tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70749822011-07-25T07:01:36.765-07:00Everybody dies frustrated inside and that is beautifuleffwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.comBlogger451100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1108759602216601292005-02-18T12:00:00.000-08:002005-02-18T12:46:42.220-08:00

I'm still in the Beta phase of my website but I'm pretty happy with the results so far. Recreating a blog like site while also having a wider variety of content is much nicer this way. I've sacrificed individual blog pages in favor of in-page links. My bare bones RSS feed uses these links. I figured if HaloScan can only offer a separate page for comments, I might as well not bother with figuring

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1105685624186663422005-01-13T22:52:00.000-08:002005-01-13T22:53:44.186-08:00

In her new book written with Catherine Johnson, Animals in Translation (NYTimes), Dr Temple Grandin, an animal behavior expert and inventor of the squeeze machine, uses her experiences with autism to explore the intricacies of animal behavior. She argues that animals do have consciousness, that language is not a prerequisite and other theories that bring fascinating insight into both animal and

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1104892636626984832005-01-04T18:22:00.000-08:002005-01-04T19:14:06.300-08:00

Saw Julie, Interrupted's version of this and thought I'd give it a try. It was a lot harder than I thought. I figure I need some introspection; I haven't done it in a while. 3 names you go by: 1. Joseph 2. Joseph Briggs 3. Mr Joseph Alan Briggs 3 screen names you have: 1. effwerd 2. jormundgand23 3. Joseph Briggs 3 things you like about yourself: 1. My dog 2. My cat 3. I treat them well 3

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1103868131558810562004-12-23T21:35:00.000-08:002004-12-23T22:24:04.950-08:00

Okay, I've actually got my new 20" iMac G5 yesterday but I spent all of last night playing with it. It took about 15 minutes to get everything out of the box and setup, then I spent the next two hours messing around trying to make the computer fail. Everything worked fine until I decided to go to bed. I put the computer to sleep and started to retire, then decided to check how quickly the

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1103726765142434592004-12-22T06:38:00.000-08:002004-12-22T06:46:05.143-08:00

Amazingly, it appears I will be getting my new 20" iMac G5 (I just love typing that) before I get my old iMac back from the shop. It will be here tomorrow. Of course, I'll be at work when it arrives but at least I'll have the weekend to play with it. I've given my blog a new name, Null & Void: The Modern Social Contract. I'm not sure about the subhead. I was hoping to add a computer science/

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1103217352366734982004-12-16T09:15:00.000-08:002004-12-16T09:15:52.366-08:00

Honda has upgraded Asimo. They've added jogging, autonomous continuous movement, some new joint designs, and better intelligence, expanding the range of humanoid robots, which includes, the Qrio from Sony, Isamu, and Toyota's offering that entered the fray earlier this year (previously discussed). These robots present a far more finished appearance than their research and development kin, like

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1103149377371309722004-12-15T14:22:00.000-08:002004-12-15T14:22:57.370-08:00

So I did a search for "plastic" to see if my blog would come up. I doubted it would since it's such a common multipurpose term. But what did come up was a community blog also called Plastic (which means I will soon change the name of my blog again). It looked interesting so I joined. I submitted my recent blog entry to see what kind of reaction I'd get. I admit, I knew it was a flawed piece that

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1103065932946207482004-12-14T15:11:00.000-08:002004-12-15T05:11:35.010-08:00

With the recent deluge of political discussion focused on religion and the demonization of secularists, I felt it necessary to point out that secularism and spirituality are not mutually exclusive. Religion doesn't hold a monopoly on spirituality since spirituality is the precursor to religion not a product of it. I am secular, which means I don't believe in gods, superbeings, or aliens,

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1103050285888811832004-12-14T10:50:00.000-08:002004-12-14T10:51:25.886-08:00

Me and the computer that is. Poor me. Poor Franklin. I can't seem to muster 300 bucks. I suck.

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1099594866637541452004-11-04T11:00:00.000-08:002004-11-04T11:01:06.636-08:00

I know you're all wondering why I haven't been posting (;)), especially about the election results. My iMac has died. Poor Franklin. He needs a new power supply board so it's dead until I can save up about 300 bucks. Until then I can only post while at work (shhhhhh, don't tell anyone).

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1097948269276961592004-10-16T10:24:00.000-07:002004-10-16T11:58:02.376-07:00

Crossfire Video of Jon Stewart Calmly Demolishing Tucker & Beglia (18.2MB MPEG-4) What Crossfire thought they were going to get was probably an amiable Jon Stewart on to promote the Daily Show's new book, America The Book, and the Daily Show itself. I'm sure Tucker & Beglia thought they were going to have a fun time tossing Stewart some easy meat for Daily Show type insights but Stewart came in

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1096947943607650552004-10-04T20:45:00.000-07:002004-10-04T20:45:43.606-07:00

Rumsfeld doubts Saddam Laden link In front of an audience in New York, Mr Rumsfeld was asked about connections between Saddam and Osama Bin Laden. "To my knowledge, I have not seen any strong, hard evidence that links the two," he said. I'm really having trouble understanding this administration's mixed messages.

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1096594799053448922004-09-30T18:35:00.000-07:002004-09-30T18:39:59.053-07:00

I wasn't expecting Kerry to come off well, but he's doing well. I thought he would have a chance if Bush stumbled and I think Bush is stumbling. Bush is very squirrelly.

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1094833223914491542004-09-10T08:52:00.000-07:002004-09-10T10:43:34.656-07:00

I don't know why I even have an alarm clock anymore. When I have to get up for work, I get up at 3:55 am, five minutes before my alarm goes off. When I don't have to get up for work, I wake up at 7:00 am. Every time. Guaranteed. It doesn't matter when I go to sleep either. I'm sure if I resisted the pattern and introduced a radical condition like going to sleep at 6:55 am, I could sleep later

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1094748760973879332004-09-09T09:51:00.000-07:002004-09-09T09:56:39.513-07:00

Dog Shoots Man Stupid human. I guess he's never heard of an animal shelter.

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1094693415961840882004-09-08T18:27:00.000-07:002004-09-08T18:46:32.970-07:00

Sunday Bloody Sunday with the voice of George Bush [via bob sarabia on MetaFilter]

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1094650369181654922004-09-06T06:32:00.000-07:002004-09-08T14:44:02.460-07:00

Iraq is failed policy for Bush. It is a failure in foreign policy and more specifically it is a failure in the war on terrorism. War on Terrorism Iraq was a sponsor of terrorism. That wasn't the point. There are plenty of state sponsors of terrorism. The point is this: Invading Iraq and spending 900+ American lives, uncounted thousands of Iraqi lives, and thus far some 200 billion dollars was

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1094183469413786292004-09-02T20:51:00.000-07:002004-09-02T20:51:09.413-07:00

GOP backs away from Miller’s blast This is just funny beyond words. I'll count this as a flop.

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1094177854926462292004-09-02T19:13:00.000-07:002004-09-08T18:34:05.886-07:00

I'm watching George talk at the RNC and I can't help but think of My Pet Goat. I didn't want to touch the seven minutes thing but after seeing the video of it and hearing him speak tonight in a notably slow and measured pace, I can't help but relate the two. Ugh! He just dissed his dad hardcore. He said something like, "My father served with a great man, Ronald Reagan." Addendum: I have to

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1093611235420631072004-08-27T05:53:00.000-07:002004-08-27T06:10:20.533-07:00

Bush Admits Iraq 'Miscalculation' The New York Times article that the BBC article cites is titled, Bush Dismisses Idea That Kerry Lied on Vietnam, since that issue is so important over here (NYT requires free registration, archived articles require purchase). A fundamental contributor to Bush's mistake in the occupation of Iraq was his economic policy for the country. This is detailed by Naomi

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1093107551983817762004-08-21T09:44:00.000-07:002004-08-21T17:21:47.473-07:00

The Exorcist is one of the great movies in cinema. Batman, the movie, was a childish parody of a potentially grim and dark story of urban corruption and psychoses. Both franchises are now getting their zero movies (Exorcist the Beginning and Batman Begins) and both look like they might be very good. The movie zero idea is based on the recent comic book convention of publishing an issue #0 for

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1092972038972722322004-08-19T20:20:00.000-07:002004-08-19T21:00:54.180-07:00

An alternative title for this would be: Oh Shit. Iran warns of preemptive strike "America is not the only one present in the region. We are also present, from Khost to Kandahar in Afghanistan; we are present in the Gulf and we can be present in Iraq" "If Israel fires one missile at Bushehr atomic power plant, it should permanently forget about Dimona nuclear center, where it produces and keeps

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1092971112772061912004-08-19T19:57:00.000-07:002004-08-19T20:05:12.773-07:00

I don't know if they're related but I like it. I was getting sick of those Google ads. They were making me too self-conscious about my post content. After the "Flaming" post and then the "NSA through the Backdoor" post, I was certain I was going to get some risque gay ads up. Not that there's anything wrong with that (ugh, old joke, sorry).

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1092970126960874662004-08-19T19:48:00.000-07:002004-08-19T19:54:44.583-07:00

CNN.com - Retiring GOP congressman breaks ranks on Iraq This contrasts nicely with George W and his stuttering attempt at recalling any mistake he might have possibly made in his administration. Sure Doug might have ulterior motives behind his announcement but the message gets out there nonetheless - Republicans can admit mistakes.

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1092500027023941212004-08-14T08:59:00.000-07:002004-08-14T09:46:11.193-07:00

Names for My Dog Lobo, Bobo, Tubo, Dog, Bobo Bear, Baby Bear, Bubba Bear, Puppy Bear, Shadow Bear, Dustmop, Begging Paw, Snowbeard (winter only), Samhain (October only), Poop Monster, Poop Machine, Dumptruck, Hairy Squatter, Shed Monster, Couch Button, Footstool, Itchy Names for My Cat Hexo, Monster, Booboo, Google (as in "coo" and "gurgle" not the search engine), Google Bear, Kitty Bear, Purr

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1092410870554768492004-08-13T08:27:00.000-07:002004-08-13T08:29:43.986-07:00

You, my hypothetical audience, might be able to tell from my last post that I'm not going to focus this blog exclusively on politics anymore. And because of this, I've opened myself up to colorful language and loose (read: no) editing. After spending a couple of months on WatchBlog, you know what I learned? Most people who discuss politics will never consider changing their minds. It's just like

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1092362210613583402004-08-12T18:05:00.000-07:002004-08-20T19:44:15.923-07:00

What started out as procrastination (toward this blog, my writing in general, my art, and my life in general) turned into a frantic search for new employment and a new career path. Unfortunately, these are two separate things. I first need to get a job in my current "career," prepress. If you don't know what prepress is, don't worry. It's meaningless. I took a bad turn while in the design world

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1089897029597319232004-07-15T08:02:00.000-07:002004-07-15T09:33:53.000-07:00

Reap This Here's something interesting from the Kerry camp. This poor lady sounds bitter.

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1089896922655760342004-07-15T05:54:00.000-07:002004-07-15T06:08:42.656-07:00

I admit, so soon after starting this blog, I've been slacking. My only excuse is I spend over 50 hours a week at work and traveling to and from work. And recently I've been spending a lot of my off-time over at WatchBlog. I've only posted two articles there but I've posted a lot of comments. It's a great political blog with a bunch of well-informed posters. The rest of my time is spent with my

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1089116877946445632004-07-06T05:23:00.001-07:002004-07-06T05:38:14.253-07:00

The New York Times > CIA Held Back Iraqi Arms Data, US Officials Say On the face of this, you might think this article is saying that the CIA purposely held back intelligence, but it's not. It's merely another indictment of the CIAs unfortunate bias in intel analysis. I recently discussed with a friend the possibility that George Tenet setup the administration by saying the WMD case against

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1088009471471623552004-06-23T09:49:00.000-07:002004-06-23T15:53:57.000-07:00

Federal Marriage Amendment - Senator Wayne Allard and Representative Marilyn Musgrave NYTimes article about yesterday's hearings (May require free registration, archived articles require purchase, yes, they suck.) Married man-woman pairs across the world must be shuddering in collective moral fear over the US Senate hearings on same sex marriage. The fate of humanity hangs in the balance as

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1087657390453063742004-06-19T08:03:00.000-07:002004-06-19T11:46:13.383-07:00

CFR Publications: Saudi Expert Gause Says U.S.-Saudi Ties, Once Close, Now Limited to Oil and Anti-Terrorism When Saudi Arabia recently started to fall victim of repeated terrorist attacks, I actually saw this as a good sign (no, I'm not being cruel). I don't think the attacking terrorists were just expanding their sphere of influence, being in the neighborhood, as it were, and figuring they

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1087270252721351162004-06-15T06:00:00.000-07:002004-06-15T05:31:45.293-07:00

Breaking codes: An impossible task? | BBC News At the end of this long article on the basics of encryption is this tasty little bit about NSA backdoors into software: In his book "Security Engineering", Ross Anderson tells the story of how this happened in Sweden: "The Swedish government got upset when they learned that the 'export version' of Lotus Notes which they used widely in public

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1087227973822356542004-06-14T08:36:00.000-07:002004-06-14T19:48:57.936-07:00

I was willing to give the administration the benefit of the doubt in this embarrassing matter over Abu G. I thought calling for Donald's resignation was inflammatory and divisive. I seriously doubted the president would be directly involved with pushing for torture of prisoners, I figured it was probably due to MI more than any other organization. But now, after John refused to hand over the

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1087215923087527412004-06-14T05:25:00.000-07:002004-06-14T18:42:23.130-07:00

Ronnie & Saddam: Under Reagan, Secret Deals Brokered by Donald Rumsfeld with Saddam Hussein Secured the Dictator an Arsenal of WMD Now that Ronald is in the ground and the fervor over his week long funeral parade is no longer generating ad revenue, it seems like a good idea to remember the context of our current political quandary with Iraq. The above article from the Sunday Herald (reprinted by

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1086870529623762662004-06-07T05:26:00.000-07:002004-06-10T17:54:09.743-07:00

It's I Love the 80s Week in America, brought to you by the death of Ronald Reagan. I can't watch the news at all right now since it's all gush and mythcraft. Even those on the left are taking one for the Gipper and putting on a civil face at his final repose, emphasizing the innocuous aspects of Reagan's personality while avoiding the contentious issues he managed to embed into American social

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1086353290278183942004-06-04T05:41:00.000-07:002004-06-04T14:31:46.796-07:00

George Lakoff tells how conservatives use language to dominate politics This is an interview with a UC Berkeley professor, George Lakoff, from October 2003. He discusses how the administration and the right have managed public debate through clever language. I've also seen this pretentiously titled book while book shopping and I wanted to post on the general idea presented in both of these

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1086067585834025042004-05-31T22:26:00.000-07:002004-05-31T22:49:30.420-07:00

CNN.com - Study: China readying for conflict - May 31, 2004 This is about a report from the US Department of Defense, so it might be part hype, part worry, some facts, but given that China has been very upfront about its expectations of Taiwan and its planned response if these expectations aren't met, it's probably rather accurate. Either way, it's not good for us. If Taiwan presses China's

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1086047537730834082004-05-31T16:52:00.000-07:002004-05-31T20:10:46.140-07:00

The TIME.com Article The article has a kind of derisive tone but beneath this it's a good little piece trying to dispense whatever moral complexity one might believe surrounds this issue. I've always thought the issue was rather clear cut. Microscopic cells don't have souls. Sperm and ovum are not sacred. Fetuses are not persons. Fetuses should not count toward the child tax credit. I know

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1086038938685278192004-05-31T14:26:00.000-07:002004-05-31T22:51:32.223-07:00

Arising in 622 CE, Islam is a latecomer to the religious scene. It arose in the Middle East, an area that had been civilized and proto-civilized for over 6,000 years at the time, with human settlements going back to circa 18000 BCE. Specifically, Islam began in Mecca, a city on the west side of the Arabian Peninsula, where its founder, Muhammad, was born, and where he developed his creed. This

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1085973064446124572004-05-30T18:06:00.000-07:002004-05-30T21:35:54.350-07:00

The counting of days in the history of Islam begins on June 15, 622 CE when Muhammad was forced to flee from his hometown, Mecca, to Medina, where he developed a following, which he eventually used to take Mecca on November 1, 630. Muhammad had control over all of Arabia when he died in 632, just ten years after his flight out of Mecca. Before his rise to power, Muhammad had married into money

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1085934391282758092004-05-30T09:26:00.000-07:002004-05-30T13:52:23.550-07:00

Pick Appears to Catch Bush Administration Off Guard (washingtonpost.com) CNN.com - Iraqi council announces prime minister pick This is a good move for the Iraqi Governing Council, and yet another example of the cluelessness of our administration. The IGC shows they can take decisive initiative, which can only be good for all of Iraq. I hope Lakhdar stands by his endorsement of the choice. I

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1085804735051482772004-05-28T21:13:00.000-07:002004-06-24T17:02:55.603-07:00

"Our terrorist enemies have a vision that guides and explains all their varied acts of murder." In my last installment overanalyzing George's speech to the War College, I went over the problems I have with this administration's reasoning behind their Iraq policies. The newest feature of this policy is that we liberated Iraq in order to transform it into the primary front in the War on Terror for

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1085541995473207832004-05-25T19:03:00.000-07:002004-05-28T22:14:08.693-07:00

I didn't watch the speech. I can't stand George's delivery. I always cringe like I'm listening to one of those deluded American Idol wannabes. I just get the transcript from whitehouse.gov. Reading George is much better. He almost seems normal and intelligent then. It still reads poorly when the speech writers have to tackle religion, deification of democracy, and making up new excuses for Iraq.

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7074982.post-1085370711215735682004-05-23T20:27:00.000-07:002004-05-23T20:51:51.216-07:00

Let me explain a few things about me. I believe I can see the big picture. I understand cosmological theory and physics. I understand the formation of our solar system and our delicate sun-planet-moon system. I understand the billions of years of Earth's existence and the organization of carbon-based life. I understand natural selection theory and the context of human intelligence in the

effwerdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14213572883818731232noreply@blogger.com4