Comments From The Peanut Gallery

Yay for Net Neutrality

2006-10-10T17:55:00.000+10:00

Net Neutrality means that you don't get this:

8d052f58f2d45b3db07beb64b09dc785d988408d.jpg (JPEG Image, 744x507 pixels)

...along with your broadband brochure.

OKCupid! The 3 Variable Funny Test

2006-08-08T23:34:00.000+10:00

the Wit
(61% dark, 23% spontaneous, 10% vulgar)

your humor style:
CLEAN | COMPLEX | DARK

You like things edgy, subtle, and smart. I guess that means you're probably an intellectual, but don't take that to mean pretentious. You realize 'dumb' can be witty--after all isn't that the Simpsons' philosophy?--but rudeness for its own sake, 'gross-out' humor and most other things found in a fraternity leave you totally flat.

I guess you just have a more cerebral approach than most. You have the perfect mindset for a joke writer or staff writer.

Your sense of humor takes the most thought to appreciate, but it's also the best, in my opinion.

You probably loved the Office. If you don't know what I'm
talking about, check it out here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/theoffice/.

PEOPLE LIKE YOU: Jon Stewart - Woody Allen - Ricky Gervais

The 3-Variable Funny Test!

- it rules -

If you're interested, try my best friend's best test:
The Genghis Khan Genetic Fitness Masterpiece

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 99% on darkness
You scored higher than 99% on spontaneity
You scored higher than 99% on vulgarity

Link: The 3 Variable Funny Test written by jason_bateman on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Back in the USSA : CafePress.com

2006-07-27T17:14:00.000+10:00

Back in the USSA : CafePress.com

The Electron Years: An Authorized Biography - Part the First

2006-07-26T21:00:00.000+10:00

1130HRS
24th December 2007
Tikrit Foward Air Base, Iraq

In the deep grey roar of a late-night storm, Tarmac 1 was almost empty, but for a single centre of activity. Illuminated for a second by lightning, the Raptor looked like an ancient beast, straining to free itself while preflight techs swarmed around it, trying to control the creature. It wouldn't last much longer. It was time to fly.

The storm whipped around Andrew as he oversaw the last of the preflight checks, rain battering against his flight suit. The beast had kept itself together while he was away... better than he had, at any rate. Engines green, flaps green, weapons loaded - a full consignment of ADHEDs and Sidewinders. Bringing freedom to the fuzzie-wuzzies, in the form of five hundred pounds of high explosive. People were going to die tonight - and Andy was going to kill them.

For some reason, the thought made him crack up, laughing, then gasping for air, then a speck of blood appeared on the flight plan. Andy collected his breath back, slowly, and stared at the blood as it washed away. A loud voice cut through his reverie - the ground chief, Stan. the last man standing on the tarmac.
"Captain? Captain! Ground is green - we need your OK for take-off!"

He looked at Stan, down at the still-blood flecked flight plan, then up at the Raptor.
"We're go."

-----

Lightning flashed in front of Andy's cockpit - the only feature visible in the storm. The crackle of radio static in his ears credited Operations with the decency to tell him he was still en-route to objective. A burst of turbulence shook the beast, but he steadied it with one hand and tapped on the pressure gauge, which was showing 20 atmospheres. The Raptor was an ancient motherf**ker, but it was probably going to be flying for longer than him. Ops crackled into existence again.
"Thunder One, Weather is upgrading conditions to Alpha Seven in target region, which you're up on in two. Are you green?"

Andy's HUD didn't show any change in conditions, even after he thumped it.
"Roger than, Ops - we're green. I'll handle it."

"We copy, Thunder. You're IR in one."

The beast seemed to be thirsting for blood as it shook again, jerking upwards. Andy forced it back on-path, and fingered the trigger. The HUD started to count down from 30. Breathes started to come more painfully - he coughed - and then everything went red as the HUD screamed FIRE. Blood surged up his throat as his fingers pulled the trigger. So this is death. Blackness consumed his vision.

"Thunder One! Thunder One! Target acheived! Do you copy?"
The deep voice of Ops brought Andy back - upside down and out of control. He stared at the controls, wondering what they were, as the world span around him. He breathed - suddenly free of pain - and remembered.

"Thunder One! Come in, please!"
Andy snatched the control stick and tried to pull the beast out of its death dive - it struggled against him as he wrestled with the yoke, but the man won out. It levelled out - slowly - and he was back on a path to TFAB.
"I'm here, Ops. Mission acheived. I'm heading back."

"Good job, Thunder One. And Andy - merry Christmas."
Andy grinned - Not today, God. You missed me. - and thumbed the reply key.

"Merry Christ-"
Lightning flashed and darkness crashed again.

-----

Save the Internet : Fighting for Internet Freedom

2006-06-05T17:35:00.000+10:00

The US Congress is currently considering a bill that would remove the principle of "network neutrality" from the Internet, allowing internet service provides to pick and choose which sites they want you to see. Doesn't that just sound great?

Save the Internet : Fighting for Internet Freedom

New tax law hurts college-savings plans

2006-05-22T12:25:00.000+10:00

New tax law hurts college-savings plans

Okay, what the fazook?

Let's cut taxes on the top 1% so they can afford more... private jets, and raise taxes on college savings plans instead.

Zombie Shuffle

2006-05-22T11:19:00.000+10:00

[Me as Zombie]

[Me and Jarrah]

This was the Melbourne Zombie Shuffle on Saturday... marauding Melbourne in full Zombie regalia was heaps of fun, especially the strange looks from onlookers. There were lots of great costumes, some people really went all out.

Random tickbox post

2006-03-30T22:39:00.000+11:00

[x] I've consumed alcohol. (personally can't stand the stuff, though)
[] I've run away from home.
[ ] I have lied to my parents about where I am.
[ ] I don't like Bush because from what I hear, he is dumb.
[x] I don't like Bush with my own reasons to back it up.
[ ] I am for Bush.
[x] I listen to political music. (sometimes)
[ ] I collect comic books.
[] I shut others out when I'm depressed. (hell no. everyone should share in my misery, bitches)
[x] I open up to others easily.
[ ] I am keeping a secret from the world (hah, i wish)
[ ] I watch the news. (this is the 21st century, i get my news from the web)
[ ] I own over 5 rap CDs.
[ ] I own an iPod or MP3
[x] I own something from Hot Topic (i think so)
[x] I love Disney Movies.
[x] I am a sucker for hair/eyes
[ ] I don't kill bugs. (DIE BUGS DIIIIIIIEEEEE!!!!!)
[x] I curse regularly.(six pm, on the dot...)
[ ] I paid for that cell phone ring.
[x] I am a sports fanatic. (GO SAINTERS!!!!)
[ ] I have "x"s in my screen name.
[x] I've slipped out an "lol" in a real conversation.
[ ] I love Spam.
[ ] I bake well. (sometimes, let's just say that, er, I like burned food)
[ ] I would wear pajamas to school.
[ ] I own something from Abercrombie.
[x] I have a job. (fuck no, i'm far too lazy.)
[ ] I love Martha Stewart.
[ ] I am in love with love.
[ ] I am guilty of tYpInG lIkE tHiS.
[x] I am self conscious.
[x] I like to laugh.
[ ] I smoke a pack a day. (cough)
[ ] I loved Perks of Being a Wallflower.
[ ] I loved The Barenaked Ladies. (not the band, anyway...)
[x] I have cough drops when I'm not sick.
[ ] I can't swallow pills.
[ ] I can swallow about 5 pills at a time no problem
[x] I eat fast food weekly. (if you count Fushandchups)
[ ] I have many scars.
[x] I've been out of this country.
[ ] I believe in ghosts.
[ ] I can't sleep if there is a spider in the room. (not that i like the buggers)
[x] I am really ticklish.
[ ] I see a therapist. (some people think i should)
[] I love white chocolate. (yetch)
[x] bite my nails.
[ ] I am comfortable with being me. (hell no)
[x] I play video games. (though not that often, anymore)
[x] I'm single. (boohoo)
[] I'm in a relationship
[x] Gotten lost in your city.
[x] Saw a shooting star. (ain't it pretty)
[x] Been to the united states
[ ] I had serious surgery
[x] Gone out in public in your pajamas. (completely by accident, too...)
[ ] I have Kissed a stranger
[ ] Hugged a stranger
[ ] Been in a fist fight (too cowardly)
[ ] Been arrested
[ ] Pushed all the buttons on an elevator
[ ] Made out in an elevator
[ ] Swore at your parents (not in anger, anyway)
[ ] Kicked a guy where it hurts
[ ] Been close to love. (crushes don't count, right)
[x] Been to a casino (hell, i've been to Vegas!)
[ ] Been skydiving
[ ] Broken a bone
[ ] skipped school.
[ ] Flashed someone.
[ ] Saw a therapist
[ ] Done the splits.
[x] Played spin the bottle. (heh)
[x] Gotten stitches
[ ] Drank a whole gallon of milk in one hour. (half a gallon, that i've done)
[x] Bitten someone
[ ] Been to Niagara Falls
[x] Gotten the chicken pox
[ ] Kissed a member of the same sex
[ ] Crashed into a friend's car
[x] Been to Japan
[x] Ridden in a taxi
[ ] Shoplifted
[ ] Been fired
[ ] Ever had a crush on someone of the same sex
[x] had feelings for someone who didn't have them back (ouch)
[ ] Stole something from your job
[ ] Gone on a blind date
[x] Lied to a friend
[ ] Had a crush on a teacher
[ ] Celebrated mardigras in New Orleans
[x] Been to Europe (lived in sunny Finland)
[ ] Slept with a co-worker
[ ] Been married
[ ] Gotten divorced
[ ] Had children
[x] Saw someone dying on tv
[ ] Been to Africa
[x] Driven over 400 miles in one day (I've driven through 38 states.)
[x] Been to Canada
[ ] Been to Mexico
[x] Been on a plane
[ ] Seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show
[ ] Thrown up in a bar
[x] Eaten Sushi (yetch!)
[ ] Been snowboarding
[ ] Been Skiing
[x] Met someone in person from the internet (at least two...)
[ ] Been to a moto cross show
[ ] Lost a child
[ ] Gone to college
[ ] Graduated college
[ ] Done hard drugs
[x] Taken painkillers (wheeee!)
[ ] Had someone cheat on you
[x] Miss someone right now

Oh, and...

2006-03-13T09:40:00.000+11:00

Han Solo was always much better than Luke Skywalker.

Han Solo doesn't have any mythic powers or innate superiority over the masses. He's just zis guy, you know? He's a hero, but he's a guy too.

Anyone wonder what Mark Hamill does these days?

Criticizing Star Wars

2006-03-13T09:33:00.000+11:00

Salon Arts & Entertainment | "Star Wars" despots vs. "Star Trek" populists

Salon Arts & Entertainment | What's wrong (and right) with "The Phantom Menace"

And some more.

David Brin's Official Web Site: "We Hobbits are a Merry Folk" (article)

2006-03-13T09:13:00.000+11:00

David Brin's Official Web Site: "We Hobbits are a Merry Folk"

A great criticism of romaticism and nostalgism.

Trolling, Flaming, now illegal in all 50 states.

2006-01-10T10:56:00.000+11:00

Create an e-annoyance, go to jail | Perspectives | CNET News.com

Hey, there's a whole bunch of people who annoy me online and live in America. Finally, I can do something about them.

More Interesting Stuff

2005-10-27T17:02:00.000+10:00

Jim Bobz Blog

I hate our government. Who the hell voted an megalomaniac like John Howard into office? Doesn't anybody CARE that's he stealing our freedom? Eroding the seperation of powers?

"Those who would give up essential liberty for temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." -Ben Franklin (an American)

Do they think that they're only going to use these powers on Arabs or something?

How's this for sedition?

2005-10-27T16:47:00.000+10:00

Sedition

I support this message.

National Novel Writing Month - National Novel Writing Month

2005-10-26T10:01:00.000+10:00

Yep, I've gone insane and decided to write for NaNoWriMo, or at least try, and fail.

50,000 words in 28 days... yay.

link

Perosonality Test Thingo

2005-10-25T00:10:00.000+10:00

ENFP - The Champion
You scored 63% I to E, 28% N to S, 19% F to T, and 76% J to P!

Your type is known as the Champion type, which is part of the larger
group called idealists. Nothing occurs that does not have some deep and
ethical significance in your eyes. You see life as an exciting drama.
You are very charismatic, yet tend to be too harsh on yourself for not
being as genuine as you think you should be. 3% of the population
shares your type.

As a romantic partner, you need to talk about what is going on in your
life. You are a strong supporter for your partner's efforts to grow and
change and be happy. You need to feel that same support from your
partner. Expressive, optimistic, and curious, you are eager to enjoy
new experiences with your partner, whom you wish to be your confidant
and soul mate, as well as play mate. You are uncomfortable sharing
negative emotion, though, and tend to withdraw from confrontation and
process your feelings privately. You feel most loved when your partner
appreciates your creativity, accepts your uniqueness, and sees you as
the compassionate person you are. You need to hear your partner tell
you how much you mean to them and would love if they did thoughtful
spontaneous things to demonstrate it.

Your group summary: idealists (NF)

Your type summary: ENFP

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 75% on I to E
You scored higher than 32% on N to S
You scored higher than 10% on F to T
You scored higher than 88% on J to P

Link: The LONG Scientific Personality Test written by unpretentious2 on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Ten Super Fun Things To Do On The Train

2005-10-24T10:42:00.000+10:00

10 SUPER FUN THINGS TO DO ON A TRAIN JOURNEY

1) Your fellow passengers are also bored. Strike up a conversation! Introduce yourself to them as "Bathesheba, Queen of Thebes".
2) Many new trains have windows that cannot be opened. Express your distress at this by smashing as many as possible.
3) Few people are aware that the button marked "Emergency Stop" actually does nothing. Feel free to push it as many times as you want.
4) Some other, better prepared passengers may have planned for the long train journey by bringing a book or a newspaper. Offer to read it aloud to them.
5) Many famous political figures, such as Lenin, Washington, and Julius Ceasar, first had their ideas on long train journeys. Why not follow in their footsteps and recruit your fellow passsengers as footsoldiers to craft a New World Order?
6) It's a well known fact that 60% of all train trips involve a robbery of some sort. Prepare yourself to defend the train against attackers by fashioning improvised weapons from the seat cushions.
7) Conductors are authorized to offer refunds to travellers who have boarded the wrong train. See whether your conductor buys the fact that, even though you are decked out in your favourite team's colours, you weren't intending to go to the stadium.
8) The driver isn't happy to be cramped up in his or her little room all day. Force your way in and offer to drive the train while he or she takes a break.
9) The seats on the train are not only designed to be comfortable, but the cushions can also be removed with enough force. Feel free to tear them out and throw them at the conductor if he or she asks for your ticket.
10) Thanks to the government's new anti-terrorism laws, ordinary Australians can help fight global terrorism by turning in suspicious people. If there is anyone on your train who looks vaguely Middle-Eastern, get out your mobile and report them to the Terror Hotline.

Seven

2005-10-13T22:47:00.000+10:00

Seven: a mysterious number. It's the number of Halos in the galaxy, the number that, multiplied by six, gives you the answer to Life, The Universe and Everything. In Christian numerology, it's often considered the number of God. It's the number of days in the week and the number of fingers on two and a half hands. And now, it's the latest blogosphere member to spread to the Peanut Gallery.

Seven Things I Plan To Do Before I Die:
1) Have kids.
2) Write something that gets published. Anything.
3) Learn French.
4) Work with an amateur theatre group.
5) Eat a deep-fried Mars Bar.
6) Travel into space.
7) Visit Uluru.

Seven Things I Can Do:
1) Endlessly criticize myself.
2) Come up with bullshit that sounds true.
3) Talk at great length without actually saying anything in particular.
4) Tell you exactly what an initiative check is, what CR a Beholder is and the DC of a save against domination.
5) Genuinely respect other people.
6) Argue.
7) Imagine.

Seven Things I Cannot Do:
1) Stop crticizing myself.
2) Initiate a conversation with someone without a third party.
3) Finish The Lord of the Rings.
4) Relax in the presence of cats.
5) Eat pumpkin, zuchinni, spinach, or cucumber without the urge to burn off my tastebuds.
6) Drink coffee.
7) Operate a crane.

Seven Things That Attract Me To The Opposite Sex:
1) Compassion and empathy.
2) Must love books.
3) Zaniness.
4) Understanding
5) Geekiness in its positive aspect.
6) Intelligence.
7) Sense of humour.

Seven Things I Say Too Often:
1) "Fully pretentious and yuppie."
2) "but not in a gay way!"
3) "*headdesk*"
4) "but what if..."
5) "I'm an idiot"
6) "Ooookay"
7) "Nooo."

Seven Celebrity Crushes:
Ummm... none. But let's go for celebrities I consider attractive-looking.
1) Pre-blonde Lindsay Lohan
2) Keira Knightley
3) Emma Watson.
4) Um. You see, I'm not that up on celebrities...
5) yep
6) um, see above
7) woot! number seven!

Seven People Who Should Fill This Out:
1) Rachel
2) Sargon
3) Jarrah
4) Anme
5) Bugsy (okay, techically you don't have a blog. you can post it on someone else's or something)
6) George W. Bush
7) Anybody else who happens to come galumphing on down to my blog.

Dutch witch to get tax breaks for magical training - Yahoo! News

2005-09-28T11:45:00.000+10:00

(insanity)

Religious groups shouldn't be exempt from tax.

Russian admiral named patron saint of nuclear bomber force - Yahoo! News

2005-09-27T12:08:00.000+10:00

(link)

Now that's the kind of Christianity I can get behind.

O'Reilly wished that hurricane had flooded U.N. ..

2005-09-21T08:00:00.000+10:00

(link)

How... Christian of him to suggest that...

More proof of the liberal media bias, I guess.

The Faces of the Liberal Media

2005-09-19T23:03:00.000+10:00

(link)

ABC News: Amid Katrina Chaos, Congressman Used National Guard to Visit Home

2005-09-15T12:35:00.000+10:00

ABC News: Amid Katrina Chaos, Congressman Used National Guard to Visit Home

Senate Kills Bid for Katrina Commission - Yahoo! News

2005-09-15T12:20:00.000+10:00

(link)

What's wrong with an independent bipartisan panel?

Bush Suspends Minimum Wage

2005-09-10T21:35:00.000+10:00

Seriously?

Exponential Disaster

2005-09-08T11:13:00.000+10:00

"Reduce Political Damage": That's shifting the blame, for those untutored in Politski.

If America can't handle the disaster, maybe Canada can? After all, they actually a functioning government...

No, you can't leave, there's a disaster here. This story sounds crazy... is it really true?

Talking Heads Must Die

2005-09-08T08:50:00.000+10:00

God, I hate the morning "newspinion" shows Today and Sunrise. They are full of themselves and just act like idiots generally, but who I really hate are there talking heads. I have no idea who they are, but they seem to have no idea about anything, especially when they were talking about Hurricane Katrina. They were saying that the people who stayed in New Orleans could have got out and should have got out, but chose not too. You know, they didn't really have that much warning, and New Orleans is one of the poorest cities in America. If you're living in a slum, you might not have a car or television. If you're a tourist in a hotel, you probably don't have access to transportation out of New Orleans. If you are homeless, you definitely don't. They could't leave. And this guy who is on the telly thinks he is so much better than them because he is saying they should have got out on themselves.

Then he says people are silly for expecting the Australian government to aid Australians trapped in New Orleans... hello? That is what consulates are for... helping our citizens.

Then they say it's silly to play the blame game. The New Orleans disaster was handled inappropriately. Some people are at fault. I think it is perfectly fair to blame people. Though I'm not going to point the finger at anyone, I'm going to say that the American emergency and disaster response services need a big upgrade. This should be one place where both everyone can agree that government spending is not just a good idea, but a neccessity.

Whatever: Being Poor

2005-09-04T14:35:00.000+10:00

[link]

No, I'm not poor, I don't know what it's like to be poor... partially because in Australia, there are a hell of a lot less people at this kinda poverty level.

But this is the reason why I support free healthcare and government support for those struck by poverty. Did you know that the American health system costs, on average, about $5,000/year per American, where as the Canadian system costs about $2,000/year per Canadian, and it provides health care to *all*, not just those who can afford it. What *constantly* struck me when in America was the amount of people with bad teeth, because they couldn't or once couldn't afford the dentist. In Australia, we don't have that. That's because we have government funded healtcare. In America, you go north of the 49th parallel and suddenly you're suprised when everyone has a bright white smile.

So, if you want to condemn people to misery because they can't afford to pay $5,000 a year in health insurance, you should rethink your position. It's not a rhetorical question. This isn't a philosophical debate about whether government is good or bad in abstact situations. This is about people's lives.

The Raw Story | ACLU reveals FBI labeled peace, affirmative action group 'terrorist'

2005-08-30T23:48:00.000+10:00

The Raw Story | ACLU reveals FBI labeled peace, affirmative action group 'terrorist'

Scary stuff.

Hurricane Katrina

2005-08-29T12:17:00.000+10:00

My thoughts go out to the people of the Gulf Coast. Let's hope that the evacuation succeeds.

The Korea Times : A Supersonic Fighter for Just $100?

2005-08-27T23:59:00.000+10:00

Nice.

Amazon.com: Books: Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed

2005-08-25T20:23:00.000+10:00

This is a joke, right?

Media at War

2005-08-16T22:14:00.000+10:00

Enemy Image

I just watched this documentary on war reporting and how it works and has worked in America from Vietnam to Gulf War II. It was very interesting, enlightening, and somewhat frightening.

The documentary starts looking at how television reporters covered Vietnam. In Vietnam, they had the freedom to go where they wanted, when they wanted, without being looked after by military caretakers or press officiers. They showed the effects of the war on Vietnamese civilians, they showed American and Vietcong casualties, they showed American soldiers burning a Vietnamese village. These images shocked the American public, and shattered their faith in the military.

The military didn't like this.

They decided to establish systems to control the information flowing to reporters and therefore to the public. Embedded reporters were not given the freedom to leave their units. Military press officiers were assigned to reporters to look after them. The media showed few casualties, and fewer images from the other side. The news anchors and talking head provided their interpretation of images from the front rather than the correspondents themselves.

The military created stories to feed to the media. The toppling of the statue of Saddam Hussein? If you look closely at the footage, you'll see that the crowd is mainly made up of reporters, shuffled there by the military, with a few Iraqis sprinkled in. The event was iniaited by a military psychological warfare unit. After the war was over, it came out that Private Jessica Lynch never fired a shot, and the hospital that she was "rescued" from didn't have a single Iraqi soldier within. In another piece of footage in the documentary, you see an American helicopter firing on a wounded Iraqi soldier.

The documentary ends with a reflection. Americans who questioned the war were called unpatriotic and unsupportive. Is it not the duty of a citizen of a democracy to question and reflect upon the actions of their government, especially in war? Apparently not. And should we allow the military to control the reporting of a war, or the journalists?

Media at War

2005-08-16T22:13:00.000+10:00

Bush: Intelligent Design Should Be Taught

2005-08-03T09:53:00.000+10:00

Bush: Intelligent Design Should Be Taught

Okay, he's officially an idiot now.

World of Cola

2005-07-27T17:51:00.000+10:00

World of Warcraft-Cola Ad

I love funny ads. The vast majority of ads suck, but some glimmer like diamonds.

This one just wierds me out...

ABC News: Authorities Arrest Men With NYC Maps, Video

2005-07-27T14:02:00.000+10:00

ABC News: Authorities Arrest Men With NYC Maps, Video

Gee. Isn't it scary that foreigners might have maps of the NEW YORK SUBWAY SYSTEM. Heaven forbid that these maps would be posted on subway walls.

Racism isn't Controversial: it's just shit.

2005-07-19T18:38:00.000+10:00

There's some idiot in Australia right now getting his face on the news by calling for an end to nonwhite immigration or some shit like that. What gets me is that the news is giving him airtime, and calling him "controversial". No, it's not farking controversial. To have a controversy, you need TWO SIDES. There's nothing quite as one-sided as this argument. Why does the media feel the need to talk about him? He's just an idiot, and should be ignored.

BookTag

2005-07-18T14:04:00.000+10:00

Tagged by Neo

Number of books I own: I can find, scattered around my room, 135 books that I own. Probably at least 10 more scattered around the house. There are also about 20 library books(none of them overdue. really.)

Last book I bought: Homeward Bound by Harry Turtledove, the conclusion to the World War trilogy, an alternate history series where aliens invade Earth in the middle of World War Two. If you like alternate history, alien invasion or world war two novels, I'd invite you to pick up the first book in the series, In The Balance. If you enjoy that, go on from there. Turtledove's writing style is rather unique, utilizing many, many viewpoint characters, and you may hate it. I like it, it gives you lots of different views, but I admit it makes the individual characters harder to engage with.

Books I like: ANYTHING by Terry Pratchett, especially the Discworld series. Seriously, if you haven't read anything by TP, go and pick up one of his books NOW. I mean now. Navigate over to Amazon.com if you can't be bothered getting out of your chair. Some of the earlier novels are a bit slow, and you can really dive in at any point (I started with Interesting Times), but it may be best to read each of the groups in order. I also love the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, another book which you should go and read right now. Some other books that I like are the Daughter/Servant/Mistress of the Empire series by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts, the Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson, Hyperion by Dan Simmons, and Bill Bryson's nonfiction.

Last book I read: Well, the D&D book (or Satanic bible, depending on who you consult) I was reading this morning doesn't count, so that would be Weapons of Choice by John Birmingham, another alternate history/time travel book in which a multinational naval force from the year 2021 is sent back in time to the Battle of Midway in 1942. It's an excellent book, and it not only has great battle scenes, but also focuses on the contrasts between the 21st century personnel and their World War 2 counterparts. The book does suffer a bit in the fact that it's quite obvious there's no way the allies can lose... until they find out that some other elements of the force are helping the other side (and no, it's not the French.).

Books I plan to read: I want to read Fall of Hyperion, the sequel to Hyperion, very soon, as I love the original book. It's not just great science fiction, it's great literature in every sense of the term. Other than that, no major plans, because I seem to have exhausted the local library's supply of science fiction books. I've even read the crap ones.

I'll tag my sis at Underneath This Smile (schmultziest name you ever heard, right?), and Joon, if he reads this. I can't find his Xanga anymore.

Quotes from American conservative leaders

2005-06-28T17:48:00.000+10:00

link

How can you support these statements?

Knight Ridder News Coverage of Washington and the World

2005-06-28T00:00:00.000+10:00

Posted on Wed, Sep. 01, 2004
Young Republicans support Iraq war, but not all are willing to join the fight
By Adam Smeltz
Knight Ridder Newspapers

NEW YORK - Young Republicans gathered here for their party's national convention are united in applauding the war in Iraq, supporting the U.S. troops there and calling the U.S. mission a noble cause.

But there's no such unanimity when they're asked a more personal question: Would you be willing to put on the uniform and go to fight in Iraq?

In more than a dozen interviews, Republicans in their teens and 20s offered a range of answers. Some have friends in the military in Iraq and are considering enlisting; others said they can better support the war by working politically in the United States; and still others said they think the military doesn't need them because the U.S. presence in Iraq is sufficient.

"Frankly, I want to be a politician. I'd like to survive to see that," said Vivian Lee, 17, a war supporter visiting the convention from Los Angeles,

Lee said she supports the war but would volunteer only if the United States faced a dire troop shortage or "if there's another Sept. 11."

"As long as there's a steady stream of volunteers, I don't see why I necessarily should volunteer," said Lee, who has a cousin deployed in the Middle East.

In an election season overwhelmed by memories of the Vietnam War, the U.S. military's newest war ranks supreme among the worries confronting much of Generation Y'ers. Iraq is their war.

"If there was a need presented, I would go," said Chris Cusmano, a 21-year-old member of the College Republicans organization from Rocky Point, N.Y. But he said he hasn't really considered volunteering.

At age 16, Chase Carpenter has.

"It's always in the back of my mind - to enlist," Carpenter, a self-described moderate Republican visiting Manhattan this week from Santa Monica, Calif., said Wednesday on the convention floor. He said he's torn over whether he'd join the military if he were 18.

Others said they could contribute on the home front.

"I physically probably couldn't do a whole lot" in Iraq, said Tiffanee Hokel, 18, of Webster City, Iowa, who called the war a moral imperative. She knows people posted in Iraq, but she didn't flinch when asked why she wouldn't go.

"I think I could do more here," Hokel said, adding that she's focusing on political action that supports the war and the troops.

"We don't have to be there physically to fight it," she said.

Similarly, 20-year-old Jeff Shafer, a University of Pennsylvania student, said vital work needs to be done in the United States. There are Republican policies to maintain and protect and an economy to sustain, Shafer said.

Then there's Paula Villescaz, a 15-year-old from Carmichael, Calif. who supports Bush and was all ears Wednesday afternoon at the GOP's Youth Convention in Madison Square Garden. She doesn't support the war, but she supports the troops and thinks the United States "needs to stay the course" now that it's immersed.

If Iraq is still a U.S. issue when she's 18, Villescaz added, she'll give serious thought to volunteering.

"I'm in college right now, but who knows?" said Matthew Vail, a 25-year-old from Huntsville, Ala., who works with Students for Bush. He said he might consider enlisting after he finishes his degree at the University of North Carolina, but not until then.

"The bug may get me after college," he said.

Judges question use of Quran in taking oath

2005-06-23T14:02:00.000+10:00

Judges question use of Quran in taking oath

Well, I think they should just do away with the whole swear on a holy book thing...

2005-06-17T17:15:00.000+10:00

An excellent quote I heard recently:

"I love how Republicans can control all three branches of the federal government and most of the state houses, expand the powers of the federal government to an unprecedented level, and yet still paint the Democrats as the "government."

It's true. Many American conservatives just don't seem to get that they are in control. In control of a large part of the media, the executive, the legislature, and most of the judiciary.

Mister Reagan, TEAR DOWN THIS WALL!!!

2005-06-09T12:01:00.000+10:00

I had a strange dream last night. Mikhail Gorbachev was in Berlin, shouting "Mister Reagan, TEAR DOWN THIS WALL!"

Wierd.

Hospital ward cleared for Kylie

2005-06-02T12:00:00.000+10:00

Hospital ward cleared for Kylie

Because, you know, normal people aren't worth as much as Kylie Minogue.

Judge: Parents can't teach pagan beliefs

2005-05-27T13:04:00.000+10:00

Judge: Parents can't teach pagan beliefs

Oh, religous freedom is so passe.

2005-05-16T14:56:00.000+10:00

Golden Pinecone

Freedom of Religion... as long as you are Judeo-Christian

2005-05-06T12:22:00.000+10:00

Witchcraft Not Welcome

Elected officials don't have the right to determine which religions are legitimate and which are not. The only reason that having these "invocations" are consititutional is because they don't exclude specific religions. When they do, that's unconstitutional. It violates the clause saying "no law respecting an establishment of religion". This establishes Judeo-Christianity.

Media bias in the 21st century: Are we destinied for disaster?

2005-05-05T13:51:00.000+10:00

It seems today that the media is more biased than before, and becoming more divided as we speak. For instance, I have been hearing off and on reports from various news sources that I would probably consider to have a left/liberal/whatver bent that Saddam Hussein was not captured by American troops, that he was captured by Kurds and then the "capture" that we saw on the news was staged. But no conservative-biased news source reports the possibility, and the few sources I consider fairly unbiased may have said it's a possibility, but have not commited either way. What am I supposed to believe? I can't make a decision based on which report is less unbiased, because all the possible sources for the decision are biased. So I'm likely to make a decision based upon which news source I agree with more.

Does anyone else think that's a bad idea? The current situation, of bias becoming more acceptable in news media, of opinion and reporting combining in media such as blogs, of the greater ability for people to select news from different sources, seems destinied for one thing: the division of the political spectrum. People from one side of the spectrum will hear different things than people on the other side, have different news stories, believe different things. Hoaxes like the one about the taxpayers being charged to pay the Clinton's mortgage or the one about the "Coalition for Traditional Values" encouraging George Bush to keep his wife on shorter leash will become easier to propagate, as the people who see them will be those more likely to believe them, and less likely to believe those who disprove them.

Is a world where one person reads the news and sees "Four gays bashed to death by conservative group" while another reads another newspaper and sees "Church meeting attacked by gay group", and neither story is true, the future? Let's hope not.

Hostages in Iraq

2005-05-02T12:13:00.000+10:00

There's all these hostages in Iraq who keep getting killed. Now, I understand that it's a bad idea to negotiate with terrorists, but why don't they send in the Marines? or the SWAT teams? or whatever? That is what they are there for, isn't it? Or are they just there to protect the oil drills?

Interdimensional Invasion.

2005-03-22T19:58:00.000+11:00

Left Behind

A story I wrote about an interdimensional invasion. I think it's quite good.

Why Income Tax?

2005-03-20T20:42:00.000+11:00

Haven't posted for ages(possibly because the only person who ever comments on this blog is Neo, and it's faster to reach him by commenting on his blog, even when it has nothing to do with the topic at hand.)... but here's something I just read on the Onion

"We tried an income-based tax for nearly a century and look what it brought us: greater economic stability and government accountability. Clearly, we must explore other options."

Budget Cuts and BSE

2005-02-27T17:42:00.000+11:00

According to New Scientist(pg 5, Feb 19 2005), the Bush Adminstration's budget proposal for the next fiscal year will reduce the amount of cattle tested for BSE each year from 220,000 to 40,000: more than an 80% cut. What I have to ask is: Why? What possible sense does that make? With BSE being found in Canada, it seems like the risk of BSE is increasing, not decreasing? So why cut it?

At the bottom line, it's all very well to talk about tax cuts, but this is what it means. Important, life-saving programs cut while pork-barreling and private subsidies remain.

Meanwhile, don't eat any hamburgers in the USA for the next few years, unless you feel like becoming a human vegetable.

The Terminal: Crisis in Krakozhia

2005-02-27T16:56:00.000+11:00

I just watched "The Terminal", a movie starring Tom Hanks about a guy who gets trapped in an airport when his country, Krakozhia, is destroyed by warfare. It's a great film, but that's not what this post is about.

There's an extremely poignant scene in the first part of the movie where Tom Hanks is in the airport, and he sees on the televisions distributed around the airport a CNN news broadcast about a "Crisis in Krakozhia". He's shocked, terrified and scared at the pictures of war and terror descending on his country, and nobody around him even gives a glance at the news. Who hasn't changed the channel when the news comes on and it's about some war somewhere?

Imagine this: you're in the international airport in Geneva waiting for your flight back when the news comes on one of the screens: your home country has been invaded. The television shows the Statue of Liberty, or Buckhingham Palace, or the Sydney Harbor Bridge collapsing. A shot of tanks moving down your street. Militants firing in the streets. And everybody else just walks past the television, ignoring it. How do you think you would feel?

There's far too much apathy in our society, and the news is too "clean". After seeing the "clean" pictures of the Iraq war in America and on the commercial networks over here, it was quite a shock to flip to SBS and see dead people in the streets, Coalition troops shooting and killing innocent people who don't even look like a threat, and people climbing through the rubble, searching for their loved ones. That is what happens in war. It's not clean, it's not a video game and it's not a matter of good and evil. Think about how you would feel if your family was killed by a bomb from a plane sent to liberate you. How much freedom is your family worth?

A French Joke

2005-02-27T14:54:00.000+11:00

"The American are only interested in being allies when the British are burning Washington"

2005-02-25T17:10:00.000+11:00

Western Washington Lawmakers Want to Secede

Give the GOP two more senators, hey? Brilliant plan. The way the American senate is divided up is even more unfair than the electoral college system. Each state gets two senators. (same thing in Oz, except twelve senators to one state)

That means that California has a ration of 1 senator to 16,935,824 people, and Wyoming has a ration of 1 senator to 246,891 people. That's about 1:68 ratio. I understand the need for balance and why two houses are useful in a system of checks and balances. So perhaps it would be better to either divide up the current states into much smaller entities, or weld them together to form about 10 big states? (Props to zompist.com for that idea.)

Human Brutality

2005-02-25T10:48:00.000+11:00

Yesterday I saw a guy get beaten up by three guys out on the round pier-thing at Eastern Beach in Geelong. That's just not right. Some people are bastards. There's something wrong when you just go and bash up some guy for getting in your way.

I also feel guilty that I didn't go over and help him, though other people did. I was in shock, really, and I hadn't seen the whole thing: I didn't know if he'd been fighting with them (he hadn't, I found out later).

But in the end, the police came and somebody knew the assailants, so I hope they get caught and pay for their crimes.

A New Kind of Political Correctness

2005-02-21T15:11:00.000+11:00

A new kind of political correctness is arising in America... or perhaps I should say has arisen. It's the political correctness that says you can't criticize President Bush, you can't be against the War in Iraq(or else you're not supporting our troops), and in generaly you can't have a viewpoint that deviates from the Official Party Line. The only people who are allowed to deviate are the liberals on shows like Crossfire, and there you must instead disagree with everything in the official party line. There's only two sides of the line. There's only black and white. There's only a liberal viewpoint and a conservative viewpoint, and the conservative viewpoint is always right.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

2005-02-21T13:54:00.000+11:00

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Looks like fun. Does anyone know whether the guy playing Arthur Dent is the same guy who plays Ron's dad in Harry Potter?

CNN.com - NASA budget�would kill Hubble - Feb 7, 2005

2005-02-08T20:49:00.000+11:00

CNN.com - NASA budget�would kill Hubble - Feb 7, 2005

Ah, blast it.

Something Awful

2005-02-08T18:51:00.000+11:00

Fake Windows Features

Very funny... though some things may offend.

Uh-huh...

2005-02-08T14:34:00.000+11:00

I never liked these quizzes(they purport to reduce complex things down to simple factors and try to make subjective things objective), but this test on "What age do you act?" takes the cake. I doubled-backed when I saw "What are your political views?"... what does that have to do with your maturity? I then did a simple test, and discovered that you are apparently more mature if you have conservative views than if you have liberal ones.

Just slightly biased, wouldn't you think?

Canada Stockpiles Antivirals, Fears Bird Flu Epidemic

2005-02-07T11:05:00.000+11:00

Link

This makes the bird flu seem much more scary. Even more scary, some people who are visiting us are coming through Bangkok(in Thailand). I hope Australia is also stockpiling the stuff.

STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE CANCELLED!!!!

2005-02-05T19:45:00.000+11:00

Help Save the Future!

You can't cancel Star Trek. It's like cancelling the Olympics. Enterprise was a good show. Some people thought it was bad, it had a crappy theme song, and it was a little bit cliched. But it was STAR TREK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Help me win a stupid competition!

2005-02-04T17:19:00.000+11:00

Please, go here and vote this definition up!

It's a good word!

Labour Leadership

2005-01-26T07:09:00.000+11:00

Right here in Oz, it seems like the Opposition is about to choose its old leader who failed to win a bunch of elections to lead the party again, over a female candidate who's never been leader before. Silly and stupid. Choosing the old guy will make them look tired, obsolete, and beaten, but chosing the female candidate will give them some more female votes.

Thoughts on the Cold War and the Soviet Union

2005-01-22T19:42:00.000+11:00

(note: don't even think about putting your trust in the below text. The research in it comes from Wikipedia, hardly the most in-depth study of the Soviet Union. and it's all my opinion.)

Many conservatives believe that Reagan defeated the Soviet Union single-handedly: without Reagan, we'd still be 15 minutes from Mad Max. Other conservatives, and most liberals, believe that communism destroyed itself. Both of these views have some grounding in fact: communism, as practiced by the Soviet Union, was an inefficient and corrupt economic system. The only way the Soviet Union was able to compete with the US was putting proportionally much more of its economy into the military. And Reagan's arms buildup forced the poorer Soviet Union to try and match the United States, probably slightly accerating its fall(and nearly throwing the United States into a depression, but that's for another time).

I have some thoughts on the subject, and how the Soviet Union could have survived to the present day. Collectivized farming, as a system, was useless... up to 40% of the wheat crop rotted before distribution, forcing the USSR to import grain from the Midwest. If they'd successfully reformed the system, like China after Mao, the Soviet Union would have been a net exporter of grain.

Another thing: Soviet science was extremely goal-oriented. That gave them a huge boost in the space race(just look now... Soyuz capsules are still going up while the Shuttle fleet is grounded, and this is from a bankrupt authoritarian ruin of country), when they could assign scientists to discover how to send a shuttle into space. But most of the scientists didn't have a chance to direct their own research, no "blue sky" research if you like, as in the free world. If the Soviets could liberalize their research system, they might have gained an edge on the Yankees.

The last thing: Soviet citizens ("proleteriat") weren't proud to be Soviet citizens, like Americans... or Nazis. Most were deeply cynical about the whole thing... the stereotype of the dour Russian. What if a charismatic yet intelligent leader had been able to rise to power after Stalin? Someone who could make the Soviets proud to be part of the USSR, not cynical and pessimisstic.

TV should have been more than, as the old Soviet joke goes three channels with the same speech by a grey-haired Politburo member and a fourth with a man telling them to switch back to the othrer channel. They should take a leaf out of FOX's books... a 24-hr news channel showing how good the Soviet Union is. Better TV: "Cosma Trek: Captain Kirov and the crew of the Collective travel and bring the revolution in the name of the Socialist Union of Planets!" Make a Soviet James Bond! A "cool Russia" phenomenon, like the "cool Japan" phenomenon in our world, could have made Communism a lot more attractive to the free world's youth.

And one more thing... if the Soviets could have exploited the racial tensions in America, and the Americans hadn't defused them, the US could have had a pretty terrible time during the Cold War.

None of these changes would have made the Soviet Union any less totalarian or communist. But I believe that they would have made the Soviet Union more able to survive.

The English language is changing

2005-01-22T16:14:00.000+11:00

I'd just like to say that recently(in the past few years), I've noticed a lot of people (including myself) using the word "fun" to connotate the exact opposite. It's started off sarcastically, but now I can't remember a time that I've actually used the term "fun" to mean its dictionary definition. I mainly use it to say "That ought to be fun.", often without a sarcastic tone of voice.

Just an interesting comment. Anyone else notice such changes in the language?

Random Rant: One Nation Controlled By The Media?

2005-01-22T11:45:00.000+11:00

The worst threat to American democracy that I have seen is the American media. The American media are and have been unreasonable compliant, deferential, and nice to the Bush administration. They refuse to ask the hard questions, put pressure on the adminstration or dig up the dirt. When Barbara Walters interviewed Bush recently, she asked him about his terrier, not about the war in Iraq(which according Gallup, 59% of Americans believe is being handled badly, and 52% believe was a mistake).

Look at the war the media pressured Clinton over a sex scandal! Look at the pressure they put on Kerry? Why haven't they done a similar thing over, say, the Iraq War, Abu Gharib, Guantanamo Bay? Why have they treated Bush so deferentially? He ain't king, you know?

A free, functional press is essential to a successful democracy. Without asking the hard questions, the press can't inform the public correctly, and the public won't be able to make the right decisions. So why is the American media, and increasingly, the Australian media, so complacent?

Habib Released

2005-01-22T10:46:00.001+11:00

The United States has recently announced its release of Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee Mamoud Habib, because they cannot create a case against him. Yet he has been imprisoned for the past 3 years, probably tortured, and now will be watched and held under virtual house arrest for the rest of his life? If he's innocent, they can't do that! If they released him, they are admitting he's innocent, aren't they? Innocent until proven guilty, right? Well, then why the hell did they detain him? According to The Age newspaper, he was captured by Pakistan... which, in case nobody noticed, is a military dictatorship. He was apparently looking to move his family back to Pakistan.

They consider him an "enemy combatant". How the heck did they decide that when he was captured in Pakistan? There's no war in Pakistan. probably looking suspiciously at all the "For Sale" signs, I suppose.

And I'm not only complaining that the US Government is capturing and detaining innocent people, then depriving them of their basic human rights. The Australian government did nothing at all to help Habib... they didn't complain, they didn't investigate allegations of torture, they didn't do anything. Makes me feel real safe to be carrying an Australian passport, you know?

2005-01-22T10:46:00.000+11:00

The GAY HORDE

2005-01-20T18:47:00.000+11:00

Is This Right?

2005-01-18T15:04:00.000+11:00

According to Joe Steadman:

Amen for the electoral college and the founding fathers! It keeps the radical left from destroying our country. Simply put, California and the other big cities have to listen to the rest of America.

He's right. It does keep California from ruling the country.

For every electoral vote in California, there are over 615,848 people

For every electoral vote in Wyoming, there are 164,594 people.

This means that a vote in Wyoming is worth 3.74 times a vote in California.

Just like our forefathers used to chant, "3.74 people! One vote!"

The New York Times > Washington > Social Security Enlisted to Push Its Own Revision

2005-01-16T11:58:00.000+11:00

The New York Times > Washington > Social Security Enlisted to Push Its Own Revision

Should this be happening?

Runaway Jury and Jury Consultants

2005-01-11T13:10:00.000+11:00

I recently watched the movie "Runaway Jury". An excellent movie that you should go and see. For those who haven't, the movie is about "jury consultants", people who are employed to choose sympathetic jurors and convince jurors to vote the way of their employer. In the movie, a gun company is sued by a woman whose husband was killed by one of their weapons. The gun industry employs a ruthless "jury consultant" to swing the case their way, but two people decide to try and take control of the jury for themselve and make the other pay.

This movie probably cuts extremely close to reality. I'm sure such "consultants" exist, but I don't think that there are many who are going to work for free. Money is power, and these consultants ensure that money remain supreme above the will of the people.

It's probably the same thing in legislatures. Powerful lobbyists with the money behind them act to ensure the legislators swing their way. Why else would Congress fail to pass a seemingly "no-duh" act that would give the FDA the right to order a recall of spoiled meat? Why else would Congress let the Assault Weapons Ban lapse?

If you need a firearm, I'm not sure why you'd need one that can fire 100 rounds a minute. Deers in M1A4s, perhaps? There's only two reasons you'd want one: you're a criminal, or you have a fetish for firearms. Either way, it's not something you need. Join the military if you want an assault rifle.

It's embarrasing that I know more about American politics and government than Australian.

A history of the United States, Pt. 1

2005-01-07T13:27:00.000+11:00

Some crazy stuff I wrote:

TEAM_BRIT has entered server AMERICA
IROQOUIS(indians): brits, team?
PILGRIM(brit): sif!
PILGRIM(brit) used SMALLPOX on IROQOUIS(indian)
PILGRIM(brit) used SMALLPOX on CHEROKEE(indian)
PILGRIM(brit) used SMALLPOX on HURON(indian)
PILGRIM(brit) used SMALLPOX on POTOMAC(indian)
SAWNEE(indians): OMG!!! hacker!!!!
SAWNEE(indians) speared ROANOKE(brit)
PILGRIM(brit): f***in injuns
JAMESTOWN(brit) shot SAWNEE(indians) with the MUSKET
JAMESTOWN(brit) shot CREEK(indians) with the MUSKET
JAMESTOWN(brit) shot HAWHAW(indians) with the MUSKET
TEAM_INDIANS has been eliminated
PILGRIM(brit): we r t3 own3rz!
JAMESTOWN(brit): y
j3ff3rs0n(brit): hey, new team?
wash1ngt0n(brit): k
TEAM_AMERICA has been formed by wash1ngt0n
k1ng_george3(brit): OMG!!! switcherz!!!! you die now!!!!
j3ff3rs0n joined TEAM_AMERICA
b3n3d1ct joined TEAM_AMERICA
frankl1n joined TEAM_AMERICA
ham1lt0n joined TEAM_AMERICA
g4t3s joined TEAM_AMERICA
wash1ngt0n(america) shot l0rd_h0we(brit) with the CANNON
c0rnw4ll1s(brit): OMG! aimbot!
wash1ngt0n(america): no way!!!!
g4t3s(america) shot gentleman_johnny(brit) with the MUSKET
b3n3d1ct(america): OMG!!! killthief!!!
b3n3d1ct joined TEAM_BRIT
b3n3d1ct(brit) burnt RICHMOND(america) with FIRE
TEAM_FRANCE has entered server AMERICA
lafayette(france): america, team?
franklin(america): k!
ham1lt0n(america): OMG!!! teamkiller!!!
tarleton(brit) was shot by wash1ngt0n(america) with the MUSKET
comte_rochambeu(france) defeated r0dney(brit) with the NAVY
wash1ngt0n(america) shot c0rnw4ll1s(brit) with the MUSKET
wash1ngt0n(america): tanx
l0rd_n0rth(brit): this sucks. we quit.
TEAM_BRIT has left server AMERICA
wash1ngt0n(america): BRIT=0wn3d
lafayette(france): cyal8r!
TEAM_FRANCE has left server AMERICA
j3ff3rs0n(america): lets choose teamleader
wash1ngt0n has been chosen as TEAM_AMERICA_LEADER
wash1ngt0n(america leader): dude, we don't get enough cash to afford t3 awesomes. we need a constitution
ham1lton(america): k
TEAM_AMERICA has been constituted. TEAM_AMERICA is ranked #1 in server AMERICA and #25 in world EARTH
wash1ngt0n(america leader): i g2g.
wash1ngt0n(america leader) has left world EARTH
j3ff3rs0n has been chosen as TEAM_AMERICA_LEADER
j3ff3rs0n(america leader): this servers too quiet. lets go to mediterranean.
TEAM_AMERICA has joined server MEDITERRANEAN
tripoli(pirates) has shot merchant1(america) with the CANNON
tripoli(pirates): gotcha... gimme cash
j3ff3rs0n(america leader): SIF!!!
uss_constitution has joined TEAM_AMERICA
uss_constitution(america) sunk tripoli(pirates) with the CANNON
uss_constitution(america) sunk tunisia(pirates) with the CANNON
uss_constitution(america) sunk algeria(pirates) with the CANNON
j3ff3rs0n(america leader): 0wn3d!!!!
TEAM_PIRATES gave TEAM_AMERICA 3000 credits
j3ff3rs0n(america leader): lets go home
TEAM_AMERICA has joined server AMERICA

Random Rant: Lifetime Detention?

2005-01-04T10:14:00.000+11:00

I just read in the paper that the US plans to "permenantly detain" those Guantanamo detainees whom they haven't got enough evidence to send before a military tribunal. WHAT THE HELL???? Does anyone notice that this is a complete travesty of the justice system? Not only are they assuming "Guilty until proven innocent", they don't even have a chance to prove their innocence? Why? Does giving them a chance to prove their innocence aid terrorism in any way? How is this meant to protect America?

It is insanity. It is unjust. It is stupidity.

Listen Up, Democrats

2005-01-02T15:37:00.000+11:00

Read this.

America's liberal leaders need a serious change of policy. And this could be just the ticket.

2005-01-02T15:24:00.000+11:00

Canada should be happy we let it exist

Hilarious. What do the consies have against Canada:

They have socialized health care, legalized gay marriage and decriminalized pot possession and their country hasn't fallen into anarchy, violating a bunch of conservative beliefs.

Farenheit 9/11

2004-12-31T13:03:00.000+11:00

Just watched Farenheit 9/11. There's little more that I can say that others haven't, but I will say this:

The people who picked out minute errors can't see the forest for the trees. I can't even see how somebody who's seen the film could put a tick in the box next to Bush. Thousands of people are dead based on a lie. Shame.

Asian Disaster

2004-12-31T13:00:00.000+11:00

This is one of the worst disasters ever. We can only hope for the best.

Fortress Australia?

2004-12-27T10:57:00.000+11:00

A great science fiction book, 1632, teaches an important lesson in the modern age. In the book, a small West Virginian town is sent back to 1632 into the middle of Germany in the Thirty-Years War. After they discover what has occured, they have two choices as to how to proceed: they can shelter in their tiny town behind machine guns and checkpoints, keeping out refugees and armies alike, or they can expand, welcome the refugees into their town and do their best to deal with the armies as they come. He who is well fed is less likely to join an army. You can see the motivation behind both choices, but really, which one do you want to choose?

Australia can hide behind "Migration Excise Zones" and "Immigration Security", send anyone who looks funny into "detention" camps, and cower from the terrorist threat, or we can welcome the refugees into our nation and watch the terrorists lose their support base as they decide that being well-fed is more important than bringing down the wrath of Allah upon the Great Satan of the West. And a similar thing could be said for America.

A quote from Steven Baxter sums it up nicely "To survive, humanity must do more than just survive."

Random Rant: Stupid Stuff

2004-12-20T14:50:00.000+11:00

So Stupid

This is unbelievably stupid.

The Tao of Dungeon Mastering

2004-12-19T20:18:00.000+11:00

A young dungeon master once found that his players had little interest in his adventures, and often interrupted him in the midst of speech. Therefore, he traveled to seek the advice of the wise dungeon master at the mountain of Sung. The young dungeon master asked the wise old dungeon master, who had mastered the art of creation, the laws of the game, and the power of communication:

"Why do my players not follow the path that I place in front of them?

The wise dungeon master considered the young one's question, and said to him:

"Go forth, and learn the art of playing. He who does not sit upon the dungeon master's throne will see the answer."

The young dungeon master heeded the wise one's request, and set forth for the city of Daishang, where he joined the game of Shi Gan. He created a character, a second-level Cleric of Wan, who then set forth into the kingdoms of Shiar. The young dungeon master then traveled to many bars, and became frustrated when he had to seek that which he did not know of.

His character sheet, filled with numbers and words arranged in harmony and balance, was little seen as the party fought little and acheived less. The young master became frustrated as his character sought combat but found only endless paths to choose.

As the session progressed, the young dungeon master fell into annoyance, and simply attempted to travel along a path contrary to that of the session's master. The young dungeon master then saw that which the wise one had advised him of. After the session, he thanked the Shi Gan, and returned to the mountain of Sung.

The wise one sat and listened to the young dungeon master's story, and asked of him:

"Did you learn the secret of the dungeon master's art?"

The young dungeon master nodded, and said:

"The dungeon master who expects his players to follow a path without guidance will suffer from his folly."

The wise one nodded, and said:

"You have learned much, young one, but there is still much you must learn. Go and seek the dungeon master at the court of Fan, and return when you have played with him."

So the young dungeon master set off for the court of Fan, where he created a fifteenth-level Wizard with a golden staff. He entered into the game of Wang Hai, and at first it went well, as the dungeon master of Fan guided them to the castle of Nainang. There they sought wealth and power, but the young dungeon master was so enamoured with the power of his character that he had little interest in roleplaying.

He far preferred using his powerful character to defeat enemies, as he had little interest in his character's life but more in its power. After the session, he thanked Wang Hai and returned to the mountain of Sung.

The wise one sat and listened to the young dungeon master's story, and asked of him:

"Did you learn a secret of the dungeon master's art?"

The young dungeon master nodded, and said:

"The dungeon master who gives his characters power without responsibility or experience will have many problems."

The wise one nodded, and said:

"You have learned much, young one, but there is still much you must learn. Go and seek the dungeon master at the city of Shanai, and return when you have played with him."

So the young dungeon master set of for the city of Shanai, where he joined the game of the dungeon master Fan Shei. He created a third-level Rogue, and at first gained much enjoyment until the party experienced bad luck. The character were severely wouneded, and his character was then killed by a monster far too difficult for the party to handle in its current state. After the session, he thanked Fan Shei and returned to the mountain of Sung.

The wise one sat and listened to the young dungeon master's story, and asked of him:

"Did you learn a secret of the dungeon master's art?"

The young dungeon master nodded, and said:

"The dungeon master who does not bend in the breeze breaks in the gale."

The wise one nodded, and said:

"You have learned much, young one, but there is still much you must learn. Go and seek the dungeon master at the palace of Ting, and return when you have played with her."

The young dungeon mastered trekked across the western desert to the palace of Ting, where he joined the game of the dungeon master Shai Han. He created a first-level Paladin of the Golden Sun, and set off into the jungles of Kish. There his character experienced many fights, and learnt the limits of his character. But he felt bored by the endless streams of orcs and wished for more excitement.

He resorted to ridiculous tactics and insane stunts to attempt to inject excitement into the game, but brought only time spent looking up rules and time spent arguing over rules. After the session, he thanked Shai Han and returned to the mountain of Sung.

The wise one sat and listened to the young dungeon master's story, and asked of him:

"Did you learn a secret of the dungeon master's art?"

The young dungeon master nodded, and said:

"The dungeon master who creates adventures without change and coolness will bore his players."

The wise one nodded, and said:

"You have learned much, young one, but there is still much you must learn. Yet there is little I can teach you. Return to your players, and show them what you have learnt. You will learn slowly, but one day you may master the art."

The young dungeon master returned to his players, and brought what he had learnt. He created an adventure that guided his players, showed them responsibility, and brought excitement to their characters. When the characters experienced bad luck, he gave them good fortune. They wondered at his new skills, and were fascinated by the adventure and the plot. Yet, they still occasionally argued, fought, or made crazy stunts, but the dungeon master had truly learnt the way and needed only to follow it further.

D&D Stuff: Kicking Ass

2004-12-17T19:06:00.000+11:00

I always thought that Improved Unarmed Strike sucked. My reasoning: who would bother taking it to do 1d3 points of damage with an unarmed attack when they could take a level of monk and grab a bunch of other benefits

Martial Arts Proficiency [GENERAL]
You are a skilled martial artist.
Benefit: Your unarmed attack deals 1d6 damage if you are large, or 1d4 damage if you are small. You take no attacks of opportunity for attacking unarmed. You lose the benefit of this feat if you are wearing medium or heavy armor.

Improved Martial Arts [GENERAL]
You are a greatly skilled martial artist.
Prerequisite: +5 BAB, Martial Arts Proficiency
Benefit: Your unarmed attack deals 1d8 damage if you are large, or 1d6 damage if you are small. You take no attacks of opportunity for attacking unarmed. You lose the benefit of this feat if you are wearing medium or heavy armor.

Arse Kickin' Time [GENERAL]
Sometimes, you just go for it.
Prerequisite: Martial Arts Proficiency
Benefit: You may spend 1 action point to activate this feat. For a number of rounds equal to 1/2 your character level, you gain a +2 bonus to attack and damage with unarmed attacks, a +5ft bonus to speed, and a 19-20/x2 critical rating with unarmed attacks.

Absolute Bastard [GENERAL]
You are an absolute bastard, and follow no rules or honor in combat
Prerequisite: Nonlawful alignment
Benefit: You gain a +1 bonus to all attack rolls if any of the following conditions are true:
-You are attacking in a surprise round.
-You are making a sneak attack.
-Your opponent is unarmed.
-Your opponent is confused, shaken, panicked, or terrified.
-Your opponent is prone.
-Your opponent is retreating or fleeing.

One Fist Behind My Back [STYLE]
You fight with one hand as well as you would with two.
Prerequisite: Martial Arts Proficiency, Improved Martial Arts, Weapon Focus (unarmed strike), Two-Weapon Fighting
Benefit: Effectively, one hand of yours is treated to be two weapons. So, you can use Two-Weapon Fighting with something else in the other hand.

Squatting Dog, Sneaky Bastard [STYLE]
You squat on the ground until your opponent comes over to hit you, then kick 'em real hard.
Prerequisite: Martial Arts Proficiency, Improved Martial Arts, Weapon Focus (unarmed strike), Absolute Bastard
Benefit: If attacked while prone, you may immediately move to standing and make a free attack with a +2 bonus to damage against your attacker.

"I Fly Around The World And Blow Stuff Up!": A New Anthem for the USAF

2004-12-16T13:46:00.000+11:00

To the tune of "She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes".

CHORUS:
Oh, I fly around the world and blow stuff up,
Firing missiles, fragging pisspiles as I go,
I meet interestin' people then I go blow up their steeple,
I'm sure glad I joined the ol' US Air Force!

I can blow stuff up from orbit if I want,
Laser-guided radar-sighted airforce junk,
but all that damn precision ends up makin' an incision,
straight in to the guys we're meant t' lib-er-ate!

CHORUS

We fight ter'rism an' bring dem-o-crac-y,
with F-fifteens an' US Ranger teams,
and with US corporations always their to help these nations,
there's always quite a profit to be seen!

CHORUS

Oh, with Shock'n'Awe we'll liberate these folks,
Yes, with Regime Change in Firin' Range we will,
Drop the Mother of All Bombs in alliance with the Poms,
then they'll all be smiles an' happiness an' free!

CHORUS

Yes, we've fought the bastards in Iraq an' won,
Least' that's what our prezzie always seem to say,
But I tell you it's not pretty stayin' in this Baghdad city,
'coz we seem to have some new bastards right here!

CHORUS

Note: I have the utmost repsect for the men and women of the USAF. I just have little respect for their leaders.

D&D Stuff: Speak softly and carry a short sword.

2004-12-16T13:13:00.000+11:00

Lightning Fangs [Style]
You are a master of fighting with two shortswords, and have learnt to strike with one right after the other.
Prerequisites: Dex 15, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (shortsword), Two-Weapon Fighting, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting
Benefit: When you take a standard attack action (not a full-round attack), and strike with one shortsword, you may immediately make another attack against the same opponent with the other sword at your highest base attack bonus. You still take the normal penalties for fighting with two weapons.

Short and Sharp [General]
You keep your sword sharp and pointy.
Prerequisites: Dex 15, Weapon Focus (short sword)
Benefit: You deal +2 damage with a shorts word whenever you make a piercing damage attack.

Short and Swift [General]
You strike with uncanny swiftness when wielding a shortsword.
Prerequisites: Dex 15, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (short sword)
Benefit: You may make a single attack with your short sword as a move action at a -5 penalty.

Short and Slippery [General]
Your sword seems to be in the wrong place for your enemy.
Prerequisites: Dex 15, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (short sword)
Benefit: You gain a +3 bonus to avoid being disarmed when you wield a short sword.

Random Rant: Golden Handshakes

2004-12-11T17:46:00.000+11:00

There's a particular corporate policy that I particularly dislike: the so-called "golden handshake", or a cash package given to executives when they leave a company. Not just if they're "made redundant", but even if they quit, find a better job, or are forced to resign due to accusations of criminal wrongdoing. They're often massive: an example is the $8.5 mil given to the CEO of a company that refuses to pay asbestos victims compensation caused by them.

Will executives have the best intrests of the company and the shareholders at heart if they know they'll make a truckload anyway?

Wag the Dog

2004-12-06T13:20:00.000+11:00

I recently watched Wag the Dog: a 1998 film about a presidential staff that fakes a war to win an election. The film felt eerily similar to the days leading up to the Iraq invasion and the early war. The early war was great for the Bush administration, with all those buzzwords "Showdown with Saddam", "Shock and Awe", "Iraqi Freedom", "Wall of Heroes", and the clips of what looked like fireworks seemingly harmlessly passing over Baghdad(yeah, right). It was truly a media circus, with the media complacently accepting the administration's press and arguements and positions.

Only since Abu Gharib has the media started to gain some teeth and become less of an administration mouthpiece and more of a free press. Still, the damage to the media's credibility had already been done, and the damage to American freedom will take years to heal, assuming moderation somehow takes control.

Random Rant: Let's Not Pay Our Dues!

2004-12-04T09:10:00.000+11:00

The American government has come up with a plan: stop paying 20% or whatever of their UN dues until it becomes an American tool or folds up and explodes. Brilliant!

Let's withdraw funding from UNICEF, the WHO, and all those other acronyms that make the world a better place. Let's stop the UN from helping to arbitrate disputes peacfully. Let's try and accelerate World War IV's arrival. Have a beer or two! It might help you come up with an even better plan!

I've got another plan: if you don't like the way the Bush administration is going, stop paying 20% of your taxes! Go for it

Some useful stickers for Alabama Schools

2004-12-03T20:44:00.000+11:00

Wonderful.

While we're at it, we'd better put some stickers on the maths textbooks:

"This book states that the value of pi is approximately 3.14159. This theory is contrary to some beliefs, and should therefore be approached with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered."

Because the biblical value of pi is 3:

"Also he made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about."

4:2, 2 Chronicles

The United Nations

2004-11-27T19:45:00.000+11:00

The United Nations seems to cop a lot of flak for no real reason, especially now. You know what? The UN has worked for the past 60 years, with no third world war and no mass destruction. It works, and now people want to destroy it. The UN is incredibly important to the world. It is the reason for the existence of UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and a myriad other groups that significantly increase the world's living standards. The UN provides a 24-hour discussion forum for all nations to voice their opinions. It provides a mediator for negotiation, a shouting box, a place where diplomats can work out solutions. The UN is not a tool of the USA or the French or the Chinese or the Indians. The UN is a forum and a protector of human rights and dignities.

Before saying the UN must go, think about what it has done for the world. Think about reform, not destruction.

Random Rant: Bill Could Criminalize Fast-Forwarding DVD Ads, Trailers

2004-11-27T13:19:00.000+11:00

What the hell?

Come on, people. What exactly is this meant to accomplish?

Suspicious Sites: Pentagon Strike

2004-11-27T11:48:00.000+11:00

An interesting movie about the 11/9 attack on the Pentagon

I'm not a big fan of conspiracies. I don't believe George Bush or whoever had knowledge of 11/9.

But this movie raises some questions. Did Flight 77 really hit the Pentagon? If not, what did? Why all the secrecy? Why confiscate footage of the attack?

At the moment, it's just suspicious. I haven't formed any conclusions. Perhaps you will. Watch the movie and give me your spin.

Random Rant: Space Travel

2004-11-25T14:54:00.000+11:00

Saw an article in the paper about how space travel is a waste of money and how it could be spent on problems here on Earth. Let me explain why my point of view is different:

1. We spend much more money on crap like DVD players or atomic weapons down here than we spend up there. Let's face it, if they cancel the space program, the money won't be going to starving kids in Africa: it'll be going to subsidies or the military.
2. What happens when Earth runs out of resources? There's a finite amount of (iron/copper/whatever) down here on Earth, and that won't last forever. Better we have a space presence now than wish for one when we run out of resources.
3. Finite amount of space on Earth too. If the population continues to increase, people will want to move offplanet.
4. Velcro, computers, some medical technique that I can't remember: the invention of all is due to the space program.

Okay, a short and concise post for a long and complex topic. Oh well.

Viva La Orbitale!

-The Lone Amigo

D&D: Arcane Training Feats

2004-11-17T20:14:00.000+11:00

Where did your wizard learn their style? Is he a hedge wizard from a town way out in the back of nowhere, or is she an graduate of the Arcane War College in Rikkansburg? Give them a unique style with one of these feats.

Hedge Wizard [Backround]
Your magical training also taught you about nature and life.
Prerequisites: Wis 13, wizard, 1st level only
Benefit: You may prepare one druid spell per day of up to 3rd level in place of a wizard spell of one level higher, and gain a +2 bonus on all Knowledge (nature) checks.

War Wizard [Backround]
Your magical training also included basics in the skills of war.
Prerequisites: Str 13, wizard, 1st level only
Benefit: You gain proficiency with a single martial weapon and a +1 bonus to attack with that weapon.

Craft Wizard [Backround]
Your magical training was the basis for a career in crafting magical items.
Prerequisites: 4 ranks in any Craft skill, wizard, 1st level only
Benefit: You gain a +1 bonus to all Craft skills, and are treated as one caster level higher for the purpose of item creation.

Academic Wizard [Backround]
Your magical training was from an arcane academy.
Prerequisites: 4 ranks in any Knowledge skill, wizard, 1st level only
Benefit: You gain a +1 bonus to all Knowledge skills, and are treated as one caster level higher for the purpose of interaction with other magic (counterspelling, dispelling, etc.).

Eberron: The Last War

2004-11-17T20:09:00.000+11:00

Does anyone else think that Eberron and the Total War series are brilliant fits? It all fits quite well. Mobile fortresses would be just that: fortresses that are mobile. You could have regiments of Warforged, Karrnathi Undead, Valenar, etc.

Dragonmarked houses and other power groups would be represented by neutral agents. Thrane could have inquisitors. You could change the entire course of the last war.

Only one problem: the Mourning. Why would anyone play Cyre if you know you're gonna get wiped out? Perhaps a random system, perhaps some factors behind the scenes, but something has to control the Mourning.

Session Log 1: "Eberron: Trail of the Warforged"

2004-11-17T16:04:00.000+11:00

I started the first in my Trail of the Warforged adventures today, and it worked brilliantly.

The Party:

Professor Winch: Warforged wizard and scholar of Warforged Studies & Archaeology at Morgrave University. He is recently returned from Xen'drik on a study of ancient giant cities and the possibilities of ancient warforged. He has arranged to head another expedition to Xen'drik with the backing of Charn d'Tharashk and Delmar d'Cannith.
Aether Dagan: A shifter monk trained in a monastery in the Eldeen Reaches. He befriended Winch when he fought for the Breland Expeditionary Force in the Eldeen Reaches. A devout protector of nature, he hopes to convert Winch and others to the path of the Wardens.
Delmar d'Cannith: A human artificer and a member of Cannith, he represents the intrests of House Cannith in the expedition. He was the artificer for Ironfist's squad in the Last War.
Ironfist: A gleaming, polished adamantine warforged fighter, Ironfist is a warforged warrior who fought for Breland in the Last War. Now, he acts as a protector of the warforged students and schoolars at Morgrave University.
Alamis "Cat" Roland: A human bard and ex-spy, the Cat now acts as a information broker for those interested in Xen'drik. His part in the expedition is to further his contacts in Xen'drik and increase his knowledge. He also has contacts with the Library of Korranberg, who want to know more about the possibility of ancient warforged.

The Action:

The party met with Charn d'Tharashk at the Lava Pig, a famous Cogs restaurant situated on the edge of huge forge powered by molten lava. The heavy and hot atmosphere is somewhat but not totally mitigated by the chilled air provided by a Lyrandar device.

Charn d'Tharashk told the party of a ancient map found in the Demon Wastes by a Tharashk mining expedition, and asked them to add it to their expedition in Xen'drik. After the meal, he told them to meet him at the Grey Court Inn in Upper Dura.

The party made their way back to their lodging at the University, their journey interrupted by a political speech in the Morgrave Exchange going awry. A magic carpet sped past the half-elf candidate, throwing him off balance and into a stall of Eldeen apples. The night passed uneventfully.

In the morning, the party breakfasted at the House Ghallandra eatery in the University, then set off to the Grey Court. On arrival, they were greeted by a brutal scene: Charn d'Tharashk lying dead on the floor in a pool of blood.

A short examination of the scene revealed three things: a torn-up journal, a bronze medallion with a House Tharashk insignia, and some silvery warforged fluid. The investigation was interrupted by the Sharn Watch, who burst into the room and attempted to apprehend the party.

But the Cat had no truck with this, and decided to flee the scene by the quickest method possible: out the window and onto a passing skycoach. The rest of the party soon followed. Unfortunately, the unpiloted vehicle was headed straight for a skybridge, and only quick thinking by Delmar kept the party alive. Delmar then had to work out how to turn the craft to avoid crashing into the end of the tower ahead. But the heroes' ordeal was only just beginning.

One of the watchmen, a warforged, decided to chase the carriage, and as it came within inches of a tower, he lept onto the roof of the skycoach. A Watch-manned skycoach also put chase to the heroes at a nearby intersection.

Aether and the Cat lept up onto the roof to combat the 'forged watchman, as the coach hurtled threw a breakneck series of turns. The professor fired off two spells at the driver of the watch carriage, which then swerved off down a wide canyon of towers. The 'forged watchman then slammed his armblade through the roof, temporarily disabling Delmar and forcing Winch to take the controls. But Ironfist retaliated back through the roof at the watchman, just before Winch set the coach on a rapid upward swing to avoid a wall.

Only the warforged and the Cat were able to keep standing, as Delmar was thrown to the back of the coach and Aether held on to a strap at the back of the carriage. However, he was able to use the momentum as the coach returned to vertical to swing himself up and knock out the warforged.

The party rested for a second, then headed into a busy expressway, and examined the bronze medallion. Touching the insignia caused a voice to emerge from the medallion: the voice of Charn d'Tharashk.

"If you are hearing this, I am dead. Probably slain by those who also seek the map. They won't find it though: it's hidden somewhere in the Tharashk enclave in Rhukaan Draal. You're also unlikely to find it, unless you seek the advice of my friend Ithim d'Tharashk in Wroat. He will help you locate the map and direct you to Xen'drik. Be quick: those who seek the map are powerful and unlikely to be slowed. Farewell, my friends."

A flash, and the medallion dissolved into thin air.

Next Week: The party attempts a daring rescue and tries to escape Sharn without attracting the eyes of the Watch.

And So It Begins....

2004-11-16T20:49:00.000+11:00

Jennifer Government comes true