AtomicBaboon!?!

I have shared my distrust of our government here before. Heck, they don't trust me, why should I trust them? However, spying on it's own citizens, secretly kidnapping people for interrogation purposes, etc. is not an activity exclusive to our government. The influential European nations engage in their own as well as assist in our covert intelligence gathering activities. So, although it bothers me that our government does some of the things it does, it bothers me more when European governments call us out on this stuff, ignoring the plank in their own eye. For people to believe that "We" do these things in their country without "Their" help or knowledge is ridiculous. I don't doubt that members of their parliament are ignorant of what is happening, just as members of our own congress are ignorant of what our spies do, but for them to act so naive and self-righteous is insulting. Granted, no one really likes the current US Administration, but this Administration isn't doing anything that other Administrations here or elsewhere haven't done for a long time.

The problem I am having with it is although I don't like what "We" or "They" do (e.g. kidnapping, secret prisons, spying, etc.) I understand it. However, if the US and our European counterparts are going to police the world looking for the bad guys, and be a beacon of hope, liberty, and freedom for the world, I think they need to approach things differently. Where did the idea that it is okay to beat information out of people who might not even have the information you are looking for come from? We don't do that here to our people. Our detectives and police don't jump out of the shadows, throw a black bag over your head, and beat the crap out of you to find out if you did something... at least not that I know of. They (theoretically) gather actual evidence that you are doing something before they capture you.

Anyway, I am rambling now. I just get tired of hearing about these European nations going after our spies for things that their spies help us do or do on their own, and that their governments knowingly authorize, and then play it up as some big shocking surprise that this stuff is going on.

Zach over at ZachIsHere mentioned the blog Waiter Rant today. I have been reading it off and on since this morning. It is one of the best blogs I have ever read. He is a great writer. Word of warning for the linguistically sensitive: he uses colorful language.

"The man who writes about himself and his own time is the only man who writes about all people and all time."
- George Bernard Shaw

This morning I read this and it immediately made me ponder why blogs, to me, are so interesting to read. My favorite blogs are often just people writing about themselves and what they do or think. Duane writing about farm life at Geek Acres, Zach writing about photography or whatever else comes to his mind, Granny writing about her life and observations, Jack ranting erratically, the list goes on and on. Some might consider blogs egotistical and silly, but I find them comforting and entertaining. You get to see the world through other peoples eyes in a very personal way. You can see what they see, how they see it, and how they are thinking about it. I enjoy that and I think I gain more perspective and insight about the real world and the day to day grind from that than I get by watching the News or Discovery Channel.

I don't know if that is what Shaw was getting at, but that's how I read it.

I ran across this list of albums on Amazon: Listmania! a while back called "These will give your life meaning, you filthy animal" assembled by someone who calls themselves "Phasedar, Lord of Funkitania." I'm not sure where Funkitania is, or why I am a filthy animal, but I am going to check out these albums. I have some of them already. I especially like the comment for OK Computer: "This is kind of obligatory. I mean, if you don't have this album...you're kind of...ya know...This is awkward." That is so very very true... there is wisdom in those words.

I did it too... I know I've told some of you that I am The Amazing Spider-Man, now I have proof!

Your results:
You are Spider-Man

Spider-Man 70% Hulk 70% Green Lantern 65% Superman 65% Iron Man 60% Robin 57% Catwoman 55% Supergirl 50% The Flash 50% Wonder Woman 35% Batman 35%

You are intelligent, witty, a bit geeky and have great power and responsibility.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz

As I have made abundantly clear before, I am a geek. Further proof of this is a new guilty pleasure of mine. I really like the extreme power metal band "DragonForce." I like them for a several reasons. First of all, their guitar players are super fast... faster than anything I have heard before. I know Dave Mustaine is fast, and alot of the speed metal from Metallica was played and I think written by him. However, these guys are ridiculously fast. Their sound is also obviously influenced alot by retro video game music. In their song "Through The Fire And Flames" you can hear sounds that are like what you'd hear coming from a game of Pac-man. They also have those cheesy, epic sounding lyrics about fire falling from the sky, and crushing the enemy, and other fantasy themed topics, kind of like what you'd find ina story of a video game... it's great stuff. It isn't dark sounding like death metal, it as actually pretty upbeat and uplifting. The music reminds me of another guilty pleasure of mine EVE On-line. As a matter of fact, they have a music video that looks like it could have been taken right out of that game, which is probably why they are popular among many EVE players. If I could get to YouTube right now I'd look it up for you, but I will leave that as an exercise for my reader. Check out DragonForce... you may or may not regret it!

I work for a decent sized software corporation. Large corporations are good for some things. They are good for cultivating the idea that every waking hour of your life should be spent doing something for the company... unless you are using your PTO time, and even then you need to have your cell phone and laptop ready. Yep... they are good for swallowing your soul, but you sometimes get a fat pay check for it, which is nice.

I obviously disagree with this idea that your job and the company is your life. I used to have a similar opinion about what I do... programming is what I do, who I am, and I don't really have anything else. I eventually figured out that's not healthy. If I enjoy programming I should do it because I enjoy it, but not let it define me as a person. If I enjoy my job that is a bonus and is good, but for me right now it is just a means to an end. That end being shelter, food, and entertainment. Sometimes I get to do things I enjoy, the rest of the time I am there doing what they ask because I know I will get to do what I want (theoretically).

There are some other people, usually (not always) management, that seem to think that people with my attitude about work aren't good employees. Some go so far as to write articles about how we aren't good people who don't understand loyalty and duty and who don't do a good job at work because we don't come in early and stay late even when there isn't a reason to. We aren't motivated people. We won't accomplish anything. This pisses me off... I always get my job done on time, and I do a good job.

I was sent a scanned article yesterday that came from someone in upper management entitled "One Simple Habit That Leads to Success." It was scanned from a magazine and sent to us as a PDF. In it, a person who is successful attributes part of his success to the fact that he comes into work 1 hour early everyday. Now, he does point out that for some people it isn't the way and gives Thomas Edison as an example of a Night Owl who was successful. I expected the article to be about coming to work early to get work for the company done before other people show up, and how that was the way to be popular among the people who matter where you work. The whole "If you are at work early you must have your act together..." line. The funny thing about the article is that although he does say that, he goes on to talk about what he worked on when he first started going into work early; He wrote a book. Not a book about company policy, or a way for the company to make a new product. It was a book he went on to sell that was about wealth that became a best-seller, and encouraged him to write three more.

So here I am, reading an article sent by upper management, about coming into work early... to work on personal projects that will allow me to possibly develop a new source of income and quit my job. I already think the typical corporate attitude that you need to come in early to be successful in a company is stupid, and then to get an article from upper management that tells me I will be successful in the company by coming in early to work on something personal just seems ridiculous. Why do I need to spend more of the little bit of time I get on earth at work to accomplish my personal goals outside of work? They already get 9 hours of my day. I could just get up an hour early, use that time at home to work on my proverbial book, and then come in at the same time I do now and the company will get the same amount of work done for them, except that I won't be putting on a show and essentially lying.

Don't get me wrong, I see what the article is getting at. Basically, find a time everyday you can set aside as your own, without distractions, to work on things that will help you achieve success, financial or otherwise. It was just funny to get it from upper management the way I did and then see how they apparently completely missed, what in my opinion, is the point of the article. They wanted us to see how good coming to work early to give them an extra hour would be. It just struck me as the typical corporate BS that drives me nuts.

Here is the scanned version of the article I got. It is from a magazine. I have no idea what magazine it is from. The article appears to be appropriately attributed at the end.

except for all the others.

I would be King of Sealand. That would own.

is not knowing your place in the world.

Here are some projects I want to try:

1. Write "atomiCommerce" - Started
2. Build a coffee table with a built-in Atari 2600 - 2nd Atari for this obtained, Need a house with a garage to work in next
3. Build small video cameras that will stream what they capture over a WiFi connection
4. Build an LCD projector - Need a house first
5. Build a media center PC for the entertainment center - Just thought of this last night. I have a TiVo in the meantime.

Some important, time consuming things are getting ready to change. When that happens, I will have alot more time to do the things I want to do. It will be good. More on that when I can share it. There are also alot of cool and inspirational projects in Make Magazine. Their projects have given me ideas of my own and gave me yet another reason I need a house with a big garage to work in.

I want to do something cool!

For all you cat lovers out there, here is a nice game with a cute cuddly kitten. Kitten Cannon!

So, here it is... 2007. I don't like it... no sir. I don't like it because this is the year I turn 30... holy crap.

Anyway, I think I had a list of resolutions for 2006. I took them so seriously that I have no idea what they were. I'm going to make some for 2007 but I'm not going to put them here. I will write them down and carry the list with me this year. Maybe that will work.

I don't have any grand predictions or hopes for this year yet. Yeah... this post is shaping up to be pretty boring. Well... here it is. 2007. Happy New Yar!... heh... errrr, Year.