Amazing Machine

This is crazy (if real):


This incredible machine was built as a collaborative effort between the Robert M. Trammell Music Conservatory and the Sharon Wick School of Engineering at the University of Iowa . Amazingly, 97% of the machines components came from John Deere Industries and Irrigation Equipment of Bancroft Iowa ; yes farm equipment!


It took the team a combined 13,029 hours of set-up, alignment, calibration, and tuning before filming this video but as you can see it was WELL worth the effort.


It is now on display in the Matthew Gerhard Alumni Hall at the University and is already slated to be donated to the Smithsonian

What's in MY MP3 Player?

"HUSSEIN EXECUTED"

Well, you've all heard it, the guy's a goner. Not that I respect him in the least, but the fact that he's been hanged kinda makes me cringe. And not only for the fact that is was done immediately before his sacred holiday (I actually think it was done ON the sacred holiday, which is forbidden in thier culture, but I'll reserve that fact for someone more informed than myself). I can only imagine the escalation of violence this will likely bring, especially due to the lack of respect for the religious holiday (for those of you who don't know: The dudes in the middle-east are kinda religious).

I also have to question the type of Democracy we have put in place, if they are out there Hanging people... A tad barbaric if you ask me.

I myself have recently swung to the side of those who oppose the death penalty. Not because I don't believe some criminals deserve to die, and not solely because we aren't always 100% sure we have the right guy (although this is a huge factor, in some cases we are 100% sure). But, did you know it costs several times as much to go through the legal process and then lethally inject a guy than is does to keep him in a cell for the rest of his life?

I'm not deminishing the value of a human life to a dollar value, all I'm saying is 'What's the point'?

While we're on the topic, I also believe these inmates should be out there working to pay for the cost of the prisons & police. It'd take some work, but I'm sure we could develop a system that would prevent them from escaping. Even if we had to hire 10x the number of gaurds to watch over them.... now we could pay the gaurds with the money the inmates make. And don't even dare mention the word "slavery" with respect to this!


UPDATED: Yes, he was executed on thier religious holiday. I myself get no satifaction from this...and even less from this

Me:

It has come to my attention that I may have drawn a few viewers whom I have never actually met. By viewing this blog I feel it is necessary to point out that there is more to me as a person than the writings I have on this site.

Believe it or not I am a quite happy, content young lad, trying to make the world my own little oyster. I have a sarcastic sense of humour, and find humor in the most dire of circumstances even when it is I myself who will have to be dug out of them.

I am also a very giving person who would never let a friend down. This being said, if you are an able-bodied human being living on the street, unwilling to mow my lawn... I'd sooner watch you shrivel up than throw you a coin!

EI: "Employment Insurance"

Ya, so now you've got me going... And now I'll let you in on another thing I HATE paying for: That little thing called Employment Insurance. Between EI & CPP (things I will likely never use) I have paid more than $2500 this year. Perhaps the thing that Urks me most is the fact they are calling it "Insurance". I wish it WAS insurance because then my payments would be going down while I avoid making claims, and those of you who make claims would have your payments rise so you would eventually pay off a portion of what you have taken.

Oh, and for those of you who think you can collect EI to "get back what you put in" I have this to say:
1) I truly hope for the sake of humanity that you are not actually dumb enough to believe this. I hope that you're only collecting because you are just too lazy to work (c'mon, just admit it, and thank me for paying all your bills).
2) The amount that I paid equals roughly 2.5% of my income (not all taxes go to EI, you also have to help support this "health-care system" you admire so much). This means that, to pay for 1 year of normal wages on EI you would have to work for 40. Taking into account the fact that there has to be a system in place to support the EI program, lets say you'd actually have to work for 50 years to truly pay off your debt. Plus, the CPP contribution actually outweighs the EI payment, and if you're collecting EI you'll likely get every cent of CPP you can get your hands on, so you'd actually have to work well over 100 years to pay off the debt of 1 year on EI.

Lets all just get off our asses and work to support ourselves. I mean really, what else is there to do? Plus, if you're really trying & struggling, those who are doing well won't mind lending a hand as long as they're not FORCED to. Don't think for a second that you Deserve help... Be grateful for any help given to you & repay the favor when you get the chance.

Health-Care Copycat

OK, so I'll admit that I'm copying this topic from my sister's blog, but any mention of taxes makes my blood boil. Not that I don't believe taxes are needed (to a certain extent), but I hate the corrupt systems they are funding & perhaps the biggest waste is in this Canadian "Health-Care System", although I must say I enjoy the ideology that anyone can see a doctor for "free".

Firstly I must add that I was turned away from doctors' offices in Newfoundland because they were "not accepting any more patients". I fail to comprehend how this could happen, since as I am a taxpayer, I had already paid for thier services which they were now denying me. This also throws a spoke into the supposed Health-Care-for-all system which is said to be in place.

The primary problem with the system is that when people think they are getting something for free they tend to stuff thier pockets, so the person with his pockets already full keeps grabbing at the same rate as the person with nothing. By this I mean that we have people booking unimportant appointments and getting in on the same wait list as those with real problems.

If your gonna make me pay the doctor to put a bandage on my sore thumb, perhaps I'll decide to put the bandaid on myself and save my money for when I break my leg and actually NEED a doctor's attention. Perhaps I'll see if Tylenol Cold&Flu can cure me before spending $ on a doctor. The one that gets me most is the school requirement that a student must get a doctor's note for missing classes. There's better things to spend tax dollars on than paying for a doctor (who does deserve his 250k/yr) to write notes for kids skipping class.

Ahh... Wait a second! I was just thinking to myself "I'd never want to 'leave a guy out to dry', letting him carry on with a treatable illness" when I realized there probly isn't a Canadian out there who hasn't walked past that bum on the street without throwing him a coin. I likely pay enough money towards health care to take 3 bums off the street each year. We all walk by that guy with disgust thinking "get a job". So why should I feel remorse for telling people to at least pay for a portion of thier doctor bills? I'm SAVING before I have a child... Saving for clothes, food, and junior hockey equipment. It would suck to have to pay the hospital during childbirth, and would suck even more to pay for any complications should they arise, but I certainly don't expect YOU to pay for it!

Dr. Phil...

So I'm watching Dr. Phil the other day (ya ya.... make fun of me if you will, but it comes on right after Oprah), and there's this kid on there who started doing drugs at the tender age of 10, and who started dealing/selling drugs by the time he was 11! Yes, that's Grade 6! So what's the first thought that pops into MY mind? "Wow, what a sense of entrepreneurship for such a young age!" This kid is only in grade 6, and already he's working to support his own habits! He's admitedly headed in the wrong direction, but at least he's headed SOMEWHERE! And so I congratulate you, young drug-dealing child... You are one of the few people who have earned my respect!

Drunken (but justifiable) Response:

OK, so I don't mean to pick on anyone in particular, but someone had this response to my latest posting: "kinda depressing, Life isn't that bad, don't you think each generation has it a little better than the one before it? Technology keeps improving, we get more and better stuff, we can keep in touch even though we are so far apart, we all have computers, we are all richer." And YES, I admit this is all true... However, this leads me to another topic: The Poverty Line. You know, that creapy little thing that keeps moving forward despite the fact that those who live along it aren't working any harder. I'm not saying the less-fortunate people should be forced to move to places of opportunity; I'm just saying that those who refuse to move should give up thier right to complain. I live in the world of opportunity where high-school drop-outs make 75k/yr. It's a beautiful thing, but people forget that those of us making decent money EARN it... Now everyone thinks they deserve a slice of the pie without lifting a finger (something to do with thier forefathers???). This is why I have paid 35 G's in taxes this year... So that even those lying on the couch all day can enjoy the luxury of "more and better stuff... computers...." and simply be "richer" than the previous generation. If you ask me running water is a luxury none of us should be taking for granted or be expecting to get for free. And don't get me wrong... I don't mind lending a guy 50 cents for a bar of soap to get washed up for his job interview, but I do fully expect to get that 50 cents back at the end of the week when he gets his first check. I'm also fully willing to take down this "government" of ours to get back my 35k if I have any followers. Oh, and by the way...... Merry Christmas!

"If you set your mind to it"

OK, so now that I have 2 viewers I'll start the 'perversion'. Just remember I am doing this for you, the viewer... I have found out what is wrong with society. Yes, the underlying problem. It is, quite simply 'The American Dream'. You know how we're all told as kids that we can do&have anything if we just set our minds to it. I myself am sick of this inept view of reality and am saying to you all (the general public) that try as you may, you will likely never amount to much of anything. I don't mean to offend, but it's simple math. We cannot have more than we are able to produce. Each person cannot drive a Lexus and live in a mansion, no matter how long and hard we work at it. It takes a lot of man-hours to produce these objects. Yes, I am aware that we have machines that aid in the building of such objects (and have thus far been quite successful in the harvesting of cheap overseas labor), but the overlying fact still maintains. After all, these machines must be built before they can build... And I am not even suggesting that we include the man hours it takes to get our base-products (lumber starts as a tree & steel starts as impure iron ore).
So what happens to the youth who grow up with this "dream" embedded in their minds? Well, they obviously FAIL (after all, to obtain this dream is impossible). I'm not sure about you, but I don't like to fail. Whats the point of trying if you know there's no chance of success? The smart ones realize this early on and don't even bother to try, while the dumber ones fail time & time again before finally giving up and accepting their worthlessness. We all get lazy because, no matter how ambitious we are, we will never live up to the expectations we have set for ourselves (or those that others have set for us). So we meet at the McDonald's drive-thru or on the couch and complain how society has let us down, while the politicians keep preaching 'the American dream'. After all, they know the only people ambitious enough to get off the couch to go vote are those who haven't yet realized the impossibility of actually obtaining that which they are telling us we can obtain. Thus, the dream lives on. And so it continues....

But While I'm Here...

I do feel the need to mention that I've just spent 50 of my hard-earned dollars on the purchase of a REAL Christmas tree (yes Dad, I know it's not Christmas eve yet, but my tree is up nonetheless). I could have bought a fake tree, which was better-proportioned, wouldn't have left a mess everywhere it was dragged, and could have been used for several years for a slightly lower price. I admit this purchase was my own choice, but I refuse to use a fake tree, and this is besides the point. What I fail to comprehend is how it is cheaper to hire a child from a foreign land to dig iron from the ground and twist it, along with plastics, into the shape of a tree, then ship this product halfway around the world to be sold in a store, then it is to hire an American/Canadian to walk into the woods, spend two minutes cutting down a tree, and then drag the tree to the side of the road to be sold. And yet somehow us Americans (yes, myself included) are all underpaid? Perhaps I'm still young & naive and I'll understand this with age.

A New Birth?

Much like others in my immediate family, I created this blog as a means of commenting on other blogs, and may not update it, primarily due to the fear of being judged for my beliefs. However, if I do chose to update it, I invite all degenerates to use it as a safe haven, as I will not persecute you for your 'misuse of a colon', primarily due to my inadequate education, and lack of knowledge of "proper" english.