Okay, well, as is my custom, I read Orson Scott Card's Ornery American article, which this/last week (it was date-lined the 11th, but didn't get released to the web until either today or yesterday) was on the topic of abortion, crime, and an emerging field of statistical analysis called Freakonomics. In this article, OSC discusses the book, as well as an application of the books ideas upon an aspect of society.
I recommend you go read it now, because I'm going to assume you did.
Go!
Okay, so, you've read it. Good, wasn't it? Well, if not, then, post a comment. If you agree, post anyway.
So, I agree with his analysis of the information, but since I really haven't examined the raw statistics, I can't comment upon anything but the logic of the analysis, and the logic is sound. So, the crime boom of the 70s and 80s was because of extra-marital and irresponsible sex, and the subsequent decline is because of abortion, which allowed this fetuses to be murdered before they came to term. Inadvertent policing through eugenics and murder.
Peace, but at what cost?
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Monday, September 19, 2005
Perspective
I've never lived through a natural disaster, at least, not a real disaster. I've seen them, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, fires, you name it, if there was a camera there, I saw it happen. So, when Katrina struck, I, along with all the other people in the world who could do nothing but watch, did just that, watch.
I saw the devastation, and I, being the cynic that I am, said that New Orleans would flood. I thought it would be from the hurricane, and I was wrong. No, it was because of the floods.
My perspective has not changed. I am still of the belief that people who live in Florida shouldn't complain about hurricanes, that people who live in the flood-plane shouldn't complain about floods, people who live on a known and active fault shouldn't complain about earthquakes, and people who live in the forest, their homes mere feet away from the trees, shouldn't complain about forest fires. These are natural disasters that have been happening for millions of years, and will happen for millions more.
But, my perspective has changed. I realize that some people can't leave Florida, or the flood-plane, or the fault line, or the forest, because they are too poor to leave. Of course, for every poor person without a chance, there's a rich person without a clue.
Here's to perspective.
I saw the devastation, and I, being the cynic that I am, said that New Orleans would flood. I thought it would be from the hurricane, and I was wrong. No, it was because of the floods.
My perspective has not changed. I am still of the belief that people who live in Florida shouldn't complain about hurricanes, that people who live in the flood-plane shouldn't complain about floods, people who live on a known and active fault shouldn't complain about earthquakes, and people who live in the forest, their homes mere feet away from the trees, shouldn't complain about forest fires. These are natural disasters that have been happening for millions of years, and will happen for millions more.
But, my perspective has changed. I realize that some people can't leave Florida, or the flood-plane, or the fault line, or the forest, because they are too poor to leave. Of course, for every poor person without a chance, there's a rich person without a clue.
Here's to perspective.
Sunday, September 18, 2005
[IC] The Adventuers of Aziz Banjari - Chapter 1
Okay, so, here we go, the first post in my serialized short story, The Adventures of Aziz Banjari.
My name iz Aziz Banjari, ant zez are my storiez.
It vaz late is ze zummer, zome of ze trees, zay were already turning ze pale yellow of ze fall. It vas just after my graduation from ze Citadel, ze County'z military college, vitch iz just zouth of Jedbridge. By zen I had traveled down ze Artonzemay River, and was zaying a vhile in Radigast. You zee, I had not been zelected to zerve ze County vhen I graduated, zo I vas all trained, vith nothing to do. Zo, I did what all ze over-trained ant under-employed do, I vent to ze bar, and I zarted drinking.
I vaz deep into my zecond glass of vine, after my third mug of ze blackezt beer I had ever zeen. You zee, ze County, she iz known for many zings, vine and beer, zay are two of zem. But, ziz iz not a zory of a man drowning hiz troublez in beer and vine, no, ziz iz a much more noble tale. It iz ze tale of danger, exzitement, adventure, and most importantly, ze heroez!
My name iz Aziz Banjari, ant zez are my storiez.
It vaz late is ze zummer, zome of ze trees, zay were already turning ze pale yellow of ze fall. It vas just after my graduation from ze Citadel, ze County'z military college, vitch iz just zouth of Jedbridge. By zen I had traveled down ze Artonzemay River, and was zaying a vhile in Radigast. You zee, I had not been zelected to zerve ze County vhen I graduated, zo I vas all trained, vith nothing to do. Zo, I did what all ze over-trained ant under-employed do, I vent to ze bar, and I zarted drinking.
I vaz deep into my zecond glass of vine, after my third mug of ze blackezt beer I had ever zeen. You zee, ze County, she iz known for many zings, vine and beer, zay are two of zem. But, ziz iz not a zory of a man drowning hiz troublez in beer and vine, no, ziz iz a much more noble tale. It iz ze tale of danger, exzitement, adventure, and most importantly, ze heroez!
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Freeform
Well, tonight's post isn't pre-written, so it's not going to be long. Why isn't it pre-written, well, I spent my time today writing, yes, but the first chapter in a book about the adventures of one of my LG characters, not exactly content for this blog. Mainly because I don't own the story, or most of the characters involved, just the one, Aziz Banjari, Half-Rhen, Half-Elf, Marshal. He's fus to play, because my image of the Rhennee are that of ze free-wheeling river folk zat ploy the vaters vith thick accents and fun vocabulary.
Plus, so far most of it's written in first person, rather then third person, so the accent runs a little thick at time, fun, but thick. So, instead, I'm going to talk a bit about work, and my day at work. It was fairly boring, since my highlight was writing, and the lowlight was a simultaneous breakdown of both digital photo machines.
The first was the Aladdin, which is basically a touch-screen monitor connected to a networked server, serving the images customers bring in to another server, called the PIC, which then send it to yet another server, which along with the printer, is called the Frontier. So, it seems, after about two hours of wrangling (thank God for slow nights), that the NIC in the Aladdin is out, broken, kaput.
Well, then the KPM (Kodak Picture Maker), ran out of the thermal printing ribbon, so I had to find time to fix that as well, but at least that could be fixed.
So, off to bed with me, and hopefully, a pre-written post on the morrow.
Plus, so far most of it's written in first person, rather then third person, so the accent runs a little thick at time, fun, but thick. So, instead, I'm going to talk a bit about work, and my day at work. It was fairly boring, since my highlight was writing, and the lowlight was a simultaneous breakdown of both digital photo machines.
The first was the Aladdin, which is basically a touch-screen monitor connected to a networked server, serving the images customers bring in to another server, called the PIC, which then send it to yet another server, which along with the printer, is called the Frontier. So, it seems, after about two hours of wrangling (thank God for slow nights), that the NIC in the Aladdin is out, broken, kaput.
Well, then the KPM (Kodak Picture Maker), ran out of the thermal printing ribbon, so I had to find time to fix that as well, but at least that could be fixed.
So, off to bed with me, and hopefully, a pre-written post on the morrow.
New Trigonometry Is A Sign Of The Times
Digg Description:
"Mathematics students have cause to celebrate. A University of New South Wales academic, Dr Norman Wildberger, has rewritten the arcane rules of trigonometry and eliminated sines, cosines and tangents from the trigonometric toolkit."
Well, I'm not sure if it'll change the world, but it's definitely an interesting concept, and one, if it's not too expensive a book, will probably be looking at more closely in the future.
read more | digg story
"Mathematics students have cause to celebrate. A University of New South Wales academic, Dr Norman Wildberger, has rewritten the arcane rules of trigonometry and eliminated sines, cosines and tangents from the trigonometric toolkit."
Well, I'm not sure if it'll change the world, but it's definitely an interesting concept, and one, if it's not too expensive a book, will probably be looking at more closely in the future.
read more | digg story
Porn (Amateur and Otherwise)
Well, today I saw yet another example of the oddity of America. In addition to the normal odd and stupid things that I, as a photo tech, see, I am once more faces with a supreme example of the odd, amateur pornography.
Now, I don't have a problem with porn, in fact, I usually check out a few free porn sites on a fairly regular basis (say, one a day). Now, my parents, who I know read, or used to read at one point, this blog might know I look or porn. What they might not know is how long I've looked at various pornographic images, since, say, my sophomore year of high school, when we first got High Speed Internet. Yeah, it was illegal, but, I was a lower-tier geek, I had to fit in with at least the outcasts, so, I looked at porn to fit in. Plus, it was a way for me to at least think I out-smarted my parents, even though I suspect they knew about my actions, they never really caught me, so I never really got in trouble. Well, there was this one time, but that really doesn't count. Anyway, it was also, in addition to the social and political aspects, it was a way for me to be a rebel, breaking the rules, and a few laws, to get my jollies.
Now, of the hundreds of free and pay porn sites I have found in my seven-odd years of searching, only one has remained for any duration of time. Almighty Zeus.com, one which I only discovered about, oh, three years ago, only after I was actually legal. Now, I didn't find this site while looking for porn, no, at this time I was still in my Google Directory phase. Instead, I happened up a banner ad that intrigued me. It was on a site run by a friend of mine from high school, [REDACTED], and it was a plain, two-frame, animation of a guy with a content look on his face bounding up and down about three pixels, with a word bubble that said "fap, fap, fap, fap". I had seen this add probably about twenty different times, and since I'm not one to click on banner ads, I had never seen what was beyond it's yellow contentment. So, one day, while I was sitting in my dorm room, I decided to take the plunge, and clicked on the ad, and the rest, as they say, is history. Or not, if you're smart enough to delete it from the history, and the cache, and the address bar, oh, and probably a few other places on the computer, just to make sure nobody finds it.
So, yes, I look at porn, but not the degrading stuff, no, I look at only the best, highest quality free porn, which usually entails searching for just one name. Now, shortly after finding Almighty Zeus, I looked at every free gallery, then, I stopped looking at the amateur ones, no class. Then, I stopped looking at the blondes, never really liked blondes, too linked to stupidity, and I don't like stupid women. So, that limited me to brunettes and redheads, and since redheaded porn stars, at least ones that were born that way (redheaded, not a porn star), are rare, I stuck mostly with the brunettes. So, among the various brunettes, one stuck out. She was classy, sexy, had a great figure, and a modest bosom (though still large enough), oh, and she was smart enough that she ran her own web site and got a significant piece of the revenue off her images. She was smart an sexy, her name Crissy Moran. Now, unlike most men that look at porn, I don't like the really hardcore stuff, I feel that I'm degrading the women enough by looking, I'm not going to go that extra mile and leave nothing of mystery. So, I prefer to look at tasteful porn, mostly bikini and lingerie shots, though some partial nudity, if done right, is still tasteful. Of course, my opinion of her isn't hurt by the fact that she's rather short, only about five foot two, so she's got great proportions.
So, now that we've hit amateur and professional pornography, as well as my history therein, let's do a little housekeeping. This is my first post in quite a while, and it's bothered some people, especially me. I could think of tons of really good blog ideas, like this one, while at work, but by the time I'd gotten home, I'd have thought the topic to death. So, today, and hopefully every, or every other, day for a good while, I'm going to pre-write my blog entries at work and school, so that they're down on paper and out of my head before they are thought to death.
So, here's to old fashioned pen, paper, and pornography.
P.S. - Just a thought. If you see condoms, contraceptives, and sexual lubricants, are you a part of the sex industry?
Edit (05/16/2011): Redacted names and links upon request.
Now, I don't have a problem with porn, in fact, I usually check out a few free porn sites on a fairly regular basis (say, one a day). Now, my parents, who I know read, or used to read at one point, this blog might know I look or porn. What they might not know is how long I've looked at various pornographic images, since, say, my sophomore year of high school, when we first got High Speed Internet. Yeah, it was illegal, but, I was a lower-tier geek, I had to fit in with at least the outcasts, so, I looked at porn to fit in. Plus, it was a way for me to at least think I out-smarted my parents, even though I suspect they knew about my actions, they never really caught me, so I never really got in trouble. Well, there was this one time, but that really doesn't count. Anyway, it was also, in addition to the social and political aspects, it was a way for me to be a rebel, breaking the rules, and a few laws, to get my jollies.
Now, of the hundreds of free and pay porn sites I have found in my seven-odd years of searching, only one has remained for any duration of time. Almighty Zeus.com, one which I only discovered about, oh, three years ago, only after I was actually legal. Now, I didn't find this site while looking for porn, no, at this time I was still in my Google Directory phase. Instead, I happened up a banner ad that intrigued me. It was on a site run by a friend of mine from high school, [REDACTED], and it was a plain, two-frame, animation of a guy with a content look on his face bounding up and down about three pixels, with a word bubble that said "fap, fap, fap, fap". I had seen this add probably about twenty different times, and since I'm not one to click on banner ads, I had never seen what was beyond it's yellow contentment. So, one day, while I was sitting in my dorm room, I decided to take the plunge, and clicked on the ad, and the rest, as they say, is history. Or not, if you're smart enough to delete it from the history, and the cache, and the address bar, oh, and probably a few other places on the computer, just to make sure nobody finds it.
So, yes, I look at porn, but not the degrading stuff, no, I look at only the best, highest quality free porn, which usually entails searching for just one name. Now, shortly after finding Almighty Zeus, I looked at every free gallery, then, I stopped looking at the amateur ones, no class. Then, I stopped looking at the blondes, never really liked blondes, too linked to stupidity, and I don't like stupid women. So, that limited me to brunettes and redheads, and since redheaded porn stars, at least ones that were born that way (redheaded, not a porn star), are rare, I stuck mostly with the brunettes. So, among the various brunettes, one stuck out. She was classy, sexy, had a great figure, and a modest bosom (though still large enough), oh, and she was smart enough that she ran her own web site and got a significant piece of the revenue off her images. She was smart an sexy, her name Crissy Moran. Now, unlike most men that look at porn, I don't like the really hardcore stuff, I feel that I'm degrading the women enough by looking, I'm not going to go that extra mile and leave nothing of mystery. So, I prefer to look at tasteful porn, mostly bikini and lingerie shots, though some partial nudity, if done right, is still tasteful. Of course, my opinion of her isn't hurt by the fact that she's rather short, only about five foot two, so she's got great proportions.
So, now that we've hit amateur and professional pornography, as well as my history therein, let's do a little housekeeping. This is my first post in quite a while, and it's bothered some people, especially me. I could think of tons of really good blog ideas, like this one, while at work, but by the time I'd gotten home, I'd have thought the topic to death. So, today, and hopefully every, or every other, day for a good while, I'm going to pre-write my blog entries at work and school, so that they're down on paper and out of my head before they are thought to death.
So, here's to old fashioned pen, paper, and pornography.
P.S. - Just a thought. If you see condoms, contraceptives, and sexual lubricants, are you a part of the sex industry?
Edit (05/16/2011): Redacted names and links upon request.
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