mcclth

Wikipedia

2009-06-13T20:20:00.000-07:00

So, I've been reading articles on Wikipedia all day, and this is one of the chains of articles that I ended up with:

Milan Kundera >> The Joke >> Czechoslovakia >> Communist Party of Czechoslovakia >> Show trial >> Nuremberg Trials >> Nuremberg Race Laws >> JCS 1067 >> Blohm + Voss >> M/V Explorer

I never would have guessed that something I'm actually somewhat acquainted with would come up while primarily reading about Commies and Nazis.

Milan Kundera wrote The Joke, based in Czechoslovakia, under the rule of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, which, in 1952, subjected Rudolf Slánský and several other senior Communists to a show trial, a highly-publicized trial under which the accused is being used as an example and an instrument of warning, such as the Nuremberg Trials, during which time notable members of Nazi Germany were prosecuted, including Wilhelm Frick, the author of the Nuremberg Race Laws, of which one known original copy, signed by Hitler himself, exists in the Skirball Cultural Center, which received the document on June 26, 1999, when the Huntington Library revealed General George S. Patton had secretly handed it over to them, having appropriated it, in violation of JCS (Joint Chiefs of Staff) 1067, the U.S. occupation directive through which Henry Morgenthau Jr. pushed his plans of Allied "industrial disarmament," which sought to destroy Germany's ability to wage war, in part by dismantling/exploding factories, like the Blohm + Voss shipyard in Hamburg, a German shipbuilding and engineering works that was established in 1877, and during its existence, has produced such ships as the Wilhelm Gustloff (sunk during wartime in what is to this day the world's worst maritime disaster), and the M/V Explorer, which is currently in use as the vessel for Semester at Sea, a study abroad program that my friend Brian participated in this winter/spring.

Ocean-Driven Hydropower

2009-04-25T00:58:00.001-07:00

Take this with a grain of salt, as I really have no expertise relating to this. I'm merely voicing a simple concern that could be elaborated upon. From http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/02/0225_inventions/2.htm:
"Ocean-Driven Hydropower
Till now, hydropower has mostly been generated at dams. Now, turbines around the world are being designed to harness the power of the ocean. Blue Energy Canada is close to commercializing a turbine that captures energy from ocean currents and already has purchase power agreements in India, Indonesia, and New Zealand. With a set of subway-size floating turbines, Pelamis Wave Power is converting wave power into electricity off the coast of Scotland."

Alternative energy sources are a wonderful idea, but with the growing concern about our effect on the climate, shouldn't we scrutinize all of our energy plans? Unless I am somehow mistaken, getting energy from ocean currents means impeding the currents to some degree. Don't these currents we wish to tap into play a significant role in how the climate all over the earth works? Aren't we risking another type of drastic effect on the climate by impeding the natural movement of the ocean? I am just not aware of how great the effect of drawing energy from ocean currents would be on their natural flow.

Oh, the Legal System

2009-04-21T22:20:00.001-07:00

Perhaps you've heard of, or even been following, the recent activities in regards to "sexting." Well, I've just been reading an article on the topic, from which I quote:
"Before showing the photos, Mr. Skumanick explained his offer to the crowd, answering one father's question affirmatively, that -- yes -- a girl in a bathing suit could be subjected to criminal charges because she was posed 'provocatively.'"
To this, all I can manage to think is Really?

William Hogarth

2009-02-03T07:07:00.000-08:00

Is he haunting me? First gin, then insanity. Where will he find me next?

WWII Leningrad Siege Collages

2009-01-30T05:43:00.000-08:00

Speechless...

A Pale, Blue Dot

2009-01-22T07:27:00.001-08:00

The following is taken directly from the Big Sky Astronomy Club Website. I place it here due to the tendency of the internet to change, and links to break. I love the quote at the end. He was more than an astronomer.

On October 13, 1994, the famous astronomer Carl Sagan was delivering a public lecture at his own university of Cornell. During that lecture, he presented this photo:

The photo above was taken by Voyager 1 in 1990 as it sailed away from Earth, more than 4 billion miles in the distance. Having completed its primary mission, Voyager at that time was on its way out of the Solar System, on a trajectory of approximately 32 degrees above the plane of the Solar System. Ground Control issued commands for the distant space craft to turn around and, looking back, take photos of each of the planets it had visited. From Voyager's vast distance, the Earth was captured as a infinitesimal point of light (between the two white tick marks), actually smaller than a single pixel of the photo. The image was taken with a narrow angle camera lens, with the Sun quite close to the field of view. Quite by accident, the Earth was captured in one of the scattered light rays caused by taking the image at an angle so close to the Sun. Dr. Sagan was quite moved by this image of our tiny world. Here is an enlargement of the area around our Pale Blue Dot and an excerpt from the late Dr. Sagan's talk:

"We succeeded in taking that picture [from deep space], and, if you look at it, you see a dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever lived, lived out their lives. The aggregate of all our joys and sufferings, thousands of confident religions, ideologies and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilizations, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every hopeful child, every mother and father, every inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every superstar, every supreme leader, every saint and sinner in the history of our species, lived there on a mote of dust, suspended in a sunbeam.

The earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and in triumph they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of the dot on scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner of the dot. How frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity -- in all this vastness -- there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. It is up to us. It's been said that astronomy is a humbling, and I might add, a character-building experience. To my mind, there is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly and compassionately with one another and to preserve and cherish that pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known."

Geographic Isolation

2009-01-05T05:38:00.000-08:00

I ran across this blog called Dark Roasted Blend, and it has a wealth of awesomeness. Here is one of my favorites so far.

House

2008-11-19T22:17:00.000-08:00

I looked at my post, Homelessness, and realized that I have decided I like my room a lot. Even if the random sink in it leaks and my heater doesn't work. I like it. It's not very good for entertaining any guests on account of how small it is though. Just like the rest of the house. Oh well, not a lot of entertaining to be done anyhow.

Awesome Guy

2008-11-18T08:08:00.001-08:00

This guy is awesome, just like I said.

My favorite part? It's this:

Little House on the Prairie

2008-11-08T10:25:00.000-08:00

awesome

god loves money!

2008-10-13T04:14:00.000-07:00

shit like this never fails to amuse me:

Glorify god with some monies! fuck yeah

Rectangles

2008-10-13T00:52:00.000-07:00

Well, Andrew is not posting, so I guess I should, so I'll have something in my Reader for me to check out...

A sign of tonight's impending boredom- I'm halfway through the shift and I'm already doing shit like this:

yay

Never Not Funny

2008-09-30T06:21:00.000-07:00

hmm

2008-09-09T12:29:00.000-07:00

ok, so less than a couple days

Unfortunately the class is more than full.
Best regards,
A. Fayaz

LAME

classes

2008-09-09T12:12:00.001-07:00

Ahh, I have a bad feeling I won't be taking any this semester. We'll find out in a day or so, I suppose...

Donut

2008-09-03T08:10:00.001-07:00

Dear Chocolate Donut,
You were so tasty.
-Thomas

Homelessness

2008-09-02T12:48:00.000-07:00

has ended. Buuuut, I don't know how I feel about my place yet. My room itself is quite small. There is no common space, just a small kitchen, no dining room or anything like that. So pretty much, it will work for sleeping, eating, and showering. That's not bad for $435/month, I suppose. I just kinda wish I hadn't been in such a rush to find a place - I feel that I could've done better. I miss my old place so much! That house was awesome. But maybe this one will grow on me a little.

I've only met one of my housemates. He seemed a little bit, well, creepy at first, but then I ran into him again, and he somehow seemed nicer. Hopefully he is a cool guy. They are all older than I am by a couple years, from what I remember the landlady telling me.

Well, I guess that's all I have to say about that for now. Wish me luck?

It's official

2008-08-31T19:38:00.001-07:00

I'm homeless tonight

food

2008-08-12T14:07:00.000-07:00

99% of my total fat
77% of my sodium
66% of my total carbohydrates
88% of my dietary fiber
22% of my iron
88% of my vitamin E
44% of my vitamin B6
66% of my phosphorus
44% of my magnesium
22 grams of protein

1 bag of Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips!! mmmmmmmm :D

then there's the gatorade and the red bull...

Lunch

2008-07-22T08:44:00.001-07:00

So, I walked to the store to get some food supplies for my lunch...
-----------------
Janitor is mopping the floor near the register.
I approach the register to purchase my food and drink.
A light 80's song plays over the store radio.
Cashier rings up my purchase and says to Janitor

"Rob, you remember doin' a bunch of coke at the disco to this one, don't you?"

Professionalism at its best.
-----------------

Mmmm. Lunch. :)

Western Spaghetti

2008-07-13T15:45:00.000-07:00

I like this video :)

Sh ("School", minus "cool," because School is not cool)

2008-06-26T07:46:00.000-07:00

Please indicate in the space provided below:

The reasons for your current academic difficulties (attach ALL pertinent documentation).

I'm only on the first question and I have no idea what to say. The only reasons I can think of are things that would just make them kick me out.
like...

I am not really motivated to work hard in school, because I don't think the type of career a college degree earns me is what I want.

That's gonna make them let me right back in, I'm sure!

I feel like the only reason I am in college is because I've been raised for my whole life as though college is just the next step, when I now realize that it is only one of many paths I can take.

They just both sound like quitting.

Maybe I'll put them anyway.

It's just the truth.

Trash

2008-06-24T13:33:00.000-07:00

I had no idea. I almost want to learn Italian and go try to do something about it... but I have a feeling the mafia is pretty involved.

FOX News

2008-06-13T19:00:00.000-07:00

I found this to be very enlightening. That's not to say I'm surprised by it.
Reporters Blow Whistle on FOX

Aphakia

2008-06-13T15:55:00.001-07:00

How I love where the random sprawls of the internet take me. A particularly interesting find today. Aphakia. Even the spell-checker on here hasn't heard of it before. I present you with some links, if you like!
Wikipedia entry on Aphakia
Much more detailed article!
This makes me want to get my lenses removed.