Archive for March, 2008

• Links!

  Date: 2008.03.11 | Category: ahh the news, links! | Response: 0

  Carl Rove is hated by University of Iowa students – wait a minute – isn’t he universally loathed? Check out this story about his recent lecture – I think the crowd could have been considered “hostile.” – CNN picked up the story too

  What do you know about the NSA? I’m guessing that you’re aware that they are a domestic security agency but thats probably about it. What do they know about us? Quite a bit more than I would have imagined. Check out the article at the Wall Street Journal.

  A NY charter school is going to do the unimaginable – they are going to pay teachers 125K/yr – far more than the administrators in charge. Competition for the jobs is fierce but this could change the way we think about paying our educators. Lets hope that they are on the right path – read on at the NY Times.

  Here is an unofficial list of the top ten Hubble images – cool stuff

  Here are some great pictures from Russia – they still have a little catching up to do after the fall of communism – then again, we have quite of bit of catching up to do in any area where there are trailer parks and white trash.

  Improv Everywhere does some amazing things in places you wouldn’t imagine. This time, they started a musical in the middle of a food court without the knowledge the consumers seated around them. There is a video of the performance – unfortunately, I can’t watch it but its gotta be great. In the past they sent 200 people in blue shirts and khakis into a best buy – needless to say, security flipped out. Check it out!

• The Seven "Social Sins"

  Date: 2008.03.10 | Category: rants | Response: 0

  Oh yes, it’s rant time. Ok, maybe not so much rant as confused comments on the new moral rules of our Christian lives. I guess I will start at the beginning with the original 7 “deadly sins”.

  1. Pride- ok , so don’t be a jerk about your success in life. I get this one.

  2. Envy- Be happy with what you have, I get this one too.

  3. Gluttony- Don’t be a fatty, fatty. It turns out to be very unhealthy as well. This one I get.

  4. Lust- Naughty thoughts get you in trouble. Only sleep with the person you are married to. Again, got it.

  5. Anger- Angry people are ugly, calm people are nice. Get it.

  6. Greed- Share yours with those who don’t have. This is the one I think I get the most.

  7. Sloth- Get up and do something fatty, this one hits close to home too

  I get these. Believe it or not, in my modern day life, these sins still seem relevant to me. I believe that I can use these rules in my everyday life, some more than others. I don’t see much wrong with these, however, it may be because I’m not Catholic. ( nothing personal but I am REALLY holding back my comments here as to not offend people I care about, and God)

  So, now let’s take a gander at the new things that have already given me a one way ticket to a fire party for the after life, shall we?

  1. “Bioethical” violations such as birth control.

  - Ok this one I understand because it goes with that whole lust thing I mentioned before. However, I still find it really hard to believe that if I find the right person, wait until I’m married, then have sex with them, that I will STILL be committing a major sin if I want to practice my rights as a wife and share that intimate time with my husband, when I do not intend to have children. If the sole purpose of sex is to strictly reproduce, then why does it cause such pleasure? Then if it isn’t suppose to cause so much pleasure, why then does it matter who we reproduce with? Why shouldn’t we be able to exercise our rights as husbands and wives with out the intent of children? Oh and then if every wasted ejaculation is ” future child killing” then WHY would our bodies be made to have wet dreams? ( I could go on but I will spare you)

  2. “Morally dubious” experiments such as stem cell research.

  So, I killed chicken embryos to harvest cells, and grow them to possibly use this technology to create a new heart or lungs or other internal organ to save a life of someone in severe suffering. Is that really that bad? If I can spare a few potential lives to save millions, is that too close to playing God? Could it be an amazing discovery that will change technology for the greater good?

  3. Drug abuse-

  Alright. This one I give to you.

  4. Polluting the environment.

  Bringing methane to the air is pollution. Again I ask why we should be punished for something that our bodies were CREATED TO DO? Does this mean gum spit out on the sidewalk? Does this mean driving cars and flying airplanes? Doesn’t the pope travel? Doesn’t every “good Christian” travel? Eat food? Use Paper?

  5. Contributing to widening divide between rich and poor.

  I guess I really just don’t understand what is meant by this one. Is it working for a big corporation? Is it making money? Is it ignoring the man standing on the corner begging for my hard earned money? Is it not giving money to the crack addicts whom spend all theirs on drugs?

  6. Excessive wealth.

  Let’s say I discover the cure for cancer and become worth $72 trillion dollars. I would call this excessive wealth. Now, where does it become a sin? Does it become a sin when I take the money? What if I take 20% and tithe it? Is it still a sin? What if I take $36 trillion and donate it to the staving children in a 3rd world country? Does it make me as bad as a massive cocaine dealer from Columbia whole makes about $3 Million a years, and kills anyone who gets in my way? Does becoming rich give me a one way ticket to Hell? If that’s true then I will NEVER try to work to do anything spectacular to fall into any kind of money. ( but then if I did that, would I be committing sloth?)

  7. Creating poverty.

  How am I responsible at anytime for creating poverty? Is this one even aimed at a common person like me? Or is this aimed at , again, a big corporation who takes excessive amounts of money from consumers? Someone like the head of an oil company? Is it insurance companies who keep sending us ridiculous bills for simple medical procedures?

  It is way too late for me but I had to get this all out of my system. If you have a different look on things PLEASE open my eyes. I would love to be able to accept these but I really just think it’s a joke. With a list like this I’m surprised that reading Harry Potter isn’t number one.

• I Know, It's Been a While

  Date: 2008.03.09 | Category: I was too lazy to organize these | Response: 0

  I haven’t posted much in a while. I have been pretty wrapped up in other things, as of late. I’m getting down to the last bit of school and I’ve been a big ball of stress. I haven’t been working much which also adds to the stress. ( you know, no work no money) I’ m getting pretty excited because Vegas is just a few weeks away. YAY!

  Since John has been gone, I really haven’t spent time with a whole lot of people. Last weekend, though, was my dad’s 51st birthday weekend. So, my mom, dad, Leanne, Jeff Best Friend Jenni and myself did what we always do and went moonlight bowling for dollars. It was really fun. I didn’t win any dollars. That part wasn’t so fun. Then on Sunday, Leanne and I hosted a “PartyLite” candle party. John is going to KILL me when he see just how many candle and candle related things I received. I’m excited non the less.

  This weekend I managed to get some friend time in. Cassy and I have been friends since oh gosh like 5th grade but haven’t spent too much time together since high school. Friday night I took the time and went down to Lacey to visit her. It was a very fun weekend. We got some good girl time in, talking, sharing emotions, dying hair. It was a good, much needed weekend.

  I will be putting up some new pictures on my flickr for the enjoyment of others.

• History Class, Know Your Past, Ok?

  Date: 2008.03.09 | Category: I was too lazy to organize these | Response: 0

  This is just really really funny.

  [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWt-fduKFmo]

• Lenin isn’t as popular as he once was

  Date: 2008.03.09 | Category: Life as we know it | Response: 0

  Lenin has fallen apart – literally

  
  

  Thats all

• Its official – you were wrong

  Date: 2008.03.08 | Category: ahh the news, links!, rants | Response: 2

  Airborne – how many times have I been told about the wonders of this supplement? People have a manic obsession with it because they believe that it will strengthen their immune system and prevent colds. It is often taken before a trip as a stressful time that is sleep deprived is more likely to bring on a cold as your immune systems weaken.

  I’ve always hated holistic cures that have no scientific merit. Sure, this stuff has a bunch of vitamin C but so do oranges. We have not found a cure for the cold and we do not know how to prevent it – all that we do know is that if we wear our immune system down through stress/lack of sleep/change of environment we are more likely to catch a cold.

  Well – if you thought airborne was the cure – you were wrong. Turns out there was a class action lawsuit because they’ve been selling a PLACEBO. I think its hilarious – and this is just another time where you were wrong.

  Ok – now that you’ve regained your composure and have figured out that I’m messing with you its time for some links.

  This guy has zero tact but still tells it like it is. In fact, I would almost wager that he is anti-tact. His best article is where he dissects womens clothing options. Brilliant work (warning: just a bit profane)

  This website gives determines your personality based upon the photos you choose. Based on my selections, I have been dubbed a “go getter”

• Nextel lives in a house of lies

  Date: 2008.03.05 | Category: Life as we know it, rants | Response: 0

  I wrote about my last experience with Nextel thinking that it couldn’t get much worse. Boy – was I wrong!

  I called Nextel again and asked to speak to the government account services. I was transfered to customer service elevator music waiting line – I spent 23 minutes on hold before I was disconnected.

  I called again and asked for the government account services – the agent on the other end of the line inquired why and I told him that I planned to cancel my account. He immediately retorted that “you’ll be charged with a $200 cancellation fee because your account is valid till Jan 08″ and I explained that I was in the military and that I would be canceling my account in accordance with the military clause. He was disappointed that he couldn’t use fear to make me continue using their service. He was summarily rude from that point on and he placed me on hold for 32 minutes while I waited to be transfered. He came back once or twice, probably hoping that I had hung up the phone in disgust. I was not going to give up on this one – no way in hell.

  Eventually I was connected to the correct department and I explained the situation and told her that I had reference numbers for my previous conversations. She wasn’t interested and told me that she would have to look up my account history. It was at this point that she began to lie to me. I wanted to scream “LIAR!” at the top of my lungs but knew that it would do me little good. She told me that they had never received a copy of my orders (even though three agents had previously seen that they had) and that I would have to fax them in. I spoke in a low, clear, tone – much like you would use to explain to a child that their course of action is going to get them into trouble – and told her that faxing another copy was not an option. First, I had previously faxed a copy of the orders. Second, no fax machine is available in this country so I had no method of delivery. I knew this would have been a foolish choice as I would have been forced to fax it, call back and confirm it was received, and then call to cancel on yet another day. They were trying to delay the inevitable. Third, I told her that previous agents had confirmed the receipt of the original fax and that there was no possible way I would resend the information. Four, I had far better things to do than to waste my valuable phone time talking to customer service on an issue I had already called about 7 times.

  She placed me on hold.

  She came back 10 minutes later and asked if I would like to transfer the line to another family member. I declined.

  She asked if I would like to suspend the service in lieu of cancellation. I declined.

  She placed me on hold for another 5 minutes.

  When she returned she sounded as if she had beaten, she told me that she would cancel the line without a termination fee and that I would owe no more to the company.

  She asked if there was anything else she could do. Instead of really laying into the lady for blatantly lying to me I decided to take the high road – she wasn’t prepared for what was about to ensue – it would have been ugly. So, I declined.

  I have never had great experience with cell phone contracts – each time I’ve tried to discontinue a service it felt like pulling teeth. Even though I pay more up front to start service without a contract, I think it may be the best option in the future.

  I will NEVER use Nextel or Sprint again. Their horrendous customer service practices sour their otherwise adequate cell phone service.

• You probably need six little words

  Date: 2008.03.05 | Category: ahh the news, links! | Response: 0

  This is a strange article – but its written in a creative manner where all the sentences are six words – no longer – no shorter. Say it all in six words

  Its all about me, well, its all about the “me” generation. Cool stuff Maynard!

  People are whining about the new tanker deal that was recently announced by the Air Force. They are whining because they didn’t win the contract. I’m almost glad to see the other guy win even if it does mean that it won’t be built completely in America. Our economy is no longer confined to our borders and if you want to compete you’ve got to compete with everyone.

  Efficient Nanowire ultracapacitors could change the way that we store electricity – cool read

  Two Trillion dollars is how much people think we’ve lost since we started the debacle in Iraq. Its opinion and its hypothetical but its more of a woulda coulda shoulda situation.

• Bad things man

  Date: 2008.03.05 | Category: links!, videos | Response: 2

  After some searching I found a video that I talked to my dad about a few weeks ago. Dennis Hopper was in a series of commercials for Nike – they were great – and bad things can happen – bad things man.
  

  
  
  

  I found a few more – check them out at Youtube here, over here, right about here, and somewhere over here

• Mustache Mania continues!

  Date: 2008.03.04 | Category: Life as we know it | Response: 0

  Do you have a mustache and you’re not sure how to classify it? If the American Mustache Institute didn’t help you out you might have to default to the help of an 8 bit friend – Mario.

  Mario is seen sporting a variety of fashionable mustaches – unfortunately, most of these are far too outlandish for the military. I’d be forced to choose something Nordic in nature – like Lars the Viking… yes, I think that would be excellent.

  Its a shame that 4 days into the contest people can’t tell that I’m even a contestant – ha! I know, that without a shadow of doubt, I will have the most hellacious, horrendous, obscene mustache ever known to man. This is going to be hilarious.