Tuesday, November 07, 2006

The Torn in the title refers to the internal conflicts in Starbuck, Ty, and Baltar, the eternally conflicted. Torn was a great episode to watch and a significant episode as far as fleshing out the Battlestar Galactica universe and advancing the storyline. The more exciting half of the episode occurred on two Cylon basestars, one detaining Baltar and the other, an even more fascinating one, being a base star sent by the Cylons according to Baltar’s direction and encountering a biological weapon that “kills” the entire Cylon crew. Dissimilarly to the original series, the writers for the new series won’t turn Baltar completely over to the Cylons; Baltar does agree to collaborate with the Cylons after pathetically begging for his life, but he holds back information from the Cylons whenever he feels his life is not in danger. Baltar’s ambiguity is in keeping with the producer’s higher concept for the new series.
We also learn that the Cylon’s have a “hybrid” Cylon that runs the base star. The hybrids reminded me of the pre-cogs in Tom Cruise’s Minority Report, an idea I don’t find brilliant. The viral weakness of the Cylons is exciting as it gives us hope of a human victory.
The story on the Galactica was inconsequential and represented a tidying-up of loose threads from the previous two episodes.

Friday, November 03, 2006

I purchased the EX110 combo from Logitech because when I auditioned the keyboards at the Best Buy, its keyboard had the quietest keys. Well, the keys are quiet except for the spacebar which has a cheap-sounding clack. The keyboard's media buttons are sparse, but I only use the volume buttons anyways.

The real problem with this keyboard combo and the reason I can't recommend it is the radio signal's range. Placed about three feet away from the receiver, the mouse would function horribly erratic, breaking up every couple of seconds. I thought the problem was the battery or perhaps interferance from another device. When I moved it closer, however, the problem went away. "That's it," I thought "One foot?" I would buy another keyboard combo besides the EX110.
OK here we go again. Like shooting fish in a barrel.

BLOG | Posted 11/02/2006 @ 1:20pm
Rove Rides the Swift Boat Once More

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John Kerry's not even on the ballot. So how come everyone is talking about the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee's failed attempt to make a joke at the expense of George W. Bush's education -- or lack thereof?


He believes the lie or is repeating it. It was not a botched joke?-that was the joke.

Because media coverage of this campaign, at least in its final days, is going according to Karl Rove's script -- thanks in no small measure to the inability of most political reporters to chart their own course on the eve of an election.


So Kerry was following Rove's script??? Chart your own course=attack Republicans instead.

Rove needs the focus to be on Kerry.

The White House political czar is fully conscious that the Republican base -- social conservatives, people who don't want to pay their taxes and angry white men with an exceptionally narrow view of what it means to be a patriot


Narrow view of being a patriot=A patriot should also include people who contantly attack America like us (including in this paragraph) but we don't want to be called unpatriotic because, well, people might not vote for people who hate the country.

People who don't want to pay their taxes=people who vote for policies that take money away from us and the people we patronize who, of course, pay no taxes.

Of course, if people vote for lower taxes and pay those lower rates, then they are "paying their taxes."

-- has been trained to despise and fear the Massachusetts senator in a way that there just is not enough time to gin up hatred for Nancy Pelosi or any other Democratic "infidel" of the moment.


The Nation doesn't despise Santorum

With Rove shifting the entire Republican pre-election push toward a base-energizing initiative that relies almost entirely on stoking disdain for Democrats, he's got to get people focused on Kerry.


stoking disdain for Democrats=reminding Americans that many liberals dislike the military.

The Nation would never stoke disdain for any group.



It's not fair to Kerry, whose comments are being taken out of context. It's not fair to the political process, which ought not be focused on such silliness at so critical a point.


Kerry and the Democrats' opinion of the people who risk their lives for their country is silly. Let's focus instead on whether or not Allen used the "n" word thirty-five years ago.

What exactly was the context of Kerry's speech? Do people just say "out of context" now anytime they say something they regret?


But no should expect Karl Rove to play fair. And, unfortunately, no one should expect most political reporters to recognize that, by again helping to swiftboat John Kerry, they are working from Rove's political playbook.


How was the Foley scandal relevant again?
I don't admire many politicians, but Rick Santorum is one of the exceptions. Not only is he a devoted father of 6, always a good thing, but Santorum is one of the few politicians who see the current international and social battles in context instead of as isolated conflicts. He sees the battle for traditional marriage as a stop to the decent of our nation into complete selfishness. He sees the conflict in Iraq as one of the theaters in a clash of civilizations, which is the reason he compared Iraq to the archetypical war in The Lord of the Rings.

Everytime I've heard him on the radio, he has been an eloquent spokesman for my pro-Western and Catholic worldview. I wonder what he did to upset the Pennsylvania voters?
Kerry's unintended message
"you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well.

"And if you don't, you get stuck in Iraq,"

There's one part of Kerry's controversial statement in Pasadena that I agree with: Kerry said that students are responsible for their own destinies. He didn't say that they're stuck in Iraq because the government doesn't spend enough on education; he said that they get stuck because they don't study. I agree with Kerry that studying often leads to greater academic achievement. Students: listen to Kerry and study so that you have a better chance to make a nice income. Oh, and if you study hard and still want to join the military, most of America won't think you're dumb- just Kerry.
Can Nicaraguans really vote in Ortega again? Can't one of the anti-Sandinista candidates sacrifice his candidacy to prevent the failed policies of Ortega to reoccur? Unless many Nicaraguans, amongst the poorest in the hemisphere, are excited about petro-dollars flowing in from Venezuela and Hugo Chavez.
Can Nicaraguans really vote in Ortega again? Can't one of the anti-Sandinista candidates sacrifice his candidacy to prevent the failed policies of Ortega to reoccur? Unless many Nicaraguans, amongst the poorest in the hemisphere, are excited about petro-dollars flowing in from Venezuela and Hugo Chavez.
John Kerry insulted the intelligence of the troops and now he insults the intelligence of the rest of America by offering a ridiculous explanation. A botched joke? If you listen to the speech, it's obviously untrue. I think whoever writes Kerry's jokes would have made the reference a little clearer. But, let's take him at this word and say that it was an attempt at a joke. Why is it funny to say that people who don't study history make policy mistakes in which thousands of people have died? Is that a laughing matter?

OK, so which history is Kerry talking about? Vietnam? Would Kerry like to repeat the most shameful foreign policy decision in American history (leaving the thousands of Vietnamese who fought for their country to the Communists who then proceeded to kill thousands and place millions in re-education camps) and abandon the Iraqi troops and civilians who are dying to preserve a fragile democracy from the most evil, hateful, people on Earth?

Kerry goes on to say that he would never insult the troops because he's a veteran. What gall! The first thing he did upon returning from Vietnam is insult the troops; and in front of the whole nation!

He follows with gratuitous vast right wing conspiracy comments.

By the way, in his explanation below, Kerry comes up with more convoluted reasoning when he explains his Iraq policy. He insists that leaving Iraq will not embolden terrorists. I guess he thinks terrorists will decide to keep fighting the other factions in Iraq until the Americans leave and then just embrace their fellow Iraqis.
John Kerry insulted the intelligence of the troops and now he insults the intelligence of the rest of America by offering a ridiculous explanation. A botched joke? If you listen to the speech, it's obviously untrue. I think whoever writes Kerry's jokes would have made the reference a little clearer. But, let's take him at this word and say that it was an attempt at a joke. Why is it funny to say that people who don't study history make policy mistakes in which thousands of people have died? Is that a laughing matter?

OK, so which history is Kerry talking about? Vietnam? Would Kerry like to repeat the most shameful foreign policy decision in American history (leaving the thousands of Vietnamese who fought for their country to the Communists who then proceeded to kill thousands and place millions in re-education camps) and abandon the Iraqi troops and civilians who are dying to preserve a fragile democracy from the most evil, hateful, people on Earth?

Kerry goes on to say that he would never insult the troops because he's a veteran. What gall! The first thing he did upon returning from Vietnam is insult the troops; and in front of the whole nation!

He follows with gratuitous vast right wing conspiracy comments.

By the way, in his explanation below, Kerry comes up with more convoluted reasoning when he explains his Iraq policy. He insists that leaving Iraq will not embolden terrorists. I guess he thinks terrorists will decide to keep fighting the other factions in Iraq until the Americans leave and then just embrace their fellow Iraqis.
When somebody read my blog, they were nice enough to complement me. but said that they weren't a "political animal" and thus didn't read Asymmetric. I automatically assumed he was happy and later began to wonder if my instinct was correct; that apolitical people are happier on average.

If one thinks about it, political people would be so because they were motivated by some grievance. If grievance makes one unhappy, then that fact would tend to support my reaction. Political people may also be more inclined to think oppositionally. If I may paraphrase Yoda, anger breeds hate, hate breeds conflict and conflict breeds unhappiness.

I can't think of a reason why political people would be happier.

What do you think?
Very few things are all good or all bad. Most have some disadvantages and some benefits. Two exceptions to this rule, things having only negative consequences, also represent the two worst parenting decision of my nine year career as a father. The first one I can blame on my wife as it was she who convinced me to purchase a Nintendo Gamecube last Christmas. I didn't need any help to make the other poor decision: ordering cable television.

Now, it's not that my son didn't like the Gamecube. In fact, he liked it better than reading, playing outside, chess, and the lovely educational computer games he enjoyed previous. It was that he wouldn't do anything else. I still don't understand why a parent would let Santa squeeze one of those monstrosities through their chimney. Scratch that. I think parents buy these horrible devices to keep their kid entertained, freeing mom and dad to pursue their reading or TV viewing (or blogging) without the cries for attention that accompany children until they're 16 and don't want anything to do with you.

Cable television was worse. The parade of fart jokes, lightning quick cuts, and jokes meant more for immature adults than children serve no uplifting purpose at all. If you've seen the show Ed and Eddy or listened to the effect television has on your child's vocabulary, you know what I'm talking about. I managed to take away television. I did miss Battlestar Galactica, but after a couple of days, nobody in the house noticed it was gone. Besides, we have Netflix, which is great. The Gamecube might be tougher and, darn it, I can use the blogging time.

So, fellow parents, Just like there is no advantage to having cookies in the house, there is no advantage to having video games or cable TV. You'll save some money as well.
Very few things are all good or all bad. Most have some disadvantages and some benefits. Two exceptions to this rule, things having only negative consequences, also represent the two worst parenting decision of my nine year career as a father. The first one I can blame on my wife as it was she who convinced me to purchase a Nintendo Gamecube last Christmas. I didn't need any help to make the other poor decision: ordering cable television.

Now, it's not that my son didn't like the Gamecube. In fact, he liked it better than reading, playing outside, chess, and the lovely educational computer games he enjoyed previous. It was that he wouldn't do anything else. I still don't understand why a parent would let Santa squeeze one of those monstrosities through their chimney. Scratch that. I think parents buy these horrible devices to keep their kid entertained, freeing mom and dad to pursue their reading or TV viewing (or blogging) without the cries for attention that accompany children until they're 16 and don't want anything to do with you.

Cable television was worse. The parade of fart jokes, lightning quick cuts, and jokes meant more for immature adults than children serve no uplifting purpose at all. If you've seen the show Ed and Eddy or listened to the effect television has on your child's vocabulary, you know what I'm talking about. I managed to take away television. I did miss Battlestar Galactica, but after a couple of days, nobody in the house noticed it was gone. Besides, we have Netflix, which is great. The Gamecube might be tougher and, darn it, I can use the blogging time.

So, fellow parents, Just like there is no advantage to having cookies in the house, there is no advantage to having video games or cable TV. You'll save some money as well.