Simplification of complexity

I may be stupid but…

2010-09-28T23:49:00.000+08:00

The recent furor over the Jakarta Q! Film Festival have caused the Indonesian Ministry of Communication and information (Menkominfo) to release a statement regarding the legality of the event. While the issue over the legality or the appropriateness of the event is undoubtedly heatedly debated by the involved parties my concern lies in the actual press release that was published on the 28th of September 2010.

I noticed that the press release itself has been altered since its initial release by removing section 4b which emphasized the minister's personal opinion regarding the event. While the removal of the initial section 4b itself may raise a few eyebrows I believe the bigger concern lies in its inclusion.

The second problem I have with the press release is the actual necessity of the press release proper. In section 2c of the press release it is clearly stated that it is not within the capacity of Menkominfo to allow or deny the such events and clearly states that it is within the realm of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

So the question is why would Menkominfo meddle in affairs that is not their own?

(American) Individualist culture

2010-08-14T16:17:00.001+08:00

I placed the brackets in "American" because it's a trait most commonly associated with the citizens of the United States of America. A trait born out of distrust of Big Governments and amplified during the anti-communist propaganda during the cold war and the "can-do" attitude seemingly inherent in Americans and not forgetting the harsh reality of big cities.

This individualist culture has been criticized by many as lacking in social cohesiveness that homologous societies have and that those who subscribe to this life style are seen as self absorbed, egocentric, inconsiderate and uncaring. While anyone who has walked through the streets of New York City or find themselves "lucky" enough to be in a Taxi in Los Angeles may find it difficult to contradict such claims the same people can attest to finding a different kind of tolerance, that in their self absorption they do not care where you're from, what you do for a living nor what your belief is simply because it is not of their concern, an unspoken rule that as long as you leave them alone so will they. The opposite is often found in homologous societies where unfamiliar behavior are often questioned, considered dubious and if necessary "exorcised" in order to persevere social harmony.

More often tolerance is less likely found in homologous societies due to its overprotection of "local values" and are often feel threatened by "foreign influence" and is more likely to grow naturally in a laissez-faire society, one that cares less about implementing one form of "social values" instead allowing the society to form its own values through a compound of different values.

Gross stereotyping

2009-08-08T12:25:00.003+08:00

an American, an Englishman and an Australian walks into a restaurant and orders soup.

when they each found a fly in their soup the American yelled at the waiter and demanded to see the manager, the English called for the waiter to inform him that there's a fly in his soup, the Australian looked at his soup and said "hey a free fly" then proceeded to eat his soup.

of hypes and bandwagons

2009-05-31T23:11:00.002+08:00

I was trying to explain about people's habit when it comes to TV shows, movies and games when I realized it went on for far too long and complicated and I realize most people these days haven't the time to read long entries nor have the capacity to do it, and don't feel like writing an essay on it so this is what you'll get instead.

If you watch a series or buy a game because of the hype it simply means the marketing works. If you've never seen or play whatever it is you're avoiding because it's "overhyped" or "everyone's doing it so I won't" you're a bit a retard, WHY? because you don't know what it is (note: this is very different from being disinterested). Before you make a comment about something make sure you know what you're commenting on otherwise you'll look like some stupid tart who never passed 1st grade because you were too busy sniffing glue.

compare these four different answers below and see which one fits you best (all answers are real answers I've heard about one TV show):

1. "I'm not going to watch that show because everyone else is talking about it"
2. "I didn't like that show because the characters are too generic, the story is repetitive with no real direction and I'm generally not amused by it"
3. "I'm just not interested in that kind of thing"
4. "it went on for far too long I just lost interest"

fully plugged in

2009-04-28T11:26:00.004+08:00

As I was writing my essay about consumer waste a thought came across my mind, how many consumer electronic product do we use regularly?

my list:

-early 2008 macbook
-NDS light
-psp 1000 (2nd hand)
-Nokia 3330
-xbox 360
-PS2
-fridge
-22" (I think) TV (non HD not flat screen)
-cordless home telephone
-2 portable HD
-120gb lacie HD
-vacuum cleaner

Shark-Human relations threatened as attacks increase

2009-02-14T21:46:00.005+08:00

Shark population in Cronulla are gathering in protest of the increasing numbers of people in the beach as more and more people are coming to the beach this summer.

Cronulla, a popular destination for humans and sharks during the summer period, is once facing a potentially violent conflict as the two groups once again gather in the beach of Cronulla

Shark representative Finny Sharkton have said that the increasing number of people endangers the well being of sharks living in the area.

Sharks living in Cronulla have voiced protests against the obvious racial discrimination by its human residents and demands equal treatment. "We've been here long before those landwalkers and now they're killing of our kind so they can have a swim" protested Sharkton, who was a victim of past human violent attacks in the past.

Despite their peaceful nature certain extremist shark groups have taken upon themselves to rid off the human infestation with at least 2 separate attacks reported believed to be planned by one of the few shark extremist groups, it is still uncertain whether these two attacks are related.

As one of the leading figures in the Cronulla shark community Lily Gutripper have proposed a plan to segregate the humans and the sharks to different areas "Until we found a better solution I believe that it is best for both of our kinds to stay away from each other for the time being, I can guarantee that as long as they stay on land there will be no attacks from the these groups".

While Mrs. Gutripper's initiative have been widely accepted within the shark community the human community have completely disregarded this initiative, dismissing it as a monopoly by the sharks on the use of sea water.

BADASS

2009-01-22T10:58:00.004+08:00

Remember, this is what you voted for

We the people

2008-12-17T22:16:00.005+08:00

What makes a nation? shared history, shared culture, shared language, shared values, if these are the elements that makes a country there are many that no longer fits the definition. If there is one factor that is true in all citizens of any country is that each one of us hope for a better life. Many move away from the country of their origins to another for better security, better treatment, better jobs, better life but in the end that is what we all want.

We do share one value, we value a good life and the ability to live as we see fit, yet here we are segmented, separated by our fears, hatred and pettiness. We carve out borders to exclude others, we huddle with our own kind out of hatred and we reject foreign values out of fear.

Humanity is one but diverse, yet its diversity is what separates us.

So I ask again, what makes a nation? I say it is fear.

計画通り

2008-12-16T20:41:00.003+08:00

"for everyone of us you kill there will be thousands more to replace us"

now see there's the problem, the strategy is never about submission it's about suffocation and once you're all tired fighting amongst yourselves we'll just drop by and do as we please, guess what, it worked

Fe E

2008-12-14T22:18:00.003+08:00

so what is irony?
I see irony in many things
Being hit by an ambulance that was meant to take you to the hospital
Going to war to make peace
Getting sick from a medicine

I also find irony in being able to access things easier after a system is set up to prevent access to it.

or shall I say, well done sir you just wasted much needed resources on something that is guaranteed to not work intended.

To movie goers

2008-11-29T21:29:00.001+08:00

and by that I mean anyone who goes to the cinema to watch movies.

Ringing cellphones are irritating please switch it off or switch it to silent mode, if you do need to pick the phone step outside the cinema.

Keep your mouth closed when you chew, in fact close your mouth when you chew regardless where you are, it's disgusting, nobody wants to hear you eat.

Shut up and watch, pay attention to the story, understand the context, you can ask or discuss about the movie after it's over if you want to talk about it, it's what sane people do, unless it's a comedy in which you're allowed to laugh.

I pay money to watch a movie, not to listen to retards.

abide by this simple guideline and I will not accidentally tip my super-sized soda/popcorn to your person or cause harm to your mobile phone.

*this rule also applies to classical concerts and stage plays

go vote

2008-10-14T11:41:00.003+08:00

Silver linings

2008-10-14T07:37:00.002+08:00

For every bad news, disaster or calamity positivist encourage others to look at the silver lining, the gain instead of the loss. This is like focusing on the nutritional value of eating a plate of human excrement. OK I might be exaggerating, it's really not that bad, it's like not having to pay income tax after you lost your job not to mention the amount of time you get to spend with your family or yourself, or not having to pay for your child's tuition fees after he or she was run over by a truck (and think of the possible compensation payout you might get from that) and think about the job opportunities you might get after a disaster that wipe out half of the human population on the planet and if you do get the short end of the stick on the general population reduction measure you gain more than you've lost, the only thing that you've lost is your life and all earthly bonds but you get to see the afterlife and god, maybe some old friends and relatives. If you don't believe in the afterlife you can always be glad for not having to worry about getting a job, pay taxes, in fact you don't personally have to pay for anything.

So yes, if you come to me and tell me to look at the silver lining from a bad thing that happen to me I'm going make you do the same the next time it happens to you.

Time to bail!

2008-10-14T07:36:00.000+08:00

It has been several days since the US bailout plan was approved and less than 2 days since the UK plan was approved and we can already see the immediate effect on the stock markets, everything is up, the DOW, the NASDAQ , FTSE, you name it. Does this mean the economy is improving? it seems like it, will it regain public trust in banks? probably not but the banks will still making money regardless.

So what have we learned from this economic roller coaster experience? for one thing we know that the market, like god, works in a mysterious but predictable way, also, like god when the market makes a turn for the worst it's the less fortunate that gets the short end of the stick and then forced to look at a non existent silver lining. Another thing that we can take out from this learning experience is that if you're big enough it you will never have to be accountable for your mistakes no matter how big that mistake is, in fact it's more likely that you will be rewarded for it with a slap on the wrist as the worst consequence you'll receive.

700 billion

2008-09-23T02:04:00.004+08:00

I'm not going to talk about the irony of a Republican government nationalizing companies, I think that horse is dead and beaten, instead I will talk about the numbers. I can say with a degree of certainty that most of us have never dealt with numbers that high in any field, especially when we talk about money.

The recent move by the US government to bailout failing major financial institutions is costing the American taxpayers around $700 billion, to some the move may seem like elitist socialism but in the end the American public gets to own one some of the most well known financial institution in history (at least technically), so congratulations Americans you're now the (technical) owner of one of the most prestigious financial institution in the world.

Let's look at that number again, 700 billion. Now let's take a look at the population in New York City, 8 million, now we move further back and look at the population of the US, it's estimated to be around 305,226,110, now lets move even further back and see the world's population, 6,725,295,014. Technically they could give away $2 million dollars to every person on the face of the earth and still have plenty more to spend, of course it would bring the world economy into financial ruin but seeing how things are going now I don't see the difference.

So here's my proposal, invest in people, give everyone $2 million dollars and hope they'd spend it, and if you're loosing or have lost your home because of the mortgage crisis I'm sure you'd like to buy that dream home you just lost.

a tribute...

2008-07-22T02:03:00.003+08:00

and now I give to you the symbol of Jakarta and the spirit of its people......

it's called monumental failure

it's HUGE!

2008-07-15T04:32:00.002+08:00

Putting all other rants aside I now present to you something so hideous it's mesmerizing, the Giant Can:

It's filled with 960 ml of barely tea, yes that's right, 960 ml, only 40 ml short of a whole liter

Here we go again

2008-07-02T22:06:00.002+08:00

I have nothing against people who make movies about THE holocaust, I do however have a lot against the amount of it.

Yes it was a terrible event and yes it DID happen and yes it is necessary for people to be made aware of such atrocities through popular art, literature and cinema but why does it almost always focus on THE holocaust? why isn't there more movies about
massacres that happened more recently?

I don't think there are anyone in the "Western" world who has not heard of the systematic racial purge that happened in the Second World War but while we watch and study the history of the Holocaust most of us ignore the fact that many of the refugees arriving in the developed countries came from places where genocide are not seen in their history books but is happening in front of their eyes.

Do we not owe them our attention by making others aware of their condition as well?
or are they not relevant enough because they do not share the same history as we do?

Righty ho then

2008-06-25T00:07:00.002+08:00

やっとここに着いた、後戻りはない

Waiting

2008-06-04T21:13:00.002+08:00

As the clock ticks I wait until the my final day comes, as I wait I can't help but think of the date and one sentence said many years ago on, "You are about to embark on a great crusade", while I do not equate myself to those whom these words are addressed to these words still ring true, if I loose this one last push I will be left with nothing.

Departing....again

2008-06-04T00:57:00.002+08:00

As I pack my bags again I realized that I have to leave a few things behind, then as I look around those things my thoughts wander to my former work colleagues, my niece, my cats, friends and other people that I will leave behind. This isn't the first and it wouldn't be my last time....One last look.

Chapter 3

2008-05-26T19:25:00.003+08:00

So I was told my student visa was granted today, suffice to say I was relieved, soon I won't have to deal with religious ignoramus shouting over the speaker, traffic jams, and smog filled air. Will there be anything I miss? naturally, the cheap prices of some things and a handful of people but other than that I'm glad.

This will be a new chapter for me in this journey called life, it will be different and it will be the same, I will meet with new people and familiar faces, somethings I will do differently and others will be the same but one thing for sure it's going to be something.

You Habla Engrish!?

2008-05-09T21:54:00.003+08:00

From a figure manufacturing website

Fact

2008-05-08T10:29:00.003+08:00

I don't get upset often but if I do and it's caused by someone else other than myself I suggest you keep your distance. Apologies mean next to nothing to me and I hold a grudges, if want to say you're sorry be sorry for your existence and fix that error.

Yes I'm not a very nice guy but if you know me you already know that.

Percentages

2008-05-06T15:17:00.002+08:00

Less people die from self inflicted gunshot wound or jumping off buildings than those who smoke, yet chain smokers are not arrested for attempt to commit suicide (which is illegal in some countries). Ok there's the issue of intent but with the various warnings on smoking that's about as intentional as standing on a train track while being warned that they'll get hit by a train.

Then again what do I care, the more people die due to their own stupidity the better it is for the rest of us.

Oh great.....

2008-04-23T13:24:00.003+08:00

(Insert caption here)

I like attics.

2008-04-22T17:08:00.004+08:00

A bigot is a person who is prejudiced against anyone outside his/her own kind, don't be picky hate everything, at least that way you'd be fair.

GEEK!

2008-04-22T01:28:00.002+08:00

"How a about a JLA movie?" asked a person. I'm very skeptic about comic book super hero movies, I blame the 70's and 80's for it, the horrid tunes from Batman and Spider Man TV series still haunts me like a bad jingle. To be honest I was even skeptic of X-Men when I first heard of it, the only super hero movies I had faith was Batman and Superman (even they turned out silly after a several sequels, which then required a "restart").

Coming back to the question of a JLA (Justice League of America) movie, you have....just on top of my head......Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Superman, Batman and Seaman...I mean Aquaman....forget about the rest of them. That's 6 major characters with 2 already having major box offices. So you'd understand why I'm being skeptic.

Insignificant

2008-04-15T23:06:00.004+08:00

Is the month half passed or half remaining?

post count....+1

...I think not!

2008-04-08T23:29:00.003+08:00

I just watched the pilot episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles suffice to say I'm interested.

"I'm your substitute, my name is Cromartie"

Break it down!

2008-04-08T01:24:00.009+08:00

Why do I do this? I blame myself for it but here goes,

First off I'm not part of any religion or cult, in fact the amount of dedication a person spends in one rather disturbs me but by this I'm not in anyway saying I'm not biased, I am, against stupidity and badly made films.

I have this new habit of not saying anything about something without knowing it. So. Having actually seen that sad excuse of that short movie about the threat of Islam (Fitna) I have to say.... it's a sad excuse for a movie, even a short one. Being Dutch isn't an excuse for making a bad movie, I know it may seem like a trait but no, it's not an excuse.

OK so you picked up a few passages you find disturbing or don't like from someone else's Holy Book and superimpose them on some violent image, great, well done you've just passed Propaganda 101....NOT, what you've done is make people curious and look for more and when they find out it's not exactly as you say it is they point and laugh at you, unless you were relying on your viewers to accept it word for word. LRN2RSRCH! Until then go back to smoking weed and making porn.

Granted that morons exist in any and every culture and society why discount the Muslim community too? Morons and idiots exist in that society too (there just seem to be more on this side of the world) and you pick their understanding of what is? that's like taking the KKK's interpretation of the Bible or some conspiracy theorists idea of how the world is run (the part about Dick Cheney is an alien robot....that's true though).

The accuracy of the movie is as accurate as Colin Powell's report on the existence of WMD in Iraq.

It's kids stuff

2008-04-07T22:40:00.009+08:00

Ok today I went to youtube to watch one of those caramelldansen clips (yes ok I'm rather retarded that way) and enka videos only to find it inaccessible, thinking it was down for a bit I tried again a few hours later only to hear that it was blocked over some video the Indonesian Government found offensive. This may sound odd to those who know me but I'm going to try and be neutral here.

I think they're missing the big picture here, they spend enough time talking about and deciding to ban some website and ignoring the real issue the country's facing, like lack of widespread education or the widespread malnutrition for example. This youtube thing is a non issue and it should stay as a non issue, any call to pull the video down just shows the inability to take crass, offhanded criticism like an adult.

I just hope this is just a knee-jerk reaction like all those other times otherwise they can continue the ban and stop calling themselves a democratic country at least that way they'd be honest.

for those with simpler minds: If you don't like it, don't buy it!

'tis a happy box

2008-04-04T21:33:00.002+08:00

For some reason this reminds me of Futurama.

Stagnant

2008-04-03T12:09:00.002+08:00

I sit in my room with nothing to do listening to the continuous "tick-tock" from my clock, it's irritating.

Lovely day eh?

2008-04-03T03:49:00.004+08:00

So I was talking to my brother when he said his classes were cancelled for the day due to strong winds... he failed to mention that it was 130 km/h strong.....and they say talking about the whether is boring, my favorite quite from the article was;

The bureau's severe weather expert, Kevin Parkyn, said the magnitude of the storms was unusual for the time of year.

I'm surprised someone still find something 'unusual' in Melbourne's weather, I guess I'll go ahead and bring my flood boots.

ヤ〜レンソ〜ランソ〜ラン...

2008-03-25T14:08:00.002+08:00

This is why I like watching Japanese TV

Self realization

2008-03-24T02:01:00.004+08:00

There are a things that people have as a result of a certain trait they possess or lack and there are things that people will not have because of the same reasons. After studying so long about human and social behavior I'm able to objectively judge myself as an individual and realized a few things about myself; my character flaws, strength and all that revolves around myself as a person and have come to this conclusion.

Denying a possibility is much less disappointing than being denied the possibility

Because some risks are just not worth taking and when it comes down to it I'm a little more possessive than most.

"Because it sells"

2008-03-24T00:32:00.004+08:00

The more I go out the more I dislike marketing people, sure they'll say without them nothing will sell, ok they're half right they make shitty things popular but that's not my main gripe.

As I walked in a shoe store I looked at the regular shoe placement, sports shoes, walking shoes, running shoes, etc. then I saw it.... Lifestyle shoes.... here's my gripe;

lifestyle |ˈlīfˌstīl|

noun
the way in which a person or group lives

The misuse of the term lifestyle and any word used improperly here is what I find annoying and I only have a group of people to blame for this, marketing people. Re-inventing definition of a word to fulfill their marketing pitch at the cost of a clearly defined word. If you think it's bad in an English speaking country try and have a look at places that uses English because "it sounds cool" without a good understanding of it.

Prawns on the Barbie

2008-03-23T16:53:00.004+08:00

It's Easter

2008-03-21T03:43:00.005+08:00

Hi everyone I almost forgot it's Easter, not that I personally celebrate it but it's a good time for everyone to just sit back with your family and friends and have a cup of Joe, Happy Easter people

Smoten?

2008-03-21T03:01:00.007+08:00

Smitten, a past participle of the word smite, is more commonly used to describe infatuation with something, or in most cases someone, but when you look back at the root of the word it relates more to being on the receiving end of a fast moving, powerful force or object.

Let's take a look at the usage;

"He smote me with a hammer" Here the word smote (past tense of smite) connotes that the subject was violently struck by a hammer.

One the other hand

"I was smitten by her looks" Does NOT indicate at any point that the speaker was violently struck by the subject, here (and in general) the word is used to describe something more positive

Yet when we switch the condition of the 1st and 2nd sentences it becomes:

"I was smitten by the hammer" and "She smote me with her looks" where the condition in both situation becomes quite humorous.

IT'S A BEAR!

2008-03-19T19:12:00.009+08:00

Name: Ame

Age: Old

Gender: Male

Species: Catbear

Size: Huge!

Weight: Heavy!

Hobby: Eating, Lazing around

Likes: Following people, tummy rubs

Dislikes: YOU! (note the face)

little green blobs

2008-03-17T19:31:00.005+08:00

I like food in general but I'm not a big fan of vegetables, sure I eat few like cucumbers or lettuce with the right salsa fresh tomatoes, carrots and a few others, if prepared in a certain manner but in general I don't like it but there are few that stands disgustingly above the rest. Like most vegetables it's green and like most vegetables I don't like it, not as a side dish or on it's own, I'm talking about peas, yes little green peas that destroys the flavor of a perfectly good food, they destroy the flavor in mashed potatoes, fried rice, steak and just about any food I can think of.

Peas has an extremely overpowering smell and flavor which causes any food too loose it's distinct taste, it doesn't enhance the flavor it kills it, like what chlorine does to people in confined spaces. In fact any food that requires peas in its recipe probably has no taste or it was too awful to begin with.

Yes I hate peas, I hate peas like I hate ultra right-wing conservatives in fact I think they're somehow related.

Another weekend

2008-03-15T11:36:00.003+08:00

It's Saturday and I have nothing else to do so here's something for your viewing pleasure.

yes it's a black cat, you got a problem?

The weekender

2008-03-09T17:23:00.003+08:00

Just two things, first, Francis Ford Coppola made a couple of movies and second , Moe anthropomorphism.

Have a good week people!

May I have your attention please...

2008-03-03T17:03:00.006+08:00

I can has Internets!!

In all seriousness, I'm finally connected to a proper internet at home, no long dangly cables, no more going to internet cafes and most importantly no more constant dial-up disconnection, ok so it still has limited download limit but it sure as hell beats 20 minutes to download a 1 mb file, so now I have less reason to go out of the house and in a very short period of time I will be able to describe myself as the 21st century version of a caveman.

As I always say, increased technological access means decreased mobility (or the need to be in this case)

Long Awaited

2008-03-03T11:11:00.001+08:00

Hey look what I made!

What's in a name?

2008-03-03T10:53:00.003+08:00

I don't follow Indonesian party politics closely but when something interesting comes up I'm inclined to make a comment about it, this time it's about a the name of a certain political party. For those who follow Indonesian political parties (the group one not the one with funny hats and alcohol...wait.....) they tend to have odd and even bizarre names like this one for example Partai Bintang Reformasi (Reform Star Party) and that's one of the less ridiculous one.

The one that caught my eye was this one party, Partai Hati Nurani Rakyat (People's Conscience Party) abbreviated to HANURA, I admit it makes an impact when a large group of people start chanting the name on the streets but at the same time it sounds to me like they're calling for this:

Which really isn't that different when you think about it

One hundred and one dancing yellow daffodils

2008-02-26T10:12:00.004+08:00

I've been in virtual solitary confinement for the last couple of months with only less than a handful of people to interact with, my computer, Cable TV and a recently bought Nintendo DS. I have this to say, I've slipped my mind, I've gone over the edge and not in a humorous way, I caught myself staring into nothing, not wanting to interact with people in general, unable to comprehend the most basic concepts and the overwhelming urge to walk in front of a speeding train amongst other things.

Funny when you thought you have done everything you wanted to do and have everything that really matters everything else becomes moot and when it happens in your mid 20s it's a dangerous thing.

Turning into a tree

2008-02-13T13:14:00.000+08:00

Thinking it would be a fun thing to do to pass the day I watched one episode each of the following series; Sakigake Cromartie Koukou, Pani Poni Dash, Lucky Star, Galaxy Angel, Akahori Gedou Hour, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Azumanga Daioh and Excel Saga. I mean it's only about 1 and a half hour of random insanity, slapstick humor and puns what harm can be done?

As it turns out by the end of it I can conclude that if you worry you'll become a tree! (心配したら木になる!)

Technical issues

2008-02-09T13:52:00.000+08:00

WYSIWYG!? WYSIWYG YOU SAY!? I'LL WYSIWYG YOUR ASS IF YOU DON'T START PRINTING PROPERLY!

Movie Marathon

2008-02-01T12:44:00.000+08:00

I went to watch several movies last month and bought 4 DVD's the other day because I ran out of things to do and here's my short opinion on each of them.

Alien Vs Predator 2: Worst movie of the year, that says a lot since it was out in January
Golden Compass: Could have been better, much better if not for the crappy progression and movie time constraint.
American Gangster: Not the best gangster movie I've seen but not bad, it would have been better if the morons sitting next to me would just stop talking (I had to spill my soda on them on my way out).
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium: Magical living toy store, I enjoyed it.
John Rambo: The eternal search for the highest on screen body count.
3:10 to Yuma: Can't ask for more, it's typical western.
The Contract: I bought it thinking it was something else, it was meh.
Charlie Wilson's War: I have to admit, this one was pretty good I enjoyed it.
Bobby: This one takes the cake, probably one of the best movies I've seen so far.

There you go my brief thoughts on the movies I've seen in the last 30 days.

Dog tricks

2008-01-30T21:27:00.000+08:00

Piano is hard

Fragmentation

2008-01-25T13:15:00.000+08:00

They say a dry spaghetti always snaps into 3 pieces or more when you bend it, supposedly due to a cascading effect. The diagram below shows that it is possible to snap a spaghetti in 2. The red circle indicates the broken areas on the spaghetti as indicated on the diagram 1 strand out of 3 is broken in only 1 section instead of 2 or more, although it is not broken evenly in half the diagram indicates that it is very close to it.

Just before you say anything I didn't use any equipment but my two hands, I didn't break it in any special method, I snapped them one at a time and it was done in room temperature in the same room.

人形遊び

2008-01-25T12:49:00.000+08:00

I remember talking about the possibility of this with my brother some months ago while walking down the streets of Melbourne after discovering some really odd item in tora no ana.....I really should stop speculating..... well, it's not like it exist after I said it the report did say they guy had been collecting it for about a decade, unlike some other things I've said before.

Well this really puts a new meaning to playing with dolls

グーゼン

2008-01-14T17:18:00.000+08:00

Well would you look at that, last year's post count is exactly the same as 2005, what a coincidence...

Oh and here's something completely different

It'll be a blast!

2008-01-10T15:43:00.000+08:00

Look people I'm still alive! (despite the wishes of most people).....September.... yes it seems like a while ago since I blogged but enough of that let's get into the good stuff, here's what I found today while browsing The Age's tech section. Yes I'm an easily amused person.

With regards to the U.S presidential race I only have this to say......"Ah McCain, you've done it again..."

I once ate a fish this big!

2007-09-26T11:59:00.000+08:00

Despite having eaten most types of meat commonly available (though I always wonder what elephant taste like) I still find the size range in seafood amazing, I mean with chicken and beef the sizes varies but not by much wheras seafood....well, you get cocktail shrimps.....then you have the whale, which is probably the largest animal known in current existance....unless they found a whalasaurus which I imagine anything with "saurus" suffix would be at least huge and probably really really old.

Here's lookin' at you

2007-09-12T12:06:00.000+08:00

While I was looking through my hard drive I found this photo of a moron dressed like something out of an old gangster movie, someone shoot this guy already.

趙ダサ〜！
(oh and yeah, that's a pack of chewing gum in my right vest pocket)

P.S

2007-08-31T09:43:00.000+08:00

In light of my recent unemployment I will not be able to frequently update my blogs due to limited internet access.

Hima hima seijin ya!

2007-08-31T09:35:00.000+08:00

(To be sung in tune of Jingle bells)

I just quit my job, this is my last day
All my stuff are packed, no more work for me
Now I can stay home do nothing all day long
or go play with my cats or play video games all day HEY!

NA NA NA, NA NA NA NO MORE WORK FOR ME~

NA NA NA, NA NA NA NO MORE WORK FOR ME~ HEY!

NA NA NA, NA NA NA NO MORE WORK FOR ME~

NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NO MORE WORK FOR MEEE~*

U.N employment

2007-08-30T09:09:00.000+08:00

Ah yes the sweet smell of unemployment it's so close now I can feel it, in less than 48 hours I will officially be free, no more waking up in the morning to go to work and no more going through the hellish morning and evening traffic,.....and no more monthly paycheck or free internet(crap!), oh well I guess I just have to find some way to not spend as much money until I find another job.

Now that I've cleaned up my most of workspace I've almost have nothing to do in the office anymore except for training the new staff but then again I can leave that to someone else so now it's time for.........Warcraft 3.

5 more...oh wait.....

2007-08-24T14:58:00.000+08:00

I can't believe it....I was supposed to have 5 more days left now it's 7 days, tricky bastards! slipping in work days for the weekend.

But seriously I'm not upset over it in fact it only means more money for me I mean with a 2 x 10 hour overtime pay when I'll be jobless by next Friday....sweet.

Now, if only I earn the same amount (numerical not value) per month but in US dollars.....

I wanna be a chocolatier!

2007-08-23T12:10:00.000+08:00

As I may have mentioned before I'm currently (though not for long) working as a student counselor for foundation year students, this also includes a little bit of careers counseling as well.

I fully understand that it's very difficult for people who have only gone through 10 to 12 years of education, with ages ranging from 15-19, to decide on which university course to do, most of the students are not even certain or even care about what sort of career they want to go into.

I like to think that students today are more exposed to information about the different jobs available to them and have some idea of what the job involves more than I was then, so when I hear "I want to do software engineering because I like video games" unless they can tell me what aspect of video games they like or would like to work on I get a little upset.

More Chinese hilarity

2007-08-15T11:24:00.000+08:00

Chuang Tse, A prominent Chinese Taosit once had a conversation with one of his contemporaries regarding what fish likes and it went something like this;

Chuang Tse and Huizi were strolling along the dam of the Hao Waterfall when Chuang Tse said, "See how the minnows come out and dart around where they please! That's what fish really enjoy!"

Huizi: "You're not a fish — how do you know what fish enjoy?"

Chuang Tse: "You're not I, so how do you know I don't know what fish enjoy?"

Huizi: "I'm not you, so I certainly don't know what you know. On the other hand, you're certainly not a fish — so that still proves you don't know what fish enjoy!"

Chuang Tse: "Let's go back to your original question, please. You asked me how I know what fish enjoy — so you already knew I knew it when you asked the question. I know it by standing here beside the Hao."

I may be reading this the wrong way but Chuang Tse's last reply sounded like "I know but I ain't tellin'" which doesn't sound very well thought out to me then again he became prominent Taosit philosopher who thought he was a butterfly while I'm sitting behind a desk making blog entries.

if you ask me who the other guy is I wouldn't have a clue I mean Who is he anyway?

End of week countdown

2007-08-10T16:30:00.000+08:00

By the end of the day I will have 13 working days left before I'm NEET, "don't you mean 15 working days since today is the 10th of August and there's still 3 full weeks to go until the 31st?" No my unsuspecting fellow, there's a public holiday next Friday and I'm taking the Thursday off so I have 13 days of working left! and that means I'm going to have a 4 day weekend *glee*

iWant

2007-08-09T16:49:00.000+08:00

Once again I'm getting the news late, which is good since I'm not a tech journalist.

First I'm just going to say one thing about iWorks '08........AWESOME! and to have them call the spreadsheet Numbers just made me a prophet, too bad the whole package is beyond my iBook's capacity.

Now a few words about the new iMac, While the tech specs are quiet expected the design on it's own looks disjointed, it feels like there's a barrier between the monitor and the the rest of the body, aside from that I like the new keyboard design now the only thing they need to do to improve it is make it paper thin so I can place it on an angled surface and play "tactical officer" or "helmsmen" from Star Trek:TNG.

*OK something is seriously screwed with text formating in blogger, I'm gonna have to try and fix this

Because it's notable

2007-08-07T10:17:00.000+08:00

I feel like posting something here but I seem to be lacking in topic today, so I'm just going to post about not having anything a topic to post.

or

I could dedicate today's post space to another random wikipedia entry for random information which you'll likely find no use for whatsoever.

Today, 62 years ago....

2007-08-06T17:54:00.000+08:00

On this day more than anything we must ask ourselves was it worth it? Was it worth the 80,000 and more in the years that followed? Should today be passed by just like any other day? and what have we learned from it?

Friday night lights

2007-08-03T21:55:00.000+08:00

Well this just sucks monkey balls. I started today thinking this was going to be a good day, it's a Friday, end of the week I usually finish the day on a good note with the weekend to look forward to. Sometime between 9 and noon (yes I'm being very particular here) I saw one of the newspaper headline saying something about some big gubernatorial campaign rally planned for today.

During my lunch period as I was walking to buy lunch (KFC naturaly) and to buy a new battery for my mobile phone (which had been dead for the last 3 days) I saw a convoy of busses, cars and bikes carrying the campaigners which is NEVER a good sign in this god forsaken city, at this point I knew that I was never going to get home on time.

The irony behind the campaign (which is expected in any political campaign) was it caused exactly the opposite of what the candidate "vowed" to reduce, traffic jams, hours and hours of traffic jam. Starting from noon until well after 18:00 (that's 6 pm in laymen's term). Knowing this in advance I decided to go to my favorite cafe in the mall just across my office after office hours to spend some time reading only to find out that it was closed, bugger me.

Since new batteries needed to be recharged before I can use it I couldn't call home to say I was going to be late, I also ran out of coins to call from a pay phone so I decided to catch a movie only to reminded that movie ticket prices are double that of the weekday prices.

Eventually I managed to get a cab probably after 7, I'm not sure since my mobile phone's dead, my iPod ran out of juice and so did my iBook so I can't tell what time it was nor did I look at the big round clock in the mall I was in, I also stopped wearing wristwatches years ago since I had a mobile phone.

Ok so it may not sound as bad as what others may have been through but I wasn't happy with my day today but as with all bad things there's usually a silver lining, mine was some chocolate souvenir gift from a very lovely (and very smart) lady, emphasis on the chocolate, that and a big fat Whooper.

Note: that was the first time ever I've met a person who stumbled across this blog by some mere chance.

Begin countdown

2007-08-03T08:41:00.000+08:00

That's 3 days down counting today, 4 weeks or 18 working days to go (including 2 public holidays) until I'm NEET , someone said to me that it felt like impending doom, I don't feel anything of that sort, or any sort really probably because I've got things planned ahead or as someone said to me I'm an "emotionless inhuman* bastard"

Then again if I was emotionless why am I angry over my disfunctional taskbar?....

*the state of not being human

Watering hole

2007-07-27T14:42:00.000+08:00

Ah yes if there are 2 things I've learnt from living in Melbourne, Australia was that there will never be enough food joints, bars and pubs, the second was quaint sophistication doesn't need to be expensive. Though I no longer live in Melbourne I still check for new venues from one of the most authorative website about food and drinks in Melbourne, apparently it is easier to look for a good place to eat onine than physically hunting them down yourself, then again it's less fun.

Today I found what seem to be a place that I'd go later (after work) with some friends if I was in the city, the place is called Ume Nomiya as the name suggests it's not a place to go if you're looking for an "Australian experience", the words edamame and sake in one sentence alone caught my eye (though those two are pretty much a staple in any Japanese watering hole) however I can't give an honest review about it because I haven't been there yet but it's definitely on the top of my things-to-do list once I have a chance to visit Melbourne again

Those damn Sheep F***ers!

2007-07-26T13:40:00.001+08:00

As I was reading some blog entries from The Age's website I found an article by Jack Marx on his interpretation of Waltzing Matilda, somehow I just couldn't stop laughing for a few minutes.

Like a sore thumb

2007-07-25T10:01:00.000+08:00

In any story, whether it's in a movie, book or stage play, it is quite common to see characters with complex backgrounds whether it is the antagonist, protagonist or other major supporting characters, characters with a confilcted history that explains their reason for being so the audience may understand or even sympathize with the characters and their actions. To emphaisze my point, many people find Hanibal Lecter to be one of the most fictional evil characters to be created yet he is not hated in fact there are certain qualities in Lecter that some may find attractive.

To have a character that creates an air of pure annoyance, hatred and revulsion amongst the audience on the other hand might be a little more difficult to find, characters like Dolores Umbridge for instance, these characters I Sincerely believe deserve a special kind of award.

Same old, same old....

2007-07-24T09:59:00.000+08:00

A small party goes on a quest to find and destroy items magical and malicious in nature to destroy evil that will soon engulf the land. In their epic quest this small band of unlikely heroes was aided by others including powerful wizards and elves in escaping creatures of the dark and battling the forces of evil, during their journey they also discover friendship, love, betrayal, sorrow and death.

Sorry to dissapoint but I'm not describing Lord of the Rings here (although I could well be), it's that new Harry Potter book everyone's been ranting and raving and lining up at ungodly hours about, I bought it at about 12 o'clock in the afternoon 2 days after the release date and by golly gosh there were still plenty of copies left.

Side note: I remembered a person comenting about the Harry Potter series that he wished he had a book this exciting when he was at school, the man was about the same age as I am. In retrospect mayhap I should have mentioned that we (our generation, and prior) had a better book (not saying this one is bad), published some time ago by another person also with a J.R in his name and I've been reading it since I was 15, plus it made a better movie too.

Chioces

2007-07-23T11:58:00.000+08:00

There lay before me 3 choices that I have to make, I know it's only a matter of time before I can take them all but not at once as sacrifices must be made for each choice we make, one must take careful consideration into the choices they make as each choice defines the person.

There lay before me a story of a tragic prince, a series of humorous anecdotes by a strange and possible deranged indivudual and a tome describing the life a boy who is forced to make difficult decissions early in life .

Out for a flick

2007-07-20T11:01:00.000+08:00

It's been a while (read: years) since I went to he cinemas on my own, usually I have a company or two. I fogot why sometimes it's better to go at it alone, you get your seats easier since you don't need to be near anyone else and if you hear a mobile ringing (or much worse, talking on his mobile) next to you have no reluctance in "accidentally" spilling your drink on the guy, not that there was any of the latter in yesterday's movie viewing experience.

I went to watch the new Harry Potter movie (the Order of Phoenix) not because I'm a huge Pott-head I'm just curious on how they plan on fitting a book that thick in less than 7 hours, the end result was once again disappointing, many plots were cut for the sake of time (not everyone can plant their rear end 7 or 12 hours non stop for a movie) and many major characters in the book had a much less distinguished role making it less of a movie and more like an extended trailer.

On a positive note it the whole movie gave a clear visualisation of major events in the book for those people lacking in the imagination department, like just about 70% of the audience in Indonesia.

As a side note, I wonder if it's in bad taste to be walking around tomorrow wearing a T-shirt with ****E DIES written in big bold letters in front of a bookshop....

Signed and sealed

2007-07-19T10:38:00.001+08:00

Wow that was easier than I thought, I just submitted my resignation letter to the HR manager and told my unit manager that I won't be here for much longer, in that order. Not that I don't like working where I am right now but in fact it's quite enjoyable most of the time but I just don't see myself going anywhere working here. It does have it's perks though, it's conveniently close to where I live and VERY close to 2 malls and an "electronics mall", free net access, my own room (or office if you prefer) and some good people to work with and to top it all off a nice, relatively stable working environment basically a near perfect job (if you don't take the wage into consideration)......if you're 40 years old.

I'll be out of work by the end of next month and afetr a period of undeserved rest and relaxation (which I will use to finish some games) I'll be off to the land where the local hero is a lying, backstabbing S.O.B.

More than meets the eye?

2007-07-19T09:25:00.000+08:00

I got into the office this morning and did my regular routine of checking the e-mail and opening several news sites, the news in the last few weeks have in fact been nothing short of eventful with terrorists in London, big football event in Asia, earthquake in Japan and so on and so forth. This morning one article caught my eye but for the wrong reasons, with a headline like “Transformer explosion rattles Manhattan” I couldn’t help but think some giant robot blew up in down town New York instead of some steam pipe burst causing an electrical malfunction.

The wordings in the article didn't help either, here' part of the news excrept:

"...causing a transformer to explode and sending thick plumes of steam and ash into the air near Grand Central Terminal"

""It felt like an earthquake. We saw hundreds and hundreds of people running down Third Avenue," she said. "They were screaming, they were crying.""

"...the blast left a crater "many dozens of feet wide," comparing it to the craters she saw after bombings during a stint in Iraq. She also said a "hissing noise" can be heard for blocks."

That ain't cool yo!

2007-07-16T09:08:00.000+08:00

This actually came to me as a surprise, someone down in Sydney apparently have figured out a way to get rid of 'hoons' (Auspeak for 'rowdy teenagers') in a certain area by simply making the place 'uncool' by playing some old music and installing pink lights. I'm surprised no one has ever thought of this before since teenagers only hang out in "cool" places it only make sense. On the other hand if this method is implimented on a larger scale there are two things that might happen in the long term; one possibility is that the teenagers might start listening to the Rat Pack and Tom Jones regularly or that area might attract the 50+ crowds to hang around in the vicinity, unless of course they already do that.

*fixed on 18/07/2007 because I think faster than I type

Winzip error

2007-07-06T09:33:00.000+08:00

I get up in the morning and got myself ready for work as usual then went about my business as usual (including being dropped off at a public area and walking accross the bridge to get to my office) followed by a 1 hour introductory presentation to the students I will be assisting throughout the year, which went pretty well if I may say so. Finishing early I retired to my office to check my e-mail, I picked up my keyboard to reply to a moderately important e-mail and realized one important detail, my zipper was undone, at that point I also realized that I haven't gone to the toilet once since I left home....

Heroes season 1 finale

2007-07-05T08:51:00.000+08:00

The bad thing about living outside the US is you get to watch the good TV series later, the good thing is you don't have to endure mid season hiatus' which is becoming somewhat of a plague in American TV series lately. That's not the point of this post though, I just watched Heroes season one's finale and I thought it was somewhat anticlimactic when the big destined fight was a little more than fisticuffs, I'd actually like to see something in the scale of the Peter vs Sylar fight in episode where Hiro went to the future but I guess they have a good reason for that. I do like the cockroach showing up at the end though, the season began with talk of cockroaches and ends with a cockroach (the bit with Hiro arrived in past is season 2).

At the end of the episode I found myself wishing I had the same ability as Hiro for the sole purpose of jumping ahead in time to watch the next episode of Heroes.

Autobots Roll Out

2007-07-02T08:54:00.000+08:00

I went to watch Transformers: The Movie yesterday suffice to say I wasn't impressed, it was good and I did somewhat enjoy it but.....well I'll let my alter ego do the talking.

POP!

2007-06-25T09:31:00.000+08:00

Bubble wraps, what is it with bubble wraps that makes so special, so special that a lot of people are addicted to it? Like heroin it was used for something else but now many use it to satisfy their addiction to it to a point where specific products are made to increase the effects of the products' abuse, bubble wraps now faces the same dillema with this, specifically made to satisfy your inner need to feel, hear and experience the sensation of popping the bubbles in bubble wraps.

Melancholy of a toilet paper purchase

2007-06-19T09:04:00.000+08:00

So there I was waiting in line to buy a pack of toilet paper (premium quality of course, I'm really particular on what goes on my ass), I picked the specific line because there were two people, count them, TWO people, in front of me and the lane was supposed to be the fast lane, it's a basket only line, no trolley's allowed, so I thought "this isn't going to take long", maybe its just me, maybe it's fate I don't know but this became the longest queue I had to stand in for a pack of toilet paper.

The first person wasn't much of a problem she was in and out pretty fast, the second person was a lady, she looked like trouble, by that I mean she had that "I'm gonna kill you" expression on her face, then I saw her shopping basket, there was a full size pillow on it, yes on the basket not in it. Once the first person was done with her business she the second lady than proceeded to empty her groceries on the counter. Beside the pillow she had packs of soap, shaving cream, a potato peeler, bags of fruit, stacks of chocolate bars and assorted candies, I think she created an entirely new dimension for her to put groceries in that basket. So I asked the lady of I can cut in line because I was only carrying one pack of toilet roll, true to her expression she said no, I thought it was fair enough, she got there first but I didn't think the "I'm going to kill you" expression was necessary when she said no.

When it was time for her to pay she pulled out a credit card, an ANZ Visa card as I recall, the cashier guy then proceed to swipe the card to the machine, which was on a different counter, I saw the guy swiping it several times and I thought "oh god this is going to be a while". The cashier guy then asked the lady if she had another card because her first one was obviously not working, she then produced another card which again didn't work. At this point I asked the cashier guy if he could put the lady's payment on hold while I pay for my pack of toilet roll, with cash. The guy told me to be patient so I looked at the cashiers to my left, which was not the fast lane and it seem to be going quite smoothly but it had trolleys, with more stuff in it, it discouraged me to switch lanes when I saw what the other guy next to me had in his trolley.

After some time the lady hasn't finished with her damn payment so I jumped lane and asked this other lady in front of me if I can cut in line explaining to her that I've only got a pack of toilet paper, kindly enough she let me pass, now the person who is now in front of me was just about to finish her shopping and I thought "finally I can go home with my toilet paper" I had my money in my hand ready to pay for the toilet paper, then the person in front of me produced a debit card from her purse, I felt like crying.

It took almost half an hour to buy a toilet paper in that grocery shop, I'm never going to buy anything from that store ever again.

Down time

2007-06-15T18:30:00.000+08:00

What's a single guy to do after a moderately busy week on a Friday evening after work? I sit in a cafe drinking camomile tea while reading a recently bought copy of Fromm's "Fear of freedom".

"Gaza is lost"

2007-06-14T14:27:00.000+08:00

Says one of the officials in Mahmoud Abbas' government with regards to the recent conflict in Palestine. My question is why would the Palestinian government care about some Australian guy called Garry being lost in a middle of a potential civil war? and why would Garry be in Palestine to begin with? He should have at least brought a map or ask around so he won't get lost.

250 POSTS!!!

2007-05-31T17:54:00.000+08:00

I made it it's been almost 2 years since I started this blog and now I've reached a quarter of a mile stone, I've reached a quarter of a thousand posts, I only need 250 more to make it to 500 posts and 750 more posts to make it a grand and it all started with this measly test post, come to think of it I haven't done much with it since then.

May 25th.....

2007-05-25T12:20:00.000+08:00

and here I am in the office......without a towel....crap I just hope I don't get into any sort of trouble

Crowded sandbox fight

2007-05-22T08:49:00.000+08:00

Addendum to this post.

Kid E: My dad says I came from a flying spaceship that looks like an old jet plane!

Everyone else: huh?

I'm Psychic!

2007-05-20T20:35:00.000+08:00

I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING!

NO YOU CAN'T!

FINE GO AHEAD IF YOU INSIST!

Absurd Logic

2007-05-15T11:27:00.000+08:00

I don't like to argue much about beleifs and religion........wait, that's a complete and utter lie, I like doing it but not for the sake of proving myself right or establishing my position but more into deconstructing the logic behind the whole concept.

Hearing some supposed religious individuals argue against another regarding the merits of one over the other however is better than watching sitcoms, the arguments will always spiral down to the basic "my daddy is better than your daddy" (I was going to use another example which involves a specific human male organ but it just doesn't seem appropriate).

Imagine 4 kids in a playground

Kid A: My dad's better than yours
Kid B: Well my dad can beat your dad any day.
*Kid A throws sand to kid B's face and they fight each other"
Kid C: Stupidhead, dads don't exist you made it up because you're scared.
Kid A&B (to C):Shut up I have a dad, that's how I got my clothes! clothes don't just show up for no reason!
*Kid A, B and C fights each other*
somwhere in the corner you see Kid D
Kid D: *muttering* My dad left after I was born, I never see him but I know he's there.

Argumentum ad ignorantiam

2007-05-14T17:15:00.000+08:00

It is an undeniable fact that the Great Wooden Plank is the source of all creation and the benevolant and just ruler of all things, denying its wisdom and existance will not lead to punishment as the Great Wooden Plank is benevolant.

multi tasking

2007-05-10T12:49:00.000+08:00

I am currently surfing through the net with 3 different browsers opened, Firefox, Opera and IE, out of the 3 I actually prefer firefox but for some reason it's extremely unstable on my office PC, it crashes, quits for no reason and shows computer languages on some pages.

Opera is by far the most gimmicky browser I've ever used the tab browsing and built in search engine is a standard in any browser these days but the rest of it are probably things I won't even need, nifty but that's about it, the upload time is definitely slower than firefox.

With IE I don't have that much of a problem except its excessively slow loading time which the main reason why I switched to the other browsers.

Post Scrpit: I just had my fears confirmed, it's not the browsers that are unstable, it's the damn OS.

May I?

2007-05-02T12:03:00.000+08:00

Ah May, the 5th month of the year by Gregorian standards and not 2 days ago was the day when some jackass German took a pill and shot himself in the head not that it bears any significance to the following month and yesterday was May day where once a year every working person would run out and call for help, some say it's the 8th day of the week between Tuesday and Wednesday but nobody seems to notice.

Let's take a look at today in history.

1829 - Some British naval Captain established a colony on some coast in some country. Nobody else cares

1945 - Some German General surrendered a German City to some Russian general. Nobody else but the Russians cared

1982 - A British ship sank an Argentinian ship over some insignificant islands with falcons. The falcons couldn't care less

Annual celebrations observed this month:

01/05: May day, The one day where people notice that there are 8 days in a week yet are always frustrated as it is not always celebrated between Tuesday and Wedneday causing people to march to the streets.

05/05: Mayonnaise day, Where people pour mayonnaise all over the sink yelling OSOS!

08/05: VE Day (Australia only), otherwise known as cheap beer day where everyone drinks VB in excess, the E is a typo error due to the drunken state of the the entire Victorian populous where the day was first celebrated.

25/05: Towel day, Stick your thumb out, you're in for one hell of a ride. Oh don't forget to bring your towel. (thank's Doug)

Hey man.....

2007-04-26T14:06:00.000+08:00

Tired of work? dumped by your girlfriend? School assignment riding your back? why don't you have a cup of....

"Well it should be!"

2007-04-26T12:25:00.000+08:00

In criminology public order crime is defined as "...crime which involves acts that interfere with the operations of society and the ability of people to function efficiently"

in my book this would include enacting the DRM, invention and continued production of unstable computer OS and public phone surveys.

Gay is the new black

2007-04-25T10:22:00.001+08:00

They have been under fire from many aspects of society, some treat them as diseased, a threat to society, sub-normal or mentally ill, religious communities have treated them as sinners and laws have been made to limit their rights and ridicule their existence even further only because they are considered as different.

Now I could be talking about a lot of things here, African descent, Women, Homosexuals, Jew, Chinese, Muslims, Anglo Saxon, Christian, Arab, Mac users, Communist or just pick any social, ethnic, political group and I mean any and I can assure you they have been ridiculed one way or the other.

Today Gay is the new black, but not in a good way.

Fun things I do when I'm bored

2007-04-23T14:24:00.000+08:00

The U.S Second Amendment reads;

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

I'm no legal expert, I wish I was but I'm not, so honestly I have no idea what's being said here and I'm willing to bet that I don't think the majority of people REALLY understand what it's saying. So I'm going to break it down despite of my lack of knowledge (granted to me by the powers of free speech).

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State..."

The first issue here is the definition of Militia, to my understanding it's just about everyone who can pick up arms when required by the governing body (not necessarily the State) to conduct martial activities.
What of the term "well regulated"? would it be safe to assume that it means an organized regularly trained group? if so "A well regulated Militia" could mean any able bodied individual who are part of a regularly trained militaristic group. In modern terms this could fall into several categories; the military, civil defense groups and police force* amongst others, basically paramilitary.
So as a whole the first part could read as "In the interest of State security, a regularly trained force are necessary"

Now for the second part,

"...the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Well, taken out off context this reads exactly like what it says, that "the people have the right and shall continue to have the right to have and bear arms" (but not arm bears which I don't think is very fair). Now since they separate "Keep" and "bear" I would assume keep means own and bear means to carry and the rest should basically be quite clear.

When the whole passage is read it would read as "In the interest of State security, a regularly trained force are necessary and that the people have the right to own and carry arms"

Or should it be read as "Every member of a professionally trained military or paramilitary group are allowed to own and carry weapons in the interest of State security"?

Like I said I'm not a legal expert, heck I'm not even American so why should I care right? I don't, really, I just have too much time on my hand.

*The Police force while not a military body conducts the role of the guardian as defined by Plato though on a different scale.

"...duh...."

2007-04-23T14:10:00.000+08:00

This guy sounds like some guy I know back in junior high when asked about his homework, what did he say you ask? well I don't recall, I remembered he said it but I don't recall what it was.