Stapler

2 - 25 sheets, or so it says. This is one of the nicest staplers I have ever used to fasten paper together. It has a nice weight and balance to it when you heft it. You can't tell in this picture to the left, but it has a metallic blue metal flake color scheme. The stapler is fantastic.

The claim imprinted in the metal is that it can staple 2 - 25 sheets. I think it ought to say 1 - 25. Granted, the purpose of a stapler is to fasten multiple sheets of paper together, so there probably isn't a reason to have 1 paper with a staple in it, but shouldn't a stapler be able to do it? I think so. I figured it could, even though it doesn't say it can, so I tried it out...

As you can see, the stapler can staple only one paper at a time, if that is something you want to do. Let this be a lesson about "thinking outside the box."

Why the World Doesn't Need Facebook

Have you seen the movie Superman Returns (Bryan Singer, 2006)? In this new sequel to the Superman saga we find the Man of Steel returning from a vacation, or something. While he was away, saving someone I suppose, Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) turned against him and wrote a newspaper article entitled "Why the world doesn't need Superman (Brandon Routh)." Or something to that effect, I might not have it word for word. She won the Pulitzer for the article. I thought the Pulitzer was reserved for investigative journalism, not op eds, but what do I know, really? Nothing when it comes to journalism.
Lois wins the award for her therapeutic venting, perhaps scathing vengeance was a part of it as well, but she recants her opinion when Superman returns (hence the name of the movie, nice work keeping with the basic naming structure for Superman movies: Superman, Superman II, Superman III, etc) and saves her family from annihilation. Oh yeah, and she finds out (or did she already know?) that her son is Superman's son too. You know what that means. It means that Cyclops (James Marsden) isn't the boy's father. Amorality has infiltrated the world, sadly. Where is Superman when you really need him? Setting a bad moral example for children everywhere. If that had been the crux of Lois' argument then I'd be on board. But now I'm just being judgmental over fictitious characters. I digress.
Having given you this background information, and before I write the article "Why the world doesn't need Facebook" I want to say one more thing. If Pulitzer prizes are given to writers of opinion pieces, and my anti-Facebook thesis warrants reception of one such prize, I will gladly receive it. I am not requesting, expecting, or banking on winning the prize, or even being considered, but I will accept if it is offered. If Lois Lane gets one for an opinion, which is so ridiculously one-sided, vengeful, and wrong, then why not give one to me for an opinion that is sound and beneficial?
...

The rest of this post can be found in the Ajax's Whimsical Revolution ebook for Amazon's Kindle. The book is a compilation of my favorite posts, 78 to be exact, of which this is one. If you don't have a Kindle e-reader you can download the free Amazon Kindle app for PC or Mac.

The Perils of Sigmund Freud, Finger Puppet

This is what Bugsy Da Spaniel, guardian angel of canines everywhere, does to fill his retired-now-so-spending-the-winter-in-Florida-rather-than-Vermont days. Watch as Sigmund Freud tries to escape the condo pool on the back of Cecil the mechanical fish. If any video has ever deserved to be "viral" it is this one. 7 seconds of hilarity.

Ajax Reacts to the 2011 State of the Union Address

I did not watch the State of the Union Address (SUA), for two reasons: I can't stand the pomp(ous) and circumstance of the congress standing and clapping repeatedly, for one; also, Southland was on. If you are not familiar with Southland (airs at 10pm eastern on TNT, Tuesday) then I suggest you become familiar with it. Unless you do not like police dramas, or graphic language and realistic situational violence, in which case do not watch. It is like watching COPS, but with the television edit turned off. The character development has been fantastic and the story lines are gripping. If you want to feel what you are watching, watch Southland. Last night's episode was out of control. That's all I'll say.
So I didn't watch the SUA, but I have read the transcript today. I can understand it better if I read it myself. Maybe. So I have read it and now I will make observations and commentary. Before I do I feel the need to express my total distaste for the television commentators. I hate the "us and them" speak, but they really are something different than me in some situations. I don't want to hear hate speech, but that's all that gets televised these days. It comes from the politicians, it comes from the journalists, and it comes from the opinion commentators. Every channel, every medium, every person. So why not me, too? I hope people don't hear me the same way I hear the commentators I'm referring to. I hope that I am speaking more from a common sense stand point that most decent people will understand. I don't think I am an elitist, I hope I am not. Elitism is what I'm griping against. To my "us," the elitists are the "they."

And this leads directly into my first observation from the SUA:
"Tucson reminded us that no matter who we are or where we come from, each
of us is a part of something greater – something more consequential than party
or political preference."
Really? That's what the shooting in Tucson a few weeks ago means? We didn't realize that already? It took multiple murders to remind us that we are all in this together, that we are all humans and connected? Maybe for you and your friends, President Obama, but not for me. It didn't take people dying to remind me that I am more than just part of a political ideology or party. It saddens me that there may be people who really did need a tragedy to remind them about this. Saddens and sickens. The only consolation is that if it truly has made an impact on people, and his saying this isn't just more of the same hate speak, then perhaps we'll start to see some changes for the better in our country. Changes where people are treated like people.

A lot of attention has been given to the fact that the Congress members were going to sit together, meaning, not in groups by political affiliation. Congratulations Congress! You have reached a pre-school level of learning to sit next to someone you disagree with. It's too bad it took the death of 6 people and physical injury to 14 others, along with the emotional trauma suffered by many others, in order to have Congress learn to sit next to someone they disagree with. In my opinion, the saddest part of all is that the attention is focused only on one, an elected official, when so many have been affected. She is one, a public servant, a representative. And don't try to argue that talking about her is a representation of the reverence for all of the victims, don't try to argue that because we know that isn't the case. The elitists are taking care of their own. They are sensationalizing to get the most attention. I don't think it is money they are after, although they are getting that along the way as well. No, it isn't money, but attention and control.
I notice the mention of the tax cuts that will put more money in the pockets of working Americans this year. Wasn't half of the government opposed to passing those cuts until they realized they were in jeopardy of being voted out of their jobs? Well, it is "we" that passed it now, or from our perspective, "them." But the economy is on the climb, the recession has been broken. The stocks are rising and corporations are making profits, but I still don't see people finding jobs.
"America still has the largest, most prosperous economy in the world. No
workers are more productive than ours. No country has more successful
companies, or grants more patents to inventors and entrepreneurs."
While this may be true, I'm still seeing "made in China" on a lot of my stuff. Prosperity to me means being beyond debt. To prosper is to earn above what is needed to simply survive. It is more than the bare necessities. Prosperity is more than. Debt is less than. Aren't we in immense debt as a nation? Let's say my friends all earn $50,000 a year. Somehow I get a bank loan for $100,000. Am I now more prosperous than my friends? I can show a larger stack of cash, but is it really mine? Am I prosperous?
Since when was the future a competition? Why do we need to out-do everyone else? We don't need to take advantage of our brother to get ahead in life. More elitist thinking. One person doesn't need to fail in order for another person to succeed. I guess when your life is politics and your financial welfare rests on races and winning you develop a certain mentality. Let me tell you, real jobs don't involve winning or losing them. Either you are able to do the job or you are not. If you can do it, and you get the opportunity, then you do it. If you can't do it, then you find something you can do. Not in politics, you race and you win. So you train harder and buy better exercise tools and fancy coaches. Figuratively speaking. Other countries of the world don't need to fail or lose just so that we can succeed. I'm not a supporter of one-world-order, I think cultural differences necessitate separate borders, but that isn't to say we can't work together in a spirit of love and peace. Key words there being "work together."
Did you catch when he mentioned space? In case you don't know, I think space exploration is unnecessary. Millions of people are without food, homes, personal safety, but so what? Let's go to space. Does anyone else think that, perhaps, if we were to cut out the extras then there would be enough for the essentials? Maybe if we left governance to people and communities there would be more resources to survive? When the country was full of people succeeding and failing based on their own merit, there was freedom and success. When it became the tail to a power-hungry head the freedom and success was lost. If you are walking along the road and a motorist (good word, eh?) stops to offer a ride, make sure you know where they are going before you get into their vehicle. I think there is a faction driving this country and they aren't concerned where the majority of the people want to go. Despite our pleas for them to just pull over and let us out, they keep driving. But we'd gladly walk the rest of the way to our destination, whatever the cost, because it means we'll get closer to where we want to go, even if we don't make it, we'll get closer to where we want to go than if we stay in the backseat of their joy-ride.
The government should never be the starting point for innovation. They should not be the venture capitalists for start-up businesses. But they are. And that is a problem. As a side bar from my railing on the President and his cute speech, I give you this:
"And so the question is whether all of us – as citizens, and as parents – are
willing to do what's necessary to give every child a chance to succeed. That
responsibility begins not in our classrooms, but in our homes and communities.
It's family that first instills the love of learning in a child."
Hey! I agree! The responsibility to teach children does not begin in the classroom, it begins in the home. I'll add that it does not belong to the classroom much at all. Parents and family should, yes, I am saying should, shape the child. If you take the steps necessary to create life it is your responsibility to provide the best you can for that child. If you don't like that, ask God about it. Think about the science fiction movies and comic book stories. The creators of monsters and killer robots are always responsible. If you create life you have a responsibility to teach that life how to live. Granted, there is agency. After all, God created us and yet we do some pretty horrible stuff. He still has a responsibility to teach us, and he fulfills it perfectly, if we are willing to seek out and hear it. That doesn't mean going to church, it means praying and honestly listening. He doesn't out source his responsibility of being our father to someone else, so why should we outsource our being parents to the schools? I think the primary objective ought to be to allow for no child to say "I didn't know." They should be taught and allowed to choose, but they should be taught. You are right, there is no way to teach that all before they start kindergarten. Well, who says kids should start school when they are 5? Who says formal education as it stands now is the best way to go?
Why do all of the debates need to be difficult and take time? Why can't anyone get over themselves long enough to think about what makes sense and works to serve the people the best? We are making it harder than it has to be.
You can't fly an airplane that doesn't have an engine. Without an engine it won't get off the ground. I don't get the analogy. Whoever wrote that line needs to take advantage of the tuition tax credits and do some studying. Petty? You bet!
O, taxes! What is so hard about simplifying taxes? Everyone pays the same percentage of income. Case closed. There is nothing more fair than that in my eyes. If a bare-bones government can't do what it should be doing with that money then it isn't bare-bones enough. While the President is asking the wealthiest Americans to give up their tax cut, why doesn't he ask the public "servants" to give up some of their $160,000 annual salary? Why not ask them to give up some of their other perks? If it comes down to taking money away from schools or asking the wealthy to give up their tax cut, why don't we reduce the pay of the "servants?" Elected officials, from what I see on a general level, do not serve anyone but their own elitist caste. Everyone pays a flat tax. Government reduces to a frame of guidance, not a control entity.
Government is not the answer. We don't need a shinier government that has downloadable apps. When you take autonomy and personal control out of a person's life they lose the ability to act for themselves in a healthy way. If you always make my lunch for me, or always tie my shoes for me, when will I ever learn to do it myself. Personal control and autonomy atrophy if not exercised. A controlling entity prevents personal exercise and leads to atrophy. Be careful .
This posting is already longer than most people probably want to read, but that's the way it goes sometimes. I'm not a fan of politics and rhetoric. I think if we call things what they are and try to be as honest as possible, even when it hurts, perhaps especially when it hurts, then we can live happily. We can fix the violence problems in the world, we can feed everyone, we can follow personal goals, we can create great things. But when everyone is trying to get ahead at all costs we'll never see progress, we'll never see real prosperity. The President called for the blessing of America by God. I hope he means it. I know that God does bless us, whether we deserve to be blessed or not. He will guide us in the right path if we are willing to listen. We have to choose. God will not live our lives for us, that defeats his purpose. He wants us to learn and grow. He has given us the tools and opportunity, and he stands by to offer encouragement and guidance, but we have to pick up the pencil and sketch the blueprint, then we need to pick up the saw and the hammer and start building.
The state of our union is that we are selfish, some of us more than others, and always in some areas more than others, but it is there in all of us to some degree. I know I am selfish more than I'd like. Eliminate selfishness and the rest of these problems will fade away with it.
for the text of the President's speech: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/State_of_the_Union/state-of-the-union-2011-full-transcript/story?id=12759395&page=3

Ajax's State of the Union

I have a lot of things I've been thinking about typing for this blog. Mostly I think about these things when I am at work. I have music playing while I am thinking and working, yet I still have trouble staying awake. Someone asked me yesterday if I had trouble concentrating on what I am working on while listening to a psychology podcast. The answer is no. What I do at work is so un-stimulating to my brain that it thinks it is supposed to drop off into sleep stages. That's not official science, I'm just speculating. It sounds good in theory. I figure that when I want to sleep I try to block as much sensory stimulation as possible: no light, no sound (or a "white noise" like a fan), and blankets to cover the largest sense organ (skin). Taste and smell have never been issues for keeping me awake. I suppose smell could be in some cases, but it would be harder for taste to be the sense that keeps you awake. Again, just speculation.
Anyhow, what I am doing at work these days isn't just not very stimulating for my brain, but it is un-stimulating. This means that I have to introduce extra stimuli in order to maintain a level of arousal appropriate for staying awake. I accomplish that through music, podcasts, and mental blog writing. I feel the need to be more descriptive, as in describing the actual brain wave frequencies that I am imagining accompanying all of what I have said so far, but then I remember that sometimes I'm just too verbose, so I won't go into greater detail. If you would like to hear the descriptions, just ask next time you see me, I'll draw it out on a napkin.
So state of the union, huh? I'll tell you the state of my union, status quo. Whatever that means. I have a job, though it is temporary and without benefits. It is simply an hourly compensation. I go and work, they pay me dollars. I'm okay with the arrangement. For the time being it will allow me to pay back my student loans. Student loans sounds like someone let me borrow some students. I'll tell you, school would've been a lot easier if I had borrowed students to do my work for me.
I'm making payments on my truck. It is a 2001 Ford Ranger XLT. I don't know what the XLT stands for, I don't think it is for "extra lettuce and tomato," as I haven't found any of either in the truck at any time. It is due for an oil change. I'll have that done sooner or later. Probably later. The truck gets poor miles per gallon, but what doesn't these days? Am I right? I guess I shouldn't complain, $3.15 to travel 12 miles is pretty good considering the alternative of walking 12 miles and taking half a day to do it, or whatever the rate of time passage would be. It used to cost human lives to walk across the country, now it just costs a few hundred dollars to drive. My life must be worth at least a few hundred dollars. On the other hand, what good does it do me to compare my life to people who lived hundreds of years ago? We have technology now, which has changed the world so much that there really isn't any fair comparison between me driving and gold rushers walking. Or is there? People in the world today still have to walk everywhere and some might die in the process, so what was that about $3.15 per gallon? Nah, I'm not that much of a crusader, I'll still complain. But it is good to pause and think about the ramifications of what I'm complaining about. If I don't like the cost of gas, I won't drive. If I can't live without driving, well, I can, so I don't have to face that issue yet. The bigger issue to face is my own selfishness. More on that later.
I haven't played much guitar lately, haven't written any songs. A few months ago I played some tunes with my friend Nathan and my sister Alison. We recorded drum tracks for two songs. All I needed to do was record the guitar parts and then record my sister singing and we'd have two demos. I still haven't done it. My guitars hang, un-played, unloved, un-dusted, on the walls of my room. To prove how bad the situation is, my guitar amp has become a table for the television. Perhaps it is time for that character to move out.
I've been reading sporadically, but not as much as I think about how much I'd like to. I certainly am not reading news and history like I feel I should. I used to be involved and know things, but now I've slipped into a mediocre contentment. What was that topic to introspect on? Selfishness? Yes, that was it.
Summer can't come soon enough. The winter is cold and boring outside. Occasionally there is a beautiful scene involving snow laden branches or ice coatings on the trees, but most of the time its too cold to pay attention to those things. At least for me. I miss the greenery. I look forward to getting back outside. I have a lot of yard left to tame.
I suppose that's the state of my union. In a brief blog post way. There is more I could do to improve my station, but I don't because of selfishness. I think selfishness is the root of all problems. Call it pride if that is more familiar or comfortable for you, but selfishness hits closer to understandability for me. It is interesting that it is selfishness that holds me back from improvement. You might think that selfishness would motivate a person into doing more, and perhaps for some people that is how it works, at the expense of others, but for me I find selfishness to be occupying my time with entertainment. It is lazy and easy. Don't try to argue with me because if you look around you will see what I'm talking about. Tonight will be the State of the Union address from the President. If you listen to the problems he mentions think about whether or not those problems could be solved by eradicating selfishness from our lives. Don't think about if something can be done, but how it can be done. Can I stop being selfish? A bogus question, of course I can. The better question is how can I stop being selfish? This leads to formulating a plan of action. Rather than addressing the problems and wondering if they can be overcome, maybe we should all start coming up with solutions. At any rate, it would make things better for me. That's a joke. I hope you get it. Good night America.

Today Was Cold

When I got to work this morning the temperature was -19F. We could have increased the temperature by 50 degrees and water would still freeze. That's messed up. I have never heard a vehicle make the sounds, or felt a vehicle move, like my truck did this morning. Everything was frozen. There was more ice on the inside of my windshield than on the outside. I looked up the temperature in Hawaii where Muffin Man lives, it was a 92 degree difference. At lunchtime I couldn't bring myself to walk outside, though Subway is only a block or two away. Why anyone ever thought it was a good idea to live in climates like this I will never understand. But I'm not complaining.

Insert Crafty Title Here

There are two temps in the office I work at. I am one of them. Today was spent shifting a stack of papers back and forth between us. A lot of information needed to be added to member accounts, and that information was on the papers. I spent the last two days entering information, but it was more than I wanted to do. So I shared with Tina. For some reason we kept passing off portions of the pile. At the end of the day I was in a meeting and Tina left. When I got back to the area where I work there were two piles of paper, one with a hear-shaped sticky note that said they were done, the other with the same type sticky note saying they needed to be entered still. None of this is the point of my story, just background information.
When I saw the heart-shaped sticky notes I laughed. Then I began entering more information. As I sat typing I started thinking about something. I suppose it was related to the shape of the sticky note, I don't know what else would have triggered it. Anyway, I thought about how in the 1950's era (whatever that means, I wasn't alive) having a secret admirer was the kind of thing that made a group of girls gather and say "awwww!" It was a sweet thing. Sweet and exciting. But things have changed. Nowadays what used to be a secret admirer, sweet and exciting, is referred to as stalking. If a stalker is supposed, groups of girls gather to scream "Ahhhhh!" It is a scary thing. Creepy, scary and illegal.
That's all I've got. I'm not a stand-up comedian. My dog just licked the TV screen though. That's weird.

Listen up

I had a new comedy bit to run by you tonight, but I think I will save that for tomorrow. As I was eating and watching the news a new topic came up. The news said that the tragedy in Tucson, AZ (the recent shooting, in case you haven't seen the theatrical headlines and graphics the news channels are using) is tugging at the heart-strings of America. Don't think me unsympathetic for the loss of life, but why is this tragedy so much more of a tragedy than any other tragedy?
Without having any statistics in front of me I can't say for sure, but I would expect that considerably more people have been murdered since the shooting in Tucson, but without national media attention. What makes the thoughtless taking of life on the streets or in the homes of anywhere else in America (or the world) any less tragic? Why does the president roll out a formal memorial service (which is televised and sells advertising time) for this multiple homicide, but not for any of the others?
Perhaps you can say that when these occasional presidential memorials are held they embody the reverence, respect, and sympathy combined for all such shootings. Perhaps you could say that. But I wouldn't believe it. What frustrates me is the sensationalization of this event. People are murdered everyday. People die while doing their jobs because of accident or careless actions of others. Their lives don't warrant national attention though because they are not elected officials. There, I said it.
I understand that the national news can't report on every tragedy that befalls the citizens of this country, but I would like it if they didn't make it seem like only the elected officials who are killed matter. The root of my complaining is that it seems like elected officials are treated like royalty. I don't know when the schism occurred, but it needs to be reversed. People are elected to represent the people, not themselves. They are not elected for their ideals or agendas, but for their ability to represent the people. They are no different than you or me. We are all in this together and one of us is not intrinsically better than another.
It is sad when people are killed, if you want to say it is especially sad when children are killed, I will allow that. Why is it a tragedy in Tucson? Because people were killed. For that same reason it is a tragedy in many cities and towns across the country every day. Don't lose focus. I guess that is the message of this, if there is a message, don't lose focus. All people have great worth, elected or not.

Be a Learner of Things

YouTube is a fantastic source of information. It is also a huge waste of time. Interesting. Typically I use YouTube to find awesome music and hilarious clips of movies and television shows. But, like life, YouTube is about more than just face-melting guitar riffs and side-splitting Jerry Seinfeld jokes. There are other things out there to learn, and there are other teachers to teach. For these reasons, I give you this:



I admire this guy for sharing his craft. He has follow through on his interests in life and I respect that. He makes me want to build a rubber-band shooter like the ones we built back in 7th grade, or thereabouts. But I won't.

Beware the Redenbacher

I just finished eating a bag of Orville Redenbacher's gourmet microwave popcorn, and it was gross. As far as tasting like popcorn, it did, but it also coated the inside of my mouth and my lips with some strange waxy feeling film. I'm assuming it is something to do with synthetic butter substitute or something. Perhaps whatever is added to the popcorn to make it gourmet (because it couldn't possibly be that they just used that word to trick simple minded trend followers into paying more for the same product with out the name, no sir) is what is making it leave this strange feeling in the mouth. Whatever the reason for it, I am not pleased. When you get right down to it, nothing beats popcorn from a hot air popper, drenched with real butter melted to liquid, and sprinkled with salt. I love microwaves, but there are some foods that should never be put into them, such as cucumbers, ice cream and Cheetos cheese puffs (trust me).

Entropia Universe Goggles

Lately I have been spending time playing a computer based video game. It is the type of game known as a multiplayer online role playing game (MPORG). Perhaps you are familiar with World of Warcraft? At least by name? Warcraft is an MPORG. Many people enter into a virtual universe through the Internet in these kinds of games. Inside the game each player operates a unique avatar. Depending on the game, the operation can be anything from the mundane tasks of everyday life to wild adventures fit for a J.R.R Tolkien story. Entropia Universe is the name of the game I have been playing. It is a science fiction mix of the mundane and the adventurous.
Some of you might have gotten lost at the mention of Warcraft. No doubt you have heard the stereotypes and jokes about people who play these MPORG’s. Personally, I support stereotyping, I think it is a valid information processing tool. I don’t support the use of stereotyping in order to insult or injure - just need to make that clear from the start - but general stereotyping is useful, and much of the time it is accurate. That being said, you might be thinking I am unemployed, in my early twenties, and living in my parent’s basement. In which case you would be wrong; I am a temp in an office, nearly thirty, and my parents don’t even have a basement.
Entropia Universe is entertaining and has all of the features that make a game addictive. You might not be aware that casinos and grocery stores are set up with the intent to inhibit a sense of the outside world and increase spending by increasing amount of time in the establishment. You might also be aware that certain games are created with similar intent. MPORGs are a prime example. You become a part of the universe, locked in through your computer’s screen. You become unaware of passing time and the world around you. Missions and quests in the game offer advancement, skill increases and “loot” rewards. There isn’t a defined ending point or a place where you can say you have won or lost. It is never-ending. These are some of the aspects of making a game addictive.
But what is addiction, really? I say that it is a repeated behavior which becomes more of a subconscious than conscious action. When normal, insignificant experiences in life trigger thoughts of the behavior, or in this case, the game. When you would rather play the game than sleep, perhaps it is an addiction. But the same experiences could be true of falling in love, which is typically referred to as infatuation, rather than addiction, so perhaps I’m simply infatuated with this game. This means that in a few weeks or a few months, I’ll be over it, and if the game and I haven’t built a firm foundation of respect and friendship then one or both of us will be moving on. Yes, I am still speaking about the game. Without any clearly defined forethought I am exploring the connection between video game “addictions” and falling in love “infatuation.” Whether this exploration is successful or not is up to you.
I wouldn’t say I’m addicted to this game, but it has become my primary pass-time. Since it is replacing watching television (iCarly and Law and Order, mostly) I assume it is an acceptable alternative. I’m going to guess that up to this point Muffin Man (if this is the first time reading my blog, read some of the first posts) has been thinking I’m turning into a gamer, with a negative connotation, but upon reading that it has replaced my iCarly watching, he is warming up to the idea. Anyway, it is a game, I am playing it and I’m living a normal life. The moral of the story is that it is ok to stereotype, because we all do it at the first anyway, but keep an open mind and allow people to prove themselves to you rather than just locking them into your initial (mis)conceptions.
I might be worried about my game playing if it weren’t for the fact that it has been a great way to reconnect with my brother-in-law. He and my sister and my niece live in another state and I don’t see them often. He is a regular player of Entropia and has been serving as my mentor as I’ve gotten into the game. I enjoy it because it gives us an activity to do together even though we don’t get to see each other in real life. So the haters can hate on MPORGs, but the reality of it is that the games are bringing families and friends closer together. Call it a rationalization if you want, but I say it is true.
The game is rather consuming though and I am noticing it correlating to other thoughts and experiences. One part of the game is increasing your avatar’s skills in various categories. You gain skill points through experience. When you hunt and use a rifle your rifle skill increases. At various times your perception increases. Last week I was at a thing with some friends and I noticed something out of the way and off to the side. Someone remarked in surprise that I had seen it. I thought to myself, ‘Ajax has gained in perception.’
At work a few days ago I had asked one of our IT staff a question about automating a data verification process that had been assigned to me. I could either spend a few hours checking statuses of people (whether they were retired or active) from a list of 444 names, or a computer could do it in a few minutes. I opted to go the computer route. Later that day the fellow I asked the question of was remarking to someone about the intelligent question I had asked, I of course swelled with pride and raised my arms in triumph, but then thought ‘Ajax has gained in intelligence.’ The rest of the story is that none of our staff had access to the tables needed to run the query I had requested, so we had to task it out to the company that is contracted to us for the data conversion and new software installation. It ended up taking a few days to get all of the pieces in place, but when the person who needed the information from me finally got it, he returned what I requested in a matter of minutes. So in the end it took longer than me just going through the list, but as there was no deadline for it, it actually was more efficient and time-saving.
Another Entropia moment occurred while I was driving to work a few days ago. It was snowing a bit and I imagined sliding off the road, over the guardrail, and down the hill side. I pictured my truck tumbling end over end and then stopping at the bottom on its roof. In Entropia when I jam a vehicle over a cliff, tumble down, and land on the roof, my avatar pops out, picks up the vehicle into his inventory and continues on his way. I pictured that same thing happening in my truck, but I knew enough not to try it.
The game has an overall theme of economy. You do different jobs to earn money and buy materials. I like to hunt the dinosaur-type creatures in the game. To do that I need a rifle and ammunition, armor is helpful, too. The ammo costs money, so does keeping the rifle and armor in working order. So you try to be efficient with your resources. As I was making 3,000 copies of retirement informational packets at work this week, I thought about the inefficiencies of it. We were going to hand out these informational packets to people with no expectation of financial return. I saw it as a waste of money. I could put all of the necessary information on a CD and save a lot of money, at least that’s my theory, but the point of this anecdote is that I was seeing things as I see them in the game: efficiency of resources and economic return.
These are all examples of seeing the world through Entropia goggles. As I shared these things with my brother-in-law, he laughed and agreed. I guess all EU players go through a similar experience. This unites them even more in their game playing and friendships, essentially creating a new in-group. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. And as I slip into the role of a gamer, not knowing what the official definition of a gamer is, I find myself okay with the prospect of being labeled as such. I know that video games can affect people. I remember several years ago, after a time when I played Grand Theft Auto everyday because it was the only game my roommate had at the time, that I would drive around and imagine stealing a car from someone. What we do does have a direct correlation on what we think, and vice versa. Video games aren’t inherently bad or dangerous, but there is the potential for them to be so, and some of them probably are so. I think games are fun and can be thought provoking; in my opinion Entropia Universe falls into this category. But as many also feature principles of addictive behavior, be careful of the games you devote your time to. This has been a public service announcement from Ajax’s Whimsical Revolution.

Is E.T.:The Extra Terrestrial a Christ figure?

I was watching a program on the Discovery Channel about Nostradamus this morning. They were talking about the old days when Nostradamus was roaming the streets of France and the Catholic church was taking names and exiling Jews. The Nostradamus family converted from Judaism to Catholicism in order to avoid being kicked out of France, or worse (personally, I don't see what would be so bad about being kicked out of France, but perhaps the health care and economy weren't so bad over there 500 years ago). If my facts here are out of place, please correct me. I'm repeating what I heard on television and what I've gathered from a quick web search. Anyhow, in the program they showed lots of 16th century art type stuff. There was one statue of Christ, pointing to his chest where his robe was pulled back to reveal a heart with a cross sprouting from it. This made me think of E.T.
In high school I had an English teacher who was constantly pointing out the types of Christ that would appear in various works. The one I remember her talking about the most is the main character from Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. Had I read the entire book I might have more to say about this particular character. All I remember about it is that his initials were J.C. There were other books she cited to support the claim that many works of literature featured a type of Christ. I can see it in various stories. Hercules with his god-father and mortal mother. Aslan from C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. Lucas' Star Wars is rife with allusions to Christianity. Now I am adding E.T. to the list...

The rest of this post can be found in the Ajax's Whimsical Revolution ebook for Amazon's Kindle. The book is a compilation of my favorite posts, 78 to be exact, of which this is one. If you don't have a Kindle e-reader you can download the free Amazon Kindle app for PC or Mac.

Top Artist to Watch in 2011

My BFF, Muffin Man, has entered the world of blogging. By training and profession (and all around natural talent) he is a graphic artist, but if you talk to him for a while you will find he is a comedic artist as well. A fine, upstanding chap of Finnish descent. Once elected (thought not officially) as the Finland Commissioner of Chocolate, Muffin Man knows his business. And not just when talking about chocolate. He knows his business; now you can know his business as well...Vulpine.

I don't claim to know what Vulpine means, but it sounds like the name of a dress that Vicky O'Flannagan would wear. Regardless of what it means, it is the name of the blog sporting artistic works, genius and reflection. What began as an assignment for a class has blossomed into an epicenter of Internet entertainment. Do you like music? Vulpine. Do you like graphic art? Vulpine. Do you like fine literature and theater? Vulpine. Do you like my blog? Vulpine.

If you read my recent post about setting resolutions for the new year, you might think that this posting is sort of setting a high standard for my friend by calling him the top artist to watch in 2011 [I just realized the title says 2010, still adjusting, I'll fix that and you will never know, until you read this statement]. You might think that, but then you don't know Muffin Man. He has the ability to live up to my great expectations. Besides, one of these days, when we quit our sissy ways, he and I are moving to Europe to explore the world and hone our artistic genius, collectively and separately. Our first task is to initiate a Scottish-traditional/Punk Rock pub band called "The Knuckle-Rappers." We will be answering the question "what's in a name?"

Back to the art of Vulpine. Whether free-hand drawings or computer program assisted graphic compilations (which still require a great deal of artistic skill, it's not just click and drag), Muffin Man shows a unique style that is identifiable through various styles, mediums and subjects. When you see a painting by Picasso, you know it is Picasso. When you hear a song by the Ramones, you know it is the Ramones. After a few years of getting to see sketches and final products by Muffin Man, I know it is Muffin Man. There was one project he was working on a few years ago that I was able to preview via text message photo. The captured scene was one of religious significance. I was impressed by the emotion captured in the image. Art is a form of communication. This phone-photo communicated the context of the scene as well as the voice/style of Muffin Man's art. That same identifying signature is apparent in an image on the Vulpine blog; an image of the Incredible Hulk. The two drawings couldn't be less alike in context and message, but the artist can be seen in both. I think that is pretty cool.

One of my favorite drawings from Muffin Man was a quick sketch of Groucho Marx with a pistol. Like many others, this drawing was sent to me via the text message. In fact, here it is:

In conclusion, I recommend that you follow the Vulpine blog and check out the graphic art of Muffin Man, as well as follow up with his video links for music and other forms of entertainment. Oh, and one more thing, did you notice that the graphic at the head of this blog was drawn by Muffin Man? Now you know. The drawing was from a panel cartoon that he drew to support a joke I thought up. Once again, I give you Vulpine by Markus