zerozechs's feed

  • 8 years ago
    Comment zerozechs

    Information availability. 30 years ago to find out some basic facts you'd have to hope it was in the household dictionary, because if it wasn't you'd have to make a trip to the library and search through a card catalog to find the right book (if they had it) for the information you needed. Now, you can just google. People are swimming in information and take it for granted.

  • 8 years ago
    Comment zerozechs
  • 8 years ago
    Current Event zerozechs

    Mexicans Find ATF-Enabled .50 Cal At "El Chapo's" Hideout - The Truth About Guns

    Yesterday, a federal judge struck down President Obama’s claim of Executive Privilege over documents related to operation Fast and Furious – the ATF program that allowed Mexican drug thugs to purchase firearms at U.S. gun stores. Today we learn that...

  • 8 years ago
    Comment zerozechs

    Let's see; from what might be considered "Classics", I'd say Huckleberry Finn. He's an independent sort who goes on a journey to help a friend, and gets perspective on how cruel the world actually is. In the end, he decides that he's had just about enough of being "Civilized" and decides to run off into Indian Territory.

    From Sci-Fi I'd say Professor Bernardo de la Paz from "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress". He's kind of a subversive authority figure in the book's revolutionary movement on the moon, and is kind of a personal hero of mine.

    In Fantasy books I'd say Raistlin Majere from the Dragonlance series. Kind of misanthropic and cynical to the core, yet he's a case study on what can be accomplished through sheer will and discipline, despite personal and societal adversity. Whether what is accomplished is "good" or "bad" is up to you.

    In Manga/Anime I'd say Kanta Mizuno, from "Desert Punk". See the above for Raistlin Majere, except with some perversion. Still, he's an incredibly realist and strategic thinker, and I like that his pragmatism and bent towards deception in battle allows for victory over those that insist on "fighting fair".

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  • 8 years ago
    Related Link zerozechs

    The Forgotten Founding Father Who Explains America's Political Dysfunction

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  • 8 years ago
    Comment zerozechs

    Technology is not the answer to everything.

    I don't agree with him completely; smartphones are one of the most democratizing forces ever unleashed on the planet, and empowers the average person leaps and bounds past anything feverishly imagined a mere 20 years ago. However, people can and will become over-reliant on anything. No doubt similar arguments were made about the tractor and accurate weather forecasting making farming too easy and thus farmers were losing their connection to nature. The reality is that human societies are always predicated on the systems and technologies we employ to make our lives easier working consistently. When these break down, yes, people will not always be able to cope. However, people will always be people and will thus be able to work things out, by and by.

    I think an argument could successfully be made that a smartphone is by nature a compromised piece of technology, and will never perform any of its sub-tasks (camera, video recorder, PC etc.) as optimally as a modern device designed for that single task. That has some merit and for professionals or enthusiasts in those fields makes sense. Still, for the average end user, these aren't the real concerns. There are better arguments for not using a smartphone; privacy concerns, unit cost, cost of service, poor battery life etc. The privacy concerns are the real issue, and in many ways are insurmountable if you wish to use the multitude of location based functionality that a smartphone provides.

    I think the real virtue of a smartphone is that you now have ultimate reachability. You will receive phone calls, text messages, emails, chats, instant messages etc. in real time, regardless of where you are provided you have service. How important (or even desirable) that is is dependent on your outlook on this reachability. I can foresee circumstances where a person, not wanting to be that accessible, goes back to a basic phone that only a select few people can reach at any given time, provided they are willing to give up all the functionality that a smartphone provides. I've considered doing this myself, as all I really need is a camera for emergency pictures (like car accidents) and some form of mp3 playback (almost universal now). The cost of breaking my contract with Verizon is all that is keeping me from attempting this experiment.

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  • 8 years ago
    Comment zerozechs

    I've turned away because my University's NPR station doesn't broadcast either, plus a lot of the other more formative shows. I can get the brief hourly synopsis of the news and what is generally classical music, and little else.

  • 8 years ago
    Comment zerozechs

    Second Hand Lions. It's easily in my top 10 movies of all time.

  • 8 years ago
    Comment zerozechs

    For the Athens GA area (and Atlanta) AthensGAWeather is the place to go. It's grad students in my department that forecast for this area specifically with a lot of detailed analysis and discussion. For Washington D.C., Capital Weather Gang is a good bet.

  • 8 years ago
    Comment zerozechs

    Among many other books, yes. It's amazing how little read my students are.

  • 8 years ago
    Comment zerozechs

    Bought lunch on my first date with the woman that would be my wife. 10/10 would buy Seafood again.

  • 8 years ago
    Comment zerozechs

    Congrats! It's one of the best decisions you can make, I don't think you'll regret it.

  • 8 years ago
    Comment zerozechs

    I have two slices with breakfast, and that's it. Then again, I eat mostly veggies, meat, and some fruit (though I do have rice about once a week). Everything in moderation.

  • 8 years ago
    Comment zerozechs

    Dukes of Hazzard. Get a new Charger, put the Gadsen flag on the roof instead of the Confederate Battle Jack. This time, have them be "good old boys" that leap to help people, Macguyver style, while showcasing all the wonderful people and places the South has to offer.

  • 8 years ago
    Comment zerozechs

    I think for me it was that you have a finite amount of family, and they'll be taken from you with time. You have to appreciate them while they are there.

  • 8 years ago
    Comment zerozechs

    Nice big batch of Chili. Mean. Beans. Spices and Sauce. Warms you up on a cold day, gets rid of sinus congestion. Perfect meal. I like to make a batch on the first day with temps below the 50's and sit outside to eat it.

  • 8 years ago
    Level Up zerozechs

    Level 8

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  • 8 years ago
    Achievement zerozechs

    Busy Bee

    Maintained a 7 day login streak 2/2 times! Congratulations zerozechs on this achievement!

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  • 8 years ago
    Comment zerozechs

    The fact that Subway is too expensive for what you get makes me not eat at Subway.