Faces

PandaResearch Update (Here's a hint: IT WORKS)

2012-01-16T12:53:00.000-08:00

ALOT of haters out there regarding survey websites that promise to send loot for surveys. Well, wanted to add a little suger to all that hater-aid, cuz Panda Research WORKS!

Here's a screenshot from the email I got just this morning that should serve as your proof n da pudding:

Ready to jump on the bandwagaon? CLICK HERE to sign up and let's start making MONEY

What My Mother Taught Me

2011-12-14T14:25:00.000-08:00

@photo by Philosoraptus

She taught me many things...how to read, write, math, money management, how to cook, etc. She taught me many many things with her words. And then she taught me many more things...many more things.... ...thru her actions. She taught me to: --Not be selfish --Not overreact --Not nit-pick or be petty --Not to assume I know everyones reason for things they say and do --to forgive

Penny for your Thoughts

2011-12-05T15:45:00.001-08:00

Yes. It works.

Like anybody would be, I was skeptical that sites that offer cash for surveys were not a scam.

And then I got paid.

Panda Research is a survey site that links to many many different surveys. Some are "participation" programs (eg; you have to fulfill offers to get credit for the survey). Others are plain Q&A. I filled out surveys, get this, in my spare time, and now have a $50 payout headed my way via PayPal.

Give Panda Research a look---might just be the investment and holiday cash you need.

Found Another Winner

2011-12-02T12:52:00.001-08:00

I want to reccomend two fantastic financial companies for those seeking Bankruptcy services.

1. Debt Stoppers USA
They show commercials during Jerry Springer and Cheaters, but they are truly legit. $150 starts the process, a full $750 files the claim, and the remaining balance of the $1500 can be paid in installment payments from a bank account. They are fast, and unlike other Bankruptcy firms (read MOSTLY ALL others), they allow to pay as you can---cuz hey, obviously you're broke if your filing bankruptcy.

2. ! Always Lowest Price!
To successfuly file Bankruptcy, two classes credit classes must be fulfilled PRIOR to debt discharge. Most providers charge $20-$30 to take the class. ! Always Lowest Price! is run by a MBA and is only $7.95.

No Fear

2011-11-28T11:59:00.001-08:00

Fear is such a weak emotion that's why I despise it

We scared of almost everything, afraid to even tell the truth

So scared of what you think of me, I’m scared of even telling you

-----Lupe Fiasco
Don't be lead by fear and don't live by it. Nobody has any power over save what you have freely granted them.

Coincidence? I think not

2011-11-27T18:00:00.001-08:00

If most of the people in your life think that you're, well....awesome, and one person does not....then which group is statistically speaking, more likely to be, well....wrong?

Prophet in Our Own House

2011-11-23T08:07:00.001-08:00

We all have that one person in our life with whom we can play prophet. For we know exactly what they will say or do given any particular situation. I think so a certain degree that their preconceptions and biases regarding our character brings about a sort of self-filling prophecy in us.

Something I've been meaning to point out

2011-11-21T08:10:00.001-08:00

Ok. I'll say it. Confirming what I learned about the races in Paleoanthropology @#trumancollege, all humans have the same basic characteristics. If you observe any random sampling on people on a busy street or train, you will see that all humans, no matter race or age basically look the same.

Mind Hacks #1

2011-11-14T13:30:00.000-08:00

Persuasive speech habits

#1. Garnering attention to a particular point:

a. Say that something is wrong as a statement:

Google+ is a knee-jerk reaction, a study in short-term thinking,

predicated on the incorrect notion that Facebook is successful

because they built a great product

b. Say that it is wrong bluntly

But that’s not why they are successful

c. Give the correct answer.

Facebook is successful because they built an entire constellation

of products by allowing other people to do the work.

Source: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/google-engineer-calls-google-a-pathetic-afterthought-and-knee-jerk-reaction/4082

New Students, New Blogs

2010-08-26T16:08:00.000-07:00

I teach technology in a downtown Chicago college, and I've been having my students blog as a way to open their eyes and get them to "think-tech" outside of the classroom. They really are very good---please check them out and leave comments!

Thanks

http://beccaboo-techtopics.blogspot.com/

http://amturner-informationforeverybody.blogspot.com/

http://dollardeebillion.blogspot.com/

http://csincptechtalk.blogspot.com

http://shirack.blogspot.com/

Getting my financial house in order

2010-05-08T12:41:00.001-07:00

So I finally took the plunge into the pool of common sense---and came out soaked in optimism. I want to start living the life that is well-lived, so I'm getting a handle on my ish (short hand for bizzness) and putting my finances in order. I'll be sharing tips and tricks Ive picked up here, so check back often. To start you off, here are two pretty amazing zingers:

Every dollar you save is another solider in your army of financial freedom

Financial freedom is earning more than you spend.

UPDATE: Ive been using a app for Windows Phone 7 called 1App Budget

---and it roks! Its published by 1AppSoftware and allows to me count TO THE PENNY every expense and revdenue I have. It has DEFINETLY helped me improve my financial house.

--EL

Teaching Class

2009-11-11T10:52:00.001-08:00

Im demonstrating for my students the pros and cons of Blogging. They have requested that I use my real name and picture.

Um...

no.

No Fate

2009-02-17T18:38:00.000-08:00

In preparation of the upcoming Terminator Salvation starring Batman's Christian Bale, Warner Bros has put up as site called, aptly, Skynet Research. If you don't know about the Terminator Mythos--it's time to do sum readin.

Skynet Research

Viewing the Inaguration thru a Microsoftian-lens

2009-01-22T18:35:00.000-08:00

My friend and IT Technician Mr. Finley directed me to a Microsoft Technology called Photosynth.

It allows normal, usually untalented amateur photographers to make astounding 3D panoramic collages (which are themselves called Photosynths) out of photos. Now, it seems that MSNBC and Microsoft teamed up to produce an amazing Photsynth of the 44th Presidential Inauguration. Check it out:

Inaugural Photosynth

I suspect that there may not be any Photosynths made of the second swearing-in....just a hunch.

Comic of the Day

2009-01-22T18:10:00.000-08:00

From the funny folks over at:

Office Offline

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Everyone

2008-12-29T03:59:00.001-08:00

From my Deviantart Gallery

2009 will see alot more activity from me.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T08:32:00.000-08:00

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone

From my Deviant Art Gallery

Vote or Die

2008-11-03T06:37:00.000-08:00

Nuff Said

2008-09-21T02:31:00.000-07:00

Wow---great song, great voice, AND she's beautiful

it's an all-in-one deal

Learning to be content with the "if's" :)

There is nothing more I can say.

If I Had My Way
by Chrisette Michele

Archetypea

2008-09-14T16:10:00.001-07:00

There are a few characters that really represent different aspects of who I am. Here are some of them:

(Can you name them all?---I'll be updating this post as needed)

The Amazingly Theraputic Power of Images Set to Music

2008-08-19T04:59:00.000-07:00

There is nothing more I can say.

Moving Mountains
by Usher

And here are the words:

It's like whatever i do
I just cant get through to you
I never gonna tell you nothing wrong, Listen

Now, now she loved me, shawty I love her
Used to jump up in the maybach and roll out.
Used to care, she used to share
The love that she used to give me can't be found.
I lost my way, she said she'd stay
And lately I've been sleeping with a ghost
My stock is down and out, I used to be worth my weight in gold
That was before the great depression kicked in and rocked us
And that was before the hurricane came, came in and stopped us.
I told you to leave, but you lied to me
When you said that, baby no worries I promise to get us back
I know sorries, just wouldn't do it,
Her Heart is obliterated, I'm trying to travel through
But it's like moving mountains...
It's like moving mountains...
But I keep climbing and hoping things would change
And the sky turns grey, and the water from the rain, washes progress away
It's like moving mountains...
It's like moving mountains...
Why you just leave me
Just leave me be
Just leave me
Just leave me be
Why you just leave me
Just leave me be
Why you just leave me
Just leave me be oh oh ohhh

She, she don't touch me I don't touch her
We ain't really even said a word
I really wanna give her everything she deserves,
But the bad took away the good
She thinks that I'm full of it
Arguments, always pissed, man I'm tired.
Every kiss, that I missed, girl you know I'm trying.
You never believe when I say, and I never believe it when you say, I love you
And I shouldn't complain about it, I should take it like a man and walk up out it.
Cause we will never be the same... oh
I've been standing in gas, and you have been the flame

Girl I know sorry, just wouldn't do it,
Her Heart is obliterated, I'm trying to get through
Gotta move this mountain...
It's like moving mountains...
But I keep climbing and hoping things would change
And the sky turns grey, and the water from the rain, washes progress away
It's like moving mountains...
It's like moving mountains...
Well baby why you just leave me
Just leave me be
Just leave me
Just leave me be
Why you just leave me
Just leave me be
Why you just leave me
Just leave me be oh

I know sorries, just wouldn't do it
My heart is obliterated, I'm trying travel through
But it's like moving mountains...
It's like moving mountains... hey
But I keep climbing and hoping things would change
And the sky turns grey, and the water from the rain washes progress away
It's like moving a mountain...
It's like moving mountains...
Well baby why you just leave me,
Just leave me be
Just leave me
just leave me be
Why you just leave me
just leave me be
Why you just leave me
just leave me be ooh

WORTH ANOTHER LOOK

2008-08-15T08:08:00.000-07:00

Another window into my soul.

Nobody Knows

by The Tony Rich Project

POETRY 1d

2008-08-15T08:01:00.000-07:00

My Deviant Art Gallery

I KNOW HOW THE STORY ENDS

There it is—I know how this story ends
So much for a promise of “we’ll be friends”
To be forgotten is a fate that’s worse---
Than any heartache or heartbreak that could occur

Why hope in hope when hope is
ludicrous?
A fanciful venture into a bottomless
Pit?
Memories and engrams I can’t help
but recall
and one singular theme seems to permeate all

and that is this: I don’t want to fade to black
yet what’s the point when I certainly know that
those unseen are those unhurt
and those shadows embrace me for all my worth

Don’t bore me with love’s stale rules
I’ve endured those before and I’m no fool
And I haven’t forgotten you’re my “one true friend”
but I know how the story ends.

Tech Talk

2008-08-10T18:37:00.000-07:00

Here's an article from a good Friend of mine who own's a technology Consulting business:

TECH TALK
Get ready for Fall classes with a PC Tune-up
By Marlone Finley, BA

Spring is the traditional time when garages and cupboards are inventoried and reorganized during ‘spring cleaning’. If you’ve been in some of the houses I’ve been in, you’d nod approvingly that this is a great (and in some cases, necessary) chore for many households. As September comes and brings it’s flurry of activity, again students and their families clean house and hunker down for several months of academic rigor. Personal Computers will churn away, generating thousands of assignments, papers, dissertations and similar documents.

However, nothing can bring that fine-tuned production of scholarly content to a screeching halt like a sluggish, mal-performing workstation or laptop. Given the abuse that so many PC’s will endure this semester, it’s the proactive student that treats their PC like their attic---and performs a little “September cleaning”. Like one’s house, a PC is an investment, and time spent cleaning and maintaining it will vastly increase both its longevity and its performance. Here are five quick tasks that even the non-geek can perform to keep their personal computer Olympic-fit.

1. Make sure that your Anti-virus program is operating as it should, and it’s virus definitions are up-to-date.

Computer users with malevolent intents (we just call them by their technical name—criminals)take advantage of the fact that students use the Internet to research assignments and download music and programs. These hackers are constantly creating new ways to infect personal computers with viruses, Trojans, worms, and other nasty bits of code. A good antivirus program can keep your computer protected from these problematic programs and alert you to possible attacks. Be sure to set your antivirus program to conduct real-time scanning and daily scanning to maintain your computers defense.

How about a virus cleaning solution that doesn’t clean out your checkbook? Grisoft’s AVG Anti-virus is a completely free program that’s quick and powerful. Find it here:

AVG FREE

2. Make sure that your Operating System (Windows, Mac OX, Linux, etc.)is fully patched and updated.

An operating system is simply a program (albeit a massive program) that enables us to use our computers to be productive. Since a program is made up of code, and code is written by people, there is no perfect code. There are bugs (errors) in the code that virus writers and hackers can exploit to infect or attack a computer. Software companies like Microsoft and Apple send out regular updates for their operating systems to protect computers from threats---usually automatically and with very little user intervention.

Users (that’s you and me) can also check manually for any new patches or updates for their operating systems. Please refer to these links for Mac OX and Windows patch information:

For Windows XP:
XP Instructions

For Windows Vista:
Vista Instructions

For Apple Mac OX:
Mac Instructions

3. Delete any junk or otherwise unnecessary files from your hard drive

Operating Systems use complicated file systems and math calculations to store and work with digital data. Over time, these settings and files can accumulate undesirable or unused information such as cookies, temporary Internet files, and old corrupted data packages. The more of these files you have on your hard drive, the more of this gunk you’ll have to sift through to get to your important data. Windows comes with a built in program called Disk Cleanup which will clean all of these files for you. To access it, click START, RUN, and then type CLEANMGR, and then click OK.

There is a free program that can do everything Disk Cleanup can and more, called CCleaner. To get it, go here:

Ccleaner

4. Maintain File Integrity with Disk Defragmenter

File fragmentation occurs as a hard drive access and works with files every day. ‘Pieces’ of files are not kept together as a result of the way modern file systems organize data. As users open, close, delete and save files, files become increasingly fragmented, resulting in a slower hard drive, and slower overall performance. Windows has a built in Defragmenter called, surprisingly, Disk Defragmenter. To access it, follow these instructions:

In Windows Vista, click START and in the search field, type DFRGUI.exe, and hit ENTER on the keyboard.

In Windows XP, click START, then MY COMPUTER. Right-click on LOCAL DISK C, then click TOOLS, then DISK DEFRAGMENTOR

5. Give Your PC A Colon Cleanse

A computer is full of moving parts and charged components. As such, an incredible amount of dust can be attracted to the internal parts of the PC and cause strange power fluctuations, error screens, and even circuit board failure. Insects can get into the tower and set up shop as well. Every month or so, open your computer case (or call a professional) and blow out the dust and detritus with a light vacuum cleaner. This is harder to do with a laptop, due to its size. Again, consult a professional for the best work regarding this tip.

Protecting, updating and maintaining your computer is never as hard as it looks. Be diligent and your PC will give you great performance for years to come.

Windows Mojave Pulverizes Presuppositions

2008-07-30T04:58:00.001-07:00

There are a great many haters of Microsoft's latest Operating System, Windows Vista. Reasons for this up-front rejection of Vista is multitudinous; however, the time for regurgitated excuses is over. Microsoft has launched the results of a social experiment whose purpose was to get to the heart of Windows Vista rejection.

See the results of the experiment yourself:

The Mojave Experiment

A WARNING:

I'll admit, some of the participants sound like badly paid info-mercial actors.

More from the Windows Vista Blog.

That's Smarts

2008-07-22T03:36:00.000-07:00

A friend sent this to me by e-mail. It reads like stand-up comedy (so credit to whomever it is due). I laughed at these.

Then the fight started....

When I got home last night, my wife demanded that I take her someplace expensive....so, I took her to a gas station.....

-----------------------------------------------------------

After retiring, I went to the Social Security office to apply for Social Security. The woman behind the counter asked me for my driver's license to verify my age. I looked in my pockets and realized I had left my wallet at home. I told the woman that I was very sorry, but I would have to go home and come back later. The woman said, 'Unbutton your shirt'. So I opened my shirt revealing my curly silver hair. She said, 'That silver hair on your chest is proof enough for me' and she processed my Social Security application. When I got home, I excitedly told my wife about my experience at the Social Security office. She said, 'You should have dropped your pants. You might have gotten disability, too'

-----------------------------------------------------------

My wife and I were sitting at a table at my high school reunion, and I kept staring at a drunken lady swigging her drink as she sat alone at a nearby table. My wife asked, 'Do you know her?' 'Yes,' I sighed, 'she's my old girlfriend. I understand she took to drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and I hear she hasn't been sober since.' 'My God!' says my wife, 'Who would think a person could go on celebrating that long?'

-----------------------------------------------------------

I rear-ended a car this morning. So, there we were alongside the road and slowly the other driver got out of his car. You know how sometimes you just get so stressed and little things just seem funny? Yeah, well I couldn't believe it.... he was a DWARF!!! He stormed over to my car, looked up at me, and shouted, 'I AM NOT HAPPY!!!' So, I looked down at him and said, 'Well, then which one are you?'

Worth Another Look

2008-07-20T16:21:00.000-07:00

I'm reading Race Matters by Dr. Cornel West. In this book, he gives a summary of three points from another author, Glenn Loury. I find the quote fascinating:

In (Loury's)forthcoming book, Free At Last, he puts forth three basic charges against black liberal thinkers. First, he holds that black liberals adhere to a victim-status conception of black people that results in blaming all personal failings of black people on white racism. Second, he claims that black liberals harbor a debilitating loyalty to the race that blinds them to the pathological and dysfunctional aspects of black behavior. Third, Loury argues that black liberals truncate intellectual discourse regarding the plight of poor black people by censoring critical perspectives which air the “dirty linen” of the black community – that is, they dub neo-conservatives like Loury as "Uncle Toms“ and thereby fail to take his views seriously in an intellectual manner

Race Matters,pg. 74-75

What do you think about these arguments?

Questions

2008-07-16T12:33:00.000-07:00

I was recently sent this list of questions from a freind working on her second masters. Here are the questions and my responses.

1. Do you think Barack Obama can be elected president of the U.S.?

Legally, yes, the Senator from Illinois is just as viable a candidate as any other qualified individual. If the question being asked is " Do you think Barack Obama will be elected president of the U.S.", I must confess that I do not know. Possibly. Momentum certainly seems in his favor---yet it was in Senator Clinton's favor as well, if not more so. There is a rumor floating around that this is a different America. Well, it was also different in the 60's before Kennedy was elected. I dare not pundit on this-----I fear that only time will tell.

2. Does his bi-raciality work for him or against him, or does it matter?

This is a misnomer; there are no pure 'races'. In fact, biology and modern genetics would seem to argue that race itself is a social construct and thus a moot point. To the question, however. With individuals with whom race matters, Senator Obama's ethnicity most certainly matters. Speaking in regards to race-conscious whites, The Grandfather Clause would seem to eliminate any advantage Senator Obama could have derived from his heredity. With blacks, question 3 may prove to be the relevant variable. This question only has vitality among those with whom race is an issue---and I am unfamiliar with any pertinent statistics regarding such individuals.

3. What are your views on claims that Obama is not "black enough?"

This is a fundamental question, worthy of a dissertation. For to even begin to answer is, we must first answer this question: What does it mean to be Black? By what criteria am I judged as not being 'black enough'? How does one determine if someone is a 'sell-out'? Having done little scientific research regarding this matter, I will offer my small observations. It seems that 'blackness' is judged by at least 6 criteria:

a. Language
b. Wardrobe
c. Occupation
d. Cognitive Ability
e. Diet
f. Social Loyalty

If an individual talks a certain way, dresses a certain way, earns a living a certain way (or shows respect and interest in certain professions), thinks a certain way and eats certain foods, and is highly protective of this culture, they are deemed 'authentically black'. Any individuals who fall outside of the scope of these points fail the test. Senator Obama seems to fail this test on all grounds; it is easy to see why he has been labeled 'not black enough'.

A couple of things ought to be noted, however. Firstly, it is other Blacks who sometimes judge by these criterion (and sometimes not---the criterion shift occasionally). The 'test' is utterly subjective, slave to the whim of those who are administering it. Secondly, Bill Cosby was considered a great Black pioneer in film and education---until he began to shine the light on black male irresponsibility. The same has and will continue to happen to Senator Obama. Not that black people don't support Mr. Obama at the moment--they do. However.....(see last question).

4. How much is Michelle a factor in his electability? Would it matter if she were lighter? Would it matter if she were white?

This is a fascinating question. I am unfamiliar with the roles that wives have played in the electability of U.S. Presidents. However, we really have nothing to compare Senator Obama's journey with. No Black candidate ever made it this far----I simply don't know.

5. Have black people moved beyond the question of color or have we simply evolved into a more sophisticated version of house Negro and field Negro?

Tigers cannot change their stripes; colored people can never move beyond the question of color entirely or broadly because our color greets us every morning and tucks us in at night. At the same time, the new discriminator is money; it is no longer race, at least not largely. For Blacks who have "arrived", race is clearly not a big enough issue to make a stink about it---ever catch Oprah or Michael Jordan at an Al Sharpton event?

The meaty part of this question revolves around the privileged and the non-privileged, the 'house' and 'field' negro. The 'house 'and 'field' idea has evolved into another subjective, arbitrary contraption of anti-black-progressive quicksand. Again, making a non-scientific observation, it appears that the qualifications for the coveted ‘field negro' status are always geared towards someone's personal preference of what authentic black people would say or do, (e.g.; Jesse Jackson Jr. didn't stick by his father, even though his father was clearly wrong---what a house negro). Blacks that want to 'get ahead' are considered to be 'haters', 'playing the white game', 'field negros'.

Senator Obama is enjoying a large portion of the black vote right now, 90% more than the white candidate according to CNN

However, if the Senator from Illinois doesn't deliver what certain Blacks think he should deliver, if he doesn't carry himself and conduct a presidency the way they think he should---he be labeled a house negro as well.

It is Unjust

2008-07-10T03:59:00.000-07:00

I was reading this article from CNN today, regarding Rev. Jesse Jackson's comments about Sen. Obama during an open-mic mishap:

CNN Article

An open microphone picked up Jackson whispering, "See, Barack's been talking down to black people ... I want to cut his nuts off"

He promptly apologized, adding, that he didn't know the mic was still on.

Hmm. You can watch the video here:

Jesse Jackson's Comments

If he had not be picked up on the mic and exposed publicly, would his guilt and friendship with the senator have caused him to make a public apology anyway? Tis the stuff of speculation. There doesn't seem to be hint of 'Gee, I'm sorry that I said something so offensive about the would-be next president', only a regret that he got caught saying it. In fact, the associate press reports that,

Jackson declined to repeat the comments, but said he decided to apologize publicly after hearing from Fox News that it would air them. Source

What really piqued my interest in the ethics of this affair is what the Rev. Al Sharpton had to say about the matter:

The Rev. Al Sharpton, president of the civil rights group National Action Network, said Jackson's remarks were "most unfortunate," adding he was happy that Jackson apologized. "I hope people will remember the great work he's done in this country as one assesses this last incident," Sharpton said in a statement.
Source

Unfortunate. That's all Mr. Sharpton had to say regarding the moral and social implications of Mr. Jackson's remark. It wasn't too long ago that Mr. Sharpton was demanding that shock Jock Don Imus lose his job for calling a mostly black girls-basketball team , "nappy-headed hoes". Mr. Sharpton described this comment as extremely distasteful and racially enflaring. That being true, why did Mr. Sharpton not zero-in on the fact that Mr. Jackson's remarks about Sen. Obama are also racially-stereotypical and insulting? It is historical fact that black male slaves were castrated:

In addition to defining the status of enslaved blacks, the 1690 code explicitly spelled out the punishment for those who struck a white person and for runaways. First offenders were severely whipped, followed by slitting the nose and burning "some part of his face with a hot iron" and even death for those who attacked whites a second or third time. Enslaved blacks found off the plantation without written permission from their master were considered runaways. Those who ran away more than once could be branded with an R on their cheek and might suffer the loss of an ear. Castrating male slaves and branding an R on the left cheek of female slaves punished a fourth offense. A fifth failed attempt could be punished by either cutting the tendon in one leg or sentencing the enslaved person to death.
Slavery in America.org

This is hypocrisy. Don Imus is demonized for his comment that is racially offensive--Rev Jesse Jackson is not. Why are there two ethical standards here? Are we as African Americans allowed a measure of ethical irresponsibility and immunity merely because historically, we have suffered great injustice?

Worth Another Look

2008-07-04T07:19:00.000-07:00

A good freind of mine from Community Media Workshop posted very kind and gracious words about Faces the other day. The work they do is extrodinary--give it a look.

Content aside, there’s a nugget of tip in the new blog of a Chicago neighborhood leader.

Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood just got a little more virtual real estate in the blogosphere. The author of the blog “Faces,” anonymously posts his own poetry, musings on life, and links to stuff he thinks is cool as Philosoraptor.Even though it just started last week, Mr. P has done two things really well:

Tell his friends: Last week, the day after his first post, my friend sent a short email to me and a bunch of other folks he knows are already on-line to let us know he’s here (it read: “Hello everyone, I’ve begun a blog, and wanted you to all know about it. Feel free to comment (in fact, please do), but please don’t mention me by name—I prefer to remain anonymous.”) and had a link.
Post a lot: One blogging lesson I learned the hard way that Mr. Raptor has honored right out of the box is to honor what I’d call the Law of Bells and Whistles: Nothing attracts attention like a lot of activity. He posts short and posts a lot, 13 so far, since last week, and all short enough to scan the whole thing in just a wee bit of time.
While Philosoraptor’s plans to blog about “philosophy, poetry, and meaning” make this the kind of blog on which I generally don’t linger, I’m impressed with the start-up. And he’s already got video of the Simpsons doing Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” so he’s not taking himself too-too seriously! Check it out.

That's Smarts

2008-07-04T07:09:00.000-07:00

There's always a little bit of subterfuge below the surface--hopefully not in my life or yours, but definitely in much of life. Here's a recent post6 from a Microsoft Blogger that I subscribe to. He uses terms that may be unfamiliar to some readers, so this is the bottom line: Sometimes the exterminators leave some little eight- legged incentives behind to keep your business. ;)

Sometimes, an app just wants to crash
I think it was Internet Explorer 5.0, when we discovered that a thirdparty browser extension had a serious bug, the details of which aren't important. The point was that this bug was so vicious, it crashed IE pretty frequently. Not good. To protect the users from this horrible fate, we marked the object as "bad" so IE wouldn't load it.

And then we got an angry letter from the company that wrote this browser extension. They demanded that we remove the marking from their object and let IE crash in flames every time the user wanted to surf the web. Why? Because they also wanted us to hook up Windows Error Reporting to detect this crash and put up a dialog that says, "A fix for the problem you experienced is available. Click here for more information," and the "more information" was a redirect to the company's web site (where you could upgrade to version x.y of Program ABC for a special price of only $nnn!). (Actually I forget whether the upgrade was free or not, but the story is funnier if you had to pay for it.)

In other words, they were crashing on purpose in order to drive upgrade revenue.

(Astute readers may have noticed an additional irony: If the plug-in crashed IE, then how could the user view the company's web page so they could purchase and download the latest version?)
Published Friday, December 19, 2003 7:00 AM by oldnewthing
Filed under: History

SOURCE: The Old New Thing Blog

Freedom

2008-07-04T06:59:00.000-07:00

That's a loaded term chock full of convoluted connotations. What is freedom? Are we free? In what sense are we free? Does freedom merely constitute the ability to move as we please? If I cannot live wherever I choose, due to cost or racism, am I truly free? Or, perhaps, Capitalism has simply allocated me the freedom to play by its rules, and thereby live how and where I please? Are the formerly oppressed and currently liberated to be considered free, if they are forced to live under the socio-economic and psychological effects of that prior oppression

This is a great philosophical question---one that I may return to address again. In the interim, I think one thing we in the USA can agree to regrading freedom is this:

We are free even to the extent that we can blog like this without fear or reprisal, censorship or persecution.

Thank God for that.

Enjoy your holiday.

Just a thought

2008-07-02T12:38:00.000-07:00

This is the feature I will use to post thoughts or musings that I have. Post yours here as well.

We are rarely perceived by others in the same light that we perceive ourselves.

Strength in Weirdness

2008-07-01T07:09:00.000-07:00

There is power, great terrible power, in being exactly who and what you were made to be.

Who doesn't want to fit in...to belong? It's a basic human need. It is the fuel of gangs and politics. How ironic it is , then, that the best approach to "fitting in" is to be aggressively unique.

This is no blanket admonition to 'be' and 'do' and 'speak' anything that is destructive. We all have a moral obligation to be respectful and compassionate---as far as truth will allow us to be. Apart from that, however, we simply must be who and what we are---and then walk in that reality. There is great freedom there.

No doubt about it---I am weird. And in my weirdness I am strong.

Worth Another Look

2008-06-30T17:57:00.000-07:00

I was just reading Ed Bott's blog. I am constantly amazed at his dedication to research and sound answers in his posts.

Why not check him out?

http://www.edbott.com/weblog/

Conflict is Good

2008-06-30T12:53:00.000-07:00

I've got two dear friends who are constantly in, shall we say, aggressive dialogue. The fact is, they butt heads frequently, and I'm very pleased to see it.

Yes, I know you're wondering why.

It is because healthy conflict is a great, great thing. It sifts between relationships that really ought to be associations, and it can only make real relationships stronger.

Of course, no one should pursue relationships just for the sake of relationships. Some people can be very damaging and even dangerous, and as Tyler Perry says, "Honey, you don't fight them, you run".

If it isn't healthy---over the long term---time to jettison the detritus. Learning how and when to make those kinds of calls is what expereince and maturity brings.

The Raven

2008-06-28T18:51:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite E.A. Poe poems, Simpson's Style

It is Unjust

2008-06-28T09:06:00.001-07:00

There's alot of talk about justice making the rounds.

Well, forbid me not that I should contribute...

It is unjust....

1. When a person's characrter and resultant infulence is measured by their
accomplishments and rhetoric, rather than the content of their ideas.

2. When a crude and maladjusted personality (a jerk)is honored as a saint because of who they are and not also by what they are.

3. When the members of a given community treat those outside that community better than they treat others of the community.

4. When the members of a subset of a given community treat those of that subset better than they treat those of the larger community.

More to come.

That's Smarts

2008-06-28T07:56:00.000-07:00

I love this website. The material is really witty and insightful and speaks volumes about the socio-political climate of an international community's paradigmic perception.

No, not really.

But it is really, really funny.

Check it out.

http://www.despair.com

Worth Another Look

2008-06-28T07:39:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine turned me on to this. When I get the name of this comic, I'll post it as an update to this entry.

Poetry 1c

2008-06-28T06:34:00.000-07:00

S H A D O W

Often we cry, when we find broken

what once was bound

but how can we mourn a lost love

that was never truly found?

Now we see, and

our eyes can distinguish

yet how do you tell the death

of a flame ne'er extinguished?

Does a fallen tree make a sound if

no one is there?

Does the rain yet reveal our souls

if no one cares?

Do they know, when we're wishing

they were here?

Can they hear us....wishing

we were there?

Why do songs

understand us so fully?

Melodies of what is and what was,

compared to what should be.

I hope you can feel me

though I know that you don't

I'll probably soon forget this,

though I'm sure that I wont.

Worth Another Look

2008-06-28T06:09:00.000-07:00

This song by Seal is phenomenal. Well, aren't they all?

Pay attention to the second stanza....it speaks well to the motivation of this blog.

Who is the one who is forgotten, and yet is not forgotten?

Don't Cry by Seal

That's Smarts

2008-06-28T06:02:00.000-07:00

The That's Smart's feature will highlight quirks, anomalies or deliberately designed systems that are smart, witty and down-right chuckle-worthy. Here's one from Yahoo! Mail. Observe the birthday that was entered, and then observe Yahoo!'s response:

Yes----however, but.

2008-06-28T04:56:00.000-07:00

I know the Bible commands Christians not to worry.

But sometimes I do.

In like-mindedness with Ben Stein's movie Expelled, it worries me when critical thinking has become taboo in mainline Christianity. Christians who belong to the Emergent Movement have got at least one thing right: we must think deeply and deeper about the things we say we believe. Kierkegaard's leap of faith is a novel approach--if the chasm you're jumping happens to be three feet wide. Today's culture is permeated and interwoven in the matrixes of post-modernity; we as Christians must know why we know and be able to effectively articulate as much.

Some may say, "Well, has not God shamed the wise? I don't need all those fancy, trans-er-lit-erated suppositions. I believe because I do. It’s the evidence of things unseen, baby".

Yes----however …but.

Faith divorced from faculty is fallacious.

As William Lane Craig has said, “Faith is a trust or commitment to what you think is true."*

When we say that God:

"has shown me", that the Spirit
"has revealed to me", that He
"has convinced me or led me or guided me"...

...we are saying that God has touched our minds and our reason and our ability to cognate. For if we "saw" something in the Word that God "showed us”, what we mean is that we understood it, and understanding is an intellectual event. If the Spirit "revealed" something to us, we mean that we perceived it, which means we came to an assessment and an understanding regarding whatever it is. This is an intellectual event. If He "convinced us" or "led us", or "guided us", then we had to understand whatever it was that He convinced us of, or led us to, or guided us with.

Ever asked someone why they love so and so, and they replied, "I dunno. I just do"? No one "just does". We all have reasons why we feel the way we feel or believe whatever it is we happen to believe. If not, we would not feel it or believe it. Those reasons may be weak, or we may be unable to articulate those reasons well, but we have reasons.

When someone says:

"I believe the Bible", or
"God speaks to me", and you ask them
"Well, why do you believe the Bible, or how do you know that God spoke to you?",

they can say,

"I dunno, I just believe" or
"I dunno , He just does”,

all they want to. Those kinds of responses are dishonest and unreflective, and do a great disservice to a God who engages both our hearts and our minds.

What do you think?

History in the making

2008-06-28T04:07:00.001-07:00

Like most school children, I'd read about historical events and once-in-a-lifetime watershed moments. In the span of seven short years, I've been part of a generation that's seen two such moments (the terrorist attacks of 911 and the legalization of Gay Marriage), and one that sits on the precipice of a monumental third. For if all goes according to someone's plan, Senator Barack Obama will become the first African American president of the United States ever in the history of the US (sorry Bill).

However, I cannot help but wonder about the natural implications of such an outcome, versus the expected outcome, especially in regards of African American expectation. Of a certainty, if Mr. Obama becomes US President, the bell of social, political and civic equality and justice, having been restrained by the ropes of racism, oppression and fear, will finally sound. Young blacks will finally be able to look on Television and say, “I can be more than a statistic or a byword. I can be greater than an athlete or a performer". Collectively, African Americans will say aloud what we've always known silently, "We are somebody. We have value. We not only have something to contribute---we are necessary to society".

Still, I wonder further. Beyond those civic and social amenities, I think many, many blacks are determined that the era of the first African American President of the United States will also prove to be the era of unprecedented privilege and benefit for blacks. We might even see reparations, or so the surmising goes. It's true that a black man and women sitting in the country's highest office is no mere token. Yet, how much rain can we expect to fall on the fields and crops of black expectation?

Michael Jackson is arguably the most popular black performer ever. How has black society as a whole directly benefited from this fact? Oprah Winfrey is possibly the most popular black philanthropist ever. Again, how has black society as whole directly benefited from this fact? What do you think? What direct benefit do you suppose African Americans living in this country will derive from being governed by the first African American President?

Worth Another Look

2008-06-27T14:03:00.001-07:00

The Worth Another Look feature is where I'll post songs or music that I think is really extraordinary.

Have any music or songs that you think promte deeper thinking and philosophical inquiry? E-mail the song and I'll check it out. If I post it in a future edition of Worth Another Look, I'll name you and list your blog/website (If that is pleasing to you--otherwise, you'll stay anonymous).

Here's one by Duncan Sheik, She Runs Away

Poetry 1b

2008-06-27T13:57:00.000-07:00

(image taken from my Deviant Art Gallery)

F O R G O T T E N

Some things in life are obvious

Some situations---black and white

Convince yourself of just the opposite,

The truth would keep you up at night

The days go by and there is no relief

from the ache inside to know

Why did they claim the very the end,

When you’ve naught but shards to show?

When no one even knows your name

When you cry yourself to sleep at night

When all but you are remembered

With none to say it’ll be alright

Poetry 1a

2008-06-27T13:51:00.000-07:00

(image taken from my Deviant Art Gallery)

These are poems I have written.

L A C R Y M A L

How often have I walked beneath

Your frenzied, cold embrace

Thousands of your fingers landing,

Washing o’er my face.

Your attention is omnipresent

Yet to me, it’s personally given

Your world is inhospitable

Yet compassion dwells therein.

You nurture life, you conceive death

With vitality you bring grief

And in your own cruel irony

You bring doubt despite belief.

You are begotten from deceit

You come forth from dreams deferred

And though I know love is an option

It’s your drench that I prefer.

Be ye tears, or something more

Or be ye real at all?

Real or not, all down my face, and

From the sky you fall.

Welcome to Faces

2008-06-27T13:28:00.000-07:00

noun: those enigmatic entities which, though possibly long since vanished from life, remain burned in the heart.

This is the blog of Philosoraptor.

Join us as we talk about philosophy, poetry, and meaning.