So I'm going to a SCA event later this month. It has been years since I was at all serious about it, but with some of my friends showing interest I think this event will be a whole lot of fun. I'm dragging a few newcomers to show them the fighting and try and get them excited about it. SCA is only good when you are surrounded by people you like.

So is anyone else going to Bordermarch? Does anyone even still play for that matter?

It is almost as if he knows my birthday is coming up.

Now I have very strong feelings on the use of auto-tune in music and how it contributes to the overall mediocrity of modern music. This on the other hand is the only use of the tool that I approve of. Kick it DJ Sagen, with special guest spinmaster Hawkings.

Sometimes 4chan is the bottom of the internet barrel, and others it is win in its purest form.

If any of you use twitter please help the Iranian bloggers by changing your twitter settings so that your location is Tehran and your time zone is GMT +3.30. Security forces hunting for bloggers using location and timezone searches. If we are all 'Iranians' it's much harder to find them.

The Iranian government is finding out the hard lesson that the internet is far to complex and powerful of a social tool to possibly stop dissemination of information. If a million people gather for a rally you can put money one someone twittering about it. I don't care if you cut the phone lines, I don't care if you jam satellites, I don't care if you shut down ISPs. The internet is so vast and complex that any one country cannot possibly cut its usage for a informed public. China has been learning about that ever since they put up the great firewall of china.

The problem with being 20 years behind the times is that technology is moving at a exponential rate. 20 years ago cutting the phone lines would have been perfectly fine for control of information and propaganda. Which is why I believe that supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei came out in favor of recounts. He saw the way the wind is blowing and he knows that if he doesn't bend to the will of the people it is his head that is next on the chopping block. Though it is really to bad that all this is over a figure head position anyway. But maybe something good will eventually come of this. A sane Iran would be a boon to the most turbulent region of the world....but I don't think I'll hold my breath.

Also I would just like to say I'm infinitely grateful the the US for electing Obama. His measured response with the knowledge of Iran/US past relations is exactly what was needed of him. McCain's rush to condemn the elections as a fraud may be accurate, but it would do nothing but galvanize the sections of Iran that have such low opinions of us. By stepping back and allowing Iran to change without interference is giving the reformists their greatest chance of success.

So a while back someone linked a webcomic that ended up getting questionable content added to the list of comics I read. http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1267

Now I had a little laugh at it, ended up reading though the archives to catch up on the story and now I have yet another webcomic in the list I read. Though that one stuck in my mind as it was the one that introduced me to that particular comic.

Then I ran across this TED talk.....





Oh gods it is real. What has science done!

Best quote I have seen on 4chan in a while

"Define 'gygaxian.' Without actually invoking the name of Gary Gygax."

First response

"It kills you with traps and doesn't break any rules."

Ok before I rant a little about the retarded Tea parties the video above must be seen by everyone regardless of political view point if for no other reason than it is possibly the funniest thing I've seen in my life. I'm talkin ever.

Anyway....are these Tea baggers genuinely retarded. Actually no wait that is a bit insulting to the mentally challenged...Are these people....you know I can't come up with a word descriptive enough to describe their stupidity. It is like they have never even seen a history text book. I'm sick and tired of being told I don't love my country by people who don't understand THE FUNDAMENTAL PRECEPTS THAT OUR COUNTRY IS FOUNDED ON. If we could harness the energy of Thomas Paine spinning in his grave over Glenn Beck's idiocy I would be willing to bet that we could power the country for generations.

Now I know there are a few anime fans in my friends list. Anyone else watching the new season Full metal Alchemist?

Been quite a bit of harry potter banter lately. So here is a group of my favorite comedians discussing it.

It has been a hectic week for him so far. I almost see him as a super hero, righting wrongs and defeating evil left and right. It is hard to keep up my skeptical nature when he, within a day of becoming president, has already attacked several of my big issues.

Closing Gitmo and ending torture-
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/01/torture-gitmo-a.html
Opening government and oking strong ethics reform-
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/ExecutiveOrderPresidentialRecords/
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/21/obama.business/index.html?eref=rss_latest
Stopping idiotic legislation-
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28758810/
and cutting wasteful spending-
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/01/21/national/w101818S64.DTL&feed=rss.news

It is like Christmas morning for a political geek like me, except it is going to last for hopefully another 8 years.

Also he has a awesome action figure.
http://i.gizmodo.com/5136576/

On this historic day, let me be the first to wave goodbye to president shrub. May all your future endeavors be just as successful as your presidency.

My question is of course, when did Jeff learn ASL?

Alternatively, Since when did Santa do ASL?

Simply put, dogma. Dogma will always be the opiate of the masses. It allows a nice little structure to conform to and feel comfortable in, and a nice little reasoning to commit atrocities to people who don't conform to it. The problem with Marxist ideology is in that very statement he made. "Religion" is the opiate, when he simply didn't go far enough with it and fell into the same trap the religious do. Dogmatic politicians can be just as dangerous and just as cruel as religious leaders; See Hitler, Stalin, Mao, ect ect ect....

This is actually what I use to rebut the brainwashed cultists I talk about religion with when they bring up that atheists have caused as much war as believers do. It isn't that they commit genocide because they are atheist, but rather that they commit genocide because they have swapped their faith in god with faith in something else be it Communism, Nazism, or what have you.

If it is one thing I am grateful for my parents is that they instilled in me a inherent skepticism. If all people did this I doubt there would be much hate in the world.

 Not that Obama has a chance of winning Texas, but I just got back from voting. I feel all patriotic maybe I should get some apple pie. Mmmm America.

Side note, one of the state justices on the ballot was named Sam Houston....Awesome

 I have never ever been happier to receive a B. Thank the gods this class is halfway over....

 So while 90% of huntsville is still in the dark my house just so happens to get power! I'm now one happy camper.

 sean says:

At the most recent HOPE conference(a big hacker con) Adam Savage one of my favorite TV personalities gave a speech on his fascinations with the Dodo bird and the Maltese falcon and other random things. But the later half was dedicated toward questions from the audience. While most of the questions were interesting the biggest one was on their show on the RFID chips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-St_ltH90Oc

Now while I understand why Discover wouldn't want to upset their advertisers, what bothers me is that the CC companies wouldn't be interested in finding the vulnerability of their products. If their product is defunct then not only should they have a obligation to the people that they have given the cards to fix the problems but shouldn't they want to have their cards more secure?

Maybe that just the digital forensics in me but if it is really so insecure that would require that much of a reaction only leads me to believe that it isn't secure at all to the point where they haven't bothered in the slightest to make any effort to make is secure. Which upon hearing that would infuriate me if I actually had one.

 

Farther on RFID chips I was watching a talk on body modification the other day, (full speech here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voA7Uz7uABE) The part that interested me was around 20 minutes in was part that is particularly interesting because it directly effects someone close to me. As I'm sure everyone who would read this is aware that my step dad is Diabetic. So the implant she talks about would use basically monitor glucose levels in the blood so no diabetic would ever again need to prick themselves to to find their blood sugar levels. How awesome is that? All the other ramifications of that are incredible. If they can detect glucose levels how about cholesterol levels? Or adrenalin levels? You could have a streaming view into you body in real time. To know instantly if you are having a stroke or heart attack or any other number of health problems. Or even something as simple as finding out how exactly you react to certain stimulus. Though I'll admit I'm not really comfortable with the big brother aspect of RFIDs. The ability to be tracked at all times is certainly not something to be taken lightly, though if it is connected to the outside world then it shouldn't be much of a issue to turn them off remotely either. One of the most terrifying things to come out as of late was the ability to turn off pacemakers remotely (http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/12/1232206 )

 Ok so while many of yall may know my views tend toward a hard left turn. Big suprise huh? So obviously I'm going to enjoy watching the fascist party squirm as the leader of their party shows his colors and makes a terrible vp pick.

But what I love about her is what she is doing to the party. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=CrG8w4bb3kg Tell us oh conservative windbag  pundits how you really feel?

It makes me giddy with excitement to see the VP debates.