Father/Daughter Talk

I thought this was great.

Father/Daughter Talk

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college.
Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a
very liberal Democrat, and was very much in favor of the
redistribution of wealth.

She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch
Republican, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the
lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat
with a professor, she felt that her father had for years
harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought
should be his.

One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to
higher taxes on the rich and the addition of more government
welfare programs. The self-professed objectivity proclaimed
by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to
her father. He responded by asking how she was doing in school.

Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA,
and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that
she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly
studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other
people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and
didn't really have many college friends because she spent all her
time studying.

Her father listened and then asked, "How is you friend Audrey doing?"

She replied, "Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are
easy classes, she never studies, and she barely has a 2.0 GPA.
She is so popular on campus, college for her is a blast. She's
always invited to all the parties, and lots of times she doesn't
even show up for classes because she's too hung over."

Her wise father asked his daughter, "Why don't you go to the
Dean's office and ask him to deduct a 1.0 off your GPA and give
it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both
have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal
distribution of GPA."

The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion,
angrily fired back, "That wouldn't be fair! I have worked
really hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time,
and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing
toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!"

The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, "Welcome to the Republican
Party."

I found it on a forum so I'm not sure of the source. Regardless, it was a good find. Probably the best analogy ever. It's perfect! Brilliant!

Good night everyone.

P.S. I'm having problems posting pictures. I don't know what's up, but I'm trying to work out the kinks.

Mudvayne and NIhilism

Well, my weekend was great. I lost seven bucks playing poker and gained one back in Tripoley. I bought Mudvayne's latest CD, Lost and Found. It's a great heavymetal album, but some of their songs are odd. Overall, I liked all the songs, even the odd ones. One of the odd things on the album was in the song Choices. In a squeaky voice, they say the words "Eenie Meanie Miney Moe" (spelling?).



On one of my favorite websites, Wikipedia, I found another interesting term:

Nihilism

Furthermore, the most interesting article I have found on Wikipedia yet is on Internet Trolls. It's very intriguing to me to understand the reasoning behind people's logic in doing things such as trolling. I think that's one reason why I find psychology interesting. I loved this article becasue it went so in-depth on why people troll and their reasons for doing it. Also, I agree with the idea that trolls playing "Devil's Advocate" is good for a forum (it depends on the circumstances, but most of the time).

I've got to get back to the Colts and Patriots game. Go Colts!

So Busy

I'm not going to be able to make a worthile post today. I'm sorry. It has been really busy around here. We lost our footbal game yesterday 31-29 with 1 second left it the game (the other team kicked a field goal to win). The aroma was like someone died on our sidelines. There was so much sadness. It sucked so much.

Finally some good sports

I'm so glad that the NBA season has finally arrived. Along with that, NFL and college football are getting exciting. Both of which are awesome sports for fantasy teams online. The best fantasy basketball game I've ever participated in is Fast Break. It's a fantasy game on ESPN’s website. The standard is daily leagues, but there are weekly leagues, too. You choose a lineup each day (or week, whichever league you’re in). The catch is that all players are assigned a point value and you get a 100 point maximum cap for your roster. To get an idea of what it's like lets say you choose Kevin Garnett. He would be worth about 20 points. Whereas the worst player is between three to five points. You choose players for all five positions and a coach you think will win. If the coach wins you get five points and if not you receive zero points. You are awarded points based on each player’s performance that night. Rosters must be locked by midnight the night before. It’s a very competitive game with thousands of people competing.

The prize for winning used to be tickets to the NBA Finals. Now it’s something like a TV from Best Buy for first place, and a gift card (to Best Buy) for second place.

Furthermore, the fantasy football games on ESPN are enjoyable, too. There’s nothing special about them, but I like sticking to one site for all my fantasy sports. I'd lose track if I had fantasy teams on more than one site. There is a point system one like Fast Break for NFL football called Gridiron Challenge. I do that along with two Pick Em leagues (one for NFL and one for College).

Back on basketball……

How about those Milwaukee Bucks? I think they're going to have a great year. I haven't followed sports for approximately the last two years. I’ve been busy and haven’t had much time. I used to be an avid fan and watch Sportscenter all the time. Anyways, prior to the season I would have guessed the Bucks would have been a mediocre team. I was most definitely wrong!!! They really have some chemistry with Bogut and Ford complimenting Redd. An added bonus is that they’re a very young team. For that reason, I think they have a very promising future.



As I have been getting back into the sports world I have been surprised by two other teams. The Denver Nuggets and Cleveland Cavaliers. Even though I wasn't following sports very much, I still heard all the hype about LeBron and Carmello. It looks like they're both all they were hyped up to be. Also, their teams are starting to form nicely around them. Especially those Nuggets!

Before the season I looked at all the rosters in the NBA. Miami was really a jaw dropper. They have so many big name players such as:

Shaquille O'Neal
Gary Payton
Dwayne Wade
Jason Williams
Antoine Walker
Alonzo Morning

I know Alonzo and Payton aren’t in their prime, but they are still good players. A big benefit is that they bring lots of experience and leadership. It's a pretty old team with the exception of Wade. It kind of reminds me of the Lakers last year with Dwayne replacing Kobe. Add to the fact that the supporting cast is better than the Lakers supporting cast was.

I'm really excited about this basketball season. Should be great fun!

And on one last random note before I leave:

How about those Colts?

7-0

Peyton is finally getting the season he deserves. He puts up superb performances season after season and his team is finally along for the ride. Good luck Colts! A well deserved record.

It’s late and I have school tomorrow. Good night.

Some Political Mumblings and More

I found a new word that I like:

Ethnocentrism

It's the same idea as the cliche "You have to walk a mile that persons shoes". (That being whoever you are refering to)

Also, I found another term I like on Wikipedia. I was doing my government homework when I came across this. It is the idea of Crony Capitalism aka Crapitalism. In my opinion, the theory is unbelievably true in our society here in the United States. Look at how many officials in our federal government have a background in large corporations. Our Vice President Dick Cheney is one such person. Harriet Miers may have been nominated because of cronyism. The gap between the poor and rich is growing, and Crony Capitalism is part of the cause. The affects of Crony Capitalism are only helping the rich businessmen. Furthermore, this helps oligarchy stay true as the powerful elites in America stay in control of our country.

If you enjoy politics and are looking for something to read check out The Irony of Democracy. This book is about the political system here in America from an uncommon point of view. It basically talks about elite rule in America and how the United States doesn't have a true democracy. I've been required to read it in my college government and politics class. I have found it quite interesting thus far.

On a random note:

Theory of a Deadman is a great band. One of their better songs is No Surprise. If you're looking for some new rock tunes, check them out!

Interesting Read

A Thought Over Coffee is an interesting blog about a man's journey starting a small business. The man, Jason Duncan, just finished college in Nashville, Tennessee. Then he moved to Bozeman, Montana with his wife where he is trying to start up a cafe.

It's quite intriguing if you are interested in small business. I just came across it three days ago, and I'm trying to catch up reading it from the beginning to present. Countless hours later and I'm only halfway through.

Check it out.

It's been a while.....

I am dissappointed in myself for the lack of posting in the recent two and a half months. School has been the reason for this. I have been really busy balancing classes and participation in two sports.

One of the sports is soccer. Furthermore, I joined the football team a few weeks ago. Soccer just finished this past week. We finished with a record of 17-3. Unfortunately, we lost in the first round of our district tournament. Consequently, our season is done. We were the best soccer team our school has probably ever had in it's 19 years of soccer. Quite a few school records were broken this year.

Football will probably be done this Friday. Unless, of course, we manage to beat the undefeated, defending state champions. There's always a chance though.

Other than school, I haven't had time for much. I've been spending my weekends with family and playing poker with my friends.

I now hope to regularly update my blog each week. Even during busy times I am going to try posting a few times every week.

Have a good one.....

Tech News & Poker

I found a nice tool to use after a night of poker. It's a free poker calculator on Card Player's website. This is great if you want to find out the percent chance you had/have to win a particular hand. I use it often after nights of poker when I lost with hands that were good before the flop. Additionally, I should mention the calculator only works for Texas Hold'em, but they have an Omaha one too.

I have found an awesome website that is dedicated to tech news. TechNewsWorld is a good alternative site to use if you're tired of the tech sections in the mainstream news. The mainstream news just doesn't have enough time to solely dedicate to tech news. TechNewsWorld only has technology news. Therefore, they have the quantity and quality in tech news that I've been looking for.

Sorry for the short and choppy posts lately. I'm whipped from soccer practices.

Peace out.

Youth Rights

As of late, I have been quite busy. I am sincerely sorry for the non-existent posts in the previous few days.

Moving on......

A few months back, I found an excellent website for a cause that I believe in. I found the National Youth Rights Association's (NYRA) website. Before this past school years end, I had to do a debate report for my english class. My topic was lowering the drinking age and I was definetly for it. After researching the issue, it strengthened my position for it. One of the biggest reasons that got me was:

An 18 year old has almost every conceivable right as an adult such as marriage, voting, signing contracts, buying cigarettes, serving in the military, and etc; why can they not buy alcohol?

Here is a quote I found on the quote page of the NYRA website:

"Whether children have first amendment rights is a vexed legal
question, but what is not in question is that they someday will.
Constraining them from expressing their views is no preparation
for exercising those rights."
-Crispin Sartwell

I believe that quote to be very true. In my opinion, this is a great organization, movement, and cause.

Some good underground pop-rock and a useful website

First off, I have found a great website for finding almost any information online. It's a free online encyclopedia called Wikipedia. This is a great resource if you need an answer to almost anything. Search for places, people, dates, and so much more!

Recently, I have found about a great new underground band Cartel. You can listen to some of their music and read about them on their page at purevolume. Cartel has a new album coming out this fall named Chroma. For more info on Cartel's new album check out absolutepunk's leak on it. They consider themselves pop rock. If you like pop, rock, or punk I think you'd love these guys!