No screenshot today, just a quick note that LTJ is lvl18 and 19% already… ahead of schedule and HANKERIN' to get at those quests!

Fuuuuuuuuck!

There is this nifty concept in the geek world called virtualization. It seems to have a number of different meanings and plenty of people just use the word "virtualization" and are not so specific about exactly WHAT they are virtualizing. In short, it generally is used to describe software that creates a "virtual instance" of "something". That "something" might be a PC's hardware, or an application running on an OS, which is running on a virtual PC. It can get confusing and muddled, but when I am using the term, I generally mean a piece of software that lets you create multiple virtual "machines" and each virtual machine is able to run it's own operating system. Some people would call this hardware virtualization.

Now, if you are going to DO hardware virtualization, what software should you use? Well, the company that seems to have the biggest brand name in this market is VMWare. They have a bunch of different software packages that all do virtualization of some sort, too bad they can't come up with a decent naming convention. Let's see what they have…

VMWare Player: This is a free application that can RUN virtual machines. It does not have the ability to take snapshots of machines, nor can it create new ones. There are ways to use free software or online utilities to create new machines but they can be problematic. This is best suited for someone who wants to try VMWare or someone who has a specific virtual appliance that never changes.

VMWare Workstation: This is a commercial payware product that is more feature-packed than the Server version. Why they would want to go against the grain of everyone else's naming convention I am not sure.

VMWare Server: This used to be called GSX and it is free. You get many of the features of VMWare Workstation with my least favourite drawback being that it only takes one snapshot per VM.

VMWare ESX: This is a special kind of software. It doesn't run on Windows the way all the other products do, it is a small Linux distribution that is very small and has but one ability (to manage VM's of course). This is the expensive version (ESXi is the free version) and it comes with a buttload of features. It is designed specifically for certain hardware which includes servers, SAN or NAS devices, and storage devices.

OK, so aside from the crappy naming convention, what don't I like about VMWare? Well, their attitude. They treat their customers like idiots and overcharge like a whoremaster. They have also built up an education or certification system that is clearly designed to give them money (rather than make experts of the people who get certified). It is just a general tendency towards being more important than customers and being more important than knowledge.

So, what are the alternatives?

QEMU? While I like the idea of open source and all, this thing just isn't ready for use by people who just want to throw something in and use it. Not ready for use by people who want to use a virtualization solution without having to go and learn how to use it. I don't want to use my virtualization software from the command line. I don't want to remember or record how to create disks or mount CDROMs by command line. I just want to use it.

Now, there are some folks (Allen) who insist that command line is better. That's just not true. There are two camps on the "command line elitest army"… Those who think that command line is better because it is more powerful and those who think it is better because it teaches people to know about the underlying technology beneath. The first is bullshit. Granted there are some things on some devices or OS's that can only be configured by GUI, however those are clearly the exception and I would not choose my default management interface based on the exception. The second (Allen's view) is also bullshit. Sorry buddy, while it is true that people who truly understand the underlying technology will likely be more proficient at using the command line, it does not mean that command line is the better choice for management interface. If the concern is that stupid, ignorant, or otherwise less capable people will end up with jobs managing things they shouldn't be… then that should be taken care of by the job competition process. If I am expected to buy into the Big Red Machine, then for fuck sake, the Big Red Machine has to buy into the Big Red Machine!

Sun VirtualBox? Fuck this one was close. I even made some posts about VirtualBox. Too bad it is such a fucking pain to transfer files between guests and the host. Or between multiple guests for that matter. The networking is a bit of a bitch on a Linux host (if you want a bridged connection) but that didn't bug me anywhere near as much as the file transfer crap.

Why? Funny you should ask. I want to make some applications. I want to use NSIS to make a new build of Take Back The Fox. For that I need two virtual machines, one that has NSIS and all my packaging crap, and another that is essentially a fresh install of Windows. I do a little work, build a new executable and then transfer it to my fresh box. I run it and see how I like it, record changes I would like to make and then go back to my NSIS machine to continue working on it. The best part is that I should be able to revert my fresh box back to "fresh" very quickly. I can do the snapshotting thing with VirtualBox but the mechanics of copying files in and out of VM's is clumsy and cheap.

FFS, I guess I am going to go back to installing VMWare Workstation 5.x :-(

Fuck yeah!  LTJ is now level 18 and begins the most brutal part of death leveling… next up, quests!

Booyeah baby... now begins the slowest level.

The people who run airlines are just being pussies. They blanket all electronic devices as being the same thing and just ban them at the times they deem important. They do not accomplish what they say they are trying to accomplish at all, not even close.

I was reading through some of my own crap here and followed a link or two which brought me to this discussion.

While I may not agree with every word of it, he is essentially right. The airlines have just said "electronics must all be turned off when we are anywhere near the ground". They are fairly clear about when you are or are not allowed to use devices, however they refuse to acknowledge that there are many different kinds of devices, some of which act quite differently from others.

I wonder if I can address the points made in the comments on that page one by one?

ValerieDaimon: Real World Examples

This person indicates that she (I am guessing) has left devices on while flying and has never had a problem. She probably hasn't. People leave their shit on all the time and I haven't heard any news stories about planes going down because of it. Another commenter (PPGMD) replied by saying

The issue is not the frequencies but those random occurances where electronics are made incorrectly, that cause it to cause issues with the navigation equipment. It's rare but it happens, a friend of mine had one of those children laptops with a mouse (you know the learning laptops), that would result in a 10 degree deviation in the VOR when you moved the mouse in a particular direction.

You have got to be fucking kidding me. An electronic device (child's laptop) was fucking up the airplane's VOR when the child moved the mouse to the right but not the left? Did they complete this test while still in the air? How the fuck did they measure the 10 degree deviation? Was the family asked to stay behind so they could test this out? Yeah, I'd like to know how those events played out. And what do you mean by "random occurances where electronics are made incorrectly"? These things are made by fucking machines you crackhead. I am quite sure that there are extremely minor differences from one unit to the next but for fuck sake, the chances of it meaning the difference between interfering and not interfering with plane instrumentation is so colossally small it's retarded to enforce such a bullshit rule over it. The possibility of a bird strike is more likely then that, perhaps based on this we should abandon all thoughts of flight completely? Or maybe we should kill all birds instead?

MichelleEnceladus: Her friend the pilot

I used to live with a pilot and numerous times I'd call him, hear a large noise in the background followed by "Uhh, can you call me back later, I'm trying to land this thing".

The times during which passengers are told to refrain from use of electronics is during takeoff and landing. If her pilot friend is trying to land a plane then surely his passengers have been told to not use their devices. How in the name of fuck is it reasonable for THE COCKSMOKER WHO IS DRIVING THE THING to use his cellphone? If I am not allowed to use my cellphone while ALONE in my car, then how is he allowed to endanger the lives of every single passenger? Even if the rules about electronic devices were to be lifted for passengers there is no fucking way it should be lifted for the STAFF FLYING THE FUCKING PLANE! This guy should be put to sleep.

egoods: Peace and quiet

Thanks to my stupid air-card I'd be unhappily connected in the skys (assuming there's no on-board wifi). I call my time on an airplane the "calm before the storm" because I can, for the last time for a few days, sit, relax, and read a book or magazine.

Fuck you. I don't give a fuck what you do with your time (on a plane or off of it), the fact that YOU like to have some peace and quiet from work does not mean everyone should be legislated to listen to you breathing while they fly. Or do you think that your serenity is more important than my boredom?

VimalCadpat: You need a grip on reality

You seem to be missing the other side, when these devices are turned off they are most likely going to then be stowed and not used.

No, you are missing the point. More often than not, these devices are on, running, playing music, looking for wireless networks, connecting bluetooth devices, and the airline staff are too ignorant to know the difference. More often than not they are also NOT stowed, they are in the exact same place they will be when turned on.

Sure the device even in a low power state has little or no effect on interference on navigation. Now in the unlikely event something goes wrong in takeoff or landing and it flies up and busts your teeth because the plane suddenly banks 40 degrees from a crosswind is the real issue at hand.

What the fuck are you talking about? Having things hit you in the face has nothing to do with electronics, it has to do with properly securing your shit. And please feel free to cite an example of a plane "suddenly banking 40 degrees crosswind" as a result of any passenger's electronic device.

It also boils down to situational awareness, the idiot rocking out on his ipod might not hear what is going on during the most critical times of the flight.

I'll admit, there are people who surely fly more than I do, but I have yet to encounter a "critical time" during ANY of the flights I have been on. Turbulence? Sure. Critical times? Not really. And if I DID encounter a "critical time" I am sure that the diving, rolling, and pitching or the plane might get me to ignore my iPod for a moment while the airline staff talk. Have some fucking common sense.

Don't like turing your stuff on and off, take a train. No takeoff or landing.

Jackass remark, fuck you.

dnheller: Asshole

Mr. Rothman, the rules apply to you as well as everybody. When the crew tells you to turn off and put away gadgets, just do it instead of cycling through your personal algorithm of device on/off heuristics.

Are you SO insecure that you can't live without an electronic umbilical or electronic pacifier for the 20 minutes it takes to taxi and climb to cruise altitude or the the 20 minutes that it takes from initial descent to gate?

Grow up and get a life.

"Mr. Rothman"? Nice, is that supposed to be an attempt at an insult? Talking down to the author? Or perhaps a true attempt at a respectful salutation? Dick. The author does not claim that any rules should apply less to him than anyone else. If you wish to bitch out people for leaving devices on during flights then turn off your computer, go to the airport, and spend the rest of your miserable life whining. Your claims about the author's insecurity are worthless, because he is not talking about his need to use the devices but rather the ineffective enforcement of inaccurate rules AS THEY APPLY TO HIMSELF AND EVERY OTHER PASSENGER. You just didn't get the point fuck nuts.

Zack Danger: You missed the point too

None of us here are so special that we deserve to ignore the requests of those people that are responsible for our well being.

Nobody is claiming that the rules should not apply to them! They are claiming that the rules should be adjusted to reflect reality and enforced accordingly dipshit!

Sure, Mythbusters has seemed to prove what we all suspect, but when I'm in an aluminum tube traveling at 400mph, I'd appreciate if everyone else follow some simple requests.

Common passenger planes go 400Mph at takeoff and landing?

And to complain that one can't read their kindle during take off and landing…. Boo hoo. I'll be sure to complain when the turbulence shakes your ereader free of your hand and hits me in the face.

How many times have you been struck in the face by any object while on an airplane?

I don't think I'm special or any more entitled than any of you… But I'm disappointed that I appear to be in the minority in thinking this way.

The author never claimed he was more important than anyone else or deserved to be granted an exception from the rules. You're not reading prick. He claimed that the rules do not appropriately reflect reality.

lostinthe4th: why take the time to register if you're going to post nonsense?

Good article, but you sort of rant without addressing the other main reason they have you turn them off: to make you pay attention to the plane-falling-out-of-sky procedure.

Seriously, there are people who have never been on a plane who know what to do. It's not like there's a whole lot of important tidbits in that speech that will save your life. If the plane crashes (as other commenters would have you believe) then what the fuck is the oxygen mask going to do for you? Choke you just prior to explosion? You make it sound like there are plenty of examples of people who died as a result of not listening to that speech while the folks around them survived just fine because they knew what to do.

infmom: Technonoob?

All my traveling electronic gadgets ncluding my blood glucose meter have easiy usable, physical on-off switches. It's not as uncommon as you seem to think.

Are you seriously having trouble understanding what the author is saying or have you never been to an electronics store? There are plenty of examples of devices that continue to operate (including transmission of wireless signals) even though they appear to be off. There are also plenty of people who OWN these devices and don't know the difference between turning them off and putting them in whatever standby mode they may have. The author is saying that the airlines are not taking these people in to account when making or enforcing their rules, which is as much of a danger TO YOU as the arrogant prick who leaves his device on intentionally.

garci66: close but not quite

Finally, the "please turn off ALL electornic devices during take off and landing" is to prevent your ipod / laptop / iphone / whatever from becoming a projectile at 100 Km/h if the plane has to abort landing or makes a sudden move. A book is not as hard as mobile or a laptop.

If the purpose of turning off my electronics is to keep me from being hit in the face with them, then you better start telling airline staff about that. Because they don't know. While I have seen plenty of airline staff tell people to turn devices off, I have yet to see anyone be told to put them away (where they won't hit someone in the face). In addition to this, my iPod Touch is quite light compared to many books, I'd rather be hit with the iPod thanks.

And except very few devices (watches, tokens, etc), they WILL turn off completely and when in stand-by (or deep sleep), they should be mostly harmless.

Oh please, the iPod and Blackberry are probably the most well known brand names in the "portable idiot device" category and both of these have standby modes that leave them operating with wireless of some sort active. Cellphones are just as problematic now that they have "airplane mode" features that users don't understand. Ultimately, if they are HARMFUL when turned on, then in standby mode, many of them are still just as harmful.

Finally, the no-headphone rules, just as the one to keep your carry on under the seat in front of you or on the top compartments, are meant to reduce distraction and any possible obstacle in case an abort landing is needed. You don't want anybody tripping over a cable, getting a big headset's cable stuck in an armrest or anything like that.

Again, I have seen plenty of people be told to turn off devices and I have yet to see anyone be told to put headphones away. Airline staff just want you to have them OUT OF YOUR EARS, not put away. And while I am at it, I also have trouble imagining an airline staff member tripping on my headphone cable when the things are in my fucking ears. Finally, I don't know how much you participate in landing an airplane when you fly, but for fuck sake AN ABORT LANDING WILL NOT REQUIRE YOUR HELP! In fact, I imagine that if you were to offer your assistance in the event of an "abort landing", the airline staff would tell you to stay the fuck out of the pilot's business. How the fuck does it matter if you are distracted?

And im sorry, but you SHOULD be able stop working and checking your phone / mail / whatever for the 15 minutes of takeoff and 15 minutes of landing.

And again… the author never claimed that anyone should be allowed to use devices during these times, but rather that the rules are poorly worded and incorrectly enforced. In fact, if the rules were improved and properly enforced as the author suggests, perhaps your life would be safer during that incredibly critical 15 minutes. So feel free to shut the fuck up and thank him for pointing out this terrible safety flaw to the airlines in mind of your safety.

And now "really" finally, the fact that the air host(ess) is not able to distinguish off from sleeping from "screen off" does not mean the rule is worthless. Its not there to please THEM but rather to keep everyone just a bit safer. It turns out its their job to enforce the rule, but it should be just up to us instead.

Again, you are missing the point. The rule IS worthless because it is poorly defined and even more poorly enforced. The end result is that users who do not understand their devices are potentially putting YOU at risk by not properly turning their devices off. The author points out this flaw and you interpret it as a desire to use his devices during the critical takeoff and landing periods.

UnderLoK: Another one who doesn't get it

Reduced risk isn't a bad thing.

Certainly, and the author is specifically pointing out that the risk you speak of, would be reduced if the airlines were to improve their rules and enforce them properly. However, you have also interpreted the post incorrectly. Nice job.

rlee: a little comprehension

Mind you, I agree that both rules are dubious at best…

That IS the point, the rules (as they are today) are simply not good enough.

OK, then there are a number of comments about people who want to be able to use their devices, and people who do anyways, and people who don't understand much. Then there's a post by OCEntertainment indicates that the term "off" shouldn't be hard to understand. Are you NEW? The whole point is that SOME USERS ARE SO TECHNORETARDED THAT THEY TRULY DO NOT KNOW THAT THEIR DEVICE HAS AN "OFF" STATE AS WELL AS A "POWERSAVE" OR "SLEEP" STATE! Why would you find this hard to believe? Why would you think that there couldn't possibly be someone who is unaware of the difference between pressing the power button on their iPod and holding it?

SacredByte: A divine light falls on the garden

If it's not even off when I tell it to be turned off, then that's reason enough to re-visit the terminology, and the legislation where it is relevant.

BAM! That's right folks, if the society we live in coddles people into being so dimwitted that they can't comprehend the manual that came with their MP3 player, then the legislation about things like "in-flight device usage" will have to be vastly improved.

OCEntertainment: a slight backpedaling

@SacredByte: Ok, you're right that devices are sneaky these days and keep doing stuff even when we turn them "off". However, that doesn't mean that for the user on a plane the instructions are confusing. I know the difference between simply closing my laptop's lid and turning it off. Anything that the laptop or any other device does beyond that is purely out of the my control. I don't think that's an issue flight attendants should be worried about.

THE LAWS OR RULES GOVERNING THE USE OF DEVICES ON AIRPLANES IS NOT WRITTEN FOR YOU! Those rules are written for everyone who might end up on a fucking plane. And as incredible as this may seem, there ARE people who do not know the difference between closing the laptop lid and shutting down their laptop. In fact there are LOTS of those people. And even though you may have reached enlightenment on the subject, there are those who have not… as a result, the rules have to account for their ignorance (or you have to volunteer your time to check planes and help people shut their shit off).

DunnyO: how can so many people be this retarded?

If someone doesn't know what "off" means, then they are stupid. It means "off" – as in not on, powered down. Not knowing how to do that is something completely different.

How's about not being a self entitled douchebag and just powering stuff down until the plane is in the air – you'll have plenty of time to annoy everyone else on the flight with your electronics then.

The author does not say that he wants to use his devices during takeoff and landing, he says the rules should be improved. How the fuck can someone using an ebook reader be bothering you asshole? Are you saying that if I want to read a fucking book (paper or electronic) during takeoff and/or landing that this will bother you severely? YOU are the self entitled douchebag!

DunnyO: keeps on blabbing

As for a TV, well – I don't think I'll be bringing one of those on a plane, so I don't see how it applies here.

If you think that nobody has ever brought a TV on an airplane you are truly underestimating the stupidity of your fellow man. I have no trouble at all imaging someone trying to bring a TV on board in an attempt to whittle away the boredom while they fly. I'm smart enough to know they won't get cable up there but there's plenty of folks who have no fucking idea that it won't work once they get it there. I remember seeing a passenger try to bring a six foot tall wooden giraffe… where the fuck do you think THAT is going to go?

Well I go on and on about how fucking ignorant these people are but the point is the same the whole way through. There is idiot after idiot who thinks that the author is making a plea to use his devices throughout an entire flight. He doesn't. These people skim through the article and assume that their point of view is the only one of any importance. They gloss over the information and don't even notice that they are completely missing the primary point of the article. The author is pointing out that the airline rules are deficient and that they should update the rules so that they align more appropriately with todays current available technology and today's current consumer understanding of the devices they buy. Sure it is a huge task but all too many of the goofs who replied are just bitching about how they want peace and quiet on a plane, or how they want to feel safe. You shortsighted fucking morons. You are what is wrong with society.

I am sitting here with my window open and I can still hear friggin' cicadas outside. I'd be just fine with another 6 weeks of summer (even though some of the summer toys have been put away already).

Back it up chumps… here's what's going on!

TLAP Day!

Booyeah baby. Booyeah.

LTJ is now lvl17 eh!

Is that fast enough for ya?

Sometimes it confuses me how the human mind is able to "reason" and yet it is also able to "unreason" as well. It seems to have an uncanny ability to include or ignore information without even trying. As a result, there are occasions where I am baffled by people's ability to be blind to some things. In my travels through the Guild Wars world I find that a lot of my interaction is with American type folks, so I'd like to pick on them for a while. I am not saying that all Americans are ignorant, nor am I saying that all Americans are stupid. On the contrary, they have achieved so much… such as war, plastic stuff, and the Sham-Wow! Don't worry, I am well aware of the fact that Vince Offer's country of origin is Israel and that his country of residence is the US. And so we press on.

I present to you (the unlikely and possibly unfortunate reader of my webcrap) a list of things that may or may not have some truth to them. The point is not to impose my beliefs on you but rather to just get you (the unlikely and possibly unfortunate reader of my webcrap) to stop and think about these possibilities. The point may not be the conclusion you come to about these statements, but rather the conclusion you draw about being open minded and honestly considering alternative scenarios. And now I present to you, in no particular order, some thoughts:

1. George Bush is a criminal and a murderer. How many people do you know admit that they voted for him?

2. India will become the next superpower of the world. Okay, maybe it'll be China… either way, it won't last forever.

3. We are killing ourselves, wiping out or species, and the only reason we can't do anything about it is because we don't want to.

4. The American military accounts for about half of the worlds annual military spending (which has been hovering around a trillion dollars per year for the last couple of decades). What did that money actually buy? Freedom? Or even more financial security for some already rich elite individuals? At an average annual household income of $50k, that spending would equate to about 10 million households. Per year.

5. The reason there is no cure for cancer is because too many people are getting rich off of the search.

6. Elvis and Hitler are sharing an apartment in Korea and spend most of their time hacking US-based PCs.

7. Elvis was not a good singer, nor was he a good actor.

8. John Wayne was just as bad.

9. I am stopping at 9 because I just don't want to get in to double digits. If I hit 10 then there is nothing stopping me from going all the way to 99. And you don't want that do you?

Today I landed upon THIS website via a Google search. I found a few rants there that I thought were about important topics, and as a result… now you see this post. I would like to post links to each of the stories that I thought were particularly relevant and then follow up those links with some comments and thoughts of my own. I really do hope someone will take the time to read these rants and possibly even my stupid replies about them. Let me start by saying that anyone who owns the domain "arrogant.com" should feel much more free to use words such as fuck and shit and my personal favourite… douchebag.

littleton

This article is [sort of] about an incident that occurred at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. It goes on to say that the society we live in sucks. It's right. Our society is completely fucked up and as the article states, our society encourages destructive behavior. Once you are on the inside (part of the society) it is in your best interest to support it, even the bad parts of it. What a disappointment… we are killing ourselves and making life worse for ourselves every day, we know it, and we do it anyways.

Here's an example… most kids think that they don't like school. Why is that? I believe it is because they are conditioned to think that. There are a plethora ^[1] of sources telling children that school is boring, unnecessary, and in some way bad (or something they should want to avoid). Is it really? There's lots of other kids there, teachers have no ability to discipline them there, everything is still free there, the two worst things about school are that (1) they have to listen to an adult half the time and (2) there's less TV than at home. Granted that school (the north-american^[2] education system) is poorly designed… a bigger problem is that people are conditioned by repetitive statements that things like work and school are bad in some way. And that they should buy certain brands of clothing, cars, food and well, everything… not because they actually need them, but because they should want them. Do I buy in to this? Of course I do, what choice is there? The moment I start suggesting that we (as a society) do away with this sort of bullshit, I am looked at like I have lobsters crawling out of my ears^[3].

So what do we do about it then? Nothing. Fuck you, we do nothing about it… you don't want to think about the problem, you don't want to admit that it even exists, so fuck you, when this planet is wiped-clean of us greasy vermin don't bitch to anyone that your bummed. The fact that you can't do anything about it as an individual means nothing… the fact that you're too complacent to ridicule people for buying in to that ideal is far more important. Right now is your only chance. Stop believing that work is bad, that school is boring, and that television can tell you what is cool… think for yourself, or fuck you. You like living in a world where the leader of the planet's current superpower country is a criminal and a murderer. You like living in a world that devalues work^[4] as an activity. You like things the way they are and have no intentions of improving them at the expense of your own thought-effort. Shame.

where are we headed?

True. It does. I only wish the thoughts on the education system were more dramatic about describing what a big disappointment our education system is. It really IS about memorizing dates and systematically reproducing the same output over and over again. It trains us to fit in to the brutally disgusting workforce that awaits us after our education process is complete. We are going to hell, but don't worry… the drink cart will be by soon. Fuckers.

renata's reply to littleton

Hmmm, some lapses here. Perhaps I'll try to tackle them on a sentence by sentence basis.

Two mentally disturbed kids went unnoticed in the system and killed innocent children.

Incorrect, they did not go unnoticed, they went ignored.

All you have to do is say hello to ONE person you usually don't greet and you've made a friend.

Not necessarily correct, it is also possible that this person you do not usually greet might become hostile or indifferent rather than a friend. There is no one to one ratio or cause and effect relationship here.

To hate everyone, glare at people, and think thoughts of murder? That is not right. I would NEVER stand for that.

What makes you the one who decides what is right or not? Glaring at someone who is harassing an elderly person is something you would NEVER stand for? Thoughts of murdering Hitler is something you would NEVER stand for? Bah! Silliness.

If you are a nerd and different, that alone will not separate you from society.

Being separated from society and being treated differently are not the same thing. If the murderers you are talking about were separated from society, they would have been "somewhere else" (as the term separate would imply) and wouldn't have shot anyone.

"I agree with what those kids did in Littleton, but I don't agree with their method." This is where I thought he would redeem himself, but he went on to say, "I would have used more bombs and not so much gunfire."

I asked him a question then, "Would you kill me then, friend?" The answer, a cold and determined, "Yes. I wouldn't hesitate to shoot you." I couldn't believe it, I gasped.

"Yes even now, knowing you. To me, you are just a member of a society that has treated me so f____ing bad and I would not think twice about murdering you."

You of course alerted the police about this right? Obviously if you would "NEVER stand for thoughts of murder" then you would have made short work of this correct?

From this I gathered that we would not be friends, but not because of me, the dreaded 'normal' member of society, but because of him; because he LIKED being the exile.

Oh, so you just decided not to be friends with him. Well shit, THAT oughtta save some lives huh? Don't bother to help him or the people he may have ended up killing.

They had no higher purpose in killing. They just killed for the sake of destruction.

What the hell are you talking about? Are you making this statement because you are under the impression that someone honestly believes that there WAS a "higher purpose" to those killings? And I doubt greatly that they would kill for the sake of destruction, they far more likely killed for rage, hate, and revenge (possibly with some dramatic effect thrown in).

Eric and Dylan were despicable and never for a second do they deserve anything but strong disapproval.

Of course, never for a second did they deserve help huh?

They were weak for they never asked for help.

Put down the bible and think for yourself for a minute. If someone doesn't get medical attention because they do not know they have cancer does that make them weak? If someone doesn't get help tying their shoelaces because they want to learn how on their own, does that make them weak? If someone burns themselves on the stove while cooking dinner does that make them weak for not asking for help? You're on crack, being weak and not asking for help are not related. The weakness excuse is your way of relieving yourself of the burden of helping.

They were cowards because they killed themselves in the end.

Obviously words from someone who believes that shooting yourself doesn't take any balls at all.

They were fools because they caused their own problems.

And you are a lazy fuck for not helping them. Frankly, most people create their own problems. Where you end up is a direct result of the choices you make along the way.

And finally, they were pathetic because they thought they would get sympathy.

Do you know them personally? Did they tell you that they wanted sympathy? What makes you think they wanted sympathy? Did they leave a suicide note describing the sympathy they were looking for? Even if they did want sympathy, who are you to decide that they do not deserve it? Would you say that Jews deserve no sympathy for anything that may have happened to them along the way? Where would you draw the line? And why?

They don't deserve our understanding and I am sad to say I am glad that they have left the earth because God only knows how much more horror they could have caused.

You are a big part of the problem. You obviously have no interest in learning about what happened. You would rather suppress the bad thoughts and move on with your bible reading. You have no intent do do any actual thinking to try and solve the problem, you just want to ignore the symptom. Well fuck, that oughtta make it go away huh? The only species with the power of deductive reasoning and you want to spend it on the betterment of yourself.

yet another take on columbine

OK, let's see if I can do this one quote by quote as well…

" Hey, Iraq, I do not like what you are doing. Stop it or I will beat the shit out of you."

Actually, the people who decided to go to war with Iraq did so because they wanted to control them, not because they disagreed with what Iraq ever did. That crap is about money.

The question we should be asking is WHY did these kids do what they did.

This is the part where renata should be reading carefully.

They, whether by how their parents brought them up or by how they were treated by their peers or by some chemical imbalance in their disturbed minds, no longer had the capacity to recognize that what they intended to do was FUCKED UP AND WRONG.

True, the place they got to (dead in a school library) was reached by the decisions they made along the way. Chemical influences (natural or otherwise induced), parental interaction, peer interaction, social interaction of all kinds… there's a plethora [wink] of reasons they ended up there. However, it is not likely that they didn't recognize the fact that it is wrong to shoot people, but rather that they no longer gave a shit.

Get back to the basics of humanity.

Now that is some shit worth preaching about… is there any of that in renata's bible? Not really eh?

We had better get act together, or useless and horrifying events such as Columbine will happen more often with more devastating consequences.

You mean like the shooting that happened at my place of work only 14 days before this Columbine incident? Like that "airplane thing" that happened in late 2001? How about this one that had double the death toll of Columbine? We're on the road to hell folks… but don't worry, the drink cart will be by soon.

here's another one for the books

Unfortunately, the steps needed to achieve this are difficult to estimate, and to change the system is almost impossible.

SneakyM, you seem to get it. The problem is not school kids killing other school kids, hell the problem is not people killing people at all. That is the symptom! The problem is the culture and society that we feed every day, and the symptom is a result of it. Anyone not reading the post at the other end of this link is missing out.

a few things…

That's why I try to "fit in" with the "cool" crowd. That way, if someone were to see me, hanging out with all the "cool, pretty" people, they wouldn't see the real me, of course not, that's just scary, but they'd see that I was "cool" and not a geek or something.

Don't. Believing that the "cool crowd" is actually "cool" is your first mistake. The cool kids will all be dead one day, they can't help it… nobody can. The geeks, nerds and losers of this world will also die one day. So will you. I don't believe that anyone is going to judge me when I am dead but that doesn't mean I have to spend the intervening decades judging myself for everyone else. If the "cool crowd" doesn't like you (or if you don't like them) it won't mean fuck all when you're old, it won't even mean fuck all when you are 30. Fuck 'em. And if the losers don't think you're cool… don't be too upset, they're losers anyways. And nobody will care in a couple of decades.

1. The term plethora meaning "shitload" is simply a word, however the mildly insulting tone I wish to express comes from the use of the term by Alfonso Arau in the movie ¡Three Amigos!.

2. I am well aware of the fact that America is supposed to be a proper noun, however I have chosen not to capitalize it in an effort to express how little effort America makes to deserve that status.

3. The phrase "lobsters crawling out of my ears" was stolen here from the movie A Christmas Story… a bitchin' movie about a kid who has an uncontrollable desire to get a Red Ryder BB Gun for Xmas. Poor Ralphie has obviously succumbed to the same fate many of us have: to fall prey to advertisers who want him to believe that he actually needs the product they are selling.

4. I stole the concept of "devaluing work" from a video of Mike Rowe who is the primary character of the Dirty Jobs television show. The video is 20 minutes long, and anyone who doesn't sit through the whole thing is missing out.

Am I the only one who finds this shit hilarious?

Booyeah!  Legendary Top Jimmy has now reached lvl16 and is doing a little better with his death leveling now that his ADSL seems mostly stable. Not bad eh? Lvl15 to lvl16 in 9 days!

LTJ Hits Level 16

OK, so me and Lil were lookin' for some crap to do in GW that was "just a little different"… you know, just to get away from the same old crap. We decided to do some Sorrow's Furnace for a little nostalgia eh. Well we both thought this "dwarf" guy was kind of funny lookin' cause we had to carry him around for some quest in there. So when we finished the quest I grabbed a screenshot (even though Lil was facing the wrong way). :-) Have a peek at it right HERE.