Memorabilia

So you remember those kewl taekwondo pins they're selling over in the Team USA shop?

When I get my hands on one of those I'm going to cherish it cuz it's so cool. But is it really something to get excited about? Is it really special and/or rare? Well, no. They sell 'em to anyone who wants one or three. But I think about it and I believe I could go my whole life and never encounter another person in the street with this pin displayed on their backpack. I believe that makes it rare in a de facto manner, doesn't it? There could be a giant stockpile of these left sitting in a warehouse somewhere when the 2016 Olympics come around but that doesn't mean anything to the rest of us, does it? Does it matter? Not really.

I still want one. When I click on the Shop link on the official London 2012 Olympics website it automatically re-directs me to the Team USA shop. You guys who live in other countries, does your Olympic shop sell different looking TKD pins? I'm pretty sure these products aren't individually designed, these are official London Olympic memorabilia.

Blogger Changes

Every time I Publish a post Blogger prompts me to Share it on my Google+. What the hell, Google? This stinks of desperation, I just want you to know that.

Anyone actually use Google+ here? Like, primarily? Not just "I have a Google+" but actually use it with friends and Circles and shit?

Dun Goofed

So I'm basically a full month behind on posts now. Maybe I should do a challenge type thing?

In other news, the XXX Summer Olympic Games have started. I'm waiting in anticipation for the taekwondo events that start on the 8th of August. Two weeks away, man! /(>~<)\

In other news, I dunno about the commentators/announcers where you are but American cunts can't pronounce non-European foreign names worth shit. That's disrespect. Unintentional, maybe, but it's there. If you're going to send someone to cover an international event pick someone with some multicultural experience, not that faggot good ol' boy.

Also, curiously, the U.S. Olympic Team shop has a category for "USA Karate". (It contains a single T-shirt.)

But guess what?

Karate is not a sanctioned Olympic sport...

Aaaand guess what ISN'T listed? Taekwondo. But if you search for 'taekwondo' products you do get results.

I think you could say that someone dun goofed.

Oh Hey, I Remember You

I totally forgot about watching K-ON!
Breaking Bad Season 5 hasn't finished yet, so I won't watch that. Game of Thrones has ended for a while so that's out. Guess I should start up on that anime again, eh?

Or should I watch LOST? Decisions...

Books. Do You Read Them?

Well, here I am reading Let The Right One In. And, just in case you didn't know, it's a book translated from Swedish just like The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

So then. What if these books hadn't been popular enough in their home country? What if they hadn't managed to garner enough attention to warrant English translations and U.S. publications? How would I have come into contact with them? Beyond wild coincidence or some Swedish language class or further forays into "it was meant to be" tosh, I simply wouldn't have.

Extrapolate how much stuff we're missing out on that's happening outside our "territories". Man, once again, I imagine how much more thoroughly I'd be able to live if I had me some immortality.
How much do I know about Swedish pop culture? Not much. It's outside my cultural territory. And only a simpleton would imagine the Swedes didn't have a pop culture at all. They have references, and in-jokes, and stock characters, and I don't have any part of it. But I wish I did.

Everyone is missing out on a lot of stuff around them. I don't think most people give it much thought, and most of those that do just take it as a fact of life and don't lament it. Maybe it's easier to get by that way.

What was the last book you read and when? Be honest now. I mean more than just skimming. And I definitely don't count any one that you were assigned or required to read. I'm asking you what was the last book you read purely by choice.

Statute of Limitations

How long after a work comes out should people wait before speaking freely about it in the open? As a lover of stories I have great respect for narrative and a proper hatred of spoilers. As such, when dissecting the latest yarn I do my best to ward spoiler-averse people away.

But there has to be a certain point in time when there should no longer be an expectation of warning at all, when everyone who planned to watch/read it has had ample opportunity. When do you guys think that time should be?
For example, it's ridiculous to say "Spoilers Ahead": Jesus dies. Rosebud was his sled. Bruce Willis was dead the whole time. Etc.

I usually give a book series 2-3 months after completion. A TV series with several seasons gets longer, at least long enough for a person to marathon it at a decent pace.

A Proposal

Profanity and shit contained in this post. You have been warned.

I'd like to ask the female community and the gay community a question: What do you think about transforming the words 'cunt' and 'faggot' into racial slurs against white people instead?


We, the people, kinda need something more effective than "cracker" and "honky".

Oh snap, I just harkened back to the days when that fucker owned land and slaves and kept women and minorities socially oppressed. That'll ruin his day, darn tootin'!

You know me. I have a lot of rage in me and it needs an outlet.

So, all my readers, if you fall into either one of those communities or know someone who does, give me your feedback on this proposal. I understand if you feel like this isn't going to help 'equalize things' but that's not the point. In fact, I'm not even asking for your approval, I just want you to know what I'm doing when you might see me use either of those curses in the future.

Not A Draft, But Blame Mai.

So I got tagged but I ain't gonna do the chain-letter part of it. There are rules but I ain't gonna post or follow those either.

Still, I like telling you guys about myself, so I'll do some of it, the important parts anyway.

11 Random Things About Me
Well, let's see... gotta make sure I haven't already told you guys some of this already.

1. I've recently gotten over a slight phobia of static electricity. (ha-HAA!! Sux to be you, Z-girl.)
2. I like having nightmares. If I wasn't able to lucid dream with such regularity I probably wouldn't like it so much, but I have control and it becomes more or an adventure.
3. My left pinky doesn't completely straighten. Dunno why.
4. My current favorite colour is blue.
5. When I hold a knife I have the urge to sing "My Friends". It creeped S-girl out every time. (^_^)
6. When I need to come up with a random word I think of 'ham' every time.
7. When I see large amounts of blood, on TV say, I feel a twinge in my right thigh somewhere close to my femoral artery.
8. I hate Taio Cruz's song "Dynamite" because of children.
9. The sound of the Spanish language doesn't appeal to me. Italian is fine.
10. I have several Gmail accounts for separate purposes. Before blogging I hardly used this one for anything at all. Not I log in to this one for the longest times.
11. I feel a sense of pride in having perfectly individual passwords for every account on anything ever, now. No more one-size-fits-all kind of shoddy security for me!

 And my answer's to Mai's questions:

1. Why do think you're tagged in this game? Who wouldn't want to know more about me, fascinating person that I am?
2. What is your ideal girl/guy? See here.
3. What turns you off (girl/guy)? Despondency.
4. Do you believe in love and marriage? Love, yes. Marriage, no. It's cheap like tissue paper these days.
5. What would you do if you only have 24 hours left in your life? Hang out with my friends.
6. If you're to travel somewhere, name 3 persons you wanna bring along with and where? Z-girl, D-girl, and A-boy into the Blue Time so we could discover what our powers are.
7. When was your first kiss and who? Three years ago with S-girl.
8. What do you hate the most in a person? Despondency.
9. Who do you look up to the most? Probably A-boy.
10. How do you see yourself 5 years from now? Celebrating the Springtime of Youth. The usual.
11. If you have something to say to the tagger (that is me), what would it be? ( ^__________^)-b*(_)- -)

Tila Tequila: What Do You Think?

I almost labelled this post with the 'racism' tag but I realized I'm being over-zealous. This post does not, in fact, concern racism. It just had something to do with race.

As you all should know, I appreciate the aesthetics of females of the Asian persuasion. Just so we can establish that bit of foundational information.

On to the specimen in question though. Tila Tequila.

If you've never heard of her, that's good. I would best describe her as one of those "MTV personalities". You know, the kind whose entire career is built on ostentatious behaviour for the sake of entertainment, such that you can't really tell where the real person starts and the fake on-screen persona stops anymore. I direct this question primarily to my non-Asian readers:
Is she hot?
Or even pretty? I have to tell you, with the benefit of my trained eye, she has an oddly shaped face. Is she what you would call 'exotic'?

I know I'm not the first to make this joke, but when I first saw her on her "reality show" I said, "Damn, she looks like an alien."

I mean, really.

An Issue of Great Import

Today's question is primarily directed to my male readers. Females, avert your eyes, where-ever you may be. Unless you are curious. I expect no answer from you based on experience, but if, perchance, you possess some knowledge of physics, particularly as pertains to fluid dynamics, you are welcome to stay.

Where is the appropriate spot to aim when using a urinal?

Splash-back being a universally undesirable consequence for most everyone concerned, I'd like to know what techniques you might be employed to minimize such unhygienic results.

If the conditions of most public restroom urinals is any indication, a good many guys do not, in fact, have any such techniques.   (ಠ_ಠ)

A simplified urinal diagram.

The most telling mark of a noob user, besides the mess, is the auditory sound of aiming at the water. This is retarded and should be embarrassing to them. Sending a stream of liquid into a pool of liquid will undoubtedly create splash. Somehow this doesn't occur to some.

 The above diagram indicates the arc when the user either aims for the water or the urinal cake. Both are proven to be ineffective targets for minimizing splash-back. Sadly, it has been discovered that men have an instinctual urge to aim at something and when they have a brightly coloured object right there in front of them they take the shot.

Tango down.

This has resulted in some urinal cake manufacturers to design (or claim to have designed, at any rate) cake drainage cages that minimize splash. Things shouldn't have to reach that far down in the process, however. The urinals themselves have been designed to eliminate rebounding droplets.

Note the parabolic shape of the rear wall. This is (one of) the ideal locations at which the stream should be directed. By targeting the sloped surface one ensures laminar flow and provides a smooth gradient to the pool at the base, once again eliminating any splash on contact.

Taking advantage of male human nature, Dutch urinal designers took to providing strategically placed targets painted into the porcelain in order to 'trick' people into using them properly, as it were.

Note the dot to the upper left of the drain.

That black dot is a fake fly. Since then the fake fly target has spread out of the Netherlands across the world. Travel across the moat seems to be taking some time, however, I have high hopes for our nation's WC facilities.

A Crossroads

Ok, guys. So today I want to check with you peeps, my readers. Which would you like to see me post about in the coming days:

A) Some thoughts about the world (Warning: there will be rants)
B) Some posts about movies (Warning: there will be rants)
C) Some thoughts on relationships, and probably tell you some things about my first gf (Probably no rants here)

The poll will be up on the sidebar to the left.

Heaters

I'd like to make it known that I do not intend to make the 'double post every other day' my new pattern. My aunts came down to visit the uncle (the one who was in the hospital) and I didn't get reliable and adequate access to internet for a while.

In other news they brought a portable electric radiator heater with them. I don't know about you but I've always believed radiators to be terribly inefficient heating elements. It relies purely on natural convection currents to spread heat around the room. This has always left me in a cold room with a large and cumbersome block that is hot/warm to the touch. AND NOTHING ELSE. Good for nothing but heating a pair of socks I'd lay across the top. THESE AREN'T RADIATORS, THEY RADIATE NOTHING! If anything these devices should be called convectors (I am unsure if this is an actual word but I'll say it anyway).

Is it just me? Did I just have a bad set, as it were? It can't be that radiators are just universally inefficient like this, right?
Note: When I say inefficient I don't mean the ratio of energy input to air temperature conversion. That is to say, radiator heaters may be perfectly non-wasteful with the energy put into operation but if it only heats the air by a few degrees I remain unsatisfied.

In my experience ceramic heaters and parabolic heaters are the best for doing what I want out of a heater: making me warm. The parabolic heater is great when I just need to heat my one self but it doesn't warm the air much. Therefore, the ceramic fan heater earns my top spot.

Yeah, I just posted about heaters cuz it's cold here. Lord Stark was right. Winter was coming.

Piles of Leaves

Have any of you jumped into a pile of leaves? This is an act of "fun" that I hear white people like to partake in. Could one of you explain the appeal to me? By "you" I don't mean white people, I mean my readers.
(^.^)7
I imagine there are lots of bugs and dirt in that pile of rotting organic matter. Is it deceptively fluffy? And any advice in the spirit of "You gotta try it to get it" will be noted asinine.

Pumpkins

An honest question: Does anyone really eat them? Personally, I don't care for pumpkin pies, or pumpkin drinks or anything pumpkin tasting, but I don't see anyone eating this stuff outside the Halloween season either. Not like apple pie. People eat those all the time. Pumpkin pie only seems to come out when the holiday is here, otherwise it disappears. Like candy corn. I don't know of anyone that actually likes candy corn or buys candy corn because they like the taste. It's cheap and people buy it to give to all the kids for trick-or-treating. That's it. Otherwise, candy corn is garbage.

So tell me, all of you, do you like the taste of pumpkin-anything? And weigh in with your candy corn opinions too if you'd be so kind.

Pride and Contempt

Is it possible to have one without the other? Can you think highly of something or someone (yourself included) without looking down on the rest? I hope it's possible. (And if there's one thing Obama has taught me: Yes, we can. hahaha)

Well, you all know I have plenty of pride so this question is especially applicable to myself. I like to think I'm not excessively (hehe) contemptuous of others. Nevertheless, I'm not blind enough to make the assumption/judgement that I'm truly not. Best to just endeavour to be who I want to be, eh? Advice to live by, I think.

Fight Club

No, not the movie. I'm talking about the book, written by Chuck Palahniuk. It was good stuff and as always I'd recommend everyone read the book even if, no especially if, you've watched the movie.

This isn't a review of any kind, by the way.

Today I happened to be thinking about the first time I read the book. I got stuck on the first page for a good 15 minutes. Thinking about how the gun modification would work. Dunno what I mean? If you don't happen to have a copy of the book lying around, even I don't, you can actually read the first page on Amazon.

I'm no kind of gun expert but the mechanics of that mod seem a little off to me. Any one know if it would actually work?

Why You Bloggin'?

So Mark just put up a sort of commemorative post for his third month of blogging (congratulations are in order for his excellent work so far).

In which he addressed his reasons for blogging. If you don't already know of him then rest assured that those reasons are noble and good.

Sadly, the same cannot be said for many bloggers and blogs out there. I'm pretty sure all of you know of at least one blog that had their Adsense account banned around one month ago, when Google went out and winnowed a good portion of the Blogger population for having "fake blogs". The more telling result was that most of those blogs stopped after that point. For that, I say good riddance.
The money part of Blogger is just a bonus for me. As for me, if my Adsense got banned the only change you'd notice was the sudden absence of ads on my blog.

I'm not here to get thousands of Followers and thousands of dollars, I'm here to get readers. The difference being not so subtle after all. There's a sort of unspoken rule around here where someone will come to your blog and post a comment and end it with something like "+Followed" and you're supposed to follow back. Not to be a jackass but I don't really do that. If your blog isn't something I'm interested in, that is to say, I would have nothing to comment other than "Nice post!", I don't follow just for the sake of it. So, for those of you whom I follow, know that I really enjoy all of your posts. (O_<)-b

Lucid dream, sad dream

Had a terribly sad dream last night. I guess I am lucky enough to be one of those people who can lucid dream? Zach mentioned that he couldn't, which made me consider the possibility that it is not as common as I thought. Any dream that I am aware of having ends up turning lucid, even if I can't perfectly recall it later that day. Is this common?

So last night three of us, myself, a girl and one other guy, dash into a house, chasing after a man with a knife. The lights are out and the only light source is an old style camcorder I'm holding with the light turned on. The girl leads the way, holding her own little kitchen knife, and I follow, shining the light so we can see. We go up some stairs to the second floor and our third loses sight of us, getting lost below. There's no time to wait for him to catch up, we have to run on. We circle through all the rooms but they are empty, there's no third floor but where could he have gone? The pair of us complete the circuit and head back towards the stairs to search beneath. Perhaps he dashed ahead of us and went back below? She turns the corner and screams out. I come around just in time to see him stab her through the chest. At this point the darkness disappeared and I dropped the light, lunging forward with my own knife. (No guns apparently.) His blade pierced my shoulder but I drive mine into his chest. My left hand comes across to grab his kinfe by the blade, holding it so it doesn't go all the way through the joint. We fall against the banister and I push harder. His breaths slow and stop.

It really hurt when he stuck me. The shoulder went numb but the real pain came when the blade bit into my fingers. When I woke up I lay there for a long while thinking about how we had both failed her. Not 'failed to protect her', as she wasn't a limp and delicate waif. She was our team-mate, every bit as strong and capable as we were.

Sometimes, when I have incredibly vivid dreams like this, I wonder if that wasn't a glimpse into the life of another dimension's Me. In this case, I really hope not. (_ . .)
Damn. It was intense.

Layoff Teachers Based on Seniority or Effectiveness?

Posting for Monday, 8/15.

Listening to NPR this week and I heard about this debate. Yes, white people aren't the only ones who listen to NPR. Apparently, the current policy is to lay-off teachers based on seniority, i.e. new teachers get laid-off first. The proposed method would be to determine who to let go based on effectiveness. I'm not sure how that would be gauged but let's not get stuck on that for now. Reading a copy of Costco Connection I found the question posed to the readers as well. (It's from two or three issues back in case any of you guys are also Costco members and want to check it out. And if you hung on to that old issue.) Those who responded with 'seniority' gave reasons like:
-Teachers who have been there longer will have the experience and know-how to deal with the problems they face.

Basically, what you're saying is that teachers that have been around for a while will be more EFFECTIVE? Then what is your problem? Let effectiveness, i.e. merit, be the measuring stick, in that case. Their argument needs a new leg to stand on. I honestly don't understand how the ones who staunchly support a seniority based system can say they aren't self-serving.
Worst case scenario for a merit based system: The new teachers find they can't compete with the older and more experienced ones. Tough, but I'd want the best education for my kid and if it comes down to fighting for my child's education and future versus the teachers' livelihoods, naturally I choose my kid. Only the best stay.
Worst case scenario for a seniority based system: Driven and motivated, newer (not necesarily younger, though) teachers are booted off . The oldest stay, without any qualifications aside from years of service. Can't you just picture it? An cynical, jaded teacher whose spirit has been beaten down over the years by generation after generation of apathetic students slips by doing the minimum, resting easy knowing that as long as he doesn't break any laws or display overt negligence he will be able to keep hold of his job. Come on!

I don't see how this debate can't be phrased to ask: Which teachers should we keep? Older or better? That should be obvious, right?

Breaking Bad posts?

Would it be interesting to post commentary on Breaking Bad episodes? It's some really good stuff so I won't have much to rant on.....

Short post for today. I don't have much time to write something more thought out. (^__^;;;)7
Have another bad-ass scene.