Normalizing Violence

I recently saw a video made by Penn Jillette about this Japanese Game called RapeLay. As far as I know, this game has only been released in Japan, but basically it's a video game about raping little girls. Naturally, a game like this has a lot of people upset. Some women groups are saying this game is normalizing rape and people have said similar stuff about violent video games that supposedly normalizes murder and stuff like that.

Personally, I don't buy it this "normalizing" argument. I don't think that playing a video game, reading a book, or watching a movie with violent acts in it will make a normal person do evil things. I think a person already prone to do these evil acts might be more likely to find entertainment in violent movies, or video games, but take those away and that person is still prone to do evil acts. Take away those fake forms a entertainment and they might even be more likely to find entertainment in real life victims. I think Penn makes one of the best cases I've heard against this normalizing violence argument.



He's basically making the point that normalizing the behavior is actually from trying to ban the video game, or denounce it, and saying that it's a video game's fault that a person might rape. It's not an object, or something someone sees simulated that makes them do bad things. A normal person can tell the difference in reality and fantasy. A person does bad things because they want to do bad things. Perhaps a person had horrible things done to them as a child to cause a mindset of revenge, or to seek out power over someone else, but entertainment like video games, or movies don't do anything to you. You're the one in control, not them. If anything, people could use those as an outlet to express aggression in a safe way instead of doing it in the real world. I think this same argument can be applied to many things people wish to ban, like guns, or drugs.

A lot of people state that drugs, like steroids, cause "roid rage", and some drugs do affect judgment, but when people talk about this, they seem to overlook the fact that a lot of already violent people might want to be the toughest and meanest dude on the block and take steroids. Which comes first; the chicken, or the egg? I don't think it's the steroids that make the guy mean, it's just that a mean guy is more likely to use steroids.

It's the same way with guns. I know lots of good people that own guns. Even I own guns. I don't look at a gun, or pick one up and all of a sudden get the urge to start mowing people down. I've played lots of violent video games and watched lots of violent movies and don't get the urge to mow people down. These objects hold no evil magic that can possess a normal human being and turn them into a murderer. People just do bad things because they want to, not because some object, or a form of entertainment takes over their mind.

Police Brutality 3: Oklahoma Highway Patrol vs. EMT

Classify this under bad judgment. So the ambulance is taking a woman to the hospital and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol pulls them over, and starts a big fuss. According to the EMT, the cops did this because they were flipped the bird, which the EMTs said they didn't do. Even if they had been flipped the bird, did that warrant the cops stopping an ambulance with a patient on board? Did it occur to these cops that the woman inside could be dying? This is some of the worst judgment from cops I've ever seen. Not only that, they choke the EMT. I think resisting arrest is a stupid idea, but still, there was a lady inside that needed help and the cops were preventing this. They were sworn to protect and serve and they did neither in this case. Instead of pulling the ambulance over, why not help it get to the hospital and then have a discussion with the EMTs there if they really had a problem? Eventually, they did do that, but after delaying the woman getting medical care. Seriously, what were they thinking? If this was in any way inside the law for the cops to do this, then the law needs to be changed. Here's an account (PDF document) of the whole situation according to one of the paramedics involved.

Settlers of Catan (REVIEW)

(DISCLAIMER) This isn't really about a video game, but trust me, this is just as fun.

I read a friend's blog the other day and he was posting about this new, award-winning, board game he has been playing called "Settlers of Catan". He went on to tell how great it was. I'm usually not one to play board games. I sometimes get in the mood, but I'm not one of these people that plays them every weekend, or anything. Me and this guy used to play video games together, so I respect his opinions, especially when it comes to games.

So I did some research into it, decided it looked like fun, and ordered it off of Amazon (free shipping takes too long). I just can't get enough of it now. I never thought I'd have so much fun playing a board game, but this is almost like the perfect board game. It's kind of like a mix between "Risk" and "Monopoly" only it doesn't take all day to play, like they do. You can probably play a game in about an 1-2 hours. Like all games, it's kind of complicated at first, but you pretty much get it down in 1-2 games. It looks complicated because it's so different than what you're probably used to, but it's actually really simple. The best thing about it is you get to customize your own board and every game is different. People can't just rely on one strategy and you don't seem to have that one friend that is far superior than everyone else, like in "Scrabble". You pretty much have to have multiple strategies to win.

The point of the game is you are settling this island and have to roll dice for resources to buy up roads, settlements, and cities. You can also trade with other players. Settlements and cities are worth different victory points, along with some other stuff you can do, and the way you win is by getting 10 victory points. This is the reason it doesn't take so long is because you aren't eliminating players, just trying to beat them to 10 victory points.

There's an interactive online tutorial that I suggest checking out. You might also try the free online version here. If you like that, the actual board game is around $30-40 and is for 4 players, ages 10+. There's an expansion set that allows for 5-6 players and also a bunch of Catan spin-off games. This is sure to be one of those classic games in a few years that everyone will have in their closets to cure a boring weekend.

Modern Warfare 2 Trailer

GPS Tax

Have you ever wondered what would happen if all of a sudden the GPS satellites in space stopped working? Well, "Skynet" would fail and civilization would end as we know it. Well, maybe not...MAYBE.

Currently there are 31 GPS satellites in space, but there only needs to be 24 to keep the system going. However, they are nearing the end of their lifetime and Obama is cutting the funding on the GPS program. In fact, some people say that we could have less than 24 functioning satellites by 2010 (my money's on Dec. 21, 2012). That's is a little unnerving considering all the stuff that's around now that relies on this system.

Since the satellites were put into space by our government, funds will have to come from the taxpayers of course. So now there are rumors on a GPS tax to help fund new satellites to replace the old ones. Since it would be next to impossible to tax someone every time they used GPS, the plan will likely be to tax GPS devices. However, would this really be enough to launch satellites into space? Maybe I'm underestimating the amount of new GPS buyers out there, but it seems like more "regular taxes" will be required to really get these up and running.

Of course you have companies that make GPS systems for people, cars, airplanes, boats, etc., so why couldn't they get together and make their own private system that the military can use, or pitch in to replace the current satellites? It's obvious that if they don't do something to help fix this system, they're out of the business. Of course if the tax payers are going to pay their bills, why should they front the money? I'm sure they'll be opposed to a tax on their devices they sell and will get them some lobbyist in Washington to put a stop to that. Being that our current rulers, I mean representatives, aren't the type to just let the free market do its thing, I wouldn't doubt they'd use more taxes for this.

I should say that I've never actually used a GPS device personally. I like shinny, cool technology, but I'm more of a map, compass, moss on a tree kind of guy.

47 Million-Year-Old Primate Ancestor

A recent discovery at the Messel Shale Pit near Frankfurt, Germany might re-write human evolution. This beautiful and very well preserved fossil is of an early primate ancestor of modern day monkeys and humans. The fossil itself is about the size of a small monkey and despite missing its left leg, it's in remarkable condition. It's so detailed that they can make out the fur and even the stomach contents from its last meal (which appears to be the world's first fruit cake).

This discovery will hopefully solve a scientific debate over whether our we evolved from the branch known as tarsidae, which includes the modern day tarsiers in Asia, or the adapidae branch, whose modern descendant includes the lemurs in Madagascar. This discovery of this early adapid, appears to show that perhaps we evolved from from lemur branch instead of the currently more popular belief that we evolved from tarsier branch.

Fat Princess

For those that haven't heard about this new game coming out for the PS3, Fat Princess is a real-time-strategy game that's mixed with capture the flag. Instead of a flag, you got to capture a princess and the other team can feed that princess to make her fatter and harder for the other team to carry back to their base. It's a pretty simple concept, but something that I can't remember anyone else ever doing. The look of the game also stands out. You got this bright and cheerful environment and characters, yet it has blood and gore. This will be a day 1 buy for me and I can't hardly wait.

Jack Of All Trades Schooling

There are lots of problems with the current education system, but most people don't get beyond thinking that if you throw enough tax dollars at the problem, it will go away. I don't think that will help and while I do support some other solutions, I think there is a big picture everyone seems to be missing here and hopefully I can help shed some light on it. It might sound totally far out to a lot of people, but please, hear me out.

I think once you teach a kid the basics on how to read, how to write, basic math, etc. they should be set free to learn on their own. I feel most of my knowledge came from learning on my own. There were a few things I learned later on in school, like the fast way of typing on a keyboard and some techniques I learned in art, but those were really things I wanted to know how to do, so I took advantage of someone willing to teach me those things at that time. If you know how to read, you can teach yourself anything you have the determination to teach yourself. We’ve had this whole emphasis on making kids learn stuff they don’t want, or need. I think we need to emphasize kids learning what they want and advancing their natural talents. It’s their life, so it should be their choice.

I’m not saying we should do away with schools and teachers (public schools should be axed tough), but I think it’s a waste of time to force stuff on a kid that they have no interest in, isn’t going to help them down the road, while ignoring something they are good at. It’s like letting a perfectly good apple rot on the counter. It’s just a waste of time to make a kid learn advanced mathematics when they just aren’t gifted towards math, they aren’t interested in it, they’ll never use it, and will forget it in a few years. We try to make a Jack of all trades from each of these kids and wonder why all these test scores are down. We expect them to learn this, and this, and this and you got to be a master at all of them, but a Jack of all trade can’t be a master at anything. We get mad and frustrated when kids are failing all these things, but maybe the problem isn’t them, but rather the people trying to force it on them.

By about middle school, most kids realize what they’re good at, what they love, and more energy should be focused on making them better at those areas instead of trying to mold them into people they just aren’t. If a kid loves to write, then focus more on English. If the kid loves to draw, the focus them on art. If the kid likes to go exploring nature, focus them on science. If the kid loves to sing, or wants to learn to play the guitar, then focus on music classes. If a kid is gifted towards math, then focus them on math classes. We shouldn’t make them wait until they’re 18 and go to college before we let them start learning more about what they’re good at. Stuff like art and music are treated as a reward for learning all this other stuff instead of the main things we should be using to help these talented kids. Instead of getting angry when a kid doesn’t do well in one class, we should care less about that and focus more on getting the kid education in areas they are good at to make them excellent in it.

As some of you know, I like to play video games, so I’ll use those as an example. If you’ve ever played an RPG, you know that depending on what class you are, there are some skills you want to make higher and others that you just don’t need. If you try to just even everything out, you’re just going to suck at everything. You’re going to struggle fighting monsters because you aren’t using your character to its full potential. That’s what we’re dealing with here.

A lot of kids do learn on their own for whatever they’re good at, but instead of school helping them in those areas, it becomes more of a burden because it takes time away from that and devotes it to studying for tests, or doing homework in other areas they don’t need. I remember teachers got onto me for drawing in class, but that’s what I loved and that’s what I thought I was better off using my time towards than the stuff they were teaching.

As it is right now, they ask kids going into high school if they’re going college route, or non-college route and then set them on the classes based on that. I think that’s about as limited as only being able to vote Democrat, or Republican. Why does America only seem to get two choices on anything? Caffeinated, or Decaf? Can we not get more choices here?

Even at that, parents need to start asking their kids, "What did you learn today?" Not what they were taught in school, but what they learned on their own. We should be overjoyed when our kids go out of their way to find something out. Anyone could listen to someone and repeat it a few hours later. A parrot can do that. It takes effort to want to know something, go research it for yourself, and be able to use that knowledge. And that’s the point of education, to be able to use knowledge. What’s the point of teaching a kid something they will never use?

District 9

It looks like we're getting a sci-fi movie about illegal aliens. I'd laugh my ass off if it wasn't so damn cool looking.

Satellite Tracking With Orbitron

One of my hobbies is star gazing. I'll go out on the deck at night, either by myself, or with some family and friends and just gaze up at the stars, planets, moon, etc. Of of the exciting parts of this is spotting a satellite, or "mover" as I like to call them. These are faint lights in the sky, that look like stars, but they move slowly across the sky. Some are bright, some are very hard to see, and others fade in and out. Usually the best time to see them is within an hour of two right after it gets dark, or and hour, or two before the sun comes up. That way, you can see the night sky, but the sun is still reflecting off of the satellites, causing it to show up.

The picture shown is one I took of an object that went flying over a few weeks ago. It was a bright, moving light, but since I took it with a 15 second exposure, it shows up as a line instead of a dot. It's actually a Chinese rocket booster called CZ-2C. How do I know this? I use a free program called Orbitron. You can get it free here. It allows you to put in your coordinates and it will show what satellites are going over your area, when they can be seen, if they are visible, etc. You can even go forward, or backward in time to see when an object was there, or when it will be there. It's really a great program and if you do any kind of stargazing, you should really have it on hand.

When you're setting it up, go to Location tab below and put in your latitude, longitude, and altitude. If you don't know that information, here's a great map site that will show you. At the bottom of the map it will tell you're latitude and longitude where your crosshairs are at. Negative numbers are for South and West and positive numbers are used for North and East. So if it was 35.9149556 and -93.856242, you'd put it on there Longitude: 93.8562W and Latitude 35.9149N. I don't think altitude really matters that much, but if you want to be exact, and you know how to read a topo map, click the My Topo tab on that map and find out what the elevation is for your area. It should be in feet, so find a converter in Google, convert it to meters and then plug that number into Orbitron. Name your location and click Add to list.

It will have to update the files every few days to make sure all the tracking data is up to date. You can update this yourself by going to Main>Setup>TLE Updater. Also, while you're in the Setup area, go to where it says Time sync and click the globe with the lightning bolt on it to sync your time. In the main area, if you look over to the right, you can select which ones you want to show up and Load a new TLE group. I only stick with the visible group since that's what I can see.

Just play around with it for a while. You won't always see everything it says you can on there depending on the humidity, light pollution from cities, cloud cover, and other atmospheric disturbances. If you're in the city, I doubt you could see anything. Of course if you're out where you can see stars pretty good, you should be able to name all the little odd lights you see moving in the sky at night, with the exception of UFOs from other planets, or experimental aircraft from our government. In that case, be sure to go here.