Does this seem wrong to anyone else:
I mean really, let's cut down trees and make funny shapes out of the paper to promote not cutting down trees.
Earth Day?
This will be a short post, but I just had to share it.
Does this seem wrong to anyone else:
I mean really, let's cut down trees and make funny shapes out of the paper to promote not cutting down trees.
Does this seem wrong to anyone else:
I mean really, let's cut down trees and make funny shapes out of the paper to promote not cutting down trees.
People need to be aware of their sources
Today on the radio I heard a news story about an Army doctor who refused to go to Afghanistan because he doesn't believe that President Obama was born inside of the United States. If this were true, then President Obama wouldn't legally be president.
Okay, so there are so many problems with this. I have no idea where this stupid rumor started, but it is stupid. Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, the legal birth certificate has been presented. Much like the stupid rumor that Obama is/was a Muslim. In any case, isn't it a bit stupid to do something that risks a court marshaling without actually checking your facts, and figuring out what the source of your information is? I mean really, this guy is probably going to goto jail now, for the simple fact that he didn't check his information out.
I'm not turning this into a political post, I'm not going to comment on how the president is doing, and whether I like him or not. I'm just pointing out that it's possible for people to get through school (apparently all the way through med school!) without learning that one must be critical of everything one hears.
Okay, so there are so many problems with this. I have no idea where this stupid rumor started, but it is stupid. Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, the legal birth certificate has been presented. Much like the stupid rumor that Obama is/was a Muslim. In any case, isn't it a bit stupid to do something that risks a court marshaling without actually checking your facts, and figuring out what the source of your information is? I mean really, this guy is probably going to goto jail now, for the simple fact that he didn't check his information out.
I'm not turning this into a political post, I'm not going to comment on how the president is doing, and whether I like him or not. I'm just pointing out that it's possible for people to get through school (apparently all the way through med school!) without learning that one must be critical of everything one hears.
Economics Courses
Everyone who votes needs to take an intro level macro economics college course taught by someone of a politically moderate background. So few people actually realize how our society works, and get angry with our government over the wrong things. I don't care if you're a liberal, conservative, or moderate minded person, if you don't understand what the government can and can't do to start with, you won't be angry when they fail to do the things they shouldn't be able to anyway.
For instance, in the latest election, the Democrats lost a lot of seats in the house and in the senate. That's fine, but the reason a lot of people are angry is because the economy didn't turn around, which isn't something the people you are voting on had any real control over anyway! Starting a sluggish economy can take a long time, and is quite difficult. While it's true that fiscally the government does have some things it can do to jump start the economy, generally none of the options they have are very good solutions. To fix a sluggish economy it's generally better to use monetary tools, which aren't in the hands of congress at all! In fact, the people responsible for monetary policy were appointed by our former president, George W. Bush. Now, monetary wise, almost everything is being done that can be done to get things moving again. So that leaves the fiscal issue, which unfortunately were in gridlock between the two parties. Neither side really wanted to compromise. The Republicans wanted tax cuts and spending cuts, the Democrats wanted spending increases (raising the deficit), and neither sided wanted to compromise. When a deal was finally struck (which is actually a deal that might achieve something), both sides weren't happy with it!
Further, a lot of Republicans are upset with congress for deficit spending, which is the exact thing you should be doing in a recession/depression anyway! Achieving a public debt of zero is really something we shouldn't be aiming for. Until you hit a debt to GDP ratio of around 100%, generally speaking a country shouldn't be too worried. For example look at this wikipedia article (yes wikipedia is the devil, blah blah blah, I know, but they had convenient results that should be mostly accurate) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_by_public_debt. Look at the Bottom of the list and the top of the list. Would you rather your country was like those in the bottom of the list (low debt to GDP), the top of the list (high to moderate debt to GDP), or better yet, near the upper middle where most of the most successful countries in the world are located?
These are just things for you to think about. Like I said, I don't really care if you vote Liberal, Conservative, Moderate, Democrat, Republican, Green, or Libertarian, all I care about is that you make an educated vote and don't listen to what all the bullshit out there. Go take a intro to macro economics course at your local community college. It will be cheap, and you'll learn things that will allow you to think for yourself when it comes time to fill the ballot box.
For instance, in the latest election, the Democrats lost a lot of seats in the house and in the senate. That's fine, but the reason a lot of people are angry is because the economy didn't turn around, which isn't something the people you are voting on had any real control over anyway! Starting a sluggish economy can take a long time, and is quite difficult. While it's true that fiscally the government does have some things it can do to jump start the economy, generally none of the options they have are very good solutions. To fix a sluggish economy it's generally better to use monetary tools, which aren't in the hands of congress at all! In fact, the people responsible for monetary policy were appointed by our former president, George W. Bush. Now, monetary wise, almost everything is being done that can be done to get things moving again. So that leaves the fiscal issue, which unfortunately were in gridlock between the two parties. Neither side really wanted to compromise. The Republicans wanted tax cuts and spending cuts, the Democrats wanted spending increases (raising the deficit), and neither sided wanted to compromise. When a deal was finally struck (which is actually a deal that might achieve something), both sides weren't happy with it!
Further, a lot of Republicans are upset with congress for deficit spending, which is the exact thing you should be doing in a recession/depression anyway! Achieving a public debt of zero is really something we shouldn't be aiming for. Until you hit a debt to GDP ratio of around 100%, generally speaking a country shouldn't be too worried. For example look at this wikipedia article (yes wikipedia is the devil, blah blah blah, I know, but they had convenient results that should be mostly accurate) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_by_public_debt. Look at the Bottom of the list and the top of the list. Would you rather your country was like those in the bottom of the list (low debt to GDP), the top of the list (high to moderate debt to GDP), or better yet, near the upper middle where most of the most successful countries in the world are located?
These are just things for you to think about. Like I said, I don't really care if you vote Liberal, Conservative, Moderate, Democrat, Republican, Green, or Libertarian, all I care about is that you make an educated vote and don't listen to what all the bullshit out there. Go take a intro to macro economics course at your local community college. It will be cheap, and you'll learn things that will allow you to think for yourself when it comes time to fill the ballot box.
Polite Conversation
There is a piece of advice that it seems many people have never received. It is not polite to discuss politics or religion unless you are invited to do so by others. When you decide to bring either of these things up, it's entirely possible that you will offend someone in your group.
There are two major political parties in the United States, each of which hold 40-50% of the population. This means that there's a 40-50% chance you could offend someone solely based on any political statement you make. While I suspect a majority of the population of the United States would self-identify as Christian, this doesn't mean that it's any safer to make a religious statement either.
I'm not going to point any fingers here, all I'm asking is that you please try and be aware of what you're saying before you say it. Sometimes it's extremely easy to offend someone without attempting to, even if they're not someone that would typically be thought of as a sensitive person. Just because you've offended someone doesn't necessarily mean they will say anything about it, or confront you about it. Some people will be more likely to begin to feel like you are an idiot, or stop thinking that anything you have to say has any value.
So please think before you speak or you will risk people around you thinking that you're an ignorant moron.
There are two major political parties in the United States, each of which hold 40-50% of the population. This means that there's a 40-50% chance you could offend someone solely based on any political statement you make. While I suspect a majority of the population of the United States would self-identify as Christian, this doesn't mean that it's any safer to make a religious statement either.
I'm not going to point any fingers here, all I'm asking is that you please try and be aware of what you're saying before you say it. Sometimes it's extremely easy to offend someone without attempting to, even if they're not someone that would typically be thought of as a sensitive person. Just because you've offended someone doesn't necessarily mean they will say anything about it, or confront you about it. Some people will be more likely to begin to feel like you are an idiot, or stop thinking that anything you have to say has any value.
So please think before you speak or you will risk people around you thinking that you're an ignorant moron.
Blog Re-Launch
Obviously I haven't posted here in a while, and I think that has something to do with the fact that my blog was really too specific to only one part of my life. So with this post I'm relaunching the blog with a new name: "A Rabbit's Eye View". I had another blog briefly that I posted a few things on that I'll be moving over here tonight.
So what's the new blog about? Observations I make about life, and about what I'm doing in my life. You will of course continue to see a lot of posts about nerdy stuff since that's still a part of my life. Here's what I've been up to: I'm a Chico State Applied Mathematics Major, I'm allergic to gluten apparently, and I've been building a small robot in my spare time.
In any case, you'll see this changing over the next few days, so right now my blog looks a little like ass, but stick with me as I work on it.
Why does the new Parasite Eve game have to be for the PSP?!
I mean really square enix, why do you keep releasing psp only games that are sequels or prequels to some of the most awesome games of the past? I'd get it for the 360, even if it only had psp quality graphics just because it's parasite eve. My PSP has been broken for 2 years, and this is the first time I've even remotely cared.
I wonder what kind of market study SE did to make them think that a new parasite eve game would be best suited to the PSP? Are they trying to kill the series (which has been dead for a generation anyway) for good?
I wonder what kind of market study SE did to make them think that a new parasite eve game would be best suited to the PSP? Are they trying to kill the series (which has been dead for a generation anyway) for good?
Magic 6 card booster packs? Wtf?
Apparently I've been living under a rock. While I've been back playing magic for about a year now (and heavily playing for about 5 months now), I hadn't heard of or seen these before.
For those not in the know, here's a picture of the one I just purchased and opened:
As you can see, it clearly says 6-Card Booster Pack at the bottom. From what I've read on the internet, it seems there's no guarantee of getting a rare in one of these, but it's an interesting idea none the less. It's just a shame that it's almost always going to have at least 2 garbage cards in (basic land and a token/tips card).
There's an article about these things here: http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/119.
And just for the record, what I ended up pulling?
1 Plain, 1 Spiraling Duelist, 1 Phyrexian Digester, 1 Virulent Wound (Love this card, but I have more than enough already), 1 Ardent Recruit, 1 Crush, and 1 Poison Counter.
I probably won't be buying another one of these packs, but it did interest me. I think they'd find people a whole lot more likely to buy these if they didn't include the basic land or token/tip card and instead just threw two more commons in. It would also help if they bumped up the chances of getting a rare just a tad.
For those not in the know, here's a picture of the one I just purchased and opened:
There's an article about these things here: http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/119.
And just for the record, what I ended up pulling?
1 Plain, 1 Spiraling Duelist, 1 Phyrexian Digester, 1 Virulent Wound (Love this card, but I have more than enough already), 1 Ardent Recruit, 1 Crush, and 1 Poison Counter.
I probably won't be buying another one of these packs, but it did interest me. I think they'd find people a whole lot more likely to buy these if they didn't include the basic land or token/tip card and instead just threw two more commons in. It would also help if they bumped up the chances of getting a rare just a tad.
Mirrodin Besieged Tournament Recap
I went to the pre-release tournament for the new magic set (coming out on the 4th) Mirrodin Besieged. I was extremely excited for the release and chose the Mirran side of things.
What I didn't realize before playing was that we only got 3 packs of our chosen faction, and then we got 3 packs from Scars also for our deck build. I did get the one card I wanted the most: Thopter Assembly, but aside from that I drew a lot of things that ended up being really slow to get out (which isn't a problem that metalcraft decks have been having). As it was, I think I had a decent deck, not great just decent.
However I ran into TERRIBLE luck. I was running 16 mana in my 40 card deck, with 3 mana myr, so I had tons of mana. Despite this, in two separate games I drew my 7 cards and had 1 mana, so I mulligan'd down to 6 and had 1 mana, so I mulligan'd down to 5 and had 1 mana. At that point I kept because statistically I would only get 1 mana on a 4 card hand anyway. I might have kept a 1 mana hand if I'd had anything remotely playable if I drew land, but most of what I had was expensive anyway. I ended up finishing somewhere near the middle of the pack, mostly because I was matched up on two of my losses I suspect, but I don't feel like I got a very good feel for the current set.
Hopefully I'll have time to play again soon, maybe in a draft format or something.
What I didn't realize before playing was that we only got 3 packs of our chosen faction, and then we got 3 packs from Scars also for our deck build. I did get the one card I wanted the most: Thopter Assembly, but aside from that I drew a lot of things that ended up being really slow to get out (which isn't a problem that metalcraft decks have been having). As it was, I think I had a decent deck, not great just decent.
However I ran into TERRIBLE luck. I was running 16 mana in my 40 card deck, with 3 mana myr, so I had tons of mana. Despite this, in two separate games I drew my 7 cards and had 1 mana, so I mulligan'd down to 6 and had 1 mana, so I mulligan'd down to 5 and had 1 mana. At that point I kept because statistically I would only get 1 mana on a 4 card hand anyway. I might have kept a 1 mana hand if I'd had anything remotely playable if I drew land, but most of what I had was expensive anyway. I ended up finishing somewhere near the middle of the pack, mostly because I was matched up on two of my losses I suspect, but I don't feel like I got a very good feel for the current set.
Hopefully I'll have time to play again soon, maybe in a draft format or something.
Mirrodin Besieged Pre-Release Today!
I'm so excited! I'm playing for the Mirran side. I'll edit this post with a recap tonight to let you know how it goes.
Adventures in programming
I just started CSCI-21 at Butte College (Programs and Algorithms II). This is a class that uses c++ (incidentally we'll be using classes in the class, see what I did there =P). In my prior c++ class we just did all our compiling and everything through the IDE, but I just spent my evening learning how to use g++ and how to create basic makefiles, huzzah!
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