Blog Action Day - The Enviroment

Well today is October 15th, 2007, and as you can tell from the topic it is Blog Action day, a day when bloggers all over the web will unite to discuss one important issue in the hopes of bringing attention to the topic and with any luck bring about some change. This years topic is the environment, a topic we have heard a lot about on the campaign trail and on T.V.

I know there has been a lot of buzz about E85 ethanol and the benefits it provides for a clean renewable energy. What many people don't realize is that the effect that the manufacturing of this fuel has on the environment. E85 ethanol is made from corn which can be grown in a variety of locations, the problem however, is that the process of growing the corn requires lots of fertilizers and pesticides that can pollute our waterways and cause a significant negative effect on the ecosystem.

So what does that leave us?

Cellulosic ethanol is the answer, it is made from plants that are easy to grow and require a minimal amount of fertilizer or pesticides to maintain. Not only that, but the plants grow rapidly and will be fairly easy to maintain once they are widely accepted, not to mention they are not a food source and unlike corn, a commercial adoption will not drive up food costs.

So what's the problem?

Bugs, more accurately the cost of the bugs that break down the plants into a usable material. The science is there and the technology is there, the money, however, has just started to come in for developing a process that can be cheaply used to mass produce fuel from these plants.

Once again the almighty dollar takes center stage over what the morale thing to do is. That's a touchy word I know, what is morale? Who gets to decide? The simple answer is, the majority of a civilized society decides what is morale for them. This is a sensitive subject better discussed in a separate entry.

Closing, what we need are a few people with some really deep pockets who are willing to put whats right ahead of whats profitable.

Go go idiots in Florida!

Today is the first day of October in the year of two thousand and seven and our illustrious Florida, State Government has allowed the no-fault insurance system that we have had here in Florida to sunset and adopted a new tort system.

What does this all mean?

Simply, what it means is that PIP, the minimal insurance you had to carry to operate a motor vehicle in the State of Florida, will be gone. The Insurance companies would have you believe that this will save motorist money and that this is a good thing for everyone. After all, why should you need insurance to cover your medical costs if your are not at fault, that’s the responsibility of the other guys insurance right? Sure, in a utopian society everyone is carrying insurance that will cover you if someone hits you. The reality, however, is very different and often times the person at fault either has no or insufficient insurance to cover your injury, lost wages etcetera.

What can you do?

Unfortunately there isn’t much you can do at this point, the no-fault system expired today and I am not totally sure when it will be able to be brought back, if it that is a possibility at all. What can and should do is protect yourself in case you are in an accident with a couple options that many insurance providers won’t tell you about or if they do, they down play the importance and sometimes even try and have you sign away your options.

The first one is called UM (uninsured/under-insured motorist) this basically protects you against being hit by an uninsured motorist or one who doesn’t have enough coverage to cover all of your costs/damages. This places the burden on your insurance provider to pick up the slack.

The other one is called stacked insurance and will only apply to you if you have more then one vehicle on the same insurance policy. This one is a little more complicated but is easily broken down into understandable terms. What a stacked policy does is stacks the amount of coverage by an amount multiplied by the number of vehicles on the policy. In other words if you have medical coverage of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00) and you have two (2) vehicles on your policy, if you have stacked your coverage, your medical coverage is actually two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000.00). This is the one that most insurance companies will try and hide from you and that requires you to sign or initial away, the common practice is to get you to deny it early on when you first get your policy set up and then they don’t offer it to you again and instead just ask if you want any changes made to your policy, most of the time people will just say no and that’s the end of it.

So in closing I will give a proud “bird” to our legislators and say, “Go home, nobody loves you.”

Can it be done?

The movie says it all, the project is amazing and really deserves some attention.

Who do you turn to?

Hi, my name is Billy and I am thirteen years old and already I have a problem with drugs. I hate my parents, my school, and my life in general. I feel like every one is out to get me and I have no one to turn to for help. I get in fights in school and scream at my parents for asking me to do chores or telling me to finish my homework. I got arrested yesterday and now I am sitting in a juvenile justice facility waiting for the judge to speak to me. This isn’t the first time it has happened, I have been in trouble a few times before but this time I think might be different, they had a counselor speak with me and I think I might be in real trouble this time.

They are coming to get me now; stupid cops are going to put me into handcuffs again. Here we go again, ride to the courthouse and listen to the judge bitch and moan about how I never learn and that I am on the road to becoming a convict and drain on society. Stupid hick cop listening to country music, stupid inbred fuck wouldn’t know cool if it bit him in the ass. Here we are, finally at the court house, there’s my dad’s car, and boy is he going to be pissed. Sure are a lot of kids here today, I am going to have to wait all day before I get to go home.

It’s been four and half hours now and I am finally getting to go in and see the judge, he doesn’t look happy to see me. There’s my dad, he doesn’t look happy either and I bet I will hear about how he had to miss work to be here on the way home. Strange, the judge isn’t yelling at me, I don’t understand what he is saying, habitual, what does that mean? He’s talking to my dad now, something about what’s best for me.

I don’t think I am going home. . .

I got checked in today, a boy’s camp and rehabilitation center, looks more like a jail to me. Could be worse I suppose, only six months and then I get to go home. I talked with my dad before they sent me here, he said this was for the best and that six months will go by fast and when I get home things will be better. I doubt it, but who knows, maybe things will be different.

Four months sure have gone by fast, not fast enough though; I don’t know how this place is supposed to help us. Their counseling is horrible and usually consists of screaming at us until we do what they say. Sometimes they even throw us on the ground and choke us if we don’t do what we are told fast enough. Oh well, two more months and I am out of here.

I got in trouble today, they said they found drugs in my bunk, they aren’t mine, I have never done cocaine. I asked them to test me, I said I had been clean; they refused and said that it wouldn’t prove anything anyways. They are restarting my time from the beginning; I am also being put into disciplinary ward for fourteen days. I can’t even call my dad to tell him what happened.

Six more months. . .

I got mad today and yelled at one of the guards, I told him to go fuck himself, it wasn’t the smartest thing I ever did but I was so mad because I shouldn’t even be here anymore! The guard broke my arm, I heard him talking to the doctor, he said I was fighting another kid and I fell and broke my arm, the nurse didn’t buy it but I don’t think the doctor really cared.

The nurse has come to see be a few times to check on my arm, she brought me some papers to fill out to file a complaint on the guy who broke my arm, I filled them out and she took them to the guy in charge.

My mom and dad came to see me today, I told them about everything and they said they believed me and my dad said he would talk to the administrators about it. He said he missed me and wanted me to come home soon; I just need to keep my temper in line and keep my nose clean. I can do this, I really miss parents and I really want a better life.

I can do this. . .

The nurse came by again today and checked my arm, she said it was healing nicely and that she gave my complaint to the administrator, the guard over heard us talking and made her leave rather quickly. At least I have one friend here.

A new nurse came to see me today, I asked her about the other lady and she said she left for other opportunities.

I have seen lots of boys come in and not too many get to leave on time, most have been here for years.

How long will I be here?

It’s been five years, I am eighteen now and I can’t seem to understand how I keep getting in trouble. No matter what I do my time keeps getting restarted, my parents hired an attorney the other day to try and help me get out of this place. I doubt it will work, it’s hopeless, and I will be here forever.

My life is over; all that is left is this place. . .

The foregoing story is fictional, the characters in it are not real, but the basis for the story is unfortunately very real. Children are being sent to rehabilitation centers and not getting released, you see, these are not jails and thus do not have to follow the same rules that a jail has to. They can start and stop their time as they see fit, it is common for a six month sentence to turn into years. Physical violence against the kids is also common, so common in fact that when a counselor abuses one of the kids, the others just turn around and stare off as if zombies.

Most of the children are written off as malcontents, bad kids or troublemakers who can’t follow the rules. The truth is, most of these kids had problems and needed help, and instead of getting the help they need they became a paycheck for some institution. Even if they follow all the rules, often times the guards will manufacture a problem or push a kid into a fight just to reset their sentence. If the parents start asking questions, then the facility does a mock investigation. They don’t care what really happened though, I have seen cases of having the guards spouse (who just so happens to be the investigator) doing the investigation.

So who do you turn to?

You got a license for that CD son?

Recently some very disturbing legislature was passed here in Florida that we will refer to as "pawn shop" laws. These laws basically set forth restrictions and regulations regarding the sale and purchase of used compact discs. Yes, you read that correctly, that Nirvana CD you bought last year can no longer be sold at the flea market, a garage sale, Goody's, or your local mom and pop music store.

Struggling college student trying to sell some CDs to buy your books? Too bad, now stores in Florida can only grant in store credit, no more cash. Not only that, but in order to purchase used CDs you will now have to leave your thumb print and a copy of your state issued identification.

What does this mean for the retailers though? Well it means that now you get the privilege to pay up to ten thousand dollars to treat your customers like felons. Not to mention that you also have to hold the CDs for thirty days before you can resell them for in store credit only.

So what brought about these draconian laws? Well they came in under the guise of laws to help the poor starving artists and the terrible people who defraud them by making illegal copies and boot leg copies of their work. *sarcasm*

The truth is, the used CD business eats away at about ten percent of the music industries profits and they want to make sure that they are getting every single penny they can. You may remember a few years back when the recording industry tried to use some strong arm tactics to force music stores to stop buying used media, that didn't work, so this time they came back with government support.

I think it's due time that someone did something to stop this MAFIAA (RIAA) and put an end to this crap.

In short, both the Florida legislature and the RIAA, deserve the following.

Go home, nobody loves you, and take your fucked up laws with you. . .

You can find more information here.

This is the law in discussion I believe, I have NOT had time to read it yet thought.


ch_2006-201.pdf

The world that was Star Wars: Galaxies. . .

Ok, so most of us know what Star Wars is and at the very least have heard about the legacy that is Lucas Arts. I am also pretty certain that everyone knows, or have at least heard of, Sony. What some of you may not know is that back in 2003 Sony and Lucas Arts got together and made a game called "Star Wars: Galaxies" or "SWG" for short.

SWG has never and will never be on par with such giants in the MMO field as say World of Warcraft or Everquest or even Ultima Online. It did, however, enjoy some success and apparently has some longevity in it as here we are four years later and the game server are still up.

So what does this have to do with anything at all and why does it a deserve a, "Go home, nobody loves you" blog. Well recently the BBC published an article and spoke with a Mr. Jake Neri who is a spokesman for Lucas Arts. Mr. Neri made some statements that were at best incorrect and at worst, out right lies.

Take this gem for instance.

"Galaxies was one of the first MMOs," said Mr Neri. "There was no handbook on how to do these things."

-Jake Neri, Lucas Arts

Mr. Neri makes it sound as if they were out there all by themselves and misleads the reader into believing that SWG was one of the first MMOs on the market. Not only is this misleading but it is also an out right lie, while SWG was one of the first generation MMOs here in the U.S., there had been others who had done a much better job then the Sony/Lucas Arts diabolic duo. Let us list some of the games that came out before SWG, please also note that some of these games came out at about the same time as SWG, sometimes within a month, make of that what you will.

In no particular order,

Planetside May 19th, 2003
Dark Age of Camelot October 10th, 2001
Ultima Online September 1997
EverQuest March 16th, 1999
Lineage 1998
Anarchy Online June 27th, 2001
Asheron's Call October 31st, 1999
Earth & Beyond September 24th, 2002
Neocron September 9th, 2002
Runescape Classic January 2001
ShadowBane March 25th, 2003
The Sims Online December 17th, 2002

So for Mr. Neri to say that they didn't have anything to reference is just plain fucking stupid, and the BBC deserves to be riding the short bus for not doing any fact checking on this tool. Granted, the BBC isn't saying whether or not what they quoted is fact or fiction, they are merely reposting a statement made by a company representative.

Mr. Neri is either a complete idiot who is unfamiliar with his own games history or he is simply reading back what was given to him by the P.R. department. Let take another jewel out of his interview.

"The extensive tweaking has given Lucas Arts a "baseline" to keep everything balanced, said Mr Neri.

With that done, Mr Neri said, Lucas Arts had plans for a series of updates which included a beast master expertise system that would let players train and breed pets in the game."

-Jake Neri, Lucas Arts

Mr. Neri presents this as if it is some new feature that they developed for the players, what he fails to tell you is that this had always been a feature of SWG until the debacle that was the NGE or New Game Enhancement, in which they reduced the number of available classes and skills significantly, they did this with little to no warning to the players and simply release a statement about a week before it went live that these are the changes and if you don't like em, too bad. I am getting off on a rant here and moving away from the point. Besides, a simple google search for NGE debacle will net you plenty of information if you so choose.

The final gem I want to end on is this one.

"The game, said Mr Neri, was all about the players and what they do with it."

-Jake Neri, Lucas Arts

SWG hasn't been about the players since the first round of combat upgrades (CU), Sony and Lucas have been chasing a wet dream and have done so many things that alienated their player base that it is amazing that they are even still running the game.

You can find the full article here.

Needless to say, Mr. Jake Neri, please, Go home, nobody loves you. . .

First blog. . .

Let's start by talking about the title of my blog, don't take it literally, it is an expression of disgust and frustration. I use it when somebody does something that really aggravates me and yet at the same time completely boggles my mind that any educated person would commit the aforementioned act.

For example, you go through a drive-thru and make a simple order and some how the stupid broad can't seem to get her shit together enough to give the right people the their orders. This happens enough that it hardly deserves a second thought, however, when this same stupid bitch goes out into the parking lot and exchanges orders with another customer and then tries to serve me the exchanged food, I am forced to look that pitiful little twat directly in the eyes and say, in the kindest tone I can muster.

"Go home, nobody loves you, now give me my money back and you can keep the food."

Now, as a general rule I am considerate of how simple words can cut deep wounds and scar our sensitive and often highly medicated society, so I try to hold my tongue and so many deserving individuals get away with their stupidity never knowing how I despise their idiocy. The above mentioned twat being one of them.

I know, you are thinking, "you fucking pansy ass", but I do have a reputation in this county (a place I like to refer to as God's "what was I smoking" pile) that I have to uphold both as a former C.O.A. with the local Sheriff's office and as a Legal Assistant with a well known law office (at least it is well known in this area).

Oh, and before I forget, 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0, if you don't know what this means, then you probably don't need to worry about it.