I’m Sorry :(

I haven’t updated this blog in forever and a day. I’ll try and update it more often. I’ll start posting regularly again.

My rights, they’re gone: Raed Jarrar’s Story

Time to get serious after all those parodies and videos from YouTube. Although we are all being asked to give up some rights for security, when do we lose too many rights. Muslim people through out the United States are being discriminated against, but it is for security after all. Right?

Raed Jarrar, was held up at an airport for wearing the shirt in the picture above. The Arabic writing says, “We will not be silent.” Jet Blue though, the airline who he was going to fly with asked him to change is shirt since it, “offended the passengers.” Now tell me, is this not against freedom of speech?

I am not the best story teller so here is the story.

What do you think about this?

Googlezon’s Grid

What does the future hold in store for us. With the internet, data is available as fast as you can open up a search engine. Will personalized news streaming become the boom or vane of society?

As our society becomes more and more digitized, will we still be informed? Or will we simply have the illusion of news?

(This is probably one of the few thought provoking video clips on You Tube…)

Google would never harm us, or would it? Digg, what about you? Microsoft, well, you’ve shown your true colors already.

Update: I forgot to add the link to the original video (which is way better that the one that YouTube is hosting. It’s right here. It’s called, “Epic 2015“.

Kim Jung-Il, My Dearest

I have recently seen one of you propaganda films on a website. I must say, I was surprised when I saw how beautiful your country is and how much your people revere you. Although I am not worthy of entering your great state, I would like to visit. Do allow me to go though, the video promised that I can meet pretty girls.

Worry not Kim, I’ll overlook the few flaws that North Korea has. I won’t look in the countryside, where your people starve. I won’t look at the demilitarized zone. I most certainly will overlook the fact that Pyonyang is not a real city, but a cluster of buildings which do not have electricity, water, or people in them.

I know people will want to learn more on this wonderful country, therefore I have posted the video.

NoKo for life!!

Sony’s White PSP- What a Riot!

Sony has been advertising the release of it’s new white PSP using the ad above. It depicts a white model menacingly holding a black model. The slogan for the campaign is “White is Coming.” The white PSP that is.

Although there are relatively few of these ads in the United States, people have started to riot over the ads. They claim the ads are racist and do not simply represent the two available PSP colors. It is a provocative ad for sure.

The ads are being run more in the Netherlands, mainly Amsterdam more than in the United States where racism continues to be a “fraught” issue.

I still believe it is not a scandalous a campaign as the Benetton “United Colors” ad campaign.

Sony Ad Casues White Riot via [Guardian Unlimited]

Scientology + Apple Marketing =

After hours of boredom I ran across this juicy tidbit by Rocketboom's Amando Congdon on Scientology. I wish people could find a way to make both Scientology and Apple funnier. I found it amusing. I try to stop people of making fun of Scientologists, but the thetans just don't let me…

Brazil- The New Energy Tycoons?

Oh, the Gilded Age. An age were all seemed right, yet nothing was. In the years of reforms that followed it, mostly under Theodore Roosevelt, we saw oil trust being busted (mostly Standard Oil and Rockefeller) and people gaining reputations as "trust busters" (mostly Theodore Roosevelt).

Today, we're having some problems with oil. The Middle East seems to own most of it. We are therefore looking for new, alternative, solutions to our oil ills. One of those solutions seems to be energy from ethanol. Ethanol is an alcohol made from stuff like corn and sugar. Apparently we can make our cars run on gasoline (or petrol in other places) and ethanol mixtures. But were will the sugar and/or corn to make ethanol come from? Brazil of course!

Brazilian sugar farmers seem to love the idea of ethanol. They'll get a fair amount of profit from the sale of sugar, sugar beets, and maybe corn to be made into ethanol (certainly not as much money as the people at Exxon or BP are making now). Is this revolutionary new ethanol fuel really feasible? Maybe…

Until then, I'll horde C&H Sugar, just in case…(BTW, for a short period of time, C&H was also a monopoly)

via [CNN]

“No Bananas Are Kept Here!”

No plantations are safe now that Hurricane Larry, has sadly, destroyed many of Australia's banana crops. For some reason though, Australians have gone bananas (you'll get the pun, don't worry).

Crates of bananas that were sold for A$45 before HL are now being sold for prices up to A$200! They have become so difficult to find, that bananas are now being traded illegaly by raiding surviving banana plantations.

Fruiters are so afraid of their plantation or store being raided for the precious gold stuff that they have put up signs which say "No bananas are kept on the premises overnight."

I expected nothing less from those crazy Aussie's.

via [The Times]

Free Telephony For All!

Now you can call friends for free (if you have DSL and Skype)!

Skype is offering free calls to anywhere in the US and Canada with its VOiP client, Skype. The way it works (as far as I truly care) is by downloading the client at Skype, then you install it. You can then place calls to other people with Skype or people with normal phones. You need a microphone and sound system to do so of course. Unfortunately, you can only make outgoing calls, so no one can call you back, you need to pay for that service.

Finally, I can feel free from the NSA!

Skype

Update: Skype is no longer free as of December 31, 2006; however, at $19.99 a year, or something like that, it’s still somewhat cheaper than using a phone. You can also make your friends get Skype and you can talk to them over the client.

From Russia, With Love

It seems as if the Soviet Union might have been in a better situation that we thought. Recently, somebody built a wist of Soviet gadgets, in which we can see that the Russians enjoyed some of the same technological marvels that the United States did.

I'm glad to know that the Russians were able to make synthesized music with a keyboard called an Ecvodin Synthesizer. Ever wanted to make a "stereo" 3-D picture, how about a Nikon Stereo Camera, built by our communist friends of course. One of those stereo cameras will set you back up to $9500 today!

Well that's it for me, I'm taking my Soviet foldable helicopter to school and taking my KGB handbag spy camera to take nifty pictures with my comrades.

iPod? No thanks, my Russian transistor radio is the choice for me!