inherently different

I like to argue with people. Not because I enjoy arguments as such, but because i truly enjoy hearing why people believe what they believe. I can totally disagree with someone on any topic, but I won’t make it personal. I can even change my mind based on a person’s argument, if their evidence is compelling enough, I have no problem switching my perspective.

It is said that two topics you should never talk about in polite company are religion and politics. Mostly because both those topics are more likely to stir the passions than any other topic. People believe what they believe and woe to those who think they can change their minds.

Unfortunately, religion and politics are two topics that are really fun to debate.

A long while ago, I used to enjoy debating with some other bloggers about a variety of topics. Lately though, those arguments have been few and far between. There are a lot of reasons behind this lull in the action. Some of it is my fault, but some of it rises from the simple fact that as we get closer to an election, people stop arguing intelligently and start making personal attacks instead of arguing issues. While I can easily trade tit for tat, I really don’t enjoy calling people names when they disagree with me. I don’t get any satisfaction when I point out the flaws in someone’s argument and in return, I get called “moonbat,” or “unpatriotic,” or “demonazi,” or just simply, “moron.”

It is unfortunate that sometimes some of the most intellectual people resort to demonizing whole groups of people simply because they don’t share their ideology. Whether you are christian, mormon, pagan, muslim, republican, democrat, independent, white supremecist, black powerist, or anarchist, the easiest way to quell dissent is to start making attacks personal rather than focus on the issues.

When some of my favorite bloggers started to make name calling the structure from which they based their beliefs, I started to lose interest. Perhaps when the election is over, people will become more rational and less inclined to call people names in place of arguing issues. For now though… I just say, bleh.

October 30th, 2008 | Category: me, glorious me | Comments (2)

I had a post, all nice and spell-checked. Then I read this article and now I need to include this information into what I know about evolution and how it fits with my worldview. I’m not overly concerned with the question of whether or not man has really stopped evolving. Instead, I am more interested in the idea that some scientists are so sure that we’ll never be faced with a situation that will require humans to adapt to their environment. Adaptation is usually the evolutionary pre-cursor to actual mutation. Anyway, stay tuned.

October 27th, 2008 | Category: me, glorious me | Comments (1)

If I was going to choose a time in my life where the person I was to become was just starting to surface, I would choose the years between 1979 and 1984. My family moved from Chula Vista, near the border between Mexico and the US, to Northern San Diego, to a place called Poway.

From 13 through 19, I lived in Poway and made friends with many people. I have always been of the mindset that those friends, the ones you make when you are finding yourself, are the ones that know you best. They have seen what you were, and if they stick around long enough, see who you become. They have the full picture and most likely, are the ones who you can’t lie to without getting called on it. The one friend that has followed me through my life to this point is my good buddy, Allen. For me, he is that guy.

More »

October 13th, 2008 | Category: me, glorious me | Comments (3)

Ever used vista, the new Windows OS? It is the most bloated piece of shit I have ever had the misfortune of coming across. I just got my new machine (a Dell XPS) and it comes pre-loaded with that crap. It will take a while to get most of the bloatware removed. Meh… thats the part about pre-configured machines that I hate.

October 10th, 2008 | Category: me, glorious me | Comments (3)

The original 100 things can be found here.

100. I have not watched broadcast television (live tv) in three years (not counting charger games at the local bar).
99. From the time I was 5 until I was 38, I could probably count the number of times I have been sick on both hands.
98. Since 2004 when I moved to Maui, I have had at least 12 colds and half as many flu viruses.
97. I read a lot of blogs and have come to realize a great many of the people who write them would drive me crazy if I knew them in real life.
96. I rarely sleep for more than 5 hours a night and frequently sleep much less.
95. It isn’t insomnia, I just don’t feel sleepy.
94. If I became famous, I would have little trouble forgetting just about everyone I know.
93. If the world ended tomorrow, I would be ok with it.
92. My hierarchy of needs starts with absolute truth at the top, then works its way down with emotions at the bottom.
91. I love to cook.
90. I play entirely too much Warhammer Online.
89. I cant understand why some people whine so much about such inconsequential things. If it doesn’t kill you, play on!
88. Life is only as complicated as you make it. I have simplified my life and it has improved my outlook immensely.
87. I like to argue.
86. I can go from liking someone to being completely indifferent toward them in a matter of moments, especially if they are manipulative, whiney, or ignorant.
85. I can figure most people out within 10 minutes of meeting them, and make a decision about them and their inherent value within 15.
84. I push people’s buttons as often as I can.
83. I really don’t care what people think about me.
82. While they say, “No man is an island,” I think that a man can be a small subdivision outside the city.
81. Reality is always more interesting than fantasy, except when that reality is manufactured.
80. When I was 14, my dentist died of an unknown disease… later, it was discovered he was one of the first known cases of HIV/AIDS.
79. I have been on championship winning teams in baseball, soccer, and hockey.
78. I have a low threshold for stupidity. Most people really disappoint me with their lack of intelligence.
77. I have a large collection of graphic novels.
76. I have great rapport with animals and children.
75. I used to have a really bad gambling habit. I stopped gambling quite some time ago and don’t miss it.
74. I saved my younger brothers life when he was 3.
73. I almost killed him when he was five.
72. I think that makes us even.
71. I don’t speak to my older brother much these days.
70. His wife used to copy my tests in High School.
69. She called me one day crying asking me if I thought he was cheating on her. I told her if he wasn’t, he should be.
68. I have gone out of my way to humiliate her as much as humanly possible.
67. This could have something to do with why my older brother and I don’t speak much.
66. I have had fun at the expense of others.
65. But I have never been a bully.
64. People either love me or hate me.
63. I tend to go out of my way to infuriate people who show any dislike towards me or mine.
62. I am a lifelong San Diego sports fan (maybe sufferer would be more appropriate).
61. I spend 12 or more hours per day on the computer.
60. I either like you or I am indifferent toward you. There are no grey areas.
59. My biggest pet peeve is people who are indecisive.
58. Unless you have to decide which appendage to lose over a gambling debt, few problems should rate more than 2 minutes thought before making a decision.
57. I weed out people who have problems making decisions.
56. If people ask my opinion, and then don’t take it, then wonder what went wrong, I am not above saying, “I told you so!”
55. Which probably explains why people either love me or hate me.
54. Of course, it is better to be hated or loved than to be ignored.
53. The people I interact with in person most these days are my gf and clients.
52. I actually prefer it that way.
51. The people on Maui are generally the most ignorant people i have come across.
50. Which probably explains why I try to limit my interaction with them as much as possible.

More to come…

October 5th, 2008 | Category: island life, me, glorious me | Comments (2)

My computer is dying. I have a bunch of computers, but this one is the computer that is like that favorite pair of shoes… comfortable and well-known. I am buying a replacement on monday, but this one will be sorely missed.

September 28th, 2008 | Category: me, glorious me | Comments (4)

It seems that I missed a few days. I had some posts lined up, but they weren’t even close to ready for prime time so I held them back. I have taken on two new clients in the last 72 hours and have been knee deep in prepping myself to get the jobs finished before the end of the month. That could mean I will be posting less, but I will attempt to push out a few posts when time permits.

On another note, my team has a “must win” game coming up on Monday against the Jets. If they lose this game, and there is a very real possiblity that they could, the season is essentially over. With Denver playing its best football in years, they seem to have the AFC West championship in their sights. Let’s hope Brett Favre has his worst game as a pro come monday night.

September 20th, 2008 | Category: me, glorious me | Comments (3)

So I am minding my own business and I overhear a conversation between two 20-something women at Starbucks. I was doing a good job ignoring them, but then the first waspy woman said this about Megan Fox:

Shrew 1: Ugh, she disgusts me. She tries to hard. She’s such a beautiful girl yet she feels the need to act like this. Sad.

(I chuckle to myself, quietly, I thought out of earshot, but she turns to me and says…)

Shrew 1: Beg your pardon?

Me: A woman, confident, decisive and opinionated disgusts you? Interesting.

Personally speaking, I would like to see more women behave this way (i don’t think she is trying at all to be honest)… the more prissy, chaste, and conservative women behave, the longer they will be considered the “weaker” sex.

Shrew 2: There’s a difference between being classy and opinionated and classless and opinionated. She, quite obviously, is the latter.

Me: I don’t really see what Megan Fox does or says that can be considered classless… in order to be classless, you would have to debase yourself in such a way as to render yourself inhuman. From what I have seen reported, the worst that can be said about her is that she speaks her mind and she was photographed with her hand on her boyfriends crotch in what should have been a private moment in a public place.

I guess it all depends on how puritanical your views are… is Madonna classless? Is Vanessa Hudgens? Since both of these women have said and done things that would fall within the realm of “classless” based on your example.

Women who are strong, opinionated and are not willing to conform to puritanical views of womanhood will always be considered classless by those who have very little regard for equality. A woman should NOT be held to a higher standard than a man in my honest opinion.

Shrew 1: Yeah, because grabbing your boyfriend’s package for a few seconds in public AND in front of a photographer no less, is sooo classy.

Me: And showing your breast during a dance routine is classy… as is having your bikini ride up and expose your breast when playing at the beach…

Is it classy to give your sig other a kiss on the mouth in public? To hold hands? To place your hand on their ass? If a man does any of these things, is it classless? I think either you’re either jealous or simply unable to measure a person’s worth without attaching gender bias to their actions.

To me this is less about Megan Fox and her public misdeeds and more about wanting to find reasons to denigrate her for behaving in a way that upsets your puritanical views about how women should and shouldn’t conduct themselves. Which is made even scarier by the fact that you are a woman and dressed like a $2 hooker in Bangkok.

If women want equality, women should be the last people to cast stones upon a woman, whatever her faults. Enjoy you coffee, hope it goes a long way toward waking you up to reality.

September 16th, 2008 | Category: me, glorious me | Comments (4)

Remember OJ? Now some Vegas prosecutor wants to make up for the travesty of justice that was his original murder trial.

As O.J. Simpson’s trial on armed robbery charges kicked off Monday in Las Vegas, the prosecutor looking to put the former football star behind bars—possibly for the rest of his life—urged the jury to make this the “final chapter” in Simpson’s infamous and, in recent years, sordid story. - E!Online

I know that OJ probably murdered Nicole, but he was acquitted of all charges by a jury of his peers. Which means he is innocent of the charges from a legal standpoint. What I find rather scary is that a prosecutor is aiming to give him a life sentence, seemingly, to make up for the fact that he was found innocent all those years ago.

I think OJ is a douchebag, but he shouldn’t be punished for crimes for which he was found not guilty of committing. It scares me to think that a prosecutor is finding a way to put him on trial in such a way as to circumvent double jeopardy laws. While this prosecutor isn’t trying him for murder, he wants the jury to use their knowledge of his past legal troubles in considering the new charges against him. Sneaky and scary.

September 15th, 2008 | Category: me, glorious me | Comments (1)