Well, I’ve been using WordPress for, like, 6 hours now and I think I have a pretty good idea about it. I like it. Last night I helped set my friend Jason up with WordPress and liked it so much, I switched. Now that I’ve customized like a madman, I feel pretty happy about it. I’m going to start digging through plugins tomorrow, should be fun. I think the theme is good for now, I might do some more later on it. Alright, I’m out.
Change of pace?
I’m seriously considering converting my whole blog over to wordpress and I’ve set up a sandbox in the mean time. Unfortunately there exists no import wizard, so I’ll have to do all the transfers of posts by hand. I don’t think I’ll transfer the comments if I do. What do you guys think?
EDIT:
I did it!
Thanks Scott Adams!
Hand it to the author of Dilbert to put everything in perspective. Scott recently wrote a piece on free will which I read. Oh man! Talk about enlightening! Remind me via email or aim and I’ll link it here later, right now I’m at a bar. The gist of the essay was that we have no more free will than the average robot. We do what we do because of the sensory inputs we receive. These inputs are variables in equations that have been written into our genes over billions of years. The result of each calculation is our action. I had honestly never considered free will in a really logical sense before. Suddenly everything made sense, my actions, the actions of others, they’re all going to happen. The past and future now share the property that they both have happened, one just has yet to be experienced. Free will has just (in my mind) entered the realm of religion (or lack thereof). I now realize that free will is an illusion. This IN NO WAY means that we should not act with a conscience at all times. It only means that our "conscience" is just another variable in the equation of every day life.
EDIT:
During the transition to WordPress, I lost my comments. I needed to save the chain on this post though, here it is:
Re: Thanks Scott Adams!
There are no variables, Brandon. Not only that, but note that each person has different filters for the sensory input. And I don’t just mean things like being color-blind, One of those filters is PAST EXPERIENCE. Each human-bot makes different decisions with the same input.
2006/11/29 by JASON! • wwwRe: Thanks Scott Adams!
Jason – Would not those filters be seen as variables as well? A rose by any other name… But I would have to say I disagree with my namesake. Freewill does exist, because no man, woman, or child makes all motions without thinking.
-RearKick
2006/11/29 by -RearKickRe: Thanks Scott Adams!
The original post by Scott
I think it should be noted that the thinking is part of the physical brain, which is governed by physics. You might have some random influence from quantum indeterminism, but it’s just that… random. Your thinking is just the process by which your computer evaluates the variables. Given any base state, with identical inputs, you will come to an identical conclusion. No free will, just physics.
2006/11/29 by RedKrieg
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Bad days get worse
Today is my first real day back to work since November 10th. I can’t find one of my work shoes, couldn’t find my badges, had no milk to eat breakfast with, ran out of my favorite shampoo, and have now sat in traffic for 15 minutes while moving approximately 3000 feet. I know this because I filled up and reset my trip counter at the gas station by the interstate onramp and it now says I’ve travelled .7 miles. Oh glory day! My foot hurts so bad from the tennis shoes I had to put on that I think I’m taking it off. Fuck this is a bad day waiting to get worse.
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Back from Orlando
I spent the last week in Orlando, FL on a business trip. I drank more than anyone else and met a lot of really awesome people who I look forward to working with in the future. I also met someone who I hope will remain a really good friend. To all my readers/coworkers who were there, thanks much for the wonderful times. It will not soon be forgotten.
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Politics
I got a bit hammered last night at the bar when the election results started rolling in, and when I learned that Thelma Drake, Republican, had won the House race here in my district of Virginia, I crafted a rather nasty drunken letter and sent it to her campaign mailbox. I shall share said letter with you now. Looking back on it, I may have gone a bit overboard, but the general theme is about right.
I feel that you won this election because of the abundance of uneducated elderly in this state. It is because of you that I will be moving from this state as soon as possible. Alas, there is no state in this union free from political insanity, so my only choice may be a foreign nation. At the moment, I’m considering the Netherlands, but for the most part, any nation not linked so completely to Christian fundamentalism is sounding really good right now. One should not get me wrong when I say this… In no way do I feel that Christians are less worthy of my respect than Jewish, Muslim, or Atheist. I do not however, feel that any one of these sects should be as influential in our national government as Christianity currently is. The few are speaking for the many when we have psychotic overprotective parents dictating that we cannot have two homosexuals in a monogamous relationship on television. I don’t know a SINGLE person who thinks that people should be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation. Our children should be taught tolerance, not ignorance. If I had a choice between letting my kids watch two human beings in a loving relationship enjoy the most basic of human pleasures and someone kill another innocent human being, I would choose the "pornographic material" every time. You’re a sick individual, and every person I’ve spoken to who wanted me to vote for you was as twisted as you are. Resign.
Virginia is more religiously orthodox than the middle east now.
Brandon Whaley
Virginia Resident
Atheist, and no longer proud to be an American
How’s about them apples?
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Extreme Lockpicking!
An old discount card and a pair of fingernail clippers are no substitute for a good lockpicking kit, maybe with some bumpkeys thrown in. When you’re about to shit your pants, this is even more important to know. I did manage to get all but two pins before I broke my makeshift pick though!
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Road rage
I write this while sitting in traffic. Bad traffic. I can only assume someone is dead and the corpse is in the road and noone gives a shit enough to drag it to the gutter where it belongs, so everyone is just stopping to look. Every motherfucker in the city is trying to take this alternate route I’m on because the normal route has an accident too. I really think there should be bulldozers at every damned intersection to push the damaged vehicles and injured people to a more reasonable location than in the middle of the fucking road! I’m thinking toxic waste dumps full of caustic chemicals. If I am physically capable, my fucking car is gonna be out of traffic. Wait, nevermind, I just exited the traffic… Guess what it was? NOTHING! Fuck it, I’m out.
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Do I scare you?
Apparently I frighten people. I don’t mean to, really… I’m just a scary guy, you know? I do have a tendency to forget to focus on things when I’m thinking, so sometimes people get the impression that I’m looking through them, not at them. I’ve best heard this one described as me being "empty" when I do it, which is fairly accurate… I spend large tracts of my time simply not thinking. I suppose that’s inaccurate, I am thinking, but it’s spacial thinking, I’m not thinking words or thoughts, just shapes. It happens most when I’m looking at something beautiful, maybe a tree or the moon. Today for instance, the moon could be seen during broad daylight, and I spent a solid five minutes just stareing and not thinking. Give it a shot, its more interesting than you think.
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What to drink?
I haven’t updated in a good while, so I decided to do a little expos on the various things I like to drink. Some of these things might be a bit sophisticated for your tastes, so I recommend saving them for special occasions. You won’t regret drinking anything in this list, unless you’re a n00b.
Beer
What can I say about beer? It’s liquid bread. It lets everyone around know that you’ve been to at least one party and survived to tell the tale. Everyone’s impressed when you can drink lots of beer. There’s a social aspect to beer drinking that no other beverage can really compare to. A camaraderie, if you will. But what beer should you choose?
- Killian’s Irish Red
This should be your first choice whenever you’re out on the town drinking. The deep red color lets all the men around know you’re a ticking time bomb of hate, just waiting to explode… The full flavor and smooth taste let all the ladies know you’re a ticking time bomb of love, just waiting to show them how the world is from your side of the lust-fence. - Guinness
If ever there was a beer worth drinking, this is it. This beer will grow hair on your tongue, turn you into a werewolf, and make every woman in a thirty foot radius die of sexual exhaustion. The ONLY problem with this beer, is that sometimes you just don’t want to look that bad ass in public. Hence the number two slot. - Samuel Adams
This beer is just all around good. Worth drinking. - Yuengling
Yuengling isn’t a bad beer. It can often turn a shitty night of light hell into a nominally good night of yum. Great fall-back beer. - **** Light
I don’t know why, but some places don’t carry beer that’s worth drinking. In that case, drink as the romans drink… Domestic. - Natty/Beast
Every once in a while, there’s a kegger and someone has this for free. Do not pay for this beer.
Wow, what a roundup… But what about when you want a more romantic evening?
Wine
Wine is delicious. It will get you fucked up with relatively little effort, and you don’t have to convince people to try it. This is the ultimate get someone drunk drink.
- Sake!
Sake is an invention of the Japanese. Those bastards sure know how to make an alcoholic beverage. This is the only alcoholic beverage that’s actually better served warm. No shit. Go to a sushi bar and see for yourself. Make it a high class one. - Sangria
While not actually a wine per-se, Sangria is my favorite wine-based beverage. It’s easy to drink and can be made stronger with little noticeable flavor impairment through liberal application of booze. - Merlot
When you need class and sophistication in your booze, this is it. - ???
To be perfectly honest, I don’t drink much wine. Let me know what you like in a fine wine and I’ll annotate.
Whiskey
What can you say about whiskey that years and years of evolution hasn’t already told you? When you absolutely, positively, have to get drunk off your ass, accept no substitute.
- Black Bush
Black Bush is Bushmill’s top of the line Irish whiskey. Irish whiskey is not Kentucky Bourbon. Think of Irish whiskey as Kentucky’s best’s favorite Uncle. More fun than any adult rightfully should be. Irish whiskey is classic beyond compare and this is the best of the best. - Gentleman Jack
This is the best Kentucky Bourbon you will ever put in your mouth, bar maybe the hundred year old bottle you get on your wedding day. A single sip is bliss. A gulp is pure ecstasy. Accept no whiskey related substitute. - Jack Daniel’s No. 7
Jack is classic. You want whiskey, this is the name you think of. This guy and maybe his old pal… - Jim Beam
Another classic way to erase your sorrows and blissfully enjoy the night. Don’t accept anything less. - Calvert Extra
This is so generic I can’t even find a website for it. Drink at your own risk.
Mmm… Whiskey. Whiskey is by far my favorite drink.
Gin
Gin is a great drink, almost completely imperceptible in juice. Try it!
- Bombay Sapphire
This is the best gin on the market. Give it a shot if you don’t believe me. It’s damned good. - Tanqueray
A close second. Tanqueray, despite Tony Sinclair, is actually very good. Drink heavily, avoid moderation. - Seagram’s Lime Twisted Gin
Gin with a lime twist. Easy to drink, on the cheap!
The Gin family, while not my favorite, is timeless.
I wanted to cover the other major drinking groups (vodka, rum, cordials, etc.) but I really don’t care that much. Most of them suck, and the ones that don’t have proponents elsewhere. Anyway, enough of my tirade… Go forth, and get drunk my dear readers… With my advice in mind, you shall not regret it.
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