David's Blog

I Don't Like Pepperoni

I often tell people that I don't like pepperoni. This can be a bad thing because I'm not sure as to how true it is. I mean, it is entirely true that I don't like to eat pepperoni, but I think I might like the flavor of it. Who knows?

Anyway, the point here is that I tell people I don't like it. I do this because it is by far the most socially acceptable reason for not eating something. I've found that telling people that I am allergic to pepperoni, claiming vegitarianism, citing general health issues related to the consumption of pepperoni, etc. don't get you nearly as far as simply saying that I care for pepperoni.

I think this is really strange. I might have a history of heart disease in my family and be worried about saturated fat in my diet, but to say this in a social setting is to say something that will not be well received by all. The same goes for any other reason you might think for not wanting to eat any particular thing, but if you say that you don't like something... well, that is rarely ever questioned and almost always understood immediately by all.
People might ask me, "How can you not like Pepperoni!?!" but usually that is about the extent of the discourse. I just reiterate that I don't care for pepperoni or whatever else I am choosing not to eat and then it is fine. So that is what I am sticking to from now on. I don't care for ________. It works so much better than giving any other reason no matter how much more applicable the reason may be.

My Favorite Thought by Jack Handy

Hammering!

I remember I was hammering on a fence in the backyard when Dad approached. He was carrying a letter or something in his hand, and he looked worried. I continued to hammer as he came toward me. "Son," he said, "why are you hammering on that fence? It already has plenty of nails in it." "Oh, I'm not using nails," I replied. "I'm just hammering." With that, I returned to my hammering. Dad asked me to stop hammering, as he had some news. I did stop hammering, but first I got a couple more hammers in, and this seemed to make Dad mad. "I said, stop hammering!" he yelled. I think he felt bad for yelling at me, especially since it looked like he had bad news. "Look," he said, "you can hammer later, but first-" Well, I didn't even wait to hear the rest. As soon as I heard "You can hammer," that's what I started doing. Hammering away, happy as an old hammer dog. Dad tried to physically stop me from hammering by inserting a small log of some sort between my hammer and the fence. But I just kept on hammering, 'cause that's the way I am when I get that hammer going. Then, he just grabbed my arm and made me stop. "I'm afraid I have some news for you," he said. I swear, what I did next was not hammering. I was just letting the hammer swing lazily at arm's length, and maybe it tapped the fence once or twice, but that's all. That apparently didn't make any difference whatsoever to Dad, because he just grabbed my hammer out of my hand and flung it across the field. And when I saw my hammer flying helplessly through the air like that, I just couldn't take it. I burst out crying, I admit it. And I ran to the house, as fast as my legs could take me. "Son, come back!" yelled Dad. "What about your hammer?!" But I could not have cared less about hammering at that point. I ran into the house and flung myself onto my bed, pounding the bed with my fists. I pounded and pounded, until finally, behind me, I heard a voice. "As long as you're pounding, why not use this?" I turned, and it was Dad, holding a brand-new solid-gold hammer. I quickly wiped the tears from my eyes and ran to Dad's outstretched arms. But suddenly, he jumped out of the way, and I went sailing through the second-story window behind him. Whenever I hear about a kid getting in trouble with drugs, I like to tell him this story.

Frustrated by My Slowness

Today I am studying for an Arabic exam that I have tomorrow morning at 9:35. I am spending a lot of time on it, but I also like to take breaks every hour to let things sink in a little and to make sure that I still know the stuff after sufficient distraction.

Two of my distractions today were the MySQL and HP websites. They were both very awesome and interesting to me, and they both left me with a similar feeling that was probably conceived during my Arabic studies... I learn at too slow a rate. I want to learn so much stuff, but I am impeded by lack of discipline, of course, but also by a limited supply of time, energy, and resources (which pretty much translates to money.) It is frustrating to know that things aren't out of reach conceptually -- just by time, energy, and money!

This thought started with the notion that I pick up the terminology of games infinitely faster than I do the terminology of the different classes that I take or even the many terms/words of Arabic, Latin, Spanish, ancient Greek, or whatever other language I'll try to learn next. 'Why is this?' I asked myself.

Well, for one thing, I am interacting with people when I play games -- usually. The second issue is that I am having fun, and I am much more willing to devote long hours to a pursuit that I am thoroughly enjoying. The third thought I had was that I spend a great deal of time learning things well so that I can use the information as quickly as possible, because most games have an element of timeliness to them. Either you want to be the fastest; you want to figure out your reaction before a computer or you want to react before your adversary gets impatient with waiting for your turn to end. So, usually I end up knowing the information necessary to play games well, and I can access it nearly as quickly as I can access natural language.

(Side thought: This reminds me. When I'd travel to Spanish-speaking countries when I was a kid, I'd often find other guys who were playing either soccer or basketball. When I'd play with them I'd pretty much need to communicate and it would have to be in Spanish. I noticed that I always spoke a lot quicker and more coherently when I was playing a sport and shortly after than I did in everyday speaking. I think this is a somehow related and explainable phenomenon.)

So, this brings me back to wanting to have some sort of game or even a suite of games that would help me absorb information quickly and enjoyably. I can't help but imagine how well I'd know Arabic (and how well I'd do in this Arabic class) if I could just come home and play some learning Arabic game. That would completely erase the discipline aspect of studying, because the game would, of course, be enjoyable, and I'd have a richer knowledge of the language because I'd be using not just my sight to learn, but also my ears and my hands.
I would want this game to be somewhat customizable too -- especially if it is hard to program new ones. Then I could swap out Arabic and put in the information that I need to memorize from another class.

I think that making learning more immediately rewarding would likely result in encouraging more people to learn and encourage those of us who already are interested in learning to learn ever more information... perhaps at a faster rate too.

Anyway, back to studying Arabic. Perhaps in an hour or so I’ll continue this thought some more.

Which Book of the Bible are You?

You are Ephesians.


Which book of the Bible are you?

What Kind of Kiss Are You?

You have a surprise kiss! Your partner is always pleasantly pleased to have you jump outta no where to dote them with a fun peck on the cheek or more passionate embrace. Super markets and work places are your favorite places to attack your loved one with all your love.

What kind of kiss are you?

A Maxim

A child can see a shortcoming of a parent
A student catches his master's mistake

A drop of maturity to see faults in others
An infant to announce an expectation and declare a standard

Only demonstrated perfection can do both righteously
He who has done this recognizes the way
and has compassion

I wrote this today after reflecting on some basic truths that I've learned throughout the week through an unexpected mix of nearly unrelated sources.
I like it well enough.
It has three examples to make a point that revolves around one main truth and a number of declarations about things that are universal to the point of being near obvious truths. Also, it contains what seems to me at first to be a week's worth of wisdom, but what -- in actuality -- draws from all my personality and experience.

Interesting E-Mail

I got an e-mail a long time ago that was forwarded to me. It discussed rape and was meant as a source of knowledge for people who want to limit their susceptibility to rape. I don't know how true/valid it is, but it was an interesting read. I am posting it here because I am cleaning out my e-mail account.

A group of rapists and date rapists in prison were interviewed on what
they look for in a potential victim and here are some interesting facts:

The first thing men look for in a potential victim is hairstyle. They
are most likely to go after a woman with a ponytail,bun, braid or other
hairstyle that can easily be grabbed. They are also likely to go after a
woman with long hair. Women with short hair are not common targets.
The second thing men look for is clothing. They will look for women
who's clothing is easy to remove quickly. Many of them carry scissors
around to cut clothing.
They also look for women on their cell phone, searching through their
purse or doing other activities while walking because they are off guard
and can be easily overpowered.
The time of day men are most likely to attack and rape a woman is in
the early morning,between 5 & 8:30 a.m.
The number one place women are abducted from/attacked at is grocery
store parking lots. Number two is office parking lots/garages. Number
three is public restrooms.
The thing about these men is that they are looking to grab a woman and
quickly move her to a second location where they don't have to worry
about getting caught.
Only 2% said they carried weapons because rape carries a 3-5 year
sentence but rape with a weapon is 15-20 years.
If you put up any kind of a fight at all, they get discouraged because
it only takes a minute or two for them to realize that going after you
isn't worth it because it will be time-consuming. These men said they
would not
pick on women who have umbrellas, or other similar objects that can be
used from a distance, in their hands. Keys are not a deterrent because
you have to get really close to the attacker to use them as a weapon.
So the idea is to convince these guys you're not worth it.
Several defense mechanisms he taught us are:
If someone is following behind you on a street or in a garage or with
you in an elevator or stairwell, look them in the face and ask them a
question, like what time is it, or make general small talk, I can't
believe it is so cold out here, we're in for a bad winter. Now you've
seen their face and could identify them in a lineup, you lose appeal as
a target.
If someone is coming toward you, hold out your hands in front of you and
yell Stop or Stay back! Most of the rapists this man talked to saidn
they'd leave a woman alone if she yelled or showed that she would not be
afraid to fight back. Again, they are looking for an EASY target.
If you carry pepper spray (this instructor was a huge advocate of it and
carries it with him wherever he goes), yelling I HAVE PEPPER SPRAY and
holding it out will be a deterrent.
If someone grabs you, you can't beat them with strength but you can by
outsmarting them.If you are grabbed around the waist from behind, pinch
the attacker either under the arm between the elbow and armpit or in the
upper inner thigh HARD. One woman in a class this guy taught told him
she used the
underarm pinch on a guy who was trying to date rape her and was so upset
she broke through the skin and tore out muscle strands -- the guy needed
stitches. Try pinching yourself in those places as hard as you can stand
it; it hurts.
After the initial hit, always go for the groin. I know from a
particularly unfortunate experience that if you slap a guy's parts it is
extremely painful. You might think that you'll anger the guy and make
him want to hurt you more, but the thing these rapists told our
instructor is that they want a woman who will not cause a lot of
trouble.Start causing trouble, and he's out of there.
When the guy puts his hands up to you, grab his first two fingers and
bend them back as far as possible with as much pressure pushing down on
them as possible. The instructor did it to me without using much
pressure, and I ended up on my knees and both knuckles cracked audibly.
Of course the things we always hear still apply. Always be aware of your
surroundings, take someone with you if you can and if you see any odd
behavior, don't dismiss it, go with your instincts. You may feel a
little silly at the time, but you'd feel much worse if the guy really
was trouble.

Sex Paper Finished

Finally, I feel like I've been working on this forever. I started this paper over a month ago because I am really committed to not procrastinating anymore. Unfortunately, I still ended up doing work on it the night before it is due. I had over half of the paper done, and would have likely done a lot more, but they require ten references, which made something really simple into something that required tons of reading and time.
Oh well, I guess all of that is behind me now. Woohoo! Bedtime as soon as it stops printing.

100,000 Miles!

My Jeep hit the big 100000 today after I got back from Publix, but I didn't notice until I was on my way to Jessica's. Anyway, I took a picture of it, because this is a momentous occasion!

The Trip Back after Spring Break

I drove back to Gainesville last night. It was the worst trip back ever.

First, I started off a little before nine at night. I stopped off at Publix to grab a sub for Joy and I to split and a car charger for her cell phone. The car chargers weren't compatible with Joy's phone and when I went to get the sub there were three people at the deli, and none of them seemed interested in helping me. That happens a lot when I go to the Publix deli, but this time I decided to just walk out, because there was only one sub left and it looked kind of stale.

So, I leave Publix and start driving to meet Joy at exit 161 as planned. She wasn't there though, and when I called her she said she went on to exit 170 to get Taco Bell. So, I get back on the Interstate and drive nine miles to that Taco Bell. I don't find Joy though, because she is at the RaceTrac trying to pick out a car charger. I go there and we pick out one that isn't compatible, but she was willing to try it anyway, because it looked like it should work anyway.

We then go to Taco Bell. She doesn't get anything to eat, which really confused me, because she had changed the meeting place for Taco Bell. When I find her finally -- sitting in the parking lot right next to the drive thru entrance -- she is upset. The charger isn't working.

We decide to leave anyway, and I start to eat my food. She pulls up to me right as I am biting into my bean burrito and honks at me. Ahhhhhh!! What does she want!?! She motions that her charger is working, so I give her a thumbs up and we move on.

Later on she calls me on my cell phone to tell me that her charger is working. That's cool, but the one I got for my birthday at RadioShack is not working. My phone is running out of power. So the conversation is pretty brief.

A little while later we run into this wall of stopped cars. We're essentially stopped, but we move forward about two car lengths every minute or so, so I can't just leave my car in park and turn it off to play my GameBoy Advance SP.
Joy is in front of me, but there is a green Ford Explorer in between us. It has a huge CB radio antenna sticking out of it. I park my car after we move forward a bit, run up to Joy's car, knock on her window and talk to her for a bit. I scared her pretty badly by doing that. One of the things I tell her is that my cell phone battery is close to dead so she needs to answer my beeps when I try to beep in.
A few minutes later, a huge Dodge Ram 2500 decides to do a little off roading. It flicks on some lights and heads through this passageway through the forested median. A black BMW wanted to follow him and tried to get in front of me to do so. We didn't realize it at first, but then Joy talked to him and told him to go ahead in front of her. He ended up going through the trail too, so I told Joy that her car would be able to make it as well. She was a little scared to try it, but after some enouragement she drove through with me behind her in my Jeep.

We got back onto the Interstate and headed south for two miles before getting off at an exit and driving north on US 41. We went along 41 for a while and finally I decided to give the Interstate another try. I wanted to talk to Joy first though to let her know what was going on. She was on the phone though and not answering my beeps again. So I had to resort to swerving around on a six lane road to get her attention. Finally we pulled off at a strip-mall and talked. Then I decided to go in to a Chinese restaurant to charge my cell phone for a while.

We went in and told the lady working there what happened to us. I told Joy that we should sit down and order something while we were waiting, because they were being pretty nice to us. We stayed there for 45 minutes and each ordered our own large meals and had them in to-go boxes. I left a $10 tip and thanked the lady profusely, because we were there after close.

Back onto the Interstate...

We were still south of Tampa, but getting closer when Joy decides she is really tired. This happened right after I told her that I called my Dad and he said that we could stop at a hotel if we needed to do so. That made me pretty upset, becuase I was feeling pretty certain that she was wanting to just call it a night and get a hotel. I didn't really want to do this at all though. So, I got all upset. I ranted and raved and I told her to just drink some Amp and buck up for another hour and fourty-five minutes of driving.

Conflict ensued. We got gas, a can of Amp and then I had Joy walk around and gave her a pep talk. Then we took off pretty upset with each other and went well over 80 MPH all the way to... the rest area before Gainesville and Ocala.

That is where we stopped after Joy called me again to say she was tired again. I told her it was fine to just stop at the rest area. We'd wait there until she was less tired or she could park next to the Security Gaurd's truck and sleep in her car. I told her that I'd probably drive on though, because we were only like 37 miles away, and at the rate we'd been going that would take a little over a half an hour.

We stayed at the rest area for a while and talked, and got into a lot better moods. Up til that point we were both frustrated, tired, upset, and acting like jerks to each other. (I hope I made it clear in my story that -- at the very least -- I was being a jerk.) After making up a bit and having developed a plan for Joy to stay awake for another thirty minutes we took off and drove to her dorm. I figured that once we got inot Paine's Prairie (sp?) she'd be so excited that staying awake would no longer be an issue. This turned out to be the case.

Once we got to Joy's Apt/Dorm we had one last issue. Her dorm was locked, no one was home, and she didn't have her key. This sucked, because we had lugged a bunch of stuff up the stairs by the time this was all realized and communicated to me. Luckilty, the Key was with Jessica who lives on the other side of the residence area. So, I called her, woke her up and ran back with the key in the cold. We had made it! What a relief.

What a stressful trip that was.

GameBoy Advance SP

I got a GameBoy Advance SP a week ago (last Sunday.) I was about to embark on a three and a half hour trip to Orlando with my Dad at the wheel so I thought that it was a good time to get something I knew I'd want to buy eventually anyway. So, I ran over to Target and picked up the last one they had. It was a black one, which was definately my second choice at the time (I wanted platinum) but now that I have it and have been taking it around I am glad I got black. It looks a lot less like a toy and a lot more discreet, which is what I need.

The Friday Five -- 3/12/2004

1. What was the last song you heard?
2. What were the last two movies you saw?
3. What were the last three things you purchased?
4. What four things do you need to do this weekend?
5. Who are the last five people you talked to?

1. The last song I heard was this cool song that was playing during the new BMX X3 ad online. I like that song.

2. The Passion and What Women Want
That's a weird coincidence on two counts. Mel Gibson, sure, but also the two things I am most interested in.

3. Two bottles of hair gel and a hair cut.

4. Take my car in to get serviced, get my stitches taken out, make sure the MRI I had done shows that I am not needing surgery, and buying some new socks.

5. My mom, my dad, Joy, Dee (the lady who cut my hair today,) and the manager at Scottrade.

RTS

I visited RTS Monday. It was small in terms of colleges, but a large building otherwise. It was beautiful with what Joy termed "champagne overtones" in the coloring of the bricks that it was made from. The chapel was amazing and unlocked... even though we were told many times that it wasn't supposed to be, and that it was really strange that it was unlocked.
I really liked everything about the school. My only reservation at this point is that the professors are predominantly Presbyrterian. That is almost entirely fine with me except I don't really believe in predestination all that much. I was assured that having that one disagreement wouldn't make an impact on my studies there.

Moe's

I'm in a hotel in Orlando tonight. It has free high speed internet. We just got back from Moe's, which was pretty cool. It was our (Joy, my parents, and I) first time eating at a Moe's, and we all liked it a lot. Thankfully Joy enjoyed herself a lot too, because I decided to go to Moe's despite her protestations against the whole idea.
Joy and I each got a "Joey Bag of Donuts." Mine had rice, black beans, cheese, tomato salsa, lettuce, cilantro, and peppers. It was delicious, and way too big to eat all at once. Joy and I decided that we'd have to reconcile our differences in burrito preferences and split a Joey B. next time we go.

My Medical History

Every time I go to a new Doctor the second thing they want to hear from me is my medical history. The whole shebang... all at once. Usually there is some sort of questionaire to help jog the memory and also to get specific answers to important aspects of a person's history that pertain to whatever it is that the doctor specializes in.

Well, recently... yesterday in fact... I have a new entry into my personal medical history. I now have the first stage of a two-stage implant. It is a 3.75 mm titanium implant in my jaw bone. The next stage will be a fake tooth that will screw into this titanium post. Not exactly what I'd want to have happen, but the dentists say it needs to take place or else my gums will deteriorate and blah blah blah.
Anyway, what I was thinking is that it might be interesting to figure out what my real medical history is, get it all together in a list of some sort, and have it on my computer ready to print whenever I go to the doctor. I'm thinking it would be something like a resumé in that I could add to it every time something eventful happens and have it ready at a moment's notice. So, that's what I plan to do. (I don't think I'll post it online though.)

Megan

Megan is fearless, insecurity-less, and regret-less.

Megan likes deep conversation. She also likes fashion, media, irregularly used words, new theories, Munchies, and antagonizing her dog... probably other people and animals too. She has a cooperative blog with Jenn – her roommate, confidant, and close friend.
She is all about new thoughts, new trends, and trying new things.
She has lots of opinions, but usually waits to hear yours before sharing her own. She is really interested in lots of things -- guys included. She gets really spiffed up when she goes out on the town. She probably wants to knock them all dead, but I haven't really discussed this with her.
She has some really interesting thoughts and theories on dating, and eventually wants to get married. She enjoys the finer things in life and is interested in getting them for herself, but wants to have fun along the way if she does have to work hard.
Megan is an Aries, so she is a bit headstrong for sure. She can also be intimidating -- supposedly -- but I wouldn't let that bother you too much.
Megan really likes to play "guess" with Jenn. This is a game that the two have made up, where Megan will typically initiate by asking Jenn to make a guess about something. Jenn is Megan's minion so she knows to play along, which is easy because Jenn likes this game a lot.
Jenn says Megan isn't cuddly at all. This is probably a heinous thing to Jenn, but Megan doesn't see it that way. These two are constantly at each other and will have the occasional love quarrel.
I don't know too much else about her that I think is cool to reveal online. After all, you've gotta have a little mystique to remain intimidating, fresh, and interesting, and those are all things Megan would never give up.

Jenn

Jennjula, as I have nicknamed her, is all spunk and mischief.

Actually, she is also a loyal friend and a whole lot of fun. She has a bit of a sweet'n'thoughtful streak, but don't let it fool you too much, because she'll tear you apart in any game or make fun of you in the weirdest and silliest ways. She is super athletic and likes lots of different sports. She throws like a girl, but if you let whatever she threw hit you -- it will hurt much worse than you'd expect. Actually, you might as well call her "Arm" or something like that, because the girl can flat out throw stuff. Besides, she'll like that you've acknowledged her ability.
Jenn likes to be #1. She's the best in the dorm at a whole lot of things, but Balderdash is definately not one of them. Boggle isn't either for that matter. There might be others, but I think I've already laid down two gauntlets here. Whoops!
Jenn is Megan's minion.
That deserved it's own line, because it is such an important part of her life. Jenn hangs out with Megan on a fairly regular basis. They are roommates after all. They share a blog, and often like to have the craziest discussions that occasionally start with a game of "guess."
Jenn loves Britney Spears, but not the same way she loves David Beckham or Mike Alstott. Or the BUCS!!! and the Gators for that matter. Jenn also likes free stuff. Most of everything she owns was in some way free for her. We've gone through her room and made a huge list concerning this matter. Lana was there -- ask her about it.
Jenn does a lot of weird things. I know why. It's because she's cuddly. At least that is what she says. Me? I say it's because she's a Pisces, but I don't say this as often as Jenn makes it seem.
Jenn's got a killer smile. She tries to use it to get away with things from time to time, but her mischieviousness always catches up with her. That's when the smile and the laugh don't work and Joy, Megan or I have to lay it down. Jenn is usually pretty responsive about our feelings, except when you try to stop her in the act. That never works. You can't spoil Jenn's fun! You might as well join her for this last time and then let her know what you thought of it a little later.
Jenn also went paintballing. She had a blast. She had a bruise too. She named it. Bruiser lasted about a week and had a really high pitched voice. RIP Bruiser.

Lana

Lana is Joy's twin. (Not really though. That was just a fun joke from Fall 2003.)

She is Joy's roommate too. She is also my friend. Lana is an artist. She makes some beautiful stuff, and she also makes some stuff beautiful. In fact, she was a big part of decorating their common area.
Lana is also a Scorpio though, so I shouldn't go revealing too much about her. She probably wouldn't like that oh so much.
Lana is pretty (I can say this -- she's my gf's twin after all!) and she nearly always makes me smile. The exceptions to this rule are when she is making me laugh or startling me. She's a quiet kid, and you never know when she has glided up behind you until it's too late. She doesn't even have to say "Boo!"
Lana goes to GCL with Joy and I. That is really cool. She seems to be really happy about this new part of her life. It seems so obvious that I feel it is safe to report it. She also seems to be making a positive contribution to the group. She seems to participate in any and all events that she can participate in and I feel like she enjoys it a lot. She even went paintballing!!
Lana is a pre-vet major. This is really neat and interesting to me. She has all kinds of pictures of really disgusting "but natural" things. I kinda get a kick out of it all, but I tend to tone that done because Joy doesn't really do disgusting.
Lana is a cool girl. You should get to know her. She is really funny and interested in almost everything. As long as you are nice to her she'll be nice right back, and she'll even say some good things about you.

Joy

Joy is my girlfriend fiancée. We’ve been dating since May 5th, 2000.

UPDATED -- 11/8/2004

She went to high-school with me for two years, and now she is attending the same college as I am. She is as gorgeous as they come, and I am not just writing this because I am obligated as a boyfriend to write it. She really is beautiful!
Joy is a charmer, a hostess, an athlete, and a great student. She is also quite the mom – just ask anybody! The funny thing about this is that she doesn’t have any kids of her own just yet, but she won’t let that stop her from practicing her domestic skills or from honing her motherly instincts.
Joy is also an adept businesswoman. She is constantly coming up with crazy schemes for making money. She usually does this sort of thing as a fundraiser for some club, organization or charity, but she needs money as well so she takes care of herself with her abilities too.
Joy is a singer. She loves singing. She sings pretty much where ever she is. She sings country and contemporary Christian music. She is also on a worship team at GCL, so she sings in front of a large group twice a month.
Joy isn’t really interested in so many things. She keeps life simple, focuses in on her goals, and accomplishes them – for the most part. Some people say that Joy intimidates them from time to time. I like to think that it is this focus and determination that causes it.
One thing Joy is definitely interested in is shopping. She hunts for sales, y’see. Whenever she goes to the grocery store, the outlets stores, or business websites she prepares ahead of time with as much information as she can get, and then tries her best to get the wildest deals by pouncing on them at the most opportune moment.

Character Sketches

I am starting something new. (It's new right now at least.) I want to shift the focus of my blog to more of a personal blog at some point. To start, I am drawing up character sketches of the people that I come into contact with the most. These people are friends, roommates, and other people that give me permission to post a character sketch of them. All of these sketches are read and preapproved by the people who they describe -- unless they say that it is not necessary.
All of these character sketches are going to be put into one main category. This category will have a hyperlink on my main page, and hopefully I will be able to make it somewhat navigable. Also, whenever I mention someone who I have a character sketch for that doesn't have a website of their own I will add a hyperlink to their sketch. I think that is cool and it is something I always wished other blogs had. So, here it goes!

The Punisher

The Punisher movie trailer is up. I am actually getting exctied about this movie again now. It looks fairly well done, and John Travlota works well as a villian.
Check it out. It stars the aforementioned Travolta, Thomas Jane (Thin Red Line / The Sweetest Thing,) Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, a ton of cool guns, toys, and a drool-worthy black GTO.

Geek Quiz

Almost 1/5 of the way there...


You are 19% geek OK, so maybe you ain't a geek. You do, at least, show a bit of interest in the world around you. Either that, or you have enough of a sense of humor to pick some of the sillier answers on the test. Regardless, you're probably a pretty nifty, well-rounded person who gets along fine with people and can chat with just about anyone without fear of looking stupid or foolish or overly concerned with minutiae. God, I hate you.

Take the Polygeek Quiz at Thudfactor.com

What did you get?

Haiti

Haiti is having political problems again. We've sent in troops again. This time I hope we stay for a while and work to invest in the Haitian people. I know people typically refer to this as Nation Building, and that the term has a certain negative connotation to it now. I don't really care about that though. I think that it makes sense for the US to do what it can to promote stability and to raise up smaller nations that are in turmoil -- even if it does cost us a great deal of resources. This is especially the case for nations in our backyard that are likely to adopt a secular democratic government.

As far as having Aristide no longer the president... I can understand why the rebels have fought for this. As far as I understand it, the Haitian constitution doesn't allow for an elected president to succeed himself. Well, Aristide was President from 1990-1996 and then from 2000 to yesterday -- mainly because so many people boycotted the 2000 Haitian elections because of alleged fraudulence.

Hopefully, with French and US troops in Haiti stability can be regained and trust can be restored in the Haitian democratic system. I think that some resources should be used to have US and French representatives (military and other) stay on in Haiti to ensure that things operate smoothly for a time. Perhaps making the government more open to its citizenry and auditing the voting, ruling, and spending processes will help the Haitian officials regain the trust of the citizens.

It is really hard to have a working democratic government when there is fear for safety and welfare, distrust, and fanaticism. If outsiders can help eliminate these negative things in Haiti the country might have a better chance of getting out of the military coup cycle.

I also want to add that I think that the US should further develop an extensive peace-keeping force. We need to be able to quickly deploy Marines, of course, but what happens after the Marines take command, conquer, and otherwise meet their objectives? The need for day-to-day order comes up. Policing a people based on their own laws and customs when the police force is too weak or too corrupt becomes our interim responsibilty. If we do this well (as in well enough to earn the respect of peoples who must deal with it by showing them respect too) we will be much more efficient at exporting peace, order, and stability, which seems to be one of the US's biggest contributions to the world.