fcsuper link whore

Here are the sites that I know have links to It's Trouble

Painfullycool - Not Me
Strange Cousin Susan
My Two Sen
Just Beneath the Surface
A New York Escorts Confessions
Just Call Me Naughty
Way Too Many Unruly Oranges
The Degenerate Speaks

Please let me know if It's Trouble appears on a blog not mentioned above. I'd like to have a complete a list. (I know of two other blogs where Its Trouble is listed, but they are inactive sites, so I'm not bothering to mention those.) I'd like to have a complete list cuz I'm considering the idea of having a blog roll of my favorite posts each month from blogs that backblog It's Trouble.

Federal Sentencing Guidelines Struck Down

The Supreme Court came along way to re-establishing the role of the Constitution of the United States of America this week in Federal criminal law. They struck down the mandatory use of the Federal Guidelines for sentencing of criminals because the system used evidence and accusations not tried before a jury, or any court of law for that matter. [Side note: Evidence that was thrown out of court during the criminal trial for being unproven or inadequate was often used in the sentencing phase anyway; which was extremely unconstitutional and undermined the authority of the court.]
There is one problem with the Supreme Court’s decision. The Supreme Court chickened out by determining that the system should be used as a recommendation for sentencing of criminals. This cop-out is due in part to the fact that several of the current members of the U.S. Supreme Court helped draft the unconstitutional system 20 years ago and they are still partial to it. Even with the abolishment of its mandatory nature, the continued use of the Federal Guidelines still undermines the Constitution. However, the overall decision by the Supreme Court is at least a step in the right direction.
I fear that the real lesson to be learned here is going to be lost on the politicians who are now scrambling to patchwork a congressional response to this groundbreaking decision. The real lesson is this, the U.S.A. should have a standard sentencing system for criminals, but that system should not use accusations and evidence that hasn’t been tried before a court, or been thrown out of court. All facets of sentencing should directly derive from facts presented at trial.
My hope for this country is that the Supreme Court will be more centralist and politically neutral at some point, allowing them to make untethered decisions that hold the Constitutional higher than extreme leftist and neo-conservative ideologies.

Problem with being a centralist is that I’ll prolly never be happy with anyone in power. My best hope is that the left and right are equally struggling against other. More equal and intense the struggle, the less likely our Government is going to be used to infringe on the rights of any persons protected by the U.S. Constitution. Right now, we are way out of balance.

Trouble with KFC Popcorn Chicken

The trouble with KFC and their Popcorn Chicken is that KFC doesn't do good quality control across their franchise. I've been to many KFC's over the lifespan of the Popcorn Chicken. Some places make it so tasty that you just can't get enough. Some places make it so yukkie that you a left tossing it out before halfway through. Well, today, in fact, right this minute, I'm eating some tasty Popcorn Chicken. Yum. I love Popcorn Chicken when its done right. Now I wish I had ordered a large. mmm

Life is like Wine?

The amount of details I see in life is directly proportional to how long I've been alive. I appreciate wine now. I didn't give a rat's ass about wine 6 years ago. Life is like wine. Some people call a statement like that pretentious. However, nothing about that statement is pretentious if you understand and experience it.
With wine, I don't constantly seek out a new or deeper understanding of it. I experience it at the various appropriate times in context with meals, trips to Wine Country, gifts from friends, holidays, etc, and I learn about wine from those experiences. The more I partake of wine, the more I taste its complexity, the more I appreciate it and the more relevant it becomes. That pretty much parallels how I learn from my life. The longer I live, the more details I can see, the greater my experience and the better my understanding.

Causativity of Time Travel

Does time exist? Is it an illusion? Some have suggested that time does not exist. It is reasoned that we only experience time because we measure motions that happen to occur sequentially. There is no mathematical proof for this view point. In fact, there is substantial proof that time does exist as a part of the Time-Space Continuum of our tangible Universe.
So, if time exists, why is it only possible to travel forward in time as a certain rate? Why do we have memories of the past, but are unable to remember our future? These are common questions during discussions regarding time travel. We ask these questions because we perceive Time as linear. Maybe this is a false interpretation of our perception? In fact, we don’t experience time as a line with the Past in one direction and the Future in the other. We experience Time at a single point, the Present.

Problems with Linear Time
Time travel into the Past allows two violations of well proven laws and principles. First, it allows for an effect without a cause. For example, you could go back in time and prevent your own birth. However, if you prevented your own birth, how did you exist in order to go back in time? Second, time travel into the past allows for the creation of a perpetual motion machine through time by various means. Of course, such self sustaining system is a violation of the Laws of Thermodynamics.

Problems with Time Travel regardless of the nature of Time
Another problem with Time Travel to the Past is that the entire Universe is relative. Any action from one frame of reference is only applicable to that frame of reference. If an object could go back in time, that object would only be travelling within its own frame of reference. The Universe around the object wouldn’t change. Even worse, if you had a time machine that allowed time travel within one’s own frame of reference and you tried to make a person go back in their own Time, that person wouldn't get younger in the human sense, but only in the quantum sense. In other words, if the person went into your time machine at the age of 50, they would re-appear still a 50 year old afterwards. Only the person's atoms would've grown younger, not the person themself. This is because the placement of that person’s atoms in space (i.e., within a facial skin winkle) is irrelevant to the atoms’ place in Time (a facial skin winkle is still a winkle regardless of the quantum date of the atoms that make up the winkle).
Even without this little problem, in a relative Universe, the only way to travel back into the Universe’s Past is to make the entire Universe travel back in time, while only you stay in the present. Such a feat would require more energy than what currently exists in the Universe.

This brings me back to the idea that Time is not a line, but a single point. We only experience the Present because only the Present exists. Of course, that means we can’t travel to the Past or Future because neither exists.
Just as with Space, Time can have length (linear), height (planar) and breath (cubic). Maybe Time just doesn’t possess those properties in our own Universe?

We got to meet some interesting critters on our recent visit to the Monterey Bay Aquariam. We came across this little guy, who was making it quite clear that this was his world.

Thanks to Jennifer

This new format for my blog is almost complete. The main page has been for a while now, but Jennifer hasn't had the time to do the code to make it PDA friendly until recently. Yah...now I can look at my site on my Treo again. :)

Amy Brown 2005 Calendar

For anyone interested, I have an Amy Brown 2005 Fairy Realm Wall Calendar for sale on eBay. I don't normally like to overtly promote like this. It's just that this item seems to be extremely hot right now, so I'm just spreading the word. ;) The auction closes around 1:00pm on Sunday, Jan 8th.

Holiday Vacation

My friend Dave and I headed up to his mother's place in Clear Lake on Tuesday and come back on Wednesday. His mom is a great cook who loves to make sure guests are well fed. :) On the 3 hour drive up, we bullshitted about politics. On the 3 hour drive back, we bullshitted about time travel. A future blog entry will expound our insights in this area, so watch out. Hehe

My g/f and I meet up early on Thursday and headed down for a little vacation in Monterey. We had a great time down there. On Thursday, we did a little shopping and then had an early dinner at this one restaurant with a nice atmosphere. We ended up at Bluefin to play pool for a while. We then headed back to the hotel to rested up for the long day to follow (New Years Eve).
We got up a little too late on Friday to go for breakfast, so we headed down to Cannery Row for a great lunch at Fishhopper. The weather on Friday was supposed to be cloudy and rainy. It was actually only partly cloudy during the day, and rainy in the early morning and night. The drive along 17 Mile Drive turned out to be nearly perfect. It was sunny, cool and beautiful. At this one beach, we came across this small group of squirrels that walk right up to you, stand on their hind legs and politely wait for food. At Cypress Point, we saw a beach full of harbor seals. At the Lone Cypress, we watched sea otters and migrating gray whales, along with a gorgeous backdrop. It was a very relaxing day. Friday evening, we meet up with Dave and his girlfriend for dinner. We all had a plan to head down to downtown Monterey for this thang called First Night (a New Years Eve celebration), but instead we ended back at the Bluefin for drinks, more pool and other games. They had the MTV New Years count down on the TVs to bring in the New Year. We all had a good time that wasn't crazy or wild. (darn! ;) )
On Saturday, we all headed down to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It's changed a lot since I've last been there. If you haven't been there in 5 years or so, I'd actually recommend checking it out again. After that, we had another delicious lunch at the Fishhopper. We all headed back home around 3:30 or so. That evening, my g/f and I had dinner with her family.
I spent Sunday lounging around my place watching movies. For dinner, my g/f brought over a bake-it-yourself pizza which I duly cooked incorrectly. LOL I'm not as hopeless in the kitchen as that statement makes me sound.

Xmas was good to me

I spent Xmas with my g/f’s family. We had a leisurely day, dining in at a couple of fine Chinese rest’rants in San Francisco for lunch and dinner. I got some good gifts too! In fact, some of them (from various family and friends) were so good, I’m going to hafta compensate for upcoming birthdays and anniversaries. Oops. lol

New Year's Trip to Monterey

December 31, 2004 to January 1, 2005

With Alice Leung, Miriam Erlichman and David Erlichman, visited Monterey, CA and Cannery Row.  Original link/backup link.

Every Thought Counts

Every Thought Counts
She's got a lovely holiday poo-poo purse story that will warm your heart and remind you the joy of Xmas. ;)

Flat Earth Fun

Believe it or not, there are still people on this planet that believe the world is flat, or at least not a sphere. It isn’t just the individuals in the Flat Earth Society (founded in 1993). There are fundamentalists in various religions teaching this myth as fact as well. One religion teaches the world is on the back of a turtle. Under that turtle is another turtle. Under that turtle is another turtle, etc forever. 

There are modern people that choose to interpret those statements in their ancient texts as literal fact. They turn off their critical sense and refuse to understand that the ancient texts simply provide metaphors for unknowable facts in ancient times. In effect, it’s easier for these modern people to believe in infinitely huge turtles walking on each other’s backs, rather than believe the world is a sphere in space. 

 Western Culture has understood that the Earth is a sphere for a very long time. The idea that people in Columbus’ time, during the Renaissance, believed in a flat Earth is actually a modern myth perpetuated by American ignorance of other cultures (i.e., our arrogance). I’ll call this the Columbus Myth. Ancient Greeks knew the world was a sphere by the Fourth Century B.C.E (over three hundred years before Christ was born). In that time, Aristotle reasoned that the world must be a sphere because the Earth’s shadow on the Moon during lunar eclipses was always round. 

By the time that Columbus set sail on his first voyage to the Americas, Westerners already had known, for about 2000 years, that the Earth was a sphere. Unfortunately, The Columbus Myth spawned the recent rebirth of the belief that the Earth is flat. The some Columbus Myth believers reasoned that if ancient people knew the world was flat as recent as 1500’s, then it must be so. They then further reasoned that modern observations of a spherical Earth are skewed by some global conspiracy to hide the fact that the Earth is flat. Of course, this is all just myth compounded upon myth. 

 Links of note: 

Flat Earth Society - They have a Great Springfield theory (from watching too many episodes of the Simpsons, I think). 

Another Flat Earth Society - I love their complete ignorance of how a little thing called gravity works in their "Why a Flat Earth" section. These guys take the Columbus Myth to heart! 

Flat Earth Bible - Here the author shows various statements in the Bible that show the flat-earth mentality of it's many writers. The Qu'ron makes similar statements as well.

Social Security bullony

There are people in this country that are convinced that the Stock Markets are invincible. So, the grand plan is to have everyone invest in them as if Social Security is a gigantic IRA. So what if you have a freedom to choose which stocks you want? You still are stuck investing in the Stock Markets. Investing in the Stock Markets is not diversification of your finances. It's extremely homogeneous. There's an old rule, whenever everyone is doing the same thang, no one can get a head. It's worse with the Stock Markets. The assumption here is that not only anyone can make money in the Stock Markets, but everyone can! Well in the real world, most people lose in the Stock Markets, pros and amateurs alike. This is where we want to push future retirees to throw their money?
Additionally, with the ever increasing numbers of Babyboomers retiring, more money is going to be pulled out of the Stock Markets than put in. It's the same problem that faces Social Security right now, just in a different venue. The only way to support the retirement system is if the contributions grew exponentially. In other words, putting everyone on a retirement program based on the Stock Markets is a bit like a huge Pyramid Scheme. It is unsustainable after are very short time. It's almost like there's a bunch of people running around the country right now trying to sell America on their Pyramid Scheme so they can make their money and get out, leaving everyone else to hold the bag.
I can't offer an alternative right now, other than to say, less risk is better. The current system is unsustainable too, but its demise will impact the economy much less than the decline of the Stock Markets.
Check out this article for better information on the problem.
I do have some ideas that might help individuals. Diversify! There are other forms of invents besides the Stock Markets.

Travel back in time with me

It's truly a wonder that Western Civilization made it out of the 1950's at all. I found this article copied from Housekeeping Monthly dated "13 May 1955". Notice the interesting spelling choices, typos, dangling prepositions, and run-on sentences. Not a big deal. It's just funny. It's like some guy (who happened to be a writer at Housekeeping Monthly) was angry at his wife one morning and wrote this on his way to work. It is a amazing just how ignorant of a place we've come from. Granted, it's nice to treat your spouse good whether husband or wife, but this article...well, it speaks for itself. Just when you think it gets bad as it could, just keep reading. It gets worse with almost every paragraph.

The good wife's guide (Housekeeping Monthly, 13 May 1955)

Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready, on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospect of a good meal (especially his favourite dish) is part of the warm welcome needed.

Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you’ll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be freshlooking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary peopl[e.]

Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.

Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives.

Gather up schoolbooks, toys, paper etc and then run a dustcloth over the tables.

Over the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering for his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.

Prepare the children. Take a few minutes to wash the children’s hands and faces (if they are small), comb their hair and, if necessary, change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part. Minimise all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet.

Be happy to see him.

Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.

Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first – remember, his topics of conversation are more important then yours.

Make the evening his. Never complain if he comes home late or goes out to dinner, or other places of entertainment without you. Instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure and his very real need to be at home and relax.

Your goal: Try to make sure your home is a place of peace, order and tranquillity where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit.

Don’t greet him with complaints and problems.

Don’t complain if he’s late home for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through that day.

Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or have him lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.

Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.

Don’t ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.

A good wife always knows her place.