Creativity

Well I got my first spam comment today. I guess I’m going to have to look into this mt black list thing I read about a while ago. In the meantime, I’ve pre-emptively removed the ability to post anonymous comments.. I didn’t really want to but ah well, that’s the shitty part about the internet. Seems to me the internet used to be a great place up until people started to use it as a medium to peddle their wares and ‘get rich quick’. I suppose it goes hand in hand with technology, but at the same time I miss the purity of the net before it became so commercialized.
Ok, I’m done with the bitching.

Continue reading Creativity

The ultimate price

I read this article from the Times of India that suggests that we could possibly live to the age of 500, if only we sucumb to a little genetic engineering and, oh, say the loss of our reproductive organs. Apparently scientists at the University of California San Francisco tinkered with some earthworms and found they could increase their lifespan by six times. So let me ask you this, if you could, would you do it? Would you voluntarily remove your sex organs so you could live to 500?
For me, it would be no great loss based on my current lack of use. It would probably be for the best anyways – I figure I’m this close to being autistic that any offspring of mine would give Dustin Hoffman a run for his money.

Ghettopoly

I love trawling through my webalizer server logs… I find all sorts of goodies that I would never come across with my normal day to day surfing. Drink this… has an interesting summary of some of the controversy surrounding the game Ghettopoly. Wendi Thomas has it right when she says:

We’re wrong to focus on the game instead of the truths embedded in the game’s stereotypes.
Most stereotypes are based on a kernel of truth; that’s what makes them so painful and difficult to root out.

This here is the crux of the problem. Exposing the ‘ghetto fab’ lifestyle that is prevalent in popular hip hop is ‘outrageous’ and ‘racist’. Why then are so many songs about 40s and ho’s and popping a cap in his ass? Why are the recurring themes of violence, exploitation and sexism popularized and worshipped? Why do black leaders wish to go after the symptoms and not the disease itself?
It all smacks of those powers that be trying to shuffle the problems that face the ghettos under the rug as quickly and quietly as possible with as little fuss as possible. Perhaps that’s just me being a conspiracy theorist, but at the same time wouldn’t this critical examination of a large percentage of american life be a good time to protest in favour of change for these desperate people? Why is it that the voices of the poor are always lost, their voices falling on deaf ears as they languish in the gutters? It seems that the general concensus is that by ignoring the problem (ie no press coverage) it will simply disappear. In a sense, it will. Out of sight, out of mind is as effective as always.

Dark Spots

Hooo boy. My heart was going there for a moment, I was thinking finally – this is it, contact with aliens. JerkSquad!! directed me to this strange site which at first sounded like some kind of parrot for scientology – all about those damn lizards who ‘rule the world’. Not that I mind the message the site is preaching, but the method leaves something to be desired. I read a little more and saw that they were talking about some dark spot on Jupiter which is when my heart started to pick up the pace. Space.com had an interesting breakdown of the communication between astronomers as they tried (and still try) to puzzle out this mystery.
It seems that a

Politics

It seems to me that pretty much everyone in the blogosphere only ever talks about politics. Well, politics, J-Lo and rants about their personal lives. I’ve tried to steer clear of that here because a) I’m not an American citizen and that’s where most of the interesting politics are taking place and b) when it comes down to it the argument between Democrats and Republicans is pretty much the same as choosing between feces and dung – it’s all the same shit, just different piles. Democrats are just as wrapped up in the interests of business as the Republicans are. Although I would like to see George the Monkey removed, I have absolutely no say in the matter. That’s up to you lucky American citizens, you bloggers across the US. I have complete faith that they’ll make the right choice come 2004.
Now for something a little lighter: Found this joke on this Daily Connotations:
So, this neutron walks into a bar and asks for a drink. He downs it, then asks the bartender, “How much?”
“For you, no charge.”

HAHAHAHA! I’m such a nerd.

Wire the World

I dislike my job. I’m not the only one I know, and there are many fringe benefits to my particular position, but at the same time the work that I do I find intensely boring and mundane. Combine that with a directionless and ineffectual work atmosphere and you’ve got worker angst, manifesting in me at all times. The only pleasure I get is working with the kitty – our arguments and debates are a source of constant enjoyment.
I realize now that there is no future in this job. Previously I have entertained thoughts of travelling next fall – mainly travelling Europe to begin with but gradually heading east, but maybe there’s a better way to see the world. I want to start a charity specifically dedicated to wiring the world, to set up computers and internet access in poor impoverished countries. Of course I want to do many things, but I think I could really get into this if it were my career.

Continue reading Wire the World

Some stupid little tests

A little bit about who I am.. Whether it’s true or not, who knows:

The Big Five Personality Test
Extroverted |||||||||||||||||| 78%
Introverted |||||| 22%
Friendly |||||||||||||||||||| 86%
Aggressive |||| 14%
Orderly |||||||||||| 48%
Disorderly |||||||||||||| 52%
Relaxed |||||||||| 40%
Emotional |||||||||||||| 60%
Intellectual |||||||||||||||||||| 88%
Practical |||| 12%

Take Free Big 5 Personality Test

Extroverted (E) 76.47% Introverted (I) 23.53%
Intuitive (N) 77.14% Sensing (S) 22.86%
Thinking (T) 64.1% Feeling (F) 35.9%
Perceiving (P) 64.86% Judging (J) 35.14%
Your type is: ENTP

ENTP – “Inventor”. Enthusiastic interest in everything and always sensitive to possibilities. Non-conformist and innovative. 5% of the total population.

Take Free Myers-Briggs Personality Test

Truth Laid Bear

In order to participate in the ‘new blog showcase’ I must cast my vote for three new blogs that I enjoyed:
From The Truth Laid Bear‘s New Webblog Showcase:
Hypocrisy & Hypotheses: Same Thing Every Year…
WiredOpinion – Jonathan’s Journal: Foreign Born Presidents?
Vox Popoli: I am the Penguin
Kind of a neat voting method – my site is crawled and the links are counted as votes. An interesting take on democracy? Perhaps not, I suppose not everyone has a blog. Imagine how much information pollution there would be if that were so! How many odes to pets and complaints about tv show plots can people read before they throw their hands in the air and denounce humanity to it’s narcissistic demise?