Alex Vernon.com

One of my favorite authors William Gibson has blogged an interesting analysis on the recent OBL video. It is located here. He had a change of heart the next day. link Both are interesting insights and I imagine it either way.

-Alex

Th Iraqi civilian death toll since the war began has been estimated to be 100,000 according to a new study.

Here is a link to the CNN article.

For reference Saddam Hussein killed an estimated 1,000,000 people. More information here and here.

-Alex

Check out this article from National Geographic. It’s about a human species that only grew to one meter tall as recently as 13,000 years ago.

Link found on Boing Boing.

-Alex (no that’s not what I look like, I’m signing the post)

Update: Here is some more info from Nature.

I voted on Monday. Georgia has a new advance voting program this year. I wasn’t working that day so I stopped by around 15:00. The line was atrocious! I had to wait for about an hour and a half, I probably would’ve been better off waiting until the 2nd but at least I have it out of the way. One positive thing was the number of black people there. As a friend of mine and I have discussed they hold the key to this election we believe. Georgia is a traditionally republican state but it would be really cool if Kerry wins it.

Check out this article on how Bush supporters lie to themselves to feel better.

If you haven’t seen Fahrenheit 9/11 yet you can download it from here.

Remember to vote!

-Alex

A while back I blogged about the FBI seizing Indymedia servers in the UK. Apparently the servers were returned the same day. The UK is saying “no UK law enforcement agencies were involved”. Here is a Register article with additional information. Indymedia has involved the EFF as well, article here.

-Alex

I have a couple of new toys. I finally bought a flash for my camera the SB-800. This is currently the top of the line Nikon flash. I’m looking forward to using it. I signed up for the Flash Class at The Showcase School of Photography so I can unlock its full potential.

I also picked up an iPod mini before my Iowa trip a while back. This thing rocks! A little on the pricy side but I think it’s worth it. I decided to go with the mini because I was more interested in physical size than storage space. The included headphones are a little lacking but I picked up a set of Koss The Plugs and they sound great. I also picked up an iTrip mini for use in the car. The sound quality is surprisingly good. I haven’t used it that much yet but it will be great on road trips. I used it to override the receptionist’s radio at work, I thought it was pretty funny.

-Alex

If you live in the Atlanta area check out EAV-O-WEEN on October 30th.

-Alex

A while back I posted a poem titled Grind. A friend of mine posted some pretty scathing comments on it and she had some valid points. So I’ve decided to reply to them in a new post.

First off let me state the following disclaimer: Lori is a friend of mine and my reply is no way an attack. I am just posting my responses to her comments.

“What is up with you anyway?”

I’m not sure, I’m still trying to figure that out.

“When you get married and have three or four kids, you try cramming them all into your small little environmentally friendly car.”

Not all cars are small, most sedans will comfortable seat five (granted if there are three small people in the back).

“Oh and forget cramming the dog into the car with all the kids on family outings. What about uncomfortable road trips with all the kids and the dog?”

Well with three or four kids and a dog I will coincide that you will need a larger vehicle. That’s where the minivan comes in. They have more room than all but the largest SUVs and better gas mileage and lower insurance costs.

“I think you got my point. There is a need for such large vehicles. We the families need the room. As a single person, you could not understand.”

See minivan response above. I understand, I grew up with two brothers and a sister.

“Sure when I was a kid we didn’t have a SUV we had a simulated wood grain station wagon (the SUV of the 70’s) and even some hippy types had custom vans to tote their families around.”

We had a simulated wood grain station wagon as well, I used to get car sick in the back.

“Now, today, in the year 2004 we have SUVs that make toting our families around easy and stylish at the same time. It sounds like we have made some progress on that front.”

I would say that stylish is a matter of opinion. I personally do not like the look of SUVs, I am probably in the minority here but there are some of us who think they are ugly. To be fair I haven’t seen any minivans I like either.

“It might be possible for the car manufacturers to make SUVs that are large and better on gas. Will they? I doubt it.”

It is possible, and you’re right they won’t until the market demands it. As long as people keep buying them without insisting that they be more environmentally conscience they will not improve emissions standards. I know Ford is now making SUV hybrids which is a step in the right direction.

“However, until they do, people are going to continue to buy large SUVs to make their lives more comfortable. After all, we might not be here tomorrow. Wasn’t fun cramming into my little two door sports car?”

Yes we might not be here tomorrow but is that an excuse to trample over future generations? Here is a quote that sums up an attitude I dislike from June’s National Geographic. It is from a mother of two that owns a Hummer H1 in the suburbs of Atlanta.

“I know it’s not fuel efficient, but I love knowing that anything I bump into, I win.”

This kind of thinking bothers me. I’ve had cars that probably polluted as much as SUVs in the past and I know people now that have them. If you don’t have a choice that’s one thing, the problem lies when you have money and purposefully buy a vehicle that harms the environment and endangers others on the road just because you can. It is this kind of mindset in my opinion, that is the root of many of the current problems we are facing today.

Back to the poem, I originally wrote this because I was angry since I am currently “one of the sheep”. I could have just as easily said “new car” instead of SUV but I liked the additional implications SUV implies. My point is the poem wasn’t specifically about SUVs more about the current corporate lifestyle a lot of us (including myself) are living. However I do appreciate the buzz the SUV line has generated. It just goes to show that everyone has their unique interpretation of things.

-Alex

There has been a bunch of great memepool stuff posted lately, so I decided to combine a few in a blog.

Japanese bitchslapping
Can someone please explain the Japanese to me?

Carl Lewis the singer, you have to check this out!
video link

Of course Barney sings too. (not work safe)

Leave it to Bush (not work safe) I love the last line in this one.

Ever wonder what it’s like to ride a bicycle in NYC? Here’s your answer. Holy crap!

Having problems with coworkers? Try the Eradicator!

Have a niece or nephew you don’t like? Sign them up for the Unfortunate Animal of the Month Club. Or get them a Teddy Scares.

-Alex

I’m serious, check out this clip.

Link courtesy of memepool.com

ROCK \m/