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Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Korea: Krazy Land of Kindness

posted by JayBandit @ 1:19 AM, ,

I write you, my faithful dozen readers, now from the Peninsula of Korea; more specifically, I am currently in Changwon, which is approximately 25 kilometers southwest of Busan.

For every bit of cleanliness and formality there is in Japan, there is filth and disorder to the same degree here in Korea. Now, don’t get me wrong, Korea is not that dirty. However, some things are damn near crazy over here. Take driving for instance; people here subscribe to the thought that they always have the right of way. People go through red lights without blinking, they’ll turn right from the left lane, left from the right lane, and they won’t even stop if someone is walking through the intersection! The strategy I’ve learned is that whoever blinks first loses. The only thing these people have going for them is the fact that they drive on the right side of the road. This same haphazard style is evident in their walking. Japan also had this to some extent; however, people would get out of your way if they saw they were in it. In Korea, it won’t faze them for one second to just stop and stand in front of a mass of people trying to exit a building. My personal favorite is how they stop their cars on the side of the road, and turn their blinkers on and get out, as if to say, “it’s alright, I have my hazard lights ::waves::”.

This also gives the Koreans one of their better traits, which is undying kindness. They do whatever they can to make you happy; you can see in their faces that they do it because they really want to, and not because of some ritual formality. Everyone and their uncle wants to learn English, so they think nothing of walking up and trying to strike up a conversation with you. Women at bars will come up to you and talk, not in order to get a date or anything, but to simply practice English via conversation with a round-eye. Most of them are pretty good too. I think the reason is because of their friendliness they are not shy and don’t worry about making mistakes. I cannot tell you how many times the Japanese apologized for their poor English skills out of embarrassment. I always felt bad when they’d say something to that effect, and I would reply, “Well, your English is much better than my Japanese!” That usually got a good laugh and helped ease the tension.

Life is much easier during the “down” time here because there is a very large population of foreigners. I have an Irish pub just across the street from my hotel, and it caters to almost purely foreigners. The vast majority of them are English teachers; many are kids just out of college just trying to save up some money and gain a once in a lifetime experience while they’re at it. Some of them are much older, and they’re here for a plethora of reasons. The rest are engineers or technicians; Changwon has a large amount of manufacturing (Doosan, STX, Volvo, & Hyundai all have facilities nearby). To be honest, this place seems to be what Pittsburgh, PA or Gary, IN used to be like before the US steel industry collapsed. My other local haunt is a western bar (like the movies) that caters mostly to the engineering folk. Also, there is a Benigans, Fridays, and Outback; as well as KFC, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, and Domino’s. The people I’m with here are a bit more on the reserved side when it comes to eating, so I’ve had a lot more western food than I thought I would; however, whenever the opportunity has arisen, I’ve gone and had some Korean food.

The Korean style of food is reminiscent of fondue in technique, but fairly unique in taste. Their claim to fame would most definitely be Kimche, which is one of the most awful things I’ve ever forced myself to eat. It is essentially fermented cabbage (think sauerkraut), but in addition to the pungent aroma and flavor that yields, they douse it with a healthy amount of pepper. Korean food is most certainly more spicy than Japanese, which has made me a happy camper. I have had Bulgogi a few times, which is essentially marinated beef strips grilled on the skillet built-in to the table. This is served with sliced cloves of garlic, onion, and mushrooms (my Korean hosts have often pointed out that the mushrooms they use are clearly phallic looking). Then you have a bunch of side bowls with sauces and vegetables on the side. I particularly enjoyed the little pumpkin pancake I ate last night (very sweet, almost like a potato pancake consistency). Korean beef is either from Australia or Korea; I do not think it is up to snuff with most beef I’ve had in the states, and obviously this means it isn’t even in the same realm as the Kobe beef I’ve described in the past.

In accordance with Korean tradition, I drank my fair share of Soju, which is similar in sound to Japanese ShoChu, but only about half of the alcohol content (20% vs. 40%). Even though it is less alcohol, I feel the flavor is a bit stronger. At dinner with my hosts, they each came up to me during the early portion of the night with their glass asking me to hold it; then they’d pour a glass and expect me to down it straight up. Luckily, there were only 5 of them, because I had so much so fast that my stomach was trying to fight back. I guess now would be the appropriate time to talk about sitting and pouring conventions. As in Japan, the Guest sits across from the doorway, and the hosts sit closer to the door. How you pour is much more formal in Korea though. Age is very important; so the younger of two people will pour and/or hold their glass with two hands. The older person is allowed to use just a single hand. Also, you never fill your own drink. When you see the drinks of others emptying, you fill them up without being asked; and they of course pay the same favor to you. So I must warn you, do not always finish your drink if you’re thinking it may be your last; they will just fill it back up, and you’ll be back where you started!

My favorite part about being in Korea is that I have a studio apartment rather than a hotel room. It isn’t huge; but I cannot tell you how much it sucked having no chair, refrigerator, microwave, etc. for an entire month. Even though it is much more comfortable to live in, I still try and get out exploring my surroundings. This past Saturday I went with a group of people I’ve met since being here on a hike up a mountain to a Buddhist Temple. There was basically a single-lane asphalt road that went all the way to the top, but we hiked about a third of the way along this very awesome creek. It was fun to do something physical other than walk up and down stairs in buildings, or along city streets. After the creek, we went and got the car to take us up to the top of the mountain. It was a pretty incredible drive; if we would have hiked all the way, it would have taken all day, and I’m pretty sure I would have given up at some point because it was pretty steep for the last third or so.

The temple was amazing. I was unable to take pictures inside, since it is considered disrespectful to take pictures while people are praying; but the outside was just as incredible. There were 3 main buildings, and they just started construction on the fourth (it was destroyed previously during a war, they didn’t know which one). The intricate detail of the roofing and painting on these buildings was simply amazing. I was told the roofs have no straight lines because straight = evil because only non-straight lines are found in nature; this has a certain sense of irony since only man creates straight lines… Paintings were found on the walls of all the buildings, and from my rudimentary knowledge of Buddhism (I took “Asian Mythology” my freshman year of college), I could see they were depicting some of the core beliefs through fables.

The main temple had a near life-size Buddha sitting with some of his pals. They let me go inside, and I watched some people pray, and how they did it. Basically, they walk in, bowing a bunch, and then they go from a standing position to kneeling directly into a fetal-esque position. While in this position they raise their hands above their head as if offering something to Buddha. Then they reverse this movement exactly until their standing again and they bow and push up to their toe-tips at the same time. This bow/prayer is then repeated 2 more times. Lastly, they bow as they exit the temple backwards.

Overall, I’d have to say I’m enjoying Korea much more than Japan at this point. Most likely this is because of the abundant supply of conversation available from the other “gringos” out here with me. Also, things are just a bit more relaxed and friendly out here. I know I went into great detail before saying how kind the Japanese were, but it just doesn’t compare to the Koreans. I’d still recommend going and experiencing both, so you can make your own judgment.

Sunday, September 16, 2007
I Think I'm Turning Japanese

posted by JayBandit @ 7:06 AM, ,

My life here basically consists of working, sleeping, eating at restaurants, or aimlessly wandering. The last on the list has provided me with some memorable experiences. For instance, last night I was walking around the Harbor, and I came across a gentleman singing quite possibly the world's most well-known song; but something didn't seem right...:

Yesterday
Rove was such an easy game to pray
Now I need a prace to hide away
Oh, I berieve
In yesterday

All joking aside, the guy had a decent voice for a street performer, and I thoroughly enjoyed his "interpretation" of the song. I've seen quite a few people selling their wares on the banks of the harbor, but he was definitely the most entertaining thus far. This evening I saw a gentleman juggling things that were engulfed in flames, but I only got within about a quarter mile of him. Apparently we're in the festival season in Japan, so this weekend there has been an endless bout of performances by what I can best describe as groups of people dressed as if they were competing dojos in the Karate Kid. They perform dance routines much like you'd see a bunch of cheerleaders do here in the states (I know they get mad if you call it pom pons or cheer-leading...but I forget which way is which). They have been quite a bit of fun to watch, and my favorite part is listening to the Mortal-Kombat/Dance-Dance-Revolution music that plays in the background. The best is when they have small children also performing in the group. I don't know why, but it is just entertaining to see kids performing in dance acts; that is all I can say. There are also a few guys that do paintings that appear to be in Kanji, but honestly, it could just be scribbles and I wouldn't know that difference.

Speaking of which, I guess I should give you a lesson in Japanese scripts. Although little is written in English (Rōmaji), all the major streets, subway stops, etc. are written in it, so that is how I'm able to get around without crapping my pants every day. The Japanese also borrowed from the Chinese, which is where they get the more complex Kanji characters. Their other syllabaries are called hiragana, and katakana. It should go without saying, but I only can even begin to comprehend rōmaji, let alone the other scribbles. My favorite city/subway stop that I have learned to pronounce pretty clearly is called: Chūōichibamae...and no, I don't know what that means (although, ichiban means the first...)

I love it here; there are so many beautiful women here that if I don’t see some drop-dead gorgeous dame at least once every fifteen minutes, I start going into anaphylactic shock...luckily that has only happened twice thus far. The hardest part is trying to distinguish how old they all are; they all appear to be much younger than they actually are. I've come to the realization that as long as they aren't wearing school uniforms, odds are that you're good to go. I'd still suggest asking for some sort of ID before you try anything potentially incriminating. As I mentioned before, most of them are quite short. They attempt to make up for this by wearing stilettos...everywhere. Whether it is walking a hard day through a mall, or riding a motorbike, they have those things on. I'm not complaining by any stretch of the means; I'm just saying that has to hurt at the end of the day. As with women world-wide, the Japanese dislike their god-given uniqueness, and attempt to achieve the polar opposite. Therefore, if you see light-skinned women in the states tanning everywhere, you see that same demographic in the land of the rising sun walking around with parasols preventing their skin from getting any darker than their natural pigment will allow.

There have been a few I've seen so far that I've had an impression on. Mostly, I think it is the fact that they just see me and start giggling; however, they react best when I say something to them in Japanese; many of them are genuinely impressed that I can say anything other than thank-you (see Japanese lesson from the last update). In fact, I met the future "Ex Mrs. Jaybandit" last Tuesday evening at a restaurant with some other friends of my mentor, who also happen to be contacts at our supplier. Her name was Aya...::sigh::. I don't want to get graphic, however, she had a nice body...if you know what I mean. She was our waitress, and as they say, the quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach. After some beer, and a few bottles of Sake & Shōchū, I was telling her I thought she was Kir-ei (pretty). Luckily, I retained enough of my wits to avoid my new friends from telling her I wanted to get married. However, they did get her to put her name down on the back of one of my business cards. Alas, as luck would have it, she didn't speak a lick of English...so I decided to move on.

The Japanese conduct a very personal style of business. They will often ask personal questions, which to them is completely polite. Luckily, I have no shame. For example, the head QA guy from our supplier (I'll give you a hint...their logo is a triplet of red rhombi...) asked me Friday night at dinner, "JayBandit-san, how do you buy your shirts?" Now, at first, I honestly had no idea what he was asking me. Then I realized what he was really saying was, "Fat Bastard, how do you obtain that much fabric to cover yourself on a daily basis?" So I explained how I skin a large game animal simply purchase larger shirts at the clothing store. He was then amazed how in addition to actually finding such gigantic shirts, I could purchase them for the same price as any other size!

As I alluded to last time, sitting down at a table can be a daunting task; however, you just have to follow a few simple rules. The first and only rule is to not sit down until you see where other people are going to sit themselves. This makes it easy, because 9 times out of 10 they just end up telling you where to sit down. Basically, the philosophy behind the ordering of seats is that the most important person will sit at the chair farthest away from the door; this may be the head of the table, or it might be the center of the side...so beware! Then it is like a pyramid with the next tier of importance sitting on both sides, and then cascading around until there is no more room. Then the underlings sit at chairs alongside the walls. Being that I've been the guest each time, I've sat in the good seats most times.

Eating can also be a chore. It is considered rude to pour yourself a drink, and you are supposed to fill the drinks of others. This does not seem to be practiced all the time, but it does happen, so you should be aware. Slurping, something I've been taught since birth is incredibly rude, is considered very polite, and silence is considered rude while eating noodles or drinking soup. You'd be surprised how hard it is to slurp after being raised to do the opposite your entire life. Then there are chopsticks...I don't see what the big deal is, I'm "fluent" with them at this point, and I was about 90% before I ever set foot off the plane, but that's me. If you're not used to them, you'll be in for some interesting problems. The two rules with chopsticks are not to point with them, or even with your fingers, and put them so they stick out of your food (that is the symbol for death, and therefore isn't looked upon lightly).

It really isn't that hard though, so don't get the impression that this is a lot of work. Overall, the most important thing over here is just to be conscious of what is going on around you, and follow suit. Even if you make a mistake (and believe me, I have...I have a nasty habit of pointing with chopsticks), as long as they are aware that you're trying to be polite, you'll get off easy.

Labels: Japan

Tuesday, September 11, 2007
I'm Big in Japan

posted by JayBandit @ 4:39 AM, ,

Konichiwa Bitches!

That means, "Good Afternoon Bitches!" in Japanese, which I'm saying since it's Saturday afternoon here in Kobe, Japan…yes I am in the future, and you better not try to wrap your head around that, you might get a headache. I thought I'd send out a bit of a FYI on how your favorite QA guy is doing over in the land of the rising sun. For starters, as my subject line indicates, I'm a giant human being over here. I mean, I know I'm a big guy to begin with, but I'm at least a few feet taller than most people when I'm walking around. Alright, maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration, but I am taller than most of the people here though, and a lot paler too…little children all stop, stare, and giggle when I walk past; strangely enough, I'm sure some of you will note that this happens in the states as well.

I had some Kobe beef last night, and it is everything people say it is, and about 100 times more. It is so tender that they don't even give you a steak knife; you can slice through it like butter with, coincidently, a butter knife. It is also not very cheap, for 400 grams (about half a pound), it runs nearly $100. As for the other meals, they rock as well. I have just been walking into whatever restaurants look interesting, and getting something off their menu. The guy I'm with told me he hasn't been to the same place twice, so we've been keeping up that tradition since I've been here. If you were unaware, I can't speak or read Japanese, which makes it difficult to pick things off a menu if there is no picture. Therefore, I have been applying the random pointing strategy at most restaurants. So far, it has not led me too far astray; although some of the dishes looked downright awful before I partook in the goods.

This morning I was at Mitsubishi's Kobe shipyards to attend a ship launching ceremony. It was one of those gigantic cargo ships that holds over 7,000 containers when fully loaded. They did the typical boating stuff, music, speeches, and of course the giant bottle of wine smashing against the hull. When it started moving into the sea, it had to be going at least 10mph or so, and it was one of the coolest things I've ever seen.

I don’t know what you guys would plan on doing if you went to Japan, but the first thing I knew I had to do was visit: China Town! Yes, there is a pretty large China Town section here in Kobe, and I’ve been there a few times already. Japanese know how to read Chinese since they borrowed their characters for their own language, and therefore they’re big fans of sweet and sour pork apparently. Once again, I have no idea what anything says, but most of the food looks slightly more familiar since Americans are big fans of the unhealthiest versions of Chinese food which are served at little stands in front of most restaurants.

The Japanese per capita must have the most dispensable income on Earth. There are malls EVERYWHERE; including 3 very large indoor malls within a block of my hotel. Because of this large amount of money, they buy a lot of random crap; which is clearly indicated by stores that just sell random knick-knacks dispersed throughout outdoor malls. There are blocks and blocks of outdoor malls with various stores specializing in everything from women’s lingerie (always white women in the ads), to jewelry, to bags, to baseball caps (which no one wears in public…), to excellent little specialty food shops. Their style of advertising is definitely in-your-face. There are crazy colors and lots of sounds trying to get your attention. I went to the equivalent of a Office Max and Best Buy combined; I made it to the 12^th floor before I got bored and started going back down. I think they are so large because it appears they don’t invest in “back rooms”; it appears that all the merchandise is simply out there on the shelves. But don’t plan on coming here to buy things! Everything is expensive compared to the US. The brand-new 160GB iPod that came out this week (which I’ve been wanting) retails at $350 in the US…and 50,000 Yen (~$500) in Japan!

The people here are great; painstakingly polite, and most have a great sense of humor as well. They're not big into "personal space" so on the subways and trains, they have no problem cramming into tight corners and pushing you out of the way. But they're not being rude; it's just how it goes. They are also definitely the cleanest people on the face of the earth. I have seen exactly three pieces of litter in all of Kobe this entire week, and two of them where being picked up and thrown in the trash whilst watching. Strangely, there are barely any garbage cans anywhere; but when you do find one there are usually 4 cans for all sorts of recycling and such. The bathrooms are very clean as well; although, instead of toilets, they have these porcelain holes in the ground…needless to say I haven't given that a whirl yet. As for when they do have toilets, they are usually more complex than our nuclear power plants. They have both “bidet” and “spray” options; I’m told the only difference is about 10psi…and about 3 inches. Yet, they don't have any sort of drying apparatus, whether it is towels or a mechanical dryer, in the bathroom. I've learned that they almost all carry around little towels that look like dish-rags to dry their hands after washing them. They also use the towels to wipe their brows in this oppressively hot and humid weather. Ironically, they find handkerchiefs some of the most disgusting things on the planet, and do not approve of people blowing their noses in public…go figure.

Have you ever seen the cover of the Beastie Boys' Hello Nasty album? Well, that is what my hotel room is like. There is room to get around, but the closet is a glorified broom closet, and the bathroom has a 4' tub (American tubs are 5' or larger), a tiny sink, and a toilet appears to be smaller than the smallest toilets I've ever seen. As a testament to their tendency to be technologically adept, my desk end that faces the bed has the thermostat, alarm-clock, and light controls all built in. They also have a key shelf at the door that "knows" your key is there because of magnetics, and will turn nearly everything off (including the A/C) while you are gone. When you've been walking around in the heat all day, the last thing you want to do is come home to a stuffy hotel room; using my engineering prowess, I quickly came to the determination that American coinage works just as well as a room key, and I've been basking in cool climes ever since.

As for my lack of Japanese skillz, I have been picking up words or phrases intermittently. Here are the only words you apparently need to know in order to get around here:

• Ohayou - Good morning (It's not just a state anymore!)
• Konichiwa - Good afternoon
• Konbanwa - Good evening
• Gozaimasu - added to seemingly any Japanese word, it turns it into a super-word that has the super-powers of being very polite and courteous when compared to the original. (I'm pretty sure you could kill someone and get away with it by saying gozaimasu as you're doing it).
• Sayonara - Goodbye
• Arigato - Thank you
• Domo - Thank you
• Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto - what I think of every time I say thank you while in Japan
• Kanpai! - Cheers!

Speaking of Cheers, the Japanese are not exactly the world's best drinkers. I went out with about 12 people the other night, and the head of the group was challenging me with some of his heaviest fares. Needless to say, I downed their most expensive and potent Sake like it was a Coors Light, and hit it off well with the locals. This leads me into one of the more interesting aspects of Japanese culture; sitting down at a table. If you ever come here for business, make sure you are NOT the first one to sit down, as there is a method to their madness. I won't go through all the details right now, but probably in a future post I'll enumerate on the intricacies of it.

I'll be fielding questions about the Japanese life for my next installment, so be sure to drop a line with whatever curiosities are swooning about in those heads of yours (I'll talk about the women and other good stuff next time). I’m going to stop here because I feel like I just had diarrhea of the mind.

Sayonara Gozaimasu,

JayBandit

Monday, July 23, 2007
It finally happened!

posted by JayBandit @ 2:15 PM, ,

As you can see, our blog header is missing. When I graduated over a year ago, I was wondering when the great University of Illinois would cut me off from my free hosting of files... Apparently, that day has happened recently (even I don't read this blog everyday, it has been months since anyone updated anything.

Anyway, nothing really exciting to report other than that. I think I may start writing again, but we'll see how bored I get at work...

Monday, February 26, 2007
I Invented the Internet!

posted by JayBandit @ 10:21 PM, ,

Sorry folks, I thought I was Al Gore there for a minute (I know he didn't say that, but he implied that he made the Internet possible, which is just as idiotic). Speaking of our former vice-robot, I came across an interesting hypocrisy this evening.

On a side note, I find it amazing that when Al Gore does a movie about global warming, all of a sudden a plethora of information regarding his past just shows up all of a sudden showing that he's always been a fervent supporter of decreasing our emissions, blah, blah, blah. When will you people wake up and realize that they're just piecing together random votes from his years in politics to make him look like everyone loved him back in the day. I've seen tyrants that are more beloved than this guy.

If you're looking for other hypocrites out there to lambast, I suggest Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, and Ronald Reagen Jr.

Labels: Al Gore, Hypocrisy, Internet

Monday, February 12, 2007
My Take on the Grammys

posted by JayBandit @ 6:16 PM, ,

As I've stated countless times before, I'm a huge fan of music. I recorded the Grammys in crystal-clear high definition and watched it without commercial interruption last night along with 20 million, or so, of my fellow Americans. Overall, I have to say it was quite possibly the most entertaining awards show I have ever watched...well actually its a close 2nd to the year that the Beastie Boys performed Intergalactic and Mix Master Mike off of the album Hello Nasty on the MTV music awards.

Anyway, Gnarls Barkley was awesome. I honestly thought this group was something concocted and artificial like the Gorillaz (not a criticism, I LOVE them; it's just that they aren't a real "band"). The high notes that guy hits are simply amazing. That along with the airline uniforms made it quite an awesome performance.

Rascall Flatts totally sucked playing Hotel California and Life in the Fast Lane originally by the Eagles. I was excited to see the Police playing again; however, it was a big bust because Sting started getting a bit too flamboyant with his guitar solo during their only song, Roxanne (They should have TOTALLY played Message in a Bottle instead...oh well, I'll catch them on tour).

Stevie Wonder is so cool, I can't even express it in words. He was at the microphone by himself, asked for a B and a G, and then did his own little introduction for Corinne Bailey Rae, John Legend, and John Mayer (I'm assuming he ad-libbed it on account of the blindness thing...plus, he wasn't even looking at the prompter).

I can't believe I'm going to say this...but...I can't do it. Therefore, I will quote one of my favorite scenes from High Fidelity to voice my opinion:

Rob comes out of the stock room and walks toward the counter where Dick and Barry stare at the tape deck like two concerned doctors, listening to a song that is raw and moody and lyrical -- Minor Threat meets Brian Eno, if that's possible. Rob joins them in contemplation.

ROB
What is this.

DICK
It's Vince and Justin.

ROB
Who's that?

BARRY
The little skate-fuckers.

ROB
No way.

BARRY
Yes way.  It's really...


Rob and Dick look at him, ready to pounce


BARRY
(pained to say it) It's really fucking good.

Haha. Perhaps it is fitting that one of their names was Justin, because Justin Timberlake simply knocked out the crowd, along with me, with his performances. I am now hopelessly addicted to My Love and Sexy Back. My final Kudos goes out to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who covered the crowd with paper "snow" during Snow (Hey Oh), which was by far not the best song off of Stadium Arcadium. At least they won best rock album...

This brings me to my more critical comments of the evening. I almost threw up when I heard James Blunt performing You're Beautiful for the 1 billionth time; talk about the grammys people really being behind the 8-ball on that one. Although, for a split second when he looked into the camera I thought he was singing to me.

The Dixie Chicks. There...I said it; apparently saying their name gives them the notion that all of America has forgiven the ugly one for saying she was embarrassed that President Bush was from the state of Texas. First of all, I don't care what she said; I don't like their music, and I could care less what their politics are. However, from a purely economic standpoint, I think that the ugly one is quite possibly the dumbest performer in history. Now this is a long and illustrious list mind you. We have Mike Tyson telling people he takes medicine so he doesn't eat their children; and Michael Jackson explaining that its perfectly normal to sleep in the same bed with 8-year-old boys. No my friends, we can now put the ugly one at the top of the list. She is a country singer, which means she is performing for red-staters, and I don't know a redder state than Texas. It is the equivalent of a surgeon telling you that he didn't like to "attend class" or "study" much in medical school.

The Dixie Chicks ended up going 5 for 5, including best album, record, and song of the year. Wait...I almost forgot, what the hell is the difference between an "album" and a "record"? I was always at the understanding that they were synonymous. If someone can answer this question, you will have my undying gratitude. At this point, I can only surmise it was a ploy to add a "big" category to the show so that it may one day reach the 4 hour mark. Ok, back to my point. The ugly one was making comments every time they won as if the act of winning a music awards show based on the voting of 11,000 people in the music industry (Probably just as politically unbiased as the Film Actor's Guild) was equivalent to the American people standing up and saying "we forgive you." The best thing is that they have fake TV-land marriages to hide their man-hating lesbian relationships. Their hugs after the announcement after every win were the most awkward I've seen. They were holding on for dear life as if they were trying to scream, "See! No lesbians here!"

The show ended a true "sweet & sour" moment. Sour because Don Henley was not able to simply act his predetermined lines off the prompter like the countless other stars (hell, he could have just said a single word; Prince, pulled it off). Sweet, because Scarlett Johannson was wearing a low-cut shirt and made a point of squeezing her goods together for the sake of men everywhere.

One last note: I could watch Shakira dance all-day, every day, for the rest of my life.

Labels: Celebrity Politics, Dixie Chicks, Grammys

Sunday, February 11, 2007
Software Patch to Help Environment

posted by JayBandit @ 7:05 PM, ,

I came across a post on Engadget, one of my favorite tech news venues. There are at least 25 posts a day written by cool people with a sense of humor about everything from cell-phones, to video games, to cool alarm clocks.

Anyway, the post I am refering to discusses a simple software fix for most modern cars, which will increase fuel efficiency, and therefore decrease fuel consumption. Although the fix is only at a maximum of 2.6%, that is still a massive amount of savings when extrapolated along the millions of cars in the world.

I think this is just the type of ingenuity that people need to utilize to solve big problems like "global warming"; rather than the current trend of pointing fingers and doing nothing, these people actually came up with a practical idea that will definitely help the environment.

Labels: fuel efficiency, global warming, software patch

I'm Not the Only Nonconformist Out There!

posted by JayBandit @ 1:40 PM, ,

Kevin sent me this column regarding economics and global warming by the Sun-Times Mark Steyn. Steyn tries to shed light on how complicated the science surrounding this highly-politicized issue really is (the one paragraph is complex enough to even confuse the engineers here at Entropic Order). He also makes an excellent point that even if the Kyoto treaty was signed back in the day, we would still have no way of knowing the progress it has made; however, the United States would be suffering from catastrophic losses in GDP in only 10 years! His final suggestion is that we should simply adapt to the situation rather than trying to "fix" it by going backwards (Something Tet has mentioned before).

Thursday, February 08, 2007
I'm Not Heartless...Well, Not Totally Heartless

posted by JayBandit @ 9:24 PM, ,

Ok, if anyone knows how I feel about Nancy Pelosi, they'd probably best describe it as "hateful, with a touch of loathing." And, they would be correct. However, today I come to you in defense of that nasty-looking, whiny, pain-in-a-realist's-ass. Nancy lives in San Francisco, and she is now the Speaker of the House; this means that she flys from Washington, D.C. back home on a regular basis. Since 9/11 the Speaker has been put under higher security since they're next in line after the Vice-President to take over the presidency.

In a nutshell, she needs a plane to get her back and forth in a reasonable time period. Dennis Hastert, my great representative for so many years back in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, took a small commuter-sized plane. Die-hard republicans are making a big stink because they think Pelosi should do the same. I hate to burst their bubble, but Illinois is a bit closer to D.C. than San Francisco...4 times farther in fact (Chicago to DC - 710 miles; San Fran to DC - 2840 miles). Perhaps the GOP doesn't put as much emphasis on geography and/or common sense in their "No Child Left Behind" stance.

Just forget about this issue; there are plenty of other real issues to lambast Pelosi for; why waste time looking at a silly issue like this.

Labels: Nancy Pelosi

Football, Men Kissing, and Phallic Objects, OH MY!

posted by JayBandit @ 3:32 PM, ,

I was hoping I wouldn't have to revisit the vast majority of Super Bowl XLI for at least a few decades; however, politically correct cry-babies have forced my hand. It seems today that just by breathing a person can inadvertantlly piss off an entire demographic of the world's population. My favorite examples of this are when someone is alleged to do something for completely false reasons (Hilarious Example). So, being that the Bears-Colts game was the 3rd highest viewed show of all time, there were plenty of people watching for even the slightest sense of innuendo or sarcasm.

First, there was the rather harmless Snickers ad showing two guys working on a car. The one guy puts a Snickers bar in his mouth so its hanging out, and the other guy is so drawn to the candy bar that he starts to eat the other end until they end up kissing a la Lady and the Tramp. After they realize what they've done, they freak out and rip out handfuls of chest hair in order to do something "manly". Personally, I thought it was a hilarious commercial based on the fact that it is exactly what two guys would try and do if found in that sort of predicament. Well, apparently I'm just outrageous for having that sort of opinion (Has anyone ever noticed that GLAAD never seems to have a smile on their face unless everyone else is unhappy?...interesting).

To a lesser extent, people were up in arms over Prince's halftime show. Once again, I enjoyed this part of the extravaganza. It was the first act the Super Bowl has had in the current century that didn't utterly suck ass. Prince played a more tame selection of his music than even I, the eternal pessimist, thought he'd play. To top it off, he played some awesome covers of Creedence Clearwater Revival's Proud Mary, Bob Dylan's All Along the Watchtower (made more famous by Jimi Hendrix as his only official hit...yes, he is a 1-hit wonder), and the Foo Fighter's Best of You. If you sit back and think about it for a minute, you might actually appreciate how awesome of a muscian Prince is to play music spanning 40 years and multiple artists, but still rock out hardcore. All he could have done more in my opinion would be to whip out a bit of When Dove's Cry, but I can't complain. Apparently, many people had penis on the mind as they watched his guitar solo during Purple Rain. I know that Stephen Colbert voiced his outrage, "They knew that they were dealing with a lustful, pansexual rock 'n' roll deviant." He also mentioned that the sheet hid (not enhanced) Prince's "demonic guitar phallus."

However, both of the aforementioned incidents pale in comparison to the greatest travesty of Super Bowl XLI...the Chicago Bears offense. The Bears' defense kept Peyton Manning's offense to only 2 touchdowns and 3 field goals; a whopping total of 22 points. Rex Grossman and the Bears managed to score 3 touchdowns - two for themselves, and one for Colts' Kelvin Hayden via interception - and one measely and rather meaningless fieldgoal. Luckily, I recorded the game in HD on my TV, and I am slowly but surely getting over this fiasco by watching Devin Hester's opening kickoff return for a touchdown 10-20 times a day (I hope to be in the single digits by the end of the month). The best part of that clip is Peyton Manning throwing off his cap like a 5-year-old.

I guess the moral of the story is that we all can find something wrong with any situation. The thing that makes a person an adult is ignoring the small meaningless things and addressing the more important issues. Sadly, it appears we are in a world of little kids, and not in a society of adults.

In other news, Anna Nicole Smith is dead. Who would have thought that illegal drugs in large doses would do something like this to a person?

Labels: Bob Dylan, Chicago Bears, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Devin Hester, Foo Fighters, Jimi Hendrix, Prince, Snickers, Super Bowl XLI

Monday, February 05, 2007
Flyleaf: Christian "rock" or Christian RAWK?

posted by JayBandit @ 4:23 PM, ,

DISCLAIMER: Buy highlighted music at your own risk. Just because I have an awesome knack at identifying amazing music doesn't mean that your brain is able to comprehend how awesome it actually is.

I don't remember when I first heard it, but I do remember wanting to hear the song I'm so Sick by Flyleaf a 2nd time immediately after listening to it for the first time. I ended up getting the song, and it wound up in the wallows of my iTunes collection. Months later, I heard this song on the local Pittsburgh rock station, 105.9 the X, and I was like "Oh yeah...that song!" I immediately jumped out of bed (I listen to the radio for about 15-30 minutes each night before I pass out...when sober) and looked it up on iTunes to see if the rest of their album was worth purchasing. Perhaps I was sleepy, but I didn't find anything very exciting, and just went back to bed.

Weeks later, Amazon was running a special where you buy 4 things for the price of 3, and as I have said before, I buy stuff on Amazon constantly. One of the highlighted items for this sale was the self-titled debut album by Flyleaf. I figured, "hey its only $10, why not," and bought it along with: 20th Century Masters: Eric B. & Rakim (which will most likely lead to another post), the movie "What Dreams May Come" (AMAZINGLY visual movie starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Robin Williams), and the book "Shadow of the Giant" (the 8th book in the Ender's Game series...yet another post to come).

Well, long story short (too late), this album is pretty damn good. It has some killer tracks on it, which I still can't get enough of a week after getting the album. My favorite song still has to be I'm So Sick, but Fully Alive, Cassie, and Breathe Today also get my kudos. This isn't a 5-star album by any means; it starts off rocking hardcore, but then drifts in and out of sounding as if its a bastard child of Evanescene and Hoobastank.

I have a personal rule about when I buy albums, and when I just obtain them through legally questionable means. The album must have 50% ("awesome" songs count for double) of the songs good enough for me to listen to any of them randomly on my ultimate iPod list without going "oh God, not this song again." This album (11 tracks) has 3-4 awesome songs, and has a few others that I don't mind; therefore it easily passes.

I began reading about Flyleaf at work, and I found out that they are a Christian rock band! This totally blew my mind at first, because almost all Christian rock sucks a big one. Then I realized that almost every song had some deep message, and some songs were more blatant than others ("Do you believe in God?" is the chorus for Cassie...I guess I'm slow). I must declare this the best mainstream Christian rock band I've ever heard, which is not that hard considering the only other two that I can think of are Creed (who peaked for me years ago), and P.O.D. (they should be called P.O.S.)

Now that I think about it, I could come up with a coolio grading system based on my personal scoring system, with a 200% being a perfect (or just divide everything by 2....); I would also have to consider negative points for total stinker songs. But PTI is almost on, so I'll do that later.

In other news, I got my tickets to Coachella 2007 (MASSIVE 3-day music festival in Indio, California) in the mail this week, and I'm 1000% stoked to see Rage Against The Machine reunited!

Labels: Coachella, Ender's Game, Eric B. and Rakim, Flyleaf, Rage Against The Machine

Argh!

posted by JayBandit @ 4:14 PM, ,

Well, DA BEARS were apparently who Dennis Green thought they were; however, we almost got our asses crowned last night...but it wasn't in the stars. To the Chicago Bears, I say thank you for an awesome season, and I wish you all the best of luck next year. Early '07 prediction: DA BEARS win SUPER BOWL XLII. At least the Cubs start reporting to Mesa, Arizona later this week for spring training. Now I can dedicate my free-time to another team destined to depress me week in and week out.

In more realistic news, I've begun to rethink this blog a bit. After pouring in countless hours into research for some of these posts, people don't seem to be responding with the ferver that I originally hoped for. My good friend Billy Joe Mills has suggested going more controversial on many occasions, but I don't want to turn into some ignorant political pundant like those hacks over at Urbanagora (haha, just kidding guys). I figure I need to do something to encourage more readership, more participation, and more content; therefore, I've decided to open up the content considerably beginning with my next post. I will be commenting on music, movies, food, video games, etc. Pretty much anything that suits my fancy.

Labels: state of the union

Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Great News!

posted by JayBandit @ 4:13 PM, ,

I am a huge proponent of online downloading of MUSIC (emphasis on MUSIC). I think that this new court decision will potentially lead to some great court cases that some day will allow us to download free and clear once again.

For those that care, I think that music should be legal to download online because it was free for decades via the radio recorded onto various media. Also, there was legislation when the VCR first came into being for the same reasons, yet it was always decided that it was legal to record whatever you wanted for personal use.

Obviously there is no real way to track what you do with your "personal" copy of something, but that is their problem. In a more logical and scientific method of reasoning, I present the following:

1) You don't get any hard copy with a digital copy purchased or downloaded online. This means that you could lose said copy in a heartbeat if your computer gets destroyed for any number of reasons.

2) The quality of a genuine CD audio file is MUCH better than an mp3 file.

In conclusion, we are now paying a buck a song (which is more than they'd cost on most CDs) for a lower quality piece of audio, and of course there is no hard copy included. It simply doesn't make any sense.

Any Questions?

Sunday, January 07, 2007
A Sad Day in the World of Instant Foods

posted by JayBandit @ 2:50 PM, ,

R.I.P. Instant Ramen Creator

Don't Piss Off A Tigger

posted by JayBandit @ 10:55 AM, ,

Tigger Beats Child Into Submission

Honestly though, this is total crap. Take a look at the pictures on the left-hand side when you look at this article. The kid is a teenager, and I'm sure Tigger was patting him on the head or something equally harmless. Even if they are telling the truth, if I were the kid or the father, I'd be embarrassed to admit that I got my ass kicked by some dork in a Tigger costume.

I don't mean to support big business or anything naughtly like that; however, when the father says, "oh, well we only have part of it on film," it makes me think that this is just a ploy to milk Disney for some money.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Way To Suck Ass Chicago

posted by JayBandit @ 10:21 PM, ,

US Emergency Communication Rankings

Sunday, December 17, 2006
And You Thought Your Roads Were Bad...

posted by JayBandit @ 4:50 PM, ,

Crappy Roads in Crappy Places

Saturday, December 16, 2006
Thanks, I Couldn't Have Done it Without You

posted by JayBandit @ 11:12 PM, ,

In case you haven't heard, I'm the TIME: "Person of the Year"!

Thursday, December 14, 2006
Wow, I Better be Careful

posted by JayBandit @ 3:28 PM, ,

Guitar Hero Potential Career Destroyer

Sunday, December 10, 2006
Endning Poverty = Ending Terrorism?

posted by JayBandit @ 7:20 PM, ,

Nobel Laureate Makes a Good Point

My good friend, Billy Joe Mills, made a similar point at his blog a while back...why isn't he winning a nobel prize? (When I find the post, I'll link to it...)

Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Finally, Sanity Returns to Politics

posted by JayBandit @ 4:54 PM, ,

Trans Fats Banned in NYC Food

My favorite part of this article is how they quote a pushcart vendor named "Abu" for his take on the situation, "You need a little trans for good taste. I think this is a very bad idea." Apparently, Abu must have gotten his food chemistry degree at night when he wasn't working the pushcart. Just for your information, Trans-fat hasn't always been in our food, but its content increased when automation of food production increased; mostly due to hydrogenation of plant oils. This is why all-natural peanut-butter is much healthier for you than Jif or Skippy.

Aw hell, now I have to write a whole post on this! More to come in the near future...

Hang Ten for Electricity!

posted by JayBandit @ 3:42 PM, ,

I was browsing my "mechanical engineering" magazine this month and the cover story caught my eye right away: Creating Electricity from the Roll of the Oceans. We may be able to solve our insatiable energy demands by riding the waves of the Earth's oceans. Although tragic, the tsunami that occurred in the south pacific nearly 2 years ago clearly displayed one fact: moving water contains a lot of energy. What if we started harnessing that energy to produce electricity? Water covers over 2/3 of the Earth's surface, so at first glance this seems like a pretty ingenious idea. Although this might sound wacky, it's actually extremely simple...in theory.

Other than photovoltaic cells, almost all electricity is generated in the same manner; by induction. Turbines in power plants convert the flow of high-pressure steam into energy by causing magnets to rotate within gigantic coils that generate the electricity; this is called an electric motor. With each additional cycle more electricity is generated. Well let's take that same principal, but this time instead of spinning, the magnet would be reciprocating back and forth inside the coil on springs. That is the basic principal behind it all. (NOTE: This same principal has been talked about for use in automobiles to try and harness some of the energy that is wasted while it bounces along; also known as regenerative damping. Of course it is first important to understand how a shock absorber works.)

In Portugal, the first wave farm is now a reality. Although it's only generating 2.25MW (3 units at 0.75MW each), and costing about 8 million Euro, it is quite a leap forward. Doing some rough math, I figure these devices would have to run nearly 90,000 hours (~10 years) before reaching the golden price of $0.04/KW-hr (Price Explanation). Now, if these devices can run that long without significant maintenance fees, then this will indeed be feasible. I don't mean to be a pessimist, but can you name something that works for that long without some significant maintenance these days?

Projections only have this form of energy generation supplying 10% of the world's demands; however, 10% IS 10%. Also, there are specific locations that these wave-farms will work best. For example, this isn't the best solution for a tiny lake that has little wave activity. Personally, at first glance the Portuguese example seems to be rather inefficient. Hydraulic devices require a massive amount of energy for movement, which is why they're used in heavy duty machinery. I would think that a simpler spring-loaded damper buoy would work better.

Finally, I saw this website while browsing for research on this article and thought I might discuss it for a short moment. Any "breakthrough" item that provides little to no factual information is just a gimmick until it is proven in multiple real-world applications. Although this device sound quite intriguing, I find it quite disconcerting that the FAQ section does not even give a simple guesstimate on electrical output. This means either they don't know, or it's not very much. A supreme example of this type of device is the water fuel cell, which doesn't really exist. It is called a perpetual motion device, which means that it defies at least one law of science. This is because the inventor is lying or hiding the fact that they add more energy into the system one way or another. And whatever you do, don't send these loons your money, because they WILL ask you for some.

In other News, John Leguizamo is on "My Name is Earl" this week, and if that isn't enough reason to watch, the Office will be on shortly after it concludes.

Thursday, November 30, 2006
Well There Goes $24 Million Tax-Dollars

posted by JayBandit @ 9:36 PM, ,

F-18 Crash

Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Interesting...

posted by JayBandit @ 8:10 PM, ,

1. Global Warming Makes it to the Supreme Court!
2. Slouching...GOOD for your back

As a sidenote....I hate Dick Vitale's voice more than Hitler.

Saturday, November 25, 2006
Pardon The Interruption

posted by JayBandit @ 4:10 PM, ,

Sorry for the lack of posts this past month. Kevin has been studying for the LSAT, and I've been quite busy with work and I've made a few trips back to Chicago.

Something of real substance to come in the near future...

GO BEARS!!!

Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Internet Sales Taxes: Legal, Viable, Plausible?

posted by JayBandit @ 5:01 PM, ,

This is a research paper I wrote in college about internet sales taxation...I hope you enjoy it (A pdf version that has references can be found here:

To Tax or Not to Tax?

With the Internet being a hair over ten-years-old, in its modern form, millions have now adopted it into their everyday lives. They regularly check their email, keep up on current events, and even pay their taxes. Furthermore, a growing number of people feel comfortable enough to purchase items online on a regular basis. According to Forrester Research, consumers spent over $79 billion dollars online last year which amounts to approximately 3% of all retail sales (Wasserman). Online retail has officially made it to the big-time. With that in mind, and the economy continuing in a recessionary trend, many in congress feel that this is the perfect opportunity to pass legislation to reap the benefits of this online business boom. There is an equally diverse group on the other side of the fence declaring that they think taxation now may have grave consequences on the future viability of the Internet as a means of business.

In addition to the quarrel over the viability of these proposed taxes, there are also battles ragging in congress and beyond whether the taxation of online sales is even legal. Defendants of a tax-free Internet often quote the most well known law regulating interstate commerce, Article 1, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution, "No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State. No preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear or pay duties in another." Although the syntax used seemed impervious to interpretation, now in the information age the state lines are not just something separating masses of land.

The fierce war over the legality of internet taxation will eventually calm down, and many assume that the taxation will begin. When it does the most important questions of all will need to be answered. They will pertain to the logistics of simplifying the tax code of over 7,500 taxing entities in the United States. The states have been working together to create a simplified tax code just as long as their adversaries. The process will surely involve many difficult compromises between the states of the union; however, the thought of billions of dollars coming into the deficit-ridden budgets should make for great motivation.

The laws currently setting the stage

To get a proper understanding of the situation, it is necessary to observe all the legislation pertaining to the subject. Politicians quarreled over the rules of interstate commerce for many years. In 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that retailers had to have "significant" presence in the state before they could be forced to collect sales taxes. The word "significant" is one of opinion, so the question now is whose opinion is it? There is obviously no regulation of language, and therefore both sides interpret the law in the way that best suites their cause. Those against internet taxation say that this law proves them right because the businesses in question should only have to tax consumers in states where they have a base of operations. Bradner mentions that that decision was in regards to mail-order houses, and not e-commerce. Mail-order houses locations are clearly defined, but the same is not true for online store. This brings up an intriguing question, where is the Internet? Many would say the answer is everywhere because any person with a computer is able to reach the internet. This is probably the most important decision that has ever affected the Internet. If and when the decision is made, it will affect all court cases regarding the Internet's role based on its location.

Rep. Chris Cox, R-Cal., and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., are two of the biggest advocates of a tax-free Internet. The duo penned the original moratorium against any new internet taxes in 1998, and also worked successfully to extend the moratorium in 2001. The current moratorium ends this November, so the team has introduced a new bill called the "Internet Tax Non-Discrimination Act," which will turn the moratorium into an outright ban on any new Internet taxes (McCullagh). The congressmen are quick to point out that their legislation does not prevent any online taxation, and that they only want the online consumer to be taxed equally to the conventional consumer. Whenever someone purchases something from an out of state dealer they are required to pay a use tax, which is to the state they live in. This also goes for items purchased online. However, many people tend to evade this law, or might not even know about it. Since there is widespread disregard for the use tax, states only put effort into policing the largest rule-breakers, i.e. the most money.

Although many might not like to agree, the taxation of Internet sales are completely legal. What is more troubling is that the taxation should have been going on due to the use tax. This is just one of the many ways that the online community has abused loopholes of the legal system, although many are inadvertently. The Internet community may see a stricter enforcement of these laws if new legislation in support of Internet taxation is not passed. This seems likely because legislators are convinced that there is enough money out there to make this a viable battle. The next question is how much is actually out there? Perhaps even more important is a way to track all of the money.

The Infamous Tennessee Study

The pro-tax entourage has repeatedly quoted a University of Tennessee study as their factual backing; while, in fact, it is extremely speculative. The study says that a total state and local government revenue loss was $13.3 billion in 2001, and that it will reach $45.2 billion in 2006, and $54.8 billion in 2011. Many have cited the previous speculations as losses due to the lack of Internet taxation, but in the very same study they define new e-commerce loss - a loss on goods that would have otherwise been purchased the over-the-counter method - which is an estimated percentage. These loss estimates are $7 billion in 2001, $24.2 billion in 2006, and $29.2 billion in 2011. These more accurate loss estimates are nearly half of the former estimates, thus making the new taxation less attractive.

The Tennessee study estimates that business-to-business (B2B) transactions represented 92.6% of all e-commerce activity in 2001, and that that share will increase to 95% by 2011. This is a critical piece of information because B2B transactions are not taxed to foster growth of the economy. The B2B tax-immunity is something that will not change because it is a founding idea that economy of the United States is built on. Therefore, the estimated tax losses are actually around $520 million in 2001, $1.79 billion for 2006, and $2.16 billion 2011. These new numbers make the taxes hardly worth fighting for.

In the study's defense, they make it apparent that their numbers are embellished. The study states that there are many differences among the different states which make it difficult to get accurate results. Different regulations regarding digitized information are one such area. An interesting point is brought up regarding online auction houses, such as e-Bay. There are business-to-consumer (B2C) sales that go untaxed, which adds to the losses; however, they are likely to be minimal. Overall, the study makes a lot of assumptions to get viable data. Every assumption compromises the integrity of the information; however, this is still the best information available.

Even if the money does not appear to amount that much at this time, online sales have only scratched the surface. In the future the amounts will become even more eye-catching for legislators trying to balance their budgets. Therefore, the legislation will eventually gain enough support to pass. Yet, this is still not the last hurdle in the race. The United States has perhaps the most complex taxing system in the entire world. In order make this dream become reality, the politicians will have to tame the beast that is the tax system.

The Streamlined Sales Tax Project (SSTP)

This proposed SSTP is not just a quick fix so the states can start collecting from online retailers; on the contrary, it is a comprehensive system that will overhaul a large part of the tax laws of all states to certain standards and regulations. It will affect everything from diapers to telecommunications. This will be no easy task. There are thousands of differences between each of the states' individual tax laws, and this is not even including individual municipality tax laws. Nevertheless, there is a strong support for this project from the states, which is once again due to the current economy.

The first step for the SSTP is to create clear-cut definitions of products that every state can agree on. Is candy a food? Is orange juice a fruit or a beverage? The answers may seem trivial, but they can also mean the difference of millions of tax dollars for the states economies (Richtel). Questions such as those are beginning to be answered by the states collectively for the SSTP. After everything was defined, the project began to move swiftly towards the final product, a plausible system.

Although it appears that the states have been working feverishly to get the standardization done, there also seems to be a lot of work still yet undone. The project still has no definite completion date, appears that it will not be done before the moratorium ends on November 1^st. This project can be seen a blessing by all business because it will make the task of sending out the tax bill easier. However, it is seen as too much national regulation in states' affairs by others.

The Growing Support

Many are supportive of the aforementioned legislation for a multitude of reasons, and some have already taken action. A group of large U.S. retailers signed a deal with 38 states and the District of Columbia in February. The agreement protects the companies from any back-taxes that they may be liable for when legislation is passed in exchange for taxing their consumers starting now (Bowman). Some of the suspected retailers include Toys "R" Us, Wal-Mart, and Target. Many might point out that these retailers already have a presence in multiple states, which is not the case of the majority of the smaller online retailers. In addition, it is interesting to note that many of the large corporations have subsidiaries that are treated as separate companies by U.S. tax laws. This separation allows the companies to treat their online shipping location as a different company from their normal retail locations. There may be a large backlash against this practice after the events regarding how the now bankrupt Enron hid billions through thousands of subsidiaries. David Coursey asks a simple moral question, "Why should a company that does business on the Internet be able to avoid sales tax when a brick-and-mortar business can't?" Many will agree with Coursey and support legislation they feel will help the economy.

Now that the U.S. economy is in the largest recession since the Great Depression, legislators are scampering to find any extra money to make their budgets stretch. Illinois alone has a two-year deficit estimated between $7 billion and $10 billion. Braden Cox points out that while e-commerce sales amount to only 1% of aggregate retail sales nationwide, there is still a big push to get the tax laws penned in before the November 1^st moratorium ending date. Nearly half of state revenues come from sales taxes. Therefore, every little bit helps. Also, almost 40% of states' budgets address necessities such as education, transportation projects, and law enforcement (Mark). Politicians can use these simple facts to gain support for the taxes.

The "Nay-Sayers"

It seems hard to believe that a presidential administration asking for record tax-cuts would turn around and give the okay to a program that will increase the amount of taxes Americans pay. Mary Hillebrand points out that many will reduce, or even put a stop to, their online spending if they are taxed. Specifically the lower class, a group already trailing the middle-class in access to the Internet, will flee in larger numbers. A simple justification is brought to light by Anthony Curatola; when taxes are enacted online, consumers will automatically blame the companies for "raising" the price when in actuality, the increase is the sales tax.

There is still a large group of people that feel that the internet is too young to necessitate taxation. John C. Dvorak makes a good point in showing that support or disapproval for this project is nonpartisan. He also notes that by creating a flat rate of sales tax, which has been proposed, the states are effectively making a national sales tax. The question now is when will the nationalization of the states end? That is a question that cannot be answered for hopefully obvious reasons. The vast arguments show that there is much to agree on before anything is ratified. That is why Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Cal., introduced a piece of legislation to extend the tax moratorium for another five years. A spokesman for Lofgren said, "She believes a five-year term would be much more effective in gauging where the growth of the Internet is, and where we could go in the future" (Gross).

Another Can of Worms

Something that has not even been touched on yet is the practice of companies selling online and then allowing consumers to return the products to any of their physical locations. This is practiced by corporations such as Best Buy and Borders. When a consumer buys a product in state A returns the product to a store in a state B, they are refunded the money for the product and the state B tax. State B was never paid the tax in the first place so they are now in the red, and state A made money on the transaction. If the product is re-sold in state B then they will just break even. This is another new problem that can with a new technology. There is no simple answer, and little has been said on the subject.

The Verdict

The laws pertaining to this subject area are clear in some instances, and perhaps a bit vague in others. However, in the end they all give way towards taxation. It is now only a few law changes away from becoming set in stone. Although some might call it "fuzzy math," it is clear that the states have much to gain from taxing Internet sales. In the future it will become quite clear how important a role the Internet plays in the states' economies. When the states finally finish their marathon of tax simplification they will be able to present it to the Supreme Court for approval; and they will get it. That means that all three hurdles have been crossed.

It is safe to say that there will not be any quick actions made in the near future that will change the current situation. The states will continue on past the 11th hour to simplify their taxing laws so they can do their job. Although it appears there have been numerous snags along the way, many unforeseen, it will not put a damper on their spirits to succeed. Therefore it is fair to say that it is no longer a matter of if, but rather it is just a matter of time before consumers are paying sales taxes on all online purchases.

Friday, October 20, 2006
Nuclear Power: Revisited

posted by JayBandit @ 8:49 PM, ,

My friend, Mike, brought up a good question about my previous nuclear post:

Could you please address the carbon emissions that are released due to the massive power required to separate U-235 from U-238?

First of all, I think many of you out there probably have no idea how nuclear fuel is even created. Uranium Oxide is an extremely safe substance, I have stood within a few feet of over a ton of it with no protective gear on (The facility I was at is even mentioned on the link below). For a basic crash course, I point you to a page maintained by the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), a group of people that really knows their stuff.

Originally, Uranium was enriched using gaseous diffusion, but today has been mostly replaced by the gas centrifuge (A more in-depth explaination). The outrageous amounts of electricity required for gaseous diffusion are no longer necessary for gas centrifuges, and today there are newer designs that use even less. They are even working on new processes, including Laser Enrichment.

I'm posting this to challenge you all to find the answer to Mike's question. I have spent hours looking online for some factual information about it, and I can't. These are the facts I do know:

• Nuclear plant emissions are less than 2% of coal plants
• The Uranium manufacturing process is obviously cost effective, otherwise they wouldn't do it.
• Even if coal plants are used to supply the energy to make nuclear plants, it is still overall less emissions than pure coal-based electricity.
• 1 pound of reactor-grade uranium costs approximately $740
  
• The energy available in one pound of uranium equals the energy produced by about 1.3 million pounds of coal, which costs anywhere from $6500 to over $26000!
• Nuclear Energy averages 0.4 euro cents/kWh, which is close to hydroelectric
• Coal is over 4.0 euro cents/kWh
• Gas is about 1.3-2.3 euro cents/kWh
• Wind is about 0.1-0.2 euro cents/kWh
  

Essentially, I'd just like to know what amount of energy is required to produce 1 pound of reactor grade Uranium. (I'll talk to people at work and see if I can get an answer)

Closing Note: Toshiba (TOE-SHA-BA not TOE-SHE-BA) completed the steps to acquire Westinghouse Electric Company this week. The new partnership has 30% of the world's nuclear marketshare, and also now has the most diverse offerings of services, products, and fuels. They can now fully service all BWR (Boiling Water Reactor) and PWR (Pressurized Water Reactor) plants worldwide (which nearly all plants are). Lastly, Toshiba's ABWR (Advanced BWR) and Westinghouse's AP1000 are both the most advanced plants of their respective arenas.

From the Grandma Files: JayBandit Is Corrupt

posted by JayBandit @ 4:05 PM, ,

Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Standardized Tests: Necessary but not Sufficient

posted by illinikc33 @ 12:54 AM, ,

Monday, October 16, 2006
What A Game

posted by JayBandit @ 11:22 PM, ,

The Chicago Bears just beat the Arizona Cardinals 24-23. When one looks at that score they might think, "oh, the Bears won a close game." No, they won an impossible game! The Bears had only 168 yards of total offense, 6 turnovers by not-so-Sexy Rexy (4 interceptions, 2 fumbles), and a mediocre defense for the 1st half of the game.

The bears were finishing the 3rd quarter down 23-3 when they scored the first of their two fumble recovery TDs. Then, Devin Hester scored on an 83-yard punt return. But, the Bears still didn't have the victory in hand at this point. They were lucky enough for Neil Rackers to miss a relatively easy field-goal and end the game.

WHEW! What a game!

Thursday, October 12, 2006
Murky Waters Lie Ahead

posted by JayBandit @ 3:46 PM, ,

If any of you follow the stock market (which you should, it's important) you will have noticed that the Dow Jones hit an all time high today, and is nearing the 12,000 point. Many people probably see this as an indicator of how good our economy is doing, and sadly that is extremely wrong. The Dow Jones is just a guesstimate of how the US economy is doing by compiling different amounts of 30 stocks seen as representing the majority of US business.

The reason I point this out is that the US trade deficit increased by 2.7% last month, and we are nearing $70 billion a month now, which is ridiculous. Also, the Euro is now valued at over $1.25, which scares me greatly. The Euro was created to be more stable than the individual coinage of Germany, France, Spain, etc. (England, Europe's most stable economy, has still not joined the European Union monetarily). It was originally priced at around $1 a few years ago when it replaced all the nations' other money. 25% gain in only a few years against the US dollar, by far the most respected monetary standard in the world today, is GIGANTIC!

I will tell you what I tell everyone: Buy American!


ADDENDUM: This is from the Wikipedia article I linked to above; I post this because it gives me another reason to say I hate France.

A benefit is the removal of bank transaction charges that previously were a cost to both individuals and businesses when exchanging from one national currency to another. Although not an enormous cost, multiplied thousands of times, the savings add up across the entire economy.

For electronic payments (e.g. credit cards, debit cards, and cash machine withdrawals), banks in the Eurozone must now charge the same for intra-member cross-border transactions as they charge for domestic transactions. Banks in France have attempted to circumvent this regulation by charging for all bank transfers (domestic and cross-border) unless the transfer is instructed via online banking — a method unavailable to cross-border payments. In this way, banks in France continue to charge more for cross-border transfers than for domestic transfers.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Amazon.com Rocks my Socks Off!

posted by JayBandit @ 9:53 PM, ,

This weekend I bought this camera on Amazon, along with some other crap I probably don't need. This in itself is probably not news worthy, even on our distinguished blog. However, I came to the realization at work today that I've almost hit the $5,000 spent mark on the best point of sale website out there. Also, this camera undoubtedly will lead to many a doctored photos for your viewing enjoyment.

I finally got wise after spending my first pile of money at Amazon to get the Amazon VISA card, which gives me 3 points for every dollar spent at Amazon, and 1 point for every dollar spent elsewhere. For every 2,500 points, I get a $25 Amazon rebate in the mail. I've already got my first one, and I'm due at least 2 more in the upcoming month.

I'm not saying that you should buy everything at Amazon (well, I guess I am), but you should really consider all the websites that are available to you. Amazon offers free shipping on almost every single item or combinations of items that are priced over $25. To give you an example, I had a BowFlex shipped to me, which weighs nearly 200 lbs., completely free! The other great advantage with many online shopping locations is the fact that they are tax-free to most customers (this will actually be the subject of an upcoming post).

Happy Shopping!

Thursday, October 05, 2006
Grammy Strikes Again!

posted by JayBandit @ 3:54 PM, ,

Everyday when I get home from work, I walk briskly down to the mailbox in hopes of finding a million dollars in small, unmarked bills. While that has never happened yet, from time to time I'm happy nonetheless. This is a letter I got from my grandmother that I spoke of in a previous post:

Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Global Warming: Interlude

posted by JayBandit @ 8:53 PM, ,

I plan on writing a good deal more on global warming in the future, but to be honest, I'm a bit "overheated" on the subject. However, I will not leave the children of my mind wandering in darkness. I'm always collecting links to various websites that peak my interest, and I'll share some with you:

Earth Hottest in 1 Million Years
Carbon Dioxide Used as a Fuel
Too Much CO2? Just Sweep It Under The Rug!
Animal Eats CO2 for Breakfast...and Lunch...and Dinner
Union of Concerned Scare-mongers
and finally...
Only in California


I've also added a graphic to the Nuclear Power post that was sent to me via the all-knowing Billy Joe Mills, Esquire.

Does anyone know what the word Ignanimous means?

Monday, October 02, 2006
Money Cannot Prevent Bad Decisions

posted by JayBandit @ 5:03 PM, ,

I just happened to come across this Daily Illini article today talking about how MTD has a lot of changes to make in the future. I'm sorry; I think it's awful that Sarah Channick died. However, I think it was most likely her fault. I would like to know what the bus driver was supposed to do when she was hit by the side of the bus when it was making a turn (The bus did NOT ride up on the curb; and it has been said that she was on a cell-phone at the time).

I'm not saying we should blame Sarah, I'm just saying we shouldn't blame MTD. If people could just get it through their thick skulls that sometimes bad accidents just happen, we could all make smarter decisions.

Some of you will think I'm incredibly heartless, and to you I say I'm sorry; I am simply stating how I feel. My entire life I have seen rules/regulations that were put in place because of one accident or rare bonehead incident, yet people will pay a price for this mistake for the rest of their lives.

For instance, hot water heaters have a pressure relief valve (PRV) on them to allow for excess pressure to escape if it goes too high (which means it's probably time for a new water heater). They used to be made out of a strong brass fitting that never would leak. Today they are made from a cheap plastic fitting because some idiot janitor at a school in Tennessee got tired of cleaning up after a very old water heater that was getting too hot (the valve was working properly, so it would leak out excess pressure and water throughout the day. I can't find the actual story, so here is a very similar case). He decided it would be in his best interests to jam a rag in the valve preventing the mechanism from opening; no more puddle on the floor. After work that day the water heater proceeded to build in pressure until it exploded. This change seems like something minor; however, the new plastic valves are crappy and cause a good deal of water damage in homes across the country. My dad should be happy because he's a plumber, and this means more business for him; however, it costs America a great deal of money...all because of one bonehead.

Ok, I'm on a roll; how about another plumbing example? The EPA and other organizations decided it would be wonderful to decrease the amount of water used by toilets to flush. They went from 3.5 gpf (gallons per flush) to 1.6 gpf. It all sounded great on paper; people will use half the amount of water, saving America from the evils of a water shortage. Too bad they forgot to analyze the situation a bit before making a decision. Today, we are suffering through the consequences (I know it's an old article, but it still applies). Once again this causes problems for plumbers because there is a plethora of people with clogged toilets constantly pestering them (I should have prefaced this by saying my dad does not do residential, but when people find out you're a plumber...).

Word to the wise: If you are in the market to buy a new toilet, I would suggest getting a handicapped-accessible model. They are taller (16.5" vs. 15"), always have an elongated bowl, and that extra height means more vertical drop...so yeah...it flushes better.

Anyway, moral of the story is that we shouldn't create broad-sweeping changes until everyone has cooled off and assessed the situation thoroughly.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006
My Apologies

posted by illinikc33 @ 3:48 PM, ,

To all (6 or 7) of our dedicated readers,

I would like to apologize for my lack of insightful posts since, well since the creation of this blog. Mainly most of my free time has been occupied with countless numbers of LSAT prep questions. Thankfully, I am finally taking the test this Saturday, 9/30. You can expect at least a weekly "meaty" post from hereon out. To tide you over until next week, I have included a gratuitous photo of kitty. Enjoy!

Oh, kitty is also a Bears fan (especially of Rex the Snake)!

Monday, September 25, 2006
Breakfast All Day?!?

posted by JayBandit @ 6:22 PM, ,

McDonald's announced today that they may soon start selling breakfast all day long. I don't know about you, but this makes me extremely happy. The only thing I really like at McDonald's all day long is the steak, egg, & cheese bagel. It is quite possibly the best sandwich ever made. I have gotten to McDonald's many a time to only find out I missed breakfast by a few minutes; then anger ensues.

This reminds me of those Christmas mornings where I got the one thing that I was hoping for above everything else, and I was completely surprised by it. Now, I know this is quite possibly one of the most unhealthy things to eat on the face of the earth. However, I've had maybe 6 of these a year since they came out, so I don't think it will be the straw that breaks the donkey's back. To tell you the truth, it obviously isn't "steak". It is some sort of meat substitute; yet, it tastes so delicious smothered in onions cheese and egg, then held between two halves of a bagel.

What is more funny about unhealthy food is McDonald's website, that acts as if these fat-ladden food-stuffs are actually part of a well-balanced diet. They could have saved a ton of money by having me do the website for them:

Sunday, September 24, 2006
Mark Schlereth is a Poopy-Head

posted by JayBandit @ 3:29 PM, ,

I love the Chicago Bears. Every Sunday (sometimes Monday) I put on my Brian Urlacher jersey and my Bears' cap, sit down in my comfy recliner, and watch the game. So, needless to say, it peeves me slightly when I watch ESPN and one of the "experts" picks the Bears to lose the first three games of a year when they might have their best team ever (For those that don't follow football, the Bears are 3-0).

There are a few analysts out there in TV-land that really dislike the Bears; I don't know why, its just an observation that I've made over the past 10 years or so. Most notably, I'd have to say that Howie Long, Joe Theisman, and Mark Schlereth are the top offenders.

Friday, September 22, 2006
Be Well, John Spartan

posted by JayBandit @ 7:36 PM, ,

I just saw this on CNN. I just want to point out that this happened because someone messed up, big time. This did NOT occur because there is something wrong with mag-lev technology in any way, shape, or form. It's a shame that 23 people died because of some stupid mistake like this.

My Grandma Can Kick Your Grandma's Ass

posted by JayBandit @ 5:44 PM, ,

My grandmother sent me this cartoon in the mail today. She sends me big packets of newspaper clippings that strike her fancy probably at least once or twice a month. I just think she is hilarious with the comments she adds to them. The best quote she underlined would have to be from this article, "We were forced to convert to Islam at gunpoint. Don't get me wrong here. I have the highest respect for Islam, and I learned a lot of good things about it."

My grandmother has always encouraged me to form my own opinions on politics. The most important thing she told me was to always try and learn both sides of each story, because it will help you grasp the situation at hand. I'd have to say that is probably the reason I enjoy disagreeing with people so much. I have fun challenging the thoughts of others, and at the same time having them challenge me.

On another note, I'd appreciate comments from people telling me what subjects that would like Kevin and I to challenge next. I always have so many ideas that I don't know where to start. I am working on some ideas for a post about public schools, as well as some follow up posts to the nuclear power and global warming posts (much more science to explain certain concepts that the public is unaware of).

Thursday, September 21, 2006
Free Cuts!

posted by JayBandit @ 4:22 PM, ,

Kevin pointed out this amazingly cool offer at Six Flags for Fright Fest. I'm actually going to be back in the Chi-town area from the 26th-31st, and I can't think of a better way to enjoy my time than by eating a 3" cockroach and have unlimited cuts in line on Raging Bull!

In other news, apparently George Bush is the Devil.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006
A Bit of Comic Relief

posted by illinikc33 @ 5:55 PM, ,

This is one reason Billy doesn't drink... or attempt to copulate with large, furry animals. Just click the link and you'll understand.

Global Warming: Round 2

posted by JayBandit @ 4:25 PM, ,

DISCLAIMER: You must read my posts before you decide to comment. Things like "you must be a Bush-fan," or other ignorant remarks do not provide any means for intellectual growth. Therefore, I may be forced to retort with equally ignorant remarks.

I thought I started off with a pretty solid synopsis of my views on global warming; however, Brian's post shows that I didn't do a good enough job. To begin with, I was extremely peeved to have my post belittled as a "last-resort argument that conservatives use when trying to insert intelligent design into biology classrooms or when attempting to cling to a reason to oppose adoption by gay couples." I'm going to try to stay on topic; therefore, all I will say in regards to Brian's slanderous comments is that I will try my best not to partake in any mudslinging, which I think is a tactic by many in today's day and age to avoid the debate at hand. On with the show!

I feel that I was misunderstood on many of my key topics of discussion. First off, "urging leaders worldwide to act immediately to prevent the potentially devastating consequences of human-induced global warming," does not mean that they all think we are the sole cause of increased global warming. I don't believe this is about finger-pointing, I think they honestly want to try and impede the temperature increases, no matter what the cause. The IPCC report didn't stand up and say "we have 100% proof!" They said that they have a good idea, and that we should try and prevent the situation from worsening; hardly conclusive evidence.

What I'm getting at is that terms like "minor", "major", "significant", "substantial", etc. all mean exactly squat. If you notice, Brian provides no numbers to back up his claims. It is extremely easy for people in prominent positions of science to force their agenda with words. I am not swayed so easily. The reason Brian didn't provide any numbers is because there aren't any. Sure, there are numbers that give scientists an "idea" of what is going on, but with a system as large as Earth, there are so many factors that even today's fastest computers cannot do the work.

I will now tackle my "errors":

"Error #1":

This one is a big misunderstanding. I'm sure almost all of you are aware the carbon dioxide is a "greenhouse gas." After re-reading this section of my post (which I regret to say I wrote too hastily) I realize that it sounds nothing like I intended. What I meant was that we do not know the entire picture. A closed-system is required to analyze something as complex as our environment. We know the specific chemical reactions that take place in the environment; however, we have no idea the rates at which they occur, or the impetus for them to change. That is a huge piece of information that is missing from the puzzle. The atmosphere is not at a constant density, pressure, temperature, consistency, etc. for any "significantly" large area. So it is literally IMPOSSIBLE to know what is EXACTLY going on (or even within reasonable error). Essentially, I was trying to say that although the temperatures coincide very nicely with carbon dioxide concentrations, that does not prove that we put that much more carbon dioxide into the air, or how much is "too much." It shows that the carbon dioxide concentration is an excellent indicator of temperature, and vice versa. There are numerous natural factors that may have impacts that we have not given enough credit to.

"Error #2":

I'm sorry, but the ozone hole and global warming are not unrelated at all. The theory of many is that we have been increasing the ozone hole because of Chloro-fluoro-carbons (CFCs) and the like. Once again I didn't proof-read my post for clarity. I'm not doubting that CFCs and other chemicals are contributing to the depletion of the ozone layer. Once again I am questioning the numbers; at what rate is this occurring? No one knows. The reason the ozone hole is related is quite simple. If the earth is allowing more energy into the atmosphere (the additional UV radiation that Brian has in his quote) things will heat up. Visible light is simply a narrow band on the electromagnetic spectrum.

"Error #3":

I'll assume this is a freebie since I don't see a #3 on Brian's post. You can just assume that I would have showed a clear defense to whatever well thought-out (possibly hastily written) comment Brian didn't like.

"Error #4":

Yes, the industrial revolution started in the late 18th century. However, if you look that graph of carbon dioxide concentration versus time, you will see that the increase in carbon dioxide in the past 30-40 years is much greater than the previous years. In fact, the current RATE of carbon dioxide increase we are witnessing is the greatest in 600,000 years! (I don't have a cool link; I heard it in the Tom Brokaw special about global warming. It was a really good special, so I'll give him more credit than I would to Dan Rather and assume it's correct.) If you look at carbon dioxide and temperature versus time, you will notice that there is quite a bit of variation, but of course you see the general trend.

Let me explain my point once again; I am saying that we are looking at such a small section of weather data (200 years is nothing on the scale of 400,000+ years) it is not possible to have CONCLUSIVE evidence without a reasonable doubt. I am that reasonable doubt. Here is a simple statistics calculator (this will be a big part of a future post about polls). For only a 95% confidence level, a sample size of 200 out of 400,000 gives you an answer with an error of +/- 6.93%, which is massive considering we are talking about tenths of a degree on a global scale. For a 99% confidence level, the same sample size and population yields an answer with an error of +/- 9.13%! How can Brian be asserting that our contributions to global warming are "settled facts" when there is an error of at least 7%!

For the record, I do think that we are contributing to global warming on a significant level. I also believe that we should be adhering to protocols such as the Kyoto Treaty to decrease our emissions in an attempt to slow down our journey down this seemingly downward spiral. I am writing these posts because I honestly have doubts. I get extremely angered by the tendencies of people to simply accept some broad-sweeping theory simply because it makes sense at face value. Michael Crichton was attempting to voice the same doubts through his profession of writing fiction. People jumped on his back as if he were a money-hungry steel-mill owner that didn't want to lose a penny of profit. Crichton has absolutely nothing to gain other than making people open their eyes and looking at all the FACTS. I only hope that I can open the eyes of a few of you out there to look at the big picture.

Kevin sent me this interesting link comparing temperature flucuations to the stock market.

Thursday, September 14, 2006
Global Warming: Round 1

posted by JayBandit @ 9:02 PM, ,

I decided to write about this issue because of heated debates I've had with friends over the past few years. In one of these particular discussions, I made the point that, "it isn't proven either way at this point." The reply I got with a chuckle was, "my professor proved it in our class!" Most people come away from our discussions thinking that I don't believe in global warming, which is untrue. As I've said numerous times, I consider myself a man of science, and I cannot simply make a judgment on an issue as complex as this just because there are lots of normal everyday people that believe it to be true. You can't really blame them; everything in today's news reports acts as if the verdict is already in.

First off, global warming is not a new phenomenon; it has been around since before humans set foot on Earth. In fact, it IS the reason we are on the face of the Earth. The atmosphere is like a car window; it lets light in, but doesn't let heat out. This is because visible light is at a wavelength that can easily pass through the molecules in the atmosphere. Infrared heat is at a different wavelength that has a much more difficult time getting out. If it weren't for this effect, the earth would be like mars, where it is 250 below to 85 on any given day. So now you know why asking, "do you believe in global warming," is a stupid question.

Let's look at what actually IS proven at this point. We have dumped a so much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and cut away so many trees in the rainforests, that the amount has increased by about 97ppm (parts per million) in the past 250 years, with 62ppm in the past 47 years. That is all we really know. There is no clear-cut proof that shows an increase in carbon dioxide of that amount will increase the average overall temperature on earth. There are all of these convenient little graphs that show how temperature fluctuation coincides very closely with the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Once again, there is no verification of this assumption that they are linked. I'm not trying to be a nut-job here, but there is nothing that says it couldn't be the other way around. Perhaps there is another factor that actually causes the carbon dioxide to change because of the weather. Call me crazy, but billions of people on the face of the earth running around at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit produce a bit of heat.

The ozone hole is one of those things that people use to "prove" that we are destroying the environment. The problem is we don't know when it was formed. All we know is that we found it all of a sudden, and that the concentration of ozone is decreasing; but there is no definitive evidence showing why this is happening. Another thing that you should realize is that it isn't a "hole" as in there is a void in the atmosphere. It just means there is an area with low concentration. Our atmosphere is a gigantic place (12.4 billion cubic miles in fact, which is a bit over 20% of the earth's volume). It would be difficult enough to figure out how the atmosphere works if it was simply just standing there; yet, on top of that the earth is spinning at over 1,000 mph at the equator! And even that isn't as simple as it sounds; the speed is dependent on the latitude you are at. Not to mention that the movement of the atmosphere is dependent on the surface, temperature, pressures, etc, etc, etc.

I'm probably going to lose most people with this next blurb, but I have to put it all out there. We are all taught that the earth's axis is tilted at about 23.5 degrees when compared with the sun. This is not some constant value. The axis is "falling" towards the equator on a yearly basis, meaning that the poles should be getting warmer. No one EVER talks about this, or the other dozen's officially recognized perturbations of the earth's orbit, such as the Ecliptic, Milankovitch cycles etc.

Another popular fact is that 21 of the top 25 hottest average yearly global temperatures have occurred since 1980. If you go back to our earliest continuous recorded weather, you only go back MAYBE 200 years. We only have satellite data since 1960! For a weather system that has ice ages and heating trends that last thousands of years, this is simply no where near enough data to make an educated guess, let alone an assumption of how things are. To prove my point further, in today's world, most television stations have some of the most sophisticated tools to measure data in the world; yet, we still can't accurately predict the weather only a few days in advance!

Michael Crichton, wrote "State of Fear", a book questioning the science behind global warming. Here is a list of excellent points made in his book (that I stole from this site):

• Most of the warming in the past century occurred before 1940, before CO2 emissions could have been a major factor (p. 84)
• Temperatures fell between 1940 and 1970 even as CO2 levels increased (p. 86)
• Temperature readings from reporting stations outside the U.S. are poorly maintained and staffed and probably inaccurate; those in the U.S., which are probably more accurate, show little or no warming trend (pp. 88-89)
• "Full professors from MIT, Harvard, Columbia, Duke, Virginia, Colorado, UC Berkeley, and other prestigious schools...the former president of the National Academy of Sciences...will argue that global warming is at best unproven, and at worst pure fantasy (p. 90)
• Temperature sensors on satellites report much less warming in the upper atmosphere (which the theory of global warming predicts should warm first) than is reported by temperature sensors on the ground (p. 99)
• Data from weather balloons agree with the satellites (p. 100)
• There has been no increase in extreme weather events (e.g., floods, tornadoes, drought) over the past century or in the past 15 years; computer models used to forecast climate change do not predict more extreme weather (pp. 362, 425-426)
• Temperature readings taken by terrestrial reporting stations are rising because they are increasingly surrounded by roads and buildings which hold heat, the "urban heat island" effect (pp. 368-369)
• Methods used to control for this effect fail to reduce temperatures enough to offset it (pp. 369-376)
• Computer simulations are not real-world data and cannot be relied on to produce reliable forecasts (p. 566).

You cannot simply dismiss all of these valid points. Crichton is simply pointing out that even though he thinks we are to blame for most of this, he doesn't KNOW this to be true. That is a huge difference. I suggest you all take a look at the FACTS, and make your own decisions.

[By the way, I love how Michael Crichton was a media darling when he was writing great realistic novels about cloning, disease, sexual harassment, nanotechnology, etc. However, when he writes another book based in factual research, and it doesn't just smash people over the head by saying global warming is fact…he is persecuted as if he is George W. Bush.]

To conclude, I'd just like to point out that I am all for reducing emissions and protecting the environment (just look at my nuclear power post); however, I don't think we should push these requirements so fast and stringent that they destroy human lives; five or ten years isn't going to make or break the planet's ability to sustain human life. We aren't THAT powerful. I know this post sounds like I'm attempting to completely debunk the theory that we are increasing global warming. The reason I'm doing this is because there are plenty of places talking about how global warming as fact without looking at the other side. This post is meant to give the other perspective to make you think.

Just be warned, this is only the first in a long line of posts about global warming.

Monday, September 11, 2006
What is wrong with this country?

posted by illinikc33 @ 12:07 PM, ,

I want to let everyone know right now that this post will have no mention of technology or engineering, and that it is basically a rant about the ignorance and stupidity of Americans in general. That being said, let the ranting begin!

I promised myself I would do my best to be very objective and rational when posting, as to avoid upsetting any readers to the extent they they won't come back and help increase our counter at the bottom of the page (a paltry 173 at the moment). However, I discovered something so absurd upon waking this morning that it compelled me to start writing with a newfound angry vigor, which is pretty difficult to do (as evidenced by my one whole post so far....sorry jaybandit). My routine in the AM usually revolves around a large cup of coffee and the news from CNN, which is provided to me via a feed on my "Wizz RSS" add-on for firefox (greatest invention since the internet). This RSS feed lets you choose the type of news you want to read, such as politics, entertainment, or world, and then gives you the top 10 stories in that category in order of hits they have received. Usually I go for "Most Popular," as I used to assume that those were the most important, meaningful stories.

Man was I wrong. When I clicked on "Most Popular" this morning, I discovered the #1 story on cnn.com to be......drumroll please......Anna Nicole Smith's Son Dies in Bahamas. Huh? It's the fifth anniversary of 9/11 and more people care about Anna Nicole Smith's son than remembering those who died in the most horrific act ever plotted against the US? I would rather have seen an article about the 9/11 conspiracy/cover-up (see jaybandit's first post for an explanation) than this piece of trash. It's days like today that I have to ask myself what the country is coming to. With all that's going on in America, not to mention the entire world, a majority of Americans are concerning themselves with the goings-on of a woman so morally reprehensible that she decided to marry an 89 year old man (69 years her senior at the time) and then, after his death, spend the rest of her life trying to take his fortune from the man's son. Oh yeah, the marriage lasted about a year before her husband died (I'm sure she was very upset).

Shaking my head, I continued down the list, checking out yet another poll bashing poor George W., and finally found an article about Al Qaeda and 9/11 at #4. Relieved, I checked that article out and headed back to the list, not knowing the horror I was about to face. At #5 was.....even louder and more dramatic drumroll.....New Name for P. Diddy/Puffy/Puff Daddy/Sean Combs/Diddy!. I really felt like my head was about to explode. I reiterate: of all the things going on in the world today, a majority of people care more about Sean Combs' name changes than 9/11 tributes or possible threats to airliners. This blog's own jaybandit was on a plane that had to be grounded because a box cutter was found on board. When he called to tell me about this last night, I was sure that it would be on CNN. Unfortunately, Puff Dizzle or whatever apparently means more to this country than national security.

So that's all I really have to shout about, I guess there is no real substance at all to this post, but hey, at least I feel better!

I promise to write something of merit before the week is over.

Update: As of 4:38 PM, Anna Nicole is still at #1 while our boy Diddy has moved up to #4!

US Airways Employee Gets My Week Off On A Bad Foot

posted by JayBandit @ 12:29 AM, ,

I was on this flight. Needless to say, I didn't make my flight to Charlotte tonight, or my connecting flight to Columbia, SC. I am going to miss my training tomorrow morning, which means I won't have security clearance for the rest of the week. This means that I will have to have an escort at my side all week long, even when I go to the bathroom.

I GUARANTEE you that this "scalpel" (I heard from the person sitting in front of the girl who found it that it was a set of box-cutters...) was accidentally left by one of the moronic people that stock the planes with magazines and safety pamphlets. Don't they keep track of their tools?

If this got on via a passenger it would just show how inept and ridiculous it is that I have to take my gym shoes off to go through security when I fly.

I'm extremely tired and irate...goodnight cruel world.

Saturday, September 09, 2006
Link THIS!

posted by JayBandit @ 10:27 AM, ,

Here are some interesting news tidbits I thought you might all enjoy:

Male Warrior Mentality
Someone actually doesn't like Wikipedia
New World Trade Center
Removing Logo's with Sugar
Oh Ann Coulter...you're so funny

I hope you enjoyed those as much as I did.

Friday, September 08, 2006
The Way Taxing Should Be

posted by JayBandit @ 11:32 AM, ,

People hate taxes, it's in their nature. Although they are a necessary evil, I still think we can do away with many of them (the taxes, not the people). There are many easy targets I could start with; toll-ways, driver's license fees, and even that silly communications tax that was enacted to fund the Spanish-American war. No, I will take on the big-daddy of them all: the income tax.

To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his father has acquired too much, in order to spare to others who (or whose fathers) have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, "to guarantee to everyone a free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquied."

-Thomas Jefferson

One of the biggest problems is that people have no clue about Income Tax History. The income tax was an evolving tax that was "officially" begun with the 16^th Amendment in 1913. The tax has been modified more times than one can shake a stick at, yet there is still the same problem: it's still here. Varying tax brackets are used to "even" the playing field between the likes of Bill Gates and Bill Sanchez, that guy who served you fries at lunch. However, in today's America, the income gap seems to be expanding faster than Ted Kennedy's waist-line.

In addition to the heinous tax that is the income tax we also pay numerous sales taxes on nearly everything. For each one of these taxes, there are government workers that get paid to simply divvy up the funds amongst the targeted destinations (and probably a few untargeted places as well). What if we combined all of these taxes into one big tax? Well, that would be great of course! And what could be better than that? Eliminating the income tax at the same time, silly! There would be, "One tax to rule them all," if you will.

The benefits of a purely consumption-based taxation system are innumerable. My favorite benefit would have to be the fact that the IRS would be null in void. This is because there would be no complex tax code to decipher; everyone would pay the same tax rates no matter who they are. At first glance, one might think that this would benefit the rich and penalize the poor; however, it would do just the opposite. There wouldn't simply be a flat rate for all items; rather, there will be a plethora of rates for the many types of items we all buy.

The more money people have, the more they spend (just watch and episode of MTV's "Cribs"). I am confident in saying that the rich would end up paying more taxes than they do under our current system, and they would be happy to do it. People seem to not consider taxes when they buy an item; but they dwell over taxes each week when they get their pay stub. The people that can afford more taxes will pay them, and those that can't, won't.

Essential items such as food and clothing would have little to no taxes on them; conversely, items like jewelry, yachts, and "Air Jordan" sneakers would be taxed at the highest rates. Instead of the 5 or 6 tax brackets present in today's income tax, there would essentially be a different tax rate for every individual American.

This would also address common problems with social welfare. Today, we often see people who are on food stamps wearing $200 sneakers and driving around fancy cars while their children aren't even getting a proper education. If there was a 30% tax on those sneakers, people would think twice before buying them. The idea is not to punish people for wanting things, but it is to encourage spending within one's means. The rich would no longer be able to hire the best tax accountants to avoid huge amounts of taxes. It doesn't matter where you stick your money, you still have to pay with it in the end. The poor would pay less tax than they currently do, which would further aid them in moving up the socio-economic ladder.

Being a man of science, I have to look at the pros and cons of all situations. I'm sorry to say that I see some major problems with my idealistic solution to taxation in America. The most obvious would be how to implement the system. It would be extremely difficult to just switch off the income tax. All of the money is routed through specific paths, and people will fight to the teeth to keep the money that is coming to them. Also, current sales taxes are not federal, they are state, county, and municipality based. This may cause some fighting between federal and lesser governments. The other major hurdle would have to do with cash purchases. It is common practice with many industries for people to pay for items in cash so that the buyer and seller avoid paying any taxes. If the rich just keep millions in cash on them, it would negate the benefits of a consumption-based system. Unfortunately, the only solution I see to this problem would be more government prying into our lives.

Of course this tax wouldn't solve all of today's problems, but it would be a great start. People would no longer have to deal with all the worry and hassle of paying taxes on April 16^th. Meanwhile, the three class system in which we live would evolve into a system where everyone is at their own level; a world where anyone can truly move up the ladder. I'm sure this post does not do the concept of consumption-based taxing justice; therefore, I point you in this direction for further insight.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Project: Header Image

posted by JayBandit @ 4:40 PM, ,

If you haven't already noticed, we've been creating a montage of all the topics discussed on the blog up above. We have references to every substantial post thus-far, and hope to continue doing so in the future. If anything is found offensive, please let us know; it is simply meant to be a fun way of keeping track of all the issues we've discussed over what we hope to be long and illustrious blogging careers.

Sunday, September 03, 2006
Nuclear Power, and Why You Should be Begging for it

posted by JayBandit @ 7:17 PM, ,

To start out this post, I suggest you take a quick survey, you might learn something. Just for your information, I am a Quality Engineer for one of the major nuclear suppliers in the world. They do everything from servicing existing plants, to fuel construction, to new plant construction, and even decommissioning of some plants. I am trying my best not to be biased in the following, but if I do come off that way, please forgive me.

Nuclear power is the best thing since sliced bread. There is absolutely no logical reason to support any alternative form of power generation for the world's ever growing power consumption needs. I will start off in China, the third-world nation that is attempting to industrialize itself in less than a generation. Today, only 1.6% of China's power production is from nuclear plants; the government currently has plans to build in upwards of 30 more plants by 2020. If all of those are actually built, that will cause the nuclear share to jump all the way up a whopping 4% of its total power production. That is how fast they are growing. I hope this alarms you, because it surely should. Over 75% of their power is generated via coal, and this is the old fashioned "dirty" coal plants that aren't even legal to operate in the US anymore.

Believe it or not, coal power plants actually emit 100 times more radioactive material than nuclear power plants do; and there are a lot more coal power plants than nuclear out there too. One thimble sized pellet of the Uranium nuclear fuel has the energy capacity of 1 ton of coal!


Many anti-nuclear people will tell you that our plants today are nearly full of spent fuel...they are correct. What they neglect to mention is that most of these plants are at least 20-25 years old, and that there is that many years worth of spent fuel safely contained within the fuel containment buildings. The fuel can be safely moved to a storage facility such as Yucca Mountain where it will never harm a soul, but activists are trying to prevent this because they say the casks to move the fuel aren't safe enough. The casks can withstand a direct hit from a train traveling in upwards of 80mph (above nearly all train speed limits), a train crash into a wall at over 100mph, fire up to 2500F, and a puncture test from a drop of 20 feet in the air. In the MINUTE chance that there is a fire over 2500F (it can happen in rare instances in tunnels), they say the casks should be redesigned before they are moved. Any dangerous material is forbidden to go in tunnels anyway, so I don't see what the problem is.

Although I hate to admit it, the French are who the world should be imitating; nuclear power makes up over 77% of their total power production, and they're still building more. Nuclear may be expensive to build, but if carbon dioxide is truly increasing the earth's temperature, isn't it worth spending a bit more for clean lungs and a world we can live in?

Many will try and argue that we should be trying to utilize natural power sources such as hydro, solar, wind, or geothermal. In a perfect world, yes we could use those to power the world, but unfortunately we don't live in that world. Hydroelectric plants are the only viable "clean" energy plants out there, and they can be built only in selective locations (which are almost all taken by now). The others are way too much money, and barely produce enough electricity to power a single small metropolitan area let alone an entire country. It would be great if people utilized "clean" energy sources on an individual basis to help lower their home's energy needs, but that is another idealistic dream.

Nuclear plants cannot blow up like a bomb. First of all, nuclear bombs have fuel that is enriched to over 95%; power plants have fuel enriched to only 5%. Uranium is a natural material that is mined from the ground just like coal or salt. A nuclear explosion is extremely difficult to create; the original bomb required small initiating charges in various locations to go off simultaneously to compress the enriched fuel in the center at the perfect moment. Crashing a plane into a plant wouldn't do that; in fact I don't think a fully loaded plane would even make it through the containment building's walls. They are over 4 feet thick of solid concrete (specially designed of course) that has oversized steel rebar reinforcements every foot around the entire building. The entire structure is lined with a 1/2" layer of steel to further strengthen the building. (Chernobyl didn't have a containment building. Today, no plant in the world is built without one.) The next generation plants that will be built from today onward have multiple layers of redundancy that do not require human interaction to shut down a reactor (They also prevent events like Three-Mile Island, where the workers actually shut down the coolant system on accident). Someone could literally blow up the control room of a nuclear plant, and nothing detrimental would happen to the surrounding areas. Finally, the big towers that are often synonymous with nuclear plants are simply cooling towers that let out condensing steam into the air. They are used for any type of turbine power plants, and there are more for coal than for nuclear.

Nuclear power isn't perfect, I'll be the first to admit it; however, there isn't anything that is even close to being a better alternative. The world's power requirements are just going to keep increasing, and if we don't do something about this soon, we're all going to have this to deal with.

My goal is to inform people that nuclear power is safe, and to prevent ignorant people from scaring you off with articles such as this one from the Daily Illini last year.

UPDATE: Billy Joe Mills has provided me with the following groovy map that shows the nations of the world in proportion to the amount of nuclear power they currently utilize. As you can see, the United States is the leader, but France using nearly all nuclear is quite large. Sadly, there is next to no nuclear power in Africa (actually Koeberg is currently the only one operating there), South America, and Australia; and of course China as I mentioned above.

Thursday, August 24, 2006
Don't Buy a Hybrid When You Graduate!

posted by illinikc33 @ 4:44 PM, ,

Disclaimer: If you know me, you know I loathe each and every Japanese car. If you know cars, you know most hybrids come from Japanese car companies like Honda and Toyota. I want everyone to know this research was conducted with the utmost objectivity.

I was enjoying a plate of orange chicken (I do not loathe Chinese food) with my friends last night when the topic of hybrid cars entered into the conversation. This was a welcome reprieve, as I really have no interest in or knowledge of the number of senators, resolutions, political pundits, etc. that they usually talk about. My friend, call her Mandy, mentioned that her mom recently bought a Toyota Prius, which is Toyota's newest hybrid model that has no gas-only counterpart. She also explained that her economics professor made a comment that the Prius would pay for itself in only three years. Upon hearing this I dropped my fork, made a quick calculation in my head, and determined it to be impossible for that car to pay for itself in a mere three years. I kindly asked Mandy to get her professor's source so I could publicly bash it. The source can be found here.

First off, the title of CNN's article is misleading, which is a tad annoying to me. It should have been entitled, "Some hybrid vehicles will pay for themselves over a significant period of time and under certain conditions." The article itself does not really say much more than my proposed title does, so to get any real information, you have to go to CNN's source.

Finally, after finding the source's source, I uncovered some useful information. The automobile research group Edmunds is one of the most highly respected in the industry. Edmunds conducted a study to find out how long it would take for a hybrid model to "break even" with its gas-only counterpart. The study takes into account the cost of the vehicle, the yearly cost of gas, the tax credit given to those who purchase hybrids, and the estimated resale value of the car. I will discuss the results of the 15,000 mile test, as that is the average amount of miles a car is driven in any given year. It is rare for one to put 25,000 miles on a car in a year. The results of the study are eye-popping. With the exception of the Ford Escape and Toyota Prius models, all of the other hybrids take at least six years to break even. The average amount of time a person has a car before trading it in or selling it is around five years (or until the warranty expires). This study shows that most hybrid models won't be kept long enough for their owners to save money. Cars older than five or six years often start having major problems, such as cylinder head cracks, water pump failure, or electrical system malfunctions. All of these things cost thousands of dollars to fix, which obviously would set back an owner even more. Keep in mind that this study assumes that one drives 15,000 miles every year. In my opinion, this is a high estimate, as one who drives a hybrid, which is usually a small car, will not be taking it on very many long, cross-country vacations. If a hybrid owner drives less than 15,000 miles a year, it will take even longer to start saving money.

But wait! The study shows that the Escape and Prius will pay for themselves in less than three years. This seems to be true for the Escape, but not the Prius (I will discuss that shortly). If one is looking to buy a Ford SUV, the hybrid seems to be a good choice.

I do have a problem with the way Edmunds went about researching the Prius. Since the Prius has no gas-only counterpart, Edmunds compared it to two sedans, the Toyota Camry and Toyota Corolla, that are nothing like the 4-door hatchback that is the Prius. I decided to do a bit of number-crunching on my own. I compared the Prius to two other small, 4-door hatchbacks on the market: the Chevy Aveo and the Ford Focus. The results are shown below.

In my study it takes about five years for the Prius to break even compared to the other two cars. Note that I did not take resale value into account. This is because the resale values of hybrids at the moment are artificially high because they are still somewhat rare items (see this, point number 6). In five years, the resale values of hybrids will not be much different than any other car.

In all fairness, the Prius does seem to be the most cost-effective hybrid on the market right now, so if you are set on buying one, the Prius is the best choice. After looking at all of this data, it seems like the only people who will end up actually saving money are those who buy hybrid SUV's. Such irony is difficult to find!

My humble advice is to have some fun and buy a Mustang with your signing bonus this May, and hold off on the hybrid until you can buy it and start saving when you drive it off the lot.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006
A Musical Endevor of Epic Proportions

posted by JayBandit @ 7:54 PM, ,

I'm a big fan of music, HUGE fan in fact. I listen to everything from Barry Manilow to Marilyn Manson to Run DMC to Creedence Clearwater Revival. There are a few areas of music that I just can't deal with. I don't really do country; I enjoy the pop country songs that are big from time to time (I still like "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus), but for the most part I steer clear. The other type of music that I avoid like the plague is Rap. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE hip-hop, but I just can't get around people that:

1. Don't sing anything in tune
2. Don't play any instruments
3. "Sample" tracks/beats from legitimate musicians

I play the drums (which probably immediately says something about my personality) and I just appreciate people that are better than me at any instrument...except Kenny G. I've been playing since I was in the 4th grade, and I would still consider myself a mediocre musician. If I could wish for anything in the world it would probably be for un-rivaled musical talent...well maybe 72 virgins.

To make a long story short, I have a lot of music on my computer to satisfy my unquenched thirst for sound. Currently, my "Top Rated" list on iTunes, which is nearly all my music, has over 5,300 songs on it by nearly 1,000 different artists. I have been playing this music on "random" for years now, and I'm getting tired of the terrible "randomness" of iTunes. So, I decided to embark on a journey through my music collection...in alphabetical order. I started the day I moved to Pittsburgh, May 31st. In a little less than 3 months I've finally gotten to the "D" songs ("Around the World" by Daft Punk just came on whilst I was in mid-sentence). At this rate, I won't be done with my collection until the end of January!

I know what you're asking me telepathically, so I'll answer: Yes, it's totally worth the trouble. It has really made my appreciation for music grow in fact. When I end up listening to the entire collection of A.F.I., which lasts for days, I wonder why I don't have more music by Al Green, who comes shortly afterwards. I have spent hours online searching for "Top Rated" lists by various authorities: Billboard, Rolling Stone, various radio stations, etc. Most recently I have tackled the "Top 500 songs of all time" from Rolling Stone. I would have thought that I would have well over 400 of these "greatest" songs. Well, I barely had over 250 of them. I realized I had never delved into the music of the Big Bopper, Bob Dylan, Buddy Holly, the Everly Bros., and of course Sam Cooke. I have heard all these songs before, but you don't realize what you're missing until you do.

So the whole point of this rambling, and possibly incoherent, post was to inspire all you out there to do something completely new with something old. Try and get a unique perspective on something that you've "known" for years.

I am rediscovering my music collection daily.

Monday, August 14, 2006
Thanks Captain Obvious!

posted by JayBandit @ 5:13 PM, ,

In today's day and age, there are scientific breakthroughs occurring at a sprinter's pace. This majority of this onslaught never reaches the average American household. However, this does not mean that we have to reinvent the wheel every time there is an article about something. For instance, I was reading this article off of CNN that was discussing how Bill Gates is donating a lifetime's worth of money into developing a microbicide, which, "is a gel or a cream that a woman could use to protect herself against sexual transmission of the AIDS virus." Cool beans, I didn't know that. Then I get towards the end of the article and find this sentence, "There is no cure for HIV and no vaccine against it." Really!

I understand they are just stating a fact, but come on, I think if they came up with a cure/vaccine, it would be headline news all over the world for a while. Furthermore, I have faith that most people on earth would hear about it quickly. To be honest, I'm astonished they didn't say something to the point, "AIDS is an acronym for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome."

You have just read a post by JayBandit, one of the guys behind this website...

Saturday, August 12, 2006
Conspiracy, or Ignorance?

posted by JayBandit @ 11:29 PM, ,

I love a good conspiracy theory; in fact, I even love the movie Conspiracy Theory. However, I won't go into great detail of my love for conspiracy theories. I'll just point in you in the direction of Maddox.

My best friend from high school somehow became a gigantic anarchist (If he posts, he can clarify his political stance for you) and we basically stopped talking to each other. Then, one day he sends me a link to this video. Clearly the kid that made this knows his stuff, I mean he even dubbed an audio of Hitler over the video in the intro, immediately telling me that the US government is definitely Hitler's 3rd Reich incarnate, or at least REALY bad. (Here is more 9/ll conspiracy theory information.) I didn't think much of it at the time, and it left my mind.

Then, this week another friend of mine, we'll call him Levin, emails me while at work. He tells me that he's really angry over this article. He was so mad in fact, that he actually wrote in to the paper telling them about it. So needless to say, I was quite inspired...and jealous. I wanted to get angry and write a letter that no one will ever respond back to as well! At the end of said article, there is a comment by Dr. David Gabbard, "I'm smart enough to know...that fire from airplanes can't melt steel." Being a mechanical engineer, therefore having the education to evaluate comments like that, I became enraged. So enraged, in fact, that I sent this email:

Dr. Gabbard,

I am a recent graduate of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, which is one of the top engineering schools in the world. I just wanted to let you know that you were quoted as saying, ''I'm smart enough to know . . . that fire from airplanes can't melt steel.'' That statement as it is written IS correct; however, that does not disprove the twin towers falling down.

Jet fuel burns anywhere from 800°F - 1500°F, and for the sake of this argument, we'll say 800°F, which is much lower than actually occurred. Steel melts at 2750°F, which depends slightly on the chemical composition of any given steel (but not more than a few hundred degrees). Steel is weakened by heat, even on a hot day steel is weakened a measurable amount. This is taken into account when the building is designed, so that it never has detrimental effects to the structure. When a fire burning in upwards of 800F continues for over an hour, steel is weakened a great deal. When there are 30+ stories of one of the biggest structures in the world sitting on top of this weakened steel, something has to give.

Now as you said you're "smart," so you'll say next, "but JayBandit, the fuel probably burned up within only 10-15 minutes. Correct again! However, when you have over 15,000 gallons of jet fuel dispersing in a building like that on fire...other things tend to ignite. When all of the material in the building is engulfed in flames, it would be easy for the fire to shoot past the 1500°F of the jet fuel alone. At only 1100F steel retains only 50% of its strength, and at 1800°F steel is merely 10% as strong as at room temperature.

Even if the government was behind the planes going into the twin towers, there would be no reason for explosives, because the buildings would have come down by the fire started from the jet fuel.

I would honestly like to know your opinion on what I've wrote,

JayBandit

Needless to say, I felt pretty good about myself. I always talk about doing stuff like this, but I finally got the huevos to go ahead and do it. Wait folks, it gets a lot better. Dr. Gabbardd actually emails me back!

Dear JayBandit,

Thanks for the feedback. Like Levin, another Illini who's written me, you are correct. As I told him, the AP piece did make me and Dan Orr out to look foolish. I was terribly disappointed in how Justin Pope represented what I said in our interview. It was clearly a "hit" piece. I don't deny making the statement, and I still stand by my suspicion that the planes weren't the only thing that brought the Twin Towers down. They certainly played no role in WTC 7 collapsing. I do however regret making the statement to Justin Pope. As I wrote to him,” Of everything I said to you in good faith, you chose one sentence that you set in a context designed to maximize damage to my credibility and the credibility of Scholars for 9-11 Truth." The vast majority (99%) of what I said to the Mr. Pope concerned other matters. I'm attaching notes that I'd prepared before the interview just to let you see what I REALLY said to the AP.

Honestly JayBandit, I don't have the background of someone like Dr. Steven Jones to be able to do justice to your query. I encourage you to contact him or to read his stuff on our website.

Here's my stock response to the email I've been getting.

Justin Pope of the Associated Press interviewed me for nearly twenty minutes. I was courteous and honest with him during that interview. He chose to select one brief quote from me that would damage my credibility and the credibility of Scholars for 9-11 Truth.

In response to those who would, based on that one comment, choose to email me with hostile remarks, I have only this to say. As I told Mr. Pope, the truth about 9-11 is that we do not know the truth about 9-11. Our government does not want us to know the truth about 9-11. If you want to know the truth about 9-11, then please help us lift the gag order that former Attorney General John Ashcroft placed on Sibel Edmonds and call for a truly independent investigation of the information contained in the documents she translated while working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation after 9-11.

"If they were to do real investigations we would see several significant high level criminal prosecutions in this country. And that is something that they are not going to let out. And, believe me; they will do everything to cover this up."

-Sibel Edmonds, former FBI translator

For more information on her case, read this
http://baltimorechronicle.com/050704SibelEdmonds.shtml

and visit
http://www.justacitizen.com/


Respectfully Yours,


David Gabbard, EdD
Professor
Dept of C&I
College of Education
East Carolina University

Here is what he attached to the email:

On July 12, 2006, I was contacted by Justin Pope of the Associated Press in Boston for an interview on my involvement with Scholars for 9-11 Truth. Always mindful of the limitations of the media in accurately representing information on any issue, I requested that Mr. Pope send me a list of questions that would allow me to prepare for the interview and represent Scholars for 9-11 Truth to the best of my ability. What I have written below are the notes that prepared, based on the questions he sent.

Question:

Do you tie your interest in this issue (9-11) in with your teaching and other academic research,

I mention nothing in my teaching on 9-11. I teach in the College of Education at East Carolina University, where we prepare teachers and administrators for work in K-12 and higher education. At this point in time, while we still don’t really know what actually happened on 9-11, it would not be appropriate for me to spend a great deal of class time focusing on 9-11 issues. It’s just not that pertinent to the content I’m paid by the public to teach. It would create a distraction from what students should be learning in my classes, and create controversy around myself that could be used to discredit me and the work of Scholars for 9-11 Truth.

What I have begun teaching about, however, and what drives my current research is the vast network of rightwing think tanks, institutes, and foundations that have, as David Sirota describes it in the title of his new book, orchestrated a “Hostile Takeover” of government and most of our media.

In general, those entities are trying to destroy democracy to create some fascist, nationalist-theocratic state dominated by corporate power. A smaller part of the agenda of this rightwing network is to hand over control of public schools to private corporations. No Child Left Behind is designed to execute that corporate takeover of education. It was basically designed to set schools up for failure, which by 2014 will provide people like Chester Finn, who’s on the payroll of these groups, with the kind of ammunition they’ll need to say look “public run, government operated schools” have failed. We need private control and competition. The competition stuff is just a lie, but the private control is very real in terms of being the primary objective. Once corporations gain control of schools, the curriculum will start to resemble FoxNews. It will be generated and controlled by private corporations or their lackeys in the think tanks. The “Stossel in the Classroom” materials generated out of George Mason University by economics professors whose positions at George Mason, like that of their supervisor Walter Williams – the syndicated columnist, are funded by theses rightwing institutes, provide us with a glimpse of what the future of curriculum might look like. It will look a lot like FoxNews.

We see similar signs of that same agenda, the money all leads back to the same groups of corporations and foundations, in David Horowitz’s attacks against so called “liberal” professors. There’s actually some truth in that, but only insofar as higher education has long operated in the Enlightenment tradition to discover the truth. The uninhibited pursuit of truth is a liberal value, and I’m proud to embrace it. Truth is just as unpopular with the powerful today as it was at the time of Galileo. People were once burned at the stake for saying that the sun was at the center of the universe. Horowitz is being paid by wealthy interests who’ve long operated the Hoover Institute to serve a rightwing, pro-corporate domination agenda. The same money, which has all sorts of links to Grover Norquist and John Abramoff, that feeds Horowitz also feeds Ann Coulter, William Bennett, and a slew of others. It also feeds these think tanks whose principle job is to produce the ideas that provide the talking points for John Stossel and the entire enterprise that gets called FoxNews. It’s why Fox doesn’t need to spend much money on its news staff. They just repeat the party line manufactured within the rightwing corporate think tanks. They don’t have to investigate anything. Karl Rove and the think tanks give them their script, and people like O’Reilly, Hume, Hannity, Malkin, and the rest of them get paid to read from it. I don’t know how much of it they actually believe or endorse themselves, but they don’t get paid to believe. They get paid to read from the script. Any deviation from that script would get them fired by Cheney’s friend, Roger Ailes (the head of FoxNews).

In terms of 9-11, it’s possible, I think, that elements within or around the government either participated actively or had prior knowledge of the attacks and let them happen. The basis for this suspicion is in a document produced by a group called the Project for a New American Century. There, in the membership of that group, you see a mix of people involved in the think tanks that I mentioned before, top government officials in the Bush administration, and neoconservative ideologues with ties to each, plus with ties to policy journals and what not that get funded from the same institutes as the think tanks. In fact, the PNAC itself is funded by the same foundations that are funding the assault on public schools, higher education, science, and the media. At any rate, the PNAC put out a policy paper back in September of 2000 called Rebuilding America’s Defenses which basically calls for creating an American empire that included redeploying troops from Europe and elsewhere to the Middle East and surrounding region in order to control the world’s oil supply. In order to gain public support for these moves however, of course they’d never call it an empire in public, gaining public support for such a move would take a catalyzing event on the scale of a what they called, this is them, not me, a New Pearl Harbor. That why David Ray Griffin titled his book A New Pearl Harbor.

Now, knowing what I know about the predispostion of these forces to lie, it’s now become a matter of policy in the Bush administration to lie about everything – lying is part of their ideology – they see lies as necessary to governance in the service of justice which is to serve the interest of the powerful – which explains their interest in taking over education and attacking real journalism and real scholarship – claiming that we’re un-American for being liberal journalists or liberal professors to discredit us in the eyes of the public – knowing about their propensity to lie and do anything necessary to achieve their ends, even stealing elections in 2000 and again 2004, we have to look at how they’ve used 9-11 to justify the erosion of democracy at home and their imperial ambitions abroad.
So, from an educational perspective, we have to be alert to 9-11 as a sort of propaganda tool.
I know this is a lot of context, but context matters. Things are seldom simple.

Question

How did you get involved in this group?

A couple of things got me suspicious about 9-11. First, on 9-11-2001 – even before there was an official story of the events – just watching the rate at which the towers fell just never seemed right to me. It looked like a controlled demolition. Firefighters at the scene reported hearing multiple explosions. William Rodriguez, who was working in the basement levels of the WTC reported a massive explosion in basement of the WTC on 9-11. All of these people have been silenced. Their claims were not taken seriously by the 9-11 commission, which by the way Bush and Cheney resisted. They resisted any sort of serious investigation of 9-11. It took widows and other family members to pressure the government to even have an investigation. And when Bush testified, he refused to testify before the committee, but only in private with Dick Cheney at his side. All of this is highly suspicious behavior. And the press has questioned almost none of it.

As for the collapse of the towers, Steven Jones a physicist at BYU and a member of our group has pretty much confirmed that the official 9-11 Commission story can’t be true. It just defies the laws of physics. In order for the pancake theory to be true, it would have taken between 30 and 60 seconds for the top of the towers to fall to the ground. Instead, it took just under 10 seconds. That’s actually less time than it would take an object dropped from the top of the towers meeting no resistance other than air would have taken to reach the ground. We also see plumes of smoke and dust that suggest the types of explosions you’d expect to see in a controlled demolition.

Also, a chunk of the debris from the WTC was sent to Professor Jones who did a chemical analysis of this chunk of steel (who sent it, I don't know) and determined that it contained traces of Thermate, a combination of Thermite plus Sulfur. Thermite is an explosive, and Sulfur causes it to burn hotter and "cut" steel better.

That could explain the molten metal in the wreckage that burned for weeks and was still glowing when it was removed.

Neither do we hear anything about the mysterious collapse of WTC 7, which was not hit by a plane, but also collapsed.

But what really got my attention early on was the silencing of Sibel Edmonds, the former FBI translator, who saw documents that lead her to say that, if made public, would subject high government officials to being tried for treason. When she tried to go public with her information, Att Gen John Ashcroft placed a gag order on her. She and multiple other 9-11 whistle blowers have been shut up.

There’s tons of secrecy around 9-11 that just doesn’t seem natural to me. They’re hiding something. They confiscated videos of what happened at the Pentagon, and we now have retired Generals like Major General Albert Stubblebine coming forward to challenge the official version of the events at the Pentagon.

I guess generals are now going to be called liberals, too.

So, all of these things made me question the official story of 9-11. As for my involvement in the group, over time we all just sort of found each other asking the same sets of questions.

Question:

Have you had any reaction, positive or negative, from colleagues and administrators?

Not really, I’m not doing this to get attention. I haven’t staged or participated in any kind of public event on this issue. Once I begin that level of involvement, I won’t be surprised if I’m attacked. Kevin Barrett has been attacked and had his job threatened in Wisconsin. Still, I try to operate under the assumption that "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." I kind of believe that to a point. Maybe we do have more to fear, but if we're too afraid to defend our democracy, we probably don't deserve it.

So far, I’ve only written one piece and that’s been on the likely vitriolic attacks that we can expect from the radical rightwing media machine and rightwing politicians. We want to attract attention to the questions we have, not to ourselves. I think my colleagues at East Carolina University are supportive of the sort of work that I do, but I’m not looking for accolades, just the truth.

Our goal as a group is to educate the public at large so that pressure can be brought to bear upon officialdom to reopen the 9/11 investigation. But we’re being very careful about how we proceed. We understand and appreciate how explosive these issues are, and why they have to be investigated by people with the expertise to conduct serious research into them.

I was so happy that he emailed me back; I didn’t have the strength left in me to criticize him any further. This story helped me decide it’s in fact time for the all-knowing JayBandit to start a blog, so he can whoop bad ideas all over the internet to the ground. If you want some more evidence, check out this article in Popular Mechanics.

Dr. Gabbard is a part of Scholars for 9/11 Truth, which is a silly group made up of people mostly from non-technical backgrounds. Some of these “scholars” refuting an official government investigation are listed as: French, peace studies, and folklore. Well, why didn't you say so? I would have trusted him immediately if I knew he was in such a distinct group! To give you an idea of how qualified this group is I made the following chart of their “Full Members”:

As you can see folks, there are very few technical people behind this organization. When you are going to make a website about a very technical subject, you should probably have more than 20% of your members coming from technical backgrounds! In the second chart you can see that of the 15 technical "scholars", only 4 are engineers!

My new goal in life is to debunk every 9/11 conspiracy theory out there...

Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Kevin's Bio

posted by illinikc33 @ 12:00 AM,

Kevin Cukierski is a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and will be referring to himself in the first person for the remainder of this little post. I am enrolled in a combined Bachelor/Master degree program, and am studying mechanical engineering. I will graduate with both degrees in May of 2007. However, since I find engineering to be lacking...something...I am taking the LSAT in September and applying to law school...we'll see what happens.

My research involves computational modeling of fluid flow in a continuous steel caster that utilizes electromagnetics. If you know anyone with problems concerning that bunch of nonsense, have him call me.

I enjoy playing hockey, football, and basketball. You can see me working out at the gym every day before or after class. Finally, you can almost guarantee I'll say yes if you ask me to a poker game.

My goal is to get at least one comment to every post I make, even if it's from jaybandit.

Enjoy!

JayBandit

posted by JayBandit @ 12:00 AM,

I graduated from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana with a Bachelor's of Science in Mechanical Engineering in May of 2006. After school, I took a position as a Quality Engineer with a major nuclear supplier. My hobbies include debating political issues as well as working with music (I've been playing the drums since I was in grade school; my music collection is always in upwards of 7,000 songs that I try to listen to on a semi-frequent basis. I have a Rogers set with random crappy cymbals, and a new Roland electronic set.)

I am of Irish, German, and Italian descent. I come from a long line of blue-collar workers (I paid my way through college by working as a plumbing laborer.) I am a bit of a class-warrior, and always tend to take the side of blue-collar rather than white-collar.

I have decided to write a blog because I'm the type of person that has a lot to say. The contents of this blog encompass anything and everything that pops into my head long enough to form a coherent thought; and sometimes they aren't even coherent. I'd love to hear your thoughts, so feel obligated to comment. I strongly encourage the use of links and other factual information to back up an argument.

It gives my life meaning knowing that at least 3 or 4 of my adoring fans care enough to debate such big issues as "Cult of Personality" by Living Colour being the best song of all time, or my undying love for the movie Camp Nowhere. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.

Bored?

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Old Crap

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