Monday, December 31, 2007

The Iowa Caucus is in three days, and being next door in Omaha, I get to hear the lovely commercials put out by the Democrats.

One such commercial is from the NFA (I believe that is the National Farmers Alliance, a radical 'no corporate farm' group). Every one of their ads touts the John Edwards Reform 'Plan', aka no lobbyist money for politicians, especially those representing corporate farms. Boo hoo hoo. They claim this ad is not supporting any one candidate, but once I figure out what the procedure is, that logic is going to get challenged.

Anyways, the main ad running these days talks about how family farmers are being shut down, and the corporations are getting big profits and how that hurts the middle class...

...except they neglect to state the next step in the process, and what happens when John Edward's plan gets implemented:

1) Corporation-ran farms make a profit
2) Shareholders of corporation-run farms are given the profit that is not rolled back into the business
3) The majority shareholders of these corporation farms are pension funds.
4) Thus, if you cut back, or try and eliminate the profit from the corporate-run farms, you directly hurt those pension funds invested in the system.
5) When a non-SSN individual goes to retire, they expect a pension fund to be there for their retirement. But, if it is bankrupt because a profit could not be made by the corporation-run farm and thus no dividends increasing the fund, you have no retirement income and become destitute.

So, do you help a handful of farmers who do not use techniques to increase their yields or are too stubborn to be purchased by a larger conglomerate, where most are allowed to continue to work their field at a set wage with that pension as a result in most cases. Or, do you threaten the pension plans of numerous other companies and LABOR UNIONS in the process of kissing up to the complaining farmers?

This is the PRIME reason John Edwards should never become president.

Friday, December 28, 2007

Single-issue candidates should never be elected to political office. That has always been my motto, even though I have supported candidates verbally in the past who are single issue.

In this campaign, we have not one or two, but five that I can see running. Two, Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich, are running solely on withdrawal from Iraq. The reason I call these two single issue is it dominates everything they do, and when you look at their positions on other issues, you know you cannot elect either to the presidency. Ron Paul would not have voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and thinks the emancipation of slaves by Lincoln during the civil war was illegal. Kucinich wants a communist state, and sees ufos in his spare time.

Three others also are single issue, but have yet to go through the scrutiny of their beliefs like Paul and Kucinich. One, Tom Tancredo, has withdrawn from the race. He was running solely on the immigration issue. Though immigration was important, Tancredo could have shown his conservative credentials better if he got off the subject every once in a while.

The last two single-issue candidates are both Republicans: Mike Huckabee and Rudy Guiliani. Sorry supporters of both, but Huckabee's only credentials is his opposition to abortion. Otherwise, his views on other subjects mirror Hillary Clinton. How can Republicans focus just solely on abortion and hope to win, when the president has little to no influence on the reversal of Roe v Wade?

Guliani is running as the mirror opposite of Paul and Kucinich, in that he's running on his record concerning 9/11. But when you start looking at his other positions, those not being broadcast to the voters, he's not that much better than the Democrats.

Thus, I'm down to Fred Thompson, Mitt Romney, and Duncan Hunter. I wish Duncan had the cash flow Huckabee received just by being endorsed by Chuck Norris. This race would be good then, as I think Duncan is one of the best candidates issue-wise. Instead, we conservatives have Fred Thompson, who is portrayed by the media as 'Sleepy' from the 7 dwarves, and Romney, who since he is Mormon has to fight against bigotry by those supporting Huckabee and has some shakey credentials himself since he's a 'born again' conservative (using the religious analogy).

Honestly, though, I'll take a neo-con Romney over 'sleepy' Fred at the moment, but that may change. Fred's statement on Pakistan was right on, but Romney's wasn't bad either.

Please, though, folks...stop with the Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee bandwagons. Neither would make a good president. Look deeper than their one issue and use logic, not emotion, to decide who to vote for.

The country depends on it.

Definition of a football fan: Someone who, since their team sucked so bad, will go to a bar on a cold Thursday afternoon and watch the 'Bowl Game that Never Happened' simulated on a Playstation 3 console.

150+ people showed up at DJ Dugout here in Omaha yesterday to do just that. I was one of them, but I go to the remotes for ESPN 1620 The Zone radio all the time, so I can be excused. It was just nuts, however, for people to be cheering in a standing room only bar for a video game.

All I can do is echo Damon Benning (former Nebraska running back) - Nebraska fans are borderline nuts.

(Btw, Nebraska beat Notre Dame 34-31 on a fourth quarter comeback and field goal in the last minute. Don't think ND did that well...they got 21 pts off turnovers/kickoff returns)

Thursday, December 27, 2007

I hope the American people pay attention to the events happening in Pakistan today.

Here was a very smart, strong willed, crusader for democracy who was gunned down by Islamic terrorists.

America, Al Quaeda and the rest of the Islamic fundamentalist world will not 'negotiate', do not want 'democracy', and will kill to prevent either from occurring.

Wake up and smell the coffee. Bhutto is dead, and we're all next. Get your heads out of your rears and understand this, and have the moral fortitude to do what it takes to get rid of these fanatical cultists forever.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

I am really getting sick and tired of the religion-bashing taking place in the presidential race.

Mike Huckabee attacked Mitt Romney on being a Mormon, the media attacks Huckabee on being a Baptist minister, Hillary attacks Obama through her surrogate army on his ties to muslims, etc. The atheists attack all three candidates on having a religion, period.

The worst of the bunch is the last, however. I will always maintain that the lack of belief in God is just as much a religion as belief in God. The First Amendment of the Constitution states the government cannot impose a religion on the people. In other words, they cannot force atheism on us, either!

It is just frustrating to see this country spiraling into the same mistakes that destroyed the Roman Empire. You would think the so-called 'intellectuals' on the left would see this, but they are blind to their own destruction. No wonder the extremist Muslim position is gaining strength as people rebel against the atheists who have seized power in the country.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

The National Review endorsed Mitt Romney today for the Republican primary.

After reading that endorsement, as well as the transcript of the Hugh Hewitt interview concerning it, I think may give Mitt the push he needs to go forward.

I've been waffling a bit on my own pick, seeing what was going to come out. Yet, I've been on the Mitt mailing list from the start. I did not know why at the time, but Mitt seems to pass most of my litmus test I mentioned a few days ago in this blog. It is definitely turning out Mike Huckabee is not fitting the test, with all the incidents concerning immigration and furloughs that are coming to light.

A small minority may attack Romney on his religion, but I will tell you one thing. I have relatives that are Mormons, as well as friends that are Mormons. They are about the nicest, most likable, people that you will ever meet. They are generous to a fault. I have absolutely no problem with voting for a Mormon.

Thursday, December 06, 2007

As many of you have heard, a 19 year old with severe mental issues went on a sniping binge in the largest shopping mall here in Omaha yesterday. He killed 9 people and wounded 5 others using a modified SKS rifle.

Here is what I posted on Free Republic in response to a thread on the matter:

It was obvious this kid (and even if he was 19, he was still a kid in my eyes as he had never grown up emotionally) had planned this for a while. He timed this with the President’s visit, knowing most law enforcement would be away from the store. He had previously scouted the store, as he knew right where to go to have the best vantage point for ‘sniping’ of all the malls in Omaha (Van Maur has a big open area, with a nice railing around the third floor where one can brace a gun...no other store has as good of view in any of the malls in town)

All the warning signs were there of the kid about to go off, like the original poster stated. This is a tragedy that could have been stopped by those who knew the kid.

And, of course, CNN immediately trots out things like ‘mall security’, and ‘are you safe in a mall’ instead of looking at the real cause of the problem: clueless idiots not paying attention to signs right in front of them.

To the poster that said an SKS is not an assault rifle: sorry, yes it is. It may be only single shot, but it is a variant of a fully automatic gun. Though it might be used by some for hunting, it is not what this area calls a hunting rifle by any means. This SKS, according to witnesses, was also firing 3 round bursts. This means it was modified back to its assault rifle roots.

I am very much a supporter of the 2nd Amendment, but the weapon the kid was carrying is exactly the weapon banned by the assault weapon law. That brings up the question on how someone mentally instable like he was could get a hold of one of these weapons. Rumor was he stole it from his step father. But this also means none of those assault weapon provisions in law would have prevented this, thus proving how useless they are. A psychopath can get a hold of one of these weapons, yet law abiding citizens cannot defend themselves and thus end up becoming victims. One person with a pistol to defend themselves could have prevented 8 other deaths, but you won’t hear that on the liberal media.

Now, a little clarification: 'Robbie' the shooter had more than enough signs pointing at a kid that was a ticking time bomb. He lost his girlfriend, his job, etc. all within the last two weeks. He was to be in court next week for a misdemeanor charge against him. He had a fascination with guns, killing, and threatening people. His step father owned the SKS, and 'Robbie' not only knew about the gun, but how to break in to take it. He showed the gun off to the stupid woman he was living with the night before, for God's sake!

The feigning of surprise by the lady and her son, who was 'Robbie's friend is a bunch of baloney. Unfortunately, the kid did this just after the President had left Omaha, thus all the national media was still in town. CNN is having an absolute field day on this, filled with half-truths in order to promote their agenda. Thank god for our local folks as they have a clue on how to report for the most part.

Yesterday was a tragedy. Let's not make it even worse by misinterpreting what really happened to fit a political agenda.

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Is it too much to ask for to have a real conservative actually in the race for president, that could poll more than 2%?

This is the most frustrating election ever as there are no candidates until you get to Duncan Hunter that would get my vote at any other time.

Here's all I am asking for:

1) A Candidate that will protect innocent lives. By this, I mean both protect society from murderers and protect children from abortionists, as well as sex offenders.

2) A Candidate that understands we cannot have people with no medical history, and no way to determine whether they violate #1 above, running over our borders without restriction.

3) A Candidate that realizes protecting our citizens does not need to go to the extremes of the supercomputer in I, Robot, who basically wanted to imprison everyone in order to better 'protect' them from themselves. This includes forcing things like government-run 'programs' to 'help' people, thus making them slaves to the system.

4) A Candidate that believes interfering with life in the home, and in private, is only applicable in a situation where lives are being put into direct danger, not indirect danger via second hand smoke and other trivial actions

5) A Candidate that realizes we are the enforcers of political and personal liberty in the world, and thus we must act against those who oppress their people. Totalitarianism cannot be defined by the words 'left' and 'right', there is either freedom or oppression no matter the basis of the supposed political beliefs.

Five key traits I want in the president. Rudy violates #1, Huckabee violates #2, many candidates violate #3 and #4, Ron Paul violates #5. The only candidate that fits all of these is poor Duncan Hunter, who is being ignored by everyone because he doesn't have a strong personality and can't get the fundraising to offset that disadvantage.

On the Democratic side, I've yet to find a candidate that even adheres to 1 of those traits I've listed.

Thus, when it comes to the general election, I'll vote for the person who matches the most of those five traits I've listed - therefore holding my nose to do it. But, I would much rather have someone that agrees with a few of my positions than none at all. Some would argue I should not vote then, but I cannot let a person who believes in none of the five have a free ride.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Thanksgiving is over, and it is now time for the silly season. Silly season is that time between Thanksgiving and until it is decided who is going to run against one another for the presidency.

In all of my years of following politics, never have I so wanted a 'None of the Above' check box on my ballot. All of these idiots running are so not worthy of my vote. Maybe something will change, but I cannot get on any bandwagon yet.

The one bandwagon I can get on is the 'ESPN needs sense knocked into them' bandwagon. ESPN, now filled with young, 'hip', east and west coast reporters have lost all perspective on sports in general, let alone football specifically. Once again, the football nation is now flyover country to the country club crowd populating major media, and ESPN is not immune to this despite having people from midwest schools.

The latest was just today, where the substitute host for Greeny was bashing the Nebraska coaching position that's open, then had Lou Holtz bring up the Frank Solich firing once again.

Now, if ESPN reporters were real reporters and looked at the real story, they would find the following:

1) Frank Solich had a 7-7 season the previous year, and many Nebraska boosters were seeing his offense wallow in frustration that year.
2) Stevie 'The Vision' Pederson, the new athletic director, had to give Frank one more year as Frank was still Tom Osborne's buddy and Tom still had more clout politically than Stevie at the time. Stevie forced Frank to change his coordinators, however (something that was brought up by Tom in the Bill Calahan firing press conference, and thus still a sore spot for Tom)
3) If Frank had won the national championship, Stevie was still going to fire him.

The dynamic here is 'The Vision'. The infamous mediocrity line by 'The Vision' is now burned into the minds of the people of Nebraska. The firing of Frank was between 'The Vision' and the boosters vs the 'old guard' that Frank embodied.

Turn the chapter 4 years later. Tom's back, Stevie 'The Vision' is out. The coach Stevie hired turned out to be a bust, there is no way else to put it. The last man to officially coach the Huskers is the front runner for the job, Bo Pelini, who was one of those replacement coordinators mentioned above.

But, if you are a football man and not some country clubber, Nebraska can be (and I state CAN) one of the best jobs in the nation.

1) Nebraska fans are the most loyal in the nation. Think about it: who else in the country could sell out the entire stadium even when we get bombed 73-39 the week before by a team we used to crush on a constant basis?

2) Nebraska actually has fewer of the 'rabid' fans than most colleges, and the 'rabid' fans are far more bark than bite. We've never rioted on campus because our team lost. We give standing ovations to opponents, even if beaten. Sure, we have our hotheads, but there are far fewer than most colleges.

3) Football is important to Nebraskans because it is the one sport we support. We support events, like concerts, the College World Series, etc. but for a fandom, Nebraska football is it. We don't have pro teams, and the minor league pro teams we do have we don't have ties to. However, natives of Nebraska usually have some relative that has gone to UNL at some point. It is the only fully Division I school we have. Other states have at least two: a XXX and XXX State (Kansas, Kansas State, etc.) that divides loyalties.

So, if a coach wants to be treated like royalty, and loves the game of football, Nebraska has to be one of the top jobs in the country. If, however, you are only looking for cash, it isn't. If you mind living with people looking over your shoulder, watching your every move, it isn't. They won't say anything, but the eyes are still there and I know that makes a lot of coaches nervous.

Yet, when our biggest scandal in our school's history is because a star player from California beats up his girlfriend, which does not even get on the police blotter in most college towns, that's saying something.

Nebraska is a top football job, period. But, that does mean there are standards to be met and if you can't handle those standards, you are not worthy.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

The amount of blogs out there giving advice to bloggers is amazing. All these so-called 'experts' giving all this advice.

Let me tell you something of a small secret: I've been online since before what is now the Internet took off. I started on BitNet, which was the university kludge system that attempted to mimic what the military had. My cousin was on the committee that decided to privatize NSFnet, the basis of today's internet (btw, James J Exon had far, far more to do with creating the internet than Mr Enviromentalism who only put his signature on the bill as a cosponsor).

So, what's the point of the 'establishing credentials' schtick? Simple: I've been around for a darn long time and here is my advice to bloggers: ignore advice.

The sites I administer for work are rated something like 2 million + in Alexa. But, when you are looking for information on the City of Omaha, we have the official page. When you are looking for the Douglas County Sheriff's office, we have the official page.

Page ranking and all that jazz may soothe your ego, but if you provide real information, you will be found.

Now, if you may notice not very many people probably come here, because I don't advertise like a mad fiend like most bloggers. Frankly, I don't care. I'm doing this more to vent and if people find this site, great. That's one reason why I don't have comments enabled. It's similar to why Rush Limbaugh hardly ever has a guest interview on the radio: his show, and thus like my blog, is about the person who is hosting. I know this may seem a bit selfish, but why taint my page with views I may or may not agree with? I just can't see it. It also opens up to flamewars, something I am really, really sick of in my life.

So, I suggest bloggers stop attempting to have their rears kissed by the adoring public and just do what comes naturally - writing, pontificating, etc.

As I sit here, I'm reading a number of articles on 'Intelligent Design'. This is one of those fustrating issues where people on both sides are arguing semantics instead of pointing out what something really is.

1) Sorry those on the right, Intelligent Design is NOT a scientific theory.
2) Sorry those on the left, Intelligent Design is a way for those with religious beliefs can reconcile them with scientific discoveries. It is, by nature, anti-atheist and will remain that way because...
3) Atheists cannot dispute the theory, no matter how hard they try and ridicule it.

Yes, I have always believed in what is now called Intelligent Design since 1st grade when I first started hearing about the Theory of Evolution in science class. It wasn't even a 'doctrine' yet, but it has always been what I've believed. There is absolutely no place where there are infinite monkeys on infinite typewriters typing Shakespeare. That's the kind of hokey randomness the atheists want us to believe. I'm sorry, but the universe has way too many 'laws' that cannot have been created randomly at the spur of the moment.

But a number of advocates of Intelligent Design want it taught in school. Uh, sorry, but Intelligent Design is something that honestly needs to be taught in church, not school. Not that I agree with what is currently taught in school, because I have also believed from the start that atheism, though it claims to be the absence of religion, is a religion itself because of that. Because you cannot prove one way or another that it is right. Just like any religion cannot be proven it is technically right until you die and you discover which religion is correct...but since you're dead, you can't really come back and tell us which religion is correct barring phony parlor tricks (which, since phony, won't tell you anything anyways).

So the resolution to this entire thing is for both sides to back off. Back off pushing Intelligent Design as something to be taught in schools, and back off attacking Intelligent Design with insults like the 'Flying Spaghetti Monster'. Teach Intelligent Design in Bible study class in church, and the decline of religion amongst youth may get reversed. But if both sides continue down the same path, then nothing is going to get accomplished.

Until you die, then you will find out the truth.

Oh, and atheists: if you are going to support the Muslim extremists, you may want to reconsider your vocal comments about 'Flying Spaghetti Monsters'. You see, that's an insult to Islam as well as Christianity, if not moreso. To the extremists, that's a death sentence which only serves for you to find out more quickly the truth than you probably want to know.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

I listen to the Mike and Mike show on ESPN radio in the morning while getting up and heading to work. Today, Mike Golic, the ex-Philadelphia Eagle was trying to explain how side bets/bounties work in the locker room and why they are not bad things.

He failed miserably on part two.

This all comes about as the NFL is investigating the Green Bay Packers on side bounties made before the Minnesota Viking game, basically promising money if the Packers defense held Adrian Pedersen under 100 yards rushing. Pedersen, of course, got injured during the game.

Now, I think what Golic was trying to justify is a bounty like the one above: hold someone under x amount of yards, intercept the football x times, etc. get some pocket cash for dinner that night. I don't really see an issue with a bounty like that. In fact, in the card game of Legend of the Five Rings has national bounties for like 'highest ranked Dragon player, I'll give X'.

However, a bounty like 'take Pedersen out', I have issues with. Because of his rambling, I don't know if Golic feels the same about paying to deliberately hurt someone. He implied that the infamous 'bounty game' between the Eagles and Cowboys was 'okay'. That game featured one of those 'cause injury' bounties I have a problem with (in this case, it was a bounty on the kicker who had switched teams in the offseason).

This sort of bounty needs to be, at minimum, discouraged. At most, whomever made the bounty needs to be charged in criminal court for assault.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Have you ever had a moment where you just have to do a double-take and go 'what'?

I just had one after seeing the headline: Clinton Sharpens Attack On Obama's Experience

Okay, Hilary. I don't like you, and would vote for any except Kucinich in the Democratic pileup before you, but this is a losing strategy. A one and a half term Senator telling Obama he doesn't have the experience. Meanwhile, sitting in the race is Senator Joe Biden. Biden, like McCain on the Republican side, holds the true experience card.

If Biden had the brains, he should strike with that card and pummel both Obama and Clinton with it, and pummel them hard. Of course, he won't because he's just a shill in the race to help Clinton win instead of a legitimate candidate in my opinion.

Monday, November 19, 2007

A friend of mine has written a module for the Heroes of Rokugan campaign, and we're trying to arrange when my usual gaming group can play it. I'm really proud of him, and that makes at least six friends I can name off the top of my head that have published in the gaming world one way or another.

I, personally, have more than one thing that I was paid for and despite the fiasco involved in the first couple of things (see my webpage for the full story on that), I still have the writing bug. I've been writing numerous things already for my Heroes of Rokugan character and John (the author above) has mentioned trying to do a module together.

Now, before you ask: I'm almost 40, and yes, I've been a role playing gamer for more years than many gamers have been on the Earth. It has not been easy dealing with people whose political leanings I agree with for the most part attacking gaming. The problem is ignorance breeds fear, when it is not justified. It is an all together different thing when you are not ignorant and still have a fear of something.

But one thing I fear is collaborating on any more writing projects, due to my past experiences. It doesn't help that I can get too detail oriented and nitpicky for my own good. For example, it isn't enough that I create a game world for a campaign, but I have to go all the way to having the statistics for the clerics of the religions. I'm also, obvious by reading this blog, very politically minded, however my gaming group is not.

I'm still probably going to take John up on his offer. I really like the game setting and the politics involved in the campaign, so I think I have something to contribute to it.

It is rare for me to have pain a number of days in a row. Wednesday, of course, I had a kidney stone. That's real pain. However, over the weekend I've had pain in my neck that continues until today.

It's enough pain that even a fairly powerful pain killer cannot get rid of it completely. So, tomorrow...off to the doctor I go. Third time in six days I get to fork over examination fees.

My other pain is psychological. I really hate being a spendthrift, but some stretches it happens to me. The past two weeks have been one of those sprees, and I know it will catch up with me soon enough. Luckily, I am not one of those foolish people that must go out the day after Thanksgiving and spend my heart out. Of course, I'm doing it a week early, but I guess I will survive. Well, I will if this pain goes away.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

You know, I think there is a lot of confusion out there on terms and terminology.

I think a lot of 'liberal' bloggers out there really are 'libertarians', but have been taught incorrectly as to what they really are.

The problem is with the word 'liberal'. That term no longer has the classical definition. For that, I actually blame the neo-conservatives. This confusion has people not understanding what they really believe in.

'Conservative' is also now defined differently than it used to be as well, again adding to the confusion.

I'll give a couple of examples of this:

1) A 'liberal' is for more government control, whereas a 'conservative' is for less government control, especially in the way of economics. Now, this is almost exactly the opposite of what the textbook definitions say. A textbook 'liberal' wants liberty, and as much freedom to do what they want. Meanwhile, a 'conservative' wants status quo, at minimum, and to hold back the reigns of liberty to impose order.

Under textbook definition, I'm a liberal. Yet, I'm labeled a 'right wing' or 'conservative', thus I fall into using those terms myself.

2) Many who call themselves 'anarchists' on the left support government-enforced equality, and thus are called 'liberal'. Again, anarchy is freedom to do what you want, without any government control. Wouldn't you think that would then be closer to 'capitalism', which is by textbook the freedom of companies and individuals to work within the economy how they want? Should they not, then, be the biggest BACKERS of Wal-Mart and Microsoft, instead of the biggest detractors?

It also confuses the fact when the two parties at the beginning of the United States were the Whigs (conservatives by textbook) and the Democratic-Republicans (liberals by textbook). By World War I, the Whigs were gone and replaced by the Republicans, and the Democrats had merged with the 'Populists', thus their philosophies switched on economic but not social issues. This has muddied the waters so bad, it has confused just about everyone.

Now, to muddy it even further: the National SOCIALIST German Workers Party is labeled at the 'far right' by those today calling themselves 'liberal'. But, they were socialists...it's right in their name. Plus, they were formed by a labor union. This is textbook 'conservative', but it is not modern 'conservative'...it's modern 'liberal'!

Thus, I think all the tags out there need to be revised. Stop with the Orwellian double talk, and get things straightened back to their original, textbook, terms and I think a lot of people will reconsider just exactly what they really are.

That might just be the way to get this country, and the world, straightened around.

Friday, November 16, 2007

I had to sign up for three different conventions today, so needless to say I have a couple of comments.

First, I love http://www.travelocity.com a lot. I booked a couple conventions years ago through them. In the last couple of years, I've booked a trip around the Western US (with my dad), our trip to Hawaii for Pearl Harbor last year, and two of the three conventions I'm going to starting in January. With the exception of the one year where I screwed up the dates (my fault, not theirs), I've been extremely pleased with them.

Second, I really wish American Airlines went to more places, cheaply. Instead, on trip #2, I jump airlines between American, United, and Continental. After my last trip to Europe, Continental is not my favorite airline at all. The seats were very uncomfortable, so I hope this trip won't be as bad as it is shorter.

Third, the lower the flight time, the better these days. I've done three 11+ hour trips in a 'row' now, and I just want to get on and off the plane.

And if I get subjected to 'Georgia Rule' as a flight movie again, I'll scream. (Both the Hawaii and the last Europe trip had that movie.) Lindsey Lohan and Jane Fonda. *massive cringe*

So, now you ask, what conventions am I going to?

Weekend in Rokugan, JBossWorld, and GenCon. Yup, I'm going back to gaming conventions for the first time since my mom passed away. Plus, work is going to eventually pay for the JBossWorld convention.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Just some random thoughts for today:

1) Watch how the media comes out to attack Barry Bonds for the grand jury charge of perjury...then compare it to the media's response when the perjurer was named Bill Clinton.

2) Look, I am as mad as anyone for the poor performance of the Nebraska Cornhusker defense, but expressing those feelings with death threats makes us look like Miami Hurricane fans. I hope whomever called Coach Cosgrove with those threats is locked up and the key thrown away.

3) If Hilary is the "smartest woman in the world", how come she is doing blatantly stupid things in this campaign? She's doing a wonderful job of attempting to flub her once almost-guaranteed nomination.

4) I may have to eat crow on my Huckabee comment. It looks like Thompson doesn't know how to shift out of first gear so their places might get reversed. It also doesn't hurt Huckabee to be endorsed by internet icon Chuck Norris.

5) More MMOs need to go to Hellgate: London or Guild Wars schemes. ie, play for free but if you want better goodies, fork the dough per month. On that note, NCSoft really needs to come up with something similar to SOE's Station Pass system.

6) Two thirds of my costume for Weekend in Rokugan has arrived. The last piece, though, concerns me as it is coming from China. Who knows what toxic chemicals are involved in its manufacture?

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

You know, when you walk on wet gravel with tennis shoes, how you get those small rocks in the grooves?

The pain you receive when something that darn small moves between your kidney and your bladder is very much out of proportion to the size.

At 2 am this morning, that's what started happening with me. I've never felt that kind of pain before, and finally at 4:30 am I called my dad to take me to the emergency room.

I was back home by 7:30 am, due to modern medicine (read: morphine), after a CAT scan confirmed the little intruder making its way out. At about 8:45 am, the agony was over as it finally came out.

What's sad is I think this has happened before, and I thought it was bursitis (which I get in my neck and shoulder when it gets around 40 degrees...which is has been the past couple of days).

Yeesh!

I must say I'm shocked.

You would think Ron Paul, with his libertarian views, would not be supported by various Nazi groups in the country.

However, not only is he, but some of his key fundraisers have ties to Neo-Nazi groups.

Now, if you have ever read my previous rants from last year, or even further back, you know I am vehimently against Nazism in any form. I also take great offense whenever conservatives are compared to Nazis, as they have zero in common when you actually go in and look at the facts.

I've stated many times, using comparisons, how the Democratic platform has far more in common with Adolf Hitler than John F Kennedy.

But it seems those Neo-Nazis that supported Pat Buchanon as a dark horse candidate have chosen Ron Paul as their standard bearer this go around.

So, Ron Paul supporters...go to www.townhall.com and read Michael Medvid's open letter to Ron Paul on this situation. Then, please give a reasonable explaination on why Ron Paul is courting one of the worst evil movements the world has ever seen.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Well, I did discover someone is reading my posts :-)

And this is why you never put a counter on your page. If you want to keep track of who comes to your site, set up Google Analytics.

Seriously, though, they asked why I am down on Mike Huckabee, as he's polling so well in Iowa.

Well, as much as I think Mike is a good man, I believe he is this campaign's beneficiary of the 'Iowa No-Name Bump'.

Let me explain. It seems every campaign season that comes around to Iowa, someone come out that is really surprising. That person, then, proceeds to flounder by South Carolina's primary and is out of the race. I'm afraid since the one-issue candidates are falling a bit faster this time, Governor Huckabee is going to be this years 'if only...'. Phil Gramm is an example of this kind of candidate, as he looked a lot stronger in Iowa than he really was and withdrew only a couple of more primaries into the campaign.

I do admit sometimes this works in reverse in Iowa. Someone who should have done well comes in, say...third. This kills that candidate as well. If you want an example of this, just ask Howard Dean.

Iowa can give a bump as well. John Kerry and John Edwards capitalized on the Dean fall. But, since we're into our third year of campaigning for the Presidency, I don't think we're going to get a surprise from Iowa. Nationally, Huckabee is coming in fourth (despite what Ron Paul supporters say), but with the "accelerated" (as much as you can call this campaign that considering they started the day after the Iraq invasion) primary season, the two nominees are going to be set by the end of February. That's not going to be enough time to generate the cash to get people motivated.

By the way, don't worry about the Republican cash flow not coming in. The majority of the party is sitting in a wait-and-see mode. We don't have a definitive candidate yet, though Pat Robertson endorsing Rudy Guiliani has started up the anti-Guiliani stories early from the supposed unbiased media. Its the general election that matters, and many money men from the Republican side are waiting until then to make their move.

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Some governments in the world need a swift kick in the ass. That kick administered by the United States Armed Forces.

1) Burma aka 'Myanmar' - This incident was the number one news story while I was on my trip to Europe. And what happened with the UN envoy that was sent there? Nothing. Just like I expected. The monks in Burma died for absolutely nothing. No gains, no negotiations with the military junta, nothing. I really feel sorry for the protestors out in various capitals, begging for the United Nations to do something, because they got nothing like I expected. Burma just emphasizes why the United Nations is a joke.

2) Venezuela - Chavez wants to create his own personal fiefdom in South America, and his has all the communist Hollywood crowd just cooing over him. This man is the next Pol Pot, and once again, the liberals are just going to kiss his behind and not let us do anything to him before he kills half of his country off.

3) Zimbabwe - Mugabe's already down that path, and he's getting more psychopathic by the day. If you thought Ethiopia was bad in the 1980s, Zimbabwe will blow that famine out of the way as the most devastating...and they don't even have a drought like the Ethiopians had at the time.

4) North Korea - Mr Kim is also psychopathic, but I still think his life will eventually end from someone on the inside.

5) Iran - What is Iran's death wish? Seriously, all the posturing is bad enough but Ahmadinejad's lovely devotion to causing a global jihad to try and usher in the return of the Mahadi is probably the greatest threat of these five to the United States. And the moment he tries it, Iran will be turned to glass by the Israelis. I have no doubt in my mind that unless this fruitcake is removed from power and real democracy restored in Iran, I'm going to see the first nuclear attack since Nagasaki in my lifetime. All in the name of a religion who represses freedoms and ignored by the left due to their hatred of George Bush.

6) Sudan - One thing the Democratic leadership won't tell folks is the moment we get pulled out of Iraq when we're in charge, we'll be in Sudan in an even less stable situation. However, this is one time where I say we do need to intervene. What the Sudanese government is pulling is nothing short of genocide and as the defender of freedom in the world, we do need to act with the amount of force no liberal will tolerate against Sudan.

We've got a few others that are starting down the path on this list: Pakistan and Nicaragua have returned to flaky. Russia and China still have their issues and both seem to be regressing than progressing like they were in the 1990s. Old hotspots like Bosnia, Somalia, and the like still are smoldering.

Meanwhile, both sides completely ignore this in their presidential debates. The only person that seems aware of these threats is sitting as President.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

My prediction:

After Iowa and New Hampshire, we'll be down to four Republicans:

Rudy Guliani, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, and Ron Paul

I honestly think Huckabee and McCain will show so bad in both, they'll drop out. Who they endorse might make things interesting, but I expect McCain to be the only one giving a push and that push going to Guliani. Paul will remain in for a while, due to his internet following, but eventually he'll bow out or go for an indie run.

We'll be down to five Democrats:

Hillary Clinton, Barak Obama, John Edwards, Bill Richardson, and Dennis Kucinich

Richardson will only be around to try to make a good showing, in order to try and get the VP slot from Hillary winning. If Obama wins, or Edwards wins, the other will be the VP slot. Kucinich will ride it to the end, even though his only chance is to get all the pod people and Elvis to recruit on Mars for votes.

More whining today about Hillary being 'beat up' by those mean, vicious bullies running against her for the Democratic nomination.

Tell me, Hillary...how do you expect for people like Ahmadinejad, who believe in sharia law and that women are second class citizens, to listen to you?

How do you even expect to step into an area controlled by sharia law, and walk out alive?

A woman who has a clue can do such a thing. Former Prime Minister Bhutto in Pakistan, for example, has the guts to tell people like Musharraf where to stick it. Margaret Thatcher was no-nonsense. The current leader of Germany can be forceful without looking like she's reading off a script, or with James Carville's hand stuck up her back.

But Hillary won't quit this race, and will keep whining. Though I don't want any of the Democrats as president, only Dennis 'I carry a constitution in my pocket, but can't read it' Kucinich rates worse on my scale.

Ron Paul is getting a little publicity today for his supporters getting a fundraising record of $4 million in a 24 hour period.

I would support Ron, except for two major issues. First, he does not understand the meaning behind the war in Iraq. He's an isolationist, which honestly can't be done in a global economy. We have to protect freedom for everyone, not just those in the United States. The Muslim states, and especially those that subscribe to sharia law, are probably the most totalitarian of all. His ignorance of that fact would eventually end us up in worse situation than we were on September 11, 2001.

Secondly, Ron is pro-abortion. For someone who claims the truth and morality angle, I cannot fathom how killing babies is an issue other than freedom for the young to live. The mother gave up her rights the moment she got pregnant. If she didn't want to get pregnant, then she and her mate should have used protection. Unlike a number of conservatives, I don't have problems with those over the age of 13 getting protection from being pregnant.

Note that age: 13. Yes, the age of 'majority' is 16 (to drive), 18 (for most everything), and/or 21 (drinking). However, traditionally the age of majority is 13 in both the Western and Eastern world. Again, this is an area where I cannot be labeled a conservative. On the other hand, it does mean I also advocate throwing 14 year olds that murder into real prison and not these locked dorm rooms and then get let out at 18.

Monday, November 05, 2007

For those who know me, you know I used to belong to the RPGA (mentioned below), as well as played in the Living Rokugan campaign.

I'm rejoining the Heroes of Rokugan (new name, and not tied to the RPGA) campaign and have been pretty cryptic about what I'm playing.

So, here's the answer:

Even though my throat tells me that a cold is in my future, this has still turned into a good day. I finally got the server I've been working weeks on to work, so now the next test becomes Friday when I try to put it into our DMZ.

I do have a question, though. Why do hackers from other countries attack little city and county servers like I administer? We have zero information that a hacker could ever want, unless they just wanted to disrupt things. I would think a hacker would be more likely to go after a .mil site, or a .gov site that was state-related.

My second question is why behind the Koreans (who are bored), Chinese (who are either bored or working for their government), are people in Holland the third highest source of hackers going after our sites? I could think of a lot of things to do in the Netherlands instead of attempting to break into some American city's website.

Time for a little sports...

I know he wants to be nice and all, but Tom Osborne has got to give the entire Nebraska coaching staff the heave-ho.

Getting beat by 76 is bad enough, but Kansas? You've just got to be kidding.

As I wrote in an email to the local sports talk station, Xerces personally killed the general who caused the Battle of Thermopole. The Romans fired generals continuously until they found Scipio to fight Hannibal of Carthage. Lincoln fired generals constantly until he found Ulysses Grant.

Who else kept getting sacked in history until the replacement produced results? Just about every major conflict in the world had someone either fired or executed after battles that were 'blow outs'.

As another said on a message board, when it was said Nebraska wouldn't settle for mediocrity, the fans and supporters weren't thinking that meant we'd zoom right past mediocrity for total incompetence.

Fire Callahan and company, and fire them now. Stop digging a deeper hole to get out of come the end of the season. Stop the bleeding now.

Friday, November 02, 2007

What goes around, comes around.

Honestly, I've been in a depression for three years or more. Frankly, it sucks. I have to take medicine to sleep, on top of my thyroid problems. I've gained at least 20 pounds since the start.

And now, one of the people that triggered the initial depression has just gone through the exact same thing that started my descent.

However, I'm resolving right here and now that I'm not going to let him get to my point. He's a good guy, if a bit too idealistic...but then, over three years I'm a realist.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

I rejoined a couple of Yahoo Groups today, or at least tried to do so.

The first, a club I was a founding member of, let me join but has me set on moderation. Boy, makes me feel good that people who I thought were friends were so scared of my opinions when I left that they locked me out.

The second requires administrator approval. Now, this I can understand but the group isn't that big. If it has so many issues with spammers getting in, then the spammers have no clue who they are dealing with: broke adults. :-)

Next year, at GenCon 2008, Hasbro/Wizards of the Coast will be rolling out a new, 4th edition of the Dungeons and Dragons game.

Now, being a somewhat conservative person, I understand the need for the creation of a new edition of the game every so often. The money needs to keep flowing in, and I do not begrudge the fact they are going to do it.

I will, though, scream at the top of my lungs on how this new 'version' is conceived completely irresponsibly by those at Hasbro who do not understand paper and pencil gaming. For example, the new system is going to have new books for players and monsters every year.

Not a problem, you might say. They do this anyways. But, this time they are not going to include all the 'core' classes and monsters in the first book. In the past, every new book just added more options onto the basics of the game. This time, you won't get the basics all up front.

Huh?

This sounds like a computer game that has jumped from beta before being finished, not a paper and pencil game. Let's have 'content updates', and game 'patches' when the players in the RPGA find exploits in the system. That way, we'll have 'game balance' between the classes and races.

Sounds just like a computer game, doesn't it? Hasbro does not get it. People like paper and pencil games because they are NOT computer games. I mean, I love computer games and play them religiously (3 level 60s on WoW, working on 50s in Matrix Online and CoH/CoV currently), but I like to step away from the computer and actually roleplay with my buddies on weekends when I'm in the mood. Many of us do.

When the man instrumental in the creation of the original game, Gary Gygax, has to sigh about all of the 4th Edition talk coming out of Hasbro, you know someone has lost touch with those who they are attempting to write towards.

Oh sure, there still will be plenty of sheep going along and buying these new rules. For example, most of the RPGA will buy the rules, even if they don't like them, because they will be forced by the RPGA (owned fully by Hasbro's marketing department, btw) to use the most current rules system if they want to continue to play. Others will buy the rules, and will try to justify Hasbro's marketing.

Roleplaying will be forever changed in August 2008, and not for the better. I do not want a computer game on paper; I want a paper game that I can roleplay. Leave the computer games to the computer, Hasbro, and wake up.

Surprise.

Yes, I am actually getting back to this. I promise.

The political bluster is finally getting to a point where I'm going to have to comment on some of the things going on, and I'm getting back into some of my other hobbies. Thus, it is time to get back to this and start blogging again.

Yeah, right. Last time I said this...well, you can check the date on the last post. Yeesh. I'm bad about remembering things like blogging. I just am doing too much to think any longer. I'm hoping things will improve THIS time, though.