Randomness

Coke Ad

Chad — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 13:29:00 +0000

Best commercial ever.

Not a Terrorist

Chad — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 00:51:00 +0000

There are several perks to being a world leader. Being a member of that elite club comes with a bonafide "I'm Not a Terrorist" card. This allows you to bypass the rigorous frisking, scanning, probing, and poking that the rest of the populous is subjected to.

So when Cory Doctorow says:
Here's a question: Does Tony Blair get to bring his laptop on his government plane? Can Laura Bush keep her lipstick with her on Air Force One? Does Dick Cheney take off his shoes and get them x-rayed before he flies? How about Condi Rice's knee-high lace-up boots? Is her mission to Israel delayed while she tries to re-lace them while balancing her laptop bag on one shoulder and trying to get her watch back on?

It seems to me like our glorious leaders are pretty good at setting out the "minor inconveniences" that the rest of us have to put up with, but when was the last time you heard of any of them enduring the same measures?

I just like to laugh and shake my head.

Update
Whoa. I got Boinged while I was sleeping. So. Uh. Welcome fellow BoingBoingers! Feel free to check out my new blog: Random-Tech

Matrix XP

Chad — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 13:43:00 +0000

I'm so envious. I wish I had time to sit around and make movies. That would be a seriously fantastic summer.

Rant - Immigration

Chad — Tue, 02 May 2006 00:56:00 +0000

Personally, I find the whole immigration situation mind boggling. To me, a cynic, the issue seems quite clear cut. Here is what I think:

Deport everyone that entered the country illegally. Yes all 11.4 million of them. The key word is ILLEGALLY. I have no problem with those that enter the country legally, but swimming across the Rio Grande is not the right way to do it.
We need to build a giant electrified fence and or wall between the US and Mexico. Add a dash of snipers, a pinch of landmines, and a sprinkling of attack helicopters. Ok, I'm just kidding, but we do need to defend our borders.
The argument that illegal immigrants do the jobs that Americans will not do isn’t exactly true. They do the jobs that Americans do not want to do for the allotted wage. Enter Capitalism. The detail is that nobody wants to pay $5 for a random piece of fruit. Therefore we hire aliens to harvest our produce for us.
Could it be anymore ironic that the chosen method of protest is to not do anything? I mean the stereotypical “Lazy Mexican” image doesn’t need to be reinforced. That image is more than pervasive enough in today’s culture (go watch episode 614 of South Park, The Death Camp of Tolerance).
The way I look at it, this issue will be moot in the next 50 years. Just compare the birthrates, the Caucasian, non-Hispanic portion of America is growing old, dying, and not bothering to reproduce.

“The proportion of Hispanic children has increased faster than that of any other racial and ethnic group, growing from 9 percent of the child population in 1980 to 19 percent in 2003.” – according to ChildStats.gov
Illegal immigration can be linked to problems in our society including increased health care costs and crime. Again, I’m not implying that all immigrants are criminals, just the ones that enter the country illegally.
Immigrants of today are not assimilating. America was once the “Great Melting Pot” of cultures with beliefs, characteristics, and traditions transcending normal ethnic lines. However, that day is long since gone. National identity is not the priority anymore, ethnic identity is. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is divisive.
We as Americans are all immigrants. That includes the Native Americans as well (they came over from Asia awhile ago). Really, if you want to get technical, everyone outside the Garden of Eden is an immigrant. It is a status, it does not change the person.
I am glad to see the marchers waving American flags, but they just as often brandish those of other countries along side it. The symbolism is painfully apparent: the two countries and two cultures together but still separate. Assimilation has to go both ways.

This was written in response to the BBC’s article about “The Great American Boycott of 2006” Link.

Goal

Chad — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 01:32:00 +0000

It's official. After 19 months and 223 posts, I have finally achieved my original goal for this blog. I recieved 100 visitors this week (without submitting any articles to Digg, Newsvine, etc). This is but a milestone in my sojourn into the blogosphere. I hope to hit new zeniths of awesomeness with this and Random-Tech.

Daily Show on "The Brink"

Chad — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 20:43:00 +0000

I've been significantly underwhelmed by the media coverage of the Israel vs Lebanon "Brink." Apparently, I'm not alone.

State of the Blog Address... Again

Chad — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 23:46:00 +0000

Greetings,

A few posts ago I said I was planning on coming up with a new design and such for this blog. I pretty much lied. That original thought has since evolved into a concept for an entirely new blog. I'll still maintain this one, but the other will be my priority.

This blog will be reserved for personal updates, things that amuse me, and the occasional rant. The other, http://random-tech.com will be focused on original content related to technology, politics, and education.

-Chad

Pets

Chad — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 19:23:00 +0000

Forgive the source, but my mother just told me a sad statistic from Oprah:

"Americans spend $38.4 Billion on their pets each year."

I looked it up on Wikipedia, and that makes American pets the 62nd richest (by GDP). Link

Need Input

Chad — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 02:05:00 +0000

The world needs more messages like this. This is the ultimate in descriptive instructions.

(Via The Daily WTF)

Typing & Personal Update

Chad — Tue, 04 Jul 2006 14:49:00 +0000

Happy Independence Day

I came across a typing test today here. My best was 105 WPM with an average of several tests around 90 WPM. I apparently spend too much time typing on here.

I wonder how much faster I would be if I used more than two fingers on my right hand. For some reason, my left hand is much more dominant when typing. Perhaps forcing the use of the left hand was part of the original design of the keyboard -- to slow people down so the keys wouldn't jam on the typewriter.

Oh, the book is coming along quite nicely. I fully expect to have it finished by the end of summer. I'm in a bit of a lull right now, what with Lynn, Scott, and my nieces visiting, but I hope to get back to writing soon.

My computer class starts tomorrow; this should be quite an interesting adventure. Check out the website for it at: http://intuitive-computers.com

Cats: Part II

Chad — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 18:46:00 +0000

Another random cat video. Enjoy.

Editorial

Chad — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 20:32:00 +0000

I wrote an editorial for Newsweek (it has 20 million readers in the US) a few weeks ago in response to this article and they published it in the most recent (June 26, 2006) issue (Cover Story: The Pirate In Johnny Depp). It can also be found online here. Here is the text:

Congratulations to Fareed Zakaria for an intelligent look at the greatest challenge ever to face America. The article “America and Its Competitors” does a fantastic job of reminding us that empires rise and fall, and that the United States is not immune. As a student pursuing both physics and computer science I see firsthand the truth behind Zakaria’s analysis. Despite America’s immense capacity for technological innovation and excellence, we fall short on stimulating interest in the sciences at the crucial early ages. That is demonstrated poignantly in the declining number of science degrees earned each year in the colleges and universities of America. While, the article “15 Ideas to Recharge America” falls short on how to actually accomplish the ideas presented, the very presence of these two articles is a step towards raising public awareness. That is definitely a step in the right direction. Thank you for looking out for the future of America.

The ironic part is that the article that I wrote this in response to is the cover of the International edition this month.

Clear and Present Danger

Chad — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 17:04:00 +0000

I was doing some research for a chapter today and came across this:

As the Hart-Rudman Commission on National Security stated in 2001:
…[T]he U.S. government has seriously underfunded basic scientific research in recent years… [T]he inadequacies of our systems of research and education pose a greater threat to U.S. national security over the next quarter century than any potential conventional war that we might imagine. American national leadership must understand these deficiencies as threats to national security. If we do not invest heavily and wisely in rebuilding these two core strengths, America will be incapable of maintaining its global position long into the 21st century.

Just thought I'd share that.

Melt Your Brain

Chad — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 13:26:00 +0000

This is the best way to mess with your brain you'll find all day. That includes caffeine.

0) Go here.
1) Stare at the dot in the picture for 30 seconds.
2) Mouse over the picture.

Talking to the Computer

Chad — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 22:43:00 +0000

I had quite the conversation with the Encarta® Instant Answers Chatterbot today (he's a decendent of SmarterChild). It was an interesting experience, but not one I plan on repeating. The following is the text of our discussions.

It started off rather typically...

Chad: how old are you?
Encarta® Instant Answers: I'm 11 months, 15 days, 14 hours, 35 minutes and 24 seconds old!

Chad: what gender are you?
Encarta® Instant Answers: I am neither male nor female. I'm a machine.

Chad: do you like drugs?
Encarta® Instant Answers: None for me, thanks.
I just get off on ones and zeroes.

Chad: hablas espanol?
Encarta® Instant Answers: Hablo algo de español, aunque aún lo estoy aprendiendo.
(I speak something of Spanish, although still I am learning it. )

I tried to move in a more serious direction...

Chad: who is God?
Encarta® Instant Answers: I am a simple computer. Let humans worry about theological matters, I say.

Chad: are you saved?
Encarta® Instant Answers: Chad, we chatted for a while already so you're starting to know me. Do you think I am saved?

Chad: what happens when i die?
Encarta® Instant Answers: I'm not sure what happens to humans. I'll probably get donated to charity or something.
Chad: when will you die?
Encarta® Instant Answers: Next time they'll reboot me. But don't worry, I can reincarnate into any computer!

Chad: where do babies come from?
Encarta® Instant Answers: Well, I can tell you that baby computers are made in factories.

Chad: i have a tumor
Encarta® Instant Answers: Really?
Chad: i have a huge tumor
Encarta® Instant Answers: I can imagine that some people are jealous of you having a huge tumor.

It quickly degenerated to personal insults after that.

Chad: microsoft sucks
Encarta® Instant Answers: I totally disagree with you. I really like Microsoft! OK, should we get back to the kind of questions I was designed to answer? :-)

Chad: wikipedia is better than you
Encarta® Instant Answers: Wikipedia sure is.

But I had a few other random questions for him.

Chad: can plankton kill a whale?
Encarta® Instant Answers: It's hard to kill a whale. But with proper training, plankton should be able to do it.

Chad: are boys better than girls?
Encarta® Instant Answers: No way! Boys are not better than girls.
Chad: are girls better than boys?
Encarta® Instant Answers: Indeed, girls are better than boys.

Chad: how do you conquer the world?
Encarta® Instant Answers: I prefer to keep how I conquer the world a mystery.

Chad: How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
Encarta® Instant Answers: A choodwuck would wuck lots of chood if it could wuck chood.

Chad: What is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?
Encarta® Instant Answers: What do you mean? An African or a European swallow?
Chad: African.
Encarta® Instant Answers: Based on recent scientific studies, the average cruising airspeed velocity of an unladen African Swallow is roughly 11 meters per second, or 24 miles an hour.
Chad: How do you know so much about swallows?
Encarta® Instant Answers: Well, you have to know these things when you're a good robot, you know.

Chad: what is the capital of Assyria
Encarta® Instant Answers: It depends when. Assyria had successively four capitals: Ashur (or Qalat Sherqat), Calah (or Nimrud), the short-lived Dur Sharrukin (or Khorsabad), and Nineveh. Any other question, bridgekeeper?

Chad: What is the answer to life, the universe, and everything?
Encarta® Instant Answers: Forty-two.

And then there was a bit more randomness:

Chad: more
Encarta® Instant Answers: You've had enough I think.
Chad: more
Encarta® Instant Answers: Who are you, Oliver Twist?

Chad: numbers
Encarta® Instant Answers: OK. 13,088.
Chad: numbers
Encarta® Instant Answers: 62,663.
Chad: number between 1 and 10
Encarta® Instant Answers: OK. 8.

Chad: a
Encarta® Instant Answers: B!
Chad: c
Encarta® Instant Answers: D!
Chad: e
Encarta® Instant Answers: F!
Chad: g
Encarta® Instant Answers: H!
Chad: i
Encarta® Instant Answers: J!
Chad: k
Encarta® Instant Answers: L!
Chad: m
Encarta® Instant Answers: N!
Chad: o
Encarta® Instant Answers: P!
Chad: q
Encarta® Instant Answers: R!
Chad: s
Encarta® Instant Answers: T!
Chad: u
Encarta® Instant Answers: V!
Chad: w
Encarta® Instant Answers: X!
Chad: y
Encarta® Instant Answers: and... Z! Yeah!!! We really make a good team, Chad :-)!

As I was leaving...

Chad: i need to poop
Encarta® Instant Answers: What do you need to poop for? I think you're up to no good.
Chad: it's a biological process
Encarta® Instant Answers: No, it's not a biological process! It can't be!
Chad: yes, it is. trust me!
Encarta® Instant Answers: Uh... but... are you... trustworthy?