Living The Dead

Here's a video link about people, apparently civilians, getting gunned down at a military checkpoint. The rocket at the end seems a wee bit excessive, and poorly aimed.

Some people get upset when others die. Others don't. The reality is that they don't really care about the fact that the people died, but that there would be grieving relatives. After all, nobody really gives a hoot after they're gone. Or maybe my opinion's just colored by the fact that I don't value my life overly much and feel that everyone else should feel relief when removed from this dirtball.

Still, I think the grieving is left to the living. I don't think dead people mourn much. I mean if they're immortal they'd just watch their loved ones live and then go belly up just to join them. If they go to some sort of hell they'd be too busy suffering. And if they wind up disspating I doubt they're in a position to care anyway. So who's left? Just the bunch of living people thinking that it's a horrible tragedy that someone's gone. Well that, or there's sympathy for the people who have lost loved ones.

Anyway, I think the only real issue here is the ready use of excessive force and the apparent joy of being able to use it. I really couldn't care less if everyone died one day. But I'd care a whole lot if a bunny got tortured to death by some sick human just because he felt like it.

Progress And Carbon

So you wish to save the world. Sure, we could reduce carbon output and *prevent* global warming. You know, the global warming that's already out there. It's nasty, just in case anyone's wondering. Then again, nobody's really dying from it. I mean, dying in the hundreds of millions. There's no reason to panic, precisely because it isn't a disaster yet. In fact, nobody would do anything about it until it becomes a right and proper disaster, with irreversible effects.

So...what keeps everyone from doing something about anything? Probably progress. The newly industrialized countries need their carbon. In fact, they'd need more carbon in the near future. But then the developed countries need their carbon, too. They suck electricity like...well...you know. They can soak the losses, but they won't. Doing so would mean *economic* disaster for them. The sort that allows developing and newly industrialized countries to catch up and possibly become viable competitors. We do not want competition. Carbon pumps will stay.

It Works!

Well, actually, it endures. My computer used to have this weird problem whereby it would absolutely clog up within 3 days, and no program would load. I would be unable to so much as save an existing document. I figure now that it's because of a memory leak in some program. After uninstalling a whole bunch of stuff on a whim (including a legacy scanner driver and scanner program), my computer has passed its 7th day of operation and is still going strong. Seems like a fairly good indication that things have taken a turn for the better.

Arty Inks

I was feeling arty today, so I headed down to the art market. I bought myself a Nakabayashi NRC-A4 trimmer. It would help with my upcoming photo projects. I also got myself a set of waterproof pigment inks (3rd party) for my old printer. I am frankly rather impressed at the quality of modern 3rd party inks. Of course, I wouldn't trust them for fine art (I have a printer just for that), but they would do fine for schoolwork or other brute force printing. Oh, and I now have a set of sprays that will help keep my archival prints safe from sticky fingers, long nails and just about everything that commonly afflicts my pieces.

Ok so I was in a shopping mood. I think just maybe I spent a wee bit too much. But I do tell myself that these are durables and I won't be buying these things again anytime soon. I hope.

Intimacy And Separation

Sometimes, one can read another's blog and feel that one knows the blogger so well. It is a form of intimacy because of the way the blogger's life story plays out and how every update feels like a one-sided confessional. But after being so used to the blogger's presence, it can feel like a sort of breakup when the blogger eventually stops writing and the blog ceases to be accessible. It's like a friend of a couple years just decided to stop speaking to you. I'm sure the blogger will not feel the same way about it, since the blogger doesn't even personally know most of the readers!

Race And Gun Violence

Sometimes, few people realize how much of a blanket term "asian" can be. Say "asian", and I think of people from the far east. They could be indian, korean, japanese or even iranian. I mean, the term refers to just about everyone from the asian subcontinent, including Russians! It is a huge place by the traditional definition. Even the Persians (now Iranians) from the movie 300 are actually asian.

So in light of the recent school massacre, one may be led to believe that people of the mongoloid races like chinese and japanese are pretty much all there is to being asian. Still, it is interesting that nobody seems to really regard indian as asian.

This makes for an interesting scenario. Would those of the mongoloid races be defending themselves against potential backlash from this tragedy, or would asians in general be worried about what may happen?

In fact, why would a particular race or ethnic category be worried about being blamed, associated or become the victim of a hate crime as a result of what another member of that group did? This merely spreads the crime of one person to a crime that involves an entire subsection of humanity. Sure, you can wipe out every member of a race that committed murder before. But then what if the murders persist? No humans, no problem. Still, prevention is better than cure. And I suppose nobody's really willing to cure the problem of humanity.

So this begs the question: How would we prevent these massacres in the future? Some suggest that the *citizens* be disarmed. This is all well and good, and is a great opportunity for the armed "authorities" to simply stomp all over the poor unarmed peasants and readily exert their authority at every turn.

I think it is far better to abolish guns altogether, if people are so horrified by gun crimes. After all, wars are merely gun violence at a national level.

Reduce gun-related deaths? Sure. Stop glamorizing guns and their usage in the popular media. Quit making gunfire synonymous with "patriotism". There seems to be little honour in going to a foreign land to shoot people just because someone said so, or you're hired to do so. It makes one little different from a hired assassin. The same applies to violence sponsored by any other "cause" and with any other weapon. I can kill with a club just as I can kill with a gun, after all.

I somehow doubt the contemporary bunch would find that solution particularly acceptable. Then again, one simply can't have the cake and eat it. Gun violence can never be eradicated unless people simply no longer have guns.

Machiavellism

I witnessed the finest example of machiavellism since a long time back. Well, naturally, it'd be far too upfront of me to introduce the players in this game. But anyway, it was a nice bit of office politics. As usual, someone was being irritating and showing favouritism left and right. Let's call this irritant A. A was favouring B and that resulted in B getting a rather great appraisal. Unfortunately, C did not. After offending D too many times, D decided to reveal C's situation to A. Let the wars...begin...

On Crossdressers And Gunmen

Clearly, crossdressers are more alarming than gunmen. Or maybe it's because of the recent tragic shooting of children in school that people start becoming paranoid about crossdressers. Refer to this article. I mean sure it's nice that people can be vigilant about potential threats, but I'd think hearing gunfire is a wee bit more threatening than seeing someone crossdressing near a school. Ok or maybe my judgement is skewed by video games and thus I feel gunshots are more threatening than transvestites. Still, this highlights a very real danger in society: Terrorists simply do not look/dress like terrorists most of the time. I seriously doubt the Korean fella would appear to be dangerous to the casual onlooker. Perhaps it is time people learned to look beyond bags with the word "bomb" glowing hot pink from it dazzling neon lights?

The Printer Obsession

Ever since I got my new printer, I've been obsessing over printers. It's not that my printer isn't as close to perfect as I can get at the price. It's just that I know the operating costs of this thing is monstrous, yet I am unwilling to risk my beast's life by feeding it cheap inks. The solution: Get a cheaper beast for the lesser work. heh. Feels strange, but it's economical given that even the cheap inks come at a price, and that price isn't very much higher than that of a laser printer for schoolwork. Basically, my gripe is that, while the prints coming out of my printer are downright gorgeous, they run for the hills once they get wet. That is seriously bad given that my homework can get wet, runny and downright unreadable. And my notes never have to be in color anyway.

I saw this medium-format printer (Canon S9000) at a second hand store. It could print A3 and above. Not that I'd actually need one of those things. Still, it's a cool thing to be able to print A3 at home. But it's delicate electronics at a second hand store. Sure, it may work when I try it out, but there's no telling how long it'd hold out. I anticipate it would have encountered lots of wear and tear at the hands of the previous owner. Not the best combination for
reliable use.

Behold, The Less Fortunate

Sometimes we just think that life is crap. Frankly, it is. The key to contentment seems to be lower expectations. Still haven't figured a better way. Anyway, I was at a bus stop yesterday and met a girl. She was probably around my age, but she was deformed. I do not know her affliction, but she clearly had a speech impediment of some sort. She was unable to speak properly, and could only exclaim with sounds akin to what an animal would make. Yet she was clearly not retarded, as she could express that she did not wish to grow fat when I noted she was looking at my sweets and I offered some. Moreover, she knew what my cellphone was, and indicated that her own unit was of the same brand. Most interestingly, she could read what was on it, and understood that there was a function that could transfer files from hers to mine. Unfortunately, my phone did not have that function: Infrared.

There are times when I totally feel like crap. I still do. But when I look around, I find that there are many people who are obviously taking crap, and others who are taking crap on their personal lives and not showing it. I don't feel any better knowing that there are people out there who are more imperfect than I am. That would be taking joy in knowing their greater misfortune (by my gauge). I would rather feel that there is always imperfection, that can be improved as far as it can get given our limited abilities. That is not to say that I would authorize people to stay downtrodden when they were born that way. It's merely a sign of laziness to not try to make the most of what you've got.

The Printer Enterprise

This is the first all-in-one printer I've bought. It's the Epson Stylus Photo RX510. If you ask me, it may as well be the Starship Enterprise...or Printer Enterprise. Seriously, this is an oversized piece of hardware. I've never encountered a printer this big, and one would expect something this size to actually pack a fax. My biggest gripe at the moment is that the ink isn't waterproof. One would expect that such fairly high-end photo printers would have waterproofed inks. Apparently not.

Anyway, it's overall a spiffy thing, especially since I would usually expect to pay significantly more for something with these specs. Well, I guess it's a rather old model to be purchasing considering that it's already 2007, but hey it's all for schoolwork. And...maybe a spot of design and all that. I'm not a print/photo professional after all. I figure it's a good buy even though I'd be paying out my nose when I do reload this thing. The only viable alternative would be to get one of those unsightly and possibly messy ink replacement systems that cost a fraction of the price, but won't guarantee print quality.

Life Isn't Worth Living

I’m traumatized. I’m traumatized by what some people can be born with. It’s one thing to be apparently something that you’re not. It’s even worse when that something you’re not is determined by your genes. Genes that pump poisons through your body without your knowing. All this really makes one wonder at the extent to which one truly has free will, if such a thing exists at all. To me, it’s a false hope at best, given that no amount of free will can change what one was born as or born with.

Only in Japan...

http://www.globalaging.org/health/world/toilet.htm

All the talk of toilets in lectures. How about this, eh? In Japan, toilets aren't just toilets anymore. They're *smart* toilets. Anyway, just inspired by the scheduling of the heating and cooling of the toilet at fixed times of the day. Sorta like programming a bot to do stuff at fixed times, non?