Some Real Food For Thought

Today I visited The Space Turtle, an awesome blog where you can find some interesting stories and funny content that is different from stuff you would find on many other blogs. Since the internet became much more accessible a few years back, people have been creating lots of random sites about stuff they like, don't like, hobbies and whoever knows what else. This means that there's lots of great content floating around out there, and lots of crap too.

The Space Turtle is different from many blogs today in that you can find quality short stories that are guaranteed to make you laugh. For example, I was reading a story on The Space Turtle called "The Killer Coder". It's actually not that long, but it was quite entertaining to read. I love especially the descriptive imagery that the author uses at the beginning of "The Killer Coder". The short story is about a ninja-avatar-hacker menace that infiltrates another computer in a quest for some treasure. The story goes on, describing the ninja's battles and encounters, and finally culminating in an epic battle with a cutlass-wielding pirate. Of course, our ninja-protagonist prevails, and finally claims his prize on the shores of a sandy beach.

One thing that irked me slightly was not knowing what the prize was, but that wasn't too big of a deal; the story was too well written for it to bother me for more than 5 seconds!

kamster

Absence

Ok recently I have been having a love affair. And you see, I'm really not that much of a romantic guy. Smoothly seductive words don't flow from my lips and I'm not always guaranteed a date for friday nights either. But you see, this time, my lover has been sending me vibes, positive vibes, vibes that are screaming "I want you to take our relationship to the next level."

And so, you must know that I have fallen in love with the acoustic guitar. O, the acoustic guitar. What a beautiful creation. The way it's six strings work together to create tunes and melodies in ways that no violin or piano ever could. Plus, all good bands have acoustic guitars. Actually, electrics are much more versatile, it's just that I don't own one at the moment. Lately I've learned how to play:

• Qing Tian (Clean Sky) by Jay Chou
• Tongue Tied by Faber Drive
• and Puff, the Magic Dragon by Peter, Paul and Mary (originally written by Leonard Lipton and Peter Yarrow)

Of course, I'm not really that good... especially if I never learn to use power-chords or learn to sweep pick, like all those crazy pros on YouTube. Speaking of YouTube, here's another video from the magical realm of online videos. Featured in it is my good buddy Jipooki playing some Crooked X.

If you like it, feel free to subscribe to Jipooki's videos. In fact, he should be uploading some more videos very soon. At least that's what he told me (he's already made like... 15 original compositions).

kamster

If Only She Had Known

A while ago my good buddy Jon referred me to a video that he had created with some of his peeps for an English assignment. At first I was skeptical; had I not created numerous immature and poorly-edited video projects with my friends in the past? Of course I had. I was not eager to watch this video, assuming that it would be poorly-made and a waste of a few minutes of my time. But what am I saying? I was convinved to watch it and it was, surprisingly, pretty good. There were no hints of poorly-covered-up laughter and the filming (by Chris) was quite steady and innovative at times. Below is the video; take a minute to check it out.



If you like what you see, feel free to subscribe to Jon's videos.

kamster

p.s Messenger Plus just doesn't do it for me. Sure, Messenger Lock is one of the handiest features I have ever encountered for MSN but I've had bad experiences with this addon in the past. Before my anti-virus program kept telling me I had adware (even though I declined the offer to install the sponsor program), and now it simply lags my computer like mad... even when I'm not using MSN. In fact, I just un-installed half an hour ago, and my computer instally sprung to life as if a heavy burden had been removed from it's proverbial shoulders. But it could just be my ancient computer... who knows?

quod erat demonstrandum

Today I encountered an interesting brainteaser in the form of a proof that somehow shows that 2 is equal to 1. If this proof were logical and true, I would be the Queen of England, but unfortunately it is not true and is instead fatally flawed. I don't really know how to lay out the premises and all that stuff in the proper mathematical way, so I'll just give you the proof right here with nothing added (it flows from top down... try to figure out where the proof falls apart):

• a = b
• a^2 = ab
• a^2 - b^2 = ab - b^2
• (a - b)(a + b) = b(a - b)
• a + b = b
• Subbing in a = b, b + b = b
• 2b = b
• Subbing in any non-zero value , 2 = 1 (or 4 = 2, or 8 = 4, etc.)

See if you can find the flaw in this proof without cheating (NO GOOGLE!). This took me about 10 minutes to figure out... First person to get the right answer gets a prize! Just leave you answer as a comment.

kamster

p.s I am really loving Sara Bareilles right now. Her song "Love Song" has got me hooked. She has a sound sort of like Chantal Kreviazuk... maybe a tiny bit less scratchy but that's the closest I can compare it to.

p.p.s Sorry the formatting is messed up... I wanted the equal signs to line up. It works here when I'm writing this but it doesn't appear properly when I post. And I'm too lazy to create a gif.

Inference to the Best Explanation

Fast food chains are always trying to create new and exciting products in hope of getting people hooked on them, telling their friends about it and coming back again and again for more. A good example of this is McDonald's Value Menu. Prior to it's inception, a meal from McDonalds could put you out 10 bucks and still not fill your stomach. Now, you can purchase two double cheeseburgers and an chilling ice coffee for 5 bucks less 30 cents (although the ice coffee isn't on the value menu), and actually get full!

On the other hand, there are some chains that attempt to do what McDonald's did a few years ago but fail miserably, like KFC (Killing Fulfilling Comestibles). Recently, they re-introduced (?) "Chicken Bowls", with "Layers of Flavour". The picture on their website and on the coupons I have show one of said bowls deconstructed, with cheese, pieces of chicken and corn magically floating above a black plastic bowl filled with mash potatoes and gravy.

Obviously, this was meant as comfort food. I mean, what's more unhealthy than fried chicken on mashed potatoes covered with melted cheese and gravy? So today I visited the local KFC and purchased one of these bowls, hoping to experience the euphoria usually associated with dumping a bucket of popcorn chicken in one's mouth.

Turns out, the chicken bowls are a big disappointment. They don't look half as appetizing as they do on paper, and there is a mysterious absence of cheese as well (my bowl did not have nearly as much as cheese as the bowl pictured above has). There isn't enough chicken either, and the potatoes are bland and tasteless, even when slathered with gravy. And most of all, it just doesn't work. You know how some things taste great together? Like pepperoni pizza and garlic seasoning? Chicken, corn, cheese and gravy just don't do it for me.I definitely won't be buying more chicken bowls any time soon.

kamster

p.s. readership has climbed to an all time high of 9 readers via FeedBurner, a jump of 3 from... yesterday. How exciting!!!111

p.p.s p.s does not stand for "please see", as most people assume but rather is derived from the latin post scriptum, meaning "after text", or "after script", usually placed at the end of a letter or article.

Jump the (smoking) gun

I'm not going to lie. I wasn't too tired to post about Washington, I was just too damn lazy. Right after I got back I was so tired and stuff and I went straight to get some ZZZ, promising myself that I would blog after I woke up. I guess I was just being to stupid.

But yeah, Washington DC was a SICK trip. We did so much crazy stuff, visited some sick places and did some fun stuff. We toured lots of famous places like the Vietnam memorial, Korean war memorial, Washington monument, Lincoln Memorial and Jefferson Memorial, just to name a few, although there were lots of other places we visited that I can't be bothered to remember and type out right now. We did do lots of other fun stuff too though, hehe. We toured some of Washington's lesser known districts like Alexandria (old Washington) and Georgetown where we did some shopping (although I didn't buy anything, STUPID ME!) and got some nice food as well. We also went on a three hour boat cruise on the Potomac, which was a nice touch on the last night in the hotel =(.

There wasn't too much work we had to do (thankfully) and as a result, a lot of bonding occurred between unlikely people... yeah. Although I am sorta annoyed that we didn't have too much time to chill in the hotels... if you get my drift ;).

Also you can probably tell that I'm being super lazy in writing this... although there is one thing that I can say for sure. I won't run around saying "America is a piece of sh*t" anymore. Yeah, after being in the capital of the US for 4 days, I realize that America and perhaps Americans as well have a sense of... how do I say this. Triumph? Maybe, or maybe it's just that they know how to commemorate their founding fathers and others who have influenced their long history. We don't have nearly as many monuments as they do ><.

That's not to say Americans don't piss me off. They do.

kamster

Off to Columbia I go

Just giving you guys a heads up that I will be in Washington D.C. for the next 4 days or so... that probably means no blogging =(. But that's alright.

I'm going to be going there by bus (it's a ridiculous 12 hour ride) that leaves at 6:30 in the morning tomorrow, arriving at around 7 at night. That's also OK though, because I'm sure there will be lots of good movies to watch (I think we're watching National Treasure... how coincidental).

On the itinerary for the next few days are trips to:
The National Air and Space Museum

• The National Art Gallery
• Union Station (THE REAL UNION STATION =O)
• The National Zoo
• The United States Holocaust Museum
• and Arlington National Cemetary,

just to name a few. In reality, there are a bunch of other places that I'm going to be visiting, but I don't feel like listing them all. I will also probably be doing some light shopping and hopefully a lot of photographing (I'll probably post some pictures here after I get back) as well. Hopefully I won't fall asleep on the bus.

kamster

A Word on Tibet

The cover of the April 7th issue of Macleans shows a picture of what looks like a soldier raising a stick above his head, about to bring it down on the back of what seems to be a peaceable Tibetan Monk. Sprawled across this picture in huge font are the words "'Butchers and Monsters': Things we can never forget about Communist China".

Now obviously, the psychological effect of this picture was taken into account when deciding to put it on the front page of one of Canada's most-read magazines. Dare I make a guess and say that it was put there to make people reflect on China's reputation as a communist monster and oppressor of free speech? I think that was the intended effect. Compounded with what looks like a Chinese soldier beating an innocent monk, the message is clear: China is making like Russia and making sure all that oppose it's rule are shut down. In the bottom right of this picture, in tiny black font (you barely notice them unless you're looking there), are the words "An anti-Chinese protest is crushed in Nepal, March 17, 2008".

What? Did I read that right? An anti-Chinese protest is crushed in Nepal? So that soldier isn't actually an agent dispatched by the Chinese government to crush those who oppose China's will? Funny how this small fact is delegated to the bottom right side of the front page of Macleans in tiny black font where almost no one notices it. And personally, I think that it some untruthful journalism right there. If you read Macleans, I'm sure you were captivated by this picture. "Seriously, when is China going to stop censoring the media and free speech?", you probably thought. Just for the record, that isn't a Chinese soldier.

Really, what is up with the West's obsession with bashing China? All day everyday we are bombarded with news of how China is doing nothing to fix it's horrible track record of human rights violations. Every single day we hear of a new atrocity going on in China, whether it be China jailing journalists that speak out against or "supporting" the war in Darfur. If you take a closer, unbiased look at the real situation, you may realize that China is the big 'ol baddie it's made out to be.

Look at the West. What are we? A collection of modern, democratic countries with high standards when it comes to upholding human rights laws. Sure, no one makes a big deal when we ignore injustice or jails people for no apparent reason... and that's just the problem.

You ever heard of Omar Khadr? Sure you have. He's that Canadian boy who supposedly threw a hand grenade at some US soldiers back in 2002. Ever since then, he's been languishing in Guantanamo Bay. And you know what? He probably didn't even throw that damn grenade (military officials reported that the man who threw the grenade was not Omar Khadr, but someone else who was subsequently killed in the firefight) in the first place. The fact is that he was taken into custody and placed in a high-security prison (usually reserved for convicted terrorists or POWs) and charged with committing war crimes and supporting terrorism, all with absolutely no proof to uphold the charges.

Currently, he is in a state of extrajudicial punishment (basically, punishment without authorization to do so) and no one is really sure of his future. Canada (he is a Canadian citizen) has refused repatriation and extradition of Omar Khadr, and now it just seems like an innocent boy is stuck on an island where he'll remain for whoever knows how long.

What is this? Is this not a human rights violation? Do the laws of the West not promise a fair and unbiased trial? Do they not promise protection from being held for no reason? Well... theoretically, they do. But in this case, they don't. Sure, this prompted some media attention but no one is threatening economic sanctions on the US, are they?

Look at China! What have they done to receive all this negative press from pretty much every country in the world? Some stupid celebrities looking for attention even went out of their way to march around wearing shirts with the words "Genocide Olympics" on them. But seriously, what has China done to deserve all this crap? Not a lot. And you know what? Most people don't recognize how difficult it is to rule a country of 1.3 billion. They would probably all go to hell if they had to deal with all the pissy reporters complaining about China's latest offence on democracy.

And then we come to Tibet. What is the deal with that? Now some people living in Tibet complain that Tibet, with it's minorities no longer minorities (dominated the cultural landscape of Tibet), should be independent. And you know what? Tibet isn't some country that China recently invaded, either. In fact, Tibet has been a part of China for what, like, over 700 years? So it's hardly about an oppressed nation wanting to free itself from barbaric invaders. But you see, that's what the Western world makes it out to be (Sorry Dr. Seuss moment). They make China out to be this big bad bully, while in reality they are just trying to keep they're country together. Isn't that the goal of all countries of this world? It's just that doing it in a country of 40 million is much easier than doing it in a country with approximately a sixth of the world's total population.

Some might say that Tibet, which is full of mostly ethnic Tibetans, deserves to be free, as there isn't really a point to China ruling non-Chinese people. Ok yeah, bullshit. Seriously, the ethnic Tibetans in Tibet are probably half-Chinese anyways, the obvious result of being part of a Chinese country for more than 700 years. And if every ethnically concentrated community in the world got all pissy all of a sudden and demanded Independence, this world would be a crappy place to live in.

So the next time you see or hear someone flaming China for stomping on Tibetans or for ignoring human rights violations, take a second to think deeper and resist the urge to jump on the bandwagon.

Oh and one more thing. Lot's of people complain about how China "supports" the genocide in Darfur by selling them guns and not intervening. That sounds oddly familiar to me. Didn't we sell Germany munitions during WWII?

kamster

Sell Now and Pay Later

Do you own any type of assets that have appreciated in value over the past few years? Are you also interested in selling any of these assets for profit? If so, you may want to read this press release that was featured on prbuzz.com:

Asset Exchange Strategies Announces New Capital Gains Referral Strategy

Written by Daniel Cordoba

Leander, Texas – March 6, 2008- Asset Exchange Strategies has recently released its newest product referred to as the Self Directed Installment Sale (SDIS). This strategy was developed to replace the private annuity trust which was used by clients who needed to defer capital gains taxes on highly appreciated assets.

Clients who own highly appreciated assets such as real estate or a business interest are faced with capital gains taxes. The SDIS strategy allows clients to defer taxes on the sale of a highly appreciated asset with out the risk associated with a traditional installment sale.

The deferral of taxes allows for the compounding of the monies over a client defined time period, which in return allows the client to enjoy more money with lower risk.

Asset Exchange Group, LLC

AEG is recognized as the leading self-directed IRA advisory firm in the nation. AEG has also positioned itself to be a market share leader for Self-Directed IRA LLC’s and will soon capture a dominant portion of the self-directed 401k market.

For more information on Asset Exchange Group, please visit our web sites at http://www.myrealestateira.com or http://www.assetexchangestrategies.com or call toll free 866.683.5228.

As you know, a capital gains tax applies to the sale of all non-inventory assets that were purchased at a lower price. What this means is that if you have a piece of real estate or some stocks that are worth much more than they used to, you will have to pay a costly tax if you want to sell it. With this new SDIS strategy, you can defer paying this tax and so reduce the risk that comes with selling in installments. This also means you will have more money in your pocket to spend on other things.

For more information on how you can defer the paying of the capital gains tax on your real estate (and all other appreciated assets), visit http://www.myrealestateira.com/ and get a FREE interactive flash presentation about AEG LLC's Self Directed IRA.

kamster

Stub your Toe, Please

An annoying thing some people do is asking "Is it possible for God to create a rock too heavy for him to lift?" The person asking the question knows that whether or not you answer yes or no, you will be in a bind. If you answer yes, then that would be implying that God has a limit to the weight of rocks that he can lift. If you say no, you are implying that the task of creating such a rock is impossible for God. Either way, you are implying that there is something that God cannot do, which is something that seems to be a bit of a paradox.

In the Christian faith, God's omnipotence is often preached, claiming that there is nothing in the universe that he cannot do or accomplish. He can do anything he wants at any time he wants, for any reason he deems fit. Well... that's not entirely true. In fact, there are many things that God cannot and could not do during his time on earth as a human. For example, God cannot lie, God cannot be wrong, God cannot commit adultery, God cannot sin, et cetera. As you can see, there are a multitude of things god cannot do. And perhaps creating a rock too big for himself to lift would be impossible. In reality, this question is circular and asking it in the first place makes people wonder why you ask it... because there is no such thing as a rock that God cannot lift. Thus, he cannot create it.

You might argue that there are things like a staircase that can be ascended and descended at the same time that God would be able to create... but that is beyond the comprehension of the human mind. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what's in store for us =O

kamster

Hold On To Your Hat!

When I was younger, I would watch bull riding on T.V. with awe. Just the sight of seeing a person besting a thousand-pound bull. The amazing skill, agility and finesse of those bull riders struck a chord with me, and I have retained this interest since then. This is the reason why I am so excited to get some PBR Finals Tickets!

The Professional Bull Riders is an international association that was founded in 1992 by just 20 professional bull riders. Back then, bull riding wasn't nearly as popular as it is now. Since then, it has grown to include more than 800 professional bull riders. In 2006, total prize money for their competitions reached $10 million!

The reason why I want to get tickets to the Professional Bull Riders World Finals is because it is sure to be a crazy party. Watching bull riding on T.V. is fun and good, but it doesn't compare to seeing the pyrotechnics, flashing lights and special effects, as well as hearing the announcer announce the bull riders and their bulls live and in person! As well, if I get to go to the PBR World Finals, I'll be sure to see some of the best bull riding anywhere.

At each of the Built Ford Tough Series tour stops (there are 31 in total, culminating in the world finals in Las Vegas, Nevada), 45 of the world's top bull riders are featured in an exciting event where the contestants try to stay on a bucking bronco for eight seconds! This might seem to be a short period of time, but when you're trying to hang onto a mean, lean, thousand pound fighting machine that's pure muscle and rage, it isn't an easy task. The World Finals in Las Vegas are sure to be a real spectacle, and that's why I want to get some tickets to attend. The show starts on October 1st and November 9th, and hopefully, if I can get tickets at a good price and book a hotel, I'll be there for most of the event.

kamster

goo goo ga ga hee hee ha ha

Wow. I must be more gullible than I thought.

Most of you may have realized that today there is a new link on the Google frontpage. It says "A Cool World: Enjoy a rosier future as a Virgle Pioneer." When you click on the link, you are brought to a page in Google that is titled "The Adventure of Many Lifetimes". Splashed across this page is a picture of what looks like a colony in a desert.Do a little bit of reading on this page and you realize that Google has teamed up with Virgin Mobile (???) to create the first human colony on Mars. In fact, Google is inviting anyone interested in being among the first colonists to apply on the site. When you go to apply, you are asked to fill out a questionnare of 15 questions to determine your suitability for the Mars mission. After that, they want you to submit a 30 second video of why you want to be a Virgle pioneer. I got through all of the questions (some of which are quite strange, DUH) and was about to click on the "submit video" button when I realized what day it is today.

I just had to slap my forehead and kill about a million brain cells right there.

kamster