You know, at 2 am Friday morning, while I was trying to fall asleep, I had the perfect idea of what I wanted to write about today; I'd even composed the first paragraph, which sounded witty and was very good, if I do say so myself. Unfortunately, I won't be posting that wonderful blog today, because as per the nature of such things, I cannot remember anything about that blog I'd thought up. Oh great, and now I can't even remember any of the other topics I'd decided I wanted to write about.
After a bit of time ruminating on what to write, I think I've got something. Motivation. A rather timely choice actually, I just finished a psychology quiz on motivation and emotion. But I chose this topic because as I was playing my new Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades, I found my mind wandering back (my mind wanders an awful lot, in many directions at once, at any one time), and running through a story. But it wasn't just any story I'd read, it was one that I'd written. I wrote it in Word on my old Dell that now resides in my basement. Over a few months, I'd finished about 3 or 4 chapters of my novel, and stopped for a while, and when I went back to write some more after about a month without writing, I couldn't find the darned thing anywhere! I checked every folder I could, and I opened every Word file in my computer, to make sure I hadn't messed up the name, and I never found it. I was so put off by this, that 5 years later (approximately), I still haven't tried to rewrite it, even though I can still remember the images I'd had in my head while I wrote it, the names of the characters, their backgrounds, and the changes I made to my original one page intro, which I wrote when I was about 7 or 8 years old, fooling around on my mom's old type writer. The storyline is very close to me, as it revolves around a recurring dream I had when I was very young, and has aspects of what I thought the world might look like one day (yes it was a futuristic novel, those are some of my favs). Thinking about this though today, it occurred to me, why don't I just start rewriting it now, surely my writing has gotten better, and I won't lose anything by rewriting it, but also, what's stopped me from writing for so long? Is it that I have no motivation to write it now? Because that's what it feels like. It is so easy to lose motivation, yet it takes a lot of work to become motivated. That's the main "moral of the story", the idea that sparked this blog post. Maybe it's just me, and it's true what my step-dad says, I'm just incredibly lazy, but really, I don't think it is. If anyone happens to read this blog, this would be a good time to think up something to say in a comment ;)
Now that I've mentioned this, I'd also like to add a little thought about my... well my thoughts. I've heard this about Geminis (at least I think it was about Geminis), that our trains of thought are erratic. Sometimes when I'm talking to someone, and I bring up something completely random, I'll explain to them where the thought came from ("well we were talking about Ireland, and that got me thinking about my step-dad's family, which lead me to this relative who I haven't seen in a while, and it got me thinking about his dog, who my sister loved, and that got me thinking about our other dogs..." etc). Usually these trains of thought happen in milliseconds, and they really do go everywhere, following less closely related paths than that in my example. Again, I'm just wondering, is it just me? Or maybe there's a fair amount of people out there who think like this. I rather like it. It keeps things interesting... and it's just fun following the trains of thought in my own head. Sometimes if I don't know where I got an idea or thought, I'll trace it back through what I was thinking about before... :P
Anyways, I think I'll end this post now, I'm getting tired, and I think I've rambled enough for now.
Oh, and for my next post, I've already thought out a topic, title, and first few lines, but don't worry, I wrote them down!
I wonder if I'll be able to motivate myself for the next 20 days or so I have left of the semester...
Friday, November 28, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Archos 5
Well, I finally got it... or maybe I should say that I've already got it. I hadn't planned on getting it for another 2 weeks, but I got too excited to wait, and bought it yesterday. And now it seems like a good decision, but not for good reasons. I'm going to have to exchange my lovely Archos 5 250 GB for another one... maybe the power going out just as the clerk rung it in was an omen... well it was a foretelling of what was to come anyways.
I brought the Archos home (to my dad's that is), opened it up, and plugged it into the wall. Now if you know the Archos 5, you'll know it doesn't come with a wall charger. I just went to The Source and bought a little USB wall charger for $5, and it did charge it in less than 8 hours (as it would have taken through a computer). While I did the initial set-up, when it asked me to configure the wi-fi, it would give me a pop-up saying to press the button on the wi-fi access point, and then press ok. So my dad hit what he thought was the right button on the router, and I hit okay, and it said WPS configuring. While it was still configuring, it would stop and say "wi-fi error". So I would retry it, and again the same thing, though instead of an error, the whole thing would just turn off and I'd have to re-do the set-up once more. After about the third time this happened, I skipped the wi-fi, and finished the set-up. Then I went on the computer, and manually downloaded the newest firmware update. I tried the internet again, but the same thing would happen, so I gave up, and decided I'd try at home, where we have the simpler WPA security on our wi-fi. I became optimistic when it let me put the password in, but as always, I got a connection error, this time just "connection failed". After trying tons of time, to this very moment, I still cannot access the internet on my INTERNET media tablet.
My dad noticed another big problem with my Archos shortly after I'd plugged it in; the USB cable was broken. The part of it that plugs into the Archos is open. It's very worrisome, and I know that even if a miracle happens, and I get everything to work before I bring it down to exchange it at Future Shop, I'll still need to exchange it because of that stupid cable. You can see what I mean in the pic below. It's not supposed to be like that.
The biggest problem though, is the unstable-ness of the device. I was innocently enough watching a movie on it this evening, while it was plugged into my computer, and all of a sudden it turned off. I hit the power button --> nothing. I tried holding it for 15 seconds to restart it --> nothing. I even tried the master reset on the bottom with a paperclip, and still nothing. Finally, just as I was going to write this blog, i tried charging it on my laptop, and when eventually the laptop saw the device, I tried the power button, and it came on... in troubleshooting mode. So I hit repair files, and it told me to install the new firmware... but wait, hadn't I already done that? NOPE. Let me just say, I'm very embarrassed for a supposed techie, and feel like a very big dolt. I downloaded the previous firmware, 1.0.87, not the newest, 1.1.01. I guess that the 87 caught my eye, and I figured it was the newest... it was the last on the list after all. Then the player installed the firmware, turned on, and viola! all of my files and settings were still there, and it worked! Yet still the internet would not connect, and now, while I was writing this blog, trying to connect to the internet, it did the "fatal turn-off" as I shall call it, and will not turn on. So this time, I'm just gonna leave it plugged in, and let it charge. I'd really like to try the wi-fi at school tomorrow, on an unsecured network, and see how/if that works. I'm also a little reluctant to return it right away (as in in the next 2-3 days, unless this "fatal turn-off" continues) because now that I've bought this Archos 5, the only one's that my local Future Shop has in stock are four of the 60 GB versions.
Now for the good features. I found the touchscreen to be absolutely delicious! It is very intuitive, and they keyboard works beautifully. The picture/video quality is also excellent. I watched some TV shows from my computer on there, and even my mom liked the video quality (she can't stand watching small screens like that normally). The transfer rate over the USB was fast enough, and I'm very happy that you can change the device to act as a hard drive, instead of a Windows Media Device, because I'd much rather drag-and-drop my files from my computer. It just took my a little while to figure out how to change that setting (Settings-->Info-->Storage). I also really like all of the pre-installed backgrounds, and I have no complaints about the sound quality, through my Skull Candy head phones, or even the built-in speaker (which isn't even stereo!), although I must say, I'm not that picky.
I'm optimistic about the Archos 5 still. On forum.archosfans.com, a fair amount of people really enjoy their products and haven't had any problems with them. Others have had great luck with replacements, and a select few have had no luck with multiple replacements. We'll see how it goes, and I'll give an update later on (hopefully at a better time, rather than 1 am on a school night).
--UPDATE--
I've returned my beloved (broken) Archos 5. Instead I paid about double the price and got a 320 GB HD, 4 GB RAM, HP Tablet Laptop, which will be written about in another post.
Ohh, and by the way... and I'm pretty surprised at this, they raised the price of the Archos 5's here in Canada (not sure about the USA... probably)! It's now at least $50 more for the 250 gig.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
More Geekiness!
Ever since I "discovered" the Archos 5 (pictured below with the battery dock), I've been completely obsessed. I've read oodles of reviews, and I've looked through all of the pages on the Archos website... heck, I even read a bit of the online manual! So, I've pretty much decided that I'm getting that darn IMT (internet media tablet) one way or another. During my readings though, I've seen a fair amount of bad things about the product, however most sites still rate it high. It seems that there are a lot of little problems that add up to devalue the IMT. It seems that some of these problems have been addressed in recent firmware updates though. However, I'm not very happy that the AC power adapter is an add-on that you need to buy separate from the player. I don't want to waste one of the three USB ports on my laptop to charge the IMT. I guess when I've saved up enough money, I'll just get the battery dock, so that I'll get a little extra battery power on the go, as well as an AC charger. I'll definitely write my own review of it on here whenever I do get it (hopefully before my flight to Florida for Christmas!)
Now onto another techie topic... One of the most used programs that I've downloaded for my computer is definitely my Google Desktop. Not only does it do an infinitely faster search for files on my computer than the one supplied by Microsoft (sorry cute lil' puppy), but it also has a great sidebar feature (same idea, but fairly different than the one found in Windows Vista). I've got a very handy clock at the top, my Google Calendar right there, where all of my scheduled events are only a roll-over away, a handy-dandy scratch pad where I can jot any notes that come to mind, or phone call messages when I don't have paper around, Web Clips from my favourite blogs (jewishatheist.blogspot.com and baconeatingatheistjew.blogspot.com being my main ones), a calculator gadget, because I'm sick of going through the start menu to get the calculator every time I want it (and it has a scientific mode... yay!), my wireless connection strength, and my battery power. I just don't know what I'd do without it (well actually I do, I'd be very sad, and inconvenienced).
I really love the Google Calendar. My only complaint is that you can't make different events different colours in one calendar, you have to make a new calendar to do that. So I've got a separate work calendar, for my work schedule (which I don't display on my sidebar calendar... it'd all be days with events!), and the automatic one I use for school and everything else. I love that you can choose to only view one calendar or another, or have them both, and how easy it is to add an event. And the repeating feature is even better than I'd hoped for. You can choose how things repeat, like every day, week, month, year, and then choose how often, like the event "pay day" repeats every 2 weeks. Another fun feature is adding pre-made calendars to your own. No need to worry about adding holidays yourself, there's national and religious calendars that you can add, among other calendars. You can choose to make your calendar public if you'd like, or make specific events public/private. You can even give permission to select Google Calendar users to layer your calendar with theirs by entering their e-mail addresses. This way friends or family members can co-ordinate events, and know each other's schedules. I suggest this to anyone who wants a calendar that they can access anywhere with an internet connection, and especially to those who use a Google Desktop sidebar (unfortunately, the Google Desktop widget is not available for Windows Vista sidebars).
One last subject... Halloween was yesterday, and even though I'm too old to go trick-or-treating, and had a midterm to write, I still dressed up. I was so excited about my costume. I decided to be Doctor Who! (the tenth Doctor, played by David Tennant, as seen above) I even wore a pair of Converse All Stars, although mine were blue, and the Doctor wears white ones.
Happy belated Halloween everyone... now prepare yourself to be bombarded with Christmas!
Now onto another techie topic... One of the most used programs that I've downloaded for my computer is definitely my Google Desktop. Not only does it do an infinitely faster search for files on my computer than the one supplied by Microsoft (sorry cute lil' puppy), but it also has a great sidebar feature (same idea, but fairly different than the one found in Windows Vista). I've got a very handy clock at the top, my Google Calendar right there, where all of my scheduled events are only a roll-over away, a handy-dandy scratch pad where I can jot any notes that come to mind, or phone call messages when I don't have paper around, Web Clips from my favourite blogs (jewishatheist.blogspot.com and baconeatingatheistjew.blogspot.com being my main ones), a calculator gadget, because I'm sick of going through the start menu to get the calculator every time I want it (and it has a scientific mode... yay!), my wireless connection strength, and my battery power. I just don't know what I'd do without it (well actually I do, I'd be very sad, and inconvenienced).
I really love the Google Calendar. My only complaint is that you can't make different events different colours in one calendar, you have to make a new calendar to do that. So I've got a separate work calendar, for my work schedule (which I don't display on my sidebar calendar... it'd all be days with events!), and the automatic one I use for school and everything else. I love that you can choose to only view one calendar or another, or have them both, and how easy it is to add an event. And the repeating feature is even better than I'd hoped for. You can choose how things repeat, like every day, week, month, year, and then choose how often, like the event "pay day" repeats every 2 weeks. Another fun feature is adding pre-made calendars to your own. No need to worry about adding holidays yourself, there's national and religious calendars that you can add, among other calendars. You can choose to make your calendar public if you'd like, or make specific events public/private. You can even give permission to select Google Calendar users to layer your calendar with theirs by entering their e-mail addresses. This way friends or family members can co-ordinate events, and know each other's schedules. I suggest this to anyone who wants a calendar that they can access anywhere with an internet connection, and especially to those who use a Google Desktop sidebar (unfortunately, the Google Desktop widget is not available for Windows Vista sidebars).
One last subject... Halloween was yesterday, and even though I'm too old to go trick-or-treating, and had a midterm to write, I still dressed up. I was so excited about my costume. I decided to be Doctor Who! (the tenth Doctor, played by David Tennant, as seen above) I even wore a pair of Converse All Stars, although mine were blue, and the Doctor wears white ones.
Happy belated Halloween everyone... now prepare yourself to be bombarded with Christmas!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Titles and mp3 Players
Wow, I finally found out why I didn't have titles. That was really bothering me. So from now on, these posts will have proper titles.
And now, to let my true techie side come out *squee!* I'm just gonna babble a bit about some mp3 players. Let me start off with the fact that I am not a fan of iPods. I don't own one, I uninstalled iTunes, I'm just not a fan.
So I've got these two mp3 players. I don't really use them all that much anymore. I use them more on trips, or times when I can't have my laptop, or music playing out loud from my cell phone. But ever since the iPods and other mp3 players came out with photo viewing, and video playback, I've wanted a new one. And now the iPod Touch had really gotten my attention, with wi-fi capabilities. I'd be connected all the time! There are wireless networks at my dad's house, my mom's house, and school. So I headed over to my local Best Buy one day, and decided to check them out. While I was looking though the mp3 players, an Archos mp3 player caught my eye. It had a bigger screen than the iTouch (it was touch screen though too), it had the wi-fi, photo viewing, and video playback capabilities, and it was cheaper than the iTouch! But what really caught my attention was the fact that the $410 iTouch was only 32 GB, and the $350 Archos was 60 GB! Or you could get a 120 GB Archos for $400. That doesn't seem like much of a choice for me. I still haven't gotten a super-cool, uber mp3 player, but when I do, I'm pretty sure about which touch-screen, wi-fi capable player I'm not going with. I think I'll go with Archos; my old Jukebox Recorder has been very reliable, even after it's been dropped a few million times, with many bangs and dings in it.
And now, to let my true techie side come out *squee!* I'm just gonna babble a bit about some mp3 players. Let me start off with the fact that I am not a fan of iPods. I don't own one, I uninstalled iTunes, I'm just not a fan.
My other mp3 player is a bit newer; it's a 1 GB MobiBlu Cube (as pictured above, except mine is red). They're rather neat, they not only play mp3's, but they also have an FM tuner, and can record mp3's from it. They also have an OLED screen (organic light emitting diodes, for those who don't know all the jargon).
So I've got these two mp3 players. I don't really use them all that much anymore. I use them more on trips, or times when I can't have my laptop, or music playing out loud from my cell phone. But ever since the iPods and other mp3 players came out with photo viewing, and video playback, I've wanted a new one. And now the iPod Touch had really gotten my attention, with wi-fi capabilities. I'd be connected all the time! There are wireless networks at my dad's house, my mom's house, and school. So I headed over to my local Best Buy one day, and decided to check them out. While I was looking though the mp3 players, an Archos mp3 player caught my eye. It had a bigger screen than the iTouch (it was touch screen though too), it had the wi-fi, photo viewing, and video playback capabilities, and it was cheaper than the iTouch! But what really caught my attention was the fact that the $410 iTouch was only 32 GB, and the $350 Archos was 60 GB! Or you could get a 120 GB Archos for $400. That doesn't seem like much of a choice for me. I still haven't gotten a super-cool, uber mp3 player, but when I do, I'm pretty sure about which touch-screen, wi-fi capable player I'm not going with. I think I'll go with Archos; my old Jukebox Recorder has been very reliable, even after it's been dropped a few million times, with many bangs and dings in it.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
English Debate
Unlike a fair number of Canadians that are either not watching either of the debates on TV this evening, or are watching the American vice-presidential debate, I've been watching the English debate. I've been pretty pleased with the show, it hasn't bored me to tears, and I've learned a fair amount. I was pleased that Elizabeth May has come across as very knowledgeable on the topics that they've been talking about, and very well spoken, in my view. And I was rather surprised that Jack Layton has impressed me as much as he has.
I noticed some trends though, while watching the debate. The first one that I noticed was how all the candidates have been tearing apart Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The second thing that I noticed is that Jack Layton is really vying for the aboriginal/first nations votes, often bringing up issues that involve first nations peoples, such as health care, and crime rates. Many of the candidates were referring to the United States, and that we don't need any of that up here in Canada. The times when all of the candidates fought to speak were annoying, and I was glad that they did not last very long.
I don't really think that having two different debates in different languages is really a good idea, because I hear that Stephane Dion did an excellent job in the French debate yesterday, but I didn't see that debate... I didn't even know that there was one, so although he did really well, if he swayed and voters, the few who watched it will not have an affect on the Liberal's overall gains in the polls.
I still don't know who I'm going to vote for, but now I know that I'd really like to see May have some power in parliament. It also seems that the commercials and those people who aren't voting, are based on the party leaders, not the local MP's. I think that this is too bad, because everyone should be out there voting... at least vote for who you'd like to represent you. I am definitely voting, I just don't know if I'm going to vote based on my preference for PM or for MP.
Unlike a fair number of Canadians that are either not watching either of the debates on TV this evening, or are watching the American vice-presidential debate, I've been watching the English debate. I've been pretty pleased with the show, it hasn't bored me to tears, and I've learned a fair amount. I was pleased that Elizabeth May has come across as very knowledgeable on the topics that they've been talking about, and very well spoken, in my view. And I was rather surprised that Jack Layton has impressed me as much as he has.
I noticed some trends though, while watching the debate. The first one that I noticed was how all the candidates have been tearing apart Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The second thing that I noticed is that Jack Layton is really vying for the aboriginal/first nations votes, often bringing up issues that involve first nations peoples, such as health care, and crime rates. Many of the candidates were referring to the United States, and that we don't need any of that up here in Canada. The times when all of the candidates fought to speak were annoying, and I was glad that they did not last very long.
I don't really think that having two different debates in different languages is really a good idea, because I hear that Stephane Dion did an excellent job in the French debate yesterday, but I didn't see that debate... I didn't even know that there was one, so although he did really well, if he swayed and voters, the few who watched it will not have an affect on the Liberal's overall gains in the polls.
I still don't know who I'm going to vote for, but now I know that I'd really like to see May have some power in parliament. It also seems that the commercials and those people who aren't voting, are based on the party leaders, not the local MP's. I think that this is too bad, because everyone should be out there voting... at least vote for who you'd like to represent you. I am definitely voting, I just don't know if I'm going to vote based on my preference for PM or for MP.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Bloody Jack
The one and only topic that I want to write about today, is Bloody Jack, which is the first book in an ongoing series by L. A. Meyer... but, rather. I'd like to write about the most recent book in the series, My Bonny Light Horseman.
When browsing through the books at my local Chapters, there were many occasions where I'd see the book, Bloody Jack, and grab it to look at it more closely, but each time, I'd put it back, either not interested based on the cover (what can I say? I judge books by their covers, but using that very method, I've also come across many excellent books), or the description on the back of the book. But it seemed that every time that I went to Chapters, I picked up the darned book, so finally, I decided to give it a try; at least it wasn't $20. It was a very fortunate thing that I decided to read the book, because it's become my favourite series. I believe that I've read an awful lot of books, as I've been happily addicted to reading since the age of 8, and I read more than most of the other bookworms my age, so the Bloody Jack series had a lot of competition. There are many books that I will easily name my favourites: Saucer by Stephen Coonts, The Merlin Conspiracy by Diana Wynne Jones, The Abhorrsen Trilogy and The Keys to the Kingdom by Garth Nix, and all of the Harry Potter books (#3 in particular) by J. K. Rowling coming most prominently to my mind. But when I get down to reading them, the Bloody Jack series is my particular favourite. It also far outshines the other books in the 'poor girl becomes male sailor' genre, the books being so much more than just that.
Now, I've just 30 minutes ago finished My Bonny Light Horseman, and will do a short review. I've established that these books are my favourite, and this latest book (#6) does not disappoint. There were many times while reading the book that I would burst out with a snort of laughter, or jump up and pump my arms in the air with happiness. The story is written in a way that does not give too many foreshadowing hints, which I was glad for, because I like finding out the twists in the plot at the same time as our beloved Jacky. There was enough romance and action to keep me happy, and not too much description to muddle with the plot, which reflects on Jacky, the story-teller; she gets to the point. There was one line that I rather liked, although I'm probably just reading into it a bit much, but as soon as I read it, I struck a chord with me (I've no idea why...). The line is "'Well,' I shrug, all innocent, 'we all ride our little hobbyhorses, don't we, Mr. Peel?'" (Meyer 165) (Ah my grade 12 English teacher would be proud, me having MLA ingrained in my head now.) You read that line, and interpret what you will. ^_^
I'm off to bed, my mission for the early morning complete. I do have another blog entry on the way, that I started a few days ago, I just need to finish it... whenever that happens.
The one and only topic that I want to write about today, is Bloody Jack, which is the first book in an ongoing series by L. A. Meyer... but, rather. I'd like to write about the most recent book in the series, My Bonny Light Horseman.
When browsing through the books at my local Chapters, there were many occasions where I'd see the book, Bloody Jack, and grab it to look at it more closely, but each time, I'd put it back, either not interested based on the cover (what can I say? I judge books by their covers, but using that very method, I've also come across many excellent books), or the description on the back of the book. But it seemed that every time that I went to Chapters, I picked up the darned book, so finally, I decided to give it a try; at least it wasn't $20. It was a very fortunate thing that I decided to read the book, because it's become my favourite series. I believe that I've read an awful lot of books, as I've been happily addicted to reading since the age of 8, and I read more than most of the other bookworms my age, so the Bloody Jack series had a lot of competition. There are many books that I will easily name my favourites: Saucer by Stephen Coonts, The Merlin Conspiracy by Diana Wynne Jones, The Abhorrsen Trilogy and The Keys to the Kingdom by Garth Nix, and all of the Harry Potter books (#3 in particular) by J. K. Rowling coming most prominently to my mind. But when I get down to reading them, the Bloody Jack series is my particular favourite. It also far outshines the other books in the 'poor girl becomes male sailor' genre, the books being so much more than just that.
Now, I've just 30 minutes ago finished My Bonny Light Horseman, and will do a short review. I've established that these books are my favourite, and this latest book (#6) does not disappoint. There were many times while reading the book that I would burst out with a snort of laughter, or jump up and pump my arms in the air with happiness. The story is written in a way that does not give too many foreshadowing hints, which I was glad for, because I like finding out the twists in the plot at the same time as our beloved Jacky. There was enough romance and action to keep me happy, and not too much description to muddle with the plot, which reflects on Jacky, the story-teller; she gets to the point. There was one line that I rather liked, although I'm probably just reading into it a bit much, but as soon as I read it, I struck a chord with me (I've no idea why...). The line is "'Well,' I shrug, all innocent, 'we all ride our little hobbyhorses, don't we, Mr. Peel?'" (Meyer 165) (Ah my grade 12 English teacher would be proud, me having MLA ingrained in my head now.) You read that line, and interpret what you will. ^_^
I'm off to bed, my mission for the early morning complete. I do have another blog entry on the way, that I started a few days ago, I just need to finish it... whenever that happens.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Politics, Roboform, and Unions and Strikes
It's been a long time since I last posted, mainly because I started my first year at university. I've barely had time to read my current book, The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne Duprau, let alone update my blog! But, since September 17, all of my university classes have been cancelled, so I've had time to catch up on my reading, and get ahead in my assignments, and now, I have time to update my blog.
Going in the opposite order of my title today, I'd like to start by why I've had so much free time on my hands. On September 17 the faculty at my university went on strike. The official stance of the student's alliance at my school is in support of the faculty, but I don't support them. But neither do I support the administration. I've heard so much information from both sides, that I don't really know what to believe, and I'd feel like a hypocrite if I supported one side without actually knowing all of the facts. So, although I want the faculty to be payed fairly, I also don't want my tuition to go up even higher next year, or to lose more money as the strike goes on... that is why I'm only supporting myself in this strike, because it's my tuition money that is currently flying away with the time we've been out of class.
While on the topic of strikes, I'd also like to make a quick note about unions. I can't speak about all the unions out there, but I can speak about those that are in my community. Unions started out with great intentions, and were badly needed at the time that they started, however, as time has progressed, the unions that I can observe have become very politicized, and strayed from their original goals. Militant unions don't necessarily help those that they represent, they actually seem to scare companies (and thus job opportunities) off. Many people from my community are a part of the CAW (Canadian Auto Workers), but those people who are not a part of the CAW refer to it as Canadians Against Working. If a lot of people have this view of the union, shouldn't the people running it stop, and wonder why so many people have these views, and wonder if maybe there's something that they should change? I think so. Just my 2 cents though... if you're part of the CAW, please don't hunt me down. O=)
While reading my computer's textbook, and it's passage on password security, it got me thinking about the security of my own passwords. I know that a lot of my passwords could be better, if only I had the memory to make them better, although they've served me well so far. But being a little concerned, and reading about the advantages of password managers, I decided I'd take the plunge and try out Roboform, a form-filling, secure password generating, password manager. I haven't had it for more than an hour or two, but I already feel better about my passwords, and now I don't have to worry about remembering some of my weirder passwords, Roboform's got me covered. I was relieved that it can also get rid of the problem of keyloggers, those viruses that remember your keystrokes and send them back to whoever is controlling it, because you don't type your passwords in. I was also impressed and interested in Roboform2Go, which is the same program, but on a jump drive. This way you could take your passwords with you to another computer, and when you leave, there are no traces of your passwords left behind you.
In Canada, we have yet another election going on. It seems like just last year people were queuing up at the polls to vote for Provincial Premiers... oh wait, that was last year. But the exciting aspect of this election, for me at least, is that I can vote in it! Woot! However, I'm not very happy with my choices in the election. When it comes to choosing an MP I'd like to vote for, that's an easy one, Liberal all the way! However, I'm not impressed with Stéphane Dion at all. Mainly because a few months before all of this election business, Stéphane Dion decided not to support and issue, or bill, or something in parliament that was obviously something that Liberals would normally support. However, if he had supported it, our fragile, minority government would have been overthrown, and the Liberals did not think that they could win an election at the time, so they held off on voting. This really burned me up, because the Canadians that put the Liberals in parliament put them there to make decisions based on their party's views, not based on party gains. They are there to do a job, to represent the Canadians that they are supposed to be representing. And in the end, really, they still ended up in an election that they aren't necessarily ready to win. Now on the other hand though, I do like Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party, and for the most part, I really like their views. On the party's website, they have 6 main points to their platform. The 6th point is Good Government, and in it they make the point I was attempting to make about the Liberal party, which is basically the "MPs’ allegiance to parties instead of constituents". My only problems with the Green Party, are that I don't care for the MP in my riding, and that Good Government is the 6th point on their platform. I understand that being the Green Party, they care a lot about our environment, I do too, but I think that in order to fix our environment, we need to first concentrate on fixing our government. I think this needs to be at least in the 2nd place in the Green Party's platform, but preferably in the 1st place. I still have a few weeks to make my decision though, so we'll see what happens.
Going in the opposite order of my title today, I'd like to start by why I've had so much free time on my hands. On September 17 the faculty at my university went on strike. The official stance of the student's alliance at my school is in support of the faculty, but I don't support them. But neither do I support the administration. I've heard so much information from both sides, that I don't really know what to believe, and I'd feel like a hypocrite if I supported one side without actually knowing all of the facts. So, although I want the faculty to be payed fairly, I also don't want my tuition to go up even higher next year, or to lose more money as the strike goes on... that is why I'm only supporting myself in this strike, because it's my tuition money that is currently flying away with the time we've been out of class.
While on the topic of strikes, I'd also like to make a quick note about unions. I can't speak about all the unions out there, but I can speak about those that are in my community. Unions started out with great intentions, and were badly needed at the time that they started, however, as time has progressed, the unions that I can observe have become very politicized, and strayed from their original goals. Militant unions don't necessarily help those that they represent, they actually seem to scare companies (and thus job opportunities) off. Many people from my community are a part of the CAW (Canadian Auto Workers), but those people who are not a part of the CAW refer to it as Canadians Against Working. If a lot of people have this view of the union, shouldn't the people running it stop, and wonder why so many people have these views, and wonder if maybe there's something that they should change? I think so. Just my 2 cents though... if you're part of the CAW, please don't hunt me down. O=)
While reading my computer's textbook, and it's passage on password security, it got me thinking about the security of my own passwords. I know that a lot of my passwords could be better, if only I had the memory to make them better, although they've served me well so far. But being a little concerned, and reading about the advantages of password managers, I decided I'd take the plunge and try out Roboform, a form-filling, secure password generating, password manager. I haven't had it for more than an hour or two, but I already feel better about my passwords, and now I don't have to worry about remembering some of my weirder passwords, Roboform's got me covered. I was relieved that it can also get rid of the problem of keyloggers, those viruses that remember your keystrokes and send them back to whoever is controlling it, because you don't type your passwords in. I was also impressed and interested in Roboform2Go, which is the same program, but on a jump drive. This way you could take your passwords with you to another computer, and when you leave, there are no traces of your passwords left behind you.
In Canada, we have yet another election going on. It seems like just last year people were queuing up at the polls to vote for Provincial Premiers... oh wait, that was last year. But the exciting aspect of this election, for me at least, is that I can vote in it! Woot! However, I'm not very happy with my choices in the election. When it comes to choosing an MP I'd like to vote for, that's an easy one, Liberal all the way! However, I'm not impressed with Stéphane Dion at all. Mainly because a few months before all of this election business, Stéphane Dion decided not to support and issue, or bill, or something in parliament that was obviously something that Liberals would normally support. However, if he had supported it, our fragile, minority government would have been overthrown, and the Liberals did not think that they could win an election at the time, so they held off on voting. This really burned me up, because the Canadians that put the Liberals in parliament put them there to make decisions based on their party's views, not based on party gains. They are there to do a job, to represent the Canadians that they are supposed to be representing. And in the end, really, they still ended up in an election that they aren't necessarily ready to win. Now on the other hand though, I do like Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party, and for the most part, I really like their views. On the party's website, they have 6 main points to their platform. The 6th point is Good Government, and in it they make the point I was attempting to make about the Liberal party, which is basically the "MPs’ allegiance to parties instead of constituents". My only problems with the Green Party, are that I don't care for the MP in my riding, and that Good Government is the 6th point on their platform. I understand that being the Green Party, they care a lot about our environment, I do too, but I think that in order to fix our environment, we need to first concentrate on fixing our government. I think this needs to be at least in the 2nd place in the Green Party's platform, but preferably in the 1st place. I still have a few weeks to make my decision though, so we'll see what happens.
Friday, August 08, 2008
Georgia Nicolson, Atremis Fowl, and The House of Many Ways
I've read an awful lot of books since my last reveiw, so I thought it was about time I picked that back up with a few of my more recent reads. Starting with my fabbity-fab-fab promise.
Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison
I've now read all 9 of the Georgia Nicolson series, so instead of reveiwing one in particular, or each individually, I'll just do the series in general in one go. When I first saw the title "Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging", I figured this book would be like all of the other girly books available. Something like Gossip Girl, or The Au Pairs... something that I would not be interested in. But when I found out that one of my more sensible friends had read it, I decided to try it out, and I was much more than pleasantly surprised. I fell head-over-heels for the series. Georgia's way of describing things, her crazy little sister Libby, her parent's nonchanance, and the easily despisable Wet Lindsay stole my heart. Not to mention the fact that most of it actually happened to Rennison, and the romantic aspects of the novels. One thing that slightly annoyed me was Georgia's inability to see that Dave the Laugh is the perfect guy for her, although it did make Georgia's occasional run-ins with Dave even better. It's also one of the reasons that I particularily enjoyed "Love is a Many Trousered Thing". I heard that "Stop in the Name of Pants!" would be the last book in the series, but I haven't seen any evidence for it, and the book didn't end any differently than any of the other ones, so, I cannot wait for the next one to come out! I have mixed feelings about going to see the movie however. I know that Loise Rennison helped write the script, and that it is only loosely based on the first two books, but I really don't want my mental images of the book to be muddled by the movie... although I hear it is really good, and when your 20 year old, gothic friend who is a boy wants to see it, you know it's got appeal. I have time to decide though, because even though the movie has been in theatres in the UK for a few weeks, there is no release date for Canada or the USA yet.
To see the trailers or check out release dates, this is the movies website: http://www.angusthongsmovie.com/
Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer
Eoin Colfer does it again! Another great addition to the Artemis Fowl series with The Time Paradox. Once the plot starts rolling, it doesn't stop, which makes it a book that's hard to put down, with cunning and wit that keep the reader loving it! I don't want to say too much about the book, because I think it's easy to reveal, but I can say that Artemis is as sly as ever, and lemurs (don't) abound!
The House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones
The third book in the series that started with Howl's Moving Castle, The House of Many Ways does not dissapoint. My main complaints though, is that, the main character, Charmain, got on my nerves a bit, she was so... snobby, and just as in Castle in the Sky, there wasn't enough of Howl and Sophie! I want more! Overall though, it really was an excellent book, with a fabulous ending that keeps you hooked 'til the last page of the book, and the annoyingly cute character of Twinkle that stole my heart.
I've read an awful lot of books since my last reveiw, so I thought it was about time I picked that back up with a few of my more recent reads. Starting with my fabbity-fab-fab promise.
Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison
I've now read all 9 of the Georgia Nicolson series, so instead of reveiwing one in particular, or each individually, I'll just do the series in general in one go. When I first saw the title "Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging", I figured this book would be like all of the other girly books available. Something like Gossip Girl, or The Au Pairs... something that I would not be interested in. But when I found out that one of my more sensible friends had read it, I decided to try it out, and I was much more than pleasantly surprised. I fell head-over-heels for the series. Georgia's way of describing things, her crazy little sister Libby, her parent's nonchanance, and the easily despisable Wet Lindsay stole my heart. Not to mention the fact that most of it actually happened to Rennison, and the romantic aspects of the novels. One thing that slightly annoyed me was Georgia's inability to see that Dave the Laugh is the perfect guy for her, although it did make Georgia's occasional run-ins with Dave even better. It's also one of the reasons that I particularily enjoyed "Love is a Many Trousered Thing". I heard that "Stop in the Name of Pants!" would be the last book in the series, but I haven't seen any evidence for it, and the book didn't end any differently than any of the other ones, so, I cannot wait for the next one to come out! I have mixed feelings about going to see the movie however. I know that Loise Rennison helped write the script, and that it is only loosely based on the first two books, but I really don't want my mental images of the book to be muddled by the movie... although I hear it is really good, and when your 20 year old, gothic friend who is a boy wants to see it, you know it's got appeal. I have time to decide though, because even though the movie has been in theatres in the UK for a few weeks, there is no release date for Canada or the USA yet.
To see the trailers or check out release dates, this is the movies website: http://www.angusthongsmovie.com/
Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer
Eoin Colfer does it again! Another great addition to the Artemis Fowl series with The Time Paradox. Once the plot starts rolling, it doesn't stop, which makes it a book that's hard to put down, with cunning and wit that keep the reader loving it! I don't want to say too much about the book, because I think it's easy to reveal, but I can say that Artemis is as sly as ever, and lemurs (don't) abound!
The House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones
The third book in the series that started with Howl's Moving Castle, The House of Many Ways does not dissapoint. My main complaints though, is that, the main character, Charmain, got on my nerves a bit, she was so... snobby, and just as in Castle in the Sky, there wasn't enough of Howl and Sophie! I want more! Overall though, it really was an excellent book, with a fabulous ending that keeps you hooked 'til the last page of the book, and the annoyingly cute character of Twinkle that stole my heart.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Anonymous and Habbo Hotel
About four years ago, I saw a commercial on the Canadian TV channel, Much Music. It was for this neat looking website, called Habbo Hotel, an online, virtual hang-out for teens. After seeing the commercial I decided to try it out, so I typed in http://www.habbohotel.com/. This was actually a mistake, since the website the advertisement was for was the Canadian hotel, http://www.habbohotel.ca/. At the time, the American hotel wasn't open, so I was redirected to the UK hotel, which still remains one of the largest, and most up to date hotels. A few months later, I discovered my mistake, and became a member of the Canadian hotel... along with all of the other hotels at the time, including those that weren't English. But by then, the "damage" had been done. I met my best friend on the UK hotel, and although we don't talk every single day anymore, the fact remains, this friend has changed my life. Habbo is pretty much the only place I've met people online, which sets me apart from my real-life friends, because none of them have gone on Habbo, nor do they really meet, or make friends with people online.
Anyway, it seems that I've gotten a bit carried away. Mainly, I wanted to make the point that I still go on Habbo, even though most people who go on are 14, and I kind of have a soft spot for it. About a week ago though, there was a supposed "take-over" of the Canadian hotel. It involved people who make their Habbo's be black males, with large afros, wearing suits. They can often be found in the pool rooms of the hotel, blocking pool entrances, "flooding" the rooms with song lyrics (particularly The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), or comments on how stupid Habbo and the people who use it are. I don't mind this too much, as these "blockers" have been on Habbo for as long as I can remember (though less frequently), usually leave one pool entrance open, and there's a handy dandy "ignore" button. However, when they did the "takeover" these people took things a little too far. I don't think many people minded as much as I did, either because they didn't really get it, or they could care less, but the "blockers" were being rather racist and prejudiced. They called themselves "nigras", saying things like "we are nigra, we are proud". And of course, the most ironic thing, and the thing that got to me the most, they'd get together, and make a "swastigat". And some normal habbo's would join in, and help make a big swastika in the middle of a room, mainly made of black habbos. The irony killed me, but the ease with which the other habbo's viewed them making this sign of hate was making me furious! The habbo's were more upset when they blocked pool entrances! I don't think that I saw one habbo protest to the swastikas. The mods would eventually step in, and just clear out the room, but the "nigras" just went into other rooms and did it again.
Out of curiosity, I checked out Habbo Hotel's Wiki page, which linked to the Wiki page about the internet group, Anonymous, who seem to be the main culprit's behind the "takeover". During it, a few did shout out comments about "Anonymous". I read a bit about the group, and it sounded rather interesting, and like something that, if used in the right way could bring about a positive change in the internet, and those who use it. But the same aspect that makes the group appealing is also it's downfall. No one leads it, and it's every man for himself. It seems like any one can join. You make your own battles, and chose your own wars. Two different groups of people that claim to be a part of Anonymous, could be fighting the same war, with conflicting interests really. Anyone that acts anonymously on the internet could be a part of Anonymous. It probably gets blamed for more bad things than it's actually done, but some of the things it is accused of are pretty horrible.
Anyway, it's getting so late, I'm barely making sense to myself. I just wanted to get Anonymous out there.
About four years ago, I saw a commercial on the Canadian TV channel, Much Music. It was for this neat looking website, called Habbo Hotel, an online, virtual hang-out for teens. After seeing the commercial I decided to try it out, so I typed in http://www.habbohotel.com/. This was actually a mistake, since the website the advertisement was for was the Canadian hotel, http://www.habbohotel.ca/. At the time, the American hotel wasn't open, so I was redirected to the UK hotel, which still remains one of the largest, and most up to date hotels. A few months later, I discovered my mistake, and became a member of the Canadian hotel... along with all of the other hotels at the time, including those that weren't English. But by then, the "damage" had been done. I met my best friend on the UK hotel, and although we don't talk every single day anymore, the fact remains, this friend has changed my life. Habbo is pretty much the only place I've met people online, which sets me apart from my real-life friends, because none of them have gone on Habbo, nor do they really meet, or make friends with people online.
Anyway, it seems that I've gotten a bit carried away. Mainly, I wanted to make the point that I still go on Habbo, even though most people who go on are 14, and I kind of have a soft spot for it. About a week ago though, there was a supposed "take-over" of the Canadian hotel. It involved people who make their Habbo's be black males, with large afros, wearing suits. They can often be found in the pool rooms of the hotel, blocking pool entrances, "flooding" the rooms with song lyrics (particularly The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), or comments on how stupid Habbo and the people who use it are. I don't mind this too much, as these "blockers" have been on Habbo for as long as I can remember (though less frequently), usually leave one pool entrance open, and there's a handy dandy "ignore" button. However, when they did the "takeover" these people took things a little too far. I don't think many people minded as much as I did, either because they didn't really get it, or they could care less, but the "blockers" were being rather racist and prejudiced. They called themselves "nigras", saying things like "we are nigra, we are proud". And of course, the most ironic thing, and the thing that got to me the most, they'd get together, and make a "swastigat". And some normal habbo's would join in, and help make a big swastika in the middle of a room, mainly made of black habbos. The irony killed me, but the ease with which the other habbo's viewed them making this sign of hate was making me furious! The habbo's were more upset when they blocked pool entrances! I don't think that I saw one habbo protest to the swastikas. The mods would eventually step in, and just clear out the room, but the "nigras" just went into other rooms and did it again.
Out of curiosity, I checked out Habbo Hotel's Wiki page, which linked to the Wiki page about the internet group, Anonymous, who seem to be the main culprit's behind the "takeover". During it, a few did shout out comments about "Anonymous". I read a bit about the group, and it sounded rather interesting, and like something that, if used in the right way could bring about a positive change in the internet, and those who use it. But the same aspect that makes the group appealing is also it's downfall. No one leads it, and it's every man for himself. It seems like any one can join. You make your own battles, and chose your own wars. Two different groups of people that claim to be a part of Anonymous, could be fighting the same war, with conflicting interests really. Anyone that acts anonymously on the internet could be a part of Anonymous. It probably gets blamed for more bad things than it's actually done, but some of the things it is accused of are pretty horrible.
Anyway, it's getting so late, I'm barely making sense to myself. I just wanted to get Anonymous out there.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Book Reviews
In an uncharacteristic move, I'd decided to do a little book reviewing sooner rather than later. Of course, it didn't turn out that way in the end, as I didn't publish this when I wrote it, before I went away on vacation.
First up: DragonLight by Donita K. Paul
A good finish to a great series. Despite it being a Christian book (and series), I enjoyed the new adventure. Luckily I've been able to see past the allegory in the book, in reference to certain make-believe supreme being and their spokespeople, because really, they're great books. I found Gilda to be even more annoying in this book though, so I was happy for her redemption, although, as I said, I'm not really into the allegorical religious aspects of the book. I found the reference to Mary through Toopka to be particularly annoying, although I'm glad the mystery of Toopka was taken care of (I still can't get over how much she reminds me of my youngest cousin!). In all, a good book, although maybe not my favourite in the series. Now I'm looking forward to Paul's new series! (It's set in the same world, in a different time)
Duchessina: A Novel of Catherine de' Medici by Carolyn Meyer
I didn't care for this book as much as I thought I would. The novel skipped along, at a fast enough pace to keep the reader pretty interested, but it moved along in an erratic way. One thing I'd hoped to find in this book was a little bit of romance, but I only got a tiny hint at it, which was rather disappointing, as it seemed that there were some good places to slip some in. The other main disappointing aspect of the novel was the ending. It was kind of rushed, and rather unhappy. I didn't really feel any closure to the story. The whole story was just kind of there.
Well that's all I'm going to say for now, I think this post has gone on long enough, as it's been a few weeks since I last touched it.
For my next book reviews, I have a fabbity-fab-fab subject =)
In an uncharacteristic move, I'd decided to do a little book reviewing sooner rather than later. Of course, it didn't turn out that way in the end, as I didn't publish this when I wrote it, before I went away on vacation.
First up: DragonLight by Donita K. Paul
A good finish to a great series. Despite it being a Christian book (and series), I enjoyed the new adventure. Luckily I've been able to see past the allegory in the book, in reference to certain make-believe supreme being and their spokespeople, because really, they're great books. I found Gilda to be even more annoying in this book though, so I was happy for her redemption, although, as I said, I'm not really into the allegorical religious aspects of the book. I found the reference to Mary through Toopka to be particularly annoying, although I'm glad the mystery of Toopka was taken care of (I still can't get over how much she reminds me of my youngest cousin!). In all, a good book, although maybe not my favourite in the series. Now I'm looking forward to Paul's new series! (It's set in the same world, in a different time)
Duchessina: A Novel of Catherine de' Medici by Carolyn Meyer
I didn't care for this book as much as I thought I would. The novel skipped along, at a fast enough pace to keep the reader pretty interested, but it moved along in an erratic way. One thing I'd hoped to find in this book was a little bit of romance, but I only got a tiny hint at it, which was rather disappointing, as it seemed that there were some good places to slip some in. The other main disappointing aspect of the novel was the ending. It was kind of rushed, and rather unhappy. I didn't really feel any closure to the story. The whole story was just kind of there.
Well that's all I'm going to say for now, I think this post has gone on long enough, as it's been a few weeks since I last touched it.
For my next book reviews, I have a fabbity-fab-fab subject =)
People are crazy. That's all I have to say. Well, actually, not quite. I'm very happy to hear that long-time women's rights activist Dr. Morgentaler is to receive the Order of Canada. On the CBC's news post, I'm glad to see that the most recommended comments were full of praise. However, as I worked through the comments, as I expected, there were tons of negative, pro-life comment. You'd think that if a woman is mature enough to have a child, then she must also be mature enough to make the decision, and choose to have the child. People on the site talked about a woman's responsibility to control herself, but condoms break, and the pill isn't 100% effective; you could be completely responsible, and still end up pregnant. And then there's also rape victims. One commenter said that abortion was a torture device, devised completely by men, so they could rape and have no consequences. This made me laugh and gag at the same time. I don't even want to know how the commenter got so deluded. Would it not be torture to have to carry a reminder of a rape for nine months? And what if the victim were to keep the child once it was born (because if they put it up for adoption the rapist still has no such consequences)? Abortion has been a great help for thousands of women. It will be a very sad day if the pro-lifer's get their wish, and abortion is again made illegal (in Canada that is).
Another reason I say people are crazy... I was watching a video about the importance of separation of church and state, and out of curiosity, I read a few of the comments. Big mistake. Oh the internet, where the idiots roam free.... this is what one commenter had to say (it's a good laugh ;] ):
Wow. Let me pick 3 particularly funny ones that I might be able to respond to without laughing too much...
1) "it always the secularist trying to ban my guns" Hahahahaha! I don't really get this one. There is no place in the bible that has any mention of guns... there were no such things! Whether you want to ban guns or not has nothing to do with religion (however they can easily be tied together by intelligence, but that's for another time).
2)"teach my kids about ass fucking" Again, wow. Just because a true separation of church and state would mean equal rights for homosexuals, does not mean this! It's just funny someone would think this....
3)"ban talk radio" This has nothing to do with the separation of church and state unless the radio show is government funded and has to do with a particular religion.
Anyway, I think I'm done my rant for the moment. On to some entertainment.
Right now I'm reading "On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God" by Louise Rennison. It's the second in the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson. I adore this series! It's so cute, and light and fun. I've been saving this one and the 3rd in the series for my upcoming vacation in 2 days, because to me, they're the perfect vacation books. Georgia's sister Libby is hilarious, and I particularly enjoyed Georgia's comment about her mother, "...she just tutted and adjusted her bra like a Russian roulette player. (Or do I mean disco thrower?)" The idea that this instilled in me cracked me up.
On the musical front, I just got MGMT's (pronounced management) new CD, Oracular Spectacular. It's such a neat, different sound. It really sets them apart. My favourite songs are Electric Feel, Kids, and The Youth. Electric Feel is the perfect dancing song, and whenever I hear it I get the urge to get up and jump around. Another good song to note is "Say" by Low Level Flight. I like it even better than their song "Change for Me" (which is similar to Say).
I've also just got Guitar Hero: On Tour, because Nintendo DS is the only platform that I have that I can get Guitar Hero for. It's so addicting (but also kinda painful for my hand). It introduced me to Bloc Party's song Helicopter (is it weird that whenever I write out "Bloc Party", I think of Bloc Quebecois?).
Anyway, I really should be off to bed. Next time I hope to write about some of the many books I've read since (and including,) DragonLight.
(Maybe I can begin ending my procrastination... well after my vacation that is ;] )
Oh, and Happy Canada Day! =D
Another reason I say people are crazy... I was watching a video about the importance of separation of church and state, and out of curiosity, I read a few of the comments. Big mistake. Oh the internet, where the idiots roam free.... this is what one commenter had to say (it's a good laugh ;] ):
I love how secularist always say stop pushing the religion on everyone. But why is it always the secularist trying to ban my guns, teach my kids about ass fucking, give 12 year olds rubbers, trying to lower sentences on child fuckers, control the media, push their propaganda in every movie, ban home schooling, ban talk radio, raise taxes, etc.. If most secularist were libertarians, I would listen. But they are not. I am not for religious theocracy. But I am not for secular dictatorship either.
Wow. Let me pick 3 particularly funny ones that I might be able to respond to without laughing too much...
1) "it always the secularist trying to ban my guns" Hahahahaha! I don't really get this one. There is no place in the bible that has any mention of guns... there were no such things! Whether you want to ban guns or not has nothing to do with religion (however they can easily be tied together by intelligence, but that's for another time).
2)"teach my kids about ass fucking" Again, wow. Just because a true separation of church and state would mean equal rights for homosexuals, does not mean this! It's just funny someone would think this....
3)"ban talk radio" This has nothing to do with the separation of church and state unless the radio show is government funded and has to do with a particular religion.
Anyway, I think I'm done my rant for the moment. On to some entertainment.
Right now I'm reading "On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God" by Louise Rennison. It's the second in the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson. I adore this series! It's so cute, and light and fun. I've been saving this one and the 3rd in the series for my upcoming vacation in 2 days, because to me, they're the perfect vacation books. Georgia's sister Libby is hilarious, and I particularly enjoyed Georgia's comment about her mother, "...she just tutted and adjusted her bra like a Russian roulette player. (Or do I mean disco thrower?)" The idea that this instilled in me cracked me up.
On the musical front, I just got MGMT's (pronounced management) new CD, Oracular Spectacular. It's such a neat, different sound. It really sets them apart. My favourite songs are Electric Feel, Kids, and The Youth. Electric Feel is the perfect dancing song, and whenever I hear it I get the urge to get up and jump around. Another good song to note is "Say" by Low Level Flight. I like it even better than their song "Change for Me" (which is similar to Say).
I've also just got Guitar Hero: On Tour, because Nintendo DS is the only platform that I have that I can get Guitar Hero for. It's so addicting (but also kinda painful for my hand). It introduced me to Bloc Party's song Helicopter (is it weird that whenever I write out "Bloc Party", I think of Bloc Quebecois?).
Anyway, I really should be off to bed. Next time I hope to write about some of the many books I've read since (and including,) DragonLight.
(Maybe I can begin ending my procrastination... well after my vacation that is ;] )
Oh, and Happy Canada Day! =D
Friday, June 20, 2008
Gas Prices, High School, and Change
I've got a lot of things I want to talk about, the first being the insanity of the pain at the pumps. I've gotten a few chain emails about protesting gas by not getting any on a certain day, or only getting it from the small businesses. They're nice ideas, but they don't make much of a difference. Watching the news this morning though, it seems that the gas companies will eventually get a taste of their own medicine, because as the idiot box said, for the first time in years, the amount of people driving has gone down. The numbers range from something like 1.4% to 2.6% in different parts of the USA, and more and more people are finding alternate methods of transportation. The car companies will also help us, because they're feeling the pain at the pumps as well. Large truck and SUV sales are plummeting, and the Big 3 are losing buyers to the smaller, cheaper, more efficient foreign cars. It seems as our economies are sliding downhill, and gas and food prices are rising, the world we've known for the last while will be changing dramatically. I can only guess what the world will look like in 10 years... 5 years even. All I know is that it's going to be different. It's somewhat exciting at the same time to, it's like watching the future from so many of the books I've read unfold before my eyes.
Anyway, back to a more personal matter (even though I said I wasn't going to do a lot of personal stuff), today is the first day of the summer holidays for me. My last day in high school was yesterday for my Chemistry exam. I must say that I'm really sad to be leaving it already! Those four years flew past. I'm going to miss all of my teachers, and friends that are still there/going away. High school may not have been the best time of my life like you see in the movies, but it was really great. I made my 3rd and 4th best friends in high school (and lost touch with them), I discovered my love for history and biology, missed some opportunities, got my first and second jobs, and trying not to be too corny, I really found out a lot about myself. And now, I'm off to spend another 4 years, at another school. I don't really want to think about university right now though. It's a little overwhelming... I can't imagine what I'd feel like if I was moving away for school! Who knows though... maybe I'll end up moving in with my dad when I go though, because I'd save a lot on gas with the commuting, and I wouldn't have to worry about crazy step parents... oh wait, never mind about that last comment. But change... change is scary. I just got comfortable with high school, and now school as I've known it since grade one is changing. I'm going to be meeting all sorts of new people, and living a new type of life. I really hope that I meet some new friends (though I'm not getting my hopes up again), and that I'm ready for the transition, because everyone has done a great job of scaring the hell out of all of the soon-to-be freshmen about the workload.
That's all for me for now though. I'll get to my other big topic (Parents) another time.
I've got a lot of things I want to talk about, the first being the insanity of the pain at the pumps. I've gotten a few chain emails about protesting gas by not getting any on a certain day, or only getting it from the small businesses. They're nice ideas, but they don't make much of a difference. Watching the news this morning though, it seems that the gas companies will eventually get a taste of their own medicine, because as the idiot box said, for the first time in years, the amount of people driving has gone down. The numbers range from something like 1.4% to 2.6% in different parts of the USA, and more and more people are finding alternate methods of transportation. The car companies will also help us, because they're feeling the pain at the pumps as well. Large truck and SUV sales are plummeting, and the Big 3 are losing buyers to the smaller, cheaper, more efficient foreign cars. It seems as our economies are sliding downhill, and gas and food prices are rising, the world we've known for the last while will be changing dramatically. I can only guess what the world will look like in 10 years... 5 years even. All I know is that it's going to be different. It's somewhat exciting at the same time to, it's like watching the future from so many of the books I've read unfold before my eyes.
Anyway, back to a more personal matter (even though I said I wasn't going to do a lot of personal stuff), today is the first day of the summer holidays for me. My last day in high school was yesterday for my Chemistry exam. I must say that I'm really sad to be leaving it already! Those four years flew past. I'm going to miss all of my teachers, and friends that are still there/going away. High school may not have been the best time of my life like you see in the movies, but it was really great. I made my 3rd and 4th best friends in high school (and lost touch with them), I discovered my love for history and biology, missed some opportunities, got my first and second jobs, and trying not to be too corny, I really found out a lot about myself. And now, I'm off to spend another 4 years, at another school. I don't really want to think about university right now though. It's a little overwhelming... I can't imagine what I'd feel like if I was moving away for school! Who knows though... maybe I'll end up moving in with my dad when I go though, because I'd save a lot on gas with the commuting, and I wouldn't have to worry about crazy step parents... oh wait, never mind about that last comment. But change... change is scary. I just got comfortable with high school, and now school as I've known it since grade one is changing. I'm going to be meeting all sorts of new people, and living a new type of life. I really hope that I meet some new friends (though I'm not getting my hopes up again), and that I'm ready for the transition, because everyone has done a great job of scaring the hell out of all of the soon-to-be freshmen about the workload.
That's all for me for now though. I'll get to my other big topic (Parents) another time.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
It's been a long time since I last wrote, and I want to give this blog a new, better spin. Instead of writing about my boring day to day life, I want to use this blog to review books, talk about electronics, make comments on politics, religion, culture, the world, and just generally rant and rave ^_^
Just some brief info to start off. I like reading fantasy/fiction/science fiction/political thrillers mainly, and a lot of them would be categorized (at least by Indigo) in the Fiction 10-12 area, although many overlap into the Teen Fiction section too. In the religion department, I've got some mixed feelings. I'm not sure if I'm and agnostic or an atheist, but I'm definitely one of those and Jewish. I'm also Pastafarian. Politically I'm a liberal/democrat. I'm also just about to graduate from high school (in exactly 2 weeks and a day) and begin university in the fall. I like reading, computers, astronomy, meteorology, and a lot of other things too, like the subjects of this blog.
For starters on the book aspect, I've just started reading Dragonlight, the fifth and final book in Donita K. Paul's wonderful DragonKeeper Chronicles.
Oh, and on the music side, I'm loving The City Drive's new song "Behind Closed Doors", and I was excited to hear Ludo's "Love Me Dead" on 89x this evening.
Just some brief info to start off. I like reading fantasy/fiction/science fiction/political thrillers mainly, and a lot of them would be categorized (at least by Indigo) in the Fiction 10-12 area, although many overlap into the Teen Fiction section too. In the religion department, I've got some mixed feelings. I'm not sure if I'm and agnostic or an atheist, but I'm definitely one of those and Jewish. I'm also Pastafarian. Politically I'm a liberal/democrat. I'm also just about to graduate from high school (in exactly 2 weeks and a day) and begin university in the fall. I like reading, computers, astronomy, meteorology, and a lot of other things too, like the subjects of this blog.
For starters on the book aspect, I've just started reading Dragonlight, the fifth and final book in Donita K. Paul's wonderful DragonKeeper Chronicles.
Oh, and on the music side, I'm loving The City Drive's new song "Behind Closed Doors", and I was excited to hear Ludo's "Love Me Dead" on 89x this evening.
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