BOYCOTT THE RIAA!!!

OK, Now they've crossed the Line! Read this: "Ripping is Stealing"

Boycott The RIAA

Stop The RIAA

Free Jammie

Once again, buy used CDs, buy indie, or buy directly from the artist. The RIAA is nothing more than a money leeching parasite!

And the Walls Came Tumbling Down II.

Indeed there are many things a person needs to survive in emergency situations, which has become evident upon making the list of all the supplies. But another thing that is quite important is to have several skills available in case such a situation could arise. Here's a list, of sorts, of the different skills and abilities that would come in handy.

Physical fitness. This one is rather important, because you never know when you may be required to take an extensive hike or swim*. Endurance is especially important. For instance: You get stranded in a forest that has a large population of bears. Bears will track food down for miles and if you think that one is following you be ready to take extensive measures to get out of the bear's way.

Self Defense Tactics. Knowing how to fight, how to defend, how to take a punch can be an important part to survival. "Lord of the Flies" is an interesting scenario that shows how crazy people can get. Of course there are several other stories that do it in a less bland fashion.

*Swim. It won't do much good to be physically fit in the water if you don't actually know how to swim.

Knot tying. There are several different types of knots that a person can learn. And each task could be best accomplished by knowing the specific knot that the task calls for.

Marksmanship. If you have a gun, you need to know how to shoot it. A shotgun, is for close range, a rifle for long range, a crossbow has more of an arch than a bullet. Practice shooting.

CPR, Heimlich Maneuver, General First Aid. This one is pretty obvious, and can always be handy. The first aid includes knowing how to suture a wound, stop bleeding and how to keep things sterile.

Edible? Don't eat it if you're not sure if it will kill you. Know what's most nutritious and what's poisonous. Eat very small portions and eat often. Also consume a lot of water, especially if you have to endure rigorous activity.

Hunting and fishing. Learn how to be stealthy, how to track animals down, know their habitats and of course your marksmanship will come in handy here as well. Fishing may be easier in some regards if you have the right tools. *Ahh more things to add to the supplies list*

Fire. You have to keep warm. If your body goes into a state of hypothermia you will die if you don't get warm. Fire is also great to signal your location, boil water, cook food, and well, I suppose we all know how useful fire is. It can also be dangerous of course so take care and know how to keep it under control.

Mending. Clothes don't last forever. So being able to patch them up would probably be very useful.

Morse Code. This may be more important than you think. HAMM Radio, light signals, and maybe even pecking on a wall to be stealthy could be an important form of communication. It is far down this list for a reason though, because if the other person doesn't know Morse Code then it's not really going to help much.

Play. If you can find the time, keep your mind busy. If you have company, laugh and try to enjoy yourself despite the circumstances. If you can't keep your sanity, then you will not last long.

Wii!!

Just a quick post to say that I've written a blog from my Wii!

What fun!

And the Walls Came Tumbling Down.

I've been watching Jericho and reading The Walking Dead. It's putting me into survival mode. I'm going to make a list of stuff I need in case of an emergency situation. Of course, Jericho hits a little closer to home than The Walking Dead. Now there are two situations that these supplies call for, a situation of anarchy where a whole town, state, or the country is in a state of emergency. A more plausible situation is where I am either lost in the woods or stranded because my car broke down. I will label each item accordingly (A for anarchy and S for Stranded)

Large Tank or Barrel for gas. (A)
A Generator. (A)
Two Way Radios (A)
Hand crank gas pump. (A)
Siphon hose. (A)
Shovel. (A)
Binoculars. (A)
Rope. (A/S)
Map. (A/S)
Compass. (A/S)
Cat litter. (Specifically for tire traction)
At least 20 Jugs of Water. (A)
A simple tool kit (hammer, flathead and phillips screw driver, crescent wrench, crowbar.)(A/S)
Hand crank flash light/radio. (A/S)
Flash Light. (A/S)
Batteries (all sizes). (A/S)
Candles. (A/S)
Glow Sticks (A/S)
HAM Radio. (A)
Lighter, Matches, and Flint. (A/S)
Canned Foods or MREs (meals ready to eat). (A)
Back Pack. (A/S)
A Whistle. (A/S)
Blankets. (A/S)
First Aid Kit. (A/S)
A Knife. (A/S)
A Pistol. (A)
A Rifle w/ Scope. (A)
A Shotgun. (A)
Crossbow? (A)
Axe. (A)
Lots of Ammo. (A)
Motorcycle or Four-Wheeler. (A)
Bicycle. (A)
Books. (A)

Now, realize, any gas powered machine is only reliable as long as there is a solid supply of gas. So that's why a Bicycle is a must. A single lit candle will supposedly keep you warm in a car if you get stranded because your car breaks down and you're stuck in rain or snow. Of course you should keep the vents closed so that the heat stays in.

Survive.

Congratulations.

Today I became occupied with something that allowed my mind to wander. And because such a situation came about, I thought back to a recent social gathering that I attended not too long ago. I overheard a man who is twice divorced, congratulate a newly engaged woman. Although he congratulated her, what I heard was more like "My Condolences." I sat in the floor thinking, as I toiled away at the task at hand, about how a congratulations for becoming engaged from someone who is twice divorced could be taken almost as an insult.

If I were the one being congratulated by that man, I would be under the impression that he isn't sincere. Not that he means to be insincere necessarily, but because of his experience with marriage, I would not feel that he means to congratulate most sincerely, as that man is very likely biased tremendously against marriage.

On the opposite side of this I would take a pastor's congratulations whole-heartedly. Let's assume of course that the pastor in question is indeed a just man with no secrets. This man has the authority to bring a man and a woman together in holy matrimony. So to be congratulated for it from a pastor would leave me less skeptical of the possibility that the man has biased thoughts behind his eyes and in congratulating me he would also vicariously be giving me his blessings.

Now that I've gone through this social scenario, I have come to the conclusion that this is not the most just of thinking. For in thinking this way I have faltered in that I have judged the person who gave the congratulations. Perhaps it's not so important a thing who is giving the congratulations, but just that they are giving the congratulations. But in my human nature it is hard not to have such thoughts regarding the sincerity of someone who is giving their congratulations.

My Sentiments Exactly.

I'm a Christian. And to read this just makes me feel good to know that there are other people out there with the same thoughts. I wonder how I'll deal with these issues when I have a child.

A Commentary on the Holidays

A word of caution.

Don't make yourself dizzy in the shower. For your health.

Store Brand Goods.

Many of the store brand goods are actually name brand products that have simply been relabeled. So if you feel like you need name brand products just to look like you're not a cheap person, then you're probably poorer than those who enjoy the same products as you at a cheaper price.

The Wiki

My Taste in Music.

My music tastes vary widely but there are really two that I focus on. Rock and Alternative both Mainstream and Indie. Bare in mind that I do boycott the RIAA so when I buy music I make sure none of my money goes to them, either buying used or directly from the artists.

Here is the moral dilemma I deal with. I've listened to several types of rock music. Some I just stay away from altogether. I don't agree in the least with most of rock music's messages. I don't do drugs, sex isn't a main focal point of my life, and well, I do like to rock.

Blasphemy is something I stay away from as much as possible. It bothers me. Now, I'm not the most holy of people. I don't like the fact that I have to say that statement and I do work toward being a morally just person. The problem with all of this is that I love the sound of rock music. I love the energy.

I don't even mind if I can't hear the lyrics from all the screaming and growling going on. To me screaming in itself can be a talent. Could you go out on stage and do that every night? I wouldn't want to as I would bet that it would eventually mess up your vocal chords as evidenced by the lead singer of Avenged Sevenfold.

On the opposite side of this, there's Country Music. A vial grotesque super mainstream type of music. The kind where the music writers are the real ones making money. Did you know Garth Brooks doesn't write his own music? I challenge you to find someone who does write their own music in country music. To say that someone doesn't would probably be inaccurate but it would be interesting to find out who does. I don't like most country. I enjoy Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash. Some of the older stuff is good at times, because it seems more honest and less tailored to line the big wigs pockets with platinum.

But there's one positive to country. The stories. Those who actually do the writing of these songs do a good job of it. Interesting, dramatic and often touching stories. After all, it is country. The emo for hillbillies. I can relate to some country as well. I am a man of the mountains. But far from a Redneck. I would consider that word to be a racial epithet against me.

I have found a couple of bands that kind of touch on both sides of this hunger for stories and rock music. Death Cab for Cutie and The Weakerthans. Very good bands, but I suppose I crave more. So, who do I turn to? What bands do you suggest? I like rock, alt folk, alt pop, not a huge fan of rap though. Similar bands are The Postal Service, Cloud Cult, and Bishop Allen.

Pyramid scheme.

I know this is old news but dangit, it's not very good design. The least they could do is label them instead of leaving it solely to color representation. I hope they at least modify the new pyramid. Heck.. give me a week on it. They would be amazed!





I mean, even though the old pyramid is unsightly at least it serves its purpose.

Local Lore 1.

My first home had a red dog driveway. Most people may not know what red dog is and I intend to straighten that out. I live in an area of southwest Virginia where the big money is in coal. It makes for quite a quandary to think about. The fact that I speak so much of the energy "crisis" and talk of ways to save energy when the truth of the matter is, if we were to quit using coal altogether as a means of energy production it would devastate much of my family.

The process of separating coal from rock was less meticulous in the early days of coal mining. Slate makes the bulk of the rock that was separated from the coal. Even though most of the coal was sifted away a bit of it would end up in the slate pile anyway, far less of it ends up in slate piles today. Coal is made of decaying leaves, dead animals, and rotted trees all covered up over time and with the great deal of pressure among the layers of the earth, the decaying things turn into black rock.

These piles would stay in one place for quite some time. With such a mixture of slate and coal in the early days of coal mining the energy from the continual decaying process of the coal would build up heat and turn the inner part of the pile into a red hot cinder of coal and slate. Once these piles were moved the heated slate inside having been cooled was found to be red. Quite the shock, I'm sure, for the first guy that moved a slate pile. This red rock is called red dog.

According to my Dad, back in the 1960s a young fellow must have had some mischief in him. He was hanging around at a strip mine, probably even though he shouldn't have been, perhaps drunk, and decided to bed down on a slate pile. Perhaps the warmth that emitted from the pile outweighed the fact that it was a bed made of rock, and large ones at that.

So this guy decided to make a slate pile his temporary sleeping quarters. The next day the same man was found on the slate pile dead. Even though it was probably warm to sleep on the pile, the man must not have considered the fact that inhaling the gases that came from the pile would eventually suffocate him.

Investing in music.

This is kind of interesting.

Wired Articled

Slice The Pie: Music Investments

To sum up the article you can write reviews for albums and get paid, and paid more if you are in line with popular views.

You can also invest in bands like the stock market. And you will be paid $2 per 10,000 albums sold per stock you invest in.

You can also listen to a lot of free streaming music.

Man Power.

I've been thinking about how ridiculous our pursuit of improving our lives is and in doing so we have simply thought up ways to both consume more energy than ever before and have also really just made our lives more complex. Think about this, we now have electric can openers, electric pencil sharpeners, and electric tooth brushes. All these thing can be done with our hands just as easily and I'm sure there are many other examples.

In addition to objects such as these consuming more energy than necessary, portable communications devices are also making it more and more difficult to turn off and get away from the job. People are actually dying from being overworked now too. Kiroshi is what they call it in Japan. So does technology and electronics really improve the quality of life?

Can anyone think of more examples of electronics that really don't improve our lives any?

Gift Giving.

Giving the right gifts can be very difficult. It is easy to be given a list and then proceed to get for the person exactly what they want. But I can see a problem in that. Yes it's the easy way and makes for an enjoyable experience for the receiver, but to truly show the person that you love them and know them well is to get them something that they would really like, even though they don't necessarily know that they wanted it.

This shows that person that you are very close to them and understand who they are. It's easy to fall away from that though. Especially if you are not close to that person. It's easier to get them something that you like and think that they will also like it. But that is rarely the case. The gesture of giving someone a gift is something special. But to get them something that they like without them asking for it is the ultimate.

A friend of mine got carving knives for Christmas from his Dad. He didn't ask for them at all. But once he got the gift he realized just how good a gift like that is. It's a timeless gift, one that he may not use immediately but later on could find useful, like when he has kids or even grandkids of his own. He can then use those carving knives to carve his family some timeless gifts of their own. This to me is a perfect example.

I guess what I am saying is that those who give gifts even though receiver may not like the gift just for the gesture can be a bad thing. Giving a bad gift for the gesture can show just how out of touch the giver is with receiver of the gift or likewise. But at least it's nice of them to give something.

So, if you're going the list route, think about getting that person something independent of the list as a way to show them that you are connected to them in a special way.

Tin Man.

Thank God it's not a musical!

I think this is cool.

Mummified Dinosaur

Imagine being able to hold a dinosaur scale in your hand. You'll be hearing a lot more about this because they've made a documentary and have written 2 books about it. To sum up, apparently this dinosaur actually fossilized/mummified faster than it could decompose.

So since that be the case they are able to deal with and study flesh, muscle, scales, and bones instead of just bones. It's so pristine that they can see how the dinosaur was colored, not so much specific colors but they can tell what kind of pattern it had because there are lines on the skin.

Read the article if you want more details. It'd be cool to be 16 years old and find one of the biggest dinosaur finds in history too.

Change.

Starting January 1st, I am going to document all the change I find in 2008. I'll do my best to not actively seek out change by walking up to drive-thrus, coursing through parking lots, and fingering every change return slot. I am quite curious to know how much it's going to amount to however. I may not even crack a dollar unless I get lucky and find several quarters, or bills on the ground.

My prediction is $2.26. Tell me your predictions too. I'd almost like to get a $5 pool going and whoever guesses the closest to total change found would win the pool. I'd probably lose a lot more than I found, but it would make it more interesting. To add to the stipulations, it has to be money found out in public. In the couch, in the car or at someone else's house doesn't count.