I find Political correctness offensive

Political correctness
As ironic as it sounds, yes. I tend to get fairly annoyed listening to people tip-toeing around trying to be all PC. You know what? Just say it! I mean, rephrasing the odd thing here and there is one thing, but sometimes things just get taken too far.

That guy who cleans toilets and mops the floor at the local elementary school? He's a janitor! Not a "sanitation engineer" or an "environmental hygienist". And the woman who stays at home to look after her kids, do housework, etc.? Housewife! When did people start spouting all this "domestic engineer" nonsense?

Anyway, maybe that's just me. Maybe everyone else is perfectly fine with all this PC terminology and censoring and whatnot. Me? I'd rather waste my time on other things.

Religious zealots
Now this isn't to say I have a problem with people being religious. I'm not particularly religious myself, but that doesn't mean that other people can't be. The problem comes in when people start trying to "save" me or somesuch. That annoys me. I have my beliefs, you have yours, let's leave it at that. Even the saving I don't mind so much if they're gentle about it. If they just offer up a bit of information and share their beliefs, that's not so bad. It's when they get forceful about it that I take exception. Anyway, like I said, long as you're not an over-the-top, my-way-is-the-only-way, fanatical, religious zealot, we're probably fine. And, if you are... well... at least try to find someone who wants to listen before you start "sharing".

From Ontario (Canada) to Panama (and that's not even the longest distance I've tried!)

It may not be the longest distance relationship I've attempted, but it is my longest distance successful (so far) relationship. Then again, the first was a romantic relationship while this one's just a simple, comfortable friendship. Maybe that had something to do with it. Anyway! I digress...
The longest distance relationship I currently have is with my friend Raul in Panama City, Panama. (That's pretty freakin' far from me here in Guelph!)

How did I end up making friends with someone who lives so far away? Well... since you asked:
I took a trip to Panama with my mother about a year ago. It was lovely! Two weeks was not nearly enough time, but at least it gave us a taste.
I met Raul at one of the hotels we stayed at. We hit it off and spent a good bit of time talking so, before I left, we exchanged e-mail addresses. We've been in touch ever since.

The Internet is a wonderful thing. We talk on MSN a fair bit. Less now that we're both in school again and have different schedules. But we still keep in touch. He's a good friend and I always enjoy talking to him. Maybe one day I'll be able to go back to Panama to visit him, or he might make it to Canada to visit me, but for now I'm content just having such a great friend to talk to online.

Friendster

So, I Stumbled Upon an article about Friendster the other day... Now, I didn't know much about Friendster, and I didn't really care to find out. I always thought it sounded like something pre-pubescent "cool" kids signed up to in order to show off how popular they were. Not my kind of thing. This reading this article was enough to convince me to take a look at it though. Not because my opinion of the site is any higher, but because it sounds completely ridiculous and somewhat amusing. I must admit, the "degrees of separation" thing also intrigued me. I do like tracing out connections and seeing how things are related, so that bit was right up my alley.

So, anyway, I fill in a profile and register for Friendster. I figure I'll play around with it a bit, see who it connects me to.
Well... apparently, not a single one of my friends is on Friendster. I checked. No one.
So much for that idea!
Oh well.

Environmentally Concerned

Yes, I am concerned about the environment. Yes, I think it is possible to have a positive impact. Do I think that overall, as a species, we can have a net-good effect? Not really.

Honestly... We're screwed! At this point, I don't think it's a matter of if it all comes tumbling down, but how fast. Now, that doesn't mean that I don't think we should try to off-set it or slow it down a little. Just because I think we've set ourselves on a course to crash and burn, doesn't mean that I think we should take everything else on the planet with us. By all means, we should try to minimize our impact. Maybe we can even put of the inevitable long enough for someone to find a miraculous solution and save the day. Or maybe we'll hit the wall and cause the next mass extinction. Who knows?

Bottom line is: People won't change until they have to. Sure, we'll do little things - easy things - but, the big changes - the ones that really matter - won't come until disaster is staring us right in the face. By then it's 'too little, too late'.



Okay, now that I've gotten the rant-y part out of the way (sorry 'bout that guys), here's how I try to do my part:

Use compact fluorescent lights

Take public transit

Keep lights turned off whenever possible

Wear clothes a couple of times before I put them in the wash

Recycle

Compost

Save and reuse containers

Minimize climate control (thermostat generally stays at 62 F in the winter, 72 F in the summer, and gets turned off all together in between)

Don't spray or water the lawn (This one really bugs me! So what if your lawn has a few weeds in it, who cares?! And the irrigation thing really bothers me. It's such a waste! If it's dry enough that your lawn is turning brown then it's dry enough that we should be trying to conserve water. Heck, we should be trying to conserve water anyway! But especially if there's a drought on.)

Don't buy bottled water

Try to avoid buying large packages containing smaller 'individually wrapped' or 'single-serving' packets (better just to buy the big case and portion as needed)



Anyway, those are my thoughts and contributions, pessimistic and pathetic as they may, respectively, be.

Thokk

So after my brief (8-hour) experience with D&D, I decided that I'd like to play a bit more. This of course requires that I build a character. Now, at the moment I don't have a current PHB (player's handbook), but I did manage to get my hands on an old 3rd ed one. I've read through that and come up with a character based on those rules, Thokk.
Thokk Faror is a simple-minded, half-orc ranger. I'm very pleased with Thokk, as a character, so far. I know he'll need to be updated for 4th ed (or possibly only 3.5) but I'm hoping that that'll only be minor tweaking and I can keep my basic character concept. I like it too much to just throw him away. I've come up with a whole backstory and everything! Thokk is awesome!

Dungeons & Dragons

So, I went to Gryphcon last weekend. It was awesome! Except I spent far too much money. But there was a lot of really cool stuff there and I had a ball.
I spent $30 to go to the banquet, which seemed a little expensive at the time, but I got four free books out of it, so I guess it worked out okay in the end.

I wasn't actually planning on doing a whole lot at the con. I've never been to one before so I figured that I'd just go and observe for this time. Well, that's what I did for most of the weekend, but... Someone dropped out of the Tomb of Horrors module at the last minute. The DM (that's the guy that runs the game for any of you who don't know) overheard my me and my friend talking about how we might like to try D&D out sometime. Well, after only a little bit of arm-twisting, he talked me into joining his game. I was horribly nervous to start. I didn't know any of the rules. I didn't have a character made up. I felt silly trying to roleplay.
But it wasn't nearly as painful as I thought it was going to be.
The DM let me use one of his characters. I spent most of my time hanging back and watching how the other characters and players worked, did everything in the third person, and didn't worry too much about roleplaying. By the end of the module I was kind of starting to get into it though. It was actually a lot of fun.
Problem is, now that I've got a taste for it, I'm hungry for more. There aren't really any games I can join right now though, being the end of the semester and all. Everyone's wrapping up their games and getting ready to scatter for the summer. I'm probably going to have to wait 'til fall to pick anything up.
That being said, it does look like there's gonna be one game running over the summer. It sounds kind of interesting. It's a self roleplaying game. Our characters are us. They start out with the same abilities and skills that we have and just develop and grow from there. I can't wait to see how that turns out!

Zombie Apocalypse To-Do List:

This is my, personal, zombie apocalypse to-do list.

1. Put together a survival kit.
a. matches
b. batteries
c. dental floss - can be braided to make small rope, make a snare, used as shoelaces, used as thread, food slicer, trip wire, make a net, fishing line, etc.
d. magazines/notebooks - can be burned for cooking/warmth, can be crumpled and used as insulation, used as funnel, used as (admittedly poor) megaphone, rolled up and taped or tied to make improvised step stool, bottle opener, improvised weapon, staples can be magnetized and floated on water as a compass, staples can be used to connect opposite poles of battery and start fire, staples can be used as temporary fuses, etc. (Yes, most, if not all, of these ideas came from "Sneaky Uses for Everyday Things". Great book! I really need to get a copy!)
e. crowbar - prop, door wedge, lever, weapon... need I say more?
f. water bottle
g. first aid kit - this is going to have a lot of useful stuff in a nice compact package. Definitely a good thing to have! (Make sure you've got medical tape, gauze, antihistamines, pain killers, antibacterial wipe/ointment/something at least! Finger splints, scissors, and tweezers are also good.)
h. duct tape - what can't it do?
i. plastic garbage bag - improvised poncho, tent, etc. use to hold wet items, use as part of improvised still, etc.
j. sewing needle - just a good idea, okay?
k. (swiss army) knife
l. radio - so you can hear what's going on in the outside world, (if you have a calculator, can also be used as a metal detector)
m. flashlight
n. candles
o. rope - in case the dental floss just isn't sturdy enough
p. elastics
q. magnets
r. markers - in case you need to get messages to other survivors

2. Find John - John is a smart, resourceful guy. He's also an expert at making fire. And his survival instincts are pretty darn good. Wherever her is is probably where I want to be. Chances are he'll probably be barricaded in the nearest Canadian Tire or grocery store. Both have their advantages.

2a. If John's not in the grocery store, pack some food. Actually, pack some food anyway, just in case things go horribly, horribly wrong and I get stuck somewhere else.

3. Learn about the zombies. Find out how intelligent they are, how they think and react. Find out what their weaknesses are and how to exploit them. Try to discover where they came from/how this started. How do they spread/reproduce? How fast can they move? How much punishment can they take? (How much does it take to put one down for good?) Gather as much information as possible.

4. Develop a plan. Based on the information you've gathered, decide how best to deal with the zombie menace. Make sure it's a good one! You're likely only going to get one shot.

5. Act! Quickly. Before they find a way into your stronghold. Or you run out of food. Or water. Or materials. Do something! Make your escape.

Item #2 is definitely the most important! If I can find John then I likely don't need to worry about anything else on the list. He will have supplies and a plan. I just need to stick with him and try to not get myself killed.

Mama's Bed brings me back

I remember my mom reading this to me and my brother when we were kids. That and "I'll Love You Forever", which is one of the saddest, sweetest children's books I've ever read. It still almost makes me tear up just thinking about it.

Thank you, Mom. Thanks, Dad.

If I had to give away a million dollars I'd definitely give at least half of it to my parents. They deserve it. They've worked hard all their lives. They gave up a lot to raise a family. They should be able to have and do some things for themselves now. I'd love to be able to do that for them!
I'd like to contribute to some sort of conservation effort, but I'd have to do a lot of research before I decided which one I was going to give to. I want my money to help the actual cause, not line someone's pockets. I think a lot of these organizations have way too much overhead and not nearly enough of the money is going where it should be. But, if I thought that it would actually help then, yes, I'd donate to a wildlife or conservation effort.
I'd also keep a chunk of the money (maybe $100000) set aside. I'd use it for a couple of things. First of all, to help out or treat my friends when they need it. Nothing huge, just a few bucks here and there if they're ever in a pinch. I'd also like to use a bunch of it for 'random acts of kindness' type stuff. Just walk around town with my pockets filled with loonies. Give one to every kid I see 'til my pockets are empty. Tip the delivery guy with a fifty. Pay for the guy behind me in line (at the grocery store, bookstore... whatever). I'd love to just go around doing random, little, fun things that would amuse me.

Captain Oblivious!

I don't do news and current events. I just don't. I never get any pop culture references. I'm not up to date on political situations. I'm fairly clueless when it comes to anything outside my own little academic and social bubble.

I don't read the papers nearly as much as I should. I never know what's going on in the world around me. Generally, if and when I do hear about a current event, it's through friends or family.

Occasionally I'll spot and click on a link on the Internet, but that tends to be rather rare. Mostly because I spend all my time on Wikipedia, Plinky, and reading web comics. When I'm not doing that, I'm probably messing around with StumbleUpon. I tend to get more recipes and knitting patterns than news from that source. ('Though it does occasionally pop up with some current event, newsworthy-type thing.)

So, yeah... if the newspapers were reporting their own imminent demise, I'd be the last to know!