BMW PWNED

[Source: Unknown]

Worst Idea Ever..

According to a CNN article, countries have pledged more than $200 million in aid to help Somalia fight the pirates. Also, the Somalian prime minister has requested to have Somalia's arms embargo lifted so that they can get weapons that are superior to the pirates' weapons.

I don't think this is a good idea. Somalia ranks as the MOST corrupt country in the world according to the Global Corruption Index. I think the money is fine, but the weapons embargo should remain. I don't want this to turn into another Afghanistan situation.

CLASSIC CLIPS

Happy Earth Day.. RAWR!

Save the Polar Bears!!! Recycle!

What the....

As of today, this book is #13 on Amazon's bestseller's list - Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance Now With Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!

This Week in Photos

Belgian Kristof Vliegen breaks his racket during a match against Croatian Ivan Ljubicic during the Monte-Carlo ATP Masters Tournament. [Source: Time]


A Dutch herder uses his moped to move his sheep from pasture to pasture. [Source: Time]



No, its not a photography trick. There is actually a pipe hiddne in the stream of water to hold up the faucet. This fountain can be seen Aqualand, Cadiz [Source: CRIENGLISH.com/Xinjo.com]

Gangs in Mexico honor the dead with a cap designed with dollar bills, cigarettes and cocaine (present on the skull's nose). [Photo by CNN]

Anti-government protesters set a Bangkok bus on fire. [Photo by David Longstreath, AP]

Thousands of protesters across the country gather in select cities to protest taxes in what they called "Tea Parties". Notice that the sign says "Sarah" instead of McCain. [Photo by Ron Edmonds, AP]

I want a Dolphin now

According to this article by a Chinese media site, a school of dolphins got in the way of Somali pirates when they were trying to cause trouble with some Chinese ships. Although, its coincidence that the school of dolphins were there at the right time, I wouldn't be surprised if they sensed that pirates were trying to cause trouble and got in the way. I think I saw on National Geographic sometime that some species of dolphins actually attack sharks (bottlenose?). Or... China succeeded where the United States failed in 1989 when the American Navy tried to train dolphins for the military purpose of protecting submarines, according to this NY Times article: Navy, Unmoved by Critics, Presses Plan for Dolphins to Guard Subs.

Harry Potter Half-Blood Prince Trailer

Anonymous Millions

Universities receive millions of dollars in anonymous gifts, writes Time magazine in this article.

Breakdown is as follows:
Purdue: $8 million
UNC-Asheville: $1.5 million
Univ. of Iowa: $7 million
Univ. Southern Miss.: $6 million
UNC-Greensboro: $6 million
Univ. of Maryland-College Park: $6 million
Univ. of Colorado-Colorado Springs: $5.5 million

"Each was delivered since March 1 and came with the same stipulation: Most of the money must be used for student scholarships, and the remainder can be spent on various costs such as research, equipment, strategic goals and operating support."

The chancellors also had to sign a confidentiality agreement that they will not seek out who the donor is.

OK, now that we have the colleges covered, how about some anonymous donations to pay off my college loans and fund my future graduate school studies :)

Facebook v. GPA

[Photo Source: Time.com]

A Doctoral candidate at Ohio State University actually did a study between Facebook and GPA. The result: more facebook time = lower GPA. You can read the article here: What Facebook Users Share: Lower Grades

2009 Best Cities for Jobs

Forbes Magazine discusses the best cities for job growth in this article. For the actual list of cities click here - Newgeography.com - where Forbes got their data.

Overall Best Cities for Jobs
1) Odessa, Texas
2) Grand Junction, Colorado
3) Longview, Texas
4) Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, Louisiana
5) Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, Texas
6) Austin-Round Rock, Texas
7) McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas
8) Laredo, Texas
9) Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas
10) Tulsa, Oklahoma

Forbes has further broken them down into subcategories:

Best Big Cities for Jobs
10) Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, Oregon, Washington
9) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
8) Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina
7) Salt Lake City, Utah
6) Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington
5) Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas
4) Forth Worth-Arlington, Texas
3) San Antonio, Texas
2) Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas
1) Austin-Round Rock, Texas

Best Mid-Sized Cities for Jobs
10) Mobile, Alabama
9) Anchorage, Alaska
8) Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana
7) Baton Rouge, Louisiana
6) Corpus Christi, Texas
5) Kansas City, Kansas
4) Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina
3) Lafayette, Lousiana
2) Tulsa, Oklahoma
1) McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas

Best Small Cities for Jobs
10) College Station-Bryan, Texas
9) Morgantown, West Virginia
8) Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Washington
7) Athens-Clarke County, Georgia
6) Laredo, Texas
5) Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, Texas
4) Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, Louisiana
3) Longview, Texas
2) Grand Junction, Colorado
1) Odessa, Texas

Term Papers

We have all been there 10-20 page term papers, double spaced, 12 font - if you haven't, you will. Overall, I have no problem with them, except when they are not intellectually challenging. I guess we can categorize term papers into 2 types: regurgitation and application. Lets give these types some fun names - Type R and Type A. I favor the latter; I loathe the former. By the time I am done with a Type R term paper I have 20 gazillion sources and every other sentence is cited. Type A term papers are much better because they tickle the brain, make me think and compel me to have a thesis that I have to defend.

Sometimes I think that my lack of motivation comes from a lack of intellectual stimulation - I don't feel challenged enough.

NASA = Lame

NASA put up a poll on its website to name Node 3 on the International Space Station. Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report, a comedy show on Comedy Central, tells his fans to go to the website and write-in his name as the official name of Node 3.

Well, he won, except not. According to the CNN article, "The contest rules spelled out that NASA reserves the right to 'ultimately select a name in accordance with the best interests of the agency. ... Such name may not necessarily be one which is on the list of voted-on candidate names.' "

NASA instead picks the name "Tranquility". Which is the name that had the most votes right? No, wrong. The name that had the most votes was "Serenity" - which I personally like.

NASA's fine print basically schooled everyone. Shows you that naming space things is an esoteric practice where only space geeks can participate and vote. There goes my dream of having a star named after me (in an official capacity).

So, what was the purpose of the poll again, NASA? I would call that a major FAIL in trying to involve the nation in a failing space program. Next time you need publicity on a space project, we say screw you since you don't consider our input anyways. Unless, of course, it has something to do with lasers and photon torpedoes and warp drives, then count me in, because Star Trek is THE awesome.

Oh, Colbert did get a consolation prize - having an exercise bike named after him: The Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill, or COLBERT. Cool right? NOT! NASA = Lame!

Symbolic Laws

NC House passes bill to ban texting while driving, WRAL reports. Good policy, but I am skeptical about its enforceability.

OH NOES!! WE ARE IN A DEPRESSION!!

No, not really, but you did panic for a second there didn't you. I bet in that one second you considered taking all your money out of banks and stocking up on food. Well, that's what the world did when the United States announced that we were in a recession in the fall of 2008 - people panicked, the stock market lost a record number of points, people started taking money out of banks, etc. Did you know that we were already in a recession in the winter of 2007 - sure the stock market was dipping a little bit, but no one was taking money out of banks and everyone was feeling dandy.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the power of words and the media. If they did not have that recession announcement, I bet everything would still be OK. And through the power of capitalism, the companies that deserved it would have gone bankrupt now and the government would not be handing out these bailouts and the United States would not be in a trillion dollar national debt.

Something to think about.



BBC Article: "Obama Suggests Recession Easing"
Photo from BBC.

Terrorists of the Seas

That's what I am coining these pirates: "Terrorists of the Seas". Terrorists and these Pirates have similar characteristics. So the United States will have 2 fronts to deal with now - land and sea.

New article from CNN: "Somali Pirates Hijack 2 Freighters in 1 day"

(Oh and if you read the article before this regarding the Global Corruption Index, Somalia has a score of 1, labeling it the most corrupt country in the world)

Poland Asks IMF for $20 Billion

BBC reports that Poland is asking the International Monetary Fund $20 billion dollars to help its economy during this global economic downturn. According to the article, "Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski said it would increase bank reserves and make Poland 'immune to the virus of the crisis and speculative attacks'."

I don't think any amount of money is going to make any country "immune" to the global recession. If Poland's Finance Minister thinks this, he needs to go back to Economics 101. Unless of course Poland has taken on the policy of complete isolationism - trade, immigration, travel, etc. - from the rest of the world, then I may be wrong.

Oh and if the IMF does give Poland that money, I would watch where it goes seeing that Poland scored a 4.6 on the Global Corruption Index (10 being least corrupt, 1 being most corrupt - United States has a score of 7.3)

American Dream - Immigrant Edition

CNN writes an article about a U.S. born child being separated from their illegal immigrant parent. Although the media is supposed to be unbiased, this article is advocating for immigration reform, specifically that of Obama's: "Obama has supported a combination of enforcing laws and opening up the system. He wants to see a pass for citizenship that would mean having an illegal immigrant pay a fine, learn English and then get in line for citizenship. Critics refer to that "path to citizenship" as amnesty."

The article also reports that millions of U.S. born children are being separated from their parents due to the father and/or mother's immigrant status. I think the illegal immigrant parents know this or suspected this would happen.

Immigrants come to the United States to seek better lives and better income to support themselves and their families back at the homeland. They also seek better lives for their children, that is why they petition for them to come to the United States to obtain green cards and eventually become citizens. However, all that paperwork and years of waiting can be skipped through a U.S. born child. If a mother gives birth to a child in the United States, regardless of her status, the child is automatically a U.S. citizen. Immigrant parents know this and they want to do this. The child, from birth, gets all the rights and privileges that comes with being a United States citizen (one of them being Social Security).

So, don't have pity for the characters in this story. The immigrant parents knew the consequences. I bet they are elated that the child chose the United States instead of them. Now, she can petition the parents to become citizens of the United States, it just takes time.

CARTOON! CARTOON!

Gay Elephant (Maybe) - OH NOES!

A Polish politician is angry that a 10 year old "gay" elephant, named Ninio, is living in the $11.2 million zoo that the government funded. The theory is based on the observation that the elephant prefers the company of other male elephants. The politician is afraid that Ninio won't procreate. However, elephants don't reach sexual maturity until they are 14 years old (Ninio is only 10). [Source]

I love surprises!

This is freakin' awesome. Susan Boyle, a 47-year-old woman from a "collection of villages" in England who has never been kissed and owns a cat named Peebles, sings Dream a Dream from Les Miserables. And well, see for yourself:

Stealing in Style

Style is ubiquitous in European culture, shown here in this picture as a fashionable thief steals a television set out of the parliament building in Moldova in protest denouncing a Communist election victory. Nice sunglasses - they are probably Dior.

It is the old people's turn

CNN reports that the fastest growing subscribers to Facebook at this time are the older generation. Well, duh! Facebook was limited to select colleges first, then spread to all colleges, then high schools, and just recently opened up to everyone. So, of course, old people are signing up seeing that the majority of the young demographic are already on Facebook.

Read the CNN article here: "All in the Facebook Family: older generation join social networks"

Careers of the Future

According to a New York Times article: "Public service, government, the sciences and even teaching look to be winners"

Read the full article here: With Finance Disgraced, Which Career Will Be King?

Students visit NYSE on the day it dropped 400 points

Denny's Recession Plan

Denny's Recession Plan: Free food, BOGO's, Facebook, Twitter, 2am drunk food. See the article by Time magazine here: Denny's: Where The Food is Free and Drunks Can Pee

CARTOON! CARTOON!

CARTOON! CARTOON!

Hollywood Idiot vs. Zombie

Woody Harrelson had an altercation with a cameraman at a New York airport Wednesday night. His defense: The guy looked like a zombie. CNN writes more about this "loontardian" in this article.

QUOTATIONS NEEDED

"The cause of friendship between young people seems to be pleasure. For their lives are guided by their feelings, and they pursue above all what is pleasant for themselves and what is at hand. But as they grow up [what they find] pleasant changes too. Hence they are quick to become friends, and quick to stop; for their friendship shifts with [what they find] pleasant, adn the change in such pleasure is quick. Young people are prone to erotic passion, since this mostly accords with feelings, and is caused by pleasure; that is why they love and quickly stop, often changing in a single day

[...]

But complete friendship is the friendship of good people similar in virtue; for they wish goods in the same way to each other insofar as they are good, and they are good in their own right. [Hence they wish goods to each other for each other's own sake.] Now those who wish goods to their friend for the friend's own sake are friends most of all; for they have this attitude because of the friend himself, not coincidentally. Hence these people's friendship lasts as long as they are good; and virtue is enduring.Each of them is both good without qualification and good for his friend, since good people are both good without qualification and advantageous for each other. They are pleasant in the same ways too, since good people are pleasant both without qualification and for each other. [They are pleasant for each other] because each person finds his own actionsa dna ctions of that kind pleasant, and the actions of good people are the same or similar.

[...]

These kinds of friendships are likely to be rare, since such people are few. Further, they need time as well, to grow accustomed to each other; for, as the proverb says, they cannot know each other before they have shared thier salt as often as it says, and they cannot accept each other or be friends with each other until each appears lovable to the other and gains the other's confidence. Those who are quick to treat each other in friendly ways wish to be friends, but are not friends, unless they are also lovable, and know this. For though the wish for friendship comes quickly, friendship does not."

- Aristotle's "Nichomachean Ethics", Bk. VIII, Ch. 3

Eye for an Eye

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has spurred on his supporters to revolt on the grounds that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was not democratically elected, CNN reports. Thaksin wants Abhisit to resign and reschedule elections. Abhisit has rejected to step down.

I really don't want a guy like Thaksin to be in charge of the country. To be honest, I have no idea what goes on in Thailand politics, but if a former leader is urging his supporters to revolt in order to kick out the new guy, then I don't want him to be the country's leader. His tactics are violent and illegal. Well, I guess since Thaksin was overthrown via coup, he would do the same thing to the current guy in office - eye for an eye tactic, very classy. Do you really want a leader that is, first, a crybaby, and second, uses violence to get his way. Imagine what types of policies he will enact if he actually obtains office.

According to the CIA World Factbook, Thailand's current type of government is a Constitutional Monarchy, which is the same type of government that the United Kingdom has.

Like I said before, I don't know anything about Thailand politics and I am not promoting one guy to the other, but I do hope that the good guy will prevail.

Happy Easter!

Marshmallow peeps are gross. I would definitely rather have a chocolate egg - Cadbury's are the best!

How to Capture Pirates?

BBC News writes an article on the pirates off the coast of Somalia. Initially, when the pirates took Americans hostage that they would be screwed. I mean, what were they thinking messing with the world's largest and most powerful navy?! They would be completely obliterated in no time now that they have involved the United States. I was wrong. It has been a couple of days and there is still no resolution to this pirate crisis AND the American captain is still being held hostage.

So, what can we do? I say bring in some Navy SEAL's and kick butt that way. I mean, I really don't understand how a handful of pirates are able to last this long and hold an American hostage for so long. I guess it takes a while for U.S. Naval resources to reach Somalia. OK, so I'll give them that. But once they reach these pirates, there better be a swift resolution. We have better things to worry about other than a band of rag tag pirates harassing American and international trade ships.

If not then we should call in Jack Sparrow. HA! How funny would that be if we recommissioned an old school colonial battle ship and set it to intercept the pirates. They would be so shocked that SEALs can stealthily obtain the captain and get out of there before the pirates could close their mouths from the jaw dropping surprise.




USS warships enroute to Somalia.

Gotta Love Idiots

According to MailOnline News, a "32 year old woman leapt over the bars at Berlin Zoo during the bears' feeding time." Yes, during feeding time - she had very good timing. No one knows why the "loontardian" (Dlisted) decided to do that. In the end, she went to the hospital and was treated with bites on her arms and legs.

Categorized: European Cities

10 Hottest European Cities:
Reykjavik, Iceland
London, England
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Berlin, Germany
Paris, France
Edinburgh, Scotland
Barcelona, Spain
Interlaken, Switzerland
The Island of Ibiza, Spain
Prague, Czech Republic


10 Quainter European Cities:
Galway, Ireland
Innsbruck, Austria
Seville, Spain
Florence, Italy
Cologne, Germany
Budapest, Hungary
Aix En Provence, France
Lucerne, Switzerland
Salzburg, Austria
Bruges, Brussels


10 Unforgettable and Off the Beaten Track European Destinations:
Cinque Terra, Italy
Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic
Lagos, Portugal
Naxos, Greece
Gmunden, Austria
Breda, Netherlands
Luxembourg City
San Sebastian, Spain
Capri, Italy
Aegean Coast, Turkey

__________
Source: Kinder, Colleen. Delaying The Real World: A Twentysomething's Guide to Seeking Adventure. Philadelphia: Running Press, 2005.

After College Destinations

Top Ten Cities For Young People:
1) Austin
2) Boston
3) San Francisco
4) Chicago
5) Washington, D.C.
6) New York City
7) Seattle
8) Charlotte
9) Denver-Boulder
10) Minneapolis

__________
Source: Kinder, Colleen. Delaying The Real World: A Twentysomething's Guide to Seeking Adventure. Philadelphia: Running Press, 2005.

Sun's Orbit = 62 million Years?

Milky Way Enigma Blogpost

Read the article from the Little Blue Rock blog. It's an interesting read! You don't have to be "science-minded" to fully appreciate it.

Yea Right, Kanye

Kanye says 'South Park' put him in check
By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY, AP Music Writer

NEW YORK - "South Park" may have accomplished the impossible - getting Kanye West to check his ego.

The Comedy Central show skewered the famously self-important rapper on its show Wednesday night, painting him as a narcissistic figure so out of touch with reality he couldn't even take a (very politically incorrect) joke.

West's love of himself and his work has been almost as integral to his image as his music: Just last year, he told The Associated Press that he was the "voice of this generation." Also recently, he was quoted as saying his greatest regret was not being able to see himself perform live.

Yet, on his blog Thursday, West appeared chastened, and ready to turn over a new leaf.

In typical all-caps mode, he wrote: "SOUTH PARK MURDERED ME LAST NIGHT AND IT'S PRETTY FUNNY. IT HURTS MY FEELINGS BUT WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FROM SOUTH PARK! I ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN WORKING ON MY EGO THOUGH. HAVING THE CRAZY EGO IS PLAYED OUT IN MY LIFE AND CAREER."

West said that he started stroking his ego long ago to build up his self esteem - but he now realizes he needs to "GET PAST MYSELF."

In the self-reflective post, he said that people won't take him seriously if he keeps it up (perhaps referring to his well-documented meltdowns at awards shows when he didn't win what he expected).

"I JUST WANT TO BE A DOPER PERSON WHICH STARTS WITH ME NOT ALWAYS TELLING PEOPLE HOW DOPE I THINK I AM," he said.

And perhaps to show that he's really serious about making that change, he provided a link to one of the most biting moments from the "South Park" show, and thanked the writers as well.

All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be published, broadcast or redistributed in any manner.

CLASSIC CLIPS

CLASSIC CLIPS

QUOTATIONS NEEDED

"Today, the cold war has disappeared but thousands of those weapons havr not. In a strange turn of history, the threat of global nuclear war has gone down, but the risk of a nuclear attack has gone up. More nations have acquired these weapons. Testing has continued. Black markets trade in nuclear secrets and materials. The technology to build a bomb has spread. Terrorists are determined to buy, build or steal one ... Some argue that the spread of these weapons cannot be checked - that we are destined to live in a world where more nations and more people possess the ultimate tools of destruction. This fatalism is a deadly adversary. For if we believe that the spread of nuclear weapons is inevitable, then we are admitting to ourselves that the use of nuclear weapons is inevitable ... So today, I state clearly and with conviction America's commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons. I'm not naive. This goal will not be reached quickly - perhaps not in my lifetime. It will take patience and persistence. But now we, too, must ignore the voices who tell us that the world cannot change."

- U.S. President Barack Obama, Prague, 2009

The Economist's supplementary article

Hawaii Residents Take Own Initiative to Fix Road

CNN: Island DIY: Kauai residents don't wait for state to repair road

Props to Hawaii residents! Way to take initiative!

More Money?!

Obama seeks another $83 Billion for Iraq, Afghanistan

Hmm, I don't like where this is going. I didn't think it would take this much to get our troops out of Iraq; but then again, Obama did sign to focus our efforts in Afghanistan. I think U.S. citizens are tired of war. A country at war needs the majority of its citizens behind it to succeed. At this point I think Bush's Iraq War has drained the American people of war support. The United States needs a break.

However, since we are going into Afghanistan anyways that hopefully Obama will send in a large amount of troops. The mistake made in Iraq was sending in a primary force that was too little to deal with the situation.

Cool and strange fish

Barreleye Fish, discovered in 1939, has a transparent head.

When I Grow Up I Want To Be....

I really didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up. So, in third grade when I had to stand up in front of the class and do a presentation on my future occupation, I told my class “Doctor.” This, of course, was a parentally biased response. All during our childhood our parents had great expectations for us – Honor Roll, Class President, Save the World. I fulfilled (the majority) of those expectations, but I still didn’t know what I wanted to be.

High school came around and I did well in all my classes – AP English, Calculus, Physics, Biology, Anatomy, Civics. When it was time for college, I followed my friends and chose the major that would make me the most money right out of undergrad – Engineering. That failed, very quickly, seeing that I couldn’t get past Linear Algebra. I finally got smart and decided to follow the adage of do what you like to do. Well, that’s a problem, I like a lot of things; not only that, I’m good at a lot of things. I can analyze and write poetry, I can do Calculus, I can argue politics, I like reading history books – so what job does that mean?

I firmly believe that people have the natural aptitude for a certain occupation built either by environment or schooling or a combination of both or other factors. In your life you have encountered people that are naturally good at things, they pick it up really quickly, whether it be math or science or painting or driving a car or fashion or logic or sewing or leadership – you ask, “Wow, have you done this before?” and the answer, “No, it’s my first time.” That is when you know that person has an aptitude for that certain task. They just “get it”.

Well, so that solves a majority of people’s occupational conundrums; but me, I’m a jack of all trades and a master of none. In today’s world, what job will I excel in and benefit society? That’s been the foundation of my occupation search – I want to help people, but in a major way, not like running a local non-profit, but something that affects a major policy or a nation. I know, dreaming big, huh?