be getting one-half of this debate from NASA. That would mean we had failed to properly educate the very people who rely on us for factual information the most."
And this is what me might expect as science? American children will be competitive by learning this stuff? Last time I checked an AP Test, Intelligent Design wasn't part of it. Unless of course, the College Board decides to bow down to the wishes of the President.
President G.W. Bush is a big proponent of Intelligent Design. No big surprise. Supporters of Intelligent Design now believe that they are the intellectual heirs of Gallileo. The same Gallileo who was condemned by the Catholic Church for his support of the heliocentric universe. At this moment, what are the odds that Intelligent Design will be part of the science initiative? Then again, Gallileo, unlike the Intelligent Design proponents, had at least two things going for him. One, he was correct in his views. Two, and more importantly, he performed ACTUAL EXPERIMENTS to test his hypotheses. That included using telescopes and using actual mathematics. Oh, I remember another thing going for Gallileo. He was well-esteemed by his peers and he had a better reputation. He was not a rogue scientist to his peers, but to the Church that believed in the now shown to be wrong ideas of Aristotle. Nothing like the distortion of history to suit facts. But then again, "hard facts" never really mattered to followers of Intelligent Design.
This could be what the new science initiative could look like if President George W. Bush gets his ways. Then again, he might actually stick with actual science and not Intelligent Design or any other weird idea. Consider what's been said in this post while you read the following quote from Donald Tighe:
The only response came from Donald Tighe of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. "Science is respected and protected and highly valued by the administration," he said.
Really? I'm not too sure. That's all for now.
Super Bowl Commercials and Sports
Greetings and welcome to the Un-Zone, the site for all things Un.
The KU-Oklahoma basketball game. Wow. They didn't choke horribly for once on national television. Like the Big Monday game vs. Missouri or the Maui Invitational games. The much improved Jayhawks showed up for once. I'm just hoping they bring the A-level performance during the rest of the season. If they make it(most likely...I think) to March Madness, I hope they don't go and repeat the "Bucknell Bomb" and lose in the first round.
The Super Bowl was slow during the first half, but gained some level of excitement in the second half. That's all I can say about the game. The pregame stuff bored me. The "Jerome Bettis was born in Detroit and might retire" stories got really tiring and boring. Just like nearly every one of the Super Bowl commercials. Even the Bud Light commercials weren't as funny this year. Sucky commercials.
One last thing. If you ever have any empty whiskey bottles and have some level of technical expertise, an interesting modification job one can do. A whiskey bottle computer. Go figure.
http://www.metku.net/index.html?sect=view&n=1&path=mods/whiskypc/index_eng
That's all for now. Got to go to Payment Systems. Fun.
The KU-Oklahoma basketball game. Wow. They didn't choke horribly for once on national television. Like the Big Monday game vs. Missouri or the Maui Invitational games. The much improved Jayhawks showed up for once. I'm just hoping they bring the A-level performance during the rest of the season. If they make it(most likely...I think) to March Madness, I hope they don't go and repeat the "Bucknell Bomb" and lose in the first round.
The Super Bowl was slow during the first half, but gained some level of excitement in the second half. That's all I can say about the game. The pregame stuff bored me. The "Jerome Bettis was born in Detroit and might retire" stories got really tiring and boring. Just like nearly every one of the Super Bowl commercials. Even the Bud Light commercials weren't as funny this year. Sucky commercials.
One last thing. If you ever have any empty whiskey bottles and have some level of technical expertise, an interesting modification job one can do. A whiskey bottle computer. Go figure.
http://www.metku.net/index.html?sect=view&n=1&path=mods/whiskypc/index_eng
That's all for now. Got to go to Payment Systems. Fun.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Same Old Run Around
Greetings and welcome to The Un-Zone, the semi-regularly updated site to all things Un plus other stuff this blogger finds of particular interest at the time the post is written.
I wrote an article for the Brief-Brief today in about an hour. It's about how law school and cults share eerily similar behavior. Not that law school is like a cult or anything. If you don't include similarities like long lectures, a lexicon that makes little sense to others, and a large portion of a day spent in one building, etc. Of course, it's meant to be satire. Last year for the February issue, I wrote an article all about Valentine's Day-related cases. I've now progressed in my writing in a strange way.
An unrelated question by the way: How in the world do you have an electric bill of 76 cents? Unless it's some sort of mistake, I don't see how. If you do know, please enlighten me.
And now to the point of this post after a random question, a poem/song. It's a look at the "right track" that people want their kids/themselves to follow. The "do this and do that to get ahead and forget about doing anything else" school that drives people crazy because it's not really right for them. If I only had some skills in composing music. I think this would make for a nice little ditty with some piano and a guitar. Oh well. A person can dream. Enjoy.
"Same Old Run Around"
When you were young you heard people say
The same old message told in a million ways
Go study hard, no time to play
You’ve got to have a four point oh GPA
Follow this track and don’t go astray
Take these classes, in the end it will pay
In lots of money when your hair is gray
Giving a hundred percent is not OK
It’s the same old run around
Dreams are lost and never found
While you look at the sky and touch the ground
Do it all in a single bound
Cause dreams will leave without a sound
Another victim of the run around
You’re dreaming that you’re in a different place
Than stuck in a cubicle called your office space
Your life is moving at an ever-quickening pace
Another discontented soul in the human race
You remember graduating and you’re feeling glad
Dreaming of the memories that you had
That crazy party, that wild drinking game
Your so-called life will never be the same
It’s the same old run around
Dreams are lost and never found
While you look at the sky and touch the ground
Do it all in a single bound
Cause dreams will leave without a sound
Another victim of the run around
It’s the same old run around
You dreams were lost and were never found
Fell from the sky and hit the ground
Did it all in a single bound
And all your dreams left without a sound
In the vicious cycle of the run around
I wrote an article for the Brief-Brief today in about an hour. It's about how law school and cults share eerily similar behavior. Not that law school is like a cult or anything. If you don't include similarities like long lectures, a lexicon that makes little sense to others, and a large portion of a day spent in one building, etc. Of course, it's meant to be satire. Last year for the February issue, I wrote an article all about Valentine's Day-related cases. I've now progressed in my writing in a strange way.
An unrelated question by the way: How in the world do you have an electric bill of 76 cents? Unless it's some sort of mistake, I don't see how. If you do know, please enlighten me.
And now to the point of this post after a random question, a poem/song. It's a look at the "right track" that people want their kids/themselves to follow. The "do this and do that to get ahead and forget about doing anything else" school that drives people crazy because it's not really right for them. If I only had some skills in composing music. I think this would make for a nice little ditty with some piano and a guitar. Oh well. A person can dream. Enjoy.
"Same Old Run Around"
When you were young you heard people say
The same old message told in a million ways
Go study hard, no time to play
You’ve got to have a four point oh GPA
Follow this track and don’t go astray
Take these classes, in the end it will pay
In lots of money when your hair is gray
Giving a hundred percent is not OK
It’s the same old run around
Dreams are lost and never found
While you look at the sky and touch the ground
Do it all in a single bound
Cause dreams will leave without a sound
Another victim of the run around
You’re dreaming that you’re in a different place
Than stuck in a cubicle called your office space
Your life is moving at an ever-quickening pace
Another discontented soul in the human race
You remember graduating and you’re feeling glad
Dreaming of the memories that you had
That crazy party, that wild drinking game
Your so-called life will never be the same
It’s the same old run around
Dreams are lost and never found
While you look at the sky and touch the ground
Do it all in a single bound
Cause dreams will leave without a sound
Another victim of the run around
It’s the same old run around
You dreams were lost and were never found
Fell from the sky and hit the ground
Did it all in a single bound
And all your dreams left without a sound
In the vicious cycle of the run around
Monday, January 30, 2006
CSI: Wild West and Other Stuff
Greetings and welcome to The Un-Zone, the semi-regularly updated and official site to all things related to Un.
In today's update, it will be about the odd crumbs and detrius that one can find lurking in the corners of the Internet.
Up first, is a case that makes no sense what-so-ever and yet is taught in Evidence class. It also has an interesting local connection, which makes this doubly interesting. It combines the law and colorful local history: Mutual Life Insurance Co. v. Hillmon, 145 U.S. 285 (1892). Apparently, Brown said that he was going to Colorado with Hillmon was held admissible to show that he had in fact done so. Basically, if you make a statement about intent, it can be used to circumstantially prove you did what you said. For example, if you say, "I'm going to Paris," you can use that statement to circumstantially prove you went to Paris. There are some problems with this doctrine.
1. People change their minds. I can easily say, "I'm going to Manhattan, KS for a week to make fun of those dumb Wildcats" and go to Las Vegas to play blackjack and Texas Hold-Em. If someone finds out, I can easily claim, "I changed my mind." So much for proving intent.
2. The tough third-party issue. With the Hillmon case, there was no real evidence that Hillmon actually went to Colorado. Is the letter enough proof to show that Hillmon actually went? Depending on the jurisdiction, it may be allowed or it may not be allowed.
Now two researchers are going to use modern tools to solve the problem of the Hillmon case: is the body in the grave really Hillmon or someone else. If it's Hillmon, then the story in the Hillmon case is probably true. Else, you've got another mystery. Who is the dead guy? Where is the crew from CSI when you need them?
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/jan/30/gravesite_lawrences_oak_hill_cemetery_might_hold_c/?city_local
You're lost in the middle of the woods. You need a fire and you happen to have a can of Coca Cola and a chocolate bar. What do you do? You make a fire using that can of coke and the chocolate bar. How? Just click on the link below to find out.
http://www.trackertrail.com/survival/fire/cokeandchocolatebar/
President Bust isn't happy that Hamas won. Now that Hamas has won an election and shown the world that democracy is spreading in the Middle East (something that President Bush said was good), they're now the butt of political jokes. One must wonder how they are going to respond to this sort of humor.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060129/ap_on_re_mi_ea/hamas_jokes
Americans aren't buying American cars, but are buying foreign brands like Honda and Toyota. The "Big Three" are wondering why. Now the American public is telling them, quite frankly, why the cars built by the Big Three aren't so great.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10892985/
That's all for now.
In today's update, it will be about the odd crumbs and detrius that one can find lurking in the corners of the Internet.
Up first, is a case that makes no sense what-so-ever and yet is taught in Evidence class. It also has an interesting local connection, which makes this doubly interesting. It combines the law and colorful local history: Mutual Life Insurance Co. v. Hillmon, 145 U.S. 285 (1892). Apparently, Brown said that he was going to Colorado with Hillmon was held admissible to show that he had in fact done so. Basically, if you make a statement about intent, it can be used to circumstantially prove you did what you said. For example, if you say, "I'm going to Paris," you can use that statement to circumstantially prove you went to Paris. There are some problems with this doctrine.
1. People change their minds. I can easily say, "I'm going to Manhattan, KS for a week to make fun of those dumb Wildcats" and go to Las Vegas to play blackjack and Texas Hold-Em. If someone finds out, I can easily claim, "I changed my mind." So much for proving intent.
2. The tough third-party issue. With the Hillmon case, there was no real evidence that Hillmon actually went to Colorado. Is the letter enough proof to show that Hillmon actually went? Depending on the jurisdiction, it may be allowed or it may not be allowed.
Now two researchers are going to use modern tools to solve the problem of the Hillmon case: is the body in the grave really Hillmon or someone else. If it's Hillmon, then the story in the Hillmon case is probably true. Else, you've got another mystery. Who is the dead guy? Where is the crew from CSI when you need them?
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/jan/30/gravesite_lawrences_oak_hill_cemetery_might_hold_c/?city_local
You're lost in the middle of the woods. You need a fire and you happen to have a can of Coca Cola and a chocolate bar. What do you do? You make a fire using that can of coke and the chocolate bar. How? Just click on the link below to find out.
http://www.trackertrail.com/survival/fire/cokeandchocolatebar/
President Bust isn't happy that Hamas won. Now that Hamas has won an election and shown the world that democracy is spreading in the Middle East (something that President Bush said was good), they're now the butt of political jokes. One must wonder how they are going to respond to this sort of humor.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060129/ap_on_re_mi_ea/hamas_jokes
Americans aren't buying American cars, but are buying foreign brands like Honda and Toyota. The "Big Three" are wondering why. Now the American public is telling them, quite frankly, why the cars built by the Big Three aren't so great.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10892985/
That's all for now.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
State of the Union
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the semi-regularly updated site for all things related to Un, or at least stuff this blog writer finds interesting.
President George W. Bush will present the State of the Union Address on Tuesday. Regular programming will be cancelled so the leader of this country shall tell Congress and the American people how the nation is doing and his plans for the future. I use the term "his" as all previous Presidents were male. Until there is a female president, I shall use "his" unless the premise of Commander in Chief actually becomes true.
He'll most likely talk about the major issues of this time: domestic wiretaps, the war on terrorism, etc. Expect him to talk about how the world is much safer since democracy is now a part of Iraq. The economy is stronger due to tax cuts. America will be safer if we have domestic wiretaps.
As an American citizen, it is my patriotic duty and obligation to warn everyone that accepting everything the President says at face value is not anti-American or unpatriotic. Questioning the status-quo is patriotic. If the Founding Fathers didn't question the legitimacy of being under British rule, there would be no United States of America.
To better facilitate the spread of democratic ideals and a sense of rational patriotism, I offer the following examples of common logical fallacies that people and Presidents use. Thanks to Stephen Downes and his excellent website explaining logical fallacies.
1. Slippery Slope: a faulty use of "if-then" premises that necessarily do not follow from the beginning premise.
EX: If we do not allow for a domestic surveillance program, then it will allow the terrorists to organize. If the terrorists organize, then they will plan another attack. If we do not stop their planning, the America will be attacked just like it did on 9/11.
2. Appeal to Consequence: The author points to the disagreeable consequences of holding a particular belief in order to show that this belief is false
EX: You can't agree that the President's powers can be limited because this will make America a target for terrorist attacks.
3. Prejudical Language: use of loaded emotional words to attach moral goodness to a proposition.
EX: Wireless wiretaps are good because without them, another terrorist attack will happen, just like the attacks on 9/11. (Note the use of terrorist attack and 9/11. The President and Vice President use "9/11" and "terrorist" frequently to lend support to their actions.)
4. Style Over Substance: as the term implies, the argument or arguer is presented in a way to add to the credibility of the argument.
EX: Instead of "domestic surveillance" the phrase "terrorist surveillance" is used. Same program, different name. Nobody wants to go against a "terrorist surveillance" program. And if you make the presenter look like a "friendly and open" person, what have they got to hide? (other than a ruthless personality that will stop at nothing to get what they want)
These are just a few examples of logical fallacies. There is a larger and more complete list of logical fallacies at Stephen Downes' website. Remember to do your patriotic duty: listen carefully and question everything.
That's all for now.
Logical Fallacies
http://www.datanation.com/fallacies/index.htm
President George W. Bush will present the State of the Union Address on Tuesday. Regular programming will be cancelled so the leader of this country shall tell Congress and the American people how the nation is doing and his plans for the future. I use the term "his" as all previous Presidents were male. Until there is a female president, I shall use "his" unless the premise of Commander in Chief actually becomes true.
He'll most likely talk about the major issues of this time: domestic wiretaps, the war on terrorism, etc. Expect him to talk about how the world is much safer since democracy is now a part of Iraq. The economy is stronger due to tax cuts. America will be safer if we have domestic wiretaps.
As an American citizen, it is my patriotic duty and obligation to warn everyone that accepting everything the President says at face value is not anti-American or unpatriotic. Questioning the status-quo is patriotic. If the Founding Fathers didn't question the legitimacy of being under British rule, there would be no United States of America.
To better facilitate the spread of democratic ideals and a sense of rational patriotism, I offer the following examples of common logical fallacies that people and Presidents use. Thanks to Stephen Downes and his excellent website explaining logical fallacies.
1. Slippery Slope: a faulty use of "if-then" premises that necessarily do not follow from the beginning premise.
EX: If we do not allow for a domestic surveillance program, then it will allow the terrorists to organize. If the terrorists organize, then they will plan another attack. If we do not stop their planning, the America will be attacked just like it did on 9/11.
2. Appeal to Consequence: The author points to the disagreeable consequences of holding a particular belief in order to show that this belief is false
EX: You can't agree that the President's powers can be limited because this will make America a target for terrorist attacks.
3. Prejudical Language: use of loaded emotional words to attach moral goodness to a proposition.
EX: Wireless wiretaps are good because without them, another terrorist attack will happen, just like the attacks on 9/11. (Note the use of terrorist attack and 9/11. The President and Vice President use "9/11" and "terrorist" frequently to lend support to their actions.)
4. Style Over Substance: as the term implies, the argument or arguer is presented in a way to add to the credibility of the argument.
EX: Instead of "domestic surveillance" the phrase "terrorist surveillance" is used. Same program, different name. Nobody wants to go against a "terrorist surveillance" program. And if you make the presenter look like a "friendly and open" person, what have they got to hide? (other than a ruthless personality that will stop at nothing to get what they want)
These are just a few examples of logical fallacies. There is a larger and more complete list of logical fallacies at Stephen Downes' website. Remember to do your patriotic duty: listen carefully and question everything.
That's all for now.
Logical Fallacies
http://www.datanation.com/fallacies/index.htm
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Website Links, Part II
Greetings and welcome back to the Un-Zone, the site for all things Un.
It's time to update and it's the return of website links that I found interesting.
The first up is near and dear to my heart as a law school student at it involves drug dealers or drug users , the number one topic of Criminal Procedure cases. Their turn of bad luck is too funny to believe: a brick of cocaine fell out of a window and landed in front of a police officer who happened to walk by.
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060125/NEWS01/601260331/1002/NEWS
With the emphasis on security at airports, one would expect flight attendants to know what items are not allowed onto airplanes. Apparently, one flight attendant decided to bring aboard a grenade. A grenade she thought would make for a cool gift for her son. Thankfully, the grenade was not a live grenade but a dud she bought at an army surplus store. Her common sense was a dud also.
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/nation/13711421.htm
The 101 Dumbest moments in Business as decided by CNN. Who wouldn't want to live in a condo that used to be a mental institution?
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/101dumbest/
A professor who ranks "America's Whitest Law Schools." I'm not sure what to make of this. See Chapter Six for the complete rankings.
http://academic.udayton.edu/thewhitestlawschools/2005TWLS/Chapter6/State01.htm
Does it really cost nearly $1,000 to buy a toaster? Does a deep-fat fryer cost $5,500? Apparently the Pentagon thinks so. Despite being able to buy a comparable toaster for only around $800 and the fryer for about $2,000. I guess these products were combat ready, sort of like body armor...
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=13163
That's all for now.
It's time to update and it's the return of website links that I found interesting.
The first up is near and dear to my heart as a law school student at it involves drug dealers or drug users , the number one topic of Criminal Procedure cases. Their turn of bad luck is too funny to believe: a brick of cocaine fell out of a window and landed in front of a police officer who happened to walk by.
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060125/NEWS01/601260331/1002/NEWS
With the emphasis on security at airports, one would expect flight attendants to know what items are not allowed onto airplanes. Apparently, one flight attendant decided to bring aboard a grenade. A grenade she thought would make for a cool gift for her son. Thankfully, the grenade was not a live grenade but a dud she bought at an army surplus store. Her common sense was a dud also.
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/nation/13711421.htm
The 101 Dumbest moments in Business as decided by CNN. Who wouldn't want to live in a condo that used to be a mental institution?
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/101dumbest/
A professor who ranks "America's Whitest Law Schools." I'm not sure what to make of this. See Chapter Six for the complete rankings.
http://academic.udayton.edu/thewhitestlawschools/2005TWLS/Chapter6/State01.htm
Does it really cost nearly $1,000 to buy a toaster? Does a deep-fat fryer cost $5,500? Apparently the Pentagon thinks so. Despite being able to buy a comparable toaster for only around $800 and the fryer for about $2,000. I guess these products were combat ready, sort of like body armor...
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=13163
That's all for now.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Eugenics in America
Greetings and welcome to the Un-Zone, a site on the Information Highway devoted to all things related to Un or at least stuff that this blogger finds interesting enough to post.
The following is a brief history of eugenics in the United States. Personally, I find eugenics to be distasteful, disturbing, and a bunch of pseudo-science nonsense. This post is not meant to be anti-American in any way but a look into a darker period in the history of the United States.
The Declaration of Independence states, "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Despite this noble language, there have been instances in the history of the United States where these words were not applied in practice. One dark period in United States history, however, has not been talked about much. Few people know of this dark blemish in American history, mainly because of its association with Nazi Germany. This topic is the eugenics movement that consumed the United States from the late 1890's to the end of World War II. Even after World War II, the taint of eugenics-like programs still exists today.
Eugenics found its modern roots in England, with the general ideas sketched out by Sir Francis Galton, the cousin of Sir Charles Darwin. Basically, he stated that intellectual, moral, and character traits were hereditary and that through a process of selective breeding, these traits could be passed on to offspring. Society was weakening the gene pool by allowing marriages between "good" people and "inferior" people.
Regretfully, this pseudo-science crossed the Atlantic Ocean and spread to the United States. During the 1880's, Alexander Graham Bell studied the deaf population of Martha's Vineyard and concluded that the deaf should not be allowed to marry. In the late 1890's, states enacted laws prohibiting the "epileptic, imbecile or feeble-minded" from marrying.
Harry Hamilton Laughlin wrote the "Model Eugenical Sterilization Law" in 1922, advocating mandatory sterilization for those who were "socially inadequate." These included epileptics, alcoholics, criminals, blind, deaf, and others. Nazi Germany adopted Laughlin's views and wrote the Law for the Protection of Hereditary Health: Breeding the "Aryan Race," enacted in 1933. This law stated the following:
The following is a brief history of eugenics in the United States. Personally, I find eugenics to be distasteful, disturbing, and a bunch of pseudo-science nonsense. This post is not meant to be anti-American in any way but a look into a darker period in the history of the United States.
The Declaration of Independence states, "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Despite this noble language, there have been instances in the history of the United States where these words were not applied in practice. One dark period in United States history, however, has not been talked about much. Few people know of this dark blemish in American history, mainly because of its association with Nazi Germany. This topic is the eugenics movement that consumed the United States from the late 1890's to the end of World War II. Even after World War II, the taint of eugenics-like programs still exists today.
Eugenics found its modern roots in England, with the general ideas sketched out by Sir Francis Galton, the cousin of Sir Charles Darwin. Basically, he stated that intellectual, moral, and character traits were hereditary and that through a process of selective breeding, these traits could be passed on to offspring. Society was weakening the gene pool by allowing marriages between "good" people and "inferior" people.
Regretfully, this pseudo-science crossed the Atlantic Ocean and spread to the United States. During the 1880's, Alexander Graham Bell studied the deaf population of Martha's Vineyard and concluded that the deaf should not be allowed to marry. In the late 1890's, states enacted laws prohibiting the "epileptic, imbecile or feeble-minded" from marrying.
Harry Hamilton Laughlin wrote the "Model Eugenical Sterilization Law" in 1922, advocating mandatory sterilization for those who were "socially inadequate." These included epileptics, alcoholics, criminals, blind, deaf, and others. Nazi Germany adopted Laughlin's views and wrote the Law for the Protection of Hereditary Health: Breeding the "Aryan Race," enacted in 1933. This law stated the following:
Article I. (1.) Anyone who suffers from an inheritable disease may be surgically sterilized if, in the judgment of medical science, it could be expected that his descendants will suffer from serious inherited mental or physical defects.
The United States, thankfully, did not reach the levels that Nazi Germany reached, but the results were ghastly. The Germans forcefully sterilized hundreds of thousands, killed millions of innocent people, and performed horrible experiments on live humans. In the United States, the state of California for example, sterilized 6,200 people classified as "feeble-minded." Yet, the language used by two well known people living at the time sound so eerily similar that one might believe that they were the same person.
Hitler writes the following in Mein Kampf:
"Those who are physically and mentally unhealthy and unfit must not perpetuate their sufferings in the bodies of their children....[I]t is a crime and a disgrace to make this affliction the worse by passing it on to innocent creatures out of a merely egoistic yearning."
Compare that statement with this written by United States Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendall Holmes, Jr. in his majority opinion in Buck v. Bell, 274 U.S. 200, 207 (1927):
"We have seen more than once that the public welfare may call upon the best citizens for their lives. It would be strange if it could not call upon those who already sap the strength of the State for these lesser sacrifices, often not felt to be such by those concerned, in order to prevent our being swamped with incompetence. It is better for all the world, if instead of waiting to execute degenerate offspring for crime, or to let them starve for their imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind..."
According to Westlaw, it has been negatively criticized, but it has not been overturned. It's a highly questionable, although a legitimate ruling by the United States Supreme Court. As a historical sidenote, one justice did dissent to this decision, but he did not write one.
One can easily say that these examples are mere aberrations. Given the historical context, one can easily explain these as a sign of the time that these people were living in. Yes, this may be so, but it does not excuse a Supreme Court justice who is interpreting the law to write such a repulsive decision. One might say that people now are enlightened in the United States and such viewpoints are an aberration today. This assumption, sadly, is not so. Such a viewpoint exists, but couched in more palatable terms.
Take for instance, the Pioneer Fund. Founded in 1937 by a group of men including Harry Hamilton Laughlin, their Charter of Incorporation amended in 1985 states their purpose is for "human race betterment." Some of the research they funded came up with the following results. Children from professional backgrounds did better in their future life than those from a working class background. In South Africa, children of African descent did worse on standardized tests, but made significant improvements when taught in a certain manner. To explain these differences, the Pioneer Fund uses the "Out of Africa" Hypothesis that states that those living near the Equator did not need to specialize much to survive, whereas those living farther away from the Equator specialized by adapting to the changing seasons. Hence those living farther north, i.e. North America and Europe, had better brains and talent. Very enlightened views.
William Shockley, one of the founders of the modern transistor that made the computer revolution possible, was an avid believer of eugenics. He wrote a series of editorial letters to the Palo Alto newspapers claiming that the human race was going downhill because of bad breeding. Mr. Shockley came up with a solution to this problem. He suggested paying money to those with low-intelligence if they volunteered to be sterilized--$1,000 for every IQ point below 100. Of course, since these people were supposedly stupid, the money would be kept in a trust. To make it profitable for others, people who convinced those with low IQs to get sterilized would get a monetary reward. He continued to have these views until he died.
Take for instance Ethnic America written by Thomas Sowell. This book was highly touted by readers on Amazon. This book was considered a "must read" by several well-respected magazines and newspapers. Supposedly, it was a hard look into ethnicity and culture in the United States. This might be so, but some of what he writes is disturbing. This excerpt came from page 213:
"The internal distribution of children among blacks has made the upward movement of the race as a whole more difficult. The general tendency of poor people to have more children than middle-class people has been accentuated among American Negroes. Better educated and higher income blacks have even fewer children than their white counterparts, while low-income blacks have even more children than equally low income whites. Much of the struggle that has brought some blacks up from poverty has had to be repeated in successive generations because successful blacks did not have enough children to reproduce themselves."
Based upon this paragraph, one could make the conclusion that African-Americans would move up on the socioeconomic scale and be much better as a whole if the better-educated and higher income African Americans had more children. This conclusion, of course, is absurd. There are other factors that would help all people do better later in life and selective breeding is not one of them.
To quote Vincent Freeman, played by Ethan Hawke, in Gattaca, "There’s no gene for fate." Let’s just hope nobody takes eugenics seriously in the future.
Monday, January 23, 2006
Website Links
Greetings and welcome to the Un-Zone, the semi-regularly updated site for all things Un.
It's time for an update and today's update will be about various websites I found interesting in my view.
Today's Dumb Criminal story is about a techno-savvy criminal who wasn't so savvy about what you can't sell on the Internet. Like cocaine. Other foolish things he did include posting up a phone number and making an actual sale to an undercover cop.
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/consumer/6311338/detail.html
Osama Bin Laden apparently had some time to read while out somewhere in an unknown region along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Maybe the US government should read this book. I wonder if he posted a review on Amazon.com?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060123/od_nm/binladen_book_dc;_ylt=AoaUV37VIvjo_G42J8jnP.Ws0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3NW1oMDRpBHNlYwM3NTc-
Roe v. Wade is now 33 years old. Instead of being an important case in Supreme Court history, it is now the de facto litmus test for Supreme Court nominees.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/01/22/abortion.anniversary.ap/index.html
Ferrofluid sculptures. That's it.
http://www.99express.com/posts/ferrofluid_sculptures.htm
A professor pretends to be a Neo-Nazi to test whether "academic freedom" exists at colleges and other places of higher learning. What could possibly go wrong? He got fired and now he is thinking about writing a book like A Million Little Pieces. Go figure.
http://www.nj.com/columns/ledger/mulshine/index.ssf?/base/columns-0/1137649957316870.xml&coll=1
It's time for an update and today's update will be about various websites I found interesting in my view.
Today's Dumb Criminal story is about a techno-savvy criminal who wasn't so savvy about what you can't sell on the Internet. Like cocaine. Other foolish things he did include posting up a phone number and making an actual sale to an undercover cop.
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/consumer/6311338/detail.html
Osama Bin Laden apparently had some time to read while out somewhere in an unknown region along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Maybe the US government should read this book. I wonder if he posted a review on Amazon.com?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060123/od_nm/binladen_book_dc;_ylt=AoaUV37VIvjo_G42J8jnP.Ws0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3NW1oMDRpBHNlYwM3NTc-
Roe v. Wade is now 33 years old. Instead of being an important case in Supreme Court history, it is now the de facto litmus test for Supreme Court nominees.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/01/22/abortion.anniversary.ap/index.html
Ferrofluid sculptures. That's it.
http://www.99express.com/posts/ferrofluid_sculptures.htm
A professor pretends to be a Neo-Nazi to test whether "academic freedom" exists at colleges and other places of higher learning. What could possibly go wrong? He got fired and now he is thinking about writing a book like A Million Little Pieces. Go figure.
http://www.nj.com/columns/ledger/mulshine/index.ssf?/base/columns-0/1137649957316870.xml&coll=1
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Single
It's another update to this site today. A few random thoughts that came to my head that I had to put down on this site.
Being a good person--a genuinely nice person--does not lead to immediate success with romance. In fact, it is the most naive thought a person can have. On the surface, it seems rational that a member of the opposite sex will find this attactive. It doesn't work that way, ever. If you're single, the worst adjectives that describe you are not what you think. They're not "fat" or "ugly" or even "moron." Oh no. They're the following: "smart", "nice", and "sweet". Yes, they may seem like good things, but they are not.
It may not sound bad, but to a person who has heard "Let's just be friends" everytime they charm a person to deep friendship, it's like calling that person "radioactive." Sure, it doesn't sound bad, but think about it for a moment. Imagine yourself wanting to buy a dog. Let's say a Golden Retriever. What qualities do you like in this furry companion? Hopefully, you're not thinking "chewy." I digress. Hmm...what about "smart," "nice" and "sweet?" OK, this might be stretching it, but add the following adjectives to the list: "loyal" and "friendly." What are you thinking right now? Maybe "Gee...that sounds like the perfect dog to me!" and not "Gee...that sounds like the perfect person I want to date!" Good luck getting past the "just friends" stage in a relationship.
Stranger still, most people (I am assuming this to be true as I have read many articles and books on this topic) want to date/marry a person who is "smart," "nice," "friendly," etc. Yes, looks are important also, but I would like to focus on these three aspects. Some people might add in other adjectives more fit for Prince Charming or Cinderella (post Glass Slipper). And yet, they go into relationships with the total opposite of what they supposedly want.
This might explain the basic premise of the dating ritual: the harder you supposedly are to get, the harder the opposite sex falls for you. After some time, your intended target will find you so irresistable that they will ask you out. Or so it seems in real life. Maybe I am wrong with this line of thought.
One could explain this by saying that people have an intense desire to have what we can't have and to have what we don't have. Sort of like a car nut wanting to own a Porshe 911 or a female wanting to own a 20 carat diamond ring. That sort of thing. Sounds perfectly rational. And yet, this intense desire is irrational. People (supposedly) want a partner who is kind, friendly, smart, etc. and yet get into relationships that do not work. This defeats their intended purpose of finding the ideal mate as falling in love with a non-optimal partner is not the ideal solution to this problem. "Love," using the term loosely, is a powerful force that turns everyone it hits into irrational beings. Our urges are irrational. Which makes them think in a strange fashion by messing up their sense of logic. Kind of like staying with no-good, cheating scum because "they love them." Seeing an episode or two of Jerry Springer or Maury Povich with show this very well. Of course, these people do not learn and fall into the same routine over and over again. And each time after a failed relationship, these people wonder where the nice men and women are.
But does it pay off to be a genuinely nice person? Maybe. It sounds better than "You're going to be lonely and miserable for the rest of your life." Or so it has been said. If you are a genuinely nice person, don't change because you are desperate for a date. Someone, sooner or later will discover there are genuinely nice people. And besides, genuinely nice people will not chew your shoes or shed lots of hair. There is the downside involving the remote control, but that's a problem that can't be helped.
That's all for now.
Being a good person--a genuinely nice person--does not lead to immediate success with romance. In fact, it is the most naive thought a person can have. On the surface, it seems rational that a member of the opposite sex will find this attactive. It doesn't work that way, ever. If you're single, the worst adjectives that describe you are not what you think. They're not "fat" or "ugly" or even "moron." Oh no. They're the following: "smart", "nice", and "sweet". Yes, they may seem like good things, but they are not.
It may not sound bad, but to a person who has heard "Let's just be friends" everytime they charm a person to deep friendship, it's like calling that person "radioactive." Sure, it doesn't sound bad, but think about it for a moment. Imagine yourself wanting to buy a dog. Let's say a Golden Retriever. What qualities do you like in this furry companion? Hopefully, you're not thinking "chewy." I digress. Hmm...what about "smart," "nice" and "sweet?" OK, this might be stretching it, but add the following adjectives to the list: "loyal" and "friendly." What are you thinking right now? Maybe "Gee...that sounds like the perfect dog to me!" and not "Gee...that sounds like the perfect person I want to date!" Good luck getting past the "just friends" stage in a relationship.
Stranger still, most people (I am assuming this to be true as I have read many articles and books on this topic) want to date/marry a person who is "smart," "nice," "friendly," etc. Yes, looks are important also, but I would like to focus on these three aspects. Some people might add in other adjectives more fit for Prince Charming or Cinderella (post Glass Slipper). And yet, they go into relationships with the total opposite of what they supposedly want.
This might explain the basic premise of the dating ritual: the harder you supposedly are to get, the harder the opposite sex falls for you. After some time, your intended target will find you so irresistable that they will ask you out. Or so it seems in real life. Maybe I am wrong with this line of thought.
One could explain this by saying that people have an intense desire to have what we can't have and to have what we don't have. Sort of like a car nut wanting to own a Porshe 911 or a female wanting to own a 20 carat diamond ring. That sort of thing. Sounds perfectly rational. And yet, this intense desire is irrational. People (supposedly) want a partner who is kind, friendly, smart, etc. and yet get into relationships that do not work. This defeats their intended purpose of finding the ideal mate as falling in love with a non-optimal partner is not the ideal solution to this problem. "Love," using the term loosely, is a powerful force that turns everyone it hits into irrational beings. Our urges are irrational. Which makes them think in a strange fashion by messing up their sense of logic. Kind of like staying with no-good, cheating scum because "they love them." Seeing an episode or two of Jerry Springer or Maury Povich with show this very well. Of course, these people do not learn and fall into the same routine over and over again. And each time after a failed relationship, these people wonder where the nice men and women are.
But does it pay off to be a genuinely nice person? Maybe. It sounds better than "You're going to be lonely and miserable for the rest of your life." Or so it has been said. If you are a genuinely nice person, don't change because you are desperate for a date. Someone, sooner or later will discover there are genuinely nice people. And besides, genuinely nice people will not chew your shoes or shed lots of hair. There is the downside involving the remote control, but that's a problem that can't be helped.
That's all for now.
Back to School...Again
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the semi-regularly updated website on the Internet devoted to all things Un. Or at least things that I find of interest at any given time while writing stuff for this blog.
It's that time of the year...the beginning of the Spring 2006 semester. The final semester for my second year of law school. It's time to go back to "critically read and analyze" large amounts of "legal knowledge" and during two weeks in May, "compose answers to" or "answer to the best of your ability" questions written by a professor. Basically, read a bunch of cases and statutes, remember them, regurgitate everything onto the pages of a bluebook in three hours, and pray that you remembered everything correctly. Oh for joy.
BA II, Payment Systems, Professional Responsibility, Land Transactions, and International Economic Law. Doesn't that sound like fun? Monday through Friday until 3:00 PM. That will be so much fun. I shall have to temper this exciting legal education with things like "college basketball" and "Pub Night." Speaking of Women in Law Pub Night, I shall return and perform again. Get ready for a surprise. For those who saw me last year, this year should be just as entertaining...I hope.
Anyways, it should be an interesting semester.
That's all for now.
It's that time of the year...the beginning of the Spring 2006 semester. The final semester for my second year of law school. It's time to go back to "critically read and analyze" large amounts of "legal knowledge" and during two weeks in May, "compose answers to" or "answer to the best of your ability" questions written by a professor. Basically, read a bunch of cases and statutes, remember them, regurgitate everything onto the pages of a bluebook in three hours, and pray that you remembered everything correctly. Oh for joy.
BA II, Payment Systems, Professional Responsibility, Land Transactions, and International Economic Law. Doesn't that sound like fun? Monday through Friday until 3:00 PM. That will be so much fun. I shall have to temper this exciting legal education with things like "college basketball" and "Pub Night." Speaking of Women in Law Pub Night, I shall return and perform again. Get ready for a surprise. For those who saw me last year, this year should be just as entertaining...I hope.
Anyways, it should be an interesting semester.
That's all for now.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Poetry
Greetings and welcome to the Un-Zone, the irregularly updated site for all things related to Un on the Internet. It's time for an update.
This update is a poem. It's got this bluesy-folkish beat to it. A lot of decent blues songs are about love gone wrong and this poem is about love gone wrong.
It’s a little homage to my career as English major (the use of metaphors and similes) plus a dash of discrete mathematics (logical statements). You'll understand what I am saying once you read it. Kind of humorous in a wry sort of way.
When I write these poems, I start out with little fragments that pop up in my head. Little phrases and sentences that might become a stanza. I generally write these fragments down or I forget them five minutes later. They come at the strangest times: in the middle of the night or even in the middle of a shower. It’s really weird. Maybe it isn’t as strange as I think it is. With this poem, however, I just sat in front of the computer and typed it out. It was a Zen-like moment of pure poetry writing. I’m surprised I came up with all of these metaphors and similes. It's called "Still" To be honest, I like this one.
I hope you indulge me and allow me to post up stuff like this. Enjoy.
STILL
If romance is an adventure
And love is a vast sea
Then I’m a blind captain
Wondering what is happening
Will someone give a map to me
If that special person is land
And love is a vast sea
Then I’ll always be wondering
If others are blundering
Off the edge of the world like me
And I’m still looking
I’m still looking for love
His arrows are stupid
Passed over by Cupid flying above
If romance is a winding road
And love is a journey
Then at the end of the night
I search for a guiding light
Why is a light I can never see
If romance is a marathon
And love is the finish line
Then I have run millions of miles
Without getting many smiles
And I’m not feeling fine
And I’m still running
I’m still running away
My tongue is frozen
The words I have chosen I can’t say
If romance is a tug of war
And love is just a game
Then I’m a guy who is crazy
And whose vision is hazy
A rookie in a professional game
If romance is like hunting
And love is like a gun
Then I’m a hunter admitting
That I have trouble hitting
Targets that are on the run
And I’m still standing
I’m still standing here
Like a deer in the headlights
I’m frozen with fear
If romance is like a cloud
And love is like a plane
Then I’m a pilot who is learning
That crashing and burning
Is an experience full of pain
If romance is like the weather
And love comes in shades of gray
Then a hurricane is growing
And the winds of fate are blowing
My chances with you away
And I’m still flying
I’m still flying low
Flap with all of my strength
For any length, there’s still no place to go
And I’m still looking
And I’m still searching
And I’m still seeking
And I’m still finding
Finding myself—all alone
Finding myself all alone
This update is a poem. It's got this bluesy-folkish beat to it. A lot of decent blues songs are about love gone wrong and this poem is about love gone wrong.
It’s a little homage to my career as English major (the use of metaphors and similes) plus a dash of discrete mathematics (logical statements). You'll understand what I am saying once you read it. Kind of humorous in a wry sort of way.
When I write these poems, I start out with little fragments that pop up in my head. Little phrases and sentences that might become a stanza. I generally write these fragments down or I forget them five minutes later. They come at the strangest times: in the middle of the night or even in the middle of a shower. It’s really weird. Maybe it isn’t as strange as I think it is. With this poem, however, I just sat in front of the computer and typed it out. It was a Zen-like moment of pure poetry writing. I’m surprised I came up with all of these metaphors and similes. It's called "Still" To be honest, I like this one.
I hope you indulge me and allow me to post up stuff like this. Enjoy.
STILL
If romance is an adventure
And love is a vast sea
Then I’m a blind captain
Wondering what is happening
Will someone give a map to me
If that special person is land
And love is a vast sea
Then I’ll always be wondering
If others are blundering
Off the edge of the world like me
And I’m still looking
I’m still looking for love
His arrows are stupid
Passed over by Cupid flying above
If romance is a winding road
And love is a journey
Then at the end of the night
I search for a guiding light
Why is a light I can never see
If romance is a marathon
And love is the finish line
Then I have run millions of miles
Without getting many smiles
And I’m not feeling fine
And I’m still running
I’m still running away
My tongue is frozen
The words I have chosen I can’t say
If romance is a tug of war
And love is just a game
Then I’m a guy who is crazy
And whose vision is hazy
A rookie in a professional game
If romance is like hunting
And love is like a gun
Then I’m a hunter admitting
That I have trouble hitting
Targets that are on the run
And I’m still standing
I’m still standing here
Like a deer in the headlights
I’m frozen with fear
If romance is like a cloud
And love is like a plane
Then I’m a pilot who is learning
That crashing and burning
Is an experience full of pain
If romance is like the weather
And love comes in shades of gray
Then a hurricane is growing
And the winds of fate are blowing
My chances with you away
And I’m still flying
I’m still flying low
Flap with all of my strength
For any length, there’s still no place to go
And I’m still looking
And I’m still searching
And I’m still seeking
And I’m still finding
Finding myself—all alone
Finding myself all alone
Monday, January 09, 2006
Random Thoughts
Greetings and welcome back to the Un-Zone, the semi-regularly updated site for all things related to Un. It's a new year and nothing has changed or so it seems. It could be that things are changing so fast, it seems like nothing has changed at all. Or I am totally clueless about what is going on right now. Oh well.
I watched lots of college football. Penn State v. Florida State was entertaining. Lots of missed field goals. That game should be called the "Crappy Kicker Contest" or "The Wide Everything Game" in homage of Florida State's notorious record of losing games due to missed field goals. Three overtimes. One missed extra point. Four missed field goals. Redeeming yourself after kicking the game winner? Priceless. For everything else there is no consolation, cause you're not a winner and will be harassed on campus when you return and will forever be known as the guy who missed several game winners.
Let's get this straight. USC was overrated and overhyped. Come on..."best college football team ever?" How about Oklahoma winning 47 in a row? USC? 34. Leinart and Bush will trample Texas and win by at least a touchdown? Texas won. Leinart saying that USC was still the better team? You didn't win. Texas had no Heisman winner and little respect. But that doesn't matter if you won the championship game. Better team? Texas.
I made no resolutions this year. Never make them. Don't care for them. That's all.
In about two weeks, law school win begin anew. Whoopee. I can't wait. Note the enthusiam or the lack of it. I sometimes wonder why I am in law school. Not that I don't like law school, but I question why I made that decision in the first place. I sometimes think I should have went into a PhD program or cooking school or something different. It would have been more structured and the grading process would have been less...well...subjective and more objective. You know you screwed up in cooking school if you burn everything to a black char. You know you sucked on an essay if you see lousy grammar and a lack of focus. Law school? You think it was randomly graded. See the November issue of the Brief-Brief. Oh well.
I'm going to write an article for the February edition of the Brief-Brief. I'm not sure what it will be about, but it will probably cement my burgeoning reputation as a funny writer who doesn't care what people think about him and knows way too much. Might as well throw caution to the wind and take the leap off the cliff. You never do anything without giving it your all, right?
That's all for now.
I watched lots of college football. Penn State v. Florida State was entertaining. Lots of missed field goals. That game should be called the "Crappy Kicker Contest" or "The Wide Everything Game" in homage of Florida State's notorious record of losing games due to missed field goals. Three overtimes. One missed extra point. Four missed field goals. Redeeming yourself after kicking the game winner? Priceless. For everything else there is no consolation, cause you're not a winner and will be harassed on campus when you return and will forever be known as the guy who missed several game winners.
Let's get this straight. USC was overrated and overhyped. Come on..."best college football team ever?" How about Oklahoma winning 47 in a row? USC? 34. Leinart and Bush will trample Texas and win by at least a touchdown? Texas won. Leinart saying that USC was still the better team? You didn't win. Texas had no Heisman winner and little respect. But that doesn't matter if you won the championship game. Better team? Texas.
I made no resolutions this year. Never make them. Don't care for them. That's all.
In about two weeks, law school win begin anew. Whoopee. I can't wait. Note the enthusiam or the lack of it. I sometimes wonder why I am in law school. Not that I don't like law school, but I question why I made that decision in the first place. I sometimes think I should have went into a PhD program or cooking school or something different. It would have been more structured and the grading process would have been less...well...subjective and more objective. You know you screwed up in cooking school if you burn everything to a black char. You know you sucked on an essay if you see lousy grammar and a lack of focus. Law school? You think it was randomly graded. See the November issue of the Brief-Brief. Oh well.
I'm going to write an article for the February edition of the Brief-Brief. I'm not sure what it will be about, but it will probably cement my burgeoning reputation as a funny writer who doesn't care what people think about him and knows way too much. Might as well throw caution to the wind and take the leap off the cliff. You never do anything without giving it your all, right?
That's all for now.
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Another Year is Over, A New One Begins
Greetings and welcome to the Un-Zone, the site for all things Un. It's December 31st, New Years Eve. According to my clock, in about 15 hours, it will be a brand new year. The end of 2005 and the start of 2006. Whoop-dee-doo. It'll be like 2005, but with some minor details changed. Bush will still wiretap phones without warrants, we'll still be slogging it out in Iraq(what mission was accomplished when the President was playing dressup in a Top Gun fantasy flightsuit?), and the Royals, the Chiefs, and the Chicago Cubs will be all claiming that this is the year that they win a championship. We've all heard it before.
Well, to celebrate the dawning of a New Year, some songs related to the New Year. The first is from Rent. Yes, I'm posting a song from a Broadway musical.
Seasons Of Love
COMPANY
525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear.
525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year?
In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee.
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.
In 525,600 minutes - how do you measure a year in the life?
How about love?
How about love?
How about love?
Measure in love.
Seasons of love.
SOLOIST 1
525,600 minutes! 525,000 journeys to plan.
525,600 minutes - how can you measure the life of a woman or man?
SOLOIST 2
In truths that she learned, or in times that he cried.
In bridges he burned, or the way that she died.
COMPANY
It’s time now to sing out, tho the story never ends
Let's celebrate remember a year in the life of friends.
Rememberthe love!
Remember the love!
Remember the love!
Measure in love.
Seasons of love!
Seasons of love.
The second song is more of a post-booze, what the hell did I do last night sort of song. I think that several people will find the words quite apt. The group that wrote this song is called Babyshambles.
32nd of December
Don't talk about it
Don't want to know about it
Arguing with you's no good
You'll be nobody's fool but you'll almost speak...
Don't let me know about it
Don't let me know about the 32nd of December
Oh, thats the night I'm trying so hard to forget
All you do is you come around and make me remember
What I try, oh that I, what I....
Still you talk about it
Still don't wanna know all about it
Anybody want tea?
Anybody, thank you, ah fuck me
But don't speak
And don't talk about it
Don't talk about the 32nd of December
Thats the night im trying so hard to forget
So all you do is you phone me, and I remember
Remember what I try
That I, what I...
You know that I...
You was a stickler for manners
So don't you say goodbye
No, not to a good old friend,
I get by, please I get by
And get by
Argggh, so what you running from?
Still, ahh don't talk about it
Still, don't want to know about it
Don't want to know about it
The 32nd of December
Thats the night im trying so hard to forget
All you do is come around and make me remember
Remember what I try
What I, that I...
... nice reason, I'll go
But they'll never do
They'll never do
Well, to celebrate the dawning of a New Year, some songs related to the New Year. The first is from Rent. Yes, I'm posting a song from a Broadway musical.
Seasons Of Love
COMPANY
525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear.
525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year?
In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee.
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.
In 525,600 minutes - how do you measure a year in the life?
How about love?
How about love?
How about love?
Measure in love.
Seasons of love.
SOLOIST 1
525,600 minutes! 525,000 journeys to plan.
525,600 minutes - how can you measure the life of a woman or man?
SOLOIST 2
In truths that she learned, or in times that he cried.
In bridges he burned, or the way that she died.
COMPANY
It’s time now to sing out, tho the story never ends
Let's celebrate remember a year in the life of friends.
Rememberthe love!
Remember the love!
Remember the love!
Measure in love.
Seasons of love!
Seasons of love.
The second song is more of a post-booze, what the hell did I do last night sort of song. I think that several people will find the words quite apt. The group that wrote this song is called Babyshambles.
32nd of December
Don't talk about it
Don't want to know about it
Arguing with you's no good
You'll be nobody's fool but you'll almost speak...
Don't let me know about it
Don't let me know about the 32nd of December
Oh, thats the night I'm trying so hard to forget
All you do is you come around and make me remember
What I try, oh that I, what I....
Still you talk about it
Still don't wanna know all about it
Anybody want tea?
Anybody, thank you, ah fuck me
But don't speak
And don't talk about it
Don't talk about the 32nd of December
Thats the night im trying so hard to forget
So all you do is you phone me, and I remember
Remember what I try
That I, what I...
You know that I...
You was a stickler for manners
So don't you say goodbye
No, not to a good old friend,
I get by, please I get by
And get by
Argggh, so what you running from?
Still, ahh don't talk about it
Still, don't want to know about it
Don't want to know about it
The 32nd of December
Thats the night im trying so hard to forget
All you do is come around and make me remember
Remember what I try
What I, that I...
... nice reason, I'll go
But they'll never do
They'll never do
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanza, Festivus, Saturnalia...
Greetings and welcome to the Un-Zone, the site for all things Un. It's the holiday season and in order to celebrate it fully, Christmas-related websites for your perusal.
"The Twelve Days of Christmas" is a famous Christmas carol. The one where the guy gives all of those gifts and trying to remember what gift goes with what day. Well, according to a British researcher/historian, it was a song about pagan mating rituals before the Catholic Church messed everything up. I can understand where he is coming from. The guy gives expensive gifts and in the end, he is jumping up and down celebrating 'cause he hit the homerun out of the ballpark. Sounds like the modern mating ritual being used today, but without the "I love you baby" and other phrases.
http://www.westpress.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=146238&command=displayContent&sourceNode=146064&contentPK=13731825&folderPk=69655
It's a sign of the times. More children now are writing Santa Claus e-mail than letters sent through the mail. Instead of getting disillusioned and saying "Santa Claus doesn't exist," they say "Santa commited a 404 error."
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005590650,00.html
Oooh...with gas prices so high and worries about global warming, the government is advising Santa to ditch the reindeer and go with public transportation. Reindeer produce too much methane.
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=2455542005
Now you can track where your Christmas presents are by using the Internet. It's the NORAD Santa website. Let's just hope with the global war on terrorism, the federal government doesn't consider him a hostile bogey.
http://www.noradsanta.org/index.php
That's all for now.
"The Twelve Days of Christmas" is a famous Christmas carol. The one where the guy gives all of those gifts and trying to remember what gift goes with what day. Well, according to a British researcher/historian, it was a song about pagan mating rituals before the Catholic Church messed everything up. I can understand where he is coming from. The guy gives expensive gifts and in the end, he is jumping up and down celebrating 'cause he hit the homerun out of the ballpark. Sounds like the modern mating ritual being used today, but without the "I love you baby" and other phrases.
http://www.westpress.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=146238&command=displayContent&sourceNode=146064&contentPK=13731825&folderPk=69655
It's a sign of the times. More children now are writing Santa Claus e-mail than letters sent through the mail. Instead of getting disillusioned and saying "Santa Claus doesn't exist," they say "Santa commited a 404 error."
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005590650,00.html
Oooh...with gas prices so high and worries about global warming, the government is advising Santa to ditch the reindeer and go with public transportation. Reindeer produce too much methane.
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=2455542005
Now you can track where your Christmas presents are by using the Internet. It's the NORAD Santa website. Let's just hope with the global war on terrorism, the federal government doesn't consider him a hostile bogey.
http://www.noradsanta.org/index.php
That's all for now.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Some Updates
Greetings and welcome to the Un-Zone, the site for all things related to Un, or at least stuff that seems interesting to the writer of this blog, the Un-Zone. Things are slowing down right now, as it is the holidays and whatnot. Even the writer needs a holiday, especially after another semester of law school, or the train called Cynicism Unlimited. Law school is not recommended if you want to leave there with rosy optimism about the real world. Trust me. You'll begin to feel and see your soul rot away after a while. Just kidding. They nuke it away.
It's time to do websites I found to be interesting. Yeah, I'm lazy. So what? It's my site.
The Patriot Act has been extended for six months. I guess civil liberties aren't as important as they used to be.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1431415
In the Irony Department, the following site. Let's say you're an anti-spam crusader. Spam as in junk mail and not the canned meat made by Hormel. Yes, Spam is made out of actual meat (pork muscle tissue) and not mysterious substances like organs. If you want internal organs, try chorizo or headcheese. Chorizo contains lymph nodes and salivary glands. Really.
Anyways, let's say you want to be governor. How do you tell everyone of the great things you have done? You get the e-mails of thousands of citizens and send them an unsolicited mass e-mail. Irony.
http://sptimes.com/2005/12/21/State/Crist_e_mail_draws_ire.shtml#crust
It's that time of the year when the President of the United States pardons deserving people. I wonder if Mr. Libby is on the list... Well, the President used to have a drinking problem but he was saved by the grace of God and Jesus Christ. Who better to pardon than two Tennessee men convicted of making moonshine? More irony.
http://www.rctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051222/NEWS01/512220393/1006/MTCN0301
The display of the Ten Commandments is considered constitutional. The display also contained the Star Spangled Banner, the United States Constitution, and other historical documents. The court cases on this issue are confusing and they contain not-so-helpful rules on what violates the First Amendment and what doesn't, so please do not consider this in any political manner. What is interesting is the language used in the opinion. I'm not sure if the following phrases sound very judicial: "tiresome" arguments and the ACLU is not a "reasonable person."
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051221/NEWS01/512210407
Finally, since Christmas is three days away, a story about a person who likes Santa Claus. OK, maybe "like" isn't the right word. Maybe "obsessed" would be better. This is coming from the woman who has collected over 6,000 Santa Claus related items in her house. Well, you can't argue with a person who has the holiday spirit...
http://www.wsbtv.com/holidays/5589090/detail.html
That's all for now.
It's time to do websites I found to be interesting. Yeah, I'm lazy. So what? It's my site.
The Patriot Act has been extended for six months. I guess civil liberties aren't as important as they used to be.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1431415
In the Irony Department, the following site. Let's say you're an anti-spam crusader. Spam as in junk mail and not the canned meat made by Hormel. Yes, Spam is made out of actual meat (pork muscle tissue) and not mysterious substances like organs. If you want internal organs, try chorizo or headcheese. Chorizo contains lymph nodes and salivary glands. Really.
Anyways, let's say you want to be governor. How do you tell everyone of the great things you have done? You get the e-mails of thousands of citizens and send them an unsolicited mass e-mail. Irony.
http://sptimes.com/2005/12/21/State/Crist_e_mail_draws_ire.shtml#crust
It's that time of the year when the President of the United States pardons deserving people. I wonder if Mr. Libby is on the list... Well, the President used to have a drinking problem but he was saved by the grace of God and Jesus Christ. Who better to pardon than two Tennessee men convicted of making moonshine? More irony.
http://www.rctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051222/NEWS01/512220393/1006/MTCN0301
The display of the Ten Commandments is considered constitutional. The display also contained the Star Spangled Banner, the United States Constitution, and other historical documents. The court cases on this issue are confusing and they contain not-so-helpful rules on what violates the First Amendment and what doesn't, so please do not consider this in any political manner. What is interesting is the language used in the opinion. I'm not sure if the following phrases sound very judicial: "tiresome" arguments and the ACLU is not a "reasonable person."
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051221/NEWS01/512210407
Finally, since Christmas is three days away, a story about a person who likes Santa Claus. OK, maybe "like" isn't the right word. Maybe "obsessed" would be better. This is coming from the woman who has collected over 6,000 Santa Claus related items in her house. Well, you can't argue with a person who has the holiday spirit...
http://www.wsbtv.com/holidays/5589090/detail.html
That's all for now.
Monday, December 19, 2005
Winter Break Update
Greetings and welcome to the Un-Zone, the home of all things Un. Nothing to do with the United Nations, unless I am going to make fun of something amazingly foolish that they have done like Kofi Annan's son and the oil thing. Anyways...
The Kansas City Chiefs have a snowball's chance in hell to make it to the playoffs as an AFC wildcard. They lose to the Cowboys and then lose to the Giants. The CBS commentators were right. The Chiefs' offense can do anything at all...except catch the football. The defense, well, they were horrible as usual. Can't tackle. Do they really think they can bring down Tiki Barber with a weak arm tackle? Come on. That might work against a second-rate running back, but that's TIKI BARBER. It's going to take alot more than that to tackle him. They looked great against some teams, but those teams weren't that great to begin with. If I were optimistic, I could couch it like Bill Clinton with his grand jury testimony, but we all know you can't spell "suck" without KC. This is coming from a Kansas City Chiefs fan. Face it. It's going to take a mighty big miracle. Praying with the televangelist won't work as they can only heal injuries and not bring back the dead.
I discovered some interesting things. One, I discovered that with a sufficient lack of things to do, one will resort to learning how to knit. Yes. Knitting. Two, I discovered that I suck at knitting. It seems easy, but for some reason, I mess up a lot. I always end up adding more knots than I begin with. You have to put the needle into the right hole and pull out correctly to do it right. It sounds easy but with a lack of hand-eye coordination, it becomes a big problem. I'm better off with more academic stuff like reading books and coming up with a politically incorrect school of philosophical thought that will manage to offend just about everyone. The truth hurts. Deal with it.
Barbara Walters has a special coming up about the topic of "Is There Heaven?" It's scary to think that Richard Gere is correct when he says that Heaven and Hell is right now and not some after you die thing. Creepy. You don't get sick when you're dead. You don't worry about money or any of those pesky little things that bother you when you're alive. No racism. No bigotry or hate. No nothing. It's sad when you realize the only equal-opportunity thing that doesn't discriminate based on anything is death. Everyone dies.
On an unrelated note, with the new emphasis on conservative values, people think they're going to Heaven by telling others that they are going to Hell. Go figure.
That's all for now.
That's all for now.
The Kansas City Chiefs have a snowball's chance in hell to make it to the playoffs as an AFC wildcard. They lose to the Cowboys and then lose to the Giants. The CBS commentators were right. The Chiefs' offense can do anything at all...except catch the football. The defense, well, they were horrible as usual. Can't tackle. Do they really think they can bring down Tiki Barber with a weak arm tackle? Come on. That might work against a second-rate running back, but that's TIKI BARBER. It's going to take alot more than that to tackle him. They looked great against some teams, but those teams weren't that great to begin with. If I were optimistic, I could couch it like Bill Clinton with his grand jury testimony, but we all know you can't spell "suck" without KC. This is coming from a Kansas City Chiefs fan. Face it. It's going to take a mighty big miracle. Praying with the televangelist won't work as they can only heal injuries and not bring back the dead.
I discovered some interesting things. One, I discovered that with a sufficient lack of things to do, one will resort to learning how to knit. Yes. Knitting. Two, I discovered that I suck at knitting. It seems easy, but for some reason, I mess up a lot. I always end up adding more knots than I begin with. You have to put the needle into the right hole and pull out correctly to do it right. It sounds easy but with a lack of hand-eye coordination, it becomes a big problem. I'm better off with more academic stuff like reading books and coming up with a politically incorrect school of philosophical thought that will manage to offend just about everyone. The truth hurts. Deal with it.
Barbara Walters has a special coming up about the topic of "Is There Heaven?" It's scary to think that Richard Gere is correct when he says that Heaven and Hell is right now and not some after you die thing. Creepy. You don't get sick when you're dead. You don't worry about money or any of those pesky little things that bother you when you're alive. No racism. No bigotry or hate. No nothing. It's sad when you realize the only equal-opportunity thing that doesn't discriminate based on anything is death. Everyone dies.
On an unrelated note, with the new emphasis on conservative values, people think they're going to Heaven by telling others that they are going to Hell. Go figure.
That's all for now.
That's all for now.
Friday, December 16, 2005
And The Insanity Will Soon End...For Now
Greetings and welcome to the Un-Zone, the site for all things related to Un. No, this is not a site relating to the United Nations.
The insanity called Law School Final Exams is nearly over. Just one more...one more. Business Associations. Woohoo. Feel the excitement? When this is over, I shall have an entire month to not think about law school until January. Then the process will repeat itself again until May 2007 when I graduate. Then comes the real world and 80 hour work weeks doing "stuff." This generally means doing research for a partner at the law firm. But at least you get paid. When you finally become partner after selling your soul and all sense of an actual life for thirty years, you get paid more. Then you enjoy it while it lasts before you die. The end. Sorry. That was a little too sarcastic. No. Not sarcastic enough.
After having my articles published in the Brief-Brief, I now have a reputation for being a person who doesn't give a damn. At least when it comes to political correctness and other things involving law school. According to one person, I've probably pissed off the law school professors and some hardcore Christian fundamentalists. At least those who actually believe that Intelligent Design is actual science, which it isn't by the way. By the way, they have an odd definition of tolerance, one of the supposed Christian virtures. It's tolerance if you promote Christianity, but if you disagree, you're an anti-Christian, Godless person. Interesting. What would Jesus think about that? He might beat up a relgion school professor to teach a lesson on real Christianity. Just kidding.
People found the article funny. Then I reminded them that it most likely was true. That put a damper on it.
The same person said the in the satire I wrote, I came off like an arrogant SOB. He added that it was fine as I was correct. Apparently, it's not arrogance if you're correct. If you're wrong, however, you're an arrogant SOB. I thanked him.
This got me to thinking. I should make a religion or a philosophy and call it something politically incorrect. I think the motto would be "I'm right and you're wrong. Get used to it." The whole purpose would be to spread enlightenment by telling it like it is to everyone, whether or not they like it. No holds barred. If you want to be sarcastic, go ahead. Socrates on steroids. Being the proverbial gadfly. Think of Judge Judy or maybe Doctor Phil when he gets on a roll. No, Judge Judy but even meaner and more sarcastic and biting.
Either that, or a television judge like Judge Judy. My own TV show. That would be cool. I would get paid to tell people that they are wrong and their case is a waste of my time. Or a stand up comedian like Chris Rock and point out that everyone is messed up.
Well, it's time to go to the Business Assoications final. Oh for joy.
That's all for now.
The insanity called Law School Final Exams is nearly over. Just one more...one more. Business Associations. Woohoo. Feel the excitement? When this is over, I shall have an entire month to not think about law school until January. Then the process will repeat itself again until May 2007 when I graduate. Then comes the real world and 80 hour work weeks doing "stuff." This generally means doing research for a partner at the law firm. But at least you get paid. When you finally become partner after selling your soul and all sense of an actual life for thirty years, you get paid more. Then you enjoy it while it lasts before you die. The end. Sorry. That was a little too sarcastic. No. Not sarcastic enough.
After having my articles published in the Brief-Brief, I now have a reputation for being a person who doesn't give a damn. At least when it comes to political correctness and other things involving law school. According to one person, I've probably pissed off the law school professors and some hardcore Christian fundamentalists. At least those who actually believe that Intelligent Design is actual science, which it isn't by the way. By the way, they have an odd definition of tolerance, one of the supposed Christian virtures. It's tolerance if you promote Christianity, but if you disagree, you're an anti-Christian, Godless person. Interesting. What would Jesus think about that? He might beat up a relgion school professor to teach a lesson on real Christianity. Just kidding.
People found the article funny. Then I reminded them that it most likely was true. That put a damper on it.
The same person said the in the satire I wrote, I came off like an arrogant SOB. He added that it was fine as I was correct. Apparently, it's not arrogance if you're correct. If you're wrong, however, you're an arrogant SOB. I thanked him.
This got me to thinking. I should make a religion or a philosophy and call it something politically incorrect. I think the motto would be "I'm right and you're wrong. Get used to it." The whole purpose would be to spread enlightenment by telling it like it is to everyone, whether or not they like it. No holds barred. If you want to be sarcastic, go ahead. Socrates on steroids. Being the proverbial gadfly. Think of Judge Judy or maybe Doctor Phil when he gets on a roll. No, Judge Judy but even meaner and more sarcastic and biting.
Either that, or a television judge like Judge Judy. My own TV show. That would be cool. I would get paid to tell people that they are wrong and their case is a waste of my time. Or a stand up comedian like Chris Rock and point out that everyone is messed up.
Well, it's time to go to the Business Assoications final. Oh for joy.
That's all for now.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Another Update from the Writer
Greetings and welcome to the Un-Zone, the official site of all things Un. It's time for another update to this site.
Estates and Trusts final finished on Saturday. It sucked. It really sucked. My brain still hurts thinking about it. I thought his Property I final was horrible with all of those Rule Against Perpetuities questions, but this one made that one look like a cakewalk.
Constitutional Law final finished on Monday. I actually made an outline for that final as my notes were kind of messy. I consensed sixty pages into seven. It came in handy as I did not need to wade through the notes during the test.
I have a Business Associations final on Friday. That should be fun. Nothing like remembering a billion different things about agency theory, partnerships, the different limited liability organizations, and corporations. That will not be fun. Thankfully, it is not a mandatory course. Which is the only good thing about that course at this moment.
The Christmas season is off and running. Or is it holiday season. Or Hannukah or Kwanza or...I don't know. I'm not a big fan of political correctness. Which made this article I found on the Internet pretty funny. Supposedly, the questions are based upon actual incidents, but they seem too funny to be true. Then again, the truth is stranger than fiction as fiction has to make sense.
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/johnleo/2005/12/12/178651.html
Politicians have a reputation for being lying, stealing crooks. And this college class president shows potential as a future congressman.
http://www.wytv.com/news/regional/2075952.html
Another item added to the list of things the government cannot do well. This list includes organizing hurricane relief, helping the poor, and telling the truth. Especially the last one. Now you can include medical marijuana grown by the federal government. As one University of Massachusetts professor stated: "The government's marijuana just isn't strong enough." I hear that the Canadians grow some very potent stuff. Go figure.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051212/marijuanamonopoly_20051212/20051212?hub=Health
I see dead people...voting in Tennessee and not in Chicago. The spirit of the former Mayor Daley has struck in Tennessee. In addition to a dead person voting, three convicted felons and a person living outside the district casted a ballot. This voter fraud occured during a special election to replace the former senator who resigned after being indicted on bribery charges. Interestingly enough, his brother won by 13 votes. Go figure.
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051212/NEWS01/512120347/1001
That's all for now.
Estates and Trusts final finished on Saturday. It sucked. It really sucked. My brain still hurts thinking about it. I thought his Property I final was horrible with all of those Rule Against Perpetuities questions, but this one made that one look like a cakewalk.
Constitutional Law final finished on Monday. I actually made an outline for that final as my notes were kind of messy. I consensed sixty pages into seven. It came in handy as I did not need to wade through the notes during the test.
I have a Business Associations final on Friday. That should be fun. Nothing like remembering a billion different things about agency theory, partnerships, the different limited liability organizations, and corporations. That will not be fun. Thankfully, it is not a mandatory course. Which is the only good thing about that course at this moment.
The Christmas season is off and running. Or is it holiday season. Or Hannukah or Kwanza or...I don't know. I'm not a big fan of political correctness. Which made this article I found on the Internet pretty funny. Supposedly, the questions are based upon actual incidents, but they seem too funny to be true. Then again, the truth is stranger than fiction as fiction has to make sense.
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/johnleo/2005/12/12/178651.html
Politicians have a reputation for being lying, stealing crooks. And this college class president shows potential as a future congressman.
http://www.wytv.com/news/regional/2075952.html
Another item added to the list of things the government cannot do well. This list includes organizing hurricane relief, helping the poor, and telling the truth. Especially the last one. Now you can include medical marijuana grown by the federal government. As one University of Massachusetts professor stated: "The government's marijuana just isn't strong enough." I hear that the Canadians grow some very potent stuff. Go figure.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051212/marijuanamonopoly_20051212/20051212?hub=Health
I see dead people...voting in Tennessee and not in Chicago. The spirit of the former Mayor Daley has struck in Tennessee. In addition to a dead person voting, three convicted felons and a person living outside the district casted a ballot. This voter fraud occured during a special election to replace the former senator who resigned after being indicted on bribery charges. Interestingly enough, his brother won by 13 votes. Go figure.
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051212/NEWS01/512120347/1001
That's all for now.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Snow and Another Update
Greeting and welcome back to the Un-Zone, the official site for all things Un, as if that was a major surprise to anyone who regularly reads this blog.
I have a Commercial Law final today. I get the odd feeling that no matter what I write down in the essay section, I am going to get points taken off. That includes the possibility I put down the correct answer based upon the facts and the current law. To prepare for this final, I did some studying and I went outside to enjoy the snow. That was fun...snow.
Some words of advice for the weather people. Don't include in predictions on how much snow there will be. It's much simpler if you just say "It's going to snow." I think I saw the predictions on snowfall amount change once every time the news came on.
Some advice for the news channels out there. Your weather updates are pretty stupid, not to mention useless. Those updates...holy crap...IT'S STILL SNOWING! Didn't the weather person say it was going to snow ALL DAY, like thirty seconds ago? And that's the "breaking news update"? I never would have guessed that. Nor would I have guessed that "the roads are slick" and that "there was an accident due to weather conditions." Of course there are going to be accidents when it snows or sleets or whatever. That update is not worth the time to interrupt regularly scheduled programming. We need the news to tell us that it's still snowing. I could have just looked out the window to figure that out. Excuse me for that rant...
Cue up the dramatic movie and the apocalyptic movies like Deep Impact, Space Cowboys, and Armageddon because according to scientists and the fear-mongering thing we call the media, there's a slight chance that a giant asteroid will hit the Earth in 2037. Maybe. Wake me up in 30 years...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/space/article/0,14493,1660485,00.html
This story lends credibility to the notion that in college athletics, you can get away with a whole bunch of stuff and still keep your job as long as you win. This also applies to professional sports also. The coach of Colorado football finally was fired, not because of the worst recruiting scandals or because of his statements involving a female kicker alleging sexual harassment (including rape), but because he lost too many games. Go figure. Yeah, let the flaming begin.
http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_3285822
Add another corporation to the long list of corporate scandals. The major airlines are going bankrupt. They can't pay for many things. What is an airline to do? If you're Delta, you illegally raid a trust fund and claim it is solvent. When you get caught, you have your spokesperson give a bunch of canned BS. To quote from the article:
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&refer=conews&tkr=DAL:US&sid=apXkt0mG0cyI
Finally...some more obvious news. A survey said that a majority of Americans hate their job. Wow. Isn't that an amazing result?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10372274/from/RS.3/
That's all for now.
I have a Commercial Law final today. I get the odd feeling that no matter what I write down in the essay section, I am going to get points taken off. That includes the possibility I put down the correct answer based upon the facts and the current law. To prepare for this final, I did some studying and I went outside to enjoy the snow. That was fun...snow.
Some words of advice for the weather people. Don't include in predictions on how much snow there will be. It's much simpler if you just say "It's going to snow." I think I saw the predictions on snowfall amount change once every time the news came on.
Some advice for the news channels out there. Your weather updates are pretty stupid, not to mention useless. Those updates...holy crap...IT'S STILL SNOWING! Didn't the weather person say it was going to snow ALL DAY, like thirty seconds ago? And that's the "breaking news update"? I never would have guessed that. Nor would I have guessed that "the roads are slick" and that "there was an accident due to weather conditions." Of course there are going to be accidents when it snows or sleets or whatever. That update is not worth the time to interrupt regularly scheduled programming. We need the news to tell us that it's still snowing. I could have just looked out the window to figure that out. Excuse me for that rant...
Cue up the dramatic movie and the apocalyptic movies like Deep Impact, Space Cowboys, and Armageddon because according to scientists and the fear-mongering thing we call the media, there's a slight chance that a giant asteroid will hit the Earth in 2037. Maybe. Wake me up in 30 years...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/space/article/0,14493,1660485,00.html
This story lends credibility to the notion that in college athletics, you can get away with a whole bunch of stuff and still keep your job as long as you win. This also applies to professional sports also. The coach of Colorado football finally was fired, not because of the worst recruiting scandals or because of his statements involving a female kicker alleging sexual harassment (including rape), but because he lost too many games. Go figure. Yeah, let the flaming begin.
http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_3285822
Add another corporation to the long list of corporate scandals. The major airlines are going bankrupt. They can't pay for many things. What is an airline to do? If you're Delta, you illegally raid a trust fund and claim it is solvent. When you get caught, you have your spokesperson give a bunch of canned BS. To quote from the article:
Yesterday, the Official Committee of Delta Retirees filed a motion in the Delta bankruptcy case to end Delta Air Lines' improper use of funds from a separate Disability and Survivors Trust. Delta had spent over $30 million of the Trust funds in the last three years for employee severance benefits, even though the Trust documents prohibited those payments since March 2002.A quote from the Delta spokesperson:
In a filing during the first week of the bankruptcy, Delta had claimed the Trust was "fully funded," but financials provided since show the Trust has an asset shortfall of more than $212 million. The Committee also raised questions in its motion about Delta's separate amendment of its benefit plans, two days before the bankruptcy, to retroactively authorize $22 million in 2004 payments out of the Trust for active workers' sick pay.
The Committee is seeking relief under a bankruptcy statute that protects disability and death benefits of retired workers. "The Trust was set up to pay specific benefits for widows, orphans, and the disabled," said the Committee's lawyer Dean Gloster of Farella Braun + Martel. "Not as a fund for Delta operating expenses."
Say what? Delta brought the "mistake" to the attention of the Court? Wait a minute...Delta told the judge they were illegally taking funds? It just took "only" three years and after financial documents were provided and accounting done and...Maybe Delta should change their motto to "We love to lie and it shows.""Delta is a world-class organization that has, for almost all of its history, tried to do the right thing for the people who worked so hard as part of the Delta family, and to do the right thing for their families. In this instance, Delta made a mistake, and Delta did something wrong. We have brought
that mistake to their attention and to the attention of the Court. We fully expect that Delta will now do the right thing and correct this wrong."
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&refer=conews&tkr=DAL:US&sid=apXkt0mG0cyI
Finally...some more obvious news. A survey said that a majority of Americans hate their job. Wow. Isn't that an amazing result?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10372274/from/RS.3/
That's all for now.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Oh Joyful Update
Welcome and greetings from the Un-Zone. One final down, four more to go. Evidence is finally over. Yay. Now it's time to slog through Commercial Law, Estates and Trusts, Constitutional Law and Business Associations I. Ain't that going to be fun?
Christmas light displays. Quite possibly, this family has way too much time on their hands or they sure do like their light displays. 25,000 lights set to Trans-Siberian Orchestra. It's real, all real and not some crazy hoax. Video to boot.
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2005512050331
The Salvation Army every year does their bell ringing. Some people are total Grinches and steal themoney inside. In one case, this leads to bad karma. As in crashing a stolen car containing alcohol and drugs, plus the kettle into a canal and drowning.
http://www.tampatrib.com/MGBOFV1MVGE.html
Google and their Ten Golden Rules.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10296177/site/newsweek/
You gotta love the CIA and their way with words. As if the government can't sound any more ludicrous. Waterboarding is not torture, despite the Army saying it was during Vietnam. Now they are explaining "rendition" or seizing alleged terrorist suspects and transferring them for interrogation. If they make an error, as in seizing an innocent person, the CIA "punishes" itself for making this mistake. To quote from the article:
One supposed suspect who turned out to be innocent, was held for five months in some prison in an unknown location becauseMasri was held for five months largely because the head of the CIA's Counterterrorist Center's al Qaeda unit "believed he was someone else". This person "didn't really know. She just had a hunch." And these people work at the "Central Intelligence Agency." You would think they had better inteligence than "a hunch."
Then again, if I were to be sarcastic, President Bush was right when he said that the US doesn't torture. They send suspects to other countries where those people do the torturing. There's a BIG difference there.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/03/AR2005120301476.html?nav=rss_email/components
That's all for now. Time to study for Commercial Law.
Christmas light displays. Quite possibly, this family has way too much time on their hands or they sure do like their light displays. 25,000 lights set to Trans-Siberian Orchestra. It's real, all real and not some crazy hoax. Video to boot.
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2005512050331
The Salvation Army every year does their bell ringing. Some people are total Grinches and steal themoney inside. In one case, this leads to bad karma. As in crashing a stolen car containing alcohol and drugs, plus the kettle into a canal and drowning.
http://www.tampatrib.com/MGBOFV1MVGE.html
Google and their Ten Golden Rules.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10296177/site/newsweek/
You gotta love the CIA and their way with words. As if the government can't sound any more ludicrous. Waterboarding is not torture, despite the Army saying it was during Vietnam. Now they are explaining "rendition" or seizing alleged terrorist suspects and transferring them for interrogation. If they make an error, as in seizing an innocent person, the CIA "punishes" itself for making this mistake. To quote from the article:
One official said about three dozen names fall in that category; others believe it is fewer. The list includes several people whose identities were offered by al Qaeda figures during CIA interrogations, officials said. One turned out to be an innocent college professor who had given the al Qaeda member a bad grade, one official said.
"They picked up the wrong people, who had no information. In many, many cases there was only some vague association" with terrorism, one CIA officer said.
One supposed suspect who turned out to be innocent, was held for five months in some prison in an unknown location becauseMasri was held for five months largely because the head of the CIA's Counterterrorist Center's al Qaeda unit "believed he was someone else". This person "didn't really know. She just had a hunch." And these people work at the "Central Intelligence Agency." You would think they had better inteligence than "a hunch."
Then again, if I were to be sarcastic, President Bush was right when he said that the US doesn't torture. They send suspects to other countries where those people do the torturing. There's a BIG difference there.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/03/AR2005120301476.html?nav=rss_email/components
That's all for now. Time to study for Commercial Law.
Monday, December 05, 2005
Time For An Update
Greetings and welcome to the Un-Zone, now on a semi-irregular, consistently inconsistent updating schedule as it is Finals Season in Green Hall. So, instead of updating on a regular basis, I am spending much time reviewing notes to get ready for finals. Isn't that fun? First up is the wonderful world of Evidence. That should be fun.
I spent Saturday and Sunday watching football of all sorts. Texas v. Colorado (blowout), USC v. UCLA (rivalry game that was another blowout), Florida State v. Virginia Tech (a great game), and KC v. Denver (Go Chiefs). Then reality struck and it was time for review. Yes, I am actually studying for finals.
There are a lot of awards given to football players in college. You've got the Heisman, the Butkus, etc. This update is all about websites I've found, but with semi-catchy award titles for each site.
The Duh Award for Most Obvious Story goes to the Christian Science Monitor for their insightful opinion article entitled "A Culture of Bribery in Congress." John McCain once said, "If hypocrisy was gold, then Congress would be Fort Knox." Mark Twain noted that "Congress is the only criminal class" in America. As if ordinary Americans didn't know that people in Congress had a reputation for being corrupt and unethical...
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1202/p08s01-comv.html
The Future Dumb Criminal Award, the Be Afraid for the Future of America, and Most Likely to end up on COPS Award goes to a College of Charleston student. He told the police that he and his friend were kidnapped after a night of heavy drinking, kidnapped, and forced to smoke crack at knifepoint. He later confessed that the entire story was a lie, except for the smoking crack part.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=54708§ion=localnews
The Interesting but Self-Defeating Use of Mathematics Award goes to the scientist who used mathematics to stabilize a wobbly table without resorting to the use of beer coasters or other shims. The table still won't be horizontal, but it won't move.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/items/200512/1524163.htm?melbourne
The Country Roads Lead to Rocky Mountain High Award goes to the drug lords in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky, not West Virginia. Sorry, John Denver fans. Senior citizens are the new drug dealers out there. They can sell their prescription drugs for $10 a pill and well, some are sorely tempted to make a deal or two to those addicted to pain killers. I guess that throws out all of those traditional "drug dealer" profiles out of whack.
http://www.wkyt.com/Global/story.asp?S=4197306
That's all for now.
I spent Saturday and Sunday watching football of all sorts. Texas v. Colorado (blowout), USC v. UCLA (rivalry game that was another blowout), Florida State v. Virginia Tech (a great game), and KC v. Denver (Go Chiefs). Then reality struck and it was time for review. Yes, I am actually studying for finals.
There are a lot of awards given to football players in college. You've got the Heisman, the Butkus, etc. This update is all about websites I've found, but with semi-catchy award titles for each site.
The Duh Award for Most Obvious Story goes to the Christian Science Monitor for their insightful opinion article entitled "A Culture of Bribery in Congress." John McCain once said, "If hypocrisy was gold, then Congress would be Fort Knox." Mark Twain noted that "Congress is the only criminal class" in America. As if ordinary Americans didn't know that people in Congress had a reputation for being corrupt and unethical...
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1202/p08s01-comv.html
The Future Dumb Criminal Award, the Be Afraid for the Future of America, and Most Likely to end up on COPS Award goes to a College of Charleston student. He told the police that he and his friend were kidnapped after a night of heavy drinking, kidnapped, and forced to smoke crack at knifepoint. He later confessed that the entire story was a lie, except for the smoking crack part.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=54708§ion=localnews
The Interesting but Self-Defeating Use of Mathematics Award goes to the scientist who used mathematics to stabilize a wobbly table without resorting to the use of beer coasters or other shims. The table still won't be horizontal, but it won't move.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/items/200512/1524163.htm?melbourne
The Country Roads Lead to Rocky Mountain High Award goes to the drug lords in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky, not West Virginia. Sorry, John Denver fans. Senior citizens are the new drug dealers out there. They can sell their prescription drugs for $10 a pill and well, some are sorely tempted to make a deal or two to those addicted to pain killers. I guess that throws out all of those traditional "drug dealer" profiles out of whack.
http://www.wkyt.com/Global/story.asp?S=4197306
That's all for now.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
More Random Links
When real life imitates an Evidence hypothetical...well, at least with the professor I have.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/11/30/heroin.ring/index.html
The Top 50 Independent Films according to Empire Online. They actually have films that I actually watched before.
http://www.empireonline.co.uk/features/50greatestindependent/50-41.asp
Lenny Kravitz might play Jimmy "Are You Experienced?" Hendrix in biopic. If this movie is made, how many people will want their $9 back?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,176988,00.html
He thought that it would be in "good humor" but the New Orleans mall found it to be in poor taste. It's the little things that count like the "You loot, we shoot" graffiti on the miniature refrigerators and the fake hurricane debris.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,177222,00.html
Man involved in car chase crashes into...um...office building containing law firm specializing in personal injury cases.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,177222,00.html
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/11/30/heroin.ring/index.html
The Top 50 Independent Films according to Empire Online. They actually have films that I actually watched before.
http://www.empireonline.co.uk/features/50greatestindependent/50-41.asp
Lenny Kravitz might play Jimmy "Are You Experienced?" Hendrix in biopic. If this movie is made, how many people will want their $9 back?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,176988,00.html
He thought that it would be in "good humor" but the New Orleans mall found it to be in poor taste. It's the little things that count like the "You loot, we shoot" graffiti on the miniature refrigerators and the fake hurricane debris.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,177222,00.html
Man involved in car chase crashes into...um...office building containing law firm specializing in personal injury cases.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,177222,00.html
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